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Title: Back To Normal
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kellifer_fic
Rating: G
Category: Crossover - Buffy/SG-1 (Willow/Daniel)
Word Count: 914
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue, no offense, no money.
Notes: One of the Happy Ending prompts.
“I just… didn’t want you to feel bad. You don’t have to come…”
Willow twirls the coil of phone line around and around her index finger, listening to Dawn’s faltering attempt to give her an out. She can tell Dawn wants her to come to Parent’s Weekend at Yale but is also feeling guilty.
“It’s fine Dawnie, I already booked my tickets,” Willow assures. She’s technically not a parent and it might be a little hard to explain just what her relationship is with the younger Summers if the pin-striped mothers and fathers start asking questions but Willow is willing to put up with it.
Buffy is busy with the emergent slayers and Xander has been missing for two years. Add to that the passing of Tara and Giles’ understandable recalcitrance to enter the United States any more than he has to and Willow knows she’s it.
She’s Dawn’s family.
The guilt is because she never actually made it to University like she’d planned. Her detour to the dark side put paid to that. Willow keeps telling herself that she’ll get there eventually, that the ivy leagues will accept her when she’s ready but she’s not really sure she’ll ever be.
It’s hard to do normal these days.
“I’m going to be there to embarrass you with my gushing.”
Willow hears the relieved sigh Dawn can’t quite stifle and that more than anything convinces her that she’s doing the right thing.
000
Willow is always struck by how ageless Dawn seems. She often wonders if it has something to do with her more than unconventional birth that Dawn seems to have hit the age of eighteen and stuck. She’s as baby-faced and bright as ever as she barrels into Willow at the airport, knocking them both to the floor in amongst giggles and luggage.
When they have Willow’s luggage, she aims for the cab ranks outside the terminal but Dawn redirects her to the parking area. “You drive?” Willow asks, not sure why she didn’t know that.
“For some time now,” Dawn says with an impressive eye roll. “My feet reach the peddles and everything.”
“Sorry, you’re always going to be widdle Dawnie to me,” Willow laughs, darting forward and managing to give Dawn’s cheeks a healthy pinch before she’s slapped aside.
“So should I pre-empt the eminent freak-out over me living with a boy then?” Dawn asks and Willow stops dead, Dawn only realising when she’d walked a few more steps and had lost Willow by her side. “Oh God, I should have mentioned it shouldn’t I?” Dawn says, biting her lip and looking anxious.
“No,” Willow insists, knowing her voice is shaky. “It’s fine.”
“You’ll love him, I swear,” Dawn enthuses, coming back to link an arm through Willow’s and tug her along.
“Does he know…?”
“That I was born a big glowy ball of energy? Nah, I’m having trouble working that into everyday conversation for some reason.”
“Har, har,” Willow says with an eye roll of her own.
“It’s fine, trust me,” Dawn says and Willow nods.
Normal, she thinks. Yeah, I can remember how to do this.
000
The first meet and greet isn’t as bad as Willow has been dreading. Most of the parents are pleasantly distant and not really interested in asking questions, more into gushing about their own children. Willow listens patiently and finds out way more than she ever wanted to about other people’s kids.
She attends a number of lectures, going more out of mild curiosity and avoiding anything that is too close to what she may have studied. This is how Willow finds herself in a lecture on the Mayan culture and its impact on the modern world by a guest speaker named Doctor Jackson. She’s expecting to be bored but is instead engaged, the man catching her interest like no one has in a long time.
Willow feels silly lingering after the lecture is over but Doctor Jackson approaches her with an easy smile. He’s tall and broad shouldered with blue eyes and a fading tan. Willow was pretty certain she was landing on only the female side of the fence these days but something was telling her she’d been a little too hasty to make that assumption.
“Scale of one to ten, how boring was it really?” Doctor Jackson asks with a grin and Willow blinks and then laughs.
“Not at all. Why, did I snore?”
“No, actually, you looked rapt which I’m always suspicious of,” he says. “I’m Daniel by the way.”
“Willow, and I wasn’t faking if that’s what you’re implying,” she says.
“You sure? Maybe you were going over your grocery list in your head?” Daniel raises his eyebrows and Willow laughs again.
“Maybe for the first few minutes but after that I was hooked. You should write a book.”
Daniel chuckles and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “So who do you belong to?”
“Dawn Summers,” Willow says. “I’m her…” She looks around and then grins sheepishly. “I’m her family.”
“Aha. I’ve heard tell of Miss Summers. She has the Professors quaking in their tweed.”
“Sounds about right,” Willow agrees with a smile.
“So, did you want to ask me a question?” Daniel prompts and Willow grimaces.
“One would assume that since I hung around after the lecture right?” Willow says and she’s reassured because Daniel isn’t looking put-off, just mildly amused. “My question has gone completely out of my head.”
“Funny how that happens, right?” Daniel says. “How about I buy you dinner and if you remember later I’m right there to ask.”
“Okay,” Willow says with a nod. “That would be good.”
Author:
kellifer_ficRating: G
Category: Crossover - Buffy/SG-1 (Willow/Daniel)
Word Count: 914
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue, no offense, no money.
Notes: One of the Happy Ending prompts.
“I just… didn’t want you to feel bad. You don’t have to come…”
Willow twirls the coil of phone line around and around her index finger, listening to Dawn’s faltering attempt to give her an out. She can tell Dawn wants her to come to Parent’s Weekend at Yale but is also feeling guilty.
“It’s fine Dawnie, I already booked my tickets,” Willow assures. She’s technically not a parent and it might be a little hard to explain just what her relationship is with the younger Summers if the pin-striped mothers and fathers start asking questions but Willow is willing to put up with it.
Buffy is busy with the emergent slayers and Xander has been missing for two years. Add to that the passing of Tara and Giles’ understandable recalcitrance to enter the United States any more than he has to and Willow knows she’s it.
She’s Dawn’s family.
The guilt is because she never actually made it to University like she’d planned. Her detour to the dark side put paid to that. Willow keeps telling herself that she’ll get there eventually, that the ivy leagues will accept her when she’s ready but she’s not really sure she’ll ever be.
It’s hard to do normal these days.
“I’m going to be there to embarrass you with my gushing.”
Willow hears the relieved sigh Dawn can’t quite stifle and that more than anything convinces her that she’s doing the right thing.
Willow is always struck by how ageless Dawn seems. She often wonders if it has something to do with her more than unconventional birth that Dawn seems to have hit the age of eighteen and stuck. She’s as baby-faced and bright as ever as she barrels into Willow at the airport, knocking them both to the floor in amongst giggles and luggage.
When they have Willow’s luggage, she aims for the cab ranks outside the terminal but Dawn redirects her to the parking area. “You drive?” Willow asks, not sure why she didn’t know that.
“For some time now,” Dawn says with an impressive eye roll. “My feet reach the peddles and everything.”
“Sorry, you’re always going to be widdle Dawnie to me,” Willow laughs, darting forward and managing to give Dawn’s cheeks a healthy pinch before she’s slapped aside.
“So should I pre-empt the eminent freak-out over me living with a boy then?” Dawn asks and Willow stops dead, Dawn only realising when she’d walked a few more steps and had lost Willow by her side. “Oh God, I should have mentioned it shouldn’t I?” Dawn says, biting her lip and looking anxious.
“No,” Willow insists, knowing her voice is shaky. “It’s fine.”
“You’ll love him, I swear,” Dawn enthuses, coming back to link an arm through Willow’s and tug her along.
“Does he know…?”
“That I was born a big glowy ball of energy? Nah, I’m having trouble working that into everyday conversation for some reason.”
“Har, har,” Willow says with an eye roll of her own.
“It’s fine, trust me,” Dawn says and Willow nods.
Normal, she thinks. Yeah, I can remember how to do this.
The first meet and greet isn’t as bad as Willow has been dreading. Most of the parents are pleasantly distant and not really interested in asking questions, more into gushing about their own children. Willow listens patiently and finds out way more than she ever wanted to about other people’s kids.
She attends a number of lectures, going more out of mild curiosity and avoiding anything that is too close to what she may have studied. This is how Willow finds herself in a lecture on the Mayan culture and its impact on the modern world by a guest speaker named Doctor Jackson. She’s expecting to be bored but is instead engaged, the man catching her interest like no one has in a long time.
Willow feels silly lingering after the lecture is over but Doctor Jackson approaches her with an easy smile. He’s tall and broad shouldered with blue eyes and a fading tan. Willow was pretty certain she was landing on only the female side of the fence these days but something was telling her she’d been a little too hasty to make that assumption.
“Scale of one to ten, how boring was it really?” Doctor Jackson asks with a grin and Willow blinks and then laughs.
“Not at all. Why, did I snore?”
“No, actually, you looked rapt which I’m always suspicious of,” he says. “I’m Daniel by the way.”
“Willow, and I wasn’t faking if that’s what you’re implying,” she says.
“You sure? Maybe you were going over your grocery list in your head?” Daniel raises his eyebrows and Willow laughs again.
“Maybe for the first few minutes but after that I was hooked. You should write a book.”
Daniel chuckles and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “So who do you belong to?”
“Dawn Summers,” Willow says. “I’m her…” She looks around and then grins sheepishly. “I’m her family.”
“Aha. I’ve heard tell of Miss Summers. She has the Professors quaking in their tweed.”
“Sounds about right,” Willow agrees with a smile.
“So, did you want to ask me a question?” Daniel prompts and Willow grimaces.
“One would assume that since I hung around after the lecture right?” Willow says and she’s reassured because Daniel isn’t looking put-off, just mildly amused. “My question has gone completely out of my head.”
“Funny how that happens, right?” Daniel says. “How about I buy you dinner and if you remember later I’m right there to ask.”
“Okay,” Willow says with a nod. “That would be good.”