Avocation

Author: enigmaticblue <enigmaticblue@yahoo.com>

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine, but Joss said I could play. Really.

Archive: Anywhere that already has my stuff. Anywhere else, just ask.

Summary: The gypsies curse the wrong vampire, and by the time they rectify their mistake, Spike has been fundamentally altered. Nearly a century later, the Slayer needs help, and there's only one person qualified for the job. Of course, he's not real interested in taking it.

A/N: I have a secret (or not-so-secret) weakness for early canon Spuffy fics. The only problem is that Spike is evil. No, really, he is. Which means that actually writing Spuffy pre-chip requires more suspension of disbelief than I can manage. Reading it is a different matter altogether. So, this is how I write early canon Spuffy. By altering events entirely. By the way, the title comes from a Robert Frost poem, "Two Tramps in Mud Time." Pay special attention to the last stanza.

Chapter 12

"Time will say nothing but I told you so,/Time only knows the price we have to pay;/If I could tell you I would let you know./If we should weep when clowns put on their show,/If we should stumble when musicians play,/Time will say nothing but I told you so./There are no fortunes to be told, although,/Because I love you more than I can say,/If I could tell you I would let you know..." ~W. H. Auden, "If I Could Tell You"

Buffy wasn't all that surprised when Scott came up to her in the hallway at school, telling her that he couldn't be in a relationship with her. She kind of knew that it was coming. It was just another example of how dating and slaying seemed to be mutually exclusive activities.

"You seem distracted a lot," Scott told her. "Before we were going out, you seemed like a force of nature, but now..."

He trailed off, and Buffy sighed. She wished she could tell him that the whole force-of-nature thing was because she was one, and that it pretty much prevented her from giving her full attention to a guy. Especially if he was a guy who couldn't go kill demons with her.

It had been silly to think that it would work. Scott was nice, but Buffy had more in common with Spike than she did with him.

Other than the fact that getting dumped just sucked in general, Scott had been insensitive enough to do it just before Homecoming.

Of course, Buffy was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Two of his best friends had just died, and she probably hadn't played the supportive girlfriend the way she ought to have. There had been a rash of vampires in town recently, and patrol had been hopping.

"I'm sorry," Buffy said finally. "I wish it had worked out."

Scott nodded, not meeting her eyes, and hurried off. Buffy sighed, leaning wearily against the lockers.

Her life sucked.

~~~~~

Joyce didn't much like fighting. She'd gotten her fill of that with Hank before their divorce. Although things had become more amicable since that time, it still didn't sit well, especially when her daughter got caught in the middle.

That was why it was both a relief and a letdown when Giles immediately agreed with her. "Of course Buffy needs to spend time preparing for her SAT's," he said. "In fact, I was planning on helping her."

Joyce took the cup of tea he offered her. "Thank you. I had thought—"

"Slaying is important, but so is Buffy's future," Giles said, interpreting her unfinished sentence correctly. "With Faith in Sunnydale, it might be possible for Buffy to go elsewhere for university."

Joyce relaxed further. She had hoped to speak with Giles about Buffy's chances at living a relatively normal life, and he had brought it up without any prodding from her. "I had hoped you would say that," she admitted. "We'll have to see how she does on her tests, of course."

Her dubious tone caused Giles' lips to twitch. "She might surprise you. Buffy often manages to pull a miracle out of her hat."

She gave him a warm smile in return. "Oh, I know. I have faith in her. I'm sure if she didn't have the slaying she would be doing much better in school."

Giles winced reflexively. That wasn't the first time Joyce had made a similar comment. "Yes, well—"

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that!" Joyce hastened to assure him. "School has never been Buffy's highest priority, and saving the world is a very good thing. It's just that sometimes I wish things could have been different."

"That is entirely understandable," Giles replied gently. He couldn't help but think that Joyce was much more resigned to matters now than she had been. This wasn't the first such conversation that they'd had.

Joyce laughed a little. "Oh, ignore me. It's been a difficult week, and I'm feeling sorry for myself."

"Is there anything I can do?" Giles asked.

"No, it was mostly the gallery." She paused. "Plus, this is never an easy time of the year. Hank and I got divorced about this time."

Giles leaned in a little. "Would you like to talk about it, perhaps? Sometimes it helps to have another adult to talk to."

Joyce couldn't help it; her heart leapt a little at that. She hadn't wanted to appear needy, but she so needed someone to talk to. Spike hadn't stopped in yet this week, and so there had been no one to share her burdens with. "I wouldn't want to keep you."

"I didn't have any other plans for the evening." Something in Joyce's eyes gave Giles the courage to say, "Besides, why wouldn't I want to spend time with a beautiful woman?"

~~~~~

"Being that distracted will get you killed, Summers."

Spike's voice came out of nowhere, causing Buffy to jump in surprise and proving his point. She whirled to face him. He stood there, hands in his pockets, his expression somewhere between amused and concerned. "You were sneaking," she accused.

"Vampire," he replied. "What else did you expect? If I'd wanted to kill you, I could have done it about three times by now."

Buffy sighed. "Okay, you're right. Patrol's been dead tonight."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

"I'm good," she said quickly. "Tired, maybe. I should probably just go home."

"Buffy." The single word stopped her, and she met his worried eyes. "You want to tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Which is why you didn't even hear me kill two fledges while following you."

She might have accused him of making that up, but Buffy could read the truth in his face. Spike had been watching her back all night, so she supposed she at least owed him an explanation. "Scott dumped me."

Spike hadn't quite been expecting something like that. His relationships tended to run along the lines of one-night stands, and he had little experience comforting others.

He was getting plenty of practice being around Buffy, however.

"Well, I guess that just proves he's a complete idiot, then," Spike said, trying to keep things light. The reluctant smile that crossed Buffy's face indicated that he'd taken the right tack. "So what excuse did he give?"

"That I was distracted, not completely there with him," Buffy replied. "I guess he's got a point. There's been a lot of vampire activity lately, so I've had to pull a lot of patrols, and I've been tired."

Spike hesitated, then offered, "Maybe you're better rid of him, then."

"Maybe," Buffy allowed. "It still sucks, though. We were supposed to go to Homecoming together, and now I'm dateless."

"So get another date," Spike replied. "There have to be dozens of guys who'd love to go with you."

Buffy laughed. "Right. They want to go out with 'that weird chick.' Pretty much, no. Faith suggested we go stag together, but I don't know."

"Why don't I crash this dance of yours?" Spike suggested.

Buffy stared at him in surprise. "What?"

"Major problem with going with another girl is that everyone knows you don't have a date, right?"

Sometimes Spike's understanding of very human matters surprised Buffy. She was fairly certain that Angel wouldn't have gotten that, even though she probably would have been able to rope him into going with her. "Pretty much," she agreed cautiously, wondering what Spike was thinking.

"So I show up, dance with you for a bit, and disappear again," he suggested. "Everybody wonders who the mysterious stranger is, and you can just look superior." Spike grinned at her. "Solves your problem."

Buffy started laughing. "You're insane. You know that, right?"

"What?" he asked, still grinning. "It's a decent plan."

"And it's completely unnecessary," Buffy replied, still smiling and shaking her head. Her face softened and then grew serious. "Thank you, though, for offering. That was nice."

Spike mock-scowled. "I've told you, Slayer. I'm not a nice man."

"Sure you aren't," she agreed, a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

He stood. "I'll walk you home. Probably a good idea for you to catch up on your beauty sleep."

Buffy glared at him. "Was that a hint?"

"Could be," he replied with a smirk. They argued good naturedly all the way to her house. Spike prevented Buffy from going inside immediately by putting a hand on her arm. "Look, Slayer, keep an eye out. I've been hearing some rumors about some game a vampire is running. I don't have enough information just yet, but—"

"I'll keep my eyes peeled," Buffy promised. She had her hand on the doorknob, but she wasn't moving. Spike's eyes were on hers, and the moment had taken on a tension that made her go still.

"I have to go," Spike said, heading out into the night.

Buffy didn't call him back even though she wanted to. She'd never thought she would be friends with a vampire before, but somehow that was exactly what had happened.

~~~~~

Not that Spike liked to admit it, but his soft spot for Buffy was growing. What had been strictly business was turning into something else entirely. He thought—maybe—they might even be friends. He didn't remember ever having friends in the past.

There had been Anouk, but their relationship had been based on a common purpose. Buffy reminded him of the French woman at times. They were both focused, both warriors. At the end of the war, Spike had bid her goodbye and hadn't looked back.

Anouk had never regarded the time they spent together as anything more than a diversion from the horrors of war. Spike had been careful to do the same. Although he'd cared for her, he had never loved her.

There was nothing diversionary about Buffy, however. She was the Slayer. She'd dated his bastard of a grandsire. Spike had no desire to get any closer than he already was.

Still, protecting her wasn't just a job anymore. It was becoming a calling.

"Bloody hell," Spike muttered, pushing the matter out of his mind. It wasn't as if he had to make any kind of decision yet. Keeping Buffy alive was turning into a full time job all by itself.

Especially with Slayerfest going on.

Spike scanned the faces in the school gym. He could see Willow, Oz, Xander and Cordelia, but there was no sign of Buffy or Faith. Picking his way through the crowd, he ignored the looks he was getting from the students. Some of the girls were regarding him with interest, but most of the teens were suspicious.

"Where's Buffy?" he demanded as soon as he made his way to Willow.

Willow frowned, worried. "I don't know. The limo was supposed to pick up Faith and Buffy first, and then come for us, but it never showed."

Spike didn't like the sound of that. "At least Faith's with her," he muttered. "Is Giles here?"

Willow shrugged helplessly. "Somewhere around here. He's supposed to be chaperoning."

The vampire took off, looking for the Watcher in the crowd, finally spotting him near the punch. "Rupert, we need to talk."

Giles stared at him. "Spike? Is everything alright?"

"Do you think I'd be here if it was?" Spike tugged on his arm, pulling him to one side of the room, as far away from prying ears as he could get. "I've got some information. Seems like a vampire in town put a price on the Slayers' heads."

Giles' eyes widened. "Are you certain?"

"As certain as I can be," Spike replied. "I'd heard something big was coming, but didn't have any of the details. Willow tells me the Slayers never showed."

He frowned. "They didn't? I had assumed they were coming separately."

Willow and Xander had sidled up next to them. "What's going on?" Xander asked, sounding more than a little nervous.

"You didn't tell me that Buffy and Faith never arrived," Giles said.

Xander and Willow exchanged a guilty look. "There's been a lot going on tonight," Willow said. "We thought that maybe they decided not to come."

"Xander! Why aren't we dancing?" Cordelia asked. "What's going on? Is the world ending again, because it can't end before I get crowned."

Spike stared at her, then decided ignoring the girl was his best option. "Why didn't you say anything about the limo not coming?"

"Oz ended up having to come early," Willow explained. "I decided it would be better to stick close to him."

Spike's eyes narrowed. There was something she wasn't telling him. She and Xander were lying about something. He could smell it. "What about you two?" he asked, looking at Xander and Cordelia.

"When the limo was late, I drove," Cordelia explained. "There was no way I was going to miss my big night."

The vampire rolled his eyes. "Some friends you lot turned out to be."

"What would you suggest?" Giles asked.

Spike sighed. "Dunno. They could be anywhere at this point, and neither one of them has a cell phone." He glanced around the room. "Only thing I can think of is to sit tight. They're probably together at least."

"Let's go back to the library," Giles suggested. "If Buffy can call, that's probably where."

Spike nodded shortly, following the Watcher out of the crowded room. Willow and Xander were on Spike's heels. "What should we do?"

"Stay put," he ordered brusquely. "It's better if you're safe here than out where we've got to worry about you."

He marched off, leaving the two teens looking rather disconsolate. "They wouldn't have to worry about us," Willow protested. "We can take care of ourselves."

They looked at each other, and Xander sidled away. "I need to get back to Cordy," he said quickly, hurrying back into the gym.

Willow leaned up against the wall, hardly believing what they'd done. She'd kissed Xander. He'd kissed her. Once upon a time, it would have been a dream come true, and now it was her worst nightmare. She had never wanted to cheat on Oz.

Willow had no idea how she was going to fix this one.

~~~~~

This was why Faith didn't normally wear dresses. It was a pain in the ass to fight in one.

"What have we got?" Buffy asked, glancing out the window of the cabin.

Faith held up the phone in triumph. "Who do you want to call?"

"Call Spike's cell," Buffy said. "I don't know if Giles will be in the library or not."

"You have his number?"

Buffy ran over, dialing from memory. "Spike?"

"Slayer? Where the hell are you?"

"A cabin in Miller's Woods," Buffy replied. "We've got people hunting us."

"I know. Look, can you sit tight? I can be there in a few minutes."

"We'll try," she said. "No promises, though, I—" Buffy threw the handset down. "Dammit!"

"What?" Faith gave her a look.

Buffy shook her head. "The line went dead."

"Shit," Faith muttered. "What about the vamp? He going to be here?"

Buffy sighed. "I don't know. He's supposed to be. Spike said to sit tight, and he's going to come get us."

Faith gave her a grudging nod. "Might be a good idea to wait for transportation." She stripped the corsage off her wrist. "Wish I'd gone butch and worn pants tonight."

"I hear you," Buffy replied. "I certainly won't be wearing this dress again." She pulled her corsage off too, then paused, seeing the transmitter hidden in the arrangement. "Faith. This is how they were tracking us."

Faith looked at her own corsage. "Son of a bitch. What now?"

"I think it's time to change the rules." Buffy tossed the arrangement on the floor, stomping on it hard. "Let's go."

"What about Spike?" Faith asked.

Buffy just grinned. "If I know Spike, he'll still manage to find us."