COFFEE SHOP ROMANCE

Disclaimer-

Joss Whedon is the creator and owner of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and all character's from that show are the sole property of he, Mutant Enemy, and UPN.

A/N-

Hello, all. I've long been a lover of fanfiction, and more recently I've become addicted to Spuffy fanfiction, but anytime I've tried to write anything long, it's come out decidely less than perfect. :) "No problem," I figured, "I'll just stick to reading." This idea got stuck in my head, though, and for some reason, wouldn't go away. I'm having a lot of fun writing it, and hope that someone at least enjoys it- and reviews it!

Chapter 1: No Rest for the Wicked

Buffy Summers sighed as she wiped the counter at the Coffee Shack she worked at. Five minutes to go, and they seemed to be lasting at least a century.

"No rest for the wicked," she thought to herself, putting on a plastic smile and looking up at the person who had just walked in. "How can I hel…" she started, but broke off abruptly when she saw who was there. A scowl passed over her face.

"What do you want, Spike?"

The peroxide blond standing in front of her raised his hand to his chest in fake shock. "Now, now, pet," he voiced in a very pronounced but not very posh British accent. "That's no way to talk to your customers. Can't a bloke just come in for a cup of coffee without bein' verbally assaulted?"

Buffy wasn't buying it. The irritated look stayed firmly placed on her faced, as even more shortly she demanded "Spike, what do you want?"

Spike sighed melodramatically. "Fine then, be all business. Now let's see. What do I want?" At Buffy's glare, he grinned derisively. "Well fine, if you're all in a rush, then I'll just get a low cal decaf grande café latte with extra foam and a peppermint shot."

Buffy narrowed her eyes. Spike smirked.

"God! If I weren't working I would so wipe that smirk off his face," Buffy thought. Externally, she betrayed nothing. She smiled at him.

"Can I get you anything else, sir?" Her eyes never left his.

It was Spike's turn to narrow his eyes. "No, that'll be fine, luv," he said carefully. *What's she got up her sleeve now?*

"Okay, then." Still staring at him. "Anya, Spike wants a medium decaf low calorie peppermint latte with extra foam. I'm off, okay?"

Something that might have been 'okay' came from the direction of the back room. Anya Jenkins came out, tying her apron on as she walked. "Am I late? Xander and I were having sex, and I lost track of time."

Buffy looked at her watch, pointedly ignoring Spike, who was glaring at her. "Only a couple of minutes. No big."

"If you're gettin' it, Anya, then don't bother with all the fancies. Just a grande latte, please."

"It's okay. I just compensate for the extra effort by charging you more money." She smiled brilliantly at him. "That comes to $4.62, please."

Spike couldn't help but laugh- Anya's bluntness never failed to amuse him. "Well alright then, pet." He tossed her a ten-dollar bill and put the change she handed him in his wallet. He turned to Buffy, who was returning from the back room where she had gone to get her coat while Spike and Anya talked. "So where you off to, pet? Don't you usually close on Tuesdays?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Bye, Anya," she called over her shoulder. "Put my tips in my mug, alright?"

Busy finishing Spike's coffee, Anya merely nodded, and Buffy lifted the side counter and headed for the door, only to be stopped just as she stepped outside by a hand on her arm. Spike, peppermint latte in hand, had followed her out.

"Spike, what d'ya want?"

He shrugged. "Just curious, is all. Where you off to? Got a luke-warm date with captain cardboard?"

"Look, even if I did, it'd be none of your business," she snapped.

He smirked again. "Oh, struck a nerve. What's the matter, goldilocks? Trouble in paradise?"

"Not that you deserve to know or anything, but Riley and I broke up." At his knowing look, Buffy got even more pissed off. "What do you even care, anyway?" she asked harshly. "It's not like Angel and I are still together, so who I sleep with is none of your business. I'm not even sure that it really was before hand."

Spike made a backing off gesture. "Hey, pet, you're the one who brought up sex, not me."

"Oh, please," she said. "You think I didn't see that look? And for your information, I didn't cheat on Riley."

"Didn't say you did, pet."

The look she gave him should have been labeled as a lethal weapon.

"Okay, fine, so I thought that you did. So what? It's not like I didn't have precedent for thinkin' so, is it? Not like you were exactly faithful to brother dearest."

For a fraction of an instant, a look of hurt passed over Buffy's face, but it was gone so quickly that Spike questioned that he had even seen it. In half a moment, she was back to her old snarky self.

"Not like 'brother dearest' was exactly faithful to me."

"Dru was while you were on a bre…" Spike started, but Buffy interrupted him as quickly as he began.

"You know what, Spike? Save it. Maybe we were on a break, maybe we weren't, but we definitely together when he decided that grinding Faith on the dance floor seemed like a grand old idea." Spike opened his mouth to say something, but Buffy cut him off again. "And the night that we…that you and I…" she exhaled, and took a calming breath, then continued. "That night, I was not only incredibly hurt and angry, but incredibly drunk as well. It was a mistake, and one that I would gladly put behind me, if you will just leave me alone, like I've asked you to about a million times before." With that, she turned and walked away, leaving Spike standing there dumbstruck. He watched her walk away for a moment, then shook his head. Taking a drink of his latte, he grimaced and threw it in a nearby trash can.

"Stupid low cal," he said under his breath, and turned to walk away- in the opposite direction as Buffy had.