The Times In Between
by Bob Head
Chapter 4
[reviews]
Author: Bob Head
Disclaimer: None of the characters below belong to me. All the BtVS people belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox. I'm just trying to have fun.
Pairing: Buffy/Willow, of course.
Spoilers: Anything up to and including the Series Finale is possible
Distribution: IKOLY and Wishful Thinking. Anybody else, just ask.
Rating: NC-17, mostly for language, but who knows what might happen.
Feedback: Well, Yeah! frank_8281@yahoo.com
A/N: The flashbacks were chosen pretty much at random and because I personally liked them. If any body likes other B/W moments better, drop me a line, I might add them. I took the dialogue for them from the Buffy vs. Angel website cause my memory is not that perfect.
A/N 2: I appreciate all the feedback and encouragement that I have received during the writing of this story. Frankly, there are WAAY too many to thank individually, but there are a couple of people who deserve special notice. Ivygort and BHV who's input has been invaluable in improving my writing, thank you seems inadequate but it's all I got so... Thanks, B.
The Times In Between
First day of school, Sunnydale High
Buffy walked up to the redhead she'd seen earlier at the water fountain, "Uh, hi! Willow, right?"
Startled Willow babbles, "Why? I-I mean, hi! Uh, did you want me to move?"
Smiling at the shy girl's reaction Buffy continued. "Why don't we start with, 'Hi, I'm Buffy!' and uh, let's segue directly into me asking you for a favor," She sat on the bench next to Willow. "It doesn't involve moving but it does involve hanging out with me for awhile."
Sounding slightly confused, the redhead asked, "But aren't you hanging out with Cordelia?"
"I can't do both?"
"Not legally." Said Willow. "Besides, it's time to wake up."
"What?"
Day of the 'Spring Fling' Dance, Sunset
Buffy had rushed to Willow's house as soon as she'd heard the news. She hadn't even taken time to change out of her prom dress, just thrown on her leather jacket and ran the whole way. When she arrived she found Willow huddled into a ball of misery on her bed.
"I've seen so much." Willow said with tears still drying on her face. "I thought I could take anything. But Buffy, this... this was different."
Buffy tried to be comforting. "It'll be alright."
"I'm trying to think how to say it," Willow said, "to explain it so you understand."
"It doesn't matter as long as you're okay."
"I'm not okay." Replied the hacker, "I knew those guys. I go to that room everyday. And when I walked in there, it... it wasn't our world anymore. They made it theirs. And they had fun." Tears began to slide down her cheeks as she continued. "What are we gonna do?"
"What we have to." The Slayer sighed as she stood up. "Promise me you'll stay in tonight, okay?" Willow nodded in agreement as Buffy turned to go.
"Buffy?" She stopped in the doorway and turned to face Willow.
Smiling despite her tears the redhead said, "I like your dress, but it's time to wake up now."
"Huh?"
The Day after Buffy's 'Welcome Home Party'. (Complete with zombie party crashers.)
They had spent the afternoon just doing the 'best friends' thing. Window shopping, talking about their summer activities. Buffy complaining about diner patrons with grabby hands and her lack of undercover skills, Willow about how unfair it was that Vamps got their skills in life instantly enhanced as soon as they had risen. Eventually, they wound up at their favorite table at the 'Espresso Pump' talking about Willow's witchy experiments.
"I mean... I'm not a full-fledged witch." The redhead offered. "That takes years. I just did a couple pagan blessings and... a teeny glamour to hide a zit."
Buffy asked, "Does it scare you?"
"It has." Willow replied, squirming in her seat. "I tried to communicate with the spirit world, and I SO wasn't ready for that. It's like being pulled apart inside. Plus I blew the power for our whole block. Big scare."
"I wish I could've been there with you."
"Me, too. I really freaked out."
"I am sorry." The Slayer said earnestly.
"It's okay. I understand you having to bail. I can forgive that. Um... I have to make allowances for what you're going through a-and be a grownup about it." Willow said smugly.
"You're really enjoying this whole moral superiority thing, aren't you?" Buffy smiles.
"It's like a drug!"
"Fine! Okay. I'm the bad." Buffy said resignedly, "I can take my lumps... for a while."
"All right." The young Wiccan said, "I'll stop giving you a hard time... Runaway."
"Will!" The blonde cried out.
"Giggling, Willow said. "I'm sorry! Quitter."
Buffy's eyes go wide at her friend's temerity as she replies, "Whiner."
Willow fires back, "Bailer."
"Harpy." Said Buffy.
Willow replies, "Delinquent."
"Tramp."
Willow; with a mock offended look on her face, "Bad seed."
"Witch."
"Freak."
Buffy started to say something else when Willow gripped her hand and said, "Buffy I like a stroll down Memory Lane as much as the next girl, but you have to wake up now.
"W-what?"
Minutes after Willow reversed Buffy's invisibility at the Arcade.
Buffy stepped outside the Arcade. Willow followed, still carrying the invisibility ray they had just taken from the dork patrol.
"Pretty neat, you finding the van." The Slayer asked as they began walking down the street. "So... how did you manage to... do it exactly? I mean, to locate it?"
Willow sighed, "The hard way. The spell-free way. The oh-my-god-my-head's-gonna-fall-off, my-feet-are-killing-me way."
Making a pained face, she sat down on the edge of the curb. Buffy sat beside her. "I don't know how I got through this day."
"Well, the important thing is that you did." The blonde said, "It's a... good first step."
"How are you doing, post-invisibleness?" Willow asked.
Buffy shrugged, "Okay. I still have to do some damage control from my giddy-fest. Dawn was pretty freaked out." She paused. "The whole taking-a-vacation-from-me thing didn't work out so well."
"Tell me about it."
"Except... when I got Xander's message... you know, that I was... fading away... I actually got scared." The Slayer said.
"Well, yeah. Who wouldn't?" said Willow.
"Me." Buffy replied, "I wouldn't. Not too long ago I probably would have welcomed it. But I realized..." she thought for a moment. "I'm not saying that I'm doing back-flips about my life, but... I didn't... I don't... wanna die. That's something, right?"
"It's something." Willow said.
For long moments the two just sat side-by-side on the curb, looking morose. "So I guess we both made good first steps." Said the redhead.
"I guess."
"Yay for us." Willow said sounding exhausted.
"Yay."
Willow reached out and shook Buffy by the shoulders, "DAMMIT BUFFY! WAKE UP!."
May 4th, 2004 10:42 pm
Buffy's eyes snapped open. She looked to the right and saw Willow lying next to her, with teary eyes and a death grip on her right hand. Al was sitting cross-legged between them and looked exhausted. Faith sat on her left and Kennedy to Willow's right.
Willow sat up never letting go of the Slayer's hand. "Welcome back Buffy."
"What... Um," she cleared her throat, "What happened?"
Althenea sighed wearily, "Simply put, you died."
"Again?" Buffy exclaimed as she pushed herself upright with her free hand.
"Yeah, been meaning to talk to you about that B." Faith said dryly, "You really gotta knock off this whole dyin' thing, it's startin' to get old."
"You're telling me?" said Willow in a tired voice, "I'm the one that keeps having to bring her back."
"Hey!" cried Buffy, "I'm right here you know! And I'm still not hearing any 'splainy sounds. I mean I WON the fight, why did I die too? Or start to die... or what the HELL did happen?"
"Well, as nearly as we could tell, when the First Evil used you as a template for it's corporeal form it created a bond... or a link to your life force." Althenea explained. "So when you killed it your own life energy began to drain away through that link."
Willow took a deep breath and continued, "We... we managed to stop the drain by severing the link..." Her voice began to shake as tears rolled down her cheeks "But by that time your life energy was so low..."
"Hey... I'm still here." Buffy stood and pulled the Wiccan into her arms. "I'm okay Will, I'm... okay." With a quizzical look on her face she asked Althenea. "How am I okay?"
Willow wiped her eyes and answered, "We, um... we gave you an infusion of life energy. Like a jumpstart on a car except... without actual cables or... batteries... oh! Or the greasy mess on your hands afterwards."
Buffy couldn't help but grin at the mini babble. 'God I've missed that.' She thought, 'Who am I kidding.' She finished the thought out loud, "I have missed you so much Will."
The blonde Slayer pressed her lips against Willow's, the fingers of one hand tangling in long red tresses the other hand pulling her body in close. For a moment they lost themselves in the kiss, until...
"Hey," Faith said, " I hate to break up the love fest, but can we get the hell out of this hole now? I could use a beer and a bath, in that order."
Buffy and Willow, both a little flushed, broke off kissing as Kennedy moved to help Faith to her feet. "I second that," she said, "but only if I get to share the bath."
"Bath does sound good," said Willow her gaze never leaving Buffy's eyes.
The blonde grinned and said, "So does sharing."
The other two Slayers helped Althenea rise to her feet and Kennedy asked, "Um... what are we going to do about that?" she pointed at the headless corpse.
"The Coven and I can take care of it later." Said the elder Wiccan. "In the meantime a simple aversion spell should keep everyone else out."
With that, the battered and weary group made their way out of the cavern and hiked back to the car.
May 18th, 2004 1:30 am
The teenaged Summers was giving a pretty good imitation of her sister's 'Slayer Death Glare' as she crossed the lobby of the building she lived in with Buffy. Two hours ago she had arrived at LAX from her class trip to Europe.
'Trip of a lifetime my butt!' thought Dawn as she entered the elevator and jabbed the button for her floor.
It had started out alright, but then one of the chaperones had gotten sick and it had gone downhill from there. The last four days had been the worst.
'First we get delayed in Madrid because Mr. Kerrie passes out from dehydration. That causes us to miss our flight at Heathrow. We FINALLY get a flight home and nobody meets me at the airport!'
"I swear!" She said walking down the hall from the elevator searching for the keys to the condo. "I am SO never going on one of these stupid school trips again."
Dawn kicked the door shut behind her and dropped her bags in a heap, only then did she notice the other pile of luggage next to the door. Some of it she recognized as Buffy's but the rest...
'Hey, since when does Buffy leave clothes all over the living room?' she thought as she picked up a pair of jeans off the floor. 'And WHEN did she get taller?'
Glancing around the room Dawn realized that the clothes scattered about were of two different sizes. 'Oh. My. God!' The realization hit her like a rock between the eyes. 'Buffy brought someone home!'
The brunette started climbing the stairs as quietly as she could. A flash of green caught her attention about halfway up. Her eyes widened as she picked up a bra that was obviously NOT Buffy's.
Dawn looked up the stairs at her sister's bedroom door with an angry expression on her face, 'She better not have Faith up there!'
Quickly and quietly she mounted the stairs and listened outside the door.
"God! You're insatiable!" said a muffled voice.
"Not my fault." Dawn recognized that voice as her sister's.
Laughter, "Then whose is it?"
Buffy said with mock seriousness, "I'm not the one who picked Faith's energy for that jump start."
"Oh," smooching sounds emerged from behind the closed door, "so it's my fault that you are SUCH a horndog!"
"Yep!" more smooch noises.
'I get LEFT at the airport to fend for myself, and Buffy is doing the wacky with some skank?" Dawn fumed.
She pushed the door open angrily and her jaw dropped as a naked (and very embarrassed) Willow rolled behind an equally naked (and ticked off) Buffy.
"Dawn!" she cried as she yanked the covers over her and a very red Willow's nudity, "Don't you EVER knock?"
The End (FINALLY!)