Fic: Road Trip (9/?)

[inell@xxxxxxx]

Title: Road Trip
Author: Inell
Email: Inell@xxxxxxx
Disclaimer: Joss owns them all
Distribution: My site, Kiss or Kill, 
http://members.fortunecity.com/kissorkill. Anyone that has permission, take. 
Otherwise, just ask.
Rating: R
Pairing: Willow/Buffy
To those who haven't forgotten me, thanks


ROAD TRIP (9/?)


Buffy closed her eyes as Willow asked again, finally giving in and saying, 
"Kinda."


"I can't sleep," Willow said, still whispering though they were both 
apparently awake.


"The bed's rather lumpy," Buffy said, moving to lay on her back so that her 
back wasn't facing Willow. "And I'm not all that tired."


"Me either," Willow confessed, moving to lay back so she could stare at the 
ceiling, unsure what she might do if she stared at Buffy's profile for too 
long. Now was definitely not the time to do something rash, like lean over 
and give Buffy a big, wet, long lasting kiss. Stop it, Willow, she scolded 
mentally as she realized Buffy was talking.


"I can't believe that I actually have a chance to sleep like a normal person 
and I can't," Buffy was saying as she laughed softly, "I guess I'm so used to 
slaying now that my body doesn't think it's time to sleep."


"I know what you mean," Willow agreed, "I hardly sleep more than a couple 
hours a night, even without a patrol. It was the routine for so many years 
that I can't really adjust to not being out late slaying with you."


"You sound like you missed it," Buffy observed, turning her head slightly and 
looking at Willow's face, bathed in the shadows of the room.


"I did," Willow said softly, speaking the truth, "The last few months, I 
don't know. I've been bored. I missed the late night patrols and the talks as 
we waited for some vamp to dust. I know we all have to grow up, but it's been 
tough."


"You had Tara, though," Buffy pointed out, feeling slightly guilty for having 
ignored her friends for most of the year. "There were several times I wanted 
to get together, but you were with her."


"That's different," Willow said, frowning as she thought about it, "Tara was 
my lover, but you were my best friend. You never mentioned getting together 
with me, or I would have. I missed our friendship, Buffy. Tara would have 
understood, as I'm sure Riley would have."


"What are we doing?" Buffy asked, laughing softly. "We're talking about 
things that are over and done. We both had this talk a month ago, remember?"


"You brought it up," Willow said, having to giggle slightly as she realized 
that Buffy was right.


"Besides," Buffy said, ignoring Willow's accusation, "Riley is gone and so is 
Tara. It's just us again, the way it should be."


"Today was fun," Willow said, deciding to ignore the fact that her heart had 
raced at Buffy's innocent words, wishing they were being said under entirely 
different circumstances.


"Yeah, it was," Buffy agreed. "I can't remember the last time I had a real 
vacation, no slaying or anything."


"The summer after you first arrived in Sunnydale," Willow said, "after you 
died and all that. You went to visit your dad, remember?"


"You're right," Buffy said, "the next summer was when I was really stupid, 
running away like that. I ended up fighting demons, real ones and my own 
personal ones."


"And we spent the summer after graduation together, being lazy and hanging 
out at the beach. Oh gosh, that was just last year," Willow said, finding it 
hard to believe it had only been a year since graduation.


"Hard to believe, huh?" Buffy said, smiling in the darkness. "It's been a 
rough few years, hasn't it?"


"That's an understatement," Willow said as she thought back over the years in 
question.


"Willow, do you ever regret it?" Buffy asked, her voice serious as she 
nervously chewed on her lip, waiting for an answer.


"Regret what?" Willow asked, confused as to Buffy's question.


"Meeting me," Buffy whispered. "Be honest."


"Buffy Anne Summers, don't you even think that!" Willow said, knowing from 
Buffy's voice that her friend was worried. "Meeting you was the best thing 
that has ever happened to me. You're so important to me. Never doubt that."


"But, you've almost died so many times because of me. You ended up staying in 
Sunnydale rather going to some fancy school somewhere because of me. You're 
life hasn't been normal since we met," Buffy pointed out, wondering why she 
was bringing this up now, when it was so late and they were so far from home.


"Thank God!" Willow said, turning so that she could study Buffy in the 
darkness. "If you hadn't come along, I'd have died. Really died, Buffy. Not 
just almost. You saved me. You always save me. And I chose to stay with you. 
A fancy school wouldn't have meant anything if you weren't there with me. If 
normal means not having you in my life, I don't want to be normal. Now, why 
are we having this discussion? Is everything okay?"


"It's perfect," Buffy said with a smile as she absorbed what Willow had said 
so passionately, knowing her friend was speaking the truth. "Everything's 
perfect. I was just having one of those sleepy thoughtful moments, you know?"


"You're weird," Willow said, having to laugh. 


"Yeah, but you love me anyway," Buffy said as she covered a yawn. "So, what 
are we going to do tomorrow?" The girls began to talk quietly about the 
possibilities for the second day of their trip before eventually falling to 
sleep shortly before dawn.