Quarterback (Part 3/3)
Title: Quarterback (Part 3/3)
Creator: TheFoxinator
Rating: T
Setting: Season seven, between 7.06 "Him" and 7.07 "Conversations with Dead People."
Summary/Prompt: Conkers: The Ghost that Sacked the Quarterback (fluff)
Word Count: 990
Part One
Part Two
R.J. shows up ten minutes later and Buffy frowns at him. “Thought we agreed to eight o’clock,” she says.
“Yeah, whatever,” R.J. says. He looks to Spike and frowns. “Hey. Are you the guy who stole my jacket?”
Spike blinks. “Uh. No.”
R.J. frowns some more and Buffy rises to step between them. “I just want to see what you were telling me about, R.J. Okay? Can you just play a little football with Xander?” She gestures to Xander.
Xander hands her the bag of chips and hops down the bleachers. “Yeah, come on, let’s do some sport stuff. Men.”
R.J. studies him. “Yeah, uh, sure. Don’t I know you too?”
“I don’t think so.”
Buffy sinks back down next to Spike and watches Xander and R.J. cross the field to toss the football across midfield. “Just watch and see if you see any more ghosts or invisible people or those, um, talisman guys.”
“Manifest spirits.”
“Yeah, those.”
They watch the game of catch for a bit. Neither she nor Spike spot any spookies or scaries, but after a minute or so, R.J. suddenly turns after throwing the ball and faces the sidelines. “I can see him,” he calls to Buffy.
“Okay!” she calls back. She looks over at the spot he’s staring at. Nothing. “Can you see it?” she asks Spike.
“No.”
“Okay. Stay here. Call if you need us.”
Spike shakes his head. “Fine.”
Maybe’s she’s a little bit coddling.
Buffy hops over the other benches and the fence and lands on the grass. “Still see him?”
“Yeah,” says R.J. “He says have worst stance he’s ever seen.”
Xander holds onto the football and follows Buffy as she circles the area near the bench that R.J. points to. “What’s he look like, R.J.?”
“He’s-”
And then he doesn’t have to describe him anymore because she can see him to and he’s staring right at Xander. “Harris?” the ghost asks. Well, Larry asks. Larry the ghost asks.
There’s rattling from the bleachers and when she looks up, Spike’s leaning against the railing looking down. “I see it.”
“So do I,” calls Xander.
“Me too,” Buffy tells Spike. She watches his face for any stress, any fear, any decline back to the rambling basement dweller state he’d been in up until last week, any reason to get him out of here. But he looks okay. She turns back to their ghost.
“Larry?” asks Xander. “What are you doing?”
“Looking out of the team, dude. I’m trying to give this rookie some tips but he’s not a team player.” He looks over at Spike then back to Xander. “Who’s that?”
“No one,” Xander says quickly. “Look, Larry, man, you know you’re dead right?”
“What?” He looks around the group. “Really? So, I’m, like, a ghost?”
“Uh, like an asshole,” says R.J. as he walks over. He crams his hands into his jacket pockets. “Stop trying to make me feel bad.”
“Okay, calm down,” Buffy says, putting back on her professional counsellor voice. This is something she can deal with using her new skills. Everything is so much better when you’re calm. Violence is not the answer but talking is. Etc. etc. “Larry, R.J. feels like you’re picking on him when you try to correct his techniques.”
“Also when you try to make me think I’m crazy by having no one else able to see you,” R.J. says.
“What?” Larry asks. “Dude, I wasn’t trying to pick on you. I was just trying to help out the team. You stick your elbows out too much.” He sticks his elbows out to demonstrate then looks back at R.J. “I would never try to bully you, man. That’s not cool.” He glances to Buffy. “You believe me, right, Summers?”
“It’s not about what I believe,” she says. “This is about how R.J. feels.” She thinks that’s what she’s supposed to say. She should go over the pamphlets some more tomorrow.
Larry nods. “I’m sorry I came across like a jerk, dude. I know it sucks to be bullied or have people pick on you. And I’ll try not to make you feel crazy.”
“I dunno. Whatever,” says R.J. “Can I go now?”
“Maybe in the future, you two can talk about this stuff as a conversation,” Buffy suggests. That’s definitely how it suggests in the pamphlet. She looks at Larry. “Unless you see a light or something sometime soon. Trust me, it’s pretty nice on the other side.”
xxxxxxx
“We went to high school with him,” Buffy tells Spike after R.J. heads home and Larry vanishes. They lean against Xander’s car while they wait for Xander himself to get the lights back off. “He died at graduation. Fighting the mayor. I told you about the mayor, right?”
“Turned into a giant snake,” says Spike.
“Yeah.” She gives him a look over. He’s not shaking or hitting himself or talking to anyone she can’t see. “How are you doing?”
“I’m all right.” He meets her eyes finally. “Honestly, Buffy. I’m all right.”
He does look all right.
Buffy smiles and nods. “Okay.” She leans back against the car. “I think that was the most successful blending of my two careers I’ve had yet.”
The stadium lights shut off, though she can see pretty well from just the ones in the parking lot.
“I want…” Spike starts before trailing off.
“What?” Buffy asks. “What do you want, Spike? You can tell me.”
He looks away and folds his arms around himself. “I want to keep being helpful. If I can be. Maybe more helpful than I was for this. I mean, if that’s good for you too.”
Helpful Spike.
Isn’t that why he’d said he’d come back? Ear to the ground, lend a hand? Maybe this time with no expectations or strings. Like they’d seemed to almost have, before all the bad of last year.
“Yeah,” Buffy says. “That sounds good for me too.”
Creator: TheFoxinator
Rating: T
Setting: Season seven, between 7.06 "Him" and 7.07 "Conversations with Dead People."
Summary/Prompt: Conkers: The Ghost that Sacked the Quarterback (fluff)
Word Count: 990
Part One
Part Two
R.J. shows up ten minutes later and Buffy frowns at him. “Thought we agreed to eight o’clock,” she says.
“Yeah, whatever,” R.J. says. He looks to Spike and frowns. “Hey. Are you the guy who stole my jacket?”
Spike blinks. “Uh. No.”
R.J. frowns some more and Buffy rises to step between them. “I just want to see what you were telling me about, R.J. Okay? Can you just play a little football with Xander?” She gestures to Xander.
Xander hands her the bag of chips and hops down the bleachers. “Yeah, come on, let’s do some sport stuff. Men.”
R.J. studies him. “Yeah, uh, sure. Don’t I know you too?”
“I don’t think so.”
Buffy sinks back down next to Spike and watches Xander and R.J. cross the field to toss the football across midfield. “Just watch and see if you see any more ghosts or invisible people or those, um, talisman guys.”
“Manifest spirits.”
“Yeah, those.”
They watch the game of catch for a bit. Neither she nor Spike spot any spookies or scaries, but after a minute or so, R.J. suddenly turns after throwing the ball and faces the sidelines. “I can see him,” he calls to Buffy.
“Okay!” she calls back. She looks over at the spot he’s staring at. Nothing. “Can you see it?” she asks Spike.
“No.”
“Okay. Stay here. Call if you need us.”
Spike shakes his head. “Fine.”
Maybe’s she’s a little bit coddling.
Buffy hops over the other benches and the fence and lands on the grass. “Still see him?”
“Yeah,” says R.J. “He says have worst stance he’s ever seen.”
Xander holds onto the football and follows Buffy as she circles the area near the bench that R.J. points to. “What’s he look like, R.J.?”
“He’s-”
And then he doesn’t have to describe him anymore because she can see him to and he’s staring right at Xander. “Harris?” the ghost asks. Well, Larry asks. Larry the ghost asks.
There’s rattling from the bleachers and when she looks up, Spike’s leaning against the railing looking down. “I see it.”
“So do I,” calls Xander.
“Me too,” Buffy tells Spike. She watches his face for any stress, any fear, any decline back to the rambling basement dweller state he’d been in up until last week, any reason to get him out of here. But he looks okay. She turns back to their ghost.
“Larry?” asks Xander. “What are you doing?”
“Looking out of the team, dude. I’m trying to give this rookie some tips but he’s not a team player.” He looks over at Spike then back to Xander. “Who’s that?”
“No one,” Xander says quickly. “Look, Larry, man, you know you’re dead right?”
“What?” He looks around the group. “Really? So, I’m, like, a ghost?”
“Uh, like an asshole,” says R.J. as he walks over. He crams his hands into his jacket pockets. “Stop trying to make me feel bad.”
“Okay, calm down,” Buffy says, putting back on her professional counsellor voice. This is something she can deal with using her new skills. Everything is so much better when you’re calm. Violence is not the answer but talking is. Etc. etc. “Larry, R.J. feels like you’re picking on him when you try to correct his techniques.”
“Also when you try to make me think I’m crazy by having no one else able to see you,” R.J. says.
“What?” Larry asks. “Dude, I wasn’t trying to pick on you. I was just trying to help out the team. You stick your elbows out too much.” He sticks his elbows out to demonstrate then looks back at R.J. “I would never try to bully you, man. That’s not cool.” He glances to Buffy. “You believe me, right, Summers?”
“It’s not about what I believe,” she says. “This is about how R.J. feels.” She thinks that’s what she’s supposed to say. She should go over the pamphlets some more tomorrow.
Larry nods. “I’m sorry I came across like a jerk, dude. I know it sucks to be bullied or have people pick on you. And I’ll try not to make you feel crazy.”
“I dunno. Whatever,” says R.J. “Can I go now?”
“Maybe in the future, you two can talk about this stuff as a conversation,” Buffy suggests. That’s definitely how it suggests in the pamphlet. She looks at Larry. “Unless you see a light or something sometime soon. Trust me, it’s pretty nice on the other side.”
xxxxxxx
“We went to high school with him,” Buffy tells Spike after R.J. heads home and Larry vanishes. They lean against Xander’s car while they wait for Xander himself to get the lights back off. “He died at graduation. Fighting the mayor. I told you about the mayor, right?”
“Turned into a giant snake,” says Spike.
“Yeah.” She gives him a look over. He’s not shaking or hitting himself or talking to anyone she can’t see. “How are you doing?”
“I’m all right.” He meets her eyes finally. “Honestly, Buffy. I’m all right.”
He does look all right.
Buffy smiles and nods. “Okay.” She leans back against the car. “I think that was the most successful blending of my two careers I’ve had yet.”
The stadium lights shut off, though she can see pretty well from just the ones in the parking lot.
“I want…” Spike starts before trailing off.
“What?” Buffy asks. “What do you want, Spike? You can tell me.”
He looks away and folds his arms around himself. “I want to keep being helpful. If I can be. Maybe more helpful than I was for this. I mean, if that’s good for you too.”
Helpful Spike.
Isn’t that why he’d said he’d come back? Ear to the ground, lend a hand? Maybe this time with no expectations or strings. Like they’d seemed to almost have, before all the bad of last year.
“Yeah,” Buffy says. “That sounds good for me too.”