Myshuno! 9: Love of my life
This is my Myshuno-claiming prompt. Go me! :D
Prompt: Love of my life
Universe: A Buffyverse Apocalypse
Word Count: 1924
Note: You should consider this canon, even though it won't appear in the epilogue for a variety of reasons (mostly relating to viewpoint and unnecessary scenes, though how boring it would look is another).
They'd been living in awkward silence for three days. It was clear as daylight that Buffy and Martin were avoiding each other, though they didn't seem to notice that she noticed.
On top of that, both of them were almost avoiding her. She hadn't had a long talk with her twin since they'd returned to life, which was very much unlike their time together before her death. And Martin...Martin shared a bed with her, yes, but he shied away from her touch. He barely kissed her. They hadn't woohooed since their return - not that they'd woohooed much before her death, either, considering the lack of birth control. But now they had birth control, and they still hadn't.
And so they ghosted around the house, three people sharing space, a space that didn't really belong to any of them yet. Three people who barely spoke to one another, who did not share the physical closeness to which they were accustomed.
In that silence, the ring of the phone sounded as loud as a siren.
"Hello?" Martin said, as he picked it up. He didn't notice that Cordy had come up behind him, ready to pick up the phone until it had been answered. "Hello? Fred, hi. No, I - yes, your - Buffy is here. Do you want me to get her? Of course." He turned around, about to call for Buffy, and jumped back when he saw Cordy, a guilty blush staining his cheeks. "Buffy!" he yelled, anyway. "Fred's on the phone!"
Buffy came down to the front hallway and saw Martin and Cordy standing there, him with his hand on the phone, her with her hand on the stair rail. She picked up the phone. "Hi. Yes, of course. Yes, that works. No, I..." She glanced at Cordy. "Not yet, no. I'll call you back tomorrow?" She listened for a moment. "Of course. Love you." Then she hung up.
The silence stretched, becoming more and more awkward by the minute. Buffy fidgeted, shifting from foot to foot. Martin avoided looking at either woman, staring out front door instead. He'd moved away as soon as Buffy had come to the phone.
"Who is Fred?" Cordy finally asked. Someone had to break the silence. Someone had to force interaction, and it clearly wasn't going to be Buffy or Martin.
Buffy and Martin exchanged a quick, guilty look. "Come into the living room," Buffy finally said. "We should sit for this conversation."
They sat on the couch, Cordy in the middle, her sister and husband on either side of her.
The silence continued, neither of them willing to begin speaking.
"Tell me already. You two are walking around like, like robots. Or zombies. Silent and awkward and...what is going on? Why are we living like this?"
Martin put his face in his hands. Buffy shook her head, then spoke. "You remember the apocalypse."
"Of course." That was obvious. But anything that got them talking was good.
"You remember that we needed to lift restrictions - one restriction to one person." Cordy nodded. "And that only the heir could marry and have children who could lift."
"I was the heir."
"You were. You married Martin, and had Xander. Martin was the spouse."
"Yes."
"Then you died. Dad's ghost killed you."
Cordy nodded. She vaguely remembered that. "Did I become a ghost?"
"Yes. But you don't remember that."
Cordy shook her head. "No. How did you know?"
"I don't remember my time as a ghost either; none of us does. None of us remembers anything after our deaths."
"It would be so much easier if you did," Martin muttered. Cordy looked sharply at him, then turned back to Buffy.
"No, I don't remember being a ghost. What does that have to do with anything?"
"A day or two after you died, Mom died as well. Liam died a week or two later. I died the night after I became an Elder. Martin-"
"I died of old age. I was the only one of us to avoid dying by ghost, though being senile was not pleasant."
Cordy's face got paler as they gave her the list of who had died. "So many?"
"So many," Buffy said quietly. "Oh, and that random townie, what was his name?"
"Bradford Ford?" Martin asked.
"Yes, him."
Cordy shook her head. "So many," she repeated.
"Death came, and the ghosts - including all of us - were vengeful. Something had to be done, after you died, after Mom died. Something had to give."
"Xander..." Cordy whispered.
"Managed to move out of the house and live to a ripe old age. He married a woman named Marisa Bendett and they had two daughters, Dawn and Joyce. Dawn had a daughter named Darla, Joyce had a daughter named Faith. When we got resurrected, Darla had two children, Graham and Jenny, while Faith had a son named Forrest. Graham's fiancee, Kate, had just lifted the last restriction."
Cordy's brow furrowed. "How did he move out? If I was heir, and he was my only child..."
"You died, Cordy," Buffy said. "We were - after you died, after Mom died, we were terrified. We couldn't let the entire apocalypse rest on Xander's shoulders; what if something happened to him? So we switched the heirship."
Cordy took a moment to work through that. "To you or to Liam?"
"To me."
"Is that why Liam was so bitter?"
"Not exactly. I don't think he ever really wanted to be heir - yes, he wanted to get married and have a family, but not like that. And he wasn't an option anyway."
"Why wasn't he an option?"
Buffy and Martin exchanged another glance. There seemed to be a war of wills going on, each of them insisting that the other tell her. What, exactly, they wanted (didn't want) to tell her, she had no idea.
Finally, Martin turned to face her. "Only one spouse can move in per generation."
"Yes. I chose you."
"Yes. But, you see, that meant that, in order for me moving in to be valid, the heir of the next generation had to be my child - and the child of the heir of our generation."
Cordy's eyes went wide. "Wait, what? But if Buffy - and you - are you telling me..." She couldn't finish the question.
"We did what was necessary," Martin said firmly. "We had enough children to lift more restrictions, to make the world better."
"How many?"
"Five. Willow and Anya, Winifred - Fred, Rupert and William, or Will. Two sets of twins and a singleton in the middle."
Cordy closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply. Buffy and Martin did not interrupt the silence. They did not look at her, or at each other. They both looked away, Buffy's hands tightly clasped together, Martin's arms crossed protectively in front of him.
"It...it was necessary?" she finally said, her eyes still closed.
"Yes," Buffy said. "I felt more and more alone every time someone died - Dad, then you, then Mom, then finally Liam. I couldn't let Xander - I couldn't let your son go through that. I don't...I'm not attracted to Martin. I never have been. We...well, exactly the number of times we needed to in order to have children, so that they could lift restrictions. I can't say I regret my children. I never wanted five, or to raise yours for you. But they're wonderful people, and I'm glad they exist."
Martin nodded. "I agree with Buffy. We needed the family to continue, and while Xander is wonderful, he wasn't enough. I didn't want our son to die, Lia. He was all I had left of you. At the same time, I love my other five children as well. Willow, Anya, Fred, Rupert, and Will are all wonderful people too. Like Buffy said, I can't say I'm sorry that they exist, though I wish they could have been my children with you instead."
Buffy's lips quirked. "I kind of wish that, too. I'd rather be an aunt. Or have pets. Pets are good."
They lapsed into silence again, their words hanging in the air.
"If...if you don't want to forgive us, we'll understand," Buffy said. Her voice wavered. She sat straight, stiffly, as though preparing for a blow from which she would not be able to recover. Martin glanced at her, then Cordy, then looked away again.
"I - yes," he said, shrinking into himself.
Cordy finally opened her eyes, glancing at both her sister, then her husband. "I can't say I like that you two...well. But at the same time, I can't say there was no reason. I understand why you did in my head - I understand the needs of the apocalypse. My heart still hurts, though."
"Lia," Martin said, turning to her and taking her hands in his. "You are the love of my life. As much as Buffy is my friend, she was a poor substitute for you, and I doubt she minds me calling her that." Buffy shook her head. "You are the love of my life. Whatever you need, I will do."
"Even let me decorate the house entirely in pink?" Her tone was half-joking, but half-serious. The house really did need decorating, and Cordy rather liked pink.
He grinned. "If that's what you want, that's what you will have."
Cordy turned to her sister. "Buffy?"
Buffy clasped her hands even tighter. "Cordy?"
"How do you feel about this?"
"How do I feel about what?"
"Me decorating entirely in pink."
Buffy blinked. "I, what?"
Cordy smiled sadly. "It's not going to be easy. We're all going to have to actually talk. But the past is the past, and the only thing we can do is move forward - which is what you did, I think. It's going to take time. But we will heal. Martin, yes, you're the love of my life. You are my husband, who I chose, and who I love and will always love. And yet, Buffy, you're also the love of my life." Buffy's head snapped to face her sister. "You are my twin. There is nothing like the bond between twins, and there never will be. It's different from my bond with Martin, but equally important to me. We will get through this. All three of us."
Buffy smiled weakly. "Thank you." She took a deep breath. "So, pink decorations. What else?"
"I want to meet your children. I want to see the good that came out of everything. I think it will help me accept it more."
Martin nodded. "We can do that."
"And other than that, I just need time and talking. And hugs. Hugs are good."
Martin promptly wrapped his arms around his wife, relishing in the first hug they'd shared since the truth had been told. Buffy joined in, wrapping her arms around them both. Cordy basked in their love.
"Shall I call the kids, then?" Martin asked. "We can have all six of them - Xander too - over tomorrow, or maybe the day after."
"The day after," Buffy said. "They already know. But now that we've told Cordy, there's two more people we have to tell."
"Your parents," Martin said.
"Yes. They were both dead by the time everything happened." She took a deep breath. "Look, you call the kids. I'll deal with the hard conversation."
"Mom and Dad?" Cordy asked.
"Oh, that'll be difficult enough, but no. No, I'm talking about the really hard conversation. I'm going to call Liam."
Prompt: Love of my life
Universe: A Buffyverse Apocalypse
Word Count: 1924
Note: You should consider this canon, even though it won't appear in the epilogue for a variety of reasons (mostly relating to viewpoint and unnecessary scenes, though how boring it would look is another).
They'd been living in awkward silence for three days. It was clear as daylight that Buffy and Martin were avoiding each other, though they didn't seem to notice that she noticed.
On top of that, both of them were almost avoiding her. She hadn't had a long talk with her twin since they'd returned to life, which was very much unlike their time together before her death. And Martin...Martin shared a bed with her, yes, but he shied away from her touch. He barely kissed her. They hadn't woohooed since their return - not that they'd woohooed much before her death, either, considering the lack of birth control. But now they had birth control, and they still hadn't.
And so they ghosted around the house, three people sharing space, a space that didn't really belong to any of them yet. Three people who barely spoke to one another, who did not share the physical closeness to which they were accustomed.
In that silence, the ring of the phone sounded as loud as a siren.
"Hello?" Martin said, as he picked it up. He didn't notice that Cordy had come up behind him, ready to pick up the phone until it had been answered. "Hello? Fred, hi. No, I - yes, your - Buffy is here. Do you want me to get her? Of course." He turned around, about to call for Buffy, and jumped back when he saw Cordy, a guilty blush staining his cheeks. "Buffy!" he yelled, anyway. "Fred's on the phone!"
Buffy came down to the front hallway and saw Martin and Cordy standing there, him with his hand on the phone, her with her hand on the stair rail. She picked up the phone. "Hi. Yes, of course. Yes, that works. No, I..." She glanced at Cordy. "Not yet, no. I'll call you back tomorrow?" She listened for a moment. "Of course. Love you." Then she hung up.
The silence stretched, becoming more and more awkward by the minute. Buffy fidgeted, shifting from foot to foot. Martin avoided looking at either woman, staring out front door instead. He'd moved away as soon as Buffy had come to the phone.
"Who is Fred?" Cordy finally asked. Someone had to break the silence. Someone had to force interaction, and it clearly wasn't going to be Buffy or Martin.
Buffy and Martin exchanged a quick, guilty look. "Come into the living room," Buffy finally said. "We should sit for this conversation."
They sat on the couch, Cordy in the middle, her sister and husband on either side of her.
The silence continued, neither of them willing to begin speaking.
"Tell me already. You two are walking around like, like robots. Or zombies. Silent and awkward and...what is going on? Why are we living like this?"
Martin put his face in his hands. Buffy shook her head, then spoke. "You remember the apocalypse."
"Of course." That was obvious. But anything that got them talking was good.
"You remember that we needed to lift restrictions - one restriction to one person." Cordy nodded. "And that only the heir could marry and have children who could lift."
"I was the heir."
"You were. You married Martin, and had Xander. Martin was the spouse."
"Yes."
"Then you died. Dad's ghost killed you."
Cordy nodded. She vaguely remembered that. "Did I become a ghost?"
"Yes. But you don't remember that."
Cordy shook her head. "No. How did you know?"
"I don't remember my time as a ghost either; none of us does. None of us remembers anything after our deaths."
"It would be so much easier if you did," Martin muttered. Cordy looked sharply at him, then turned back to Buffy.
"No, I don't remember being a ghost. What does that have to do with anything?"
"A day or two after you died, Mom died as well. Liam died a week or two later. I died the night after I became an Elder. Martin-"
"I died of old age. I was the only one of us to avoid dying by ghost, though being senile was not pleasant."
Cordy's face got paler as they gave her the list of who had died. "So many?"
"So many," Buffy said quietly. "Oh, and that random townie, what was his name?"
"Bradford Ford?" Martin asked.
"Yes, him."
Cordy shook her head. "So many," she repeated.
"Death came, and the ghosts - including all of us - were vengeful. Something had to be done, after you died, after Mom died. Something had to give."
"Xander..." Cordy whispered.
"Managed to move out of the house and live to a ripe old age. He married a woman named Marisa Bendett and they had two daughters, Dawn and Joyce. Dawn had a daughter named Darla, Joyce had a daughter named Faith. When we got resurrected, Darla had two children, Graham and Jenny, while Faith had a son named Forrest. Graham's fiancee, Kate, had just lifted the last restriction."
Cordy's brow furrowed. "How did he move out? If I was heir, and he was my only child..."
"You died, Cordy," Buffy said. "We were - after you died, after Mom died, we were terrified. We couldn't let the entire apocalypse rest on Xander's shoulders; what if something happened to him? So we switched the heirship."
Cordy took a moment to work through that. "To you or to Liam?"
"To me."
"Is that why Liam was so bitter?"
"Not exactly. I don't think he ever really wanted to be heir - yes, he wanted to get married and have a family, but not like that. And he wasn't an option anyway."
"Why wasn't he an option?"
Buffy and Martin exchanged another glance. There seemed to be a war of wills going on, each of them insisting that the other tell her. What, exactly, they wanted (didn't want) to tell her, she had no idea.
Finally, Martin turned to face her. "Only one spouse can move in per generation."
"Yes. I chose you."
"Yes. But, you see, that meant that, in order for me moving in to be valid, the heir of the next generation had to be my child - and the child of the heir of our generation."
Cordy's eyes went wide. "Wait, what? But if Buffy - and you - are you telling me..." She couldn't finish the question.
"We did what was necessary," Martin said firmly. "We had enough children to lift more restrictions, to make the world better."
"How many?"
"Five. Willow and Anya, Winifred - Fred, Rupert and William, or Will. Two sets of twins and a singleton in the middle."
Cordy closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply. Buffy and Martin did not interrupt the silence. They did not look at her, or at each other. They both looked away, Buffy's hands tightly clasped together, Martin's arms crossed protectively in front of him.
"It...it was necessary?" she finally said, her eyes still closed.
"Yes," Buffy said. "I felt more and more alone every time someone died - Dad, then you, then Mom, then finally Liam. I couldn't let Xander - I couldn't let your son go through that. I don't...I'm not attracted to Martin. I never have been. We...well, exactly the number of times we needed to in order to have children, so that they could lift restrictions. I can't say I regret my children. I never wanted five, or to raise yours for you. But they're wonderful people, and I'm glad they exist."
Martin nodded. "I agree with Buffy. We needed the family to continue, and while Xander is wonderful, he wasn't enough. I didn't want our son to die, Lia. He was all I had left of you. At the same time, I love my other five children as well. Willow, Anya, Fred, Rupert, and Will are all wonderful people too. Like Buffy said, I can't say I'm sorry that they exist, though I wish they could have been my children with you instead."
Buffy's lips quirked. "I kind of wish that, too. I'd rather be an aunt. Or have pets. Pets are good."
They lapsed into silence again, their words hanging in the air.
"If...if you don't want to forgive us, we'll understand," Buffy said. Her voice wavered. She sat straight, stiffly, as though preparing for a blow from which she would not be able to recover. Martin glanced at her, then Cordy, then looked away again.
"I - yes," he said, shrinking into himself.
Cordy finally opened her eyes, glancing at both her sister, then her husband. "I can't say I like that you two...well. But at the same time, I can't say there was no reason. I understand why you did in my head - I understand the needs of the apocalypse. My heart still hurts, though."
"Lia," Martin said, turning to her and taking her hands in his. "You are the love of my life. As much as Buffy is my friend, she was a poor substitute for you, and I doubt she minds me calling her that." Buffy shook her head. "You are the love of my life. Whatever you need, I will do."
"Even let me decorate the house entirely in pink?" Her tone was half-joking, but half-serious. The house really did need decorating, and Cordy rather liked pink.
He grinned. "If that's what you want, that's what you will have."
Cordy turned to her sister. "Buffy?"
Buffy clasped her hands even tighter. "Cordy?"
"How do you feel about this?"
"How do I feel about what?"
"Me decorating entirely in pink."
Buffy blinked. "I, what?"
Cordy smiled sadly. "It's not going to be easy. We're all going to have to actually talk. But the past is the past, and the only thing we can do is move forward - which is what you did, I think. It's going to take time. But we will heal. Martin, yes, you're the love of my life. You are my husband, who I chose, and who I love and will always love. And yet, Buffy, you're also the love of my life." Buffy's head snapped to face her sister. "You are my twin. There is nothing like the bond between twins, and there never will be. It's different from my bond with Martin, but equally important to me. We will get through this. All three of us."
Buffy smiled weakly. "Thank you." She took a deep breath. "So, pink decorations. What else?"
"I want to meet your children. I want to see the good that came out of everything. I think it will help me accept it more."
Martin nodded. "We can do that."
"And other than that, I just need time and talking. And hugs. Hugs are good."
Martin promptly wrapped his arms around his wife, relishing in the first hug they'd shared since the truth had been told. Buffy joined in, wrapping her arms around them both. Cordy basked in their love.
"Shall I call the kids, then?" Martin asked. "We can have all six of them - Xander too - over tomorrow, or maybe the day after."
"The day after," Buffy said. "They already know. But now that we've told Cordy, there's two more people we have to tell."
"Your parents," Martin said.
"Yes. They were both dead by the time everything happened." She took a deep breath. "Look, you call the kids. I'll deal with the hard conversation."
"Mom and Dad?" Cordy asked.
"Oh, that'll be difficult enough, but no. No, I'm talking about the really hard conversation. I'm going to call Liam."