Will whipped around, grinning wildly at the slayer.  "Aren’t you?" he asked lightly, smirking.

Buffy wanted to throttle him.  The whole male/female dynamic between them always left her at a loss.  He was gorgeous, older, wiser, totally out of her league, on and on.  He was completely in control of their *sometimes* romantic relationship.  She didn’t like it.  She didn’t like feeling like the insecure teenager falling for an older man that she was.  He was continually letting her know how innocent she was, how much she *didn’t* really know about him.

She decided to change the game so that she had the upper hand.

Will felt the transformation ripple through her small form and all of the little hairs on the back of his neck stood up.  He stopped breathing.  Gone was the beautiful little girl he’d been teasing mercilessly.

The creature he now faced was the slayer, predator extraordinaire . . . and he might as well have had "lunch" stamped across his forehead.

He bolted, hurdling gravestones as quickly as he could, making a beeline for the cemetery entrance.  She was right behind him, he didn’t have to turn around to tell that, he could feel her.  He could also feel how much she wanted to win this particular round.  He silently prayed his stupidity wouldn’t cost him his life.  Lunging forward, he tried to gain speed.  No use.  Buffy slammed into his back, bringing them both toppling to the ground in a graceless heap.

Before he had a second to get his bearings, she was on top of him, straddling his chest, pinning his arms to the ground above his head, practically growling in his face.  She wasn’t playing.  He swallowed convulsively.  Maybe giving her such a hard time hadn’t been the wisest decision he’d ever made.  He was trying to play it cool and it could very end up with him fitting neatly into an ashtray.

"I’m sorry," he said evenly, meeting her gaze.

She hissed at him.

"I bust my ass every night so the rest of the world can sleep soundly!  I defeated the Master to avert an apocalypse!  I do *NOT* appreciate being treated like a child!  If you tell me one more time that I’m not old enough to handle something I swear I’m going to stake you!" she barked, her face still contorted in fury.

A hundred and twenty years of existence and he hadn’t seen this coming.  He had wounded her deeply, hurt her pride, embarrassed her.  He hadn’t meant to.  He’d been playing with her, teasing, trying to keep their relationship light.  He hadn’t wanted to scare her off with the depth of his feelings.

"I didn’t mean to upset you, Luv," he said quietly.

She snorted, a sound indicating her disbelief of his sincerity.

He wanted to wrap her in his arms, but he didn’t dare try to move.

"I do not think you’re a child, Buffy."

Her anger slowly dissipated, leaving behind a confused young woman.  He was always so hard to figure out.  One minute he’d called her a spoiled brat and the next . . .this.

"Sure," she said flippantly, sliding off of him and leaning against a nearby headstone.

He sat up, then tucked his legs under himself, sitting with his legs crossed.  He reached into his coat, pulling out a cigarette.  The simple act of lighting it and drawing breath served to calm him.  He raised his gaze once again to the slayer.

Biting down on her lower lip, Buffy met his gaze.  She opened her mouth as if to say something, and then closed it again, swallowing hard and looking at her shoes.

"What, Pet?" he asked gently.

"Do you miss her?" she finally asked, avoiding his gaze.

Will’s brow furrowed.  Miss her?  "What are you talking about, Luv?"

Buffy turned her gaze back to him, holding her eyes locked on him for a long moment before she uttered a single name, "Drusilla."

William nodded in understanding.  That’s why she was so upset.  He’d actually forgotten he’d mentioned Dru to the slayer.  Big mistake.  He’d called her a little girl and she was obviously comparing herself to some fictional Drusilla because if she had any idea who the real Drusilla was, odds were she wouldn’t feel too threatened.

"I miss her, yes.  She was my mate for two decades, but she is not part of my life anymore."

Buffy blinked back tears, both relieved and hurt by his candor.  "Do you still love her?"

Will smiled.  There was no way to answer that question truthfully without hurting her.  A young woman her age would not be able to fathom the fact that he could still love Drusilla without wanting to be with her.  She wouldn’t understand that Dru had once been his whole world and for that he would love her always.  She would only see the fact that he loved someone other than her.

"Do you really not have any idea?" he asked quietly.

"Oh great, more circular questions.  Let’s make Buffy feel even more in the dark," she said wryly.  When his expression didn’t change and he didn’t say anything she continued, "Any idea about what, William?"

"That I’m completely in love with *you*."

Her brain stopped functioning.  Her mouth dropped open and a lame "Huh?" fell out.

Will smiled.

"Damn I’m smooth," he said sarcastically.  "I find this girl.  No scratch that.  I find this woman.  And she’s just beyond amazing.  Beautiful, funny, smart, superbly talented with sharpened wooden implements. . . Anyway I find this woman and for some reason she lets a loser like me follow her around.  And then I tease her and make fun of her so maybe she won’t get scared off by the fact that I think she’s a goddess, but I go overboard and she thinks I don’t like her.  She thinks I think she’s a child.  Which I don’t, because I may be a lot of things but a pedophile *isn’t* one of them.  I know she’s a woman because my body just aches when I’m around her and it aches even more when I’m not around her."

Buffy didn’t know what to say.  He *liked her* liked her.  How was that possible?  He was so beautiful, smart.  What did he see in this freaksome little girl?

Will stared at her for long moments.  She met his gaze, unable to look away from him.  He looked hungry, like he was having some internal war of words that she wasn’t privy to.  Then as suddenly as it had appeared, the hunger left and his gaze softened.  He dropped his gaze to the ground, and then rose to his feet offering her a hand up.

"Come on, Pet.  I’ll walk ya home."

Buffy took his hand, allowing him to help her up.  He didn’t protest when she didn’t release it, content to walk hand in hand with her across town.  He loved the irony of it.  Here he was walking her home, holding her hand, ostensibly protecting her when she was undeniably the stronger of the two.

They stopped beneath her window.  Will pulled her into his embrace, holding her against his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head.  He could feel how nervous she was, the energy rolling through her body was palpable.  He smiled.  The excitement of first love.  He felt it to because even though he was no virgin, this was the first time he’d felt like this, awash in something so pure.

She pulled away from him, raising her head to look at him.  He knew what she wanted, knew she was too afraid to ask, maybe she didn’t know how to ask.  He leaned forward, catching her lips in a tender kiss.  It had been weeks since they’d been like this, ever since her revelation that she would be staying in Sunnydale for the summer.  Even in his technicolor memories he’d forgotten how exquisite she was, the scent and taste of her.  He wanted her so badly, but he kept a tight reign on himself.  He wouldn’t let the demon interrupt things this time.

The kiss seemed to go on forever, their lips gently nipping at each other.  He laved her lower lip gently with his tongue, silently begging her lips to part.  She was nervous, he could taste that, but she was excited as well.  He moaned quietly when she finally opened her mouth, granting him access.  He tenderly twined her tongue with his, drawing her tongue into his mouth where he nursed it carefully.

While he kissed her, his hands gently caressed her back, holding her loosely within his embrace.  He desperately wanted to crush her body to his, but the telltale evidence of just how aroused he was might frighten her.  He didn’t want to rush her, she was still so young.  His fingertips made small circles on her back, venturing only as low as the base of her spine.

She wanted more, he could tell, but truth be told she wasn’t ready for it.  So much of her life had been thrust upon her before she was ready.  He wanted this to be different.  He wanted their physical relationship to be on her terms.  He had the patience only granted to creatures that didn’t age.  He would wait centuries for her if necessary.

Slowly, he pulled away from her.  "Go on, Pet," he said, pointing at the tree she would use to sneak in her window.  "I’ll see you tomorrow."

Buffy nodded.  She didn’t want him to go, but she wasn’t about to give him the upper hand again by asking him to stay.  She wanted him to view her as an equal.  She gave him a small peck on the cheek before turning away and scaling the tree.

"You seem awful chipper, Buff," Xander noted the next night at the Bronze.

Buffy smiled broadly, taking a mental inventory of herself.  "I am," she said happily.

"Care to share?" he asked.

"You wouldn’t be interested," she said smugly.  "It has to do with a certain peroxide blonde."

Xander frowned.  Williams was definitely not his favorite topic of conversation.  The guy had the hair, the attitude, the kick ass super powers and the accent. How the hell was he supposed to compete with that?

"You could tell me," Willow said with a big smile.  She was terribly fond of William and thought he and Buffy made the perfect pair.  She also thought he was extremely hot, but wasn’t about to divulge that to the slayer.

The End