Blue Horizons
Chapter Seventeen

“Mmm…” Elizabeth awoke the morning after the way one should awake the morning after. She felt sore, sticky, and as if she had run a marathon…and yet warm, comfortable, and well-rested at the same time. But number one on her list of pros to waking up this morning had to be the strong, sculpted chest beneath her fingertips.

Even as she savored the feel of the body next to hers, soft fingers grazed her cheek, delicately outlining her face. A little smile snuck upon her lips, but she kept her eyes closed, allowing her sense of touch to overwhelm all others. Well, that and sound.

At that moment, a hearty chuckle was sending delightful little tingles all throughout her body.

“I know you’re awake, luv,” a husky voice whispered against her hair. “Not that ‘m objectin’ to the kittenish act…” he added with a wry grin.

She opened her eyes to give Spike an annoyed look, but it came off more as a radiant smile. “Hey,” she whispered softly, placing a feather-light kiss on his chest.

“Hey yourself, luv,” he practically purred beneath her.

“And you say I’m the kittenish one,” she teased lightly.

He raised his scarred eyebrow in response to that. “Frankly, after yesterday, I rather expected to wake up with a lion in bed,” he joked.

“Mmm…” She inched closer to him and lay her head on his bare chest, wrapping her arm around his waist. “Boy here in morning and no sexual frustration make Elizabeth happy girlfriend,” she murmured lightheartedly, her lips brushing his chest once more.

“Yeah…’bout that…” Spike began hesitantly. “Now, don’t get me wrong, I made sure I waited till you woke up. Knew you had this thing about wakin’ up next to a warm body and all, but…”

She looked up at him with mild trepidation.

“Any chance you’d let me get up an’ go to the loo?” he couldn’t help but grimace.

Her eyes widened when she realized her body’s own need. “Second that motion,” she agreed, sitting up abruptly.

Spike quickly shrugged into a pair of sweatpants that made him decent enough for a quick run to the bathroom. Elizabeth, meanwhile, slunk back into her dress, grimacing slightly at how the fabric clung to her in her less than pristine condition.

“Definitely need a shower,” she decided.

“Mmm, sounds fun,” Spike couldn’t help but tease, holding the door to his room open for her.

She gave him a sly little smile over her shoulder. “Sorry, lover,” she informed him with a little pout, “public bathroom means private showers.”

“S’pose we don’t want the whole house participatin’,” he agreed with that same idiotic grin that he’d had on his face ever since last night.

“Any more than they already heard, that is,” Elizabeth teased back before vanishing into one of the bathroom stalls.

She emerged to find Spike brushing his teeth and humming a little tune to himself as he did so. The song was probably some punk thing she couldn’t stand, but she didn’t care at that moment. That moment seemed so…domestic that she couldn’t even bring up the energy to tease him.

The illusion was shattered when Jonathan practically dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut on the stall Elizabeth had just vacated. Well, unless I make Jonathan our recluse of a son… Her mind added somewhat giddily.

“What?” Spike cocked one eyebrow and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

“Nothing,” she insisted, still giggling. “I’m gonna go get my shower stuff. I’ll be right back.”

“’ll be waitin’ for you every minute, luv,” he practically purred, his eyes shamelessly raking up and down her body.

She blushed slightly before rolling her eyes at herself. After all, he’d already seen everything there was. There was no reason she should still feel all delighted and tingly at the thought that he wanted her. There was something about Spike, though… She didn’t think she’d ever grow less excited about the way he looked at her.

She quickly slipped into her room to find – much to her amazement – that Willow was still snoring away in her bed, Tara at her side. Any naughty thoughts Elizabeth may have had were brushed aside by the complete presence of clothes. Still, Willow had teased her about fully-clothed sleeping together, so this information was still tease-worthy.

She quickly stripped out of her dress and wrapped herself up in her robe before dashing back to the bathroom.

One of the shower stalls was already occupied when she returned, the pair of sweatpants Spike had been wearing hung on the hook outside. She quickly stepped into the other, squeaking when the first blast of cold water struck her.

A chuckle emanated from the other stall. “Who forgot to check the temperature first this time?” Spike teased.

Elizabeth laughed. “Sorry about that,” she said with a little grin. “I was kind of…horny yesterday,” she finally confessed.

“Noticed,” Spike couldn’t help but joke. “And,” there was a hint of cheekiness in his voice, “you’ll be happy to know that Jonathan left so you din’t make that li’l confession in front of him.”

Elizabeth squealed and put her hand over her mouth belatedly…and completely unnecessarily. “Oops, forgot,” she sighed in disbelief. “I’m a bad, bad person. There’s no way I won’t have sexually terrorized the entire house by the end of the year.”

“Feel free to terrorize me all you want, luv…” OK, she could actually hear the smirk in those words…

“That’s the plan,” she agreed, amused. “Wait till I start going crazy, then jump sexy boyfriend’s bones.”

“Don’t s’pose I can make a li’l request?” he teased. “A bit less with the crazy and more with the bone jumpin’…and the callin’ me ‘sexy’?”

Elizabeth faked shock and surprise. “Who said I was talking about you?” she taunted him. “Maybe I was thinking about Riley and…er…” She couldn’t even manage to pull off her own sarcasm at that point and shrugged. “OK, so you’ve got a cute butt,” she finally conceded.

His laughter echoed through the shower stalls. “Jump me sooner next time?” he repeated.

Elizabeth bit her lip. “How about right now? Does right now sound good to you?” She rubbed her shampoo into her hair.

“Pet, we’re in a public pl—” The scent hit him at that moment. “Is that…vanilla?” he asked hopefully.

“Mmm-hmm,” she agreed in the most satisfied way she could manage.

“Right now, you say?” he said, resistance melting at that scent.

“Public place,” she couldn’t help but tease him. “Besides, getting clean is good. Cleanness would not result from sharing showers.”

He snorted at that. “By the way, ‘d like to thank you for conveniently waitin’ until after ‘d washed my sheets to take advantage of my sexy body.”

“I knew it!” she accused, giggling into her washcloth. “You love your laundry more than me!”

“Only do it about once a month,” Spike retorted, a sly smile on his face. “By all means, try to beat it…”

“You are so weird,” Elizabeth shook her head. “And I am so not getting into a race with your laundry to see which you can do more often…’cause, frankly, the laundry doesn’t stand a chance…”

“Wow, and here I thought I was kinky…” The voice suddenly interrupted their latest little sparring match.

“Anyanka?” Spike’s face turned beet red.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?” Anya sighed, wandering over to the sink and attentively flossing her teeth. “So, Elizabeth, did you enjoy the large penis and many orgasms?” she couldn’t help but tease.

“Anyanka!” Spike sounded mortified.

“Very much,” Elizabeth agreed with a little giggle.

In the other shower, Spike groaned in frustration, banging his head against the tile wall.

“Oops, I think we broke him,” Anya giggled.

“We better not’ve…” Elizabeth sounded slightly worried. Her head peeked out of her own shower curtain and over into his. “You all right, gorgeous?”

He gulped, but there was a little smile on the corners of his lips. “You an’ Anyanka…joinin’ forces…bloody terrifyin’!” he joked.

“Humph,” Anya inspected her teeth carefully in the mirror before turning to where Elizabeth’s neck and shoulders where visible in between the two curtains. “I know you’re kissing over there,” she accused.

With twin blushes, Elizabeth and Spike’s lips broke apart. What? It had seemed like an eternity since they’d last seen each other…

“You’d better not get all overly cutesy now,” Anya scrunched up her nose, “’cause, frankly, I enjoyed watching all the UST – very entertaining.” She put her hands on her hips and watched as both showers turned off, the towels on the hooks outside both miraculously vanishing over the top at the same time.

“Don’t worry, Anyanka,” Spike said wryly, stepping out of the shower, towel wrapped firmly around his waist. “We’ll ‘ave to go all through breakfast without…”

Elizabeth stepped out of the shower right at this and blushed slightly. But no amount of embarrassment could hide the glowing smile that lit up her face as she caught Spike’s hand and dragged him out after her.

“See you at breakfast then,” Anya agreed, turning back to the mirror, “although I suppose it’s more like lunch…” she added to herself. The door closed behind the pair, and Anya smiled after them. “If only all of us were so lucky,” she sighed, a slight frown creasing her forehead…

* * *

Faith woke up, alone and shivering in her bed, and wondered just when things had gotten so fucked up. Last night hadn’t been a new all-time low for her, but for some reason things had finally sunk in. And her conclusion was, quite simply, that she was fucked up.

She clutched her blankets tighter around her body as the shakes made her teeth begin to chatter. Her own skin felt cold and clammy to her touch, and every time she opened her eyes she felt like she would throw up. And, given that she hadn’t eaten anything in over three days, it would just be more of that horrible dry heaving. Hence, keeping her eyes closed was a really good idea.

At least she had woken up in her own room this time, rather than in…Brad’s? Brian’s? Ryan’s? What was his name again? She decided it didn’t matter. All that mattered now was that she was home and could sleep for a very long time.

A little smile dared to curl her lips in silent thanks to Willow. She hadn’t really been a friend to the girl – hell, she hadn’t been a friend to anyone lately – but, nevertheless, Willow had been there for every one of her numerous disasters this semester. It was nice to at least have one person looking out for her.

And, in the end, Faith thought that that was what she would miss the most. Because, even as fucked up as she was now, she at least had somewhere to go when she needed to…

* * *

“Where is everyone?” Elizabeth asked sleepily, practically collapsing into the chair beside Spike as she did so. How on earth was it possible for her to feel so tired and yet perfectly well-slept at the same time? Maybe the aerobic workout last night had something to do with it, a sarcastic voice in the back of her mind just couldn’t let that one go.

Across the table from them, Anya shrugged and glanced around the cafeteria. All the other tables were as crowded as they ever were on a Saturday morning, but the Westing House one seated only the three of them.

“Maybe they’ve already finished eatin’,” Spike suggested, practically shoveling his food into his mouth.

Next to him, Elizabeth had been left just as famished by their night’s activities. “Uh-uh,” she shook her head, drinking down her milk. “Will and Tara were still asleep when I was getting dressed,” she explained when her mouth was available for speech once more.

Anya’s brow furrowed once more. “They must’ve been out really late last night then. I wonder…” She trailed off abruptly, eyes widening.

Spike snorted and rolled his eyes. “There’s no way we’re not askin’ you what you know now,” he informed her. “You’re practically broadcastin’ that somethin’s up.”

Anya sighed. “I’m not supposed to know this,” she began. “I mean, I just happened to be sitting next to Willow when the call came, and it was official RA business and…” She noticed Spike and Elizabeth staring at her, if anything even more desperate for her to continue. “Faith had an ‘incident’ again,” she finally admitted, making little fingers gestures to indicate the parentheses.

Spike’s brow immediately furrowed. “What was it this time, luv?” he demanded.

Anya shrugged. “Some problem with one of those guys she hangs out with. She was kinda frantic. I think she suddenly realized that she was in over her head.”

Elizabeth, half not understanding the conversation, nudged Spike gently in the ribs to explain.

“Friends of Devon’s friends,” he sighed. “Faith met ‘em through him, an’ well…appreciated the easy access to many illegal substances that they had.”

“It was the cause of a good dozen or so of their break-ups,” Anya agreed with a slight grimace. “Devon’s into the whole ‘experimenting’ thing,” again with the air-quotes, “but even he has his limits.”

“And Faith didn’t?” Elizabeth guessed.

“Ten bucks says the doctors were jus’ tryin’ to save her from goin’ to jail that night they said it was ‘just food poisoning’,” Spike answered.

“So, what happened last night?” Elizabeth asked, concerned.

Anya shrugged. “Don’t know exactly. Probably never will. But if that girl doesn’t learn some restraint…” she sighed.

“M-Maybe we should help her?” Elizabeth suggested timidly. “Do an intervention or something like that?”

Spike shook his head ruefully. “Oz an’ Devon tried it.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Can’t really help someone with a problem like that if they don’t wanna be helped.”

Elizabeth frowned slightly at that. “But Faith was my friend,” she insisted. “There must be something…” She trailed off at the looks on her two companions’ faces. She bit back a wry laugh. “I guess it would’ve been helpful if I’d said this a couple of months ago, huh?” she sighed.

Spike gave her thigh a reassuring little squeeze. “She’s a tough bird,” he insisted. “She’ll get through it.”

“If she doesn’t get herself killed first,” Anya added darkly…

* * *

“Have I mentioned how adorable your toes are lately?” Elizabeth collapsed back onto the bed with a sigh, her face ending up right next to the feet in question.

Spike looked up from his book at her, one eyebrow quirked in a way that made his wire-frame reading glasses inch down his nose. It was arguably the cutest thing she had ever seen.

“Don’t believe you’ve ever mentioned it, luv,” he said with the beginnings of a smirk.

“Well, they’re adorable,” she informed him, planting a quick kiss on one big toe.

His eyebrow quirked in a way that indicated that he was now skeptical. “You finished your history paper already?” he inquired.

She sighed. “Except for the conclusion?” she pleaded slightly.

The eyebrow rose higher.

“OK, and the section before the conclusion, too,” she pouted, sitting up next to him, “but I really miss—” The index finger of her left hand traced a line right down the center of his chest. Unfortunately, his book blocked its progress just before his navel.

“Havin’ difficulty concentratin’ today?” Spike’s lips curved into a little smile. “Otherwise…preoccupied, perhaps?” He bookmarked his page and put the book aside with one hand while the other caught her own wandering fingers and guided them to his hip, pulling her so that she hovered over them.

She let out a wistful sigh. “A little,” she admitted ruefully.

“Then c’mere an’ let Spike make it all better,” he teased lightly, pulling her down into his arms.

She snuggled into his chest with a little murmur of contentment. “I feel bad about Faith,” she whispered softly.

“Humph,” he said sulkily, “an’ here I thought it was my sexy body that was gettin’ you all wound up…”

“That, too.” She looked up at him with a small smile before slowly leaning up to place a kiss on his lips.

He moaned and moved to remove his glasses, but she stayed his hand.

“The glasses are sexy,” she explained to his inquiring look after she had pulled away.

“Should I be jealous?” His eyes twinkled with merriment.

“No more than I should be jealous of your laundry,” she retorted.

She curled up beside him like they used to do when they just lay side by side and talked. He recognized the mood change and mirrored her actions, so that they were both facing each other.

“I’m a bad friend,” she decided.

“What makes you think that, kitten?”

“Faith in trouble. Me not knowing,” she answered simply.

“Is Faith your friend, though?” he pressed softly.

“We hung out, like, all through orientation,” Elizabeth insisted. “We were joined at the hip…when I wasn’t doing Tri Xi stuff, at least.”

“And was anything botherin’ her then?” he inquired.

Elizabeth shrugged. “Just, like, normal teenage stuff.” Her brow furrowed for a second. “What’re you getting at?”

“When did you stop hangin’ out with her?” he persisted.

She thought on it for a second. “Maybe…second week? Third?” She winced slightly when she realized she couldn’t remember. “Whenever she stopped coming to class. I was too caught up in my own thing to seek her out.”

“Did she seek you out?” he demanded.

“Well…no,” Elizabeth sighed. “I know where you’re going with this, so don’t.”

He shrugged. “Sometimes people jus’ drift apart,” he whispered softly into her hair. “No one wants it to. It just happens.”

She giggled slightly. “When did you go all Obi-Wan on me?” she teased.

He bit his lip. “There was someone I cared about once that started driftin’ away,” he began softly. “Gave up practically everythin’ else to chase after her…”

“It’s not me, is it?” Elizabeth winced slightly.

“No,” Spike laughed. “You practically came runnin’ into my arms; all I had to do was be there.”

“Are you saying I’m easy?” she demanded, mock-offended.

“You think that was easy?!” he exclaimed in disbelief. “Patience is kinda not my thing.” His hand found its way to her hip and began massaging it gently.

“Never would’ve guessed,” she said with a sly smile, reaching up to trace the line of his scarred eyebrow. “Was it Drusilla?” she asked softly.

“Cecily.”

“That’s a new one,” she commented curiously.

“The stupid first love,” Spike sighed. “Everyone has one – even William.”

Elizabeth was downright curious now. He hardly ever referred to his given name. “William?” she repeated.

“Every bit the loser I told you about,” he sighed. “He gets shuffled off to England for high-school, an’ suddenly there’s Cecily – beautiful…at least to me at the time, innocent…or so she seemed, and just waitin’ for a new lapdog.”

“Let me guess,” she teased, “you.”

“I wished!” he laughed. “Oh no, she an’ William were just ‘friends’. She wanted someone excitin’ and dangerous and…well, just like Spike.”

“ ‘Exciting’?” Elizabeth couldn’t help but poke fun. “ ‘Dangerous’?”

“Why do I have the feelin’ the words ‘kitty-cat’ are gonna pop outta your mouth any second?” he let out a long-suffering sigh.

“You know me too well.” She stretched her neck up to nibble at the silver ring in his ear, and he moaned slightly in response. “So, William turned into Spike…” she prodded for the rest of the story.

“Oi!” he complained. “I din’t get to that revelation yet!”

She rolled her eyes. “It was obvious. Continue.”

He huffed slightly but went on anyway. “Spike worked out well. Cecily still din’t want him, but Spike was a lot happier than William. Cecily kept movin’ on, though, and…” He sighed. “Sometimes you just ‘ave ta do what makes you happy. You can’t chase after everyone, or there’ll be nothin’ left ‘f yourself.”

“Are you implying that I have weird lesbian feelings for Faith?” she teased.

“Well, she is pretty hot…” Spike began.

She whapped him in the arm. “Hey!” she protested. “You’re not allowed to talk about other girls like that!”

“Ah, so you want me to lie to you then?” he teased. “Keep all those feelin’s bottled up deep inside until they explode an’—mmf!”

Her lips caught his savagely, and she thrust her tongue deep between his parted lips, reclaiming all her territory in his mouth. His tongue intertwined with hers gracefully as he moaned against her mouth’s assault.

Just as abruptly as she had begun the kiss, she pulled away. “All bottled up feelings can be directed right into my lips,” she informed him primly.

“Mmm,” he murmured softly before sneaking another kiss.

“I might’ve been able to do something, though,” she whispered softly, resting her head against his chest once more. “If I’d been there…”

“Been there, what? Runnin’ off to raves and gettin’ doped up? You honestly think that’s your thing, luv?” he demanded.

“No, but…”

“You can’t fix everything,” he cut her off with a fingertip to her lips. “You jus’ give people the opportunity to stay, an’ if they don’t leave—”

“Promise me you won’t leave me.” Even she hadn’t been meaning to say that. And she certainly hadn’t meant it to sound that needy.

He gave her an affectionate little smile. “’ll do everythin’ in my power to stay,” he agreed, brushing a gentle kiss against her forehead.

She smiled up at him. “Why did I find happiness, but Faith didn’t?” she wondered.

Spike shrugged. “I knew that I wouldn’t’ve been so miserable all those years.”

“You don’t feel guilty now?”

“Never.”

* * *

“I’m really gonna miss you guys…” There were tears in Faith’s eyes as she pulled Xander in for a huge bear hug.

He patted her softly on the back, and Anya was proud of the fact that she didn’t even get jealous. Although that could be because Faith was squeezing her ribs now.

“Let him ‘catch’ you in skimpy lingerie,” Faith whispered her advice into Anya’s ear.

A grin crossed Anya’s face at that. “You should return next year,” she decided. “And next time you can actually take your midterms!” she added perkily.

Faith laughed at that. She briefly turned to Jonathan and gave the stunned young man a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. “Bye, cutie,” she said with a little smile.

Jonathan’s face flamed, but he kind of had this goofy smile on his face as well.

“Hey, E.” Faith turned to the final pair she was leaving behind. “Spike.”

Elizabeth caught her in a hug first. “I’m so sorry we drifted apart,” she whispered softly.

“These things happen,” Faith assured her. “And, hey, you’re still one of the best friends I ever had.” She flashed Elizabeth a hint of her old wicked smile. “Mind if I cop a quick feel off your stud?”

Elizabeth laughed. She hadn’t seen how gaunt Faith had become in the past few weeks until now, but it was nice to see that some of the spark was still left. “Be careful,” she advised. “He bites.”

“I’ll bet he does,” Faith agreed with a wink before practically leaping into Spike’s arms. “I’ll miss you, handsome,” she placed a quick kiss on his cheek. “You treat my E right, now…”

“No worries, luv,” Spike assured her. “Just take care ‘f yourself.”

“Can do.” Faith gave his ass a playful little pinch and got one in return before she slung her bag over her shoulder and got into the van where Oz and Devon, together with Tara and Willow, were accompanying her on the ride back to Boston. With a little wave, she shut the door behind her.

…And then it swung open one last time. “Don’t ride that stallion of yours too hard, E!” were Faith’s last laughing words before the van drove off, and one of the residents of Westing House was gone for good.

Elizabeth flushed slightly and gave Spike a shy smile up through her lashes. He merely chuckled in response.

“Um…” Jonathan’s voice was almost too quiet to hear at first. “…so, um…whatdowedonow?” He practically spit out that last phrase.

“I vote for movie, popcorn, and house lounge,” Xander said with a sigh.

“Second,” Spike agreed, playing idly with the unlit cigarette in his hands. He wasn’t planning on lighting it, of course. That would completely derail the Get Spike To Quit Smoking Campaign number sixteen.

Elizabeth watched Jonathan slowly backing away from the group and bit her lip as an idea came to her. “Hey, Xander, you’ve got a copy of Star Wars, right?”

Jonathan’s retreat stopped. Bingo.

“Sure,” Xander agreed. “I’ve got the entire trilogy, actually.”

“Good,” Elizabeth said with a smile, “’cause I’ve only seen the second one.”

“Christ, Summers!” Spike exclaimed in exasperation. “Haven’t you seen any good movies?”

She turned to Jonathan. “Have you seen it?” she asked kindly.

“Are you kidding?!” he exclaimed in disbelief. “And who on earth let you see The Empire Strikes Back without watching A New Hope? That’s, like…sacrilege!”

Elizabeth took his arm and led him inside with the group. “I heard it was the best one,” she shrugged. “Plus, I already know the whole ‘I am your father’ thing.”

“But you haven’t seen the first one?” Jonathan persisted. “You don’t know about the Death Star?”

“Was that some lame eighties band?” she couldn’t help but tease Spike, who was in front of them on the stairs.

“And you haven’t seen The Return of the Jedi, either,” Jonathan tisked.

“What else can there possibly be to see?” she shrugged. “I already know the whole Darth Vader thing…”

“More stuff happens than that!” Jonathan insisted.

“What, is Leia, like, his sister?” she asked with complete sarcasm.

Spike and Xander couldn’t conceal their snickers as they entered the lounge.

Jonathan merely shook his head ruefully. “You have to watch all three of them in order,” he insisted. “And, preferably, not The Phantom Menace as well…”

“I sense an afternoon plan.” Elizabeth pulled Jonathan onto the couch beside her. “Just we five left in Westing House on a Sunday afternoon…”

“Always fun to just all hang together,” Spike agreed, landing in the seat on the other side of her and shaking his head at his girlfriend’s not-so-subtly. Although, maybe it worked. After all, he hadn’t heard Jonathan talk so much in ever…

Chapter Eighteen

Elizabeth awoke when a tentative knock sounded on their door. It was a testament to how she now thought of Spike’s room as ‘theirs’ that she didn’t even hesitate to answer for him. “Yeah? Who is it?”

“Willow,” Willow announced through the door just as Spike was beginning to stir beside Elizabeth. “Your dad’s on the phone,” she informed her now semi-roommate.

“Be there in a sec!” Elizabeth called out, scrambling out of bed and into her bathrobe.

Now alone on the mattress, Spike let out a slight moan of complaint, his arm reaching out in vain across the section of the bed she’d just vacated.

“Be right back,” she assured him with a quick kiss to the forehead. “I’ve just gotta take this call. This could be it!” She went over to open the door and accepted the cordless phone from Willow with an embarrassed little smile. “Thanks,” she said for the umpteenth time since Willow had agreed to help her keep her little relationship with Spike secret from her father’s inquiries.

Willow shrugged like it was nothing. “Return to phone soon-ish,” she requested before heading back to her room.

Elizabeth shut the door again and crawled back into bed with Spike before hitting the talk button. “Hi, daddy!” she said in the most cheerful voice she could manage.

“How’s my little Buffy doing?” Hank responded just as perkily.

From his position nuzzled against her throat, Spike tried desperately not to laugh. Elizabeth gave his behind a playful little swat in response, reminding him to behave.

“Great!” she said enthusiastically. “I’ve got all my finals over the next week, so I’m studying pretty much nonstop, but other than that…”

“Hard tests this semester, pumpkin?” Hank asked.

“Some more than others,” she agreed, “but I think I’m ready.”

“That’s great, sweetie!” Hank said happily. “I’m glad to hear you’re doing so well. Especially after that nasty break-up you went through…”

“Oh. Yeah,” she tried to sound somewhat subdued.

She and Riley had gotten together for lunch only once after they’d broken up simply in order to get the ‘official’ story of their break-up straight so that they could both fool their overbearing parents. They were both off the hook now, but Elizabeth was still forced to pretend that she was moping over Riley. It was very irritating.

“Well, I’ve got a lot of other stuff going on, so it’s better now,” she informed her father.

At that moment, Spike decided that it was absolutely vital to demonstrate some of that lovely ‘other stuff’, and his hand snaked between her thighs, casually swirling the wiry dark hair there around his fingers. She turned to give him an annoyed look, but he merely flashed her an unrepentant smile in response.

“Yeah, I’m glad everything’s going better for you,” Hank said, oblivious to what was happening at the other end of the phone. “You know…” he began cautiously, “the Mansfields’ son Richard is a freshman there, too, this year. Maybe the two of you could hook up.”

Spike scowled at the phone.

Elizabeth gave the hand between her legs a reassuring little squeeze and guided it to her more intimate regions. “I can handle my own love life, dad!” she informed him in the best whiny teenager voice she could manage.

Hank chuckled slightly. “I’m sure you can, princess,” he quickly amended. “But if you’re ever interested…”

“I’ll let you know,” she assured him wearily. One of Spike’s talented digits slipped into her inner folds just then, and she bit back the little gasp that came to her lips.

“That’s fine,” Hank agreed, absentmindedly shuffling through the papers in his briefcase. “Look, Buffy, the reason I called you is…” He paused when he couldn’t find the file he was looking for.

Elizabeth held her breath and crossed her fingers. “Yes?” she asked nervously.

“It turns out,” Hank admitted wryly, “that I have to be in Berlin over Christmas. Your mom’s flying down to Mexico to stay at the vacation house down there. Now, if you wanted, you could go with your mom but…”

“She has business?” Elizabeth asked, perhaps a little too eagerly.

“We’re working with Delaney on the merger so…yeah, it probably won’t be a lot of fun down there this year,” Hank agreed.

“So, should I just stay here with friends?” she asked hopefully. Spike’s finger had slipped deep inside her by now, but it paused in its ministrations while the two of them both held their breaths, waiting for Hank’s answer.

“That would probably work out best,” he agreed apologetically. “Now, I know you had your heart set on coming home for the holidays, but…you can find somewhere to go, right, pumpkin?”

Elizabeth tried not to sound excited, which was rather hard given that she’d just gotten her Christmas wish and Spike’s hand was once again pushing her towards her climax. “I-I’ll manage,” she replied somewhat shakily. His fingers had now found that sensitive spot deep within her and were stroking it rhythmically. “I’ve got some friends that are staying in town…”

“See?” Hank said in relief. “It’ll be fun after all. Really sorry about this, kiddo, but you know…”

“ ‘Business comes first’,” she quoted with a little eye-roll.

“I’ll be sure to call you on Christmas,” Hank insisted. “Be sure to give me the number where you’re staying.”

“I-I will, dad…” Spike’s lips were on the soft spot at the curve of her throat now while his fingers coaxed her pleasure higher and higher…

“Well, I’ve got to make a few more calls before I get on the plane, so bye Buffy!” Hank said cheerfully.

“Bye, dad,” Elizabeth managed to get out before clicking the phone off. Only seconds later, blinding white lights exploded before her, and her entire body rocked and trembled as the pleasure washed over her. “Yes, Spike!” she let out in a strangled whimper.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered against her ear as she fell back down to earth beside him. Cautiously, he withdrew his fingers from her once more.

She lay there in lazy contentment for a few seconds before dropping the phone off on the nightstand and turning in his arms so that she was facing him once more. “You’re a bad, bad man,” she informed him with a mock-scowl. “What if my father had heard that?”

“The badest,” Spike agreed with a small smile, his hand reaching up to lightly cup her breast. “And I would’ve told him that I was busy ravishin’ his daughter, so he should just butt out.”

“Oh yeah,” she rolled her eyes, but there was a little smile on her face, “I’m sure that would’ve gone over well…”

“You din’t seem to be objectin’ at the time,” Spike retorted with a sly smile.

“Not…complaining,” she agreed with a little grin, her fingers delicately tracing the scar on his eyebrow.

He leaned in to accept a sweet kiss from her lips in response. Even though the actual contact was fleeting, they were both panting slightly afterwards.

“So,” he began with a sheepish little smile, “you’re spendin’ Christmas with the Giles’ then?”

“I don’t know,” she teased. “Sleeping out on the street is very appealing…”

He chuckled. “You want me to tell my mum you can make it?” he offered.

“Don’t bother,” Elizabeth insisted with a little smile. “I have to see her to give my final presentation tomorrow, anyway. I can tell her then.”

Spike gave her a shy smile and placed a soft kiss on her shoulder. “Mum really likes you,” he commented.

“The feeling’s mutual,” she agreed.

Something powerful flashed in the cerulean depths of his eyes. “I really like you, too,” he informed her with another soft kiss to her throat.

“Mmm,” she murmured contentedly, “I’d kinda gathered that.”

He kissed her several more times in response, but in the back of his mind he took note that she hadn’t even reciprocated that statement. Given that every day he was getting closer and closer to uttering those three little words that could change everything, this was mildly worrisome. But not that important at the moment, so he banished his concerns from his mind.

“We’ve got a slight problem,” he finally informed her with a sigh.

“Oh?” She looked up at him worriedly.

He gave her a rueful smile. “I wanna ravish you right now, but if we don’t study for the history final, we’re both screwed.”

“In more ways than one,” she couldn’t help but joke.

He raised an eyebrow in response.

“Right,” she agreed with a little sigh. “Mind-blowing sex or homework?”

“Well, when you put it that way,” Spike agreed, “’s not really much of a contest, now, is it?”

“Mmm-mmm,” she agreed before her _expression hardened. “But we absolutely can’t spend the entire weekend in bed,” she insisted.

“Right,” Spike agreed mock-seriously, his lips nibbling at her ear as he spoke.

“Mmm,” she murmured in appreciation, “b-because we’re both mature adults and—oh god!” She clutched his mouth to her breast, her body writhing beneath him in pleasure.

He whimpered slightly at the feel of her hips undulating against his and hardened in response.

She reached down to stroke him then, returning the pleasure he gave her. Her small hand wrapped around his girth as she began to pump up and down, and up and…

“Need you now!” Spike gasped out, his eyes rolling back in their sockets. Shakily, one of his hands reached out for the bedside drawer…

And Elizabeth batted it away. “No rubber,” she insisted.

He looked down at her with a lust-fogged gaze. “But, um…we need the, uh…protection…” He was finding it incredibly difficult to think what with the way her hand grasped him.

“We keep up the way we’re going, and you’re going to go broke by the end of the month from buying condoms,” she teased.

His brow furrowed slightly as he tired to concentrate on the conversation. “They give ‘em away for free at student health,” he informed her.

She nodded. “And they also give away these little pills that are just as effective,” she teased lightly. Then her _expression softened. “I figured it was probably a good idea since, y’know, I want to feel you…”

He nodded in agreement and returned to her embrace, his lips meeting hers in a passionate kiss. Her tongue joined his eagerly as her legs slid around his waist, bringing the soft head of his cock up against her moist folds.

She gasped at her first feel of a bare male member pressing against her and then slowly into her. She had thought it was good before, but nothing compared to feel of his contour snuggly within her, his soft sensitive skin rubbing against her inner walls.

Spike moaned against her as her flesh molded against his like sword about its scabbard, the feel of her heat directly against his more powerful than he could bear. He began to thrust deeply within her, using all the control he had to keep each stroke long and sure, pounding the sensitive spot by her womb with every push.

Elizabeth cried out and clutched his body tighter against hers, wanting to feel all his flesh now that she’d gotten a sample. Her hands outlined every strong muscle of his back while her toes gently kneaded his ass as she pulled him back inside of her after every out-stroke.

He felt himself about to explode at the way she was holding him and reached down between their bodies to find her sensitive nub.

She cried aloud and came at the twin stimulation to her clit and g-spot, gasping out his name in frenzied cries as she did so.

He let himself go then and flooded her womb with his semen, murmuring her name against her hair as he spent himself.

She gasped at the feel of his warm seed spurting into her body, her fingers clutching his hair, pulling him in for a passionate kiss as their bodies joined in the way nature had intended for them.

The kiss continued long after their climaxes faded, but their bodies persisted in remaining linked, savoring every moment that they were together.

“Wow!” Elizabeth finally gasped as she broke away for air. “That was really…wow!”

Spike finally slipped out of her reluctantly and rolled to land at her side. “Wow,” he repeated simply, staring up at the ceiling, still stunned at what they had just experienced. It had always been amazing with her, better than with anyone he’d ever been with before, but nothing could have prepared him for that.

“If I had known,” she panted slightly between words, “that it would be…that good…I would’ve gotten on the pill a long time ago…”

“Yeah…” he agreed with a gasp, his arm shakily reaching out to hold her body, pulling her to him as they enjoyed the afterglow.

“I’ve never, y’know…without before,” she admitted, somewhat embarrassed. “It’s…different.”

“Different as in ‘better’,” he agreed with a chuckle, nuzzling her hair softly and enjoying the feel of her hot little body sprawled out atop his.

“Thanks for staying with me long enough for me to find out,” she whispered against the hard muscles of his chest. “It…means a lot to me…”

“Could never leave you,” he informed her passionately, giving her as much of a squeeze as his arms could manage. It seemed like his entire body had turned to Jell-O.

“Good,” she sighed softly. “Because I’ve never…cared for anyone as much as you,” she confessed shyly, turning her head so that she could look up into his eyes. “You drive me crazy, both in the annoying way and in the I-want-to-jump-you-right-now way.” She giggled slightly. “But,” she bit her lower lip and crawled up so that her face hovered right over his, “I really, really like you…”

A wide smile lit up his face as several subconscious fears were put to rest. “Feel the same way about you, kitten,” he agreed, pulling her down for a passionate kiss. And maybe more, he added in his head.

She pulled away and let out a disappointed little sigh a minute later, though. “Unfortunately,” she complained, “we’ve both still got finals to study for.”

“Always knew school was evil,” he groaned, his own disappointed sigh echoing her own as she slipped from his arms and headed for the bathroom to clean up…

* * *

Elizabeth chewed the end of her pencil and frowned, her lower lip jutting out in a pout that was undoubtedly the most adorable thing he’d ever seen.

“1879,” she finally decided.

“Right you are, pet,” he agreed with a little smile. “Now hit me.”

“If you insist,” she jokingly cocked her fist.

“Oi! Not like that,” he held up his hands in protest. “Plus, you wouldn’t hit a guy with glasses, would you?” he teased.

She crawled up onto the couch beside him and placed a quick kiss on the bridge of his nose right where the wire-frames in question rested. “The only reason you wear those things now is because you know I think they’re sexy,” she accused.

A seductive smirk curled at the edges of his lips, and he opened his mouth to reply when a voice cut him off.

“Other people are trying to study,” Anya pointed out bluntly, looking up briefly from the circle of papers that surrounded her, each containing the secrets to making lots and lots of money in Anya’s scrawling handwriting.

“Sorry,” Elizabeth said apologetically, retreating to her half of the couch. “So, uh…what were the causes of the Great Depression?” she asked Spike.

“Well, the really obvious immediate ones were the Stock Market crash an’—”

Elizabeth ticked off the points on the review sheet as he made them, glancing around the room at all the studying students and smiling inwardly. At about noon on Sunday, every single resident of Westing House had almost simultaneously become tired of studying alone, and they’d each trailed into the lounge to work there all within an hour.

Even Jonathan, whom Elizabeth had only seen once since the Great Star Wars Marathon, was sitting in the armchair in the corner, feverishly scribbling away at a problem set.

Next to him, Devon had plugged in his laptop and was busy writing one of his numerous papers. If nothing else, his break-up with Faith had driven him to turn to constant work in order to escape the less-than-pleasant aftereffects of Faith’s final departure. Elizabeth didn’t know what Faith had said to him on the trip back to Boston, but the very Monday he had returned, Devon had gone to his advisor and declared himself a journalism major. Elizabeth had been amazed at just how into the topic he was after she had had her first conversation with him about it. But it did mean that he had tons to write now.

Tara was in a similar predicament. For her honor’s project she was writing a book of short stories, and half of it was due at the end of this semester. Being the dedicated student that she was, she’d already finished. But her perfectionism meant that she was running them all through with a fine-toothed comb now, while writing her other papers at the same time.

Willow sat beside her on the other couch, fumbling over the data from her own honors classes. Elizabeth found the pair of them particularly cute; both brows furrowed as they scribbled intently on their papers, occasionally breaking off to exchange shy smiles and tell each other how close they were to being done.

In front of the couch, Xander was openly panicking. He’d somehow managed to get three finals on Wednesday, and he tended to panic when he had even one test a day. Elizabeth truly didn’t envy him as she watched him juggle three textbooks all of which he’d been neglecting for almost a month.

The center of the room was clearly Anya’s territory. The young econ major apparently studied through creating elaborate shapes and patterns out of her note pages and then rearranging them every five minutes. Elizabeth wasn’t quite sure how the system worked, but given Anya’s impeccable GPA she had no doubt that it did.

Oz was listening to his headphones in the other armchair, pencil tapping against his paper in a drumbeat whenever he wasn’t making notes for his paper. What kind of paper anyone could possibly write just from listening to music, Elizabeth had no clue, but it sounded cool.

“…And a partridge in a pear tree,” Spike finally concluded his recitation. Her foot had somehow ended up in his lap in the meantime, and he was gently massaging her toes. Cor, it was hard to study when all he wanted to was shag her until she couldn’t walk!

“Yup,” she agreed, popping the ‘p’, “looks like you’re ready.”

“Don’t s’pose you wanna go back to my room then?” he asked in a sultry whisper.

“The flaw in that plan is that I’m not ready yet,” she informed him, whapping the hand that was sneaking up her thigh with her notebook. “I still need to go over all those dates a few more times.”

Spike let out a resigned sigh. “OK, luv,” he agreed. “You ready?”

“Oh, yeah, baby,” she said with a grin.

He gave her an odd look and a little gulp before he started down the study sheet. “Boston Tea Party?” he began.

Elizabeth’s nose scrunched up as she ticked through the list of mnemonic devices she and Spike had come up with to help her; memorization was definitely her weak point. “17…” she began. “Well, it’s before the revolution, so it’s probably one of those 1770s dates…”

“Yeah,” Spike kept his tone neutral.

“1773?” she guessed.

“Right again, pet,” he nodded. “You know these better’n you think.”

She frowned slightly. “I really have to get good grades this semester,” she insisted. “Give me some more…”

* * *

However, despite studying all afternoon and evening as well as forbidding sex the previous night so that she could sleep, Elizabeth still began to panic when Professor Hall announced that they only had five minutes left. She quickly scribbled in all the guesses she had for the dates but was unsure of and just didn’t bother to write in the names she couldn’t remember for her essays.

She finally got her paper turned in with less than a minute to go. Fortunately, almost half the class was still in there as well, so she could at least hope that there would be a curve that would help her.

Spike, of course, had finished almost fifteen minutes before her and gone out. Elizabeth actually suspected that he’d finished before that but stuck around a little while longer in order to keep her from freaking out that she was flunking. She found him now outside the lecture hall door, staring wistfully at the unlit cigarette between he fingers.

“You know, you don’t have to try to quit smoking again right during finals week,” she assured him.

He eyed her and then the cigarette warily. “I think ‘s callin’ to me, luv,” he sighed, “whisperin’ how good it will be if I just give in…”

She gave him a fond smile and took his arm. “C’mon,” she said, plucking the temptation from his grasp, “I need some cheesecake and a latte after that horrible exam.”

“That bad?” he asked sympathetically.

She groaned and let her head fall to his shoulder. “I’m gonna flunk out,” she insisted.

“You’re not gonna flunk out,” Spike assured her. “Did you answer all the essay questions?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, “but my answer for number four was really crappy.”

“That the one on patterns of immigrant migration?” he asked.

She nodded. “Ugh! We never even discussed that in class! And it was, like, ten pages in the book…”

He shrugged. “My answer was half-assed, too,” he assured her. “But at least you got a answer. That guy who turned his test in right before me?” he reminded her.

Her brow furrowed. “Is he even in our class?” she asked.

Spike chuckled at that. “Not for long. He left the entire front page blank.” Out of habit, he dug around in his duster pocket, found a cigarette, and lit it before he’d even realized it. “Damn,” he sighed, watching the smoke curl up from it ruefully before he shrugged and took a deep drag.

Elizabeth didn’t comment. Nagging was quite possibly the least effective way of getting him to quit; the silent support thing seemed to work much better. “So, you’re done then,” she remembered, a hint of jealousy in her voice. “That means you actually get to sleep tonight.”

“Had too much ‘f that last night,” he teased, his arm slipping around her waist to hold her to him.

“I still have my English paper due on Friday,” she reminded him.

“I know,” he agreed with a sigh. A wicked smile lit up his lips. “Don’t s’pose you’d be willin’ to plagiarize one of my old papers to give yourself some extra free time?” he teased.

“Mmm…tempting,” she gave him a little smile, “but I’ll pass.”

He gave her a little wink and a smile. “Well, there goes my evenin’,” he mock-lamented.

“You can proofread it for me when I’m done,” she offered, taking a seat at one of the cozy two-person tables that lined the campus coffee shop.

He let his bag collapse in the chair across from hers. “Latte and cheesecake,” he repeated her order. “You want that plain?”

“See if they’ve got chocolate cheesecake,” she requested. “If not, I just want strawberries on top.” She flipped open a notebook from her own bag and studiously began taking notes.

“Be right back, luv.” He brushed a gentle kiss across her forehead before taking his place at the end of the rather long line.

Elizabeth allowed herself a little smile as she outlined her paper. For all of Spike’s badass exterior, he really was a hopeless gentleman inside. He had all sorts of cute habits like holding open doors and wrapping his coat around her shoulders at even her slightest shiver. And he could do it all while throwing not-so-subtle innuendoes her way and arguing with her at the same time. It was one of the things she loved most about him.

“Ohmygod, Bitsy!” a high-pitched screech interrupted her studying…well, OK, her Spike daydreaming while pretending to study…

She cringed inwardly. There really was only one person who had ever called her that, and she had actually found it more annoying than ‘Buffy’, given how sensitive she was about her height…or complete lack thereof. “Kathy!” she managed to smile as she looked up and discovered the girl she’d managed not to see in almost two months.

“Ohmygod!” That seemed to be Kathy’s new catch phrase. “I haven’t seen you in, like…a long time!”

“What a coincidence,” Elizabeth said dryly, “I haven’t seen you, either.”

“Imagine that!” Kathy obviously didn’t get the joke. “So, like, what are you doing?” she asked, snapping at her gum as she did so.

“Studying. Finals.” Elizabeth managed a little smile and an eye-roll to indicate how much she’d rather be doing something else…or someone else, as the case may be.

“Yuck!” Kathy announced. “I had those, too. They sucked.”

“Big time,” Elizabeth agreed. “So, how’ve you been?”

“Ohmygod! So, so cool! You?”

“The same.” Elizabeth wondered what ever could’ve possessed her to want to hang out with Kathy’s crowd over Westing House. She was sure the girl didn’t try to piss her off, but she still managed to do so all the time.

“You ever manage to get out of that hellhole?” Kathy’s demonstrated Elizabeth’s point even as she was thinking it.

“No, I still live in Westing House,” she admitted.

“Isn’t that, like, the loser house?”

It was the first time the blond that had accompanied Kathy spoke up. Elizabeth hadn’t even noticed her until then.

Elizabeth managed a tightlipped smile. “It’s nice,” she insisted. “I like it there.”

The blond gave her a disbelieving look. “I heard that, like, everyone there is a geek.”

“Bitsy’s not a geek,” Kathy insisted. “It’s not her fault where she got stuck. I mean, hey, I was trapped there for a couple of weeks, too.”

Elizabeth managed a patient smile. After all, Kathy was standing up for her in her own way.

The blond girl shrugged. “I guess,” she agreed with a toss of her hair.

“Ohmygod!” Kathy abruptly exclaimed. “You two don’t know each other, do you?” She practically bounced in excited when Elizabeth shook her head. “This is Harmony,” Kathy presented her friend, “and this is Bitsy!”

“Elizabeth,” Elizabeth clarified, offering Harmony her hand.

Harmony eyed it skeptically before determining that the quality of Elizabeth’s manicure probably indicated that the hand would be clean enough to touch. She accepted the quick shake.

“Ohmygod!” Kathy’s cry was beginning to become something of a chorus. “There’s that guy!” she exclaimed, turning to Elizabeth. “Y’know, the asshole?”

Spike stepped up to their table at that moment. One eyebrow skeptically raised in Kathy’s direction, he set down Elizabeth’s latte and cheesecake in front of her. “They only had strawberry, luv,” he said apologetically before moving to take his seat.

With a sudden quirk of humor, Elizabeth caught him before he could go and gave his lips a quick kiss right in front of Kathy and Harmony. When he finally sat down, Kathy’s jaw was hanging on its hinges.

“Oh. My. God!” She caught Harmony’s hand and practically had to yank her from the table; the blond woman seemed to be practically drooling over the table at the sight of Spike.

Elizabeth watched them go with mild amusement. “ ‘Ohmygod’ count totaled at six,” she informed Spike with a wry smile.

“You had that beat in less than a minute the last time we had sex,” he teased.

She blushed and swatted at his arm playfully. “Pig,” she sulked, digging into her dessert.

“Oi! I bring you cheesecake, an’ all I get’s ‘pig’?” he complained.

She gave his hand a little pat. “Sorry, I guess I do owe you,” she agreed before giggling. “Did you see the _expression on Kathy’s face when I kissed you?”

Spike chuckled at that as well. “You know they’re gossipin’ about us right now, luv.” He took a sip of his own hot chocolate.

“Let them,” Elizabeth decided. “I mean, what’s more important? The gossip of people I don’t really care about or the English paper from hell…?”

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