Chapter 49: With This Ring
Just for the heck of it, Giles sighed once more, loudly, but Anya remained oblivious, already striding with determination toward her husband on the other side of the church, undoubtedly to criticize in some manner his way of setting up the pillar candles and to re-explain her directives to him. At this time, Giles very much pitied the boy. Not that Xander was a boy anymore, but it seemed that Giles still couldn’t get used to the fact that all of these kids just weren’t kids anymore. Not even his Slayer. She was, after all, getting married in just a few hours.
And that was why he was there. The recently nominated Head Watcher of the New Council of Watchers had abandoned London for a couple of days to give his arm to his surrogate daughter as she walked toward the man who owned her heart. Except that, right now, he was doing something else altogether. Namely, tying pale golden bows and white flowers to the side of each bench, as per the instructions of ex-vengeance demon and self-proclaimed dictator Anya Harris.
“Giles! Get to work, already! We’re running behind schedule!”
Which proved, if there was any need, that being Head Watcher had changed absolutely nothing as far as the Scoobies were concerned. Not that he had wanted anything to change, but still… a little consideration, at least for his age… not that he was old, far from it…
Another sigh, and he got to the tying and arranging of the ribbons and flowers, trying very much to do exactly as Anya had commanded so that she wouldn’t complain about his work again. Why had he agreed to lend a hand in the first place? It might have been the pleading look Xander had given him, although that same look should have warned him that he ought to be suspicious. Or it might have been the fact that he needed some distraction. He wished Andrea had come back with him. She had resigned from her position as Manon’s Watcher, officially because she wanted to dedicate herself to the study of some new books the Council had recently acquired, but unofficially so that she could be in London. With him. But when it had come to this short trip back to California, she had declined to accompany him. The two vampires had invited her, but she seemed to still feel uncomfortable in their presence, and had admitted to him she felt somewhat guilty that her own father had done such a horrible thing to Buffy. Hopefully, she would soon understand that no one bore any bad feelings towards her. Even if Spike had been a little cold at the beginning, the vampire had admitted that she wasn’t responsible.
There. One side of the aisle all done. Now, the other side. At this point, Giles was very grateful, though still somewhat puzzled, that his two favorite vamps had chosen to get married in a small chapel.
There was noise at the church’s door, and Giles straightened to see Steven stride in, hands in his pockets, unaware of the hell he was walking into.
“You’re late,” Anya informed the young man sternly. “Now grab a spool of ribbon and come here.”
Giles shook his head and returned to his task before Anya noticed he had stopped working.
*****
Buffy didn’t really need Dawn, Tara, and Willow to help her get ready, but it was nice to be pampered so, and they actually looked like they enjoyed themselves, so she let them do her nails and hair as they all chatted happily. She had expected to be nervous, but as the afternoon wore on and the time came closer, she found that she wasn’t. Impatient to see Spike, impatient to have him see her, impatient to be able to call him her husband, but, surprisingly, not nervous in the slightest. Why would she have been?
She had been a little surprised by his call the night before. She had expected him to give up on the not-seeing-each-other-until-the-wedding thing, and truthfully had been a little disappointed that he hadn’t come back to her, but she hadn’t expected him to call. It had been a very nice gift, however, to hear his voice just as his absence was preventing her from finding sleep. Very nice to simply hear him talk, with the quiet counterpoint of the ocean behind him, and after saying goodbye she had finally been able to drift into sleep.
And now, soon, very soon, she would walk to him.
Anya finally came back, complaining profusely about the decorating capabilities of the male gender and its incapacity to follow simple directives, before finally acknowledging that, yes, the church was ready, and no, there was no real problem. She was already dressed up, and so were Willow and Tara, so they all insisted on helping her slide her gown on, tie the laces, and give a last brush to her slightly curled hair. Dawn joked a little, when she came back in her pretty blue dress, that she had needed no one to help her. And then they were all walking downstairs, under the slightly teary gaze of Giles and the appreciative one of Xander. A limo was waiting, courtesy of the Council, and they were on their way, Buffy now oblivious to the chattering around her.
As the car stopped, she wanted to rush out and to him, feeling him so close now, but Anya reminded her she had to wait for everyone to be in place, and particularly the official photographer, who was no other than Xander. The last few seconds, waiting outside with Dawn and Giles, were the longest of Buffy’s existence. At last, it was time. Dawn checked her one last time, flowers, dress, veil, gave her a smile and stepped in. Warm lips on her forehead startled her a little, but she returned Giles grin and squeezed his hand gently as he took hers to rest it on his arm.
One part of her was aware of the people looking at her as she walked through the chapel, and she quite well knew they were all her friends. She was certain also that she could feel her mother’s presence too, and almost looked around for her, but she didn’t. Because right now her eyes were on the man standing, oh so lonely, by the end of the aisle, waiting for her. Her Sire and Mate, and soon to be husband.
*****
“Would you stop fidgeting already?” Angel repeated once more, clearly exasperated.
“You’re strangling me, you bloody poof.”
Escaping his Sire’s clutches, Spike pulled on the too tight tie, loosening it slightly. Angel had always had that nasty habit of insisting on tying the thing for him, as if he wasn’t capable of doing so himself.
“You don’t need to breathe,” Angel said blankly, “so how could I possibly strangle you? Please explain that to me, because at this second I very much want to do so.”
Spike rolled his eyes at him. The ex-vampire was quite possibly more agitated than him, and he was the one getting married in half an hour now, not Angel. Almost worse than Anya. Or maybe not, because Steven had given an interesting account of his decorating mission as he came to the mansion to get changed.
“And who will pull you out of Buffy’s hands when I’m not here to save you?” the vampire replied with a smug smirk.
Angel shook his head and sighed, before passing a hand through his hair. Spike’s smirk softened slightly at the glimpse of silver on his little finger. He hadn’t said a word about it, but he was wearing it. Or maybe the first words he had said when Spike had came to the kitchen for lunch – calling him Childe – had been an acknowledgment to the simple word engraved on the inside of the band. Sire .
Eventually, Angel calmed down, Steven got dressed, and they were at last on the way to the church. It was mostly empty when they arrived there, except for the new Slayer and her Watcher on the very last row, the priest, who greeted Spike with a warm handshake, and Clem who waved at him as he walked by. The demon was quite simply one of the very few creatures Spike trusted, although because of his somewhat loose tongue he didn’t know about Buffy’s vampireness, and the only non-Scooby invited, apart from Chloe and Matt.
The vampire had to admit that, whatever her methods and apparent bitchiness, Anya, and whoever she had enslaved, had done a nice job. Tall and thick candles lined up the walls every foot or so, casting dancing shadows all over a church tastefully decorated in gold and silver. At the end of the aisle, a sumptuous bouquet was the only touch of color, simple and exotic flowers in every shade of the rainbow mixed harmoniously, in front of the white background that a sheet draped over the cross provided.
Angel slipped into a row, and almost immediately the cheerleader was taking the empty spot next to him. The girl and her apparitions were becoming a tad annoying. But there definitely was something going on there.
Just as Spike and Steven were settling on their assigned spots, there was noise behind them and Spike turned around to see the Witches come in, followed by Xander and then Anya. As everybody was in place, the ex-demon gave an approving nod at the assembly and turned on the music before taking her seat. Dawn walked in, and Spike barely had the time to tell himself that she was radiant before Buffy appeared, and everything, everyone else faded. She came to him with the most beautiful smile she had ever offered him, and he was suddenly glad he didn’t need to remember to breathe. She was simply gorgeous. And she was his.
*****
She watched her walk by her father’s side – because yes, Rupert Giles was more of a father to her than Hank Summers – and felt an incredible surge of pride at how beautiful Buffy was. Not just because of the dress, although the dress was indeed beautiful, but because of the quiet peace that radiated from her, lighting her features, making her positively glow. It was nice to see her so blissful. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen such a look on her face. If she ever had.
Abandoning the bride for a second, she swept a loving gaze on the bridesmaid, who had nothing to envy to her sister, before turning her attention to the groom. He, too, looked happier than she had ever seen him. But then, had she ever seen him happy? Truly happy? She had seen him smile, heard him laugh, but she doubted he was happy, then. He needed someone by his side to really be, someone to care for and who could care for him. Just as Buffy did. So much for the Big Bad image.
They stood together, now, and by the looks they shared she wasn’t sure they were hearing what the priest was saying. That was kind of a surprise, the church and priest. Buffy had never been very religious, even before being turned, and Spike wasn’t any more than any regular vampire. But they weren’t that regular, were they?
Oh, they must have been paying attention, after all, because it was time for the vows and they went through smoothly. Spike spoke first, and his quiet voice was brimming with emotion as he made the most touching promise to his bride. His hands were slightly shaking, she was sure of it, when he took Buffy’s hand and slid the ring on her finger before bringing it to his lips. And then it was Buffy’s turn, and the warmth and light in her eyes and smile as she made her vows could have burned her new husband to ashes. Another ring gliding on pale skin, then she repeated his gesture and brought his hand to her lips. A few more words from the priest, during which their eyes remained locked, and they were kissing, the tenderest kiss she had ever seen.
Already, it was over, already they were leaving, followed by the whole gang. She was happy Buffy had such a family around her. As Cordelia walked by, she caught her gaze and gave her a quiet thank you for allowing her to witness this. The angel winked at her, and she left this world, returning to the one that was now hers, satisfied and proud as only a mother could be.