Title: Traveling Soldier
By: Zarrah
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Joss and Co. I'm just borrowing them for my own amusement.
Distribution: www.zarrah.com AND www.spuffyarchives.com
Summary - (Based on the Dixie Chicks song…Traveling Soldier.) AU…S/B…no vamps, no slayers. William Bennett arrives in Sunnydale to await the bus which would take him on the first leg of his journey. Drafted into the army just two days after his eighteenth birthday, the shy young man wanders into the diner across the street from the bus station to wait.
A young fifteen-year-old blonde with the face of an angel waited on him and, after his invitation for her to have a chat with him, the two learn more about each other in the few hours they spend together than anyone else had ever known.
Follow their journey through the heart-felt letters of a Vietnam vet and the young girl he left behind.
Traveling Soldier
By Zarrah
William hefted his heavy bag onto his shoulder, looking around the quiet streets of Sunnydale before crossing the road. Warm smiles were thrown his way as he made his way to the diner across the street from the bus station.
Buffy glanced up as she heard the bell above the door and her eyes widened when she saw him. Her breath caught in her throat as the bluest eyes she had ever seen landed on her and she felt her face heat up as she blushed. He flashed her a smile before he turned and walked to a booth and sat, the small gesture completely paralyzing her.
"Um, you gonna actually hit that cup or just pour the coffee all over the counter?" Willow asked, smiling at Buffy's zoned-out state.
Buffy gasped softly, Willow's voice snapping her out of her thoughts of the stranger before sitting the coffee pot down and wiping the counter where she had absentmindedly poured almost an entire pot of coffee out.
"Sorry Wills," Buffy said, glancing up at her friend before smiling at her. "Wasn't paying attention."
"You don't say?" Willow joked, looking over at the blonde who had caught Buffy's attention. "He is kinda cute."
"Who?" Buffy asked, looking at Willow out of the corner of her eye before returning to her task.
Willow giggled softly, shaking her head before grabbing a towel and helping Buffy clean up the mess she made. "Soldier number fifty-seven, that's who."
"Fifty-seven?" Buffy asked, confusedly, sparing a glance at the man sitting in the corner in army greens.
"Yeah, or is he number fifty-eight?" Willow asked, stopping and looking toward the ceiling as she thought. "I can't keep count of them anymore."
"Oh, I haven't noticed," Buffy said quietly, her cheeks flushing again as she looked up and found the young man looking at her again.
"Yeah, well maybe you haven't noticed but our newest soldier sure has noticed you," Willow said, grinning. "And if I'm not mistaken, he's sitting in your section."
Buffy felt the butterflies start to swim in her stomach as she looked up at him again. Soldiers came through town daily and most of them ended up in the diner her mother owned as they waited on the bus to L.A. But none of them had ever paid her any attention and the fact that this one did made her fifteen year old heart flutter in her chest.
"Well, are you going to go take his order or what?" Willow asked as they finished cleaning the coffee from the counter.
"Um, yeah," Buffy said quietly before turning and grabbing a fresh coffee pot and starting around the counter.
William saw her coming out of the corner of his eye and he looked up as she started for his table. She was a tiny little thing with long blonde hair pulled up into a tight ponytail and held in place with a thin red bow. He smiled as she approached him, her bright green eyes avoiding him as she made her way over.
He had never been able to talk to girls and now that this beautiful creature was walking toward him, he was sure he would stick his foot in his mouth just like he seemed to do every other time he came face to face with the opposite sex.
"Hi, coffee?" Buffy asked shyly, trying not to stare as she stopped by his table.
"Yeah, that'd be great," William said, smiling as he looked up at her. His smile widened as he saw her cheeks turn slightly pink and her hand shake as she reached for the cup on his table and turned it over before pouring the black liquid to the brim.
"So, have you decided what you want?" Buffy asked, sitting the coffee pot on the table and grabbing the ticket book from her apron pocket.
"Um, the special is fine," William said as he looked up at her. She was avoiding all eye contact with him and William was amazed to see someone more nervous than he usually was.
Buffy wrote down his order before picking the coffee pot back up and pocketing the ticket book. "It'll be out in a few," she said softly, finally looking over at him and freezing again as the same crystal blue eyes which had caught her attention seemed to draw her into his gaze.
She smiled shyly at him before turning quickly and hurrying back to the counter and placing the coffee pot down with a shaky hand. "Okay, please tell me he's not looking over here," she asked Willow quietly as she tore his order from the ticket book and hung it up for the cook.
Willow looked over to the corner, smiling briefly before turning back to Buffy. "He's not looking over here," she said, grabbing the two plates the cook sat up on the bar.
"Oh, he's not?" Buffy asked, somewhat disappointed.
"Actually he is, but you said to tell you he wasn't," Willow said before laughing softly and turning to deliver her orders.
Buffy's face lit up and the smile which graced her face almost hurt. She barely heard her mother's voice as she called her name and as she looked up, she could see a tiny smile covering her mother's face.
"You know there are other customers here Buffy," Joyce said before looking over to the corner to the young man that she assumed had made her daughter a walking zombie.
"Yeah, I'm on it," Buffy said with a smile she knew would be permanent.
William watched her as she walked from table to table. She was smiling and talking to everyone and the longer he watched her the more he wanted to know about her.
Buffy turned when she heard the bell signaling another order was up and she quickly walked back to the counter. She felt her heart skip a beat when she saw it was "his" order and the smile she was wearing only brightened.
"I swear if you don't talk to him I'm not going to be your best friend anymore," Willow said giggling.
"It won't do any good Wills; he's obviously way older than me."
"So, he's also leaving," Willow said as she grabbed her next orders. "It's not like your planning a wedding, just talking."
"I know, but…."
"But nothing," Willow said. "He may not even come back, no harm in flashing him a warm smile and doing a little flirting."
"Flirting?" Buffy asked with wide eyes. "You do know we're talking about me, right?"
"Yes and I have every confidence in you."
"What if he thinks I'm just some stupid kid?"
"Then he wouldn't have been checking you out like he's been doing."
"You think so?" Buffy asked, smiling.
"I know so," Willow told her as she turned. "Now get over there and make that soldier a happy man before they ship him off to Vietnam."
"Okay, I can do this," Buffy said quietly to herself, taking a deep breath and grabbing his plate and the coffee pot before trying to tone down the huge smile on her face as she turned to face him.
She didn't know why he made her so nervous. Soldiers came through town all the time and although many of them were cute, not a one had ever caught her attention like this one. She assumed it had something to do with the piercing blue eyes which seemed to drink her in every time he looked at her, or maybe it was the sharp angle of his cheekbones that seemed to define his face.
She took a shaky breath in as she reached his table and laid his plate in front of him before refilling his coffee cup. "There you go; one house special."
"Thanks luv," William said, glancing up at her and smiling as she blushed again.
"You're welcome," Buffy said, finally looking at him and smiling back. "Um, I'm Buffy, if you need anything."
William smiled back at her relieved she had said something he could at least work with. "William Bennett," he said, his smile widening as she seemed to blush a slight pink again.
"So, um, heading for L.A.?" Buffy asked, trying to think of anything to talk about.
"Yeah," William told her as he looked up at her. "I'll be there for a few weeks before they ship me out."
Buffy shook her head at his statement. It was the same as all the others. They all went to L.A. then on to Vietnam. "Well, I'll let you eat before it gets cold," she said before smiling again and turning to leave. "If you need anything, just let me know."
William didn't know what possessed him to do it, but before his brain could even comprehend what it was doing, his hand reached out and grabbed her arm. "Can you stay?" He asked quietly as Buffy turned to look at him. "Just to talk?"
Buffy's smile once again returned as she turned to face him. He was looking at her with hope-filled eyes and she saw a fear in his face which almost broke her heart. "Um, I get off in about an hour; I know somewhere we could go," she said quietly, hoping she wasn't making a fool out of herself.
William let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding in before a smile curved his lips. "That would be nice," he said before reluctantly letting go of her.
"Yeah," Buffy said smiling as the butterflies once again took flight and she felt her face flush. "Well, um, enjoy your breakfast."
William smiled back at her as she once again walked back to the counter. He stared down at the food on his plate before picking up his fork. One more glance at the counter had his stomach turning flips as the small blonde turned shyly away from him with a smile on her face which matched his own.
To Be Continued……..
A/N…Okay, there you go. Like? Yes…no? The next chapter will be the 'talk' and William's departure, followed by 'the letters'. Let me know what you think. Should I continue or not?
Zarrah
www.zarrah.com
