Fic: Simple Choices...NC-17 Buffy/Willow (14/?)

["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.


Buffy watched the gang closely after Tara's announcement. She bounced 
in place with excess energy, and struggled to keep from simply 
storming out and getting down to business. As her hazel eyes swept 
the room, she frowned. Willow was gazing raptly at Tara. 

The Slayer noted that Tara was pale, but resolute, when Willow 
commented, "I'm not sure that's a good idea, either."

"It is risky, my dear." Giles cleaned up the remains of his 
dinner. "However, it does give us more chances to create a favorable 
climate. Before we try anything, however, we need to decide exactly 
what we can do when Adam does arrive. If I understood Buffy 
correctly, he is a powerful magic user and a fearsome fighter. Are we 
quite sure even a pair of Slayers will be enough?"

"B? You met this thing. Can we take him?" Faith asked.

Buffy dragged her eyes away from Willow and Tara. Rage simmered just 
below the surface. No way was Tara going to get between her and 
Willow. She'd?

"Yo, Earth to Buffy. You with us, or what?" Faith asked sarcastically.

Agitated, Buffy snapped. "I wasn't ready for Adam then. He took me by 
surprise. This time we'll hit hard and fast. Nothing's ever beaten 
the Chosen Two."

"And what all do we got?" Faith twirled on the tall bar stool at the 
counter. "You and me, the Chosen Two. Red and Blondie with the magic, 
but I ain't got a clue what that means. Red's spells were kinda less 
than great last time I was around. What can this Adam do? Turn us all 
into frogs? Or just toast us?"

Only Tara seemed to have an answer to that, and Buffy glared at the 
blonde witch. "No frogs." She smiled crookedly. "But the cooking? 
Probably. When he was tracking me, I felt a lot of energy." Tucking 
her hair behind her right ear, she continued, "Most demons aren't 
actual witches. They use power instinctively or it is a part of their 
being. I think Adam's different. I think he has both types of power, 
and that makes any magical or mundane attack hard."

Tara's voice grated. *Why can't she just shut up already?* Buffy 
jumped up and stalked back and forth in the small space. "So, you're 
saying we just keep sitting here?" Her voice echoed through the 
kitchen. 

"Whoa, Buff, you wanna power down a little?" Xander asked. "I think 
Tara was just trying to make sure we had all the information."

"I'm tired of just talking, Xan," Buffy spit out. "When do we get to 
the doing part?" She took a few quick steps until she stood right in 
front of the young man. "You just want to sit here, listening to them 
talk?" Buffy shoved Xander back against the counter. "What good are 
those soldier memories of yours anyway?"

"Buffy!" Joyce shouted. "That's enough. What is wrong with you?" She 
examined her daughter closely, but in the dim lighting, couldn't see 
much. "Sit down so we can find a way to deal with this."

At the rebuke, a rumbling sound tore from Buffy's throat and she spun 
to face her mother. "No more talking," she snarled. The Slayer was 
actually shaking from the emotions pouring through her.

The room froze.

Finally, Faith slid slowly off the stool, hands held away from her 
body. "Hey, B? You been spending a lot of time with them soldier 
boys?" As she talked, the brunette continued to move carefully toward 
Buffy. "'Cause I'm thinking maybe you got some of that spiked punch 
meant for your boy toy."

"I'm fine!" Buffy's eyes were dilated. "I'm just tired of all the 
talking. That's all we do. We sit and talk and the bad guys go on 
killing."

Faith didn't really have an answer to that. She understood the guilt 
spewing from Buffy. "How many's he gonna kill if we're dead, B? We 
don't have enough information to go after this thing. I mean, give 
the girls a little more time, and then I'll be right there with you 
when you kick the Tin Man's ass."

"I'm not waiting anymore. Get out of my way!" Buffy moved so fast, 
Faith never stood a chance. The smaller girl grabbed the brunette 
Slayer, tossing her effortlessly across the kitchen. Bits of plaster 
exploded from the wall where Faith's body dented the structure. 

Barely stifling a moan, Faith staggered away from the wall and 
latched on to Buffy's arm. "Can't let you go out there, B. Not like 
this."

Buffy turned sharply, leveling a wild right at Faith. The brunette 
Slayer ducked, then stood quickly. She pushed Buffy forward, driving 
the counter of the island into the smaller girl's stomach, doubling 
her over. While Buffy fought to get her feet on the ground and regain 
some leverage, Faith seized her right wrist, yanking it back and up, 
lifting until the small hand rested between narrow shoulder 
blades. "Enough, B," the brunette panted. "I don't want to break your 
arm, but I will if you don't stop fighting me."

The blonde Slayer gave once last, furious tug at her arm and lay 
there, quietly seething. 

"Blondie, I think B here needs some of that aura stuff you did to 
me." Faith didn't dare look away from Buffy. The blonde Slayer 
radiated cage violence. 

"I don't kn-know if I can, Faith," Tara stuttered. "You gave me 
permission to get past your shields. If I try with Buffy, it could 
hurt her."

Joyce frowned. "I think it's a risk we need to take. Faith can't hold 
Buffy all night. And, what happens if she gets out of the house?" She 
looked at Giles. "Could she actually hurt a human like this?"

"Well?" he hesitated.

"Guys," Faith's voice was strained. "Less talk, more action. B got 
that part right. You talk way the fuck too much. I can't do this much 
longer." 

"Tara," Willow said in an urgent voice, "can you show me how to get 
into Buffy's aura?"

Eyes shadowed, Tara nodded. "You think she'll let you in?" They 
danced delicately around the scene on the porch.

"It's worth a try." Willow held out her hand to the blonde witch. "If 
nothing else, I'll take you in with me. Buffy won't hurt me."

Taking Willow's hand, Tara closed her eyes and bridged her power with 
the redhead's *OK,* she said through the link, *you have to let your 
energy flow through the cracks in her shielding. Once you are inside, 
pull the energy together and build your astral body. All you need to 
do from there is look for anything foreign. It will be almost neon 
and it will feel off, dirty.* Tara watched as Willow tried to follow 
the instructions. 

Brow furrowed in concentration, Willow dispersed her energy in a thin 
blanket, resting it gently over Buffy's shields. They hardened at her 
touch, trying to push her away. Thinning the power blanket even more 
helped some. Willow began to see faint cracks in the translucent 
shield and let her magic seep into the minute holes. When the first 
drop of power entered Buffy's shield, Willow heard her friend moan 
and saw her surge against Faith. She could sense the Slayer's pain as 
Willow's energy invaded her aura.

Tara's voice sounded gently in her head, whispering instructions and 
helping her regain her emotional balance. *If you find a drug or 
external tampering, flush it. Use your energy to clean the channels.*

Willow tried to nod her head and then remembered she had no form at 
this point. Trying again internally she answered, *Got it. Can you 
monitor my progress once I'm inside the shield? She's fighting me. I 
don't want to hurt her, Tara.*

*No. I don't think Buffy will let me in at all.* Sadness intertwined 
with the thought. *She sees me as a rival.*

There was no way to respond to the truth in Tara's statement. *OK. 
I'll do my best.* Willow turned her attention back to her progress on 
circumventing the shield. She was halfway there, and the urge to push 
forward, to force more speed was nearly overwhelming, but she didn't 
want to hurt Buffy more by damaging her shield. Grinding her mental 
teeth, Willow waited. After what seemed an eternity, the last of her 
essence drained through the cracks. She wasted no time drawing the 
pooled energy into an astral body and peering around. 

Buffy's aura was wild. Colors fluoresced and altered rapidly, 
creating a kaleidoscope effect. Something was definitely wrong. 
Running through the brightly colored landscape, Willow searched for 
the source of the trouble. A flash of bright orange caught her eye. 
She changed course and hurried in that direction. 

Tara had been right. The almost-angry orange flare felt wrong and it 
pulsed and flared at odd intervals. As she watched, Willow noticed 
that each time the orange energy brightened, parts of Buffy's aura 
were drawn toward it. Where they touched, the Slayer's normal 
emotions were altered. When the foreign substance ebbed, those 
emotions were released, now the shimmering red of rage.

Willow panicked at the sight. She wasn't used to expending this much 
energy. She was weakening too fast, but she had to try moving 
whatever was affecting Buffy. 

She reached back through her link with her physical body, releasing 
more energy and blasting at the orange mass, forcing it back along 
the Slayer's channels. It was exhausting work. Finally, shaking with 
effort and feeling her astral form ebbing, Willow saw Buffy's energy 
paths running clear. No orange anywhere. With a tired sigh, the witch 
released her ephemeral form and fled back to her body.

The tableau in the kitchen hadn't changed. Faith still clung to Buffy 
while the Scoobies watched anxiously. Dragging her eyes open, Willow 
mumbled, "Any change?"

"Huh? Hell, Red, you were only gone a couple of minutes." Faith 
sounded as tired as Willow felt.

"She should be fine." Willow moved closer on leaden feet. "Buffy? 
Hey, you still with us?"

Buffy shook her head slightly. When she replied, her voice was faint 
and slurred with fatigue. "Tired, and I hurt. What the hell did Faith 
hit me with? My head is killing me."

With a snort, Faith let go of her sister Slayer's arm and stepped 
back. "Think you might wanna take a look at the wall there, B. You 
got a headache? My whole body hurts after the flying lesson you gave 
me."

Standing with difficulty, Buffy asked, "What?" Hazel eyes stared at 
Faith in confusion.

"Buffy?" Everyone looked at Tara. "Sweetie, what's the last thing you 
remember?"

Wrapping her arms around her stomach, the blonde Slayer shrugged 
slightly. "The thing with Ry at the Bronze." She frowned. "Things are 
kinda dreamlike after that. I mean, I remember bits and pieces of 
things. Did you heal Faith?" She ran a shaking hand through her hair.

"Do you remember coming in from outside and watching the news?" Only 
Buffy seemed to notice the choked quality to Willow's voice.

"Will? What's going on? Why the big questions?" She pushed away from 
the counter, taking an unsteady step toward the witch. Willow didn't 
answer and Buffy grabbed the counter to stay upright. Blinking 
owlishly, she wiggled her shoulder. "And, what's the what with Faith 
trying to rip my shoulder off?"

Giles cleared his throat when Willow seemed unable to answer. "We 
believe you ingested some of the drug the Initiative was using on 
Riley's men."

"You were acting like Riley at the Bronze. All `grrr,' and," Willow's 
voice cracked, "and stuff." She raised tear-filled eyes to Buffy. "I 
cleared it out of your system, though. You should be back to regular 
Buffy now."

"Oh." She looked with wide eyes at the hole in the kitchen wall. "I 
guess?um?"

Grinning, Faith slapped Buffy on the shoulder. "We're cool, B. Just 
don't be making any smart remarks about the Dark Slayer. `Cause I 
think you just borrowed that title yourself tonight."

"Yeah, OK." Buffy was still vague and unsure. "Maybe you guys could 
fill me in on what I missed after I pass out for a while? I'm really 
not all with the here and now."

Stepping forward, Willow took Buffy's hand and pulled her toward the 
living room. "I'll get her settled in one of the rooms, and then we 
can keep planning." Fighting to keep her fear in check, the witch 
guided the blonde into one of the rooms. "Here you go, Buff. You can 
sleep for a while." She flashed a forced smile. "I'll come get you 
later, OK?"

"Will?" Buffy's voice stopped Willow in her tracks. "Did I do 
something earlier?" She gently put a hand on the taller girl's stiff 
shoulder. 

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what, Will?" Buffy tried to keep from panicking. "What did 
I do?"

"You didn't," the young witch replied. "We did?we did this." Willow 
pressed her lips to Buffy's quickly, fiercely, before running from 
the room.







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

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