Willow looked down at the soundly sleeping Buffy, stroking the dirty blonde hair gently from her face. 'She's lovely,' she mused once again before quietly slipping from the bed. With her incredible night vision Willow carefully picked up her clothes, dressing in her leather dress smoothly before the redheaded vampire quietly slipped from the bedroom. The other bedroom was equally quiet as Dawn slept soundly, the brown haired young girl curled up in the bed. Willow silently moved through the house to the kitchen, setting up the coffee pot for when Buffy awoke then headed outside, locking the door behind her. The air had a bitter chill to it, the seasons gradually shifting towards winter. It was Halloween, one of the few nights where the creatures of the supernatural rarely ventured out. Giles had given Buffy the day off and they had taken full advantage of the quiet. Of course that didn't mean that other things couldn't happen... Willow moved through town, the streets utterly silent as her black leather coat swirled around her. Once upon a time the streets would have been filled with kids, dressed in costume and running from door to door with bags open for candy, but the years spent under the Masters cruel rule had stopped that. Kids might be getting some candy from their parents, maybe, but that would be all. The lights were still on at the Bronze, a few people still scattered around the building. Willow was tempted to go inside a moment but she wasn't sure she was up to dealing with Tara's cold shoulder tonight. 'Besides,' Willow smiled to herself, 'I saw the way Faith and Tara were together earlier. I wonder if anything is going to happen?' Moving on she soon reached the odd familiarity of the cemetery, Willow casually leaping up over the fence onto the soft soil. She didn't really expect there to be any vampires rising tonight, the timing of any recent attacks wasn't right, but she wasn't taking any chances. The paths between the graves were well tended, the statues and tombstones gleamed from careful care. She felt him coming, despite his quiet and wasn't surprised when he spoke up. "Rosenberg," Old man Snyder nodded to her curtly, the bald man leaning on his shovel. Once the principal of Sunnydale High he had lost so much when the Master took over the city, barely escaping the first attacks with his life. Oddly the once cowardly man had found himself helping Giles' vampire slayers, resigning to take up his position here to stand watch over the dead. "Quiet night?" Willow asked. "Of course," he said witheringly. Snyder shook his head, "You should be at home resting up for whatever comes tomorrow." "I will," Willow smiled wryly, "but there's some people I wanted to pay my respects to." "Huh," Snyder shrugged, "just don't make a mess." "Yes, sir," Willow said as she moved on. The route Willow walked was one that she remembered well, careful not to disturb flowers resting on plots, the tributes left by the living to the remembered dead. Finally she came to a stop in front of matching gravestones, each bearing the same last name as hers. Willow took a deep breath and said, "Mother, Father, it's been a while." She sat down there on the grass, tucking the cloth beneath her legs as she tried to find the right words. 'Just like when they were alive,' she thought with an edge of bitterness, 'it was never easy to talk to them then, so why should it be easy now?' "I guess I just wanted to tell you I found someone," Willow said softly. She smiled to herself fondly, "Buffy's.. a bit different, but I think you'd like her. We compliment each other pretty well." She could just imagine their comments on her being gay and Willow shook her head. Her parents had been liberal, of a sort, saying all the right things and believing in all the right causes. They were both intellectuals, reading from the best parenting books and following their guidance but showing warmth... or even some sincerity had been a bit lacking. "I'll see you." Willow got up, brushing her legs off. She turned and headed off into the darkness, knowing that there was someone else that she needed to visit. The graves over here were a bit less well kept up, mostly because there were no bodies, just markers to remind people that they had once existed. They were vampires who had been dusted, no bodies left for burial and often no family members left to remember them by. 'A lot like me,' Willow thought grimly as she looked at the name on one of the stones. 'Alexander Harris' and a pair of dates were etched in stone, then just below that had been added the date he had been dusted in the final battle with the Master a few months ago. "Happy Halloween, Wills," the young man's voice said from behind her. "You're just a product of my imagination," Willow looked over to where the brown haired young man casually perched on a tombstone, "Xander." "You guys did a pretty good job on the tombstone," Xander nodded to it, the spirit smiling wryly as he added, "Thanks." "You're welcome," Willow sighed. She had first seen the ghost standing in the cemetery just a few weeks ago, and had originally chalked it up to a guilty mind. Still, she had ventured back a few times, trying to find out what it was she had seen. There was no sense of dark supernatural forces, no evil magic or threat and eventually she had made contact with him. "So how's the vampire slaying going?" Xander asked curiously. Willow shrugged, "They were pretty disorganized at first, broken into roving gangs. We did a lot of damage but now they seem to be getting organized." "A new master vamp?" Xander offered. "No one's saying anything," Willow said as she leaned up against another tombstone, "so there's no way to be sure." "Well, make sure to watch your back," Xander said to her firmly, "I don't want more of your company that badly." "I'll try," Willow grinned. Xander looked over at her with a impish little smile, "So who's the pretty blonde I've been seeing you with?" Willow could actually feel herself blush a little as she said, "She's my girlfriend, Buffy.": Xander broke into a grin, "Too bad I'm not still alive, I'd compete with you for her." Willow just shook her head, "I think I'm keeping her very happy, thanks." She tilted her head back, "The only complication has been her little sister showing up." "Puts a bit of a crimp in ravaging your girlfriend in front of the fireplace," Xander remarked. He saw the blush steal across Willow's face and laughed, "You did!" "Xander!" Willow scolded. Xander just laughed evilly at the look on her face. He looked at her thoughtfully, "So are you two planning on making this... more permanent?" Willow looked off into the distance uncomfortably. "I haven't asked," she said, "and I'm not all that sure how Buffy would respond." Xander smiled, "From how I saw her looking at you, I don't think she'd mind." He seemed to fade a little as he continued, "If you don't ask, you'll never know." Xander continued to fade away as Willow quickly said, "See you later." In only a moment the young man was gone, leaving only a chill in the air in his wake. Quietly Willow slipped away from the graveyard, sensing that sunrise wasn't all that far away. No one was outside, the city dead silent as she cut through town then out to the formerly abandoned mansion that had become their home. She looked in on Dawn once again then went into the bedroom that she and Buffy shared. "You're cold," Buffy murmured, cuddling close as Willow climbed into bed beside her. Sleepily she asked, "Where did you go?" Willow pulled Buffy close, smelling the lovely scent that she gave off. "Just talking to an old friend," she answered. "Maybe you'll introduce me," Buffy murmured. Willow smiled, "Maybe." They lay there as Willow tried to make her mouth move, to ask the question that Xander suggested, but she couldn't seem to manage it. Buffy snored softly and Willow sighed. Buffy had fallen back asleep. With a smile she cuddled to Buffy even as Willow murmured to herself, "Next time."
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