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Date Posted: 18:25:10 02/12/04 Thu
Author: Kuzibah
Author Host/IP: 68.80.18.137
Subject: Re: New Fanfic: Two Hearts- part 3
In reply to: Kuzibah 's message, "New Fanfic: (BtVS, Post-Chosen) Two Hearts- part 1" on 18:22:25 02/12/04 Thu

Buffy had to admit that Willow was giving it her best, trying to enjoy the ‘girls weekend.’ She cheered on the girl soccer player as she followed her dream, laughed at the antics of the cartoon fish and turtles, and teared up a little over Tobey Maguire and his horse, but she was clearly distracted. So before they got involved in the zombie plague that wiped out England, Buffy suggested they all take a break and walk down to the pub for some meat pies.

Out in the clear, cold air, their feet crunching on the gravel alongside the lane, Buffy asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

They walked in silence for a minute or two, Buffy watching Willow, Kennedy glaring at Buffy, Dawn looking off at the countryside and Willow staring straight ahead.

“I don’t know how I feel,” Willow said. “I mean, as much as I want to deny it, I did love him. He was my first real love.”

Kennedy made a noise that sounded undeniably like a growl, and Willow backpedaled. “That’s how it is sometimes,” she said. “You buy into what society accepts.”

Kennedy took Willow’s hand. “It’s hard,” she said. “Accepting a lesbian identity. And sometimes it’s easier for women to play along.”

“Right,” Willow said, but she and Buffy exchanged a look when Kennedy turned to observe an oncoming car that seemed to say it wasn’t nearly so cut-and-dried.

v v v v v v v v v v v v

Giles and Xander walked up the stone drive to the home of Oz’s fiancée’s family. It was an old house, surrounded by wild gardens. Long tables had been set up on the lawn, and lights strung between them. The dinner was already in progress, and as the two men approached, they could see spot some of the circus folk in their flamboyant costumes, doing tricks for the amusement of the family.

Two boys with guitars were singing romantic songs, while nearby another boy juggled dinner rolls. A bearded lady fanned her face with a fan of peacock feathers, laughing with a boy who looked to be covered in scales, like a reptile. An old woman talked with three teens in the close-fitting tights of trapeze artists, and they seemed to hang on her every word.

From somewhere in the crowd, Oz came forward to greet them, shaking their hands with a heartfelt, “hey.” He drew forward a girl with black hair and eyes, slender and shorter than he by two inches. “This is Bema,” he said, smiling. “And these are my friends Giles and Xander, from Sunnydale.”

Bema held out one hand. “I feel I know you already,” she said. “Oz has told me of all your adventures. How brave you both are.”

Xander blushed, and Giles looked embarrassed.

“I am pleased to meet you at last,” she said.

“Come on,” Oz said. “Bema’s mother just served dinner.”

v v v v v v v v v v v v

Willow glanced to where Kennedy and Dawn were playing darts, and, confident the game would go on for awhile, turned back to Buffy. “I wasn’t completely honest a little while ago,” she said.

“No kidding,” Buffy said. “I was wondering if I’d have to beat it out of you.”

Willow smiled weakly. “I just don’t know how to explain it,” she said. “I loved Oz. Up until Veruca, I thought we’d always be together. I would be the one asking Giles about werewolf babies.”

“I know,” Buffy said. “Oz is a good man.”

“When I was with him…” Willow paused, appearing to gather her thoughts. “I never thought about being with women. I only wanted him. I never thought, ‘wow, this is great, but if only Oz were a girl.’ If anyone had asked, I’d have said I was completely hetero.”

Willow took a deep breath, and a sip of her beer. Buffy waited, knowing she’d continue in her own time.

“Then, he left, and I met Tara,” Willow went on after a moment. “And when we fell in love, I loved her as totally as I loved Oz. She was everything to me, and I wanted to be with her forever. And, again, I wasn’t thinking, ‘something’s missing,’ or that I wanted boys anymore. It was all about Tara. I was completely lesbian.”

Willow fell silent again, and turned to look at Kennedy. When Buffy could no longer take the suspense, she asked, “And now?”

“I don’t know,” Willow said, and left it at that.

v v v v v v v v v v v v

“Are these people all performers?” Xander asked when they’d eaten.

“No,” Oz said. “We decided not to have a circus wedding. Bema’s father comes from an old circus family, but her mother’s family are still mostly fishermen. This will just be a family wedding. A few more of the performers will come in for the wedding, but only our close friends are here now.”

“How do you like performing?” Giles asked, taking a sip of ouzo.

Oz allowed himself a small smile. “I love it,” he said. “It’s like when I played with the band. It’s such a rush, having the audience with you.” He shook his head, amused. “Of course, now I’m scaring the hell out of them, but it’s still satisfying. But what about you? Willow told me some of it, but how are you handling the changes?”

Giles leaned back. “I have to be honest,” he said, “I jumped at the chance to get away like this after working so hard with all of these… girls. Finding them, revealing their destinies, training them, assigning them. I’m starting to understand why the Council found it necessary to employ so many Watchers. They’ve all so much energy, you’ve no idea. I’ve been exhausted.”

Oz and Xander both looked decidedly unsympathetic at Giles’s plight.

“Still… it’s been nice to be back in England,” Giles said. “And everyone is working together so well. As much as I hate the idea of reforming some sort of oversight organization for the Slayers, I think it will become necessary before too long.”

“If anyone can make sure it doesn’t become another Council, it’s you, Giles,” Xander said.

“Thank you,” Giles said. “But I wonder sometimes, myself.”

The men grew silent and looked across the lawn to where Bema and her brothers and sisters had set up their see-saw and were catapulting one another through the air. Oz smiled fondly at his bride-to-be.

“You’re a lucky man,” Xander said quietly.

“Thanks,” Oz said, not turning his head.

v v v v v v v v v v v v

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[> Re: New Fanfic: Two Hearts- part 4 -- Kuzibah, 18:26:20 02/12/04 Thu (68.80.18.137)

Dawn fell asleep curled into a leather armchair halfway through “Maid in Manhattan,” which was ironic, considering she had wanted to rent it in the first place. Buffy considered taking it out in favor of a real comedy, “Underworld,” but when Willow and Kennedy quietly withdrew to the library, she took herself into Giles’s study to get some email correspondence with Faith, Robin, Andrew and the other “field agents” done.

The pale winter sunset filtered into the library, which always smelt of dust despite Giles’s concerted efforts at neatness. Kennedy led Willow to the ancient couch and pressed her down into the cushions, kissing a delicate line along her jaw and down her throat.

“I love you, baby,” she whispered huskily, and Willow arched up to her lover’s touch.

v v v v v v v v v v v v

The church, though not small, was completely packed for the wedding the following morning. Giles and Xander slid into a pew near the back, and studied the various guests. Many were clearly performers, as they had worn their spangled and elaborate costumes. Oz had told them the night before that this was likely, as, in many cases, the satin and sequin confections were the best clothes the traveling players owned.

Oz stood at the front, in white tie and tails. Beside him was Niklos, Bema’s brother, Nox, another friend, and Brandon Carling, the son of the circus’s owner. Bema entered from the vestibule and was escorted up the aisle by her father. She wore a plain, flowing gown, and a veil trimmed in embroidered flowers. Her face shown with happiness, and at the altar she shyly took Oz’s hand.

The priest nodded to them both, and opened his prayer book. He raised one hand and began.

The ceremony was, of course, entirely in Greek, but it seemed to be the usual one. Xander found himself thinking of Anya, not surprisingly. There was still a hole in his soul where she had been, and Xander wondered if he would ever love anyone again.

But Giles was thinking of all the children who had come under his mentorship over the years. Though he had resisted taking a parental role, had been advised against it for most of his career, circumstance had placed him there again and again. Now, he was watching as one of his children married, sitting beside another who had grown into a fine young man, and proudly guiding the women who traveled the world to train and lead humanity’s best defense against the creatures of darkness.

The priest concluded the ceremony, and gently, almost shyly, Oz kissed his bride. The pews erupted with applause and cheers, and Oz and Bema exited in a shower of rice.

They returned to the villa to find the surrounding grounds crowded with vans and trailers, most painted with murals advertising Circus Internationale, The Parliament of Wonders, and the various acts therein.

A large group of musicians played as the bride and groom and all of their extended family danced through the grass, vast amounts of food were served, and Giles and Xander worked through the crowd, meeting travelers from all over Europe.

Finally, as the sun began to set, the strings of lights were lit, and the well fed guests took their seats around the tables. Bema and Oz were set on a platform so all could see them, and the presentation of gifts began.

Many of the gifts were handmade, and most were eminently practical for a nomadic lifestyle. The Carlings gave them a storage trunk that doubled as a bench. They received linens and kitchenware, cloth and trim for costumes, soft leather boots, a kerosene stove, and candles for their lamps.

Niklos and his “husband,” Eligio, gave an assortment of chains and shackles. “for certain occasions,” they said, laughing. Giles presented the couple with three tomes on the lore of werewolves, with a caveat that he might have to call for consultation in the future. Both readily agreed.

Then it was Xander’s turn, and they unwrapped the white and silver tissue paper to reveal a large, elaborately-carved wooden spoon. There were interlaced knots, hearts, a horseshoe, and the head of a wolf, all intricately detailed.

“It’s a Welsh token of love,” Xander explained. “A cabinet maker I met this past fall taught me to do them.

“You made this?” Oz asked, surprised. “It’s really amazing, man.”

“Yes,” Bema said. “It is beautiful.”

v v v v v v v v v v v v

Kennedy ran her fingers through Willow’s hair, kissing her gently, as both women drifted into a sated doze. “I Love you,” Kennedy whispered again. “I want you to be my wife.”

Willow was instantly awake. “What?”

“We’ll go to Belgium,” Kennedy sighed. “I’ll marry you, Willow, and you’ll marry me.”

Willow said nothing, and after a few moments she realized Kennedy had fallen asleep. There was no sleep for Willow, though. She could only lie still, holding her dreaming lover. She thought about Xander, her oldest friend, suddenly sympathetic of his conflicted emotions during his own engagement.

v v v v v v v v v v v v

When the gift-giving was over, and the dancing began again, a large, black-haired man drew Xander aside. He introduced himself as Luca Hearne, a horseman with the circus.

“You are a carpenter?” he asked. “Where do you work?”

“I was a carpenter in America,” Xander explained. “I can’t really work here legally yet, so I haven’t done any construction.”

“Would you be willing to do some work on my caravan?” the gypsy asked. “Under the table, of course. Come. I’ll show you.”

Luca explained that some of his family’s caravans were over a century old, and though they’d been kept in repair and refitted to be pulled by trucks, many of the decorative details had not been kept up when they suffered wear over the years.

Xander examined the carved gingerbreading, carved wheel spokes, and window and door frames that had been inexpertly mended or simply left in pieces, and his hands ached to put the little caravan to rights. “I can do it,” he said. “As soon as I make arrangements in England. Where do you head next?”

v v v v v v v v v v v v

When Kennedy awoke, she was alone, so she rose and padded into the kitchen where Buffy and Dawn were eating ice cream. “Where’s Willow?” she asked.

“She went out to the garden shed,” Dawn said. “Something about needing some herbs that were drying out there.”

“Thanks,” Kennedy said, stepping into her Wellies and pulling on her coat.

She found Willow at the potting bench, sorting and stacking pots and jars. “Hey,” she said.

“Hi,” Willow said.

“Did I dream that proposal, or did I actually bring it up?” Kennedy asked. “Because I was sort of half-asleep…”

“No, you did,” Willow said.

“Thank God,” Kennedy said. “Because I don’t think I could work up the courage again.” She say down beside Willow and took the jars from her hands. “So then?”


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