Loving Willow Til Death Do Us Part
by Rin
11
[reviews]
A/N: I originally intended to update all my outstanding stories as a Valentine's treat but my parents are moving, so this is all you get for now. Check back later for my other stories...there may be more of the Red Series...
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The funeral went by relatively easy, though there were still awkward moments. When the Burkles arrived, Buffy let go of Willow's hand for the first time in what seemed like days. Fred tried not to notice but it was obvious her eyes were focused on the couple. Buffy didn't want to deal with that aspect right now. She just lost her mother, her rock, her backbone, her support. What about Dawnie? What happened with her now?
Giles surprised them by offering to take Buffy and Dawn in as family. Since Buffy was legal age, she could raise her sister but social services would still wonder why the blonde never worked, and kept odd hours. Giles knew this, as many potential slayers in the Council had the same problem in years past. It was in Dawn's (and Buffy's) best interest if he took care of them. Buffy was still fragile, even if she was stronger than all of them combined.
Dawn wanted to go home with Giles, so Buffy didn't argue. She was glad her father figure was taking an initiative, and going to watch over them. How was she going to raise her sister? There was no way she could do it alone.
That's when Willow took her hand again. That was another bit of drama and confusion the slayer didn't want to deal with just yet. Were they going to get back together? Maybe if this hadn't happened, they already would be but the timing could not be worse. Buffy looked over at the redhead's red, puffy eyes, and cursed herself for not being able to cry.
"Why don't you come home with me? Since Dawn went with Giles, I don't want you to be alone tonight, okay?" Willow swallowed hard. She knew the blonde needed some comfort, maybe just to be held. She would do anything to help Buffy cope, help her through this. "I can set up the guest room, if you'd prefer."
"Thanks, Wills. I think Slayer misses me anyways." Buffy tried to feel something, anything but she was numb. Everybody had left but them, and the sun was starting to set. For the first time in a long time, Buffy was in a graveyard before dark. It wasn't long until they heard the rustling behind them. "Angel."
"I had Cordelia drive me down. I've been in the car." He walked up beside them, and stared at the grave.
"Thanks for coming." Willow felt awkward but needed to say something. "Need a place to stay tonight?"
"No. We'll be driving back soon." Angel smiled forlornly at Willow. "Thanks, though."
"Anytime." Willow started to back away but Buffy held on tight to her hand.
"We're gonna head back. Do you need anything?" Angel looked at Buffy, and noticed that she wasn't moving, wasn't even blinking.
"No, I think we'll be okay. Have a safe trip." Willow wasn't sure why Buffy wasn't speaking but she couldn't blame her. Joyce was an amazing woman, and she died of something that the slayer couldn't control, couldn't save. The only good thing about this was that Glory had been lying low lately, though it probably had nothing to do with Joyce's death, or sympathy for the slayer.
"I wanna go home." Buffy sounded so pathetic, so lost. It took all Willow's strength to pull her away from the gravesite.
"I'll take you there...but I'm staying with you." The redhead started their walk back to the car. Buffy was vulnerable right now, and wouldn't be able to fight the demons out tonight. Faith was taking point, even though it was obvious she was hurting inside, too.
"Take me to our home." Buffy's eyes were so sad, so empty and lost. Willow just took the blonde in her arms, and squeezed as tight as she could, willing the pain to go away. The confusion between their relationship could wait until all this was over; it was obvious Buffy just needed to be held, no questions asked.
--
What started out as a normal day soon turned into a nightmare, as the Knights of Byzantium decided to battle the slayers. Buffy finally had something to fight, to help take her mind off of Joyce, and it helped coerce the slayer out of the numb funk she had been in the last few weeks. Willow stayed by her side the entire time, even making her way after classes to meet Buffy at the lawyer's office to square things with her mother's account. The house and Jeep were the only real assets Joyce had to leave her two girls, not having had much time to build an individual plan since the divorce.
The girls wouldn't be suffering for money, thanks to Buffy and the Council but they still decided to sell the house. It wasn't the same without their mother there. Buffy would stay there until the house was sold, and find a small apartment for her and Dawn to live in, even if she just wanted everything to be as she wanted, and they would ideally move back in with Willow, and live as a happy family. The situation was still tense, though, and the timing still wasn't right.
Anya surprisingly took the initiative with the house, and helped Buffy put a 'For Sale By Owner' ad in the paper, explaining how it would be more beneficial to sell the house herself, instead of paying market fees and closing costs to realtors. Of course, the blonde really didn't care about any of that; she just wanted to sell the house.
The biggest surprise came when an anonymous offer was made on the house, and it was exactly the asking cost. Buffy didn't hesitate, and was pleasantly surprised that somebody would want the house without seeing it. The surprise part? Xander Harris turned out to be the anonymous buyer, and didn't reveal himself until after the papers were signed.
The next month found Buffy coming back to herself. Her schoolwork started to pick up a little, she had found several prospective apartments for her and Dawn, and the gang started to fall back into a pattern. It came to a point where Buffy felt she could make a decision about Willow. She just had to figure out what she really wanted from the girl first. Did she just want comfort? Was she wanting to spend the rest of her life with her? Was she still angry and upset?
No, she was no longer upset, angry, or hurt but she wouldn't go into it with her eyes closed. Not this time, at least. Even if it wasn't intentional, Willow still hurt her. It wasn't like the pain that Angel caused but it did leave a mark. Buffy decided that they would have to take it slow, slower than Willow probably would want but it was all she could give her. At least for now.
"Buffy, you don't have to go, ya know? You can still live here. It's your house, too." Willow had found the circled newspaper on the counter, and tried not to panic.
"I know, Wills...but if...if we're gonna try again, then I can't live under the same roof as you. It would be too tempting to move faster than what I'm ready for." Buffy looked up from her lounged position on the couch, noticing the forlorn look in Willow's features. "I would love to stay, you know that...but I have to come to terms with my life now before I can give myself to you completely."
"I don't wanna push." Willow sat at Buffy's feet, and took a deep breath. "Just because I'm ready to give you all of me doesn't mean that you are."
"I want this, Will...believe me...but I can't rush things, and I know you're gonna get mad and frustrated." Buffy sat up, and hit the mute button on the remote. "I know you'll want to make love, and I know it'll be months before I'm ready to go down that road again. I know you'll want to go on lots of dates but I have Dawn to take care of now, and I'm not going to just throw her off to Giles or Xander or Faith whenever. I have to raise her, and I want to do it the right way. I want to be there for her if she needs me."
"I understand, Buffy." Willow looked away, and for a brief moment, the blonde thought the other girl wasn't willing to be that patient. "I'll wait forever for you if I have to...just as long as I get to be with you in the end."
"One day, if that's what's meant to be, then that'd be alright with me." Buffy smiled for the first time since before her mother's death. Closing her eyes, a slight tear fell from it, another first in months. Willow scooted closer, and held the girl in her arms, as she finally wept for her mother, her past, and the promise of a beautiful future.
--
"Does this dress make me look fat?" Fred stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe she was doing this.
"You couldn't look fat if you stuffed twenty pillows in there." Cordelia chortled, as she picked at her nails. "Besides, this is good. You and Gunn lost a good friendship over everything, and this'll help you reconnect, no strings attached."
"It still feels weird. I can't believe he just showed up like that." Fred was surprised after classes to find Charles in the hotel lobby, in a business suit of all things. He was majoring in criminal justice, and helping out at a law firm for extra cash. He needed Angel Investigations to help with a client of his boss's that had gone missing. When Fred saw him, she panicked but felt relieved that it wasn't as awkward as she'd imagined. He'd asked her to dinner, and she'd surprised herself by accepting the invitation. "I mean...it's good that he did, not that it would be a bad thing, or that he isn't allowed but...I guess he's really grown, huh?"
"I almost didn't recognize him. He has hair...and here I thought he was compensating for being prematurely bald." Cordelia watched her friend check herself out in the mirror again. "This is good for you, too. It's the first time you've really gone out with somebody since the latest Willow debacle."
"I've gone out." Fred turned around, and pouted slightly. "You even bought me a male escort one night with Angel's money, remember?"
"How could I forget? You sent him home as soon as he came to take you out." Cordelia rolled her eyes, and got up from Fred's bed. "I didn't have the heart to tell Angel that he wasted money."
"It wasn't wasted; it was still a charity auction. He can write it off on his taxes." Fred put a few barrettes in her hair before moving away from the mirror.
"Angel doesn't do taxes. He's like...200 years old, how would he explain that one? Plus, I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a last name." Cordelia was beginning to get closer to the broody vamp, even starting to train with him on a regular basis. She wanted to take on a more active role than just the ditzy wannabe actress that answers the phones.
"You've been getting snuggly with him lately, so you should know." Fred smirked that knowing grin, and saw Cordelia's face go red. There was a first for everything. "You like him."
"He's Angel. Nobody likes him. Not really. They just tolerate him because they believe in what he does." Cordelia felt her cheeks flush, and couldn't believe this new sensation. She was blushing? She'd never blushed, not even around boys in high school.
"I like him." Fred bounced to her closet to get her shoes.
"You like everybody, so you don't count."
"Yeah but I AM somebody, and you said that nobody liked him. Therefore, your assumption that nobody liked him was wrong, since I do...even if I do like to think of people as initially being good." Fred's smile was challenging Cordelia to argue.
"Yeah but Angel isn't a people, he's a vampire, as in a blood-sucking creature of the night." Of course Cordelia was going to argue.
"Yes but he's a vampire with a soul, which makes him as close to a people as any vampire can get."
"Can we switch subjects? You have a very alive, and very handsome person coming to pick you up in half an hour. Focus on that, instead of analyzing my love life." Cordelia grabbed a pillow, and hugged it.
"Ha! There, you admit it. I was talking about Angel being initially a person; you mentioned the words love and life. You do like him." Fred sat on the bed, eyes bulging with excitement. She knew there was sexual tension between those two but didn't realize that it went deeper. Mostly because of the curse. "When did this happen?"
"I don't love Angel, okay? I might like him but not the way you're implying that I do." Cordelia didn't want to believe it, even if a part of her knew it was true she loved Angel. When DID that happen? "Besides...you, Gunn, half an hour...this ringing any bells?"
"Knowing Charles, he'll be early anyways. You're off the hook this time...but don't think this won't be brought back up in the near future." Fred eyed her friend with a slight smirk before she finished getting ready for her non-date.
--
Glory was pacing back and forth, waiting for her minions to bring her some news. She had sent them out on a very important mission. She'd discovered that the Key was in a human form, and she needed to discover which of the slayers' friends was newest to the circle. When they arrived, she would personally see to this mission. After all, if you wanted something done right, you did it yourself.
Just as she was about to throw a vase at the wall, a minion entered her domain, and the news that he had for her only made her rub her hands in glee. This time tomorrow, Buffy Summers wouldn't be able to protect her precious key anymore. Glory finally had what she needed, and the slayer would no longer stand in her way.