Rating: NC-17 (Sexual content in this one. I know, I know, you’re just shocked…)
Summary: When an old enemy comes to Sunnydale seeking revenge, Buffy finds herself seeing everything through new eyes—and turning her world upside down.
Timeline: The summer between Season 4 and Season 5. For the sake of keeping things simpler, there is no Dawn.
Author's Note: Though this story does have a plot and, therefore, has a conflict, but it’s not an overly angsty one. A few bumps in the road on the way to Spuffy goodness, but it’s mainly something I wrote to take a break from my other, heavier stories. So, in short, don’t expect nothing but hugs and puppies, but I doubt you’ll need to be reaching for the tissues either.
Feedback and Archiving: Both are welcome, but if you haven't archived one of my fics in the past, please ask permission before you do.
Contact Info: email: addie_logan@yahoo.com website: http://www.dark-desire.org/blood updates list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/addielogan/
Well I met her downtown
I think we’d spoken
I think we’d spoken once before
The sound was loud
I said yeah, I said yeah give me more
And something deep inside
Started engines of desire
And y’know there ain’t a chance
Of stopping love, love like fire
Love like fire
She was great so great to be with
I felt so good when she was there
My time was coming at me
And I swore I’d never care
And I thought there ain’t nothing else
All the poets here are liars
When you’re chasing something real
You get burnt by love like fire
Love like fire
I thought she likes the rest
And I know I’m in control
I can take it or I can leave it
You can forget that lovers role
The world you thought you knew
Gets strangled by the wire
And you crash while running blind
Destroyed by love, love like fire
He didn’t know how long it had been since he’d seen the light of day. Could’ve been lifetimes... Still, he’d known they’d slip up eventually. Pathetic peons like them could never manage to hold someone like himself forever.
And slip up they did, giving him his first taste of freedom in so very long. Bloody glorious, it was.
Now, as the place of his captivity lay in smoldering ruins, he had but one thing on his mind: Revenge.
A slow smile spread across his face.
It was time to once again return to the Hellmouth.
“This is suckage. Major, major suckage.”
Willow looked across the table and—over the mound of whipped cream on top of her latte—at Buffy. “What is?”
“This whole summer!” Buffy said, throwing up her arms. “Riley’s visiting his family in Iowa, Mom’s in New York on some buying trip, so the house is, like, dead quiet, and evil is apparently off on summer vacation, too—which makes my decision to stay here instead of going with Riley or Mom completely pointless.” She dropped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands. “Suckage.”
“But the lack of evil is a good thing,” Willow replied. “I mean, yeah, suckage on the Riley thing, I get that, but no evil a’brewin’?” She leaned forward and whispered, “Isn’t it nice to get a break from the slaying?”
“It’s boring,” Buffy muttered. Her eyes widened a beat later, and she quickly said, “I mean, good. Because I can be all normal girl for a bit. No slayage, of the good.”
“But you’re still all mopey Buffy.”
Buffy sighed as she began to fiddle with the swizzle stick in her cappuccino. “I guess I just miss Riley,” she said, feeling as if that was a good a reason for her blah mood as any. “I mean, a month without smoochies? Cruel and unusual punishment.”
“And you’ve only gone a week so far,” Willow pointed out.
Buffy frowned. “Gee, Wills, thanks for that happy reminder.”
Willow looked chagrined. “Sorry.”
“No, it’s cool. I mean, I should be used to the whole prolonged abstinence thing,” Buffy replied.
Willow turned a little red. “Yeah, I guess.” Wanting a change of subject, she cleared her throat then said, chipperly, “Hey, wanna go Bronzing tonight? That could perk ya right up.”
Buffy thought about it for a moment. While the Bronze was feeling more than a bit overdone at the moment, she figured it was better than sitting at home, eating ice cream and watching movies on Lifetime to remind herself there were people out there with more pathetic lives than hers. “Yeah, sure. Bronzing sounds cool.”
“Yay! Let’s here it for the Bronze then,” Willow said with a grin. “I’ll call Xander when I get home, and we’ll get the whole gang there.”
“Great.” Buffy stood, picking her bag up and putting it over her shoulder. “Hey, I need to go check in with Giles about last night’s lack-of-vamp patrol. Meet you guys at eight?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Willow agreed with a nod. “More than sounds like…is a plan!” She smiled so Buffy smiled back.
“Catch you later then, Wills.”
Buffy walked away from the Expresso Pump, kicking at the gravel beneath her feet. She knew she should be enjoying the current lull, but instead, she just felt antsy, in need of some sort of release she couldn’t even name. She was restless, full of energy with no place to spend it.
Then, suddenly, her world began to spin, and Buffy fought to keep her balance. She stumbled forward, her hands stretched outwards from her sides. Her bag slipped to the ground, its contents spilling out onto the sidewalk.
Then, just as quickly was it had come on, her dizzy spell was gone. Frowning, she knelt down and picked up her things, stuffing them back into the bag. She looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Writing it off as just the effects of having nothing in her stomach but the cappuccino and half a biscotti, Buffy shrugged and continued on to her Watcher’s.
Did I catch your interest with this one? Please leave a review and let me know if you want to see where I’m going with this.