Starting Line
by Rin
7
[reviews]
A/N: Well, looks like this is the one that got the most votes...and I promised an update if I got lots of votes this weekend!
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High school was officially over, and the summer commenced. Buffy went back to L.A. to stay with her dad for the first two months, then retreated back to Sunnydale, and helped her mom at the gallery. She only attempted to see Willow when there was a chaperone present. Now that the go-ahead had been given, it was hard to keep her hormones in check, and not just claim the redhead as her own. Now that one obstacle was cleared, there was an even bigger one in the way. Why couldn't they just be together? Why did love have to be so difficult?
Xander had taken off on a road trip before he would return to Sunnydale to start work. He opted out of college, since he barely passed high school. He and Cordy had broken up, so that she could move to L.A. to be an actress. He thought about following her but the lackluster in the relationship sort of wore off. He was confused why Willow didn't just hop trains, though. He figured the redhead would jump at the chance to be with Buffy but instead, she stayed with Fred.
Willow was with Fred most of the summer. The girls would go to the beach, or on other fun dates. Still no sex, though, and Willow couldn't understand why Fred would always stop her. Lately, she hadn't even tried...especially since Buffy had returned from L.A. Seeing the blonde again, the emotions that always surfaced confused her more and more. Plus, Fred was about to move away to college, and she was about to move into a dorm room with Buffy. Talk about super confused. They hadn't even requested to live together at UCSD, figuring it would be easier if they didn't, yet the college system automatically assigned them there. It was like the powers that be were doing everything in their power to make it even more difficult for Willow. It was extremely frustrating.
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"Move it up a little. Yeah, right there." Buffy pointed to the wall, as she watched Willow put the finishing touches to the room by hanging a Chocolate poster. "That's an image I'll never get tired of seeing."
"I have to agree." Willow beamed, as she tacked the poster to the wall. "I didn't even hear you come in."
"It's all that stealth training I learned today. This college thing isn't so bad." Buffy smirked, as she laid her bag by her desk. "How were your classes? Learn anything new?"
"Always." Willow sat down on her bed, and watched Buffy grab a soda. "Ohh...gimme."
"I didn't know this would entail me to be your personal slave." Buffy smirked again, as she handed Willow a bottle of water. "If I'd known that you were so needy, I would've brought my butler."
"Oh, pfft." Willow chuckled, as she tried to ignore the heat in the room. Five days of living together, and no major apocalypse yet. Buffy was being all...nonchalant about it, like it wasn't a big deal. Willow envied her that. "Well, our first week of college, and we seem to have survived. Any big plans for the weekend?"
"Nope. Just gonna help mom some downtown, and maybe catch some dance fever at the Bronze. You going to see Fred?" Buffy couldn't believe how nonchalant Willow was being about this, as though it weren't a big elephant in the room. She envied her that.
"No. She's got a lecture to attend, and I want to be here when Xander gets back anyways." Willow swallowed hard. "I guess I can go to the Bronze with you, if you'd like."
"Yeah. I'd like that." It would be safe; lots of people. "Say...wanna get out of here? Grab a mocha? My treat."
"You know I'm always up for mochas." Willow jumped from her spot a little too quickly. Even though they'd lived together, they barely saw each other except at bedtime. Even then, she tried to be in bed before Buffy got home from her night classes. It was the perfect schedule for the blonde, and it helped them avoid each other.
They made their way to the Espresso Pump, and grabbed a seat, ducking in from the rain. Cold, rainy days equaled warm, yummy goodness. Perfect combination, though the Pump was a little less crowded than usual because of it. At least there were some people here. They tackled two cups before braving the rain again, and walking back to the dorms. They shared an umbrella but the rain still drenched them. It seemed to be coming down extra hard.
When they arrived at the dorms, they were relieved that they could breathe again. Inside, they didn't have to stand so close to stay that little bit dry from under the umbrella. Maybe mochas weren't a good idea after all.
What made it worse was when the storm outside turned the power off in the dorms, while Willow was taking a shower, and Buffy was drying her hair. Soap...soap in the eye. Never a pleasant feeling, especially when it's tingly already. Still, the redhead managed to get her body dried and wrapped in a robe before retreating back to the room. She noticed Buffy lit a few candles, and it was not helping at all. Buffy looked even yummier in candlelight.
Damn those powers.
"So...I was drying my hair when all of a sudden, boom...big thunder. Dryer go dead." Buffy chuckled, trying to ease the tension. Willow was even more yummier than usual, all wet, wrapped in a robe, and glowing. Maybe she should've searched extra hard for that flashlight.
"Yeah. Soap in the eyes. Wasn't prepared for the boom." Willow chuckled nervously, making her way to the closet. "Guess we can't watch movies, then."
"We can play board games, I guess." Buffy looked around, and didn't see any. "Or not...umm...wish I was tired but a double dose of caffeine helps none."
"It'll wear off eventually." Willow's heart was pounding, as she slipped into her tank and pajama bottoms. She combed her hair, getting all the tangles out, taking her time. Anything to stall.
"I could...um....we could go to the lounge. I'm sure there's other people there." Buffy swallowed hard, her eyes following Willow's every move.
"Maybe...but I don't really...um...feel like it would help any. Plus, the lounge is nothing but windows...not a good place to matriculate during storms." Willow finished combing, and moved to her laptop. Damn...she'd burned the battery after class, and forgot to plug it in. That was out as a distraction. Couldn't read with this little light. "I guess we could play..."
The phone rang. They both sighed at the interruption, though they weren't sure if it was relief or frustration.
"Hello? Oh, hi, mom." Buffy sat on her bed, her feet dangling. Willow just sat on her own bed, deciding to watch Buffy's lips move. Temptation was rearing its ugly head again. "Yeah, the power went off here, too. No...no, we're fine. Yeah, Willow's here. Of course I'll still be there tomorrow. Not a problem. Okay, mom. Bye. Love you, too."
"Her power gone, too?" Willow bit her lip, watching Buffy's white tank creep up her midriff, as the blonde laid down on the bed.
"Yeah." Buffy sat up, and took a deep breath. Then, she looked up, and noticed Willow chewing her thumb. "Will?"
"Hmm?" Willow's eyes went wide. She knew that tone. It was not helping. "Oh...um..."
"This is just going to get harder, isn't it?" Buffy sighed before staring at her feet for a second. "I can request another room assignment."
"No, no need. It's your room, too. I...I can handle it." Though she wasn't entirely sure she could, especially with Buffy glowing like that.
"I'm not sure that I can, though. Being this close to you...yet not? I don't know...it just feels...wrong somehow, like it's going to hurt us more than help." Buffy closed her eyes but she could smell Willow's shampoo.
"It'll be hard. I know...but...but we can get through anything, and hey! It's not like we won't find you another..."
"I don't want another, Wills. I can't do that again. Not after Angel." Buffy looked out the window, the rain cascading down the window, the lightning outside, followed by the boom.
"I'm sorry." Willow wasn't sure what to say or do. It was like a torture chamber. Willow took a deep breath before steeling herself. She walked over, and sat beside Buffy. They had to tackle this demon, or it would slowly eat them away. "I don't know what to say."
"I'm sorry, too. You were right about not being able to shut these feelings off, though I wish it were that simple. Even after all this time..." Buffy risked a glance at Willow, and saw the sparkle in her eyes. Lust, confusion, love, tortured...
"If I tell you something...will you promise not to freak?" Willow took Buffy's hand in hers, and felt that familiar tingle. It'd been a long time since they'd made any physical contact.
"Of course...anything. I'm still your best friend; that'll never change." Buffy turned her complete attention to the redhead, and squeezed her hand.
"That last night...before...before Fred left for school, she told me something." Willow swallowed harder than usual, and almost choked on her spit. "She wanted to make love to me, and I couldn't do it. We tried...but...I couldn't for some reason. Something held me back, even after all that trying to get her..."
"Oh." Buffy wasn't sure why the redhead would tell her this, though she was surprised that the couple hadn't been sexually intimate yet. She had just assumed that they had.
"Anyways, she told me...she said that she was going to lose me one day, and she knew it for a fact but she'd hold on to me as long as she could." Willow bit her lip again. "I told her about us...and she said she knew, that it was the reason she would lose me."
"Wills, you can't..." Buffy didn't want Willow to give up that happiness she had with Fred. Not for her, not for anybody. She would never forgive herself for coming between them, even if it's all she wanted to do.
"I know...and I didn't, obviously...but I love you, Buffy. I do...and I can say it to you so easily...but I do Fred, too but I can't say it to her, or even out loud to myself. It's like...I feel like I'm doing something wrong by loving another person besides you. I understand how you felt when you with Angel. You're happy...but you're not, not really. You want to be but you can't. It's like a double injunction...that do but don't do." Willow took a deep breath, and steeled herself. "We can't let this come between us. We've managed to get over it in the past; we can do it again. This is just the next step, remember?"
"I thought you didn't like the staircase. Something about too many steps." Buffy swallowed hard, trying not to cry.
Another loud boom, one that shook the room a little.
"I should move...back over..." Willow was starting to lean into Buffy too much. Temptation was really evil.
"Yeah...probably a good idea..." Buffy felt it, too. Stupid powers.
"I don't want to, though." Willow looked up, panic on her face. What was she doing? Her heart was about to burst it was speeding so fast.
Another loud boom, this one louder.
"Thunder's really bad tonight." If all else fails, talk about the weather. Neutral topic, ease the tension.
Another really loud boom. The thunder was getting closer together. The storm must be right over them.
"Yeah." Willow moved to blow out the candles, since it would help matters if Buffy didn't look so yummy illuminated. She felt a warm hand against the small of her back. She turned around, and saw Buffy staring at her. They both gasped at the touch, and closeness. "What are you doing?"
"What this storm is telling us to do." Buffy reached over, and blew out the rest of the candles before placing a chaste kiss against Willow's cheek, not moving from her spot. What had she intended to do by helping out? Why did she light so many damn candles?
She didn't have time to answer, as Willow grabbed two fistfuls of tanktop, and crushed their lips together in a passion that took the blonde off balance.
The loudest boom of them all.
"I..." Buffy didn't have to be told twice. She'd been dying to taste those lips again. She trapped Willow between her and the desk, and didn't let their lips part for a second, breathing so heavy through their noses, it was surprising they weren't forming steam. Eventually, they had to part for air, and they both panicked, jumping away from each other as far as they could. "Wh...uh...I...you..."
"Good night!" Willow super panicked. Another fluke...this time it was her in the relationship. She hid herself under her covers, and hoped Buffy would leave her alone for the night. She got her wish, as the blonde moved to do the same thing, neither getting any sleep. Both from the dying storm, and the lively kisses.