Chapter Fifteen I woke up early, no idea why. The clock said 6:32, and I could see the power was out. My clock/radio was running on batteries `cause after years of living here, I was prepared like any good Midwesterner. Fuck the blizzards. Figured I'd better see what the damage was, so I climbed out of bed and headed over to the window to check it out. It wasn't too bad, looked like two, maybe three inches. Wasn't enough to delay leaving, and it also wasn't enough to fuck up the electricity either. That was all on the wind, and I could see a few branches were down. I parked my ass in the little window seat, and stared out like I'd done way too many times to count over the years. I knew this view inside and out, all year round, day and night, but I wasn't gonna being seeing it for much longer. I had Willow to thank for that. No way could I stay here anymore, it was time to pull up stakes again and start over. I was all packed, had about twelve boxes which wasn't all that much to show for five years of living. Still, was way more than I usually had. Most times my stuff saved just right inside a medium-sized duffel bag. I was really gonna miss the place. It'd been a little safe spot in the middle of a big world of danger. And even though I couldn't claim I was happy or even peaceful here, at least I hadn't been nuts either. I'd made something kinda good for myself, just not what I wanted most. Course not many people ever get that anyways, so it wasn't like I could really bitch and moan about it. Should just take my ass back to bed or maybe do some last minute thing to get ready, but it looked like staring out the window imagining my new life was all that was gonna happen. "Hey, what are you doing out of bed? It's freezing without you." "That all I am to ya? A big source a heat?" "Mmmm…There's all kinds of heat though." I smiled and headed back over to the bed. It was little frosty, `specially since I wasn't wearing a stitch. "Don't ya like the cold?" "Native Californian. I think I much prefer the balmy." "What a wuss." She lifted the covers with one hand, and pulled me down on top of her with the other. I suddenly felt lots and lots of heat. "Come here. What time is…6:36? A.M.? What in the hell?!" "Hey, early riser now." She looked at me like I was nuts: "Early rising's one thing. This is…We've only been asleep for…thirty- four minutes!" "Well we are Slayers, B. We don't need as much as other…" "Slayers or not, thirty-four minutes isn't nearly enough!" "…Guess I'm just too excited to sleep." Her eyes went all soft, and the smile on her face was a whole `nother kinda heat. "God, you are just so cute." She gave me a little kiss after she said, "cute". "And sweet." Kiss…then nothing. "Ya forgot cool and tough and wicked sexy." "Of course." Still nothing, so I rolled off her and turned on my side, facing away from her. The grin on my face was huge, and I struggled to keep it outta my voice. "Guess ya got a point, though. Few more Zs would be good." She yanked me to her, my back against her front as she whispered in my ear: "We seem to be having a communication problem." "But you said you were tired so I'm just…B!" "See what I mean?" "Yeah, but think we're all cleared up now." I started to turn to face her, but she held me in place: "Kinda liking you just where you are." "It's good, but I'd like to…I'd like to…uh…" Trust me, if you felt B moving against your ass, you'd lose your train of thought too. Her voice was soft and getting a little strained as she kept breathing into my ear: "Faith, you are so beautiful." "I'm way better from the front." "Maybe, but this view's just so great. Hmm…I know, I'll just use something other than my eyes to…see…the front……Now that's just… perfect." A minute of that, and I was going crazy. Then she murmured all low and sexy: "I am so in love with you." That did it. I busted loose, spun around, and was on top of her in like two seconds flat. "I love you too, B. Always have, and I'm always gonna." She smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear: "How did I ever get so lucky?" Just what me and Red had wondered. "Could say the same, but I don't really give a fuck. I'm not ever giving you back if it turns out somebody made a mistake." "The only mistake anybody made is the one I made when…" I stopped her by kissing her for a really long time, and in lots of different places. When I finally let up, she looked all dazed. "So, you were sayin'?" "…I was? Saying what, exactly?" "Wasn't important, not like this is." We kissed again, man can she kiss. "F?" "Yeah?" "Did I mention that I love you?" "Mighta heard somethin' through the grapevine about it, but feel free to tell me whenever ya wanna." "I was thinking it'd be more effective if I showed you." "Yeah, that'd probably be more convincing." She rolled us over so that she was back on top, then she started kissing her way down my body. I was moaning and groaning about three seconds into it, and when she started licking and biting, well I can't really remember what went down. `Cept her, of course. When I got my brains unscrambled, she was still right there with this dangerous and sexy look on her face. "You were right, you know." "'Bout what?" "You are way better from the front." Then we did our thing and after, we just laid there all cozy and warm as we held onto each other. She snuggled into me, her hand moving real soft back and forth on my stomach. "When do you want to leave?" "Guess we can go any time. Just need to stop at the package place and ship this stuff, then we're off." "Is it going to be hard?" "Kinda, but not really. Takes all the sting out of it since I'm off to California with you. I never wanted to be here anyway, but I'm grateful I had this place when I needed it." "I am too. I spoke to Angel, and he said we could take our time. He can stay for two more weeks, so…" "Sounds fun, could be like a vacation for us. I mean, we could do the whole sightsee thing if ya wanna." Damn, talk about saying the magic words. B half sat up, her face all excited like a kid at the circus: "Could we?! I'd love to see the Grand Canyon! Could we see the Grand Canyon?!" "Buffy, we can see whatever ya wanna see. I'm gonna let you do whatever ya want." She laid back down on me, all happy and excited. "Will this `letting me have my way' thing be in effect forever?" "Probably." "Wow, this just keeps getting better and better." We stayed hunkered down, and she fell back asleep. I just laid there, grinning like a fool while I held her. Can ya believe it? I had her, there was no doubt about it. She was mine and I was hers, and it was a whole new world. A whole new beautiful perfect world. I was moving back to California, relocating because the love of my life had one of them careers that just won't let ya move away. As luck would have it, there was a job there for me too. That meant we were gonna be living together, fighting the good fight side by side in Sunny D Wanna Be. Didn't see how it could get any better, but then it did. She shifted in her sleep and her elbow hurt me when it…well it sorta pinched me in…on… Point is she pinched me, okay? Why's that so fucking great? `Cause it hurt, and that meant I wasn't having one of those dreams I always have. This was real, and the silky sunshine spread all over my chest was really Buffy's hair. These were really her arms and legs wrapped all over me, and it was really her heart I could almost feel beating against me. And that smell? It was all her, but with a little bit of me mixed in with it too. She was also doing this little snoring thing I never knew she did, until a few days ago. She says she doesn't, but trust me, she does. And just like with everything else B's got goin' on, it's so damn cute and sexy. Man, if my heart exploded right now and killed me, I'd be going out happy. Hopefully that's not in the plans though, `cause I so want more time with her. I'm hoping for like ten thousand years, but if that's too unrealistic, I'll settle for nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine. Well, plus three hundred and sixty-four days…unless it's a leap year. Then I'm gonna need that extra day too. There's just no way I can go any lower than that, so no point in anybody trying to negotiate. I'm gonna hold firm, no matter what. So that's the end of the story. Ended just the way it's supposed to, if ya ask me. The hero got the girl, and everybody's gonna live happily ever after now. Okay yeah, it is a little confusing since we're both girls. I mean, how ya supposed to know who the hero is? Well I know if your life's on the line, best thing ya can do is pin your last hope on B. Not even a choice ya really need to think about. Facts are just starin' us all in the face every single day, and it's pretty clear that nobody, nowhere, no how, has ever seen a better hero than Buffy. She's been The Slayer for like a million years now, and there's never been anyone who comes close to her. She's the real deal, a genuine ass kicking, do the right thing hero. Always has been, always will be. It's just her, who she is, and ya don't gotta have a big debate to prove it neither. Still, can't help thinking that maybe just this once, I did the right thing too. Like maybe just this once, I was a hero. Seems pretty clear I got the girl…… What the fuck's wrong with me? I'm no hero. I never have been and I'm never gonna be. That's Buffy's territory, and with her in the race, can bet your ass I'm not even in the running. But no problem there, I came to terms with that stuff a real long time ago. Ya can't compete with B, she's one of a kind. Ya try and match her, you're just gonna fail. It's like sayin' you're really bright, then trying to outshine the sun. Not only can ya not do it, you're gonna look like a dumb ass for even trying. All ya can do is be you and give it your best. Crazy as that sounds, it's enough, for you and for her. If ya get lucky, sometimes her warmth hits ya every once in a while, and if she loves you? Well if she loves you, you get to live in it all the time. And just so there's no confusion, "you" means me. Anyways, the whole hero thing's stupid, doesn't mean anything. It's just that it was kinda tricky and for a sec, well I thought I had a shot at it. Guess it goes to show ya that I'm human after all. 'Sides, the whole thing's so confusing when ya think about it. Who could ever make sense of it all? Hell I lived it, and it still has my head spinning. I mean, even if you ignore the whole two chick monkey wrench gummin' up the works, you're still left with a mind-blowing sitch. I can't blame anybody for being confused. But I can tell ya one thing I'm not the least bit confused about: I love B and she loves me right the fuck back. That's right, Buffy Summers is head over heels in love with yours truly, and I'm all about keeping it that way. See for once in my crazy fucking life, something actually turned out the way I wanted it to. The fact that it's what I always wanted the most, well it's pretty damn hard to believe. But I do believe it, I believe in it with everything I got. No doubt, no fear, no nothin' except this feeling that all is finally right with the world, leastways my little corner of it. And man, does it ever feel good to feel this good. I feel so light it's like I'm flying, and just between us? I'm never comin' down. Guess it's pretty simple after all, at least from one angle. What's that angle? Well see, me and B? We're The Chosen Two. And after all the dust finally settled, we did the simple thing: we chose each other.
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