Chapter One

“C’mon, Buffy, it’s Valentine’s day! You can’t just mope around the house like... a Miss Mopey-pants.”

“Miss Mopey-pants? Okay Dawnie, that is just a little sad.” Buffy rolled her eyes at the brunette. Swirling a spoon in her mug of coffee, her feet curled under her on the couch. Her eyes switched between her little sister and the movie she’d been watching until the former had distracted her from it with the declaration that she was going out tomorrow night. “And besides, I’m newly single. It’s the time honoured tradition to make with the mopiness.”

“But it’s not like you’ll be alone for the moping to happen.” Dawn stressed, “The whole gang are going to celebrate the Romance Holiday together at the Bronze. They want you there, it’s not like me and Mom want you out of the house or something.”

“I’m not saying—wait, you and Mom want to get rid of me?”

It was Dawn’s turn to roll her eyes. “Not really. It’s just, Mom has some arty thing on at the gallery, and I can’t stay at Janice’s if you’re staying at home all night. But that’s not what this is about. You never go out anymore.”

“Don’t be stupid, I go out all the time!”

“Yeah, on patrol.” The littlest Summers pointed out. “You’ve been otherwise engaged in the drowning in you sorrows since Riley left.” Buffy stiffened at the mention of her ex. “C’mon, it’s not going to be a big scary. All you have to do is go out with the rest of the Scoobies and.... have fun.”

Buffy raised an eyebrow at her hesitation. “Just have fun?”

Dawn bit her lip, before breaking into an excited smile. “Anya and I have kind of set you up with a blind date!” She squealed.

Buffy sighed, standing. “Dawn! Why the hell did you do that? With Anya, of all people?”

“You’ve been so sad lately, Buffy, we just want to see you happy again.” Dawn argued, following her sister as she headed into the kitchen, “Well, that’s not exactly the words Anya used, but that was her basic point.”

Buffy groaned. “You really shouldn’t talk to her.”

“Buffy, please! You’ll just go, hang out, dance a little and have fun. And you’ll have the gang there as a backup in case it goes sour.” She pointed out, her eyes pleading. “Please! If you don’t do it for you, think of me! I want to go to Janice’s!”

The eldest girl sighed, rinsing out her cup before leaning against the sink and folding her arms. “Okay, fine. I’ll go and meet this guy. Just don’t expect anything good to come out of it. My dating life isn’t exactly stellar.”

Dawn squealed, clapping her hands excitedly. “Yay! Oh, my god! We have to find you something to wear! Do you have anything pink?”


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Buffy sighed, rolling her neck as she prepared herself to step into the Bronze. She didn’t know what she was doing here. She should be patrolling, or... curled up on the couch with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s and bad movies on Lifetime like any respectable dumpee on Valentine’s day. Come to think of it, why the hell does everyone dump me right before Holiday Hallmark? She thought with a frown.

Checking her outfit self-consciously for the twenty-third time since she put it on, she stepped into the club, wincing as the first song of the night met her ears: I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston. Not exactly dance-able. She waved at Anya and Xander as she approached their usual table, painting on a plastic smile as she sat down.

“Hey, guys! Anya, you look amazing.” She nodded.

“Thanks! I know!” Anya chirped happily, her hand wrapped around Xander’s forearm. She was wearing a short, slinky dress in a shockingly bright shade of pink that would have made Harmony jealous. After a beat, Xander nudged her, and she sat up straighter. “Oh! You also look very nice tonight, Buffy. Many men will be imagining various sexual encounters with you all night.”

“And on that note, I think I’m going to get us some drinks.” Xander nodded pointedly, standing and leaving rather quickly.

“Um... thanks, Anya.” Buffy suddenly felt the urge to cover herself, although she giggled slightly at Xander’s abrupt exit. “Where are Willow and Tara?”

“Dancing. They wanted to give you a chance to meet your date without them staring. I don’t see why, but you know, they seem to get embarrassed over every little thing, especially Tara. Once, I tried to tell them about this thing Xander and I did in the—“

“Whoa. Okay, back up there, TMI monster.” Buffy held up her hands.

“See, like that. I don’t see why sex is anything to be embarrassed about. Which, by the way...” Anya leaned in conspiratorially. “...Is something I hope you and your date enjoy much of. He looks as though he could give you many orgasms.”

Buffy fought the urge to bury her head in her hands. “Speaking of which, I don’t really know whose idea this was, but you really shouldn’t have done this—“

“Don’t be silly, you need it. Besides, you can’t back out now. He’s already here.” Anya grinned indulgently.

“He’s—“

“Hello, Buffy.”

Buffy spun in her seat, shocked. “Spike?!”