Magical Toothpaste

Spike's arm was a dead weight around her waist as Buffy lay tucked against him. There was barely a slight breath puffing against her neck. There was a different quality to a sleeping vampire. Not completely human. Only in sleep did Spike's humanity completely slip away. Buffy's heartbeat quickened at the thought. His humanity? What did she mean by that? Well, even when he was bad he'd been one of the few anti-end-of-the-world bads out there. And they way he loved in that all-consuming way. And the cocky way he taunted and teased. So guy-like. Not vamp-guy. Just guy-guy. So why was she holding back if it wasn't the vampire thing? Why hadn't she answered him back from that place deep down where she did love him back. She really did know why though, she thought resignedly. She felt too guilty. And she really was not looking forward to the look on Giles' face. But she'd already let him in the door. She'd accepted him as her lover. A couple. There was no turning back. Though maybe there was still some hiding and sneaking left in her.

An involuntary smile curled her lips. She liked to know Spike was hers. Her man. There was something elemental about tying yourself to someone that way. Especially to Spike who was so different from every other guy she'd been with. The relationship with Angel had been so black and white. He was a champion and they were in love, that had never been in question. But that was SO the past. Gone. A faded memory with no more power than a fuzzy pang of warm and cold. Parker didn't count. Riley....Riley was so...Riley. She'd thought she'd finally found it with him. There wasn't the passion of Angel. But there had been solidity. Or so she thought. Everything had seemed fine then, poof, suck-u-vamp-babes and ultimatums. There one minute. Gone the next. But Spike. Spike was somehow more dependable than all the others had been. He was remarkably free of baggage for a 120 or something year old vampire. He loved her. He wanted to be with her. He was with her. Despite the whole soulless fiend thing which he really didn't seem as much as anymore. She could count on him. Battle beside him. And, God, the things he could do to a girl. Damn it! She loved him. She couldn't really believe it yet. But she could feel it. God, she could feel it. She wondered if it was something in the slayer genes. A nodding genetic acceptance of the primal, passionate pull of the vampires that made up fifty percent of her dating history.

But she really hadn't been home since she'd left to patrol last night and it was already late in the afternoon. Spells, she silently cursed, had a way of fucking up a girl's schedule. Especially emotion-liberating/lust spells that made her skin itch for both a certain vampire and a certain ex-demon. Mayhe che could call someone for a ride so she didn't have to run around Sunnydale in her pajamas. She couldn't wait for nightfall. Dawn would be home soon.

She shifted to the edge of the bed and Spike's arm tightened, the other moving from beneath the lumpy pillow to curl around her chest and pull her back. An open mouthed kiss pressed against the back of her neck while the arms held her tightly.

"Um, Spike?" Buffy said as she stroked her hand back and forth across the forearm slung across her collarbone. "So, do you have a phone somewhere now?"

"Hmmm?" he mumbled against her shoulder. "Why? Don't go."

And she didn't want to. She wanted to curl back to him and let loose the words pressing behind her lips. She just always wanted to be around him now. She wanted to hold him tight and let him whisper in her ear and never leave his embrace. Even though she SO just wanted to kick his ass some days.

"No..Spike...I have to go," she whispered between kisses.

He growled low against her throat and asked, "When will you come back?"

And his eyes were so crystal clear with his emotion.

"Soon," she said, her brows knit lightly as she met his gaze. "So I'm assuming no phone?"

"Nope, pet, that was a one time deal," Spike said with a chuckle.

Buffy cast a soon-to-be-embarassed-self-conscious glance at her pajamas puddled on the floor. "So do you know a good way to get to my house from here without running into anybody and that is not the sewers?"

Spike chuckled again. "Now that I can help you with."








Xander kept sliding glances at Tara who kept sliding glances down to the floor as Willow explained haltingly that she wasn't exactly sure how to destroy the toothpaste. "See, I messed up the wording somewhere, but I was trying to make neverending toothpaste," she finished with a guilty grimace.

"What?!" Xander exclaimed, snapping his gaze back to Willow as his hand instinctively sought out Anya. "So it's perma-paste now?"

"Um, yeah. Kinda," Willow said, her face brightening, "but you never know. It might come in handy some day. It's pretty powerful stuff."

"Yeah. I know," Xander stressed, rocking forward on his feet as he puntuated his next point, "from experience."

"Would you all just pipe down for one moment!" Giles called from the front room as the tinkling of the disembodied Old Navy jingle blared from the TV. "Isn't she lovely," Giles said in a heartfelt whisper as the blonde on the screen extolled the virtues of performance fleece.

Xander groaned exasperatedly as he gestured to the Englishman gazing at the TV rapturously. "And now Giles is a crazed fanboy."

"At least he's not," *ahem*, "anymore," Willow said with raised eyebrows.

"Buffy!" Anya exclaimed and everyone turned to see Buffy slip inside.

"Buffy," Willow exlaimed more softly as she looked at her nervously shifting friend in confusion. "You're wearing pajamas. And you came from outside. And it's like one in the afternoon."

"Yes," Buffy answered with a strained smile. "Those are all facts."

Giles meandered past staring at the glossy photo of a blonde girl on a boat.

"Why is Giles looking at a magazine?" Buffy asked in shock. "I've never seen him look at a magazine. Ever."

"Well, at least we wrestled him away from the airport," Willow muttered.

"Huh?" Buffy said loudly.

"Yeah, that is the word of the day," Xander said with a rueful smile.

Dawn followed Giles meandering path with an amused smile on her face. "Dawn! What are you doing home? You're supposed to be in school!" Buffy said, grabbing Dawn's shoulder.

"I had to stay home and help Willow," Dawn defended self-rightously.

"Help Willow with what?" Buffy asked, sliding her eyes to Willow questioningly.

"Giles had an incident," Willow answered, her voice dipping to a conspiratorrial whisper, "with the toothpaste."

Buffy rolled her eyes and stalked over to the couch. "Will the toothpaste ever stop affecting my life!?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Willow asked as everyone else shifted uncomfortably and Dawn leaned against the wall with a knowing look.

"Nothing! I meant nothing! What'd I say? Did you think I meant something? I didn't mean anything," Buffy defended quickly.

"C'mon, Buff. We need to get this out in the open," Xander said with a soft commanding tone.

"Well, I guess you're right Xander," Buffy said as she looked down at her folded hands. "Who wants to go first?" she asked to the suddenly deathly silent room.