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"Just Your Typical Saturday" or "Spike's Birthday"
Author: Skylar (supecrow@bellatlantic.net)
Disclaimer: Joss and company own everything.
AN: Seventh story in my Reasoning series.
Summary: Some quality bonding with the Scoobs on a Saturday.
Spoilers: My first series (youd really have to read those three stories
to understand these) and the other four stories of this series.
AN: The song in the opening is "Freak of Nature" by Anastacia
Rating: I'm gonna go with PG-13, just to be safe.
Distribution: Want it- take it. Just let me know where its going.
Feedback: As always, greatly appreciated.
Dedication: For my girl Layla, on her birthday :)
"You missed a spot."
Letting out a heavy sigh, Dawn takes a few steps back.
"You missed another spot."
Running the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead, Dawn rolls her
eyes, shaking her head softly before pushing more towards the right.
"Still missed it."
"That's it!" Dawn backs away from the large piece of yard equipment
she'd never had to use before in her short life, stomping her feet as
she angrily makes her way over to where her brother-in-law was grinning
widely on the mansion's patio. "If you want this football field you call
a lawn cut, do it yourself- I quit!!"
"Freeze," he grabs her arm, preventing her from storming into the
mansion. "Didn't Buffy say *you* were supposed to be doing this?"
"Only because I lost our stupid bet!" she defends, throwing her arms up
in the air.
"Well?"
"Angel&" she pleads, wanting nothing more than to slump back down into
bed on this perfect Saturday morning. "It's seven in the morning. The
sun's not even up yet!"
"Alright&I'll make you a deal. If you finish this up, I'll take you out
driving tomorrow."
"In *your* car?" she smiles up at him hopefully.
"You bet."
"You want me to water it when I'm done? Maybe trim the hedges too?"
******
At around eleven, Saturday's morning rays peek in through the loosely
drawn curtains that were, at one time, forbidden to be opened. A few
streaks of light dance across the room, creeping along the floor,
illuminating various pieces of furniture. However, the bright glare
seemed to be having little effect on the room's occupants. Even as the
warm glow came to rest on its two chosen targets, netiher one made a
move to acknowledge its presence.
Finally, however, the master bedroom's third resident slowly began to
wake. Looking around the room contentedly from her crib, Quinn soon
realizes that she has time for one of her frequent investigations. With
many little restless movements, the infant yawns, stretching out and
grinning over at the bed that lay just off to her left.
As usual, neither one of her parents were awake yet. Kicking around
underneath her blanket, she decides to make good use of her 'alone'
time, suddenly becoming fascinated by the paneled walls of the bedroom.
As her eyes travel up and down each wooden piece, her ears pick up on
the first new sound to enter the room, eminating from the nightstand.
Look at me and see a little girl inside my skin
It's a supernatural
So don't be trying to push upon me baby
My momma told me better than that
The bigger you are
The harder you fall
I'm about the original
Not typical
Not ooh la la baby
You can hold me responible
It's chemical
If you're bringin' it out in me
The blaring, jagged music was a little too loud for her taste, eliciting
a small gurgle from the young child in response.
I'm a freak of nature
You better be aware, danger
I'm your midnight angel
I'm a freak
Come on, yeah
I'm a freak of nature
"Uggh&"
Apparently, her father wasn't very appreciative of it either, as a few
more loud groans escape Angel's lips. He grabs another pillow, covering
his face with it in an attempt to block the noise. "Why do you insist on
waking up to that&that&noise?"
Buffy's arm raises from its comfy position around Angel's waist as she
fumbles around, reaching for their alarm. "Like your *noise* is any
better," she mumbles, having finally turned it off.
"At least Mozart is actually music-"
"Music to put you back to sleep, thus defeating the whole purpose of
using it for an alarm," she laughs. "My music gets you up and going." As
she snuggles back down into the sheets, wrapping an arm up under her
pillow, a small whimper floats over from alongside the wall.
"See&Quinn doesn't like it either," Angel points out, hopping out from
under the covers to extract his daughter from her crib. "You like my
music a whole lot better, don't you sweetheart?" he nuzzles her softly,
giving her a gentle kiss. "So how long have you been up, huh?" Cradling
her to his chest, he walks over to the window, showing her the
picturesque sight of the morning sky floating over head of the mansion's
back courtyard. "You know, you're even more beautiful than last night?"
He bounces her gently as he talks to her in front of the crystal clear
glass, responding to her gurgles as though Quinn was holding up her end
of their conversation.
Taking his seat back down beside his wife, Angel slips Quinn into
Buffy's opened arms, placing a quick kiss atop her forehead as he does
so. "Come here, sweetie," Buffy softly coos, wrapping Quinn in her arms,
laying back down with her lying spread-eagled across her chest. "God&I'm
so tired," she whimpers, smoothing her hand up and down Quinn's back,
earning a huge beam from the child in response.
"It's been a long week," Angel agrees, flopping face first onto the
mattress, burying his head in the mountain of pillows. Peeking an eye
up, he spots the small girl smiling at him widely, reaching a hand out
to grab his mouth. "Aunt Cordy's sure gonna have fun with you today," he
laughs in between having his lips smooshed in her hand.
<That is, if Aunt Cordy can manage to go one day without walking in on
you two in bed,> Cordelia smiles to herself as she stands at the
doorway, treasuring the scenes she'd just been watching. She'd arrived
just in time to see Buffy's eyes light up as she took her baby daughter
in her arms, a beaming Angel sitting beside mother and child. As she
watches, she gives a silent thank you to whatever force had made it
possible for these two incredible people to find each other.
"So&you guys finally decided to get up, huh?" she finally announces her
presence, crossing over to their bed from the doorway. "Well, it's only
eleven- that's not *too* bad for you guys."
"Hey Cordy," Buffy smiles. "How long have you been here?"
"Since nine. Everyone's downstairs finishing up breakfast."
"You cooked?" Angel lifts a curious eye to her.
"Yeah right! Xander played chef this morning."
"You let *Xander* loose in our kitchen?" Angel nervously looks up. "Oh
man&" In an instant, he's racing downstairs, already anticipating the
sight that surely awaited him in his neatly kept, sparkling ktichen- a
sure-to-be war zone by now.
"Good morning, cutie," Cordelia reaches in, tickling Quinn. Her dark
hair falls forward as she bends over the small bundle contentedly
resting in her mother's arms. "You ready for our big day out?"
"Are you sure you'll be okay with her, Cordy? I mean, I know kids aren't
exactly your thing," Buffy grins, allowing the infant to be extracted
from her arms, watching with a warm smile as Cordelia pulls her into a
tight embrace.
"Quinn's just not some kid," she corrects her. "I love spending time
with my little niece. And besides, you two deserve a break today. You
had that pack of Harpagon demons to deal with, that huge gang of vamps
that were shacked up by the docks, plus those three cases in LA&you've
had a long week. We're gonna have so much fun today," she turns her
attentions back to the child. "I'm taking you shopping, and we're gonna
go to lunch, then we're going to the zoo. That's where we're gonna put
big ol' nasty Spike one day," she giggles into Quinn's ear.
"I heard that!" the bleach-blonde vampire calls from where he was
walking past in the hall.
"What're you doing here?" Cordy peers back at him, balancing Quinn on
her hip.
"We just got here. Wes and the others are downstairs helping Peaches
clean up the mess pansie-boy made in the kitchen." He steals a quick
glance at Buffy, nodding a simple hello to the slayer.
"So what's wrong?" Buffy asks. "Something happening in LA. Wolfram & Hart?"
"Haven't heard a peep out of them since Angel had his lil' talk with
Lilah. I just came along for the ride- got no idea why everyone wanted
to stop in for a visit. Wesley wants to talk to you though."
"About what?" Cordy asks.
"What do I look like, a secretary? Isn't that your job description?" he
chuckles. "Among other things&such as being a whiny bitch&" he mumbles,
receiving an immediate sharp glare from the brunette.
"Ugh- it never ends," the brunette sighs.
"Here Cordy," Buffy smiles, stretching out her arms, "I'll take her."
"No, no- you stay in bed. We've got her," she grins, handing Quinn over
to Spike. "Here- get her dressed while I go talk with Wes."
"Hey-" Spike grimaces, reluctantly taking the small bundle into his arms
as he follows Cordelia halfway down the hall. "Just 'cause I'm here
doesn't mean I'm playing babysitter for some rugrat!"
"Just get her dressed, okay? You can do that much, can't you?"
"But- but- " The vampire knew he was defeated as he watched her bounce
happily down the stairway, leaving him to stare down at a set of brown
eyes looking up at him questioningly. "Oh no&don't you look at me like
that," he warns her, holding her out at arms length to fully examine
her. "That look may work on everyone else 'round here, but it won't work
on-" Spike was silenced as Quinn's tiny hand makes a sudden grab of his
nose, giving it a firm squeeze. "You know, you're getting more like your
mother every day," he grumbles, though unable to hide his amusement from
the child, letting out a small laugh as he sees her smile in return.
"C'mon&I'll get ya dressed&"
******
Making sure that she was completely buried under the warmth and security
of their sheets, Buffy stretches herself out, waiting for her husband to
return to bed. She smiles as she hears a small creak at their door,
pleased that he'd been able to restrain himself from doing anything to
Xander in response for the sheer mess she was certain he'd made in their
kitchen. Peeking her head out from under the covers, her smile soon
disappears as she sees a set of blue eyes staring back at her as
oppposed to Angel's deep, dark, chocolate ones.
"Spike! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Besides getting' a headache from your screamin'?" he winces back at her
sudden outburst. "Here," he slowly lowers Quinn from his shoulder. "I
thought you might wanna say goodbye to your daughter before Cordelia
takes 'er out for the day."
"Oh&" Buffy pouts, a little embarrassed by her yelling. "You be good for
Aunt Cordelia, okay sweetie?" she gently cradles her daughter in her
arms, giving her a succession of kisses. "I love you. Daddy and I will
see you in a little bit, Quinn." Noticing Spike rolling his eyes, she
lets him lift Quinn back up, already missing her little girl as she's
carried off downstairs.
******
"Here- take the kid," Spike grumbles, handing Quinn over to Dawn once he
reaches the mansion's dining room. Aside from the young teen, all the
others were gathered in the kitchen, discussing something or other. Not
that Spike was too interested- he quickly makes his way into the living
room, sliding down on the couch as he turns on the tv, getting ready for
his soaps.
After lifting his head around the corner for what seemed to be the
hundreth time that morning, Wesley turns his attentions back to the
Scoobs. "So you're all clear on your assignments?"
"I still can't believe we're doing this," Gunn sighs, wrapping his arms
around Fred's waist as he leans back in his seat.
"I think it's only right," Giles says. "And it will certainly be a
surprise for him, so it's all the better."
"Last time I remembered, Spike wasn't one for surprises," Angel
chuckles, taking a bite from the muffin he and Cordelia were sharing.
"He should like this one though," Willow smiles, receiving a quick nod
of agreement from Tara. "So tonight at eight, right?"
"I'll call up and make the reservations this afternoon," Wes offers.
"The rest of you are going to be spending the day decorating the
mansion. All except Buffy and Angel, that is."
"Hold up-" Xander makes a wave of his hand in protest. "How come they
get off the hook? Spike's *their* friend&shouldn't *they* be the ones
doing all the work?"
"Who said he's our friend?" Angel passes him an incredulous look. "At
least we aren't glued to the tv alongside him watching Passions all day!"
"I told you before- it was a marathon, and he was the only one around,
okay!" Xander defends.
"Guys&" Tara speaks up, trying to maintain some order. "Xander- Buffy
and Angel have had a really hard week."
"And I haven't? I can't remember when I had a chance to relax this week!"
"What are you complaining about?" Anya turns to her husband. "What about
Wednesday when you wore that cute little teddy bear suit for me-"
"Anya," Xander nervously smiles, grabbing hold of her arm in an attempt
to shush her.
"And then I got out the maple syrup, and-"
"Anya! Honey, what have we said about talking about keeping our 'private
time' *private*?!" he forces a smile through gritted teeth, slowly
pulling her out of the kitchen, away from everyone's stares.
"Okay&" Giles finally speaks, "&now that I've had my mind totally
destroyed by that horrific image&"
"Remind me to keep those two as far away from Quinn as possible," Angel
announces, hopping down from his seat on the counter.
"On that wonderful note, I think I'm gonna get going," Cordelia puts on
a smile, walking out of the kitchen with Angel by her side. Taking his
daughter from Dawn, Angel pulls her into a tight hug, soothing a hand
over her back as he presses his lips to her forehead. "Be good, sweetie."
"Course she'll be good-" Cordy happily lifts her into her arms. "She'll
be with me. Say Dawn, wanna come? You can get out of party duty."
"Great!" she excitedly cheers, already making a move to grab her bag
until Angel stops her.
"Freeze. Did you finish your research paper?"
"Almost&"
"How much is almost?"
"Well&the first page&come on, Angel!" she tries giving him the Summers'
pout, knowing he was usually a sucker for it. "It's not due until the
end of next week." Seeing that her big brother wasn't budging in his
position, Dawn lets out a defeated sigh, turning back around to her
books, mumbling her choice words of protest under her breath.
"Say Spike," Angel calls over to his childe, "would you mind doing me a
favor?"
"That's all I've been doing since I got here- sure, why not?"
"Go upstairs and see if Buffy wants me to bring her anything up for
breakfast, would ya?"
"Wonderful&" he mutters to himself as he makes his way back up the
stairs. "Now I can have my other ear blown out by blondie's yelling&"
******
Stretching out an arm to reach for Angel, Buffy's surprised to see that
he still hadn't returned to their room yet. She was beginning to think
he'd forgotten his promise to her about their day off, until she hears
their door swing open. Rolling over onto her side, pretending she was
asleep, she feels a hand softly reach out to her shoulder, shaking it
gently. On pure instinct, she wraps an arm around, pulling her visitor
into a quick kiss, never realizing who it was until she hears the sharp
yell.
"Bloody hell, woman! Get off me!" Spike pushes her away, wiping his
mouth off as quickly as possible. "Do I look like your big poof to you?!"
"Ugh!!" Buffy has to contain herself from emptying the contents of her
stomach over the side of their bed as she scrambles as far away as
possible from a still cursing Spike.
"Angel wanted me to come up and see if you wanted him to bring you
anything to eat&"
"After that?! You think I'm gonna be able to eat at all this weekend
after that?!"
"I really don't care! Just get me to a shower! Ugh!! That's the last
time I ever step foot in this room! I don't deserve this&"
******
After finally straightening things out with everyone downstairs, Angel
returns to the master bedroom, climbing into their bed, grateful for the
cool embrace of the sheets. Silently, trying not to wake her, he slides
a hand underneath Buffy's gray tank top, lifting it slightly as he
presses a soft, lingering kiss to her stomach. Her initial response was
not the one he'd been used to receiving.
"Damnit- get off of me before I stake you myself!" the slayer pushes her
intruder off the bed, smiling to herself when she hears the loud thump
on the floor.
"Next time, a simple 'no' would be enough&"
Pulling herself over to look down over the side of the bed, she pulls a
hand to her mouth once she sees Angel sprawled out on the floor, his
head tilted slightly to the side as he holds it with one hand. "Angel?
Oh god- I'm sorry. I'm sorry, honey&" she lets out a small giggle, much
to his surprise. "I didn't know it was you."
"I'd like to know who else goes around kissing your stomach," Angel
chuckles as he accepts her hand, leading him back into their bed.
"Spike-"
"Spike?!" he retracts back out of her arms, already planning his
childe's torturous demise.
"No, no- when Spike came up here earlier, he was just bugging me the
first time, and then the second time I thought it was you, and&never
mind. Just come here&" she pulls him back down ontop of her, reaching up
a hand to play with his hair. "You're keeping your promise today, aren't
you?"
"Of course," he whispers, leaning over to gently kiss her shoulder.
"Great!" she beams. "A whole day in bed&no interruptions, no cases, no
world-threatening disasters that always seem to pop up-"
"Don't jinx it," he quickly silences her, capturing her lips in a deep kiss.
******
By mid-afternoon, Buffy was busy catching up on her sleep, while Angel
lay on his side, content to just be watching her. For a moment he simply
gazes down at her, entranced by the glow of her skin in the sunlight and
the fall of her hair across the silk pillow. Unable to resist, he
reaches out a hand, gently tracing his fingers across her cheek,
fascinated by every small expression that flutters across his beloved's
face. He realizes he'd been caught as his eyes lock with her now-open
ones softly staring over at him. "What?" A sleeply smile forms across
her lips as she stretches out a bit.
"Nothing&" he whispers. "I just like looking at you, that's all." He
watches his wife with tender amusement, enjoying the play of colored
light on her creamy skin as he cups her cheek with one hand, tracing the
outline of her lips with his thumb. Just as she reaches up a hand to
pull him to her, her attempts are breeched by the sudden sharp cry
coming from downstairs.
"Ahh! What did you two do?! I can't believe this!!"
"Now what&" Angel sighs, making a move to go down and check but soon
finds himself being restrained to the bed.
"Uh-uh&bed&you, me, and bed. That's all we're comprehending today,
remember?"
"You couldn't have at least turned her into something cute?! It had to
be this?!"
"Okay-" Buffy finally concedes, pulling Angel up with her to head
downstairs. "Now I'm beginning to worry&"
Reaching the bottom of the staircase, the slayers quickly go to turn
around as they see Willow and Tara looking helplessly towards one
another, Xander's face stuck on shock, and a small white goat standing
in between them.
"I don't think I even want to know," Angel sighs, taking a seat on the
bottom step, pulling Buffy onto his lap. "What happened?"
"Well&" Tara begins, trying to think of the best way to explain things.
"Will and I were trying to come up with a spell for stubborness- you
know&" she makes a sidelong glance, indicating Spike, who was still
caught up in Passions, "&for you-know-who&anyway&I guess we mixed up a
few things, and next thing you know-"
"My wife's a goat!" Xander cries. "And a really ugly one at that!"
"We're going back to bed now," Buffy announces, gently pushing Angel
back up the stairs. "And I don't care if the world's coming to an
end&anyone who disturbs us is gonna get a severe beating!" As they reach
the top of the stairs, Angel turns around quickly, jogging back down to
give Xander one final instruction. "Keep her out of the kitchen- I just
waxed the floor, and I don't need all those scuff marks from her hooves-"
"Angel!" Buffy yells after him. "Bed! You, me, bed- now! You promised!!"
******
Buffy's warm pillow begins to shift, move, and make strange noises. She
vaguely realizes that she had begun to fall asleep atop her husband when
he sits up, capturing her lips in a deep kiss. Wrapping his arms around
her, he pulls her to his side, never breaking their embrace, thankful
that they'd been able to go another hour without an interruption.
The sudden extra warmth that he feels against his back takes Angel by
surprise. Breaking out of their kiss, he cranes his neck to see just
what else was in bed with them. Now what do *you* want?" he asks Dawn,
stunned to see her looking back at him with wide, hopeful eyes.
"Money."
"For what?" Buffy lifts her head to look over Angel's shoulder at her
little sister.
"Shopping&I've got shopping duty for the food for you-know-what."
"What are you talking about?" Buffy stares at her, having no clue what
the secret was that everyone seemed to be keeping amongst themselves.
"How much do you need?" Angel asks.
"Fifty."
"For food?!"
"You didn't think I was gonna go to the store for free, did ya?" Seeing
no other way of getting her out of their bed, Angel hands over a fistful
of money, earning a quick kiss on the cheek from Dawn before she skips
out of their room, headed for the store. "Now where were we?"
"Hold it," Buffy pulls back to face him. "What is going on around here?"
"We're trying to enjoy a whole day in bed," he smiles, going to reach
for her again but finds himself being held back.
"What's going on downstairs with everyone? Why're they all still here?"
Knowing how persisting she could be, Angel finally lets her in on the
plans he'd been trying to keep from her all day. "We're kind
of&throwing&Spike&abirthdayparty," he blurts out, instinctively wincing
away in anticipation of her less-than accepting reaction.
"You've got to be kidding me? Spike! A birthday party for Spike? What
ever happened to 'I don't care if he's burned at the stake, so long as
his ashes don't land near me' ?!"
"That's why everyone else came in from LA. Wes and Giles thought it
would be nice to throw him a surprise party."
"Oh of course!" she teases. "Why not?! Hey- while we're at it, why don't
we throw a party for the rest of the vamps in the neighborhood. I hear
that creep who just rose from Restfield cemetary is a real party animal."
"I knew you'd understand," he grins, returning to his previous focus,
much to both his and Buffy's delight.
******
"Uh&guys&?" Willow sticks a tentative head into the bedroom, hoping she
wouldn't be walking in on anything. "Are you two decent, or&oh&" She
quickly lowers her voice as she sees the two of them asleep, Angel's
arms wrapped around Buffy's waist, her head nestled comfortably
underneath his own as they lay spooned together.
"We're not asleep, WIll," Buffy announces, eyes still closed in her vain
attempts to achieve sleep.
"Who can sleep in this house?" Angel sighs, gently nuzzling his wife's
hair, pulling her even closer.
"I just wanted to ask you guys where you thought would be the best place
to take Spike tonight?"
"He'll be happy so long as there's alcohol wherever we're going," Angel
informs her, quickly noticing Xander approaching from behind the
redhead, a disappointed look on his face.
"So I guess this means Chuck E Cheese is out of the picture, huh?" the
young man pouts.
Willow notices the devious look creep across Buffy's features at
Xander's personal suggestion, and slowly begins picking up on her best
friend's train of thought. "Tara!" she calls down to her lover. "Baby-
you in the mood for pizza tonight?"
******
"In case I haven't mentioned it in the past five minutes, I hate all of
you with a passion."
By 8:30 that night, Spike was ready to rip off one of the restaurants
table legs and carve his own stake to end his torment. Ontop of the
clowns he'd been forced to deal with on a daily basis, he now had a
bunch of ridiculous, furry puppets to deal with inside the mind-numbing,
ghastly establishment known as Chuck E Cheese's.
"Cheesy goodness," Xander beams, lifting his fifth slice into his mouth.
"Ooo- you know what would go great on this? Hey- Andy!" he calls over to
one of the waiters, seemingly knowing him pretty well. "You got any of
my usual stash in?" After a few moments, the young man returns with what
looked to be some sort of cereal box.
"Coco Puffs!" Fred lets out a disgusted yelp. "You put Coco Puffs on
your pizza?! Uggh&"
"Trust me," Cordy speaks up, "this is one of his less gross food-choices."
"You know," Spike lets out a scoff, drawing their attentions, "it sure
was nice of you to take me out to eat, especially considering the fact
that I can't *taste* any of it!! Some friends! Some birthday!!"
"Oh come on, Spike. You know you're having a good time," Gunn laughs,
motioning for their masked host to come over to their table. "Or do you
need to talk with the mouse again?"
"You touch me with that party hat and you're gonna be wearin' it in a
partiular area underneath that suit, Cheesey!" he warns the poor sap who
lay underneath the costume. "How did you all even know it was my
birthday?" Watching as their eyes trail over to where Angel was cradling
Quinn, Spike lets out a pathetic laugh. "Why did I even ask&have I
mentioned I hate all of you?"
Not waiting for any response, he stands to his feet, reaching over to
lift Quinn out of Angel's arms. "Come on, cutie&you can cheer me up," he
grins, taking her over to give the child her first lesson in skee-ball.
"Lesson number one, bit&always cheat- you can get better prizes that way&"
******
By the time everyone had returned to the mansion, barely anyone had room
for cake. Of course, Xander was more than happy to oblige in being the
first to sample some of the chocolate, fluffy goodness that Angel had
whipped up. "You know what would go really good with this?" He retreats
to the kitchen, eventually returning with&
"For christ's sake!" Spike jumps from his seat, yanking the box of Coco
Puffs from him, trying to prevent him from getting any more of a
sugar-rush from even more chocolate. "It's my birthday, this is
*supposed* to be my party, and I say it's over!"
"Oh would you quite being such a grouch," Buffy slaps him on the back of
his head as she walks towards Giles. "Don't you even want your big gift?"
"Gift?" The vampire's face slowly brightens as he sees Giles approach
him, offering him a large rectangular box. Quickly tearing through the
wrapping, he finds a red and gold trimmed book laying underneath a bunch
of tissue paper. "It's&a book&a book&" He thumbs through a few of the
pages, obviously disappointed by their taste in gifts. "Oooo boy!" he
mock-celebrates. "Am I gonna have so much fun with this!"
"No, no&you don't understand," Giles begins to explain. "This book
contains the spell that would be required to restore your soul."
"Come again?"
"Well, we just figured," Angel cuts in, finishing for the former
watcher, "once we restore your soul, then you'd be able to work on
regaining your humanity. You know- working for your redemption."
"Humanity? Humanity?!" Spike begins laughing hysterically at the
thought, handing the book over to a stunned Wesley. "Let me get this
straight- you all thought that I'd want to have my soul back so I can
work on becoming human again?"
"That's right," Wesley affirms.
"I'd be human&with the rest of you?"
"Mmm-hmm," Fred grins.
"Wouldn't that be great?" Dawn looks over to him with wide, hopeful eyes.
"Great?! Are you kidding?! Do you really think I wanna be a whimpering,
sniveling, goofy human stuck with all of you for the rest of my years?!
You're all out of your minds!"
Grabbing his jacket, he storms into the kitchen, extracting a bottle of
wine, already trying to get it open as he makes his way back into the
great hall. "I'm gonna celebrate my birthday the way I always have&drunk
off my ass, and that's the way I like it!" Before taking his leave, he
picks up the box of cereal he'd swiped from Xander. "They go good with
this kind of wine&gives it a bit of texture&" he explains, still
muttering to himself as he marches out the mansion's front doors.
"Human! Ha- what a freakin' joke! To be one of them?! Somebody just
stake me now!"
******
After setting Quinn down in her crib, Angel slides into bed beside
Buffy, taking her into his arms. Her body was soft and yielding against
him, her hair sweet-smelling next to his face, and she nuzzles his
shoulder as she finds a comfortable place to lay her cheek.
After a while, she feels his smile against her neck. Angel had developed
a strong sense of the ridiculous, and he often laughed at things she
didn't notice. "What's so funny?"
His voice was muffled against her skin as he answers. "Nothing." He
turns his head to kiss alongside her neck. "I was just thinking about
how ridiculous Spike looked blowing out his mouse-shaped birthday cake,"
he smiles against her skin, earning a soft sigh and giggle from her in
return. She closes her eyes and sighs deeply, loving the sweet scent of
everything that was uniquely him- the way he always smelled like warmth.
She'd never thought about a temperature having a scent before, but Angel
seemed to radiate a warm, delicious glow that always made her want to
drown in him.
The wanting feeling for her starts to rise up to Angel's throat, choking
him silently, as he rests his hands on her waist, bending over slightly
to place butterfly kisses on her neck and shoulder, keeping her close to
him. "You're beautiful," he whispers, letting his finger brush against
the underside of her chin as they kiss. His hand never leaving her body,
he slowly trails his fingers down the flushed valley of her breasts, his
hand coming to a rest at her stomach.
"How long do you think we have before someone interrupts us?" Buffy
breathelessly asks, her eyes fluttering shut as he continues to lightly
nip along her skin.
"Everyone's asleep," he whispers. "I'd say we have the rest of the
night." With a soft kiss, he lowers his hands to the small of her back,
softly kneading the smooth flesh curved there. Lightly, he places kisses
along her neck, lowering to her navel, then working his way back up.
Placing her arms around his neck, Buffy pulls him closer, never able to
be close enough, as she reaches up a hand to rake through his hair.
She sighs with pleasure as he traces a path with his hand along her taut
stomach, leaving a trail of kisses along the curve of her shoulder and
collarbone as he works his way back up to the sensitive spot at the nape
of her neck. Finally, he captures her lips once again with his own&just
as the sound of off-key singing begins wafting upstairs, shattering the
peace of their moment.
**I like Paris in the springtime&** the voice slurs out in a musical
jarble.
"Rest of the night, huh? Not with the friends we have," Buffy sighs with
an angry huff. "Who the hell is that?"
**I like Paris in the fall&** comes another jarring line of song,
accompanied by a loud thud.
Quickly making their way downstairs, though with a cautious approach,
the couple find the source of their unrequested vocalist. Layed out in
the great hall on his stomach, Spike lifts his head towards where he
hears footsteps. Chuckling softly to himself, Angel bends down,
extracting the two items his childe was holding in his outstretched
hands. "A bottle of burgandy wine, and a box of cocoa puffs," he smiles
as he looks down to where Spike was pushing himself up on his hands.
"Did we have a good birthday?"
Managing to support himself on one arm, the bleach-blonde annoyance
grabs Angel around the neck, pulling him closer to make his declaration.
"The *best*&"
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