Work Text:
Willow realized it on a Tuesday.
She and Buffy were alone in their apartment. Now that Dawn and Xander were back together, and Spike was in God-knows-where, off to do his own thing after the breakup, they were the only ones who lived there.
“Still up?”
Willow looked up from her laptop to see Buffy coming in, back from patrolling. She looked at the computer clock. 2:30 in the morning.
“Oops,” she said. “Guess I lost track of time.”
Buffy nodded, walking up towards the couch, leaning over the backrest and looking over Willow’s shoulder. “So what’s kickin’?” she asked, looking at the lines of code in Willow’s laptop screen with a puzzled expression.
“I, um,” she huffed in frustration. “I have a problem. Or several. I’m not sure. My compiler is pointing out several, but,” she scoffed. “We all know how that turns out usually, right? It’s probably missing a single library reference. But I already checked everything twice and it’s supposed be able to locate them! I thought it might be an issue with the linker settings but those are...”
She looked up to see Buffy facing her with a completely blank face.
“Oh,” she let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry. Babbling Willow strikes again.”
“Well,” Buffy tried to come up with something helpful to say, but all she could conjure was: “I’m sure you’re gonna solve… Whatever it is that you just said.”
“Thanks,” Willow replied with a humorless laugh. “Hey, can you check what we have in the fridge? I’m kinda hungry.”
“Sure.” Buffy walked up to their shared kitchen, opening the refrigerator door. “Let’s see, we have… water, and, half of a banana, and, chinese takeout that’s practically a new Hellmouth itself.”
“Yummy,” Willow joked.
“There’s also...” Buffy trailed off. Willow looked in her direction to see her holding a half-empty blood bag. Her heart sank.
“Oh, Buffy, I’m so sor—”
She stopped talking to watch Buffy slam-dunk the bag in the trash, with resolve, rather than anger, in her face. She looked back at Willow, seeming satisfied. “The past is in the past, right?”
“R-right,” Willow agreed, hesitant. “I-I’m sorry about, y’know. That we don’t have any food. I was supposed to go to the grocery store today.”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Buffy assured her. “You were busy. I get it. We’re just gonna have to go to sleep hungry today.”
“We could go out,” Willow suggested.
Buffy considered the idea. “Good call. But is there even anything open right now?” she asked, walking towards the door again anyway.
“Sure,” Willow said, closing her laptop and walking over the kitchen counter to retrieve her keys and her wallet. “There’s a taco place down the street that’s open 24/7.”
“Well, in this case,” Buffy opened the door. “Let’s go make an underpaid employee’s night a little less boring.”
/\/\/\/\/\
“Buffy, that’s gross.”
“I know, right? And it was all over me , like, everywhere. Honestly, I’m gonna have to burn my clothes after that...”
“No, I mean, your use of ketchup is gross.”
Buffy looked at her own hands, that were covered in ketchup after she put the entire content of two sachets on her taco. “Oh.”
“Please, use a napkin.”
Buffy reached over the table and picked up a napkin, pouting. “Alright, I guess in Heinz sight it wasn’t such a good idea.” She picked up the ketchup sachet, waving it in front of Willow’s eyes. “Get it? Heinz sight?”
“I get it,” Willow snorted, as Buffy resumed her biting on the taco, seeming very pleased with her own pun.
Willow sighed. How long had it been since she and Buffy had such quality time together like this? Probably since the last time one of them had a breakup.
That’s how it’s always been. Both would get so involved in their own new relationships, they would often neglect each other’s friendship. Then an apocalypse would get in the way, or something wrong was said or done, and someone would end up walking away. And there was heartbreak, and sorrow, and pain. But once it was all done, they still always had each other.
Willow knew very well how her own side went down. Ever since Tara passed away, it felt like she was just giving herself away to any girl who showed any slight sign of affection. From then, it was just a matter of time for Willow to lose interest. It took so little for these relationships to crumble. Especially when it seemed like it always came down to choose between that girl and Buffy.
And she would always choose Buffy.
But Willow knew that wasn’t how it worked on Buffy’s side. She was never the one to walk away. She was always the one to give everything she had, all her love, her entire self, to a man who left her for his own selfish reasons.
First there was Angel. Then Riley. And now even Spike, despite his aggravating perseverance over the years.
How could someone ever think of leaving her? How could someone have a woman like that in their life and give up on her?
“Do you think tacos are actually made like that on Mexico?” Buffy inquired.
She deserved someone better. So much better.
“They’re probably even tastier there.”
She deserved someone who stayed.
Involuntarily, Willow’s hands wandered over the table, and she entwined her fingers in Buffy’s.
Buffy looked up at her, confused.
“Wil?” Buffy let out a nervous laugh. “What are you—”
“Can I kiss you?” Willow blurted out. She watched in despair as Buffy’s nervous smile gave place to a horrified look.
But soon, horror became surprise, and then she seemed to consider the idea. Surprise gave way to a smile again. This time, however, there was warmth in it.
“Go for it.”
Willow felt like being struck by a lightning would have left her less shocked. It wasn’t just Buffy’s reply. It was the fact that she, herself, had been bold enough to ask something like that and now coming to realize that she wasn’t all that sure she wanted to go along with it.
But she was sure of other things. She was sure of how much she loved it when Buffy smiled, and she loved even more to be the reason for her smile. She loved how brave she was, and how kind, and how she made the world so much better just by existing. She loved Buffy’s hair, and Buffy’s eyes, and Buffy’s hand on her own. And she loved her voice when she was laughing, or bossing someone around (sometimes Willow herself), or when she was making one of those stupid, awful puns.
She loved Buffy.
She loved Buffy so damn much.
And just like that, Willow knew what she was doing. She was kissing Buffy, deeply and lovingly, her hands caressing the other’s face.
And Buffy was kissing her back.
And in that moment, nothing else existed. There was only Buffy and her love, and her warmth, and her hands on Willow’s shoulders.
Oh, and her lips, of course.
Willow pulled back first, feeling like her heart was close to exploding.
“Wow,” was all she could say.
Buffy sighed. “That was...”
“Magical? Wonderful? Perfect?”
“I was gonna go for ‘about ten years overdue’, but I guess that works too.”
Willow laughed, a little breathless. “Should we, um, go home?”
Buffy looked around. They were still in the taco place, a bored young employee sweeping up the floor nearby. He waved his hand when Buffy looked at him.
“Good call,” Buffy answered. They both stood up at the same time, cleaning their food trays and walking up to the door. Willow was still feeling almost every emotion a human could feel when they walked out the restaurant.
What had she done ? She still didn’t understand what happened. She didn’t understand how that happened. Why did she do that? Did Buffy know? Did she agree with it because she actually felt the same or out of pity? Had Willow just put her heart on the hands of someone who couldn’t give her what she needed?
All those thoughts were shut down when Willow felt Buffy’s arm entwining in her own, her hand slowly taking Willow’s in her own.
In that moment, all doubts vanished. She knew exactly what that was. She knew how she felt. She knew how Buffy felt too.
She knew it was right.