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Author's Chapter Notes:
I hope all you enjoy this next chapter. Big, big thanks to Sanityfair and Diebirchen--you ladies make me look like a better writer than I am!!!
This is the end, Beautiful friend
This is the end, My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again…

Excerpt from The End by the Doors






Will knew when her gaze left his, it was truly the end. From this moment on their lives were destined to travel on different paths. Buffy in LA and he in this home that was no longer theirs. Once Will felt the inevitable tears prickling his eyes, he turned his gaze toward the flames in an attempt to conceal the effect her actions were having on him.

He’d kept a tight rein on his emotions from the moment he saw her standing in the snow. In that moment, he’d truly felt alive for the first time in years. He longed for her touch, to see her smile, to hear her kind words and infectious, tinkling laughter. He longed for everything that was her and for the man he used to be. The one she’d fallen in love with all those years ago.

Will thought briefly back to the first six months of their separation. He’d believed toward the end that he’d come to terms with Buffy remaining in LA and while he was in Big Bear. He knew he missed her, almost painfully so, but he also knew he needed to continue on. Then he received the divorce papers. That day he’d proceeded to drink himself into a stupor, then passed out. Over the next month, his days were all the same—wake up, drink, pass out, wake up, repeat.

The following month he decided he could no longer live at the bottom of a bottle. So, the now moderately sober Will tried a different approach in dealing with Buffy’s request for a divorce, living on that famous river in Egypt. It worked well, until he received letters, emails, texts, or what-have-yous from her. Trying to continue in his blissful state of ignorance, he would erase, lose, or delete them, in the hopes it would all go away. He should have known it wouldn’t. Of course, he had known it wouldn’t. His Buffy was persistent. Well, she’s wasn’t his—not any more.

Clearing away thoughts of the past, Will brought his mind to the present. Swallowing hard, past the lump that had formed in his throat, he took a deep cleansing breath in preparation to speak. Once the words finally came out, he was surprised to hear how calm and even they sounded, in respect to the turbulence he felt inside.

“Well, thanks for helping with the wood, but I know you have a long drive back to LA. So, shall we get on with it?”

Despite how level Will tried making his voice sound, Buffy knew beyond any doubt he was hurting. Even after all their time apart, she could still sense how he felt. Before he emotionally closed himself off to her two years ago, his feelings were very evident. His facial expressions, body language, or his expressive eyes, always told her everything she needed to know. His emotions were so strong and all consuming, like a maelstrom drawing her in and submerging her in everything that was him.

After all this time, she could feel once again his emotions surrounding her. Despite how desperately she wanted to let them sweep her away and for them to push past all the hurt, she knew this moment was fleeting. She knew if she went to him, things would be good, at least for a little while. Then he would shut her out once more, and she couldn’t handle his emotional exile any longer.

This had to be done now. Now, when she finally had enough strength to finish what she’d set out to do. With her resolve firmly in place, Buffy stood and walked away from him, heading over to her purse. She removed a pen from the pocket of the leather bag before lifting it up and pulling out the document from underneath it. Taking a deep breath, she turned back toward Will. With a pen in one hand and the papers in the other, she approached him.

Will was now facing her with the fire at his back. She could see his whole body stiffen at her approach. His hands balled into tight fists, and his jaw clenched. His usually full lips were drawn into a firm line, while his gaze focused solely on what she held in her hands. It almost appeared as if he were preparing himself for an execution. Well, this was a death of sorts, the death of their marriage.

Buffy rounded the opposite side of the coffee table from where he was standing and sat on the couch. She placed the two items onto the surface of the table. Will’s gaze remained fixed on what she had laid before him as he sat down. After several tense moments, Will lifted the proffered pen slowly. With a resigned sigh, he plunged down the button on the pen’s end, to engage the tip, before flipping the cover to expose the front page. Without a word, his eyes began scanning the words before him. Once his eyes appeared to have reached the end of the first page, he flipped to the next page to resume reading.

They sat in gut-wrenching silence for at least 10 minutes before Will finished the last page. He raised his eyes and locked them with Buffy’s while his deep voice broke through the quiet.

“Everythin’ seems to look the same as it did over six months ago. You sure you’re not wantin’ more than this?”

Buffy wanted to tell him she didn’t want anything on those pages, all she wanted was him. However, these words were frozen in her throat. She knew she had to be strong. Not trusting her voice, Buffy nodded. She could tell Will was trying to be equally strong as she witnessed his features harden with resolve.

“Right, so where do I sign?”

“You need to initial on each page, then sign the last.” Buffy was taken aback by the unsteadiness of her voice. She knew it was partly from lack of use, but more so from all the emotions warring inside her.

Will flipped back to the first page and placed the pen point down to sign. After several attempts, Will snickered half-heartily, before looking up at Buffy.

“Seems this pen doesn’t wanna work. I have one in my office upstairs; be back in a minute.” Without waiting for her response, Will stood and headed toward the stairs.

If one believed that all things happen for a reason, one could say, the pen not working was a sign. A sign this divorce shouldn’t happen. A sign they should remain together, and this was just plain wrong.

Buffy quickly pushed away these thoughts, focusing on the reality of the here and now, not on what ifs and signs. At that moment Will returned with several pens in hand. Following an offhanded remark of “Just in case,” he placed them on the table. Choosing one from the many laid out before him, he proceeded to initial each page before signing the last.

Following the last stroke of his pen, Will laid it on the table and compiled all the pages before looking up at Buffy. He handed them to her without a word. Buffy looked down at pages, feeling their weight in her hands. It was strange, but they felt as if their weight had increased tenfold.

Not knowing what else to say, Buffy murmured a small “Thanks,” before standing and headed over to where her jacket was hanging. After placing the paperwork on the floor, Buffy pulled the jacket from the coat rack and slid her arms into the cold leather. All the while her eyes remained focused on the floor. Buffy knew Will had remained on the couch and was looking at her, even though her gaze never left the ground.

She pulled up the zipper of her leather coat slowly. The metal teeth meeting broke through the heavy silence that had returned to the room. She left her gloves off since there were some wood slivers embedded in the material and they were still slightly wet. Buffy picked up the document from the floor and went to retrieve her purse. After removing her keys from the same pocket as the pen, she turned to see Will. He’d left the couch and now stood in the middle of the room. His eyes still trained on her.

Their gazes met for several moments before a small, forced grin graced his lips. Will’s smile fell away, and he cleared his throat to speak.

“So, ‘m sorta confused on the etiquette here. Do we shake hands or somethin’?”

Taken off guard of him trying to make this uneasy situation less so, Buffy matched his earlier smile as she took several steps forward, her empty words attempting to fill the silence.

“I’m not exactly Emily Post myself. I'm kinda winging it as I go.”

Once her voice faded, the awkwardness returned as they continued staring at one another. Following several more uncomfortable moments, Will ran his hand through his hair before uttering, “Sod it!” On the heels of those words, he closed the gap between them in three steps, pulling Buffy into his arms. At first, Buffy didn’t return his embrace. Not until his closeness inundated her senses, and the need to hold him became all too much.

Buffy wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and rested her head on his chest as his unique commingled scent of cigarettes, whiskey, and purely Will permeated her nose. She relished the feeling of his warm breath tickling the shell of her ear. When he pulled her tighter into his embrace, the feel of his hard body pressed against hers made every part of her hum with excitement.

Almost instantly being and remaining in his arms became all there was. Then all too soon he was gone. Buffy’s body screamed for him to return, yet her mind had its say and demanded her body “Get the hell out of there!” Following her mind, Buffy looked at Will, who was now standing several feet away before giving him another weak smile. Before she could rush back into his arms like she’d longed to do, Buffy turned and made her way to the door. Without looking back, she placed her hand on the knob, opened the door, and stepped into the cold, winter night.











Chapter End Notes:
this is no way, shape, or form the "end" of these two. Don't worry! Reviews are loved and cherished!



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