Sunday, October 17, 2010
“Finally.” Wesley yanked open his door and stepped out of the way so that his cousin could enter.
Spike frowned at his greeting before leaning down to give Fred, who had also come to answer the door, a kiss on the cheek. “Am I late?”
Fred shook her head. “No. Wes is just…feeling very emotional this afternoon.”
Wesley frowned. “Don’t say that. It makes me sound like a ponce.” He turned back to Spike. “I don’t suppose my father mentioned to you that he was bringing a date.”
Spike grinned broadly. “He didn’t mention that, no. That bird from the museum? What’s her name, Jenny? Rupes finally ballsed up. Good for him.”
Wesley shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh no. Not good for him. Not the infinitely more appropriate Ms Calender. No. No. Most definitely, no.”
Arching his eyebrow, Spike turned to give Fred a quizzical glance. “What am I missing here?”
“Rupert surprised us by bringing a woman to dinner tonight and Wesley needs to calm down and give her a chance.”
“A chance? Please, darling, that woman is clearly a sign that my father is undergoing some sort of enormous mental break.”
Spike laughed. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Come.” Wesley squared his shoulders and walked in the direction of the dining room. He stopped just outside and gestured for Spike to look inside.
“What? She’s…well, hell, Wesley. She’s…hot.”
Wesley’s expression clearly communicated that he was disgusted.
Spike took another quick glance at the pretty woman with blonde hair styled in forties-esque curls and wearing a red shirt-dress. “Seriously, Wes. I love your old man. You know I do. He’s a good man—went above and beyond as an uncle—but today, today I can truly say that he’s my hero. I didn’t know he had it in him.”
Wesley rolled his eyes. “She couldn’t be more than twenty-five years old, William. It’s…it’s—”
“Brilliant.”
Fred smacked Spike’s arm lightly. “Behave.” She turned to Wesley. “You too. Now let’s go have a nice dinner.” She gave them both a stern look. “I mean it. I won’t let anything ruin our dinner tonight.” She gave Wesley a big smile. “Not tonight.”
Spike watched his cousin wrap his arm around Fred’s shoulders and noted the gentle look they exchanged. Someone, he thought with a smile, has news.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Buffy walked into Spike’s shop and took a quick glance around. It was pretty much what she’d expected: clean but kind of busy. There was a wall of guitars and basses, a couple of drum sets and keyboards set up in the back, a few mismatched racks displaying sheet music, and wide array of smaller items in baskets and bowls near the register. There was also a corner set up for playing or teaching lessons, with a couch and a few stools. That was where she found Spike. He was sitting on one of the stools strumming back-up for a pretty teenage girl with purple streaked blond hair. The girl, who was also playing guitar, sang something Buffy couldn’t name but sounded vaguely familiar. Buffy smiled and watched them until Spike looked up. His eyes widened in surprise for a second before he grinned. Buffy was, once again struck by how handsome he was. She quickly gestured that he should finish what he was doing and then browsed until he finished the song.
“Hello, love. Did you change your mind about lessons?”
Buffy laughed and turned to find him standing behind her wearing a black t-shirt that said Anti-Hero in white letters and worn jeans. “A world of no. I’m just dropping something off. Actually, I’m ashamed at how long it has taken me to bring this to you.” She held out a book made from laminated, blue construction paper.
“What’s this?” Spike took the book and laughed when he saw the cover had a picture of him playing guitar for the kids. He hadn’t noticed her taking any pictures. He opened it to find a drawing from each of the kids and a thank you message with fourteen signatures on the back page. “This is…well, hell this is cool.” He stopped on one of the pictures. “Am I wearing a crown here?”
Buffy nodded. “Yeah, I think your accent confused Paul. At first, I thought he was just trying to draw your hair, but then he started adding those jewels. He might think all British people all kings or princesses.” She shrugged. “Kyla drew you playing with Goat and Chicken.”
He laughed again. “This is great. Thanks, kitten.”
She nearly blushed at his use of the nickname. “Well, thanks again for coming in and playing for the kids.” She smiled big. “I’ll get out of your way and let you get back to your lesson.” She nodded toward the girl who still sat strumming her guitar. Buffy had noticed the girl sending her suspicious looks a couple of times.
“Oh, Cassie.” Spike looked over at her. “She took lessons a while back, now she just stops by to hang. She’s far too good for a seventeen year old; she’ll be something in a few years—probably forget all about us little people.”
Buffy noticed the girl glancing at them again and laughed softly. “She likes you,” she said quietly.
He winced and nodded.
“You’ve noticed.”
“Yeah, well she has all the subtlety of a—she has all the subtlety of a seventeen year old girl.”
“Oh.” Buffy felt bad for the girl. She made her sad face. “Be gentle.”
“No worries, she’s a good kid. I’m sure she’ll realize that she can do better than me in a few days.”
Buffy laughed with him, but had her doubts.
“Look, this may be out of line, but it doesn’t hurt to ask, right? You remember Fred?”
Buffy nodded. “Sure.”
“She and Wesley just told me that they’re having a baby. I’m going to be an uncle.” He grinned broadly.
“Congratulations! That’s exciting.”
“I need to get presents-lots of presents. I was hoping that maybe you’d come help me pick out the right stuff. You know, since you’re an expert.”
It was an odd request, but Buffy couldn’t really see anything wrong in it. They got along well enough, he’d done her a favor and now he was asking for a favor in return. It wasn’t too weird. Lots of men didn’t like shopping. “I’m not really an expert on the tiny ones.”
“This kid’s going to be brilliant. Seriously, Fred and Wes are both geniuses, so this kid’s getting choice genes. I need good presents—educational presents.”
“It’s sweet that you’re so excited. I know a few good stores for educational toys.
“So, you’ll help?”
She laughed again and shrugged. “Sure, I like shopping. When did you want to go?”
“Is tomorrow afternoon too soon? I’ve a got a guy in the shop tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow works. I can probably get out of school by 3:45. Should I just come here?”
“If you don’t mind.”
“Nope. I’ll see you tomorrow. Congratulations, again.” She looked over at Cassie and gave her a little wave. “Hi. Sorry to interrupt your playing. I’m getting out of your hair now.”
Cassie frowned slightly before remembering to smile and yell out, “No problem. Spike always has to stop for business.”
Buffy grinned at her and then at Spike before leaving. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at Cassie’s catty decision to call her visit business. It was clear to Buffy that the poor girl had it bad.
Spike walked back to the jam circle.
“Friend of yours?” Cassie asked innocently.
“Yeah, yeah. Buffy teaches little tykes at Mossy Grove—cute kids—made me this.” He handed her the book.
She flipped through the pages and giggled. “This is legitimately cute.”
He nodded.
“Ooh! Look this one calls you Mrs. Pie.”
Spike frowned and looked at the picture in question. “Well they’re still learning to write. He must have messed up the spacing.” He pointed to a light squiggle between the ‘I’ and the ‘E.’ “That might be a k.”
“Mrs. Pie.” She giggled again. “It suits you.”
“Ha bloody ha. Don’t mock my fancy thank you book.”
She handed it back to him. “You want to play some more? I’ve been working on some Death Cab for Cutie.”
He nodded. “Sure thing, kiddo. I’m going to grab a bottle of water from my office. Want a soda?”
Cassie nodded. “Orange?”
“You got it.” Spike carried the book into his office and laid it on his desk. He grinned and wondered how long he’d have to wait for a picture that said for Uncle Spike.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Buffy watched Spike load the third large bag into his trunk. “That’s…a lot of presents.” She laughed. “I think it’s clear you’ve decided to go the spoiling route.”
“Wes and Fred were both only children, so I’ll be the only uncle the little mite has.”
“In that case, maybe I shouldn’t have talked you out of that Lego Death Star.” She giggled.
“You think?”
“No. I think you have three giant bags full of great toys. Seriously, you could stock a preschool from your trunk.”
Spike ran a hand over his head, messing his carefully slicked back hair, and grinned. “I may have gotten a tad carried away.”
“It’s sweet. The kid is going to love you.”
“Thanks for all your help, Buffy. I wouldn’t have known where to start without you.”
“No problem. It was fun.”
“Still, let me take you to dinner as a thank you. The least I can do after dragging you through all those stores is feed you.”
“That’s not—”
“How do you feel about fish tacos? There’s a place over on Wilson Drive that I go to with Fred sometimes. That woman loves tacos. I’ve seen her put away a half a dozen in a sitting. It should be disgusting but mostly it’s sort of fascinating. Anyway, the Mexican place on Wilson has great fish tacos.”
“Juan’s Place. I’ve been. They also have yummy salsa and dangerously good margaritas. Last spring my friend, Willow, got so tipsy she started flirting with a waitress. I mean seriously flirting. It was beyond strange.”
“That sounds like a yes.”
Buffy shrugged. “Why not?”
Spike walked over to the passenger side door and pulled it open for her. Buffy climbed in.
She waited for him to get in before talking. “I think that train set was a good choice. Melissa and Doug make really nice toys—very sturdy.”
“You’re sure it’s good for a girl too?”
“Absolutely. Trains are universally fun, like…other universally fun things that I can’t think of right now.”
Spike laughed and smirked at her. “You can’t think of anything that’s always fun? Nothing?”
She blushed. “You should take the next right and short-cut through downtown.”
Spike chuckled again and took her suggestion. He glanced over at her after taking the turn. A piece of hair had escaped her ponytail and was brushing against her cheek. Spike’s fingers clenched against the steering wheel as he fought off the urge to reach over and tuck that lock of hair behind her ear. He was genuinely enjoying her company. He wanted to be friends if that was the only option currently available, but that didn't mean he wasn't noticing the pretty shape of her lips or the sweet curve of her ass when she bent to pick up a toy from a lower shelf. “So, you umm—you like kids. Are you thinking about being a mum someday?”
She laughed softly. “You know most people just assume that I am. Almost no one actually asks.” She laughed again. “A couple of years ago I would have said no, but now…yeah, I do.”
“I get that. I never even considered the possibility. I mean kids—that would mean growing up first.” He faked a shudder.
“And now your cousin is starting a family and you’re thinking it might not be such a bad thing.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I suppose that’s all it is."
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I think I need a better summary for this story. This one doesn't seem to be grabbing people. I think that's because it is kind of boring. Also, I'm still hoping to find a banner artist to make a story banner and icon for this one. Spike plays guitar in this fic, so I think that would open up some fun image options. (See how I evilly attempt to tempt the artists with the thought of handsome Spike with a guitar?) So--thank you to everyone who has been reading and commenting. You all rock. :) As you've probably noticed, this story will be told through a series of chronological scenes, some of which will be quite short. All of the scenes will involve at least one of our main two characters.
Chapter End Notes:
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