[The river washed off most of the soot and blood and replaced it with mud and silt, so by the time they make it back to the hotel, it's clear that these clothes are not much longer for this world. He showers first, getting rid of their dirty clothes while Buffy cleans up, and by the time he returns, everyone and everything is clean, and they can focus on the more complicated areas of the evening.
He moves to lean in the doorframe of the suite, watching briefly as she brushes out her hair, before speaking.]
( Sometimes, Buffy Summers processes things at a different rate than most people. When her back's against the wall or the stakes are high, everything is set aside, including implications about her future.
That's what she was thinking as she thoroughly conditioned her hair under a steady stream of Mississippi municipal water.
The deeds are done, her girls are avenged. Two dangerous, psychotic witches are off the board and not in danger of hopping bodies - into their descendants - or their own, now charred, ex-bodies. All wins in the Buffy column.
Still. The question.
Buffy looks at her boyfriend, someday fantasy fiancee in the mirror, brush making measured strokes in her hair. )
Were you asking me if I ever thought about being a vampire?
[There's a moment of silence as Stefan processes that question, surprise coloring his features. It is not the question he asked her. But she clearly seems to have it on her mind.
Given who she is, he aways assumed that being a vampire was a non-starter. And he's fine with that. Whatever portion of his extended existence he gets to spend with her is worth it, in whatever form it takes. But if she's thinking about it, then maybe that needs to be a larger conversation.]
I didn't. But do you want to talk about that?
[He's careful to keep his tone neutral, not wanting to scare her off of the topic because he's open to hear what she's thinking.]
( He was asking more than one thing - she just came to the married conclusion the soonest.
A future with Stefan could look like a lot of things. She isn't Elena Gilbert on a waterfall hiking to conclude she doesn't want to be a vampire. Does she want to be a vampire? The simple answer is, of course, no. But, for her, for a long chunk of her life vampires didn't have lives or walk in sunlight. They were violent. They were demons that set up shop inside people's bodies. But, then they were also Harmony. And Angel. And Spike.
And Stefan. And so many other vampires that have challenged her beliefs.
She sets her brush down, turning, hands perching on her chair. )
Shouldn't we? We should have the conversation. If we're talking betrothals, I think we can talk about it. Obviously, I'm not Bella Swan about it all, but - is that something you would want? If it ever came down to it. If it was Stiles or not Stiles. ( She makes a face, metaphors all swirly. Mixing them some more, she gestures. ) Death or... cake. I mean, wouldn't you choose cake?
[Stefan pauses before moving into the room, sitting on the edge of the tub as he tries to put his thoughts into words. There's a knee-jerk reaction that he doesn't want her to be a vampire, because even though he's much better than he used to be, he still has a complicated relationship with his own vampirism. With parts of himself that Buffy hasn't seen yet - parts of him that he hopes she never sees.
But he also recognizes that his vampire baggage can't make everyone's decisions for them.]
You becoming a vampire isn't ever going to be about what I want. Do I want as much time with you as I can possibly get? Absolutely. When I ask you to be with me for the rest of our lives, I mean it. But marrying me is not contingent on you becoming a vampire. I'm not the one who's going to have to live with the blood lust and the enhanced emotions, and everything else that comes with it.
[Buffy is going to have to live with that. So it matters if Buffy wants to.]
It'd be a long conversation. And possibly have another vampire involved.
[Sire bonds are rare, but he still doesn't want to risk it by using his own blood.]
( Buffy's hands come down from the chair, as she shifts her legs around to face him fully. His approach is how she'd expected it to be. Measured, thoughtful and all about what he wants out of this. Being given the choice. Having this conversation. Leaps, buildings, and bounds away from Angel and her mom deciding for her.
Yes, she was young. She'll always love Angel. Profoundly. He was her first. Why it's always vampires with her...
That last part gives her pause. )
Because becoming a vampire is now a menage-a-trois? Pretty sure Stiles only had Caroline's blood in his system, that hunter guy, Damon's -- oh - oh are there, like, side effects? Because it would be yours? If it would be yours?
( This is all starting to sound like that horrible short-lived 90's show Kindred.
[He takes a deep breath, because this is one of the more awkward parts about becoming his kind of vampire.]
Most of the time it is a two person situation. But sometimes - very rarely but sometimes - there's something that happens called a sire bond. Usually when the new vampire has ... incredibly strong feelings about the one who turned them. When Klaus first started turning hybrids, they felt an immense amount of gratitude for essentially having been relieved of the burden of their curse. But in return, they had to follow every order Klaus gave. They couldn't work against him, even if it was to their own benefit. Even if it involved hurting people they otherwise cared about. There's a certain amount of free will that the new vampire has to reclaim for themselves.
For vampires, sometimes if the person that's turning is in love with their sire, a similar bond can form. I do know how to break it, but I don't want to take that risk. Not with you. So if you do decide to turn, we're using someone else's blood, not mine.
( That is not what she expected, and now she realizes -- if it ever came down to it, if there had to be a contingency. He wouldn't be her sire. Which is a weird kind of pit that forms in her stomach. )
I'd rather be Miss Independent, anyway.
( And her own vampire if she were... a vampire. )
I'm not saying that's in the cards. Or, like, I'll register for a sire with the dishes. People register for dishes, right? ( Point being. ) If it came down to it, if it was --- I've lived a good life or I could live a longer one, I don't know. ( She sighs. ) In high school, it was my literal nightmare. But. I don't know. I see you. I see the Butlers. Vamping looks different now. So, it's not a never or a no and definitely not a yes - but - I made history before. ( She shrugs. ) I do know one thing, ( she says, moving to sit next to him on the tub. Back to betrothals, hopefully he'll catch this. ) When you're ready and you ask me -- I'll say yes.
[They drive down to San Francisco, back to the hotel they stayed in the night before, so they can add an extra room to their tab and get some much needed sleep. After taking the time to clean up, Aiden sits down on the edge of the bed, pulling back some of the compartmentalization from earlier in the day to look at his husband.]
I didn't meet Dahlia when she was around, did I?
[It doesn't make any sense. The other two zombies seemed incredibly personal, but why Dahlia for him. What was she trying to show him?]
( Two extra bodies in their rented car don't cramp their style, and they made sure to help in the efforts to get Ben and Jed what they needed (charger, things from their impounded car -- their impounded car, but that can come later, someone will collect it and ship it back. allison takes responsibility for that because she has a fund for operational costs exactly like this. lines crossed mean your car might be towed.)
Josh, in a t-shirt and underwear, picks up the stray towels and hangs them up in the bathroom to dry.
flipping the light off, he returns to the main room.
he thinks back, that's right, that was who aiden had seen. dahlia, esther's sister. she was the mikaelson's problem. he thinks back to around that time. )
No, she pretty much terrorized everyone else. Everyone with the fake last name beginning with M. And Cami, I think, was in danger, once. But, you? ( He comes nearer, yawning, shaking his head. ) Why would that spell think you had?
So, maybe she was trying to mess with you? I mean, that was Chris' dead wife. And my dead friend. I told you about her and the coin. Klaus' big loyalty test. ( He frowns, puzzling it out in his mind and coming to a big brick wall of - huh? ) For Klaus, Rebekah, Freya, Hope even, I'd expect Dahlia but - what did she show you? Exactly?
( He comes closer, dropping to his knees, taking his husband's hands in his. )
That didn't happen. You're right here. We're right here. You proposed. We're married. Just because some mystic wood woman in the Redwoods tried to get you to see something, that doesn't mean there's something to see.
[He wants to believe him. He knows that none of it made sense and as a result it must not be real. But at the same time, he can't help but feel like maybe he's missing something.
There's a nagging thought that not all of it was real ... but maybe some of it was.]
Probably just need to sleep it off. It was a long day.
[Mia is ready to collapse into bed and sleep away a hard day's work. They'll have to bail out fairly quickly the next day, but her go bag is packed and she is clean, so she feels she's earned a good night's sleep.
William is already asleep and she's not far behind, sinking into the stiff hotel bed when her phone rings. She groans, not wanting to answer it, but it keeps ringing so she sighs and answers without checking the caller ID.]
( Jed's phone needs charging, but Ben's doesn't. Spike's still at the mercy of wherever his rag tag band of rescuers down under end up geographically - apparently, that wins him a ride to New Orleans or Kansas. He passes on Kansas, and Allison can also get him a plane ticket as well - but like Spike knows where to go now that he's heard Slayer castle's in shambles.
Ben doesn't have Mia's number, but Allison does. )
I expected a more respectable greeting to the big bad boss lady in charge. Knackered from your big assault on the Showboat, yeah? Got time to bend an old friend's ear? Maybe even a destination to point to on an old-timey globe? You see, the world's my oyster and no, you're not dreaming, pet.
[Mia shoots straight up at the familiar voice, the voice of the vampire who died right in front of her. She doesn't know what to make of it, but given what she saw with her own two eyes and he's not actually in front of her to prove himself:]
If this is someone fucking with me, when I find you I'm going to break your face.
( William stirs, hearing the tail end of his sister's attitude in her voice, lifting his head up. )
It's me, Mia. Calling on Allison's phone. Allison Argent. She of the world wide hunter brigade, but the good guys? Found me in some spell she was also trapped in. It's me.
[Okay she trusts Allison to a certain extent but Allison didn't know Spike. It could be easy for someone to just claim to be Spike, or hell having killed Allison and stolen her phone and claiming to be Spike and that doesn't make any sense either because of all the people to manipulate Mia with, why would someone pick Spike?
But at the same time, she can't quite get past one thing:]
But you're dead. I saw you die right in front of me. I had to tell ...
[She rubs at her eyes, taking a deep breath as she tries to reorient herself.]
("Yeah," Spike says, wanting to skip this part. "I know you warned me it wouldn't be that easy, but I'm fresh out of a silver knife and I can't exactly bleed over the phone," he says to Allison as he hands it over. "And don't start with the holy water," he says to someone else. Maybe Sam. )
Mia, it's Allison. I can't explain it, but Spike was trapped inside a spell - the one Sam and us all ended up in because we were tracking down the bodies. It's actually kind of funny, he was playing the part --
("Oi! Stick to the important bits.")
He was girl, okay, bye, here's Spike again.
("I was the minder. Knew all the rules, made sure the captives played by them," he clarifies getting his phone back. "I'd send a selfie, but you'd see wallpaper.")
[She trusts Allison enough to know that she probably did all the requisite tests to ensure that Spike is Spike, and there were details involved that do nothing to convince her which means it's most likely real.
And she's not really sure how to handle this. But there is a part of her that's a little relieved.]
How? I mean, I know there was all kind of witch stuff getting thrown around, but why pull you into that spell out of everyone there?
Beats me. One minute I'm Mr. Big Pile of Dust and the next I was in Wuthering Heights. It was a literary spell. Exhausting, that. They pulled me out of The Crucible.
( He did kill the last minder, but, when you think about it - he freed the guy. )
I was on Succession, actually, in the middle part. So, I guess it manifested all things written. Didn't I die right after that redheaded bint used all her mojo to bring down a building and lock us all inside the neighborhood. Well, there went Spike, there went the neighborhood.
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everyonelives2025-07-26 07:05 pm
AFTERMATH: THAT NIGHT
stefan & buffy | mississippi
He moves to lean in the doorframe of the suite, watching briefly as she brushes out her hair, before speaking.]
How're you feeling?
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That's what she was thinking as she thoroughly conditioned her hair under a steady stream of Mississippi municipal water.
The deeds are done, her girls are avenged. Two dangerous, psychotic witches are off the board and not in danger of hopping bodies - into their descendants - or their own, now charred, ex-bodies. All wins in the Buffy column.
Still. The question.
Buffy looks at her boyfriend, someday fantasy fiancee in the mirror, brush making measured strokes in her hair. )
Were you asking me if I ever thought about being a vampire?
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Given who she is, he aways assumed that being a vampire was a non-starter. And he's fine with that. Whatever portion of his extended existence he gets to spend with her is worth it, in whatever form it takes. But if she's thinking about it, then maybe that needs to be a larger conversation.]
I didn't. But do you want to talk about that?
[He's careful to keep his tone neutral, not wanting to scare her off of the topic because he's open to hear what she's thinking.]
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A future with Stefan could look like a lot of things. She isn't Elena Gilbert on a waterfall hiking to conclude she doesn't want to be a vampire. Does she want to be a vampire? The simple answer is, of course, no. But, for her, for a long chunk of her life vampires didn't have lives or walk in sunlight. They were violent. They were demons that set up shop inside people's bodies. But, then they were also Harmony. And Angel. And Spike.
And Stefan. And so many other vampires that have challenged her beliefs.
She sets her brush down, turning, hands perching on her chair. )
Shouldn't we? We should have the conversation. If we're talking betrothals, I think we can talk about it. Obviously, I'm not Bella Swan about it all, but - is that something you would want? If it ever came down to it. If it was Stiles or not Stiles. ( She makes a face, metaphors all swirly. Mixing them some more, she gestures. ) Death or... cake. I mean, wouldn't you choose cake?
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But he also recognizes that his vampire baggage can't make everyone's decisions for them.]
You becoming a vampire isn't ever going to be about what I want. Do I want as much time with you as I can possibly get? Absolutely. When I ask you to be with me for the rest of our lives, I mean it. But marrying me is not contingent on you becoming a vampire. I'm not the one who's going to have to live with the blood lust and the enhanced emotions, and everything else that comes with it.
[Buffy is going to have to live with that. So it matters if Buffy wants to.]
It'd be a long conversation. And possibly have another vampire involved.
[Sire bonds are rare, but he still doesn't want to risk it by using his own blood.]
no subject
Yes, she was young. She'll always love Angel. Profoundly. He was her first. Why it's always vampires with her...
That last part gives her pause. )
Because becoming a vampire is now a menage-a-trois? Pretty sure Stiles only had Caroline's blood in his system, that hunter guy, Damon's -- oh - oh are there, like, side effects? Because it would be yours? If it would be yours?
( This is all starting to sound like that horrible short-lived 90's show Kindred.
Also, reminder. This is all what-if territory. )
no subject
Most of the time it is a two person situation. But sometimes - very rarely but sometimes - there's something that happens called a sire bond. Usually when the new vampire has ... incredibly strong feelings about the one who turned them. When Klaus first started turning hybrids, they felt an immense amount of gratitude for essentially having been relieved of the burden of their curse. But in return, they had to follow every order Klaus gave. They couldn't work against him, even if it was to their own benefit. Even if it involved hurting people they otherwise cared about. There's a certain amount of free will that the new vampire has to reclaim for themselves.
For vampires, sometimes if the person that's turning is in love with their sire, a similar bond can form. I do know how to break it, but I don't want to take that risk. Not with you. So if you do decide to turn, we're using someone else's blood, not mine.
no subject
I'd rather be Miss Independent, anyway.
( And her own vampire if she were... a vampire. )
I'm not saying that's in the cards. Or, like, I'll register for a sire with the dishes. People register for dishes, right? ( Point being. ) If it came down to it, if it was --- I've lived a good life or I could live a longer one, I don't know. ( She sighs. ) In high school, it was my literal nightmare. But. I don't know. I see you. I see the Butlers. Vamping looks different now. So, it's not a never or a no and definitely not a yes - but - I made history before. ( She shrugs. ) I do know one thing, ( she says, moving to sit next to him on the tub. Back to betrothals, hopefully he'll catch this. ) When you're ready and you ask me -- I'll say yes.
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josh & aiden | san francisco
I didn't meet Dahlia when she was around, did I?
[It doesn't make any sense. The other two zombies seemed incredibly personal, but why Dahlia for him. What was she trying to show him?]
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Josh, in a t-shirt and underwear, picks up the stray towels and hangs them up in the bathroom to dry.
flipping the light off, he returns to the main room.
he thinks back, that's right, that was who aiden had seen. dahlia, esther's sister. she was the mikaelson's problem. he thinks back to around that time. )
No, she pretty much terrorized everyone else. Everyone with the fake last name beginning with M. And Cami, I think, was in danger, once. But, you? ( He comes nearer, yawning, shaking his head. ) Why would that spell think you had?
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She was trying to show me something but it didn't make sense. None if it felt real.
[More like that's not how it happened, but he doesn't know how to articulate that.]
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[He closes his eyes as he tries to draw the image back.]
One of them was her ripping my heart out and leaving me for you to find. And the other ...
[The other was him doing the finding. He rebels against speaking that into existence and shakes his head.]
... The other didn't make any more sense either.
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( He comes closer, dropping to his knees, taking his husband's hands in his. )
That didn't happen. You're right here. We're right here. You proposed. We're married. Just because some mystic wood woman in the Redwoods tried to get you to see something, that doesn't mean there's something to see.
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There's a nagging thought that not all of it was real ... but maybe some of it was.]
Probably just need to sleep it off. It was a long day.
[Maybe he's convincing (10). Maybe he isn't.]
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Really, really long day.
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mia & spike | mississippi/san francisco
William is already asleep and she's not far behind, sinking into the stiff hotel bed when her phone rings. She groans, not wanting to answer it, but it keeps ringing so she sighs and answers without checking the caller ID.]
Yeah?
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Ben doesn't have Mia's number, but Allison does. )
I expected a more respectable greeting to the big bad boss lady in charge. Knackered from your big assault on the Showboat, yeah? Got time to bend an old friend's ear? Maybe even a destination to point to on an old-timey globe? You see, the world's my oyster and no, you're not dreaming, pet.
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If this is someone fucking with me, when I find you I'm going to break your face.
[Tried and true Queen violence.]
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It's me, Mia. Calling on Allison's phone. Allison Argent. She of the world wide hunter brigade, but the good guys? Found me in some spell she was also trapped in. It's me.
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But at the same time, she can't quite get past one thing:]
But you're dead. I saw you die right in front of me. I had to tell ...
[She rubs at her eyes, taking a deep breath as she tries to reorient herself.]
Can I talk to Allison?
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Mia, it's Allison. I can't explain it, but Spike was trapped inside a spell - the one Sam and us all ended up in because we were tracking down the bodies. It's actually kind of funny, he was playing the part --
( "Oi! Stick to the important bits." )
He was girl, okay, bye, here's Spike again.
( "I was the minder. Knew all the rules, made sure the captives played by them," he clarifies getting his phone back. "I'd send a selfie, but you'd see wallpaper." )
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And she's not really sure how to handle this. But there is a part of her that's a little relieved.]
How? I mean, I know there was all kind of witch stuff getting thrown around, but why pull you into that spell out of everyone there?
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( He did kill the last minder, but, when you think about it - he freed the guy. )
I was on Succession, actually, in the middle part. So, I guess it manifested all things written. Didn't I die right after that redheaded bint used all her mojo to bring down a building and lock us all inside the neighborhood. Well, there went Spike, there went the neighborhood.
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