Holy Hearts

Early the next day, Twilight awoke with surprisingly low energy. When she was finally able to open her eyes, she saw Spike in the corner of the her room.

"Are you okay," he asked.

"What time is it?"

"You slept through yesterday."

"You're joking."

Spike shook his head in response.

"What happened?"

"The spiritual energy was too intense for you to handle. It drained you until you couldn't keep your eyes open anymore."

"What about you?"

"I'm used to it."

"I feel so defeated, Spike. This isn't like our usual adventures; this is like an old saying, 'hell on earth'."

"I can't argue that."

"What do we do now?"

"There's one last thing I want to do, then I'm going into an early retirement."

"Why?"

"I can't risk continuing anymore now that you're involved. I want to share my life with you, but at this rate, I won't have a life to share."

"Spike..."

"...It's going to rain for a long time I think, but I'll go out and find you some holy protection of your own, so we can finish this together."

"...Can you do something Gothic?"

Spike smiled and chuckled.

"I think I can manage that."

Spike went over to Twilight and lied down next to her.

"Did you watch over me all night?"

"...Yeah..."

"...Thank you."

Twilight gave him a loving kiss and curled up next to him. The overwhelming sadness was liberating in a way. It brought them closer together and made them stronger. Soon, they could live the rest of their lives in peace."