15500/SmartTech Sale

SmartTech Sale
Date of Scene:	19 August 2023
Location:	Sunnydale, Avalon
Synopsis:	Instead of sprays of blood and dust, Buffy and Spike see the electronics fly!
Cast of Characters:	Spike, Buffy Summers

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Spike has posed:
Fluorescent lights overhead cast everything in a bluish tint. SmartTech was having a midnight sale, with deals on televisions, phones, video games, fridges, and everything else that a home owner might want. It was also a great opportunity to nick some stuff, with so many more people in the store, not enough security, and Spike had his eye on a new tele.

He had come, waiting outside, in the dark, as the doors weren't yet open. He was towards the back, currently smoking a cigarette, while some people were already banging on the glass doors, as if that would hurry things. He had let Buffy Summers know he was going to be here, and may well have specifically chosen this event when he got the message that she was looking for him, just to play with her.

Buffy Summers has posed:
The text had been answered and Buffy had stared at it for a while. Then she had spoken outloud to it while standing in the middle of the Magic Box. "Really? You can't just wander over here with a blanket on your head?"

Which got a few looks from the customers as she tucked the phone back in her pocket. A glance at the customers then she asked, "What?!" They quickly went back to their browsing or exited the building.

To say customer service was not Buffy's calling was an understatement.

Thus, when the shop closed, she headed straight for the SmartTech store to try to meetup with Spike. Glancing at the gathered crowd with a frown. Too many people, dark parking lot, lots of human predators not to mention likely non-human.

Speaking of...

"Hi, Spike. Should I ask?" Buffy said as she sort of waved a hand at the building they were in front of.

Spike has posed:
"Doors about to open in," Spike was about to look at his phone, but another customer said, "eight minutes and thirty seconds." Spike added, "that. And then, hell will be unleashed." The hellmouth had nothing on a sale like this. "I don't know about you, but I'm thinking I could use a new tele. You want a new phone, maybe a laptop?" Was Spike entirely messing with her? He had to be. He was a vampire. Besides, how could he pay for any of this? Then in consideration that she had been looking for him, he turned his attention from the door, "I heard you wanted to see me, Buffy? Just couldn't go another night without my charm, is that it?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
The people pounding on the door were what Buffy was focused on. Because that was going to help so much. She rolled her eyes then looked back to Spike as he added his smart comment.

The first words out of her mouth, she immediately regreted. "You don't have a job and thus no money so how are you..." And she stopped. Cold. Mid-sentence. Because she was not asking and she brought up her hands in a universal stop right there sign. "Nevermind. I don't wanna know. No, i don't need anything. But thanks." Since it was polite to say thanks though she she thank someone that probably would steal it? Even if it was for her?

Moving on, she gave a nod. "Yeah, I've been having some of those weird dreams. Nothing specific. Something big is going to be happening soon. Hopefully as it gets closer, I will get more details in them. Right now it's more something in the dark chasing me and sense of foreboding but it has that ...feel to it that the prophecy dreams do. So I wanted everyone to be on the alert."

Spike has posed:
Spike loved the way he could get under Buffy's skin. He loved their banter. He let the job and lack of money comment slide. He was ready, more than ready, to flirt and fight and fraternize, but she held up her hands in the universal sign to stop. He did as requested.

Well, for the most part. He gave her a sly grin that spoke volumes. "Right, so you don't need anything. But do you want anything?" He asked, putting emphasis on the want. He even moved closer so that he could whisper that last part into her ear.

Unfortunately, this seemed to be a business visit. "Luv, creeps and crawlies that go bump in the night chase you at their own risk. Believe me, I know." And then, he asked, in an entirely different tone. This one was devoid of any flirtation, of any ulterior motive. It was sincere, it was quiet, and it was direct. "What do you need, and what do you want?" He was hers, he would protect Dawn, he would stand guard at her house, watch over Joyce, the Magic Box, even Xander, anything and everything. She just had to give the word.

Buffy Summers has posed:
And that had her frowning as he stepped in and whispered that last question. Only for him to step back a moment later and be all matter of fact about the details of her visit.

"No, I don't want anything either." No thank you added this time. Because that just seemed redundant at this point. Buffy did shrug at that last bit though.

"Nothing specific yet. I just know that something is coming so want us on alert." Then a little twist of her lips and a giggle at herself. "Like we aren't always on alert." A shrug and she continued. "You get what I mean though. Anything more weird than our normal weird, be sure to share with the group. Drop a text or something to us all." She even had the group chat on her phone marked Scoobies. People sometimes dropped out of it but she at least tried. Course, with as often as she got her phone broken in fights, she didn't have a fancy expensive one and she might be out of touch until she could get to her apartment or her mother's house, both places she had some cheap phones that the cops would call burners. Really, it was stupid to fork out too much money when it would be busted within three weeks. That was her record thus far at least. Usually it was less.

You been hearing anything on the street?"

Spike has posed:
The raise of his eyes, the way his face shifted at the suggestion that she wanted the Scoobies on alert, if she hadn't giggled, he might well have. "That we are. You really ought to take a vacation, get some sun, enjoy life... you've got to do it at some point, Buffy," he would have loved to spend more time with her, relaxing, burning up in the sun, but that wasn't on the cards. If she did take him up on it, he'd spend that time covering for her absence, picking up a few scars, the usual.

He was part of the WhatsApp group or whatever it was that they used. Spike was surprisingly well versed in technology. When advances happened, he learned as much as the lay person. That wasn't too impressive, except for a vampire, it was nearly unheard of.

"No," he said, concern in his voice, "other than the usual, I'm going to get the Slayer, followed soon by gurgles, and then silence."

Buffy Summers has posed:
A normal person would be horrified at that. Yet, she was a Slayer. She also knew that said gurgling would be coming from a monester since Spike couldn't actually kill humans at the moment. He could only hurt monsters. Thus, for her, that was a statement that drew a smile. "Thanks." That was twice, in one night, that she said thanks to him.

Definitely a sign of the upcoming Apocalypse.

"I know Faith has been working with Thomas and some others. But no details as we don't really talk." Not from anything negative, they simply had their own circles of people. It might be a Slayer thing as they liked to just take care of their business. It had taken a long time for Buffy to adjust to having her friends along on things, up to the point they became invaluable. Though with her memory situation, it made it a bit worse. At least she was a step closer on that one.

She did give a negative shake of her head. "Not sure that I'm allowed to take a vacation. Although with Faith around, maybe?" It wasn't something she'd thought about. In high school, she'd pushed wanting to have a chance to be a teen. Now she sort of recognized any chance of being normal was off the table for her.

Spike has posed:
"She is? Good for her," Spike knew that Faith was more of a loner, so to see that she was working with people was a sign that perhaps there was hope for her yet. "Talk to Giles, I'm sure he'd put in a good word for you with the Council," as if they ever had any control over her. Influence through Giles perhaps, but control, no, that was out the window on day one.

"Between Faith, the Scoobies, Midnight Sons, you may be the chosen one, but you're not the only one. Take some time to be yourself. You've earned it." He'd have liked to spend that time with her, but knew his place was to be helping to ensure that no one got hurt during her weekend, week, or even fortnight of relaxation. "I'd be the first one to point out if you were slacking off. Trust me, you haven't. Hardest working slayer I've ever met, or even heard of."

Buffy Summers has posed:
That earned a wrinkle of the nose from Buffy. "I don't think you hung out a lot with the others ones you knew. Outside the whole learning about them then eliminating them." She was well aware he'd killed two of her kind. And he probably would've still killed her had he not ended up Chipped.

Though now? Now, she didn't know if that was true. Would he kill her if he didn't have a chip? She liked to think not from what they had been through the last few years but it would always be a little question.

"For /THE/ Chosen One, there sure are a lot of us." Dozens. If not hundreds. If she hadn't become one of them when she became a Slayer, she'd have felt like Chosen One was just a movie cliche.

"Though I guess you have heard of a lot," she added.

Spike has posed:
Talking about the slayers he killed put distance between them, so for that reason only, he disliked talking about them. He wasn't ashamed, he did it, he enjoyed it, he saw it as honorable combat. They were soldiers on opposite sides of a war. They killed many of his kind. He killed a couple of theirs. He didn't abuse them. The first one, he killed by drinking her blood. The second, he strangled, and didn't even taste her. He wasn't even disrespectful of their bodies. He left them where they died, though he did take the second one's duster.

"You're different," he finally said, meaning every word. If she wanted to know what would happen, she could ask him. But was she worried about what his answer would be? "We're all chosen, in a way." Gesturing with a black painted thumb, "one o' this lot will be chosen to get the Caribbean cruise, someone will be chosen to be the best martial artist, detective, the blooming Pulitzer Prize chooses someone. But Faith or not Faith, you are the Slayer, you always were, and you always will be."

Buffy Summers has posed:
That brought a little smile to her face. Not that he was saying about other chosen ones. Not that he was saying she'd always be the Slayer. It was actually the first part that brought a smile to her face.

"You aren't the first person to say I'm not like the other Slayers have been. My first Watcher did. Giles did. I think some of the Council did when they thought I wasn't listening." A roll of her eyes again. "Of course I was listening."

It was getting closer to the time for the store to open and the mob at the doors was getting deeper. She continued to maintain some distance from them. "Not sure what's different. I mean other than it's a different time? But there was one before I got called up to bat. Then Kendra. Faith. One when she dies, I'm guessing. I think you were right that when I go, no one else will be triggered in the line. Since Kendra was the next after me and Faith came after her."

Spike has posed:
"You are," he said again, nodding his head in the affirmative. "In the best possible meaning," at least from his perspective. The other vampires, watchers, and council might not feel the same way. "Oh, I don't doubt that," he grinned as she said that she was listening to them when they tried to talk about her behind her back.

"Magic can be funny that way," to anyone listening, they might well be talking about a video game. Similar conversations were going on in the crowd, people talking about Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, Hogwarts, or some other thing.

"An unbroken line can continue from the next branch, in this case, Faith, or, the unbroken line can become two, diverging, like the Kings of Sparta." Yes, he was the product of a classical education, and knew that Sparta had two kings.

"Before my time, obviously, but Sparta was ruled by a king, right up until twin sons were born. Rather than choose, it became a dual monarchy. Those boys grew up, married, had sons of their own, and somewhere down the one, one of those kids fathered Leonidas, and you got to see a greased up Gerard Butler."

Buffy Summers has posed:
"That was a worthy cause," Buffy said with a sage nod, thinking back to the movie and the outfits the warriors had worn in it. She doubted they were historically accurate but in all honesty? Who cared? NO one that liked looking at good looking men in little clothing.

Not that she knew they had dual kings either. Cause that really didn't matter to her in the grand scheme of life.

But now that they were past the business, she glanced at him again. "New television, huh? Wait, is Giles still giving you money not to steal from his store?"

Spike has posed:
"Yeah," Spike said, with a nearly giddy glee, "he is," and then, moving close to her, close enough that he could whisper in her ear, "I gave most o' it back to Anya. She said she'd work the books, so Giles doesn't know." He liked making Giles pay, because it messed with him. Plus, he had recently come into an alternate stream of revenue.

"Yer gonna tell him now and ruin my fun, aren't you?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
That earned a genuine laugh. Buffy couldn't help it as she had no doubt Anya would be happy to work the books because it would mean more money. More profit made the former vengeance demon very happy.

"I won't say a word. You both seem happy with your arrangement. None of my business. Though you have a new job? That's good." Then a little pause with an added. "I hope."

Spike has posed:
"I ran across a Ginntic Demon Clan peddling drugs. I told you once before, I can get money." And he could, though he had to add, "cut their heads off half a dozen times, and they start to get the picture. Really tough to kill them, just about everything grows back, 'cept the one thing they really do care about."

And that was when Spike reached into his coat pocket, "thanks for reminding me," pulling out a bent white envelope, sealed, and he slipped it into Buffy's messenger bag, making a point of snapping it shut afterwards.

Buffy Summers has posed:
As he quickly put that envelope in her bag, she jumped away and stared at the thing hanging at her hip as though it now was a monster itself. "If that is one of those parts they care about, please take it out of my bag cause ...ew. I don't even want to know what part it is!"

Though the envelope didn't look like it was oversized. Nor was it stained with blood or the like, of any color. It just looked like a normal envelope that had been folded in half. "What part do they care about?" Then that sudden shake of her head. "Nope, no, nevermind. Don't care. Don't want to know. If that's the part though, take it back."

She unhooked the bag so he could see the envelope on top of her various working implements including stakes, a plastic bottle of holy water that was well stoppered so it wasn't leaking, a knife with a silver blade. Somewhere in there was probably a cross but thankfully not visible so he shouldn't be getting hurt if he reached in. "I guess I should ask what is it but only if it isn't a body part. Demonic or otherwise."

Spike has posed:
Spike rolled his eyes, as if to say, seriously, after all this, does she still not know him better than that?

He was about to answer, but she was going from one thought to another, without giving him a chance to butt in. He enjoyed the banter, even if it was Buffy bantering with herself. He loved that she lacked a filter. It was just so cute and well, adorable.

When she finally paused to catch her breath, he joyfully laughed, "no, no body parts, nothing like that." Then finally he said, "the previous owners won't be coming for it, and it's untraceable."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Which is when she realized it was likely money in there. She pulled out the folded envelope and tried to tuck it back into his pocket. "You need that more than I do. I work for a living." Sure, she didn't make a lot at the Magic Box but she did make enough to pay her part of the apartment she shared with Willow. And food. Cause food was important.

"Keep it and buy yourself a bigger tele," she said, using his term again for a television set. She wasn't sure why she was caling it that but it's what he had used during this conversation so it felt natural to just repeat it back. "Or something." Since she had no idea how much was in it.

Spike has posed:
Spike didn't make it easy for her to tuck it into his pocket, as he took her hands in his, that sort of playful fight, neither one wanting to make a scene, neither one wanting the envelop to fly off, especially with the people heading in, now that the doors were open. Well, heading in was wrong. Fighting to get in would be more appropriate.

But she does manage to slip it into his left jean pocket, her hand having to dive into there to make sure it went deep enough that it wouldn't fall out.

"I knew you'd do that," he said, in just the right way to try and make her wonder if the envelope was really empty. But would she risk going fishing for it to answer that particular thought?

Buffy Summers has posed:
And that earned a punch. Right to the upper arm from Buffy. Which to people around them might look like a playful smack from friends who had just been having a mock struggle over who was getting that envelope or not. Thus, it didn't really get much attention from those who were more interested in getting in the store.

But Spike would know. Cause there was some power behind that punch. Enough that it should give a nice ow and probably a bruise to a normal human being. He, not being a normal human being, would be fine. Though still Ow.

"You are not right, you know." Not likely a surprise to him and she had quickly snatched her hand away once she realized what he was doing, but before the punch.

"Enjoy your shopping. I'll be starting on from here and heading north," she offered, so he'd know which way she was patrolling. "In case you decide to join in on the hunt once you have your new tele set up."

Spike has posed:
"Ow" he said, free arm reaching for his lower shoulder, the upper portion of his arm where Buffy had given him a serious punch. She knew he could take it, but it still hurt. He wasn't acting. It really did hurt. Even if it looked perfectly normal.

Spike, no longer caring for the sale, would immediately follow after her, no longer clutching his shoulder, but seriously thinking about it, "they don't sell ice packs, anyway," he said, as he followed suit. Besides, hunting with Buffy was better than anything on tele.

Buffy Summers has posed:
And that stopped Buffy in her tracks. She spun around to face him, almost colliding and quickly taking a step backwards to keep from doing so. "You waited all this time in that line to get your new television and now suddenly you want to patrol? Oh hell no. You could've come to the Magic Box then if that was the case."

She practically stomped her foot and pointed at the building. "Go. Spend money. Shoo."

Spike has posed:
Spike just wanted to spend some time with Buffy. He wanted to share his newfound wealth, such as it was, fleeting as it was, with her. The money was nice, but wouldn't last forever. It wasn't like he could invest it, deposit it in the bank, and he had given the majority of it to her. Or tried to.

"I patrol every night," he said, like it was his duty and his pleasure, but only rarely does he get to patrol with her. "I think the forces of evil can wait a few minutes, join me?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
And for a moment, Buffy hesitated. Because she wanted to say no. But she had the feeling that he was going to just skip his shopping after waiting with the ravenous technology seeking wolves that had been outside. He kind of deserved to get his television.

Yet it wasn't her fault that he was trying to follow her instead of getting it. Which now had her feeling guilty for absolutely no viable reason. Thus her answer was finally given.

"Fine. Let's get this done with." And she headed for the open, and no longer blocked, door of the store.

Spike has posed:
Spike and Buffy had faced many battles, both individually, and together. They have saved the world. A lot. But now, as they entered the Sunnydale SmartTech store, they faced their strongest test yet. For tonight, they dined in retail hell.

And with that, together, they charged into the fray, ducking and weaving, evading the fists, the nails, the screaming patrons, as they hurled themselves into the masses, on the quest for a new tele!

It was the stuff of cinematic legend. In later retellings, it would be put to a soundtrack like Gustav Holst's Mars, the Bringer of War.