Chapter 9: Announcement

“Kill it! Kill it!” Willow shrieked from the corner of the Magic Box where she’d gone to hide.

Buffy grabbed a book off the table and swung it, connecting with the side of a bookshelf. She tried not to think of what Giles would say about her treatment of very old sacred texts.

Dawn peered out from behind the counter. “Did you get it?”

“I think I just made it angry.”

“Hit it again!” Willow ordered.

Buffy looked over at her friend. “Can’t you kill it with some kind of magic?”

Willow’s eyes widened with realization. In her panic, she’d forgotten all about her powers. “Oh, yeah… wait, where’d it go?”

“Over here!” cried Dawn, ducking back down as the thing whizzed past her head.

The bell tinkled as Spike walked in the magic shop. “What the bloody hell are you doing?” he asked, taking in the scene before him.

“Killing a bug,” said Buffy. With lightning slayer speed, she punched the wall, leaving a gaping hole. She looked down at the squished bug on her fist. “There. All gone.”

Spike just shook his head. “Women.”

“It was a big bug!” Dawn said defensively, emerging from her hiding place. “All hairy and flying…”

“Lots of legs!” Willow added, coming back to the table. “Spidery. I hate spiders.”

Spike stared at each of them in turn. “You fight real demons and monsters every day, and you’re scared of a teensy little spider?”

“A flying spider,” Dawn corrected him.

“Willow’s got a thing,” said Buffy.

“High school. Very traumatic,” said Willow. “Had to do with nightmares manifesting. I don’t like to talk about it.” She paused, then added, “Also, there was a frat party thing. Overall, not big with the spiders.”

Spike just nodded. Women, he repeated, this time to himself. Completely out of their minds.

Xander and Anya came up from the basement, looking disheveled and awkwardly straightening their clothes. The others didn’t even need to ask what they’d been doing.

Extremely uncomfortable with the situation, Xander explained anyway. “We were just, uh, looking for some… toad’s eyes.”

Anya, never one to be shy about the topic of sex, opened her mouth to contradict him, but a glare from Xander stopped her. She spread her empty hands in front of her. “Couldn’t find them,” she said with a shrug. Xander breathed a small sigh of relief. Perhaps the let’s keep private matters private lectures were starting to take.

“You were gone an awfully long time,” said Dawn.

“Well, we’re… very thorough,” Xander replied, wondering whether the teenager understood what had really been going on in the basement. “With the searching.”

Spike smirked. “I bet you are.”

“Spike, hello!” Anya greeted him a little too cheerfully, to compensate for the awkward atmosphere. “How are you doing?”

“A bit peckish.” Spike eyed the ex-demon. “You?”

Anya faltered under his gaze. “Well… a lot more skittish than I was a minute ago.”

Spike shrugged. “Funny that.” He flinched as Buffy smacked his arm, but he could see she was suppressing a smile.

“You seem better today,” he said, in a low voice only she could hear.

Buffy brushed him aside with a wan smile. “Hey, Ahn,” she said. “Have you had time to go over all that financial stuff?” Buffy’s utter lack of mathematical skills had led her to ask the resident capitalist for assistance with all the bills and expenses that had accrued while she was dead.

“Yes, I did.” Anya grabbed Buffy’s paperwork from behind the counter. “Are you familiar with the concept of debt?”

Her forehead wrinkled with worry. “What do you mean?”

“It means you’re gonna have to get yourself a job mowing lawns after school,” said Xander.

“But Buffy already has a job,” Dawn said. “She’s the Slayer.”

“That’s not a job, that’s a calling.” Buffy plopped down at the table next to Anya, who started to go over her money troubles. “An unpaid calling.”

“You should charge,” Anya suggested. “For the slaying.”

“I can’t charge innocent people for saving their lives.”

“Angel does,” said Willow, only half paying attention as she read her book.

Spike snorted. “He would. Poofter.”

Buffy sighed, ignoring the comments about Angel for the moment. “No, I need to find a real job.”

The bell jingled again, announcing the arrival of Giles and Tara, the former for a training session with Buffy and the latter to pick up her girlfriend. “Hey, guys,” Tara greeted them. “What’s going on?”

“Buffy needs a job,” said Dawn.

“We could always send you to work,” Xander teased her. “Child labor laws be damned.”

“I’m telling you,” insisted Anya. “If you charged even a small fee for each person you saved, you’d be rich.”

“Making a profit from protecting people from the forces of evil?” Giles asked, horrified.

“Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Heartless, exploitative capitalism. That’s the girl I’m going to marry.” A panicky expression crossed Xander’s face as he realized what had slipped out, and the others looked from him to Anya in surprise, trying to judge whether he’d been joking or serious.

“Xander…” Anya’s lips twitched into a smile.

Xander shrugged at her, then addressed the group. The gang was all here, he supposed now was as good a time as any to tell them. “Guess what? Anya and I are getting married.”

He was reminded of an animal pen at feeding time as all four of his female friends squealed, then rushed to hug him and his fiancée. Even Buffy, who hadn’t taken much pleasure in anything lately, managed to summon up enough joy for the happy couple. Giles and Spike hung back, retaining some of their manly dignity and shaking Xander’s hand once he’d disentangled himself from the women.

Anya pulled the engagement ring out of her pocket, where she always carried it, ever since he’d given it to her all those months ago. She allowed Xander to slip it onto her left ring finger, eliciting a fresh round of squeals from the girls as they crowded around to see.

Once the hugs and congratulations had been distributed, the group dispersed, promising to celebrate the engagement properly very soon. Willow and Tara set off for home, with Dawn in tow, and Giles and Buffy retreated to the training room. Spike had slipped out unnoticed sometime during the excitement, leaving Xander and Anya alone to close up the store.

Xander took his future bride into his arms and kissed her forehead. “Happy now, sweetie? You get to wear that ring now.”

“Thank you.” Anya gazed up into his eyes. “It was the sex, wasn’t it?” He raised his eyebrows. “The sex, downstairs. Convinced you to do it.”

He smiled and shook his head. “Nah. It just came out so easily.” He wrapped his arms tighter around her and pulled her close. “I thought it had to be all perfect, you know? Like there was a special moment. But, as it turns out, whenever I say it, that makes it special.”

Anya made a sexy pouty face at him. “And you were so worried.” She leaned in to kiss him, but turned her head sharply as something caught her attention. Xander’s lips smushed into her ear as she demanded, “Why is there a hole in the wall?”