“Are you aware that this place looks like a fire hazard?” Anya asked as she let herself into Buffy’s apartment the day before she was to fly to London.
“I have a lot of stuff to bring along,” Buffy replied, folding up clothes and putting them in her luggage. “I’m sorting through my wardrobe to see what I should take. I know I’ll need at least one or two dresses and a professional-looking outfit for when I meet with Drusilla, but I’m not sure what else I should bring.”
“Sweaters, pants, jeans… condoms,” Anya rattled off, smiling when Buffy looked at her with wide eyes. “Oh, come on- we both know you and Spike will be ‘shagging’ like rabbits while you’re staying with him.” She made a face. “Rabbits are horrid animals- why would anyone want to have the mating habits of such a disgusting creature?”
“Um, Anya, I don’t know if you’re aware of it or not, but you might as well be a ‘rabbit’ when it comes to your sexual endeavors,” Buffy said, giggling quietly.
“Only half the time, thank you,” Anya replied, sitting down on Buffy’s bed. “Speaking of rabbits, have you ever heard of the vibrator that’s named-”
“You can stop there,” Buffy cut in, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Did you need something, or did you stop by to talk about sex with me?”
“Just wanted to check in before you go,” Anya said, sighing. “It’s not going to be fun to run the gallery without you for two weeks, especially if no one comes in.”
“It’ll be fine,” Buffy said, going into her closet and grabbing a couple of dresses, beginning to pack them. “Just don’t spend all of your time on the phone or Internet if there aren’t customers. Oh, and… avoid saying anything sexual to customers, okay? I don’t want to come back and find out that there’s a harassment suit against you suddenly.”
“That’s only happened once,” Anya said, waving it off. “And I still stand by the fact that the man was blatantly ogling my breasts, which would be fine had he not asked what size they were.”
“But you didn’t have to grab his… you know and ask what his size was,” Buffy pointed out sternly. “You’re lucky you went to high school with his lawyer and convinced him to drop the whole case.”
“And slept with him,” Anya added cheerfully, ignoring Buffy’s shocked expression. “Well, I guess I’ll be on my way. If you need anything tonight, call my cell phone.”
“Going out on a date?” Buffy asked curiously.
“I found someone online who seems interesting enough,” Anya said, standing up and shrugging. “If there’s anything to report, I’ll tell you when you come home.” She walked to the door. “And if you and Spike do the deed, I want the full scoop, too.”
“Whatever you say,” Buffy replied.
“Hopefully he’s a lot better in bed than-” Anya began.
“See you in two weeks,” Buffy said, interrupting her quickly before she could finish.
“Have a safe trip,” she said before leaving, shutting the door behind her as Buffy sat on her bed, looking at the clothes strewn about the room.
Hopefully this goes as well as I want it to, she thought. I think both Spike and I deserve a shot at something more.
* * * * *
The following morning, Buffy took a cab to the airport and eagerly waited to board her plane, reading through a couple of magazines to bide her time before her flight was announced.
After getting on the plane, she put her carry-on bag into the overhead compartment and sat down, raising an eyebrow when she saw a familiar man come onboard, too. Her eyes widened before she sank down in her seat, quietly praying that he wouldn’t see her.
Of all of the places I could see him again, he has to be on a flight with me, Buffy thought, frowning. A confined space for an extremely long period of time.
She watched him walk past her seat out of the corner of her eye and sighed with relief, grateful that he hadn’t noticed her.
Now all I need to do is not use the bathroom, she told herself. He won’t see me if I sit right here. Oh, who are you kidding, Buffy? Your bladder is the size of a peanut and you drank two cups of coffee this morning.
“Is this seat taken?” a woman asked, standing beside Buffy’s row.
“No, it’s just me,” Buffy said, moving her legs to allow the woman to sit down beside her.
“I’m Tara,” the other female said, shaking Buffy’s hand.
“I’m Buffy,” she said, smiling. “So, what’s your reason for heading to London?”
“I have a friend who lives there,” Tara answered, and Buffy noticed the faint blush forming on her cheeks. “She lives about a mile from Heathrow Airport.”
“I’m sure it’s a nice area,” Buffy replied.
“What about you?” Tara asked. “Business or pleasure?”
“A little bit of both, actually,” Buffy said, smirking.
“I know exactly what you mean,” Tara said, both women giggling as the other passengers continued to board.
* * * * *
After taking a nap for several hours, Buffy woke up when the flight attendants began passing out snacks. She graciously grabbed a bag of pretzels and soda before sitting up straight in her seat and opening the bag.
“So, tell me all about this guy you’re going to meet up with while you’re in London,” Tara said conversationally, sipping her soda.
“Well, he’s absolutely gorgeous,” Buffy said wistfully before eating a pretzel and clearing her throat in an attempt to get a handle on her feelings. “He’s a photographer for a small magazine in the city.”
“That’s a noble career,” Tara replied. “So, what is the situation between you two? Just friends, beginning to date, long-term relationship, engaged… divorced? I don’t see a ring on your finger, but you never know- you could be one of those women who don’t wear jewelry or who won’t take their husband’s last name.”
“I don’t really know what we are,” Buffy answered, looking down as she continued to munch on pretzels. “We have feelings for one another, but before we could establish any type of relationship, he had to move, and we haven’t seen each other since.”
“Well, maybe the trip will help you two figure things out,” Tara said.
“I hope so,” Buffy replied. “What’s your story? Just a trip out to England to see your friend?”
“She’s actually more of a… girlfriend than a friend,” Tara answered quietly, the familiar blush returning to her cheeks.
“That must be hard, living in the States while she’s across the pond,” Buffy replied, drinking some of her soda.
“It has its ups and downs,” Tara said, smiling warmly. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or say they say, at least.”
“Yeah, I can understand that,” Buffy said, smirking. “Not to change the subject, but I think I might need to use the bathroom.”
“You don’t seem too happy about that,” Tara replied. “Do you feel alright?”
“As coincidental as it seems, one of my ex-boyfriends is on this plane,” Buffy said in a hushed tone. “He’s towards the back, near the bathrooms, and the last thing I want is for him to see me and wonder why I’m going to London because knowing me, I’ll end up telling him about Spike, and that wouldn’t be good.”
“Spike?” Tara asked, looking amused.
“Well, his real name is William,” Buffy said, sitting up in her seat even more and casually looking over her shoulder, making sure she had a direct path to the bathrooms and wouldn’t be blocked by anyone.
“Going to go?” Tara asked curiously.
“Yes, I think I’m going to risk it,” Buffy said, taking a deep breath as she stood up. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck,” Tara replied encouragingly.
Buffy lowered her head and tried to avoid eye contact with everyone as she made her way to the back of the plane, sighing with relief when she got inside the small bathroom.
See, that wasn’t so bad, was it? she asked herself as she washed her hands minutes later, smiling as she opened the door.
“Buffy?”
The color drained from her face as she heard the familiar voice behind her, slowly turning around to come face-to-face with the man she least wanted to see.
“Hi, Xander.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this story- the support has been awesome! :)