Title: Crossword
Author: Space_VixenX
Summary: Crossword puzzles and poetry reciting, a weird little tiff of a story I thought should be written!
Timeline: Before “Once More, With Feeling”, maybe a week or so after “Halloween”.

“Forty seven across, ‘Earth’s Star’, three letters,” Dawn looked up from the newspaper and looked around the room waiting for an answer, pounding her pencil on her thigh impatiently. It was around five in the afternoon though it felt later because of the early autumn evenings. The gang had been asked to come to The Magic Shop, to help Anya unload and shelve the new inventory.

“Bloody Hell Slayer, next time make sure there’s a cork in the bottle of holy water before you go sloshin’ it about.” Although some were more reluctant to help then others, mused Dawn as she listened to the argument coming form the back room.

“Well gee Spike that would defeat the whole purpose of me uncorking it in the first place.”

“Um, hello Earth’s Star, let’s get back on track here people,” Dawn shifted positions and shook the paper trying to get the attention back to the crossword. Willow walked around the counter and sat next to Dawn scrunching her face in thought.

“Ooo what about Britney Spears she’s a big star,” Anya said quickly while placing a recently acquired five dollar bill in the register. Everyone paused and looked at her, not even dignifying her answer with a response. Anya pouted slightly and went back to reorganizing the money in front of her.

“Oh, I know Sun, try sun dawn,” willow exclaimed placing small price tags on the small crystal balls in front of her. Dawn glanced down preparing to fill in the boxes with Willow’s answer but soon a small ‘uh oh’ escaped her lips.

“Sorry Wills, but there is and ‘L’ for the last letter,” she looked at the imposing word and then spoke a little louder, “The ‘L’ comes from the word, ‘Aleta’ which is um… ‘Comic-strip Queen’.” Xander walked forward and dramatically raised his hands in the air and began to bellow out his praise.

“That was my answer, and it is correct, I would bet my life on it.”

“Then I can only hope that it’s wrong Harris,” Spike quipped as he walked out of the back room carrying three wooden crates, followed by Buffy. Xander only looked at Spike and glared putting his hands down and muttering his disgust under his breath. Dawn rolled her eyes and cleared her throat lifting the paper signaling they had once again strayed from their task of solving the puzzle. That’s when Tara spoke up, “Try Sol Dawn I thing that’s what it is.” Dawn smiled and added the ‘S’ and ‘O’ in their respective boxes.

“Okay, now how abou…”

“Hold it,” Buffy interrupted sharply snatching the paper out of Dawn’s hands, “Didn’t you say you were taking a twenty minute break from your homework, and it’s been like,” she glanced at her wrist, mimicking like she had a watch, then looked up, “longer than twenty minutes!” Dawn moaned and was about to go when she paused and began to make excuses.

“But I am the puzzle master, I should wait until the crossword puzzle is, well ya know…mastered,” Dawn cringed at how lame the excuse was and sighed as she stood from her seat to retrieve her books. As she left Buffy grinned and settled down in her chair and grabbed the pencil off the table and began to continue working the puzzle.

“Okay, how about forty three across, ‘Dove’s Sound’, hey I know this one,” She lowered her pencil and smiled as the letters fit perfectly. “Coo, I like that sound, coo, coo.” She stopped when she noticed the look’s she was receiving from the room’s occupants and decided to continue with the puzzle. “Um, Forty down, ‘English poet, wrote this line, ‘to die unworthy of a second spring?’ starts with a ‘J’.” Everyone stopped for a moment and then looked over at Giles who was quietly re organizing some books but paused when he noticed everyone’s gazes.

“W-well, I have no idea, poetry was never really and issue in my lone of work, unless of course it had to do with and apocalypse, or maybe a demon or something, but still I don’t think that this kind of poetry is what I …”

“John Clare.” Everyone’s gaze shifted over to the vampire who had been quietly putting clay charms on the shelves in front of him before interrupting Giles’s rambling. Spike looked up and then feeling slightly uncomfortable he began to fidget with a small charm, “Well go on Slayer and try it, I’m sure it will fit.” Buffy looked at him skeptically but then shrugged and was surprised to find that it fit.

“Hmm, good guess Spike.”

“It was no guess slayer, I ‘appen to fancy poetry,” he said defensively as he set down the charm, “John Clare just so ‘appens to be one of me favorites is all.” Dawn looked up from her book and smiled at the vampire before putting in her two cents.

“I think we talked about him in English once, wasn’t he thrown in the insane asylum or something?”

“Yah S’right, that’s the bloke, very good at what he did,” Spike said smiling at Dawn slightly before she went back to her math homework. After a beat of silence Willow spoke up with a nervous smile.

“Well I like the line, ‘To die unworthy of a second spring.’ Very oooh bummer kind a thing,” she wrung her hands and then stood to busy herself, “Wonder how the rest of it goes.”

“Is there another world for this frail dust, to warm with life and be itself again? Something about me daily speaks there must, and why should instinct nourish hopes in vain? 'Tis nature's prophesy that such will be, and everything seems struggling to explain The close sealed volume of its mystery. Time wandering onward keeps its usual pace as seeming anxious of eternity, to meet that calm and find a resting place. E'en the small violet feels a future power, And waits each year renewing blooms to bring, And surely man is no inferior flower To die unworthy of a second spring?” When Spike finished speaking his face was staring off and looked as if he was lost in a fond memory before he shook his head and cleared his throat, “uh, yah well, the sun’s gone down and I can’t really stand bein’ ‘round you gits for such a long amount of time, so I’m off for hopefully a good spot of violence.” He clapped his hands together before grabbing his duster of the chair were he had carelessly discarded it earlier and headed out of the shop towards one of the many cemeteries in Sunnydale. Buffy watched him disappear around the corner and then put her eyes back on the crossword puzzle looking at the name ‘John Clare’ before setting it down and grabbing her coat.

“I’m gonna follow his example and go on patrol awhile, Tara, Willow can you make sure Dawn finishes her homework and gets to bed at a decent hour?”

“Uh, yah sure, you can count on us, we’re very countable,” said Willow as she bobbed her head to the side. Buffy smiled and waved her goodbyes and headed off in the direction she had seen the vampire go. Soon she caught up with him and called out for him to wait, he paused and turned a smile gracing his pale lips.

“Come to giggle at the Nancy-boy then slayer,” he turned and stared walking with her right in stride with him as they headed down the dark streets. Buffy looked in front of her and then smirked looking up at him.

“No, I think you reciting poetry is…cute.”

“Cor, why don’t you just stake me slayer,” he said with a smirk as they entered the cemetery. “Cute, that’s just dandy, the ‘Big Bad’ is reciting cute poetry, next thing you know I’ll be pickin’ flowers and makin’ pretty little braided crowns to wear.”

“I said cute not creepy,” Buffy said shivering at the image of a flower clad Spike. They both chuckled and then followed out the rest of the night in total silence, with maybe a little more understanding as well.

SVX: Hoped you like it! It was my first one so it supposed to be a little crappy right? Anyway comments are welcomed at spacevixenx@cox.net  Ja everyone!