Chapter title from "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream

December 2019

The scythe comes as a big surprise. It really feels like the Watchers' Council should have known that there was an ancient tomb hidden under Sunnydale that was storing a powerful weapon forged specifically for the Slayer.

To be honest, Luke is starting to question whether the Watchers' Council actually does anything.

"It's so shiny!" Julie twirls the scythe through the air, taking advantage of all the open space in the Magic Box. She's already basically an expert at maneuvering the scythe: it's essentially a longer, fancier version of her axe, with a sharp red blade for decapitating vampires and a long wooden stake at the handle.

"You'll definitely have to accessorize with that," Flynn observes with a grin.

"Ooh, maybe some red hair extensions?" Julie suggests.

Julie is lighter now, for the most part. After a year of therapy and support, she's, well, not back to who she was before (as Julie puts it, "that girl literally died"), but she has more good days than bad days and her bad days are manageable.

As for Luke's relationship with her… in some ways, it feels like it did before she died. There's a lot of standing close and intense banter, but very little touching and no open talk of feelings. But there's a greater depth to their intensity. He was there for a lot of her worst days, ready for a chat or a hug or a TV marathon or a jam session or whatever she needed, crawling down into her misery to fight alongside her. They've walked through the fire and forged a bond that extends beyond just Slayer stuff.

Which is great. It's just that he can almost feel his heart beat every time he looks at her and he doesn't know what the hell to do about it. The past year has been devoted to getting her resettled in the world of the living, and he feels it should be up to her when/if their relationship changes, but they've been in this not-a-relationship-but-also-kind-of-a-relationship for so long that he's starting to wonder if it'll ever change.

Julie sweeps the scythe through the air just as Reggie saunters over to them, snacking on a blood popsicle. He quickly ducks.

"WHAT HAVE WE SAID ABOUT WOODEN WEAPONS NEAR REGGIE."

Julie grins and sets it down on the table. "Sorry, I'm just happy. This scythe feels like it could be big."

Alex runs a finger over the blade. "Does it have one of those mystical names?"

"What's a mystical name?" Luke asks.

"You know, Something of Something. Like, Orb of Thesulah, Hand of Ortega, Gem of Amara. It always makes it sound more important and magical."

"Nah, it's just… scythe."

"Very underwhelming. 0/10."

"Who cares?" Luke asks, beaming down at the scythe. "We finally have a real chance against Caleb."

Reggie groans. "Ugh, I'm sick of Caleb. Can't we get a new Big Bad?"

The whole Scooby gang turns to stare at the vampire.

"I mean, I prefer no Big Bad. But, you know, variety is the spice of life."

Flynn raises an eyebrow. "You want variety? Coming from the guy whose entire diet is blood?"

"Why you always gotta bring up the blood thing? I'm a well-rounded vampire—there are so many other things you could bring up."

"It's like Luke's shirts," Julie shrugs. "It's just too in our faces for us to not comment." She shoots Luke a pointed look.

He sighs. "Do you need me to change my shirt?"

"No!"

As soon as the word leaves her mouth, Julie scrunches up her face, as if that will somehow retract what she's said and the urgency with which she's said it.

It's basically the greatest moment of Luke's entire afterlife.

"Hey, Julie, do you need some water?" Reggie asks innocently.

She cuts him a glare. "No, Reggie, I do not need water."

"Are you sure?" Alex asks. "Cause you seem really thirsty."

Flynn, Alex, and Reggie bump fists. Exasperated, Julie turns to Luke. "Luke, could you—"

He shouldn't, but he does: he dances his pecs at her. Her face twitches as she refuses to look down.

She turns to Willie. "As the only grown up in the room, could you go deep research mode? See if any of your contacts know anything about the potential powers the scythe has? I feel some really deep magics when I'm holding it, so I'm thinking it could be more than just a weapon."

"Yeah, of course." Willie starts toward the door of the Magic Box, then he swings back. "Oh, Julie. While I'm out, do you need me to get you anything else? Maybe a drink?"

She scrunches up her face again. "You know what? Maybe I'll fight on Caleb's side this time around, because you're all the worst."

Julie marches toward the back room, but Luke poofs in front of her. "Okay, we'll stop. You wanna train?"

She opens her mouth to answer, but he's still riding the giddy wave of having the girl he's in love with confirming that she finds him attractive, and his pecs dance again.

Dropping him an unimpressed look, she puts her hands on her hips, casually pulling the V-neck of her shirt down a bit lower. "Is that really a game you wanna play?" she murmurs dangerously. He glues his eyes to the ceiling and shakes his head.

"No, ma'am."

"Then let's get training." She swishes past him, but not without glancing back with a smirk that takes his breath away.

The only good thing that came out of the months when Julie was dead is Sunset Curve, the band Luke founded very casually with Alex and Reggie. Something about whaling on their instruments helped them to process their grief, and after Julie returned, it helped them process their feelings about that and their general rage and anxiety from living on the Hellmouth, so they've kept it up as a hobby.

If he'd actually thought about it, Luke might have realized that he never actually told Julie about it. It's not something he's keeping from her—it's just not the kind of thing that he makes a point of telling people. The band just kinda exists, and being slated to play at the Bronze that night just kinda happens because the scheduled band drops out at the last minute and Reggie knows the manager.

So it really comes out of the blue when they try to take the stage at the Bronze only for him to be tackled by Julie. Especially because he didn't even know she was here.

"Jules, what the hell—"

"How could you?" She stares at him with angry tears in her eyes.

His brain is working even slower than usual because, to be honest, Julie is straddling him and that's definitely a first and also he's checking that his guitar wasn't injured in the assault.

"How could I… play guitar?"

"Play in a band, you absolute asshole! Without even saying goodbye!"

She shoves herself off of him, furious. He stumbles to his feet, hoping that the distance and his intact guitar will help him understand what's going on. But no dice.

"Um… Jules, I feel like I'm missing part of this conversation."

She stares at her, her face shifting from rage to confusion and then back to rage. "You lied."

"… about the band?"

"About your unfinished business."

Oh shit. He's honestly forgotten about it. No one else has ever asked about his unfinished business, so it isn't a lie he's had to sustain. It's one conversation almost four years ago, and she remembered it and he didn't.

There's also absolutely no way he can get out of having been caught in the lie. "Yeah."

"Why."

He glances at the stage. The crowd, Reggie, and Alex are all staring at him. She realizes this at the same time. "Afterwards?" she offers, jaw still tense.

"Afterwards, I promise."

"I'll be at Sunnyside Cemetery."

She marches out, not staying to hear them play.

If he's honest, he doesn't really listen to them play that night either.

He poofs to her side to find her staring at a headstone. He glances over at it, expecting it to be her mother's, but…

Oh.

She studies his face. "Have you never been here?"

"No." He crouches in front of it. Just his name, birthday, death day, and a small carving of a guitar. His parents really hadn't known what details to include, had they?

He realizes Julie is waiting for an explanation. "Always felt a bit like… getting off on my own nudes, you know?"

"Huh." He glances up at her, confused by her tone. She shrugs. "I just would have assumed you were someone who got off on your own nudes."

"I'm sorry if I scared you tonight. I honestly didn't-"

"Remember? That was clear. Weird to think I've spent four years terrified every time you pick up a guitar and you just forgot."

His heart sinks and he gets to his feet. "Jules, I'm so sorry."

But that's not what she's focusing on. "What is your unfinished business?" He hesitates. "Luke."

"My unfinished business is depressing, okay? I didn't wanna make you carry that."

"That's not an answer."

He sighs loudly. "My unfinished business is to save the Slayer. And that's not gonna happen, okay? Every Slayer dies horribly, so I'm never gonna complete my unfinished business and I'm just gonna be stuck here forever."

What he's expecting is for her to look at him with pity or pain, or to give him a hug, but what she actually does is laugh. "Luke, that can't be it."

"Do you think I want this!? I would give anything to just—"

"No, I mean, Luke, that literally can't be it. You have saved me. You saved my life the night we met. You've saved my life countless times since. If that was your unfinished business, you would have crossed over a thousand times by now."

"That doesn't count. Those were all temporary."

"Of course it is. It's always temporary. No human lives forever." Gesturing to herself, she gives that dark smile she's learned to pull off. "Living proof."

Irritated, he shrugs her off. She's acting like this is an argument with the Council, as if she can change reality just by refusing to accept it, and that won't work here. "Okay, then, my unfinished business is impossible."

"That's not how unfinished business works. Goddamn it, how have you still never read anything about ghosts?" He wants to explain again about the nudes, but he really doesn't think that being derailed into a discussion of nudes or getting off is going to be helpful right now. "Your unfinished business has to be something that you could have accomplished in life, but just didn't."

Okay, maybe he should have read about ghosts. But… "There wasn't anything else. I wanted Rose to live a long, fulfilling life with the people who loved her."

"And that's super sweet, but maybe your unfinished business is actually about you? Something you wanted for yourself?"

He's a Watcher. Ever since his parents told him he was going to be a Watcher, that's been his whole life. He doesn't get to want things. He looks after the Slayer, no matter the cost, and that's the end of the conversation.

Feeling lost (and pathetic about feeling lost, because who doesn't know anything about what they want?), he looks desperately to Julie. Her face softens and she steps closer, puts a hand on his shoulder, and turns him gently to face his own grave.

"What would you say to him? What did you wish he could have had?"

He stares at the headstone, trying to remember seventeen-year-old Luke. The Luke who bought protection amulets, who desperately wanted to take care of a scared, pregnant Slayer, who wanted to prove to her that he could help keep her alive despite the odds. The Luke who was terrified, not just for her, but for himself, who didn't want to die before he got to live.

"A long, fulfilling life with the people who loved him."

"Then do that."

"I'm dead. I literally can't have a life."

She steps in front of him, rolling her eyes. "Have you not been paying attention? You, me, Reggie? We redefine life. You have a life by living it. The heartbeat"—she steps towards him and puts her hand on his chest—"is optional. You want a long, fulfilling life with the people who love you? Then spend your life with me."

It's not exactly news that she loves him, but she hasn't said it since she was resurrected and he feels like his lack of a heart might explode. She slips her other hand into his. He immediately links their fingers together and runs his thumb over her fingers, thrilling at the contact.

He can't bring himself to point out that "long life" and "Slayer" aren't compatible. It's really not the time.

"And what if that's not my unfinished business?"

"Then we'll figure it out."

He rests his forehead on hers and nuzzles their nose together. It's like a thousand tiny electric shocks are going off in his body, his throat overflowing with tiny bubbles of happiness, the joy and anticipation leaving him almost dizzy. As he starts to lower his mouth to hers, she whispers, "Can I just point out—when I say I've been dying to kiss you, I literally had to. So I'd like credit for my commitment."

"Yeah, well, I died to kiss you first."

Before she can get another word in, he kisses her.

"But how long?" he asks.

They're in his bed, lying almost nose-to-nose, and her bare legs are entwined with his under the sheets. He has no idea what time it is—he keeps blackout curtains in his room in case Reggie barges in (as he tends to do)—but they've been up for hours talking about all the things they've never been able to say before.

He wants to say it's been the best night of his life, but to be honest, his life has mostly sucked so he feels like that undersells it.

"Luke, you're a hot guy who refuses to wear real shirts, and the night we met, you appeared out of nowhere, told me I had superpowers, and helped me save my life. I've been in love with you since I first saw you."

He kisses her, because he fucking can. "I really thought that you'd be less fixated on the shirts once you'd seen me without them."

"Let's be honest here. The shirts never left that much to the imagination. None of this"—she gestures at his bare chest—"is news. What about you?"

"Your shirts seem regular. I have no notes." She smacks him on the shoulder. "Ow, misuse of Slayer strength."

"I meant, how long have you been in love with me?"

"Not since the first moment I saw you, cause you were a newborn."

She pulls a face. "Can we maybe not dwell on that? I already feel like my dad's gonna be weird about us."

At the thought of having that conversation with Ray, he groans loudly. But as he takes in her face, he sobers. "I don't really know. Like I said, it was inevitable."

The smile on her face is too soft for his heart to handle. "That was about me?"

He traces her cheek with his hand. "Maybe when you figured out my Magic colors." He kisses the middle of her forehead. "Or maybe when you ripped Travers a new asshole, because that was the raddest thing I have ever seen." He kisses her forehead over her left eyebrow. "Or maybe when you ripped me a new asshole for refusing to train you." He kisses her left temple. "Or maybe—"

"Are you trying to kiss every part of my face?"

"Of course. Your whole face needs kisses. It's my sacred destiny to apply the Kisses of Luke."

She laughs and shoves his face away. "No, sorry, you swung it from super cute to super cringe."

Embarrassed, he sticks his tongue out at her. "The Kisses of Luke might be a real thing. You don't know, because you never do the reading."

Using a bit of unnecessary Slayer strength, she pokes him in the chest. "It's literally your job to do the reading. And if the Kisses of Luke are real, then you're going to have to write about them in your Watchers' Diaries. Are you planning to write about this?" She gestures to them in bed.

"Nah, this is definitely redacted."

Her face glows, but she doesn't stop teasing him. "But how will other Watchers learn about the Kisses of Luke? Think of the future generations."

"I'm starting to regret this." He waves a finger between them. "Maybe I'll call Clem—"

He reaches for his phone, but she tugs on his hands, giggling. "Stop, no, I'm sorry, I'll stop." But she only pauses for a moment before she grins mischievously. "Because Clem doesn't have the strength to bear the Kisses of Luke. They could kill him."

Shaking his head, he pulls her into his arms and nuzzles her forehead. "You're so lucky I love you."

"Yeah, I really am." She kisses him deeply, drawing him in closer—

Which is exactly when Reggie barges in. "The gang's here, Willie's got major—" He stops short when he sees them. "GUYS. IT'S HAPPENED. Also, MY EYES."

"Reggie, get out!" Julie chucks a pillow at the door with her full strength. It slams the door shut.

Luke grins at her. "See, that's the proper use of Slayer strength."

"But what does that mean?" Reggie asks, glaring at the scythe as if it's being deliberately obtuse.

The Scooby gang stands around Luke's kitchen table, eyeing the weapon with awe.

"The scythe draws from the same pool of magical energies as the Slayer. It's not just connected to the Slayer; it's fueled by the same power source," Willie explains, pacing slightly.

There's an energy in the room, as if some part of them knows how life-changing this is, but they just haven't put their fingers on it yet.

Luke traces his finger over the blade. "Could we use the scythe to access the source?"

"Theoretically, but you'd need a crazy powerful magic user. Luckily, I know a guy." Willie straightens up and smirks. "It's my husband. My husband is the guy."

Grinning, Alex hugs Willie from behind and kisses his husband on the cheek. "It me."

"What are you thinking?" Reggie asks. "Supercharging Julie? She taps Caleb on the head with her pinky and shatters him into a million pieces?"

Flynn makes a face. "Reggie, do you have any idea how disgusting that would be? Blood and guts everywhere."

"Oh, yeah, ew, let's not. I don't like the sight of blood." Everyone stares at him. "I keep telling you guys—I'm a well-rounded vampire!"

Julie suddenly freezes. "Luke, the Potential Slayers. How do they get activated?"

"When the previous Slayer dies, her power gets passed on to the next Potential. We don't really know exactly how the process works because, you know, we can only study it when Slayers die."

"I refuse to believe that the Council wouldn't just murder a bunch of new Slayers 'in the pursuit of knowledge,'" Flynn points out.

"Yeah, I have a feeling that-"

Julie tries to pull them back on track. "So if we tapped into the power source and released it, theoretically it would activate the Potentials?"

Holy shit.

Luke stares at his girlfriend. Her mind is a thing of beauty. "An army of Slayers," he breathes. He steps back from the scythe to process the idea, then chuckles.

She quirks her head. "What?"

"It's just a really white-blue thing to do."

The room goes silent.

"Magic: The Gathering?"

It remains silent. Deeply, judgmentally silent.

"Those are the colors she tends to play in Magic?"

Flynn puts a gentle hand on Julie's arm. "Jules, you know the Council has other Watchers, right? You're not stuck with this one?"

Luke quirks an eyebrow at Julie, but she just rolls her eyes fondly.

Tapping his chin, Reggie looks to Alex. "Wouldn't it be more of a blue-green move?"

"We are really not discussing that right now. How many Slayers would that be?"

Luke shrugs. "Tens of thousands. Possibly more."

"Is that enough for every city in the world?" Reggie asks. "How many cities are there in the world? I'm gonna Google it." He whips out his phone.

Julie's eyes light up in full-on planning mode. "We could have units of Slayers, send them where they're needed, have multiple Slayers stationed on each Hellmouth. Actually beat back the forces of darkness."

Alex prods the scythe. "And just to reiterate, this has just been buried under Sunnydale for thousands of years? Waiting for, what, a dramatic entrance?"

But Flynn asks the most important question: "Does that mean Julie could retire?"

Everyone's gaze shoots to Luke. But it's not up to him. He raises an eyebrow, asking her. Stunned, she half-raises her shoulder in a shrug. Too many new things to think about it.

"Maybe, if she wants. You wouldn't be one girl in all the world anymore, with the burden of destiny. You'd get a choice." All at once, he realizes the physical burden that her Slayer destiny has laid on her shoulders for the last four and a half years, because he can almost see it lifting. She seems lighter and more relaxed and more sure and… brighter somehow. "I mean, if we do this spell, the whole Slayer business changes. Nothing is certain anymore."

It looks like her mind is going a mile a minute, taking everything in. She reaches out her hand and grips his, giving it a squeeze.

"What do you want to do?" he asks.

She just smiles.

"I dunno. But we'll figure it out."

Thanks so much for coming on this ride with me! I'm not ready to leave this weird little fusion world quite yet, so there will be a few more oneshots coming out, so if you want to be notified when those are coming out, make sure to follow me!

The first one, "Your Eyes Already Told Me What You Never Said," explores the moments when everyone else realizes that Luke and Julie are in love and is available now.

Episodes of Buffy referenced in this chapter:
• "Chosen"