"Immortal Beloved...XXVI..."
A shortie...
PG-13
Disclaimer: It's all yours and ME's, Joss...Except the 'Soames Walthrop'...
Spoilers for Angel to this week...Flee at once!...
Summary: Remember they're not parts of one story, but a series of retellings during and after the Rome rendezvous of "Girl In Question"
And of course, this one is also linked to the Cicelyverse
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LA...William's apartment...May 8th...About 2 am...
A crashing sound causes the rather preoccupied Mr. William Soames Walthrop to look up...
The doorbell rings...With a sigh, William puts down his law books...Actually earning his degree as a new-minted associate partner seeming like a good start to 'getting on with his life'...Lovely...Some challenger looking to test his prowess....or Angel and co with some 'major crisis'...
Well, one must earn one's six figure salary...
Vague sounds of someone singing...
'Non Dimenticar'?...he blinks a little...And that awful screech of a singing voice...No...It couldn't be...
A rather bedraggled, wobbily...Buffy...Standing on his doorstep, champagne bottle in hand...
"Hiya!..." she waved... "Took me a lil' trip ta LA and thought I'd drop by and say...Hiya!..." she waved again vaguely...Swaying a bit...
"Non dimentalbar means don't you damned well forget you...!" she began singing again...
Buffy?...he stared at her...
"Are you soused, girl?..."
"No..." she frowned...He grabbing at her as she nearly fell...Pulling her in... "Don' mind if I do..." she giggled, and pulling back, looked round...Nice place ya got here...Ya...she nodded...
"Buffy?...What the hell are you doing here?...Why didn't you call?...And what have you been drinkin'?..."
"Champagne..." waves the bottle...Wan' some?...Later, maybe...He shook his head... "Plus some stuff I had at the airport bar in Rome...We calls it 'Roma', did ya know?..." she notes... "An' I had a coupla lil' ones on the plane....And just a few more at da airport here...An' then I hadda have a lil' champagne ta celebrate seein' ma hon'..."
And why didn't you call?...she glared... "Miser'ble sob...Cum ta Rome and don' stay...Don' tell your lovin' hon' you're unlive and unlivin' in LA...Basta..."
"Nice place ya got...Ang'l treatin' ya ri'?..." she looks round again...Swaying again...Could I?...
"Have a seat, please...And let me get you some coffee..." he waves her to a chair...She staggering over, refusing his aid...Is'fine...A-ok... "I'll get the coffee going..." he turns for the kitchette...
Coffee?...she frowns...Waving the champagne... "I wanna have champagne...Party Buf gotta cel'brate..."
Her hon' cum ta Rome...We calls it 'Roma'...And don' even leave a note...
"Cause he don' wan' her...Thinks she's a hearty...h'artless bitch..." He moved back into the living room, staring at her...Buffy?...
And mebbe...he's...she sighs...Tears beginning to flow...
"No, Buffy...You're right, I should have called you...See..."
No...She waved a hand...Par' Buf ain't down...Nuthin' ever gets Par' Buffy down...
"She shoves her first lover inta Hell...Hey, no sweat...Den...She lets the guy who loves her like nobody ever will again fry...And never tries to get him back...Lik Willa did her..." she shook her head... Nope...Nuthin' gets her down...
"The guy who no soul gets his soul for her...And she tells 'im... 'I gotta have Spike the crazy killer demmen bac', who gives a damn bout you, soully-boy...I gotta mission...'..."
I gotta mission...she stares into the room at nothing, tears running...
"Buffy...You saved me from the First...We had a fight to win..."
"Tol' him 'I wanna ya ta stay round...I ain't reddy for ya not to be here...'...But never tol him...Til it wus too late...Left him there to fry...All alone..."
But he got smar'...she gave a wan smile... "Showed a lil' good sen' and didn't even try to call..."
Smar'...she nodded..."Bitch'd prob' get 'im killed and nefer give him a kind..." she sobbed, then looked up...Wan' a lil' drink?...she raised the bottle...No?...She took a swig...
"Buffy...That's not why..."
"And before dat...When she cums back from the ded...Who's dere?...Patchin' her hands...Trying to help...Dere for her...Soulless Willy...Da poor sap...And does she thank 'im?...Hold a stak' ta Willow's throat to get her to get 'im a soul back...Lik' he needs one, poor soulless, lovin' sap...Oh, no...She'll have sex wid him...Let him help her...But will she help him?...You kiddin?...Beat him up wha' she does...Ever'time he tries ta help her...Hey, Par' Buf got things ta do..."
"Buffy...You couldn't trust me and you had no way to know that..."
"He took car'a Dawnie for months...No soul, but he loved me dat much...Just hopin' I'd be nice ta his soul in Heaven...But Par' Buf can't let a lil' thing like that slow her down...No way..."
"I wanted to do it, Buf...You didn't owe me..."
"No soul...But he found dat love...And no one else...Will ever love me lik..." she buried her face in her hands...
"Buffy..." he came over...Pulling the hands gently away...She stared at his face, then his hands on hers...
"She cut dem off, ri'...?" she pulled the sleeves back and felt the scars... "I shoulda killed her for dat...Psycho or no..."
But hey...Another feeble grin...Par' Buf can' be bothered by lil' things like dat...She gotta live for the day...The next fight...The new mission...
"Buffy...The only thing that matters to me is...You're here..." he smiled...
She stared at him...Yeah...Here...Eight months too late...she sighed...
"But dats not all...Not da best part..." she shook her head... "Da best par' dat Par' Buf just found out the other day...Tryin' to fin' out about her hon'...Where he came from...Who loved him...Tryin' to show she cared enough ta..."
"She put him here..." Buffy stared at him...Buffy?...
"I killed ya, Will...Well...Dru did it but I sent ya...Well, ok...My twin did it..."
F-ing...Halfreck...
"Buffy, you're not making..."
"My name was Cicely then..." she looked at him... "I wuz a grat Slayer...In 18 an' 80...An' one day...I met dis beautiful lil' poet...Whose po'try wasn't da best but it wuz good....Really, Will..." she nodded eagerly...As he stood, shocked...Staring...
Cicely?...
"I loved him...But I knew he'd die...I'd never be able to keep him safe...Dey'd get him...The monstas...So...When my Watcher tol me about Halfreck...And she looked just like me...Cause vengeance demmen relatives can do dat, ya know?...I let her tell him..." she burst into tears again as he stood, watching her...
"An' Dru did the rest...Though I wuz a big help...Didn't find him in time...Couldn't hunt him down..."
Ma lil' poet wuz a damned fine vamp, though...Da bes'...she eyed him...
"I guess I cutta deal with the PTBs, damn basta'...Made em send me bac'...Here..." she waved a hand... "As good ole Buffy..."
But she screwed it...And now she don' get screwed...Not by her William...Nefer 'gain...
"Cause he growed a brain...Don' wan' her the hell near him again..."
Cicely...he gasped...Kneeling beside her...An expression beyond love...Or hate...On his face...Cicely...
"Gotta go..." she made a faint move to rise... "Par' Buf's done spilled her guts and now she gotta go and saf the world...Mebbe, please God, one of dem'll get her dis time...And in Heaven...Mebbe..." she looked at his drawn face...
Mebbe he'll forgive her...Like Pip...
" 'Member Will?...You used to read 'Great Expectations' ta me...Ta Cicely...'Fore she got scared...I member it now..."
I 'member lotta things now...Now...she put her head in her hands...Then raised it... " 'Member Will?...Crazy Miss Havisham?...She wan' Pip to write 'I forgive her' in her book...An' Pip said... 'I can forgive you now...'...I can forgive you...No waitin'..."
Well...she sighed...Staring at his quiet, cold face... "Par' Buf's gotta go..."
No...He said firmly...Holding her down...No...
She struggled a bit in his grip to rise...No, she sobbed...You don' luv me...You can'...
"I'll hurt ya...I'll kill ya...Again...Oh, William...Let me go...Lemme...Just..."
"I forgive you...I love you, Cicely...You can't leave me again...I couldn't bear it, girl...Please..."
"I'll kill ya...You'll be killed...You'll...Hate me..."
"I'd rather be killed...And have you for ten minutes...Then live forever and never..." he held her firmly...
"If you go, there's nothing here for me..." he told her... "Fun as playing Angelic hero may be...It pales quickly for my sort...I'm afraid I just ain't the type to be satisfied with doin' my noble duty...I need something...Tangible..."
And as I don't care about having the spotlight on me...I can focus on you...he noted...Try to take care of you...
"Beginning with getting some coffee into you..."
"No...You can't...I hurt or kill everyone who loves me...It's ma fate...I shoulda known back den in 1880...The Slayer can' love anyone...She gotta live and die...By herself..."
"That's the way Slayers die...And I oughta know...Buffy...I don't care...I'll take whatever I can get...A year, a month, a moment...And if we live...When you can't go on, I won't let you go alone..."
Don't sentence yourself to this again, Cicely...Don't sentence me...Don't drive me away again...Oh, darling...
"I can forgive you now..." he smiled at her... "And you can love me now...If you'll just..."
Say...He stared at her quiet face...She looking at him, a wan smile...He took the bottle...Hmmn...
"Drunk, are you?...This is seltzer water..."
Real champagne's back at my hotel...she gave a sheepish look...Though I am kinda plastered...And I done drink much as I said...
"I was so scared you'd already found out...I could see ya suspected...And I was so afraid that you hated me..."
You're being angry is ok...It's just hate hate that I was worried about...she explained...Swaying again...
"But...It was either take the gamble and come meself...Or let the first vamp I ran into on my next Patrol turn me..."
Well, then you'd have come to saf me...she explained...And ma demmen loves you, too...I'm sure...She'd've gone along with going to Africa for the soul once you'd caught her and tole her to...
I think I will take that coffee...she grinned a bit... "If you don't plan ta throw it at me..."
Yeah?...he eyed her... "Well, now you mention it...I did note a lot of coincidences in our relationship..."
You're still holding back and dodging and weaving as much as ever...Cicely...he noted coldly...
"Please Will...You're not the only one who's got nothing here for them...I wasn't lying...I can't do it this time round without you...It doesn't work for me anymore...See..." She paused and pulled out a sheet of paper from a blouse pocket...
"'My heart expands...Tis grown a bulge in it...
Inspired by...Your beauty effulgent...'"
He blinked...
"It's on ma...er Cicely's tombstone..." she noted...
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