On the Road

For:, annabelle528:
Rating: R
Request: Spike & Buffy are on a cross country road trip (for whatever reason), and wackiness ensues. :)

Response: Set between All The Way and Once More With Feeling in S6. Spike and Buffy have to drive all the way to northern Wyoming to collect an artifact about a Shoshone Slayer of the 1800's. (Yes, I have to create a backstory even for mega-drabbles.)




Buffy stirs slightly, her neck stiff as she comes awake. Something soft under her cheek, a strange vibration through her whole body.

Oh yeah. The trip. She sits up, stretching as best she can in the back seat. Glancing towards the window, she sees nothing but black.

“Sleeping Beauty awakes.” An amused voice comes from the driver’s seat.

“Hmmmm...don’t know about the beauty part. Sleeping in the back seat of a car for hours doesn’t really help in that department.” Spike glances into the rear view mirror and takes in the Slayer with her sleep-tousled hair and pink cheeks. She cannot see the adoration in his eyes since he is not reflected.

“Could have fooled me...”

Buffy pops her head between the seats and looks over at Spike. “What did you say?”

“Ready for something to eat? There are sandwiches in the cooler.” Spike points to the cooler on the floor in front of the passenger seat.

“Ooh, snacks!” Buffy climbs over the seats, giving Spike quite a show. His eyebrows lift as he tries to stay on the road with Buffy’s rear a foot from his face. She flips the lid open and rummages. “Tuna on wheat! My favorite!” She rips it open and takes a bite before grinning at Spike.

“I know, love.” He smiles back.

“Well, thanks. I guess you stopped while I was asleep?”

Spike nods and then points to the horizon. “Look over there, Slayer.”

She squints through the windshield into the moonlit night. Luckily, Spike only blacked the rear windows in case he needed to escape back there. “Oh my gosh. Those mountains are...breathtaking. There’s snow on them! Where are we?”

“Wyoming, I think.”

“Oh. It’s pretty.” Buffy pauses, looking out across the flatlands to the mountains jutting up in the distance. “One of the square states, right?”

“More or less.” Spike grins. He slowly pulls to the side of the deserted highway.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just need to stretch my legs and have a smoke before the sun comes up, pet.” He points back to the mountains, which Buffy now notice have a soft pink glow around the top edges. Spike slips out of the car and closes the door behind him.

“Me too. The stretching part anyway. Wait, I’m coming!” Buffy scrambles to her door and gets out. “WHOA!” The wind catches her hair, tossing it around her head. “It’s COLD!”

Spike laughs from across the hood, lit cigarette dangling from his mouth. “One of the many features of the square states, love. Snow didn’t get on those mountains without it, eh? You can get back in if you want, I’ll be done in a second.”

Buffy scurries around the hood, arms wrapped around her. “No, no. I’ll keep you company. It’s no-not that c-cold.” Already shivering, Buffy strains to smile up at Spike. The Spike who is driving her across the frozen tundra to collect an ancient book from an old shaman. An old shaman who doesn’t trust FedEx. Giles claims it will tell them crucial information about a Shoshone Slayer of the 19th century. Buffy wants to believe it is worth the 1800 miles they are driving...correction, that Spike is driving. Just because she asked.

“Come here.” Spike opens his coat to give it to Buffy, but she surprises herself and him by diving inside it. With him. As she burrows into his shirt, Spike recovers and closes the coat around her back. The heat of her body penetrates him and the scent of her shampoo tickles his nose. She looks up at him, eyes bright.

“Thanks for this, Spike. For coming with me. I...appreciate it.” Standing on the side of a dark Wyoming highway, hard stars blazing in a dark blue sky, snow-capped mountains washed with the earliest of the morning light and the Slayer in his arms thanking him all of a sudden becomes Spike’s favorite moment since she came back to life. In slow motion, he dips his head down and is relieved to see her eyes begin to slide closed. Their lips brush, cold to the touch. With a little sound, Buffy pushes against him, her warm tongue snaking into his mouth. The kiss grows longer and deeper, the wind whipping around them. Her arms encircle Spike’s back, tucking up and under his shirt. Fingers skimmig the strong planes of his back. He moans, pulling her tighter and tighter against him. They break for breath and he sees she is shaking.

“Oh god, Buffy. You’re cold. Let’s go.”

“Not shaking from the cold, Spike. But yeah, let’s go...into the car.” She smiles, slightly shy and unsure. She never meant to kiss him, never meant to fall into his arms like this. But it feels right. The first thing that has since she returned to the world.

He grins back. Not sure what she expects and he’s damn sure not going to ask. Spike opens the driver’s door, which she promptly closes. She yanks the back door open and crawls in. When he hesitates, she leans back out.

“Come on. It’s cold out there.” She crooks her finger with a wink and Spike is on her, tumbling into the back seat in a flash. Waiting out the daylight this day will be anything but boring, he suspects.