FIC: The Complex Lives... (Part 9)

["Cilia" <cilia@xxxxxxx>]

Hi!

Sorry this took so long all, I caught a mighty flu and then I spent a week
in Italy so I've been out of it a bit.

But here it is more Complex Lives... Warning: Extreme Fluff Levels inside!

If this is a very messed up post, text-wise, check out
http://www.mmedia.is/~cilia for the update ;)


The Complex Lives of Cheerleaders and Quarterbacks
Writer: Cilia
Beta: Howard
Proof-reader: Dutch


Chapter Eleven: Time to Face the Music and Dance


Willow looked out the window as the buses rumbled into Sunnydale, then down
at Buffy who was snoring away on her shoulder. She looked to her left to see
Cordelia stroking Jennifer's hair while the other girl slept; the
head-cheerleader was being awfully nice to the girl, almost as if she was
trying to make up for something.

Willow turned her eyes back to Buffy and smiled. 'My Buffy,' she thought and
stroked Buffy's blonde hair. Then she looked out the window and saw her
mother waiting in the school parking lot with the rest of the proud football
and cheerleader parents. She pulled her hand away as if she'd been stung.
'Oh my...Mom...Dad...,' Willow thought in a panic. When she felt Buffy
snuggle closer, she went stiff.

The sudden tension in her pillow woke Buffy. "Wills, you okay?" She looked
up at her girlfriend with sleepy blue eyes.

"Parental units. Outside. Must stop." Willow choked out in a tense whisper.

Buffy looked out the window and her eyes went wide when she spotted her
mother. She jumped away from Willow as if she was radioactive, then gave her
a very apologetic look. "We have to tell them," she stated firmly.

Willow gave her best 'deer in the headlights' look and shook her head.

"Hey, you have it easy; your mom is cool with this," Buffy said and motioned
between them. "But my mom.... Mom..." Buffy sighed and buried her face in
her hands. "Okay, here's the deal. We'll tell them when we're both ready,
okay?" She took Willow's hand. "Together," she squeezed Willow's hand and
gave Willow her bravest smile.

Willow nodded back and gave Buffy's hand a gentle squeeze before they broke
apart.

When the bus stopped, the two returned to their families who were blissfully
unaware of what had happened during the road trip. None would suspect that a
phone call made to ESPN earlier that day would speed up Buffy and Willow's
plans for their 'coming-out' party from 'soon' to just this side of 'right
now.'

Willow could swear she heard the music of "Tradition" from Fiddler on the
Roof.


~*~*~*~


Buffy's plan almost went off without a hitch; she was able to contain her
excitement over the events of the past two days--well, those that didn't
concern football--when she hugged her mother and sister. She chatted about
the game on the way home and had a nice dinner with her family after a phone
call from Giles. The problem began that evening when she was led into the
living room of the Summers' home; it was decked out with snacks and there
was a fresh video tape in the VCR. Memories of certain compromising footage
came flooding back.

"Er...Mom...?" Buffy looked up at her beaming mother.

"An old friend of Ms. Speed tipped her off that a tape from your game
yesterday would be on EPSN," Joyce explained. She sat down on the couch and
patted the seat next to her. "You're going to be on TV, honey," she said
with a beaming smile.

Buffy swallowed a big lump in her throat.

At that same moment, Willow was swallowing a very similar lump in her throat
as Sheila called her into the TV-room at the Rosenberg household.

Yes, somebody was throwing a major monkey wrench into Buffy and Willow's
carefully laid plans. Everyone else was just looking forward to seeing the
hometown girl make it big and, boy, were they in for a shock.

Joyce Summers--proud football mom--had indeed gotten a phone call from
Andrea Speed--proud cheerleader mom and coach wife--telling her to tune in
to ESPN. Something big was happening concerning the football team and it was
going to be on national television. Joyce glanced at her daughter, feeling
so proud; although Buffy seemed a bit uncomfortable, but that was probably
just all the attention.

"It's starting," Joyce exclaimed. She pressed the record button as the intro
for the show ran. Then came the moment that most of the town with good cable
was waiting for.

Buffy just wanted to sink into the crack between the cushions of the couch.
The familiar footage--to Buffy at least, who was now sporting a very pale
complexion--rolled on the screen.

At that moment, through either destiny or karma, both Willow and Buffy
wished they were together and away from their parental units.

"This footage was filmed at a Rancho Carne High School football game by the
camera man for KGTV, channel 10 in San Diego," Rich Eisen said as the video
filled the screen.

"Now watch player number 9 and, no, you're not mistaken, that is a girl.
Buffy "Supergirl" Summers, quarterback for the Sunnydale High School's
Razorbacks. She completed an amazing 28 out of 30 passes for 250 yards."

"Wow, that girl can throw," Kenny Mayne commented as the screen showed Buffy
hurling the pigskin straight into Harry's hands just as time ran out.

"Yes, and not only that, but she also seems to be taking the role of
quarterback very seriously in every regard," Eisen chuckled.

Joyce grabbed her mouth when she saw Willow lean in and kiss Buffy on the
lips--and she was pretty sure that Buffy was leaning into the kiss too.

"We'll be keeping an eye on this up and coming sensation, that's for sure!"
Mayne quipped. The report ended with a shot of Buffy and Willow being
carried into the tunnel holding hands. In the immortal words of Yogi Berra,
it was dj& vu all over again for the Cheerleader and the Quarterback.

Joyce wordlessly reached out with the remote and turned off the recording.
Switching remotes, she then turned off the TV before even looking at Buffy.
She slowly turned to her daughter who was looking like a lost little puppy.
"Buff...Buffy, is there something...I mean is there..." Joyce stammered.
"Honey, is there something you need to tell me?" she finally managed to ask.

Buffy cleared her throat and looked her mom straight in the eye. "Mom, I--"
she started.

The phone rang.

Joyce wordlessly reached out and picked it up. "Joyce? Joyce, you there?"
her friend Diane practically yelled through the phone.

"Yes I'm here--" Joyce started, not taking her eyes off of Buffy.

"Did your daughter just get kissed on national television by Willow
Rosenberg?" Diane pounced without hearing Joyce out.

Joyce fought back the urge to smash the phone into tiny little bits. "She's
about to start explaining," she said tersely.

"Well, at least she's not telling you on Thanksgiving," her friend
commented.

"I'll have to call you back later on that," Joyce said with a remarkably
courteous tone, given the circumstances.

"Oh my god! She's right there, isn't she?" Diane exclaimed. "I'm so--call
you back." She hurriedly hung up.

Joyce wordlessly returned the phone to its place. "You were saying?" she
asked Buffy.

The Quarterback could hear the sound of tap-dancing in her head. 'So this is
what it's like to face the music and dance,' she thought and gulped again.
'God, I hope Willow is having a better time with this than me.' She reached
out, took her mother's hand, and opened her mouth to explain.

Just then, there was a loud squeal from upstairs and a shriek of, "Oh my
god, my sister's gay!" was heard.

Buffy just buried her face in her hands. She seemed to be doing that a lot
today, she noted to herself.

"Yes, Dawn, we know!" Joyce called back, then grabbed her mouth and blushed.

Buffy started to giggle at the farce her 'coming out' was turning into.

Then the phone rang again.

Mother and Daughter just sat there while the phone rang; both trying and
failing to contain their laughter.

Then something in Buffy broke. She felt as if a stone was being lifted from
her heart and soul and she threw her hands into the air. "I LOVE WILLOW!"
Buffy shouted with a laugh over the ringing of the phone. "There I said it!
I love her, she makes me happy, tingly, flighty, and all those nice things
and she likes me in spite of everything!" she exclaimed. Then she looked
somewhat worriedly at her mother, "Is that so bad?"

Joyce couldn't help but to smile at the sincerity in Buffy's voice. The
phone kept ringing as mother and daughter just looked at each other. Then
Joyce reached out and answered it, then smiled and handed it to Buffy. "It's
for you."

Buffy took the phone with a raised eyebrow.

"It's your girlfriend," she explained and Buffy's face broke into a beaming
smile.

"Eww, that's totally gross! But at least it's not a boy 'cause boys are
yucky," Dawn chimed in from upstairs.

"Someday you might change your mind," Joyce called out, which was followed
by the sound of stomping feet.

Little eleven-year-old Dawn burst into the living room, crossed her arms
firmly over her chest and stomped her foot. "But boys are yucky!" she
exclaimed loudly.

"You may think so now, but one day you'll wake up and you won't think boys
are so yucky anymore," Joyce tried to assure to her youngest daughter.

Dawn just looked a bit green around the gills.

Buffy sighed, put her hand over the phone and piped in, "I never did."

In answer, she received a 'you don't count, missy' glare from her mother.

Buffy rolled her eyes skyward before asking Willow, "How'd it go on your
end?"

At last she had come out and stated her sexuality and love for Willow to her
family. But the tricky part still remained; telling that fact to the rest of
the school, come Monday.

Also, to make things more complex, a pang of guilt was gnawing at her
stomach. She'd been able to proclaim her love for Willow so easily just now;
but still, whenever she tried to say those three little words in the
presence of her favorite redheaded cheerleader, her brain did a spaz-out on
her.

'We'll just have to fix that. This brain is now a spaz-free zone,' Buffy
thought firmly. Then she took a deep breath before asking Willow something
she'd wanted to ask for a long time.


~*~*~*~


Willow sat and stared at the television, stunned for a moment. Then she
looked over at her mother who appeared to be engrossed in what the reporter
was saying about the state of the NFL. One might say that Willow was a
little confused, though that would have been understating the very obvious.
After all, she'd expected something--anything--out of her mother. Mostly,
she feared something along the lines off: "You tsatskele! What do you think
you're doing with that shiksa!" But instead, her mother was watching the
sports ticker and humming to herself as though nothing of importance had
happened.

"Mom?" Willow asked her mother, fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"Yes, dear?" Sheila asked without looking away from the screen.

"Don't you...you know...want to ask me something?" she asked blushing
brightly.

"Oh, right," Sheila said, snapping her fingers. "Did you clean your room
yet?"

Willow gave her mother a very dirty look. "Not that," she huffed, then she
noticed that her mother was smiling at her.

"Willow, does she make you happy?" Sheila asked softly.

Willow gave her mother a stunned looked and then asked the only thing that
came to mind. "What about Dad?"

"Oh, your father doesn't care for sports," Sheila explained off-handedly.
"Am I 'freaking' you out dear?" she asked patting Willow on the shoulder.

"A bit," Willow squeaked out.

"Why don't you call her?" Sheila asked handing Willow the phone. "I'm sure
you two have a lot to talk about," she said.

Willow took the phone, then gave her mother a big hug. "Mame..." she
whispered, "a sheynem dank." She hugged her mother tightly before pulling
back and giving her a teary eyed smile.

"Filn zikh shtolts." Sheila answered as Willow started dialing.

After several rings, Joyce picked up. Willow stammered into the receiver,
"Is...is Buffy there?" After a few, very fast heartbeats, a voice that made
her heart skip spoke.

"Hi, Wills," Buffy said through the phone.

Willow giggled, then her brain went into warm-goo mode as her mother watched
her with a smile.

"How'd it go on your end?" Buffy asked and Willow could hear Dawn's loud
exclamations of the yuckiness of boys and girls and well...the whole
boyfriend/girlfriend thing in general in the background.

"Mom.... Mom..." Willow stammered into the phone and then looked up at her
mother and smiled. "Mom told me 'Filn zikh shtolts.'" she said and felt
herself tear up.

"What's 'films ick shots' supposed to mean?" Buffy asked, confusion in her
voice. In a horrified whisper, she asked, "She thought we were icky?"

Willow giggled, "No, Buffy. It's Yiddish." She took a deep breath as the
tears threatened again. "She told me to be proud of myself."

"Wills, that's..." Buffy stammered on the other end with a sniffle of her
own. "Wills, you should be. Everyday you make me so proud and so happy."
Buffy, in rare babble-mode, gushed into the phone.

There was silence for a moment, then, after a hearty mutual sniffle,
Willow's eyes twinkled a bit. "So...does this mean we can go out on a
date-date now?" she asked hopefully and she could hear Buffy take a deep
breath.

Then Buffy answered with, "Willow, would you go out with me after the game?"

That was how it came to pass that Buffy and Willow made their relationship
known to their families--well, mostly, but Ira doesn't really
count--however, the rest of the town remained to be told. Then there were
the problems of a few other cheerleaders who had not returned from the
road-trip with such a firm grasp of their emotions.

TBC...




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"It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
"I kinda love you."
Buffy & Willow, 'Choices'

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