Bittersweet (After 'The Long Way Home')

Buffy told me, yesterday.

Looked me in the eye, saying 'If it weren't for Ethan then I mightn't have made it out that funky dream-thing.'

I swear my heart missed a beat.

I'd long decided that my handing Ethan over had been overkill. After all, what had his response been, aside from retribution to my actions?

The latest Challenge.

'Ethan?' I asked, trying not to care.

It wasn't safe to care.

'Yeah. I went to try and bust him out after, but he'd been shot. In the head.'

Game, Set, and Match to me.

Funny.

I never thought victory would feel like this.