Fic Update: Meant to Be Part 18 & 19
Woo hoo! I got my work done quickly this morning and managed to find a couple hours to write. Feel very productive! I actually updated a Spillow fic! One that I've not updated in many, many months! *bounces happily*
Title: Meant to Be
Author: Inell
Email: Inell@aol.com
Disclaimer: Joss owns them all
Rating: R
Pairing: Willow/Spike
Summary: While on business in New Orleans, Willow meets someone unexpected and realizes that some things are just meant to be
MEANT TO BE (18/?)
The streets were growing more crowded as dusk approached. They had the sidewalks to themselves most of the afternoon, the sun being so hot that it kept most tourists inside where it was cool and pleasant. Willow hadn't minded the heat too much, the summers in Sunnydale always pretty warm, even if not quite this humid. To be completely honest, she had paid very little attention to the temperature after meeting William, the handsome Englishman proving a distraction from the summer day heat. Now that the sun was low in the Western sky and the town didn't feel like an appropriate substitute for Hades, people were leaving their hotels or shopping expeditions to venture into the streets.
Her hand was still in William's as they walked down the street, and she had no interest in releasing his hand anytime soon. Peaches was ahead of them, pausing every so often to look back at them as if he were impatiently waiting for them to catch up. He wasn't running off far ahead or pulling on his leash, instead keeping just a few steps ahead of them. It would appear that William had been correct this morning, that Peaches was not usually so active and didn't make it a habit to knock down strangers during his walk.
He seemed to have made an exception for her, something that Willow found she didn't mind at all. If not for that slobbering dog, she never would have met William. And, while she had a feeling there would be some heartache in her future because, stupid fool that she was, she was beginning to care about him the more time they spent together and she knew that leaving in a few days and never looking back was going to be extremely difficult, she honestly couldn't imagine never having met him.
They'd only known each other since that morning, merely a few hours, not enough time to build a friendship much less a real relationship, but she was beginning to believe his theories on fate and love at first sight. No, not love, the redhead corrected herself quickly, love would be bad. She could not fall in love with William, that was all there was to it. She could not fall in love with this gorgeous Englishman that had such beautiful eyes and that dazzling smile and shy intellect and looked too much like Spike for it to be mere coincidence and who had no idea what really went bump in the night and lived hundreds of miles from her home. She felt his fingers brush against her palm, glancing at him and catching him looking at her, his eyes looking at her as if she were the most beautiful thing he'd seen and he couldn't believe she was his, full of desire and affection and curiosity to know everything about her. She recognized the look, having seen something very similar in her eyes just a little bit ago when she'd used the bathroom and glanced in the mirror.
It was confusing and didn't make any sense whatsoever, her feeling such intense emotions for someone she'd only just met, someone that could very well exist only because Spike had sacrificed himself. She looked at William and saw William, though the elements of Spike were still there. Spike was there in the way he cocked his head to the side when he was thinking and in his voice, not to mention the physical similarities, but William carried himself in a different way, he smiled and his eyes actually showed emotion and were not closed off and unreadable. That was the part that still confused her, that nagged at the studious part of her wanting to do research to find out if her theory of a connection between William and Spike was correct.
She was ignoring that part, deciding it was probably much better to just leave things alone, to not interfere if it was actually a reward to Spike for his sacrifice because the blond vampire had been her friend, in a way. And she knew he deserved this, deserved a second chance, and, on the off chance she was right and William was somehow connected to Spike in some magical reward program, she wasn't about to risk ruining this new life of his that seemed happy and satisfying for him. If she was wrong and William's striking similarity to Spike was merely coincidental, well, she would be glad she hadn't bothered wasting what little time she had left in New Orleans doing boring research when she could be spending time with a man made her believe in fate and love again.
"You think too much," William smiled at the redhead when he noticed the look of concentration on her face, finding her even more cute when she was lost in thought and her eyes narrowed just a bit and her nose wrinkled slightly and her lips curved into a pensive frown. God, he even thought her frowns were attractive. Stop it, old boy. She's leaving in a few days and you do not want your heart broken. Telling himself this was one thing, listening to that logical voice in his mind was something else entirely.
He liked Willow. Really liked Willow. She was pretty and intelligent and he could have spent hours talking to her and she was a delightful mixture of confidence and shyness that made him want to protect her at the same time he knew she could protect herself. She was perfect for him. It was as simple as that. He didn't care that they had just met, didn't care that she was going home next week, didn't care that he was all ready past infatuated and was approaching love, didn't care that he would find himself alone when she left with only memories of the redhead that he honestly believed was his true love because the memories would never fade.
He believed in fate and trusted that everything would happen the way it was meant to be. If that meant he only had these few days with the woman that was his other half, his soulmate, his destiny, he wasn't going to spend their short time together worrying about a broken heart or dwelling on the fact that it bloody well sucked to be given this time with someone he'd begun to believe didn't exist except inside his own romantic notions to only have to give her up again so quickly. To quote a favorite passage of his, he'd rather have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. He'd worry about losing her after she was gone, then he'd deal with it and at least have the memories of the time they shared.
He trusted that things would work out the way they were meant to, a part of him having to hope that she would feel the same connection and emotions and find herself unable to merely return home without looking back. He was practical, though, and knew that the chances of them having more than just these five days together were slim so he tried not to dwell on the possibilities of them actually having a real relationship or trying to make things work long-distance.
He smiled when she tightened her hold on his hand, her fingers entwining with his, the thoughtful look leaving her green eyes as she gave him a sheepish smile at having been caught thinking again after declaring that she was going to stop thinking and simply go with what was happening between them, exploring it and seeing what happened. He moved closer to her to avoid running into a group of passing tourists, their body touching casually, his breath drawing in sharply when she looked up at him, her eyes flashing with desire and awareness that he knew she was trying to control.
He couldn't remember ever being this affected by anyone before, resisting the urge to kiss her since he'd first looked into her eyes after Peaches knocked her over that morning. Now, after getting to know her and starting to feel far more than just lust for her, he was unable to stop at just kissing her, wanting her naked in his arms as he explored her entire body with his hands and tongue, wanting to hear her crying out his name as she came around him, wanting to feel her body against his, wanting to hold her as they slept. Bloody hell, just holding her hand or casually touching her was enough to cause arousal to spread over his body and his cock to begin to harden. She felt it, too, the attraction and need and desire, and William had little doubt that they would make love before she left.
Not fucking or shagging or sex, but making love, taking hours to explore one another, not leaving their bed for a day or two except for food or bathroom visits, just enjoying each other and making memories. That would not be today, he reminded himself, knowing that it was too soon for that progression of their relationship. That didn't stop him from touching her whenever possible and it didn't prevent him from attempting to flirt with her, his efforts not as awful as he would imagined since he had no real practice at flirting with such a beautiful woman. He was pulled from his thoughts when she spoke, looking at her and smiling softly as his hungry eyes moved over her pretty face.
MEANT TO BE (19/?)
"I think Peaches is ready to go home," Willow said softly, unable to look away from William's eyes. She was oblivious to the people passing by them on the crowded street, aware only of him standing so close she could feel his heat, of his eyes darkening to a gorgeous blue as he looked at her with longing and hunger. If she made it through this evening without attacking him, she would honestly be very surprised. She was trying to be good, knowing she shouldn't sleep with him yet. This was their first date, they'd only just met that day, she didn't make it a habit of sharing her body with people she didn't love, she wanted to wait at least another day before complicating whatever was happening between them even more.
Okay, the last reason was at least somewhat valid. She could do this. Damn it, she'd helped close a Hellmouth and save the world numerous times not to mention being strong enough to gain control of the Dark Magics she had absorbed into her following Tara's death. She was stubborn and resolved and determined! She wanted him, more than she could remember wanting anyone, and she knew she would have him soon, but not tonight. Tonight would possibly be a kiss on the cheek and then a very cold shower and possibly some self-gratification to release the tension.
She wanted to make sure that, when they did sleep together, it was because they wanted it and knew each other well enough to make the decision based on knowledge and desire and affection and not merely because they were caught up in romantic notions of fate and destiny. She did not want to have any regrets, didn't want him hurt because they took their relationship to such an intimate level and he wasn't prepared for her to leave.
That was the most important thing. She could deal with the heartache of them making love because it was her decision to leave, to give them only these few days, but she couldn't bear the idea that he would have regrets or be hurt when she left. If he felt for her what she was feeling for him, though, she didn't see how either of them would leave this brief encounter without some heartache. It was inevitable, just as her leaving on Tuesday and returning to a world where monsters were real and her life was complicated and far too complex for a relationship with anyone, really, much less someone who didn't know what really lurked in the shadows.
She could curse the Powers That Be for doing this to her. Cursing her, in a way, though many would see her 'gift' from them as an unbelievable reward, and now having her meet this wonderful man that could very well be her soulmate, if such things did exist, at a point where they had only a few days together. A part of her knew that she was lucky to have met him at all, having believed that Tara was her one chance at a forever kind of love, content with the knowledge that a love like she shared with Tara was rare and some people never experienced it.
Now she had met William, someone she hardly knew but that made her feel the same way Tara had, if not even more powerful emotions. With Tara, it had been slow, starting as a friendship and gradually developing into a sweet love. They had clicked and made a good couple, but Willow didn't feel like she was betraying her lost love or belittling what they shared to acknowledge that things between them had never been perfect and that there had been some times she wondered if they would last forever, not entirely sure Tara was her soulmate no matter how much she did love the blonde witch. It had taken Willow over a year to get to a point where she could even think about such things without feeling horribly guilt. After all, she had killed Warren and attacked her friends and nearly destroyed the world after Tara's death, when she'd allowed the grief to consume her and drive her to do such horrible things.
She didn't deserve to look back and wonder if Tara had honestly been 'the one', knowing that the love they shared was true and meaningful and doubting she'd ever experience anything like that again. Now, though, she had met William, someone she had felt instantly attracted to, instantly connected with, and she was reminded of the Tara and the questions she'd asked herself over the last couple of years since her lover's death. Perhaps there was such a thing as a second chance at a great and powerful love, perhaps everyone did have more than one person in the world they were destined to be with. She did not feel guilty for being attracted to William or for wanting to get to know him better.
Tara had been dead over two years now, though Willow would never forget her lover just as she had never forgotten the love she felt for Oz or even the love she had felt for Xander, and she knew it was okay to move on, that Tara would want her to be happy. Willow shook her head slightly, rolling her eyes as she realized that William was right. She was thinking way too much! True, this day was just one of those days that had things that caused her to do a lot of thinking, but even she was starting to think this was too much thinking!
Xander would be proud if she told him she'd finally gotten to a point where she thought she was thinking too much, her best friend always teasing her about being lost in thought too often. She looked into William's eyes, seeing that he had a thoughtful expression on his face and realized that he was just as confused and curious about what was happening between them as she was. She smiled slightly as she said, "I'm tired of thinking. Why don't we finish Peaches' walk and then get some dinner? Maybe do some more talking and just get to know each other better. No serious thought required!"
William laughed softly, agreeing, "That sounds like a brilliant plan, Willow. Come along, Peaches. Let's get you back to the flat. Does a burger still sound good, luv?"
"A burger sounds great," Willow told him with a smile as they followed Peaches and started back to his apartment to drop off the dog to be followed by dinner and conversation before they took the Vampire tour of the city, something that the redhead knew she'd find particularly amusing. They began to chat as they walked, discussing their favorite books as they made their way back to his house.
Oh, and it's actually not raining at this very moment! That's a nice surprise since they're predicting rain until next week! Luckily, I had no plans for July 4 except perhaps staying inside and being lazy and watching some movies :)
Inell
Title: Meant to Be
Author: Inell
Email: Inell@aol.com
Disclaimer: Joss owns them all
Rating: R
Pairing: Willow/Spike
Summary: While on business in New Orleans, Willow meets someone unexpected and realizes that some things are just meant to be
MEANT TO BE (18/?)
The streets were growing more crowded as dusk approached. They had the sidewalks to themselves most of the afternoon, the sun being so hot that it kept most tourists inside where it was cool and pleasant. Willow hadn't minded the heat too much, the summers in Sunnydale always pretty warm, even if not quite this humid. To be completely honest, she had paid very little attention to the temperature after meeting William, the handsome Englishman proving a distraction from the summer day heat. Now that the sun was low in the Western sky and the town didn't feel like an appropriate substitute for Hades, people were leaving their hotels or shopping expeditions to venture into the streets.
Her hand was still in William's as they walked down the street, and she had no interest in releasing his hand anytime soon. Peaches was ahead of them, pausing every so often to look back at them as if he were impatiently waiting for them to catch up. He wasn't running off far ahead or pulling on his leash, instead keeping just a few steps ahead of them. It would appear that William had been correct this morning, that Peaches was not usually so active and didn't make it a habit to knock down strangers during his walk.
He seemed to have made an exception for her, something that Willow found she didn't mind at all. If not for that slobbering dog, she never would have met William. And, while she had a feeling there would be some heartache in her future because, stupid fool that she was, she was beginning to care about him the more time they spent together and she knew that leaving in a few days and never looking back was going to be extremely difficult, she honestly couldn't imagine never having met him.
They'd only known each other since that morning, merely a few hours, not enough time to build a friendship much less a real relationship, but she was beginning to believe his theories on fate and love at first sight. No, not love, the redhead corrected herself quickly, love would be bad. She could not fall in love with William, that was all there was to it. She could not fall in love with this gorgeous Englishman that had such beautiful eyes and that dazzling smile and shy intellect and looked too much like Spike for it to be mere coincidence and who had no idea what really went bump in the night and lived hundreds of miles from her home. She felt his fingers brush against her palm, glancing at him and catching him looking at her, his eyes looking at her as if she were the most beautiful thing he'd seen and he couldn't believe she was his, full of desire and affection and curiosity to know everything about her. She recognized the look, having seen something very similar in her eyes just a little bit ago when she'd used the bathroom and glanced in the mirror.
It was confusing and didn't make any sense whatsoever, her feeling such intense emotions for someone she'd only just met, someone that could very well exist only because Spike had sacrificed himself. She looked at William and saw William, though the elements of Spike were still there. Spike was there in the way he cocked his head to the side when he was thinking and in his voice, not to mention the physical similarities, but William carried himself in a different way, he smiled and his eyes actually showed emotion and were not closed off and unreadable. That was the part that still confused her, that nagged at the studious part of her wanting to do research to find out if her theory of a connection between William and Spike was correct.
She was ignoring that part, deciding it was probably much better to just leave things alone, to not interfere if it was actually a reward to Spike for his sacrifice because the blond vampire had been her friend, in a way. And she knew he deserved this, deserved a second chance, and, on the off chance she was right and William was somehow connected to Spike in some magical reward program, she wasn't about to risk ruining this new life of his that seemed happy and satisfying for him. If she was wrong and William's striking similarity to Spike was merely coincidental, well, she would be glad she hadn't bothered wasting what little time she had left in New Orleans doing boring research when she could be spending time with a man made her believe in fate and love again.
"You think too much," William smiled at the redhead when he noticed the look of concentration on her face, finding her even more cute when she was lost in thought and her eyes narrowed just a bit and her nose wrinkled slightly and her lips curved into a pensive frown. God, he even thought her frowns were attractive. Stop it, old boy. She's leaving in a few days and you do not want your heart broken. Telling himself this was one thing, listening to that logical voice in his mind was something else entirely.
He liked Willow. Really liked Willow. She was pretty and intelligent and he could have spent hours talking to her and she was a delightful mixture of confidence and shyness that made him want to protect her at the same time he knew she could protect herself. She was perfect for him. It was as simple as that. He didn't care that they had just met, didn't care that she was going home next week, didn't care that he was all ready past infatuated and was approaching love, didn't care that he would find himself alone when she left with only memories of the redhead that he honestly believed was his true love because the memories would never fade.
He believed in fate and trusted that everything would happen the way it was meant to be. If that meant he only had these few days with the woman that was his other half, his soulmate, his destiny, he wasn't going to spend their short time together worrying about a broken heart or dwelling on the fact that it bloody well sucked to be given this time with someone he'd begun to believe didn't exist except inside his own romantic notions to only have to give her up again so quickly. To quote a favorite passage of his, he'd rather have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. He'd worry about losing her after she was gone, then he'd deal with it and at least have the memories of the time they shared.
He trusted that things would work out the way they were meant to, a part of him having to hope that she would feel the same connection and emotions and find herself unable to merely return home without looking back. He was practical, though, and knew that the chances of them having more than just these five days together were slim so he tried not to dwell on the possibilities of them actually having a real relationship or trying to make things work long-distance.
He smiled when she tightened her hold on his hand, her fingers entwining with his, the thoughtful look leaving her green eyes as she gave him a sheepish smile at having been caught thinking again after declaring that she was going to stop thinking and simply go with what was happening between them, exploring it and seeing what happened. He moved closer to her to avoid running into a group of passing tourists, their body touching casually, his breath drawing in sharply when she looked up at him, her eyes flashing with desire and awareness that he knew she was trying to control.
He couldn't remember ever being this affected by anyone before, resisting the urge to kiss her since he'd first looked into her eyes after Peaches knocked her over that morning. Now, after getting to know her and starting to feel far more than just lust for her, he was unable to stop at just kissing her, wanting her naked in his arms as he explored her entire body with his hands and tongue, wanting to hear her crying out his name as she came around him, wanting to feel her body against his, wanting to hold her as they slept. Bloody hell, just holding her hand or casually touching her was enough to cause arousal to spread over his body and his cock to begin to harden. She felt it, too, the attraction and need and desire, and William had little doubt that they would make love before she left.
Not fucking or shagging or sex, but making love, taking hours to explore one another, not leaving their bed for a day or two except for food or bathroom visits, just enjoying each other and making memories. That would not be today, he reminded himself, knowing that it was too soon for that progression of their relationship. That didn't stop him from touching her whenever possible and it didn't prevent him from attempting to flirt with her, his efforts not as awful as he would imagined since he had no real practice at flirting with such a beautiful woman. He was pulled from his thoughts when she spoke, looking at her and smiling softly as his hungry eyes moved over her pretty face.
MEANT TO BE (19/?)
"I think Peaches is ready to go home," Willow said softly, unable to look away from William's eyes. She was oblivious to the people passing by them on the crowded street, aware only of him standing so close she could feel his heat, of his eyes darkening to a gorgeous blue as he looked at her with longing and hunger. If she made it through this evening without attacking him, she would honestly be very surprised. She was trying to be good, knowing she shouldn't sleep with him yet. This was their first date, they'd only just met that day, she didn't make it a habit of sharing her body with people she didn't love, she wanted to wait at least another day before complicating whatever was happening between them even more.
Okay, the last reason was at least somewhat valid. She could do this. Damn it, she'd helped close a Hellmouth and save the world numerous times not to mention being strong enough to gain control of the Dark Magics she had absorbed into her following Tara's death. She was stubborn and resolved and determined! She wanted him, more than she could remember wanting anyone, and she knew she would have him soon, but not tonight. Tonight would possibly be a kiss on the cheek and then a very cold shower and possibly some self-gratification to release the tension.
She wanted to make sure that, when they did sleep together, it was because they wanted it and knew each other well enough to make the decision based on knowledge and desire and affection and not merely because they were caught up in romantic notions of fate and destiny. She did not want to have any regrets, didn't want him hurt because they took their relationship to such an intimate level and he wasn't prepared for her to leave.
That was the most important thing. She could deal with the heartache of them making love because it was her decision to leave, to give them only these few days, but she couldn't bear the idea that he would have regrets or be hurt when she left. If he felt for her what she was feeling for him, though, she didn't see how either of them would leave this brief encounter without some heartache. It was inevitable, just as her leaving on Tuesday and returning to a world where monsters were real and her life was complicated and far too complex for a relationship with anyone, really, much less someone who didn't know what really lurked in the shadows.
She could curse the Powers That Be for doing this to her. Cursing her, in a way, though many would see her 'gift' from them as an unbelievable reward, and now having her meet this wonderful man that could very well be her soulmate, if such things did exist, at a point where they had only a few days together. A part of her knew that she was lucky to have met him at all, having believed that Tara was her one chance at a forever kind of love, content with the knowledge that a love like she shared with Tara was rare and some people never experienced it.
Now she had met William, someone she hardly knew but that made her feel the same way Tara had, if not even more powerful emotions. With Tara, it had been slow, starting as a friendship and gradually developing into a sweet love. They had clicked and made a good couple, but Willow didn't feel like she was betraying her lost love or belittling what they shared to acknowledge that things between them had never been perfect and that there had been some times she wondered if they would last forever, not entirely sure Tara was her soulmate no matter how much she did love the blonde witch. It had taken Willow over a year to get to a point where she could even think about such things without feeling horribly guilt. After all, she had killed Warren and attacked her friends and nearly destroyed the world after Tara's death, when she'd allowed the grief to consume her and drive her to do such horrible things.
She didn't deserve to look back and wonder if Tara had honestly been 'the one', knowing that the love they shared was true and meaningful and doubting she'd ever experience anything like that again. Now, though, she had met William, someone she had felt instantly attracted to, instantly connected with, and she was reminded of the Tara and the questions she'd asked herself over the last couple of years since her lover's death. Perhaps there was such a thing as a second chance at a great and powerful love, perhaps everyone did have more than one person in the world they were destined to be with. She did not feel guilty for being attracted to William or for wanting to get to know him better.
Tara had been dead over two years now, though Willow would never forget her lover just as she had never forgotten the love she felt for Oz or even the love she had felt for Xander, and she knew it was okay to move on, that Tara would want her to be happy. Willow shook her head slightly, rolling her eyes as she realized that William was right. She was thinking way too much! True, this day was just one of those days that had things that caused her to do a lot of thinking, but even she was starting to think this was too much thinking!
Xander would be proud if she told him she'd finally gotten to a point where she thought she was thinking too much, her best friend always teasing her about being lost in thought too often. She looked into William's eyes, seeing that he had a thoughtful expression on his face and realized that he was just as confused and curious about what was happening between them as she was. She smiled slightly as she said, "I'm tired of thinking. Why don't we finish Peaches' walk and then get some dinner? Maybe do some more talking and just get to know each other better. No serious thought required!"
William laughed softly, agreeing, "That sounds like a brilliant plan, Willow. Come along, Peaches. Let's get you back to the flat. Does a burger still sound good, luv?"
"A burger sounds great," Willow told him with a smile as they followed Peaches and started back to his apartment to drop off the dog to be followed by dinner and conversation before they took the Vampire tour of the city, something that the redhead knew she'd find particularly amusing. They began to chat as they walked, discussing their favorite books as they made their way back to his house.
Oh, and it's actually not raining at this very moment! That's a nice surprise since they're predicting rain until next week! Luckily, I had no plans for July 4 except perhaps staying inside and being lazy and watching some movies :)
Inell