Fic: Triune (30a/30b) B/W/T NC-17

["TheBear" <thebear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Triune

Author: The Bear!

Spoilers: up through season 5

Pairing: Buffy/Willow/Tara (Some of the other Scoobies might get a
little some-some as well)

Summary: Ends the Triad Trilogy- Sequel to the Please Trilogy. The new
Triad deals with an angry Hellgod and new relationships are on the
horizon

Warnings: NC17 Ahoy! I Love BDSM. I Love chains and whips. I love
Sex! If any of these gives you the wiggins, then so will this story.
(Part 30a is only NC17 for theme and conversations. No sex in this bit.
Sorry!)

Disclaimer: If I owned ?em, they?d have to show it on the Ecstasy
Network.

========== BtVS ==========

Part 30a

========== BtVS ==========

The mood was somber as the Scoobies and the gang from Angel
investigations entered the Crawford street mansion.  

?This place is marvelous!? Wesley gushed as he looked all around, an
expression of awe plastered to his face.

?Nice digs, man,? Gunn said, not quite succeeding in looking less
impressed than Wesley.

Tara noticed Willow looking at Buffy with some concern. She looked at
the blond Slayer and noticed that she was keeping her head down. ?I
know she wanted to go home and get some things, but Mr. Giles warned us
not to go where the Knights might be looking for us?? she thought. ?But
this seems like something else??

?Wow, this place must bring back memories?? Cordelia said with a noteof
wonder to her voice. ?I've never actually been here, but I remember all
kinds of stories about stuff that happened here.

Tara saw Buffy flinch slightly when Cordelia mentioned memories. ?Oh.
Not good memories then I guess,? she thought sadly.

Suddenly Faith burst out, ?Yeah, whatever. Can we get on with the whole
fighting the hell-bitch thing, cause right now I don?t need a trip down
memory lane, ok?? The dark-haired Slayer?s body language was screaming
her discomfort and desire to be anywhere but here.

?Jeeze, attitude much?? Cordelia virtually sneered.

?This is about to become very ugly,? Tara thought. Seeing Faith tense
Tara was about to intervene when Angel beat her to the punch.

?That?s enough Cordelia, Faith?s right. Let?s just get ready and get
this thing done, ok?? Angel snapped angrily. He also looked
uncomfortable being in his old home.

?Good plan Angel,? Buffy said, lifting her head, but not really looking
around much. ?You guys get ready, I need to go to the magic box before
we go?? she turned to look at Xander and asked, ?Do you remember that
thing I found at the warehouse? when I first fought Glory??

?Dagon Sphere,? Willow said softly.

Buffy glanced at the redheaded witch and smiled slightly. ?Right,
that.?

Xander nodded his head, ?Glowy golden ball thing, right? In the
basement. I?m pretty sure I remember Anya putting it down in the
basement.?

?Ok, you drive, then. We?ll grab that and get back here. Will, Tara;
you guys do the thing to see if Her Unholiness is home, and when we get
back we?ll hit the road,? Buffy said in a commanding tone.

Tara smiled, pleased to see her lover taking charge. ?She?s always most
confident when the decision is made and she?s ready to act?? the witch
affectionately thought of her Slayer. ?Buffy, be careful, remember what
Giles said about the Knights?? she cautioned.

Buffy?s face softened as she looked at the blonde witch. ?Right, we?ll
watch out for the bizarre ones. They?ll get a turn when we?re done with
Glory.?

========== BtVS ==========

?You ok Buff?? Xander asked, breaking the silence.

Their drive to the magic box had been made without a word, as Buffy was
wrapped up in her thoughts about the coming fight.

Looking up at Xander, she gave him a small smile and said, ?Yeah, I?m
ok. Just thinking about tonight.?

Xander looked back to the road in front of him and nodded his head.
?Yeah,? he said. After a moment?s pause, he added, ?I just thought? I
dunno, you didn?t look real happy back there, and I thought maybe, you
know, bad memories??

Buffy shook her head, ?Not really. I mean, yeah there?s the not-so-good
times I had there? but I?m pretty much over that stuff, as much as you
can get over that kind of thing, I guess.?

?Hmm,? Xander grunted noncommittally.

Buffy went on to explain, ?I was more worried about Faith.? 

Xander had a frown on his face as he turned the car into the parking
space at the Magic Box, ?Faith? Why??

Buffy was silent for a moment, thinking, ?Poor Faith. How do you get
past the kind of stuff she did?? She turned in her seat to face Xander
and tried to explain, ?Most of the bad memories I have from that place
are because of stuff that happened, I don?t know, to me, I guess.
Things that I was involved in, but I didn?t necessarily? cause them to
happen? or at least not intentionally.?  

Feeling silly, Buffy chuckled at herself. ?I?m not sure, does that make
any sense at all??

Xander smiled warmly and nodded. ?Yeah, I think I get it. You get to
remember being the hero; Faith remembers being the villain.?

?I did a lot of stupid stuff in my life? things I regret, stuff I wish I
could go back and do over? but I never did anything that I thought was?
I dunno, evil I guess. At least not on purpose? Maybe I was just
fooling myself sometimes, but I never thought of it as evil? Faith, she
did stuff knowing it was bad, like she planned to hurt people, even kill
them. She was going to torture me to death, she did torture Wesley.?  

Buffy shook her head and a single tear fell from her eye as she thought,
?God, what would it be like to have memories like that??

She felt Xander?s hand on her face, his thumb wiping the tear from her
cheek. She looked back up at him and her voice was sorrowful as she
whispered, ?I don?t know how I?d ever get past that? I don?t knowif she
can??

Xander interrupted her. His hand moved from her face to grip her
shoulder, and his voice carried a sense of conviction as he said, ?She
can. She will. Faith will deal; we?ll help. Yeah, maybe it?ll be
hard, but she?ll be ok in the end.?

?I wish I could? How can you be sure?? Buffy asked. 

Buffy was surprised when Xander laughed out loud. ?What?!? she asked.
?What did I say that was funny?? she wondered.

?Buffy? this is, what, our fourth or fifth apocalypse?? Xander asked,
still smiling widely.

Buffy felt thrown by the non-sequitor. ?Uh, this will be nine,
actually?? she said. When Xander?s eyes widened in surprise, Buffy
grinned and said, ?Willow and I were counting them this morning??

?Counting apocalypses is why you two were screaming like that?? Xander
asked, teasing the blonde.

Buffy felt her face get hot, ?Stupid, I should have expected that,? she
thought, annoyed that he?d caught her like that.  

Xander laughed in the face of her glare and said, ?Seriously Buff, We?ve
faced the end of the world eight times, and guess what? World?s still
here.?

Back to confused again- and wary of another verbal trap, Buffy slowly
said, ?Yeah, so??

The quality of Xander?s smile changed from humorous, to warm and caring.
?So? If we can face that and still be alive, let alone sane? mostly?
then we can face one guilty-feeling Slayer and help her find a way to
move past all the crap and be ok.?

?You really are the sweetest guy?? she thought as she suddenly wrapped
Xander in a warm embrace. ?You know, you?re a pretty great guy, Xan.?
She whispered in his ear before releasing him.

Xander was blushing when she pulled away from him, and he did what he
usually did when emotions began to run high, he joked. ?Sure, now you
realize that? now that you?re all shacked up with two women!? Xander
said in mock outrage.

Buffy laughed as she got out of the car, saying, ?Sorry Xander? Now I
bet you wish you were still ?just like one of the girls?!?

?Argh, you?re a cruel, wicked woman, Buffy Summers!? Xander lamented as
he stood up and closed the car door behind him.

Buffy laughed and turned to walk to the shop when she noticed that the
lights were on. ?We didn?t leave the lights on, did we?? she asked with
a note of caution in her voice. Before Xander could answer, she said,
?Wait here,? and slowly walked over to the edge of the window, peering
in.  

Buffy was very surprised to see a woman, on her knees, scrubbing the
floor with a brush. ?What the??? She turned and waved Xander over,
saying, ?Who the heck is that?? she asked him as he got to the window.

?Anya!? Xander exclaimed softly. 

Buffy looked at Xander, surprised by his certainty. ?How can you tell?
She?s facing away?? she trailed off as Xander smirked at her with one
eyebrow raised. ?Oh, right?? she mumbled, feeling stupid.

Xander chuckled at her discomfiture and strode over to the door,
entering unhesitatingly while Buffy scrambled to catch up.

?Well, if it isn?t Anya, my dear ex-girlfriend,? Xander said cheerfully.
?What brings you back to our lovely little town??

?This should be interesting,? Buffy thought.

The figure on the floor stopped scrubbing and looked over her shoulder
at Buffy and Xander. If they hadn?t been able to tell who it was
already, her response would have given it away. ?Oh sure, now you get
here! Where were you when all the heavy lifting had to be done? Not to
mention all the cleaning and scrubbing! Men! You?re only good for your
penis, but now you won?t even give me that any more, so what good are
you??

Buffy saw her own shock reflected in Xander?s stunned look.

?And you!? Anya continued, seemingly without breathing, as she turned to
the Slayer. ?What are you doing with him? I thought you had given up
on the penis-bearing gender.?

?Hey!? Buffy and Xander exclaimed in unison.

?Though Xander does have a very nice penis,? Anya continued as though
speaking only to herself. ?Still, his penis was supposed to be for me
only!?

Buffy felt her jaw drop. She tried to say something, anything to shut
Anya up, but the only thing that came out was a startled squeak.

?And do your lesbian witches know that you?re playing with Xander?s
penis?? Anya continued. ?Are they playing with it too? Oh I see,
everyone gets to play with your penis except me, is that it Xander??

?Oh. My. God!? Buffy thought. ?Xander, please! Make her stop!? Buffy
cried out in her mind, her mouth still unable to form any coherent
sounds.

Finally, Xander began shouting. ?Whoa, whoa, whoa! Enough with the
penis talk, Ahn! Buffy and Willow and Tara are not?? he trailed off,
shaking his head. ?You know what? We aren?t even having this
conversation.?

?Fine, tell me to shut up. You never liked hearing anything I had to
say anyway!? the ex-vengeance demon complained bitterly before turning
her back on the two Scoobies and resuming her scrubbing.

Xander looked at Buffy and held his hands wide, as if to ask what was
going on.

?I have no idea!? Buffy thought, shaking her head. She managed to shut
her sagging jaw, but still didn?t have any control over her vocal cords
yet. ?How did I ever get used to that?? she thought wonderingly.

?Anya, what in the *hell* are you doing here?? Xander asked, having
regained control over the volume of his voice.

The verbally improvident blonde continued to scrub as she answered,
?Well, obviously, I?m trying to run my shop, or I would be if I wasn?t
having to clean up after those foolish metal-covered persons who
obviously decided that this would be a good place to be slaughtered!?
Anya stopped and sat up on her knees, adding, ?Though, I do have to
admire a good slaughter. It reminds me of the time I set loose a b?Ytmí
demon on that bunch of Carpathian soldiers; one of them had been
sleeping with a young girl in his village and decided to share her with
his friends? their armor held the prettiest twisted shapes.? Turning to
once again look at the Scoobies over her shoulder, she said, ?It was
very artistic!?

Buffy still hadn?t managed to find her voice and she once again stared
at Xander in wonder at his ex-girlfiend?s unabashed insensitivity.

Anya picked up her brush and bucket and stood up, stretching mightily as
she re-approached the subject at hand. ?Of course, these bodies weren?t
nearly as artistically arranged.?

?Anya, for the love of God!? Xander exclaimed loudly. ?Will you please
explain what you are yammering about? And try not to bring up some
horrible anecdote from your past while you do it!?

Anya rolled her eyes and sighed heavily in apparent exasperation. She
went into the utility room at the back of the store and got rid of her
cleaning implements as she talked. ?You know those idiot knights that
have been wandering around the past couple of days??

?Uh, we?ve kinda been? out? the last couple days,? Xander said.

Finally finding her voice, Buffy said, ?Knights? Like those three I met
a couple of weeks ago??

Anya nodded her head as she walked back into the main room. ?Yes, the
Knights of Byzantium.?

?Well, that?s just perfect!? Xander groused. ?More fun enemies in
Sunnydale to keep us all entertained, which is great, ?cause we were
running low!?

?Xander!? Buffy admonished. ?How many, Anya? And where are they now??


?Oh, I stopped counting at around a hundred; it?s so hard to tell with
all the parts all over like that?? 

Buffy turned back to Xander and said, ?We?ll need to make sure we don?t
run into them before we can deal with Glory?? She trailed off when
Anya?s comment sunk in. ?Huh, parts??

?Oh, you won?t run into them, I sold them to a family of ghouls that
live under Sutter?s Park!? Anya said happily.

Xander looked horrified. He stammered, ?Y- you *sold* them? You sold
people to some family of demons!??

?Oh, oh. Xan?s gonna pop!? Buffy worried. She grabbed his arm and
said, ?The bodies, Xander. She sold the dead bodies?? Turning to Anya
she added, ??and can I just say ?Eww!? to that??

?Well, of course they were dead. Everyone knows ghouls don?t eat live
flesh,? Anya said as though they were daft.  

At Xander?s look of disgust, the ex-demon whined, ?Well, what else was I
supposed to do?? Waving her arms, she explained, ?I mean, I walk in
here and there?s dead corpses all over the floor. It was wall-to-wall
blood and guts in here; and ghouls are very efficient at removing that
sort of thing.?

?Oh, poor Xan. You?re looking a little green,? Buffy thought
sympathetically.

?It?s just too bad they couldn?t take care of the blood stains,? Anya
lamented. ?I?ve been scrubbing for hours! Look I even broke a nail!?
she said, holding up her finger to illustrate. ?Frankly, I think they
were very inconsiderate to do their dying here. They could have had the
manners to go out in the alley or someplace more appropriate,? she
finished in a huff.

?Anya I beg you to stop,? Xander said, his voice hoarse.

Buffy guided him to a chair before he fell. ?Glory,? she said quietly.
?It had to be Glory.?

Anya concurred. ?Yes, that seems very likely. At first I thought it
might have been you; after all, you?re the one they?re looking for.
Well, you and Dawn, really. But then, I realized- though you have many,
many flaws, untidiness isn?t generally one of them? What?? she asked as
Buffy glared at her.

?You know, Anya. I always tried to be relatively nice to you, out of
respect for Xander. But, right now you?re treading very close to the
edge,? Buffy said, her annoyance with the tactless girl at an all time
high.

?I don?t understand why you would be angry with me!? Anya whined loudly.
?Is this some kind of territorial Slayer behavior? Because Xander?s
giving you his penis now, and he used to give it to me??

?I?m gonna kill her! I swear, I?m gonna kill her!? Buffy thought,
outraged. ?Enough with the penis talk! I am going downstairs to get
what I came for, and when I come back up, you will be gone. You can
walk out on your own, or I can throw you out. Your choice.?  

With that, Buffy took Xander?s hand and pulled him up from the chair.
She led him downstairs, ignoring Anya?s muttered, ?We?ll see about
that??

?God Xander, how did you manage to live with that for so long without
going insane?? Buffy wondered as she tromped down the stairs.

========== BtVS ==========

?Man, this sucks.? Faith thought as she looked up at the sky, the stars
just beginning to show in the onset of darkness. ?They go to all the
trouble of getting me pardoned from prison for the biggest fight, like,
ever?? she glanced back in to where she could hear Willow and Tara
chanting their incantation as she sulked. ??and I?m relegated to the
Sabrina section.?

Faith let her gaze wander through the room she?d abandoned in favor of
the fresh air of the walled garden. ?Wes looks like the nerd in gym
class. S?amatter, watcher-boy, they didn?t teach you about guns in
jolly-old?? she thought with a snicker. ?G looks like he?s held a
shooter a time or two in his life? The boy damn-sure knows how to use
that gun he?s packing,? she thought, smiling warmly at recent memories.

Faith?s smile curdled, however, when her focus moved across to where
Cordelia was standing. ?Bitch!? she thought as she forced herself to
refrain from flipping off the ex-cheerleader. ?I don?t know how Angel
puts up with you!? she muttered as she turned her back on the room, once
more focusing on the depths of outer space. 

She jerked in surprise when a voice came out of the shadows by the
stairs, ?It isn?t always easy??

?Jesus, Angel!? Faith groused. ?Don?t you know that?s a good wayto get
a stake in the heart??

Angel ignored her complaint, saying, ?What is it with you and Cordy?
Every time you two are in the same room, I get the impression that
you?re having to restrain yourself from??

?Bitch-slapping her till she sobs like a little girl?? Faith said with
no little rancor. ?Damn! She gets on my last fricken nerve!? she
thought huffily, wrapping her arms around herself and turning away from
the vampire.

?What is it about her that pushes your buttons so hard, Faith?? Angel
asked softly.

Faith flinched when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She
shrugged him off and walked away, saying, ?I gotta have a reason? She
gets on my nerves, it happens. She?s a bitch, always has been, always
will be.?

?Faith, come on?? Angel began.

Whirling around, Faith cut him off. ?It?s no big, it happens! Ok??  

She put her hands on her hips and smirked a little as she went on the
offensive. ?The way I hear it, you oughta know exactly what I mean!?

At his befuddled look, she thought, ?Gotcha, fang-boy. Let?s see how
you like talking about the hard stuff??

?Yeah, I heard you got your panties all in a wad over seein? B with her
new gal-pals,? Faith crowed.

?You?re wrong Faith.? Angel said, his face impassive.

?Oh, so you didn?t throw a fit in front of the whole Scooby gang? You
didn?t try get into it with B, just to get yourself taken to school by
little miss bewitched in there?? she said with her thumb over her
shoulder, gesturing back toward Tara.

?Ok, didn?t expect that reaction!? Faith thought at seeing a warm smile
cross Angel?s face.

?You weren?t wrong about that part, Faith. But what you don?t see, is
that it was a big deal. What Mis? Tara did was huge.? He started to
explain.

?Holy Crap!? Faith could feel her eyes widen at the normally-broody
vamp?s slip of the tongue.

Angel continued, his sublime smile never faltering. ?I was completely
out of control, and I could have hurt someone. I?m ashamed to say that
I did try to hurt Tara, but fortunately she was stronger than I was.?

?Jeeze, knock me over with a fricken feather?? Faith thought as her jaw
sagged open.

?The anger I was feeling was a big deal, Faith. Fortunately, someone
was able to help me deal with it before it caused bigger problems,?
Angel finished.

The dark haired Slayer stood there silently. ?Jesus, Angel. Talk about
surprising??

?Why Angel? Why did it get to you that hard?? Faith asked, now
concerned for the one person who was willing to believe in her when she
was out of control and lost in the darkness.

?Unh uh. I already answered your question. You want to talk about my
jealousy, fine. First, I want to know what?s going on with you and
Cordelia. Unlike Tara, Cordelia can?t defend herself if you lose
control.?

Faith felt her muscles tense involuntarily as the subject came back to
the seer. ?I ain?t gonna lose it?? she started to argue.

?Oh no? You?ve been around her for what? Five or six hours, spread out
over three days, and you already look like you want to hit her on
sight.? Angel countered. His voice displayed no anger, only sympathy.
?So, what is it Faith? Why do you get so angry at her??  

?God Angel! You act like it?s some big thing. She is a bitch. She?s a
bitch to everyone around her! Christ, the whole time she was dating
Xander, she treated him like crap! And then she?s all shocked when he
ends up playin? tonsil hockey with Red!? Faith was pacing now, throwing
her hands in the air as she hissed out her diatribe.

?Oh, and don?t get me started on how she acts around B. I seen it
myself, and I heard a bunch more. Total bitch; always looking down her
nose? actin? like she?s something special? like It ain?t enough that B
fights vampires, or that she saves the whole freakin world! Sorry we
don?t all have rich daddies to buy us clothes and cars and stuff! She
looks down on us like we?re?? she shook her head, abandoning that line
of thought.  

Faith stopped pacing and faced the vampire, her chest heaving against
the tight, burning sensation stretched across it. ?Way I heard it,
little miss muffet in there nearly died from vamps the first week B was
in town, but did she ever even get a ?thanks?? No! Ungrateful little??

Faith turned away from Angel and once again wrapped herself with her
arms and held on tightly. ?I hate her, I hate her, I hate her!? ran
through her mind like a droning hum.

She felt Angel?s hands on her shoulders and heard his whisper in her
ear, ?What about you, Faith? What did she do to you??

?You know the first words I heard out of her mouth?? Faith asked
quietly, not entirely ignoring his question, but shying away from a
direct answer. ?Check out the slut-o-rama??

The hands on her shoulders tightened.

?There I am, hooking up a vamp on the dance floor and takin' him outside
before he finds a midnight snack to nibble on, and I hear that voice?
And, she never changed. Didn?t matter that I?m the chosen one, or, or
that I saved her life plenty of times? all she saw was a gutter-trash
Southie.?

?Faith, I?? Angel said softly.

She interrupted, ?And now all she sees is a piece of garbage ex-con.
Like I?m disposable or something.?

?Faith, you?re not?? Angel began again.

Faith spun around and away from his hands, her anger once again rising
up as she gritted out, ?You?re damn right I?m not. I?m the fricken
Slayer! Yeah, I screwed up, and I gotta take my lumps, so if B or Red
or You or Wes wants to bust my chops, you got the right. But Queen C?
Hell no! Worst thing I ever did to that bitch was pop her in the nose
that once. And, she had that coming for years! God! I get more slack
from Wes, and I tortured him till he was almost dead!?

Angel looked severely taken aback. He stammered, ?I- I??

?S?amatter Angel, not what you expected?? Faith thought, feeling the
pleasant burn of anger and violence flow through her veins. ?Difference
is, now I?m in control??

?What?? Faith asked. ?You thought we were gonna have a moment here?
Trust me Angel? I?ve spent enough time in the shrink?s office over the
past year and a half. I don?t need any help ?understanding my rage.?I
understand it real good, and I control it, not the other way round.?

She almost laughed out loud at the look of shock on his face. ?Don?t
get me wrong, I appreciate the hell out of what you did for me? It made
all the difference in the world, knowing that someone really thought I
could make it. But, I?m not that person now. Oh, I?m all about the
redemption gig, and making up for the horrible crap I did; but that
don?t mean I?m gonna be all this fluffy-bunny girl all of a sudden. I?m
still the dark Slayer, just not the evil one.?

Turning away and looking up at the sky again, Faith said, ?You and me;
we?re cool Angel. And, Queen C gets a free pass until we deal with the
hell-bitch. Then you can take her back to LA and there won?t be a
problem at all.?

========== BtVS ==========

?You don?t understand! This Key-person is far too dangerous to be
allowed to live. What if Glory should get her hands on her? That?d
ruffle that calm, cool, annoyingly sexy British attitude of yours,
mister!? Anya practically screamed into the phone.

Even over the phone Anya could hear the exasperated sigh the preceded
his response. ?Ms. Jenkins? Anya, please. I *did* take your
information to Mr. Travers, as I said I would. He decided that it would
be most prudent if we allowed the Slayer to confront Glorificus as
planned before taking any further action. Should she fail, there will
be ample opportunity to destroy The Key??

?Well, clearly this Travers person is not in his right mind. Now is the
right time, not later. Later could be too late! You need to change his
mind, Jeremy, or else?? Anya ranted.

Jeremy once again spoke in soothing tones, offering reassurance, ?Right
now, The Key is safely in the care of Mr. Giles, several hundred miles
away from Sunnydale and Glory. Really, Anya? there is nothing to be
done until??

The ex-demon came to a rapid standstill. ?Really? Are you sure? How
do you know that? are you watching them? Has there been any sort of
attack, or perhaps a kidnapping attempt? Or, would that be Keynapping??
Anya wondered aloud.

The watcher?s response was slow in coming, ?Ah, no? not as such. Why,
do you think there will be??

?How should I know?? Anya yelled. ?Anything could happen

We?ve gone over this, Anya. Why are you so upset??

Anya paced furiously back and forth in her bedroom, not mollified in the
least by the voice on the phone. ?Why? Only because I?m very unhappy
at the prospect of my home, or my place of business being sucked into a
hell dimension! And your sexy British accent isn?t going to make me
feel any better about it, so don?t even try!? she cried petulantly.?

There was a pregnant silence, then the watcher?s voice whispered, ?I
miss you too, Anya. I?ve thought of little other than our time together
since I got back to London.?

Anya smiled slightly; she tried for a sexy, come-hither voice as she
said, ?Yes, the orgasms were very nice. I think you should go to
Nevada, blow up The Key, and then come here and give me many more
orgasms!? 

Jeremy?s voice was apologetic, ?Anya, I wish I could, but I cannot do
anything until??

Anya lost patience. She screamed, ?You know what I want, now do it!
Don?t talk to me until you do!? and slammed the phone on the ground.
?Stupid men!? she growled, feeling very frustrated. ?This is why I
spent eleven hundred years punishing them!?

========== BtVS ==========

?Who?s idea was it to file it under ?G??? Buffy asked as they walked up
the stairs and into the magic box proper.

Xander shrugged, ?Well if it wasn?t under ?G? for glowy or golden, I was
going to look under ?B? for ball?? 

Buffy smacked Xander on the shoulder and laughed.

?Ah, he gets the laugh!? Xander thought happily, having achieved his
goal. ?Well, Buff, you just have to know how Anya thinks??

?No, thank you. You know, I don?t mean to sound cruel or anything,
but?? she began, as she looked around the empty shop.

?But, how the hell did I stay with her so long?? Xander asked, finishing
her question with a knowing smile.

Buffy turned to him and put her hands on her hips. With her face
grimacing in a strange look of curiosity and just a little disapproval,
she said, ?Please tell me it wasn?t really just the sex. I mean, I get
that that was a huge part of the relationship, but how good could it
be??

Xander had to fight the evil chuckle that threatened to rise up in him
when he responded. ?Oh, Buffy. You have no idea.?  

?She looks like she?s watching a train wreck! Can?t turn away, can
you?? Xander thought evilly.

?There was this thing she?d do where she curled her tongue and stuck it
up??

Buffy immediately slapped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes,
interrupting his description by shouting ?Lalalalalalala, I can?t hear
you!?

Xander began laughing out loud, causing Buffy to stamp her foot and
point at him threateningly.

?Oh, you? you?? she growled, shaking her finger.

?Ahn had the longest tongue?? Xander said, reminiscing with a
mock-wistful tone.

?Eww, Eww! God! Xander! Don?t say another word! I?m sorry I asked!?
Buffy said, throwing her hands up in disgust.

?Uh huh, I see that grin threatening to show!? Xander thought, still
chuckling at the look of horror on her face.

Xander looked around the shop as Buffy stamped her way back to the
training room to grab some weapons. ?Oh, I wonder if that might be
useful?? he thought as his eyes lit upon one of the displays. His arm
gave a sympathetic twinge as he remembered Olaf the troll breaking his
wrist.

?It may have been insane troll-logic, but I wonder what would have
happened if Buffy hadn?t shown up? could I ever get over watching him
kill her?? Xander?s good mood evaporated and he sadly thought, ?Even
when I thought I loved Ahn, I couldn?t have let Will die.

?What?samatter?? Buffy asked.

Xander jumped just a little, not having heard the Slayer approach.
?Just remembering. And I thought maybe you could use that,? he
answered, pointing at the Troll-Hammer.

?Yeah, that?s a great idea Xand!? Buffy said happily. She walked over
and grabbed the hammer out of it?s display case, hefting it a couple
times as if to get the feel.  

Buffy looked up at Xander with a wicked smile on her face. ?Let?s go.
Glory?s not gonna know what hit her!?

Xander smiled in response. ?You know, I?m really starting to believe
that!? he thought as he followed the Slayer out the door.

========== BtVS ==========

end part 30a

 

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