(no subject)
Chapter Four
“Oooooh. Uhhhh.”
In some vague and undefined corner of her mind Buffy realized that she was dreaming, and the irony wasn’t lost on her, even in her unconscious state, that memories that were by now so dull that they couldn’t be recalled except for as a sensual and innocent blur of pure emotion in her daily life could still come back with such acute accuracy as she slept, could lead her to remember exactly how his hands splayed across her breast as gently kissed her-
And in her minds eye she not only say but felt his hand slip tentatively under the flimsy tank top she wore, felt herself shudder, throwing her virginal head back with a heady moan as his hand found her now bare breast how did he manage to get my bra off - cringed as she heard her younger self ask that very thing, voice amazed-nearly laughed at Angel’s small, slightly amused smile saw her younger self frown at the same smile, wondering what it meant before his mouth moved to cover her exposed right breast, hand gently stroking the other one as she moaned breathlessly, “please,” only half knowing what she was asking for as he sucked harder, scraping his teeth against her nipple gently, causing her to arch against him, moaning, clutching at his shoulders as new sensations coursed through her body. Instinctively she rolled her hips against his, eliciting a groan from him as he licked a short trail to her other breast and carefully reached with his free hand to pull the zipper of her pants down- watched him hesitate, watched her eyes flutter open, watched her hand reach out to lightly stroke his cheek as he pulled himself up to look at her.
“Why are you stopping?” she asked in genuine confusion. “Is it- I mean, am I-“ she flushed but he didn’t seem to understand what she was getting at as he looked at her, tenderness naked in his eyes as he said softly,
“I’m stopping to ask you if you want to stop,” frowning slightly at how ridiculous the words sounded.
“No,” she said, genuinely confused as she continued to babble, “Stopping bad. Why would I want to stop?” Her brow furrowed as she seemed to contemplate, wishing she could do or say something, anything to smooth the concern from his face.
“I-“ he began, then shook his head in frustration. “I just really want this to be good for you.”
“But- Angel. It is,” she murmured, brow puckering slightly in confusion as she inched slightly closer to him, reaching out to touch his cheek gently.
“No- I mean that-“
“It is,” she repeated with more conviction, leaning forward to touch her lips lightly to his before pulling back and fearlessly darting her tongue out to suck on his earlobe, knowing without seeing that his eyes had fluttered shut as he gripped her to him tightly with one hand, fisting the other in her hair as she whispered in his ear. “It’s perfect. You’re here.”
“Buffy-“
“I just- want it to be good for you too,” she added timidly and it was his turn to look at her with disbelief.
“Buffy, believe me-“
“Then believe me,” she retorted teasingly before her brow creased slightly again and she gulped, not sure if it was entirely appropriate to say “I want to touch you,” and blurting out those exact words before she could change her mind. His eyes darkened at once, and some far away region in her realized that anyone with half a brain would probably be terrified by that look but somehow-
“I- I just don’t want you to do anything you don’t want-“
Her brow furrowed again in confusion. “I’m not. I never would.” And the disbelief, the gratitude on his face shattered her heart as she saw them, as he whispered her name like it was a prayer and she lifted her hips so he could slide her soaked pants from her body as she grabbed for his belt with shaking hands, starting to unbuckle-
---
Buffy squinted in confusion as she found herself in a church, gazing at her best friend, who looked not a day older than the day they’d first met. “Will?” she questioned incredulously, taking a moment to realize that the redhead was dressed in an elaborate wedding dress as flowers began to float around them.
“So, who’s the lucky bride?” Buffy asked with a wide smile, confused when Willow didn’t smile back, just gazed at her solemnly.
“Will?” she repeated slowly, smile fading.
“You never understood. The flowers aren’t what make it real.”
“What are you-“
“You have to make it real.”
“Willow?” Buffy asked in a very small voice and then there was darkness.
---
Buffy blinked against the blinding light as she fond herself in a very different room, somewhere in Sunnydale, she knew she’d seen it before but… Her brow furrowed and she concentrated hard, feeling like she was missing something as she heard steps behind her.
“Hi Spike,” she said with certainty before turning to face him.
“Slayer,” he acknowledged, cocky smirk on his face, and she smiled despite herself, taking a step toward him and jerking backward as the song ‘Love Stinks’ started to blare out of nowhere, looking around in vain for the source of the sound but unable to locate it.
“You know, you had my attention anyway,” she commented dryly, stepping into his arms without even knowing why, relaxing into them as he pulled her closer.
“No I didn’t. I still don’t,” but there was no malice in his voice.
“Okay, you don’t,” she agreed in an amused voice, looking over his shoulder in vain for the source of the blasting music.
“The problem is,” he whispered in her ear, “you never know what to see.”
She blinked, opened her mouth to ask what it meant as he pushed away from her, lifting her hand to his mouth to kiss it. She blinked in confusion as her hand raised and her thin gold wedding band faded, then disappeared, before reappearing so quickly she thought she must have imagined it as Spike murmured once more, “You need to learn how to see.”
---
Suddenly she was in Giles’s apartment, like it used to look... before. She surveyed the scene eagerly, confused momentarily by a clock which seemed to have stopped, heard Rupert’s voice murmur “I love you,” as though in surround sound at the same moment she heard Spike’s echo ‘you never know what to see.’
And then suddenly there was a flash of light as a claddagh ring fell from nowhere and landed at her feet with a loud klink, bouncing once and then twirling in a dizzying blur
‘You never know what to see…’
--
Buffy jerked awake. Her eyes flew open at once and she instantly wished they hadn’t as she found herself face-to-face with a none-too-amused Ethan.
“Oh, you,” she said, fighting not to cringe at how weak her voice sounded, trying to move away from him and unsurprised to find she was fully restrained. “Why am I not surprised?”
“I’ll spare you a repeat of the pleasantries,” he said coldly as she rolled her eyes. “Just tell me what I want to know.”
Her eyes flashed and she said nothing.
“No, I didn’t expect you to answer,” he said contemplatitively, reaching out and stroking her cheek in what could only have been called a mockery of affection. “But we know more than you give us credit for. For instance, we ran tests of your blood while you slept- it’s clear that you’ve been in contact with a supernatural being in the past week.”
She rolled her eyes, willing herself to sound more confident than she sounded. “Oh come on, Einstein, my blood never shows up clean- and you know it. After all, isn’t it you who’s been telling me I’m permanently ‘tainted’ on your blood test because I slept with two vampires practically a decade ago?” She rolled her eyes again. “But then, I was never one to accuse your magic of being particularly sophisticated.”
His eyes narrowed. “Well, luckily for you, CHILD, we took your criticism to heart, especially after your and Rupert’s last stunt-“
She rolled her eyes again, trying to sound brash as she snapped, “Oh get OVER it. Can you say a year ago much?”
He hit her forcefully across the face and her head whipped to the side with such vigor that he feared for a moment he’d done real damage as her lip split and a small trail of blood trickled down her chin.
“Unlike you and your foolish dead husband, betrayal is not something I forgive,” he said in a dangerously low voice. “You WILL tell me what I need to know or your children will die.”
She stared at him levelly for a long moment, then decided to take a risk, shrugging as she called his bluff. “Not like I was ever much of a mother anyway.”
“I’d have to agree with you there,” and even though she’d provoked the words Buffy was stung by how much they hurt. “But I know you don’t want them dead.”
“You’re right,” she said softly,, meeting his eyes. “I don’t. But the thing is, Ethan, I trust you so little that I think they’re dead already, and based on the last time you blackmailed me into giving you information… hoe did you put it again?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes as though she was thinking and wishing nothing more than that her hands were unbound so that she could punch him into oblivion. “Oh! I remember! In exchange for my husband’s life!” She looked around her curiously, then shrugged. “I don’t see my husband. Oh! I remember!” she exclaimed again with every once of bitterness in her small body. “You killed him anyway, you duplicitous bastard.” Despite herself her eyes filled with tears. “You wouldn’t even take me instead-“
He looked at her as though she were an idiot. “Of course not. We need you and we know it. Just because you haven’t yet seen that your best chance is cooperation doesn’t mean we can allow you to die before you do-“
“I will never cooperate,” she said with finality.
“Then your children will die.”
Her eyes narrowed and she looked directly at him, chilling him for a moment with the realization that flickered across her face. “I don’t believe you,” she said slowly. “Either they’re already dead or you need them too and they’re safe no matter what I say. Either way, I have nothing to gain by talking to you.”
His eyes flashed as he stormed over to the door and opened it, gesturing for 6 men clad solely in black to come inside. “Torture her. And make sure she stays conscious.” He said before staring back at Buffy, murmuring, “Perhaps you’ll be persuaded yet,” before leaving the room.
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