Acts of Contrition (aka only_passenger's bedtime story)

[clawofcat]

Title: Acts of Contrition
Author: ClawofCat
Timing: Season 7
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Spike/Buffy
Summary: Set in the aftermath of “Showtime.” Spike realizes that all of his sacrifice has not been in vain. He’s given his pound of flesh for Buffy, but what gift can she give him in return?

A/N: This fic was written as a bedtime story for

Comments

[clawofcat]

Aw! *hugs* It's just one of those scenes, you know? The actors, especially SMG, gave so much with just their eyes it kills me everytime I watch it. I tried to continue what was started there - most of the action is driven by looks and very subtle touches. I use dialogue pretty sparingly, as well. There is something about silences that convey so much. I really like to play with bodywork in my fiction too, and I think this is my first success of the non-porny variety.

I have absolutely no idea where the hell the butterfly imagery came from. It sort of snuck up on me like it did for Buffy. But I'm glad it worked. Since this was written as a bedtime story, I wanted a light, sleepy feel to this. Butterflies do the trick.

Buffy's very imperfectness is what he loves and that it can't be duplicated
I hadn't really noticed how piss poor a job The First did until I rewatched the ep. I mean, Buffy gets busted up by that Uber!Vamp. Having her ass handed to her doesn't even begin to cover it, and then there's the First flouncing around like some weirdly unrealistic Buffy mirage. And, when you think about it, of course Spike loves her for her imperfections. That's the sort of fellow he is. I wanted this scene to almost be a rehearsal for their night together in "Touched" when they sleep in the abandoned house.