Author's note: Wrote this story a long time ago and didn't want it lost to the ages so I'm uploading it. It's a bit of pure B/W fluff and it shows, but I've always had a soft spot for it.
Second note: Since this was written as pure fluff orginally so there are some in-jokes aimed at my old editor and proof-reader which after much thought I decided to just leave in there, also there are small cameos from other shows and movies in here too, see if you can spot them all.
A few readers have requested I break this story up into more manageable parts, so I've done that here.
So that's it for the notes. Enjoy!
The Complex Lives of Cheerleaders and Quarterbacks
Cilia
Prologue: The Cheerleader and The Quarterback
'"It'll be fun," they said. "It couldn't hurt," they said. "It'll look good on your college application," they said. But they never said it would be this short,' Willow Rosenberg thought as she studied herself in her full length mirror. 'No way in hell I'm going out in public wearing this skimpy thing.' Still, Sunnydale High's resident brainiac—and proud, card-carrying member of the Scooby Gang—was now, officially, a cheerleader.
She was struck by an amusing thought so she reached for her pom-poms. Watching herself in the mirror, she started to do a little routine. "Razorbacks! Razorbacks! Go, go, go! May we be fast and they be slow!" she sang and jumped up and down before breaking down in a fit of giggles.
Willow did look good in the outfit though; with her pale but shapely legs—honed from much running from baddies or chasing Buffy—going up forever before reaching the short yellow skirt. Her exposed midriff was nothing to be ashamed of either and her long red hair, once braided and done up, was a marvel to behold. Willow the Cheerleader was, in all honesty, extremely easy on the eyes.
Meanwhile, there was much pondering going on with the coaches of the Sunnydale High Razorbacks. There was a lack of suitable quarterback candidates for the team. Given they had receivers that could outrun any in the county—with strong legs being an absolute must in Sunnydale if you wanted to live to see graduation—a strong defensive line, and the hottest cheerleaders in the state. But there was not one student in the school who could throw the pigskin around. An errant ball hit the head coach.
"Sorry," the would-be jock shouted his apology.
But the infinite patience of the warm hearted, and all around nice guy, Coach Jared Jameson ensured that the Sunnydale Razorbacks were a team like no other.
"For the love of—" Coach Jameson exclaimed as he kicked the ball and sent it flying. He was a tall man in his late forties, with graying hair and sharp features. As it turns out, he had been quite the kicker in his day and still had some juice left in his long legs. The ball sailed off and was lost beyond the end zone. Usually the most stoic of men, the lack of a team leader was getting to the renowned, saint-like coach.
"Guess we can write the try-outs off the list?" Assistant Coach Julia Landis asked. A dark haired woman in her late thirties, she was the result of a mistake in hiring that had turned into a PR coup for the school.
"God?" Coach Jameson asked and raised his hands to the skies. "Give me just this one break and I will not ask for anything else ever again."
Coach Landis sighed at the antics of the head-coach.
The lost football then came flying back in a graceful arc and landed in the waiting hands of Coach Jameson. A pair of heads turned and four eyes landed on and then squinted at what looked like a petite, blond junior who waved at them from the other end of the football field.
"Nice kick," she called out to them with a smile before being charged upon by two very happy football coaches. They had The Sunnydale Razorbacks' new quarterback: Buffy Anne Summers.
Chapter One: Come again?
Buffy wondered, 'How'd I get myself into this mess?' as she put on her pads. She took a moment to just look at the yellow and red jersey with the number nine and 'Summers' spelled on the back. Shaking her head with a soft laugh, she slipped it on as she wondered how her friends would take this newest weirdness.
There were no rules against girls playing high school football—this being California, the state of free range liberals. She dressed in a separate dressing room from the all boy team, the cheerleaders' locker room to be exact. The only reason she didn't change with the rest of the team was that she didn't want to give them a free show. Anyways, it wasn't like she'd be tempted to even look at them—not anymore at least. But for now, it was her little secret that nobody—not even Willow—knew about. In other words, she wasn't quite ready to go public with her Sapphic longings just yet.
Tucking her helmet under her arm she jogged out of the locker room and onto the practice field. There her eyes met sparkling green ones and a silence fell over the green grass of the football field.
The rest of the world noticed her while she only noticed Willow.
Willow, who had been so transfixed on Buffy in all her football-goddess glory, hid her face behind her pom-poms.
Although Buffy didn't stand more than five foot two, she made a striking figure in her pads and tight pants. Her blond hair was tightly pulled up in a French bun and she looked extremely warrior-like with the black marks under her eyes. One could almost say that she looked lethal and sexy at the same time. Of course, those two often go together and her effect on the players and cheerleaders was immediate.
"No way!" Cordelia Chase, head-cheerleader as per the universal order, shouted as she saw the new quarterback the coach had been talking about.
"Buffy," Coach Jameson said as he walked over carrying a clipboard and the smile of a man at peace with the universe.
"Coach," she said as she stood up straight and gave the cordial man a puzzled look. The rest of the faculty at the school always called her 'Summers', but Coach Jameson seemed different, more relaxed even.
"Ready to throw some footballs?" he asked and tucked the clipboard under his arm.
"Just point me in the right direction," she replied with a lopsided grin. She walked past the gaping cheerleaders that had been practicing on the sidelines, but not without waving to Willow who just smiled her big smile and waved her pom-pom back.
"This is so wrong!" one cheerleader, Jennifer a rather bitchy senior, protested as she pouted and huffed in complete disgust.
"The rules do state that she can play," Willow said in defense of her friend.
"I think it's cool a girl is playing," Litni Speed, a blond junior cheerleader, said as the group watched Buffy warming up her throwing arm.
"What about you, Cordy?" Willow asked, turning her best resolve face to the still flabbergasted head cheerleader.
"Her name has a double consonant, we have to do something about that. Otherwise, hell, if she wins us games, it's cool," she exclaimed cheerfully. She winked at Willow and the happy hacker breathed a sigh of relief. Cordelia being down with it meant the discussion was over. In the eyes of the squad at least.
Buffy could sense the strange mix of doubt, interest, and male hormones when the coach introduced her to her teammates. Her guards were two tall and massively wide seniors that looked like they ate a cow each for breakfast. After they milked it. Twins by the looks of them, both had blond surfer hair and blue eyes that shone with honesty.
"These are Jon and Tuck, the Smith brothers. Or as some announcers call them, The Twin Engines of Destruction," Coach Jameson introduced the pair with a small smile. "They're going to make sure that nobody gets near you."
'Again with the first names. What is with that?' Buffy thought as she looked at her teammates.
"Hi," Buffy said and stuck out her hand.
The twin on the left shook her hand and softly said, "Jon." Then the other copied with, "Tuck." The two said nothing else, just smiled politely.
"Strong silent types?" she asked and both boys smiled a small smile.
'No need to tell Coach that I could floor them in a second, though,' Buffy thought ruefully to herself, remembering not to be too firm when she shook their hands.
Then Coach Jameson introduced two lean looking boys, the oddest wide receiver pair she'd ever seen. Both looked like they could go from zero to fifty in under a millisecond.
"This is Harry Kim," he said as he introduced an Asian youth.
Harry stuck out his hand "Welcome aboard, Cap," he said in a cheerful voice.
Buffy couldn't help but to smile at the cheerful boy as she took his hand. "Happy to be here, Harry," she replied.
'I know that face from somewhere,' she thought as she studied him a bit closely, but just couldn't place him.
"And this is William Godspeed, or Wild Bill as we call him," the coach said, introducing a young black man who, likewise, very politely offered Buffy his hand.
"A pleasure, ma'am," he said in a cultured voice that spoke of boarding school abroad at some point in his life. "Coach tells us that you can throw the pigskin?" he asked.
"That's what he thinks," Buffy said with a shy smile.
'He sounds like Giles, all cultured and stuff,' she thought to herself with a silent giggle.
"Let's try it then, shall we?" he asked and flipped a ball to her.
Buffy looked down at the ball and then back up at the receiver. "Okay," she said with a grin as Couch Jameson started to clear the field.
"Go!" Buffy shouted after the field cleared.
Wild Bill was off like a rocket. When he was far enough away Buffy drew back her arm and let the ball fly. Wild Bill never knew what hit him as he caught the ball and was knocked back flat on his back.
"Wow!" Coach Jameson exclaimed.
Coach Landis was kind enough to close his gapping mouth.
From the sidelines, the chanting of, "Gimme a B!" was heard from the now mostly convinced cheerleaders.
But there was a lingering doubt about the new social order of things. How could a cheerleader date the quarterback when said quarterback was also a girl? Despite this everybody agreed that interesting times were ahead at Sunnydale High. For the first time there was hope for a Razorback victory.
Buffy walked out of the locker room with a sly grin on her face, 'Quarterback for the football team. Figures that even my normal life should be a bit abnormal.' Then she thought about Willow in her cheerleader uniform and her grin grew into smile that was quickly followed by a blush.
'Well, I am the quarterback,' she thought to herself with a laugh as she opened her locker. She started gathering her books together while humming the chants she'd heard the cheerleaders practice.
"Hi!" a perky voice said behind her causing her to jump slightly. She turned around to face a grinning Willow. She was dressed in her normal clothes—clothes that somehow seemed even more alluring than ever before because Buffy had now seen hints of the body beneath.
"Willow," she said with a mock scowl. "Never sneak up on a..."
"Quarterback?" Willow asked with an impish smile.
"That too," Buffy answered as the scowl eased into a gentle smile.
"We're on for coffee and history later right?" Willow asked as she studied her friend. She noticed some new things; a small smudge of dirt on her cheek and the rumpled hair in a loose braid. Licking her fingers she reached out and took care of the smudge.
"I..." Buffy stammered as she felt Willow's finger on her cheek. "Yeah, we're on," she finally managed to answer as Willow finished cleaning her face.
"Great," Willow exclaimed, then gave Buffy a strange look followed by a mysterious smile before turning away and heading for class. She headed for class leaving a pleasantly surprised quarterback/slayer behind her.
'I think I like cheerleaders' Buffy thought with a smile as she closed her locker and headed for class.
While heading out for her study-date with Willow, Buffy was intercepted by a hyped up Xander—best male friend and jokester supreme—with a grinning Cordelia trailing behind him.
"Tell me it isn't true?" Xander asked. "Have you any idea what this does to the shreds of masculinity I have left? Best friend cheerleader! Other best friend quarterback! Me, team mascot?" he asked rapidly before Buffy even got a chance to answer.
"You're the team mascot?" Buffy asked after a moment of stunned silent and that sent Cordelia into a fit of giggles.
Xander threw up his hands and asked God, who was getting tired of all these questions, what he'd done to deserve this cruel joke of a life.
"Xander, relax. Your masculinity is still in working order," Buffy said as she stopped her friend from going down on his knees and praying in the corridor. "Just ask Cordy," she said with a smirk which caused the head cheerleader to blush. "See?" she said as she pointed at Cordelia. Then she executed a strategic retreat.
Walking down the sunlit street towards the coffee shop where Willow waited, Buffy thought about possibilities. The effects of her decisions to help the team and how cute Willow looked in the cheerleader outfit—an image that was stuck in her mind. It would be promptly transferred to the fantasy memory of her mind at the first opportunity and be marked for later use that day.
When she reached the shop, she stopped and watched Willow through the window. Her friend was sipping a cup of cappuccino: decaf, with extra foam and four sugars. The shop was a nice little place facing the street, with flowers growing in boxes under the windows. She smiled to herself and steeled herself so she wouldn't do anything stupid—like throwing Willow over her shoulder and running off with her. She also tried not to think about how 'date-like' this whole situation was. She entered the shop and pulled her history book from her pack. She graced her cheerleader with a loving smile. When the happy hacker looked up, Buffy felt like she was staring into the sun and got dizzy. She slipped into the seat next to Willow and smiled. 'My cheerleader? What the hell is happening to me?' she thought to herself.
Yep, strange times were ahead at Sunnydale High.
Chapter Two: The Complexity of Life Increases
The sun was slowly setting over the Razorbacks' field, casting long shadows from the end posts onto the green turf and the stands. At the end zone, with her back against the sun, stood Buffy Summers: Quarterback and newly crowned football-princess of Sunnydale High.
Buffy was truly impressive to behold, standing there with her blond locks loose and almost merging with the yellow of her team jacket. She was like a taut string as she readied herself for the throw. The ball left her hand at great speed and thundered straight into the small net set up at the end of the field. Five throws and counting, each one dead on.
Yes, the newest member of the Razorbacks had both: Stunning good looks and a canon for an arm.
She picked up one of the last of the balls from the bag with the playbook lying open next to it. Coach Jameson, a true saint of a man, had spent the entire day explaining to her the various plays that the Razorbacks' used. To her credit she had paid attention and hadn't made too many silly comments. Silly comments being along the lines of; "A shotgun? Cool!"
It was the general consensus, among almost everybody that had ever met Coach Jameson, that he really was way too nice to be a football coach.
Buffy readied her arm and let fly, only to have the ball caught by Giles as he strolled onto the field.
'Wow, Tweed-man can catch! Uh-oh, he's got that speech look!' Buffy thought. She watched her watcher as he strolled over the field, examining the ball closely over the rim of his glasses.
"What a cricket bowler you would have made," was the first thing he said as he tossed the ball back to her.
"Yeah, guess slayer strength has its benefits," Buffy said as she pulled back her arm. "And why would I bowl crickets, anyways?" she asked deadpan. She let the ball fly again, this one missing its mark by a mile and literally burrowing into the turf on impact.
"You do realize that I strongly object to this," Giles stated in matter of fact tone. He studied his slayer standing there in the yellow and red jacket of the Sunnydale High Razorbacks and he felt strangely proud, far more proud than when she'd tried to join the cheerleaders. For despite his strong objections, this was more appropriate for a slayer than prancing around in a short skirt.
"I know Giles, but this feels so...so...normal," she said as picked up another ball. She let it rip and hit the target dead center. "In a strange way, though," she added.
"You could seriously injure someone," Giles said as he looked down at his slayer and gave her the 'responsibility' look.
"I know. But it's more likely that I'll be taking hits than dealing them out, you know. So better me than some poor jock," Buffy stated as she looked around for more balls to throw at her target.
"I've been reading up on this...sport," Giles said with a grimace and Buffy let out a giggle. "Yes, I know, very amusing. Let's tease the Englishman on American football," Giles said with a sound of mock insult in his voice. He then added with pride, "You were the talk of the faculty lounge today, by the way."
Buffy looked up at her watcher with wide eyes. "So you're okay with me doing all this?" she asked while waving her hand across the field of green turf and white lines.
"You deserve a normal life, Buffy," Giles stated softly. He placed his hands on his Slayer's shoulders and said, "So, while I may not approve of this barbaric exercise in normality, I will not stand in your way. Just don't forget your other duties," he reminded her firmly. He brushed a stray piece of grass from Buffy's shoulder before lowering his hands.
Buffy gave a firm nod and then drew a stake from the pocket of her team jacket. "As a matter of fact, I was just getting to that," she said with a big smile.
"That's a good girl," Giles commented in an oh-so dignified and responsible manner. He took off his glasses, giving them a good polish in his manly, emotionally repressed way.
"But I do expect you, as a respected member of the Sunnydale High faculty, to be in the crowd on game night, tomorrow," she added with an impish grin.
Giles' face fell and he nearly dropped his now shining glasses as she patted his shoulder.
She left and went about to retrieve the balls. She struggled a bit to pull out the one that was imbedded in the ground, then sheepishly tried to cover the mini-crater up with her foot.
Her watcher to gave a long sigh and turned his eyes skyward. The Powers That Be got yet another question along the lines of 'why me' directed at them because of the slayer that day.
She spent a rather boring night of slaying with her mind firmly fixed on the plays Coach Jameson had been drilling into her that day. She walked as if on autopilot, or maybe guided by some instinct, towards Willow's house. Finding herself standing underneath Willow's window, her senses returned to her and she looked up. She heard the sounds of a routine being practiced in the upstairs bedroom. It was the same one she'd heard on the field that morning; the one about her.
"Give me a B!" Willow's voice drifted down towards to the grinning slayer turned quarterback. She pictured her Willow in that outfit practicing in front of the mirror.
'Whoa, my Willow!' Buffy caught herself thinking. She smiled again as she tried it out again this time out loud: "My Willow," she whispered and grinned a bit, then panicked as a red haired head popped out the window.
"Buffy?" Willow asked as she looked down and saw nothing. She shook her head at her own silliness, 'Why would Buffy be standing underneath my window, anyways.'
Willow leaned further out her window, 'Just to make sure there's no slayer lurking below waiting to climb up and...' Willow's thoughts trailed off into a very naughty place while she blushed.
Buffy peeked around the tree she'd hidden herself behind in a burst of slayer speed. Looking up at Willow in her cheerleading outfit with her hair hanging down, she had a wicked idea. She crouched down, waiting for just the right moment to pounce.
Willow kept scanning the yard below her, with a faint blush still in her cheeks, when she heard the rustle of leaves. With a loud thud, something landed on her roof. Looking up, she let out an, "Eep!" as Buffy swung down and came face to upside down face with her.
"Hi, Wills," Buffy said as she swayed back and forth in front of Willow while humming the theme from the Spider-Man cartoon.
The cheerleader leaned back a bit to just stare at her friend. "Err...Buffy...what..." Willow managed to get out before she started laughing. Buffy just looked so ridiculous, hanging upside down from the edge of the roof, and dangling outside her bedroom window.
"Hope you don't mind me swinging by?" Buffy joked as she swayed back and forth. Then she smoothly swung herself into Willow's room where she found herself standing almost nose to nose with Willow in all her cheerleading glory.
"No...no..." Willow managed to get out as she stared at Buffy. Again, she found the strange urge to clean off a speck of dirt; this time on the slayer's forehead. She licked her finger and rubbed it away.
"Thanks," Buffy said with a smile as she rubbed the spot where Willow had touched her.
"So what brings you by?" Willow asked as she stepped back from Buffy. She held her pom-poms in front of her as she sat down on the bed.
"Just making sure that you weren't...you know...getting power-freaked. First game of the season tomorrow and all," Buffy said as she leaned back against the windowsill.
"No, I mean yes, I mean—" Willow blurted and then hid her face in her pom-poms. "I keep thinking why I am doing this?" she admitted as Buffy approached her.
The bed moved as Buffy sat down on it and placed her arm around Willow's shoulders. "'Cause you're good at it, and some part of you must want this," Buffy said in an earnest voice.
Willow looked up from her pom-poms and smiled.
"Plus, you're cute in that outfit," Buffy added with a sly smile.
Willow tugged at the hem of her short skirt. "First I wanted to do this to show everybody that—that I wasn't just a nerd, but now..."
"But now?" Buffy asked. She looked firmly at Willow's face with her most caring look.
"But now...I kinda do it to be there for you," Willow answered in a low voice as she blushed a bit.
Buffy couldn't help to smile at how good her Willow was to her.
"I heard," Buffy answered as she cast her eyes to the window. "When I was standing outside," she explained. "So this isn't just about the college application thingy?"
Willow gave a guilty little smile. "Maybe a bit, but I'm there, one hundred percent behind my quarterback," she answered honestly with a firm nod of her head.
"Well it's good to know I'll be out there with my Willow cheering me on," Buffy answered. She pulled Willow close to her and rubbed her nose against Willow's, She smiled as Willow giggled at the contact between them.
They stayed like that for a while, just resting their foreheads against each other's, enjoying the warmth until finally: "Want to stay over?" Willow shyly asked.
"Hmm, need to call Mom first," Buffy said as she played with the pom-poms. She had weaved the yellow and red ribbons together and it made her think about what a nice red color Willow's hair was.
It was by mere chance that the team colors of the Razorbacks so nicely mirrored Buffy and Willow's hair. Yet, if truly in love, people will find reminders of their loved one in nearly everything they see. It just so happened that Willow's pom-poms were a beautiful metaphor through which Buffy could focus her thoughts about her cheerleader.
When they were getting ready for bed and Buffy was slipping out of her clothes, she couldn't help but to sneak a peek at Willow. Willow dressed up in her red pajamas while Buffy herself buttoned up the borrowed yellow pajama top. Buffy then dove under the covers like a little girl, which made Willow smile.
Willow debated internally how far she should button her pajama shirt up, settling finally on leaving the top two buttons undone.
Still, one button or two, the girls did look delicious in their night clothes. Enough so that a single glimpse would most likely fuel a young man's fantasies—let alone each other's—for months if not years to come.
Before heading for the bed, Willow picked up Buffy's team jacket, shook out a bit of dust, and hung it on the back of her chair. She then started to fold the slayer's clothes and lay them out on her chair for the coming morning.
"Willow, stop that," Buffy ordered with a giggle from the bed.
"Sorry," Willow apologized with a blush. She slipped into the bed next to Buffy. "Didn't really plan on 'sleeping' with the quarterback so soon in the season," she then joked, ending it with a lengthy yawn. She grabbed her mouth as soon as the words had left it, but still yawned a bit while still wide eyed with shock. Making a truly bizarre sight to see and hear.
'Only Willow can have a shocked yawn!' Buffy thought as she buried her head in the pillows to muffle her laughter. "Sorry, sleepiness," she said as she came up for air, only to see Willow's smiling face.
"I'm really happy you're here with me tonight, Buffy," Willow said, her voice a little bit sleepy as she wiggled herself into a comfy position.
I—" Buffy started but then decided against it. "I'm happy to be here too, Wills," she whispered as Willow gave her an impulsive little hug and burrowed her head in her shoulder.
"You're the best, Buffy," she whispered.
Buffy just lay there frozen for a moment before putting her arms around her Willow and hugging her back. "You're great too, Wills," she whispered into Willow's ear. She felt dizzy as the feel, sight, and smell of Willow assaulted her senses. She just wanted to hold her like that until the dawn.
As for Willow, she felt so good when Buffy's arms came around her—it kind of scared her a bit, how good it was. But she just felt so safe as she pressed herself against Buffy. She moved, with perhaps a bit more wiggling against the slayer than needed, until she was face to face with the other girl, without losing any of that warm and comfy contact. "Hmmm, people will talk if somebody sees you leave tomorrow." She giggled as she playfully rubbed her nose against Buffy's.
Buffy started to giggle too. "Little Willow bagged the quarterback. You can have bragging rights in the cheerleading squad if you want," she answered with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
Willow turned a bit redder. "Will...will you brag too, then?" Willow asked in a shy little voice that made Buffy feel all tingly inside.
"Don't tease," Buffy mock scolded. She moved them around, cheating a bit with slayer strength, so that she was laying half on top of the taller Willow with her arms wrapped around her. "Not too heavy?" she asked as she snuggled into Willow's shoulder with a sigh.
"No, just perfect, Buffy. You're just perfect," Willow answered as she stifled a yawn.
"Any butterflies?" Buffy asked placing her hand on Willow's tummy. Then slipping it under the pajamas between the buttons.
"Your hands are cold," Willow giggled as Buffy stroked her tummy. She was sure that, if she was a cat, she'd purr right about now. "No, no butterflies," she answered. She looked down and watched where some of her long red hair mixed with Buffy's blonde locks as her eyes began to grow heavier.
Buffy kept her hand on her tummy. "Willow, if you get nervous, come see me, okay?" Buffy said in a soft and caring voice. She looked up and smiled at Willow. "Promise," she added as she started to pull her hand out of Willow's red pajamas.
Willow put her had on top of Buffy's. "I promise," Willow answered with a lazy smile. "Keep it there, please," she then added in that same shy voice. "Feels nice." With a guilty smile, she slowly unbuttoned the lower half of the shirt, leaving it hanging on by just a single button, making her even more exposed to the Slayer's roaming hand. "Buffy..." Willow started but it turned into a long yawn as her eyelids sank lower.
"Sleep, Willow," Buffy whispered as she kissed Willow on the cheek.
The sleepy cheerleader mumbled a sleepy, "Alright," and snuggled a bit closer against the warm and comfy slayer as she drifted off into the land of dreams.
Buffy, on the other hand, lay awake for the longest time just staring at Willow: her red hair, her soft pale skin. She marveled at the stark contrast between her own hand and Willow's stomach where it rested. When she was sure that Willow was sound asleep, dreaming of code and test scores, the slayer gathered her courage, raised herself up on her elbow, and whispered. "Willow I think...I think, I like-like you." Then she gently kissed Willow on the lips before resting her head on Willow's shoulder. Snuggling close, she gave in to the Sandman's call.
If somebody happened to look in on Willow's bedroom that night, not knowing the full story, they would have been misled. One would think that here two lovers slept, not merely two friends, such was the closeness of their embrace.
Chapter Three: The Dawn of Game Day
The warm dawn crept over Sunnydale on its lazy way to Willow's window. It burned away the darkness and the morning dew as it went, almost as if searching for a single window on a single house. Spilling its light through the curtains, it first caught in Buffy's hair. Finally reaching her eyes, it caused her to stir from her slumber. She awoke with slight confusion about her surroundings.
To say that Buffy was shocked when she woke up that morning in Willow's bed would be a bit of an understatement. It started out as a full-blown, five-alarm panic. Her terror then slowly settled into a frantic search for an escape and then finally morphed into guilty curiosity towards the girl in her arms.
'Oh my, oh my!' Buffy thought as she looked at the sleeping Willow, lying next to her with her hair spread out like a flaming red halo. Buffy's hand, which had been so comfortably and naturally spread across Willow stomach, had moved sometime during the night. Now it embraced the cheerleader, having forced open the final button on her pajama shirt.
'I'll have to fix that before she gets up or she'll be so embarrassed,' Buffy thought. She slowly withdrew the arm that was wrapped around Willow, only to find that the other was still asleep and numb.
'Crud, guess we'll test that slayer dexterity, then,' she decided, pulling Willow's red shirt across her exposed stomach. Getting the first button closed worked like a charm, even though the constant brushing against Willow's skin was proving to be a distraction at best.
'Okay, you can do this, Buffy,' she thought to herself firmly, her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth. Her face was a mask of concentration as she worked on the button just under the curve of Willow's breasts.
Willow was having a very wonderful dream, the kind you have just before you wake up and that seem to last so long. Somebody was rubbing their hands over her tummy and it felt so good. Yet, as the hand moved upwards, the dream began to fade and Willow slowly opened her eyes.
'Buffy is touching me,' she sleepily thought to herself as she became aware of both her own body and Buffy's close by. 'Buffy is touching me,' she thought again this time with a joyful little mental giggle.
'Oh, that's kind of nice, getting dressed like this,' she thought and then gasped as Buffy's hand brushed against her breast shattering the illusion.
Buffy yelped and yanked back her hand. "Willow, I-I—," Buffy stammered as she fumbled to find a place to put her hand. She stopped when she noticed Willow smiling.
"Morning, you," Willow said as she stretched on the bed.
This caused Buffy's brain to short-circuit and her jaw to hang a bit loose. "Eh...uh..." Buffy tried to speak as Willow's lean form stretched out before her, the pajamas riding up exposing her tummy.
"Yes, my darling quarterback?" Willow asked with a giggle.
"You're teasing!" Buffy exclaimed as she snapped out of her Willow-induced mini-coma and bashed her with a pillow.
"Why yes, I am," Willow giggled as she defended herself and soon feathers were flying.
That's the scene Willow's mother walked in on. Well, Buffy straddling Willow, demanding her unconditional surrender, while she tickled Willow's bare sides. "Girls, don't you have morning practice?" Sheila Rosenberg asked, seemingly unfazed by the scene before her. Whether Sheila was either blissfully ignorant, or just universally accepting of the situation, her arrival still caused the girls to push apart with great speed, creating a healthy distance between themselves. She walked past the girls to fling the curtains open and push out the windows as they tried to hide their flushed faces.
"Morning practice! I forgot!" both girls exclaimed in unison. The two burst out giggling as Sheila walked out of the room again.
Sheila stopped to ask one last thing, "Oh, Buffy? Could you climb back out the window when you leave?" With that, and without even blinking, she was gone.
'Oh my god, she got my name right.' As she pondered that, she also had to fight the urge to reach for Willow and pull her towards herself again.
At that morning practice, the sight of the two girls running out from the locker room a little late caused some eyebrows to lift. It only got worse when they separated and headed for their respective groups. Buffy had it easier.
Coaches Jameson and Landis were the first to approach Buffy as she jogged out onto the practice field in the early morning sunshine.
"Sorry I'm late, Coach," Buffy said. "Overslept a bit. Must be jitters," she explained.
"Don't make a habit of it, Summers," Coach Landis reminded her.
"Good, you're here. We need somebody to run Wild Bill and Harry a while," Coach Jameson said, apparently oblivious to, or just ignoring, the signs that were screaming at him. The man really was too nice to be a football coach.
As Buffy walked towards the group, Coach Landis placed an arm around her shoulders to stop her. "Buffy, are you aware of the consequences of what you're doing?" she asked the quarterback.
"I don't know what you mean, Coach," Buffy stated in all honesty.
The older woman gave a maternal smile and patted the quarterback on the shoulder. "Well, when you do find out, you can come and talk to me about it," she told the girl. She pulled a ring on a golden chain out from underneath her jacket, took it off, over her head, and handed it to Buffy.
"Read the engraving, easier to explain that way," Coach Landis said with a loving smile.
Buffy's eyes went wide with understanding as she studied the ring between her fingers. The ring was engraved, easily readable to her eyes, 'Andrea and Julie 14/02/85'
"You?" she asked and looked between the ring and the coach.
Coach Landis smiled and nodded at the confused quarterback. "Andrea and I met in college. Fell in love. We've got a nice, little house not too far from where you live, and our daughter Litni is on the squad with your friend." She looked over to where the cheerleaders were stretching and beamed with pride as Litni waved at her. "So we understand each other?" Julia asked with a small smile.
Buffy nodded her head and handed the Coach back her ring. "I'll talk to you if things get wiggy," Buffy managed to get out before getting mobbed by her receivers.
"You work fast, Cap," Harry commented. With a lop-sided grin, he gave her shoulder a playful punch, but not the throwing arm mind you.
"It's nothing like—" Buffy started as Wild Bill came up and slapped her on the back with a cheerful laugh.
"Must say, you've got great taste, ma'am," he said as Buffy spun around and glared at him. Her anger eased when she realized that they were just being happy for her.
"It's not like that, though," she tried to explain. "And, Bill, it's Buffy. 'Ma'am' makes me sound all old and stuff," she told the grinning receiver.
Giving the twins a look, she asked, "What, no comments from you guys?"
The two huge boys just shook their heads and smiled knowingly.
"I'm telling you! We're just friends!" Buffy exclaimed and stamped her foot on the turf.
Even the defense had come over to join in the chorus of, "Sure you are," followed by the classic nudge-nudge, wink-wink as they elbowed each other.
Buffy pouted, "Really, that's all," as she crossed her arms.
"Ok, break it up, please?" Coach Jameson asked thus saving the entire team from Buffy's wrath. "Let's run some plays, shall we?" he said as he handed Buffy a red jersey. "Put this on, that way the defense knows not to tackle you," he explained.
"Thanks, Coach, but don't worry about me," Buffy said as she slipped on the red jersey. "I'm made of pretty solid stuff," she added as she took the field for the practice.
Coach Jameson looked after her as she left.
Coach Landis placed a hand on his shoulder. "She'll do fine, J.J." she told him firmly.
"We'll see, we'll see," Coach Jameson said. He watched as Buffy called the play, then came the thud as the ball connected solidly with Wild Bill. "But, my golly, that girl can throw," he stated to Coach Landis's amusement.
Buffy took her position to start calling the plays. Then she locked eyes with number 78. It was one of the defensive ends—and Xander's old nemesis—Larry Blaisdell. She could just feel the disgust and anger coming off him.
"Blue 32, blue 32, hut, hut!" she shouted. As soon as the ball was in her hands, Larry made a beeline for her. She just knew he was going to try and tackle her. Backing up, she waited. She watched as Larry crashed through the twins and then, as he came flying, she dodged to the left at the last second, sending Larry crashing to the turf. Then she pulled back her arm and let then ball rip into Harry's waiting hands.
Coach Landis blew her whistle hard. "Blaisdell! What the hell was that?" she demanded. "You know well enough, red means stop!" she exclaimed.
"Good run," Buffy said as she offered him her hand only to have it swatted away.
"Larry? Five laps, if you please," Coach Jameson said in a voice that was the closest he got to anger.
"Sorry, Coach. Just seeing what the QB's made of, that's all," he apologized as he jogged off. As he went past, he gave Buffy a very nasty sneer that clearly said that she belonged in a short skirt, in the backseat of a car, and not on the football field.
Perhaps it was too much to hope that everybody would accept Buffy as the quarterback. Many a jocks ego had been bruised and, as the news had filtered out to the other teams in the division, the response had ranged from amusement, to shock, to pure outrage. One thing was for sure, nobody was going to go easy on the new Razorbacks' quarterback just because she was a girl. Aside from the Christian High School two counties over, of course.
Willow's reception at the cheerleaders' group was a bit different. It didn't help matters that she was blushing from all the attention and potential embarrassment that their little late-arrival scene had stirred up. There was stunned silent as they just looked at her for the longest time. No one was ready to accept that nerdy little Willow—brought into the squad at last minute through a mix of pressure from above and a mysterious disappearance—had snagged the female quarterback, not even one game into the season.
"What happened?" Cordelia stepped up and demanded, not fazed by the apparent Sapphic loving going on.
"Uh, we're just friends," Willow said as she looked at the stunned faces of her fellow cheerleaders. 'Well touchy-feely friends, but still friends,' she thought to herself.
"So, no kissing or second base stuff?" Cordelia asked as she looked Willow up and down looking for the usual: bite marks, hickeys, and bruises. This was the slayer after all.
"I don't even know how to play baseball," Willow answered truthfully. That broke some of the tension as Litni burst out giggling, followed by the other cheerleaders.
Having confirmed that the quarterback was still eligible, despite being a girl, the group quickly formed up at Cordelia's command. The real trouble regarding cheerleaders, at least for our quarterback, was soon to come.
While taking a break from hurling balls at running men, Buffy leaned back against the stands. She kept out of sight as she watched the defensive team run drills that involved running at high speed into a padded obstacle. She itched to join them, but a petite quarterback bowling over heavy equipment would certainly raise suspicions.
"Hey there," Cordelia said as she approached the quarterback, seemingly a little unsteady and nervous to Buffy's eye.
"Hi, Cordy. Are the cheerleaders ready?" Buffy looked up at the head cheerleader and smiled.
"We'll rule out there," Cordelia stated with some measure of pride. "We're just too pretty not to," she added with a smile as she edged closer to Buffy.
'What is she up to?' Buffy thought to herself as she felt Cordelia's hand brush against her leg and linger there.
"Buffy—" Cordelia started.
The light-bulb went off above Buffy's head as she felt where Cordelia's hand had wandered. "Whoa!" Buffy exclaimed. "Cordy, what are—" she was cut off by Cordelia's lips on hers. Freezing for a moment, then pushing Cordelia off of her, she gave her a stern look as she firmly gripped the cheerleader's shoulders. "What on Earth are you doing?" she whispered harshly. "You're straight, for goodness sake!" she hissed as she looked around. She dragged Cordelia even further out of earshot. The whole meeting had gone thankfully unnoticed.
"But, but..." Cordelia started. "You like girls don't you?" she asked and Buffy's face fell.
'Cordy knows,' she thought to herself. "How—how long?" Buffy asked as she let go of the cheerleader.
"Not long. It shows when you look at Willow, though," Cordelia explained with a shrug.
"But why did you kiss me?" Buffy asked, not letting this go.
"To see if I could," Cordelia answered and blushed a bit and shuffled her feet. "It felt kind of nice," she added batting her eyelashes at Buffy.
"Oh, Cordy," Buffy sighed and shook her head. "But Xander and—"
Cordelia promptly interrupted her, "Xander's great, but he's secret and you're the—"
"Don't say it," Buffy groaned.
"But you are the quarterback. That means that people will expect us to be together. It's the rules," Cordelia explained dead-pan as she teased Buffy by running a hand through her hair. "If you want, we could just publicly be a couple. You know, holding hands and kissing after the game. While I still kept seeing Xander, right?" she asked. From the sound of her voice one could almost think that this was the most normal thing in the world to her.
Cordelia moved in on Buffy again, using all of her come and kiss me moves, although she'd never used them on a girl before. In theory they should still work, or so she thought.
"It'll be fun, kissing, cuddling, going to second base," she whispered as she placed Buffy's hand on her chest. "Great for when we hit the road," she added.
Buffy resisted the urge to slap her. "Cordy," she stated calmly as she lowered her hand. "Even though I'm the quarterback and all that, it doesn't mean you have to do this. This isn't you, if it really was you'd have felt me up a long time ago," she explained. "And what about Xander and Willow, think they'll just take it?" she demanded as Cordelia's face fell a bit. "Be with the guy or girl you want to be with and all this social stuff be damned!"
Cordelia took a few moments to digest what Buffy was telling her and then broke into a grin.
"You like Willow," she stated.
Buffy groaned and buried her face in her hands. There really was no talking to this girl sometimes. 'At least she's giving up on the quarterback claim-age and the going all girl-on-girl for the sake of tradition,' Buffy thought ruefully. "Maybe. Now promise me, no more kissing me," she said in surrender.
"Ok," Cordelia agreed after some protest. "But your lips are so soft and taste fruity. What kind of lipstick do you use?" she asked.
Buffy just shook her head with a laugh. She then led the head cheerleader back to the field, giving her the details of where she bought her lipstick.
From not too far away, Litni Speed watched what was going on with a frown. It seemed like a certain head-cheerleader needed to be put straight, no pun intended, about some things at the first opportunity.
As the cheerleaders did their splits and the football team built up their spirits for the coming game, the third pillar of the team, that one person that the game can't be without, was getting dressed. Filling the mighty suit of Herbert the Razorback was a scrawny boy, and often an accidental hero, named Xander Harris.
'God, that little pig must be laughing at me up there in hog-heaven right now,' Xander told himself as he got into the costume. Picking up the head and examining he sighed. 'At least nobody will recognize me in this thing,' he reminded himself as he placed it on his head.
He took a few experimental steps and looked around. "Okay. I'm an overgrown pig. No biggie. I've been in worse places, I think," he said inside the suit and then looked down. 'How am I supposed to pee in this thing?' he thought in panic. 'Man I'm sure that pig is laughing at me up there right now,' he thought as he cast his eyes upward.
He turned and left the dressing room for the field only to slam head first into Giles. "Sorry, G-man," he apologized as he helped the watcher to his feet.
The watcher gave the young man a glare, but then the dry Brit inside him stirred to life. "I say, I've heard the phrase, 'You are what you eat,' but aren't you carrying it a bit too far?" he asked the young man with a perfectly stoic face. With a grin, he took his glasses off and polished them.
"G-man, I thought we had an understanding," Xander hissed under his breath. He knocked himself on the head while he was trying to put a finger to his lips, forgetting the big suit he wore.
"Oh, yes. I'm mum as the grave about your breaking with kosher habits, of course," Giles replied dryly. He gave a chuckle as he watched the young man stomp off in a huff. 'Even watchers can have fun now and again,' he thought to himself, then he went whistling on his way.
As the day drew on, and stomachs started to flutter, a lone bus sped past the Welcome to Sunnydale sign. It was carrying The Bulldogs: the visiting team and a highly favored contender for the state championship.
To be continued...