set in s6 ig
My hand brushes gently against Spike's as we walk to the funfair. He catches my hand and holds it tight. It feels warm, which is unusual, but it must be from his hot tea that we brought from a stall. Daylight robbery, he'd complained, although it's a dark November evening and funfairs are never cheap. Even so, he splashed out on cream, sprinkles and marshmallows for my hot chocolate when I asked for a plain.
It tastes heavenly.
"Try some."
"I'm good."
"Come on. It may be the best thing I've ever had in my mouth."
He raises an eyebrow and I can tell there's a joke on the tip of his tongue, but he lets me tilt the paper cup to his lips. He hums in approval. "That is nice."
The town has been transformed by the games, stalls, rides, glowing strung up lights and the delicious smell of donuts. The last time I went to a funfair like this, I must have been in primary school, back in England. I wonder if Spike's ever been to one.
"Is there anything you want to go on?"
Spike looks a little surprised by my question. He thinks for a second. "Maybe the Ferris wheel. It's a classic, right?"
"Yeah. That'll be nice."
I finish my drink (sadly) and shove it in a too-full bin. Spike does the same.
"I want to beat you at a game first." Spike says playfully, leading the way to the line of games. I wasn't sure he would like the fair, but he seems happy, which makes me happy. "You can choose."
"I don't mind." I say honestly. I'm never any good at these games and I swear most of them are rigged anyway.
"It'll give you more of a chance if you choose." he teases, but I accept the challenge and choose another classic, the coconut shy.
And annoyingly, Spike does beat me. I miss with all three of my balls and Spike knocks down three coconuts in a row. I can't be too butt-hurt though, because that equates to one of the giant teddy bears. He accepts it proudly off the miffed stall-worker, an older guy with a thick moustache, and immediately offers it to me.
I can barely hold the thing, it's so ridiculously big, which Spike finds hilarious. He doesn't hear me (or more likely ignores me) when I tell him to stop sniggering. I thrust it back into his arms and he takes it without another word. I thought he may be embarrassed carrying it around, but he looks smug.
As we make our way over to the Ferris wheel, Spike bumps into someone because the impractical yet adorable bear is impairing his vision.
"I'm so sorry." I start to apologise before I recognise who it is. "Oh, hey, Will!"
"Hey!" she smiles and points to the bear, "Which game did you win?"
"Coconut shy."
"Well," Spike corrects, "I won."
"Oh, we missed that one. " Tara tells us, frowning a little at Willow. Willow turns to her, fondly adjusting the tartan scarf around her girlfriend's neck.
She explains, "We're heading back now in time for Charmed. We can take the bear off your hands if you want. You can pick it up tomorrow."
I look at Spike and he somewhat reluctantly nods, passing the bear over to Willow. I pat Spike on the shoulder and say to Willow, "Take good care of it, yeah? For his sake."
He grabs my hand, using it to pull me closer so he can snake his arm around my waist.
"Enjoy Charmed." Spike says.
Willow and Tara smile before hurrying off back to the Summers' residence.
"We should get some candyfloss for Dawn and Buffy." I suggest as we join the queue for the ride.
"Nice idea, love." He kisses the top of my forehead which makes me blush, despite the months we've been going out.
At the top of the Ferris Wheel, we can see for miles. It's just us in the seat, thighs squashed and hands intertwined. Spike brushes his thumb over the back of my hand as he tells me about the last time he went to a funfair.
"The main attraction was the circus." he reminisces, "Saw an elephant, lion, think there was a bear cub too. Poor things. Even then, I remember feeling bad for them."
"So, you prefer modern day funfairs?"
"Yeah, although the lion was cool."
I laugh. I feel a little self-conscious about how it sounds, but when I catch Spike's eye, he's looking at me with such love and affection, it eases the nerves in my stomach.
"You are my favourite person." he affirms and I touch his cheek, kissing his lips softly.
And before we know it, we're at the bottom, clambering out of the ride and walking to our next ride. The Walzer makes me so dizzy, but Spike is unaffected as a vampire, which is unfair. I persuade him to join me on the carousel, and we sit on two unicorns (mine has a rainbow mane, while Spike's is fuchsia). The music it plays is so nostalgic, it makes me long for cosy, rainy evenings by the fireplace back home.
"Do you ever miss England?"
"Not a lick," Spike replies. He pauses, choosing his words, "Life here with you is much better."
That surprises me. Spike hasn't lost the accent, still retains a lot of English idioms and customs, so I wonder if it's truly true. He takes my hand again, "What next?"
"I'm ready to go home," I stifle a yawn, "If that's okay?"
"Course, love. We should pick up that candyfloss for the Summers before we go."
"Oh, I almost forgot."
Once we've brought it, and are making our way home, I spot a photo booth at the edge of the fair activities. I eye it as we pass and Spike notices.
"We can do it if you want."
I blush, "You think it's cheesy."
"Who told you that?" With a smirk, he backtracks and gets into the booth so I follow. It is so tiny. I pull the red curtain closed and stand awkwardly, hunched over as to not bang my head on the low ceiling.
"I think this is made for one person."
"Nonsense." Spike pulls me down and I land with one leg on the seat and one leg across his leg. "There."
I laugh, "This is hardly practical."
He starts poking buttons on the screen, pushing some coins into the slot. The screen comes to life.
Spike straightens, "Ok. Pose." He stares into the little black camera with a toothy grin and I can't help matching it.
For the second picture, I wrap my arm around his shoulder to do bunny ears behind his head and he looks at me, confused. Before I can tell him to look at the camera, it snaps.
"What was that?"
"Bunny ears."
"Bunny ears?"
"You're such an old man."
I smile and pull him in for a kiss by his shirt and hear the camera shutter again.
For the last picture, Spike tries to replicate the bunny ears on my head, but splays out all his fingers like a fan.
"You do two fingers," I tell him with a broad grin, holding back a laugh, "Like this."
I wrap my arm around his shoulders again and we both look into the camera just in time. The electronic voice tells us that the pictures will be printed shortly. I make use of that time by kissing Spike until things get a little too hot and stuffy in the confined space.
Out in the night air again, I pick up the freshly printed photos.
"I love this one," I point to the last picture (which actually turned out cute) and Spike gently takes the strip to examine it closely.
He points at the first one and his voice is soft when he says, "You're so beautiful."
Spike turns back to the booth and picks up another strip of photos (I didn't hear it print). He tucks it carefully into his jacket pocket.
"All set to go?"
"Yep."
With one hand holding a bucket of blue and pink candyfloss, the other intertwined with my boyfriend's, I lead the way back to the crypt. Rain clouds start to darken the sky so we pick up the pace but Spike somehow turns it into a race. We're laughing and running and trying to beat each other as the sky starts to spit.
When we get back to the crypt, we shed our coats immediately and get ready for bed. I can't wait to curl up under the velvety duvet and fall asleep to the soft sound of rain. I yawn at the thought.
My dream soon becomes reality as the bed dips with Spike's weight as he lays down next to me. I don't even have time to say goodnight before sleep overcomes me, but I know he won't mind. He knows I love him.
thanks for reading!!! hope you enjoyed! this is so fluffy and no plot-y but yk, it's Spike so... :)