Chapter 9
Buffy finished the touch ups to her make-up, later that night. Staring at her reflection, she turned from side to side, making sure she looked alright. She wanted to go dressy-casual, so she decided on a black shirt with a deep V-neck and a pair of stylish black pants, along with her favorite black shoes. A silver Y-shaped necklace adorned her neck, and she added the finishing touch with large, silver hoop earrings. She looked at her hair and fluffed it a little bit. She’d decided to leave the natural curl in her hair to give it a little more body.
She gave one final glance to the mirror and realized she was a little dressier than she was shooting for, but with a shrug, she left the bathroom and headed downstairs. At precisely six o’clock, there was a knock on the door. Buffy opened it to reveal Spike on the other side. Dressed in khaki pants with a blue button down shirt and a brown leather coat, he looked so different. At Buffy’s bemused smile, Spike felt himself grow more nervous.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s just, you look so…grown-up.”
“Well, that works out nicely then.”
“Why’s that?” she asked with a smile.
“Because,” he began, offering her his arm. “It just so happens that I’ve realized I am a grown up.”
Buffy smiled even brighter as she put her hand in the crook of his arm.
“My lady,” he said, opening the car door for her.
“Actually,” she replied, looking up at the sky. “It’s such a nice night- I was thinking we could walk.”
“Sounds good to me, luv,” he said, shutting the door to rejoin her.
They made small talk on the way to the theater. Spike made sure not to make any physical contact with Buffy, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.
After buying their tickets, Spike opened the door for her, and Buffy felt a tingly rush go through her as his hand found the small of her back.
Once the movie began, Buffy felt tension settling over her. Spike hadn’t made a move to put his arm around her or hold her hand, and she didn’t know if she should be upset about that. She started to question if he was even still interested in her romantically when she felt his breath against her ear.
“You’re going to have to forgive me, luv.” She turned toward him with a confused look as he continued in a hushed voice. “Being the ponce that I am, I forgot to tell you how devastatingly beautiful you look tonight. Not that you don’t every other night, of course,” he finished with a smirk.
Spike felt his heart speed up as a dazzling smile lit up Buffy’s face. He felt it speed up even more when he saw her lips get closer to his. Not wanting her to look back on the moment and write it off as her being weak in the face of a compliment, Spike raised one of her hands to his lips, planting a gentle kiss on it, before turning his attention back to the screen.
Buffy felt slightly disappointed, but it disappeared when she looked down at their united hands.
Once the movie ended, Spike and Buffy exited the theater, hand in hand, laughing at something from the film, when Buffy froze. Spike looked in the direction she was staring to see Captain Cardboard, in the flesh, staring back at them with a look of distress on his face.
“Riley,” Buffy greeted nervously.
“Hello, Buffy,” he said, never taking his eyes away from Spike.
Spike, resigning himself to be the bigger man, offered his hand to Riley.
“Spike Giles,” he said as the larger man took his hand in a crushing hold. Spike merely smirked while putting just as much pressure on Riley and delighted at the slight look of pain that crossed his face. Releasing his hand and returning to Buffy’s side, he slipped an arm comfortably around her waist.
“I know who you are, Giles,” Riley said, staring at the arm wrapped around the woman he was in love with. “Aren’t you the guy who Buffy caught screwing some model wannabe in Seattle a few months ago?” he asked with raised eyebrows.
Spike felt rage flood through his body as Buffy tensed up next to him. He looked over at her to see her biting her lower lip and looking at the ground, presumably trying to hold away the tears. Spike gave her a gentle squeeze before letting go to walk closer to Riley.
“That’s me, you bloody pillock,” he said in a hushed tone so Buffy wouldn’t overhear. “And guess what? She’s still here with me and not you, so why don’t you be a good little boy and run along home to mommy?”
Spike backed away and raised an eyebrow as Riley walked forward to get in his face.
“I have no problem with wiping the floor with you, Giles,” he said in what Spike assumed was supposed to be a menacing tone.
“I’d like to see you try,” Spike growled. Turning his back on Riley, he focused his attention on Buffy. Placing a hand on each side of her face, Spike tilted her head up to look into her shimmering eyes. “I’ll take you home, baby,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. They made it two feet before Riley, once again, stepped in their way.
“Buffy, I’ll take you home if you don’t want to be around him anymore.”
Buffy stared up at him in disbelief before reaching up to reward Riley’s efforts with a solid slap.
“You bastard,” she whispered. “You wanna be with me, so you bring up the one thing that could hurt me the most and rub it in my face?”
“Buffy, I-”
“Don’t,” she said, holding up a hand. “I don’t ever want to see you again, Riley. Do you hear me? EVER!”
Shoving him out of her way, Buffy continued on her way as she felt Spike fall into step beside her.
“I don’t want to go home, Spike. Can we just walk for a little while?”
“Anything you want, baby,” he said softly.
She didn’t look at him, but he noticed the soft smile playing on her lips. Reaching down, he grabbed Buffy’s hand to envelop it with his own. She finally looked at him, and he felt his heart ache at the pain he saw in her eyes.
“I don’t know if I can do this, Spike.”
Spike felt his heart begin pounding as she said it.
“Buffy, no. I don’t want to pressure you, but don’t let that ponce mess up what we could have.”
“It’s just so hard-” she broke off as her voice choked up. “I just…I always see you with her, and I just can’t-”
“I’m sorry, baby, I’m so sorry! There aren’t words to express how much I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t,” Spike’s own tears began as he felt the desperate need to hold on to her. “I just need you so much, Buffy. It’s not just lust or passion- it’s the fact that I can’t imagine my life without you. Buffy,” he reached up to cup her face. “I look into the future, and the only thing I see is your face. I miss you. I miss your smile, I miss the way your nose crinkles when you’re thinking about something, I even miss the incessant babbling you do when something makes you nervous. I love you, Buffy, and I will spend the rest of my life making sure you know how special you are to me.”
Buffy stared into his deep blue eyes for a minute before smiling.
“Thank you,” she said. “It means a lot that I know that.”