Been Here Too Few Years

Disclaimerstyle='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm not writing this for profit or
personal gain. Why am I writing this you ask? I…well…um… That's a good
question. I'll go with "to stave off the insanity." "Hang"
is by Matchbox 20.

Ratingstyle='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>: NC-17 (It's Spike's fault again. He just
won't keep his clothes on, even in AU's…)

Summarystyle='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>: After the death of her first love, Buffy
Summers swore to never give her heart to another. But with the addition of an
unwelcome houseguest into her life, Buffy begins to realize she may have to
rethink that vow… (Spuffy; All-human AU)

Spoilersstyle='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>: It's one of those insidious all-human
fics, so none, I guess. I'll probably use a few lines from some episodes here
and there, but nothing that would give away major plot points for those of you
who still haven't managed to see the whole series a year after it ended…

Author's Notestyle='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>: Okay, technically in this story, Spike and
Buffy are step-siblings. However, they never lived together as children, and
prior to the main part of this fic, they'd only met once (and that's in the
prologue.) Basically, they're step-siblings in name only. Still, if that's enough to bother you, don't read this
and then harass me about it. I know it's a potentially creepy subject, hence
this nifty little disclaimer. If you didn't read this, get two pages into the
fic, and think "Ew! Her mom is married to his dad! I hate this fic and
want to burn it and then give the author a stern talking to," well, it's
your own dang fault, and I'll delete your email gleefully. If the sorta almost
family issue doesn't bother you, then by all means, read on.

Feedback and Archivingstyle='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>: Feedback is the class=SpellE>bestest best thing in the world. (Well, almost,
anyway.) Give me lots of it, and I will be a happy and productive author. Also,
I love it when people want to archive my work, but I like to be asked first.
Please e-mail me any archiving requests before posting my fics. Thanks! Email: href="mailto:addie_logan@yahoo.com">addie_logan@yahoo.com

Shameless Website Plugstyle='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>: Like this story? Dying to read more of my
work? Or maybe you think it sucks, and want to laugh at my other crappy
writing. Either way, check out my website: href="http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/addielogan">http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/addielogan

Been Here Too Few Years

By: Addie Logan

***
*** ***

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>She grabs her magazines

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>She packs her things and she goes

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>She leaves the pictures hanging on the wall, she burns all

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Her notes and she knows, she's been here too few years

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>To feel this old

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> 

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>He smokes his cigarette, he stays outside 'till it's gone

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>If anybody ever had a heart, he wouldn't be alone

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>He knows, she's been here too few years, to be gone

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> 

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>And we always say, it would be good to go away, someday

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>But if there's nothing there to make things change

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>If it's the same for you I'll just hang

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> 

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>The trouble understand, is she got reasons he don't

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Funny how he couldn't see at all, 'til she grabbed up her coat

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>And she goes, she's been here too few years to take it all in stride

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>But still it's much too long, to let hurt go (you let her go)

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>And we always say, it would be good to go away, someday

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>But if there's nothing there to make things change

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>If it's the same for you I'll just hang

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>The same for you

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>I'll always hang

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Well I always say, it would be good to go away

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>But if things don't work out like we think

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>And there's nothing there to ease this ache

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>But if there's nothing there to make things change

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>If it's the same for you, I'll just hang

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>*** *** ***

style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Prologue: The Wedding

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Buffy Summers was
surprised at how excited she was on the morning of her mother's second wedding.
When Joyce Summers had first begun dating again after the divorce, Buffy hadn't
been happy. It hadn't helped that the first man Joyce had brought home was less
than stable and threatened Buffy while playing mini golf of all things.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>But try as she might, Buffy had never been
able to truly dislike Rupert Giles. In the past year since he'd come into her
life, Buffy had already begun to regard the middle-aged librarian as the fatherly
role model she'd never really had before. Besides, he'd put a spark of
happiness back in Joyce's eyes, and that was one thing that Buffy would never
begrudge her mother.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Buffy's ten year old sister Dawn, however,
was another story.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"But I like it just the three of
us!" Dawn whined as she sat on Buffy's bed, letting the elder class=GramE>Summers sister brush her long, brown hair. "My friend
Janice has a step-dad, and she says he's a total jerk."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Buffy held back from saying that if she had
to live with Janice, she probably wouldn't be all that cheery either. "But
Giles is cool," Buffy said. "In a tweed-wearing
high school librarian sort of way. Besides, Mom loves him."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"This is all your
fault you know," Dawn accused. "If you hadn't gotten in trouble and
had to serve detention, Mom never would've met him, and our lives could've kept
going on the way they were."

class=GramE>Buffy through back to that
day almost a year ago, when Joyce had come to the Sunnydale High School library
to pick her daughter up from detention. Joyce's anger with Buffy had quickly been pushed to the side
as she and Giles had begun a two-hour conversation that ended in a dinner
invitation. "Personally, I'm glad I got caught trying to skip class,"
Buffy said. "You can be negative all you want, but I think we're going to
make a great family." Buffy hadn't realized how much she'd missed the
feeling of unity from having a mother and a father until Giles had come into
her life and reminded her what she'd been missing.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Dawn decided she wasn't going to sway Buffy
to her side. "Speaking of family, isn't Giles's son supposed to be getting
here today?"

class=GramE>"Yeah.style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> Giles is picking him up from the airport at
noon."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"The mysterious William," Dawn
said with a smirk. "I wonder what he'll be like. You think he'll be
another member of the Tweed Squad?"

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"I don't think so," Buffy replied.
To be honest, she wasn't sure she wanted to meet William. Most of what she'd
heard about him had been spoken in hushed tones when Giles and Joyce thought that
Buffy couldn't hear them. She knew that, while he'd once been rather
introverted, he'd become more rebellious as of late, choosing to remain behind
in London—supposedly living with a woman his father didn't approve of—instead
of accompanying Giles when he made the move to California.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Giles had stated several times that he
wouldn't be surprised if William refused to come at all, despite his attempt to
extend the olive branch to his only child and make him his best man. Buffy
wished he would just stay in England.
She had high hopes for familial bliss, and wild step-brothers could only
ruin that.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Maybe he'll defy all odds and actually
be cool," Dawn said.

class=GramE>"Maybe."style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> Buffy patted Dawn's head and set down the
brush. "There. Tangle-free. Try to keep it that way at least until it's
time to fix it for the wedding. We don't want everyone thinking Mom makes you
live out in the woods or something."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Dawn rolled her eyes in classic irritated
little sister style. "It was not that
bad, Buffy."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Tell that to the person that didn't
just spend twenty minutes detangling your hair."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Whatever. It was more like
fifteen."

class=GramE>"Still too long.style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> Come on, I told Mom we'd make her
breakfast."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Hope she likes cereal," Dawn
muttered.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Hey! I can totally make
breakfast."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Says the girl who seems to think eggs
are supposed to be black and crispy."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"I've been practicing, and I think I've
discovered and learned from my mistakes."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Famous last words," Dawn replied
as she followed Buffy out of the bedroom.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>*** *** ***

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>William "Spike" Giles grabbed his
bag from the trunk of his father's old Citron. They'd barely said two words to
each other on the drive to the airport, and Spike was already regretting
coming. He almost hadn't, especially when it had been made clear to him that
his girlfriend, Drusilla, was not welcome. But Spike had been too curious to
see the woman his father had replaced his dead mother with not to show.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike started to follow his father into the
house, but stopped when he looked up into a second-story window and caught a
glimpse of a girl dancing. She wore a shimmery, light blue top that clung to
her curves perfectly. Her long, blonde hair framed her face, and she moved with
the grace and self-confidence of someone who didn't know she had an audience.
The vision of her enthralled him, and for a moment, Spike forgot all about
Drusilla. All that existed for him in that moment was the golden goddess he had
the privilege of watching. She was radiant, glowing.

class=GramE>Effulgent…style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"William, are you coming in, or are you
going to spend the entire visit standing out on the lawn?"

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike blinked, his father's irritated voice
breaking the spell he'd been under. "Sorry, class=SpellE>Rupes. Just admiring your new
place."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Giles frowned at his son's disrespectful
nickname for him. "Right. Well, come inside.
Joyce is at the salon having her hair and make-up done, and I need to get you
settled so I can leave before she returns. Bloody tradition
and all. Dawn and Buffy are here though, if you would like to meet
them."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike rolled his eyes. Buffy…
He couldn't believe his father was marrying a woman who would name her child style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Buffy. "Fine, I'll meet the little
chits."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"William…" Giles said in warning.

class=GramE>"Fine.style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> Let me meet your wonderful wife-to-class=SpellE>be's wonderful daughters."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike followed Giles into the house, getting
a quick glance at the living room as Giles called Buffy and Dawn downstairs.
Spike sucked in a breath as the woman he'd watched dancing descended the
stairs. She was even more beautiful up close than she'd been through the
window. If her mother was anything like her, maybe Spike could understand why
his father had decided to remarry. Maybe.

class=GramE>Buffy looked up, feeling a
rush of shock at the sight of Giles's son. His clothes were all black, adorned with safety pins, and his
short, spiked hair was bleached to white. His deep, blue eyes were rimmed in
dark black. He was gorgeous. He was dangerous. How he could be the son of the
proper librarian who was marrying her mother was beyond her.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Buffy almost stumbled down the stairs as
Dawn ran past her. The younger Summers girl stopped
short at the last step, gaping at Spike. "Whoa. You look totally different
than in your picture. No puffy brown hair or geek glasses."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Da, are you still showing people those horrid pictures of me? Bloody hell, do
you want everyone to think I'm just a chip off the old pathetic git
block?"

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Well, I certainly don't want people to
know my son insists on dressing like a street thug and calling himself some
ridiculous name. What is it again, Snake?" Giles snapped.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"It's Spike, and you know it,"
Spike said through clenched teeth.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Buffy decided right then and there that she
didn't like the blond punk that was standing in her foyer. Giles was one of the
nicest people she knew, and she hated the thought of anyone being rude to him,
especially his own son. What was William's problem? Didn't he know how lucky he
was to have a father who wasn't scum?

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>The dreamy look in Dawn's eyes told Buffy
that her sister didn't share her sentiments.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"William,"
Giles said pointedly, "These are Joyce's daughters—Buffy and Dawn."
Giles gestured to each girl as he said her name. "Girls, this is my son, style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>William." Again, Giles made sure to
add emphasis to his son's given name.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike raised a scarred eyebrow as he learned
that the older one was Buffy. He thought for sure she'd be Dawn. After all, her
golden hair did remind him of sunrise… He pushed that last thought away. It
didn't matter. He had no intention of getting to know anyone in the class=GramE>Summers family. "Nice to meet you," Spike said,
sure to make his sarcasm evident.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"My thoughts exactly," Buffy
replied with a saccharine smile.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Dawn seemed oblivious to Spike's attempts to
be rude. "Do you want me to show him where he'll be staying?" she
asked Giles.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Yes, that would probably be for the
best right now," Giles said, grateful for a way to break the tension.
"William, you'll be staying in Dawn's room, while Dawn will be with Buffy.
Joyce and I will leave for our honeymoon after the reception, but Joyce's
mother will be here tonight, as she is staying with the girls while we will be
gone."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Doesn't matter," Spike said with
a shrug. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning anyway."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Giles nodded. "I suspected as
much."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Dawn grasped Spike's hand, forgetting her
previous decision to hate her new step-brother. "Come on, I'll show you my
room."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike let her pull him behind her, finding
he didn't have the heart to continue being rude to her.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"It's smaller than Buffy's room, but class=GramE>it's better," Dawn said as she opened her bedroom door.
"Her room is totally lame. It has boy band posters all over the
place."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike put his bag on top of Dawn's bed.
"Well, then, I guess I was lucky in getting your room. Nothing scares me
more than those dancing gits and the nancy boy hair
gel they like so much."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Dawn giggled. "You know, as much as I
totally hate that my mom is marrying your dad, I think I'm glad about you. You
seem cool, and I've always wanted a big brother. Having a big sister sucks.
Buffy is such a brat."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Thanks, nibblet. You seem like you'll
make a pretty cool little sis yourself."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Dawn smiled brightly at Spike, wishing more
than anything that he was staying with them instead of going back to England.
Maybe if he was around, she'd finally feel like something other than a freak in
her own family.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>*** *** ***

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Buffy glared at the rumpled tuxedo-clad man
leaning against the island in her kitchen. Despite Joyce's insistence that
Spike's less-than-pleasant behavior hadn't even registered on her radar, Buffy
was convinced that he'd ruined her mother's happy day.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Buffy strode angrily into the kitchen, arms
crossed over her chest. "Do you realize you are like the most
self-centered, arrogant jerk ever?"

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike coughed. "Excuse me?"

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"How dare you be such an ass at my mother's wedding? She worked hard to
make this day perfect, and you had to ruin it!"

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike rolled his eyes. "Whatever,
Betty."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"It's Buffy," Buffy snapped. Spike was surprised at how menacing the
petite blonde could sound, but didn't let it show.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Yeah, like that's any better. class=GramE>Buffy." He snorted. "Makes you sound like a porn
star."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Oh yeah, and 'Spike' is so very
classy."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike forced himself to ignore how
attractive she was when she was angry. "Look, you stupid little bint, I
really don't care about you or your mum, so why don't you just sod off?"

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Buffy glared at him with indignation. "This
is my kitchen. If anyone is going to
'sod off,' it's going to be you."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike would've laughed if he wasn't so mad.
He gave her his most infuriating smirk. "I was here first."

class=GramE>"Too bad.style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'> Get out."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>"Make me, Betty."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike and Buffy glared at each other,
neither daring to be the first to move.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Dawn walked into the kitchen, unaware of the
tension between her sister and new step-brother. "Hey, Spike. I know you
have to get up early to catch your plane and stuff, but, um, do you want to
watch a movie or something?"

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Spike gave Buffy two more seconds worth of
good glaring before turning to Dawn. "Sure, bit. Let's go find something
to watch."

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Buffy rolled her eyes and stepped back,
letting Spike walk by. After he and Dawn were gone, she went back to her room,
secure in her knowledge that William Giles would get on a plane back to London
the next morning, and she would never have to see him again.

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>*** *** ***

style='font-family:"Arial Narrow"'>Leave a review and let me know if you want
more of this one.