Are We Now or Ever Were chapter 2&3
Chapter 2: Waking Up
Liam looked down at Buffy and brushed her long hair back towards her ear, tucking it in place.
She groaned loudly and slowly turned on her side.
Buffy opened her eyes and asked “Where are we?”
“My car.” Liam laughed softly and spoke again. “Sunnydale, California; 2009 and where were you?”
/ Funny that he asks where I was.\ Buffy thought for a sec. “The future? Wait don’t answer that. Um, I guess I came from the past. Europe, 2004 and my Sunnydale is a crater and recently at that.”
/See? Buffy doesn’t even realize that she has come home.
Do you see what happens when you…portal..oh no. Alright, I get it! Buffy really has come forward somehow. She has really just left Europe 2004 and to Sunnydale redone in 2009.
Now kids, have we learned why we don’t jump into portals yet? What a mess. Is cuma mo gra’. (It doesn’t matter my love.) You’re here now Muirnin (Beloved).\Liam thought to himself, slightly shocked but only slightly.
Buffy turned her face up at Liam and wanted to see if this “Angel” knew Gaelic. So she tried a phrase that she used often after portal hopping.
“Ta mu isc orm, Liam” (“I feel sick, Liam.”)
Buffy listened to him as if his words could heal her, a balm to her soul was his voice.
“Ca ta ort, mo milis?”(“What is wrong with you, my sweet?”)
Buffy sighed and thought,/Did he just call me his sweet?…erm maybe that’s just a bit creepy.\
Chapter 3: Realization
When I got her back to the house, I insisted in carrying her down the hallway to a room across from mine.
After I laid her down on the bed, she talked some more.
“You look the same yet different than the last time I saw him.” She gruffly told me.
Even though I know she means me, Angel, the vampire with a soul, I can’t help but ask..
“Him?”
“Yeah. My Angel. My Liam. You’re him and you’re not him.”
She rolled her eyes and smiled that I-know-that-doesn’t -sound-sane smile.
“You’re human.” She paused for a minute and took her fill of me.
“You have a great tan. You are slightly bigger than before, your hair has blond highlights which could be from the sun and it seems a little longer.”
***
She gave me that dazzling Buffy sunshine smile that I love so much and she hugged me and squealed with joy.
I know all the differences she’s talking about. I know I have changed. She would have known sooner had she not disappeared. Then unexpectedly she pressed her warm lips against mine and I was lost. Lips parting, tongues melding and I found that I missed hearing her heartbeat speed up,her blood rush whenever she kissed me.
We have to both part so we can breathe.
I think Buffy might be embarrassed again.
I remember how much warmer she would have been if I still had my preternatural senses.
~~~~~~
***
After I sort of embarrassed myself, Liam told me to get some sleep. He said if I needed anything, he would be across the hall. I lay here trying to sleep but I can’t. Something keeps nagging out me, oh kay like two things:
one I need a shower and two I think Liam is my Angel.
If he is, he hasn’t shown me any real indication that it is him;
but if I can find a way back home (as nice as it is to be with human Angel, I know nothing about this world) maybe just maybe I can find a way to fix things (assuming things need to be fixed that is).
I get up and go across the hallway and I see him. He has his back to the door, his head is down and going through his dresser.
I take a few minutes to just study his profile. I can’t tell if he has aged any at all. As I watch him, I see him tense up and shudder. His face shows a brief and sudden intense pain and then its gone. I decide to break the quiet. I cleared my throat. “Liam?”
He turns his warm loving gaze on me and even though I know seconds ago it was filled with pain, I’m hooked. What was I going to say?
” I’m Buffy.” I wince slightly. I wasn’t going to say that.
But I’m oh so glad I did because he chuckled and it gave me that warm pulling sensation deep in my soul and I knew I would always want to hear him laugh that deep chuckle often.
~~~~~
He pulled something from his drawer and holding it out, he walked towards me.
“Did you want to get a shower? I have a couple things that are big and comfy, if you’d like.”
He arched his brow and I knew, I just knew that this, somehow, was my Angel.
“Um, sure, thanks.”
I took them and turned out to the doorway. I suddenly realized that I didn’t know my way around his home
and so when I turned around, I bumped into him. I almost fell backwards but he caught me; the fire racing through me and the shock and lust in his eyes was enough for me to run back into my room and slam the door shut.
~~~~~~~
***
It was literally the middle of the night when Buffy finally came out of her room to take a shower. I can not seem to get my mind wrapped around this situation. Damn portals and Damn Buffy for doing something so foolish. I hear the shower stop and I imagine a naked Buffy drying off.
In my mind and a long ago memory; I smell Buffy’s favorite perfume and I almost long for those days. It’s been years since I’ve thought about her smell. Well I wonder if she’s going to come in and confront me. She knows it’s me but I’m sure she has to be confused as to how it’s me.
I sigh deeply and sit up. There is so much to cover and I have no idea how long she’s going to be here. But I want, I have to, spend everyday with her as if it’s my last day. I’m waiting..on Buffy..my wife who isn’t..to confront me.
~~~~~~
Buffy just put her clothes on when it hit her that she didn’t know how long she would be staying. She wanted to go to Angel, for she knew that it was\is Angel. How, she wasn’t sure but she was gonna show him; show him that she’s all mature now. Except Buffy thought that maybe portal hopping wasn’t so mature because it was still running away.
~~~~~~~~
Confrontational Buffy coming right up. Gah! Angel and I are really full of the angst-athon stuff, ya know? Oh kay I mean, seriously there’s got to be some cosmic force laughing their… hmm I would have to assume they, it, whatever could laugh…
Deep breath Buffy no wigging out. Mature, calm, adult conversation, here we go, gonna knock on his door.
“Come in Buffy.” Angel has that calm smooth voice that speaks volumes to me.
So I go in and he’s sitting in bed, leaning back against his pillow with his arms crossed over his chest and I am suddenly in need of hug.
I start crying…me.. tears and ugh and it’s just majorly a weep fest over here.
“Buffy!” He exclaimed softly and comes over to wrap his arm around me and holda me in his embrace while I cry.
” I di..did it be..because of you” I blubbered. I tried to calm myself but this torque of tears wouldn’t subside.
“I..Ijumped ..I ran.. ANGEL I AM SO SORRY.”
“Buffy…” he looked confused and even though I was sobbing all over him, I could tell he didn’t understand.
/No duh Buff, you’re sounding like a skipped record.\
Deep calming breath and another gulp of air…okay i can do this.
” I ran away because you didn’t want..” I shook my head angrily at him but kept my grip around his waist and held his gaze.
“You didn’t want our help, my help. You told me to get out of town and grow up!
You said you didn’t love me anymore, Angel. Don’t you remember?”
His eyes widened and shock covered his face. Then he gripped my arms and growled
“I’d never do anything so stupid. Andrew told me that you and everyone else didn’t trust me anymore Buffy. He said that when he came to get Dana.”
So where do we go from here?
~~~~~
Liam excused himself to go to the bathroom. He wasn’t gone no more than five minutes but when he came back into the room, Buffy noticed that he seemed dazed and drowsy.
She had one last question. “You said it’s been five years?” Liam just nodded.
“Then if you think you never said that and you wanted us to help you but we turned you down, then you aren’t my Angel.” She said sadly.
“What do you mean?” Liam asked her gently.
Stepping up to her, he lifted her chin easily so he could see her eyes.
“I mean that Angel must have died then.” Liam groaned quietly and rubbed a hand down his face.
“Buffy look, it’s almost sunrise, I’m tired. I’ve been out all day and all night. Let’s try to get some sleep and later today we can figure it out. I have some journals you could read, perhaps that would help.”
“If you don’t mind getting them for me? I can’t sleep now. Might as well do something while you sleep.” Then Buffy smirked and shook her head. “Sleeping during the day still? I thought you could go out in the sun? Human thing now right?”
He went over to a book case and brought her two journals. he ignored her comment about the sun and being human. “There are more than two but I figured these might give you a good start for now.”
He handed her two deep red leather journals .”We can go from there.” He watched Buffy nod and walk out his doorway into her room.
‘So little time, so much to say. Well my girl, life is funny that way. You and I never get what we want or how we want it, Ionuin.’