“Oh good Lord.”
Giles’ shocked expletive echoed in the silence of the room. Wood, curious and a little unhinged after seeing Buffy so calmly despatch a former ally of the Scooby Gang, stepped forward. Spike, his expression suddenly apologetic as he realised that he’d just, essentially, chosen his bitch ex over his current girlfriend, took a step forward, stopped when Buffy held up a hand.
“Just don’t, Spike.” Her voice was a bitter, pained whisper.
Sliding the ring she’d been clutching onto her finger, she walked slowly towards the door. Pulling it open, she turned and met the piercing blue eyes, watching them widen with anguish as he realised her intent. An inhuman roar of agony welled in his throat as Buffy stepped out into the bright sunlight.
He catapulted forward, sprinting for the door and praying to every god he knew that he could reach her in time. However, once he arrived at the doorframe he was hit with the shocking knowledge that his former Slayer wasn’t igniting into a not-so-human torch. His jaw dropped as he absorbed the sight of her in the sun for the first time.
She stood with her head thrown back, her eyes closed in bittersweet rhapsody as the warmth drizzled over her like warm honey. Her golden hair gleamed in the light, her pale skin suddenly seeming alive in a way it never usually did. Her arms rose at her sides as she began to spin slowly, her hair flying around her face.
Spike, in shock, just looked on. A flash of light drew his attention to the ugly, green stone set in silver that adorned her finger. She came to an abrupt halt, her face suffused with an inner light to rival the sun as an ear-to-ear smile curled her lips in a devastatingly dazzling expression.
Slowly, feeling like he was in a dream, the Slayer stepped into the sunlight. Her eyes opened, wet with tears and glistening with joy, and locked onto his. For a moment they flickered into the hauntingly beautiful silver before her smile widened, and he knew that he was forgiven for the moment.
Dazed, he took her small hand in his and they turned, walking through the sunlight streets. His Buffy, his golden girl, seemed gilded by the daytime, the hollow ache he’d seen in her eyes and longed to chase away banished by the simple pleasure of walking in something other than darkness.
“She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.”
His voice was a low murmur and she turned to him, surprised. “You write poetry?”
He shot her a look that was part shy, part affronted and part incredulous. “Kitten, if I wrote like that I’d be bloody rich. The poem’s called ‘She Walks In Beauty’ by Lord Byron.”
Buffy grinned sheepishly, shrugging and squeezing his hand. The movement made the angular stone of her ring dig into his hand, and he winced. Lifting their intertwined fingers, he studied the tacky-looking artifact for a long minute before kissing her knuckles gently. His voice was a whisper-soft caress.
“Tell me about this.”
****
Giles snapped the book shut, facing Robin Wood, unable to keep the fond smile from his face. It had tugged at his heartstrings to see her so blissfully happy, able to enjoy something so simple and yet so powerful for the first time in over a decade. His head swivelled as the dark-skinned man spoke, his voice thoughtful as he tried to figure things out.
“So Buffy sent this… Gem of Amara to Angel in Los Angeles before he lost his soul. He must have kept the thing, and Darla used it after turning Cecily so that she could come here and attack us when we were off-guard.” Realisation dawned and he sucked in a sharp breath. “Buffy saved our lives! If she hadn’t warned us, Cecily could have stayed the night and killed us all in our sleep.”
Giles’ face hardened. “And look at the thanks she gets! That girl means more than me to anyone else. I love her as a daughter. If you plan to harm her, you have to go through me first.”
Something flashed in his eyes that caused Wood to pause and reconsider the tales he’d dismissed as fantasies regarding this particular Watcher’s eventful past. Nodding to show his understanding, he began gathering mugs and filling the kettle. Glancing up at the older man, he offered his truce.
“Tea?”
****
Spike stared. “So while you’re holdin’ this little thing, nothing can hurt you?”
“Nothing can dust me.” Buffy corrected. “I can still be hurt.”
The Slayer took a moment to process this little nugget of information before a wide smile wreathed his handsome face. His girlfriend’s beaming response left him momentarily breathless, and he grabbed her right there in the crowded street and kissed her thoroughly, only drawing away when his lungs began to protest. A dazed Buffy looked at him admiringly.
“Wow.”
There was a brief pause. “So kitten, wanna go to the beach?”
“Race you!”
She was off, her words carrying back to him on a breeze. He set off in pursuit, weaving gracefully through the throngs of people, her tiny form barely visible ahead of him as she ducked and twisted effortlessly through the mob. When he finally reached the beachside boardwalk, panting and sweating, Buffy was already waiting.
A grin lit her face as she cocked an eyebrow archly. “What took you so long?”
He growled in response, deciding to even the score. Pulling his shirt off over his head, he sauntered onto the warm sand, tossing a wink back over his shoulder. “Sorry, pet, got a bit hot. Better now though.”
Buffy vaguely wondered if she was drooling before following him gingerly onto the beach. They spent the day doing nothing, the former Slayer working on her tan for the first time in years while Spike relaxed, content to watch her, fascinated by the unconscious grace of her every move. It was the fluid elegance of the predator.
When the air finally began to cool, they rose with identical sighs of disappointment. They strolled lazily back to Wood’s apartment, hand in hand, only to be confronted by an anxious Giles, rubbing a sizeable bruise on his temple. Buffy, recognising the face from her time as the Slayer, groaned.
“What’s up now, Giles?” Her tone spoke volumes.
“I’m afraid Wood has gone.”
[Reviews - 301]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 3456 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:
Fluffy chapter! Enjoy, and thanks to everyone who has been supporting the story!