The Denial Bubble
Can Never Be Smashed
Disclaimer:
For legal purposes, Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt and the rest of their posse
own the characters from the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Series.
BUT IN ALL OTHER WAYS THAT ARE MUCH MORE IMPORTANT- Buffy owns Angel and Angel
owns Buffy. Always and forever.
Feedback:
Hey, if not for me- then for all the terrific Sarah/David and B/A fanfiction
writers out there. You are the brave- who fight to keep the hope alive! And
even these dark times, we need to FIGHT!
Dedication:
To Sara-Lee, she always helps me with these! Hope it makes you all happy. Don’t
forget your faith- BASD FOREVER!!!! To the B/A posters at the Babble Board and
to all the BAers! Keep the faith alive!
Distribution:
Wow? You actually want this? Well email me and I'll give it you on a silver
platter.
Rating:
PG-13, if only for the mentions of SMASHED and some B/A nakedness. :-)
Background:
For those who do not know what the Denial Bubble is, its the happy place for
all the Buffy and Angel shippers to come and rejoice in all that is Buffy and
Angel.
Somehow
in the Denial Bubble, Buffy and Angel discover what's been going on outside.
This takes place after Buffy Season Six’s SMASHED and Angel Season Three's
LULLABYE has been aired. There is not enough YUCK! In the world…
**************
Somewhere in the
denial bubble...
With script and
spoilers in hand, Angel walked in complete shock around the sanctuary that he
and Buffy shared. He never knew how he and Buffy were taken from Sunnydale and
Los Angeles. Or why they could in this calm, quiet space be free to love each
other in every way they both had hoped. Angel had never looked a gift horse in
the mouth.
What little he had
heard of what was in the outside world made him shudder in disbelief. And more
often then not, he was more thankful and more aware of just how deeply he was
in love with Buffy.
Perhaps it was both
their combined sadness that veiled the two of them from sensing the other was
nearby. Angel had looked for, but had not been able to find Buffy anywhere. In
their bedroom, their kitchen, or any where outside. And with the troubled
thoughts wrecking his brain, Angel thought he wouldn't be very good company
anyway.
When he hid himself
in one of the dark spare bedrooms, Angel had hoped he could brood... Try to put
some distance between himself and the turn of events.
That's when he heard
a sob.
Looking carefully
into the darkness, he found the love of his life sobbing in a heap on the
floor. Even without any of the lights turned on, he could see how her eyes were
red... How her wet cheeks shivered whenever she'd try to breathe through her
crying.
"Buffy,"
he called out to her, rushing to her crumpled on the floor.
The blonde tried to
reply to her love, but only managed a slight nod and deep gutted wail.
"I don't know
what to say, sweetheart... I love you and I never wanted this to happen,"
he said, wrapping his arms around Buffy to hold her. "I can only say- I'd
never do anything to hurt you... And this Darla business-"
But the words only
made her cry louder, and Angel had not realized until now that Buffy had
something in her hands. As gently as he could, Angel pried out the item and
realized that it had been a video tape.
Or what was left of
a video tape. The case had been opened and the actual magnetic tape had been
pulled out and tangled.
"Buffy... What
is on this tape," he quietly asked, as one of his hands tried to wipe away
her heavy tears.
"I thought I
could get rid of it. But people have seen it... And they think its me,"
she whimpered, gasping for air through her sobs.
Angel at first
didn't understand what Buffy had meant, until he saw a discarded script nearby.
He picked up the heavy booklet from the floor, and read through the manscript.
The vampire paled, reading page after page until he came to the book's very
end. At the last of its words he threw the volume clear across the room, as far
away from the two of them as possible. The video soon followed, smashing as it
hit the wall across from them. He could barely speak. Angel could only hold the
collapsed form of his love against him. Gently rubbing her shoulders and back
in comfort.
When he could manage
to speak all he could say was, "And on the tape... You actually heard the
zipper go down?"
Buffy shook her head
furiously as she cried, "I wasn't really into seeing myself get...
defiled... And want to be defiled!"
Angel cursed at his
stupid question and hugged her even more tightly, "Oh no, my love... I'm
sorry that was such a stupid thing to ask... Of course- just the visual image
alone is..."
Buffy burrowed her
tiny head into Angel's chest, "Angel, I... I, I, feel- feel so-"
"You feel
what," he prompted her, easing her onto the nearby bed so she could be
more comfortable.
More tears ran down
her cheek as she said, "I feel dirty."
He ran his fingers
through her hair as he tried to comfort her, "I don't feel like Mr. Clean
either... God these people!"
"I feel so
dirty," she cried out, her tears already drenching Angel's silk shirt.
"And I can't ever be clean again, Angel- EVER!"
The vampire parted
only slightly away from his love, so that he could look straight into her eyes.
"I know this is
not you," he softly whispered, still stroking her hair. "Do you know
that the things they say about me outside... That it isn't me either?"
Buffy heavily
exhaled at his words, and tried to hold onto the comfort of them. She nodded
and Angel continued.
"Do you know
that no matter what- that I will always love you," he implored to her,
then pointing to the smashed bits of tape. "And that even if any of these
horrible things really DID happen- I would always love you?"
"But how could
you love me," she cried, clinging to him with the little control she had
left in her.
"I just
do," he replied, giving her a kiss to her forehead. "With all of my
soul... Forever. But after what happened with Darla could you-"
But Buffy
interrupted, "I love you, Angel. I know you never did any of those
things... And even if you did- I couldn't just not love you."
Angel felt the truth
of her words, as they held onto each other. Buffy's sobs had quieted, yet with
the ears of a lover and a vampire he could still hear the faintest of her
crying.
"I still... I
still feel so dirty," she sniffled, trying to lose herself in Angel's
loving embrace.
He massaged her
shoulders before he softly pleaded, "Come with me?"
From her resting
place on Angel's chest Buffy looked up at him, "Where?"
"To the
bathroom," he said, taking both her hands in his. "We can wash away
this... All of this."
Trembling still, she
followed Angel to the bathroom. He turned on the hot water facets and let the
large tub fill with the steamy clear liquid. When the tub was filled up enough,
Angel turned to his love and kissed her sweetly on the lips.
Buffy sighed at the
gentle, pure contact and wrapped her tired arms around his tall muscular frame.
She let him undress her, removing the wrinkled textile barriers. Her hands
wandered to Angel's own shirt, wet from her tears and removed it to reveal his
chest.
When they were both
bare, Buffy took Angel's hand and stepped into the tepid waters. They both sat
down in the calming bath, soaking in the feel of their love and the water.
Angel took the soap to lather Buffy's back and shoulders, massaging her with
the cleansing foam. Buffy found Angel's shampoo near his edge of the tub, and
began to wash his hair with it. She gently worked the lather, then began to
wash the froth.
"No matter what
happens... Nothing can change how much I love you," Buffy said to Angel,
pouring the clean water over his head and the rest of his unsullied body.
"Nothing... Not
even the writers could make me stop loving you," Angel replied, letting
the water clean her immaculate frame. "I love you, Buffy."
THE END