Replacement by sus

Author: sus
Summary: They were meant to be. The council thought they knew better than The Powers, as well as her friends. An enemy from the future changes the past.
Author's Note:
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations


Chapter 35: Replacement

Buffy stayed in the parked car for a while, trying to find a way to get this over with, and then she really prayed for the first time in forever.

Spike had waited patiently for Buffy to start telling him the tale of her life.

Buffy had claimed she waited for Spike to heal, but in reality, she was scared. Tonight would be the night, there where no more excuses.

Slowly, she got out of the car and made her way upstairs.

"Hey, luv, how was your meeting?" Spike came out of her bedroom where the bed they shared was, neither mentioned the free bed next door. Merrick had moved downstairs when his bed had arrived.

It happened they woke up close together in each others arms, or one of them spooning the other. They didn’t talk about it, but they didn't try to avoid it either.

"A lot of yelling." She shrugged her shoulders. "As usual." She watched Spike coming closer, dressed in his usual black attire, smelling fresh from the shower. The scent made her remember the day he wrinkled his nose at her bath products, and refused to take a shower, that would leave him smelling of either vanilla or flowers. He had gotten Merrick to go out to buy him some manly soap, whatever that was.

Spike studied Buffy intensely, he saw something in her eyes he had never seen before. "Is it tonight?"

"Yes, it’s time," she responded, "we could talk over dinner, order something."

"It’s a date." Spike looked at her with half closed eyes, a little smile played in the corner of his mouth.

Buffy flushed. "I’ll order when I’ve taken a shower."

"I can order, if you give me your phone."

"That would be nice." Buffy took her phone out of her pocket and held it out on her palm. Spike reached out to place his hand under hers, he took the phone with the other hand, raised her palm to his lips and placed a soft kiss on it.

"You go take a shower," he said hoarse.

She turned to leave the room.

"What do you want? Pizza or Chinese?" he called after her.

"Chinese," she said without turning.

Out from the shower, Buffy dried her hair and brushed it until it shined. In her closet, she found a little black dress in remembrance of his words. It’s a date. A drop of perfume behind her ears, a little lip gloss. She couldn’t do anything about jewelry she didn’t have much, and what she had was at her mothers.

When she came out, she saw the light was turned off, instead there had been lit some candles on the coffee table that was covered with her only tablecloth.

Spike wasn’t there. Buffy had started to panic, when she heard him on the stairs.

Spike stopped on the top of the stairs, his eyes had landed on Buffy. "Beautiful." His eyes shined.

"Thank you." She looked down. Buffy felt young and shy around Spike, new somehow, maybe it was the seventeen year old body.

"The food has just arrived. Take a seat." They sat on the floor on cushions from the chairs, on either side of the table.

Spike took the boxes out of the bag, one by one, opened them before he placed them on the table. Finally, he pulled out the last item, a bottle of wine.

Buffy then noticed the wineglasses, she had been too busy watching Spike, to pay more attention to the table than what she had when she entered.

Spike held up the now opened bottle. "Can I pour you a glass, pet?"

"Yes, please." She watched him pour, wanting to remember everything about this night, if it should be her last in his company.

"A toast for a happy future," Buffy said holding her glass out for Spike to touch.

"I second that."

Spike took a box and started to fill his plate, when he had taken from a box he offered it to Buffy as she did hers. "What’s your point of view of a happy future?"

Quiet she said: "A future where you won't leave."

If Spike hadn’t had vamp hearing, he wouldn’t have heard her. They looked at each other, not saying anything, there was nothing to say.

"Yours?" Buffy almost whispered.

"Mine...if you had asked me about it a month or so ago, it would have involved Dru." He took a sip of his wine and sat in his thoughts for a while, looking at things only he could see.

"Tell me." A soft voice asked.

He turned his eyes towards her. "Are you sure you want to know?" Spike had to ask, didn’t want to hurt her, as he had been so often. He had seen her feelings for him, she had told him without words, her eyes had lighted up with them.

Buffy nodded. She had a very good idea about what would come. He had listened to her, claim Angel as the only one, now she would listen to him about Drusilla his sire, and his love for her.

He looked down at his hands, played with his glass. "In a happy future I would have claimed Dru, as my mate, and she would have claimed me back. To have Dru for my own, never have to let Angelus take her away from me." He looked up at Buffy. "That would have been my version of a happy future, not so long ago."

"And now?" She didn’t dare breathe while she waited for his answer, she had to know.

He frowned. "I’m not sure....maybe finding love." He tried to relate his new-found feelings for Buffy with his eyes.

Buffy hoped she interpreted his gaze correct, and at the same time understanding why he wouldn’t say anything, with knowing she had a story to tell, that would involve him.

They eat in silence, the only sounds were made when a knife or fork made contact with the plate. Glances were exchanged frequently over the table, small smiles were sent with them. Together they cleared the table, filled their glasses and sat at each end of the couch, leaning against the armrest.

"First off I want you to know that I’ll like for you to stay with me, you don’t have to stay in the same room as me, it’s up to you. There's just one thing I’ll ask of you, don’t kill in my town. I can’t kill you, but there will be others who’ll have no problems with it."

"I understand, Buffy."

And with a sigh Buffy started the tale of her life, just the big things, no details, unless spike asked. Hours passed, he could see she didn’t know how to feel about her friends, he asked her: why? His body expressed disbelief, when he heard what they did to her for her own good.

She had to tell him about the prophecy, that they were meant to be, about the book that explained it all.

"Meant to be?" he asked skeptical, "don’t you think you have me confused with peaches?"

Smiling she shook her head. "No, Spike, you're the one."

"How can it be me? I’m evil, you are a slayer. To be a slayer means you're a good guy." He tilted his glass to empty it. "Do you want to share the rest?" He started to fill his own glass, if there had been anything stronger he would be holding the bottle now.

"You can take the rest. I’m good."

"What more is written in the book?"

"It describes what can happen with us and the world, if we love each other and bond the way The Powers want."

"In details." Spike was gritting his teeth, his jaw was working on overtime. His life was mapped out, he had no saying over it.

"It doesn't matter."

"What?...how can it not matter?" he asked, doubting his ears.

"You have to understand me correctly." Buffy moved closer to Spike. "You have always been good in reading me, so you probably know by now how I feel about you." She flushed but kept her eyes locked with his.

Spike was the one who looked away first. "I have an idea, but can’t say I get it, nobody has ever cared about me except my mum."

"I more than care about you, Spike, to me, you're the one... To come back to the theme. If you want to go and find Dru, you can do that. You can do whatever you want, nothing will be forced on you. I won't lie, I want you, nobody else." Buffy reached a hand out to touch Spike’s cheek. "I love you, Spike." She looked at him for a little while. "Whatever makes you happy."

Spike immediately missed her hand when she dropped it, he watched her getting up and leave the room, at the door to her bedroom, she turned to throw him a last glance.

What now? I have feelings for Buffy. I’m afraid that I already love her, but how can I be sure? I don’t want to be mated to a woman just because of a prophecy. It should be because of love, a love that’s saying that I can’t live without her. Do I love her like that?

Spike got up, he took the two glasses with him, placed them in the dishwasher before he went to gaze out of the window.

Buffy was standing in the shower, letting the hot water calm her down after her crying fit. She had been sure he would have stormed out of the house, out of her life at the mention of a prophecy. She remembered when she had stumbled upon Giles and Angel, talking about the prophecy that said the Master would kill her. She hadn’t liked it, in fact, she had tried to quit.

She turned the water off, took a towel and started slowly to wipe her body dry, there was no need to hurry. From this point on, it was a waiting game, waiting for Spike, hoping some day he would love her.

The sleep she had hoped would let her escape her thoughts, wouldn’t come. Hours later when she had given up on sleep, she heard the door open.

Spike slipped into the room, stripped and lay down on the other half of the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

He noticed the dip of the mattress, when Buffy moved and felt her eyes on him. "I need time, Buffy....I don’t know how much. What I know is that I have feelings for you, strong ones. I would like to stay in Sunnydale, with you. If that’s okay?"

Buffy wriggled her body closer to Spike’s and placed a kiss on his shoulder. "There’s an extra key, on the table, beside you. I’ll keep the freezer stocked with blood."

"Thanks." He raised his arm, placed it around Buffy, and pulled her closer to him.

Her head found a place on his shoulder.

"I’m sorry," he suddenly said.

"Huh?" Buffy raised her head, to look at him.

"You told me how you feel." He squeezed her body for a second. "And I can only tell you I care. I’m sorry for that."

The silence was filling the room again. Buffy was almost asleep, when he spoke up again.

"I know how much it hurts, to love somebody, and not to have that love returned."

This time, Buffy was the one to give Spike a squeeze, with the arm around his waist.

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Giles was calmly watching how the library hummed with activity. They wouldn’t accept Buffy wasn’t the normal girl they used to know. Now they wanted to prove she was normal and could have a normal life, with the 2.4 kids, a house with a white picket fence and a dog.

Eventually they would have to accept it, but by then it could be too late to save any friendship they could have had with Buffy.

Buffy wouldn’t accept them pushing her, she was her own person. By now Giles could see them with Buffy’s eyes. Controlling was the right word to describe their actions.

Giles made eye contact with Oz, there was one that understood.

Oz had earlier tried to convince Willow to let it be as it was, she wouldn’t listen.