ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES

CHAPTER 194 - CHRISTMAS DAY

DECEMBER 25, 2009
THURSDAY
6:00AM

Buffy opened her eyes and slowly lifted her head off of the warm chest that she was resting upon. She smiled seeing William’s peaceful expression as he slept. With a contented sigh, she put her head back down. Still asleep, his arms drew her closer, molding her to him.

Several times over the course of the night, they’d awakened to make love. Their couplings ranged from as sweet and tentative as first-time lovers to the desperately passionate sex that always tended to remind her of Spike. No matter the tone their lovemaking took, it was apparent that the long and lonely months apart were fueling their need for each other. It was a need that knew no bounds and no ends -- one that would never, ever be sated, certainly not in one night.

This was bliss, Buffy thought, as she lay wrapped up in William's arms. Head on his chest, she listened to the beat of his heart, and felt his warm, steady breath on her hair. Idly, her hand traced his hipbone, until a movement nearby alerted her to his stirring. Buffy peeked under the sheet and grinned, a mischievous idea forming.

To William, to awaken blissfully was to awaken without nightmares; something that Elizabeth’s mere presence had seemed to alleviate in the last two days. But, to wake up to her warm mouth surrounding his cock was beyond bliss. It was heaven.

“Luv...Oh, God, Elizabeth...” William moaned, as his hands sought her hair, stroking and smoothing.

She looked up at him, teasingly, and as much as she could manage; what with her mouth being rather fully occupied at the moment, Buffy smiled around his cock.

Like Spike, who could turn her on with his sexy combination of vulgar and poetic odes to how much he loved the taste of her, William was also much more verbal when it came to this type of thing. Although she couldn’t say things like he could, she had to admit she liked doing this to him as much as he liked doing it to her.
To be able to give so much pleasure to him made her feel...empowered, not to mention, incredibly turned on.

As sure as the sun rose each day, and vampires rose at night, this followed a pattern. First, the more excited William grew the more he’d start to babble. Then, as he neared his release, his cock would grow impossibly hard, and her lips would literally feel numb from the repetitive friction. Simultaneously, his hands would start to rhythmically stroke her back, her breasts, her hair; anything they could reach. The resulting combination was a Buffy on the brink of coming herself, by the time he did.

“Oh, God... what you do to me! Feels so good, luv. Never felt anything...don’t stop...” William mumbled, crying out a few moments later as he came. Buffy came up into his arms, as he came back to earth. Opening his eyes, he looked up at her dazedly and shook his head.

“That was...”

"A great way to wake up on Christmas morning?" Buffy said, grinning.

"Amazing...and a great way to wake up any morning. Thank you,” he said, pulling her to him and kissing her thoroughly. At the same time, his hand slipped between her legs. Her breath caught as he his fingers began to stroke her clit, and she arched into them when they began to slowly pump inside her; which was why he was confused a moment later when she stilled his hand.

"What's wrong, luv?"

“Nothing. Everything is fine; better than fine. I just think maybe we should go back to sleep for now.”

“You sure? You seem like you’re so close...”

“I am, but I just want you to rest.”

“Been asleep all night.”

She rolled her eyes at him.

“Well alright, most of...um, some of the night, but I’m fine. I don’t want you to be left unsatisfied,” William said, kissing her neck and making her shiver.

“I’ll just let you owe me, okay?” Buffy said, giving him a meaningful look.

"Ah...like having me in your debt, do you?" William asked, laughing softly.

“You know it."

His expression turned serious, and he cupped her face in his hands; "Owe you everything, Elizabeth; more than you'll ever know," William said, kissing her softly on the lips.

Buffy swallowed hard, trying not to be overwhelmed by the sudden flood of emotions.

"Just rest,” she said softly, pulling him towards her. He nodded his assent.

“Love you,” William said sleepily as he closed his eyes, his head resting against her breasts, as Buffy ran her fingers through his unruly curls.

“Love you, too, William,” she said a few minutes later, as she heard his soft snore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9:00AM

Awaking for a second time this morning, William opened his eyes and smiled at the vision before him. If only two days ago someone with a crystal ball had told William that not only would his nightmares end, but that he’d be awakening on Christmas morning to the face of his beloved, he wouldn’t have believed them. And yet, here she was, asleep in his bed.

He grew hard as the memory of what she’d done to him earlier that morning suddenly came back to him. As if on cue, she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

“Hey,” Buffy said softly.

“Merry Christmas, Elizabeth,” William said, leaning in to kiss her.

"Merry Christmas, William," Buffy echoed, just before his lips met hers. A few delicious moments later she broke it off and whispered, “Umm...know what I need?”

A small, knowing smirk played at the corners of his mouth.

“Tell me, luv,” he asked in a low, sexy voice, as he kissed her again. “What do you need?”

“I need...”

“Yes?” William asked, with rapt attention.

“A shower!”

“Oh...” William said taken aback, disappointment clearly written on his face.

“Still..." Buffy said, her tone serious, all the while biting her lower lip to keep from laughing, "it might get lonely in there. That is, unless a certain somebody keeps me company.”

William’s eyebrow arched, and his eyes dilated with renewed desire. A slow, knowing grin spread across his face as his hand languorously moved along the soft curve of her hip.

"Is that so?” William asked, his voice low and sexy. “And just who might that somebody be?"

“I don’t know. I saw a pretty good looking postman the other...”

“Postman!?! I’ll give you postman!” William said. He lunged at her, and she squealed as he tickled her into submission.

“Two can play at that, mister,” Buffy said breathlessly, wresting for control until she managed to roll over on top him. It was a heady mix; feeling his arousal at the same time he begged for mercy from her tickling.

They played a few more minutes before Buffy made them stop. She had William find her something she could wear downstairs. He offered her a pullover shirt, which she accepted. They crept down the stairs like a couple of naughty teenagers, until they were sure nobody was about, then dashed into the bathroom, giggling uncontrollably as they fell against the door.

“Shhh!” William said, though he wasn’t being much quieter himself.

“Afraid Giles is going to hear us? On the other hand -- yeah, that’s probably not such a good idea.”

“Why? Don’t you think he’d approve of me shagging you to within inches of your life?” William asked, his eyebrows arching suggestively, as he pulled her tightly to him.

"Who are you -- you pod person -- and what have you done with William?" Buffy asked, laughing in delight that William could still surprise her by suddenly sounding more like Spike than the Victorian gentleman she knew him to be at heart.

She may have fallen in love with Spike when she’d finally allowed herself to see the loving, loyal, and sensitive man he had always carried inside him, but over the year they’d lived together, she’d learned that William also had some of Spike inside him, as well. Behind the reticent and polite persona, was the fiercely passionate man that had become comfortable enough with her to be able to express that part of himself. It filled her heart with joy to see him now acting so much more like he’d been around her before everything had happened.

“Pod person?” William asked, looking at her quizzically.

"Nevermind. Less banter, more shower!"

William grinned, and set about getting out towels, washcloths, and adjusting the right water temperature for them. That completed, he allowed her to step into the freestanding, large, claw-footed tub before him, then stepped in after her. Drawing the shower curtain around the perimeter of the tub, he then reached around her to turn on the spray.

Buffy sighed contentedly as the warm water cascaded over her body. A few moments later she felt William begin to lather her back with soft, gentle strokes. He leaned into her, kissing her neck and her arm went up around his, turning her face to kiss him. They parted a few moments later, sputtering and laughing when a wrong move caused the water’s spray to get into their noses.

They took turns washing and rinsing under the water, gracefully maneuvering around each in a familiar dance. William was rinsing the shampoo out of his hair when he caught her staring at him with a thoughtful expression on her face.

“What?”

“I was just thinking of all the different places we’ve done this.”

“What? Showered?”

“Yeah. There ought to be something like a plaque we can leave behind, stating, ‘William & Elizabeth Showered Here,’ with the dates and all that.”

“That’s daft!” William said, playfully slapping her with a washcloth. “Besides, I think that the ‘William & Elizabeth Slept Here,’ plaques would win out.”

“You’re probably right. Let’s see, there was Michigan...”

“No. Not there; I wouldn’t have dared.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Buffy said, smiling fondly as she recalled their first days and weeks together. “But there’s Julian, San Juan Capistrano, here...”

“That’s only three; told you we’ve slept together in more places. In that column there’s also Michigan and at Dawn and John’s apartment. That’s five.”

“We took a shower in L.A.; at Ipso Facto!” Buffy piped in, but instantly regretted it when she saw the stricken look on William’s face.

“I’m so sorry about that, luv. You’ve no idea...”

“It’s okay, you don’t need to...” Buffy said, reaching out to touch his arm, waiting until he looked into her eyes. “We’re way past that now, right?”

William nodded, letting out a breath into the steamy air.

“Anyway...I know. I’m just being silly. It’s just...well, showering with someone is so intimate.”

“And making love isn’t?”

“No, of course it is! Making love, especially to you - the very top of my list for most intimate,” Buffy said, partly distracted by his hand -- the hand that still wore the silver link bracelet -- now gently cupping her breast as his thumb drew lazy, but purposeful circles over her nipple.

“Yeah?” William asked. Eyes never leaving hers, he leaned down and pulled her nipple into his mouth and felt it pebble as his tongue swirled over it.

“Award-worthy, even...” Buffy said, a soft moan of pleasure escaping her lips. She gathered her lust-laden thoughts, as best she could. “What I meant was that showering being so intimate...”

“I know what you meant,” William said, straightening up. “It speaks to the level of being with them; of comfort and belonging to them.”

Buffy nodded.

“You know, in my day, this would never have happened; not even between husbands and wives.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for one thing, we didn’t have showers. Water had to be heated over a stove, then transported to the bath. For another, in most households, a tub was barely big enough to hold one person, let alone two. That, and things were just different then for men and women.”

“Too bad for them.”

“Yes, it was. I was going to say that people didn’t miss what they didn’t know-- didn’t have--but that’s not entirely true. I did. I missed what I didn’t know, what I didn’t have. I missed this,” William said, pulling her to him and kissing her.

Buffy moaned as he deepened the kiss, feeling his erection pressed hard against her stomach.

“Missed you so much, Elizabeth,” William murmured, as he started to kiss his way down her body. His hands slowly trailing down her sides, to her waist and her hips, as he sank to his knees, in supplication before her.

“Missed your sweet taste,” William said, gazing up at her with unbridled passion smoldering in the depths of his blue eyes.

Oh...

Lovingly, she put her hand out to caress his face, tears coming to her eyes.

Soon her breath was coming in gasps and whimpers as William painstakingly teased her with his oh-so-talented mouth, while his hands gently urged her thighs open. Finally, after what seemed forever he pulled her forward, letting his tongue softly swirl over her clit. A series of shivers ran through her.

“William!” Buffy said, nearly loosing her balance as she swayed on her feet.

Her tone stopped him, and he looked up at her questioningly.

“I don’t know if we can do this here,” she whined, the loss of contact palpable and maddening.

“Hold onto the shower rod,” William said, nodding as she reached her arms above her and grabbed onto it.

“That’s it luv. And now...”

With one arm around her back to steady her, he took hold of one of her legs, and brought it over his shoulder, then put that hand on her hip.

Oh...

“Oh, God...”

Softly, he kissed the sensitive skin of her mound over and over, until her breath was once again coming in gasps of anticipation. As she gazed down at him, his blonde and brown curls lying in damp rivulets, with his face buried between her legs, she realized she’d never seen a more erotic sight in her life than at this moment.

Yet another similarly erotic image superimposed itself on this one: her lying on the edge of the hot spring pool with him between her legs. Over six years ago, it had been the first time Spike had brought her to Julian to get her away from the exhausting responsibility of trying to anticipate the next move of The First, while keeping everyone safe. Although it had been only a weekend's reprieve for her, without it she didn't know if she'd have been able to go on. It was also where her feelings for Spike had been irrevocably cemented.

William increased his grip on her, as she arched her back, giving herself over to joy and the irresistible sensation of his tongue as it swirled sensually around her clit.

With her body already exquisitely sensitive and thrumming from the many sessions of lovemaking the night before, it didn’t take her long to be propelled towards climax. Still, it came on her strong and hard, and she cried out as she did. Legs trembling, she let go of the shower rod, knowing and trusting William would catch her.

She fell into his waiting arms, attacking his mouth with kisses, her fingers threaded through his hair. Pushing him from his knees back onto his seat, she climbed onto his lap, and lowered herself onto his waiting cock.

Buffy pulled back to look into his eyes. “I love you,” she said, holding his gaze.

“Love you, too, Elizabeth. I love you so much,” William said, as his hips rose up to meet hers.

Unaware of anything but each other, they clung to one another, rocking towards ecstasy, as water rained down around them.

~~~~~~

Afterwards, ignoring her half-hearted objections that, despite their knee-buckling trysts in the shower, she was, 'Still quite capable of walking by myself, thank-you-very-much,’ William picked her up and carried her out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel.

"I need my clothes!" Buffy protested, as he bypassed her bedroom, and headed for the stairs.

“I’ll go get them for you while you rest.”

“Great. Now you sound like me. I don’t need to rest. I’m fine. Really.”

"Rest," he mandated, after depositing her on the bed.

As much as William rejoiced at making love to her again and again, he also feared wearing her out. Even in the throes of passion, he couldn’t help but notice that she seemed to have lost even more weight than the last time he’d seen her in Julian, where he’d assumed that it was due to her being ill. Now he realized that it was likely due to the upset that he’d caused her over the past months. Swallowing down what would amount to overwhelming guilt, he swore anew to love and nurture her. If every time they'd made love, it had brought him back a little closer to the man she believed in, so did his feelings of protectiveness towards her.

“Fine. I’ll rest,” she said with a sigh, seeing that William wasn’t to be persuaded otherwise.

“Good. I’ll go get your clothes, and bring us up some coffee, too. How’s that?”

“Sounds wonderful,” Buffy said, stifling a yawn she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of seeing.

“Besides, I’d best go tidy up the bathroom before Giles kicks me out of here.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” Buffy asked lightly, but the hurt in her eyes betrayed her.

William hesitated a moment, before her meaning dawned on him. He sat down on the bed and gently took her hand, “Of course not. I just meant before he kicked us both out to the curb; left quite a mess we did,” he said, grinning.

“Oh..." Buffy said, visibly relieved.

"Be back in a little while, luv," he said, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Okay."

~~~~~~~~~

10:30AM

Now, propped on his elbow, William smiled to himself as he watched her dozing. He could still hardly believe that she was here with him. Had it only been a mere two days ago that he'd resigned himself to never seeing her again, to even ending his own...?

No.

He wouldn’t allow his thoughts to take him back to the utter despair and hopelessness he’d felt.

Not now.

Not today.


Lightly, he ran his hand up and down her arm, relishing her touch. He’d always loved the way her skin felt after a shower, warm and supple, sweet and yielding. In the past two days, with his self-imposed solitude now fully, incontrovertibly over, their love had been rekindled, sexuality reawakened...and he couldn’t stop touching her.

“Hey mister, where are those clothes you promised to get me?” Buffy asked, smiling through closed eyelids.

"Sorry, luv. I thought you were asleep. I have them. Although...I am considering the very real possibility of my keeping you up here naked--all to myself--all day.”

“Not that I’d mind,” Buffy said, opening her eyes to his wolfish grin, “but since it’s Christmas, I imagine Giles and Willow will expect us to make an appearance sometime, don’t you? Or what if Giles didn’t even come back? Then Willow will be all alone...”

"Giles just got home when I was making coffee, and Willow just got up herself. She said she was making brunch for all of us, and that it would be ready in about an hour."

"Giles just got home? I was just kidding."

"Unless he went out this morning and came back. However, from the looks of him, I'd say that's unlikely."

"Why? What did he look like?"

"I'd say a bit like we did earlier,” William said, with a Spike-like smirk.

Buffy looked at him for a moment, her eyes growing wide as the implications sunk in.

"Really? Oh...wow."

"Yeah...didn't know the old man had it in him. But don't tell him I said so."

"I think I have to go wash my brain now. Think there’s an eyewash for the mind’s eye?”

“God, I truly hope so.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

William sat on the side of the bed, rehearsing what he was going to say when Elizabeth returned from putting her makeup on.

Elizabeth, I’d like you to have these back...
Elizabeth, I know that it’s not a real present, because they’re already yours...
Elizabeth...

William jumped as he heard her come back into the room.

“Hey,” Buffy said softly.

Quickly, he closed the bedside table’s drawer, his hand enclosed around the object in question. Shoving it into his pocket, he stood up to greet her. She wore the low cut wine red dress he’d brought up for her, now accented with a tiny gold belt, and black velvet shoes, with a diamond buckle.

They met in the middle of the room.

“How do you do that?” William asked, shaking his head.

“Do what?”

“Look even more beautiful than you did a few minutes ago.”

She laughed, delighted. “The magic of make-up.”

William shook his head, “No, it’s the magic of you.”

Buffy put her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

“You ready for brunch? Willow said it was almost ready when I saw her a few minutes ago.

“In a minute,” William said, pulling back. He looked at her, and swallowed hard before continuing.

“Elizabeth...”

“What is it?” Buffy asked, seeing the serious expression on his face.

“I...I have something I want to give you. It’s not really a present as such, because they already belong to you. I just don’t know if you still want them anymore. I...I only hope so,” William stammered, as he slowly brought the small box out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Tears came to Buffy’s eyes as she recognized the box from his apartment in San Marcos. She looked up at him, then took it from his hand and opened it up. There they were - her lovebird necklace and engagement ring.

“Oh, William,” she said, throwing her arms around him, tears now freely coursing down her cheeks. “I should’ve never taken them off; I should’ve never left and gone to Dawn’s, left you alone...”

“Shh...it’s all over, luv. ” William soothed. And holding onto her tightly, he sighed, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

“Help me on with it?” Buffy asked stepping back, her eyes glistening with tears, as she handed him the necklace.

He nodded, and she turned around. William draped the necklace around her neck, while she pulled her hair free. He stopped suddenly, as a series of split-second images assailed him: buying the necklace from Edna, sitting on the couch with her in Julian, securing it around her neck, a Shakespeare book, the necklace in a purple velvet box on top of the book, on her pillow; left behind. William finished clasping the necklace for her, and it was over.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Buffy asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Nothing. I just thought I remembered something.”

“What?”

“I’m not sure. It was like I had a flash of having done this before; us sitting on the couch in Julian, with you were wearing something lavender. Or maybe it was just the memory of what you told me before.”

Buffy turned to face him, her eyes wide. “I was wearing something lavender the night you gave me the necklace; lavender pajamas. I teased you that you must’ve gone through my things before buying me something to match. I never told you that before,” Buffy said, as her hand unconsciously traced the familiar outline of the lovebirds.

“What do you think it means?” William asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m glad that you remembered that. It’s a good memory.”

“Yeah, it is,” William said, taking her hand. He held the ring in his other hand, and looked at her, waiting.

Buffy nodded, and he started to put the ring on her finger. Gently, she stopped him. He looked up at her, confused.

“I love you, William.”

“I love you, too, Elizabeth.”

“And I’ll accept the ring like I did last Christmas, as a symbol of our love. Only, for now, not as an engagement ring, okay?” Buffy said, as a myriad of emotions passed over William’s face. “I mean, our plans for a Valentine’s Day wedding, or any wedding, sort of got shot to hell a while back. Besides, I can barely even plan a weekend trip in a month and a half, let alone a wedding; this trip notwithstanding.”

Reluctantly, William nodded.

“When and if the time comes, then the ring will just become an engagement ring again, okay?”

“The time will come; no if about it,” William said, looking into her eyes, as he slipped the ring on her finger.

Buffy nodded and looked down at her ring, now back on her finger where it belonged.

“Merry Christmas, luv.”

“Merry Christmas, William.”


END CHAPTER 194