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apachefirecatTitle: One Night
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author: Apache Firecat
Dedicated To: <3 To my J, who I will always love more than any other, whose progression I strive to help make happen, and without whose love, I would be nothing and this life wouldn't be worth the living <3
Characters: Spike/Buffy, Willow/Tara, Dawn
Rating: PG-13/T
Summary: Willow takes Spike and Dawn for a visit on Halloween/Samhain night.
Word Count: 1,681
Written For: Nekid Spike Mini Nekid Guest: Dawn, First Line Challenge: "I can explain.", and Harlot's Choice: Halloween; 1 Million Words A to Z: N (Night); FFFC r22.19: Heaven; and Lands of Magic Challenge 6: Spooky Season
Warnings: Future Fic, Character Death, Slight AU
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
"I can explain."
"You don't have to," she interrupted him with a smile. "I understand. You missed me. I missed you guys too."
A tremulous smile spread over Spike's black lips. Perhaps she did understand. Perhaps she understood too well. Perhaps she had been watching them all this time. Heaven really was a place, no matter what anybody else wanted to say, and it wasn't just in her arms, though that was the best place he'd ever known and the closest he would ever come to Heaven itself. Perhaps it wasn't even called Heaven. Perhaps Jesus had never existed, although with all the Summers women working on him over the years, Spike found that idea hard to believe. Regardless there was a Heaven, and he wasn't pulling her out of it this time. He loved her too much to ever be that selfish again.
His fingers arched with his ache to reach out to her. He had dreamed of touching her again for so very long, but then, too, he had also dreamed of this moment so very many times. It was happening at last. With the veils wide open this Halloween night, and their forces not caught up in fighting apocalyptic battles without their leader, his and many others', he knew no matter what they said, inspiration, they had finally had a chance to come and... and to commune.
He knew Willow communed quite often from what she said. It was fascinating sometimes just to listen to her babble about magic and all she did with it. No wonder the girl found it so thrilling with all it could do. After all, it had returned Buffy to them before, but he couldn't ask that this time not ever again. Willow might even do it for him, and even if she wouldn't, he could've found another Witch. But he'd never do that to Buffy again.
Dawn was babbling eagerly, asking her sister a hundred questions a minute. Buffy smiled patiently, and again, Spike found himself quietly wishing he could reach out and touch her, cup her face, stroke that sweet smile, stroke that fluttering, glittering hair of hers. How he missed the way it had spun through his fingers, both in golden waves and in gray! "Dawn," Willow's quiet voice firmly interrupted Dawn's babble and Spike's hopeless wishing, "she can't really answer questions like that. Besides, Heaven's a little different for every person. You'll have to get there before you can get those answers."
"Is Mom there?" Dawn blurted out.
Willow's mouth opened to stop her again, but Buffy smiled and bobbed her head in agreement. "Yes, and she's very happy and very proud of us both."
"Will you... give her a hug for me?" Doubtful perplexion filled Dawn's face. She looked younger tonight, Spike thought, than she had in several decades. "Can I hug you?"
Again, Willow's mouth opened, but she shut it herself this time. She didn't know how that would work, not tonight, not with all the strong magic she had used. She had done everything within her power to bring Buffy back to them as close as she could without actually ripping her from Heaven again. She'd never do that to anyone again, and had she known what it would mean, from whence she had been yanking her best friend before, she never would have done it then.
Spike leaned forward, but he also did not dare to speak. He couldn't. He couldn't hurt the Nibblet, and he, too, wanted to hug Buffy. He wanted to do so much to and with her again, yet he would reflect later that sex was nowhere near his mind. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to make her know with those touches how much he loved and missed her, how very incredibly much she had always meant to him. The amazing, inspirational, bold, brave, and gorgeous woman before him had done so much for him. She had given him his life back. She had saved him from the evil, wretched monster he had become. She had not only saved his life; she had saved his soul and given both meaning.
"I don't know," Buffy finally answered her kid sister, whose juvenile optimism was once more shining through her every word and gleeful, hopeful smile. "We can find out," she said gently, leaning forward.
Spike watched intently as Buffy made that face she'd once worn so often when they'd been facing unsurpassable odds. Slowly she floated further toward Dawn. He tried not to notice the fact that she was floating, but it seemed an impossible reminder that she would not be staying with them to ignore. He could tell she was concentrating very hard to make her ghostly visage actually connect with Dawn's flesh as she reached out and very slowly, tenderly caressed her sister's cheek. Dawn gave a cry and rushed forward, throwing her arms around and somewhat into Buffy.
Buffy held her sister as she cried and stroked her long, graying hair. Spike looked away, clearing his throat and strengthening his own resolve to not cry. A hand touched his, and he quite nearly jumped before looking down into Willow's sorrowful, green eyes. She gave him a sad, hopeful smile as her mind touched his, I tried.
I know, Red, he said and managed to return her smile though his own still felt shaky. He gazed into her eyes and realized, for the first time in years, just how big they were. They seemed like two green pools made ever so deep by sorrow, age, and wisdom. She understood everything that was going on on so many more levels than they did, and than he wanted to.
He cleared his throat, looked back, and watched over the sisters as they talked and Buffy assured Dawn of how she'd watched over as Dawn had had her youngest child and how happy and proud she was that her little family was growing so well and healthfully in her absence. Dawn could have talked to her sister for hours, all throughout the night and well pass the sunrise but after they'd had over a hour, Dawn's head suddenly jerked up to attention. She looked straight to Willow, and Spike realized that Red must have said something in her mind as well.
She nodded. "You're right," she said simply and hugged her sister again. "I will always love you and miss you," she told her.
"I know, Dawnie," Buffy acknowledged, tenderly stroking her sister's hair, "and I hear you every time you talk to me. I try to answer you sometimes," she admitted with a half-grin, "even though I'm not supposed to, but you can't hear me."
Dawn gazed into her sister's eyes. "I'll try harder," she promised and hugged her as tightly as she could. Then she turned, nodded respectfully to Spike and Willow both, and walked away.
"Well, I, huh -- " Spike stammered. He'd dreamed so many times of this moment yet now that it was here, he found himself more tongue-tied around Buffy than he'd been in years. "I've -- " he tried again, but suddenly he was tackled. Buffy's arms wrapped around him as she clung to him. Her lips covered his, and her tongue dove into his mouth. She wasn't after sex though, he realized a moment later even as she deepened their kiss. She was trying to do the very thing he ached to do. She was using her mouth, her tongue, her fingers, and even her teeth, every part of her body or, rather, her ghostly apparition to show him how desperately much she'd missed him.
His tongue dove deeper into her mouth as he returned her kiss in full and more, pouring everything he had within him and all that he'd held pent up for so very long, into their kiss. He opened an eye, however, when he heard the soft sound of pebbles moving beneath someone's feet and suddenly remembered Willow was there. Casting a glance at the Witch, however, he noticed that she was walking away and then realized that she was moving toward someone. He watched her take Tara's hand and then returned his full attention to Buffy. They only had that one night, but he'd damn sure do everything in his power to make it one that neither of them would ever forget and that would last them maybe not until eternity but until he could get to where she was, a place of dreams, she'd made him come to realize, not nightmares, a place that he only had a chance of reaching because of her and all the magical progress that her love had done for him.
"I love you, Slayer," he murmured against her mouth. She truly was the Slayer of the ages, a Slayer not just of Vampires and of all the other proverbial things that went bump in the night and not just of men but of evil hearts and souls. She took evil, and she smote it in whatever form she found it, including making evil beings strive to be better than they'd ever been able to be, ever dared to believe they could be, even in life. "I love you! I miss you!"
"I love you too!" she cried against his lips and returning to kissing him hungrily, desperately, ever so full of love and passion. She only had one night to show him how much she meant those words, and when she was done with him this night, before the sun rose again and she was forced to disappear from his side (no matter how many times she visited him, he never seemed to realize she was truly there, and besides, it wasn't as if she could actually talk to or touch him), he would know just how much she would always, always love him. She'd finished baking ages ago, and Spike would always be the one she loved more than any other. It was far past time she showed him, and she was going to show him just that, fervently, this Samhain night.
The End
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Author: Apache Firecat
Dedicated To: <3 To my J, who I will always love more than any other, whose progression I strive to help make happen, and without whose love, I would be nothing and this life wouldn't be worth the living <3
Characters: Spike/Buffy, Willow/Tara, Dawn
Rating: PG-13/T
Summary: Willow takes Spike and Dawn for a visit on Halloween/Samhain night.
Word Count: 1,681
Written For: Nekid Spike Mini Nekid Guest: Dawn, First Line Challenge: "I can explain.", and Harlot's Choice: Halloween; 1 Million Words A to Z: N (Night); FFFC r22.19: Heaven; and Lands of Magic Challenge 6: Spooky Season
Warnings: Future Fic, Character Death, Slight AU
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
"I can explain."
"You don't have to," she interrupted him with a smile. "I understand. You missed me. I missed you guys too."
A tremulous smile spread over Spike's black lips. Perhaps she did understand. Perhaps she understood too well. Perhaps she had been watching them all this time. Heaven really was a place, no matter what anybody else wanted to say, and it wasn't just in her arms, though that was the best place he'd ever known and the closest he would ever come to Heaven itself. Perhaps it wasn't even called Heaven. Perhaps Jesus had never existed, although with all the Summers women working on him over the years, Spike found that idea hard to believe. Regardless there was a Heaven, and he wasn't pulling her out of it this time. He loved her too much to ever be that selfish again.
His fingers arched with his ache to reach out to her. He had dreamed of touching her again for so very long, but then, too, he had also dreamed of this moment so very many times. It was happening at last. With the veils wide open this Halloween night, and their forces not caught up in fighting apocalyptic battles without their leader, his and many others', he knew no matter what they said, inspiration, they had finally had a chance to come and... and to commune.
He knew Willow communed quite often from what she said. It was fascinating sometimes just to listen to her babble about magic and all she did with it. No wonder the girl found it so thrilling with all it could do. After all, it had returned Buffy to them before, but he couldn't ask that this time not ever again. Willow might even do it for him, and even if she wouldn't, he could've found another Witch. But he'd never do that to Buffy again.
Dawn was babbling eagerly, asking her sister a hundred questions a minute. Buffy smiled patiently, and again, Spike found himself quietly wishing he could reach out and touch her, cup her face, stroke that sweet smile, stroke that fluttering, glittering hair of hers. How he missed the way it had spun through his fingers, both in golden waves and in gray! "Dawn," Willow's quiet voice firmly interrupted Dawn's babble and Spike's hopeless wishing, "she can't really answer questions like that. Besides, Heaven's a little different for every person. You'll have to get there before you can get those answers."
"Is Mom there?" Dawn blurted out.
Willow's mouth opened to stop her again, but Buffy smiled and bobbed her head in agreement. "Yes, and she's very happy and very proud of us both."
"Will you... give her a hug for me?" Doubtful perplexion filled Dawn's face. She looked younger tonight, Spike thought, than she had in several decades. "Can I hug you?"
Again, Willow's mouth opened, but she shut it herself this time. She didn't know how that would work, not tonight, not with all the strong magic she had used. She had done everything within her power to bring Buffy back to them as close as she could without actually ripping her from Heaven again. She'd never do that to anyone again, and had she known what it would mean, from whence she had been yanking her best friend before, she never would have done it then.
Spike leaned forward, but he also did not dare to speak. He couldn't. He couldn't hurt the Nibblet, and he, too, wanted to hug Buffy. He wanted to do so much to and with her again, yet he would reflect later that sex was nowhere near his mind. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to make her know with those touches how much he loved and missed her, how very incredibly much she had always meant to him. The amazing, inspirational, bold, brave, and gorgeous woman before him had done so much for him. She had given him his life back. She had saved him from the evil, wretched monster he had become. She had not only saved his life; she had saved his soul and given both meaning.
"I don't know," Buffy finally answered her kid sister, whose juvenile optimism was once more shining through her every word and gleeful, hopeful smile. "We can find out," she said gently, leaning forward.
Spike watched intently as Buffy made that face she'd once worn so often when they'd been facing unsurpassable odds. Slowly she floated further toward Dawn. He tried not to notice the fact that she was floating, but it seemed an impossible reminder that she would not be staying with them to ignore. He could tell she was concentrating very hard to make her ghostly visage actually connect with Dawn's flesh as she reached out and very slowly, tenderly caressed her sister's cheek. Dawn gave a cry and rushed forward, throwing her arms around and somewhat into Buffy.
Buffy held her sister as she cried and stroked her long, graying hair. Spike looked away, clearing his throat and strengthening his own resolve to not cry. A hand touched his, and he quite nearly jumped before looking down into Willow's sorrowful, green eyes. She gave him a sad, hopeful smile as her mind touched his, I tried.
I know, Red, he said and managed to return her smile though his own still felt shaky. He gazed into her eyes and realized, for the first time in years, just how big they were. They seemed like two green pools made ever so deep by sorrow, age, and wisdom. She understood everything that was going on on so many more levels than they did, and than he wanted to.
He cleared his throat, looked back, and watched over the sisters as they talked and Buffy assured Dawn of how she'd watched over as Dawn had had her youngest child and how happy and proud she was that her little family was growing so well and healthfully in her absence. Dawn could have talked to her sister for hours, all throughout the night and well pass the sunrise but after they'd had over a hour, Dawn's head suddenly jerked up to attention. She looked straight to Willow, and Spike realized that Red must have said something in her mind as well.
She nodded. "You're right," she said simply and hugged her sister again. "I will always love you and miss you," she told her.
"I know, Dawnie," Buffy acknowledged, tenderly stroking her sister's hair, "and I hear you every time you talk to me. I try to answer you sometimes," she admitted with a half-grin, "even though I'm not supposed to, but you can't hear me."
Dawn gazed into her sister's eyes. "I'll try harder," she promised and hugged her as tightly as she could. Then she turned, nodded respectfully to Spike and Willow both, and walked away.
"Well, I, huh -- " Spike stammered. He'd dreamed so many times of this moment yet now that it was here, he found himself more tongue-tied around Buffy than he'd been in years. "I've -- " he tried again, but suddenly he was tackled. Buffy's arms wrapped around him as she clung to him. Her lips covered his, and her tongue dove into his mouth. She wasn't after sex though, he realized a moment later even as she deepened their kiss. She was trying to do the very thing he ached to do. She was using her mouth, her tongue, her fingers, and even her teeth, every part of her body or, rather, her ghostly apparition to show him how desperately much she'd missed him.
His tongue dove deeper into her mouth as he returned her kiss in full and more, pouring everything he had within him and all that he'd held pent up for so very long, into their kiss. He opened an eye, however, when he heard the soft sound of pebbles moving beneath someone's feet and suddenly remembered Willow was there. Casting a glance at the Witch, however, he noticed that she was walking away and then realized that she was moving toward someone. He watched her take Tara's hand and then returned his full attention to Buffy. They only had that one night, but he'd damn sure do everything in his power to make it one that neither of them would ever forget and that would last them maybe not until eternity but until he could get to where she was, a place of dreams, she'd made him come to realize, not nightmares, a place that he only had a chance of reaching because of her and all the magical progress that her love had done for him.
"I love you, Slayer," he murmured against her mouth. She truly was the Slayer of the ages, a Slayer not just of Vampires and of all the other proverbial things that went bump in the night and not just of men but of evil hearts and souls. She took evil, and she smote it in whatever form she found it, including making evil beings strive to be better than they'd ever been able to be, ever dared to believe they could be, even in life. "I love you! I miss you!"
"I love you too!" she cried against his lips and returning to kissing him hungrily, desperately, ever so full of love and passion. She only had one night to show him how much she meant those words, and when she was done with him this night, before the sun rose again and she was forced to disappear from his side (no matter how many times she visited him, he never seemed to realize she was truly there, and besides, it wasn't as if she could actually talk to or touch him), he would know just how much she would always, always love him. She'd finished baking ages ago, and Spike would always be the one she loved more than any other. It was far past time she showed him, and she was going to show him just that, fervently, this Samhain night.
The End
