First chapter of an untitled (for now) Willow/Giles fic!
Fandom: BtVS Rating: This chapter FRU, evetually FRAO Pairing: Eventually Willow/Giles. Brief mention of Willow/Kennedy Summary: Willow ends her relationship with Kennedy and tries to make a new life for herself Spoilers: none, really Word Count: 796 Feedback: Pretty please. Constructive criticism is always welcome. If you want to flame me, well okay, I have chainsaws. Disclaimer: I don't own these characters (if I did Willow would be with Giles where she belongs!); I just hijack them and take them out for a joyride every now and then. Also, I have no beta, so any and all mistakes are solely mine. Warnings: mentions non-consensual sex, but nothing graphic Author's Notes: forgive me if the Portuguese isn't right; I used an online translation website. I may know some Spanish, a little German, and thanks to Carla a tiny bit of Italian, but I do not know Portuguese!
Willow lay in bed, eyes closed, feigning sleep. She listened to the door close, then surreptitiously stole to the window to make sure Kennedy was truly leaving, not just running somewhere. When she saw the weapons bag, she sighed with relief, then turned and threw some clothes on and began flinging her clothes into her suitcases. She didn't bother with folding them; she had only an hour and a half to get to the airport. Luckily, Eduardo, a kindly old cab driver who'd taken to Willow from her first time in his cab, though he didn't care for Kennedy, promised to be waiting to speed her to the airport.
Willow felt as if she were escaping a vampire den or demon lair. Her life in Brazil with Kennedy had been a nightmare. Receiving her Slayer powers had changed Kennedy. Or, more accurately, had crystallized something that had always been within Kennedy. Her bullying ways, which Willow had seen before when Kennedy had been given the authority to train the Potentials but had rationalized away as she did the faults of anyone she cared for, had surged to the fore and Willow had the bruises to prove it. Sex had become another form of battle to Kennedy, who reveled in overpowering Willow, holding her down and forcing her attentions on Willow. All secure in the knowledge that Willow couldn't physically stop her, and wouldn't magickally. After having gone dark, Willow had sworn to never use magick to harm another human being, so Kennedy's superior strength had assured she could do pretty much whatever she wanted with Willow. Willow had endured the cruelty, but had begun secretly planning her escape. It hadn't been easy, as Kennedy barely let Willow out of her sight except when she went on patrol. She had no compunction about checking Willow's cell phone to see who she'd been calling or nosing around on Willow's laptop to see her e-mails. She'd done everything to isolate Willow, deleting e-mails, hiding and destroying letters from Willow's friends, turning off Willow's phone so she couldn't receive calls and erasing voicemails. When Willow had discovered this, she was hurt and angry. Willow had finally set up a separate e-mail account that Kennedy knew nothing about to receive e-mails about the plane ticket she was buying with her Watcher's Council credit card. Kennedy knew nothing about the card, as Willow had let her believe that the Council had only issued them one since they were living together. That credit card had become Willow's life preserver in stormy seas. She wasn't sure when, but she knew someday she'd use it to escape the hell her life had become since the defeat of the First and the destruction of Sunnydale.
And today was that day. Or rather tonight was that night, as she'd had to wait for Kennedy to leave on patrol to make her getaway. Snatching her toiletries from the bathroom, she stuffed them in her suitcase and zipped it shut. She slipped her laptop into her carry-on duffel and checked to make sure she had her passport. Grabbing her suitcases, she hurried out to Eduardo's waiting cab. He sadly put her luggage in the trunk, knowing he would not be seeing her smiling face again.
"Tu és saindo para sempre?" he asked ("You are leaving for good?).
"Eu devo não ser vendo costas. Eu devo sempre lembrar a ti e seu bondade," she replied in shaky Portuguese, emotion threatening to overwhelm her.(I'm not coming back. I'll never forget you and your kindness.)
She slid into the back seat and rode to the airport in silence. As they pulled up to the entrance, she realised she probably looked odd in her long sleeved shirt in Brazil's balmy weather, but she'd look even stranger if she'd worn short sleeves and exposed the purple bruises on her wrists and red fingermarks on her upper arms. She could easily have harnessed the Earth's energy to heal them, but she hadn't wanting to see if Kennedy noticed them or even cared about having inflicted them. She hadn't.
Willow looked upon the bustling airport as her gateway to freedom. She stepped out of the cab and waited for Eduardo to open the trunk and unload her luggage. He brought them to her and she impulsively hugged the sweet old man. He returned the embrace, remembering how happy and bright-eyed she'd looked when she'd first arrived in Brazil, not how she looked now with dark circles under her eyes.and sadness in her eyes.
"Ir agora. Ser alegre. Uma vida melhor espera a ti em que se ir," he consoled her as a few tears slipped from her eyes.(Go now. Be happy. A better life awaits you where you go)
She gave him a tremulous smile and picked up her suitcases and disappeared into the busy airport. She made her way to the ticket counter and checked her bags, receiving her boarding pass. Fortunately, she didn't have long to wait before it was time to board. Settling into her business class seat, she finally took a deep breath. Freedom was only moments away.