She nodded, not bothering to pretend she didn’t know what he meant. He had told her his story, and now he wanted to know about William. Buffy had promised to tell him, and she would. But that didn’t mean she looked forward to talking about it. She let out a sigh, quickly making a decision. “Before I tell you, I want you to do me a favor.” Spike gave her a questioning look, waiting for her to go on. He expected her to ask him to keep whatever she would tell him between the two of them, or something like that. He was wrong. Buffy took a deep breath, and looked him in the eyes. “Come back to the Magic Box with me.”
He stared at her in disbelief. “What? Why?”
“Because…” Buffy hesitated. “I know you wanna know about William’s death. But there is more than that, things that…” She paused for a moment. “For you to completely understand, you need to hear the whole story. And I’m not the only one who should be telling you, you should hear what the others have to say as well.” He opened his mouth to object, but she raised her hand to stop him. “Look, Spike, we both know you’re not gonna leave Sunnydale. Not because you don’t have anywhere else to go, or because it’s your destiny to be here. But because it’s the right thing to do.”
He shook his head in denial, and Buffy rolled her eyes. “You’re the Slayer, Spike. You can help people, save a lot of lives. Make a difference. Look me in the eyes, and tell me that doesn’t mean anything to you.” He did look at her, but didn’t say anything. Finally he looked away, and Buffy tried to suppress a pleased smile. “Spike, you can do this.”
Snorting, Spike looked up again. “Sure, yeah, I’ll fight the good fight until it kills me. Which, most likely, will be sooner rather than later. You’re forgetting something here, pet. I’m not like William; I’ve never been trained for this. I’ve never had a Watcher to tell me what to do. Send me out there, and I wouldn’t have a bloody clue what I’d be doing.”
“How do you kill a vampire?” Buffy looked at him, an expectant expression on her face.
Spike frowned. “I just told you, I don’t know anything about…”
“Yes, you do, you saw me slay one last night.” She crossed her arms over her chest, determined to be persistent as she repeated her question. “How do you kill a vampire?”
He rolled his eyes. “Stake it through the heart, or decapitate it.” He paused. “What about holy water, does that even exist?”
Buffy nodded. “Yeah, it does. But don’t rely on it, it won’t kill them. Although, it can still do some major damage, especially if you throw it at the vampire’s face. It’ll burn him, like acid.” She smiled a little. “See, you already know the important stuff, the rest will just come naturally. And, of course, you’re gonna need a lot of training before you’ll be ready to go out there for real, but that’s just…” A sudden thought hit her. “Hey, did anyone show you the training room over at the Magic Box?”
Spike shook his head in confusion. “The Magic Box has a training room?”
“I take that as a ‘no’, then.” Buffy looked excited. “Let’s go right now, I’ll show you.” Something occurred to her, and her smile widened. “Maybe we can spar together later, that would be great!”
“What?” Spike got a shocked look on his face. “I’m not gonna fight with you!”
“Why not?” Buffy smiled, sweetly. “Afraid you won’t be able to take me? Afraid to get your ass kicked by a girl, is that it?” She couldn’t help but giggle.
Spike mock glared at her for a moment. “You know, I think I would’ve liked you better back when you didn’t speak.” Her smile disappeared, and he could’ve just kicked himself. He’d already come to love Buffy’s smile, and would do anything to put it back on her face. “I’m really sorry, luv, I didn’t mean…”
“I know, it’s okay.” Her smile was back, although it was more than a little strained. “Let’s go, we don’t have all day.” He nodded, and followed Buffy towards the door without another word.
“Thanks for shopping at the Magic Box; we’re happy to take your money. Now, please leave, and have a very nice day!” Anya smiled brightly at the customer she had been helping, before turning to Buffy and Spike, who had just entered the store. “Spike, you’re back! Good, Giles has been grumpy all day because of you. If you ask me, I think he really needs a girlfriend, that way she could give him an orgasm whenever he gets worked up. Like this morning, when Xander and I…”
“Anya!” Buffy interrupted her, cringing at the thought of ‘Giles’ and ‘orgasm’ in the same sentence. “We need to have a meeting, are the others still in the back?”
Anya looked a little upset for not being allowed to finish talking about her favorite subject besides money; sex. “Yes, you want me to be there as well?”
Buffy nodded. “Yeah, you think you can close the shop for an hour or so?”
“And lose money?!” Anya looked horrified, then calmed down a little. “You know what, that won’t be necessary.” She glanced quickly around the room, before calling out; “Dawn! Get out here, I need your help!”
The young girl Spike had met briefly the day before came running. “What’s up?” Then she noticed Spike, and blushed. “Hi, Spike, I didn’t know you were here.”
Anya rolled her eyes, and went on; “Dawn, I need you to watch the shop for a while, is that okay?” Dawn nodded eagerly, and Anya let out a relieved sigh. “Good, I owe you one. How ‘bout tonight after close-up, I’ll teach you my special money dance?”
Dawn nodded again, ignoring Buffy who desperately tried to stay serious. “Cool!”
“You work here?” Spike was surprised. “No offense, but, um… how old are you?”
The girl tossed her long, brown hair over her shoulder. “You think I’m just a little girl, don’t you?”
Spike chuckled, shaking his head to assure her. “Of course not, bit. I was just…”
“Because I’m way older than you.” Dawn crossed her arms over her chest, a stubborn look on her face. “In fact, I’m not a girl at all. I’m a thousand-year-old blob of green energy, also known as the Key. My blood opens doors to other dimensions, and some old monks made me human to protect me.” She paused, letting out a sigh. “Oh, and I’m also Xander’s sister. No, wait. He’s my brother.”
Spike opened his mouth, then closed it again, obviously at a loss for words. He glanced at Buffy and Anya, expecting them to laugh, but they didn’t. “Is… is she…?”
Buffy looked both amused and annoyed. “Thank you, Dawn.” Then she turned to Spike, giving him an apologetic look. “I told you there was more. Yes, Dawn’s the Key; I’ll explain more about that later.” She let out a tired sigh. “This is the Hellmouth, Spike. You’ll get used to it.” With that, she walked over to the door that led to the other room, leaving Spike to stare after her in bewilderment.
TBC