Loving Willow
by Rin
4
[reviews]
Part IV:
As the school day dragged on, Buffy found herself more and more nervous about being around Willow. The night before, she had slept like a baby, something that she hadn't been able to do since being called. She even found herself dreaming pleasant things instead of something prophetic that usually resulted in bad, bad things. However, when she woke up to find herself practically on top of Willow, she knew that this internal struggle was going to be harder than she first believed. Nothing was ever easy for the slayer, and she mentally cursed the Powers that Be for never cutting her some slack. She tried to gently extricate herself from Will's sleeping body but immediately missed the warmth that lingered over her own once she was standing outside the comfort of Will's bed. The whole entire day, Buffy could still smell the traces of Will's shampoo on her own hair, the smell of her body wash completely immersing her senses, and to top it all off, she was in Will's pants...literally. She had decided to go commando since she hadn't planned the previous night's sleepover, and found her body easily reacting to the feel of Will's jeans against her naked lower half.
When she arrived back at her own house after school, she found her mom in the kitchen making what smelled like the beginnings of baked chicken and rice. She openly welcomed the new scent into her senses, and went to help her mother with the rest of the meal. Walking jauntily into the room, she stood by her mom with her hand's in Will's jeans pocket.
"Hello, honey. I was just making dinner. How was your day?" Her mom went to the refrigerator, and retrieved a carton of orange juice.
"My day was okay. Same as usual. Training with Giles, researching the big ugly, going face to face with the devil in disguise." As Joyce poured two glasses of juice, she smirked at her daughter's playful banter.
"Ran into Snyder again, did you?"
"Oh, it was horrible. The man is horrible. I'm glad this is my last year having to endure his constant...whatever it is he does." She took a glass, and began to drain the liquid.
"Well, Buffy. How's Willow and the others?" Buffy almost choked on her juice. She had actually managed to get her mind off of her best friend for the first time that day, and her mother decides to bring her back to the forefront. "Are you okay, dear?"
"Yeah, mom. Just went down the wrong tube." Buffy laid her glass down on the table, fearing another mishap with the acidic drink. "Everybody is good."
"What about Faith? Have you seen her around lately?"
"Yeah, actually. We ran into each other during patrol the other night." Upon seeing her mother's expression, Buffy sat down on a stool. "Something wrong?" Joyce sat down across from her daughter, and prayed to anyone who would listen that Buffy wouldn't 'wig out' at her proposal. "Mom?"
"Buffy, I was thinking. Since Faith is so young, should she really be living by herself in that nasty motel? I mean, how does she live exactly? It can't be healthy."
"Well, it's not the Ritz-Carlton but she seems to manage fine. Why?"
"I was thinking about asking her to move in with us." Buffy's eyes widened, and her mother moved to explain. "Now, Buffy, I know that you two have 'bonded' somewhat more than I care for the details but I believe it would do a world of good, not only for her but for you as well. Your relationship aside."
"Mom...I...that is...there is no relationship between Faith and I."
"So..."
"Do we really have to talk about my love life right now?" They both inhaled sharply, and Joyce shook her head while exhaling.
""No, dear. I suppose not but I still want to invite Faith to live with us. That is, if you have no objections."
"Not really. I mean, it would be good for her to get out of that rat hole. Plus, she'd be eating healthier, that's for sure, which will help her while patrolling and whatnot."
"She'd also be right there if you needed help with the slaying. I worry about you out there alone. It would be good for you two girls to go out together." On seeing Buffy's look, Joyce backpedaled. "Well, slay together at least. Faith seems so..."
"Disturbed?"
"Not what I was going to say but to some degree, I believe you're right. More like lost. Like she doesn't know where she belongs."
"And you'd like to give her a place to belong."
"Yes. She deserves a good place to live, since the world is only going to take her for granted if all she does is slay. Didn't you say she dropped out of school even?"
"Yeah."
"She's still so young."
"Well, mom. I'm okay with it, no objections here. Just be forewarned, she does have a tendency to get a little wild, and she might not even want to stay with us. She likes her independence."
"I'll keep that in mind but I still want to offer her the choice."
"I know, mom, and that's why I love you so much. You have such a big heart." Joyce smiled, and Buffy moved to hug her. Hearing the beep of the stove, the two Summers women finished preparing their dinner for the evening.
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"Hi."
"Hi." Willow stood in Fred's doorway, while Fred leaned against the door. Both girls seemed so lost in each other, and Fred's mother just shook her head and smiled at the two lovebirds.
"Why don't you invite her in, Winifred? Instead of just gawking all sparkly eyed at her." She turned the page in the magazine that she was reading, and went back to the periodical.
"Come in." Fred moved back enough to allow Willow in the house, and immediately reached for her hand, leading her into the quiet living room. "Mom, we're going to study in my room before dinner, okay?"
"That's fine, dear. I'll come get you when it's ready. I'll probably start making it in about an hour so be forewarned not to get too heavy into your books, alright?"
"Yes, mother." Fred pulled Will's hand, motioning towards the stairs, and the two girls made their way into her bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind them. "Well, what do you want to do first? There's physics, which I prefer, or there's the English assignment..." Willow wrapped her arms around Fred's waist, and kissed her tightly on the lips, making sure that her fingers were loosely rubbing small circles on the small of her back. Fred moaned as she leaned more into Willow's body, quickly mirroring her girlfriend's movements. When they finally parted, they rested their foreheads together. "Or we could start there, which is perfect."
"The best place to start anything, I'd say. Or end it. Or in the middle. Anywhere pretty much. I'd say we just do that all the time. Ohh! They should definitely distinguish a major in kissing you in which I'm the only one that's allowed to declare." Willow's smile beamed, and Fred kissed her nose lightly before falling out of her embrace.
"Sounds like a plan." She moved to her desk, and began quietly pulling out her textbooks and materials.
"Something wrong?" Willow moved to sit on the end of the bed, and began pulling things from her own backpack. Fred brought her things over to the bed, and sat down with her back leaning on the headboard.
"No. No, nothing's wrong. Just don't want to think about those things just yet. One day at a time for right now. That's what I'm doing." Willow brought her things with her as she moved to sit beside Fred at the top of the bed.
"Those things?"
"It's not important right now. Let's get started. The sooner we start, the sooner we finish, and you know what that means." Fred playfully bumped her shoulder against Willow's, and Will arched an eyebrow.
"No, what does that mean?"
"Means more Willow smoochies. But if you'd rather hold out 'til later..."
"Alright, so let's begin."
As the girls had just finished their physics assignment, Mrs. Burkle knocked on the door. Fred and Willow both stood up, upset that they didn't get in some smoochies before dinner but held off as they made their way to the dinner table hand in hand. As they ate, the conversation was wholesome and comfortable until Fred's father brought up the inevitable.
"So, Willow...where have you been thinking about going to school?" He forked some mashed potatoes in his mouth waiting for her reply.
"Well, I'm not quite sure yet. My dad wants me to go to Harvard like he and mom did but my uncle keeps telling me that I would love Oxford. He's been living in England since he graduated from there. That's where they make Giles's, which would be neat." She looked over at her girlfriend, and noticed her solemn expression. "But I'm not exactly sure yet. I'll see after the SAT's in February." She silently mouthed a 'you okay' to her girlfriend, receiving a slightly sad nod before turning back to her plate.
"Well, Fred here still hasn't decided either but this school in Los Angeles has been begging for her. She practically gets phone calls everyday from this professor up there begging her to attend. Doesn't hurt being a genius, does it Willow?"
"It had its moments." Willow ducked her head, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Dad, enough already. Besides, I want to keep my options open for right now. There are more choices than UCLA, although their physics department is beyond incredible." Fred's eyes had an excited gleam to them, and it didn't go unnoticed by her girlfriend, who made a mental note to bring up the conversation later in private.
"Well, do you girls have a lot of homework tonight?" Mrs. Burkle noticed the girls discomfort of the conversation, and decided to steer the course to another topic.
"Well, we just finished our physics, and we still have to finish our English assignment but other than that, we're homework free." Willow smiled, thankful at Fred's mother for helping them escape Mr. Burkle's interrogation.
"What else do you plan on doing tonight?"
"Well, I thought we'd maybe watch a movie in my room, if that was okay with you guys." Fred scrunched her face up in a silent plead to her parents. Her mother just smiled, and nodded in approval.
"Of course, honey. Willow is always welcome here. Do you have your dress for the dance this weekend, Willow? Wait until you see Winifred. She looks so gorgeous in hers." Fred blushed, and averted her eyes away from the table.
"Mom, stop."
"You do. Everyone's going to be jealous of Willow when they see you enter that club. You just wait and see." Mrs. Burkle moved to clear the table of the dishes, and retreated to the kitchen. The two girls said their thanks for the dinner as they moved up the stairs to finish their evening.
"Willow, what do you think about this part?" Fred moved her book, and pointed to a spot on the page. Willow leaned in, and moved into concentration mode. Fred had to do everything she could not to kiss her girlfriend right there because she found Willow's concentration face quite endearing.
"Hmm...I'd say that the sign represents an omnipotent being overseeing the goings-on of the place." She looked up at her girlfriend, and smiled seeing Fred's satisfactory grin.
"That's what I thought, too." Fred lay her book down by her papers. "What do you think will happen to Gatsby?"
"Would you shoot me if I told you I read the whole thing?" Fred noticed the sheepish grin on her girlfriend's face, and smiled at her girlfriend's over achievement.
"You're so cute when you overdo." Willow just blushed, and ducked her head. "And no, I will never do anything to you for going the extra mile. Smart girls are extra sexy, you just happen to be the smartest girl I know." Willow arched an eyebrow.
"I'm taking it you're not including yourself in this poll." Fred just smiled, and moved into give Will a chaste kiss before moving off the bed with her school stuff, causing Willow to pack her own things in her bag. "So, about this movie..."
"Yes?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"I was thinking porn." Willow's eyes bulged out of her head, and she stared at her girlfriend slack-jawed. "Breathe, sweetie, I'm just kidding. What are you in the mood to watch?" Fred moved over to her movies stacked by her television stand. Willow calmed down, and joined her girlfriend. "We could watch something romantic." Fred wrapped her arms around Willow, and stared longingly into green eyes.
"Or we could just grab a movie, pop it in, and make out the entire time." Willow kissed her girlfriend on the neck, while she placed her own hands on Fred's hips.
"Or there's that, which could also work. Why not skip the movie, and just make out?" Fred sighed as her hands grabbed Will's shoulders from behind, massaging the tension she felt there.
"Mmm...that feels nice." She moved her kisses up until she was nibbling behind Fred's ear, resulting in a quiet moany squeak from her lover. "Your parents are expecting us to be watching a movie. Plus, the movie will drown out the sounds I plan on escaping from your mouth." She continued nibbling on her ear as Fred bent down a little to grab the top of her stack, fumbling to place it in her player, while stumbling to push Willow on the bed. She grabbed the remote from her nightstand, and turned her lamp off as Willow continued her attack on her neck. "What did you put in?"
"Don't know. Don't care." Fred turned the player on, and the sound blared from the speakers, causing both girls to stop their kissing, and grab their ears. Fred quickly turned the volume down, and both girls looked at each other a split second before giggling.
"What in the world were you doing that you needed the sound that high, young missy?" Willow's mock parental face appeared, and Fred smiled as she ran her thumb lightly over her lips.
"There was a special on entropy last night, and I still needed to take a shower before my class." Fred shrugged apologetically but her expression was quickly changed to pleasurable as Willow's mouth once again found her exposed neck. Upon seeing her girlfriend's expressions between kisses, Will explained.
"What? You're not the only one that find smart girls hot." They both snuggled together, and stopped their kissing as familiar sounds came from the television. They both looked over, and Fred knew that her kisses were short lived for the night. Dammit! I should have known that this movie would be on top of the pile. "Ahh...Fred! You had me at hello." Willow mock pouted, knowing that she wouldn't be able to pry her eyes from the form of a young Renee Zellweger, or the cheesy romantic bits in the film. However, she snuggled close to Fred so that she would be able to sneak all sorts of surprising kisses on her girlfriend throughout the movie. The rest of the evening was set from there.
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As she stood before the door at the old beat up motel, Buffy rung her hands, afraid of what she would find behind it. Suddenly, the door swung open, and she jumped back in response. Faith stood in the doorway looking amused, while Buffy just stood there, trying to catch her breath. Faith was standing there in a wife beater and her underwear. So much for modesty. I hope mom is ready for this.
"Well, B. You gonna just stand there, or do you want something?" The sunlight shone down on the two, and Buffy seemed to sweat more from Faith's response to her purpose for being there rather than the extra hot early November weather.
"Yeah, actually. Faith, do you mind if I come in before somebody sees you in, well, practically nothing?" Faith smirked sexually at Buffy before moving back into the room, allowing Buffy room to move in behind her. When she shut the door, she found Faith putting a pair of black leather pants on, which Buffy was grateful.
"Well? Did you get that spell ready or something? You ready to kick some mayor ass?" Faith went to grab her boots by the dresser. Buffy intercepted her, and motioned for her to sit down on the bed. Faith followed reluctantly but still followed nonetheless.
"I didn't come about the mayor. I actually came about you." Faith stretched her arms above her head, purposefully giving Buffy a better view.
"Well, B. I'm surprised that you skipped school for a little afternoon delight but I gotta say, I was still sleepin'."
"I didn't even knock."
"Sensed ya through the door. Figured you were tense about somethin', might as well get outta bed if it was enough to get you worked up like that."
"Actually, I didn't come here for sex."
"Oh, yeah? Then, what did you come here for if it wasn't for the mayor or sex?"
"I have a proposition to make." She saw Faith about to say something, and she held up a hand to stop her. "Let me finish before you say anything else." Faith relaxed, and Buffy took a deep breath before continuing. "This place is gross."
"Geez, thanks. Means a lot." Sarcasm dripped from Faith's mouth as she rolled her eyes.
"No...well, it's just that. I don't like to think of you living here. You could do better."
"Yeah, well. I make do with what I got."
"Mom and I were talking, and we want you to come live with us. And before you say anything, I just want you to think about it. You wouldn't have to scrounge for money, you would be comfortable. You would still have your privacy, and mom even agreed to staying out of your...personal affairs, as long as you take them elsewhere, or when she's not there. You'd have all the food you can eat, and stay healthy. Plus, you'd be right there, so we can patrol together more often." Faith was uncharacteristically quiet for a couple minutes as her mind processed what Buffy was offering her.
"Well, B. I gotta say...you really thought this one out, didn't you?" She seemed disbelieving.
"I'm serious, Faith. I want you to come live with us." Buffy placed a hand on her forearm, and Faith's eyes followed its path. "At least think about it."
"Well, you know. This place is all right. It's got all I need already. A bed, a shower, and a television."
"The TV doesn't get but three channels, and that's all practically fuzz. The only thing you see is the weather channel, the news, and infomercials with Richard Simmons trying to 'sweat with the oldies.' Honestly, Faith. Just think about it?"
"Yeah, okay. I'll think about it but I'm not making any promises." Buffy smiled warmly, and moved to stand. "Leaving so soon?"
"Yeah, I promised Willow I'd meet her at lunch in the library." Buffy looked thoughtful for a minute. "Would you like to join us?"
"Nah, I got a five course meal already prepared here. Plus, I still wanna catch up on my zzzz's."
"Late night?"
"The latest." Faith sighed as Buffy moved to the door, and grabbed the nob. "B?" Buffy turned around, and she could tell Faith was struggling internally to say something. "Thanks...for coming by, you know? I wasn't gonna say anything but thanks." Buffy smiled warmly again, and opened the door.
"You're welcome, Faith. Think about it. The offer will always stand." With that, she left the ratty motel room, and Faith took her pants back off before falling back down on the stained mattress.