Author's Note: I would suggest listening to Mo(u)rning Song by We Are The City when you read this; unlike my other fics, I wouldn't say this is so much "based" off of it as it is influenced by the emotion the song potrays. :) This takes place sometime during Season 7 sometime after Willow and Kennedy meet. I haven't really worked out the details. Just a lil' one-shot.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! I wish I did, but Mr. Joss Whedon has the divine privilege.
Ever since the potentials showed up here in Sunnydale, things have been different. And well, what did I expect? That a bunch of- of people could show up and everything would stay the same? I guess I was just surprised 'cause things were finally getting back to normal, you know? Well, as normal as things can get with me just getting back from England, being invisible, Anya being a demon then not a demon again, the big bad out to get us, a-and 'from beneath you it devours'. Normal despite all of those things. At least I still babble like old Willow used to. It's just-
"Will?"
Buffy slowly opens to door to my bedroom, where I am bludgeoning myself with my thoughts, and sticks her head in.
"Mind if I come and sit with you?"
"Of course not, Buff. Make your self at h- well, I guess it is your home, huh?"
She just smiles and comes in, quietly closing the door behind her. Her long blonde hair is pulled up into a messy bun on top of her head. If it wasn't for the fact that she's wearing some snappy sheep pajamas I would have never known it was nighttime – I guess I've been up here longer than I thought.
"How are you?", she says as she sits down on the bed next to me.
Thinking the question over and considering the fact that it could be a loaded question, I cautiously say "Fine", but know that the look I am getting means that she knows better than that. Duh. It's Buffy.
"Willow. C'mon. I just want to check in on you, okay? So tell me. How have you been? You know," she pauses and carefully chooses her words, "since the whole... Warren thing?"
I wince at the words. It's a pretty well-known fact that, as a direct result of a little curse Amy the Rat put on me, I turned into Warren. Warren as in, the man that I flayed alive. And, of course, it happened after I kissed Kennedy for the first time. And that's what Buffy is really here about – not the fact that I turned into Warren, not to check the meters on my weekly magicks usage, not even to rummage around my room for the gun I bought like Xander had tried to, but to check on how I am doing with someone new in my life. Especially someone like Kennedy.
Kennedy... well Kennedy is Kennedy. She is a strikingly beautiful young women that is definitely not afraid to go after something that she wants 110%. Yeah, she is a little bratty at times but in a way it all just goes back to her just wanting what she wants and knowing how to get it. Me, for example. From her first little "hog the covers" comment, to the long nights I spent on the floor trying to ignore the energy radiating off of her (which, by the way, didn't last very long; I mean, she can be very persuasive!), to her faking sick to take me out, then (heh) me trying to shoot her. Then using her as a human battery...
Wait. Why did she say she liked me again?
"Will?"
Oh. That's right. Buffy asked me a question. I clear my throat.
"Oh! Yeah. Me. Feelings."
Buffy nods and I whimper.
"Things have been good. More than good. I'm... I'm better. Things are better."
"Uh huh", she doesn't sound very convinced, "and what about your little girlfriend, huh? How are things with her? You know, I heard a little something coming from the showe-"
"Oh! Oh. Kennedy. You're talking about Kennedy and not talking about whatever you heard from the shower earlier, right? Right! Yes. Kennedy."
Buffy nods again, and raises an eyebrow to urge me on. This would be easier if she didn't mention the shower thing.
Just, you know, to clear the air - We haven't had sex, Kennedy and I. We're... taking it slow, you know? Taking it slow totally includes making out. And hey, if you were living in a house with like 20 others girls and there was only one bathroom, you'd want to combine your 15 minutes with someone else's too! I mean, 30 minutes is ample time to take a shower! So really, we're just being economical.
Are you buying that, self?
"Things with us are good. Kennedy... Kennedy is great. She's taking everything so well, everything with me. The fall-out from Tara. The kiss. Everything. I'm actually really impressed. I mean she's head-strong, but she's not stupid. She's actually really sweet."
I pause, unsure of whether or not I should tell Buffy details about Kennedy and I. I mean, I don't want to give her the wiggins or anything. But, as if one cue, Buffy smiles at me and cocks her head to the side as if to tell me that I should continue.
"She just... Buffy. She really is so sweet. Yesterday, I-I had a bad dream. A, uh, a black-haired baddy kind of dream. And I woke up, obviously, and I was just a horrible wreck. Like the water works and the sobbing and the whole nine yards. She just, she held me and let me talk. She kissed my forehead and my cheeks and was so protective and there without being too pushy or overbearing. O-or, the other night when you guys got back from patrol and she was all grrr ahhh, bruises everywhere and cuts and things, she didn't let me worry about her. She just let me hold her, a-and kiss her. We just laid in bed and even though we were both... um, less than fully clothed, we just laid there. It was... it was so nice."
"Sounds like you've got a keeper there, Will", Buffy says through a smile, "I will continue to ignore your under the table hand holding, as a sign of approval. And as far as I'm concerned, there could have been a ghost in the shower! Weirder things have happened."
"Thank you, Buffy. Really. I just... Thank you."
"Um, hello? Willow it's me! I just have to keep an eye on you. And you know, Kennedy can be a little bratty – okay, a lot bratty – but she's a good person. Her heart is in the right place. Especially if it's with you."
We share a very loving look, and I lean into her for a hug. She kisses my cheek before pulling away. Without another word needing to be said, she slowly gets up and walks towards the door. Just as she is about to exit, however, it swings open (almost hitting her) and in breezes the taut form of Kennedy herself. She is covered in bruises, and has a large cut above her left eye, but has the most radiant smile on her face.
"I staked my first vamp, Red!", she beams at me before noticing Buffy is there. "Hello, Buffy. Um, how- uh how are you?"
She just smiles, and glances at me before looking back at Kennedy. She has that tricky look in her eye and I know she's abut to say something snide or snappy. She saunters past her into the hallway, then looks over her shoulder and winks.
"Not as great as you're about to be..."
Kennedy looks confused but smiles, and bids her goodnight.
"What was that all about?", she questions as she closes the door and turns to walk to me, taking off her bloody tank top as she does so. She sits next to me, clad in a pair of short shorts and a sports bra and I can't help but grin.
"Nothin'."
