DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy: the Vampire Slayer, or any of its characters or storylines. It belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy Productions, 20th Century Fox Television and/or related companies. I won't make any money with this story and no copyright infringement is intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story takes place a bit more than a year after season seven of "BtVS". The Scoobies have moved their new headquarter to Cleveland. It does not really bother with the comic books and their storyline. This story is set after my story "Running into Each Other", but still a prequel to my other Buffy stories "Born to Run" and "Run for Love". It is probably easier to understand this new story, if you read at least the first one mentioned above. This story does imply love between women and not just of the platonic kind.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To gxtw[at]gmx.de
Coming to Conclusions
By Kurna
Willow slowly woke up from her trance. It had taken her longer than usual to calm down for her morning meditation. Something had been missing – or rather, someone. It was the first time in weeks that Faith had not joined her in the clearing. The dark slayer was away on a mission, together with a team of newly recruited slayers and watchers. There had been rumors of an old vampire awakening in Chicago and they had decided that one of the original slayers was needed to deal with such a dangerous case. They had not found his lair yet, therefore Faith would probably have to stay there for at least a couple of days.
Willow thought about the slayer. Since that first meeting in the clearing, it had become a routine part of her morning: Getting up, showering, walking to the clearing, meditating, talking with Faith, returning to the mansion to eat breakfast. She liked those moments with Faith. Sometimes they talked about their experiences with battling the darkness inside, while at other times they simply shared funny stories about their fellow housemates. It was surprisingly easy to talk with Faith, considering how different they were in personality. Well, opposites attract.
At that last thought Willow suddenly went still. Was it true? Was she attracted to Faith? She could say that she had come to like her as a friend. And the dark slayer was definitely very beautiful, gorgeous even. But that was not all, was it? Now that she started to think about it, little puzzles pieces came to mind – how she sometimes thought about the slayer or how her eyes often sought her out in meetings or at other, similar occasions. She was very different from the stoic Oz or shy Tara. Only Kennedy, Willow's last girlfriend, seemed a similar type, but not if you really knew her and Faith.
Her thoughts stayed a moment with the younger slayer. They had broken off their relationship five months ago. In the end, they had not been compatible enough, and maybe Kennedy had been mostly a rebound from the beginning. Still Willow was glad that they had managed to end it amiably and to stay friends. There was a lot she had to thank the younger woman for. She had helped her immensely with getting over the loss of Tara. Not that Willow would ever get completely over that loss, but she had learned to live with it. Tara would want her to keep on.
So, Faith? Was she really comparing her with her former boyfriend and girlfriends? Did that mean she wanted the slayer as a girlfriend? The thought caused her heartbeat to speed up and she realized that she probably did. The question was would Faith want her as well? She was reasonably sure that the dark slayer was into girls as well as into boys and she seemed to genuinely enjoy her meetings with Willow just as much as the redhead did. But would she be interested in Willow romantically? And even if yes, would she want a relationship? The Faith she had met in Sunnydale was only interested in 'get some, get gone', but the dark slayer had changed so much since then. Maybe there was a chance, now that they lived in a more stable environment.
Willow contemplated the situation. She sat there in the clearing for much longer than usual. But she came to a decision. She would go slowly, but she would give it a try. Next time they met here, she would ask Faith on a date. Life was too dangerous not to try it.
Three days later, Willow had just gotten into position, when she heard steps. She looked up and a beautiful smile lit up her face, when Faith entered the clearing.
The End