Snapshots
"Special delivery."
Buffy looked up from her book to smile at her roommate. "What’s in the box," she asked as she tossed her book aside. "Another gift from that man of yours?"
Raven set the box on the bed and sat down next to the Slayer. "This isn’t for me," she cheerfully informed her friend. "This one’s for you."
Buffy looked down at the plain white box and smiled tentatively. "For me?"
Raven smiled. "For you," she repeated. She pushed the package towards Buffy. "Go ahead. Open it."
The Slayer eyed the box carefully. "What if it’s a trick? What if that box is filled with all sorts of tiny little demons hell bent on destroying my life?"
Raven bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Buffy, I think you’re being a tad paranoid."
But the Slayer would not be swayed. "You remember what happened last week. When we went shopping at the mall with Willow and those vampires kidnapped her? And the week before that when the captains
of the UC-Sunnydale football team showed up for the study session with a few more teeth than they died with? Or what about that time a month ago-" To stop the flow of words, Raven clapped a hand over Buffy’s mouth.
"Calm down, okay?"
Buffy nodded.
"Do the vampires know where we live?"
Buffy shook her head.
"Are you going to chill out and see what’s inside the box?" When Buffy didn’t answer, Raven smiled. "The postmark’s from LA."
Hearing this, Buffy grabbed the box, rapidly tearing it open. "Why didn’t you tell me that to begin with," she demanded, glaring at her friend.
"I wanted to see you squirm," the girl replied.
For the next two minutes, Buffy devoted all her attention to opening the box. When she finally got it open, she smiled as tears welled up in her eyes.
Wiping the tears away, she read the card before passing it to Raven.
"Read it."
The girl complied. Written in flowing script on the ivory colored parchment were the words, "Wishing you were here, Love always, Angel." Raven smiled. "Very sweet," she remarked, placing the card on the bed. "So, what’s in the box?"
Carefully, she pulled a familiar wooden chest from the plain cardboard box. She opened the lid and, as she saw what was inside, she smiled. "They’re pictures," she announced, pulling a framed photo of her love out of the box.
Inside there were several other pictures, some framed, most just snapshots. She smiled when she found a picture of Angel and Cordelia shouting at each other. She laughed when she picked up the picture of Cordelia slapping Doyle, sighed in appreciation at the snapshot of Angel and Doyle, looking very sexy, as they leaned against a brick wall. There was even one of Angel in the bathtub that Buffy was sure would be fueling her lust for months to come.
While Buffy stared at the photos, each and every one showing various aspects of Angel’s new life in Los Angeles, Raven pulled out one last framed shot. "Okay, I think I may just cry," she said as she passed the picture to Buffy.
Buffy couldn’t stop the tears from falling as she stared at the picture. It was a shot of Angel sitting on a black leather sofa, staring at the framed picture of her on the expensive coffee table. Taped to the back was a note from Cordelia, which started the tears flowing once again.
Raven wrapped her arms around her friend, holding her as she cried. After a few minutes, she pulled away and smiled at the Slayer. "All better now?"
Buffy sniffled. "Maybe a little."
Raven chuckled. "We taking a trip to LA soon?"
"Definitely," the Slayer replied with a smile.
Together, Buffy and Raven put the pictures back into the box, deciding to deal with them later. Buffy kept the last shot of Angel and placed it on her nightstand table. Five minutes later, they had all the pictures back in the box, which Raven placed on Buffy vanity table.
When they were done, Raven turned back to Buffy and smiled, and idea forming in her head. "Want me to go get the camera?"
"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," Buffy said and smiling, she followed Raven out the door to help search for the camera.
The End