"You know what?" Buffy asked absently, staring across the room.
"What?" Spike asked, running his fingers over her hair. She was resting with her head on his chest, her legs curled up against him.
"It's really uncomfortable to sleep in jeans."
"Yes, I figured that out about fifty years ago." He said playfully. The Slayer rolled her eyes and sat up, smiling.
"Yes, Oh Knowing One." She shook her head and stood, walking over to close the blinds, which had been left open the night before. Making her way towards the door, she called out into the hallway. "Dawn, you up?"
"Yeah!" She heard Dawn yell from her room. Buffy shook her head and yawned as she shut the door.
"Still tired, luv?"
"Little bit. How 'bout you, did you go back to sleep at all?" She asked, sorting through the clothes hanging in her closet.
"Nope."
She pulled a red shirt from a hanger and turned to face him. "So you just sat there?"
"Yup." He said simply, throwing his legs over the side of the bed.
"Sounds entertaining." She said sarcastically, sitting down next to him.
"It was. You make some pretty weird faces when you sleep."
She pouted. "Do not."
"Do too."
"So you sat there and watched me sleep?" She asked, smirking. He nodded as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. "You're nothing but a big dork, you know that?"
"A dork? C'mon now, Slayer, you can do better than that."
"Yes, but not right now, I have to get Dawn to school." She said, thumping him on the back and standing.
"Whatever you say, luv." He said, shaking his head as he followed her into the hallway. "You know what?"
"What?" She asked, spinning back around to face him.
"I'm pretty sure I don't have Twizzler breath anymore." He said, walking up to stand in front of her.
"And your point is…" she droned, grinning. He cocked an eyebrow, smirking down at her. The small blonde laughed and leaned up, kissing the vampire.
"Um, ew." The pair broke apart to see Dawn standing in her door, not looking half as disgusted as she sounded. Actually, she seemed rather happy. The teen shook her head. "Get a room." She muttered before disappearing down the stairs.
Buffy smirked and looked down, patting him on the chest lightly. "I'm going to take a shower, do me a favor and make sure she eats something remotely healthy. I'll be down in a few."
"Sure thing, luv." He said, watching as she closed the door. He shook his head, grinning all-the-while as he walked downstairs. Dawn grinned at him as he walked into the kitchen. "What are you smiling at?" He asked, smirking.
She set the piece of toast she was buttering down and grinned. "So you and Buffy…you're like, a couple now?"
"Ask your sis." He said, grinning back at her. "Now eat your breakfast, you're gonna be late." Dawn rolled her eyes and went back to her toast.
The doorbell rang.
The pair exchanged a quick glance before heading towards the door. Spike pulled it open, carefully avoiding the rays of sunlight coming in.
He scowled.
"Aren't you supposed to sleep during the day?" Xander asked, looking rather annoyed that the vampire was answering Buffy's door now.
Spike rolled his eyes. "What d'you want, Whelp?"
"I'm here to…wait, why am I telling you this?" He shook his head and walked past him and into the kitchen. Spike scowled and closed the door, following after him.
"Hey Dawnster, need a ride to school?" He asked.
"Uh..sure, I guess." The teen replied, looking past him and giving Spike a small smile. He was leaning against the doorframe, glaring slightly at Xander.
"Great. Uh, is Willow up yet?" Xander asked, casting a glance towards the stairs. The fact that the redhead was mad at him was really wearing him down and he desperately wanted to talk to her.
"Nah, she's still asleep." Dawn said, grabbing her books from the counter.
"No big. I'll come back later." Xander said, following her towards the door. Spike resisted the urge to stick his foot out and tip him as he walked by.
"See ya later, Spike. Tell Buffy I said bye." Dawn said, smiling as she back out the door.
"Later, Nibblet." He locked eyes with Xander, who seemed just as uncomfortable as him. He smirked devilishly. "Bye Whelp." Xander made a face before closing the door. Spike grin faded. "Ninny…"
"Who was that?" Buffy asked, walking down the stairs.
"The almighty Whelp." Spike explained, feigning excitement.
Buffy grinned. "He take Dawn to school?"
"Yeah. Probably be back later, he wants t'talk t'Red."
"Good, he needs to." She said, walking into the livingroom. She poked her head around the corner of the couch and grabbed her tennis shoes from the floor. "I have to go to the store, you know, do the food thing. You want anything?"
"Actaully, yes." He pulled some money from his pocket and handed it to her. "Grab me some smokes, I'm almost out."
"You know, I should be giving you a lecture on how those things'll kill you." She said, shaking her head.
"You a bit late for that, pet."
"Well, then I'll have to settle with the it's-just-plain-nasty-and-is-a-waste-of-money speech."
"Believe me, compared to my little poetry stint this is bloody good habit to have. Just be glad I stopped writing 'fore I met you." He paused for a minute, pretending to be lost in thought. "Did you know poems didn't have to rhyme?"
"I'm leaving now." She said with a grin.
"You sure? Cause I mean, I might be able to pull out a few lines." He took a moment to clear his throat dramatically. "'Roses are red, violets are bl…'"
"Stop while you're ahead." The blonde warned playfully before disappearing out the door.
Spike shrugged. "Hmm, speaking of Red…" He turned and headed back up the stairs, trailing his fingers along the banister. "Red? You up?" He knocked lightly on her door.
"Unfortunately…" came the grim reply.
He chuckled and pushed the door open. "Now see? That's no attitude, missy. What happened to the firey little redhead who helped me make breakfast yesterday?"
"Xander squished her…" She mumbled, burrowing her head further into her pillow.
"Oh, come on now. Whelp's an idiot, granted, but he didn't mean t'hurt you." Spike said, taking a seat at the foot of the bed.
The girl looked down at him, her eyes red. "Yeah, he meant to hurt you."
"Like I said, Whelp's an idiot. Can't even make fun of me right." He replied with a smirk.
"It's not even making fun anymore, Spike, he's trying to make you leave."
"I know, but I think I'm the only person in town still in the running for 'Most Stubborn Evil Butt-Kicker.' I'm not goin' nowhere anytime soon if I don't have to."
"I think Dawn's catchin' up pretty fast.."Willow explained with a small smirk. "She's in the 'Stubborn Evil Butt-Kicker' club too, remember?"
Spike made a face. "Oh yeah, forgot about Nibblet. Hell, I don't think the Slayer n' me got a chance at winnin' now. Dawn's got it in the bag."
"Don't feel bad. You and Buffy have super-strength, but Dawn has super-strength and teenage hormones." Willow commented with a small smile.
"See? There's the Red will all know and love. Now come on, you insulted Dawn and her raging-teenage hormones, how bout we pick on Harris now?" Spike said eagerly. Willow gave him a small smile but didn't speak. "Fine, I'll go first. Let's see, Whelp's…"
Doorbell.
"…here." Spike rolled his eyes. "He said he was comin' back t'talk t'you."
"Yay for me." She said sarcastically, flopping her head back onto the pillow.
The doorbell rang again.
"Want me to tell him to bugger off?" Spike asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Yes." She said simply. He grinned and stood, ready to head downstairs. She caught his arm. "I was kidding."
"Well, that's good n' bad I suppose." He said with a shrug. "Good 'cause you still got your sense of humor, bad 'cause that means the Whelp's gonna be hangin' out 'ere all day."
"Sorry."
"Don't worry 'bout it."
"You want me to see if he wants to go get coffee or something? I mean, so we're not here to bug you?"
"Nah, I'll manage. 'sides, I'm not worried 'bout you buggin' me…"
Doorbell.
"…but he's another story. And no offense, Red, but you look like hell. Burying your head in a pillow n' cryin' ain't doin' much for you."
"Gee, thanks." She said, standing.
"No problem. Now go let the sap in 'fore he breaks the bloody bell."
----------
"Hey." Buffy greeted, smiling at the pair on her couch as she walked in, a few grocery bags in hand. "Xander, you're…here." Buffy looked around, expecting to see either a very hostile blonde vampire or a very non-intimidating pile of dust. "Um, where's Spike?"
"Upstairs behaving." Willow explained. Buffy gave her a confused look. "He's avoiding Xander." She added with a nod.
"Ahh, I see. So you two are friends now?" Buffy asked, setting one of the bags down.
"Me and Spike?" Xander asked, a disgusted look on his face.
"I bloody well hope not." Spike exclaimed, giving Xander a strange look as he descended the stairs.
"I was talking about you and Willow." Buffy said, smirking at Xander.
"Ah yes, negotiations are done and the treaty has been signed." Xander said with a nod. Everyone stared at him. "Okay, so there were no negotiations, just me begging for forgiveness."
"It worked." Willow chimed.
"Good, it's just weird when you two fight." Buffy said, relieved. "Oh, here." She rummaged through her pockets, producing a pack of cigarettes and handing them to the vampire.
"Newports?" He questioned, giving her a strange look.
"Well I didn't know what kind to get. I told the lady at the counter to give me whatever and she gave me these."
"These are girly cigarettes, luv." He said, smirking.
She patted him on the shoulder and shoved a grocery bag into his arms. "Good, it'll get some of that evil testosterone out of your system. Maybe you should share with Xander."
"Funny." He said with a smirk, following her into the kitchen.
The slayer set the bags she was carrying onto the table and began to grab things form them, sticking them in the appropriate cupboards. "So you were in the house with Xander without me around to play referee and you managed to hold your tongue? I'm impressed."
"Yes, despite popular belief ole Spikey has a shred of self-control." He said with a smirk, shoving a carton of milk into the fridge.
A small laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head. "Seriously, thank you."
"Don't sweat it."
"No, I mean, that's a big deal. When was the last time you were in the same vicinity as Xander and didn't make some snide remark? Hell, we should have a party."
"Oh yes, and we can use blood for frosting on the cake!" He said sarcastically, grinning.
"Why do you insist on ruining my appetite? First the Twizzlers and now cake. Sooner or later there's not going to be anything left for me to eat."
"Sure there will be. I don't like vegetables so you can have those, I pretty much ruin everything else." He said with a shrug.
"Oh goodie."
"Oh look, Pop Tarts!" He exclaimed, pulling a box of the breakfast pastries from the bag. "You know, these taste really neat if you…"
She put her hand over his mouth and pulled the box from him with the other, smirking. "Don't. I haven't eaten breakfast yet." He just grinned as she pulled her hand away. "You're impossible to live with, you know that?"
"In order for that to apply wouldn't I have to, I don't know, live here?" He asked, a smug grin in place.
She smiled slyly and walked over to him. Pulling him towards her, she kissed him. "Welcome home."
"Buffy, we have a problem." Willow said a bit frantically, walking into the kitchen with the phone in hand. Xander followed in behind her, giving the vampire a wary glare.
Buffy backed away from the vampire a bit, staring at Willow in confusion. The phone? When did the phone ring? "Who is it?" She asked, casting Spike a worried glance.
"Giles." The redhead said simply, looking between the pair in front of her. "Maybe you should sit down…"
TBC…