Rating: NC17
Pairing: Willow/Spike (as it should be)
Spoilers: Through end of season 4.
Summary: Spike, Willow and a prophecy.
Notes: Fluff, the whole fluff, and nothing but the fluff. ** indicate emphasis. Another of my WIP that I'm finally going to finish!
Feedback: It's ALL about the feedback (and naked Spike)! Don't make me beg, it's not pretty.
E-mail: spikedluv@midtel.net
Distribution: If anybody wants it, please take it. Just tell me where it goes so I can keep track...OK, so I can pull it up and just stare at it for a while!
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, just borrowing them for awhile. Everything belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Grr Argh, the WB, UPN and whoever else they really belong to, although I wouldn't mind having a Spike of my own. Who would? Emily Finn is mine. So is the story.
Thanks: Amanda, beta and grasshopper extraordinaire.
****************
~Chapter: Ten~ Out of the Bag
Willow crawled out of bed late the next morning and hobbled to the shower. She'd never been so thoroughly...ravaged, she blushed as she thought it, the word sounding so romance-novel-like. Spike acknowledged her absence only by moving to spread out across the bed.
After dressing in a pair of jeans and a sleeveless turtleneck, Willow ran her fingers through Spike's hair and then went looking for Dawn. She checked the guest room but it was empty, the bed already made.
Willow started down the stairs and heard the television as she neared the bottom. "Hey, Dawnie," she peaked her head into the living room, "sleep alright?"
"Yeah," Dawn said without looking up, "except I kept hearing this weird noise, kind of like, springs squeaking," she finally looked up at Willow with a big grin.
"Very funny," Willow said. "Now I'm not going to make you pancakes."
"Pancakes?" Dawn asked excitedly.
"Yep, but you ruined it. No pancakes for Dawnie," Willow said.
"Willow," Dawn begged, "you know I was just teasing. I'll do the dishes," she made a sad puppy-dog face.
"Deal!" Willow said as she turned toward the kitchen.
"Hey, you played me!" Dawn complained, as she got up to follow her. "And I fell for it. I can't believe I offered to do the dishes."
Dawn sat at the island while Willow mixed the pancake batter and heated up the grill. Spike, shirtless and hair sticking up, appeared in the doorway as Willow was flipping the pancakes.
"Whacha makin'?" he stumbled toward the refrigerator, stopping to give Willow a peck on the lips before opening the door.
"Pancakes," Dawn informed him. "I get the first batch."
Spike just looked at her as he grabbed a bag of blood. "Trade ya," he smirked.
"Yuck!" Dawn made a face.
Spike heated up his blood while Dawn buttered and syruped her pancakes and Willow dropped more batter onto the grill.
The three of them ate, Dawn and Spike at the island, Willow standing at the counter by the grill. After breakfast Willow started to rinse the dishes and Dawn pushed her out of the way.
"Sit," she said, "Spike and I'll do the dishes."
"Me? I didn't eat anythin'," Spike protested from his favorite spot against the counter.
"Liar," Dawn said without looking at him as she drew hot water in the sink, "you've still got syrup on your lips."
Spike surreptitiously licked the syrup off of his lips and Willow laughed at him from the seat she'd taken at the island.
"What you laughin' at, witch?" he snarled as he stalked across the kitchen toward her.
"Nothing," Willow giggled, holding her hands up in front of her protectively.
Spike wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms at her sides, and kissed her. While Willow was still breathless from the kiss, he pushed her turtleneck out of the way and sucked her neck, making her giggle and pretend to try and get away from him.
"Spike!" Dawn reprimanded him. "You can thank the cook later. Get over here and dry these dishes," she ordered.
"Bossy chit, ain't she?" Spike said as he let Willow go.
"I heard that," Dawn said.
***
After the kitchen had been cleaned up, Dawn called home. Buffy was there, so Willow drove Dawn home while Spike went back to bed.
When they pulled into the driveway, Buffy was sitting on the porch drinking a cup of coffee. Dawn breezed past with a sisterly toss of the head and Willow sat down next to Buffy. The two girls chatted until Buffy said that she had to clean the house, which she hadn't had another chance to do since the last Saturday when Willow was over.
Willow stood to leave, her mind racing. She didn't want to have to hide her relationship with Spike from her friends and she didn't want to lie to them. Besides, Giles was right. Right? Of course he was. They couldn't keep it a secret forever, and she'd rather have control of when, where and how they found out so she could keep Buffy from staking Spike.
Just before she started down the steps, she made her decision. Turning back to Buffy, Willow asked if she was going to be at the Magic Box that night before patrol and when Buffy replied in the affirmative, asked her if she could show up a couple of minutes early.
"Sure, what's up?" Buffy asked.
"I, uh, have something I want to, um, share with everyone," Willow answered.
"Is anything wrong?" Buffy asked in concern.
"N-no. It's a good thing," Willow assured her. "At least, *I* think it's good. I, uh, I'll tell you tonight, when I can tell Xander, too."
"Alright," Buffy agreed, a worried frown marring her brow.
Willow went home and called Xander. Anya answered the telephone.
"Hi, Anya," Willow said.
"Willow, hi," Anya sounded distracted.
"I, um, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Willow asked.
"What? Oh, no, we're not having orgasms," Anya reassured her.
"Ah, good. Well, not good, `cause I know you enjoy them, but, good `cause I didn't interrupt. You knew that, right?" Willow babbled.
"Yes," Anya said, "I understood your meaning. Did you call to chat or was there something specific you wanted?"
"Oh, uh, yeah," Willow hesitated. "Something specific. Are you, um, going to be at the Magic Box tonight?"
"Probably," Anya said.
"Can you make sure you're there early, like right after sundown?" Willow asked.
"Sure, what's up?"
"Well, I thought it would be a good idea to, you know, tell everyone, meaning, Buffy and Xander, oh, and Riley, `cause everybody else seems to know, about, well, you know, me and, um, Spike," Willow concluded her babblefest.
"Really?" Anya asked. "I'm going to bring my camera. The looks on Buffy's and Xander's faces will be priceless!"
"Uh, gee, thanks for the support, Anya," Willow said.
"No problem! See you tonight. I think I'll dress up for this," Willow heard Anya say to herself just before she heard the dial tone.
Oh, yeah, this was going to be fun. Now she had to tell Spike what she'd done. Oh, she thought, that rhymed. Now, to face the music. Maybe if she woke him up real nice he'd be willing to forgive her. Willow started up the stairs slowly.
***
Willow pushed the bedroom door open to find Spike already awake, lying on the bed watching TV.
"What's wrong?" he said with a frown, after taking one look at her face. He knew she'd seen Buffy when she took Dawn home and hoped the Slayer hadn't said something to upset her.
"What, uh, what do you mean?" Willow hedged, trying her innocent look. This wasn't going the way she had planned. Spike was still supposed to be sleeping!
"You've got that *look*," Spike told her, eyes narrowed, as he ran his hand through his hair. His Red was so easy to read sometimes, he almost smiled at her attempt to look innocent.
"Wh-what look?" she said, eyes wide, trying the even more innocent look.
"The guilty look," Spike clarified. "What have you done?" Shoot, Willow mentally stomped her foot, the innocent look hadn't worked!
"Do you, um, love me?" Willow asked, trying another tack. "Like, really, *really* love me?" she tried the puppy-dog face Dawn had employed just that morning.
Spike turned the television off and put the remote on the bed stand before replying. "C'mere," he held his arms out to her.
Willow carefully sat on the edge of the bed.
"C'mere," he repeated, his hand on her arm, and Willow slid over next to him and leaned her shoulder against his chest, her lips almost touching his. Goddess, he was so sexy. But she was here for something. What was it again? Oh, yeah!
"So, do you?" she asked.
"`Course I do," Spike wrapped his arms around her back. "Now, tell me what you've done."
"I, um, told Buffy and Xander to meet us at the Magic Box tonight," Willow softly kissed his lips.
"You always meet at the Magic Box," Spike replied, against her lips.
"Mmm," Willow pressed her lips more firmly against Spike's, slipping her tongue between them, "I sorta told them," she ran her fingers over Spike's chest, "that I had," she pinched his nipples as she bit his lip, "something to tell them," her tongue plundered his mouth.
At the taste of her, Spike's brain closed down. He grabbed her waist and rolled them so that he was on top of her. His tongue battled hers as his hands slid up her body to cup her breasts. Suddenly he lifted his head as comprehension dawned.
"You told `em what?" he asked. Bleedin' hell, this could be bad.
"I, um, told them that I had something to tell them," Willow repeated with what she hoped was a cute smile.
"An' what might that be?" he lifted himself up on his elbows and looked down at her.
"A-about us," Willow squeaked.
Spike dropped his forehead to her chest and shook his head.
"I mean, Giles was right, right?" Willow distractedly ran her fingers through his hair. "We have to tell them sometime, and I figured sooner was better, `cause Dawn knows, and Anya, and Giles, and, uh, Angel and Cordy, and who knows how long it'll be before one of them slips and says something and don't you think it should come from us, when we can, you know, control the situation, and, um...," she trailed off as Spike lifted his head to look into her eyes, his own blue eyes dark with passion.
"It makes me horny when you babble," he said and Willow blushed, her fingers digging into his scalp.
"Really?" Goddess, he made her horny just by looking at her.
"Mmm hmm," he pressed his growing erection against her and Willow moaned.
"You, um, you're not mad at me?" she asked as she arched her hips against him.
"No," he said, "though I was hopin' for a lot more shaggin' in the future, but my future's not lookin' so bright right about now, what with the Slayer stakin' me an' all," Spike bit her breast through her shirt.
"Aahh," Willow moaned as she tugged at his hair. "I won't let Buffy stake you," she promised, "`cause I'm looking forward to a lot more shagging in the future, too."
"That a fact?" Spike looked up at her and waggled his eyebrows.
"Mmm hmm," Willow smiled as she lifted her head and kissed his nose.
"Just in case, though," Spike said as his hand slipped beneath her top, "we should get as much in now as we can."
"Spike," Willow protested feebly, "I could barely walk this morning when I woke up. If we, you know," she blushed prettily, "I might not be able to walk at all."
"I'll carry ya," Spike offered as his fingers closed over her nipple and his lips lowered to hers.
"Okay," Willow surrendered, parting her lips for his kiss.
***
Willow and Spike showered and dressed in silence and, since Willow was too nervous to eat, left early for the Magic Box, Spike in the back seat covered with a blanket. Willow parked on the street and Spike ran for the front door. He threw the door open so hard, that it bounced off of the wall. Willow, following close on his heels, caught it and shut it behind them.
"Hey, it's `way dead junior'," Xander said as he looked around the bookshelf at the slightly smoking blonde vampire, having recently heard the song `Way Cool Junior' by Ratt on one of the old rock stations Anya listened to in her quest to become more human and fit better into society.
"Sod off," Spike said without conviction. He dropped the blanket on the floor, slipped out of his duster and threw it over the counter before sitting down at the research table where he began tapping his fingers on the tabletop as he stared at the floor.
"Hey, Wills," Xander said.
"Uh, hi, guys," Willow responded weakly.
"Hello, Willow, Spike," Anya chirped. Spike just nodded his head distractedly.
"Where's Giles?" Willow picked up the blanket and laid it over Spike's duster on the counter.
"In the office," Anya told her.
"Ah," Willow replied, noncommittally as she moved toward the research table. As Willow squeezed behind Spike to her usual spot she covered his hand with her own to stop his tapping, then slid a book in front of him. He looked up at her and Willow mouthed, `research'. Spike rolled his eyes and pulled the book closer.
If they didn't figure out what `the power of the one' was soon he was going to have to resort to violence. Research in and of itself was mind-numbingly boring enough, but researching the same thing every bleeding night made him want to tear his own eyes out. Or, better yet, Xander's.
But it was better than thinking about what was going to happen to him once the moron and the Slayer found out he'd been shagging Red. He'd be dust, then. Maybe it would be better if he wasn't here at all when Willow told them. He glanced over at Willow, whose head was bent over the book in her hand. He could smell her nervousness. He reached under the table and rubbed her leg.
Willow plugged in her computer and checked her e-mail, then started another search before pushing the laptop back and picking a book up off of the pile in the middle of the table. Her hands were shaking, so she laid the book on the table to read it. She felt Spike's hand on her leg and looked over at him. He gave her a small smile and squeezed her leg. She put her hand over his and held it.
A couple of minutes later the front door opened and Dawn bounded into the shop as the door slammed shut behind her.
"Hey, everybody," she greeted the four people, well, two teenagers, one ex-demon and one vampire, sitting around the research table.
"Hi, Dawn," Anya gave a little wave.
"Hi, Dawnie," Willow's heart dropped to her stomach as she realized it was almost time to spill her guts. Figuratively, she shouted in her mind. Goddess, she had to be careful what she said on the Hellmouth.
"Dawnmeister!"
"Hey, Niblet," Spike's greeting was unusually subdued.
"What's wrong?" Dawn asked Spike as she dropped into the chair next to him.
"Willow has something to tell everyone," Anya stage-whispered as Buffy and Riley entered the shop.
"Ahh," Dawn nodded her head in understanding.
"I brought a camera," Anya gave an excited little smile and Dawn giggled as she imagined Anya taking pictures of Buffy's and Xander's reactions.
Giles emerged from the office and the shop rang with the sound of happy voices as they all greeted each other. Giles took a seat next to Dawn, Buffy took her jacket off and sat next to him as Riley took the last chair between her and Xander.
"So, Will," Buffy said, cutting right to the chase, "what did you want to tell us?"
Giles, the only one of the other three who knew about her and Spike's relationship who hadn't been aware that she was going to tell her friends about it, jerked his head up and looked at the two of them. Willow's already pale skin had turned a shade whiter and Spike's face was impassive. Giles figured that the blonde vampire would happily stake himself if it meant he didn't have to be there now.
"Well, um, yeah," Willow began inauspiciously, "I, um, have something I want, need, no want, to tell you. I, um," her fingers began to tap nervously on the tabletop. "Well, the truth is, I'm seeing someone, and I know...,"
Willow was interrupted by the jingle of the bell as the front door opened again.
***
Spike growled quietly and the other seven looked up in surprise to see Tara enter the shop. This was the first time Willow had seen her ex-girlfriend in the two weeks since she had moved out of the dorm and the first time the rest of them had seen her since the night she ran out of the shop during the fight over Willow's bruised back.
"H-hello," she greeted the group, which had lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.
"Hello, Tara," Giles greeted the girl.
"Tara, what are you doing here?" Willow asked politely, as she gripped Spike's hand under the table. Okay, this had not been part of the plan.
"I w-wanted to t-talk to you," Tara stuttered.
"Alright," Willow replied amiably, "what do you want?"
"P-privately, if you don't m-mind."
Spike growled under his breath. What was the soddin' witch doing here? If she thought she was getting Willow back, she had another think coming. Willow was his.
Willow could feel Spike's body vibrate with the growl as he tightened his grip on her leg. She rubbed the back of his hand soothingly.
"O-okay," Willow said with a slight frown. She squeezed Spike's hand reassuringly before she pulled away and stood up. She led Tara to the training room then turned to face her.
"What's up?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"I," Tara began nervously, "I w-wanted to see how you're d- doing."
"I'm doing well. Very well, actually. How are you?" she asked the girl she'd been in love with for almost a year.
"I-I've m-m-missed you," Tara said, her head tilted a little bit to the side.
"You have?" Willow asked. She probably shouldn't be surprised. Tara hadn't wanted to break up, Willow had broken it off because the other girl had gotten too possessive, jealous.
"Y-yes and I was w-w-wondering if we could s-start over," Tara said as she reached for Willow's hand.
"You want to start over? You mean like...dating or something?" Willow asked, gently pulling her hand away from Tara's.
"Y-yes. I know I was too p-possessive, but I want t-to try again. I w-won't try to k-keep you from your friends. P-please give me another chance," Tara pleaded.
"Tara, I'm sorry, but I...I'm seeing someone else," Willow tried to break the news to her ex-girlfriend gently.
"You're seeing someone? Who?" the blonde asked incredulously. Her demeanor instantly going from timid to outraged, her stutter gone.
"That doesn't matter. What does matter is...I'm in love with him," Willow spoke softly, trying to lessen the blow.
"You're in love? With a *man*?" Tara asked in surprise.
"Uh, yes," Willow said, thinking to herself, technically he's a man.
"How could you meet someone and fall in love in two weeks?" Tara exploded angrily.
"I don't want to hurt you, Tara, but...What are you doing?" Willow backed up in fear as Tara reached for her neck. This wasn't the Tara she remembered.
"I wondered why you were wearing a turtleneck. You always said you hated them. Did he mark you?" Tara reached for the turtleneck again.
"What?!" Willow asked in shock. How could Tara know about Spike marking her?
"You're hiding a hickey, aren't you?" Tara asked. She and Willow struggled briefly until Tara finally managed to pull the material away from her neck
"Tara, stop it!" Willow cried as she tried to pull out of the other girl's grasp.
"Oh, my goddess! You've been bitten," Tara dropped her hand and stepped back. "You've been bitten by a vampire...and you're still alive. You're dating a *vampire*?" Tara pointed an accusing finger at Willow. "Who could you...*Spike*?! You *bitch*!" she cried angrily and raised her hand. She slapped Willow across the face with a blow hard enough to send her head reeling back.
"You slut! You're sleeping with *Spike*?" she raised her hand to slap Willow again, but the blow never landed.
***
Spike, who had been using his vampiric hearing to eavesdrop on Willow's and Tara's conversation smirked when he heard Willow tell the blonde witch that she was seeing someone else. She certainly was. She was seeing the big bad, and quite a bit of him at that! And not just seeing, they were mated. They belonged together now. Forever.
"What?" Dawn leaned over and whispered conspiratorially when she saw Spike's smirk.
"Tell ya later," he said as he concentrated on the girls' conversation.
When Spike heard Willow struggling with Tara he rose from the table as casually as he could. He shook his head at Dawn's worried look then quickly made his way to the training room. He was just outside the doorway when Tara discovered the bite. He slipped silently through the beads. When Tara struck Willow he dashed forward and grabbed her wrist before she could land the second blow.
"Actually, we aren't doin' much sleepin' these days," he taunted the blonde witch with a smirk. "You ever hurt Willow again and I'll...,"
"You'll what?" Tara laughed mockingly. "You can't hurt me. You've got a nasty government issue chip in your head, remember?"
"Yeah?" Spike tightened his grip on Tara's wrist, willing to endure the pain in his skull to show her that he was serious. Nobody messed with his mate. To his surprise, the massive headache never materialized. He increased the pressure again just to be sure, and then he smiled evilly at her.
"Hurt yet?" he asked, wondering briefly why it had hurt when he'd punched her before. "`Cause it ain't hurtin' me a bit."
Tara looked a little bit worried now. "Let go of me!" she cried.
"Let go of her Spike," Buffy said from the doorway.
Spike and Willow both looked up in surprise to see the rest of the gang gathered in the doorway. Spike looked back at Tara and gave her wrist one last squeeze before shoving her away from him. He immediately turned his attention to Willow, brushing her hair off of her face and looking at the red mark Tara's hand had left behind.
"You okay, baby?" he asked softly as his fingers gently brushed her cheek.
"Yeah," she nodded with tears in her eyes. "It just stung."
"What happened here?" Giles demanded.
"He h-hurt m-m-me," Tara whined pitifully, as she held her wrist to her chest.
"Is your chip gone?" Buffy asked worriedly.
"You're still here, ain't ya? Then the chip's still here," Spike responded angrily as he pulled Willow to him protectively.
"What happened to Willow?" Xander asked.
"Bitch hit her," Spike answered with a nod toward Tara.
"Tara hit Willow?" Xander was stunned.
"How could you hurt her if the chip's still working?" Buffy was like a dog with a bone.
"My guess, she's really *not* fully human," Spike said. "Are ya?" Spike turned amber eyes on the blonde witch. "How'd you manage it last time?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Tara said, then changed the subject. "Do your friends know?" she sneered at Willow.
"Yes," Dawn said as she stepped up next to Spike. She put her arm around his waist and lay her head on his chest.
"Yep!" Anya agreed as she stood next to Willow and awkwardly put her arm around the redhead's shoulder.
"Know what?" Xander asked.
"Are you sure the chip's still working?"
"That Willow's sleeping with Spike," Tara dropped the bombshell.
The resulting silence was deafening. Then, "What?!" Xander yelped.
"Get out of here," Willow told Tara as she stepped forward, her voice low, hard. Anya, Spike and Dawn closed ranks behind her. "And don't ever come back." She couldn't remember ever being so angry in her life. Any tender feelings she still had for the blonde girl dissolved in a sea of a frustration that things had not gone as planned, confusion over Tara's attitude, and fear for Spike.
"Tara, perhaps you should leave now," Giles agreed.
"I know you're the one, Willow. You're mine and I *will* have you," Tara threatened before she disappeared through the beads.
"Giles, could you...," Willow waved her hand toward the doorway Tara had just walked through.
"Yes, of course," Giles said. He followed Tara to the front door and then locked it behind her. He took a deep breath before returning to the training room. Everyone was still staring at each other in silence.
"Willow, perhaps now would be a good time...," Giles said softly.
"Yeah," Willow replied nervously. "Well, as I was starting to tell you out there," she waved her hand toward the front of the shop, "I'm seeing someone...,"
"No," Buffy was shaking her head in denial, "it's not true. What she said, it's not true."
"It is," Willow told her. "We wanted to tell you all...,"
"I'll kill you!" Buffy pulled a stake out of her pocket and charged at Spike.
"Buffy, no!" Willow and Dawn yelled at the same time. Dawn stepped in front of Spike in a protective gesture. He grabbed her arm and pushed her behind him.
"Out o' the way, Niblet," Spike silently cursed the soddin' chip.
Riley reached out for Buffy, but he only managed to slow her down as she pulled out of his grasp.
"Buffy, please," Willow stepped between Buffy and Spike, who was just pushing Dawn behind him. She backed up until she was leaning against him, and wrapped her arms around Spike's waist behind her.
"Willow!" Spike cried out in fear as he grabbed her shoulders and tried to push her behind him. Willow tightened her grip and refused to budge.
"Get out of the way, Willow," Buffy stood with her hand raised for the killing blow.
"No." There was no way she was giving Buffy access to Spike. She'd promised him she wouldn't let Buffy stake him, and she wasn't going to.
"Willow, he'll hurt you!"
"If you kill him, *you'll* hurt me," Willow answered simply.
Buffy slowly lowered her arm. "No," she shook her head.
"Willow, why was Tara so upset?" Giles asked as he pulled Buffy back.
"She wanted to get back together," Willow said as she leaned back into Spike for comfort.
"And you told her you were seeing Spike?"
"Well, um, no. I told her I was seeing someone. We hadn't had a chance to tell everyone else, yet, so I didn't want to...," Willow replied. "Although, the cat's out of the bag now."
"Yeah, so much for controlling the situation," Spike said against her ear. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her stomach and kissed the side of her head, just above her ear.
"Don't do that," Xander pointed, wigged at the way Spike and Willow were touching each other.
"Get used to it, moron," Spike retorted.
"Don't call him a moron," Anya smacked Spike's shoulder. "Only I can call him a moron."
"Hey!"
"Then how did Tara know about Spike?" Giles tried to continue his questioning despite the chaos around him.
"Oh! Well, she, uh, guessed," Willow said. Spike felt so good at her back, so she relaxed into him.
"She guessed?" Giles repeated. "You told her that you were seeing someone and she leaps to the ridiculous, but, uh, unfortunately true, conclusion that it's Spike?"
"Well, not exactly."
"Then, what, exactly?"
"Spike?" Willow looked up at him questioningly and he nodded his head. "She, um, she saw the bite."
"Ah," Giles nodded.
"Spike bit you?" Buffy exploded. "I really am going to kill you," she raised her stake again.
"Buffy," Willow spoke her friend's name firmly and everyone froze. "You will *not* kill Spike. He has done nothing wrong...,"
"He bit you!"
"Several times, actually, and it is none of your business!" Willow had her resolve face on.
"Several...Willow, he could kill you!"
"He could, but he won't."
"How can you say that? He's a cold-blooded killer!"
"Technically, he has no blood, so can he be cold-blooded?" Anya asked.
"He loves me. And I love him."
"What?"
"What?!"
"Isn't love beautiful?" Anya asked.
"I know," Dawn sighed.
"Oh, dear lord."
"Willow, I hate to burst your bubble, but Spike's a vampire. He can't love," Riley finally broke his silence.
"Angel loved Buffy and Spike loved Dru," Willow argued.
"Angel had a soul!" Buffy insisted.
"And without it he was worse than Spike ever was! Sorry, baby," she looked up at Spike, "I still think you're bad."
Spike just rolled his eyes, then he leaned down and whispered into Willow's ear, "You know how much tension and anger and fear `re in this room right now?"
Confused, she shook her head `no'.
"A bleedin' lot," Spike continued, "an' it's really turnin' me on," he pressed himself against her ass. "Except for the stake," he clarified. "That's a definite turn off."
"Spike!" Willow couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of Spike getting turned on by almost getting killed. She slapped him with one of the hands wrapped around his waist. That was one of the things she loved about him. Despite the seriousness of the situation (Buffy still had that stake in her hand, after all) he could make her laugh.
"You let Spike feed from you?" Xander was finally able to make his mouth work to form words and link them in a sentence.
"Not exactly," Willow hedged. "I mean, he bit me, but it wasn't like I was dinner!"
"What's the diff...," Buffy started to say.
"Are you people dense or what? You've studied vampires for years and you can't figure out what Willow's trying to say without saying it? He bit her during sex," Anya told them.
"Gee, thanks, An," Willow said with a slight grimace.
"You're welcome. Any time," Anya nodded happily.
"Ew!" Buffy exclaimed.
"Don't knock it `til you've tried it, Slayer," Spike smirked at her.
"But not with Spike," Anya said. "He's Willow's. Just like Xander's mine."
"Keep going," Giles encouraged.
"There's more?" Xander asked.
"Yes," Willow admitted. "I also bit Spike and we, um, performed a claiming ritual."
"What?" Buffy cried. "Why would you *do* that?"
"Because she's *mine*!" Spike tightened his arms around Willow.
"Possessive much?" Dawn muttered.
"Wait a minute," Xander pointed at his girlfriend in sudden understanding. "You knew about this?"
"Yes," Anya readily admitted. "Well, not about the claiming thing, because someone wasn't sharing," she gave Willow a look, "but about the," she made a circle with the fingers of one hand and poked the index finger of her other hand in and out of it, "yes, I knew."
"Ew!" Dawn said with a giggle. "That's gross, Anya."
Anya winked at her.
"Buffy, put the stake away," Giles sighed deeply.
"What? Why?"
"Because you're not going to kill Spike."
"Still not getting the why," she replied, stake still held firmly in her grip.
"Because Spike and Willow are...mated. The purpose of the claiming ritual was to chose each other as their mate."
"Okay, still not getting it."
"They're mated. For life."
"He could still kill her."
"No, he couldn't. The consequences of a vampire mating with a human is that it makes them vulnerable. If anything happens to Willow, Spike could die."
"I don't get it," Buffy whined.
Spike shook his head, "I can't believe I couldn't beat you!"
"What if something happens to Spike?" Xander asked, worried for his friend.
"Then Willow could also be hurt, or killed, but so long as Spike is alive, Willow will live. And she will not age or become ill."
"Let me see if I've got this," Xander held up his hand. "This claiming thing, it ties their lives together?" Giles nodded.
"So, basically, they could live forever, because of Spike, or die tomorrow, because of Willow."
"Correct, as far as it goes," Giles agreed.
"Why would he do that?" Xander asked the room at large. "It sounds like Spike gets the raw end of the deal."
"Gee, thanks, Xander," Willow said sarcastically.
"Wrong, Harris," Spike said, "I got the best end of the deal. I got Willow."
Willow turned around in his arms and looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. This time they were tears of happiness.
"Love you, Spike," she stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss across his lips.
"Love you, too, Red," he tightened his arms around her and kissed her back.
"Aw, that's so sweet!" Anya said. Beside her Dawn sighed deeply.
"Ew, gross," Buffy muttered.