Buffy hummed to herself as she cleaned the empty house, not only had she refused to leave its walls for months – she had refused to do any cleaning except taking out the garbage bags.
She blew a strand of hair from her sweaty face, she only had the floors left to do before the Oz’s painters came to paint all the walls a crisp white, she had opted for no color on them as the furniture was all black – every last piece of it. They would finish in time for the delivery of the furniture she had bought from Spike that would arrive Sunday afternoon.
An hour later she found herself flopped across the air mattress when the doorbell rang
She sighed and trudged over to it and was pleased to see Spike on the other side.
“’Lo almost neighbor, mind if I come in?”
“Sure, forgive the lack of anything to sit on, but the floors are clean”
He laughed and she noticed the brightly wrapped box in his hand.
“Ooooh, present?”
“I found this in the shop in one of the storage boxes I was going through, thought it might go well with your new furniture.
“Thank you so much, that’s so thoughtful.”
“My pleasure” he answered, handing it over, “Dig in”
He couldn’t help but laugh at the child-like enthusiasm she showed while ripping the paper off and the happy squeal she let out when she saw it.
It was a beautiful small jewelry chest, obviously old, and obviously costly.
“I can’t accept this” she breathed out.
“Well I can’t take it back”
She looked at him quizzically, and he smiled, “I have a strict no-returns policy.”
She smiled and he noticed that when she did her whole face lit up.
“Thank you so much, I’ll treasure it.”
“So, do I get the grand tour?”
Just then the doorbell rang a second time, heralding the arrival of Oz and his painting crew.
Buffy looked at Spike apologetically, “Sorry, can it wait another day or two?”
Spike looked around, “Where are you going to sleep?”
“On the floor, same place for months now, I’m sure I’ll survive.” she teased.
He shook his head with a small smile, “Won’t the paint get to you?”
“OH SHIT”
“Look, if you’d like, I’ll give you the keys to my new place since its just right across the street, I’ll bring your mattress over later tonight, then you can sleep paint fume free.”
“Where will you sleep?”
“I still have a bed in the shop on the lowest level.”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I did.”
He walked to the door and she followed him, “I gotta’ go, I’ve got some paperwork to finish up, but I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Ya, any idea what to go see?”
“Not yet no, but we’ll figure it out.”
“Thanks again Spike” she added when he handed her the keys and grabbed her mattress, explaining it was easier to move it now.
“No worries; have a good night.”
She smiled and waved once he was in his new place and closed the door behind her, looking at the guys setting up for a long evening of painting.
She had to admit he had a beautiful house as she explored it that evening, the living room was a flat charcoal gray with a hint of purple making the walls look like dusk. The layout, she quickly realized, was identical to hers, right down to the in ground pool in the backyard. The air mattress had been left in what she assumed would be his room once he moved in. Much like the living room the walls were a flat paint, but a deep black instead of gray. It didn’t appear overwhelming though because of the large double window letting in the moonlight.
She grabbed her towel from her duffel bag and went to take a shower, a slice of jealously going through her when she realized that where she had a guestroom he had a double bathroom with a claw foot tub in front of the window and a shower in the corner. She opted to take a bath and stripped down to sit in it while it filled with the warm relaxing water.
She was glad to have met him, he was one of the few genuinely nice guys she’d met in her life and he understand what it was like to lose someone you thought you would spend your whole life with.
She let herself soak up the warmth of the water and moaned softly at her tight muscles finally losing some of the tension they’d been holding since Angel’s passing.
Four months, it wasn’t a long enough time to grieve, but it was far too long to hide herself from the world.
Across town:
Spike was fully sprawled on the small mattress, eyes staring up at the dark ceiling. Dru used to see stars; all he could see were cracks. He smiled at the memory, it was one of the better ones but before long he found himself thinking about Buffy.
Something about her had drawn him in immediately, of course he didn’t know her well but he hoped to. She seemed kind, if not peculiar, and so in need of help it broke his heart.
Maybe he could convince Anya and Willow to make sure they got her out of the house once a week at least, even if for a short lunch somewhere.
Or maybe they could help her find a job, if she felt like working.
He remembered what it had been like losing Dru, the stupor he’d been in for almost a year. It took time, and lots of it, to deal with loss properly, but that’s how it had to be done. You couldn’t rush those things.
It had been almost two years since Dru’s death, and he hadn’t even entertained the idea of dating until recently and the idea unnerved him still. Which is one of the reasons why he’d suggested a completely platonic outing with Buffy, he knew what she was going through and she also understood where he was coming from.
Platonic feelings or not, he couldn’t deny how beautiful she was even when a disheveled mess.
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