The Road Home
Summary: AU; everyone's human. Buffy Summers dodges family and friends to escape her wedding and make it back home, single. But when she returns to L.A., she finds herself stuck with a grumpy, homeless roommate without who, she soon finds, home wouldn't be home at all.
Disclaimer: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and all associated with it belongs to Mutant Enemy, Fox, Joss Whedon etc. I own squat.
A/N: Last chapter. I'm going to say, here, that I owe finishing this story to everyone who reviewed. Honestly, I was just planning to put up, like, the first few chapters and forget all about it. I kinda did, too; put up a few chapters and then I went on a long break. But you reviewed, and I wrote. So, thank you SOOOOOOOO much for reviewing: I loved 'em all. Finally, I know this is the last chapter but still, please let me know what you think, not just of this one chapter but the entire story.
30. You and I
Summary: AU; everyone's human. Buffy Summers dodges family and friends to escape her wedding and make it back home, single. But when she returns to L.A., she finds herself stuck with a grumpy, homeless roommate without who, she soon finds, home wouldn't be home at all.Disclaimer: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and all associated with it belongs to Mutant Enemy, Fox, Joss Whedon etc. I own squat.Beautiful.
There was, simply, no other word for it. Beautiful. The word reverberated in Buffy's head as she looked into the mirror.
The white of her dress accentuated her tan to golden splendour. It was a thin strapped corset of lace that clung so tightly to her curves that she could hardly breathe and flared out at her hips to a full skirt. Her hair, shining silk, was an intricate mass of curls at the top of her head, pearls woven gently through the strands.
. Thin strands of silver, barely visible, held up her dress and a thread of white gold wove through the many piercings of her ears and came to rest in balls just above her shoulders. A similar thread encircled her tiny waist, making it seem even tinier, held up by delicate strands of silk on her dress on either sides. Her neck was bare, her collar bones doing their job best when nude
Beautiful.
Buffy held up, after a long, long pause, the brush she held in her hand. The softest smile spread across her lips and she turned her back to the image and started spreading the silver highlighter to Cordelia's eyelid, just beneath her eyebrows.
"You look beautiful," She told the young bride who looked stunned at seeing herself. Buffy made her tear her eyes away from the mirror and the two shared the conniving smile two women who know their man through and through share. "Angel's going to faint."
Cordelia laughed and enveloped Buffy in a hug. "God," She said through laughs, "I hope not! I really want to get married!" She quietened and looked back at herself, pulling away from Buffy. Sighing, she added," Thank you, Buffy, for helping us out so much..." She turned back to the slight blonde, her expression serious. Buffy saw that her eyes were sparkling. As she started to think of the makeup, Cordelia said, "I don't know if I could have done so much for my ex, you know. And the way you've done it, with so much care and love..." Cordy sniffed, "I-I feel as though you took my sister's place – of course, I never had a sister, but—"
"Cordelia!" Buffy broke in, worried. "Don't cry! You'll ruin the makeup!"
Cordelia froze and looked at Buffy, surprised. Then she smiled and Buffy followed and soon, the huge dressing room was echoing the laugh of young happiness.
Moments later, Buffy slipped out of Cordy's dressing room and found Tara and Willow bickering about something as they stood outside Anya's room. She walked up to them, saying, "Hey, girls. How's it going?" But they didn't reply. Heck, they didn't even seem to be paying attention to her.
"No, Tara, I can't! You know how irritating she gets..." Willow changed her voice in a remarkable imitation of Anya's and said, "'No, Willow, tighten the laces at the bottom, my breasts aren't high enough!' Or she'll tell me, 'Can't you loosen the upper laces, Willow? It's a very simple job, you know; oh, haven't you ever worn this sort of dress before?' I swear, Tara, you send me in there one more time and I'll murder her! You'll have to answer to Xander, okay!"
"Willow," Tara looked mildly irritated, "She's known you for longer; I'm not going to go in, now."
Willow realized she wasn't going to get her way, so she put on a pleading face. "Tara," She whined, "Please!"
Tara seemed firm. "No. Anya is getting too hyper for me." That was when they noticed Buffy. "Hey, Buffy! Is Cordelia ready?"
As Willow cursed Tara under her breath for changing the subject, Buffy grinned. "She's ready, just taking a nap."
Tara frowned. "In her dress?"
"Sitting nap. Poor girl seems really wiped out, you know."
Willow snorted, slightly derisive. "I don't see why, though. She hasn't done a lot for the wedding, now has she? Buffy's done most of it. She's the one who deserves the rest, not our lovely Ice Queen. Especially after that whole thing with Will – what did we see in the guy, anyway? He's such an--
Willow broke off when the smile disappeared from Buffy's face. She bit her lip and looked at Tara, eyes narrowed to say 'oops'. Tara shook her head towards the door and Willow, after giving Buffy's hand an awkward pat, disappeared into the door behind them.
The door opened and briefly, just briefly, Anya's hysterical yells filled the corridor. It was enough to make Buffy look up from her examination of her stilettos with a smile. "I'm glad I got Cordy." She told Tara, teasingly.
Tara sighed, relief and exasperation mixed together. "I'll be so happy when this double wedding is over," She said, reaching for Buffy's hand as they set off down the hallway. "I feel as though I haven't slept in ages!"
"I know the feeling," Buffy said quietly. "It'll be over in a few hours, though." She winced as someone opened Anya's door again and the shrill voice hurt her tired ears. "I hope."
Will smiled when he entered the church. It was decorated exquisitely; just the kind he'd like for his own wedding. If, that is, he ever got married.
White and light yellow candles hung from the stained glass ceiling. A similar arrangement of white and yellow orchids and lilies adorned the sides of every pew, lining the aisle up to the altar with a dim, graceful smell. The altar itself was a thing of beauty; they had managed to make an archway of yellow and white flowers; lilies, roses, orchids with candles woven safely amongst them, shining beautifully.
He sank into the last pew, shrugging off his jean overcoat and draping it over one arm. He brought up one leg to rest it against his other knee and leaned back his head, eyes closed. He inhaled the smell of burning candles, vanilla, flowers – his mind floated away to the girl in L.A. who wasn't attending the wedding because of her schedule.
He didn't know whether he was glad about what Tara had told him or if, secretly, he had been wishing to see her once again. He tried to tell himself it didn't matter. She didn't matter to him anymore.
He tried.
He couldn't do it.
The slight weight of her earring against his chest, where it always had been for the past months, seemed to multiply hundredfold, suddenly, and he couldn't breathe as he thought of her hands in his hair, her body beneath his, her lips pliant when against his. He could feel the silk of her skin, the brilliant sparkle of her hazel eyes, the jasmine and clove sent she left on everything she touched...
He was yanked out of his thoughts by, amazingly, none other than his father.
"William!"
Will opened his eyes and sat up, looking around for an escape route and not his father. He was closest to the exit so he got up and tried moving surreptitiously towards the huge gothic doors. But before he could make it out, a strong arm grabbed his and whirled him about.
"William, my son! What a surprise, seeing you here! I didn't know you were attending!" Giles grabbed his shoulders and beamed at his son. "I must say, Will, this is very unlike you... you're finally becoming a family man!"
"Yeah, Da," Will winced and pried Giles' hands away from his shoulders. "Thanks."
Giles didn't stop beaming. "Are you coming to the reception later?"
Will nodded, his eyes on the two winding stairways immediately on either side of the entrance doors. The banisters were lined with candles, and in the dim light of the single chandelier in the foyer, the marble steps sparkled like water when the moon shines upon it.
Giles noticed the direction of his son's gaze and looked, too. Nodding appreciatively, he said, "I must say, Liam has hired an extremely classy person for the decoration."
Will nodded absently before the words registered. It hit him like a punch to the gut. Swallowing, he stuttered, "Wh-what?"
Giles nodded. "Classy, and very elegant. Who was it that... hm," Giles looked thoughtful, "I can't remember who was it... oh, yes!" He exclaimed triumphantly. "Elizabeth something, yes, she was the one who—"
"Dad," Will interrupted his father, uncaring of how disapproving Giles was of it. He had visibly paled, now, and his voice was worried so Giles let him speak. "Th-this is Liam's wedding?"
Giles frowned. "Of course. Weren't you invited for it?" Then understanding dawned on his face and he sighed. "Oh. You didn't come for Liam's wedding, did you? You came for Alexander and Anya's." He shook his head. "I wondered where you got the sudden upsurge of affection for your cousin, but you came for someone else's wedding..."
"Yes," Will sounded desperate, "I'm kind of sure it was today..."
"It is," Giles reassured his son, "It's a double wedding. Lovely planning, I must say, that Elizab—"
"Yes, she's amazing, I get it." Will swallowed and looked around while his dad tried to figure out why, exactly, his son was suddenly so uptight. "D-dad... I have to go find someone. I'll see you around."
And he left Giles confused and worried.
He lied.
Will didn't go to find anyone; he went to find a coffee, or a beer or a back exit. After roaming around in the back of the church for a while making painstakingly sure he never peeked into any of the rooms where the men were dressing or drinking, he found a side door that, hopefully, led outside. He looked up and down the hallway to make sure nobody he knew was watching, and slipped out.
The setting sun was ephemerally bright on his face before it disappeared behind cloud. Bringing his gaze back down, Will noticed he was standing in a sort of garden. A table laden with coffee and snacks stood before him and, gratefully, he grabbed a cappuccino before looking around to see where the exit was.
A lot of the wedding party was here. Will heard the sound of feminine laughs and, for a moment, his heart skipped a beat, hoping – no, fearing, that Buffy would be there. But then he realized that the bride was probably inside, upstairs, waiting for her call...
Bitterly, Will downed his hot coffee in one go, uncaring of how he burned his mouth in the process, and threw the cup into a nearby wastebasket. It was when he was shrugging on his coat and tracing, mentally, a route between the bodies to the side gate that a hand came to rest on his shoulder.
Will whirled around on instinct, but an instinct quicker than that had already identified the smell of jasmine. It was because of that second instinct that he felt disheartened – why, though? – when he saw Tara looking up at him.
"You came!" She sounded genuinely happy, reaching out with one arm and enveloping him in a half-hug. "I didn't think you would!"
"I kind of wonder why I did, now, pet," He told her, not very warmly, when they pulled apart.
Tara looked puzzled as she sipped her own coffee. "What do you mean?"
His lips narrowed into a thin line. "'Buffy won't be there', you'd told me, Glinda, and I come here to see ol' Rupert telling me it's Liam's wedding!" He sounded angry, hurt and very distressed.
With a frown, now, Tara tilted her head to look at him. "So..."
Will looked at her in utter shock. "So?" He echoed. "So?" Will shook his head, in disgust and disbelief. "I didn't think you'd hit so low, Glinda, really..."
The frown gracing Tara's brow deepened before it disappeared. A slow smile of comprehension dawned and she hid it behind her cup. "I'm sorry, Will, but I guess that's the way it is."
Will looked at her for a minute, staring at her but not quite seeing her at the same time. Then he shook his head and said, "'m going, Tara. See you around."
As he walked away, she yelled out, "Will you be at the reception?"
He pretended not to hear.
He had marched all the way to the small gate in the wall of the London church when he realized that he had, like the prat that he was, left his keys on the pew where he'd sat.
Immediately, a long string of curses that would make a sailor red escaped him and he, again, furtively sneaked back into the church. He knew, now, where Tara and her gang was so he deliberately look the longer route and entered the basilica from the front doors.
Luckily, nobody was sitting on the pew where he'd been sitting. He looked around and grabbed the keys that were lying on the ground. Turning around to go back out, Will froze and gave the cathedral one last look.
Xander was standing at the altar, now, with a short man whose blue hair made him stand out. They were deep in conversation and, as he watched, Willow walked up to Xander and fixed his tie and brushed back a lock of gelled hair. Xander seemed nervous as he sank onto the chair the small man had pulled out for him. Willow shared a good laugh with the man with the blue hair behind Xander's back. It made Will smile.
Suddenly, he realized that Xander was probably there because it was almost time for the wedding. Not wanting to witness Liam take his place at the altar to wait for Buffy, he turned around and walked out.
This time, he'd almost put his foot on the first step when the fragrance floated back to him, more intense than when it came from Tara. He froze involuntarily and listened; he could hear her laugh, her voice, her footsteps anywhere in a crowd. He listened hard, head held tight, hoping, surprisingly, to catch a glimpse of her before she became... his.
His ears didn't disappoint him. He heard her laugh, her voice and her footsteps. Slowly, he turned around, hoping against hope she wouldn't see him. His eyes didn't need to search for her. They found her instantly, and a part of him he didn't realize was gone came back to him.
She was descending the staircase on the left with a man he didn't know. But that didn't matter. In the light of the foyer, the caramel silk dress she wore moved sensuously over her body like light. Her hair, piled with expert carelessness on the top of her head, let loose a few strands that framed her face. Eyes sketched in gold, the green looked brighter than ever, even from this far away. She carried herself with an elegance he knew she possessed, but hadn't seen on full blast till then.
She owned the entire stairway as she moved down it, though for the life of him he couldn't understand why; the wedding march had yet to play. When she approached the landing, the dark haired man she was with jumped ahead and held out his hand. She took it, and laughed at something he said. Will smiled, in spite of himself, at her happiness.
He noticed, suddenly, that she was about to turn around. Moving like lightning, he turned and disappeared down the steps.
All that Buffy saw when she turned around was a hint of silver hair that disappeared before her eyes. Devon noticed her gaze and asked, "Was he there?"
Buffy shrugged honestly. "I'm not sure," She told him softly, "But I know that he'll come back."
From where she stood in the balcony, Buffy had a vantage point of the entire party. On the high table, her chair between Angel and Xander sat, lonely without the petite blonde. But nobody missed her much, because everyone was mostly on the dance floor, waltzing to Bob Dylan's To Make You Feel My Love. Closing her eyes against the soft wind, she let the lyrics float up and caress her as she shivered in her sleeveless gold dress.
"When the rain is blowing in your face..."
She'd never danced in the rain with Will. She looked up at the treacherous looking clouds, asking silently if it would rain, and if he would be there when it did.
"And the whole world is on your case..."
It was one of her favourite songs. She sang softly under her breath, now, the evening comprising of just her and the music."I could offer you a warm embrace..."
A hand slipped gently around her waist and she looked up, surprised, at Angel. He smiled and sang the last line."To make you feel my love."
I love that song," She sighed, allowing him to hold her."Me too." He looked over the banister at his uncle's huge farm where his reception was being held. "Come down to dance?"
She shook her head. "I'm fine over here, thanks. People watching, you know. Plus, Devon's going to come back any minute with Oz, now." Upon Angel's quizzical look, she grinned sheepishly and said, "We're going to play cards."
A chortle escaped Angel and he kissed, softly, the top of her golden head. "I won't force you," He said quietly, "But we'll be doing the speeches and the toasts, soon, so... at least be downstairs for that?"
Buffy smiled. "Okay."
He tightened his grip around her for a second. Then, just as he started to pull away, he turned back to Buffy and said, "Buffy... I have to say, thank you for helping me plan this wedding... these weddings, rather, so well. Everything has gone off perfectly. Thanks to you."
She continued smiling. "Least I could do, Angel. Consider it my wedding gist to you and Cordy." Leaning forwards, she added in a low voice, "Tell Cordelia I need that necklace back, by the way. It was just for show."
Angel laughed and she laughed with him. "Sure," He said, "I will." They looked back down at the dancing couples and he asked her, "Sure you don't want to dance?"
She shook her head gently. Her hairdo was falling apart, now, with the wind and all the work she'd been doing. Another curl fell across her forehead. "I don't want to turn you down, Angel, but I have to. You know that."
He nodded gently. "I do." Slowly, he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Smiling, he said, "Thank you, Buffy. For... everything."
He gently pushed away one of her curls and then turned and walked back down to his waiting wife. Buffy turned back to her song, and the wind, and the clouds.
Faintly, she sang, "I know you haven't made your mind up, yet; But I would never do you wrong. I knew it from the moment that we met; No doubt in my mind that we belo—" She froze, suddenly, when she heard footsteps and she knew, automatically, that it was him.
She turned around and there he was. He was standing in the shadows, wearing black, obviously trying to melt into the background. But his hair shone silver in the moonlight and she smiled.
"Did anyone tell you your hair is radioactively coloured?"
His chuckle floated out to her as he stepped up next to her. "Nah, just you."
She laughed as he came to lean next to her. The silence that stretched was not a very comfortable one, but Buffy found it manageable. She'd felt he'd come tonight, and he had... something told her everything would be alright. "How've you been?" She broke the silence.
He didn't look at her. "Been better."
She nodded in agreement, before realizing he didn't see it. "Me, too."
He turned to look at her at that and all she could make of his face was his liquid gaze. "Really?" His tone was guardedly expressionless. "You seem to be doing fine."
"I'm fine," She assured him, "But I've been better."
He let out a short breath in amusement at that. They were looking out at the dancing couples when, suddenly, he grabbed her hand.
She pretended not to feel the jolts of heat that spread through her body at his touch. Swallowing down her desire, her love, she asked, "Y-yeah?"
"I have something of yours." He said softly. Buffy noticed he wasn't looking at her, but rather at her left hand, the hand he'd grabbed. A frown was spreading across his features, clearly visible in the moonlight. When he had spent enough minutes staring at – she was sure about this – the absence of a ring on her ring finger, he said, "Hm, yeah, here you go." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, shiny ornament.
Placing the earring in her hand, Will looked up at her expression. A knowing smile spread across her face. She said, "Thank you." She looked at him, something amused in her eyes. "And I have something to show you." Reaching for the chain she wore around her neck, Buffy pulled it out from where it rested in the depths of her dress and held it out for his inspection. "There you go."
Will squinted at it. And looked back at the earring she held on her open palm. His eyebrows went up questioningly. "You're wearing its pair?" His voice sounded surprised, somehow.
"Around my neck, yeah. I'd look mighty weird wearing one earring only, after all." She smiled as she hooked the mate of her silver earring onto her chain, her eyes never leaving his.
Will swallowed. He had a million questions to ask her, another million to tell. But before he could say anything, the music flickered off and the sound of a mike crackling was heard. They broke their gaze to look down at where Angel stood on the dais with Xander, Anya and Cordy, saying something. With great effort, the two paid attention.
"No love story, after all, is made of two people. There's always more who help those two. But in the end, when you get down to the basics, there is only two. There should be only two." They'd missed some of it. As Will wondered, with a frown, why Angel was holding the brunette's hand, Buffy enjoyed Will's expression of utter confusion.
Perhaps, she hoped, Angel will make it clear...He did.
"But in our story, in Cordelia and my story, there's another person who just can't be left out. I'm sure," He addressed the guests, "Some of you remember how almost five months ago you had been told of my wedding to Buffy Summers. But that didn't work out. I'm sure you all figured that out, seeing me here with Cordelia," A few laughs at that, "But we can't forget Buffy. She gave me, in a way, the courage to do what I felt was right, even if it was to break off with her. She's agreed with me every time I've needed it, and agreed with Cordelia when my ego has bloated up. In this wedding, there's the three of us. Buffy, Cordy, and me.
"But I don't want it to stay that way. I don't want Buffy to be tied, morally, to me. I want her to have her own story so that she doesn't have so much time on her hands that she plans out my entire wedding!" Another few snickers. Buffy, too, was enjoying this. Especially the way Will's mouth had fallen open. "And I'm grateful to her for everything she has done for me for these last three months, ever since I showed up on her doorstep, begging for help. But now, I want her to get her guy back – even if she has to kill him to give him enough sense to see what he should – so that Cordelia can learn her responsibilities!"
As the crowd tittered, a dumbstruck Will turned to look at the woman next to him. She smiled.
"So, Buffy and Will, get over it! We love you, you love yourselves and each other – get off your horses, guys!" Angel spoke exasperatedly, almost, and Cordelia, Xander and Anya besides him held up their glasses to say, "Hear, hear!"
"You guys will have to endure another of my speeches later," Angel was now telling the crowd, "Because this one was solely for Buffy and Will. So, everyone, please hold up your glasses to my amazing friend, Buffy Summers, and my ass of a cousin, William Giles," Everyone seemed to obey so Angel said, "May they earn the sense God gave a cat, and find their way home."
Another laugh and then a murmur of assent passed through the crowd.
The music came back on. The same song she'd been listening to.
Will swallowed hard as he looked into Buffy's eyes. She was smiling the same smile she'd had the entire evening and now, as he took a tentative step closer to her, the smile seemed to waver. Her eyes were brighter – sparkling with tears, he realized. And in that moment, he hated himself for making her cry.
He cupped her cheek and, as she closed her hand around his, he stroked away the tears that she was letting fall. "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth... I-I'm such an ass, I shouldn't have gone away like that and, oh my, I-I've be-been so horrid to you, and—
"Will," She borke him off with a soft finger against his lips. "It's okay. I forgive you only if..."
His heart skipped a beat.
"... you forgive me," She ended.
He stared at her, eyes wide in awe of this amazing woman. Gulping down emotion, he croaked, "'Lizabeth... I love you."
She started crying earnestly, then, uncaring of her gold makeup. Throwing her arms around his neck, Buffy smashed her mouth against his and through the pain, they found their lips and gave into a game their bodies had refused to forget. When they broke apart for breath, she whispered against his lips, "I love you so much."
He responded by kissing her neck while her hands went automatically back to where they should always have been – in the soft curls of his hair.
They didn't know for how long they were kissing, but all that broke them off, in the end, was the feel of a cold raindrop against her cheek. Buffy broke apart from him and looked up at the clouds, a grateful smile on her lips, swollen with kisses.
As the heavens opened, the people below them ran for cover. But Buffy just pressed herself closer to Will and kissed him harder.
In between kisses, he told her softly, whispering against her neck, "I'm home, 'Lizabeth."
When the rain is blowing in your face
and the whole world is on your case
I could offer a warm embrace
to make you feel my love
When evening shadows and the stars appear
and there is no one there to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
to make you feel my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
but I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
no doubt in my mind where you belong
I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the avenue
Oh there's nothing that I wouldn't do
to make you feel my love
The storms are raging on the rolling sea
and on the highway of regret
the winds of change are blowing wild and free
you ain't seen nothing like me yet
I could make you happy, make your dreams come true
nothing that I wouldn't do
go to the ends of the earth for you
to make you feel my love
A/N: Well, we're done. Honestly, this chapter took a long time to write and, I admit, it could be done better but honestly, would you really wait? There's just an epilogue left, then, bye bye first fiction. As always, let me know what you think!