Title: Hang
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRT
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Timeline: A few years post-series, AU.
Synopsis:
Sometimes, there’s nothing left to do.
Author’s
Note: Album fic. Song and lyrics can be found here.
She felt no anger as
she packed her bags. The anger had left
days ago. Problem was, nothing had
replaced the anger and she was left feeling empty. And that was when she decided she should
go.
There was a sadness
as she carried her bags downstairs. She
thought once about taking a couple of pictures from the wall...but decided
against it. Having pictures of them
would just make things much harder than they really needed to be.
With a heavy sigh,
she walked out the front door. She
wasn’t surprised to find him sitting on the steps to the front porch, a
cigarette held loosely between his fingers.
But what did surprise her was the fact that he didn’t look up at her
when she stepped onto the porch.
“I, uh...I think I have
everything.” She stated softly, shifting
the bag on her right shoulder.
He nodded slowly and
took another drag off the cigarette. “If
you’ve forgotten anything, let me know.
I’ll...set it aside or...”
He trailed off and
flicked the cigarette butt into the front yard.
He stood up and finally met her eyes, not bothering to hide his sadness
or resignation to the fact that this relationship was coming to an end.
“If you need
anything...anything at all, I’ll...” He
lowered his eyes and sighed. “I’m sorry
we couldn’t make it work, Buffy.”
“At least we
tried.” Buffy whispered and bit her
lip. “For what it’s worth...I’m sorry
too, Giles.”
He gave her a gentle
nod and then moved past her and stepped into the house. It was bad enough knowing that she was
leaving. He didn’t have it in him to
actually watch her drive out of the driveway of the house they had shared for
the past two years.
As he closed the
door, she fought back her tears and walked down the steps.
* * *
He stood in the doorway
to the living room, his eyes roaming over the walls. She hadn’t bothered to take even one of the
pictures. He swallowed thickly and
leaned against the doorframe.
He knew that her
reasons for leaving were different than the ones he had for letting her
leave. And as he looked at the empty
coat rack, he realized why she believed that her reasons outweighed his. The tears that he had been holding in for the
past two days finally broke free.
He wiped the tears
from his face when he heard her start the engine. When he didn’t hear the car pull out of the
driveway, he looked out the window. And
when he saw her sitting there, her head resting on the steering wheel, he made
a decision.
His heart raced as he
flung the door open and ran down the front porch steps.
* * *
Buffy’s sobs started
as she reached down to shift the car into reverse. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to end their relationship. But, they were at a point where they couldn’t
see eye to eye on anything.
Her Slaying, his
Watching...whether or not to get married, have children...stay here or move to
the city...get a cat or a dog. They
couldn’t agree on anything anymore. And
that was what had pushed her into a screaming match with him...over whether to
have Christmas here in
She was so caught up
in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the car door open and she didn’t seem to
notice the engine cut off. However, she
did feel his arms slide around her and she turned towards him...wrapping her
arms around his neck as her body heaved with her sobs.
“Christ,
love...” He murmured, holding her
tightly as his own tears fell. “Don’t
go...”
“Come with me.” She mumbled into his soft, woollen sweater.
With those three
words, everything clicked into place in Giles’ head. He knew what he wanted, what he needed...and
that was Buffy. And he suddenly knew
what was holding him back from everything he wanted and needed...and that was
himself.
He pulled back
slightly and tilted her face upwards until he could look into her eyes. His thumbs brushed through the tears on her
cheeks and he inhaled deeply.
“Where do you want to
go?”
Buffy’s eyes widened
at his tenderly asked question. It was the
first time in months that their opposing views hadn’t caused a volatile
argument. He wanted to stay, she wanted
him to come with her. Considering the
recent trend, they should’ve been screaming at each other by now.
But, instead...he had
asked her where she wanted to
go. And he hadn’t demanded that she see
his way of thinking.
That was all she
wanted...and that was all she needed.
Her fingers curled
against the back of his neck as she sniffled.
“Home. I want to go home...with
you.”
He nodded slowly and
bent his head, brushing his lips across hers and tasting her tears. She kissed him back, deepening the kiss
briefly when she felt a tear drip from his cheek to land on hers.
He helped her out of
the car and pulled her bags from the back seat.
It would be a long night...they had much to work through.
* * *
March...six months later...
Working through their
problems hadn’t been easy. But, it had
been well worth it.
They had spent a few
weeks in
She had amended her
earlier statement as he slipped the diamond solitaire onto her finger.
They had decided to
move from the green countryside, but had also decided not to live in
As a housewarming
present, she presented him with a puppy...who was currently being taught that
not everything in life is a chew toy.
The puppy and the kitten had become fast friends, something that had
amazed Buffy.
It was date night
tonight...they’d gone out for dinner and had planned on taking in a movie. But, Buffy had asked if it would be okay if
they just rented one and came home.
Giles had been very amenable to that idea.
And now, Buffy was
curled up on the couch watching Giles stoke the fire. When he turned to find her watching him, he
titled his head in a silent question.
She took a deep breath and patted the seat next to her, stating that she
had something to tell him.
The smile he gave her
when she told him that she was expecting their first child made everything that
they had been through seem not so bad.
~ End