Mornings are never a happy time for teenagers, as it seems to be socially accepted throughout the world. It was nearly 7:30 in the morning and no matter how hard she tried, Dawn couldn't fall back asleep. By the time she got to bed the night before, Buffy had still not come home. It must be a busy time for the Slaying business because she hadn't seen her for nearly two days. A peek into her sister’s room confirmed she had not come home at all last night. It was normal for the people in the Summers household to not bump into one another because of the unmixy schedules, but for Buffy not to check in was worrisome for the younger sister.
The soft sound of feet padding down the hall made Dawn spin around quickly, in hopes that it was Buffy just getting in after long hours of kicking evil ass. "Buffy?" Wrong. "Oh, sorry Willow, I thought you were Buffy."
The red head gave silent 'good morning' by waggling her fingers and adding a soft sleepy smile. "Nope," she shook her head.
"Has she checked in with you? She didn't come home last night, her beds untouched. We might have to gather the Scooby Search Party, I'll call Xander."
"Before we jump the gun, let’s see if she left a message, or a smoke signal," Willow proposed before letting out a big yawn.
Lately things between the Slayer and her little sister had been filled to the brim with family dysfunctions, but in a tiny way, Dawn thought the tension between them was starting to waiver. With Buffy not around so much, it was easy to miss her, but the greater sister-good in Dawn was concerned. Willow had a better suggestion, a much more logical one, and then her over reaction plan of a search party, but that’s what panic will do to you.
“So, had some oogly-booglies visit last night?” Willow asked as they descended the stairs.
Scrunching her nose, “Huh?”
The Witch stopped halfway down to turn back at Dawn. Willow should have known non-straight forward questions were strictly forbidden when asking sleep deprived teenagers in the early morning. “Last night? I heard screams, figured your dreams weren’t being nice.”
“Not me, I was out like a light all night until this morning.”
It had been late at night while semi-sleeping that Willow had heard the noises, so maybe her mind was playing tricks on her. Wouldn’t be the first time she thought she heard something, but turned out to be nothing. “Maybe I was dreaming.”
The two girls were making their way to the kitchen through the dining room to check for any messages left by Buffy. “Yeah, or maybe someone was being attacked by monsters.” They both laughed for brief seconds, until their heads processed the statement. “That would have been funny... If we didn’t live in Sunnydale, and monsters weren’t real,” Dawn added quickly, trying to salvage what was left of her joke.
“Probably, but then we wouldn’t have that awkward silence that followed.”
“True. I’m gonna look on the desk in the living room, sometimes she leaves notes there.” Including a cheerful expression, “And if we’re lucky, money for pizza!”
Willow searched the counter tops, refrigerator doors, and the answering machine, but without any success. There was nothing from Buffy. Times like these are when cell phones would be handy. With all the running around her best friend did, she always wondered why a mobile phone wasn’t on her list of things to get. She walked through the small hall, into the back of the living room where Dawn was frozen in her tracks.
The young girl never looked back as she voiced her victory. “Found her.” Her voice was shy, uncomfortable like.
After following Dawn’s blatant stare, anything she was about to say vanished from her tongue. Immediately Willows hand shot out, covering the younger ones eyes, as there was enough bare skin to be considered for an adult magazine. For the most part it was Buffy’s body on display, but there was defiantly someone else next to her, buried in the sofa, with their back end fully visible. This was so unlike Buffy to just bring home a guy, especially in her own family room. Willow supposed her friend had been through a lot and maybe she had her own reasons, but this was radical behavior. “That’s not something we should be looking at.”
Even though Dawn was annoyed for being treated like a child, yet again, she didn’t try fighting the Witch on this one. Seeing her sister half naked on the couch with some half naked guy was not something her poor eyes should have endured. “Then why are you still looking?”
“Because I... I’m older... and well frankly my eyes won’t stop,” she stammered trying to think of a clever answer as to why she was still gazing at the scene in front of her.
When people are even the slightest bit older than you, they always act superior, but that had to have been the worst explanation in the history of all things explanatory. "Oh, right... because you're older. Number one reason to get away doing anything." Although Dawn rolled her eyes, it went unnoticed due to the fact Willow had her hand clamped over them.
****
There is always that short period of time when your body is trying to wake up and adjust, where reality merges with the surreal dream state. She found it strange she was having a dream about her sister and best friend staring at her naked. Usually when she had fully exposed nudity dreams they involved making a total fool of herself while trying to slay a baddie, or that one incredibly embarrassing moment with Oz in the school basement. A few seconds was all it took to distinguish fiction from, well, non. The drowsiness disappeared the moment her eyes opened and she became completely aware of the actuality of them standing on the other side of the room. Holding the first piece of clothing she found to her chest, she shot upright, a deer caught in headlights look, like she was frightened, “Guys.” What else was there to say?
Undoubtedly, Willow wanted nothing more than to apologize, but when she spotted the ruffled bleached blond hairs poking out from behind Buffy's back, the only words that made it from her brain to her mouth were, "Spike?!"
“What?” It wasn’t a question as much as it was plain interest laced with enthusiasm. Dawn always did have a crush on the Big Bad. He was always so suave and carried himself with that cocky swagger. Not to mention the sex appeal which completely redefined ‘good looking’ in her book. To top everything off, the most passion she’d ever noticed about any individual was decimated by his devotion. So maybe it wasn’t the brightest decision she’s ever made, but if catching a peek at Spike’s body meant a small unwanted look of her sister... it was so worth it. Reasoning or not, Willows’ arm was batted away hastily before anyone had the chance to cover up.
****
With all the ruckus going on, how was a man supposed to get any decent sleep? With being utterly knackered from the night before, he chose the bold move of bolting up to confront whatever was so insistent on disrupting his morning shut eye, but instead he found himself in a bashful retreat. Luckily his lower goods were safely tucked away and out of sight, thanks to the Slayer sitting in front of him. While Spike wasn’t known for his modest behavior, he doubted he could ever look at Buffy’s little sis, without feeling dirty, if she got a full on birthday suit view. Be casual. Its jus’ the Bit and Witch. “Mornin’ Nibblet. Red.” Neither offered a reply, just an awkward forced smile.
Mortified couldn’t begin to cover her feelings. Add on humiliated, petrified, and ridiculed, and it still didn’t come close. She was just caught in-sofa with a guy. A used-to-be-killer-vampire-evil-arch-enemy guy. Oh boy. “There’s probably an explanation deserved right about now, huh?” The people in the room seemed to have trouble speaking because again no one had said a word thus far. Under the circumstances, silence wasn’t golden, and since the only sound was emanating from the chirping birds outside, Buffy continued. “I have something-”
“We,” silly girl still didn't understand he would always stand by her side, “have somethin’.”
“We.” His notion brought a soft smile to her lips, “We have something to share. But first, can we get dressed?”
After a moment to realize that was their cue to leave the pair in privacy, a unison, “Oh...yeah,” tumbled from the girls as they rushed into the kitchen in an anxious manner.
****
The minute their company disappeared around the corner, Buffy bustled around to cover herself in clothes of some sort. Spike had a much more leisurely approach, slipping each leg into his jeans without hurry as he watched her flutter around. Don’ be pushin’ her mate. “Buffy... Luv, after such a bollocks scene, you're not feeling regret are you?” Don’ push? You might as well of shoved her to the bloody ground.
Without pausing she offered an generic ‘yeah-huh’, cluing him in that she wasn’t listening, but in fact thinking of all the ramifications this situation had in store. The thing he never understood about the Slayer was how she thought so much of her friends and what they thought. Buffy is always there for them, saving their hides and doing everything in her power to protect them, but yet she feels to need to always please them? Her mates are the true reason she holds back so much. Because if they don’t approve, heaven forbid she does something for her own happiness for once. If anything, Buffy’s pals should be scrambling to please her, not the other way around.
She had just slid on the last article of clothing on and started walking to the kitchen when he grabbed her hand, pulling her to a halt. Before proceeding further, Spike took stage in front of her. Holding onto both of her shoulders, “Buffy.”
With the slightest hint of sarcasm, “Spike.”
He cocked his head, narrowing his eyes, “I mean wha’ I said. We go in there, and we tell them. Together. I know I might not be the catch they were wantin’ for you, but they will understand and have to accept it. Even Harris will come around eventually. It’s up to you if you even want-”
“I do- I want to.”
“Tell them?”
“Be with you.”
A seducing goddess whose looks could steal the breathe from a man couldn’t offer whispers of anything more rewarding. There were no sweeter words than to hear his girl say that. And it wasn’t a promise but real. Honest and real.
“It’s just hard. This wasn’t how I pictured telling them. There was less nudity in my picture, and more understanding.”
“Weird. My picture had nudity of all sorts.” She elicited a tiny laugh at his teasing, but he needed to leave her with a strong mind. “You do whatever you feel.”
As if to make a silent statement, she took hold of the hand at her shoulder, gripping it tight. “We are.”