(Disclaimer: The show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all of its' characters
were created by Joss Whedon and I am in no way that guy.)
Act 1: New Moon
"Hey!! Can't you keep it down a little?" Anya waited until this recent customer had left to lean over the counter and bellow across the store.
Xander's upper body appeared from behind a stack of wood near the back. "Sorry An," he smirked, holding up a hammer, "but these don't have a volume dial, ok? So, you'll just have to bear with it for the next few hours, allright?" Annoyed, he bent back down to his task. 'Remember Xan- Man', he thought to himself, 'you're helping to fix up the inside of the Magic Shop for the rest of the Scoobies, not the fiendish ex. Just focus on the task'.
Anya winced as she heard the hammering start up again, as well as the throbbing above her left eye. If she didn't know before that somebody could have a headache for more than four days, she sure did now. 'And I just bet he could have been done weeks ago. He's probably prolonging this just to torture me.' In an attempt to distract herself from the noise, the woman pulled out a binder from behind the counter and began to go over it's contents.
***
"You ready?"
"Yep. Bring it on, Bubba!" The blindfold made Dawn nervous, but she couldn't let her sister know that. Then, there was silence. The teen held her breath, holding a defensive pose, and waited. Suddenly, she heard the mat rustle to her left. Dawn ducked down, and swung a punch across her chest towards where she believed the target was. She felt a little jolt of satisfaction when she knew her fist had struck home.
"Oomph" a male voice groaned. A loud thud was heard as a body fell to the mat, and then soft whimpering.
"Uh oh." Dawn winced, lifting the blindfold from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Clem. Are you okay?" The girl turned around to look down at the heavily padded demon looking up at her.
"I guess I'm okay." Clem felt a little shaky. "I just didn't expect you to..."
"Dawn! Since when do we check on the demons to make sure they're not hurt?" Buffy's face was stern, her hands planted on her hips. 'Man, she looks like mom when she does that', Dawn remarked.
"Sorry, Buffy. It's just....Clem, you know?"
At hearing his name, the floppy-eared demon smiled. "You know," he said as he got to his feet and dusted himself off, "Maybe I'm not the best person to do this. I'm not the aggressive type."
"Well, I have to watch her, so I can't be the attacker. Giles and Willow are still in England. Anya and Xander are working out front and..." Buffy stopped herself before she said any more. "anyways, Giles will be back with Will tomorrow, and then you can go back to, um, doing whatever it is you do all day."
"Okay. You know, it really isn't all that bad. I just don't like the part where I hit the mat. It's so uncomfortable. You guys should invest in some new extra-padded ones. I'm sure its worth it. Can I go now? This stuff is chafing me." he asked, scratching at the full umpire getup he was wearing.
"Uh, yeah." Every day, Buffy found herself liking Clem as a person (er, demon) more and more, and found that highly disturbing. "You too, Dawn." she said, tossing her a towel. "And by the way, what's up with calling me 'Bubba'?"
***
"So how'd my Junior Slayer do today?" Xander grinned as he finished sweeping up the last of the wood shavings.
"Dawn did fine. I'll just be glad when Giles gets back. Fighting's easy for me, but not training somebody. Especially somebody who asks if the demons are all right after she hits them."
"Hey!" Dawn protested as she packed up the weapons. "I'm used to being polite."
"Since when?" Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Anyways," she said, turning back to Xander. "are those the new shelves?"
"Yep." Xander walked over to the handiwork and slid his hand across the surface. "You like?"
"It looks good." Buffy answered. "Where's Anya?"she asked cautiously.
"I don't know and honestly I don't care at the moment." he said, wiping his brow with his sleeve. "But I think she said something about the drug store. Oh well."
"I'm really sorry about this." Buffy cringed. "Its' just that it would have cost Giles so much to fix this place up after Willow went bad, and..."
"I know." Xander sighed. "Only one more set of shelves to go and then no more crankyness."
"Thanks." she smiled sweetly.
"Never a problem." he sighed. "Aren't you late for Ye Olde Patrolling?"
"What about Ye Olde Dinner?" Dawn called from the front door. "I'm starving!"
***
Clem hummed busily to himself as he carried several big paper bags of groceries into the crypt. "Guess what?" he began, "You know those little samosa thingys? They were on sale, so I thought I'd get some. I know how you like spicy things. They were out of ready-bake buffalo wings though. You okay with that?" He peered over at the enshadowed corner of the room. "Hey!" he called softly, a look of concern crossing his face. "I went to the butcher's too."
There seemed to be slight movement from the dark corner as Clem dug into a grocery bag, and pulled out a tupperware container. "You know," he said as he poured some of the contents into a mug "I think she almost said your name today." The demon looked over to the shadow expectantly for a moment, then turned, disappointed, to the drink as he put it in the microwave.
Clem sighed deeply. "Listen. I know that what you're going through is really hard. Well, I don't really know, but I can imagine. Its' been almost a month though, and I'm still the only one who knows you're back in town." The microwave timer went off. He retrieved the warmed mug, walked over to the corner, and placed the cup down before the figure sitting there silently in the dark. Then he plopped himself back on the couch, and grabbed a half-eaten bag of chips sitting next to it.
"I know you don't want to hear this, but don't you think it's time you let her know what's happened? Who knows, she might even understand." Clem waited for an answer and got none. "Oh well." he sighed, and turned on the tv. "Hey, Lady and the Tramp. I love that movie! You know that part when they eat the spaghetti? I....Never mind."
Act 1: New Moon
"Hey!! Can't you keep it down a little?" Anya waited until this recent customer had left to lean over the counter and bellow across the store.
Xander's upper body appeared from behind a stack of wood near the back. "Sorry An," he smirked, holding up a hammer, "but these don't have a volume dial, ok? So, you'll just have to bear with it for the next few hours, allright?" Annoyed, he bent back down to his task. 'Remember Xan- Man', he thought to himself, 'you're helping to fix up the inside of the Magic Shop for the rest of the Scoobies, not the fiendish ex. Just focus on the task'.
Anya winced as she heard the hammering start up again, as well as the throbbing above her left eye. If she didn't know before that somebody could have a headache for more than four days, she sure did now. 'And I just bet he could have been done weeks ago. He's probably prolonging this just to torture me.' In an attempt to distract herself from the noise, the woman pulled out a binder from behind the counter and began to go over it's contents.
***
"You ready?"
"Yep. Bring it on, Bubba!" The blindfold made Dawn nervous, but she couldn't let her sister know that. Then, there was silence. The teen held her breath, holding a defensive pose, and waited. Suddenly, she heard the mat rustle to her left. Dawn ducked down, and swung a punch across her chest towards where she believed the target was. She felt a little jolt of satisfaction when she knew her fist had struck home.
"Oomph" a male voice groaned. A loud thud was heard as a body fell to the mat, and then soft whimpering.
"Uh oh." Dawn winced, lifting the blindfold from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Clem. Are you okay?" The girl turned around to look down at the heavily padded demon looking up at her.
"I guess I'm okay." Clem felt a little shaky. "I just didn't expect you to..."
"Dawn! Since when do we check on the demons to make sure they're not hurt?" Buffy's face was stern, her hands planted on her hips. 'Man, she looks like mom when she does that', Dawn remarked.
"Sorry, Buffy. It's just....Clem, you know?"
At hearing his name, the floppy-eared demon smiled. "You know," he said as he got to his feet and dusted himself off, "Maybe I'm not the best person to do this. I'm not the aggressive type."
"Well, I have to watch her, so I can't be the attacker. Giles and Willow are still in England. Anya and Xander are working out front and..." Buffy stopped herself before she said any more. "anyways, Giles will be back with Will tomorrow, and then you can go back to, um, doing whatever it is you do all day."
"Okay. You know, it really isn't all that bad. I just don't like the part where I hit the mat. It's so uncomfortable. You guys should invest in some new extra-padded ones. I'm sure its worth it. Can I go now? This stuff is chafing me." he asked, scratching at the full umpire getup he was wearing.
"Uh, yeah." Every day, Buffy found herself liking Clem as a person (er, demon) more and more, and found that highly disturbing. "You too, Dawn." she said, tossing her a towel. "And by the way, what's up with calling me 'Bubba'?"
***
"So how'd my Junior Slayer do today?" Xander grinned as he finished sweeping up the last of the wood shavings.
"Dawn did fine. I'll just be glad when Giles gets back. Fighting's easy for me, but not training somebody. Especially somebody who asks if the demons are all right after she hits them."
"Hey!" Dawn protested as she packed up the weapons. "I'm used to being polite."
"Since when?" Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Anyways," she said, turning back to Xander. "are those the new shelves?"
"Yep." Xander walked over to the handiwork and slid his hand across the surface. "You like?"
"It looks good." Buffy answered. "Where's Anya?"she asked cautiously.
"I don't know and honestly I don't care at the moment." he said, wiping his brow with his sleeve. "But I think she said something about the drug store. Oh well."
"I'm really sorry about this." Buffy cringed. "Its' just that it would have cost Giles so much to fix this place up after Willow went bad, and..."
"I know." Xander sighed. "Only one more set of shelves to go and then no more crankyness."
"Thanks." she smiled sweetly.
"Never a problem." he sighed. "Aren't you late for Ye Olde Patrolling?"
"What about Ye Olde Dinner?" Dawn called from the front door. "I'm starving!"
***
Clem hummed busily to himself as he carried several big paper bags of groceries into the crypt. "Guess what?" he began, "You know those little samosa thingys? They were on sale, so I thought I'd get some. I know how you like spicy things. They were out of ready-bake buffalo wings though. You okay with that?" He peered over at the enshadowed corner of the room. "Hey!" he called softly, a look of concern crossing his face. "I went to the butcher's too."
There seemed to be slight movement from the dark corner as Clem dug into a grocery bag, and pulled out a tupperware container. "You know," he said as he poured some of the contents into a mug "I think she almost said your name today." The demon looked over to the shadow expectantly for a moment, then turned, disappointed, to the drink as he put it in the microwave.
Clem sighed deeply. "Listen. I know that what you're going through is really hard. Well, I don't really know, but I can imagine. Its' been almost a month though, and I'm still the only one who knows you're back in town." The microwave timer went off. He retrieved the warmed mug, walked over to the corner, and placed the cup down before the figure sitting there silently in the dark. Then he plopped himself back on the couch, and grabbed a half-eaten bag of chips sitting next to it.
"I know you don't want to hear this, but don't you think it's time you let her know what's happened? Who knows, she might even understand." Clem waited for an answer and got none. "Oh well." he sighed, and turned on the tv. "Hey, Lady and the Tramp. I love that movie! You know that part when they eat the spaghetti? I....Never mind."