IT'S BEEN MADE CLEAR THAT I'M NOT A GOOD ROLE MODEL.

[ 6.06 ]

Halloween had yet again arrived in Sunnydale. Here's to hoping no one turned into their costumes or got stuck in a house haunted by fear demons — that was the one time Kitty didn't complain about being banned from that frat house.

Given the spooky nature of the holiday, the Magic Box was filled with customers and children in costumes running around. The entire gang was working to keep up with the crowd, but only about half-dressed up. Anya was dressed in tight striped shorts and a red blouse while moving around on roller skates, claiming to be a Charlie's Angel so she'd have an excuse to look hot. Giles was reusing his wizard robe but wouldn't put the hat on no matter how much Kitty begged.

Kitty, Xander, and Teddy coordinated their costumes and went as Power Rangers — they couldn't get anyone else in the group to commit with them. So, Xander went as the Red Ranger, Teddy was the Blue Ranger, and Kitty, naturally, chose to be the Pink Ranger. She kept her mask off for most of the workday because it was hard to see, but she loved the cute little costume.

Buffy, while not dressed up, was helping the best she could. Retail wasn't exactly her strong suit, as proven by the day she tried officially working at the Magic Box. In an attempt to get a job, she tried working at Xander's construction site as well as the shop. In addition to some weird things that happened while shadowing Tara and Willow in their classes, it was safe to assume some demon had been messing with her, making her life harder.

But whatever caused all those mishaps seemed to be gone now, leaving Buffy to try and figure out what to do with her life in peace. And hopefully, that wouldn't include working at the Magic Box on more days than just holidays.

"Buffy!" Anya called, skating over to her. "We're running low on mandrake root. Check the basement. I thought I sent Kitty, but she must have gotten distracted with a customer."

"Don't blame me if we have this conversation over and over and over," Buffy muttered to herself while walking off. Repeating the same hour and dealing with the same customer fifty times had been just one way that she was messed with the week before. "Why am I doing Kitty's job?"

Of course, once Buffy made it to the basement, she saw why she was doing Kitty's job. She'd found the mandrake root but she also found Spike. And Buffy found the two wrapped up in each other, not a care in the world as he had her pressed up against the storage shelves, kissing her leisurely.

"Funny, I didn't think Spike's name was Mandrake Root," Buffy said, crossing her arms.

Kitty and Spike pulled apart, startled by Buffy's arrival. She smirked at them. "And just what are you doing here, Spike?"

"I mean, was kind of evident," Kitty muttered, wiping smudged lip gloss off her lips.

"Came through the tunnels. Was running low on burba weed," Spike said, nodding to a clump of weeds on the floor that he dropped after running into Kitty.

"He likes it in his blood. Makes it all hot and spicy," Kitty informed Buffy.

Buffy pulled a disgusted face, and Spike scoffed. "What? I was gonna pay for it," he lied. That caused both girls to look at him doubtfully. "I mean, no. I was gonna nick it, 'cause that's what I do. I go where I please and I take what I want." Spike puffed his chest to appear tougher. One couldn't be very tough with sparkly lip gloss smudged on his face. "Anyway, found Kitten. Got distracted."

"Right," she said, shaking her head. "Kitty, did you find the mandrake root?"

"There," Kitty said, pointing to the jar on the top shelf above her. She stood on her toes to try and grab it, but Spike beat her to it and pulled it down for her. "Thanks."

"Only three to a jar," he told both girls. "Tend to go a bit wonky if you cram them too close."

"Right, got it," Buffy said, taking the jar from Kitty. They'd probably stay in the basement for a while longer.

"So, you going for a bit of the rough and tumble with Teddy?" Spike asked Buffy, looking at her expectantly. He wrapped an arm around Kitty's waist, who leaned against him.

"What?" Buffy asked, a bit shocked as she blinked a few times.

"You, T," Kitty said, raising an eyebrow. Buffy still stared at her. "Patrolling? He said you'd go out patrolling if the store didn't tire you guys out too much."

"Oh," Buffy breathed out, her thoughts clearing up. She nodded. "Um, we'll see."

"Well, Great Pumpkin's on, and he's never seen it. So, you could do that if not," Kitty said, shrugging.

"Maybe," she said, looking at the jar in her hand. She moved toward the stairs but paused when Kitty didn't follow. "Coming?"

Kitty smiled innocently at Buffy, whose eyes landed on Spike's arm around her hips. His fingers were brushing the end of the skirt on her costume, clearly wanting to get back to what they were doing.

"Ew," Buffy muttered, shaking her head. "Five minutes, then I'm sending Xander down to stake him."

As Buffy went up the stairs, Spike smirked and leaned down to brush his lips against Kitty's neck. "Plenty of time to get you all worked up and wanting more."

♡︎

The exhaustion that they'd all felt the first day that the Magic Box opened was nothing compared to what they felt now after the Halloween rush. Dawn was the only one with enough energy to even smile and wave at the last few customers as they left.

"Come again!" Then, as soon as they were gone, she shut the door and locked it, leaning against it. "Uhh! In a zillion years."

Xander was lying on his back on the floor. "Store go boom," he said, waving his plastic power sword.

Everyone was just as tired as he was. Giles and Buffy were sitting on the steps leading to the front of the store. Willow and Tara were squeezed into a chair, Teddy was laying on the floor with Xander, and Kitty was stretched out on the counter.

The only one with any energy was Anya, who was happily counting money behind the counter. "That was the most incredible thing I have ever experienced," she gushed. Xander lifted his head to look at her pointedly. "Except for that. What you all did for me tonight... the astounding heaps of money you helped me—" Xander cleared his throat so she'd catch her mistake. "—us acquire. All I can say is, I hope we make as much tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Buffy asked in dismay.

"Oh, post-holiday clearance," Anya said, smiling. "The cornerstone of retail."

Everyone groaned, and Giles got to his feet with a grimace. "Brooms all around, then."

"Or I could whip up a jaunty self-cleaning incantation, it'll be like Fantasia," Willow said brightly.

"We all know how splendidly that turned out for Mickey," Giles muttered, giving her a broom and dustpan. He didn't like how easy it was for her to use magic as a shortcut.

"I think I'm a little more adept than a cartoon mouse," she said defensively.

"And you have more fingers, which is good, 'cause there's no need to wear those big white gloves to overcompensate," Tara said, hoping to defuse any tension.

"No broom for Kitty," Kitty spoke up. She watched Anya count her money excitedly. "I'm headed for Spike's... when my limbs start working again. So, maybe in an hour. But at least I have a good show."

Dawn had come to help close up, and it ended with Anya getting her to do a happy little dance. Her good mood from the money was infectious, making them all a little less tired. Xander was watching with a loving smile on his face.

"You do this every night?" Dawn asked, grinning.

"Every time I close out the cash register. The dance of capitalist superiority," Anya said, continuing to dance. "Then I throw money on Kitty like a fully-clothed stripper."

While Kitty didn't get up, she did a little wiggle as Dawn and Anya sprinkled ones all over her.

"I'm gonna marry that girl," Xander said softly all of the sudden, not taking his eyes off Anya. Teddy quickly sat up and looked at Xander with a surprised smile. Only he and Buffy had been close enough to hear him say it.

"What?" Buffy asked. "She's fifteen and my sister, so don't ev — oh."

Then Xander stood and got their attention. "Hey, everybody. Can I, um... uh, there's something Anya and I wanna tell you."

Everyone looked at Xander as he moved to Anya's side. She looked at him in surprise. "Now?" she asked quietly. What about seeing her do her happy money dance with Dawn and Kitty made him finally want to announce it?

"Now," he said, smiling. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and faced them all. "We're getting married."

Dawn was the first to react, who smiled. "Oh my god."

"Congratulations!" Tara said.

"Dude, that's amazing," Teddy said, grinning as he got off the floor.

Willow, given her dislike of Anya, didn't look as thrilled. "That... that's... wow," was all she could say.

"It's a big wow," Xander agreed, not bothered by how big.

Anya looked at Xander curiously. "I... I thought you were waiting for the right moment."

He gazed fondly at her. "I did."

Then he kissed her, and Anya was giggling happily by the time it ended. "Here, have some money!" She tossed a wad of money at Dawn so that she could wrap her arms around Xander and kiss him properly.

However, it didn't last too long. Xander pulled away, realizing someone very important hadn't said anything.

"Kit?" he questioned, looking at her on the counter. Kitty had slowly sat up during the announcement and hadn't stopped looking at them with shining eyes. "Did, uh, did you space out for the announcement?"

"You're really getting married?" she asked, a little squeak in her voice at the end.

"Really, really," he said, holding Anya's hand.

No one was expecting the loud squeal that left Kitty's mouth, so they couldn't cover her ears. She slid off the counter and started jumping up and down, shaking her hands in excitement.

"Oh, god, I'm so happy I could die!" she exclaimed, taking deep breaths. Then she threw herself at Xander and Anya, hugging them tightly. The tears fell from her eyes. "I love you two so fucking much! And he told me last year that he knew he was gonna marry you, and now it's really happening."

Anya managed to look at Xander as Kitty continued to hug them tightly. "You knew that long ago?" she asked, her heart melting. They'd gotten secretly engaged right before Buffy died, meaning he was thinking about it long before then.

"Of course, I knew," Xander said softly.

"Fuck Spike. He can wait," Kitty said, pulling back. Xander and Anya grinned when they saw her wipe her happy tears on the sleeve of her costume. "We're having a party."

♡︎

They moved the engagement celebration to the Summers' house. And Anya was happy to show off her ring to Kitty and Dawn, the two that were most excited about all of this. She was going over in detail how he proposed to her right before the battle with Glory.

"And he said he couldn't imagine the rest of his life without me, and then he gave me this!" she gushed.

"Which I'll be paying for the rest of my life," Xander joked.

"Can I try it on?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"Oh, absolutely not," she said with a big smile.

Then Giles and Buffy came out of the kitchen, loaded down with drinks. "Where I come from, this sort of thing requires much in the way of libation," Giles said as they passed the cups out.

"God save the queen!" Xander said, raising his cup.

"Sorry we couldn't do the big fancy," Buffy told them. "You kinda caught us with our parties down."

"Oh, that's okay. This is just the first premarital celebration. There'll be lots more. With gifts," Anya said excitedly.

"Oh, I'm gonna throw you the best shower," Kitty said excitedly.

"And maybe we'll even have time to decorate for the next one," Tara said, fixing a bowl of chips on the coffee table.

"Why wait?" Willow asked.

Then she muttered some kind of spell, sending a shimmer around the room. The room was soon decorated with paper lanterns and streamers. Dawn laughed happily as they all looked around. There were three with displeased looks on their faces at her careless use of magic — Giles, Teddy, and Tara.

"This is so much better than the way it usually looks. Thank you," Anya said. Then she hugged Willow tightly.

With the new supplies and better snacks, Willow and Tara went to fix everything up. Everyone dispersed a bit, and Kitty went to Anya. She hugged the ex-vengeance demon once more.

"I'm serious about how happy I am," Kitty said, smiling softly. "Maybe everyone was shocked, but not me. I've known how perfect you and Xand were since the beginning when you forced him to take you to prom."

"Who knows where I'd be if I'd never been so assertive," she said, grinning. "Be sure to tell Spike. It'll be a demon-friendly wedding."

"You're gonna let me bring Spike?" Kitty asked, feeling all warm inside. She thought for sure Xander would ban Spike from his special day. "As my date?"

"Well, of course. Xander's probably hoping you won't still be together by the wedding, but I know you will be," Anya said, rolling her eyes. "My fiancé's so dramatic." Then she grinned brightly. "I can't believe I get to say that. My fiancé, and soon, I can call him my husband!"

"I didn't know you had any faith in Spike and I — was pretty sure no one did," Kitty admitted. "No one really... takes it seriously."

Anya smiled softly. "I guess I take your feelings for Spike seriously because you're the only one that's ever taken my relationship with Xander seriously," she said. "I'm not an idiot. I know how everyone views our relationship. But not you — never you."

Instead of speaking, Kitty hugged Anya again. "Xander's so lucky to be marrying you, Ahn," she said softly.

"I know," she said, grinning.

Then Willow and Dawn came in with even more snacks. And they caught the tail end of Buffy's conversation with Xander.

"I was only out of commission for five months. How many other things have changed since I've been away?" she asked uncertainly.

"Ooh, I got a tattoo!" Dawn said brightly.

"What?" Buffy asked in alarm, actually believing her for a moment.

"Which is why we told her no," Willow said, smiling.

"Just a little one?" Dawn pleaded.

"Over my dead body. The kind that doesn't come back," Buffy said.

"Ooh, what about a nose ring?" Dawn then asked. "Teddy's thinking about getting one. We can match!"

Buffy looked over at Teddy on the couch, who put his hands up in defense. "I already told her that's a decision for when she's older," he said.

"No piercings that aren't in your ear for at least three more years," Buffy told her sister sternly.

"Fine," she said, pouting. Then she moved to hug Anya again. "Congratulations. You're very lucky. Finding a guy like him."

"Not as lucky as me," Xander said, coming over and kissing Anya on the cheek.

"See you guys tomorrow," Dawn then said, beginning to leave.

Buffy quickly grabbed her arm. "Whoa! Tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'm sleeping over at Janice's, remember?"

"That's tonight?" she asked.

"No," Kitty chimed in, recalling the girl's plans. "It's on the other Halloween."

Dawn smirked at Kitty's sarcasm before speaking up. "Come on, you said I could."

"Uh, well I know I did, it's just, you know, now with Xander's party, I—"

"Ah, we're good," Xander said, waving Buffy's excuse off. "But you have to get us some extra gifts for our reception."

Anya grinned. "Yes, please."

"I-I don't know," Buffy said uncertainly. She looked over at Giles, hoping he'd help. "Giles?"

"Uh, it's really not up to me," he said. Buffy'd been relying on him a bit too much for parenting Dawn since he'd returned from England.

"Come on. It's four blocks away, I'll walk straight over. Not like I'm gonna be roaming the streets," Dawn begged. "Please?"

Buffy eventually relented and allowed Dawn to go. As the party went on, everyone got a little more used to the idea of Xander and Anya being engaged. The problem was that Giles, Willow, and Buffy kept making little comments to try and make Xander nervous — almost like they wanted him to back out. Each time Kitty overheard one, Teddy had to physically hold her back from smacking and yelling at them.

"So I was thinking maybe a June wedding," Anya said while going over what little plans they had. "But then I remembered that they always had the highest percentage of calls for vengeance. So now, I'm leaning towards as soon as damn possible. I mean, mortal life being so short, we gotta get in as much marital bliss as we can before we wither and die."

As Anya went on, Kitty kept her eyes on Xander who looked more and more nervous.

"I mean, there's just so much to consider, though, I mean, planning the wedding, and, and new cars, house, and babies. You have to plan for babies, or they just run roughshod over your entire existence."

"Yeah, y-you gotta know what to call 'em before they hit college," Xander managed to joke despite his nerves.

"Ah. Rupert is an exceptionally strong name," Giles offered.

Anya laughed and shook her head. "Yeah, if we want our progeny to eat paste and have their lunch money stolen," she said, making Kitty and Teddy snicker. Giles shot them a disapproving look to silence them.

"Look, all that matters is that they're happy," Buffy said to Giles. "Everything else is thick gravy goodness."

"I know," Anya said with a dreamy smile. "I mean, I am the luckiest ex-demon in the world. I mean, to be able to find the one person in all dimensions that I was meant to be with, and have everything work out exactly as I dreamed." By now, Xander had a true smile on his face as he looked at her. "I mean, how often does the universe allow that to happen?"

It wasn't ten minutes later that Xander's nerves came back. Kitty grabbed the sleeve of his Power Rangers costume and dragged him to the front porch to talk. They weren't alone — Buffy and Teddy were sitting on the porch swing, not saying anything as they sat.

Xander took a deep breath and fanned himself with the mask of his costume. "Air. Sweet mother oxygen."

"You okay?" Kitty asked carefully.

"Yeah. I just... it's just, I didn't think it would be so much," he admitted, leaning on the railing.

"But it's good, Xander. This is love and celebration of your love," Kitty said softly, holding his hands. "This is how life's supposed to work. Despite how it feels sometimes, we're adults now. We aren't in high school. You're ready for this — ready for a life with Anya."

Xander nodded and smiled at the ground, knowing she was right. "You're gonna have to keep this level headed on the day of, ya know? That's the most important best man duty."

"Aha! Suck it, Willow!" she said, feeling victorious. It made all three on the porch smile. Then Kitty nudged Xander's shoulder. "And hey, you don't have to sweat big things like houses and babies. Anya wants to think about it because she's mortal now, but you know there's plenty of time. Your apartment is the perfect place to be right now."

A relieved sigh left Xander's lips. Giles may or may not have gotten him quite upset with the idea of putting a downpayment on a house, which they definitely weren't ready for. "You're very wise, Kitty," he claimed.

"I know," she said, smirking. "Angel used to say that all the time, but none of you ever listened to him."

"How foolish of us," he told her. Then he glanced at the front door and slipped his mask on. "Alright, back into battle, Ranger?"

Kitty smiled and shook her head. "I do have to go meet Spike eventually. I didn't tell him I'd be late. Don't want him worried. Also, he gets bored on Halloween."

"He tried to kill us on Halloween four years ago," Buffy reminded her flatly.

"Good times. Good times," Kitty said, avoiding eye contact. "You guys patrolling?"

"Probably," Buffy said, glancing at Teddy. "Gotta be something out there cruisin' for a smackdown."

"We'll steer clear of the crypt to avoid any... noises," Teddy said, shooting Kitty a teasing smirk.

"Barf," Xander said as Kitty smacked Teddy.

"There will be no noises!"

♡︎

"Oh, fuck, Kitten," Spike groaned. "Just like that."

Okay, so there were noises. But they couldn't blame Kitty. She was on cloud nine after learning about Xander and Anya's engagement. And that put her in an incredibly loving and affectionate mood. All plans to cuddle and watch The Adams Family went out the door fairly soon after Kitty arrived at the crypt.

It wasn't long before the pink Power Rangers costume was abandoned on the floor, all torn up. Spike was a panting mess, his head thrown against the wall he was pressed against while rocking his hips. One hand was buried in Kitty's hair, a nearly painful grip on it as her mouth was wrapped around his—

"KITTY! SPIKE!" Buffy shouted, running into the crypt above.

"Oh, goddamn it," Spike growled out in frustration as Kitty ceased her actions and scrambled off her knees and to her feet.

"Just a, uh, second!" Kitty called a bit breathlessly from the lower level.

"Or thirty minutes," Spike said quietly, grabbing her wrist before she could move away. Kitty closed her eyes as she felt him pressed up against her. Then Spike raised his voice so that those upstairs could hear. "Get lost, Slayer."

"This is serious." It was Teddy who spoke. He was near the hatch but didn't dare come down — he'd made that mistake once. "It's Dawn."

"Shit," Kitty muttered, pressing her forehead against Spike's shoulder. She kissed him there once before pulling away. "We'll be up in a second."

Spike was not happy about having to put all their clothes back on. Well, Kitty didn't have the same clothes, as the costume was ruined. She threw on one of Spike's shirts and an extra pair of shorts that'd been lying around since the last time. When they did make it to the upper level, Buffy and Teddy chose to ignore their flushed faces and messy hair — and the way that Kitty was standing in front of Spike with bruised knees for concealment purposes.

"It has only been thirty minutes since I saw you. What could have possibly happened?" Kitty asked while pulling her hair up in a ponytail.

"Dawn's missing. She lied about sleeping at Janice's, and Janice lied to her mom about sleeping at ours," Buffy told her quickly.

"So, Bite-Sized is up to some spooky mischief. What of it?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There's been vampire attacks tonight," Buffy said. "Multiple."

"But it's Halloween," he said, frowning. All demons preferred to take the night off.

"They don't care, evidently," Teddy said.

"Look, Giles is already out searching for her at the cemeteries," Buffy told them. "We need everyone looking." Then she moved to the chest close to the door and opened it.

"I don't think she's in there," Kitty said, rocking back and forth on her feet.

Buffy didn't find Dawn, but she did find the stash of Spike's weapons. She tossed a crossbow at Spike, who caught it easily, and a stake at Kitty, who fumbled with it a bit before grabbing onto it.

"Right," Teddy said, nodding. "What better way to spend Halloween than hunting vampires?"

"Kind of cliché," Kitty muttered, "but whatever."

♡︎

It was Giles who found Dawn first. She stood in a clearing in the woods with a young vampire, wearing his letterman's jacket. And he looked ready to bite her. As soon as Giles called for Dawn, the vampire grabbed her by the throat and kept her close to his side.

"Now, you have a choice, son," Giles told the boy whose name was Justin. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the ha—"

Suddenly, a bright headlight shined on him, blinding him momentarily. Giles covered his eyes and looked around to see many cars had pulled up. Vampires got out of all of them, their game faces on. Giles looked around nervously before focusing on Dawn once more.

Justin smirked at him. "What were my choices again?"

The vampires slowly began to advance, but then a hand clamped down on Giles' shoulder, making him flinch. He looked to see Spike at his side, and Kitty at his.

"So. This a private game, or, uh, can anyone join in?" Spike asked.

Then Teddy and Buffy ran up. "Dawn, are you..." Buffy trailed off and took in the scene — the car, the jacket, the smudged lip gloss. Justin released Dawn, who quickly stepped away. "Were you parking? With a vamp?"

"I-I didn't know he was dead!" Dawn insisted.

"Living dead," Justin corrected.

"Shut up!" Dawn snapped, very displeased with him.

"How could you not know?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

"I just met him!"

Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh! Oh, so you were parking in the woods with a boy you just met."

"No, but I — Kitty did it all the time in high school!" Dawn said, pointing a finger at her. "Didn't even know their names—"

Kitty coughed loudly to get Dawn to shut up. Giles turned to look at her in disapproval. "You what?"

"Nothing," Kitty said, looking at Dawn. "Let's focus on Dawn, who is parking with a vampire she just met."

"We've seen each other at parties," Justin informed them.

"Shut up," Buffy snapped before looking at Dawn. "I don't believe you!"

Dawn scoffed. "Oh, like you've never fallen for a vampire?"

"That was different," she insisted.

"It always is when it's you," she said, rolling her eyes. Then again, she was pointing at Kitty. "Plus, Kitty!"

"It's been made clear that I'm not a good role model," Kitty muttered, looking at the grass. Spike nudged her, quite amused by this whole situation.

"Uh, excuse me!" one of the other vampires interrupted. "Can we fight now?"

"Hey, didn't anyone come here to just make out?" Buffy suddenly asked. Only one guy and girl in the back raised their hands, who weren't vampires. "Aw, that's sweet. You run." They did as instructed. "You scream."

The fight quickly broke out between them and the vampires. Teddy fought alongside Giles while Kitty stuck by Spike. Buffy didn't need any help. And Dawn ran off after kneeing Justin in the groin.

Kitty managed to stake one of the vampires they were fighting — okay, so Spike shoved the vampire back into the stake she was holding. Then he turned back around to attack the same vampire that complained about not fighting. The vampire punched Spike hard, sending him to the ground.

"What is your malfunction, man?" he asked his fellow vampire, not understanding why Spike was fighting them.

Spike looked at him angrily and got to his feet. He roughly shoved the vampire back into a tree. "It's Halloween, you nit! We take the night off. Those are the rules," he shouted. "Also, was kinda doing something important before having to come and kill you blokes."

"Me and mine don't follow no stinkin' rules! We're rebels!" the vampire spat before taking a swing at Spike.

Spike blocked him and then slammed his head into the vampire's head before kicking him in the chest. He slid down the base of the tree. "No. I'm a rebel. You're an idiot," Spike said, pulling out his crossbow and shooting the vampire.

"Give the lot of us a bad name," Spike muttered while reloading the crossbow.

But then another vampire came and tackled him, causing the crossbow to misfire and send the stake into the woods. The vampire got his hands around Spike's neck, and Kitty acted quickly. He didn't even notice as she came up and raised her stake above her head before plunging it through his back.

Kitty lost her balance and ended up on top of Spike, who had shut his eyes and mouth to keep dust from getting in. She moved to sit back on his thighs while brushing his shirt off.

"You okay?" she asked, searching for any real injuries.

"All good. Thanks, love," he said. Then his hands fell on her hips as she continued to look down at him, not moving. "You gonna get up?"

Kitty glanced over her shoulder to see that all the vampires were dead. "Or..."

Spike smirked and readjusted her on his lap. "Why, Kitten," he said in a fake disapproving tone, "it sounds like you want to go parking with a vampire."

"Hmm, at least I know your name," she said, grinning. Kitty ran her hands across his chest.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Did you actually not know any of their names?"

Kitty leaned down and began to kiss along his jaw. "They weren't exactly doing anything worthy of me calling out their name anyway—"

"Katherine, get off of him right this instant!" Giles snapped, spotting them across the clearing. "And it seems we need to have the stranger danger discussion that parents give their kindergarteners."

"Jokes on you," she mumbled while climbing off Spike. "I never went to kindergarten."

♡︎

It was around lunchtime the next day when there was a knock on Spike's crypt entrance. He'd been napping on the chair in front of the TV, but the sound made him stir. He turned just as Xander let himself into the crypt.

"Uh, Kitty's not here," Spike said, a bit confused as to why Xander was dropping by. "She got that bowling job, remember? Started training today."

"No, I know," Xander said, nodding.

"Okay," he said slowly, just watching him.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment as Xander looked around the crypt while Spike watched him. But eventually, Xander cleared his throat and gathered his thoughts.

"Look, I'll just say it — I hate you," Xander said, waving his hand for emphasis.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Wow. I had no idea," he said sarcastically.

"But Kitty's my best friend... even if I haven't been treating her like it," he muttered, looking down. Xander took a deep breath before holding his hand out to Spike.

"What? What are you doing?" Spike asked, taking a step back and eying the hand like it was a feral chicken.

Xander groaned in annoyance and dropped the hand. "I may be stupid, but I'm not an idiot. Out of all my friends, I know Kitty is the only one truly happy about this getting married thing — out of the original gang, at least. She's always been in my corner when it comes to Ahn. And I repaid that by pretty much always shutting down her feelings for you and frequently thinking of plans to break you two up—"

"What plans to break us—"

"Spike, let me finish before I throw up," he said, grimacing. "I have no idea what she sees in you, and frankly, I don't want to know. But you make her happy — and us not giving you a chance makes her sad. So... this is me giving you a chance, I guess. I won't make faces and fake gag when she talks about you. Well, I'll try. Just... keep making Kitty happy because it's what she deserves."

Spike was stunned by Xander's willingness to call a truce for the sake of Kitty. "Well, I suppose—"

"But let me make one thing clear," Xander said, his tone darkening as he stepped closer. "Kitty trusts you, even if we all think she shouldn't. She loves you, even though we all think she shouldn't. And if you hurt her, Spike, or if you break that trust, you won't even have time to worry about what Buffy will do to you. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Spike said, nodding. "Yeah, I get it. But I won't. I may not have a soul, I may still be a monster, but I'd never want to hurt her."

Xander studied Spike, knowing that he was serious. Then he nodded and stuck his hand out one again. This time, Spike shook it.

"We'll get along. For Kitty."

"For Kitty."