Anya the Vampire Slayer
Prologue
Anya
sat on the balcony, staring out into the night. Every so often a light would
flick on and snap her back to reality, forcing her once again to face Buffy’s
death. This hurt so much more than Joyce dying. Mrs Summers had been a wonderful
woman that Anya had known briefly and not too closely, yet her death had caused
the former demon a pain she had never known.
But
Buffy. Buffy was her friend. And she had never told her that. She had never
said, ‘I like you Buffy’ or ‘I’m glad you’re around Buffy’ or
‘Thank you for everything you’ve done for us all Buffy’. And it hurt.
It hurt so much.
She
knew that the others didn’t understand her. She was Xander’s forthright girlfriend
and a tactless ex-demon. They didn’t understand her confusion at the world.
This world she had been forced into. And she didn’t have as big a claim on Buffy
as the others had. Xander and Willow were her best friends; they were beside
themselves with grief. Giles was her surrogate father; he was trying to be strong
for them all, but couldn’t hide the raw despair in his eyes. Dawn, her sister;
she wouldn’t talk to anyone but Spike. And Spike. Anya recognised his claim
and could not fault it.
So
she stayed silent. Not questioning, not crying. Just struggling through as best
she could. She could tell they thought she didn’t care, that her feelings didn’t
run as deep as theirs. But they were wrong. If she allowed herself to think
about it, she didn’t believe that she would ever be able to pull herself back
together again.
“An?”
Xander called from the living room, breaking her out of her reverie. She stood
quickly and made her way back inside, seating herself at Xander’s feet as he
sat next to Willow on the couch. The two best friends held each others hands
tightly, while Tara nestled against her girlfriend, the three drawing strength
from each other.
Xander
ran his free hand through Anya’s hair and she looked up at him, leaning into
him, letting him know she was there and that she loved him. As she gazed at
the three on the couch, she knew she had to say something, to show them that
she did care.
“I
wish Buffy was still alive,” she blurted out quickly, her eyes filing with tears
at the implications of her words. She looked at Willow, hoping that the redhead
would understand her.
Willow
smiled slightly and reached out to hold Anya’s hand. “We all do.”
They
sat in that position in complete silence for what seemed like hours. Finally
Anya spoke again. “Maybe if things had been different. None of this would ever
have happened. Don’t you wish…?”
“An,
it’s no good wishing for things that can never be. Believe me we’ve all tried
it. You just have to go on and…”
“No
Xander. I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t stop wishing. I want her back.
I want her here. I mean, if Buffy weren’t the Slayer she wouldn’t have died,
right? So why did she have to be the Slayer? What would have happened if I were
the Slayer?”
Part One
As Anya entered the house six anxious pairs of eyes greeted her. She sighed deeply and tried to force a smile to her face. She really just wanted to go to bed and cry for a couple of hours but that was obviously impossible. Instead she turned her attention to her sister. “He didn’t tell her anything.”
Dawn
grinned, “Like he would. He’s my best friend! And, hello, totally in love with
you.”
Anya
smiled slightly at that. “Yeah,” she whispered and looked up to find her friends
staring at her. “What?”
Angel
opened his mouth to speak but Faith elbowed him none to gently in the ribs and
then grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the door. “Nothing. We’re glad everything’s
ok now. We’re going home.”
“Yes,
well,” Giles started, not wanting to discuss this anymore either, “I’d better
be going too. As long as you’re certain you’re alright.”
“I’m
fine. Really. Thank you Giles.”
“Do
you want us to go too?” Buffy asked her best friend as the others left. Anya
looked up at her and nodded slightly. The young witch looked at her worriedly
but decided not to push it. Anya would tell her everything when the time was
right. Instead she took her love’s hand and the two witches slowly made their
way to the door. “Ok An. If you’re sure.” The Slayer nodded. “Guess we’ll see
you tomorrow then. Night Dawn.”
“Night,”
the teenager called out, closing the door behind their friends. She turned to
her sister, their smiles immediately leaving their faces. “Was he hurt really
bad?”
Anya
winced and nodded, pulling her sister close for a hug before she made her way
upstairs. Dawn followed silently, wanting to ask more, but not wanting to upset
her sister any further. She decided to pay Xander a visit herself tomorrow.
****
Spike
crawled into bed and snapped the bedside lamp off. Buffy moved closer and wrapped
her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. He held her tightly, knowing
she wanted to say something, understanding that she was confused.
“He
didn’t tell Glory anything,” her voice broke through the darkness several minutes
later. “He really loves her doesn’t he?”
Spike
smiled against her hair. “Looks like it.”
“We’ve
been really awful to him. And still he did that for Dawn. For Anya.”
“Buffy…what
are you planning?”
She
turned her head up to peer at him through the darkness. “Me? Nothing.”
“Don’t
give me that luv,” Spike chuckled, “I’ve known you too long for you to be able
to pull the wool over my eyes anymore. You’re going to do something, and I want
to know what.”
Buffy
pouted. “No fair. You know me too well.”
“That
I do, pet. Now tell me.”
Buffy
sighed and snuggled further into his embrace. “I think she likes him too.”
“Anya
likes Xander?” Spike questioned thoughtfully and then smiled. “You know, I think
you’re right.”
“So,
if we give her a helping hand…” Buffy left the sentence hanging, not knowing
how Spike would react to her matchmaking.
Her
boyfriend chuckled. “Sounds like fun, sweet.”
The
young witch’s eyes widened excitedly. “Really? You’ll help me?”
“She
deserves some happiness. And I guess he can’t be that bad, if he suffered that
for her.”
Buffy
grinned. “Then we’ll go see him tomorrow. We can try a spell, maybe? To make
him feel a little better?”
Spike
nodded. “Anything you say, luv.”
Buffy
raised her eyebrows and smiled innocently. “Anything?” she asked moving her
hands beneath the covers. Spike closed his eyes and moved his own hands gently
across Buffy’s body.
“Absolutely
anything.”
****
Dawn
knew she shouldn’t be here. She should be at school. If she skipped much more
Anya was going to find out and she didn’t want to make her sister mad. She knew
An had a lot on her mind at the moment, but then so did Dawn. Her mother, who
wasn’t really her mother, had just died. And she wasn’t really a normal teenager
or Anya’s sister. She was some sort of ‘key’. There. She was justified.
She
approached Xander’s crypt nervously. Anya had said he’d been hurt horribly by
Glory, and Dawn needed to thank him for what he did for her. But she was a little
uneasy about seeing him. She hadn’t been too nice to him recently. After that
big mess with Anya. And what if he didn’t like her anymore after being put through
such hideous torture for her? What if just wanted her to stay away from him?
****
Xander
groaned as he tried to sit up on the tomb. The cold hard stone was doing nothing
to help his aching limbs, though he thought reasonably, that probably nothing
but time could. Except maybe a few more kisses from the Slayer. He closed his
eyes as he remembered how it felt, her lips moving softly against his, even
for only those few seconds.
His
pleasant thoughts were interrupted by a cautious knock at the door and Xander
turned his head slightly in time to see Dawn poke her head around the door.
“Hi Dawnie. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at school or something?”
Dawn
smiled slightly at his friendly tone, glad that he hadn’t told her to go away,
and ventured further into the crypt. As she drew closer, she saw fully the extent
of his wounds and her eyes widened as she gasped in shock.
Xander
smiled ruefully at her. “It’s not that bad really. I mean it may look like I’ve
been put through the meat grinder, but it feels fantastic.” Dawn shook her head,
refusing to be comforted and carefully lifted his hand in hers. “Hey now. Don’t.
Dawn I mean it…” The vampire stumbled over his words as Dawn started to cry.
Gingerly,
he reached out and patted her shoulder, which only made her cry harder, and
she threw herself against his scarred chest, weeping uncontrollably. He carefully
raised his arms to surround her and they stayed like that for several minutes
until another knock at the door made them jump apart.
Spike
and Buffy entered quietly, not wanting to disturb the vampire if he was sleeping.
They stopped in their tracks when they saw Dawn, and Buffy’s face took on a
disbelieving expression. For a moment Xander wondered if they were there to
stake him, knowing that the Slayer’s friends would be as impressed as her by
the whole Anya-bot fiasco.
“Dawn
Jenkins,” Buffy’s voice was raised slightly, her tone rather stern as she spoke
to the teenager. “What are you doing here in the middle of the day? Why aren’t
you at school?”
Xander
grinned at the picture the small blonde witch made, standing with her hands
planted firmly on her hips, staring the teenager down with one of her withering
looks. Spike was laughing soundlessly at Dawn over his girlfriend’s shoulder
and Dawn twisted her face at him, while she thought of a good excuse to give
Buffy.
“I
was worried,” Dawn muttered, lowering her eyes from the witch’s and staring
at an interesting point on the floor. Buffy sighed, her face losing its angry
expression and taking on a sympathetic one. “Ok,” she said quietly, sending
a reassuring smile Dawn’s way as she walked confidently over to Xander and placed
her hands on his shoulders. The vampire raised his eyebrows at the witch’s actions
and glanced across at her boyfriend who was looking curiously round his crypt.
“I
think we can help,” the blonde before him announced to the room at large, giving
him a brief smile before turning back to Spike.
“Help
with what?” Xander asked gruffly as the two witches started to unload the bag
they had arrived with.
“The
pain,” Buffy threw back over her shoulder before effectively ignoring him and
immersing herself in setting up the spell. Spike left her to it and walked slowly
across to where the vampire sat, ruffling Dawn’s hair in the process, before
hopping up next to Xander on the tomb.
“It’s
usually best to leave her to it,” he told him, fishing a packet of cigarettes
out of his coat pocket. “You smoke?” Xander asked amazed as Spike lit the cigarette
and inhaled slowly.
“She’s
trying to get me to quit,” the witch muttered conspiratorially, “But sometimes,
even one of her looks can’t stop me.”
The
vampire laughed shakily and then clutched his sides, the pain that had dissipated
somewhat, retuning in huge waves. Spike threw the cigarette across the crypt
and turned to help Dawn ease the vampire back down onto the tomb. Buffy jumped
up and moved to the two males, shaking her head at her lover as she did so.
“It
wasn’t my fault,” he protested, quickly conjuring up the innocent expression
she loved so much.
“It’s
always your fault,” she told him sternly, refusing to give way this time. “And
don’t smoke.”
He
grinned at her and leaned down to kiss her gently on the lips. “Yes luv. Now
are we ready.”
“Ready,”
Buffy affirmed, slightly breathless, even from such a small touch. She turned
to the vampire who lay before them, teeth clenched, eyes tightly closed and
took his right hand in her own. Spike took his left hand and the two witches
began their spell.
Part Two
“So,
uh, that was a really nice thing Xander did for you and Dawn the other day,”
Buffy began as she and Anya sat in the Bronze, having a quiet girly night they
hadn’t had in a long time. Giles had given them the night off and was babysitting
Dawn so that Anya was free for the night. Angel and Faith had decided to make
use of their freedom the more conventional way lovers did, while Buffy had grabbed
at the opportunity to discuss the Xander situation with her best friend, leaving
Spike alone to catch up with college papers.
Anya
looked up at Buffy sharply and asked a little too quickly, “What? What do you
mean?”
Buffy
tried to hide her smile. “I’m just saying, he did a nice thing for you, didn’t
he?”
“I
guess,” Anya responded unenthusiastically and Buffy sighed.
“Do
you still think he doesn’t love you?” she asked.
“I
don’t know,” the Slayer muttered and Buffy rolled her eyes. It was like drawing
blood from a stone. The least she could do was acknowledge his feelings, even
if she couldn’t acknowledge hers.
The
young witch was about to impart this information to her friend when she noticed
Anya’s eyes shining with unshed tears. “Oh, An. What’s wrong?”
“He
does love me doesn’t he,” Anya choked out and Buffy nodded, even though she
knew it wasn’t exactly a question. “It all just hurts so much.”
“What
hurts?” Buffy asked, worried about her friend once more.
“It
never works. I have relationships and they don’t work. They’re never going to
work, so it’s just easier on everyone if I don’t have them anymore.”
Buffy
was confused. It sounded like Anya really did want to explore a deeper relationship
with Xander but was refusing to do so because she was scared of being hurt again.
Or of others being hurt. Knowing Anya it was probably both. “Anya? Don’t bite
my head off ok. I just need to know… Do you feel something for Xander? Something
that’s not hate, I mean.”
Anya’s
eyes widened with what Buffy took to be fear as she nodded. “I don’t hate him.
I don’t love him, but I don’t hate him.” Buffy sighed again. It was a start
anyway. She leaned closer as Anya whispered something to her. “I think I might
be able to love him. Eventually.”
****
Spike
looked up from the desk in their dorm room as Buffy entered. “Hey beautiful.
Miss me?”
Buffy
grinned, all the tension leaving her body as she looked across at the man she
loved and nodded. “Miserably.” She moved towards him and he turned his seat
so that it was facing her. She slowly reached out and removed his glasses, lying
them carefully down on the desk. “Haven’t you done enough work for tonight?”
she purred in his ear as she straddled him across the chair, running her hands
lightly over his back.
“I
think I’ve done enough for a couple of nights luv,” he murmured lazily as he
wrapped his arms around her and stood, carrying her quickly over to the bed.
“Mmm,
good,” Buffy said softly as he began to undress her slowly, taking his time
in removing each item of clothing; touching, caressing and kissing each part
of her body thoroughly as he unveiled it.
Later,
as they snuggled together beneath the covers, Buffy told him what Anya had said
in the Bronze.
“She’s
frightened Spike. And not of him being a vampire, just that she might get hurt
again. I don’t know how to help her. I thought if I could convince her Xander
was an ok guy, she’d give him a chance, but now it turns out that isn’t even
the issue.”
Spike
rubbed her back soothingly as he ran everything through in his mind. “We’ll
just have to prove to her that love’s worth the risk then.”
“You
have an idea?” Buffy asked, perking up a little at the thought of being able
to help her friend.
Spike
nodded. “I think I just might.”
****
“NO!”
Buffy
rolled her eyes as she followed Angel into the kitchen in his apartment. “Stop
being so pig-headed. She likes him. Really, really likes him. Why would it be
so bad if…?”
“He’s
a vampire,” Angel reminded her for the thousandth time as he filled the kettle
and switched it on to boil. “He’s an EVIL vampire.”
“Broken
record much? Can’t you come up with a better reason?”
“I
don’t need a better reason. There is no better reason.”
“Come
on Angel, please…”
Angel
spun around to face her, his face a rigid mask. Buffy hated it when he got like
this. “No. Buffy I’m sorry. I know the guy did a good thing the other day, but
that doesn’t make up for all the millions of hideous things he’s done. I don’t
like him. I never will. Don’t expect me to…”
“For
Anya,” Buffy interrupted firmly, her penetrating gaze making Angel squirm for
a minute.
“I
don’t have to be nice to him do I?”
Buffy
smiled. “That’s not what it’s about. Thank you.”
“Yeah
well, I’m not happy. And Giles is gonna freak. You do realise that?”
Buffy
nodded, her confident smile never leaving her face. “He’ll come around eventually.”
“Whatever,”
Angel muttered sullenly, handing her a cup of coffee as they made their way
back to the living room. “Can we talk about something else?”
“Sure.
How’re things with Faith?”
Angel
grinned happily as he recounted the past week’s events with his unconventional
girlfriend and Buffy’s good mood increased as she realised that soon all of
her close friends could be in happy relationships.
“And
Spike?” Angel asked her with a slight smirk, “Are things still good?”
Buffy
nodded eagerly. “You know we’ve been dating almost two years. Sometimes it feels
like I’ve always been with him. He knows me inside out. This is going to sound
really weird, but sometimes I think this was all meant to be, you know. Like
destiny.”
Angel
nodded in agreement. “I know what you mean. Who’d have thought four years ago…?”
“Thought
what?” Faith’s voice interrupted them as she entered the apartment carrying
several shopping bags. “Honey, can you give me a hand with all this stuff?”
Angel
jumped up to help his girlfriend and Buffy grinned at Faith over the top of
her coffee mug. “So Faith. You in the mood for a little matchmaking?”
****
“Are
you sure this isn’t just some bizarre Scooby way to get me out of your lives?”
Xander asked as Buffy explained what they were going to do.
“Xander.
Come on. At least give it a try. I mean, what you’ve done so far hasn’t exactly
been subtle… or nice… or in any way good,” Buffy told him firmly.
“Hey,”
Xander complained and Buffy allowed him one concession.
“Apart
from the getting tortured thing. You have to admit that your methods weren’t
exactly world-beaters in the field of dating.”
“It’s
not my fault,” Xander grumbled quietly. “I’m a vampire. I don’t know any better.”
“What
crap!” Buffy exclaimed mockingly as she turned to go. “You can’t have it both
ways Xander. Nu-uh,” she held up a hand to him as he began to explain again,
“It doesn’t matter anymore. Just try and get it right from here on out, ok.
We can’t do everything for you, you know.”
Xander
had the grace to look embarrassed. “Thanks for um… well everything Buffy.”
The
young witch smiled happily at him. “I’m here to keep her happy,” she told him
as she turned back to the exit. “Hurt her and die,” she sang out to him as the
door swung shut behind her.
****
Anya
wearily opened the door and entered the house after her nightly patrol to find
Dawn waiting up for her. She found she didn’t even have the energy to frown
at Spike and Buffy for letting her stay up late, so instead she flopped down
onto the couch next to them and closed her eyes.
“Rough
night?” Spike asked and the Slayer shook her head.
“There
is nothing out there. You can just tell the end of the world is nigh. All demons
suddenly go on vacation.”
“Then
why are you so tired?” Buffy asked anxiously and Anya slowly opened one eye
and turned to glare at her best friend. “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately,”
the Slayer answered and Buffy nodded slightly in understanding. Hopefully things
would be better soon.
There
was silence for several minutes, as Anya relaxed and Buffy and Dawn kept shooting
each other meaningful looks. Finally Spike decided enough was enough and stood,
pulling Buffy up with him, and the couple made their way to the door. “See you
tomorrow nibblet,” he called over his shoulder to Dawn. “Night An,” Buffy said,
winking at Dawn, who giggled slightly and shook her head at the two retreating
witches.
“Ok
Dawn,” Anya began sitting up fully to look at her sister, “bedtime.”
“Oh,
come on An. It’s Friday night. Please, let me stay up with you,” the teenager
begged and Anya smiled slightly at her sister’s pleading.
“Alright,
but just this once,” she relented, “Do you want some cocoa before you go to
bed?”
Dawn
nodded eagerly and followed Anya into the kitchen. “I went to see Xander the
other day,” she informed her sister as she sat down at the kitchen counter.
Anya tensed slightly but didn’t answer, continuing instead to make their drinks.
“She
messed him up real bad didn’t she,” Dawn continued, taking her sister’s silence
as a good sign. She hadn’t told her to shut up. “I guess it’s better now, between
you, isn’t it? Him not being madly in love with you anymore?” She flinched away
as Anya dropped the mug she was holding and it shattered.
“What?”
the Slayer managed hoarsely, not wanting to believe her sister’s words.
“Well
you know,” Dawn explained as she helped pick up the pieces of the broken mug,
“He doesn’t feel that way about you anymore. At least I don’t think he does.”
“Why
not?” Anya asked sharply, glad her burning face was pointed away from her eager
eyes of her sister.
“Well
he doesn’t talk about you all the time now. Before it was all ‘Anya this’
and ‘Anya that’ and ‘Do you think your sister would like that?’
or ‘Don’t do that, your sister wouldn’t like it.’ He doesn’t do that
anymore. He just tells me about what it used to be like with Cordelia. I think
he’s still in love with her.”
For
a moment, as Dawn took in the expression on her sister’s face, she wondered
if they were doing the right thing. But Anya needed to find the truth within
herself. Or she would never be able to have another relationship with anyone.
She had to find her self-confidence and strangely Dawn thought that this might
just work. “But that’s good right? That he doesn’t feel that way. I mean you
didn’t want him to love you, did you. Now he can help out without any awkwardness.”
Anya
shook her head slightly to clear it and then looked down to find her sister
staring up at her. “What? Oh, no Dawn. That’s good.” She turned back to finish
making the cocoa. “Really good.”
Part Three
“So
An,” Angel began his part in the conspiracy, looking less than thrilled that
he had to do anything to help Xander in any way, “How’s the evil one doing after
last week’s little adventure? Still in pain or is he back to boiling your bunnies?”
“Angel!
Gross much?!” Dawn complained loudly at the image presented to her, while Faith
paled and grabbed her boyfriend’s arm. “Bunnies? What bunnies? Where are there
bunnies?”
Anya
searched for an answer while Angel tried to console Faith and reassure her that
there were no bunnies in the area to be afraid of. In truth Anya was at a total
loss when it came to how Xander was doing. He hadn’t been anywhere near her
in almost two weeks, and while she never showed any concern, the fact that he
wasn’t around was starting to upset her.
She
hadn’t noticed just how much she expected him to be wherever she was. She missed
their ‘accidental’ meetings while she out on patrol and the way he ‘just happened’
to be there whenever she needed a little help. She missed fighting with him,
she missed pretending to avoid him; she missed him.
She
had been to his crypt a couple of times after his special session with Glory
to check that he was ok, but he hadn’t been there. The last time she had gone
she had decided to brave the lower level but instead of the shrine she was expecting,
she had found nothing. The whole placed had been cleared out.
It
was then that she remembered what Dawn had said about him not being in love
with her anymore. Maybe that was
true. Maybe the robot had proved to him just how annoying she was, and the torture
had merely pushed him over the edge. He still loved Dawn and he hadn’t betrayed
her, but he wasn’t in love with her.
Which
had been the truth all along hadn’t it? He hadn’t loved her. It had just been
some stupid infatuation. A crush. Nothing more. The Slayer and the Scoobies
had been proved right once again. Bring on the feeling of self-satisfaction.
But
perversely it had taken his not being around all the time to convince her that
he had been right. That they could have tried to make it work; to make it better
than all the rest. But she had been scared. And she hadn’t tried, she had given
up.
“I
saw him the other day at the Bronze, talking to some girl,” Buffy’s revelation
cut through Anya’s upsetting thoughts.
“Who?”
she heard Dawn ask, trying hard to focus on the conversation and not break down
at the shock.
“I
don’t know, exactly,” Buffy continued, “I’ve seen her around. She’s really beautiful.
Tall, dark. A lot like Cordelia actually.”
“It’s
just rebound,” Faith put in, finally shaking off the bunny fear. “It’ll never
last.”
“Yeah,”
Anya agreed, trying to lighten her own mood and not appear so disheartened.
“It takes guys a while to get over me you know.”
“Oh
no, I meant rebound from Cordelia,” Faith explained, happily continuing to search
the text she was reading from. “You were just a little obsession to pass the
time.”
Anya
couldn’t control the sob that was dragged from her at Faith’s words and she
excused herself to continue training. The Scoobies shared one hopeful look,
before Buffy followed the Slayer into the training room.
“An?
You ok?” she asked, quietly closing the door behind her.
“I’m
fine,” Anya gritted out as she ruthlessly pounded the punching bag, her misery
giving way to anger at the thought of being so easily cast aside. Again.
Buffy
stayed silent. They were on the verge of something here. Anger was the second
stage Anya usually went through when something bad happened in her love life.
Unfortunately her boyfriends had never hung around long enough for Buffy to
discover the third stage. She was hoping for action.
“You
know,” Anya began, never ceasing her movements, “I knew this was going to happen.
I was right. Wasn’t I right? An obsession. I told you I couldn’t get involved.
I would be hurt. And I was right.”
“Aren’t
you hurt now?” Buffy asked softly, watching her friend’s frenzied movements
become more violent. The Slayer stopped and looked back at the witch, realisation
dawning on her face.
“Buffy
what am I going to do?” she asked desperately as her best friend enfolded her
in her arms.
“Talk
to him.”
“But
you heard them, he…”
“Do
you believe that? Do you believe he never loved you?” Buffy asked, looking Anya
straight in the eye. This was the moment Buffy had been waiting for. Anya had
to reach within herself and regain her confidence in who she was.
“No,”
Anya whispered, “He did love me.”
“Then
talk to him,” Buffy repeated, smiling slightly as the Slayer hastily kissed
her cheek and then ran from the training room.
****
The
past couple of weeks had been hell for Xander. He had taken the witch’s advice
and stayed out of Anya’s way, not knowing what else the Scoobies had planned
to convince Anya to give him a go. He had sat around in his crypt, not daring
to venture out in case he spotted the Slayer and was unable to stay away; hiding
from her whenever she had come to visit. He didn’t know how much longer this
was supposed to go on, but he really hoped it would be over soon.
The
loud banging that always heralded the arrival of the Slayer broke through his
thoughts, and he realised that it was a little late to hide. He had been concentrating
so hard on her anyway, the sense he felt whenever she was around had failed
to work this time. He jumped up from his chair and turned to face her.
Now
Anya was here she didn’t know exactly what she was doing. On the way over she
had had the conversation with herself and everything had sounded fine, but face
to face with Xander she remembered why civilised conversation between them just
didn’t work.
Xander
was also at a loss. He knew he was supposed to be stand-offish around her, not
appear too eager or something, but with her standing there like that, looking
all proud and angry and beautiful, Xander didn’t think he was going to be able
to pull it off.
‘Say
something’ Anya’s mind screamed at her and she inhaled deeply to try and calm
herself before she spoke. She closed her eyes and counted slowly to ten as she
composed herself. When she opened them again, she saw that Xander was staring
at her, a confused expression on his face. Anya decided to go with anger.
In
two steps she was next to him, grabbing him by the throat and pushing him up
against one of the pillars. “For God’s sake Slayer,” Xander ground out, beginning
to see red himself at her behaviour, “what the hell do you think you’re…”
“Enough
Xander. I just want to ask you one question,” Anya’s eyes flashed dangerously
as she spoke. “Was it fun huh? Messing me about? Pretending that you cared about
me so that you could screw me up more than any other guy has? Did you get off
on that as much as you’d get off on killing me? Well?”
Xander
gestured for her to release him so that he could speak and Anya stepped back
slightly, hurt and anger still evident in her eyes. “What are you talking about?
You know how I feel about you. Why would I have put myself through all that
hideous torture, if not for you?”
“Dawn,”
Anya murmured and Xander smiled weakly as he brought up his hands to cup her
face.
“I
do love Dawn. You’re right. And I’d never let anyone hurt her. But I love you.
You have to believe that now. Even if you don’t believe anything el…”
Anya’s
lips stopped him as she leant up to kiss him. She was going to take the chance.
She’d been hurt before, but love was going to do that. Even if it fell apart
later on, she knew it was better to try. And they were starting off in a better
position than she had ever been in before. Anya knew it was worth the risk.
****
“Buffy,”
he began, awkwardly kneeling down in front of her. “I, um…” He reached into
the pocket of his jeans, pulling out a small square box. “Ok. I can do this.
All of this stuff that’s been happening lately… Anya and Xander, Mrs Jenkins,
end of the world being upon us again… I think… Well it’s made me realise what’s
important. And all I know is, you’re the most important thing in my life. You
are my life. So…” He carefully opened the box, taking her left hand in his.
“Buffy, will you marry me?”
The
young blonde witch sat silent for several moments, staring into the bright blue
eyes that were brimming with love and hope and fear, before her. Then a luminous
grin lit up her face as she launched herself into his arms, kissing all his
doubts away.
“Yes,
yes. Of course yes,” she laughed, happy tears running unnoticed down both their
faces as Spike tenderly slid the ring onto her finger.
Epilogue
“What
the hell was that?” Xander exclaimed as the four friends stared at each other
in disbelief.
“Enlightenment,”
Tara whispered before turning excitedly to her girlfriend. “We have to see Giles.”
“Wait,”
Xander stopped Tara’s eager movements, needing some sort of explanation. “What,
just, happened? What’s enlightenment?”
Anya
jumped up quickly from her position on the floor, looking to Tara for confirmation.
“If that was enlightenment then…” Tara nodded. “Oh God,” Anya continued, grabbing
Xander’s arm and dragging him forcefully toward the door as Tara did the same
to Willow, the redheaded witch’s expression every bit as confused as her best
friend’s.
“Tara,
slow down,” Willow begged as she was propelled out of the apartment. “I think
I’d quite like to know what’s going on before we go and… do whatever we’re gonna
do.”
Xander
nodded forcefully in agreement. “Yeah. Start explaining.”
Tara
sighed and for the first time since Willow had met her, an impatient look briefly
crossed her face. “If I’m right, something major is going to happen. Something
really, really good,” she explained cryptically, sharing an excited glance with
Anya. “But we probably need to see Giles about it.”
Willow
and Xander looked at each other, sharing in each other’s confusion as Tara and
Anya continued to talk enigmatically across them. “Wait. What if it hasn’t happened
to them yet?” Anya asked suddenly, the former demon’s question finally slowing
the blonde witch down. “They can’t be expecting it.”
Tara
grimaced slightly. “That’s true. Well Giles will know what to do when it happens.
Won’t he?”
Anya
nodded reassuringly. “He usually seems to. It should happen tonight at any rate.
If he doesn’t contact us, we’ll simply ask him about it tomorrow.”
Tara
turned back to Willow and smiled. “Everything will be alright again,” she told
her partner, taking her hand as they re-entered Xander’s apartment.
“I
hope,” Anya added under her breath as the four friends settled back down to
wait.