FIC: Moving on... (part one)

["Selenay" <selenay@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi guys,

I know it's been a long time I posted this (can two months really go that
fast?) but this is the second part in the as yet untitled sequel to
Conversations. Someone, please suggest a title. Please? Anyway, thanks for
all the great fic that goes around and here's my little contribution.

Title: Sequel to Conversations part 2: Moving on
Author: Selenay
E-mail: selenay@xxxxxxxxxx
Summary: You wondered what Joyce's reaction to Buffy's new love was? Read on
and find out...
Spoilers: Great big, honking ones for 'Buffy vs Dracula' - although I have
completely re-written it.
Distribution: My site, http://www.selenayhaven.com. and 'A Slayer A Hacker.
Anyone else please ask first.
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy and her friends. It all belongs to Joss
Whedon, Mutant Enemy et al. I'm only playing, and sadly make nothing from
this.
Feedback: Gratefully received

"You know?" Buffy asked, surprise making her voice squeak slightly. "How do
you know?"

Joyce nodded solemnly. "I had a pretty good idea about it yesterday, and you
just confirmed it."

"Oh."

"It wasn't that hard really. You let a few things slip when we were
talking - you never have been able to hide things when you're upset - and I
put the pieces together. I know you love her, but are you sure you know what
you're doing? You're moving pretty quickly."

"I'm moving...mom, nothing happened last night," Buffy told her. "We're
taking things slowly."

"Nothing happened?"

"Nope. We watched videos, ate pizza and then we fell asleep on the sofa.
Nothing else."

Joyce looked relieved. "Good."

"Mom, are you ok with this? I mean, it must be a bit of a shock."

"Well, yes it is a shock but there's nothing I can do about it. I won't
pretend that I'm comfortable with this but you're my daughter and I've
already learnt that you'll do what you feel is right no matter how I feel.
And I don't want to risk losing you again."

Buffy sat down opposite Joyce and took one of her hands. "You'll never lose
me again. I've changed a lot since then."

"This doesn't mean that I'm going to approve of you staying over with her or
that I'll stop worrying about you."

"I know. But we're taking everything slowly; I don't want to risk messing
things up."

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

"And is she?" Joyce looked down at her hands, slightly embarrassed. "I know
you'd never force Willow into something she wasn't comfortable with, but
she's never...you never mentioned...she's..."

Buffy grinned. "Mom, you know Tara?"

"Uh, yes honey. I think you...oh!" The light of understanding dawned in
Joyce's face, tinged with shock and a little bit more embarrassment.
"Oh...Buffy...I had no idea. When you said she was involved I
thought...Oz...he's been, uh, gone for a while now, hasn't he? Is that
why...?"

"Yeah. He came back a few months ago but when it came down to it, Willow
chose Tara. She loved Oz once but I think she's moved past him now."

"So what happened to Tara?"

A gentle smile crossed Buffy's face. "I went to see her before college broke
up and I think she knew then how Willow felt. She almost told me and if I'd
been more alert I'd have seen...but I didn't. I'm not too good where that
stuff is concerned."

"I've noticed."

"Thanks, mom. Tara let Willow go, which is more generous than I could have
been in her position, and told her to go with her heart and here we are. So
you see, Willow probably has a better idea of what we're doing than I do. I
love her and that's not going to change, no matter what else happens."

"I can see that. I just worry about you. This isn't an easy life you've
chosen for yourselves."

"It wasn't a choice. It just is. We're taking things slowly, seeing what
happens, because this is too important to mess up." Buffy paused. "But...I
do want to stay with her this year. We'll get a flat together or something."

"Oh honey, are you sure? It's a huge step to take and if you're so intent on
not messing things up..."

"I'm sure. We shared together last year and that worked out. This will just
be two people rooming together who happen to be partners as well."

"I'm not sure..."

"I am. I haven't asked her yet, but I this feels right."

Joyce looked deeply into her daughter's eyes and sighed at the familiar
determination she saw there. "Well, if you want to do it you'll have to
start looking fairly soon."

"Thanks mom. You are the best."

"I try."

***

Willow was pacing in her room. She had been pacing for the past half hour.
In fact, she had been pacing for so long she knew that her room was exactly
twelve paces across, but she could make it thirty if she took itty-bitty
steps. Usually, when she needed to think, she would sit at her computer and
surf the Net or maybe flick through a book but today she felt too restless.
Buffy had been gone for two hours and something inside Willow would not
allow her to simply sit and reflect happily. No, instead she was pacing,
worrying and occasionally grinning as she remembered the passionate kisses
they had shared that morning.

Pace, worry, pace. Turn. Pace, worry, pace. Turn.

< She's fine. So what if she hasn't called me like she said she would and
she could be lying hurt somewhere by the road and no-one will find her and
it's all my fault and...I rambled again, didn't I? Sigh. She's fine. She'll
call. She loves me, she told me she does, so there's nothing for me to worry
about. Uh, she's probably...oooh, she did say her mom sounded weird. Maybe
they're having a mother/daughter talk and she hasn't been able to get to the
phone yet. Yeah, that's what happened. >

Pace, worry, pace. Turn. Pace, worry, glance at telephone, pace. Turn.

Willow absently began to nibble on a nail. < Why am I even worrying? Buffy's
the Slayer - nothing can get her. She's fine. Oh, oh, what if her mom knows?
About us? She did call me, after all, and maybe she...nah, Mrs. Summers is
always in denial about things. She probably just freaked because of the
storm and now Buffy's trying to calm her down. Yup, that's what happened. So
why am I still worrying? >

Pace, worry, pace. Turn. Pace, worry, stop biting your nails, pace. Turn.

Ring!

Willow dived across her bed to grab the phone, fumbled and dropped it on the
floor where it rolled under the bed. She growled, a surprising sound for the
normally calm redhead, and leaned down to try to find it. The telephone rang
again and she wriggled a little further over the edge of the bed. She
stretched as far as she could but it was tantalisingly out of reach.

It rang again and Willow muttered, frustrated, "I'm coming, I'm...ugh,
monster fluff bunny...I'm trying to...would you hold on a
moment?...uph!...ok, I'm nearly...ow!"

She slithered down and landed on the floor with a painful bump. But at least
she had the telephone.

"H-hello?" she panted.

"Hi Will," Buffy's voice echoed chirpily down the line. "How's my favourite
witch?"

"Sore," Willow muttered, rubbing the shoulder she had twisted as she fell.
"But feeling better now I can hear your voice."

"Sore? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" The concern in the Slayer's voice rang
through the line, putting a smile onto Willow's face.

"I'm fine. I just, sort of, maybe, fell off the bed...a little bit."

"How?"

"I was trying to get the telephone. It escaped and..."

"You chased it?"

"Yup, lots of chasing."

"You chased it off the bed."

"Maybe."

"And landed on what?"

Willow winced as she tried to move her arm. "My shoulder."

"Ok, I'm coming right over."

"No, you don't have to-"

"I'm. Coming. Over," Buffy said firmly and the telephone went dead in
Willow's ear.

She slowly hit disconnect and sat on the floor for a while thinking. The she
cocked her head. "What am I worrying about now? Buffy's gonna be here in a
few minutes...I'm gonna see my girlfriend."

Stiffly, Willow stood up and put the telephone safely on her desk. The she
slowly walked downstairs. She was pottering around in the kitchen, getting a
glass of water, when the doorbell rang. Skipping happily, she ran to the
door and pulled it open. Buffy stood on the other side with bag.

"Hi," Willow said, suddenly shy.

"Hi," Buffy said cheerfully. "I brought ice...and bandages...and aspirin."

"You came prepared."

"And mom's sitting in the car, waiting for me," Buffy said less cheerfully.
"She knows about us and I think she might be freaking."

Willow peeked around her shoulder to see Mrs. Summers sitting in her car,
nervously tapping the dashboard and trying not to look at them. "I think you
might be right. I'm fine, really. It's just a bruise."

Buffy frowned. "Will, I worry. It's my privilege as your girlfriend to worry
about injuries, however minor, and look after them. It gives me an excuse to
spoil you."

The redheaded witch could feel a goofy grin spreading across her face.

"What?" Buffy asked. "Did I say something silly?"

"Girlfriend. You said you're my girlfriend."

An equally goofy grin spread across Buffy's face. "Yeah, I did, didn't I? Is
that ok? I mean, is it ok to call you that? Or is it too much, or too soon
or-"

Willow put a finger over her lips to cut her off. "It's fine. It made me
feel all...goose bumpy, but it a good way."

Buffy glanced back at the car where Mrs. Summers was waiting tensely. "Look,
do you want to come back to my house? I think mom will feel better if I look
after you there, where she is, rather than in this big, empty house all on
our own. She's a little freaked."

The redheaded hacker smiled gently. "Yeah, let's go. My shoulder's getting
achy."

They joined hands and walked down the path to the car.

***

Buffy gently examined the bruise that was beginning to turn purple on
Willow's shoulder. The young witch had had undone the top buttons of her
shirt so it just exposed the damaged skin, to satisfy Joyce's requirements
of 'nothing going on', and her shoulder was already stiffening badly. Buffy
winced as Willow flinched away from her careful examination.

"You ok?" she asked.

Willow smiled weakly. "I've been better. But, I've also been worse so...and
it's not as bad as it looks. I just have to remember not to fall off the bed
in future."

Buffy concentrated on buttoning up Willow's shirt, and ignoring the creamy
flesh she was covering up, as she said, "I could help you."

"Help me? Uh, how?"

The Slayer began making a sling so she did not have to look in Willow's
eyes. "Well, I was thinking...we did ok last year, sharing. And now that
we're not doing the distance thing we'd probably get on even better. It's
not like it would be something new. We'd just be carrying on last year's
arrangement. We don't have to do anything we're not comfortable with yet
and...Will, would you like to, maybe, share next year?"

"Buffy, are you asking me to move in?"

"Only if you want to. We could get separate stuff and just be like we were
last year. Only, maybe smooching sometimes."

Buffy risked a glance up to see Willow's expression was surprised to see a
look of delighted understanding there.

"I'd hope we could smooch more than sometimes," Willow said, grinning.
"Maybe we could have a 'good morning' kiss thing, and a 'good night' kiss,
and maybe a 'nice to see you' kiss."

"There's lots of good reasons to kiss," Buffy agreed. "So, do you want to
try?"

Willow leaned over a lightly kissed her Slayer. "Yes."

A throat clearing behind them stopped any further discussion along those
lines.

"Hi, mom," Buffy said, turning to her mother with a bright grin. "I was just
checking Willow's sling-"

"I could see what you were doing," Joyce said, flushing slightly. "I was
going to see if Willow might like to stay here tonight. Mom's intuition
tells me that otherwise I'm going to end up seeing you beg."

Buffy knew she was grinning and she was relieved to see a grin on Willow's
face when she peeked over.

"Thanks, mom, you're the best," she said happily.

"Remember girls, I'm a mom so I have ears like a hawk. Willow, you can sleep
in the guest room and if I hear any sneaking about..."

She left the threat vague enough that both girls knew it would not be worth
their lives to try anything.

***

Late that night Buffy lay in bed trying to sleep. Something inside her
itched to be outside, moving and fighting, but she firmly resisted the
impulse. She knew she could not go downstairs and get some water because
Joyce would hear and probably be unpleasant about it. And if she wanted to
be allowed get a place with Willow, not annoying Joyce was top of her
'to-do' list. So instead she was lying in bed, feeling restless and trying
to sleep.

It was impossible. The need to be out hunting was too strong. Sighing
inside, Buffy threw back the covers and silently prepared herself.

***

A couple of hours later, worn-out and dirty, Buffy crept in through the
window. She silently dropped to the floor and deposited her weapons bag
beside her dresser. In a few minutes she had changed and was deeply asleep
in her bed.

***

The midday sun bathed the beach with cheerful sunlight and warmed the
gathered teens. Willow and Anya lay on towels, dividing their attention
between watching Xander attempt to light a fire and watching Buffy and Giles
fight with quarterstaffs.

Buffy executed a neat series of parries and attempted to sweep Giles' legs
out from under him. It all worked perfectly up until the moment when she did
a little war dance to celebrate her victory. From his prone position, the
former Watcher casually swept her legs away and she landed with a loud
'oof!'

"Buffy, even if your opponent is on the floor don't become distracted,"
Giles instructed as he helped her up. "You take too long on the recovery and
are easily distracted from your objective."

"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched," Buffy commented as she
brushed some of the sand away.

"Uh, exactly. Now, shall we try again?"

"Let's shall."

Xander shook his head as he broke another match. "I'm exhausted just looking
at those two. All that hitting and running and jumping...shouldn't
beach-time mean relaxation? Not exertion?"

"Exactly," Anya confirmed. "Exertion can lead to sweatiness."

"And exhaustion, which leads to injuries," Xander added.

Willow dragged her eyes away from the Slayer's tempting form. "I think we've
just put our fingers on why we're the sidekicks."

She was distracted again as Buffy and Giles approached carrying the
splintered remains of the quarterstaffs.

"Training over?" Willow asked.

"We need new sticks," Buffy confirmed. "They just don't make wood like they
used to."

"Yeah, I noticed it was becoming less woody," Willow said with a grin and
patted the towel beside her.

Buffy flopped to the ground and looked over to Xander. "Where's my burger?"

Giles looked at the pile of wood in front of the dark haired teen. "I rather
thought this was meant to be a barbeque."

Xander winced. "The, uh, fire's not cooperating. It's comforting to know I
lack the culinary finesse of a caveman."

Willow gestured at the fire. "Ignis incende."

Xander scrambled back as the pile of logs burst into flames.

"Willow, check you out! Witch-fu," Buffy said grinning. Then she leaned
closer and whispered, "I'll have to be careful not to upset you now."

"Just another incentive to do as I say," the redhead whispered back with an
evil grin. Aloud, she said, "It's no big. You just have to balance the
elements so when you affect one, you don't wind up causing..."

In the distance, the group heard a crash of thunder and the sky began to
darken ominously.

"I didn't do it! I didn't do it!" Willow protested as they rushed around
gathering up their belongings.

***

Buffy pushed back from the table slightly and smiled at her mother. "Thanks
mom. Everything was yummy."

Joyce looked at her, a little sadly. "Hey, you up for dessert? We could, uh,
get some ice cream."

Buffy stood and began to clear away her dishes. "You know, I would but I
kind of have to get out on patrol."

"Now? It's 8.30."

"Well, vamps don't really care what time it is. You know, dark equals dinner
bell."

"If you want to go and see Willow, you don't need to lie to me, you know.
I'll understand."

Buffy kissed Joyce on the cheek before carrying her plates into the kitchen.
"It's not that. I might see her after patrol but I do need to get out there.
I've been a little tardy in my duty lately and I need to get back into the
swing of it."

"All right." Joyce looked around the empty table. "You know, I'm gonna have
to get used to this place without you again. It gets so quiet."

Re-entering the dining room, Buffy hugged her mother gently. "We'll have to
make a regular date of this when school starts."

"Mm," Joyce said vaguely.

"I'm sorry, duty calls." She kissed her mother on the cheek again. "It's a
total drag."

***

Buffy rejoiced in the feeling of power and strength as adrenaline rushed
through her veins. The fight, not her first that night, empowered her and
the taste of victory was sweet as she finally staked the vampire.

She stood up, grinning with satisfaction, and began stalking through the
cemetery towards the next grave. Something inside her tingled and itched.
Something wrong...

For a moment she stood still, trying to find the source of the wrongness,
and then she whirled around to find someone standing behind her. He was
tall, with long dark hair and his face looked like he had an accident with a
tub of talcum powder.

"Very impressive hunt," he said, his accent sounding like Dracula from one
of the inferior Hammer movies. "Such power."

Annoyed, Buffy frowned at him. "That was no hunt. That was just another day
on the job."

The tall man stepped closer.

"Care to step up for some overtime?" Buffy asked, brandishing a stake.

"We're not going to fight."

"Do you *know* what a Slayer is?"

The strange man smirked. "Do you?"

"Who are you?"

"I apologize. I assumed you knew. I'm Dracula."

For a moment Buffy was surprised, then her sense of humour kicked in. "Get
out!"

***

"Xand, I think I need to tell you something," Willow began nervously.

They were walking to the cemetery from the Espresso Pump to meet Buffy after
her patrol and Willow was trying not to spill the two mochas she carried on
a cardboard tray, despite being only having the use of one hand and that
hand shaking so badly the plastic cups rattled together.

"Will, I know," Xander assured her.

"You know?"

Xander smiled at her. "The two of you are the worst secret keepers I've ever
known. All that whispering, and the looks, and holding hands - yup, I saw
that in the coffee shop - it doesn't really fool old Xander."

"A-And?"

"I told you before, it's cool with me." Xander grinned. "And I don't just
mean that in a 'you and Buffy doing things I'd really like to know about'
way. You're happy, she's happy, therefore I'm happy."

"Sometimes I think you must be the best actor ever," Willow said, feeling
her heart rate return to normal. "You act pretty dumb sometimes and then you
come out with things like that."

"I do? Oh, I mean, I do." Xander tried to act as though he knew what she was
talking about. "Wanna go see your girlfriend?"

"Ok. No arguments from me."

Continued...
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