He had left it behind when he left. Gently laid it down on the end of the bed before he walked out the door. That coat, his trademark, he left just for her.
She took care of the coat for him, in case he ever came back. Every month she rubbed baby oil into it to keep it soft, then locked it in the closet with one burning cigarette to keep the smell just the way he left it. Of course she stayed in the closet with the coat, to keep it from catching fire. Just because she cried during this ritual didn’t mean she missed him.
People were always puzzled by the small women in the large coat. She always had to stand up straight to keep the duster from dragging on the ground, which made everybody think she was stronger than she really was. She always blamed it on the coat.
The duster had always smelled like cigarettes. The fact that he was a chain smoker had made it that way long before she ever met him. If she ever had the nerve to ever taste the leather, it probably tasted just like cigarettes, too.
Sometimes, when it was quiet and she was just walking, the small sounds it made always made her jump. Those small swishes it made when it brushed against something made her think that he had come back. But it was never him. Sometimes it was a demon, other times it was just people, but never him. It would never be him.
She remembered how he looked in the duster, so cocky and uncaring. It was his armor, she had realized weeks after he left. It was how he protected himself against her and the Scoobies. In the end, before he left, he must have realized that if he left, he wouldn’t need it anymore. He must have left it for her, so she could protect herself.
After a week of wearing it, the leather had turned into a second skin. The weight and feel of it made it hers. The lining was always silky and the leather was always soft. Because of the baby oil treatments, the black always shined. Even in the dark, it shined. Just like it had when he owned it.
In the end, he left a piece of himself for her. So she could survive, so she could live. He left her one thing that would never change, in her world where nothing ever stayed the same. He had always been hers, and now the coat was hers, too.
Author's Chapter Notes:
First fic, written a very long time ago. It's short and sweet and has no point.
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks for reading!