Title: In Plain Sight

Author: Alan Hitchen

Feedback: Would be nice

Disclaimer: BTVS and its characters belong to Joss Whedon et al

Rating: R for bad language

Summary: Cordelia and Willow make a decision and face the consequences

…

‘You’re not alone’ by Olive was playing on the radio.

Cordelia broke away from the kiss. "They’re playing our song," she said.

"You didn’t request it again did you?" asked Willow.

Cordelia grinned. "Not this time."

Willow cupped Cordelia’s face in her hands and looked deep into her golden brown eyes. "You’re sure about this?" she asked.

Cordelia smiled sweetly in response. "I’ve never been more sure about anything else in my entire life. I love you, and I don’t care who knows it." She kissed Willow again in confirmation of that fact.

"Okay then, we go public, but before then we’ve got to tell our families and friends – and Oz." Willow frowned. "I still don’t know what I’m going to tell him. I hurt him a lot with the Xander thing. What will he do when I tell him this?"

"He wasn’t the one who got impaled on a reinforcing bar," said Cordelia, wincing at the thought of her accident at the warehouse. Then recalling her cold fury at Xander’s betrayal, she said. "It’ll hurt whatever you tell him and you have to tell him something soon. You can’t keep him at arm’s length forever. I hate all this sneaking around behind his back - though it was kind of fun when I was sneaking about with Xander." Willow looked hurt, as it was her back they had been sneaking around. "Well, not that much fun, now I think of it," she said quickly to cover the gaffe.

…

"So you see there’s someone else," Willow said quietly, anticipating the worst.

"I’ve been expecting this," Oz said without malice.

Willow was taken aback. "You have?"

"I’ve noticed the distance between us of late, and it wasn’t hard to guess the reason why. So it’s on between you and Xander – right?"

"Wrong, it’s not Xander it’s… Cordelia."

"Cordelia… hmm… interesting choice.

"You don’t seem surprised?"

"Nothing surprises me much these days," he said, before unexpectedly adding. "I think I might have found someone else as well. Not that I’ve done anything about it as yet, I suppose I can now."

Willow nodded her assent.

Can we still be friends?" he asked.

"Isn’t that supposed to be my line?" she countered.

"I like to be different," he replied with a slight smile.

So they shook hands and parted as friends.

…

"Hi guys," Willow said nervously.

Giles, Buffy and Xander turned to greet Willow and Cordelia as they entered the library together.

"Cordy and I have something to tell you." She looked to Cordelia for reassurance. Cordelia took her hand and squeezed it before speaking to the others.

"You’ve probably realised there was more to the vampire Willow business than I let on at the time. To cut a long story short, vamp Willow told me that the real Willow loved me."

She looked again at Willow, smiled and gave her another squeeze of the hand. "I’ve always liked Willow, though for reasons that now seem ridiculous, I never really let it show. Anyway, the more I thought about it, the more I realised that like had become love. It was a surprise for me – and her."

She smiled at Willow again, who was now smiling back at her. "So, we’re a couple now. We plan to come out publicly at the prom, but before that we’re telling our friends and families. As our friends we hope you will support us."

Giles was the first to speak. "Are you both happy?" he asked.

"Yes, very," they replied in unison.

"Then that’s all I need to know," he said and stepped forward to hug them both. "If there is anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask."

"Thanks Giles, it’s much appreciated," said Willow, with tears welling in her eyes.

"Ditto," said Cordelia.

"What he said." Was all that Buffy could say, as overcome by emotion engendered by her own disastrous love life, she threw herself at Willow and Cordelia as Giles retreated to the safe haven of his office.

Amid the hugs, kisses and tears, no one noticed Xander quietly slipping out of the library, his face frozen into an unreadable mask. He silently entered the toilets, and locked himself into a stall, where he sat weeping; thinking he had just lost the two people who meant the most to him. Although the girls would later reassure him that this was not so, he would remain cool and distant from now on, covering up his hurt feelings with his usual unapproachable flip finesse.

…

Willow emerged white-faced from her home and ran to Cordelia, who was waiting in the car. She jumped in beside her, threw back her head, and simply howled in wordless expression of her pain and humiliation. In between huge sobs she tried to tell a shocked Cordelia what had happened.

"It – seems – my parents – liberal attitudes – don’t apply – to their – own child. They said I was dirty – a disgrace to my religion – a pervert – and no daughter of theirs."

Cordelia was incensed. "How dare they! I’m going in there to give them a piece of my mind."

As she began to get out of the car Willow restrained her. "No, Cordy, don’t, you’ll only make things worse, and anyway they were rotten parents, who needs them anyway," she said unconvincingly, blinking back the tears.

Reluctantly Cordelia drove off, and continuing with the plan went to her house for her date with destiny.

Cordelia’s parents were initially surprised and a little shocked at the turn of events, but soon came to realise they weren’t losing a daughter, but gaining one. After the bust-up with her parents Willow had no option but to leave the family home and move in with Cordelia.

Bruce and Lillian Chase soon came to love Willow almost as much as Cordelia and everything seemed to be well. Then came the fateful visit from the IRS inspector and overnight everything the Chases had worked for had gone, even the house had to be sold to cover unpaid taxes.

Willow had already been cut off financially by her parents. So, instead of planning for college, both girls found they had to look for a job instead.

It was at this low point that Harmony decided to launch her attack. Sidling up to the couple in the hallway, Harmony greeted the now ex-Queen C with barely disguised contempt, before laying into Willow with a poisonous diatribe that was aimed directly at Cordelia.

"Hardly a lipstick lesbian is she? I’m not sure if she knows what a lipstick is, let alone what color to use. You could at least have chosen a girl with some fashion sense, or indeed some looks. I’ve always thought she was a fucking ugly little witch, but never in a million years did I think you, of all people, would end up fucking that self same witch. What on earth do you see in her? Is it love, or is it a case of beggars can’t be choosers?" she sneered.

Willow blenched from this onslaught. Still sensitive from the reaction of her parents she instinctively hid behind Cordelia, who let rip with a blistering riposte.

"Harmony, you are a disgrace to your own name. A small-minded bigot, a hateful loser, who has nothing to say and no one to love. A pathetic sheep following at the heels of anyone who will tell you what to do, what to say, what to think. In short, you are a complete failure as a human being. You can say what you like about me, but say one more word about Willow and I’ll knock you into the middle of next week!"

Harmony and her coterie beat a hasty retreat from Cordelia’s clenched fists and after that no one dared to badmouth them, in public at least.

They made a big splash at the prom. Cordelia was always a byword for glamour but on the night it was Willow who was the centre of attention. She was an absolute knockout, as Cordelia intended she should be. All eyes were upon the couple, and even Harmony was heard to grudgingly admit that Willow had scrubbed up well. As they danced the night away in the company of their friends they couldn’t have been happier.

However, the triumph at the prom looked like a last hurrah from the Chases as the date of eviction moved ever closer. Mr Chase found a job in Duluth and moved there with Lillian. Willow and Cordelia moved in with Buffy and Joyce, and new tenants moved into the Chase family home.

With their college plans in ruins and facing life in straightened circumstances Cordelia and Willow did their best to comfort each other while hoping that something would turn up. And right out of the blue it did, in the form of a phone call to Willow from the software division of International Electromatics Incorporated.

"Hello – speaking – a job – as what? – A generous salary – how generous? – Yes, very generous – a golden hello, what would that be? – A house! – Oh, yes, if I’m going to work from home I’ll need a home to work from – how did you know? – Oh, did they – Well, thank you very much Mr Bemrose – Eric – I’m sure I’ll be very happy working for you – No, thank you. Goodbye."

Willow turned to Cordelia. "Did you get all that? I’ve got a job, a good salary, and a house! All our problems are solved! Well, if you ignore the small matter of the Mayor and the Ascension. If we survive that, everything will be just peachy!"

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "It’s only the end of the world again Will. I’m sure Buffy will handle it on the day," she said, and then with considerably more enthusiasm. "This job, does it come with with a car?"

Willow threw herself into Cordelia’s lap. "That’s what I like about you Cordy. You always have your mind on the bigger picture. I guess I can probably wheedle a car out of them, they seem to think very highly of me. Now give me a kiss and tell me what a clever girl I am." Cordelia eagerly complied with her request.

For the happy couple it seemed that not just demons were attracted to the Hellmouth, but fairy Godmothers too. And so they survived the Ascension and lived happily ever after.

Or did they?