Soul Purpose - Chapter 10

Buffy let her fingers toy with each other as she stood beside Spike in Angel’s office. The plane journey had been passed in idle chatter, and a lot of kissing, but the moment they landed the peace had been shattered. A car had been waiting for them, Charles and Wesley both there to make sure they were taken back to the Wolfram and Hart offices to face what felt like their judge and jury.

Spike stepped a little nearer to Buffy as he noticed how nervous she was. He could see in her body language that she wasn’t relishing being back here and he wanted as much as she did to be away from this place already.

Angel looked them both from behind his desk, sensing that something wasn’t right as they stood in dumb silence before him.

“Well, what the hell happened?” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the solid wood desk in front of him. “Not that I’m not happy to see you back, Buffy, but I’d like some answers.”

Buffy glanced at Spike.

Spike glanced at Buffy.

“Well…funny thing…to cut a long story short…she made me do it.” Spike pointed a Buffy.

“Spike!” Buffy yelled at him as she looked from his accusing finger to his innocent face.

“Hey, coping with mortality here, love. He won’t kill you, he’d damn well kill me.” Spike hissed at her as he pouted and then froze as he realised everyone was looking at them.

“Did I hear you right? Mortality?” Wesley raised his brows as he stepped toward them.

Spike suddenly found everyone stepping toward him as though he was some weird science experiment to be poked at and it felt a little overwhelming, and all too reminiscent of a certain government agency.

“Back off.” Buffy shot them all a look that said to keep their distance if they knew what was best for them and then gave Spike a smile that said he didn’t have to explain anything to them.

He smiled and let his fingers brush against hers, showing her he was fine with it.

“Yep. Got me a shelf life, lets hope my expiration date is a long time away.” Spike looked at everyone except Angel, unable to bring himself to see the hurt in his grandsire’s eyes as he took that final thing away from him.

“Like a Cheeto.” Buffy stared at the floor blankly and shrugged.

The whole room looked at her. She just smiled awkwardly.

“It still doesn’t explain anything.” Angel said bitterly as he looked at the two in front of him.

“I made him do it.” Buffy said as she looked into his eyes and saw the hurt welling up in them. “I asked him to do something for me, knowing he wouldn’t refuse me. I made him take me to Africa, to where he got his soul. I made him turn me. What I didn’t make him do was surrender his immortality in order to bring back my soul. I was willing to stand the trials myself, under his guidance. He gave up his life to bring back mine, and the powers that be…”

“Gave him Shanshu.” Angel’s voice was quiet as he finished what she was going to say, needing to be the one to say it himself so he could come to terms with it.

“Yes.” Buffy nodded and slipped her hand into Spike’s. “It wasn’t his fault. He just wanted to save me, but he saved the world instead. I don’t expect you to understand, or to be happy about any of this…but he did what he had to do.”

“To save you.” Spike smiled at her.

“To save me.” Buffy returned the smile and felt her cheeks flush a little as his eyes narrowed tenderly on hers.

Angel closed his eyes for a moment, buying himself time to comprehend just what had happened and just how right Buffy and Spike had been about Wolfram and Hart. When he opened them again, he saw that Spike and Buffy were turning to leave.

“Where will you go?” He asked and Buffy stopped and looked back at him.

“I don’t know. Back to Spike’s for now, and then…then we’ll see.” Buffy gave him one last smile and then walked out the door with Spike.

Walking down the street to his apartment, Spike kept thinking over Buffy’s parting words. He knew she had some idea of what she wanted to do, of where she wanted to go, but something told him that she wasn’t going to dictate to him where they were going--she wanted him to make the decision with her.

And he would, he’d go wherever she went, just like he’d told her he would.

“I could murder a cigarette.” Spike mused as he took hold of her hand.

“It’s patches for you, mister.” Buffy answered him with a wicked smile.

“Hey! People smoke all the time…I’m not allowed to? Besides, I’ve got Slayer constitution now, I can handle it.” He pouted, knowing full well she wouldn’t budge on anything that would endanger his health--well, anything but patrol.

Buffy shook her head as his pout turned into a smile. She knew he was trying to think of things to test her, to see how protective of him she was going to be now that he was as mortal as she was.

Mortal.

Such a small word with such a big meaning.

“Do you remember it? Everything you did, what it felt like?” Buffy looked at his profile as he thought about what she was asking.

“Yep, every last detail. I’m the only twenty-eight year old man to have lived one hundred and fifty-two years. This is my third century, it’s certainly starting with a bang.” He smiled as he looked out the corner of his eye at her and caught her smiling warmly.

As they reached his door, Buffy pulled him to a stop and wrapped her arms about his neck. She tiptoed as she leaned in and kissed him, letting her lips play slowly against his.

“You know…” She started as she broke off the kiss. “I’m not so chosen anymore…what was it you said once? Something about white picket fences?” She watched him smile, his eyes showing all his love for her as he waited for her to say the words. “They aren’t so deadly to you now and it sounds kinda tempting.”

“It does?” He leaned in and pressed little kisses to her throat, feeling strange as he realised there was no urge to bite her, well, other than the usual playful kind.

“It does.” Buffy smiled and held him to her neck as he licked a trail up it.

“And where would this white picket fence be?” Spike drew back so he could see into her eyes. He wanted to see how much this meant to her, wanted to see how happy she was with him.

Buffy smiled shyly.

“Dawn’s going to college, Giles needs help setting up the new Council in England…we could go there, help out and teach those Slayers like you said I should.”

“They need someone strong to lead them, someone like you.” He smiled as he pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Anything else?”

Buffy ducked her head and then looked up at him, her hand seeking his as she smiled.

“And I see fat grandchildren in our future.”

Spike grinned as he swept her up into his arms, ignoring her squeals and protests as he carried her down the steps to his basement room.

He couldn’t wait to leave Los Angeles.

Couldn’t wait to go back to England.

Couldn’t wait to see Dawn.

But most of all, he couldn’t wait to start spending the rest of his mortal life with the woman he loved.

And those fat grandchildren? Now he knew how Anya had felt all those years, suddenly life seemed terribly short.

If he wanted to see his grandchildren get fat, he’d better get started on making the children that were going to bring them into the world.

He smiled as he pressed a long kiss to Buffy’s lips and felt her fingers run idly along the nape of his neck.

Buffy grinned as she kissed him back and instinct told her this was going to be a long night.

A very long night.

But it was more than that when she looked at it.

It was the start of the rest of their lives.

~*~ End ~*~

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