Fic: "Starlight", Part 9

["jbstories _" <jbstories@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey,

This is Part 9 of "Starlight", enjoy!


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Part Nine
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It was eight in the morning and the Scoobs-minus an Anya and plus a
Spike-were once again gathered in Giles's living room. Today was the day of
reckoning…they were going after the Scheaklar. The mood was tense, they all
realized the danger of the mission and the consequences of failure. Buffy's
future, and accordingly all of their futures were at risk.

"So…according to what we've learned from the texts, the liquid found a sac
behind the demons femur should combat the toxin which is currently attacking
Buffy's spinal cord. This means that it is preferable to take the demon
dead rather than alive," Giles said gearing the team up for their mission
highly improbable. "Any questions?"

"Yeah," Xander said piping up. "How do we do the killing again? I missed
how we do the killing."

"The weakest section of a Scheaklar 's body is the area in-between their
shoulder blades. A major part of their circulatory systems is located
there, and one sturdy thrust with this," Giles said holding up one his many
old swords, "should kill it quite effectively. Once it's dead I should then
start the process of removing the sac."

"So basically, Will, banana head and I are suppose to distract this
Sch-a-what's-it while you play Lancelot?" Xander asked.

Giles nodded.

"Just making sure," Xander responded before plopping back down on the couch.

"Are there any other questions?" Giles asked looking around the room.

Buffy raised her hand.

"Not so much a question as a concern," the Slayer started. "Am I the only
one here the least bit concerned that Willow is missing school? Am I?" she
asked in a suitably indignant tone.

"Buffy, really," Giles said in a disapproving tone.

"What? I'm concerned. Education is important," Buffy responded in her most
sincere voice.

"Well, if that's truly your concern, let me put it to rest," Giles replied.
"It's Sunday."

"Really?" Buffy asked looking at her watch. "So it is," she continued
momentarily defeated. "But……………church!"

"Buffy, I'm Jewish," Willow responded.

"Right," Buffy said with a defeated sigh. "Then I guess I'm not of
questions and or concerns."

"Alright," Giles said clapping his hands all ready to go. "Let's," he
glanced over at Willow. "…get going as soon as somebody decides to get
dressed."

Willow looked down at her cow pajamas.

"I can't help but think that was directed at me," she responded.

Buffy smirked.

"Come on," the Slayer said. "I'll help you find something appropriate for
inspiring abject terror in all but the most terrible of beasts."

"All I have are pastels," Willow commented as she followed Buffy into the
bedroom.

"So it'll take awhile," the Slayer responded. "Rome wasn't built in a day,
you know?"

===============================================================

"Tell her", that annoying voice in the back of Buffy's head screamed as the
Slayer watched Willow pull on her socks.

"No", Buffy yelled at the voice effectively conveying her wish for it to
shut the hell up.

"You have to tell her," the voice continued. "Would you be able to live
with yourself if something happened to her without you having told her how
you feel?" the voice went on.

"Nothing's going to happen to her," Buffy told the voice.

"Well, if this was such a cake wake than why have you been trying to
convince them not to go for the last two days?" the voice asked in a
reasonable tone.

"Because," Buffy said trying to think of a response. "The salt will be bad
for their shoes."

"Oh, that's a convincing argument," the voice retorted.

"Why do you not shut up?" Buffy asked the voice peevishly.

"Because you don't really want me to," the voice responded.

"Yeah, I think I do," Buffy shot back. "I think I really, really do!"

"If you really, really, did, I wouldn't still be here."

"You're talking in donuts," Buffy responded. They were going around in
circles but nothing was in the middle.

"Tell her," the voice responded. "I'm hear because you want to tell her but
you're afraid. I'm here to make you actually do it."

"Well, your doing a piss poor job of it, because I'm not telling," Buffy
replied.

"Yes, you are," the voice said with a certainty that irritated Buffy.
"Don't you think that you at least owe it to her to be truthful? She is
risking her life for yours after all."

"She knows that I love her," Buffy responded.

'Tell her how much," the voice pleaded.

"I can't," Buffy responded knowing that she could but she was just scared.

"You can," the voice said confidently. "And you will. There's nothing to
be scared of."

"But what if…" Buffy's response to herself was interrupted.

"Buffy?" Willow asked, her voice tinged with concern.

"Yeah," Buffy said looking up at Willow. "Wow," she continued checking
Willow out. "Lara Croft look out there's a new chick in town."

"Stop it," Willow said blushing.

"It's true," Buffy replied. "I'm getting scared just looking at you."

"Are you okay?" Willow asked desperate to get the conversation off of her
clothes and how she looked in them.

"As okay as can be," Buffy responded.

"You looked a little out of it," Willow replied.

"Yeah, I was…I mean I," Buffy paused there for a moment. "There's something
I wanted to talk to you about before you go," she said looking up and
snaring Willow's eyes with an intense gaze.

"Okay," Willow said taking a seat on the edge of the bed so that she was
almost eye to eye with Buffy.

'It's about…it's about last night, when I…when I…when I kissed you," Buffy
said getting off to a sputtering start. "When I…I mean…I wanted to tell you
that…" Willow cut her off.

"I know," Willow responded, a piece of her heart chipping off with every
word. "It was strictly platonic…a comfort kiss," she continued while
thinking that it was anything but platonic on her side of the fence, and
that she desperately wanted the same to be true for Buffy's side as well.

"No," Buffy said shaking her head in disagreement. "It wasn't that…it
wasn't that at all."

Willow was silent for a moment, trying to wrap her mind around what Buffy
was actually saying, and what she wanted Buffy to be saying.

"What?" she asked softly.

"When I first got attacked and was lying in the cemetery there was this one
persistent thought in my head, this one unshakable image…you," Buffy
responded tenderly. "You smiling. You laughing. You with your 'resolve
face' on. You typing at the computer. You lounging on your bed. It was
like a Willow collage in my mind, and all that I could think about was how
much I was going to miss you and…and how much I love you," Buffy continued
gaining confidence as she went on. "And these weren't new feelings or
thoughts, it was just that…that this was the first time it was safe to admit
what they really were.

"But…but when I woke up, it was like everything had to go back into it's
place, and I tried…I really, really did, but it was no good, I couldn't put
them back because I remembered what it was like to love you, and it was
beautiful, and…last night I just wanted to, I don't know…I guess I just
wanted to show you.

"And, I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I took advantage of the situation like that,
and I'm sorry for once again demonstrating a total lack of control, but my
heart…it was in the right place. It really was. I just had to tell you,
before…well, before. And don't think that I'm telling you this, because I
expect something, cause I don't, I just wanted you know. And…and I just
hope that now that you know you won't hate me, or want to leave, because as
much as I've proven I can take that's the one thing I don't think I could…"
Buffy finished trailing off, all the while wondering why the hell she
listened to that stupid voice.

"Buffy," Willow breathed out softly once the Slayer finished. What she had
just heard was the realization of a dream she never thought would be anymore
than that-a dream-and it had her in some kind of state of shock.

Buffy dropped her head down. The last thing that she wanted was for Willow
to offer her some heartfelt words of pity.

Willow moved off of the bed and dropped to her knees in front of Buffy.

"Buffy, look at me," Willow gently implored.

Buffy hesitated for a moment, then she looked up at Willow as originally
requested.

Willow's lips curved up into an alluring smile when their eyes met.

Buffy's heart missed a beat.

"I am sooo okay with everything you just said," Willow continued holding
Buffy's gaze with her own. There was this fluttering warmth consuming her,
she felt as if the sun was beating down solely on her, and it was great to
be alive.

She placed her hand on Buffy's cheek, then raised up onto to her knees.

And then they were kissing. Lips brushing against each other, bodies
arching in search of a closeness to match that of their lips. Colours
exploding behind the lids of their eyes, heart rates increasing, thundering
in their chests. Nerve ending on fire, cells misfiring in every direction,
blood coursing through their veins. They kissed. They kissed for an
eternity, they kissed a kiss that stretched on for eons binding their souls
together 'til infinity. They kissed for a nanosecond. They kissed until
the world made sense again.

"Uga boda uh," Buffy muttered once they broke apart.

"Ama pusha tem," Willow responded equally incoherent.

"Whoa," Buffy said-in a very Joey Lawrence during his prime way- starting to
gain some control of her oratory system.

"I'll second that," Willow responded somewhat breathlessly.

They were silent for a moment, then they both broke out into spastic grins.

"I feel I should warn you that I'm having very powerful urges to kiss you
again," Buffy said softly gazing directly into Willow's eyes.

"It's not good to repress powerful emotions, it leads to festering and
stomach hurts," Willow responded leaning forward. "In the interests of your
health and general well being I would have to encourage you to give into the
urges."

"Is that your professional advice?" Buffy asked gently taking Willow's hands
into hers.

"That is the final prognosis of Dr. Willow Van Goodlove."

Buffy smiled, and leaned in to meet her friends lips.

"Oh, good there you are," Giles said breezing into the bedroom.

The girls froze for a second-or as it felt to them a century or two-then
pulled back into their original starting positions two meters away from each
other.

"Giles…wha…you can't just…what if one of us were naked?!" Buffy exclaimed
agitatedly.

"I must confess the thought never entered my mind," Giles responded
frowning.

"No reason it should have," Willow said jumping in. "Nobody was naked, or
planning on being naked, or even hoping to be naked. Nope…there was no
nakedness to be had…especially not the naughty kind," Willow continued
babbling nervously.

"If we could veer the conversation away from nudity it would be greatly
appreciated," Giles said visibly shuddering. He was British after all.

Buffy started to open her mouth to respond but Giles-wisely-stopped her
before she could.

"It's time to head out," he said directing his words to Willow.

The hacker nodded, then turned to look at Buffy before standing up.

"Giles wait," Buffy said as Willow started to head towards the Watcher.
"Could we just have a minute?"

"Yo…I'll be outside," Giles said. He had started to protest but something
in Buffy's eyes had told him that whatever she wanted to say to Willow was
important.

Buffy waited until Giles was out the door, then turned to face Willow.

"Come over here?" Buffy requested softly.

Willow walked the few steps over to where Buffy was seated.

Buffy reached out her hand and took Willows into hers. Then she did what
she had wanted to do the night before, and countless other nights, days,
evening, and mornings-she raised Willows palm to her lips and placed a kiss
directly in the middle.

"I know you have to go," Buffy started holding Willows hand to the side of
her face. "I just wanted to tell you that I love you," Buffy said placing
another kiss on Willow's hand to accentuate her words, "and to hurry back so
that I can keep telling you that until you get absolutely sick of hearing
it."

Willow leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on Buffy's lips.

"I love you too, and I'll never get tired of hearing or telling you how
much."

"You better go, Giles is probably going nuts out there," Buffy said
reluctantly letting go of Willows hand.

"I'll be back," Willow said as she headed for the door.

"I know," Buffy said nodding to convey her belief in the statement. But, at
the same time her heart fluttered, and she sent a silent prayer to whoever
wanted to listen that Willow would come back to her. "Will?" Buffy asked a
moment later.

Willow turned around looking at her curiously.

"Ask Giles to come in?"

Willow nodded, then continued out the door.

Moments after Willow disappeared through the door, it opened once again and
Giles came walking in. His head was down cast, and his steps slow and
measured.

"Willow said you wished to see me," Giles said finally looking up.

"Yep," Buffy agreed. "I did say that."

"What about?" Giles asked.

"Well, you see, my mother has always told me that honesty is the best
policy. So, in the spirit of that sentiment I just wanted to inform you
that if anything happens to Willow on this mission I WILL kill you," Buffy
related with a perfectly serious expression on her face.

"I…see…" Giles responded slowly.

"That, and well…this," Buffy continued rolling her chair over to the bed and
reaching down underneath. She pulled out a gym bag.

"What's that?" Giles asked walking over to Buffy.

"This," Buffy responded dramatically. "Is me taking an active interest in
my life," she continued unzipping the bag. "Our little…chat…got me
thinking. Granted it mostly got me thinking that you're a big jerk…but, it
also got me thinking that you were a little, and I do mean a little, right
about how I've been acting." As she said this she started unloading the
contents of the bag. "So, while I was in here wallowing after our…chat…I
did some gathering. What you see here is…"

"Every flash light that I own," Giles supplied giving her one of his
time-honored outraged looks that were always undermined by an inescapable
amusement caused by the wonder of nature that was Buffy Summers.

"Well yeah," Buffy agreed. "But it's also your best chance at distracting
this thing without using your bodies as giant targets. I've tired that, and
believe me it's not the groovy idea that it might sound like."

"Flashlights?" Giles asked skeptically.

"Yes, flashlights," Buffy responded scowling at him. "You see, as the only
one in this room who has fought the demon, I managed to learn a few things.
Firstly, the demon doesn't like light. Flash the flashlight on it and it's
skin starts to sizzle…this equals major pain for it which should be a cause
for the happies for you."

"Interesting," Giles said thoughtfully.

"That's what I thought," Buffy agreed shoving the flashlights back into the
bag. "Secondly," she continued turning her attention back to Giles. "It
has a blind spot. If you get into trouble you'll want to maneuver yourself
there. It's eyes on the sides of it's head, so if you…"

"Stand directly in front of it, it won't be able to see you," Giles finished
for her.

"Precisely," Buffy said in an effected British accent.

They were quiet for a moment as Buffy handed the bag over to Giles.

"About what I said yesterday," Giles said looking down at Buffy. "I was out
of line," Giles went on. "I don't think that I need to-wait, yes, yes I do.
I care about you Buffy, and I know that I'm not your father, but you are
like a daughter to me, and as aggravating as you can be, as bewildering, and
confounding, and…"

"I get it," Buffy said interrupting. "I'm difficult. Can we move on to the
pro-Buffy side of the list, please?"

"Well, those things that I find the most curious about you, are also the
things that I find most remarkable about you. And over the last few days, I
was seeing the spark that I've come to associate with your resilience
fade…and it worried me, and saddened me…so I did the only thing that I could
think of to make it return. So, I reasoned to myself, if that spark came
back as a result of deep, deep dislike, well, then the ends would justify
the means."

"Wow, that kind of makes my 'sorry that I called you a jerk' seem kind of
shabby in comparison," Buffy said smiling in response.

"Make no mistake, that was my intention," Giles replied allowing himself a
small grin. 'Well," Giles said a moment later. "I should be going."

Buffy nodded.

"Giles," she called just as he reached the door. "Remember, if she's hurt I
WILL beat you to death with a shovel."

"Well, I suppose there's no longer a need to ask what my motivation should
be," Giles responded before continuing out the door.

Once he was gone, Buffy dropped her head into her hands. She hated waiting.

===============================================================

That's all for now, hope you enjoyed it.

Later,
Janine


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