Oceanside

Pulling up outside the Summers' new house Xander gave a wide sweep of his arm and said, "Welcome to Oceanside, California."

Dawn's eyes bugged out a little, then she slapped the carpenter's arm.

"Hey! What's that for?"

"Messing with us. It's been a long flight. Where are we really staying?"

He smiled and didn't reply.

"Think this is really it, Niblet," said Spike.

The girl was speechless, then. Looking away from her, the ex-vampire took in the sight of his equally stunned mate.

"It's beautiful!" she said, "Really beautiful." Then she slapped Xander's arm herself.

"Will you two stop doing that?! I'm gonna bruise!"

"What's wrong with it?" Buffy demanded, ignoring his comment.

"Nothing," he assured her, before adding, "Well… technically."

"Xander!"

"Ugh!" Dawn interjected again, and opened the car door. "Whatever it is can be discussed inside, I need to pee."

Spike chuckled, Buffy rolled her eyes, and Xander – feeling uncomfortable – handed Dawn the house keys while going to get luggage from the trunk.

The house was just as big and nicely decorated on the inside as the outside had suggested, and when they were all gathered in the family room the girls turned on the carpenter.

"What's the catch?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, spill," said Dawn, as Spike sat down and made himself at home, concluding, "Whatever it is can't be that bad."

"It's not," Xander promised. "The house itself is fine – checked every beam and wall myself. It's just… Well, it's just…"

"Oh, spit it out, man," Spike snapped.

"Okay, okay!" the carpenter said, holding up his hands in defeat, "No one else hit me. It's the town. Or, the residents."

Looking at her sister, the Slayer asked, "Has he always been this annoying?"

"Yes," answered Spike, and Buffy rolled her eyes again before returning her glare to Xander.

"Explain. In full sentences. Now, please. No hesitations. I'm getting tired."

Xander gulped, ready to drop the bombshell, as Spike stood up again and lead his mate to the chair he'd just vacated.

"There's no easy way to say this."

"We gathered," replied Dawn, tapping her foot impatiently.

Unable to stall anymore the carpenter finally took the plunge. "Y'know how everyone that wasn't us left Sunnydale before it went boom?" he began.

There was silence. Of course they remembered. He moved on.

"Well, the demon's jumped ship, too. And they all had to go somewhere…"

"So a ton of them relocated a couple of towns up the coast?" Spike finished for him.

"Pretty much. Town isn't a hellmouth, but it really does have a crazy amount of vampires for a place that's known for its sunshine."

"Y'know," said Buffy, "When Spike can sum something up in less words than you can? You kind of have issues."

"Hey!" the ex-vampire lamely defended himself, then conceded, "Fair point."

The Slayer smiled, and Xander relaxed a little. "You're not mad at me?"

"For letting us do something as massive as put a down payment on a house we've never seen, purely based on your advice, when you've neglected to tell us a vital piece of information?"

He nodded, guiltily.

"Meh. It's a very you thing to do."

The comment hurt him, a little, but there wasn't much he could say in his defense. Instead Xander tried to lift the mood by saying, "Plus side: ugly deaths equals cheap housing. Oh, and a couple of other slayers live just down the street. Near Willow, actually."

"Ones we know?" asked Spike, who had taken off Buffy's shoes and was giving her a foot rub.

Xander nodded. "Rona and Vi."

Buffy had closed her eyes and let out a small moan as the tension eased off her swollen ankles. Dawn made a face at the noise, which made the ex-vampire smile.

"Right," he said, "My misses needs to get to bed. Anything important we should know before tomorrow?"

"Nada," affirmed the carpenter, handing him a piece of paper. "My cell number, if you need anything."

"Ta, Harris."

The next day Willow and her new girlfriend took Dawn off to see her new college campus, leaving Spike and Buffy to settle in. The girl was going to stay in dorms during term time, and have a room with them during the holidays.

"This feels right," the Slayer announced, looking out the window at her view of the beach.

"The move?" Spike asked, as he stepped in to stand behind her, enveloping her in his arms.

"Us. The move. This house. I think we were meant to be here all along."

He smiled, then asked, "Demon population not putting you off?"

"Nah," she gave a dismissive wave of her hand, "Not really. You can handle them until I'm fighting fit again. Think you need to burn off the energy, anyway."

"Right about that," he agreed, unable to stop himself from grinding his erection against her backside. "God, do I need to kill things."

To be continued...