Be A Man

Dawn had kept quiet on the walk across town, not wanting to have Spike be mad at her. She had promised when they found the Gem that she wouldn’t tell anyone, not even Buffy. But Buffy knew now. Would she try and find it and take it away from him? Everyone knew that Buffy hated Spike. She made it pretty obvious, well, apart from today when she let him hug her. Dawn figured the staking she got may have made her a tad more dim-witted than usual.

Getting up and making her way up the spiral staircases to her room, Dawn turned her music up loud, the sound of the Ramones blaring out as she got angrier and angrier at her stupid sister and her even stupider boyfriend.

Two floors below, Spike sat, thinking things through. He had finally pierced Buffy’s armour. He had slipped underneath and been allowed to comfort her. Now all he needed was to be around when she next got bad news. He shook his head, what was he thinking? He didn’t want her to get bad news. He wanted her to be happy. More than that, he wanted to make her happy.

Knowing that the magnificent poof and the soldier boy would always be there to comfort her, before he was even considered saddened him further. His rage had dwindled to nothing as his morose thoughts dragged him further and further into depression.

A knocking on the door disturbed Spike’s train of depression. A mask of indifference settling over his face, Spike opened the door, surprised to see Joyce standing on his doorstep.

Being ushered in by Spike, Joyce stood gaping at the apartment Spike had purchased. He had said it was large enough for him and she had assumed he meant it was quiet small. This place must be bigger than Joyce’s entire house. It was tastefully decorated, nothing to insinuate that the owner was anything but a regular rich person with good taste.

Remembering that Joyce had postponed their dinner until tonight, Spike excused himself, checking on the dinner he placed in the oven that morning. Seeing that it had probably been left in a little too long, he grabbed a Chinese and a pizza menu and made his way back to the living area, inviting Joyce to make herself comfortable in the upstairs lounge.

The god-awful rock music getting louder as she climbed the stairs, Joyce briefly wondered what kind of influence Spike was having on her youngest daughter. Hearing Spike yell up the second staircase to Dawn, she made herself comfortable on the plush leather sofa, regarding the expensive entertainment system with the trained eye of a mother on a budget.

Hearing the familiar sound of feet thudding down stairs, Joyce turned to greet her daughter, her apprehension of telling Dawn and Buffy about her pending surgery looming at the front of her thoughts.