Title: Again?
Author: Spiffy Da WonderSheep
Disclaimer: Spoilers up to The Gift. Joss owns it, I just warp it to my own means for fun and no profit. I've read so many angsty-post-Gift fics, you people have infected me. I hate you all! Okay, maybe I don't really, but look at what you made me write!!! *runs away crying *. It's going to be irreverent and some other word that also means irreverent, so if you don't approve, well, better look somewhere else then.
Part I
"Nuh uh, Fred," the vampire said, grabbing his companion. "That's Gardenview Cemetery. You don't want to go in there, ever."
"Why not, Johan? What do we have to fear from a fripping cemetery?"
"That's where the Slayer was buried."
"Slayer? That nasty 80s hair band?"
Johan knocked Fred across the back of the head. "No, dummy! The Slayer. A girl whose entire existence is devoted to killing vampires like us! I swear, if you weren't my cousin and newly vamped to boot, I'd stake you myself."
"Okay," Fred said, confused. "If she's dead, why are we afraid of her?"
Johan spoke slowly, as if Fred was brain-injured. "Because she had friends who have now devoted their lives to killing guys like us. And they are forever tromping through this here graveyard, to honor her and dust anyone stupid enough to be caught here."
"Kinda like you guys, eh?" A British accent asked them. The two vamps whirled around and imploded into dust.
"Bloody hell, I hate it when that happens." Spike shook the dust (and several petals) off of the flowers he was carrying.
"Buffy will understand," Dawn reassured him, taking the flowers from his hand. "It's not like she wasn't always covered in vamp dust, or demon goo, or some other icky substance."
"That's why I'd rather not have her flowers all dusty. She dealt with that crap in life, why does she need to deal with it in--- afterlife."
"A noble and appreciable sentiment," Xander said, from behind them.
"AAAK!" Dawn said. Screetched, actually.
"Gah! Don't sneak up on people like that!" Spike said, briefly flashing to vamp face.
"Sorry." Xander was carrying flowers also, however his were of the more fancy and expensive variety. He was opening his mouth to comment when Dawn said, "I bought them."
Xander recovered quickly. "And they are beautiful, but does your guardian know you're out this late, young lady?"
"He sent us out, 'to check on things while I research'." Dawn said, doing a spot-on Giles imitation.
"He wanted to get drunk without the Nibblet around," Spike informed him.
"Again?"
"Can I spend the night at your house?" Dawn asked.
"Sure thing, Dawnie. Let's go see your sister and then I'll call An and warn her to hide the good chocolate." To Spike's raised eyebrow he said, "Shut up."
"I'm not saying anything, mate."
"You were implying." The three of them entered the cemetery, Dawn a ways ahead of the man and vampire. In the past month, the pilgrimage had become a codified ritual among the Scooby Gang: each of them would get some alone time with the monument, and the others would stay back at a respectful difference, so as not to overhear conversations or tearful confessions. Everyone always allowed Dawn to go first. Spike and Xander sat on a bench where they were out of earshot, but still had a good view of Dawn. "Is Giles' drinking starting to worry you?" Xander asked.
Spike shrugged. "He's lost his reason for living. Gonna take him a while to find another."
"I don't think he's going to find it at the bottom of a scotch bottle."
"If he hasn't started sobering up in a month, then I'll tell you guys and we'll do something."
"Okay. Need any help?"
Spike laughed, or what passed for his laughter lately. It was a short, ugly, barking sound. "I've cleaned up vomit before. I can handle it."
After this revelation, there was strained silence between them. Neither was comfortable with the fact that they had suddenly been put in charge of the Gang. Dawn stood up, wiping her eyes as she walked towards them. "You wanna go or should I?" asked Xander.
"You go, and I'll watch Little Bit. Then you can take her home."
"Okay." Dawn had arrived at the bench just then, and she hugged Xander for a long minute, before releasing him to go pay his respects. She sat on the bench and leaned into Spike's shoulder, breathing in the scent of leather and dust.
"Anya said last week he kicked the tombstone and almost broke his foot," Dawn told Spike. "She didn't know till the next morning because he'd been sneaking out to come here."
"Well, understandable reaction, I guess. Weren't you the one who told me anger is one of the steps in the grieving process?"
"Yeah, but it's also one of the steps in the domestic violence cycle." The statement hung in the air.
Spike swallowed. "Think he's hitting Anya?"
"No. I just think we should watch him."
"Okay." Spike added one more thing to his mental list of Things To Watch For In Various Scoobies. He added one more note to this list: write it down, it was getting too long to keep straight in his mind. Xander was on his way back to them, with a somber look on his face.
"Ready, Dawnmeister?"
"Yeah." Dawn got up, and turned to Spike. "I'm calling Giles' at sunrise, you'd better be there."
Spike grinned at her. "I promise."
"And you never break a promise to a lady," Dawn prompted him.
"Yeah, what you said." Xander took Dawn's hand in his, and the two of them walked off together, leaving Spike with his thoughts and with her.
Author: Spiffy Da WonderSheep
Disclaimer: Spoilers up to The Gift. Joss owns it, I just warp it to my own means for fun and no profit. I've read so many angsty-post-Gift fics, you people have infected me. I hate you all! Okay, maybe I don't really, but look at what you made me write!!! *runs away crying *. It's going to be irreverent and some other word that also means irreverent, so if you don't approve, well, better look somewhere else then.
Part I
"Nuh uh, Fred," the vampire said, grabbing his companion. "That's Gardenview Cemetery. You don't want to go in there, ever."
"Why not, Johan? What do we have to fear from a fripping cemetery?"
"That's where the Slayer was buried."
"Slayer? That nasty 80s hair band?"
Johan knocked Fred across the back of the head. "No, dummy! The Slayer. A girl whose entire existence is devoted to killing vampires like us! I swear, if you weren't my cousin and newly vamped to boot, I'd stake you myself."
"Okay," Fred said, confused. "If she's dead, why are we afraid of her?"
Johan spoke slowly, as if Fred was brain-injured. "Because she had friends who have now devoted their lives to killing guys like us. And they are forever tromping through this here graveyard, to honor her and dust anyone stupid enough to be caught here."
"Kinda like you guys, eh?" A British accent asked them. The two vamps whirled around and imploded into dust.
"Bloody hell, I hate it when that happens." Spike shook the dust (and several petals) off of the flowers he was carrying.
"Buffy will understand," Dawn reassured him, taking the flowers from his hand. "It's not like she wasn't always covered in vamp dust, or demon goo, or some other icky substance."
"That's why I'd rather not have her flowers all dusty. She dealt with that crap in life, why does she need to deal with it in--- afterlife."
"A noble and appreciable sentiment," Xander said, from behind them.
"AAAK!" Dawn said. Screetched, actually.
"Gah! Don't sneak up on people like that!" Spike said, briefly flashing to vamp face.
"Sorry." Xander was carrying flowers also, however his were of the more fancy and expensive variety. He was opening his mouth to comment when Dawn said, "I bought them."
Xander recovered quickly. "And they are beautiful, but does your guardian know you're out this late, young lady?"
"He sent us out, 'to check on things while I research'." Dawn said, doing a spot-on Giles imitation.
"He wanted to get drunk without the Nibblet around," Spike informed him.
"Again?"
"Can I spend the night at your house?" Dawn asked.
"Sure thing, Dawnie. Let's go see your sister and then I'll call An and warn her to hide the good chocolate." To Spike's raised eyebrow he said, "Shut up."
"I'm not saying anything, mate."
"You were implying." The three of them entered the cemetery, Dawn a ways ahead of the man and vampire. In the past month, the pilgrimage had become a codified ritual among the Scooby Gang: each of them would get some alone time with the monument, and the others would stay back at a respectful difference, so as not to overhear conversations or tearful confessions. Everyone always allowed Dawn to go first. Spike and Xander sat on a bench where they were out of earshot, but still had a good view of Dawn. "Is Giles' drinking starting to worry you?" Xander asked.
Spike shrugged. "He's lost his reason for living. Gonna take him a while to find another."
"I don't think he's going to find it at the bottom of a scotch bottle."
"If he hasn't started sobering up in a month, then I'll tell you guys and we'll do something."
"Okay. Need any help?"
Spike laughed, or what passed for his laughter lately. It was a short, ugly, barking sound. "I've cleaned up vomit before. I can handle it."
After this revelation, there was strained silence between them. Neither was comfortable with the fact that they had suddenly been put in charge of the Gang. Dawn stood up, wiping her eyes as she walked towards them. "You wanna go or should I?" asked Xander.
"You go, and I'll watch Little Bit. Then you can take her home."
"Okay." Dawn had arrived at the bench just then, and she hugged Xander for a long minute, before releasing him to go pay his respects. She sat on the bench and leaned into Spike's shoulder, breathing in the scent of leather and dust.
"Anya said last week he kicked the tombstone and almost broke his foot," Dawn told Spike. "She didn't know till the next morning because he'd been sneaking out to come here."
"Well, understandable reaction, I guess. Weren't you the one who told me anger is one of the steps in the grieving process?"
"Yeah, but it's also one of the steps in the domestic violence cycle." The statement hung in the air.
Spike swallowed. "Think he's hitting Anya?"
"No. I just think we should watch him."
"Okay." Spike added one more thing to his mental list of Things To Watch For In Various Scoobies. He added one more note to this list: write it down, it was getting too long to keep straight in his mind. Xander was on his way back to them, with a somber look on his face.
"Ready, Dawnmeister?"
"Yeah." Dawn got up, and turned to Spike. "I'm calling Giles' at sunrise, you'd better be there."
Spike grinned at her. "I promise."
"And you never break a promise to a lady," Dawn prompted him.
"Yeah, what you said." Xander took Dawn's hand in his, and the two of them walked off together, leaving Spike with his thoughts and with her.