A/N: A friend of mine e-mailed me and told me that I could use a beta for this series. Taking her advice to heart, I'd like to know if anyone would be interested. If you want to beta the rest of this fic, please e-mail me or leave a review or something.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The world lay in ruins, but hope still remained. There were pockets left, hulking cities that seemed unscathed but for the charred and hideous corpses littering their streets. Everyone who had not been burned alive by the fire had been eaten by the demons that had ensued. The hell spawn had retreated back to the shadows of the hell now, and everywhere, there was nothing.
But then, on a beach by the ocean, a strange light glowed. Two sparks that grew and grew, side by side, on the desolate beach. They began to take form, that of a man and a woman. Or rather, an ex-vampire and a Slayer. Their bodies took form, and the light receded until it was almost nothing. Their nude forms were left prostrate on the sand. The only sound was the lapping of the barren sea against the shore.
All was still. But the light was not yet gone. It had receded until it glowed only in their hearts. It burned warmly, becoming visible through their skin. And then, in unison, they took their first breaths in this new world.
The first thing Buffy noticed was that she was naked. She gasped and did her best to cover herself. Angel woke more slowly, sitting up and looking around, seemingly unashamed of his nudity. Then he saw Buffy.
Their eyes met in confusion. "Where are we?" Buffy asked.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the beach." Buffy didn't have the grace to smile at his dry humor. She was too afraid.
"More importantly, who are you? And for that matter, who am I?" She chewed on her lip and kept her arms crossed over her chest, and her legs drawn up into her body. Angel still ignored his lack of clothing.
"I don't know, but for now, I think it would be wise to take cover and get you some clothing." He gestured up towards the gathering rain clouds. "There's a storm coming."
"I can see that," she snapped irritably. Seeing his kicked-puppy look, she immediately felt contrite. "I'm sorry," she said to the kind stranger with the beautiful brown eyes. "I'm just...afraid. I can't remember who I am." She sighed. "You're probably right."
Angel gave her a tight smile, and then stood up. "Come on. We can probably shelter under those buildings there." He pointed towards a cluster of abandoned beach houses. He started off in that direction, and she had no choice but to follow him. The whole time, she was hyper-aware of her nudity, and worried about going into a populated area.
The moment she stepped onto the paved street of the town, she felt that something was wrong. She couldn't describe it, couldn't categorize it except to say that it felt like...Like she wasn't on the same world she'd been born in. Like while she'd slept, someone had pulled the carpet out from underneath her feet, and now she was left rubbing her head on the floor and wondering what had happened.
She didn't realize that she'd stopped until the man returned for him. "Come on," he whispered, hesitating for a moment before grabbing her by the hand. She thrilled at the contact, but didn't speak to him. It seemed impossible to break the thick silence that clouded the streets.
Once they'd walked a little ways, she stopped. "Something's wrong. Why aren't there any people?" After making the statement, she looked around and was more acutely aware of the fact. Cars sat in driveways. Sprinklers went off. Then she noticed something else strange. Most of the grass had been burned away. And some of the buildings had scorch marks on them.
A newspaper blew across the street. A shiver ran down her spine and she clutched to the man's hand with both of hers. He was the only person she'd seen...He seemed safe. And his warm brown eyes were kind. A part of her knew that she could trust him, and since she didn't have anything else to guide her, she did.
"I don't know." His eyes scanned the horizon quickly, though he knew he would find nothing new. A rumble of thunder startled them both. Then a lighting flash. Fat raindrops began to fall with painful force. At the rate it was coming, they would be drenched in moments.
"Come on!" he said, charging towards the nearest house. There was a black Four-Runner in the driveway and the TV was still on. Out of instinctive courtesy, he took the time to slam his fist on the door. After realizing he would have to break it down, he took a deep breath and slammed his shoulder into the door. The door shattered.
He stepped back, with a grim satisfaction. The girl next to him pulled him into the abandoned building before he could gain the sense to stop standing and staring at his own handiwork.
Once inside, they stopped in their tracks. The room was entirely untouched. Everything was in order, and the TV was playing cartoons. The only problem was that there didn't seem to be anyone watching it. "Hello?" Buffy yelled impulsively. She was met with silence.
She looked down, suddenly realizing that they were still holding hands. "Umm. Well. I guess I'll go find some clothes, okay?" She blushed after realizing that she'd been walking around holding hands with this naked stranger when she was naked herself. There was no way that didn't look bad.
She climbed up the stairs and repressed a shudder as the silence blanketed her. She assumed that the man would be looking for clothing, too. It was only practical. And besides, they were both still wet.
On that thought, she detoured into the bathroom. She pulled a towel down off the rack and tried not to feel freaked as she dried herself off with it. It felt so...weird to be walking around in a stranger's house and using their things with barely a thought for the owners. Not to mention that she was naked.
But once she was dry she felt a little bit better. She went into the master bedroom and sorted through the drawers and closet before she found a sundress. Dismally inappropriate, but she felt like being obtuse. There was no better way than defying Mother Nature itself.
She pulled on the sundress and blow dried her hair. She felt slightly better, but she still wasn't wearing underwear or a bra. The thought of wearing an utter stranger's undergarments freaked her out beyond belief, and she decided that it would be fine. The man downstairs had already seen her in all her glory.
When she got downstairs, the man wasn't there. She fought the urge to panic. It was fine, he was just in another room. He wouldn't leave her here all alone, would he? No, he wouldn't. She'd just met him, but she felt like she knew him so well. There was no way he would leave her alone when she was this vulnerable.
And indeed he hadn't. She found him in the kitchen, sorting through the cupboards. He looked up when she entered, and he smiled. "Just looking for something to eat."
He had apparently found clothing while she was upstairs. He was now clad in a pair of black jeans and an open button-down shirt. She started to smile back at him when a clap of sudden thunder scared her out of her skin.
Once she'd gotten over the surprise, she looked up at him to find him staring down with amusement. She conjured up her fiercest glare, and then took the box of cereal he was offering her. Now that he mentioned it, she was hungry.
She started back towards the stairs, realizing that they couldn't stay down there without a door. But she soon noticed that he wasn't following her. She turned around and stared. "Well, aren't you coming? We can't stay down here; we'll be flooded. Plus, it's getting chilly." She rubbed her arms to demonstrate, suddenly wishing she'd been sensible and chosen something warm to wear.
He looked down at the floor, and she saw with amusement that he was blushing slightly. "Oh, right. Sorry, I was just--I thought you might want some time alone. To try and piece your memories back together." He gave a half-hearted smile. "But hey, if you want company, who am I to deny you?"
***
The storm went on all night. Between the thunder crashes, she could hear the waves breaking on the shore with enormous destructive force. And occasionally, she was quick enough to see the lightning flash on the crests of the waves. The rain drove into the windows in buckets and the wind howled through the abandoned door. It made Buffy cringe to know that they had no door downstairs to protect them.
To make up for it, she insisted that the stranger stay with her in the master bedroom. She knew it was inappropriate, but she was irrationally scared of the storm. After he was inside with her, she'd closed and locked the door, and then asked that he hold her instead of sleep on the floor. She knew he wouldn't take advantage. He'd seen her naked and defenseless, and he hadn't done anything. There was no reason to believe he would do something to her now. And besides, he was strong and his arms felt good around her.
At first it was awkward. He didn't seem to be comfortable with touching her. She'd wondered why, feeling slightly hurt, before he revealed something. "I think we're lovers."
"What?!" She said emphatically. She wanted to know exactly where that information had come from. If he was just making it up to get into her pants...
"Think about it. When we came to, we were naked on a beach together. Sounds like a great place for love-making to me. And besides...I get this weird feeling when I look at you. Like I know that I can trust you. And I have this instinctual need to...to..." He broke off, thinking better of what he'd been planning on saying.
"To what?" she asked suspiciously.
He lowered his head in shame. "To take care of you. Protect you. To...comfort you."
Buffy felt her jaw drop. That had been unexpected. She thought he was going to say something like...kiss her. Not...that.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'll go now, and I promise that I won't bother you again. You don't have to worry about me attacking you or anything."
He turned to leave, but then felt her tiny hand on his shoulder. "Please don't leave. You...you make me feel better somehow. And I think you may be right. About us being lovers. Touching you...feels right." She bit her lower lip in embarrassment. She hadn't meant to say that. He'd just seemed so heart-broken...She was beginning to understand what he meant about the strange protective urges. She didn't want to see him hurt in any way.
"Thank you." An awkward silence had ensued, followed by a sharp crack of a branch breaking free from its tree. He'd hugged her then, held her tight against his body, and the next thing she knew, she was falling asleep on the bed in his arms.