ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

CHAPTER 75 – A RIGHT BLOODY PAIR

Buffy disconnected her cell phone from the laptop, then turned both of them off.

They would be home in a couple of days. Home. She couldn’t even imagine how that would seem to be coming back to her house, his house, with him after all this time.

She got up and opened the door and looked out at him, still napping on the couch, across from Dawn, who was doing the same on one of the chairs. Her heart warmed by the scene, she walked over to where William was and leaned over and kissed him.

He responded, half-asleep, kissing her back.

Still kissing her, he pulled her down onto the couch and stretched out, so that they were now lying down. Buffy sighed, loving the way he felt, all warmed by sleep. Warm, human, hers, William.

Dawn opened her eyes sleepily and stretched, then smiled, watching William and Buffy making out. She so needed to get back to her own life!

"Hey why don't you guys get a room?" she teased. "Oh wait, you already have one!"

"Are they at it again?" Willow asked, from up front.

"Of course, and let me just add GET A ROOM!" she said, again to Buffy and William, who had already righted themselves and were now sitting up.

Buffy gave her a dirty look and Dawn just smirked, sticking out her tongue.

"Okay, I'm leaving now," Dawn said, getting up to go join Willow and Xander up front, "when I come back, my eyes better not see any such things," she warned.

"You mean your virgin eyes, don't you Dawn?" Buffy asked sweetly.

"Um-hmm, that's what I mean," she looked back and gave hesterster the cheesiest smile she could muster on short notice, "going to go hide my 'virgin' eyes now!"

Buffy giggled, and William, entranced by the sound, and with his jeans still quite uncomfortable, grabbed her hand and led her to the back.

They collapsed against the door, laughing. She pushed him to the edge of the bed and sat on him, straddling his hips. One hand slid around her back, both steadying her and pulling her in tight, while the other went up under her shirt, until it found her breast. Her hands ran over his face and through his hair as she kissed him.

"Oh, Elizabeth, you don't know what you do to me!"

"I've a pretty good idea," she said, smiling suggestively at him.

"No, it's not just that, it's...how you are, your passion, your fire, even when we're not doing this, it's always there, I alwaenseense it, from the very first day I met you I knew it was there and it warmed me. You warm me."

She looked at him and her eyes grew moist; William this sensitive poet, this beautiful man, once again wearing his heart so very much on his sleeve. "How do you do that? Make love to me with your words? Always. Even when we're not? I don't...I've never had words like you do...I wish I did. Wish I could tell you so eloquently, like you tell me..."

"Shhh, it's okay, Elizabeth, I have enough words for both of us, don't I?" he smiled, kissing her.

"Thank God for that," she said, laughing, "oh, and you know we really shouldn’t do this right now, don't you?"

He made a face and groaned, "Then I take it all back!"

Buffy shook her head, "No, won't let you. I love your words, love your heart, love you!" she kissed him again, as she ground down on his lap and he rocked her back and forth, trying to increase the friction bet the them, through their clothes.

“Stop, stop,” she said, a couple of minutes later, gasping, her legs quivering.

He groaned again, but stopped moving, as they both sat there, holding onto each other, catching their breath.

“Elizabeth?” he asked, into her hair.

“Hmm?”

“Did I really used to swear like that? Use all those words?”

She broke off the hug to sit up and look at him, “Um-hmm,” she answered, smiling a little.

“In front of you, even?” he asked, looking into her eyes; looking to her to give him the truth.

“Yes,” she answered, and put her hand on his face, stroking it softly, hoping this action would soothe his mind, which she could sense, was in turmoil.

It wasn’t to be.

He shook his head. He already knew that was the answer he was going to receive. What he didn’t understand, is how he could have been the kind of man who would have talked like that, in front of a woman.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking down.
llialliam, don’t apologize, please. There really is no need. I’m not some delicate flower who has never heard a bad word.”

He looked up; “Why I don’t think you’re a delicate flower at all, Elizabeth!”

“Gee, thanks,” she said, half-teasing.

“That’s not what I mean. You’re a beautiful one, but not delicate. You’re strong, otherwise, how could you have withstood all that you must have gone through? After you lost your home in Sunnydale? When you lost friends that you loved, When you lost…”he looked up at her.

“You?”

He nodded.

“And found me, saved me. All that speaks of your strength, not your delicateness. Nor is it that I would presume that you never heard a bad word, it’s just that I can’t understand how I would have been the one to utter them in front of you!”

“Oh, William,” Buffy said, both touched and a bit annoyed, “doapolapologize for that. There’s really nothing to apologize for. You don’t know me anymore, I mean, you don’t remember how things were, who I was, and…”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t even know who I was, quite obviously. But it’s a matter of respect. I was brought up to respect women. All women. And swearing in front of them, in front of you would be, rather was, disrespectful. That’s what I’m sorry for.”

“William,” she said, shaking her h Wh Why did he always have to make things so hard? “I’m just saying you shouldn’t put me on a pedestal, I’m not pedestal-girl! Never have been, never will be. If you put me up on one, I’ll only fall…only disappoint you…”

He grabbed her tightly, “Never! You could never disappoint me, Elizabeth,” he said, his voice pained, “but I won’t do that, alright?” he agreed, relaxing his grip, “I promise not to put you up on a pedestal. I don’t have to, you see, I love you just the way you are, I see how you are, I see who you are!”

“Through rose-colored glasses?”

“Don’t think I got the tint,” aid,aid, smiling, remembering the options at the eyeglass store.

“You don’t know me!” she said suddenly, getting up off his lap. She paced the small area in front of him, “You don’t know the things I’ve done…if you did, you wouldn’t…”

He jumped up after her, grabbing her in mid-pace, “No, I don’t, and what I’m getting in bits and pieces, is that I was prettyfereferent from the way I am now, too; wasn’t I? Wasn’t I?” he repeated angrily.

“Yes!” she shot back at him.

“I don’t care! I don’t care who you were or who I was. I don’t!” he released her and dropped to his knees, and put his arms around her legs, “I just want to be able to love you now, Elizabeth,” he said, looking up at her, his blue eyes imploring her, “that’s all I want…and to be worthy of yours.”

Her anger left her as soon as it had appeared. She dropped down to her knees, too, and put her arms around him, “Don’t you ever think you’re not worthy, William! You are, you are,” she said, softly.

Suddenly, Buffy burst out laughing.

William looked at her shocked.

Putting on her best, or worst, depending on how you looked at it, English accent, from years of having Spike in her head, she said, “We’re a ‘right bloody,’ pair, aren’t we?”

A small smile started at the corner of his mouth crinkled the corner of his eyes, then got bigger and bigger, until his whole face was one big smile. He couldn’t help himself, he howled with laughter.

He grabbed her hand, and bringing it to his mouth, kissed her palm, “You see? How could I not love you?”

She shook her head at the absurdity of it all. The live-theater aspect that their warring emotions of fear, love, and lust so frequently threw them into.

“Let’s go join the others,” she suggested, breathing out a sigh of relief, glad this latest ‘spike’ in their relationship was quickly resolved. For now, at least.

Dawn was about to say something to Buffy and William, to tease them about their latest tryst, until she saw their faces. She glanced down and noticed their hands were clasped together, rather solemnly. She wasn’t quite sure what the look in Buffy’s eyes was about, but it definitely wasn’t the usual post-coital glow she was used to seeing in her sister’s face these past weeks.

Xander started to say somethinuessuessing that now he, too, could join in on the good-natured ribbing that Dawn and Willow had done, but Dawn quickly put her hand on Xander’s arm and silently shook her head.


“What’s up guys?” Buffy asked, walking up front with William.

“We were, rather Xander and Dawn were just looking at the Mesa Verde website.”

They crowded around Xander and Dawn, looking at the different trails and cliff dwelling ruins there were to see at the park.

Buffy was happy to see William really excited about tomorrow. For her, learning that it was something he had been aware of, back then, she supposed, when the west was still being settled, was a unique perspective on both the west and on William.

“All the trails look fairly rugged, from what I remember seeing earlier,” Willow said, glancing over. “Xander, how long is this?”

“About 35 feet, why?”

“Crap, that means we can’t drive up to some of the sites then, unless there’s some sort of transportation to some of the trail heads.”

“Can’t we walk?” Dawn asked.

“Not unless you want to walk 12 miles into the park,” Willow answered, “though some of the smaller ruins are closer by.”

“Nope, nevermind!”

They discussed which trails they wanted to take and which ruins they most wanted to see for about 15 minutes, but it kept coming back to not being able to get up to the more spectacular ones.

“Willow, why don’t we call the National Park and ask them about transportation. Maybe they have a shuttle or something.”

“I’ll call,” Dawn said, going back to get her phone. A few minutes later they had their answer.”

“Damn!” Dawn said, hanging up.

“Why don’t we just rent a car?” Buffy asked.

“What? Why? We have this!” Xander said.

“Yeah, but the roads are too narrow to drive this up to some of the ruins. We’re camping in the park tonight, right?”

Willow nodded, “If we get there in time.”

“So, why don’t we rent a car on the way, from the nearest town? Then tomorrow evening or afternoon, we can just return it. It’s not that expensive, right?”

William had never heard of ‘renting’ a car before, but he looked at Elizabeth proudly. So did Dawn.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Willow said, “we’ll rent a car, then whoever dr it, it, will follow the RV to the campground.”

“Guys, I think I’m having another brilliant idea,” Buffy said, smiling.

“What’s that Buffy?” Xander asked.

“One word: shoes!”

END CHAPTER 75