The Seventh Slayer

By Kantayra

Chapter Thirty

Buffy and Spike had decided to have the ritual done in a small, private ceremony. So, naturally, everyone showed up. The fact that the pair would be leaving for many months’ leave turned it into a rather large going-away party.

Even Alex had been allowed to leave his room for the vent, but only under the strict supervision of Melissa and Isabelle. No one had any doubt that, should Alex try to do anything stupid, the two women would properly beat some sense into him. Alex was still sulking after Fletcher had stated this opinion straight to his face.

The ritual itself was brief, a quick chant followed by a small stream of magical energy that was exchanged between the pair. They were kissing through the whole thing. Willow had had to ask several times before she got an affirmative that they realized that it had been done.

Satisfied that their forever was now quite literal, they allowed themselves to separate for the first time Ajaya had seen since they got back from Sunnydale. It was somewhat refreshing to have a conversation with Buffy without her being otherwise distracted.

“I hear you’re leaving soon, too,” Buffy commented.

Ajaya nodded. “School starts up again next Monday, and I want to get all my syllabi early.”

Buffy couldn’t help but laugh. “You could’ve given Will a run for her money if the two of you had gone to school together,” she declared.

Ajaya gave her an evil grin. “I could’ve mopped the floor with her,” she said confidently.

“Them’s fightin’ words,” Buffy retorted with a smile.

Ajaya laughed at that. “Tell me about the Tokyo group,” she requested. “What are they like?”

“Pretty much the same as us...only not half as attractive,” Buffy quipped. “You tell Cordy I said that.”

“Why?” Ajaya asked warily. “Will she kill me?”

“No, she’ll kill me,” Buffy replied. Her gaze scanned across the crowded drawing room and softened when it alighted on her mate. He was shamelessly flirting with Isabelle. Or, more accurately, Isabelle was shamelessly flirting with him and Nicky at the same time. Monica looked a bit uncomfortable with the fact, but Buffy was merely amused.

“No more worries about dying, huh?” Ajaya followed Buffy’s gaze.

“No,” Buffy said softly, “I’ll have Spike to drive me crazy everywhere I go...”

Ajaya chuckled at that.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Buffy added. A small frown creased her brow when she saw that Monica wasn’t the only one feeling a tad jealous of Isabelle’s attentions. Alex was trying his best to look in any direction but hers and was doing a terrible job of it.

Ajaya noticed this as well. “I don’t believe it,” she shook her head. “How can he possibly be interested in her after what he tried to do?”

“Sometimes turning against those closest to you is a sign,” Buffy commented. “You can feel yourself changing, and it frightens you, so you lash out. Or so I’m told anyway.” Her eyes flicked over to Spike so briefly that Ajaya wasn’t even quite sure she’d actually seen it.

“He looks lonely,” the young Slayer finally decided.

“He is,” Buffy agreed. “You don’t mind if I...?”

“Go right ahead,” Ajaya agreed, watching Buffy leave before she headed over to the Witches...

“You actually know how to waltz?” Isabelle said incredulously, eyeing the black leather and bleach job skeptically.

“Practically knew before I could walk,” Spike countered. “Victorian England. Born an’ raised.”

“Is he kidding?” Isabelle demanded of Nicolas.

“If he is, he’s been doing it ever since I was turned,” the younger vampire retorted.

“So you’re, like, four hundred then?” Isabelle looked Spike up and down.

He bit back a sigh of exasperation. “Kids these days,” he muttered under his breath, “no sense ‘f history whatsoever...”

“See?” Nicolas whispered into Isabelle’s ear, “there are his stodgy, old man characteristics coming through...”

Monica surreptitiously stepped on his foot when she decided he was just a bit too interested in the low cut of the Slayer’s dress. He gave her a surprised look.

Isabelle didn’t even notice the exchange. “Not bad for an old man,” she decided. “All right,” she said to Spike, “but no funny stuff, Mister. I’m watching you.”

He gave her that seductive smirk that made her toes curl. “A gentleman always behaves himself,” he said, offering her his hand.

“And you’re a gentleman?” Isabelle raised one eyebrow.

“Not anymore,” he countered with a wide grin, pulling her into his arms.

Isabelle let out a delighted little squeal and followed his lead.

“What was that about?” Nicolas demanded of Monica once the other pair had left them alone.

“You were practically drooling on her cleavage,” Monica accused, arms folded over her chest to enhance that particular aspect of her own body.

“I was not!” Nicolas insisted.

Monica sighed. “You’ve got a lot to learn about women, don’t you?”

He gave her a curious look.

“You’re not supposed to deny it,” she explained to him calmly. “You’re supposed to tell me that I’m ten times as beautiful as she is and then tell me how much you love me.”

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, “this whole serious relationship thing? Still kinda new.”

She slipped her arms around his waist and gave him a small smile. “Just tell me you love me,” she requested softly.

“I love you more than I’ve loved anything in my unlife,” Nicolas informed her. “You’ve always been the only one for me...”

Their lips met and would’ve stayed locked for quite some time if Xeris hadn’t tapped Monica on the shoulder.

“I have an urgent message from Fletcher,” he informed the pair.

“What is it?” Monica demanded, brow furrowed.

“He says that you are to acquire accommodations immediately,” Xeris informed them.

They blinked for a second before rolling their eyes. “You mean ‘get a room’?” Nicolas clarified.

Xeris nodded gravely, and Monica couldn’t help but giggle. Xeris cocked his head at her curiously, processing their reactions.

“A joke,” Nicolas clarified.

“Ah,” Xeris said in realization. “You will help me retaliate then?”

Monica and Nicolas gave him wicked grins, and the three closed in for a huddle...

“You keep looking at my mate’s back like that,” Buffy commented dryly, “and you’ll set it on fire.”

Alex turned to give her a curious look.

“He’s got a rather lovely back,” she added. “Burn marks would interfere with my enjoyment of it.”

Even Alex had to crack an amused smile at that one. “I’m just going for temporary pain,” he assured her, “not full spontaneous combustion.”

Buffy laughed and waved Melissa off so that she could talk to him alone. “There’s no need to be jealous,” she informed him, watching the dancing pair across the room. “There’s nothing between them.”

Alex snorted. “Maybe on your lover’s end,” he retorted before he thought about it. “Not that I’m jealous!” he hastily amended. “Or even care, or...” he trailed off when he saw the knowing smile on the vampiress’ face. “Dammit,” he muttered under his breath.

“She’s a good woman,” Buffy commented, watching Isabelle laugh at a joke Spike had just told. “No one’s blaming you...”

“Everyone’s blaming me,” Alex retorted. “I did nearly get her killed, after all.”

“She doesn’t seem to blame you,” Buffy countered, “and, in the end, that’s what really matters. Don’t turn you back just because you made a mistake,” she bit her lip softly and watched her mate laugh, “you’ll just end up cold and alone. Love can save you from that, if you’re brave enough to let it...” Across the room, Spike’s eyes met hers, and they shared a passionate look.

Alex rolled his eyes. He’d been dealing with this since childhood. Buffy always did the lectures about the mistakes that Spike made, and vice versa. And they always got annoyingly sentimental when they did it. “Yes, Aunt Buffy,” he replied in mock-obedience.

She flashed him an annoyed glare. “I’ll have you know that Spike and I have done hundreds of stupid things in our time. And we’re willing to offer annoying advice of all of it,” she teased.

Alex chuckled at that, but the smile never reached his eyes. And his eyes were still trained on Isabelle.

“Go for it,” Buffy encouraged him.

He instantly dropped his eyes. “Nina’s been in the ground for less than two months,” he pointed out.

Buffy nodded slowly. “Yeah,” she agreed, “it doesn’t feel right, does it? You feel like what you had was so great, so how dare something better come along?” She let out a deep sight. “It does, though, and if you don’t go for it...” she trailed off sadly. “Don’t wait until it’s too late,” she advised him.

“I know,” he sighed, “but...another Slayer? What am I getting myself into?”

“Never another vampire,” she whispered to herself.

“What?”

“That’s what I told myself,” she informed him, “never another vampire. And I stuck to that so stubbornly for so long, even after I saw that he was my soul mate...” She looked at Spike with such naked longing that Alex almost felt like a voyeur. “Whatever you do,” she begged him, “don’t let the right one slip away. I almost did, and I almost destroyed us both in the process.”

Alex really couldn’t argue with that.

Ajaya reached the Witches at exactly the same time Dawn did.

The old Key’s eyes darted around suspiciously before she leaned in close for a conspiratorial whisper. “I need your help rigging Fletcher’s office,” she informed them.

Identical evil grins instantly sprung onto Willow and Aida’s faces. “What’s up?” Willow asked.

“Dear old Fletchy tried to pull a joke on Nicky and Monica,” Dawn explained gravely. “Fortunately, I overheard their plans for revenge and helped them, er...innovate some...”

“Fletcher telling jokes?!” Aida exclaimed in mock-horror. “This abomination must be stopped at once! What do we do?”

“Oh Goddess, Moms!” Lily exclaimed, her face buried in her hands. “How old are you? Ten?!”

“Physically or emotionally?” Willow asked with an amused little grin.

Lily groaned and hid deeper in her hands. Ajaya gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“You coming?” Dawn asked as the Witches trailed out.

Ajaya looked at Lily’s mortification. “I think we’ll pass on this one,” she said with a small smile. “But good luck!”

“Are they gone yet?” Lily finally ventured to peek through the fingers that covered her eyes.

Ajaya laughed. “Yeah, they’re off to do more mischief...”

Lily grimaced. “They’re my Moms, and I love them,” she clarified, “but do they have to be so embarrassing all the time?”

“By universal law,” Ajaya nodded. “You think they’re bad? You should see my parents. At least your parents aren’t constantly trying to set you up with the grocer’s pimply son...”

“Thank the Goddess for that,” Lily agreed with a small smile. She watched Monica and Nicolas sneak out of the crowd as well and tried not to cringe at what her mothers might be up to. “Although...” she added wistfully, turning her attention to where Spike and Isabelle had just joined Buffy and Alex.

“ ‘Although’?” Ajaya prompted.

Lily shrugged. “It might be nice to not be so hopelessly single once in a while,” she commented. “I don’t even have Nicky to commiserate with me anymore...”

“You and Nicky?” Ajaya’s eyes widened.

“Oh no,” Lily quickly reassured her. “He just shared my pain at being single...until Monica came along, that is.”

“Well,” Ajaya said with a small smile, “you could always bitch to Xeris...”

Lily laughed. “Yeah, he’d probably find it a fascinating analysis in human behavior,” she agreed.

“He hasn’t quite figured this dimension out yet, has he?” Ajaya inquired.

“He’s getting better,” Lily commented, “you should’ve seen him when we got the Christmas tree last year...”

Isabelle did a little pirouette out of Spike’s arms and landed on the couch beside Alex.

Buffy instantly took her place, nuzzling her mate’s throat affectionately. “Missed you,” she whispered into her ear, and he gave her that gorgeous dimpled smile of his.

However, they were promptly interrupted by a very eager Fletcher. “Word just came in from Korea,” he informed them. “Apocalypse averted.”

Spike raised a scarred eyebrow. “Yeah,” he said sarcastically, “I kinda figured that what with the world not endin’ an’ all...”

Fletcher cast him an annoyed glare and turned to the others. “It’s quite a fascinating story, actually. One of the—”

“Excuse me,” Xeris tapped him on the shoulder.

“What?” he turned to the Velik Demon.

“That important message you had me deliver?” Xeris said with all seriousness. “Monica replied that they found suitable accommodations...in your office.”

“What?!” Fletcher’s face paled, and before anyone even had a chance to start laughing, he’d dashed out the door.

Seconds later, there was a flash of bright green light, and Dawn reappeared with the rest of her fellow conspirators.

“Don’t worry,” Willow reassured everyone with a wide grin, “we’ve got cameras to record the look on Fletcher’s face when he sees what we did...”

* * *

“Victory!” Ajaya exclaimed, her hands raised in the air in triumph.

Isabelle groaned and buried her head under her pillow.

“Wake up!” Ajaya plopped onto the mattress beside her and jabbed her in the side.

Isabelle made a strange sound halfway between a gurgle and a very obscene word.

Ajaya poked her again. “My grades just came in,” she explained patiently. “I need someone to gloat to.” She stuck the data pad right in Isabelle’s face.

Isabelle blinked blearily a few times before she could properly read the display. “All ‘A’s,” she grumbled. “Big surprise. Either that, or your professors were screaming ‘Aaaaa!’ in terror at how cheerful you are in the morning. Now, let me sleep.” She pulled the blanket up over her head.

Ajaya pulled it back down. “You told me to wake you up,” she reminder her.

“That doesn’t sound like something I’d say,” Isabelle countered.

“Buffy and Spike are leaving in an hour,” Ajaya explained.

Isabelle cracked one eye open. “There’s no way vampires would leave at such an ungodly hour,” she retorted.

Ajaya laughed. “It’s nine,” she informed the other Slayer.

“See?” Isabelle insisted. “Ungodly.”

“Fine,” Ajaya said with an evil smile, “I’ll just have to say goodbye to Spike’s gorgeous ass all on my own...”

“Spike’s ass is where?” Isabelle demanded, instantly alert.

“Downstairs,” Ajaya laughed. “Now, get dressed...”

Getting dressed had consisted of Isabelle frantically trying on outfit after outfit until Ajaya finally grabbed her arm and dragged her downstairs. They met with the small group waiting in the entrance hallway, Isabelle still primping her hair and looking around for Spike.

The pair in question soon arrived with the last of their luggage, which Simon took away while everyone said their goodbyes.

“See you in Tokyo some time, Pretty Petal,” Spike assured Ajaya, placing a sensual kiss on the back of her hand.

Ajaya couldn’t help it; she blushed a deep red. And probably stuttered something nonsensical as well.

Buffy turned from where she was saying goodbye to Isabelle to give Ajaya a quick hug. “Take care of yourself,” she said fondly.

“I fully plan to,” Ajaya agreed.

Isabelle had practically melted the instant Spike had taken her into his arms, resting her head against his shoulder and breathing in deeply. He held her for a minute longer than was absolutely necessary, and she found – to her horror – that she’d been transformed into a bashful schoolgirl by the time he pulled back.

“Stunned speechless, ‘ey Lioness?” he teased.

That snapped her back to herself. She gave him the best devil-may-care grin she had, and before he even had time to wonder what she was grinning about, she had planted her lips firmly on his, one hand would through his hair and the other coping a quick feel of that scrumptious ass of his.

Buffy leaned in to check that lips were closed and no tongues were involved; she wasn’t a saint, after all. Satisfied, she stepped back.

“Gotcha,” Isabelle said with a proud grin when she pulled back to reveal that Spike’s face had turned beet-red.

In the background, Dawn and Willow snickered.

“You should have plenty of time in the next few months to mold his lips back to the shape of yours,” Isabelle teased Buffy.

Buffy gave her a small smile...and then caught Spike by the waist, bending him back over her arm in a low dip as her mouth plundered his. His hands caught her shoulders, counteracting the force of her kiss...

A minute passed.

Willow coughed surreptitiously.

A second minute.

Dawn checked her watch.

A third.

“The two of you are gonna miss your flight, if you don’t hurry!” Simon shouted from the car.

Buffy finally let Spike up at that, satisfied at how his knees had turned to jelly and he was gasping desperately for breath he didn’t need. He slumped against her shakily, and she steadied him with an arm about the waist.

“All re-molded,” she informed Isabelle with a triumphant smile. “I win.”

“Dunno,” Spike commented, still gasping for air. “Could I ‘ave another A-B comparison jus’ to make sure...?”

Buffy whapped him lightly in the arm. “We’re going to be late,” she reminded him.

“Right,” he nodded, and the pair said their goodbyes to Dawn and Willow.

The four continued to wave to the vampire pair even after Simon had shut the car door, and the tinted windows obscured their views.

“Thanks so much for winding them up,” Simon teased Isabelle. “Now I’ll have to listen to them for the entire ride...” With that, he hopped into the driver’s seat and rode off.

Dawn and Willow went back inside, but Isabelle stayed to watch the car go around the bend, and Ajaya waited with her. When Isabelle finally turned around, she found a wide grin on her friend’s face.

It mirrored her own. “Mmm, Spike lips,” she said simply. “Lips of Spike...”

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