And I found out a long time ago
What a woman can do to your soul
Ah, but she can't take you anyway
You don't already know how to go
And I gotta peaceful, easy feeling
And I know you won't let me down
'Cause I'm already standing on the ground
Eagles
The next night after I dropped Buffy off at work I headed to meet up with Clem. It was the standing night for the poker game. Made my way into the back room and sat down at the table. The other guys weren't overly welcoming but I was getting used to it. After a few hands and me losing every one, Clem and I made our way out to the front and took over a table. Conversation was just mostly bullshit. Guy talk. Then he got kinda nervous. Looked around to see who was hanging about and then leaned a little more over the table.
"There's been talk lately." He told me in a low voice. I knew whatever he was had to say wasn't going to be good. So, I lit up a cigarette and nodded my head for us to take a walk. We didn't say anything else until we were outside in the alley.
"What's up mate?" I asked him as he was still looking around.
"I really shouldn't be telling you but I like you. It's about your girlfriend." A shot of pride just went through me as he called Buffy my girlfriend. It was just weird that we were seen as a couple now. Well, at least by the demon world.
"What about her?" I took another drag of my cigarette and waited for Clem to explain.
"The guys, demons, they know that she hasn't really been around lately." He stopped for a minute as a couple of vampires walked by us headed for the bar.
"They're talking about starting trouble. Saying if the Slayer doesn't care then they should just start doing whatever they want." He explained to me. Clem was putting himself on the line by telling me at least this much of the plan. I figured he was already getting hassled about being my friend but if they found out he was giving me information then the poor guy would probably end up dead.
"Thanks. I'll talk to Buffy and see that she starts to make more of a show about town." I patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave.
"Talk to ya later." Clem called to me as I was walking away. I turned around and told him to stop by the crypt sometime to hang out. He nodded his head and turned to go the other way.
There was one more stop that I wanted to make before picking up Buffy. The Magic Box. It was after ten by now and it should be all closed up. I dropped down into the sewer tunnels and made my way up through the basement. After checking for any sound I headed for the office. Anya's computer had Internet access and that was what I needed. I turned the machine on and waited for it to warm up. I turned as I heard a sound. It was Anya coming straight at me.
"What are you doing?" Anya asked me angrily. "How did you get in here?"
I smiled my best 'Aren't I adorable?' smile at her.
"Just needed to use the computer for a bit." I told her as if that would explain everything.
"Well, that is considered stealing. Get out now." Anya reached out to turn the computer off again when I grabbed her hand. She turned to look down at me.
"Come on. Let me stay. I just need to order something then I'll be out." She pulled her arm away from me but she didn't reach for the computer again.
"What do you need to order?" Her curiosity was up.
"Just some stuff." I really didn't want to tell her that I was going to order lingerie for Buffy. Did not want to bring that subject up.
"Well, if you can't tell me what you are going to order then you can't use it. How do I know that you're not going to order something that is completely evil?" She crossed her arms and waited for me to give a response.
"Okay, okay." I reached into the inside pocket of my duster and pulled out the copy of the Frederick's catalog and handed it to her. Then I stared at the computer screen while I waited for the sarcastic comments to start. But she squealed.
"You're shopping for Buffy aren't you? I just knew it. Need new stuff. Yeah, right." Without waiting for an answer she went and pulled a chair over. After she was sitting next to me she told me she would help. I looked at her like she was crazy but she just smiled and gestured for me to sign on. I clicked on the icon for the Internet and waited for it to be pulled up.
"What are you doing here so late?" I asked her. It was almost eleven at night and she was hanging around the shop in the dark.
Anya looked down at her hands and told me with a catch in her voice that there was no reason to go home anymore. She sighed and opened up the catalog.
"Click on favorites." She told me once the screen was up. "I used to order from there all the time."
Her voice was sad and wistful. I guess she had stopped ordering when Xander had dumped her. I looked at her briefly and then turned back to the screen. I clicked on the lingerie section. The drool almost got all over the keyboard as I started to imagine Buffy in some of this stuff. As I was ordering a lacy teddy in black Anya stopped me.
"Don't get it in black. Order the pink or white."
"Why? I like the black." The thought of Buffy lying under me covered in black lace was dancing around in my head. Her acting like she was bad had kept me going for days now.
"Because Buffy likes being girly. It's from being the Slayer. When she's not on duty she likes being feminine. And she is the one who will be wearing it."
It made sense to me. So, I ordered the pink. Quite a few pieces of lingerie later I was ready to complete the order when Anya had me click on gifts. She told me there was other things that would be fun. So, a couple of bottles of flavored massage oils and a body frosting kit were added to the order. I figured Buffy could return the favor and I could be the dessert this time.
"How are you paying for this?" Anya asked me with a bit of suspicion in her voice.
"Your Pay Pal account." I told her with a straight face and just kept filling out the order form. Anya reached out and pushed me away from the computer.
"No, I am not paying for Buffy to have lingerie so she can have sex. Not when I am not getting any." Anya looked down at me while I started laughing at her comment.
"Simmer down, pet. I was joking." I reached into my pocket again pulling out a check card and handed it to her.
She looked at it and then at me. "William Blood. Who did you steal this from?"
"No one. That's me. If you are going to be immortal a bloke has got to do some planning." I explained to her. It was true. You couldn't steal everything. And in my past life as I accumulated people's purses some of it went into a bank. Money wasn't really a priority with me. But sometimes you just needed some cash. And if you left most of it alone it grew.
"Oh. Very smart. I like that. Proceed with your order." She gave her approval and handed back the card. I think I had impressed her. One thing about Anya she did like money.
"Can I have the stuff delivered here?" It would be easier than trying to pick it up at the post office.
"Sure. No problem."
I paid extra for express delivery so that we would have it in two days. After everything was set I went ahead and shut down her computer.
"Thanks Anya. I appreciated the help."
"No problem."
We just sat there for a moment both of us feeling kind of awkward. It wasn't like we were really friends or anything. Her ex hated me and wanted me to be a big pile of dust. It wasn't that I didn't want to be friends with her. Out of the whole gang she seemed the person I could most get along with considering she was an ex-demon.
"How are you doing? With everything I mean?" I hadn't really meant to ask it just kind of came out of my mouth while I was thinking of everything else. But she actually seemed glad that I had.
"I'm doing okay. It just hurts a lot. I just don't understand how he could do that to me." Her face got sad and she shrugged her shoulders. "Now I think maybe he didn't love me at all. Not the way I loved him."
I reached over and brushed her hair out of her face. Then at the sadness that was in her eyes I cupped her face and brushed her cheek with my thumb.
"The wanker is a complete fool for doing that." She nodded her head then stood to walk over to the other side of the room. We hung around for a bit. Talking. Comparing notes on living with humans. Talking about the good old days of being demons. Almost like that time a couple of years ago when we had hung out. But now we were both in a little deeper. And a little bit more battle scarred. Finally it was time for me to leave.
"Why don't I give you a ride home? It's late and you shouldn't be here alone."
"Okay."
We didn't say anything on the way to her place. A new little place that just wasn't home to her. Tried to be a gentlemen by walking her to her door.
"Thanks again, Anya. I'll be by Thursday night to pick up the packages." Smiling at her one last time I turned to walk away. Halfway down the hall after I didn't hear her go in I turned to look to see what was up. She was standing there watching me walk away. We just stood there for a moment looking at each other.
"Buffy is a lucky woman." Anya said breaking the silence. Then she quickly turned and went into her apartment. Yeah, if I hadn't already given my heart to Buffy, Anya would be a lady I would definitely pursue. Xander was a bloody idiot for walking away from a woman like her.
I sighed and headed for my bike. It was time to pick up my girl. As I drove into the parking lot Buffy was coming out the door with the other girls. She smiled when she saw me and picked up her pace to get to me. Once she reached me she sat on the bike in front of me. Throwing her arms around me she started to lean in for a kiss. But she stopped and inhaled deeply. Her eyes flashed fire and she jumped up to stand next to me.
"Who the hell have you been with?" Her eyes were glittering the way they did when she was really pissed off.
"No one, love. Get back over here." I reached for her but she pushed my arm aside.
"I can smell perfume. Who have you been with?" She said it very slowly like I was an idiot or something.
"You jealous?" I looked up at her with a trace of a smirk on my face.
"No. Not even close."
"Possessive then?"
"Delusional much."
She turned on her heel and started walking off. I started to walk the bike following her.
"Come on, Buffy. Stop the titty attack and let's go home."
She turned and tried to slap me. I caught her arm and pulled her toward me. Wrapping my arms around and holding her close to me.
"I was with Anya."
"Oh, you do want to die, don't you?" She struggled to get up. Pushing at me and twisting her body. "Because if I don't do it then Xander certainly will."
"Not like that. I had to get some more Berber weed and she was still there. Gave her a ride home. That's all."
"You expect me to believe that." Buffy had stopped struggling but wouldn't look at me. I leaned in and nuzzled her neck. She reached over and tried to bite the side of my face.
"What the hell are you trying to do? I told you the truth. You don't leave me the energy to try to fuck anyone else." I was beginning to lose my temper. How the hell could she even think I wanted someone else.
"Really?" It didn't sound like she was convinced but she was calming down. Her eyes searched mine. I was hoping that she couldn't read my mind. And the fact that not an hour ago I was wondering how Anya would be in bed. But even with my imagination at it's worst I didn't think it could compare to the reality of my little hellcat.
"Yes, really. If you want you can inspect me. No bites or scratches that aren't yours."
Giving me one last long searching look she sighed. I couldn't figure out if she believed me or just didn't want to fight anymore.
"Come on. Let's go home." She pulled out of my arms and moved to climb on the back of the bike. I turned to look back at her.
"We need to go patrolling."
"Why? I'm tired and my feet are killing me." She whined and laid her face on my back snaking her arms around my middle.
I told her what Clem had told me about the demons. And that she needed to make an appearance to show them she was still around. She reluctantly agreed with me. Doing patrols was a nuisance to her now. That was part of the life she was trying to get away from. But she also knew that it was her duty. And she knew that it was something that she couldn't avoid altogether. Not if the people she cared about were going to stay safe.
"Can I at least go home and put some jeans or something else on?" I laughed because she was wearing a short skirt and that would be something for the vamps to spread around. The Slayer flashing them as she dusted them.
After she had changed we made a show of patrolling. Hitting the more populated places. Surprising them when they saw her coming. Let a couple of them go so they could spread the word. Buffy was back in action. As we were headed home we ran into a group of four vamps heading home before dawn. They fought for their lives as we picked them off one by one. When the last one was standing I pushed him her way so she could have the honors. She staked him and then turned to look at me.
I looked up at her and caught her eyes. Started to look away and then looked back as she continued to stare. There was something going on inside her and for the second time that night I couldn't read her. Then she moved. Running she came right at me. Pushing me to the ground falling on top of me. Her mouth attached itself to mine. Our teeth knocked together at the force that she came at me. After kissing me harshly she pulled back. Her weight on her hands on either side of me.
"I will stake you if you ever even think about being with someone else." Then she kissed me again. She stood up and reached her hand out to me. I took it and she pulled me up. Then like she almost hadn't made a declaration of love she started heading for home. Chuckling I just started following her. I couldn't wait for her presents to get here. Anya had said that lingerie could make any woman melt. And I wanted Buffy to melt. Right into the Big Bad's arms.
