RP LOG with gr8muppetyodin | Road Trip

[naysowee]

There was a reason Buffy didn't exactly drive back in the States, let alone in Europe. She had been more than happy for Rory to take the wheel. It was a good thing vampires had never been huge on car chases. She watched the countryside go flying past and had to wonder why anyone would leave a place like this. It was nothing California, nothing like LA and she was grateful for it. It felt like a new start. Everything was starting to feel like a fresh start. She'd let Giles, Willow and Xander know where she was going. Giles had given her one of his pseudo-fatherly looks that she hadn't really quite known how to interrupt. It was like he was proud and confused all at the same time. He seemed to understand her urge for 'alone time'.

She had to wonder how the Watcher would take to Blaise if they ever met. She wasn't even sure what she was expecting to get from the visit to France. She didn't exactly think that Blaise was going to welcome her with open arms, even if he had apparently conducted some sort of Kindred wedding ceremony without her realising. Her fingers curled into fists at the thought of him, and she was beginning to understand more and more what Rory meant by her missing him, and finding herself needing him. Then a classic rock song kicked in on the radio and she was suddenly assaulted by the sound of a raucous Scot singing along. She turned her head to watch him in amusement, and before she even realised what she was doing - she started to sing along. Wasn't this what road trips were about?


Rory turned to her with a smirk as he tapped his fingers along to the beat on the steering wheel. "Hey, aboot fucking time. You didnae snap oot of that mood, I was going to dump you at the next Maccas and accidentally leave you behind. You are so nay a good road trip companion," he complained and picked up his large chocolate shake they had just acquired from the last stop at McDonalds. The European freeways were littered with them, and Rory refused to eat anything at questionable diners. They tell you what you had in your butty was bacon, when really it was pig scrotum or something. At least Maccas had to declare what was in their stuff. The first part of the trip, he had been trying to have an argument with Airlie by text message because she was pissed he had up and gone to France in pursuit of sexy Kindred. She was scared, and he understood that, but at the same time, he suspected in his gut that Juliette and her fangy cassanova could actually help his best friend find her Kindred feet. As soon as he found the right opening, he would ask her if she could help in any way... which would hopefully stop any scary hot Kindred chick showdowns on the horizon. In the end, he got pissed off at texting and nearly threw the phone out the window. He wasn't particularly technologically savvy. He was an old school traditional lad at the end of the day.

Buffy stuck out her tongue before she reached out to rub her fingers against his hair and picked up her own chocolate shake. She was still nursing the paper bag with a couple of large fries between her knees, the sweet and salty combination never easy to resist. After the sip of shake while the mixture was still resting on her tongue she shoved a couple of fries in and closed her eyes with pleasure. It was the simple things in life, really. When she swallowed she smirked back at Rory. "I can't help it if I keep winding up in your presence while I'm making with the deep thoughts. We're about to go crashing in on Kindred. It doesn't exactly seem like the right time to be bursting into song. But then, it's my first road trip and I figure I need to get into the spirit otherwise that's twelve hours down the toilet I'll never get back."

"Speaking of toilets, you were quick enough to be all vocal aboot how long I took back at the last rest top," Rory complained again. They were just always going to bitch at each other, they were like an old married couple. It was probably why they would never actually survive dating each other. They would end up killing each other and it wouldn't be pretty. "Sick Kindred. He's weak, we could take him. Still, cannae speak for Juliette if we threaten him. I think she'll make PMS look like a blow job. Your first road trip? Are you serious? Ach lassie, you havenae lived. You're all with the trying to be wise aboot the world, but you really have a lot to learn."

"So you keep telling me," she muttered as she poked him with a fry before holding it out for him to eat. Old married couple, or not, she could be courteous enough to share her fries. "Frankly I really don't want to tempt her with a reason to get all uber-PMSy on us. I'd like it for once if something didn't have to end in violence. Angry sex, however, that's a different matter. I bet he's really, really good at angry sex..." Buffy sighed as she got lost in the fantasy for a moment. "But that still requires him to be on the well side of Kindred and less with the sick. We don't know if it's me, or just my blood. I might be his Kindred Kryptonite. That's a serious mood killer right there." She looked at Rory again as she smiled. "Are you sure you don't want to make with the hanky panky with Juliette?"

Rory took the fry and chewed it, nodding. "Mm," he agreed and then started to smirk deviously. "You know what? I think you and Juliette should have lots of angry sex... in front of me, and a camera. Just saying." He got lost in his own fantasy, licking the salt off his lips, and didn't even realise when bloody Celine Dion came on the radio. "You know, you could let Juliette feed on you to see if you are. She would probably do that for him. I dinnae mean that in a pervy way, either. He might actually really appreciate watching that, and... and I'm assuming if Juliette feeds off you, Blaise would be able to trust the lassie more with you and there'll be nay cranky claiming jealous outbursts. What makes you think I havenae already?"

Buffy slapped his thigh before plucking a few more fries from the bag. "Men. Seriously though, what is it about two women? Will's gay, but I don't really get it. It's kind of like any other couple but... you know, more boobs." She blinked. "Is that what it is? The extra boobs? I don't really get it. I mean, there's no men, no real penetration except for a vibrator. It's like playing with yourself, only not." Buffy changed the station before Celine could ruin all the sexy thoughts and sighed. "I thought you said no one else could feed off me if he'd claimed me? Or did I get that wrong? I don't know, I just assumed. Figured you'd say something..."

"What nay with it? Four boobs instead of two, two pussies instead of one, two arses instead of one. If you think there is nay penetration, you're obviously nay very skilled in the finger or tongue department. What do you do mean, what is with it? It sounds like heaven, and you cannae tell me for one minute that you arenae now thinking aboot me and Prince of Pussy in bed together." Rory nodded with a glance at the radio. "Aye, I said that. But she isnae just any Kindred. She's his mate. They've likely been feeding off each other for years and years. Even if he did claim you, without her being comfortable with you, she'll make your life hell. Seeing her feed off you could be like fangy porn for him. It might make him more hot for you. It didnae ever come up in conversation, did it?" he pointed out with a shrug.

Buffy sat there silent for a moment before she had to concede his point. She was thinking about him and Blaise together. She couldn't help it. They were both hot and it would definitely have been interesting. "Does this mean we mind find ourselves in the middle of some vampire orgy? Think about it... She's his mate and we're just the mortals that want to be with them. What if that means some kinda silk sheets sex smorgasbord? Me, him, you and her? There'd be more of everything. Well, I guess she can feed off me if it's in the name of finding out if it's my blood. And maybe just a little for him... Jesus, I'm already trying to work out ways to pimp myself out to his mate. This is all shades of kinky. No, but we were talking about you and her. You could have mentioned making with the smexy times."

Rory snorted and reached over to steal a couple more of her fries. "I dinnae do cock lassie. Some guys want it, but I wouldnae know what do with one that wasnae mine. Hate to break it to you lassie, but vampires are kinky buggers. It's all aboot the sexy feeding and the claiming. I told you, they're like animals inside. Doesnae mean they cannae be hot animals, there is just nay way I'm putting myself in the sack with two Kindred. You eat your heart oot with your vampire fetish you have going on, but I'm going to stick with plain, normal, average bonking. Hey, I'm a gentleman. A gentleman never fucks and tells."

Buffy pointed at him. "You seemed to have forgotten that whole normal, average bonking for a very supernatural bonking. Was there a reason for that, hm?" She crinkled her nose as she considered what he said, wondering if she was suddenly going to find herself occasionally shared between two vampires so Blaise could feed on her by association. She also had to wonder if love was ever going to grow out of something like that. The only way he would ever be able to feed on her was if she experienced true love. It seemed like a pretty tall order right at that moment. "Not every fetish is a good thing," she murmured.

"Actually, nay I didnae. I made her fuck me normally and averagely," Rory told her and reached over to take a couple of chocolate-coated peanuts from the bag underneath the radio and popped them into his mouth. "Dinnae think she was completely happy aboot it, but it isnae going to hurt her to realise I'm still a normal and average bloke. I had them both looking at me like I was a turkey on Christmas Day, which was unnerving. I'm more than happy to take things slowly. A lot of fetishes arenae a good thing, lassie. Doesnae mean this one is."

Buffy let out a low whistle. "Really? I'm surprised she agreed to that. She must really want your kilted ass. So how was it? Was it awkward afterwards? You can tell me, I promise I won't accuse you of not being a gentleman. I still don't know how you're supposed to not look like a turkey. Especially to Blaise. Probably a good reason you don't like cock after all. Not sure your neck would escape unmolested if the feeding and sex go hand in hand. Get the feeling nothing with them is slow, even if they've lived a long time."

Rory shrugged. "She didnae have a choice. I'm nay just going to bow to them because they have big teeth. I still want to stay me, I dinnae want to lose myself in amongst the world they're accustomed to. If she didnae like it, she was welcome to fuck off. With what happened to my family, I'm just more wary about things than most. She takes me as I come, or nay at all. It was sex, what do you want me to say? And I'm nay letting either of them feed off me, so they can both be in the same boat together."

"And you think I don't want to stay me? I guess I'm just curious about their big teeth and what they mean... I can't help it. I don't exactly want to get lost, but I guess it's impossible to really keep walking the line between their world and ours. Anyway, it's all just heresy. We're not even there yet. How much longer, McTakes Too Long In the Toilet?" Buffy offered Rory her fries again to deflect his attention while she pinched some chocolate covered peanuts. "Do you think we have time for sightseeing? Just a little... Like, the Eiffel Tower? It's not like they're expecting us. How soon will their spies even know we're coming?"

Rory rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Aye, because when I was talking about me, I was actually meaning all you, miss spotlight stealer. Feck off, I was just saying. It doesnae mean I automatically meant you didnae want it. Sheesh. You asked me and I'm telling you. You want the conversation to be all aboot you, you dinnae ask me questions aboot me. You like being fanged by the fucker, I dinnae, alright? I dinnae like how easy it is for them to lose control. I havenae even let--" He stopped, nearly letting slip about Airlie. All this talk about Kindred, he almost forgot not everyone knew how rounded the situation actually was. "Let Juliette think she might be able to in the future," he quickly clarified to cover his tracks. "I wasnae that long and suck it up just a wee bit because we still have a few hours yet. We havenae even hit the city yet. That's gonna be weird driving in there and knowing he rules the whole flipping place, even if he does technically rule France too. They arenae gonna know til we reach his place. I seriously doubt we'll be allowed onto the estate. It'll be high security."

"You just jolly well feck off too," Buffy replied as she flicked a peanut at Rory. "I was just saying... I'm not trying to steal the spotlight, but I'll shut up now since I do actually want to hear about you and talk about you." She narrowed her eyes slightly when she thought he was going to go in a different direction, but Rory kept talking about Juliette and she didn't think anything strange of it. Her mind turned to Xander though, and she pulled out her phone to send her a text to see if he was okay. He'd still been so quiet since everything with Airlie. "So what then? We just camp out until they decide they might want to let us through?"

"This isnae a fecking James Bond movie, lassie. We ask their security to let us in, and then we wait to see if they get the go ahead. If we dinnae, then I'm pretty sure that would be our cue to fuck off back to Bonnie Scotland and take a hint. They invited us. Well, Juliette invited me and Airlie, but same deal. We both go or neither of us does. Thing is, though, we dinnae actually know how ill he is. It's gotta be serious. They cannae exactly catch the flu."

Buffy drew her eyebrows together. "Why didn't you bring Airlie? There might have been strength is numbers. I'm sure you could have trusted Xander with Willy." Her phone beeped, and for once Xander's text message only contained one word. She really had no idea what to do with him. "Is she... Do you think she'd mind a visitor? He's still kinda broody and I think she's the only thing that will snap him out of it. It's not even like we can claim no news is good news either. If he's managed to, well, die... We wouldn't know."

"Airlie's nay ready to be thrown in with the sharks yet. She's... recovering. From a thing... that's nay really my position to talk aboot." Rory finished off his shake with some loud slurping noises and then tossed the empty cup into the back seat with the rest of the junk he'd eventually clean out. "I doubt she'd mind. Depends if he wants to see her, I guess. She's pretty convinced he willnae. Get the feeling she thinks there's some sort of ball in his court. And aye, lassie. You would know if he died."

Buffy turned in her seat to watch Rory's face instead of the view out of the window, her BFF senses tingling. "Is the ball to do with the thing she's recovering from that you're in no position to talk about? Because that would explain a lot... But still, it must be huge to have shut Xander down so effectively. I've never seen him brood so hard. Maybe if I just tell him he should go see her, he might actually listen and then he might be happy. If the ball's a thing he can handle. And if that sentence wasn't weird. Is that some kinda claim thing?"

"It's probably got a lot to do with it, aye, and quit with that bullshit. You arenae going to make me spill Airlie's secrets if you keep trying to niggle around the subject, lassie. It might work on your pals, but it's nay gonna work on me. You are hardly one to be judging on huge secrets. For all you know, she's a drag queen and the ball is actually balls and a sausage. Ha. That's gonna make you think now, aye?" Rory smirked to himself with a satisfied nod. "Aye, it's a claim thing. You think you're restless and pining now when he's in another country, you dinnae want to see what happens if he dies."

Buffy made a discontented noise as she turned in her seat to sit forward again and rest her head in her hand as she braced her elbow against the door and started to suck on her shake slowly and thoughtfully. She knew it wasn't that Airlie was a drag queen. She couldn't be. And maybe Rory was right about her not getting the secret out of him, but that wouldn't stop her trying to work it out. Maybe Xander would even tell her when he was feeling up to it. "I really don't want to see what happens if he dies. I'd rather not. I'm already climbing the walls as it is. How is this claiming thing good?"

"It's intended for the two parties to be in the same vicinity as each other I would assume. Technically, if you think about it, he made quite a sacrifice for you. He would know what claiming meant, but he still did it to eradicate you of the claim the other fucker had on you... perhaps even without any intent for you to remain in his presence. That's huge. I would say, chances are, he could even be poorly because you arenae with him," Rory mused with a small shrug. "In saying that, I only know what I have been told of Kindred. I cannae ever know all the ins and outs."

Buffy finished her shake and set it down by her feet rather than throw it on Rory's back seat. "Well, we're going to get to know some ins and outs pretty soon. If he makes a sudden recovery as soon as I show up we'll know you're right. And if I manage to poison Juliette, I'm pretty sure I'll be out on my ass. I still can't believe he's a freaking prince. Are you sure we shouldn't have brought anything with us?"

Rory scrunched his nose up, pulling a face. "Assuming he will make a sudden recovery, and hopefully not the only way he can recover is to feed from you. All speculation, of course. But aye, he's a prince. Something you really need to start understanding and respecting. That's what he'll need more than a vase for his living room or a box of chocolates. He might understand how you would react and feel with a situation, but he probably won't always respond the same. Like throwing his diamonds back in his face. I saw those fuckers, lassie. He didnae just drop off to Tiffany to buy them. They look like they're hundreds of years old."

"And they're now in my suitcase for safe-keeping and I do really love them and appreciate them and I have reformed my ignorant American ways... mostly. I'm not going to give him anything back, and I won't throw chocolates in his face. Maybe he's just going to have to feed off Juliette who will feed of me. Wow, that's a huge sucking circle... But it's got to mean something, right? I just don't know what other than I really do have a fetish that I shouldn't." She looked at Rory. "What would you do if Juliette gave you like... a watch?"

Rory snorted. "You cannae even blame being American on that. You come from the land where lassies would literally kill for bling like that. Aye, but think aboot it. This is their norm. It might seem all weird and freaky for them, but sucking on each other is like their McDonalds. If you're gonna wanna hook up with him, you'll need to just get used to it. He probably feeds off a lot of other people too. It wouldnae be isolated to just Juliette. They wouldnae be able to always sustain each other." He gave her a weird look. "I would thank her for it. What am I supposed to do? Wear it on my cock?"

Buffy scrunched her nose up as she considered Rory's words. "Right, right... They're vampires. There's no monogamous biting. And I get that. It's fine. I'll just have to share his teeth... It doesn't really help solve the distance thing either if there's just always going to be this constant pining and restlessness. That's just not right." She waved her hand. "No, no. I mean, like some stupidly expensive watch that's got giant diamonds and hundred year old sprockets or whatever it is watches have."

"He's royalty. Maybe he has, like, ladies in waiting ready to cater to his every need?" Rory teased, sniggering in amusement. "I'm gonna take a random stab in the dark here and say that the pining and restlessness isnae completely from the claiming thing. I think you're falling for him, but you dinnae understand why because you hardly know him. I would still thank her for it and warn her that I have lost no less than fifteen watches in my lifetime."

"Alright, so you're a better lady than I am. I hate that you're so awesome and Scottish at everything." Buffy took out a handful of fries and chewed on them quietly for a moment. "He probably does have ladies in waiting, so that's not so funny. He'd have servants to cater to his every need. Every need. Probably Juliette's as well. There's a whole lot of need catering going on in that palace. So yeah, it's confusing that I'm falling for him and don't understand it when I'm still wondering if I'll even be giving him something he doesn't already have on tap."

"I'm just wondering if her true love was him," Rory admitted. It was something he had thought about. Not that he thought she could live three hundred odd years and never fall in love. He was just curious about who it had been who had stolen her heart. "And what makes you think you just werenae rude in rejecting his gift? Maybe any other normal person, irrelevant of their country of birth, would have just stormed out and taken the gift with them. So what if you are giving it to him? Something he already has on tap? Maybe he wants something that isnae always so routine and catering to him. Maybe he wants someone he doesnae have to feel like he's being catered to for a change."

Buffy shook her head. "I don't know. He might have been. Or it could have been someone else. Maybe even before she got Embraced. You could just straight out ask her. Does she know about your past? About why you're so delicious to Blaise? I didn't storm out. I just kind of... tip-toed out with my metaphorical tail between my legs. I just need to see. I have to see him. Well, that I can give him. As we know I'm really not good at giving him what he expects."

Rory fell silent for a moment with a small sigh. "Aye, she knows. She inadvertently showed up on my wedding anniversary, so I wasnae in the most accommodating of moods anyway. She wanted to tell me she was going back hame. Said the guy was heading hame already because he was restless in Edinburgh. Something like that. He's a Prince. Pretty sure he cannae be away from his realm for overly large lengths of time without getting antsy. Maybe they bond to a place too. I dinnae really know that side of things. I've read a lot but their very essence, there isnae a lot of information oot there to read. They keep that to themselves too."

Buffy nodded. "Understandable from what I know. They really are just... They're like nothing I've seen. I just hope Blaise can let me in enough to really understand his world. It's just an all or nothing thing though, isn't it? You're either in, or you're out. Just like Juliette either takes you as you are or not at all. It's... intense."

"He obviously wanted you in lassie, until you were all with the nay being good enough for him. Or whatever it was that caused you to have a blow up between each other. I cannae even mind what you said happened now," Rory admitted. So much had been going on lately that it was a lot to take in and absorb. "Aye, I guess. You either know or you dinnae know, and knowing is... well, I guess you keep their secret or you dinnae. If you dinnae, you risk getting yourself hurt. Plain and simple. It's only intense if you make it intense. I'm nay asking her to change, and I dinnae expect her to ask that of me either."

Buffy snorted wryly as she rolled her eyes at herself. "It's not worth remembering. It was just me being stupid, but I just didn't get it. Now I can't stop just wanting to see him again. I'm not going to risk spilling it. It helps knowing that you know, so I at least have someone to talk to about it all. It's just going to be interesting getting anyone else to understand without them really understanding."

"I think you might be surprised. They keep it concealed, so there is nay reason why you cannae. You've seen them. They look normal, feel normal, sound normal. Just expensive, and he covered that by being a rich CEO anyway, so it's nay really weird either. They eat in front of you, drink in front of you. Why do you even need to get anyone else to understand? Everyone has private lives. Some people might like whips and chains, these Kindred need blood to survive. Is it really all that different at the end of the day?" Rory reasoned and picked up his smokes from where they were next to the peanuts.

"You mean besides the lasting a few hundred years thing?" Buffy asked as she looked at him. But Rory had a point. Maybe an oddly skewed point, but a point none the less. "Except my private life has never been all that private. Every time I aim for a separation of Slayer and Buffy it just all comes tumbling down. Still, I'm getting ahead of myself. I still have to actually see him."

Rory hummed in agreement. "Aye, but that right there is the reason why they mostly stick to their own kind. They dinnae let mortals close enough to discover that very often. And I'm really nay sure I'm buying that lassie. On self-admission from your mouth - and Xander's - you have an army of these chicks now all rolling with the saving the world from the boogiemen in the shadows. Woo-hoo. An Army. Why do you have to stick to it? Nay one is gonna walk around and force a stake in your hand, and you cannae tell me they desperately need you if there is many of them. Maybe in your old lore, but now there are shitloads of them, I think you've just convinced yourself in a comfort zone of your brain that they do need you and you cannae do anything else. Because then you don't have to think aboot what comes next."

Buffy let out a slow breath as she stared ahead out the windscreen and watched the road for a long moment. "I would even know where to start with what comes next," she finally admitted. "There was never meant to be a next."

"So fucking what? Are you going to mope on that point for the rest of your life? You sound like a broken record. Who cares what there was never meant to be? Obviously it just proves to you that fate is bullshit. You make your own fate. Nothing is set in stone. You're making excuses, lassie. It's easy for you to make excuses. Just grab your damn life in your hands and claim it back without blaming everyone else for why you cannae," Rory told her as he indicated to get back out onto the freeway heading into Paris. "Blaming this chosen bullshit. You might nay choose to be chosen, but you can choose to step away and see that obviously things just arenae the same anymore. Do you think any of us know where to start when life changes? We dinnae. You dinnae get a special wee hat for that facet of life. Everyone is in the same boat."

Buffy shifted in her seat, unable to not feel like crap listening to Rory chastise her. As far as she was concerned she was allowed to be feel confused. She'd never had time to plan, she'd never let herself dream about anything beyond slaying other than college, but even that had fallen through when her Mom had gotten sick from cancer. And then she'd died, and Buffy had found herself thrown into the role of parental guardian to Dawn while still trying to continue saving the world. There had never been one, or the other. It had been a constant balancing act. Now all of a sudden she didn't have two things to balance. She'd thrown herself into the slaying side, and trying to get these girls organised and trained. Now she really did want out. "Would you ever leave hunting?"

Rory gave a slight, humourless laugh. "In a heartbeat," he murmured and pressed his lips together when a hint of regret built up inside him. "You think you wanted my life to turn so dark? To get caught up in evil? That I get some sort of weird rush from what I do? Well, I'm telling you now I dinnae. I started because I thought I could find what took my girls. Then I wanted to try and stop whatever took them from doing it again and making other people hurt like I did. I'm only still doing it because it keeps my mind off what I lost, and there isnae a lot of us in Scotland. I do it to help out mates, and I know my stuff, but doesnae mean my heart is in it. Nay really, nay anymore. You can keep searching, and hunting, and fighting, but there isnae ever gonna be an end to it, and we only get one life, and sometimes life isnae as long as we want it to be. Sometimes things take us away... or even just away from ourselves, before we're ready."

Buffy picked up the bag of fries and sat them in Rory's lap as she tucked her hands between her legs and just lost herself in thought. Maybe going to Paris and seeing Blaise would give her a direction. She knew he didn't want to be responsible for giving her one, and she wasn't asking him to. It would be a clean break from things for a while. It was what she needed. Almost as much as she just needed to be near Blaise again. She wasn't ever going to get used to the pining feeling. "Are we there yet?" she finally said as she broke the silence, her lips quirking in a small smile.

Rory gave her the fries back and didn't crack a smile. "No," he replied quietly and kept his eyes on the road. It was already taking all his effort not to turn around and go back home. He had only come because she had asked him to, but he had no idea what she wanted from him if she was just going to keep going silent and cutting him off whenever he tried to talk about his side of things. He had no idea what he was doing in Paris, and he was struggling with his past being brought up with monotonous regularity all of a sudden. She wasn't the only one facing demons. The ache in his heart was back that he got whenever he thought about his baby girl and he just reached over and turned up the stereo again. Maybe by the time they hit Paris, he would figure out why the hell he was even here in the first place.

Word Count | 5,695