Author's Note: This is the fourth fic in some sort of series-thingy I started (more or less on accident, it all began with one fic I wrote just for fun, hehe). The previous parts can be found in my profile, but it's not really necessary to have read them to understand what is going on here. I've taken quite the liberties with the BtVS timeline though, basically ignoring season 7 and the comic. Feedback is highly appreciated!

Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer used in this fic are not mine, I'm just borrowing them for a while. Any original characters sprang from my (at times weird) mind. I'm not making any money with this, and I don't have much money either, so please don't sue me. :)

Darkness Falls

The Magic Box had been closed down for the day, but was far from as quiet as it should be after business hours; from the backroom, the sounds of fighting could be heard, with the occasional grunt or curse when a hit landed particularly well. Anyone who wasn't a member of the close circle called the Scoobie Gang surely would have thought that the fight was for real, that the two women who were battling it out in the backroom of the store were serious about it; it probably would have made that innocent bystander wonder why the third woman in the room was just watching with a small smile on her face, clearly neither frightened nor worried – after all, she was a member of that close circle of friends, and thus knew that it was just sparring, no matter how serious it looked.

As always when she watched the taller of the two women fight, a certain tingling started to fill her, but she forced it back down, telling herself that this could wait until they were back home; focusing on the fight again, she watched how Buffy, the smaller of the two fighters, easily caught the fist of her opponent, then used the grip she thus had to throw the other woman over her shoulder, a low grunt escaping the taller one when she hit the ground.

"Careful", Willow now called out, shaking her head to herself at how far those two always took their sparring, "don't break my girlfriend…"

"She's not that fragile", Buffy gave back, moving a few steps back when, as if to prove the Slayer's words, Pat sprang to her feet again, barely managing to dodge the kick the blonde woman attacked her with seconds later. They went on fighting for a few more minutes, then Buffy called it quits, deciding that they had sparred long enough; immediately, Pat let herself drop down on the soft training mat on the ground, the Slayer sitting down next to her while Willow moved over to the two and made herself comfortable next to her girlfriend, smiling when immediately, the taller woman put an arm around her.

"Think Giles would be satisfied with that training?" she asked, focusing on Buffy; at once, the Slayer nodded, letting out a heavy breath before she answered verbally as well, sounding surprisingly fit despite the lengthy training she just had gone through. "For sure… So far, he always was, and today, I held back a bit less than usual…"

"I noticed", Pat commented dryly next to her, causing the Slayer to give her an apologetic smirk – before she shrugged, a mischief glint in her eyes as she replied. "Well, it's not like you went easy on me, either. Plus, I don't really need to be afraid of hurting you, unlike Giles, you can heal a lot in that demonic form of yours… Which is why he suggested that I'd train with you in the first place."

"I know", the demon gave back, "and it makes sense, but to be honest with you, I fear the day you'll decide not to hold back anymore at all."

"That'll never happen", Buffy reassured her, then got up from her seat; the other two women followed her example moments later, both of them nodding when the Slayer asked if they'd be there for the Scoobie meeting in the next afternoon while they made their way outside.

"See you tomorrow then", she smiled once they had both agreed, wishing the couple a nice evening; afterwards, they parted ways, the Slayer making her way back to her home while Willow and Pat returned to their apartment as well, walking next to each other in silence for a while until the redhead spoke up, immediately gaining the attention of her girlfriend. "Did Buffy talk to you about patrol, too? It's been strangely quiet lately…"

"Yeah", the demon agreed, falling silent afterwards to light a cigarette – not bothering with the lighter this time, but using the tip of her finger since no one but Willow was around to see, taking a long drag of it before she spoke on. "I noticed, too, when I went on patrol with her… It's weird. But the few vampires we did encounter were kinda… wild."

"Wilder than usual?", the witch asked in response, slightly surprised – this had been something Buffy hadn't mentioned to her when she had talked about the surprising lack of vampires lately.

"Yeah", the demon shrugged, obviously not putting much thought into the subject of wilder vampires, "at least it seemed that way to me. On the other hand, maybe I'm getting old after all and imagine it, Buffy didn't say anything about it…"

"She didn't mention it to me either", Willow informed her girlfriend helpfully, "but I doubt you're getting old… You still look as handsome as you did the day we met."

"Why thank you", the demon smirked in reply, stopping briefly so she could kiss her girlfriend, speaking on once they had pulled apart again, "and I can reassure you that you're just as beautiful as you were when I first saw you…"

"Thanks", Willow smiled in reply, successfully ignoring the fact that, when Pat had first seen her, all of her moves towards her had been a mere act to get close to her; by now, enough time had passed and they had gone through enough together to reassure the witch countless times that the demon's love for her was as real as it could get, making it easy for her to forget the betrayal she had faced so early in their relationship.

"You'll go on patrol with Buffy again tonight?" the redhead asked after they just had walked on in silence for a while; in reply, Pat shook her head, smirking at the slightly surprised look Willow gave her in reply.

"I've been on patrol the last three nights with her", she pointed out, "tonight, Xander's going with her, I believe… I told her I'm in dire need of a cuddly evening with my girl."

In response, Willow's eyes lit up, the sight making Pat's smile widen as well; they stopped once more to share another short kiss, then headed on towards their apartment, both of them now looking forward to a quiet and calm evening, something they hadn't been able to enjoy in quite some time.