Can Sometimes Equal One

******

“This is nice,” Willow said as she looked nervously around the front room of Toby’s apartment.

“Um, thanks,” Toby replied, putting her bags down and heading toward the kitchen. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Oh yeah,” Willow muttered, blushing when she looked up and saw the smirk on Toby’s face, realizing he had heard her.

“Uh,” she stammered, avoiding his gaze, “maybe just a glass of water or something.”

Toby nodded, sparing her any further embarrassment by disappearing into the adjoining room.

As the kitchen light snapped on and the sounds of cabinet doors opening filled the silence, Willow took a deep breath and wandered into the living area. She immediately walked over to a large bookcase that stood next to a small tv set. She skimmed her hand over the titles, not surprised by the diversity of them. Toby was nothing if not a student, always interested in learning new things. She had a feeling that that was one of the reasons they had connected so fast. They were essentially the same, the only difference being her tendency to babble when nervous versus his use of quick wit and sarcasm.

She jumped slightly as Toby’s arm came into view, offering her a glass of water, which she took after she regained her composure. He sat down on the far end of the comfortable looking sofa, raising an eyebrow at her when she remained standing.

She blushed again, quickly sitting down, as far away from Toby as possible.

He sighed, running his free hand over his eyes.

“I know this is awkward, but I wasn’t about to leave you by yourself.”

Willow smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you. I really didn’t want to stay there anyway.”

Toby snorted his amusement. “Yeah.”

Falling into an uneasy silence, they both avoiding looking directly at the other.

The silence was broken by the ringing of Toby’s cell phone. He half smiled at Willow, apologizing with just a look, before pulling the phone out of his pocket and answering it.

“I told you to stop calling me.”

Willow raised an eyebrow at the gruff tone in his voice, but relaxed when the smile stayed on his face.

“There’s nothing I can do about it tonight, CJ. I’ll talk to him first thing in the morning.”

Toby rolled his eyes, causing Willow to giggle.

“Josh is taking care of that. Yeah. Okay.”

He hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

“Am I in the way of some work you should be doing or something?” Willow asked, frowning.

“You’re a welcome distraction from the work I should be doing,” replied Toby, sitting back against the couch and practically moaning at the feeling of being completely comfortable for the first time all day.

Willow stood up, “I can just get my bags and go to sleep or something to get out of your way. Your work is way more important than entertaining me. Really-”

“Stop.”

Willow stopped mid sentence, her mouth staying open for a moment longer before she looked at him warily.

“Trust me Willow. Sit. The world is not going to fall apart because I take a break for one night. I’m really not that important.”

Willow smiled, still uncertain, but willing to take his word for it. She sat back down on the couch, setting her glass of water on the coffee table and pulling her legs underneath her, trying to get comfortable.

“So,” Toby said, once she was settled, “tell me everything.”

Willow, in almost a perfect imitation of the man sitting across from her, snorted her laughter. “That would take a few years.”

“Give me the short version.”

Willow nodded, sighing as she tried to gather her thoughts.

“The last time you saw me, I was trying to get my girlfriend back.”

Toby nodded.

“It worked. Um, I mean, your words, they worked.”

She gave Toby a smile, which he returned in full.

“So it was good for a while. But, it turns out she was right. I could never really be comfortable with her. Anyway, it turned kind of bad, and we were fighting a lot, and then she...”

“It’s okay,” Toby said, understanding what she was trying to say.

Willow shook her head. She took a deep breath, willing herself to be as open as she could with this man she barely knew, yet at the same time knew better than everyone else in her life.

“She had an accident. It was stupid. She ended up getting killed. After the last time, everyone was watching me pretty closely. I felt like I was suffocating.”

Toby nodded, surprising both of them when he reached out and grabbed Willow’s hand, rubbing it reassuringly.

She looked down at their linked hands for a moment before returning her gaze to his face.

“I had to get away,” she said to him, the desperation apparent in her voice. “I had to. I was dying back there.”

Toby pulled her into a hug, and she hugged him back tightly, all the awkwardness forgotten for the moment.