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: Wow. Thanks so much for the reviews—they all make my day! This was hard to write, so feedback will be excellent.

16. In My Arms

Saturday came with a rush of feeling for all. Buffy was tense with the thought of her date with Will. Will was worried he'd mess up somehow. Tara was concerned about the blonde pair and also the flight she was to catch on Sunday night. Willow was miserable with the idea of Tara leaving.

Will spent the day in Willow's house, preparing and pacing. Buffy came home from work early and the girls rushed over to help her get ready, leaving behind a jittery Will.

At around nine that evening, he rang the bell to her house, over a dozen red roses in hand.

"Bloody ridiculous," He muttered as he waited for someone to open the door. "'ave the key in my pocket and still hafta wait for the daft birds to quit gigglin' long enough to open the door . . ."

And indeed, when the door opened, it was to reveal a giggly Willow. Will rolled his eyes and stepped in. "Hello, William."

"'ello, Red. Where's Goldilocks?"

"You mean Buffy?" Willow frowned in slight confusion. "She's getting ready."

Will turned to her, eyes wide, and said, "Still! She came home three hours ago!"

Willow rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the flowers. "Oh, Will!" Her eyes brightened. "For me? How kind!"

She reached out for the flowers but Will pulled them back. Willow looked at him, mock disappointed. Will looked at her with a mix of guilt and contriteness. "Sorry, pet. That's for ol' Lizzy. Here, this," He produced a beautiful white rose from his pocket, "is for you."

Willow smiled. "How sweet," She said, stroking her cheek with the soft petals. She looked up at Will and sighed. "I was supposed to torture you for as long as I could," She confided, looking around carefully. "But you're too sweet to torment, Will. Wait here, I'll go get your girl."

As Willow skipped up the stairs, Will shook his head. "Works every time," He muttered, chuckling to himself.

But a few minutes later, he wasn't chuckling as Buffy appeared at the top of the stairs. In fact, it was hard for Will to breathe.

She was wearing a dress. It was made with rose colored lace, the entire thing, and stopped just above her knees. The light color accentuated her tan even in the dim light. The sleeves just covered the bow of her shoulders. It was fitted till her waist, after which it slightly flared out. She'd left her hair open and it was perfectly straight, falling around her face and over her shoulders just rightly. Little, almost no makeup, beige sandals and a shy, blushing smile completed her attire.

Will swallowed through his dry throat and suddenly staggering pulse. Not knowing what to say, he opened his mouth and said the only thing that was rushing through his mind then . . . "W-wow."

Buffy blushed deeper, if that was possible, and quietly descended the rest of the stairs. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a hand clapped him hard on the back and Will turned around to see Tara.

Frowning, he asked her, "Where'd you come from?"

She whapped him on the shoulder and said, admonishingly, "Pay more attention to your surroundings, boy. She isn't everything, you know." She pointed a thumb in Buffy's direction.

Will turned towards his date again, and whispered through a smile, "Oh, but she is."

Buffy was now standing before him. He thrust towards her the roses and she smiled, cheeks matching the flowers completely. "Thank you," She murmured, "They're beautiful."

Hands buried in the pockets of his black jacket, Will only nodded as his nervousness overtook him again.

Buffy carefully put the roses into a crystal vase filled with water that Willow had magically appeared with. Then she took a bracing breath, reminding herself this was Will, and turned to him. "So, what do you think?" She asked, fingering her dress. "Too dressy?"

He looked up at that and gave her a scalding look that took in everything, from head to toe. The look scorched her, and she shivered slightly as he said, "Not at all, luv. You look amazingly, beautifully exquisite. You'll outshine everything . . . there." He finished somewhat lamely, not wanting to give away where he was taking her.

She blushed again, and Will wondered whether this was the same woman who had hit him with a tennis racquet. Swallowing, he asked, "So, shall we get goin', then?"

Buffy nodded and reached for her jacket. Will quickly moved to help her as Tara took the role of a strict parent. "I want her back home by midnight, boy. No wild parties and you will call me once you reach wherever you're going, understand?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Get over it, Tara. I never listened to Mom when she said all that and I was fifteen. You think I'm going to play Cinderella with you?"

Tara laughed and opened the door for the couple. "Alright, alright—get going!"

And Buffy and Will left, laughing still as they ducked into his car. As Will put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway, Buffy asked, "So . . . where are you taking me?"

"Well," Will said as he drove down the road, "I took Willow to a French restaurant and she hated it, so we ended up on the beach, eating hot dogs instead. So I decided to skip the showy stuff, and go straight for the fun."

Buffy frowned at that. "You mean you're taking me where you and Willow went on your date?"

He shook his head, oblivious to the slightly hurt tone of her voice. "Nah, I've discovered a much more beautiful place. I think I found it for you, luv—so I could take you there and you could fall in love with the place, and with me." He winked at her roguishly, and Buffy blushed again.

What Will didn't know was that he didn't gave to take Buffy anywhere special to make her fall in love with him. Buffy felt she was on the verge of falling into something so deep and strong she didn't understand it. And what was stranger was that she didn't want to understand it. She knew she shouldn't be over Angel yet, but somehow, she realized as Will walked with her, arm in arm, on the beach, she hadn't loved Angel as much the second time.

But this. As Will talked nineteen to the dozen, she thought that what she had admitted feeling for him was nothing like anything she'd felt before. A love so deep she could drown in it and feel safe, knowing it was him . . . Buffy was broken from her thoughts by a hand waving in front of a face.

"Christ, don't tell me you've gone all broody on me!"

Buffy whacked him on his chest and he laughed. One of his hands was around her waist, holding her to him tightly as they walked far away from the public beach. "Idiot," She said, pressing closer to his side to compensate for the coat she'd left in his car. "I was thinking of you."

"Oh?" An impish eyebrow lifted. "Thinking of how great I look in these clothes, or wondering," He pressed his forehead against hers, eyes twinkling, "How I'd look without them?"

Buffy blushed furiously. A part of her mind had been thinking of that, too. Her hope he hadn't seen her redden was dashed as he laughed loudly. Gruffly, she told him, "Oh, shut up—that's what you've been thinking all evening, too."

"Yes, I 'ave, and I admit it," He told her with a huge grin. "But you—tsk, tsk, tsk, luv. Didn't expect that from you. But I guess," He sighed, shaking his head, "I'm just too irresistible and sexy, eh?"

He didn't expect her to answer that now, did he? Buffy blushed furiously in the moonlight and quickly changed the subject. "So, where exactly are we going?"

"You'll see, luv," He murmured, nuzzling against her golden hair.

"I really don't feel like walking anymore, Will."

He chuckled and stopped. Without warning, he looped a hand behind her knees and picked her up with ease.

Buffy immediately started yelling. "Put me down, you moron! I can walk, you know! I swear, if you don't put me down right now I will—"

And the next thing she knew, Buffy was lying on the sand. Eyes wide in surprise, she said nothing as Will pointed and told her, "Sorry, pet, but that's what you wanted. Also, we're here."

He helped her up and she muttered, "Ouch, ow, ouchie, owie," before looking in the direction where he was pointing. When she did, her mouth fell open.

They were about a mile away from the public beach, now. Here, in front of low hills stood tall palms. The sand was practically white and it gleamed like silver in the light of the full moon. The beauty of the place was practically untouched.

In the water was a boat. A slightly big speed boat, to be exact, in which stood a guy with surprisingly huge ears. When he saw the couple, he waved. "Everything's ready, Spike!"

It was Will's turn to blush as he pulled Buffy along towards the boat. "Spike?" She asked inquisitive. "Your nickname is Spike!"

He quickened his pace and mumbled, pleadingly almost, "Please, please, please don't call me that! It's a damned college nickname I can't get bloody rid of."

Buffy giggled. "Okay, Spike." Upon his glare, she laughed louder. "Fine, William, I'm sorry!"

"You bloody should be," He said as they stopped at the beach, ten feet away from the boat.

"Sorry, can't get any closer!" The man on the boat called out. "You'll have to wade—it isn't hard, though. The floor suddenly goes deep. It'll be easy for you guys to wade—hardly three feet till here."

Will sighed. Buffy, on the other hand, grinned. "Cool! I love wading! So much fun, and—hey! Will! Stop! Spiiiike! Stop it!"

With no sound at all, he had lifted her into his arms again. As he started wading out towards the boat, Buffy didn't stop yelling and Will started yelling louder to shut her up. On the boat, Clem grinned and shook his head. "He picks them just right, Spike does." He laughed.

When they reached the boat, Clem helped Buffy in while Will hoisted himself up. As Buffy glared at her date, Will shrugged and said, "Hey, look—you're still dry. I'm the wet one. Now, when I hug you, you can warm me up."

This seems to be 'Make Buffy Red' Day, Buffy mused as she blushed again. She shot an embarrassed look at Clem and Will, intercepting it, grinned.

"No worries, 'Lizabeth—this is my friend, Clement Vincent. He's the concierge at the Four Seasons, remember? Clem, this is 'Lizabeth Summers. Joyce Summers' daughter."

Clem grinned. "Nice to meet you, Elizabeth. I love your mom's works."

Buffy smiled, genuinely liking this friendly man. "I think she would have said thanks," Buffy told him. "I wanted to say thanks, too, for that lunch you gave us that day. It was heavenly, and also very generous of you."

Clem waved a hand. "Aw, it was nothing."

"Yeah," Will said, intervening quickly. "Now, can we please move into the cabin? I'm bloody freezing here!"

"And whose fault is that?" Buffy asked as Clem, chuckling, led the way.

"Clem's! Why couldn't he bring the boat closer!"

Buffy shook her head. "You'll never change, Will. Really what do you . . ." She broke off as Clem opened the door to the cabin.

It was lit dimly, with scarves draped over the low lamps. The table was lit with candles in lamps and there were two plates and a few covered dishes. The roof was made of glass and they could see the velvety sky that stretched above them. The carpeted floor had two huge cushions thrown casually in a corner. Buffy was amazed.

With a satisfied look at her face, Clem said, "Well, I'll be outside, making sure we don't drown. We'll go for a long round—will one and a half hours be enough?" Buffy didn't answer, too busy looking at the cabin. "Will?" Will didn't answer either, too busy looking at her, anxiously waiting for her reaction. Clem sighed. "Okay, then. I'll manage. Tell me if you need anything, and I'll make sure we go slowly and gently." With one last look at both blondes, Clem sighed and said, "And I'll stop talking now."

When he'd left, Buffy turned to Will and uncaring of his wet state, hugged him, hard. "Oh, Will." She said into his chest as he rubbed her back gently.