by onlykaren » Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:19 pm
Hey there, thanks again everyone for reading!
Update:
Title: 66 - The road of dreams
Author: onlykaren
Feedback: Yes please, if you want to.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters.
Summary: AU. A road trip across US.
Rating: PG through to R, maybe a little NC-17.
Pairing: W/T eventually.
Note: This is my first attempt at a fic and English is my second language, so I apologize for any misspelling or grammatical errors.
Note2: All the information about Route 66 I got from the Internet, so if there’s anything wrong, I apologize.
***
Part 17
After loading the trunk, we drove the two blocks to the diner, arriving there shortly after 9am. Buffy parked the car in the almost empty parking lot, and we entered the place.
A girl about our age, with dark brown hair came to talk to us. “Hello…are you the car washers?”
We nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay…I’m Sarah…my dad is the man you talked to.” The girl smiled.
“Oh, hey.” Buffy replied. “I’m Buffy...and these are my sister Dawn and my friends Willow and Tara.”
We also smiled. “Hey.”
“Hi,” Sarah returned. “My dad had to run some errands, but I’ll be here…if you need anything.”
We smiled again. “Thanks.”
She chuckled. “No problem.”
“So Sarah,” Buffy began. “Do you know any place where we can buy car wash supplies?”
“Sure…there’s a supermarket across the street,” Sarah paused, glancing at her watch. “They should be open by now.”
“Thanks,” Buffy replied, and turned to face us. “Guys, I don’t think we all have to go…maybe only Will and I?”
The redhead glanced over at me, and we shared a quick look, before she answered Buffy. “I guess…”
“Okay, we’ll be right back.” Buffy said, and turned to go.
Discreetly, Willow reached out to squeeze my hand, giving a soft smile, and mouthed, “I’ll miss you,” before she also turned and left with Buffy. I felt myself blush a little. I was still getting used to the way Willow made me feel so special. She was so sweet, and cute, and amazing, and…
“Tara, why are you smiling?” Dawn asked, snapping me out of my reverie.
I felt my cheeks turn even redder. “No…nothing,” I replied quietly, and raising my eyes towards the Sarah girl, I noticed she was staring at me, with this despicable look on her face. I quickly looked away. Had she seen something?
“So,” Sarah spoke nonchalantly. “You want boards? To make car wash signs?”
“Do you have boards here?” Dawn asked surprised.
“Yeah,” the brunette replied. “I have a couple of them left from the last car wash we held here. They’re in the back somewhere…wait a minute.” Sarah walked away, heading towards the back of the place.
Dawn smiled. “She’s cool, isn’t she?”
“Yeah…” I trailed off.
“Let’s sit?” The girl asked, walking over to a booth. I followed her, and we sat down at a table.
A minute later, Sarah came back, holding awkwardly two boards, letter templates and a few tubes of paint. She placed everything on the table we were sitting at. “Here…I think this is all.”
“Wow,” Dawn said in awe. “This is so cool!” She grinned.
“Yeah…” I agreed. “Thanks.”
“Ok…but it’s ten dollars.” Sarah said seriously.
My eyebrows arched in surprise. “Uh…” I stammered, not knowing what to say.
The brunette’s face suddenly broke into a smirk. “I was kidding,” she laughed a little. “You can use whatever you want…it’s no problem.”
Dawn glanced quickly at me, and also smiled. “Okay…thanks.”
I didn’t say anything, and just smiled slightly in return. I was actually feeling a little uncomfortable. This Sarah girl…she was being nice to us and everything, but there was something about her… I sighed, and deciding not to think about it anymore, I grabbed one of the tubes of paint.
Silently, I started to prepare a sign with the words ‘Car Wash Here 10 to 4 – $10’ on it, while Dawn began painting the other one, talking animatedly to Sarah. I sighed again, wishing Willow would be back soon.
Before the thought left my mind, the redhead and Buffy entered the diner again, carrying some bags. I felt a smile spread across my face, and as Willow lifted her eyes to meet mine, she smiled warmly back at me.
Coming nearer to us, they dropped the bags on the floor. “Okay,” Willow spoke first, taking a deep breath. “We’ve got buckets, and soap, and sponges, and brushes, and rags, and I thought maybe we could get some wax, and polishing compound, and…” The redhead stopped talking abruptly, and looked at my amused face. “What?” She asked confused, blushing cutely.
I chuckled, lifting my eyebrows playfully.
“This was Willow’s idea.” Buffy said amusingly.
Willow playfully stuck her tongue out. “Yeah…we have to be prepared.”
I smiled again at her. “I think it’s cute.” I let out impulsively, feeling my cheeks burn. Why had I just said that?
“It’s not cute, it’s disturbing.” Buffy replied, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.
Casting a glance at Willow, I saw her smile reassuringly at me. I couldn’t help but smile in return.
“Done,” Dawn spoke, bringing my attention back to the table.
“Oh,” Buffy moved to sit down next to her. “Were you guys making car wash signs?”
“Yeah,” Sarah replied. “I wasn’t gonna use this stuff, so I gave it to them…you know, it’s no problem for me,” she smiled.
Buffy also smiled. “Thanks Sarah,” she said politely.
“Yeah, thanks,” the redhead also said, and moved to sit down next to me, grabbing one of my hands. “Are you making one too”? She asked softly.
I nodded. “Yes…it…it’s also finished though.”
The redhead smiled, and looked down to the board. “It’s good,” she assured gently, causing me to blush a little.
Suddenly, I heard Sarah sigh audibly. “Are you girlfriends or something?” She asked harshly, and added. “‘Cause it’s disgusting.”
I froze at those words, but before I could think of anything else, Buffy spoke up, sounding stunned. “What? They’re not girlfriends… they’re my friends, Willow and Tara. Why did you think they were girlfriends?”
Sarah looked at us skeptically, “because of all these hand-holdings, and these smiles…friends don’t do that.”
Out of the corner of my eyes, I glanced at Willow as I felt her slowly let go of my hand. I immediately missed the contact, my heart suddenly stinging.
“No, no…” Buffy tacked on. “They’re just good friends, nothing more,” she looked at the redhead with questioning eyes. “Right, you guys?”
Willow blinked a few times before answering. “Right,” she smiled slightly.
My heart sank again, but I tried to push away that feeling. What was I expecting anyway? That Willow would tell everyone that we’d kissed? Of course not…it was still too soon. I didn’t even know what it all had meant for our relationship; what we were, where we went from there. Why would Willow know?
“See?” Buffy spoke again, looking back to the brunette. “Just friends.”
Sarah shook her head dismissively. “Yeah, whatever.”
I frowned. I definitely didn’t like this Sarah girl…she didn’t have any right to say what she’d said. Caring for someone is never disgusting.
“Guys,” Dawn said after a moment. “People are starting to arrive,” she gestured towards a couple and three kids that had just entered the diner.
Buffy stood. “Okay, let’s work.”
The rest of us also stood. Dawn and I picked up the boards we’d painted on, while Buffy grabbed some bags from the floor. “Will,” she said. “Can you fill the buckets with water?”
“Sure,” the redhead replied, moving to pick up the bags, and then turning to face Sarah. “Where…?”
“Over there,” Sarah pointed to a door along the back right side of the diner. “Go ahead, I have to work anyway,” she said, nodding her head toward the people already seated at a table.
“Thanks,” Willow replied quietly.
“See y’all later,” Sarah walked away.
Dawn and Buffy moved to head out of the diner, and as I turned around to follow them, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Willow’s hand.
I turned back to face her, my eyebrows arched questioningly.
She held up the buckets. “Help me?”
I nodded my head slowly. “Okay…let me just…” I looked back at Buffy, and hurriedly walked over to her. “Buffy, can…can you take this? I-I’m gonna help Willow with the water.”
“Sure,” the blonde replied, and I handed her the board. She and Dawn headed off, while I walked back to Willow, and, silently, we both made our way to the restroom.
***
After closing the door, Willow put the empty buckets on the floor, and turned to face me. “Tar,” she began quietly, taking a deep breath. “I, I’m sorry about before… I mean, I didn’t mean to, you know…but I wasn’t expecting that, and…and then, Buffy’s reaction…you know. I guess I didn’t know what to do…and, and that Sarah girl was really mean…and I didn’t want to-”
“That’s ok, Willow,” I interrupted gently. “I, I understand,” I said sincerely, and smiled slightly.
“Really?” The redhead also smiled, and reached out to take my hand.
I nodded, giving Willow’s hand a squeeze.
“Can…can I have a kiss then?” She asked softly, her eyes large, puppy dog like. The redhead was just too cute for words.
I chuckled shyly. “Here?”
Willow let go of my hand, and slowly circled my waist with her arms, bringing our bodies closer together. “Yeah,” she said softly.
Unable to resist to the redhead’s proximity, I unwittingly moved my hand up to cup her cheek. I caressed her softly, and closed my eyes, silently letting her know it was okay.
Half a second later, I felt Willow’s lips pressed against my own. After a moment, she began to move them, opening them slightly, and brushing them heatedly against mine. Her hands started caressing my waist, goose bumps spreading deliciously all over me from the touch.
Just as I was about to deepen the kiss, I felt Willow slowly pull our lips apart. I opened my eyes, and looked at hers confused. Why had she stopped? The redhead smiled reassuringly, and re-captured my lips, kissing me softly for a moment, before pulling away.
“The water,” she whispered. “We should…”
“Oh, yeah.” I agreed bashfully. I had completely forgotten about that.
Willow smiled again, and gave me another gentle kiss on the lips, before moving away. Flushed, I tried to force myself to focus, and picked up one of the buckets from the floor as the redhead did the same.
Soon, we were heading out the door, buckets filled with water.
***
“Hey you guys,” Buffy said as we approached them in the parking lot. “Come on, we have two cars to wash already,” she beamed.
“Yeah, and I helped to get them.” Dawn added, smiling triumphantly.
Willow and I chuckled at that, and moved to put the buckets on the ground. After grabbing soap and sponges, we began to wash one of the cars, while Dawn and Buffy started washing the other one. Soon, more people arrived, and got in line.
The day wasn’t really tiring, and in addition to making money, we actually had some fun. As it always used to happen, every time we had car washes, Buffy and Willow would do these really funny dances, as Dawn and I would sing silly songs. We’d playfully soap each other, and make soap bubbles, and throw water at one another, while washing the cars all the same.
I remember that we’d made only one pause in order to have lunch. Willow and Buffy had bought some cheap sandwiches at that place across the street, and not really caring about being wet and covered with soap, the four of us sat on the hood of our car, and ate the sandwiches happily. During the whole time, Sarah didn’t show up, and I was even gladder for it.
***
“Okay,” Willow spoke after the last car drove away, and put the money in our wallet. “I think that’s it.”
Buffy sighed. “Good, ‘cause I’m kind of tired,” she put away the sponges she was holding.
Dawn also let go of her things, and walked over to me, moving to place her head on my shoulder. “Me too,” she said quietly.
I reached out to stroke the younger girl’s long hair, and looked up at the other two girls. “What time is it?”
Willow glanced at her watch. “Almost 4 o’clock,” she answered. “I guess we should go now, still have the road to take.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Okay then,” Buffy returned. “Let’s grab our stuff and talk to Sarah and her dad. I think we should thank them for letting us use this place and everything.”
I gave the redhead a quick look at the mention of Sarah, before speaking to Buffy. “Yeah, I-I guess we should.”
Willow surprisingly smirked. “Yup, we definitely should.”
My brow wrinkled. What had Willow meant by that?
“Come on, guys,” Dawn spoke up, and moved away from me in order to get our things. I shrugged, shaking the thoughts out of my head, and decided to do the same.
Minutes later, we had cleared up our mess, and after things were safely inside the car, we entered the diner again.
***
Soon, we spotted Sarah taking orders at a table. We waited for her to finish, and then moved to talk to her.
Buffy spoke first. “Hey Sarah,” she smiled. “Sorry to interrupt, but we just wanted to tell you that we’re done with the car wash, and to thank you and your dad for letting us use the place.”
“Oh, cool,” Sarah let out. “My dad is not here again, but I can tell him the message,” she paused for a moment, and smiled at us. “So…has everything gone fine? How much did you make?”
“280 dollars,” Dawn answered proudly.
“Really?” Sarah asked surprised, looking at Buffy’s face for confirmation.
“Yup,” Willow was the one to answer her. “We got a lot of tips,” she explained, smiling, and surprised me as she took one of my hands in hers. I instantly went all warm and fuzzy inside at the gesture.
Looking back to Sarah, I noticed her fidget uncomfortably. “Okay…good for you then,” she said, avoiding eye contact.
“So, yeah…that’s it,” Buffy cut in. “Now we really gotta go. It’ll be dark soon.”
“Sure,” The brunette said. “And I have to get back to work…so, I guess I see you people around.”
“Yeah, and it was nice meeting you, Sarah,” Buffy replied. “And thanks again for everything.”
“You’re welcome, and it was good meeting you too. Stop by someday.”
“Ok,” Dawn said, and turned to us. “Now, can we go, guys? Please?”
I smiled at her. “Sure, sweetie,” I replied, and looked up at Sarah’s face, forcing a smile to my lips. “Bye then”.
Willow squeezed my hand in reassurance, and also said to Sarah. “Yeah, bye.”
“Bye.”
We headed off the diner.
***
Just after we got inside the car again, and Buffy was about to turn the ignition on, Willow blurted. “Oh, I forgot something!” She exclaimed, already moving out of her seat.
“What, Will?” Buffy asked annoyed.
Willow looked at the blonde. “Uh…I need to pee!” She replied, and hastily added. “Yes, and it can’t wait,” she turned her eyes to me. “Didn’t you say you needed to use the bathroom too, Tar?”
I frowned in confusion. “I did?”
“Yes, remember?” The redhead replied, and discreetly winked at me. “Come on, let’s go with me.”
I looked at Buffy, and shrugged. “Okay, I guess,” I said while also getting out the car. What was Willow up to?
“We’ll be right back, Buff,” the redhead informed, and grabbing my hand, she dragged me back into the diner with her.
“Yeah, whatever,” I heard Buffy’s faint exasperated reply.
***
“What is it, Willow?” I asked curiously, as we were still walking.
“I saw Sarah enter the bathroom before we left,” the redhead explained, with this resolve look on her face.
I stopped walking, and crossed my arms across my chest, “so?”
Willow turned to face me. “Come on, you’ll see,” she grabbed my hand again, and resumed walking.
I could do nothing but follow her, having no idea of what Willow was planning to do. Maybe she wanted to say a few words to that Sarah girl? Mean ones?
As we entered the bathroom, we saw the brunette standing by the sink, facing the mirror in front of her. Having noticed us, she turned around. “Forgot something?”
Willow didn’t answer, but instead, she turned to face me, and in a quick movement, she surprisingly put one hand around my waist, the other on the back of my head, and boldly pulled me closer to give me a mind-blowing kiss.
All the thoughts completely evaporated from my mind, as Willow kissed me senseless there, in the middle of the bathroom, with Sarah watching us. She pulled me impossibly closer to her, tightening her arms around me, as her tongue hungrily explored my mouth.
After a few seconds, which felt like minutes, the redhead pulled away, her lips red and swollen from the kiss. Breathing hard, she smiled softly at me, and looked at Sarah. “Sorry, but she’s all mine,” she simply said, a smirk on her lips.
I couldn’t stop the 100-watt smile that was forming, and just nodded at the brunette, silently confirming what the redhead had said.
Sarah had her mouth open, and didn’t say anything, staring at us in dumbfounded shock.
Willow ignored her, and looked back at me. “Let’s go, baby?” She took my hand in hers again.
“Oh yes,” I replied grinning.
Turning around, we left the bathroom without looking back. Giggling, we ran back to the car hand in hand.
“Did you see the look on her face?” Willow said between giggles. “Did you see it?”
I couldn’t stop giggling myself. “Yeah…I mean, I can’t believe you did it, Willow!”
I just couldn’t really believe it what Willow had just done. I never would have thought she would, but boy, was I glad she did. The look on that girl’s face is something that is still on my memory today.
Stopping just before the diner’s entrance, I looked in the redhead’s eyes, the giggles fading away. “Thank you, Willow,” I said softly, squeezing her hand.
I was rewarded with a cute Willow smile, and felt her squeeze my hand back. “Come on,” she tugged at my arm.
Arriving back at the car, Buffy looked up at us. “So, can we go now?”
We nodded smiling, and got in the back seat.
Buffy started the car again.
***
K.
Hi!
But first, I wanted to thank everyone for reading…and wow, I can’t believe all the replies! I was nervous about the last update, so I’m really glad that some people liked it. Thanks! 
And I’m also glad that Tara was happy, she deserved it. 
Tara IS lucky, isn’t she? But yeah…I’m glad you liked the update, despite all the heavy description. I tried getting ‘light’ in this next part, hope you like it. Hehe, and thank god that Buffy didn’t interrupt them (yet), right? 
, keep up the good work, and don't wait so long to update this time!!!
