DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer - it
all belongs to Joss Whedon.
Author's Note: I know you're all eager for Spuffyness (and some Xanyaness), and I assure both of those will come, but there will be a build up for it. Honestly, the major events will come in my next story (this doesn't mean wait for this one to finish! Big stuff happens in the next three chapters) but when the long-awaited stuff does come, it'll all seem that much sweeter. I hope.
Chapter 8
As Buffy left the room, Dawn rolled her eyes. 'Drama queen,' she commented. Spike however was concerned.
'Are you sure she's OK? Perhaps I should-
'Nah, she'll be fine. Give her some space,' Dawn said, and straight away jumped and hugged Spike again. 'I still can't believe you're back,' she said, slightly muffled. He held her close, remembering the warm feeling of being cared about. As they let go of each other, he asked: 'So, what's been going on while we've been gone?'
'Well,' Dawn began, 'after the destruction of Sunnydale, we slowly started trying to find a new home. We stayed in LA for a while, but then decided to move further away from all that, but not too far, and we ended up here!'
'So you're going to school and everything?' Spike asked, genuinely interested. 'Yeah. It's all great. As for the rest of us. . .' she turned to face Xander, Willow and Kennedy. 'Xander has occasional building jobs, Kennedy's a waitress, Willow's a part-time CIA worker. . .' she paused to finish. 'And Buffy. . .has no job at the mo, but she's still trying to find one.'
'Great,' Anya and Spike replied in chorus. That was when they realised they'd spent way too much time together.
'Hey, do you guys mind if we. . .well. . .kinda stay here for a while?' Anya asked tentatively. 'Y'know, until we get places of our own of course,' she added quickly. The rest of the gang exchanged looks, which were not very positive.
'Gee, we'd love to help Anya,' Willow began slowly. 'But I'm not sure there's enough room, and too many people living in this house at once. . .' she stopped and looked at the rest of them for support. 'Come on, back me up guys!'
'Well, actually, there is a spare room,' Dawn remembered. 'And someone can crash on the sofa for a while - or maybe Xander's place. . .' she turned to him hopefully. He looked happy with it (really at the thought of Anya staying with him).
'I guess. . .' he said, pretending to be annoyed, but deep down excited.
'Excellent,' Dawn smiled widely. 'Spike can stay with you.'
'What?!' This time he was shocked, and he didn't hide it.
'Oh come on, you guys shared a place before, remember?' Dawn urged.
'Yeah, but that was a very short time - it hardly counts-
'Look Xander, I know you hate me, but could you just tolerate me sleeping there each night? I need a place so I can kick-start my life. . .' Spike pleaded.
Xander winced. 'Fine. Sorry Spike, no offence man.' He reluctantly patted Spike on the back.
'Hey, Xander, you were gonna stay here tonight. . .you don't mind sleeping on the floor or something, do you?' Kennedy asked apologetically.
'Forget that, it doesn't matter now. I'll just take Spike home with me. . .' he stopped when he realised how dodgy that sentence sounded. Dawn covered her mouth not to laugh.
'Hey, you guys,' Cordelia piped up. 'I know the last thing in the world you need right now is another homeless person, but. . .' she smiled, 'It takes a few hours to get to LA, and I'm totally beat.'
'Well, would you mind sharing the double guest bed with Anya?' Dawn offered.
'Why didn't I get that option?' Spike complained. Dawn ignored him.
'I suppose that will be alright. . .it's just one night though, I hope you don't mind Anya.'
'Not at all,' Anya said. Xander turned and whispered to Cordelia, 'watch out, she wheezes in her sleep. . .'
'We'll sort everything out in the morning,' Willow decided. 'Like what Anya and Spike should do next.' Everyone agreed, and slowly started making their way to their sleeping destinations. As Spike headed out the door, he contemplated whether to go and talk to Buffy about each other's feelings, but decided against it, simply based on the fact he was too exhausted to fight for their relationship.
Dawn climbed the stairs, and reached Buffy's bedroom, where Buffy was sitting cuddling Mr. Gordo (who she'd saved just before Sunnydale exploded) on her bed.
'Hey,' Dawn said quietly.
'Hey,' Buffy replied without emotion. 'How's everyone doing?'
'Yeah, they're great.' Dawn began to explain. 'Cordelia's staying the night, and we've decided Anya will stay here until she finds her own place - Spike'll stay at Xander's.'
Buffy nodded, confirming she understood.
'Buffy, are you alright?' Dawn couldn't resist asking. That was when Buffy exploded and everything burst out of her.
'You know, I can't believe either of them have the nerve to come back. Do they not know how difficult it was for all of us to get over them?! And they expect to just walk back into our lives as if nothing happened?! I'd love that, I really would, but it just doesn't work that way! They died, Dawn. Died. When people die, it's permanent-
'You died twice and came back. That wasn't permanent,' Dawn interrupted.
'Yeah, well both of those times my friends brought me back. This is different,' she weakly excused. 'Look, what I'm trying to say is, we weren't ready for this. I realised something, and believe me, all I wanted was for Spike to come back so that we could. . .' her voice trailed off. 'But now he's back, it just doesn't feel right. Just as I was getting my life back on track, he comes in and screws it up for me all over again,' tears were streaming down her face. Dawn sat next to her on the bed.
'Let me ask you something,' Dawn said. 'What did you spend this afternoon doing?'
Buffy looked directly at her sister. Was it possible she knew? 'Nothing much. . .'
'Buffy, don't lie to me. I can bet you anything you spent this afternoon alone in the house crying.' Buffy's eyes widened.
'How did you-
'I can tell,' Dawn answered calmly. 'Buffy, I know that it hasn't been easy. Just because I don't spend my free afternoons crying - no offence - it doesn't mean I haven't thought about it. I suppose the only difference between us is that you've faced death so many times that you've automatically learned to accept it. I didn't accept it at all. Perhaps that's why it was easier for me to greet them as openly as I did. Because deep down. . .to me.they never left.'
There was a moment of silent thought, and Dawn stood up off the bed, and approached the door to leave. But before she did, she turned back to Buffy for one last thought. 'I'll leave you alone sis, but just think about this. You've been given a chance to have the life you prayed for, the happiness that you thought was an unreachable goal. Now you have that opportunity - an opportunity that the majority of the world will never have - don't waste it.'
She left, and closed the door behind her, leaving Buffy crying once more, but this time she was unsure of the reason. What did these tears flowing down her face mean? Was it sadness? Anger? Happiness? The confusion she felt was unbearable, and she lay down, her head full of worries, trying to clear her mind. But as she was doing that, she closed her eyes and found herself asleep in glorious dreams she hadn't had in a long time.
Author's Note: I know you're all eager for Spuffyness (and some Xanyaness), and I assure both of those will come, but there will be a build up for it. Honestly, the major events will come in my next story (this doesn't mean wait for this one to finish! Big stuff happens in the next three chapters) but when the long-awaited stuff does come, it'll all seem that much sweeter. I hope.
Chapter 8
As Buffy left the room, Dawn rolled her eyes. 'Drama queen,' she commented. Spike however was concerned.
'Are you sure she's OK? Perhaps I should-
'Nah, she'll be fine. Give her some space,' Dawn said, and straight away jumped and hugged Spike again. 'I still can't believe you're back,' she said, slightly muffled. He held her close, remembering the warm feeling of being cared about. As they let go of each other, he asked: 'So, what's been going on while we've been gone?'
'Well,' Dawn began, 'after the destruction of Sunnydale, we slowly started trying to find a new home. We stayed in LA for a while, but then decided to move further away from all that, but not too far, and we ended up here!'
'So you're going to school and everything?' Spike asked, genuinely interested. 'Yeah. It's all great. As for the rest of us. . .' she turned to face Xander, Willow and Kennedy. 'Xander has occasional building jobs, Kennedy's a waitress, Willow's a part-time CIA worker. . .' she paused to finish. 'And Buffy. . .has no job at the mo, but she's still trying to find one.'
'Great,' Anya and Spike replied in chorus. That was when they realised they'd spent way too much time together.
'Hey, do you guys mind if we. . .well. . .kinda stay here for a while?' Anya asked tentatively. 'Y'know, until we get places of our own of course,' she added quickly. The rest of the gang exchanged looks, which were not very positive.
'Gee, we'd love to help Anya,' Willow began slowly. 'But I'm not sure there's enough room, and too many people living in this house at once. . .' she stopped and looked at the rest of them for support. 'Come on, back me up guys!'
'Well, actually, there is a spare room,' Dawn remembered. 'And someone can crash on the sofa for a while - or maybe Xander's place. . .' she turned to him hopefully. He looked happy with it (really at the thought of Anya staying with him).
'I guess. . .' he said, pretending to be annoyed, but deep down excited.
'Excellent,' Dawn smiled widely. 'Spike can stay with you.'
'What?!' This time he was shocked, and he didn't hide it.
'Oh come on, you guys shared a place before, remember?' Dawn urged.
'Yeah, but that was a very short time - it hardly counts-
'Look Xander, I know you hate me, but could you just tolerate me sleeping there each night? I need a place so I can kick-start my life. . .' Spike pleaded.
Xander winced. 'Fine. Sorry Spike, no offence man.' He reluctantly patted Spike on the back.
'Hey, Xander, you were gonna stay here tonight. . .you don't mind sleeping on the floor or something, do you?' Kennedy asked apologetically.
'Forget that, it doesn't matter now. I'll just take Spike home with me. . .' he stopped when he realised how dodgy that sentence sounded. Dawn covered her mouth not to laugh.
'Hey, you guys,' Cordelia piped up. 'I know the last thing in the world you need right now is another homeless person, but. . .' she smiled, 'It takes a few hours to get to LA, and I'm totally beat.'
'Well, would you mind sharing the double guest bed with Anya?' Dawn offered.
'Why didn't I get that option?' Spike complained. Dawn ignored him.
'I suppose that will be alright. . .it's just one night though, I hope you don't mind Anya.'
'Not at all,' Anya said. Xander turned and whispered to Cordelia, 'watch out, she wheezes in her sleep. . .'
'We'll sort everything out in the morning,' Willow decided. 'Like what Anya and Spike should do next.' Everyone agreed, and slowly started making their way to their sleeping destinations. As Spike headed out the door, he contemplated whether to go and talk to Buffy about each other's feelings, but decided against it, simply based on the fact he was too exhausted to fight for their relationship.
Dawn climbed the stairs, and reached Buffy's bedroom, where Buffy was sitting cuddling Mr. Gordo (who she'd saved just before Sunnydale exploded) on her bed.
'Hey,' Dawn said quietly.
'Hey,' Buffy replied without emotion. 'How's everyone doing?'
'Yeah, they're great.' Dawn began to explain. 'Cordelia's staying the night, and we've decided Anya will stay here until she finds her own place - Spike'll stay at Xander's.'
Buffy nodded, confirming she understood.
'Buffy, are you alright?' Dawn couldn't resist asking. That was when Buffy exploded and everything burst out of her.
'You know, I can't believe either of them have the nerve to come back. Do they not know how difficult it was for all of us to get over them?! And they expect to just walk back into our lives as if nothing happened?! I'd love that, I really would, but it just doesn't work that way! They died, Dawn. Died. When people die, it's permanent-
'You died twice and came back. That wasn't permanent,' Dawn interrupted.
'Yeah, well both of those times my friends brought me back. This is different,' she weakly excused. 'Look, what I'm trying to say is, we weren't ready for this. I realised something, and believe me, all I wanted was for Spike to come back so that we could. . .' her voice trailed off. 'But now he's back, it just doesn't feel right. Just as I was getting my life back on track, he comes in and screws it up for me all over again,' tears were streaming down her face. Dawn sat next to her on the bed.
'Let me ask you something,' Dawn said. 'What did you spend this afternoon doing?'
Buffy looked directly at her sister. Was it possible she knew? 'Nothing much. . .'
'Buffy, don't lie to me. I can bet you anything you spent this afternoon alone in the house crying.' Buffy's eyes widened.
'How did you-
'I can tell,' Dawn answered calmly. 'Buffy, I know that it hasn't been easy. Just because I don't spend my free afternoons crying - no offence - it doesn't mean I haven't thought about it. I suppose the only difference between us is that you've faced death so many times that you've automatically learned to accept it. I didn't accept it at all. Perhaps that's why it was easier for me to greet them as openly as I did. Because deep down. . .to me.they never left.'
There was a moment of silent thought, and Dawn stood up off the bed, and approached the door to leave. But before she did, she turned back to Buffy for one last thought. 'I'll leave you alone sis, but just think about this. You've been given a chance to have the life you prayed for, the happiness that you thought was an unreachable goal. Now you have that opportunity - an opportunity that the majority of the world will never have - don't waste it.'
She left, and closed the door behind her, leaving Buffy crying once more, but this time she was unsure of the reason. What did these tears flowing down her face mean? Was it sadness? Anger? Happiness? The confusion she felt was unbearable, and she lay down, her head full of worries, trying to clear her mind. But as she was doing that, she closed her eyes and found herself asleep in glorious dreams she hadn't had in a long time.