The Road Home
Summary: AU; everyone's human. Buffy Summers dodges family and friends to escape her wedding and make it back home, single. But when she returns to L.A., she finds herself stuck with a grumpy, homeless roommate without who, she soon finds, home wouldn't be home at all.
Disclaimer: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and all associated with it belongs to Mutant Enemy, Fox, Joss Whedon etc. I own squat.

A/N: You guys still with me? I'm back from my break, and here's the thirteenth chappie. If you guys have had the patience to wait for three weeks, I love you. I love you so much. Thanks for the reviews!

13. Settling

"Well, we should've known this would happen."

Buffy grinned through her cereal. She looked across the table at a moody Will who was rearranging his milk-less cereal and asked, "Oh? And what exactly do you mean by 'this'?"

He shrugged, popping some corn flakes into his mouth. "'This' means me bein' stuck here all alone while you trapeze off to work and those two . . . do whatever." He ended the last with a slight wince, and Buffy's laugh showed through.

"Oh, come on, Will! You knew I'd have to go back to work some time, didn't you? I've been home for five days!"

"Yeah, but," He struggled to find words, "It's not . . . it's not the same without you here."

She stood up and rolled her eyes. Placing her empty dishes in the sink, she put a hand on her hip and said, "And it was when you didn't know I existed?"

He carefully balanced his spoon on his nose. When it fell to the floor with a clatter, he bent to pick it up, saying, "Perhaps, but see, once you know chocolate exists, can't do without it, now . . . where's the damned spoon?"

Buffy sneaked over to the table and poured milk into his cereal bowl. "I'm like chocolate?"

He straightened in his seat, triumphant at having found the spoon. "Yes, same color." Looking at his bowl, his face fell. "Oh, look at what you bloody did! Now I'll have to eat it before it goes soggy!"

"You snooze you lose, dude," She left the room with Will staring at her back sourly.

Looking around the room, Will saw Mr. Pointy watching him through narrowed eyes. He stared back at the cat, shouting to Buffy at the same time, "Where did you get this crazy cat from, anyways?"

Her reply was muffled as she stood at the mirror on the stairs. "My sister and Xander gave him to me eight years ago."

"Your sis? Thought she'd be smarter than you?" He was unclear too, shoveling cereal into his mouth now, but somehow she understood.

"She was ten!"

"Really?" He asked, but it sounded like 'Vearry?'

Buffy entered the kitchen, fastening an earring, and said, "Yeah, but if you must blame someone blame Xander, because he was sixteen at the time."

"Who thought of the name?" His mouth opened wide, giving her a glimpse of its half-chewed contents.

She looked at him disgustedly, then turned to the fridge for a last check. "Xander. Dawn agreed cause she was obsessed with cars that time." Her gaze turned distracted as she eyed herself. "Okaayyy, what do you think?"

Will, distracted too, said, "Huh?"

"What do you think? Is beige and brown too typecast? Should I change?"

Will looked her over, taking in the beige peasant blouse and ankle length, A-line skirt of brown suede. He gave her a thumbs up, then quickly dug into his food to lubricate his dry throat.

She nodded at his response then flipped her open hair. "Great. Now, if you don't mind," She picked up her purse and the folder it was lying on, "I have a gallery to run."

Later that day, Buffy was massaging her temples as her stomach roared in hunger. For the past few days, Will had fed her well and today, when she was working again, her body refused to comply. She had only some cereal in her stomach and it was almost two, and the energy from that cereal had disappeared the second she stepped into the gallery.

"Buffy! Oh my god, you're back! Are you married yet! I thought the wedding was in three weeks? Oh, I know- couldn't wait, eh? Did you elope? Where'd you go? Was it fun? Oh, this is so amazing, girl!"

"Harmony," Buffy said, trying to placate the hyper blonde, "The wedding is finished, now can we get back to work, please?"

"Oh, tell me, where did you go for your honeymoon? Because the Jamaica trip— oops." She covered her huge, grinning mouth. "I forgot! That was Angel's surprise for you!"

"Oh?" Buffy put down her folders in her office and immediately, her free hand massaged her throbbing temples. "Well, that's sad, because I've been to Jamaica twice."

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter anymore cause you're already married!"

"Yes, Harmony. Of course. Now can you get me a glass of water . . .?"

"Yes, boss-woman, right away."

"Harmony," Buffy spoke after the skipping blonde through gritted teeth, "Don't call me boss-woman!"

Now, for lunch, she was sitting in the main lobby, supervising the setting up of the new display, enjoying the quiet with Keira, Sam and Joe, her other employees, as Harmony screeched out of the driveway, excited at being in charge of the burger run. "Of course," Buffy was saying to Sam, "She doesn't know the closest Burger King's shut down, so we can have peace for at least—"

Half an hour was what she was about to say when they heard a car pull into the driveway outside. Buffy's eyes widened in horror while Sam winced. "You jinxed it," She told her boss.

"It isn't her," A relieved Joe called out, before turning back to whoever was running up the steps of the gallery. "So sorry, sir, but we're closed—"

"Well, of course I know you're closed, can see the bloody sign," A familiar voice froze Buffy. "Need to talk to your leading lady, see."

"Miss Summers?" Joe shot a confused look at Buffy's back, then said, "Sorry, sir, you need an appointment, then—"

Buffy broke in. "No, Joe, that's okay; let him in."

Outside, Will grinned at the young man. "Yeah, Joe. Let him in."

Buffy, who had been on the opposite side of the lobby, had crossed it within seconds when Will entered, dressed all in black, looking around interestedly. Grabbing him by the arm, she steered him to the side and asked, "What're you doing here!"

Grinning, Will held out a paper.

Buffy grabbed it and read what it said. Frowning, she asked in a confused voice, "A paid-for dinner at the Four Seasons!"

"Yep," He said, savoring the word, "For eight people. Pack up your stuff, get your crew into gear- we all are going."

Sam, Keira and Joe, who had been hanging onto every word, stood stunned. When Buffy turned to ask, "You guys coming?" after she had blinked out of her own daze, they didn't answer. She waited, and when they said nothing, she shrugged. "Well," She told Will, "They aren't coming."

Immediately, Keira yelled out, "Like hell I am!"

That prompted the others into action, too. Ten minutes later, Buffy was locking the gallery while Will stood at her side. When she was done, he offered her an arm and they walked down the stairs together. "By the way," she asked conversationally, "How'd you come by that, anyway?"

He winked as he opened her car's door. "I know the concierge. Called in a favor."

She grinned and eased into the car. "Cool."

Will looked around and said, "Didn't you have four employees?"

"Yeah, but one of them is . . .detained."

He nodded, saying, "Okay, then. More food for me."

And when Harmony pulled into the gallery almost two hours later, no food in hand, nobody heard her yell out, "Buffy, I didn't find the burgers, but these shoes will look great with my new dress!"

Later, when she asked him why he'd come to the gallery, he told her simply, "I knew you were hungry."

And as days melted together in the summer heat, Will knew Buffy like the back and front of his hand. She, too, knew him and his strange moods just by a glance at his face or the sound of his voice. Every day was like the other as Anya told Buffy through e-mail she was extending her tour, and Buffy, out of fear of Angel, refused to get her cell phone fixed. Tara, instead of living with Buffy as planned, moved in with Willow for two weeks, not caring if the two slept on a camp bed in the study.

Everything would have continued in this monotonous way if one day, Willow's car's tires hadn't burst from the heat. They were five days away from Tara's flight for New York, and it was time for drastic measures, as Willow said. In retrospect, Tara knew her girlfriend was right.

And as Willow went with Will to the car servicing place, Tara stayed and baked with Buffy. But what they did is unimportant. It's what they said that really takes the cake.

"Buffy, I think you should go out with William."

"Will, why don't you ask your precious 'Lizabeth out?"

"WHAT!"

A/N: Sorry if it's short, I'm so terribly lagged. Let me know what you think.