Reveal
by DawnBTVS
Chapter 8
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, Joss, etc.
Rating: PG or PG-13
Time Frame: Early Season 2 around Some Assembly Required
A/N: My internship may cut into my writing hours so giving ya'll fair warning.
Buffy pouted, scouring the area for any more life, but was stuck with an empty cemetery and no more demons to kill. Although Buffy wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect of further demonic ambushes on her person, she strongly disliked nights like this where nothing happened. Even the garden-variety vamp or two that popped up lacked the usual punchy excitement. Oh well, at least there was something to look forward. "You up for a mocha?"
Willow stuck her pencil behind her ear. "Sure," she answered, briefly wondering how Buffy managed to not only accost her at one in the morning but also further engage her in delaying the return to her home. Willow blushed slightly, pointedly staring away from the blonde because she knew exactly why she was further delaying any return. Smoochies were probably off the menu but still... quality time was a rarity lately, ignoring the sea park trip. Willow stood up, brushing off the excess dirt that was now staining the back of her pants.
"Sorry for it being so late."
"I was busy researching anyway."
Buffy shot an eyebrow up. "So, the getting into bed part?"
Busted. Willow gave a sheepish smile and began squeezing the loops of her backpack. "Maybe I should be the one concerned here. What with you making with the peeping Buffy outside my room," Willow remarked, watching Buffy's eyes widen. "Guess I should be glad you didn't catch me unrobed," Willow teased before realizing what she had said, and instantly paling.
Buffy was taken aback at the flirtatious comment. Willow? Flirting? Buffy mentally blocked the images pervading her head and the fact that Willow had just flirted with her of all people. She didn't even flirt with Xander. As far as she was aware... causing Buffy to give Willow a skeptical look but the redhead was now gazing at her shoes with avid interest as they moved down the street. "I forgot my camera anyway, so the magic of the moment would've been ruined," Buffy replied, figuring if Willow was gonna go there she would too. Besides, she was honestly curious just how far Willow would go.
Willow glanced at Buffy, trying to discern whether she heard correct. A slight blush crept into Buffy's cheeks but the blonde was still looking towards her, their eyes now meeting. Willow pondered whether to continue this or not, unsure if it would push Buffy away or if there was a line they would cross... she would cross that would sever them. Although if Buffy did flirt back, it meant the Slayer wasn't afraid of this sudden flirtyness. Hope was springing eternal. "My body needs a camera? No mental snapshot?" Willow asked, half flirting some more, but hoping the tinge of hurt wasn't too obvious.
Wow. Buffy wasn't sure if she wanted to keep this going but she was so intrigued at this new side of the redhead. "Posterior... uh, posterity," Buffy amended, lowering her eyes in embarrassment at the... Floydian slip or whatever.
"Right. Memories and for other 'after the night' moments not involving..." Willow trailed off, wondering how flushed she appeared given the fact that her body heat was rising way too rapidly. She risked a glance at Buffy, noticing how fidgety the blonde was but also observing the fact that Buffy appeared... flushed? Neither girl spoke for a few moments, trying to let the conversation dissipate with their body temperatures.
That was close. Buffy wasn't sure if she feared Willow's comment in addition with her own was toeing the line or if she wanted to cross it already. The more time she was spending with Willow, the more conflicted she was becoming. Especially when it came to Angel, who was still giving her some distance and whenever they did come into contact, he'd give the old "Do what your heart tells you" sermon, leaving her more confused as to what he... and she wanted. "Mr. Gros, the sumo whale, wanted to say hi to Mr. Delgado by the way," Buffy stammered out, unsure of how to continue the conversation.
Willow offered a smile. "I'll relay the message. Is this limited knowledge of foreign languages a scam?"
"Scam?"
"Just judging by the way you name your stuffed toys and all, makes me wonder."
"Oh. No, the limited vocabulary is enough to rival Xander. Notice that both names have the same meaning and that isn't a coincidence."
"You don't believe in coincidences... or leprechauns for that matter," Willow confirmed. Buffy nodded her head in response.
"Find me a pot of gold and I'll start believing but until then... so not convinced."
Willow shook her head, giving Buffy a slight disproving look. "If Xander were around, he'd tell you that you're tempting the Hellmouth with that kind of talk."
"You're in his stead, though. Besides, I'm the Slayer, and immune to such tempting. Giles said so," Buffy added with a conspiratorial wink. Willow grinned, knowing the blonde was likely lying or at least putting words in Giles' mouth.
"Really? What else did he say?"
"Angel," Buffy answered, her eyes suddenly shifting to the vampire standing before the two. Willow noticed that they weren't more than a few feet from the entrance to the Espresso Pump and wondered why Angel was there too. Was he following them? Willow cast a quick scowl at Angel at the thought before trying to wipe it away with the idea that it was all a terribly coincidental event. Drat.
"You're out kind of late," Angel stated, staring at Willow.
"Buffy invited me for a late night patrol and post coffee... not a date though. Just a friendly get together between two friends," Willow babbled, quickly quieting down at Angel's stoic demeanor. Buffy noticed the reaction and stepped forward, with Willow slightly behind her.
"What's the occasion?"
"I stopped by Willy's. Learned some new information concerning what a monster thinks of a Communist invasion."
"Do monsters even join political parties?" Willow asked, her face scrutinized in thought.
Buffy and Willow exchanged a glance, both pondering the question now. Angel sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not formally, although I've been known to support certain policies over others. I'm sure the upscale are affiliated."
"So these monsters aren't actually a part of the Communist party, right?"
"Not that I know of. Willy told me that the party's planning a move in the next couple weeks. Word is that the "resistance" as they call themselves, are coming over in four sections spread out over the next few months. Think Chess with the weaker coming first, leading up to the queen."
Buffy exhaled, not liking the prospect of so many different times. Given how hard killing the creature was, coming face to face with what were likely twenty or more at once was going to be challenging. "One thing I like about vampires, Angel, is that at least they come as one rather than dispersing," Buffy quipped. Angel nodded, looking around as an uncomfortable silence began to follow over the group.
Willow nudged Buffy with her shoulder, purposefully looking over the Espresso Pump's counter where a young girl, likely no more than nineteen, was standing, drumming her fingers on the countertop. Angel glanced at Willow, and then at Buffy who was wearing a chagrined expression as she returned the look Angel was giving her. "I'll let you two enjoy your coffees."
"Thanks. Have a good night," Willow said, mustering a cheerful smile to hide the selfish vibe she was suddenly feeling running through her bloodstream. Angel nodded his head, aware of how and why Willow was acting the way she was.
"I'll try and catch you in the morning, unless you want to sleep in... but the weather called for clouds so I'll let you know by the presence of my physical body."
"Alright," Angel acknowledged, turning to leave. Buffy stared at Willow. The redhead bit her lip, knowing she kind of came off as a bit jealous.
"Looking a little green there, Will."
"I'm trying," Willow mumbled, pulling the door open. Buffy followed, understanding how hard it must be for her, but also wondering if she herself wasn't making it tougher with the recent flirtation and moments of bonding.
"Smooth, Buffy," Buffy grumbled to herself, following the redhead to a booth situated towards the back of the building. Buffy slid in opposite Willow, watching the redhead nab a napkin and spread it out over the counter. The waitress was a brunette and looked to be a classmate. Buffy caught the spark of recognition in her eyes but the blonde couldn't place the girl at all. Willow was too busy studying the menu placed before her. The brunette walked off as Buffy bent over her own menu.
"They have a new one. Mint Chocolate. See?" Willow asked, leaning over to point out the item of choice on Buffy's menu. Buffy blinked, a little startled at the change from a few seconds ago. Willow leaned back, delivering a sunny smile at Buffy's confusion. "Is it that hard to choose one?"
"I order the same thing every time we come here, Will."
"Ya know variety is the spice of life. Maybe you should try something new. Ooh... we should order for each other!" Willow exclaimed, bouncing in her seat at the idea of choosing something yummy for Buffy that wasn't her standard traditional Mocha cappuccino. While tasty, Willow felt it would do the blonde good to try something different.
Buffy lifted a skeptical eyebrow at the idea. "The last time we did this, I wound up being teased by my mother for the choice of skirt."
"This is drinks," Willow defended. "Anyway, my choice wasn't that bad," Willow huffed, lifting the menu up to hide the pout from Buffy.
"I-it was interesting, certainly," Buffy offered, trying to uplift Willow's spirits. Such a comment only caused Willow to deliver another huff from behind her menu. Buffy gave an exasperated sigh and pulled the menu down with an index finger. "Ready to treat my taste buds to a new delectable drink?"
Willow's eyes skimmed over the menu, her tongue protruding slightly between her lips as she debated between two choices. With a satisfied smile, she placed the menu down on the counter and nodded her head. "Yup. No Mocha cappuccino for me either. It has to be something original," Willow warned, earning a groan from Buffy. Buffy tugged her own menu towards her as Willow flagged the waitress over. "I'll be ordering the caramel vanilla cappuccino," Willow announced.
Buffy lowered her menu, arched an eyebrow at the choice, and lifted the menu back up. "Depriving of any chocolate is evil, Will. Fine. I'll be ordering the cinnamon cappuccino," Buffy said, handing her menu to the waitress. She cast a smirk at the redhead. Willow frowned, not pleased with her choice but she did come up with the idea.
"At least I made yours somewhat tasty," Willow pointed out.
"Revenge for not including anything chocolaty," Buffy returned.
"And you say I'm evil for my beverage choice?" scoffed Willow.
Buffy chuckled. "Knowing that you will definitely be up the rest of the night... care to be my study buddy for the upcoming all night cram session?"
"Buffy," Willow sighed, "You keep procrastinating like this and it'll become a bad habit. You're already a bad influence on me with our extracurricular activities and I don't need to see slipping grades added."
Buffy gave a look of mock hurt. "I'm a fine, upstanding young woman. As far as your grades, you're already being wooed by universities all over the western coast and if you haven't done poorly because of Xander before, I can't be that much of a drag."
"You are smart, Buffy. You just need to apply yourself more... and stop leaning on me as your crutch," Willow scolded, going so far as to shake a finger at the blonde.
"Okay. No more leaning. So, are we good for tonight?"
Willow shrugged, conceding to the blonde's whims. "Sure. Besides, I wanted to color code my notes for math so this is a good excuse."
The blonde gave Willow a horrified look. "We need to hang out more. I fear this school has corrupted your fragile psyche."
"I'm incapable of corruption, Buffy."
The blonde took on a thoughtful expression and then flashed a knowing grin. Willow groaned, wondering what Buffy was about to bring up. "Moloch?"
"You were the one that let him out of the book."
"Did not. How was I supposed to know anyway?"
"Two can play this game. Owen."
Buffy pouted. "I never said I wasn't corruptible... forget I ever said that, let alone thought it. Owen was nice prior to my learning he had a real hankering for adrenaline rushes. Xander."
Willow exhaled, knowing this was surpassing fun and treading towards revelations. "We were friends for a long time before you came. We broke up over the theft of Barbie, remember?" asked Willow. Buffy nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Angel."
Willow and Buffy looked up at the waitress, placing the respectively ordered drinks in front of them before taking off again. Willow slid her drink towards Buffy, with the blonde returning the favor with her own drink. Willow stared at her drink with a slight sneer, secretly wishing she was having the drink she ordered Buffy instead. Buffy herself was looking apprehensively at her drink of choice. "Not fair," groused Buffy, fully aware the name was coming. "It's... a complicated subject. One day he'll be mysterious, brooding cryptic guy and the next it's like a light has been flipped. He'll be adoring, devoting, and just a great friend. Me?"
Willow lifted her eyes from her drink and stared at Buffy, not really expecting this to come up in the discussion. Buffy swallowed, ducking her eyes down to her cup, before bringing them back up to meet Willow's widened ones. "Not to be all self important girl but... you killed The Master for me. I heard afterwards about how you had quit, from Giles."
Buffy lowered her eyes, feeling ashamed that Willow had learned the truth about that night. "Disappointed?"
"On the contrary, understandable. I totally would've freaked too. Maybe not quit but the thought would've crossed my mind. Nobody wants to hear they're going to die, Buffy."
"Taste good?"
Willow wrinkled her nose at the concoction before her, but lifted the cup up, and took a tentative sip. She glanced at Buffy and took a second tip before setting her cup down. "Not horrible... but not something I would probably order again. If you order this again the next time we try this, I'll come up with a spell to change your drink to something gross," Willow warned. Buffy's eyes widened as she stared down at her caramel vanilla cappuccino and sniffed carefully, checking.
"Lacks chocolate," Buffy noted, setting her cup down after a couple sips. Catching Willow's begging puppy dog eyes, Buffy sighed, and pushed the drink towards the redhead. Willow grinned, eagerly accepting the cup, and taking a sip. She let out a content sigh as Buffy quickly ordered a Mocha cappuccino for herself.
"How you don't like the taste of this is beyond my rational thinking."
"Pardon me for preferring the elixir of women," Buffy teased with a smile. Willow shook her head.
"I love chocolate too but... yummy," Willow commented, gesturing at the drink before her.
Buffy leaned forward, trying to get a glimpse of the time off Willow's watch. "Crap. Almost 1:30 and I have a big test at 8 on the nose. Are you okay with staying up all night?"
Willow nodded her head. "Of course. I've pulled plenty of all nighters doing research for Giles at the library."
"Cool. Mom's out of town for the night buying some artwork or something. So it'll just be us tonight."
Willow smiled. "You'll ace your test if I have to kill to do it."
Buffy gave a concerned look at the redhead. "Doesn't involve offing me, does it? If I see Xander sneaking in with a shovel..."
"Would never think it," Willow answered, smiling at Buffy's joked fear.
TBC