Blue Horizons by Kantayra

1 :: 2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 :: 7 :: 8 :: 9 :: 10 :: 11 :: 12 :: 13 :: 14 :: 15 :: 16 :: 17 :: 18 :: 19 :: 20 :: 21 :: 22 :: 23 :: 24 :: 25 :: 26 :: 27 :: 28 :: 29 :: 30 :: 31 :: 32 :: 33 :: 34 :: 35 :: 36 :: 37 :: 38 :: 39 :: 40 :: 41 :: 42 :: 43 :: 44 :: 45 :: 46 :: 47 :: 48 :: 49 :: 50 :: 51 ::

Chapter 15

“I don’t know how to explain it,” Elizabeth said with that same grin that had been plastered across her face for the past two weeks still lighting up her face. “Sometimes it seems like everything just happened so fast,” she admitted, “and I get worried that I’ve just dived right in. But, then, when I really think about it, I realize that our relationship has been building steadily ever since we met. I mean, I was technically dating Riley, but Spike and I were definitely going through the first few steps. So, when you look at it like that, we’re actually going really slowly.”

“Especially since you still haven’t managed to have sex,” Anya said, bored, leafing through a magazine as she lay on her stomach sprawled across one of the couches in Spike’s living room.

Willow rolled her eyes at Anya before turning her attention back to Elizabeth. She’d had quite a time trying to get a hold of her roommate without a certain peroxide blond present, and she planned on taking full advantage of what gossip time they had.

“But serious smoochies, right?” Willow demanded. “Well, obviously,” she shook her head, “but beyond the serious smoochies we’ve seen?”

“Serious smoochies,” Elizabeth agreed, laughing slightly at Willow’s characteristically unique way to phrasing things. “Firmly on third base serious smoochies.”

“So you have had orgasms then?” This seemed to interest Anya, and she turned to face the other two women for the first time. “Many orgasms?”

Elizabeth blushed furiously. “He has…talented hands,” she said elusively.

“And do you have ‘talented hands’, too?” Willow couldn’t help but tease.

Elizabeth’s face went from red to maroon in response. “Well, that’s certainly…something…” She buried her head in her hands, embarrassed beyond belief.

“He has a very large penis, doesn’t he?” Anya commented. “I’m trying to get a look at Xander’s, but he never gets conveniently drunk for me to check it out.”

Elizabeth shot her a worried look.

“Don’t worry,” Anya quickly reassured her. “I got Spike drunk way back before he quit. Reminding him of it frequently keeps him on the straight and narrow.”

Elizabeth merely shook her head. The amazing was that despite the contorted logic that Anya operated under, the world still managed to work out. It was actually kind of impressive once you got used to the all manner of strange statements that came from the young woman’s mouth.

“So,” Willow turned back to the important matter of wheedling as much information out of her roommate as she could, “last weekend when you didn’t come back to our room once…”

Elizabeth flashed her a delighted little smile. “Spike’s bed is Spike-scented and warm,” she joked in the most simplistic voice she could manage.

Willow laughed at that. “But just smoochies, huh?” she demanded.

“Very, very nice smoochies,” Elizabeth corrected. “Toe-curling, earth-shattering, lightning-striking, world’s-coming-to-an-end smoochies.”

“And you still aren’t tempted to have sex?” Anya asked incredulously.

“Didn’t say I wasn’t tempted,” Elizabeth answered with a sly smile.

“Ooh!” Anya and Willow both exclaimed in unison, sitting bolt upright.

“Spill!” Willow quickly demanded.

Elizabeth shrugged. “We’ve just, y’know…talked about it,” she admitted shyly.

“Just talked?” Anya sounded horribly disappointed. “What’s wrong with Spike anyway? He should be ravishing you right now so that I can mooch vicariously off of your orgasms…” She tried to affect a pout, but an amused little smile kept creeping through.

“We just want to be ready…” Elizabeth said evasively.

“Always a good idea,” Willow agreed with an approving smile. “Make sure you’re nice and comfortable…”

“And then, mmm, Spike…” Elizabeth agreed, letting her head flop onto the couch back, her eyes closed as she let out a sensual little murmur.

“Know I just heard my name mentioned,” Spike picked that moment to return to the room, followed closely by Oz and then Joyce.

“Hope you girls didn’t mind me stealing your men,” Joyce said with an amused glint in her eye.

“Not an issue,” Willow retorted, earning several laughs.

“Just so long as you brought them back in one piece,” Elizabeth agreed, her hand casually brushing against Spike’s thigh as he sat down on the couch beside her.

They’d been rather openly public about their relationship ever since Elizabeth had intentionally sat down next to Spike that first Monday morning even though half the chairs at the table were empty, and the two of them had shared furtive little smiles. Anya had blinked, frowned, and then asked loudly enough that the whole school had probably heard, “Are you two having sex?!” Bothering to be discreet after that had been pointless, and they’d pretty much been joined hip-to-hip everywhere they went ever since.

Spike had even gone so far as to follow her to her English class on a couple of days, just so they could play footsie under the desks. Elizabeth’s English professor had just blinked at the sudden, random appearance of a punk kid in her class and gone right on with the discussion. And Elizabeth could honestly say that she’d never had a more fun class.

She’d quickly discovered that the number one plus (well, OK the number two plus since Spike himself was the number one plus) to being together with Spike was that she could still hang out with her friends in Westing House and hang out with him, too. Last weekend, all their ‘dates’ had been with the whole group, mostly stealing quick kisses when they thought no one was looking and getting teased by everyone who was delighted at this latest instance of ‘house-cest’.

Weekend nights had been spent cuddled up together in Spike’s bed, whispering little secrets to each other – although all of a more pleasant nature than their first ‘know what you’re getting into’ discussion. Weekdays were spent sprawled together on one of the couches in the lounge doing their homework together with the added incentive that once they were done, they got to go back to the kissing.

Spike had even invited her personally – as well as everyone in the house in general who was staying over break – to come have Thanksgiving dinner at his house in exchange for the small amounts of culinary labor Joyce asked of them in return.

All in all, they were fitting together absolutely perfectly as a couple – so perfectly that Elizabeth could hardly believe her luck.

But that didn’t mean they were quite ready to openly display their relationship before Spike’s mother yet. So, today had been full of casual touches and secret looks of longing. Elizabeth wasn’t complaining, though. The food had been delicious, they’d all mocked each other’s various culinary skills…or complete lack thereof, and Anya had ever had the commonsense not to mention the word ‘orgasm’ or ‘sex’ in association with Elizabeth and Spike in front of Joyce once. “I have tact,” she’d teased. “I just usually choose not to use it.”

However, as Elizabeth sat beside Spike now, the lazy effects of too much turkey slowly overtaking her and making her feel all warm and comfortable, she slowly let her head tilt to the side, coming to rest on Spike’s shoulder.

Joyce, for her part, didn’t even blink.

“We didn’t miss them doing any burly, did we?” Anya asked, reluctantly moving her feet so that Oz could sit at the other end of the couch.

“Very burly,” Oz managed in a perfect monotone. “Manly stuff. Words like ‘carburetor’ and ‘axle grease’ came up.”

Everyone present knew Oz well enough to catch the almost non-existent sarcastic tone in his voice and laughed.

“Just a little problem with the garage door,” Joyce insisted. “I could fix it myself, but I figured I’d take advantage of the fact that no man in the history of the world has ever been able to resist playing with tools while I actually had some men around.”

“It’s true,” Oz agreed solemnly.

Spike merely smirked and rolled his eyes, a little surprised by the small blond head that still rested on his shoulder. He’d thought she wasn’t quite ready to face The Wrath Of MOM, but since she seemed to be unconcerned… He let his arm slip around her shoulders, holding her lightly against him.

“That was sooo good!” Willow announced for about the thousandth time, still leaning back and patting her stomach. “Thank you so much, Joyce. ‘Cause it was kinda this or dinning hall food for Thanksgiving…”

All the students shuddered in unison.

“Oh, you poor things,” Joyce teased lightly. “They still feeding you moldy bread and dirty water?”

Elizabeth laughed. The one thing Spike and his mother seemed to share above all else was their quirky sense of humor. “At least mold has the basic nutrients necessary for survival,” she joked right back.

“Well, I hope the rest of your friends back at the dorm got away for some good food, too,” Joyce said, concerned. “Did they all go home?”

Willow nodded. “Jonathan and Devon did, at least,” she agreed.

“Still can’t believe Devon actually went home,” Oz blinked a couple of times. “Wow.”

“He’s that nice young man that’s in your band, right?” Joyce inquired, taking a sip of hot cocoa. “He was here last year.”

“Yeah,” Spike agreed, “but I guess he just wanted to get away from this place for a while…”

Elizabeth flinched inwardly. The Devon/Faith break-up had become a rather permanent situation, she had discovered. Spike had had a better ear to the ground concerning the goings on of the couple, and apparently that weekend when the two of them had first kissed marked the end of the end for Devon and Faith. Elizabeth hadn’t even found it odd that the time that Faith had caught the two of them in the hall; she’d been too absorbed in a certain delicious peroxide blond to remember that Faith was supposed to be on the road with Devon and the rest of his band. It turned out that not only had Faith opted out of the ‘make-up’ trip, but she’d also acquired new male company in the interval. Devon had been pretty broken up about it…

As if reading her thoughts, Spike’s arms tightened around her shoulder in a comforting way, letting her know that he would hold on to this thing they had between them no matter what.

She looked up at him with a soft smile before returning to rest against his shoulder. Lazily, her fingers began to draw little patterns on his thigh, and he responded to her cryptic messages with his own ciphers, written against the cotton of her sweater.

“Who is this Jonathan?” Joyce asked curiously, surprised that she didn’t recognize a name. Spike tended to talk on and on about the people in the dorm to the point where Joyce was already convinced she knew them by the time they finally met.

“Freshman,” Willow answered. “Really quiet. Keeps to himself mostly.”

“You’re looking after him, aren’t you, dear?” Joyce frowned in a slightly maternal way, casting a quick glance in Spike’s direction. “Sometimes the loners are a lot more miserable than they let on…”

Elizabeth smiled inwardly. One of their late night confession sessions had provided her with the missing information to fully explain Joyce’s particular concern. She still couldn’t picture Spike as the quiet, bookish, and hopelessly socially inept youth from all his middle school stories, even though he still brought out the wire-rims for reading.

“I’m doing the best I can,” Willow asked. “But he never seems to want to go on any of our house trips, so…” She shrugged. “I’ll just keep asking, so the opportunity’s open if he wants to take it.”

“Knew you’d make the perfect RA,” Joyce agreed with a little smile. “Where’s Xander?” she asked, casting a glance in Anya’s direction. Her son had made it quite apparent that he had high hopes that Xander and Anya would eventually get together. Given the way Anya’s attention instantly turned from her magazine to the conversation, Joyce decided they at least had a shot.

“He’s back home eating dinner with his other friends,” Anya half-pouted. “Like, friends who aren’t us.”

“I’m surprised he went home,” Elizabeth agreed. “Although at least he’s not staying with his parents…”

Several winces passed through the crowd. To greater or lesser degrees, they’d all heard enough to figure out just how not nice growing up in the Harris home must have been.

“It’s good that he has friends to go back to, at least,” Joyce decided.

“While we’re at it,” Anya began, somewhat curiously, “what ever happened to Faith? I thought she was staying in town.”

Willow’s brow furrowed slightly, and Oz blinked rapidly a few times. “I’m pretty sure she’s still here,” Willow agreed, “but… I guess she’s hanging out with those rave friends of hers since she hasn’t been in the dorm all week…” She trailed off and studied to bottom of her mug intently. Faith had been worrying Willow more and more lately with her callous attitude towards academics and her even more callous one towards certain dangerous substances and the people that accompanied them.

Joyce seemed to sense the concern over the topic at hand and stood up with the polite smile of a good hostess. “Anyone want more hot chocolate?” she offered.

Five empty mugs were raised into the air in response, and Joyce laughed before returning to the kitchen.

“Having a good time, luv?” Spike whispered in Elizabeth’s ear, giving her golden hair a quick kiss now that the parental authority was gone.

“Mmm-hmm,” she murmured contently, snuggling closer into his embrace.

“I’ve gotta admit,” Anya commented with a sly little grin, “I didn’t think the two of you had it in you to keep it this PG for so long.”

Spike cast her an annoyed look. “Yeah, ‘cause you can’t keep it suitable for minors and parents even though you’re not gettin’ any,” he taunted.

“Humph,” Anya sulked. “No need to rub it in.” She quickly turned back to her magazine, only pausing briefly to stick her tongue out at Spike.

He returned the gesture only to have Elizabeth catch the tip of his tongue with her index finger before pushing it back into his mouth. He gave her a curious look.

“Don’t like to share your tongue’s talents,” she teased with a little smile, blushing slightly at her memories of last night. After much hinting, Spike had finally discovered that he was allowed to cross certain barriers that he had thought unbreachable…and, oh, did his tongue thank her for the latest invitation…

“William!” Joyce’s voice abruptly called from the kitchen.

Both Spike and Willow started to attention before Willow caught the tail end of the name. She shrugged at Spike sheepishly; she just wasn’t used to thinking that his name started with ‘Will’ as well. Several confusions had already occurred that evening.

“Yeah, mum?” Spike called out, not wanting to get up from his comfy position snuggled against Elizabeth.

“Have you looked outside lately?” There was a smile in Joyce’s voice.

Spike’s brow furrowed slightly, and he mouthed ‘outside?’ to the room. Anya merely shrugged in response and got up to pull one of the closed drapes aside so that she could see out.

“Ooh!” she immediately exclaimed in delight. “It’s snowing!”

“Really?” Elizabeth’s curiously was piqued, and in an instant she’d escaped Spike’s clutches and was at Anya’s side. Her eyes widened at the soft blanket of white that had managed to cover everything in just the last couple of hours. Silvery flakes still swirled to the ground in eddies, glistening in the soft orange glow of the streetlights. “Wow…” she said breathlessly.

Spike chuckled behind her, slipping his arms casually around her waist and watching the sight over her shoulder. “California girl likes it, I take?” he teased lightly.

“It’s gorgeous,” she agreed, turning back to look at him.

“Humph,” he mock-pouted, “you used to say that ‘bout me. Should I be jealous?”

She gave him a playful bat on the arm, her eyes trained on the winter landscape outside. “I didn’t think it would snow this early,” she commented in delight.

“ ‘Early’?” Spike repeated incredulously. “This is actually pretty late. Usually ‘ave at least had flurries by now…”

Oz nodded solemnly. “Looks like pretty wet snow,” he commented. “You know what that means we have to do…”

Elizabeth gave him a puzzled look.

“Snowball fight!” Willow squealed in delight, dashing over to the coat hanger and snatching up her jacket.

“You’d think she’d be less enthusiastic given how badly she always loses,” Anya teased, grabbing her own coat as well and slipping into it.

“I’ll have you know that I fully intend to actually hit someone this year,” Willow challenged, “and I’ve decided it’ll be you!”

Anya gave her an incredulous look. “In your dreams,” she taunted right back. “That’s some death wish you’ve got there…or, at least, a permanently-frozen-and-wet wish…”

“Don’t mess with the girl who lived through Russian winters,” Oz sagely advised Elizabeth before putting on his own jacket.

“C’mon, luv, it’ll be fun,” Spike whispered in her ear.

“You’re just saying that so you can turn on me the minute we get outside,” she accused.

He flashed her a ‘duh’ expression. “Well…yeah…”

She gave him a wry smile in response. “That skinny, white behind of yours is mine,” she boasted.

“Well, there’s no denyin’ that…” he found the opportunity just too good to pass up.

She swatted at him absentmindedly before putting on her own jacket. And hat. And scarf. And gloves. Hey, she’d learned her lesson fast.

Spike persistently insisted on just a jacket and gloves, although he left his black leather duster behind – no sense in drenching such a fine garment, after all, and he had no doubts that Elizabeth would be merciless. Hell, it was one of the things that first drew him to her.

“Ground rules?” he asked as they stepped out into the snow.

“No holds barred,” Anya announced with glee. Casually bending over and scooping up the first handful of snow. “Hey, Elizabeth?” she said with a wry grin.

“Yeah?” Elizabeth asked warily.

“Welcome to New York winters!”

And before Elizabeth even knew what had happened, a white, cold explosion hit her squarely in the chest. But it was still new enough that all she did was giggle in response.

Spike, however, let out a war-whoop at the slight to his lady’s honor and chased off after Anya, snatching up a handful of snow as he did so.

Willow chuckled, only to be the first victim to Oz’s silent attacks, and soon she was trudging through the snow, trying to catch up to him while he ducked behind various trees, evading all of Willow’s ill-timed attacks.

Elizabeth laughed and stuck to Willow’s back, deciding that the two of them, both uninitiated in the art of the snowball fight, should stick together. The tag-team effort of Willow chasing Oz around and throwing snowballs wildly while Elizabeth lurked in waiting finally got Elizabeth her first it, squarely on Oz’s thigh as he unknowingly ran past her position.

“Ha!” Elizabeth exclaimed in delight. “No one can defeat the combined might of Elizabeth and Will—”

Her boasting was cut off when a snowball nailed her right in the back. She turned wide-eyed to face Willow’s triumphant grin. “All’s fair in love and snowball fights,” Willow simply shrugged.

“Traitor!” Elizabeth exclaimed in mock-outrage, throwing a misshapen lump of white at her former ally.

Willow laughed and ducked, although not fast enough.

Oz barraged her at the same time and quickly announced “Change of alliance!” as he and Elizabeth continued to chase the squealing Willow around the yard, all of them sliding like mad over the slippery traction of snow.

Anya and Spike, however, had no such difficulties. Both had become masters of the snowball fight during many blizzard-filled childhood winters, and they chased each other with a speed and grace that belied that the ground was a slippery hazard.

Perfectly rounded and weighted snowballs were formed at a moment’s notice, their ducks to acquire new ammunition not breaking either of their strides even once. Deadly accuracy accompanied each throw, followed quickly by a brilliant series of ducks and dodges.

Spike laughed and dove into a snowdrift when Anya seemingly turned on a dime, releasing half a dozen snowballs in such quick succession that he didn’t even have time to duck them all. Three hit him squarely in the chest as his rose up to his knees, shaking the snow that his head had dove into from his equally white hair.

“Amateur,” Anya taunted, another snowball at the ready.

He looked up at her with a little growl only to get hit right over the heart once more. “You are so dead!” he announced with a little pounce.

Anya squealed when he caught her about the waist and then began squirming to get away once she realized where he was carrying her. “I swear I’ll sue!” she laughed, still struggling to escape. “This counts as assault, and…and property damage!” She gestured to her soaked jacket.

“Nice try,” he gave her an evil little grin before grabbing the branch above them all pulling it slowly downwards before letting it snap back up.

The several inches of snow that had accumulated on the branch instantly flew up into the air only to land right on Anya’s head.

“Bastard!” she sulked when he finally let her go. She shook her head to get rid of the excess snow. And then a conspiratorial little smile lit up her face. “You’re a bad boyfriend, you know,” she commented, watching the three combatants across the yard.

Spike turned to look at them curiously. Oz and Elizabeth had managed to maintain their alliance and were brutally assaulting Willow as she held up her mittened hands and laughed, trying to bat the barrage of snowballs away. “Looks like she’s doin’ all right,” he countered, turning back to Anya.

With a malicious glint in her eye, Anya tossed her latest snowball from one hand to the other. “Look at her,” she countered. “She’s nowhere near as wet as she could be.” She frowned for a second. “And, amazingly, I didn’t mean that in the sexual way for once. Huh. Who would’ve thought?”

“You’re sayin’ we should show the newbees what a real snowball fight’s about?” Spike’s own grin turned several shades more wicked.

“I believe a certain redhead issued a challenge,” Anya agreed as the two of them moved to sneak up on the unsuspecting trio…

“Elizabeth, help!” Willow cried out amidst her laughter.

“You made your bed,” Elizabeth teased, “now you have to lie in it…”

Willow looked like she was about to say something, but then her eyes suddenly widened and she put one hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

“What?” Elizabeth asked, perplexed.

The answer came in the form of icy cold at the back of her neck. She squealed in response and batted helplessly at the snow that Spike had just dropped under the collar of her jacket.

“You!” she exclaimed, wide-eyed, before she noticed the snowball that was still in her hand and used it to her full abilities.

Spike leapt gracefully to the side, avoiding the hit. “If I make my own bed,” he teased, “will you lie in it with me?”

“Oh, you cocky, arrogant asshole!” she said with a smile on her face to indicate that the words didn’t mean anything. “You are sooo going down!”

“Gotta catch me first,” he retorted, tongue curled up beneath his teeth in that overly-confident way that just made her want to kiss him breathless.

He dashed away right after this challenge, and she chased after him, noticing that he never bothered to get too far ahead of her and not really caring. He didn’t hesitate to hit her with snowballs, however, although he let her get in plenty of shots as well. Elizabeth could tell he was going easier on her than he had on Anya, but then again he kind of enjoyed it when she beat him, so she didn’t really mind.

However, after a particularly taunting move where he just kind of stood there less than ten feet away, one eyebrow raised curiously at her latest failed attempt to successfully hit him, she’d had enough.

He was caught completely off-guard when her unexpected leap caught him right around the middle, tackling him back into the soft blanket of snow. Before he even had a chance to recover, Elizabeth had grabbed up two heaping handfuls of snow and dropped them right on his head. He spurted and brushed the snow off while she laughed from her position straddling his waist.

“Evil vixen!” he teased, running his gloved hands over his hair a couple of times to make sure all the snow was gone.

“Gotcha!” she proclaimed proudly, her hands still pinning his chest back down to the ground.

He managed a grimace. “S’pose I can’t argue with that,” he conceded with a little chuckle.

Elizabeth looked down into his eyes, noticing how the dim street lamps made them look like black, molten pools. She was struck for a minute at how odd this was. The way the two of them laughed and joked and just had fun when they were together… She would never have guessed that they had shared such dark secrets, that they had such painful pasts… How was it even possible? She’d always thought relationships were necessarily caught up in pain and heartbreak, but not with Spike. It was odd, but it just felt so right…

Spike noticed her sudden contemplation and cocked his head to one side, looking up at her curiously.

“Just thinking,” she said softly. “I think this is the most fun I’ve had in…well, ever.” She leaned down over him, her lips inches from his. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said with a shy smile. “Thank you, William…”

He shut his eyes as her lips descended on his, wrapping his arms around her back and holding her to him. The cold of the winter evening bit at both of their faces except at the junction of their lips where an inferno had burst to life.

“Now, now,” Anya said from behind them, tisking lightly. Beside her, her two new partners in crime – Willow and Oz – had equally evil grins on their faces. “Making out with their backs open like that… They’re just asking to get snowed…”

* * *

It was less than an hour later that Elizabeth sat before the fire in Spike’s living room, warming herself by sitting in front of the fireplace…and by cuddling up to the man beside her. Joyce had provided spare baggy sweats for her, Willow, and Anya, and Oz borrowed some of Spike’s old things while their clothes tumbled in the dryer downstairs.

With a contented little murmur, Elizabeth sipped at her cocoa, still shivering slightly from the chill that had settled into her spine.

Joyce approached with the extra blankets she’d promised and slipped one over her son’s shoulders before further unfolding it to wrap around Elizabeth’s as well. She tucked the corners around their feet before giving her son a fond smile and ruffling his hair.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at Spike when his mother had left. Wrapping them both up in the same blanket together… Tacit approval of their obvious item-ness?

He merely shrugged and held her closer to him.

She relaxed into the warm circle of his arms, a sleepy yawn slipping out. And she realized something then. She had never felt as warm, content, comfortable, cared for, and…loved? She could hear Spike’s heart beating beneath his breast, but not even she could decipher something as intangible as that last emotion from the regular thump, thump.

It didn’t matter, though, she decided with another yawn – one that Spike echoed as well. Because never in her life had everything ever been so perfect…

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