Chapter 18
Tabula Rasa Ad Aeternum
By Kallysten and Kantayra

Chapter Eighteen





“Spike! Yes!”

Thump.

“God! Luv…”

Thump.

Crack.

Silence.

“That sounded…weird.”

Tara’s quiet words startled Willow; she had been trying very hard not to listen, but the walls were too thin – and Buffy and Spike, too loud – to ignore what was going on in the next room.

“I mean,” Tara continued, sounding every bit as much flustered as Willow felt, “that cracking noise? It sounded as…as though they broke something.”

“The bed, probably. Thanks heaven. Maybe they’ll be quiet now.”

Willow’s eyes widened as she heard her own words, and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment until she heard Tara’s quiet chuckle.

“It would just be nice if they stopped for a while,” she added quickly, “I could use some sleep.”

She shifted a little, trying to find a better position, and becoming again all too aware that it wasn’t sleep her body was crying out for at that instant.

“Sleep… would be good,” Tara acquiesced, although she didn’t really sound convinced.

Trying not to think about what she was doing, Willow turned to her side, facing Tara. The room was dark, but there was enough light coming from behind the not completely drawn curtains for Willow to see the features of her companion. To see that her eyes were wide open and that she was looking toward her, too. She felt her breath catch in her throat.

“I-It is kinda…sweet, though,” Willow commented, blushing slightly. “I mean, romantic. Their first night together, and…” She looked down. “I can’t remember, but it must be…”

“Exciting?” Tara suggested softly.

Willow offered her a shy smile. “Yeah.” One hand reached out hesitantly to brush a honey-brown lock back from Tara’s face. Her smile turned a shade more mischievous when Tara leaned into her touch. “And I’m kinda thinking the excitement is catching.”

“Oh?” Tara made the question sound innocent, but her lips were quirked in an answering smile to Willow’s own.

Willow watched Tara bite her lower lip coyly and leaned in. “Maybe Buffy and Spike aren’t the only ones who got a second chance to start over…”

“Mmm,” Tara murmured in agreement. And then, much to Willow’s surprise, took the lead and pressed a soft kiss to Willow’s lips.

Willow could feel the smile in her kiss and smiled back as it deepened, turned more intense as they relearned the taste of the other’s mouth.

“And, hey,” Willow joked lightly as they pulled apart for their first breath of air, “we’ve already got the noise issue covered.” Another bang sounded from Buffy’s room to verify her statement.

“Good point,” Tara agreed. And kissed her again…

* * *

“Mmm,” Buffy mumbled lazily against the alabaster planes of Spike’s chest. The muscles beneath her chest rumbled in a low purr of agreement to her sentiment.

It wasn’t the first time Spike had purred for her, and she was definitely getting used to it. The content noise by itself sent small shivers down her spine and made her toes curl. Not that they needed curling anymore, not after that last time – and the one before that, and… She grinned to herself as the memories flooded her mind and body with a fresh wave of blinding heat. Spike’s purr under her shifted into a quiet chuckle.

“You trying to kill me, luv?” he asked, his voice as smooth as warm honey. “Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t think vamps can die from too much shagging.”

Her hand batted at his chest without any conviction. “’Morning to you too,” she yawned sleepily. “And what are you talking about?”

His left hand, which had been nestled at the small of her back, slid down to cup her ass lovingly.

“’M talking about that luscious body of yours sending out a call to…”

Raising her head from his chest with some regret, she silenced him with a peck of her lips on his.

“No calling,” she assured him. “Or else you’ll kill me.”

He gave her a lopsided, teasing smile. “I’m sure there are worse ways to die.”

“Probably,” she conceded, returning to her comfy spot on his chest. “But then we wouldn’t get to do this again tonight. And tomorrow night. And the night after that. And…”

He chuckled again, and as a mirror image of what had happened earlier, the laugh turned into a soft purring.

“Mmm,” he agreed. “So I shouldn’t count on gettin’ any sleep for the rest of the week?”

“Sleep is for the weak,” she informed him lightly, leaning in closer to brush her lips against one of the faint white scar-lines on his chest.

The purr turned practically into a growl. Possessive and wild and passionate. His lips, however, whimpered. “Not sure I can…” he offered apologetically. Apparently super-human stamina could last eight hours and no more.

“I know. Me, either. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other fun things to do in bed with a pretty vampire.” She stuck her lower lip out in that adorable manner, and for a moment he was too mesmerized by that thick, juicy lip to hear her words, and then:


“Pretty?” he exclaimed in horror.

She giggled and wrapped her arms tight around his waist, hugging him close to her like a Spike-sized pillow. “Anyone ever tell you you’re cute when you’re indignant?”

“‘Cute’? Oh, now that is it, Slayer,” he growled good-naturedly. His threat didn’t amount to much more than kissing her breathless, however.

She sighed and rolled fully onto her back after he pulled away. “Every morning should be like this one,” she decided with a sleepy, happy grin on her face.

“No regrets then, pet?” he ventured hesitantly. He hated to bring up their past and the whole memory catastrophe on what was, yeah, quite possibly the most perfect morning ever. Well, it would’ve been had he been able to have a cigarette or two, but hell like he was risking his girl’s lungs. And pretty perfect was close enough…

“I love you,” she whispered softly, turning just her head on the pillow so that she could look at him. “How could there ever be any regrets after that?”

He shrugged. “Just making sure things didn’t get…complicated after last night.”

“Nah.” She brushed off his worries and kissed him again.

“And I love you, too,” he countered with a grin.

* * *

The door wasn’t offering much privacy – not any more than the walls had – and Dawn couldn’t help grinning when, hand poised to knock, she heard the shared ‘I love you’s inside her sister’s room. She was quite proud of her handiwork, and as well she should have been, getting these two together, the way they so obviously ought to be, hadn’t been exactly easy. Although it would probably cost her years of therapy after the traumatizing night she had spent, awoken every time she managed to doze off by yet more moans and assorted noises.

Moans and assorted noises that seemed to be starting yet again. She definitely had to do something. Without waiting anymore, she knocked. Hard.

“Don’t come in!” came Buffy’s shrill voice. “I mean, wait a…”

“Oh, don’t worry,” she cut in, “there’s no way I’m going in there. The noise was traumatizing enough; I don’t need the visual, too.”

Although Spike in his birthday suit had to be something quite interesting. Maybe a little peek…

She was brought back to the reality by his laughter, and Buffy’s shushing noises. “She’s going to hear you!”

“She already heard you!” Dawn said, exasperated. “How about you get off each other for a little while and come downstairs? I’m making breakfast.”

Without waiting for a reply – she would bang on the door again if needed – she walked to the end of the hall to Willow and Tara’s room, intending to invite them, too. She stopped, as before, with her fist inches from the door…

And heard a pleasure-filled whimper.

“Not them, too!” she groaned, rolling her eyes.

“What? Did, like, a horny demon attack last night?” And then she couldn’t help but giggle at the fact that there was a horny demon, just in the next room. Even if she was traumatized. And mortified. With a sigh, she knocked on Willow and Tara’s door, too. “Breakfast for all who can manage to get out of bed!” she shouted through the door before clomping back down the stairs.

She couldn’t keep the grin off her face, though. Because, seriously, how awesome was this? Buffy and Spike in love, and Willow and Tara, too. Even Rupert and Anya seemed to have found happiness, although (thankfully) she hadn’t had to hear the evidence of that relationship last night.

Yup, life was good.

Well, except for that stupid memory spell that Rupert was going to break in three days.

And the fact that, hey, pancakes weren’t supposed to be gray, were they? She frowned down at the stove in disbelief…

“Gray?” Spike cocked an eyebrow as he peered over her shoulder at the stove.

“Oops?” she offered with a sheepish grin. She tossed the mud-colored dish aside.

“I can do i—” Buffy began to offer.

“No!” Dawn shrieked in mock-horror. “Don’t let her near the stove again.” She clung teasingly to Spike’s arm. Which was nicely muscled. Too bad he’d thrown on a tee-shirt before he came downstairs. Dawn could forgive him the jeans, though. Maybe she wasn't ready for that much Spike after all.

Buffy humphed and came up behind Spike, brushing a hand gently against his waist as she passed him. “How about waffles?” she offered, poking her head into the freezer. “Nice, toaster waffles. I shouldn’t be able to set those on fire…” She sounded doubtful, though.

Dawn grinned as she watched Spike move to slip by her sister on his way to the toaster. The way the two of them were moving, it was almost like they were caught in the same orbit and couldn’t help but pull constantly closer to each other.

She sighed happily as she watched them, wondering at her own satisfaction at seeing the people around her so affectionate for each other. It seemed to be a deep-seated need within her to see people happy and in love, and she wondered whether the experience had really been that scarce in her life that she should savor it now.

In any case, things didn’t get much better than this…

* * *

“Hmm,” Anya sighed. “Doesn’t get much better than that…”

Tangled with her amidst his sheets, body still thrumming from the pleasure they’d shared the night before, Rupert couldn’t help but agree.

“A very delightful night,” he said, his voice still a bit rough. “One of many, many to come.” He grinned at her as he said so, but the wicked smile he expected in return did not come, and instead the satisfaction on her features faded slightly. “Anya?” he questioned softly. “Something wrong, love?”

“No, of course not,” she replied in a very unconvincing manner.

“Anya,” he insisted. “Tell me.”

She sighed and curled a little closer to him, cheek pressed to his chest, thumb idly flicking one of his nipples. She had taken quite a liking to this portion of his anatomy upon discovering it was so sensitive.

“I think I might be a little…nervous…about the spell,” she admitted finally. “I mean, we weren’t together before, and… What if…?”

“No.”

His interruption was quiet but forceful, and Anya fell silent.

“No what if’s, no nervousness,” he admonished her. “Even if it was different before, we’ll still remember this. We’ll remember what it’s like to be together. And I, for one, have no doubts that having you in my life is a definite improvement.”

She let out a small chuckle. “Of course. I certainly make getting orgasms a little easier.”

Cupping her face, he gently tilted it until he could see her. “That’s not what I meant,” he said slowly. “You bring much more than sex to my life.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I do? Like what?”

“Well…” he considered for a moment.

She pouted. “See? It’s all about the orgasms. It’s always about the orgasms. If I—”

“Anya!” he cut her off, mildly exasperated.

She blinked up at him, suspicious that she should be annoyed that he had interrupted her.

“I was merely trying to gather my thoughts on the matter. I have quite a lot of them,” he explained.

“Then say them,” she insisted matter-of-factly. “This isn’t one of those boring old books. Freeform compliments are allowed. And appreciated!” she added with a bright smile.

He grinned at that. “Well, first off, I have a sneaking suspicion that I’m much less impulsive when you’re not around.”

“Suspicion?” she teased lightly.

“And you have the ability to drive me to heights of passion – in both directions – that I can only presume is rare in a woman.”

“You seemed pretty passionate to me last night,” she said almost coyly, leaning in closer to him and licking and nibbling her way up his chest. Amazing how only a few compliments could reassure a girl.

“And you’re…oh yes, right there!…quite a challenge,” he added. “Stimulating physically to be sure. But also intellectually, verbally, emotionally…”

“Rupert?” she cut in.

“Mmm?”

Her expression turned serious, a little frown furrowing her brow. “If you think all of this about me, then why weren’t we together before?”

He considered that for a moment. “I can only suppose that circumstances – such as your engagement to Xander – kept me from considering the option.” He let out a little moan when her body shifted against his arousal. “Kept both of us from considering it,” he added pointedly.

She nodded at that. “So what’s to say that once those circumstances are back, one of us won’t decide to pull away again?”

“Only ourselves,” he argued, tilting her head up for a slow kiss. He broke away for a moment to whisper against her lips. “I can assure you, I have no such intention.” He kissed her again, and this time he could feel her giving in, molding her body against his, eager to explore the spark between them further.

She pulled away after a minute, though. “We’re supposed to open the shop in fifteen minutes,” she reminded him, disappointed.

“Bugger it,” he insisted, eyes dark with wild passion as he crawled over the bed toward her.

“B-But Rupert,” she protested half-heartedly. “The money…”

“Forget the money.” He was upon her again now, hands caressing, lips soothing…

And Anya thought that maybe he could make her forget about the money, after all. She turned into his kisses and decided that the store could wait for a few more hours.

Provided they made up for the profit losses by extending their hours further during the peak season, of course.

* * *

As he made his way across the living room and to the door, Xander realized that he would need to do some cleaning before they all got their memories back. It probably wouldn’t make such a good impression on Anya if upon her return clothes and pizza boxes were still littering the floor. Things were going to be awkward, he supposed; he didn’t need to add to it when a little cleaning could take care of the mess he had made. In truth, he had slipped into the bachelor’s part quite easily; so easily in fact that it was hard to imagine he used to be living with someone – practically married, actually. The change promised to be…interesting.

The drive to the construction site took no more than a few minutes, with Xander singing along to old tunes on the radio. It was odd how he could remember the lyrics for almost every song he heard; odd, also, how easy construction work was to him. He often found himself knowing what he was supposed to do, and he had stopped questioning the knowledge, though he continued to be grateful for it. It might have been difficult to explain to his colleagues or supervisor why he had suddenly forgotten how to do his job.

He was still whistling as he stepped onto the site, replying in kind to the greetings that came his way.

“Hey, Harris. You look like you’re in a good mood.”

“Hi, Johnson. What’s up?”

He smiled. He was indeed feeling pretty good, though he couldn’t have explained why.

“Not worrying about your wedding anymore, then? What did your girl do to warm your cold feet?”

A few laughs sounded around him, and someone clapped him on the shoulder. Xander struggled to keep the smile on his face. It wasn’t the first time the guys referred to Anya, not the first time they hinted that Xander had not been so excited about his upcoming wedding. And each time they did, he wanted to ask them – what did they know that he didn’t remember? Had he really been talking to them about something this personal? Although he seemed to be good friends with a few of them, so…

It was hard to know what to think. Anya seemed like a fine woman, from what he could see, so why would he have been anxious to marry her? Of course, she had been spending much more time with Rupert than with him, so he didn’t really know her that well. Not anymore, at least. But soon, he would, again.

Soon, they would all remember.