A Day at the Park
Author: enigmaticblue
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters; Joss & Co. do. Too bad, so sad.
Summary: Spike and Buffy enjoy a day out with the kids.
A/N: Written for my 2009 holiday ficathon for
xc_runner50, who wanted Shanshu Spike, Buffy, and their kids at the water park for the 4th of July.
“Spike!”
Buffy’s sharp warning had Spike turning just in time to catch a small boy around the waist as he ran straight for the pool. “Okay, Nicky. Water wings first.”
“Hurry, Daddy!”
“Hang on.” Spike stripped off Nick’s t-shirt and began slathering every inch of pale skin with sunscreen. He glanced over to see that Buffy was doing the same for Samantha.
“All right, son, arms out.” Giggling, Nick did as he was told, and Spike tugged the flotation devices up and over thin arms. “There you are.”
Nick began to hurry off, and Spike called after him, “Walk!”
The boy slowed his steps to a fast walk, and Spike shook his head in amusement. “Will you come with me, Dad?” Samantha asked as soon as Buffy had finished covering her with sunscreen.
“He needs sunscreen, too,” Buffy replied. “Go on. We’ll join you in a minute.”
Samantha was off like a shot, calling for Nick, warning him not to go too deep, and Spike kept a sharp eye on her as Buffy began to slather sunscreen on his bare back.
“Hey, look. It’s a freckle.” He felt Buffy smile against his shoulder as she pressed her lips against the spot.
“Who knew?” Spike turned his head to look at her, grinning. “I still say we should have hired a babysitter and gone somewhere else this weekend.”
“Oh, come on, Spike. Tonight will be fireworks. It’s all about the experience.”
“It’s about the exhaustion,” Spike replied. “It’s also about the lack of sex.”
Buffy smirked. “You were the one who said you wanted kids.”
“Bloody rugrats.” He couldn’t keep the smile from his lips as he said it, however.
Buffy laughed. “Tell you what. I’ll call Xander tomorrow and get him to take the kids for a night.”
“Thank God.” Spike pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “I love our kids, but I really want an evening where we don’t have a third person crawling into bed with us.”
“So do I, honey.” She gave him a nudge towards the pool. “Go on. I’ll join you in a second.”
“Love you,” Spike said, grateful that he could say the words now and know that she would believe them. Even after all the years that had passed, all the years where they’d been happy, he sometimes had to stop and pinch himself.
Buffy’s face lit up, the way it always did now when he said those magic words. “Love you, too.”
These days, she always said it back.