FIC: She Slays Me 2: Prophecies Can Come True

TITLE: PROPHECIES CAN COME TRUE

SERIES: 2nd in 'She Slays Me' series

AUTHOR: Silverna (silverna_wolfe@xxxxxxxxx)

DISCLAIMER: All characters and back-story belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I don’t even own a shiny nickel. There are no nickels where I come from. (No, not an alternate reality!)

PAIRINGS: Buffy/Willow heading for, Willow/Tara current, Xander/Anya

MULTI-GENRE ALERT: Okay in this installment we’re faced by the rearing of severe angst (oh angst, I love you so) but humor flashes up in seemingly inappropriate places. So be warned if you like your mood consistent that you might not like these chop and changes.

RATING: Rip-roaring NC17. There are practically graphic pictures leaping out of this text! Not to mention sweaty, naked…yuh. Read it, baby.

SPOILERS: Anything up to and including season 6. Takes place awhile after 'Once More With Feeling' but totally deviates from the show's plotline thereon out. In other words, everyone knows Buffy was in 'heaven'. Tara and Willow a re still together and totally happy in each other's arms. Tara isn’t aware of the forgetting spell – which this series is getting to. Buffy has been sleeping with Spike awhile when this story starts so picture a month after 'OMWF' but without the episodes that come after on the show.

DISTRIBUTION: Free for all but please notify me via email.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the second and complete part to what is an ongoing series I’m working on called, 'She Slays Me'. Although it has its origins in the show, it will deviate from thereon after. It’s ultimately Buffy/Willow but all the other characters have sometime-starring roles.

BACK-STORY: Anya discovered a moldy old prophecy that seemed to predict that Buffy would be eaten and killed by an entity termed, ‘The Magick Woman’. (Worse Entity name yet! *rotf*) Willow confronted Buffy over her extreme apathy towards life and Buffy became possessed by the ‘Force Of Goodness’. Over a long and confusing conversation in Demonese, Willow became possessed by The Magick Woman. Our story ended with the possessions ending and our heroines heading home, with the prophecy mysteriously unfulfilled.

If you haven’t read the first part, ‘One Of Many Prophecies’ yet and want to, or want to re-read it before you get onto this part for continuity’s sake, you’ll find it on the net at:

http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1820299

* * * * *

They were halfway home when the unexpected happened.

“Uh Buffy?” Dawn who was walking with her sister prodded her in the side.

A vaguely familiar female figure had emerged from an alleyway halfway up the street and stood facing them down. The figure was in shadow, having stopped just short of the nearby streetlight.

The Slayer was lost in her own dark thoughts and kept walking, head down.

Dawn ran a little to keep up with her sister. Behind them she heard Willow and Tara speed up also.

“Buffy!” she called, beginning to panic. “Watch out!”

Buffy finally heard her, looked up and did a double take as the figure, now barely six feet away, stepped forward and into the streetlight.

“Long time, no see.” Faith sounded almost jovial.

“Faith.” Buffy sounded shocked. She was.

“In my own hot body.” Faith spread her hands and flashed her trademark cocky grin. Something twitched over her face for an instant, then was gone.

“You got out.” Willow’s voice was flat as she automatically took up a defensive stance just behind Buffy. Tara bravely reached out for Dawn’s hand and dragged the younger Summers back with her.

Faith’s dark gaze flickered from Willow to Tara and back again.

“So did you,” she purred and then she winked.

“What do you want?” Buffy bit out. Her fists had come up by her sides and it was clear she was seconds away from initiating an out and out brawl.

“What’s wrong, B? Not happy to see me?” Faith’s voice was light but it had a sudden strange rasp to it. It might have been hurt but with the Second Slayer it was so hard to tell.

Her eyes were fixed on Buffy as she stepped even closer. “That’s not the way we dreamed it.”

“You…you’ve been sharing dreams?” Willow directed this at Buffy, sounding horrified at the thought.

“I repeat. Faith. What do you want?” Buffy was impatient.

Faith licked her lips. “What do I want?” she repeated and her hungry eyes brushed over the Slayer’s lips before she met her counterpart’s eyes challengingly.

Buffy’s self-control snapped. Pushing off from the ground hard, she leaped up and twisted mid-air, aiming a devastating round kick at Faith’s face.

The Second Slayer ducked out of the way, then leapt up and grabbed Buffy by the waist as she went past, sending them both sprawling on the hard concrete, Faith landing on top. She threw her dark head back and laughed joyously up at the moon.

Buffy stared up at her murderously, breathing hard. Then with lightning grace, she reached up, wrapped her hands around Faith’s neck and used the leverage to bring her knees up into her enemy’s stomach.

Faith rolled off in reflex and Buffy flipped into a standing position. In the time she took to execute that move, Faith was up again too, facing her off with a wild grin.

“Tara,” Willow’s voice was strained. “Get Dawnie out of here. Now!”

“B..but what about…?” Tara’s unspoken question hung in the air as she and Dawn started backing down the street. Willow didn’t even look around. Her fists were slowly clenching and crimson power was bleeding out of them to form lightning-like coils up and over her wrists, sluggishly moving over and up the entire length of her arms.

“Now!” she hissed again. Tara gasped, hesitated, then took Dawn and went. She couldn’t resist a look back at the Slayers’ locked in mortal battle and her girlfriend, the witch, watching them while gathering her magicks.

“Goddess,” she whimpered and a painful memory niggled at her heart but she couldn’t think what it meant. Something that she had worried over, something that she hadn’t wanted to happen, something to do with Willow…

“I didn’t belong locked up, B,” Faith shouted at the Slayer as she snapped a kick up and into her jaw. Buffy’s head jerked back, then she recovered, rolled forward and made a low swiping kick at Faith’s legs.

Faith jumped clear.

“You can’t lock me up!” she cried. “You can’t just get rid of the nasty reminder of what you did to me. You can’t ignore what we have.”

Buffy erupted up from her crouching position, her uppercut connecting with Faith’s neck and sending her flying back and ricocheting off the streetlight.

“What did we have, Faith?” she asked, standing over the gasping body of her counterpart. “Tell me, just what did we have?”

The Second Slayer booted her between the legs. Hard.

Buffy dropped with a groan, kneeling by the curbside, and Faith was on her in that instant.

“Passion.” She said it deep and low in her throat like a caress and bent over to bring her elbows down with tremendous force on Buffy’s shoulder-blades.

The Slayer was down flat on the ground now.

“Understanding,” said Faith and kicked her in the stomach. Buffy rolled up in a ball with a mewl of pain.

Faith knelt down by her side and revealed her final card. From inside her jacket she withdrew a jagged-edged knife and kissed it lovingly.

“Friendship,” she whispered. And she pulled the knife back deliberately.

“NO!” Willow screamed, and made a short sharp gesture. “Burn.”

Faith dropped the burning hot knife with a cry of pain. A bubbling pink burn had opened up across her palm.

“Fuck!” she said, looking up at Willow in amazement.

That was when she noticed the crimson coils of pulsating power embracing Willow’s arms.

“FUCK!” she said, beginning to scramble away. “What the…?!”

“It’s nothing personal, Faithy.” Willow’s voice was normal but her eyes were black. “It’s about Buffy.”

“It always fuckin’ is,” said Faith, her voice cracking with real fear. “Hey, look at you, Red. You’re all grown up and into the inflicting.”

“Shut up, F,” said Willow and magical thread knit the Second Slayer’s lips tightly shut. Faith would have screamed bloody murder if she could of.

“Hmm,” the witch’s voice was deceptively mild as she stepped over a still groaning Buffy to place a foot on Faith’s chest and smile down at her. “I like you better this way.”

“Willow?” Buffy’s voice was disbelieving as she struggled to sit up. “What the hell are you doing?”

The witch continued to grin down at a terrified Faith.

“Whatever the hell I want to.”

“Well stop it!” Buffy’s voice was sharp as she staggered over to them and stared at her best friend.

“What?” Willow sounded genuinely confused as she turned to look at the Slayer.

“I said, stop it.” Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. It was strange, but the Slayer had never looked more beautiful to Willow then she did in that moment. Blood leaked from the corner of her lips and she was hunched over a little, obviously hurting, but her eyes were filled with silvery fire and concern for the witch was emanating almost palpably from her.

“I don’t want to lose you to dark magick or some sick power trip. I know how it is too, Willow, remember I’ve been down this track before. And if you ask me, magick looks to be a helluva lot more with the Nasties then Uncontrolled Slayage.”

“No, I’m handling it – it’s all under control.” Willow glanced between the two Slayers uncertainly. “Just let me finish this with Faith; then we should really get you home to bed.”

“Mmph!” said Faith, “mmph nmph mrrrr!”

“And how exactly are you going to finish it, Will?” Buffy looked down at the Second Slayer and there was pity within the cold set of her features. “You going to kill her? Take a human life?”

“You call her a human?” Willow also looked at Faith, only she looked as one would look at a bug under a microscope. Her sudden smile was eerily detached. “She was going to kill you a moment ago, y’know. I stopped her.”

“Yeah, I know.” Buffy sighed. “More’s the pity.”

“WHAT?!...” Willow reacted and was on the Slayer in less than a second. Her hands gripped Buffy’s biceps with gleaming red power and the force of her emotions levitated them both up a good four feet off the ground.

“MMPH!” said Faith.

In the next second the witch was propelling the Slayer through the air with lethal force, driving them both mid-air across the street. They flew though the brick wall of the nearby warehouse with a crash and were gone from sight.

Faith stared at the newly made hole as dust from the debris filled the air. Then she pulled herself awkwardly to her feet and half-limped, half-ran for the hills.

Inside the warehouse, Buffy’s eyes flew open. They’d been shut for some reason…where was she? Her whole body ached something fierce and her back felt flayed. She could feel cold hard flatness pressed against it and something hot and soft pressed against her front.

She focused and realized she was looking into Willow’s chilling black gaze. They were still suspended in the air, and the Slayer was now held against the far wall of the warehouse by the witch.

“…DID YOU SAY?!” Willow ended, screaming the words in her face.

“I said…” Buffy’s voice broke and her gaze shifted down and brushed over Willow’s open lips, so close to her own. She swallowed and tried again. “Uh...I said…uh…” She looked into the witch’s bottomless black eyes and felt like her soul was being sucked up and into Willow via some magickal conduit.

How could those cold black eyes be so compelling? She was drowning, drowning in the dangerous darkness that Willow had become. She was drawn to darkness, she always had been. She was drawn to Willow…had she always been?

She couldn’t remember. She couldn’t remember what she wanted to say.

Willow stared at the Slayer and felt the sensation of power coursing over her, running through her veins like an aphrodisiac. Buffy, held down beneath her; the Slayer’s strength contained and waiting…waiting for her. Buffy…so much more than her friend.

Hard biceps flexing impotently under her too-hot hands. The Slayer’s breath warm and inviting against her chin. Damn.

Damn.

Please…

She looked into Buffy’s eyes and saw through the emptiness, past the walls and carefully erected barriers. Deep…deeper…there! A spark of life. Something hot and primal and…longing.

Desire.

Deep blue oceans of desire – for her.

“You want me,” she whispered and it was a freaking revelation.

Buffy gasped and her body arched against her.

And Willow felt the ancient force rising from somewhere deep within her, consuming her all over again and the voice she spoke with next had layers of power. She was more than she had ever been before.

“I have come for you,” she promised and she bent forward over Buffy’s neck, her tongue raking the length of it slowly, seductively.

Buffy’s head went back and her eyes closed.

“This must be,” she agreed. When she opened her eyes they shone with ethereal silver light.

Then Willow kissed her.

Something happened inside Buffy; something was twisting, shifting back into position. She could feel her heart again and it was burning, hurting her with the overwhelming emotion that burst from deep inside her core. She felt so much – too much.

Willow, on top of her, kissing her…on the lips. Willow’s lips, soft and ready, eager against her own. The combination smell of Willow: linen shirt, strawberries and cream, acrid crackling magicks.

The feel of Willow. Soft and strong, firm and intentional. More powerful than anyone she had known and less in control then she had ever known her to be.

A wet, warm tongue, licking the blood from the corner of her lips, licking over her lips

Unacknowledged Dreams and Unprecedented Reality were blending together in a kaleidoscope that whirled crazily before her mind’s eye. Them together, always together but never together. Never together like this – like they were together now, together at last.

Willow, here with her, like this.

Willow…kissing…her.

It hurt so good.

“Willow,” she gasped into the kiss. And she drove her tongue into the witch’s mouth and kissed her back with all her hunger, all her pressing need.

Willow couldn’t think.

Buffy was kissing her.

She had never felt, never known the desperation, the passion that the Slayer kept inside, hidden from them all. But now it was flooding into their kiss and now she could see with second sight – see the aura expanding from Buffy in rich silvery waves and entering her.

Her breathing hitched and they began sliding down the wall together, Buffy’s thigh coming up to press against Willow’s center.

With a hoarse cry, Willow lost control of the spell and they crashed to the floor.

* * * * *

Faith was sobbing helplessly as she beat her fists against Giles’ door. She hated showing weakness but she couldn’t help it; she couldn’t bear the effect of this spell. She had to get the thread out NOW.

When the Watcher finally opened the door he just stared, shocked to see the Second Slayer and equally shocked to see her sewn-up lips.

When he recovered, he drew her inside, sat her down and rushed over to his books. His hand was shaking as he looked for a counter-spell and he hoped she couldn’t read that he was afraid of her. First things first. They’d deal with the spell and then he’d grill her on how and why she was back. And in the meantime he’d also find a freezing spell as a safety measure.

He found the right spell to release Faith more by luck than anything else and the minute he cast it she was up on her feet, pacing and ranting through her tears.

“She’s crazy, G-man! Freakin’ crazy like you would not believe. The psychopathic bitch tried to off me! All ‘cause I was talking to B – you’d think she could let us have a Goddamn conversation in peace, but no.”

“Who?” asked Giles with a sinking heart. Under the counter, he fiddled with the ripped out page detailing the freezing spell.

“Red, who else? Man, she’s packing the magicks like she’s the next Mayor or something. And she’s trigger happy. She goes off if you so much as look at her funny.”

“Willow did this?” Giles felt muddle-headed. This couldn’t be happening.

“Yeah,” Faith looked smug for a moment, then her face crumbled again and she angrily fisted away the new tears. “God, I was so scared. I thought she was gonna fuckin’ kill me.”

“It must be The Prophecy.” Giles’ voice sounded far away to his own ears. He had no doubt that Faith was probably up to no good, but to just make up this story out of thin air…and then there was the matter of the powerful spell that had been done to her, a black magick spell.

“Prophecy, schmophecy,” said Faith. “Will-girl’s a whack job. She’s the one you should be sending off to your pretty Watcher’s council. They’d just love to watch her work.”

She’s so bitter, thought Giles. Perhaps with good reason. But I can’t deal with this right now. I must get to Willow.

“Buffy?” he queried aloud. “She’s with Willow?”

“Last I saw, Red was inflicting her ass through a brick wall.”

Giles was aghast.

“Oh no. This isn’t good at all.”

“Duh.” Faith rolled her expressive dark eyes. She turned around slowly, looking about his lounge room. “Got any weapons? We’re gonna need them.”

“You’re going to help?” Giles felt particularly stupid tonight. Everything was happening all at once.

Faith shrugged nonchantly. Her tears had finally stopped and she was regaining her equilibrium. “Hey, I’m a Slayer.” She actually had the audacity to wink at him. “You can come and Watch.”

Giles was back at his volumes, picking out afew of the significant tomes and stuffing them in a sports bag. His mind was suddenly racing. “Alright. The weapons chest is in that corner. Get what you need and I’ll call the others.”

“The Slayerettes? Cool, it’ll be just like old times.” Faith made for the weapons chest.

* * * * *

Buffy ripped off Willow’s shirt with her bare hands and tossed the remains aside. This is what Slayer-strength is for, she thought as she grazed her thumb pads over the witch’s hardened pink nipples. She was staring she knew, but Willow was so…God…

“Uuh.” The air was cold on Willow’s bare chest and she felt vulnerable and exposed, held down by Buffy straddling her hips and leaning over her. The Slayer’s silvery eyes met her black ones and suddenly she was caught up in the connection that thrummed between them. She couldn’t break it, couldn’t look away. She felt safe. Hot.

They stared at each other as Buffy’s hands trailed circles around her breasts, upwards and around her nipples, over her nipples. Willow was panting – she couldn’t help it. The Slayer’s gaze bore into hers like a stake through her chest. Goddess, her heart hurt with so much wanting Buffy, wanting her now.

“Please,” she whispered and now the Slayer’s hands moving over her breasts were rough, demanding. Willow arched off the ground and groaned in the back of her throat. So good…Goddess…she couldn’t look away.

“More…” she managed to get out. Ah, now Buffy’s right hand was creeping down her chest, and she was holding herself over Willow with her other hand and perfect Slayer-control.

Willow was flying into Buffy’s gaze beyond even the burning desire. She rushed onwards through the silvery mists and the jagged edges of pains old and half-forgotten. What would she see? Would she want to see it?

Buffy’s hand crept down the valley of her breasts and significantly traced the lines of her first pair of ribs.

“Ahh.” Willow could see sunshine now. Happy memories, old and veiled by the hurts of the recent past. Hidden away from Buffy’s ability to access them.

Buffy’s hand was inching lower and lower. Now it was circling her belly button almost playfully…now it was tracing the lines of her abdomen, slowly and meaningfully, traveling down the V to where it led…

“Uhhh…hhhh.” Willow saw blackness - was rushing through blackness. There were no stars here. It was dark and void and…peaceful. It was the center. And there…

Buffy’s hand fingered the edge of her coarse red curls.

There, “mmmm”…there was something small and growing rapidly larger, rushing towards her at the speed of light, beating like a heart, beating as fast as their hearts were beating right now.

Buffy’s finger grazed her clit.

“Gghh...” It was… “Yuhh…” It was…Buffy’s core. It was…beautiful…and…frightening. It was brilliant silver, streaming all around her, filling all the cracks and crevices of this, her astral being. It was hot and driving. It was pure and filled with righteous anger. It was a mix of the girl inside and the Slayer combined. Here they were One.

Those delicious fingers were sliding down beside her clit and running the length of her cleft. This was pain of the heavenly kind. She was dimly aware of wetness, pooling in her panties – of Buffy’s careful, clever hand, moving stealthily through the wetness, aided by it.

“B…Buff…Buffy,” she hissed and her voice was broken with all the things she felt. The core, she was at the core. She was at the Force of who Buffy was and what she could be and Willow knew that she had certainly never known. She guessed that Buffy still didn’t know the power, the destiny that was hers alone.

She stretched her hands out to touch it.

“Willow,” Buffy’s voice was strangled. The witch’s gaze snapped back, outside of where she had gone and she saw that she was still looking into Buffy’s eyes. The Slayer had paused in her motions and was staring at her in evident shock.

She felt me, thought Willow. She felt me…there. Deep inside.

“Let it out, Buffy,” she whispered and her own hands came up of their own volition to cup the Slayer’s cheeks.

“Follow me…past the darkness…past the memories and walls…past everything and back to me. Please, you must. Please Buffy. You belong here. The world needs you.”

A lone tear leaked out Buffy’s silver eye and ran slowly down her face. She stared at Willow as though she didn’t know her and couldn’t understand what she said.

Then suddenly and aggressively she moved her hand, down there. Pushed two fingers over the slippery edge and slowly into inside of Willow.

Her voice, when she spoke was like a little girl’s: lost and far away. “Screw…the…world.”

Not the Force speaking, realized Willow, looking up into the beloved face as she writhed against Buffy’s hand. This is not the Force – this is Buffy. My best friend.

“I live in the world,” she said.

Buffy gasped.

And Willow was back inside those bottomless eyes, rushing past the silver mist and walls and barriers and pain and happiness and blackness and peace and all the way to the core of bursting light that threatened to burn her alive.

She reached out and touched it.

The silver light arced up as an entity, looked at her without any eyes and rushed into her as a flood.

It burned her from within.

The witch shrieked with pain and elation and turned and ran for her life.

She ran through the blackness.

Buffy’s fingers pumped in and out of her in steady insistent rhythm. In and out. In and out.

Goddess, the blackness stretched on and on – would it never end? She felt no peace here, no release, only the Force, held within, not to be contained, burning her alive.

“You made me happy.” The voice was Buffy’s but was the Slayer speaking aloud? Did she speak now? Or then? Back when…where was she and where was she going? She had to get there in time. Willow ran.

She couldn’t breathe. Her breath was coming in huge gasping shudders.

She had to keep going.

She ran and ran and ran.

The darkness ended but it wasn’t the end. Sunshine lit her world but she couldn’t bear it. Not after everything that had happened…she wanted to be dead…she wanted to die.

They were hovering over the edge of the precipice: life or death. Buffy’s fingers were pushing her there, driving her on. Buffy’s thumb was pressing down on her clit and it was too much…it couldn’t last…it was too much…

The sunshine exploded into ashes around her and the jagged edges of pain were cutting her to ribbons, slicing up her insides.

“Buffy!” she screamed and she couldn’t hear her voice. “BUFFY!”

Through the walls. She slammed bodily through the barriers and it hurt and she wanted it to stop and she had to get out, had to find the way to the surface.

She couldn’t contain this Force, it was too much, it was killing her, it was sensation pure and undiluted and there was no pain, no pleasure that she could or had experienced that was more than this.

From somewhere above her she felt Buffy’s hot breath against her lips, she heard the Slayer crying out incoherently and there was silver light exploding around them, rushing through them with tangible power and…it was too much…it was too much…

She was being burned alive.

“Willow!” The Slayer was gasping and crying and driving her hand, her self, into her best friend. Something was clicking into place, something she should have always known. The emptiness was receding; the coldness was shivering and breaking up.

Fullness was coming. Fullness was flowing into her arms and into her heart and it was warm and it had a body and name. It was Willow.

The Slayer’s head arched back, her eyes finally closed and she screamed out Willow’s name until her throat was raw.

It was done.

They were…complete.

“B…Buffy?” Willow’s whisper was teary and they were lying bonelessly in each other’s arms, finally sated, strangely content.

“I’m here,” murmured the Slayer into her witch’s neck and for both of them, the words had taken on new meaning.

They rested there, not moving, exhausted. Buffy fuzzily came to realize that her dead weight was atop of Willow and her hand was still…God.

She went to pull it out but a quiet request from Willow stopped her mid motion.

“Stay. Please.” The witch fully relaxed as Buffy complied and soaked up this feeling.

The feeling of the afterglow of crazy, intense, passionate (supernatural?) sex with her best friend. The feeling of connection and knowing Buffy and knowing she was wanted. By Buffy.

It was enough.

* * * * *

The Scoobys minus Tara and Dawn, plus Faith entered the Warehouse.

They saw Buffy sprawled on top of Willow whose shirt was mysteriously absent. Perhaps that could have been explained away but it was impossible not to notice and gape at the clear location of Buffy’s hand.

“Weather Prophecy?” ground out Giles in his most shocked voice ever. His voice rose dangerously as he repeated it. “WEATHER Prophecy?!”

“No Silly,” Anya rolled her eyes and actually circled the couple on the floor, eyeing them with avid interest. “It was clearly a Sex Prophecy.”

Giles sat down suddenly.

Anya continued thinking aloud for the benefit of all. “I get it now! Willow the Magick Woman has had lots of hot and steamy sex with Buffy the Force Of Goodness. Sounds kinky, I know, but it was probably pretty standard – Buffy doesn’t seem like the type who’s go in for anything but, y’know, what with how anal and uptight she is all the time. Oh and dying? That must be the…”

Here Anya raised her hands and made quotation marks.

“…little death. Huh. Prophecies for you. Me, I’d prefer a nice clear prediction along the lines of, ‘Buffy and Willow will fuck and this is where and when so you can watch.’

There was an incredibly awkward silence.

Xander looked like he didn’t know what to think. His brown eyes held a confused combination of shock, lust and betrayal. He backed away from the scene, not even noticing when he was backed up against the wall.

Faith just stood there for a long moment, a stricken _expression_ rushing over her face before she rebounded into reaction. Her voice was angry.

“Well lookee here. The Nerd’s figured her way out of Nerdhood. Maybe I should look into this whole witchcraft thing, huh? Put the whammy on whoever I want to screw the brains out of?”

Anya eyed the Second Slayer speculatively.

“You could probably just beat them up a little.”

Buffy pulled her hand out of Willow’s pants and sat up. She felt her face flush as she stared at her friends from her position astride the witch’s hips and that was strange in itself.

She was feeling…something.

Embarrassment and extreme horror at being caught, in point of fact, but feeling – feeling was back. Hi, to Feeling! Cold, dark, Nothingness was gone. Hell was gone. Earth was earth again, good and bad, real and here and where she was.

She looked down into the befuddled green eyes looking up at her from a face as red as her own. The most gorgeous eyes she’d ever had the pleasure of falling into. She leaned down and planted a kiss on Willow’s nose.

“Thank you,” she said, and her smile was serious and reached her eyes.

Then she removed her leather jacket and covered Willow’s assets while glaring at their audience.

“Hey!” griped Anya. “It’s pretty hot in here y’know. Don’t you think you should ask before you…”

“Look away.” Buffy’s threat was clear. She stood to her feet and got between Willow and the ex-demon. “Show’s over, Anya.”

She looked over at the others. Giles had managed to get to his feet and was dusting himself off, still with the shell-shocked look on his face.

“Right,” he mumbled in his stuffy-British voice. “I’m sure…I’m sure this will wait until the morning. Clearly…uh…this will keep. I must go. Now. Away. I must…Goodbye.” And he was racing out the door.

Willow had managed to crawl behind some nearby crates to dress. She emerged fully covered by Buffy’s buttoned-up jacket, still red in the face.

When she saw Faith, staring murder across the room at her Slayer, the blushing was forgotten.

“Hi Faith!” she said and her voice while light, held a thread of clear menace.

The Second Slayer looked at her and went pale. Without another word, she turned on her heel and left the building.

That left Anya and Xander.

“Y’know, Willow,” said Anya. “That invitation I gave you for us to do a spell together is open. Wide open. Any time. Actually, I’m free right now.”

“Anya!” snapped Buffy and Xander as one. Their gazes met across the room and held.

Xander’s shoulders were hunched and he was actually shaking a little.

“I don’t understand,” he said softly, in a hurt voice. “How long has this been going on?” His voice rose a little as anger came to the fore. “Since high school? Since I asked you out, Buffy? Is that why you said no? And Willow, is this why you…”

“That’s enough, Xander.” Buffy’s voice was forceful and now she stepped protectively between the witch and her other best friend.

“Look, this isn’t personal, okay? And it’s only just happened now. It’s a shock to us too. No-one’s hidden anything from you, alright?”

Xander looked down and appeared to be fighting for control. Anya picked up on her boyfriend’s feelings for once and crossed the room to take his arm.

“Let’s go, Honeypuff,” she said. “We can talk about this at home, over sex. You would not believe how wet I am right now.”

Xander nodded slowly and they turned to go. But he hesitated and looked back for a moment. “You better not be lying to me about this,” he said and the fake smile he threw them was strained.

Buffy watched them go, her thoughts whirling in her head. She felt Willow come up behind her, both physically and with Slayer-sense for dark and dangerous things. And also she felt Willow in another way. She wasn’t sure what that meant yet. But it was like a part of her was reaching back and enveloping Willow, calling out for the witch and being called out to.

Willow’s arms wrapped around her waist and Willow’s chin rested on her shoulder. Willow’s lips kissed her neck.

“Well, this was a surprise,” noted Buffy as they both stared out at nothing in particular.

“Yeah,” said her best friend shyly. “A nice surprise. The nicest.”

“Yeah,” Buffy agreed, although with her typical stoicness, the admittance was hard for her.

“Did you know this was going to happen?” she turned in the witch’s arms and put her own around Willow’s neck.

“Kinda…maybe…I had no idea. But I was hopeful! I mean…when you were all Forcey earlier tonight you said some sex-allusion stuff but really, who knows what moldy old prophecies are saying half the time and I couldn’t be sure…”

Buffy halted the flow with her lips.

“Y’know,” she said thoughtfully. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do.”

“What do you mean?” Willow pulled back with fear in her eyes.

“There’s a lot we have to deal with,” pointed out Buffy, staring at the ground. “I mean, this was helpful sure, and hey, even needed, but you have a girlfriend. And you and me haven’t really talked over the whole dying thing yet and God knows, that’s a sore point between us. And I’m not exactly stable – I’m sleeping with Spike for whatever demented reason! And our friends aren’t exactly cool with this…look Willow. I’m not turning you down or anything. Really. I’m just saying that this is awfully fast and I’m not even gay and it’s a lot to come to terms with.”

“Oh.” Willow looked at her feet.

Buffy was the one babbling now. “In fact, it’s impossible to come to terms with these mega issues in one night. Or one bout of…being together…like that.” She was pleading for understanding.

“I’m just trying to be totally honest with you, Will. You know I love you, so much, but there’s more to it than just love.”

“Just love,” Willow repeated and then she shook the sudden stupor off and looked up and into Buffy’s tortured gaze.

“It’s okay, Buffy. I understand. I do. And hey, I don’t know what to do with all this either. It’s all so shiny and new. But I do know that I want us to actually deal with it. I don’t want you to close up and go all ice age on me. I don’t want our friendship to grow less; I want it to grow more.”

“Agreed.” Buffy nodded firmly. “Friendship must be kept intact. Issues must be dealt with. But not tonight.”

“Soonish,” Willow suggested and her voice held a slight warning. Buffy nodded again and held out her hand.

“Soonish, it shall be. Walk me home?”

Their hands met and joined. There was mild sparkage of the visible kind and Buffy’s head whipped up in surprise as she stared at Willow for an explanation.

“Magickal currents still dying down,” the witch explained.

“It’s like a high,” Buffy noted wonderingly. “Is it always like this? The magicks?”

“Yeah,” admitted the witch. “Only tonight was so much more so.”

They exchanged a significant look and then both quickly looked away.

Their clasped hands swung between them as they exited the building and began walking down the street.

“What do we tell, Tara and Dawnie?” That was Buffy, worrying.

“We could do a forgetting spell!” Willow was serious and even excited.

Buffy eyed her and chewed at her bottom lip.

“Uh…no. That would be unethical to the max. You don’t mean that for real, do ya?”

Willow grasped Buffy’s hand more tightly and looked away.

“Of course not,” she said and they both knew she was lying.

“We tell them nothing,” decided Buffy, letting the deception slip for now. “At least not until we’ve figured out what to do.”

Willow’s answering smile was a little off as she agreed.

“We tell them nothing.”

FINIS

TBC in 3^rd in ‘She Slays Me’ series.