It's been two years since Spike helped Buffy make sure The Master wouldn't be resurrected, and his unlife has gone from bad to worse. Now that he's fed up with both Dru and Angelus, he comes back to Sunnydale, to the source of all his misery for a new beginning, revenge, and a bit of fun.
What he finds, though, is slightly different than what he planned

In which Buffy does a lot of reflecting on who was at fault for everything that happened with Angel, and how that's still messing with her at 22. Currently totally unedited because if I don't post something I will never ever get back on the writing horse.

Heavily heavily inspired by the songs "Would've Could've Should've" by Taylor Swift and "29" by Demi Lovato

When Buffy brings her mom and sister to Spike to protect from the hell god, Glory, he sees a chink in her armor—she needs him, she trusts him... maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t hate him as much as she claims. Will that boatload of manly responsibility the Slayer’s dropped into his lap save Spike from a life of lonely desperation?

Spike burned up in the Hellmouth, his soul and self pulled into the amulet in a moment of noble sacrifice. Nineteen days later, he comes back out in Angel's office. Nothing but an immaterial ghost and trapped with Angel.... You'd almost think it was his very own personal hell.