Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Pairing: B/W
Rating: G
Summary: AU, a bit, Willow gets paid and wants to celebrate. With dinner. With Buffy.
Setting: Set sometime between Season 1 and 2, Buffy is home over the summer, not visiting her dad, and Sheila Rosenberg is a bit more attentive. But only a little bit.
Spoilers: Season 1
AN: Just an idea I had. Inspired by my own 'first paycheck' conversation.


Not What You Think

"Buffy! I got it!" Willow Rosenberg's voice was high pitched, bordering on a squeal as it came through the speaker of the phone Buffy answered. It was early in the afternoon and apparently Willow was excited about something. Who gets excited on a Thursday. Buffy thought. Its not even Friday yet.

Buffy Summers, the one and only Slayer, who was currently enjoying the first month of her summer vacation, fluffed up some pillows on her bed one handed to make a nice comfy spot to sit against.

"I got my first paycheck!"

Oh. Now Buffy understood. Her friend had been hired at a local store for a part time summer job soon after school ended. Her friend had consequently disappeared every afternoon and part of the evenings every weekday. Except of course for the ritual outings when all 3 (sometimes plus Giles) Scoobies went out to kill vamps. Well - really they just walked around the graveyard until Giles said it was time to go home- since all things dead and fanged seemed to be in hiding lately.

As Buffy's brain wandered back to the current phone call Willow was still rambling.

"So I have money! I am with the money having! And I was thinking I could come by your house tomorrow and we can go get dinner somewhere. And maybe we could watch that movie that just came out, since oh, look, I have enough for a movie too! That is if it's okay I thought it'd be nice to go and do something but if you don't want to that's totally okay and I can just-" Buffy heard rapid breathing as her friend's words threatened to run together. She smiled. Willow in babble-mode was just too cute. Wait a minute...

"Did you just ask me on a date?"

"Uh" There was a sharp hiss and then dead silence on the other end of the phone. Willow stammered a reply.

"N-no, no! Come'on Buff. It's payday! My first payday. I have hard earned cash I want to spend!"

"Um...Will?" Buffy frowned, "Are you feeling okay? I thought you would have"

"Oh well I mean, of course I already deposited half of it to collect interest for when I graduate and need money for college tuition and stuff because you can never not have enough money for college but there's still enough left to cover dinner so I thought"

"I get it Will, you want to go eat. I'm not objecting to the food intake. Let me see" Buffy switched phone hands and pulled out her planner. She didn't have much planned these days, but sometimes her mom insisted she be home for 'Summers family bonding night'. Tomorrow looked like one of such night. Buffy sighed and started to reply.

"Will, it looks like-"

"Yes mother."

"Wha..." Buffy was about to state that she hardly resembled a mother, Especially with this hairstyle, much less did she resemble Willow's very-absentee mother, when she heard Willow's mother talking through the phone. Apparently Sheila Rosenberg had stopped by her daughter's room and was inquiring about Willow's well-being.

Which only happens once in a blue moon Buffy admitted. She listened as Willow's mother asked about her daughter's job, and then started asking about the paycheck which Buffy found interesting. Surely she wasn't going to tell her daughter what to do with her own money. Buffy laid the phone down on her bed and stretched out, trying to return the feeling to the feet she'd been sitting on. She grabbed one foot and tilted an ear toward the phone. Thanks to her Slayer hearing the next words were still clear.

"And you deposited all of your check into that savings account we set up for you, right? You know how important it is to be saving for college."

There was a slight pause.

"Of course I did mother."

Buffy lost her grip on her leg and fell with an undignified thump onto the carpet. Scowling at the pain in her butt she nevertheless managed to grab the phone before it too dropped to the floor. Buffy held the device to her ear as she stumbled to a nearby chair. Shaking out the remaining 'pins and needles' feeling Buffy wasn't sure how to take this latest bit of info. Willow just lied to her mother. It was almost unheard of. Well of course, understandably Willow didn't tell her mother about the vampires and demons that she fought on a regular basis. But what was this paycheck fib all about?

"Buffy?" Willow's voice came quietly from the speaker.

"Yes?"

"Sorry about that. So, do you want to eat? To go eat, somewhere, sometime, maybe...tomorrow?"

Buffy started to ask why Willow was doing this, but then decided she might as well wait and ask her when the two met up to eat. The only question right now was when to do so.

"How about Saturday? I have a Mom-thing tomorrow." the blond suggested. That way she wouldn't forget to ask her question, and she could find something decent to wear. One never went into public - especially not to dinner - without a new outfit. It just wasn't done. Plus there was this really awesome sale at the mall going on right now...

"Sure!" Willow enthused.

"Great" Buffy grinned in spite of herself. Her friend really did seem genuinely excited.

"So...I'll cya then?"

"Right"

"Good. Um...bye!"

"Bye"


Elsewhere in Sunnydale, Willow looked at her phone and tried to still her shaking hands. She couldn't believe the Slayer had accepted. Then again, the Slayer apparently hadn't caught all of Willow's conversation with her mother. At least she hadn't mentioned it. Which was a good thing.

Slowly Willow took a deep breath and then hit speed-dial 2.

"Fwaaaello?" A sleepy voice answered.

Willow looked at the clock. It was 1pm. A subject for another time, she chided herself.

"Xander? Wake up"

"Mmmnarg." The sound of feet hitting the ground and Xander yawning lasted about a minute. Willow could tell he was taking the summer vacation idea rather well.

"Hey Will, what's up?"

"I need your help. I'm going to dinner...." Willow trailed off.

"Hey, that's great!" Xander grinned as he hopped on one foot to get a pair of partially-wrinkled pants on. His friend needed to get out once and a while. That job of hers was too time consuming.

"...with Buffy"

"That's...wait..what?"