Chapter 10

Legolas quickly moved to Buffy's side and placed his hands on her arms, making sure she didn't fall. "I saw you die." She said quietly.

Angel looked back at her and for a minute she wasn't sure he was real. Then he shifted his weight and said, "I'm hard to kill." They stood there for a minute, assessing each other. Buffy wore a long, dark green dress made of velvet and gold trim. The sleeves belled out and if she held her arm out straight, the bottoms would reach below her knees. Her hair was pulled back in a low braid that ran down her back. Angel was wearing his usual black pants and leather coat, but he had on a white sweater. It was different to see him wear a lighter color, but he looked good.

"Are you all right, meleth?" Legolas asked.

"Gohino nin. (Forgive me.)" Buffy said. "I'll be ok. It's just such a shock."

"Sorry." Angel said.

"After you left, Angel came stumbling into the clearing." Willow said. "He was all dirty."

"The cave collapsed on me. I had to dig my way out." Angel said. "Not the first time... And probably not the last time, either."

"You must be weary." Arwen said. "We shall have proper introductions later, before the feast begins. For now, I shall show you to your rooms."

"Baren bar lin. (My home is your home.)" Aragorn said. "Make yourselves welcome."

Buffy watched intently as her friends all picked up their bags and followed Arwen to their rooms. Dawn and Gandalf followed Willow, talking amongst themselves. Legolas, however, was watching Buffy intently. Angel showing up like he did worried the Elf. Even though Buffy had assured him over and over that she was his and no one else's, Angel and Buffy had a deep history. It was evident that they loved each other, but this scared him. "Don't." Buffy said.

Legolas looked at her, startled. "Man? (What?)"

"Daro! (Stop!)

"Man?"

"I know what you're thinking. Daro. Estelio nin. Gerich veleth nín. Heniach nin? (Stop. Trust me. You have my love. Do you understand me?)"

"Henion. (I understand.) But it is hard not to worry."

"Well don't. I'm all yours and I'm staying that way."

Aragorn chuckled. "You two act as if you've been together for centuries. Legolas, do not fear. She sees no one but you."

"Told you." Buffy said.

"And you, dear sister."

"What did I do?"
"You must go talk to Angel."

"Why?"

"The tension will be great between you two if you do not resolve your feelings. It will affect the festivities."

Buffy sighed. She knew he was right. Didn't mean she wanted to go through with it. "All right."

"Go."

"Now!"
"Yes, now. The Hobbits will be arriving shortly."

Buffy sighed and glared at Aragorn dramatically. "If this backfires, dear brother, you'll be the first to know."

"I shall count on it."

Buffy rolled her eyes and walked away. She headed for the hallways where they had decided the VIP guests would be staying. Angel was the fourth door down on the right. She stood in front of his door for a long moment and then knocked lightly, hoping he wouldn't hear it. "Come in." Angel called from the other side.

Of course, vampire hearing dumb ass. She thought to herself. Buffy opened the door slightly and poked her head in. "Hi."

"Hey." Angel smiled at her and came to open the door wider.

Crap. "Is this room ok?"

"It's fine. A little big."

"There's smaller ones…. Around here somewhere."

"No, it's ok. I'm only here for a week."

"Yeah." And now comes the awkward silence.

They looked all around the room. Buffy noticed the tightly drawn drapes over the window. Vampire plus sunlight equals bad. Right. Angel noticed Buffy's dress again. She seemed so natural in it. A long shot from the girl he once knew.

"Never were much for small talk, were we?" Angel asked.

"No. We said everything there needed to be said a long time ago." Buffy said.

"Well, not everything."

"What's left?"

"The fact that you're getting married to another man and there's still tension between us like we had an affair."

"Blunt much?"

"Sorry."

Buffy sighed. "Listen, can we take a walk?"

"Sure. Where to?"

"Around the Hall. I've still got a few things to look over before the other guests arrive."
"Who else?"

"The Hobbits... uh, Galadriel and Celeborn are coming... Legolas' father, Thranduil, um, Eowyn, Eomer, and Faramir are coming still... Gimli is coming too."

"How many people do you know here?"

"A lot. I met most of them travelling with the Fellowship and fighting the war."

"So, are we going to keep dodging the real reason we're taking this walk or should I continue with the small talk?"

Buffy shook her head. "Look, I don't want anything to ruin this for me..."

"You think that me coming here was a mistake?"
"No! No, I'm happy to know that you're alive..."

"But...?"

"But what?"
"There's a but at the end of that sentence."

She sighed and moved over to the stairs at the bottom of the throne to sit down and look up at him. "It was easier when I thought you were gone. I know I want to marry Legolas and without you around, there wasn't any question in my mind about this marriage."

"What questions could you possibly have? You two love each other. He gives you everything I can't... Sunlight and making love and..."

"It's not the point." She waved her hand to stop him and sighed. "There was always that question in my mind, even with Riley and any other guy I was with... What if...? What if you got your shanshu? What if you and I were really meant to be? By marrying Legolas, I'm committing myself completely to him and I can never be with you again." Buffy shook her head. "When I thought you had died... I said goodbye. I completely let you go and with you, I let that question go too. And now that you're back... Am I doing the right thing?"

"Buffy," Angel sat down next to her, held her hand in his, and turned to her. "We had our moment a long time ago. We both know that it doesn't work between us. There's nothing I want more than to hold your hand and hear you committing yourself to me, but that will never happen. I signed away my Shanshu. I'll never be human. And even if I was, you're still a Slayer. You'll always be a Slayer. Look around you! Look at you! This is where you belong. I'm sorry it took me dying for you to come to that realization, but I'm still here and you still belong with Legolas." Angel sighed. "Think about it Buffy. You love Legolas more than you ever loved me. You know he gives you everything you could ever want and more." He shook his head. "And I really can't believe that I'm the one convincing you to marry someone else."

Buffy laughed. "Yeah. Pretty trippy, huh?"

"Yeah."

"I do love him."

"I can tell."

"And I'll always love you."

"I'll never stop loving you. You were the first person that I ever loved. I'll probably never love anyone the way I love you."

"I know the feeling." Buffy touched Angel's cheek and rubbed her thumb against his smooth skin. She sighed and brushed her hair off her shoulder. "I can't believe I'm getting married soon."

"And I can't believe how beautiful you look in these dresses. I can only imagine what your wedding dress will look like."

"I don't think anyone can. The tailor looked like he was going to faint when I drew him the dress I wanted."

"Risky?"

"No... It's just... It's not quite of this time period."
"You chose a modern dress."

"You'll just have to wait and see."

"Tease."

"Always."

A servant walked up to Buffy and bowed. "My lady, the Hobbits have arrived. The king awaits your presence."

"Oh, ok. I'll be along shortly, then." Buffy said. The servant bowed again and walked off. Buffy turned to Angel. "So, how'd you like to meet the Hobbits?"

Everyone was at the feast and there was laughter and dancing and lots of good food. Angel, Aragorn, Arwen, Buffy, and Legolas stood together and talked about random memories of battles long past. Giles and Gandalf sat at the table and talked amoungst themselves while Gimli entertained Dawn, Willow, Xander and the Hobbits. Sam had brought along his new bride, Rosie, to show off that they were expecting a little Hobbit. Spike had been deep into a conversation with Eomer about some battle weapon they prefered to use. Everything was going wonderfully. Galadriel and Celeborn had yet to arrive for the week of festivities. They had sent a messenger ahead of them to let Legolas and Buffy know that something important required their attention and that they would not be there until the day of the actual wedding ceremony.

Tomorrow night, the entire city would be celebrating the coming union of Legolas and Buffy out in the streets. Shops would be open long past their normal hours. People would cook food and serve it in front of their houses and shops. The next day there was to be another feast that everyone could come to the Great Hall and toast to the bride and groom. The fourth day of celebration would be a picnic out in the plains near the river. Only the closest friends and family of the bride and groom were invited. They would ride out on horseback and spend all day by the river. Then, on the fifth day, the actual wedding ceremony would take place. After the ceremony, Legolas and Buffy would ride side-by-side, their hands bound by a velvet rope, through the streets. After the small parade, there would be more dancing, drinking, and eating in the Great Hall and throughout the streets of Gondor.

A/N Sorry I've kept you waiting on this one. I've had A LOT going on in my life. My uncle was diagnosed with pancriotic cancer, went through surgery, was told it was fine, then we found out that there's some they "missed." He starts chemo therapy soon, so we'll see what happens. A very good friend on mine died recently, also. (I found out the day I found out my uncle still has cancer.) Not to mention my job has been crazy. Our staff is limited, so I'm always on standby to fill in for someone. And on top of that, my brain hasn't been functioning on the higher levels. (Of course, with all this stress, why would it be?) I hope you enjoyed it. Please R/R and let me know.