FIC : "Of Stakes & Spells" 8/? {w/b}

["satanslilangl" <satanslilangl@xxxxxxxxx>]

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Takes place about a week after the last chapter. Riley is still 
after Buffy but she and Willow have a silent understanding that they 
need to heal emotionally before the two girls get together. Takes 
place after the awkward silence at the end of 'Pangs' (I felt that I 
didn't have to rewrite the Ep. with Buffy/Willow undertones because 
they were kinda already there).

[Author's Note: I updated my other FanFic, and felt guilty. Please 
note: This may not have the same voice as my other chapters as I 
wrote it during my Biology class instead of during Calculus . . . 
Hope you like it!]

= = = (*Pangs Of Loss*) = = = 

Willow and Buffy walked slowly down the path towards the dorm. The 
mention of Angel's visit had put the Slayer into a recoiled state. 
She'd not said a word since the Vampire had been brought up at the 
dinner table.

"That was a really amazing dinner Buffy," Willow said, trying to get 
the Slayer out of her armor, "Where did you learn to cook like 
that?" The witch looked to Buffy for a response, but all she got 
was a shrug. {She won't even look at me . . .} She thought, {I was 
a fool to think Buffy would ever like me}. Willow too fell into 
silence, thinking of what might have happened if Angel hadn't forced 
her favorite Slayer into an emotional regression. 

{Maybe we'd go back to the dorm and she'd kiss me again! Oh! Or 
we might have gotten back to the room, and she'd tell me that she was 
ready to start dating again, and then she'd kiss me-} Willow's 
thoughts continued on like this until they walked through the door to 
their room. Willow put her stuff down and walked over to her 
dresser. She watched Buffy walked to the foot of her bed and stand 
there for a few minutes. Willow changed into her night-clothes, all 
the while keeping a close eye on the blond. The most movement she 
saw for the Slayer was when she toed her shoes off. 

Willow picked up her bathroom stuff and walked to the door. She 
opened it, and started to walked threw, but stopped. She turned to 
Buffy and said, "I'm going to go brush my teeth, okay?" no response, 
the Slayer didn't even blink. "I'll be right back, are you going to 
be okay in here by yourself?" Still nothing, not even a nod. 
Willow hurriedly walked down to the communal bathroom. As fast as 
she could she washed her face and brushed her teeth.

When Willow first walked into the room she had thought Buffy had 
left. After a few seconds of panic, she noticed the Slayer's bed. 
The sheets had been messily pulled up at the foot of the bed, and in 
the center of the mattress was a small lump. Willow sighed sadly. 
{Oh Buffy,} Willow thought to herself, {What did Angel ever do to 
deserve you? And how could he treat you like this . . . ?} The 
Witch put her stuff down on the small desk, and walked to the foot of 
the bed.

"Buffy?" she asked the lump quietly. It flinched, and seemed to 
shrink. Willow wanted to cry over how sad and helpless the Slayer 
looked. Here was this amazingly powerful woman that she loved and 
admired, and she was reduced to a catatonic state by an old boy-
friend. On a sudden burst of confidence, Willow grabbed the 
untucked blankets, and crawled under them as well.

After burrowing through the sheets a bit, Willow made it to the 
center. Maneuvering behind the blond, the Witch spooned her self 
around her best friend. Slowly and gently she wrapped her arms 
around Buffy's middle, waiting to be told to 'Go Away'. But still, 
nothing came.

"Buffy?" Willow whispered in to the girl's ear. Then it happened. 
Buffy started shaking with silent tears. Willow held her tighter, 
and as Buffy tried to take another staggering breath a strangled sob 
was released. It was simply the first leak to spring in the 
Slayer's Emotional Damn. 

"Why?" she sobbed quietly, "Why is he doing this to me? I was happy 
again, I really was!" Willow just held her friend as she wept. She 
knew that Buffy had to vent to get over it, and she knew that all she 
could be was be there for her. "He didn't even say 'Hello' to me! 
Would that have been to much to ask? No, Angel has to snoop around 
and talk to my friends, and ignore me completely . . ." Whispered 
more to herself then to anyone else.

"He was worried Buffy, that's why he stopped by." Willow whispered, 
giving the girl a squeeze. Buffy just kept weeping quietly, trying 
not to concentrate on the passionate heat that Willow's hug was 
instilling in her. She shook herself mentally {Don't think like 
that! You love Angel, and he came to see you . . .} Buffy thought, 
but once again, the other voice in her head replied. {But you love 
Willow too, don't you?}

{Yeah, So? Willow's still pining over Oz, and I miss Angel. I 
can't think about that right now!}

{Why not? It'll make you feel better.}

{NO!} Buffy screamed in her head, the tears flowing harder at her 
internal frustration, {I don't want it to be like that! I want to 
know that I Love Willow for Willow, not because I simply can't have 
Angel . . . that would be wrong.}

{But you loved her before? What's so wrong about enjoying it now?}

{Because.} Buffy stated to herself flatly, {If I do something now 
I'll regret it for the rest of my life. She or I will spend the 
rest of our time together wondering if I did it because I REALLY 
loved her, or simply because she was 'convenient' . . . Willow 
deserves better then that. When I'm with Willow I want to know that 
it's because I wouldn't want to be with anyone else.}

{That's what I wanted to hear.} The voice faded, leaving Buffy to her 
confused thoughts.

"Buffy?" Willow asked quietly, "Please, talk to me?" Willow waited, 
but only silence fallowed. Willow started to relax, deciding to 
stay with the Slayer until she fell asleep, when she heard it.

"Thanks." Came the blonde's raspy whisper.

"Hey, not thanks needed. I'll take any excuse to Hug you, you know 
that." Willow gave her another squeeze and Buffy laughed, the emotion 
still evident in her voice. "Plus, I owe you a cheer-up. Though 
the last one was kinda mutual, I think you helped me A LOT more then 
I helped you . . ." she said, " . . . (or so it seems) . . ." she 
added in a whisper. There was a long minute of silence, fallowed by 
Buffy wrapping her arms around Willow's.

"I haven't lied to you in a long time, you know." She whispered to 
the Copper-top, who was more then just a little confused now.

"I know." Willow replied, hoping the Slayer would elaborate.

"Not for a long, LONG time . . ." Buffy said pointedly, as though 
this was a hint to some puzzle that the Witch didn't understand. 

"What do you mean?"

" . . . Nothing . . ." Buffy whispered, suddenly very tired.

"No, Buffy, what are you talking about?" Willow whispered, wanting to 
know what on earth the Blond was trying to tell her.

"I'll explain later . . ." came the Slayer's last whisper as she fell 
into a deep Tear-induced sleep. Willow sighed. She was about to 
get up and go to her own bed when she realized something. Being 
wrapped up in the Slayer was a lot more comfortable then just 
sleeping alone. {It's even better then sleeping with Oz} she 
thought. 

Willow was recovering nicely, she was no longer upset every time she 
thought of the dirty, cheating, Dog-Of-A-Man also know as Daniel 
Osborne. And now, more then ever, she was set on making Buffy 
happy, and her own. {Jeez! Possessive Much Rosenberg?} The Red-
Head cuddled up behind her best friend, and slowly and leisurely fell 
into sleep, enjoying the fuzzy bunny feeling she get every time she 
was close to the Slayer.