A/N: Apologies for the delay. Thanks so much for all the help and inspiration on this Geliot99!
The next morning Buffy woke up to the sound of Xander calling her name from outside her bedroom door. She rolled over, realizing she had forgotten to set her alarm, and scrambled to throw on her clothes. "I'm coming! Shit— shit—" She yelped as she tripped over a shoe while attempting to pull a sweater down over her head and caught herself on the edge of the bed.
"Ehh… everything okay in there, Buff?"
She righted herself, grabbed a pair of pants, and began pulling them on. "I'm fine!" She paused to do up the clasp of her leather pants and caught sight of the clock. "Oh my God, Xan, did Dawn get to school alright?!" She exclaimed, reaching for a pair of socks.
Xander stepped back quickly as she flung the door open. He eyed the socks in her hand nervously. "Ah yeah, Buff, Giles called this morning to say he was going to take her and asked Anya to meet him at the shop a little early."
Buffy's heart sank, she had actually been looking forward to her first how-to-be-an-adult lesson Giles was supposed to give her. "Giles isn't here?"
"Well not yet but I'm sure he will be. I know he wanted to talk to the guys I brought over to work on the plumbing."
Buffy could feel her eyes trying to jump out of their sockets. "Wait, the fix-it guy is here? Or-or guys? Guys? They're in my house?"
Xander's brow furrowed in concern. "I just came up to check on the MIA-ness. Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
Her shoulders sagged and she ran a hand through her hair, snagging her fingers in knots she hadn't had a chance to brush out. "No, I'm fine I just hadn't scheduled in the mondo sleepage this morning. I thought I set my alarm but I guess I didn't."
Just add it to the list of crappy life things…
"I know yesterday was pretty rough but you'll figure it out. You're Buffy, you got this. See you down there," he grinned before heading downstairs to check on the plumbers.
Oh sure yeah right I got this because I'm "Buffy"— Sure.
It was nearly an hour later when Giles returned with coffee and muffins from the local bakery. Buffy had already set out the papers Anya had gone over in anticipation of going over them with Giles. The two of them made themselves comfortable on the couch.
Giles skimmed through the bills and papers sipping his coffee in silence. All the while Buffy sat nervously, watching him and picking at a blueberry muffin without much interest.
"So is it really as bad as Anya says?"
He removed his glasses. "I never had any doubt. If anything, her calculations are even more accurate than my own would be."
Buffy frowned, her gut twisting uncontrollably.
Giles shifted himself in his seat, pinning her with a sympathetic glower. "This is not an insurmountable obstacle. You must know that," he paused, clearing his throat. "I hope you won't be upset… but I have had a chat with Anya…"
"Of course you did," Buffy huffed, rocking back in her seat, still clutching the half-mutilated muffin.
Giles laid a fatherly hand on her shoulder. "I took the liberty of suggesting the idea of offering you a position at the store."
"Oh, Giles, I really—"
He held up a placating hand. "I know it might not be your first choice, but you have to see how this could be your best opportunity to get on your feet. Not just for you but for Dawn. I think you will find you will need some source of reliable income rather shortly."
As though to punctuate the point, a clang of metal came from the basement.
It didn't take long for Buffy to roll the offer around in her head. The idea of being buried under a pile of bills was almost as unbearable as the idea of waking up in her coffin.
This was the golden shovel she had been hoping to find.
Swallowing her pride, Buffy gave a nod. "You definitely have a point."
What I need is a freakin backhoe and an excavation crew, but a shovel is a shovel, right? And definitely better than anything I've got since I've been back. All that has been is just a whole lot of: "Oh by the way, there's one more big thing we forgot to dump on your head. Sorry if it knocks you out! Good luck!
"Do I need a résumé or something?"
Giles chuckled, "We'll take care of—"
A much louder banging sound, paired with loud swearing came from the basement, drawing their attention. It was soon followed by Xander's voice echoing up the stairs, "We got it! Everything's okay! Nothing to see here!"
Giles grimaced. "Something tells me you will be needed here today."
"Oh joy," Buffy said dryly.
(*)
The day had been hell after Giles left to go back to the shop. Buffy found herself just drifting from room to room keeping herself as busy as possible while Xander and the plumbers worked. It was simultaneously nerve-wracking and monotonous, a combination that was making her skin crawl. The sound of pipes being clanked around mixed with light work banter between Xander and the plumbers made her want to just run away from the house and all her problems but she couldn't.
That isn't something ultra-responsible Buffy would do, right?
By the time the plumbers left for the day, and Willow and Tara had started dinner, Buffy's nerves were shot. It didn't help that Dawn had a science project to work on. Luckily, Willow was excited to help her with it.
Dawn and Willow had settled down in front of the coffee table with all the supplies needed for diorama building while Tara called out helpful suggestions from the kitchen where she was keeping an eye on dinner. The dynamic between the three of them made Buffy feel a little like the fourth wheel on a tricycle. Nothing she had to say seemed to fit in with the conversation and she started to feel an odd mixture of relief and jealousy at not being needed for anything at the moment.
Buffy cleared her throat, drawing Dawn and Willow's attention. "I think I'm just going to head out, clear my head before the slayage."
Willow pouted. "You don't want to stay for fun diorama-y goodness?"
"Or dinner?" Tara interjected, poking her head in from the kitchen.
Buffy tamped down the scream trying to claw its way out of her throat. It took all her self-control to hold it back and put on her best happy face. "Oh, I'm fine, just, save me a plate and I'll eat when I get back."
"Are you alright, Buffy?" Willow asked.
Would people just stop asking me that?!
"Totally fine."
(*)
Buffy stood at the top of the stairs by the door of Spike's crypt, amazed by the fact he had not only acquired a sofa since she had been there last but was sleeping on it soundly.
How the heck did he even get that thing in here?
She made her way over to him. The couch itself looked like something you might find in a hospital waiting room, sturdy and durable but not particularly comfortable. She reached out to knock one of his booted feet off of the armrest.
Spike sat up with a start. "What's that?" he exclaimed, looking around groggily until his eyes landed on her. "Oh it's just you," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes and righting himself.
She eyed him as she sat on his new coffee table. "New furniture huh?"
"Not bad for the city dump, eh?"
She wasn't sure if she was buying it but it didn't seem to matter at the moment. The fact was that she wasn't even sure why she had ended up there in the first place.
Spike rubbed the back of his neck and met her gaze. "Something you need?"
She shook her head, there was something about just sitting there in the quiet of his crypt that was incredibly soothing. "I just needed to get out of the house, it's just so—" she trailed off, letting the sentence hang. "Patrol just sounded like a good idea."
Spike craned his neck to look out one of the high windows. "Still a bit bright out for the likes of me, pet."
She cleared her throat, looking down at her hands. "Yeah, I sort of realized that on the way over."
Spike shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "You eh— want to watch telly or some such? I've got a bit of a movie collection now."
"Are there snacks?" she asked hopefully.
Spike raised an eyebrow. "It's not a movie theater; afraid I'm fresh out of popcorn but Dawn left a few jello cups in the fridge if you fancy one."
Buffy moved over to sit on the other end of the couch. "I'll pass. What movies do you have?"
He shrugged a shoulder and leaned forward to pull out a deep drawer set into the coffee table. "Lady's choice," he offered, standing up and heading towards his refrigerator. He pulled out a six-pack of beer and brought it over to the table pulling out two and offering one to Buffy.
She eyed it dubiously before taking it and handing over the movie she'd picked.
He examined the cover with interest before putting it on. "Little surprised you'd pick 'The Frighteners', Luv."
She shrugged. "I guess I just like Michael J. Fox, figured I'd give it a try."
"Fair enough," he replied, resuming his seat and opening his beer as though he needed something to do with his hands.
Spike shot her a few furtive glances as the movie started and Buffy slipped off her shoes. Tucking her feet under her so she was curled into a comfortable little ball at the end of the couch, she took a sip of her beer, locking eyes with him. "What?"
"Just trying to sort out what's happening here."
"Like you're the only one who gets to show up unannounced just to hang out?" she replied.
Spike huffed a laugh. "It's the hanging out bit that's throwing me off. Suppose I'm used to you being a bit more punchy."
"So you're saying that you miss me kicking your ass?"
"You know I love a good tussle, but not exactly what I meant."
"I know…"
They were quiet for a long time, both of them sipping their beers in companionable silence as the movie wound on. Spike chuckled at the screen, drawing Buffy's attention to him.
She took a moment to study his relaxed posture. He hadn't tried to scoot closer or take up more space than necessary, he was simply relaxed. She found herself settling into a comfortable familiarity despite her usual weariness of the vampire beside her.
"Giles offered me a job at the Magic Box," she blurted suddenly.
Spike tilted his head toward her. "Your tone would suggest you're not exactly thrilled with the idea."
Buffy shrugged, swallowing hard. "I— I don't really know how I feel about it or even how I should feel about it. The idea of being able to pay bills and not starve is pretty awesome though."
He sipped his beer. "It's money and water. We'll deal with it—"
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "We?"
"You then— you and your band of merry do-gooders. The group which I am so often reminded I am on the outside of, despite everything," he grumbled, "can't imagine they'd just leave you hanging."
Buffy wasn't so sure but she couldn't bring herself to say it aloud.
One thing Giles had said stuck with her. That she had to think about Dawn.
Xander had got his plumber friend to give her a price cut- even if it was still astronomical. Giles had talked Anya into hiring her. Willow and Tara had done their best to take care of Dawn and the house while she had been gone. It wasn't like they had done nothing- but it all just felt so minimal.
They were all so eager to help out with the things they themselves deemed important. The visible problems that could be quantified and cataloged or could be physically fixed but they were completely oblivious to the bigger issues she was working so hard to hide. The irony was far from lost on her.
She didn't even know how she was supposed to put any of it into words they would understand. And yet for some reason she couldn't fathom, she had been able to talk to Spike so easily.
Maybe it was the way he just listened and didn't simply react or start trying to automatically fix things that weren't so easy to fix.
By the time the movie had finished, the sun had set below the horizon and a chill filled the air. Buffy was glad she had thought to wear a warm jacket for patrol.
The two of them walked along her usual route taking out the occasional vamp as they went along. It wasn't until they had circled around to the sidewalk in front of her house that it struck her how oddly relaxing the evening had been. They had spent the entire patrol alternating between witty banter and comfortable quiet.
The steel band of anxiety that had been wrapped snugly around her chest seemed to have dissolved almost completely. She took in a deep breath, the cool night air filling her lungs and relaxing the tension between her shoulders.
Spike shifted his gaze over to her. "Suppose you want to get to bed then," he stated, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it.
Buffy nodded, it had been a somewhat surreal night for her. A comfort she had rarely known, especially not since coming back. "Ah, yeah, I have new job having things to take care of."
"Patrol tomorrow?"
She swallowed. "Yeah."
Spike shot her a wide smile. "I'll look forward to it, Slayer."
Buffy hung up her coat, shuffling into the living room where Dawn's half-completed project stood. They were studying space, specifically astronomy. Dawn's project appeared to be a detailed depiction of the night sky over what looked like a miniature version of their backyard. A star chart lying next to it was marked 'Fall-Northern Hemisphere'. She picked up the paper studying the constellations Dawn had circled.
Judging from the other papers laying out Buffy soon concluded that this was only one piece of a larger project. The introduction of an essay, written out in Willow's familiar hand, was laying out on the other side of the table.
Huh, yeah, pretty sure I missed that science lesson… I bet Spike would get a kick out of this though.
The sound of the upstairs toilet flushing interrupted her snooping followed by a muffled screech.
What now!
Worst-case scenarios rushed through her head as she propelled herself up the stairs. Dawn stood pressed against the wall across from the open bathroom door with wide eyes.
"What is it? What happened?" Buffy questioned her, expecting to find a burst pipe or a demon.
Dawn looked suddenly bashful. "I hum— I- I saw a mouse," she murmured.
"A mouse?"
"Ah huh," Dawn nodded, color rising in her cheeks.
Buffy sighed, relaxing her shoulders. The mouse had probably just been scared out of the basement and was looking for a new home, nothing a couple of traps or maybe a cat couldn't handle.
She had just been out slaying vampires and her sister screamed at a mouse— Must be nice.
"What are you doing up anyway?"
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? I just had to pee."
"Right- Sorry, I eh—"
"Just got back?" Dawn asked her, heading back into her room with Buffy behind her.
Dawn slipped between her sheets, watching her sister expectantly. "Buffy?"
"Yeah?" she replied, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I know you're probably tired of hearing this but are you sure you're alright? I mean— it's just- I know I'm not okay and I'm not even the one who has to take care of all this stuff. And slay stuff and—"
Buffy felt a small snap of emotion zip through her chest. "Life take-two has been kind of bigger with the suckage than round one… or maybe this is technically round three."
Dawn curled her legs up, tucking her chin onto her knees. "But it's going to be alright, isn't it? I mean we're not going to have to move or anything right?"
"And leave the Hellmouth? I've tried that- doesn't work so great."
Dawn shook her head. "No, I mean like-"
"I know what you mean, Dawnie, I'm on it. The whole bill paying and food buying thing is in the bag."
Dawn eyed her skeptically. "You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"
"I'm working on it. Income is incoming, starting tomorrow."
Dawn bit her lip and gave a serious nod as she continued fidgeting with her duvet. Buffy couldn't help noticing just how young and vulnerable she looked and her protective instincts ignited. It wasn't much more than a spark, but maybe it would help light the internal fire she had lost.
"Let me worry about all this house stuff, alright?" Buffy soothed.
Dawn lifted her eyes to her sister. "Not sure if I can just turn off the worry like that."
Buffy set her jaw. "Get some sleep, we're both going to need it."
(*)
Anya tutted indecisively as Buffy set a large heavy table down in the upper section of the Magic Box. "A little more to the right. I don't want the new display to block the shelves."
"Ah ha…" Buffy agreed absently as she shifted the table over another foot.
"Yes! Perfect!" Anya exclaimed excitedly before dashing back over to the counter to grab a length of dark blue velvet cloth embossed with sparkling stars. Anya glanced up at Buffy as she started to arrange the fabric on the table. "Can you bring the boxes for the Astrology display up from the basement?"
"Ah yeah— where are they exactly?" Buffy asked. It was only her third day on the job and she was still getting used to the inner workings of the shop despite spending so much time there.
Anya seemed eager to put Buffy's slayer strength to good use, moving and rearranging things in the store to her liking as they were getting ready for the big Halloween sale.
"Stacked up under the stairs. They're the ones with the stars on them."
"Is it weird that I'm kind of excited about this sale?" Dawn chirped as she closed up her book bag and went over to the counter to examine a book about astrological signs.
By the time Buffy had finished bringing up the boxes, Dawn was gleefully going through the contents with Anya and making herself a little pile of things she wanted to buy with the birthday money she had been holding on to. Buffy couldn't help rolling her eyes at the little stack but shrugged it off. It was her sister's money after all.
Anya frowned slightly as she dug through the boxes and started to arrange a few smaller items on a three-tiered display in the center of the table. "Buffy, can you go back down and see what else you can find to add to this table? There should be more books and stuff down there. Just bring up anything starry."
Buffy took a deep calming breath and nodded. She still wasn't sure how she felt about working in the Magic Box. She considered herself more of a shopper than a seller, but then she figured it was better than nothing. Certainly better than flipping burgers in some grease trap.
At least here, I can still wear cute clothes. And bonus, paid for Slayer training.
The truth was that despite her misgivings about working for Anya, it wasn't the worst way to earn a living and she was looking forward to seeing her first paycheck.
She hummed absently as she started searching the shelves for anything celestial in nature. A few altar cloths with moons and stars went in the box first, followed by a stack of astrology books. After a little digging, Buffy managed to find some rustic-looking pillar candles with zodiac charm necklaces attached to them and added those to the box as well.
About fifteen minutes into her search Buffy felt like she had hit the jackpot. Up on the highest shelf was a box of silver and brass bells, chalices, bracelets, and incense burners. She also unearthed a box of zodiac charm necklaces, celestial bookmarks, earnings, and stones carved with astrological symbols.
She was just climbing down the stepladder when a tingly feeling at the back of her neck whispered "vampire". She turned her head abruptly to find Spike with his head cocked to the side and a small grin plastered to his face. Buffy rolled her eyes and came down the last few steps with the box in her hands.
"Spike."
"Slayer," he replied curtly, stepping toward her.
"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, only the slightest hint of annoyance in her voice.
Spike's eyes lit up at the lack of venom. "Restocking the essentials."
Buffy eyed the tangle of some kind of plant matter clutched in his left hand. "Hanging moss is an essential?"
"It's berber weed, Luv, adds a bit of variety to the liquid diet."
"I thought that's what the flowering onion and hot wings were for," Buffy smirked as she turned around to place her findings in the box.
Spike moved beside her, examining the contents. "Difference is that this gets mixed in the blood, gives it a bit of a spicy kick."
"So did not need to know that."
He plucked one of the zodiac charms out of the box running his thumb over the tail of the sea-goat in his fingers. "Anya's got you doing grunt work does she?"
Buffy shrugged. "Not really too grunt-inducing, to be honest."
Spike's mouth ticked up in a lecherous grin. "Shame."
"Eww."
He chuckled, placing the charm back in the box. "What are you doing with all this anyway?"
"Getting ready for the big Halloween sale."
He nodded. "Imagine you'll be working."
"You would be imagining right. Like you have big plans anyway, you should check it out. Maybe you could actually pay for stuff," she retorted.
"Oi, not like they sell tons of the stuff. Besides, who says I don't have plans?"
"Eh, you Mr. Vampires-don't-go-out-on-Halloween-traditionalists."
"Aww, and here I was thinking you weren't actually listening to my side of our little chats," he grinned.
"Buffy?!" Anya's voice rang down the stairs.
"I'm almost done! I just found a bunch of jewelry!" Buffy called back.
"Great! When you come back up, bring a few goddess statues!"
"Chipper little slavedriver ain't she?" Spike intoned dryly.
Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "I just keep reminding myself I'm getting paid. Seriously hoping the super strength novelty will wear off soon."
"Oh sure it will," he chuckled, "good luck with that one."
Spike turned, heading toward a darkened corner of the room.
"Where are you going?" Buffy asked, brow furrowed.
"Home through the tunnels. What's the matter, Slayer, you miss me already?"
"Full of yourself much? Go on, get out of here," she grumbled, hefting the box into her arms.
Spike grinned. "See you tonight, pet. Don't forget about boss lady's goddess statues."
A/N: Reviews are full for the soul and often help me write faster. If you're enjoying this story, don't be afraid to toss me a cookie, and by cookie I mean a comment. ;)