TITLE: Burgandy

AUTHOR: Ben Is Glory

RATING: PG-13

PAIRING: B/S

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me. And I probably should have mentioned earlier that the title comes from a Common Rotation song. Goooood band, go listen!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: No note. Well, that's a lie. It's just at the end of the chapter.

FEEDBACK: I lurve it.

***

It was after one AM, and Willow still hadn't come home from her date with Oz. Buffy and Will were sprawled out on the floor watching TV and making fun of the stupid infomercials.

"I still think the psychic ones are the best," Buffy claimed.

"Over Richard Simmons' Greatest Hits? I think not," Will laughed. He stood up and began doing jumping jacks and mock aerobicize moves. "I feel beautiful!" he screamed. Buffy rolled over on her back, lost in a fit of giggles. "Bloody hell," he said looking at his watch when they had finally calmed down. "I'm having breakfast with Giles in seven hours. I better get going."

Buffy looked up at him from where she was on the floor, her laughter dying away. "Okay. Willow should be home soon, too."

"Promise me something?" he asked. "Don't make any plans for tonight. I'm going to take you somewhere special."

"Where?" wondered the curious girl.

"It's a surprise. I'll call you this afternoon to let you know when I'm picking you up. Other than that, you can't know anything."

She pouted. "Not fair. I hate surprises."

Will grinned. "Well, you're going to love this one. See ya later." He grabbed his coat from Buffy's bed and breezed out the door.

Buffy let out a huge sigh, wishing every night could be as magical as this one. I guess we'll have to wait and see, she thought as she yawned. In the meantime, I might as well sleep, and dream about Will!

***

Careful! Careful! thought Willow, who was trying her best to silently creep into her room without waking Buffy. Just when she thought she had succeeded, the blonde's head popped up from the pillow.

"Willow," she said. "Out all night, huh? And coming in at nine in the morning? What did I tell you?" Buffy teased.

"Hey, Buff," the redhead greeted her.

"Morning. How'd it go last night? I'm guess pretty damn good seeing as you've been gone for thirteen hours."

"Yeah," Willow replied shyly. "Real good. How 'bout you? How was your exciting night filled with Shakespeare and… that other guy?" she joked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she responded sarcastically.

This merited a confused look from Wills. "What do you mean."

"Well, a few minutes after you left, Will came over with Chinese food for us to eat. He stayed, and we watched TV for forever. He had to leave though," she continued, feeding off of Willow's shocked expression, "because his wife called wondering where he was."

It took a second for the other girl to realize she was kidding. Willow glared. "Not. Funny."

Buffy had already burst out laughing. "Oh, it was. You should've seen your face!"

"So, you made the whole thing up," she assumed.

"That's the best part: no. Well, yeah, the thing about the wife." Buffy smiled. "But everything else is true. And he's going to call me later to tell me what time he's picking me up for our date. Tonight!"

"No way," asserted Willow.

"Way."

"You know I'll never be able to trust you again."

"But it was SO worth it," Buffy told her.

Willow's stomach growled, and Buffy snickered. "Hungry?"

"Maybe just a little," said Willow.

"Up for breakfast?" she asked, already getting out of bed and searching for clothes.

"Definitely."

***

After breakfast, the girls spent the day shopping in all of the neat little shops around the city. Buffy's cell phone rang around three.

"Hello?" she answered as she sifted through a dress rack in one of the small shops she and Willow had stopped in.

"Hello, luv," said the voice on the other line.

Buffy turned to Willow and mouthed "it's him." Her friend just smiled. "Hey, Will. How was breakfast this morning?"

"Dull as usual," he replied. "Which is why I'm calling you."

"Aww," she replied.

"Thought you might like that line," he kidded.

"Ha ha. Very funny. What did you want again?" she played along.

"Just to tell you I'll be by your room at seven sharp."

"Sounds good. See ya then."

"Bye, pet."

"Bye." She clicked the phone off and shot Willow a look. "Too dreamy," she sighed.

***

"So, you think the new peasant top?" Buffy asked her roommate, trying to decide what to wear on her big date with Will.

"Definitely the peasant top. And here," Willow said getting off her bed and rummaging through her closet. "Take this." She handed Buffy her long jean skirt.

"Perfect!" The blonde slipped on the top and skirt. "What should I do with my hair? Willow! I need help!" she whined.

"Don't worry, just brush. You blow-dried it straight, so comb it out. And put one of these," she moved to her desk and grabbed a small butterfly barrette, "in on the side. There," said Willow as she placed the clip above Buffy's left ear. "Beautiful."

"Thank you so much, Wills," Buffy said gratefully. "What would I do without you?" She looked in the mirror to make sure her make-up was still fresh. "Time check?"

"Six fifty-nine. Calm down!" Willow chided.

Buffy lifted up her hand. "Look!" she told her roommate. "I'm shaking. I *don't* shake. I'm very not shaky."

"You're just nervous. You're going out with a fabulous guy, and you're having a slight case of the whiggins. No big. He obviously likes you, Buff. The pressure is off."

Buffy shot her an incredulous look. "Yeah, right. The second you think you're safe, boom! Out of nowhere comes this huge big thing, and you don't know how to deal until it's way too late, and by then, Will probably won't like me anymore so how can I possibly calm down?"

"Buffy, you're babbling. Stop it!"

A short knock at the door interrupted their conversation. "Well?" Willow asked her. "Go answer it, ya doof!"

Buffy smiled at her and moved to answer the door.

"You look stunning," Will greeted her.

"You don't look too bad yourself." He was wearing a pair of khakis with a black shirt and his trademark duster.

"All ready to go?" he asked.

"Yep, I think so."

"Buffy!" Willow whispered, handing the blonde her purse.

"Oh! Thanks, Wills." Buffy thanked her roommate and followed Will out the door.

"Um…" he began when the couple got out of the building, "I'm going to have to get you to put this on." He handed her a black blindfold, but she gave him a weird look.

"Are you serious?"

"Just do it. For me?" He gave her big puppy eyes. "Please?"

Her heart melted, and she reluctantly put on the blindfold. "Don't let me fall," she warned him.

"Don't worry," Will told her. "Just trust me."

That's what I'm afraid to do, Buffy thought. He took her arm and led her slowly down a path out to the street. He hailed a cab and gently helped her in the car. She could feel him hold his hands over her ears as he gave the driver directions.

"Ellis Island, please," he said and took his hands away from Buffy's face.

"When can I take this thing off?" Buffy asked, getting agitated with the piece of cloth.

"Not 'til I say it's okay. This is supposed to be a surprise, remember?"

"Yeah yeah. Surprise," she mumbled. "Have I mentioned how much I hate surprises? Blindfolded surprises in particular."

"Might have let it slip once or twice. But I promise, this one will be worth it." He lifted up her hand and gave it a small kiss.

Buffy smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. The rest of the drive was spent in a comfortable silence; both Buffy and Will were trying to savor the moments as they passed. Finally, the car began to slow and stop. Will handed the driver money for the fare. "Thanks, mate," he said as he opened his door.

"Can I take off the blindfold?" whined Buffy.

"Not yet. Soon," he replied. He took her hand and helped her out of the taxi. "Step up," instructed Will, helping her up onto the curb. He led her into a building and then on an elevator.

"Um… how far up are we going?" she asked nervously.

"You'll see in a minute." That's all the information he would give her. A few seconds later, she heard the ding of the elevator as it reached the top floor. Will led her to a window and told her, "All right. You can take off the blindfold."

Buffy lifted her hands up to remove the blindfold from her face. She was instantly thrown into a state of shock once it was off. "Oh my God," she managed. "It's beautiful."

She and Will were standing at the top of the Statue of Liberty, looking out at the entire city of New York. Buildings sparkled with lights, and Buffy could see marquees dancing in the distance. She began to feel her eyes well with tears.

"Thank you. Thank you," she choked out. "This is amazing."

As if the night could get any better, Will pulled her body against his, pressed his lips against hers, and the couple shared their very first kiss.

This is one for the storybooks.

***

A/n: Well, I found out that the Statue of Liberty is closed due to September 11th. Hmph. You'll get over it. In my story, for all I know, 9/11 never happened in AU Buffyverse. So, please note that. Thank ya muchly! Review :-D I love you!