he was her family in all but blood. dawn would almost call it alike the bonds she had with the scoobies, but spike was a bit different then that. since she was young they had a different kind of kinship. he was the big brother she never knew she needed until he was there, and then she couldn't let him go. grief remained from when she had mourned him before discovering he had returned from the grave. a deep need to hold onto him, to make sure he was really here and it hadn't been a dream. it remained within her like the need to exhale. not that she could ever tell spike that. he wouldn't want to have caused such feelings, and it was her burden to carry. "one of... ?" a frown on her face, looking at the ring on his hand. spike wearing jewelry wasn't new, but by his gesture dawn had to assume there was something special about it. "what does it do?" she asked and finally allowed herself herself to loosen. let go of that tightness, that fear it had been an intentional secret, and instead accept that it had been spike's brand of surprise. no malice intended. just... a surprise. and it was one. "not. cool." she smacked his shoulder putting no strength into it. even with the knowledge there was no world she could physically hurt him, it was natural for her not even to risk it. not that she could land a punch even if she really was trying. "new rule. no more surprising me, you've done it way too much." a pause, letting all the pout she previously carried melt back. "can i hug you now?"
"it's called a daylight ring . . it lets me walk around during the day and it protects me from the sun." spike answered. "this ring practically makes the world a bloody playground ! " he added, his accent heavy on his tongue. "given the option a hundred years ago i would have killed a priest and his mother for this ring." he joked fondly. although, spike knew with an advanage like that in the 1880's his kill count would have been tripled; and that's saying a lot for a vampire who was once called william the bloody. the platinum blonde haired male didn't need words from the brunet to know that she wasn't thrilled about the lack of communication on his part. even though dawn was like family it still felt different and perhaps even new to know that he had someone in his corner who needed to know if he was okay or not. a smirk appeared when dawn mentioned that his surprise was not, cool. the smacked to his shoulder issued a small chuckle. blue eyes finding her brown honeydews, amused by her reaction while reading between the lines. "i missed you too, dawny. more than you know." he admitted. spike was never into the touchy feely conversations, but when it came to the summers sisters he often made an exception without thought. "whatever you say boss." he agreed to the brunet's demands. " do you want that in writing, or . . " he teased, trying to make light of the situation, and perhaps help change her pout into a smile.
"what are you waiting for, little bit . . get over here." he pulled her in for a hug.

















