Fic: Subterfuge (1-3/?)

[inell@xxxxxxx]

Title: Subterfuge
Author: Inell
Email: Inell@xxxxxxx
Disclaimer: Joss owns them all
Distribution: My site, Kiss or Kill, 
http://members.fortunecity.com/kissorkill Anyone that has permission, take. 
Otherwise, just ask.
Rating: R
Pairing: Willow/Buffy
Summary: Willow tries to help Buffy and gets more than she bargained for
Notes: Started this one a few months ago. A persistent Brazilian told me I 
should post this here in hopes that others would begin nagging me for more so 
that he could get some new parts....Oh, I mean because he thinks you guys 
might enjoy it :)
Notes2: Set during my own Season 5 with little regard to the show's 
characterizations. Be warned. All will make sense soon enough, I'm sure :)
To everyone who has been so nice to me!


SUBTERFUGE (1-3/?)


Willow looked around the street, her green eyes sweeping over every shadowed 
corner. When she was positive that she was alone on the empty street, she 
knocked on the door. Three brisk knocks. The door opened, eyes sweeping over 
her, taking in the tight black leather skirt and the emerald green shirt that 
molded her breasts, ending just above her belly button displaying the creamy 
skin. She steeled herself, gathering all the courage that she had ever needed 
as she faced the demon guarding the door. She felt a moment of relief when he 
nodded, moving to the side to allow her to pass.

Willow entered the club, her green eyes taking in every detail as she started 
down the staircase. She felt eyes on her as she held her head high, 
confidence radiating from her. She wished she felt the confidence she was 
projecting. Sometimes she wondered why she thought of these plans. They never 
worked out and she usually ended up in more trouble than before. But, she 
wanted to help Buffy. After everything that had been happening to her, from 
her mother dying to Riley leaving to dealing with Dawn to having Spike 
suddenly fall in love with her, Buffy deserved someone to take some of her 
problems away. Willow only hoped that she didn't end up making things worse. 
This time, she wasn't going to have the slayer to save her.

Willow moved towards a table that sat near the shadows but close enough to 
the dance floor to be seen. She sat down, ordering a mineral water as she 
watched the various demons and humans mingle on the dance floor. She smiled 
when her water was put in front of her, taking a sip from the glass. She had 
no idea what she was looking for. Sure, she had some vague idea but nothing 
solid. She hadn't wanted Buffy or the others to know what she was planning so 
she hadn't been able to ask some of the more important questions. Sighing, 
she frowned as she found herself wishing that Tara was still around. But, she 
had lost her lover nearly two weeks before, shortly after Joyce had died. The 
blonde witch had left Sunnydale to go to school back East. She and Willow had 
split up on amicable terms, but Willow still felt the loss. The second person 
that she had loved that had left her.

"Someone so beautiful shouldn't look so sad."

Willow looked up, keeping her face bored as she studied the blonde woman that 
was smiling so seductively at her. "I've heard better lines."

There was a husky laugh, "Confident. I like that."

"And I should care what you like?" Willow asked, smiling slightly as she 
realized she was openly flirting with a gorgeous woman that seemed interested 
in her.

"You should."

Willow laughed, looking at the table, having no idea what an alluring image 
she projected. She needed to remember why she was there in the first place. 
To help Buffy. Not to flirt with some blonde. She looked back up, caught by 
blue eyes that were studying her with interest. She could feel a blush 
spreading over her cheeks, rather ruining her sophisticated facade. "You're 
staring."

"Really?" an amused smile, "You're very beautiful. That pale complexion, 
those sparkling green eyes, that lovely red hair. You don't belong in a place 
like this."

"Like this?" Willow asked, looking around the club.

"So ordinary, so mortal. There is such a stench from all these demons."

"I hadn't noticed," Willow confessed, feeling again that she didn't belong 
here.

"That's because you're human, sugar. You wouldn't smell it."

"Why are you here if you find it so distasteful?" Willow asked, a bit annoyed 
with this woman's holier than thou attitude.

"I was bored. Thought I might find something to keep my interest," a smile as 
blue eyes again moved over Willow's face. "And see? Here I've found you."

"Do you do this often? Come slumming to pick up humans?" Willow asked, not 
letting the flirtatious words affect her. She had a mission. She needed to 
remember that. Her green eyes moved from the blonde as she again surveyed the 
club, finding nothing that appeared to be what she was looking for.

"Never," the word was said sincerely. "I don't like humans. You, you're 
different. I can smell the magic on you. There's power in your soul that you 
haven't begun to understand."

"Really?" Willow asked, caught by those beautiful blue eyes. What was she 
thinking? No room for lust in her life. Nope, not this girl. She had enough 
on her plate with school and taking care of Buffy. Of course, the slayer 
would deny needing her to take care of her. She knew better. They'd been best 
friends for years after all. Buffy was still in shock after Joyce's death. It 
had been two weeks and the slayer was still walking around in a daze. Willow 
sighed, knowing that was the main reason she was there that night. She was 
going to help.

"I can hear your heart racing. Do you want to leave this place?"

"I can't," Willow said, wondering if she was really being hit on by this 
beautiful woman.

"Please?"

Willow looked at the pout and laughed, her hair falling forward to cover her 
eyes before she slowly nodded. "OK. I don't think I'm going to find what I 
was looking for anyway."

"If you come with me, you'll be in my bed before dawn."

Willow's eyes widened at the blonde, "I'm not....I don't do things like that."

"If you come with me, you will."

"Then I guess I'll stay here," Willow said, knowing she sounded like a priss, 
but she had only had sex with two people, both of whom she was dating at the 
time and in love with. She had only just met this woman. There was no way she 
was going to sleep with her. Not like that.

"You find me attractive. I can see it in your eyes. Why won't you have sex 
with me?"

"I don't even know you. Why would I share something that personal with you?" 
Willow asked.

There was a sexy laugh, "How decidedly old fashioned. You're charming."

"Glad I could provide you with a laugh," Willow said tightly as she stood. 
She shook her head, knowing this had been wrong. She should have stayed out 
of it, just let Buffy continue doing things her way. What was that saying? 
The road to hell was paved with good intentions.

Willow left the club, breathing in fresh air as she stepped into the alley. 
It had been stuffy in the club, too many people in such a small space. She 
pulled her coat around her as she started to walk, hearing the sound of high 
heels clicking behind her. She turned, surprised to see the blonde from the 
club chasing after her.

"You didn't say good-bye."

Willow frowned, "Sorry. I wasn't aware that I was supposed to."

"I like you, Red. You intrigue me. I'd like to explore that, if you want to?"

"I told you, I don't do things like that," Willow said, wondering if Buffy 
would still be awake if she dropped by. She had started dropping by most 
nights to check on the slayer, usually ending up staying over. Her breath 
caught when she felt a warm hand on her face, her eyes staring into the 
blonde's.

"I'm not asking you too. I just...I'm tired of being alone. No one here 
interests me. I'm sick of being bored. You, you amuse me. I do want you, and 
fully intend to have you in my bed, but it's more than that."

"We only just met," Willow pointed out.

"Have coffee with me," a tempting smile.

"Just coffee?" Willow asked, figuring she could have a cup of coffee with the 
beautiful blonde before checking on Buffy.

"For now."

"Fine, but just coffee," Willow clarified, not wanting it to go farther. She 
was not in any position to start a relationship.

"That sounds wonderful," a large smile as a hand was held out.

Willow looked from the hand back to the pretty blonde. Sighing, she took her 
hand, wondering what she was doing. She had intended to find someone that 
might have information about Buffy's latest enemy, something to help protect 
Dawn and the slayer. Instead, she had allowed herself to be picked up by this 
pretty woman. "My name is Willow."

"Willow? I love that name," the blonde said, walking beside Willow and 
smiling. "You can call me Glory."

********************

Willow kept her eyes in front of her as she heard the beautiful blonde speak 
her name. This was Glory? The enemy that wanted Dawn and wanted to kill 
Buffy? And she was going to have coffee with her! What the hell was she 
doing? "They have delicious pie here," Glory said as she looked at the diner. 
"The food is one of the only things that I can tolerate on this plane."

"Plane?" Willow asked, looking at the pretty woman. Trust her to get picked 
up by the person she was supposed to be researching. She felt so stupid. All 
that time she had been flirting with the woman that had tried to kill Buffy.

Glory slid into the booth, making a general sweeping motion with her hand, 
"This existence. That's not important right now. I don't like mortals. Really 
have no use for them. You pique my curiosity though. You're not like the 
others, are you?"

Willow shrugged, "I don't know. I'd always thought I was pretty normal."

"You're anything but," Glory said, laughing softly. "Trust me. I've seen 
millions of humans and none have caught my interest the way that you have."

"Lucky me," Willow said, forcing a smile.

"Tell me everything about yourself," Glory said, her blue eyes studying the 
redhead. She could sense the slayer on this girl, knew from first spotting 
her in the club that she must be friends with Buffy. It was only after being 
face to face with the redhead that she had found her curiosity running away 
with her. There was something attractive about the green-eyed human. Glory 
had decided that she could overlook whatever connection Willow had with the 
slayer. She'd take care of the slayer without using the little twit's friends 
to get to her.

"I'm twenty," Willow said, her mind still trying to deal with the fact that 
she was sitting opposite Glory. She should have known not to try to find out 
information to help Buffy fight the woman. When was she going to learn that 
her plans never worked. "I go to college here, in my second year. Not really 
sure what I'm majoring in, but I love history and computers so...."

"And magic," Glory said. "I can smell the magic left over from a recent 
spell. You're a witch?"

Willow nodded, "You could say that. I've been teaching myself off and on for 
the past couple of years."

"Why did you look so sad earlier?"

"My best friend recently lost her mother. Shortly after that, my girlfriend 
moved to the East coast," Willow explained. "It's been a tough couple of 
weeks."

"Your girlfriend?" Glory asked, eyes sweeping over Willow again. She smiled, 
her boredom suddenly leaving as she realized she had a single, beautiful 
woman sitting across from her. Not only that, a girl that enjoyed playing 
with magic and interested her more than anyone had in hundreds of years.

"Yeah, she went to school back east," Willow said, not liking the calculating 
look that entered Glory's eyes. She suddenly felt like a bug on a microscope. 
Seeing the flare of lust enter those blue eyes, she shifted on the seat, not 
used to such open admiration.

"I want you, Willow. You entertain me and you're so beautiful. I get so bored 
being alone," Glory said, sighing. "Do you know how lonely eternity can be?"

"Not really," Willow said, frowning. She looked at her watch, making an 
excuse, "I really need to go. I have a friend that I need to check on."

"I'm scaring you," Glory observed with an amused smile. "You're running back 
to your little slayer, hoping that she'll keep you safe from me. Honey, she 
can't keep you safe."

"You know?" Willow whispered, feeling frightened as she saw the steady blue 
eyes regarding her carefully.

"Sugar, I can smell her scent on you. Thing about slayers, they always stink 
up the area around them," Glory said with distaste. "I don't mind that she's 
one of your little friends. You will be mine, sweetie."

"I don't think so," Willow said, shaking her head. "Just coffee, remember?"

"That was then. This is now," Glory said with a smile. "I just thought I'd be 
honest and tell you my intentions, since you're such an old fashioned 
creature and all."

"Your intentions?" Willow said, shaking her head. "You were just flirting 
with me. Trying to get to Buffy."

Glory laughed sharply, "Honey, I can take care of Buffy with my hands tied 
behind my back. I don't need you to get to her. No, my lovely, this is about 
you. I've made up my mind, simple as that. I want you with me. You've gotten 
fair warning. I surely hope you don't fight me on this....too much."

"You're crazy," Willow said, shaking her head. "I'm not going to be with you. 
I don't care if that's what you want or not. And Buffy? You underestimate 
her, Glory. She's going to kick your ass."

Glory laughed, "See? There's the spunk that caught my attention. I don't 
think your admiration of the slayer is justified, but soon you'll see that 
yourself. Deny it all you want, lovely, but you want me. I know that as sure 
as we're sitting here. It won't take long before I have you."

"Keep dreaming," Willow said, getting to her feet. She started to leave 
before she said, "Thank you for the coffee."

Glory just laughed, "Willow, honey, there's something I thought you should 
know."

Willow looked at the blonde, wondering if she was going to tell Buffy about 
this coffee outing or just keep it to herself and not worry the slayer 
anymore. "What?"

"I want you," Glory said again, "and I always get what I want."

Willow gulped, backing away from the blonde's confident gaze. "Sorry...not 
this time."

Glory watched her leave, smiling as she put her fork in the piece of pie, 
"We'll see, Willow....we'll see...."

********************

Willow slowly walked up the sidewalk to the porch. She noticed that the 
downstairs lights were still on, the second floor looking dark. She had left 
the diner nearly an hour ago. Instead of going straight to Buffy, she had 
wanted some time to think. She was still confused, having no idea what had 
happened. She had intended to try to get some information about this Glory 
person to help Buffy and instead found herself being seduced by the very 
demon that she had been looking for. Glory's words still echoed in her mind, 
that promise of finding her and claiming her. Why did something that should 
frighten her instead make her pulse race? Sure, Glory was an attractive 
woman. At the club, before Willow had realized who she was, there had been an 
attraction and some major flirting. But, Willow now knew this was Buffy's 
enemy, someone that was after Dawn and would stop at nothing to get the key. 
A hell God or something like that, Willow remembered Buffy saying. How could 
she have found someone that evil attractive?

And why did she feel guilty for having those thoughts? Willow felt like she 
had betrayed Buffy by flirting with Glory. That didn't make any sense at all 
to Willow. And now Glory seemed to have decided that she wanted her. Maybe 
the blonde had just been talking, wanting to scare her. Willow could 
understand that. Yet, the look in Glory's eyes had not been threatening. It 
had been a promise, a mixture of lust and curiosity and need that scared 
Willow to death. No one had ever looked at her like that, as if she were the 
answer to all their questions. Willow didn't know what frightened her more, 
that Glory had just been trying to scare her and meant to use her to get to 
Buffy and kill the slayer and take Dawn or that Glory had been completely 
serious and that she believed Willow to be the cure of her boredom in the 
human realm. Willow had belief that Buffy could slay anything, but, so far, 
Glory was proving to be very powerful and a tough opponent. Willow couldn't 
even imagine her world without Buffy in it, and wouldn't even consider the 
slayer being killed. Either way, Glory seemed certain that she would defeat 
Buffy, showing no fear at all, instead amusement that the slayer thought she 
could win. That was a bit unbalancing. Facing a demon that had no fear of the 
slayer. Even Angelus had been a bit afraid of Buffy, having seen what she 
could accomplish. Did Buffy stand a chance at winning this fight?

Before Willow could debate an answer, the door was flung open. She blinked as 
she saw Buffy standing there, framed by the light. Her blonde hair was 
clouded around her face, her hazel eyes worried and angry and confused. 
Willow frowned, wondering what had happened. "Buffy."

"Where have you been?" Buffy demanded, moving onto the porch and impulsively 
hugging her best friend. "I was so worried. Damn it, Willow. You scared me!"

"I'm sorry," Willow said, clearly puzzled as to Buffy's behavior. "How did I 
scare you?" Buffy didn't answer, instead tightening her hold on the redhead. 
She inhaled, finding comfort in the familiar scent of Willow. The confused 
look on her face grew worse as she became aware of Willow's breasts pushed 
against her own, of her hand on Willow's lower back, of just how close her 
mouth was to Willow's graceful neck. Buffy pulled back suddenly, turning so 
that Willow couldn't see the weird look she knew must be on her face. This 
was Willow, her best friend. She wasn't supposed to be aware of how good she 
smelled, or how soft her body was or how right it felt to hold her so close. 
She was just reacting because she had been scared. Yeah, that had to be it. 
She decided not to explore the idea that she had been having strange feelings 
for her best friend for the better part of four months, since before Riley 
had gone, before her mother had died, before Tara and Willow had even broken 
up. She was just confused, she decided. Mistaking friendship for something 
more. So much had happened in such a short time.

"Buffy?" Willow questioned as she followed the slayer into the house. She was 
confused, not having any idea how she could have scared Buffy.

"You weren't here," Buffy finally answered, turning to look at the redhead. 
"You always come by after I get home from patrol. I've come to expect you by 
eleven. You were late tonight. I overreacted I guess. I was so worried that 
someone had taken you, killed you. It hurt. I've lost so much lately. Riley 
leaving, Mom dying, even Spike moving to LA....I couldn't lose you too."

"You'll never lose me, Buffy," Willow said with an easy smile, finding that 
she couldn't look away from the clouded confusion covering those beautiful 
hazel eyes.

"Promise?" Buffy asked, knowing she must sound like a petulant child but not 
caring. Riley leaving had probably been the best thing for both of them. She 
still couldn't believe her mother was dead, but knew that no amount of crying 
or denial could bring her back. It had been nearly a month and she and Dawn 
were slowly moving past it, though it still hurt like hell to not have her 
Mom. And Spike, well, strangely enough that one had hurt too. While she 
hadn't returned his bizarre proclamations of love for her and honestly 
doubted what he really felt was love, he had become an ally over the last 
year. In a way, she thought they might have been able to be friends if there 
hadn't been so much past between them. He had left only a couple of days 
before, having found her on patrol to tell her that his Gramps needed him and 
that he was going to LA. She doubted that Angel even knew he was coming, but 
so far she hadn't heard that Spike had been killed. It had hurt, to look into 
his blue eyes and see something that might have been love for her and not 
feel anything at all. She had said some horrible things to him, when he had 
first admitted everything. She couldn't believe he had still come around 
after that. She'd been the worst type of bitch. It had surprised her, though. 
She had lashed out, honestly having never felt anything for him except 
contempt and hate and admiration and respect. It was the admiration and 
respect that she believed was behind his ideas of loving her. Had she thought 
it might be love, she might have reacted differently. No, she decided. He was 
Spike, a former enemy that had become a friend of sorts. He would never have 
her heart. She knew that and he must have realized it too. Deciding to go 
bother Angel rather than stay in Sunnydale wanting something he could never 
have. It was the best choice for him, Buffy knew. Besides, Angel needed 
someone to keep him on his toes and Spike would be just the man for that.

"Promise," Willow said, asking, "What's that smile for?"

"Just thinking about Spike and Angel becoming roommates," Buffy said with a 
slight giggle.

"With the history between them," Willow said, "I think it might be fun to 
watch."

"God, I'm sorry I acted so silly," Buffy said with a sheepish smile. "I mean, 
you never even said you were coming by tonight anyway."

"I didn't mean to make you worried," Willow said truthfully. "I'd never want 
to do that."

"Where were you?" Buffy asked as she sat down, watching Willow sit down on 
the sofa. She saw Willow's eyes widen as her friend looked at the floor. Uh 
oh, why did she not like that? "Willow, what happened?"

"I uh went to this little club I heard about. It's not really for humans, you 
know?" Willow said, watching as Buffy's eyes narrowed. "I got in because of 
magic. I'm a witch so I'm not exactly human even though I am."

"Why did you go to some demony club?" Buffy asked, knowing that Willow would 
ramble for hours about being a human and a witch if she allowed it rather 
than answer her question.

"I was looking for information about Glory, to help you," Willow explained.

Buffy smiled at that, an honest smile, "Really? To help me?" she felt a sharp 
tug on her heart at Willow's shy smile.

"Yeah," Willow answered back, wondering what she should tell Buffy about 
Glory.

"Is that why you were late?" Buffy asked.

"Not exactly. See, while I was there, this beautiful woman came over and 
picked me up," Willow started.

"What?" Buffy said sharply, her tone angry as a wave of jealousy washed over 
her. "You were late to see me because you were with another woman?"

"Sort of," Willow said, frowning at Buffy. She studied the slayer, clearly 
confused by Buffy's tone of voice and anger.

"And what? Did she take you in the parking lot? Up against an alley wall? Are 
you that horny, Will?" Buffy asked, anger making her lash out. She didn't 
know why she was so upset. She should be glad a beautiful woman had flirted 
with Willow. Her best friend deserved all the happiness in the world. But, 
the thought of some woman touching her Willow made her blood boil. She wished 
she had a demon to kill. Suddenly, she scowled. Her Willow? Since when had 
Willow become hers? Realization began to dawn on her as she sank back against 
her chair. She was jealous. Those strange feelings for Willow, the need she 
felt to be with the redhead, it all began to make sense. She was in love with 
Willow. She looked at Willow, seeing the struck look on the redhead's pretty 
voice and felt horrible. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean...."

"We went for coffee," Willow said tightly, not sure what had prompted Buffy 
into saying those things but not really caring. They must have been on the 
slayer's mind. "Tara is the only woman that I have ever been with, Buffy. You 
know that. I've had two lovers in my entire life. I'm not likely to start 
picking up random strangers at some club that caters to demons. Is that what 
you think about me? That I'll get horny and go fuck the first person that 
looks my way?"

"No, of course not," Buffy said, wishing she had kept her mouth shut. "I know 
that you would never be with someone that you didn't love. I just reacted. 
I'm sorry."

"Forget about it," Willow said, hurt evident in her green eyes. "It's not 
worth fighting over. I'd better go."

"You're not staying?" Buffy asked, wishing she could go back and erase what 
she had said. Why did she do that? Lash out when confronted with emotions 
that confused her. She had hurt Willow, something she had vowed never to do.

"It's been a long night," Willow said.

"Please stay," Buffy said, looking at the floor. "I didn't mean those things. 
You know me and my big mouth. I speak without thinking. I was just surprised, 
I guess."

"Surprised that a beautiful woman would flirt with me?" Willow asked, still 
hurt that her best friend thought she was some kind of whore.

"No," Buffy said, her mind thinking of all sorts of things to counter that 
claim with but each one would be admitting to her secret and she didn't want 
Willow to know that she loved her. Not yet at least. She was still so 
confused and unsure about it all. What if it wasn't love? She couldn't hurt 
Willow like that. And besides, Willow might not return her feelings which 
would hurt even more. "Can we just go to sleep and start over tomorrow? I'm 
tired and spoke without thinking. I'm sorry."

"I'm tired too," Willow said, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair. 
"Fine. We can talk tomorrow. I need to be more awake before I tell you more 
anyway."

"Thank you," Buffy said softly, knowing that she had to get her shit together 
before she lost Willow completely.

"Is Dawn asleep?" Willow asked as she started up the stairs.

"Yeah. She's having trouble sleeping since Mom died, trying to deal with it 
all, poor kid," Buffy said.

"You're having to deal with it all too," Willow reminded, looking at her best 
friend and seeing the circles under her eyes. "You're not sleeping either."

"Yes, I am," Buffy said, adding, "whenever you're here. When you're not, I 
just can't give in and sleep. I don't know. Your being here makes me feel 
safe, lets me let go long enough to sleep. Silly, isn't it?"

Willow smiled as Buffy moved towards the bed, touched by the slayer's 
admission. "It's not silly, Buffy."

Buffy looked at the redhead and smiled as she tossed over a pair of shorts 
and a tank top. "Here. You can go shower while I get the bed ready. I took my 
shower after patrol so I think I'll go ahead and lay down."

"Good night," Willow said as she turned to go into the bathroom as Buffy 
pulled the covers down and began to change into her sleeping clothes. 
Tomorrow, she'd confess the truth about Glory and the statements the blonde 
had made while they had had coffee.