Fic: Life Moves On (Spike/Xander, Buffy/Angel, G)
Title: Life Moves On Author: truly_tazi Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series Pairings/Characters: Spike/Xander, Buffy/Angel Rating: G Word Count: 473
Disclaimer: Characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Series belong to Joss Whedon.
Their laughter mixed with the cries of the gulls soaring through the twilight sky and swept out to sea with the rolling tide as it washed across the beach obliterating their footprints from the sun-bleached sand.
Their bodies, tanned a golden brown from days spent enjoying the sun, glistened in the late evening light making the scene seem somewhat ethereal. If anyone else watching this tableau unfold knew the history of the two lovers performing this intimate gloaming dance they would understand why the act was so mesmerizing.
Spike watched spellbound as a deceptively delicate hand rested lightly, lovingly, in the center of a smooth muscular chest. Watched as they rose and fell together with the simple act of breathing life, and knew, wistfully that those fingers were feeling a miracle, something he had never had the chance to feel, and never would.
Flashes of memory, of that same hand, that same chest, different times, different places, flickered behind his eyes like a random slide show. He waited, breath held, for the jealousy to hit, but found himself unsurprised when it didn't. Things had changed, quite a bit actually, and none of them were the people they used to be.
Sunnydale was gone, the Senior Partners beaten, and life had moved on. Angel had finally gotten his wish, he was a real boy now, and Buffy, no longer the Chosen One, was finally allowed to be normal, or close to it. Was there a happily ever after for them? Time would tell.
Spike couldn't help but be happy for them. He'd loved them both in his own way in the past and they each still held a place in his heart. The future was always an uncertainty, but he hoped it held a fair amount of good for those two. They'd earned it.
He tore his eyes away from the loving couple and glanced down the shoreline to the cruise ship docked in the harbor. Tomorrow their little vacation would end and they'd start the long journey home. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the slight tang of the salty air, and exhaled slowly. Yeah, he was ready to get back to it. The lazing about had been nice but he had always been a creature of action.
Rising up gracefully from the place he'd been watching from, he patted the sand off his backside, and started heading back to their bungalow. Now that the sun was down he no longer had to stick to the safety of the trees and could indulge himself by walking along the beach and feeling the sand between his toes.
Thinking of the bungalow and what waited for him there he broke out in a smile and picked up his pace. Tomorrow they were heading home but he still had one more night in paradise with his boy.