Go To Prologue Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Epilogue
Repercussions Reactions and Retaliation
Book III
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‘Bloody accounting books!’ Giles thought in frustration as he sat behind the counter in his shop, tallying the day’s receipts and outstanding shipments. ‘It’s enough to make me regret not letting Willow talk me into a computer...’ he looked up thoughtfully and then muttered, “No, no it hasn’t quite come to that.”
<RING>
“Thank goodness!” he said, slamming shut the book on which he’d been working; glad for any interruption.
<RING>
He took two steps along the counter and snatched the phone’s handset from it’s cradle and rattled off, “Hello, you’ve reached the Magic Box, your one stop shop for everything occult.” As always, his expression took on a residual grimace at the slogan Anya had created, but it had become a habit.
“How quaint.”
Giles removed his eyeglasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering “And to think, I was actually relieved to hear the phone ring.”
“Come now, Rupert, Is that any way to speak to one’s employer?”
‘Bloody Pillock!’ Giles didn’t quite say aloud. With a great sigh, he instead said, “Hello Quinton. To what do I owe the honor of a personal call from the Council’s senior member?”
The senior watcher’s dry chuckle did little to ease Giles annoyance.
“Why, Rupert, a lesser observer might actually ascribe sincerity to your tone...” Quinton said dryly.
‘A wiser man might have learned a lesson from previous meddling and kept his attentions the hell away from Sunnydale and everyone in it!’ Giles thought exasperatedly.
“Well, right to business then,” Quinton said when Giles refrained from response. “I would like to arrange to visit Sunnydale.”
Giles closed his eyes and counted to five. “May I ask to what end?” he said as evenly as he could muster.
“I wish to spend some time speaking with our formerly renegade Slayer,” Quinton answered.
“Are you completely mad?” Giles blurted out, aghast, before he could censor himself. “What lunacy has lead you to believe Buffy would sanction such a thing?”
“And you work for your Slayer now? You must, if her sanction is required?” Quinton said distastefully.
‘Calm down old man...’ Giles told himself, taking a slow breath before answering. “You and I both Quinton, else you wouldn’t be calling to ask for permission.”
“Touché,” Quinton allowed graciously. “As for such permission, I would hope that you will remind your charge that it was I who alerted you to the effort to take the junior Slayer against her will.”
“True though that is, I don’t imagine Buffy would be open to another visit from the council...” Giles began.
“Not the council, Rupert,” Quinton corrected hastily. “Myself and a single assistant, no more than that...I only wish to interview the girl, one on one. It is my hope that I will then be able to provide a positive report to the council and end any future plans for her removal.”
Giles mulled it over for a moment. ‘Obviously, he wouldn’t come all this way unless he had some ulterior motive...and yet, it might be best to be seen as cooperative. We shouldn’t burn any bridges unless and until it becomes absolutely necessary...’
“Will you arrange it?” Quinton asked after several moment’s silence.
‘And, with Willow and Tara’s abilities, we might be able to discern his true motives...’ Coming to a decision, Giles said, “I’ll try, Quinton. I can promise no more than that.”
Another dry chuckle sounded across the phone lines. “I have every confidence in you Rupert.”
“Why thank you Quinton,” Giles responded as genuinely as he could muster. At the same time, his eyes narrowed into a rather Ripper-esque glare as he thought, ‘Perhaps I’ll be fortunate enough that he’ll actually try something...’
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‘Foolish boy,’ Quinton Travers thought as he surreptitiously observed his young assistant placing a phone call.
“Hello, Anya?” his nervous whisper carried in the darkened library. “Yes, it’s me, Jeremy...No! Wait, don’t hang up Anya! Please, I beg you!”
‘Weak willed...there’s no doubt that it will be that very flaw which does him in, in the end,’ the Society of Watchers Senior Council member noted with some distaste.
“Look, Anya; I’m coming to the states next month...I was hoping that I might...see you?” Jeremy’s timid voice asked softly.
“Yes, yes she did, but Mr. Travers has sought permission to travel to Sunnydale, and I am to be his assistant...No, not at all...no I don’t think flunkey is a more accurate...Look, Anya...”
‘Just look at yourself, man; you can not even stand up straight when she’s on the other side of the world!’ Quinton thought derisively. “How will you ever manage to do so in person?’
“But you see, that’s why I called!” Jeremy’s wheedling tone grated. “I’ve been given charge of making all the arrangement...Yes, I think...Certain! I’m certain that I can arrange to...well, yes, a bit more than last time...no probably not that much, but certainly we can divert enough to retain someone...or something...”
Quinton stepped back slightly further into the shadow as Jeremy suddenly hunched his shoulders and furtively looked around.
“Taraka?! Yes, I’m sure they would, however...Anya, the funds necessary for that sort of arrangement would...we’d never be able to hide a diversion of that magnitude...”
‘She has you wrapped around her little finger,’ Quinton thought derisively.
“Yes, I’ll be counting the days...” Jeremy said, his voice clearly filled with longing. “Goodbye, my sweet.”
The junior watcher hung up the phone and walked out of the room with an audible sigh.
‘Bah; weak, sentimental fool!’ Quinton thought with revulsion. ‘Very nearly makes me ill...I’m not certain whether I hope for your success or your failure if it meant getting rid of you once and for all. I suppose in the end it’s better that you succeed.’
The corner of his mouth twitched up slightly as he turned to walk away. ‘Either way, I can hardly lose...’ he thought with better humor.
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Dawn stood still, her eyes closed as she breathed in and out deeply. Her hands were joined with Willow on her left and Tara on her right as she tried to catch and match the rhythm of, first their breathing, and then their heartbeats. ‘Come on Dawn! You’ve done this before, this is supposed to be the easy part!’ she chastised herself as she became more and more frustrated with her failure.
Dawn felt her hand being released as Tara said, “Ok, stop.”
‘Damn it!’ Dawn thought angrily. She set her jaw stiffly as tears of frustration welled up in her eyes.
“What’s wrong Dawnie?” Willow asked, giving the brunette’s hand a gentle squeeze. “You were doing so well at this!”
“I’ve never seen you this unfocused, Dawn,” Tara added softly. “Your energy is all chaotic and tangled...”
“I’m sorry guys...” Dawn said apologetically. “I’ve been worked up all day...I just can’t seem to concentrate on anything today!”
“Come on, lets go sit in the living room and relax for a while,” Tara suggested. “If we feel like it we can come back here later,” she added with a gesture to their surroundings.
“Ok” Dawn nodded glumly. She followed Willow out of the opulently appointed spell-casting room, thinking, ‘Now leaving WiccaWorld, as Buffy calls it...’ but even that usually humorous thought failed to bring a smile to her face.
She walked over and dropped into the living-room chair with a huff. ‘Alright, stop pouting and get your head straight Summers!’ Dawn thought, trying through force of will to push her mood into more pleasant territory.
“You guys want a soda?” Tara asked, pausing as she turned toward the kitchen.
“Thanks baby!” Willow said with a smile.
“Of course,” Tara said with a warm smile. “Dawn?” she questioned.
“Sure, thanks Tara,” Dawn said, forcing a smile onto her own face.
They sat in silence for a minute before Willow spoke. “So you’ve had a hard time concentrating today?” she asked.
Dawn dropped her smile and sighed heavily. “Totally!” she exclaimed with a frustrated frown. “I so got busted by Heimer in calc. today!”
“What happened?” Willow asked interestedly.
“I guess he called my name, like, five times or something...Christy Felder was sitting behind me and actually had to poke me before I snapped out of it...so embarrassing,” Dawn reminisced with a chagrinned headshake.
“That sucks!” Willow commiserated.
“Tell me about it,” Dawn agreed. “I mean, usually I could care less what people at school think of me...but she’s a serious beyoch...kinda a Cordelia, but not as deep. Oh, and she’s meaner.”
“Yeouch!” Willow said, eyes wide. “I remember, in our freshman year, I used to sit behind Cordelia in American history, and I’d stare at the back of her head and try to make it explode with my thoughts...”
“Willow!” Tara said reprovingly, returning from the kitchen with a tray and three glasses.
“Well, it’s not like I thought it would really work...but you don’t know, Tara...” Willow said, her voice heavy. “She’s like a totally different person today...not only did she make my life a living hell growing up, she took pleasure in it!”
“Aww, sweetie...” Tara said with a sad look.
Willow’s face lightened and she got a devilish smirk as she went on, “All I’m saying is, she’s lucky I didn’t have any powers back then...”
“Yeah, that’s Christy now,” Dawn said. “I swear, the only time you see that girl smile is when she’s hurting someone else...”
“She’s probably very sad and lonely underneath it all,” Tara opined as she handed out the drinks.
“Probably, but it’s a self-perpetuating cycle- and her viciousness only pushes everyone farther away...” Dawn mused. “Still, it’s hard to feel sorry for her. Usually I just blow off whatever she says about me, cause, please, High School popularity? So, so over it!”
“But today?” Tara prompted.
“Yeah, today,” Dawn sighed. “I was already in a mood, so getting busted for flaking out didn’t help, and then having it be her that snapped me out of la-la land...badness.”
“Why were you in a mood to begin with?” Tara asked, orienting on the root of the problem.
Dawn felt her face grow hot and tried to cover by taking a long drink of her soda. ‘Busted again!’ she thought as she looked at the two witches’ knowing smiles. ‘That’s it, take joy in my misery,’ she thought uncharitably.
“Let me guess,” Willow said gleefully. “A certain Y-chrom Scooby still stuck in low gear?”
“Oh God! He is driving me insane!” Dawn lamented.
Willow broke out into laughter. Tara had a smile on her face that said it was only her sympathy that was keeping her from outright laughter herself.
“Sure, go ahead and laugh at my pain,” Dawn said melodramatically.
“Oh, does he do that thing with his tongue?” Willow suddenly asked.
‘That’s right, you’ve experienced Xander-kissage before, haven’t you?’ Dawn realized. “That thing with the circles?” she asked, surprised. At Willow’s look of pleased agreement, Dawn went on, “Oh, I figured he learned that from Anya...”
“You learned that from *Xander*!?” Tara interjected, aghast.
“Hey, say what you want, that boy can *kiss*!” Willow replied with a laugh.
“Oh my God! You don’t have to tell me!” Dawn gushed in agreement, misery forgotten for a moment at the remembered pleasure. “I kid you not; I have had to change my panties more times than I can count, just from him kissing me!”
“I have to tell you, Dawn,” Tara began. “As frustrating as it might be, Xander is showing more restraint than I thought a man was even capable of having!”
“Yeah, I think it’s kinda sweet...and plus, you know for sure that he isn’t just with the lust...” Willow added.
Dawn took a deep breath. “It is sweet...it’s more than sweet. And yeah, it just goes to prove how much he really cares for me,” She felt a warm shiver run from her stomach, up her spine and to her scalp which tingled at the sensation. Her smile was beatific as she said, “I can tell he’s totally falling in love with me and I’m pretty sure he’s gonna actually tell me he loves me pretty soon...”
“But?” Tara asked, apparently sensing that there was more to it.
“But...” Dawn blushed as she paused before blurting, “I want sex!”
Willow and Tara laughed out loud.
“God!” Dawn threw up her hands in exasperation. “We’ve been going out for months! I want him so bad I can taste it! I mean, I masturbate so often that I’m afraid I’m gonna get carpal tunnel syndrome or something!”
“Dawn!” Tara exclaimed.
Willow just laughed harder.
“I swear, I just don’t get it,” Dawn went on, now in full-blown rant. “Every night we make out and I can feel how it’s affecting him. He can’t wear sweats around the apartment or he looks like he’s dowsing for water or something!”
Willow laughed so hard she fell onto her side, still cackling as Dawn went on, while Tara had tears streaming down her face, and her entire body was shaking with suppressed laughter.
“I’m pretty sure you could see his thing coming around a corner a couple seconds before the rest of him caught up,” Dawn continued.
“Willow was screaming in laughter, shouting “Stop! Dawn you’re killing me!”
“He’s jerking off so much that it’s hard to find a clean towel in the place! But he won’t let me take care of it!” Dawn complained. “God, I’ve all but begged him to let me go down on him, and I know he wants it cause he gets this wild look in his eyes and makes this high pitched whimper in the back of his throat. If I’m pressed up against him I can actually feel it twitch!”
Tara raised her hands in surrender and said, “Ok, that’s really more information than I needed Dawn.”
Dawn’s face collapsed and a tear started at her eye as she quietly spoke. “Tara...what am I going to do? I know it’s funny, but it’s serious too...I ache for him, like literally! I’m not even scared of how it’ll hurt anymore, cause it hurts now being so close, but not close enough. I...he’s all I think about all the time! I can’t concentrate in school, I can’t center my self for spells...I’m, like, a wreck. I want him so badly!” she finished in a desperate cry.
“Aw, Dawnie...Have you talked to him, I mean have you said these things to him?” Tara asked sympathetically.
“I have...I mean, not in so many words...I don’t want to be, like, pressuring him or anything...” Dawn said glumly.
“Have you thought about maybe, maybe getting less intense in the kissing department?” Tara asked hesitantly.
“You mean cooling things down so I don’t get so worked up all the time?” Dawn asked.
Tara nodded.
“I can’t tell you how much I don’t want to do that,” Dawn said sadly. “But, I have thought about it...I don’t know if it would work, or if I’d just want him more...Or, even if it would work, would it just make things worse, make him think I couldn’t handle it, like I’m too immature...God, my guts get all twisted in knots just thinking about it!” she lamented.
Dawn forced herself to take several deep breaths. ‘No way I’m gonna get centered, but I’ve gotta calm down before I lose it here,’ she thought.
“I...I might have to resort to that...” she admitted, as much to herself as to the witches. “I guess I just keep hoping...” she trailed off with a shake of her head.
“Well, since we’re not going to solve that problem here today, and I think magic is probably best left alone, let’s change the subject,” Tara suggested. “Buffy’ll be home pretty soon; we could watch a movie or something?”
“Oh, and we have ice cream!” Willow said excitedly. “Best medicine for a heavy heart!”
Dawn perked up slightly. “What kind?”
“Haggen Daas, chocolate fudge swirl!” Willow said with a happy smile.
“Oohh!” Dawn moaned in anticipation. “I guess I could be persuaded...”
“It’s not better than sex, but it’s pretty close!” Willow said with a giggle as she jumped up. “Come on, pouty girl. You can help.”
‘I love these girls,’ Dawn thought as she stood up to follow the redhead. ‘They really are the greatest!’
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Xander was laying on the couch in his and Dawn’s apartment, relaxing and listening to Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir.
‘Man, what a weird year...’ he mused as he nodded his head to the pulsing beat. ‘Everything is different in ways I couldn’t have even imagined...’
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
‘Hmm, wonder who that could be,’ he thought as he reluctantly rolled off of the couch. ‘It’s daylight, and evil so rarely knocks anyway...’
Ingrained caution made him look out the peephole before even considering opening the door.
“Buff!” he said in surprise. He couldn’t help smiling as he opened the door. My bestest Buffy buddy! What brings you to Casa del Xander on this fine Friday afternoon?”
“Hey Xan,” Buffy said with an almost embarrassed smile as she entered.
“Whatsamatter, Buffy?” Xander asked, concerned by the strange look on Buffy’s face.
“Hmm, nothing’s wrong,” she answered. “Just kinda feeling antsy...kinda bored actually...”
Xander barked out an ironic laugh at that. “Boy did you come to the right place then, cause I was right in the middle of a highly exciting session of staring at the ceiling...”
Buffy smiled at that.
“Yep, it’s Xander’s house-o-fun around here!” he continued as he closed the door. “You want a drink or something?” he said, gesturing toward the kitchen. “I’ve got a wide variety- Pepsi, diet Pepsi, or there’s the ever-refreshing Sunnydale tap water.”
Buffy dropped down onto the couch and said, “Pepsi please,” in her bubbly voice. Then she wrinkled her nose and added, “I’m not sure which of the other two is worse.”
“Well, the water comes with the whole plumbing thing, though who’d actually drink it is questionable. The diet pepsi is your sister’s fault...” He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and added, “I keep it segregated from the good stuff...you never know when it might vamp-out and try to drain the sugar from the other cans...”
Buffy laughed out loud.
‘Ah, mission accomplished!’ he thought as he walked to the kitchen to get the drinks. ‘Can’t have any of my girls moping around!’
He returned and handed Buffy her can and then sat down opposite her in his recliner. “So, you were attacked by the boredom monster, huh?”
“Yeah. Things were getting a little too wiccy at the house,” she said with a slight grimace.
Xander smiled. “Ah yes, our wonderful witches...where would we be without them? You still wigged out by them training Dawn?”
She shrugged and took a long drink of soda. “Not really, I guess...I dunno.”
“Well, that’s definitive...” he said with a grin.
“You don’t worry about her? Wanting to, you know, like, join the fighting?” she asked tentatively.
“Of course I worry,” Xander said, becoming more serious. “How could I not?”
“I dunno, I just don’t like the thought of her getting hurt...” she said with a sigh.
“Preaching to the choir over here, Buff. Unfortunately, danger has an annoying tendency to come looking for her, whether she wants to fight the good fight or not,” Xander said unhappily. “No matter how much we wish it wouldn’t. I guess I’d just rather see her have the tools to fight back...and since she didn’t inherit your Slayer-strength, that means magic.”
‘And guns!’ he added silently to himself. ‘No matter how much they wig you out!’
“Yeah, I guess,” she agreed half-heartedly.
“So, classes are over for the summer, all that brain-cramming and testing is done for another year...” he said, changing the subject. “You gotta be loving that!”
“Definitely!” she agreed, nodding her head. Her expression grew pensive as she added, “It’s weird though...”
He raised his brows as she trailed off. “What’s weird?” he asked.
“Well...it’s kinda like, what’s the point?” she answered contemplatively. “I mean, isn’t the point of college that you graduate and get a degree so you can get a good job? And you want a good job- hopefully doing something you don’t hate- so you can make good money, so you can, you know, live well and stuff...”
Xander smiled knowingly. He gestured towards her with his soda in emphasis as he interjected, “But you already live well, and money’s not an issue anymore, and you’re in a really good, committed relationship with the most wonderful girl, and now you kinda don’t know what you’re supposed to do with yourself!”
She tilted her head and looked at him strangely for a moment. Then she smiled with realization and said, “Sounds like I’m not the only one...”
“Huh?” Xander asked, confused.
“I would have said ‘girls’ in my case,” she explained.
“Oh, right...” he said, slightly chagrined.
“I would have thought you would enjoy the whole ‘not having to work’ thing, especially with some of the jobs you got stuck with before the construction thing...” Buffy opined.
“I do, I did...it’s just- and believe me when I tell you I never imagined I would say this, but- there’s only so much laying around, watching TV a man can do!” Xander explained, his voice expressing his own surprise at the fact.
Buffy laughed at that.
“It’ll be better after next week,” Xander mused.
“Why? What’s next...oh...” Buffy trailed off in realization. “High school gets out for the summer.”
‘Doh! Had to go and bring that up!’ Xander chastised himself silently.
Neither said anything for a moment. Finally, Buffy broke the silence.
“You know, we should really talk about that...I mean, I know we’ve been avoiding the subject...”
‘*We* have?’ Xander raised his eyebrow in surprise.
Buffy blushed and dropped her gaze at Xander’s questioning look. “Ok, *I* have been avoiding it...”
“It’s ok, Buff,” Xander started.
Shaking her head, Buffy interrupted his knee-jerk dismissal of her behavior, “No, Xander, it’s really not. Outside of the two women I’m actually in love with, you are my best friend in the whole world...and you also happen to be my sister’s boyfriend; I just need to get over myself and accept that.”
‘Wow!’ he thought. Still, his inclination was to smooth things over. “It’s understandable, I mean it’s not what anyone expected...”
“That’s sweet of you Xander, but stop it,” Buffy said firmly. “I’ve been acting like you were doing something wrong, being with my sister. We both know that the truth is, there isn’t a better match for my sister in the world, and I’m glad that you guys were both strong enough to push for it to happen. Despite my reaction.”
‘Double wow!’ Xander thought, feeling a pang of emotion in his chest. His eyes grew slightly moist as he said, “Thanks Buff, that really means a lot to me.”
“Yeah well...” She muttered as she blushed and ducked her head.
‘Wow, that’s really a relief...’ Xander realized, feeling a tension in his stomach relax. ‘I didn’t even realize how much that was affecting me!’
A grin had returned to her face by the time she looked back up at him. “Just don’t make me an auntie anytime soon, ok?”
Now it was his turn to blush. “Oh, no! No need to worry about that, Buff!” he hastened to reassure her. “I am *so* not ready to be a father!”
Buffy’s expression again grew contemplative and she said, “I dunno, Xan...I kinda think you’d be a great father.”
Xander’s eyes grew wide.
“Just not for a few years, ok?”
“I don’t know if I can convey just how little you have to worry about that!” Xander said with a shudder. ‘Children not on my list of short term, medium term, and maybe not even long term plans!’
Buffy just laughed at him.
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‘This is nice,’ Xander thought contentedly. ‘We haven’t just hung out and talked about stuff in a long time.’
“You guys got another vacation planned now that summer’s here?” he asked.
“Yep,” Buffy affirmed. “I owe Will a Mediterranean cruise.”
“What did she do to earn that?” Xander asked, confused by the way Buffy had worded her statement.
Buffy’s raised eyebrows made him realize how his own wording could be misconstrued. “Uh, I...what I meant was, how is it that you owe her a Mediterranean cruise?”
“Ahh, well, she was set on that for spring break, but I talked her into Jamaica instead,” Buffy explained. “So, it’s her turn to pick.”
“Lemme guess...she wants to see all the historical stuff, right?” Xander asked with a grin.
“Yeah, but she promised if I went to the museums and stuff with her, we could hit the dance clubs at night,” she answered. “You know me, anything to make my honey happy!”
“What did Tara want to do?” he asked.
Buffy shrugged, “She liked both ideas, so she wins either way. It’ll be her turn to pick next time.”
“Do they have a Marquis De Sade resort somewhere in France?” Xander asked, grinning madly.
His humor was repaid with a throw pillow to the face. “Ha, ha, very funny Xander!” she said with a mock-glare.
“I thought so!” Xander laughed. “Besides, if there was such a thing, you know you’d totally go!”
‘And that blush tells me how right I am!’ he thought smugly.
“Anyway!” she loudly changed the subject. “Are you and Dawn doing anything travel-wise?”
“Well, I actually have...wait a minute,” Xander said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “Did Dawn put you up to this?”
“What? What are you talking about?” Buffy said, seeming genuinely surprised.
“She’s been trying like mad to get me to spill my plans for her birthday next week,” Xander explained.
Buffy’s eyes grew wide and a look of horror came across her face.
“You forgot your sister’s birthday!?” Xander loudly exclaimed, shocked.
“I didn’t forget! It’s June 8th, I knew it was June 8th, I didn’t forget that...” she protested. “I just...I forgot it was June already...” she trailed off guiltily.
“Buffy, Buffy, Buffy...What are we going to do with you?” Xander asked, shaking his head dramatically.
“I’ve still got the weekend to get her something,” she said defensively. “And, we already planned to do dinner with all the Scoobies that night...”
She trailed off as Xander shook his head. “Change of plans- Scooby dinner is postponed to Sunday, but you can’t tell Dawn.” He cautioned.
A crafty grin stole over Buffy’s face. “You’ve got a surprise trip for her, huh? Tell me!”
‘Bwuhahaha!’ Xander laughed evilly in his head. “Nope, not telling!” he said slyly.
“Xander!” she cried with a full-on Buffy-pout.
“Nope!” he said firmly. “If I can resist a week of Dawn-pouts, *and* Willow’s resolve-face, you won’t be able to break me!”
When it looked like she was about to protest further, he interjected, “Besides, part of the fun for Dawn is going to be her getting to tell you guys all about it. You wouldn’t want to ruin that, would you?”
“Yes!” Buffy said petulantly.
He just raised an eyebrow and stared at her disapprovingly.
Her eyes dropped and her pout actually increased. “No, I guess not,” she said grudgingly.
Xander laughed, “Poor Buffy. It’s only a week and a couple days, and then you’ll know.” Changing the subject slightly, he asked, “So, do you have any idea what you’re getting her for her birthday?”
“Actually, me and Tara and Willow could take her clothes shopping or something...that’d be kinda fun...” Buffy said, thinking aloud.
“You should take her yourself, just the two of you...” he said.
“You think?” Buffy asked quizzically.
“Well, she sees Will and Tara all the time, and I’m sure she’d have fun with them and all, but she doesn’t get to spend much time with you, especially with you two living in separate places now...” he explained. “You guys could, you know, do the sister bonding thing...”
“That’s possible...” she said, apparently mulling it over. “What are you going to get her? Or, is that part of the surprise?”
“It is, but I’ll tell you that part,” Xander said, taking pity on the pouty Slayer. “I’m getting her a car.”
“A car?!” Buffy asked incredulously. “I don’t even have a car!” she objected.
“Yes, but unlike some other people I know, Dawn is an excellent driver,” Xander said with a sardonic grin.
“Hey!” she protested. She then stated, “Besides, you can’t get her a car- she doesn’t even have a license!”
‘Jealous much?’ Xander thought with a smile. “That’s true,” he allowed. “However, she does have her learner’s permit...”
“She does?” Buffy asked, taken aback. “When did that happen?”
“See, you guys do need to spend some sister-time,” he chided. “She’s been practicing driving with me for months, and you didn’t even know.”
“Where was I?” she said rhetorically.
“Busy. School, slayage, girlfriend time...It all adds up,” Xander said, not unsympathetically.
“I’m a bad sister!” Buffy said self-reprovingly.
“Buff! It’s no big, it’s not like you’ve been avoiding her or anything...Life happens, so make some time and take her shopping for her birthday, I’m sure everything will be cool.”
“I will!” she said decisively. “Hey, since you’ve got her booked up next weekend, and she’s got finals this week- you think I could steal her away tomorrow?”
Xander laughed. ‘Once she actually makes a decision, she’s like a pit bull!’ he thought affectionately. ‘Though, she’d probably hit me for comparing her to a dog...’
“Sure, Buff! I’m sure she’d appreciate an excuse to blow studying for a few hours...” he said genially.
“Ugh, yeah,” Buffy grunted. “Finals. I am so glad to have mine be of the past...Thank God I have Willow to help me through school...I’d probably have flunked out otherwise...”
“I can’t say I miss school, pretty much at all,” Xander mused.
“Hey, you want another soda?” she interjected, getting up and walking toward the kitchen.
“Sure, thanks,” he said.
Watching her walk away, he had a minor epiphany, ‘Wow, I didn’t even check out her butt...I always check out Buffy’s butt...I must really be in love!’ With a shake of his head, he realized how others would construe that thought, ‘Wow, I had *so* better never share this little realization with anybody, ever! God, Xander! Horndog much?”
“So, Xander, you’re a rich man, why are you still in this little apartment?” Buffy asked aloud from the kitchen.
“What’s wrong with this apartment?” Xander asked.
Buffy walked back in and handed him a soda before sinking back into the couch. “Nothing’s *wrong* with it,” she explained. “It’s just...you could afford something, I don’t know, bigger? Nicer?”
She looked around the room as if noticing it for the first time and her expression grew pensive. “You haven’t spent any of the money have you?”
Embarrassed, Xander blushed slightly and muttered, “Just rent and utilities and food and stuff...”
‘And that’s only cause Dawn kicked my ass when she found out I was gonna try and get a job...how’s that for twilight-zone world?’ he thought, remembering her shock when she caught him checking the want-ads.
“Where’s the giant-screen TV? Where’s the stereo that goes so loud it shatters the windows? Where’s all the normal ‘if only I were rich’ guy-stuff?” Buffy asked incredulously.
“I’m still adjusting to the whole thing...” Xander said. ‘Ok, that sounded lame even to me.’
Buffy stared at him for long moments, obviously trying to fathom why he wasn’t spending the money.
“You were less than enthused when we first brought up the money...” she stated.
‘Crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!’ Xander though, furious at himself. ‘Gotta get her off this train of thought!’
“It’s no big, Buff. I’m buying Dawn a car...an expensive surprise for her birthday...and we are going to get a nicer place, I just wanted to wait until, you know, school was out...you know, so she’d have time to house hunt with me and stuff...I mean what’s the rush?” he blathered, desperately trying to appear cool despite his mental panic.
Buffy’s nose scrunched up and she frowned, clearly taken aback by his response. “What’s wrong with you, Xander?”
‘Work brain! Work!’ he shouted at himself. “Uh...I...”
‘Oh no,’ he cried silently as a look of comprehension came over Buffy’s face. He felt his insides turn to ice at the thought. ‘Oh, God; she figured it out.’
“Wait, don’t say it!” she cried, raising her hands in front of her face as if to shield herself. “It has to do with those ‘details’ I made you promise never to tell me, right?”
“Uh...” he dumbly repeated. He felt like he was leaning over a precipice, fear and guilt making his stomach rumble threateningly. The icy feeling inside him began to leach outward into his limbs, making them heavy and numb.
“Ok, moving on to another subject now,” Buffy said decisively.
“Ok,” he said disbelievingly. ‘Did I just get let off of the hook?’ he wondered, not quite trusting his good fortune. “Um, you think of a new subject, I’m gonna go use the facilities...”
“Actually, I need to run, Xan,” she said as she looked up at the clock on the wall. “I promised I’d be home after the magic lesson...”
“Ok, that’s cool. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” he said, his fairly even voice belying his true state.
“Yep,” she quipped with a smile. She got up and walked over to the door as she continued. “I’ll make sure it’s cool with Dawnie, and I’ll come over in the morning...uh, late morning,” she hastily corrected, blushing.
“Ok,” Xander said, too distracted to rise to the bait.
“Ok, see ya!” Buffy said as she opened the door and left the apartment.
“That was too damn close!” he muttered as the feeling of ice in his veins faded slightly. Standing up, he felt a strong wave of vertigo and nearly fell. “Whoa, major head-rush!” he mumbled. He quickly stumbled off to the bathroom to throw up.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“So...” Willow’s voice sounded unusually hesitant.
Dawn pulled the bowls out of the cupboard and looked over to her friend and teacher, who was taking the icecream out of the freezer. ‘Uh oh, worried face,’ Dawn thought, seeing the pensive look.
“Yeah?” she prompted.
“I know you’re ready, like wanting it to happen and stuff...but are you ‘ready’ for when it does?” Willow asked quietly.
Dawn frowned lightly and walked over to the silverware drawer to get the spoons. ‘No need to ask what ‘it’ means...but ‘ready’?’ she thought.
“How do you mean?” she finally asked.
“Well, I mean, you know...if you went home and tonight turned out to be...the night...” Willow said tentatively.
Dawn set the spoons down next to the bowls and caught Willow’s gaze. “Willow, whatever it is, just say it, it’s not like I could get mad at you if I tried.”
It was Willow’s turn to frown in confusion. “Whaddya mean?”
“Not that I would ever want to try anyway...” Dawn continued her thought before catching Willow’s question.
“Why couldn’t you get mad at me?” Willow expanded her question once Dawn had finished her thought.
“Huh?” Dawn asked with a shake of her head. “Oh, um, well...I mean, come on Willow, you and Tara are like my mentors, or sensais or whatever you call it in witchcraft,” she said, feeling slightly embarrassed, yet at the same time earnest in her emotions and appreciation for the two witches. “Plus, you’re like my best friends, and you supported me with Buffy in the whole learning magic thing, not to mention the whole ‘not treating me like a child and hiding everything from me to protect me from the big bad world’ thing.”
Willow looked almost taken aback.
‘I probably should have said this stuff before,’ Dawn realized. ‘I’ve never really told them how important they are to me.’
“Willow, it’s like...I love Buffy. She’s my sister and she’s a pretty good sister despite any sibling rivalry stuff that goes on,” she tried to explain herself. “And, I love mom, cause she’s like the best mom ever- how could I not love her?”
Willow nodded in agreement to that.
“But, you and Tara? You guys are, like, the biggest influences in my life,” Dawn said simply. “When I think about what I want in life, who I want to be like...it’s you two. You guys are like my role-models...you’re my heroes,” she finished with a sheepish smile.
Willow had a tear in her eye and her lip was trembling as though she were about to weep. “Really?” she squeaked. “Y-you wanna be like us?”
“Yep, just like you,” Dawn said with a heartfelt smile. A sudden thought struck her, and replaced the smile with a frown. “Except, in the bedroom,” she hastily qualified. “I’m definitely preferring the Xander-shaped gender there.”
Willow laughed and quickly wiped the moisture from her eyes. “Well, no-one’s perfect, I guess,” she said humorously.
‘I do love you guys, just so much!’ Dawn thought happily. “So, what were you trying to ask me?”
“Oh, well...” Willow blushed, but continued, “I was wondering if you had thought about, you know, protection and...and other stuff...”
Dawn smiled, ‘I can’t believe she’s actually blushing. It’s so cute!’ she thought indulgently. “Well, as far as birth control, I went on the pill, like, two seconds after he kissed me for the first time,” she said with a slight flush of her own. “And he got tested to make sure he hadn’t caught anything from his hoe of an ex-girlfriend,”
“Dawn!” Willow exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock. “I wouldn’t call Cordelia...” she trailed off and her eyes grew impossibly wider as she stammered, “Oh, or-or...you meant Anya...oh...”
“It’s ok Willow. He told me about him and Cordelia getting together while you guys were in LA...” Dawn said resignedly.
“He did? I mean, good, of course he did...” Willow looked both relieved and worried at the same time. “You weren’t mad?” she asked tentatively.
“Oh I was mad; I was really mad,” Dawn admitted. “And he felt really guilty about it, which made me even madder, except at myself.”
“Why yourself?” Willow asked in surprise.
“Cause I totally had no right to be mad,” Dawn explained. “I mean, we weren’t going out or anything, and it’s not like he even knew how I felt about him...and you guys were going to face a hell-god, you all could have died. Who wouldn’t want to take some comfort in sex if you knew you could die the next day? I’d have to be a real bitch to blame him for that...”
She shook her head and changed the subject before things got too maudlin. “So, protection; check. As far as ‘other stuff’...I’m not sure what you mean?”
Willow seemed unwilling to change the subject immediately, as she said, “You know...you’re really a good person Dawn Summers. Xander is really lucky to have you.”
“I know,” Dawn answered light-heartedly, though she felt a deep warmth at Willow’s compliment. “But, I’m really lucky to have him too, so it all works out.”
Willow’s smile was wide and affectionate.
“Now then, let’s talk about this ‘other stuff’, cause if you’ve got some advice on how I can wow him or something, I’m totally all ears.
The redhead’s smile changed from affectionate to devilish, and she blushed rather fiercely. “Well,” she began, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. “First, there’s hair.”
“Hair?” Dawn asked, mystified by the seeming non-sequitor.
“Well, more like the lack thereof,” Willow explained. “As someone who both gives and receives of the oral attentions, I can tell you that hair can definitely interfere with things.”
“So you shave?” Dawn asked with some distaste. “I tried that, and can you say major unpleasantness? plus...stubble...not a good thing.”
Willow wrinkled her nose. “No, stubble is very bad,” she agreed.
“And I’m not sure I’m brave enough to do the waxing thing...” Dawn added hesitantly.
“High ouch factor,” Willow agreed with a visible shiver. “But, see, we’re witches! We have witchy ways of taking care of such things...”
“Really?” Dawn asked, perking up.
“Darn tootin!” Willow quipped. “Tara and I came up with an herbal ointment that you spread on, and then a simple spell, and it, like, turns off the follicle- you wash off and poof! No more hair. Ever!”
Dawn’s eyes lit up. “Oh, and can you use it on your legs too?” she asked, thinking ‘No more shaving my legs? That’d be awesome!’
“You can use it everywhere!” Willow gushed. “No more shaving, no more plucking...We did everything but eyelashes, eyebrows and scalp.”
“Wow!” Dawn sighed. “No plucking your eyebrows, no shaving your pits...”
“Yep, nothing but smooth, sexy skin, everywhere you touch...” Willow said dreamily, obviously reminiscing.
“I don’t know that I’d want Xander to be hairless, though.” Dawn said. “I kinda like the feel of the hair on his chest...”
Willow shook her head, apparently snapping herself out of her daydream. “Oh, right...talking about guys...” she mumbled. “But, you don’t have to use it on him, it’s more about you using it on you...for him, and cause it’s for him, it means he’ll be more with the touching and, and licking and stuff, which is good for you too; so it’s on you for him for you...” she babbled.
Dawn nodded, grinning Willow’s excitement. “I’m totally on board, Willow. Do we need to make some, or is there a recipe you can give me...oh, is the spell something I can do myself, or will I need your help?” she asked in a bit of her own babble.
“I made some for you,” Willow said. “Kinda an early birthday present...”
“That’s a really good present!” Dawn said sincerely. “I don’t think there’s a girl around that would turn that down!”
“Well, most couldn’t do the spell, even if they believed in magic,” Willow said.
“Is it a difficult spell?” Dawn asked.
“Oh, I think you can handle it,” Willow reassured her. “Except for the whole ‘being unfocused’ lately, you’re really picking up the magic very quickly.”
“Well, you guys make it so easy...you do it through me, and it’s like I’m doing it myself, and then I really can do it myself!” Dawn said joyfully. “So, what other advice can you give me?”
“I dunno, Oz was pretty vanilla when it came to sex...I never did anything really adventurous until I switched sides...” Willow said after a moment’s thought.
“There wasn’t anything special he liked?” Dawn asked in surprise.
“Well...he liked oral; I’m pretty sure all guys like that.” Willow answered. “The important things to remember are suction is nice, but a steady rhythm is more important. Oh, and no teeth!”
“Steady rhythm, suction good, teeth bad...” Dawn repeated. “I’ll remember that.” She paused hesitantly before asking her next question. “Willow, can I...I mean, it’s totally cool if you don’t want to say, but I was wondering...what was it like?”
“What, oral sex?” Willow asked.
“That too, I just...everything, I guess,” Dawn said uncertainly. “I have all these dreams and fantasies about being with Xander...and in my mind I picture it being the most amazing, wonderful thing ever...at the same time, I hear girls at school talking about it and it seems terrible! Like, they were uncomfortable, and it hurt, and, I dunno...they just sound like they hated it. So I wondered...what was it like for you?”
Willow leaned back against the counter with a thoughtful look on her face. After a moment she said, “I remember thinking at the time that it was the best night of my life...”
“Really!?” Dawn said, feeling encouraged.
“Yeah, it was really nice,” Willow said a little bit wistfully. “Of course, since then I’ve experienced things that make that seem like nothing...but at the time...” She looked back down, meeting Dawn’s eyes and said, “I think that being in love makes all of the difference. I bet those girls you’re talking about didn’t like it ‘cause the guys were all about getting themselves off- they probably didn’t care about the girls’ feelings and stuff.” She smiled warmly and added, “I really don’t think you’re going to have that problem with Xander. I think he’ll put you first, like it’ll be all about you, and how you feel, and I think Xander knows how to make you feel really good. At least going by the way Cordelia reacted.”
Dawn half frowned at that particular reference.
“Sorry,” Willow said. “It’s just, it’s not like I’d know myself...”
“Yeah,” Dawn said. “I suppose that’s a good sign, though. I mean, even though it was just sex- not love, he still took care to make her feel good...it’s just hard not to be jealous about that, even though I know I shouldn’t be...”
“Oh!” Willow blurted out suddenly.
“What?” Dawn asked, startled by the abrupt exclamation.
“I just realized...you’re going to have a lot harder time giving Xander head than I did Oz...”
“What do you mean?” Dawn asked.
“Well, Oz...let’s just say Oz was a small man in all aspects...” Willow said with a grin.
“Oh...” Dawn said with a frown. “Oh! Gulp!” she exclaimed when the reference sank in.
“I’d say, more like a super-big gulp!” Willow added cattily.
“Willow!” Dawn exclaimed with a laugh. A moment later she again frowned with realization, “Hey, how would you know?”
Willow blushed until her skin approached parity with her hair. “Well, uh, you see...” she stammered.
“Spill!” Dawn commanded, hands on hips and eyes narrowed.
“Well, there was...an incident. The day after we fought glory, and anyway Xander ended up having to take a shower, and no clean clothes and so he was wearing a towel, and sitting down like guys do, there was, well...there was visibility...”
“So basically you were looking up his skirt!” Dawn said, slightly annoyed, but seeing the humor of the situation.
“Not intentionally!” Willow said defensively. “I mean, Faith made a comment, and, you know, I just turned to see what she was talking about and...there it was...” she finished sheepishly.
Dawn couldn’t help but laugh at the chagrined look on Willow’s face. “He is really big...” she said.
“Oh yeah!” Willow gushed in agreement, then blushed again at Dawn’s raised eyebrow. “I think...after you get used to it, you’re going to be a very happy girl!” she opined.
It was Dawn’s turn to blush.
“I think, it might be a good idea to start doing some stretching exercises though...” Willow added.
Dawn blushed harder, but admitted, “Actually...I thought of that already...I bought a yoga video about a month ago...”
Willow laughed loudly at that.
“Hey you two!” Tara’s voice sounded out.
Dawn and Willow turned just as the blonde entered the kitchen. “Did you guys get lost?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Willow was giving me some pointers on things to do with Xander...” Dawn said with a grin. ‘Ha, make fun of me, will you?’ she thought snarkily as Willow sputtered.
“Were you?” Tara asked with a raised eyebrow of her own.
“I...uh...” Willow stammered. Turning to Dawn, she said, “Remember what I said about you being a good person? Well, I take it all back!”
Dawn and Tara shared a laugh.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Hey guys!” Buffy’s voice rang out as the Slayer entered the mansion.
Dawn laughed as Willow squealed, “Buffy’s home!” and jumped up from the couch, throwing herself at the deceptively petite blonde.
She looked at Tara and saw a similar level of excitement in the blonde witch’s eyes, though she didn’t leap at the Slayer as Willow had. “You guys say I’m silly around Xander...” she said, rolling her eyes.
Tara just shrugged, her grin not abating one whit as she rose to greet her lover. “You are,” she said as she walked by Dawn. “I never said we weren’t.”
Dawn smiled indulgently and turned her attention back to the TV while the triad kissed their hellos. ‘They are just too sappy sometimes...’ she thought warmly.
“So where’d you go?” Willow asked as the three of them dropped onto the couch beside Dawn.
“Oh, I went over to Xander’s and hung out for a little while...” Buffy replied.
Dawn stiffened at Buffy’s words. ‘Great!’ she thought, annoyed with her sister. ‘She always makes Xander uncomfortable, cause she’s still not really accepting him and I being together...’
“Oh, that’s nice,” Tara said happily. “You guys haven’t spent much time together just the two of you in a while...”
“Too true, I’ve been the neglectful friend,” Buffy admitted. “Speaking of,” she leaned forward and turned to Dawn and said, “Hey Dawn, can I steal you away from your boyfriend tomorrow?”
‘Hmm, I think that’s the first time she’s actually referred to Xander as my boyfriend...’ Dawn thought pensively. ‘Not sure if that’s good or bad...’ Aloud, she replied, “What for?”
“Well, I thought maybe for your birthday present, I could take you out for a day of shopping?” Buffy asked with a hopeful smile.
“Really?” Dawn asked, her annoyance suddenly taking a back seat to excitement.
“Yep,” Buffy answered with a grin. “Just you and me and the mall.”
“I suppose I could fit that into my busy schedule...” Dawn said, her enthusiastic grin belying any diffidence in her statement.
“Cool!” Buffy chirped. “We’ll do the bonding thing the way sisters should...”
“By spending lots of money!” Dawn completed the thought, smiling happily.
“Absolutely!” Buffy agreed with a laugh.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Come on, come on...” Faith muttered impatiently, staring at the door she’d just knocked on. ‘I could just knock it down...’ she thought as she anxiously waited for it to open.
Turning her head, she looked around the porch and meticulous front yard of the upscale, suburban home she was visiting. The home of Alex and Beth, her increasingly frequent ‘one-night-stand’ lovers.
She whipped around as the door finally opened.
“Faithy!” Beth gushed excitedly. “I thought you were meeting us at the bronze?”
‘Easy Faith, don’t knock down the pretty lady,’ the Slayer thought as she reigned in her impulse to just barge in. “Can I come in?” she asked agitatedly.
Beth’s eyes narrowed unexpectedly. “Since when do you need an invitation?” she asked with a note of suspicion in her voice.
The mood shift caught Faith by surprise and threw her mind off track for a moment. “Huh?” she asked.
Suddenly Alex appeared at the door behind his wife and coldly said, “It’s after sundown Faith.”
Faith looked around once again and saw that it was in fact beginning to get dark. “Right, stupid of me...” she muttered, angry now at herself. “forgot...”
Alex and Beth stepped back, leaving the door open. Their expressions showed mistrust as they waited.
“I’m not a vampire, guys,” Faith said, stepping into the room. “I forgot that you even knew about that stuff...”
The looks of relief and resumed happiness on their faces caused a simultaneous warm, fuzzy feeling and a pang of combined guilt, confusion and sorrow in the dark Slayer’s confused heart.
“Faithy, you had me worried there for a minute,” Beth said with a relieved exhale.
“Me too!” Alex exclaimed.
They moved towards Faith as though to embrace her when she held up her hand to stop them, saying, “We need to talk.”
Looking taken aback, Faith’s two lovers exchanged a worried glance. “Ok,” Alex said, gesturing toward the living room. “Let’s sit down and...talk...”
The couple took a seat on the couch, leaving an obvious space for Faith to join them. “What is it Faith? What’s got you all tied up in knots?” Beth asked softly, her voice filled with genuine concern.
Faith declined to sit, too agitated to even stand in one place, she paced back and forth with the coffee table separating her from the seated couple. After a moment, she stopped, crossed her arms under her chest and blurted, “What do you want from me?”
Alex and Beth looked startled by the question.
“This thing...” Faith continued, pacing once again as the spoke. “This thing with you two...it’s getting outta control!”
Again, silent shock was the only response from the couple on the couch.
“You two are hot, I’m hot- we hook up on the dance-floor, we go back to your place, screw, I go home and shower. That’s the way it works.” Faith stated. “Ok, it happens again a couple weeks later, but that’s it- end of story. I don’t do repeats again and again...I sure as hell don’t fricken make plans...that’s like...like a date or something!”
“Faith...” Alex started, sounding almost sad.
“No! No!” Faith interjected, pointing at him almost accusingly. “You don’t get it, I don’t date! I get some, I get gone! That’s what I do, ok?”
“Did we do something wrong?” Beth asked, her voice quavering and a tear in her eye.
‘It’s a lie!’ Faith shouted to herself, trying to ignore the burning in her stomach that came from seeing Beth near tears. “Why are you doing this?” she demanded, her own voice cracking with emotion. “Why do you keep asking me over here? Why do you keep trying to get me to stay the whole night?” her voice was rising to a shout as she continued, “What do you want from me!?”
“We want you,” Alex said simply. His jaw was clenched as he apparently tried to master his own emotions.
‘It’s a trick! Don’t fall for it!’ Faith’s internal voice yelled. “Want me? You don’t know me, how could you possibly want me?” she hissed, unintentionally letting some of her own insecurity show with her question.
“You’re right,” Alex admitted, sounding defeated. “We don’t.”
“But we want to!” Beth quickly interjected. “We keep hoping...th-that you’ll let us in...even just a little...”
“That’s crap, you don’t want me!” Faith interrupted, feeling angry and confuse and afraid all at the same time. She immediately went on the offensive, shouting, “You just want a screw-toy for the occasional threesome. I was just an easy target.”
“That’s not true!” Alex objected loudly. He immediately dropped his voice and his expression became one of affection as he tried to reassure her, “We were drawn to you Faith...it’s not like...look, there hasn’t been anyone else but you, ok? It’s only you that we want.”
“Only you!” Beth agreed, nodding her head intently.
“Stop it!” Faith screamed. “Stop freaking saying that!”
The couple recoiled in shock at Faith’s vehemence.
“You don’t want me! You don’t know me!” Faith shouted, a look of hatred on her face. “If you knew anything about me you’d never have even looked at me! I’m a freaking mess!”
Faith’s posture became one of defeat as she whispered, “I’m damaged goods, ok? If you knew the truth about me you’d be kicking me out the door so fast...”
“Try us.” Beth said challengingly.
“Huh?” Faith asked, thrown.
“She said try us,” Alex answered. “You might be surprised”
Faith stood silent, the turmoil in her heart spilling over and causing actual physical pain. ‘It’s not real, it can’t be real...’
“Faith, please!” Beth cried softly. “We care about you, please...trust us not to hurt you...”
“That’s right, Faith. We do care about you, and for you...” Alex started to say.
“No...you can’t...” Faith muttered- as much to herself as in response to them. “You can’t care about a murderer...”
‘Oh God, I said it!’ she yelled at herself in horror. The voice of her insecurities sneered at her in response, ‘Now they know, now they’ll shut you out like you deserve. No one will ever love you; not them, and certainly not Buffy. Why did you even bother to think that they could?’
“Oh, Faith,” Beth’s soft voice washed over the dark Slayer.
Faith felt her body and mind harden against the guilt she felt, against the rejection she knew was coming. Instinctively she lashed out, “You care now? Well I don’t. I don’t care at all. I’m not built to care, I’m built to kill- that’s what I do. I’m a killer, you understand?”
In the midst of her fervent rant, she wasn’t even seeing the two people in front of her. She was yelling at herself primarily- her surroundings not really even registering anymore in her fit of self-loathing. “I should be locked up in prison, that’s where I belong, that’s where I was, but I’m such a damn good killer that they let me out when they needed some more killing done!”
“Faith, please don’t...” Alex softly said, reaching out to touch her.
“No!” Faith recoiled from him violently, nearly falling backward over the chair behind her. “No! Don’t freaking touch me! Don’t you get it? I screw and I slay- that’s what I do, that’s all I do, it’s all I’m good for! You’ve had the screw...You keep hanging around me and you’ll end up dead too!”
Full of rage and self-hatred, Faith spun around and ran from the room. She nearly tore the door off of the hinges in her need to escape. Filled with the immediate need to hurt something she headed at full Slayer-speed for the nearest cemetery.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“She’s gone...” Alex said, walking back in through the now loose front door. “I think we’re going to have to replace these hinges,” he muttered as he struggled to get the door closed.
“Where did she go?” Beth asked, her voice filled with worry and sadness.
Alex shook his head in wonder as he answered, “I don’t know. God, she’s so fast! By the time I made it past the porch she was already out of sight.”
“Oh God! Alex, what are we going to do?” Beth whispered frantically. “How are we going to get her back?”
Alex wrapped his wife in his arms and held her tight. “I don’t know, Bethy” he admitted. “What ever we come up with, we’d better do it fast!”
Beth nodded silently against his chest. “He made it clear that he wasn’t going to accept failure on our part...”
“Ha, don’t worry about him, my love,” Alex said with a humorless laugh. “That old fool doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground.”
“Still,” Beth cautioned. “We are supposed to be working for him...”
“I’m not concerned about him, as much as I am about them!” Alex whispered. “If we can’t get her back- quickly- I’m afraid they’re going to pull us off the case!”
“You think?” Beth asked; her voice filled with worry.
“At the very least!” he whispered with evident fear in his voice. “Maybe even worse...”
She leaned back to meet his eyes and softly gasped, “You mean...?”
“Terminal option...” he answered with a slow nod.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Morning Sleepy-head!” Dawn said as she heard Xander enter the kitchen behind her. “Coffee’s ready and I’m just about done making breakfast...”
“Mmf,” he grunted. “Coffee...”
Dawn smiled. ‘Still half-asleep...not surprised after the night you had,’ she thought.
She turned around to look at him, saying, “You feeling any better this...morning...ulp!”
‘Oh mama!’ she thought, licking her lips as she took in the sight.
Xander was pouring a cup of coffee, not an unusual thing to see, but he had entered the room wearing nothing but the boxer shorts he normally slept in.
Dawn began to salivate as she stared at his naked chest and arms while he rapidly downed half a cup of hot coffee. “Screw the scrambled eggs, I want a double helping of Xander for breakfast please!” she said huskily.
“Oh, Hot!” he mumbled, sucking air into his mouth to cool it.
“I’ll say!” Dawn agreed in a lascivious voice.
“Huh?” Xander said, blinking rapidly and focusing on his girlfriend at last.
“Hot! Definitely!” Dawn said as she stepped over to him and pressed against his nearly nude form. She ran her hands around his sides and to his back, rubbing her face against his chest. ‘God you smell good!’ she thought as she kissed and nuzzled his warm skin.
“Oh! Oh my!” Xander squeaked at her unexpected assault.
Dawn kissed between his pectoral muscles for several long seconds, resisting mightily the urge to taste his skin. ‘Oh, somebody’s waking up!’ she thought, forcing herself not to slide her hands down inside his low-slung boxer shorts and take hold of the rapidly awakening part of her love that she could feel stirring against her.
She looked up at his wide eyes and couldn’t help but giggle at his wild bed-hair. “Good morning!” she said once again, this time in a low, seductive voice.
“Um, oh...uh, good morning...” Xander stammered.
“I missed my xandersmoochies last night!” Dawn pouted. She slid her hands up his chest and into his hair, pulling his head down for a kiss. ‘oh good, the coffee killed most of the morning breath,’ she thought as she snaked her tongue past his teeth to twine with his own. ‘Not that that woulda stopped me!’
Dawn again giggled as she stepped away to stir her eggs before they burned. ‘That’ll teach you not to wait up for me!’ she thought at the vision of him, bent partway over, stunned look on his face and partial erection pushing out the front of his boxers. ‘And he still managed to hold onto the coffee cup!’
Xander remained frozen in place for several seconds before coming to his senses. “Unh...oh, um, yeah. Sorry about that,” he mumbled. He turned to the counter and began to pour himself some more coffee. “What time did you get in?” he asked.
“About eleven,” she answered, turning the fire off on the eggs and moving down the counter to get plates. “You were already out when I got home...”
“Um, yeah...I was really tired last night,” he mumbled.
‘Should I, or shouldn’t I?’ she wondered, setting the table in silence as she mulled it over.
‘I should,’ she decided.
Xander sat down as she spooned a little over half of the eggs onto his plate. She dumped the rest on her plate and sat down herself. “So, what happened with Buffy?” she asked.
“What did she say?” he asked, sounding slightly nervous.
“Nothing,” Dawn replied evenly. “In fact, she was in a really good mood when she got back home.” She ate a couple bites of her breakfast before continuing. “She even called you my boyfriend...I’m pretty sure that’s the first time she’s done that, around me at least.”
Xander smiled a little at that. “Yeah, we talked about some stuff...she actually apologized for how she’d been handling you and me being together.”
‘Wow!’ Dawn thought with raised eyebrows. ‘That’s...wow!’
“Yeah, I was shocked too,” Xander said at her stunned look. “She said she was being stupid, and it was clear that we were perfect for each other and then she said she was glad we pushed for it despite the way she acted about it.”
“Xander, that’s awesome!” Dawn said happily. “I know how much it hurt you that she was acting like that.”
His eyes widened in surprise, then he smiled sheepishly. “I can’t get anything past you, can I?” he said ruefully.
Dawn laughed. “I don’t know why you even try anymore,” she answered lightly.
“I wonder that myself sometimes,” he mumbled, half smiling, half frowning.
They continued to eat in comfortable silence for a minute before Dawn asked, “So, how did she go and ruin it?”
“Ruin it?” Xander asked pretending surprise.
Dawn rolled her eyes. “Please, didn’t we just go over this?” she remonstrated. “You were asleep at eleven on a Friday night- never happens. You didn’t wait up for me- that never happens.” Her voice softened and grew concerned as she added, “Plus, you had nightmares last night, worse than you have in months!”
He looked down, but a small smile played across his mouth. “I have this vague memory of waking up, terrified, only to find myself in the arms of a beautiful Angel...” His voice grew dreamy sounding as he continued, “She held me and stroked my hair...she whispered to me, telling me I was going to be alright...”
Dawn blushed and ducked her head as Xander sighed dramatically and asked, “What do you think? Did you see any angels running around the apartment last night?”
‘Xander...God, you make me feel so special sometimes!’ Dawn thought, warm shivers running through her body.
“I think...,” she began with a warm smile. “I think that you’re avoiding the question.”
Xander chuckled a little. “Well, maybe...just a little.” His grin morphed into a genuinely happy smile as he said, “Thank you Dawn.”
Dawn’s answering smile was tender and loving. “You’re welcome, Xan.” Her smile shrank into an impish grin and she added, “Now, answer the question.”
Xander grimaced and said, “She started asking why we hadn’t moved. Then she noticed that I haven’t really spent any of the money that she and the girls gave us...”
“Oh!” Dawn said, visceral realization setting in.
“Yeah, I kinda freaked out and started babbling...I thought I was so busted...” Xander continued.
Dawn’s stomach rumbled at the thought. ‘God I can imagine...he must have been so scared!’ She got up and went over to sit on her boyfriend’s lap, holding him tight and burying her face in his neck. “Oh, my poor baby...it must have felt horrible! But, what happened then? I mean, she was totally cool when she got back home...like nothing had happened.”
“I dunno!” Xander said, shaking his head slightly and giving her a squeeze. “She just dropped it! She said something about details, and not wanting to know, and then she was all, ‘oh it’s getting late, I gotta go!’ but not like she was running from the subject or anything...she just dropped it like it was no big deal!”
‘My poor sweetie!’ Dawn thought. ‘God, I still get cold chills at the thought that Buffy might find out about me shooting those two knights...’
“After she left I went an threw up, took a shower and stuff and went straight to bed,” he recounted. “I was so wiped! I felt like I’d been in a fight with a room full of vamps all by myself...and lost big-time!”
“God, you must have slept for, like, twelve hours straight!” Dawn whispered in surprise.
Xander shook his head. “Oh no, I’m pretty sure I woke up screaming about every hour or so...” he pulled back far enough to look down into Dawn’s eyes. “That is, until my Angel came down from heaven to rescue me.”
‘I am so in love with you Xander Harris!’ Dawn thought ardently.
“Thank you for putting up with me, Dawn,” Xander said softly as he stared into her eyes.
Dawn frowned slightly. ‘Putting up with you?’ she thought, not understanding what he was saying.
He dropped his gaze slightly as he continued, “I know you’ve been frustrated...I know it hasn’t been easy...waiting for me...”
She cupped his cheek and tilted his head back up until he met her gaze. “I would wait forever for you Xander...I mean, I don’t *want* to wait another second, let alone forever, but I would...I’ll wait for as long as it takes...you’re more than worth it!”
‘Mmm, that smile! It just makes my heart melt...’ she thought as warmth burst out in her chest. ‘Ooh, melts right down into my panties...’ she added as the warm feeling headed south.
“I promise, it won’t be forever...” Xander whispered.
‘No, it just feels like forever,’ Dawn thought, feeling a pang of guilt for her impatience combining with the lust that came with proximity to Xander.
“I love you, Dawn!” Xander’s soft voice carried a note of intensity that belied its volume.
She was so worked up that she nearly missed it. ‘I just wish...wait a minute...’
Dawn blinked furiously for a second, stammering, “You, I...what?”
“I love you!” he repeated, his voice louder now.
‘I’m on fire!’ Dawn’s mind cried; stunned at the throbbing heat that was racing through her veins.
“L-love?” she squeaked, a smile of epic proportions growing on her face. “You...?”
Xander smiled happily back at her and pronounced, “I, Xander Harris, am completely, head-over-heels in love with you, Dawn Summers!”
‘I knew it!’ her mind exulted. At the same time her heart was pounding, her breath was coming in pants and the fire in her veins was continuing unabated. She began kissing him as though she were trying to quench the fire with his mouth.
What started out fierce, transformed in to the warmest, softest, sweetest kiss they had ever shared. When it finally ended an eternity later, Dawn rested her forehead against his and wept with joy. “Oh God, Xander I love you so much!” she cried. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you!”
“So you have at least some fondness for me, then,” Xander quipped with his characteristically goofy grin.
Dawn laughed exultantly.
He sobered slightly and said, “Dawn, I really am sorry that things have been frustrating for you. I...it’s really important to me that we do things right.”
“Hey...” she replied softly at the sad look in his eyes. She gently cupped his cheeks once again and stared into his eyes as she said, “I’m on board here. I won’t lie and say I haven’t gotten frustrated and impatient...I know you have too.” She grinned at his blush. “Unlike me, you leave a little more ‘evidence’ of your frustration...” she teased, deliberately provoking an even deeper blush. “Seriously, though. I meant what I said- you’re worth the wait. I want us both to be absolutely sure.”
‘Of course, I’m already there...’ she thought. ‘I’m really sure...waaay sure! If I was any more sure, I’d be a stick of deodorant...’
“Dawn, we’re both pretty young, as humans go anyway. A lot of people would say we’re way too young to be thinking like this...but you grow up pretty damn fast on a hellmouth...we’ve both seen stuff most people never see, no matter how long they live. We’ve both done stuff that most people will never do as long as they live...” Xander said hoarsely.
She stroked his hair reassuringly as he spoke. ‘We’ve both suffered for it too,’ she thought in understanding of his point.
“Whether we live another year, or a hundred years...” he started again.
“I’ll take the hundred, please,” Dawn interjected, feeling a pang of anticipated sorrow at the thought of losing him.
He smiled at that, but continued, “Either way, I want this to be the last relationship I’m ever in...It’s that important to me...you’re that important to me, Dawn.
The youngest Summers again felt tears start at her eyes. ‘Could you possibly be any sweeter?’ she wondered.
“Please believe me Xander, I feel exactly the same way...” she replied with a wide smile. “I know a fifteen year-old shouldn’t be able to imagine their entire future, but I see it. And there’s no part of it that’s Xander-free...”
“A Xanderful future?” he said with a laugh.
“All Xander, all the time!” she laughed back.
He pulled her into another lingering kiss and she thought, ‘I’m pretty sure this is the most wonderful day of my short little life! And as much as I’d love to sit here and make out all morning...’
Dawn pulled away with a whimper and said, “Unless you plan on tearing my clothes off and making an honest woman out of me...” she pressed herself down against Xander’s semi-erection, eliciting a groan from her boyfriend. “I have to go get ready for Buffy...”
She gave him one more quick peck on the lips and then got up out of his lap.
“You are an evil woman, Dawn Summers!” he whined.
Dawn stepped back with a laugh and took a moment to look at her love. ‘Mmm, mussed up hair...bulgy muscles...bulging underwear! Damn you look sexy!’
“You need to shower and get dressed, Mr. Man!” She said teasingly. “I love Buffy, but there’s no way I’m sharing this with her, sister or not!” she added, gesturing at Xander’s body.
“Aww,” Xander mock-pouted.
“Nope, she missed her shot years ago,” Dawn laid down the law. “This hunk of manly goodness is all mine now.”
Xander stood up and stretched his arms up and back, his body like a drawn bow. When he relaxed back upright, he winked at her and said, “Hmm, not yet...”
Dawn shuddered when he stroked her cheek and ran his fingers back through her hair. He leaned forward almost as if to kiss her and she could feel his warm breath on her face as he continued his thought; “...but soon!”
Then he walked away toward his bedroom.
Dawn stood still for several moments, trying to regain her equilibrium. ‘Evil, evil man!’ she thought before heading for her own bedroom to change her underwear.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Almost there...” Faith muttered as she approached the entrance to her apartment building. She was stumbling, stopping every few steps to lean against the brick façade, needing a few breaths before she could motivate her battered body forward once again.
“Unh, crap!” she grunted through clenched teeth as she took too deep a breath. ‘Damn, I think I cracked a few ribs...those Fyarl demons pack a wicked punch!’ she thought, wincing at the pain.
‘Just get to bed...sleep for a couple days...I’ll be fine,’ She thought, trying to motivate herself to start forward again. ‘I so kicked their asses though! Who needs B and the superwitches?’
Not two steps from the door, her right knee gave away, dropping her to the ground for the fifth time on her trip home. “Ssss! Damn it!” she hissed as the impact caused pain to spike through every joint in her body. The taste of blood as she licked her lips let her know that one of the cuts on her face was still bleeding. “Ok,” she mumbled as she painfully rolled to her side to try and push herself up against the wall. “Maybe I could have used a hand...”
‘Still, they’re all dead; and I’m alive...mostly,’ she thought as she pushed up with her good leg, ignoring the pain shooting through her thigh. ‘Sonofabith had to go and hit me with the fricken table!’ she groused angrily, remembering when one of the demons had torn a table top from a booth and swung it her. ‘If I’d just jumped a little higher!’ she lamented. The far corner of the table had clipped her just two inches above her bent knee as she lept, breaking the corner off of the wood and spinning her into a midair flip that ended with her forehead smashing his- right between his ram-like horns. The resulting impact had left her stunned and the Fyarl unconscious.
‘Too bad one of the others got a good one in while I was shaking that off,’ she thought. That had been the blow that sent her ten meters across the room and cracked her ribs.
She took several shallow breaths and gingerly put weight on the bad leg, leaning against the wall in case it gave out again. “Come on, two steps to the door, then five or so to the elevator, then ‘bout ten more to the apartment...” she once again tried to pep-talk her body into motion. “I could just collapse inside the door there and crawl to bed...hell, I could just sleep right there on the floor.”
The knee held and Faith made it to the door. The glare of the rising sun through the lobby windows and the glass door before her made her wince. ‘Damn, that was a long walk!’ she thought. ‘I’m pretty sure it was around 2 am when I left Willey’s...’
The twinge in her back and shoulder as she pulled the door open actually struck her as funny. She chuckled weakly and muttered, “Damn, I haven’t been in a fight like that since...” the humor of the situation leached away as she finished the thought. “Not since B put me in a coma.”
Her agitation over the memories that arose with that thought distracted her from the task at hand and she stepped forward without thinking. She actually made it half way to the elevators when her knee again gave out and she pitched forward, knocking over a standing ashtray as she crashed to the floor.
“Sonofa*bitch*!” she shouted over the crash of metal. She was showered with sand and ash and cigarette butts as she hit the floor with a loud grunt. Tears of pain and frustration filled her eyes as she rolled onto her side.
“Faithy?” a tremulous voice sounded out, startling the Slayer.
Faith looked up at the bench which graced the wall opposite of the elevators and saw the horrified faces of Alex and Beth staring back at her. Wet cigarette ash and sand stung her eyes as she began to cry softly. “Aww, Dammit!” she whispered weekly as her mortification added to her physical pain, stealing away the last bit of her strength.
“Aww, lassie...look what they’ve they done to you...” she heard Alex’s grief-filled voice quietly cry as her consciousness slipped away.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Oh my God, that was so much fun!” Dawn said, dropping handfuls of bags to the floor by the table Buffy had picked out.
“I know! I missed power-shopping...” Buffy said with a happy smile as she set their mocha’s down and sat across from Dawn.
“Being able to try everything on and actually buy everything you like!” Dawn gushed. “I’m still so used to having to pick just one thing...it still feels weird.”
“But, good weird, right?” Buffy smirked.
“Oh yeah! I think I’ll finally be able to fill my closet!” Dawn said happily.
“Are you really going to wear that stuff to school?” Buffy asked. “I mean, you didn’t get any jeans, or t-shirts, or anything like that. It’s all skirts and dressy stuff...”
“Well why not?” Dawn asked.
“I dunno...I guess I always thought you were more into the comfy-casual look...” Buffy said hesitantly. “This stuff’s kinda more of a Cordelia-look...”
“Hey, a girl could do worse than to look like Cordelia Chase in high-school...” Dawn defended. “I wouldn’t want to *be* like Cordelia, but she sure knew how to dress.”
“I guess...” Buffy allowed.
Dawn took a drink of her mocha and then casually added, “Besides...I’m kind of going for a little more sophisticated look.”
Buffy smiled at that. “You mean you’re going for an ‘older’ look, right?”
“Hmm, I hadn’t really thought of that...” Dawn answered nonchalantly. “I suppose it might seem a little more mature...”
“Uh huh,” Buffy said, her smile indicating that she wasn’t fooled.
‘Ok, busted,’ Dawn thought with an embarrassed grin. “Well, I don’t want Xander to feel uncomfortable when we’re out together...” Her grin turned sly as she added, “Besides, I look *good* in those clothes.”
“I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but...” Buffy began.
“But...?”
“You did look good in those...sexy even,” Buffy said.
“Thank you, Buffy!” Dawn said. ‘Wow, an actual compliment...who’da’thunkit?’
“I think you’re still going to make him uncomfortable...” the Slayer added in a muttered voice.
“Yeah, but in a good way!” Dawn giggled.
“Ugh,” Buffy said with a bit of a grimace. “Look; you and Xan are like mom and Giles...I mean, I’m totally supporto gal here...”
“As long as I don’t tell you any of the intimate details...I know.” Dawn said with an understanding smile. “Don’t worry, mom gave me the same speech.”
“I want you to know, Dawn...” Buffy began in a more serious voice. “I really am happy for you. I don’t ever remember you being happier than you have been lately.”
“He told me he loves me this morning,” Dawn said with a dreamy look of joy.
Buffy’s eyes widened. “Really? This morning was the first time?” she all but squealed.
Dawn nodded, a blissful smile still gracing her face. “His exact words were, ‘I, Xander Harris, am completely, head-over-heels in love with you, Dawn Summers!’ I almost cried!”
“Wow. That’s just...wow!” Buffy said, sounding a bit stunned. “Well, that certainly explains why you’ve been all walking-on-cloud-nine this morning.”
Dawn laughed. “Between that and power-shopping...There’s only a couple things I can think of that would be even more fun than this!”
“Whoa, I don’t need to know,” Buffy quickly interjected, holding up her hands as if to ward off an attack.
Dawn laughed. ‘You’re too easy,’ she thought. ‘I have this image of your face after I tell you some really graphic, x-rated thing that Xander would do to me...someday when he actually does something x-rated and graphic...’
They drank coffee in silence for several moments.
“Dawn, can I ask you something,” Buffy started tentatively.
“Sure Buff,” Dawn said, frowning slightly at her sister’s hesitancy. “What’s the what?”
“Have you guys been thinking about moving...um, away?” Buffy asked uneasily.
“Away?” Dawn asked, somewhat confused. “You mean away...from Sunnydale?”
“I mean, it would be totally ok if you were...I mean, who would want to stay in demon central if they didn’t have to? I know I sure wouldn’t...” Buffy began babbling.
“Whoa, Buffy...” Dawn interjected. “I think Willow’s rubbing...” she paused with a grimace as she realized where that analogy was going. “And there’s pretty much no way that that was going to not sound dirty...anyway; you were babbling.”
‘Not unlike myself,’ she thought self-deprecatingly.
“Well, I just...I’m just asking,” Buffy said softly. “I didn’t want you to think I’d be mad or anything if you were.”
“Buffy, why would you think that we would be leaving Sunnydale?” Dawn asked, now truly confused.
“Well...I-I was talking to Xander yesterday...”
‘The money,’ Dawn realized immediately. ‘Crap, how do I get out of this?’
“...and I noticed that he hadn’t really spent any of the money that you guys got...and then what you said just now, that you’d finally be able to fill your closet...” Buffy explained.
“So you thought we might not be spending the money because we were planning on leaving town,” Dawn interjected, summing up what Buffy was implying.
“Well, yeah...kinda,” Buffy said sheepishly.
Dawn shook her head sadly. ‘Man, she really has no clue about Xander. It’s too bad that I can’t make her see the truth...’
“What?” Buffy whined as Dawn shook her head in silence.
“Not counting your trip to Jamaica, what have *you* guys done with the money?” Dawn asked with a wry smile.
Buffy recoiled in surprise at the question. “We, um...well...” she pondered for several moments before coming to a conclusion. “Oh, I know! We decorated the mansion,” she said with a ‘so-there’ smirk.
“Buffy, you decorated two rooms,” Dawn corrected. “Wiccaworld and the living room; and it’s not like you went all-out on either of them.” She laughed at the crestfallen look on her sister’s face before continuing, “Face it, none of us are used to having money. Look at mom and Giles, they’re still in his little loft apartment, Faith hasn’t moved out of her place...though she did buy about a cattle-herd’s worth of leather...”
“I guess you’re right...” Buffy said, sounding discomfited.
“What is it really?” Dawn asked. “Is it really about the money, or is it that you’re worried about us leaving? We aren’t leaving you, Buffy. That’s never gonna happen,” she explained; her voice a combination of consolation and ‘Duh!’
“I dunno, Dawn. I guess...I...It just feels weird, somehow,” Buffy mumbled, bewildered. “I guess part of me thinks you guys should go; get away from the hellmouth and be safe...but part of me wants to keep you close, where I feel like I can protect you.”
“Away doesn’t guarantee we’d be safe, Buffy,” Dawn said gently. “And close doesn’t guarantee that you can protect us from everything.”
“This conversation is rapidly becoming depressing,” Buffy said with a pout.
Dawn laughed. ‘Buffy Summers, Ms. Short Attention-Span 2000’ she thought. “Well, I know a good cure for that,” she answered her sister’s complaint.
“What?” Buffy asked, clearly eager for a change of subject.
“More shopping, of course!” Dawn laughed. “I want to hit Victoria’s Secret for sure!”
Buffy’s smile at the prospect of more shopping changed to a look of horror at the thought of that store.
Dawn laughed even harder at her sister’s cringe. “Ha, deal with it Slayer, I’m gonna get some sexy outfits so I can seduce my man!”
“Ach, Dawnie! Absolutely not!” Buffy whined.
“Don’t worry Buffy, I’m sure we can find you something nice to make your Mistress salivate...” she added, knowing Buffy’s weaknesses...
“I...well...” Buffy temporized.
“And I’d bet we could find a nice prezzie for Willow that will make you salivate...” Dawn continued with a smirk.
“Ok,” Buffy said, quickly gathering up bags.
‘And they say *men* are easy...’ Dawn thought with a chuckle.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Buffy’s going to be mad that she missed this!” Willow said, licking the barbeque sauce off of her lips with relish.
“Hmm...well, we’ll just have to do it again, soon!” Tara answered, her own tongue sweeping the dark sauce from her pink lips.
They were sitting on a blanket in the courtyard of the mansion. Having seen a commercial for ribs on TV, Willow had suggested take out from an old favorite of hers and Xander’s that she hadn’t indulged in since before meeting Tara. When she had returned with the food, she found her girlfriend had set up an impromptu picnic for them.
‘Oh my...’ Willow thought, suppressing a shudder as she watched her lover. ‘I’m thinking that by the time we finish these ribs, I’m going to be a sticky mess! In more ways than one!’
“How can a town so evil have barbeque this good!?” Tara moaned as she slurped and chewed at the rib in her hands.
Willow paused in her own consumption of pork goodness to answer, “I think even the vampires leave Redhill alone. It’s been the same guy there for as long as I can remember.”
“Dawnie’s going to have to add this to her list...” Tara mumbled through a mouth full of meat.
“Um...her list?” Willow asked, distracted by the sounds her lover was making as she tore into her lunch.
“Yeah...you know...her list of...what men are good for?” the blonde witch mumbled as she finished off the meaty rib in her hands.
‘Goddess!’ Willow’s mind began swimming with images of naked Tara-flesh as her lover loudly sucked the last bit of sauce from the bone in her hand. “Uh...right...good for...” she mumbled, not sure what she was saying, and not caring either.
“Because these are absolutely amazing!” Tara went on, picking up another rib and attacking it with gusto.
“Amazing!” Willow parroted, dropping the half-eaten rib in her hand to the plate in front of her.
Tara paused her assault, swallowing what was in her mouth with a loud gulp. She moved her hands down as she frowned and asked, “Willow? What’s wrong?”
The smear of barbeque sauce covering Tara’s mouth and sweeping from her lips almost onto one cheek was the last straw. Willow fairly leapt across the blanket, tackling the surprised witch to the ground.
“Willow!” Tara screamed in surprise. It was the last thing she said before the redhead began licking and sucking at her sauce-covered mouth. Sticky hands tore open the blonde’s shirt as Willow’s lust overcame her.
‘Goddess, taste so good!’ Willow thought as she feasted on her lover’s mouth. Her hands made a trail of saucy residue down Tara’s torso, and she followed it with her tongue, nipping and sucking at the blonde’s flesh hungrily.
“Goddess, Willow!” Tara shouted again, this time an answering tone of desire coloring her voice.
Willow’s hands frantically worked at opening Tara’s jeans while the redhead nibbled on turgid nipples and soft breasts. ‘Oh so good, so yummy, so Tara!’ she thought over and over as she dined on tasty witch-skin.
When she finally opened the denim barrier between her and her goal, Willow yanked Tara’s pants and panties down to her ankles. Not bothering to fight with Tara’s shoes, Willow lifted the blonde witches feet and pushed up, spreading her legs at the knees. She quickly moved into the opening, uncaring that Tara’s denim-bound feet fell to rest on the redhead’s lower back.
Tara’s voice was reduced to moans of pleasure as Willow tasted her treasure. The powerful witch put her other magical talents to use; slurping and sucking at Tara’s wet flesh, making noises reminiscent of the lunch sounds that had set her off in the first place.
Tara met the sonic challenge; deep grunts and loud cries of “Harder! More!” escaping her lips.
Willow barely felt her lover’s hands in her hair, pulling her head tightly against the witch’s dripping need. She barely felt it because she was herself pressing deeply into Tara, as though trying to reach the depths of her very soul with her straining tongue.
Tara’s shrieking orgasm flooded Willow’s mouth with the succulent essence she had been seeking, and she drank it as though it were ambrosia itself.
Tara’s hands pulled at her hair, leading her up till she was face to face with the blonde witch.
Panting, Tara huffed, “What...was that!?”
Willow grinned widely, not at all ashamed of her behavior. “You and those ribs!” she said with a shrug. “I couldn’t help myself!”
“Wait a minute!” Tara exclaimed with a look of shocked realization. “Is this why you stopped going to Redhill with Xander?”
‘Oops, busted!’ Willow thought with a laugh.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“...Willies Place?” a softly spoken question caught Faith’s attention.
“Huh?” she groggily asked, blinking her eyes open.
“You were talking about Willey’s place...Is that where you got hurt?” a familiar woman’s voice gently asked.
Faith again tried to open her eyes only to find one of them working. “Who...Sssss!” she hissed in pain as she turned her head to try and see who was speaking.
“Shh, slowly baby...move slowly. You’re pretty banged up Faithy,” Beth said, wearing a quiet smile.
‘Blurry smile...’ Faith thought, still trying to focus. “Unh...Beth?”
“I’m right here Faithy!” Beth said intently.
Faith tensed at the feel of Beth's fingers in her hair, but the touch was so gentle that there was no pain. ‘Mmm...s’nice...’ she thought, relaxing slightly. Blinking her working eye rapidly, Faith again looked at her sometimes lover and whispered, “Blurry...can’t see too good...”
“Well, your left eye is swollen shut, and you right eye is still pretty blood-crusted...” Alex’s voice rolled out.
“We didn’t want to push too hard when we were cleaning you off and hurt you worse,” Beth said simply. “Here, I’ll drip some eyewash in, blink really fast,” she instructed.
Faith began to blink her eye as rapidly as she could when a cool liquid stream hit it. She could feel a soft cloth against the side of her face catching the liquid and keeping it from running down into her ear.
“Close your eye, Faithy, I’ll blot it off,” Beth said softly.
“Hmmm,” Faith hummed as the cloth was gently blotted against her eye. She felt a twinge from her aching jaw when she clenched her teeth to try and keep from crying. The care and concern evident in Beth’s voice and touch was starting to make her emotional.
“Why are you guys here?” she croaked out. ‘Damn I hurt!’ she thought as even the effort of speaking brought pain to her aching muscles.
“We live here Faith,” Alex said.
Blinking her eye open Faith gingerly moved her head to see that she was indeed in her sometime lovers’ bedroom. “Why?” she asked with a rattling sigh.
“Faith...” Beth began, her voice tremulous. “Faith, you were hurt...”
Even though it was agonizing, Faith laughed at that...“You think?” she asked sardonically. “Look, I don’t need your pity...”
“Dammit Faith!” Beth said angrily. She stood up and Faith felt a twinge of guilt at the look of hurt and confusion on the lithe beauty’s face. “I don’t understand why you’re so angry with us! I don’t know what we did wrong...” she cried plaintively. Her voice hardened as she went on, though. “And, right now I don’t care. You’re staying here until you get better, and I don’t want to hear any argument about it!”
‘Damn, she’s a fiery little thing!’ Faith thought, guilt and lust warring for dominance in her head and heart.
“Now, I’m going to go make you some soup- you lay there and...” Beth’s determined voice cracked and a choked-sob escaped her lips. She close her eyes and turned away, virtually fleeing the room.
‘Aww Dammit!’ Faith thought guiltily.
“You know, Faith...” Alex’s voice was soft and caring. He took her hand in his as he sat down on the edge of the bed before continuing. “We were really worried about you when you ran off yesterday.”
Unable to meet his gaze, Faith looked away. “Shoulda just let it go Alex,” she said in a defeated voice. “I ain’t worth the hassle, believe me.”
He sat in silence for several moments, just holding her hand in his, ever-so-gently stroking his thumb across the backs of her knuckles. Finally he spoke quietly, “I get that you don’t trust people much. I don’t know what happened...but it’s pretty obvious that the world hasn’t been too kind to you Faith.”
‘That’s a freaking understatement,’ Faith thought bitterly.
“But you can trust us Faith,” he continued, his voice earnest and intense. “You may not yet, but we’re planning on sticking around long enough to prove it to you!”
“You’ll just get hurt. It’s what I do...I hurt people, I even kill,” Faith whispered wretchedly. “You hang around me...try to, ‘care about’ me...I guarantee I’ll hurt you.”
“Guess what Faith,” he replied gently. “It’s too late. We already care about you...and you’ve already hurt us.”
Faith looked back at him with a frown. ‘Huh?’ she thought, confused.
He had a soft smile on his face as he looked at her. “Running away? Us finding you so badly beaten...that hurts, Faith. Bethy was in tears all day until you finally woke up!”
Faith closed her eye, spilling a tear as guilt pangs made her tender abdominals clench painfully.
“And look,” he continued. “We’re still here.” He gently picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, closing his eyes and ever-so-softly kissing the swollen knuckles. “We still care about you.”
Hot tears began spilling from Faith’s eyes, stinging the cuts on her face and her swollen eyelid on her left eye.
“Chances are that you’ll hurt us again, and we may hurt you too...that’s life sometimes; but we’re not going to let you push us away Faith.” He finished firmly.
‘This can’t be happening,’ Faith thought in disbelief and distrust.
He set her hand down as gently as he’d picked it up, and then he stood up and walked to the door, saying, “You think about that...I’m going to go help Bethy put together something for you to eat.”
Hot tears streamed down Faith’s cheeks. ‘This can’t be real...can it?’
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
‘Great googly moogly, that’s a hot outfit!’ Xander thought for the hundredth time as he watched his girlfriend ring the bell at casa del triad.
“Xander!” Dawn said, rolling her eyes at him with just a little annoyance in her tone.
‘Yeah right,’ Xander thought. ‘Like you didn’t hope for exactly this reaction...’ Shaking his head with a rueful grin, he said, “What can I say, you look amazing!” he explained.
Invited to an unexpected Scooby meeting, Dawn had decided to wear one of the new outfits that she had acquired on her birthday present/shopping expedition with Buffy. The top was purple, with a reasonably-modest shallow V-neck and three-quarter length sleeves. However, it was made of a stretchy silk blend that hugged every curve. The front was sewn with an elastic seam right down the middle that pulled the material into horizontal puckers that ran from side to side all the way up the front. This served to emphasize the flatness of her stomach and the fullness of her breasts in a way that had Xander salivating when she first modeled it for him. The top was accentuated by form-fitting jeans in shiny black glove-leather. The outside seam of the jeans was split the last eight inches or so to flare out over black boots with a tapered box toe and four inch heels.
The way she stepped into his side and laid her head on his shoulder told him her true feelings. He wrapped his arm around her and let his hand fall on her hip- almost, but not quite, cupping her ass. “I can’t decide if I love the top or the pants more...” he said in a low voice.
“Hmm, from the way you keep touching my butt, I’m gonna say it’s the pants...” she teased him lightly.
‘Man, I really love this girl!’ he thought with a light blush and a big grin. “Now, now; you shouldn’t rush to judgment on something like that Dawn,” he refuted. “I can get away with this in public,” he said with a gentle pat of the hand. “If I touched your top the way I’ve been imagining, I could get in trouble...”
“Pervert!” Dawn admonished, bumping him with her hip as if to push him away, but with far too little force to be taken seriously.
‘I love the way you blush!’ he thought happily. “Yeah, I’ll have to work on that...” he whispered into her ear, following it up with a tiny nip to the lobe.
“Xander!” Dawn again protested, this time with more frustrated desire than annoyance.
“OK you two cut that out!” Buffy’s voice interrupted Xander’s teasing.
‘Oh man, how distracted am I?’ Xander thought with a rueful grin. ‘I didn’t even notice the door opening!’
“Spoilsport!” Dawn said with no real rancor.
“Wow, that outfit looks great on you!” Willow said, appearing at Buffy’s side.
“Thanks!” Dawn gushed.
‘Oh my God, I think Willow’s checking Dawn out!’ Xander thought as Willow looked his girlfriend up and down while sporting a hungry look.
“Xander, you are a lucky man...” the redhead said softly without taking her eyes off Dawn.
The witch seemed to realize what she was doing as her eyes widened and she shot a quick glance toward the Slayer before shaking her head and saying, “Well, come on...we should get started.”
“Yeah, don’t stand out there all night,” Buffy added before turning to follow her lover.
Both Xander and Dawn stood in place for a moment before moving to enter the mansion.
“Is it just me, or was Willow checking you out?” Xander whispered into Dawn’s ear, only half teasing.
“Um, I think so...” Dawn said in a surprised voice.
“Mmm, you guys doing more than just casting spells together?” he kidded.
“Xander!” she hissed. Her tone quieted as she added, “It’s no big, it’s um...it’s kinda flattering, actually...besides; it’s not like I haven’t seen you checking her out, not to mention Buff and Tara.”
Xander took a step towards the doorway and then turned to face his girlfriend. His voice was warm and loving as he said, “Not lately, you haven’t.”
‘You do look good blushing!’ he thought happily. “Come on, let’s find out what the latest crisis is.”
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
‘Remember, you’re happy for them...’ Buffy told herself. ‘That’s right; it doesn’t bother me at all to see my best friend, who always had a major crush on me, making smoochies with my kid sister...’ She watched as Xander and Dawn walked into the mansion hand in hand. ‘...not at all.’
As she joined her lovers, she was struck by another thought. ‘Wait a minute...was Willow just checking out Dawnie?’
“Well, well, the gang’s all here except...where’s Faith?” Xander asked as he and Dawn sat down on the couch, shaking Buffy out of her thought and allowing her innate capacity for denial to kick in.
“Dunno,” Buffy quipped, trying to distract her off-topic mental mumblings with the subject at hand. “She didn’t answer her phone all day.”
“Yes, well, unfortunately this concerns her most of all...” Giles said disapprovingly.
“She’s probably busy, you know, knocking boots with that couple from the bronze,” Dawn said rolling her eyes.
“Oh, I think it’s nice,” Tara countered. “Maybe she finally found someone...well, someone*s* that she could actually get serous about...”
Giles frowned, but refrained from comment on that particular subject. “Well, it would be in her best interests, I think, if we were to try and get into contact with her as soon as is feasible...”
‘He doesn’t seem too worked up about it...probably not too time-crunchy’ Buffy mused. “We’ll check the usual haunts tonight on patrol,” she offered. “But you still haven’t told us; what’s the up?”
“You aren’t gonna tell me the council’s after her *again*, are you?” Xander interjected.
Giles cleared his throat and seemed discomfited as he stammered, “Yes, w-well...”
“You have *got* to be kidding me!” Buffy said incredulously. She looked at her lovers to see their shocked expressions mirroring her own feelings. “Tell me it isn’t those same three guys at least...”
“No, no not as such,” Giles hastened to explain. “I received a call from Quinton Travers; he wanted your permission for himself and one assistant to travel to Sunnydale next month.”
‘He wants my permission!’ Buffy thought with a warm feeling of pride. ‘Huh, the mighty Council man actually asked permission!’
“Why?” Tara asked with a note of suspicion in her voice that brought Buffy’s heady feeling back to earth.
“Well,” Giles began. “He indicated that he would like to interview Faith...so that he might, ah, assure the council of her ‘fitness for duty’ as it were.
“Right! Because he’s on our side...” Xander snorted derisively. “I bet he reminded you about warning us that they were gonna try to take Faith back to England, right?”
“Yes, you’re quite right, Xander,” Giles agreed. “He was quick to point that we are- in his estimation at least- in his debt.”
“So should we tell him no?” Buffy asked tentatively. “Whaddya think he’d do?”
Giles looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “I imagine he would, for a time at least, simply continue to ask periodically.”
“Depends on what he really wants,” Xander said darkly.
“Hmm, yes, precisely my thought,” Giles said in agreement.
Buffy frowned, feeling vaguely uncomfortable suddenly. ‘How come sometimes I think those two are talking in code?’ Buffy thought, narrowing her eyes at the two male Scoobies. ‘Is it just me?’
“It is for that very reason that I believe we should grant him permission...” Giles went on.
“What reason?” Buffy asked. ‘Did I miss something?’
“So we can find out what he’s really up to,” Xander said as though it were obvious.
“Oh, right...” Buffy trailed off, feeling pouty suddenly.
“Shall I tell him yes, then?” Giles asked.
Buffy blinked a couple times, mildly surprised. ‘I’m deciding? It sounded like they already decided...’ She turned to Willow and Tara and asked, “What do you guys think?”
“Well, it would probably be a good idea to find out what his real intentions are,” Tara offered.
“I agree,” Willow said.
“Besides, it’s better to let him think we trust him,” Xander spoke up. “He’s arrogant enough to think he’s smarter than us...”
“Yes, If we give him sufficient rope, he may well hang himself, as the saying goes,” Giles added, as though finishing Xander’s thought.
“Exactly,” Xander agreed.
‘Exactly? Exactly what?’ Buffy wondered, feeling even more confused. “Ok, I guess...”
“Don’t worry, Buff!” Willow reassured her. “We’ll figure out what he’s up to! Besides, we’ll be ready for him if he tries to pull anything.”
“Yes, well...” Giles began once again. “Do try to find Faith this evening if possible. We should make sure she’s aware of the situation...”
“Is that it?” Dawn asked, sounding antsy.
“Why, do you and Xander have a hot date planned?” Joyce asked slyly, speaking for the first time since the couple had arrived.
“I wish!” Dawn groused.
Xander laughed, “Nah, we’re just gonna burn off a little energy at the bronze, then home. Somebody’s got do get a good night’s sleep before finals...”
“That’s right! Are y’all studied up for the big exams?” Willow asked.
‘That’s my Willow!’ Buffy thought adoringly. ‘Excited by school as always...’
“It’s totally in the bag,” Dawn said offhandedly. “I’m gonna ace everything, even calc.”
“Well, you certainly sound confident,” Joyce said. “I can’t wait to see your grades!”
“Well then, perhaps Joyce and I shall take our leave as well,” Giles said as Xander and Dawn rose up from the couch.
‘Ok, now I’m pretty sure it’s not just me...’ Buffy thought. ‘Giles is looking at Xan funny.’ “That’s it? Quinton Travers is the closest thing to a big-bad on the horizon?” she quipped disappointedly.
“It is kinda anticlimactic...” Willow agreed.
“Yes, well...” Giles began. “Summer lull and all I suppose. You sound almost disappointed,” he said with a confused frown. “You have always expressed a sense of, well...relief...in the past when vampire activity slowed for the summer.”
“That was when she was still in denial,” Dawn said baldly, causing Buffy to blush slightly.
“Denial?” Joyce asked, looking back and forth between her daughters in confusion.
“Buffy’s a lot more like Faith than she ever admitted, except for the skanky-ho part,” Dawn said with a teasing smile.
“Dawn!” Buffy protested. A look to her girlfriends put a pout on her face as they weren’t entirely able to hide their smirks.
“What does that mean, exactly?” Joyce asked with a raised eyebrow, clearly not getting the joke that had everyone- even Giles to an extent- smirking at the slayer’s discomfort.
“It just means I don’t hate slaying like I used to...” Buffy mumbled.
“In other words, she gets off on the hunt,” Dawn began.
“Faith used a particular description for the feeling...how exactly did she describe it Buff?” Xander asked with a grin.
“Alright! Scooby meeting adjourned!” Buffy said, jumping up and moving to herd the non-residents out. “Great to see ya, thanks for coming over, buh-bye now!”
Everyone but Giles laughed. He merely smiled indulgently.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Xander, I wonder if I might have a word briefly?” Giles said, tilting his head away from the direction where he and Dawn’s car was parked.
“Sure G-man,” Xander said with a thoughtful frown. ‘I wonder what this is?’ he thought as Giles led him about twenty yards away from Dawn and Joyce.
“So, what’s up?” he asked when Giles wasn’t immediately forthcoming.
“Hmm?” Giles said, seemingly distracted. “Oh, yes...I had an interesting discussion with an old acquaintance of mine the other day...someone I haven’t talked with in the last several months.”
‘Ok, this is weird...’ Xander thought when Giles again tapered off. “Um, is there a point to this? I mean, not to be rude-guy or anything, but...”
“Hikaru Matsumura...” Giles said, his gaze searching Xander’s intently.
“Uh...oh...” Xander said, thrown by the name. ‘Busted!’ he thought, chagrinned.
“Yes,” Giles went on. “He told me about one of his students...he had been surprised by this particular young man’s fervor for training...apparently the student in question makes a habit of spending several hours a day in the dojo...taking any and every course offered and works out on his own as well until he nearly collapses in exhaustion.”
“Hey, that only happened once!” Xander protested, not bothering to deny that he was the student in question.
“Xander, why would you hide from all of us the fact that you’ve been studying the martial arts?” Giles asked incredulously.
Xander shrugged. “It’s not like I was hiding it...” he said, shrugging again. “I dunno, I mean, I started going, and it just never came up or anything...it’s no big...”
“And it had nothing to do with the fact that Buffy has historically disapproved of your direct participation in combat situations?” Giles asked.
‘Ouch, score one for Sigmund Giles...’ Xander thought uncomfortably. “Look, Buffy and Willow and Tara don’t need me to help them patrol, I get that. Heck, the three of them on patrol is like a brigade of tanks policing Mayberry RFD.”
Giles actually snorted at the comparison, bringing a more genuine grin to Xander’s face.
“But, just like Dawn wants to learn magic so she’s not the helpless victim, I’m doing what I can so I’m not just dead weight either...” he said determinedly.
“I hardly imagine anyone considers you dead-weight...” Giles began.
“Look, G-man, I’ve been getting my ass kicked by most every baddy we’ve met for the last five years, and never once did you ever even suggest I get some training, let alone offer to train me yourself. I just figured it was time I did something about it myself.”
“Xander, I...I suppose it never even...” Giles stammered awkwardly.
‘Dammit, I didn’t mean to say that...’ Xander thought with annoyance. “Look, it wasn’t your job,” he said quickly. “Your job was to train Buffy and you did a damn good job of it- I mean, she’s still here isn’t she?”
“Yes, thank you Xander, but you needn’t try to divert me. Clearly we’ve all made mistakes and poor decisions and incorrect assumptions throughout the years...I believe that’s generally considered to be a fact of life.” Giles said with a slightly sardonic grin.
‘Busted again,’ Xander thought with a blush.
Giles smile fell as he continued. “No, what concerns me is the thought that you might be trying to hide something from the rest of the group. I was hoping that we, as a group, were moving away from old habits of that nature.”
“Some secrets have to be kept though, don’t they?” Xander said with no trace of humor whatsoever. ‘At least he has the grace to look embarrassed,’ the young man thought bitterly. “Maybe it’s not so easy to be open about stuff when you know you have to keep some things hidden...”
Giles frowned thoughtfully.
‘You really know how to kill a happy mood here Giles,’ Xander thought with annoyance.
“My initial inclination would be to say that this is different,” Giles said after a moment’s reflection. “But, perhaps you’re right...perhaps it was a mistake to...”
‘What!?’ Xander thought with a sudden surge of adrenaline in his system. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop and rewind there G-man. You’re, like, completely bass-ackwards here!”
“My point was simply that it seems to be causing you a great deal of emotional stress...” Giles began.
“Yeah! It is,” Xander interrupted with a hiss. “More so in the last five minutes than it has in the past five weeks!”
Before Giles could argue further, Xander snapped in a low, angry voice, “Hey, this isn’t some little white lie, Giles. Are you really ready to tell Buffy the facts of life? Remember, I know what went on in Vegas...”
“What?” Giles asked, shaking his head at the apparent non sequitur.
“You captured one of the knights,” Xander explained in a low, serious voice. “You and the knight go into a room, you come out later with information...the knight never comes out. You go and wash your hands...”
“I didn’t realize that Dawn had seen that...” Giles said in a hoarse voice.
“Yeah, well Dawn sees a lot that people don’t know about,” Xander said with both pride and dismay as he grinned. Dropping the grin, he returned to the subject at hand, demanding “Are you really ready to tell Buffy that you tortured someone to death?”
“Touché,” Giles whispered, dropping his eyes in defeat.
‘Damn, I didn’t mean to lash out like that...’ Xander thought with a great sigh. He reached out and put his hand on Giles shoulder, indulging in a rare moment of physical contact with the Scoobies’ father-figure. “Look, I get that you’re worried about me...and that means a lot, that you’d care enough to worry.” He dropped his hand and averted his eyes, blinking against the tears that threatened to form.
“I’m concerned that you haven’t had an easy time with this particular burden...” Giles began.
“Yeah, it sucks, but that’s life, right?” Xander said, striving to keep the bitterness out of his voice. “Look, I’m dealing, alright? I’m not bottling stuff up, I’ve got Dawn to help me with that kind of stuff.”
“Xander if I could have...” Giles started again, his voice filled with palpable remorse.
Xander held up his hand, “Don’t.” He shook his head and said, “I know, I really do...but there was no one else, and it had to be done...” He crossed his arms and said, “I’m not trying to pretend it didn’t happen, alright? Believe me, it happened. I’d just rather you didn’t bring it up again...like, ever, ok?”
Before Giles could say anything, Xander said, “Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go try to rebuild my good mood.”
With that he turned and left Giles behind as he strode off towards his car.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“So...” Dawn said tentatively. She’d restrained herself until they were in his car, seeing the dark look he was trying to hide after his conversation with Giles. “What did he want?”
Xander rolled his eyes. “He found out I’ve been taking classes, wanted to know why I was hiding it...”
“Oh...” Dawn said contemplatively. “Since when were you hiding it?” she asked with a frown.
“Never!” Xander protested. “It...it just never came up, I mean, what? I’m supposed to call everyone and say, ‘Hey, I’m taking some martial arts classes, is that ok?’ God!” he complained.
“So what’s his drama?” Dawn asked. “It’s not like any of them ever encouraged you to learn how to fight, so why would he think you’d be all eager to share...?”
She smiled at her boyfriend as he shot her a glance through narrowed eyes.
“You’re kinda disturbingly observant sometimes, you know?” he groused only semi-seriously.
Dawn nodded her head. “It’s a gift,” she said glibly.
Xander laughed lightly at that.
‘Mmm, happy Xander much better than broody Xander,’ Dawn thought, pleased.
“So, what did your mom want with you?” he asked.
“Oh, you know...” Dawn said, waving her hand dismissively. “She’s all, “How’s school, what’cha got planned this summer, has Xander popped your cherry yet...””
“Holy Crap!” Xander shouted, swerving the car slightly. “She actually said that?” he demanded with a squeak.
“No, Xander! Of course not,” Dawn said, laughing at his reaction.
“Oh dear God!” Xander panted. “You nearly killed me there!”
“She didn’t come out and ask, she just hinted around at it about twenty different ways...” Dawn went on.
“Oh...well,” Xander said, his voice sounding a little airy. “Um, well...what did you say?”
“I said you were standing on third base, but that I was hoping you’d steal home...” she said with a straight face, giggling madly in her thoughts as she watched his reaction. ‘Wow, that’s a pretty good blush...wonder if I can top it?’
Xander’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “Please tell me you’re kidding...” he said in a strangled voice.
“Of course I’m kidding!” Dawn said, allowing a chuckle to come out. “I really asked her if she thought a blow-job counted as sex...”
‘Hey, yep, I can top it!’
“Cause, you know, the president said it didn’t count, and I wondered what her opinion on it was...”
“I swear you’re going to be the death of me,” Xander muttered, provoking even more laughter from the brown-haired beauty.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Is it just me, or do you guys feel a little ‘out-of-the-loopy’ when Xander and Giles start talking about stuff?” Buffy asked as the door closed behind the departing Scoobies.
“Whaddya mean?” Willow asked, slightly thrown by the abrupt question.
“Well, like when they were talking about watcher-guy coming here, it’s like Xander would say something, and Giles would be, like, ‘yes exactly,’ but I must have missed the in-between part, cause I was all, ‘Exactly? What, exactly?’” Buffy explained.
‘Oh, Buffybabble...’ Willow thought with a grin. ‘I’m so rubbing off on her...Mmm, hey, that’s a good idea!’ her grin turned predatory.
“They do seem to be kinda on the same page a lot,” Tara said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, see!” Buffy jumped on Tara’s admission. “They’re on the same page, but it’s a totally different page from everyone else...”
“Well, maybe they’re just thinking alike,” Willow said dismissively. ‘There are other, much more fun topics we could be exploring right now...’
“Yeah, and since when do Xander and Giles think alike?” Buffy griped.
Willow rose up from her seat and moved behind Buffy, starting a deceptively platonic neck-rub while Tara answered Buffy’s rhetorical question.
“Well, ever since before we fought Glory, Xander’s kind of been tactics and strategy guy,” the blonde witch posited.
“Mmm, that feels nice Will,” Buffy moaned as Willow worked her fingers against the tight muscles under her hands. “You’re right, Tara, Xan has been...I think he’s been using those soldier memories...”
‘Goddess I love the feel of your skin, Buffy!’ Willow thought, bringing her face close enough to the slayer’s neck that her warm breath played over the flesh she was kneading.
“You’re probably right, but is that a bad thing?” Tara asked. “After all his advice and ideas have been pretty useful...”
“Bad thing?” Buffy’s voice clearly indicated her distraction from the topic of conversation.
‘Ooh, Goosebumps!’ Willow thought delightedly as she breathed a stream of warm air against Buffy’s ear.
“Nuh, nooo, n-not a bad thing...” Buffy stammered in response to Tara’s question. “It’s just...I kinda get, oh Willow...”
Willow smiled at Buffy’s groan. She let her hands roam around the front of Buffy’s neck and down as far as to graze the tops of the slayer’s breasts. She looked up to meet Tara’s gaze and saw her witchy lover’s smirk.
“Get what, Buffy?” Tara asked as though she was unaware of the effect Willow was having on their slayer.
“I get the feeling I’m missing something...” Buffy said quickly.
“Don’t worry, baby, I’m gonna make sure you don’t miss anything!” Willow crooned, boldly cupping and squeezing Buffy’s breasts through the thin material of her top.
“Will, wh- we’re sup-posed to p-patrol...” Buffy gasped as Willow began nibbling gently on the slayer’s earlobe.
“We will...” the redhead whispered. “In a little while...”
“You’re gonna p-pay for this after we get back, you know...” Buffy said with a sigh.
Feeling her lover’s hands reach back to run through her hair, Willow shuddered with pleasure. She released the soft skin of Buffy’s neck on which she’d been sucking. “Mmm, I can hardly wait!” she groaned. ‘Goddess I so need a good spanking!’ she thought, panting.
“Wanna give me a hand?” Willow asked, looking over to Tara.
The blonde witch shook her head slowly. “No, I want to watch,” she said in a husky voice, her hands moving across her torso up to her breasts and down to her crotch.
Willow echoed Buffy’s moan as they watched their lover so openly touch herself. ‘No one would ever believe that this is the same Tara MacLay that I fell in love with last year...’ Willow thought joyfully.
Willow’s hands began to mirror on Buffy’s body the movements Tara was making. She grasped one of Buffy’s breasts through her top while reaching down to cup her hand over the seam in the Slayer’s tight jeans.
‘Goddess I love you so much!’ Willow thought happily as Buffy melted in her arms, leaning back against her and letting the redhead have her wicked way.
“Are you wet for me?” Willow whispered softly into Buffy’s ear as she pressed hard on the seam covering Buffy’s sex.
“Y-yes...so wet...” Buffy sighed deeply.
“Shall I see for myself?” Willow asked. She reached out to flick the Slayer’s earlobe with her tongue.
“Mmph! Please!” Buffy whined.
Willow glanced up to see Tara unbuttoning her shirt and opening the catch on her bra.
“Mmm, look Buffy,” Willow groaned. “Doesn’t she have the most beautiful breasts?”
Willow could hear the sound of Buffy licking her lips before the petite blonde answered. “Oh yes! I love it when she pulls and twists her nipples like that!”
“So sexy!” Willow agreed with a gasp. She quickly grabbed the hem of the Slayer’s top and pulled up and off. “You know,” she began while grasping and pulling Buffy’s nipples just as Tara was doing to herself. “It’s a good thing that you’ve got that Slayer healing thing going for you...”
“Oh...? Why’s...that?” Buffy panted softly, clearly more focused on what was happening to her body than to Willow’s question.
“Because you never wear a bra,” Willow said at the same time she elicited a squeak from her lover by pulling her stiff nipples up and out, distending the flesh of Buffy’s breasts just as Tara was doing before her. “Without the healing thing, these beautiful breasts would be hanging to the floor by now!” she growled, leaning in to bite the Slayer’s earlobe.
“Willow!” Buffy squeaked. Her voice sounded surprised, but not at all upset.
“Mmm, I want to taste you!” Willow growled, taking the initiative and not waiting for Tara to model the behavior before she undid the Slayer’s pants and pushed them past her hips. “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” she whispered as she ran her hands up Buffy’s hips and back over her ass. “No panties, you bad girl you...”
“Ohnguhh!” Buffy’s response came out garbled as Willow swept three fingers up through the Slayer’s wet lips, capturing a large sample of the sticky syrup.
Willow hastily brought her fingers up to her face, inhaling deeply of the powerful scent before noisily sucking them clean. “Mmm! Oh baby you taste so delicious!” she moaned. “It’s all I can do right now not to push you down to the floor and suck that delicious pussy all night long!” she cried, reveling in the dirty talk in which she so seldom indulged.
Both blondes cried out at that, and Willow smiled at the desperate look on Tara’s face as the blonde witch reached under her skirt and pulled aside her panties. Her eyes rolled back as she wasted no time and jammed three fingers inside herself to the third knuckle.
Willow, on the other hand, began to stroke the Slayer’s sex with teasingly light touches. “Ooh, do you hear that Buffy? Listen to how wet Tara is, just from watching me play with your sexy body!”
“Mmph!” Buffy whined. “Ooohhh please?”
“What?” Willow whispered, slowly stroking her fingers up to, but not quite touching the Slayer’s clit, before stroking back down. “Tell me what you want baby.”
“Ohh mmm...in...please? In me?” Buffy whined, her hips twitching as though she were chasing the redhead’s fingers.
“Oohh, you want my fingers inside you baby?” Willow groaned. “You want me to slide my fingers in and out of your sloppy-wet pussy?”
Buffy nodded rapidly, “Oh yes! Please Willow?”
‘Goddess! I can see why you love being my Mistress! This is fun!’ Willow thought giddily. She slipped her index finger into Buffy’s slick channel, just to the first knuckle, and slowly stroked in and out.
“Nugh! Willow!” Buffy groaned, clearly frustrated. She bent her knees and dipped her body as though seeking to impale herself further onto Willow’s finger.
Willow followed the Slayer’s motion, denying her deeper penetration. “What’s’amatter Baby? Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“Willloooww,” Buffy cried. “Mooorrrree! Please?”
“Mmm, you want more fingers baby?” Willow teased. “You want me to stuff that pussy full and make you cum?”
“Oh! Oh! Goddess!” Tara called out, cumming herself.
Hearing her Mistress cum seemed to drive Buffy over the top. “Oh yes! Yes, yes, yes!” Buffy begged, nodding furiously. “Please baby, please make me cum!” Her whole body was twitching and writhing as she sought more contact with Willow’s pleasure giving fingers.
Without warning, Willow pushed four fingers inside her lover. She rapidly rubbed Buffy’s clit with three fingers from her other hand, while quickly pumping in and out of the Slayer’s sex. “How could I deny you when you asked so nicely?” she asked in a sweet, loving voice.
It was only seconds before Buffy was screaming her name as she came hard, nearly crushing Willow’s fingers in a vice-like grip.
“Mmm, that was soo cool!” Willow giggled excitedly as Buffy collapsed against her, knocking them both back onto the couch.
Tara burst into laughter, and even Buffy laughed weakly as she recovered from her release.
“Good God, how I love you Willow!” Buffy panted after a moment.
“Aww! I love you too Buffy!” Willow answered back, feeling a wave of affection pour through her.
“Of course, I’m still going to whip your ass till it matches the color of your hair when we get home tonight,” Buffy added matter-of-factly.
“Of course...” Willow agreed. ‘I wouldn’t have it any other way!’ she thought eagerly.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“...worthless, good for nothing whore!”
“No, please daddy no!” Faith cried, dreading what was to come next. “Not again daddy! Please, I’ll be a good girl, I promise!”
“Don’t backtalk me you little bitch!” came the drunken bellow.
Faith cowered in terror as her father’s massive fist swung towards her face. She slammed her eyes shut and winced in anticipation.
After several seconds went by, Faith blinked her eyes open to see- not her father, but rather the wall alongside the bed in her lovers’ bedroom. ‘Damn I haven’t had that nightmare in fricken forever,’ she thought with a shudder. She started to take a deep breath and was rewarded with a sharp pain in her side. She whimpered slightly and then suddenly felt a new sensation.
Gentle fingers combed through her hair, and she heard a soft voice singing;
Golden slumber kiss your eyes,
Smiles await you when you rise.
Sleep, pretty Faithy,
Do not cry,
And I'll sing you a lullaby.
Safe you are now, therefore sleep,
While I o'er you watch do keep.
Sleep, pretty darling,
Do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.
Fresh tears welling out of her eyes brought to Faith’s attention the wetness on her face already. ‘Damn, I musta been crying in my sleep...’ she thought, angry and upset with herself.
Despite the painful complaints of her muscles, Faith quickly reached up to wipe her face dry and rolled over onto her other side- facing the singer. “What are you doing?” she grated, her mouth dry and cottony.
“You were having nightmares, Faithy,” Beth answered with a sad smile.
Faith twitched away when Beth reached to stroke her face. Beth’s smile fell, to be replaced by a look that was on the verge of tears.
‘Dammit! You just shoulda left me alone!’ Faith raged, more angry with herself and the pain she saw on Beth’s face than she was actually at Beth. She opened her mouth to repeat her thought aloud, but all that came out was a dry rasp.
Beth smiled once again, but it was clearly forced. “You must be dying of thirst!” she said. “Let me get you something to drink.”
‘Why the hell did they bring me here!?’ Faith thought, aggravated and upset without really understanding why. ‘What the hell do they want from me?!’
Beth came back into the room, her manner exuding efficiency. “Now, I know you told us that Slayer’s heal fast, and you do look remarkably better, but do you think you can sit up?” she asked. “If not, I have a straw...”
Faith shook her head, thinking, ‘I’m not some damned cripple...’
She winced as she pushed herself up. ‘Damn, I’m sore!’ she thought as her muscles protested. ‘Still, not bad considering. Ribs are healing up good, I oughta be back to kicking ass by morning...’
Beth had to visibly restrain herself from helping Faith sit up. Wordlessly she handed the Slayer an opened bottle of water after Faith was upright with her legs hanging over the side of the bed.
Faith took a large sip and swished it around her mouth, letting the parched flesh re-hydrate. Another sip she allowed to trickle down her throat, ‘Mmm, that feels good!’ she thought, forcing herself to take it slow and not just down the bottle all at once.
“Thanks,” she said, her voice approaching normal. ‘What the heck else do I say?’ she thought, suddenly and strangely uncomfortable with the woman whose body she had already intimately explored on several occasions.
“Of course!” Beth said with a smile. “Are you hungry? We have some more of that soup from yesterday, or I could fix something else, if you didn’t want soup...”
“Yesterday?” Faith interrupted with a frown, ignoring her stomach’s growling at the suggestion of food. “Whaddya mean, yesterday?”
“It’s Monday morning, Faith...almost sunrise...” Beth explained quietly, moving closer to the Slayer as she spoke.
“Damn!” Faith grunted. ‘I was out for two days! Musta gotten my ass kicked even harder than I thought...’ She blinked her eyes and noticed that Beth was now standing at the edge of the bed, nearly touching Faith’s knees. She didn’t jerk back this time as Beth’s hand came to rest on gently her cheek.
“The swelling is just gone!” she whispered in wonder. “How do you feel?”
Faith swallowed heavily at the sudden return of dryness to her mouth. “Uh...ribs are pretty tender, muscles are kinda sore...other than that...”
“How’s your mouth?” Beth asked softly.
“My mouth?” Faith asked in surprise. “Uh, it’s ok...”
Anything else she might have added was forgotten as Beth’s lips were suddenly against her own.
‘Damn, can this woman kiss!’ Faith thought, lost in the intense, yet achingly soft kiss.
Faith again had tears in her eyes when Beth finally pulled away. “Why?!” she demanded plaintively. “Why do you kiss me like that?!”
“I was so worried about you!” Beth said in a high, emotional voice. Faith looked up to see matching tears glistening on her cheeks as well. “When I saw you...so beat up...I thought we’d lost you Faithy!”
‘It’s a trick, it’s not true!’ protested the voice of Faith’s insecurities. “Why?” she again asked, for once actually wanting to ignore that voice and believe in somebody.
“Because we care about you, Faith.” Alex’s voice rolled across the room.
Faith looked over to see that his expression too was filled with tender emotion.
“You’re important to us, Faith. Not just because you’re an amazing lover, but because you’re an amazing person!” Beth said intently.
‘Lies! Don’t believe them! You know you aren’t worth it; it has to be some kind of trap!’
“But...” Faith began, desperate to believe, but so unaccustomed to trusting. “My life is crap, I’m an ex-con...a murderer...”
“Most people have things in their past that they aren’t proud of, Faith,” Alex began. “Maybe yours are worse than most, but they’re in the past...”
“Maybe that’s who you were, but that isn’t who you are, Faithy,” Beth said with deep conviction in her voice.
“I know you are hesitant to just give us your trust, Faith,” Alex said softly, taking her left hand and stroking it softly. “Maybe...maybe you could give us a chance to earn that trust?” he pleaded.
“Please?” Beth begged, taking Faith’s right hand and mirroring Alex’s actions.
‘Don’t be a sucker! You really going to buy this crap?’ Faith’s insecurities taunted.
‘Oh I want to, I want it to be true!’ she cried desperately inside herself as she looked back and forth between the faces of her two beautiful lovers.
“I...” Faith licked her lips and took several shallow breaths. “I hear you make a wicked good French toast...” she whispered.
The beaming expressions of joy on Alex and Beth’s faces was almost enough to drown out the dark voice in Faith’s head.
‘You’ll be sorry!’
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“I’m so excited! And I just can’t fight it...” Xander sang under his breath as he pulled a few shirts out of his closet and laid them down on his bed. “I’m about to lose control and I think I like it!”
Suddenly he caught sight of himself dancing in the mirror on his closet door and stopped stock still. “Ok, when I start channeling the pointer sisters, it’s time to seriously examine my life...” he mumbled, blushing with embarrassment.
He picked the two better looking shirts of the three he’d selected and began folding them to go into the suitcase that lay open next to him. ‘Man oh man this is going to be so awesome!’ he thought excitedly. ‘Dawn Summers, I am going to make this the best birthday you’ve ever had!’
He finished packing his suitcase and looked at the clock beside the bed. “Hmm, 8:05...You’re running late Willow!” He went out to the main room, stopping to grab a celery stick out of the fridge.
He started pacing back and forth in the living room as he reviewed things. ‘Ok; bag is packed, got wallet, tickets in wallet, keys, Dawn’s present...’ He munched down the celery stick and went to get another from the fridge. “I think I’ve got everything...” he mused.
Looking at the clock on the microwave he muttered, “Ten after...come on Will, where are you?”
As though the fates had heard his plea, there was a knock at the door and he nearly tripped over himself as he spun around to rush over. Opening the door, he couldn’t keep the enormous smile off of his face as he said, “Willow, who is my bestest buddy in the whole world! Come in!”
She frowned at him as she entered the apartment. “Um, hi,” she said hesitantly. “What’s wrong with you?” she immediately asked.
“Nothing!” he said, still grinning madly. “Want some celery?” he offered, munching on his own.
“Xander, did you eat some of your neighbor’s brownies again!?” Willow demanded, hands on her hips. “I told you his ‘secret’ ingredient isn’t love...”
Xander laughed at that, remembering the time Anya had accepted the ‘gift’ that the old hippie down the hall had offered, not telling Xander where she’d gotten the brownies until after he’d eaten several. “No, Will, no brownies for this boy!” he said.
“Then why are you smiling like that?” Willow asked, sounding bewildered. “And what’s with the celery obsession all of a sudden? Dawnie said you’ve been eating it constantly all week!”
He blushed, thinking, ‘So not answering that question!’
“I need a favor Will, well, two actually,” he said, ignoring the questions all together.
“What favors?” she asked guardedly, apparently still wary of his behavior.
‘God, I am just too giddy,’ he thought as he caught himself almost bouncing up and down with excitement. “I want to kidnap Dawn away from school and take her on a little trip...” he began explaining.
Immediately Willow’s eyes lit up, “Ooh! The birthday surprise!” she exclaimed, actually clapping her hands in excitement. “Where are you taking her? Someplace romantic?”
“Now, now Willow...I don’t want to ruin the surprise...” he chided.
“Xander!” she said with a pout. “You make me leave my warm bed- which happens to be chock full of sexy blondes, let me tell you- this early in the morning to come over here and help you, but you still won’t tell me where you’re taking her?” she crossed her arms and said, “Well, maybe I’m not feeling all that helpful then...”
“Aww, come on Willow, please?” Xander said, giving her his sad-puppy eyes despite the desire to laugh at her threat.
“Hmpf!” was her reply.
“You really don’t want to ruin this for Dawnie, do you?” he said, breaking out the guilt card.
Her posture relaxed and her arms dropped, but she still looked unconvinced.
“I’ll show you her birthday present...” he wheedled.
A slow smirk grew on the redhead’s face. “Xander!” she exclaimed teasingly. “I’m a girl’s girl these days...besides, I’m already spoken for!”
“Not *that*!” Xander rolled his eyes, thinking, ‘God, and you think *I* have sex on the brain...’
She giggled.
“I bought her a car...” he went on.
“Ooh, what kind?” she asked, once again excited.
“You’ll help me?” he asked.
It was her turn to roll her eyes as she said, “Of course! You know I’d do anything...for Dawnie.” She said with a teasing grin. “So, what’cha need?”
“Well, the first thing’s easy...I just need for you to pack her a bag,” he explained.
“Ah, smart boy,” Willow said.
“Hey, I know better than to try and pack for a woman...” he explained. “You women always have secret girl-stuff that we men don’t understand, and I don’t want to leave out anything important...”
“Ok, that’s easy enough...” Willow said. “What’s the second thing?”
“Well, I don’t want to get her in trouble at school, so I thought I might use a little subterfuge...”
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
‘This is dumb,’ Dawn thought as she watched the teacher write another letter on the chalkboard and draw an arm on the hangman. ‘I mean, ok I guess I’m glad they don’t make us take all our finals on one day...but it’s just wrong to still have to go to class after all your finals are done...Hello! That’s why they’re called Final! ...especially on your birthday!’
She pouted- just a little bit- at the injustice of it all.
Her eyes wandered away from the chalkboard and landed on the form of her former best friend, Janice, who was sitting with her back turned deliberately toward Dawn.
The youngest Summers rolled her eyes, thinking, ‘Please, could you be more immature? I’m sorry but I’m not the same person you remember me being.’ She felt a small pang of regret, but more for Janice’s feelings than for the way Janice was treating her lately. ‘What were we going to talk about? What cheerleader’s dating which jock? or the latest boy-band singer that you’re ‘in love’ with this week...Oh yeah, and then we can discuss me shooting two men, or that I’m being hunted by some unknown assassin, or the fact that I wasn’t actually born sixteen years ago today, I’m really the Key to some hell-dimension that was stuffed into a human shell about ten months ago...’
Dawn put her elbows on her desktop and rested her chin on her hands, thinking, ‘Oh boy, only twenty more minutes, then five more exciting classes just like this one...Gee, I’m going to be in a great mood when I get home this afternoon.’
She sighed and closed her eyes. ‘Come on Summers, think happy thoughts...it’s your birthday...dinner with the whole gang tonight. Oh, and presents! Presents are good. I wonder what Xander got me?’ A warm shiver ran down her spine as she thought, ‘I wonder if he’ll give me what I really, really want? Mmm, Xander...’
“Ms. Summers!” the teacher’s voice snapped, followed by the laughter of her classmates.
‘Great!’ she thought, opening her eyes. ‘Busted again.’
“I’m sorry Ms. Summers, did I wake you?” the teacher asked derisively.
‘Please, we’re playing hangman! It’s not like I missed anything!’ she thought, wanting to say it aloud, but restraining herself. It was then that she noticed the school principal was standing next to her teacher. With a sigh and the knowledge that this teacher wouldn’t drop it unless she answered his question, Dawn said, “No sir, I was just concentrating on my hangman strategy.”
“Mr. Heimer...” the principle said impatiently.
“Of course...” the teacher nodded. “Ms. Summers, before you leave with Mr. Rooney, perhaps you’ll share with everyone your guess at the answer,” he said condescendingly. “Since you’ve given it such deep consideration...”
‘What a jackass!’ Dawn thought, fighting to keep from rolling her eyes as she picked up her book bag and stood up. She looked at the board, which showed
O _ o _ a t o _ o e t i _ a _ _ _
She chuckled when she realized what the word was.
“What’s funny, Ms Summers?” Mr. Heimer asked.
“It’s just ironic,” Dawn answered, shaking her head. “That something, which means a word that sounds like the thing it describes, should sound so completely unrecognizable.
The look of shock on Heimer’s bearded face gave Dawn a warm fuzzy and she smiled brightly.
“Let’s go Dawn,” Mr. Rooney said, gesturing towards the door.
‘Mmm, I’m going to remember that look for a long, long time...’ Dawn thought gleefully. Her gaze swept across the class as she turned to leave. ‘I bet they still don’t get it!’ she thought cynically.
She left the room with her head held high.
She stood just down the hall and waited for the principal to close the door behind him before asking what was going on. Just as she was going to speak, she overheard him mumble under his breath, “God, what a jackass!”
Dawn’s jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out. ‘Huh what?’ she thought, stunned. ‘Did he just say...’
Her jaw sagged even further open as Mr. Rooney met her eyes and said, “That guy needs to get the giant bug up his ass surgically removed...”
“Uh...” she said, stupefied.
“Come on, lets get out of here,” he said, turning and walking down the hall.
After a second, Dawn scrambled to catch up to the retreating form. “Um, Mr. Rooney? What’s going on?” she asked tentatively.
“Do you need to go to your locker before you leave?” he asked, ignoring her question.
“Um, I’m leaving?” Dawn said, still in shock. ‘What the heck is going on here?’
Mr. Rooney stopped and turned to face her directly. “Would you rather stay here all day?” he asked disbelievingly.
“Uh, no?” Dawn said hesitantly, half expecting something bad to happen any minute now.
She started to freak out as the principal leaned forward and spoke in a quiet voice, “Oh, by the way? Willow said to tell you Happy Birthday, and that you owe her details...”
Dawn’s eyes once again bugged out. ‘Willow?’ she thought briefly before realization set in. she focused her inner sight on the man before her and the glamour wavered and disappeared to her sight. “Xander!” she hissed, angry and delighted all at once.
She smacked him on the shoulder, and then immediately grabbed his head and latched on to his mouth, kissing him soundly.
“Careful Dawnie, you’ll really start some rumors if anyone sees us!” he said with a laugh when she broke the kiss.
“You big jerk!” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to bust you out!” he said, grinning madly. “No girl of mine is gonna spend her birthday locked up in the dungeon of despair!”
Mindful of his comment about rumors, Dawn shot a glance up and down the hall before again kissing him soundly. “You’re, like, the best boyfriend in the history of boyfriends! This is an awesome birthday present!”
“This is only the beginning!” Xander said with a smile that seemed full of promise. “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”
“Mmm, oh yeah?” Dawn purred. “You got something...big...to show me?” she said in a deep, sexy voice. ‘Oh boy!’ she thought lustily as his eyes dilated and he slowly licked his lips.
Xander leaned forward again and whispered, “Now, if I told you, it’d ruin the surprise.”
Chills ran across her skin at the sensation of his warm breath on her ear. ‘Oh you cruel, evil man!’ she thought, feeling her body respond with desire. “Take me out of this place Xander,” she said huskily. ‘Before I tackle you to the floor and start taking your clothes off!’ she added silently.
“So, do you need to go to your locker?” Xander said, his voice back to normal.
“Nope, cleaned out yesterday,” she said in a voice that was still slightly husky.
“Good!” Xander said with a smile that made Dawn melt. “Then let’s blow this popsicle-stand!”
‘Mmm, there’s a mental image I can agree with!’ she thought.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
As soon as they exited the school and hit the sidewalk, Xander took off the pendant that Willow had ensorcelled for him, changing from Principle Rooney back to himself.
“Much better,” Dawn commented. “You realize I may have nightmares thinking of you turning into my high school principal, don’t you?” she teased.
“Hmm, I guess I’ll just have to find a way to give you better memories,” he said, teasing right back.
“I can think of a couple ways...” she said, shooting him a sexy look.
“Just a couple?” he said with a flirty smile.
“Well, just for starters,” she flirted right back.
He stopped and tugged her hand so that she turned back to face him. Behind her back, he signaled for the limousine parked down the street to come pick them up. Then he turned his attention onto his girlfriend, looking her up and down. “Have I told you how much I like your new outfits lately?” he said, feeling both heat and adoration for her.
She was wearing a thin, clingy pink sweater and snug sea-foam green Capri pants. Her toenails were painted pink and stuck out of her strappy sandals.
“Aww, this old thing?” she said mock-dismissively.
“Mmmhmm,” he hummed, causing her eyes to dilate and her mouth to open slightly as she wet her lips. ‘Oh, I am so going to drive you crazy today!’ he thought. ‘It’d be almost a crime to tease you like I’m going to...if I wasn’t actually going to make good on it!’
“Um...” she started, clearly distracted. “Uh, so what’s the plan now that the brave hero has rescued the damsel from the castle?”
He couldn’t help but smirk a bit as her focus on him prevented her from noticing the limousine that glided to a stop next to them. “How about the brave hero and the sexy damsel take a little ride?” he asked, gesturing at the long black car next to them.
Dawn turned to the car and took a half-step back in shock. “Whoa! Where did that come from?”
Xander chuckled and stepped to the car so he could open the door. “Come on sexy damsel, your chariot awaits...”
Dawn narrowed her eyes at him, but a small smile broadened across her mouth. “I think you’re mixing metaphors...” she said sardonically, but moved to enter the car nonetheless.
‘Oh man, oh man, that is one beautiful behind!’ Xander thought salaciously as she bent over to climb into the car. ‘And tonight I get to see it uncovered for the first time!’ He winced at the constrained feeling that resulted as his excitement swelled.
Shaking his head, he climbed into the limo, thinking, ‘This is going to be torture for me as much, if not more than for her!’
‘Hmm, little vixen!’ he thought seeing the smile on Dawn’s face. ‘You know exactly how you affect me, don’t you?’
“Are you ready, sir?” a soft feminine voice came across the intercom speakers as the privacy shield was already in place.
He smirked at Dawn’s raised eyebrow as he depressed the talk button. “Yes, thank you Rachael,” he answered.
“Rachael?” Dawn asked cattily.
“Hey, I didn’t choose the driver, she came with the car...” he defended half-heartedly. “There’s only one woman in this car that I’m interested in, and it’s not the driver,” he added in a low, intense voice.
“Oh yeah?” she asked, unsuccessfully fighting the smile that was trying to grow on her face.
“Oh yeah!” he growled, leaning and twisting to plant a deep kiss on his girlfriends sweet lips.
It must not have taken long to forgive the presence of a female driver; by the time he came up for air, she had moved onto him, straddling his lap. He rubbed his hands up and down her back and whispered, “God, I love you Dawn!”
“Mmph!” she mewled, pouting at him before initiating another deep, hard kiss. “Love you too, Xan. So, so much!” she cried softly, then kissed him again.
He had no concept of time as they made out. Finally as his discomfort grew almost to the point of pain, he broke off, panting. ‘Later, later!’ he told himself. ‘You’re not going to make love to her for the first time in the back of a car, not even a limo!’
“Do you have any idea how happy you make me?” he asked when his breath returned.
She wriggled her hips a bit, grinding deliciously against the bulge in his pants and lustily said, “Oh yeah, I think I have some idea!”
He chuckled hoarsely and said, “No, not that...”
She raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.
“Well, yes that too,” he added. “But I just meant in general. I never was good with the talking about emotions thing...but with you it’s like I just can’t help it! I don’t really know how else to describe it; being around you makes me really happy.”
‘Mmm, love that pout!’ Xander thought gleefully. ‘You have the sexiest pouty lips, like ever!’
“Did I mention how you’re the best boyfriend in the history of boyfriends?” Dawn said softly.
“You did,” he answered with a smile. “Somehow, though, I haven’t gotten tired of hearing it...”
She laughed and moved off of his lap, sitting next to him and snuggling against his chest as he lifted his arm over her shoulders. “Don’t suppose that bar has anything non-alcoholic in it, does it?” she asked.
‘Post make-out thirsties...One of the unmentioned hazards of the sport...’ he thought with a grin. “Of course; water or Pepsi-unleaded?” he asked.
“Pepsi, please.” She answered in a chirp.
‘Scarily Buffy-like there...’ Xander thought as he leaned over and opened up the mini-fridge.
“So, what’s the plan, Xan?” Dawn asked as he handed her the bottle. “Does this trip have a destination?”
“Bored already?” he teased as he grabbed his own drink and shut the fridge.
“I have absolutely no problem spending the day in the back of a limo with you, but I know my man, and something tells me he has even better plans...” she said with a warm smile.
“Hmm, you might be right...” he said with a smug grin.
Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him, saying, “But you aren’t going to tell me, are you?”
“It’s a surprise Dawnie!” he said in an almost whine. “Aww, come on, don’t be like that,” he responded to her pout. “You’ll know soon enough...I just want this to be special!”
“Okay,” she said still pouting a little.
“It’ll be worth it, I promise,” he vowed.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“We’re going to see the Queen Mary?” Dawn asked, confused as the limo turned into the parking lot at the historic ocean liner turned hotel/museum/tourist attraction. ‘I mean, it’s nice and all, I guess...but not really what I was hoping for...’ she thought as they approached the ship. ‘God Summers, ungrateful much?’ she immediately chastised herself. ‘I should just be happy we’re spending time together, wherever we end up going!’
Xander just shook his head, grinning smugly.
‘Ohh, you arrogant...man!’ she thought, as annoyed with his coyness as she was eager to see her surprise.
“We’re going on a helicopter?” she asked as they passed the enormous ship and continued on to the heliport.
“Yep,” Xander said with a nod.
‘Don’t smile...’ Dawn thought, trying not to give away her excitement. “I’ve never gone on a helicopter...actually I’ve never flown at all,” she said, her voice betraying her feelings slightly.
“Me neither,” he responded simply.
‘You’re enjoying my torment, aren’t you?’ she thought. ‘Just you wait till your birthday mister! Then we’ll see how you like it!’ she thought, not really mad, just aggravated.
The limo came to a halt in front of the heliport’s entrance. The driver opened the door and Xander exited quickly, reaching back to offer Dawn a hand out.
“Is it like a tour or something?” Dawn asked finally, giving in to her curiosity just a little.
He just stood there as the driver went around and opened up the trunk. “Not exactly...” he non-answered.
When the driver came back around from the trunk, Dawn noticed that she was pulling two medium sized rolling suitcases along with her. “Ready when you are, sir and ma’am.” She said, exuding a professional demeanor.
“We have bags?” Dawn asked, narrowing her eyes again. “Why do we have bags?”
“We’re taking a little trip,” Xander said calmly.
“You packed my bag?” Dawn demanded. ‘I can’t believe he would pack for me! What if he brought the wrong stuff?’ she thought, annoyance mounting.
“No, I had Willow pack for you...I’m not stupid, Dawn,” he quickly answered.
“Oh,” she said, briefly mollified. “Wait, Willow knows where we’re going?” she demanded, once again feeling aggravation build.
“No, of course not,” he explained as he took her hand and pulled her towards the heliport. The chauffer followed behind with the baggage. “I just told her the kind of things we might be doing and let her pick out the appropriate stuff...”
“Oh,” she said, deflating again. ‘Dammit, I need to stop looking for a reason to be pissed here,’ she told herself. ‘Remember, Summers- sweet boyfriend, rescued you from school and is taking you on a surprise trip for your birthday. Try not to be a bitch about it!’
“Relax, Dawnie. You’re gonna have fun, I promise!” he whispered in her ear as they approached the ticket counter.
‘Doesn’t mean you can’t plan to get some payback!’ she thought even as she put on a sweet smile for her man.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
‘My God she’s beautiful,’ Xander thought, watching Dawn’s face as they flew. ‘I can check out the scenery on the way back, but there will never be another ‘Dawn’s first Helicopter ride’ to see.’
She was clutching his hand, no doubt due to nervousness at first, but quickly supplanted by excitement as she ‘ooh’ed and ‘ahh’ed over the view. A wide, delighted smile graced her features as her eyes darted from one sight to the next.
‘So worth the cost of buying out the extra seats!’ he thought.
“Oh Xander! Look! Dolphins!” she cried, energetically pointing off to one side of the chopper.
A glance over her shoulder showed that there were indeed dolphins racing along just beneath the surface of the clear, blue water. A wake of white trailed out behind them intermittently as their dorsal fins broke through into the open air. Xander laughed out loud as Dawn bounced in her seat, “Do you see them? Do you see them Xander?” she asked excitedly, turning to him with wide eyes and an eager smile.
“I did,” he answered nodding.
“Oh, aren’t they beautiful?” she cried, looking back out the side of their helicopter.
“Gorgeous!” he sighed. ‘...and seeing the dolphins swimming ain’t too shabby either, I have to admit,’ he thought happily. ‘You know a girl’s special when she still looks sexy even with giant earmuffs on!’
“Whoa! Is that where we’re going?” Dawn suddenly asked as she noticed the rapidly approaching island before them.
“Catalina Island,” he said, directly answering her question for the first time. “The name of the town is Avalon.”
“Like in King Arthur? The Mists of Avalon?” she asked, her eyes still shining with what looked like pure happiness.
Xander chuckled. “Mmm, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Merlin running around anywhere...”
“Or Morgan Le Fay?” Dawn asked teasingly.
“Hmm, the only Sorceress I want to see for the next forty-eight hours is the Enchantress named Dawn!”
They missed the landing of the chopper due to unscheduled kissage.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“I give you...the Villa D’Este!” Xander said with a grand gesture as he opened the door to their suite.
Much as she wanted to regain some semblance of cool after treating each new sight with awe, all Dawn could say was “Wow! Oh, wow!” as she entered the suite. The sand-colored walls set off the pale carpet and the lavender and purple stripes in the fabrics on the bed and the drapes were subtle accents that made the room seem colorful while remaining warm and even serene.
Her eyes traveled the room as Xander brought in their bags and parked them by the dresser. There was an enormous, overstuffed sofa in a rich cream color. A couple of chairs were upholstered in a pale lavender color and looked like you could sink down into them and never return. The faded and distressed wood of the dresser and armoire looked like well preserved- but actually used- antiques rather than museum pieces.
“Look at the bathroom!” Xander said, sounding excited himself at last.
“Oh my...” she whispered, taking in the huge marble bathroom. The tub was so big it looked like it could fit three or four, let alone one or two. The shower was large enough to have a bench seat along the marble wall and was surrounded on the other three sides by clear, frameless glass panels.
“And this is the best part, come see!” Xander said happily, taking her hand and leading her across the living space. He pulled apart the curtains and said, “Look at that!”
Dawn gasped. Beyond the French doors there was a small private deck and beyond that was Avalon bay, glistening blue in the sunlight, dotted by crisp white sails from the multitude of small sailboats from the yacht club off to the left. To the right was a long pier with shops and people fishing. Beyond the yacht club on the left was a round, bright white building that rose up over a hundred feet off of a mini-cliff overlooking the entrance to the bay.
“What do you think?” Xander asked eagerly.
‘I think I have the best boyfriend imaginable!’ she thought, overjoyed.
“Dawnie?” Xander asked with a mixture of happiness and concern on his face. She only realized she was crying when he wiped the tears from her cheek.
“It’s absolutely beautiful Xander!” she whispered. “It’s...thank you!” she said through trembling lips.
“I love you so much Dawn!” Xander said in a low, ardent voice, punctuated with a deep, soft kiss.
She clung tightly to him, overwhelmed as she thought, ‘This trip has to be the sweetest, most romantic gift ever!’
After long moments, Xander pulled away slightly, saying, “Why don’t you unpack your stuff and put on something comfy for walking around and stuff...there’s a glass-bottom boat tour of the bay I’d like to take you on.”
“Glass bottom...?” Dawn asked with raised brows.
“Yeah, you know, so you can see the fish and coral and stuff?” he said.
“That’d be kinda cool,” she allowed.
“Cool!” he said eagerly. “I’m gonna go to the check in desk, I saw where you can buy tickets...”
“Ok,” she said with a warm smile. ‘How sweet is that? He’s letting me unpack and change without any awkwardness or stuff...’
“Ok, be back in a couple minutes!” he said, backing out the door and then turning and walking away.
When the door closed Dawn let out a little squeak of excitement. “This is so awesome! Oh my God I can’t believe it!” she cried happily. She grabbed her bag and tossed it onto the bed. Opening it up she immediately saw the sexy, elegant dress that she’d recently purchased.
“Hmm, well, Xander told her the kind of stuff we were gonna do, so there must be a fancy dinner in my future,” she mused. Laying it aside she saw another purchase she’d recently made and blushed furiously. “Oh my God! Willow!” she hissed. Shaking her head she thought, ‘I’m gonna guess you were just feeling hopeful for me, cause there’s no way Xan’d tell you to pack that!’
Suddenly her eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped. She looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time and came to a startling realization.
“Wait a minute...there’s only one bed in this room...”
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
‘Perfect...this whole day has been absolutely perfect!’ Xander thought happily as he and Dawn swayed gently to the music.
They and a handful of other couples were out on the small dancefloor at the Ristorante Portofino- moving to the soft, bluesy jazz music playing.
‘The boat tour was great, the shopping was fun, just walking on the beach together was better than I could have imagined! God, I’ve always enjoyed Dawn’s company, especially since we’ve been together, but she was just so...alive and happy today!’ he thought adoringly. ‘Dinner was probably the best I’ve ever had in my life, and this...slow dancing is amazing. I think the best thing is that smile on her face...’ he thought, looking down into his girl’s eyes and seeing the adoration there and in her dazzling smile.
‘Although that dress is a *real* close second!’ he added lustily in his thoughts. ‘I nearly died when she came out of the bathroom in that!’
Dawn was wearing the quintessential ‘little black dress’ with two tiny straps holding up a top that showed a generous, though not indecent, amount of cleavage, and a slit up each side that went just above mid-thigh. It remained conservative enough to fit right in with the crowd in the upscale restaurant, yet was daring enough that there wasn’t a pair of male eyes in the room that weren’t drawn repeatedly in her direction.
“Did I mention that you look really, really good in that suit?” Dawn said, looking up at him with unabashed adoration.
“Did I mention that seeing you in that dress pretty much removed my ability to think?” he answered, only half-kidding.
Her response was an unabashedly delighted laugh.
‘Oh yeah, you knew exactly what you did to me, didn’t you my little tease!’ he thought indulgently.
“Do you know what Buffy said when I tried this on at Saks?” she asked, grinning.
He shook his head, his own mouth stretching into a grin to match hers.
“She said, ‘Xander’s definitely gonna go non-verbal when he sees you in that’.”
“She said that?” he asked disbelievingly.
Dawn laughed again, adding, “Yeah, but she had this look of horror on her face when she said it, like it was a bad thing.”
Xander chuckled, thinking, ‘Now that I can believe.’
As he stared happily down into her eyes, Dawn’s smile fell slightly, changing from humorous to something more sensual.
‘That’s plenty more than enough talk about Buffy thank you very much...’ he thought as fresh arousal coursed through him.
“Dawn,” he whispered, his voice raw with desire. “I want to take you back to our room...”
Her eyes widened and she licked her lips, breathing hard suddenly. “Oh Xander...” she breathed. “Yes, please!” she whispered back, nodding her head quickly.
‘We’re really going to do this!’ Xander thought with a sense of awe and excitement spinning in his head like a top.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
‘Oh my God...this is really happening!’ Dawn thought. ‘I didn’t think I’d be this nervous...’ she wiped her damp hands along the sides of her dress, thankful that Xander had his back to her as he unlocked the door to their suite. ‘I’ve wanted this to happen so much...so now why am I so freaked out?’
Xander opened the door and gestured for her to proceed. “After you, gorgeous,” he said in a low, rumbly voice.
“My beautiful man!” she whispered, looking at him adoringly. Warmth filled her belly and below even as she fought back the nervousness. She walked in to the suite and again marveled at it. ‘Such a beautiful room! And the view...’
As Xander shucked his jacket and laid it over the back of a chair, she walked to the French doors and opened them to the cool night air. The soft sounds of the ocean lapping at the sand and rock of the beach soothed her nerves a bit. “Mmm,” she hummed as Xander’s body pressed against her back and his strong arms wrapped around her stomach. “This place...it’s so amazing Xan!” she quietly spoke.
A shiver ran through her as she felt his lips on her neck.
“You chilly?” he softly asked, hugging her against him.
“No,” she replied with a slight headshake.
“You’re shaking...” he said with a note of worry in his voice.
‘Just tell him, Summers,’ Dawn chastised herself. ‘He loves you; he’ll understand.’ She turned around in his arms to face him, looking up at the face of the man she loved with both joy and trepidation.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, worry written on his face.
Dawn smiled and said, “I want you Xander...God, I want you so badly; more than anything I’ve ever wanted, or even imagined I could want.”
He searched her eyes for a moment before saying, “But...”
Dawn’s smile fell a bit, and her lip quivered as she answered. “I want to be so good for you, Xander...to make you feel all the love that I feel for you.”
“Oh, Dawnie!” he whispered, clearly choked up with emotion.
A tear welled at the corner of her eye, and her hand was trembling as she reached up to caress his face. “I’m afraid...afraid that I w-won’t be good enough for you...” she admitted in a pained whisper. She felt tightness in her chest and an icy feeling growing in her stomach as she continued to reveal her secret fears. “You’ve had all these beautiful a-and experienced women, and I’m just...”
He cut her off with a hard, demanding kiss. It felt almost as if he were trying to suck the insecurities out of her right through her mouth. By the time he released her from the kiss she was breathing too hard to formulate words.
“Dawn, I want you. I want you so badly it’s all I can think about!” he growled. “Just to be inside you, to give myself to you and to take you and make you mine...that will be better than anything else, ever!”
Love and lust burned away the chill fear as Xander’s words lit the fire inside her. “Oh God Xander, I’m so wet right now!” the words spilled out past Dawn’s lips uncensored. Any embarrassment she might have felt was pre-empted by the wild look of passion in his eyes.
He backed up half a step and his voice was low and almost dangerous as he said, “Dawn, that dress is absolutely gorgeous on you...but it has to go now.”
“Oh yes! Please!” Dawn panted, her body feeling trapped and immobilized by his intense stare. “Take me!”
‘Oh God! That look!’ Dawn thought, trembling in excitement and fear. She braced herself, expecting, almost hoping for a forceful response.
She was surprised when his touch was incredibly gentle instead. “I love you Dawn!” he whispered before caressing her lips in a soft, sweet kiss.
‘Love you, love you, love you!’ Dawn chanted silently as she reveled in his kiss. Her hands grasped at his back when she felt him slowly unzip her dress. She panted into his mouth and her knees began to feel weak as the material was pulled down her body between them, falling into a soft puddle of fabric around her feet.
Her heart was threatening to beat it’s way out of her chest when Xander stepped back to see what he had uncovered. ‘Oh please, oh please like what you see,’ she thought, nervous despite knowing deep inside that he would indeed be pleased.
“Dear God in Heaven!” Xander gasped, taking in view with a stunned look of lust.
“Do you like it?” Dawn asked breathily, still panting. “I was thinking of you when I picked it out...”
Her torso was clad in a Purple bustier made of stiff silk with lace half-cups presenting her breasts like an offering, her extremely stiff nipples peeking out just over the top of the material. A matching garter belt held up her silk stockings, and the high-cut lace panties- matching of course- were completely saturated with her overflowing juices.
His eyes moved down her body, coming to a halt on the juncture of her thighs. ‘Oh my!’ even the voice in her head was breathy as she felt his gaze on her body like a tangible thing. Fresh, hot moisture bubbled forth from her as a look of hunger grew on his face. She mewled like a kitten when his tongue slowly emerged from his mouth to lick his lips.
His eyes moved away from her wet center with obvious reluctance, traveling back up her body to her face as he said, “You are the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.”
She gasped as he suddenly stepped forward and swept her up into his arms, teasing her lips with nibbling kisses as he carried her to the bed and gently lay her down.
He took a step back and began unbuttoning his shirt, maintaining eye contact the entire time. “I am going to make you feel *sooo* good Dawnie!” he crooned as he kicked off his shoes and began unbuckling his belt.
The muscles in her stomach clenched deliciously, and her reflexive moan again came out almost cat-like.
He smiled devilishly at her and chuckled, “My eager little kitten!”
Dawn’s fingers and toes clenched, inadvertently reinforcing the image as she nodded her head. “Yes! Very eager, very yours!” she cried softly, licking her own lips as he shrugged off his shirt.
He pushed down his trousers and quickly stripped off his socks, standing backup clad only in a pair of silky black boxers.
Dawn was nodding her head unconsciously, her eyes on the straining bulge that was tenting those boxer shorts. When he stepped toward her, she became frustrated. “Xander! Underwear off!” she cried.
“Mmm, soon enough my impatient kitten,” he said low and quiet. “First things first!”
Her annoyance was immediately washed away when Xander dropped onto the bed in a low crawl, moving up between her legs. ‘Dear God, please don’t let this be a dream!’ she thought as he gently grasped her calves and pulled them away from each other. He paused to kiss the inside of one knee and Dawn felt her body almost melt. Her skin tingled all over as he again paused to kiss the inside of one thigh.
He kissed the other thigh only inches away from the soaked material of her panties and crooned, “Mmm, you smell so *good*!”
“Xander!” she groaned with renewed frustration when he moved past her center to kiss the sliver of flesh between panties and garter belt.
He chuckled evilly and reached up with one hand to caress the tops of her breasts. He dragged the palm of his hand over her nipples, just barely enough to graze the tips against his rough skin.
Again she mewled in frustrated protest.
He didn’t say anything, but forestalled further complaints as he grasped the zipper between her breasts and pulled it down.
‘That look!’ she thought with love warming her heart. ‘God, Xander you make me feel so beautiful!’
“Ohhh!” Xander exhaled as he opened the bustier like he was opening a precious gift.
Dawn arched, pushing her head back against the pillows as suddenly his chest was resting on her torso and one of her nipples was in his mouth. Her moan was loud and deep as he flicked, licked, sucked and nibbled her turgid bit of flesh. ‘Oh, if that’s any indication of what its going to be like down below...Oh God!’ she thought with eager anticipation.
He quickly moved to her other breast and treated it to the same oral attentions.
‘I didn’t think I could get more aroused!’ she thought in wonder as her body built to a fevered pitch.
When he left that breast, he reached up for a quick kiss, and then said, “I love you Dawn!”
“Oh! Love you too, so much!” she gasped.
‘Oh I’m glad I remembered to wear those outside the garter!’ she thought when his hands pulled her panties down as he slid down her body, kissing his way to the place she wanted him most. ‘Oh God, oh God, he’s...he’s really going to...’
“Ooohhhh yeessss! Ooohhh Xaaannnndeeerrrr!” she cried. “Feeelllllsss sssoooo *good*!”
She closed her eyes and fisted the sheets, overwhelmed by the feel of his tongue against her sex. Long slow strokes as he slurped her sticky juices up with apparent relish.
“Oh Xander, Sugar keep doing that!” she encouraged. “Oh that feels so damn good!”
“Dawn...taste like...honey!” he groaned between licks.
‘This is like heaven!’ she thought as pleasure built up in her nether-flesh and began to spread throughout her body. ‘warm...nubbly...slippery-twisty...’ her mind tried in vain to quantify the sensations his mouth was affecting in her.
Suddenly she shrieked, “Yes! Yes! Xander!” and her hips began to buck as his tongue settled into a rhythm of quick, darting licks on her clit. “Oh Sugar, don’t stop!” she groaned loudly as he sucked her clit into his mouth, continuing to lash it with his tongue.
His hands grasped her hips, holding her down to the bed. In response her back arched up and away from the mattress, and her high heels dug into his lower back, almost as if she was spurring him on.
‘Oh I’m dying, this is so good!’ she thought, her whole body shuddering with impending release.
Some eternal moment later, she screamed out his name and came in heaving waves of bliss.
“Xanderxanderxanderxanderxander...” she mumbled as her chest heaved and her body quaked with aftershocks.
“I’m here, Dawn. I’m here my sexy little kitten!” Xander’s voice cooed in her ear as his arms wrapped her in a loving embrace.
“Oh Sugar, that was...I knew it had to be better than doing it myself!” she said with amazement.
He laughed at that. Then he said, “So, where did Sugar come from?”
“I dunno...baby doesn’t feel right...” she said with a shrug. “Besides, everyone knows I’m a total sugar-addict...”
“Well, I can relate. I just happened to find myself a little pot of honey that I plan to enjoy as often as possible,” he said with a lascivious grin.
She laughed at that. “Pot of honey, huh? Well, I guess that makes you my Sugar Bear!” she teased.
“My little Honey Kitten!” he teased back in a loving voice.
“You’re welcome to enjoy my honey whenever you want, Sugar Bear!” she said in a lustful voice. “But right now, I think there’s something between us that needs to be brought out in the open...”
Xander looked confused.
Dawn thought, ‘this’ll make it clear.’ Feeling amazingly emboldened and free, she reached down and ran her hand over his boxers along the length of his hard cock. “Something I’ve wanted to examine for a long, long time now.”
Xander’s teasing smile fell away and was replaced with a serious, passionate stare. “I love you Dawn. I want to make love to you.”
“Oh yes, Xander I love you so much!” she felt a stillness inside her, centering her focus on the man she loved. “I want to give you everything that I am; I want to to make love to you and share myself with you completely!”
‘That smile! God, I love you so much Xander!’ she thought joyfully.
He let go of her and scooted away enough to push his shorts down and kick them off. Then he got up on his knees and moved back between her legs.
“Oh...oh wow!” she sighed, her eyes locked on his penis. She licked her lips and smiled when it visibly twitched and he groaned in response.
“Are you ready?” he asked, his voice hoarse with need.
“Oh so very ready!” she panted back, her palms sweaty and her nipples aching deliciously. ‘been ready for months now!’
“Dawn,” he said in a voice that drew her eyes up to his own. “This is going to...”
Dawn nodded. “Hurt, I know.”
The sorrowful look he gave her made her sad, and at the same time filled her with joy and love. “It’s ok, Xander. I want this. I need it, need you!”
“I’ll go slow,” he said, leaning down over her. He braced himself with one hand while guiding himself with the other.
Dawn groaned in pleasure as he rubbed the head of his cock between her wet labia, stroking up and down through her slick juices. “Please? Please don’t tease me Xander,” she almost whined, so desperately needy.
‘Ooh that’s nice,’ she thought as he slipped the tip into her. Almost immediately though, she felt her body’s barrier resisting any deeper penetration.
He paused and she looked up into his eyes. ‘It’s ok, Xander,’ she thought, nodding her head.
He nodded and pushed forward slowly.
Dawn bit her lip as the pressure turned into discomfort, and then suddenly a tearing pain forced a whimper from her throat.
‘Oh my God!’ she thought as the pain was suddenly overwhelmed with a burning heat that suffused her body.
“What the...?” Xander gasped.
Dawn blinked her eyes open, not even realizing she’d shut them. “You’re green!” Dawn squeaked as her lover seemed to be illuminated by a greenish glow. Looking down she found the source of the glow as a nimbus of green fire surrounded her body.
‘What’s happening to me?’ Dawn thought, starting to get a little panicky.
Xander’s eyes rolled back and he let out a loud, guttural groan as the glow shrank away from Dawn, coalescing at the point of their joining and then spreading over his body. “Oh Dawn! It’s so good!” He shouted, disrupting anything she might have said by the act of sinking inside her to the hilt.
“OOohhhhh!” Dawn cried as Xander’s length stretched her apart in ways she’d never even imagined before. “Unh!” she grunted as he bottomed out inside her. ‘I feel so filled up!’ she thought incredulously, unable to find better words to describe the incredibly novel sensation.
The fire disappeared, as though his body had absorbed it, and he collapsed on top of her, pushing her into the bed. He immediately kissed her with a sloppy, panting, open-mouthed kiss.
‘Oh, he’s in me, around me, he’s everywhere!’ she thought exultantly, kissing him back with all of her love and passion.
Just when she began to feel his weight restricting her breathing, he pushed up onto his elbows, maintaining full-body contact, but taking the weight off of her. “*God* I love you Dawn!” he panted, his eyes shining with intensity.
“Oh Xander! I love you so...muuuughhh!” her declaration degenerated into a drawn-out grunt as he slid his cock out of her.
‘Oh that’s a cocky smile...’ she thought with the tiniest bit of annoyance. ‘Heh, cocky...’
Humor quickly fled in the face of pleasure as he pushed back into her. Again she grunted a little as he bottomed out inside her. ‘Oh my God...nothing can feel this good, can it?’ she wondered.
His smug grin was replaced by a look of awe as he repeated the movements, slowly pulling out, and then pushing back in. “Dawn...you feel like heaven!”
“Amazing!” she said, mewling at the feeling of loss as he pulled nearly all the way out of her. ‘I can actually feel him sliding against me inside of me!’ she thought with joyous astonishment. “Ungh! Love you Xan!” she grunted out.
His strokes continued, gradually increasing in pace while remaining gentle and controlled. ‘My everything! My love!’ she chanted over and over as she stared into his half-lidded stare. ‘so masculine, so damn hot!’ she thought as she ran her hands up and down his sides, reveling in the play of the muscles under his skin as he pushed in and out of her. His buttocks tensed and relaxed under her hands as she gripped his ass and pulled him into her.
After a minute in which Dawn thought she was going to go insane with pleasure, Xander rolled a little to the side and reached down to hook his arm under her leg, bringing it up till her knee was almost touching her chest. “Holy...!” she cried when he cut her off by repeating the move with her other leg.
‘Thank god for those tapes!’ she thought, briefly flashing back to her yoga videos. Then thought was erased as he changed positions, bringing his arms up so that her heels were hooked over his shoulders, bending her in half. At the same time he slid down slightly so that his cock was hitting the roof of her vagina at an angle before pressing into her.
“Oh Yes!” she shouted. If he was looking for a magic spot, he’d definitely found it.
“Yes! Yes! Oh God, don’t stop! Yes! Xander yes!” she screamed as he began to make quick, snapping movements with his hips- battering that spot inside her with each motion.
“Oh Dawn, so good! So good! So good!” he cried over and over, making a counterpoint to her little inarticulate cries that repeated with each thrust.
What seemed like mere moments later, Dawn’s eyes snapped open to lock onto his as she screamed his name, cumming powerfully.
Her body was still quivering in orgasmic bliss even as her scream died out due to lack of breath. ‘Holy God, Xander! How!?’ she thought, astounded.
“Dawn!” he shouted, his rhythm breaking. He slammed in her to the hilt and his own body began to twitch.
‘Oh my...! I can feel that!’ she thought as he came, moaning her name like a supplication to God. ‘Jeeze it’s like warm liquid flooding all inside me...well duh, Summers! That’s pretty much what it is!’ she thought. ‘It feels so good though!’
He pulled away enough for her legs to slide off his shoulders, then laid back down on her, supporting his weight on his elbows while he panted.
She kissed his panting mouth, ignoring the fact that she too was working to catch her breath. Finally they ended up resting their foreheads against each others as their pants slowed and deepened.
“I love you,” Xander whispered, his eyes warm and intense.
Dawn grinned. “Whew! That’s a relief. I wasn’t sure there for a second...”
Xander laughed out loud, a broad happy smile on his face.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Good birthday, Kitten?” Xander asked, looking up at his lover as she lay on his chest, his arms loosely wrapped around her waist.
“Gee, you think? You steal me away from boring old school, take me to LA in a limo, then a helicopter flight to a resort island, the boat, the beach, dinner, dancing, and then this!” she looked down at him with incredulity and joy on her face.
He watched with amusement as she schooled her features into a deadpan look and casually said, “Yeah, it was pretty good.”
‘You are so the perfect woman for me, Dawn Summers!’ he thought happily. ‘We share a twisted sense of humor!’
He grew serious, though, as he said, “Well, I wanted it to be special...you only have one ‘first time’ Dawn.”
She smiled warmly and shook her head. “I would have been satisfied with anything, Xander. Being with you is all the ambiance I need.”
“But this isn’t bad, huh?” he asked with a knowing grin.
“No, this is beyond amazing, Xan!” she said with wonder in her voice. “Please don’t think I don’t appreciate it, cause I so do!” she said, giving him a soft kiss. “I just meant that the important part is you- and I could have had that anywhere,” she explained, intense emotion saturating her voice.
‘You’re so special to me Dawn.’ He thought. ‘I don’t even know how to begin putting it into words.’
When he remained silent for several moments, Dawn caressed his face and quietly asked, “What’cha thinkin’?”
He took a deep breath and sighed. “The first time I ever had sex was in a run-down, sleazy motel-room. The whole thing only lasted about ten minutes...I didn’t love her, and not only didn’t she love me, she kicked me out of her room wearing nothing but my underwear,” he said softly with a rueful shake of his head. “I’ve had sex lots of times since then...but tonight...”
“Tonight?” Dawn prompted gently when he trailed off, choked up with emotion.
He looked intently into her eyes as he said, “Tonight I made love to the woman that I’m head over heels in love with...The woman who loves me back just as much as I love her, and that’s the first time I’ve ever done that.”
“Xander...” Dawn’s eyes were shiny with tears and her voice cracked as she softly called his name.
“I wanted romance; I wanted to share an elegant meal, a slow dance, and a quiet walk on a moonlight beach. I wanted a perfect night of lovemaking with my sweet, gorgeous, girl.” He cupped her face in both hands and kissed her softly. “I wanted to share all of that with you, and I got it. Happy Birthday Dawn; I love you.”
“My Sugar Bear!” Dawn cried, stroking his face. Her own face seemed torn between laughter and tears.
‘That nickname is going to get me so much teasing!’ he thought with a wide grin. “My Honey Kitten!” he replied with his own schmaltzy soubriquet.
Laughter won out and Dawn giggled happily at his nickname for her.
They lay together quietly for a minute, Xander’s hands stroking up and down Dawn’s naked back. ‘God you’re so beautiful, so damn sexy!’ he thought with wonder.
“That green-fiery thing...that wasn’t normal, was it?” Dawn asked tentatively, breaking the silence. “I mean, of course it wasn’t...You saw it too, right?”
“I did,” Xander answered softly, stroking Dawn’s face as she looked down at him.
“Did...did it hurt?” she asked, worry in her tone.
He shook his head slightly and smiled warmly. “It was like warm sunshine, soaking into my skin over my whole body.”
“You don’t think it was something...you know, ‘cause I’m the Key?” Dawn said hesitantly.
“It might be...” he agreed softly, feeling lost in her eyes, and at the same time becoming more and more aroused by her lithe body’s movements on top of his.
“You don’t seem too worried about it...” she said, clearly indicating that she was less sanguine about it.
“I don’t know what it was, Dawn. It felt good, and the world didn’t come crashing down around us, so...” he answered. His smile turned hungry, and his voice growled as he added, “Right now pretty much the only thing I can think about is how much I want to be inside you again!”
He grew fully erect as the look of worry faded from her face. It was replaced by a hunger of her own as she said, “Ohh, you come up with the best plans!”
Xander hissed with pleasure as she slid down his body a few inches, trapping his erect flesh between her thighs, slowly rubbing her wet sex against it. “Mmm, you sure you’re not too sore?” he asked, concerned for her comfort.
She stopped moving, frowning momentarily. Her eyes darted down as though she was taking stock of her body. “You know? I’m really not,” she answered, resuming her slow grind. “It hurt for just that first little bit, then the fire thing, and then I was fine,” she sounded surprised. “In fact, I feel absolutely great!”
“Yes, you do!” Xander growled, pulling his head up and forward, catching her mouth in an intense kiss.
She was panting when he pulled away from her. “You taste great too!” he said, staring into her dilated eyes and seeing his own lust reflected.
She grinned and said, “You know, I haven’t gotten to taste you yet...”
Xander shook his head. “We can try that later, right now I want to be inside you again...” He cupped her face in his hands, feeling his heart throbbing powerfully in his chest. “I need to look into your eyes and feel you surrounding me...” he said, his voice raspy with need. “God, I love you so much Dawn!”
“I love you, Xander...everything I am, I want to share it with you...” she whispered. Nodding her head, she rose up on her hands and knees and reached down to grasp his manhood.
He held himself still as she guided him into her slick heat. ‘Perfect...it’s perfect,’ he thought, whimpering slightly as she slid down onto him. He watched as her eyes rolled back inside half-closed lids and her mouth formed a silent ‘O’.
“Unh!” she grunted loudly as their pelvises met. “So big!” she cried, throwing her head back and panting rapidly.
“You ok?” he gasped, breathing hard himself.
“Oh yes!” she grunted lustily, nodding her head.
‘Jeeze, I can feel myself bottoming out inside her!’ he thought. ‘So tight, so hot...burning hot!’ he realized.
“Oh God! So beautiful!” he muttered, stunned as Dawn’s body started to glow with a green luminescence.
She blinked her eyes back into focus and looked down at herself. “Oh God!” she cried, sounding afraid.
“Don’t be scared, Dawn!” Xander said joyfully. He was filled with amazement and awe. “It’s beautiful! You’re beautiful!”
“Really?” she asked, packing a load of trepidation and anxiety into that one-word question.
Xander brought his hands along her flanks, up her sides till he was cupping her breasts, feeling the heat of her energy in his hands as he traced along her skin. “Really!” he answered, putting all of his love and assurance into the response.
Dawn’s smile was even more radiant than the energy emanating from her body. “Everything I am is yours Xander, I love you so much!”
With those words, the fire moved up from his groin, and down from his hands, enveloping him. ‘Sunshine soaking into my skin...’ he thought as the feeing once again flowed over and into him.
Dawn sat up, her hands moving to hold his against her breasts even as she pushed up, sliding up his stiff cock and then dropping herself back down with a little grunt. “God you feel so good inside me!” she groaned as she repeated the movement.
“So hot...so tight! So perfect!” he growled out as she established a fairly quick rhythm, bouncing up and down on him. He caressed her breasts, playing with her nipples and generally just enjoying the experience.
After a while Xander moved one hand down from her breasts to the area of their joining. The pout she displayed when he let go of her boob was erased by a wanton groan as he dipped his thumb in her slick juices and then began rubbing her clit in a slow circle.
“Ohh, yes!” she growled, immediately shortening her stroke and speeding the tempo. “Oh God, Xander! That feels so fricken *good*!” she grunted out between clenched teeth.
“Cum for me, Kitten!” Xander growled, his higher thought processes being erased by the incredibly feeling of her tight heat surrounding and stroking him.
She bared her teeth and just growled as he began to thrust up into her, meeting her strokes and doubling the speed of their joining.
“Oh...Oh...! Oh Xander! Yes! Xander Yes!!!” Dawn cried, her inner muscles clamping down on him furiously as she came shouting his name.
‘So good! So good! So good!’ Xander chanted mentally as he restrained himself from cumming. the moment he felt her orgasm begin to diminish, he sat up, wrapping his arms around her and spinning them so that he was driving her into the mattress with hardly a break in rhythm.
“Ohh yes, yes, *yes*!” Dawn screamed as he thrust into her hard and fast. “Harder! Harder!” she shrieked, clawing at his back.
‘Oh God!’ Xander thought, feeling his own release approaching.
“Xander! Oh God, Xander!” Dawn screamed.
‘God, she’s cumming again!’ he realized, feeling her sex clench and quake around him again. He silenced her scream with a torrid kiss as he felt himself near the edge of the precipice.
“Mnmf!” he grunted when Dawn bit down hard on his lower lip, hard enough that he tasted blood. The shot of pain tripped him over the edge and he came powerfully.
He only noticed that his lover’s orgasm had yet to abate when the sensation of her quivering muscles became too much for his oversensitive flesh. He rolled off, onto his back next to her, panting and gasping for air. “Oh...my...God!” he huffed as he sought to catch his breath.
“Oh yes...” Dawn gasped, breathing just as hard as he was. “That...was...OhmyGod!”
‘Oh man, that was intense!’ he thought with a pang of guilt. ‘I hope I didn’t hurt her...’
“You ok?” he asked as his breathing started to even out. “That got pretty intense...”
“Ok?” Dawn asked incredulously. “Oh, I’m way beyond ok!”
He rolled onto his side to face her just as she did the same. “Good,” he said with a smile. “I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t to...rough...what with it only being your second time and all.” He looked down sheepishly and added, “I kinda got carried away there for a minute...”
Dawn laughed. “Xander! Wow! I mean...*wow*! If that was carried away, then I want you to carry me away every day for the rest of my life!”
‘Whew!’ he thought, smiling with relief as well as pleasure.
She cupped his face and kissed him softly for several seconds. “*That* is what I’ve been dreaming about every night for months now,” she said intently as she broke the kiss.
Intense joy filled Xander and he said, “Making love with you is better than anything I’ve ever done in my life!” Shaking his head, he quickly corrected himself, “No, it’s better than *everything* I’ve ever done in my life all put together!”
“Aww, Sugar Bear!” Dawn said, her lip quivering and tears forming in her eyes. “You make me so happy! It’s like, happy isn’t even the right word, it’s not happy enough to describe how happy you make me feel!” She wiggled her way up against him and wrapped her arm around him and added, “The trip is already amazing, and it’s not even halfway through yet...but this part is so much more than amazing...”
“I know exactly what you mean!” he whispered, kissing his lover with gentle passion.
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========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Oh God, can we do this every day?” Dawn groaned loudly.
“Mmm, I don’t know. Every day may be a bit much...” Xander answered, his own voice laced with pleasure.
“Oh, but it feels so good!” Dawn argued.
“God, yes!” Xander gasped in agreement. “But every day...kind expensive, don’t’cha think?”
“It’s not like we can’t afford it...” Dawn reasoned. “Oohhh, yes...right there! Mmm, harder please....”
“Mmm, maybe on weekends?” Xander countered, his eyes rolling back as the masseuse worked the muscles of his lower back.
‘Couples massage,’ Xander thought happily. ‘My new second-favorite thing to do with Dawn.’
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Oh, Slayer!” Tara gasped at the sight Buffy had prepared for her.
“Isn’t she gorgeous, Mistress?” Buffy asked giddily, bouncing up and down on her toes.
“Always!” Tara agreed. She looked at the carefully trussed and displayed redhead with wide eyes. “This, though...wow! Very creative.”
“I wanted to do something special for you, Mistress,” Buffy said with both an excited and a slightly bashful tone in her voice.
Tara licked her lips and rasped, “I’d say you achieved your goal....”
Willow’s hands and feet were cuffed to separate spreader bars, posing her body into an X shape. ‘Not the first time we’ve done that,’ Tara thought. ‘I have to admit, I never thought of hanging her from the ceiling though. Or upside down....’
“Not that I mind, but what’s the occasion?” Tara asked, her eyes not leaving Willow's form.
“I wanted to thank you, Mistress....” Buffy began shyly.
Now Tara’s eyes did move from the stunning sight before her and took in her pet’s bashful expression. “For what?” she asked with a furrowed brow. ‘Whatever it was, I’ll have to make sure I do it more often!’ she thought.
“Um, well...for letting me go out slaying with Faith last night...” Buffy answered, her gaze still dropped downward.
When Tara paused, trying to understand her pet’s meaning, Buffy continued, “I know it bothers you how she’s always so...flirty and stuff.”
Tara’s face broke into a smile. ‘Flirty—not exactly what I’d call it,’ she thought. ‘Predatory is more like it.’
“It’s not like she’s serious or anything, but still I know it annoys you, and I wanted to thank you...” Buffy continued trying to explain.
“Shh, it’s ok Slayer,” Tara interrupted. “I think Faith’s more serious than you believe, but it doesn’t matter. I trust you,” she said intently.
She smiled even more widely as Buffy's suspiciously shiny eyes rose to meet her own. “I know you like patrolling with faith, Slayer. It’s alright—I trust you; completely,” she said reassuringly.
“Thank you, Mistress!” Buffy whispered, her voice choked up with emotion.
Tara briefly reached out to cup Buffy's face, and then said, “Now then, I believe you had something to show me?” They both turned their attention back to the third member of their group.
Willow’s face was flushed, either from gravity or excitement or both. Her eyes were hidden behind a blindfold, and her mouth was parted and panting slightly.
“Watch this, Mistress!” Buffy said excitedly, stepping away a few paces. She thrust her arm out behind her, revealing a long, plaited leather whip. She swung her arm, sending the whip forward to wrap around Willow’s naked torso with a loud crack.
Tara’s eyes were glued to the red stripe that crossed Willow’s belly at the navel. The redheaded witch’s cry set Tara panting with lust.
“I’ve been practicing!” Buffy stated proudly, swinging again and leaving a red stripe around Willow’s thigh, only inches from the glossy, slick flesh of her sex.
Willow howled, and Tara could see her thighs trembling.
“Goddess!” Tara gasped as another swing and crack left a matching line on Willow’s other thigh. ‘I think my thighs are trembling too!’ she thought, overwhelmed with desire.
“Isn’t she just the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen?” Buffy said in an awed voice.
“Uh huh!” Tara grunted in response, her whole body shivering with lust.
Again and again Buffy's arm rose and fell. Each time painting, in Tara’s vision, another red stripe on the canvas of Willow's pale skin; filling her ears with the rhythm of the whip-crack and the music of Willow's cries.
Finally, when she could bear it no longer, Tara commanded the Slayer to stop. “Enough!” she called out.
“Mistress?” Buffy's voice was concern and confusion.
“Uncover her eyes, Slayer,” Tara instructed. “I want her to watch you eat me.”
“Yes, Mistress!” Buffy eagerly cried, her voice mixing with the moan spilling forth from Willow's panting mouth.
‘Goddess, she’s spilling over!’ Tara cried silently to herself when she saw Willow's honeyed juices drizzling toward her navel.
“Bring me some of that, Slayer!” Tara called hoarsely.
Buffy had just finished removing Willow's blindfold and smiled widely upon looking to where Tara was gesturing. “Oh yes, Mistress!” she said happily.
Tara’s already intense desire spiked as she watched Buffy lick-up the stream of wetness on the redhead’s skin. She moaned aloud as the Slayer loudly slurped up the pooling juices in Willow's vulva.
As soon as Buffy was within reach, Tara grabbed her at the nape of her neck and pulled her close. ‘Mmm, so good!’ she thought as she licked Buffy's lips. Quickly, she thrust her tongue into the Slayer’s mouth, reveling in the heat and scent, as well as the delicious taste of Willow.
“Get me naked, right now!” Tara whispered when she had finally released Buffy from the ardent kiss.
“Thank you, Mistress!” Buffy gasped, wasting no time in tearing Tara’s top and skirt off with a loud rip.
Tara met Willow's heated gaze as Buffy ripped away her bra and panties. ‘Gorgeous!’ she thought at the sight of her lover’s wide, dilated eyes. She let her eyes roam the artwork that Buffy had created for her, marveling at sheer beauty while at the same time inflamed by the exquisite sexiness.
“Now, Slayer,” Tara growled, widening her stance as she pushed Buffy down to her knees.
The remaining taste of Willow in her mouth had Tara salivating. The artistic vision—fashioned in a medium of leather and flesh—burned its impression into her mind even as her eyelids slipped halfway shut from the sensation her pet’s tongue against her own heated flesh. She breathed deep, absorbing the perfume of her own desire mingled with the sent of Willow which already permeated the air. Her ears were filled with a symphony of lust as the redhead’s unconscious cries of longing harmonized with the lewd sounds Buffy was playing on the instrument of Tara’s sex.
Tara was in a place where time stood still—her five senses overwhelmed with a thick fog of sex and desire, love and lust. Mere seconds—or perhaps eons—later Tara screamed out her release; and with it, lost her tenuous hold on consciousness.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Remember when I said you were my hero?” Dawn asked softly.
“Mmhmm,” Xander answered, idly running his hands over her flat stomach as she reclined against him in their suite’s generous tub.
“Well, what’s the next step up from that? ’Cause, whatever it is, you’re definitely it!” she said emphatically.
Xander chuckled, warmth flooding him on the inside to match the relaxing heat of the bath water and the lithe body laying against his chest. “Have I mentioned how completely adorable you are to me?” he whispered huskily in her ear.
“Ohh, Sugar!” Dawn sighed as Xander's hands wandered down her torso. He gently spread her sex with one hand while the other began to gently stroke the opened flesh. “Mmm, we’re not getting dressed at all today, are we?” she asked, not sounding upset in the slightest.
“I’ll put on a robe when they deliver room service,” Xander said huskily.
‘God, I love touching you!’ he thought as Dawn’s hands traveled up over her head and into his hair while he manipulated her clit. ‘The sounds you make!’
Her mewling whimpers had him completely hard against her spine. He struggled not to rub himself against her, wanting this to be all about her pleasure. ‘Mine!’ he couldn’t help but think as he nipped and suckled the soft skin behind her ear.
“So yours!” Dawn gasped, her breath hitching as her hips began to undulate. “Oh God! Don’t stop! So good!” she cried softly, pushing herself against his fingers.
“Wanna feel you cum,” he growled, sliding a single finger inside his lover while rapidly rubbing her stiff button. “Cum for me, Kitten!”
Her whole body trembling, Dawn came with a high-pitched squeal.
Xander let up on her clit, moving his hand up to gently caress her breasts as she came down from her orgasm. He continued to slowly stroke in and out of her sex with his finger, thinking, ‘Dear God in Heaven, I love this girl!’
After basking in the afterglow for several moments, Dawn turned in his arms, straddling his lap and kissing him hard. “Now *that* we’re definitely gonna do every day!” she panted after breaking off the kiss.
His only answer was a groan as she pressed forward, deliberately trapping his erection between their bellies.
Another quick kiss, and then she pulled back from him. “Let yourself float, sugar,” she said with a wicked-looking smile.
‘Oh boy, she looks hungry!’ Xander thought with both eager anticipation and the barest hint of trepidation as she licked her lips. He felt slightly silly as he obeyed her instruction, allowing himself to float upward in the tub. As his erection rose out of the water, all he could think was, ‘Periscope up!’
His embarrassment was wiped away by the heat and lust in Dawn’s eyes as she stared intently at his cock.
She reached out and gently grasped him, running her thumb up the underside as she whispered, “Wow, I can’t believe this whole thing actually fit inside me!” She licked her lips and brought her eyes up to meet his half lidded gaze, adding, “And it felt *sooo* good!”
“Gahhuh!” Xander grunted, unable in that moment to manage anything intelligible.
Her lips drew back in a grin. “As much as I want to feel that again, there’s something else I want to do first...something I’ve been dreaming about for months!” she said in a husky, seductive voice.
Before he could make even another grunting response, Dawn leaned forward and ran her tongue up the underside of his flared glans, licking him like a giant lolly-pop. At the same time she began to slide her hand up and down over the lower half of his dick.
‘God that feels...so good!’ Xander thought with a low groan.
Dawn’s eyes widened as a large drop of precum wept out from the tip of his penis. “Ooh!” she hummed low in her throat, her eyes focused on the fluid. Glancing up to meet his eyes briefly, she again smiled knowingly, then slowly licked up his cock, capturing the precum and slurping it up.
“Mmm, salty and sweet!” she said, smacking her chops and grinning. “Yummy!” she added before taking the head of his penis into her mouth and bobbing her head up and down at a moderate pace.
‘Love makes all the difference,’ Xander thought in wonder. It was unlikely that Dawn would match Anya’s sexual skill anytime soon—if ever—but he nevertheless felt more inflamed and aroused in this moment than he’d ever been with his ex.
Not that Dawn was inept! She maintained a steady rhythm, sucking strongly and using her tongue to rub the sensitive skin beneath the glans. “Oh Honey...God, Dawnie! That’s so good, so damn good!” he called out his encouragement.
Not even a minute later, Xander felt the pressure of impending orgasm. “Don’t stop! Oh, Kitten—you’re gonna make me cum, Honey!” he called out hoarsely. Though he could have concentrated and held off indefinitely, the thought of his lover eagerly sucking him off was too enticing.
“Mmmhmm!” Dawn hummed loudly, sucking even harder as she sped up her rhythm slightly. She was obviously looking very much forward to this herself.
His eyes fluttered shut as the pulsing wave of pleasure flowed through him. “Oh God, Dawn!” he grunted out loud, powerfully spurting his essence into her sucking mouth.
“Mmmph!” she hummed in surprise at the entirely novel sensation. He could see her hastily trying to gulp down his cum, not able to keep up completely as some of it escaped her lips and ran slowly down the sides of his cock.
Afterwards, she pulled back and gave a surprised exclamation, “Wow! I mean, wow!”
He shuddered at the sensation as she squeezed him tightly, running her hand up his length and capturing the spilled cum, as well as squeezing out the last dribble from the tip.
“It’s so sweet!” she said with a delighted smile before slurping up the little bit she’d squeezed out, and then licking her fingers clean. “Is that normal?”
He managed a weak chuckle in response. “I dunno, I never tasted it before, but, uh...someone...told me that celery and pineapple would make it sweeter, so....”
“Ah ha!” Dawn exclaimed. “That’s why you and all the celery all the time!”
“Was it worth it?” Xander asked with a smile.
“Was it? I’m gonna feed you so much celery you’re gonna think you’re a bunny rabbit!” she said with a giggle.
He sighed and happily said, “If that means what I think it does, you’re not going to get any argument out of me!”
Dawn blushed lightly, but her smile said it all.
Xander sank back into the tub, drawing her into his arms. “Mmm, my sweet Honey-Kitten. Did I mention how much I’m head-over-heels in love with you?”
“Uh huh, you did...” she whispered, staring intently into his eyes. “But it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if you showed me again.”
‘This is going to be the greatest weekend of my life!’ Xander thought as his magical recuperative powers kicked in.
“Oh, Sugar!” Dawn’s voice breathed out a contented sigh.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“So...” Faith trailed off, staring down to where she was wringing her hands in her lap.
‘Crap this is even harder than I thought it would be....’
“Faith,” Beth’s soft voice sounded out. “You don’t have to—”
“No,” Faith interjected quickly. “I do...I need to....”
“Take your time, Faith,” Alex said with a tone of understanding in his voice. “We’re here for you.”
Faith looked back up into the eyes of her two lovers. “You guys...this week has been...” she had to swallow the lump threatening to rise in her throat before finishing. “Amazing.”
She had to look back down before continuing. The emotion in their eyes was making her want to cry. “You asked me to trust you...and I want to, but it ain’t easy for me to do that.”
She looked up briefly and saw the same openness and caring that had been there all week while they nursed her back to health, spent time with her, and generally just treated her like she was family.
‘This is going to suck,’ she thought miserably, worried about their reaction to the secret she was about to reveal.
“Ok. So, here’s the thing...there’s this girl...” Her voice was raw with conflicting emotion, and at that moment it was just too great an effort to continue.
‘Fricken spit it out already!’ Faith railed at herself. ‘God, you’re pathetic!’
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she spoke in an exhale, “Her name is Buffy....”
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“See, I told you I was messed up...” Faith said, still looking at the floor, either unwilling or unable to meet her lover’s eyes. She stood up abruptly and said, “Look, I need to patrol...then I’ll just go home, you know, give you guys a chance to, whatever....” Her voice was on the edge of a sob and her body language was stiff and guarded, as though bracing for the rejection she apparently expected. “Just give me a call or something...if you want....”
“Faith?” Alex said in a hoarse voice. “Please come back...after patrol?”
“I—you sure?” she asked, her voice high-pitched with surprise and worry. Her eyes darted up to briefly meet his gaze before again falling to the floor.
“Yes,” Beth whispered, her voice not entirely hiding the hurt she clearly felt. “You were right, it was hard to hear all of that, but it doesn’t change the way we feel.”
“I don’t—” Faith started hesitantly, and then nodded jerkily. “Ok,” she said quietly, then quickly left the room.
Alex and Beth sat in silence until they heard the front door open and close, and even for a few minutes after.
“That sucked,” Alex summed up his feelings.
“It shouldn’t have hurt that much. We knew what we were getting into,” Beth said painfully.
“Aww, Bethy...” he said, pulling his wife into his arms and holding her tight. “Of course it hurt, Faith has become more than just an ‘assignment’ to us both. It’s not easy hearing that someone you care about is thinking of someone else when they’re making love to you—”
“‘Was’, not ‘is’!” she quickly corrected.
Alex pulled back enough to look into her eyes, seeing the pain there. “Baby, Faith obviously still has issues with the other Slayer, big issues.”
“I know,” Beth said with a sigh. “We have to work on that.”
“We will,” he agreed. “She is already starting to look to us, to trust us. This week—and especially tonight—even as painful as it was....”
“It means that it’s working, I know,” she agreed with a nod.
Alex smiled knowingly. He tipped her chin up so she’d meet his eyes as he asked, “Just how mad are you at Faith?”
“I’m not!” Beth immediately disputed.
He just raised an eyebrow.
She dropped her eyes once again as she admitted the truth. “Ok, I’m a little mad. Mostly jealous. I mean, I love you Alex—with all of my heart—but if you stuck a ten-inch knife through my stomach and put me in a coma, I might not wake up feeling quite so warm and fuzzy toward you.”
He chuckled at that. “Yeah, I know. I don’t think what Faith is feeling for her is really love. Not like you and I think of it.”
“Definitely obsession. But at least she realizes that, I think...” Beth interjected.
“Well, as sucky as that was, I’m encouraged. I think They are going to be pleased with our progress,” Alex said with a genuine smile.
“And Him?” Beth asked pointedly.
Alex rolled his eyes. “I tell you, Bethy, every time we report to Him I feel more and more like telling Him where He can stick it—”
“Still, we must obey.” she cajoled.
He nodded. “Yeah, for now.”
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
Giles looked up from the passage he was reading as the silhouette of his lover flitted across his peripheral vision. Even as the loathsome description of a Stroms-Enton demon’s flesh-putrefying mucous continued to process through his mind, a small smile appeared on his face. For several moments he simply watched as Joyce wander about the room, seemingly ill-at-ease.
He closed the tome in his lap and set it aside. Rising to his feet, he approached Joyce from behind and wrapped his arms about her torso, gently hugging her to his chest. “What is it, Joyce?”
“Hmm?” she hummed, her body relaxing against his. “What’s what?”
“You seem troubled,” he answered with quiet concern. “Distracted.”
“Oh...” she said with a sigh. “It’s nothing really, just....”
Giles kissed the crown of her head, inhaling the scent of her hair. “Just what?” he prodded gently.
“Oh, it’s just me being silly,” she answered dismissively.
“Hmm,” Giles murmured. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with Dawn being off on holiday somewhere, would it?”
Joyce spun around in his arms and looked up sharply at him. “How...?”
Giles smiled indulgently. “Your acquiescence to his idea of taking her on a birthday trip did seem somewhat strained,” he answered.
“I guess it just really sunk in,” she said softly, her eyes dropping to where her hands were toying with the placket of his shirt. “It was one thing when they were just, you know, dating. Even living together, they had separate rooms. Now, they’re....”
“Shagging like rabbits?” Giles filled in when she trailed off.
“Rupert!” she exclaimed, looking up at him with wide eyes.
Giles laughed at the shock on her face. “Sorry,” he said with not much sincerity.
Her face broke into a smile even though she was clearly struggling to maintain a look of annoyance.
“Come now, Joyce. You well knew that this was inevitable.” Giles chided gently. “I must say, I am rather amazed that the boy waited this long. Clearly Dawn wasn’t holding him back, and he even had your—and Buffy's—tacit approval.”
“It just feels like I’ve lost my little girl,” Joyce said in a voice that sounded only slightly melancholy.
He lifted one hand from the small of her back to caress her cheek as he consoled her. “Perhaps you have, my love. If so, though, she’s been replaced by a remarkable young woman. One well suited to carry the Summers name.”
At her questioning glance, he explained, “She is strong-willed, brave, independent, and tenacious; just like her sister, and just like her mother.”
A warm smile grew on her lips, and then she turned her head to place a kiss on his palm. “Is that really how you see us?” she asked in a purr.
“In part,” he amended. “You share many qualities, and yet you three are very different people.” Pulling her tightly to him, his voice dropped and he said, “I love each of you in your own way.”
Joyce’s voice lowered as well as she asked, “And how is that, exactly?”
‘Oh my!’ Giles thought as he looked into her half lidded gaze. ‘I do get quite lost in your eyes.’
“Well,” he began, while his hand moved slowly down her back, rubbing firmly just above the cleft of her buttocks. “Dawn, of course, as one loves a daughter.”
“Mmhm,” Joyce responded.
He smiled at the warmth of her hands now flat against and moving across his chest. “Yes, well, Buffy. Both that, and as a teacher loves an exceptionally talented student.” His hands roamed down onto the graceful swell of her bottom, and his own arousal was becoming acute.
Her hands followed a trail over his shoulders and up his neck. His scalp tingled as her fingers wove themselves into his hair. Then he felt his head being drawn toward hers, even as her mouth moved forwards. “Student...mmhmm?” her whisper drew his eyes to her mouth just as she licked her lips.
“And you...a friend, a lover...” his breathing deepened as his body flushed with arousal and desire. Her lips just brushed across his own as a last descriptive fluttered out, “...a mate.”
‘Mmm, soft,’ Giles thought contentedly as he and Joyce kissed for long minutes. ‘A good snogging is definitely underrated.’
As always he felt a tiny pang of loss when she pulled away from his lips. “My man,” she whispered huskily as her eyelids fluttered open.
“My dear,” Giles own voice was reedy with emotion.
“What are you thinking right now?” Joyce asked. The smile on her face indicated to him that she knew quite well what the answer was.
“I was thinking about your earlier question,” he said with an answering smile. “It occurs to me that a comprehensive answer would necessarily include a, shall we say...non-verbal component?”
A confused look crossed Joyce’s features for a moment, and then her smile returned even larger. “Non-verbal? Really?” she asked coquettishly, belying the movement of her hands down his torso toward his belt line.
“Oh, yes,” he grunted as her hands lightly petted the growing bulge in his trousers.
“Would that be like a...” she paused to grasp his cock, and then gave it a squeeze for emphasis as she finished her thought. “...a *physical* demonstration?”
“Most definitely!” he groaned out loud. Taking her hand from his crotch, Giles began to pull her toward the stairs.
“What’s wrong with right here?” she asked, pulling back slightly and gesturing toward the couch with her free hand.
He looked at her with a devious smile, answering, “Nothing at all—for a quickie. However, I’m planning to take my time, and the bed is much more comfortable.”
He felt his trousers become even more confining when she licked her lips and huskily replied, “Well then, what are you waiting for?”
Giles quickly led her up the stairs to their loft bedroom, thinking, ‘Rupert, old man, you are without a doubt the luckiest man in the world!’
Once at the edge of the bed, he took another long moment to kiss his lover. This time he allowed his hands to roam under her shirt and up over the bare skin hidden there. Soft, supple skin played against the tips of his fingers, proving the value of her strict daily regimen of moisturizing. ‘Skin like an eighteen year-old girl,’ he marveled, as he did every time he touched her.
He pulled back from the kiss, quickly lifting her shirt up over her head and burying his face in the valley of her cleavage. He inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of his lover’s flesh, and kissing the exposed tops of her breasts reverently. He managed to hold her shirt-tangled arms above her head with one hand, while at the same time he deftly unhooked her bra with the other.
“Oh God! Rupert!” Joyce cried softly, clearly aroused by the improvised restraint.
“Love you, Joyce!” he mumbled as he nuzzled her bra out of the way and sucked one erect nipple into his mouth, nursing like a hungry baby.
Joyce’s soft sigh of pleasure filled his ears, causing him to smile around his mouthful. The sigh was punctuated with a gasp as he gave a quick bite to the swollen nub before releasing it and straightening upright.
“Oh dear, I’m in trouble aren’t I?” she asked breathily as he gave her a wicked smile.
“Most definitely!” Giles rumbled as he stripped off her shirt and bra. With one hand around her back to support her, he stepped forward, using his body to push her back onto the bed. He then picked up her legs and swung them onto the bed before straddling her semi-nude body.
He bent down and gave her a brief, intense kiss, ending with a soft bite of her lower lip, eliciting a loud whimper. He braced himself with one arm while using his free hand to grasp her wrist and move her hand up to the bars of his headboard. “Hold on,” he instructed simply. He switched hands and repeated the act with her other arm, saying “Hold on, and do not let go. Understood?”
Her eyes were glazed with lust and she bit her lip before nodding silently.
“Good girl,” he said with a grin.
He moved down her body, stopping to undo her pants and slide both pants and panties down her long legs and off of her. He climbed off of the bed and stood at the foot, his eyes roving her curves hungrily. He licked his lips and shook his head slightly as he whispered, “Good lord, Joyce. You are so very beautiful!”
The only response out of her panting mouth was a breathy whimper. Her arms jerked a little as she pulled at the headboard.
Another brief head shake at the awesome sight before him, and Giles began to slowly disrobe. He watched with increasing desire as her eyes followed the path of his skin being revealed. ‘Dear God, when you look at me like that!’ he thought in wonder. ‘However it was that I came to be so blessed, I shall be eternally thankful for it!’
Once completely naked, Giles again crawled on top of her, catching her mouth in another fierce kiss.
After leaving her breathless, he began to explore the familiar territory of her body with his mouth—kissing, sucking and nipping her soft skin—her earlobe, the nape of her neck, the soft fold at the apex of her inner arm, the undersides of her breasts, down her rounded belly.
“Rupert! Oh please, please Rupert!” Joyce chanted airily as he moved closer and closer to her sex.
As he nipped the underside of her stomach, Giles inhaled deeply through his nose. His lips smacked as he crooned, “Utterly delectable!”
“Yes! Oh, thank God!” she squealed as he licked up the wetness between her swollen labia. He nuzzled the surrounding fur, inhaling her intoxicating scent, while he continued with long, slow licks.
After a couple minutes of laving, Giles slid two fingers inside his lover, moving his mouth up to capture her clitoris, prompting a strangled shout of pleasure. He bobbed his head slightly, sucking strongly as he emulated fellatio on a miniature scale. With his fingers pulled down the clitoral hood so that he could suck her as deeply as possible. With his other hand he massaged the top of her slick channel as he moved in and out of her, driving her to heights of pleasure.
When her cries became fractured, “OhGod, donstop, donstop!” he knew she was nearly at the peak. Instead of pushing her over, though, he slowed dramatically.
“No! Oh Rupert, no! Don’t stop, more! More!” she cried as he kept up just enough to keep her right at the edge of release.
He ignored her cries, continuing to slow until her whole body was vibrating with suppressed ecstasy. When she was reduced to a nearly continuous wail of frustration, he quickly pulled away from her and moved up toward the head of the bed. He sank his erection into her in one swift plunge, and began pumping in and out of her fast and hard.
Her wail immediately turned into a scream and he felt her vagina clamping around him like a vice. Long moments later, his breathing turned erratic and sweat was dripping from his brow. She was still cumming, though her screams had turned into hoarse cries. He matched her cries with a grunted bellow of his own, “God, Joooyyyce!” as he released into her powerfully.
He collapsed onto her, gasping for air—his whole body tingling with pleasure.
Her closed eyes were leaking tears, and she repeatedly cried his name in a soft whisper as little tremors ran through her body every few seconds.
After a long moment to recover his strength a bit, Giles managed to roll them both over so that he was on his back with her draped on his chest—utterly spent.
Her whispered cries trailed off and after a moment it became apparent that she’d fallen asleep.
‘Job bloody well done, old man!’ he congratulated himself before he too slipped into slumber.
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‘I should just leave...’ Faith thought as she stared at the door. She’d been standing in the front yard of her lovers’ house; leaning against a tree trunk as she contemplated her course of action. ‘They said to come back, though. They care about me....’
‘You know better than that. No one cares about you, Faith; because you aren’t worth it!’ rebutted the voice of darkness in her heart.
‘They spent all week takin’ care of me, nursing me back to health,’ she argued. ‘People don’t do that kinda stuff unless they have some feelings for you. ’Sides, they told me so.’
‘Lies. They pity you, that’s all,’ the voice derided. ‘You’re like a bird with a broken wing that they found lying on the ground and felt sorry for.’
I would have healed without them, they knew that. They could have dumped me in my apartment and I would have been safe,’ she thought, feeling deep gratitude warming her heart. ‘They made a choice to take me back to their house.’
‘Oh please! Get over yourself. You’re a sex toy that got broke, and so they fixed you up. They didn’t want to lose their favorite ride. Don’t confuse it for more than it is!’
‘That’s not true—’ she started.
Blinking back her tears, Faith could feel the choice, laid out before her like a fork in the road. One way led to vulnerability, danger, and uncertainty; the other was familiar, safe...and alone.
‘Suck it up, Faith!’ the voice interrupted. ‘Get some, get gone; remember? You really gonna go crawling back in there like some pathetic, whipped puppy—begging to be petted? Begging for any tiny scrap of affection you can get?’
Straightening her shoulders and standing up straight, Faith wiped the tears from her eyes and whispered, “You’re damn right I am!”
She quickly walked up the steps to the door and knocked. Disregarding the rush of fear that prickled up the skin of her back, she tried the doorknob. “Hey, Alex? Beth?” she called out in a cracking voice as she stepped into the foyer.
‘Please, oh please, don’t have changed your minds...’ she thought, trying to ignore the twisting in her gut.
“Faithy!” the sound of Beth’s soft cry was immediately followed by her lithe body wrapping around Faith’s own. “We were afraid that you weren’t going to come back!” Beth said in a tone that was at once both worried and relieved.
Any reply Faith might have made was smothered in a deep, searing kiss. Her body shivered and her knees felt weak as cool reassurance flowed through her.
“I was, uh, scared you didn’t really want me back,” Faith whispered in a chagrined voice. ‘Jeeze, did I just say that?’ she wondered, shocked at her own honesty.
“Such a stupid girl!” Alex chided her with a teasing grin.
“Hey—umph!” Faith’s retort was stifled as Alex took a turn kissing her ardently.
She panted for air once he let go of her mouth.
“But, you’ll learn,” he said with a warmer, more genuine smile.
Lust had almost entirely replaced Faith’s earlier fear. ‘God, is there anything fricken hotter than these two?’ she thought hungrily. Her voice was deep and husky as she responded, “Oh yeah? You think you’re gonna teach me?”
“You’re damn right!” Beth growled, grabbing Faith’s hand and pulling her towards the bedroom with Alex following right behind.
‘Take that, bitch!’ Faith sent a mental middle-finger salute to the voice of her insecurities.
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‘Holy crap!’ Faith shouted in her mind as the intensity of the encounter inundated her. Her body was sandwiched between her lovers. Alex’s muscular body was beneath her, thrusting up into her slippery core as he kissed her breathless. Draped over her back was Beth, driving her to distraction with soft whispers and nibbles on her ears and neck—in complete contrast to the violent snapping of her hips, driving her strap-on dildo deep into Faith’s tight ass.
‘Un-freaking-believable! God, never felt...nothing like this...’ her mind was whirling in circles. She felt completely immersed in the experience, and the bodies of her lovers. She couldn’t do anything but feel; she couldn’t even react to the movements of her lovers—their opposite rhythms, multitudinous caresses, and oral assaults had reduced her to a passive state. She absorbed feeling and sensation at such an amazing pace that even she—jaded sexual creature that she always imagined herself to be—was completely overwhelmed.
“You’re ours, Faith!” Beth’s voice was a harsh, rasping whisper in Faith’s ear. The words pounded into her mind over and over, just as the lithe beauty was physically pounding into her body. “And we’re yours! We’re going to prove that to you again and again until you can’t deny it!”
Even if Faith’s mouth hadn’t been otherwise occupied, she couldn’t have denied anything at that moment. Orgasms washed through her body back to back until the end of one was indistinguishable from the start of another. In her dizzying state, she could no longer perceive where her body stopped and those of her lovers began. It was as though they were no longer three different beings, but rather one madly formed organism.
In the last vestiges of her conscious mind, a dimly remembered quote from her once-upon-a-time in catholic school repeated over and over; “And they became one flesh....”
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“Tell me this isn’t a dream.”
Xander blinked his eyes, making the final transition from sleep to wakefulness. The sight that greeted him was his lover’s tear streaked face, inches from his own as they lay on their sides facing each other.
Instantly he reached out to cup her cheek. “Dawn, what? What’s the—”
“Just tell me,” she interrupted. “This is real, right? I’m not dreaming?” Her voice had a noticeable tone of desperation.
A chill shiver ran through his flesh. “This is real,” he said as reassuringly as he could. “You’re not dreaming. Now, tell me what happened.”
Her eyes slipped shut and she let out a shaky sigh.
He felt a painful tightness in his chest as her eyes drew even more tightly shut, squeezing new teardrops out onto her cheeks.
“Oh, Xander!” she cried softly, immediately closing what little distance there was between them, hugging him tightly. “It was awful!”
“Shh, it’s ok, I’m right here,” he reassured her again, returning her tight embrace.
“I woke up....” she whispered. “I...I was dreaming. All of this—my whole life was the dream. I woke up and I was nowhere. I didn’t have a body, and there was nothing...just me—the Key.”
‘Oh, Kitten!’ Xander’s own eyes began to tear as Dawn choked back a sob.
“I screamed and screamed, but there was no sound! No one anywhere to hear it even if there was.”
“That’s horrible!” he gasped as the despondency in her voice sent an icy sensation racing through his bloodstream. He gripped her a little tighter as if trying to reassure himself that her nightmare wasn’t real, that she was truly in his arms. “But, you’re here with me—it was just a dream. You’re right here, with me and I love you!”
He shuddered again, this time at the warm sensation of her lips kissing his neck. “Love me, Xander,” she pleaded softly.
“I do,” he began, though he didn’t misunderstand her meaning. Rolling them both over so that he was on top of her, he continued in an intensely emotional voice, “Whatever was in your past, I don’t care. You’re here now with me, and I love you!”
“Show me?” she asked almost tentatively.
‘Silly girl, like I’d ever say no to that!’ he thought with a smile. Aloud, he simply replied, “Absolutely!”
He never broke eye contact as he shifted up, aligning himself. No guidance was needed as he slid home inside of her with a groan of pleasure.
“Oh, God! Xander...so good!” she moaned in response, her body arching against his.
Forcing his eyes to stay open and locked on hers, Xander rasped, “Feel that? That’s me inside of you, you wrapped around me. That’s real. You’re real!”
“Yours, Xander!” she gasped out, clearly having to struggle to keep her eyes open as well.
“S’right, you’re mine!” he grunted in agreement, his mind awash in pleasure as he moved inside his lover.
‘Good...warm...love...Dawn....’ Xander’s thoughts were a chant, centered on the physical sensations of making love to Dawn, and the emotion that overflowed from his heart. All that he could see was the love and heat in Dawn’s gaze—everything else around them could have disappeared and he wouldn’t have even noticed.
Dawn’s mewling cries of pleasure incited Xander, increasing the speed and power of his movements until his teeth were clenched to keep from rattling and he had to hold Dawn’s shoulders to keep from pushing her up into the headboard.
“Yes! Yes! Oh, God, Xander!” Dawn screamed, her internal muscles clenching down on Xander almost painfully as she came.
“Dawn!” Xander shouted almost in surprise at her vice-like grip. His own orgasm ripped powerfully through his body leaving him twitching and spent.
Dawn grabbed his head and pulled his face to her own, panting through several sloppy kisses.
He rolled them over so that she lay draped atop him. “Love you...so much!” he panted.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she chanted, kissing him all over his face.
“Hey, hey” Xander whispered, cupping her face in his hands so he could look her in the eyes. “You’re more than welcome, Dawn. You don’t need to thank me for that, it’s just as much for me as you.”
Shaking her head, Dawn said, “Thank you for making the dream go away, Xander. Thank you for making me feel real again.”
“You are real!” he said intently. When she didn’t look completely reassured, he added, “It was just a dream—a horrible dream—but still...”
“Was it?” She asked in an unsure voice. “I mean, first there’s the whole weird green fire thing, and then that dream—”
“Look,” Xander interrupted gently. “First off, the green fire thing—okay, not completely normal—but it was amazing. As for the dream, if you’re really worried about that, we can ask Tara and Willow to...I don’t know, do a spell or something. We’ll figure it out, ok?”
Dawn dropped her eyes, nodding sheepishly. “Okay...I’m sorry I freaked out.”
He kissed her forehead and said, “Shh, no apology necessary. We both know how nightmares can mess things up, don’t we?”
He smiled as she nodded. “Besides, I think we’ve discovered a pretty good cure...” he added, waggling his eyebrow’s suggestively.
She giggled. “If it’s okay with you, I’d rather have the cure without having to have the illness first.”
“Mmm, no problem there, Honey Kitten,” he said in a low, lascivious tone. “How about I go run the bathwater, and then I can give you another shot?”
Her smile was wide as she responded, “I dunno, Sugar Bear, I may need more than one...”
He groaned as she licked her lips, envisioning just how she might use them to ‘take her medicine’. “Several, probably...” he said hoarsely.
“I probably need a daily prescription. You know...preventative maintenance.” Dawn said as she slid off of him, moving to stand beside the bed. She held out her hand to him and added, “Come on, I’ll start with an oral dose while the tub fills.”
‘God, now I’m the one hoping this isn’t just a dream!’ Xander thought in wonder as he quickly scrambled out of the bed to join his lover.
“I hate that we have to leave today, I’m really going to miss this place,” Dawn commented as they moved toward the bathroom. “Monday we need to start looking for a place with a tub like this one.”
“Uh huh!” Xander grunted in agreement.
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“We’ll go back again someday, Dawn,” Xander said gently as Dawn stared out across the water towards Catalina and Avalon.
The look of melancholy on Dawn’s face was replaced with a bright smile as she turned toward him. “I know. It’s just...these have been the happiest two days of my whole life. It feels like a dream, a fantasy. I don’t want it to be over.”
‘I get it,’ Xander thought with an answering smile. “Happy memories,” he said, pulling the brunette into an embrace. “I know I’ll never forget this trip. As long as I live, Catalina’s gonna be one of my favorite places on the planet.”
“Absolutely!” Dawn agreed happily.
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to make sure we make some happy memories in other places so we don’t miss this place too much,” he said, grinning lasciviously.”
“Oh yeah!” Dawn agreed with a laugh.
“Sir? Ma’am?” a voice interrupted their reverie. “Your luggage is stowed.”
Xander looked up to see their chauffeur holding the back door of the stretch Lincoln open for them. ‘Hmm, time for one more birthday surprise!’ he thought excitedly.
Dawn broke away from their embrace and walked over toward the car.
Xander was startled out of his visual enjoyment of a ing Dawn when she asked, “So...is that privacy divider soundproof?”
The driver didn’t even seem fazed as he answered, “Yes, ma’am. It’s very well insulated.”
Dawn looked over her shoulder at Xander as she climbed into the car. “Come on, Sugar Bear. We’ve got some memories to make!” she said in an unapologetically sultry tone.
‘Great googly moogly!’ Xander thought, feeling heat rising in his face, along with uncomfortable stiffening in his pants. He hastened to follow Dawn into the car—deliberately ignoring the smirk on the driver’s face.
“Lucky stiff!” he heard the driver mutter as he closed the door.
‘You got that right!’ Xander thought, seeing the predatory smile on Dawn’s face as she closed the privacy barrier. ‘Looks like I’m not the only one planning a surprise!’
Her smile only grew as she spun around to kneel on the floor in front of him. She put her hands on his knees and gently pushed them apart. “Lie back, Sugar,” she crooned as she moved between his legs.
“G-God, Dawn!” Xander stammered. ‘I think I’ve created a monster!’ he thought in amazement.
“Mmm, more like unleashed,” she whispered, her hands moving up to stroke his length through his pants.
“Nughh!” he grunted, struggling to keep his eyes open at the overwhelming lust that flowed through his whole body.
“We did slow,” she continued in a husky voice as she teased him, slowly unzipping his pants, one agonizing click at a time. “As painful as it was, I totally respected the whole go-slow program. But now...”
She paused and licked lips, extracting a whimper from him.
“I plan to enjoy you any time, any place I can.” She reached in the open fly of his pants and grasped him through his underwear. Another pause as she looked coyly up at him though her lashes. “You don’t mind do you?” she asked sweetly.
“No! God, no!” he replied in a strangled yelp.
“Good!” she said, reaching into his boxer-briefs and pulling out his stiff cock.
He groaned loudly as she slowly licked up the underside. His eyes slipped shut and he arched against the seat as she blew a cool stream of air against the wet line she’d drawn. “Dawn!” he cried as she enveloped his chilled flesh in her warm mouth, setting a slow, deliberate rhythm.
“So good! God in Heaven! That feels so good, Kitten!” he growled between clenched teeth.
“Mmm, mmm, mmm!” she hummed in what sounded like agreement.
He forced his eyes open and found her looking up at him as she moved up and down his hard length. ‘So beautiful!’ he thought with a groan.
She smiled at him—as well as she could with her mouth full anyway—and began to shorten her movements, nursing on just the head of his cock while stroking the shaft with her hand.
It only took about a minute of that before Xander felt his loins tighten. “Honey, I...I’m gonna cum!” he gasped out seconds before doing just that.
As his body was flushed with pleasure, he saw her eyes widen in surprise, and then slip shut as she moaned in apparent relish. ‘I gotta be the luckiest guy on the whole frickin’ planet!’ he thought fervently.
Her cheeks hollowed with suction as she ran her thumb up his cock, squeezing the last bit out of him. She released his head with a loud pop, then licked her lips and said, “Mmm! Sugar, you taste so good!”
“Dawn...” Xander whispered in amazement, still breathing hard from his orgasm. “God, I love you, so much!”
Her answering smile lit up her face. She carefully tucked him back into his pants and zipped him up before climbing up into his lap and whispering, “I’m the lucky one, Xander. I’m so in love with you, and sometimes I feel like I have to pinch myself just to make sure I’m not dreaming. You really love me. We’re really together!”
‘She’s the lucky one?’ Xander thought with a moment of confusion. However, the rest of her statement distracted him from the thought and he responded, “You’re darn right I really love you, and I couldn’t be happier that we’re together—*really* together now!”
Dawn giggled and squirmed on his lap as his hands began to wander down to squeeze her tight butt.
“We’re here, sir,” the driver’s voice came across the intercom, interrupting Xander’s thoughts of how he might repay Dawn’s actions.
Dawn frowned. “We’re here? We can’t be home yet.” She looked out the windows on both sides of the limo before turning back to him with a confused look.
“I’m going to have to owe you one, Honey,” Xander said with real regret in his voice. “Thank you, Brad,” he said back into the intercom.
“What’s going on, Xander?” she asked her eyes narrowed with apparent suspicion.
“Hmm,” Xander hummed as a smile grew on his face. “One more birthday surprise for my girl.”
He could see that she was fighting it, but a delighted smile nevertheless grew on her face as she protested, “Xander!”
“We’re here to pick up your birthday present, Kitten!” he said. ‘Man, I can’t wait to see her face!!’ he thought excitedly.
“Present? But...the trip?” Dawn sputtered.
“We went on the trip to celebrate your birthday, but I still have to give you your gift,” he explained with a Cheshire-like grin on his face.
The door opened and Xander lifted her off of his lap. “Come on! Let’s go see your present!” he said merrily.
Dawn stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked up at the building as Xander climbed out behind her. “West Coast Customs? What kind of store is this?” she asked hesitantly.
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“So, is Faith coming to Dawn’s party tonight?” Tara asked as she leaned against the bedpost watching her lovers get dressed.
“Um, I think?” Buffy said, sounding unsure. “I made sure she knew she was invited last night. She sounded kinda like she wanted to but, like, maybe she wasn’t sure.”
“Going commando again?” Tara asked with a smile and a shake of her head as she watched Buffy shimmy into a pair of tight leather hip-huggers.
“I can’t wear panties with these,” Buffy said, sounding not at all upset by that fact.
“Panties?” Willow asked in a teasing tone. “Heck, you couldn’t wear pubic hair without showing it in those pants!”
“Good thing I don’t have to worry about that, then; isn’t it?” Buffy said, smiling broadly.
“My little exhibitionist!” Tara sighed, only pretending the need for tolerance. ‘I definitely unleashed a monster!’ she thought, not unhappily. ‘Ever since I made her show off my scratches on her tummy, she finds ways to show more and more skin...’
“I love these pants,” Buffy said with a mock pout, as though she didn’t know exactly how much they turned on her two lovers.
“I love you in those pants!” Willow breathed, her hand reaching out to trace a line of flesh just above the top of said pants.
Custom made just for Buffy, the skin-tight, tissue-thin brown leather pants came up to just above the crack of her ass in the back, and then dove down into a deep ‘V’ ending in a very short, lace-up fly that also served as the only closure the garment had. Had she even the tiniest tuft of pubic hair, it would have shown through the opening behind the laces. The extra thickness of leather at the bottom of the fly was directly over her clitoral hood, which—in addition to the way Tara and Willow reacted to the garment—was the real reason Buffy loved those pants.
Tara shook her head, thinking, ‘How easily I get distracted by a little Buffy-skin...well actually that’s more than just a little...’
“Um...Dawn’s party—did you tell Faith to invite her new ‘friends’?” Tara asked, dragging her eyes up the vast expanse of exposed Buffy-torso to meet Buffy's knowing gaze. It didn’t help that the Slayer had yet to put on anything except her pants.
“Uh huh. I even tried to, you know, encourage her and stuff,” Buffy answered cheerily. “I said it’d be nice if she brought them, ’cause everybody wants to meet them!”
“Did it seem like she didn’t want us to meet them?” Willow asked. “I mean, it’s not like anyone’s gonna be weirded out by a triad-relationship.” a teasing smile grew on her face as she added, “Even if it does have a guy in it for some reason.”
Tara laughed. “You’re incorrigible, Willow!”
“Very,” Willow agreed, still with a wicked smile gracing her pink lips. “And you two are welcome to incorrige me any time you want!”
“Is ‘incorrige’ even a word?” Buffy asked with a thoughtful frown, inciting Tara to even greater laughter.
Willow laughed too, knocking back a bit the ever-present sexual tension amongst the three.
“I hope she does bring them,” Tara said—once again returning to the original subject. “I’d like to see what kind of people were able to tame the wild-child.”
“Tame?” Buffy interjected disbelievingly.
“Well,” Tara temporized. “Tame for Faith, anyway.”
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Faith looked up from her plate, shooting a surreptitious glance at her two lovers. ‘Alex really does make a wicked good French toast,’ she thought—agreeing with the look of pleasure on Beth’s face as she chewed a forkful of the breakfast treat.
‘Man, this is weird.’ Faith thought, her eyes returning to her breakfast—more like brunch really, given their late morning wakeup. ‘I mean, it’s good though—I think—just hanging out and stuff. I’m just not really used to it yet.’
‘It’s been, like, over a week since I spent the night at my own place—or even really any time at my place—except to get more clothes and stuff.’
“Do we have any plans today?” Alex asked, interrupting her musing.
“Hmm, totally open,” Beth said after a moment’s consideration. “Faith?” she asked.
“Well, um...I’m kinda supposed to go to Dawn’s birthday party tonight...” she answered hesitantly, feeling somewhat awkward.
“And Dawn is Buffy's sister, right?” Alex asked.
“Yeah...” Faith answered. ‘Kinda, sorta, but not really, except I can’t talk about that I guess.’ her thoughts rambled nervously.
“Okay,” Alex with a non-committal shrug. The look on his face was questioning.
“Okay, so I thought...um, I mean...” Faith trailed off again, ducking her head. ‘Damn it, I sound like Red—crap, even Red don’t talk like this anymore!’ she berated herself.
“What are you trying to say, Faithy?” Beth’s hand was warm against her own as the lithe beauty coaxed her to speak.
‘Spit it out, Faith! Don’t be a freakin’ wuss!’ she chastised herself. “I thought maybe...if you wanted to go with?”
“Faith? Are you inviting us to go with you?” Alex asked with just a bit of humor in his voice.
“It’s no big, I mean, if you don’t want—” Faith immediately began to backpedal.
“Faith!” Beth interrupted. “Do you want us to go with you?”
Faith looked up into her lover’s eyes still half expecting to find derision and rejection. She felt slightly ashamed when all she saw was warmth and caring. ‘Trust, trust, trust—damn, this crap is hard!’ she thought, having to steel herself just to get her head to nod in agreement.
She turned her attention to her other lover as he grasped her free hand. “Why?” he asked in an openly curious voice.
‘Dammit, he knows why. He just wants me to say it,’ she thought, annoyed. The irritation turned on herself as she added ‘Why is it so hard to say it?’
“That’s, uh...that’s what people do right?” Faith said, forcing her voice out. “They do stuff together when they’re...um...when they’re in a...” she had to pause to gulp past the lump in her throat before finishing with a whisper, “a relationship?”
‘God, I feel stupid!’ she thought at the radiant smiles that lit up her lovers’ faces. ‘Why is this so hard to do?’
‘’Cause you’re being a sucker! They’re playing you!’ came a quick shot from her insecurities.
‘Shut up, bitch!’ Faith thought, mentally flipping off that dark voice.
“We’d love to go with you, Faith,” Alex said warmly, once again reassuring her.
“Oh, you know what this means, don’t you?” Beth suddenly interjected.
“What?” Faith asked, stiffening slightly.
“We have to go shopping!” Beth said excitedly.
“Huh?” Faith asked, taken aback at the non-sequitur. She turned to Alex to see him rolling his eyes, an amused smirk on his face.
Beth explained, “Well, duh, silly girl! If we’re going to a birthday party, we have to get a birthday present, don’t we?”
“Oh,” Faith nodded. Suddenly her eyes widened, “Oh crap! I totally spaced that!”
“Don’t worry, Faith,” Beth said reassuringly. “That just gives us even more reason to go shopping! Go start the car, Alex. I’ll go get my purse!”
“Come on, Faith,” Alex said, guiding her towards the garage. “You’re gonna have to get used to spending weekends at the mall.”
Faith shook her head and smiled at the way Alex rolled his eyes, yet failed to look even a little bit displeased.
‘I’m actually looking forward to this,’ she realized as felt a growing sense of anticipation. ‘Damn, I am so whipped!’
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
Xander braced his feet against the floorboard and tightened his grip on the door. ‘It’s worth it, it’s worth it, it’s worth it—yeah, right. If I keep telling myself that, maybe I’ll believe it!’ he thought as he tried to hold on without being obvious.
“This is so awesome!” Dawn’s laughing shout rang out over the sound of the whipping wind.
‘You are so amazingly beautiful!’ Xander thought, a momentary pang of love and desire overwhelming his incipient panic. Strands of hair that escaped her ponytail were floating around her flushed face while the BMW M3’s open cockpit was buffeted by the air as they sped up interstate 405.
Dawn glanced at him for a moment, blowing him a kiss before turning her attention back to the road in front of them. She laughed out loud again as she downshifted and floored the accelerator, blowing by a slow-moving SUV as though it was parked.
After a few more minutes of racing up the road, Dawn suddenly looked over her shoulder and then shot across two lanes to exit the interstate. She pulled into a roadside rest area, parking at the far end of the lot from the service buildings. Putting the car in park, she shut off the engine, unhooked her seatbelt, and then climbed over the console to straddle a surprised Xander’s lap.
“Oh, Sugar, thank you!” she gushed. “I love my birthday present!”
‘Oh yeah, it was worth it!’ he thought happily as she proceeded to kiss him passionately.
“You’re the best...sweetest...most perfect...boyfriend ever!” she whispered to him interspersed with soft, wet kisses.
‘Love you, Dawn!’ Xander thought ardently as she devoured his mouth. His hands traveled down her back to cup her ass through the stretchy material of her skirt. He found that it had pulled up—when her legs spread to straddle his—exposing the lower half of her butt to the air.
Breaking off their kiss, he panted, “Dawn, Honey, your skirt’s not exactly covering you here.”
‘Uh oh,’ he thought when her response was a wicked smile.
“Good,” she nearly purred. “Then it won’t be in the way.”
“Dawn!” Xander hissed in surprise when she lifted up enough to reach down and unzip his fly. He nervously looked around to see if anyone else might be watching. “Right here...in the open?! Someone might—Oh, God!”
His protest was interrupted as she pulled him out of his jeans and demonstrated that what he’d thought was a thong, was in fact nothing at all. “Ooh!” she groaned loudly as she sank down on him, enveloping him in her tight, wet heat. “Don’t worry, Sugar. No one’ll notice...”
“W-what...how?” he huffed, finding it difficult to focus on anything other than the delightful sensation of being inside his lover.
“I put a glamour...on the car,” she whispered, moving slowly up and down on him. “So we wouldn’t get pulled over...no one will notice anything going on.”
“Like us having sex with the top down?” he asked incredulously.
“It was for speeding...but it’ll work...for anything unusual,” she added.
“Oh...smart, beautiful, love you!” Xander grunted, grabbing her ass and helping her move more quickly up and down his shaft.
“Xander, Sugar!” Dawn cried out. “God, feels so good inside me!”
“Yes!” he growled, thrusting his hips up to meet her down-stroke. “It does!”
For several minutes there were only the sounds of grunts, whimpers, and the slap of flesh against tight denim.
“Oh, so close!” Dawn gasped, her sex tightening around him as she approached release.
“Oh yeah!” he growled.
“Can you hold it?” she panted.
“Huh?” he asked, confused.
“Don’t cum inside me,” she explained still panting, her body starting to quiver.
“Huh?” he repeated himself—perspicuity being too great a struggle in is present state.
“Too...messy.” she gasped, then her orgasm hit her and she squealed, clamping down on him almost painfully as she writhed on his lap.
“Oh, God! Dawn!” Xander whined loudly as he clamped down on his own release, despite not understanding why. Some forever later, Dawn’s body relaxed, and she collapsed against him with a deep, contented sigh. “Oh, Sugar!” she crooned.
A desperate whimper escaped his throat, causing her to snap out of her lethargy. “Oh, God! Sorry, Xan!” she apologized, rising up off of him. “Let me take care of that for you.” she added, pushing his knees apart and crouching somewhat awkwardly on the floor. Without another word she began suckling on the head of his cock and humming loudly.
Having held back only through an act of iron will, Xander almost immediately came, spurting so hard it felt like his balls might be turning themselves inside out with the effort.
“Mmpfff!” Dawn grunted, clearly surprised by the intensity of his release. She swallowed frantically, but still had to catch some overflow on her fingers—which she licked clean moments later.
It was Xander’s turn to collapse back into his seat, spent and struggling to catch his breath. His arms felt leaden as he reached around her, cradling her to him when she climbed back up into his lap. “What was that?” he asked incredulously.
“Sorry,” she again apologized. “I just realized...as much as I love the feeling of you cumming inside me, I didn’t want to try and drive home afterward. I’d ruin my skirt, not to mention the seat in my brand-new car!”
He was startled into laughter at her explanation. “I can’t believe you, Dawn,” he said, shaking his head.
“Hmm, is that a good ‘I can’t believe you, Dawn’ or a bad one?” she asked, snuggling tightly to his chest.
“Mostly good,” he answered after a moment’s consideration. “With a little shot of; ‘Oh man, am I in trouble now!’” he added. Looking down, he saw a pout form on her lips, and he said, “It’s also one hundred percent ‘I love you.’ And besides, what’s life without a little danger?”
“You aren’t mad?” her voice was hesitant.
“Mad? About what?” he asked, slightly taken aback.
“That I jumped your bones out here, right along side of the road.” she said, starting to babble. “I mean, it’s not like we were gonna get caught, what with the glamour—”
“Dawn, I think Willow's rubbing off on you. And I’m not talking about the magic,” he interrupted. He smiled as her pout grew from the tease. He tipped her chin up with one hand and kissed her softly. “I promise that I will never be mad that you want me so much that you feel the urge to ‘jump my bones’ anytime, anywhere.” He stared intently into her gaze, muttering, “God, I get so lost in your eyes!”
Her pout dissolved into a bright smile and his expression echoed it almost instinctively. “I don’t think I would have stopped you, even without the glamour. I was just surprised, that’s all.”
“Thank you, Xander,” she said sincerely. She cupped his face and kissed him before adding, “For this amazing trip. For this incredible car. Mostly for loving me.”
“You are so much more than worth it! All of it!” Xander said, his heart overflowing with love. Suddenly a wicked smile crossed his face and he reached down beside his seat.
“Xander?” Dawn asked, frowning slightly. “Why is the seat going down?”
Licking his lips, Xander huskily answered, “Well, I thought I’d better make sure you don’t have to drive back to Sunnydale all sticky.”
“Ohh, Sugar!” she crooned happily. “You have the best ideas!”
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
‘Goddess, I’m so happy!’ Tara thought, a warm feeling suffusing her. ‘Everything just feels so...so right.’
The blonde witch lounged back on the couch, watching Dawn’s birthday party at The Bronze in full swing before her.
‘Willow looks so beautiful, smiling and happy like that,’ she thought, watching her lover on the dance-floor with her other lover’s younger sister. ‘Dawn is looking very happy too. Xander must have given her what she *really* wanted for her birthday.’
Her eyes traveled to the aforementioned male Scooby, who was standing at a bar-table with the two other males in attendance: Giles and Alex. ‘Funny how it always divides up into guys and girls,’ she mused. ‘Even when the relationships don’t necessarily fall that way.’
Buffy, Joyce, Faith and Beth were standing around the table with all the presents, as though guarding it. ‘Faith seems to finally be relaxing. I wonder if she thought we’d react badly or something? She’s such a dichotomy: strong, tough-girl outside, wrapped around a fragile, fearful core. It’s not like any of us would even bat an eye at the fact she’s seeing two people at once.’ She shook her head and smiled at the thought. ‘They seem nice. Certainly protective of Faith. She needs that: to have someone—or someones—who will put her first. Maybe she won’t feel like she has to compete with—or for—Buffy.’
Tara’s smile, and her feeling of contentment, grew as Dawn and Willow left the dance floor and headed toward her. ‘They act more like sisters than Buffy and Dawn sometimes,’ she thought as they approached, arm-in-arm and laughing out loud.
“Oh, that’s hilarious!” Willow laughed as she dropped into the couch on Tara’s right. “Poor Xander!”
“I know,” Dawn said, filling the seat to Tara’s left. “I mean, he was totally freaking out, but he didn’t say a word!”
“How did you torture Xander now?” Tara asked with a raised brow.
“Let’s just say I got a little...enthusiastic...driving my new car.” Dawn said with a grin equal parts chagrin and mischievousness.
“Scared him a little, did you?” Tara said with grin.
“He was good about it, though,” Dawn went on, defending her man. “He didn’t say a word, just held on as tight as he could.”
“Brave man,” Tara teased. “You’ll have to find some way to reward his courage.”
‘Ah ha!’ she thought as Dawn blushed dark enough for her to see even in the dim light of the night-club. ‘Definitely got that birthday present she was looking for. I guess the car isn’t the only thing running at full speed.’
“So, what do you think of Faith’s ‘friends’?” Dawn asked, not-so-subtly changing the subject.
“Well, they’re human,” Willow interjected. “And they don’t seem evil or anything.”
“They’re human?” Tara asked. “You checked?”
“Willow!” Dawn said, only sounding slightly outraged.
“Hey!” Willow protested. “You can’t be too careful, what with this being Sunnydale—a.k.a. ‘Home of the Hellmouth’—and all.”
“You don’t think she would have noticed?” Dawn asked. “I mean, Slayer and all.”
“You never know. She might have been distracted by the hottie factor.” Willow argued.
“That is true. After all, Buffy never realized Captain Forehead was a vampire until he went all ‘Grr’ right in front of her.”
Willow laughed out loud, and even Tara couldn’t restrain a snort at Dawn’s euphemism. “And on that note,” she said, changing the subject. “Dawn, why don’t you go recruit your fellow girlfriends and go bring your men to the table.”
“Oh! Present time!” Dawn chirped happily, getting up and following Tara’s advice.
Willow snuggled up to Tara as they both watched their sister-witch recruit Joyce, Faith, and Beth. The redhead sighed and hummed in apparent pleasure as she watched the four women’s ing forms.
“You know, Buffy’s so going to spank you if she catches you checking out her sister,” Tara lightly scolded.
“Is that supposed to be a deterrent, or an encouragement?” Willow quipped.
“Mmm, someone’s feeling sassy!” Tara laughed.
“I guess you two will have to take turns spanking me...” The redhead said seductively.
“Vixen!” Tara replied before pulling her lover in for a brief but intense kiss. “Come on, let’s go watch Dawnie open her presents!”
“At least the ones she can open in public.” Willow teased as Tara pulled her to her feet.
‘Oh yeah, I definitely see a spanking in a certain redhead’s near future!’ Tara thought.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
‘Woman’s lib, my ass!’ Xander groused to himself as he followed four laughing females into his apartment. ‘Oh no, who needs a man when we’ve got a Slayer? But I’m the one who ends up playing pack mule!’ he snarked silently as he tried to juggle two armfuls of Dawn’s gifts in through the door.
“Make yourselves at home!” Dawn called out to Willow, Tara, and Buffy as she headed for Xander’s bedroom door.
‘Mmm, soon to be *our* bedroom!’ he thought with a suddenly happier state of mind. He followed his lover in and gratefully dropped the gifts down on the bed. As soon as he stood back up straight, his empty arms were filled with warm Dawn.
“My strong, manly man!” she crooned. “I’m so looking forward to breaking in our bed tonight!”
‘Oh yeah! Not all women are on the “we don’t need men” track!’ he thought happily, capturing her lips in a soft kiss. “Come on, let’s go eat ice cream and you can gloat about your presents,” Xander said.
“Hmm, taunt my sister...always a good plan,” Dawn said with a grin. “Of course, we could stay right here and let her hear—”
“Whoa there, Kitten,” Xander interrupted. “I don’t want to have to replace the door before we move.
“Huh?” Dawn asked with a frown.
Xander laughed. “Buffy’d either break down the front door to get away—”
“I could live with that,” Dawn quipped.
“Or, she’d break down this door to stop us,” he finished his thought.
“Hmm,” Dawn mused, striking a thoughtful pose. “I suppose we’ll have to restrict ourselves to the verbal teasing...this time.”
“You’re a wicked girl—you know that, don’t you?” he said with a joyful smile.
“Hey, it’s a little sister’s duty to drive her older sister insane.” Dawn acknowledged.
“Unfortunately, it’s not like it’s a long drive,” he muttered sardonically.
Dawn walked out of the bedroom, ringing tones of laughter in her wake.
As always, Xander took great delight in watching Dawn’s .
“Go keep our guests company, perv,” she tossed back over her shoulder, obviously knowing where his eyes were locked.
‘Mmm, you won’t be calling me a perv when my tongue is between those beautiful cheeks.’ he thought, fantasizing about the things they’d be doing in a few hours.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“Buffy, oh Slayer-sister of mine...” Dawn said with a wheedling tone in her voice.
“Yeah?” Buffy called back.
“You wanna give me a hand in here?” Dawn called back.
Buffy dramatically rolled her eyes as she got up and walked into Dawn and Xander’s kitchen area. “It’s just ice cream, you can’t handle ice cream?” the Slayer muttered.
“I need that much-vaunted Slayer-strength!” Dawn said, overacting the helpless maiden voice.
“So, Xander...” Willow said in overly casual tone. “How’s things?”
‘And the dreaded interrogation begins.’ Xander thought humorously. “Things? Oh, you know, things are good,” he said, playing along.
“Jeeze, Dawn!” Buffy exclaimed from the kitchen area. “This is like a rock! Why don’t you let it sit for a while?”
“But then it gets all soft, and I don’t like it like it like that,” Dawn’s explanation sounded out.
“Oh, but that’s the best!” Buffy’s voice sounded out in disagreement. “Soft is the best way to eat it. It gets all gooey and you can just slurp it up!”
‘Oh, God, mental image!’ Xander thought. He looked at the two Wiccans sitting on the couch and saw them make eye contact and then smile widely. ‘I wonder if they’re thinking what I’m thinking?’
‘Defiantly,’ Willow mouthed to Tara.
Tara nodded and mouthed back, ‘The best,’ and then giggled softly.
‘Question answered!’ Xander thought humorously.
“Well, that’s fine for you, but I like it hard,” Dawn answered her sister.
‘Oh, God!’ Xander thought with a wince and a slight stiffening in his pants. ‘Jeeze, you’d think after this weekend I’d be satisfied,’ he lamented as humor was replaced by a fresh dose of arousal.
“In fact, if it isn’t hard enough, I just put it back in the box till it gets rock hard, then I eat it,” Dawn continued from the kitchen with a happy voice.
Xander couldn’t restrain the soft growling groan that bubbled up inside him. ‘Good God, Dawn!’
“Wait, are we still talking about ice cream?” Buffy asked in a bewildered voice.
Xander looked up to see two witches staring at him, their matching grins both wide and knowing.
“Of course, Buffy, why do you ask?” Dawn asked in a mischievous tone. “What else would we be talking about?”
Tara and Willow giggled while Xander tried to surreptitiously shift his position, looking for relief from the pressure in his pants.
“How *are* things with you two?” Tara asked. “I notice that Dawn seems much more relaxed than she has been lately.”
“Totally, she was so tense last week. Today, she seems...” Willow paused thoughtfully. “Contented.”
“Yeah, well...” Xander started, only slightly embarrassed, mostly pleased. ‘Hey, if a guy can’t take pride in treating his girlfriend right, what can he?’ he thought smugly. “She just needed a weekend full of...relaxation. Actually, we both needed it.”
“Needed what?” Buffy asked as she reappeared carrying three bowls of ice cream.
“Oh, Xander was just telling us why Dawn’s not all agitated and tense like she was last week,” Willow said with an impish smile.
‘Paybacks, Will,’ Xander thought, shooting Willow a brief glare before looking up at his girlfriend and accepting the bowl she handed him.
“Were you...” Dawn said archly, one brow raised high over her smirking face.
‘God, I love you!’ Xander thought with a pang of joy in his heart. ‘Just looking at you makes me happy!’
When he realized he was staring, Xander gave a little head shake and said, “I, uh, I was just saying...oh yeah, I was saying that we both needed a nice, relaxing weekend to help us, well, uh...relax.” Dawn laughed at his stumbling and he thought, ‘This has got to be what love feels like, ’cause I have never felt this good. Despite the fact that it’s turned me into an even bigger doofus than normal!’
Overwhelmed with an immediate need to kiss his love, he did just that, leaning forward where she met him half-way for a sweet lingering caress of lips. “Mmm, my Honey Kitten,” he whispered softly after their lips parted.
“My Sugar Bear,” Dawn softly said back to him.
“Ugh! I think I’m going to be ill!” Buffy groused, breaking the romantic moment as she set her bowl down on the coffee table with a clatter. “That has to be the most sickeningly cute thing I’ve ever seen!”
“Aww,” Willow cried. “I think it’s sweet!”
Tara just smiled joyfully at them and began eating her ice cream.
“Oh, please!” Dawn refuted with a sardonic laugh. “I’ve had to put up with much worse from you, and more often!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Buffy said dismissively.
“Uh, Buff?” Xander interjected with a surprised smile. “You ever hear that saying about people in glass houses?”
“They shouldn’t throw pancakes!” Dawn said, gesturing at Buffy with her spoon, as if to emphasize the point.
‘Hmm, sounds like another story I’m going to have to wheedle out of my girl,’ Xander thought. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen Buffy turn quite that shade of red.’
Tara looked at Buffy and Willow and giggled.
Willow had a pout on her face, along with her blushing cheeks. “Hey!” she protested. “I was on your side, Dawnie.”
Dawn laughed, “You’re right, my bad. I’m sure I can come up with some other embarrassing story about Buffy if it should prove necessary.”
Buffy shot an altogether unconvincing glare at her younger sister and said, “You...you’re just big ol’ meanie, Dawn Summers!”
‘The pouting kinda defeats the purpose of the glare.’ Xander thought with a wide grin.
“Well, it must be genetic,” Dawn countered. “After all, they did make me from you...”
‘Oh! Score one for my honey!’ Xander thought as he joined everyone who wasn’t Buffy in a good laugh.
This of course caused Buffy to pout even more, which led to her two girlfriends doting on her to try and comfort her.
“And, I rest my case,” Dawn said smugly, gesturing toward the sickeningly cute display the triad made.
‘Oh, you sexy little kitten!’ Xander thought as Dawn lapped sensually at a spoonful of ice-cream. “Are we out of ice cream?” Xander softly asked.
“No, why?” Dawn asked with a puzzled look.
Xander leaned in close and licked his lips before whispering, “I was thinking I might like to have some vanilla ice cream, dipped in warm honey...”
“I don’t think we have any honey.” she said frowning in confusion.
‘Mmm, my innocent little kitten.’ Xander thought, warm feelings stirring in his belly. “Sure you do...Honey Kitten.” Xander whispered in her ear.
He was close enough to hear Dawn exhale a shuddering breath as she realized to what he was referring.
“Hey!”
Xander whipped his head around in shock at the Slayer’s shout.
Buffy was shaking her finger at him viciously, a look of distaste on her face. “Agh, Xander! Badness!”
‘Oops, Slayer-hearing,’ Xander thought, chagrinned.
“You promised! No details!” Buffy glowered.
“Ah ha!” Willow said excitedly. “I knew it! I knew it! You have to tell us everything!”
“Willow!” Buffy’s voice growled warningly.
“Okay, right...so...maybe not *everything*...” The redhead said disappointedly. “But I knew it!”
Dawn laughed.
“Don’t look so disappointed, Willow,” Tara said reassuringly. “I bet there’s lots Dawn can tell us, even with editing out the Slayer-inappropriate details. Besides, I’m sure we’ll get all the rest of the details tomorrow after our magic session.”
“Ach! I don't wanna know!” Buffy cried. She clapped her hands to her ears and started chanting, “La-la-la-la-la! I can’t hear you!”
Xander groaned while the three witches laughed. Secretly, though he was pleased. ‘Oh yeah, I am *so* the man!’
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
“That was great, Faith!” Beth said with a smile as she looked back over her shoulder at the Slayer. “I really enjoyed meeting all of your friends. They seem like really nice people.”
“Yeah, I thought that went pretty well,” Alex agreed, bringing up the rear as they all entered the house. “I have to admit, I was a little concerned at first to see that your friend Xander was so...uh, close with Dawn.”
“It’s kinda complicated...” Faith began. ‘Damn, how can I explain this?’ she wondered.
“They seem pretty well matched,” Beth interjected in a conciliatory tone of voice. “In a couple years no one will even bat an eye—”
“But there could certainly be negative repercussions if the authorities were to discover their relationship now,” Alex completed the thought.
They walked into the living room together while Faith mulled-over that potentiality. ‘Cops wouldn’t care, not in this town.’
“You gotta understand, there’s like, circumstances and stuff...” Faith said, unsure. “Things ain’t exactly like they seem...and D ain’t you normal kid...”
“No, she certainly isn’t,” Alex said with an emphatic shake of the head.
“Oh really?” Beth asked, crossing her arms and arching one eyebrow high on her forehead.
Hiding her grin, Faith struck a similar pose and said, “Yeah, Alex. What’s that supposed to mean?”
Alex smiled, apparently not taking them seriously. “It means that I was surprised at how she acted and spoke. If I didn’t know I was there to celebrate her sixteenth birthday, I would have pegged her as being in her late teens, maybe even early twenties.”
“You sure you aren’t in the market for a little young-n-tender?” Faith asked, teasing.
“Please,” Alex said dismissively. “Could there possibly two hotter women on the planet than the two standing right in front of me? Not likely.”
“Damn right!” Faith said, tucking her thumbs in her waistband and cocking her hips to the side.
“Anyway, it was a nice party. Thanks for taking us, Faith,” Beth said, kicking off her shoes and dropping down onto the couch.
“Yes, thank you,” Alex said, gently rubbing his hand up and down Faith’s arm.
‘I am so freakin’ whipped!’ Faith thought as her body shivered and her nipples tightened at his touch. Resisting the urge to delve into her lovers’ bodies right there and then, she said, “Um, I’m glad you guys came with...thanks.”
“Anytime!” Beth said with a joyful smile. “We love spending time with you.”
“I...um...I kinda told B I’d patrol with her tonight.” Faith changed the subject reluctantly. “If it’s okay with you, I mean.”
Beth’s expression became slightly puzzled. “Of course it’s alright.”
“You don’t have to ask our permission,” Alex added.
“Oh...I just, you know...” she trailed off somewhat embarrassed. “Um, you guys think you’ll still be up?” she asked hesitantly.
“Are you kidding?” Beth asked with a hungry smile. “You think we’re going to miss out on the after-slaying hungry-and-hornies?”
‘I never shoulda mentioned that.’ Faith blushed. “Cool,” she muttered. “Later, then.”
“Hey!” Alex said as she turned to leave.
“What?” Faith asked, turning back in time for Alex to capture her mouth in an ardent kiss.
‘Unh! That good, low-down tickle!’ she thought, feeling her sex swell and grow slick. ‘Just from a freakin’ kiss!’
“Come back safe,” Alex whispered when he’d released her. “And soon—you don’t want to leave Bethy waiting.”
Faith smiled, “Yeah, I know how she gets.”
“Hey! I can hear you!” Beth protested.
Faith and Alex laughed, and then Faith left the room, blowing a kiss to her girlfriend.
========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ========== BtVS ==========
After Faith had left the house, Alex walked over to the couch. “It’s getting harder,” he complained, dropping down onto the couch next to his wife. “Isn’t it?”
Beth nodded. “I just don’t know how long I can keep pretending.”
“Yeah,” Alex muttered with a sigh.
The End
Read the rest of the Wuffara Chronicles:
The Please Trilogy
The Triad Trilogy
Repercussions, Reactions, and Retaliation