Fic: Simple Choices...Nc-17 Buffy/Willow (10/?)

["Chris " <elizabethrex1@xxxxxxx>]

Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and 
lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, 
just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers: I borrow heavily from "The I in Team" for this chapter. Big 
alterations ahead for the remainder of S5. Eh, who am I kidding? This 
is really AU now.
A/N: Thanks to the best beta crew: Zigpal and Zenithar. There would 
be no writing without you guys.


Willow stared at Buffy in confusion. *Did she really ask me that?
* "Hey, um, why don't you go call Graham, and I'll just stay here and 
watch Riley, `k?"

"No," the Slayer stated. She moved closer to the young witch, flushed 
and breathing hard. "I want to know. Do you think I'm hot?" A 
roughened hand caressed the redhead's cheek. "It's a simple question, 
Will. Why the avoidance?"

"Because you're freaking me out, that's why." Willow's voice drifted 
up an octave, but she didn't move away from the blonde. "Wh-why would 
you even think I'd think about how you look?" She blushed at her 
stumbling question.

Buffy smiled. "Our conversation earlier got my mind on the subject. 
After all, if you're OK with Tara lusting after you, maybe you 
haven't been so straight all this time. And" hazel eyes flicked over 
the unconscious Marine, "Ry's a military man, but he's not stupid. 
Did he see something I missed, Will?" 

Chewing on her lip, the young witch considered her options. Lying ? 
never good, but it might preserve their friendship. The truth ? karma 
points, but bad for friendship. Willow bounced in place, unable to 
decide. Finally, the blonde took the choice out of her hands. "Maybe 
I should find out for myself, huh?" Buffy moved closer until they 
were pressed together, and brushed her lips gently over her friend's. 

The witch jerked in surprise and then threw caution to the winds. 
Sliding long fingers into Buffy's hair, she drew her in closer and 
opened her mouth, inviting further exploration. The Slayer's tongue 
took advantage of the opportunity. The kiss grew less gentle and more 
heated, interspersed with gasps and moans. Body burning with primal 
need, Buffy started to stroke her hands down Willow's back until she 
cupped the jeans-clad ass. 

The sound of clapping drove them apart. A slim figure emerged from 
behind the stage. "Ya' know, I saw all the kiddies running outta the 
Bronze and thought there might be some major blood sucking going on." 
Dimples flashed as Faith moved closer. "Didn't know I'd see other 
types of sucking. Surprised at you, B."

The blonde Slayer took a fast step forward, a growl bursting from her 
throat. Already keyed up from the fights with Riley and Adam, plus 
the short make out session with the witch, she was more than ready to 
take on the other girl. "Don't, Buffy." Willow's voice rang in the 
empty bar. Green eyes flashed. "Still trying to get a reaction, 
aren't you, Faith? I'm curious. Did you come in here to stop the 
vampires? Or did you plan on holding their victims?"

Even in the dim lighting, Slayer and witch saw the younger girl 
pale. "Glad to know you think so highly of me, Red."

"You expected something more?" Willow was on a roll. "The last time 
we met, you threatened to kill me. Sorry if I don't trust your 
motives."

The Dark Slayer walked passed the Scoobies and jumped up to sit on 
the bar. "So, girls, fill me in. What'd I miss?"

"Not much, really," Buffy said quietly. There was something not right 
with the other Slayer. Although Faith was trying to close off their 
bond, enough leaked through for her to sense a little of the teen's 
feelings. 

"Been eight freakin months, Buffy. You telling me the Hellmouth's 
been quiet?" The words were angry and bitter. "How about the Mayor? 
I'm sure you and your girl are just itching to give me all the gory 
details."

Feeling her way, Buffy held up a hand, preventing Willow from 
divulging the more graphic parts of their fight with the Ascended 
Mayor. "He Ascended on Graduation Day, just as planned. We fought. He 
lost."

Faith didn't answer, merely sitting on the bar, swinging her legs.

"Will, can you call Graham for me? I don't want Riley waking up and 
trying to get all He-Man again." Buffy's eyes never left her sister 
Slayer.

"Are you sure? I'd be happy to knock her out and tie her up for you." 
The blonde raised an eyebrow at the venom in the normally friendly 
voice.

"I'm sure, Will. Faith and I are just going to talk while you're 
gone." Letting just a hint of threat slip into her tone, she 
asked, "Right, Faith?"

Although it obviously galled the younger girl, she nodded 
jerkily. "Right, B. Talking."

Willow looked between the Slayers. The intensity in the room was 
frightening, and she expected an explosion soon. Still, Buffy usually 
knew what she was doing. Backing away, the witch headed for the bank 
of pay phones in the hallway near the bathrooms.

Once Willow was out of range, Buffy moved carefully toward Faith, 
perching on a bar stool by her knees. "Faith, I don't know what to 
say?" she trailed off, staring at her hands resting on the scarred 
wood. "I'm sorry doesn't even scratch the surface."

"What the fuck are you apologizing for?" The usual bite was absent 
from the husky voice.

A bark of laughter escaped. "Oh, you know, not helping with the Finch 
thing, treating you like a stone cold killer, stabbing you. Did I 
leave out anything?"

Unease trickled through the link. "Nah. Those are the highlights." 
Uneasy silence grew between them. "I keep expecting you to jump me 
and finish the job." Brown eyes met hazel ones. "Why are we just 
sitting here?"

"Because I refuse to go back to where we were, Faith. That night on 
the roof," the blonde felt her counterpart flinch, "I crossed a line 
I never imagined was there. And," a self-mocking grin 
appeared, "there's a new Big Bad in town. We could use your help."

"Sounds familiar." No anger, just a hint of bitter. "Don't know, B. 
Might be best if I just blew out of town."

Buffy absorbed that information. "Don't. Please."

The other girl stared at her in shock. "What the fuck is going on, 
Buffy? Is this another Slayer dream? Am I still in the hospital, 
waiting to die?"

"No dreams here." Then, thinking of Adam and the Initiative, "Well, 
maybe a Hellmouthy nightmare or two."

Willow had been listening to the quiet exchange, having completed her 
mercy call to the other Marine. "Buffy, Graham's on his way."

Still looking at the confused brunette, Buffy answered, "Thanks, 
Will. Can you check and see if we're going to be fending off firemen 
soon? It looks like they're as competent as the police." 

"Call me Errand Girl," the redhead quipped, trying to lighten the 
still tense mood. Her comment fell flat. Sighing, she trudged toward 
the front door, leaving the two Slayers alone again.

"What's it going to be, Faith? Giles is willing to look for ways to 
help out. The Council is out of the picture. In fact, they've 
disowned all of us: you, me, and Giles." She stood up, hand resting 
on the other Slayer's thigh. "Want to join the Good Guys again? 
Benefits suck, but it feels good most of the time." 

Buffy held her breath until the brunette replied.

"Don't know about joining. I'm not cut out to be a Scooby. But if you 
need me for the big fight, I'm in."

The blonde grinned up at the younger Slayer, relieved. "To borrow a 
phrase, wicked cool." Her grin widened when Faith chuckled. "Will, 
what's the word on the big red trucks?" she called out.

"Nothing yet, but I can hear sirens," the redhead yelled back.

"Damn. We can't let them find Riley, and I want to be long gone 
before they get here." Buffy scowled at her ex-boyfriend. "Let's go, 
Will. Faith and I'll carry Ry toward Lowell House. I don't want to 
make explanations when the firemen finally get here."

The witch trotted back over. "OK. I can do a glamour so we don't draw 
attention on the way."

"Excellent." The blonde Slayer grabbed the Marine's body under the 
arms. "Get his feet, will you, Faith?"

Sliding to the floor, the brunette moved slowly into position. Sweat 
broke out on her face and she grimaced as she lifted Riley's heavy 
boots. "Faith? What's wrong?" Willow asked. She'd never seen the 
other girl look so out of it.

"I'm thinking an eight-month nap ain't so good for muscle tone," the 
brunette quipped. She managed to get Riley settled in her 
arms. "Let's motor, girls. I don't know how long I can do this." She 
grunted as they made an awkward trek to the alley entrance. "Man, B, 
who is this dude and why can't we leave his heavy ass here?"

Buffy blushed. Not looking at either of her companions, she 
mumbled, "He's my ex-boyfriend."

The Dark Slayer nearly laughed, until she saw how uncomfortable Buffy 
was. Glancing to the side, she noticed Willow biting her lip and 
examining her shoes. *Man, these two are priceless. I shoulda just 
sat back and watched the show. Wonder if either of them would have 
known what to do?*  "He's kinda beefy for a soldier boy."

The trio plus their cargo staggered into the alley. "Hold up, guys. I 
need to do the spell," Willow ordered.

"Hurry the fuck up, Red. I'm way below par here." Faith dropped the 
Marine's legs, leaning against the brick wall and panting. 

Nodding in understanding, the redhead held her hands palm up and 
began chanting. White light surrounded the four of them 
briefly. "We're set." The young witch was shaking from the effort.

"Will, are you sure it worked? I mean," Buffy didn't really want to 
accuse her friend of anything, "I can't see any difference."

"You won't. It basically puts a, um?shield around us that tells 
people's minds to see nothing." She grinned. "Tara showed it to me."

"Whoo fucking hoo," Faith mocked. "We ready? Cause I don't think I'm 
worth too much more."

Buffy glared at the brunette, but her irritation wasn't with the 
younger girl. Willow's enthusiastic mention of Tara had her grinding 
her teeth. She had been the one kissing the redhead just minutes ago. 
Why was Willow still so gung ho over the other blonde? "Yeah. Come 
on. We need to get back before Adam finds us or Giles worries himself 
to death." She waited for Faith to pick up Riley's feet again and 
they staggered toward campus. It was a nightmare journey. While the 
downtown area wasn't crowded, they still had to dodge the occasional 
group of people on their way home from dinner. By the time the little 
band hit the edge of the UC-Sunnydale campus, Buffy was panting and 
Riley's legs dragged the ground more often than not. 

"Fuck, B, how much farther?" Faith actually looked worse than their 
cargo. She was grey-green and sweat stood out. Both Buffy and Willow 
noted the shake in her hands every time she shifted her grip on the 
Marine. 

Buffy stopped. If they pushed any farther, they'd be carrying Faith, 
too. "We'll wait here. Graham and his group will have to come this 
way." She motioned for the other Slayer to take a seat. "You don't 
look so good."

"No, really?" Faith rolled her eyes, leaning against a tree. "I've 
been flat on my back for almost a year, B. Even Slayer healing's 
gonna take a while to fix that."

"Why?" Willow commented without thinking. "Wasn't that a normal 
position for you?" After a pained silence, the witch offered, "I am 
so sorry, Faith. Totally uncalled for." She looked pleadingly at the 
tense brunette. 

"Put the puppy dog eyes away, Red. It's just a comment." Faith's 
voice was really raspy, and the witch thought maybe there were tears 
in her eyes. "While we wait, you want to fill me in on the sitch 
here? It must be pretty bad if you're willing to let me stay in town."

Buffy started to answer, but paused, head cocked. "Someone's coming." 
She stood up, ready for a fight. Faith managed to join her, but the 
blonde figured Willow would be more use in hand to hand combat. 
Luckily for them all, it was just Graham and a couple of Riley's 
unit. "Thanks for helping out, Graham. I know things are a little 
weird for you guys at the moment."

The handsome Marine smiled. "Don't worry about it, really. We were 
glad to get out for a while." He eyed his superior officer. "He'll be 
OK?"

"Oh, yeah. He just ran into my fist. Give him a few hours." Buffy 
smiled, then remembered the information they'd overheard. "You guys 
know anything about an experiment where they put drugs in your food?" 
When all three claimed ignorance, she gave them a quick rundown.

"Damn." Graham looked angry. "Maybe it's time to get in touch with 
some contacts at the Pentagon. This is not part of our orders."







Willow: "It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
Buffy:  "I kinda love you."
                      --'Choices'

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