Leaning back in his chair, feet propped on the table, cigarette dangling from his mouth, Spike ignored half of what Angel said, only nodding distractedly at the pictures and magazines shoved in front of his face. This was all Angel's idea. He was just along for the ride. As long as he got amazing shags out of it, he really didn't care about the details.
His only requirements had been no 'Wind Beneath My Wings' and no daytime outdoor ceremonies where the breeze might blow the tree branches aside leaving them little piles of dust.
Since Buffy was wholeheartedly behind this thing, Spike felt no guilt when he thought about their near wedding or thought about her in general. There were very fond memories of her for both the vampires, and since the change had occurred in their relationship about the time she had found someone special--and human--everything had worked out well.
He figured there would always be the 'what ifs' but at least they were still friends.
"What are you giggling about?" The sound had finally penetrated his deep thoughts.
Angel glowered at him. "I don't giggle. I just thought this was slightly amusing. A layer cake of angel and devil food."
"Should get a few chuckles from the crowd." Spike shrugged at the picture. "We need one of those two men thingies for the top of the cake. I'm not wearing a dress."
Angel smirked. "But you'd look so pretty in white lace."
"I look better in black leather," Spike drawled.
"They don't make black leather tuxedos. We've been over this before."
Spike smirked back. "Was thinking more about the wedding night, luv."
Knowing the look in his lover's eyes all too well, Angel protested, "We have a dozen things to do today, Spike."
"Yeah, and shagging each other rotten is always on top of my list." Plucking the magazine from Angel's hand, Spike tossed it aside, then tossed his lover down on the floor.
*****
A week or so later they lay in bed discussing possible locations. Well, Angel was discussing. Spike was imagining the old boy tied spread eagled to the four posts of the bed with whipped cream on his willy.
"Are you paying any attention at all to any of this?"
Noting the exasperation in the older male's voice, Spike tuned back in. "Huh?"
"Obviously not."
"Are you going to pout?"
"This is an important occasion for both of us. You agreed to it, remember?"
Spike squirmed a bit beneath those intense eyes. "Well, yeah, but then I figured we'd just get one of the witches to say a few words over us before a few friends and then we'd have a wild party."
"Then why didn't you say anything before half the plans were set?" Angel demanded as he sat up and glared at his companion.
"Dunno," Spike shrugged. "Guess I figured you'd do all the work and I'd show up."
Spike spent the rest of that night on the couch.
*****
The sound of the waves crashing on the shore below the cliff was muffled but highly charged, the breeze blowing across his face smelled like lilac, the little marble temple gleamed white and polished beneath the moon and halogen lamps.
Spike gaped at Dawn and several of the younger Slayers running around with pink and white streamers, balloons, glitter, god knows what else, decorating the place Angel had chosen.
The poofiest place imaginable.
"Vegas is still an option," he muttered to Buffy who snorted.
"Oh sure, you can get married by a parachuting Elvis at a couple thousand feet up."
"Maybe I'll just push Angel off the plane without a chute."
She socked him on the bicep, making him wince, but silently give thanks that it hadn't been her favorite target--his nose. "It's beautiful here."
"It's...girly here!"
"Well..." A sly look was cast his way. "I do know enough about Angel to know who plays the girl in this relationship."
The look on his face made her burst out laughing and drew Angel to their sides from where he'd been directing the exact placement of the white chairs bedecked with pink and white ribbons and linen coverings.
"Spike? Your eyes are about to bulge out of your head. Hi, Buffy." He hugged her for a moment. "Thanks for organizing the decorating."
"Gotta do something with this bunch." She pointed her thumb at the teenagers behind her. "Only so many demons in the world to slaughter. And, hey, maybe one of them will become a wedding planner because we've got several more on the horizon."
"Yeah? Who?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure Giles is finally going to pop the question to Olivia, Willow and Kennedy are talking about adopting a baby and I know they think it would be easier if they were officially a couple, and Dawn just got engaged, but it's supposed to be a secret until after your wedding. She didn't want to spoil your big day."
That last one brought Spike out of his stupor. "Huh? What? But...but...she's only thirteen!"
"See, that's the problem with vampires. You never notice that people actually grow up, mature, stuff like that."
"But, but...if she's old enough to get married, she's old enough to..." Spike broke off, going whiter than normal, his eyes rolling in his head.
"Oh geez, get a grip," Dawn said from behind him. "I haven't been a virgin for nearly six years."
"ACK!"
"Yeah, definitely the girl," Buffy snickered.
*****
Spike twitched in his tuxedo, tugging at the collar, fiddling with his hair, until Giles smacked his hands away from pulling all the petals off the boutonniere.
"Stop that."
"I'm not the girl."
Giles forced down a grin and straightened Spike's bowtie. Over the years, the two men had become, if not friends, at least friendly--enough that both of the vampires had asked him to witness their wedding and he'd been happy to agree. Spike figured that Giles was doing it because anything that kept the two away from Buffy was a good thing, but he was too happy with Angel to let it bother him.
They'd both wanted Buffy to stand up for them as well, but had come to the realization that would be all around awkward, so Dawn was their other attendant. She'd been by already to check on him, decked out in pink silk that clung to way too many curves, in Spike's opinion.
"So why do I have to stand on the girl's side," Spike continued, still fidgeting and wishing he'd brought his smokes.
"You're the short one?"
"Ha ha, very droll." He fiddled with his bowtie again and then danced away from Giles's smacking hand. "Are you sure you weren't a nun in another life?"
Giles shrugged and turned to look in the mirror at his own dapper image. "Anything's possible. After all, I'm the Best Man at the marriage of two souled male vampires."
Spike snickered and momentarily relaxed. "Can't tell you how many laws of nature we're breaking. Always been a rule breaker, of course."
"Well, considering the amount of animosity between the two of you over the years, it was rather surprising when you announced you were a couple."
"Love, hate, both sides of the same coin. There was always something there. I was just surprised Angel was the first to admit it, him being a big boy scout, of course."
"When he commits, he commits wholeheartedly."
Spike smiled, his eyes softening. "Tell me about it."
*****
Rather than one or both of them walk down the aisle, they both approached the temple from either side, coming together before the priestess and Dawn and Giles. Soft Celtic music played, roses spilled from Dawn's hands, and all their friends were gathered in their finery. Connor sat on Angel's side, Illyria on Spike's. Buffy said she'd shift in the middle of the ceremony and Faith offered to switch seats with her--both Slayers devoted equally to both vampires.
Willow had placed protection spells around the site so no uninvited demons could attend and the weather was perfect. The moon and stars shown brightly in the sky as the two male vampires spoke their vows and declared their love before their friends and family and whatever gods might actually listen to two former Big Bads.
The kiss brought a lot of woos from the crowd along with applause, and they both chuckled and turned to face them, hand in hand, starting a life together that in truth had begun over a century before.
*****
Much later, the two males lay in bed, hands clasped on Angel's stomach, legs entwined. Spike had his free arm folded behind his head, and a cigarette dangled from his mouth. Angel sipped from a glass of Cabernet and smiled satisfactorily at the ceiling of the charming Bed & Breakfast in the Sonoma Valley.
Breaking the clasp of hands, Spike plucked the cigarette from his mouth and stubbed it out in the ashtray, then rolled to place his head on his lover's shoulder. "Happy?"
"Just happy enough," Angel replied, turning his head to kiss the younger male. "You?"
"If you're happy, I'm happy."
"I know the wedding didn't mean all that much to you," Angel began softly.
"No, don't," Spike stopped him. "I was already committed to you, didn't need a ceremony or a piece of paper to tell that to the world, but I know how much you wanted it, so it became important to me, too. I have my claim on you, same as you have on me, but now everyone knows it. Everyone that matters, at least. Plus, we got a bunch of appliances. We needed a new blender after the blood daiquiri disaster."
Angel chuckled since Spike had been the one to cause their old blender to burn out in a spectacular mess of blood and smoke. "And nearly a complete set of china."
"We don't eat, so why we need that is beyond me."
"For dinner parties."
Spike snickered and nuzzled his nose into the hollow of Angel's throat. "My hot wings'll look silly on that delicate pattern."
"Which is why we got stoneware, too."
"You read every wedding magazine available, didn't you."
"I wanted it to be perfect," Angel protested, a bit defensively.
Spike nipped with his teeth as he grinned. "And you call me the girl."
Growling, Angel rolled them and buried his mouth in Spike's throat, making him whimper and moan and move eagerly onto shag number four of their wedding night.
End