Part 11
The sounds of the party faded as Riley walked down the darkened hall of the Reception Center. Even with all of the jovial happenings just a few yards away, he felt miserable. His best friend had just married the woman of his dreams, why couldn’t he feel excited for the couple? His lonely heart, that’s why. Feeling Buffy in his arms again had been a dream come true. So soft and wonderful beneath his fingers. He had hoped for a few more minutes to savor the feel of her, but she had pulled away so quickly, her eyes awash with tears. ‘When I met that bastard that has put that look on her face, I’m going to pulverize him.’
Finding the third door, Riley entered the room, his head hanging, allowing the door to shut behind him. The room was illuminated by a single lamp burning in the far corner, causing Riley to adjust his eyes to his surroundings. The room was a small office, not the coat room he had expected. And he was not alone. Next to the desk holding the lamp, a small bundle of burgundy sat crouched in a huge leather chair, softly sobbing.
Buffy raised her tear soaked face, regarding Riley with abject horror. Mascara was smeared around her eyes and no amount of rubbing could hide the evidence of the tears. “Riley! I...uh..” Buffy stammered. Sitting up she tried to soothe the fabric of her dress, hoping to gain some semblance of composure.
“I’m sorry...I’ll just.” Riley began to retreat towards the door, wanting to give her some privacy. Stopping short though, his hand on the door knob, he turned slightly, regarding her silently for a moment. “Whoever he is, Buffy, he’s lucky to have you. He’d be a fool not to see that.” Turning the knob, Riley quickly exited the room.
Buffy was stunned by his words and more then a little confused. ‘He? Who is he talking about?’ Grabbing a Kleenex from the desk, she quickly set about to cleaning up the wreck that had been her make up. She needed to find Willow, hoping the little witch could shed some light on Riley’s speech.
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“Hurry!” Graham exclaimed upon hearing the voices inside the room.
“Shh! I’m going as fast as I can. This is a delicate procedure.” Willow sprinkled the dust at the threshold of the doorway before beginning the incantation. “Grant no passage this night to those residing within, let not the shadow of the past delight but the glory of love triumph here tonight.” Willow smiled up at Graham as she closed the book in her grasp.
“Hey guys!” Riley exclaimed as he passed through the door causing Willow to jump in surprise. Once he was out, the door slammed shut behind him. “Whoa, strong draft.” Riley said as he eyed the door. “Hey listen, I’m gonna take off. I’m suddenly not feeling well. I couldn’t find the jacket for your Grandma, Graham.”
Looking past Riley at Willow, who was searching frantically through the book to find what may have happened that had caused the spell to backfire, Graham tried to stall. “Is everything all right, buddy?”
“Yeah, I’m just...I’m tired.” Riley said, his shoulders mirroring the defeat he felt. Turning to leave, he found his way barred.
“Are you sure you want to go? I mean the night is young.” Graham said, placing a hand on Riley’s shoulder, leading him back towards the party.
Riley easily shrugged Graham off, shaking his head he headed toward the exit. “Nah, but you two have fun. And congratulations! I’m happy for you both.” With that, Riley escaped into the night.
Graham turned back to Willow, hoping for some answers. “What just happened? He should be locked in there with Buffy doing things that would make Spike blush. Instead, once again, the two of them are lacking in the togetherness part of the whole Buffy/Riley equation.”
“Oh God, I don’t know, maybe there was a time delay or I forgot an ingredient, I don’t know.” Willow was frantic. They had worked for two days on this spell, not wanting to mess up and once again her spell had failed.
The doorknob behind her rattled slightly, followed by a small knock. “Um...hello...is someone out there.” came Buffy’s muffled plea.
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Riley was throwing clothes into his suitcase when the knock resonated on the door. Shoving his last pair of Levi’s into the duffle bag, Riley turned to answer the door. Finding Graham on the other side, Riley plastered a smile on his face. “Hey, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you and Willow be locked away in a room by now?”
Noticing the empty drawers sticking out of the dresser and the overflowing duffle bag perched on the bed, Graham decided to forgo the regular salutations and get right down to it. “What are you doing? Are you leaving?”
“Yeah, I called the airlines. I caught a red-eye from LAX. It leaves in five hours.” Walking past the bed, Riley made his way to the bath, grabbing his razor and toothbrush.
“This is crazy man. You love her!”
Losing all pretense of cheerfulness, Riley turned on Graham. “Yeah, I love her. I love her so much it's killing me not to touch her. I ache deep inside with need for her. But none of that matters.” Riley stuffed his shaving kit into the duffle bag before zipping the larger bag up. Resting his hands on the bag, staring hard at it, Riley continued “And do you know why it doesn’t matter? She doesn’t love me. She doesn’t want *me*.”” Leaving the room pass on the dresser, Riley did a visual sweep of the room before grabbing his bag and pushing past Graham.
Graham was persistent, not believing that it was over. “The Riley Finn I know wouldn’t just let her go.” Graham followed Riley down the hotel stairs, staying only feet away from his friend as they saddled up to the car. “The Riley Finn I know wouldn’t quit.” Hands on the door, Riley sighed softly before looking his best friend in the eye. “The Riley Finn you know died three years ago, suffocated on his own foot. Didn’t ya hear?” Riley opened the door to the rental car, throwing his bag in before climbing in himself.
Graham grabbed the door before he could shut it. “Don’t do this, Rye. You’ll regret it the rest of your life.” The look in Riley’s eye told Graham to back off. Releasing his grip on the door, Graham stood in disbelief as his friend slammed it shut. Graham watched as Riley backed out of the space and drove out of Sunnydale Four Season’s and Buffy’s life forever.
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Willow had just hung up the phone with Graham when Buffy re-entered the room. The Summers house was quite, Joyce and Dawn were still at the reception, leaving Willow with the perfect opportunity to talk with Buffy.
“It feels so good to get out of that dress. It’s beautiful, but way too difficult to maneuver in.” Buffy said as she jumped on the bed. “Who was on the phone?”
“Graham.” Willow said, her face tinged with sadness.
“What happened? Is something wrong?” Buffy said, concerned about her friend's husband. Willow had said he had an errand to run and Buffy just supposed it had something to do with the honeymoon. Willow had wanted some girl time so they had opted to come here.
“Yeah, something is wrong. Something is terribly wrong.”
“Oh my God, was he in an accident, is he okay?” Buffy said, crossing over to the red head, offering her support and comfort.
“Riley is going back to Huxley.” Willow said plainly, hoping for some reaction from Buffy.
“What?” Buffy said, her eyes wide with surprise.
“He’s leaving tonight. Graham says his flights leaving in 4 ½ hours from LAX.” Willow led Buffy back over to the bed. Facing her, she took both of her hands into her own. “Buffy, now is the time for action. If Riley gets on that plane, there is no turning back. Things that should have been said long before today are going to be left unsaid. Can you live with that? Can you live with the regret of not saying those three little words to him? Buffy, you owe it to yourself, if not to Riley, to let him know how you feel. We are at the 'now or never' point, so what’s it going to be?”
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The terminal was fairly crowded for such a late departure time. Riley had found a seat near the gate, next to an elderly woman, Mrs. Couch, who felt obligated to tell him about her gall bladder surgery the previous week. He wasn’t really paying attention, just nodding occasionally, inserting an ‘mmm’ in the right places, his eyes always scanning the crowd. He noticed a young couple kissing nearby, the boy had a ticket clutched tightly in his hand, the girl was crying, not wanting to let him go. Riley tried to look away, if not to give them privacy, then for his own sake. He remembered a time when he was so in love that the mere thought of being without her felt as if it would be the death of him. Now here he was, ticket in hand and the only one really caring was an elderly lady.
Riley watched as the first class passengers began to board the plane, listening as Mrs. Couch commented on some of the younger passengers choice of dress. As his seat number was called, he stood up, helping the struggling old woman to her feet, and with her carry on. Taking one last look around, he prepared to follow Mrs. Couch to the gate when he noticed her.
Even with the baggy overalls, hair swept up in a ponytail, no makeup whatsoever, she was still a vision to behold. Not even ten feet away, he could see that she was on the verge of tears, her lower lip trembling, her hands shaking with nervousness. Riley took a step closer to her, unsure of whether he was imagining her presence or not. “Buffy?”
Buffy broke down in a sob as she stepped forward, closing the distance between them a little more. “Riley....I...” Buffy choked a little on a fresh set of tears, unable to keep her body from trembling. “I had this all planned out...what I would say to you. How I would say it. And now I find that all those words have left me.” Buffy wiped the back of her hand across her check, as she sniffed, trying so hard to keep from throwing herself at his feet, wanting to be eloquent.
“Riley, I...you see this picture.” Buffy held up a picture of him that had been taken four years ago at a carnival he had taken her to. She had said it was one of her favorites. But now the edges were all bent and the picture looked faded. “I sleep with this every night, under my pillow. I’ve convinced myself that as long as it is there then you’re still with me. I tell all my hopes and dreams to it.” Buffy glanced down at the picture, her thumb rubbing lightly over it, stepping forward a little more. “Even though you weren’t here, I could feel you, like you never left. But do you know what? Nothing compares to the real you. Riley....I love you. I need you here with me. I want you in my life, not just in my dreams. I want you to be the one I come home to every night, not some old piece of paper. I want to share my dreams, my body, my world with you. God, I love you so much. Please Riley, please don’t go.” Buffy let the tears flow freely, her eyes pleading with him to stay.
Riley felt his eyes moisten and chest tighten with emotion as he looked into her eyes. Closing the gap between them with one step, Riley whispered softly “Close your eyes.” Buffy gazed up into his big hazel eyes, hope clearly reflected in her own, before closing them. Leaning down so that his forehead touched hers, he cupped her cheeks with his hands. “Do you feel that?” He whispered.
Buffy leaned into the warmth of his hand, nuzzling her cheek against him. “What?” she said softly.
“My skin is humming.” Riley dipped his head down, gently brushing his lips across hers. Buffy responded, slowly tilting her head, her fingers snaking into his hair, pulling him closer. Her lips met his again, pulling his bottom lip into her mouth, gently sucking on him. Riley parted his lips, allowing her access into his warm mouth, their tongues mating in a fevered dance. Riley’s arms circled her waist, pulling her closer to him, enjoying the feel of her.
The last call for the flight sounded, luring them out of the embrace. Riley looked to the gate and found the stewardess looking expectantly at him. “Sir, are you coming?” Grinning at the woman, he slid his arm around Buffy’s waist “Nah, I’m right where I want to be.” Kissing her again, Riley grabbed Buffy’s hand, her fingers entwining with his as he led her away from the terminal, towards a future they would share together, with no regrets.
The End
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