Disclaimer: I own nothing. Joss is the man!
Summary: It's almost Valentine's Day in Sunnydale. Will Buffy finally realize her feelings for a certain someone?
Pairings: B/S, W/T, X/A
Spoilers: As You Were, AU after that
A/N: This is my first fic. I needed something to cheer me up after reading those absolutely horrendous wildfeeds.
Valentines
"What's this?" Buffy thought to herself.
She leaned down and picked up a pale pink envelope left on her doorstep. Seeing her name scrawled on the envelope, she opened it on her way in the house. A big green frog with hearts in his eyes stared up at her from the front of the card.
"Oh, God. I don't even want to know." she said under her breath.
"Don't want to know what?" Dawn asked, coming down the stairs.
"Huh? Uh, nothing. I was just discussing the ingredients in the Doublemeat Meal with myself. Yuck. I don't know how people can eat that stuff." Buffy said, quickly hiding the card in her bag.
"I have got to get a life. People are going to start thinking that I'm insane if I keep going around having conversations with myself about HIM." she thought to herself.
"So work was okay?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, same old, same old. Families with whiny little children that spill everywhere, old people demanding their senior discount, just another typical night at the Doublemeat Palace. Oh, and to top it off, I have to work a double shift on Valentine's Day. I guess everyone else has a life and need some time off to be with their sweethearts. But hey, more money for Buffy, right?" Buffy replied.
"Umm, about Valentine's Day… Buffy, could I please, please, please go to the Bronze with Janice? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" whined Dawn.
"Dawn… the last time I let you do something on a holiday with Janice, you nearly got yourself killed. Why should I let you go?" Buffy responded.
"Please, Buffy? I've been really good since Halloween. My grades have gone up, and I haven't gotten into any trouble. Please? Janice's older sister is going to be there. She's 18, and she's really responsible and mature. She wouldn't let us do anything that you wouldn't. Please? I'll bet that some of the scoobies will be there as well. They could always check on me. Please, please can't I go?" Dawn rambled.
Buffy sighed. "Was I ever like this at 15?" she thought.
"I guess you may go to the Bronze tomorrow night. However, there will be some strict ground rules, young lady. You will be home at midnight, and you will call if something comes up. I will have Xander and Anya check up on you periodically, as I know that they have big Valentiney plans for the Bronze." Buffy stated.
"Yippee!" Dawn squealed, and ran and gave Buffy a big hug. "You're the greatest older sister!"
"Hey, I'm your only older sister" Buffy said with a smirk. "Just promise me you will be careful. I don't want a repeat vamp performance, okay?"
"Hey, after Halloween, even I don't want a repeat performance. I'll be careful. I'm gonna call Janice, she'll be so excited!"
With this Dawn ran upstairs to room to gab with Janice, and Buffy was left alone with her thoughts and her card.
Buffy walked over to the couch and sat down. She pulled off her jacket, took off her messenger bag, and put her aching feet up on the coffee table, all the while debating whether or not to look at the inside of the card. She knew exactly who the card was from, she didn't have to read it to know, but she was afraid to see what, if anything, it said. After all, she had only broken up with him two weeks prior. If he started doing these sweet mushy things for her, she didn't know how she could keep up her resolve to stay away from him.
She thought back to that scene in his demolished crypt when she had told him that she couldn't love him, that their relationship was killing her. He looked so broken, and she felt like she could have shattered into a million pieces when she saw the pain in his eyes.
"Why do I always cause people so much pain? I send my first boyfriend to hell, then I send my next into the arms of vampire ho's because he can't deal with my being stronger than him, and my last boyfriend… Oh God, since when have I thought of him as a boyfriend? Ugh, my last boyfriend I crush because I can't give him what he needs." She was unconsciously running her fingers over the smooth vellum of the card as she was having the inner one- sided conversation with herself.
"Hey, Buffy! Whatcha up to?" The words startled Buffy out of her reverie and she quickly shoved the card back into her bag. Willow was standing in front of her with that knowing look in her eyes. "Did you get a Valentine's card?" she asked.
"Huh? Nope, no way, no Valentine's card for me. Why would I get a Valentine's Day card? It isn't even Valentine's Day, and I don't have a boyfriend, and…"
"Okay, okay, I get it. That pink envelope that you just put in your bag *isn't* a Valentine's Day card, cuz Valentine's Day isn't until tomorrow. Must be one of those new ways that door to door salespeople are trying to get customers, right?" Willow said, trying to contain the giggles that were trying to escape. Buffy had looked so guilty when she had caught her staring at that envelope.
"Yeah, those darn salespeople, always trying to sell me a vacuum cleaner or a set of encyclopedias. This must be the newest way to not have a door slammed in your face. No person at the door, no way to slam it on them," Buffy joked lamely. "How obvious can I get?" she thought. "Get a hold of yourself, girl! Spike equals BAD! How many times do you have to tell yourself that?" She paused a bit in her thoughts, "Many, many, many more times before I start to believe it."
"Earth to Buffy! Earth to Buffy!" Willow said, waving a hand in front of her face.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Long day at the DMP. Did you have a good day? Class and all?"
The red head sighed, "Yeah, it was great. I had an awesome Philosophy class. We were discussing Aristotle's beliefs about friendship. And after that, I ran into Tara, and we actually had a conversation! I know it's a little soon, but I was thinking about asking her to the big bash at the Bronze tomorrow night, just as friends of course. Do you think I should? I mean, do you think that she would actually, like say she would? After all that I've done in the past few months, I would understand if she never wanted to do anything with me, ever again." Willow said, all of the pep leaving her as she continued to ramble about all of the bad choices she had made in the past few months.
"Will, hey Will!" Buffy said. "Don't beat yourself up for what happened in the past. All you can do about that is learn from it and move on. And you just said that you and Tara had an actual conversation, I think that means that she doesn't hate you. She's probably just as unsure of how to go about this as you are. Things happen for a reason, Wills. Take things slow, and let her be in charge."
"Your right. Things do happen for a reason, and all of that bad stuff is behind us now. I just hope that one day she can forgive me for everything that I did that hurt her. But maybe a latte at the Bronze would start to make up for things? You know what they say, nothing like a cup a joe to soothe the system." Willow said with a giggle.
"What are they teaching you at school?" Buffy said, shaking her head and smiling. "Uf, I'm off to take a nice long bubble bath. You would think that after the many, many years of working on their feet, people would have come up with a shoe that was both stylish and comfortable to work in."
She grabbed her messenger bag and started to head up the stairs, where a nice steaming bath filled with vanilla scented bubbles was calling her name.
"Hey, Buffy!" Willow called after her.
"What?" she said.
"If you ever want to talk about Mr. Misterioso, I'm all ears!" Willow said with a wink and a grin.
"When I do, you'll be the first to know!" she called back. "Right after Spike…" a little voice in her head said.
Summary: It's almost Valentine's Day in Sunnydale. Will Buffy finally realize her feelings for a certain someone?
Pairings: B/S, W/T, X/A
Spoilers: As You Were, AU after that
A/N: This is my first fic. I needed something to cheer me up after reading those absolutely horrendous wildfeeds.
Valentines
"What's this?" Buffy thought to herself.
She leaned down and picked up a pale pink envelope left on her doorstep. Seeing her name scrawled on the envelope, she opened it on her way in the house. A big green frog with hearts in his eyes stared up at her from the front of the card.
"Oh, God. I don't even want to know." she said under her breath.
"Don't want to know what?" Dawn asked, coming down the stairs.
"Huh? Uh, nothing. I was just discussing the ingredients in the Doublemeat Meal with myself. Yuck. I don't know how people can eat that stuff." Buffy said, quickly hiding the card in her bag.
"I have got to get a life. People are going to start thinking that I'm insane if I keep going around having conversations with myself about HIM." she thought to herself.
"So work was okay?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah, same old, same old. Families with whiny little children that spill everywhere, old people demanding their senior discount, just another typical night at the Doublemeat Palace. Oh, and to top it off, I have to work a double shift on Valentine's Day. I guess everyone else has a life and need some time off to be with their sweethearts. But hey, more money for Buffy, right?" Buffy replied.
"Umm, about Valentine's Day… Buffy, could I please, please, please go to the Bronze with Janice? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" whined Dawn.
"Dawn… the last time I let you do something on a holiday with Janice, you nearly got yourself killed. Why should I let you go?" Buffy responded.
"Please, Buffy? I've been really good since Halloween. My grades have gone up, and I haven't gotten into any trouble. Please? Janice's older sister is going to be there. She's 18, and she's really responsible and mature. She wouldn't let us do anything that you wouldn't. Please? I'll bet that some of the scoobies will be there as well. They could always check on me. Please, please can't I go?" Dawn rambled.
Buffy sighed. "Was I ever like this at 15?" she thought.
"I guess you may go to the Bronze tomorrow night. However, there will be some strict ground rules, young lady. You will be home at midnight, and you will call if something comes up. I will have Xander and Anya check up on you periodically, as I know that they have big Valentiney plans for the Bronze." Buffy stated.
"Yippee!" Dawn squealed, and ran and gave Buffy a big hug. "You're the greatest older sister!"
"Hey, I'm your only older sister" Buffy said with a smirk. "Just promise me you will be careful. I don't want a repeat vamp performance, okay?"
"Hey, after Halloween, even I don't want a repeat performance. I'll be careful. I'm gonna call Janice, she'll be so excited!"
With this Dawn ran upstairs to room to gab with Janice, and Buffy was left alone with her thoughts and her card.
Buffy walked over to the couch and sat down. She pulled off her jacket, took off her messenger bag, and put her aching feet up on the coffee table, all the while debating whether or not to look at the inside of the card. She knew exactly who the card was from, she didn't have to read it to know, but she was afraid to see what, if anything, it said. After all, she had only broken up with him two weeks prior. If he started doing these sweet mushy things for her, she didn't know how she could keep up her resolve to stay away from him.
She thought back to that scene in his demolished crypt when she had told him that she couldn't love him, that their relationship was killing her. He looked so broken, and she felt like she could have shattered into a million pieces when she saw the pain in his eyes.
"Why do I always cause people so much pain? I send my first boyfriend to hell, then I send my next into the arms of vampire ho's because he can't deal with my being stronger than him, and my last boyfriend… Oh God, since when have I thought of him as a boyfriend? Ugh, my last boyfriend I crush because I can't give him what he needs." She was unconsciously running her fingers over the smooth vellum of the card as she was having the inner one- sided conversation with herself.
"Hey, Buffy! Whatcha up to?" The words startled Buffy out of her reverie and she quickly shoved the card back into her bag. Willow was standing in front of her with that knowing look in her eyes. "Did you get a Valentine's card?" she asked.
"Huh? Nope, no way, no Valentine's card for me. Why would I get a Valentine's Day card? It isn't even Valentine's Day, and I don't have a boyfriend, and…"
"Okay, okay, I get it. That pink envelope that you just put in your bag *isn't* a Valentine's Day card, cuz Valentine's Day isn't until tomorrow. Must be one of those new ways that door to door salespeople are trying to get customers, right?" Willow said, trying to contain the giggles that were trying to escape. Buffy had looked so guilty when she had caught her staring at that envelope.
"Yeah, those darn salespeople, always trying to sell me a vacuum cleaner or a set of encyclopedias. This must be the newest way to not have a door slammed in your face. No person at the door, no way to slam it on them," Buffy joked lamely. "How obvious can I get?" she thought. "Get a hold of yourself, girl! Spike equals BAD! How many times do you have to tell yourself that?" She paused a bit in her thoughts, "Many, many, many more times before I start to believe it."
"Earth to Buffy! Earth to Buffy!" Willow said, waving a hand in front of her face.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Long day at the DMP. Did you have a good day? Class and all?"
The red head sighed, "Yeah, it was great. I had an awesome Philosophy class. We were discussing Aristotle's beliefs about friendship. And after that, I ran into Tara, and we actually had a conversation! I know it's a little soon, but I was thinking about asking her to the big bash at the Bronze tomorrow night, just as friends of course. Do you think I should? I mean, do you think that she would actually, like say she would? After all that I've done in the past few months, I would understand if she never wanted to do anything with me, ever again." Willow said, all of the pep leaving her as she continued to ramble about all of the bad choices she had made in the past few months.
"Will, hey Will!" Buffy said. "Don't beat yourself up for what happened in the past. All you can do about that is learn from it and move on. And you just said that you and Tara had an actual conversation, I think that means that she doesn't hate you. She's probably just as unsure of how to go about this as you are. Things happen for a reason, Wills. Take things slow, and let her be in charge."
"Your right. Things do happen for a reason, and all of that bad stuff is behind us now. I just hope that one day she can forgive me for everything that I did that hurt her. But maybe a latte at the Bronze would start to make up for things? You know what they say, nothing like a cup a joe to soothe the system." Willow said with a giggle.
"What are they teaching you at school?" Buffy said, shaking her head and smiling. "Uf, I'm off to take a nice long bubble bath. You would think that after the many, many years of working on their feet, people would have come up with a shoe that was both stylish and comfortable to work in."
She grabbed her messenger bag and started to head up the stairs, where a nice steaming bath filled with vanilla scented bubbles was calling her name.
"Hey, Buffy!" Willow called after her.
"What?" she said.
"If you ever want to talk about Mr. Misterioso, I'm all ears!" Willow said with a wink and a grin.
"When I do, you'll be the first to know!" she called back. "Right after Spike…" a little voice in her head said.