I loved it so much that it inspired me to write a short last minute addition to my Christmas fic gift. I did mine with mirrors. Spike and Buffy are sparring inside a dance studio and Spike catches a glimpse of Buffy mid-kick. It's only a few lines long, but it really added something, so thank you for the inspiration!
I love your creativity! This story ended up hitting all the feels.
I’m so glad you enjoyed! And I’m glad to be inspiring. That’s the wonderful thing about creative works, they breed more creative works, and it’s one beauteous ouroboros of creation!
Thank you so much!
Holy. Shit!
I am resigning myself to no sleep until the last word is read.
Shadows really was an inspired chapter. Can you believe my first intention was to just flashback-reference all their sex scenes? Yeah, no, that didn't happen. Story took on an entirely different shape than I had intended.
That was awesome! I love your work, don't know how I missed this before.
I actually almost missed it myself when I wrote it. I looked at the word count one day and thought, ‘I wrote THAT? When did I do that?” I’m glad you liked it!
Aww Dawnie, I love her.
Always fun to drop her in.
She'll be back.
Oh, SHE WILL!
Poor Buffy, Angel is such a selfish bastard.
Angel is a prat.
She's dying for a good slay.
She'll get one! Just a little time....
What a miserable existence.
Yep. Spike's in a nasty place.
Wow things are really not perfect around here. No one is getting what they need. Except maybe Spike?
Spike's got a chip in his head, he's not real happy, either.
This is one of my new favorite stories! Your dialogue is so spot on you could have written for the show! And hilarious. I will never forget the K9 joke Spike had at Riley's expense. So many great lines. I never wanted this story to end.
On a deeper note, you really tapped into how damaging a non-intimate relationship can be when one partner doesnt even try to meet the needs of the other and communication is non existent between them. Speaking from experience, this was very insightful and I wish i came to Buffy's realization earlier in my life. Sometimes, love isn't enough. I loved that you explored that aspect of the story.
Lastly the introduction of Dawn was brilliant! The way she just popped in right next to Spike as if she'd been there the whole time. Magnificent!
You really have a great way of combining real world emotions, hilarious dialogue, and screen melting smut to make me a big fan. I'm so happy you are writing new stories. I came back to reading Spuffy cause 2020, so it's been a blast to fall in love with a new writer.
I'm very glad! This was just intended as a little throw away then, and then it grew, and grew, and... well, there it was, with all the growth and stuff, and I looked at it and just asked myself, "Where did that come from?" I'm glad it appeals.
The stuff with Angel... yeah, there's no way to depict it as anything but harsh. Love isn't always enough... and Buffy should have learned that in canon, but instead she got IWRY and some rose-tinted view of the past. And I wanted her to open her eyes so much to what she DIDN'T actually have there, and what she was throwing away by holding onto it so hard. I figured if she got it, it wouldn't have been great, anyway. So I wanted to show that.
I'm so, so glad to have a new reader! The readers are the life's blood of the writer, they really are.
Hilarious ending to this great in depth character chapter.
Anya insisted!
brilliant idea and thanks for your story as I enjoyed reading this. I liked how you wrote the relationship between Buffy and Spike.
It was fun to see how it would change in this story.
I didn’t want it to ever end. 😭
I probably should have taken this one a bit longer -- there are scenes I feel like I'm missing that would have made a stronger narrative. But I'm glad what I got made you so happy! Thank you!
Good ending!
Glad you enjoyed it. I rushed it a little, but it got us to here, so... thanks so much!
Sorry, just over here squealing like the mature, grownup woman that I am about my perfect little family on Revello Drive.
”Til the end of the world.”
You squeal away! It’s gotta be great.
Spike and Dawn time is my favorite. Even more than Spike and Joyce time. Maybe Darkest Dawn should be next in the queue.
Darkest Dawn has some awesome Spike/Dawn sire relationship stuff going, though Dawn is a little different, since she’s a fledge. I had a lot of fun writing it so, I will absolutely say to put it on the queue!
Hahahaaaaaa! Great last line! I love Anya.
Gotta love Anya. At least someone enjoyed the night.
Dawn??!!! Just as suddenly as in real season 5...Also, yup, threw up in my mouth a little, what can I say? LOL, Bangel - ugh.
Yep, there’s Dawn, now. And I’m sorry! But I couldn’t have Buffy walk away after Angel came back without her at least TRYING... because Buffy would TRY.
So, the bomb’s out...the scenes with Buffy and Angel and then beaten Spike were grueling, and I mean that in a good way. Very well done. I liked her questioning how someone with a soul could do that. And I think it was last chapter, but I liked Oz acknowledging the man Spike was regarding his lovers. And I’m rooting for Cangel, too, because I like Cordy and she makes Angel less insufferable. She’s a truth teller, and I liked that she placed the blame on both sides, telling Angel what he didn’t want to hear. And calling Doyle. She cuts through the bullshit.
I can get gruesome at times. I can. It’s a thing. Cordy DOES make Angel less insufferable, that is exactly what she does.
That chapter was complete awesomeness.
Why thank you.
Nice!!!!! That was a lot of unexpected goodness! Wow, I feel about as skilled with words as Buffy right now. I didn’t comment on the last chapter because I’m tired and I just wanted to keep reading before I fell asleep, and that was more emotional content I had feelings about, but not words for right now. But there was a lot of plot stuff that happened in this chapter, and it was all interesting. I wasn’t expecting Oz to be utilized this much, it’s not something you see too much of. And I like Spike thinking on his feet.
Never worry about not being eloquent, even little emojis are appreciated. It’s been great seeing you read through this!
I loved every single thing about this chapter. All of it. Ok, especially every single smidgen of Joyce inviting Spike over for donuts, hot chocolate, and art/literature/shop/Buffy talk. I will always love every single minute I can get of Spike and Joyce time. But also Buffy’s internal monologue and being thoughtful after Spike left, and Willow pointing out even she got why Joyce would pick Spike over Angel and that Spike talks about his shit.
Spike and Joyce friendship is always a delight.
Is it weird that his parting words made me more uncomfortable than anything else in the chapter?
Nope, not weird at all.
The conversation between Buffy and Joyce was awesome. I love that Joyce has a soft spot for Spike, and not so much for Angel. Also, I forgot til now about Joyce’s little zoning out spell at the beginning. Now my curiosity about that has been revived.
Well, we know Joyce wasn’t so keen on Angel, and we know she was willing to converse with Spike. I figured it wasn’t such a big leap.
I’m sleepy from Christmas turkey and I don’t think I’m going to have the words to do justice to this chapter, but I couldn’t let it go uncommented upon. The shadow play scene was gorgeously erotic, as was their talk about killing each other afterwards. I liked the pillow fight thrown in between as contrast and for highlighting all the ways they’d mesh well if it weren’t for their history and situations.
The Spuffy scenes are so engrossing, I keep forgetting about the direness of his situation with the Initiative.
Ah, the tryptophan is strong with this one. That’s a good thing. The shadow play scene came to me like a gift, and I didn’t expect to write it, but I did, and it really resonates with people. It was fun to have them playing at fighting rather than real fighting.
Spuffy is the real story here. Of course it is.
I was so angry after part one! hahaha. But thank you, I loved it. :D
Yeah, part one was made to enrage. But I'm glad you enjoyed getting back to Spike!
Beautiful story!
Aw, thank you!
This is a really good story!
You write sexually frustrated Buffy so well, both in this chapter and when she and Angel thought they had to live in celibacy. Having been in a marriage with almost the same amount of frustration as Buffy is experiencing, it’s easy to recognise the feelings she has... so well done on your part!
She still tells herself that it was all about the physical need with Spike, but her thoughts on it being something they did with each other and the amount of time she spends thinking about him betrays her.
Nobody’s really happy, but everyone pretends to be... so sad (and realistic, unfortunately)
I.. may have been drawing from bits of real life, too. The thing is, "the physical" tells one a lot about the personality of the person in question... and makes it not just physical fairly easily.
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying!
Ha! Spike wasn't going to let her get away with that cookie dough nonsense.
This was a great ending, hitting on a much happier note than I expected it to. I've enjoyed this story a lot. Glad you're in this fandom, sharing your talent with us!
Spike knows what Spike wants. Raw cookie dough? Eat it, buster. Thank you so much for reading! Your reviews have been such a glimmer of light for me.
I'm glad Buffy got all of that off her chest. Angel needed to hear it.
I don’t think it will work with anyone. -- Gosh, I really hope she's wrong!
It was SO GOOD getting Buffy to finally throw all that at Angel where it belongs.