crys_loch | Fic: Only One Very Right Thing To Do

Fic: Only One Very Right Thing To Do

BtVS / Buffy/Willow

PG-13

Summery: There was only one thing Buffy could do now.

I'll continue to add some older stories while I work on the newest one. I only answered a couple challenges. This was one of them.

The disclaimers:

Don’t Sue Me- I did not create nor do I own the characters or their premise. Joss Whedon did and does. This is just Fan Fiction. All the fun and none of the profit. Distribution: not without my explicit consent. Feel free to ask though. I don’t bite.

Timeline/Pairings- Post ‘Chosen’. Buffy/Willow.

Warnings (The Good Stuff)- No ‘good stuff’. No kink, porn or guys. Nothing past the kiss. I hope you have a good imagination. Still, as always, I am not responsible for your actions. I’m in enough trouble just being responsible for my own.

Summery- There was only one thing Buffy could do now.

One Last Thing- This was a challenge response fic and was posted to the Wiffy Dreamverse Forum. It was all very ‘in house’ and for the life of me I don’t remember what the challenge was now. I would think it had something to do with this title though.

Only One Very Right Thing To Do

By Crys Loch

Buffy hopped up and down a little; shook her hands, her arms; rolled her shoulders and neck. The suspense was killing her. Willow wasn't going to be home for another ten minutes. Buffy had been waiting all day.

"God, why am I doing this again?" Buffy muttered into the still and pristine apartment. You know why, a part of her mind stepped in to answer, Because you're falling in love. Have fallen in love. You have all the signs. Watching every little thing she does. Smiling at her every gesture and expression. Missing her the moment she's away from you. Buffy, the tingle, the jumpy nerves, that rolling in your gut... you haven't felt this since... since Angel. "Shut up," Buffy muttered aloud, "I'm doing this, alright?" She glanced at the clock again and willed herself to sit down.

The cleaning was done. The cooking prep completed, wine set out to breathe. Tablecloth, china, candles: everything was set for dinner. Even her bedroom was set: clean satin sheets, candles again. Music! She forgot about the music. Buffy bounded from the sofa to the stereo and quickly chose some of the light current jazz Willow seemed to be fond of at the moment, careful to exclude anything with a Latin twist. Rio was still a sore spot for Willow; healing, but still a little raw. Kennedy. She had wanted to kill Kennedy when she first heard what had happened. Now... Buffy couldn't stop the small smirk when she realized she should thank Kennedy for bringing Willow back into her life. Of course now it turns out it's all different. Or hopefully different. If this night works. If Willow would finally get home. Buffy forced herself to return to the sofa and wait.

Buffy just barely kept herself from jumping up and over to Willow when the front door opened. That hadn't been anything new for a few weeks now. Still, Buffy could feel a goofy wide grin burst out and she almost rolled her eyes at herself. She felt her pulse begin to race, her stomach rock and nerves across her body misfire. Oh, you've got it so bad, girl.

Willow entered the apartment and put down her bag. Glancing around the room, she smiled curiously to Buffy. "Hey, what's the occasion? You have a date coming over? Why didn't you tell me you met someone? Oh," Willow's eyes lit up with understanding and she started to grab her bag again, "You need me to leave for a while, don't you?"

"No!" Buffy did jump up then and rushed over to Willow. Trying to calm herself, she reached out and gently took Willow's bag and laid it back down on the hall table. "I mean, no special occasion. I just thought it'd be nice. You and me. Something to eat." Buffy quickly shook her head. "I mean dinner. You know, at home. Instead of take out."

Willow kept staring curiously at her friend. "You sure nothing bad is about to happen and you don't want to tell me?"

Buffy smiled, took a deep breath, and in seeming calmness, started to lead Willow to the table. "I'm sure." And hope and pray. She seated Willow at her place then disappeared into the kitchen. A couple of return trips later and everything was set. Two fondue pots were lit and gently heating their contents. The air started to swirl with the scents of sweet mild cheese and the bite of hot oil. On a tray next to the pots, in cascading lines, lay thinly sliced meats and bite size chunks of bread. Buffy poured two glasses of wine and finally settled in her chair close to Willow.

"I know it's not Italian, but we have Italian all the time. I thought maybe we could try something different tonight." Buffy nearly bit her lip to keep from smirking at her words. She sipped some wine and started again. "I had this once and it was really cool. You dip the meat in the oil for a moment so it cooks. And the bread goes in the cheese." When all Willow continued to do was stare at her, Buffy decided to just show her. "Here, like this." She placed meat on the long fork and dropped it into the oil. Then placed some bread on another fork and dipped that into the cheese. Placing her other hand under the bread to catch any drips, she negotiated it to her mouth. Watching Willow's reaction, she closed her lips over the fork and gently pulled the bread into her mouth. When Willow shook her head, Buffy smiled teasingly. "What?"

"I just..." Willow paused and glanced at the table, then back to her friend. "I just can't believe you did all this."

"Why?" Buffy barely kept herself from laughing. She knew Willow would be a little shocked. Take out, order in, grab a quick bite... everything about this night was out of their ordinary. That was part of the plan. "You know I've learned to cook. I mean I know I don't much. But you know I know how."

"I know." Willow was quick to reassure and not possibly insult. "It's just... you sure there's nothing bad you're not telling me?"

"There's nothing bad." Buffy looked into Willow eyes as she reassured her. "I just wanted to do this." Buffy reached over and pulled the meat out of the oil and laid the fork on her plate to let it cool. She continued to start the next part of her dinner, motioning Willow to do the same. "Come on, eat." When she was satisfied Willow was on her way to joining her for dinner, Buffy tried to divert any further suspicions. "So, how was the museum?"

Buffy watched delightedly as Willow described her museum trip with gestures as punctuation. She wasn't really hearing the words as much as experiencing part of Willow's excitement. It was just so wonderful to see Willow excited about something again. It was wonderful to feel this way herself again. Buffy briefly wondered if maybe this could have happened a lot sooner, as if either one of them could have that kind of courage in high school. Besides, Buffy reminded herself, there was Angel, Oz, then... Buffy shook her thoughts away and refocused on what was in front of her now. And her own nervous excitement that was making dinner a little hard to enjoy. They tried different meats and dipping sauces. Daringly, Buffy fed Willow a couple of her creations, watching as Willow's lips slipped carefully over the fork. After the conversation seemed to start to ebb, Buffy closed the lids on the burners and removed the pots from the table. She noticed the candles were getting low, the bottle of wine nearing the end. She wondered how many times the song currently playing had come around. They had lost time. Tonight, it slipped by unnoticed with laughter, food and conversation. Before, it had just been left alone to slip away. Buffy shook her head and with a deep breath to steady herself, returned with the next part. Dessert. Another fondue pot was brought to the table and lit. A tray of sliced fruit was set beside it. She watched, entranced, as Willow took a deep breath and her lips curled in a smile.

"Chocolate." Willow leaned forward to peer into the pot.

"The best for last." Buffy confirmed, chasing her own thoughts as to how this night would hopefully end away. Buffy sat and watched as Willow slipped an apple piece through the warm chocolate and into her mouth. She hoped Willow didn't notice she licked her own lips. Deciding she better start seeking deniability cover, Buffy picked a slice of mango for herself. They slowly ate dessert in comfortable silence. Smiling occasionally at each other. Laughing when Buffy again tried to feed Willow a chocolaty fruit concoction. The laughter faltered when a drip of chocolate fell onto Willow's chin. Entranced, Buffy gently reached out with her finger and brushed it off. She brought her finger to her lips and slid her tongue across it.

Willow snapped out of her daze. She stood up and quickly crossed the room and out onto the patio. She leaned against the railing and simply stared out across the night and the skyline of Rome.

Buffy watched as Willow bolted from the room. The french doors still swung open. She closed her eyes and steadied her nerves. Slowly, Buffy rose from her seat, closed the lid to extinguish the flame and started over to join Willow on the patio. She was about to make a big mistake. Given my previous ones, Buffy admitted to herself, this is one of the better ones. Buffy crossed the patio and leaned against the railing next to Willow, choosing to watch her friend instead of the skyline. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Willow turned slowly towards Buffy, the question in her eyes.

Buffy had rehearsed words in her memory. Or she had simple truth at her disposal. Nothing she could say seemed right at this moment. There was only one very right thing to do. Buffy leaned in and kissed Willow. She brought her hand to Willow's back, she rested the other on Willow's shoulder. She pulled Willow towards her and let passion and desire be felt in her kiss. Her lips slid over Willow's. Her tongue gently slipped out to taste sweet chocolate fruit. She closed her eyes and felt relieved excitement when Willow responded. Buffy pulled away briefly to look into Willow eyes. She smiled as she watched near panic mix with desire. Her own nerves finally eased and settled, she leaned in and kissed Willow again. There were no words that could make clearer the intention behind the kiss. Quickly, maybe slowly, time was lost again, as the kiss grew in passion; and experience, desire, overcame doubts.

Willow pulled slightly away this time. Her breathing deep and rushed. Her eyes still searching for answers in Buffy's. She glanced away from Buffy's eyes for a moment in retreat. She almost moaned as she noticed Buffy's erect nipples stretching her light tank top. "You're... you're cold." She heard herself say through the confused haze.

Buffy chuckled lightly. Her hand cupped Willow's chin and brought Willow's eyes back to her own. Her thumb started to lightly stroke the skin where one chocolate drop had once fallen. She licked her lips and held Willow's still questioning gaze. "I'm not cold." Buffy let the statement sink in, hoping to find realization dawn in Willow's eyes. It did.

"Buffy...?" Willow wasn't sure what she hoped to ask.

"Tonight." Buffy's whisper cut her off. "Stay with me tonight."

"And tomorrow?" There, there was the question now hanging over Willow's thoughts.

"Would it totally break the mood if I replied with 'and always'?" Buffy smiled and tried to convey the truth of it through her eyes. "It is far beyond corny."

Willow smiled, finally. An honest excited smile lit her face brighter than any this night. "Yes."

Buffy pulse leapt at the reply before her own puzzlement crossed her features. "To which?"

Willow stepped into Buffy's arms. "Both," she whispered.

The end. You'll have to imagine the rest.