Disclaimer: Buffy is the property of Joss Whedon and co.
Summery: Eight years after Angel left, Buffy is happy leading a normal life. But a series of random events will force Buffy to question all that she's taken for granted.
A/N: There's a lot of Seasons 1-4 spoilers here but after that it's completely AU. Also, some characters
(in particular Riley) may not be all too similar to their TV counterparts in that I needed them to be more likable and practical to the story.
Chapter 1
Buffy looked at herself and couldn't help but smile. She was truly a sight to behold. After a quick spin she knew it in her gut - this was her wedding dress. It was a simple white dress, not all that different from the one she wore when she destroyed the Master all those years ago. She smiled to herself - she never imagined back in high school that she would have the chance to get married.
"Buffy? Are you ever going to come out of there?" She heard his voice and her eyes sparkled. When Angel left all those years ago, she never imagined being with another man again. True she was young and naive in many ways but she knew that love was real. Then she met Riley. Her heart raced just thinking about him. The two of them had been together through thick and thin and she was truly ready to give her heart to him forever, or as long as her slayer life would last.
At the age of 26, she was now, according to Giles at least, the oldest slayer to date. Rather than becoming a fatalist and believing her time was up she became a fervent believer that by sheer will power she could live as long as any ordinary human.
It also helped that she wasn't the only slayer. After months in a coma, Faith finally died and though tragic as it was, a new slayer was chosen. Buffy occasionally worked with the girl but for the most part they worked independently. It was because of her, Buffy didn't feel too guilty about choosing to lead her own life. Granted she still slayed but it didn't cosume her as much as it once did.
In fact, she graduated college with a degree in criminal justice. She remembered thinking to herself that maybe that career assessment she took back in high school wasn't a complete joke. Of course, then she recalled the officer who attended the fair tried to murder her so she didn't feel too guilty for not taking the whole thing seriously. Now, she was a full time detective for the Sunnydale Police Department and a part time consultant for the heavily reformed initiative. Two years after graduating college, Riley asked her to marry him and together they've lived in a comfortable 3 bedroom split level since.
Buffy took a deep breath and left the dressing room, her eyes glowing and a genuine smile splashed over her face. He stood up and admired her, the woman of his dreams. She did a spin, holding her arms at her side like a ballerina and Riley was reminded that he was the luckiest guy in the world.
When he met Buffy, she had been that peculiar girl who always seemed in her own world. Something about her drew him in and he couldn't get enough. He remembered the day the town went mute and he discovered she was the Slayer. He couldn't believe he had found the one girl he could truly share his life with.
Sure, things hadn't always been easy. Dr. Walsh and some of the other initiative folk weren't too happy with Buffy's inquisitive nature and "old fashioned" way of doing things but in the end, things worked out. In fact, following the Adam "incident", Buffy was quite influential in Initiative policy and procedure as well as training.
With the emergence of a new slayer and a helpful initiative, their lives were practically normal. Sure, every now and then some big bad would should up trying to create trouble for the Slayer but with the resources at the couple's disposal, they were more or less able to avoid any and all apocalypses.
The only thing that had ever worried Riley was him. Buffy had told him about Angel, sure, but every time she did, it seemed like she was holding back. 'O Riley, he was just some boyfriend in high school. You really don't have to worry about him'. He was always afraid of running into the kid at some time or another but never did. 'He left after I graduated high school, I guess we just weren't working out'.
What really bothered him wasn't her talking about Angel but the way her friends got. Every time any story came up with Angel in it Willow's face would lose all color as if she were about to divulge some deep dark secret. And Xander's would turn a dark shade of purple and it would seem he was holding in some anger Riley couldn't possibly fathom.
But Angel never came around. And more importantly, Buffy never went looking for him or ever really longed for him. She was truly happy and truly loved Riley.
"You. Look. Beautiful." He told her, his eyes full of love and lust for his fiancee.
"Do I? I was worried it was too casual. Apparently, it's not actually a wedding dress." She told him, the last part of it in a chuckled whisper.
"I don't care what it is. You'll still be the only thing anyone can look at on our wedding day." He told her. Neither of them having much wealth, they planned a simple and inexpensive wedding. They figured their wedding day didn't matter so much as the rest of their lives. Sure, Willow and Buffy's mother were disappointed they wouldn't be able to spend months planning for some ornate celebration but it was Buffy's big day so they stopped protesting and went along with it.
She gave him a quick peck on the lips and ran back into her dressing room to change, humming a tune to herself and doing a small dance. Never could she had imagined her life ending up like this. She had everything she could ever ask for - a real job, a man whom she loves, the closest friends she could imagine, and all of it while being the slayer.
After paying for the dress, she and Riley left the store and walked into the sun hand in hand.
Across the country, Angel stood in a dimly lit room hitting a punching bag over and over until it fell from the ceiling. He sighed, having barely broken a sweat. He knew he needed to get a new bag, or a sturdier chain, or something. He looked at his watch and realized it was barely 3:00 PM - he would be stuck in this basement for another few hours.
He'd only been in Washington D.C. for a month and he was all ready to move onto his next city. Ever since he helped Buffy stop the Mayor's ascension, he had been running. From what, to what? He himself wasn't all that sure. He figured this was the best way he could help, go from city to city, fighting any evil thing he could find. He had become a robot to some extent, go to city, find evil, destroy evil, repeat.
But it felt good. And every time he stuck a wooden stake in a vampire he knew he was doing the right thing. Every demon he impaled, every evil thing he demolished, it felt like he was making a difference.
Some days it really felt like he was. In DC alone, he had rid the city of a nest of vampires who seemed to view the city as an all you can eat buffet. And he did it all in secret, alone. Sure, he met the occasional demon fighter along the way or potential slayer or watcher but for the most part, he lived a solitary existence.
Was it redemption? Sure, in some way it was. But he acknowledged that given all the evil he committed, redemption wasn't likely in the cards for him. Besides, with the whole soul/no soul thing it all got annoyingly complicated. For Angel, it was simple: he knew what was out there, he knew it was evil, he had power, he was going to stop it.
Buffy. She was the only thing that ever gave him pause. Every time he saw the back of a petite blonde he would pause, for a second wondering if it was her. Then she would turn and he would realize immediately his mistake. But still, she was on his mind, no matter how much he didn't want her to be.
How old is she now, he wondered to himself. 25? No, 26. I havn't seen her in 8 years. He took a moment to wonder what her life was like. He assumed she was alive, he would have heard something if she had died.
After completing his 4th set of sit ups, Angel took a look at the map of the United States he had pinned up on the wall. Don't really want to go back to New York City. Or LA. Maybe I'll go back to Cleveland - Hellmouth and all, they're destined to have some evil afoot. And like that, he resigned himself to leave DC.
