Co-Written with Scribes1015!
The next time she was able to get Cordy, Willow and Tara all together she made sure to go shopping for the dress. The girls' had been so much easier to decide on and had been taken care of weeks ago. Hers, not so much. She had also invited Xander to come, not wanting to leave him out, but she wasn't surprised when he declined such invitation. Surprisingly, he was opting to help Angel out today instead.
They stopped to eat, gossip and catch up with each other before making their way to the latest store. Everyone had been made ware of Darla but she'd only told Willow still about the baby. Everyone had promised to let her know if they happened to see or hear anything about the wretched blonde, but so far there hadn't been anything, and Buffy sure wasn't complaining that she hadn't seen her again.
As for the dress, well it was a little difficult finding exactly what you want when you're not really sure what that is. She'd been so in love with her first dress but it didn't feel right at all to wear it. Finding something that was stunning and was perfect for this second wedding was all she needed.
The dress handlers as they called themselves, had set the girls up in their very own private viewing room. They were all seated on a circular couch, a tray of snacks placed before them. Soon after everyone was seated, Buffy herself was escorted to the back, into one of the many dressing rooms down the long hall.
They had all been offered Mimosas, which Buffy had refused, opting instead for water. Now that she'd been off her period for a few days, it was officially operation baby time. She wasn't willing to risk anything that might even have the slightest possible chance of hindering conception. She had even mentioned getting a box of those Ovulation test things, but Angel had assured her they would just go to waste.
He suggested instead they buy a few pregnancy tests, that after a couple weeks, they would know… one way or the other. Telling her, he thought it would be better to know, than be blindsided if she were to have another period. That he didn't want to see her go through that again.
Her thoughts were interrupted when her fitting assistant arrived with an array of selections for her to choose from. Buffy had spoken with her on the phone for nearly an hour when she scheduled the appointment for today, so she already had a good feel as to what she was looking for. She had told the overly enthusiastic person on the other end of the line, who insisted she only be referred to as either a dress handler, or dressing assistant that she was looking for something on the simpler side of things. Definitely no ball gowns, or even mermaid style dresses, and absolutely nothing that required a corset.
Her last wedding dress had been her ultimate fantasy, designed by Vera Wang, it was an off the shoulder Cinderella style gown, one that had cost them an absolute fortune. She still had it bagged in the back of her closet, another thing from their past she had been unable to part with.
The first few dresses that Buffy tried on, were nice, but something was lacking, they didn't have that wow factor. Cordelia ever the tactful one, had told her that she had an aunt who wore something similar... to her vow renewal, of 25 years.
By the third dress, Willow had once again suggested she reconsider her original. Though Buffy quickly shot her down, call her superstitious but as beautiful as it was, there was a distinct possibility that it was cursed. No, this was going to be a new wedding, which meant it required a new dress, even if she was sick of trying them on.
Buffy held her breath as her dressing assistant unzipped the last bag she had brought with her. As she pulled the gown from the bag, Buffy let out an audible gasp. It was absolutely breathtaking, she only hoped it would look as beautiful on her body as it did on the hanger.
The entire dress was made of silk, no lace, to tulle, it wasn't bright white, but it wasn't cream either. It was perfect. Allowing her assistant to help her step into the gown, she actually closed her eyes until she was instructed that it was safe to look.
Instantly her eyes flooded with tears, this dress fit as though it was designed especially for her. Thin straps, ran down into a plunging neckline, choosing to try it on without a bra had been a good decision. The silk did nothing to hide her nipples, which she just knew would drive Angel completely crazy. Turning to the side she couldn't believe it, the back of the dress looked even better than the front. Her entire back was bare all the way down to the curve of her ass, where the silk flowed down, as though it was a second skin, accentuating all of her curves.
When Buffy walked out into the viewing room, Willow and Tara immediately burst into tears. Cordy commented on her amazing breast, because of course she had, and told her that this dress would be perfect since they were foregoing a real reception and opting for a simple dinner.
The dress handler had suggested a veil, but Buffy had opted instead for Swarovski studded clip, this dress was too stunning, a veil could only take away from it.
OoOoO
By the time they had left the dress shop it was late afternoon, Buffy still needed to find shoes, but honestly right now she just wanted to go home, after being used to spending so much time together she was seriously missing her honey. When she suggested that perhaps they should save the shoe shopping for another day, shockingly even Cordelia sighed in relief.
On the way back to her house, Buffy sat in the back of Willows car mindlessly flipping through apps on her phone. Angel may not have wanted her to buy ovulation tests, but he didn't say anything about using an ovulation app. Quickly she googled, looking for the one with the best reviews and downloaded it to her phone.
It asked her a few quick questions, such as her age, the average length of her periods, and the date of the first day of her last cycle. Inputting all of the information, she impatiently waited for her personalized fertility calendar to pop up.
When it finally loaded she said a silent prayer of thanks to the fates, she had always assumed that you should count from the last day of your period, not the first. They could have totally missed their opportunity!
According to the app, based on the first day of her last period, her best chances to conceive would be over the next five days starting tomorrow. She just wasn't sure if tomorrow meant midnight, or 8 AM. Sighing, she thought how these things should really be more specific. Regardless, she couldn't help but imagine all the fun ways they could practice until the clock struck twelve.
"Do you think the guys are back," Cordelia questioned from the seat next to her.
"I don't know, but I hope they have food," Willow chimed in from the front, glancing at them through the rearview mirror.
"If not, we can always order Pizza," Buffy couldn't help the scrunch of her nose, "again,".
The rest of the car ride was spent in relative silence, shopping, especially wedding dress shopping seemed to really take it out of you. Though she was relieved to be able to mark one more thing off their to-do list, she hoped Angel had been able to secure a restaurant today.
Some of the higher end ones he was looking at were supposed to be sending a representative over to speak with him about the details. Even though she had insisted they could just go somewhere local, he had simply kissed her temple and told her just because they weren't going for extravagance this time, didn't mean they should settle for ordinary.
When they turned on Buffy's street there was a strange car in the driveway next to Angel's, one she had simply assumed belonged to one of the restaurant people. However as they approached closer, she could see a woman, a blonde woman, walking towards the car, and peeling out of the driveway just as Willow pulled up to the house.
There was no doubt in her mind, that woman had been Darla.
Buffy felt her heart racing as she got out of the car and ran up to the house. The door was locked when she got to it, yet she found herself searching through the room to room for any signs of anyone.
"Xander's truck isn't here," Cordelia offered, calling after her as she headed up the stairs.
'That was true,' she thought. After looking around the upstairs, she grabbed her phone and dialed Angel's number. As soon as he answered, she felt her shoulders relax a little. "We just got back a minute ago," she told him.
"Yeah? Did you have a good time? Find anything you like?" he asked and she let out a deep breath, holding the phone away from her hoping he wouldn't hear her trying to calm herself down before telling him she'd finally found a dress. "Really? Mmm, you'll have to show me when we get back."
"Absolutely not. You can see it when we're getting ready to say our vows," she told him, then, "Where'd you and Xander get off to?"
"Ran up the road to get some supplies to make us all some tacos. I figured you all might be hungry when you got back and my latest appointment with one of the restaurant people got cancelled, like, forty-five minutes ago. We're waiting our turn in the checkout line now so it shouldn't be long."
Buffy was quiet for a moment then blurted out what'd happened. She admitted she didn't have the absolute best view of the woman but just knew it was her. "She was at our house," she whispered, feeling frustrated.
OoOoO
Xander climbed into the driver's seat and was about make some kind of joke but the look on Angel's face had him dropping that idea real fast. He had never been good in these type of moments and tended to make them more awkward than necessary. He didn't know all the details of what had apparently happened but he had told him Buffy came home to Darla at their house, that she'd left before anything could happen though. And now, his once friend looked plain awful.
"Do you have any idea as to why she's hanging back around?" he asked after a moment, unsure of what else to do.
Angel sighed, shaking his head. He suddenly looked so tired, almost defeated by life around him. "I only sort of knew her through college, Xander. We had few classes together, we'd see each other around town, on campus or whatever. She flirted a number of times but hell, by the time she even graduated she had been engaged to someone. We had next to no contact until she was brought in for the job. I still don't even fucking know what any of that was about," he told him.
Angel rubbed a hand down his face. "It was literally just out of nowhere... so much out of fucking nowhere with her. I've never understood it. And then shit really hit the fan with Buffy that... that night... and she was gone. Just gone. I hadn't seen her once or heard from her in any way whatsoever. Nothing. Not one fucking thing until running into her in the store."
Xander thought about that while he finally turned the car on. "Maybe it's all more about Buffy than you?" he asked out loud. "The timing doesn't make sense, at least not to me. She chased after you, ruined your twos' lives and then gets what she seemingly wanted in you guys splitting up but doesn't show her face until you're back together. Just seems strange to me."
"As far as I know, she didn't even know Buffy until well after the fact of us being together."
Xander shrugged, pulling out of the parking lot. The rest of the ride was in silence but Xander couldn't help but realize for the first time probably what a toll everything that had happened when he and Buffy split up had taken on him.
Telling him to just take a moment when they reached the house, he carried everything inside. "You should go talk to him," he said in a low voice as he passed Buffy by.
OoOoO
Buffy hated not knowing what Darla's play was. She was back out of nowhere, hadn't made any move to actually contact them before, and then today happened. She searched all around the outside of the house for some sign of something she might have left but came up empty. It was too bold of a move coming to their house and she had to admit that it shook her a little.
Angel didn't look like he was fairing any better. She climbed into the truck and grabbed his hand in hers. "It's okay, Angel. It's not going to change anything. Although I have to admit it makes me worried... This is our home... she doesn't need to be here."
He didn't say anything, just brought her hand up to his lips for a moment. When he got out of the side door a few minutes later she waited for him to come around and help her out as well and lead her back to the house. Xander was already working on getting things going in the kitchen and Angel walked in to tell him not to worry over it. "You're our guest."
"I'm not a guest. I'm your friend, you guys are my family," Xander corrected and then told them both to get out of the kitchen and that he had it covered.
OoOoO
When everyone had finally gone home, Buffy climbed into Angel's lap on the couch. "You gonna tell me about this dress of yours now?" he asked.
"Nope. Not one little detail." He playfully groaned at her. She could tell he was still upset about the whole new Darla situation but he was doing his best to hide it. "I want you to have the full experience of seeing me in it the first time when I walk down to aisle." She kissed his neck, then again just below his ear.
Never one to miss an opportunity, Angel's large, very warm hands fondled her breasts after slipping under the thing material of her shirt. Her chest pressed more into his palms, her ass pressing into his lap... which was only growing more excited by the moment. Darla easily slipped from her mind, from her worries and she thought about what the little app on her phone had said about the next several days and her so-called window of opportunity approaching. Of course, those things weren't fool proof but she sure didn't mind the practice if that's all it was, either.
She often thought it must have been a miracle - or perhaps the work of the devil - that she had gone as long as she had without this mans' touch.
OoOoO
Tucking a strand of loose blonde hair behind her ear, Buffy opened the cabinet doors under the sink and placed a new box of tampons next to a small towers' worth of pregnancy tests. Whatever the future held, she wanted to be prepared for when the time came for either item to be needed.