A/N: I've wanted to get this fic out for a while, but I didn't have time until now. Hope you all like it. Reviews are more than appreciated.
***
"C'mon baby, you sure you don't wanna dance?"
Buffy Summers grimaced and turned her head. "For the last time, no thanks."
She started to walk back toward the bar when he grabbed her arm. At that point she'd had enough. Not caring about the possibility of being kicked out of her favorite club, she grabbed her aggressor's arm and twisted it behind him.
Before the drunken frat boy knew what had hit him, his nose was bleeding, his jaw was aching and he was on the floor with that blonde's heel digging into his back.
"I think you broke my nose, you bitch!"
Buffy was about to retort when she realized that she had drawn the attention of his equally inebriated friends, and by the look of them, she didn't think they were the "we don't hit girls" types.
"Shit," she muttered under her breath before turning and attempting to grab her friend Willow who was chatting up the DJ.
"We gotta go."
"What? Why?... Buffy, I'm kinda in the middle of something here," she said, gesturing to the girl in the DJ booth.
"Will, at any other time, I would say good for you, right now, I've got some seriously pissed off-"
"There's that bitch!"
Buffy winced and glanced apologetically at Willow before turning to face the crowd that had gathered.
"Hey guys, let's be reasonable. I won't kick your asses, you don't get kicked out."
She didn't get much for a response, the lead drunk lunged at her with a curse she ducked and turned, knocking him on the back of the head, causing him to fall into a table, knocking it and some chairs over.
She cringed at the sight and the noise, knowing it wouldn't be much longer before a bouncer showed. As she watched her first attacker start to pull himself up she didn't see one come up behind her until it was too late. She heard Willow yell her name, but his arms were around her waist. He lifted her and she kicked her legs trying to get loose, but he tossed to the side and into another table.
She knew she was going to have some pain the next morning, but now she was pissed. She came up swinging and caught the first guy in the jaw, sending him down, probably for the remainder of the fight. And then she saw him.
"Shit. Shitshitshit!"
Gunn, the bouncer, was now joining in. Apparently the frat guys didn't recognize him, or were too drunk to, and were fighting back, thinking Gunn was on her side.
She didn't think he'd seen her yet, and he seemed like he was calming them down, maybe she could get away without any trouble. She grabbed her purse and Willow and made a dash for the exit. Just as she tried to dart through, the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen stepped in front of them.
"Nice try, luv, but I don't think so."
"And who are you?" she asked snidely, her hormones dampened by annoyance.
"Spike." She didn't react and he sighed. "Spike Bennett. I own this place. And you just broke a few of my tables."
"Well, technically, I only broke one, the others were all-"
"Point is, I hate fighting in my club. People don't like to come back if they get their faces rearranged, I've found."
"Look, I'm really sorry, but in all fairness, I didn't-"
"I'm not here to lecture. And don't look so frightened, I'm not going to kick you out. You want to come with me to my office so we can talk?"
She glanced nervously at Willow, not sure what he was looking for and he seemed to pick up on it. "Bring you're friend. No funny business, I promise."
"I guess."
He smiled and led them back to his office. It was nice not to have to yell over the music, and now that the adrenaline was wearing off her body was starting to ache, and sitting on his comfy couch was looking good right about then.
She eased herself down into the cushions with a grimace. "So what's the what?"
He smiled and grabbed an ice pack and a bottled water from a fridge near his desk. "Here you are, I'm sure you're starting to feel a little bit of that now." He handed the water to Willow. "And for you."
Thay thanked him quietly and Buffy cradled her bruised fist against the ice.
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
Buffy shrugged. "Took a lot of martial arts stuff when I was younger, then my dad started to train me for kickboxing."
"You two go to the university here then?"
They nodded. "Willow's actually in the graduate program now. I'm still not sure what I'm doing."
He smiled and shook his head when he caught himself staring. "Um.. you need a job by any chance?" he asked, looking just above her head.
"Excuse me?"
"Look, I've got Gunn, and he's great, but I need someone else, and having a woman around would be ideal. You can make sure the ladies aren't packing, Gunn's not really allowed to feel them up, even if it is for safety reasons."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, of course. I mean, you don't have to work every night if that's a problem, but three or four times a week? And we can negotiate pay, I-"
"I'll take it."
"Really?" he asked smiling.
"Yeah really, I've been trying to find a decent job, the only luck I've had is at Doublemeat Palace."
He chuckled and stuck out his hand. "So we've got a deal?"
She shook his hand enthusiastically and hugged Willow. "This is so great, you don't know how much of a life saver this is. I thought I was going to have to give up going out."
"Glad I could help. Can you come by tomorrow night to finalize the details?"
"Yeah, that's fine." She and Willow stood and Buffy handed him back the ice pack. "Thanks again, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah," he said, wishing there was some way to keep her around for longer. "And no problem."
***
Spike sat at his desk finishing up with the money for the night when he heard a knock.
"Come in."
Tara slipped into the office and pulled up a chair next to the desk. "Good night?"
Spike nodded absentmindedly and closed the safe. "I hired a new bouncer."
"Oh yeah? Who... wait, is that why you brought those two girls back here?"
He nodded. "You see what she did to those wankers?"
Tara chuckled and nodded. "What did you think of her friend?"
He shrugged. "Didn't really get to know her, why?"
Tara just shrugged and touched one of the picture frames on his desk. "How are things going with Dawn?"
Spike swallowed and sat back. "I've got to talk to some lawyers next week. Wes is going to help me."
Tara covered his hand with hers. "We're all here for you. It's going to work out."
He nodded and cleared his throat before standing up. "I know. I should get going."
Tara understood his need for distance and stood with him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Spike."
He nodded and watched her leave the office before picking up the picture of his daughter. "I promise I'll get you back, bit." He swallowed back some tears and grabbed his coat before leaving the office.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!