And It Rained...
by Annie

Timeline/Summery: Avoid if you're unspoiled for *anything* to do with season seven!
If you're watching Season 7 on Sky OR UPN, then you can read this. No plotlines for any episodes are given away or spoiled, only new characters and the evil for the season.
This is based at the end of the season (no spoilers! i'm unspoiled!) after (though god knows how) they defeat the First. Obviously, I don't know if they will, yadda yadda, but I wanted to set it after if they do.
Short, all Buffy/Spike. Posted this in the Spuffy Sky thread at WatchersCouncil.com (but a shorter version) when we were discussing our ideal endings for Spuffy and Buffy telling Spike she loves him. And bam! Fic.

Distribution: Sure! Just let me know please! Email me at blueroses147@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon owns all the characters, and ME, Fox etc etc.

***

It was over. They had fought the First and they won. As they always do. They were an army and it was true. Some people can make a change. They were the only thing stronger than evil, and evil had been crushed under their feet. They'd won, but they were barely alive. So many fell, only a few survived. There was nothing left for Spike anymore. No battle to fight. No reason for him to stay. No one wanting him to stay. So he wasn't going to. He was leaving, that very night..

~

Buffy lay on her bed, trying to make sense of what had happened the past few days. The only thing she could think was..the First Slayer was wrong. She did have friends, she walked in the world and she didn’t sleep on a bed of bones. She smiled, wincing at the pain, as she remembered her friends' courage that night. Some were so courageous that…she could barely think the thoughts. They hadn’t all survived. Some had been killed. Those who were still standing were only alive because of one person. If it wasn’t for…Buffy shut her eyes, not wanting to face the horrors of the night just yet. She knew she’d have to but...not yet. She thought of her friends…before that fatal battle had begun. Willow...Giles…Xander...Anya…Dawn...the potentials, even Andrew. And Spike. She frowned. She hadn't seen him since the hellmouth had been sealed. Buffy sat up. Why hadn't she seen him? Where was he? He had survived...hadn't he? Buffy shook off the thought...she'd seen him…right? Okay so she had been a little caught up with everything...making sure Dawn was safe, trying to stand up straight without keeling over in pain…but she was sure he’d survived…why wouldn’t he? But what if he hadn’t…?
She began to panic...surely he would've come back with them to the house after the battle was over? But she hadn't noticed him at all...
The Slayer grabbed her coat and ran down the stairs, through the empty house...she had to make sure he was alright…

~

Spike wasn't alright. He had barely made it out of that last fight, and wasn’t sure he was glad he had. Now it was over. All of the scoobies and the mini-slayers had run along home to tend to their wounds but he had split as soon as they had stepped over the threshold. As he gathered up his few remaining possessions onto the back of his motorcycle, parked behind the Bronze, he thought about what he was leaving behind. Buffy... He frowned, and shook his head. Bugger it… No way was he backing out of this now. They didn't need him anymore. They didn't want him. So why should he stay? He didn't want to cause Buffy any more pain than he already had...she would be better off without him. They weren't going to miss him...she wasn't going to miss him…

~

Buffy scanned the graveyard. No Spike. She began to get worried.
"Where the hell is he...?" she muttered under her breath.
She set off in another direction, only faster this time.

Then it began to rain.

~

As Spike felt the raindrops on his head, he paused. I can’t leave without saying goodbye…
This was his way of telling himself he wasn't thinking of leaving a note because maybe...maybe Buffy might care. Because she doesn't. he told himself. I’m just leaving a message because it will put my mind at rest. Purely selfish reasons. Doesn’t mean a bloody thing. He scribbled a quick note on a scrap of paper, and set off into the night, planning to drop it off at the Summers residence.

The rain got harder.

~

Buffy sighed as she made her way home. She'd been searching for nearly an hour now and nothing. She was close to tears. What if she was wrong? What if he hadn't made it through the battle?
She slowly opened her front door, and then slammed it shut, frustrated. Only then did she notice the small piece of paper at her feet, resting on the doormat.

By the time you read this, I'll be gone.
You don’t need me anymore. If you ever do, Clem can contact me.
I love you. Be safe. Take care of Dawn.
Yours,
William

Buffy’s eyes widened and her breathing quickened. This can’t…not now. He can’t be…
Immediately she flung the door open and ran out of the house, heading to the main road leading out of Sunnydale.
It was raining heavily now, but she didn’t care.
She had to stop him.

~

Spike slowed his motorbike down as he reached the edge of Sunnydale. The familiar ‘Welcome to Sunnydale!’ sign was not far off. God…he was going to miss this place. It was like home to him…Bloody hell, don’t get soft on me now… he told himself.
His shirt clung to him as the rain completely soaked him…this wasn’t going to be easy.

~

Buffy ran faster. She could barely feel her feet touch the ground beneath her and she used all of her remaining strength left from the battle to try and catch up with him. Only, part of her didn’t even know why she cared. She should be glad he was finally out of her life – but she wasn’t. Buffy had no idea what was making her do this, why she even gave a damn, but she knew she couldn’t let him go. That was the only thing clear to her. She didn’t want him to leave.
By now she was soaked through and could barely see where she was going, tears making her vision cloudy. She wasn’t going to be too late. Not this time.

Thunder struck.

~

Spike stood in the middle of the empty road, next to his motorcycle, etching the view of Sunnyhell into his mind. No matter how long he survived, this would be the one place he could never forget. It meant the world to him. But he wasn’t part of this world. Not anymore. This is the right thing to do. he reminded himself, clenching his jaw and forcing himself to get back on the bike.
He paused. He squinted. There was someone…running…What the…

~

Then she saw him. Okay, so she couldn’t exactly see him, but somehow, she knew that was him. Buffy ran even faster against the wind and the rain as she saw the figure walk back towards the motorbike. And then stop. She smiled to herself. He had seen her.

~

Spike shut his eyes. Now he was seeing things. Wishing for things that weren’t going to happen. He really had to get out of there, before he changed his mind. He turned around, glancing at Sunnydale for the last time. This was it. He moved towards his bike, wet and dripping. The rain seemed to be getting worse.

~

Buffy panicked. He was going. He had seen her but he was going. No…
“Spike!” she yelled as loud as she could through the rain. “Spike!”

~

He spun around, hearing someone calling his name. Spike shut his eyes tight, and opened them again. The running figure was still there. Only closer. And it wasn’t just a figure. It was a girl. “Buffy…” he whispered.

~

“Spike!” Buffy yelled again. He was here…he wasn’t gone. He was standing out here, in the middle of nowhere, completely drenched. He wasn’t moving, just staring at her. She saw him frown, not believing it was her. She grinned with relief. He’s here…he’s here…he didn’t leave… And she stopped. She stood about three meters from him, breathing heavily. He didn’t move towards her. He didn’t dare. But she did. She stumbled over to him, stopping right in front of him.

“Spike…”she whispered. He locked eyes with her. “Don’t go…”
Spike swallowed, moving his gaze from her eyes. He had promised himself. He was going. He wasn’t going to hurt her any more. “I have to…”
He turned around and walked towards the motorbike.
“Why?” Buffy said, slightly louder, so close to crying again.
Spike didn’t turn around. “Because you don’t need me any more. I don’t want to stay and…” he stopped walking and inhaled deeply. “I don’t want to cause you any more pain.”
Buffy stepped towards him. All this time she had been so unsure. But finally, finally she knew. “You won’t…you never did...” She paused for breath. “I want you to stay. I need you here…with me.”
Spike paused.
Buffy walked slowly up to him, hair and clothes dripping from the rainstorm. “Until I saw your note on my doormat, saying you weren’t going to be part of my life anymore, I haven’t been sure of a lot of things. I’ve tried so hard to ignore everything that’s right in front of me, because I was scared.” She brushed a stand of hair from her face and moved even closer towards him. “Scared of losing someone I cared about, again. But that made me realize…I can’t hold onto someone if I don’t try...and some people just aren’t worth gambling.” Buffy sighed. “It shouldn’t have taken this…”She shut her eyes and took a breath, composing herself. “It shouldn’t have taken this to make me realize…” She opened them again. “...just how much…” then, barely audible, she whispered, “…I love you.” As she let out a sigh of relief at finally admitting it to herself and to him, tears flowed freely down her face, joining the rain in soaking her to the bone.

Spike didn’t move. He frowned and breathed deeply. Was this real?
He slowly turned to face her. “What?” he murmered.
Buffy felt a smile spread across her face and swallowed, tears streaming down her face. “I love you, Spike. I love you.”
Spike stared at her in disbelief, soaked but not caring.
Crying even harder, Buffy managed to laugh. “Need me to say it again? Cause really, I wouldn’t be surprised after all this time…”
Spike cut her off with a deep kiss…
“I just…I can’t…is this really happening?” he whispered. “Am I dreaming?”
“I hope not,” she replied, and kissed him again.
“I never thought…” Spike began.
“Sshh…neither did I…”Buffy murmered.
“I love you,” mumbled Spike, still unsure of what had just happened.
“I love you too,” Buffy laughed at his confusion and they kissed yet again.

Their foreheads resting against each other, they laughed and cried in relief and love as they heavens rained down around them…they were soaked but it didn’t matter.

Buffy kissed him. She hadn’t let him go. He hadn’t left. He was the only one who hadn’t left. It was like a huge weight being lifted from her shoulders. She had admitted her feelings to herself and to him…and she had never been so happy.
Spike was amazed at what had happened, so full of love for the petite blonde resting in his arms, dripping wet, half crying, half laughing. It was almost like a dream, and he was worrying that he might wake up soon. But it didn’t matter.

Nothing mattered.
All that mattered was each other.