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Love, Keyness and Impending Marriage by Ariel Dawn
 
Childish Pranks
 
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Disclaimer: Joss said to write fan fic...so that’s what I’m doing.

Author’s note: BTL, the fabulous friend and awesome person that she is, beta’d this fic. For that she gets hugs.
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Chapter 6: Childish Pranks

Willow’s telepathic control of the hospital staff let the whole Scooby gang leave the building within a few hours. Buffy had wanted to make sure that Dawn was ok for the drive home. It was surprising what a little blood could do.

The teen protested as Buffy ushered her up into bed once again when they got home.

“But I feel fine!” Dawn protested.

Buffy glared back at her sister. “You are going to sleep the sleep of the not sick, and tomorrow you’ll go back to school. Understand? Someone will bring up your dinner in a bit.”

“Fine,” grumbled Dawn.

Back downstairs, Buffy found Spike cleaning up his mess of photos and other snooping related items.

“It occurs to me that we don’t have nearly enough photos of you around,” she noted softly. “Maybe we should get a family photo done?”

“There’s no need to immortalize me on paper, luv,” he observed standing up. He closed the gap between them and caressed her cheek. “It’s your pretty face that needs be remembered.”

Buffy stared back at her mate sadly. She could feel just how tender he felt towards her, but also an overwhelming feeling of sadness.

“You’re afraid I’ll die and leave you alone for eternity,” she whispered, believing that she was thinking the same thing he was.

“No, Goldilocks. I’m afraid that you’ll die before your time, this time, because you kept me around. The day after I bury you, I’m walkin’ into the sunrise. I know I wouldn’t be able to let you go a second time.”

Buffy felt her eyes well up. She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips.

“I still want a family photo,” she joked, trying to laugh her way though the tears.
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Dawn was pouting up in her room. She felt fine, but there she was, tucked into her bed like an eight year old.

Anya teleported into her room with a brief ‘poof‘.

“I’m sensing vengeance. What happened?” asked the vengeance demon, sitting down on the bed.

“They are treating me like a child. I’m older than time, and I’m stuck in my room waiting for dinner to be carried up on a tray.”

Anya rolled her eyes. “Well you were all sick, and they worried about you. Clueless, but worried. No more dimension hopping for you unless necessary!” chastised Anya waving a finger at her friend.

Dawn let out a cry of frustration. “That’s totally unfair. I just need to recharge the blood every once in while.” He eyes went wide as a thought came to her. “I’m doomed to be pedestrian girl forever. Spike won’t let me drive on roads with, you know, traffic, until he’s not afraid for his unlife and Buffy agrees with him. It’s like having the most over protective parents ever. Not that I didn’t have them before, but it’s worse! I’m sixteen!”

Anya nodded sympathetically. “You and Buffy can commiserate on the badness of your driving skills.”

“You know what I wish?” asked Dawn looking up at her friend with heated eyes.

Anya perked up at the word.

“I wish that Buffy knew what it was like to be stuck in the body of a child. I bet I’d get all kinds of sympathy,” Dawn finished with a ruthless smile.

Anya nodded, a smile gracing her face. “Got a time frame for that? I mean when I was a vengeance demon years ago, I wouldn’t have asked for a time frame it would have been a forever kind of thing. But this is Buffy, Slayer extraordinaire, with the super strength.”

“A day?” asked Dawn, her eyes happy at the prospect of vengeance on Buffy.

“Wish granted,” intoned Anya.
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The morning alarm next to Buffy and Spike’s bed went off, filling the room with the sounds of Def Leopard from the Sunnydale’s Classic Rock station, the only one the two mates could agree on to wake them up in the morning.

Under the covers the two bodies moved, waking slowly and reaching for each other. Buffy snuggled in closer and planted a kiss on Spike’s lips, before bracing herself for getting up out of bed.

Spike wrapped his arms around his mate, keeping her under the covers with him for a moment longer when he realised something wrong. This didn’t feel like Buffy. Spike whipped off the covers, exposing the both of them to the cool morning air.

“Bloody hell!” he shouted, staring at his mate, now sporting the body of her eight year old self. He leapt off the bed.

“What the hell are you doing?” barked back Buffy, staring at him. “We snuggle in the morning, you know that. This is not snuggling!”

“Buffy, love, you’ve been...you’re a child!” he exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him.

“Hey! Not! A hundred twenty-three here, Mister. Besides your body is only twenty-seven! Dead yes, but twenty-seven!”

Spike rolled his eyes. “No, luv, look at yourself. You’ve been changed today. You look like a bloody eight year old!” he muttered, reaching for her and tugging her towards the mirror.

Buffy gasped as she inspected herself in the full length mirror. “Oh wow!”

“Wow?” questioned Spike. “Wow? You’re a bleedin’ eight year old and the first thing you say is ‘wow’?”

Buffy poked at her face for a moment, turning her head to inspect and to wonder, then in a sudden realisation her hands went to her very flat and not developed breasts, covered by the tank top she fell asleep in. She frowned. “Well I don’t like this at all,” she muttered to herself, inspecting herself. “Anya!”

Instantly Anya appeared in their room, the smoke from her teleportation filling the room.

“You look so cute!” exclaimed the vengeance demon. “Eight year old Buffy is cute! Don’t you think she’s cute, Spike?” gushed Anya.

“No. Why the bloody hell would I think she’s cute as a child!” shouted Spike, grabbing his jeans to cover himself.

“Anya! Focus!” said Buffy snapping her fingers in front of her friend’s face which was a little difficult with the height difference. “Did someone put a vengeance curse on me? Or is this witchy magic?”

Anya exhaled. “I really shouldn’t tell me, she’ll get mad at me...”

Buffy glared at the demon. “You do remember that I still have my super extra strength, right? And the witchy powers too.”

The two stared off until Anya threw up her hands in resignation.

“Oh ok! God, you don’t have to be so evil eye all of a sudden. It’s a vengeance curse ok? Happy?”

Buffy cocked an eyebrow at her friend. “Did you curse me Anya?”

All of a sudden, Anya looked sheepish. “Ya...But it was a legitimate wish, following all the guidelines that vengeance demons adhere to...”

“I don’t care if Santa Claus himself wished it,” barked the vampire. “Undo it!”

“I can’t,” stated Anya simply. “It only lasts for a day, you’ll turn back tomorrow, to your fun slaying self. No consequences. No nastiness. Think of it as, your second, uh, well, third youth.”

“Anya, I don’t need a third youth! I can’t go to school like this!”

“Vacation, look it up,” noted Anya with an evil smile, as she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Both Buffy and Spike stared at the place from which Anya teleported out of for a moment. Then, realising just who made the wish, glowered at the mirror before shouting, “Dawn Eleanor Summers!”
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There was massive giggling from the teen as she ate her breakfast. She watched her older sister, who looked like an eight year old, use a step stool to do the dishes.

“Why would Anya do something like this?” asked Willow, handing her used glass to Buffy. “And why do I have this urge to tickle you? You are just so cute!”

Buffy glared at her friend, daring her to try. “Not Anya’s fault, is it Dawn? Vengeance demons can’t do anything to you if no one wishes it.”

“Well whoever it was,” started Dawn, who had not yet admitted her guilt in the matter. “They are brilliant. And I’m off to school, on foot, the pedestrian way.”

The slayer and the witch looked at Dawn as she stepped out into the sun.

“Oh I’m so getting her back for this one!” muttered Buffy. “Prank war is on!”

“Scary,” giggled Willow.

“Very,” agreed Buffy, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “And I have all day to plan retribution...I can’t go to school like this.” Buffy waved her hand in front of herself. “I’m like in grade three!”

“I still think little Buffy is cute!” noted Willow. “Ooh, I bet Spike doesn’t though.”

“He’s not too thrilled with it, no,” conceded Buffy.

“Maybe Spike could be in on the pranking then?” added Willow as she headed out of the kitchen. “This house is going to be a war zone.”

“Yep, but it’s not going to be just in the house,” noted Buffy, smiling before she too, headed upstairs.
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Buffy had bid Tara and Willow a good day as they left for their classes at Sunnydale U and settled herself down on the couch for TV goodness, complete with gummybears and a Toblerone chocolate bar. After flipping through the channels and deciding that daytime television sucked, she started to wonder what happened to her vampire.

Little feet carried her upstairs. She spied her mate on their bed, reading in the muted light coming through the heavy curtains. Slayer speed, and her decreased weight helped her as she launched herself at the vampire, landing on his lap. She tossed the book out of the way and started kissing him.

“Buffy!” he protested, picking her up and holding her away from him.

She pouted. “You’re no fun!”

“Buffy, love,” he started, very seriously. “I know you don’t feel any different, but you’re a child.”

Buffy pouted more.

“Buffy...”

“Fine! If I look like a kid, I might as well go watch cartoons!” she huffed bouncing off the bed and heading out the door.

“Buffy!” he called out after her, following her out the door.

Buffy stopped in the hallway and turned back to face him. Her face was frozen in a very angry expression.

With a sad smile he reached out to touch her cheek only to have her flinch away from him. Looking down at her, and feeling the things she was feeling through the claim, he decided that whatever he was going to say was going to be taken the wrong way.

He dropped to his knees, to look in her eyes and leaned forward to press a kiss to her lips.

“I love, you Buffy Summers,” he started. “I don’t bloody care what you look like, or if you have to grow up again, I’m going to marry you in the spring.”

“That’s nice, Spike. Doesn’t make me not feel used, lied to and unwanted. I like being able to make out with my vampire!” she pouted.

Suddenly, the linen closet door opened and Dawn stepped through.

“You!” she screamed, pointing to Buffy.

“Bloody hell Bit,” started Spike, shocked. “What happened to your hair?”

Buffy turned around with a sinister smile, to see her bald and near tears sister slam the linen closet door. Buffy giggled and took off down the stairs.

“Change me back!” Dawn screamed, running after her diminutive sister.

“No!” yelled Buffy, between giggling and dodging her sister’s grabs, slayer skills and eight year old agility playing a part in her escape.

Unfortunately, she did not take into account the vampire who had had just about enough of the whole thing. He grabbed his mate by the shoulders and lifted the squirming slayer off the floor.

“Buffy, you are acting like an eight year old!” chastised Dawn, while Spike gave Buffy a stern look.

“Why not? I am stuck in the body of one!” noted Buffy before sticking her tongue out at Dawn. “I know you did it Dawn!”

“I will neither confirm nor deny,” said the teen smugly, crossing her arms.

“Then I will neither confirm nor deny your hair back!” retorted the slayer, still squirming in Spike’s arms. “Spike!” she whined. “Let me down!”

“Oh no! Not until this bloody mess gets resolved!” he began. “Dawn, admit you did it, and Buffy will put your hair back.”

“No!” exclaimed Dawn. “She always gets her way, like she’s mom! She’s not! And I don’t care that monks made me out of you two! You always treat me like a kid! I’m sixteen!”

“I think you both need to be soundly spanked,” muttered Spike, under his breath.

Suddenly Buffy stopped squirming. “Ooh, yes please?”

“Ugh! Gross Buffy!” cried Dawn. “You’re eight!”

“No, I’m 123 in an eight year old’s body. I still feel like I’m 123. Old Lady babble talk, wonder that I still have my teeth, the desire to save sugar packets from restaurants, all there, in my head,” explained Buffy.

“And what about me then? I’m older than time!”

“Yes, but you are also sixteen, and two years old, Dawn. You’re my baby...sister. I have this urge to protect you. Added on top of that the whole Slayer must protect everyone on the planet and boom! Over protective me.”

“I hate it when you make sense.”

“It so very rarely happens,” answered Buffy.
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Dawn’s hair was returned and the teen went back to class, but the pranks were far from over, as far as Buffy was concerned. It was open season as long as she was stuck in an eight year old’s body.

And she was compiling quite the list of things to do once she got changed back.

Spike was involved in quite a few of them.
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tbc...



 
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