Displaced:
Back to Reality (Ch. 4)
By obi's girl
Buffy roamed the streets of Sunnydale, glancing from one direction to the other. Death said Angel was coming but for some reason, she didn't want him to find her staying at Giles' place. It was silly. She knew that but the way he talked to her when she came back...Buffy didn't want to admit anything then but she felt something. Something felt different between them. In his eyes, she saw something there that wasn't there before. Of course, it could have been - she just ignored it.
Everything was so confusing. Death said he didn't know why she was back but Buffy knew he knew why. Why else would he be there? Buffy shook her head, finding herself at the playground. She smiled, remembering coming there as a child. She'd play in the sandbox, her dad and mom, keeping watch over Dawn as she slept.
Buffy frowned. That was a false memory. Dawn was never there. She may have been dead for ten years and completely out of the loop, but she knew, she ** knew ** she never had a sister and yet, when she talked with Dawn, she reminded her so much of their lost mother.
So much had changed. She changed, her friends changed. Sunnydale wasn't the same. The Hellmouth was over, not one apocalypse since she died or some gang of vampires or demons trying to destroy the world. There were vampires and demons, but they were less enthusiastic over actually creating Hell since they knew she would stop them. There was no need for her. So why did she come back?
She didn't remember anything. All remembered was flinging herself into the Hellmouth, saving her sister and darkness enveloping her and nothing after that... No light at the end of the tunnel; no one to greet her and help her pass on. If the Twelve Apostles met her and brought her before the Almighty she wouldn't have remembered it. Like they have some secret to hide up there, she reasoned.
Buffy looked up, staring at the stars. It was late, probably morning all ready. She hadn't been out long but she knew it was late or early or some time of the day. She wasn't sure. She closed her eyes, sudennly feeling someone take her left hand, holding it tight. She reopened her eyes and smiled at the man beside her.
Angel smiled back as she rested her head on his chest, staring at the stars above.
**
Buffy smiled as she rested next to Angel on the grass, still staring at the sky. She was quiet. Since they met, she hadn't said a word. It scared her to say anything. Angel caressed her arm and smiled. She smiled back at him, though displaced.
She shrugged, "I just feel different...like I don't belong anymore. So much has changed..."
"Ten years is a long time, Buffy. You can't expect everything to be the same; people change...it's human nature."
Buffy nodded, frowning slightly as she rested on Angel's chest. She heard something. It was like a 'thump-thump' sound. She heard the sound several times before, her own heart, Riley's heart but this was new. She smiled, looking up at him.
He smiled back, "I was going to tell you but I didn't want to interrupt your thoughts."
"When did this happen? How did this happen?"
He shrugged, "Not too long after you were gone. The End of Days...I survived it and this was my reward only it didn't feel much like a reward because I found out you were dead." Angel frowned, fingering the ring of her hand, "I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't prepared for it. When the PtB told me what happened, I died. Part of me died...I begged them to return you to me. I told them being human wouldn't mean anything if I couldn't spend my days with you, but they refused me."
"After grieving I eventually accepted that you were gone and there was nothing I could do to bring you back. So when Cordelia had a premonition about you, I scoffed at her, reminding her it would be impossible that you were alive. I dreamed so many nights that you came back to me, but each time I woke up, I remembered it was only a dream and that you had a place up there, dreaming of me. You on your own cloud, looking down on me, watching my every move, helping me cope along the way...ease me pain."
Angel smiled, facing her. She smiled back as he touched her face, "Now you're here, I don't want to wake up if I'm dreaming. I don't want to lose you again, Buffy. I never knew how much I loved until you were gone, taken from my life forever. I just want to lie here forever, holding you close, never let you go. 'Cause I fear if I do, I'll never see you again."
Buffy cried, hugging Angel, "That was so beautiful. I had forgotten how sweet and caring you are. I forgot. I forgot everything." She paused, "I'm sorry."
He kissed her forehead, "There's no need for that. No apologies necessary." Angel paused, staring at her, "We've had a long history of ups and downs Buffy but through it all, we've always managed to find a way back to each other."
"We have haven't we?" she paused, sighing, "I wouldn't be too surprised if sometime in the future, instead of reading Romeo and Juliet in English classes, teenagers would read about the tale of a vampire slayer in love with a vampire with a soul. A vampire slayer and vampire who were in fact destined to be enemies but instead turned into lovers."
Angel laughed, brushing her hair, "I wouldn't be too surprised either. Word travels fast." He paused, "So, what do you want to do now?"
Buffy's smile grew wider, an idea forming in her small head...
TBC
Buffy roamed the streets of Sunnydale, glancing from one direction to the other. Death said Angel was coming but for some reason, she didn't want him to find her staying at Giles' place. It was silly. She knew that but the way he talked to her when she came back...Buffy didn't want to admit anything then but she felt something. Something felt different between them. In his eyes, she saw something there that wasn't there before. Of course, it could have been - she just ignored it.
Everything was so confusing. Death said he didn't know why she was back but Buffy knew he knew why. Why else would he be there? Buffy shook her head, finding herself at the playground. She smiled, remembering coming there as a child. She'd play in the sandbox, her dad and mom, keeping watch over Dawn as she slept.
Buffy frowned. That was a false memory. Dawn was never there. She may have been dead for ten years and completely out of the loop, but she knew, she ** knew ** she never had a sister and yet, when she talked with Dawn, she reminded her so much of their lost mother.
So much had changed. She changed, her friends changed. Sunnydale wasn't the same. The Hellmouth was over, not one apocalypse since she died or some gang of vampires or demons trying to destroy the world. There were vampires and demons, but they were less enthusiastic over actually creating Hell since they knew she would stop them. There was no need for her. So why did she come back?
She didn't remember anything. All remembered was flinging herself into the Hellmouth, saving her sister and darkness enveloping her and nothing after that... No light at the end of the tunnel; no one to greet her and help her pass on. If the Twelve Apostles met her and brought her before the Almighty she wouldn't have remembered it. Like they have some secret to hide up there, she reasoned.
Buffy looked up, staring at the stars. It was late, probably morning all ready. She hadn't been out long but she knew it was late or early or some time of the day. She wasn't sure. She closed her eyes, sudennly feeling someone take her left hand, holding it tight. She reopened her eyes and smiled at the man beside her.
Angel smiled back as she rested her head on his chest, staring at the stars above.
**
Buffy smiled as she rested next to Angel on the grass, still staring at the sky. She was quiet. Since they met, she hadn't said a word. It scared her to say anything. Angel caressed her arm and smiled. She smiled back at him, though displaced.
She shrugged, "I just feel different...like I don't belong anymore. So much has changed..."
"Ten years is a long time, Buffy. You can't expect everything to be the same; people change...it's human nature."
Buffy nodded, frowning slightly as she rested on Angel's chest. She heard something. It was like a 'thump-thump' sound. She heard the sound several times before, her own heart, Riley's heart but this was new. She smiled, looking up at him.
He smiled back, "I was going to tell you but I didn't want to interrupt your thoughts."
"When did this happen? How did this happen?"
He shrugged, "Not too long after you were gone. The End of Days...I survived it and this was my reward only it didn't feel much like a reward because I found out you were dead." Angel frowned, fingering the ring of her hand, "I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't prepared for it. When the PtB told me what happened, I died. Part of me died...I begged them to return you to me. I told them being human wouldn't mean anything if I couldn't spend my days with you, but they refused me."
"After grieving I eventually accepted that you were gone and there was nothing I could do to bring you back. So when Cordelia had a premonition about you, I scoffed at her, reminding her it would be impossible that you were alive. I dreamed so many nights that you came back to me, but each time I woke up, I remembered it was only a dream and that you had a place up there, dreaming of me. You on your own cloud, looking down on me, watching my every move, helping me cope along the way...ease me pain."
Angel smiled, facing her. She smiled back as he touched her face, "Now you're here, I don't want to wake up if I'm dreaming. I don't want to lose you again, Buffy. I never knew how much I loved until you were gone, taken from my life forever. I just want to lie here forever, holding you close, never let you go. 'Cause I fear if I do, I'll never see you again."
Buffy cried, hugging Angel, "That was so beautiful. I had forgotten how sweet and caring you are. I forgot. I forgot everything." She paused, "I'm sorry."
He kissed her forehead, "There's no need for that. No apologies necessary." Angel paused, staring at her, "We've had a long history of ups and downs Buffy but through it all, we've always managed to find a way back to each other."
"We have haven't we?" she paused, sighing, "I wouldn't be too surprised if sometime in the future, instead of reading Romeo and Juliet in English classes, teenagers would read about the tale of a vampire slayer in love with a vampire with a soul. A vampire slayer and vampire who were in fact destined to be enemies but instead turned into lovers."
Angel laughed, brushing her hair, "I wouldn't be too surprised either. Word travels fast." He paused, "So, what do you want to do now?"
Buffy's smile grew wider, an idea forming in her small head...
TBC
