Things Are Looking Up


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was woken from her deep sleep by her sister’s shout.

“Buffy! Phone!”

She groaned and rolled over lazily, peeking out from under her arm to spy the clock on her bedside table. Eight o’clock was way too early for phone calls. Her head fell to the pillow again and she snuggled up against the cool form at her side, smiling gently as his arm wrapped instinctively around her waist.

“Buffy?!” Dawn called again, much louder this time and accompanied with a knock at her bedroom door.

“Sleeping,” she mumbled.

“Someone important’s on the phone. They want to talk to you.”

With a groan, she managed to wriggle her way out of Spike’s tight grasp and dragged herself to the edge of the bed, pulling on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

“Buffy?!”

“I’m coming!” she called out, pushing herself to her feet and moving to the door quickly. Dawn had disappeared when she opened the door and she headed down the stairs to answer the phone.



“Hello?” she spoke, trying to wake herself up as she propped herself up against the table, wiping a hand across her tired eyes. She’d have to grumble to Spike about her lack of sleep later.

“Buffy Summers?”

“That’s me,” she answered, wondering which utility company was threatening to cut her off today.

“Hi, this is Vanessa from Elite Power.”

“Oh,” she got out, straightening with the name of the company she had had the interview with just the other day, “Hi.”

“I’m calling about your interview the other day.”

“Right. Yeah.”

There was a painfully long pause and then the woman spoke.

“I’m afraid we’ve found someone else for the PA job.”

“Oh, right,” she murmured, her heart sinking. She’d have to pay a visit to the Doublemeat Palace later.

“But we’d like to offer you another job.”



“What? I mean, excuse me?”

“We were impressed by you at your interview, but you just didn’t have the relevant experience for the PA position. We’d like you to come in for a chat about an office clerk job, if you’re still interested?”

“Yes, yes of course,” she answered quickly, “What sort of job is it?”

“Your duties would be filing, answering the phone, writing letters. I’m sure it’s probably a bit basic for someone with part of a college education but-”

“I’ll take it,” she interrupted, “I mean, I’m interested. When should I come in?”

“Are you free today at all?”

“Yes,” she replied, her heart racing.

“Two this afternoon?”

“That’s great.”

“Excellent. I’ll see you later.”

“Yes… Thank you.”

“Goodbye.”

“Bye,” she answered somewhat absentmindedly, hanging up the phone and turning with wide eyes as she felt a presence behind her.



“Who was it?” Dawn asked excitedly.

“A woman from Elite Power.”

“Was that the PA job or the receptionist thingy?”

“PA,” she answered, still a little dumbfounded, “I didn’t get it.”

“Oh,” Dawn whispered, her face falling.

“But they offered me another job!” she added quickly and saw her sister’s face lift instantly, “I have to go in this afternoon to see them.”

“Oh my God! You got a job?!”

“I got a job!”

Dawn threw herself at her and the two sisters shared a tight hug, both practically bouncing with excitement.

“This is so cool! I knew things were going to get better!” Dawn exclaimed and Buffy pulled back to smile at her.

“As soon as I get my first paycheck, we’re going clothes shopping!”

Dawn shrieked in excitement and hugged her again tightly. Buffy pulled away abruptly, her eyes darting to the stairs.

“God, I have to tell-“ she cut herself off with a blush, “I mean, err, I should get dressed so I can go to Spike’s and tell him.”

Crossing her arms, Dawn gave her an unimpressed look, one eyebrow arched.

“You really think I don’t know Spike stayed?” the girl asked, struggling to suppress her grin.

“Okay, okay. Shut up and stop grinning!”

Dawn flashed her a wide smile and she rolled her eyes, before dragging her sister into a brief clumsy hug and rushing up the stairs.



She threw the door open, and came to a standstill at the sight of the sleeping vampire, an affectionate smile crossing her face. He was on his side, one arm still slung where she had been lying, the covers draped around his waist. She smiled and shut the door quietly, moving over to the bed and sitting on the edge. The vampire made no sign of registering her presence and with a smile, she leant over to press a kiss to his cheek.

“Spike,” she whispered, brushing her lips over his ear, “Wake up.”

He did not move and she frowned slightly- trust him to sleep like the dead.

“Spike,” she said a little louder, tracing her fingers over his shoulder and pressing a kiss to his neck, “Come on, wake up. I’ve got good news.”

He murmured something unintelligible in his sleep and shifted onto his back, but did not wake up. Moving to kneel on the bed, she shook him gently by the shoulder.

“Spike. Wake up, sleepyhead.”

Before she could react, he grabbed her arms and pulled her against him, letting out a laugh.

“You faker!” she exclaimed, even as she relaxed into his touch and raised her head to meet his bright gaze.

“You think I could sleep through the noise you two were making?”

She poked her tongue out at him and reached forward to kiss him softly, just grazing his lips with hers.



“Did you hear the good news then?”

“Hear my girl’s going to be a sexy little office worker,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

“Hopefully.”

“So what time do you have to go in later?” he asked, moving his mouth to nip teasingly at her neck.

“Two.”

He moved his head to look at her clock and then turned back to his ministrations.

“That means we have at least four hours to celebrate,” he whispered huskily, his lips caressing her neck as a hand came to rest on her behind.

“Spike!” she protested breathlessly, making no move to shift him, “Dawn’s just downstairs.”

“She was just across the hall last night,” he murmured, one hand sifting through her hair as he pressed soft kisses to her neck, his other hand kneading her behind.

“But she’s awake now,” she murmured half-heartedly, closing her eyes and just enjoying his caresses, “She could come knock on the door.”

“If she’s got any sense, she won’t,” he almost growled, guiding her head up and catching her mouth in a passionate kiss. Knowing it was helpless to argue – and not really wanting to anyway – she sank against him, kissing him back hungrily and moaning as his tongue found hers.

In one swift movement, she was below him and he was already working on removing her top, never pausing in his scorching kisses. She was sure she had never been this sex-craved before but there was something about Spike that brought it out of her. She felt free with him.



Breaking their kiss, she gave him a coy smile and before he could blink, she had reversed their positions, straddling him and pinning him to the bed. His look of surprise lasted all of two seconds before a lascivious smile spread across his face and he gave her a heated look. She leant down and kissed him hungrily, teasing him with her tongue before trailing her lips to his neck and gently scraping her teeth against his skin. He moaned and his hands tugged at her top, pulling it over her head and discarding it. With a vixenish smile, she caught his wrists and pinned them to the bed, trailing her mouth down to his collarbone.

She continued on her path, lowering her mouth to the hard muscles of his chest and running her tongue over his smooth skin. He moaned lowly with almost every sweep of her tongue and she shifted lower, releasing his wrists and supporting herself as she pressed a kiss to his navel. She glanced up at him, only to find his eyes closed in pleasure, a strained expression on his face. Smiling, she lowered her head and pressed a kiss to his hip and then pulled the covers from him in one swift motion. Her hair brushed against him and he let out a harsh breath, which turned into a moan as she passed her tongue over his hipbone.

She moved lower and paused, hovering just above him, her eyes moving to his. His eyes were burning with desire and he reached out to thread one hand in her hair. The look he was giving her almost took her breath away but she met it, letting out a shaky breath. Even though she was the one between his legs, she felt like she was being worshipped with that look and she closed her eyes with a serene smile before lowering her head.