first_summers | Riverview >> Inbox

Sun's down just after 8:30. See you after then.

[It wouldn't do to pick her up and burst into flame, after all. He had standards and she may be setting her bar low by accepting him, but he wanted to do more than just the bare minimum.]

[ After sundown is just fine with her since she generally prefers her dates not be of the crispy variety, and his usual blanket trick would have just led to a full-scale freakout that would have very much ruined the evening. (The sun could kill him, for good this time, and that's something she is not okay with.)

Before proceeding to try on half of everything she owns, she fills a glass with water for the rose and sets it on her desk, next to the 'housewarming gift' she hasn't finished yet, and tucks the note into a drawer. Because yes of course she's keeping it.

Between his last message and 8:30, she showers (her body wash smells like peaches, which makes her laugh considering certain nicknames Spike has bestowed on certain individuals), does her hair in loose waves, and finally decides on her outfit. He'd said cozy, not ritzy, so she goes for casual but stylish. Which isn't to say she didn't change her mind a dozen times, but the evidence is all stashed away before anyone comes around to notice. ]

[He is less inclined to dress up, but that's also due to him not having much options at the moment. Black jeans, black boots, a black t-shirt, and a black button down dress shirt that he left open over it as he had to settle for assuming he looked good, since mirrors weren't helpful in the slightest. He'd bathed at the hotel, primped up his nails, and slicked back his hair, another rose to match the one he'd left in his hand as he slunk through the back streets to her building, then slipped in just before the sun dropped behind the horizon.

He picked up the faint whiff of something peachy as he waited outside the main door to the private rooms, knocking and sniffing again, rose hidden behind his back. His fingers twitched with the nervous need to light a cigarette, but he was trying to keep himself nicotine free for the evening, if only because he knew she'd wrinkle her nose at the smell of it.]

[ It doesn't surprise her to open the door and see Spike there in his usual black; if anything, it's comforting in how familiar it is. And what a pair they make, her in white and him in black. Light and dark, day and night. Some would say that was indicative of why they shouldn't be together, why they wouldn't work, but she'd tell them to go to hell. This is her life and his, and they can be with whoever they want. ]

Hey.

[ She greets him with a smile, happy with a good dose of nervous, and suddenly she's regretting her entire outfit and how she's done her hair and not taking that shot of alcohol to help with said nerves. Wow, she's forgotten what first dates are like. ]

[He wasn't expecting the white either, surprised by it, but that slow, almost shy smile taking place as he pulled out the new rose to hold out to her, scuffing his boots as he looked down at them instead of at her.]

'Lo. Got you this.

[As if that wasn't evident by him thrusting it out towards her, eyes finally lifting to her face.]

You... look really nice.

[ If she wasn't already crazy in love with him, this might have pushed her right over that edge. Between that smile and his boot scuffing and just... all of it, the way he looked at her and the way he said everything, all of it just makes her want to kiss him. But she doesn't. Because self-control is a thing and she will have it.

Hopefully. ]

Thank you.

[ She takes the rose from him and lifts it to her nose, breathing in the light scent and taking in those beautiful pink tips. It's perfect, even more so since he chose it. ]

Let me put this with the other one and we can go, okay?

[She's not the only one battling their baser urges. Spike's a predator. He may have human feelings way down there, but predators mostly survive off the three F's. Feeding, Fighting, and Fucking. He'd made sure to have blood before coming on their little date, and he wasn't feeling like getting in a fight at the moment, but that last one was starting to thrum through him quietly -- for now. He cleared his throat, watching her sniff the flower he gave her and feeling an urge to lean down and do the same to the sweep of her neck. He could pick up the peach scent from here, figuring it for something she'd used and wondering if it was a soap or shampoo. His fingers twitched again with the need to grab something, and he crammed them in his pockets again.]

Right. Right. It's a little walk, but I didn't think you'd mind so much. It's a nice night out and it's not like you'll have to stumble over gravestones along the way.

Well, then I definitely don't mind walking.

[ She flashes him an amused smile before turning and heading into her room, taking just a second to slip the rose into the glass with the other before returning to him. If her steps are a little quicker than they might normally be, she's not about to admit it. He knows she's in love with him, he doesn't need to know she's nervous and excited and a little flustered by this whole first date thing. ]

Okay, walking time, let's go.

[He gestured for her to precede him, not entirely sure of the mechanics of this. Offering an arm seemed almost like second nature to him -- Dru had liked it, and he'd done it when he'd been alive. But she wasn't Dru, and she sure as hell wasn't any upper crust stuffy noblewoman. She was Buffy. His hands smoothed back down over his coat and he felt the pack of smokes there begging for him to open.

Not yet.]

So...

[Right. Dates had conversation.]

How's whatever you got placed for work going?

[ She's just as lost as he is about how this is supposed to work. Long strolls to restaurants for date night hadn't exactly been their style last time around, and what she'd shared with Angel hadn't even been the same as what she'd shared with Riley. Each person and each relationship is different -- she just wishes she had a better idea of where to start with Spike.

Leading the way out, she falls into step beside him before long, because there is somewhere to start. They're equals, he doesn't have to follow along behind her anymore. ]

It's good. Really good, actually. I never thought I'd be the mentor type, but I'm really enjoying working with these girls.

Just girls, then? Seems a bit sexist.

[He was poking. Prodding. Teasing, because that was all he knew how to do with her. He didn't really care what she did or who she did it wi-- no. That wasn't true. He didn't care about her work, but if she was happy... well. That he seemed to care about.]

[ She rolls her eyes but in a good way. His teasing doesn't bother her now, not when it's like this. Not when they're being nice to each other instead of cruel. ]

Sometimes young girls just need someone to talk to about things. I'm sure boys are the same, but that doesn't mean I can understand everything they're going through.

[ Most of it, probably. But after surviving a house of teenage Potentials and those few months of counseling at the high school, she feels better about focusing on the things she can actually try to understand instead of just guessing. ]

I'm also teaching a lot of them self-defense though, and it's easier to teach a tiny little girl to fight when you've actually been one.

Not much difference between a boy and a girl when it comes to teaching them to fight. And might I remind you, as a previously weak and useless human male, sometimes we need to learn how to hit and where it'll work best too.

[His hands tucked into his pockets instead of petting over them, fingers fiddling with the pack of smokes in one side and the lighter in the other.]

Only difference between the two really is where the sensitive parts are.

[ She glances over as he puts his hands in his pockets, taking note of it briefly before looking back up at those eyes that always saw more of her than she liked to admit. ]

You're not wrong. There is someone teaching the boys and helping them out when they need it, it's just not me. I've got my hands full enough with the group I have.

You with your hands full of girls? Sounds... kinky.

[He couldn't help it. Really. He could try, but that would take effort that he was putting towards other areas of trying. Like trying not to be a complete ass.]

[ He can't help saying it and she can't help the quiet laugh that escapes. It's such a Spike thing to say, and honestly-- ]

I really should have seen that one coming.

[His answer was a smirk, and he started to slow as they reached a corner with a red light.]

Still leave yourself too open, Slayer.

There are worse things.

[ She says it with a little shrug and slows as he does, looking around to admire the city at night. It still hits her sometimes, suddenly, that she's somewhere new. There are parts of her life here that feel just like her old one, and then others are so completely different. This isn't California, there's no hellmouth to protect, all she has to do here is be Buffy. It seems a bit like a miracle, really. ]

You know, sometimes it's hard for me to believe I'm actually here and all of this is real.

Yeah, I get that. It's a little... off for me too. A city that just draws people in. Knows about the unknown and adapts for it. You know, when I was in the hospital here, they had a whole floor with treated windows that wouldn't let the sun burn a vampire? How odd is that.

[ It is odd, but that's not the part she narrows in on, her brow furrowing as she frowns in concern. ]

Why were you in the hospital? Are you okay now?

Oh. Right.

[Whoops. He'd almost forgotten she didn't know.]

Ah, something went glitchy with the chip. Started misfiring and almost bloody killed me. So they removed it.

Oh.

[ The first thing she thinks about isn't worry that he's running around soulless without the chip to keep him from hurting anyone. No, that's the second thing. The first thing is the memory of when this happened before, when she had to watch him in pain and contacted the Initiative to get him help. When she chose to have the chip removed. ]

Dunno if it was from being brought here or that weird blip thing with the time glitch, but something mucked up.

[He took that singular 'oh' for disappointment, or her worry for the populace.]

Don't worry. I'm not out causing havoc, much as I might want to be. It does make accepting actual donors easier, though. No need for them to open a vein themselves.

I wasn't. Worried.

[ A pause, and then she sighed quietly, crossing her arms over her stomach. ]

Okay, I was, but just for a second. I-- The chip misfired before, a few months ago. For me, anyway. It got-- It was bad. I contacted Riley and they sent someone and... I chose to have it removed.

You chose?

[That had him frowning over at her, wondering at the choice of words.]

Didn't I get a say in it?

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