Somehow, Somewhere, Someway

Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me.
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Buffy sat in front of the fireplace with her arms resting on her knees. She stared into the flames, lost in thought.
"I could have burned the tapes." Dean mumbled.
"Yeah, but I don't think the smell would have been worth it. Besides, breaking them was kind of fun for me." She turned her head and put her cheek down on her arms as she looked at him. "A couple of my friends got engaged today. It was a little weird."
"Yeah?"
"Well, I guess it wasn't weird for her, since Anya's been around for a really long time, but Xander's only twenty." She lifted her head and sighed. "I mean, he's my age. I'm glad that he's happy, but I don't know, it just seems kind of sudden."
"My parents got married right after high school."
"Oh." Buffy mumbled. "Sorry. I didn't mean..."
"Nah, you didn't know. Anyway, I guess that's not right for everybody."
"I think I'm jealous." She mused. "It must be nice for them to know what they want, and that this is the right thing for them to do. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that I'm not dead."
"I never would have even known you. That's kind of freaky." He reached over and brushed a lock of hair away from her face. "I gotta ask so I don't do the wrong thing and get my ass kicked. Are we cool?"
She smiled. "Yeah, we're okay."
"Good." Dean leaned toward her and kissed her. "You wanna come upstairs?" He gave her a hopeful smile.
"I've had a really long day." Buffy replied. "I spent eight hours helping with a big sale at the store, then helped put together an engagement party, but it got interrupted because of Dawn, and you know how that turned out."
"Sorry I asked."
She stood up and held a hand out to him. "I didn't exactly say no, did I?" She teased. "Besides, it's about time something went right today."
Dean grabbed her hand and got to his feet, walking up the stairs with her. "We've got to talk about this behavior of yours." He laughed. "It's not nice to play with my emotions."
"Emotions?" She raised an eyebrow as she turned around in his bedroom doorway and looked up at him. "And here I thought you were just in it for the sex."
"Well, when you put it that way..."
She laughed. "Dean, shut up. Come here."
He walked into the room as she pulled her tank top off over her head and unfastened her jeans. She paused and frowned at him. "Are you just going to stand there?"
"I'm enjoying myself." He told her, laughing as he pulled his shirt off and let it fall to the floor. In the time it took him to finish getting undressed, Buffy had made herself comfortable on the bed and was eyeing him in a way that caused his pulse to speed up.
He got a condom from the dresser and sat down on the side of the bed to open the wrapper, but she took it from him and straddled his hips, somehow managing to slide the condom over his erection before she guided him inside her.
Dean put his hands on her waist and kissed her neck as she started to move against him. Before he could protest, she pushed him backward on the bed so that he was staring up the ceiling for a second, but he redirected his attention to her body and the way she was moving above him.


The next morning, he woke up when her cell phone rang. Too late to get it in time, he groaned and rubbed his eyes, then realized that the weight on his chest was Buffy, who had somehow managed to drape herself over him - not that he minded. Sometime during the night, after sex and a shower, he had come to one conclusion.
Her weight shifted, and she sat up and blinked down at him. "Morning." She looked puzzled for a second, like she had forgotten something. Her eyes widened. "Shit. I told Giles I'd be back last night."
"I think he just tried to call, but I didn't want to move and wake you up."
Buffy started getting dressed as she flipped open her cell phone and called back, waiting for someone to answer.
"Are you all right?" Giles asked.
She knew that tone too well. "Fine. I'll be back soon."
"Yes, well, a phone call to let us know that you were planning to be out all night would have been best."
Buffy's eyes met Dean's as she spoke. "I got distracted."
"That bloody well doesn't excuse- oh." Giles cleared his throat. "Well, just get back here as soon as you can." He hung up abruptly without waiting for her response.
Buffy tucked her phone into her pocket. "I think I'm grounded."
"I'll drive you back, but we have to take care of something first." Dean got up from the bed and got dressed. "I know I promised I'd pay you for helping me with that nest."
"I don't want money for that." She shook her head. "I'd feel weird if you paid me, after everything else that happened."
"That makes things a little easier. I have a different idea in mind."
Buffy waited for him to elaborate. When he stood there awkwardly, not saying anything, she waved her hand in front of his face. "Earth to Dean? What idea?"
"Marry me."
"I'm sorry, I think I'm hearing things. What?"
"I said 'marry me.' You don't have to say yes or no yet, all right? Today's November first. Just give it a month and think about it, and if the answer's no, we'll forget I brought it up." He shrugged. "I'm just sayin' I think it might work with you and me."
"You think it might work?" She repeated. "Wait, wait, wait. I haven't even known you for two weeks. I admit I moved a lot faster than usual, but Riley and I just broke up. You said rebound!"
"I know that." He looked annoyed. "You're behind in the bills and don't want to take money from me. I've got more room than I know what to do with 'cause I figured I'd need it if hunters needed a place to crash, but it's just going to waste. I don't see the point in waiting around for anything in life when it's kinda short for people like you and me, and you know it is."
"I don't even love you." She ran her fingers through her hair. "This is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard."
"A month." He reminded her. "I'll get to know your family, you'll get to know mine. We'll do Thanksgiving, and then you can give me an answer." He tucked his hands in his pockets. "Besides, I don't care if you love me or not."
Her mouth dropped open. "You don't?"
"Nah." Dean shrugged. "I've given up on that."
"When did you decide all of this?"
"Last night." He smiled awkwardly.
Buffy stared at him. "I think you should drive me home. I don't know if I would even remember how to get there right now."


Buffy sat at the kitchen table, watching Anya turn her hand back and forth to admire her engagement ring. "Would you stop doing that?!" She snapped.
"I'm sorry." Anya looked over at her. "Was the light reflecting off the diamond hurting your eyes?"
"Yeah, yeah, the damn thing is sparkly." Buffy scowled. "We get it." She pushed her chair back from the table and went upstairs.
Xander knocked on her bedroom door a minute later. "Roll call. All slayers that woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, say 'here.'" He joked.
Buffy yanked the door open and glowered at him. "You're going to get married."
"We went over this last night, remember?"
She stormed back over to her bed and sat down.
Xander walked in and sat beside her. "I think I'm missing something."
"How did you know that you wanted to marry Anya? Was there a big flashing neon sign, or did you get it as a message in a fortune cookie, in those tiny little red letters?"
"I don't know. I guess it just felt like the right thing to do. I love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
Buffy frowned and looked down at her hands, trying to picture an engagement ring or wedding band on her left ring finger. "So, love's a big part of it, then."
"Well, for me, it is. I'm not too sure about my parents."
"Okay, but what if this is all we get? Say there's another apocalypse with a big portal, and I have to jump. You guys can't keep bringing me back every time something like that happens."
"Buffy, if there's a point to this babble..."
She sighed. "Dean asked me to marry him. Or consider marrying him. I really don't know him that well. He said it would make sense to just do it because life is short."
"But you just broke up with Riley."
"That's what I told him. He wants me to meet his family and spend this month thinking about it before I say yes or no, but I think he wants an answer whether I'm actually willing to do that."
"And you're thinking about it, or you would have said no already." Xander replied.
"Yeah. Is that crazy?"
"Maybe a lot." He frowned.
"I don't know. It's starting to make some sense to me. I've already been dead twice, and I wouldn't mind being able to say that I at least gave this a shot. If I wait, I might never have the chance. Besides, I can still say no if I change my mind at the end of the month."
"Then I guess all that's left is for me to say congratulations on your engagement, even if it turns out to be temporary."
"Thanks." Buffy smiled slightly. "I'm going to call him and tell him I'm accepting his offer."
Xander left the room to give her some privacy as she called Dean.
"Hey." Dean greeted her.
"My answer is yes." She replied. "For the month, anyway. We'll see how everything works out, and if it does, then we can talk about marriage." She stood up and opened her closet door, looking through the clothes inside. "I think you should come over here so that we can tell everyone together. They're going to have a lot of questions."