North and South...and West
by Rin
Love Letters
[reviews]
"Will, you have a telegram from Washington, and a card from Xander." Buffy brought her 'husband' the mail. Willow was still in bed, exhausted after the late night activities.
"Yay..." Willow sat up, and pulled the covers up to her chest, as she accepted the sweet kiss Buffy gave her before handing her the mail. "Mmm...I think I like the messenger better..."
"You're such a lily sometimes." Buffy chucked, and took her shoes off before removing her dress, dressed only in her smock. "I think a nap is in order..."
"How long have you been up?" Willow opened the card from Xander, and a letter and picture fell out. It was of him and Anya in St. Louis on their way back home. It was the first letter she'd gotten from him since he left.
"Since dawn. I wanted to make you breakfast in bed but you were still asleep and the food got cold. You were so cute sleepin', and I didn't wanna wake you." Buffy put Will's arm around her shoulder, so that she could relax against the redhead's shoulder. "They look happy. What does the card say?"
"Oh...it's a Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah card. Xander says he wants to hear all the details of my very first Christmas." Willow finished reading the letter before putting it aside.
"Our first Christmas?" Buffy kissed Willow's shoulder.
"Well...that, too...but it's my very first Christmas ever. Remember? My family is Jewish. We don't have Christmas."
"That's silly. Why wouldn't you have Christmas?"
"Oh...I just assumed you knew. I guess that was silly of me." Willow started to play with Buffy's hair. "Jews don't believe Jesus was the Messiah, so we don't celebrate Christmas or Easter...or any of the other Christian-based holidays."
"Really?" Buffy took time to process this. "You're gonna celebrate Christmas now, though? For me?"
"Yep. We're married now. We get to share everything, including holidays...which means if you'd like, I can teach you about Hanukkah." Willow kissed Buffy gently before the blonde's hands started to roam over the redhead's body. "You know...we're not quite on even playing field here...what with me being naked and you not..."
"I think we can fix that..." Buffy crawled out of bed, and removed her smock before climbing back in stark naked. She molded her cold flesh into Willow's warm flesh, and they both gasped at the change in temperature. Buffy stayed on top, as she straddled Willow's waist, kissing the redhead with utter abandon.
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"They're at it again? Didn't they get enough last night?" Dawn was starting to get annoyed.
"They're still newlyweds, Niblet. Besides...mother is wanting grandchildren, and it looks like those are the two to do it." William looked up from his newspaper, and noticed Dawn was sad. "This isn't about them, though...is it? It's about Connor."
"I miss him, William. So much..." Dawn loved her older brother, and confided in him every chance possible. "I hear those two, and it reminds me of what I don't have anymore. I should hate Will for bein' a Yankee...because the Yankees killed Connor...but I don't. In all honesty, I'm jealous of Buffy."
"Jealous of Buffy? Over Will? Oh, Dawn..." William chuckled behind his glasses.
"What? He's gorgeous...and I'll bet he has a beautiful body. He treats Buffy with respect, love, and adoration. Just the way he looks at her... Buffy can't seem to get enough of him, so he must be one helluva lover, so yeah...I'm jealous." Dawn blushed. She couldn't believe she'd just revealed that.
"Well...Dawn, I'm sure there is somebody else out there for you. Just be patient." William went back to his newspaper. Dawn just resumed staring at the wall, lost in thought.
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"Will! That's great!" After they'd peaked, and after a short nap, Buffy remembered that Willow forgot the telegram. It was news from Washington, from the army department with request and approval from General Ullyses S. Grant. Will Rosenberg was promoted to General, and given assignment in Washington. She was to report immediately. "Wait...this means you'll be leavin'..."
"I have to." Willow didn't look too happy about such great news but once Buffy figured out she'd be leaving, neither did the blonde. "I'll give them my resignation while I'm there, decline the promotion."
"Oh, Will...you can't do that. This is important." Buffy felt sick to her stomach. "Now that Johnson's in the White House, the United States needs soldiers like you to remind him why you fought in the first place."
"I didn't wanna fight...I hardly raised my gun. I was part of Grant's war tactics team, remember?" Willow laid the telegram on the bedside table, and just stared at the ceiling. "I don't wanna go...but I have to give my resignation in person. I didn't even know they knew I was here."
"Well...I'm sure Pinkerton's crew found you, and reported your whereabouts." Buffy clutched to Willow, as if it were their last breath.
"I don't like this. I can't leave now. It's almost the holidays." Willow was going into depresso girl mode. "I wanted to spend the holidays with you...and your family. I was looking forward to Mary's goose on Christmas morning."
"Well...when do you think you'll be back?" Buffy started to cry, and her tears mixed with the sweat on Willow's chest.
"I don't know. It depends on what they need in Washington. They must've tracked me down for a reason." Willow pulled Buffy even tighter, and threatened to cry herself. "Come with me?"
"What? I can't leave Mama..."
"Oh..."
"...but I'll go. I wanna be with you for Christmas. We only have one first Christmas together. Plus, you were gonna teach me all about Hanukkah, remember? It wouldn't be more than two weeks, would it? So...there's a possibility we'd be home in time for Christmas anyways...dependin' on the train schedule."
"We might..." Willow was starting to feel a little better now that Buffy was going with her. "What if the position is too good to pass up, though? What then?"
"Then...I guess we stay...for as long as we need to. I don't care. I'm going with you." Buffy kissed Willow, and her salty tears fell between their lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too...are you sure?"
"Mama is better now, and William is stayin' indefinitely, so they'll be taken care of. We can always write letters back and forth. Besides...if this is more than a basic trip, won't we need to return home anyways to pack up to move?"
"You're really serious about this."
"I wanna be with you. I don't care where that is..." Buffy smiled warmly, and Willow wiped the tears away. "I suppose we should tell everybody before we go to catch the train. We'll need to pack, so we'd better get up, so we don't miss it."