Buffy Summers (buffy_da_slayer) wrote in btvsal, @ 2010-03-28 14:37:00 |
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Current location: | Chloe's Sugar Shack, Basement |
Current mood: | relieved |
Entry tags: | ash kowalski, buffy summers, place: la |
Gotta Put the Kids Back Together
Who: Ash and Buffy
Where: Chloe's Sugar Shack
When: Saturday Morning, 3/27
Buffy had been a little surprised at the phone call last night she received from Ash. She had been meaning to call him, to check up on him and talk to him about his 'decision' about being a Watcher and doing everything she could to change his mind about it, but she had wanted to give him his space, as well. Let him have Lucy back and to himself for a while (if only she knew, right?). Now they needed to talk, though. Right now she was down in the basement, doing some training on her own while waiting for him to show up.
Somehow, to Ash? This reeked of a setup between Lucy and Buffy. To get him to be a Watcher. Not that he was being paranoid, but face it. Lucy was a big enough spaz to conspire something silly like this. Still... Buffy at least deserved an explanation. So, he walked down to the basement, watching her for a moment. She had such grace, such innate beauty. Had Lucy not come back to town? He'd likely still be fighting hell itself if need be to hold onto her.
Buffy heard him come in, but finished that part of her routine first before turning to him. "Hey," she said when she did turn around, grabbing the bag that she had been punching and kicking to steady it. "I've been meaning to call you, but I kind of wanted you to, you know, enjoy having Lucy back before I came in trying to talk to you about anything."
"It's ok... I've been meaning to at least help find you a new watcher." He said, reaching to sweetly take her hand. "I still say you have more potential than any slayer I've ever met. You deserve the best."
She took his hand. "Well you see, the thing is, I don't want another watcher. I want you as my watcher. You're the one who saw my potential. No one else did."
"Buffy... I know you like to mock me for how emotional I get..." He sighed, shaking his head. "But the thing is? You're RIGHT. And to make it worse, I'm thoughtless. When Lucy... when she..." He just shook his head, "I was going to kill myself. I never ONCE thought of you. And you deserve better than that. Than ME. Buffy... don't you get it?" He pleaded, looking into her eyes. "You're going to be the BEST. I assure you, one day you'll be even better than Catherine. And you're witty, beautiful, and just... one of the most special girls I've ever met. And I feel like I've hurt you enough for one lifetime."
"Don't you think that I get where you're coming from?" Buffy asked him. "I know what you were going through. The thing about thinking about suicide is that you DON'T think about others. However, don't you think that you're hurting me more by leaving me now? No one else can fill your shoes as my Watcher."
"But why, Buffy? I swear to you, this isn't me being 'emo'... but I know I'm just a big joke to most of you. Why do you *need* me so badly?" He asked with real confusion in his eyes.
"Because no one believed in me until you," Buffy pointed out. "I didn't even believe in me. You're not a big joke to me. I pick on you a little, sure, but you're not a joke. I was the big joke, remember? Failure as a Slayer. Couldn't jive with anyone. Despite all the odds, I actually was able to work with you. You made me a better Slayer. Plus, you made me able to be a stronger person. You think I would have gone after Kevin at all if I didn't have confidence in myself? Not at all. I owe so much to you now. You think I'm just going to let you go because you *think* you might be bad for me now? Well, you're not, so get over it, be my Watcher again, and let's start training and prove that I can be the best."
"Buffy... that's because you MAKE me a better person. It's the greatest thing about you. Whether you know it or not... everyone you meet ends up a better person for knowing you." He reached up with a trembling hand, placing it tenderly on her cheek. "You're an amazing, amazing girl."
"You're an amazing person, too, Ash. I wish you could see that." Buffy sighed. "Maybe we make each other better then. Still, I can't *do* this without you as my Watcher. If you quit, then I gotta quit. Since my sister has it in her head now to be a Watcher, I'd really rather not quit."
"Dawn..." he almost choked, trying not to laugh. "DAWN wants to be a WATCHER?"
"I'm not sure whether to laugh or freak out," Buffy admitted. "I'm leaning toward freaking out. She wants to talk to Andrew about it. I PRAY that he talks her out of it, but, if he doesn't, then we BOTH got to be around to protect her."
"Sadly? I have to admit... a girl with her smarts, who's so... accustomed to dealing with the supernatural by now..." He winced, hoping he wasn't about to get slugged for this. "She'd be a natural."
"I know, which kind of scares me," Buffy admitted. No punching there. "Technically, I know that she has all the right qualifications, but, at the same time, she's my baby sister. Big sister instincts kicking in hard and wanting to protect her from everything."
"Yeah, I get that. First love here, remember?" Awkward now? Yeah. But no less true. "I'll always be protective of her."
"Yeah, you and your many loves," she teased. Really, when you look at it, the boy had been with some of the prettiest girls around. Even Buffy could easily see that.
Hrm. Dawn, TJ (yeah, blast from the past THERE), Buffy, Lucy, Meredith.... how DID this little slice of emo do it? "Hey. Don't hate the player. Hate the game." Ok, so sometimes? Even ash had a sense of humor.
Buffy just laughed, and HARD. "I don't even want to think of where you might have gotten that from," she said. "Not hating here, though. Just pointing out."
"Damn. You make it WAY too hard to say no to you, Summers. Anyone ever tell you that? Fine. I'll be your Watcher again. If Mr. Giles will have me back." He sighed, knowing when he was defeated.
"I'm not even worried about Mr. Giles. If he doesn't take you back, then I'll work with you alone," Buffy said. "I can't work with anyone else at this point."
"Then consider it official." He said, almost offering a hand to her... before just grabbing her and hugging her.