Technically Day 1 - Coincidence? - BtVS/MCU

[polgara_5]

Title: Coincidence

Fandom: BtVS/MCU

Word Count: 1019

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, settings, or fandoms. They are the property of their respective creators and companies.

Summary: A possible case of mom hair, some ugly khakis, lots of paperwork, and possibly a mystery to solve.

 

A/N: Ugh, so, so, so out of practice. Not gonna lie, this is a really really old piece that I started what feels like a million years ago, but probably 5. I think the only way I'm going to get through this idea is to break it down into 4 vignettes rather than one whole story. So here's part one....

A/N 2: So I posted this yesterday on twistedshorts on LJ, however my computer was being a pain so I didn't get it posted here.

 

The first time Buffy noticed him, she had nearly dropped all of the files she was desperately trying to hold on to while trying to open the door to the cafe. Normally she took a table outside but she was worried the steady breeze that was blowing that day would scatter her paperwork all over the busy sidewalk. Giles had repeatedly given her the lecture on the proper handling of said paperwork and she had no desire to go through it again.

 

Just when she thought she had lost the juggling paperwork battle, her savior appeared in the form of a tall blond with startling blue eyes. He quickly held the door open and stood clear until she had passed. “Thank you so much,” she said gratefully.

 

“You're welcome, ma'am,” he said with an easy smile before leaving the cafe.

 

Buffy let out a small whimper at being called ma'am and worried that once again she had succumbed to 'mom hair'. She gave a quick look out the window to see him head down the street and stifled another whimper at the sight of a well formed ass in a hideous pair of khakis before finding herself a booth large enough to spread out her files in.

 

The next day she found herself struggling with her possessions once again, only to find the same poorly dressed hottie holding the door for her, and calling her ma'am. She fretted over her hair once she was safely tucked into a booth by herself but quickly dove into her work.

 

When it happened for the third day in a row she became suspicious. Once, even twice, maybe, possibly, could happen in her world. But three times? Each time he had been unwavering polite with his ma'ams and door holding. And each time he had gone on down the street without a backward glance. But something about him tingled at her senses. Which had absolutely nothing to do with how attractive he was despite his horrendous wardrobe.

 

So she mixed it up just a little to see what would happen. On day four she managed to find a bag just barely large enough to hold the bulk of her paperwork, but she still had to carry some of them in her arms. She made sure that she arrived at her usual time, and sure enough, her so-called knight was there holding the door for her just in the nick of time.

 

While it was true that he could be on his way to work and that's why the timing always worked out, Buffy had spent too much of her life as a slayer and couldn't overlook the coincidences. Those always indicated a pattern and this one was a little too close to comfort for her peace of mind. She hadn't made it this far without being at least a tiny bit paranoid.

 

For day five she had gone out and purchased a bag large enough to finally hold all of her files. Not that it was any sort of true hardship to go shopping, but the bag was large enough that she was again concerned about falling into the 'mom' look. It had taken time for her to find the perfect bag to keep that image away but still fulfilled her needs.

 

Unsurprisingly, the man who was so polite it began to border on the ridiculous held the door open for her again, despite her lack of need. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him disappear into the crowded sidewalk. Something was definitely going on and she needed to up her game. She would have to go to the cafe again tomorrow to see if he would show up on a Saturday, which would permanently cement her belief that he was watching her.

 

But her life being her life had other plans and she spent her weekend nursing a rather nasty cut from a demon who almost had its one good day. There was no way she was exposing herself to a potential threat when she was injured so she stayed in her apartment. If she happened to walk by her window and carefully check the street below for a tall blond every fifteen minutes, well no one had to know that but her.

 

Determined to carry on her secret testing of the stranger she managed to arrive at the cafe Monday morning at a much earlier time than usual. This time she was rewarded with no sign of the man and she took a corner booth that allowed her space for her paperwork and a chance to watch the front door. An hour later she watched him enter and take a booth next to a window. He paid little attention to his surroundings and kept looking up at one of the buildings outside of her line of sight.

 

Buffy did her best to keep an eye on him, but got engrossed in her work that was spread out in front of her. Before she knew it, the waitress was refilling her coffee cup for the fourth time and he was gone. She sat back and wearily rubbed her eyes. Perhaps she was seeing trouble where none exists. It wasn't like she had time to fret about an imaginary threat, she had enough to worry about with the unknown one stretched out in front of her.

 

It was hard to believe that someone had decided that Buffy was the best choice to sort through the recent rounds of slayer dreams. She knew from her own that whatever was coming down was going to be huge, in New York, and involve Iron Man. Beyond that it was sketchy. There seemed to be a running theme of a glowing blue cube that popped up in a lot of the dreams but Giles and Willow were stumped on the identity of it and were doing research of their own back in Cleveland. Meanwhile she was stuck wading through over a hundred reports from slayers all over the world with more coming in every day. They needed to get a fix on this and soon.

 

Comments

[sulien]

Yay, you're writing again! You don't have to worry about being out of practice, this is an excellent lead in and I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the story. Thank you for sharing! :-D

[polgara_5]

I actually wrote this first part at least 5 years ago, if not longer. But working on stretching out those writing muscles again. So good to see you're still out there reading!