FIC: Following the Bullet (1 of 2)

[Patrick Kelly <bandits@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Following the Bullet (1 of 2)
Author: Pat Kelly
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sequel to "Questioning Dreams" and "Jumping the Gun". Might want to read those
first. Minor "Restless" spoiler. I'm having fun with these, guys. Hope you are too...
Disclaimer: Joss and Mutant Enemy only. I do not own..
No money is being made. Thanks to Alex for the title. :-)

FOLLOWING THE BULLET (TO SUMMER FUN)
1/2

Three days had gone by since two best friends had remembered their past, healed their
present, and took a step towards a new future. Afraid that they might have dropped a few
rungs on the friendship ladder recently, they proved to each other just how much having
one another in their lives meant. Then they had, almost seamlessly, moved beyond that. To
something deeper. To the aforementioned, "new future".

Willow believed that they owed thanks to Tara, and they were both going to do that, but
the redhead then realized that since freshman year was over, Tara was no longer in her
dorm. And she had no idea where the shy blonde lived. They had tried getting an address
through the college records, but there was none entered. Willow took that as a sign that
her theory had been correct, and simply smiled. And somehow she knew that Tara had
received her silent thanks. Wherever she was.

It was all so new, and very&nice. Sweet. The thing they realized they were best at,
besides kissing, was cuddling. They liked to just lay down, or sit, and hold each other.
They could be completely silent for hours, eyes closed, with their arms around one
another. Then, reluctantly, they would have to stop. The world still had bad things in it,
still needed protecting.

Currently, it was night, and they were going to Xander's house. Willow had accompanied
Buffy on patrol, and the total vampires slain had been only three. Summers were always
quiet. They had apparently been the vampires that had been after Spike a few days ago.
Willow recognized Spike's crypt as Buffy was taking care of the vampires, and after the
slaying, they went inside and found it trashed and empty.

"Humph." Willow grumbled. "Not even a thank you. How rude."

"Maybe that was because we walked on him." Buffy thought happily.

Willow realized what Buffy meant. "You think they&poofed him?"

The blonde shook her head. "No. And I hate to admit this, but he's too smart to put
himself in a position to be dusted."

"The only one who ever got close enough is you."

Buffy grinned, and drew out a sigh. "It's what happens when you're the best. And when
you've got something Spike never had."

"What's that?" Willow asked, smiling.

"Friends. And a reason to want to win." She tightened her grip on Willow's hand, and used
her other hand to encircle Willow's waist.

Willow felt a calm feeling wash over her body. Every time Buffy touched or hugged her, she
just&it all just went away. Everything. It had always been that way. If she was sad,
upset, worried, Buffy could make it better. But as Buffy held her now, she wasn't taking
her from sad to happy. She was taking her from happy to really happy. Willow loved this,
loved her.

As Buffy pulled her close, and they continued walking, she had to remember to keep working
her legs. With the newness of their extended relationship, Willow had been thinking one
thing lately, and she figured it was about time she voiced it aloud.

"I never really got it before." Willow started off by saying.

"Got what?" Buffy asked.

"I always knew you were attractive, and funny, and smart, and nice, and tough&and I could
see why Angel loved you, and Riley&but never really saw."

"And now?"

"Now? Now I do. I can't describe why I do, I just feel it. It's because you're&you. But
you know what I've been wondering?"

"What?" Buffy asked, already feeling tears sliding down her cheeks.

"How can anybody not love you?"

Buffy turned Willow around, and hugged her tightly. "God, Will. That's&that's the nicest
thing anyone has ever&how can I top that?"

"It wasn't said so it could be topped. I said it because that's how I feel."

"Well, I feel the same way. Being with you like this&I feel like the luckiest slayer in
the world."

"That makes two of us then." Willow said in all seriousness. "I mean, I'm not a
slayer&though I do know how a stake works&the pointy end goes -" She decided it was best
to cut off the babble before it got too out of control to stop.

They broke the hug just enough so they could see the each other's face.

"I need to kiss you right now."

"Hey, what a coincidence! I was thinking the same thing. About kissing you I mean."

"So we're agreed? There's going to be kissing?"

"Sure as shootin'."

Two smiling pairs of lips began to meet.

***

Xander was sitting in his basement waiting on his friends' arrival. The three of them had
made it a point to hang out as much as possible to make up for lost time. Anya was looking
into vengeance opportunities somewhere, and he didn't know when she'd be back. Apparently
his "First Slayer Induced" dream had been right on target with that. He was praying that
her ex-bosses wouldn't re-hire her. He really did love her, but he didn't know if he could
date someone whose job involved putting boils on male genitals.

Pushing away those thoughts for the moment, tonight he had something to tell Buffy and
Willow. He had realized how pointless his job to job to job year had been, and how little
he had accomplished. So he decided to take a risk that would give him a shot at getting a
better job and possibly a more permanent one. He had signed up for summer courses at UC
Sunnydale, which started in a week. He planned on taking the basic freshman classes,
hoping to get enough credits to catch up to the girls.

His lack of self-esteem had kept him away from college, not thinking he could make the
cut. But there was financial aid, and it wasn't like the college was Harvard. The least he
could do was try, and that's what he planned to do. He didn't want to be labeled a
"direction-less loser". And more simply, he wanted to be able to be with his friends,
because frankly, the basement didn't hold much appeal anymore.

Not like it ever really had any to begin with.

He heard a creak signifying that the door was opening. Then the sounds of footsteps coming
down the stairs made him smile. He noticed that Buffy and Willow were holding hands, and
he thought he saw&something else. The handholding in itself wasn't very unusual, but the
fact they didn't let go as they sat on the bed next to him, gave him pause.

"What's up, Xand?" Buffy asked, cheerily.

"Yeah, tell us about your day. Inquiring slayers and wiccas want to know." Willow said a
little too giddily.

Xander looked at his two friends' faces, a little concerned. "Okay, this is me. Just tell
me where you hid the alcohol, and we can set up an AA meeting first thing tomorrow. It's
never too late to change."

Buffy tried to look stern. "Ha. You almost made me think about laughing." She said,
hitting sarcasm with&well, more sarcasm.

"So are you gonna tell us or not?" Willow pouted.

He took a breath. "You know, the usual. Looked at the walls, made shadow puppets, enrolled
in college&nothing big."

They were in a stunned silence for a moment before it hit them

"Nothing big? This is huge! Big Bird huge!" Willow exclaimed. Buffy and Xander looked at
her quizzically. "I happen to have very fond memories of Sesame Street." She defended
herself.

Buffy decided that a congratulatory hug was in order, and embraced Xander. Willow waited
until Buffy was finished and took her turn.

"Good for you. Summer courses?" Buffy said.

"Yeah. We'll see what happens. Starts in a week."

"You can do it. We're all about support." Willow said.

"As only the Scooby Gang can provide." Buffy said with a smile. "This says celebration to
me. I say we party."

"Bronze is closed tonight, Buff." Xander said. He saw that grin on the blonde's face.
"What's going on up there?"

"Bronze isn't what I had in mind." Willow and Xander waited. "Still got your Uncle Rory's
car?"

"Yeah. They extended his sentence. Why?"

"I think we've earned a break from the Hellmouth. Don't you guys?"

***

They were on the road, and had just passed the Sunnydale entrance/exit sign. When they
crossed that imaginary borderline, it felt like they had just escaped a black hole. Xander
was driving, because he was the only one licensed to do so, and Buffy and Willow were in
the back. He saw them through the rearview mirror. Buffy had her arm wrapped around
Willow.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Buffy? Kinda impulsive." Willow said.

"That's what spur of the moment ideas are, Will. Spontaneous, crazy&" Buffy explained.

"Well, technically," Xander began, "a spur of the moment idea would just be us getting in
a car and going somewhere without worrying about anything. Not stopping off at your mom's
for a monetary supply, clothes, and keys to a beach house."

"Yeah, well&" She stuck her tongue out at him, and Willow was trying hard not to notice.
Buffy realized what she was thinking, and quickly retracted her tongue. "Hey, we could've
gone and not had a place to stay or money to eat. Besides, mom said she never used the
house, and that somebody should. It's the one thing my dad let her have."

"Nuh uh. He let her have you too." Willow said, smiling at her.

"Which we're very glad for. Or I would've been pushing up daisies long ago." Xander added.


Buffy smiled at Xander first and then down at Willow. Then she reached her hand over and
gently started to run her fingers through the redhead's hair. Willow knew her eyes were
closing.

"Think we should have invited Giles?" She asked Buffy.

"I called him before we left mom's. He said he had things he needed to do." The blonde
shrugged. "Told us to have a good time though. And not to worry about hurrying back."

"I don't know about you gals, but I plan to take advantage of my youth and par-tay down."

"I'm with him."

"And I'm with you." Willow whispered.

Feeling pretty damn good about themselves, they continued their drive to Santa Cruz.
Despite the somewhat lengthy distance to cover, they knew that the next week was going to
be the most fun they'd had together in awhile, and would probably be the last chance to
kick back for awhile too. So they intended to make it count.

***

They entered the city of Santa Cruz at around two in the morning. Xander had the radio
going. An all "Songs of the Beach" station. The Beach Boys were singing "Good Vibrations",
and Xander was getting into to it as well. As he cruised the car looking for the right
street, he sang right along with the band.

"I, I love the colorful clothes she wears&and the way the sunlight plays upon her hair&I
hear the sound of a gentle word&on the wind that lifts her perfume through the air&I'm
pickin' up good vibrations&she's giving me excitations -"

Willow made a shushing sound. "It's two in the morning! And Buffy's sleeping."

He turned down the music, and looked back. Buffy was curled up in the seat lying with her
head on Willow's lap. He still couldn't put his finger on it, but something was going on
with the two girls.

"Our little slayer's all tuckered out. I'm just getting into it, you know? Summer fun,
beaches, boardwalk, three young-type adults wild and fancy-free for a week&"

Willow knew how he felt, and smiled at him. Her excitement was a little more contained
however. For now, she was just trying to stay awake so she could help Xander navigate. She
saw a side street coming up. "I think this is it."

"Laguna Street?" Xander questioned.

"Yep."

Xander turned onto the street and tried to make out the house numbers.
"Come on twelve&come on twelve&bingo." He pulled into the driveway and turned off the
engine. Looking at the house, there was one thing he noticed. "Ooh. Jacuzzi on the deck."
He leered.

Willow simply shook her head, and began to try and wake Buffy up.

"We're here, Buffy."

"Don't wanna." Buffy said in a little girl voice, still asleep. "Santa's stupid. I don't
wanna sit on his lap."

Willow and Xander had to cover their mouths to keep from laughing.

"Why not?" He had to ask.

"Cause&cause&he's fat&and a fake&never eats my cookies&and&I hate him." Then her eyes shot
open, surprising her friends. "And he spies on people when they're sleeping."

They cleared their throats, and Xander began to gather their fast food bags to take into
the house to throw away. Buffy sat up, and Willow's face was as red as her hair.

"Spying? That's wrong. Spying is bad. Santa should be arrested. That's&that's why I'm
Jewish. He's a lawbreaker. Bad." Willow attempted to get off the hook, but simply dug
herself deeper.

"We're caught, Will." Xander said, exiting the car.

Buffy remained expressionless. She fished around in her pocket for a few seconds, and then
pulled out the house keys and smiled.

***

Inside, they laid the suitcases and bags down by the door. There were carpeted steps
leading up to the second floor. They looked down the hallway. First there was a closet, a
bathroom, a room with a washer and dryer, followed by two bedrooms. They all walked down
the hall, and peered in. One was a single bed, and other bedroom was larger, enough for
two people.

"The single was supposed to be for me, and the double was supposed to be for my parents.
Let's just say we never got around to coming here. Family and vacations were not words in
my vocabulary as a kid." Buffy tried to say jokingly, but didn't quite pull it off.

"Well, leave that up to us, Buff." Xander said. "By the time this week's over we'll
redefine 'vacation'."

"And I think we've got the 'family' part covered already." Willow said.

"Come 'ere, you two."

Xander never passed up a hug opportunity. They separated, but Buffy still held Willow
close.

"K, Willow and I'll take the double. Girls only, Xandman." Buffy told him.

Xander held up his hands. "You're the boss. But I'm too hyped. I'm gonna check out
upstairs."

"Suit yourself." Willow yawned. "But the redhead and I are pooped."

He was already rushing upstairs. They watched him go, and walked to their bedroom, turned
on the ceiling fan light, and shut the door. Buffy walked Willow back to the bed, and
gently pushed her down on the mattress. Willow was about to say something, but she was
stopped by the blonde's finger on her lips. She couldn't help but smile.

Buffy, her touch so light Willow could barely feel it, traced her friend and nearly
lover's lips with her finger.

"Do you have any idea how much I love you right now?" Willow shook her head.
"No? That only leaves one option then."

"Yeah?" Willow said quietly, though with a grin.

Buffy nodded. "I have to show you. That is&if you&"

"I do." Willow bit her lip. "It's not like&I haven't thought about it&uh&before."

Buffy leaned down and whispered. "So have I."

"Xander?"

"Five bucks he's on the couch asleep already. But we'll check in the morning."

"In the morning." Willow agreed as Buffy replaced her finger with her mouth.

***

Xander awoke in the morning with a stiff neck, feeling the sun's rays hit him from through
the sliding glass doors that led out to the large deck. He sat up with a yawn, trying to
massage the kinks out with his hand. He hadn't remembered the last time he had woken up in
such a bright place before. It was certainly a change from the basement. He felt energized
already.

By his keen powers of deduction, and ability to see the clock on the wall, it was just
past ten AM. Standing, and suddenly realizing how hungry he was, he walked past the
counter into the small kitchen. Checking the cupboards and the fridge, he noticed a
recurring problem. There was no food. At all.

He was a male in his prime. Eating was an extreme necessity. Plus, there was something
about the sea air that made anyone just a little bit more hungry than usual. There had to
be a supermarket around somewhere. He could take the car and be back before&he remembered
he didn't know where the money was. And he only had thirty bucks on him. But Buffy knew
where the "vacation fund" was.

Now came the internal debate. Buffy wasn't fun first thing in the morning. Did he want to
risk getting a concussion by waking her and asking where the cash was?
Yes. Because, and he hated to admit this, but if ate another Egg McMuffin, he was going to
be violently ill. He walked down the stairs, and quietly up to Buffy and Willow's bedroom
door.

He knocked softly, and was somewhat surprised when Buffy answered.

"Yeah?" She asked.

Xander opened the door and started to speak.

"There's nothing eatable in the house and I wanted to go get some food, but I didn't know
where -" He stopped himself when he focused on the sight before him.

His two friends were lying in bed, covered by blankets. Only they were very close
together, and he guessed that they were absent any type of clothing under those layers of
fabric. Buffy was looking at Willow, who was still asleep with her head resting on Buffy's
shoulder, and running her fingers through the wiccan's red hair.

She looked up at him. "Red suitcase. Second pouch. It's all in an envelope."

Took him a second to figure out that she was talking to him. "Uh&huh?"

"You're looking for the money, right?"

"Oh&yeah. Thanks."

"Try to be diverse in your food choices?"

"Uh huh. I'll just&go&do that now." He backed out of the room, and shut the door. He stood
there looking at it for a second, and then went to get the money.
"Deep breaths&deep breaths..." He kept repeating to himself.

***

"You told him to come in?" Willow asked about an hour later. They were lounging on the
deck waiting for Xander's return. "Just like that?"

They were sitting on a cushioned, somewhat reclining deck chair. Willow was conserving
chairs by sitting on Buffy's lap. She was rather distraught at the fact that Xander had
discovered them like that. And that Buffy had just&

"They're just two words, Will. Not very hard to say." Buffy said sarcastically.

"You're joking? This isn't jokable."

"Relax, will ya? He was gonna find out sooner or later." Willow eyed her and she broke
into a grin. "And maybe I wanted to mess with him a little."

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed in a shocked tone.

"It'll be okay, jeez." She tried to soothe her friend, and now lover, with a kiss.

"You can't do that. It doesn't work."

"Oh no?" Buffy asked, having a very good way to settle that. But then she saw Xander pull
up. "I'm gonna help him with the bags. Be back."

She slid out from underneath Willow. She could see the redhead didn't want her to get up,
and the sad eyes almost worked. She went to the edge of the deck, and swung herself over
the railing, landing on her feet in the gravel driveway. Xander raised his eyebrows,
impressed. Willow, who was still up on the deck, called down.

"Show off!"

Xander and Buffy watched her walk away. He stood by the car, leaning back.

"Need any help?" She asked.

Willow then walked out, and up to the two of them. They all stood in silence for a few
moments before Xander decided to speak up.

"Okay&I only have one request."

"Xander, listen we -" Willow started to say, but she was shushed.

"Please tell me that you're sticking with this. Now, considering my girlfriend is an
ex-demon currently trying to become one again, this is pretty normal. And all I'm gonna
say is that I hope you two are happy." They smiled at him. "But, you've gotta start to
give me warnings. A guy needs time to get his fantasies straight. Er&uh&"

They attempted glares and starting stalking towards him. That's when he reached into his
car, and quickly pulled out a Super Soaker. He aimed it at that them, and they stopped
dead in their tracks.

"Don't you dare." Buffy warned.

"Always come prepared. That's my motto." He said, ignoring the slayer's threat.

Then he fired, and they started to run. His aim was dead on. Super Soakers got great
distance. No matter where they ran in the yard, he hit them. By the time he ran out of
water, both girls hair was drenched, as well as their shirts.

"So&who's gonna help me with the food?" He asked nervously.

"Oh&we will." Willow said with a "the tables have turned" smile on her face.

He decided to push his luck. "You had to wear dark colored shirts, didn't you?"

"Oh, you are so dead." Buffy promised.

Dropping the gun, he took off inside the house. But they were right behind him.


--
"I wanna set the record straight. I thought the cop was a prostitute." (Homer J. Simpson)

"You think you know? What's to come? What you are? You haven't even begun."
(Tara to Buffy, BTVS)


"Since when is there a cowboy in 'Death of a Salesman' anyway?" (Willow, BTVS)