Angels Gift
by wicked
[reviews]
Angels Gift
By Slayer125
This is a response to Scotts challenge for a B/W pairing to take place after "Not Fade Away." Buffy and Willow meet up after one of the girls gets a little persuasion from Giles they talk and figure out their dreams have a lot in common.
Rated PG
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy.
"Giles are you sure about this?" The lights are dim as the redhead looked around the smoky bar. He nodded and smiled as Willow waved her hand in front of her face trying to rid the thick patch of smoke lingering in front of her.
"This place is disgusting, why on gods green earth would she be here?" Giles shook his head as if he were ashamed of himself. "She isn't the same girl you remember, Willow. Angels last message to be before that night was to save her, she had been with the Immortal one last time he had seen her. Angel wanted to come back but with everything that happened it just wasn't possible."
The redhead took it all in remembering what Buffy looked like the last time she had seen her. Willow had often wondered whether the Slayers expression was good or bad but it seems now that it was bad. "How do you know she is going to be here tonight?" The question was halted as Willow sensed Buffys presence, funny how after three years she could still sense her presence.
The Wiccan tried to suppress her startled gasp but was unable to. Buffy couldn't weight more than eighty pounds and her face was pale and gaunt. "Giles, what happened to her?" The Watcher reached across the table and took Willows hand in hers. "I have to let you handle this on your own, a lot has happened to her Willow and she needs someone to be strong for her."
"BUT ME!" The statement was rather high-pitched; Willow had never really gotten over her feelings for the Slayer. "Yes, you Willow. I used to watch her and if anyone can reach her it would be you." The redhead put her head down on the table but looked up when she felt somebody staring at her. There was no doubt in the Wiccan's mind that it was none other than Buffy Anne Summers. There was also no doubt the blonde was fleeing the bar. Not paying any attention to the Watcher, Willow fled out of the bar only to encounter the blonde huddled beside the door wiping away her tears.
"Why are you running away, Buffy? Aren't you happy to see me?" She nodded and pulled Buffy into a tight hug. The Slayer nodded as she buried her face in the red haired girl. She smelled like strawberries and it is a scent that she thought she would never smell again. It was the scent of innocence, sure Willow had done a lot but she was still innocent, and I am guilty. Sensing the inner turmoil in Buffy she eased the Slayer away forcing the hazel eyes to meet her own.
"Buffy, what is going on? What happened to you?" She looked so awful that Willow had to imagine it was something horrible but she had no idea how bad. "It's good to see you, Wills." The redhead grinned, "Well at least that seemed sincere." The Wiccan seemed unsure whether they should head back into the club or maybe a coffee house. "Do you have someplace to stay?" Buffy was so confused as to whether she should save them all by running away or if she should just talk to Willow, it always helped before.
"Uhmmm, no. This was all kind of last minute, I just started working on a company from home and Giles called." If it were possible the Slayer paled a bit, "so you know about Angel then hunh?"
"Yeah, I am so sorry Buffy." The Slayer shrugged and tried to project her nonchalance towards her best friend. Was she even that any more? Buffy was the one who left them all without as much as a word. "You didn't have anything to do with it...I just couldn't deal with it all." A cold chill caused the Slayer to shiver in the cool night air.
"Do you have someplace to stay?" Secretly the blonde was praying that Willow didn't but another part of her knew if the redhead stayed she would have to face a lot of things from her past.
"I...don't yet but I don't want to be an inconvenience." Picking up the redheads bag, Buffy gestured for her to follow. "I will pretend I didn't hear that, after all we have been through together you would never be an inconvenience." Willow followed closely behind the blonde noting she no longer smelled like vanilla, coconut and leather. Now the scent was more of cigarettes and stale beer.
"What happened to you, Buff?" The question was silent enough but Willow had forgotten about Slayer hearing. "It's a long story and one I really don't want to tell out here." After what seemed like a long, uncomfortable walk, they arrived at a semi dark and secluded apartment. "Uhm, nice place." The redheads voice chimed out in the darkness causing the Slayer to smile, it had been a long time and she had missed Willow most of all. Time had never caused Buffy to analyze just how much she missed the redhead because then she would have to face feelings that were better left alone.
"I see you still can do the sarcasm pretty good." Willow grinned, "I have been practicing, you like?"
"I give that one a ten."
"I score better than a ten at other things now too!" The Wiccan was excited and Buffy could read it in her voice.
"Like what?" The smirk was not be unnoticed by her best friend.
"Not that, BUFFY! That is more like a 9." She tried to keep the flush from her cheeks but failed miserably. The blonde Slayer took her hand and led her into a sparse but nice looking apartment. "You are welcome to stay as long as you want, Wills. It will be nice having you here, I missed you." Although she wanted to keep her distance emotionally something kept her from doing so...the pull to the younger girl was to strong and now that she was here in front of her, something was going to change.
Flopping down on the black leather couch with an exasperated sigh Willow took in the small apartments appearance. "So, kind of fancy. Did you get this stuff from the immortal?" Buffy looked at her shocked "How did you know about him?" Willow grinned, "nothing as fancy as spying Buffy you can relax. Angel told me about it."
"I am so sorry I missed him, if I had known it would be the last time..." A gloomy silence fell over the room. "So Slayer when was the last time you ate?" Buffy shrugged as she fell down on the other end of the couch.
"I haven't really been hungry." Willow jerked back and pretended to swoon "Well, I do declare...The Slayer not hungry." Buffy tried to keep the grin held in but couldn't contain the laughter. "Ok, ha now cut it out." The redhead then really looked at Buffy and felt her heart break again that she let the blonde haired goddess get so far away from her. "How about pizza my treat...Veggie and a supreme with thick yummy crust?" Nodding her head Buffy went and called to order it.
After that was done Willow watched her best friend as she made her way back to the couch. Buffy stretched out on the long couch and rested her feet across Willows lap. "So are you going to tell my why you are here?" The redhead laughed knowing that her best friend had never been one to pull any punches.
"You want the long story or the short one?" Pondering what her response would be she cast her first genuine smile to the Wiccan.
"Considering I have missed your voice so much why don't we go with the long story."
Not knowing how to approach the subject Willow did the only thing she could think of "Do you have anything to drink?"
"Uhmmmm, I have tea and cokes and coffee."
"How about scotch?" Laughing at the redhead Buffy got up and came back with a large bottle and sat back down only this time they were closer together and both of them noticed the tension.
"You have been hanging with the English to much, Wills."
"I know, what can I say." She shrugged then took a big shot straight out of the bottle. The Slayer bust out laughing as Willow started to cough and sputter. "I see you hit that stuff pretty hard and heavy, hunh?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah.... Ok so you want the story so here we go...Hey, since it has been so long why don't we share some cuddles since somebody decided to be a slacker and a runaway." The redhead stuck her tongue out at Buffy and pulled her into a tight hug, she had no clue how the redhead would feel about her by the end of the night but this was a risk she had to take. There was no way she was going to let the Slayer go without a fight.
"Ok." Buffy snuggled close to Willow and sighed deeply.
"First of all, Kennedy and I are no longer together and I realize that was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made. I don't know if it will make sense to you but she made me feel." The Wiccan started to smooth the straight, blonde hair down.
"I really thought that what I felt was enough, but it wasn't because every time I closed my eyes I saw somebody else, someone that owned by very soul from the moment I first laid eyes on her." Buffy looked up with tears in her eyes "Tara" she whispered so softly that it broke the redheads heart.
"You would think so, yeah?" Buffy nodded dreading not only that the dead girl still held such a huge part of Willow, but also because she still hurt over her death.
"No, this woman has grown from a insecure teenager who saved the world to an insecure woman who not only saved the world but saved me from myself so many times. I think that this time she needs somebody to save her, what do you think?" The redhead pulled the heartbroken blondes face up so hazel eyes met green ones.
"Does this mean?" The Slayer was afraid to ask, maybe this was just another horrible dream that she would wake up from.
"I am in love with you Buffy Anne Summers and I know you loved Angel and I know you will miss him just like I will miss Tara but we have the now...so will you share that with me?"
"Oh, god Wills I am so sorry." Buffy buried her face in the red heads chest and cried for what seemed like hours. She cried for the fact Willow finally realized that she loved her and they might have a future but she didn't know about Dawn yet...She might never forgive her.
"Wills...." There was a hiccupping sob "Dawn..ie...d..." Hiccup "died. I killed her." The blonde was not surprised to feel herself being pushed away "YOU WHAT?"
This can't be right. That thought kept rushing through her head as she tried to figure out how the hell she hadn't heard about this.
"She wanted to go out to a party..."Hiccup.. "I knew...it...was a bad...idea...but I was just so tired of her whining...so I let her go.... and she died in a car...accident...I killed her Wills."
OH GOD the guilt Buffy is feeling is so obvious in the choked sobs and the trembling skinny frame. "Baby...no....shhhhh." Willow started to rock her back and forth trying to give her words of comfort but it wouldn't be enough to bring Dawnie back. After a while Buffy fell asleep and the redhead knew that this was not something she did a lot so she just laid on the couch and held her love thinking of everything she had endured. There was some self-loathing going on in her own mind as she considered how she had abandoned Buffy. It was her choice to go with Kennedy. Would her love be able to pull The Slayer out of this and would she be able to leave and go back to California? So many questions but she knew as surely as Buffy was in her arms right now, that she would never let her go. Tonight...Tomorrow...there was no way Willow would ever be able to let her go again.
"You are safe baby...I will be your hero, your strength, your everything." Angel was gone but if he could see Buffy now he would smile because his Slayer had just had all of her dreams come true, something he would never have been able to give her.