Devil's In The Details

Xander watched silently from the car while Buffy made her way to him. She reached the car and got in. Xander didn’t know what to say, he didn’t want to ruin their night, but at the same time he wanted to know what Buffy and Angel had said to each other.
“Buffy, can I have a moment of insane jealousy?” He asked and she looked at him slightly stunned.
“Sure, I guess.”
“What did you and Angel talk about?”
“He wants to know if we can be friends.” Xander knew that they had said more than that but he wasn’t about to press her for details.
“What did you say?”
“I told him we’d find a way.” Buffy said and Xander pulled out of the driveway. Xander didn’t say anything for a while until they reached the restaurant, before he opened the door he looked at her.
“Am I the second choice?”
“No.” Buffy said and Buffy looked at him.
“Am I you’re second choice?”
“Who else would I want?”
“Anya.” Buffy said succinctly and Xander felt a shiver go down his spine. “No.” He said and they looked at each other.
“Hungry?” Buffy asked brightly.
“Starving,” Xander said and the two got out of the car and went in to dinner.
“So do you think Wesley’s hiding something?” Xander asked as his hand moved slowly down Buffy’s back as they danced together.
“You’ve got to admit that he kind of came out of nowhere with all the answers.”
“Well why don’t we give him a good ass whumpin’ and see what he says?”
“No,” Buffy sighed,” as much as I would like to he’s a little to important/powerful to just kick the crap out of.”
Xander nodded his head and he put his head right up next to hers.
“We’ll figure it out, we always do.” He told her and she smiled sadly at him.
“I’m afraid I’ve got a lot more riding on this than usual.”
“Same here,”
“Everything’s so complicated.”
This time Xander smiled and he moved her chin up with his finger and kissed her lips lightly.
“Not that complicated.” He told as she smiled at him.
“I suppose you’re right. I just can’t help but think that this has got a little too good written all over it.”
“I know, but if it makes you feel better we maybe liquidated at any moment?” Xander teased her and she snuggled closer to him.
“Sadly, that does make me feel better.”
Spike waited, he could hear her heartbeat, it was always a little faster than anyone else’s and it helped him find her wherever she was. Right now he could hear her heartbeat coming down the hall. Dawn just stared down the hall at Spike and just couldn’t believe it. He was really alive, well, she thought, as alive as he got. Spike stared back at Dawn, she had gotten big, like the woman he had always knew she would become. She smiled warmly at him.
“I can’t believe you aren’t dead.”
“I got better.”
“I never thought I’d see you again.”
“Same here, but I knew you’d be fine without me.”
“But I wasn’t.”
“Dawn,” he said as he tried to explain but she cut him off.
“Who was I supposed to talk to?” Her voice squeaked slightly as she spoke, he knew it was a precursor to her starting to cry.
“Buffy, Will, Xander, you have plenty of people waiting for you to talk their ear off.”
“Xander’s gone.” Dawn said in a bit of a whisper. Spike moved closer to her.
“No he isn’t. I promise he isn’t.”
“All of you had made promises; you promised Buffy you would take care of me.”
“And I did, by making sure you would have a world to live in.”
“You left, you all keep leaving me.”
“I had to go Dawn, do you really think that Buffy and I...” Spike just became to frustrated to speak, how to explain it to her, that as much as he missed her he knew that he honestly, he could never go back to Buffy, even though everything inside of him screamed her name.
“I know, I know, it’s complicated.” Dawn told him and she turned around and walked away. Spike wanted to follow her but he knew better. When Dawn was angry with you, you just had to wait it out until she was ready to talk again. And he had to admit that despite fighting a thousand battles, and winning a thousand more, he was petrified of an angry Dawn Summers.
Xander kissed Buffy goodnight and watched her walk up the stairs while he headed down to the sub-basement to train. Xander began to tape his hands up for his new super-improved 24 hour a day workout plan that Spike and Angel had put him on. Then he felt something, some Xander’s new abilities made everything around him not just places but part of his body, like the way you can tell a bug on your skin he could tell that someone else was in the room with him. He turned and saw no one then he turned back to where he was facing and she saw Caleb standing in front of him.
“Hey there.” The southern preacher said.
“DAH!” Xander yelled and he sighed. “Oh, it’s just you, god you scared me.”
“What do you mean it’s just me, aren’t you terrified? The man that handicapped you for life and I don’t even get a shudder?”
“Even if you were him, no, but since you’re just The First, I’m not really shaking in my boots, no.”
“Aren’t you one sassy little vampire? Everyone in the underworld is talkin’ about you, how the Slayer’s little pet has finally got some fangs.”
“Listen, unless you’ve come to talk me to death, why don’t you just go and haunt somebody who gives a crap about you.”
That’s when Caleb morphed into Cordelia, and Xander stopped punching the punching bag.
“I can’t wait to watch her dump you when you turn all Clark Kent. You’ve been in love with her for almost ten years, I wonder how long it’s going to last? A few weeks, if you’re lucky you might even stretch it out to a couple of years before she grinds you under her boot heel.”
Cordelia/The First laughed warmly to itself then Xander turned snarling with his full vampire face.
“What? Did you really think that you were the hero of this piece?” Cordelia morphed again into Spike. “That you would come crashing in to save her? She’s got men upstairs that have died for her, and what have you done? Nothing but lie and deceive her since the moment she fell in love with you.”
“What is it you want?” Xander asked and the First morphed again into Caleb.
“I’m here to help you; here make you see the light. You’ve been run by women for too long my friend. I’m here to set you free.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“By killing all your women of course,”
“Good luck with that,” Xander said with laughter in his voice. Caleb smiled at him, and used the flat of his palm to push Xander across the room.
“Don’t worry I’ve got friends on my side.” He told Xander and Xander felt his blood stop in his icy veins. Caleb smiled as Xander understood that the First was now working for Wolfram and Hart.
“Have a nice night; it’ll be your last.” Caleb disappeared, and looked at the empty space that Caleb was once in.
“Why do they always have to talk like a Bond villains?” Xander asked aloud.