Willow's POV

I was aware of a dull throb in my head before my eyes even opened, squinting against the sunlight. Oh yeah. I got hurt last night, patrolling.

Big surprise, there was nobody here. Still, I couldn't be upset. It's not like I really expecting it. I glanced at the clock. It was Saturday. My head hit the pillow again and I closed my eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, seven hours later, I was amazed that I could sleep so long. The sun was setting outside and I was irritated that I'd slept my day away but happy that my headache was gone. I went straight to the bathroom, taking a long hot shower and brushing my teeth.

I came back into my room, realizing it was now dark outside. I lotioned up, put underwear and jeans on, brushed my hair out and then quickly found a tanktop and hoodie to put on.

I had barely finished when a loud pounding came on my door. I knew it was time for patrol so I grabbed a stake, my keys, and a small bottle of Holy Water. I hurried downstairs to the door and threw it open to Xander and Buffy. "Patrol. Let's go." Buffy said casually. Well, hello to you too.

Angel's POV

I only wanted to check on her. After Buffy and I had made out and talked, we'd fallen asleep. She left almost as soon as she woke up, and I'd spent the day wondering if Willow was okay. Would Buffy go check on her?

Her parents weren't there. What if the injury had been worse than we thought? And we'd all left her there. Her supposed best friend hadn't even seemed worried about her.

So as soon as the sun was gone, I set out to Willow's house. I knocked, but there was no answer. I listened closely, hearing the sound of water and a heartbeat. And the sound of her soft murmuring. Okay, so she was alive. And she sung in the shower.

That's all I'd came to find out. So I don't know why I climbed up the trellis to her balcony. I don't know why. But almost as soon as I swung over the railing, she walked into her room. Sweet, innocent, compassionate, naive Willow was wearing nothing but a towel. And as much as I tried to not think about it...my mouth still went dry.

So...she had a nice little body under those overalls and sweaters. That was a big shock. I figured she'd be thin and shapeless. God, was I wrong. She placed the towel on the railing of her bed, giving me an eyeful of her bare backside. I groaned and grit my teeth until she slid into a pair of white boy short panties. What was wierd was that I even found that hot.

Buffy wore thongs. I'd caught glimpses of her ass on many occasions when she wore skimpy little skirts. I'd seen the tops of them when she wore anything else. But Willow wore boyshorts. They covered more than ordinary cotton panties yet they had some sort of tempting seductiveness about them, shaping perfectly to her ass. Teetering on the edge between sexy and coy. And I could imagine that the material was some sort of soft micro-fiber instead of whatever scratchy polyester blend that thongs were made of. She put on a matching bra with a little pink bow between her breasts and then she sat on her bed and started to smother her legs and arms in lotion.

Did she know that I was out here? Because I couldn't imagine someone doing something so casually but also so sexually arousing without meaning to turn someone on. No, that's stupid. Willow isn't like that. She was just casually putting lotion on her legs and I was twisting it into something sexual. She was...mesmerizing.

And right when I was going to make myself look away, she stood, stretching out her body like a lazy cat. My breath caught and then she dug through her drawers and slid into a pair of jeans. Not incredibly, gut-busting tight like Buffy's, but enough to show her curves. I groaned aloud that time.

Right then, wearing unbuttoned jeans and a bra, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. The sexiest image I could think of that didn't actually involve sex. Innocent but tempting. Alluring and naive. Casual but somehow looking like she'd worn it just for me.

Thank God, she stayed that way for a moment as she towel-dried and then brushed her hair out. She yanked on a soft-looking gray tanktop and then a dark emerald-green sweatshirt on that absolutely popped against her hair, bringing out her green eyes. Green was definitely her color. Well, so was white. And gray. And blue. Oh...and pink. I remembered that sweater. And red. And black. Fuck! She'd look good in anything. Or in nothing at all.

A loud bang came from below and I shook my head suddenly, realizing I'd just thought my girlfriend's best friend was hot. What the hell was wrong with me? Willow scurried around her room, grabbing a stake and some other things and I smiled. She didn't want to keep them waiting. That was sweet.

Willow's POV

"Hey." came that gruff yet smooth voice we'd all come to recognize. Angel came over to us from the shadows and gave Buffy a little smile. She kissed him and we all kept going forward without another word. I didn't even greet him that time. I was tired of never getting a response. Unless he decided to grace me with a curt nod, that is.

"So..." Buffy started, glancing around as if to encompass us all in her conversation. "Anything interesting go on today for anybody?"

"I slept for almost fourteen straight hours after you guys brought me back last night." I offered.

"Damn! Almost beat my record." Xander quipped. Then he grew serious. "Buff told me what happened. You feel better now?"

"Yup." I said, offering a smile. "Little throbby but no biggie."

"Speaking of no biggie...there is NOTHING going on out here." Buffy whined, glancing around the cemetary we'd been walking through. She was telling the truth. There hadn't been any vampire-involved deaths that we needed to look into so it was just regular patrol. And on that front, we were coming up empty. "So, whaddaya say?" she smirked. "Bronze fun?"

I looked to Xander and shrugged. "Sure." We said in unison. She grinned hugely, pressing herself into Angel as we walked toward the Bronze and she practically begged for him to come too. Ugh. Yay, broodyness to bring us down. Oh, come on, Willow, that's not his fault. He feels guilty. I knew I was just mad because he's pretty much indifferent to me all the time, like everyone else, even when he's around all the time for Buffy. At least Cordelia insulted me. She made me feel like dirt, but at least dirt was there. Not invisible and unwanted. I got enough of the invisible thing from my parents.