CHAPTER 19: Leaving on a jet plane

"This is a last call for flight 1023 shortly departing for Los Angeles and continuing on to Sunnydale. All passengers should now make their way to gate A6. I repeat..."

Not letting go of Spike's hand, Buffy stood up, then turned to face him when he didn't move. She raised an eyebrow in question.

"Let's miss the flight."

"What?"

"Sunnyhell doesn't sound too appealing to me right now. Let's just stay here."

"Spike, I'd love to, believe me, but we can't."

"Why not? Give me one bloody good reason why not. I'm sure there's plenty of demons for you to fight right here in Hawaii. And bonus, they don't know you're the Slayer. They'll have the shock of their miserable lives. Could be fun."

"One good reason? I hate to break this to you, but our budget doesn't allow us luxury of staying here... not even one more night. It was amazing and all, but it was just a vacation. Now it's time to go back to reality."

"I have a bad feeling that reality might suck. Especially after the past two weeks."

"And I think I remember promising you that nothing would change."

Spike snickered. "That's until Harris starts brainwashing you. The stupid wanker can be convincing."

"The 'stupid wanker', as you call him, is my friend. If you want me to get him to respect you, you're gonna have to do the same. Or at least try."

Spike pouted. "He calls me names all the time. What am I supposed to do, thank him?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. But at least make an effort. Don't insult him unless provoked."

"Well he's not here now, is he? So what's the problem?"

"Spike..."

"Fine, fine, I'll try. I'll do my bloody best. Cross my heart."

The ground agent repeated her announcement over the PA, adding that all passengers must now be onboard. She gave Spike and Buffy a pointed look.

Buffy tugged on Spike's hand until he got to his feet. She gave him a reassuring smile. "Everything will be fine. They got used to having you around already, accepting you as my boyfriend shouldn't be too much of a stretch."

He kissed the top of her head before walking up to the gate. "I hope you're right, pet."

She stood there watching him walk away and hand his ticket to the agent. She smiled to herself. No, she wouldn't let anyone get in the way. She had too much to lose.

Spike turned to look at her. "You coming?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night before...

Spike was lying next to Buffy and was busying himself covering her tanned shoulder with light kisses. She was playing with the unruly bleached curls of his hair, but her quietness finally made him look up at her face.

"What's wrong?" He asked when noticing the tiny lines between her brows indicating that she was not entirely with him at the moment.

"Nothing's wrong. Just thinking."

"Are you still fretting over that Italian cow getting away? We'll find her, you know. People like her are usually too bloody stupid to stay away. She'll come back and then we'll make her hurt, a lot."

Buffy smiled. "That's not what I was thinking about, but thanks for cheering me up."

"No problem, pet. What's bothering you then?"

She pouted. "Leaving."

"Aw, poor kitten. But we still have twenty four hours before we have to board the plane. What do you say we make the most of it?"

He pushed the white cotton sheet down her body to her hips to allow him access to her stomach, then bent down to dip his tongue in her navel. Buffy giggled and squirmed.

Spike grinned against her skin before blowing softly on the wet spot. Her giggling doubled.

"Now that's better, pet. No more frowning."

"No frowning. Promise. You have a real talent for turning it upside down."

"That's my secret super power. Some vamps have thrall, some can disappear in a puff of smoke--ok not really, but you know what I mean--I can turn frowns upside down."

"Not very efficient in a fight," Buffy commented "but I'll admit it's great in the bedroom."

Spike lowered the sheet a little more and kissed her thigh. "It's important to have a sense of humor in the bedroom. Keeps things interesting. Not that shagging you could ever be boring, mind you."

"No one's ever made me laugh in bed before."

Spike bit her thigh.

"Hey! What was that for?" She complained.

"Not bloody interested in your sex life before me."

"Jealous."

"Never pretended not to be."

"Fine. Then I'll never tell you how you're the best lover I've ever had, and how you're the only one who ever made me come, and..."

"Put this way... knock yourself out, pet. I'd like to hear more."

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to make you jealous or anything. You might bite me again."

"And that's bad because?" Spike asked, looking at her with a sexy smirk.

Buffy opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't come up with any reason why it would be bad to get bitten by him. Not to mention that the fresh smell of arousal he probably already noticed would contradict any argument she would have.

Spike winked at her then positioned himself between her thighs. He opened her up to his greedy mouth with his fingers and licked her from bottom to top.

Buffy shivered and fought the urge to close her eyes and throw her head back. She wanted to see him. He looked like a big cat feasting on her and it was such a turn on. She leaned on her elbows, her eyes never leaving him.

The vampire licked her a few more times then suckled on her clit. The action made her whimper and moan softly, the sound almost like a purr. Spike smiled against her swollen flesh, obviously pleased with himself.

He pushed a finger inside her and started thrusting slowly while his tongue worked wonders on her erect clit, bringing her closer and closer to the edge. Knowing instinctively that Buffy was close, Spike stopped what he was doing.

Buffy had given up the fight and closed her eyes, but opened them again when she realized she couldn’t feel Spike’s mouth on her anymore. She blinked to clear her mind and gave him a questioning look.

“Do you trust me?” He asked, the blue of his eyes dark with lust.

Buffy nodded, her eyes not leaving his. “Yes.”

Spike vamped out and lowered his head to caress the juncture of her thigh with his lips. He kissed her warm skin lovingly while adding another finger inside of her and resuming his thrusts. Then without warning, he broke the tender skin with his sharp fangs, careful not to hurt her.

The first pull of his mouth sent blood straight to her sex. The intense feeling it created in her made Buffy arch her back and opened her mouth to let out a scream that probably terrified the people staying in the room next to theirs. An almost violent orgasm wracked its way through her, taking her breath away and preventing any more noise to come out of her mouth. The pleasure was so intense that she felt like she was leaving her body.

Spike pulled his fangs out and carefully licked the blood trickling down her golden flesh and staining the white sheet. Then he crawled up Buffy’s still shivering body to come rest next to her, cradling her against him. She was still staring at the ceiling, shocked by this new experience.

Spike frowned with worry. “Are you all right, pet? Did I hurt you?”

“What?… No!” She shook her head vehemently. “Far from it. Why?”

He reached up and brushed a tear from her cheek with his fingertip. “You’re crying.”

“Oh.”

She touched her own cheek to find out that he was right. “I didn’t even realize. It’s good tears though. It’s ‘Oh my God, you just blew my mind’ tears. Don’t worry.”

He smiled at her before kissing her forehead. “Good.”

“So… Can we do that again someday, or was it a one time deal?” She asked almost shyly. She was blushing.

“Anytime you want, kitten. You know I’ll always give you anything you want, right?”

“I know. Spike…” She looked at him for a moment before finally adding: “I love you.”

The emotions showing on the vampire’s expressive face brought more tears to Buffy’s eyes. Unable to find the right words to express what her words had meant to him, he finally crushed his lips to hers for a brief yet passionate kiss. Then he looked her in the eyes, a blinding smile on his face.

“God, I love you too, Buffy. So much.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy dropped into her window seat with a deep sigh of relief. The airport experience hadn't seemed so bad on the way to Hawaii, but the promise of gorgeous white beaches, turquoise water and fruity drinks had made the ordeal almost bearable. Now, going back home, it all seemed like a torture thought up by the cruel ruler of the underworld. And it all had been one piece of bad luck after another. First, there was a huge line up at the check in counter. After waiting in line for almost an hour next to an arguing couple, the person at the counter informed them with a disdainful look that they would be sitting at the back of the plane because they were almost the last ones to check in. Then, they were told they had to rush to the gate because they were late. Security had been a nightmare. They had Spike take off his shoes, his socks, his coat, his belt. It took everything for Buffy to keep him calm so he wouldn’t insult the security agent. The last thing they needed was for him to get strip searched and miss their flight. But Buffy almost lost it herself when they emptied her bag and looked at every item in it for what seemed like an eternity. She wanted to scream "It's a book, people, not a bomb!" But she managed to bite her tongue and smile tightly. Finally, they ran to the gate, only to find out the flight was delayed by an hour. But really, the cherry on top of the sundae had been the short walk from the front of the plane to the back. Short in distance, maybe. But between being stuck in the aisle behind everybody who thought boarding was a great time to block the aisle to empty their carry on bags, and Spike making comments about trying out the mile high club loud enough for the entire plane to hear, it felt like hours to Buffy.

Spike nearly growled when another passenger pushed rudely pass him to get to his seat. The passenger didn't even look back. Spike sat next to Buffy, closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. "I have never wished more for the chip to malfunction."

At Buffy's disapproving look, he quickly amended. "Not to kill, pet. Just to have the luxury of throwing a couple well deserved punches. It would help take the edge off."

"I know. I was ready to hit someone too. It seems like all we've been doing for the past three hours is hurry up and wait. Thankfully, nobody was sitting next to them and they were grateful for the privacy.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome on board flight 1023 to Los Angeles and continuing on to Sunnydale. The flight time tonight to Los Angeles will be six hours and ten minutes at an altitude of 37 000 feet. In preparation for take off, we ask you to please fasten your seat belts and make sure that all hand luggage is placed securely under the seat in front of you, or in the over head compartments. We would like to remind you that all our flights are non smoking and the use of cellular phones is prohibited. Thank you and have a good flight."

"Six hours without a fag. Bloody hell. After all they put us through, they should at least allow us one. It's only fair."

"Not much you could do about it anyway; they took your lighter at security."

"Soddin' hell!"

"Spike?"

"What do you think about Ben? Do you think he can be trusted?"

"Hard to tell, pet. After all, he did double cross his own family."

"Because he wanted to do the right thing."

"Or because he was afraid to die."

"He knew we can't kill humans. Besides, he did try to warn us before she sent the demon after us."

"Buffy, if you do trust the bloke, why do you ask me?"

"I don't know if I do or don't, I'm just arguing for the sack of arguing. If I listen to my instincts, I'm tempted to give him the benefit of the doubt."

"It's not like we got a say in this anyway. He’s on a plane to London as we speak. We'll just have to wait and see."

"I guess." Buffy said thoughtfully. "Why do you think he wanted me to read the Watchers' journals?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, pet."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earlier that morning in Buffy and Spike's room...

Ben was standing awkwardly by the door in a suit that reminded Buffy of Giles. The only difference was the black shirt underneath the tweed jacket that brought a more modern touch to the outfit, and the missing bowtie. Buffy wondered for a moment when Giles had stopped wearing a bowtie. Her mentor had changed so much in the past few years, and she hadn't even noticed.

"So, we have an agreement?" Spike asked from his slouched position on the armchair by the bed.

"Of course. You can count on me. I am so grateful for your understanding... I will do anything I can to help you."

He picked up the small suitcase on the floor. Then, his hand on the door knob, Ben hesitated.

"What is it?" Buffy asked when it was obvious he had something else to say.

Ben turned to face Buffy. "Could I give you some advice, Miss Summers?"

"Advice is good. What's up?"

"When you get back to Sunnydale, it would be to your advantage to take some time to read the Watchers' journals. I believe they are in Mr. Giles' possession. These are usually hidden from Slayers, but I think if you could find a way to get them without your Watcher knowing, you could learn a great deal. Especially about the Council. Things they don't want you to know and that could be useful in order to keep you one step ahead of them."

"Probably not on Oprah's best sellers list..." Buffy pouted, not sure she liked the perspective of spending hours reading books written by stuffy watchers.

"I think Travers Jr. might be right, Slayer. The more you know, the better." Spike commented.

"A few of the journals are being kept by the Council. I don't know for sure what's in them and why they haven't been made available to your watcher, but if I believe the rumors, there's something in them the Slayer is not supposed to know about."

The vampire sat up, suddenly more interested. "And you think you can get your hand on those?"

Ben smiled. "I will do my best."

"Thanks for the heads up, Ben. It was surprisingly nice meeting you. You must be adopted." Buffy joked.

Benjamin Travers laughed good naturedly. "Thank you, Miss Summers."

"Call me Buffy."

"It was nice meeting you, Buffy. And you too Spike. I shouldn't have listened to what my uncle said about the two of you."

"See you, Junior. We'll be keeping in touch."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike and Buffy waited at the back of the aircraft for the other passengers to deplane. Buffy was exhausted. While sleeping on Spike's shoulder was comfortable in a bed, it was an entirely different thing sitting upright in a very stiff and uncomfortable seat. She had slept a total of an hour out of the six the flight had lasted, and it wasn't an uninterrupted rest either. She was now ready to go home and sleep in her own bed. Hopefully with Spike next to her. That thought almost gave her heartburn. The mere idea that in order for that to happen, she would have to confront her friends tonight about the sudden turn her relationship with the vampire had taken, made her want to run and hide. But she'd made a promise to him that she wouldn't keep him as her dirty secret and she wasn't about to let him down.

Said vampire snaked his arms around her from behind and pulled her close. "You look tired, pet. Ready to go home?"

"God yes. As amazing as this little vacation was, I missed Dawn. I wonder how her trip with her friend was. I can't wait to hear about her adventures. And tell her about our. A PG-13 version, of course."

Spike smirked. "Of course. Wouldn't want to traumatize the nibblet. We'll keep the restaurant bathroom escapade for Xander and Giles."

Buffy turned her head and narrowed her eyes at her lover. "Don't you dare."

"Don't worry, kitten. I'll keep it to myself. I'll file this in the little box in my head marked: blackmail."

"You know, you're right, Spike. You're still evil."

He grinned and hugged her closer. "I'm the Big Bad alright. Better remember it."

The flight attendant standing in the galley behind them cleared her throat noisily. Buffy looked up to see that the plane was empty. She turned to give the flight attendant an apologetic smile. "Oops, sorry."

The woman gave her a plastic smile, obviously wanting to get the hell out of there so she could go home after a long night of work.

The blonde couple grabbed their bags and made their way through the narrow aisle to the front of the plane.

Despite Buffy expressing her desire to go home earlier, they were both dragging their feet while walking through the airport. As they walked side by side, their arms brushing against each other, Spike took Buffy's hand in his.

"Are you going to sleep at your crypt tonight?" Buffy asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Nah. I was thinking I could spend the night at my ocean view mansion."

Buffy rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. "You're such a comedian."

"Where else would I go, pet? Unless..."

"Unless you want to, maybe, spend the night at my place?"

Spike squeezed her hand affectionately. "I'd love that."

They walked the rest of the way to the baggage carrousel in silence, Spike never letting go of her hand. She had told him before that he had nothing to worry about and she wouldn't keep their relationship hidden, but he hadn't had real hope until now. She was really going to do this. She'd asked him to sleep at her place. Her sister, her friends, they would find out and she was obviously OK with that. He felt lighter than he had in years.

Slowly, the crowd parted in front of them to reveal a short familiar redhead and an equally familiar but taller, and slightly chubby, brunette construction worker. Willow and Xander were far off, but noticed them and waved.

And then Buffy made a mistake.

She quickly let go of Spike's hand and took a step to the side to put some space between them. The look on his face was worth a thousand words and made it hard for her to breath.

He started walking faster, leaving her behind.

"Spike! Wait..."

She tried to stop him, but he had already walked pass Willow and Xander, completely ignoring their greeting, and kept going until he was out of the airport and in a cab.