Work Text:
Part 1
Joss100 Prompt: Coffin
Word Count: 131
Buffy looked down at the coffin, her eyes sliding past the gold enameling and the pale wood inlays that decorated the dark wood. She didn't notice the way the hints of red in the wood shone in the sunlight, or the way the early morning dew clung to the grass crushed by it. It didn't matter how pretty the coffin looked, it was still just a box.
A box with a body inside.
It was cold and hollow and it bore no resemblance to anything living or warm or capable of love. It was nothing like the hand clasped within hers, or the arms across her shoulders. It was nothing like the tears on Willow's cheeks, or the extra tightness in Xander's grasp.
It was just a body. Just a box.
Part 2
Joss100 Prompt: Parent
Word Count: 149
Giles watched Buffy at the funeral just as he watched Dawn. Dawn was standing with Tara and one of her school friends, tears streaming down her face. Tara and Willow were crying too, and Xander's eyes looked suspiciously wet. But Buffy, Buffy was stoic.
She hadn’t cried a drop since she found her mother's body, and that was worrying Giles. His young slayer had turned into a zombie. Despite Xander's arm across her shoulders, despite the way Willow was cuddled into her side, Buffy just stared strait forward, ignoring everything. She wouldn't speak, she wouldn't smile, and she wouldn’t cry.
Giles knew that Buffy might not look at him the same way he saw her, but he hoped that soon she would remember the others. She might not realize that his love was parental, but she had to know that he, like the others, loved her. She wasn't alone.