Wedding Day

By Velvet Crypt

"And you should see Spike's date. What a skanky ho." Dawn said in disgust.

"You are the next to be dealt with, that's for sure. But I don't think I'll stake you just yet."

He grinned cockily. "So, luv, what's with the boyfriend bit? I thought we were avoiding that word like the plague; along with love, sex, need, future, chip,…" he continued to add to his list, ticking off the words one by one on his fingers.

He found his mouth covered with a tiny but strong hand. "Shut up, Spike." She smiled softly. "I have some different words for you. Ten of them in fact." Kneeling in front of him, she took her hand away from his mouth and batted his hands out of her way.

"I'm…" she held up one finger.
"Sorry…" two fingers.
"Can…" three.
"We…" four.
"Please…" five.
"Try…" six.
"Again…"seven.
"I…" eight.
"Love…"nine.
"You…"ten.

He knew looked shellshocked. He felt shellshocked. He could have sworn his heart began beating again for a moment. ~This is a dream. Another bloody dream. Wake up, mate. Wake up…~ He didn't wake up. So very slowly, he reached for her still outstreatched fingers and grazed them with his own. ~I;m shaking. Oh, yeah…great place to become a ig poofter…the middle of a wedding ceremony with half the poputlation of hell in attendance.~ As soon as their finders touched, Buffy entwined them and stood, pulling him up with her.

"Nothing to say, Big Bad?" she smirked at him. "This has got to be a first."

"A-are, " He actually had to clear his throat. "Are you yanking my chain, Slayer. Cause if you are, it's not funny. Not funny at all." His eyes were filled with longing and hope…and fear. "Love me or don't love me, Buffy, but don't step on my heart anymore."

"I' sorry I was…am…a complete ass, Spike." She spoke only to him, but her voice was strong and sure, reahing to the corners of the room. Willow felt a dmall hand sneak into hers and looked down to see Tara's hand twined with hers. With a squeeze and a silent thank you to the Goddess, she turned back to watch.

"You were right. I was afraid. Of me, of what everyone else thought, of being hurt. But I was never afraid of you. Never!" She gripped his hands fiercely. "I'm never afraid of you. Of being who I am with you. You let me be who I am even when she's a bitch, because you love her. You love the bitch, the scared girl, the Slayer, Buffy. All of us. And we love you. The Big Bad, the demon, the big brother, the friend…William." She took a deep breath and poured all of her love into her eyes.

"Spike, William…love. Please forgive me for doubting your love for me. Please let me make it up to you. Let me love you."

As he stood gazing down at her, she watched the tears fill his eyes. Slowly he nodded. "Y-yes…please," his voice broke and he gulped back a sob. With a growl to cover the whimper, he jerked her body to him and crushed her lips to his. Drowning in her taste, her smell, her love, he became aware of a sound of thunder penetrating his fogged mind. Pulling away from his love for a moment, he was astonished to view a sea of faces, human and demon alike, clapping, stomping their feet and whistling.

As he watched in confusion, Xander stepped up to him, trying to wipe his eyes inconspiculously. "Well, if you two are done with the show, can I get married now?" He joked.

"Sure, mate…go on and get hitched with that lovely demon lass of yours," Spike knew he was grinning stupidly , but he couldn't help himself. Then he was subject to the second life altering event of the day.

"Umm, Spike," Xander flushed and looked at his shoes for a moment. "Anya has Buffy, Tara, and Dawn over there on her side. Wills is the only one I have standing with me. You, umm…you want to come up and keep her company?" As the silence stretched on, Xnader looked up to see Spike's expression.

The vampire's jaw clenched as he swallowed. "Yeah, sure, mate," he forced a grin though his voice was barely above a whisper. "After all, you need someone to counter all the radioactive green you got goin on up there." Xander tossed caution to the winds, after all, this was his wedding day…he could blame it on nerves later. With a step forward, he enveloped the smaller man in a brief hug, feeling the vampires arms tremble slightly as they crept around him.

"Come on, people! We have a marriage to perform."

~Fin~