Swings and Roundabouts
Chapter Nine
Buffy mouthed wordlessly as she found herself staring up into the eyes of Riley Finn, the only serious long-term boyfriend she’d had since Angel.
There had been flings, quick dalliances with other men, but Riley was the only one who had stuck around long enough for the morning after the morning after.
That is, until he’d decided that his military career was more important than she was. Towards the end, things had gotten really bad, and Buffy was not happy to see him. An evening with Riley Finn on top of everything else? Great.
“Buffy! Gosh, what a surprise!”
She’d have bet her last dollar that, for him at least, it was far from a surprise. Buffy Summers wasn’t exactly a common name.
“Tall… were you always this tall?”
“Buffy, Riley, you guys know each other?” Willow said, breaking the awkward silence.
“We dated a few years ago,” Riley said. “Wow. Sure is good to see you again, Buffy.” His eyes roamed over her figure—no doubt fuller than he remembered—and a slow smile spread across his face. “Looking good.”
“Er… you too. New scar?” Buffy felt like kicking herself. Could she sound any stupider? Note to self: when your ex-boyfriend turns up as your blind date, say nothing. “Willow, I need to talk to you.”
Willow looked stricken, her eyes wide since she’d realised her inadvertent blunder. “Restroom?”
“Restroom.” Buffy grabbed her friend’s arm and pulled her away from Oz and Riley. “We’ll be right back.”
“So, uh… big oopsie?” Willow asked, as soon as the door to the ladies was closed.
“Big, big oopsie.” Buffy sighed. “Ex-boyfriend sized oopsie. I can’t believe this.”
“I am so, so sorry,” Willow said. “I’ll start on the cookies tomorrow.”
“It’s not your fault,” Buffy replied, taking the opportunity to check her cell-phone. “You couldn’t have known. Bet he did, though. How do you know him, anyway?”
“New bodyguard for the Dingoes,” Willow said.
“Huh.” Pressing send on the text message she’d quickly typed out, she turned to face her friend. “Guess we’d better get back out there.”
“You’re gonna stay?”
“I can’t just take off.” Buffy frowned. “As much as I want to. Besides, I kind of want to hear how he went from hotshot military man to Dingoes bodyguard.”
Willow shrugged. “Okay, then.”
***
The date was an unmitigated disaster. Everything bad that she remembered about Riley seemed amplified, and not even the presence of Willow and Oz was enough to make things better. Buffy couldn’t even let herself drink too much, because of what awaited her at home.
Willow kept sending apologetic glances, which Buffy ignored. Her friend had meant well, but she couldn’t have got things more wrong. And as the night wore on, Buffy began to wish that she had escaped after having talked with Willow in the restroom.
After an hour of stilted conversation—and admittedly good food—Buffy was ready for the night to be over, but it seemed that Riley was in the mood for dancing.
“It’ll be fun!” Riley said, grabbing her arm and trying to tug her in the direction of the taxi rank.
She shot Willow a help me look, but her friend just shrugged apologetically, and bit her lip.
“I know a great place,” Riley continued. “Awesome cocktails.”
“I don’t know, Riley,” Buffy replied, trying to politely disengage herself from his grip. “I’m tired. Besides, they might need me at home.”
“Just one drink? And look.” He fished a cell phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “Use this to call home, see how things are.”
Buffy looked at his eager face and sighed. He was like a giant puppy begging for a biscuit. She frowned, but held out her hand for the phone. No need to let him know that she had her own. “Fine.”
Dialling home took a matter of minutes and, once her mom had reassured her—again—that everything was fine and Dawn had hooted with laughter when Buffy had revealed who her mystery date was, she handed the phone back to Riley. She took a deep breath, glanced at the impassive faces of Willow and Oz, and started to walk towards the nearest cab.
She had a feeling that her friends would have preferred to go home, but Willow was clearly so guilt-ridden over the whole fiasco, she felt like she had to tag along. Buffy was glad. Going dancing with her ex-boyfriend was not her number one idea of a good time.
When the taxi pulled up outside Caritas, Buffy really wished that she’d said no.
***
Walking through the doors sent shivers down Buffy’s spine and brought forth a slew of memories that she had tried hard to suppress. Riley was by her side, grinning like a fool, exclaiming over the music, and the lights, and the crowd of dancers. Willow and Oz trailed behind, hands clasped together.
“Isn’t it great?” Riley led them towards a table near the dance floor and pulled out a chair for Buffy with a flourish.
“Um, yeah.” Buffy sighed and sat down. “Great.”
“I’ll get some drinks,” Riley said. “They have amazing cocktails.”
“So you’ve said. I’ll just have a soda.” Buffy took a deep breath, remembering a time when she had been the enthusiastic one, the girl exclaiming over the cocktails and the karaoke.
“You okay, Buffy?” Willow shot her a concerned glance when Riley had lumbered off to the bar.
“I’m fine,” she replied. “Just… bad memories.”
“Oh!” Willow’s eyes widened. “Is this a He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named place?” When Buffy didn’t answer, she continued: “You know I don’t mean Voldemort, right? I just didn’t want to say his name…”
“It’s all right, Will,” Buffy said. “But yeah. I brought him here. It was…” She closed her eyes, memories washing over her. “Amazing. He sang, and we danced… and then made out like teenagers under the stairs.” She paused, a small smile crossing her face. “He was so nervous. I think I was the first person he’d kissed in years.”
Buffy had never been forthcoming with the details of her encounter with the mysterious Spike; she had told them his name, of course, and the barest bones of what had happened, but none of the finer points of their night together. And Willow had never asked.
Opening her eyes, Buffy shook her head slightly, as though shaking off a trance. She bit her lip, suddenly realising what she had been talking about. “Sorry, Will. Got a bit lost in the reminiscing there. Hey, where did Oz go?”
“I think the girly talkage scared him off.” Willow grinned, before sobering when she saw the worried expression on her friend’s face. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you talk about what happened that night,” she said. “Maybe… maybe now you’ll be able to tell me more?” She looked around at the crowded club. “When we’re not in such a public place, I mean.”
Buffy nodded hesitantly. “It’s been over three years, Willow. Why can’t I forget him?”
“Maybe you’re not meant to forget him,” her friend replied. “You let him in, right? Let him crack that hard Buffy shell. That’s gonna stick with you. Plus, hey, big ol’ reminder every time—”
“Riley!” Buffy sent Willow a warning glance and made a lip-zipping motion, when she spotted her ex-boyfriend looming over the table. Her friend nodded in understanding.
“Here’s your soda.” Riley handed her the glass. “Isn’t this place neat? I got talking to the owner at the bar. Did you know they do karaoke on Saturdays? How cool would it be if we all came back this weekend and sang?”
At the frightened look on Willow’s face at such a prospect, Buffy dissolved into giggles, her friend soon joining her in the laughter.
***
Buffy let herself into her house, trying not to let the keys jingle too much as she turned the lock. It was late, and the house was dark, everyone evidently asleep.
Slipping off her shoes and dropping her keys on the hallway table, she glanced into the living room to see Dawn curled up on the couch, empty coffee mug lying next to an open Cosmo on the floor. She smiled at the sight and covered her sister with a throw, before heading upstairs.
She moved towards the glow of the light in the smallest bedroom and pushed the door open, cringing when it creaked; the noise sounded overly loud in the quiet of the house.
Smiling at the sight of the sleeping figure in the narrow bed, she let herself relax, her worries dissipating for the first time that evening. She took a minute to make sure that the little girl was okay, her words no more than a whisper in the silence. “Night, sweetie.”
-TBC-
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I'm posting a day early for two reasons: I have a test tomorrow morning and if it goes badly, I'll be too depressed to post. :P And secondly, I got an email letting me know that this fic has been nominated at the Sunnydale Memorial Awards for Best AU and Best Romance, that Out of the Grey has been nominated for Best Series Finale Fic, and that I was nominated for Best Author. Thank you to whoever sent those nominations! Now, on with the chapter. I had fun seeing what people thought of the end of chapter eight.
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks for reading, please let me know what you thought in a review! :)