Categories > TV > Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Ordinary Lives
Christmas had come and gone. Each of our friends had had some kind of celebration. Oz had surprised Faith with a ring. One that could mean simply friendship or more, depending on how she chose to wear it. She had yet to put it on. Gunn had laid low while the celebration of Wesley and Fred's engagement had taken place. But he still had his plans. Anya and Xander seemed a little strained. He couldn't understand why. And the same could be said for Willow and Tara. Although all had celebrated in the news that Anya and Tara were related. Buffy was still not letting anyone near her. As soon as the holiday was over, she would be forced to return to school. And this was driving Spike insane. He was doing things he shouldn't. Darla had broken up with Angel. She said that she could not handle the dangers of being his girlfriend. It was driving Angel back to that place. The one that he did not care who he hurt. Including his brother. The only slightly happy people at the moment, besides Oz and Faith, were Giles and Jenny. Though they were still taking things ever so slow, her revelation had made their relationship that much stronger. And of that, she was grateful.
First day back at school after a holiday was always the worst. Seeing some of the friends you didn't get to see was a good thing, but other then that, it was back to the same old grind of one boring class after another.
For Angel, it meant hassling the underclassmen. Something again that he hadn't done since Darla had come into his life again. But she had gone. So, one right after another, he kept on giving them grief.
Finally, Spike had enough. He had watched it all morning long. And even though he was in no mood to care because how Buffy had just dropped him without a word, he didn't want to see his big brother continue to be an ass.
So, he walked up to Angel. "Leave these pathetic people alone in their lives. They have enough problems without you causing them anymore."
Angel took a step towards his brother. "What? Are you some protector of the geeks now? Some protector of the low lives? Who made you boss over me?"
"I did." Spike made it so that they were standing face to face, barely enough room for either of them to move or breathe. "Just back off big brother. You may have the size, but I kicked your ass once. I can do it again. Leave these people alone!"
"You asked for it." Angel pulled back and tried to connect. Spike ducked and tackled his brother to the ground. "You too much of a wuss to fight me?"
Spike stood up. "You are something else." He shook his head. "You had become so much of a nice guy. What the hell..." He quickly trailed off as he saw Darla looking down at Angel, a sad look in her eyes. Their eyes met before she quickly took off. "Oh." Spike offered his brother a hand. "I understand now."
Angel glared a moment at the hand that had been offered to him. Instead of taking it, he stood himself up on his own. "You understand nothing. No one does. That's why I'm outta here."
Spike watched his brother storm out the front doors. So much had happened. Some good things. Some bad. And now, they didn't seem to have each other like they once had. And it was all because of their father. And it was all because two women couldn't let themselves forgive.
"""
Buffy sat alone. It's how she felt. Her mother was the only one that she would talk to. It was just the way things had to be. It was what things had come to. It wasn't the bullet that had nearly cost her her life that was doing this. It was her father.
They had never been close. In some ways, she thought that her father had always wanted a boy. And that was part of the reason that they had never been close. And then she deep down knew the truth. He was just plain evil.
Even though this maybe true, it still hurt. It hurt more then if it had been Spike, her mother, or any of her friends. Because it was her father that had basically pulled the trigger to kill her, she was sure that she could never again trust anyone again. And that meant that she needed to arm herself.
Exactly what did that mean? Well, it meant that she would not let anyone talk to her. Anyone that did, got a glare. She would sit alone and in the back of her classes now. At lunch, she ate outside where no one else would go. She was cutting herself off from everyone.
Her friends had still tried that morning to get to her. But they had all failed. They would always fail when it came to trying to get her to open up. The pain was too much. And there was a deep, deep scar now. And not just the physical one.
Looking at all the students bustling around her, she somewhat envied them. They still thought that they could live a life of happiness. That there was the chance that someday everything in their lives would be all right.
She made no such assumptions. In fact, she thought the worse. Her thoughts were now on who would be the next one to hurt her. For there would always be someone out there that would hurt her. There was a long line of people to do that.
Spike walked by. He tried not to look at her, but their eyes met for just a moment. There was instant pain for both of them. Spike still blamed himself for all of this. And because in his mind he had let her down. For Buffy, it was because he was still the one thing that she wanted. But if she let him in, that would mean she would have to lower her walls that she had so effectively put up. Couldn't have that, now could we."""
"""
"So how is Anya?" Willow and Tara had finally found the library. It was still the place they went to first on school mornings. But because of it being the first day back, they had went around to their friends. Even one that didn't want anything to do with them at the moment.
Tara looked at Willow for a moment. "She's good. Is there a reason that she shouldn't be? Well, other then the fact that our father is running around out there."
"True." Willow shrugged. "It's just that you've been spending most of your free time with her. If I didn't know the two of you were related, I'd be getting jealous or something."
That made the blond laugh a little. The last thing she had ever thought was that her girl would be jealous. "Jealous? Of Anya? I'm sorry, but even if we weren't sisters you'd have nothing to worry about. My heart belongs to you."
Willow shrugged. "I know. In my heart I know. It's that dumb old head of mine that won't stop thinking. Or telling me things. And I don't like it. I've tried to quiet it. But there doesn't seem to be anything to do it. You are hot stuff you know."
The blond blinked a couple times. Her being called hot stuff even by her girl was something that she wasn't used to. "Not as hot as the girl that I love and am with. What is this all about?"
Willow again shrugged. She hadn't realized how things had bottled up over the past couple weeks. Of how jealous she was of her girl spending time with someone else. Even though there was no way in hell that anything could come of it. "Not sure."
"I'm not buying that." Tara took her hand in her own. "I know you better then that. I know that something is up. Just tell me. I love you. I'll love you no matter what. You can tell me anything and you can trust me."
The redhead sighed. "It's not always easy to put in words how I feel. Saying I love you is one way, but I don't think it does it justice. Remember back when I thought that all we could be is friends?"
Tara nodded. "It was devastating to me to think that all we could be was friends. But you in my life in that way was better then you not being in my life at all."
Another sigh. "Boy, you get it better then I thought. I didn't want to say that I wanted something more. I didn't want to be the one to say I want a relationship. That you are my everything and that's what I want from you. I was so willing just to be friends and nothing more. Just so that I could have some small part of you in my life. That's how much you mean to me."
The blond blushed a little. These were not things, even from Willow that she was used to hearing. "I know. And I felt the same way. I didn't want to say that we could be more because if we tried and it didn't work out, then I wouldn't even be able to have you as my friend. That hurt so much thinking that you wouldn't be in my life. I need you in my life. I think forever."
Willow squeezed Tara's hand. "You've got me. Always. I just wish that we would have said these things sooner. I mean, having Faith do the nice setup thing for us was like this most wonderful gift in the world. It meant that we got to have that push. And we still got to be together. A dream came true when I saw you walk into The Bronze that night."
"And we've been living it ever since." Tara leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. "So, if we hadn't gotten over all of our little securities, with the help of someone else, we never would have gotten together, would we?"
"Possibly not in more then a friend way." Willow smiled big. "Thank God that we have good friends. I would hate to not be able to do this." She leaned in and kissed her rather passionately.
When they finally broke apart, the blond smiled big. Her smile faded though as she remembered something. "Willow, there is something I have got to tell you. Something I should have never hid from you in the first place. I just hope that you can handle it." And that Anya would forgive her for telling.
First day back at school after a holiday was always the worst. Seeing some of the friends you didn't get to see was a good thing, but other then that, it was back to the same old grind of one boring class after another.
For Angel, it meant hassling the underclassmen. Something again that he hadn't done since Darla had come into his life again. But she had gone. So, one right after another, he kept on giving them grief.
Finally, Spike had enough. He had watched it all morning long. And even though he was in no mood to care because how Buffy had just dropped him without a word, he didn't want to see his big brother continue to be an ass.
So, he walked up to Angel. "Leave these pathetic people alone in their lives. They have enough problems without you causing them anymore."
Angel took a step towards his brother. "What? Are you some protector of the geeks now? Some protector of the low lives? Who made you boss over me?"
"I did." Spike made it so that they were standing face to face, barely enough room for either of them to move or breathe. "Just back off big brother. You may have the size, but I kicked your ass once. I can do it again. Leave these people alone!"
"You asked for it." Angel pulled back and tried to connect. Spike ducked and tackled his brother to the ground. "You too much of a wuss to fight me?"
Spike stood up. "You are something else." He shook his head. "You had become so much of a nice guy. What the hell..." He quickly trailed off as he saw Darla looking down at Angel, a sad look in her eyes. Their eyes met before she quickly took off. "Oh." Spike offered his brother a hand. "I understand now."
Angel glared a moment at the hand that had been offered to him. Instead of taking it, he stood himself up on his own. "You understand nothing. No one does. That's why I'm outta here."
Spike watched his brother storm out the front doors. So much had happened. Some good things. Some bad. And now, they didn't seem to have each other like they once had. And it was all because of their father. And it was all because two women couldn't let themselves forgive.
"""
Flowers were on the library desk. And there was a card, but it wasn't signed. It said 'to Fred, with love'. Her thought was of course that Wesley had done this. But when she had asked him, he had admitted that he wished he had been the one that sent them. This was confusing, to say the least. At least she had not told her fiancé what the card had said.
Her mind was wracked with who it could be. After all, the only man that had even taken an interest in her was Wesley. And she knew where they stood. And knew what was to come. Or at least, she hoped that she did.
That's when Gunn walked in. "Flowers! How nice. My best friend still knows how to treat his girl right I see."
Fred shook her head to clear it. Her thoughts had been on who could have sent it. "Actually, they are from some anonymous admirer. Which is not of the good seeing that I'm engaged now."
"That's true." Gunn shrugged. "Wonder if this other fella knows that you are spoken for. If he does, he's such a jerk for sending you those flowers. Although, sometimes you don't know if there is something better out there til you take a look around."
Fred snapped her head towards him. "That's an awful thing to say. I know that no matter who comes along, Wesley is the one for me. I don't need to go looking around."
Gun held up his hands. "Sorry. Didn't mean to imply or stir up trouble. There's been enough of that over the last few weeks for a lifetime."
"That's for sure." Fred began playing with the ring on her finger. It still felt unusual on her finger. If only because she never knew that she would ever be able to feel this way about someone. That she could give her heart totally to someone. It was amazing and scary at the same time.
"So, you and the man have plans as usual?" Gun came up and leaned on the counter. "If not, I've got tickets to this opera thing tonight. My date canceled. I could always give them to you. Or, if you want and Wesley is busy, we could go together."
"Opera?" Gunn shrugged. "Just didn't think of you as the opera type." That made Gunn laugh. "Well, Wesley has plans, but not with me. He told me to see if there was something I wanted to do. I would like to go." She smiled big. "Why don't we plan on it. It could be fun.
"We're set then. I'll let you get back." Gunn chuckled a little. "If Snydeman catches me in here, I'll be in trouble. Should be watching the halls and all. Later girl." As he walked out, he smiled big. First phase of his plan was now in progress. Would it be long before he got what he wanted?
"""
Buffy sat alone. It's how she felt. Her mother was the only one that she would talk to. It was just the way things had to be. It was what things had come to. It wasn't the bullet that had nearly cost her her life that was doing this. It was her father.
They had never been close. In some ways, she thought that her father had always wanted a boy. And that was part of the reason that they had never been close. And then she deep down knew the truth. He was just plain evil.
Even though this maybe true, it still hurt. It hurt more then if it had been Spike, her mother, or any of her friends. Because it was her father that had basically pulled the trigger to kill her, she was sure that she could never again trust anyone again. And that meant that she needed to arm herself.
Exactly what did that mean? Well, it meant that she would not let anyone talk to her. Anyone that did, got a glare. She would sit alone and in the back of her classes now. At lunch, she ate outside where no one else would go. She was cutting herself off from everyone.
Her friends had still tried that morning to get to her. But they had all failed. They would always fail when it came to trying to get her to open up. The pain was too much. And there was a deep, deep scar now. And not just the physical one.
Looking at all the students bustling around her, she somewhat envied them. They still thought that they could live a life of happiness. That there was the chance that someday everything in their lives would be all right.
She made no such assumptions. In fact, she thought the worse. Her thoughts were now on who would be the next one to hurt her. For there would always be someone out there that would hurt her. There was a long line of people to do that.
Spike walked by. He tried not to look at her, but their eyes met for just a moment. There was instant pain for both of them. Spike still blamed himself for all of this. And because in his mind he had let her down. For Buffy, it was because he was still the one thing that she wanted. But if she let him in, that would mean she would have to lower her walls that she had so effectively put up. Couldn't have that, now could we."""
"""
"So how is Anya?" Willow and Tara had finally found the library. It was still the place they went to first on school mornings. But because of it being the first day back, they had went around to their friends. Even one that didn't want anything to do with them at the moment.
Tara looked at Willow for a moment. "She's good. Is there a reason that she shouldn't be? Well, other then the fact that our father is running around out there."
"True." Willow shrugged. "It's just that you've been spending most of your free time with her. If I didn't know the two of you were related, I'd be getting jealous or something."
That made the blond laugh a little. The last thing she had ever thought was that her girl would be jealous. "Jealous? Of Anya? I'm sorry, but even if we weren't sisters you'd have nothing to worry about. My heart belongs to you."
Willow shrugged. "I know. In my heart I know. It's that dumb old head of mine that won't stop thinking. Or telling me things. And I don't like it. I've tried to quiet it. But there doesn't seem to be anything to do it. You are hot stuff you know."
The blond blinked a couple times. Her being called hot stuff even by her girl was something that she wasn't used to. "Not as hot as the girl that I love and am with. What is this all about?"
Willow again shrugged. She hadn't realized how things had bottled up over the past couple weeks. Of how jealous she was of her girl spending time with someone else. Even though there was no way in hell that anything could come of it. "Not sure."
"I'm not buying that." Tara took her hand in her own. "I know you better then that. I know that something is up. Just tell me. I love you. I'll love you no matter what. You can tell me anything and you can trust me."
The redhead sighed. "It's not always easy to put in words how I feel. Saying I love you is one way, but I don't think it does it justice. Remember back when I thought that all we could be is friends?"
Tara nodded. "It was devastating to me to think that all we could be was friends. But you in my life in that way was better then you not being in my life at all."
Another sigh. "Boy, you get it better then I thought. I didn't want to say that I wanted something more. I didn't want to be the one to say I want a relationship. That you are my everything and that's what I want from you. I was so willing just to be friends and nothing more. Just so that I could have some small part of you in my life. That's how much you mean to me."
The blond blushed a little. These were not things, even from Willow that she was used to hearing. "I know. And I felt the same way. I didn't want to say that we could be more because if we tried and it didn't work out, then I wouldn't even be able to have you as my friend. That hurt so much thinking that you wouldn't be in my life. I need you in my life. I think forever."
Willow squeezed Tara's hand. "You've got me. Always. I just wish that we would have said these things sooner. I mean, having Faith do the nice setup thing for us was like this most wonderful gift in the world. It meant that we got to have that push. And we still got to be together. A dream came true when I saw you walk into The Bronze that night."
"And we've been living it ever since." Tara leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. "So, if we hadn't gotten over all of our little securities, with the help of someone else, we never would have gotten together, would we?"
"Possibly not in more then a friend way." Willow smiled big. "Thank God that we have good friends. I would hate to not be able to do this." She leaned in and kissed her rather passionately.
When they finally broke apart, the blond smiled big. Her smile faded though as she remembered something. "Willow, there is something I have got to tell you. Something I should have never hid from you in the first place. I just hope that you can handle it." And that Anya would forgive her for telling.
Sign up to rate and review this story