Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2006 11:35:38 GMT 10
OK, so this is my first step into writing fanfiction. It was done for a fiction challenge over on BuffyWorld, and since I shared it with them I thought I should, of course, share it with you as well. The challenge topic was "Fixing Damaged Friendships." (I think the point of the challenge will become clear as you read it.) So, without further ado...
Title: Step by Step
Characters: Buffy, Xander, and Willow
Setting: Post-Season 7
Rating: G
Betas: Skitty
Buffy walked down the unlit path, her attention not on the newly risen vampires it was her job to kill, but instead on the events that had happened earlier that day. Xander had returned from Africa only a few days earlier, and Willow had come from Brazil only a week before that. In such a short amount of time their friendship had managed to revert back to what it was two years ago. Impossible, Buffy thought. Maybe asking for anything more is just impossible. Buffy turned around and quickly staked a vampire, not losing a beat in either her steps or thoughts.
The three of them had been together again for only three days and had still managed more than their fair share of arguments. Buffy had been excited to pick Willow up at the Cleveland airport a week ago. She had missed the young witch during their time apart, and with the bad vibes emanating from this new Hellmouth had decided it was time to call in the reinforcements. On Willow’s first day in Cleveland she had helped Buffy, Dawn, Giles, and some of the new slayers disband a group of demons intent on starting yet another apocalypse. Things had been relatively quiet since then, but they knew it would not stay that way for long. They spent the next few days keeping a wary eye out for any evil that may be a-foot, but primarily enjoying their reunion. Buffy particularly enjoyed showing Willow around the new stomping grounds, taking a small delight in the fact that this time she wasn’t the new girl in town.
Her eye caught the design on the tombstone in front of her. “A dog on a tombstone?” she asked aloud. “I mean, I know they’re man’s best friend, but really. They couldn’t have thought of anything more…tombstone-y?”
She and Willow had, of course, made a trip to the closest mall a priority. After all, they owed each other a few pairs of shoes. During their lunch break in the food court the conversation had turned to the new slayers now training and working with Buffy and Giles. It hadn’t been easy to convince them to come to Cleveland and learn about their new strength and abilities. It meant leaving the safety and comfort of their home and familiar surroundings. Some of them had boyfriends, some already had their lives planned out and were not easily swayed to change those plans, and there was always the question of what to tell their parents. Some of them simply denied the possibility of everything Giles and Buffy told them. Others shrugged and said that, if they ever came across a vampire, they’d “do their duty” but were unwilling to allow their new identities to further invade their lives. A small remnant already had clear plans for using their newfound strength and Buffy cringed at the thought of a dozen rogue slayers roaming the earth.
Buffy had become so lost in her memories that she nearly walked into a tree. She stopped herself just inches from its trunk. Looking up at its leaves, she said, “You guys are worse than vamps, you know that? You could really do a girl in.”
Willow’s reaction had been, of course, logical. “I told you, Buffy. I tried to warn you about the effects,” she had said. “You can’t just change someone’s identity, someone’s essence, and assume they’ll immediately understand what’s happening to them. They were normal girls once, Buffy. And you took that away from them, just like it was taken away from you. You weren’t all smiley happy about it. You had no right to expect they would be.” Willow had raised her voice just loud enough to show her frustration, making sure she wasn’t broadcasting the conversation to the surrounding tables.
She never really understood, Buffy thought, wincing at the memory of the conversation. Suddenly, she’s snapped back to the present as a vampire catches her off guard and sends her flying. Buffy winces as her back makes contact with a tombstone. She hurriedly stands, stake poised, and jumps, her left foot making contact with the vampire’s chest. His body hits the ground with a thud and in one fluid movement she swoops down and thrusts the stake through the vamp’s chest.
She never really understood what being the Slayer meant, she continued to muse as she made her way from the cemetery. Until Kendra, no one even remotely understood what my life was like. I’m the Slayer. A slayer, she quickly corrected herself. I have to decide which demons and plots get first priority. The First? It had first priority. It was my only priority. She doesn’t understand how much I have to take into consideration and how many decisions I’m forced to make each day. She came to a stop, her small silhouette standing in stark contrast to the tall buildings lining the deserted alley.
Maybe she had understood. Maybe she got the decision-making aspect. After all, she spent her time on the dark side because I failed to recognize a threat. She sat in the library day after day doing what she could to make sure I had the information I needed before going into a fight. Maybe that’s all she had been doing that night. Buffy’s heart sank with the realization.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willow was glad that night had finally come. Her feet ached from the walking she and Buffy had done during the last few days and she wasn’t sure she could fit any more information about the history of Cleveland in her brain. She was also sure she wouldn’t be able to handle another argument. She climbed the small flight of stairs to her newest bedroom. It wasn’t a palace, but Buffy and Giles had been able to acquire an old, dilapidated, remodeled hotel. It was only a few stories tall, but it had everything they needed, with a few rooms to spare. She and Xander had been given rooms upon their arrival. In fact, she thought, I don’t think they were even offered us. It was just expected we’d live here. She didn’t mind. It was easier being with the rest of the group. She smiled at the memory of Giles immediately ushering her up to her new room when she arrived, before even offering her a greeting. Everyone had been so happy to have her back.
“Come on, legs, work. Just a couple more stairs and then it’s into bed with you,” she muttered, willing her aching body to complete the short journey.
She gingerly lowered her body onto the bed, not caring to change out of her clothes, and closed her eyes, expecting to fall asleep almost immediately. Her mind, however, had other ideas. She had barely closed her eyes when the argument she and Buffy had earlier that day started replaying in her mind. She had noticed Dawn studying a magic text and practicing a few spells in the library. Remembering how magic had brought about her own downfall, she had immediately confronted Buffy about it.
“It’s okay, Will. Giles has been working with her and now you’re here. She has plenty of people watching over her.”
“That’s great, Buffy, but how can you be sure it will help? You were all there when I started going bad and nobody stopped me until I almost ended the world.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t.”
“Because of Xander. I don’t want her to end up like I did.”
“I get that. But Giles has been keeping a careful watch over her progress. He doesn’t keep the books dealing with darker magic accessible. I don’t even know where they are. And she looks up to you. Now that you’re here you can guide her, too.”
Willow continued to look at her disapprovingly. “We haven’t forgotten, Will. We didn’t go into this blindly. She needed to feel special, like she belonged in this world. You were in Brazil. Giles agreed to teach her some basic spells that would come in handy as part of her Watcher training. He’s been keeping a very close watch over her. She’s not interested in more than the basics. She just wants to belong.”
The scene kept replaying through Willow’s mind. She closed her eyes tighter, hoping it would go away and she’d be left in peace, but it didn’t work. She didn’t feel as though she’d done anything wrong. She, more than anyone, should know what magic could do to you if you abused it. On the other hand, so should Giles. She knew enough of his mysterious past to know that. And Buffy and the others had seen the aftermath. She couldn’t really believe they had forgotten so quickly, could she?
Dawn had always been Watcher material. She had enjoyed the researching aspect and, although not a slayer, could hold her own in a fight. It would make sense that Giles would take her under his wing and groom her to be his successor. After all, Willow herself had been in that same position just a few years earlier. She could understand the importance of basic magic to a Watcher, and in Willow’s absence it was logical that they would want someone around with such an understanding in case it was needed.
“Well, maybe Buffy’s right. Maybe if I work with Giles to guide her she won’t turn out like I did,” Willow whispered to herself, her mind finally slowing down and allowing her to relax. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow…” she murmured as she drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander was glad that night had come. It was the only time he really had to himself. He had only been in Cleveland a few days, and the old hotel was noticeably larger than the Summers’ house in Sunnydale, but he was already starting to feel the familiar claustrophobia of living with so many hormones. Of course, most places would seem claustrophobic compared to Africa. He was glad to be back in the country, though, because he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d have been able to eat things that he was sure would have freaked him out had he known what they were. That is, glad until the tension started.
“Time to go to work,” he muttered as we went down to the basement.
He had sensed the tension between Buffy and Willow almost immediately. He liked to think that having only one eye heightened all his other senses, making him some kind of super hero. He had thought perhaps it was because Willow was still acclimating herself to the new stomping grounds, but soon realized it went much further than that. Their time apart hadn’t done as much good as he’d hoped.
He walked over to a work bench and opened his toolkit. “This place may be bigger than the Summers’ home, but it’s certainly not built like it.” He grabbed his hammer and some nails and walked over to the far wall. He had been working on renovating the basement into a gym, with all the equipment needed for training slayers. He couldn’t work as fast as he used to, but he had offered to renovate the hotel on his own. Buffy had been greatly appreciative, and would let him take the time he needed. Now, whenever he needed to escape, he would come down here to work, even if everyone else was in bed. Of course, a few of the slayers would be out patrolling, and there was a floor between the basement and bedrooms, but he still wondered how many people he kept up by working at night. Unfortunately, he’d been working quite a bit since he’d arrived in town.
He may not be more than an average Joe, but he failed to see how a strictly regimented approach to training slayers would benefit anyone. They had tried it back in Sunnydale, before the town ceased to exist, and it had led to nothing more than dissention and rebellion among the troops. “At least she knows their names this time,” he said to the shelves he was putting into the wall. He looked at the shelves a bit more admiringly than one would normally and added, “Well, you’re quite the listener.” I just came on to a set of shelves. Man, do I need me a life! He quickly finished the project and took a step back to admire his work one last time before heading back to his work bench.
He heard feet scurry between rooms a few floors above him and knew that the girls would soon be fighting one another for use of the bathrooms. This brought his thoughts back to his previous thoughts. Only yesterday one of the girls had complained about the rigorous training schedule they were supposed to follow. Xander had mentioned it to Buffy, but she just shrugged it off.
“They have to be ready for whatever comes next. They won’t be ready if they just lounge around all day. Besides, Giles and I are making sure they know everything they’ll need.”
“Yeah, but, you weren’t trained this way, Buff. Don’t you think they need some time to just be normal girls? You know, Bronze it up a bit – without the Bronze?”
“They take turns patrolling at night, so they get some time off.”
“Yeah, but don’t you think they’d like to go to a normal high school, make some normal friends, hang at the mall with said normal friends, you know, do all the stuff we used to do?”
“Come on, Xan,” Buffy responded, obviously frustrated, “I think that after all these years I would know what I’m doing. It worked the last time. We defeated the First, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, but at the cost of mutiny. And if you don’t let up on these girls it might happen again.” Luckily, at that time a commotion distracted Buffy and the conversation ended. Still, it had left Xander with an uneasy feeling.
“I know she means well,” Xander said to himself while searching for his screwdriver, “but she’s keeping these girls from the one thing she’s always wanted, a chance at a semi-normal life.”
Xander suddenly realized the building had become eerily quiet. “Time for bed. I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow,” he added, making his way up the stairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Willow was greeted by a cheerful Buffy as she walked into the kitchen. “Hey! You hungry? I made cereal.” Buffy noticed the look on Willow’s face and quickly added, “And waffles. You know, for those who’ve hit their cereal limit this month.” She passed Willow a huge stack of waffles. “Butter, syrup, jelly, honey, all of them?” She didn’t wait for an answer before shoving the condiments across the counter to Willow.
“Finally learned how to cook, huh?”
“Yeah, well, I figured now that we have this nice big kitchen and everything it should be put to use.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Willow started, “that maybe Dawn knowing some magic isn’t as catastrophic as I made it out to be. I mean, it’s not like I really want to face another apocalypse, but she’s seen what it can do. She knows to be careful. And I’m here to guide her. And Giles, too, of course. He’s here, too.”
Xander had the eerie feeling that he’d walked in at just the wrong time. If there was going to be another apocalypse he’d rather be, well, anywhere else. “Please tell me I didn’t hear the ‘a’ word. I’m really not ready to face another one of those.”
“No apocalypse yet, Xander. But we have breakfast.” Buffy grinned widely and Xander was reminded of how amazing it seemed that Buffy had no problems waking up so early. No matter what had happened the night before she always seemed ready for anything.
“Good. Breakfast I can easily win.” Xander grabbed a bowl, some cereal, and a huge stack of waffles.
“Hey! Leave some for the girls!” Buffy quickly grabbed half of Xander’s waffles.
“Yeah, about that…” Xander looked down at his food, seemingly intent on finding that perfect cereal to milk ratio. “I know you know what you’re doing. Just, don’t be too hard on them. You wanted the same things they do once upon a time. Just remember that.”
“I know,” Buffy replied with that smile she used when she’d realized she’d been beat. “I’m just – I’m still not used to there being more than one – or two – of us. I’m just trying to make it work. But maybe they don’t have to learn everything today.” Xander’s hand reached for another stack of waffles. “But they’ll still need to eat.”
They lapsed into silence. Buffy knew it was her turn to make amends, but it had seemed easier when she talked it through in her head. “While we’re more or less on the subject, you were right, Willow. I didn’t think the spell through. I needed something that would give us a fighting chance against the First. And it did. But I didn’t really care what effects it would have on all the new slayers. You did. You knew; I just wouldn’t listen to you.”
Willow shot Buffy an encouraging smile. Xander knew this wasn’t one of his battles. It was theirs. Still, Xander couldn’t help but fight for just a few more waffles.
“Xander!” both girls shouted at him, while moving the waffles even further away.
“Well, I had to try, right?”
“Anyway,” Buffy continued after giving Xander a disapproving glance, “I should have listened to your concerns. And while there’s nothing I can change about it now, I can take that into consideration when working with them. I mean, after all, I should know how difficult it can be, right?”
“Aww, I feel a group hug coming on.” Xander moved to the other end of the counter where the girls were. “Isn’t this where we usually plan yet another shopping excursion?”
“I don’t think my feet could take any more shopping,” Willow groaned.
“How ‘bout we just take it a step at a time?” Buffy asked.
Resounding footsteps brought the hug to a quick end. “We really need another waffle iron,” Buffy said, preparing herself for the influx of hungry hormones.
Title: Step by Step
Characters: Buffy, Xander, and Willow
Setting: Post-Season 7
Rating: G
Betas: Skitty
Buffy walked down the unlit path, her attention not on the newly risen vampires it was her job to kill, but instead on the events that had happened earlier that day. Xander had returned from Africa only a few days earlier, and Willow had come from Brazil only a week before that. In such a short amount of time their friendship had managed to revert back to what it was two years ago. Impossible, Buffy thought. Maybe asking for anything more is just impossible. Buffy turned around and quickly staked a vampire, not losing a beat in either her steps or thoughts.
The three of them had been together again for only three days and had still managed more than their fair share of arguments. Buffy had been excited to pick Willow up at the Cleveland airport a week ago. She had missed the young witch during their time apart, and with the bad vibes emanating from this new Hellmouth had decided it was time to call in the reinforcements. On Willow’s first day in Cleveland she had helped Buffy, Dawn, Giles, and some of the new slayers disband a group of demons intent on starting yet another apocalypse. Things had been relatively quiet since then, but they knew it would not stay that way for long. They spent the next few days keeping a wary eye out for any evil that may be a-foot, but primarily enjoying their reunion. Buffy particularly enjoyed showing Willow around the new stomping grounds, taking a small delight in the fact that this time she wasn’t the new girl in town.
Her eye caught the design on the tombstone in front of her. “A dog on a tombstone?” she asked aloud. “I mean, I know they’re man’s best friend, but really. They couldn’t have thought of anything more…tombstone-y?”
She and Willow had, of course, made a trip to the closest mall a priority. After all, they owed each other a few pairs of shoes. During their lunch break in the food court the conversation had turned to the new slayers now training and working with Buffy and Giles. It hadn’t been easy to convince them to come to Cleveland and learn about their new strength and abilities. It meant leaving the safety and comfort of their home and familiar surroundings. Some of them had boyfriends, some already had their lives planned out and were not easily swayed to change those plans, and there was always the question of what to tell their parents. Some of them simply denied the possibility of everything Giles and Buffy told them. Others shrugged and said that, if they ever came across a vampire, they’d “do their duty” but were unwilling to allow their new identities to further invade their lives. A small remnant already had clear plans for using their newfound strength and Buffy cringed at the thought of a dozen rogue slayers roaming the earth.
Buffy had become so lost in her memories that she nearly walked into a tree. She stopped herself just inches from its trunk. Looking up at its leaves, she said, “You guys are worse than vamps, you know that? You could really do a girl in.”
Willow’s reaction had been, of course, logical. “I told you, Buffy. I tried to warn you about the effects,” she had said. “You can’t just change someone’s identity, someone’s essence, and assume they’ll immediately understand what’s happening to them. They were normal girls once, Buffy. And you took that away from them, just like it was taken away from you. You weren’t all smiley happy about it. You had no right to expect they would be.” Willow had raised her voice just loud enough to show her frustration, making sure she wasn’t broadcasting the conversation to the surrounding tables.
She never really understood, Buffy thought, wincing at the memory of the conversation. Suddenly, she’s snapped back to the present as a vampire catches her off guard and sends her flying. Buffy winces as her back makes contact with a tombstone. She hurriedly stands, stake poised, and jumps, her left foot making contact with the vampire’s chest. His body hits the ground with a thud and in one fluid movement she swoops down and thrusts the stake through the vamp’s chest.
She never really understood what being the Slayer meant, she continued to muse as she made her way from the cemetery. Until Kendra, no one even remotely understood what my life was like. I’m the Slayer. A slayer, she quickly corrected herself. I have to decide which demons and plots get first priority. The First? It had first priority. It was my only priority. She doesn’t understand how much I have to take into consideration and how many decisions I’m forced to make each day. She came to a stop, her small silhouette standing in stark contrast to the tall buildings lining the deserted alley.
Maybe she had understood. Maybe she got the decision-making aspect. After all, she spent her time on the dark side because I failed to recognize a threat. She sat in the library day after day doing what she could to make sure I had the information I needed before going into a fight. Maybe that’s all she had been doing that night. Buffy’s heart sank with the realization.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willow was glad that night had finally come. Her feet ached from the walking she and Buffy had done during the last few days and she wasn’t sure she could fit any more information about the history of Cleveland in her brain. She was also sure she wouldn’t be able to handle another argument. She climbed the small flight of stairs to her newest bedroom. It wasn’t a palace, but Buffy and Giles had been able to acquire an old, dilapidated, remodeled hotel. It was only a few stories tall, but it had everything they needed, with a few rooms to spare. She and Xander had been given rooms upon their arrival. In fact, she thought, I don’t think they were even offered us. It was just expected we’d live here. She didn’t mind. It was easier being with the rest of the group. She smiled at the memory of Giles immediately ushering her up to her new room when she arrived, before even offering her a greeting. Everyone had been so happy to have her back.
“Come on, legs, work. Just a couple more stairs and then it’s into bed with you,” she muttered, willing her aching body to complete the short journey.
She gingerly lowered her body onto the bed, not caring to change out of her clothes, and closed her eyes, expecting to fall asleep almost immediately. Her mind, however, had other ideas. She had barely closed her eyes when the argument she and Buffy had earlier that day started replaying in her mind. She had noticed Dawn studying a magic text and practicing a few spells in the library. Remembering how magic had brought about her own downfall, she had immediately confronted Buffy about it.
“It’s okay, Will. Giles has been working with her and now you’re here. She has plenty of people watching over her.”
“That’s great, Buffy, but how can you be sure it will help? You were all there when I started going bad and nobody stopped me until I almost ended the world.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t.”
“Because of Xander. I don’t want her to end up like I did.”
“I get that. But Giles has been keeping a careful watch over her progress. He doesn’t keep the books dealing with darker magic accessible. I don’t even know where they are. And she looks up to you. Now that you’re here you can guide her, too.”
Willow continued to look at her disapprovingly. “We haven’t forgotten, Will. We didn’t go into this blindly. She needed to feel special, like she belonged in this world. You were in Brazil. Giles agreed to teach her some basic spells that would come in handy as part of her Watcher training. He’s been keeping a very close watch over her. She’s not interested in more than the basics. She just wants to belong.”
The scene kept replaying through Willow’s mind. She closed her eyes tighter, hoping it would go away and she’d be left in peace, but it didn’t work. She didn’t feel as though she’d done anything wrong. She, more than anyone, should know what magic could do to you if you abused it. On the other hand, so should Giles. She knew enough of his mysterious past to know that. And Buffy and the others had seen the aftermath. She couldn’t really believe they had forgotten so quickly, could she?
Dawn had always been Watcher material. She had enjoyed the researching aspect and, although not a slayer, could hold her own in a fight. It would make sense that Giles would take her under his wing and groom her to be his successor. After all, Willow herself had been in that same position just a few years earlier. She could understand the importance of basic magic to a Watcher, and in Willow’s absence it was logical that they would want someone around with such an understanding in case it was needed.
“Well, maybe Buffy’s right. Maybe if I work with Giles to guide her she won’t turn out like I did,” Willow whispered to herself, her mind finally slowing down and allowing her to relax. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow…” she murmured as she drifted off to sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xander was glad that night had come. It was the only time he really had to himself. He had only been in Cleveland a few days, and the old hotel was noticeably larger than the Summers’ house in Sunnydale, but he was already starting to feel the familiar claustrophobia of living with so many hormones. Of course, most places would seem claustrophobic compared to Africa. He was glad to be back in the country, though, because he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d have been able to eat things that he was sure would have freaked him out had he known what they were. That is, glad until the tension started.
“Time to go to work,” he muttered as we went down to the basement.
He had sensed the tension between Buffy and Willow almost immediately. He liked to think that having only one eye heightened all his other senses, making him some kind of super hero. He had thought perhaps it was because Willow was still acclimating herself to the new stomping grounds, but soon realized it went much further than that. Their time apart hadn’t done as much good as he’d hoped.
He walked over to a work bench and opened his toolkit. “This place may be bigger than the Summers’ home, but it’s certainly not built like it.” He grabbed his hammer and some nails and walked over to the far wall. He had been working on renovating the basement into a gym, with all the equipment needed for training slayers. He couldn’t work as fast as he used to, but he had offered to renovate the hotel on his own. Buffy had been greatly appreciative, and would let him take the time he needed. Now, whenever he needed to escape, he would come down here to work, even if everyone else was in bed. Of course, a few of the slayers would be out patrolling, and there was a floor between the basement and bedrooms, but he still wondered how many people he kept up by working at night. Unfortunately, he’d been working quite a bit since he’d arrived in town.
He may not be more than an average Joe, but he failed to see how a strictly regimented approach to training slayers would benefit anyone. They had tried it back in Sunnydale, before the town ceased to exist, and it had led to nothing more than dissention and rebellion among the troops. “At least she knows their names this time,” he said to the shelves he was putting into the wall. He looked at the shelves a bit more admiringly than one would normally and added, “Well, you’re quite the listener.” I just came on to a set of shelves. Man, do I need me a life! He quickly finished the project and took a step back to admire his work one last time before heading back to his work bench.
He heard feet scurry between rooms a few floors above him and knew that the girls would soon be fighting one another for use of the bathrooms. This brought his thoughts back to his previous thoughts. Only yesterday one of the girls had complained about the rigorous training schedule they were supposed to follow. Xander had mentioned it to Buffy, but she just shrugged it off.
“They have to be ready for whatever comes next. They won’t be ready if they just lounge around all day. Besides, Giles and I are making sure they know everything they’ll need.”
“Yeah, but, you weren’t trained this way, Buff. Don’t you think they need some time to just be normal girls? You know, Bronze it up a bit – without the Bronze?”
“They take turns patrolling at night, so they get some time off.”
“Yeah, but don’t you think they’d like to go to a normal high school, make some normal friends, hang at the mall with said normal friends, you know, do all the stuff we used to do?”
“Come on, Xan,” Buffy responded, obviously frustrated, “I think that after all these years I would know what I’m doing. It worked the last time. We defeated the First, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, but at the cost of mutiny. And if you don’t let up on these girls it might happen again.” Luckily, at that time a commotion distracted Buffy and the conversation ended. Still, it had left Xander with an uneasy feeling.
“I know she means well,” Xander said to himself while searching for his screwdriver, “but she’s keeping these girls from the one thing she’s always wanted, a chance at a semi-normal life.”
Xander suddenly realized the building had become eerily quiet. “Time for bed. I’ll talk to her about it tomorrow,” he added, making his way up the stairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Willow was greeted by a cheerful Buffy as she walked into the kitchen. “Hey! You hungry? I made cereal.” Buffy noticed the look on Willow’s face and quickly added, “And waffles. You know, for those who’ve hit their cereal limit this month.” She passed Willow a huge stack of waffles. “Butter, syrup, jelly, honey, all of them?” She didn’t wait for an answer before shoving the condiments across the counter to Willow.
“Finally learned how to cook, huh?”
“Yeah, well, I figured now that we have this nice big kitchen and everything it should be put to use.”
“I’ve been thinking,” Willow started, “that maybe Dawn knowing some magic isn’t as catastrophic as I made it out to be. I mean, it’s not like I really want to face another apocalypse, but she’s seen what it can do. She knows to be careful. And I’m here to guide her. And Giles, too, of course. He’s here, too.”
Xander had the eerie feeling that he’d walked in at just the wrong time. If there was going to be another apocalypse he’d rather be, well, anywhere else. “Please tell me I didn’t hear the ‘a’ word. I’m really not ready to face another one of those.”
“No apocalypse yet, Xander. But we have breakfast.” Buffy grinned widely and Xander was reminded of how amazing it seemed that Buffy had no problems waking up so early. No matter what had happened the night before she always seemed ready for anything.
“Good. Breakfast I can easily win.” Xander grabbed a bowl, some cereal, and a huge stack of waffles.
“Hey! Leave some for the girls!” Buffy quickly grabbed half of Xander’s waffles.
“Yeah, about that…” Xander looked down at his food, seemingly intent on finding that perfect cereal to milk ratio. “I know you know what you’re doing. Just, don’t be too hard on them. You wanted the same things they do once upon a time. Just remember that.”
“I know,” Buffy replied with that smile she used when she’d realized she’d been beat. “I’m just – I’m still not used to there being more than one – or two – of us. I’m just trying to make it work. But maybe they don’t have to learn everything today.” Xander’s hand reached for another stack of waffles. “But they’ll still need to eat.”
They lapsed into silence. Buffy knew it was her turn to make amends, but it had seemed easier when she talked it through in her head. “While we’re more or less on the subject, you were right, Willow. I didn’t think the spell through. I needed something that would give us a fighting chance against the First. And it did. But I didn’t really care what effects it would have on all the new slayers. You did. You knew; I just wouldn’t listen to you.”
Willow shot Buffy an encouraging smile. Xander knew this wasn’t one of his battles. It was theirs. Still, Xander couldn’t help but fight for just a few more waffles.
“Xander!” both girls shouted at him, while moving the waffles even further away.
“Well, I had to try, right?”
“Anyway,” Buffy continued after giving Xander a disapproving glance, “I should have listened to your concerns. And while there’s nothing I can change about it now, I can take that into consideration when working with them. I mean, after all, I should know how difficult it can be, right?”
“Aww, I feel a group hug coming on.” Xander moved to the other end of the counter where the girls were. “Isn’t this where we usually plan yet another shopping excursion?”
“I don’t think my feet could take any more shopping,” Willow groaned.
“How ‘bout we just take it a step at a time?” Buffy asked.
Resounding footsteps brought the hug to a quick end. “We really need another waffle iron,” Buffy said, preparing herself for the influx of hungry hormones.
