Buffy’s yawn was her answer.
“Lots of baddies, then?” Willow asked, sipping her coffee.
“Well, not so much baddies as there was a certain bleached vampire that wouldn’t shut his trap for two minutes,” Buffy grumbled.
Willow giggled, “Spike making patrol difficult for you?”
Buffy rolled her eyes, “Does he ever make anything easy for me?”
“He loves you.”
Buffy glared at her friend. “Would you stop with that?”
“Why, when you blush every time I say it.”
“I do not!”
“Yep, you do. And the fact that you do it without knowing is even better.”
Buffy shook her head, “I don’t want to talk about that anymore. Let’s talk about class. Did you read?”
Willow gave her an ‘are you serious’ look.
“Right. Stupid question. Well, I read too. Despite Spike’s ramblings, it was very quiet and he was on the lookout for me while I read my homework. And then I made the mistake of asking him one question and got a forty-five minute lecture.”
Willow laughed, “You have to admit, he comes in handy when it comes to history and literature.”
“Yeah, but my God he can go on and on. I told him he should be a professor.”
“And what did he think about that?”
“That it sounded like fine idea had I not taken the Gem of Amara from him last year. I told him there are night classes. He huffed at me.”
“You two are like an old married couple,” Willow giggled.
“Bite your tongue!” Buffy exclaimed. She was about to lay into her friend when a shriek came sounding from across the street. Alert, as any Slayer would be, Buffy shoved her way from the crowd, intent of finding out the source of that shriek. Her green eyes darting around, she could make no one out in immediate danger – not that someone would necessarily attack in broad daylight.
Rushing across the street, and ignoring those around her, Buffy focused on that shriek and used her “super” hearing to locate the source. Finding herself down an alley, she found the source. A woman was pressed up against the wall and a vampire – of course-- was about to take a nice chunk out of the woman’s neck.
Snapping into action, Buffy reached quickly into her purse and grabbed the stake she had in there. Tapping the vamp on the back, she almost smiled at his stupidity for turning to her and snarling. Without a word, she staked him and then it dawned on her as the morning sun covered her in its warmth. Looking up at the trembling girl, Buffy said in wonder, “It’s daylight out. There was a vampire out in the sun!”
“In the daylight you say?” Giles asked as he cleansed his glasses.
Buffy nodded, watching him and wondering if one day he’d rub a hole in those puppies. “Yep, I say it was daylight. Broad daylight. What does that mean anyway?”
Spike, who sat next to her, opened his mouth, probably to tell her since he would know where the saying come from, and Buffy halted him by holding up her hand. “I don’t want to know.”
Spike glared at her and clamped his mouth shut.
“There are no other Gems around that you know of, is there Spike?” Giles asked, sitting down comfortably in his chair.
Spike shook his head. “Nope. Not that I know of. And if I’d known there were, you can be sure I would have gotten it by now.”
Buffy gave him a look.
“What? I wouldn’t do anything bad with it.”
“Ri-ight,” Buffy drawled.
“You always think the worst of me, pet. You know, that hurts,” Spike said and placed his hand over his heart.
Buffy rolled her eyes.
“Do you two think you could stop verbally sparring with each other long enough to go out and maybe find if it was just a fluke or if something is in fact going on out there? This is the Hellmouth, so we---“
“Yeah, we got it Rupes. We got it and we’re on it. Don’t need the lecture,” Spike said jumping up from his seat. “Time we got out there, don’t you think, pet?” Spike smiled sweetly at Buffy.
“Suck up,” Buffy grumbled.
“How is it possible that some vamp got out in the daylight like that, and you being a vamp, didn’t hear about it?” Buffy asked for the hundredth time as they circled round Restfield again.
“I cavort with the Slayer and her human friends, how do you think I didn’t know? I’m not kept in the bloody loop anymore. I’m a mole to them.”
“A mole?”
“You know; a spy. I get in and get information from them, act like I’m their best mate and then I come squealing to you.”
“Except that you don’t do that,” Buffy pointed out.
“Well, no, you’re right. I don’t. But I could.”
“But you don’t.”
“But I could.”
“But—nevermind.” She shook her head in frustration. “You know... it’s been really quiet around here. Like eerily quiet. Like those mates of yours are planning something big.”
“You think it has to do with that vamp in the sun today?”
“I’m beginning to. I mean, for the past week it’s been like this. Hardly any vamps at all. And aside from the bumpies and pale skin, it’s not like we’d know they were among us. So maybe they’re out in the day instead of the night – must be somehow easier.”
“Or at least more fun,” Spike mused.
Buffy nudged him with her elbow.
“I’m just sayin’ pet. A vamp only has the darkness. You don’t think I’d give anything to go out in the sun with yo—the...sun? To have it beating down on my face once more, to see the ocean and how blue it is, to see what everything looks like in the day rather than the night? I’ve done the night for over a hundred years now. I wouldn’t mind some sun.”
“You made me almost feel bad for you,” Buffy grinned.
“Excuse me; do you know where I might find a Buffy Summers?”
Spike and Buffy turned around to see –
“Oh my...” Buffy’s jaw dropped.
“What’s with the getup?” Spike said rudely to the man before them in red and blue, with a few yellow splashed on here and there, not to mention the big red S on his chest and the red cape.
Buffy hit him, “That’s Superman, you idiot!”