Buffy was humming a joyful song throughout her way to school. Never knew Monday could be her favourite day now. She smiled dreamily, a scrape of scarlet colored her ivory cheek as she replayed her encounter with Spike last night. She really needed to thank Willow for making her to talk to him and because of her, she had stated that Monday was definitely her favourite day of the week.

She twisted and turned her padlock, applying her code by heart. She smiled again when she open the locker door and was greeted by four pictures on the inside of it. She traced each of them as she reminisced the time they were taken.

From left, there was a picture of her and Spike taken a year ago, she was sitting on his lap, her arms clung to his neck as the side of her head leaned against his. Spike's arms snaked around her waist protectively, a happy smile plastered on both faces.

Next, it was a picture of Spike's 10th birthday party taken by Xander. Spike was in the middle, scrunching his face, and eyes closed tightly in front of a birthday cake with lit candles on while both Willow and Buffy kissed each cheek of his real hard, eyes closed as well. The room was slightly dark, illuminated only by the candles.

The next one was a picture of Spike and Buffy again. She was wrapping her arms around his shoulders, standing behind the bench where he was seated. Spike was in the middle of strumming his guitar, his head lowering a little as he looked up under his eyelashes and smirked at the camera. Buffy's eyes were gleaming, her face was so radiant reflecting her having a tremendous time with her friends. It was taken in their favourite beach, their regular spot to hang out.

Last, there was a picture of the four of them, Spike, Buffy, Xander and Willow, taken when they were around 12 years old. Their heads rested next to one another forming a small circle, each girl between boys with their hands linking together as if making a promise to be friends forever.

Buffy smiled almost tearfully at the portraits. Each of them brought an amazing memory to her and she would cherish them until she got wrinkly and lost all of her teeth. She giggled at the thought of the four of them being old and still hanging out together. Yep, life couldn't be better than this.

Willow was right again. She couldn't deny her feelings anymore. She loved him and she knew it wasn't only a sisterly love or love between friends. She was in love with him and not because after they had a wonderful sex last night – which was a plus by the way – but she could see the same affection in his eyes when he stared down at her after their coupling. It was pure passion and love and adoration. The sparks in his clear sapphire orbs melt her away and she was sure she could die in them.

Her train of thought was interrupted, rudely, by two large hands grabbing her waist and swinging her around, then pushing her hard against the set of lockers. Her eyes widened for a second but soon fluttered closed as soft lips attacked her owns and demanded an entrance to her tongue. She moaned when she felt a solid body pressed against her, almost crushing her slender one. Her mind shut down, her thought concentrated only to the nurture of these lips and tongue against hers. She clung her arms around the intruder’s neck, urging to deepen the kiss.

Somehow the intruder felt the same need as her, as he pressed his body further against hers, preventing any small space between them and virtually moulding their forms into one. He eventually broke away to allow both of them to catch some breath, and finally registered the loud noises surrounding them. Male students especially jocks were whistling and shouting at their blunt action while some of the girls glared and shook their heads at it.

The petite girl in front of him had open her eyes and looked around them, blushing furiously at the feedbacks for their little stunt. She then looked back at him under her hazy eyes, smiled widely as she tried to breathe normally. "Morning to you, too." She murmured her greet under her breath.

Spike only chuckled. He smiled wickedly as he closed their distance once more. "Oh, that's not a morning greeting, luv. That's a payback for last night after you left me undone, you naughty girl."

Buffy giggled like a 12 year old school girl, then feigned innocence while she responded, "Well, don't I get a morning greeting then? I believe I deserved it after you almost crushed my fragile form against these certainly uncomfortable lockers."

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby. I thought you liked rough and tumble." He apologized in a mocking tone, closing in even more to claim her mouth.

A sequence of impatient foot taps was echoed throughout the space as the school corridor started to get empty and quieten. Spike and Buffy groaned lowly and rolled their eyes before turning their heads to the small bald man with crossing arms over his chest. "May I remind you Mr. Giles and Miss. Summers, that this is an educational place, NOT recreational place as you wish." Principal Snyder gave a sinister smile to both students. The blond couple smiled tightly at the NAZI and nodded their response.

"Yes, sir." They said in unison before scurried away from the evil principal as fast as they could.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Willow and Xander smiled warmly at the approaching couple. Their eyebrows rose identically when they set their eyes on the linking hands of the blond heads. Both knew Spike and Buffy loved to show their affection by wrapping arms around each other or clasping one's hand with another's, but never by linking them. The redhead nudged her boyfriend and wiggled her shapely brows at him as she pointed to the couple by tilting her head to their way. Xander leaned into her, whispering, "It's about damn time," making Willow to chuckle softly. Snickering, he sat straight and smiled again at Spike and Buffy who had twin grins stretched across their faces.

"Hey guys!" Buffy piped up almost too perkily, causing Willow and Xander to wince at her shrill voice.

Willow only smiled, then gave a pointed look at Spike as she said, "So, that rumour about you attacking Buffy's lips in the hall this morning was true then." Buffy's eyes widened at her comment, red hue tainted each cheek in a flash. Spike was rather embarrassed, ducking his head slightly and plopping his body on a cafeteria seat.

"What can I say, red, those pouty lips were just begging to be nibbled on." Spike smirked slyly when Buffy smacked his chest playfully, the red tints on her cheeks spread broadly within seconds.

"Whoa…wait a second, yesterday you two seemed to avoid each other and now you're a couple? Where was I when this happened?" Though he was happy for the blond couple, Xander couldn't help but frown at the current status of the couple that suddenly changed overnight.

"I believe you were sneaking into my room during that time, sweetie." Willow answered him, batting her eyelashes innocently at the brunette.

It was Buffy's turn to frown. "I thought your parents were always okay about you two. So why did he need to sneak into your room at all?"

"Oh, they're totally okay about us. It's just our late night activity that they don't approve of." Willow wiggled her brows meaningfully at Buffy. The petite blonde's jaw hung open in incredulity. She couldn't believe that her sweet, sweet innocent best friend had turned into a naughty, dirty-minded young woman.

"Xander, what have you done to my sweet innocent Willow? I don't know who this girl is anymore. S-She's like evil Willow…or something," The offended girl only rolled her eyes.

But Xander somewhat thought for an answer seriously as he started to open his mouth, "Well, first of all, there's this thing I know she likes me to-"

"Okay, stop. I change my mind, I don't think I really want to know the…things you guys do," Buffy scrunched her nose and shuddered slightly.

"You sure you don't wanna know, Buff? I can give you some graphic details if you like," Xander amazingly succeeded to hide his smile at Buffy's shocked expression. In the meantime, Willow and Spike had to purse their lips so tight from bursting into laughter as they glanced at the petite blond. Buffy was visibly traumatized at a pile of pictures of Willow and Xander doing wild things, which suddenly flashed into her mind.

The school bell snapped her out of her stupor. She finally acknowledged the red faces of her friends from suppressing their mirth, but she was still too stunned to think of its cause.

After gathering some self-control, Spike got up from his seat and neared his face to Buffy's. "I have to go, pet. I'll see you at the gym, okay?" Buffy only nodded and accepted his chaste kiss, apparently her mind still blinded by the feral visions of Willow and Xander.

The brunette and bleached young men had walked through the exit door, having a fit of laughter at last, when Willow led Buffy by the arm to their next class.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Buffy, wait!" Willow jogged towards her best friend; books were clutched against her chest and auburn tresses swayed languidly from side to side. Buffy watched the redhead approach her. Observing Willow's green blouse and black knee-length skirt, her mind open up to the mental pictures of Willow and Xander again as she visualized her friend wearing something less than her current clothing. Something more like mini black leather skirt and leather bra for the top. Buffy shuddered at the thought of Willow smiling wickedly, standing proudly with one knee-high leather boot leg on top of a crawling Xander while a long whip was hold firmly in her tiny hand. The blond head shook her head quickly as if to erase all the horrible visuals out of her mind. 'Geez, is this some kind of after sex thought?' Buffy was truly wigged out of this.

Willow's brows furrowed as she saw her friend shook her head briefly. "You okay, Buff?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah I am. W-What do you have next?"

"I have a free period and I'm kinda bored, no homework or assignment at all." Willow's expression showed some disappointment.

Buffy only chuckled. 'Now THIS is the Willow I know.'

"So, since you're going to the gym now, I'm coming with you. Some salty goodness can really help refresh your eyes, y'know." The redhead grinned mischievously at Buffy's yet another surprised look.

"Ever since you're dating Xander, I kinda fear you, Wills."

Willow only laughed as they strolled to the gymnasium.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"So where's Xander? Doesn't he always have the same free periods as you?" asked Buffy when they seated themselves on the upper row of bench, her eyes were searching for a certain bleached head as she waited for a response from Willow.

"He does, but he has swimming practice today." Willow's eyes were also wandering around to help Buffy in search. "There he is." She held a pointed finger to the centre of the gym floor once she caught a glimpse of Spike's form.

Both girls smiled and waved at the shirtless Spike after he looked up to them and threw his trademark grin. Stepping towards a higher steel bar, he took a deep breath and wiggled his arms in relaxation before he gripped the bar and raised his body up about a foot from the ground.

Buffy and Willow sighed in contentment at his sight. His abdominal muscles were rippling and stretching as he lifted his figure up and down. His arm muscles hardened, his knuckles were turning white and the paths of blood vessel were visibly seen on the back of his hands and on his forearms, as he weighed himself onto the bar. Beads of sweat started to plaster his forehead and some already flew down to his chest, glistening his hard abdomen in the process.

The two girls drooled and swooned over the vision before their eyes. They nearly groaned in disappointment when Spike stopped his activity and went to talk to his coach. Their breath was though caught on the throat as the object of their drool-fest wiped his sweaty chest with a white towel while he listened intently to his coach’s instruction. The motion seemed to be slow, Buffy and Willow found themselves inching forward to see in clearer view, their bodies were almost at the edge of their seats.

"God, he's hot! Look at that body, it's so well muscled and sculpted and…" Buffy breathed heavily as she began rambling, never taking her eyes off of Spike.

"I hear ya, sista! That is ONE damn sexy man." Willow responded in agreement, nodding promptly and also still fixing her eyes at the said sexy man. After a full minute, Buffy stepped out of her Spike trance, turned her head to face Willow with a frown.

"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're ogling at!" Buffy smacked her in the arm and gave a sharp look. Willow jolted away in a brief moment, finally snapped herself back to reality. She laughed heartily at Buffy's pouting lips.

"Sorry, Buff. I kinda got carried away for the last five minutes." Buffy only snorted unladylike for a response.

"Pfft! More like a full twenty minutes."

"Fine, twenty minutes it is then. Hey, if it makes you better, I'll let you ogle at my boyfriend for the same amount of time." Willow offered, smiling giddily.

"Xander? Err, I think I'm gonna pass for that one. I just stick with Spike drool-fest for now." Willow immediately creased her brows into a frown and smacked Buffy in return.

"Hey, I'll have you know that Xander is a very drool-fest worthy."

"I'm sure he is, Wills." Giving a truce sign, Buffy continued, "But like I said, I'm just gonna stick with this one for a while. And hey, that hurts!" She whacked Willow's shoulder with the back of her hand. Willow's eyes widened. Giving a mocking 'Oh', she smacked Buffy back on the shoulder, causing the petite blond almost topple from her seat. Both did not acknowledge Spike's presence until they heard his deep and rich British accent.

"You birds keep on bitch-slapping like that and I'm sure as hell, will have the time of my life." The topless bleached head smirked down to them, chest still heaving up and down from exercising and jogging towards the girls. Buffy and Willow froze on their activity, two pairs of eyes were busy gawking at the standing young man in front of them, as both brains screamed, 'Spike's body…body of Spike…'

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Buffy stuck her head inside her mother's office, ignoring to knock on the door first. "Hey, mum. What're you doing?" Joyce looked up from her paperwork and smiling sincerely at her only daughter.

"The usual, reports for the newly arriving products." She then buried her concentration down again to the pile of papers she was holding. Buffy let herself in and stepped languidly towards her mother's desk.

There were several paintings leaned against the front of the desk, one painting leaning against the one behind it and each of them was unwrapped. Buffy bent down to examine them. Her eyes then went slightly wide, followed by her mouth. "Wow…" She breathed as she traced lightly the first painting she saw. The older Summers glanced up from her paperwork again, smiling when she saw the amazed look on her daughter.

"It's breathtaking, isn't it?" Buffy only nodded, too speechless to give her a response. Joyce lifted her reading glasses off and got up from her seat, rounding her desk as she continued speaking, "I had your look, too when I saw it the first time." Still smiling, she bent down beside Buffy and studied it as well.

The painting pictured a lake with some factories on the background. The colour blends were beautifully done and the water was painted as if it was made of glass. It had both smooth and rough textures mixing together to create a remarkable work of art, drawing Buffy deeper into it. The calm lake was almost real, Buffy felt if she touched it, her fingertip would be moistened by this painted water.

"What's it called?" Buffy asked softly, her eyes never leaving the canvas.

"It's called Fabriques à Argenteuil created by Gustave Caillebotte. I actually had this imported straight from France."

"Fabriques à Argenteuil…" Buffy repeated the name of the painting in a bad French pronunciation. Joyce paused for a long minute when she glanced at her only child.

"Buffy," She began slowly, "I always knew you had a great passion in art." She paused again, waiting for Buffy to look at her. When the petite blond finally did, Joyce continued, "Well, my gallery is currently getting a little out of hand since we receive many orders lately. So, I was hoping if you could give me a hand in organizing the orders during weekends." Buffy stared at her mother still, blinking once or twice. "O-Of course you will get paid. It can be good for your résumé in the future." Joyce quickly added.

Buffy blinked again before unexpectedly throwing her arms around her mother. "Of course I'd love to help. This means we can be around each other more." She squealed in excitement.

There was a hint of sadness in Joyce's beautiful aging face when she heard the last sentence Buffy stated. She knew she was always occupied by her work and she thought Buffy would understand that. She never expected her to be this happy to accept her offer, just because her daughter wanted to spend more time with her.

"This is like a work experience for me…b-but with pay right?" Buffy looked at her mother uncertainly as she loosened her embrace. The older woman chuckled slightly then ruffled the girl’s golden locks.

"Sure it is." The petite blond feigned a relieved sigh.

"Phew! That's a relief." Joyce rolled her eyes at Buffy's comment. She held her daughte's hand as she stood up, bringing Buffy on her feet.

"Oh, hey, what do you say we invite the Giles' to dinner Friday night? We haven't had that together for a while. Sounds good to you?" Buffy's eyes sparkled even more at the mention of the men who had been like a family to her ever since they moved to Sunnydale. Well, one of them just had a change of status since yesterday, but he still felt like a family to her.

'What is this? First mom asks me to help her in the gallery, and now she suggests us to have dinner with Spike and Giles the way we used to?' Buffy abruptly shook the thought off, afraid that it was only a dream if she kept wondering about it.

"Oh, hell yeah!" At Joyce's warning glare, the younger woman quickly revised her answer, "I-I mean definitely. I'm going to call Spike tonight and make sure he and Giles won't disappoint us."

Buffy almost jogged towards the door, heading off to her room. Joyce chuckled again and shook her head lightly, then she went back to her abandoned papers and focused on them once again.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

She lifted the wireless up from its cradle and plopped herself onto the bed. After dialing the number she had memorized by heart, Buffy waited patiently for the person on the other line to pick the line up. A deep masculine British voice soon came through the speaker as its owner said his greeting, "'Ello?"

Buffy smiled when she heard the familiar voice. With a sultry tone, she responded, "Hey, baby. Wanna have dinner with me Friday night?" The person on the other line immediately grinned widely at the phone.

"Is this some kind of a date?"

"Well, you can say that if you don't mind our parents tagging along." Buffy chuckled at his groan.

"Is your mom gonna cook for us?" Spike knew it right away, remembering the times they used to have dinner together every weekend or so.

"Yep. So, Friday night at the usual time?" Spike smiled despite his disappointment over having a dinner date alone with Buffy.

"Yeah, we'll be there.”"

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The bell rang once. Buffy quickly headed towards the front door as the expected guests waited patiently on the other side of the doorframe. She swung the door open and greeted them with the brightest smile plastered on her face.

"Hey guys. Come on in. Mom's still in the kitchen getting the roast beef out of the oven. Just hope it's still as good as years ago." Buffy snickered, but rolled her eyes when she heard her mom respond behind her.

"Oh please. Even though I haven't cooked for a while, I still have the talent, honey."

"Yee-ahhh…sure, mom…" Buffy threw a dramatic eyes rolling to the older Summers. She yelped at the smack Joyce gave her on the butt. The Giles men only stood there, raised their eyebrows at the display and shook their heads.

"You Summers women never change." Giles noted, gave a soft chuckle. Joyce smiled at the older man as she approached him to give a peck on the cheek.

"How are you doing, Rupert?"

"I'm very well, thank you, Joyce. And yourself?"

"Not too bad. As you see, I'm still alive and surviving after dealing with Buffy for over 17 years."

Buffy frowned at her mother's reply. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Spike piped up to offer an answer, "It means that you're a pretty handful thing to have, luv."

"Oh, and you're not?" Giles turned to look at his son, giving him a pointed look.

"Wha'? Of course I'm not." Spike replied defensively.

"Alright, it's dinner time now. Save the argument later. Come on, my roast beef is waiting for us to be poked on." Joyce interfered, started dragging Giles and Spike to the dining room.

Buffy scrunched her nose as she followed her mother's steps. "Ewwww, what's that supposed to mean?"

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The dinner went perfectly well…in Giles and Joyce's point of view, since Buffy and Spike spent most of the time sticking their fingers into their ears as their parents kept on reliving their children’s embarrassing moments.

"Oh, and do you remember when William ran around our backyard in panic after he accidentally burned his hair for playing with fireworks?" Giles said between his mirth.

Joyce gasped and widened her eyes, "Oh my goodness, I completely forgot about it. That was a funny one. I remembered Buffy cried over it because she thought William had ruined their fun." Joyce broke into hysterical laughter.

Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike sunk deeper into their seats at the humiliation their parents created. 'Oh god, we so don't need to have this talk.' Buffy mutely grumbled. Deciding to ignore the adults' talk, she tried to find something remotely interesting. As she looked up to Spike across the table, her frown slowly grew into a wicked smile. She slowly slipped her foot from her sandal and brought it over to Spike's seat from under the table. Her bare foot began trailing Spike's ankle, moved upwards in a slow agonizing motion, then caressed and lingered to his leg for a while.

Spike shot her a look when he felt the teasing touch Buffy gave him. He tried to suppress his groan but he couldn’t help rolling his eyes back. He wiggled his leg, trying to get rid her foot off but it went back to his leg, trailing daringly upwards to his knee and brushed further to his thigh as far as it could.

Buffy struggled over her giggles at his pained expression. It surely was excruciating and killing him. She sunk further into her chair as she tried to move her foot further inside his inner thigh. Spike could only gripped the edges of his seat desperately and tried to hold back his groan.

On the side of the table, Giles and Joyce had stopped their humiliating moments talk and moved on to work discussion.

"So William, how's school so far?" Joyce unexpectedly turned her head to the bleached teen.

'Uhh...I-It's fine." Spike cleared his throat when his voice came as a squeak. "It's fine." He stated again with a low voice, sulking down his seat. Buffy propped one elbow on the table and covered her mouth with her fist so that no one saw her broad-soon-to-be-laughter smile. She bit her lower lip while her foot rubbed harder and even further against his inner thigh.

"Have you prepared yourself for the upcoming exams?" Joyce asked again, completely oblivious to his aggrieved expression.

"Yeah, have started studying one or two subjects." He shrugged his shoulders casually but his hands still clutched his seat firmly. Taking a deep breath, his brain finally worked out a solution to end this tormenting position he currently was in. He brought one hand under the table, snatched her foot and held it securely.

Buffy gasped, her eyes widening. She tried to jerk her foot off but his grasp was way too strong especially now that he brought his other hand to confirm its control over her foot. Joyce and Giles looked at her quizzically when they heard her gasp.

"Are you okay, honey?" Her mother’s voice filled with concern. Buffy only nodded meekly but then burst out laughing when she felt Spike tickled the pad of her foot mercilessly. She quickly covered her mouth up, her eyes still stretched wide open. Joyce and Giles were more baffled by her reaction, they never gave a glance at the widely grinning Spike.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I'm okay. Really...I am," Buffy quickly stammered her apologize. She squeezed her eyes tightly and bit her lower lip again as to contain herself from squirming.

Both parents were not too convinced about it, but decided to ignore it and have another business chat. Buffy let a relieved sigh out. It didn’t last long once Spike started to torment her again. She tried to shoot him a murderous look but couldn’t as she struggled to restrain her laughter at the ticklish sensation in her foot. Wordlessly, she begged him to stop with her best wounded puppy eyes. Spike’s grin only grew wider at her silent request while he shook his head 'no' at her.

To Buffy's rescue, Joyce turned her head to look at the kids again, chiming in, "I think we can settle for dessert now."

Buffy was suddenly up in a flash, jerking her leg back harshly which caused a loud thud noise under the table in the process. "I'll get it." She held her whimper back and plastered a false enthusiastic smile. Without waiting for a respond, she started walking purposely towards the kitchen, dragged her leg with the sore knee forcefully. However her mother’s voice slowed her pace. "Buffy, do you know which dessert I'm talking about?"

The petite blond answered over her shoulder. "Yeah, I know. It's the apple pie in the oven, right?" At her mother's confirmation, she increased her pace again.

That left Joyce and Giles turn to look at the amused Spike. He immediately dropped his smiling mask off and stood up. "Uhh...I better help 'er out." Gesturing the kitchen way, he too strolled towards the kitchen. Giles only shook his head at the teens' weird manners while he took his glasses off and cleaned them with his handkerchief.

Joyce stared at the doorway for a moment. There were some stolen glances and secret smiles during dinner, which were somehow strange since…well, why would they do that anyway? They were never like that in front of their parents. Then there was Spike's suppressed pained expression, which Joyce bet that they thought she didn't see it. As well as Buffy's sudden outburst to laugh that was stopped abruptly by Buffy herself. After a few minutes, she broke into a smile as she realized what was going on between her daughter and her surrogate son. Her face though soon crumpled into a frown when the truth hit her. No, it's not safe anymore for them to have a slumber party.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Buffy winced as she rubbed her knee, cursing under her breath at the fresh red mark planted on her skin "Ugh, that bastard…"

"Need any help, pet?" Spike entered the kitchen casually while he tried to hide his smile. Buffy glared at him and swatted his chest hard as soon as he was within a foot distance.

"We almost got caught, you know that?!?"

"Wha'?!? You're the one who started it." He defended himself, rubbing his now sore chest. Xander was right. For such a petite girl like her, she really did have a great power in her.

Buffy wanted to stay mad at him but the smile he now gave her, melt her anger away. So she did what she could do best, jutting her lower lip out, pouting.

"Aww, look at those pouty lips…damn, you know I'm a sucker for that." Spike winked at her, bringing his face to hers for a kiss. Buffy smiled as she stretched her neck up to meet him half way.

When their lips were close to meet, Joyce walked into the kitchen. The young couple instinctively backed away from each other, started looking at anywhere else and busying themselves. The older Summers only smiled warmly at both teens. Turning her head to her daughter, she asked her with a calm voice, "How's the dessert going? Is it ready yet?"

Buffy quickly jumped from her stool. Ignoring the pain on her knee, she circled the island and moved towards the oven to take a round baking dish from it. Joyce stalked around the island as well and grabbed a knife as she shooed her only child.

"Move over, let me do it. You'll take forever cutting for only four slices." Buffy rolled her eyes though she couldn't deny the fact. So she complied and gave the task to her mother. Buffy and Spike watched the older woman putting a reasonable slice of apple pie on each small plate, occasionally threw a glance at each other. Both started fidgeting when Joyce had not yet finished her task. Spike shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and rocked on his heels back and forth while Buffy twirled her fingers around a lock of her golden hair.

Joyce had to use all of her power to hide her smile at those two young adults. She placed the filled plates carefully on a tray, taking her time as much as possible. As soon as she put the last plate and started to lift the tray up, she noticed her daughter jump from the stool at the same time as Spike stopped rocking his body and stood straight as well.

She flashed both blonds another warm smile as she made her way out of the kitchen with the tray in her hands. Just before she reached the doorframe, Joyce suddenly stopped and glanced over her shoulder to the petite blond. "Oh, um Buffy, don't you think you're too old to have a sleepover at William's now?"

With that, she left the two frowned teens alone. As far as they remembered Joyce never complained about their sleepover routine, so what had given her such ideas? It wasn't long when they realized what she meant by being too old to have a sleepover. The blond couple looked at each other, eyes widened and mouths agape. After a long silence, Buffy finally broke the silence off. "Do you think she knows about us?"

The two girls giggled at each other's jokes while they approached their boyfriends on a bench, hands carrying cans of soda. Willow handed one can to Xander and Buffy did the same to Spike.

"Thanks, luv." The bleached young man winked and accepted the soda from Buffy after he carefully placed his guitar on the wooden table he was sitting on. Taking a sip from his can, he remembered something he wanted to show his girlfriend.

"Oh, I've something to show you…" He put his soda down and retrieved his guitar. Buffy's face lit up, taking an interest as she seated herself next to him. Setting his instrument to the right tune, he looked up to her. "…Or sing to you, actually…" His voice was soft as he glanced at the other couple, feeling slightly embarrassed at the romantic side of him, which made him like a poof. He started strumming his guitar and began humming, his eyes never left Buffy's ones.

You better fill it

Buffy's lips slightly parted in awe at the acoustic song that just started playing. His voice vibrated through her entire body and she shuddered in a delicious way. His eyes bored into hers while a genuine smile crept over his features, melting her heart away.

Smiles

Her face instinctively broke into a smile, doing exactly what the song described her.

Buffy's orbs sparkled as unshed tears began to fill her eyes. She bit her lower lip that almost trembled with euphoria.

Smiles

Buffy remained still as the song ended and Spike lay the guitar down. Without warnings, she leaped into his arms, joyful tears flew down her cheeks freely. Spike almost fell back when the petite blond shifted her weight on his lap. His features couldn't hide his surprise as well as delight at Buffy's reaction. She leaned her head back to look at him, a wide grin had spread over her face.

"Thank you. That was really sweet of you. I love it." She sniffled as Spike brought his thumbs to wipe both of her cheeks.

"Glad you like it, pet…B-But it didn't make me a nancy boy, did it?" His masculinity sank down a little at the word 'sweet'. Buffy chuckled as she sniffled again and shook her head lightly.

"No, it didn't. It was amazing and very manly."

"Yeah, man. It was great." Xander finally piped up, patting his best friend's back good-naturedly.

"Thanks, Xan." Spike nodded and smiled at the brunette.

"Awwww, can we exchange boyfriends, Buffy?" Willow chimed in, sniffling a bit with her face contorted in 'awww'.

Buffy immediately clung onto Spike tighter as she pressed her chest further against his and rested her head on his shoulder. "No way! He's all mine and mine only." Spike chuckled at her possessiveness, feeling his male pride swell while he wrapped his arms around her in return. "Besides, isn't Xander enough for you?" Buffy asked.

Willow whined, her lower lip jutting out, forming a pout. "Yea, but he won't do any sweet things like that to me."

"Uhh, hello?!? Offended boyfriend sitting right here…" Xander instantly spoke up and raised his hand, affronted. Willow turned her head to face the brunette and smiled sweetly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby. Did I just say that aloud?" Xander simply threw his girlfriend a mocking glare.

"So how was your first day in the gallery, luv?" Spike changed the subject, looking down to the petite girl in his arms.

"Oh, I love it. I never knew my mom actually had a fun work." Buffy drew her form away as she told everyone enthusiastically. "The new paintings that just arrived were amazing. They're all beautiful and…" She paused at the puzzled looks Willow and Xander gave her. "…And I forgot to tell you guys that I worked in my mom's gallery now." She finished her sentence with a sheepish smile. Spike smiled in amusement at her excited tone.

"Oh, you work for your mom now? That's really great, Buffy." Willow joined her friend’s excitement. Xander also uttered a similar comment to Buffy.

"Thanks, guys."

"Hmm…speaking of your mom, didn't you tell me that she knew about you and Spike?" Willow spoke again.

Buffy snorted. "Yeah, she must've figured that out when we fooled around under the table that Friday night." At the other couple's quirked brows, she quickly added, "I-I mean when we…um, when my foot was in Spike's thigh a-and his face twisted in a…Spike, help me out here, please?" Buffy looked at her boyfriend in a plea.

"Help you what, pet?" Spike tried to hide his amusement and Buffy shot him a stern look. "Oh, you mean that Friday night when we fooled around. Yeah, you see, Buffy decided to give me some sneaky pleasure while our parents had a serious conversation." The petite blond smacked his chest while she still straddled on his lap.

"Not helping much, Spikey." She retorted. Willow and Xander stared at them back and forth, enjoying their banter.

"Okay, so you guys fool around, then what?" The redhead butted in.

"Well, after Giles and Spike went home, I was confronted by my mom BIG time." Buffy widened her eyes to emphasize the word 'big'. "She interrogated me, asking when the two of us became involved and you know what the ridiculous thing she did? She gave me a Summers' no-no list."

"The Summers' what list?" Willow tilted her head, a confused look set on her features.

"No-no list. It's like a set of rules that I can't do ever since she found out about my relationship with Spike. More like the Ten Commandments. You shall not sleep at William's place any longer…" Buffy rolled her eyes as she remembered her mother handing her a piece of paper full of rules with a sweet motherly smile.

"Wow. Your mom is really strict about it, huh?"

"Very." She laid her head back on the crook of Spike’s neck. Sighing, she mumbled, "I bet she even knows that we had sex too."

"Wait, you guys had sex already?" Xander chipped in. Buffy widened her eyes when she realized she just said her thought out loud. She open and closed her mouth to find an explanation, then looked up to Spike who had a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. "You guys just date for seven days and you have already had sex? Damn, you're fast." Xander shook his head in astonishment.

"Uhh, should I be flattered or insulted?" Buffy asked, feeling embarrassed and insecure. Spike only chuckled, a rumble in his chest.

"Actually, that was how they started dating, Xan." Willow offered to answer her boyfriend's question. Once again, Xander looked bewildered at the new discovery.

"You never told me."

"You told Willow everything?" The two young men widened their eyes and spoke at the same time. Xander accused Spike while the bleached head inquired Buffy.

The petite blond open and close her mouth again, finding no response escape.

"You know girls always do that, Spike." She finally had a reply and gave him a nervous laugh, all the while sending a glare furtively at Willow. The redhead mouthed 'sorry' and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, it's better than having NOT to know about anything, SPIKE." Xander spat the other man's name with a hint of sarcasm, feeling irritated when his male best friend hid something from him.

Spike turned his head to the brunette, suddenly felt a pang of guilt. "Oh, uhh…sorry, Xan. I didn't mean to hide it from you, been busy lately."

Xander rolled his eyes dramatically, "Yeah, I bet you have." Spike shot him a glare. The other young man's face softened as he finally let the matter go. "Sorry, man, didn't mean to be snappy. Anyway, Willow and I have to go visit her aunt in hospital. I'll see you guys tomorrow at school."

"Yeah, we better go as well." Spike decidedly thought. Buffy tilted her head back to look up to him.

"We do? But I still want to see the waves." She whined.

Spike smirked suggestively, leaning into her ear as he said in a low voice, "But I wanna show you something better." He took a nip at her earlobe, earning a moan from the petite girl.

"Oh you guys, get a room!" Xander groused while Willow giggled.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Oh come on. Can I open my eyes now? Please?" Buffy pleaded, her hands held Spike's arm tightly as her eyes were still closed.

"Just hang on for a bit, pet. You'll open your pretty hazel eyes as I tell you so." Buffy pouted but a smile soon crept over her features at the word 'pretty'. She stepped down the staircase cautiously when Spike told her so; her hands squeezed his arm tighter, too afraid to fall over the flight of steps.

As the blonde couple reached the bottom of the staircase, Spike waited a beat before he spoke, "Now, you can open your eyes." Buffy fluttered her eyelids open, she then blinked once or twice, trying to adjust the light surrounding the room. Her breath caught in her throat at the display in front of her.

There, right in the middle of the room, stood a four-posts bed with a white canopy hung loosely above it. A red silky sheet covered the mattress neatly as two fluffy pillows with the same coloured satin cases were laid just in front of the headboard that was made of metal bars bent into an artistic shape. The bed looked very inviting; Buffy almost jumped onto it and drank in the feel of the soft and silky fabric touching her skin. She finally tore her eyes from the tempting mattress and looked around the room.

Twin nightstands were placed on each side of the bed while a small wardrobe was located on the left wall, a medium size oval mirror hung next to it. Buffy looked up to the staircase, wondering where she was at the moment. Turning her head to Spike, she caught his gaze that had fixed on her as she wholly took in her surrounding. "Where are we?"

"Well, do you like it?" Spike tilted his head to the side, a twinge of nervousness suddenly clouded his features.

"I do." Buffy breathed her response and nodded. She smiled widely as she stared at the bed again. "It looks…" Looking up to him under her eyelashes and smiling suggestively, she continued, "…alluring."

Spike chuckled softly, finally let out his breath he had been holding on. "So, where are we, Spike?" Buffy repeated her question.

"We're under my garage. It used to be a storeroom but since my da' moved all the stuff to the basement, so I got myself a private spot 'ere. I call this place…my crypt." Buffy snorted, raising her delicate brows.

"Your crypt?"

"Hey, what's wrong with that? It sounds impressive and…eerie."

"Eerie? Fluffy pillows and silky sheets make this room eerie?" Buffy was amused. Spike wasn't. His face looked crestfallen at her tease. The petite blond felt a pang of guilt stab her when she watched his features changed into glumness. She reached out to him, linking her hands with his.

"Aww, I'm sorry, sweetie. You know I'm just teasing ya. This place looks great, I like the name. Hey, what about your room? Are you gonna make it your own store room?" Spike gave her a smile, already forgotten his dejection.

"No. It'll always be my room." He stepped closer towards her, snaking his arms around her waist. "I was thinking that this was going to be our private room." He winked. Bending down, he nuzzled on her neck, taking in the scent of her vanilla soap that still lingered around her slender body. Buffy closed her eyes, moaning in pleasure as her arms wrapped his shoulders.

"Hmmm…I like that…so much…"

"You like what, luv? This room being ours or my mouth sucking on your neck?" Spike murmured between his kisses.

"Both if you don't mind."

"No, I don't mind at all. "

"Well then…" Buffy abruptly pulled her body away from Spike, leaving him a brief moment of shock. She grinned slyly as she stepped backwards to the bed, her eyes fixed on his. Reaching the edge of the bed, she sat elegantly, her fingertips brushing over the smooth cover. "…In that case, shall we give it a proper hello?" Spike broke into a wide grin and stalked towards her.

"Why, of course. Been intending to do that since I brought you 'ere." Buffy gasped in shock, smacking his chest once he sat next to her.

"You invited me here only for having sex?"

"No! O-Of course not. I-I mean not if you don't want to…" Spike stuttered when he saw her incredulous look thrown directly to him. A smile slowly graced Buffy's face and it was a mischievous one, rather. She poked a finger on his chest, stroking lightly up and down.

"Oh, I don't know…the bed looks inviting, but then again, it's always you that tempts me more." At that, Spike's ears perked up, his face brightened.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I have something in mind that may tempt you even more." After giving her peck on the lips, he flew upstairs, disappearing from the room much to Buffy's dismay.

Fortunately, the bleached young man quickly returned with a bottle of honey in one hand. Buffy frowned at that. Pointing a finger on it and quirking her brows, she asked, "That tempts me more than you do?" Spike chuckled.

"I'm really flattered that I tempt you so much, luv. But this bottle of honey will make you see it in a different light."

"Ooohhh…is that right?" Spike only nodded as he claimed her mouth again, arms had wrapped her body, bringing it closer to his own. A gasp escaped the petite blonde's mouth when she felt her body being lifted up and dropped onto Spike's lap.

Their tongues massaged each other languidly, taking their time to taste each other's flavour. Spike's hands roamed under Buffy's black cardigan but she withdrew from him, moving away from his lap. Once again, Spike searched her explanation inside her eyes. The hazel orbs that stared into his, showed lust and desire as Buffy began unbuttoning her top, revealing a sheer floral camisole. Spike's eyes travelled from hers down to her chest and farther to her abdomen. Her chest heaved up and down as she waited for him to make the next move.

He captured her mouth again, hands roved her body starting from her waist, caressing and brushing the soft skin with his thumbs as her camisole was lifted up. He raised a scarred brow when he noticed her braless. Laying her down, he worked on her jeans, then on his own clothes with the help of Buffy. Spike was still kissing her while his hand searched for the neglected bottle of honey. He licked his way down to her jaw line, resting on her neck to give the column a harmless bite.

Buffy moaned at the feel of his blunt teeth against her flesh. She wrapped her legs around him as well as her arms around his shoulders. But he caught her arms, lifting them over her head. Smirking suggestively, he leaned into her ear. "Hold on to the headboard for me, pet. I promise I'll make it worthwhile." The low voice of his almost resembled a purr, sending shivers to her spine. Buffy only nodded and did as she was told, gripping one of the metal bars and readying herself for whatever Spike had in mind. "Good girl." Spike smiled in satisfaction, he then slid down slowly until his face met two small mounds. He looked up to her before twisting the cap of bottle and squeezing the content out. The yellow liquid dropped slowly onto one of her nipples. Spike moved the bottle about, creating honey spiral on her breast. He bent down and flicked her rosy bud with the tip of his tongue.

"Oh, god…" Buffy whimpered at the slightest touch he gave her. She arched her upper body up, offering more to him. She threw her hands to be buried in his hair but Spike caught them and planted them on the bar again.

"Nuh-uh…no touching, sweetheart. Lemme do the work here." Buffy groaned, rolling her eyes but obeyed him anyway. Still with the tip of his tongue only, he began licking the sweet liquid, patiently tracking the honeyed line until he reached the outer line of her breast. One of his hands had trailed down to her body, approaching the feminine area.

"Uhnn…" The petite girl beneath him grunted when she felt a thumb brush against her clit and a finger dip into her heat, stroking ever so slowly. She arched up again, offering all of her to this man that had taken her breath away…literally. "Spike, please…" Her lower lip quivered as her hands clutched the bar tighter, so tight that her knuckles turned white.

Spike broke their kiss, both panting heavily. Under his clouded eyes, he looked down to the untouched bosom. He licked his lower lip and looked up to her again. "I believe we still have another one to work on." He unplugged his fingers from her, causing the petite blond to whimper at the lost of his touch. Bringing the glistening fingers up, Spike wiped them around her untouched mound. He hardened at the flesh that was polished with her juice and the smell of her arousal hitting his nostrils. "This'll taste even better." Squeezing the bottle, he applied the honey onto her lustrous breast and repeated his previous ministration. The sweet taste of honey mixed with the exotic one of her latex drove him wild.

Buffy mewled, thrashing about her pillow while her hands still strongly gripped the headboard. She could feel her juices start flowing down her centre again and she panted more harshly. "Please, baby…please…" Buffy pleaded.

He ignored her plea. Focusing on his task, he continued sucking and licking her breast, savouring the striking taste inside his mouth.

God, he's torturing me. Time to take over this game. With a swift move, she flipped them over, Spike's back hitting the bed. She smirked wickedly at his surprised look. "This time, I do the work." Buffy glided down his body, kissing every flesh she found on the way to his crotch. She grabbed the bottle and dropped a good amount of thick fluid on his throbbing cock. Giving a test drive, she licked the tip, earning a groan from the young man. She leaned down again, tapping the tip of her tongue on his honeyed shaft, occasionally giving long sweeps from the base to the peak.

"Fuck, Buffy…feels so good…" Spike was about to reach her hair when she seized his wrists. Shaking her head, she lifted them to the headboard.

"Hey, there's no touching in this game, remember?”" Spike chuckled. He nodded understandingly and complied. Buffy was back to her ministration. She enveloped the pulsating length with her hot mouth slowly and fully, while her tiny hands gave a light squeeze on each ball. A louder groan was heard and Buffy increased her pace, moving up and down, and grasping his balls tighter.

"Buffy, I-…oh, fuck!" Spike grunted sharply as milky seeds shot into her throat. Buffy accepted them eagerly, licking the remnant on his cock with satisfaction. Just after he came down from his climax, the petite blond strangled his lap, guiding his shaft into her opening as she slid down.

"Yes…" She sighed in contentment as their bodies finally joined together. Throwing her head back, she began rocking against him, hands planted on his chest to support her. Spike's hands cupped the globes of her ass, giving a squeeze every time he felt her inner muscles tighten his cock.

"Bloody hell…baby, slow down…" He bellowed, not wanting to explode so soon.

"Shh…s'okay, honey. I got you…" Buffy placed a slender finger on his lips. Spike decided to divert his focus on her finger as he kissed and suckled on it. Understanding what he was doing, she drove her finger in and out of his mouth while she continued riding him. The pace was increased and small waves of orgasm began firing through their bodies. One thrust, two thrusts, three thrusts…followed by double screams, they spasm uncontrollably, holding onto each other.

Buffy collapsed on top of him, still panting heavily all the while listening to Spike's rapid heartbeat. "Wow…that was… "

"Yeah…' Both couldn't form any words to describe their coupling. She finally rolled on her back, her head rested on his chest. Spike stared at the ceiling as his hand unconsciously stroked Buffy's tresses. He suddenly froze, something had hit him…really hard. He sat abruptly, causing Buffy to rise as well.

"Oh, fuck! Buffy, we forgot the protection." Spike looked at her in horror. Buffy's alarmed façade softened as she sighed calmly. He frowned at her composed self and cocked his head to the side.

"It's okay, Spike I'm on the pill. Now, can we go back to bed? I'm sleepy." She stifled her yawn with the back of her hand.

"You sure?" Spike eyed her with hesitation. Buffy only nodded, eyes partly closed from tiredness. He reluctantly lay back again; he peeled the cover and coated both of their bodies as they snuggled into each other. A deep slumber soon took over them.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Buffy's eyes flustered open. She blinked once or twice. 'Where am I?' She wondered. Feeling a warm body next to her, she glanced down to the owner. Oh, right. She was in Spike's bed, in Spike's crypt. She giggled softly at the name. Her eyes then wandered around the space. She stopped when she set them on the clock on the nightstand.

"Oh shit, I'm late!" Buffy shrieked, practically jumping from the bed. Spike, who was still in deep sleep, was startled by her outburst.

"Wha'? What is it?"

"I'm fuckin' late, that's what!" She hissed as she searched around for her clothes and quickly put them on as soon as they were found. "I'm supposed to work at four today, Spike and now I'm really late." Spike rolled his eyes, ruffling his already dishevelled locks.

"Relax, pet. It's your mom you work for. She'll understand." Buffy swung around and looked at him in disbelief.

"Understand? What, she'll understand that I'm late because I was too busy having sex with you?" He sighed.

"No, what I mean is-"

"Oh, just shut up, Spike. Talking to you just wastes my time." She had already fled by the time Spike leapt from the bed.

"Buffy!" He shouted but to no avail. His jaw clenched tightly, hurt stung his eyes at her last words.

(A/N: The song mentioned above is called "Smile", written by our sexy James Marsters. I obviously don't own it, just simply borrow it ;) )

Both blonds froze on their feet as they stared at each other, one eyeing the other. What'd she say, what'd she say? She should say something, right? As soon as she ran off from his house yesterday, she realized that her words might hurt him. Might, Buffy? After he brought you the most amazing sex not to mention lil’ naughty, you thought that your words just 'might’ hurt him? Her mind scolded.

Buffy still stared at him, she shifted from one foot to another. The silence that fell into the space became deafening. Spike sighed in exasperation. He shoved his hands into his duster pockets and walked towards her...passing her.

"Wait," Buffy impulsively grabbed his arm by the time it brushed against her own arm. He simply looked down to her hand, then to her eyes. Say it, Buffy! You know you should. She opened her mouth slightly.

All Spike wanted to hear from her was two words, or one certain word even. Better yet, she should have talked to him about why she reacted that way last afternoon.

"I'm sorry." Buffy said softly. There, she said it. That wasn’t so bad, was it? She pursed her lips together as she looked down to her feet. Spike's features softened instantly. He wanted to demand some explanation but the look on her face was enough to say that she had really meant what she just said. His hand reached a strand of hair that hid her beautiful features from him and tucked it behind her ear. He leaned down and kissed her forehead tenderly.

"Forgiven, luv." Buffy closed her eyes, sighing softly in relief at his mumble. She looked up to him and smiled genuinely.

"Thanks." As she looped her arm around his, they started walking down the school hall, her head rested on his shoulder.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Tell me again why I chose this class?" Buffy grimaced at the poor animals that were about to be dissected. Spike turned his head to her, a wicked grin plastered on his face.

"Because you can't be far away from me and because you can't keep your hands away from my hot tight little body." He answered in a husky tone as he leaned forward to capture her lips. Miss Brown's voice immediately interrupted him.

"Mr. Giles, this is still a lesson time. So if you could just put the lecherous side of yours aside until the class finishes, please." She said in a flat tone. Buffy blushed furiously as everyone giggled. Spike only nodded his response but couldn't help being embarrassed.

"So, what do we have to do again?" She asked, trying to concentrate on the lab task.

"Well, we need to dissect this lil' frog right in the middle." Spike replied. He lifted a knife, ready to do some operation. Buffy crinkled her nose disgustedly.

"Okay, first of all, eww!...Second of all, yikes!..." She shook her arms on her sides to express her repugnance and that she did not want to touch the displayed creature on the lab bench. "...Third of all, gah!" Spike dropped the knife on the table and raised his eyebrows up to his hairline.

"And your point is...?"

"Oh, that's just me expressing my disgust. Carry on." She shrugged indifferently. Spike stared at her in amusement. Yep! This was his girl! A beautiful, sassy, caring, smart, witty and funny person, all wrapped into one petite blond girl. He just wished he realized that sooner. Breaking his gaze off, he slapped his hands together and rubbed them against each other.

"Right. Now let slice and dice this bloody animal 'ere, shall we?" He grinned from ear to ear. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"You're really loving this, ain'tcha?" Spike gave her a seductive smirk.

"Well, what can I say, I've always been baaaadddd, baby." He bent his head again to claim her mouth. Another interruption arose.

"Again, Mr. Giles. Please put your lecherous side away. We still have twenty minutes left." Everyone burst out laughing while Buffy once again ducked her head and flushed feverishly. Spike hung his head down as well, holding one hand on the back of his head.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Wanna go to my place after school?" Spike asked, leaning against the locker next to Buffy's. The girl in front of him was busy putting books inside her bag. She looked at him, suppressing her amused smile.

"You mean your crypt?"

"You enjoy making fun of me, don't you?" He frowned, throwing her a look.

"It is fun. I mean, where the hell did you get the idea for that name?" Buffy burst out laughing, her face was almost red as she was trying hard to keep a straight face. The bleached young man growled, then caught her by the waist. She yelped but soon shut herself up when his tongue slid in her mouth, exploring the taste of her. As they broke away, Spike looked down to her, a suggestive smile crept over his handsome features.

"So?" Buffy sighed and smiled apologetically.

"I can't. I'm working in gallery today."

"But aren't you working on weekend?" A frown was back on his façade. He was visibly not thrilled with her working in weekdays. It was bad enough that she worked during weekend and that they couldn't get together except during school days.

"Yeah, apparently the orders keep coming and coming and my mom needs to go out of town for few days. Hence, it's after school working days for Buffy until weekend." Spike tried to hide his disapprove.

"What about Cecily? She's still working there, right? Why couldn't she handle the orders?"

"Well, she's working in the morning until afternoon. She used to work until closing time but her doctor doesn't allow her to work for long hours due to her pregnancy." Buffy closed her locker door and zipped her bag. Giving another apologetic smile, she leaned up to him and gave a quick kiss. "Sorry, baby. I promise I'll make it up to you some time next week, kay?"

Spike heaved a sigh. Closing his eyes briefly, he nodded weakly. "Sure. Whenever it fits." She smiled before she turned her heels around and exited the school building.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Spike entered the bronze wearily. The club wasn’t crowded and he was grateful for that. He wasn't in the mood of pushing himself through masses of people and wasn't thrilled to wait forever to get himself a drink either. Finding an empty two-seated couch, he slumped his body onto it and guzzled from his bottle.

"Hey." A chirping voice addressed him. He sighed, clearly not looking forward to meet new people. Looking up to the person in front of him, he squinted his eyes as he began to recognize her. He tilted his head, his mouth open and was about to speak but she interrupted him. "Hey, I remember you." She pointed one finger to him, her eyes twinkled and her lips curved into a smile. Spike raised an eyebrow, then taking a gulp on his drink while the girl continued, "I remember you approached me all manly with your innuendo and I was thinking of how big your penis was." He almost spat his beer out but quickly forced it to go down to his throat, causing him to choke.

"Excuse me?" He asked while trying to abate his cough. The girl shrugged indifferently as she plopped herself next to him.

"Oh you know, when a guy walks towards you with all that pride, he must be proud of his penis." Spike only managed to quirk one eyebrow. His cough subsided but the shock on his face hadn't.

"Uh...I suppose you're right, luv. You're...Anya, right?" He scrutinized her as he tried to change the subject.

Her eyes lit up and she broke into a wide smile. "Yes, I am." She paused shortly before continued in a peeping voice. "So, are we going to have sex and have lots of orgasms soon?" Spike almost dropped his bottle.

Deciding it was best to put his drink away for now, he answered her with a chuckle, "Not bloody likely, pet." Anya didn’t bother to hide her disappointment as she jutted her lower lip out.

"Why not? Is that because of my hair?" She patted her darkened hair, checking it out. Spike didn't answer her immediately. His eyes focused on her pouty lips, which instantly reminded him of Buffy. How he'd been missing her, missing being with her and talking to her.

Breaking out from his reverie, he replied, "No, no. The hair is absolutely perfect and I'm not saying you're not attractive, luv. But I have a girlfriend." Anya stood up immediately, her frown was replaced with anger.

"What?!? Do you think this is like a pep talk to you? Like a best friend chat?" She yelled, gesturing him and her back and forth. He flashed her a lopsided smile, looking at her guiltily.

"Uhh...no. I mean, yeah maybe. I'm sorry, I just really need someone to talk to tonight." He sulked, leaning back against the couch. He did need to have a best friend chat, especially with Buffy. He had been trying to call her or talk to her, but she was rarely available. And Xander? Well, let's just say, he'd been busy with Willow these days, especially after her beloved auntie recently died and he needed to be there to comfort her.

Anya gave a dramatic sigh, rolling her eyes as she took his pathetic look in with pity. She slumped back into the couch. "Alright, I guess I could have someone to talk to as well. But if you change your mind about the sex, I still wouldn't mind."

Spike looked up to her with a grateful smile and chuckled again, "Thanks for informing, pet. "

Two weeks. It'd been two weeks that Spike hadn't been out with her, hadn't been having their own private time. She had once promised him to make the lost time up as soon as her after-school work ended. But it never happened. Her work in gallery had been ruling her and their relationship and Spike wasn't elated about it. Though she did apologize about it, he still wished that they could spend more time together. God, he missed her. He missed her companionship, missed watching Passions with her, missed how she always found a way to mock his beloved soap opera.

And now this. She had just called him to let him know that she's going to New York with her mother for a conference tonight. He had argued with her, saying how it was not a part of her job. And she'd explained that it was important to her so that she knew the way her mother worked and that her mother needed her as her assistant. Spike understood that she'd love to spend more time with her mother, but he needed her too, damnit! Best friend Spike would probably not mind and try to understand if she's busy, but boyfriend Spike demanded more attention from her. He knew he sounded selfish, but damn, he missed her so badly.

He sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose with two digits. Grabbing his wireless, he dialled a familiar number and waited for it to be answered.

"Hey, Xan. Wanna play some pool tonight?" He said as soon as he heard the brunette's voice on the other end of the line.

"Well..." Xander began ruefully. Spike closed his eyes, instantly knowing his answer. "I'm about to see a movie with Willow. But hey, if you wanna come, then please...join us! So I won't be the only one who suffers from a chick flick." The brunette gave a short laughter. Spike chuckled humourlessly.

"No thanks, man. The movie is yours and Red's alone. I'll...see what I can do to spend my Friday night." He could feel the apologetic smile Xander offered him.

"Still no Buffy time for you?" Spike shook his head, not caring that his friend couldn't see him. "Hey, why don't you have father and son time with Giles?" Xander said, pleased with his suggestion. Spike snorted.

"Right. And where would we go? Ancient Books R Us?" Laughter was heard from the other line. "Anyway, just go and have fun! Red's waiting for you." With a short goodbye, Spike ended the conversation.

He tapped his finger on the wireless, his eyes stared blankly at the wall. A minute passed as he tried to decide whether he should make another call or not. Digging into his jeans pocket, he switched the phone on then punched a series digit of number while looking back and forth between the wireless and a scrape of paper in his hand.

He waited anxiously as he tapped one foot. A perky voice finally came through the receiver. "Anya? It's me, Spike. Wanna go out tonight? Great! I'll see you in half an hour at the bronze. Bye." He tossed the phone carelessly on the bed. A smile passed over his features. Finally, he had something to do tonight. With that thought, he strode to the bathroom and got ready.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

His eyes wandered around the whole club, searching for a certain brunette. Anya spotted him first and waved at him, a long blond haired girl was sitting next to her. Spike approached the girls with his trademark smirk on his face.

"Hey! Hope you don't mind I bring my friend over. This is Tara." Anya gestured to the girl next to her.

"Pleasure to meet you." He said, giving the blond head a wink. Tara instantly ducked her head, pink tint started spreading her ivory cheeks.

"I-It's nice to meet you too. Y-You're Spike, right?" She replied in stutter.

"That I am." Spike was still smiling and Tara ducked her head again.

"She's just shy meeting new people. But you should see her in bed. I mean, wow! Talk about wild!" Anya commented, giving him an impressed look. The bleached head widened his eyes, shock clearly evident in them as he dropped his jaw to the floor. He hadn't gotten used to the way Anya spoke and probably never would, even though he had befriended her for two weeks.

"Anya!" Tara shot her a dirty look but the brunette ignored her.

"Oh, by the way, she's a bi. I don’t usually do a girl-on-girl action but I've had threesome with her and a guy. There's this one time when we were with a college guy, he was quite cute but boy, he was the worst I've ever had! Good thing Tara was there to give me a mind-blowing orgasm and- ow! Why are you pinching me?" Anya glared at her friend as she rubbed her reddening thigh.

"Will you learn to stop babbling? And thanks for giving him a good impression on me." Tara threw her a glare back, her face was red like flame. The brunette only scowled, mumbling incoherently to herself.

Spike had yet picked his jaw up when he heard Anya's babbling. He thought his jaw would forever hit the floor if he continued listening to whatever came out of Anya's mouth.

"I-I'm sorry. W-What's Anya said wasn't entirely true." Tara said in embarrassment.

"Yes, it was! You know I never-" At the narrowing eyes of her friend, Anya rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm shutting up now." Sulking in her stool, she let Tara take over the conversation.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"A-Anya told me that you have a girlfriend. I-Is she around?" Spike took his time to swig his beer. He didn't feel like bringing Buffy up but he didn't want to make Tara uncomfortable by avoiding the question.

"No. She’s out of town, busy playing an assistant of her mother." He flashed her a sad smile. Tara smiled back in sympathy.

"Ooh, are you trying to cheat on her? Because if you are, I'll be happy to be your other girl." Anya offered with verve. Spike chuckled, shaking his head at the amazement that was she.

"Thanks for the offer, Ahn. But no. Been cheated myself and would never do that to her in million years." He mumbled the last sentence against the mouth of his bottle. He took a large gulp as memories of Drusilla flashed across his mind. They were horrible but they no longer hurt him. He smiled to himself as he remembered the time Buffy attacked the raven girl on account to defend him.

"What are you smiling at? Oh my god, you're thinking of having a threesome with me and your girl, aren't you? Me too!"

"Huh? What?" Spike snapped out of his reverie. Realizing what she just said, he widened his eyes though he couldn't stop a vision of Anya, Buffy and him in bed together came across his mind. "No...no, I'm not. I was just remembering some funny story. I can tell you later, but first of all, you can stop acting like a puppy with a bone anytime now." Anya drew her brows in a frown.

"What does that get to do with you?" Spike rolled his eyes.

"It's my bone, for Pete's sake!" The brunette open and closed her mouth, then settling for a pout when she found no answer escape.

Ignoring her friend, Tara spoke up, "S-So, w-what was your funny story y-you were talking about? "

"Knock, knock!" Spike leaned against the doorframe casually and threw a sexy smirk Buffy's way. She looked up and smiled back, putting a halt on her writing.

“Hey, you. How did you know I was back already?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed I left messages twice a day, and apparently the last time I called, your mom answered it before she went out of town again." He stalked toward her desk as he glanced around the room that was originally Joyce's office.

"Oh." Buffy was silent for a while, recalling the amusing messages that Spike left for her.

Thank goodness that her mother didn't check the messages before she did. She secretly replaced the cassette with a new one and thought of keeping Spike's messages for some useful purpose later on. She had giggled, and was touched and aroused by them...except the last one where he was somewhere with thumping noises surrounding him. She assumed he must be at the Bronze. Buffy had smiled to herself that Spike was leaving a message while he was out with friends, which she presumed were Xander and Willow. But once she heard the female voice shouting his name, her ears perked up and she immediately replayed the message. That female voice...she was sure it wasn't Willow's. It was a stranger's voice. A female stranger's voice that she did not recognize; however, the owner obviously knew Spike. She was going to call and confront him but her mother had dragged her to the gallery to finish up some necessary work before Joyce flew to New York again.

"Who was that girl?" Buffy asked as she watched Spike randomly look through the stack of papers on her desk. His fingers were still tangled in between the papers when he looked up at her.

"Huh?"

"Who was that girl? The girl who...um...called you when you left me a message." She tried her best to ask as nonchalant as possible.

Spike drew his brows together in a frown, trying to remember the person she was talking about. "Oh. That was Anya. Remember the girl I talked to once when Dingoes Ate My Baby performed at the Bronze?"

It was Buffy's turn to frown. The name did ring a bell. She started to recollect the time when she had been worriedly searching for him, since he hadn't returned from having a smoke outside the club. She remembered she'd been scowling over the interaction between Spike and a blond girl. And during that time, she had been fighting with her emotions, trying to control her jealousy.

Jealousy? What jealousy? Buffy denied to herself. "Yeah, I think I remember that." She said, shrugging as if the incident wasn't that big of a deal that she only remembered it vaguely.

Spike stared at her skeptically. A smile danced on his lips as he studied her reaction. "You're jealous." He stated, his smile broadening at the thought of how adorable she was trying to act as coolly as possible.

"I am not!" She gasped, widening her eyes. Was it that obvious?

"Yes, you are. Look at you, trying to act like it was nothing." He said, clearly amused.

"Well, it was nothing." She paused, then cast an unsure gaze in his direction. "Right?"

Spike shrugged his shoulders, leaning back in his chair across from her. "She did offer me sex though..."

"What?!?" Buffy yelled, appalled. She couldn't help the high-pitched tone in her voice but damn! She only went to New York for two days and her boyfriend had been seduced by other girl?

He chuckled at her reaction. "See? You’re jealous."

"At this point, I don't think jealous is the word I prefer to use. More like appalled. How the hell did you meet her again? A-and what is she anyway, a hooker?"

"Hey! She's nothing of that sort." Spike frowned at her response, clearly not liking her impression of his new friend. "Okay, maybe she is a little too upfront but she's nice. You'll like her."

Buffy scoffed. "Sure, when are you going to introduce us? Oh, let me guess, will it be when she tries to get in your pants again?" Spike rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Buffy, we're just friends. If you don't believe it, ask Tara." At the unfamiliar name he mentioned, she narrowed her eyes into slits, glaring at him as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"And I know this girl because...?" She asked sarcastically.

"Oh, um, Tara is Anya's friend."

Buffy scoffed again. "Great! Ask her best friend if she's humping my boyfriend."

Spike growled in irritation as he stood up abruptly from his seat. "Jesus, Buffy! Don't you think you're overreacting a bit over this? You told me you were going to New York right before left for the airport. You promised you'd spend time with me but it never happened. And for your information, Xander was busy with Willow. So I'm sorry if I made new friends while you were gone."

Buffy was stunned by his explosion. She hadn't expected him to be quite so upset about her promise that she had been unable to keep. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I-" She stopped, then started again. "I-It's just that gallery work has been overwhelming me, and spending time with my mom again has been a blast. I'm, I'm sorry." She pursed her lips together, regretting every single word she had used to accuse him earlier.

Spike met her gaze and found the genuine apology behind her hazel orbs. He sighed heavily. "Well, I missed you."

She smiled as she stood up and approached him. "I missed you, too." She said before leaning up and kissing him. The kiss was languid. Wanting to taste each other thoroughly, their tongues probed and massaged each other with passion that had been buried while they were apart.

Their foreheads touched as they broke their kiss. Spike closed his eyes, a lazy smile crossed over his features. "Wanna get away from work for a while?" He suggested, leaning back to look her in the eye.

Buffy sighed, withdrawing from him. "Can't. Still have zillion things to do."

He immediately rolled his eyes heavenward and shook his head. "I thought your mother wanted you to prioritize your education and youth. Why so much work?" She only shrugged as she seated herself on the desk.

"Maybe she realizes how much I'm loving this job?" Buffy offered. Spike smiled tightly. He too, knew how much this job meant to her. He was happy for her, really. Seeing her beam every time she told him about her so-called job adventure almost made their lost time together pay off. Well, almost.

Standing right in front of her, he stared at her and sighed audibly. "Yeah, I get that." He shoved his hands into his duster pockets before continuing, "I guess I can find some way to spend the afternoon. Call Anya or Tara, maybe. Or both." He emphasized the last word as he scratched his chin and looked away from her.

A frown passed over Buffy's face but he didn't see it. She kept quiet until he was about to make his way out from the office. Grabbing his arm, she halted his move. "No, don't. I-I mean stay here." Spike arched one eyebrow at her request; his smile was hidden carefully. Buffy glanced at her desk, then back to him. "I think...I could use a break or two." She smiled tightly, trying hard to bottle up her jealousy.

"Are you sure? Cause I don't want you to be distracted. I could just go away and come back once you've finished—"

"No. It's okay." She assured him quickly. "Getting distracted is okay in my book." Buffy looked him up and down and grinned wickedly. "Especially by you."

He smirked. "Yeah?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning up to kiss him. She moaned as Spike thrust his tongue into her mouth and massaged hers with his. Closing their distance, his hand wormed its way under her skirt.

Buffy pulled away, panting harshly. "Wait! Maybe we shouldn't do this here."

"We should. It can't wait." Spike murmured against her lips, already unbuttoning her blouse. She conceded when his hand began kneading her breasts.

Oh, what the hell. She swept the papers away before she lay down above the desk, bringing Spike down with her.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Honey, can you go down to basement and check if all the items for Mr. Travers are there? The courier is going to pick them up today." Joyce said as she thumbed through the list of orders. Finding the one she searched for, she shoved the list and pointed the certain order. "There should be two large boxes, each of them containing 15 statues so that means there should be 30 altogether."

"Gee, mom. I never thought I'd need help with multiplication. Thanks for coming to my rescue." Joyce gave a mocking glare before smiling at her daughter.

"Just go down there and check, okay?" She shooed her with a wave of hand. Shaking her head, she went back to her paper.

Buffy rubbed her eyes as she made a beeline to the basement. She hadn't had much sleep lately. Work had been taking most of her time after school; in addition to the schoolwork she had everyday. But she wasn't complaining. She loved her job and how she bonded with her mother over it. No, she wouldn't complain about it.

But her body disagreed with her heart. All her muscles were aching, drained. Fatigue lines drew across her face yet she didn't take note of it, or maybe refused to. She opened the basement door and looked down the list as she walked in. She shook her head, her eyes were blurry. Glancing at the first step of the staircase, she now felt lightheaded, her head started to spin. She tried to close her eyes for brief seconds but they wouldn't flutter back open when she tried to force them to.

The first step down was taken and she stretched her arm to reach for the bar to hold onto. Her legs became wobbly, she tried to open her eyes again but her eyelids felt like they weighed several pounds.

She relented at last as she closed her eyes fully, her body rolling down the staircase, knocking her unconscious.

Joyce went after her fifteen minutes later, wondering what was taking Buffy so long to check on just two packages. Her silent question was answered immediately once she entered the basement and looked down to the bottom of the stairs. "Oh my god, Buffy!" She cried.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

"Bloody hell!" Spike winced when his guitar string cut through his thumb.

"You okay, man?" Xander turned his head to him, frowning. His friend was strumming his guitar smoothly before the note went off without reason.

" Yeah, guess so." Spike examined his thumb, then sucked on it to prevent further bleeding.

The brunette studied him for a minute before asked him again. "Something wrong? You look, I don't know...distracted."

"What? Oh. I just-" He paused for a while, trying to explain exactly what was bothering him. "I don't know; I just feel something's wrong, is all. I just...don't know exactly what it is." He put his guitar away and made his way to the kitchen, Xander was close behind.

"Huh. Wait, I saw this situation once. Or maybe I read it somewhere. Yes, that's right!" Xander beamed, wagging both of his index fingers at him. "It's from one of Willow's new age books. If a person can feel what the other feels, it means they have a special deep connection. You know, like soulmates." He chuckled. "Of course, I don't really believe in those kinds of things."

Spike pondered his words as he nursed his thumb with a bandage. He looked back at his friend and smiled tightly. "I'm gonna go to the gallery. See if Buffy wants to join us at the beach later."

"Alright. I need to pick up Willow too. I'll see you there."

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

Spike was making his way to Joyce's office when he spotted Cecily behind her desk. Drawing his brows in a frown, he approached her. "I thought you were taking a week off, what with the baby on its way soon."

Cecily tapped the stack of papers, making them even as she said, "I am but Joyce called me earlier to work for the rest of the day after Buffy fainted this afternoon."

He frowned. "What? Where is—"

"—in the office." She cut him off with a slight nod toward Joyce's office with her head. Spike immediately stalked to it, worry etching his features. He didn't bother to knock, didn't even bother to acknowledge Joyce as he rushed toward Buffy and kneeled beside her while she lay on the couch with one arm across her forehead.

"I'll leave you two alone." Joyce announced with a sympathetic smile. It was then that Spike realized Buffy wasn't alone. He smiled gratefully before Joyce turned around and closed the door behind her.

"Buffy, you okay? What happened?" He placed one hand first on her forehead, then her cheeks, finally resting it on her neck. The other hand stroked her arm soothingly.

"I'm okay. Just passed out, is all. I didn't have anything for breakfast so I felt kinda woozy earlier. But I'm fine now, really." Looking at him, she knew he didn’t believe her. She sighed. "I am fine, Spike." She tried to convince him again.

"Buffy, you're working too hard. Look at you. You work everyday, even weekends. You're still in high school, Buffy. Hell, you're not even close to graduating. It's still months away."

"But I love my job. It's something I can do that doesn't require straight A's on my report card. I'm not a genius like you, Spike. Besides, I have a lot of free time. Why not use it for doing something useful, like helping my mother." Spike was hurt. He lowered his gaze before looking back at her.

"So it's better spending time working than being with me then?" She sighed, knowing she shouldn't have said what she did about having free time.

"I didn't mean it like that. Of course I love to spend time with you. But please try to understand. I feel like I can bond with my mother again now that I'm working for her." He looked into her eyes. He knew he would eventually give in to her pleas. And most of all, he knew how she had missed having bonding time with her mother.

Spike sighed, conceding. "Right. Sorry, I was out of line." Her lips curled into a smile and he smiled back, lacing his fingers with hers.

Buffy gazed down to their joining hands. It was then that she noticed his bandaged thumb. She frowned. "What happened to your thumb?"

"Oh, I—" He paused as he remembered what Xander said. He chuckled and shook his head. "It was nothing. Nothing serious." Turning his head to Joyce's desk, he grinned slyly. "So, has your mom found out about our rampant sexcapades on her desk?" A crimson blush coloured her cheeks and she swatted his chest hard.