Spike stood staring at his opponent. He tried to suppress a growl as he closely watched every move it made, feeling hemmed in and desperate for backup. This was one battle his had to fight himself, his mate couldn’t back him up… not this time. This was a rite of passage for the vampire. He glanced desperately over his shoulder and the growl he had been trying to suppress escaped as he saw the expression on his friend’s face. Xander stood behind him, eyes wild, laughing so hard that he was gasping for breath.

“Bloody Whelp is enjoying this way too much,” Spike muttered as he flinched away from the red taloned hand that was reaching for him. ‘I’m a master vampire, damn it!’ He shifted his weight so his body was centered between his feet and straightened his shoulders. Spike eyed the exits and was contemplating a step backwards only to be stopped by the firm, calloused hand pushing him forward.

"Come on, man, we need to get this sorted and eat."

"I know!" Spike snarled at the young brunette. The vampire eyed the amiable construction worker. He still was amazed that they had made the leap from enemies to close friends so quickly.

'Okay, so I saved demon girl from that bunch of Chirago demons...now that was fun.' Spike sighed happily at the memory of ripping the arm off one of the demons and
pounding the others to paste, while Anya stood behind him, angrily yelling and screaming curses in at least seven different demonic languages. She had been walking from the shop to meet the whelp when the hulking demons had appeared and attacked. Spike had managed to get between her and the demons before anything nasty had happened.

After he had walked the girl to the Java Shop, Spike had headed off towards home without another thought, back to his mate of six days. It wasn’t until the next day in the Magic Box when Xander had pulled the resisting vampire into a firm embrace and thanked him, that Spike realized the primary obstacle in his and Buffy's relationship had been defeated. At that moment, the two male Scoobies began a tentative friendship that had rapidly evolved into the easy camaraderie they now shared as a self-defense against all the estrogen that surrounded them.

"Look, Spike, if I can do then so can you," Xander's voice broke through the vampire's reverie and brought his attention back to situation at hand.

Spike glared at his grinning companion and his shoulders slumped. He turned back to the shopkeeper who was waiting patiently for him to decide. She smiled encouragingly. "I need to get something red in this size." Spike pulled a scrap of black lace out of his duster pocket and hesitantly pushed it over the counter. Without looking at Xander he muttered, "Not a word of this or I'll break your Babylon 5 commemorative plates, Whelp!" Xander stifled his giggles with some difficulty at the sick expression on his friend’s face.

The Victoria’s Secret assistant fluttered around the two men, pulling out various scraps of lingerie for the flustered vampire to pick from. Xander began to blush at the thought of Buffy covered in nothing but the lace in front of him. He quickly forced his thoughts back to his love not wanting to see the combined wrath of Anya and Spike. The same thoughts of Buffy began to filter through Spike’s mind, and after a few minutes, his ears began to take on a decidedly pinkish hue.

"Just pick something so we can get outta here!” Xander hissed at the blond next to him. "I already got Anya's, how hard can it be?" Xander held up his hands and shook his head. "No! Don't answer that. Yeesh! You’d think by now I'd know better!" Xander shook his head and grinned.

"Right. I'll take this one and that one over there." Spike pointed at several items. "Can you gift wrap ‘em?"

"Certainly sir, will that be cash or charge?"

"Cash." Spike pulled out a wad of notes and began counting them off.

The two men stepped out of the shop, visibly relieved. Spike shifted all his bags into one hand and tried to disguise the pick tulle bag by shoving it into one of the others he was carrying.

"So, you all done?" Xander asked as they headed towards the food court.

"Yeah, just about. One more thing to get tonight and I've got everything for my girl." Spike ignored the questioning look on Xander’s face. "No mate, not telling. This one is private." Spike's hand twitched as he reached for the cigarettes, the no smoking signs plastered all over the walls having no effect on the vampire. Xander’s open handed slap to the back of his head did, though, and he dropped his lit cigarette to the floor, crushing it under his heavy boot.

*****

Buffy glared at grease covered man standing in front of her.

"So that's everything? Just cos I don't know what goes were doesn't mean my mat… boyfriend doesn't!" She rolled her eyes at Dawn who stood sniggering next to her. "Hey stop it, Guttermind." Buffy tried not to grin at her sister's smiling face. It was good to see Dawnie so happy. They had both been much more contented since Buffy and Spike had gotten together.

"Miss, that's everything you need. Trust me, it'll all bring a smile to your partner's face. Hell, if I got this from my wife for Valentine’s, I'd be grinning until the 4th of July."

Buffy nodded. "Okay, I'll take it all. Umm... Can you box it up?"

"Sure, no problem." The man disappeared into the bay and the two girls could hear him clattering around as he packed up Spike's presents.

"Man, Spike is gonna wig out! He'll love it, Buff." Dawn snapped her gum as she leant against the counter.

"I know! It's like the best thing ever." Buffy smiled excitedly as she took he large box from the salesman and handed over her credit card, silently thanking her father and the Council of Watchers for coming through for her. The huge retroactive salary she was paid and the monthly checks from her MIA dad gave Buffy more than enough money to never have to worry again.

Of course, she really had no need for the money since her mate had paid off every debt she had the day after they got together. She smiled as she remembered his words. “You and the Bit belong to me now and I take care of what’s mine.” She had been shocked at the amount of cash he had been able to produce on demand. Her comment about his ease of procurement resulted in his chiding her. “I’m over a hundred years old, luv. Aren’t long-term investments are a wonderful thing?”

Returning to the present, Buffy turned to her sister and chewed her lower lip worriedly. "So you okay with me and Spike disappearing for the weekend?"

The teen tossed her long hair over her shoulder and nodded. "Sure! It's gonna be a blast! Janice is coming over we're going to drink beer and party!" Dawn smirked at the look of shock on her older sister's face. "Kidding! Come on Buffy! It's not like I can do anything at Giles’, especially with Tara and Willow coming over to help him watch over me." Dawn smirked again at the look of relief on Buffy's face.

'God she getting more and more like Spike everyday. That smirk!' Buffy reached over with her free hand and hugged her much taller sibling to her side. "You know I love you, right?"

Dawn wriggled out of her sister's arm and checked around to make sure no one had seen them. "Yes, I know, but less with the public displays! Save them for Spike!" As the man returned and began placing all of Buffy’s packages into the trunk, Dawn wandered over to the car and got in.

******

"So Clem, you sure this is the right place?" Spike asked his loose-skinned friend as they stood outside the dingy house.

"Yeah it's the best place for the kinda stuff you're looking for. Also, these guys are 100% trustworthy." Clem pushed Spike forward. "You sure you wanna do this? I mean it's huge and you you're a vamp and she’s, well, she's…"


"It's okay, mate. I know what I'm doing." Spike patted his anxious friend on
the shoulder. Taking a deep, unneeded breath, he knocked on the door.

As it swung open, the vampire stepped in, sealing his fate forever.

******


Over an hour later, Spike reappeared, patting his pocket and smiling at an unhappy looking Clem.

“What took so long? I’m starving!” Clem’s whine grated the vampire’s oversensitive ears.

“Those bints are the noisiest things on the planet!” Spike shook his head sharply at Clem’s question. “What do you mean, ‘what took so long?’ I popped in and out! Wasn’t more than five or ten minutes.” He looked at Clem questioningly.

“You’ve been in there for over an hour, Spike! What happened? Are you ok?” The gentle demon’s wrinkled faced puckered even more with concern for his friend.

Spike shrugged. “Had no idea it took so long. Can’t tell you what happened, you know that.”

Clem patted the vampire’s arm. “I know. Did it work out ok, though?”

Spike lit a cigarette and smirked. “Oh yeah. She’ll never know what hit her.”

With that, the two demons walked off into the night.

*****

Buffy ran the black tip of her blood red fingernail across the bridge of her mate’s nose. The vampire snuffled sleepily and turned over, attempting to get away from the tickling touch. Buffy adjusted her attack, running her fingers across the broad expanse of back that had been exposed to her, tickling ribs as she went. Spike howled and jumped from the bed. He glared at his golden girl, growling at her laughter. He looked puzzled, which only made Buffy laugh harder.

“What?” he roared.

Buffy pointed at his feet. “You look too cute! Mismatched socks and in your game face!”

Spike looked down at his feet then growled playfully at his mate. His golden eyes sparkled at the image Buffy made, laughing joyfully in the middle of their bed. Suddenly, his head dropped as he looked through his eyelashes at his prey. He pounced unexpectedly, eliciting a shriek from Buffy and a yell from Dawn as she banged on the wall connecting their rooms. “Knock it OFF! It’s only 6 am and it’s SATURDAY!!”

Spike shouted back at the offending wall. “This is my house and I will shag my mate if I want!”

“Yeah! Well, I’m glad I’m sleeping at Giles’ tonight so that I can miss the Valentine’s Sex Olympics!” Dawn’s door slammed and they could hear her thunder down the stairs.

“How can such a Little Bit be so loud?” Spike furrowed his brow as he contemplated Dawn.

“She gets it from you,” Buffy retorted.

Spike glanced at the body beneath him to see that his beautiful girl was fully dressed, makeup and all. “Hey, it’s Valentine’s Day and you’re not naked. Why aren’t you naked?” He pouted at his mate as he slyly slid an arm under her shirt to pinch a nipple. Buffy wiggled out his grasp, her nipples pebbling at the attention.

“Stop Spike! We have to go. Something has come up.” Spike sneered at this statement, crawling across the bed towards his blushing partner.

“Not that!” Buffy exclaimed, pointing at the obvious erection that Spike was sporting.

Spike immediately jumped up from the bed and threw on his black jeans. He struggled to pull the zipper up over his painfully erect cock. “Slayer stuff? I’m ready. What else do we need? Stakes, axe, sword…”

Buffy pulled his shirt from around his neck where it hung inside out. “Not slayer stuff, Buffy stuff. I need your help.”

Spike stopped immediately and looked lustfully at Buffy. “I was helping with the Buffy stuff. Now c’mere.” He reached for her, swiftly removing her shirt while pulling her against his chest.

“Spike!” Buffy began to pant as Spike laved her nipples with his rough tongue. He had discovered early in their relationship that her nipples responded best to his vamped visage. He ran his tongue up to his claim mark, drawing his fangs lightly across the scar, causing Buffy to pant and beg.

“Please, please, Spike, please!” Buffy trailed off as her breathing became more erratic.

Spike moved back and smiled, his blue eyes glowing with mischief. “Yes, Slayer? Did you need something? Oh yeah, you needed me to do something. Well, I’ll meet you downstairs.” He pulled his shirt from Buffy’s tight grip and tore down the stairs before she could stop him.

“Argh!” The Slayer’s frustrated scream woke the dogs two doors down and the neighborhood erupted with the baying of three full-grown basset hounds.

*****

When Buffy came downstairs, she found her sister and her mate sharing a bowl of cereal in front of the TV. “That’s gross. The least you could do is use two spoons.” Dawn and Spike looked at her like she was a nut, stuck out their tongues in perfect synchronicity then returned to their cereal and cartoons, Spike slurping a bite off of the spoon before offering it to his sister.

“You are both children.” Buffy rolled her eyes, then winked at her family before heading to the kitchen to grab her own breakfast and the basket that she had prepared the night before.

She wandered back into the living room. “Spike, you’d better hurry up, we’re leaving in 5.” She plopped down next to Dawn and grabbed the remote, flipping through the channels. “I want you all to myself. However, after watching you two eat…” She got up from her position on the couch and threw the remote back to her sister who caught it and immediately returned the TV to it’s previous channel.

Buffy wandered towards the stairs, a curious vampire close on her tail.

“All to yourself, pet?” Spike asked.

“Yep, all day… and all night, if you’re good.” Buffy turned and wrapped her arms around her lover, grabbing his jean-clad butt.

“I can be good,” Spike murmured huskily, dragging his fingers across her back, trying to pull her closer to his body.

Buffy smirked at his reaction to her teasing. “Yeah, you can. But I like it better when you’re bad.” Leaning forward, she bit hard into her claim mark, growling possessively. Spike reaction was immediate, as was Dawn’s.

“Go to your room! I am trying to watch cartoons, not pay-per-view porn!”

Buffy peered over Spike’s shoulder as she supported her limp mate. “Nah. That’s ok. We can wait.”

Dawn snorted.

“What? We can wait, see?” Buffy stepped away from Spike who immediately dropped to the floor.

“Spike, get ready, we’re going.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Spike saluted Buffy and lurched to his feet. He stumbled up the steps, walking uncomfortably in his now wet pants.

The two sisters could hear banging and muffled curses coming from the master bedroom. They gave the patented Summers’ eye roll as they listened to Spike’s antics.

“Hey, don’t forget to tell Giles not to go to Restfield tonight, ok?” Buffy reminded her sister, which earned yet another eye roll.

“I know, Buffy. You think I want to be within five miles of that crypt after he sees what you’ve done?” With a snort, Dawn cocked her head at the sound of heavy Doc Martins thumping across the ceiling and flew up the stairs to help Spike gather his presents together.

Buffy sighed. She had looked everywhere for her presents from Spike over this past week. They had agreed several weeks ago to not use their bond over the seven days preceding Valentine’s Day to allow each of them the opportunity to surprise the other. She ached at the feeling of loss that the temporary closing the bond had caused.

She knew Spike felt the same, not only had he told her over and over that he missed it, but he had touched her even more than he usually did and had begged her to open the bond just a bit. She’d refused, holding firm against his pleas, just as he had asked her to do at the time of their agreement, knowing full well that he would break first. The past week had been difficult for them both, but she knew the payoff would be coming very soon.

A thump upstairs reminded her of her presents. She now understood why she hadn’t been able to find them; Dawn had helped the peroxided pest hide them. Buffy grinned at the image of her two favorite people crawling around, trying to maintain the secrecy of her gifts. Keeping a secret is the one thing that Dawn excelled at.

A door slammed above her and what sounded like a herd of buffalo thundered down the stairs to light in front of her.

“Ready, ma’am!” Twin voices shouted in her face.

Another salute and both Dawn and Spike were out the door, a bag under each duster-clad arm and a beach umbrella clutched in a small fist, hovering over their heads.

Spike looked up at the purple monstrosity as they were running to the Ford he had rented and sighed. “Did you have to pick purple, Bit? I have no dignity left as it is!”

“I like purple. Besides, you picked the color of the Expedition, Who ever heard of black leather seats?” Spike looked over at the shell of his beloved DeSoto sitting further up the driveway and tried not to pout.

“Yeah, well, I like black.” Dawn noticed his pout and kissed him on the cheek.

“I know you do, Spike.” They tumbled into the car, trying to fit themselves, the umbrella and the bags all in the same door of the SUV at the same time.

Buffy wandered out the front door, clutching her basket to her chest as she turned her key in the lock. “I’m married to my little sister’s best friend.” A smile lit her face at the thought and she skipped to the car to join the pair who were now fighting over what music should be played on the way to Giles’. A boy band CD flew past her head as she jumped into the passenger seat. Spike peeled away from the curb as soon as her door was shut, protecting the three basset hounds from Dawn’s squeal of disgust and Spike’s manly shriek as his hair was yanked out from the roots.