Starting Line
by Rin
13
[reviews]
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Buffy broke up with Riley. Actually, it had gone a little too smoothly; it worried her because her normally cheery boyfriend was quiet, and held his jaw tight. Surely he saw it coming, surely he knew that making her talk to Willow would lead to this. There was no doubt in her mind that she was transparent to everybody about her adoration of Willow, even when they weren't talking.
The days until their date seemed to stretch out as long as possible. Willow even found herself staring at her watch on occasion, which she would never do in class without a good reason. Buffy did her best to avoid Riley, taking over his stuff from her room, and leaving the bag at the frat house with his name on it. She didn't exactly tell him that she was going to date Willow, just that it wasn't working anymore. He'd find out soon enough, though, because Buffy had every intention of doing this right.
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Willow smoothed out her top for the umpteenth time, staring at herself in the mirror. Was she overdressed? Was she underdressed? Surely Buffy wouldn't take them to a black tie event; they were still poor college students, after all.
Knock. Knock.
Willow panicked, leaning over to calm herself, to get herself to breathe. She thought it would be easier than this; that she wouldn't be so nervous. When the knock came again, she willed herself to answer the door.
Buffy was gorgeous in her cream sweater and dark jeans. Right then, all of Willow's nerves were quelled.
"Hey." She hugged the door, trying to keep her balance.
"Ready to go? I know I'm a little early...which is weird, since I'm never early to anything. I guess I just couldn't wait...but if you're not ready, and need more time, I completely understand. Not to say that you don't look gorgeous already, or presuming that you wouldn't be ready already." Buffy took a breather, trying not to stare at Willow's breasts. Where did those come from? She didn't remember them being so prevalent before... Was she noticing them more because she was allowed to now? Was she allowed to now? Was it still rude or offensive?
"Looks like the babble is contagious." Willow smiled, as she grabbed her purse and keys from the desk before locking the door behind them. "So...where to? You asked me, so...you get to decide!"
"I have a few ideas in the vague category." Buffy smirked, trying to hide her nervousness.
"Ohh...I like surprises." Willow smiled again, as she walked alongside the blonde, clutching her purse to hide her nervousness. They were really doing this. They were really going out...like on a date. What happens now? It's hard to start completely over, when you've shared a dorm with the other person, or made out on occasion. What's safe for a first date? The only one she'd ever had was with Fred, and they didn't end up kissing until well into the datey double digits.
They arrived at a restaurant, where it took over an hour to get their food, and the waiter kept interrupting them to refill their waters to keep them from having any sort of intimate conversation. When the food did finally arrive, it was cold and gross but Buffy still paid for it, though she growled a little at the waiter. She understood it wasn't his fault; somebody in the back wasn't doing their job, and it was making him look bad, so she still tipped him. Willow thought it was adorable.
The movie they wound up seeing was nothing but subtitles, and Willow couldn't even follow along...which she tried to do, preventing Buffy from feeling comfortable to make any sort of move. The one time she did almost succeed with the arm stretch thing, there was a big explosion on the screen, and Willow jumped, throwing salty popcorn all over her lap. Buffy just swept the popcorn from the redhead's lap, and went to refill the bag. Willow thought it was adorable.
So...Buffy tried one last tactic...the Espresso Pump for after-movie sustenance...but it was closed. The Espresso Pump never closes...why tonight? It was decided that it was the worst date ever...but Willow was still nothing but smiles.
Buffy was walking Willow back to campus, as she felt the redhead's hand slip through her own, entwining their fingers. All of Buffy's angry tension from the botched evening faded, as they just continued to walk in silence.
"Well...I'm not a good liar, so...tonight wasn't that great." Willow stopped in front of her door, unlocking her hand with the blonde's to fish for her keys.
"I'm sorry. I understand if you take it as some sort of sign that this was a mistake. If I weren't so crazy about you, I'd probably be..." Buffy didn't get to finish, as Willow stopped digging for her keys, and attached her lips swiftly and softly to hers. Just as quickly, she went back to finding her keys, only with a bright blush.
"So, it wasn't the best date...you're failing to see the positive. Even though you were upset that the food never came, and when it did, it was nasty...even though it was easy to blame the waiter, you still tipped him, and paid for the food. Even though the movie was all reading, you let me read it instead of snuggling in the seats...and when I spilled the popcorn, you cleaned up after me, and even went to get more. To me...it's not what happened on the date...but who I was with: you." Willow found her keys, and lifted them from her purse in a gesture of triumph. When she unlocked the door, she became nervous again.
"I should, um...yeah. Classes tomorrow, and all." Buffy was nervous, too. Plus, what Willow said made her adore the girl even more. So, it wasn't such a bad date after all. That made her feel a little better.
"You...well, that is..." Willow wasn't sure if it was safe to invite the blonde in.
"I should go." Buffy smiled, trying to make the decision easy for the redhead. Now that they were at this point finally...there was no way she was messing it up by tempting herself.
"Call me?" Willow was almost afraid the blonde wouldn't. Maybe SHE took it as a bad sign.
"Every hour on the hour...sometimes at the half." Buffy smiled, taking a breath. "Next time will be better. I promise...even if I have to go back in the kitchen, and make the dinner myself."
"Goodnight, Buffy." Willow bit her lip, clutching her purse again.
"Night, Wills." It'd been so long since she'd said the nickname. It was like riding a favorite bicycle. "I'll call tomorrow, maybe we can try again this weekend."
"Sounds great." Willow licked her lips, sensing that Buffy was leaning forward a little. This was her problem with Fred; she couldn't read the signs. Well, she was reading them now! The wait was killing her...
"Perfect." Buffy leaned forward just a little more, and was met by the softest pair of lips. It was a sweet kiss, and reminded them of that last fluke. Only this kiss held more promise. It wasn't hot, passionate...just...sweet and loving...promising. It ended sooner than both would've liked. "Night."
"G'night." Willow licked the residual taste of Buffy from her lips, as she waved the blonde down the hall. Buffy would look back with a goofy grin on her face every few paces, and the redhead just chuckled when the ever-graceful blonde would almost trip over her shoes. Willow thought it was adorable.
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"My two favorite girlies!" Xander scared the bejesus out of Buffy and Willow.
"Hey, Xan." Buffy tried to hide her perturbance at being interrupted by the close kisses but it was proving difficult. It always seemed it was Xander that kept them apart...why would it be any different now?
"Hey, Buffster, Will." He occupied himself at the empty stool, and started picking at Willow's partially eaten bagel. "What brings you two lovely ladies out tonight?"
"If you must know, we were celebrating." Willow felt a little pride well up in her belly. She was holding Buffy's hand under the table, and their feet were snuggled together on Buffy's footrest bar.
"Ohh...do tell. What's the big occasion?" Xander was without Anya this morning, and cruising the Espresso Pump. Something was off...
"Where's Anya?" Buffy hoped to skirt the topic. She wanted Willow all to herself, and if Xander's interruption in this whole scenario was any indication, she wanted him out of the loop for a long time. A small part of her wanted to hurt him by not telling him...
"She stormed out, claiming that I don't give her enough sex. She doesn't understand that I'm not a rabbit. I can't do it 24/7...I have to work, eat, and even occasionally take some alone time with a magazine." Xander didn't notice the closeness. He was too worried about Anya's hissy fit. At the girls' disgusted faces, he tried to remember what he even said. "Oh...oh! Not that...just using the bathroom. It's a man's throne, you know?"
"Still...way too much sharey." Buffy rolled her eyes. Willow just groaned in agreement. "So...why not tell her this?"
"Why would I do that?" Xander was honestly baffled.
"Uh...because she's your girlfriend, the one you're fighting with..." Buffy just squeezed Willow's hand under the table. The redhead was being quiet again.
"I'm not so much with the sharing." Xander finished off Willow's bagel.
"And yet you managed to share with us...way more than we ever wanted to know about you." Buffy snickered at Willow's little giggle. "Go...find Anya...at least tell her something."
"Yeah, I guess." Was Buffy trying to get rid of him?
"We were just leaving anyways, since you devoured Willow's breakfast." Buffy arched an eyebrow in mock admonishment. Even after all of the pain he put them through, she still couldn't hate him...no matter how much she wanted to. "So, call us later...let us know how it went."
Buffy and Willow hoped he really wouldn't call, at least not later. They were having a day.
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"Thanks for today. It was definitely the best holiday weekend I've spent in a long time." Willow shut the dorm door behind them.
"Not a problem. I live to serve." Buffy chuckled, as she watched the redhead place her shoes in the closet. "So...what do you want to do now?"
"Oh, I was thinking of popping in a movie...some snuggles might be nice...maybe a little smooch or two snuck between scenes." Willow smirked, as she removed her jacket, hanging it in the closet. She had a feeling that even in a wild, passionate moment, she would still fold her clothes.
"I think that sounds swell." Buffy chucked her shoes off, and kicked them towards the wall, so they wouldn't trip over them later. Then, she removed her jacket, and hung it on the back of the chair for the same reason. They'd barely made out, only a few sweet kisses here and there...but at least it was something. They were making progress...they were actually together. That's all that mattered.
"Well, park your caboose, and I'll grab the movie. Want something to drink?" Willow went to pull out two waters from the fridge, as she placed the movie in the player. "I don't have any soda. Doctor said I needed a break from the caffeine."
"I thought it was odd you only ordered juice at the Pump this morning." Buffy relaxed in the big bed. Much better for snuggling than those singles they once had.
"Yeah...but it'll be good for me. At least...I hope so. It means no chocolate, too...so I don't know that this'll last very long." Willow made her way to the bed, and only allowed her leg to touch Buffy.
"I think you'll see it through...and if it's good for you, then I'll make sure to help you. I'll even give up caffeine, too, if you'd like." Buffy wrapped her arm around Willow's waist, and pulled the redhead closer. Some serious snuggling was in order.
"No reason for us both to suffer." Willow chuckled, as she smiled contentedly, and situated herself into the blonde's body. "This is nice."
"Definitely nice." Buffy started running her fingers lightly up and down Willow's arm partway through the movie. The redhead's breathing picked up, and the heat between them increased. There were even goosebumps along her arm.
Without warning, Willow shifted positions until she was sitting on her knees, staring at the blonde. They just looked at each other with lust in their eyes, something akin to those first few flukes. Only this time, there was no guilt involved. Willow swallowed, as Buffy took a deep breath, both licking their lips in the anticipation but both afraid to make the first move. Naturally, it was Buffy who started to lean forward first. The redhead saw the slight leaning, and practically tackled the blonde to the bed. Those sweet kisses they'd shared to this point were forgotten, as the hot kisses, those hot, passionate kisses, trying to devour the other, as they returned to their lives. These were so much better than the flukes. It was allowed, there wasn't a heavy weight of 'no' on their shoulders, so they just continued to kiss, whereas they would've stopped from the guilt before...it was their first dating makeout session...and they missed the rest of the movie.