Chapter 2:
i Take me back to the house in the backyard tree
Said you'd beat me up, you were bigger than me
You never did, you never did
Take me back when our world was one block wide
I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried
Just two kids, you and I...
Oh my my my my /i
Buffy was bought out of her trance by the front door opening and closing. William walked in, not saying a word to her he walked up the stairs to their room and gathered his things he would need for work.
Buffy heard a few things clatter to the floor in their room and her mind cringed at the thought of the fallen object.
Their wedding photo of the two of them in mid kiss as the paster pronounced them man and wife, laid face down on the hardwood floor.
Buffy's face fell when minutes later he walked back down the stairs, without uttering a word to her and left again. A lone tear fell down her cheek and onto the photo album in front of her.
i 'My marriage really is falling apart.' /i Her mind whispered, her head lowering in defeat.
For moments she stared at the photo album in her hands before hesitantly flipping the page. She let out a strangled laugh at the photo she was met with. She must have been about 9 years old, making William 11. Herself, William and Xander all stood at the bottom of a ladder leading to her tree house. Xander was doing the bunny ears behind her head while William poked his tongue out towards her but she stood smiling brightly, her blonde hair in two piggy tails. Staring at the photo she was pulled in by the sudden memory of that day.
………………………………...
b16 years ago /b
"But it's b my /b tree house." Buffy's nine year old voice whined from her position at the bottom of the ladder that led up into her tree house.
"Yeah, bu' me and Xander are playin' in it." William smiled, folding his eleven year old arms across his chest, blocking Buffy from climbing the ladder to enter her tree house.
"No girls allowed," yelled Xander out from the tree house window. Xander was William's best friend at school and the two often spent every weekend together. Xander's parents were alcoholics and the boy had come to feel somewhat like a brother to William. The brother he never had but had always wanted.
"I'm allowed to play in it if I want." Buffy growled trying to push William out of the way, William however decided otherwise. With his arms he grabbed Buffy and pulled her away from the ladder, Xander all the while laughing from the tree house.
"No girls 'llowed."
"OW!" Buffy wrenched her arms free of his grasp and glared at him hard. Xander was still giggling from the tree house and Buffy shot him a deafening glare.
"Tha's wha' you get for trying to get into our b boys only /b tree house. I'll do it again." William poked his tongue out at Buffy before turning to walk back to the ladder.
Buffy beat him there and started to climb as fast as her little legs would go.
"Hey!"
"William!" William cringed hearing his mother's stern voice calling from the backdoor to the Summers' house. "You let Buffy play as well young man; you too Xander."
"Yes, Mrs. Giles." Xander sighed out, glaring at Buffy as she stepped through the door to the tree house, a grin spread across her face.
"Why'd you have to go do tha' for?" William sighed as he too stepped through the doorway and into the tree house.
"It's my tree house." Buffy pressed. "I'm allowed to play here if I want." She defiantly crossed her arms across her chest.
"Yeah, but now it's going to be boring." Xander whined, pouting slightly.
"Would you kid's like some snacks." Joyce yelled from the bottom of the ladder.
There was a hasty rush to scramble down the tree to where Joyce had laid the food out on a small fold out table. Jenny joined them now, sitting in one of the many chairs Joyce had brought out.
"William, don't throw your food." Jenny sighed softly; her son was hard to control most days.
"This is no fun." William grumbled, plonking himself into a chair next to Xander. He glanced at Buffy who sat happily munching on a lamington, its crumbs falling across her lap and the table top.
"Buffy, would you like a photo?" Her mother asked, holding a camera in her hands.
Buffy had a fascination with photographs and often made Joyce document everything. Most often than not Buffy would have at least 3 photo's taken everyday of her doing something, whether it was riding her black horse Cole or sitting on her fathers four wheel motorbike, to standing at the bottom of her tree house.
"Yes!"
"William, Xander; would you mind getting in the photo too?" Joyce asked, standing across from Buffy. Both boys grumbled and reluctantly trudged over to where Buffy was standing, a smile on her face.
"Well that's sure going to be a funny photo." Jenny laughed, making Buffy turn to glare at the two boys next to her and what they were doing.
Her eyes narrowed and she poked her tongue out at William before stomping back to the fold out table to finish her lamington.
………………………………...
b Present day /b
Buffy shook her head, smiling to herself as the memory finished. Reluctantly she stood with the photo album like glue in her hands as she made her way up the stairs to have a shower. Friday's were her days off work and she was looking forward to relaxing after the night she'd had last night. Her thoughts of the previous nights fight with William still fresh in her mind.
After her shower and not feeling like going outside she dressed in her red silk night gown that stopped mid thigh and slipped into bed. The photo album lay on her bedside table. Her hair was still damp and slowly soaking her pillow but Buffy didn't care as her eyes drifted shut, heavy with sleep.
She dreamed of times when everything was simple, when her life made sense, when she knew who she was and what she wanted to be. More importantly she dreamed of who she wanted, who she lived for. William was her light when all lights had gone out, in darker times he had held her above everything.
She didn't realise she had subconsciously reached out to gather Williams pillow into her arms as she slept, breathing in his scent deeply.
Buffy woke hours later, stretching her arms above her head. She quickly glanced at the clock on William's side of the bed and had to do a double take. Was it really 6 o'clock? She's slept the day away.
She was jolted out of her hazy state by hearing the running water coming from the bathroom. William was home and in the shower. Her heart rate sped up. What was she going to say to him?
Not wanting to deal with the situation at present, Buffy reached for the photo album and propped a few spare pillows behind her back so she could sit up. She flipped to the page she had reached last and smiled, briefly remembering the tree house again before turning the page and let out a laugh.
She stared down at her younger self; she was about 11 years old in this particular photo and had a look of horror and uttermost shock on her face. She traced the outline of a 13 year old William, smiling all the while.
William's hands were resting on Buffy's shoulders as he puckered his lips, leaning in for a kiss. Buffy had screamed in his face and started running down to the back paddock. Her father, Buffy shook her head smiling to herself, had taken this candid photo, laughing to himself the whole time.
"Now there's a smile I haven't seen in a long time, Pet." William whispered, his British accent coming out thick, a soft smile marring his face.
Buffy glanced up from the photo and her heart stopped. No matter how many times she saw William in a towel, water droplets falling from his wet hair and down his chest to his chiselled abs and then lower into the small line of hair that left little to the imagination as to what lay beneath it, she always seemed to be stunned.
"I found some photos." Was all Buffy could say, still staring at him. She lifted her gaze from his abdominals to rest on his face and blushed when she saw him smirking. It had been weeks since either of them had touched each other.
Most nights when they went to bed, they would both roll to their respective sides of the bed and not move towards the other all night. Buffy sighed sadly thinking how utterly pathetic her life had become.
i 'How could I be so stupid.'/i Her mind whispered.
"Photo's of what?"
Buffy's eyes bugged out of her head as he walked to their dresser and turned, his back facing her and pulled the towel from his hips. She was met with two extremely white buns and a blush crept up her face. Even his backside was sexy.
"Pet?"
"Huh?" Buffy shook her head, breaking herself from the stare. "Just photo's of us when we were younger." She tilted her head to the side, watching as he pulled on a pair of boxers.
i'What? You have to look at it from different angles.' /i She thought to herself.
"Ah, to be young again." William smiled, slowly walking over to the bed and hesitantly sitting down next to Buffy. "Can I see?" He held out his hands, waiting for her to pass him the photo album.
His laughter broke Buffy once again from her trance and she looked down to see him laughing at the photo she had been, minutes before laughing at too.
"I remember that," his whisper was soft and held the smallest hint of a smile in it.
"I dared you to kiss me," Buffy smiled, glancing at his face. He was smiling at her. Smiling; he hadn't smiled at her like that in a long time and it sent a wave of butterflies through her stomach.
All thoughts of the fight they'd had the previous night left her mind; leaving the two of them completely alone.
Hesitantly he raised a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, his hand resting on her cheeks for a moment before he spoke.
"And when I tried you ran away." Buffy laughed softly her mind racing, her heart beating a million miles a minute.
"What if I dared you now?" Buffy whispered, meeting his gaze. His hand stroked her cheek as he bent his face lower to hers.
"Will you run?" he whispered, shifting closer to her.
Buffy's heart was racing as she answered him in a whisper so soft he almost missed it.
"No."
"Buffy-"
"I'm sorry about last night, I just-"
"Don't ruin the moment." William intercepted, placing his forehead against hers.
"I'm sorry." Buffy whimpered, her eyes rimming with tears before William's lips crashed down to meet hers in an urgent kiss.
There was no gentleness about the kiss, it was hard and forceful and full of passion. Buffy wound her arms around William's neck, pulling him closer to her. Her heart was racing and her stomach fluttered. Too many nights had she gone without his sensual touch that caressed her body, she vowed to herself then that she would not let her marriage fall apart. William was too important to her.
"I love you." She kissed his neck and his shoulders and was met with silence. Hesitantly she pulled back, her stomach dropping at the thought of him rejecting her love.
"Do you know how long I've waited for you to say that to me again?" William whispered, kissing her lips softly.
"Too long," Buffy stated placing a hand softly on his cheek, William only nodding in response before he captured her lips in another searing kiss.
They had slipped down the bed from their once sitting position and were now lying side by side, facing each other. Buffy gasped when he lift her left leg and pulled it over his hip, his groin coming into contact with hers. He kissed his way to her neck and suckled on her earlobe, kissing the tender flesh behind and beneath her ear.
He'd always known how to push her buttons.
"I'm sorry about last night." Buffy gasped into his ear as his hand on her thigh moved to caress her rounded cheek, slipping her red silk nightie up and over her hips.
"Me too," he huskily whispered into her ear. "I'll wai' for you. No more pressure. You mean to bloody much to me, Pet."
Buffy's response to that was a smile as she brought his had to her face. "Thank-you." she said before bringing his lips down to meet hers. Their tongues came out to play and Buffy slipped the leg over his hip higher and let out a moan at the intimate contact his member made with her groin.
William cupped her backside and rolled onto his back allowing Buffy to sit astride him, straddling him. This only made them both moan in pleasure at the new position.
Without uttering a word Buffy started to lift her nightie off only to be stopped by William's hands on hers. His eyes spoke 'let me' and she did. He sat up, his hands slipping the nightie up her stomach and he smiled when she lift her arms, allowing him to remove the garment from her body and fling it to the other side of the room.
Her hair caressed her back and she let her head drop back when William took her nipple into his mouth. Her hips rocked against his, fuelling both their fires all the more. Buffy reached down with her hands and grabbed the edges of his boxer shorts.
William laid back down and lift his hips, allowing Buffy to slip his boxer shorts effortlessly down his hips. Once he was free of his boxers William flipped them over, kissing his way down her body until he reached her knickers.
He always did like the lacy scraps of material she covered herself with and Buffy couldn't help but smile when she heard him breath in her scent before he slipped the offending garment down her thighs.
Before Buffy could utter a word of protest William was licking and suckling her quim making Buffy gasp. It wasn't too long before she pulled him up her body and helped him position himself at her entrance.
Their lovemaking was hard and fast, both wanting to fuel the fire that had long been burnt out for weeks before. After they both climaxed they lay side by side smiling at each other. Buffy's hair was stuck to her sweaty forehead and William brought his hand up and brushed it from her face.
"I love you," Buffy whispered, kissing William softly on the lips one last time before pulling away.
"I've always loved you." His words spoke volumes and Buffy closed her eyes briefly remembering the photo album that lay somewhere amongst their now messy floor.
"We were just kids."
"I've loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you," he kissed her cheek. "And I doubt I'll ever stop."
Their kiss this time was slow and languid and Buffy couldn't help but let a lone tear slip from her closed eyes as she finally came to understand the lengths in which Williams love for her reached.
She would try to fix things, repair the damage that had been done. Buffy vowed that over the weekend she would spend every possible moment with William, rekindling their marriage and turning it into a relationship they'd once had.
