“…no.”For a moment or two, Willow thought about possibly trying to lie her way out of the conversation, even though she knew on a core level that it wouldn’t work. Lying had never been one of her finer strengths, and she didn’t see any reason why now would be any different. Sighing, she finally shook her head, before easily setting herself down into a nearby chair.
“…it’s Tara’s birthday…” She said, her lost love’s name escaping her lips in an entirely broken tone.
“Oh.” Now, Willow’s entire demeanor made sense. Too muchsense, actually. Though Tara had always been one of Cordelia’s favorite people in Buffy’s little gang, and though there was a dark, gaping CHASM of loss any time any of them even mentioned the witch’s name, she still had yet to be cut as deeply by loss in her life as WIllow had. After all, had it been Buffy they’d lost that day…
For once, even Cordelia Chase was at a loss for words. The last thing Willow needed right now was another EMPTY apology, but they were both far too tired to dredge up the past. Sitting beside the redhead, she allowed her hand to rest on the other woman’s knee, the small gesture of comfort giving her a moment to gather her thoughts before blurting, “Well – how old would she be today?” Whether that was the right approach or not, Cordelia had no idea – but they’d find out soon enough, and hopefully not at her own expense.
Buffy grinned right back at her, she
couldn’t help it. Cordelia’s smile was infectious. “There’s
little higher praise from Cordelia Chase.” She said, “Plus you
know, I totally just think to myself, what would Cordy do? Or
in some instances what would Martha do? But that’s usually
just if I have the hot glue gun out.”
“I just hope you don’t ask yourself both at the same time,” Cordelia comments, nose wrinkling at the prospect. Once the last of the twinkling string of lights settles in between prickly evergreens, she twirls back around to face the blonde, expression smoothing out once more as hazel meets familiar green. “Because the last thing I want is to be compared by my girlfriend to the woman who’s really only known for totally unhealthy food ANDstock exchange fraud.”
“How is decorating a tree not right up your alley?” Buffy asked, pulling a string of lights out of the box. “Come on! Come decorate with me Cordy.” She added a pout most who loved her had trouble resisting. “I totally want you to.”
“Honestly? I have NO IDEA. Just not in the mood, I guess.” It didn’t take much to sway her, though; the moment she was faced with the blonde’s signature puppy-dog gaze Cordelia was already on her feet, stealing the lights from Buffy’s hands. “Here. lemme do those - unlike you, I can actuallyREACHthe top of the tree.”
“Ugh, please, I am NOTHING like Xander Harris. I bet he just says that about idiotic things, like sticking a fork in an outlet. This, on the other hand, is an entirely different beast.”
“You’re making bunnies more popular. They’re going to think that they’re ALLOWED to be around me. Sunnydale doesn’t need more villians —- you know. If anything, there should be more dogs. Why don’t dogs get to have their own holiday?”
“…Y’know, I really don’t think bunnies bother to spend their time thinking ANYTHING about you.”
“I know, it’s nice to have your girlfriend to cuddle up to at night after a long night of slaying.” she said.
Buffy pulled her in close, sighing happily. This truly was the perfect end to a patrol. Pressed against her nice and warm girlfriend. Was there ever a slayer as lucky as I am. Not likely since they were all with the whole, sacred duty comes before all else. No girlfriends, no friends, no life gig. Way better doing it my way.
Buffy grinned, “One of many perks of having a girlfriend. We can totally start the whole living together well… I mean we already are. I guess we can just keep it going when we go off to college.”
“I have no idea how it feels AFTER SLAYING, obviously, but I do know that cuddling you definitely beats pretty much anything else.”
A soft smile painted its way across Cordelia’s face as she felt Buffy hold her tighter. Moments like these were more than enough to make up for all the lonely nights spent in high school before Buffy, either completely alone or with someone who was nothing more to her than a warm body to help her forget. Honestly, Cordelia would never in A MILLION YEARS have expected her life to turn out like this, but she couldn’t be happier that it did.
“Yeah, the whole living situation won’t exactly be new. Dorms’ll be a nice change, though - because as much as I love your mom and TOTALLY appreciate everything she’s done for me, there’s not really much we can ever do with her a room over almost every night.”
Buffy’s heart leapt in her chest as Cordy pressed a soft kiss against the skin there. God, she was so crazy, stupid in love with Cordelia Chase. She pressed her cheek in between her shoulder blades and closed her eyes. She could sleep better like this.
“Yeah well, my mom really likes you.” she said, “And yeah, I can see that. Hey, at least in here we’ve had plenty of sleepovers right? We’ll totally have to see if we can beg or argue our way into being roommates for college. I can’t imagine rooming with someone else.”
“I can’t either. Honestly, at this point sleeping without you again would be really weird.”
Taking Buffy’s hand back into her own, she interlocked their fingers before gently guiding them both back down to her waist. Cordelia didn’t think she’d ever get enough of this, the lightness she felt simply from being here, together with Buffy.
“I don’t see why we can’t room together in college. They usually let you pick if you want to, and it’s not like either one of us is a guy - it’s one of the perks of having a girlfriend, huh?”
