The Way You Look Tonight

By Ash

Title:  The Way You Look Tonight (1/1)
Author:  Ash (hi. :)
E-Mail:  [email protected]
Feedback:  Oh, how I love it... let me count the ways.  No, we don't have that kind of time. *g*
Disclaimer:  The characters aren't mine, the song isn't mine.  I own nothing and mean no offense.
Summary:  Willow is waiting for someone at a dance... but she doesn't get who she expects.

Dedication:  This is a request-fic written for my friend Calliope... Hope this is what you wanted!
 

*The Way You Look Tonight*
 

John should be here any minute now.

Willow smoothed at the skirt of her gown, nervously brushing away
non-existent wrinkles in the deep green silk.    Her eyes searched the
crowd
of dancers, but it was infuriatingly hard to pick out individual faces
in
the strategic darkness of the room.    Soft white fairy lights sparkled
amid
the clouds of fabric that draped the roof in a simulacrum of stars, but
they
only added a romantic haze of light, not touching the shadowed faces of
the
people in the room.

John was five minutes late.

This was the first _real_ date that Willow had accepted in the six
months
since Oz had... her thoughts faltered over the words 'left her'. They
were
too prosaic to contain the jagged pain they described, too fragile to
hold
the complex emotions wrapped inside them.   Love, bitterness, grief-
always
that horrible grief- and now, finally, some acceptance.  Not hate.  No
matter how she'd tried, never hate.

Ten minutes late.

She looked down at her shoes.  The strappy green suede pumps had fit
her
perfectly when she'd put them on- one of the reasons for her impulsive
purchase- but now they felt as ill fitting as everything else about
this
situation.   She shouldn't be here.  She should never have accepted
John's
faltering invitation to the Winter Formal, should have left this fairy
tale
dress for some other girl.   One who would have gloried in the sweeping

beauty of the jewel-green skirts, one who still had fairy tale dreams
that
could come true.

15 minutes.

There was a burning heat choking Willow's throat and her eyes glittered
in
the darkness as she turned away from all the dancing couples and
started to
work her way towards the door at the back of the room.  The length and
fullness of her skirt made it difficult to maneuver through the throng
of
people.  More than once she had to ask someone to step off the delicate

material, being careful to keep her head down lest the fake starfield
overhead betray her by reflecting points of light in the tears
threatening
to escape her eyes.

20.

Yet another figure blocked her path, reduced to an indistinct smear of
black
and white by her increasingly blurred vision.   She started to circle
around
him, throat too choked even to mutter an 'Excuse me.'   The formless
shape
moved to block her path.  She stepped to the other side.   The dark
figure
matched her steps, once again appearing in front of her.   Frustrated
anger
overcame her embarrassment and she looked up, ready to snap.

"Spike?"

25.

If Spike saw the watery stars in her eyes, he didn't comment on them.
His
voice was gentle, and there was sympathy in those cruel eyes.  "John
couldn't make it."

Relief and disappointment chased each other across Willow's face.
"Oh.
Well, that's okay." The band came to the end of a song, creating a
moment of
silence. "Thanks for telling me."   Avoiding Spike's eyes, she turned
away
and rubbed at the wetness on her cheek. "Let's go."   As she stepped
towards
the door, a cool hand closed around hers, and Spike gently pulled her
into
his arms as the band started again, and tendrils of music crept out
into the
air.

Time stopped.

*
Someday when I'm awfully low
When the world is cold
I will feel a glow
Just thinking of you
And the way you look tonight
*

The music was slow, made for gentle swaying with one you love.  Spike's
face
was expressionless as he looked down at her, eyes drinking in the
sight.
The off the shoulder dress framed the sculpted column of her throat and
the
delicate bones of her shoulders in deep green silk, highlighting the
whiteness of her skin.

With the muted flame of her hair bound up in complicated curls and her
eyes
staring at him with curious puzzlement in their ocean depths, she was
like a
portrait by one of the Old Masters come to life.   He tucked the sight
of
her away in his memory as a keepsake, never to be forgotten.

Though Willow _knew_ that Spike was cold, cold like death, the hand
that
enfolded hers felt indescribably hot.  She was scorched by the heat of
him,
feeling the heat of his other hand at her waist like a brand burning
through
the layer of silk between them.   She lowered her eyes and focused on
the
contrast between the white silk of his shirt and the black leather of
his
coat.

*
O but you're lovely
With your smile so warm
And your cheeks so soft
There is nothing for me to love you
Just the way you look tonight
*

Willow risked looking up, meeting ice blue eyes that no longer seemed
cold.
Spike smiled at her, gently mocking the solemnity of the moment.

She felt like she was seeing different versions of him superimposed
onto
each other, but all the same.   There was Spike, with murder in those
eyes
and blood coating that smile.   And there he was again, looking at her
pleadingly as she fed him in Giles' bathtub.   Spike helping them night

after night, Spike saving her life, her saving Spike's life... all of
them
ran together like watercolors in the rain, coalescing into this Spike.

This strangely different, strangely familiar Spike with her face
reflected
in his eyes.

*
With each word, your tenderness grows
Tearing my fear apart
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose
Touches my foolish heart
*

Spike saw the colors of the sunrise in her answering smile.   He could
feel
her pulse jumping under his fingertips, the subsonic beat adding an
extra
layer of depth to the music that surrounded them.   One arm pulled her
closer, holding her more securely as they moved together.

Willow relaxed against him, resting her cheek on the smooth silk that
covered his chest.  She felt very safe, for some reason.  Very safe,
and
very afraid all at the same time.    This wasn't like it would have
been
with John.  That was testing the waters... this was jumping off the
highest
diving board without knowing if there was water waiting to break her
fall.
This could be for real.

*
Lovely never never change
Keep that breathless charm
Won't you please arrange it
Cause I, I love you
Just the way you look tonight
*

Willow stared up into his immortal face as the music started to slow,
knowing that her own face clearly showed all her nervous fear and
dawning
hope.   Spike smiled down at her with the promise-threat of forever
behind
his shadowed eyes and took her hand to lead her off the dance floor.

The two figures disappeared into the crowd.

*
Just the way you look tonight....
*