Come Rain, Come Shine
By Vixen
"You what!?" Lilah half-shouted into her cell phone as she paced the length of the reception hallway in a straight firm line, headless of the movers bringing in heavy carts full of decorations and chairs for the upcoming ceremony. Her mouth was drawn into a tight line, remembering to keep her cool despite the circumstances.
Her black high-heeled shoes, no longer Boracchi but still classy enough for her, clicked angrily along the marble ballroom floor as she turned the corner to get out of the way of the multitude of caterers and coordinators. Listening to the DJ on the other side of the phone, she waited for an explanation, knowing nothing the person said would be enough. Excuses were never enough for Lilah Morgan, especially not on her wedding day.
She glowered, placing one hand on her hip even though this stance was ineffective over the phone. Nevertheless, her tone of voice carried all the expression displayed in her pose. "I don't care how much Wolfram and Hart is paying you not to show up, I still have sway in this city. If you chose not to show up tonight as per our agreement I will be forced to.." Her eyes widened as the phone went dead. "Hello?"
Lilah stared at the phone. Shaking her head, she clicked it off and shoved it back into her black bag. Ever since getting fired from Wolfram and Hart things had been more than tense in her life. She was lucky to be alive after some of the tricks they had pulled. Never being one to lay down and die however, she'd returned their ill wishes in spades, even to the point of getting hitched to one of the white hats. The leader of the good team in fact, one Buffy Summers.
Their game went on throughout the year, Lilah and the Senior Partners each trying to best each other. One last glitch in her plans had been expected, still it surprised her that they'd taken the easy way of annoying her. Wasn't she even important enough to warrant an assassination plot anymore? They could have at least tried to poison the dinner guests, something to show that they still thought of her as some kind of threat and not just someone to be dusted under the rug.
"Lilah," Xander spooked her from her self-inflicted misery, awakening her from thoughts of how to retaliate against the company. She could tolerate him almost less than the Senior Partners, but as one of Buffy's fiends she tried to show him something of a smile. "There's um.. something you might want to.. see. Sort of a problem we're having with the caterers."
She sighed, wondering what else would go wrong. Gathering herself, Lilah began following him to the end of the room where the food and desserts were arranged. "Couldn't you have taken care of it? You were supposed to be in charge of refreshments. It was the one task I assigned to you. It can't be that hard to sign for one simple delivery, can it?"
"I wasn't sure you really wanted me to sign for.. that." He waved his hand at the cake that lay on the table, chuckling nervously. Lilah did not share his mirth, looking at the giant penis-shaped cake in horror. "They said that's what you ordered, but.. "
Cutting him off, Lilah grabbed the jacket of the caterer to the right of her, hauling the skinny teenager off his feet. "Do you see that?" The teenager looked, nodded and gulped in one motion. "Did you deliver that?" He gave another tiny affirmative bob of his head. "Why did you deliver that to my wedding? Is this your idea of a joke?"
The caterer fell back to his feet, looked at the yellow order form in his hand. "But that's what you ordered." He shrugged. "Who was I to argue? To each their own, you know."
Out on the great lawn of the rented mansion, Buffy was having just as much bad luck with her end of things. Bending down beside her three-year-old nephew, the ruffles of her expensive wedding gown splayed out on the ground. She could only hope it didn't pick up any grass stains from this unexpected conflict. "Bobby, please, tell me where you hid the rings." When no answer came from the boy, Buffy added, "I'll give you a piece of chocolate?"
He shook his head, his blond hair falling out of place.
"I'll give you.." Buffy wracked her brain for a proper bribe. Her eyes lit up as she recalled what would have worked on her as a little girl. "I'll give you a puppy. Would you like that? A nice little puppy if you tell me where you put the wedding rings."
His only reply was to stick out his tongue, stubborn like a true Summers.
Buffy stood up, throwing her arms over her head in the process. This was very much not how she pictured spending the half hour before her wedding ceremony. Casting a frown over her shoulder where Dawn and Giles were standing, Dawn in her peach bridesmaid dress and Giles in his tux, Buffy griped, "Well, great, I'm out of options. Now what am I supposed to do? I can't get married without those rings. They were going to be blessed by Father Richardson.. It's like the cornerstone of the whole wedding shebang."
Dawn picked her son up into her arms and then turned to her sister, "Buffy, it's okay. Why don't you go sit down and get a drink. Me and Giles will handle this." Not surprised by the doubting look Buffy gave her, Dawn worked even harder to reassure her. "Really, we can handle it. Go relax and.. you know, breath. I hear that helps."
With a grumble, Buffy nodded, not knowing what else she could do. Then she added with sisterly annoyance, "You're lucky I'm related to you or else I'd so slay your ass right now." Despite her anger, Buffy reached over and straightened Bobby's hair. A half-grin formed across her face, "I'll give you ten minutes and then I'm coming back, buddy."
Taking her leave and recovering her sanity, Buffy opened the intricately carved double doors of the mansion and entered its high ceiling hall. It was a beautiful place to hold a wedding, dating back to the time the Spanish had occupied that area of California. Someone Lilah had known in her business practice had offered it to them half price. At least one thing had worked out for them.
A parade of florists passed by her, carrying bouquets of carnations, peach lilies and other pastel blooms. The decorators parted before her, giving Buffy a full view of the other side of the room where She was standing. Looking as elegant as the first moment Buffy had seen her, Lilah wore simple black business suit. Nothing like the frilly dress Buffy had insisted on for herself. They each had their own styles which complemented the other as none had before.
Lilah saw her from where she stood, turning from the table of refreshments and began walking towards Buffy. Despite the fury of activity around the room, once their eyes locked on each other, there was only the two of them.
Suddenly, the blond remembered the old superstition and her hands flew to cover her eyes. She called blindly out to Lilah, "Wait, no, you can't be here. You weren't supposed to come down here until the ceremony began."
Buffy could feel Lilah's arms wrapping around her slender waist as her whispered voice did things to her insides, "I couldn't wait." Lilah took the other woman's hands in her own, moving them away from her face and gaining a view of those green eyes in the process. Those eyes always made her feel calmer. "Besides, there's a lot of work to do. I couldn't leave it all to you."
There was something to her tone that made Buffy forget all about the silly superstition. Frowning, she asked, "You're having trouble with all this too?"
"There have been," Lilah looked behind her where Xander was still arguing with the caterers, "some difficulties. Nothing I can't handle, as long as I have a good reason for dealing with these problems." She ran her hand over Buffy's chin. "Don't worry. We're getting married today if I have to kill everyone in the process in order to make it happen."
"Everyone?"
Lilah considered placing a kiss on her pouting mouth. The other woman was always thinking of the rest of the world and herself last, that was no way to live. When they were married, Lilah would see to it that the girl was taken care of just as much as she took care of others. "I'll make you a deal. You and I will go fix all the problems, settle everything and then we can meet back in the coat room for a few minutes before the ceremony for a little rest and relaxation before everything begins."
Buffy thought this over, then reached up with a kiss. "Okay, give me five minutes and I'll be there."
Lilah went to work as soon as Buffy was gone, resolved to fix both of her dilemmas without throwing the tantrum she felt like having. Rejoining Xander by the table, she looked down at the disgusting display. The whole reason for becoming a lesbian was to get away from the dreaded penis and now here it was taunting her. At first she thought it was just another one of Wolfram and Hart's tricks, but once Xander showed her the order form she knew that wasn't the case. Normal human incompetence was to blame.
"See, they confused the order with a bachelorette party's cake," Xander pointed to the address on the order form. How it had gotten here though, he couldn't say. "The catering company can give you your money back, but he can't get you a whole wedding cake within the two hours."
Lilah rolled her eyes, "Why don't they just call the other party and switch the cakes?"
"The kid called over there, but no one's answering the phone." Xander's wagged his eyebrows, "He seems to think their entertainment has already arrived and thus they're too.. uh, busy.. to answer the phone."
Lilah gripped the edge of the table, intent on doing serious damage to the owner of the company once this day was over and she had enough time to exact her revenge properly. For now all she did was point to the order form and tell Xander, "Sign for it and then get me a knife."
"A knife?"
"Yes, you heard me." Lilah reeled on him. "Don't make me repeat myself, I really hate that."
Xander backed down under her icy gaze, signing the paper and handing it hastily to the teenager. Pointing to the door, he ushered the delivery boy away. Then, returning to Lilah with a silver knife, he paused a moment before handing it over to her. "I don't know if I should trust you with the sharp weapons just yet."
Yanking the knife away from him, Lilah shook her head at his uselessness. "I'll just have to earn your trust then." After scrutinizing the cake, she sliced through the middle of it and began to separate it into small chunks. When it was cut up just right you could barely tell what form it once took.
Xander saw the logic in her actions and then went to retrieve a knife for himself. Coming back to the refreshment table, he joined her effort and together they worked to sort out the mess.
Buffy paced across the lawn, forming a small circle. Meanwhile, Dawn pried information from her son but it did not seem forthcoming. He hadn't said anything in the past few minutes, reluctant to give more information. Buffy rubbed her hands together, biting her lip in frustration, "This isn't working, Giles."
"I say, Buffy, if you weren't hovering about we might have achieved more progress in this endeavor." Giles knelt on the lawn beside Dawn and Bobby. He was all out of ideas and Buffy's pacing was certainly not helping. "Bobby, could you at least let us know why you are so determined to keep the whereabouts of the missing objects secret."
"I don't want her to move away," Bobby suddenly blurted out, pointing an accusing finger in Buffy's direction. "I don't want her to stay in Los Angeles. She said she would once she married," he made a face, the same one he made when his mother tried to get him to eat his broccoli, "Lilah."
The boy began running down the hilly lawn, not getting very far on his three-year-old legs before Buffy caught up to him. She grabbed him up in a big hug. "Come on, sweetie. Talk to me."
"No," he continued to kick her in the knees as he tried in vain to escape the person who had angered him so much. "You love Lilah more than me and mommy. It's not fair. She's icky."
"That's not true," Buffy put the boy back down on the lawn to avoid getting dirt from his sneakers on her dress. She held his hand, hoping he would not make another attempt to dash off. A few feet away, Dawn and Giles looked on but Buffy paid them no attention as she explained, "And she's not icky. She's really very nice, well, sometimes. Someday when you're older you'll understand why we do things for love and why I chose to move back to California to be with her. For right now, all I can say is I promise to come visit you in Italy as often as I can and call you every night while I'm here."
"Will you read me bedtime stories on the phone?"
"Sure," She smiled and then added with a laugh, "It'll be worth the price of the phone bill."
Bobby thought this over, pausing to look up at her to see if she was telling the truth. When he was satisfied, he gave her a small nod, "Okay." He sat on the grass and undid the velcro on his left shoe. Yanking it off his foot, he upended it until two silver objects fell out. Handing them over to her, he said, "Here. They smell bad."
Buffy wrinkled her nose, but being a slayer she was accustomed to strange smells. When Dawn came closer, Buffy handed the rings to her sister for safe keeping and then helped Bobby get his shoe back on. "At least that's settle--"
An unexpected crack of thunder broke her sentence in two. Looking up, she saw black clouds roll in instantly, blocking out what had been a beautiful blue sky. The rain started falling, all too suddenly. Magick. It had to be. It didn't matter how much the demon world threw at them though, Buffy would be ready and whether the world liked it or not, she was determined to get married that day.
"Hurry, Buffy, your dress," Dawn ushered her sister towards the mansion's doors. Grabbing her son into her arms, Dawn scurried for the double doors. As the winds began picking up, people began running for shelter. There was too little time to protect what decorations had been placed outside before they were ruined.
Buffy only made it inside just a few seconds before getting completely soaked. When she turned around to view the tropical storm that had just broken out, Anya came up behind her. For possibly the first time since Buffy had known her, she sounded apologetic, "I just made a simple comment to the Drarlac clan. One simple sentence, all this is what happens."
"What did you tell them?" Buffy raised an eyebrow as she faced her friend, wondering what she could have possibly said to produce this kind of result.
"Rain is considered good luck on a wedding day." Anya sighed, throwing her hands up. "I'll go see if I can get them to call this storm off."
As Anya began to walk away, Buffy just shook her head. There was nothing she could do about it now and maybe it really would bring good luck for her and Lilah. At the thought of Lilah, Buffy hurried to the coat room, eager to see if the other woman had arrived yet. Her kisses would be enough to make the slayer forget all about the horrid weather.
Opening the half door to the small room, Buffy found herself alone and sat down to wait for her bride-to-be to arrive. Dabbing some more lipstick on her pouty lips, she checked herself in a pocket mirror. Already the anxiety was playing with her stomach, producing butterflies of every different size and shape. Some cold feet action was going on, but she found that easy to push aside telling herself that this was right. Her and Lilah were meant to be together.
The door creaked open again, revealing a very happy Lilah. "Guess what?"
"What?" Buffy asked as Lilah sat down beside her.
Snuggling close, she answered, "The DJ cancelled, but I found an amazing band to play instead. Actually, Xander found it. You know, he can actually be quite useful when he finally stops clowning around." Making the most out of the little time they had together before the ceremony, Lilah finished her talk of business and then smothered Buffy with kisses.
Forgetting the rest of the world for the time being, the two women reacquainted themselves with each other's skin. Tonight there would be more of this, involving more skin and infinitely more positions than they could achieve in the cramped little coat room. For the mean time, they were content to keep their clothes on.
Pulling back from a series of breathtaking French kisses, Buffy frowned. "Can I ask you something before we tie the knot?"
"Ask away," Lilah licked her neck, wrapping an arm around her chest and bringing Buffy back down. The other woman backed away again, making Lilah look up at her curiously. "What is on your mind? Nothing serious, is it?"
Buffy took in a deep breath, knowing she should have asked this before but not having enough courage to do it back then. A slayer could beat back hell itself but when it came to emotional problems, she was as fearful as the rest. "Are you marrying me to get back at the Senior Partners? Because if you are I think you should know--"
A kiss silenced her, one with so much feeling and connection it would have been impossible to fake. When Lilah broke away from it she shook her head, "Does that answer your question?" Taking Buffy's chin in her hand, she smiled at her love, "Trust me, Buffy. I'm not doing this to piss people off. I'm not doing this to get back on the good side. I'm marrying you because you make me happy, because even when you knew who I was and what I had done you still loved me. You believed I could be a better person and maybe with your help I will be."
At those words, Buffy pushed Lilah against the wall for another kiss, reaching through her blouse to fondle what was beneath the silk fabric. The world faded away and suddenly Wolfram and Hart didn't matter at all anymore. They were on the same side, not entirely good or bad but just happy with one another.
A knock sounded at the door but neither women noticed the small sound, too wrapped up with one another to bother with the rest of the world. Soon the light flooded through the room, the door opened and Will stood there gawking at the two of them. "Um.."
Buffy realized her hand was still up Lilah's blouse, so she hastily pulled it out and asked, "What's up Will?"
Willow gave her a knowing grin then filled her in on the details, "The officiator is here, thought you might want to get the show on the road." She smirked, "Unless you have other things to take care of.."
"Nope." Buffy answered, "We're done here."
"I should go get into position. Wouldn't want to keep the guests waiting," Lilah kissed her bride one last time and made her getaway, moving past Willow and then down to the front of the church with a confident gait.
"Thank you for doing this, Giles," Buffy told him as she wrapped her arm through his. "My father.. Well, he said he didn't want to be a part of it. Not that he was ever a big part of my life anyway, but I'm glad you're the one to give me away."
The music cued up and Giles could feel sentimental tears forming in his eyes. "I wasn't exactly pleased when you told me you were going to marry Lilah, of all people. However, I can see that she will keep you safe and make you happy." He patted her hand, "That's all I ever wanted for you. Some ray of light in all the darkness that has clouded your life."
No more time to talk remained as the bridal party procession began. Buffy squeezed Giles' arm lightly, as if to say 'this is it, this is the big moment'. They started down the aisle, guests and demons filling the audience. At the end of the room stood Lilah, waiting patiently for Buffy to stand beside her and say those words that would bind two souls together forever. The worst was behind them and their new lives lay ahead.