All Wet - Angst Ending:

They didn’t have long to wait.

It seemed like only moments later that Angel was thrashing beneath her, calling out her name in a wrenching voice as the agony slammed through him. Buffy’s heart froze in her chest, and she slid off him, landing on her knees by the side of the bed.

Horrified, she watched the change take him. It was painful to behold, the suffering written across his face tearing her frozen heart into pieces. With his last bit of consciousness, Angel turned towards her and grated out, "I love you. Forever." Then his body shuddered and his eyes rolled back in his head. Buffy was too numb to cry; her mind refused to comprehend what had just happened.

And what she now had to do.

*****

Sooner than she had expected, Angel’s long form uncurled itself from the bed. He stood up and smirked down at her with an expression that was pure Angelus.

"Hello, lover," he said calmly. "Imagine seeing you here."

"Don’t get too used to it." She knew that she should have staked him while he was still insensate, defenseless...but it was still Angel’s body, and the thought of harming it was so foreign to her, she could not even fathom it.

"I’m here to stay, Buff. But you know that. You being the reason I’m back and all."

She flinched involuntarily.

"Couldn’t pass up this cock, could you?" His hands dropped to frame his manhood. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. A little self control, Buff, and this would have never happened."

"It did. And now I have to clean up after myself." She stood up, steeling herself.

"Big words from such a little girl. You don’t have the guts."

"Try me."

"You love me, Buff. You can’t kill me."

"Like I told Angel...been there, done that. Remember Hell?"

Angelus snarled, rounding the corner of the bed. "I remember you robbing me of my triumph."

"Letting the world get sucked into Hell was not on my to-do list that day."

He stalked her, and she ignored the voice in her brain that called for her to flee. She stepped towards him, but as she moved, she realized that Angel had taken more blood than she had realized. She was weakened slightly...and with her own blood running through his veins, Angelus had the advantage.

Schooling her face not to show the panic that was slowly seeping through her body, Buffy stood her ground, waiting to see what he would attempt first. Blatantly, he looked her up and down.

"Feeling a little tired, Buff? A little weak? My boy Angel took quite a bit of blood during your little romp in the shower." Angelus paused to lick his lips thoroughly. "Slayer blood is always excellent...but your blood, your blood surpasses all."

"I’m glad you enjoyed it. You won’t get another chance."

"C’mon...can’t you just close your eyes and pretend I’m your precious Angel? I have his face...his skin...his cock...I’m sure we could come to an agreement."

Rage flooded her, and she lashed out, his mouth splitting open from the force of her fist. "You’re not him," she snarled. "He was a thousand times the man you are."

Eyes flashing yellow, he backhanded her in return, sending her flying into the wall behind her. She had underestimated the strength her blood had given him.

"I wouldn’t," he growled around a mouthful of frighteningly sharp teeth, "ever do that again, lover."

"Why?" she countered, leaning against the wall for support. "Because you’ll make me bleed?"

"Because I’ll make you pray for your own death, just to escape me. A Slayer will take a hell of a lot of torture before she dies, Buff. And believe me, I’ve killed enough to know."

Calm surrounded Buffy as she stood up. He wouldn’t succeed. She was the Slayer, and she refused to allow it to happen.

"So brave, lover. So brave, and so beautiful, and so monumentally stupid."

"You always were all talk, Angelus," she noted, her body falling instinctively into position.

Her sly taunt enraged him, as she had expected, and he lunged for her. She sidestepped him, and dove into a roll, away from the bed. Quickly, she sprang to her feet in enough time to evade a punch that, had it landed, would have cracked her jaw. She spun around, landing a backfist on him, but he withstood the blow, catching her arm and hauling her into his embrace.

As his arms clamped around her, she realized with no small amount of horror that she could not break that confining hold. The arms surrounding her were just too strong. Her eyes widened with the realization of what was going to happen, and he chuckled.

"C’mon, Buff... What happened to ‘when you kiss me, I want to die’?" he mocked her. "It’s not a bad way to go," he whispered, brushing her lips with his. "Your lover’s arms around you, your lover’s fangs embedded in your throat..."

The whimper built up in her throat, but she refused to allow it voice.

"And later, when you wake up, you’ll be rid of that pesky soul."

Angel had been right. Angelus meant to turn her. Rage filled her eyes, and all her muscles tensed, screaming for battle.

"You didn’t think I would tolerate being parted from you, do you? Oh no, no, lover, we’ll be together forever. Until the end of time. We’ll tear the world apart...starting with that annoying fuck Doyle and his beautiful bitch. Then I figured we could head back home to Sunnydale and pay a visit to your mother and Watcher. I thought about turning Giles...but I don’t relish an eternity of him trying to work his way into your pants. So he has to go. Along with all the rest of your annoying friends."

Buffy shook her head. "It’ll never happen."

"It’s gonna happen sooner than you think," he retorted, mouth burrowing into the smooth curve of her neck and biting down. She gasped slightly as his fangs breached her flesh, then he was sucking down huge draughts of her blood, growling and rubbing against her as he did so.

Despair filled her, and as her eyes slid closed, a tear slipped from underneath a clenched eyelid.

*****

As Angelus sucked the last few drops of blood from her rapidly cooling body, he looked down at her. She had struggled valiantly in the beginning, but blood loss had taken its toll on her.

Buffy had a curious half-smile crossing her face. "I win," she whispered slowly. Her eyes dropped to his chest.

His brow furrowed, and he looked further down, to where a sharp piece of wood protruded from his chest. He had no time to react. With the last ounce of her strength, Buffy slammed the stake home.

Angelus erupted into dust around her.

Without his support, she fell to the ground, laying quietly as the ashes of her lover rained down on her. In the end, they had both been right. He had killed her, but even as death edged closer, she had rid the world of him. She couldn’t have allowed Angelus to live. But she couldn’t live without Angel. And now, she didn’t have to. They would be together. Forever.

She supposed it was meant to be that way.

And as she drew her last breath, she smiled.

The End