Open Your Eyes: Talk to Me

The night seemed to never end, it was only two in the morning and he felt as if a week had already gone by. No one could sleep so they all spread out through out the lobby and did their own thing. The only one that seemed to have no problem sleeping was Buffy, who finally crashed around one thirty next to Giles on the lobby sofa.

As for him, he now eyed Illyria sitting on the steps leading up to the second floor. Her hair was loose and she had her nose buried in a book. For a minute he was reminded of Fred, but he knew that it wasn't. Everything about her now screamed Illyria instead of Fred. Her body was relaxed and confident, unlike Fred's shy and introverted one.

Moving over to her side, Wesley now sat next to her, waiting for her to acknowledge him.

"What do you want?" she asked, not looking up from her book.

"I want to finish our conversation...before I was interrupted." He offered.

Finally she looked up from the book to his blue eyes, but unlike hers, his carried a depth to them that only an individual that had lived a world of pain could possess.

With her undivided attention he went ahead, whatever he had planned to tell her on the plane, completely forgotten.

"I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier on, you're not an abomination, I only said it to hurt you, drive you away from me." At Illyria's puzzled expression he knew that he had touched a rough spot.

"In fact you're the opposite. I realized that you're a miracle Illyria. The way you managed to win your mortality, but most of all, the way you've grown into an exceptional human being..." Wesley now felt as if he would throw up, for the first time in his life his hands shook due to his nervousness.

Bringing his shacking hand to her baby-soft cheek, a tear rolled down her eye and onto his hand. "There's such a bright light within you...such life. It's absolutely contagious Illyria; I want to feel that life too. There's something inside of me beginning to grow and you're responsible for it."

"What is this something that's growing inside of you?" she asked, still not fully understanding what he was saying to her.

"Here" he placed her hand over his heart, "right here, it's growing with each day by your side. I tried to deny it because I thought it was unfair to Fred, but now I realized that loving you has nothing to do with her. Her soul is gone and yours now resides within her body...or should I say your body. I will always love her, she was my first love...but you, you've surpassed that...you're the love of my life."

A smile began to spread on her face as she looked into his eyes, had he just told her that he loved her? That she was the love of his life? Yes, he had.

They both moved in and were now holding tightly to each other as they relish the feel of each other. Wesley finally let out the breath he had been holding.Everything, he finally concluded, in his life had all been a prelude to her. Being sent to California, having been fired from the Council, joining Angel Investigations, loosing Fred – all of it had been the road to her. A soul both wise beyond her years and also as naïve as a new born babe.

Bringing his mouth to hers, their lips barely touch as they both began to close in on the space between them. He could feel their softness, although he had already kissed Fred, this was different...somehow all new to him.

Right when their lips were grazing each other the doors of the hotel burst open, Faith and five teenager girls standing behind her.

"We're here!" she announced with a smile, trying to cover up the fear that gripped her.

TBC