|
|
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They belong to 20th Century Fox, Joss Whedon, and Mutant Enemy. I am using them without permission, however I am not making any money off them so please do not sue me. I Will Remember You is by Sarah McLachlan. I don’t own it and I’m using it without permission, but I’m not making any moent off using it in this story so please don’t sue me.
Author's Notes: Okay, I know I that lately I’ve been writing a fair bit of Buffy/Oz stories. I don’t know why, but I like that pairing. Not as much as Buffy/Angel, but probably more than Willow/Oz. Willow irritates me. Anyway this is mostly a Buffy/Angel fic, but their are hints of Buffy/Oz. It’s similar to The Greatest Gift Of All. This is serious angst, you’ve been warned now enjoy. Oh, and I’m not a Joyce fan so I didn't portray her favourably. Sorry, I cannot stand her character.
Feedback: Please! Send feedback but no flames. I know Buffy/Oz is slightly gross, but I did warn you so if you don’t like it you don’t have to read it.
“You came.” She whispered to the man who had just entered he room.
He was tall, dark, and handsome. A perfect contrast to her small, blond prettiness.
“They’re my friends too, besides I needed to see you.” He told her.
Buffy smiled. “I needed to see you to.”
“Dance with me?” He asked her, leading her on to the dance floor.
She just nodded like she had years before. Her senior prom, it seemed so long ago. She felt his arms go around her and she lay her head on his shoulder.
“This is nice.” She told him.
“It is.” He smiled softly.
I Will Remember You
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
From across the room the bride and groom watched them.
“I still don’t see why you had to invite him.” Fumed the groom.
His bride turned and smiled at him. “Xander, don’t you see how much this means to her?”
“But she had moved on!” Xander insisted.
Anya laughed. “No, Xander she hadn't. She told me that she would give up everything for one more moment with Angel. That’s what I’m giving her. her chance for closure. Her one last moment.”
“Oh.” Xander said, staring at his friend.
She did look happy.
Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when times got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one
“Why did things work out the way they did?” Buffy asked Angel sadly, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
“I don’t know.” He said simply. “I really don’t.”
Buffy didn’t say anything, just danced in his arms.
I Will Remember You
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Angel looked at the woman in his arms, the woman who had once meant everything to him.
He glanced at her hand and smiled sadly when he saw the ring glistening on it. He had known for a while that she was getting married, but it was still hard.
“Congratulations.” He told her sincerely.
She smiled softly. “Thank you, it means the world to me. But for right now can we forget that?”
He looked at her in shock. “What?”
She smiled self-consiously.
“I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I love him, I really do. But I need this. I need one more moment with you. One moment where we’re just Buffy and Angel, two people who love each other. I need that.”
“So do I.” He confessed in a low voice.
She smiled up at him. “So are we agreed? That for the next few minutes the last three years never happened?”
“You want to go back to the us we were before I left Sunnydale?” He asked.
She shook her head. “No. I want to go back to the us we were at Thanksgiving that year. I loved you so much. I would have given everything up for you.”
He nodded and looked into her eyes. “And I for you.”
I'm so tired, but I can't sleep
Standin' on the edge of something much too deep
It's funny how we feel so much, but we cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard, but
He watched them from across the room with a small smile.
He was happy for her, he knew how much she needed one more moment with her first love. How she needed the closure this would bring.
“You aren’t by this?” Joyce asked him furiously.
Oz just shook his head, the smile never leaving his face. “Nope. I know whys he’s doing it. She needs to let go of Angel once and for all and this is the only way to do it.”
Joyce shot him a disbelieving look.
I Will Remember You
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Buffy looked deep into Angel’s eyes.
“I’ll always love you.” She told him. “No matter what Oz and I share it will never replace what I feel for you. You were my first love, you brought me so much happiness. You will always be my guardian Angel.”
“And you’ll always be my sunshine.”
She laughed and then reached up and kissed him.
It was a gentle kiss, a final goodbye. The kiss deepened a little as they each poured all their emotion into it.
I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to lose
Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light
And
“Aren’t you concerned *now*?” Joyce asked Oz as she glared at her daughter and her ex-lover.
Oz shook his head. “No, I know Buffy loves me.”
Willow looked at Oz. “Um, Oz? You freaked when Xander and I kissed years ago and we didn’t even have the history Buffy and Angel do.”
Oz took a deep breath before looking at Willow.
“Willow it was different. For one you lied to me about your feelings for Xander, Buffy doesn’t do that. I know she’ll always love Angel, I also know that she’s moved on. Also, she isn’t sneaking around. She’s just saying goodbye to a very important part of her past.”
Willow nodded, realising she was right.
“Yeah.” She said softly. “Like we did before my wedding.” She remembered.
“That’s right.” Oz said with a smile. “That’s exactly what she’s doing.”
Willow nodded and then smiled at her husband. Riley and her had been married two years now and were very much in love.
Joyce shook her head at the both of them.
“I think you’re both insane.” She hissed.
I Will Remember You
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Buffy broke the kiss.
“Thank you.” She whispered softly.
“Thank you.” He whispered back. “We both needed closure.”
“Yeah.” She agreed, thinking back about the times they had shared.
They both thought back to the times they had shared.
Buffy smiled as she heard his voice in her mind. She could still hear him saying the things that would always live in her heart, the words that went along with some of her most vivid memories.
“My people -- before I was changed -- they exchanged this as a sign of devotion. It's a claudagh ring. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty... and the heart... Well, you know... Wear it with the heart pointing towards you. It means you belong to somebody. Like this.”
Those words she would never forget. She had belonged to him at that point in her life, and he had belonged to her. There were so many others.
“I love you. I try not to, but I can't stop.”
“In 243 years I’ve loved exactly one person.”
“I’ll love you even if you’re covered in slime.”
“Buffy, you know how much I love you. It kills me to say this.”
There were so many more, but those stood out. They told the story of their relationship in just a few meaningful sentences.
He was thinking about a similar thing. He was thinking about the things she had once said to him.
“Maybe I don’t want a friend.”
“Kiss me?”
“...Ever be anything, I know.”
“When you kiss me I want to die.”
“I don’t love Xander.”
“I love you, I just don’t know if I trust you.”
“Angel, when I look into the future, all I see is you. All I want is you.”
“I like seeing you in the morning.”
“I love you.”
“Tell me that you don’t love me”.
“What about me? I love you so much...”
“*You* may be ready to go, but *I* am not ready to lose you. Okay, this is my fight, and if you won't do it my way, then you're...”
“Don't what? Don't love you? I'm sorry. You know what? I didn't know that I got a choice in that. I'm never gonna change. I can't change. I want my life to be with you.”
There were more, but those were the things that she had told him that stood out. Their relationship had definitely had it’s ups and downs, but it had been worth it.
While it had lasted it had been amazing, and now that it was over they could part on good terms and look back with fondness.
I Will Remember You
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
The song ended and she moved away.
“Goodbye Angel.” Buffy whispered.
“Goodbye.” He told her softly and then he left.
She watched him go for a minute and then walked up to Oz. She kissed his cheek.
“Thank you for letting me do that.” She told him.
He smiled and put his arm around her.
“I know you needed to and I understand.”
Buffy nodded. She had needed it, she had needed one more moment with her first love before she could truly let go.
Now she had had it and she could move on.