Here Comes the Sun
The sun had just started to set in the sky. Buffy had finished up the chores for the night, and she took a moment to watch the sunset. The clouds looked pink and orange as it the light slowly faded. Buffy felt like she was in heaven.
Buffy smiled and closed her eyes, dreaming of a world where nothing could go wrong.
Riley saw her out of the corner of his eye. He thought back to the first day he had met her. She had been just as beautiful that day as she was now. His life was never going to be the same, and he was so thankful for that. He was thankful for her.
Buffy could feel someone watching her, and she would bet her life it was Riley. Without opening her eyes, she said, "Riley Finn, stop staring. It's not polite, and I know that your mother taught you better than that.
"Riley stood right in front of her, watching as she slowly looked up at him. "How did you know it was me?" He was amazed that she could tell he was watching her. She always found ways to surprise him.
"Magic." Buffy simply said. She could see that Riley wanted to laugh at what she had said.
"Next, you'll be telling me that vampires are real." Riley would never believe in magic because there was no such thing. He was the eternal skeptic, and not even Buffy could change that about him.
Buffy could only think to herself how close he was to the truth, but she also realized that Riley would never believe anything like that. Buffy knew she couldn't tell him so she was very vague in her answer. "You'd be surprised at what is real."
"You mean, you believe in all the vampire stuff? I bet you believe in Frankenstein and the werewolf too!" Riley couldn't believe his ears. Somehow, it seemed out of character for Buffy to believe in all that garbage.
"Maybe I do and maybe I don't. What difference does it make anyway?" Buffy didn't really want to fight with Riley. It was much better if he didn't believe in all that stuff. Besides, she hadn't seen a vampire since she arrived in Huxley. Maybe they didn't exist out here in the great Midwest. Okay, now that was wishful thinking, but she still didn't want to tell Riley.
"Whatever, let's talk about something else before we get into a fight. Riley hadn't liked it when she was mad at him for the chores. He never wanted to upset her again.
Buffy realized that the sun had gone down. "Oh, no! I missed the sunset, and I had been waiting to see it all day." Buffy had tried to make sure that she was done with her chores, which they had been, but Riley had come by and ruined it. She actually didn't mind that much, but still...
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean for you to miss it." Riley felt bad about the sunset because he knew just how beautiful it could be. He watched as Buffy took a deep breath. She seemed really upset, so he prepared himself for what she was about to say next.
"Don't worry about it. I won't die." And she walked away without a second thought about the sunset. But Riley could tell she was disappointed, and began thinking of ways to make it up to Buffy.
*************************
Before the sun came up on the next morning, Riley dragged himself out of bed. He was going to show Buffy just how beautiful a sunrise could be. She would forget all about the missed sunset when she saw the dawn breaking over the land.
Riley slowly crept up to Buffy's door. He just hoped she didn't sleep naked, though, on second thought, that wouldn't be too bad. Riley opened the door slowly to see that Buffy was sleeping peacefully, and she did have clothes on. He felt a pang of guilt at the disappointment he experienced.
Riley walked over to Buffy and gently shook her awake. "Hey, sleepyhead, come on. I want to show you something." Man, she was really hard to get up, he thought as she blinked blearily at him.
Buffy looked at the red digits that read 4:00. "Riley, you better have a really good reason for getting me up so early." Buffy didn't really mind Riley waking her up, but she couldn't let him off the hook too easily.
"Hurry, if you take forever we are going to miss it. I'll be downstairs waiting for you." Riley walked out the door leaving Buffy to get dressed.
Buffy suspected it was a little chilly at this time of morning, so she dressed warmly before going downstairs to find out what Riley was up to.
Riley had thought about going upstairs to check on Buffy about a hundred times. She was taking forever, or so it seemed. When she finally came downstairs, Riley rushed her out the door.
Buffy and Riley had been walking for twenty minutes in complete silence. Buffy was the first to break the silence. "Are you taking me where I think you are taking me?" Riley was taking her to see the sun rise. She just knew it.
“Maybe, maybe not," he said teasingly, unwilling to spoil the surprise.
So he's trying to be cute, Buffy thought to herself. How...sweet. "Riley I am not walking any further until you tell me where we are going."
"We're already there. Just sit down on the log and we can watch the sun come up over those hills." Riley had come here lots of times to watch the sun rise. Now, he wanted to share it with Buffy.
It was a tiny log, and Buffy's elbow kept brushing up against Riley's. Having him so close was sheer torture for Buffy. She just wish he'd break the silence, talking might help distract her from the feelings running through her.
Riley kept silent. Being alone with her was wonderful and he wanted the memory to last forever.
Dawn was beginning to break, and now it was possible to see across the lake in front of them. Riley saw two people on the edge of the bank running to a small cave at the far end, near the tree-line. "Hey, I wonder who those people are???"
Buffy knew exactly who, or what, they were. She could sense the creatures easily in the still of the dawn. She wasn't about to miss this sunrise just because a few demons were in the area. She never wanted to get up this early again.
"Hey. look here comes the sun!" she exclaimed, distracting Riley. Nightfall was a whole day away, and they wouldn't be a danger until then.
By: Nicole
Spoilers: season 4
Rating: PG
Feedback: Please ........don't make me beg
Disclaimer: own nothing ....joss ands fox owns buffy and riley and buffy the vampire slayer tv show and all the other characters I happen to use :) "Here comes the sun" is a song title by the Beatles which they own and I don't.
Distribution: to Finnatics ....plus anyone else ....just ask, mary ellen can review it if she likes
Dedication: to Phil....i hope you feel better:) and marty for telling me there are no mountains in Iowa...only hills