A/N: this is it, everyone! I hope you liked it!

-6-

Buffy stretched lazily as she woke, warm and comfy in her bed. It was probably morning by now, but she couldn't tell because the windows were heavily covered by blackout curtains to keep the sunlight out.

"You don't sleep enough," a husky voice said from behind her.

"Sorry, I don't need that much sleep," she said, turning over to look at the very sleepy face of Spike. She lifted a hand to run it through his sleep-tousled curls.

"I do, 'specially if you're gonna keep me up all night," he murmured, purring slightly at her attention. His arms wound around her waist, drawing her tightly to him.

"What are you doing?" Buffy said quietly as Spike pulled her so every inch of their bodies were touching. His skin was warm from her body heat. He wasn't human-warm, but it was interesting to not get goose bumps from touching him.

"Go back to sleep," he ordered, closing his eyes. "We'll get up in a little while."

"You go to sleep," she said, pulling back from him. "It's Saturday. Maybe Dawn will go shopping with me."

"You'll leave me here alone?" he pouted. Buffy giggled, leaning in to suck on the protruding lip.

"I'll be here when you wake up," she promised, disentangling herself from him and standing. Spike kept his eyes open long enough to watch her get dressed, but as soon as her perfect skin was covered up, he was unconscious again. Buffy turned to look at him, smiling gently.

"Love you," she murmured, leaning down to kiss his forehead. Quietly she slipped out and padded down to the kitchen. Dawn was sitting at the kitchen counter, munching on some toast.

"Hey Dawnie," Buffy said, grabbing a bowl and pouring in some cereal. She sat down next to her sister and kissed the top of Dawn's head. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah. You guys remember to put the pillow behind the headboard?" Dawn smirked when Buffy's ears turned bright pink. She giggled and took Buffy's hand. "I'm happy that you're happy, Buffy. Even if it is with the biggest dork in history."

Buffy giggled and squeezed Dawn's fingers. "That means everything to me, Dawnie. You don't understand."

Dawn blinked hard, pushing back the tears in her eyes. "So what are your plans for the day? You gonna spend it all in bed with that yummy man of yours?"

"Actually, I thought we should go shopping," Buffy said. "After I make a call. Do you know what time it is in England?"

"Early afternoon, I think," Dawn said. "Or maybe it's the middle of the night. I can never remember. Why?"

"I need to threaten a pathetic Watcher," Buffy said, walking over to the telephone. She looked up the number for the Watcher's Council in London and dialed. "Yes, I want to talk to Quentin Travers. You tell him it's Buffy Summers." She grinned at Dawn. "Hey, Quenty. How are you? Oh me? I'm just peachy. But ya wanna know how you can make my day even better? I want paid. What do you think for? I want paid for being the Slayer. Nope, not a Watcher's salary. I want paid what you get paid, Travers. Oh, of course that's fine. No, don't worry about it at all. So you won't mind if I ship a Suvolte demon to you, will you? Or maybe I'll just call up D'Hoffryn. I've got an in with him, and I'm sure he would just love to wreak some vengeance on the Watcher's Council. Oh good, I'm glad you're understanding me." Her eyes widened and she smirked. "Why, yes, Quentin, a hundred thousand a year should do me just fine. You can wire that to my account now, can't you? Retroactive would be just lovely. I was called at 15, mind you, so that's what, five years? That should pay for Dawn's college and grad school. Aw, Quenty, you shouldn't have. You're just so generous. Thanks, I'll talk to you later!"

Buffy hung up the phone and turned to her sister. "A hundred thousand?" Dawn asked.

"Every year," Buffy said. Dawn shrieked and leapt off the chair, jumping up and down excitedly. Buffy joined her, giggling like mad.

"How do you expect anyone to sleep in this house when you two are screamin' like that?" Spike grumbled, walking into the kitchen. He was bare-chested and barefoot, and his hair stood on end in wild curls.

"I just called the Council," Buffy said, accepting the kiss he gave her.

"And? What do the wankers have to say?"

"A hundred thousand a year. To be paid retroactively from the time I was called," Buffy said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's official. Your girlfriend is loaded."

"Good," Spike said, kissing her again. "I always wanted t' be a kept vamp."

"Pshh, I'm getting it all, you big moocher," Dawn said, slapping Spike's bare shoulder. "I'm going to go to Yale."

"Not with grades like you have," Buffy said.

"You aren't going to buy my way in?" Dawn asked with a pout.

"Nope, but I'll buy you new shoes," Buffy said, disentangling herself from Spike's neck. "Do you want me to get you anything while we're out?"

"I was jus' jokin' 'bout the kept vamp thing, luv," he said. "I don' need you t' do anything."

"But I want to," she said. "I did burn your house down, y'know."

"you can make it up t' me by comin' back upstairs, kitten," he purred in her ear.

Buffy pouted. "But I want to go shopping."

Spike rolled his eyes, giving up. "Go, then, you silly girl. I'm goin' back to bed."

She smiled, kissing him sweetly. "Night, baby. We'll be back later, okay? And we're going to the Scooby meeting tonight. You'll come, right?"

"Wouldn' miss it for the world, pet." He kissed her again. "Love you."

"I love you too," she said without pause. Dawn let out a little happy sound. Buffy slapped Spike on the butt. "Now go to bed."

"Keep her out of trouble, Niblet," he called over his shoulder as he made his way up the stairs. A moment later, a bewildered Tara and Willow filed into the kitchen.

"Hey Buffy," Willow said. "Did we just see Spike walk upstairs?"

"Yeah, I burned down his crypt by accident," she said, "so he's going to be staying here for awhile."

"W-well okay, but why was he going to your room?" Willow asked in confusion.

"Because that's where he's sleeping." She glanced at Dawn. "We're going to go to the mall, have a Summers girl day, so we need to go get dressed. Try not to wake up Spike, okay? He gets cranky if he doesn't get enough sleep. Oh, and if he wakes up hungry, there's blood in the freezer. He'll have to defrost it, but he's a big boy, he can do it himself."

Giggling at their still-confused faces, Dawn and Buffy trotted out of the room and upstairs. They showered and dressed quietly, Buffy kissing Spike's forehead gently before she left, and took off toward the mall.

Ten stores and three very tired credit cards later, the Summers girls returned home, dropping their packages on the floor in the foyer. Spike was up finally, sitting on the couch fully clothed and watching TV. Dawn flitted over to one side of him and flopped down on the couch. Buffy sat down on his other side, cuddling in close.

"Hi," she said, grinning. "Where are Willow and Tara?"

"Took off to the Magic Box 'bout an hour ago, after tryin' their best t' get me t' talk 'bout why I was here."

"Good, then I can do this," Buffy said, kissing him deeply. "Missed you."

"Oh god, gag me," Dawn groused, stealing the remote. "You two are so cute it makes me want to ralph."

"You two have fun?" he asked, throwing an arm over each of their shoulders.

"Tons. Ooh! We bought you prezzies," Buffy said, bouncing out of her seat and over to one of the bags. She brought it back with her, pulling something blue out as she went. "I saw this and just had to get it. It's going to look amazing with your eyes."

"woman, I told you not t' buy me anything," Spike pouted as she held the silk shirt up to his chest.

"I believe you told me I didn't have to buy you anything. I wanted to." She dropped her eyes to the ground. "If you want me to take it back, I will. I just thought… I wanted to do something nice for you."

He sighed and shook his head. Damn girl knew just how to play him. "I love it, kitten. Jus' din't wan' you t' spend your newfound money on me, is all. Thank you."

"Good, 'cuz I got you a bunch more," Buffy said brightly, clapping her hands. "Oh, and I got new sheets for the bed, and we went into this furniture store and I saw this to-die-for four-poster, but I didn't buy it yet, because I want you to look at it first and-"

"She's been like this all day," Dawn said to Spike quietly as Buffy babbled on. "If it didn't make me so happy to see her like this, I'd slap her upside the head."

"-And I thought we could go maybe one night this week and you could look at the stuff and I just thought that since you're going to be living here too that you'd want a say in what we do-"

"Wait, luv, hold up," he said. "I thought this was jus' for a bit, till I get someplace new."

"Well, I was just thinking… I mean, only if you want to… but I thought maybe you'd like to, I dunno, move in?"

"Permanently?" he asked, forgetting completely that Dawn sat mere inches from him.

"Yeah, permanently," Buffy said. "I mean, if you don't that's okay, I'm not going to force you, cuz who would want their crazy girlfriend that they've only been with for a couple of days to tell them that they're going to live together, but if you wanted to-"

Spike cut her off with a searing kiss. "Slayer, you are by far the silliest girl I have ever met," he said. Her eyes were half-lidded and her breath came in shallow pants. "You think I'm gonna say no t' spendin' every night in your bed?"

"Our bed," she corrected him.

"Platelet, you stay down here. Turn that TV up loud, got it?" he stood, scooping up Buffy in his arms.

"Wait, grab that bag," Buffy said, pointing. "I bought you another present." Spike smirked at her and picked up the little bag. He tossed a grin back at Dawn and carried the Slayer up the stairs.

"God, I am totally going to ralph," Dawn muttered, turning the volume up.

"Wait here," Buffy said, guiding Spike to sit on the edge of the bed. She took the bag from his hands and slipped out of the room. She came back moments later, nudging the door open with her foot.

"I saw this on a mannequin at the store, and it seemed like something you'd like," she murmured, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her. She wore a dark red silk robe that fell to her knees, black stockings and a pair of black heels. As she sauntered closer to the bed, she opened the robe. Spike's mouth started to water as he looked her over. Black silk and red lace covered her best parts. His hands itched to take off the garter belt and corset, but as he raised his hands, she slapped them away.

She straddled his legs, pushing her lace-covered breasts in his face. "So? Do you like it?"

"I like it so much 'm gonna rip it off you in a mo'," he said, panting for unneeded breaths.

"You're not supposed to take it off, see?" she guided his hand down to her pussy and slipped his fingers through the hole in her panties. Then she unlaced the corset a bit to let her breasts spill out.

"Buffy," Spike murmured reverently. The Slayer grinned at him and pulled his shirt up over his head. Her hands slid down his chest, stopping only once to play with his nipples. When she unzipped his pants and shoved her hand down them without ceremony, Spike moaned loudly.

"I'm going to wear this under my clothes tonight," she purred as she pulled out his cock and lowered herself on it. "So that you know that when we come home, I'm going to make love to you until you can't walk."

"You're gonna be the one that has trouble walkin', luv," he said, thrusting up into her heat. She moaned and threw her head back, exposing her neck to him. His lips immediately found his bite marks, nibbling gently on them.

"Is that… oh god… a challenge… vampire?"

"That it is, Slayer," he said, dropping his head to suck on a rosy nipple.

"Well then… challenge accepted," she moaned. Then she squeezed him with her internal muscles as hard as she could. He cried out, his hands clenching her ass tightly.

"Do that again and I'll come, luv," he said.

"I believe that was the point," she said saucily. She squeezed him again, gentler this time, and grinned as he moaned.

"Dirty fighter," he said. "Two can play that game, you know." His hand slipped between them, stroking her clit through the silk of her lingerie. When he took a nipple into his mouth and bit down on it, she was lost, crying out with the force of her orgasm. The wringing of her muscles was too much for Spike to ride out, and he fell over the edge seconds later.

"Christ, woman, I love you," Spike panted, holding her tightly.

"Love…you… oh god, that was amazing," Buffy said, her head slumped onto his shoulders.

"Hey pervs! If you're done in there, Xander just called and asked when we're going to be at the Magic Box." Dawn's voice carried down the hall

"Give us a minute, Bit," Spike called back. He rubbed Buffy's back slowly. "Should we get dressed then?"

"Yeah, I guess," Buffy murmured. She slipped off his lap, whimpering slightly when his member was pulled from her body. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up, okay?"

"'K luv, go on," he said, swatting her behind gently as she walked away. She giggled and smiled back at him, blowing a kiss.

Spike grinned and flopped back onto the bed. The girl really did have him wrapped around her little finger.

Buffy held Spike's hand as they walked to the Magic Box. Her nerves were getting the best of her. What if her friends wouldn't accept them as being a couple? What if they told her that she was wrong for loving him? And… after Buffy told them about Heaven, would they just think it was a consequence of her being back.

As they walked to the front door of the shop, Buffy squeezed Spike's hand. "Wait," she said. Spike turned around, frowning.

"What's wrong, luv?"

"I just… before we go in there, I have to say something, okay?" She dropped his hand, fiddling nervously with a ring on her finger. "No matter what they say in there, Spike, you have to believe me, okay? I love you. I'm going in there at your side, and I'm going to leave at your side. No matter what."

Spike's awed smile took her breath away. He bent down to kiss her lips softly. "I love you, Buffy Anne Summers."

"I love you too, William."

"One day I'll tell you my full name," he said, grinning. "Now, let's go, 'fore my nerves talk me out of it."

Dawn gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'll put the beat down on anybody who gives you a hard time, okay?"

"Yeah, 'd like t' see you try, Bit," Spike said, ruffling her hair.

"Hey!"

The bell that sounded when the Magic Box door opened usually didn't sound ominous. Today, though, every head in the shop turned at the sound, and Buffy flinched.

"Buffy," Xander said. "And Dawnie! And… Spike."

"Hi Xand," Buffy said. She looked around. "Where's Giles?"

"Here," Giles said, emerging from the training room. "I was taking inventory on the weapons cache. We'll need more stakes soon."

"I've got a duffel bag full at home," Buffy said.

"How was your… trip with Spike?" Giles asked casually.

"It was good," Buffy said, smiling up at Spike. "It was fun, well except for that part where I almost died."

"I did like that coyote," Spike said. "I'll have t' get me some more o' that."

"Ew, Evil Dead, we don't need to hear about your meals," Xander sneered.

"It's no different than when you talk about cheeseburgers," Dawn said. "And don't call Spike that. He has a name."

"Spike isn't a real name."

"Oh and 'Xander' just has that touch o' class that all names need, does it?" Spike sniped back. Buffy laid a hand on his arm.

"Stop it," she murmured. "Just ignore him." Spike nodded, taking her hand in his again. Buffy turned to glare at her friend. "Xander, cut it out. If you don't have anything nice to say, just shut up, got it?"

"What's going on, Buffy?" Willow asked. "First you take off for days with Spike, then you call the Scooby meeting without telling us why, and Spike's living in the house, and now you're yelling at Xander?"

"Wait, the Undead's living at your house?" Xander cried. "What the hell, Buff?"

"Spike is living at my house because I asked him to," Buffy said. "And last I checked, it's my house, so I'll choose who can live there. And I swear to god, Xander, if you call him one more name, I'll shut your mouth for you."

Spike looked around at the Scoobies. While Red and the whelp looked shocked, Anya looked a tad vindicated, and unless he was mistaken, Glenda the good witch was downright glowing. Rupes didn't look too happy, but then again, he always looked like he had a stick up his ass.

"Buffy, we're just a bit confused," Willow said.

"I know, and if you guys would stop wigging for a minute, I'll explain myself," Buffy said. She squeezed Spike's hand once and let go, walking toward her friends. "There… are a few things that you guys need to know."

"I need to know why you're letting that stay in your house," Xander said.

"And I need you to shut your damn mouth, Alexander Harris," Buffy growled. "I will not ask again." The boy backed down as the Slayer glared at him. "Now, to start off, we need to talk about what happened when you guys brought me back."

"You know we didn't know you were going to be brought back in your coffin, right? That was a mistake," Willow said.

"Not your only one," Buffy said. The redhead frowned. "What I mean is, you didn't even bother to do your research on that spell, Willow. You didn't find out where I was after I died, you didn't find out where I would be brought back to, nothing. You just did your little spell and decided everything else didn't matter."

"Buffy, what do you mean?" Tara asked quietly.

"I mean, I wasn't in a hell dimension after I died," Buffy said. "I mean, for god's sake, guys, I'm the freakin' Slayer! I'm a hero! Heroes don't go to hell!"

"But you fell through a portal," Willow said. "And Angel fell through a portal, and he was in a hell dimension."

"He was also one of the most ruthless vampires in history," Buffy said. "That's a bit different than being Slayer."

"So you were… oh goddess," Willow said. "You were in Heaven?"

"Of course she was," Giles snapped. "I told you, Willow! I told you this would have consequences. You've ruined Buffy's life!"

"Giles," the Slayer said quietly. "It's… well, it's not okay, and I'm not sure it will be okay for a long time, but I'm adjusting. And yeah, for awhile there I wanted to go back, because this world sucks, but…" She glanced back at Spike and Dawn and gave them a small smile. "But I don't want to die again. I'm happy now, a lot happier than I have been. I just thought you guys should know."

"That's why," Xander said. Anya looked at him sharply.

"That's why what, Xander?" Buffy asked tiredly.

"That's why you're hanging around him," he said. "You're still all wacked from being in Heaven, and he's tricked you-"

"Good god will you shut up!" Anya screeched. "Any moron can see they're in love. Did you not hear that she said she's happy? She's happy with him. And for good reason, I should guess. Vampires have excellent sexual stamina."

"Oh good, I was worried there for a minute," Buffy said. "You weren't sounding like yourself, Ahn." She grinned at the ex-demon, who smiled brightly back.

"I should tell you about my relationship with Tyler sometime," Anya said.

"That's okay, I'll live without it," Buffy said, holding up a hand. "And yes, Anya, you're right. I love Spike, and he loves me. I asked him to move in with me."

"WHAT?!" Xander screamed, standing. "You do not love him, Buffy! It's wrong! You can't love something that doesn't have a soul! You can't love a demon!"

"Can you love Anya, Xander?" Buffy said quietly, not flinching as he yelled at her.

"That's different."

"I don't see how it is," she said.

"But Buffy, it's you."

"Yes, Xander, it's her," Anya snapped. "It's her, and she wants Spike. She doesn't want you. And come to think of it, I'm not sure I do either."

"What? Ahn-"

"No, do not 'Ahn' me," she said. "And you can find someplace else to sleep tonight, because I'm not letting you in."

"Anya, honey-"

"Uh, can I?" Tara interjected meekly. "Um, I-I think I have something that c-c-could h-help."

"What is it?" Spike asked, coming up to stand behind Buffy. He rested his hands on her hips as she leaned comfortably back against his chest.

"Well it-it's this spell," she said. "It, um, shows p-people's auras. I th-think it would help."

"Go ahead," Buffy said. Tara stood, fishing around in her bag for something, and then turned back to the blonde couple.

"Uh, do either of you have a lighter?" Spike reached into his pocket and tossed her his Zippo. "Thanks." She lit the end of the herb in her hand and waved it in front of them. "Vis meg den indre skjønnheten."

Buffy and Spike didn't see anything, but the rest of the group gasped. "Spike, can you move to stand next to her? It would help us see yours on its own."

"What is that?" Dawn asked, walking around Buffy and Spike in a wide circle.

"Their auras, Dawn," Tara said. She gestured to the area around Buffy's hip. "See that? That's her Calling. And Spike's demon has a mark over here." She pointed to the area just over Spike's shoulder.

"They both have that one," Dawn said, pointing at Buffy's chest. Try as she might, Buffy couldn't see a thing. "It's so bright."

"Can you guess what that is?" Tara asked. "It's bright red and it's on their chests…"

"Their hearts?" Dawn asked. Tara nodded. "But it's so big. Everyone's isn't always that big, is it?"

"I believe, Dawn, that Buffy was telling the truth," Giles said. "When a person is in love, their heart color on their aura becomes larger, brighter."

"It's beautiful," Willow murmured. "And there's hardly any black on them."

"What's the black?" Xander asked.

"Sadness, despair, and suffering," Tara said. "See this big blue swath here?" She pointed to an area on each of them. "That's happiness. They really are very happy together."

"I can't really argue with that," Willow said, moving to hug Buffy. "I'm glad you're happy, Buffy."

"While I may not be overly fond of your choice in partner, I cannot help but be grateful for the smile on your face," Giles said, hugging his Slayer as well.

"Wait, guys, this is wrong. This is Spike and Buffy we're talking about here!"

"Yeah, but look at how cute they are, with the hand-holding and the smiley-ness. C'mon Xand, look at them."

"If you don't accept them, you're going to alienate your friend," Dawn said. "And I'll kick your ass. I'm just sayin'."

"Dawnie, don't cuss," Buffy said. She turned hopeful eyes on her friend. "But she's right, Xander. So what's it going to be?"

"You're not under thrall?"

Buffy smiled. "No. Spike doesn't even have thrall."

"You're not still all wonky from being in Heaven?"

"Nope."

Xander sighed. "Then I guess I'll deal with it. It's your life, right?"

"Right." She walked over to him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, Xand."

"You're still sleeping on the couch tonight," Anya interjected. "Because it is a classic action taken by women who are angry at their boyfriends. But I won't call off the engagement just yet."

Xander's eyes widened comically.

"Engagement?!" Willow asked. "Buffy's in love with Spike and now you're getting married? Next thing you know, Giles is going to stop wearing tweed!"

"Now was that really necessary?" Giles huffed. The Scoobies laughed raucously as he scrubbed at his glasses. "How you lot manage to save the world is beyond me."

Buffy let Spike lead her up the stairs later that night, smiling the whole way. "What do you have in mind?" she asked. "Whenever you grin like that, it's a bad idea."

"You'll like this, I promise," he said. "Tell me luv, do you hear the witches or lil sis?"

Buffy looked around. "No. where are they?"

"Convinced 'em t' get a hotel room for the night," he said.

She grinned wickedly. "So we have the house to ourselves?"

"Yep. It's jus' us."

"Well then, vampire," she said, unbuttoning her blouse to show him her corset. "You should be prepared, because you're going to lose the ability to walk soon."

He gave her a feral smile. "I look forward to it."

Their happy giggles carried on the wind as they fell upon the bed.

Fin