Author's Note: I was planning to post the first chapter of this yesterday already buuuuut… Fallout 4 came out so I kinda got busy with that XD here we go today though!
Disclaimer: Buffy belongs to people who are not me. Charlie McGee belongs to Stephen King.
Firestarter: Again Will The Fire Burn
"I'm so nervous", Willow breathed, not even noticing how Buffy started fussing with her hair again, for what seemed to the millionth time; next to her, Dawn was almost bouncing on the spot, smiling so wide that, if she had been paying attention, her sister might have worried that her face would split.
"Of course you are", Buffy told her instead of worrying about the durability of her sister's face, "but you know it'll all be fine! I keep telling you, Pat will go non-verbal when she sees you in that dress, and everyone else will be impressed, too."
Nodding bravely, the witch took another critical look at herself, making sure the wedding dress was sitting correctly; it had been three months since the demon had proposed to her, and a lot of that time had been spent with organizing the whole event, all of the work culminating in what hopefully would be their most special day together.
"Willow?" her mother's voice distracted her from her mirror image, prompting her to turn around, "is everything going well… Oh, dear, you look amazing."
"Thank you", the redhead gave back, slightly surprised – when she had sent the invitations to the wedding to her mother and father, she hadn't even been sure that they would come, considering the disastrous circumstances under which they had met the demon for the first time and hadn't had any contact to the couple since, but now, it seemed that her mother was warming up to the idea at last, or at least tried to be happy for her daughter.
"Everything's fine", the witch now added, smiling at her mother, "I'm just so nervous…"
"Oh, I was, too when I married your father", Sheila replied, giving her a calming smile, "and I still think it's a pity you're not having a Jewish ceremony…"
Momentarily, Willow was irritated about her mother bringing this up again, something they had discussed at length after the Rosenbergs had received the invitation; then, she told herself that she wouldn't let this day be ruined and just smiled, keeping her voice calm and reasonable as she replied.
"As you know", she reminded her mother of the previous discussion about this topic, "Pat's not Jewish. Also, it would have been hard, if not impossible, to find a rabbi for a same sex ceremony."
"Yes, I'm aware of that", Sheila replied with a small sigh, "but it still would have been nice… Say, did Pam say anything, is she going to wear that dreadful eyepatch during the ceremony?"
"Yes", the witch replied, now finding it considerably harder to keep her temper, something Buffy noticed since she put a calming hand on her back, "there's no eye beneath that, she's not wearing it for fun, as you know. And her name's Pat."
"Sheila", Dawn piped up before the elder woman had another chance to say something, and perhaps let out something even more dreadful which would push the redhead over the edge, "why don't we go and see how the guests are doing?"
"Um", Sheila let out in response, but before she could voice more protest than that, Dawn already was pushing her out the door, glancing over her shoulder and winking at the grateful look Willow was giving her.
"I know she doesn't do it on purpose", the witch then grumbled, adjusting the dress once more, "but it's still irritating. That dreadful eyepatch? Really? What does she think it is, a fashion accessory?"
"She can't help herself", Buffy agreed, giving her a hopefully calming smile, "don't let her get to you, this is your special day and you're supposed to be happy!"
"I am", Willow reassured her, smiling at her, "but I wish it'd be time already, just waiting is not helping with the nervousness…"
"Few more minutes", the blonde replied after a quick check of the clock on the wall; in response, the witch nodded, then checked herself over in the mirror once more, smiling to herself as she waited for the moment she'd finally leave this room and go outside to meet her fiancée for the marriage ceremony.
"Stop fiddling with that tie", Xander scolded, shaking his head, "I told you, it sits perfectly! Don't touch it!"
"Hmph", the demon let out, looking critically at herself in the mirror, "are you sure? Doesn't look perfect to me."
Again she reached for the tie, and this time, Xander didn't just stop her verbally, but by smacking her hand, making her glare at him; he bravely held her angry look though, shaking his head yet again, then even going as far as wagging his finger at her.
"No more touching the tie", he then told her in the strictest voice he could manage, "or I swear I'll handcuff you until the ceremony starts!"
"Yo, what's with the kinky talk", Faith wanted to know as she came strolling into the room, raising an eyebrow, "the two of you got something going I don't know about? I thought you're kinda gay, Pat."
"It's about the tie", the demon told her in response, rolling her good eye – before she smirked and pulled the surprised Slayer into a brief, but tight embrace, her next words making the smaller brunette smile again though. "And glad to see you could make it. We weren't sure you'd get the invitation in time, since we had no idea if you're still in L.A."
"Well, I wasn't", Faith gave back, moving back a bit to take a critical look at the tie, then agreeing with Xander, "but Angel told me about it after he received his. The tie's sitting just right, by the way, and you look quite fancy."
"I know, right", the taller woman replied, taking another look at herself in the mirror; anyone with a bit of an eye for fashion could tell that the black tux she was wearing had been tailor-made to fit her perfectly, the white button-up shirt and dark red tie doing the rest to make her look dressed for the event.
"Don't know when it's been the last time that I wore a tux", she added, tugging at the sleeves of her shirt; letting out a chuckle, Faith shrugged, an amused glint in her eyes when she replied. "Well, one doesn't get married every day, right? Congrats, by the way."
"Thanks", Pat smirked, "and, well, it only took me about two hundred and forty years to find the right woman to marry."
"And those few years you didn't add now", Xander added, grinning innocently when another glare was levelled his way; then, the demon focused on her mirror image once more, this time on the eyepatch, making sure that it was sitting correctly and covering everything up, even tugging it in place slightly.
"Don't wanna freak any of Willow's relatives out", she added at the questioning look Faith shot her, "they're not as accustomed to the sight of injuries and scars as the battle-hardened rest of us. Actually, the eyepatch all by itself is enough to worry some of them, Willow told me that her mom asked more than once if I'm gonna wear the 'dreadful thing', as she put it, at the wedding."
"Why does she think you wear it", Faith replied with a roll of her eyes, "for fun? Jeez, rude much?"
"Don't tell me", Pat grumbled, deciding that she looked good enough and focusing on Xander now, asking him if he got the rings; he nodded in response, holding the small box up for emphasis, then checked his watch before he informed the demon that the music which would begin the ceremony was scheduled to start in a few minutes.
"Dammit", the demon grumbled in reply, prompting him to raise an eyebrow, "I was hoping I could get another smoke before it starts. I'm nervous."
"Yeah, cause Red will surely dig it if you kiss her right after having a smoke", Faith teased, earning a low snort from the taller woman; then, having to admit that the dark Slayer was right, the demon settled for merely waiting, almost straining her ears as she waited for the music to start, knowing that this would be the moment things would get really serious.
