Repercussions, Reactions and Retaliation (1b/?) W/B/T NC17

Title: Repercussions, Reactions and Retaliation

Author: The Bear!

Spoilers: None really, this is in the Triadverse AU and follows The Please Trilogy and The Triad Trilogy

Pairing: Willow/Buffy/Tara primarily, but other Scoobies are hooked up as well.

Summary: With Glory defeated, things should quiet down for a while... shouldn’t they?

Warnings: NC17 over all (Part 1b is more ‘R’ish)

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

Author’s Note: Ok, here’s the rest of part 1.

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

Chapter 1 cont...

Pulse pounding, Xander could feel his heart hammering in his throat as he ran. His breath came in gasps, his lungs burning as he tried to push himself onward.

‘Oh God! Help me! Gotta get away!’ he thought frantically.

He could hear the footsteps behind him, chasing him, drawing inexorably closer as his body wore out.

Fear’s icy talons clawed at his bowels as the pursuer called out, “I’m coming for you!” It was all Xander could do not to piss himself in terror as the voice continued; sounding like it was right behind him, “You can’t get away from me!”

“Oh God!” Xander whimpered, trying to push his exhausted body just a little faster. The panic churning in his gut was making the bile rise up, burning his throat, choking him as he struggled to breathe. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he darted a quick glance over his shoulder and saw...

Nothing.

“Huh?” he muttered, confused.

He looked again and saw the same thing, only this time, his exhausted body failed to maintain coordination and he tripped over his own feet, falling.

Time seemed to slow as Xander turned his head back forward to look where he was falling toward.

Xander let out a screech of terror as he saw, not the ground rushing up to meet him, but the beaten and bloody corpse of Ben, Mortal host of the goddess Glorificus; the man he’d killed.

Xander was still shrieking up till the moment he landed on the body. Somehow the knife Xander had driven through Ben’s heart was still there, and the handle drove into Xander’s solar plexus.

Xander’s lungs emptied in one agonizing gasp, cutting off his scream and leaving him gagging for air.

Gulping like a fish out of water, Xander looked at Ben’s face just as his eyelids opened. One eye was nothing but a pit of ruination, yet somehow seemed to focus on Xander along with the good one as the dead man spoke.

“You murdered me!” Ben said, and the accusation in his voice was like the weight of the world on Xander’s already battered conscience.

‘I’m sorry! Oh God, I’m so sorry!’ Xander wretchedly cried out in his thoughts, still unable to speak but feeling bitter remorse and fear flooding his mind and heart.

“Now it’s your turn,” Ben’s voice rang out in a proclamation of doom. The corpse’s bloody hands reached up and encircled Xander’s neck.

Xander struggled weakly, his body devoid of strength, while Ben’s cold, dead fingers tightened around his throat. ‘Oh God, I don’t want to die!’ he cried silently. Terror overwhelmed him as his vision darkened. ‘Please, Buffy, Willow, somebody save me! No! No! No!’

As his vision went black, Xander suddenly felt someone’s hands on his shoulders, shaking him, and a voice shouting, “Xander! Snap out of it X-man!”

Xander’s eyes blinked open and he saw Faith straddling him and shaking his shoulders. A gasp turned into a panicked inhale as he tried to fill his lungs after nearly being choked to death.

“Faith!” Xander rasped, panting deeply. “Where am I? What the hell is going on?!” he demanded, still muzzy and confused. His eyes darted all over the room looking for his murder victim/attacker.

Faith got off of him, kneeling at his side as she explained, “Dude, you were having a wicked nightmare!”

“Nightmare?” Xander cried out as he jerked himself up to a sitting position. With that one word, realization began to set in.

‘Deadboy’s mansion,’ he remembered where he was. “Oh God, it was just a dream,” he whispered, feeling the icy residue of adrenaline flowing through his body.

“Your heart’s going like a freakin’ air hammer, man!” Faith said. “What the hell were you dreaming about?”

Xander briefly glanced up to meet the dark Slayer’s eyes before dropping them back to the rug on which he had fallen asleep early that morning. ‘God, if anyone would understand how I feel... but I can’t. Can’t let the girls find out, they’d hate me!’ Xander thought miserably.

“I, uh... sometimes I get... soldier dreams,” Xander mumbled quietly, picking at the fibers in the rug with his fingers.

“Soldier dreams, you mean from when you guys got turned into your Halloween costumes?” Faith asked in surprise.

Xander just nodded his head. ‘It’s not a lie, I do get soldier dreams, this just wasn’t one of those...’ he justified to himself.

“That sucks,” Faith said, standing up and walking over to the couch she’d been sleeping on, thankfully not pressing the issue.

“What time is it?” Xander asked, trying to shake off the dream and move on to other subjects.

“Dunno, around noon I guess. Sun’s up high,” Faith answered.

Rubbing his eyes to clear away any crusties, Xander headed for the courtyard and walked out into the sunshine. ‘Ahh, blissful, warm sunshine!’ Xander thought, closing his eyes and turning his face towards the sun. He stretched out his arms as though embracing the sky and just stood there for several minutes.

“What are you doing?” Faith’s quizzical voice rolled across the courtyard.

“Sunshine chases the nightmares away,” Xander said, not thinking to censor his words from the subject of his dreams.

“Yeah?” Faith asked in a quiet voice.

Xander nodded silently.

It took longer than normal, but eventually Xander felt the last of the fear and horror of the dream fade away as he basked in the warm solar rays. He dropped his arms and lowered his head, opening his eyes. As he turned, a smile stole across his face at the sight of Faith, standing as he had been.

‘I wonder if it’s some kind of rule; all slayers must be grade A1 hotties,’ Xander thought. ‘Buffy’s got the whole California beach babe look, Kendra was a Jamaican beauty, Faith’s a total sexbomb...’

Images from their one night together flashed across his mind

‘...with extra emphasis on the bomb! Talk about explosive!’ he added. ‘Ya’know, now that I think about it, pretty much every girl I hang around is a babe, Willow’s hot... Tara’s hot, now that she dropped the whole mousy thing. Even Dawn is turning into quite the sexy little hottie... and I did *not* just think that! God, I think I just shortened my life by a decade! If Buffy ever even got the slightest idea that I had sexy thoughts about her sister, she’d eviscerate me. Slowly. With a dull spoon!’

Shaking his head, Xander put that line of thinking away. Fortunately, Faith helped by dropping her arms and opening her eyes.

“Did it work?” Xander was curious. He refrained from any more direct questions about why she might need to use the technique.

Faith’s face held a gentle smile as she answered. “Yeah, actually it did,” she said with a note of pleasant surprise. Her smile turned into a smirk as she added, “Did you enjoy watching me?”

Xander just grinned back. “Yeah, actually I did,” he answered, not at all embarrassed.

Whatever response Faith was going to make was interrupted by the muffled sound of a woman screaming, coming from inside the mansion.

For a moment, Xander tensed, ready to run to the aid of whoever was crying out. Before he moved, though, he realized what the sound was. ‘Damn, the girls really know how to welcome a new day!’ he thought with a smirk.

Faith had a matching smirk on her face.

“I guess the girls are awake,” Xander said with a chuckle

“Either that, or Blondie’s having a wicked good dream!” Faith snarked. “Damn, I didn’t know B and Red had it in ‘em!”

‘Sounds like Tara’s the one with it in her... Doh! Bad Xander!’ he thought, amused, but glad he hadn’t said it out loud.

“I bet hanging around those three gives you plenty of jack-off fantasies, huh Xan man?” Faith said suddenly.

Xander, taken completely off-guard, choked in surprise. “Good God!” he blurted, feeling his face glowing hot.

“Come-on X, you can level with me,” Faith crooned in a sexy tone. “Do you lay awake at night, thinking of B, riding Red’s face like it was a rodeo bull; or Blondie stuffing B’s tiny little body full with three or four fingers, hmm? Prim and proper Buffy, riding that witch’s fingers, screaming like a porn-star?”

By this point, Faith had moved into Xander’s personal space, one hand lightly on his chest and the rest of her so close that he could feel her body heat. She was looking up at him through her eyelashes, a coy, knowing smile on her face.

‘What the hell are you playing at?’ Xander wondered.

“How many nights do you reach down between your legs and touch yourself with images of them playing in your head?” She whispered, licking her lower lip and drawing it between her teeth.

Xander gulped heavily and his voice was hoarse as he responded. “Uh, probably no more than you do, Faith.”

Faith’s face transformed from the seductress into a wide grin and she chuckled. Her voice was filled with humor as she said, “Damn! Every night, huh?”

‘Ok, I’m confused...’ Xander thought, thrown by Faith’s behavior. “Uh...” he tried to formulate a response, when Willow’s piercing shriek filled the air.

Suddenly Xander began to feel hot waves of pleasure flowing through his body, centering in his groin. “Oh God!” he yelped as a powerful orgasm ripped through him, causing his body to shudder and twitch.

Faith was apparently affected as well. She grabbed a fist-full of his shirt with the hand on his chest, and her eyelids fluttered shut. Her legs bowed and she began writhing, rolling her hips like she was in the midst of intercourse. Her free hand trailed up into her hair as her head fell back and she shouted, “Oh hell yeah! Yes! Yes! Yessssss!”

Xander had no concept of time during that moment other than one realization, ‘It’s never lasted this long before in my life!’

When it finally ended, Xander was breathing hard and felt sweaty all over. “What in the *hell* was that?” he asked out loud.

“Dunno Xan,” Faith said, releasing her grip on his shirt and running her hands over her forehead and through her thick curly hair. “But whatever it was, I want one of my own!”

Xander frowned at the dark Slayer and took a step away from her. “Oh God,” he muttered as he felt sticky mess in his pants.

“Damn, Xan-man!” Faith exclaimed, sounding surprised.

Xander looked back at Faith and saw her staring at his pants with a smirk on her face. He looked down to see the extent of the mess and closed his eyes, shaking his head in disgust.

Muttering dire imprecations toward certain redheads, Xander headed for the bathroom, grabbing a fresh change of clothes from his bag as he went.

“You need a hand in there?” Faith loudly asked as he went by. She sounded highly amused.

“No! I think I can handle it, Faith,” he growled.

As he entered the bathroom and grabbed the door to slam it behind him, he heard her call out, “Yeah, I bet you can... sounds like you’ve had lots of practice!”

“Women!” Xander growled as he turned on the shower faucet and began stripping.

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

“I don’t understand; you mean she cast a spell?” Buffy’s voice was filled with confusion and annoyance.

“I didn’t mean too,” Willow whined, sounding like a little kid who had broken a lamp or something.

Tara shook her head, once again trying to explain as the three girls exited the bedroom. “Not exactly, Buffy,” she began.

They had recovered from Willow’s ‘big finale’, showered in the en-suite bathroom and gotten dressed- during which Tara had tried three times to explain what she thought had happened.

‘Goddess, how do I simplify this so that it makes sense to you?’ Tara thought.

“Remember how I told you that we can draw power from the earth around us, Buffy?”

The blonde Slayer nodded. “Uh huh, I remember that Willow doesn’t like to do it, because it’s too slow...” she said with an arch look at the redhead.

Willow’s eyes were downcast.

“That’s right, Buffy,” Tara agreed.

“So it was dark magic?” Buffy asked in a dismayed voice, apparently remembering the rest of that discussion.

At that Willow shook her head violently, meeting Buffy’s eyes for the first time since the event in question. “No! I swear Buffy! I don’t know what happened, but I know it wasn’t dark magics!”

Tara stopped in the hall outside the bedroom, pulling her lovers to her. “Shh, Willow. It’s ok. Buffy, there were no dark magics,” she assured the shorter blonde.

“But...” Buffy began, sounding more confused than annoyed now.

“There are more power sources than those two, Buffy,” Tara explained. “Certain Wiccan magic rituals involve sex as a major component... it can lend great power to a spell.”

Willow’s voice was still a little whiny as she said, “But I didn’t cast any spells, I swear! In that state, I- I don’t think I could cast...”

Tara saw Buffy’s face soften into a gentle smile as she stared at her redheaded lover. The Slayer pulled her pet into an embrace and kissed her forehead, whispering just loud enough for Tara to hear, “It’s ok Will, I’m not mad...”

“You’re not?” Willow asked in that ‘little-girl’ voice that made Tara’s heart skip a beat.

“No baby. A little wigged, but not mad,” Buffy answered warmly.

Willow looked up at Tara and asked, “So if it wasn’t a spell, what was it?”

Tara smiled at both her lovers, once again feeling warmth and joy fill her at the sight. She sighed contentedly now that the tensions had eased. “Well, I think...” she continued the explanation as they began walking down the hall again. “I mean, a spell is just a way of focusing the magic energy and making it do what you want it to do. So, I think that... you didn’t have any focus, but Buffy was building up the sexual tension in you, and you apparently translated that into magical energy and then you... when Buffy finally let you release the tension...”

“I released the magic too...” Willow whispered, her voice awed.

By this point the triad had just entered the great room when they were startled by the sound of someone clapping their hands. Loudly.

Tara turned to the room to see Faith and Xander. Faith was laughing and clapping her hands, Xander had an annoyed look on his face, and was wearing only a towel around his waist. ‘He looks like he just got out of the shower...’ she thought, confused. ‘why didn’t he get dressed?’

Buffy must have had the same thought, because she said, “Xander, why aren’t you dressed?”

What seemed like a simple question had a strange effect.

Xander’s look of annoyance grew into an open glower. Faith, on the other hand, began laughing out loud.

‘Oh dear,’ Tara thought. ‘Goddess, I knew she was powerful, but... wow!’

Xander shot a glare at the dark haired Slayer before answering Buffy’s question. “Well Buff, I was dressed, in my very last set of semi-clean clothes, then *someone* decided to detonate little miss orgasma-bomb over there,” he said, gesturing to Willow.

Tara glanced at her lovers and had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing. ‘That look reminds me of the time Mom and Dawnie teased us about being too loud...’ she thought at Buffy’s wide-eyed stare, and Willow’s deep blush.

“and suddenly I needed a shower and a change of clothes- which I don’t have,” Xander continued grousing.

Faith interjected, “Don’t listen to him B!” The brunette began rubbing her hands over her upper thighs, up her pelvis and back down along either side of her crotch. “You can set off your little sex kitten any time you like as far as I’m concerned! Hell, I could sell tickets!”

‘Oh goddess!’ Tara thought, losing control of her laughter as Willow’s blush darkened and Buffy gaped, speechless.

Willow’s voice was squeaky high as she stuttered, “You mean... you... you... had a... a... a...”

Faith seemed to relish Willow’s embarrassment. “Orgasm, say it with me Red, ‘Or-gaz-im.’ I know you know what that is, hell you just shared yours with everyone in the house, and I, for one, wanna say thanks!”

Faith turned her attention from Willow to the two blondes, saying, “I don’t know which one of you did that to her, but... Damn you’re good! I haven’t cum that hard in years!”

Tara felt her own face growing hot as Faith continued.

“Whichever one of you it was... I’d be happy to return the favor anytime you like...” Faith trailed off.

Tara’s eyes narrowed at that. “Not amused Faith...” she said with a low growl.

‘Fun is fun, but no one touches what’s mine!’ Tara thought with annoyance.

Faith was still smiling, but Tara thought she saw a hint of apprehension in the dark Slayer’s eyes as she answered, “Easy now, I was just playing... besides, I’m not the one who was broadcasting orgasm signals to all the little girls and boys...”

“Oh goddess!” Willow cried suddenly. “How far do you think it went?” she sounded horrified.

Xander’s face lost its annoyed look, and his mouth started to twitch, “Well, I didn’t hear any screeching brakes, so either it didn’t reach the street, or no one was driving by at that moment...”

Faith was laughing so hard that she collapsed back onto the couch, holding her stomach. “Can... can you imagine...?” she started, having trouble getting out whatever she wanted to say past the laughter. “Some old lady... sittin’ there... just sittin’ there watching... Judge Judy? And, she... she...?”

Xander apparently couldn’t hold on to his anger either, as he began to laugh out loud. “Even better, some old guy watching Springer... and it’s drag-queen day!”

Faith’s laughter redoubled and tears rolled down her face as she laid back on the couch.

Xander collapsed back into a chair facing the couch, overtaken by his own laughter.

Buffy and Willow were busy holding each other in embarrassment.

‘Oh goddess, poor Willow, she’s never going to live this one down...’ Tara thought, fighting her own laughter. ‘I’m just glad Mom and Dawnie aren’t here... between this and the ‘pancake incident’ I don’t think Willow could ever look them in the eye again...’

Tara’s eyes traveled from her lovers past Xander who flopped back in the chair, wiping tears from his eyes to Faith, who was rolling onto her side on the couch.

Tara frowned in confusion when Faith’s face underwent an immediate an dramatic change. All humor fell away, replaced by what looked like shock. The shock then quickly transformed into a predatory look.

‘What?’ Tara wondered, confused as Faith licked her lips and smiled hungrily. ‘I’ve seen that look...’ she thought, trying to remember where. The blonde witch realized Faith’s eyes hadn’t wavered during this course of events, and she tried to follow the dark Slayer’s gaze.

“Oh my!” Tara squeaked, quickly turning her head away from the sight of Xander, sitting spread-legged as always, but wrapped in a short towel that gaped open, revealing more than he obviously realized.

“Damn X-man!” Faith’s voice sounded out. “You musta had a growth spurt or somethin’! I don’t remember it bein’ that big last time I steered you round the curves.”

Tara kept her eyes focused on Buffy and Willow. ‘I’m sure my face must look like Willow’s hair right now!’ she thought, mortified. ‘I’ve never seen a ‘live’ one before, and I’d be just as happy if I never saw one again!’

Buffy looked over in Faith’s direction, a curious look on her face. “Faith what are you talking about?”

Tara watched as Buffy and Willow looked over at Xander, trying to figure out what Faith meant. ‘No! Don’t look!’ she thought, but was unwilling to shout that out loud.

“I just might have to take you out for another test drive!” Faith said, her voice completely devoid of shame.

‘I think she’s enjoying this too much!’ Tara thought, annoyed. ‘I know we’re kinda a lot more open about sex and stuff since we got together, but Faith is... well, actually I guess she’s not as bad as Anya was... but almost!’

At that moment Tara saw her two lovers get an eyeful and react with shock, though, unlike her, they didn’t immediately turn away.

“Wow!” Buffy exhaled, her eyes wide.

Willow just nodded. Her eyes were also wide and staring.

“Now we know why Anya was so...” Buffy began.

“Ahem!” Tara cleared her throat loudly. ‘Oh you two are definitely getting your butts paddled tonight!’ Tara thought with a glare.

Xander apparently figured out what everyone was staring at, because Tara saw him jump to his feet out of the corner of her eye.

“Ok, that’s it!” Xander said loudly. “I’m taking Giles car to my apartment. One of you is coming with me to go in and get me some clothes, so I don’t have to walk through my apartment building in nothing but a towel...”

Both Buffy and Willow turned to Tara with a sheepish look when they saw her glare.

“I’ll go!” Faith said immediately.

“Someone who isn’t Faith,” Xander quickly clarified.

Tara turned around to see Faith smirking broadly as she laid back on the couch. “Your loss,” she said, running her hand over her arched hip seductively.

Tara looked to Xander for his response and again blushed and ducked her head when the front of his towel visibly twitched.

“Tell me about it...” Xander muttered softly.

Willow whispered something to Buffy, too low for Tara to hear. Buffy nodded slightly and Will piped up, “Come on Xander, I’ll save ya’ from the big bad Slayer.” Her voice was clearly projecting her amusement at the situation.

“My hero!” Xander said flatly.

Tara risked another glance at him and saw the corners of his mouth twitching into a small sheepish grin. ‘Well, that was... an interesting start to the day,’ she thought.

“If we hurry, we can get some donuts on the way back before we have to check in with G-man...” Xander said, walking toward the door.

“Oh my God! Giles and Mom! We forgot to let them know we’re ok!” Buffy suddenly shouted. Her eyes were wide and she had an alarmed look on her face.

‘Oh my gosh!’ Tara thought guiltily. ‘They must be so worried!’

Xander didn’t even slow down as he shouted back over his shoulder, “Don’t worry Buffy, Xan-man was on the case. They know, and they’re expecting our call at two!”

With that he was gone, a bemused looking Willow following behind.

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

Well, it kinda twisted on me a little, so what do you think. S’ok? Sucks?

TheBear!

thebear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

http://www.papa-bear.com