Fic: Simple Choices...NC-17 Buffy/Willow (26/?)

["Chris" <elizabethrex1@xxxxxxxxx>]

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: General spoilers for S5, starting with "The I in Team." Eh, 
who am I kidding? This is really AU now.
A/N: Thanks to Ivy for pre-reading and Zigpal and Lilly for the beta. 
There would be no writing without you guys. 


"Can you say Faith and control in the same sentence?" Buffy asked, 
food forgotten. "Are you sure we can't do this with just me?" No way 
was she turning Faith ? and her Slayer ? loose. 

"It is possible," Giles answered, crossing the room and sitting next 
to Buffy. "However, Faith is very much our secret weapon. As far as 
we know, Adam doesn't know she exists. I don't think we can afford to 
leave her behind."

Absently taking a bite of her now-cold eggs, Buffy thought about 
that. She trusted Faith ? didn't she? Her right leg began to bounce. 
A thin hand moved to grip her thigh, slowing the frenetic 
motion. "Faith was able to control her Slayer, a little anyway, at 
Willie's," she finally admitted grudgingly. "Could you help her 
during the fight, Giles? I mean, you were her Watcher for a while."

"No." Giles sounded certain. He cleared his throat, fidgeting 
slightly. "That kind of assistance requires?shall we say, a much 
deeper connection than Faith and I ever shared."

"You mean-" Willow broke off, eyes wide. At Giles nod, she 
mumbled, "We're in so much trouble."

Leaning against Willow, Buffy considered that. "Yes and no." She 
pushed her plate out of the way. "Faith already knows how to 
establish some control over her Slayer. That means we may not need a 
permanent pairing." She looked up at Willow and Giles. "We find a 
willing and able bed partner, show them the bed, and close the door. 
Once Adam's out of the way, she and whoever can go their separate 
ways." 

"Buffy, that's?that's cold," Willow complained. "Faith may be more 
open about her exploits, but you're acting like her pimp, not her 
friend or her sister Slayer."

Buffy grimaced. "Better her pimp than her jailor ? or worse." Taking 
Willow's hand, she tried to explain, to rationalize. "We need her. 
Or, we think we do. You didn't feel what I did, Will. If we turn on 
her Slayer, and she can't keep control, Adam will be the least of our 
worries."

"I can do it," Tara's quiet voice interrupted.

Buffy spun in her chair. Tara huddled in shadows at the far end of 
the narrow kitchen. "Tara, no. I wasn't talking about you." No way. 
Tara and Faith? Just the thought of the shy witch paired with the so 
non-shy Faith had her stomach roiling. 

Smiling crookedly, Tara walked forward and leaned against the 
island. "Buffy, I already have a con-connection with Faith." 

Not really sure how to respond, Buffy muttered a quiet, "Um, OK." Had 
she missed something? She looked at Willow and got a tiny, rapid 
headshake in response.

Tara must have noticed the exchange. "I d-didn't sl-sleep with her," 
she stuttered. "I was in her he-head, remember?"

"Oh, right." Buffy blushed. "That part's still a little fuzzy." She 
looked at Giles. "Would that be enough? `Cause if it's not, maybe 
Xander could do it. He and Faith have already?ah, connected." She 
felt Willow stiffen at that and held back a sigh. Damn it. This was 
opening a lot of old wounds. 

"I said I'd do it." Buffy's eyebrows rose at Tara's brusque and 
confident statement. "Think about it," Tara continued, "if Faith 
starts to lose control, what is Xander going to do? Grab her arm? 
Tackle her? Beg her to stop?"

Suddenly very tired, Buffy bowed her head. Why did everyone always 
ask her the hard questions? She was a Slayer, not a military 
commander. She killed things. Period.

Willow sat forward abruptly. She was flushed, animated. "You think 
it's more than having sex, don't you?" she snapped at Tara.

Sensing more troubling news, Buffy rested her elbows on her knees and 
rubbed her hands over her face, waiting for Tara's response.

"Maybe," Tara said softly. "Slayers are mystical entities ? magical 
creations, bound to a human form. Buffy and Faith, at least, seem to 
operate as separate entities from their Slayers. What if that wasn't 
always the case? What if, when the Slayer Line was created, the 
Slayer and human parts were closer together? How would you control 
that?"

Buffy dropped her hands. "Isn't that what the Council was supposed to 
be for? Controlling and training Slayers?"

"Indirectly, Buffy." Giles sighed. "The Council, despite it's 
protestations, is a relatively new institution. Before it was 
organized, Slayers were sent out on their own. Simply pointed in the 
right direction and told to kill evil."

"You haven't answered my question," Tara reminded them. "How do you 
control a magical being?"

Raising her hand as if in class, Willow wiggled excitedly next to 
Buffy. She dropped her hand when the other three looked at 
her. "Sorry about that." She grinned, showing all her teeth. "Magic. 
You'd use magic to control the Slayer."

"Physical strength wouldn't be enough." Buffy sat up, mind 
racing. "When we were at Willie's, the Slayer saw Faith as a threat, 
a challenger. She responded to that with a physical challenge. 
Whatever they used to build us, Slayer's don't do magic ? we are 
magic. Or, magical." 

"Exactly. Pairing a Slayer with someone physically able to control 
them would be disaster. It would call up that primal response. They'd 
view their `handler' as a challenger, someone to fight and dominate." 
Tara smiled shyly. "I'm no threat to Faith."

***

The small room grew silent. Booted footsteps sounded from the alley. 
Ready for action, Faith leaned forward slightly, letting her senses 
roam. Through the heavy metal door to their hiding place, she picked 
up bits of conversation.

"Anything?" a male voice barked.

"They were here, sir." Damn it. 

Faith looked at Xander, whispering intently, "They know we came this 
way. Get ready." He scrambled to his feet, moving next to her. "Look 
around. See if I left any weapons in here."

She turned back to the group in the alley as Xander and Graham began 
hunting through the room. The footsteps were slower now. Closer, too. 
If the blind was discovered, they were trapped. 

She sensed more than heard the bodies just outside the door. Hands 
scraped over the thick metal. "Xan!" Faith made a decision. "I don't 
think the whole platoon's outside. We're not sitting here until they 
find a way in."

When Xander started to object, Faith grabbed him by the shirt, 
lifting him until his feet barely touched the ground. 

"Think about it with that soldier brain of yours. We can't fight in 
here. It's too tight, and there's no way out." Releasing him, she 
turned to a poised Graham. "Listen up, boys. Here's the plan. I lead 
us out. They may have guns, but they aren't expecting a Slayer. I'll 
have a little head start."

"Damn it, Faith." Xander sprang forward, voice low and 
angry. "They're human! Do you really want to kill another one?"

Flinching only a little, Faith ignored the bile burning her throat at 
the question. "It's the only way, Xan. And, if we're lucky, no one'll 
get hurt," she said as calmly as she could.

"She's right." Graham stood at quasi-attention. "They won't expect us 
to attack." He met Faith's eyes steadily. "What do you want us to do 
once the shooting starts?"

"Run for the house." She cleared her throat when her voice wavered 
slightly. "You have to get that file to Red and the gang. It might be 
the only way to beat Adam." Turning away, she took a deep breath and 
rolled her neck to loosen the tight muscles. One hand reached out, 
gripping the metal door handle. "Ready or not, boys, we're going."

Throwing the door open, Faith dove forward, tackling one of the armed 
men examining the alley. "Go!" she shouted to the two men behind her. 
She didn't have a chance to see if they'd followed her order.

Punching the Marine under her in the face, Faith held his body in 
front of her as a shield and rolled. In a move only a Slayer could 
perform, Faith planted her feet on the grimy asphalt and jackknifed 
erect, still holding her human armor. She moved so quickly the shouts 
of the rest of the group blurred crazily, a soundtrack on slow play. 
Faith tossed her bundle into two more men. They went down in a tangle 
of arms and legs. 

There was no time to celebrate. Faith jumped to her right, kicking 
off the wall of the building there, and somersaulted over the heads 
of the three remaining Marines. The chase was on. Muscles straining, 
heart beat pounding in her ears, Faith ran. Now that she was no 
longer afraid of even accidentally killing one of the Marines, Faith 
called out to her Slayer. Starting with a slow trickle, the energy 
uncoiled inside. By the time the bullets began bouncing off the walls 
around her, Faith's body tingled and stretched from the power 
flooding through her. Her stride lengthened, and she pulled away from 
her hunters. 

Xander and Graham were still vulnerable. Faith turned right out of 
the alley and slowed, ignoring the scream of her Slayer. She had to 
lead the Marines away from the safe house, give the boys time to get 
the information to Willow. Then she could lose her pursuers and go 
back there herself. 

Ducking into a doorway, Faith peered behind her. Uniformed men 
scrambled out of the alley. Faith counted five. One of them must 
still be down. A tall black man looked up and down the street and 
spoke into a mic looped over his shoulder. Muscles twitching from the 
need to run, Faith waited. Another team joined the first. 

Faith stepped out of her hidden location and began a slow jog down 
the street. She grinned humorlessly when a shout rang out behind her. 
Four blocks of listening to the dull pop of gunfire and the sharp 
snap of concrete exploding from the impact of bullets later, Faith 
gratefully entered the wooded area at the edge of town. They were on 
the opposite side of Sunnydale from the safe house. Letting the 
Slayer loose again, Faith widened the gap. 








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

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