I'll stamp on her--stamp on her--stamp on her!
I couldn't find a way to work this into the "Seven things that will make me love a story" meme, but it's right up there with the best of them.
The eighth thing that will make me love a story: Include a Despard/Mad Margaret pairing.
Who are Despard and Mad Margaret, you ask? They're characters in Ruddigore, by W. S. Gilbert. Despard is Manly(TM), potentially dangerous, bullying and full of his own importance, but deeply unhappy with himself. Mad Margaret is "fantastically dressed in picturesque tatters", funny, pitiable, sexy in a creepy way, and chock full o' nuts. And together, they cause crime. Even when they both reform, you can't take the Mad out of the Margaret, and Despard hasn't changed a whole lot either.
I love them to pieces. And most of all I love them for the way they love each other. Yeah, admittedly W. S. Gilbert has left it up to the actors how much they make the characters care. You could even play it that they can hardly stand each other. I've seen it done that way, and it was really depressing. But I've also seen it done where Despard cared for Margaret like she's the only woman in the world for him, even if she does still occasionally bite people in the leg. It was the sweetest thing ever. That's how they should be.
Spike and Drusilla are a Despard/Mad Margaret couple. I liked them at once on that account. And Kemp Owyne and Dove Isabel would be a D/MM couple, the way I imagine them after the ballad is over. You don't just recover from being a dragon overnight. D/MM pairings don't have to be heterosexual. Pintel and Ragetti are definitely a D/MM couple (more in fanon than canon, but you can see it in both places). There's a female pairing that fits the bill too, but it's currently escaping my mind.