Sunnydale After Dark
Summary: All he wants is to feel like she's choosing him. Is that so bad?
Categories: Challenge Response, Season 6, Post-Series, Canon Compliant
Characters: Buffy, Spike, Clem, Ensemble - BtVS
Genres: Angst, HEA/HFN, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Warnings: (Click Here To Reveal) Adult Language, Other Mental Health Issues, Sexual Situations, Violence
Completed: Yes Chapters: 1
Word count: 14,747 Hit Count: 1,000 ePub Downloads: 6
Published: 10/30/22 Updated: 10/30/22


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Story Notes: Written for swonderful's challenge on EF, asking what the hell was up with that ring Spike wore on his left ring finger for most of S6. I'd never noticed it before this challenge, but after meticulous research I discovered that he does in fact wear it from the scene where he lets Buffy know he can hit her in Smashed, to his conversation with Dawn in Seeing Red, and EVERY single one of his scenes in between, with the exception of the "do you trust me" scene in Dead Things. So, their entire destructive relationship, basically, stopping just before the AR. 
 
That cannot be a coincidence, and we will be exploring the meaning behind this ring today, gentle viewers!
 
Also, swonderful requested that this story be told "preferably without buckets of angst or smut." The smut part was easy since I don't write that anyway, but, well... I may have failed a bit on the angst front. Okay I failed a lot, and I'm so, so sorry about that. I did my best... in fact, I edited it with the intention of taking some of the angstier parts out, and only succeeded in adding more. But these two, um, they had some issues this season, and I wanted this story to stay canon-compliant in order to provide a feasible excuse for this ring. So. Here there be angst. Buckets, in fact, exactly as I was instructed not to do (and again with the sorry). BUT there is a HEA/HFN tag, so it's not all bad! 


Unbeta'd because I'm weird and self-destructive, so all narrative clunkiness is my own.
 
Thank you so much to mcgnagallsarmy for the awesome banner! squee
 
I am aware there is an AtS episode with this title… but I really liked the title of the challenge so I kept it. It has nothing to do with that episode, lol.
 
And lastly... please be kind to Buffy. If not because you can sympathize with her character this season, then just as a favor to me, who just wants to wrap her up in a bubble and protect her from all the bad things, I love her so. 
 
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

1. The Ring by violettathepiratequeen - Likes: 7 Comments: 6 Word Count: 14,747 Hit Count: 1,000 Published: 10/30/22