Part Two
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Willow was standing in the front of the mirror watching herself not scream when the phone began to ring. Buffy came out of the closet (insert your own joke) and headed towards the phone.
"Hel..." she started to say before remembering she couldn't speak. She waited a few more seconds then put the receiver back down on the cradle.
"Who was it?" Willow asked walking over.
Buffy shrugged.
"Oh, right," Willow mouthed shifting her gaze to the ground.
"Willo..." Buffy started to say. Instead she stopped since Willow couldn't hear her, and reached out her hand placing it on Willow's shoulder. Willow looked up.
"We have to get dressed," Buffy said stoking her thumb along the line of Willow's shoulder.
Willow nodded. It was going to be a long day.
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The rumors and trial and tribulations of the past few days were the last thing on Willow's mind as she and Buffy walked through the streets of Sunnydale hand in hand. Shortly after getting dressed they'd stopped trying to mouth sentences to each other. The more they tried to talk the harder it seemed to become to decipher what was being said. The silence however had left them feeling terribly lonely. Buffy had walked over to Willow moments before they left the room and hugged her. Since then they had remained in constant physical contact with each other.
With no words between them to distract or confuse, they were left with only feeling. The contact between them, and the feelings brought about by being so close together were the only things keeping them sane. All around them there was chaos, but together they were able to find some serenity.
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When the door to Giles's house opened Xander jumped up off of the couch rushing out from behind it to meet them. He ended up stopping short, however, when he saw them holding hands. They obviously didn't need any comfort from him, so took to standing just behind the couch.
Soon after they entered the house Buffy released Willows hand and headed over to where Giles was standing.
"Hey," she mouthed to him. He nodded and gave her a sad smile. Glancing behind him Buffy saw Xander and smiled at him giving a little wave. He gave a little wave back then returned to standing still.
Willow suddenly got excited and took the marker board that they had bought on the way over and started writing on it. Smiling she held it up a moment later. It read: Hi Giles. The watcher smiled and walked over to her drawing Willow into a hug. Buffy didn't really want to interrupt but she had to tell Giles about her dream. Walking over to them she tapped Giles on the arm.
"I've got to talk," she stopped. "Tell you something," she continued a mouth correcting herself. None of them were going to be TALKING about anything for a while. "It's important," she continued. Willow nodded along with Buffy. The Slayer had told her about the dream before they left the dorm, writing down the story-minus the make-out part-on a pad of paper.
Giles nodded and motioned her into the kitchen. Buffy cast one last look at Willow, one she hoped was reassuring then followed Giles into the kitchen. Willow then headed into the main part of the room where Xander, Anya, Spike and a woman Willow assumed to Olivia-Giles' 'friend'-were sitting.
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Buffy glanced at the window again. It was almost dusk, she was going to have to go soon. Willow was sitting beside her on the couch but she had fallen asleep about half an hour earlier. The hackers head was now lying on Buffy's shoulder and there was no space between their bodies whatsoever. Spike had glared at her a couple of times but she ignored him. Having Willow that close to her made it all go away, at least for a time. But that time was running out. Buffy reached around with the arm that wasn't being smooshed against her side by Willow's body and touched he hacker's shoulder.
"Willo..." she started to say before remembering. They'd all been doing that all day. Forgetting that they couldn't talk. Then when it finally hit them it was like being slapped across the face. Closing her mouth Buffy switched tactics and began to shake Willow lightly. She really didn't want to wake her friend up, but she what she wanted didn't matter. She had a town to protect.
Willow moaned a little-Buffy could feel the vibrations in her chest even though no sound came out-and snuggled closer to the Slayer. Buffy closed her eyes. If it wasn't for the fact that the entire town had been caught in the grip of a mysterious disease she'd think that she had found had found her own private utopia. Opening her eyes she tugged at Willow again. This time the hacker woke up and lifted her head from Buffy's shoulder. Buffy smiled at her.
"Just tell me I wasn't snoring," Willow mouthed to her.
"No snoring, minimal drool," Buffy mouthed back. Willow smiled but remained where she was. "I've gotta get up," Buffy mouthed to her apologetically a moment later. Willow looked at her confused, then her eyes widened and she blushed while backing away from Buffy.
Buffy regarded the red-head for a moment. She wanted to reach out and take Willow into her arms and kiss away all her concerns. Usually when the situations they found themselves in got heavy she would be able to comfort Willow with words, by getting her to concentrate on the sound of her voice instead of what was bothering her. Now, that had been taken away leaving the urge to comfort her physically even stronger.
With an inaudible sigh Buffy stood up and headed into Giles's bathroom to get ready for patrol.
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Willow shifted into the spot where Buffy had been sitting after the Slayer got up. It was warm and toasty, and Buffy's perfume lingered in the air. Glancing to the side she caught Anya staring at her. Willow raised her eyebrow slightly asking 'what?' silently. Anya pointed at her, then she turned and looked in the direction Buffy had gone, indicating the Slayer. Then she raised her hands into the air making an "O" shape with one hand. With the other hand she extended two fingers and inserted them into the "O" shape pumping them in and out a couple of times. Once she was finished she looked up a Willow with a questioning look on her face.
Willow looked around to see if anyone else had caught the gesture. They seemed oblivious and Willow clamed down a bit. Turning her attention back to Anya she scowled at her.
"What?" Anya mouthed. They were always getting mad at her.
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Willow stayed in the main room for a few moments longer then got up and went to look for Buffy. She had this sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach. She didn't want Buffy to go out there. She found Buffy in Giles's bathroom leaning over the counter looking into the mirror. Spotting her Buffy looked up.
"Hey," the Slayer mouthed. Willow gave her a little nod and walked into the room. "What's the up?" Buffy mouthed noticing the concerned look on Willow's face.
"Do you have to go?" Willow asked closing the distance between them. Buffy reached out closing the distance between them and pulled Willow into a hug. After a few second Buffy then pulled back so that Willow could see her face. "You know I do," Buffy mouthed with a regretful look on her face. Willow didn't make any kind of response. Buffy could tell that she was not at all happy with that reply. Willow didn't want her to go, that was as clear as the day was long. What was also clear was that it didn't make a difference what either of them wanted, she HAD to go, just like she HAD to do a lot of other things.
Buffy closed the distance between them and leaned forward so that their foreheads were resting against each other. She brought her hand up to Willow's cheek and stroked it lightly with her thumb. She knew that whatever she did to comfort Willow would have to be more than words. So, when she leaned in even more her intentions were completely pure. The act that she was about to perform was out of friendship and the need to help, and those only. She brought their lips together barely brushing Willows with her own in what was suppose to be friendly kiss. However, as soon as their lips touched Buffy felt a spark shot thorough her entire body leaving a tingling warmth in it's wake.
Willow's eyes had closed automatically at the first touch of Buffy's lips against her won. It was like a jolt of electricity had been sent through her body. The contact only lasted a few seconds but to Willow it felt like a lifetime. When she opened her eyes she saw Buffy looking at her with an expression that matched what she was feeling exactly. It was scared, excited, relived, uncertain, and loving.
They stood there staring at each other for a few more moments, regarding each other.
Then, Willow closed the gap between them and crushed her lips against Buffy's. Buffy brought her hand up to the back of Willow's neck steadying her as their kiss deepened. For long moments they kissed passionately, hungrily, hands tangling in hair as they tried to fuse their bodies together whilst their tongues dueled. They could both taste the saltiness of tears running into their kisses but neither of them was sure who was responsible.
When the need for oxygen finally forced them to part they remained close, clinging to each other as their breathing calmed. They stayed like for endless moments until Buffy heard Giles ringing his 'come hither' bell.
Willow looked at her when they separated, silently pleading. Buffy felt a tear roll down her face, she couldn't stay, she had to go. Closing the distance between them once again she gave Willow a soft, sweet kiss, gently stroking her hair. She ran her hand down Willow's arm until Willow's hand was in hers and she held in tightly for a moment before slowly starting to back away until the contact between them broke and she walked out of the room.
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