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Title: Repercussions, Reactions and Retaliation Book II 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, Joyce and Giles are getting their freak on, and Dawn wants to hook up with Xander. Of course, so does Faith- kinda sorta, but not really. Mostly she’s just horny, as always, but less indiscriminate than she once was.
Summary: With Glory defeated, things should quiet down for a while... shouldn’t they?
Warnings: NC17 overall (Ch 4 starts off R-ish and I think it will stay in that range. However, it’s not finished, so I’m not sure. Anything’s possible!)
Disclaimer: If I owned ‘em, they’d have to show it on the Xstasy Network.
========== BtVS ==========
Chapter 4
‘I think this dinner just might be the most excruciating time in my whole life...’ Xander Harris thought miserably. ‘And, I’m including the times I’ve been chained up and awaiting certain death!’
He glanced across the table at Dawn and once again felt a shiver of desire run through him. ‘God almighty, when she walked out of her bedroom after getting ready for tonight, I almost died right there!’ he remembered. ‘those jeans are so thin and tight, I don’t know what’s keeping them together! And that little halter top might as well be body paint for all it’s hiding!’
“What do you think? This’ll be ok for Bronzing tonight, right?” Dawn had asked as she walked into Xander’s living room earlier that evening.
“Glchk!” he’d choked when he turned around to see what she was wearing.
“Can I take that as a yes?” she’d asked with a giggle.
“Ahem!” he’d cleared his throat loudly, and then asked, “Wh... where did you g-get that... uh... outfit?”
“You like?” She’d asked, doing a slow turn to show off her ass.
‘Spectacular. Truly spectacular. That is surely one of the finest asses that has ever been my pleasure to behold,’ Xander’s brain announced with an almost comical lucidity given the circumstances.
“Me and Buffy went by the former house after brunch and found a few boxes in the rubble of the basement... This is something she outgrew a couple years ago...”
‘But you’re bigger than she is now!’ he’d exclaimed, having just enough presence of mind to do it silently.
“Be honest, Xander,” she’d said with a little pout when he remained unresponsive. “Do I look ok in this? Cause, it’s not like I’ve got a lot to change into... until mom springs for a little trip to the mall anyway...”
“You look... uh... good,” he’d stammered.
‘Good, as in so good all I can think of is how much I want to tear off those almost-clothes you’re wearing, lay you down on the carpet and drive myself into you until I screw you right through the floor!’ his libido had screamed inside him.
He recalled the way her smile fell, and her whole mood seemed to deflate a little. “Good?” she’d said with a frown, “Oh... I was kinda going for sexy...” she mumbled with a shrug, turning away from him as if to hide the fact that she was blushing.
“Goal achieved!” he had said, his voice raspy and hoarse with lust.
‘Man, I can’t believe how turned on I was!’ he thought. ‘I can’t believe how close I came to jerking off in the bathroom- even with her standing in the hallway waiting for me!’ he remembered with embarrassment. ‘Thank God five minutes of ice cold water on my face was enough to get it down enough so I could at least walk semi-normal!’
Realizing that he was staring- again- Xander averted his eyes and looked out into the great-room of the girls’ mansion. ‘Jeeze, this place could use some repairs!’ he thought.
“So, Xander... you’ve been awfully quiet,” Joyce’s voice sounded out.
“Yeah, Xan, didn’t you enjoy the lasagna?” Buffy asked with a tone to her voice that Xander couldn’t readily identify.
He felt his face flush slightly as he turned back to the table and saw six grinning females plus Giles with an eyebrow raised.
He gulped loudly, unable to immediately formulate a response.
Dawn didn’t help matters when she said, “You only had two helpings, is that really all you want to eat?”
‘Oh God, I’m a dead man!’ Xander thought, nearly hyperventilating.
========== BtVS ==========
“Um, no thanks Dawn...” Xander’s voice rasped out harshly. “I, uh... would you all excuse me for a second?”
Dawn winced as Xander pushed back his chair and nearly leapt up and ran out of the room toward the nearest bathroom.
‘Oh, God, I didn’t mean to say it like that!’ Dawn thought, humiliated and angry with herself for embarrassing Xander like that.
She turned to see various looks of disbelief from her family and friends. Giles was polishing his glasses furiously, and everyone else had bugged eyes and/or dropped jaws.
Except for Faith, who had a huge grin on her face. “Damn, little sis, that was a good one!”
Dawn covered her face with her hands and whined, “I swear I didn’t mean for that to come out like that!”
“I think you broke him!” Willow gulped out.
‘I’m a bad, bad person!’ Dawn lamented silently, truly mortified at the scene that had just occurred.
“Come on ladies, lets clear this mess,” Tara said to her two girlfriends as she stood up and began picking up plates.
“I, uh... I need some fresh air,” Dawn mumbled, getting up from the table and walking out into the great room and out onto the patio/sunken-garden area.
‘Good job, Dawn,’ the youngest Summers berated herself as she stared up at the moon. ‘I’m sure nothing’s more attractive to a man than a girl who will humiliate him in front of his friends...’
‘This is stupid, I should just tell him how I feel, and then tell him that mom and Buffy are already ok with it, and...’ a wicked smile crossed her lips as she thought of what she’d like to see next. ‘Then I could take off all my clothes and get on my knees and beg him to teach me how to suck his cock. There’s no way that he could say no to that, is there?’
Dawn closed her eyes and enjoyed the thrill of pleasure that flowed through her as she fantasized. ‘I don’t want him to think I’m like Anya or anything... but God I want him so bad!’
“Hey,” Faith’s voice startled her out of her pleasant fantasy.
Dawn turned around to see the dark Slayer lighting up a cigarette.
“Oh, hi Faith. I didn’t hear you walking out here,” Dawn said neutrally.
“I’m a Slayer, you’re not supposed to hear me,” Faith said with a smirk.
“What’s up?” Dawn asked.
‘Cause, with Faith, there’s always something...’ she thought with just a hint of trepidation.
Faith took a deep drag on her cigarette and blew the smoke upward into the night sky. “So, you’re gonna make a play for X-man, huh?” she said almost challengingly.
Dawn smiled. ‘So that’s your game...’ she thought. ‘Too bad for you, I know your secret!’
“Why?” Dawn asked, still smiling. “Is that a problem for you?”
“Maybe I was planning on steering him through the curves again...” Faith said, feigning casualness.
“Really?” Dawn asked, not rising to the bait.
‘Hmm, not what you expected?’ she thought at Faith’s momentary frown.
The dark Slayer recovered quickly, and smiled as she said, “Well, you know, he wasn’t bad last time I had him; pretty good for a virgin really... and I hear he’s had lots of practice since.”
‘You’re going to have to do better than that,’ Dawn thought. ‘I mean, sure I was pissed off, but that was, like, two years ago. Practically ancient history.’
“Too bad you kicked him out of your room right after,” Dawn said, maintaining an even, friendly tone. “You could have been the one he practiced with...”
“Well, you know...” Faith said with just a tiny waver in her voice, and another long drag on her cigarette.
‘Ahh, she felt that one,’ Dawn thought, stifling her smirk.
“...he had to spend a couple years in the minors, but maybe he’s finally ready to get called up to the big league,” Faith said, recovering quickly.
“Please, you’ve been trying to get into his pants since after the big fight with Glory,” Dawn said. “You struck out every time,” she added.
Dawn saw through the French doors as Xander re-entered the great room, and she decided to end the discussion with a decisive blow before Faith could rally. “Besides Faith, Xander’s not the one you’re in love with...”
‘That one made it through your armor, didn’t it?’ Dawn thought with a mixture of victory and sympathy as Faith’s eyes widened in shock.
The brunette visibly struggled to regain her composure, saying, “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Dawn. I’m not in love with anyone...”
Dawn ignored Faith’s protestation of indifference and said, “You know, at least when Xander was with Anya, I knew it couldn’t last forever; but even then it hurt every time I saw them together.”
Faith looked like she was on the verge of panic as Dawn continued, trying to put her very real empathy into her words as she said, “I can only imagine how much it must hurt, seeing those three together and knowing they’re gonna be together forever.”
“Oh my God!” Faith whispered.
‘She looks terrified... like she can’t decide whether to run screaming, or tear my head off,’ Dawn thought with a pang of trepidation.
“Don’t worry, Faith. I’m not going to say anything to her... it’s not my place.” Dawn reassured her.
Faith just stood in slack-jawed silence, her eyes wide and full of fear.
Just before she turned to leave, a thought occurred to her and Dawn said, “Oh, and Faith? Don’t call me little sis anymore.”
With that, Dawn turned and walked away back into the mansion.
========== BtVS ==========
Xander vigorously dried his face off after another prolonged bout of splashing cold water on it. ‘Oh man oh man I am so totally screwed!’ he thought as he looked into the mirror. ‘And, not in the good way!’
‘They all know... there’s no way they could *not* know after that little performance,’ he lamented. ‘Maybe Buffy’ll take pity on me and kill me quick.’
“God I can’t believe you said that, Dawn...” Xander groaned out softly. “If you only knew the thoughts I was having, you’d probably have killed me yourself!” He looked over at the shower almost longingly, muttering, “I could really use a cold shower right about now...”
His mind was more in tune with his body, however, and he immediately thought, ‘or a good, hard...’
“No!” he growled. “We’re not going there again!”
He took a deep breath and spoke to his reflection, “Ok Xanman, lets go out there and act like a fricken human being, not some hormone-challenged spank-monkey!”
He left the bathroom and slowly walked over to the dining room. He was surprised to find only Giles and Joyce there. “Where’d everyone go?” he asked, not quite meeting either one’s eyes directly as he stood behind the chair he’d recently abandoned.
“Willow, Tara and Buffy are tidying up the dishes, Dawn stepped outside for a moment, and I believe Faith joined her in order to smoke a cigarette.” Giles answered.
Joyce stood up at that moment and said, “Well, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to use the facilities...” and walked out of the room, leaving Xander alone with Giles.
Xander reluctantly sat down. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, and said, “So, you got elected, huh?”
“Elected?” Giles asked, appearing to be confused.
“Yeah, you know,” Xander explained. “I figured Buffy’d want to handle it personally, but whatever, I guess,” he said resignedly.
“I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about Xander,” Giles said in what looked like genuine befuddlement.
Now it was Xander’s turn to frown in confusion. “I thought... you aren’t going to yell at me? Or lecture me?”
“Good heavens, man, what for?” Giles exclaimed.
‘Ok, I feel dumb enough most of the time, but this...’ Xander floundered for a moment.
“Uh... for the whole scene I just made a couple minutes ago?” he said.
Giles looked surprised, and then laughed out loud. “Good Lord, Xander... I would have thought by now even you would have learned; women don’t get angry when they’re tormenting men successfully! They only lose their tempers when we’re too thick to notice their efforts!”
“I... ok?” Xander stammered, thoroughly confused.
‘I’m sensing a reprieve here, but I’m not sure why...’ he thought, feeling both mystified and relieved at the same time. ‘Probably wouldn’t be the smartest thing to question it though...’
Giles chuckled for a moment longer. When the laughter had died down, his face turned serious and he said, “Xander, our lives are necessarily very different from ‘most’ people.”
Not knowing what to say, Xander remained silent while Giles paused.
After a moment, Giles spoke again, asking, “Have you ever heard the saying, ‘War makes for strange bedfellows?”
“Uh, I thought that was politics...” Xander answered, wondering ‘Where the heck is this going?’
“Yes, that too I suppose...” Giles said contemplatively. “The reason that our lives are such a strange mix of extremes is that we are, in essence, at war. It is akin to a guerrilla conflict much more than any quote, unquote ‘traditional’ sort of war... but war it is, have no doubt.”
‘No!’ Xander thought. ‘No way are we having this discussion, not here, not now!’
Before Xander could interject, Giles went on, “And, while this is not the time or place to discuss some of the more unsavory extremes to which we must sometimes go, there is also the other side of the coin to consider.”
‘Ok, now I’m back to the ‘Huh?’ again,’ Xander thought.
“We will likely give our lives to this conflict, Xander.” Giles said bluntly. “Whether that means we sacrifice ourselves to an early grave, or we spend decades upon decades at it, it is unlikely that we will ever enjoy what might be considered a ‘normal’ life.”
“Ookaay... I think I understand what you’re saying, G-man, but I’m not sure where you’re going with it...”
Giles’ smile was sardonic. “No, I don’t imagine you do, but you likely will soon enough. For now, you should simply remember to be as open to the positive extremes, as you are the negative.”
“Be open to positive extremes...” Xander repeated, uncomprehendingly. “Right, I’m all over it G-man!”
Giles long-suffering sigh brought a smile to Xander’s face.
“I swear, Shaw was right; youth truly is wasted on the young.” Giles muttered, sounding exasperated.
It was Xander’s turn to laugh. “I’m not gonna comment on that, except to say, think about what you would have said to that at my age, and feel free to apply it to yourself now.”
Giles actually blushed at that.
The moment was broken when Buffy, Willow and Tara re-entered the room just then.
“Hey, where’s Faith?” Buffy asked. “We wanna do a quick patrol before we hit the Bronze!”
“I believe she’s just out in the garden,” Giles said, pointing toward the French doors.
“Cool!” Buffy chirped. “Hey, you and mom gonna hit the dance-floor with us?” she asked brightly.
“Ah, no. I think, emphatically not.” Giles responded forcefully. A sly grin tugged at his lips a moment later and he added, “I believe your mother and I can find more... enjoyable... ways to spend our evening.”
Tara and Willow nearly cried with laughter as Buffy and Xander simultaneously slapped their hands to their ears and shouted “No details!”
========== BtVS ==========
As Dawn walked into the great-room, her mother was walking out of the dining room toward her. ‘Great,’ Dawn thought resignedly.
“Come over here, Dawn,” Joyce said. “Let’s give the boys a moment to themselves.”
Dawn frowned slightly, asking, “What are they doing?”
Joyce grinned and said, “I think Rupert is consoling Xander.”
Dawn collapsed onto the couch with a groan, “Oh, God!” She rubbed her hands down over her face and then shook her head, annoyed with herself. “The moment it slipped out of my mouth, I wished I could just suck it back in!” she explained.
When she opened her eyes, she saw her mother blushing and staring at her with wide eyes.
“What?” Dawn asked, confused and worried.
Joyce laughed suddenly, shaking her own head. “I think, with all the unresolved tension between you two, you’re going to have a lot of unintentional double-entendrés.”
Dawn frowned even harder, now thoroughly confused.
Joyce laughed again and said, “Think about what you just said, honey.”
‘The moment it slipped out of my mouth...’ Dawn mentally reviewed her statement. It hit her about halfway though and she again closed her eyes and groaned, “Oh God!” as her mother cruelly continued to laugh at her. ‘I’m a bad, bad person...’ she lamented as she felt her face grow hot.
After a few moments, her mother finally stopped laughing and said with a more serious note, “I saw what you meant... about him looking at you with *that* look...”
“Uh oh, I hear a big ‘but’ coming,” Dawn muttered, meeting her mother’s gaze.
Joyce smiled wanly as she responded, “He doesn’t look very... I think he’s attracted to you, honey, but I don’t think he’s very comfortable with that fact himself.”
Dawn smiled with relief. “Oh, I know what you mean. I’m going to have to convince him, I know. But, could he possibly be more uncomfortable about it than Buffy was?” she asked rhetorically. “I think *not!*”
“Yes, how did your talk with your sister go?” Joyce asked. “Obviously she must have come around, but I take it that she wasn’t easy to convince?”
Dawn laughed at the memory. “It was frustrating... but it was funny too, I made her snot coffee out her nose twice!”
“Oh! Poor Buffy!” Joyce said sympathetically.
“Uh huh, you’d have laughed too!” Dawn challenged. “It’s her own fault, anyway.”
“How’s that?” Joyce asked, obviously interested despite her apparent sympathy.
Dawn chuckled at the memory. “She wouldn’t believe me! I mean, we talked about why she never went for Xander for a little bit, and then when she got uncomfortable and said we should talk about the guy I was interested in, I said we were.” Dawn shook her head and said, “It didn’t register at first, cause she’s all, ‘no- we were talking about Xander’, and I’m all; ‘Yeah, I’m in love with Xander,’ and then it was mocha nasal spray... only backwards.”
“Oh dear, what did you do?” Joyce said with a grin pulling at her mouth despite her apparent efforts to stave it off.
“I tried not to laugh, really I did!” Dawn said earnestly. “It actually was hurting holding it in, but I think I would have made it, except then all that coffee I drank...”
Joyce’s eyes widened and dropped towards Dawn’s lap seemingly of their own volition. “Oh honey, did you...?”
Dawn had to laugh at the blush on her mother’s face at that moment. “No, thank God! I ran to the restroom and made it just barely in time,” she recounted with remembered relief. “I was so sure I wasn’t going to make it! And, of course I’m all laughing my butt off the whole time, cause no way I could hold that back too...”
“Oh no!” Joyce said, giggling herself at that. “What was Buffy’s reaction?”
“She didn’t believe me!” Dawn said indignantly. “She came all storming into the bathroom and bitching that I had done it on purpose.” The brunette shook her head at the memory. “She thought I just made up the whole thing just to make her blow coffee out her nose!”
“Well... that would have been a little bit elaborate, even for you,” Joyce agreed hesitantly. “However, you have to admit that it isn’t completely out of the question...”
Dawn ducked her head a bit and could feel her face grow slightly warm at her mother’s gentle remonstration. “Ok, so maybe I do like to play with her... a little...” Dawn begrudgingly admitted.
Joyce’s eyebrows climbed high as she questioned, “A little?”
‘Busted!’ Dawn thought, privately adding, ‘Hey, when you have a talent, it’s a shame to waste it, isn’t it?’
Out loud she temporized, “It’s just... Mom, she makes it so easy sometimes!”
Joyce chuckled at her daughter’s thin excuse. “Still, she obviously came around eventually,” she said.
Dawn nodded and allowed the change back to the earlier subject. “Yeah, it was kinda hard for her to really push the age thing too much.”
Her mother nodded, but didn’t say anything for several moments, appearing to be lost in thought.
Eventually Joyce said, “I think you need to talk to him as soon as possible, Dawn. Before the poor man goes insane from the tension between the two of you, and guilt he seems to be suffering over it...”
‘Holy...! I can’t believe she said that!’ Dawn thought, shocked. ‘It doesn’t look like she can believe it either!’ she thought at her mother’s uncomfortable-looking body language.
‘Joyce shook her head, rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. “I never in a million years imagined that I’d be the cheerleader for my teenage daughter trying to seduce an older man, but...” she trailed off, shaking her head again.
“But what?” Dawn asked, both incredulous and curious.
Joyce looked intently into Dawn’s eyes and said, “I thought about what you said all morning... about Xander, and what he’s done for you, and for Buffy... He’s a very special man. You don’t really notice it, he’s so unassuming and down-to-earth... always trying to make people laugh, and be at ease around him.” She looked down at her hands and said, “It was the same with Rupert; I never really noticed what an incredibly wonderful person he was... and how lucky we were to have him in Buffy’s life compared to some of the other watcher’s I’ve seen... I feel very fortunate that I had a second chance with him considering how I pushed him away after the ‘band candy’ incident...”
‘Wow, I never knew she felt like that,’ Dawn marveled at her mother’s revelation. ‘I always thought she just lived in denial...’
Joyce took Dawn’s hands in her own and again stared deeply into her eyes. “Listen to me Dawn, you grab Xander with both hands and never let him go! He’ll be the kind of man that women fantasize about, but never believe is actually real.”
‘She gets it!’ Dawn thought jubilantly. ‘She finally understands!’
“I will, mom,” Dawn said softly, but with all seriousness in her voice. “I’m plan to make Xander Harris mine!”
Joyce searched Dawn’s eyes, as though looking for something. ‘She must have found it,’ Dawn thought as her mother’s _expression_ softened into a smile.
“Good!” Joyce said decisively. “Just remember one very important thing,” she added.
“What’s that?” Dawn asked.
“I never want to hear *any* of the intimate details of your relationship!” Joyce said with a smirk.
========== BtVS ==========
FYI, ch4 will likely contain three parts
TheBear!
Willow: "It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in." Buffy: "I kinda love you." --'Choices' Community email addresses: Post message: buffywantswillow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subscribe: buffywantswillow-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Unsubscribe: buffywantswillow-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx List owner: buffywantswillow-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Shortcut URL to this page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buffywantswillow Official archive for the list: http://www.ikoly.com/fanfic Other links to Buffy/Willow fics: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buffywantswillow/links Yahoo! Groups Links
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