Once by Garnigal

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

My first time doing Seasonal Spuffy. What a fun event, and mucho gracias to enigmaticblues for being a wonderful hostess.

Title: Once
Word Count: 346
Rating: PG
Medium: Fanfiction
Summary: It only took one glance, but there was so much more to it than that. (S6/7)



He almost turned around five times. She’d sent him away, hatred burning in her eyes and fire freezing her words.

But he couldn’t help but feel he was deserting her.

~~~

She looked for him five times. She’d sent him away, with furious words buzzing in his head and self-loathing churning his guts.

But she couldn’t help but wish she’d been kinder.

~~~

He almost gave up four times. His brain spasmed from the pain, and he knew she’d never forgive him.

But he’d started down this path and he refused to turn back now.

~~~

She cried four times. She cried for Tara, for Willow. She cried for Xander and Anya. She cried at a sappy movie and once she cried when Dawn laughed like she used to before Mom died.

But there was always a little part of her that was crying for him.

~~~

He fell three times. He always came back up spitting sand and blood from his teeth, grinning to hide the fear.

Fear that he might never make it back.

~~~

She smiled three times. She read somewhere that if you do anything enough times, it’ll become a habit.

All she wanted was for smiling to be a habit again.

~~~

He changed his mind twice. Before the soul, it hadn’t occurred to him to do anything but go back to Sunnydale, go back to Buffy. But the soul filled him with doubt.

How could she possibly want him back?

~~~

She looked into his crypt twice. She’d hesitated for weeks before she went. It wasn’t exactly a place filled with happy memories. But it wasn’t as painful as she’d feared.

What if it was more painful for him?

~~~

Their eyes met once. That was all it took for the fear and the pain to ease, for the tension to seep from their shoulders.

It wasn’t all solved in that one glance. They argued again. She left him again. Their wounds were still tender, still easily torn open.

But there was a second glance after the first, and three smiles, four moments of shared laughter, five kisses…

Comments

[jerusha]

I really liked the symmetry of this.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I do love my repetition and psychological matching. :)

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Very powerful writing. I like.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much!

[xtanitx.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is very nice. Loved the pattern, and the emotional weight conveyed in so few words. Thanks for sharing! :)

btw, your icon is cracking me the hell up. :D

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

It's a most excellent icon.

Thank you very much. I love writing the short format, so I'm especially pleased you liked that.

[missus-grace.livejournal.com]

Love the hope here.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

That's an excellent way of describing it - thank you for reading!

[writero.livejournal.com]

I really like the countdown format of this. It contains a good punch. Nicely done!

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'd originally thought of doing 12, but... that's a lot of different things to come up with!

[louise39.livejournal.com]

Oh, love the countings - for both of them. Counting down and then up again. Tally together...five kisses... Very nice.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. I do love my symmetry.

[framefolly.livejournal.com]

Wow -- this packed a punch! It made me feel like I was watching an amazing montage that built toward a great climax/closure!

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I can't do vids, though I love to watch them, so this is as close as I can get.

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Excellent, I love the rhythm to this.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I was thinking of the song Tangled up in Blue (though not the Dylan version), and that definitely helped with the rhythm of it all.

[cindergal.livejournal.com]

I too loved the rhythm of this. Nicely done!

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It was sort of intended to be a song fic, but I couldn't quite get it to work. It sounds like the musicality showed through despite that.

[urania-calliope.livejournal.com]

That was so wonderful and creative! Well done.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[larabeckinsale.livejournal.com]

Absolutely LOVE this!! Great rhythm and emotion. And very powerful.

I'll be saving it in my memories. :D

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much - what a compliment!

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

Incredibly beautiful and elegant. Perfect symmetry of their characters, mirroring in each other. A truly inspired piece.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Hee, elegant is not a word that is typically used when I'm around. Thank heaven's I've got Spike and Buffy to infuse it into my life.

[fangfaceandrea.livejournal.com]

very sweet with a touch of bitter. Nicely done!

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much!

[amyxaphania.livejournal.com]

I loved this, very unique style that worked really well.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much. It's very much how I write (I've got more parallel/repetition drabbles than you could shake a stick at) so I'm glad it's still working for people.

[abelina.livejournal.com]

I like the way you structured this. It's almost lyrical with the pattern, the numbers of things. Nicely done.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. I was actually thinking of the song Tangled up in Blue, in particular the last verse, and I think that helped.

[quinara]

Ooh, I like this! Very cool.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

5-4-3-2-1 Blast off! Well, not exactly, but resolution isn't their easiest thing.

I loved the way this echoed "five words or less" and the smiling section just gutted me.

Very, very nice.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

They've always gotta do things the hard way.

Thanks so much for reading and commenting.

[readerjane]

How lovely! It all comes together like a countdown, then branches out again like a tree.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[jen-nsync-landl.livejournal.com]

Well done! This is lovely. Wonderful imagery and creative construction. :)

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[married-n-mich.livejournal.com]

I don't log into LJ for-ever and find these beautiful words. Well done. It flowed wonderfully.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm certainly glad you logged in today. Thanks so much!

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

Very nicely done!

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, really liked this.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[riccadonna.livejournal.com]

Sometimes there's a song fic, in this case it sounds like the fic is the song. Liked it!

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Does that make it filk? :)

Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

[spikereader.livejournal.com]

This was lovely, the countdown and the symmetry (I love things to be symmetrical so it was just perfet for me) and the hopefullness at the end.

[manoah.livejournal.com]

Very nice. It's rather like keeping score, but much nicer.

Thank you for sharing.

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

Thanks!