Blocker
for notes, see title page
Chapter Two: Slip Away
"No, Mom, it's going to be an evening wedding and that's final!" Willow yelled into the phone.
"But-"
"No, Mom, forget it! If you can't leave this be, I won't invite you."
That seemed to settle it. But no, the fight wasn't over yet.
"No, Rabbi Neulander will not be marrying us! I'm wiccan, Mom, remember? A witch! Does burning at the stake ring any bells?" Willow paced the length of her kitchen, rubbing her hand through her hair and inwardly seething. And here she was thinking her mother would just be happy that she was getting married at all.
"Mom, listen!" Willow was just barely holding onto her temper. "We're-"
Spike grabbed the phone out of her hand and said very calmly into the phone. "Hi Sheila, I'm sorry but Willow has to get off the phone now. Her fiancé desperately wants ta shag." He was about to hang up when he heard Sheila's response. Why not? he thought with a truly evil grin, She asked. He returned the phone to his ear and said, "It means I'm going to go fuck her til she's unconscious." Then he hung up the phone.
Willow laughed so hard she spit up the milk she had just taken a sip of.
"Oh my god! I can't believe you just said that to my mother!"
"She asked what 'shag' meant and like a dutiful son-in-law I answered her question." He picked Willow up and threw her over his shoulder, turning out the kitchen light on his way into the living room.
"Hey, I have to call her back! She's gonna be so pissed!"
"And make a liar out of me? Not a chance," Spike said and Willow shrugged and settled into his shoulder, more than willing to be taken upstairs and fucked into unconsciousness.
The next day after class, Willow headed to the Magic Box. As soon as she was in the door, Spike was by her side and sinking to his knees. He begged her, "Save me. I'm gonna stake myself if I have to listen to this for one more second!"
"What?" Willow was momentarily taken aback until she saw the bathroom door open and close and Anya return to the front of the store. Willow smiled and patted Spike's head. "It's okay, baby. I got it. Why don't you go beat something up in the training room?" With a smile and a kiss, he made a bee-line for the back room.
"What's on the schedule for today, Anya?" Willow asked wearily, sitting down at the round research table. It hadn't seen a book on the supernatural for over five weeks. It was covered now in bridal magazines, wedding planner guides, seating arrangements, fabric swatches - you name it. If it could possibly, by any stretch of the imagination, have anything to do with a wedding, it was here.
"We still haven't picked out your bridesmaid's dresses."
"Anya, how many times do we have to go over this? I'm not having any bridesmaids. I'm having Xander, best friend of the bride, stand up for me. I'm trying to keep this very," she stressed the word even more than she had the last seven hundred times, "small. One witness apiece. Spike's having Angel, I'm having Xander."
"But Willow," Anya whined, again for the seven hundredth time, "I want to be in a wedding. I've never been in a wedding!"
Willow patted her hand affectionately. Well, it might have been a little more heavy-handed than a normal 'affectionately' because honestly, this was getting tiresome.
"Buffy will get married one day, Anya. Dawn and Tara and Joyce and all your friends in the Chamber of Commerce will get married. One day, one of them will get married and they will ask you to be in the wedding. Don't worry. But Spike and I want our wedding to be SMALL!" She screamed the last word and Spike came running - shirtless.
Willow admired the view, blew him a kiss and sent him back, "It's all right, baby. I was just setting Anya straight - again."
Spike nodded and headed back into the training room, but her scream had also brought Giles, Buffy and Xander up from the basement.
"Anya," Xander said calmly, kissing his girlfriend, "Leave Wills alone. It's her wedding. Let her do it however she wants to."
"All right," Anya said, not in the least happy. "But you really do need to get a gown right away."
"And once again, Anya," Willow said, banging her head on the table, "No gown. I'm getting a dress. A nice, elegant dress. I'm not spending thousands of dollars on a dress I'm never going to wear again." She had stopped hitting her head and was now rubbing her forehead, trying to alleviate some of the pain. The banging had hurt. Giles appeared at her side with two Tylenol and a glass of water. "Thanks, Giles."
"It's not like you don't have the money. You're marrying a man who's independently wealthy."
Willow glared at her. If looks could kill, etc.
"Invitations," Anya said, pulling a book off the chair next to her. She opened a page she had bookmarked. "Now, of the ones you picked, I like these two, but Xander likes this one over here." She said that last as if Xander must be a complete dunderhead.
Willow didn't know what to do. Was the rest of her life really going to be effected by these decisions?
"Which one do you guys like?" she asked the room at large.
Buffy picked out four that weren't even on Willow's list and Giles liked one of the ones that Anya liked. This was going nowhere. The bell over the door jingled and Dawn walked in and Willow latched on to her like a lifeline.
"Dawnie, help!"
Dawn sat down and looked through the book. Every time she picked one she liked, Buffy or Giles or Xander or Anya would comment on how that particular design was completely inappropriate.
After more than an hour of this, Dawn finally dropped the book on the table, picked up her book bag and headed into the training room to do her homework.
Man, why don't I have homework? Willow whined to herself.
Spike came out and walked up to the assembled chaos. "Niblet said you needed me?"
Anya stood eagerly, handed him the printer's sample book and asked, "Which of these do you like?"
Spike dropped the book on the floor. "Uh uh," he said. "I'm not doin' this. I don't care. Nobody at all could show up and that would be fine with me." He smiled at the thought. "Fact, I'd prefer it. Why don't you all stay home?" He was backing away into the training room again, but Willow was too tired to put up with his sh… stuff.
"Spike!" she yelled, then felt bad for yelling at him, it hadn't been him who started this after all. She blew out a breath and started again, more in control, "Spike. We can't decide. We all disagree. We need someone to make this decision. Anya says I have to decide this today in order for them to get done in time." She raised her voice again; who was she kidding, she had no more control. "Get over here and pick an invitation out of this dam… I mean darn, book!"
Spike was used to her tantrums by now. The wedding preparations were too numerous to name and every person had a voice. Willow should just pick something and not listen to her friends. He told her this every single night when they went home, so Willow was not surprised when Spike said, "You know I don't care about this stuff. This marriage is you and me, love. Not any of them. If you want to let them drive you nuts, go ahead, but I'm not getting in it. Not even for you, love. No." and walked back into the training room. Seconds later, the sounds of fists hitting the leather of the punching bag rang out from the training room like a gong.
She turned around, kicked open the book that was still lying on the floor where Spike had dropped it, closed her eyes, slipped one foot of her sandal and put a toe on one of the samples in the book. "This one."
"Oh, goody!" Anya exclaimed, clapping and Giles was smiling as well. She had picked the one they both liked.
That night when they got home, after Willow had complained the whole way about Spike's callous attitude about the wedding arrangements, Spike ran her a hot bath and undressed her and settled her into it. She was still complaining up to and until she said, "Aaaah" into the bubbles.
Spike went downstairs and got her a glass of wine and a sandwich. When he took them up to her, she didn't even open her eyes to eat. The heat felt too good. Spike brought a towel and helped her out of the tub, handed her the wine and nudged her toward the bedroom before turning on the shower for himself.
When he reached the bedroom, he found Willow up to her eyeballs in magazines, a notepad by her side, jotting down notes about what flowers were in season. Willow hardly glanced at him, but said, "Oh sorry," and moved a pile that had been on his side of the bed. Considering it was a king-size bed, it was quite a pile.
Spike grew impatient and just pushed the lot onto the floor. "Finish your wine," he ordered, clearly not happy. Willow picked up her glass and finished off the last bit of wine.
Spike climbed in next to her and Willow started her nightly worry-fest on what was the right thing to do about each aspect of the wedding. She didn't talk out loud, but Spike could hear her thoughts as if she were a Ramones concert. He kissed his way down her neck to her stomach, barely skimming her breasts. Willow hardly took any notice of him, she was worrying about how to tell her father that she was giving herself away. He had never been much a father and Willow thought the gesture was archaic anyway.
She started paying attention to Spike at about the same time as a liquid heat spread between her thighs.
"Mmmmmm" she said, relaxing into the mattress, all thoughts of the wedding quickly forgotten.
Her panties were gone and Spike was slowly licking her pussy lips. Willow squirmed nearer to his mouth, he chuckled against her center.
His thumbs spread her open to him and he gently outlined her labia with his tongue. While Willow moaned his name, he rolled his tongue and began circling her clit. After a quick flick to the sensitive nerves inside, he lifted her legs, opening her even wider to his amorous mouth and hands. His fingers skimmed her openings, then moved on to explore the crevice of her backside, gently gliding back and forth while his tongue tasted the juices now slowly dripping from her cunt.
His tongue wiggled into her warm channel, sinking as deep as he could get it. After a few soft thrusts in… and out, his hands left her ass and he inserted two fingers into her as his mouth sucked her clit into his mouth.
Another finger. Soft licks circling her pussy.
A harder thrust. Deep, penetrating sucking.
"Spike!" Willow screamed her release, riding his mouth and fingers.
When she had settled, he started all over again. She came seven times before falling into a soothing slumber.
Spike gave her pussy one last chaste kiss before pulling himself back up to his pillow. He wrapped his arms around Willow, kissed the top of her head, whispered, "I love you, Red" into her hair and settled in for the night.
"Why am I doing this again?" Xander asked Spike.
"Shut the fuck up, Moron," Spike growled, and not in a friendly way.
Xander looked up, slightly panicked by Spike's tone - then giggled.
Spike was sitting across the table from him in the Magic Box, yards and yards of this material that looked like fine white fish netting in front of them. The girls had gone dress hunting for Willow, with instructions for them to cut six hundred circles, with six inch diameters, out of this before they returned. Something about rice - or birdseed, they kept changing their mind.
Neither man was happy about it - not only did they not want to cut circles, but they didn't want to have to spend time with each other.
But they'd sat there, cutting circles, occasionally insulting each other. When Xander had looked up at Spike's tone, he'd seen one master vampire, aka William the Bloody, sitting meticulously cutting circles, concentrating so carefully on what he was doing - with his tongue peeking out the side of his mouth.
Xander couldn't help it - he giggled.
"What the fuck's your problem?!"
Xander tried to speak, but couldn't. He waved a hand, trying to signal for Spike to wait, but Spike was still growling. Xan held up one finger, desperately trying to get his breathing under control.
"S-" he was still laughing, took a deep breath, held it. "Spike, man, I take back all - well, some of the bad things I've said about you. You're willing to emasculate yourself like this for Wills," he giggled again, then quickly stopped at Spike's look, " - just like I am; you can't be all bad. Plus, the tongue thing. It's too cute. I used to do that too." He started laughing again, this time almost falling out of his chair.
What tongue thing? Oh, no. He hadn't done that again? He remembered when he'd been a boy and he was concentrating really hard on a task, his older sister Bridget would come upon him and grab his tongue, where he hadn't noticed it had been peeking out the side of his mouth. She'd laugh and say he was adorable. He'd loved it from Bridget, but from Chubs? No freaking way…
A scream from the street rang through the store and Spike and Xander both dropped scissors and circles, running to aid the person in distress.
"Oh, thank God for demons!" Xander said as they ran through the door.
"I'll second that!" Spike agreed.
At eleven thirty, the girls dragged themselves through the door of the Magic Box. They looked ready to kill. Dawn was in first and turned to shush the others, pointing at Xander, asleep on the counter, using the cash register for a pillow. Buffy, Willow and Anya followed and the sight made them all temporarily forget that they hated each other - maybe not hate - intensely dislike - maybe not that either, but they were all definitely seriously questioning the fashion sense of the others.
The shopping trip had been spectacularly bad. Anya and Buffy kept insisting that Willow try on traditional wedding dresses. Willow didn't want a traditional wedding dress.
Anya kept picking out these things that bore an amazing resemblance to a Baked Alaska. Buffy's choices were simpler and more elegant, silk fabrics and sleek lines, but still much much much too fancy for what Willow had in mind.
Dawn's taste ran more toward punk, goth and retro. Still a big no.
Everything Willow looked at was either too much or too little. Too fancy or too plain. She had gotten to the point where she sat down in the middle of a parking lot and cried.
This wasn't working, she'd cried. She wasn't meant to get married. She'd never planned to get married. When she was a little girl and all the other little girls had been dreaming of their wedding day, Willow had been dreaming of the day her company made the Fortune 500 list. When they were coloring and drawing pictures of wedding gowns and flowers, Willow had been trying to figure out which topic to use for her thesis. The closest she got to dreaming of clothing was trying to decide what would look most professional when she gave her first dissertation.
This whole wedding thing was just a bad idea and just not meant to be. Buffy had hauled Willow up, put her in the car and Anya had driven them all to a bar across town. Willow and Dawn ordered Diet Cokes and Buffy would distract Willow while Anya spiked her drink.
It was now eleven thirty: Dawn, being a minor, was still completely sober. Buffy was hiccupping and kept seeing green sheep and Anya was holding onto Dawn because the floor kept turning into quicksand. Willow was only slightly tipsy; unfortunately, the alcohol had firmed up her resolve to never speak to any of these people again for as long as she lived.
Dawn leaned Anya against the counter next to her sleeping boyfriend.
"Xander - Xander, wake up," Dawn shook his shoulder. "Anya wants to go home and throw up."
"And then I want orgasms," Anya added quickly.
"Oh yes," Dawn rolled her eyes. "And then she wants you to give her orgasms. Do you want the positions, because she gave us an extremely detailed list in the car on the way home."
Dawn would have blushed like she normally did, but she was getting tired of holding Anya up, tired of the fighting and tired of having to act like the adult because she was the only one not "adult" enough to have gotten drunk in the bar.
Xander looked sheepish, "Sorry, Dawnie." He took over the care and carrying of Anya. "I got her. Thanks." He smiled, genuinely affectionate, he knew how Anya could be when she'd had a dozen too many.
"No problem." Now Dawn blushed. She could never resist a Xander smile.
"Oh, Daw-nie!" Buffy sang.
"Yes, Buffy." Dawn said, not at all amused.
"Let's go kill some vampires! Or some demons, I'm not picky."
Dawn took Buffy's arm and led her over to a chair. "No, Buffy, I already told you, you're too drunk, you'll get killed. We're going home."
"But I'm the Slayer," Buffy whined. "I have to kill vampires. It's my job! Although, I don't remember interviewing for this job." She turned to Willow, "Do you remember me interviewing for this job?"
"Yes," Willow said, very matter-of-fact, sitting in the chair next to Buffy and laying her head down on the table. "You dressed like Little Bo Peep and Giles said that all the vampires would laugh themselves to death, thereby making the slaying easier."
A second later, a loud snore rose from her sleeping head. Spike came out of the training room, pulling his t-shirt on over his head. "Spike!" Buffy called happily, "Come over here so I can slay you. I'm too drunk to stand up!" She hiccupped. Dawn and Spike smiled at each other. Silly!Buffy was what made Bitch!Buffy worth putting up with. "Why don't you go slay the Poof," Spike offered as a suggestion. "He'll hold still for ya." "He will?" she seemed very happy about this.
"Sure thing."
"Will you drive me?" she asked, standing up.
Then she fell down. The kind of face first nosedive you see in cartoons.
Spike and Dawn laughed so hard that they couldn't stand up.
It took several minutes to calm them both down enough to be able to start lifting their friends and carrying them out to Spike's car so he could drive them home. Xander kept saying that he would drive himself and Anya home, but he kept yawning as he was saying it, so Dawn convinced him to get in the DeSoto and let Spike take them. He was too tired - and too pre-occupied trying to keep Anya from molesting him in public - to argue.
Willow slept through taking her friends home, she slept through being moved around on the seat so that Spike and Dawn could get Buffy out, she slept through Spike parking the car and carrying her upstairs. Spike kept jostling her and talking loudly, trying to get her to wake up so he could play with her and put her back to sleep again. No luck.
He undressed her, put her in bed, pulled the covers down so that he could look at her and lay next to her in the bed. He took himself in hand and muttered, "Not gonna let you ruin all my fun," and brought himself off looking at her comfortably asleep but still nude body and imagining what he was going to do to it the next time he got the chance.
"Spike?" Willow asked in a very small voice. He didn't want to wake up, he really didn't. But he knew Willow enough to know that she was going to say something important and he'd better be awake for it.
Of course, immediately after he had that thought he fell back to sleep.
"Spike?" again with the very small voice.
Shit. He almost wished, for half a second, that he didn't love her.
"Spike, please?" She sounded like she was going to cry.
"I'm up, I'm up," he said, clearly not. He tried to sit up but his brain was too foggy. He smelled warm blood, opened one eye, and saw Willow standing there by the side of the bed, 'Bite Me!' mug in hand, full of what smelled like Tara.
"This the last of Glinda?" he asked, awake enough to take the mug and drink it down, savoring the essence of Good Witch #2.
"Yup, sorry," Willow said.
"S'alright," he said, putting down the mug and pulling her onto his lap. "I'll get more in the next blood drive."
Ever since Angel's soul bonding, Spike had been trying to get Angel to go feed with him. Spike had explained how he never killed anyone, he only drank bad guys, etc, but Angel had still refused, insisted on staying on pig swill. Spike had been very upset one night, while talking to Willow about it; he told her how horrible it was and how it wasn't nutritious and why didn't Angel just accept the fact that he was a demon and move on? Now that the soul was permanent, Angel didn't have to worry about going on a killing spree if the bloodlust got strong. Hell, Spike had no soul and he could control himself. Maybe Angel was just ashamed of the demon and by extension, his demon childer.
Willow sympathised but told Spike that it had to be Angel's decision. She was right, he knew she was right.
But still.
Angel's permanently souled status had finally been revealed the week before Spike's tantrum. Willow went to the Magic Box that day and told the others about Spike's concerns. Xander said the whole 'animal blood not being nutritious' thing was hog wash. Giles told them that no, that was true. For vampires to function, their bodies needed all of the same nutrients that humans needed; vegetables and carbohydrates, everything that a human body needed.
Buffy wanted to know how Spike got on then, when he had the chip, since he only drank pig blood.
Giles pointed out that Spike had always eaten human food, and would get those other nutrients that way.
Maybe that's the real reason for Angel's perpetual state of brood, he wasn't getting enough vitamins.
Dawn had suggested donating blood to the cause - they could each give Angel some of their blood. That suggestion had not gone over well, especially not with Xander and Giles. Xander still hated and would always hate Angel; and while Giles rationally understood the difference between Angel and Angelus, scenes of a certain torture session still invaded his nightmares.
Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Cordelia, Wes, Tara, Anya and Joyce had all started their own blood drive, and - thanks to Dawn and Cordelia - some of the people that both the LA and Sunnydale crews saved were added to the list. Angel's soul had been permanent for about twelve weeks now and there were so many people on the list that there was enough left over for Spike.
Spike tended to hoard Willow and Tara's blood. He said that since he had no soul, "Thank all that's unholy!", he still had the bloodlust and if he was going to drink people he knew, he wanted to be able to put that lust to good use.
"I refuse to drink anyone I see everyday that I can't fuck."
So the only Sunnydale residents that resided in Spike's fridge were the ones that also, on occasion, resided in his bed.
Willow moved around on Spike's lap, supposedly trying to get comfortable. Spike knew better. He put his arms around her and held her still.
"Out with it."
"Spike?"
"Red?"
"Would it bother you if we, um…"
"Yes?"
"Didn'tgetmarried?" she said very quickly.
"Hell yes it would bother me!"
She knew she shouldn't smile, but she did anyway.
"But you're a demon. Demons don't get married."
"They don't fall in love with beautiful human girls or buy a house or kill their own kind or help the slayer or eat human food or -" he stopped himself. "What's this about?"
Willow sighed. "This wedding - its driving me crazy, Spike. I can't stand it. Nobody wants what I want, I don't even know what I want most of the time, my mother wants us to get married in the synagogue in the daytime, my father wants to give me away, Anya wants us to have a big sugary wedding, Dawn wants me to have more purple in the wedding, Buffy wants to know why I'm marrying a demon anyway - even though she says as demons go you're not half bad - Xander is the only one letting me do whatever I want and anytime I ask you for an opinion, you walk away from me!"
"Red, you know how I feel…"
"Yeah yeah, I've heard it a million times Spike, but its not helping me plan this wedding."
"Let's elope!" he said, suddenly inspired. "We could go to Vegas, get married by Elvis!"
Willow sighed, "If wishes were rainbows…"
Ah well, he didn't think she'd buy it.
"Look, Red," he turned her around so she was facing him. "It's our marriage. Just you and me, nobody else. I'm just tickled that you said yes, I don't give a flying fuck about the where and how and what colour. You decide. Kick them all in the teeth, tell them to help by shutting up and then go get whatever you want. Not your mother, not Buffy, not anybody. What do you want to do?"
Willow made a face. "I don't know either. I'm sort of like you. I don't really care that much about the details - except that I do not want to look like a Baked Alaska - I just want to get married. I want to stand in front of my parents and my family and my friends and say 'I promise to love, honor and cherish this man forever.' And then I want to turn around, stick my tongue out at my cousin Dierdre - who's married to the world's hairiest man - and say 'Nyeh, nyeh- look at the hottie that I got!'"
Willow laughed, Spike looked affronted. "You mean you're only marrying me because of my body!?"
Willow was contrite, "Ah, no, sweetie, really-"
Spike shrugged. "Shame; I've always wanted to be thought of as a sex god."
Willow gasped, laughed, then hit Spike in the head with a pillow.
"Hey, wait," he stilled her hand. "Can I stick my tongue out at Angel?"
"Sure," she offered. "We'll do it together, right after the vows."
The pillow fight recommenced. It ended in some very sweet sex on a pile of down and feathers.
Two afternoons later, Willow was asleep on the floor behind the counter in the Magic Box, Spike's duster as her pillow. Everyone else was quietly researching a new demon that was rumoured to be heading their way and Anya was shushing every customer that walked in. Nobody wanted Willow to wake up.
She had turned into a machine. Calling caterers and printers, florists and dressmakers. She didn't let anyone even voice an opinion about the wedding, let alone actually decide something for her. In an effort to do what they could for their friend, they were running errands, dropping off samples, delivering swatches, picking up items as they were finished.
They were exhausted. Everyone gave Buffy envious glances when she left to go patrol the night before. Now Willow was asleep and they would break their rule to not kill humans and murder whoever woke her up.
"Oh, hi Bunny, have you seen Willow?" The gang looked up and there was Sheila Rosenburg, standing in the Magic Box. They blinked, everyone thinking at first that she was a fatigue-induced hallucination.
"Excuse me?" Bunny - I mean Buffy, asked.
Spike heard her and walked up from the basement.
"Hi, Sheila," he said, and tried to sound welcoming. He kissed her cheek. "Ira with you?"
"No, he's still in Birmingham. I'm looking for Willow, I really need to talk to her about this business about holding the wedding in the forest."
Spike was glad to see that Sheila wasn't holding the 'shag' comment against him, but then, knowing Sheila, she had convinced herself that he hadn't said it.
"Sheila," he put a hand on her shoulder and was guiding her toward the exit door, "Willow went out-"
"I'm up," Willow said, standing and rubbing her eyes. Then looked around and couldn't believe who she saw. "Mom?"
"Oh, good, you're here. We really need to talk-"
The conversation, such as it was, lasted three hours and twelve minutes.
Sheila had booked the synagogue, convinced that Willow would change her mind.
Willow screamed and yelled, saying that she was Wicca, her religion was based on the notion of harmony with all living things and she wanted her wedding in her temple - the forest!
Giles tried to explain the validity of other religions to Willow's mother. Tara offered backup.
Xander suggested donuts; Buffy made him go get some so that she could go with him.
Anya kept asking Mrs. Rosenburg what color dress she was wearing.
Spike locked the front door, turned the 'Open' sign to 'Closed', sat on the counter, smoked and watched the fireworks.
After two hours, Sheila was sobbing and saying Willow was an ungrateful daughter who didn't appreciate everything her parents had done for her.
Willow was being nasty and sarcastic and saying that she didn't realise that burning at the stake was now a sign of a well-spent childhood!
Tara was hiding in the bathroom.
Everyone else in the room thought Willow had a good point and Sheila started having a hissy fit.
Spike now understood where Willow's temper came from.
By the time two hours and forty-seven minutes had passed, Willow was in the training room, sitting on the couch with her hands over her ears and humming.
Dawn had entered the arena and was now giving Mrs. Rosenburg her two cents about her child-rearing techniques.
Finally, at three hours and twelve minutes, Sheila left and everyone sat down, exhausted.
Spike grabbed his duster and Willow's jacket, told them all that Willow was taking tomorrow off, took a silent Willow and went home.
Angel was waiting for them.
Willow didn't even acknowledge him. She walked right past him and went into the kitchen, pulled out a bottle of wine and a 7-11 Big Gulp cup, filled the cup, sat on the floor and started drinking.
Spike filled Angel in on what had been happening. The chaos, the hassles, the indecision and confusion, Willow's lack of concentration and inability to sleep peacefully unless Spike wore her out first. Which she barely even noticed. Willow was always so preoccupied that he was always halfway through seducing her before she even noticed he was touching her.
Angel stood. "Will, my boy, I taught you better than that. A vampire that can't control his woman, well - he's not much of a demon, is he?" He had a wicked gleam in his eye that went right to Spike's crotch. Spike stood as well.
"I'm more of a vamp than you are, poofter!"
"Prove it."
Spike never could resist a challenge.
Angel took two steps forward, so did Spike. Now they were face to face. Spike's hand wrapped around Angel's neck and pulled his mouth down for a punishing kiss that left blood on both their mouths. They growled and fought for dominance, pulling off their shirts to get skin against skin, nails gauging into flesh to draw blood.
Spike was first to get his fangs into Angel's neck, and Angel went immediately down to his knees, submissive. Spike stood, smiling.
"Give me two minutes then bring my woman to me."
Angel nodded as Spike ran up the stairs.
Angel walked into the kitchen, rinsed the blood off his neck and body and sat down on the kitchen floor next to Willow.
She offered him the Big Gulp cup and he took a drink. Gave it back.
"Bad day?" he asked.
"You don't know that half of it."
"Spike told me."
"Then you do."
"Want to talk about it?"
She sighed, leaned her head sideways onto Angel's shoulder. "And say what? It doesn't matter, Angel. Nothing I say or do is going to make anybody happy."
"What about Spike?"
"Oh, he's no help. He doesn't care as long as we're married at the end of it. He even wanted to elope."
Angel smiled, "Sounds like my Will. Always wants to take the short cut."
"Yeah." It was the most unemotional thing he'd ever heard her say. Willow was always emotional. Spike was right. She was lost. It was up to he and Spike to help her find her way.
"Spike wants to talk to you - upstairs."
Willow's face dropped into her hands. "No, Angel, please. No more talking. I can't talk any more." She lifted her head, inspired. "You go talk to him. Talk and talk and talk all night. Do some vampire male bonding. Some sire/childe thing. Keep him busy."
"We don't do sire/childe anymore, Willow, you know that. I've hurt Will enough for one lifetime. I'll never make him submit to me again."
"I know." She sounded tired.
"Come on. Let's go up. If Spike wants you do something you don't want to do, I promise to get you out of it, ok?"
"Promise?"
"Cross my heart."
"So not funny, Dad."
Angel stood and pulled Willow to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her and led her upstairs. At the door to the Playroom, they stopped.
"Promise?" Willow asked again.
"Promise," Angel confirmed.
Angel opened the door.
Spike stood in the middle of the room, shirtless body pale and perfect and bathed in candlelight.
"Red."
"Spike, please," Willow asked from where she stood in the doorway, "I'm tired. It's been a long day. I'm tired and I really-"
"Angel," Spike interrupted, "I don't have Willow's undivided attention. Get it for me."
Angel walked to Spike, unbuttoning his navy shirt as he went. He pulled it off and threw it into a corner. He stopped and toed off his shoes, kicking them aside. He walked the rest of the way to Spike and dropped to his knees in front of him. Strong but gentle hands pulled the button of Spike's jeans free. Angel could smell Willow's arousal. She loved when he did this. He wanted to make it good for her and Spike both.
Angel pulled the jeans' zipper down and pulled the waistband down just far enough to free Spike's already hard cock. He remembered the first time he had sucked Will off after he'd turned him. After weeks of punishment, cruelly fucking Will's mouth until he came and Will bled, his childe had returned to the lair one night in shreds. Will had been rash, bitten a girl with too many people around and they had beaten him back, almost staking him.
Angelus had been frightened out of his mind. He'd almost lost him, almost lost his beloved Will. Angelus had tended his wounds, fed him his blood, then removed Will's trousers and taken that beautiful cock in his mouth, hoping to give Will a measure of comfort. The feel his lips and tongue wrapped around this marble column sheathed in the softest silk had made him moan - and Will smirk.
Angel came back to the present as his mouth opened wide and enveloped Spike's cock, taking it all the way in, to the back of his throat. He held the length on his tongue and used his throat muscles to swallow. The feel of the muscles constricting around the head of his penis made Spike's knees go weak, but he stayed on his feet.
Angel backed off, running his tongue along the underside of the shaft as he went. When the cock was free of his mouth, he angled his movements so that Willow could watch. He stuck his tongue out and flicked it hard and quick along the indentation on the head.
Spike's hands fisted in Angel's hair; a breathy moan escaped Willow's lips. He had her attention now.
Angel's mouth swallowed Spike's length once again, and this time as he pulled back, he wrapped his lips around his teeth and closed them around Spike, making sure to maintain an even pressure from base to tip. He felt the precum drip from Spike's slit and he lapped it up.
He kept up this sequence: swallowing, flicking, swallowing, teeth; until he felt Spike's balls get tight and his hips lock and then Angel wrapped his mouth around Spike's cock and swallowed as his childe emptied himself into his mouth.
"Go."
Willow wondered who was speaking - and who he was talking to. She had been so transfixed by the site in front of her that she forgot about any sound except the whisper of Angel's throat as he swallowed and the erotic low moan that periodically came from Spike. She had been watching Angel's mouth on Spike. She had been focusing on the graceful curve of Spike's neck as he stood, head thrown back, lost in the sensations focused on his cock.
The word brought her back to the present and she moved aside as Angel left the room. She heard him walk down the hall and into the guest bedroom.
Her eyes never left Spike. He pulled his jeans back over his cock, up to rest on his hips, but he didn't fasten them.
"Come."
Her feet practically floated across the distance.
"Do I have your attention now?"
She nodded.
"Take your clothes off."
His voice was steady and even, as if none of this was effecting him and his eyes were cold. She couldn't believe how turned on she was by it. She thought she'd probably cum before he even touched her.
She took off her clothes, aware of his eyes on her skin as she did. She couldn't look at him, she was afraid of what she might see there. She was afraid of what she might not see.
When she stood before him naked, he said, "Open your legs." She spread her legs further apart.
He circled around her, every footstep made her heart pound.
"Do you want me to touch you?"
"Yes," it was a whisper.
"Do you want me to fuck you?"
"Yes," even softer.
"Speak up."
"Yes." It sounded tentative and she knew it. She had meant to speak louder but it just wouldn't come out that way.
He walked away, over to the wall between the windows. He leaned down and picked up his cigarettes, lit one, dropped the pack and the Zippo back to the floor.
"Look at me."
As if she could look anywhere else.
"What do you see?" he asked.
"H-how am I supposed to answer that?" her brain was mush.
He took a long drag on the cigarette, ran a long-fingered hand through his hair. The hand moved down his neck, down his chest, across his pecs and nipples, over that glorious six pack, past his navel, across the taper of hair that disappeared inside his jeans, skimmed over his spent cock and came to rest on his thigh.
Her breathing was deep and ragged; her eyes had feasted on the sight of his body and she was still ravenous.
"What do you see when you look at me?" he asked again.
"Everything," was her answer, "everything ever". He smiled.
He leaned down, put out his cigarette in the ashtray on the floor by his feet, stood upright and leaned back against the wall again, hands crossed, on the wall behind his ass.
"Do you want me to touch you?" he asked again, voice soft as velvet.
"Goddess, yes," she sighed.
"Do you want me to fuck you?" he asked, voice low, almost a purr.
"Yes."
He stood tall. "Beg me."
"Please." She said.
He prowled over to her, eyes roving her body, caressing every curve.
"You can do better than that, Red. I've heard you beg me, wanting me to fuck you so bad you were crying with it. Beg me."
She was confused, a little hurt. When she'd done that- the crying, it was when she was wearing the collar; after hours of him playing her with such exquisite torture she thought she'd literally die if he wasn't inside her.
"But - but I'm - I'm not -"
"Wearing the collar?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Not forcing you Red, not tonight. This is just you, Luv, just you and me. The last month-"
She gasped. She finally understood what this was about. He was getting even!
She'd been so preoccupied the last month with the wedding, with the arguments and the decisions. She'd been so busy - she stopped, suddenly upset - and where was Spike during all of this? She'd been busy, she'd been caught in the middle of her mother and her friends and all the preparations. And where had he been? He hadn't been helping. He'd been…
Where had he been? She thought about it, thought hard. He'd been in the training room or patrolling for Buffy. He'd been helping Dawn with her homework or hauling boxes for the Magic Box. He'd been sticking sandwiches in her face and making her eat. He'd been getting in her way or gone completely. He hadn't been right there, right by her side like he should have, helping her make these decisions.
He'd been by her side when they came home, but he still didn't help her with planning the wedding. More often that not, he'd interrupt her thoughts when she was trying to figure out what to do. He'd always interrupt, making her eat, making her take a bath or a shower, sliding all her magazines and notes onto the floor, making her loose her place, telling her to sleep. Massaging her back, rubbing her feet, getting her aspirin. Making her cum. Giving her nice dreams.
Spike watched the drama play out in her eyes. He watched her eyes question him, then relive the last month and a half. He watched them get angry at him, he watched them finally figure out what he'd really been doing.
He'd been taking care of her. Just like he'd always done, just like he always would do.
"Beg me." He said when he saw her eyes come to the conclusion he'd been aiming for.
She stood still, not knowing what to say.
"Fine," he said, voice clipped. He walked to the closet and opened the door, pulled out a length of satin cord. "Put your hands behind your back."
She complied, she could see his hurt by in the way he walked, the way he spoke. She opened her mouth to say something, to try to apologise. She hadn't seen, she didn't know, she was so busy, so pre-occupied…
"Don't!" he roared. Voice quieter but more intense, "Don't say a word. It's my turn to talk."
He tied her wrists together behind her back, tighter than usual but there was still blood flow.
"Obviously you don't know anything about me unless I tell you. So I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything."
He grabbed an arm and pulled her over to a pile of floor cushions, big and soft, and sat her on top of them. She had pillows behind her and he leaned her back slightly so she'd be comfortable, but she could still see what he was doing.
He got on his knees before her, ran his palms down her thighs and forced open her knees.
"I don't care about the wedding. I care about you. About me and you. About being married to you. The rest can go hang for all I care."
He ran his eyes and hands down her body. Settled on the wet spot between her legs. "This is my favorite place in the world," he said, eyes on her pussy. "You know why?" he asked, looking at her face.
She smiled, nodded.
"You're wrong," he told her, very sure. His hands moved back up her thighs, he trailed a finger through her shaved folds, across her clit. "It's because of this," he said, inserting a finger inside and making her gasp. He leaned down and breathed in the scent of her, licked her clit.
"This is you. This is where you and I meet, where we become one. This is where I go to get inside you. Because I can never get enough of you. I can never get close enough to you. I love you so desperately I want to crawl inside your skin with you. I want to be you. I want to feel what its like inside you. Inside your body, inside your head, inside your soul."
His mouth descended, sucking her clit into his mouth, then pushing his tongue inside her welcoming cavern. She screamed his name and came. He held on with his lips and teeth, not letting her down.
When she was panting, finding it hard to breath, he stood and untied her wrists. She reached for him, but he moved his body away from her.
He took her hand, pulled her up, over to the closet, pulled something out and slipped in into his back pocket. He moved her over to the wall and positioned her there: face toward the wall, arms straight in front of her, bracing her weight on the wall, feet spread two feet apart.
She looked over her shoulder in time to see the rabbit flogger come down hard across her back. He whipped her hard, with all of his strength, but with the yielding lashes of the rabbit fur, it barely caused an ache. She turned back toward the wall and vowed to let him do whatever he felt was necessary. She'd just hold on and enjoy the ride.
He whipped her for seemingly forever, even Angel came to the door to see if she was okay. Willow's back was red but not bleeding, so he left, knowing this was something his childe needed to do.
She absorbed every blow, both loving and hating it. She loved it because it gave just a tingle of delicious pain, making her insides squirm. But she hated it because she knew what it had cost Spike a lot to say what he had. Or, at least, that he thought it had cost him a lot. She knew she'd live forever cherishing every word.
He slowed, ran a hand across her red skin.
"You are everything. The world revolves around you, don't you know that?"
Willow smiled, tried to turn but he wouldn't let her.
"I dream about it, you know. Dream about the day that I turn you and you have the strength and the courage to show them; show the whole world how magnificent you truly are." His hands were touching her more now, across her abdomen and up to cup her breasts. She kept quiet and let him get it all out.
"They'll bow down before you, worship you as you deserve. I wish I could turn you now, you'll make an exquisite vampire. Let them all see - see now - what they should have seen already.
"Know who'll cave first, Luv?" he asked, his voice turning playful.
She shook her head, 'no'.
"The whelp. He wants you now. But later, when he sees you, when you're not afraid to be who you really are in front of them, when he sees you then, he'll be on his knees. I'll bring him here for you. He'll beg, Luv, beg to please you. Beg to worship you."
Willow closed her eyes and pictured Xander down on his knees in front of her; she liked the idea and moaned at the thought.
"But the whelp owes me, Luv. He doesn't get you that easy. I'll make him crawl. Make him crawl on his knees. Make him suck my cock and beg me to fuck you. He's gonna make me cum for days before he gets to taste you."
Willow's knees got weak.
"Can't you see him, Luv? Down on his knees in front of you, telling you how glorious you are, how much he wants you. He's the type that loves strong women, gets hard when a woman gives him orders. Make him please you. Make him jack himself off first. Watch him get hard and masterbate while standing in front of you. Order him to fuck you, fuck you hard. Can't you see him, covered in sweat, eyes closed, pumping as hard as he can, fucking your cunt and begging you for more? I want to watch him fuck you. I want to see you as his cock enters your hot cunt, I want to watch you as he slides in and out, making you cum."
Spike's fingers rammed inside of her wet channel, pumping her with a force that had her coming in seconds. He sat on the floor and slid under her. His tongue touched her, licking the sweet juices from her body.
"You will be my queen. You will have anything and anyone you want. You will bring all of them to their knees. I can't wait to see it. Anya wants you now, too, did you know that?"
Willow gasped, not believing, but it made a lovely fantasy. She looked at him. He met her eyes and smiled and she felt the movement against her sensitive lower lips.
"I see her watching you, when the whelp's not there." He sat back, resting on one arm and raised the other hand to a breast. "She's been around for a thousand years, luv. And she's a former man hater. You know she has to have eaten more pussy than even I have. Hell, me and Angelus combined. But she's a breast girl. She thinks about it, dreams of seeing you naked, touching your tits." He squeezed a nipple gently,then harder as he went on. "I dream about it too, watching her pleasure you. Watching her tongue lick across your breast, watching her mouth close around a rosy nipple and suckling for hours."
Willow closed her eyes, the words and the touches making her high.
"But why I really want to turn you, Luv? I want to watch you bring the Slayer to her knees. The Slayer with all her super strength and girl power, she'll fight you every step of the way. I want to watch you break her, I want to watch as she finally gives in, when she can't resist you any more.
"But when you have her, she'll be yours completely. You can direct her every move, her every touch. Make her lick your clit, those soft little licks on the edge of clit that you like so much. I want to watch her. I want to watch her tongue caress your pussy. I want to watch her mouth surround you and suck you down. God, I want to watch her when you cum in her mouth and she drinks you down. She'll cream her knickers."
His mouth was on her, little licks and gentle kisses and she couldn't help but picture Buffy's blonde head there, between her legs, eating her pussy. Buffy on her knees doing every little thing that Willow told her to. It wasn't sex; it was a power trip.
"I want to fuck her, baby, I want to fuck the Slayer as she eats you. Can't wait to feel her tighten that cunt around my cock, so turned on by your taste and your body. Knowing its my girl that made her cum, my girl that makes her quiver and no matter what she does, she'll never have you. I'm going to fuck her into the ground and whisper that in her ear as she cums." He bit her clit and she came again, finally losing strength in her limbs and falling into his lap.
He held her and petted her back. "The only one you can't have is the Niblet, she's mine." Willow didn't gasp or even look up, she just smiled and said, "I know that, Spike."
He kissed the top of her head. "I mean it, Luv, she's mine. She's going to be part of our family one day. I can't help it. She's mine, she's always been mine."
Willow sat back at last, kissed his cheek, looked into his face. "I know Spike. I think we all know. I think that's the real reason why Buffy doesn't like you. Dawn's always been more yours than hers. She's jealous."
"You're not mad?" he asked, not believing she wasn't screaming at him.
"No, Spike. I know you. I know you'll wait until she's ready. I think she'll make a beautiful childer."
"God, Luv, she is that. So beautiful. I can't wait to-" he stopped, thinking he'd finally gone too far.
"Whatsa matter, Spike?" her eyes were shining and she seemed delighted. "Afraid to tell me you want to fuck Dawn?"
He looked down, then back up at her. "Uh, yeah."
"Spike, if you're not the one who takes Dawn's virginity, I'll be mightily surprised. She's sixteen and a half; she's about ready to pop. You'd better get to it if you want to be first."
Spike stared, wide eyed. "Did you just tell me to go fuck the Niblet? Now?"
"Well, not right now, but yeah. Spike," her voice was gentler, but more serious. "You love her. She loves you. It's not the me-and-you kind of love, but its strong and its real and its forever. Nobody will ever be better to her than you are." She kissed his lips, wiggled her eyebrows. "Can I watch?"
Spike laughed and hugged her to him.
"Not the first time."
"Okay."
Spike looked at the woman in his arms. He couldn't believe how much he loved her. What he felt for Drusilla was nothing - NOTHING - compared to this.
"Lay back, Luv," he said, easing her backwards.
"There's more?"
"Baby, there's always more."
She lay down, head resting on her favorite ruby cushion.
"We're going to play a new game," he told her as his hands skimmed her sweat slicked body.
"There's one I don't know yet?" she asked, only half kidding.
"Oh, Pet, there's millions you don't know yet. This one's called One Two Three Four Five" He held his hand up in front of her and as he said each number, he held up another finger.
"Starts like this. One," he slipped his index finger inside of her and slid it gently in and out.
"Two," another finger was added and it felt wonderful.
"Three," Three fingers and she was being stretched wider.
"Four," all fingers on his left hand were inside her and stretching and it hurt a little but it was a magnificent pain.
"Five," he eased his thumb in with the others and it felt like he was going to break her. She just knew her bones were going to shatter. He was slow and gentle, letting her stretch and adjust but oh! it hurt but she couldn't make herself tell him to stop. He kept sliding in further, opening her up in a way she'd never have believed possible.
He laid a flat hand on her abdomen to hold her still. She felt a push and then she was filled and she was in pain and she was cumming.
"This is called 'fisting', Luv, and I must say, you doing just brilliant for your first time."
She wondered how he could talk when the earth was shattering like it was. He was watching her face and he caught her eyes. She couldn't look away. She would live and die in this moment in those beautiful blue eyes.
"That's it, Luv, give in to it. Give in to the pain and cum."
Her eyes got big and so did his, imitating her. She wasn't cumming; she was in a whole new plain of existence and all it revolved around those blue eyes and her vagina spasming around his fist and wrist inside of her.
It's amazing what pain can do. It clears away the cobwebs, makes everything that's inconsequential fall away until only what's real remains.
Brings everything into focus.
Spike.
Spike was the beginning and end of her world and everything else was on the peripheral. Her world, her life, was him.
She trusted him with everything she had, including her heart and soul. He was what mattered, not flowers and the right dress and the right cake and the perfect invitations.
Him and her. Spike and Willow. Forever.
Their marriage was them, just the two of them. It wasn't her mother, it wasn't her friends or her family. It certainly wasn't a wedding. It was crystal blue eyes that loved her more than he loved himself.
She gritted her teeth and screamed his name. Her body went taut and she shattered, skin and bone and sinew flying in a million pieces in every direction.
She came back to herself and found herself in Spike's arms. He was running his fingers through her hair and whispering that it was all right, she'd be okay. Kissing her neck and her hair.
"You all right, baby? You like that?" he asked and she could hear the smile in his voice. Smug vampire knew exactly what he'd done to her.
She turned and kissed him.
"Spike, I want to elope. Tonight, right now. I want to go to Vegas with you and Angel and Xander and get married tonight."
He looked at her. "You're serious!"
She nodded.
"I'll start the car," Angel said from the other side of the door.
"It's been over a century since I've had to do this. How about you, Spike? Who's the last person you kidnapped?" Angel whispered in the darkness.
Spike wiggled the tiny metal hook in the lock and thought.
"Red, I think. And the whelp."
"Really? Good then. You've kidnapped Xander before. How'd you do it last time?"
Spike and Angel were crouching in the hall outside Xander's apartment. Spike had lock picking tools and they were trying to break in so that they could kidnap Xander and take him to Las Vegas with them to be Willow's witness at the wedding. Angel couldn't get in, of course, never having been invited; but Spike had, when he, along with the rest of the Scoobies, helped Willow's oldest friend move into this place. As long as his invite hadn't been revoked, he could get in and do the deed.
Angel was here for moral support.
"Are you sure you know how to pick a lock?" Angel asked Spike. "This was so much easier when we could just knock the door down."
"Well, we can't. Red would kill us."
"Sometimes I miss the fun that comes with no moral sense, don't you?"
"Yeah, I miss it. Still soulless here, remember?" Spike spent a moment reminiscing. "Nope," he said, coming to the obvious conclusion. "Can't do it; rather have Red."
"So, how'd you kidnap Xander last time?"
Spike shrugged. "One punch, knocked him unconscious. Piece of cake."
Angel smiled. "Sounds like a plan."
They heard a click and the door opened with a simple twist.
Spike smirked at Angel as the door opened. Xander stood on the other side, duffel in hand.
"Willow called and woke me twenty minutes ago," he complained. "I've been waiting for you."
"You knew we were coming?" Angel had to ask.
"Sure. Going to Vegas, right?"
Spike nodded.
"She called, said you two were on your way to get me. I was going to just let you in, but I wanted to see if you could get it unlocked by yourself." He looked at his watch. "Three minutes and thirty-six seconds, Spike. You're losing your touch."
He grabbed his duffle and a large box, saying to Spike, "You want this now, right?"
"Uh, right." Spike answered, still dumbstruck that Xander had been standing there timing his lock picking.
He handed Spike the box, grabbed his duffle and walked out into the hall, turned and locked his apartment door behind him.
"Wills said you wouldn't just knock like normal people," Xander continued. "Geez, guys, what were you gonna do, kidnap me?" he laughed at his own joke.
The drive to Las Vegas seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Spike drove, Willow beside him and Xander and Angel in the back seat. Willow had made both of the guys promise not only not to fight, but to get along like best pals for the duration of their trip. Even though there was no love lost between Xander and Angel, they both loved Willow and agreed.
Once they got in the car, it was easier to get along once they found a common ground. Xander told a story about when they were kids. He, Willow and Jesse had been playing in Jesse's basement and Jesse wanted to play "Honeymoon". Thinking this was going to be his first chance to kiss a girl, he agreed and so did Willow. Willow pulled out a piece of paper and drew a circle. She put a big goofy face in the circle and then said she'd be right back. He and Jesse had been surprised when Willow disappeared upstairs. A minute later, Willow returned with a plastic squeezable bear - full of honey. She squeezed some honey onto the circle… and Xander finally understood. She was putting honey on her "moon". He'd laughed so hard that day he thought he would bust.
That's the day he and Jesse explained to Willow about the birds and the bees. Or rather, as much about the birds and the bees as they knew at eight years old.
Angel started to laugh but saw that Willow was very embarrassed by the story. So he tried to hold it in. After about twenty seconds, Spike's laughter bubbled out too and the four friends spent the rest of the time telling each other lewd jokes. Well, the three guys took turns telling raunchy dirty jokes, seeing who could embarrass Willow the most.
From 15 north, Spike turned onto Flamingo Road and took it to The Strip. The lights and the noise were enough to make the two Scoobies dizzy. Willow made the comment under her breath that it must be a vamp buffet here, it was two in the morning and the streets were still teeming with people.
Spike pulled onto Bellagio Drive and Xander couldn't help but whistle. The Bellagio Hotel and Casino stood out like a palace among the gaudy neon lighted structures they'd passed on the way.
A porter was there with a cart to grab their bags. Spike made his way inside, telling them all that he'd check in while they took in the sites. Xander took in the imposing edifice of the Bellagio. He was still looking around as he walked through the door and therefore didn't see Willow stop and he ran straight into her.
"Oomph! Sorry, Will," he apologized, turning. He saw now what had her immobile. On the ceiling of the lobby was a huge glass sculpture; it look like hundreds of colorful glass flowers had frozen in time as they fell from the ceiling.
Xander took Willow's elbow and led her over to Spike and Angel, who were checking in.
Spike was talking to the clerk, but Willow was too lost in the ambiance of the place to pay attention. White marble floors lined the elegant lobby and Willow had never seen anything so grand in her life. She was about to say that they couldn't afford this when she suddenly remembered - they could. Sometimes having money wasn't so bad.
She focused her attention back on her betrothed when he said, "Everything else ready then?"
The clerk, a pretty woman in her twenties who was obviously quite taken with Spike, smiled and nodded.
"Here ya go, mates," he said, handing a card key to Xander and another to Angel. "Back here in an hour?"
"Sure," Xander said, nodding and he and Angel walked away to the elevators.
Spike took Willow's arm, and following the porter who was pushing a cart with their luggage, led her to another set of elevators.
Willow was speechless. Even the hallways were impressive.
The porter led them to a door on the thirty sixth floor, then took Spike's key and opened the door for them. He stood back as Spike led her into a room that was almost bigger than their house. It had a living room with a dining area and was decorated in creams and beiges with touches of burgundy and gold. Willow wanted to hire their decorator.
There was a separate bedroom with a king-sized bed. There were his and her bathrooms, the porter told them, as he gave them the tour. Willow giggled. They sure wouldn't be using both of those. They almost never took showers or baths alone any more, even if they weren't… fooling around.
Spike handed the porter a tip and showed him to the door.
"Luv, I want you to take a shower or what have you and do your girly hair and face routine, not" he clarified, "the dolled up stuff, just beautiful you. I have a prezzie for ya when you're done."
He pulled out her vanity case and ushered her into one of the bathrooms. Willow took an amazingly short time to get ready, she couldn't believe the look she pulled off in only half and hour.
"When she stepped out of the bathroom, she took Spike's breath away. And this was in only a white button down shirt she'd borrowed from Angel. He couldn't wait til she saw her surprise.
He stepped out of the way and she spotted a box sitting on the bed, a rather large box. "Hope ya like it. Saw it in one of those bride books. Ordered it in case ya couldn't find one ya liked. It's been at Xander's for 'bout a week now."
She opened the box and inside was the most perfect gown she could ever ask for. White silk a-line with a bunched fabric cross-over at the top and on the drop sleeves.
"Spike, I…" she didn't know what to say. He was biting his nails, hoping she'd like it. He knew she didn't have anything else to wear but he'd wait forever for her to find the right one if she wanted him to.
"It's perfect," she whispered, breathless, and he smiled.
He kissed her cheek. "I'm gonna go, the poof has my suit in his room. I'll send up a ladies maid to help ya."
"No, Spike, really, I can do it my-" but he was gone. Willow sat there in awe, staring at the dress. She thought he didn't care about the details. He said it didn't matter to him. She looked at the dress. This was the dress she would have picked if she'd seen it. He hadn't pick some foofy dress, or the kind of slutty or girly thing that men usually pick out for women. He picked the dress that was perfect for her. The one she would have chosen.
A knock sounded at the door and she called out, "Coming," intending to send the attendant away.
Instead of an attendant, there were four. Dawn, Buffy, Anya, and Tara specifically.
"OH MY- HOW DID- Never mind," she finished as they giggled and filed in.
"Spike called us," Dawn explained.
"Angel called me," Anya added.
Dawn went on. "He said you were packing, he was going to go kidnap Xander and then you were eloping. Since the Scoobies always do everything together, he said we may as well come to. He told us to fly out, that he'd get the rooms and everything. He hired a plane for us!" she laughed. "Mom is here and so is Giles!" she squealed, still giggling.
"Oh, that's-" Willow stopped, thinking about who was still missing.
Tara took Willow's hand and sat her on the bed. "And your parents are here too, Willow. Spike and Angel read them the riot act on the phone and Mrs. Summers is with them now. It's all right. Your parents will see you get married."
Willow was crying now, happy sobs that made them all smile.
She couldn't believe he had called her parents. And threatened them! She giggled.
"I take back all the bad stuff I ever said about him, Will," Buffy whispered in her ear. "All the bad boy stuff he's done is forgiven in honor of what he did for you tonight."
Willow nodded.
"But if you tell him I said that, I'll have to kill you," Buffy teased. "And I have to keep bugging him, so he doesn't know I'm Percepto!Buffy."
Willow laughed. Dawn was there with a washcloth and cleaned up the ruined makeup and running mascara. Anya sat Willow at the desk and re-applied her face. It looked better than it ever had; flawless complexion, with a natural not-made-up look. She asked Anya to teach her how to do that when they got back to Sunnydale.
Tara took over and with a few deft twists and turns of her fingers, the application of several hairpins - and just a little light cursing in German - Willow's hair was a mass of sexily mussed curls pulled off her face, which now highlighted her big green eyes, and cascaded down her back.
Finally she was ready for the dress. It fit like it was made for her. Which it probably had been, knowing Spike.
Another knock had come while her makeup was being done and Dawn had said that the bouquet had arrived. Buffy handed it to her now. It was a simple bouquet of white calla lilies with long stems, held together with a lace ribbon. Very similar to what he mother had when she got married. Willow thought it was perfect.
Buffy told her that Willow's mother had ordered it, demanded it really, from the florist downstairs when they arrived. She walked in and told them that they had one hour to get what she needed or they'd see hell on earth.
This made them all laugh.
Dawn handed her a card that had been in the box with the flowers.
All we want is for you to be happy. - Mom and Dad
Anya was there with a tissue and got the tears before they fell and ruined the new makeup.
"Wait, before we go," Anya said, giving the others a pointed look. They lined up in a row: Anya, Dawn, Tara, Buffy.
"I'm something old," Anya told her and produced a bracelet from her purse. It was made of four rows of pearls with a small heart shaped medallion in the center. She wrapped it around Willow's wrist and fastened it. "It's from all of us but I found it," she told Willow, "In the cutest little antique shop in Modesto." The other three girls cleared their throats and Anya muttered, "Sorry" and stepped back.
"I'm something new," Dawn said. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a white lace garter. Willow giggled but lifted her skirt and Dawn lifted the garter to its rightful place on Willow's thigh.
"I'm something borrowed," Tara continued. She produced a linen and lace handkerchief with the initials TEM on it. She tucked it deep into Willow's cleavage so that it couldn't be seen. "In case you cry again later."
"I'm something blue," Buffy told her and pulled a peacock blue thong with embroidered black flowers from behind her back.
"Oh my-" Willow giggled.
"Come on, Will, I know you don't have granny panties under there, but they can't be as nice as this!" Buffy teased.
Willow blushed, but sat. Tara, wanting to spare Willow some embarrassment, took the thong from Buffy and sat at Willow's feet. After all, Tara had already seen everything Willow had under here, but she didn't think Buffy had. Tara reached her hands under Willow's skirt and removed her panties. White lace met the girls' eyes and they agreed that while the white was nice and virginal, the blue was more Spike's style. Willow agreed and Tara put them on and lifted them into place.
It was time to go.
"Wait," Tara said. She took Willow's left hand and took off her engagement ring, moving it to the right side. "You're going to need that hand free."
Buffy paused before opening the door.
"Last chance, Willow. You don't have to do this if you have any doubts."
Willow shook her head. "It never even occurred to me not to want to marry Spike."
"I guess that's settled then." The five of them headed out the door.
It was five minutes before three on a Thursday morning when the girls parted ways outside the doors to the Grand Patio of the Bellagio. Willow took a deep breath.
The first notes of a piano came through the door and Willow stood up straight, smiled her most brilliantly happy smile and walked through the door, out onto the patio where the soft night and a bower of stars enfolded her.
Brahms Op. 118/No.5 played in the background as Willow walked toward Spike, her shoes making no sound on the rose petal carpet at her feet. Spike stood before her, looking like the cat who ate the canary. He looked like there was no where else on earth he'd rather be.
Which was a good thing, because if she'd gotten here and he was late, she would have killed him.
He stood near the rail, elegant in a black suit, shirt and tie. She was glad he hadn't gone with the traditional white shirt. Spike in anything other than monochromatic black just wouldn't be Spike.
Angel stood next to him, also in a black suit and tie, but he wore a white shirt with his.
Xander stood to the left, on what was traditionally the bride's side, waiting to stand up and be legal witness to her vows.
Willow saw her parents sitting with Buffy's mom and Giles in the front row. Buffy, Tara, Dawn and Anya were in the next row of chairs; Buffy was crying.
On the other - groom's - side, were Cordy, Wes and Lorne.
She was so happy they would all be here to see this. She knew it was slightly selfish to elope, but honestly, they had all been driving her crazy with wedding preparations.
She noticed for the first time the candelabras that lit up the patio. Each silver candelabrum was adorned with white flowers and greenery. This area of the patio was enclosed by two walls of flowers, each seven feet high and nine feet wide. Spike stood in front a beautiful gazebo, also richly adorned in flowers and greenery. It was like a fairy tale.
The music stopped as Willow took her place beside Spike. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles, then held it fast as their hands fell again. That's when Willow noticed that there was no one to officiate.
"Um, Spike…" she whispered.
Just then, someone appeared from behind a wall of flowers. It was…
Elvis?
Willow laughed. Spike had really done it! They were going to have Elvis marry them! She heard her mother gasp, but then she giggled and Willow was glad there wouldn't have to be a showdown before the ceremony.
"Wel- ah, welcome ladies and gentlemen," Elvis said and motioned for the others to be seated.
"We gather here tonight to join in holy matrimony these two lovely young people."
Angel snickered, Spike elbowed him in the ribs.
"You have the rings?" Elvis asked and Angel handed one to Spike as Xander passed his to Willow.
"William," Elvis said, "Repeat after me. I, William Pratt, take you, Willow Rosenberg"
Spike took Willow's hand and placed one of the rings on the third finger of her left hand. He repeated the words and Willow realized that he was marrying her with his real name, the name he'd had when he was human. He'd never even told her what it was before. He always used 'Aurelius', since that was his vampire family's name.
"To be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love."
"To be my wife, my partner in unlife and my one true love."
If Elvis noticed the altered word, he didn't say anything.
"I will trust you and honor you"
Spike looked into Willow's eyes and faithfully repeated it word for word.
"I will laugh with you and cry with you," as Spike spoke the words, he held Willow's heart just as surely as he held her hand.
"I will love you faithfully," Elvis continued and Spike repeated it.
"Through the best and the worst,
Through the difficult and the easy.
What may come, I will always be there.
As I give you my hand to hold,
So I give you my unlife to keep."
Elvis had said "life" but Spike had changed it to a truer version. Spike lifted Willow's hand to his lips and kissed the ring on her finger.
Now it was Willow's turn and Elvis faced to her.
Willow took Spike's hand and slipped his ring on his finger.
"I, Willow Rosenberg, take you, William Pratt," Elvis cued.
Once again, the words were changed to reflect the accuracy of the situation. Willow was marrying Spike, man and demon and she wanted him to know it. Her words, therefore were, "I, Willow Rosenberg, take you, William Pratt Spike Aurelius," and Elvis was wise enough to keep mum but both Buffy and Dawn giggled.
"To be my partner in life and my one true love."
She already had taken him as those things, way before now, but it made her proud to get the chance to say it here, before her friends and the representative of human laws. But like Spike, she wanted to be accurate.
"To be my partner in life and unlife and be my one true love."
"I will trust you and honor you," Elvis said, and he smiled behind his book when Willow changed the words once again.
"I will trust you and obey you, I will honor you," she told Spike and he couldn't help it, he leaned down to gently kiss her cheek.
He couldn't believe she had added those words, "obey you". In spite of what he was - and what he wasn't; in spite of her feminist principles that she usually only counteracted temporarily when they were playing. He was speechless. He would never have asked her to say it. That she would trust him enough to say those words, "obey you" during their marriage ceremony. That's why he'd kissed her.
"I will laugh with you and cry with you,
I will love you faithfully,
Through the best and the worst,
Through the difficult and the easy.
What may come, I will always be there.
As I give you my hand to hold,
So I give you my life and my unlife to keep."
She repeated the rest, adding her future unlife to the wording.
Elvis smiled, elated that this strange ceremony was over. Normally he just married people.
"By the power granted to me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you man and wife."
Very softly, so that only Spike, Willow, Angel and any other nearby demons could hear, he said, "I also pronounce you vampire and mate."
"You may now kiss the bride," Elvis said loudly and everyone applauded as Spike took Willow in his arms and gave her a soft, sweet kiss worthy of his love. It was full of passion and love, without being the x-rated type of public kisses she was used to getting from him.
As they turned, everyone cheered and the piano player began a slow soft ballad. Spike held her close and danced her across the patio, singing softly, for her only.
Just because you're near
The cold nights grow warmer
Heaven's not so far away
Whisper in my ear
Gentle is the darkness
Keep your secrets here
Girl then dream on
Then dream on
Dream that all the world's an actor in your play
It can all go your way
Then dream on
Yeah, dream on
Dream that all of this magnificence is yours
It will never slip away…
During the musical interlude, others paired up and started dancing as well. Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg, Giles and Joyce, Tara and Angel…
The others were talking quietly, telling the LA crew about the chaos of the last few weeks and how unbelievable it was that this went off so smoothly.
Wes explained that Angel had called Cordelia and told her to contact the Bellagio as soon as he and Spike left Willow to get Xander earlier.
Cordy took over the story from there. The Bellagio has a full staff just for weddings, so they knew what needed to be done. Money was no object, but Cordelia was warned by Spike under threat of, "Cheerleader, you'll pray for death when I'm done with you!" if this wedding was not exactly what Willow would want.
Cordy had booked the rooms and told them that Willow would want something simple and elegant. Spike's two orders had been outside and Elvis.
With her organization, and lots of help from Lorne, who had gotten to know Willow and her tastes during the time in LA, it was pretty easy. Cordelia and Lorne answered the hotel staff's questions en route, then let them take care of the rest. Cordy finalized and double checked the details when they arrived. And like Cordy said, "The magic words are always 'Money is no object', but only if you mean it."
Willow and Spike continued dancing, hearing only the music and Spike's song.
Just because you're near
Nothing seems to matter
Just the softness of your hair
Let it all in here
Gentle is the darkness
Filled with your perfume
Girl then dream on
Then dream on
Dream that all the world's an actor in your play
It can all go your way
Girl dream on
Hey, dream on
Dream that all of this magnificence is yours
It will never slip away…
"Spike, let's slip away."
Comments