~two months later~
”Hey, pet, never gonna believe what…” William burst through the door, only to stop dead in his tracks on the other side. His eyes widened when they landed on the unexpected visitor, sitting quietly on the couch with her hands folded in her lap.
Buffy – who had been standing at the other side of the room – hurriedly stepped over to him, her face a mixture of relief and uncertainty. Glancing over her shoulder, she then lowered her voice. “She showed up about ten minutes ago, insisting she had to see you.”
Shaking his head in exasperation, William walked over to the couch, glaring at his ex girl friend, who he hadn’t seen or heard from in two months. “What do you want, Dru?”
Drusilla got up from the couch, taking a step towards him, but stopped when she saw the hostile look on his face. She let out a sigh. “I need to speak with you, William. It will only take a couple of minutes, then I’ll leave you alone.”
He opened his mouth to object, but Buffy gently put her hand on his arm. “Sweetie, maybe you should just listen to what she has to say.”
William stared at her in disbelief. “You serious? After everything she’s...” He stopped himself, rolling his eyes. “Oh, bloody hell! Fine.” Then he turned to Drusilla. “You got two minutes. And she stays.” He gestured towards Buffy. Having expected her to protest, William was surprised when she just nodded in agreement. Quickly recovering, he sighed in defeat and slumped down on the couch.
“I don’t blame you for hating me.” Drusilla gave him a sad smile. “I have done a lot of thinking, and...” She hesitated for a moment. “Actually, I’ve started seeing a therapist. He has helped me a lot.”
“Good for you.” William crossed his arms over his chest, not quite able to keep the anger out of his voice. He didn’t want to be bitter, but then again, it was really hard no to be. Two months had passed, and he had happily pushed all thoughts of Drusilla – and the baby he would never know – to the back of his mind. The last thing he needed now was her showing up as a reminder.
“I didn’t come here to ask you to forgive me.” Drusilla cast a brief look at Buffy before turning back to William. “I just came to say goodbye.”
He raised a brow in surprise. “Going somewhere?”
She nodded. “I’ve decided to leave Sunnydale.”
“That so?” He had to admit that he had not see that coming. “You and Liam?”
“No.” A bitter laugh escaped her. “It didn’t work out.”
“Sorry to hear that.” He did his best to sound sincere, although they both knew he didn’t really care. A part of him couldn’t help but feel a little bad for her, though. He wanted to forgive her, he really did. Maybe some day, he would be able to. But not yet.
Drusilla was quiet for a moment, not exactly sure how to respond. She wanted to explain that she wasn’t the same person anymore, that her therapist had made her realize how much damage she had done, both to herself and to the people around her. But for some reason, she didn’t think he would believe her.
In all honesty, there were days when she couldn’t find it in her heart to care. Days when she would gladly blame the world for mistreating her, days when she just wanted to scream in frustration when the people she came across wouldn’t stop and bow down at her feet. Days when she still considered them all to be beneath her.
But something had changed the day she grabbed the knife and shoved it into her belly, desperate to get rid of what was growing inside her. It had hit her, when she was lying in William’s arms with the blood trickling down on the floor, that something in her behavior wasn’t healthy. Something was seriously wrong. And it had to stop. She was lucky to have survived.
Liam had tried, in all fairness, she knew he had. But she just couldn’t allow herself to open up to him again. And eventually, he had gotten tired and given up. She couldn’t really blame him for that, although God knew she wanted to. She needed someone to blame for the unfairness of it all. But during her therapy sessions, she slowly came to learn to look inside herself. And what she saw wasn’t pretty.
So, she didn’t see any other options than leaving. To tell the truth, the idea of starting over some place else felt rather good. There was nothing left for her here in Sunnydale. Her bags were all packed, waiting in the fancy car outside. This was her last stop before she would leave this sleepy little town for good.
“I’m sorry, William.” The words didn’t come easily, but once they were out, she realized that she meant them. “I know I’ve hurt you, and I can’t take it back. In fact, I’ve hurt a lot of people over the years. I guess I never really stopped to think about it.”
The sudden sincerity in her voice made at least some of the bitterness he felt towards her disappear. William let out a sigh. “Not sure what you expect me to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.” Drusilla was quiet for a moment. “I suppose I’ve better leave. I have a long ride ahead of me.” She paused. “Goodbye, William.”
He nodded, after a brief moment’s hesitation. “Bye, Dru.” When he didn’t say anything more, Drusilla raised her hand in a somewhat awkward wave and headed for the door. Then she walked out without another word, out of their apartment, out of their lives. William and Buffy never saw her again.
~epilogue~
A couple of nights later, William and Buffy decided to go out. It had been his idea, and she had happily accepted. For some reason, they ended up at The Bronze, suddenly finding themselves up on the balcony, at the very same spot they had both been standing all those months ago. Back then, neither of them had dared to hope they would ever find happiness together. But now, everything was different.
William had moved into Buffy’s apartment for real, about a month ago. However, they had decided to look for a new place together, a place where they would be able to create new, happy memories. A place that wouldn’t be a constant reminder of their exes.
Speaking of exes, they had ran into Riley Finn – who William still referred to as ‘Captain Cardboard’ – a few weeks ago. He had been out with a pretty blonde – who had introduced herself as Sam – and he had appeared to be quite embarrassed. With a sheepish smile, he had apologized to Buffy for his behavior, insisting he had moved on and was now able to see things a lot more clearly.
Buffy had accepted his apology, but when Riley had eagerly suggested they would start double dating, she had firmly declined, much to William’s relief. Riley had seemed a little hurt, but quickly covered up. After making some polite small talk, they had gone their separate ways.
And now, here they were. They had really come a long way. Buffy glanced at her boyfriend, only to realize that he was watching her as well. She smiled a little. “Wanna dance?”
William hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “Maybe later.” She pouted a little, and he smirked. “Look at that lip... Gonna get it!” Buffy let out a squeal as he pulled her into his arms and started nibbling playfully on her bottom lip.
Finally, he pulled back. “I’ll dance with you, pet. Anything you want. Consider me your willing slave for the night. But first...” His voice took a serious note. “Kinda have something I wanna talk to you about.”
“Um, okay?” Buffy let out a little giggle. “Just spit it out, already! You’re making me nervous.”
“Right. I, uh...” William swallowed, and she suddenly realized that she wasn’t the only one who was nervous. For some reason, he seemed almost afraid. She just didn’t understand why. He went on; “Buffy, I know we haven’t really been together that long, but I feel like I’ve been in love with you forever.”
Buffy felt her heart melt at his words, although she remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
He cleared his throat. “There are a lot of things I wish I’d done differently. Can’t change the past, though.” She opened her mouth, but he raised a hand to stop her. “Just hear me out, luv. Lot of time’s gone to waste, and I never wanna be apart from you again. You make me happy, Buffy. You’re my entire world. I love you.”
A tear rolled down her cheek, and she swallowed hard. “Love you too, baby. So much. I feel exactly the same way.” She noticed that he had tears in his eyes as well.
“Good.” William let out a nervous chuckle. “So, here we go...” He took a deep breath – and went down on one knee. Pulling out a small box from his pocket, he opened it and took out the most beautiful ring Buffy had ever seen. “Will you marry me?”
Buffy stared at him, her face a mixture of shock and wonder. She thought she had been prepared for everything, but she had been wrong. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it would burst right out of her chest. Maybe she was dreaming. If that was the case, she never wanted to wake up.
Realizing that he was waiting for some kind of reaction from her, she managed to snap out of the shock, and dropped to her knees as well. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and all she could do was nod, reaching out a shaky hand towards him. In a daze, she watched William put the ring on her finger with trembling hands before placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.
Finally she found her voice, smiling through the tears. “I can’t believe this is happening. Are you sure this is for real?”
He nodded, gently wiping away her tears. “It’s real, luv. Dunno what I’ve done to deserve it, but it’s real.” He smiled, softly, slipping his arms around her and pulling her close. “Gonna marry you.”
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Buffy happily melted into his embrace. “Gonna be a good wife. The best.”
“Don’t doubt it for a second.” He felt her smile against his neck, and felt like the happiest man in the world. A part of him still couldn’t believe his luck. Buffy was his girl. And soon, she would also be his wife. Some day, they would have a family. Nothing would ever come between them. And he would never walk out of her life again.
The End