Fic: Bittersweet (3/?)

[ladyvyxen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Bittersweet, Part Three.
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Anne-Lise sends warm, fuzzy thoughts to Soren, who's having a bad 
week it seems. "Me too," she moans. "Today's my 25th Birthday. Today, 
I'm officially *old*!" Wiping away a tear, Anne-Lise heads off to 
Littlewoods to buy a spinsterish shawl and a sackcloth or two.

--

Joyce looked up in shock as Buffy nonchalantly entered the library.
"Buffy!" she cried, and rose from her chair. Giles rushed out from 
his office.
Joyce gave her daughter a piercing glare. "Just where the hell do 
you think..." She broke off as Buffy swayed, then dropped to the 
floor.
"Buffy!" Joyce screamed. Giles ran to the fallen Slayer's side.

*

Buffy came round to see all her friends gathered around her.
"Are you okay, Buffy?" Joyce asked. 'You gave me such a fright.'
"I'm fine," Buffy replied as she pulled herself up into a sitting 
position. "I'm sorry I scared you."
'Forgive me?' Willow's eyes regarded Buffy with sadness. 
Xander simply seemed pensive. 'God, she looks so cute when she's 
helpless.'
"Xander!" Buffy rebuked, scandalised.
"What?" Xander gave her a nervous, nonplussed look.
'Fine. She's not too badly hurt. Maybe I' "Can I go now?" Cordelia 
asked.
Buffy blinked and looked to Willow.
"Forgive me?" Willow asked softly, the question cascading through 
her thoughts.
"Of course!" Buffy nodded. "You'll always be my best friend."
'Thank God. I thought you'd never speak to me again.' Willow 
blushed. 'And I never got to tell you... I love you too.'
Buffy stared. "You do?" she whispered. The scoobs glanced at her 
with puzzled expressions as she climbed unsteadily to her feet. She 
pulled Willow into a hug and kissed her soulfully.
Willow's eyes widened and the other scoobs let out a collective 
gasp.
"Buffy?" Joyce queried, her voice strangely high-pitched. Giles 
caught her before she too slumped to the floor. Surprisingly, his 
legs felt weak too.
Xander grinned. 'Dammit, never a camera around when you need one.'
"I..." Cordelia recomposed herself. 'I'm simply going to have to 
tell everyone I know!' She turned and fled the library.
'But...But...' Willow finally managed to regain the ability to 
talk. "But... I never said anything!"
Buffy stared, her eyes taking in the speculative, appraising look 
that Giles regarded her with, the pubescent smirk that was Xander's 
contribution, her mother's openly accusing stare and the pain in 
Willow's eyes. Buffy, scourge of evil and Slayer of the damned, fled 
the library sobbing.

*

"I'm a little confused," Xander said. "Okay, that's like a fish 
saying he's wet, but in this case I'm a little more confused than 
normal. What the hell just happened?"
Willow smiled a bright, perky smile. "She loves me too." She 
quailed under Joyce's laser-like eyes. "Well, she does!"
"I..." Joyce bit back the words. "I guess this is another example of 
how little I know about my own daughter." The anger left her face to 
be replaced by an ineffable sadness.
Giles, who until now had hidden behind his quiet English reserve 
and unjustified optimism that things will come out alright in the 
end, offered Joyce his arm. "Please, allow me to drive you home. This 
must have been quite... the ordeal."
Joyce gave Buffy's Watcher a tight smile. "Thank you, but I think 
I'd rather walk." With that, she left the library.
"So..." Xander took a deep breath. "What the hell just happened?"

*

Buffy fled down the school hallway, her thoughts muddled. Not 
properly looking where she was going, she ran into the school janitor.
"Ooh!", he gasped. "You watch where you're going now, young woman!"
Buffy offered him a fleeting, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Mr. 
Beech. I will."
The janitor shook his head. 'Students. If only we could get rid of 
all the students.'
Buffy walked down the hallway, realising that she was hearing not 
just the student's words, but also their thoughts.
'Maybe I'll take French, I said. How hard can it be, French babies 
learn it.'
'I swear, someday my pants are gonna fall right off.'
Buffy giggled.
'Buffy is so beautiful.' 
Buffy blinked and stopped.
'I mean, look at that body.'
Buffy blushed, raising an arm to shield the blush from view.
'God, I would love to shove her against that locker right now and 
just...'
Buffy wigged, and just ran, and ran.

*

Xander looked at Willow with a shocked, earnest expression. "How 
long have you been in love with Buffy?" he asked.
Willow returned the gaze. "Oh..." she began.

*

End Part 3.