Nothing But You
by Whedonist
Chapter 3
[reviews]
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon. It's all his. I just wanna play. I think he passed kindergarten and learned to share.
A/N: None. nada. zilch. zero. Enjoy the read and thanks for the feedback. You guys rock...hardcore... =0)
Chapter 3
The week went by quickly for the new friends. The mornings and afternoons saw most everyone in class, but the evenings Buffy, Willow and Xander would get together for dinner and Willow would help the other two with their class work. Everyone was ready for a break when Friday rolled around.
Buffy had stayed over Thursday night at Willow's to get help on a Statistics class she was taking. As she woke up that morning, her first sensation was a warm tingling on her right side. Breathing in she smelled the strawberry shampoo the redhead was fond of using. She felt the small girl curled into her and the arm draped lazily across her stomach. Buffy didn't bother looking at the clock. It was early enough and to be honest she wanted to just bask in the feel of the closeness Willow and her shared. It was different than any other relationship she had in her life. Willow made her feel calm, relaxed and cared for. The blonde knew she was falling hard for the redhead and chastised herself for falling for a straight girl, but she couldn't help it. The day after first meeting the girl Buffy had resolved herself to the role of friend. For some reason, it was more important to have Willow as just a friend than nothing at all. She couldn't explain the connection she felt to the other girl, but Xander felt it to. The three of them got on better than when Cordy or Faith would hang out with her and Xander. It fit.
Buffy's thoughts wondered for a while. Trying not to beat herself up for hiding her feelings from Willow, but she didn't want to scare her off. Not paying attention, Buffy had begun to stroke Willow's hair as her thoughts became more agitated.
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"Fred, sweetie are you sure this is the right place?"
"Tare, trust me. This is the place Willow said to go. Stevenson Hall 324."
"Ok." Tara said hoisting the bag over her shoulder.
Fred and Tara had gotten a head start on the LA traffic and had made it Sunnydale ahead of schedule. Both girls were excited to see their friend and rushed to get to the dorm room. They looked at the door labeled 324 and both decided to just walk in. Knowing Willow she probably hadn't locked it anyhow. Tara turned the knob and burst through the entry way.
"Willow...we're here!" Tara shouted flinging the bags to the floor and extending her arms out. She looked at the bed and the fact that her oldest friend was still asleep and apparently in bed with another person registered. Tara's face fell and she smiled shyly at the two women cuddled in bed together.
Both Fred and Tara took the scene in and glanced at each other. Smirking, Tara said, "Hey, I'm Tara. This is Fred. You must be Buffy." Extending her hand Tara walked towards the two.
"Gee...I can't say this isn't awkward, but it's good to meet you." Buffy shook Tara's hand with her left and prodded the still slumbering redhead with her right.
"Wills, get up your friends are here."
Willow shifted in her sleep and mumbled, "Not wearing the tutu...Mr. Toad will eat me if I wear the tutu."
Buffy giggled at the girl and couldn't resist leaning down and whispering in her ear, "Wills, wakey wakey, the tadpoles are storming the walls."
Willow's eyes popped open and her first sight was a grinning blonde. Rubbing her eyes she stuck her tongue out at Buffy.
"No fair. I've sufficiently warned you of my frog fear."
"Yeah, but your friends are here. I thought you'd want to greet them."
Willow looked around and noticed Fred and Tara starring at her. Jumping out of the bed, Willow rushed her two friends.
"You guys, I'm so glad you came up." Hugging both fiercely.
"Tara, Fred, this is Buffy. Buffy this is Tara and Fred. I'm sorry I wasn't awake. We had a late night. How was the drive? Did the traffic suck? What time is it? And I'll be right back. I need to pee." With that Willow rushed from the room.
"So, uhm...she...Again, I'm Buffy. Sorry about all of this. I thought you guys were coming later or I would have woken Willow up."
"It's ok really. So Buffy it's nice to finally meet you. We get daily and sometimes hourly emails from Willow and she talks non stop about you and Xander. It's good to put the name with a face." Fred said smiling.
Tara was a little reserved. She saw the look the blonde gave her friend. She wasn't entirely sure she liked it. Deciding to talk to Willow about it later, Tara smiled and nodded with her girlfriend's words.
"I'm not sure what time we are leaving for the beach, but I'll let you guys get settled. I'm gonna go wake Xander up and start gathering everyone. Tell..."
Willow came back into the room as Buffy was getting ready to excuse herself. "Sorry guys, but morning bathroom breaks are a requirement."
"Wills, I'm gonna go wake Xand up and then I'm thinking caffeine fix. You guys want to come with?"
"Sure. I'll get ready and get these two settled. Meet you at your dorm in 20 minutes?"
"It's a date. See you guys." With that Buffy went to go gather Xander.
Willow turned to her two oldest friends and beamed. "So I don't know if you guys want to crash for the night and drive back tomorrow, but I was thinking that we could work out sleeping arrangements if you guys want."
Fred and Tara eyed Willow. They weren't sure what to do with the redhead. She had changed in the three weeks they hadn't seen her. There was an aura of confidence that surrounded the once shy redhead and Tara couldn't reconcile the differences she had witnessed in the ten minutes she had been here. She looked at Fred and saw the same emotions and thoughts running through her girlfriend's head.
"I'm not sure what we were planning. Fred?"
"I guess spending the night couldn't hurt. As long as we get quality time, it'll be right as rain. Has anyone ever really thought about what that statement means? Mama always used to say it and it never made sense."
Tara looped her around Fred's waist. "Babe, quit thinking for five minutes. Let's get ready." Tara placed a kiss on the brunette's cheek and went to grab their beach gear.
Willow was ready in 20 minutes and so the girls started their short walk to Buffy and Xander's dorm room.
Willow was about to knock when the door opened and she was dragged inside by a grinning boy.
She got lost in a Xander hug and smiled. "Wills, thank god you're here. Save me. She's on a rampage. Can't find the right swimsuit or something. It's a girl thing. I'll love you forever and ever if you can get her to calm down." Xander let go of the redhead and noticed her friends. "Oh, sorry. I'm Xander. Buffy's roommate and occasional fall guy. Nice to meet you two." He shook both their hands and led them into the room.
Everyone looked to Buffy's side of the dorm room. To say that it was a mess would be an understatement. Buffy's backside was currently sticking out of her closet and it looked as if her entire wardrobe was on the floor or her bed. Laughing Willow snuck behind the blonde and very quickly and softly gave the rear end a shove. Buffy lost her balance and fell. With a humph and a groan, Buffy crawled out of the closest. She was getting ready to give Xander a piece of her mind when she saw the assailant was the redhead.
Glaring at the taller girl Buffy let her features relax. "Wills, I can't believe you did that. You know what they say don't you?"
"Nope. I don't even know who they are. Care to enlighten me?"
"Maybe another time. Right now I can't find my bathing suit. Help?"
"Sure. Let me guess it's a two piece pink and black number. The top might be a halter type deal?"
"Yeah how did you..." Buffy stopped as she saw Willow point to her night stand and then down. She followed the line of sight and noticed the garment in question on the floor by the stand. Shaking her head and trying to hide the blush she was sure spread over her face went to grab the clothing.
"Thanks Wills."
"Anytime." Willow turned around and smiled at the three people engaged in a conversation about who knows what.
"Alright, I'm ready. Off to the Pump. Dawn, Cordy, Faith, Angel, and I think Kate are going to meet us there."
"Sweet. Let the sandy fun begin."
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The four older teens made it to the pump quickly and were greeted by a chorus of over here. Plopping down next to his girlfriend Xander made the introductions.
"Okay who wants caffeine?" Buffy said.
"Me please" Willow smiled and tried to hand Buffy some money.
Pointedly ignoring the five dollar bill Willow was trying to hand the blonde, Buffy looked around and got the orders from the rest of the group.
"So Angel, it's nice to finally meet you."
"Same here Willow. Buff and Xander talk non stop about you when I do get to catch up with them."
Willow blushed at the statement and smiled. She looked around at this group of people. Obviously she was most comfortable with Tara and Fred, but the rest of these people had grown on her in the short time they had entered her life. Even Angel , who she just met, had a way about him that set her at ease.
"So, Angel how did you meet everyone?" Willow asked curious. He was by far the oldest one of the group.
"I moved here from Boston with Faith almost 3 years ago."
"Yeah, big brother here moved us to suburbia hell." Faith said patting Angel on the head.
"Wait your brother and sister?"
"Not by blood Red, but close enough that it don't matter."
"That's cool. And you do what Angel?"
"Private Investigation. Kate and I run our own firm."
"Wow. That's gotta be fun times."
"Not most days."
"Mocha's get your mocha's while they're hot." Buffy said teetering 6 cups of java in her small hands.
"So Tara, Fred, what school you guys go to?" Faith asked sipping the hot drink.
"We both go to UCLA. Fred's much more of a brain though. She's studying physics and I' working on a B.S in ecology."
"Ecology? What's that?" Buffy asked.
"Uhm, think environmentalism and conservation. There's a lot more. Studying organismal populations, migration patterns, pollution, and I'll quit sounding so dorky."
"Hey, dorky around here is the norm blondie its cool. Just ask Xander here."
"Hey just 'cuz some of us can appreciate the finer things in life like Star Trek and killer sci-fi movies does not a dork make."
"B, how do you live with this guy?"
"It's a burden hon, but I deal."
"Hey, I'll have you know I make a fine roommate. I don't snore. What more do you want?"
"Ok, crazy people. Whose ready to hit the beach. Sometimes I'm not sure why I even hang around you guys. I must be damaged." Cordy sighed and started to gather her bags.
"It's not that bad Queen C. It could be worse."
"How geek boy?"
"You could still be friends with Harmony."
Cody shuddered and nodded. "I'm not thinking about that."
Angel slipped an arm around the brunette's waist and kissed her temple. "It's ok Cordy. It happens."