Familiar
Disclaimer: Wish they were mine, I'd still have them on the air.
Summary: It's all so familiar but does he remember?
Reviews: Yes, please. Live for em, they keep the muse happy and the story humming. Readers Rock but REVIEWERS RULE!!!
A/N: Yes, I know it's short and yes, I know I'm evil incarnate.
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Dawn's breath caught when she heard that longed-for nickname. She'd dreamed of this moment, never once letting herself hope it could actually happen. She stood unnaturally still just three feet away from Spike…no…Will. She reminded herself. She held the bag of wings out almost as a peace offering. Fighting to keep her hand steady as the reality hit her. He wasn't gone. He was here almost close enough to touch. Her crystal gaze held his sapphire one steadily, praying that he did remember her.
Will tilted his head; he felt he should know this girl. He took a tentative step forward, accepting the fragrant package with a nod. He placed it on the table and inched fractionally closer to the teen. He raised a slender hand and brushed her cheek with gentle fingers. She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch.
Will felt a tingle at the back of his neck. A warning. A feeling that was as old as vampires. He dragged his gaze away from the girl before him. Looking around the room, he attempted to pinpoint the source of his sudden unease. There. He saw her. A petite blonde staring at him as if he were the answer to all her prayers, not unlike the way the brunette teenager in front of him had. Suddenly the tingle was no longer just a warning. It was more than that. Another word struggled its way to the surface of his mind. His face vamped involuntarily.
"Slayer." He growled quietly.
"Vampire." She answered just as quietly. Her green eyes joyful at the sight of the man she loved.
Will's game face faded away at the sound of her voice. That voice. It was the one from his dreams, his nightmares. The same voice that told him something vital every night. Suddenly Will began to tremble, his lean body quaking as yet another shock invaded his entire system. The hand that had been almost frozen against Dawn's face shook violently. The surprised teenager lifted her hand and clasped it around his shaking fingers.
The spell that had kept everyone in place was now broken. Wesley hung back feeling as if he were witnessing something intensely personal. Susan and Jake rushed over to assist Will, guiding him to a chair and helping him sit down before backing away to give him some space. The cousins clung to each other, fear for their friend flooding them. Dawn kept a hold on his hand and knelt next to him.
"Are you okay?" She unconsciously echoed the question she'd asked so long ago on the night Buffy had returned from the dead. He had the same stunned look on his face that he'd had that night.
He nodded absently, grateful for the calming grasp of her warm fingers. "I'm fine, Bit." He said, unaware of the use of yet another nickname he'd had for her. She noticed and caught her breath. He heard the intake and glanced at her in bewilderment.
"D…do you remember me?" Dawn asked hesitantly.
Will closed his eyes, concentrating. "You feel familiar, you know? Like I know you but I don't know how or why I do. I'm sorry. It's the best I can do." He looked back down at her kneeling next to him, offering her a slight smile of apology.
Dawn returned the smile, nodded and stayed where she was, her warm fingers wrapped around his cool slender hand. Buffy moved over to kneel on the other side of him.
He looked at the woman he instinctively knew was dangerous to his kind, but could not help but feel she had been far more than just an adversary to him.
"What about me? Do I feel familiar?" Buffy asked quietly.
Will's entire body reacted again to the sound of her voice. He gulped in unnecessary breaths as he fought to control the tremors coursing through his system.
"Oh, yes. I'd say familiar quite describes it." He told her shakily. "I hear you every night. Your voice is the only thing I remember of my dreams, of my nightmares. I haven't had a complete day or night of sleeping in weeks. I just can't recall what it is you tell me…every…night…in…my…dreams." He finished slowly, losing himself in her misty green eyes.
"I love you." Buffy whispered, repeating what she'd told him every night in her own dreams for the past six months.
"No, you don't. But thanks for saying it." Will automatically answered before he realized what it was he was saying. His eyes widened as he looked at her, shocked once more.
"Yes, I do." She countered gently.
He had no answer for that. His overloaded senses betrayed him. Darkness began to blur the edges of his vision so he did the only thing there was left to do, he slid into oblivion for the third time in as many days. Quietly and without any pain, he toppled over into Buffy's loving arms.
