Fic: Palimpsest - Epilogue
Prompt: I don't believe in this stuff anyway... (Sept 2014).
Title: Palimpsest (Epilogue)
Rating: R
Setting: Post-series AU (could be mid-S9)
Warnings: Grab your tissues. At least - I hope you need them! :)
A/N: I wrote this a year ago in preparation for the next round of Seasonal Spuffy... but Seasonal Spuffy has gone on hiatus. Meanwhile, S10 keeps getting more and more Scooby-friendship friendly, unlike S9. This is much closer to S9's mood.
A/N2: Written to go off-canon sometime mid-S9, but also written so that comic knowledge is mostly unnecessary (except for a few small jokes).
A/N3: Thanks to foxstarreh and margueritedaisy for beta work, and foxstarreh for being my S9 encyclopedia so that I didn't have to actually buy or read the comics. :)
PART ONE, PART TWO, PART THREE, and PART FOUR
Palimpsest: 1) A parchment or the like from which the writing has been partially or completely erased and replaced with new writing. 2) Something that has been changed over time and shows evidence of that change. (Merriam-Webster Online)
EPILOGUE
I like it. I feel like a Joan.
- Joan (last name unknown) (Tablula Rasa)
.
.
She found William in the kitchen, fixing dinner. The sun slanted through the window, illuminating the counter where he worked and capturing the blue of his eyes when he looked up.
"Welcome back, pet." With a grin, he wiped his hands on the dishtowel and sauntered over to her, limp barely noticeable under his cocky swagger. "Miss me while you were gone?"
"Mmm," Buffy said when her lips were free and her breathing had calmed. "You know it."
"How was San Francisco?"
"Sad." She perched on the stool, chin resting on one hand, and watched as William got back to work. "I still can't believe Willow's gone. And I don't know when I'll see her again. Tibet... it's so far away."
William paused in his chopping to cover her hand with his. "She needed to move on."
"Moving on sucks."
Chuckling, he pinched her protruding lower lip. "Oh, I don't know. Things change. It's the way of the world. And if we're lucky, they change for the better." One eyebrow raised, he asked, "Aren't you glad I did?"
Buffy slanted him a teasing look. "Maybe." William raised his eyebrow higher. "Okay, I do like the whole mature and stable thing you've got going on." She slid off the stool and headed for the hallway, putting a little swing in her hips. Looking back over her shoulder, she added, "Just so long as you don't completely forget your wild ways."
William began to follow her, and then with a sheepish expression, turned back to the cutting board and covered the vegetables with a strip of plastic wrap. "Don't want them drying out," he said to her bemused look. Buffy's sniggers morphed into a shriek as he leapt after her and chased her into their bedroom.
.
*******
.
Later, she brought up the subject of change again as he helped her carry in the boxes of things Willow hadn't wanted to take with her to Tibet. "I've been thinking more about college. And I really think I should do it."
"Think you should too. If it's what you want."
"Yeah." Buffy set down a box in the living room and headed back outside, waiting for William to catch up to her on the stairs. "Like you said, things change. People move on. I'm feeling I've moved on from the whole minimum-wage job phase of my life."
William took her hand and brought it to his lips. "Whatever you choose, Buffy. You know I'll always back you up."
She buried her head in the crook of his neck. "Don't take this the wrong way, but no making me cry. Not even happy I-love-you tears. I think I've cried enough to last me a lifetime lately."
"No more sweet and sensitive. Got it."
Buffy mock-scowled at him, and they continued down the stairs and to the car, hand in hand.
"What's this," he asked, reaching into the back seat and picking up a long object wrapped in several layers of old, black blankets.
"That," Buffy said, "Is for Faith, apparently. Willow asked if we would get it to her." She undid the wrapping and held up the long axe-thingy. "Cool, huh?"
"Sharp. Pointy." William reached out to touch the red blade, and yanked his hand back, shoving his now-bleeding finger into his mouth. "You don't want to keep it?"
Buffy gave it a tentative swing and almost overbalanced. She let her arm drop. The weapon hung awkwardly in her hand, heavy and unwieldy, glinting in the sunlight.
"Nah," she said. She tossed it back onto the seat, blade resting on the discarded sheets. "I'm pretty sure it's all Faith's."
.
.
The end.
.
Title: Palimpsest (Epilogue)
Rating: R
Setting: Post-series AU (could be mid-S9)
Warnings: Grab your tissues. At least - I hope you need them! :)
A/N: I wrote this a year ago in preparation for the next round of Seasonal Spuffy... but Seasonal Spuffy has gone on hiatus. Meanwhile, S10 keeps getting more and more Scooby-friendship friendly, unlike S9. This is much closer to S9's mood.
A/N2: Written to go off-canon sometime mid-S9, but also written so that comic knowledge is mostly unnecessary (except for a few small jokes).
A/N3: Thanks to foxstarreh and margueritedaisy for beta work, and foxstarreh for being my S9 encyclopedia so that I didn't have to actually buy or read the comics. :)
PART ONE, PART TWO, PART THREE, and PART FOUR
Palimpsest: 1) A parchment or the like from which the writing has been partially or completely erased and replaced with new writing. 2) Something that has been changed over time and shows evidence of that change. (Merriam-Webster Online)
EPILOGUE
I like it. I feel like a Joan.
- Joan (last name unknown) (Tablula Rasa)
.
.
She found William in the kitchen, fixing dinner. The sun slanted through the window, illuminating the counter where he worked and capturing the blue of his eyes when he looked up.
"Welcome back, pet." With a grin, he wiped his hands on the dishtowel and sauntered over to her, limp barely noticeable under his cocky swagger. "Miss me while you were gone?"
"Mmm," Buffy said when her lips were free and her breathing had calmed. "You know it."
"How was San Francisco?"
"Sad." She perched on the stool, chin resting on one hand, and watched as William got back to work. "I still can't believe Willow's gone. And I don't know when I'll see her again. Tibet... it's so far away."
William paused in his chopping to cover her hand with his. "She needed to move on."
"Moving on sucks."
Chuckling, he pinched her protruding lower lip. "Oh, I don't know. Things change. It's the way of the world. And if we're lucky, they change for the better." One eyebrow raised, he asked, "Aren't you glad I did?"
Buffy slanted him a teasing look. "Maybe." William raised his eyebrow higher. "Okay, I do like the whole mature and stable thing you've got going on." She slid off the stool and headed for the hallway, putting a little swing in her hips. Looking back over her shoulder, she added, "Just so long as you don't completely forget your wild ways."
William began to follow her, and then with a sheepish expression, turned back to the cutting board and covered the vegetables with a strip of plastic wrap. "Don't want them drying out," he said to her bemused look. Buffy's sniggers morphed into a shriek as he leapt after her and chased her into their bedroom.
.
*******
.
Later, she brought up the subject of change again as he helped her carry in the boxes of things Willow hadn't wanted to take with her to Tibet. "I've been thinking more about college. And I really think I should do it."
"Think you should too. If it's what you want."
"Yeah." Buffy set down a box in the living room and headed back outside, waiting for William to catch up to her on the stairs. "Like you said, things change. People move on. I'm feeling I've moved on from the whole minimum-wage job phase of my life."
William took her hand and brought it to his lips. "Whatever you choose, Buffy. You know I'll always back you up."
She buried her head in the crook of his neck. "Don't take this the wrong way, but no making me cry. Not even happy I-love-you tears. I think I've cried enough to last me a lifetime lately."
"No more sweet and sensitive. Got it."
Buffy mock-scowled at him, and they continued down the stairs and to the car, hand in hand.
"What's this," he asked, reaching into the back seat and picking up a long object wrapped in several layers of old, black blankets.
"That," Buffy said, "Is for Faith, apparently. Willow asked if we would get it to her." She undid the wrapping and held up the long axe-thingy. "Cool, huh?"
"Sharp. Pointy." William reached out to touch the red blade, and yanked his hand back, shoving his now-bleeding finger into his mouth. "You don't want to keep it?"
Buffy gave it a tentative swing and almost overbalanced. She let her arm drop. The weapon hung awkwardly in her hand, heavy and unwieldy, glinting in the sunlight.
"Nah," she said. She tossed it back onto the seat, blade resting on the discarded sheets. "I'm pretty sure it's all Faith's."
.
.
The end.
.