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Aug. 18th, 2008 09:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
garnigalSubject Line: Challenge # 7 – Who are you and what was that?
Fic Title: Lost
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Characters: Buffy and Gunn
Word Count: 635
Rating: PG – Some swearing
Author: garnigal
Author's Notes: Unbeta'ed.
She was lost.
It was dark, moonless with shadowy trees on either side of the road. She’d followed the directions carefully to this desolate spot, far removed from the city noise and streetlights, trusting the small slip of paper on the seat beside her ahead of any road signs there might have been.
She was right where she was supposed to be, waiting alone in the dark.
Lost.
*****
He wasn’t sure why he was here.
Obviously, he knew why he was here, but the “why him?” was a little less clear. It made perfect sense when he was leaving LA, Angel’s directions in his pocket. Driving out into the suburbs it made much less sense. And he almost turned around, back to the safety of the city, as the last streetlight faded in his rearview.
He could see her leaning against the car, right where she was supposed to be.
Why was he here?
*****
He stopped the truck facing her car. The headlights picked up the gold and honey tones of her hair, the soft peach of her skin and the dark circles under her eyes.
She watched him climb out of the truck. His dark skin melted into the darker shadows of the overhanging trees. He moved like he knew what he was doing, like he knew there could be something out to get him.
“I’m Buffy Summers.”
“Everybody just calls me Gunn.”
There wasn’t much to say. They didn’t know each other. This wouldn’t be some big emotional scene.
They spoke at the same time, muttering to themselves.
“I should have sent Willow.”
“Why the hell did Angel send me?”
They looked at each other and chuckled.
The overhanging trees chuckled back.
*****
Instinct put them back to back.
Fear made them whisper.
“What the hell is out there?”
“How am I supposed to know? I thought I was meeting Angel.”
The trees were quiet, so Gunn chanced a quick look. “Seriously? He didn’t tell you he was sending me?”
“He said he ‘was busy’ but he’d try to meet me. Someone would meet me here. I think I knew he wasn’t coming.”
“But you hoped.”
“I always hope.”
*****
They stayed silent for long moments, waiting for another sound, another sign.
Waiting for something to kill.
*****
“What happened to Sunnydale?”
The sound she made was halfway between a sob and a laugh. It made her choke.
“Now you ask?”
“Well, we might as well fill our time with something.”
“The First happened. Caleb happened. I happened. Willow happened. Mostly, Spike happened.” From the look on his face, she could tell that wasn’t going to be sufficient. “The First Evil tried to… take over, I guess. It used these uber-vamps and some creepy ass priest guy named Caleb.”
“There’s an uber-vamp? We need something worse than a vamp, so they made uber-vamps?”
Buffy snorted. “A whole damned army of uber-vamps. So I made a whole damned army of Slayers. Or Willow did. But even that wouldn’t have been enough, if Spike hadn’t done something fatal with a really ugly necklace and exploded them all and then dropped Sunnydale into the crater.”
“Sounds intense.”
*****
“There’s nothing here.”
“Spooky as all hell though.”
“Oh yeah. I need to get back to the rest of the gang. And streetlights.”
“I hear that, sister.”
She whispered. “Sorry you came all this way.”
“I’m not. You want me to tell Angel…?”
“Tell him I’m okay. Dawn’s okay, Willow’s okay, Xander’s okay, Giles is okay. That’s enough.”
“Glad I got to meet you, Buffy Summers.”
“You too… what’s your first name?”
“Charles.”
“You too, Charles Gunn.”
*****
They maneuvered their cars around each other, got turned around the way they came. They didn’t wave or smile, but she felt less lost and he was glad he’d come.
The laughing trees could wait.
Fic Title: Lost
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Characters: Buffy and Gunn
Word Count: 635
Rating: PG – Some swearing
Author: garnigal
Author's Notes: Unbeta'ed.
She was lost.
It was dark, moonless with shadowy trees on either side of the road. She’d followed the directions carefully to this desolate spot, far removed from the city noise and streetlights, trusting the small slip of paper on the seat beside her ahead of any road signs there might have been.
She was right where she was supposed to be, waiting alone in the dark.
Lost.
*****
He wasn’t sure why he was here.
Obviously, he knew why he was here, but the “why him?” was a little less clear. It made perfect sense when he was leaving LA, Angel’s directions in his pocket. Driving out into the suburbs it made much less sense. And he almost turned around, back to the safety of the city, as the last streetlight faded in his rearview.
He could see her leaning against the car, right where she was supposed to be.
Why was he here?
*****
He stopped the truck facing her car. The headlights picked up the gold and honey tones of her hair, the soft peach of her skin and the dark circles under her eyes.
She watched him climb out of the truck. His dark skin melted into the darker shadows of the overhanging trees. He moved like he knew what he was doing, like he knew there could be something out to get him.
“I’m Buffy Summers.”
“Everybody just calls me Gunn.”
There wasn’t much to say. They didn’t know each other. This wouldn’t be some big emotional scene.
They spoke at the same time, muttering to themselves.
“I should have sent Willow.”
“Why the hell did Angel send me?”
They looked at each other and chuckled.
The overhanging trees chuckled back.
*****
Instinct put them back to back.
Fear made them whisper.
“What the hell is out there?”
“How am I supposed to know? I thought I was meeting Angel.”
The trees were quiet, so Gunn chanced a quick look. “Seriously? He didn’t tell you he was sending me?”
“He said he ‘was busy’ but he’d try to meet me. Someone would meet me here. I think I knew he wasn’t coming.”
“But you hoped.”
“I always hope.”
*****
They stayed silent for long moments, waiting for another sound, another sign.
Waiting for something to kill.
*****
“What happened to Sunnydale?”
The sound she made was halfway between a sob and a laugh. It made her choke.
“Now you ask?”
“Well, we might as well fill our time with something.”
“The First happened. Caleb happened. I happened. Willow happened. Mostly, Spike happened.” From the look on his face, she could tell that wasn’t going to be sufficient. “The First Evil tried to… take over, I guess. It used these uber-vamps and some creepy ass priest guy named Caleb.”
“There’s an uber-vamp? We need something worse than a vamp, so they made uber-vamps?”
Buffy snorted. “A whole damned army of uber-vamps. So I made a whole damned army of Slayers. Or Willow did. But even that wouldn’t have been enough, if Spike hadn’t done something fatal with a really ugly necklace and exploded them all and then dropped Sunnydale into the crater.”
“Sounds intense.”
*****
“There’s nothing here.”
“Spooky as all hell though.”
“Oh yeah. I need to get back to the rest of the gang. And streetlights.”
“I hear that, sister.”
She whispered. “Sorry you came all this way.”
“I’m not. You want me to tell Angel…?”
“Tell him I’m okay. Dawn’s okay, Willow’s okay, Xander’s okay, Giles is okay. That’s enough.”
“Glad I got to meet you, Buffy Summers.”
“You too… what’s your first name?”
“Charles.”
“You too, Charles Gunn.”
*****
They maneuvered their cars around each other, got turned around the way they came. They didn’t wave or smile, but she felt less lost and he was glad he’d come.
The laughing trees could wait.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 06:38 am (UTC)“I’m Buffy Summers.”
“Everybody just calls me Gunn.”
There wasn’t much to say. They didn’t know each other. This wouldn’t be some big emotional scene.
This is spot on.
They maneuvered their cars around each other, got turned around the way they came. They didn’t wave or smile, but she felt less lost and he was glad he’d come.
The laughing trees could wait.
Great last lines.
Well done.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 01:21 pm (UTC)And squee for lines pulled out!
no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 03:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 03:55 pm (UTC)I like this. The mood here feels appropriately sad, weary, and slightly creepy. Nice job.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-19 04:29 pm (UTC)I'm going to pretend that I did all those things to make you compliment it on purpose, instead of just getting lucky. :)