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| Regarding Birthdays, cont'd |
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| "It's...well....Okay, I feel silly, but it's April 11th and Happy Birthday!" The words came out in a rush, once she decided to commit to them. He was entirely gob-smacked. His baser instincts retreated completely, much to the relief of the part of his mind monitoring such things. Birthday, huh? He very vaguely recalled their conversation while he was coming out of whatever anesthesia they'd used when they took out the chip, but hadn't given it another thought since. He'd rather figured she'd just been talking about any old thing in order to help him come 'round. Well.... Buffy had turned away as soon as she'd given her surprise greeting, scooting back to the steps where she leaned down to pick something up. She returned, fumbling briefly with whatever she carried, before the flame of a barbeque lighter illuminated her face from below. His breath caught in his chest at the sight, and his heart would surely have skipped if it still beat. God, but she's the most gorgeous thing...made as much for firelight as for sunlight.... Spike forced himself to focus on what she was doing, and when he saw, he threw his head back and laughed -- heartily and completely, like he hadn't done in he couldn't have said how long. "Slayer, you are something else!" He sobered a bit, adding, "thank you." He held her gaze for a moment, then bent to blow out the fat numeral candles spelling out 1-4-7, each one resting in the frosting of a chocolate snack cake. "Did you make a wish?" "Of course. But I'm not blowing the chance it'll come true by telling you what it was!" "Of course not, silly. I just wanted to make sure you hadn't forgotten how this was supposed to work. Now, sit down and have your cake-like-thing." Chuckling again, he sat back down on the cot. She joined him there, and they companionably ate birthday snack cakes in the wee small hours of the morning in the dark basement of 1630 Revello Drive, as if they hadn't a care in the world. ~ / ~ Four Weeks Later ~ "Gotta move, lamb. I think it's fair to say, school's out for the bloody summer." "Spike!" "I mean it! I gotta do this." The light emanating from the amulet had flared even brighter and Buffy reached out to take Spike's hand in her own, entwining her fingers with his. A moment, and then both their hands burst into flame. She had ignored the fire and held his gaze with her own. "I love you." He had looked back at her, a flood of emotions pouring through him. Then, he'd smiled at her ironically. Damn, if there wasn't something to those birthday wishes, then. 'F I'd known sooner, or I'd've been making 'em long before this... He couldn't savor the words for long, however. She needed to get going, or else the big sacrifice of his was going to lose some of its point. "No, you don't. But thanks for saying it." They'd shared one last look between them, two souls coming together as one at last, before the ground heaved beneath their feet and chunks of stone slammed down like bombs around them. "Now go!" And she went. ~ / ~ |
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| Acknowledgements ~ The opening paragraphs come from Killer In Me, and were copied from www.buffyworld.com; the section from Chosen was lifted directly (save for certain tense changes and the inclusion of Spike's "inner monologue") from the (seemingly) now-defunct http://studiesinwords.de. Author's Note ~ I chose a birthdate, semi-randomly, so that it would fit into the continuity of the show where I wanted it to be, and had an event or two that I could tie to it, and then wrote the story. It was only some days after it was done that a conversation on We_Band_of_Buggered inspired me to go and check out what Spike's sign would be. The results were a little bit scary <cue Twilight Zone music>: April 11th -- Sun Sign: Aries Your sign is that of energetic Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, the sign that is associated with Spring, and the symbol of rebirth and all beginnings. Mars, the planet of action is the ruler of your sign, and provides you with an extra portion of activity, assertiveness, and willpower. This makes you the fighter and the pioneer of the zodiac, who faces challenges with courage and bravery. If you do something you do it with passion and determination! If something bores you, you quickly move on to more interesting things. You are the first of the three fire signs, an ambitious and charismatic individual, cheerful and enthusiastic in your undertakings. Others see you as outgoing and self-confident, and like to be around you. As an Aries, you rule the first house, the section in the chart wheel that describes the outward behaviour of a person, the disposition, appearance, manners, and the sense of self. You are a cardinal sign, which means that you don't wait around until others take action. In other words, you initiate action immediately, forcefully, and directly. Your strengths lie in your qualities as a leader; you inspire and motivate others with your enthusiasm, honesty, and straightforwardness. Since you are competitive, you need challenges like others need air to breathe. You are known for pushing any obstacles out of the way, and trust your instinctive nature. Your independence and power allow you to achieve your goals easily. However, you have your share of weaknesses, too; for example, you can be impatient, and run the risk of acting too impulsively. At times, you can be self-centered, and tend to overlook that others might have a different point of view. When they do, you can become stubborn and intolerant. Also, since you are slightly unorganized and unsettled, you are capable of driving others crazy. -- Per MSN's Astrology/Horoscope Page |
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