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The Last of the Moonlight AUTHOR: [email protected] RATING: PG-13 DISCLAIMER: Not my characters, obviously. They belong to Joss and co and they better stop abusing them! ;p SUMMARY: post �The Gift�, it probably says it all. DEDICATION: For Kim, and Alex, and cim and Shawn� and all the B/A shippers that trying to hang on. Good things come to those who wait. I hope�. "Where's Angel?" Cordelia asked Wesley as she entered the Hyperion. "He's uh, preparing." Wesley fixed his glasses on his nose bridge. "Oh, it's that day of they year." Cordelia sighed. "Cordelia, remember what we agreed." Wesley reminded her. "I'm not saying anything. If he wants to brood he can brood. As long as he doesn�t try to tan or anything�� �We decided it�s okay if he visits her grave one day during the year. It can�t hurt.� �It can hurt if he does that in the sunlight.� �Relax, Angel is past all that. He has more responsibilities now.� �You�re right. It�s just that every year, I get more and more worried.� �Don�t be.� He reassured her. �Everything will work out fine.� It's been 2 years since Buffy died. For a vampire that lived over 2 centuries it was going as fast as a train from New York to New Jersey, you don't even blink and you're already in your station. But for the vampire with a soul it seemed longer than immortality. He remembered standing numb in the shadows, looking as the sun started to light the hotel's garden with direct deadly raise. One step... one step and he'll be dust. "You think... if I die now... I'll come to the same place where you are?" Willow spent the night in the hotel, she told them everything. Everything about Dawn, the monks, Glory and Ben, the knights of Byzantine, Buffy's catatonic state and finally the big fight and the sacrifice. Angel cringed when he heard how much Buffy suffered. He remembered the night he spent with her in his arms, looking at Joyce's grave. She told him everything; Her mother's illness and recovery and sudden death, riley's betrayal and departure. He remembered holding her slim body and gritting his teeth, thinking he should have killed the foolish arrogant boy when he had the chance. How could he be so stupid and hurt her like this. The thought of Buffy running after riley, her only chance of normal life, made his dead heart ache in misery. Cordelia stopped his suicide attempt. She had a vision. He stepped back into the hotel and realized that he wasn't going to die now. He will hunt and destroy all evil for as long as he can, and will justify her death. Buffy died for the world, he will live for it. He remembered how she told him... he could still hear her anguish voice trying to knock sense into him on that christmas morning on the Sunnydale hill. "Strong is fighting... It's hard, and it's painful... and it's every day..." He became a fighting machine that day. Don't ask questions, don't get attached, don't talk, just kill. Ignorance was bliss. He saved people -and his friends- countless times. His friends tried to get him to open up and feel again. They spent days and nights in the hotel. But he only wanted to be alone. Cordelia and Wesley were the only ones that kept somewhat of a connection with the people in Sunnydale. Giles tried to get Faith out of jail. Sunnydale was still a hot spot for demons and hell creatures and people were dying every night without a slayer to protect them. It was only a year later that Faith finally got released after 3 years. She got released earlier for good behavior. Sunnydale's population shrank to half by that time. A few months before Faith's release, Angel found himself standing in his garden. The moon barely lighted the place. He could sense something there. Something familiar. "Buffy?" He asked cautiously and stepped forward. Buffy... Buffy returned to him. "Buffy is it you?" He asked a little bit louder. He heard something moving in the bushes. Someone tried to sneak away. And blood... he smelled blood. He walked to the garden and found Dawn crouched there. Tears streaming down her face. The tears meddled with blood. "Dawn?" She looked up at him, frightened. "She doesn't have any serious injuries." Cordy told Angel as she cleaned Dawn's cuts. The young girl escaped a demons raid in Sunnydale. And she didn't even know if anyone else survived. "Anya pushed me... she told me to run..." Dawn told them in tears. "I looked back and no one was there..." Angel watched the young girl sleeping peacefully in his room. It was over a year since Dawn was taken under Angel's custody. She was now 17 years old and enjoyed helping them in their investigations. Though most of the time Angel kept her out of harm's way. She was like a daughter to him, and he was very protective of her until it bordered with insanity. He was as close as doing inquisition to the boys she dated. The poor juniors were usually saved by Cordelia- if she happened to be there. But it was once a year when he would go back to Sunnydale, slumped himself on the ground and cry, holding Buffy's cold headstone. "Take care of Dawny," Angel asked Cordelia as he headed to his car. "Don't let her skip school." He added. "Don't worry," Cordy assured him. He eyed her. "And don't write any notes to the teacher saying she was sick." Cordelia flashed a smile. "Me?" She asked innocently. "Well, I'm going." He looked up at the full moon that started to rise in the horizon. "Please don't dwell so much there. You know I hate it when you leave us alone here." "We've been there before, Cordy. I'm not going to stop fighting. I just need this day to be with her." Cordelia sighed. "You always talk about her like she's alive. How can I not worry about you?" He gave her a slight pat on the shoulder. "Take care." He stood silent above the dark tombstone. His trilled his fingers on the curved letters- B u f f y A n n e S u m m e r s. "Good evening, beloved." He whispered after bending down and kissing the cold stone. "It seems like a century since I've last been here." He said softly. "Everything is great in L.A, we're all doing great. We killed a lot of demons. Dawn is fine too. She has friends in her new school and she's grown into a beautiful young lady... so beautiful I have to chase the horny high school boys away from the doorway..." Angel smirked. "I was this close to vamping out on one of them. Annoying little thing..." "Hello, my boy." Angel turned around sharply hearing the familiar voice. Darla was standing in front of him. She was smiling and holding a bouquet of flowers- dead white roses. "I came to visit your cheerleader. Am I interrupting your happy reunion?" She asked. "I told you to never come back again..." Angel clenched his jaw. Darla giggled. "You told me not to come back to L.A, Sunnydale is another jurisdiction. Or is it all part of the Angel County?" He eyed her, his face remaining expressionless. Darla moved past him, grazing her nail on the stone in a dissonant noise. "She saved the world a lot...� Darla said mockingly. "Too bad no one saved her... where were you when she needed a cheer? Busy killing lawyers?" Angel grabbed her, shaking her violently. The dead flowers dropped on Buffy's grave. "Get out of here before-" "Before what? Before you kill me? We've been in this game before Angel." She smirked and vamped out. He released his hold and looked at her. She put her finger on his chin. "My dear boy suffers so much. That filthy soul of his is aching. Aching in pain... aching for her." Darla talked slowly and quietly. "What is going on in that pretty head of yours, Angel?" She asked. "Do you want to die? You really think that you earned a place in heaven? If you die now you'll burn in hell. You will never see her again." Darla snorted. "I don't need to die to see her again." Angel said quietly. He put his hand on his chest, where his unbeating heart was located. "I feel her here." He moved his hand to his head. "I remember her here." He lowered his hand back to the side of his body. "I see her all the time in front of me." Darla laughed briefly. "You fool. You were with me for a hundred and fifty years. You were with her only for about 3 years. 3 miserable years." Angel just looked at her, locking his eyes on her. "It wasn't me who was with you. You know it. I was never with you and I will never be with you. And I will never give you the satisfaction of being again with your � *boy*. This soul," He pounded on his chest. "Stays here. And this soul would like nothing but remember the years I spent with Buffy on every other damned day in all eternity." He nearly spat his words out. "You will give me back my boy or die!" She nearly screamed. Her voice was loud and strident. "Leave me alone!" He finally yelled and stepped away. He looked around him. The graveyard was deserted again. He looked down at the grass. He could see the pile of dust there, near the grave. The wind blew the dust over the grave. He shivered, feeling the cold wind over his body. "I will see you again." He felt the tears burning his eyes. His body was suddenly aching. It wasn't usual pain... it was... human pain. "Angel?" He heard a dim voice calling his name from a distant. He turned around sharply, half of him almost expected to see Darla there. Buffy was standing on the far end of the hill. "Angel?" She called again and this time he knew he wasn't mistaken. His all essence screamed it was her. She was there. He walked over to her. She was far, but it only took him a second to reach her. He looked down at her. She was shining. She was glowing with pure light as if she was standing in the daylight. He took her hand. It was real and warm. He put her hand over his cheek. "Buffy..." He whispered finally, releasing the tears from his eyes. "It's you... Buffy... I knew I'd see you again..." She smiled at him. "We never said goodbye." "Buffy, I..." He cried, still holding her hand over his face. "The sun will come up soon." She told him. "I don't care... I don't care..." He nearly choked on his tears. "It wasn't so bad," She told him. "It was painful, but it was only a few minutes." "I should have been there." "You're here now." "But I didn't help you." "You helped me a lot when you came to town after I was acting like a total bitch. I was sure you'd hate me... When you came to apologize... it should have been me apologizing. But I was so grateful you came." "But when you needed me..." "When I needed you the most you left everything behind and came. Do you think I forgot that? Dying wasn't hard. Going through that night after my mom's funeral was unbearable. And you were there for me." He smiled at her softly and touched her face. "You're so real." "I am real. We're all real here." She insisted. She took her hand and wiped his tears gently. "Look what I found," She told him and showed him her hand. He saw the glowing shine of the claddagh ring he once gave her. "It was always here... I just didn't know." She explained. "Buffy... I..." She looked up at his face. "Kiss me." She asked him quietly. Her eyes sparkled. Angel leaned down, bringing Buffy closer to him. His lips brushed over hers. She parted her lips, welcoming him into her mouth. He lingered on the taste. The taste of home. It was Buffy, Buffy that he remembered, Buffy that made his soul complete. The kiss grew more passionate and Buffy put her hand on his cheek. His eyes were closed but he could still see her. He drowned in her and slowly they fell together to the soft grass, their bodies intertwined. "Buffy... Buffy..." He whispered when he opened his eyes to look at her, to make sure she was still there. "It's me, don't worry." She smiled at him. "We don't like to worry here." "I love you." He said in one breath. "I loved you forever and I'll always will." He kissed her again briefly. "I love you." "I love you, Angel." She smiled back at him. "I could never love anyone else. Some people never find their soulmate, luckily for me it only took me 16 years." "It took me 171 years." She looked at him surprised. "I thought you were 145 years old now?" He smiled. "Well... I didn't want to sound too old... and you thought I was 140..." He winked at her. "But you still didn't love anyone else but me, right?" She wanted to be sure. "You know I didn't," He kissed her again. "I've never felt this way before I saw you that bright day in 1996." She hugged him close to her and brought her mouth to his lips again. It was a long moment after, when Angel raised his head and saw the skyline was now red, embracing the new light of day. "It's going to be day soon..." He whispered. He didn't want to leave her arms. "There's no moonlight here. There's only sunshine, but you're safe here with me." She pushed him softly and they both sat up. "I always wanted to watch the sunrise with you." She whispered. He pulled her to him and she cuddled in his lap. "If I die in your arms, it's more than I could ask for," He whispered in her ear and looked up at the rising sun. "Death is my gift. That's what they told me." Buffy said, her eyes fixated on the coming day. "They were right. They are always right. I've never felt so peaceful before." She put her hands on his strong arms that were wrapped around her. "We are all peaceful here." "Who's we?" Angel finally asked. "You'll see, love. You'll see." "You're not going to leave me alone here, are you?" Angel became alarmed. "No!" She was horrified at the thought. She turned over to him and held his face between her hands. "I'm never going to leave you alone again... I never did. It's your gift too. You earned it." She hugged him, wrapping her hands around his neck. "It's your gift too." The sun was now fully visible in the horizon, so bright, Angel had to cover his eyes. He tried to hide from the deadly direct rays. "You'll never know darkness again." Buffy got up, exposing Angel to the full light. She took his hand and helped him get up. He looked around him in amazement. "And here, we all remember." She said putting her hand on his chest. "We all remember your heartbeat with you. No one here will ever forget." They stood hand in hand on the top of the hill. Watching the view together. "Come on," Buffy started walking away, pulling him with her. "Everyone is waiting for you. There's a party." "A party?" Angel arched his eyebrow in wonder. "But we can go to my place and have a little party of our own." She winked at him. "My soul..." Angel asked hesitantly. "You're not a vampire anymore. We can be happy here. Come, I'll show you." She smiled. They walked into the sunlight, hand in hand. ex vampire and ex vampire slayer. And for the first time in what seemed like eternity, we can finish their story like a fairy tale. And they lived happily ever after. 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