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deird_ljHere's a fic I wrote for the "love" prompt at ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
still_grrr.
It's a post-series Buffy/Spike story.
Why Some Slayers Need Time, and Stupid Vampires Who Don’t Contact Them Are Just Going To Have To Wait
Five days, eleven hours, and eight minutes. That’s how long it takes before Andrew cracks and emails Dawn.
It takes two hours and forty-seven minutes for Dawn to email him back.
And then six minutes for Andrew (who had been waiting impatiently) to reply.
It takes them twelve more emails (and twenty-nine hours) to work out what they’re going to do.
It takes nine days, six hours, and thirty-three minutes for Dawn to figure out the best way of telling Buffy.
Eighteen minutes for Buffy to stop completely freaking out.
And another two days, one hour, and fifty-five minutes for her to reach a decision.
After that, it takes four weeks, six days, thirteen hours, and nine minutes before Buffy finally breaks up with the Immortal, once and for all.
Then three hours and forty-one minutes for her to confess to Dawn that it had been coming for a while (approximately five weeks, one day, and fifteen hours), and his habit of ordering for her in restaurants had been getting on her nerves.
It’s another three weeks, three days, twenty-seven hours, and eight minutes before she admits to herself that not contacting Spike is less to do with giving him space and more because she doesn’t want to talk to him yet.
Another week, six hours, and thirty-two minutes before she gives up on convincing herself that he’s stupid, ugly, ridiculous, completely wrong for her, and she totally doesn’t miss him.
And then five days, eighteen hours, and three minutes before she realises what the problem is.
It takes a week, two days, nine hours, and fifty-one minutes before Buffy perfects her response to anyone asking about her love-life.
And another three days, seven hours, and fourteen minutes before she stops sternly saying “I’m moving on” to her reflection every time she passes a mirror.
And that’s the end of that.
Until two weeks, one day, sixteen hours, and twenty-eight minutes later, when she gets a call from Angel.
It takes fourteen minutes for her to book a flight to L.A.
Fifteen hours and thirty-six minutes to get to him.
And four seconds to sort out all their issues.
still_grrr.It's a post-series Buffy/Spike story.
Why Some Slayers Need Time, and Stupid Vampires Who Don’t Contact Them Are Just Going To Have To Wait
Five days, eleven hours, and eight minutes. That’s how long it takes before Andrew cracks and emails Dawn.
There’s something else I found out while I was in L.A…
It takes two hours and forty-seven minutes for Dawn to email him back.
>>>alive and working with Angel
Wait – what do you mean “alive”? Not burned up? Not a vampire? Not…
And then six minutes for Andrew (who had been waiting impatiently) to reply.
>>>What are you going to tell Buffy?
That’s the dilemma! As the El Supremo, she should be fully appraised of the situation. But I gave Spike my Solemn Word that…
It takes them twelve more emails (and twenty-nine hours) to work out what they’re going to do.
>>>>>>>>>you should just tell her.
>>>>>>Can’t you? The Slayer’s sister is much more likely
>>>>>>to break the news appropriately and check that
>>>Much less likely to be killed for not telling
>>>her right away, you mean?
Well, yeah…
It takes nine days, six hours, and thirty-three minutes for Dawn to figure out the best way of telling Buffy.
“So, you know how you totally hate surprises?”
Eighteen minutes for Buffy to stop completely freaking out.
“…stupid, short, ridiculous guy who should actually tell me things!” A sigh. “Vampires suck. I need a drink.”
And another two days, one hour, and fifty-five minutes for her to reach a decision.
“You’re not going to contact him at all?”
“Nope. Well, not yet. No.”
“But–”
“He needs time, Dawnie. Time and space.”
“And then he can put them together and form a continuum…”
“Huh?”
After that, it takes four weeks, six days, thirteen hours, and nine minutes before Buffy finally breaks up with the Immortal, once and for all.
“But, my love, my bella…”
Then three hours and forty-one minutes for her to confess to Dawn that it had been coming for a while (approximately five weeks, one day, and fifteen hours), and his habit of ordering for her in restaurants had been getting on her nerves.
“Heh. I knew it. Plus, he had really horrible taste in shirts.”
“I dunno, I kinda liked them…”
It’s another three weeks, three days, twenty-seven hours, and eight minutes before she admits to herself that not contacting Spike is less to do with giving him space and more because she doesn’t want to talk to him yet.
…Mainly because he’s dumb. And I’m over him – so there’s no point rehashing old stuff that we’re both finished with. Plus, if he’s not going to contact me, why should I have to make the…
Another week, six hours, and thirty-two minutes before she gives up on convincing herself that he’s stupid, ugly, ridiculous, completely wrong for her, and she totally doesn’t miss him.
…but he’s still annoying. Very annoying.
And then five days, eighteen hours, and three minutes before she realises what the problem is.
“You’re scared? Seriously?”
“It’s complicated, Dawn.”
“Uh-huh. You know, you guys have both been saying that to me for four years, now. How on earth can you be scared? You love him, he loves you…”
“It’s not that simple.”
“So punch him in the nose. That’ll simplify things.”
It takes a week, two days, nine hours, and fifty-one minutes before Buffy perfects her response to anyone asking about her love-life.
Relaxed smile. “I’m enjoying being by myself right now. Getting to know Buffy.” Then sigh, with exaggerated tiredness. “Plus, have you seen how busy I am?”
And another three days, seven hours, and fourteen minutes before she stops sternly saying “I’m moving on” to her reflection every time she passes a mirror.
…It’s not like I’m pining. I mean, yes, I miss him, but that’s no reason to get all mopey. I don’t need to see him.
Why do these entries keep ending up about Spike? It makes it look like I’m obsessing – and I’m really not. It’s just that yesterday I…
And that’s the end of that.
Until two weeks, one day, sixteen hours, and twenty-eight minutes later, when she gets a call from Angel.
“…half of downtown in ruins, but we all survived, so I’m calling it a victory.”
“You all survived? What about Spike?”
“Oh, you… you know about that? Oh, um… Well, yes, he’s been working with me, and that’s… well, actually he wasn’t working so much as–”
“Angel! Is. Spike. Alive.”
It takes fourteen minutes for her to book a flight to L.A.
Fifteen hours and thirty-six minutes to get to him.
And four seconds to sort out all their issues.
“Miss me, Slayer?”
“Not even at all.”
“Liar.”
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Date: 2010-05-18 11:58 pm (UTC)I always think of you as such a gen writer, but your Buffy/Spike stuff just makes me flaily with joy. :D
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Date: 2010-05-19 04:18 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-05-19 12:25 am (UTC)A funny, unique, true to characters and a happily ending story where Buffy and Spike can have their 4 second post-NFA REUNION!!
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Date: 2010-05-19 04:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 01:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 04:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 01:27 am (UTC)Squee!
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Date: 2010-05-19 04:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 02:22 am (UTC)You've managed to do the exact opposite and just AMP up that feeling of "oh please please please make this happen oh please!"
Whole story you spend waiting for those eight words.
This is absolutely perfect.
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Date: 2010-05-19 04:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 04:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 06:14 am (UTC)And I love how you always manage to come up with these original formats for your stories. And yet you manage to make both the characters and the plot work so well that I barely even notice the format, it's just how the story has to be told.
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Date: 2010-05-19 10:13 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-05-19 02:39 pm (UTC)“And then he can put them together and form a continuum…”
Dawn is gold.
“Miss me, Slayer?”
“Not even at all.”
“Liar.”
Perfection.
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Date: 2010-05-19 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-05-19 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 11:45 pm (UTC)Um. Yeah. I love it THAT MUCH AND ABOUT 50 TIMES MORE.
Good grief, woman, I repeat: how are you so amazing?? Cause this is downright fabulous and a half.
You've taken a pretty conventional fandom issue - post-Chosen Spuffy and Buffy finding out about Spike being alive - and made it into a both completely original and entirely adorable fic of your own. You are SO cool. I am actually going crazy over this and you right now, in case you can't tell, and part of it is being high on excitement for both of our remixes but part of it is you being super cool.
I love how you set up a pattern that I knew was going somewhere, but that I had no idea where it was going to end up. I love how you start out with Andrew and Dawn, and then shift over to Buffy and Spike. I love how I insiderly know this was your way of getting around writing Andrew/Dawn for insider secret reasons which are not to be disclosed. I love how you got the carat things in email replies just right, and how you got the tone and voice of all the characters just right in such interesting ways.
In case we aren't clear? I LOVE THIS. :)
And since I know how numbery and charty you are, I would be very interested to know how you came up with all of the different time frames...
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Date: 2010-05-20 12:45 am (UTC)You always make me sound so amazing...
And yay! I'm glad you like this!
(I am getting SO VERY IMPATIENT over Remix. You have no idea.)
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Date: 2010-05-20 11:48 pm (UTC)(Aaagh! I keep reading comments on one of the remixers_lounge posts and wishing it were Sunday - I totally miss the one good aspect of the Livejournal setup, in that you could see your gift fic before the reveal, but here it's just like MYSTERY WORK and I want to see ittttt.
I kind of think they might have done my Kennedy/Buffy fic, because that's listed in the pairings as having one fic, and I don't feel like that's such a common pairing...but I could be wrong.)
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Date: 2010-05-21 04:43 am (UTC)If you were CHEATING, yeah... :)
I clearly don't have unusual-enough pairings. I cannot pick mine out of the bunch. I keep looking at the pairings I have written, and going "Well, yes, that could be my story... or it could be a million other people's story..." and probably it's a gen story about Buffy, or something, and I have no hope of guessing it from the tags.
*is impatient some more*
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Date: 2010-05-21 08:12 pm (UTC)But, but, it's not even cheating, if it's just there waiting for you to look at it...:P
Maybe this is better though, cause it's making me wait, and getting me really excited about it. We'll see.
And ha, yeah, that's funny. You've also written way more than I have, so that makes it harder to guess, too. It could be some random little drabble you forgot you even wrote!
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Date: 2010-06-13 08:46 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-07-06 09:54 pm (UTC)And this is ridiculously cute.
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Date: 2010-09-30 10:36 pm (UTC)