My Buffyholism is Showing

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: Love, Life, and Birthdays

2010-09-06T00:11:21Z

Title: Love, Life, and Birthdays
Prompt: birthday
Pairing: Post-NFA Buffy/Spike
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Non-graphic sexiness
Word Count: 1,155
Summary: Buffy attempts to find out when Spike's birthday is.

Note: The summaries for these fics are always unimpressive. Hmmmm....

It started with a shopping trip...

Buffy had just bought shoes. Pumps, to be exact. She didn't predict much use out of them, seeing as she rarely had an opportunity to wear something so impractical for slaying, but just having them made her beam. She passed the bag off to Spike and stretched.

"Okay! Now I need to find a blouse to go with that skirt that I bought last month. I'm thinking something cream colored but maybe with a pattern," Buffy said.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Tell me again why I came along?"

Buffy kissed his cheek. "Cause you're the best boyfriend in the world?"

"Yeah," Spike said, though his attention paused on a pair of stomp-y boots in one of the shop windows. Buffy held onto his arm and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Like them?"

"Could use new boots."

"Wanna get them now? I can forgo the capris I was planning on getting."

Spike shook his head. "Nah, you get what you want. I don't need the boots now."

Then he started walking again, pulling Buffy along.

"Well, maybe for your birthday..." Buffy said.

That's what had done it. It was an awkward thing to say, and Spike didn't respond. Instead, the subject wandered to which sub-par mall cafeteria eating establishment they should stop at. However, the comment stuck in Buffy's mind because it struck her: She didn't know when Spike's birthday was.

She could say that she'd get him boots for his birthday, but if his birthday never came? It wouldn't mean anything. And in all the years they'd been together (three, to be exact), Spike had never celebrated a birthday.

Maybe it was a vampire thing? Once they got turned, having birthdays was passe?

The idea burrowed in her head, though, and wouldn't let go. Buffy decided she had to prod around a bit to see if she could get Spike to spill about his birthday.

So one day, they were relaxing at home. Spike was watching soccer on TV, and Buffy was browsing through her carefully preselected woman's magazine.

She waited for a commercial break to laugh, otherwise Spike would just ignore her.

As predicted, he tore his attention away from the ads and looked at her. "What's funny?"

"Oh, my horoscope. 'You will meet someone who will change your life. Don't pass him or her up!' They're always so silly, don't you think?"

Spike shrugged. "Dru was into all that sort of stuff."

"Big surprise. What's your sign?"

"Why'd you want to know that?"

"So I can read your horoscope. Come on! It's fun!"

He scoffed in that Spike way he had. Buffy felt her plan breaking apart.

"Load of rubbish, if you ask me. Course, that whole magazine isn't much better. You really need to learn ten ways to please your man in bed, luv? Cause as your man, I can tell you you're doing just fine."

Buffy glared at him. "You're changing the subject. When's your birthday?"

Spike tilted his head. "Thought we were talking astrology, not birthdays."

"Well, I'm talking birthdays."

"Uh huh."

"I just want to know when your birthday is."

Spike stared at her for a long moment. The commercial break ended then, and the game started back up. Spike turned back to the screen.

"Birthdays are for the living."

That was the end of that conversation. It was a setback, Buffy had to admit. Spike was being bad-moody stubborn in that undead way. She didn't know what, exactly, his beef with birthdays was. She was determined, however, to celebrate his birthday somehow.

The next week found Buffy presenting the brand new boots to Spike after work. She hadn't bothered wrapping them. Instead, she just dropped the box in Spike's lap.

He put his book to the side and looked up at her. "What's this?"

"Boots."

He opened the shoebox. Indeed. They were boots.

"Why?" He looked back up at her.

Buffy sat down on the coffee table across from him. "Spike, we live together. We work together. We both bring home a paycheck. You are my lover and partner and I hope you will be for as long as I live."

"So I get boots?"

"I'm going somewhere with this. Hold on." Buffy leaned forward to place her hands on Spike's knees. "You are - okay, technically, you are dead. But in every other way? You're alive. I couldn't love you otherwise. So you get a birthday. And yeah, I don't know when your birthday actually is, but I want to get you something for it. So since you won't give me the date, I'll just give you your present now and consider myself good for the year."

She waited for his reaction. His normally expressive face was closed off.

"This is a birthday present?" he asked.

"Uh huh." She nodded.

His silence stretched on as he began to closely inspect the boots. The Jeopardy jingle played in Buffy's head, and she had to restrain from prompting him for a response.

Then she was knocked over backwards by a wiry mass of muscle-y vampire. She tumbled off the coffee table with Spike on top of her, his lips crushing hers.

She was too dazed to do much more than recover her breath when Spike ended the kiss.

"You're an amazing woman," he said.

"So you like the boots?"

"That not obvious?"

"Well, not until now."

He kissed her again. This time, she had the presence of mind to respond enthusiastically.

In mid-kiss, the swung her leg around and flipped them so she was on top.

"If it's your birthday," Buffy said. "Then that means it's my turn to take care of you."

Spike gave an appreciative moan, and Buffy leaned forward to press her body fully against his. She dropped soft, teasing kisses on his lips.

A thought came to her, then, and she raised herself up slightly. "So, when is your birthday?"

She knew Spike was so eager to get to the sex, he'd happily give her the answer to any question just to move on. "Honestly? Don't remember. Now let's get that shirt off."

His hands were at the hem of her shirt, pulling upwards. Buffy frowned. "You don't remember when your birthday is?"

"Nope."

"You're not that old!" Buffy's voice was muffled as she helped tug her shirt over her head. Once that was discarded, Spike's hands flew to the clasp at the back of her bra.

"Yeah well. Not much call to remember it after I died."

"Oh." Bra off. Buffy shrugged her arms out of it.

Spike grabbed her arm and tugged her back down so her breasts smushed against his chest and her nose touched his. His fingers combed through her hair. "It's alright, though. From now on, my birthday is today, yeah?"

He kissed her before continuing, "I'm okay with my life starting now."

fin

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: Cuddling

2010-08-29T01:50:14Z

Title: Cuddling
Prompt: cuddling while sick
Pairing: Post-NFA Buffy/Spike
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 615
Summary: Buffy's sick. Spike cuddles with her.

Note: Do you see my creative title? Stop and marvel, folks. Then go on and enjoy the fluffy schmoop.

Buffy crumpled the tissue into a tight ball and tossed it across the room. It bounced off the rim of the wastebasket and fell onto the floor.

She sighed, slumping back onto the propped-up pillows. She never missed the basket!

With a groan, Buffy threw the covers back and swung her legs onto the floor. Her feet felt wobbly, and she had to hold on to the night table as she stood. Her face burned and the room began to sway around her.

She was determined, however, to get that tissue into the trash can.

Buffy took careful, shuffling steps, one hand always on some piece of furniture for support. By the time she reached the end of the bed, she felt like she was about to keel over. She allowed herself to sit down and rest at the foot of the bed. The room stabilized.

Feeling her second wind, she stood back up. She closed her eyes against the wave of dizziness that took her over, but she waited it out. After a few moments, she was able to make it across to the corner of the room and the offending tissue. Bending down made her feel like she was plummeting off a tall tower - and she well knew that feeling. She was successful in her mission, though. The tissue made it into the trashcan, and Buffy had to commend herself on her ability to...get up and walk across the room.

With that came the realization that she'd have to now walk back to the bed to lie down again. She sagged against the wall, cluing into the thought that this may have been a bad idea.

"What's the deal with the 'extra-strength' bollocks? Extra compared to what, you think?" Spike entered then, banging the front door loudly.

He swaggered into their bedroom with a bottle of Tylenol in one hand. His eyes widened when he saw her against the wall.

"What the fuck are you doing up?"

Buffy was immediately swooped up into his arms, something she'd normally protest but now she just sighed and nuzzled her cheek against his cool chest. "Missed the trash can," she said by way of explanation.

She knew without seeing his face that he was rolling his eyes. He laid her gently on the bed, though, and threw the covers back over her. "No more wandering from you. Got your medicine and with some rest, you'll get over this in no time."

Buffy didn't want to admit how exhausted she felt from walking across the room. She couldn't help the fact that her eyes kept trying to close, though. She allowed herself to tune out and rest.

Then Spike's weight shifted the bed, and he nudged her body against his. His arm held on to her with a firm grip, and his other hand smoothed through her hair.

Buffy frowned. "I'm sick and kinda gross. I don't know that you want to be cuddling with me right now."

"Not like I'm gonna catch it." He presented two pills and a glass of water to her. "Go on."

With a put-upon sigh, Buffy swallowed the pills and handed the water back to Spike. Business having been taken care of, Spike leaned back with her held tightly to his chest.

"You just enjoy babying me," she said.

"Not gonna lie, it has a certain charm."

"I could still kick your ass, even sick."

"Don't doubt it."

Buffy smiled and turned her head into the welcoming expanse of his chest. "Love you," she muttered, aware that her voice was muffled.

She would have sworn she heard him purr at that, but he would have denied it. So she remained quiet as she fell asleep in his arms.

fin

Schmoop, Fluff, Angst, Death?

2010-08-18T23:03:19Z

So as I've been working on writing, I looked ahead on my schmoop_bingo prompts. One of them is "anniversary - one partner sick". My immediate thought was to go back to the post-apocalyptic universe of Strength that I'd gone to with Connection and Defeat. But then I came up against something that caused me to pause.

Cause if I did go back there for that prompt, Buffy would die.

After all, Defeat has the fallout of a nuclear explosion, and Buffy's clearly sick. It's not explicitly noted, but I wrote it so that she has leukemia as a result of exposure to radiation. She proposes marriage to Spike, though. For the next visitation to the verse, it makes sense to me that she'd die.

But...well, I suppose the connotation with "schmoop" is that the fics will be fluffy. But that's not exactly my take on the term. I'm not good at writing fluff, despite my love for reading the genre. So I like my schmoop_fics to have something of an edge to them.

"Schmoop", to me, is just a sign that there'll be overwhelming romantic shippiness of some sort. This, obviously, can include fluff as couples do couple-y things (Say, eating pancakes together or something syrupy like that). But it can also refer to a character, say, having a long monologue about how much they love their partner as they die. That would be schmoop. It would be sad schmoop, but schmoop nonetheless.

Though I'm kinda wondering if I'm alone in my interpretation of schmoop. Are most people expecting pure fluff when they read a schmoopfic? If so, I'd feel kinda bad about delivering a deathfic (even though I'm surely gonna warn).

So, schmoop, guys? What's it mean to you?

Um...should this go under a cut? Does this count as potential fic spoilers for a hypothetical fic that's as of yet unwritten? I have no clue on the etiquette on this one.

Edit: My minority opinion, let me show you it. Think along the lines of Buffy killing Angel in Becoming Pt 2 or Fred's death or Wesley's death for schmoopy death scenes. At least, I find them schmoopy. But I appear to be working from a different definition of "schmoop" than most people...

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: Expectations

2010-08-13T22:15:03Z

Title: Expectations
Prompt: Gift giving
Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 714
Summary: Set in S7 around Potential, Spike gives Buffy a birthday present.

Note: Wow, I have wrestled with this one for a long time. I just need to post it and be done with it. Have some S7 schmoopfic, guys. :)

Buffy's hand paused as she reached for the shower faucet. The towel rack was empty.

She checked the cabinet. No towels there.

She sighed. She supposed it was lucky that she'd noticed before she'd taken her much deserved shower. Standing naked and wet in the middle of a towel-less bathroom wasn't an appealing prospect.

All the girls running around the house meant they were short on supplies. Whatever Buffy tried to do, she found cabinets and fridges picked clean. No milk, no toilet paper, no towels.

Fortunately, after having had to retrieve an old shirt for Willow to dry off with the last time this had happened, Buffy had thought to tuck away a spare towel just for this occasion.

She wrapped the robe close around her and went back to her room. It was probably the only room in the house that didn't resemble a high school slumber party. She'd managed to keep the room all to herself...for now.

Buffy walked to the closet and stood on her toes to reach the high shelf. She hooked a finger onto the towel she'd hid up there and dragged it down.

She turned to resume her attempt at a shower when she noticed a gift jewelry box on the chest of drawers. That had definitely not been there earlier.

Her first thought was that one of the girls had left it. However, a closer inspection revealed a note underneath.

'Happy Birthday'

***

Spike listened to her move above him. Most of the potentials were sleeping, so the rest of the house was quiet enough to hear Buffy's footsteps.

He felt like an inept teenager doing what he did, but the occasion called for it. Everybody else had forgotten. Though given her history of bad birthdays, it might not be a bad thing to let this one go uncelebrated. He just couldn't bring himself to let it pass, though.

He sat up when he noticed her footsteps coming down to the first floor...into the kitchen...the basement door opened.

Then she was coming down the stairs, the present clutched in her hands. She twirled the box nervously between her palms. Her hair was wet from the shower.

Spike remained seated and waited for her to speak.

Buffy stopped when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She opened the box, revealing the earrings he'd picked out. She looked up at him. "So am I guessing right?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. I figured it wasn't Andrew. He would have gotten me Ewok earrings or something." Did she look disappointed? That wasn't what Spike had hoped for.

"Not something we need to talk about. Just wanted to get you something nice for your birthday." He shrugged.

"They're beautiful."

"Matches the owner."

When had this gotten so hard? Spike had so many things he wanted to tell her. About how the world looked now with a soul. About how she looked now that he had a soul. About how she was the single most significant part of his unlife, and he had just wanted to give her something in return. It had almost been easier when they'd just had sex all the time.

"What are you expecting?" she asked slowly.

It would have been easier for him to make a list of what he wasn't expecting. Sex, her to love him, her to allow him to love her, any chance at a relationship, marriage, kids, family dog. Spike didn't know which answer to give her.

So he opted for humor. "A thank you note and for you to put me on your Christmas card list."

There was a pause as Buffy absorbed the joke. Then she laughed, looking down at the earrings.

"Well, thank you," she said. "They're probably far better than I deserve right now, but..."

"You deserve a lot and more. Don't let the teenies get you down."

"You deserve a lot, too, Spike." She stared at him with that same conviction she'd had when she'd told him she believed in him. His heart would have skipped were it beating. "You've done some amazing things. I just hope someday after all this, we'll both get what we deserve."

She smiled and, on that cryptic note, she went back upstairs.

Spike stayed below.

fin

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: Defeat

2010-08-01T22:45:25Z

Title: Defeat
Prompt: Proposal - public place
Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 592
Summary: In the post-apocalyptic fallout of a nuclear explosion, Buffy and Spike re-affirm their connection.

Note: This is another one set in the same universe as Strength (and previous schmoop_fic, Connection). Basically, all you need to know is that the events of NFA set off the apocalypse. Buffy and Spike are and have been together for a while now.

This is probably a bit melancholy for schmoop, but hey. It's interesting to experiment with different settings like this.

"Humans are bloody stupid."

Buffy grabbed the tray - actually a piece of battered sheet metal roughly approximating a tray. She stepped forward as the line advanced.

"The world's gone to shit. Some beings would pull together to survive, yeah? But not humans. No, they have to go and throw one of their nukes around and bollocks things up for everybody."

The demon in front of her growled at the food selection, but it still offered up its tray to be served. Buffy sighed. She felt the familiar tug at her abdomen and refrained from cringing. She knew she had to eat, no matter the difficulty in doing so.

"Got the odd mix of merry demons down here building soup kitchens amongst the sewer rats and do you see any humans - save you - around? Course not. They're all hiding in corners with weapons, aiming to kill the lot of us."

An unidentifiable pile of something slightly edible was spooned onto her tray. Buffy looked the server in the eye. She'd killed his mate last week. Spike had helped.

"What you got on tap for vampires?" Spike hadn't bothered with a tray, of course.

The bench seats were all taken so Buffy found an unoccupied corner to sit in. Spike followed with a glass jar of dark red liquid.

"Demon blood," Spike held it up. "God, I hate this stuff."

Buffy scooped the food up to give it a taste. She made a face. This wasn't helping the whole eating thing.

A reptile demon walking by turned abruptly. Its tail swiped at Buffy's tray and sent it flying across the room.

Spike jumped to his feet almost instantly. "Hey! Watch it!"

The demon turned to them. It appraised Buffy with golden eyes. "Waste of food, anyway."

Spike moved closer. "That's the damn Slayer there, mate. Think you owe her a replacement meal or she's apt to take your tail off."

Buffy sighed. Her stomach was queasy anyway.

"She's welcome to try. It'll just grow back." The reptile demon turned away to leave.

Spike would have gone after him to continue the confrontation, but Buffy tugged on his jeans. "Spike, leave it. It's okay."

The fight drained from Spike at that. He sat down and picked up his mug again. "Fucking demons."

Buffy let her head fall back against the wall and closed her eyes.

"You do need to eat, love." He said it quietly as if he knew it was an unwelcome comment.

Buffy ignored it.

"After this, think we should try to hunt down that doctor again. May be a long shot, but it's worth it if he has the equipment to help, yeah?"

That idea was laughable. Even before the end of everything, the equipment didn't always help.

"Either that or we can make a run for the canned goods. 'Tween the two of us, I think we stand a chance of breaking the gang's defenses."

Buffy put her hand on top of Spike's. They were matched for pallor nowadays.

"I think we should get married," Buffy said.

Spike paused with the jar of blood at his lips. He lowered his hand to stare at her. "Married...?"

She nodded.

"Buffy, there's no marriage."

She shrugged. "I know. But I still want to marry you." She looked at him, hoping he'd understand without her having to explain.

He did. She saw it in his eyes. He flipped his hand palm up and entwined their fingers together.

"Till the end of the world," he said.

"Even if that happens to be now."

fin

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: One-Handed

2010-07-30T00:58:23Z

Title: One-Handed
Prompt: Sleepy times
Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Sexiness
Word Count: 653
Summary: Buffy has trouble sleeping. Spike helps her out.

Note: Time to add some sexiness to this schmoop! Have a bit of post-NFA fluffy happy Spuffy smut. :)

It's like someone had replaced their mattress with a super-evil slab of stone. Buffy shifted again and groaned inwardly when her spine settled awkwardly atop the bed.

Okay, maybe it wasn't just the mattress. Her mind wouldn't slow down. They were switching headquarters because of that whole tax situation (which she still didn't understand all the way) and moving to a different country was a headache and they'd have to give up this apartment and find another one and there were the new Slayers that just got in that she had to worry about and did she have any free time to sleep? Really? It didn't seem like it.

Spike exhaled beside her. "Let me guess. The sheep aren't jumping for you tonight?"

Buffy turned her head to look at him. "Am I keeping you awake?"

"Bout as well as you're keeping yourself awake."

Buffy sighed and settled her hands on her stomach. She stared at the ceiling. "There's just so much going on. Sleep seems like a luxury."

"Yeah? So take some luxury time."

"Not that easy."

Spike swung around his arm and laid his hand over hers. His thumb stroked her knuckles. "You worry way too much about things."

Wasn't that the truth? Buffy smiled with a sudden thought. "We could spar. That'll wear me out."

"I could wear you out with one hand, Slayer."

"Prove it."

"Gladly." Spike covered the distance between their bodies and lowered his hand. His mouth found her neck and nuzzled at the pulse point as his hand traveled under the waistband of her sweats. Buffy closed her eyes and tilted her head back. A breath escaped when Spike's cool fingers penetrated her pussy. He dipped into the slick wetness slightly, then brought it out and caressed it around her opening.

Buffy shuddered out a breath, and her hand grabbed Spike's arm. Not to stop him - cause why would she want to do that? But to brace herself for his ministrations.

His blunt teeth nipped at her neck.

"You were dancing when I first saw you." She felt the words more than heard them as he rumbled against her throat.

His palm brushed against her clit. Her breath hitched, and her legs fell open when he plunged two fingers inside her.

"Was besotted from that very moment. I knew...I knew we'd dance, the two of us, a long, long time."

He hooked his fingers, curling them towards her stomach. Buffy gulped and clutched at his arm tighter. Her hips her writhing of their own accord, alternately bucking in excitement and urging him in his attentions.

"Had no idea that I'd fall in love with you, though."

He flattened his palm against her clit, and pressed down hard while his fingers stroked her inside. He rubbed quickly - roughly. The motion made squishing noises with the wetness of her pussy. It turned Buffy on even more.

He chuckled. "Love's a funny thing, innit?"

"Yes," she gasped. Her back arched. The buzz of his hand stimulating, arousing, intensifying the pleasure shooting over her body pulsed through her. She had to move. She couldn't contain all of the sensation. Spike ground down harder and increased the speed. His tireless wrist served her better than any vibrator she'd ever tried.

Buffy's other hand tangled in Spike's hair, grabbing it harshly. Her toes curled into the sheets. The simmer was turning into a boil.

"You're so beautiful," Spike said before biting down on her neck.

Buffy reached the edge of the precipice and and went over. Her muscles seized and an uncharacteristic scream escaped her lips. Spike rode it out, his fingers continuing the pressure.

The moment passed and Buffy was left gasping, her limbs felt of rubber. Spike withdrew his hand.

"Wear you out, Slayer?" Spike asked.

Buffy couldn't keep the sated smiled off her face. If she were a cat, she'd be purring.

"Best lullaby ever."

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: Connection

2010-07-16T21:14:39Z

Title: Connection
Prompt: Looking at the stars
Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 539
Summary: Buffy and Spike get a bit of star-gazing in.

Note: Cause posting fics on Friday is the best idea ever! Anyway, this fic is set in the same universe as Strength. If you haven't read it, all you really need to know is that it's set in a post-NFA, post-apocalyptic world. And, of course, it's schmoopy.

"You ever think about our place in the world?" Buffy asked. The night breeze wafted the scent of death over her.

Spike tilted his head as best he could while lying on the ground. "We having a Calvin and Hobbes moment here, then?"

"Just thinking about it. I guess it's easy to do like this. Looking up at the stars and thinking about how big the world is. I saw a special on it once before. It was kinda hard to grasp then, but now? With electric lights being not around as much, I can finally see the stars. All of them. And it just reminds me: the world's big."

Crickets chirped. Spike gave no response.

So Buffy continued. "It makes sense now. Why ancient people thought they were so small and unimportant. And then as we stopped being able to see the stars, we started thinking, hey! We're all that. But we're not. Because we're right back where we started. A tiny dot in a huge sea of stars." She turned her head toward Spike. "Did the night sky look like this when you were human?"

"I grew up in London during the Industrial Revolution. The night sky looked like a bloody cloud."

"You're ruining my flow."

"Sorry, love." Spike sighed. "The universe is big, and we have no place in it except what we make of it. That's why I'm with you. It's what I've made of it."

Spike grabbed Buffy's hand, clasping his fingers through hers. Buffy smiled and squeezed their entwined hands.

Then she scrunched her nose. "I think stars have the one-up on us. They're gonna be around for so long. Even you're probably gonna die in a blink of a star's time. You know, even with all the resurrections and stuff."

"Dunno about that. I think I prefer being us to being a star."

"Why?"

"Stars are lonely. Separated from each other by millions and billions of miles. Reaching out with their light but never making any actual contact. No connection." He caressed his thumb down hers. "We can touch each other."

Buffy propped herself up on her elbow and kissed him. "I guess I do kinda like connecting with you."

"Yeah? Well, I also got a solution for the whole 'we're gonna die' bit." Spike smiled.

"Do tell."

Spike nodded up past her head. "Think I've sussed out some constellations to name after ourselves. Just need to spread the word. That way when society picks itself back up, they'll know all about the constellations The Slayer and The Vampire. They'll tell the stories behind them just like they used to tell about Cassiopeia."

"Casio-whatsa? Isn't that a calculator?"

"Now who's ruining the flow?"

"Course, you're a vampire. Maybe you'll survive till then to spread the stories firsthand."

Buffy and Spike looked up as a loud roar sounded in the distance.

Buffy rolled her eyes and began to stand. "Guess that's our bit of R & R for the night."

Spike was right behind her. "Longer than usual, I think."

Buffy grabbed the scythe from the ground and carefully stepped around the demon corpse. "Are our constellations together or apart?"

Spike grabbed her hand as they walked away. "Always together, love."

fin...

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: Rain

2010-07-12T01:41:34Z

Title: Rain
Prompt: Kidfic - Vacation
Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 507
Summary: Buffy and Spike take their daughter on a beach vacation. Unfortunately, it rains...

Note: And another to finish out the weekend! This time it's Spuffy! The kid is Anne from The Smiling Girl. You don't necessarily have to read that, though. Just know that Buffy and Spike have a daughter whose name is Anne. :)

Anne's tiny hand splayed across the large hotel window. Her nose pushed against the glass, and her breath created a fog on the surface.

Buffy turned the volume of the TV up to compensate for the loud pattering of rain outside. Spike was just coming in.

"Fuck. Should've picked up an umbrella at the last stop." Spike shook the water off his jacket before discarding it onto the bed.

"Language," Buffy said. Her attention was focused on the weather report on the TV.

Anne turned and clapped her hands. "Fuck, Daddy! It's raining!"

Buffy glared at Spike. "It's your job to fix that."

Spike returned a long-suffering look of his own, but he was then distracted as his daughter raced toward him and grabbed him at the knees, rocking all her weight onto him.

"We're still gonna swim, right?" Anne looked up.

Spike crouched down. The weatherman was talking about how the storms were here to stay for a while. Just their luck. First trip to the beach with Anne and it rains. It looked like it would keep raining for the duration of their vacation from Slayer Central. So much for ocean fun.

Spike stroked her curly brown hair. "Course we're gonna swim, pet. Brought your bathing suit and everything, didn't we?"

"Spike..." Buffy said in a warning tone. She didn't want him making promises that couldn't be kept.

Spike ignored her and continued. "See, this way just means that I get to go out with you. If it were sunny, I'd have to stay in the hotel room all day until the sun set. And that's not fun, is it?"

Anne shook her head solemnly.

"So," Spike continued. "We can't go down to the beach while it's raining. But you can get your bathing suit on and run around like a little water demon in the rain, right?"

Anne bounced with excitement. "I'm a water demon!"

"And how. Now go dig in your mum's suitcase for your bathing suit."

Without any hesitation, Anne ran across the hotel room and started pulling out Buffy's luggage. Buffy came up behind Spike as he stood, and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Swimming in the rain? She could've done that back home."

"Yeah? Well, it's more scenic this way."

Buffy smiled. Spike's hands covered hers, stroking her fingers. She let her head fall forward against his back. They'd fallen into a gentle swaying motion together. The movement of their daughter caught her attention from the corner of her eye.

"You had to ask her to fetch her bathing suit. She's gonna throw my clothes all around the room now."

"The boat ride's out for this trip. Gonna need something to fill the time."

Buffy giggled. "Love you, Vamp Daddy."

"You know it, Slayer Mum."

"Mommy! Where's my fucking bathing suit?" Anne sat in the middle of a huge pile of clothing looking dismayed.

Buffy smiled despite herself. She pinched Spike's side. "You are gonna fix that, mister."

fin

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: In the Back

2010-07-11T19:54:18Z

Title: In the Back
Prompt: Unexpected Date
Pairing: Willow/Cordelia
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1,207
Summary: Set during Phases, Willow and Cordelia meet at a theater after both are stood up by their respective boy-shaped love interests. They can't let a movie date go to waste, though...

Notes: Yes, a Wordy schmoop fic. What can I say? The prompt called for it. :)

Willow dug through her pockets for loose change. If she could come up with an extra three dollars, she might be able to get some Milk Duds. Perhaps going out to the movies wasn't the best thing she could do considering her broke financial state, but she had been planning on meeting with her almost-kinda-boyfriend, Oz. Which her mom would so hate her relying on a guy to pay for her because it's so unfeminist, but Willow had decided to screw feminism in favor of free movies and goodies.

Stupid boys.

"Let me guess. Your guy flaked out, too."

Willow turned to find Cordelia standing behind her, dressed in stunningly fashionable clothes with a matching purse. Dressed for a night on the town. Which in Sunnydale meant going to the movies.

Willow nodded. "Yeah. Oz. He was supposed to meet me, but he..." Willow shrugged, not sure what else to say.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. Do you notice a certain Xander Harris beside me? No? Well, that's cause he's not. Probably off with Buffy or something."

"He is a little fixated."

"Totally!" Cordelia looked around. "What movie are you seeing? And please don't let it be Titanic."

"Nope. Good Will Hunting."

"Same here! Keep me company?"

Silly question? Well, it was. It's not as if Willow were thrilled at the prospect of seeing a movie by herself, and her pride wouldn't let her go home and mope about being stood up. Might as well make it a date with Cordelia.

No, an outing with Cordelia. A date would be wholly inappropriate because of the whole 'she's a girl' thing. Right.

Willow agreed to Cordelia's completely non-datelike proposal.

"Oh, do you want some snacks?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, I don't want to put you out or anything."

"Please. I have Daddy's credit card. Nothing is too good for my Xander stand-in."

After purchasing Milk Duds, a large popcorn (to be shared), and two entirely too large drinks (that would probably prompt bathroom runs halfway through the movie), the two girls entered the dark theater.

"We have to sit at the back." Cordelia said, not even stopping to see if Willow were following her.

"Um...okay?"

"Best seats in the house. Seriously."

So while the rest of the theater filled out near the front and in the middle, Cordelia and Willow sat apart from the crowd, tucked away in the back. Thanks to the inclined seating, they were higher up than the rest of the theater, and the lack of people sitting directly in front of them gave them an unobstructed view of the screen. As Cordelia had promised: best seats in the house.

"I think Xander wanted to see this because he wants to be like the janitor guy. I mean, he's supposed to be an idiot savante or something. That's Xander wet dream all the way. What's up with your guy, though?"

Willow rattled her Milk Duds. "Oz? Well, he...he's a musician so he probably had a gig he forgot about or something. You know how it is."

"Musicians!" Cordelia said. "Never date them. They're so unreliable. Plus, their music always comes first. And they almost never have money."

"I kinda thought he really liked me, but - "

"He's not here, is he?" Cordelia placed the popcorn on her lap and tilted it towards Willow. "Men."

Willow ignored the popcorn and chewed slowly on her caramel-y chocolate.

"I tell you," Cordelia continued. "Those two guys have some fantastic girls here waiting for them. They're idiots for missing out on us."

Willow paused mid-chew. Cordelia thought she was fantastic?

The lights went down then and the previews came on. Willow sat quietly, acutely aware of Cordelia's presence beside her. Every tiny movement Cordelia made. Grabbing the popcorn, the rhythm of her jaw, the small shifts of her legs as she attempted to get comfortable in her theater seat. Willow had worn a sweater because theaters were usually cold. This one was impossibly hot, though.

The movie played in the background as Willow's primary attention was on the girl beside her. The Milk Duds didn't last long, and Willow soon began fiddling with the empty box. She opened both ends and flattened it out so it could be folded up. Anything to keep her hands moving.

Then Cordelia leaned over the arm rest to whisper in Willow's ear. Willow felt a blush rise to her face. Good thing it was dark.

"You don't want any popcorn?" Cordelia asked.

Willow nodded without hesitation, eager to please and appease. Cordelia still leaned towards her when Willow reached into the bucket in her lap to grab a small handful of nutritionally empty popcorn.

Willow was intensely aware of how loud her chewing was. How her body squirmed and shifted next to Cordelia's. Cordelia must have noticed, too.

"This movie's stupid," Cordelia said in a not-entirely-quiet whisper. "I bet you're smarter than that Matt Damon character."

Willow froze. She didn't know how to respond to the beautiful cheerleader.

Of course, that's 'beautiful' in an objective, widely recognized sense. Not that Willow noticed Cordelia's beauty on a regular basis or even thought about it that much and she really was kinda on the verge of something with a guy - a musician! - so noticing the fact that Cordelia was really hot in a purely aesthetic way didn't mean anything at all!

"Has Oz kissed you yet?" Cordelia asked abruptly, almost as if the movie wasn't even playing.

Willow shook her head. Her lips were chapped. Getting out her chapstick would be too obvious now. She licked her lips.

"Weird. Wonder what's keeping him. You're cute." Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Guys are so dumb."

The pair fell silent as the movie continued, though Willow felt like they might as well have been in a different room than the rest of the audience. She'd completely lost the plot of the movie. She was too caught up in this pseudo-date with Cordelia.

Finally deciding to just take the plunge and ask Cordelia what was with the friendly act, Willow reached over and tapped Cordelia's hand where it lay on the armrest to get her attention.

Cordelia, however, leaned over and kissed Willow with a confidence that left the redhead momentarily stunned. A swipe of Cordelia's tongue across her lips, though, and Willow relented with a moan. She opened her mouth in response, messily joining the kiss. The popcorn fell to the floor as both girls' hands danced around each other's bodies, unsure where to settle.

Cordelia was sweet and fiery and strong and demanding and really, really enthusiastic all wrapped up in a perfectly formed package. Willow felt dizzy from the sensation of pure Cordelia.

She pulled back, though, gasping for air and sense and sanity.

"Cordelia, what...?"

"Oh, please. Like you haven't noticed I like the nerdy type."

"Oh." Willow realized that her hand had ended up on Cordelia's breast. She didn't feel compelled to move it. She didn't feel compelled to do much of anything except experience more of Cordelia.

"Now come here, you. This movie has a good long running time."

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: Now

2010-07-09T01:50:19Z

Title: Now
Prompt: Reunion
Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Word Count: 521
Summary: After NFA, Spike's in the hospital, and Buffy comes to visit. What a completely cliche post-NFA Spuffy reunion fic premise!

Buffy paused with her hand on the doorknob. Her heart was doing that skippy thing that happened when she got nervous. She could face down hordes of demons with barely a sweat, but this? This terrified her.

She wondered if Spike had sensed her by now. He used to be able to. Maybe he was too injured, though. Andrew had said it was bad...

Okay, no more wavering on this one. Buffy turned the handle decisively and entered the hospital room.

She never thought she'd see Spike in a hospital gown. The frail print didn't suit him at all. With the white of the gown and the white of the hospital bed and the white of his hair, combined with the white of the bandages, he looked like a ghostly figure. Barely there.

But yet...there. Not dead and ashes, burned up in the Hellmouth.

That was probably the hardest thing to process: the fact that he hadn't told her.

Spike's eyes opened when she entered, but he didn't look surprised to see her.

Buffy's breath caught in her throat, but she managed to deliver the line she'd been rehearsing since her plane had landed. "Hi honey. You're home."

That worked for a smile. Spike looked down briefly before staring back at her. "Andrew told you?"

Buffy nodded and walked to the chair by the bedside. She sat down. "In the most annoying way possible, if you can imagine."

"I can."

"I'm just wondering why you didn't tell me." She couldn't keep her eyes off him even though she was afraid that she'd betray too much of what she felt in doing so. Fortunately, Spike was staring at the wall opposite him.

Spike sighed before speaking. "Was a lot going on at the time. Kinda complicated. Besides, from what I heard, you had moved on. Didn't want to bother - "

"You're not a bother." Buffy interrupted him. "And I hadn't ‘moved on'. I had..." Buffy closed her eyes. She didn't want to get caught up in stuff that didn't matter and then miss the important stuff. "Can we just skip all this?"

Spike finally looked at her. "Skip what?"

"The whole back-and-forth. You explaining why you didn't bother to call me. Me explaining about the Immortal. Us dancing around the fact that we love each other and missed each other and want to be with each other. After you nearly dying twice, I'm kinda ready to cut to the chase."

Now he was inspecting her with that all-knowing Spike gaze that she used to hate. The type that made her feel naked. "Being a bit presumptuous, aren't you?"

"Maybe. I prefer to think of it as being attractively confident." She tilted her head and grinned in the best cocky Spike impression she could manage.

She saw the laughter in his eyes though he was doing his best to keep it from showing. "We're gonna have to talk about all that eventually."

She nodded. "Eventually but not now?"

"Eventually but not now," he agreed.

Buffy smiled as she leaned forward to hug him tight. Her very undusty vampire.

fin

Schmoop_Bingo Fic: Vampire Kisses

2010-07-02T00:29:04Z

Title: Vampire Kisses
Prompt: Neck Kisses
Pairing: Buffy/Spike
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Word Count: 585
Summary: Buffy and Spike have some post-Slaying kissage.

Notes: This is set in the same universe as The Smiling Girl. You don't need to have read that, though. Basically, just know that it's post-NFA, and Buffy and Spike have a daughter. It's a fluffy, happy place. :)

Buffy watched the dust fall to the dirt as she put away her stake. She exhaled a hiss as she wiped at the blood trailing down to her shirt. That one had gotten its fangs into her. Not of the good.

It was early, but getting bitten seemed like a good excuse to call it a night. Buffy made her way back to the too-small apartment she shared with Spike.

"You’re back early," Spike said as soon as she walked in. Of course, he’d been able to hear her approach.

"Is Anne asleep?" Buffy peeled off her jacket.

Spike had already made a beeline to her and was inspecting the bite wound. "What happened? Did you stake 'im?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, but kept still as Spike's fingers explored the extent of the injury. "Bite. Yes. Now, is Anne asleep?"

"At the moment. Make no promises as to whether she’ll stay that way through the night."

Well, it's not like the infant had parents who slept through the night, either.

Spike's hand was still at her neck.

"It's a shallow bite," Buffy said to reassure him. Since the pregnancy, he'd been a bit overprotective of her. The smallest thing would set him off worrying.

"I know. Just...you're bleeding."

Buffy angled her head away from him, exposing her neck. "I don't have to be."

There was almost no pause before Spike's lips met her skin. His tongue softly lapped at the spilled blood. Starting at the collar of her shirt, working back up to the bite, itself. Having a vampire boyfriend came in handy sometimes.

Spike walked backwards, pulling her along with him to the sofa. She knew that the blood on her neck was probably gone by now. Didn't matter.

With a twist, Buffy landed sprawled on the couch with Spike on top of her. His tongue traced the edges of the bite wound before pressing a light kiss on it. Buffy arched her neck and took the opportunity to run her fingers through his ungelled hair. The frazzled daddy look suited him so well.

"Don't like other vamps chomping on your neck, love," Spike murmured against her skin.

"I know. That's why I staked him." Buffy squeezed Spike closer, pushing her leg between his and tilting her hips up. Spike's full attention was on her neck, still. Typical vampire.

Spike gently laid a series of kisses, starting from just below the ear down to her collar bone. He didn't venture any further down, much to Buffy’s disappointment.

"Spike," she said, arching her back to thrust her breasts out.

He grinned down at her before lowering his head to, again, kiss her neck. "Can still smell him on you. Just trying to fix that."

"Ew."

Spike bit her with blunt teeth right where the other vamp had bitten her with fangs. The pleasure-y pain of it sent tingly ripples of excitement through Buffy's body.

"But the rest of me is feeling left out." Buffy pouted.

Spike raised his head. "Well, can’t have that, can we?" His handed started traveling down her body. "Know you probably got some post-Slaying energy you want to - "

Impatient with Spike's teasing, Buffy had hauled herself up, grabbed him around the shoulders and sunk her own teeth into his neck. Spike groaned, his arms giving out so he collapsed his full weight onto her.

Buffy giggled as she pulled away briefly. "Vampire kisses," she said before replacing her lips back onto his neck.

A grunt was his only response.

fin

Schmoop Bingo!

2010-06-29T05:57:52Z

Hey, guess who uncharacteristically signed up for schmoop_bingo! I expect oodles of happy fluffy Spuffy fics to come out of this. This'll help me balance out the sheer angsty darkness of Influence (that, yes, I'm trudging along on).

My bingo card is under the cut!

neck kisses	reunion	unexpected date	kidfic – vacation	looking at the stars
sleepy times	proposal – public place	gift giving	cuddling while sick	birthday
anniversary – one partner sick	wooing/courtship	WILD CARD	shower together	long walk on the beach
long-lost love	drunken confession of love	secret admirer	cuddling	swimming
bedtime rituals	de-age (physical)	spooning	soulmates	office/workplace party