~~~~~~~~~~

“Every night I save you and every night, I kill myself for not saving you. The only thing that has kept me here, on this planet, was my promise to you to protect Dawn. I have done that. I owe you so much more than that. Now, knowing that you weren’t in torment where you were and that this life is your torment, it makes me wish I had killed myself when I saw your body lying there, lifeless. Then, I’d be in Hell, where I belong, and the Scoobies wouldn’t have lived long enough to try and bring you back. You’d still be in Heaven, where you belong. I am truly sorry.” When she looked into his eyes, she didn’t see the soulless killer she used to see. She no longer saw Spike, she saw William, and not ‘William the Bloody,’ just William. She saw the eyes of a poet. The eyes of someone who truly regretted his actions.

“Wi…uh…Spike?” she stammered, “This may sound crazy, but do you have a soul in there?” She had to know. He was a terrible liar and everyone knew it. His voice would rise about an octave and he would start to stammer, tripping over his words.

He knew she wanted to hear more than just if he had a soul. She wanted to hear why, if he did have the soul she now thought she saw, then why did he kill all the people he killed? “Sit down, Luv. This is going to take a while.” She sat, he paced, wondering where to begin. “Remember when I told you about how Drusilla turned me?” She nodded, remembering their conversation at the Bronze the previous year. “Well, I left out a few details. I knew of the existence of vampires well before I met Dru, Angelus and Darla that night in the alley. I actively sought them out. Any one I could find, ready to beg to be turned.” She looked at him, her eyes asking why. “I was sick of the life I had led. Sick of being weak. Sick of being alone. I had no family to speak of and I knew before she told me that Cecily would never love me. I knew I was beneath her, but the times wouldn’t allow me to rise above my station. Vampires are strong, powerful and tied together by very specific codes, back then anyway. I knew that if I could get one to turn me, I’d have a family for eternity, or so I thought. Finally, that night, my Dru turned me and the demon entered my body. I don’t know if it was my eagerness to be turned or my stupidity about family or just the demon wanting to torture me, but my soul remained.” He sat finally and she noticed that he was beginning to shake slightly.

“For years, I kept my soul buried, hidden from everyone like a bastard child, even from myself. I think that is why I became so vicious, overcompensation for an abused soul. I’m not sure. When the gypsies cursed Angelus with his soul, he left us. Dru was already insane before she was turned and I felt like Angelus was my sire, he taught me the ways of vampirism and Dru just talked to the moon. Darla never liked Dru or me, so she just left and went to her other childer. Dru went completely off the deep end and I was alone again. I killed out of anger. I killed to feed Dru. I only fed when she forced me. I protected her and did what I could to make her happy. We came here after the bloody mob in Prague almost killed her.

“We came here to the Hellmouth to heal Dru and I met you for the first time. At first, all I knew was you were the Slayer. That you’d try to kill me, so I had to kill you first. Then, I saw you had friends that helped you and stuck by you, no matter what. I was jealous. So jealous and angry. I wanted to be a part of that. Back then, I thought that if I couldn’t be a part of it, no one could. I still want to be a part of that. But, that is part of my torture, to be so near all of that love and never be part of it. Yes, I am a demon and yes, I do have a soul. I don’t have the luxury of a curse that will strip me of my soul for a moment of pure happiness.” The tears were starting to well up in his eyes.

“Over the years, my soul has come out of hiding to write or truly enjoy a thing of beauty, but only just briefly and only when I was alone. Since the Initiative got their bloody hands on me and put in the soddin’ chip, my soul has been more and more present, still usually alone, but sometimes with you or Dawn. The soul is keeping the demon in check now.” His tale was finished. He exhaled, unnecessarily. She saw the anguish in his eyes, heard the pain in his voice. He was on the verge of tears and was clenching his fists to try and stop the shaking. He stood and started to walk away, he didn’t want her to see him like this. He paused, “I’m sorry.”

She stood and crossed to him. As she wrapped her arms around him, his tears broke free. He sobbed uncontrollably as they sunk to the floor, comforting each other. Vampire and Slayer, locked in a loving embrace. Once they both calmed down, Buffy looked into Spike’s eyes, “So, you really are William in there? Why didn’t you ever tell me until now?”

“Would you have believed me before now? No. No, you would have thought it a trap and I would be dust.” He kissed her hands and looked into her eyes, “Only now, after all you’ve been through, could you truly accept hearing that Angel isn’t the only vampire with a soul.”

“But,” she protested, “all those times I told you that you had no soul, why didn’t you tell me then? Why did you just take it?” She sobbed and whispered, “It was the only thing holding me back from loving you.” She cried into his hands for having treated him so poorly.

“It liked to have kill me every time you or Angel said those things. I was afraid to tell you. Afraid that I’d lose you, be pushed the rest of the way out. I thought that if you knew, you’d be disgusted with me for all the horrible things I had done. So, I took it, treasuring every scrap you would give me. Letting my soul and demon fight it out in the inside. I just had to be near you.” He hung his head, afraid of what she might say to him.

Every part of her body, mind and soul knew this was right. “William? Do you mind if I call you William?” He smiled in approval. “William, you don’t need to be afraid anymore. I know and understand now. I don’t care what anyone else says, you are a part of my life. I don’t love you, yet, but I do like you. We can start from there.”

“Um, Buffy?…Spike?” Dawn came into the room and was shocked to see her sister sitting on the floor, embracing the vampire. “What’s going on? Did something happen? Is something out to get us again?” She was worried. She had a right to be. Every time something bad was coming, weird things started to happen.

Buffy and Spike just looked at each other and laughed, realizing how crazy it must look for the two to be hugging and crying together. “Oh, Dawnie, no, nothing is after us, well, nothing I know about. It wouldn’t surprise me if there were though. But, that’s not why we were here, like this. William just explained something that, actually, now that I think about it, makes a lot of things fall into place.”

“William? Who’s William?”

“Uh, I am, Nibblet,” Spike stood and took off his duster. He figured he might as well get comfortable, it was going to be a long night of explaining and crying and trying to deal.

“You remember, when Spike first came to town and we did research on him. He was know as William the Bloody for a while, before he started going by Spike.” Dawn nodded, remembering memories that weren’t hers. “Well, William is the name he had as a mortal, and it seems that I, at least, will be calling him that more often. See, as he was turned into a vampire, his soul never left and he has had a soul and a demon inside him ever since.”

Dawn looked scared, she knew what Spike had done in the past and she didn’t know how to accept that he was with soul. “Dawn, calm down. Let me explain. It’s not as bad as all that, Platelet.” And William sat out to retell his tale.

==================

When Xander, Anya and Willow came in the house, the site of Buffy and the vampire embracing shocked them too. Dawn had gone to the store and gave them time to be alone and talk about everything. “OK, who did the ‘My Will Be Done’ spell and said that these two should just get married?” Xander asked at the sight before him.

“Hey, don’t look at me!” Willow exclaimed. “I’ve been clean and spell free for over three months now.”

The two burst out laughing again. “I didn’t think telling people would be this much fun, Pet.” Spike said, then whispered, “Let me torment them a bit, it helps satisfy the demon.”

“No,” she giggled. “You’re not going to torment them. And, no guys, we’re not under a spell, we’re not engaged, we’re just friends, finally.” She whispered only loud enough for Spike to hear, “For now.” He clutched her hand when she said it, letting her know that he had heard. “I’m glad you are all here, it will save time.” The two set off telling the tale for the third time in two hours.

“Maybe we should call Tara. She could do a spell to check,” Anya said when they were done. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, William, but I know that look on Xander’s face. He has doubts.”

“You know, I somehow knew he would. What about you, Red? You have any doubts about my soulfullness? I don’t mind seeing the other witch again, as long as you’re OK with it.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt you, but Anya’s right, Xander can’t deal with it yet, not until he has proof. Call Tara, it’s all right. We’ve been hanging out a little bit lately, Bronzing it mostly.” She made the call, and a short while later Tara arrived.

“Hi everyone. I found the spell you want and I need to use a spice of yours, can you believe that this calls for cinnamon and I don’t have any?” Willow got the spice and Tara mixed it with what she already had. “Thanks. This will make all the beings with souls that hold this glow blue until I end the spell. It should be pretty cool. Here, Spike, pour this in your hands and I’ll cast the spell.” He did as he was told. “Deixe-nos ver almas no azul.” He started to glow a beautiful shade of blue, sunk to his knees and started to cry. “Termine o período,” and his glow faded.

“William? Are you OK?” Buffy asked, she was worried because he was crying.

“I have proof, finally. I have proof.”

Buffy kissed him, “Yes, Will, you have proof.” They stood together and everyone, including Xander, hugged him.

“OK, you lot. Enough. Remember, there is still a demon in here too. He’s been running the show for a long time and isn’t quite ready for all the sweetness.”

“Right, well, I need to patrol, wanna come with? We can pick up some dinner on the way home.” Spike wiped his eyes and put on his duster. “Someone stay here with Dawn ‘til we get back? We shouldn’t be more than an hour.” Everyone nodded that they would stay. Within seconds, Buffy and Spike were armed and out the door.

===================

“I feel like a schoolboy again. Did you see that light? It was wonderful. It tingled.” He couldn’t control himself. She had never seen him so happy or smiling so much without being surrounded by carnage.

“It was beautiful, Will. You are beautiful.”

After dusting a freshly turned vampire, they returned to Buffy’s home with Chinese food for all. Everyone sat and ate and talked for hours. Dawn fell asleep around 1AM and Spike carried her up and put her in bed. He had done this several times while Buffy was dead and it made him feel good that he was able to help. Slowly, the others left and Willow went up to bed, leaving Buffy and Spike alone, again.

“Did you mean it when you said I was beautiful, Slayer?”

“Yes, Will, I did. I do. Your eyes sparkle, even now. You are one of the few things that do sparkle for me anymore.” She looked up at him and they kissed. It wasn’t rough and lustful, it was slow and soft, yet passionate, full of love.

“I love you, Buffy. I know you aren’t in love with me, but I have plenty of time. I can wait. I will wait.”

“You’re right, William, I’m not in love with you, but believe me when I say that I do love you. You have been there for my family, my friends and me. Even when we treated you like shit, you were there, in the shadows. I could feel you near.” They could see the sky starting to turn from black to dark blue and getting lighter. They knew Spike would have to either leave soon or stay the day at the house. Neither wanted the vampire to leave, but they didn’t want to mention it, both believing that if they didn’t talk about it, they wouldn’t have to worry about it.

“Will? It’s almost daylight,” she finally said. “You’re welcome to stay here if you don’t want to go back to your crypt. I know you stayed here a lot while I was dead.”

“Yeah, I usually slept in the basement. It’s still a little damp down there from the leaky pipes, though.” He smiled, remembering the water spraying everywhere after Buffy tried to fix a tiny drip.

“Well, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to go up to my room and go to sleep, you are welcome to join me there. The curtains are heavy and I doubt anyone will do anything to either of us, now.”

His heart beat at the offer. He had to stop himself from running up the stairs at the opportunity to spend the day with the beauty before him. Trying to hold back his glee, “That would be great, Luv. Thanks.” They walked up the stairs and into Buffy’s bedroom. Together, they closed the venetian blinds and heavy curtains. Spike turned his back as Buffy changed into a pair of boxers and a T-shirt. Having nothing to change into and not being one to wear underwear, Spike took off his boots and socks, leaving on his jeans and T-shirt.

“Umm, Luv?”

“Hmmm?”

“Where do you keep the extra blankets?”

“Are you that cold? I thought the comforter would be enough.”

“Oh, right. The bed. I just assumed that you wouldn’t want me in the bed with you, what with all our history.”

“It’s just that, William, history. You can sleep in the bed. Just remember, Spike, no funny business,” she smiled.

He looked at her and climbed into the bed. “How can you do that? Call me William and Spike in the same exchange?”

As she curled into his arms, she said, “I almost feel like I’m talking to two different people, just one body. To me, and correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems easier if I refer to the soul as William and the demon as Spike.”

“That makes sense. Like Angel and Angelus.”

“Or Buffy and Slayer.”

“I do do that, don’t I? I’ll try to watch that, Pet. We should try to get to sleep before the rest of the house wakes up.”

“You’re right. Goodnight Spike. Goodnight my William.”

“Goodnight Buffy.” They kiss briefly and fall asleep in each other’s arms.

==================

“What are you looking at, Dawnie?” Willow whispered.

“Them. Look at them. They look so happy.”

Willow closed Buffy’s bedroom door, “Yes, they do. Let’s let them sleep. They didn’t come upstairs until just before daybreak.”

“I think it’s great.”

“Me too.”

Part 2

"So, you slept together, but you didn’t sleep together?"

"He was a perfect gentleman, he was going to sleep on the floor until I told him he didn’t have to do that."

=====================

She had left the sleeping vampire in bed with a note on her pillow.

William,
I went to the store with Dawn. Willow is at class. I put a couple bags of blood in the refrigerator, in case you get hungry. There are towels in the hall closet if you want to bathe, just be sure to lock the bathroom door, we forget to knock sometimes. We should be back by dusk.
Love,
Buffy
PS…You’re gorgeous when you sleep.

Spike woke to a growling stomach, as usual. Yawning unnecessarily, he stretched, found Buffy’s note and read it, smiling. He walked downstairs, barefoot, pulled a coffee mug from the cupboard and heated up a bag of blood in the microwave. Hungrily, he gulped the red fluid down. Not wanting to waste any of the blood, he added a little water to the mug, swished it around and finished it off. Rinsing it out thoroughly, he placed the mug in the sink. The vampire then headed back upstairs to take a long, hot bath. It had been months since he had taken a bath, he usually took a shower at the truck stop, a habit that would not be hard to break. He started the water running, went to the linen closet and pulled out the least girlie towel he could find, powder blue. "Need to get some black towels around here," he said to the empty house. Walking back into the bathroom, he was sure to lock the door. Quickly, he stripped off his T-shirt and jeans and climbed into the hot water. The water warmed his body from the outside as the blood did the same from the inside. Cherishing the warmth of the bath, Spike sunk all the way down, so he was completely underwater. Not needing to come up for air, he stayed there, under the water, for over ten minutes. He came up to the sound of Buffy knocking on the door.

"William? Are you in there? Are you OK?" She was starting to panic. Buffy started to pound on the door, then she heard him answer, finally.

"Oi, yeah, Luv. Everything’s fine. I’ll be out in a few minutes." He pulled himself out of the water and dried off. Gathering his clothes and wrapping the towel around his waist, Spike unlocked the door and stepped out, walking quickly to Buffy’s room. Laid out on the bed was a clean pair of jeans and his skin-tight, long sleeved grey shirt. He realized that Buffy had been to his crypt and picked up a few of his things. He got dressed and decided to forget slicking back his hair, instead, he ran his fingers through it a few times, then shook his head to give it that spikey effect it had in his punk days. Slipping on his socks and boots, he rushed out the door and bound down the stairs.

"There you are," Buffy smiled upon seeing him. "I was beginning to think you drowned up there."

Smirking, "Not possible, Pet. Sure, I was underwater for a good while, but not needing air, I can only drown in you." They looked into each other’s eyes and smiled. Turning to Dawn, "So, Nibblet, what did you and Big Sis get at the store?"

"Huh? Oh, well, food for one," she explained. "We know how you like Wheatabix. And just general food, oh and a gallon of blood for you. Sorry it’s pig’s blood." She held a milk jug filled with red fluid up before putting it into the refrigerator.

"That’s OK, Platelet. I’m starting to look at pig’s blood as hamburger and human as filet mignon, and you can’t eat fancy all the time, now can you?"

"Cool." She continued, "We also got you some clothes and stuff to keep over here, in case you stay the day again. Black jeans, T-shirts, socks, underwear, a toothbrush. We didn’t know if you needed to brush your teeth or not, so we decided to be on the safe side." He grinned at her and nodded. "Let’s see, umm, some black towels and we all got personalized mugs. The towels and mugs were Buffy’s idea. I decided that you should get two mugs, one for Spike," and she held up a black mug with Spike in red lettering that looked like blood, "And one for William," holding up another mug, dark blue with William in white calligraphy.

He smiled at the mugs and looked at the others. Dawn’s was yellow with orange cursive, Willow’s was light green with black wispy lettering, and Buffy’s was light blue with dark blue gothic lettering. "It’s all perfect."

Buffy looked at Dawn saying, "You’d better go get ready if you want to go tonight." With that, Dawn ran up the stairs to change her clothes. "We’re going to the Bronze. It’s time to get down and party!" she laughed. "I’m going to go change, come help me pick something out."

Spike smiled as she took his hand and led him up to her bedroom. He knew exactly what he wanted her to wear, her short little dress that matched the shirt she laid out for him. Skin-tight and grey, with little spaghetti straps. He bought the shirt after watching her dance in that dress at the Bronze the year before. Somehow, it made him feel closer to her. As if reading his mind, Buffy pulled out the exact dress he wanted her to wear, "What do you think of this one?"

He swept her up in his arms, kissed her gently and whispered, "Perfection." Putting her back down, "I’m going to go down and try out my new mug, don’t want the bloodlust hitting me halfway through the night."

"OK, Spike. Dawnie and I will be down in a little bit. Oh, and William, could you write Willow a note saying where we are and ask her to join us. Thanks!"

==================

Red,
Bronze. Come.
Spike, Slayer & Nibblet

Translation:

Willow,
Everyone is partying at the Bronze. Won’t you join us?
William, Buffy and Dawn

Willow had to laugh, as she was sure Buffy and Dawn did, at the note he left. "He must be in a good mood to write a note and translate it himself," the recovering witch said to the empty house. She then changed clothes, shoved a stake in her bag and headed for the Bronze to join in the festivities.

=================

Spike watched Buffy from behind as she lined up her shot on the billiard table. Part of him was content to just watch as her dress rose dangerously high and part of him wanted to grab her by the waist, lift the dress the rest of the way up and take her right there on the table. When it was his turn, he walked by the still leaning Slayer and allowed his hand to quickly caress her firm ass. "Mmmm…" she moaned. "OK, who did that?"

"I think it was a little of both," the vampire smirked. "You look so gorgeous tonight, Luv. Couldn’t resist." As he lined up his shot, Buffy walked up, knowing that she couldn’t creep up on this vampire, leaned in and lightly nibbled on his ear. He let out a low growl of lust, "God, Buffy, you don’t know how much danger you’re in of that dress being ripped off your tight little body right here."

"Well, then, let’s go dance."

"Pet, that might be worse."

"I’ll risk it. I want to dance with you. I want to feel you near me."

As the couple approached the dance floor, the music changed, as if on cue, to a slow, sensual song. Their bodies pressed together, oblivious to anyone else in the club. They lost themselves in each other’s eyes. Swept up in the moment, Spike lifted Buffy to his lips and their passion could be felt in the air. The music changed again, to a peppy dance beat, but the two blondes remained locked in their embrace. The world came rushing back to them when the rest of the Scoobies joined them on the dance floor, talking about how cute and happy they looked.

Their desire was evident for the rest of the night. Light touches and leaning into each other while sitting or standing together. Distracted stares while they were apart. By midnight, everyone was heading to their respective homes. Anya announced to everyone, in her usual way, that she and Xander were going home to have sex. Buffy, Dawn, Spike and Willow dropped Tara off at her dorm. Tara and Willow hugged for the first time in months when they said their goodnights. The four headed back to the Summers’ house. After changing into patrolling clothes and tucking Dawn into bed, Buffy and Spike headed out for a little late night slayage.

They talked about the passionate kiss on the dance floor and indulged in a few more passion-filled kisses against trees and mausoleums. It was a slow night for demon activity, so they headed back to the house.

Part 3

When they got home, the house was dark and silent. "The ‘kids’ must be in bed, Pet." A smirk crossed his face. Over the summer, Spike had started feeling like a father to Dawn.

"Maybe we should do the same, William." She had a lusty look in her eyes. Buffy reached up and caressed his cheek and pulled him to her, catching his soft lips with hers. After a few moments, she pulled away and saw the same lusty look in his piercing blue eyes. Smiling, they walked silently up the stairs to, what was now, their bedroom, hand in hand. They barely got the bedroom door closed before their hands and mouths were all over each other. Touching and caressing, gently tugging at the other’s clothing. Kissing, licking, and lightly nipping at exposed flesh. Spike broke the serious moment when he started tickling Buffy’s ribs.

"Oh, so that’s how you want to play, huh, Spike?" she said, attacking any spot she thought he might be ticklish. Finding a spot just above his right hip, she giggled with glee. The tickle battle waged on until they both thought their sides would split from all the laughter. Finally, they collapsed onto the bed in a heap of giggling flesh, and into each other’s arms.

Spike sighed, "That was fun."

"I know something even more fun."

"Me too…" With that, he rolled on top of the nearly naked Slayer, looked into her eyes and kissed her with more passion than she had thought possible. Hands removed the last vestiges of clothing from the couple as tongues probed mouths. Still smiling and occasionally laughing, they kissed and touched each other’s bodies. Spike captured on of Buffy’s hardened nipples in his mouth, causing her to moan softly. Slowly, he moved down her body, kissing a cool trail from her breasts to her taut belly, down to her blonde curls. He inhaled her scent before spreading her legs wider. His tongue darted out and tasted her outer lips. Instinctively, one of her hands went to massage her breast, while the other entwined itself in his bleached blonde hair.

She could feel his smile between her legs. It made her giggle. Then, she pulled his head into her moist heat. "I want you, I need you, I love you, Spike…William…both of you, all of you." She knew she was rambling and didn’t care. She felt wonderful under his touch. He lapped at her opening, trying to drink all of her juices. Gently, he slid one finger, then two into her core as he sucked tenderly on her clit. She moaned and her hips bucked slightly. Suddenly, her climax crashed over her like a tidal wave. She panted, "Dear God! That was amazing!"

Spike crawled back up her body kissing the same path he had before. When he finally reached her mouth, he whispered, "Just wait, Luv. It gets better." Without another word, he slid his full length inside her. They both moaned as her soft heat was shattered by his hard coolness. After a few moments, he slowly began to pull out, then thrust back inside her. Her muscles squeezed him, making him shudder. The vampire had to use every bit of his inner strength to hold back his climax as the slayer lightly raked her nails across his back. "Buffy…" his voice was raspy. "I want to make you mine, forever."

She knew what he meant. He wanted to claim her, in the vampiric sense, to bite her and form an eternal bond between them. The moment he said it, she knew deep inside her heart that it was right. This creature, man and monster, was the one. It was the reason they were never able to kill one another. "I want you to be mine, too."

In that instant, William slipped into Spike, used a nail to cut a gash in his own neck, then kissed the spot on her neck that he would soon bite. "Are you close, Luv? The bond is strongest when made during orgasm." She looked into his eyes, amazed that they were still blue, even though he was vamped. She nodded that she was ready. Two more thrusts and he sunk his fangs into her neck as Buffy sucked on his self-inflicted wound. As their mutual orgasm shot through them, they both felt an electric tug at their hearts. Spike growled and Buffy let out a half-moan, half-scream.

They collapsed into each other’s arms, sighing, panting and laughing softly. ‘I think we woke the whole house,’ Buffy thought. ‘Luv, I think we woke the whole neighborhood,’ Spike thought. His thoughts in her head surprised her. Spike chuckled and thought to her, ‘Through the bond, we no longer needed words to know what the other was thinking. Didn’t mean to startle you, Pet. Eventually, we’ll be able to block some of our thoughts, but it will take time and practice.’ ‘That’s OK.’ They slowly drifted off to sleep, occasionally giggling at the thoughts of the other. They were happy in their new live, together.

Part 4

"Did you hear that noise last night, Willow? Sounded like a couple of wild animals," Dawn said to the redhead, giggling as the two blondes walked into the kitchen in the morning.

"Dawn, don’t tease. I think it’s great that they are together." Willow glanced at Buffy and Spike and smiled. "I just hope you guys aren’t that loud every night."

‘I told you we woke the whole house,’ Buffy thought.

‘Yeah, pet, but it was worth it.’ Buffy blushed at his thought. ‘Bloody hell, she’s beautiful.’

‘Oh, I want to rip his clothes off, right here and now.’

"Again, and in front of everyone?" Spike finally spoke aloud, getting strange looks from Willow and Dawn.

"Huh? What are you talking about Spike?" Willow was making eggs and not sure what was going on.

"Oh, nothing Red. I just spoke when I should have thought."

"Again with the huh?"

"I know, but we should tell them, William," Buffy said and grabbed a cup of coffee. "No, you can explain it better than me."

"They’re starting to worry me, Willow," Dawn said. She felt like she was listening to one half of a telephone conversation. That’s when she noticed the fresh bite marks on Buffy’s neck and the half healed gash on Spike’s neck. "Oh, cool! I get it now. They claimed each other."

"Yeah, William, she’s always been quick at figuring things out," Buffy said as she kissed Spike. "Uh, Dawn, Willow, we…umm…"

"We have to go take care of something," Spike finished for her. They raced back upstairs for another round of passion. Thanks to the bond, they knew just where to touch each other to cum quickly or drag the lovemaking out, as well as when to be quick and when to take their time.

‘I want you to bite me, my beautiful vampire, God, it felt so good last night.’ As he slipped into gameface, she noticed his eyes again. They weren’t yellow, like normal, they were still perfect blue. ‘Why are his eyes blue now? Shouldn’t they be yellow?’

‘Easily explained, sweetheart. I love you with all that I am, soul and demon. In perfect moments like this, both parts are here, my entire being, making love to you. There will probably be times when my eyes will be yellow without the gameface, just like now, they are blue with me vamped.’ It made sense to her. Why should he shut out half of himself during their most intimate moments. ‘There will also be times when it’s just William, or just Spike.’

‘But, won’t Spike try to kill me?’

‘Not anymore. When I claimed you, all of me claimed you. Both the soul and the demon belong to you, just as you belong to them. You got two for the price of one. You never need worry about your death at the hands of this body.’

"I love you. You, my William, my Spike."

"And I, William, Spike, love you, Buffy, my Slayer, forever." He bit her over the previous marks, spiraling them both into orgasm.

And so it went, together they fought the good fight, side by side. They made love whenever they felt the need. Sure, they had their arguments, like any couple would, but through their bond, they always seemed to pull through. They were happy, raising Dawn and living their lives.

The End.