Fic: Magister 3, Ch 20 (FRM)

[gilescandy]

 

A/N -  Song is ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

Ch. 20 – The Last Dance

“One more bite.  We can do it.”  Dawn carefully slid a spoonful of pudding into Ethan’s mouth and deposited it on his tongue.

He swallowed with a grimace.  “Deadfful shuff,” he muttered.  The swelling in his face had gone down enough for him to open his eyes, and even speak, albeit a bit funny, but blotchy bruising still made him hard to look at.

Dawn smiled at him anyway.  “I know.  But we need to wait until you can actually open your mouth more than a centimeter and your teeth stop wiggling before we can try anything more solid.  Lucky for you, we’ve got pudding and jello to last you years.”

Ethan groaned.  “Sowrry I swrvived.”

“No, you’re not,” his nurse giggled.  “And neither am I.”

He sighed as she finished gently dabbing his lips clean.  “Anythwing fow ma liddle gawdess.”

“Hey,” Faith was leaning against the doorway, watching them.  “They’re ringing the dinner bell in the caff.  Better get down there and grab some before the locusts clear it out.”

“I’m okay,” Dawn glanced back at her with a smile.

“Pretty sure it’ll be the first hot meal you’ve had in days.”  The Slayer walked into the room.  “Besides, they went all out.  It’s a real ‘last super’ spread.  You need to get in on it, Chick.”

“Maybe I can get someone to bring me a plate,” the girl murmured.

“Oh, and they discovered the ice cream was melting.  All you can scarf while it lasts.”

“Go,” Ethan whispered to her.  “I’b ffine.  Habb some ffun.  You desurbe it.”

“You sure?” Dawn asked him, but the longing was plain to see in her eyes.  The sorcerer nodded and pushed her off his bed with all the strength he could muster.

“Don’t worry,” Faith said as she got up.  “I’ll keep an eye on this one.”

Before leaving his side, Dawn idly repositioned the pendant now fastened around his neck.  It was no longer smooth, but had a tiny crack spider-webbing throughout it.  This new flaw made it no less beautiful.  As she walked by the Slayer, Dawn stopped and gave her and oddly sad look for a moment.  “Please don’t hurt him,” she whispered.  “At least, not until he’s a little stronger?”

Faith smiled at the younger girl.  “He’ll still be breathing when you get back.  Cross my heart.”

With one last glance back at her patient, Dawn left the room in search of some real food.

The dark Slayer turned and slowly shut the door until it clicked.  Reaching over, she pulled a cord, snapping the blinds on the window looking out into the hallway closed.  They were suddenly completely alone.   She turned toward Ethan, taking her time to cross the room, an unreadable look on her face as her intense gaze never strayed from him.  If any of this made the sorcerer uncomfortable, he didn’t show it. 

“It was a huge risk, what you did,” Faith spoke in a low, quiet voice.  “There was so much you couldn’t control.  So much you couldn’t anticipate.”

“You’wre rwight,” Ethan breathed.

“Did you even think about how many might die?  Who might die?  Were we acceptable losses?”

“It was a… rwegrettable rwisk to save more who cwertanlry would.”

“Don’t you dare turn all watcher on me now.  Robin died!” her voice was suddenly raised.  “You almost killed Xander.  The Doc and so many of the girls…  Did you really think we’d forget?  Did you expect to just pop back in and we’d all forgive you?”

The Sorcerer blinked, his expression calm and neutral.  “The onlfy thing I expfected was to be dead.  Asf for forgiveness, I dofn’t expfect what I dofn’t deserve.  Least ov all fwrom you.”

Faith ducked her head, finally letting sorrow show on her lovely face.  “Could you see how Robin felt?  About me.  Was I the only one that missed it?”

“No, I din’t know.  But he bwravly protected the giwrls.  That I did hope for.  The demon was a mastser ov manipulation.  Toyed with you both.  He knew you wanted somefthing real, and made shure you saw the possibility before he stole it fwrom you.”

“So, you don’t think he really loved me?” the Slayer sighed with practiced resignation.  “It was just another trick.”

Ethan knew it would be easier for her to just believe that.  In Faith, he saw himself.  Someone who found safety in the belief that they were meant to be unlovable.  Who wrapped the truth that no one could possibly care for them around their being like a protective blanket.  That way, it wasn’t really their fault when everyone inevitably left.  It wasn’t their fault that it was never worth trying for something better.  They didn’t deserve it anyway.

“I think,” he finally whispered, “he wanted to twy.  If he was here, he’d swurly be spwending his last night with you.”

“’Course,” Faith dismissed with fake cheer.  “No one else around here good for a rock’em-sock’em end-of-the-world fuck.”

Ethan attempted a chuckle, but ended up coughing instead.  “I think you’wre confwusing yourself with me.”

“Didn’t strike me like you were his type,” the Slayer teased quietly.

“I’m--”

“Yeah, I remember.  You’re everyone’s type.”

He flexed his aching hand before placing it gently atop the one she held in her lap as she sat by him.  “I am sworry.  You deserved the chance to twy.”

She ducked her head for a moment, hiding from his uncharacteristic, but genuine, sincerity.  Then, with a quick shake of her head to clear past demons, looked back into his eyes and smiled.  “Can I tell you something honestly?”

“Anything fwrom a beautifful lady.”

Leaning in a bit, she whispered, “You reek.”

The Sorcerer chuckled.  “The last few days habe been rather hectic fwor me.  No time to shower while hewroically sacrificing myswelf and cheating deatfh.”

“I mean, seriously, dude.  I’m surprised Dawnie can stand you.”  She looked around the room for a minute, then got up and walked into the attached bathroom.  Expecting her to take her leave of him, Ethan settled himself and closed his eyes to rest.  He didn’t see her come back out with a plastic basin full of warm water.  His bed jostled him back to full wakefulness when she sat by him once more.  “If you tell anyone I did this, I’ll twist off something you really love.  Got it?” the Slayer told him.

He nodded, staring up at her with soft, grateful eyes as she began to run the wet cloth over his forehead and face with a tenderness that went completely against her tough, uncaring persona.  There were no words to describe how good it felt as Ethan gave himself completely over to her care.  She cleaned his face and hair as best she could, then silently went over his shoulders and down both arms.

Ethan’s chest and abdomen presented a bit of a challenge, being primarily covered with bandages, but Faith diligently worked around them.  She gently sat him up and leaned him against her, easily supporting his weight as she washed his back.  Then she laid him back down to rest and got off the bed to move down to his legs.  Uncovering one, then the other, she gently ran the cloth over each knee, calf, and foot.  Finally, she stood at his hips.

“You don’t have to,” he breathed unexpectedly as she gathered the edge of the blanket.  “I fweel much bedder.  Thank you.”

“What’s the matter?” she smiled coyly up at him.  “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you eyeing me.  And the way you tease Big G about me.  Besides, you got nothin’ I haven’t already seen.”

“Your bweauty, My Dear,” Ethan answered, exuding all his charm.  “I’m not sure I could contwrol myselff.”

Faith laughed, nothing but simple joy in it.  “Something tells me you won’t be too much for me to handle.  Besides, I promised you’d still be breathin’ when your little keeper comes back.”

She moved his blanket entirely to the side and raised her eyebrow flirtatiously at him.  Then began to wash one thigh and the other.  Her hands slowed as they slid over his hips, across his lower abdomen, until the cloth came in contact with his hardening manhood.  Easy and gentle, Ethan moaned as pleasure spread through his entire battered body.  Nothing but hands and cloth, yet neither wanted anything more.

Somehow, they both knew this was something new for each of them.  Faith took her pleasure in giving pleasure to another.  Nothing in it for her.  Nothing quick or rushed.  No fight for dominance or power.   Just softness and tenderness as she focused fully on the needs of another.

And Ethan, for the first time in his guarded life, let go of everything.  He willing relinquished his entire self into the hands of another.  Relishing the calm and stillness he felt even as his body rode rolling waves of pleasure.  There was no suave remark to make.  No putting up a front of control and a wall of indifference.  He felt no need to protect himself, physically or emotionally.  In Faith’s hands, he felt completely free.  And, when he finally gave all to her, there was nothing earth-shattering or mind-blowing.  Just an all-encompassing physical peace.  To him, it was wondrous.

“Mind if I stay for a while?” the Slayer whispered as she spread the blanket back over him.

Ethan stared up at her with glistening tears in his midnight eyes.  “Please.  Don’t leave me.”

Faith thought about climbing onto the bed with him, but it was a small bed and there were too many ways she could still damage him.  So, she pushed a chair in as close as possible and sat beside him.  When he slid his hand to the edge of the bed, she took it with no sarcastic remark, no false hardness.  They silently rested in each other’s company until both fell into a peaceful sleep.

******

“What are we missing?”  Willow looked over her notes as she sat on a bed.  “There has to be something I’m not seeing.  Something that’s gonna go wrong.”

“Willow, there’s nothing missing.  Your spell construction is perfect.  Even Althanea and the coven are impressed.”  Giles gazed at her with gentle, loving eyes, trying to be reassuring.  “You’re going to be perfect.”

“Let’s…  Let’s go over it again.  Just to be sure.”

“We’ve been through it twenty times.  You already know it off by heart.”

“Giles,” her stunning green eyes stared up at him, almost in panic.  “What if I can’t do this and everybody dies because I failed?  What if the darkness takes over again and I’m the evil that… that…”  She dropped her gaze to the floor.

“That’s not going to happen, Love.  You are not evil.”

“You love me, right?” the Witch asked in a tiny voice.

“Of course, I do,” Giles smiled.  “Always.”

“Then… I need you to promise me…  Promise you won’t let me go back to the bad place.  Promise, if I turn evil, you’ll stop me no matter what.  Please…”

“Oh, my dearest girl,” he shook his head at her with a frown.  “You are so very good.  You don’t even see what light you bring to the world.  You’re certainly the brightest light in my world.”

“Don’t do that!  You… you evading evader.  I need your promise.”

He put his hand out to her.  “Come here.”  When she took it, he pulled her up and to him.  Slowly, he began swaying them both back and forth. 

“What are we doing?”

He answered with a grin.  “I’m dancing with you.”

“But you don’t dance.”

“I guess I do on special occasions.”

“There’s no music,” Willow whispered teasingly.

“You don’t hear music?” he chuckled.  “That’s funny.  I do.”

“What does the music sound like?”

Softly, Giles began to speak the words in a simple melody.  He gazed intently into her eyes.

You’re just too good to be true
Can’t take my eyes off of you.
You’d be like heaven to touch.
I wanna hold you so much.

“You are holding me,” Willow giggled, and laughed when he spun her around.

At long last love has arrived.
And I thank God I’m alive.

“Well, close enough for my liking,” she teased.

You’re just too good to be true.
Can’t take my eyes off of you.

Willow laid her head against his chest, letting his voice rumble through her and chase everything else away.

Pardon the way that I stare.
There’s nothing else to compare.
The sight of you leaves me weak.
There are no words left to speak.
But, if you feel like I feel.
Please let me know that it’s real.
You’re just too good to be true.
Can’t take my eyes off of you.

She looked up at him, new tears sparkling in her eyes.  “It’s so real, Giles.  I love you so, so much.”

“As I do you,” he whispered, still swaying her.  “You don’t have to worry about tomorrow.  I’ll be there in case you need me, and so will Ethan.  He’s still too weak to fight, but he’ll be there to ground you if you need him.  He’s surprisingly good at that.  But you won’t need any of us, Love.  I know how extraordinary you are.  Even if you don’t.”

“But…  What if--”

“What if you change the world tomorrow?  What if you give the First such a beating It can’t show It’s faces again for another thousand years?”

Willow ducked her head self-consciously and smiled.  Before she knew it, she was spinning again in her lover’s arms.  He sang with his full, powerful voice this time.

I love you, Baby.
And if it’s quite alright,
I need you, Baby,
To warm the lonely night.
I love you, Baby.
Trust in me when I say:
Oh pretty Baby,
Don’t bring me down, I pray.
Oh pretty Baby,
Now that I found you, stay.
And let me love you, Baby,
Let me love you…

Willow let out full, butterfly-filled laughter when he dipped her so low her hair brushed the floor.  The world was spinning, her head was spinning, she had no control, and Willow felt wonderfully safe. 

“I like this song,” she grinned when he set her upright.  “I don’t think I’ve heard it before.  Is in new?”

Giles shook his head with a rueful smile.  “Don’t say things like that.  You only remind me what an awful cradle-robber I am.  Because I do remember when it was new.  In nineteen sixty-seven.”

The redhead gave him a sympathetic pout.  “I’m sorry.  My parents were never really into music, so most of what I know Oz taught me.  But, hey, if it makes you feel any better, I pretty much brought you back to life twice.  So, I’m a total grave-robber…  And that sounded a lot less icky in my head.”

The Watcher laughed affectionately, pulling her as close as possible again.

You’re just too good to be true
Can’t take my eyes off of you.
You’d be like heaven to touch.
I wanna hold you so much.
At long last love has arrived.
And I thank God I’m alive.
You’re just too good to be true.
Can’t take my eyes off of you.

“Giles?” Willow wrapped her hand around his tie and chewed her lower lip.  “Did you have any idea how many times I watched you in the library and had day-dreams?  Seeing you in these clothes is bringing them all back.”

“Oh?  All that time you were supposed to be working?  What kind of day-dreams, may I ask?”

“Well… maybe something about the sexy librarian and the naughty honor student…”

He grinned lustfully.  “We were wicked, weren’t we?”

I love you, Baby.
And if it’s quite alright,
I need you, Baby,
To warm the lonely…

***

Outside the closed door, Xander glanced over to Kennedy.  “He stopped singing.”

The Potential shrugged, “Maybe she found something better for him to do with his mouth.”

He scrunched up his face.  “Damnit.  Don’t say things like that.  It’s my best girl since kindergarten and the guy who’s basically my father-figure.  I might never get used to them being all…”

“A hot ball of rumpty-de-bumpty.”

“Yeah!  And how did you make that sound so dirty?”  Xander sighed.  “Don’t get me wrong, I am happy for them.  And the singing and all the romantic stuff is really cute.  It’s just the…”

“People in love,” she shrugged again.  “What are you gonna do?”

“Well, looks like they’re set for their last night on earth.  Buffy’s with Spike.  Most the girls are saying their goodbyes to ice cream.  So, what are we gonna do?”  He stood there with his hands in his pockets looking at her.

“Sorry,” she quipped, “not my type.”

“I didn’t,” Xander huffed, and laughed when she laughed at him.  “Hey, I saw a ping-pong table in the resident’s lounge.  Do you play?”

Kennedy studied him for a moment and nodded.  “You’re on.”  They started down the hall together.  “Ever tried wheelchair jousting?”

Molly was only the first to run after them.  “I’ll play winner!”

******

It was fully dark when Buffy woke up on a couch in Spike’s arms.  She had found him in the doctor’s gym, and they’d talked until they fell asleep.  Careful not to wake him, she got up and crossed the room to look out a small window into the night.

“Lovely, isn’t it?” Giles stood beside her.

“What are you doing here?  Figured you’d be with Wils.”  She cocked her head for a minute, then reached out to touch him.  He allowed her hand to pass through him.

“Oh, he is.  And making every bit the most of his last night on Earth.”

“How do you figure?” Buffy said.  “He’s ours again.  Far as I can see, you’ve got nothing left.”

“Losing him was quite the coup for you, I’ll admit.  But I still have an army.  I’m getting closer and closer to opening the Hellmouth for good.  And when I do, my army will flood this world.  Our numbers will swell until we outnumber the human virus.  And, on that day, I will be made flesh.”  The First paused for a moment.  “But, I forgot, you have an army, too.  Forty-odd pimple face girls.”

“You know what you need?  A cool nickname.  Let’s see, what would fit you?  How ‘bout ‘The Taunter’?  Or, maybe ‘The Big Blowhard’.  You know, all noncorporeal and powerless.”

“So sure of yourself…  But, if you have such confidence in your plan, why aren’t you sound asleep in your dead lover’s arm?”

Buffy glanced at Spike.  “You know…?” she frowned.

“I know all, Dear Child.”  The face of her Watcher smiled kindly at her.  “Your little Witch has already been consumed by darkness once.  She was mine before, and she will be again.  You will be leading nothing but a group of young girls to their deaths.”

“The monkey!” Spike said in his sleep.  “Mugger monkey.  Mugger monkey.  Stole my money.”

The First moved closer and whispered in Buffy’s ear.  “Have you even asked them?  All those years whining about how unfair it is to be chosen…  Do you really plan to choose them against their will, too?  But then, something has to be done.”

“What?” Spike sat up and saw the Slayer standing there alone.  He rubbed his eyes.  “Buffy?  Is something wrong?”

“Nope,” she shook her head as she returned to the couch.  “I just realized something.  The First is scared of us.  We’re gonna win.”