#scooby reader

Willow was focusing, closing her eyes and trying to make sure her focus was on magic and nothing else. But when the door swung open, it sent Willow into a panic and when she saw that it was Spike storming in demanding a love potion, she couldn’t help but shout what she was feeling.

Son-of-a “Bitch!” was all that Willow shouted out loud, having been interrupted by Spike sending the magic she had started to manifest straight for him. She moved to look at him as she said it, her magic working in such mysterious and sometimes literal ways. It backfired and Willow’s eyes widened, after a black Labrador puppy appeared from behind a cloud of smoke where Spike had been stood before.

She opened her mouth to say something but only a giggle escaped her lips. The puppy growled at her, scampers off. He made it as far as a graveyard before he spoke to himself in confusion, having seen his reflection in a puddle.

“Woof!” Bloody hell! I’m a sodding puppy! I’m gonna kill that good for nothing little witch when I-

He started to scamper away from his reflection, but he was cut off from his non-verbal little rant, as he was running towards a crypt for shelter and got caught on the fencing. The wiring was caught, digging into his flesh slightly. He let out an angry little growl and started to struggle but with no luck.

At this very moment, you were ambling through the graveyard and you happened upon a little puppy who had been tangled up in the wiring. You gasped, he was the cutes little pup with the brightest blue eyes. They were almost human and he was so small, with a loud voice despite the size. You melted, rushing straight over to him and trying to comfort him. He snapped at you, but you loved animals, understanding he was probably a little stressed. You manage to untangle him and start to check his wounds – they are scratches but you decide you’ll have to try and keep an eye on him and take him home. You were so excited to find a little furry friend, despite his apparent grumpy temperament. You carried him home, whispering softly as you did.

“Come in little one, welcome to your new home” You smile, snuggling into him and kissing the top of his head. He snaps at you and you move him from your head, stroking him and whispering that you understood. Instead you showed him around your small house - he must have been through a lot so you would work up to kisses and snuggles.

You fed him and made sure he wasn’t more hurt than you thought and then decided he should have a name. All you could come up with was ‘pup’ for now. You made a small nest of blankets in the corner of your room, so that he had somewhere to sleep. However, when it got to bedtime after the pup exploring the house for most of the evening, he refused to settle. He just kept scampering back up to sleep in your bed. No matter how many times you scooped him up, he returned to the same spot.

“No, you have a little nest here!” You explain, lifting him again and nestling him on top of the blankets on the floor, “Pup, no!” you try to half-heartedly scold him, but his little face made it too hard.

“Woof” No bloody way am I sleeping on the floor like some animal – why don’t you sleep on the floor you bloody-

“Aw, you little sweetheart! Are you talking to me? Are you?” You whisper, stroking his soft fur adoringly.

“Woof woof” I will kill you and your little friends and if you – oh, that actually feels nice – no, you bloody don’t trick me into – behind the ears, love – that’s it

“You like that, huh? A little scratch behind the ears? I think we’re gonna be good friends little one” You grinned as he started to finally relax in your presence. You paused, deciding you would have to give in and let him sleep here just this once.

“Woof” Don’t stop! What are you doing you strange bitch-

“Okay, you’ve twisted my arm – you can sleep on the bed, but you can’t hog the covers” You joked, dogs can’t steal covers, you giggle. The pup moved his head to the side, almost as if he was studying you closely. His eyes seemed human, he was such a little sweetheart your heart was melting. You were so pleased you had found him. You settled in bed and the pup curled up beside you.

You stayed up that first night, excitedly checking on your new friend, making sure you hadn’t dreamt him up. He didn’t appear to be too bothered about the little grazes from the fencing but you wondered whether you should take him to the vets. You considered checking if he was chipped, or getting him chipped, but something inside told you he might not handle that too well. Maybe a hunch.

It had been a week and the pup was getting more used to you. Your little furry friend could be a little bit of a grouch but you always won him around with snuggles and scratches behind the ear. He was very talkative, little yips as if he was telling you something very important, and he seemingly liked the affection you were giving him.

You continue over the next few weeks to curl up with the pup in the evenings and ramble about anything and everything that came to mind. Sometimes, you could swear pup was actually listening.

“Sometimes I get a little lonely, the Scoobies are all so nice but they’re all coupled up and I feel a little left behind. Is there something wrong with me, pup? Where’s my big romantic story?”

“Woof” Nothing wrong with you pet, except maybe you’re a little too trusting letting a beast like this into the house and expecting to remain unscathed

“Stop, little one! That tickles!” You giggle as his tiny teeth start to playfully snap at your hand. He settled back down, and you continued to speak, “At times, I feel like I’m making things worse instead of helping with the slaying. I made Buffy let Spike go the last time he was here. He seemed to mean well, getting rid of Angelus and all. Everyone thinks I trust too easily – see the good even when there’s none there. I feel stupid, like a child”

“Woof woof” Rot! You’re not stupid! Bloody seen enough of your lot to see that you’re the best of them, pet

“Willow says Spike came back the other week, but he disappeared. His eyes looked so sad when I saw him come back. I wish he had love like him and Drusilla had…” you sigh again, stroking the pup softly as you were in deep thought.

“Woof. Woof. Woof!” Mad bloody bint doesn’t love me – she sodding cheated! Don’t get me started, I mean – a chaos demon?! You don’t want love like that, believe me pet

“Aw someone’s chatty! I know, I know I have you. My favourite little man” You cooed and this time, the cute little pup didn’t grumble like he usually would, instead he leaned his head onto your lap. Snuggling you without prompt.

Over the next couple of weeks, the pup had slowly started to sleep closer to you, as if he were seeking to protect you which made you giggle. He was so small, he was all bark and no bite. He snuggled up nearer you in the night, enjoying your body heat. You both got used to each other, sometimes you swore he was actually speaking to you. You both enjoyed snuggling up in the evenings, and you showed pup all of your favourite shows. You took him on little walks although he still hadn’t mastered fetch.

You were becoming used to each other, until one morning everything was different. You woke up one morning, a strange weight over you, finding a man lying in your bed. No, not a man. A vampire. You scream, looking around wildly for the pup – he made you feel safer. Your screaming made him stir, “How did you even get in?!” you shrieked, moving away from him. Spike realised he’s back to himself and started to run, pulling your duvet from your bed and around him and out the door.

Spike had a weird affection for you after this, feeling like he really knows you. Gets you. He shared your loneliness, wanting to take it from you as you had started to make him feel better. From what you said to him, he felt that he understood you, you’re a romantic. Like him. You’re loyal. He found himself having an innate need to protect you. Look out for you. Wants to hold you and be held by you again. He missed it more than he found himself missing Drusilla.

You were lonely without pup. His little blue eyes would be all mopey and lost again. You needed to find him, you just hoped that he hadn’t been eaten by one of Sunnydale’s many predators.

You walk into the graveyard, looking for pup. You hadn’t lost hop in finding him. He was so innocent, you were worried he was stuck again. Spike had decided to stay in Sunnydale rather than going after Dru. He watched you walk into the graveyard, sighing, rolling his eyes at how oblivious you are. Just taking a stroll when anything could be hiding in the shadows. He swiftly stepped out of the shadows to tell you this, but another demon beat him to it.

You squeal, stumbling and falling backwards as Spike swiftly steps in front of you and beats it up, protecting you from the threat. There was a strange familiarity and need to hug Spike as a thank you, maybe even scratch him behind the ears.

“Come on, pet, I’ve got some of those candies you like” He offered, gesturing towards an abandoned crypt with no explanation. Gestures his head again for you to follow him as you just stare dumbfounded. You feel conflicted, like he was offering you candy to get into a van. But you followed him, trusting his intentions. Knowing, somehow, that he was being sincere. His demeanour towards you appeared to change since he was in Sunnydale last. He almost appeared to have affection for you and you couldn’t help feeling something for him although you couldn’t name it.

“Why are you being nice, Spike?” You ask after he hands you your favourite snacks that he appeared to have actually bought from a shop. There was a receipt and everything in the bag. You were now both sat in a crypt that he had appeared to have done up to look like a house.

“I was the pup you were dotin’ on oh so kindly. Red’s spell gone wrong” he explained with a shrug. You cringe a little, you had poured your heart out over that month or so you were together.

“Oh, uh, you want me to pay you to… stop you from telling people? You’re gonna eat me, aren’t you?” You asked, sighing rather than screaming this time.

“Nothing like that, pet… uh, you give good hugs” he admits with a shrug. You nod slowly as if this made sense. He was missing the affection, being held. He enjoyed it and he wanted it again. Only with you, though.

You’re very trusting and he knew he could talk to you. He started to talk about his most intimate feelings, telling you of his loneliness. Heartbreak. He told you in detail, everything that happened with Drusilla. You were sat, hanging on every word for most of the night. Your eyes started to water, your sobs strangled as you tried not to cry in front of him. You move in to hug him and to your surprise, he wrapped his arms around you in return. His own eyes threatening to spill over as he thought about his past that he had just laid before you so honestly. It was strange, he wasn’t used to being so honest about his past – but it was only fair. You had told him a lot about yourself.

There was a demon out causing chaos in Sunnydale, which was not enough to haul you out of bed apparently. It was something that happened a lot, so you had to have a little pass for not hurrying just to have to sit in a long meeting that would probably involve a lot of reading and arguing about how best to get rid of whatever gross demon was trying to play havoc with the town you lived in.

At the Magic Box, everyone sans yourself, were discussing at great length the best way to remove the cursed Egyptian mummy that had started to suck people’s brains out through their noses. The mummy was flanked by two feral jackals that mauled anyone that interrupted the process. There was some debate around the ritual to return the mummy back into its resting place as it appeared that the jackals would not easily allow for the process to happen. They appeared to be the ones in control, not the mummy. This meant there would need to be some way of slaying the jackals so they could perform the ritual, but Giles and Willow were heatedly discussing the merits of humanely removing the jackals or just giving them a good stab from a big, pointy object. No guesses for who was arguing what.

This meant that Spike was getting irritated. It was annoying that the little group had to run the morality triathlon before it came back to what it always did. A good old fashioned fight. He was itching for it, ready to take them all on himself if none of them were willing to give over on the fight.

“But they’re sentient beings, Giles! You can’t just kill animals because they aren’t behaving how you like”

“They are bloody tearing half of the town limb from limb, Willow! To think that there is any other way is-”

“Bloody idiotic! The lot of you! You for entertaining the big song and dance about it and you for being, well, the bleeding bloody heart of the operation! They’re evil, they’re trying to kill you – it’s kill or bloody be killed so you can all have a big scholarly debate on the matter but I’m going out there and getting it done”

“Spike! You don’t make the decisions, we need to tread carefully or-” Buffy warned.

“Or what your head might bloody explode at the idea of actually slaying a demon and not shagging it to kingdom come? You wanna send it to hell in a nice neat little bow? Well let’s bloody go!”

“The jackals are just protecting the Mummy, something they’ve been bound to for centuries – we can’t just kill them for their loyalty!” Willow insisted, perhaps a little close to home for her. She had been with Oz for a long time and she knew that although the jackals were double the size they should be and highly aggressive, they could still feel.

“You’re fucking ridiculous – the lot of you! I’ve never seen so many self-congratulating, fake moral prats in one-” but Spike didn’t finish his sentence. You had walked in. His hand was still in mid-air from where he had been pointing around the room, but his face softened when he saw it was you. He didn’t want to shout in front of you, to hurt you, and he definitely didn’t want you to think that he was including you when he insulted the rest of the group.

He loved you, unconditionally. He was all-in, he just struggled to get close to you because the others were always getting in his way. You were sort of quiet, something he assumed meant you were somewhat innocent, but you weren’t necessarily shy around him. He liked the way your eyes lit up when he said something you found humorous and he liked that when you did manage to get a chance to speak to him, you were always kind to him. You even hugged him once after a fight and he thought he might pass out at how euphoric your affection made him feel. He had surprised you and wrapped his arms around you tight, making you smile so wide.

All of the fight that was in him had deflated when you walked in, all of the harsh words gone. His eyes were on you as you sneaked in and sat down without a word trying to hide the fact that you were late.

He appeared to have melted, smiling at you slightly, lowering himself into the seat beside you as you smiled back, despite Giles berating you for being late and the argument about how best to remove the mummy and it’s pets from the hellmouth started up around you again. But Spike no longer cared. You were here, they could talk in circles all night for all he cared, at least he’d be able to watch over you while they spoke.

Willow, Tara, Anya and Giles were staying behind to conduct the ritual so that when the jackals were either distracted or taken out (there still wasn’t a consensus) the mummy could be restored back to its sarcophagus in the Sunnydale museum with someone needing to attack when the Mummy was weakened. You had been paired with Spike to one part of Sunnydale with Xander and Buffy in the opposite direction. Spike had tried to insist you stayed behind but you told him you would be okay.

“You don’t need to be here, love, I can take care of this. Get yourself safely in bed, you look like you could use a nap”

“You think I look tired?” Your brow furrowed a little in that way he found cute. He spluttered, trying to assure you he definitely didn’t mean it that way. He had just wanted to protect you, it was more likely that Xander and Buffy came across the threat anyway, the demons had a tendency to go gunning for the slayer for some reason.

A figure started to stagger towards you both, interrupting the look Spike was giving you that was starting to make a heat rise in your cheeks. A figure started to walk slowly towards you, as if it could feel your presence. 

 “It’s the mummy!” You shouted, your eyes wide as Spike stepped in front of you, making sure he would be the target. Apparently, the threat was yours for today. It rounded on you, but Spike wasn’t having any of it.

“No you bloody don’t” Spike warned, spinning the mummy away with a hard kick to the chest after it lunged at you, knocking you to the floor. He helped you up, his touch in complete contrast to a second ago, he was gentle as he pulled you to your feet. As if he were scared to break you. The anger behind is eyes was evident, his jaw tensed when he saw the graze on your elbow. It was small and you were fine, but to him this was as if it had torn both of your arms off. He started to get brutal, as the jackals rounded the corner, prowling towards you both. Spike moved you behind him, a hand resting on you protectively, his touch always soft with you. The jackals circled you both, as the mummy walked towards you again, making Spike even more angry.

“You don’t come near them” He snarled, taking all of the attention from you. Spike, although he did have a brain that could be taken, wouldn’t be a target. They wanted human brains. Your brains.

The jackals leaped, both at Spike leaving the mummy staggering towards you, hands out as if ready to hold you down so it could extract what it wanted from you. Spike was violently kicking at the beasts, one had bitten into his side and the other was latched onto his leg. He had managed to fight one off but he was still struggling with the other. He looked over, the reason he was attacking them, even more aggressively than usual, was so that he could get to you. He was desperate to protect you. You had a sweet nature, he hadn’t been expecting what had come next. Even the jackal appeared to pause as it watched you punch the mummy before climbing it like a tree, kneeing it so it doubled over, allowing you to climb onto its back and secure it’s neck firmly between your hands, the way it had been threatening you.

Spike stared, his eyes wide at the way you so skilfully went for it. You didn’t even flinch as it thrashed at you. You struggled against it, trying to incapacitate it as Spike desperately tried to get out from the jackals jaw to help you. The ritual was complete, you could tell because strange golden light started to seep from cracks in the mummified flesh. It was now or never. You grabbed it’s head and twisted, it crumbled away in your hands and just as it did that, the jackals disappeared. A lot of dust started to pour from the mummy’s neck, flowing through the air as you ran over to Spike where he sat, clutching his side now the threat was gone. The mummy disintegrated as you both stared into each other’s eyes.

“That was…” He started, seemingly lost for words. He had forgotten his wounds at the sight of how capable you were in a fight. You didn’t usually get the chance to prove yourself like that, it was usually Buffy’s fight. You weren’t a slayer, just someone that had picked up some Sunnydale tricks along the way – you had to be like that on the Hellmouth, or you really wouldn’t last a week.

“You poor thing, it really bit into you” You said softly, kneeling beside him and stroking his side as he winced, “Sorry - come on, let me help” You had a mini first-aid kit you always brought on patrol that you took out and started to look for something to put on the wound. It wasn’t as deep as it could have been which you were grateful for. You didn’t want him hurt. You were really fond of him which is why you went kind of quiet around him sometimes.

“No, don’t – I just lay there like some useless git” He berated himself, his jaw tensing again in anger at himself this time. He had wanted to keep you safe. You shook your head softly, stroking your thumb along his jaw as you spoke.

“You didn’t, you looked out for me! You took on two were-jackals and lived, well – sort of, to tell the tale! That was so brave!” You insisted, giving him a smile that he savoured, your fingers still tracing his jaw. It was so sweet he was surprised when you came back the same sweetheart despite the rage he had seen as you attacked that mummy. He could tell you were being genuine too, you really found him brave. You smiled while he watched you begin to fuss over him, his gaze never leaving that face he loved so much.

You and Spike were walking from opposite directions, with the other on your minds. Things with Spike were nice, he made you feel more human. Which, of course was ironic, because he wasn’t even a little bit human. In physicality, at least.

You smiled when you saw him, giving him a little wave. He enjoyed the way your chubby form didn’t appear to make you second-guess yourself. You appeared confident and more so when he was by your side. He especially liked the way you lit up the area you were in, always so cheery when you greeted him. On the surface, at least.

You were very good friends, so good that everyone already just presumed that you were dating. You spent most evenings with him, sometimes watching crappy tv and other evenings reading while Spike wrote poetry.

Some evenings, if you were really lucky, he would let you read them. Only a few he selected (he was very secretive about certain poems you couldn’t see as they were too intimate). You always gushed about how much you loved them, smiling and rereading them - trying to memorise them. 

He wished he could read to you the ones he had hidden sometimes. They spoke of deep, unrequited feelings that longed to be free. Feelings for you. Alas, you had never initiated anything or so much as hinted similar feelings. Besides, he enjoyed having you to himself as a friend at least and couldn’t bear to jeopardise this so he just hadn’t acted on it.

You were meeting to go to the Bronze, neither of you realised the feelings the other harboured, but it didn’t stop you both wanting to spend every waking minute with each other. He loved your tummy. Sometimes you felt perhaps a little too big but to him that was a ridiculous thought. You appeared so soft he often imagined himself wrapping his arms around you and resting a hand there. Maybe rubbing his hand sooothingly while you were watching one of those movies he allowed you to pick from the rental store. He was thinking about this as you both sat down and had realised that he was staring at you. Again. 

When you both sat down in a booth, he tried his best not to make his loving gaze so obvious - he had a reputation to uphold after all. To make himself feel better, he moved the conversation to something else. He asked about your younger friends, the Scoobies. He did this often, sometimes to try and figure out if they still thought of him as a threat and other times just because it amused him to hear of the often tumultuous teenage drama that the Slayer and her gang got caught up in. 

They were doing their coursework tonight, Willow had called it a study-over - the priority was work, not sleep apparently. You were a lot older than them, having met them by coincidence. You got on with them well, but they were a bit younger than you (and they liked to tell you to stay away from spike a lot). You explained what they were up to to Spike, making him snort at how lame the group that used to ruin all of his evil plots were.

“People at that age should be out shagging anything that bloody moves - not sitting in memorising facts about historical events” He saw you shift slightly uncomfortably and paused, before asking, “What? You don’t agree, love?”

“No- it’s, uh, not that-” You say softly, trying to make your mouth stop forming words. But that plan went out of the window as you started to squirm under his stare and continue bashfully, “I, uh, haven’t actually…”

“What?” he asked, not letting it go. his eyes boring into yours. You sighed, deciding to just say it. Like ripping off a plaster.

“I haven’t had sex, Spike. Okay?” there was an edge to your voice as you snapped, clearly embarrassed.

“That’s alright, love... you, uh, don’t have to do anythin’ you’re not wantin’-” he started to reassure you, still confused as he knew the feelings he had for you - so he knew others must have had such feelings over the years.

“That’s not the problem, I want to have sex I just haven’t- haven’t found anyone. Or, well, no one’s found that they like me…”

“Bollocks!” he cut you off abruptly, “Life’s not a movie, pet… it’s not one of those girly flicks you watch when you think I’m sleepin’ in the afternoon... Life can be messy, it can’t be predicted, no matter what the magic voodoo types ‘round here think… so bloody what if you haven’t shagged a bloke yet-?”

“Spike! You’re talking too loud! People are looking!”

“So fucking what? She’s a virgin!” He said louder, but nobody was really paying much attention to either of you, or they at least had enough manners to act as if they hadn’t before you looked up to check, “Who bloody cares?”

“Me spike. I care” You mutter, embarrassment permeating through every pore, “I haven’t even- I haven’t even kissed anyone” you hissed, deciding you might as well get everything out into the open.

“But you’ve been on a date?” He askedslowly, a little frown. You shook your head, no. He was confused. Someone like you he was convinced someone would have taken you out years ago. You were smart, funny and very sweet. He had been convinced you had a boyfriend and cursing this imaginary man as he had been missing you recently. Not realising that you had been trying to sort through your feelings for him.

He shrugged, looked you in the eyes, grabbed your hands from across the table and knew exactly what he needed to do.

“Let’s make this a date then”

“No- Spike you don’t-” you started to 

“No arguments. I want to, love. Beautiful woman on my arm for the entire evening – make all the buggers jealous and you can say you’ve been on a date” He grinned, as if this hadn’t been an in-the-moment decision. He moved around the table making sure not to give you any room. Sitting beside you and watching your every move. He leaned in, moving his hand from yours to the small of your back as he whispered into your ear.

“Drink?” he asked, just the one word making the hair on the back of your neck raise as you shivered, hoping that he didn’t notice as he got up from his seat.

“Yeah - please. Could I have-”

“I know my girl’s order” he said with a wink. You smiled not able to help yourself enjoying the interaction but a light frown on your brow as he walked off. He exhaled an unneeded breath as he went, thinking about what he had just said, about how he wished you were his.

You continued to frown a little, mulling over how he could switch to flirting so easily. It worried you, how easily he could pretend. He had very obvious feelings for you, but you took it as him feeling sorry for you.

When he returned, he set your favourite drink in front of you before he slipped his hand back over yours, resting it there gently. He was ecstatic, he had been dreaming of becoming closer to you for a while now and he finally had a chance, even if it was under the guise of a friend helping a friend out.

You stayed there for a little while, Spike making small talk asking you questions that he tried to pretend weren’t probing as you sat together before your insecurity got the better of you.

“I do-don’t think I can do this. It’s too hard” You say suddenly, looking down at his hand on yours. You released your hand from his and getting up to leave. He takes your wrist, pulling you back to him but your face tells him he needs to let go. Hot tears were threatening to spill and a thick lump in your throat almost choking you. He was confused, why were you reacting that way? Was he that repulsive to you?

You move to get some fresh air, each intake of the cold night having you wishing that you could just swallow up Sunnydale in its entirety. Take it from the map and leave a crater in it’s place. No more embarrassment, no more admitting that you’re a virgin. That nobody had even appeared to want to kiss you before. That you had never had the confidence to make a move yourself. A happy coincidence being that if you swallowed the town there would be no more hell mouth and demons.

You could start fresh, nobody feeling sorry for you or pretending to care to make you feel better. You appreciated Spike and what he had been trying to do. Helping out a friend. But you so desperately wanted him your heart had started to ache with every accelerated beat.

He had followed you, taking your jacket from where it had been draped on the chair behind you that you had left when you got up. He draped it over your large shoulders, his hand lingering on your back before moving.

 “What’s wrong? Did I do something?” he asked quietly, leaning against the wall as you stared into the night. You shook your head, there was a pause before everything started to bubble over and your feelings started to tumble from your mouth.

“It’s like those poems you write, Spike. The feelings you conjure I can’t fake. I like you and this is cruel, almost worse than having never been on a date because I want it to be real and it’s just not it-it’s theatre. It’s you feeling pity – just helping out a friend-” you rushed out, each word crashing into the next.

“Hey, slow down, pet” He halted you, “Bloody motor-mouth” he muttered, with a shake of his head.  A ghost of a smile on your lips. He often called you that, but for gushing about something you really enjoyed. It was a term of endearment, “That – in there was the most honest I’ve been with you. I wanted all of that… I wanted more” he admitted softly. The same voice he reserved for discussing the most romantic feelings his poetry had revealed.

He knew you had been platonic for a long time, missing all of the signs that you liked him back until now. He looked at you, a silent conversation between you. You could almost hear his mind screaming out for you as he pulled you into him.

His eyebrow quirked, ensuring he hadn’t read the wrong signals. If he was honest, he had been waiting for this for a very long time. Since before even your friendship had suddenly developed he had that feeling of concentrated affection for you that he knew was leading to this. He could only hope that this was where it could end up.

You barely started to nod your approval before he pulled you crashing your mouth into his. He kissed you hungrily, your soft lips a beautiful sensation that had only been fantasy until recently. Despite the evident passion, there was an undercurrent of understanding. A hint of sweet amongst it all that told you it was still spike, the man that had written those words. Words that now made perfect sense. His poetry only now making sense to you as you felt it. You were connected to him so intimately and you were sure his poetry had now been about affection for you. You couldn’t fake something like this.

The kiss was special, you had thought you would be nervous, unsure what you were doing as it was so new to you. But it was perfect, your lips moving with his in a way that you were sure meant this was destiny. All of the stars aligning and pointing towards the spot that you were kissing under. 

You realised that you hadn’t been doing anything with your hands, they had been suspended in mid-air as if you were worried to reach and contact his skin your hands would go straight through him, revealing that he was merely a spectre. This moment being too good to be true. You were half convinced that he would be a hallucination, not corporeal to the touch. 

It was like a dream, but it was better than any you had ever thought up. His skin on yours. The way he lingered against your chubby curves in adoration, as if he had never been allowed to touch something so precious. The kiss deepened and you didn’t have time to worry if you were doing anything right, you were wrapped up in how good this felt. The heightened feelings mingling with just how much you cared for the vampire that was now press himself against you as close as he could physically get.

One of his hands had been in your hair, the other at your hip until he realised your hands hadn’t touched him. He smirked into the kiss, remembering that you hadn’t done this before. His hands moved, gliding along your soft skin, leaving goose-bumps as he made his way to where your hands were still tentatively waiting to catch up with your brain. He moved your hands and guided you to rest on him, his eyes scrutinising your face as he did.

You smiled, breathless, wrapping your arms around him further and nestling to rest your head on his shoulder. He ran his hands along your shapely form before resting against your waist. You closed your eyes, enjoying the sensation of his body under your hands. Neither of you had to say anything. You knew it was the start of something, it was rising in both of your chests.

Planning to tell you he loved you was the easy part. He couldn’t help watching you, desperately trying to think of an excuse to get you alone. Buffy was always there though, or one of the other Scoobies. It was as if they were trying to spite him in every way possible. Blocking his happiness, blocking you from him.

You had noticed this too, you usually drew to him, sitting with him at the Magic Box or spending time with him in his crypt when you had time but ever since Giles had made a strange comment about Spike spending too much time around you it seemed like you had stopped seeing Spike all together. Yo uwere constantly busy, whether it was patrolling with Buffy or helping Willow with a spell. Xander had even roped you into helping with some project that was taking up a lot of your time.

Spike didn’t blame you, he blamed them. He had a suspicion that they were doing it on purpose, which was confirmed when Giles threatened him to stay away one night.

Despite this, Spike had a plan. They weren’t going to get in the way of your happiness. He was a man of his word and he was determined to tell you how he felt. He was nervous, so nervous. He couldn’t bare the rejection. Not from you. He loved you. His heart rose, every even seemingly insignificant interaction a journey in devotion for him. He adored you, he was desperate for you to know. To hear from him how special you were to him. How much you meant to him.

It was a practice in salvation. With you, he could see happiness. Almost taste it. He vowed to himself that he would treasure you should you accept his advances. That he would never take you for granted.

He decided he would have to do it sooner than later, so he started to plan out something romantic. Romance like you deserved. So, Spike had decided on a night-picnic. He hadn’t actually told you that was what was happening, he had suggested to patrol together, accidentally stumbling across the blanket, a few candles, and the brown bag filled with what appeared to be an entire aisle of the corner store. It looked as if he had put his arm on one end and sweeped everything into a basket from one end to the other.

You squealed excitedly, “Did you do this!?” Spike just shrugged a little, ducking his head. You moved over to kneel on the blanket and look into the basket. You sit, tugging his sleeve so that he’ll sit down next to you as you take the bag and start to rummage inside. However, your smiles didn’t last long as you grabbed something that Spike hadn’t put in there.

The bag, and snacks, exploded before you. A pile of goo in its place. Some of it on your outfit (that you had carefully selected to be both good for fighting and something you hoped Spike would like on you). You squeak, standing up. Wiping some of the goo but it stuck like glue.

Spike just stared, he hadn’t expected that. It appeared to be some cheap prank-magic. He heard chuckling from a bush and whipped his head around to see the boy.

His reaction didn’t appear too bothered, you had missed his jaw tensing as he didn’t want you to see him so mad. You muttered something about dropping in on Buffy’s, because it was so close, to ask if you could use her shower. This left Spike imagining all of the ways he would string Xander up and torture him, but instead had to settle for shouting insults whilst he followed him all the way home.

Spike had to find a few demons to beat up, walking past your house twice although there were no lights on. He felt stupid. He should have asked if you were okay, offered you his jacket. The goo was cold and would stick to you for a while.

A fact you found out at the Summer’s residence where you were now almost 90% covered in the purple substance that you were spreading around instead of washing off. You couldn’t figure out if Spike had done it to be cruel or it had been someone else’s sabotage. Either way, you felt stupid, worried Spike would think of you and laugh now instead of enjoying your company. You felt a little embarrassed.

It had been a few weeks and Spike had not stopped thinking about you and figuring out a way to make it up to you. You had no ill-will towards Spike by this time as you found out and beat up Xander for his trick. Thankfully, you were now completely your natural skin tone, with no purple hue left.

You had dropped in to tell him this and ended up staying. You were sat in the crypt together, realising Spike was mad at Xander still for the prank, rather than laughing at you. He smirked when you mentioned you had stamped on his foot and threatened more, asking you to retell the story several times. You decided you should drop some hints that you liked him, you were able to face horrible beasts on the Hellmouth but letting Spike know you felt for him was a little harder.

You decided to snuggle up to him, willing the words to formulate. You were sat together on the sofa, you hitched up to his side of the seat. He was aware of how close you were to him, daring to glance sideways to make sure it wasn’t an accident. You gradually moved closer, both of your eyes glued to the screen, you eventually managed to settle into his side and he moved to slip an arm around your shoulders. Your movements both slow, as if moving faster would ruin the scene, scare either of you away. He could hear how fast your heart was beating, he was desperate to say something but he didn’t want to ruin anything. Holding you, having you close. It was bliss.

Both of you were uncharacteristically quiet, the only sound the low buzzing of the tv set and the constant thrumming of your heart. You were trying to think of more ways to drop hints to Spike that you liked him, you maybe even felt the first syllable of love tingling on your tongue for him. You knew, however, that Spike liked to be the one to sort through his feelings and if he hadn’t said anything then surely it meant you felt more for him than he did for you.

You thought you might tell him that you were thinking of going to the Bronze on Saturday, that you’d really like to see him there. It wouldn’t hurt, he might even want to come. He seemed to enjoy the way your skin felt against his, his thumb moving soothingly ever so often. It was as if he was holding his breath, making sure that the moment would last as long as possible. He felt so happy like this, he didn’t want you to slip from his arms.

You open your mouth, willing yourself to ask, just as he appears to be doing the same. Time slowed, anticipation a dizzying phenomenon as if there were something in the air.

But something comes crashing in, taking the door off its hinges. The monster of the week, a massive troll-demon. Spike grabs you to protect you and then remembers who you are, then looks at you and you nod, a sparkle in your eye. He smirks, you both silently agree to work together.

You had your fighting stances ready, you fought so closely, as if it were expertly choreographed. You just fit. You took it down together, not able to stop smiling at each other as you caught your breath back. This was the best kind of foreplay for Spike. He could watch you fighting for hours, enamoured by the grace you held. The brutality, the expertise that almost matched his - he had a few hundred years on you, however.

By the time you had tracked and slayed the troll, you had ended up by your house. Spike walked you the rest of the way, looking as if you both wanted to say something. You tried, you really did. But you both just stared hopelessly at the other. At least meant you started to believe Spike may truly have feelings there for you in return.

Since the last time you and he had been in the crypt, Spike had been a little awkward around you. He had been overthinking everything, trying to force himself into saying something. Building himself up, only to come crashing down when you looked up at him with bright eyes and a smile that he noted seemed to widen in his presence. Or was that his mind playing tricks? He became so tongue-tied around you, he didn’t know what was wrong with him.

There was a meeting at the Magic Box that night and Spike had waited outside your house and offered to walk you there. You happily accepted and as you both walked together, you slip your hand into his. You both look at each other silently, his eyes wide, eyebrows raised. But yet the words still can’t form between you. He tried, as did you, to say something. Anything about the way you feel. But the moment passed, and you were needed inside. You step into the magic box, both moving your hands from each other reluctantly. The last thing you needed was the unwanted opinions of the Scoobies.

As soon as you stepped in there was chaos in the store. Willow was chanting, getting louder as the store started to spin around you and sparks started to fly towards the doorway. You ducked out of the way, but Spike wasn’t so fast. In the blink of an eye, Spike was now bald. The bleach blonde hair that you loved so much was gone. His hands went straight to his now hairless head and his eyes widened in horror, profanities shouted towards the entire room. He winced again, remembering you were beside him. He hated thinking you would take the harsh words to heart, trying to avoid the threats in front of you. They all laughed, his jaw tensing as if this brought back some kind of hidden memory. He was embarrassed, feeling as if he was laughable to you now.

You move to him, trying to reassure him, but he ran away. Hurt in his eyes shone directly into yours as if you could feel it yourself. The embarrassment so strong, as if you could feel it as your own. You knew then that you needed to go to him. Show him it didn’t matter what he looked like. That you both lived in Sunnydale where there would always be a threat interrupting your time together. That it didn’t matter to you that things would occasionally go wrong, or not go perfect like they are in the movies. You wanted to show him, that you wanted to be by his side. That you loved him. If you couldn’t say it yet, then you would make sure to show him.

Spike was now in the crypt, dejected and drinking. His hair had come back slowly over the last twenty-four hours. He slumped in his chair, trying to console himself. He never had a chance, was he being stupid? Someone as sweet as you, as caring. Someone as tough and able to handle themselves. What good was he to you? You were perfect. You were everything. God, he had it bad.

There was a knock at the crypt door. He frowned, nobody ever knocked. Nobody except… you.

“Y/n? It’s late, pet… shouldn’t you be tucked up?” He asked You checked the watch on your wrist with a little frown. It wasn’t so late. The sun had only barely set. He cared though, he really cared and that’s why he always checked. He didn’t like you being out after dark so much, despite the way he knew you could handle yourself.

“Uh, yeah, I just wanted to see you” You said, a little smile. He just stared, not sure why you would want to be here. All he had done was embarrass himself and you by trying to get close to you. You moved past him, he hadn’t noticed all of the bags in your hands until you put them down and started to look through them.

“What’s all this?”

“Movie night!” You exclaimed as you setting everything down.

“Movie…?” He started, shaking his head, “Why?”

“It’s a date, Spike” you say matter-of-factly as you brought out a stack of videos you had rented. You finally said something. He was speechless. Looking around at everything you had brought, not able to stop the smile that was tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Is that a flask?”

“For coco and, of course... little marshmallows!” You brandish a little pack from one of the bags with a smile so sweet he felt himself melting quicker than the marshmallows would.

He stared. You had caught him breathing exaggeratedly and starting sentences around you, but never quite finishing them. You hoped it was the same you were feeling. Your eyes betrayed you, having to sort through your mind for a response. You worried if you finally named it, the feeling might leave as quickly as it had built between you. This was exactly how he was feeling, not that you were aware.

“Pet, what’s all this? Really? Not that I’m not pleased to have you gracing my presence, but you don’t belong in a hovel like this..” he muttered, believing strongly that you deserved better than he could give you. He had proved that in the past few months. You stared, a frown on his face.

Could he really think that? Everything he had done, a picnic. Protecting you from the demon. walking you places in the dark. His concern for you, wanting you to never hear his harsh words he saved for the others. You loved this man so much.

He was so thoughtful. Kind, and he really cared. He made you feel safe. He was always soft with you. You didn’t understand how he could think you wouldn’t want to be right here. You never wanted to leave his side. He stared back, not understanding your look. He was expecting you to suddenly realise how much he didn’t deserve you. But this was never a thought in your mind.

You rushed up to him, hand sliding up the side of his face, thumb tracing his cheekbone. Your lips met, the kiss making your stomach flip, your heartbeat was drumming with nerves and excitement. You were convinced he was about to reject you, pull you away from him. But he never did. His hands were by his side for a moment, he was shocked when he felt your soft-lipped kiss. But not for long. No, soon his hands are on you, sliding behind the base of your skull pulling your lips as close as physically possible.  His lips deepening your kiss, unsaid feelings once only apparent through furtive glances and the ways your eyes met was now apparent. You smiled into the kiss, pleased with the way he responded so enthusiastically, glad you hadn’t only been picking up what you felt, assigning your own feelings onto him.

“I love you” he whispered between your lips as your smile widened. He pressed several languid kisses against your lips again, unable to consider his lips not pressing against yours. Lips that were designed for each other, lips that had never dared reveal true feelings before. Threat of cruelty or laughter now felt like a ridiculous dream. Something the world had transpired against you both. Because it was both of you now, the promise sealed in this kiss.

You were waiting in the queue to get into the supermarket, having to wait two metres behind those queueing in front of you. It was a normal day, that was until you blinked. This is how you found yourself in a graveyard. In the middle of the night.

“What the-” you looked around, confused. The mask over your mouth muffling your words as you spoke. You were sort of laid-back, even with this - being dropped into somewhere so clearly not where you were meant to be - you adjusted quickly. You had been in the supermarket queueing apart from the rest of the customers and now you were in a graveyard in what appeared to be the middle of the night.

“Now!” A stuffy looking man with a very British accent called, pointing towards you .A young woman tackled you to the ground. On instinct, that you weren’t aware you possessed until now, you blocked her blows and pushed her off you, panting hard. Eyes widened as she felt you were human. She got up, helping you up.

“Uh, Ow” You muttered, “So, hi, sorry to bother you - do you know where I am?”

“London, England” He enunciated the words, clearly proud of the place they were in.

“Great. How about when I am?” You ask, eyeing the girls choice in outfit. You were all for individual style but something about it made you feel as if you had been dropped straight into the 90s. 

“1998, of course” They confirmed your suspicion. The pair frowned at you and then at each other. 

“Oh, so I’ve travelled in time!” You decide, as if this was an inconvenience than a major revelation. You moved back subconsciously as they approached you. You weren’t used to people standing so close and so it was unusual when the girl offered you a comforting gesture - a hand on your shoulder. This gesture awarded her a glare from the man and she quickly dropped it. The man then looked at you with a curiosity that surpassed the usual time-traveller-crazy. He was squinting at you as if he had been waiting for this.

“Come with us” he ordered, didn’t ask. You shrugged and followed.

You spent a couple of days there, the man introducing himself as a watcher, his job to watch over the girl and train her. They had a special interest in you, something about a prophecy of one from the future,  telling you that you had some kind of potential too. You were packing up, which was fairly simple as you only had the clothes on your back and a now unneeded face mask. You had been told you were taking a trip. Someone that could help you figure where to go from here.

Meanwhile, in Sunnydale, California:

“Mr Giles. We will need you to undertake further duties. The council is stretched and this woman is a special case. She maintains that she is from the future. I believe it may be the one from the prophecy your slayer has discovered. We will need you to watch her while we do our own research on this prophecy”

“Ok, Quentin. I shall greet her at the airport”

When you finally arrived in Sunnydale, laden with several scrolls and some books for you to give to a ‘Mr Giles’ about a prophecy that hadn’t been explained to you, a friendly older man welcomed you.

“Uh, hello, y/n. I’m Rupert Giles, you will be staying with me. I hear that you have travelled a long way to be here”

“Yeah and the rest” You mutter, before smiling apologetically and greeting him properly, “It’s nice to meet you, you have a really nice home” You offered, ever the charmer, as you looked around it approvingly.

Eventually, a group of people perhaps a little younger than you arrived their curiosity getting the better of them. 

“This is Buffy, Willow, Xander and Anya” Giles introduced as you greeted them warmly.

“Hey, your names are all straight out of a graphic novel or something” You smile, introducing yourself as y/n. You had been briefed that Buffy was a slayer, that there was but one in a generation but you hadn’t been entirely certain what it entailed. Th others whispered slightly, about the latest demon not quite sure how much they could trust you yet as Giles caught that you may feel a little left out.

“Well, ah, yes, thank you. Shall we set you up in the spare room?” Giles offered, taking your bags and showing you the way. You just rolled with it, picking up the fast-paced lifestyle that you would have to be accustomed to in Sunnydale. 

With you being laid back and fun for the others to be around, you fit in almost straight away. They started to be less secretive around you and started to clue you in on everything. Although, they weren’t entirely sure what a potential was yet themselves. Which was fine by you, you might not be here long enough to find out anyway. Giles was the only one that knew of a prophecy that had started to come true since you arrived.

They were helping you find a way home. Some of them more reluctantly than others. Willow had started to teach you little tricks and tips about simple spells, so that you could show off to the others. Buffy and you often gossiped together, she liked that you often had a friendly ear for her problems, offering another perspective that Willow didn’t have. 

Life became normal, but you felt yourself lacking something you couldn’t quite put your finger on and it wasn’t returning back to 2020. Everyone was coupled up and some days you started to feel a little lonely. You continued to research a way to get home, often in vain. You weren’t so urgently wanting to leave, you had a life here in Sunnydale now but Giles was insistent you at least had the option to return to your time period.  

It had been a few months now, and you were getting used to life in Sunnydale. Buffy ran at the vampire, with you, willow and Xander trailing behind. The three of you worked together to shepherd the vampires into Buffy’s line-of-fight so that she could stake them more easily. You became a part of everyone’s lives and you almost forgot about where you had come from, until of course it was brought up again.

You became fast friends with the gang, a true member of the Scoobies. They asked you so many questions about the future it was as if your life before then had been a dream. You were all walking back from the graveyard after a long night of slaying when they mentioned the future once more.

“There’s a big virus... it’s pretty bad back there… or forward, in the future” You say softly, thinking of how different everything was compared to now and how much you had taken little things for granted.

“I knew it! I called it: the next apocalypse would be a big virus infecting everyone” Buffy said excitedly, then realised you had a little frown. Things really had felt scary for a while there. She stopped talking, a hand on your arm to reassure you. You smiled at how close you had become, finding her one of your best friends. You were so grateful for the Scoobies as you walked through the streets, deciding to make an impromptu trip to the Bronze. 

When you arrived, the music was buzzing and the vibe in the place was exciting. You smiled around the room, nodding along to the music, barely noticing the conversation until you zoned back in. They were discussing a vampire, someone they called Spike. You decided you wanted to ask who they were talking about.

“Oh my God, that’s right - you weren’t here” Buffy sighed, having to launch into another account of what had happened with Angel. Your eyes widened at the story they had managed to forget to inform you about, even to your laid back demeanour it made you a little spooked about how friendly you had been with Angel. 

“So, what’s up with this Spike? Is he evil?”

“If you’re scared of peroxide you should start running” Xander smiled, and Willow explained he had bleach blonde hair. 

“Well, uh, there was talk of torture with railroad spikes and-”

“He’s killed slayers in brutal ways”

“But he was mostly big on the talking about killing us but he never manged to do anything... too busy with his precious Drusilla” they shrugged, as if this was normal gossip. In the same breath, they started to talk about a girl from their school, Katy, who they saw parking with a guy that wasn’t her boyfriend. 

Not even a week after this conversation, you were in the Magic Shop, needing a few ingredients - you had promised to help Willow with a de-lusting spell. She had told you, in private, what had been going on with Xander so you had it a priority to rush to the store.

As soon as your eyes met his, you felt the missing piece you had been lacking. His presence filling you up in ways you never knew you were empty. You were drawn to him, even though you knew how dangerous he was, you couldn’t help step towards him, despite the fact he was standing over a dead body.

It was the store owner. You had really liked her, she was always extremely kind. Your look of horror changed to one of concern though, at the state of the vampire in front of you. He looked almost... broken. As if he had suffered a great loss. Your head told you to run, get into the sunlight as soon as you could, but something made you stand stock still. You knew who he was. You had been told about him only a few nights ago. But the horror stories hadn’t scared you away. Not even the scene before you had scared you away.

You both just stared, as if you were studying something fascinating. For some reason, unknown to him, he didn’t lunge at you. He launched into a rant about his woes. You were used to this, your personality meant people often confided in you.

“She dumped me! She didn’t even chop my head off or burn me to ash, I mean, she doesn’t even care about me that much!” 

“Hey, it’s okay I’m sure she’ll change her mind. I’m sure you have lots of... nice qualities” You offered. He sighed over-exaggeratedly, pacing and stepping over his discarded meal before leaning against the wall and sliding down it. He crouched, head in his hands as he continued to speak.

“But she cheated! With a chaos demon! Have you seen one of those? They’re all goo and antlers” he shouted, tears spilling from his eyes that he angrily wiped away. You cautiously sat beside him, also leaning against the wall.

“That sounds pretty gross to me” You offer nodding along, your hand hovering as if you wanted to offer a comforting gesture but you weren’t sure if he would bite your hand off (literally). However, your fears subsided when he leaned against your shoulder, sniffling slightly. His tears starting to subside at your words, nodding along. The big, scary bad guy didn’t seem so bad. He was in pain.

“Then, you deserve better, Spike. It hurts now, but this might be good for you. Some time to look out for yourself, pick up the, uh, pieces” You offer, wavering at the end as his face had shifted. He was starting to get mad. He realised he had been vulnerable with you. That he was taking comfort with you. A human. A potential, he had even overheard from the witch. This wouldn’t do. He could feel himself falling. One ounce of kindness and that’s all it took for him to start falling. God, sometimes he hated being love’s bitch. 

He squinted, how did you know his name? Oh, right, you must know the Slayer. He’s just been vulnerable with one of the Slayer’s little slayerettes. He scowled at you, a dramatic change from his previous apparent sensitivity as he loomed over you. 

“Bugger off, I see you - you’re the Slayer’s mate aren’t you? Well, I don’t know what game you’re playing but you can bloody well- you can bugger right off!” He shouted, grabbing your jacket, balling it up in his fist and pointing in your face. His face changed, his bumpy forehead shifting his features. You just stared back, everything had happened so fast you weren’t sure what could be said. Even now, you just wanted to reach and hug him. And, if you had I’m sure he would have hesitated but hugged back. But you didn’t and for some reason, he dropped his hand from your clothing and stalked away. 

The next time you saw him, was a few days later. For some reason, his mind had started to move from Drusilla’s betrayal and he had a new object of his affection. You bump into him late at night as you walked back home after helping Buffy patrol, he still looks a little upset. He was definitely a little drunk and so, you took pity on him. He insulted you when he first saw you, trying to keep up the façade but it quickly melted away at how genuine you were about how he was doing. He softened, even slightly, nodding along to your words. He followed you to your door, already starting to miss you as the key turned in the lock.

“Come in?” You offered over your own shoulder as you stepped over the threshold. He squinted, unsure if he had heard you right before smirking. 

“You’re just asking to be eaten up, aren’t you?”

“No, I can just see you’re hurting. Talk to me, I won’t tell a soul” you promise, setting out two mugs and offering him a drink. He nodded, taking the mug and hugging it to him. The warmth comforting in a way that he wondered if your embrace would be the same. He knew it would. And now, as you spoke, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

After this, another moment where he hadn’t eaten you despite having a very easy chance, he took comfort in the fact that you were kind but not naïve. Kindness was his weakness and you weren’t like the scoobies, there was something about you. Like you had knowledge, not just because you appeared to be a few years older. Like you could truly understand.

When he left in the early hours of the morning, only because the sun was threatening to rise, he still insisted he was going after Drusilla. But instead, he couldn’t help sticking around. 

He realised he didn’t want to go back to Drusilla. He wanted kindness. He wanted you. He decided to lay low, staying in Sunnydale for you. To even catch another glimpse of you.

He became increasingly besotted with you. A small grain of affection growing into a vast and deeply rooted feeling of love.

After a while of accidentally bumping into him late at night, you realised Spike had moved back permanently. He was often found hanging around the place you had started renting after you moved out of Giles’ when you realised that this wasn’t a temporary stay in Sunnydale. He pretended he had been looking for you, saying that there was a gang of vampires that had taken over the east side of Sunnydale and that Buffy was busy with something else. He suggested that you both checked it out seeing as Giles had in fact determined, and now told you, that you were a potential. A slayer-in-training.

Spike drove you both. The car smelt of cigarette smoke and as if he had spilled an entire bottle of jack on the back seat. The whole way there he tried impressing you with how evil he was, despite the fact he was out doing Buffy’s job. You pointed this out to him, not wanting to upset him but because it was a valid point. He explained it was the principle of the thing, he wasn’t turning good. Not for anything. 

You were fond of him, and he loved everything about you. How caring you were. How sweet your smile was to him. How you knew so much about being in a time you’re not really from. He found you were incredibly easy to talk to, having now poured his heart out on more than one occasion. Another thing is that often, he didn’t feel the need to talk - he just wanted to hear you talk about everything and anything.

This was what you were doing on the car journey. You were explaining about music apps and how you could have all of your music, not just the beat up cassette tapes Spike had littering his car, on one tiny device. He listened, fascinated about everything you would tell him of the future.

You parked up and waited in the car a while, waiting for any sign of this illusive vampire gang. 

After a while, Spike turned the heat up a little, noticing you were cold. He slipped his duster off, not making eye contact as he offered it to you. You smiled and took it, but then realised what the gesture could mean. You slipped it on, bundling it around you the best you could before looking back to him wit ha little furrow on your brow.

“Is, uh, this a date Spike?” you ask finally, not able to stop yourself grinning at his reaction. 

“What?! No! Uh, unless you… y’know… wanted it to be?” He muttered, noting your smile. It made him melt. You nodded confirmation, a small smile. You’d love a date with him. He nodded, mirroring you. Then you both stared ahead of you, not sure what else to say. You were overthinking it now. 

A date with a human?

A date with a vampire?!

But when your eyes met again, none of it mattered. You grinned, reaching your hand to lay on top of his. Squeezing slightly, giving him that sweet smile he loved so much.

You were supposed to be predator and prey and yet it was nothing like this. Neither of you could deny your feelings. He couldn’t lie and say he magically didn’t think about the way your blood would taste, but he never wanted to hurt you. It was almost physical, he ached for you to be happy.

He moved to look back at you in the passenger seat and couldn’t help smiling, although it ended up on the other side of his face when the vampires you had been looking for found you instead. They had been real and not made up as an excuse to talk to you. You had fought together, perfectly in sync with the other, having each other’s backs on instinct. It was the best first date you had both ever had, ending in a passionate kiss as the last remnants of vamp-dust fell to the ground.

After months of researching the prophecy of the ‘Future one’ that Giles decided had to be you, you had also become Spike’s girlfriend. This was on the down-low to begin with, Spike was definitely seen as evil and not just because he had done a deal with some questionable demons in order to make some money and hoped to get the chance to kill Buffy at the same time. You navigated your relationship around this, trying to steer him and Buffy out of each other’s way the best that you could. 

Spike stalked in, blood smeared around his mouth that he wiped off with his shirt sleeve, trying to look at least a little presentable when he realised you were waiting up for him.

He softened when he saw you sleepily cuddled on the sofa, the glare of the tv lighting up your face. Coming back to see you was heaven, if he believed in any of that stuff. You made this crypt a home and coming back to have you waiting in the early morning was bliss. He wanted you to move in, but you kept your apartment for appearances in front of the Scoobies. 

He moved to you, cupping your cheek and pulling you in for a kiss. It was soft and slow, but full of meaning - as if he was sucking the soul from you. Replacing it with his love. His promise that souls didn’t matter when it was love.

“What was that for?” The meaning behind his kiss almost waking you up completely. Knocking the breath from your lungs. The sleep from your eyes. Eyes a little wider, smile a little brighter. 

“I love you, pet” he shrugged, sitting beside you on the sofa.

“I love you too, even though you taste suspiciously like the red-stuff” You can’t help still smiling sleepily. He sat beside you on the sofa, allowing you to settle in beside him. He let you lay against him and you snuggle into his side as he wrapped an arm around you. His soft whispers match the soothing caress as he rubbed your arm as you started to drift into sleep. You felt so safe with him.

You would never have guessed that not an hour before this vampire had been terrorising humans, draining them and taunting them. He of course never told you that was what he did, and he could never for a second imagine hurting you that way, but you had suspicions and you tried your best to not bring it up or ask him to try animal blood.

You trusted him, for better or for worse. By this time, you had been dating for almost a year and a half, for the most part hidden from the others. Willow knew, being the most understanding of the group. Anya had her suspicions but the others weren’t aware.

A while after all of your friends found out about your relationship with Spike (they had walked in on you both in a compromising position that no amount of excuses could explain), you got a call from Giles. He had still been looking up a way for you to go home and he had finally found one. 

It was time for you to choose. Between the prophecy and going back to the future.

“Y/n, I’ve found it! You may go home” he offered, an aged scroll and a tablet with runes carved on it in his hands. You stared, in shock. You knew what this meant. It meant you could go back home to your family. Your friends. Your life before you met them all.

“I, uh…” you just stared. Things had been rocky for a while, you had been under suspicion for your relationship with Spike when they had found out, but everything had been getting back to normal now. You had barely thought about returning to 2020. You had made a life here.

“You do not have to do anything with this, y/n. You may, ah, wish to think about it. Or I could put these to one side if you ever did in the future want to go back. But I will be the first to say that you are one of us. None of us will take any pleasure in saying goodbye” Giles knew your fears, that the group would want you to leave because of your relationship with Spike. They weren’t pleased with it, but the arguments were over now. Everyone was still fond of you.

“Thanks, Giles. Can we keep this between us for now?” You asked and he nodded, hiding everything away safely until it was needed. 

Since that talk with Giles, Spike noticed you had been off with him. He tried asking, but you had snapped and he had become irritated. You had stormed away in the middle of the day so that he couldn’t follow you, avoiding an argument. You took your time coming back, having to think over everything. Should you go back to 2020 or stay in Sunnydale (with perhaps a perilous prophecy to fulfil).

When you returned, you told him everything. An honesty you both had tried to maintain throughout your relationship. You poured your fears, your apprehension and then he looked in your eyes, took your hands and offered you another option. an option you had never even considered until now. Your eyes widened, could he really love you that much?

“You’ll never be able to go back, love. Think about it. I’ll understand if you’d rather try to look for that portal again to get back home” “I love you and I want you to stay here... with me” He finally said it. What you were hoping for him to say. Your grin spread across your face, nothing would have taken it from you. This moment, it was special.

“I want this, Spike. I want you” You confirmed, “You are home to me”

“You think you can handle an eternity with me?”

“I can give it a try at least” You smiled as he rolled his eyes.

He stared into your eyes, testing if you were serious before casting his gaze back to your neck. He could feel the steady beat, your trust in him. 

He leaned in, you braced yourself. He held your head back, cradling it. His mouth lingered despite his lusting for your blood. His face shifted, fangs now protruding from his mouth, the same eyes now a different colour scanning the unmarked skin there.

It was as if in slow motion. He whispered his affections for you, landing a soft kiss on your pulse point before his jaw opened. He moved in, teeth starting to pierce your flesh. You winced, hissing slightly and he paused but your hands moved and you nodded your continuing consent. He continued to intake your blood, swallowing the thick viscous liquid as if it were his last meal on this plain. 

When he managed to pull away, he sliced his palm, offering you your first taste of his blood. You gladly accepted, licking the cut before sucking hungrily. You pulled his hand closer to your mouth as he stroked the back of your head with his other hand. Your eyes darkened, wanting him, wanting to be filled with his blood. With anything he wanted to give you and offering your soul in return. Your soul was his to take.

This was forever. Bound by the love coursing through your veins. This was big for him, he had never sired anyone romantically before and he knew he never would again. This was a bond he only wanted with you. He loved you so much, to have you by his side was a gift to you both. 

You drank until your body slumped and he had to hold you up. Taking on your weight, laying you down on his bed. lovingly placing the covers over you. He lay himself beside you, on his side facing you, over the bedclothes. He stroked your cheek, it was as if you were sleeping. But you had no heart beat. You weren’t breathing. Your skin was hardening, marble-like. He smiled at this, a thumb gliding across your cheekbone.

He wasn’t grieving, he was in anticipation. Hoping your kindness, charm and laid-back nature wasn’t lost during the process. This had gone wrong for him before and he was desperate for all of the human qualities to be with you during your reawakening. 

After what felt like an age, your eyes opened and the first thing you saw were his sparkling blue eyes staring back. The smile on your lips mirrored his as your face shifted for the first time. Elongated fangs and a ridged forehead were now the new addition to your features, and he loved you more for it.

“I never would have thought… after everything” you sighed, having woken up from what felt like a sleeping-beauty style 100 year sleep. You thought about where you had come from. How you had met, how he had threatened you, how the Scoobies - your friends - had reacted to your relationship with Spike. It had all been worth it to be here with him like this.

Your joints were stiff, your senses heightened. But your love for him was just as deep as it was before. Your genuine nature bruised a little, maybe grazed but not removed from you the way some vampires appeared to have their good qualities surgically taken. 

“Well, the Powers-that-bloody-don’t have a funny way of working things out” he shrugged, not able to stop himself smiling that it was really still you. 

“Now, come on pet, I want to show you the afterlife properly” He smirked, pulling you up from bed to follow him, about to show you the joys of the hunt. He could tell you would be hungry, he was ready to show you everything. He was so pleased he had truly found someone that loved him the same way he loved them. Someone he could cherish, that would cherish him in return. Someone he could hold long into the day and not worry about some other vampire coming along and catching your eye. You were both in deep. And happily so.

This was the start of your un-life together. Little did either of you know, in a couple of months time, Spike would no longer be able to kill a living thing. A chip would be embedded  into his brain. You would stay by his side, a precarious truce with the others still. Your soul almost intact, but never quite in the room. Your love for him would never die, even through the tough times that were coming. 

It was the evening after the dream and you had been pulled back into the present day. The disappointment never once dissipating from your mind as you walked through your morning on autopilot. You couldn’t stop thinking about him – feeling him. You swore you could even taste Spike on your lips.

You didn’t know that Spike had longed to have you long since the dream sequence you had experienced. All you had felt were your own emotions towards him. You also weren’t aware that at the same time, Spike had an almost identical dream – but he had been having similar ones for weeks now, so it didn’t mean much to him other than confirming his aching want for you to be his.

Tonight, you were patrolling with the Scoobies with plans of going to the Bronze later. You stalk beside Buffy, making sure to watch her back as the other Scoobies split up. You suddenly bump straight into the man you had been unsuccessfully trying to take your mind off since the night before. You had been watching out for Buffy and not yourself.

He made some smart comment, but he was concerned when you didn’t reply with the same biting wit. You could not stop staring, as if you were seeing a completely new person before you. The man of your dreams. Literally.

Spike, cocked his head slightly at your glassy stare. The dreams playing out in front of you, the reel playing over the reality of the scene where you and spike had yet to share any long-lasting softness between you. He left without so much as a scathing comment, glancing back only to have one last look at you before he left into the dark of the night.

Now the demon fighting portion of the evening was over, you all decided you would descend on the Bronze. You look up and suddenly he’s there sat beside you. You were holding the table while some of your friends danced and others were up ordering at the bar. You hadn’t realised he had followed you all here. Your eyes drop to your drink as he mutters something to try and get you to smile, but you appear more conflicted than usual. Overthinking it – how friendly you were toward him since the dream.

Spike, not one to miss subtle changes in the emotions of people he cared for, picked up on your change immediately. He had thought you were at least friendly at the moment whilst he fantasised about more. So, he decides to call your behaviour out, noting your staring at him longer than usual.

“What’s going on, pet? You’re staring into bloody space every time I see you… are you okay?” He asked, a hint of concern that you presume you have imagined as you continue to stare at his face. You weren’t staring into space, you were staring into his soul. Or, well, the space where his soul should be you remind yourself.

You’re confused, he seemed to really care. While you were trying to formulate a response, you realise you’re still staring and try to snap yourself out of it.

“It’s nothing, Spike. Just had a, uh, bad night’s sleep” You lie, it had been a great night’s sleep. You had spent it with him, after all.

“Oh, um, d’you wanna talk abou-?” Spike started but you were quickly distracted, pulled away by Buffy who scowled at Spike for daring to look at you apparently. You were protective of Buffy, but the younger girl was also incredibly protective of you which is why your friendship was so strong.

 Buffy insulted Spike, saying you needed to find something actually evil to fight. You stayed silent where you would usually be at least nodding along in agreement. All you could do was imagine his arms around you, pulling you close. The whispers of love and promise caressing your ear as he held you closer. 

As your evening progressed at the Bronze, Spike’s gaze locked with yours across the crowded room and you found yourself desperate to sit by his side. Share a drink, or maybe an onion flower. 

You zoned back into your friends conversation only briefly before meeting his pale blue eyes once more. His eyebrow crooked and he wanted to talk to you, but your friends were creating a barrier around you. 

You were both hyper-aware of the other, each of you slowly positioning yourself closer to the other until your longing was abruptly interrupted.

You saw Buffy and Spike trading insults before quickly turning to trading blows. You were unaware the fight had broken out over you. Buffy was threatening spike for the way he stared, the way he spoke of you. Everyone had noticed the way he couldn’t stop turning up when he knew you would be around. They saw it as twisted. Sick. So Buffy decided to do something about it.

Spike landed a blow against Buffy’s jaw at her words, hissing at the pain he also caused himself in the process. You ran across the dancefloor to try and break the fight up before one or both got seriously injured.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” You shout, getting between the two and sticking up for Buffy, “She’s a teenager – go and pick on someone your own age” You mutter, shoving his shoulder again for good measure. As much as you liked him, as much as you wanted the dream to be real - you weren’t there yet. Your relationship wasn’t at that point that had been promised in that dream.

You still had reservations about him, you were still the protective parent friend. You hadn’t changed and neither had he, but your feelings were definitely softening. Thawing with each moment your minds cast to the other.

He looked at you, an eyebrow raised. But he didn’t say anything, in fact his eyes cast to the floor. Your heart fluttered, but your sentiment remained the same. You wanted to protect your friend. He clutched his head slightly before nodding, apparently at your words, and stalking away.

“Who died and made you the vampire whisperer?” Xander asked but Willow and Buffy shared a look. They could tell there was something going on, and not just because you and Spike had been sharing a game of sneak-a-glance roulette when you hoped the other wasn’t looking. Neither of you had noticed the other glancing, but your two friends definitely had.

You just shrugged at Xander’s comment, telling them perhaps it was time to go home. The Bronze was looking at them all weirdly again and it was probably best to get home.

You shepherded each Scooby to their door, despite Buffy insisting she should be walking you before you decided it was time you should be going home.

But your heart and your brain weren’t communicating, stuck in the same entangled confusion that the dream brought both you. Your feet started walking you in the opposite direction from your apartment. Straight towards a graveyard. One you knew a certain vampire lived.

You entered slowly, the gate creaking behind you as you looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone. He sensed you immediately, closing his eyes and savouring the scent that clinged to you so beautifully. It was as if in slow-motion. The whisper of hope that the wind carried towards him as you walked slowly towards the crypt was almost almost killing him with anticipation. He hadn’t been mad over you breaking up the incident earlier, if anything it confirmed to him that you had at least a low ember of concern for him although it didn’t shine through as evidently as your protectiveness for your younger friend.

You walked up to the door of the crypt. Closing your eyes, willing yourself to face him. To show him how you felt. What you longed for. Your hand hovering to knock against the door, your breath catching in your throat as you imagined all of the possibilities. The excuses for your detour dancing upon your tongue as you dared to rehearse the words that may lead to your dreams coming a reality.

But instead of knocking, you pressed your hand flat to the door of the crypt. Unbeknownst to you, it was almost directly against where he was pressing his on the other side of the door.

You both wished to open the door, but what would you say? What could possibly be done to bring you straight from a potential argument and instead into each other’s arms where you wish you were invited?

How could you pour such unrelenting, raw feelings from nowhere. Landing it in the others lap, for ridicule or even the threat of death to set in. You both sigh, resigning yourself to it. To the loneliness you would be feeling even more acutely since the ghost had appeared to you. Since the possibility of such selfless and true love had knocked upon your door in the early hours of the morning.

Sunnydale was surprisingly quiet at the moment which meant bad things were probably on the horizon. You were smiling as you did your night-time routine though, thinking about something Spike had said to you that evening at the Bronze which had made you laugh. He was growing on you, ever since the Initiative chipped him, he had been a lot more fun to be around. You didn’t really like him when you first met, you weren’t even convinced by him a few months ago, but now you found yourself almost enjoying his company. Platonically, of course.

That night, as you started to get into bed the temperature in the room started to chill. It was as if you had unknowingly walked into a freezer. You jumped, dropping the sheet you had pulled back for you to slip into as a voice boomed out of nowhere, echoing against each wall in the room. You turned to see a ghost staring straight at you. Great, just what you needed.

“You will be visited by three ghosts tonight. The ghosts of romance beginning, possible and destiny” The figure spoke, apparently the powers that be were getting tired of you and Spike dancing around each other and decided to take direct action.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“The first apparition shall arrive when the clock strikes one” The figure spoke as it disappeared before your eyes. You groaned, you really didn’t need to see some warped Christmas Carol-style look at your past dates. But, that wasn’t what this was. As you fell deep into a sleep you had been fighting so that the apparition wouldn’t get its way, you had a dream. It was very similar to that of a prophetic dream you may or may not have been pretending to read about at a Scooby meeting a day previous.

The Beginning:

The first scene was a memory of yours from a while ago, which really was just lazy haunting on the spectre’s part. It was one of the times that you had finished shouting at Spike for being just plain nasty to your younger friends. You were a few years older than the other Scoobies, making you the protective, ‘parent’ friend. Any advice, worries or study support and you were there. You particularly worried about Buffy, the responsibility she held got her down sometimes and you felt protective of her as if she was your little sister. You wished you could protect her from everything that came her way.

When Spike, having ignored your rant, started to follow Buffy through a darkened graveyard, you stepped out. You had no super-strength, no secret powers, but you did have an attitude and a protective streak. So you blocked his path.

“No”

“Wh-”

“Just no, Spike. Leave her alone” You warned. He enjoyed taunting her with threats and stories of his past exploits, especially gruesomely detailing the way he killed slayers in the past.

“I was just gonna offer my services”

“There are no services you can provide that are gonna make Buffy listen to you. Go home”

“Jealousy looks cute on you, pet”

“Just – go” You warned. He smirked, moving in. He grabbed your upper arm, a mean look as he pulled you into him so he could whisper in your ear. But you thought fast, “Ow! Ow that really hurts!” You hissed, wincing and shaking in pain as he dropped your arm and started to clutch his own head in agony. He hadn’t realised he had gripped your arm that tight. Bloody breakable human bones.

But you straightened up as he started to clutch his head, smiling a satisfied grin before winking. He hadn’t hurt you. You had been pretending, which still fired off the chip because he thought he had caused pain.

“I bloody hate you!” he shouted, still rubbing his head, “Spiteful fucking bitch” He seethed, pointing at you angrily. Wishing he could twist your arm out of its socket and cause excruciating pain you had just given him. He stalked off, the opposite direction from both you and Buffy which had been your goal to begin with, so you were satisfied.

The Possibility:

The second dream sequence was, again, some pretty lazy ghosting in your opinion. It was you and Spike at the magic box last week. You found yourselves sat together as the others excitably skipped to the dance floor. You and Spike were left nursing your drinks together.

“Alright, love?” he asked as you watched the others with a little smile. You weren’t so much older, but old enough that you looked at them fondly as if you were reminiscing about being as carefree as them in your youth. They didn’t get the chance often and you saw Buffy and Riley dancing together which made you happy for her. She needed something like this, something more stable.

“Yeah, it’s just a nice evening” You smiled at Willow and Tara as they gave you a little wave, shaking your head as they tried again to get you to join them and dance.

“Too right, bagged more than one demon and the onion flower’s back on the menu” Spike said, looking over at the bar. He wasn’t too bothered by what the others were doing.

“Onion flower?”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t tried it”

“I haven’t” you shrugged, sipping on your soda. As much as you enjoyed partying with the others, you wanted to keep an eye out and get them all home safe at the end of the night. They were mostly new to drinking so you wanted to be on hand and sober if there were any disasters.

“You haven’t lived! Bloody brilliant, they soak it in water first then fry it – shallow – on both sides until golden”

You were staring at the dance floor as he spoke animatedly, his hands gesturing, clearly this was a particular favourite of his. You looked at him, an amused smile on your face. It made his face harden, he hadn’t realised how carried away he had gotten. He looked a bit embarrassed and you couldn’t help the genuine smile that spread across your face.

“Hey, that sounds pretty cool” You offered him, he was clearly expecting you to make fun of him or run to the microphone at the front and announce loud to the entire Bronze that he was actually really lame and not at all scary. He looked at you for a moment, almost as if he wanted to say something more. Offer more than the usual insults you both traded, but he just got up to get himself another drink – not offering to buy you a round.

However, Spike came back with a smug grin and an onion flower which he set in front of you. You couldn’t help smiling softly at his enthusiasm, it was almost endearing. His face faltered as he saw the way you were looking at him, he felt something suspiciously close to affection rising in his chest, connecting through clusters of nerves throughout his entire body. This was when he realised he liked you. He really liked you. Oh no.

The Destiny:

The third ghost brought you somewhere that was not yet in your memory, but you were very pleased with the way it made you feel. It was unusual, you felt older but nothing about Sunnydale had apparently changed. Spike was in your apartment, a place he had never been invited before but he walked around the place as if he knew it. As if it were his own house.

It was like you were watching a romantic film, the anticipation whether the love interest would kiss you being almost painful. You were staring at him as he moved around your kitchen with ease, making you a hot drink and taking some blood from your fridge. You yearned for him and could tell he felt the same. The subtle glances, the desire for the other’s touch.

He smiled when he saw you watching, you walked into the kitchen, taking your cup and sipping it slowly. It was made exactly how you like it. Spike moved so that he was looping his arms around your waist from behind. You hummed, staring out of the window into the cool night. You felt calm, safe. Something you had never thought about with Spike but you had a feeling that after this dream, it was all you were going to be feeling.

“I’m so glad I’ve got you, love… never thought we’d actually do it mind”

“I could never imagine my life without loving you, Spike. It just feels so right” You found your mouth moving of its own accord.

“Mm, and a little wrong… in a good way” he smirked, moving into your neck as he mumbled the words. He pressed some soft kisses there as he thought about the way you had become his. He loved you, not able to stop himself grinning like an idiot when you were around him still. The strangest part was that you knew he loved you and your feelings complimented his perfectly. 

“In the best way” You confirmed, finding yourself smiling. You set the mug down, knowing what was coming as he spun you around to face him. He smirked, eyeing you as you smiled in anticipation.

There was that familiar look in his eye before he moved in, you felt blunt teeth grazing your neck, your own breathy moans ricocheting around the room as you grasped at his shirt. You clutched at strands of his blonde hair, his kisses heated but with an underlying affection he could never shake when it came to you. he pressed you against the kitchen counter, laying kisses so hot they felt as if they were marking your skin, his lips branding you as his. They were on yours now, you moaned into his mouth as his hands started to roam and this is where the dream ended. 

It was disappointing, the anticipation was killing you and you longed for this to be real some day. You woke with a start, jolting up in bed. You woke to find yourself alone in your apartment, desperately missing Spike’s touch. His kiss. His love.

This was how you woke up lying on your side, as Spike rolled over and stroked down your arm, leaving languid kisses against your shoulder.

“Time to get up, pet… Scooby meeting remember, can’t have ‘em knowing you were here. God forbid the little gang of white hats figure not everything is black and white” He mumbled, more to himself than to you.

“I’d actually like to stay here, enjoy you a little longer”

“I think you had more than your share last night” He smirked, trailing some kisses along your collarbone. You smiled at his affection, weaving your fingers between the short hair at the base of his skull, knowing you really would have a lot of explaining to do if you were late for the meeting. You reluctantly slipped from being pressed into his body, instantly missing his soft caress.

However, when you tried you found that no matter how much you tried, you couldn’t move out of the bed. You could move around in bed, but not step foot out of it.

“S-Spike I can’t get out of bed” You panicked, grabbing his upper arm.

“It’s the animal attraction, love, no need to feel special I do it to all the girls” he smouldered, not realising how freaked you were.

“Not funny, I need to leave!”

“It’s not hard love, see-?” Spike started to try and remove himself from the bed quickly realising that there was some invisible force keeping you there, “Oh bloody hell”

“I think we’re stuck in bed”

“Oh, somebody get an award for little miss state-the-bleeding-obvious”

“No need to be rude, we’re stuck - you being sarcastic isn’t helping!” You said, removing yourself from his side and trying to move your arm outside of the bed. You couldn’t even do that, it was as if there was some invisible barrier stopping you. You sighed, lying back in bed.

It had been a while and you were lying on your side away from Spike to try and find a more comfortable position.

“Most women would enjoy being in bed all day with her attractive boyfriend” He moved in, running a hand along the curve of your back, making you shiver slightly.

“Boy-friend? You’re practically a corpse” You muttered and Spike realised you were still a bit put out by his sarcastic put-down. Usually, it wouldn’t bother you too much, you knew who you had agreed to date but you had been panicking and he had been rude.

“Corpse-friend doesn’t have the same ring to it, now does it?” You just sigh at this, rolling onto your back. You both stared up at the ceiling in silence for a while, Spike broke first when he saw your facial expression, “Don’t pout love, I’m sorry, alright? There’s no way out and your cell phone was in your jeans pocket-

“-Which was thrown to the floor last night” you finished with a sigh. This was a waiting game. You both scowled at the pair of jeans sprawled near the entrance to the upper-level of the crypt.

Spike pulled you into him as he sighed. Nothing was ever easy in Sunnydale. He had ideas of taking you far away from here, but you would never leave the others fighting monsters alone. He liked your loyalty, even if it meant you were loyal to him in secret. After a comfortable moment spike shifted in bed, his feet tangling with yours as you yelped at the sudden sensation.

“Hey! Quit touching me, your feet are cold!” You protested, moving your legs away slightly.

“Y/n, they’re room-temperature, pet”

“Still, it’s cold in the room…”

“Oh yeah?” He started to press different parts of his body to your back, chest and then face to tease you seeing as you couldn’t escape from bed. You heard a throaty chuckle as you yelped and fell into fits of giggles yourself, pleading for mercy from his icy touch. He eventually wrapped his arms around you, holding you to him and you managed to brave the cold because it meant being close to him. Besides, he warmed up to your body heat anyway. You both closed your eyes, enjoying the bliss of being so intimate with each other.

It had been another hour and there had been another incident to interrupt your bliss, the fact that you were both basically sat on top of each other was starting to wear a little thin. Spike could get very irritated and you could almost match him at times. You were both sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard wrapped in sheets.

“Has anyone ever told you that for a vampire, your breathing is actually really loud?” you shoot him a look, the little things starting to aggravate the other considering you’ve been stuck in such a small space.

“Well, for a human you can be incredibly cold, I’m almost jealous. Some vamps haven’t even got it in ‘em like you have”

“Take that back!”

“It’s a compliment really” He backtracked seeing your frown.

“It’s not! I’m not cold you’re just annoying me, I can’t move from this bed and you’re not helping at all. You’d have thought after all your years of living you would know what to-”

“If you don’t bloody shut up, I’ll bite, y/n, and not in the way you like”

“I’d like to see you try, you’d be trapped here with my body and a horrible headache, not to mention that Buffy would find you eventually” You quipped. There was a silence, you had mentioned Buffy which always annoyed Spike. After a moment, you both looked back at each other, your scowls falling from your face as your mouths twitched into a smile. You couldn’t help it and neither could he. Throughout all of this you were happy to be together even with the squabbling.

“Y’know, we are already in bed, I could always… make it up to you” Your wide smile at the suggestion and the little exciteable nod was all he needed to crash his lips to yours. Maybe less talking and more kissing was the way to go. Your lips roughly met, a tension lifting that had been filled with needling words before. He pulled you closer to him as you slid a hand up his toned chest trying to match his insistent kisses. You were anticipating more when his hands started to trace your waist but something, or someone, stopped that in its tracks.

“Spike! We need your help, y/n’s missing and it’s not like her to-” Buffy was cut off and the three intruders matched your horrified face, “Oh my God! Y/n, get away from him!”

Spike was shielding you the best he could, the blush already rising in your cheeks as he stroked your side comfortingly, his hand hidden by the sheet. He knew this was your nightmare, being caught in bed by the whole gang. Xander, Willow and Buffy were all shell-shocked at this revelation. Everyone’s eyes scattered to the floor as they realised what they had intruded on. Willow hurriedly read through the book she had walked in reading rather than focus on you naked in bed with Spike.

“Yeah, that’s right, get your eye-full before pretending to be embarrassed” Spike said to the group, “We’re stuck here, some big nasty bugger did this to us!”

“Uh, he’s right, a demon cast the whacky on us” you managed to stutter out, Buffy’s glare now trained on Spike.

“Sounds like the same demon we were supposed to be meeting about!” Willow confirmed after you gave a brief description of the demon and what had happened.

“I was gonna say, nobody’s getting into Spike’s bed without some serious mojo going on” Xander piped up.

Spike and you looked at each other, Spike was somewhat disappointed that the Scoobies were so willing to believe that a demon had taken your clothes and thrown you both into bed rather than seeing that you loved him and had been dating him for the past three months. He understood though, so he ducked his head, allowing them to continue berating him in his own bedroom. Because you were so insistent on keeping it quiet. At least this way, he could keep being with you, even privately.

“Um, the spell only trapped us in bed… I got in willingly” Spike looked up, a very smug smile on his face that he tried to hide when you side-glanced at him. You took his hand, squeezing slightly.

“You… what?”

“We’re dating” You confirmed and Spike smiled the widest grin you had ever seen on his face as he snaked an arm around your waist, holding you firmly so the others could see now.

Everyone was silent after that. Willow went upstairs to get the spell sorted, she had finally found it in the book she had handily come in reading about the demon that Spike and y/n had met the night previous. The demon liked to prey on new couples, hexing them in situations that could ruin their relationships. Willow quickly reversed the hex which allowed you both to leave the bed, the others left you to it not really speaking to you on the way out. You couldn’t quite bring yourself to care at the moment though, the look Spike was giving you was distracting. He was so pleased you had told them all.