Fic: Dear Friend (1/3B)
Title: Dear Friend (1/3B)
Author: JustWriter2
Summary/Teaser: In a tale as old as inked parcels, Buffy writes to a normal penpal she falls for. Except, he's not normal and she hates him; right?
Era/Season/Setting: late 1990s, early 2000s / ~ Seasons 2 -> 5 / Sunnydale, California
Warnings: referenced Spike/other and Buffy/other to begin with (tamer than the show)
AN: Today is my birthday. I welcome constructive criticism from all of you. This banner was made by the wonderful teragramm.
Rating: PG
Fic: Dear Friend (2/3B)
Fic: Dear Friend (3A/3B)
Fic: Dear Friend (3B/3B)
Disclaimer: I do not have, nor have I ever been in, contact with any of the creators or producers of the television show Buffy: the Vampire Slayer, nor the films, plays, and radio broadcasts which this work is based upon: Parfumerie, The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old Summertime, and You've Got Mail. Some of the lines from these and recognizable scenes and bits of shared dialogue will be played out and paraphrased, but only in tribute and not for anyone's profit.
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From the first, Buffy was intrigued by Spike. But, he was an evil, soulless vampire who was always out to kill her. Sure, he wasn't ever successful at this goal, but Buffy had already died once and she wasn't keen on a repeat.
Evil and soulless vampire that he was, but she'd never encountered one before whose actions proved him to be more atypical, selfless, and loving than any before or since. Together, she and William the Bloody, the Slayer of slayers, had been through a lot, from the slow clap in the alleyway to his ruining Parent Teacher Night, to the horror of being helpless that Halloween she wasn't herself, to the threat of losing her life in that basement and blackmailing her way out, to his selfish selflessness when she had been told that she had only herself to save the world.
Spike had left, as he had promised and her world had ended, even if the actual one hadn't. Then, she'd returned to face the music and finally finished grieving for Angel, only for the slimeball to return and rescue her, even though she hadn't actually been in mortal peril.
So, when she found a newspaper her mom had left out she lazily skimmed the obituaries for hints of vampire attacks. One of the pages was stuck and she ended up tearing it, trying to free the pages. An advert popped out at her, "Young man seeking discourse on poetry and culture with informed young woman. Please address as 'Dear Friend' to box 237." She tore the advert out and stuck it in her wallet.
For a few days, she ignored it, until she was paying for the special pizza lunch at school that Friday and it caught Willow's eye. Encouraged by Willow to expand her horizons, especially since it was on a letter by letter basis, so she could go her own pace, Buffy started writing to someone who was smart and normal and she didn't have to worry about her supernatural life or her bad reputation in town spilling over into this relationship.
When her mom found out, she enthusiastically bought her a strip of stamps and showed her where the envelopes were. She even showed her how to fold the page properly to fit into the envelope. She soon became a regular at the Sunnydale Post Office, happily exchanging letters filled with poetry and discourse with her dear friend.
Truthfully, this relationship aided her greatly when Angel was being an enigma, giving her a different relationship to focus on when she needed the distraction.
Spike came back briefly, spoke too penetrating for her comfort, and left town just as quickly. Angel left and she blew up the Mayor. Throughout it all, the exchange of letters with her dear friend kept her in better spirits because all she would have to do is open another letter from her dear friend and she found felicity.
Fic: Dear Friend (2/?)