Part 20
Buffy arrived at the door of William's apartment. It was Saturday, and they had a date to meet Willow and Xander to pick out costumes for the Halloween dance on Thursday. This was the first time Buffy had been here and she felt strangely nervous. In older times she would have just barged in on him unannounced. Somehow busting through the door seemed inappropriate now. She raised her knuckles to knock, but the door opened before she could make contact.
"Hi." She said.
"Come in." He stood aside to let her pass. "You're early." He was wearing a pair of jeans. His hair was damp and he had a towel draped around his neck.
"I wasn't sure if I had the right place. I never pictured you in an apartment." She looked around. His place was very nice. The furnishings were modern, but comfortable looking. One entire wall was nothing but shelves that were filled with books.
"Just give me a minute to finish getting ready." He turned to walk toward what she assumed was his bedroom. "Make yourself comfortable. I'd tell you to get something out of the fridge, but I don't think what I have would suit your palate."
"That's OK." She called to him. "I'm fine." But he was gone behind a closed door. She wandered over to the shelves, curious about his reading habits. He had quite an eclectic collection, with everything from classics to thrillers. They were in alphabetical order by author. She smiled. Her own books were strewn around her house. She knew there were at least three paperbacks under her bed and the only hardcover books she owned were from the year and a half she attended Sunnydale U. She looked at some of the author's names: Chekov, Clancy, Crichton, and several others she was unfamiliar with.
He re-entered the room and stepped up behind her. "I don't even know you." She said.
"You know some parts of me."
She ran her hand over the spines of the books. "I don't know this part. It's new."
"No it's not. I just don't try to hide it anymore."
She moved down the shelves and looked at some more of the books. "I don't see any Nietzsche."
"That philosophical clap trap was always Angel's bag. It bores me to tears."
"I never really understood it myself." She admitted, turning to face him.
"You would. You just have to wade through the language."
"Maybe sometime you could show me."
"Maybe..." He studied her quietly for a moment, then stepped back. "But for now, we have more important fish to fry. Namely, costumes." He gestured toward the door. "After you."
She glanced at him coyly as she passed. "You're not going to be able to avoid me forever, you know."
"I wouldn't call it avoiding." He leaned over to open the door for her. "I call it looking out for your best interests."
She stopped short at that, then turned to glare at him. "Who are you to decide what's best for me?"
He raised his hands, as if to ward off her anger. "I just meant."
"It's not like I'm a starry eyed teenager anymore!" She continued, as if he hadn't spoken. "And it's not like I haven't learned from my mistakes. Believe me, I have learned lifetimes worth of lessons from my past screw- ups."
"Buffy, I just don't think that you and I."
"The last vampire I was involved with killed some of my friends, after he fell in love with me. And do you know what?" She barely stopped for breath. "I forgave him. God help me, I just let it slide."
"Well, you did stab him with."
"Then I let him convince me that we had no future. Now you tell me, what kind of a future do I have anyway? Huh? I could go out there and die any day. Hell, I'm even getting good at it! So what does it matter that I'll get old and that you won't? Who's to say I'll get the chance to get old?"
"You don't have to."
"And you want me to have normal? I've tried that out. I don't know why I ever thought that 'normal' would work for me. Normal guys get killed following me around. Normal guys have normal jobs and want normal wives to give them normal kids. Now look at me. Do I seem remotely normal to you?" She poked him in the chest. "What makes you think I would ever be happy with that? Everyone goes around saying."
He grasped her by her shoulders and kissed her. All of the tension magically drained out of her body. His hands moved up to hold her head gently as they explored each other's mouths and faces, rediscovering the taste and feel of one another. Her arms crept around his waist and up his back as she pressed herself closer to him. Finally, reluctantly, he dropped his hands and stepped back. He looked at her warily, as if expecting her to hit him in the nose or kick him. Instead, she just gazed at him softly.
"Why did you do that?" She asked.
"Had to shut you up somehow." He cocked his head toward the still-open doorway. "We've got places to go, people to see."
"That's right." She said. "I forgot." She stepped into the hall.
"Buffy." He stopped her. "You're right, you're not a normal girl. You're special."
He stepped into the hall to join her, pulling the door shut behind them. They walked to the elevator in companionable silence.
*****
Much later Buffy, William, Xander and Willow exited Mr. Kitten's Kostumes. Xander carried one bag and William held two. Neither bag was his. "I don't understand how we can spend three bloody hours shopping around for these ridiculous get-ups, and I still couldn't find anything!"
Willow patted him on the back. "You were just being too picky."
"Picky? Me?!"
"You got to admit, William, that you did turn your nose up at everything they showed you." Xander offered.
"Everything they showed me had bleedin' tights! There's got to be a shop around here that has something that isn't all nancy-boy."
"We went to all four costume shops in Sunnydale." Buffy reminded him. "Xander found his the first place we went."
"Well he doesn't have to wear pantyhose now, does he?"
Xander clapped an arm around William's shoulders. "Just got lucky with this one." Xander lifted his bag. "I even get a cool little attachment."
"I know you don't want to, but you really might just have to do the vampire thing." Buffy told him. "You could wear leather and then just 'Grrr'."
"No thank you. The fact that I spent over a century terrorizing people is not something I want to parade around in front of my students."
Buffy threw her hands up. "You're impossible!"
"Nothing new there." Willow said dryly. William glared at her. Buffy tried to hide her own smirk.
"I don't really take to this shopping business, anyway." William complained. "Back in my day people came by, you told them what you wanted, they took your measurements, and brought everything back to you a few weeks later. I can't believe that humans these days enjoy all this tramping around and scavenging."
"Let me clue you in on that buddy." Xander leaned toward him. "This is not a 'human thing'. This is a 'woman thing'. And if you think these two are bad, you should see Anya in action."
Tension filled the group at his words, and an uncomfortable silence followed. "Way to go Alexander Harris." Xander muttered. "Once again with the mouth opening and foot inserting."
"Look," William began. "I'm really, really sorry about that, and."
"Stop it right there." Xander interrupted. "We all screwed up royally last year, and we had the benefit of souls. What happened at The Magic Box was not entirely your fault, or Anya's. I have to take a lot of the blame for hurting her."
"Besides," Willow piped in. "Now you're back and you're all different and everything, and you've paid for our costumes. If I can get away with trying to end the world, we can forgive you for."
"We don't have to come right out and say it, do we?" Buffy asked. She looped her hand through William's bent arm. "I can think of lots better things to talk about, like the weather, or what we want for lunch. Is anyone else starved, because I could eat a."
"Holy cow." Xander said.
"That's a little more than what I had in mind." Buffy told him.
"No, I mean that." Xander pointed up. There was a huge creature flying overhead. Its wings made a sharp snapping sound as they flapped against the wind.
"And that would be Giles' dragon, I suppose." Buffy observed.
"Wow." Willow said. "That's really big."
"I've seen that somewhere before." Xander wrinkled his forehead in concentration. "Where, where.?"
"I think I'd remember that." Buffy said, as she watched the beast circle around the town.
"I've got it!" Xander snapped his fingers. "It was the night you died."
"Which time?"
"On the platform, before you jumped." Xander looked at her. "Don't you remember the things that came through the opening?"
"I was a little preoccupied."
"Me too." Willow said.
"I think my head was buried in bricks." William added.
"Well creatures came through the rift from some of the other dimensions before Buffy jumped and closed the hole." He pointed at the dragon, which had turned and was flying away from the town. "That was one of them."
"And now he's back." William said.
Buffy sighed. "That can't be good."
Buffy arrived at the door of William's apartment. It was Saturday, and they had a date to meet Willow and Xander to pick out costumes for the Halloween dance on Thursday. This was the first time Buffy had been here and she felt strangely nervous. In older times she would have just barged in on him unannounced. Somehow busting through the door seemed inappropriate now. She raised her knuckles to knock, but the door opened before she could make contact.
"Hi." She said.
"Come in." He stood aside to let her pass. "You're early." He was wearing a pair of jeans. His hair was damp and he had a towel draped around his neck.
"I wasn't sure if I had the right place. I never pictured you in an apartment." She looked around. His place was very nice. The furnishings were modern, but comfortable looking. One entire wall was nothing but shelves that were filled with books.
"Just give me a minute to finish getting ready." He turned to walk toward what she assumed was his bedroom. "Make yourself comfortable. I'd tell you to get something out of the fridge, but I don't think what I have would suit your palate."
"That's OK." She called to him. "I'm fine." But he was gone behind a closed door. She wandered over to the shelves, curious about his reading habits. He had quite an eclectic collection, with everything from classics to thrillers. They were in alphabetical order by author. She smiled. Her own books were strewn around her house. She knew there were at least three paperbacks under her bed and the only hardcover books she owned were from the year and a half she attended Sunnydale U. She looked at some of the author's names: Chekov, Clancy, Crichton, and several others she was unfamiliar with.
He re-entered the room and stepped up behind her. "I don't even know you." She said.
"You know some parts of me."
She ran her hand over the spines of the books. "I don't know this part. It's new."
"No it's not. I just don't try to hide it anymore."
She moved down the shelves and looked at some more of the books. "I don't see any Nietzsche."
"That philosophical clap trap was always Angel's bag. It bores me to tears."
"I never really understood it myself." She admitted, turning to face him.
"You would. You just have to wade through the language."
"Maybe sometime you could show me."
"Maybe..." He studied her quietly for a moment, then stepped back. "But for now, we have more important fish to fry. Namely, costumes." He gestured toward the door. "After you."
She glanced at him coyly as she passed. "You're not going to be able to avoid me forever, you know."
"I wouldn't call it avoiding." He leaned over to open the door for her. "I call it looking out for your best interests."
She stopped short at that, then turned to glare at him. "Who are you to decide what's best for me?"
He raised his hands, as if to ward off her anger. "I just meant."
"It's not like I'm a starry eyed teenager anymore!" She continued, as if he hadn't spoken. "And it's not like I haven't learned from my mistakes. Believe me, I have learned lifetimes worth of lessons from my past screw- ups."
"Buffy, I just don't think that you and I."
"The last vampire I was involved with killed some of my friends, after he fell in love with me. And do you know what?" She barely stopped for breath. "I forgave him. God help me, I just let it slide."
"Well, you did stab him with."
"Then I let him convince me that we had no future. Now you tell me, what kind of a future do I have anyway? Huh? I could go out there and die any day. Hell, I'm even getting good at it! So what does it matter that I'll get old and that you won't? Who's to say I'll get the chance to get old?"
"You don't have to."
"And you want me to have normal? I've tried that out. I don't know why I ever thought that 'normal' would work for me. Normal guys get killed following me around. Normal guys have normal jobs and want normal wives to give them normal kids. Now look at me. Do I seem remotely normal to you?" She poked him in the chest. "What makes you think I would ever be happy with that? Everyone goes around saying."
He grasped her by her shoulders and kissed her. All of the tension magically drained out of her body. His hands moved up to hold her head gently as they explored each other's mouths and faces, rediscovering the taste and feel of one another. Her arms crept around his waist and up his back as she pressed herself closer to him. Finally, reluctantly, he dropped his hands and stepped back. He looked at her warily, as if expecting her to hit him in the nose or kick him. Instead, she just gazed at him softly.
"Why did you do that?" She asked.
"Had to shut you up somehow." He cocked his head toward the still-open doorway. "We've got places to go, people to see."
"That's right." She said. "I forgot." She stepped into the hall.
"Buffy." He stopped her. "You're right, you're not a normal girl. You're special."
He stepped into the hall to join her, pulling the door shut behind them. They walked to the elevator in companionable silence.
*****
Much later Buffy, William, Xander and Willow exited Mr. Kitten's Kostumes. Xander carried one bag and William held two. Neither bag was his. "I don't understand how we can spend three bloody hours shopping around for these ridiculous get-ups, and I still couldn't find anything!"
Willow patted him on the back. "You were just being too picky."
"Picky? Me?!"
"You got to admit, William, that you did turn your nose up at everything they showed you." Xander offered.
"Everything they showed me had bleedin' tights! There's got to be a shop around here that has something that isn't all nancy-boy."
"We went to all four costume shops in Sunnydale." Buffy reminded him. "Xander found his the first place we went."
"Well he doesn't have to wear pantyhose now, does he?"
Xander clapped an arm around William's shoulders. "Just got lucky with this one." Xander lifted his bag. "I even get a cool little attachment."
"I know you don't want to, but you really might just have to do the vampire thing." Buffy told him. "You could wear leather and then just 'Grrr'."
"No thank you. The fact that I spent over a century terrorizing people is not something I want to parade around in front of my students."
Buffy threw her hands up. "You're impossible!"
"Nothing new there." Willow said dryly. William glared at her. Buffy tried to hide her own smirk.
"I don't really take to this shopping business, anyway." William complained. "Back in my day people came by, you told them what you wanted, they took your measurements, and brought everything back to you a few weeks later. I can't believe that humans these days enjoy all this tramping around and scavenging."
"Let me clue you in on that buddy." Xander leaned toward him. "This is not a 'human thing'. This is a 'woman thing'. And if you think these two are bad, you should see Anya in action."
Tension filled the group at his words, and an uncomfortable silence followed. "Way to go Alexander Harris." Xander muttered. "Once again with the mouth opening and foot inserting."
"Look," William began. "I'm really, really sorry about that, and."
"Stop it right there." Xander interrupted. "We all screwed up royally last year, and we had the benefit of souls. What happened at The Magic Box was not entirely your fault, or Anya's. I have to take a lot of the blame for hurting her."
"Besides," Willow piped in. "Now you're back and you're all different and everything, and you've paid for our costumes. If I can get away with trying to end the world, we can forgive you for."
"We don't have to come right out and say it, do we?" Buffy asked. She looped her hand through William's bent arm. "I can think of lots better things to talk about, like the weather, or what we want for lunch. Is anyone else starved, because I could eat a."
"Holy cow." Xander said.
"That's a little more than what I had in mind." Buffy told him.
"No, I mean that." Xander pointed up. There was a huge creature flying overhead. Its wings made a sharp snapping sound as they flapped against the wind.
"And that would be Giles' dragon, I suppose." Buffy observed.
"Wow." Willow said. "That's really big."
"I've seen that somewhere before." Xander wrinkled his forehead in concentration. "Where, where.?"
"I think I'd remember that." Buffy said, as she watched the beast circle around the town.
"I've got it!" Xander snapped his fingers. "It was the night you died."
"Which time?"
"On the platform, before you jumped." Xander looked at her. "Don't you remember the things that came through the opening?"
"I was a little preoccupied."
"Me too." Willow said.
"I think my head was buried in bricks." William added.
"Well creatures came through the rift from some of the other dimensions before Buffy jumped and closed the hole." He pointed at the dragon, which had turned and was flying away from the town. "That was one of them."
"And now he's back." William said.
Buffy sighed. "That can't be good."