Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a troubled young woman. She had some major tests this week that she hadn't studied for at all, was constantly being scrutinized by her concerned mother, had just found out that the love of her life was leaving her at the end of the year, and to top it all off, she had just gotten demon goo on her favorite blouse.
No, it was not a great time to be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So she complained about it to her two best friends, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris.
"I mean it wouldn't be so bad if Mom would just chill out on the whole 'I'm-a-supportive-Slayer's-Mom' thing," she griped. "You know she replaced all my Poland spring with holy water? I think she's hoping I'll sweat vampire acid if I get nervous."
Willow munched on a bag of chips and made the proper soothing sounds as they ambled through the graveyard. Xander meanwhile was surreptitiously counting how many chips Willow was eating out of the bag *he* had brought. Xander was a good friend and a loyal ally, but he got oddly paranoid where snack foods were concerned.
*That's the fifth handful she's had!* he thought to himself, and then gave Willow the stink-eye.
"Oh," she said in a muffled voice. "Sorry. I studied through lunch."
She handed him back the bag.
"That's another thing! I've got all these tests to deal with too. Like who won the French Revolution, how am I supposed to know that?"
"I'm guessing it was the French," Xander said as the group settled by one of Sunnydale's many crypts. A nearby tombstone read: Alan Garner, 1981-1999.
"Poor Al," Willow sighed. "He was a really good programmer."
"Let's hope he can't hack it as a Vampire." Xander waggled his eyebrows at Willow. "Get it? Hack?"
"The only hacking I want to do is with my axe on the baby vampire's head so I can go home and start worrying over my test," Buffy said.
"I'm really glad she added the word 'vampire'," Xander mock whispered to Willow, who giggled in response.
As if to oblige the Slayer's schedule, Alan Garner took that moment to rise from the grave. The gang all stood around waiting patiently as he growled and roared as he dug himself out.
"You done?" Buffy asked him. The vampire cocked his head and gave her a questioning look.
"Good!" She swung the axe at his neck, and in a moment vampire dust swirled in the breeze. Buffy stood staring down at herself.
"This blouse was so good for slaying too. Fashionable yet comfortable. I didn't have any constricted movement at all with that swing. Maybe if I use some of that stuff mom bought off Ron Popeil to get out stains, he's got to have some kind of magical powers himself if you think about it..."
Buffy was so busy talking about infomercials and stain removers that she didn't notice the huge ugly demon rise silently from the earth. It raised one clawed hand and pointed it at Buffy.
"I am Gelfanifor! Ruler of the fifteenth underworld of Flaraxi! By the unblemished stars, I curse you who have destroyed my brethren with the Lover's Reciprocation!"
Buffy turned around just in time to see the red bolt of lightning blast from the demon's arm.
"Buffy look out!" Xander shouted and tackled Buffy out of the way. The two of them rolled in the dirt as they hit the ground, and the demon merely shifted his aim and fired again.
The two demon fighters rolled into the path of the lightning. It struck Buffy in the back, causing her to cry out as the lightning arced through her body, flowing into Xander's. The two finally stopped rolling, and both lied on the ground, unable to move.
The demon grinned hideously, and then exploded into a thick smoke of sulfur.
"Ow," Xander finally moaned.
"Ditto," Buffy said. Willow ran up to them and knelt beside the two.
"Are you guys OK?"
"I think so," Xander moaned as he sat up. Buffy, however, didn't move.
"I'll be ok in a second, I just got the wind knocked out of me."
True to her word, Buffy was on her feet again no more than five minutes later. They did a quick sweep of the rest of the graveyard, and decided to call Giles for a quick game of "What's big and ugly and shoots red lightning all over?"
"I am Gelfanifor! Ruler of the fifteenth underworld of Flaraxi! By the unblemished stars, I curse you who have destroyed my brethren with the Lover's Reciprocation!"
Buffy turned around just in time to see the red bolt of lightning blast from the demon's arm. Xander coughed slightly, a piece of potato chip getting stuck in his throat for a moment.
"Buffy!" he gasped. "Look out!"
He rushed forward, tackling her off her feet as the lightning shot past them. They hit the ground rolling. The demon merely shifted his aim and fired again.
The bolt of red lightning hit Xander directly in the back, causing him to stiffen and cry out in pain. The electricity arced through him, flowing into Buffy and back again. When it ended, the two of them collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
The demon grinned hideously, and then exploded into a thick smoke of sulfur.
"Ow," Buffy said.
"Nggah," Xander croaked. Willow ran up to them and knelt besides the two.
"Are you guys OK?"
"I think so," Buffy said as she sat up. She looked over at Xander, who remained on the ground. "Xander?"
"Nggah," he repeated.
"Hey come on, it wasn't that bad." Buffy leaned over him and gave him a concerned look.
"Says you," Xander finally managed to gasp. The pain was intense, and he was just gaining feeling back in his arms and legs.
"C'mon, I'll help you up," Buffy said. She tried to slip an arm beneath his shoulders to help him sit up.
"Uh, that's ok. I'll just lie here for a half hour or so until I can move my legs again."
It took a little more than an hour, during which Willow and Buffy watched over him, trying to figure out what the strange demon was ranting about, and just what he had hit them with. Buffy gave Giles a call, and they decided to play a game of "What's big and ugly and shoots red lightning all over?" back at the library.
"No, the horns were bigger, spaced wider apart," Willow added helpfully. Giles frowned and pulled a new book from the shelf. "And he was big and fat, like that guy who had to be cut out of his house."
"Also, red lightning. Let's not forget that happy feature," Xander said. He was still sore from the blast, and he felt twitchy and pretty exhausted.
"And you say this demon fired this lightning at Buffy? Did he, did he mention any particular reasons?"
"You mean aside from it's the hellmouth, I'm the Slayer, and I'm having a really bad week?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, aside from that."
Willow raised her hand as if she were in class. "Ooh! He said something about Buffy killing his brethren."
"Oh yeah," Buffy remembered. "He also said he was going to curse me with a Lover's Citation, and that's when the lightning started."
Giles's eyes widened. "By any chance was it the Lover's Reciprocation?"
"Yeah, might've been."
"Oh dear."
"Mind letting the rest of us join in on the horror there Giles?" Buffy quipped.
"I-I-I," the librarian stuttered, staring at his book. "Oh dear."
Buffy stood up and grabbed the book from his hands. "You already said that."
She glanced at the book, but it was written in some strange language that looked like chicken scratch to her.
"C'mon Giles, spill. Then we can go slay or whatever and get this thing dealt with."
Giles pulled his glasses off and began wiping them down with a handkerchief. He took a deep breath; giving the girl he thought of as a daughter a pointed look.
"The Curse of the Lover's Reciprocation is a favored vengeance curse of the Tritelxii demons. I believe...I believe that you cleared out a nest of theirs some months ago Buffy, although we hadn't identified them as such at the time.
"The Tritelxii's society is very harsh towards those who commit what are seen to be...submissive acts of...sexuality."
Giles seemed to be turning a shade of red normally reserved for ketchup bottles. He steamed ahead; sure he could only explain this once before his head exploded.
"The curse is generally used against a rival warlord, and causes the recipient too...be persuaded to perform such acts on the first being they come into contact with."
Buffy's eyes widened, and Xander looked as if he were about to throw up, although he'd looked like that since being struck.
"What...kind of acts?"
"Specifically," Giles said, trying valiantly to do his duty as a Watcher. "The act of oral sex. Xander, I'm afraid that you have been hit with the curse, with Buffy as your initial contact. As far as I can tell, you will be compelled to perform these acts on her...or die. "
"No, the horns were bigger, spaced wider apart," Willow added helpfully. Giles frowned and pulled a new book from the shelf. "And he was big and fat, like that guy who had to be cut out of his house."
"Also, red lightning. Let's not forget that happy feature," Xander said, shuddering at the remembered feeling of the blessedly short blast of pain from the hit he'd been a secondary recipient of.
"And you say this demon fired this lightning at Buffy? Did he, did he mention any particular reasons?"
"You mean aside from it's the hellmouth, I'm the Slayer, and I'm having a really bad week?" Buffy asked. She was slumped over in a chair, feeling achy all over and kind of...twitchy.
"Yes, aside from that."
Willow raised her hand as if she were in class. "Ooh! He said something about Buffy killing his brethren."
"Oh yeah," Xander remembered. "Plus he said he was cursing her with the Lover's Recital."
Giles's eyes widened. "By any chance was it the Lover's Reciprocation?"
"Yeah, that too."
"Oh dear," Giles gasped, nearly dropping his book in alarm.
"That's British for 'Wuh-Woh!'," Xander said in his best Scooby-Doo voice.
"I-I-I," the librarian stuttered, staring at his book. "Oh dear."
Nobody said a word for a long moment.
"Should we be in full-scale panic mode?" Xander finally said, breaking the silence.
Giles pulled his glasses off and began wiping them down with a handkerchief. He took a deep breath, giving the boy he thought of - not that he would ever admit to it, even under torture - a son.
"The Curse of the Lover's Reciprocation is a favored vengeance curse of the Tritelxii demons. I believe...I believe that Buffy cleared out a nest of theirs some months ago, although we hadn't identified them as such at the time.
"The Tritelxii's society is very harsh towards those who commit what are seen to be...submissive acts of...sexuality."
Giles seemed to be turning a shade of red normally reserved for ketchup bottles. He steamed ahead; sure he could only explain this once before his head exploded.
"The curse is generally used against a rival warlord, and causes the recipient too...be persuaded to perform such acts on the first being they come into contact with."
Xander frowned in confusion, and Buffy moaned slightly from her chair.
"What...kind of acts?" Xander asked, suddenly very afraid.
"Specifically," Giles said, trying valiantly to do his duty as a Watcher. "The act of oral sex. Buffy, I'm afraid that you have been hit with the curse, with Xander as your initial contact. As far as I can tell, you will be compelled to perform these acts on him...or die. " "What?" Xander cried, suddenly afraid for his life.
"Giles, tell me you're making a horrible, horrible joke and that you will never try to be funny ever again," Buffy groaned.
"I'm afraid I'm quite serious Buffy. The tomes all describe the curse as incredibly powerful, only able to be invoked as vengeance for the deaths of Tritelxii young. From what I can understand, you will need to perform these acts at least three times per sunrise."
"No. No way! This is so not going to happen," Buffy rose to her feet and tried to stalk over to Giles, but found her legs would not carry her weight any longer. She fell to the ground and groaned.
"Buffy?" Willow rushed to her side, Xander wisely deciding to stay clear of the Slayer.
"Wh-what's happening?" Buffy asked, shaking.
"Oh dear, it's affecting you faster than I expected," Giles said. "The symptoms of non-compliance are already beginning to show."
Buffy shuddered, a spasm of pain shooting through her.
"Xander, you and Buffy must..."he trailed off, not wanting to say the actual deed.
"Giles," Xander whispered. "Buffy's going to murder me if we do that."
"You have no choice, she will die if not treated soon. Willow and I will search for other cures, but for now we are left with no other option. You may use my office, just...try not to touch anything."
Willow helped Buffy to her feet, half dragging the small blonde slayer into Giles's office. Xander stared at the door once Buffy was inside.
"Nice knowing you Giles," he said, and walked into the office like a man going to the electric chair.
"What!?" Buffy roared.
"Thassa good one...Giles," Xander moaned, and slumped out of his chair. He crumpled to the floor, twitching slightly.
"Good lord, the symptoms of non-compliance are already having an affect on him!" Giles said alarmingly. He rushed over to the near-unconscious boy. He checked his pulse, then looked up at Buffy.
"Oh no, no way Giles!" She shook her head vigorously, understanding what Giles's silent look meant.
"You must Buffy, it is the only choice we have. Willow and I will look for other cures, but for now this is our only option. If you don't, Xander will die."
Buffy whined slightly, and stared at her best-male-friend in the world. He was pale, his body shaking slightly on the floor of the library. To save Xander.
"Ok...to save Xander."
"You can use my office," Giles said. "Only try...try not to touch anything."
Buffy rolled her eyes, and helped drag Xander into the office. He was barely coherent. Giles shut the blinds, trying not to look at Buffy as he did so, trying not to think of what they were about to do.
"Giles wait!" she called as he closed the door.
"Y-yes?"
"How do I know...when enough's enough?"
Giles cleared his throat. "Well, um, you see, that is...when you. ..are finished."
"Yeah that's what I'm asking you. How do I know when we're finished?"
"No, I mean when *YOU* are finished. Completed. Climaxed," he whispered the last word, desperately wishing he were not in this situation.
"Oh."
"Indeed." He closed the door quickly, leaving them alone.
She stared at Xander for a moment. He was slumped in Giles's office chair, eyes barely open. He settled his glazed eyes on hers.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," she groaned. "Just...close your eyes, ok?"
Xander complied, still shaking slightly.
She pulled her pants down quickly, and then took a deep breath before pulling down her panties as well. She shivered slightly, and thought that this must have been a bad dream. She looked at Xander, his eyes still tightly shut. A strange...warmth seemed to fill her.
Buffy stepped closer to him, biting her lip in embarrassment. Another step, and she felt the warmth increase. It felt good somehow.
She stepped forward one last time, bringing her sex in line with Xander's face. His nostrils flared with the scent of her, and he shuddered violently. His eyes snapped open, and he was staring at her more intimately than anyone since Angel.
His eyes cleared slightly, and he slipped from the chair. His tongue darted out, lightly touching her lower lips. She nearly groaned with the sensation of it. Another light lick, tasting her softness. Her hair down there was darker than her bottle-blonde hair, but trimmed into a short landing strip. Xander inhaled her scent, and probed deeper.
She gasped that time, and her knees almost buckled. Why did it feel so good? He'd hardly done anything yet.
He became more forceful, and somehow she found herself turned around. He attacked her with his tongue, and she let out a short high-pitched shriek of surprise. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed into the chair. Xander's energy seemed to be returning, and he wrapped his arms around her thighs, pulling her legs slightly apart and pulled her closer to his mouth.
Buffy tried to keep quiet at first, and swore she wouldn't cry out again. It was a promise that she quickly broke, as Xander's mouth descended on her pussy.
She was panting loudly by the end, Xander's tonguing, sucking, kissing and licking driving her mad with pleasure. He let up for not an instant, and she felt as if she were in that chair for hours.
Xander was still fairly out of it as he pleasured her, but through the haze he could feel his own pleasure building. The mystical curse caused a kind of positive feedback within him, and the better Buffy felt, the better he felt himself. Had he not been so intent on using his hands to best keep a grasp on Buffy, he might have used them to stroke himself as he ate her out. Instead, he kept a firm grip on her legs, and went at his task with vigor.
When she finally came, he was sucking at her clit, and somehow her hands had removed her shirt. She was playing with her small breasts as she screamed his name, rolling her hips up into his face as she rode wave after wave of orgasmic pleasure. Xander lapped at her, savoring the juices from her most intimate of areas.
Finally it was over, though it was several long minutes before she moved from her spot. Xander had fallen back after her orgasm, his own mystically induced climax washing over him as hers finished. Afterwards he seemed to regain his senses enough to use a tissue box on Giles's desk to clean himself up a bit.
For a moment he caught himself staring at Buffy, her body covered in a sheen of sweat, one hand still rubbing her pussy slightly, the other rolling a nipple between thumb and forefinger. She was panting softly, eyes closed and blissfully unaware of her surroundings.
Then he turned away, disgusted with himself for taking advantage of Buffy. He checked himself in Giles's mirror, and then gave one last look at Buffy. His cock stirred slightly as a feeling of warmth surged through him. Then he left the room.
He never wanted it to be this way.
Giles would fix this. He had to.
Xander closed the door to Giles's office, and turned to look at Buffy. She was barely sitting upright in Giles's office chair. Her eyes were opened, but he could see the aura of pain within them. She stared at him.
"I'm really sorry about this Buffy," he said. Maybe if he'd done something differently, this would not be happening.
"Xander," Buffy groaned. "Don't talk, OK?"
He nodded and took a deep breath.
*Here goes nothing,* he thought. *Now is when I find out if this is all some Watcher Hazing Prank of Giles's.*
Xander unbuckled his belt and undid his fly. He took another deep breath, and stared at Buffy. Her eyes were opened wide, and he suddenly wished he'd had the foresight to ask her to close them.
*What does it matter? She'll be getting an up close view of everything pretty soon.*
He yanked down his pants and underwear in one motion. He stood before her, his manhood only slightly erect. A feeling of warmth surged through him.
Buffy stared at it, unable to take her eyes away. It was... beautiful? She had only ever seen one other close up before, and she didn't remember feeling this way about it. Xander was slightly larger than Angel, although both seemed respectable. There was just something about this...
His scent hit her nostrils, and her enhanced Slayer senses absorbed it in a deep inward breath. She was salivating, she suddenly realized. Xander's cock twitched in response to her staring.
She leaned forward, feeling a flush surging through her. Was the magic enticing her?
Her tongue poked out from between her lips, and she very tentatively touched the head of his penis.
It was like an electric shock. She almost pulled away from the feel of it. Xander's whole body shuddered at that initial contact, and his dick began to rapidly harden. Unable to help herself now, Buffy began licking at the shaft, running her tongue along it before sucking the head into her mouth. At the taste of him inside her mouth, she slid from the chair, a newfound energy surging within her.
She spun him around, and began licking and sucking with zeal. Buffy lifted his cock straight up; sucking on his balls briefly before rising up the shaft. Xander shivered and fell back into the chair.
Buffy put either hand on his knees and pushed them apart, kneeling between his legs. Her tongue danced up and down him, and for long moments she engulfed him, seemingly attempting to take his entire length down her throat, and nearly succeeding a few times.
He groaned and couldn't help but run his fingers through her hair, holding her gently in place as she bobbed up and down on his cock. His moans grew louder, despite his inner promise to not embarrass himself completely.
Buffy was flushed with the pleasure of it, unsure of why this act made her feel so good. The magic was apparently creating some kind of positive feedback for her, and she might have slipped a hand beneath her panties had she not been so focused on pleasuring Xander. Instead she used her hands to softly caress his balls and stroke him gently, and eventually more rapidly as he began to approach his climax.
Xander bellowed with his release, spurting his seed in Buffy's mouth. She didn't even think, instead swallowing greedily. It tasted incredible, like nothing she had ever experienced before. As she swallowed she could feel a surge of warmth inundate her, and suddenly she was bucking softly as an orgasm washed over her. She moaned onto his cock, and afterwards suckled on it for another minute as it slowly softened.
Finally she seemed to regain some of her senses, and fell back. A thin strand of cum came away with her, hanging down from her lip. Without thinking she scooped it up with a finger and sucked it into her mouth.
What was she doing? She stared at Xander, his deflating cock glistening with her saliva as he panted. His eyes were closed, and he felt utterly drained from the greatest orgasm of his young life. For a moment she stared, admiring his form, feeling that odd sense of beauty from the sight of his penis.
She sighed pleasantly, then her eyes widened in shock. What was she doing? She was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and this was Xander! She quickly checked herself in Giles's mirror, and cleaned herself off as best she could. She gave one last look at Xander, feeling a strange warmth between her thighs before leaving the office.
Giles had to fix this. He just had to.
The research session lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Xander and Buffy did their best not to speak to each other at all, although furtive glances were exchanged whenever one thought the other wasn't looking.
Xander was feeling horrible about himself, for reasons he wasn't quite clear on. He had been barely able to concentrate when Giles explained the whole deal to them beforehand. He hadn't been fully alert until Buffy was...before him.
The fog had seemed to lift then, and the overpowering urge to service her had swept through him. He felt angry and ashamed that he had been so weak, that he had taken advantage instead of fighting with all of his strength.
This was Buffy. The girl. The girl above all others, even when he wouldn't always admit it to himself. He may not have been actively pursuing her, especially now that he was with Cordelia, but he could never pretend he didn't care deeply for her.
*Oh god,* he thought. *Cordelia.*
How was he going to explain this to Cordelia? Cordelia who already felt threatened by his relationships to both Buffy and Willow. There would be no explaining. There would be fiery hot pokers and castrations. This was an utter disaster.
The research had garnered some new information, but nothing that actually cured him of the curse. Giles had been able to find out some of the details however, and had assured them that he would acquire other books with more information sometime in the next week. From what he could tell, Buffy would never become too fatigued in order to be pleasured, which mean that she would always be available to Xander, in terms of physical readiness. There was even some indication that Buffy might even forego her "monthly woman-ness" as Giles had put it. Buffy had at least perked up a bit at the idea that she might not suffer her period during the duration of the curse, although the idea that it would be around long enough for her to miss a period was not quite as heartening.
The way he had said it, it seemed like Giles had no real hope of curing the curse, at least until he got some new books in a week.
Three times a day. For a week. If it wasn't for the fact that this was his real life and not some masturbatory fantasy, he might have been jumping for joy.
But this was Buffy, and he never wanted Buffy like this. Not... against her will. How could their friendship ever survive this? He'd gotten the idea afterwards that Buffy had only done it to save his life. It must have been incredibly hard for her to actually undress herself and have him do such a thing to her...
Even now he felt himself harden a little at the memory. It had been so good...
He hated himself for enjoying it so much. Cordelia, Buffy, hell even Angel's lives (or unlives) were going to be ruined by this. And yet all he could think about was how good it felt to lick Buffy's pussy.
Xander Harris sighed. There was no doubt about it; he was love's bitch.
The research session lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Xander and Buffy did their best not to speak to each other at all, although furtive glances were exchanged whenever one thought the other wasn't looking.
Buffy was feeling horrible about herself. This was Xander! Her best friend, the reliable ally who she could count on, even when it was to count on him to disagree with her. She'd been coherent enough to see the pain in his eyes as she'd been half-dragged into Giles's office. She'd seen the resigned look on his face as he unbuckled himself and revealed his manhood.
She flushed red with embarrassment. Even now a surge of pleasure shot through her at the thought of it.
*I'm such a slut,* Buffy thought. *I came just from sucking off a guy. Not just a guy, Xander!*
How could they possibly stay friends through that? Buffy had known that Xander had a crush on her over a year ago, but her horrible treatment of him the beginning of junior year had her firmly believing he had changed his mind on that regard. He and Cordelia seemed to click in some odd way. How could she possibly look Cordelia in the face after giving her boyfriend a blowjob?
The hottest blowjob Buffy could ever imagine.
*Oh god,* she suddenly realized. *Angel!*
How would she ever explain this to Angel? Angel who already felt so threatened by Xander. There would be no explaining. There would be brooding and possibly Xanderdeath.
*Well at least I know he won't be feeling perfect happiness any time soon.*
Giles had been able to find some more information in his books, although nothing that seemed to be able to cure the curse. From what he had found, Xander would always be able to...to be "up to the task" whenever Buffy required it. Xander perked up a bit at that knowledge, but almost immediately looked ashamed of himself, doing his best not to look at Buffy.
*He hates me,* she thought. *I ruined his life. He was with Cordelia, and now he's got to be tied to me for as long as this curse is in effect, which could be forever for all we know!*
Despite her self-loathing, she couldn't help the feeling of pleasure and right-ness she experienced in just remembering the act.
She was a horrible person. Angel, Cordelia, and Xander himself were all going to have their lives ruined by this, and all she could think of was how incredible it felt to suck Xander's dick.
Buffy Summers sighed. There was no doubt about it; she was love's bitch.
In the end there was nothing more they could do until Giles was able to get his hands on some tome or another that wouldn't arrive until next week. Giles suggested the two of them set up a schedule of some kind where they could meet in private three times a day. Both Buffy and Xander were having a hard time even looking at each other, but they knew they'd have to do something about it.
Buffy was feeling extremely confused. She had seen how badly the curse affected Xander, and didn't want to put him in any danger. He was only in this situation because she was the Slayer. It was her fault, she knew it.
Which was why she felt so guilty. It had felt so *good* when Xander had eaten her pussy. Amazingly good, better than anything she had ever felt before. And she was sure he hated what he had to do to her. It's bad enough she could beat him up with one hand tied behind her back, now he was forced to service her three times a day too. She knew that had to hurt a man's fragile ego.
Especially since she'd rebuffed Xander's advances so harshly in the past. How could he possibly want to pleasure someone who'd treated him so badly? She was going to lose her friend from this; she just knew it. She dreaded telling Cordelia and Angel.
Although she dreaded Cordelia more. Angel was leaving anyway, so he was giving up his claim on her. It was his decision to leave, so he couldn't begrudge her from having a little pleasure.
Ok, a LOT of pleasure. She was sure the incredibly mind blowing orgasm wasn't affecting her judgment of the situation at all.
Cordelia would hurt though. Sure, the two young ladies weren't necessarily friends, but she knew that Cordelia and Xander had something special. She was breaking that up, and she didn't deserve to have that broken up because of some demon vendetta against the Slayer.
Come to think of it, Xander didn't deserve that either. She groaned inwardly. *He must be embarassed right now.*
When she'd woken up, he was gone, and she realized she was topless as well as bottomless. She had a vague memory of yanking her shirt off to pinch and pull at her throbbing breasts as she ground into Xander's face. It sent a jolt of pleasure through her just to think of it.
He must have thought she was a total slut. Here he was, doing something he needed to do to *live*, and she was treating him like her favorite vibrator.
Not that she had a favorite vibrator. Or *any* vibrator, for that matter. No no, Buffy would never own such a product. Ahem.
The point was: she was a bad, bad person.
She sighed as the research session came to a close. It was just beginning to get light outside. It was luckily a weekend, so they'd have time to get some sleep and prepare for tomorrow's day at school. Right now she just wanted to go home, take a hot bath, get some sleep, and then go break the news to Angel.
In the end there was nothing more they could do until Giles was able to get his hands on some tome or another that wouldn't arrive until next week. Giles suggested the two of them set up a schedule of some kind where they could meet in private three times a day. Both Buffy and Xander were having a hard time even looking at each other, but they knew they'd have to do something about it.
Xander was feeling extremely confused. He had seen how badly the curse had affected her. Anything that could virtually paralyze a Slayer was bad. He didn't want to think about how that might have affected a normal human.
She was only in this situation because of him. If he hadn't tackled her when the demon attacked, she might have dodged just fine on her own, and not been busy rolling with him in the dirt when the second blast hit. He should have just let Buffy do her job. Why did he have to try and play the hero? This was all his fault; he knew.
Which was why he felt so guilty. It had felt so *good*. Buffy was a true talent, not that he could ever tell her such a thing. He had been barely able to think as she sucked him, but the vague memory of her swallowing his cum made him stiffen even now.
*I am a horrible, horrible person.*
She was doing something she needed to *live*, and he was treating her like his favorite porno.
Not that Xander had a favorite porno. Or even...oh, who was he kidding?
Besides, she was with Angel. He had seen them together. The definition of star-crossed lovers. He couldn't compete with that, and he'd actually been foolish enough to try on more than one occasion. Now not only would Angel's curse stand in the way of their true love, but this new curse as well.
Curses all around.
Strangely he wasn't too upset about Cordelia. He didn't figure she would take the news well, but he knew it would have to be done. He cared about her, a lot, maybe even loved her. But it was his duty now to be available to Buffy whenever she needed him, and it wouldn't be fair to Cordelia to do that behind her back.
He was sure that the mind-blowingly incredible orgasm Buffy had given him wasn't affecting his judgment. Not at all.
When he'd come to his senses, Buffy was gone, and he couldn't blame her. She was obviously disgusted with herself. Buffy was his non-Willow best friend, and while she was no doubt filled with inner loathing at the disgusting act she'd had to commit, he was busy reminiscing about good it felt when she had tried to swallow his entire shaft.
*Bad Xander!,* he shouted inwardly. *And bad Little Xander!* he added to his crotch.
He sighed as the research session finally ended. It was luckily a weekend, so they'd have some time to sleep and prepare for tomorrow's day of school. His plan now was to get home, get some sleep, then make the call to Cordelia.
Her plans did not work out well. At nine A.M. Xander called, waking her out of a sound sleep, his voice trembled in pain as he told her he might need some help. Apparently he'd tried to hold out as long as he could, but the effects were already rippling through him. Sunrise to sunrise, she remembered. This was already a new day.
She rushed to his house as quickly as she could. When she arrived he was curled up on the living room couch. The room itself had half a dozen beer bottles lying around, and at least two empty boxes of pizza. When she asked where his parents were, he muttered something about sleeping off their Saturday night rituals.
She was a little grossed out by the large recliner she decided to use, but she didn't have time to be comfortable when Xander was clearly in pain. She leaned back and quickly pulled down her pants and panties. When she did, Xander once again seemed to perk up slightly, and was soon at the task.
It was every bit as good as the first one, if not better, and Buffy was sure she'd wake up his parents with her screams.
When he'd finished she simply lied there, basking in the afterglow. He sat there for a moment, staring at the vision of beauty that she was. After a moment he shook his head and decided to get up and make some breakfast. He still felt horrible about this situation, despite once again climaxing himself while servicing Buffy. He was going to have to call Cordelia soon, so it seemed that getting any more sleep was out of the question.
He cooked a decent breakfast with what he could scavenge from his under stocked refrigerator, making Buffy a fried egg sandwich, over easy, just the way she liked it. When he poked his head into the living room he saw her asleep in the recliner, one hand still rubbing slightly at her crotch. Her shirt was pulled halfway up over her head, and her other hand was caressing her breasts.
She looked equal parts ridiculous, and sexy as hell. He covered her with a blanket and made sure his parents were still out cold, and then returned to the kitchen. He put Buffy's breakfast in the refrigerator until she woke up and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to tide himself over.
Afterwards he retreated to his room where he changed his underwear (he'd have to start carrying some extra pairs or something, if this was going to be a habit) and generally moped for the rest of the morning. She had come over as soon as he called. He knew she had to hate doing this to him, had to hate what this would mean for her relationship with Angel.
She was such a great friend to him.
At noon he called Cordelia and asked her to meet him at his place, only first he told her to call Giles and have him assure her that everything he was going to tell her this afternoon was completely true. She sounded worried and very skeptical, but did what he asked.
Buffy woke up shortly after he hung up. It had been, to her knowledge, one of the best naps she'd ever had. She woke moaning softly, and then turned beet red when she realized she was A) in Xander's House and B) pretty much naked. She quickly wriggled back into her clothes, and then went in search of Xander.
He was in the kitchen, looking grim.
"Hey," she said. He looked up at her, and smiled softly.
"Hey." He got up and pulled her breakfast out of the refrigerator.
"Here, figured you'd be hungry," he said as he placed it in the microwave.
"Oh thanks. What about you though?"
"I already ate."
It took them both a minute to realize the unintended double entendre. Their eyes both widened at the same time, and they looked at each other. Then they broke into laughter, the kind of laughter that comes from that kind of socially awkward situation where your brain forces you to relieve as much tension as possible in one go.
They were still laughing when Cordelia rang the doorbell. They snickered a few more times, before Xander told Buffy that he'd asked Cordelia to come over. Buffy paled.
"Maybe I should go," she said.
"It's up to you," he replied.
"O-OK. I guess I'll stay..." She wanted to help him to salvage his relationship if she could. This was her fault after all. She was the slayer.
"Xander," she said, grabbing his arm as he went to get the door. The touch was the first non-sexual one they'd shared since the night before. He looked to her hand, and she released him like he was on fire.
"I just, anything I can do to help you and Cordelia get through this, you tell me, OK?"
He nodded slightly, and then went to answer the door.
"Jeez! You call me over and then make me stand at the front door for like an hour," Cordelia complained. Xander knew that kind of complaint though. From Cordelia it meant she was worried and wanted to find out what the problem was quickly.
"Giles was all blubbery and more British than usual when I talked to him. What's this all about?"
He led her to the living room, clearing a space for her on the couch. Buffy noticed that he avoided the recliner.
"Cordy, I...you know that I really like you, right?" he asked after a long moment of silence.
"Duh, otherwise you wouldn't be going out with me, dweeb," she laughed good naturedly, then stiffened. "Wait a minute, is this you breaking up with me? Cause you sooo don't get to be the one to break up with me, mister."
He shook his head, trying to calm her down. "No Cordy, I mean, well that'll be up to...I just want you to know that, and that what I'm about to tell you really is the truth."
He told her the whole story of the demon and the lightning, of the unbearable pain and weakness, and of what he had to do. To Buffy.
Cordelia stared at him when he was finished. She looked from Xander to Buffy, and then back again.
"Is that why she's here? Because you..."
"I had an attack a few hours ago," he admitted.
She seemed speechless.
"I'm so sorry Cordelia," Buffy said earnestly.
"Just...don't." Cordelia stood up, looking almost as if she would faint as she did so.
"If you're playing some kind of sick joke on me Xander..." she said, eyes welling with tears.
"I'm not Cordy, I swear."
"It's the truth," Buffy whispered sadly.
Her bottom lip quivered.
"So what, you two are like, together now?"
"No!" Buffy cried, a little too fast for Xander. Of course she would react so strongly to that. She hates this.
"No, we're not. I...I don't know if we can make it work Cordelia, or if you even want to try."
"I need to go." She made for the door.
"Cordy wait, please!" Xander rose to follow her, but she rushed outside.
"Please Xander, I need some time," she sighed, and then looked at him forlornly. "Why couldn't you just cheat like a normal guy?"
He almost laughed at that. Instead he smiled at her sadly. They stared at each other for a moment, and then she retreated to her car, and was gone.
Xander's shoulders slumped as he stood in the doorway, watching her car turn the corner and disappear. Buffy placed a hand on his back.
"I'm sorry Xander," she said, tears in her eyes as well.
"It's not your fault Buffy," Xander said.
"None of this would have happened if I weren't the Slayer," she whispered.
"Aw Buff," he turned to her. She stood there hugging herself, tears in her eyes and bottom lip trembling softly. His Xander-instincts kicked in, and he pulled her close to him, hugging her tightly.
She melted into his grasp, hugging him back and crying softly into his chest.
"It's not your fault Buffy. We live on a hellmouth. If we're going to blame someone, let's blame whoever decided to build a town here."
She sniffed. "Richard Wilkins the First."
He gave her a quizzical look.
"I did a report on him for history last year," she said, explaining. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.
"Ok then, we blame Richard Wilkins the First. Not Buffy the Vampire Slayer, deal?"
"I guess so."
Xander sighed. No, this really wasn't how he wanted things to be.
His plans didn't work out so well. At nine-thirty that morning Buffy called him, waking him out of a sound sleep. She was trembling in pain, apparently having tried to hold out as long as she could. Sunrise to sunrise, he remembered. This was a new day.
He rushed over to her house as quickly as he could. The door was unlocked when he got there, and she was curled up on the living room couch, trembling. He asked about her mother, but she was apparently at some conference. Xander nodded slightly, then unbuckled his pants. He missed the look of relief on Buffy's face when he did so.
He might have felt uncomfortable sitting on Joyce's nice furniture with his pants around his ankles, but he was too busy worrying for Buffy. She seemed to perk up slightly when he was nude from the waist down however. She rolled off the couch and crawled over to him. Her hot breath on his member caused it to twitch and grow slowly.
She engulfed him in an instant.
It was just as good as the last time, if not better. He tried not to let it overwhelm him again, but soon he was afraid his loud groans would have the neighbors call the cops on them.
When it was finished, she once again swallowed it all. He leaned back in the comfortable armchair, one hand cupping himself slightly as he panted.
Buffy sat back and stared at the vision of beauty that he was. Then she shook her head and got up. She needed to get some more sleep if she wanted to tell Angel tonight. She got a blanket for Xander, giggling slightly at the sight of him holding his dick in one hand as he snored. He was at once incredibly sexy and amazingly ridiculous. She covered him, and then went to her room where she changed her panties. She had cum again from blowing him, and her panties were soaked with the juices of her arousal. She'd have to start carrying around extra pairs at this rate.
She went back downstairs and grabbed a blanket for herself. She gave Xander one last look as he slept peacefully in the armchair. He came over as soon as she called. He was being so great about this, coming to help as soon as she asked. She giggled to herself. Literally.
She knew he had to hate doing this to her. Had to hate what it meant for him and Cordelia. He did it anyway. He truly was a great friend.
Buffy sighed and curled up on the couch. It took her a long time to fall asleep.
She woke up around three, feeling very rested. Xander still seemed to be sleeping, his head lolled to one side as he snored. Slayers traditionally didn't need as much sleep as normal humans, so she did her best not to bother him.
She thought about cooking breakfast, but the only thing she knew how to make was cereal, and somehow she messed even that up every once in a while. Instead she decided to go for a morning (afternoon) run and stop off for doughnuts on the way back.
At the doughnut place she ate four double-chocolate glazed right on the spot, ignoring the look the guy behind the counter gave her. A Slayer needed to maintain her energy after all. Plus she'd been hit by red lightning last night, so she deserved a treat. She bought a half-dozen extra to bring back with her for Xander.
He woke up when she came in the door, despite her best efforts to stay quiet. He smiled sadly at her.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey."
They stood there uncomfortably for a moment before she handed him the box of doughnuts. "I figured you might be hungry."
"Thanks!" he said happily. Xander was always a sucker for snack foods. He had downed his first Boston Crème when he seemed to remember his manners.
"Ant un?" he said in a muffled voice.
"No thanks, I already ate."
They stared at each other before both of them remembered exactly *what* she'd eaten. Both of their eyes widened at the same time and when their eyes met, they both burst into laughter. It was the kind of laughter that comes from that kind of socially awkward situation where your brain forces you to relieve as much tension as possible in one go.
When they'd finished laughing, they simply sat in silence in the kitchen while Xander munched on his breakfast (lunch) and Buffy tried to stop staring at him when she wasn't thinking. She felt a slight twinge in her nether region.
"I really need to call Cordelia," Xander said, breaking the silence. Buffy's mood sank. Cordelia. She'd almost forgotten. Xander clearly hadn't. He must be livid over Buffy's interference in his life. He and Cordelia were good together, despite, or even because of their arguments. She hated that she might break that up.
"Are you going to be...OK?" he asked. She had to think a moment what that could mean. Then she realized they'd slept for a long while. Three times a day. Only once so far.
She bit her lip, trying to ignore the heat between her legs.
"Buffy?" he was getting concerned.
"Umm...I don't know. I mean, I don't know what kind of schedule it's on, you know?"
"How's the shakiness? Maybe that's an indicator."
She held up her hand, and was shocked to see it was shaking ever-so-slightly. She really didn't want to feel the effects of "withdrawal" again.
"Maybe...maybe I better...before you go," she didn't want to sound eager. Xander must hate this, don't sound like you enjoy it.
Xander gulped down the last bit of doughnut.
"If you think it's a good idea," he said, not wanting to sound eager himself. Buffy must surely find this disgusting, but he couldn't imagine what the pain of it must be like if she wanted to do it pre-emptively. He thought briefly of how she would be telling Angel later, and of how he was ruining her chance to be happy with him.
"So uh, I guess I should just..." he looked down at his pants. She took a deep breath. This was the first time she wouldn't be completely out of it when it began.
He stared at her, looking for a sign of consent. She looked at his eyes, so full of caring for her. She got off her seat and stepped between his legs. Slowly she knelt down and began unbuckling his jeans, fingers shaking ever-so-slightly.
She carefully fished his penis out of his pants. The warm feeling on her fingers spread a heat straight down to her clit and back again.
As the other times, once she tasted him, she was gone. She felt the lust sweep over her, and began sucking him with wild abandon. She began to realize dimly that each time was slightly different, that there was some drive within her to make it special. This time she paid special attention to licking him up and down slowly for long minutes before finally taking him in her mouth. She began bobbing up and down, slowly at first, then faster as Xander's moans grew louder. His hands snaked into her hair, and she groaned on his dick at the warm feeling of his large hands on her. He massaged her head slightly as she sped up, and when she felt him tense for his orgasm, she had one hand slowly caressing his balls and the other down the front of her pants, fingering herself madly.
She swallowed all of his seed, relishing the taste of it.
When it was over he was panting, but this time he was not as exhausted as the previous times. He stared at her in awe, and she flushed red with embarrassment and the arousal of her shared orgasm.
As he left she realized she'd have to change her panties again.
They talked for a while after Cordelia left. She'd be telling Angel later that evening, and he asked if she wanted him there to corroborate the story. She told him it wasn't necessary.
*Of course it's not, you idiot* he thought to himself. *It's bad enough that she has to let you do that to her in the first place.*
Just thinking about it made him hard, and he hated himself for it.
They discussed the possibility of setting up a schedule. Buffy suggested they try to keep school related "doses" to Giles's office, assuming he'd let them use it. They spent most of their time at the school anyway, so it wouldn't be too suspicious. They could do it in the mornings before class, at lunch, and after school when they normally did research or she trained with Giles. Weekends would have to be another matter.
He wasn't sure who had come up with the idea to refer to them as doses, or the effects of the curse as withdrawal. It was a decent enough reference that would only make them sound like drug fiends to the average listener, not perverts.
*She's got to alter her whole life for you now,* Xander thought. *You can't ever be apart for more than eight hours.*
It was a depressing thought. He didn't like to think about how badly he was ruining her life.
When they were done talking he fully expected her to leave. Instead she sat in his kitchen and stared at him for a long while.
"What?" he asked, self-consciously.
"I just...well I was going to go try and see Angel soon..."
"Oh." Xander tried to sound unemotional. He tried not to stare at her legs, the way she sat so gracefully with one crossed over the other. They were so beautiful, encased in the tight jeans she wore.
*Bad Xander!*
"What I mean is," she paused. "Are you going to be ok?"
It took him a moment to realize what she meant. He glanced at the clock. It had been a while.
"I really don't know, I mean who knows what kind of schedule it is. Three times a sunrise is kind of shady." He shifted in his seat. He was rock hard.
"How's the shakes? Maybe that shows you?"
He held up a hand, surprised that it was trembling slightly. He groaned slightly. Xander really didn't want to feel the effects of "withdrawal" again.
"Maybe I better...before you go," he said, trying to stay cool. He didn't want to sound too eager, although he suspected the bulge in his pants might be giving him away.
"Ok, I'll just..." she looked down at her pants. His eyes followed hers, and he stared at her lower body for a moment. He licked his lips, and then stood. This would be his first time without being completely out of it.
She looked into his eyes as he stepped between her legs. Slowly he lowered to his knees, and began undoing her pants. She bit her lip as she raised her butt off the seat to help him slide her pants down. He pressed a hand against her knees, causing her to spread her legs open. She blushed slightly as he inhaled her scent. Then he leaned forward and placed a kiss against her pussy lips.
Once again, as soon as he tasted her he was gone. He licked and lapped at her as if she was an oasis to a man dying of thirst. Her juices were the sweetest things he'd ever tasted, and he couldn't have stopped himself if he tried. He noticed dimly that there was some drive within him to make this special, to always make it special.
This time he sucked and tongued her clit while he slid a finger inside of her. Buffy was panting and whimpering loudly, and when his finger first penetrated her she screamed out a garbled, "Yes!"
After that he sucked harder and frigged her rapidly, Buffy squeaking in pleasure with every thrust of his hand. When she came she grabbed his head and pressed it hard against her snatch. He obliged her happily and let himself go fully into pleasuring her, his own orgasm almost a footnote compared to the satisfaction of giving Buffy Summers pleasure.
When she came down from her orgasm he was still softly licking at her, and she basked in the goodness of it for a few more minutes. Finally he planted one last kiss on her, and leaned back on his heels. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, which glistened with his saliva and her juices.
She removed her hands from underneath her shirt, and blushed slightly at him. He looked away, turning red himself.
As she left, he realized he'd have to change his underwear again.
Buffy told Angel that evening. He was understandably shocked and dismayed, but he understood what a curse could do. Understood better than maybe anyone else could. She wondered sometimes what went on in Angel's head, but his stoic exterior didn't reveal his feelings very well.
"I'm sorry Buffy, I know how curses can be," he'd said.
She was surprised at her lack of heartache. Whenever she thought about how she and Angel would be affected by this, her body betrayed her by reminding her of Xander's tongue on her wet pussy. She was half afraid Angel would smell the arousal on her body.
They parted on good but cold terms, although Angel had said something about leaving sooner than he expected. She wasn't sure she blamed him.
She thought about Xander and Cordelia, feeling horrible for them. She wondered if Cordelia had talked to Xander again. She hated the feeling that she might break them up.
Well what was stopping her from talking to Cordelia herself? Nothing! That's what she'd do, go to Cordelia and tell her how she felt, and that Cordelia didn't need to break up with Xander on her account.
Cordelia was less than thrilled to see Buffy, but allowed the girl to come in her house, although she was careful not to invite her directly. Buffy told her of how horrible she felt concerning Xander's malady, and that she would do everything she could do to keep it as unobtrusive to their relationship as possible.
"Let me get this straight," Cordelia said. "My boyfriend is going to eat your cunt at least three times a day, but this is going to be unobtrusive to our relationship?"
Buffy flinched at Cordelia's hash language, but took it as a sign of how upset the cheerleader was.
"I just meant...I don't want you guys to break up because of this. Xander really loves you, I know it, and he never meant for any of this to happen."
"Look Buffy, I'm not even sure I really want to be talking to you right now," Cordelia snapped.
"OK, I understand." She got up to leave, but then had an idea. "You know, before you make a decision..."
"Yeah?"
"You should have him...do that to you," she blushed red and grinned a little. Her pussy twinged a bit with the memory.
"What?" Cordelia was clearly shocked by Buffy's suggestion.
"I'm just saying, if that doesn't make you want to stay with him. .."
"Ugh. You need to get out right now."
Buffy left, but couldn't shake the warm fuzzy feeling of remembering Xander on his knees in front of her.
Xander told Cordelia that evening. She was understandably upset when Xander suggested they take a break until things were settled. He felt a little odd that he wasn't more upset about his relationship with Cordelia, but every time he thought about her the memory of Buffy with her lips wrapped around his cock forced it's way into his brain. Cordelia had given one glance at the bulge in his pants and scoffed before slamming the door on her way out.
It would be better for her in the long run. Even a week of this could be a serious strain on their relationship, and he didn't want to string Cordelia along while he had three trysts a day with Buffy.
His eyes glazed as he thought of Buffy. He felt awful for putting her in this situation. She was telling Angel about everything right now. Maybe he should stop by and try to help them smooth things over. He didn't want to be the one responsible for their breakup.
When he got there Buffy was crying and Angel was staring into the fireplace.
"Oh...uh...I thought maybe I could help clear things up?" Xander tried.
"Go away Xander," Angel said coolly.
"He...he said he understood about curses, but he doesn't care beyond that!" Buffy wailed. She sunk to the floor, hugging her knees as she bawled.
"Look, Angel, you can't blame this on Buffy. I'm the one who tackled her when the demon showed up, so it's my fault that this is going on."
Angel's gaze moved to Xander, and he gave him a cold look. Then he looked back to the fire.
"I was going to L.A. anyway. I'll just go a little earlier."
"I'm so sorry Angel, I'm so sorry," Buffy was rocking back and forth as she sobbed to herself. It broke Xander's heart. These two should be together, but weren't because of his stupidity.
"At least tell her it's not her fault, OK? If you're going to give someone the cold shoulder, give it to me ok?"
Angel stared at him again, then looked to Buffy. His shoulders sagged slightly, and he knelt beside her. He stroked her hair softly until he looked into his eyes.
"You don't have to be sorry Buffy. Fate is funny sometimes." He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "It's not your fault."
He stood up and moved to Xander.
"You treat her good Xander, or I'll make sure to send you to one of the nastier hell dimensions," he glared at Xander.
"No problem man. No soul-losing worries or anything here. Although lemme tell you, just between us guys, if anything could give you a moment of perfect happiness, it's Buffy's mouth."
*Oh man,* Xander suddenly realized. *That was incredibly stupid.*
He really hoped he could chalk off that moment of foot-in-mouth disease to the curse, and not that he was Xander Harris, the master of saying the wrong the at the wrong time.
Angel had punched him before either of them realized it. Xander stared up at the pretty lights that flashed before his eyes as he was flattened. Angel gave him one last glaring look, and then left.
He lied there for a while, until the sounds of Buffy's sniffling seemed to get closer. He opened his eyes, and found her leaning over him.
"Are you OK?"
"I think so," he said.
"Your face is kind of purple."
"Oh yeah? Well you're a doody head," he jibed playfully.
She grinned slightly at that. They stared at each other for a while, and then Buffy knelt beside him, surreptitiously placing a hand between her thighs and pressing her legs against it.
"You didn't have to do that," she said. "And you probably shouldn't have."
"Yeah I figure that out when I got punched in the face."
"I'm kind of mad at you."
"I don't blame you."
She leaned over him again, and he tried not to be too obvious about staring at her cleavage.
"But I also appreciate the effort," she said, and kissed him lightly on the forehead. He smiled sadly.
She flicked her wrist out to look at her watch. The bent her arm oddly to show him the time. He could see the slight tremble in her hand as she did so. He nodded.
Xander Harris leaned back against the cold stone floor of Angel's mansion and tried not to groan too loudly as Buffy Summers gave him an incredible blowjob.
Xander grinned at her, and kissed her full on the lips. She smiled as she kissed him back, but then pulled away and gave him a stern look.
"This doesn't mean everything's OK, but I'm trying to be Miss Open-Minded here," Cordelia Chase said to him.
"I understand. Can I still be Xander?" he waggled his eyebrows at her, doing his best to fight the trembling he felt, and tried not to think about using his tongue on a certain Vampire Slayer. It was almost midnight and he and Cordelia were patching up the details on their relationship. She'd said she would try not to get upset or jealous over Buffy and his "medication," so long as that's all they did. Xander had agreed happily, not wanting to lose Cordelia over the situation.
"Dork," she laughed and slapped him on the chest lightly. He doubled over with her strike.
"Oh come off it," she rolled her eyes. Xander said nothing though as he clutched his chest in pain. He groaned and fell off the couch.
"Xander!" Cordelia yelled in alarm. She put a hand to his chest. His heartbeat was erratic, and his face was pale. "911!" she shouted to herself, and grabbed the cordless phone from its cradle.
"No..." Xander croaked. "Buffy."
At first Cordelia thought Xander was calling her Buffy in some fevered hallucination, and she almost smacked him. Then she realized he was telling her to call Buffy. This must be the withdrawal he'd talked about!
It scared her to see him like this, pale and weak as his body shook violently every so often. She dialed Buffy's number quickly. One ring. Two rings...Five Rings...
Finally the phone clicked and an annoyed voice said, "What?"
"Buffy you get your ass over here right now!" Cordelia yelled into the phone.
"What? Who is this?" Cordelia paled as she realized that the voice wasn't Buffy's.
"Uh...Mrs. Summers?"
"I'm afraid I'm Mrs. Summers, so you have to be someone else," Joyce Summers said, annoyed.
"No I mean...this is Cordelia, a friend of Buffy's from school. Well not really a friend cause I would so never hang out with her in public or anything but she's decent enough if you ignore the...look, can you just put Buffy on the phone?"
"Has anyone ever told you it's rude to call people at midnight?" Joyce snapped.
"Has anyone ever told you it's rude to get in the middle of an emergency call for the Slayer?" Cordelia shouted back at her. *Ha!* thought Cordelia, *that got her!*
"I'll get her," Joyce said coldly. Cordelia heard the muffled shuffling of a phone being moved and the murmured voice of Joyce Summers as she told her daughter there was someone on the phone, and it was an emergency.
"Hello?" Buffy asked nervously.
"You need to get over here right now Buffy, Xander's dying or something!" Cordelia almost screamed into the phone.
"What time is...? Oh! Ok, yeah I'll be right there." The phone clicked, and Cordelia hoped she came fast. Some naught teenaged part of her giggled that she hope she *came* fast too.
*I've got to get off of the hellmouth,* she groaned to herself when she realized her ridiculous thought.
"What's wrong?" Joyce asked as Buffy grabbed a pair of jeans and almost pulled them on before reaching for a skirt instead. She tossed on a large jacket over the wife beater t-shirt she had worn to bed. She pulled on her boots as she answered her mom.
"Umm...some problem, Slayer stuff. Nothing dangerous, just need to help Cordelia with a problem."
"Oh yeah, and what problem is that?" Joyce was suspicious. She often wondered if Buffy ever used her slaying as an excuse to go out late at night for regular teenaged idiocy. "It's a school night you know, so unless it's an emergency."
"It is!" Buffy said as she scrambled down the stairs.
"What emergency?" Joyce asked pointedly.
"Xander," Buffy responded before meaning to.
*A boy,* Joyce thought.
"What's Xander's emergency?"
"Look Mom I really don't have time to talk to you about this, I have to go."
Joyce stared at her daughter. She was obviously distressed, but just as obviously was holding something back. She took a deep breath as Buffy looked at her expectantly.
"Fine, but I want an explanation when you get back. And you make sure to get back as soon as you can. I know all about that history test of yours next week, and you're not getting out of it on account of Slaying."
Buffy rolled her eyes. Sometimes her Mom treated Slaying like some kind of game that Buffy played to distract her from schoolwork or chores. She didn't have time to think about it just then though, and was soon out the door and racing towards Cordelia's house.
She arrived three minutes later; and was sure she had broken a few speed records on the way over, despite her combat boots and skirt.
Cordelia opened the door and paused for a moment as she took in Buffy's outfit.
"You're lucky this is an emergency, or I'd burn those off of you, "the cheerleader said. "He's in here."
Buffy followed her inside. Xander was on the floor curled up in the fetal position, shaking uncontrollably. Buffy pulled off her jacket and moved over to him. She rolled him over so he was on his back. He seemed to calm a little at her touch, not shaking quite so badly.
"Uh...I kind of need to..." Buffy trailed off, looking pointedly at Cordelia. The dark haired girl stared back at her, then sat on the couch opposite of them.
"I'm staying. To make sure it doesn't go too far." Cordelia crossed her arms over her rather ample bosom.
Buffy burned red with embarrassment. There was no time to argue, however. She was glad she'd worn the skirt. She stepped out of her panties and stood over Xander's head. Slowly she knelt down, sitting on her heels as she positioned herself directly above his face. She lowered her snatch onto his mouth, slowly.
When the scent reached Xander's nostrils, the shaking began to steady and his tongue reached out. The taste of her electrified him, and he jerked once before the shaking stopped. Then his arms reached out and grabbed her thighs, getting a good grip on her. He pulled her onto his face, and began to eat her in earnest.
Cordelia watched in shock as her boyfriend ate out Buffy. She couldn't see what he was doing underneath the folds of Buffy's skirt, but the smacking sounds told the tale in graphic detail. Buffy tried to keep silent at first, but Cordelia could see the rapidly growing arousal in the Slayer. Her nipples became hard points under the thin material of the t-shirt she wore, and soon she was rubbing at her pubic area with one hand while the other reached under her shirt.
She was so brazen that Cordelia could hardly believe it. It was clear the Slayer hard forgotten where she was, as she whimpered loudly and occasionally gave a small scream of pleasure as she ground her cunt into Xander's face. As Buffy's lust escalated she ripped off her shirt, revealing her apple-sized breasts in all their glory. She pulled and rubbed at herself as Xander lapped at her pussy, and Cordelia could see the hard bulge in his pants pulsing with his heartbeat...slow and steady, a dim part of her was glad to see.
Cordelia squirmed, and licked her lips. Buffy rocked back and forth on her boyfriend's face, screaming almost continuously with pleasure as she did so. Cordelia groaned slightly, and couldn't help slipping a hand beneath her own panties. She started slow but quickly built up speed and was soon frenziedly fingering herself as Buffy rode Xander's face.
Cordelia actually came first, something that surprised her considering how pleasurable things seemed to be for Buffy. Although from the looks of things it might be said that Buffy was in one continuous orgasm the whole time. That is, until she screamed powerfully and her whole body convulsed in an orgasm unlike anything Cordelia could have ever imagined. The slayer seemed to almost glow with lust as she cried out, and she could see Xander's hips rocking up and down as he apparently came as well.
When all was done Buffy fell forward slightly, and lay on the floor on her hands and knees. Xander still lapped lightly at her pussy as the blonde slayer breathed heavily, a delirious smile on her face. After another minute or two, Buffy rolled off of him, and Xander took a deep intake of breath. Cordelia could scarcely believe he hadn't passed out from oxygen deprivation.
He turned his head and saw Cordelia there, his peaceful expression vanishing.
"Cordelia?" he gasped. "I...I..."
"She insisted on staying," Buffy said, smiling knowingly at Cordelia. Cordelia frowned at her, and then looked down, realizing her hand was still at her own crotch. She pulled it away quickly. Xander raised an eyebrow at her.
"I...wanted to make sure you only did what you said you did."
"Did everything measure up to your satisfaction?" Buffy asked.
"And how!" Cordelia said breathlessly.
The next morning in school was like a different reality to Buffy. She found herself staring at the other students as they went about their day, totally oblivious to the secret changes in the "weird" blonde girl.
She'd dreamed of Xander that night, and awoke aroused and wet. She couldn't get Xander or his manhood out of her mind.
Even now, standing in the hallway and watching students pass her by; she could feel the nagging thoughts in the back of her mind. A flash of a groan of pleasure, of fingers curled in her hair, of the throbbing pulse of him. She chewed on her bottom lip and tried not to let her flush of excitement show.
She'd already been with Xander again that morning when they first arrived, retreating to Giles's office while the older man stuttered and blustered his assent. He told them that she and Xander could use it whenever was necessary, and had even given them extra keys in case he was not there to let them in.
Buffy found herself almost fond of those moments after they had finished, when the symptoms of withdrawal were gone and her mind seemed clear and focused, her body pleasantly tired from the ache of pleasure. She was ashamed of herself for enjoying it the way she did.
The utter naughtiness of doing such things during school hours sometimes made her head spin. She had never expected such things could excite her the way it did.
She took a deep breath before heading to science class, knowing that sitting in her usual spot between Willow and Xander would distract her utterly. Buffy felt tears almost form in her eyes at the thought of how being a Slayer had affected her life. She could barely handle school anymore!
Science class turned out to not be as problematic as she thought. She kept her eyes off Xander, although she noticed he seemed abnormally quiet for most of class, answering Willow in one-word responses whenever he could.
Willow had been trying very hard to act as if everything was just fine, but Buffy knew her friend must have been crying inside. Willow had been after Xander since she was five, and now she had lost him to Buffy and her Slayer-ness. Never mind that Willow was with Oz or that Buffy and Xander were not exactly a couple. Buffy knew her friend well enough to know this must have been eating her up inside.
*Another life I ruined,* Buffy thought, frowning down at her practice test. She checked off a few answers, surprised at how simple the test was. What had she been so worried about two days ago? She checked off a half-dozen more, and turned the page over.
It was blank. She was done.
"Huh," Buffy said, glancing at the clock. There was still twenty minutes left for class. She looked over at Willow who was chewing on the end of her pencil as she screwed up her face in thought. She looked to be on the third question. A glance at Xander showed he was staring down at the first question in numb disbelief.
"What's wrong?" she risked, whispering softly to him. Just looking at him sent a surge of warmth through her, but she fought it down.
"This can't be English," he said.
"The differing neutrons determines the difference in the..." she whispered, trying to help him.
"The what now?" she almost giggled out loud at his dumbfounded expression. Sometimes Xander could really pull of being cute and dumb.
*Oh my god, did I just think that?*
"The mass. The neutrons mean the isotope has a different mass," she tried to be as silent as possible.
"Did you drink your smart potion today?" he asked her, amazed. She flushed red at that. She'd only drank one thing today, and it hadn't been a smart potion. She almost moaned in the middle of class, remembering it.
"Sorry," he croaked. They were both trying to not mention Buffy's malady when it wasn't necessary. She didn't say anything in response, instead staring down at her own completed paper. In her mind she was back in Giles's office on her knees and staring up at Xander...
She shook her head, clearing the cobwebs. She looked at the clock. Fifteen more minutes. She groaned and put her head down on the table. It was like a lifetime.
Once class had blessedly ended, Buffy headed straight to the bathroom. A splash of cold water on her face helped cool her down, and she stared at herself in the mirror before heading to her next class.
On her way to English she saw Cordelia and her band of harpies. The whole group seemed to stare at her as she walked by, and she was sure her face was as red as Rudolph's nose. She felt horrible for breaking up Xander and Cordelia.
Thinking of Xander and Cordelia reminded her of Angel. She'd cried like a little girl at his place last night, but she couldn't blame his cold response. How could she expect a guy to understand what she had to do with Xander? She could barely understand it herself.
The rest of the day went by smoothly, Buffy thanking whatever powers there were that her schoolwork had been largely the simple and easily completed variety. She didn't think she could handle the tough stuff right now, not with her head so full of...
*Bad Buffy. No more X-rated thoughts in high school.*
Xander's day went far less smoothly. He found his schoolwork virtually impossible to concentrate on. It was bad enough he had Buffy to worry about, but he was supposed to know how to determine the mass of an isotope based off of newtons or something? Xander and schoolwork had never gotten along well, and his recent developments were not helping matters any.
Even his appetite had suffered, finding he could barely finish his tuna sandwich at lunch. Study Hall was spent in the Library where he tried to keep his mind on various compendiums of monster curses and similar books, but his face still throbbed from Angel's punch, and other parts of him throbbed for...other reasons.
Buffy reasons.
The research had revealed only that the curse was rarely, if ever used on humans, and that the effects of it were apparently not all catalogued.
"Great, you mean we get more surprises?" Xander sighed, slamming his book closed.
"P-perhaps. I have a colleague in New York who has agreed to send me their copy of Corey's Curses and Hexes, and she assures me there are references to the Curse of Lover's Reciprocation in there," Giles said as he wiped his glassed down with a handkerchief.
"Put me down as saying enough is enough," Xander said.
"I understand that this must be difficult for you Xander," Giles said. "But for Buffy's sake I would ask that you try to keep in higher spirits. She is obviously distressed by the situation, and she will need to rely on you to maintain some semblance of order."
"High spirits Giles? I don't want Buffy thinking I'm happy about this."
Giles gave him a pointed look.
"Aren't you?" Giles had been a young man once himself, and he could hardly say that the prospect of a beautiful young woman servicing him sexually would be a bad thing.
"Absolutely not!" Xander's anger was surprising, and he shook a finger in Giles's face. "She's one of my best friends Giles, and I've cared about her for as long as I've known her. And now I'm...taking advantage of her while she's forced to do something to me that she has to hate!"
He didn't notice Buffy enter the Library. She stood staring at him as he ranted at Giles. "I don't want this! I don't want any of this! This is just bad and wrong, and it makes me sick inside to think about it, how if I hadn't been so stupid and tackled her, none of this would have happened. This is Buffy, Giles. Buffy! Of course I don't enjoy it!"
He felt sick inside at that part of him that whispered he really did enjoy it. He had never felt even half as good as when Buffy was on her knees in front of him, taking him in her mouth. He was a terrible person.
Buffy stood in the entrance of the Library. It was true. He hated her doing that to him - hated having to be with her. How could she blame him? She had been so cruel to him that day last year, dancing with him to make Angel jealous. She'd said horrible things to him, had severed any feelings he might have had for her. And now he was forced to be with someone who had hurt him so badly, forced to help her because he was such a good friend, even to someone as worthless as she was.
She bit back a sob and ran from the library.
"Buffy?" Xander turned to see the blonde bolt from the library. He spun back to Giles. "How much did she hear?"
"I-I don't know," Giles admitted.
"Oh man," Xander whined, and then went after her.
Buffy got home later than she expected. She, Cordelia and Xander had talked for a while after he had...recovered. Cordelia had been... wow. Unexpected, to say the least. Buffy felt a lot better about things knowing that Xander and Cordelia would not be breaking up because of her. Still, she wasn't quite sure how she felt about being with Xander in front of her. She supposed that if that were the price to pay, she would gladly pay it to help her Xander-shaped friend.
Besides, it's not like she was aware of anything when Xander was servicing her. Nothing but pure blissful pleasure existed within her when they were together, a fact that made Buffy feel incredibly guilty. Xander was forced to do that to her or suffer horribly, all because Buffy was the Slayer and brought destruction into the lives of everyone she came around. For not the first time, she thought about running away again, keeping her friends and family out of the danger that surrounded her.
She might have done so, if it didn't mean Xander would suffer. She was tied to him now, and he to her. So it meant she was trapped in a situation where by staying she would undoubtedly bring more danger to her friends, but leaving would mean Xander's death.
Which was why she was a horrible person for loving what he did to her. She was taking advantage of him in a situation where he was forced to commit such an act, and some secret part of her loved it.
Her Mother was waiting for her when she arrived home. She sat in the living room with a cup of hot cocoa in her robe, frowning.
"Hi, sorry I took longer than I thought," Buffy said.
"So," Joyce inquired. "What was the emergency?"
Buffy's eyes widened. She'd totally forgotten about her Mother's grilling session as she tried to leave, and she hadn't thought of a suitable excuse.
"Um...Xander, he...uh...was hurt." It was true, mostly. Her mother motioned for her to sit down, so she did.
"And how was Xander hurt?"
"Magic," Buffy said.
"Magic?" Her mother sounded distrusting.
"Yeah, um, he has a magic problem that only the Slayer can help him with." Again, it was mostly true.
"And this problem includes you losing your underwear?"
Buffy gaped at her. Oh no! She'd left her panties at Cordelia's and forgot to replace them when she left! She'd just inadvertently flashed her mother when she sat down!
"I...um...I..." She couldn't tell her mother the truth, she just couldn't!
"Buffy, I can't believe you would use your Slayer duties as an excuse to go be with your boyfriend. I don't even want to be thinking about you with your boyfriend, but to lie to me so blatantly! Do you know that I worry about you every time you go out Slaying? And now I find out that you're just using it as a reason to go out at all hours of the night!"
"Mom, I...it's not like..."
"No, that's it. You're grounded until further notice. You are to come straight home from school and no friends are allowed in the house."
"But Mom! I have to patrol!" Buffy could not believe this. She was eighteen now! She wasn't supposed to get grounded.
"When Mr. Giles informs me personally that you need to go out, I'll think about it."
"Mom you can't ground me anymore, I'm eighteen!" She stamped her foot childishly, which was not helping her argument.
"You're still in school, still living in my house, eating my food, and wearing the clothing I bought for you. As long as you do those things, you're living under my rules, understood?"
"Mom, you don't understand. Xander really does have a problem and I'm the only one who can help him. He could die!"
"Your boyfriends blue-balls will not kill him, Buffy," her mother said harshly. Buffy's mouth dropped open at the language her mother was using.
"No, it'...it's a curse!" she relented. If her mother would not let her leave the house then Xander might have an episode and she wouldn't be able to go help him. And if he did have an episode, she knew she'd go to him, no matter what her mother said.
She explained the curse to her mother, blushing a deep red as she explained the whole situation. When she finished, her mother crossed her arms and stared at her.
"That is the most idiotic piece of fiction I've ever heard Buffy. You should be ashamed of yourself. Grounded until further notice, is that clear? And don't think I can't think of ways to enforce that, Missy."
"It's true! Call Giles!"
"I'm not waking up Mr. Giles at one thirty in the morning over your crazed hormonal fantasies."
Buffy roared in frustration. How could her mother ever think she would make something like this up? How could her mother ever think she *could* make something like this up? Buffy was just not that imaginative.
Defeated, Buffy slumped off to bed. The morning would bring the first day of school under this new situation, and she needed to get at least a few hours of sleep before it began.
The day at school was like an alternate universe for Xander. He found himself standing in the common area, staring at all the students as they milled around the school, just like any other day. Except everything was different today. Well, everything with him at least.
He'd dreamed of her last night, and woken hard and covered with sweat. He couldn't get Buffy out of his mind, or her womanhood.
Even now as he stood watching the school, he could feel the nagging thoughts in the back of his mind; flashes of a moan, of fingers through his hair, of thighs clenched tightly around his head. He felt his dick stir in his pants, and shut his eyes, trying to bite back the memories.
He'd been with Buffy again that morning when they first arrived, retreating to Giles's office while the older man stuttered and blustered his assent. He told them that she and Xander could use it whenever was necessary, and had even given them extra keys in case he was not there to let them in.
Xander found himself reminiscing fondly of those moments when they had finished, when Buffy's panting slowly eased away and her senses returned, and as he sat back on the floor, feeling deliciously spent but clear headed at the same time. Knowing he wouldn't have to face withdrawal symptoms for at least the next few hours always gave him a wonderful feeling of relief.
He hated that he enjoyed pleasuring her so much. He knew it was the magic that made it so amazing for both of them, and that despite the feeling, Buffy didn't want this any more than he did. Still, for whatever the cause, he enjoyed servicing her more than he could say.
School went by smoother than he anticipated; the only real bump in the road was Science Class, where he was seat between Buffy and Willow.
Willow seemed overly talkative, and he wondered if she was trying to make them feel better. Frankly, he wished she'd stop trying to pretend things were fine. He never noticed the slight redness around her eyes.
He looked down at his practice test, sighing as he checked off a few questions. This was much easier than he'd expected it to be. Why couldn't all tests be this simple? He checked off a half-dozen more, and flipped the page to check the other side.
It was blank. He was finished.
"Huh," he said softly to himself. He looked at the clock. Twenty minutes left in the class. He looked over at Willow, who was chewing on her pencil as she frowned at question three. He turned and looked at Buffy. She was staring down at her paper with horror in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he whispered, not wanting to get caught. Just the look of her as she stared down, chewing slightly on her bottom lip in that way she did when she was nervous, it made him shiver. She was so beautiful.
"This is like secret code or something," she whispered angrily as she stared at the page.
"Mass," he said as quietly as possible, knowing her Slayer hearing would pick up on it. "The difference in the neutrons let's you figure out the mass."
She stared at him in disbelief.
"Have you been eating brain food or something?" she asked him. He flushed red. He'd only eaten one thing that day, and it belonged to Buffy. He almost groaned right in the middle of class, and had to shift his erection in his jeans. She widened her eyes when she realized what he was thinking of.
"Sorry," she said. They had an unspoken agreement not to speak of Xander's malady unless it was necessary. He said nothing, instead staring at his own completed paper. In his mind though, he was back in Giles's office, on his knees and staring up at Buffy...
He shook his head. Now was so not the time. He looked at the clock. Fifteen more minutes. It would feel like an eternity.
Once class had finished he headed straight for the vending machine in the common area, and devoured a Twinkie in less than five seconds. He hoped the sugar rush would help him clear his head a little.
It was on his way to the Library to spend his Study Hall period researching the curse that he saw Cordelia gabbing with her herd of cattle. She gave him a shy but knowing smile as he walked up to her
"Hey babe," he said and gave her a quick kiss. Cordelia had finally relented to being seen in public with him a few weeks ago, but she still looked uncomfortable when he kissed her in front of her friends.
When they parted she looked him up and down, giving him an approving look.
"Who dressed you?" she said suspiciously.
"Nobody, I just thought this looked good."
She nodded happily. Maybe some of her fashion sense was finally rubbing off on him.
"It does," and she actually leaned in to give him a slightly longer kiss. She looked him in the eyes. "How is the...cold?"
He grinned, finding something so cute in the way she used the euphemism. "Buffy gave me some medicine this morning, I should be good for a while."
Cordelia licked her lips unknowingly, and he could have sworn her eyes glazed over slightly. "Good," she murmured absent-mindedly. She shook her head. "I mean, um, yeah I'm glad you're feeling better."
He gave her a wry grin before another quick kiss, and then he headed to the library.
He spent a long time pouring over different tomes and reference books, and despite working even past the last bell of the day, he found very little on the curse. Although...
From what he could tell, the curse had rarely, if ever, been used on humans. And the effects of it being used on them were hardly chronicled. He frowned and stared at some symbols on the page he was reading, and then pulled out Isaac's Curses for the First Millennium. Sure enough, the symbols were there on that one too in reference to the curse. He almost...
Submission. Dominance. Alteration. Something else, something he couldn't quite get a handle on.
"Giles...what do these symbols mean?" he asked, showing Giles the book. The Librarian put on his glasses and leaned forward to look.
"I'm unsure Xander, I've never seen their like."
"Look at this one, the way it curves inward slightly. For some reason...I think it means Alteration." He pointed to the others in succession. "Dominance, submission, and...I can't tell this one."
"Xander, what makes you think they mean these things?" Giles asked.
"Well look at these in Complex Hexes. This symbol here for the draught of sleeping death would clearly mean death, right? I mean if you use context clues. And this one here would mean sleep, right?" Giles nodded, never having thought of it before.
"Well then if you use those as a reference point and assume a natural evolution scheme for language, adjusting for slang and local writing styles, then you can see that the way this curves inwards means it would just *have* to mean Submission."
Giles stared at Xander. He was not following what he said, but Xander seemed so sure, and...He could almost see the logic. It was as if the symbols simply had to be interpreted that way.
"That's astounding Xander," he said, shocked.
"What's astounding?" Buffy said as she came in. Xander indicated the book he was looking in.
"These symbols, I think I know what some of them mean. They're about the curse." Buffy came up behind him and leaned over his chair. He felt his heartbeat quicken. He could smell her soft scent of shampoo, vanilla, and...Buffy. He struggled to remain calm as her hair tickled against his neck.
"So what do they mean?" she asked, frowning as she tried to make sense of them. They just looked like blotches on the paper to her.
He pointed to them in turn. "Alteration. Uh...Submission," he swallowed, and pointed at the last one, unable to keep the squeak out of his voice. "Dominance."
She suddenly seemed to realize how close she was to him, and pulled back, taking her own seat across the table.
"So what, we think they have something to do with the curse?" she asked Giles.
"I'm not sure Buffy. I will be acquiring a book from a colleague in New York later this week that may shed some light on the situation however."
Xander swallowed, and stared at the symbols again. He was sure now, they definitely had something to do with the curse. He just knew it.
"Oh no, what time is it?" Buffy suddenly said, bursting out of her seat. She looked to the clock and paled. "I have to get home!"
"What, why?" Xander looked at the clock himself. They'd only been together once, that had been the beginning of the day.
"Mom grounded me for com...er, for going to help you last night." She blushed a little as Giles averted his eyes. "I couldn't think of a non-totally embarassing excuse on the spot, and she thought that..."
"What?"
"She thinks we're going out, and that we...were together."
Xander groaned. This was getting better all the time.
"So I'm grounded until further notice. I even told her the truth but she accused me of making it up. As if! I'm not so perverted." *Normally* she thought.
Xander winced slightly at her words. It was clear that Buffy hated this, and he couldn't blame her. He's ruined her relationship with Angel, and now she was tied to him for however long this curse lasted. Meanwhile he could barely stop thinking about being with her. She was sacrificing herself for a friend, and he was busy fantasizing about her. He was such an ass.
"Giles! Can't you talk to her, tell her the truth?" Buffy pleaded.
"I...I shall try Buffy, but your mother can be notoriously... stubborn at times."
"Yeah tell me about it. Look, I gotta go or she's gonna revoke my Bloomingdale's privileges or something." She was out the door in an instant, leaving Xander to his own degenerate thoughts.
Buffy sobbed into her own sleeves. She was curled up into a ball on her couch, having sprinted all the way home with tears in her eyes.
Xander hated this, hated her, and she couldn't blame him. But hearing him rant about her to Giles was too much for her to bear. Maybe she should just run away someplace and let the withdrawal take her, at least then Xander would be free of her, and her friends wouldn't be affected by the dangers that surrounded a Slayer.
A knock on the door was followed by a muffled voice. "Buffster? You there?"
She sniffled and looked at the door. Xander. Even though he hated this he was still here to try and comfort her. He was such a great friend; he didn't deserve to be in a situation like this. She started crying again just thinking about it.
"Buffy? I can hear you in there. Look, I'm coming in OK?" She heard a key in the lock, and remembered that she'd given him an extra key for Slayer emergencies.
When he was inside she only gave him a brief look before burying her face back in her arms.
"Aw Buff, c'mon..." he moved over to her slowly and sat down next to her. She curled up tighter, sniffling.
"I don't know how much you heard, but...I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
"You don't have to pretend for me Xander, I know you hate this. After I treated you so horribly and now you have to do this with me, it must make you sick." Her sleeves muffled her voice, but he made out her words clear enough.
He gaped at her; unable to understand just how she'd come to that conclusion. He put a comforting hand on her back, rubbing gently.
Buffy jumped slightly under his touch, but calmed quickly. He was so soothing, so loving. She started crying a little harder.
"Buffy, that's not what I meant at all. I...I never wanted it to be this way." He sighed.
"You're the number one girl, Buffy Summers. You've been in my head since the first day I met you. Even with Cordelia, I knew somewhere that you'd always be number one in my head. This curse...it really is a curse. I never wanted you like this Buffy."
*He doesn't want me*, she thought, and hated that it made her so sad to realize. She shouldn't care if he wanted her or not, but she did. Was it the curse? She was starting not to know anymore.
"I always dreamed that someday if you ever bestowed such a gift like this on me, that it would be with joy in your eyes and love in your heart. I never wanted it like this Buffy, never like this. I'm so sorry. If I'd never tackled you, you wouldn't have to degrade yourself with me and ruin your relationship with Angel. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry."
She had stopped crying then, uncurling herself to see the sincerity in his eyes. It was an astounding revelation to know she had been in his heart all this time, and as quickly as it made her happy, she came crashing down again. They'd never have a chance at his dream now. They could never take back what had happened.
She didn't even question why she was assuming they would build into something more.
"Xander," she whispered. "It's not...it's not degrading."
He looked into her eyes.
"Well, maybe a little," she smiled sadly. "But...not because of who it is. Just because of what it is."
He returned her sad smile, and she sat up, wrapping her arms around his waist as she hugged him tightly. She cried some more then, softly weeping into his shirt, but no longer the racking sobs of earlier. She cried for their situation, for the friend he was, and for...the love she felt.
They both fell asleep holding each other on Buffy's couch.
Xander researched for another few hours before realizing he was tempting fate. He hadn't had a "dose" since that morning, and it was bound to sneak up on him soon. He barely stifled a groan as he thought of Buffy, and he realized he'd been hard for at least the last half hour. He glanced at his watch, and quickly packed up his books. He was glad his homework had been so simple; he didn't need to be bothered with that too.
It was as he was halfway to Buffy's house that he felt that slight twitchiness that told him the withdrawal was beginning to take affect. He sped up, not wanting to collapse out of doors in Sunnydale so close to dusk.
He arrived at Buffy's a few minutes later, and rang the doorbell, shifting his weight back and forth out of the nervous energy that the curse was pumping through him.
Joyce Summers opened the door and gave him a glare.
"Xander," she said by way of greeting.
"Oh hi Mrs. S. Um, I kind of need to talk to Buffy."
"She's grounded."
"Yeah I heard about that, uh, I don't guess you talked to Giles?"
"You mean that *MAN* who has such an interest in my young daughter?"
This was not going well. Joyce and he usually got along so well, but she was in full on Mother Mode now.
"Hey come on, Giles isn't like that, he's a stuffy old British guy," he tried joking. His voice trembled slightly.
"The only thing I'm trying to decide is whether or not you made up this curse nonsense yourself and somehow convinces Buffy and Mr. Giles about it, or if you and he were in it together to trick my daughter."
"No! I would never do that! It's for real Mrs. Summers, really. I swear." He tried to look her in the eyes so she would believe him, but he was starting to shake harder now, and he felt that he might not look entirely sincere and more than a little shifty.
"Mom? Who're you talking to?" Buffy pulled off her headphones and stood at the top of the stairs. She spotted Xander and saw quickly that he was in bad shape.
"Xander? Oh my god, come inside!" she rushed down the stairs. Her mother blocked her at the door.
"I told you young lady, you're grounded. That means no friends."
"Xander's not just a 'friend'," Buffy insisted. "He's a..." she couldn't quite think of the word.
"Your boyfriend who decided to use your Slayer situation to trick you in such a despicable way?"
"No Mom! It's not a trick! Why are you being like this?" Buffy gave Xander a worried look. He was clutching the doorframe to steady himself, and was not looking good. "Look at him!"
"I'll admit he's a good actor," Joyce said. "As for why, it has a little something to do with my daughter lying to me about going out to risk her life when she was really out getting fucked by her boyfriend! " Buffy gasped at her mother's language. Her mother rarely used such words. That she was using them now was an indicator of how upset she was.
"Anna gomp way," Xander said. They both looked at him. He opened his mouth as if to speak again, and fell forward. Buffy rushed to him and caught him just before his face slammed into the floor.
"Xander!" she cried. He was shaking violently now, and his eyes were closed.
"I'm taking him upstairs," she said, daring her Mother to disagree. Joyce just stared at the young man on her floor. This seemed very real. She knelt down beside him and put a finger to his neck. His pulse was wild and erratic.
"Buffy we have to call 911! I think he might be having a seizure, even a heart attack!" She began to move towards the phone. Buffy's hand snapped out with the speed of the Slayer and grabbed her mother's arm.
"No. I'm bringing him upstairs. Just...don't do anything more." Joyce winced at the strength of her daughter's grasp. For a long moment the two Summers women stared at each other. Then her mother nodded softly and backed away. Buffy easily lifted Xander over her shoulder and was up the stairs in an instant.
Joyce stared after her daughter. She knew her daughter was the Slayer, intellectually. But she still had such a hard time believing her tiny little daughter was some kind of superhero. Yet she'd just lifted that boy who at least half again larger than she was, and had done so with ease.
Could this curse be true? Joyce felt tears well up in her eyes. It was so much easier to believe that her daughter was a rebelling teenager, and not that she...
Her eyes widened when she heard a whimper come from upstairs. She was halfway up the stairs, ready to bash his head in with her bare hands when she heard another whimper, followed by a scream of "Yes! Xander! Yes!"
Joyce turned red in a way that very much mimicked her daughter. She stood paralyzed in the hallway as her daughter got louder and louder, screaming in ecstasy from the manipulations of Xander Harris.
She didn't move from that spot for the entire time they were together, and the length of time they were in there astonished her. When they finally finished quite a while later, Joyce Summers was staring at the door to her daughter's room in total shock.
The door opened after another ten minutes, and a very refreshed looking Buffy stepped out of her room. She stopped in surprise when she saw her mother standing in the hallway.
"Were...you there the whole time?"
Joyce nodded. She had to say something. Had to speak. You're the adult here!
"Is he...going to be OK?"
Buffy relaxed a little, happy that her mother didn't seem to be in paranoid Lifetime-Movie-of-the-week mode. Still, she was talking to her mother about something that very closely resembled her sex life, and that was enough to keep her heartbeat racing.
"Yeah he'll be fine, I think. I've never seen him get that bad before though. He's sleeping it off." Buffy was worried at how bad Xander had gotten, and how quickly. Were the withdrawal effects becoming harsher now? What if they kept getting worse until Xander simply dropped dead if he didn't find her within thirty seconds?
"It's really true, isn't it?" Joyce whispered.
"Yeah Mom, it is," she felt tears welling up in her eyes.
"Oh baby, I'm so sorry for you." She reached forward and pulled her daughter into a hug.
Buffy sank into her mother's arms, and spoke softly. "It's not me to feel sorry for Mom...he could die from this...he gets so bad sometimes." She started weeping softly into her mother's arms. They stayed that way for a very long time.
Buffy woke up first. She was so comfortable here, squished against the inner side of the couch on one side and Xander on the other. Her arm was a little numb from circling his middle, but it was worth it, as far as she was concerned. She had slept wonderfully, taking comfort in the steady heartbeat and slight snore of Xander Harris. She realized that she'd gotten very little sleep recently, and felt a lot better equipped to handle the recent revelations of her relationship with Xander.
She stretched her legs, glancing at the window as she did so. It was night, and she figured her mom must have been the one to put the blanket on them and leave the cookies on the coffee table. She flushed a little thinking about her Mom seeing them like that. She supposed it was a rather innocent position for two eighteen year olds. She was just glad her mom hadn't seen Buffy in one of the other position's she'd been in lately.
Like on her knees in front of Xander. Her pussy twinged with arousal, and she realized she was trembling slightly. Of course, it had been since that morning. The lights were all off downstairs, which suggested her mom was in her room watching television or something. She thought about what she was going to do, and the heat returned as she blushed furiously. She looked around again just to make sure they were alone.
Then she carefully slipped her arm out from under Xander. He mumbled softly, but didn't say anything. She slid down the couch, pulling the blanket over her as she went. She was glad for her Slayer senses as she reached for his fly in the darkness.
She unbuckled his pants slowly and quietly, and carefully pulled his member out. It was slightly hard and felt very arm against her fingers. With Xander asleep, she decided to examine it closer. It was so...masculine? So Xander. It was one of the most powerful images she'd ever seen, and looking at it caused her to pant with need. She forced herself to wait, however.
She lifted his rod, leaning close to his balls. These excited her also, in that deliciously naughty way that she'd been feeling so often lately. This was the first time she didn't feel self-conscious at looking at Xander's cock, and she was enjoying the situation, despite the guilt she felt.
Finally she licked at the underside of his dick, and moaned slightly at the taste. It tasted like...lust.
It grew under her ministrations, and soon he was at his full length. It seemed very impressive to her, and she giggled and gave the swollen purple head a kiss. Then another, and another before she finally took him in her mouth. She bobbed up and down, not trying to hold back her moans of delight at having him in her mouth.
She worked slowly this time, savoring every taste, enjoying ever lick. She wasn't sure how long she worked at it, but eventually Xander moaned and she felt his large masculine hands reach for her head.
"Oh Buffy...so good..." he murmured. She would have smiled if her mouth wasn't full, and she redoubled her efforts. After another few minutes, he stiffened and she was rewarded with his cum. She swallowed it greedily, still finding it the greatest tasting thing she had ever experienced. She kept him in her mouth while he softened, and curled up her legs to lie between his. She dozed then, his softening cock in her mouth. He stroked her head softly as they lied there, and soon she fell asleep again.
Xander woke her hours later, although not on purpose. His dick hardened in her mouth when he woke up and realized she had fallen asleep still suckling him. It was a mind-blowing revelation, and he couldn't help himself.
It was late then, and she figured it was a good idea to finish him off one last time before he headed home. This time was faster and far less of an exploration for her than last time, and after they'd both reached their climax they finally got off the couch.
"That was..." Xander began. She put a finger to his lips.
"It was," she said. He nodded, and finished buckling his pants. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said. *I love you,* he didn't say. He couldn't say. He both hated this curse, and loved it with all of his heart.
"Right. Tomorrow," she said softly as he left.
He was halfway down the block when she came running after him.
"Buffy? What?"
"I thought that," she said, panting. "I thought that I should walk you home. You know, lots of vampires out at night." He smiled at that, and accepted her escort.
Neither one of them knew who initiated it, but by the time they reached his house, they were holding hands.
He woke up to find himself in heaven. At least that's what it felt like to him. It was a soft bed that smelled of Buffy. It was warm and soft and...There was a soft presence next to him, and an arm lying across his stomach. He blinked in the darkness and looked over to see the soft blonde hair of Buffy lying next to him.
He felt his manhood stiffen at the thought of being in the same bed as Buffy Summers. Xander had to bite his tongue not to groan.
What time was it? He remembered trying to get to Buffy's house a little before sundown, and it was clearly night now. He remembered ringing the doorbell and arguing with Buffy's mom, and then...
Then he awoke to find Buffy's pussy hovering over his face, which he attacked eagerly with his tongue. After that he'd felt his head clear, but he still felt drained and achy all over. He wondered how far the withdrawal had gone before Buffy had convinced her mother. IF she had convinced her mother. Once again Buffy had proven that she would do anything for her friend, and Xander smiled sadly at the thought.
He shook slightly. It was that time again. He looked around and spotted Buffy's alarm clock. 12:30 in the morning. He hoped her mother was a sound sleeper.
Xander gently removed Buffy's arm from his midsection and turned her onto her back. Then he slipped under the blankets, fumbling a bit in the darkness. He let his hands slowly trace their way down Buffy's belly to the panties she wore. He winced as he gently pulled them down, trying not to wake her up.
Finally he leaned forward, catching the scent of her. He let his nose guide him in the dim light, and soon he was face to face with Buffy's snatch. He inhaled deeply, savoring the smell. For the first time he didn't have to feel self-conscious about being with her, although a small part of him felt a little guilty about not waking her up. Still, he had to do this anyway, and if he could let her sleep through it, all the better.
He tasted her gently, and this time couldn't stifle the groan that came. She tasted exquisite. She tasted of lust.
He licked at her folds slowly, savoring her this time. He worked slowly, lapping at her juices as she became more aroused. He poked his tongue between and inside of her, and he heard her gasp slightly in her sleep. He traced a patch up to her clit, and began to lick and tease, his own arousal growing. It never ceased to amaze him how simply pleasuring her could bring him off.
Xander began to increase the speed of his licks, flicking his tongue over her clit lightly before sucking on it, then returning to lapping at the rest of her. Several times she seemed to rise in her arousal and he backed off, teasing her as she simmered down again.
The fourth time he did this he felt soft feminine hands grip his head, curling in his short hair. She pulled his head up to her clit and pressed him against her. The message was clear: no more teasing!
He attacked her with zeal, his tongue dancing over her body as Buffy began grinding her hips against his mouth. When she came it was with a whimpering that exploded into a hearty scream of "Xander!"
In her room, Joyce Summers covered her head with a pillow and told herself she didn't hear that.
When they'd both come down he continued to lightly lap at her, swallowing her juices and gently caressing her with one hand. Finally he rested his head against her thigh, breathing softly of her scent as he stroked her softly. Her hand stayed tangled in his hair, massaging him lightly. They both fell asleep, smiling.
The next two days went smoothly, as far as "smooth" held any meaning for them anymore. Buffy no longer felt quite so horrible about putting Xander in this situation, and it was clear to both of them that their relationship was changing, though neither of them would actually say so to the other.
They would meet at school in the morning and do their business in Giles's office. The morning dose seemed to be the one with the most regularity. Buffy was usually only just beginning to tremble when they entered the office. Giles was busy working (in between being horrible mortified in a very British way) on trying to determine an early warning system for them.
Unfortunately their research had determined that pre-emptively doing the deed did not always work. If done after a period longer than about five hours, it seemed to work. But on Tuesday Buffy had suggested a more "rapid-fire" approach to things. Thanks to the curse he was capable of performing so quickly after already climaxing, but the strategy ended up not working. Buffy wound up grabbing him by the shirt as they walked to their last class of the day, and shoved him into a Janitor's closet. She had spoken not a word as she blew him, clearly frustrated that her plan hadn't worked.
Then again later that night on patrol Buffy had felt the trembling begin, and Xander thanked whatever powers there were that they hadn't been attacked by a Vampire while Buffy sucked his cock in a graveyard, and Willow put her fingers in her ears, closed her eyes, and hummed. She only peeked three times.
So it seemed clear that an early warning system for the trembling would come in handy. Preemptive doses had worked if done slightly before the trembling would have likely begun, and finding a way to figure out it was oncoming might save a lot of pain for Buffy.
She'd described the feeling of withdrawal to Xander after the graveyard incident.
"It's like the slow trickle of pain that builds up, and at first I feel like I can just hold against it, cause I'm the Slayer you know? Then after a while it builds up more and more, and I start getting twitchy like I can't sit still," she stared off into the night as she spoke, clearly not remembering fondly. "Then it's like I start to shut down one by one, until I can't really control my body anymore, and I just kind of flop around by a jellyfish. I don't even want to think about what it could be like after that. It just hurts. A lot."
Xander still hated this. Hated that she had to go through such a thing, and that he was the only cure.
"The weird thing is all I have to do is get a whiff of your cock and it's like I get enough energy back to move around," she said, then slapped a hand around her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that! In her head that's how she thought of Xander's penis. His cock. It made her tingle inside when she thought of it that way, and she figured it couldn't hurt; despite that feeling of guilt it gave her.
Xander pretended not to hear her, but she knew he had. During the walk home she was as red as a neon sign.
It was on Thursday that things took a turn for the worse.
Buffy was headed for her last class of the day, idly daydreaming about the taste of Xander, when she felt the slight beginnings of the trembling. She glanced around and spotted him heading to a class of his own. Like the other day, she grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him into a janitor's closet.
She was in the middle of trying to get as much of him down her throat as possible when the door flew open, Cordelia Chase and Harmony Kendall staring at them wide-eyed. At the surprise of it Buffy swallowed hard, and had suddenly deep-throated Xander. His reaction was to cum. Hard.
"Oh my god! What a slut!" Harmony screeched. Her banshee like signal alerted half the student body, which suddenly crowded around the door. Despite the horrible humiliation of it Buffy could not pull herself away until Xander had finished cumming down her throat. It was simply...too good.
When he finally pulled away, the two of them stared at the face of doom. Cordelia sneered at them.
"Well at least now I know why we broke up," she spat.
Buffy sobbed and barreled through the group of students. Xander called after her, trying to get himself back in his pants and chase her at the same time.
This was not good.
In an extreme "Only on the Hellmouth" kind of way.
Buffy felt the weight against her thighs and looked down. Xander's head rested against her thighs, using her as a pillow. She felt a thrill of pleasure shoot through her as his hand idly stroked her in his sleep.
"Xander," she whispered. "Xander!"
"Muffin Man!" Xander said as he came awake.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, giggling. "Giving yourself a new title?"
"Huh?" he replied sleepily. He looked up to see...Buffy's "muffin." His eyes widened.
"Maybe you better get off of me," she said, although her voice didn't carry any anger to it. He got up quickly.
He turned his back as she got dressed, although a part of her wondered why he bothered. He'd seen all of here there was to see; it was starting to be foolish to be embarrassed by it.
"Um...your Mom, is she...OK with this?" he asked.
"I don't know about OK, but she believes me now." She didn't tell him that her mom had heard them last night. She wished that she didn't lose control quite so much when Xander was at work. Her screams were going to get them in trouble, especially at school.
He went downstairs while she showered, hoping to find some food he could make her to make up for fighting with her mom last night. Maybe Joyce would be a little easier to deal with if he fed her first too.
He was busy mixing pancakes when Joyce came into the kitchen. She flushed the same shade of red as her daughter did when he...
*Hey! No thinking about that!*
"Oh...good morning," she said neutrally. She was dressed smartly for work and headed straight for the coffee machine. She tried to avoid looking at his eyes...or his other parts.
"There'll be pancakes in about five minutes, if you're not in a rush," Xander said.
"Oh. Thank you," she said sincerely. Joyce was feeling rather bad about what her actions had put Xander through. She sighed and took a big swallow of coffee. She was also feeling horrible for her daughter. True, she'd had more than her fair share of trysts by Buffy's age, but she had always wanted something better for her. This was... unthinkable.
Seven minutes later Joyce and Xander were sitting at the kitchen table, trying to pretend there wasn't an uncomfortable silence between them. Finally Joyce broke the silence.
"Xander," she said carefully. "I'm sorry."
He shook his head.
"You don't owe me an apology."
"Buffy told me that this happened because you were trying to save her from a demon."
"Yeah, it sort of did," he stared at his pancakes like they were a masterpiece.
"I'm sorry because I should have known you'd never do anything to hurt Buffy."
He shrugged, indicating it was no big deal.
"What does it feel like?" Joyce asked him point blank. She gave him a no-nonsense look that told him he better tell the truth.
"At first I tremble a little, and then it kind of slams into me. It's painful beyond anything I've imagined, and it just gets worse. It doesn't take long before I can't control my own body, and I'm shaking and flopping around on the floor. It's...It's something I never want to feel again, if I can help it," he said candidly. Neither of them noticed Buffy standing at the doorway.
"I'm afraid for her, Xander, but not as much as I was. I know you care for her, and it's obvious that she cares for you too. I'm just sorry that you have to go through this."
"Thanks," he said after a long moment of staring at his pancakes.
Buffy allowed herself a small smile. Things weren't going so badly after all.
Things were going terribly. No, make that monumentally catastrophic. No wait, make that Hellmouthy.
Buffy stared at the wall in utter shock. Xander sat across the room from her, daring to stay with her but also keeping his distance.
Her life was ruined. RUINED. Completely, totally, and for all time. The entire school had either seen her first hand with Xander's penis lodged in her throat, or had heard about it from someone who had seen it. It was utterly mortifying in every respect.
So why did the memory of it make her burn just as much with humiliation as with lust?
She couldn't even cry, having shed so many tears in the last few days. She was just completely spent, and had no idea what she'd do next.
Buffy hated curses, and she hated magic.
Magic...
Her mind was racing. It...Could be possible, right? Without a word she got to her feet and headed for the door.
"Buffy?" Xander stood up as she went to leave.
"I have to talk to Willow and Giles," she said.
"They're back at the school."
She hesitated for an instant. "It doesn't matter. I need to talk to them."
She stepped out the door while he started after her. A second later her head popped back in.
"You comin'?"
Xander tried his very best to not pay attention to the looks they got on the way back to school. He flinched whenever some random jock would throw a "Way to go Harris!" in his direction. The girls in school mostly gave Buffy disgusted looks, but he could have sworn he saw two girls whispering to each other, one holding her hands about twelve inches apart, causing the other to stare at him wide-eyed.
*Maybe in an alternate reality, girls,* Xander thought. He couldn't imagine being that large, but he had to admit it wasn't a rumor he was going to be crying over.
Willow and Giles were both in the library when they got there, both looking ashen faced and very somber.
"Buffy!" Willow squeaked and dropped her books.
"I guess you guys know what happened," Buffy said angrily.
"Well there have been certain...rumors," Giles said diplomatically.
"They're true," Buffy said.
"With a donkey!?" Willow was aghast.
"What? No! Gross! Is that what they're saying?" Buffy's anger was rising.
"No, I uh...mis-spoke," Willow tried lamely.
"It doesn't matter. We're going to do a spell," Buffy said.
"A spell?" Giles asked.
"Yeah, I read about it in Amber Spells for Wizards when we were researching about that freaky guy who was trying to turn the whole town into zombies."
"That was months ago, you remembered a specific spell?"
"I guess so," Buffy said. "I mean I just remembered it just now. It's called the Voyeur's Net. It's supposed to make it so you can do.. .stuff in public without people treating you bad."
Giles had pulled the book from the shelf when Buffy said the title, and was flipping through it. Sure enough there was the spell. Designed to allow exhibitionists to perform sexual acts in public without fear of reprisal. It was...decadent, but not exactly dark magic.
"You r-realize Buffy that this won't cause anyone to forget? It will simply cause them to not find the matter quite so important or strange."
"Anything's better than what's going on now," she replied.
"Indeed." Giles could hardly imagine how difficult this must be for Buffy.
"Besides, who knows how long we're going to be stuck with this curse? It'd be a good idea even without this."
Giles nodded. She had a point, and although he was normally loathe solving problems with magic, often times a magical problem required a magical solution.
"From what I can discern, this will affect most of the town out to about 30 miles in any direction, as the crow flies," Giles said after a while.
"That's fine."
"Very well then. Willow? Would you please help me prepare the ingredients? I will attempt the casting at once. I will need a lock of hair from you both in order to direct the spell towards you."
They each snipped off a chunk of hair and gave it to Giles.
*This has to work,* Buffy thought. *It just has to.*
The next few days were very strange for Xander, although why he might have expected them to be otherwise is anyone's guess. Despite Joyce's apology to him, things were still very strained between Buffy, her mom, and him. The embarrassment level was simply too high, and whenever the three of them were in the same room the silence threatened to overwhelm them all.
So he'd been avoiding being in the same room with both of them. It wasn't too difficult, but it was definitely noticeable. Xander would degenerate into a stammering cretin whenever Joyce made any mention of his malady. He gave her credit for being open-minded, but it was clear she was still very uncomfortable with the idea of him doing that to her daughter.
He couldn't blame her. Another reason to hate himself for enjoying it as much as he did.
On top of Joyce and the curse, there was another thing to deal with. The force of nature that was called Cordelia Chase.
At school the morning after the Joyce Debacle, as he was coming to call it, Cordelia had cornered him and shoved him into a Janitor's closet. Her lips were against his almost immediately, and she expressed her need for him without words for a good five minutes before pausing for breath.
"I've been thinking about the other night constantly," she admitted in between kissing his face and neck. Xander groaned a little at the reminder of Cordelia watching Xander and Buffy. He'd almost forgotten it after the hectic events of the next day, but it steamrolled back into his memory. The hazy view of Cordelia Chase with one hand still at her nether regions as she stared back at him with unadulterated lust. It was a good memory.
"I want to be there again, whenever the next one is," she said firmly, and gave Xander a light squeeze to emphasize her intentions.
"R-Really?" he asked, his voice squeaking.
"I don't know what it is Xander, but I can't get it out of my mind. It's like something got ripped open that night, and I can't sew it back up again."
She moaned against his mouth as they made out for another minute. His hands strayed down her curvy body, even as his mind was caressing Buffy's soft form.
"You'll have to...ask Buffy," he whispered.
"Count on it," she said, and put her hands on his shoulders. She pressed down lightly and he sunk to his knees.
"Now, do you need a curse for me?" she asked coyly.
Xander did not. When Cordelia left the Janitor's closet fifteen minutes later, it was with her clothing a little rumpled and a huge smile on her face.
Xander could not believe his life. His girlfriend had never let them go beyond heavy petting. This was a big step. And she wanted to watch him with Buffy? His knees almost buckled at the thought of it. He was very aroused, and idly wondered when his next session with Buffy would be. At least he'd get some release from that.
"This curse is either the best thing that ever happened to you," he said to himself. "Or it's going to kill you."
Considering he lived on a hellmouth, he was betting on the latter. But what a way to go.
"I need to talk to you," Cordelia said as she came striding up to Buffy. She looked a little less polished than her normal flawless self, but Buffy thought that made her look a little more...hot?
"What about?"
"Xander."
Buffy paled. Here it comes. Here's where Cordelia Chase lays into me for stealing her boyfriend. Buffy led them into Giles's office where she shut the blinds.
"Look, I'm sorry OK? I never meant for this to happen to Xander. I'm the Slayer and this kind of stuff is my burden, and even though I try I can never keep it from affecting my friends and family. I didn't mean to cause problems for you guys. You two fit, really you do, and I would never want to come between that, you have to believe me."
Cordelia frowned at her.
"Self-hatred much? Jeez, pick up a Tony Robbins book or something."
"What?"
"I'm not here to yell at you for stealing my boyfriend," Cordelia said rolling her eyes. "Not like you could even if you wanted to." Her eyes dared the Slayer to say otherwise.
"Huh?" Buffy said brilliantly.
"I'm here cause I want to be there the next time Xander needs a treatment."
"Whu?"
"You. Xander. Me. Same place. The last time was," she paused in thought. "Nice. Very nice."
"Muh?" Buffy wowed Cordelia with her wordplay.
"So is that a yes, or did a vampire punch out your speech center? " "I...I mean...of course Cordelia, whatever you want," Buffy would do whatever she could to help Xander and Cordelia stay together. Plus, well it wasn't so bad having Cordelia there the other day. Not so bad at all. In fact, it was kinda...
"Good. Look, I had Daddy buy beepers for all of us. You wear one, I wear one, and Xander wears one. They're all tied in, so all you have to do is press this button and punch in the code, and it'll alert the other two. Got it?"
Buffy took the beeper and stared at it. She nodded slowly, amazed. They should have thought about that. It would certainly help if Xander had to get in contact with her quickly.
"Good," Cordelia said. "Don't forget."
She didn't forget, and since then Cordelia was fast becoming a fixture whenever Xander needed a "treatment." It always felt so strange referring to the curse like some medical ailment of Xander's. He had Buffy addiction, and the only cure was a good session of muff diving.
*My life is so weird,* Buffy thought.
Buffy sat in the library trying to keep her mind focused on researching the last minion of darkness to surface itself in Sunnydale. Some five-horned nutso who wanted to build a nest out of human bones. They were currently trying to figure out where he might try to build it, so Buffy could go slay it.
She squirmed in her seat, trying to quench the inner fire that raged as she thought of Cordelia's eyes staring directly at her as Xander's ministrations drove her past the point of control. It was always just as amazing as the first time whenever Xander ate her, but Cordelia's lustful gaze added a new dimension to it. She felt horrible for enjoying it so much. Cordelia was doing this so that she and Xander could work past it and continue their relationship.
Wasn't she? Buffy thought she could sometimes catch a glimpse in the cheerleader's eye. A hint that maybe this was more for her own benefit than for Buffy or Xander's.
Whatever the reasons, the memories of the last few days were distracting Buffy. It was bad enough trying not to think of Xander's tongue, but trying to forget their sessions with Cordelia was proving to be impossible.
"Buffy, are you OK?" Willow asked concernedly.
"Huh?" Buffy said as she snapped out of her reverie.
"Are you feeling all right?"
"Yeah. Sure. Why?"
"Well you kinda...moaned." Willow looked like she wanted to cry and cease to exist at the same time.
"I did?"
Willow nodded.
"Uh...sorry. I just...ahem. The research! Oh I hate that research," she let out a very unconvincing moan of frustration. "Darn this research!"
Willow didn't seem to be buying it, but she let the matter drop anyway. From across the table, Cordelia gave her a smirk. Buffy flushed red and put her nose back in her book.
A few minutes later Giles and Xander came out of the stacks, arguing heatedly.
"I'm telling you Giles it's simple. You just need some basic herbs, a candle or two, and a lock of hair from each of us."
"The casting is not what concerns me, Xander. You of all people should know the consequences that magic can bring."
"Hey it's not like I'm looking to use it for evil or anything. This is a major concern!"
"Be that as it may, I can't in good conscience agree to this. It would mean affecting the minds of the entire town!"
"What's the problem?" Willow asked, glad for a distraction from Buffy, who kept shifting nervously in her seat and making...noises.
"I found this spell that I think could help me and Buffy."
"A mind-affecting spell!" Giles reminded him.
"Yeah so what? I can get hit with a mind-affecting spell but the rest of the town is too good for it?"
"Now Xander, there is no evidence to suggest that the curse affected your mind in any way."
Xander gave Buffy and Cordelia a sideways glance.
"Not from where I'm standing," he said.
Giles gave him a questioning look.
"What do you mean? You believe the curse is affecting you mentally?"
"I don't know. Maybe. It's just...things seem a lot clearer these days," Xander slumped down into a chair, covering his face with his hands.
"At first it was just right after...a treatment. I'd feel kind of energized, like I could think faster or work harder. I thought it was just the feeling of curing the withdrawal symptoms. Now I feel like it almost all the time, except for when the shakes start."
"I've been tearing through my schoolwork like it's grade school. Yesterday I solved the equation Mr. Pendanski wrote on the board before he'd finished clapping the chalk off his hands. Solved it in my *head.* That's not normal Xander behavior. Last week I couldn't tell you what a cosine was!"
Giles was fascinated. "And you believe this began with the curse? " Xander nodded.
"This is remarkable. It may very well be one of those secondary affects that we'd yet to decipher. I can't quite determine why the curse would induce an increased level of reasoning, but if that is indeed what is happening to you, perhaps it's not entirely a curse after all."
Xander gave him a disbelieving look before glancing at Buffy.
"Oh yes," Giles said, abashed. "I didn't mean to suggest...my apologies Buffy."
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to Giles," Buffy said icily. "I'm not the one who has to go through the withdrawal." She felt herself getting a bit angry with Giles at how he was treating Xander.
Giles cleared his throat. "Yes, quite. I'm sorry Xander, I wasn't thinking."
Xander shrugged, dismissing Giles's worries. "It's fine."
"Now what's this spell?" Buffy asked.
"Well, it appears to be a spell used to...enhance...uh...certain sexual tendencies," Giles said.
Buffy frowned and gave Xander an odd look.
"No no! It's not like you're thinking. It's to make it so people won't think it's...important. What we have to do. For the curse."
Giles was back in his "Oh-Please-Don't-Make-Me-Talk-About-Sex" mode.
"Y-yes, it seems the spell is designed for those couples that wish to...perform such acts in public, but not risk the consequences that such an act would normally have."
"What do you mean, it's like an exhibitionist spell?" Cordelia asked bluntly.
"For all intents and purposes, yes. It was cause those affected by the spell to dismiss the participants of such acts as ordinary and not worth much thought. Perhaps reacting as they might if they were to spot a couple kissing gently in a public area, although perhaps even less so than that."
"I just figured that we were treading on thin ice," Xander added. "I've seen enough sitcoms to know that secret romances always get caught, usually in compromising situations. Why risk it if we don't have to?"
Buffy tried not to focus on the word "romance."
"It makes sense," Cordelia said. "I mean if you two are going it at it all over town at random times you're bound to get caught eventually."
Cordelia's trademark bluntness drove the room into silence.
"You make a good point," Giles said. "In your own unique way."
Cordelia beamed a thousand-watt smile at him. She was always very happy when people recognized her for the insightful girl she was.
"So then you'll do it?" Xander asked. "I mean, if Buffy thinks it's a good idea."
He gave her a meek look, hoping she wouldn't think him presumptuous.
She nodded once, smiling softly at him. "Yeah, I think it's a good idea. I don't want to know what it would be like to get caught by the wrong people."
"I still don't like the idea of casting such a thing on the entire town, Buffy. That kind of magic should be handled carefully."
"Cordelia's right Giles, sooner or later we're going to get caught. I don't even want to think about what might happen if we got caught here in school. Unless you think this thing is really dangerous, I say we go for it."
She gave Giles a hard, no-nonsense look. He matched her glare, but Buffy was firm in her decision. Finally he sighed and sat down.
"Very well Buffy. I suppose sometimes a magical solution is needed to a magical problem. I will need a lock of yours and Xander's hair. Willow, will you help me gather the ingredients?"
Willow said she would, and began to gather the necessary herbs. Buffy grabbed a pair of scissors and carefully cut off a lock of hair; glad she would be getting a trim soon anyway. She handed them to Xander who cut off a chunk of his own hair as well, somehow managing to keep his hair looking perfectly normal as he did so.
They handed them to Giles, who placed them on the table. Willow returned shortly after with the herbs, and soon Giles was ready to cast the spell.
Just as he reached for the locks of hair, a hand grabbed his wrist. Cordelia placed something in the palm of his hand. He opened it to reveal a bundle of genuine Cordelia hair.
Cordelia gave him a look that said, "You gotta problem with that? " He turned to look at Buffy pleadingly. She looked at Cordelia, and then gave Giles a brief nod.
Giles tried not to think about it as he cast the spell, with Buffy, Xander, and god help him...Cordelia Chase as the targets.
The effect of the spell was immediate. Stepping outside the library did not garner Buffy any strange looks or whispered comments. No one was looking at her strangely, and a few classmates that she was sort of friendly with gave her nods or brief "hellos" as they walked by.
It was kind of like the twilight zone. Where a half hour ago the entire school had been buzzing with gossip about her and Xander - a Donkey? - It was now back to its usual level of controlled chaos.
Still, it could be a fluke, right? How could they be sure the spell was really working?
They'd have to test it. Buffy actually moaned out loud as her knees almost gave way at the thought of sucking Xander in front of the school. She still burned with humiliation at the events of earlier, but she was having a hard time denying that some large part of her was incredibly excited at having been watched.
She could still feel the incredibly *right* feeling of Xander's cock lodged in her throat, her nose pressed against his pubic hair as he came.
It occurred to her that no one had looked up at her moaning. She decided to take a chance. After all, it couldn't get any worse than it already was, right?
Her hand slid slowly down her belly and beneath the waistband of the skirt she wore. She'd been wearing a lot of them lately, enjoying the feel of dressing a little skimpier than usual. To that end she shivered slightly as he fingers felt the tiny thong she wore underneath.
She groaned again, louder this time. A girl walking by glanced at her, but that was all. Her fingers slid ever downward, past her short patch of carefully trimmed pubic hair. Buffy licked her lips and pressed a finger against her mound.
Her knees did buckle this time, and she moaned loudly as she fell to her knees. She was masturbating in front of the school! It was as if once she had begun there was no turning back, and soon she was rubbing herself frantically as she knelt in the middle of the hall, students moving casually all around her.
"Oh Buffy, good, when you're done here would you please meet in the library? There's some interesting facts I've found out concerning the...nest," Giles said suddenly. Buffy's eyes snapped open to see Giles standing over, an expression of distracted impatience on his face.
"Giles?" she squeaked, unable to stop her treacherous fingers. She felt an orgasm building up inside of her.
"Oh yes I seem to recall you have History next period. Very well then, I shall speak to you after school. We still have some time," he gave her a nod and strode off, seemingly unaware of her actions.
She fell onto her back, her legs spread as she fingered herself. She was close, so close. She thought of Xander, of his comforting hands and his powerful manhood.
"Buffy?" his voice called in alarm. Her eyes opened again and he was standing over her, eyes wide with shock. That was what did it.
She screamed his name in surprise as her orgasm claimed her. She arched her back on the cold floor of Sunnydale High School, only one student finding it the least bit odd.
Xander stared at the vision of wanton lust that Buffy presented to him. He was very concerned for her, and VERY aroused. Was the curse beginning to affect her mind perhaps? It troubled him just as much as it turned him on.
After a minute or so Buffy collapsed, breathing heavily, her lower half still slightly exposed beneath her skirt.
"Buffy?" he wasn't sure whether he should go near her.
"Xander?" she whispered. "I was...trying to test the spell."
"I...I heard you scream. Nobody else seemed to care."
He knelt besides her, noting that she flushed a deeper red as he got closer. He was beginning to figure out what the different shades of Buffy-Blushes meant. He thought this one was embarrassment tinged with arousal. Her eyes were slightly glassy as she looked at him, and he thought he saw a hint of pain in her eyes.
"We should - we should test it together," Buffy panted. Her voice trembled slightly and he realized the shakes were starting for her. She turned over onto her stomach and stared at his crotch. He swallowed loudly.
Finally, a test in school he actually wanted to take.
They passed with flying colors.
Xander had decided that it was a definite turning point in their relationship. The entire day would be one he would always remember, along with the curse day, as being the beginning of something entirely new for the two of them. The events of the day hadn't ended with that incredible showing.
After school they were back in the library when Buffy explained to him that even Giles seemed affected by the spell. She figured that since they were the only two who were the focus of the spell, they were the only ones in 30 miles who were immune to its effects.
If Giles was pretending to not care that he'd seen Buffy masturbating in the middle of a school hallway, he was a brilliant actor. When they asked him about the spell, he remembered casting it, then waved it off as if it weren't important.
It was, she realized, the most normal research session they'd had since the curse. Giles wasn't incredibly uncomfortable with them anymore, and Willow seemed far less off-put by the whole idea. Her eyes didn't seem as puffy, and she laughed and teased with Buffy and Xander just like the old days.
"I am curious about something, Buffy," Giles said later that night.
*Here it comes,* Buffy cringed inwardly.
"Just how did you recall such a spell in the first place? You never struck me as paying that much attention to research."
She gave the required, "Hey!" at that, but she understood what Giles meant. Research usually bored her, and most of the time she simply forgot whatever she had read once it was out of her hands. Things were different now.
"I don't know, it's like...ever since the curse I feel like my mind is clearer."
"Intriguing," Giles said, scribbling in a notebook. "Could you pinpoint when it began exactly? Would you say directly after the curse was cast?"
"Uh...no. The first time I felt it was...after I was, with Xander."
"Ah so physical proximity to Xander caused it?"
"No I mean, *WITH* Xander."
Giles nodded thoughtfully, as if she'd told him it happened when she ate seafood.
"I see, so it was after you first gave Xander fellatio that you felt this. Now was this as you were committing the act, or not until he had orgasmed?"
Buffy knew she must have been as red as...a really red thing.
"Giles! I! Uh..." This was getting way too weird. Giles was *not* supposed to ask sex questions!
"It occurs to me Buffy that I've documented very little about your actual experiences with the curse. As we've very little idea about it's effects on humans, I can't imagine how I allowed you to go this long without describing the effects to me." He shook his head and clucked his tongue at himself, silently chastising himself for being so careless.
"I don't, um...I don't know that I really want to talk about this," Buffy said. She squeezed her thighs together. As before, the heat of embarrassment was met with a different kind of heat.
"Now Buffy I realize that you find all of this very boring and stuffy, but future generations will thank you. Think of how often we have triumphed because of the dedicated record keeping of Watchers and their Slayers before us."
It was the spell, she knew. Giles no longer thought of the curse as something embarrassing and private, so he had no problem asking her many a pointed question about it. She was trapped.
She answered his questions meekly but truthfully, as if she didn't have the willpower to do anything else. Maybe she didn't anymore. She squeaked out the answer, and tried not to think about who was asking.
"How do you feel when you go through withdrawal?"
"Horrible, like I'm going to die."
"How do you feel when Xander disrobes?"
"Better. Aroused."
"How do you feel when he is in your mouth?"
"Amazing. Like it's all I ever wanted."
"And when Xander climaxes, how do you feel?"
"I cum too. Pretty hard."
"And when it is over, what do you do and how do you feel?"
I swallow. I feel great, guilty sometimes but really clear-headed. I feel like I could slay all night or fight the Master ten times.
"Guilty? Why is that?"
"Just write it down Giles."
"This feeling of clarity, it is only felt after Xander's orgasms?"
"Uh...well that's where I feel it the most, and where I felt it at first. Now I feel like that almost all the time, unless I'm feeling the symptoms of withdrawal."
"Have you noticed any signs before withdrawal begins?"
"I think...that I get aroused. I've been noticing that before it begins I'm usually thinking about him already."
"Interesting. Do you think perhaps thinking about it triggers the withdrawal?"
"I don't know. Probably not."
"Why is that?"
"Because I think about it a lot."
By the time it was over, Buffy wasn't sure if the spell had been such a good idea.
Xander sat on one of the couches in the common area, watching the students walk by as he thought about his life. He had been pretty shocked when Cordelia gave Giles her lock of hair. That the decision to include her in the spell had been made without even asking him was also kind of odd.
Although, Buffy had said it was all right, and that...felt right. He smiled a little as he thought of her. The way she had stuck up for him when Giles was treating him like some pervert. Nobody had ever stuck up for him before, and he really liked the feeling.
"Hey Dweeb-O," Cordelia grinned at him as she slid next to him. He smiled at gave her a quick kiss.
"Good afternoon Snobette," he grinned back at her. She rolled her eyes at him and put her head on his shoulder as they sat together. He put an arm around her shoulder, stroking her head softly as he leaned back against her.
"I hope you're cool about the whole spell thing," she said.
"Yeah, Buffy thinks it's a good idea," he said, not really thinking.
She twisted a bit to look at him.
"Yeah but what do you think?"
"I think I agree with her," he kissed her on the top of the head. She frowned and sat up straight.
"Did you do that on purpose?" she asked.
"Do what?"
"Use Buffy as the reason you were OK with this?"
"I don't know what you mean," she was confusing him.
"Xander, I wasn't sure about this, but then you talked about your mind maybe being affected by your curse, and I started thinking about it more," she gave him an appraising look, trying to gauge his reaction.
"Thinking about what? Are you having second thoughts about the spell?"
"No...I mean at the very least I want to be aware when you two are going at it. What I mean is that, you agree with Buffy on an awful lot of stuff lately."
Oh of course. She was jealous.
"Oh honey, I just agree with her on stuff that she's right on, that's all. It's not like I'm siding with her over you or anything."
She smacked his chest lightly.
"No you idiot! I'm not saying that you're always on Buffy's side and I'm angry about that. I'm saying you do what Buffy wants. You've been doing it more and more lately. You never even spoke up about me being in the spell. It was like Buffy made the decision for both of you!"
He frowned. She was right, if he really thought about it. For the last few days he had just been kind of...flowing with Buffy. He thought it was that they were getting along so well lately, but what if it was something else?
Submission.
"The curse," he said. It was all snapping together in his mind. "Submission. Dominance. Alteration."
"What?"
"The symbols I found related to the curse. Three of them are for submission, dominance, and alteration. What if...what if I'm getting submissive and Buffy is getting dominant? What if soon I'm just mindlessly doing whatever she wants? What if the alteration is to my mind?"
This was scary. The kind of hellmouthy insidiousness that seemed to penetrate anything that looked good on the surface. Could the reason that things had been going so well lately been that he was changing to be more compliant?
"She has been...kind of forceful lately. Not like bitchy or anything, just sure of herself. The way she stared down Giles, it was kind of cool, actually," Cordelia said.
Cordelia was sure of herself as well. Was that why their relationship had seemed to get better lately as well? How could he be sure that his thoughts were his own?
It was certainly true that just thinking of Buffy made him hard. He loved servicing her, to the point that he felt horribly guilty at enjoying it so much. And that night when her fingers had gently stroked his head as fell asleep between her thighs...he had never felt so comfortable in all of his life.
"I think you should tell Giles," Cordelia said. She was right.
Wait! Was he agreeing with her just because she had said it so forcefully? Maybe he wouldn't normally want to tell Giles, but just felt like it was a good idea because Cordelia thought so.
It was giving him a headache, and he really couldn't tell what were his normal thoughts and what might be the curse. He gave in.
"You're right. I'll go tell him now. Maybe knowing it will help us find more information."
He got up, finding he had to adjust himself in his pants as he did so. He was doing that a lot lately. Cordelia put a hand to either side of his head and pulled him close to her face.
"I'm with you for this, OK? No matter what."
He had to struggle to keep his eyes from watering as he stared at her loving gaze. He nodded silently, and she kissed him softly on the lips. They held each other for a long moment, and not a single student noticed.
"It occurs to me Xander," Giles said once Xander had brought up his suspicions. "That I never really documented your experiences with the curse. I can't imagine why I've put this off so long, but I'd like for you to answer as honestly as you can."
"Uhh...now?" Xander wasn't really prepared for this. Since when could Giles talk about the curse without stammering over every other word?
"Yes, I know you aren't normally involved in this sort of thing, but I have found that the documented experiences of former Slayers and Watchers has been a tremendous help to Buffy. Your answers may be of use to future generations. It is rather important, and at the same time it may help me to determine if there are any other side effects of the curse." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and then sat poised with a pen and pad, ready to write down Xander's responses.
"Yeah OK, I guess so," Xander's mind was racing. Was he agreeing to this because of the submission thing? Was Giles acting like this because of the spell? It must be why. They hadn't realized that the spell would affect Giles just as much as anyone else in town, and that meant he no longer found the whole topic embarrassing.
Giles asked the questions and Xander answered them, truthfully and with as short a reply as he could muster.
"How do you feel during withdrawal?"
"Horrible. Like I'm dying. Like dying would be better than this."
"And how do you feel when Buffy disrobes?"
"Kind of better, more alert. Kind of...horny."
"I see...and how do you feel when you are actually tasting her?"
"Like I'm doing what I was born to do."
"And when Buffy climaxes, how do you feel then?"
"I uh...climax too. Really powerfully."
"When it is all over, what do you do and how do you feel?"
"I lap at her juices for a while. Then I uh...I usually feel really good, energized like I had a really great night's sleep. Like I could go run a marathon if I wanted to, or solve a mystery. I usually feel kind of guilty too. "
"Guilty? Why should you feel guilty?"
"Never mind Giles. Just write it down."
"This feeling of clarity, it only occurs after Buffy orgasms?"
"Well...at first, yeah. But now I feel like that almost all the time. Except when the shakes start."
"Have you noticed any signs before the withdrawal begins?"
"Well, I've been sort of noticing that I'm usually hard once it's started. Like I've been thinking about her already."
"Interesting. Do you think that thinking about Buffy may be what's triggering the symptoms?"
"I doubt it."
"Why's that?"
"Because I think about her all the time."
"Now, this submissiveness you believe you've been experiencing, how long have you been experiencing it?
Xander shifted uncomfortably. "I guess since the curse started, but I only just noticed it."
"Perhaps it occured the same time as the feelings of clarity?" Giles inquired.
He thought back to how he felt after he'd finished pleasuring Buffy. Content. Energized. Like all he wanted to do was make her happy.
"Yeah...kinda."
"Well we can continue to research the curse. I believe the new books should arrive tomorrow, so hopefully we will find some answers there. For now Xander I would suggest not worrying too much about it. As far as I can tell, if you are changed mentally it is only slightly, although your guilt over pleasuring Buffy is a bit confusing."
*Oh yeah,* Xander thought. *Definitely didn't think this spell through.*
"Don't worry about that part Giles. That's just my...strangeness, I guess."
"Very well then. Chin up Xander. I realize the withdrawal symptoms are quite painful, but Buffy cares for you very much and I'm sure she'll do her best to make sure you never feel them again.
"Yeah, thanks Giles." Xander sighed.
Ten minutes later he was once again in the common area, trying desperately to not think of Buffy's pussy. He thought of what he would do if Buffy walked in and told him to do fifty push-ups. He suspected he'd do it without thinking, and half of him was kind of excited at the prospect.
"How'd it go?" Cordelia asked as she sat beside him.
"I think I can say with authority that the spell worked. Giles just gave me a Watcher Interrogation about it, with all the juicy details."
"All of them?" she asked pointedly. He realized what she meant.
"Well, I might have left someone out." She grinned naughtily at him.
"So it definitely works, huh?"
"Either that or Giles has decided he doesn't mind hearing about me licking Buffy's pussy, in which case...yuck."
Cordelia kissed him softly, and then sat on his lap, straddling him as she kissed him.
"So nobody will care that I do this?" she kissed him deeply and ground her hips into his crotch. He groaned and ran his hands up her sides. He opened one eye. No one was paying any attention to them.
"Or this?" She licked down the side of his face, and then slid down off the couch and between his legs. She felt his erection beneath his jeans and rubbed it softly.
"Oh....Cordy..." he moaned.
"It wasn't very fair of me to have you do such a good job on me earlier and leave you wanting more, was it?" Cordelia purred, and unbuttoned his fly.
"Uh...no?"
"No, it definitely wasn't," she said, pulling down his zipper. The bulge looked even larger with just his boxers between them. She looked around. A girl had sat on the couch across from them, but she was paying more attention to chatting on her cell phone than to the lewd display in front of her.
She grinned then, feeling deliciously naughty. Her delicate hands reached in his boxers and she felt the throbbing muscle within. She pulled him out, and gasped.
He was huge.
"Xander...how?"
Cordelia Chase had never been the kind of girlfriend to hand out sexual favors on a whim, but still, this was not the first time she'd seen her boyfriend's penis. She had stroked him off a time or two in the past, and the last time she'd seen him, he was not this... gargantuan.
"Growth spurt?" he said, groaning as her fingers stroked up the length of him. He'd noticed his apparent size increase a few days ago, but had chalked it up to being so incredibly aroused all the time. But it just kept on getting larger, slowly but surely. He was hoping he was just a very lucky guy, and that this had nothing to do with the curse.
"That's some spurt," Cordelia remarked. Once again she glanced around the room. A jock looked up at her and gave her a grin. She almost fell back in shock before she realized that the jock thought she was smiling at him. She looked back to Xander and the jock snorted and went back to talking with his friends.
"Wow," she breathed. He was fully erect and seemed almost too large for comfort. She'd seen guys in pornos that weren't as well endowed.
Yeah, Cordelia Chase watched pornos. What do you care, pervert?
She licked the underside of his dick, tracing a line from his balls to the large purple head. It bobbed up and down slightly with his heartbeat.
"Time to return the favor," she whispered, and began to suck him in earnest. As she licked and sucked, a dirty fantasy was playing through her head. She had been hit with the curse, and she had to suck off Xander to live. She would never really want such a thing to happen to her, but as a fantasy, it made her all the more excited.
She fingers herself as she blew him, and even forced herself to swallow some of his seed when he came, in line with her fantasy. She found the experience arousing but the taste was rather bland. She came a minute later thanks to her own fingers, even as she licked his softening cock clean.
Cordelia sat back, feeling very daring. She had told Buffy the truth. Something inside of her had been ripped open that night, and she was going to ride it for as long as she could. It was hard to believe that no one cared about the head cheerleader blowing her geek boyfriend in the middle of the common area, but it seemed to be true.
"Guess we passed the test," Cordelia grinned at him as she zipped him up and sat back next to him. Xander just sat there, exhausted, with his head hanging over the back of the couch.
"You're amazing," he said.
"Tel me something I don't know," she grinned and hesitantly moved to kiss him, afraid he might not want to after she had blown him. He smiled and kissed her passionately for a full minute until...
His hand trembled slightly when he slowly pushed her away. He gave her a sad smile.
"It's that time again," he said. He pulled out the beeper Cordelia had given him, and punched in the code to meet in Giles's office. Cordelia's beeper buzzed a moment later.
"Let's go," she grinned, and grabbed his hand. She almost dragged him back to the library.
Buffy almost gasped as she pulled on the very tight tank top. The feel of the fabric against her breasts was very nice, but it was far too tight. She pulled it off and tried to find another top to wear. So far she'd tried seven different tops, and all of them were too small.
She looked in the mirror, hefting her breasts slightly under her hands. They definitely seemed to be getting bigger. She'd heard of some women having growth spurts later than even their early twenties, maybe that's all that this was.
Did most women grow a cup size in three days?
She frowned and finally settled on a tank top that had been slightly loose on her a week ago. It clung tightly to her curves now, and felt almost indecent. She shivered a little as she looked at herself in the mirror.
*I've got curves!* she inwardly giggled. They were firm too, and she felt quite comfortable even without a bra, which was a good thing since none of hers seemed to fit anymore.
She pulled on a thong that was almost non-existent and then shoved herself into a pair of leather pants. She gave the mirror a sultry pose.
*Oh yeah, I'm looking gooood* she thought. *Xander'll love this.*
It was the first time she'd had the thought consciously. It startled her a little. Was she wearing this for Xander? She had to admit it was the kind of ultra-revealing outfit that the adolescent male would no doubt go wild over. So maybe she was dressing to please him. What was wrong with that? He'd been a great friend to her since this all started. He deserved a little something extra, didn't he?
She frowned at her reflection. Giles had mentioned something about submissiveness when it came to the curse. What if...she was changing? She sighed then and picked up leather strap that Xander had thoughtfully fashioned into a makeshift stake holster. She strapped it around her thigh and slipped five stakes into it, then pulled on her combat boots. Another glance in the mirror told her she looked hot and dangerous. Perfect for patrolling with Xander.
She bounded down the stairs, enjoying the feel of her newly sizable breasts bouncing as she did so. Maybe it really was the curse, how else could such a thing feel good and not uncomfortable?
She decided not to think about it for now. It was time for patrol, and she felt very ready for it. She'd been feeling full of energy for the last few days, but had been so busy either crying, sucking off Xander, crying some more, and thinking about sucking off Xander that she hadn't really noticed it.
"Hey Xand," she said when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Xander stared at her appreciatively, and she blushed a little with satisfaction.
"Hey Buff, looking good."
"Why thanks, you're not looking so bad yourself," he never looked bad to her. He was...gorgeous.
"You're too kind," he shot her that grin that made her toes curl.
"Mom! We're going out for patrol!" she shouted upstairs to her mother. She heard her bedroom door open and Joyce came to the top of the stairs.
"OK Honey. You did make sure to blow Xander before leaving, right?"
Buffy gaped at her mother.
"Whu...what?"
"Oh Mr. Giles called and told me all about the curse. At first I was shocked you hadn't told me, but I eventually realized you must not have wanted to worry me." Joyce looked at her daughter sadly as she came down the stairs.
"You don't have to do that for me honey. It's better when I know what's going on with you so I can support you. You don't have to do this alone."
Buffy's eyes widened to the size of saucers.
"This I kind of do have to do alone."
"Oh you know what I meant. Besides Buffy, what if you'd had an attack while I was around, and I thought you were having some kind of seizure? You should have told me so I'd know to call Xander so he could rush over and you could suck his dick."
"Mom!" Buffy shouted in utter mortification.
"Yes yes, I know. The Slayer doesn't need help from anyone." She sighed at her daughter. "Buffy one of these days you'll have to learn to rely on other people. At least you're smart enough to bring Xander with you in case you have an attack out there, heaven forbid."
Joyce took Xander's hand and patted it fondly. "Thank you Xander, for everything you've done for Buffy. Giles told me how you've been there for Buffy ever since the curse. It makes me feel better for her knowing you're around to help her."
Buffy was in complete and total shock. The spell...her mother... BAD!
"Mom we really don't need to talk about this. As in ever."
"Xander honey, if you aren't against the idea, maybe you should think about moving in here with us. I'd feel much better knowing you were around to help Buffy instead of halfway across town at night."
Xander opened his mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it again.
"Uh...yeah. Sure. I'd be honored. Besides, your house is much nicer than my house. Not a single beer bottle in the whole of the living room."
Joyce frowned at that. She'd noticed such glimpses of the boy's home life before. His living with Buffy would be good for the both of them.
"I assume he'll stay in your room Buffy," Joyce said to her daughter. Buffy felt numb.
"If...if that's ok with Xander."
"Yeah it's fine with me. Especially if it means that Buffy won't have to go through withdrawal any more often than she has to," he gave Buffy a concerned look, and she felt herself smile back at his worry.
"Well then, you think you can grab a few necessities on your way back after patrol? Then this weekend we can see about moving you in more permanently. Then I think it would be a good idea to get you two cell-phones or pagers for emergencies. And Xander, what are your plans for after High School? Buffy's been accepted to a few good schools and we've been talking about Sunnydale University so she could stay close to home for slaying purposes. I'd be happy to help you try and get in yourself so you two wouldn't have to be separated too often. Hank has more than enough money to pay for Buffy's college education and yours as well if I press him on it. "
Joyce's logical thinking astonished Xander. This spell was turning out to be a really good idea, despite the near-total wierdness of talking about this with Buffy's mom.
"Those are very good ideas Mrs. S. We can talk about it more once I get settled in," Xander said. "Could you just do me a favor?"
"Of course Xander, and call me Joyce."
"Well Joyce, would you hold off on telling Buffy's Dad about the whole thing? She's really not too comfortable with the idea of him knowing about the slaying or about magical curses and that sort of thing."
Buffy was in awe of Xander. She hadn't even thought of that. Her father wasn't in range of the spell, and might have reacted very strangely if his mother started calling with talk of needing extra money because of her daughter's...cocksucking addiction.
"Oh of course Xander. I'm sure I can come up with some other excuse if it comes to that. Don't worry Buffy, I won't tell your Father about the Slaying unless you want me to."
Buffy nodded mutely.
"Well then, did you blow him already? I don't want you passing out while fighting a vampire."
"Unfortunately it doesn't work that way," Xander said. Buffy couldn't believe how easily he was handling this. "Doing it beforehand doesn't really help, unless it's right before an attack would be anyway. Usually those are pretty hard to figure out."
"I see. Well just be careful then. The minute you start shaking I want you down on your knees, OK young lady?"
Buffy was certain she was in an alternate reality. She nodded again, and her mother gave her a smile and a kiss on the forehead.
"Ok then, have fun and stay safe. There's cookies in the cupboard when you get back."
"Ooh, cookies!" Xander said happily. Joyce laughed and headed back upstairs.
"That was nightmarish," Buffy said once she had gone.
"I don't know, she was actually really cool about stuff. I guess the spell was a good idea for more than one reason."
"Even that stuff about you moving in? I'm sorry you got roped into that. You shouldn't have to leave your house to come live here. You won't even have your own bed, cause she's gonna think it's weird unless you sleep in mine."
Xander put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. She found herself shying away at his gaze at first, but once she looked into his eyes she couldn't look away.
"Listen to me Buffy, there is nothing I could do to help you that you should ever feel sorry for. I would do anything to make sure you didn't feel that way again. And believe me, sleeping in a bed next to you is a thousand times, a million times better than living in my house. OK?"
Her eyes filled with tears and she nodded. His face was so close to hers, and he smelled so good.
He smiled, and they stared at each other for another long moment. Then he slowly leaned forward, and kissed her on the lips.
She actually swooned and would have fallen to the floor if he hadn't caught her with those masculine arms. She stared up at him as he held her safe.
"Buffy? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have." He didn't move her, and she didn't try to move.
"Xander, I..." her words trailed off and she stared at him again, her lips swollen and slightly parted as she breathed heavily. He leaned down to her and kissed her again. This time she was held safely in his arms, and was soon kissing him back. It was soft, sad, and wet. It was the most beautiful thing that had ever happened to her.
When they finally parted he gave her that lopsided grin that made her quiver.
"We're gonna be late for the vampires."
She panted and held out a hand. It was steady as a rock.
*Darn,* they both thought.
"Now you tell me that's normal," Cordelia said, pointing at it.
"Well I've only ever seen one other, but it certainly didn't look like that," Buffy said, peering at it.
Xander Harris stood in the middle of Buffy Summer's room. Naked.
His girlfriend was kneeling in front of him, eyeing his erection. Buffy stood behind her, arms crossed and an amused look on her face. Cordelia was wearing a loose pair of sweatpants, with no shirt on. Buffy was bottomless, and her shirt had a telltale tear in it where she had almost torn it off in ecstasy while Xander was eating her pussy.
It was Friday night, and Xander had just had his third dose of the day. Cordelia had been there to watch, as was rapidly becoming habit. The rather well endowed cheerleader had thrown her shirt off while masturbating herself to the sight of Xander and Buffy.
Then she had done something she'd never done before. As Buffy rolled her hips against Xander's tongue, Cordelia had crawled slowly across the room. Xander lay on his back on the floor while Buffy kneeled over face, and neither of them had been aware of Cordelia moving ever closer.
When Buffy opened her eyes, Cordelia was staring at her from no more than a foot away. The blonde girl moaned loudly at those eyes, and had mumbled "...delia..."
Cordelia had licked her lips, leaned forward...and kissed Buffy Summers.
It was why Xander was currently hard as a rock. As to why he was naked? Shortly after "THE KISS," Buffy had climaxed, Xander along with her. She screamed her orgasm into Cordelia's mouth, and the cheerleader's own fingers brought her to her own orgasm only half a second later. When Xander had come to his senses, Buffy and Cordelia's kiss was slowly ending.
"Wow," Buffy said.
"Yeah," Cordelia responded.
"Uh...that was...intense." Buffy's eyes never left Cordelia's, though she idly ground her snatch against Xander's face a few times. He lapped softly at her pussy, enjoying the delicious wetness.
Buffy moaned softly as Cordelia stood.
"I want to show you something," Cordelia had said.
"Hmm?" Buffy murmured. When Xander continued to lick her after she'd come she often fell into a kind of hypnotic relaxation.
"Come on, get up. You too Xander."
Buffy actually growled in frustration, but got up nonetheless. She pulled her shirt back down, and was dismayed at the tear in the fabric she'd inadvertently caused.
"Come on Xander," Cordelia sighed. He lay flat on his back, enjoying the increased feeling of clarity and energy that he always felt after eating Buffy. It seemed to get a little better each time.
"Xander!" she kicked him lightly in the side. He relented, and rose to his feet quickly.
"Now take off your clothes," Cordelia said.
"What?"
"I want to show Buffy something. Come on."
"W-well why do I have to be the one to get naked?"
"Come on Xander, please?" Buffy pressed. Xander thought of fighting, but he couldn't say no to Buffy, even if that fact troubled him deep down. He undressed without a word.
"Hands at your side," Cordelia said. He obeyed, and took his hands away from his privates.
"Now you tell me that's normal."
"Well I've only seen one other, but it certainly didn't look like that."
Xander could not believe this was happening.
"Well I've seen enough porno to know - it's big." She put one hand at the tip of his cock, the other at the base, as if to emphasize the length.
"It seems like the perfect size to me," Buffy said sultrily.
"That's what I was afraid of," Cordelia said.
"What do you mean?"
"I think that he's actually the perfect size for you Buffy. And he wasn't a week ago."
Buffy's mouth opened in alarm.
"You think he's changing to...be better for me?"
"I'm starting to. I noticed it a few days ago. He's been dressing way better. Tight shirts that show off muscles I don't think he had a week ago. His hair always looks great, and his skin is perfect. And that," she pointed at his manhood. "Could only be for a Slayer. I don't know that I could handle that."
*Though I wouldn't mind trying,* she didn't say.
Xander remained silent. This was turning him on as much as it was completely mortifying, and the idea that he might be changing physically was one that troubled him. He supposed that as long as it was for the better it wasn't as bad as the apparent mental changes, but either way he wasn't sure he liked it.
"Xander, flex your bicep for a second," Buffy ordered. He did it without hesitation, a little surprised himself at the very large muscle it produced.
"Wow," Cordelia said.
"I want to try something," Buffy said. "Get dressed and we'll go downstairs."
They all did so, and soon were sitting around Buffy's dining room table. Buffy sat on one side, Xander on the other. She placed her elbow on the table and held up her hand. The classic sign of an arm-wrestling challenge.
"C'mon, let's go."
"What? Buffy you're the slayer!" he protested, but he put his arm out tentatively anyway.
She clasped his hand, and he shivered a little at the skin-on-skin contact.
"Really try, OK?" Buffy said. This was going to hurt, he knew.
"One, two...three!"
She strained against him, and he against her. Xander realized that she wasn't ripping his arm off. This was phenomenal! They struggled against each other for a while, Buffy grunting in exertion. It was after a minute that he realized he wasn't even trying that hard. Buffy meanwhile was sweating and grunting as she tried to pull his rock-steady arm downwards.
He looked at her determination and suddenly felt wrong. He began to slowly let her gain ground, grunting in fake exertion himself. Finally he let her slam his arm down on the table.
"Owww!" he cried, acting as best he could.
"Yes!" Buffy shouted exuberantly. Cordelia rushed over to Xander and rubbed his arm soothingly.
"Hey you were supposed to arm-wrestle, not rip his arm off," Cordelia snapped.
"Oh...sorry," Buffy said, chagrined. "I got carried away. Are you OK Xander?"
He rotated his arm, feeling weird about lying to her but not wanting to make her feel inferior.
"Yeah, I'll be ok in a minute.'
"Well I guess we learned that he's gotten stronger too. A lot stronger. Not as much stamina as me though," Buffy added, the Slayer spirit feeling a little competitive. "Hey! You could help a lot more in patrols now Xander!"
Cordelia nodded her head knowingly. "Just like your perfect man would have to be able to do."
Buffy's grin vanished as she realized what Cordelia meant.
"Giles is getting the books tomorrow morning," she said solemnly. "Hopefully we'll get some answers then."
"Hello? Buffy?"
"In here Mom."
Joyce Summers sighed in relief to see her daughter home and safe instead of out patrolling.
"Sorry I'm so late honey, it's been a crazy day." She spotted Xander and Cordelia, "Oh hello Cordelia. How are you Xander?"
Xander could hardly believe the look of genuine concern on her face.
"I'm...fine."
"No more attacks? I have to tell you I've been so worried about you since the other day. I don't know what came over me, I'm so sorry. " "That's OK Mrs. Summers."
"Please, it's Joyce."
"Right Mrs. Summers."
She laughed at that and took a chair at the table, groaning as she got off her feet. After a moment she looked at them again.
"I've been thinking Xander, it's really not good for you to be stuck at your house with your condition. What if you're unable to call Buffy for help?"
"Well, I...I don't know really."
"Well if it's all right with you, I think you should stay here with Buffy. That way she'll be there if you need help. Right honey?" She gave her daughter a look of Show-Some-Responsibility.
"Of course! I think that's a great idea!" Buffy responded happily. "I've been so worried that Xander would have an attack in the middle of the night and not be able to call me."
"Well then it's settled. Xander can sleep with you, and if he has an attack he can just slide down and lick your pussy before going back to sleep."
Buffy scoffed in disbelief at her mother's matter-of-fact discussion of her daughter's very strange sex life.
"I-I-I..." Xander stuttered.
"You don't care that I'm with Xander, Mom?"
"Oh why should I care about that? Don't be silly honey. Now, I've also thought that getting a cell-phone or beeper would be a good idea in case you're separated and Xander needs help right away."
"Oh Cordelia already thought of that," Buffy said. Cordelia smiled a little sadly.
"That was very thoughtful of you Cordelia. You must care very much for your friends."
"Boyfriend," Cordelia said. *And Girlfriend?*
"Oh I had no idea." Joyce seemed to think about that for a moment, and noticed the sad look on Cordelia's face.
"Well you'll have to stay as well."
"What?" Buffy asked. This was astonishing. "You want Cordelia to live here too? Where would she stay?"
"Oh you're right, your bed would hardly hold the three of you." Joyce scrunched up her face in thought. "What do you say tomorrow afternoon we go see about purchasing a king sized bed for you room? I'm sure your father wouldn't mind paying for it. He just signed that big deal, and you know how much he likes to buy you things."
Buffy giggled at that. Her father paid her very little attention, but all she had to do was ask and he would try to buy her love. It wasn't a great relationship, but for once it would work out in her favor.
"Yeah, just don't tell Dad about the Slaying or the curse, OK mom? I don't really...trust him with that." Truthfully she just didn't want her mom to tell her dad about the boy who has to lick her pussy three times a day or die. Her dad wasn't under the spell's influence.
"Oh of course honey. So what do you say Cordelia?"
"You really want me to sleep with Buffy and Xander?"
"Of course, why not?"
Buffy decided to try a little test. "Mom what if I decided to invite Angel to come sleep with us too?"
Xander looked like he might die on the spot.
"Absolutely not young lady! It's bad enough you'll be going off to college soon. I won't have that under my roof."
"But it's ok if Cordelia and I were to...do this?" She leaned over and kissed a very surprised Cordelia.
"Oh Buffy," her mother sighed shaking her head. "Sometimes I just don't understand you. Why should I care if you want to kiss Cordelia?"
"What if I were to have a wild sex orgy with Cordelia and Xander on your bed?"
"As long as you're courteous of my property, I don't see why not. " Buffy was stunned. That was one hell of a spell. Apparently they could do anything sexual that involved the three of them and nobody, not even her MOTHER, would care.
"Ok then, I'm going to sleep. I'd suggest you three go pick up your necessities, then tomorrow we can talk about moving you over my formally."
"Oh and Buffy," her mom added as she headed up the stairs.
"Yeah?"
"You should start thinking about college as well. It's not going to be fair to Xander if you decide to go somewhere without getting his input. He could very well be forced to go with you. Cordelia as well, since it wouldn't be fair to ruin her relationship over some silly curse."
"OK mom...I will."
The three of them stared at the stairs for a long time after Joyce had left. Buffy hadn't thought much of the future, but her mom had made a good point. If the curse were still in effect by next September, then she'd have to take Xander with her wherever she went. The idea was not exactly a bad one. She kind of liked the thought that she and Xander would be kept together even after high school, and she couldn't say that Cordelia being there would count as a bad thing either.
The night before had been strange even beyond the unreal conversation with Joyce. He couldn't help but notice as they left for patrol that Buffy seemed, Buffy-er.
As in there was more of her than there used to be. She looked healthier than she had in at least a year, her super skinny look giving way to a more fit look. He could make out the faint line of her biceps in her very tight tank top. It was definitely a good look for her. Xander always dug the tough-chick look.
Let's not forget the breasts. He was a big fan of those as well, and while he would have never complained about Buffy's, he couldn't help but appreciate her sudden growth spurt. She was straining against her shirt for all of patrol, and the stiff points of her nipples told all that she was not wearing anything underneath. It was quite spectacular.
What was more spectacular was when they'd come across a group of vampires an hour into patrol. Buffy had been in a very introspective mood since he'd kissed her, but the fact that they held hands as they strolled through the graveyard told him she didn't hate him for it.
When she'd spotted the vampires her mood vanished, and in it's place the Slayer emerged. Buffy's quips were piercing, her fighting was a thing of graceful beauty, and when she swung a hard roundhouse punch at the head of one vamp...
It came clean off. His head, that is. She punched him so hard his head actually severed from his body, causing him to turn to dust even as his head still headed for the upper atmosphere. The other vamps quickly bolted after that.
"Whoa Buffy, you been eating your wheaties?"
"No, I think it's...something else in my diet." Her eyes roamed to his crotch, and he felt himself twitch in his pants.
"What do you mean?"
"Xander, I think I'm changing. Physically definitely, but maybe mentally too." She looked scared, and Xander hated seeing a scared Buffy. He pulled her to him and embraced her in a comforting hug.
"Why are you thinking that?" Was it because she couldn't believe she'd kissed him?
"Mentally? Because...I want to do things for you Xander. When you make decisions, I want to go along with them. When you tell me something is true, I want to believe it. When I make you happy, it makes me happy. I feel like I want to defer to you when there's a decision to make, and part of me doesn't even think that's strange."
"You think it's the curse?"
"I'm starting to. There were some symbols in one of the books we read during research. I didn't think of it then, but now I feel like I know what they mean. One of them was Submission. Another was Change, I think.
"Changing your mind?"
She stepped back from him and hefted her breasts in her hands, almost offering them to him.
"And my body."
"Wow," this was...not a happy thought. What if Buffy had kissed him because of this? What if the real Buffy would be running away screaming at the thought of being with him?
"There's nothing we can do about it now, I guess. Giles'll get the new books tomorrow, hopefully we'll get more information then."
She nodded, relief washing over her, but it was soon followed by anger.
"See? You made a decision and I feel all warm inside."
A part of him wondered what was wrong with him making decisions. It was followed by a darker thought: What if you think that because you're changing too? Had he always been so decisive? So...dominant?
Either way, this is what he was now, and there was nothing that could be done about it until he had new information.
"Look Buffy, I don't know if I can make you feel better about something like that, but there really is nothing we can until we get the new books. If there's something altering your mind I'll do my very best to stop it, but for now you're just hurting yourself if you keep second-guessing yourself."
He could almost see her inner battle. She undoubtedly thought he was right, but was she thinking that because of the changes? Ultimately, it didn't matter. She was who she was, until something changed that.
"OK Xander. For now...don't second-guess yourself either," she stepped closer to him, and he pulled her into a deep kiss. Whatever the future would show them; it couldn't be all-bad, because this was too good.
He kept one arm wrapped around her as they walked to his house to get his things, and though she was quiet she made no attempt to remove him. On the contrary, she gently stroked his hand with hers as they walked. It was peaceful.
She noticed two things when they were packing a duffle bag full of clothes for him. First, she found his fashion sense suddenly very endearing as he threw yet another multicolored shirt in his bag. She used to find it so goofy, and now it was so...Xander.
The second thing was that the duffle bag was...heavy.
"Xander," she said, scared. "I think my slayer strength is gone."
"What?" He was by her side immediately, staring at her as if he could spot the problem.
"This bag is heavy." He picked it up, testing its weight.
"A little, I guess."
"It shouldn't be heavy to me."
She was right, he knew. "But I saw you knock a vamp's head off less than an hour ago."
She started breathing heavily, panic setting in.
"Xander, what if the curse took my powers!?" She wailed.
"Calm down Buffy, panicking isn't going to help." He put his palms to either side of her face, looking her in the eyes. "Calm down. ..come on...that's it. Now think, do you remember thinking or doing anything that might affect this?"
His voice instantly calmed her down, and she felt that tingle in her loins at his take-charge attitude. Her mind raced, and she was very glad for the clarity of thought she'd had since the curse began.
"I was thinking as we were walking home that I wished I could be a regular girl..." *For you,* she left out. "And then the Slayer when I needed to fight."
"So maybe it's a mental thing. Maybe you just need to go into... slayer mode." It was the best he could come up with. "Close your eyes, try to *be* a Slayer."
She closed her eyes almost before he'd had the words out, and searched inside her self. It was almost ridiculously easy to find. Like a switch in her mind. She flipped it, and felt the strength return.
"It worked!" she hugged him tightly.
"Ack! Cracked ribs proving you correct!" he gasped. She let go of him in an instant, and he fell to the floor.
"Oh Xander I'm so sorry!"
"I'm OK, I'm OK. Just, whew, just give me a second."
She sat next to him as he breathed shallow for a while before the pain ebbed.
*This is exactly why I want to be a regular girl around him,* she thought. And suddenly, the switch had been flicked again. It was incredible. She flipped it back and forth in her mind a few times. Slayer. Regular girl. Slayer. Regular girl. Slayer. Regular Girl.
On the way back to her house she kept herself toggled to Slayer, finding her senses were far better than they'd been a week ago. She made sure they steered clear of vampires as they strolled home, Xander wincing slightly with each step.
When they got back, they both slipped into *their* bed. The shakes began shortly after, and she sucked him softly before they both fell asleep. She told herself she slept with his dick in her mouth and her head on his thighs because she didn't want to hurt his ribs.
Yeah. That was the reason.
Xander woke to the feeling of Buffy's skillful mouth around his dick. He sighed softly, bringing a hand down to stroke her hair.
"MornING!" he said, his voice rising an octave halfway through the word. Buffy couldn't greet him normally, as her mouth was otherwise occupied, so she greeted him the only way she could think of. For only the second time, she deep-throated him.
Xander groaned wordlessly as she slowly fucked her throat with his cock. She was incredible at this, and he could not last long. When he came, it was down her throat, although she saved one spurt for her mouth. He felt like he would explode again from seeing her savor the taste of his seed.
She licked at him gently as he deflated, though she lifted the blanket with one hand, as it was more than a little hot under there. She was still softly cleaning his cock when her door burst open.
"Oh good, you're up. Listen I want to get to the mall early before it gets crowded. I've got waffles downstairs too for you sleepy-heads."
Buffy's mouth was away from Xander's penis in an instant. She coughed.
"Mom! Knock first!" she finally gasped.
Her mother looked at her as if it was a ridiculous demand. She could no longer quite comprehend a reason for Buffy to want privacy. She chalked it up as having a teenaged daughter.
"OK honey, sorry." She looked oddly at Buffy and Xander, and Buffy half-suspected she gave Xander's cock an appraising look. She covered them both with the blanket and her mother rolled her eyes before leaving.
"I hate that spell," Buffy groaned. Xander chuckled.
"Hey at least the whole school isn't busy gossiping about us right now," he reminded her.
She groaned again and buried her face in his chest. Her life was destined to be weird in the extreme. There was nothing she could do about it.
Buffy woke to the feeling of Xander's well-practiced tongue licking at her inner thighs. She sighed softly, and stretched her arms, almost bashing Cordelia Chase in the face as she did so. At the last moment she averted her arms, and instead found herself hugging the cheerleader closer to her as Xander pleasured her.
Cordelia sighed softly in her sleep, and Buffy smiled at her sleeping form. How could her life have possibly gotten to this point? She'd never felt interested in other girls before, but Cordelia was like this force of nature that had barged its way into her heart. There was no doubt in her mind that she still preferred the company of men - Xander's ministrations saw to that - but she thought that maybe Cordelia could prove an exception to that rule.
Maybe. So far they'd only kissed twice, once during the "so-hot-you're-out-of-your-mind" moment of Xander eating her out, and once again as a test in front of her mom. Both had been very pleasant, but in the light of dawn both seemed like another lifetime.
She moaned softly as Xander teased her beneath the blankets, and she almost jerked in surprise when she felt a soft hand slide under her sleeping shirt and caress her breasts.
Cordelia's hand stroked her softly, pinching and rolling her nipple gently before the cheerleader opened her eyes and looked up at Buffy.
"Mo-horning!" Buffy gasped in mid-breath, Xander's tongue causing her to spasm in pleasure. Cordelia grinned and looked under the blanket to see Xander hard at work. The dark haired girl shifted slightly in Buffy's grasp. She rolled onto her stomach, sliding one hand down her panties while the other continued to play with Buffy's boobs. Buffy was moaning constantly now, both of her own hands rubbing at her small but cute breasts.
Suddenly her back arched upwards and Buffy moaned even louder, her hands tearing at her shirt. It ripped away from her, leaving her bare breasts only inches from Cordelia's face. Cordelia breathed heavily as she stared at the hard nubs, and licked her lips.
Buffy's hand snaked its way around Cordelia's head and pressed insistently against her. She was pushed slowly forward until her mouth was almost on top of Buffy's breasts.
"Suck," Buffy moaned, half crazed with lust. "Please...suck my titties..."
Cordelia complied, engulfing the Slayer's nipple in her mouth as she began sucking and licking. Her hand slipped beneath her legs and Cordelia masturbated herself as she licked Buffy's tits.
"Yes...so good," Buffy whined in a high pitched voice, first raising her hips towards Xander, then rolling back down to raise her chest towards Cordelia.
The dark haired couple attacked the Slayer with their mouths, and in a few minutes she was screaming surrender. When she came to her senses she felt Xander still drinking of her softly while Cordelia was sleepily sucking her breast.
It was the greatest way she had ever woken up. Then the door burst open.
"Oh good, you're up! Listen, I want to get to the mall early, so I thought I should make sure you all got up now. Three showers'll take a while, especially with Cordelia's beautiful long hair." She smiled at Cordelia, who was trying to get as far from Buffy's bared breasts as she could without falling off the very cramped bed.
"I assume that's Xander under there?" Joyce said, gesturing to the form under the blanket at Buffy's midsection. Buffy flushed a furious shade of red.
"Morning Mrs. Summers," Xander squeaked.
"Good morning Joyce," she corrected. Xander only whimpered in response.
"Well you make sure you bring her off before we leave Xander, I want to focus full energy on picking out a good mattress."
"Uh...he...did already," Buffy admitted softly.
"Ah good I thought that's what the screaming was about. Ok, well hop to it then. Three showers and not a lot of hot water. Unless you plan on showering together."
Buffy could not believe that she was having this conversation. Xander was just glad he was hidden under the blanket, and Cordelia was busy having naughty thoughts of three bodies in a shower.
The day at the mall was very strange, mostly because it was the most time Buffy had spent with her mother since the spell was cast. On the drive over she had mentioned that getting a larger mattress might be a good idea too, since Buffy's bed was really built for one person. Xander thought that was a great idea, and thanked her for being so thoughtful.
"Oh please Xander, it's the least I could do. After all you're being so wonderful about helping Buffy."
"I don't need rewards to help Buffy, Joyce," he replied, and he squeezed Buffy's hand lightly. She had to struggle not to burst into embarrassed giggles at that. Joyce gave them both a happy smile.
"You did suck Xander before we left, didn't you Buffy?" Joyce asked sternly, giving her daughter a sideways glance. Buffy was stunned into speechlessness, still unable to process her mother's candid questions regarding the curse. "I want to focus all our energy on shopping, and I'd hate to have to take a break so you can blow him. " Xander luckily fielded the question, impressing Buffy with his smooth handling of the situation. "Everything will be fine Joyce, we took care of things before we left."
The rest of the ride featured idle chitchat about what Xander was thinking when he finished school. He admitted he had no real plans, and Joyce promised to really sit down with him and talk about his future sometime soon. She even pledged to help him with homework and SAT's if he wanted it. He thanked her and told her he would definitely take her up on the offer.
The mall itself was fairly empty when they got there, and Joyce had them head straight for the bedding section of the large department store the mall was built off of.
Buffy could not remember being so embarrassed and so turned on in the same place before. The embarrassment came from her mother openly explaining Buffy's circumstances to the salesman, who like everyone else within a 30-mile radius, simply nodded as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
The arousal came from watching Xander deal with the salesman.
"No way, I want it delivered and installed today, no extra charge, and you've got to knock at least three hundred dollars off the price. There's no way we're paying that much for a bed."
"Sir, it is a California King Size, the best of the best. I'm afraid our prices are non-negotiable."
"Oh yeah? Let me speak with your manager."
Xander haggled with the increasingly nervous manager for a good twenty minutes, weaving a tale about his uncle the hotel manager and the possibility of purchasing at least 30 mattresses. By the end of it he had actually gotten all of his demands, plus FOUR hundred dollars taken off the price. It was a miracle to behold.
"Thank you very much sir," the manager said as Joyce prepared to pay.
"Pleasure to do business with you. I'll be sure to tell my uncle how accommodating you were."
"Thank you sir!"
They were assured that the deliverymen would be there by the time they arrived home.
The beepers were a similar affair, Xander using much the tactic to weasel the price down to almost cost. Buffy stared at him in absolute awe when they walked away with two top-of-the-line pagers and lifetime service for a price that seemed like robbery.
Afterwards they'd browsed various shops for a while, Buffy finding it almost impossible to not purchase at least a few new outfits. By the end of the day she had five bags full of very revealing and racy clothing, specially purchased to show off her new physique. She also bought four new pairs of shoes, all high heels. She knew she had to get them when she saw Xander's reaction to her walking around in them, her short skirt almost revealing her ass and her tight shirt barely containing her now quite large breasts.
The only truly mortifying part of the day was the ride home, where Buffy began having the shakes. Joyce had insisted her daughter get her "medicine" right there in the car as they drove. Buffy tried valiantly to hold off until they got home, but her mother simply couldn't understand her reluctance.
Eventually the pain was enough that Buffy relented, and soon she'd forgotten her mother's presence completely as she gratefully sucked on Xander's cock, only pausing once when an out-of-state trucker blew his horn at her and gave her a leering grin and a thumbs up to Xander.
She turned beet red even as she became grew hornier, and she screamed onto his cock when he came, her own climax causing her body to shake with pleasure. When she was finished she licked and suckled at him for another minute or so before she realized that her mother was still there, and had been talking to Xander the whole time.
"Of course there's always the University of Sunnydale which would allow Buffy to stay near the hellmouth which Mr. Giles tells me is a very important concern."
"Uh huh..." Xander said listlessly, obviously having missed a good portion of their conversation.
Buffy buried her face in his shoulder for the rest of the ride home, unable to even look at her mother.
The day at the mall was a very strange experience for Xander. It had been the most time he'd spent with Joyce since the spell had been cast, and it was definitely hard to get used to the incredibly candid way she spoke of the strange relationship between Buffy, Cordelia, and himself.
Cordy had been all smiles since they had showered that morning. The three of them had piled in together, and Buffy and Cordelia had laughed and giggled as they soaped each other up, even exchanging a kiss or two as they did so. Cordelia had even bent down and given Xander a very nice blowjob at the end of it, saying it was her duty to make sure Xander wasn't always the one giving the pleasure.
He was in awe of both of these girls - these gorgeous women. Buffy and Cordelia had eased into a very strange mix of friends and lovers, neither moving beyond kisses and the occassional petting, but definitely enough to keep him almost painfully hard through the day. Which, considering his recently massive size, was a bit hard to hide. Several girls and even a few guys had given his crotch looks of approval as they wandered the mall.
His awe of the girls grew even more when, at Buffy's lead, she and Cordelia had swindled the manager of the mattress store out of free delivery, free installation, and six hundred dollars off the price. The two had almost danced around him, keeping him confused and obviously aroused.
"It's just that we really need something that gives us a lot of room to...move around," Buffy moaned in his ear. Cordelia spun him around and sat him down on the showroom bed, standing between his legs.
"And this one has...the perfect height too," she whispered as she slowly sank to her knees. The manager's lips trembled as she sank to the floor, only to gasp when she snapped back up at the last moment. She waggled a finger in front of his face.
"But if you say its store policy to not negotiate..."
"Now, I didn't say that, exactly," the man said quickly.
"Really?" Buffy asked coyly, rubbing her hand on the mattress. "Ooh...it's so soft too..."
"Yes it's a...uh...special material."
Cordelia slipped onto the bed besides Buffy, the two of them writhing slowly next to each other, every so often their bodies coming so very close to touching.
"Oh yeah," Cordelia moaned. "It's so comfortable, and it fits... three people." She winked at the manager.
The poor sap had never had a chance. Joyce had even complimented Buffy on her excellent handling of the salesman as they left.
Afterwards the girls had insisted they go on a mini-shopping spree for Xander, to get him more clothes that would show off his new physique. He went along quietly, and dutifully modeled many an outfit for the three of them. Joyce had given him quite a look when he'd worn the tight bicycle shorts that did little to hide his new assets.
He didn't mind though. He could see that Buffy really liked the tight and revealing clothing he modeled, and he would happily wear it if she liked it that much, especially since Cordelia assured him it was all exactly the right stuff for him to wear. If he couldn't trust their fashion sense, he couldn't trust anyone's.
The truly mortifying part of the day was as they were pulling out of the mall parking lot and he felt the shakes begin. Joyce noticed almost immediately, and insisted that Buffy pull her pants down and help Xander. He tried to say he would be ok, but the pain was building quickly. Buffy had quickly shimmed down her pants and gently guided Xander's head between her thighs. Joyce never even flinched.
Well, maybe at the very end when Buffy's piercing scream almost shattered the windows, but that was the only time.
Afterwards Buffy lied back against Cordelia, using the other girl's breasts as a pillow as she dozed. Xander closed his eyes himself, his head resting contentedly on Buffy's thighs, breathing in her scent as he rested. He was a little sad when they got back to Buffy's - their - house and had to move.
They arrived at the library later that afternoon. Buffy was clad in a short sundress that hugged her every curve, with high-heeled strappy shoes to complete the look. She felt undeniably naughty that she wore no panties with the outfit.
"Ah Buffy, Xander, I'm glad you're here. I've received those books this morning and have found some pertinent information regarding the curse."
Buffy felt her stomach tighten in a knot. On the one hand she desperately wanted to be sure that her mind was her own. On the other hand there was a part of her that didn't want the curse to be lifted. Her relationship with Xander was slowly building, and she didn't know how much of that was the curse. She was so content when she was with him...did she want to give that up?
"What did you find?" Xander asked as he took a seat. Buffy, still holding his hand, looked vaguely at another chair when he smiled and pulled her onto his lap. She sat there happily, feeling his hardness under her and smiling inwardly. Neither Giles nor Willow seemed to notice.
"Well from what these texts indicate, the effects of the curse upon humans is purely theoretical. As far as I can tell, it has never been cast on one before."
"Great, we get to be the test monkeys," Xander said.
"It would seem so. It seems also that the effects of the curse are more varied than we anticipated. Keep in mind that all of this may not be accurate."
"Right."
"Obviously you are already aware of the withdrawal symptoms. However I believe that the symptoms will always be preceded by a slight increase of your heart rate followed by a short period of heightened arousal. I believe that a pulse-counter or similar device would help alert you when an attack is about to occur.
"Secondly you have also found that pre-emptive attempts to hold off withdrawal will not work. It appears that until the heart rate has increased, it won't have any affect.
"Now as we feared, there are some mental as well as physical alterations made by the curse. First and foremost, the victim will find themselves attracted to their chosen target, as well as a sense of submissiveness. From all accounts it seems that this is a slight change to the mental outlook, and not anything that should cause you to be blindly obedient or otherwise changed beyond recognition.
"Likewise the target, in this case Xander, will find themselves feeling more dominant and take charge. Again, not in such a way that their personality would alter dramatically, but perhaps noticeable, you would agree?"
They did.
"Now, physical changes. It seems that the victim of the curse is altered to become the idealized version of themselves in the eyes of the target. Buffy, you may have noticed your body altering itself. You now at least very closely approximate Xander's dream version of you. I'm not entirely sure how you can be sure when the changes are complete, but I should think they are almost finished.
"Along with this will come slight mental changes as well. You may find yourself, Buffy, wishing to do things you know will please Xander. Be it dressing in a way he appreciates, doing chores for him, or otherwise behaving how he might like you to behave. As before these changes don't seem to be a total overhaul of your personality, but more of a nudge in one direction instead of another.
"You would also have noticed that you both feel quite a great deal of pleasure from being together, and a strong feeling of contentment when it is finished. This is another minor enhancement from the curse to convince you to act in the roles set for you.
"The only other thing I can determine is that others witnessing your acts may find that they feel much the same sense of pleasure and contentment that you both feel after being together, although I'm unsure why."
They both understood that his confusion came from the spell.
Giles shut the book. No one spoke for a minute.
"That's all," Giles said.
"There's no more?" Buffy asked. "What about...getting smarter?"
"Ah yes, I believe that your increased reasoning abilities and mental clarity come from the idealized version of yourself. It appears Xander wishes his lover to be very intelligent, and judging from your reports of patrol, he wishes them to be quite capable of handling themselves on the hellmouth. In fact, I would go so far as to say that his tastes may have increased your survival probability by an untold degree, Buffy."
"Really?"
"Indeed."
"There's nothing about removing the curse?" Xander asked.
"It still appears there is no immediate cure. I will continue searching of course, but I will be frank and say this was the last avenue of research I expected to hold any new information. I'm afraid that for the time being, you should consider the curse indefinite."
Buffy's mind was racing.
"What about...Love?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"It's called the Lover's Reciprocation, right?" Buffy asked. "Does it make you...love them?"
"If it does, I have been unable to find evidence of that."
Xander gave her a strange look of curiosity, humor, and affection. She blushed, and felt the arousal within her grow. That reminded her.
"Nothing about...embarrassment?"
"How do you mean?"
She nearly groaned, both in frustration and her building arousal.
"Like...getting embarrassed makes you...hot." She was so thankful for the spell at that moment. She could never have asked Giles otherwise.
"Nothing about that either, I'm afraid. I suppose there's the possibility that it's part of the idealized version of yourself, but everything I've read says it's merely a nudge in that direction, not a completely foreign mental change. I should think such things like love or intense arousal would not necessarily fit."
Buffy didn't know what to say. She was just as confused as before, although she felt slightly better about her mental outlook. It was heartening to know the curse would not alter her beyond the nudges Giles spoke of. Maybe...maybe she could live with that.
After they'd finished Giles had gone back to his office to continue his research, although it sounded like he was focusing more on current threats and less on the curse. She wasn't sure that she minded.
She talked with Xander softly for a few minutes, both of them feeling a little more comfortable with each other now that the extent of the curse's changes had been determined. She no longer felt quite so conflicted about her feelings towards Xander. It was when they were about to head back to her house to prepare for Patrol that Willow stopped her.
"Buffy? Could I talk to you alone?"
Buffy looked to Xander, who nodded and kissed her softly. "I'll see you at home." She struggled not to race after him. She could still taste him on her lips.
"What's up Willow?" Buffy asked, feeling more cheerful than she had since the curse began.
"Do you want to be my friend anymore?" Willow's lip trembled slightly as she blurted out the question.
"What? Of course! What are you talking about?"
"Well ever since you got curses it's like you and Xander spend every minute together and I'm cut out of the loop. I've spent every single night this week at the bronze with Oz, and I mean I like being with Oz but I miss having my friends especially since you seem so upset about the whole thing and I mean I guess I can't blame you but for some reason you seem like you have to be ashamed of your weakness like I'm going to judge you and I so promise I would never do that." She took a deep breath as she finished.
"Oh Willow, I'm so sorry. I've just been so caught up in all of this. I was actually thinking the other day in class that this must be so tough for you, to see me and Xander together, but then there was the whole closet thing and..."
"Closet thing?"
"Uh...nevermind. The point is I'm sorry, and I swear we won't be so closed off from now on."
They hugged, both sniffling a little as they did so.
"So do, do you guys want to come to the Bronze tonight? Oz wrote this new song for me but I haven't heard it yet and he's going to unveil it tonight."
"Well...I'll have to ask Xander." Buffy felt a little thrill as she thought of asking for his permission.
"You really like him, don't you?" Willow said. Buffy realized there was a smile on her face.
"I...I think so Willow. Yesterday he kissed me, I mean really kissed me for the first time...it was amazing."
"That's great Buffy, I'm really happy for you guys," Willow said, and although Buffy was sure she wasn't being entirely truthful, she appreciated her best friend saying so anyway. They hugged again, and Buffy whispered into Willow's ear.
"I'll take good care of him Willow. Don't ever doubt that."
Willow laughed and sniffed. "You better, or I'll turn you into a toad!"
"I've had enough curses for one lifetime, thank you very much."
They talked for another hour.
They arrived at the library later that afternoon. Xander was clad in a skintight muscle shirt and black pants that Buffy had chosen for him specifically. Cordelia had said it made him look better than he had any right to look. Both of them had giggled madly when they suggested he "go commando" and he'd felt a hand on his ass more than once as they walked to the school.
The three of them entered the library together, Buffy and Cordelia chatting away about girly stuff. He found the whole exchange endearing, rather than annoying.
"Ah, Xander, Buffy. I'm glad you're here."
"What am I, invisible?" Cordelia asked. She held up her hands. "Wait, I'm not really invisible, am I?"
Buffy stared past her. "Well I can't see any intelligence in this direction, so maybe." She grinned and Cordelia swatted her arm.
"Ah yes, nice to see you as well Cordelia," Giles said. "I've received those books this morning and have found some pertinent information regarding the curse"
Xander's insides churned. On the one hand he desperately wanted to know how much of this exceedingly strange situation was as a result of the curse. On the other hand...he liked this exceedingly strange situation. What if Giles had a cure? He wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"What did you find?" Buffy asked as she hopped up on the table. Xander looked around for a place to sit and then felt Cordelia guide him over to the table as well, sitting him next to Buffy. She hopped up beside him. He didn't know how he was going to concentrate with the two of them sitting to either side.
Neither Willow nor Giles seemed to notice.
"Well from what these texts indicate, the effects of the curse upon humans is purely theoretical. As far as I can tell, it has never been cast on one before."
"So we get to be the poor little bunnies they test all the makeup on?" Buffy asked.
"Uh...quite. It seems also that the effects of the curse are more varied than we anticipated. Keep in mind that all of this may not be accurate, as much of this is extrapolated for use on a human target."
"Right."
"Obviously you are already aware of the withdrawal symptoms. However I believe that the symptoms will always be preceded by a slight increase of your heart rate followed by a short period of heightened arousal. I believe that a pulse-counter or similar device would help alert you when an attack is about to occur.
"Secondly you have also found that pre-emptive attempts to hold off withdrawal will not work. It appears that until the heart rate has increased, it won't have any affect.
"Now as we feared, there are some mental as well as physical alterations made by the curse. First and foremost, the victim will find themselves attracted to their chosen target, as well as a sense of submissiveness. From all accounts it seems that this is a slight change to the mental outlook, and not anything that should cause you to be blindly obedient or otherwise changed beyond recognition. "
Xander sighed in relief. But...if it was a slight change, why did he have such an urge to serve these two gorgeous women who were even at this moment competing to see which one of them would fondle him the most openly before he said something.
"Likewise the target, in this case Buffy, will find themselves feeling more dominant and take charge. Again, not in such a way that their personality would alter dramatically, but perhaps noticeable, you would agree?"
They did. Buffy's hand was on his crotch, and Xander was finding it very hard to concentrate. Cordelia nibbled on his ear.
"Now, physical changes. It seems that the victim of the curse is altered to become the idealized version of themselves in the eyes of the target. Xander, you may have noticed your body altering itself. You now at least very closely approximate Buffy's dream version of you. I'm not entirely sure how you can be sure when the changes are complete, but I should think they are almost finished."
"Any bigger and it won't fit," Cordelia muttered. The spell assured that Giles had no reaction to her quip.
"Along with this will come slight mental changes as well. You may find yourself, Xander, wishing to do things you know will please Buffy. Be it dressing in a way she appreciates, doing chores for her, or otherwise behaving how she might like you to behave. As before these changes don't seem to be a total overhaul of your personality, but more of a nudge in one direction instead of another."
That certainly explained some of his feeling, but Xander couldn't quite figure out why that would make Buffy attracted to Cordelia, or why he himself seemed to want to please Cordelia in much the same was as Buffy.
"You would also have noticed that you both feel quite a great deal of pleasure from being together, and a strong feeling of contentment when it is finished. This is another minor enhancement from the curse to convince you to act in the roles set for you.
"The only other thing I can determine is that others witnessing your acts may find that they feel much the same sense of pleasure and contentment that you both feel after being together, although I'm unsure why."
Cordelia let out a, "Oh." Apparently she'd experienced this first hand.
Xander stared at Giles waiting for more while trying to ignore the playful hands of Buffy and Cordelia.
"That's it?" Xander finally asked.
"Yes, that's all I've found."
"There's nothing about...preferences?"
"How do you mean?"
Xander gulped. "Uh...like a girl showing bisexual tendencies?" Buffy frowned at him.
"You thought that was the curse?"
"I...I dunno. I was just worried, that's all." Buffy hugged him to her, and he almost lost himself in the sensation of being comforted by her.
"Aww, that's so sweet. Don't worry though, Cordelia's just... special, that's all."
"Damn right," Cordelia said.
"Well...w-what about getting smarter?"
"Ah yes, well I believe that may be part of the idealized version of yourself. It seems Buffy prefers you to be quite intelligent, judging from what you told me of the ease of your problem solving abilities recently."
"Yeah cause Angel was such a genius," Cordelia nudged Xander in the elbow.
"Hey he had a photographic memory!"
"Yeah and maybe that meant something in 1776, but we've got cameras now."
Buffy burst into helpless giggles, using Xander for support as she laughed into his shoulder.
"Yes...well. Is that all then?" Giles asked, closing the book.
"What about...curing it?" Xander asked. Buffy stopped giggling, a solemn look coming over her face.
"I'm afraid that there is no mention of a cure anywhere. I will of course continue to research, but I'm afraid this was my last real hope for new information. I would suggest to you that you prepare for the possibility of the curse lasting indefinitely."
Xander's sigh of relief was almost inaudible, but not to Slayer ears. She smiled at him knowingly.
Giles eventually returned to his office to continue research, though it was clear that he was no longer focusing on the curse. There were always demons that needed researching on a hellmouth.
Cordelia and Buffy sat with him for a while as they discussed their plans before patrol that evening. It was as they were leaving that Willow grabbed him by the arm.
"Xander, could I talk to you for a minute? Alone?"
Xander looked back at Buffy and Cordelia. Buffy nodded, and Cordelia gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Then they were out the door, chattering almost constantly as they mock-insulted each other and trade truly imaginative innuendos.
"What up Wills?"
"Are you still my best friend?" she asked. Her bottom lip was trembling slightly.
"Willow," Xander said. "It is not physically possible for me to NOT be your best friend." He gave her his best lopsided grin.
She sniffed and smiled softly.
"It's just that ever since this curse you and Buffy have been spending like every minute together and then Cordelia somehow got involved and you three always seem to be together now laughing and making jokes that I don't really understand and it's like you feel like you need to hide away because of this curse but I know it's not your fault you have it and you don't have to feel bad about having a weakness especially since you're all smart and strong now because of it anyway." She took a deep breath as she finished.
"God Wills, I'm so sorry. I've been so caught up, I just didn't think..It's got to be so rough for you to see Cordelia with the two of us while you are on the outside. I'm so stupid."
"No, you're not stupid. You're just...Xander." He grinned at that, and she did too.
"I promise that from now on you're in the loop if I have to drag you in myself."
"What if Cordelia doesn't want me there?"
He swallowed, and pushed through the feeling of wanting to do what Cordelia would want.
"Then Cordelia gets a taste of Xander-Style resolve face. And don't forget, I was trained by the master."
Willow smiled, sniffed, and hugged him. They embraced for a long time.
"Do you think you want to come to the Bronze tonight? Oz wrote a new song and he promised he wouldn't play it for me until tonight, but then he saw I was all sad about this whole situation and he played it for me and it's soooo sweet."
"Uh...I'll have to ask Buffy and Cordelia," he said. He could, and would fight his impulses if it meant Willow was cut out of the group, but he still felt more comfortable asking them if he could.
"Oh right. OK"
"Don't worry Wills, I'm sure they'll want to. They've been bouncing off the walls since this morning in the shower-" he clapped a hand over his mouth, and Willow looked at him strangely. Of course. The spell.
"A-Anyway, I'll make sure to convince them, one way or another."
They hugged again, and then sat silently in the library together. Two old friends who could enjoy just spending time together.
Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third (and Second, and First) swiveled in his chair.
"Do you hear that?"
"Hear what sir?"
"That squeak." He raised his arms and twisted his lower half, causing the chair to swivel back and forth.
"No sir."
"Shh!" the Mayor said, and for a minute he simply swiveled back and forth. "I definitely hear a squeak. See if you can find someone who knows how to oil a chair, because that will simply drive me mad if I don't get it fixed soon."
"Now Allan, where were we?"
The deputy mayor glanced at his checklist.
"It appears Kakistos is making a visit, sir."
"Ah excellent. Always nice to see an old friend. Have Daisy order us some nice T-Bones. Medium for me, rare for him of course. Oh, and then have Daisy tied up. I'm sure he'll want dessert."
"Uh...yes sir. Also, your five o'clock sacrifice is prepared and ready at your convenience."
"Very good Allan, very good. Quick sacrifice, dinner, and then we'll discuss the quarterly reports."
Xander had of course agreed to go to the Bronze that night. It was, to his mind, a time to celebrate. Buffy and he had both seemed to come to terms with the alterations the curse had brought upon them, and it seemed that both of them were, if not OK with it, at least not upset about the knowledge.
The revelation did, however, give Xander some insight into Buffy's behavior that evening. She hovered around him, quick to get him before he even realized he wanted one, or to save his seat happily when he spoke with Oz and Willow at the stage.
She'd even gone dancing with him, laughing happily at his wackiest dances, and turning him on tremendously with a dance that reminded him strongly of one she'd given him over a year ago. Only this one ended with her in his lap and the two of them making out on the dance floor.
"Buffy, what did you mean when you asked about embarrassment?" he asked her as they watched Dingoes Ate My Baby play their new song "A Wisp of Willow."
She blushed, but answered him nonetheless. "I...I think I kind of like when I get embarrassed. When Cordelia opened the closet door in school, I thought I would die. But I also came harder than ever before."
The revelation was incredibly arousing to him. "That's why you... touched yourself in school?"
"Yes," she whispered. "I think so. I thought it was the curse but, now I'm not so sure."
"Buffy," he said, nuzzling her cheek.
"Yes?"
"That is so hot."
She groaned and pressed against him. She was wearing her new clubbing outfit, tight leather bodice and pants with thigh-high stiletto heels. She felt like she'd been born into the clothing, and moved in it as easily as she would move in sweatpants and sneakers. Although the outfit didn't garner here even a second look from most people due to the spell, it still excited her.
"Xander..." she moaned as he caressed her large breasts through her bodice. "...love you..."
He paused. "What?"
Had she said that out loud?
"Xander, I..." she looked into his eyes, and was overjoyed at what she saw. He leaned forward and kissed her hard. She moaned onto his lips and ground against him slightly. They parted for a moment and she was breathing heavily. She felt her pulse. Rapid because of arousal, or rapid because of withdrawal?
She held up a hand, and it was trembling ever so slightly. She was never so happy to see her hand shake before.
He led her outside, away from the crowds and into the alleyway. She had to hold a hand between her legs to try and quench the burning need she felt. Her embarrassment flared at the thought of sucking his dick in a back alley.
He unzipped and she knelt before him, her tightly bound breasts heaving with every breath. He was already hard, and she took him deep right away. He held his hands in her hair as she blew him, ignoring the random passersby who, thanks to the spell, ignored them as well.
When he came, so did she, moaning luxuriously onto his cock. She wanted to taste him forever, and as she licked him clean she could not remember feeling more content in her whole life. Then a hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her back. She tumbled into a fence, her incredibly clear mind switching her to Slayer in midair. She rolled with the landing and was up in an instant. One of the straps of her bodice was broken, but she paid it no mind.
Xander was behind held against the wall by a vampire, the undead creature snarling at him with one hand wrapped around his neck. She rushed the demonic being, her enhanced strength and speed wowing her. She sent an elbow into the vampire's arm, snapping it clean and causing him to release Xander. Then she grabbed it by the throat and threw it bodily against the fence. As he flew she pulled a stake from her boot. It fell, snarling and was about to rush her when another hand grabbed it by the shirt.
The vampire was slammed against the wall to the bronze, a delicate fist slamming into his face. He snarled and tried to free himself but got a knee to the groin instead. It doubled over, straight into the uppercut of his unknown assailant. Buffy stood there wide-eyed, the stake held in one hand as the figure moved up to her.
"Hey, can I borrow that? Thanks." She plucked the stake out of Buffy's hand and spun back to the vampire, who was struggling to rise. She slammed the stake in powerfully, and stood back, pleased as it dusted.
"Thanks, couldn't have done it without you," she grinned at the two of them, giving Xander's dick an approving look. He returned the look as he took in her form, and grinned slightly as he tucked himself back in his pants.
"Who are you?" Buffy asked.
"Me? I'm Faith the Vampire Slayer. And you've gotta be Buffy. I gotta say, I didn't expect you to be half so wild as to give your boyfriend a BJ outside of vampire central."
Buffy flushed red, and Xander grinned as he caught her rubbing her thighs together slightly.
"It's a long story, Faith, is it?" he said, holding out a hand in greeting. She shook it, crushing his fingers slightly. He made sure to keep the pain off of his face.
"Faith it is. And who're you, besides the Slayer's last meal?"
Buffy turned a darker shade of red while Xander laughed.
"I'm Xander. It's complicated. We'll tell you all about it later. " Faith shrugged, and he noticed something. Buffy and Faith were staring at each other, and he could swear it was...in attraction.
Suddenly it occured to him that Faith had not been ignoring their tryst like everyone else in town. That was bad. Very bad.
*On the other hand,* he thought as he grinned at the unspoken sparks between Faith and Buffy. *Maybe it's very, very good.*
Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third (and Second, and First) swiveled in his chair.
"Do you hear that?"
"Hear what sir?"
"That squeak." He raised his arms and twisted his lower half, causing the chair to swivel back and forth.
"No sir."
"Shh!" the Mayor said, and for a minute he simply swiveled back and forth. "I could have sworn I heard it. Now it's going to drive me crazy until I find it again."
He sighed, then gave up and turned to his deputy mayor.
"Now Allan, where were we?"
The deputy mayor glanced at his checklist.
"It appears Kakistos is making a visit, sir."
"Ah excellent. Always nice to see an old friend. Have Daisy order us some nice T-Bones. Medium for me, rare for him of course. Oh, and then have Daisy tied up. I'm sure he'll want dessert."
"Uh...yes sir. Also, your five o'clock sacrifice is prepared and ready at your convenience."
"Very good Allan, very good. Quick sacrifice, dinner, and then we'll discuss the quarterly reports."
Buffy had of course agreed to go to the Bronze that night. Cordelia had readily agreed as well, and had seemed genuinely concerned when Xander mentioned that Willow was feeling left out. Buffy wasn't surprised that she cared, but she was surprised that she showed it.
She had been seeing a very different side of Cordelia over the last few days, and she liked it. A lot. And now that a lot of her worries had been relieved concerning the curse, things were really looking up. Especially since Xander seemed, if not OK with the whole thing, at least not upset about it.
Plus it had given her a fair bit of insight into Xander's behavior. She simply couldn't resist using him to play with Cordelia, as the two of them teased him with little tasks. Xander seemed to be aware of the game, but still happily went along with getting Buffy a drink, then Cordelia, then returning for a special kind of straw, then again for three napkins, and then to hold Cordelia's drink while she sipped from it, on the thin excuse that there wasn't room on the table for hers.
It was all good-natured, and Xander was clearly enjoying himself, as she could very easily make out through the very sizable lump in his tight jeans. They'd dressed him for clubbing with his new clothes, and the tight fabrics showed off every one of his new and impressive muscles, especially the one between his legs.
She patted him on the butt as he walked by with Cordelia's drink, and grinned as she saw the sheepish smile show on his face as well. When Cordelia dragged him to the dance floor Buffy nearly came from watching the sultry moves of the two. They writhed and flowed around each other like they were twin snakes, and she was sure that some of the things they were doing would be counted as obscene in some states.
It was as Cordelia straddled his leg and undulated softly against him that her Slayer hearing picked up his whispers.
"Cordelia...love you..."
Cordelia froze then, and gave him an astonished look. She glanced to Buffy, then back at him. "What about Buffy?" she asked in a whisper she thought Buffy couldn't hear.
"The both of you are like these amazing forces in my life. I thought it was the curse, but now I don't think so. I love you Cordelia. The both of you." His eyes were staring at the ground as he spoke. Cordelia lifted his chin with one finger and shot him that amazing smile of hers.
"You are the cutest thing on two feet," she said. Then she kissed him deeply. Buffy wished she were in their place. Either one of them.
She cut across the dance floor and whispered in their ears as the couple kissed passionately. "Is this a private party?"
Cordelia grinned at her. Xander smiled shyly but averted his gaze. Buffy lifted his chin much like Cordelia had.
"You have anything to say to me?" she asked teasingly. He groaned as she slid a hand down to caress his erection through his jeans.
"Oh...love you Buffy..." he moaned. Even though she'd heard him say it to Cordelia, it felt ten times better coming out of his mouth. She leaned forward and softly touched his lips with hers. She realized it was the first time they'd kissed. Her tongue darted out; pressing it's way past his lips. She explored him as he tentatively pressed back against her, and some part of her absolutely relished how he let her be the one to take charge. She grabbed the back of his head and crushed her lips into his, knowing his enhanced body would be able to take her roughness with no problems. Her hands slid up his tight shirt and ran along his muscular chest. His large hands gripped her waist, and kept her held close to him.
When the kiss ended she was grinning wickedly and Xander was panting.
"Not bad, huh" she said.
"Let's find out," Cordelia said, and pressed her lips against Buffy's. Cordelia was more forceful, but Buffy knew she was still the one in charge. Their tongues dueled deftly, and two sets of feminine hands explored two sets of feminine curves. Cordelia's hand groped Buffy's small breasts while Buffy grasped Cordelia's ass, pulling her in close. Xander just stared on in fascination.
Then he realized he was trembling slightly. He had never been so glad to see his hand shake before.
"Buffy," he whispered in her ear. "It's time."
She pulled away from Cordelia and gave him a look of pure lust. Then she grabbed him by the shirt and Cordelia by the hand, and dragged them both outside.
Xander groaned just to think of dropping to his knees in a back alley to please his...ladies. Buffy leaned against the far wall and hiked up her dress, revealing the tiny thong that Cordelia had picked out for her underneath.
As Xander sunk to his knees and began worshipping Buffy's body, she and Cordelia kissed each other passionately. Cordelia stood over Xander with her legs spread as Xander licked and sucked at Buffy, and Buffy pulled up Cordelia's shirt, licking and sucking at the dark haired girls large nipples as she moaned her enjoyment of Xander's actions.
She lost control as always when she came, screaming onto Cordelia's breasts as she fingered the other girl's twat. Cordelia came shortly after the two girls leaning against each other and kissing softly as Xander gently kissed and licked at Buffy's pussy. He was glad he hadn't worn any underwear to ruin.
Then suddenly Cordelia was gone and screaming. Buffy and Xander were both alert in an instant and charged the vampire that was currently snarling in her face. Xander reached him first, spinning the undead creature around and landing a solid blow to it's jaw that knocked the vampire about ten feet in the air before it landed with a thump. Its neck was broken, and it did not move again. Buffy pulled her stake out of her back pocket and slammed it into the vampire's chest, then spat on the dust.
"Are you OK Cordy?" they both asked at the same time.
"Damn! I didn't even get to impress you all with my kick-ass moves!" came a voice. They both turned, ready to fight.
"Whoa, hey, I'm on your side," said the girl. She was about their age, with dark hair and eyes, and dressed to kill. Buffy gave her an appraising look that the other returned. Buffy grinned. There was something about this girl...
"I'm Faith. The Vampire Slayer," she said. "And you must be Buffy. And Damn girl, they did not say you would be this hot, or that wild. Getting your pussy eaten out right outside vamp central while you lick your girl's tits? That is fuckin' psycho! I love it!"
Xander shifted, his confidence during battle slipping as he fell back into his usual pattern. Faith eyed him up and down, giving the bulge in his pants a wide-eyed luck.
"Damn, are you for real?"
Xander didn't know how to answer that.
"He is real, but I'm afraid he belongs to me," Buffy said. Cordelia *ahemed* and Buffy pulled the girl close. "Her too."
Cordelia's eyes widened. She didn't know she "belonged" to Buffy, but she wasn't arguing. Not when she could remember the feel of those soft lips on her nipples...
"Damn, you sure know how to pick up. What's your name, stud?" she said to Xander, holding out her hand in greeting.
"X-Xander," he said and shook her hand tentatively. She attempted to crush his fingers, surprised that he yielded not at all.
"Damn, tougher than you look. And that would be difficult, cause you look like a GI JOE. Or maybe a GI-GOLO. Either way, I'm not complaining."
Buffy grinned at her and patted Xander on the head. "He's got many talents."
"Man, I heard California had some crazy customs, but this is a shocker, I gotta tell you."
"Well it's a long story, there's some hellmouthy stuff involved. Magic and the like."
She looked at Xander's body, then Cordelia's. "Yeah there'd pretty much have to be."
"Hey!" Cordelia said. "This is all natural."
Faith just winked at her. Oh yeah, Buffy definitely liked this girl.
That's when she realized that Faith wasn't ignoring the...ménage a trois that had just occured in the alleyway, unlike the rest of the town. That was not good.
*Or maybe,* Buffy thought. *It could be very, very good.*
She grinned at Faith. "Come on, I'll tell you all about it."
Xander was very intrigued by the new Slayer, Faith. He sat on a couch in the corner of the Bronze with Buffy leaning against him. Her warm body was a wonder, and he draped a protective arm around her. Buffy pulled her legs up under her and snuggled closer to Xander. The two of them were listening intently to Faith, who was in the middle of telling yet another incredible tale of action, luck, and sexuality.
"So then the big dude comes swingin' at me, and all I've got are the chains that the chick was in when I came in, so I started swinging them around like nunchuk and almost tore his head right off. No lie, when I stood over him to stake him, the dude just stared at up at me, his boner sticking right out of his pants!"
Faith started laughing, and Xander found it easy to be swept up in her easygoing spirit. He laughed along with her, and noticed that Buffy was giggling embarrassedly into his chest. Willow and Oz chuckled nervously as well.
"What's got you so red?" Xander whispered softly in Buffy's ear.
"The chains," she admitted, and he grinned at the flush of color that rose to her cheeks. She was so damned cute. He kissed her, and she found her hands were reaching for his crotch when she heard Faith's low whistle. Buffy pulled her hands away like they were on fire. Xander kissed the top of her head and whispered soft encouragements in her ears. Buffy averted her gaze from Faith and once again curled up closer to Xander, who hugged her protectively close to him.
"I don't get you two. I mean on the one hand Buffy here's got no problem taking you balls deep in the alley, but then she gets all red just from hearing about a vamp with a boner. Then you're in here practically groping each other in front of me. Do they do this a lot?" Faith asked Willow.
"Do what?"
"Public acts of hotness," Faith said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Her," Faith said, pointing at Buffy. "And him. They seem like they forget they're in public half the time, and the other half she's so shy she won't even look me in the eye."
"It's a long story Faith," Xander said.
"Yeah well maybe you better get to tellin' it. Cause the way I heard, Slayer's aren't usually the shy quiet types." She punctuated this by sitting with her arms on either side of the couch's headrest, her leather clad legs spread wide in a very un-ladylike position. She gave a passerby a cool wink and a slow lick of her lips.
"Wills, Oz-man, you think you could give us a few minutes while I tell Faith the deal?"
Willow frowned, not quite understanding why they should have to leave, but Xander's expression told her it was important to him.
"Sure Xander."
After they'd left, Faith turned her dark eyes to his.
"So what's the what, jack? First, why does the famous Buffy Summers seem like a helpless kitten that needs you to do all her thinking for her? Second, why are you two going at it hot and heavy one second, then blushing like schoolgirls the next?"
"Well, it all started about a week ago. We were on patrol when a demon popped up out of nowhere and..."
Faith stared at him in amazement as he told her a tale that should have been completely unbelievable. Buffy stayed very quiet throughout the telling, only occasionally whispering a forgotten detail in Xander's ear, who would thank her with a kiss before relating it to Buffy.
If Faith was shocked by the curse, the spell had her very intrigued.
"Damn, I wouldn't mind some of that myself. No wonder you two seem to go at it anywhere, and why Red kept playing stupid when I asked her about it. That must be wicked hot, doing it wherever ya want without anyone even caring." She rolled her hips exaggeratedly to emphasize the point. Buffy giggled shyly, then turned red when Faith gave her a lustful grin.
"Wait a second, so if this spell affects the whole town, then how come I definitely notice it when you two start going at it?"
Xander frowned, unsure of the answer himself.
"I...I think I know," Buffy offered quietly. "It could be one of two things, I think. Either since she wasn't in range when the spell was cast it doesn't affect her, or because she's a Slayer she has like a natural immunity to a spell like that. Slayer's get enhanced senses, and a spell wouldn't be able to make them not pay attention to stuff."
"I guess that's how you're such a good Slayer. I mean I heard stories, but you don't really look like the fightin' type. Guess it's those smarts that keep you alive."
Xander grinned and gave Buffy a slight nudge. Buffy returned his grin with a shy one of her own.
"I'm pretty good at the fighting too," she said. Xander had recently noticed that Buffy's recent...quiet shyness since the curse faded quickly when she was doing Slayer related things. He was glad for it, because a submissive Slayer would be a dead Slayer.
"Plus she got the smarts out of the whole curse deal," Xander teased.
"Are you saying that I was dumb?" Buffy pouted, half sincerely. He nipped at her upturned bottom lip.
"No, I'm saying...what's nine hundred and seventy three point four times five thousand and sixty two point nine?"
"Four million, nine hundred and twenty eight thousand, two hundred and twenty six point eight six," Buffy responded almost at once.
"Holy shit. Is that right?"
"I have no idea," Xander grinned. "But I trust my Buffy."
Buffy blushed again. *His* Buffy. It was a nice feeling.
"Sounds like a great curse," Faith said, sighing.
"Not entirely," Xander muttered.
"What, a BJ here and there for smarts, speed, strength and some extra hotness? Shit. I've done more for less. A lot less."
"There's pain involved. Physical and mental. If you ever saw Buffy in the middle of withdrawal...it's the scariest thing I've ever seen."
Faith just shrugged.
"It's a curse Faith. I...I love Buffy, and I really do love being with her and helping her in any way I can, but there's always going to be that though, somewhere in the back of both of our minds: How much of this is the curse? How much is me, and how much is some demon vengeance magic that's warping who I am?"
Buffy stared sadly at Xander as he spoke, his voice full of barely controlled anger. She was so impressed with him, and so afraid of his words. Because he was right. Despite her feelings, despite the utter rightness that she felt when being with him, there was always that thought in her mind. What was her, and what was the curse?
That was the true insidiousness of the curse. The initial pain and embarrassment was rather easily managed. It was the emotional pain of never being sure she truly loved Xander, or if he truly loved her. How could they ever be sure? Even now, her stomach clenched in fear at the idea of removing the curse. She felt so happy with him, so protected when he wrapped his arms around her, so content when she was intimate with him. What if that was all the curse? If it was...did she really want it lifted?
Would he want it lifted?
She didn't know that she ever wanted to find out.
Xander sighed and softly smoothed back Buffy's hair. He gave her a quick kiss, reassuring and comforting. She smiled.
"So, Faith, what brings you to Sunny Dee?"
"My watcher went off to some retreat back in Watcher-Land so I bugged out, figured I'd come see the legend."
"Legend?" Buffy squeaked. Xander was starting to worry if it was healthy for someone to blush that often.
"Hell yeah, Little B," Faith exclaimed. "Those watchers nearly cream their shorts talking about Buffy and how she took down the master, even after he killed her. That's some real Western shit there, you know? Dude takes you out but you come back to show him you don't go down that easy."
Faith winked at Xander. "Well, maybe not that kind of "going down."
"It wasn't like that," Buffy said softly.
"But you kicked his ass, right?"
Buffy shivered. Of all the things she had seen and done, three things stood out boldly in her mind.
Her first Watcher, Merrick, dying so she could get away. Shoving a sword through Angel's heart as a tear ran slowly down his cheek, and kissing him goodbye.
And the cold feeling of the Master's teeth biting into the flesh of her neck, her life slipping away from her as she collapsed into the shallow water. She still woke up sometimes, drenched in sweat and clutching her blankets as she revisited that cave in her dreams.
"He killed me," she said solemnly.
"You seem pretty alive to me," Faith snickered.
"That's because Xander...he brought me back."
"Then she kicked his ass," Xander said, hugging Buffy closer to him. She wrapped her arms around his middle and shut her eyes, burying her face into his middle. His deep Xander-smell comforted her as tears leaked slowly from her eyes.
Faith watched the two, feeling the icy fingers of dread curl around her heart. This wasn't the Buffy she thought would be here. She needed the Buffy Summers she'd heard of, the one who'd risen from certain death to defeat the oldest Vampire alive. She needed that Buffy Summers because...
She needed someone to do it again.
Buffy liked Faith, the new Slayer. She sat on the couch in the corner of the Bronze. Xander was lying beside her, his head resting in Cordelia's lap. Cordelia had insisted that doing so would relax her after almost getting attacked by the vampire, so Xander had agreed without hesitation. Buffy absent-mindedly rubbed a hand on Xander's ass while Cordelia stroked his head softly. They all had their eyes attention fixed on Faith as she regaled them all with yet another tale of action, luck, and sex.
"So I kick the door in and I shout, 'Momma's home!' as the vamps are flippin' the fuck out. They're all burnin' and running around in circles in the sunlight when I grab the big one by his neck and start smacking him against the wall 'til he tells me where the chick is. He has a hard time tellin' me without teeth, but finally he tells me she's in the back room. So I bust in there and, no lie...she's got one arm chained to the bed and she's frigging herself with her other hand! Turns out she thought this was all some fantasy shit for her birthday her boyfriend promised her!"
Faith started laughing, Buffy laughing easily alongside her. She noticed that Cordelia was grinning wickedly at Xander, who was laughing nervously.
"What?" Buffy asked her.
"Xander in chains," Cordelia cooed. Both she and Buffy grinned at each other, then sighed contentedly with the image.
"Don't I get a say in this?" Xander said, lifting his head. Cordelia pushed it back down gently.
"Do you really want one?"
He opened his mouth, and then shut it again. Cordelia giggled at him and leaned over to kiss him on the lips, inadvertently giving Faith and half the bronze (not that they noticed) a very nice peek at her cleavage.
"You are so cute, you big geek," she whispered, and Xander smiled back at her.
"She-hag," he muttered jokingly. Buffy swatted his backside lightly.
"Children," she mock-chastised. "Play nice."
"OK, come on. What the hell is up with you three?" Faith finally blurted out. "This dude is built like a Mack truck with a gear shift the size of my arm, but he acts like your puppy dog."
"Stay!" Buffy giggled at Xander. He rolled his eyes.
"C'mon Red, don't tell me this shit is normal. You and your stud don't seem like you're crazy sex fiends."
Willow turned the color of her hair.
"What? No. Me and Oz are...we're just boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Oh yeah so what are these three?"
Willow frowned in confusion.
"Buffy's one of Xander's best friends, and Cordelia's his girlfriend. What do you mean?"
"Shit, that's some best friend. I wish I had a best friend who'd eat my pussy like that."
"I don't understand," Willow said.
"Look Faith, it's a long story," Buffy said, frowning at a little at the spell's effect on Willow.
"Yeah you already said that. So spit it out, I got time."
"Willow, you think you and Oz could give us some time to give Faith the low-down?" Buffy asked. Willow looked at her, confused, but the look on Buffy's face told her it was important.
"OK, I guess." She and Oz decided to take to the dance floor for a while.
"It all starts," Buffy began. "With a curse..."
Faith listened in shock as Buffy explained the curse and it's effects. Xander stayed mostly silent throughout the telling; only occasionally piping in with a whispered detail she'd forgotten. Cordelia provided more of a running commentary, mostly adding things like, "And he started dressing like he was from GQ!" or "Oh that WAS a good morning..."
Faith was particularly intrigued by the spell.
"Damn, so you can have any wild three-way sex anywhere in town and nobody'd even give you another look?"
Cordelia and Buffy both grinned naughtily while Xander covered his face with his hands.
"More than that," Cordelia said. "I think I could go out there and do a strip-tease on stage and nobody would think twice about it."
"I got twenty bucks says I'd think twice about it," Faith laughed.
"Make that forty," Buffy added. Cordelia seemed to think on it for a moment.
"Maybe...if I had some help."
"You could take Xander!" Buffy quickly suggested, starting to really like this idea.
"What?" Xander exclaimed.
"Please Xander?" Cordelia cooed. "It would be so cool."
"I...I..." Cordelia gave him her best puppy-dog eyes. He was defeated.
"Great!" she bounced happily, her large breasts jiggling with her. She grabbed him by the arm and began leading him through the crowd. The two of them clambered on stage, Cordelia looking flushed but excited, and Xander looking like he wanted to shrink into nothing.
Cordelia whispered something to Devon, who shrugged and OK'ed it with the rest of the band. Soon they were playing "Flower Bombs," their best song for dancing to. It had a pulse pounding rhythm that would work well for what she was about to do.
Cordelia Chase was not the kind of person to shy away from a challenge, and now that she'd decided, it was not long before the cheerleader began showing off all of her skills. She writhed around Xander, using his body as a reference point on the stage. She moved slowly and smoothly, her curvaceous ass rolling with her undulating hips. She slid down Xander's body and back up again, then whispered something in his ear before slowly slipping away.
Xander seemed to slip off some of his extreme nervousness, and Buffy felt her nipples harden as he started responding to Cordelia's moves. He mimicked her moves, and soon the two were flowing around each other, softly touching and caressing briefly as they passed, then letting the music drive them.
Then on each pass Cordelia began deftly removing Xander's clothing, and he hers. Both of their shirts were off, revealing Xander's hard chest and Cordelia's lacey bra surrounding her beautiful breasts. Buffy gasped as they rubbed their hands over each other's bodies, then flowed away from each other.
On the next pass Xander was smoothly pulled from his pants, leaving him in the tight boxers he wore that held little to the imagination. Faith whistled low in appreciation.
"Damn, no wonder you're such good friends with him."
Cordelia, herself in bra and panties, was smiling broadly with the exuberance of the dance. She was so glad that Xander was here with her, his dancing skills having greatly improved in the last week. She was very aroused, and they weren't even finished yet.
The next pass revealed her bountiful bosom, large globes that sagged not at all, topped with large dark nipples that were hard as diamonds. Xander's hands slid across her body with practiced ease and she moaned on stage, then she spun sultrily and slowly slid down his boxers.
Faith gasped at the sight of his manhood, putting most men to shame without even being erect. She had found that being a Slayer made her crave a bit more than average, and Xander was definitely a bit more than average. A LOT bit more.
"The curse isn't all bad," Buffy grinned at her. "I don't think he complains about that side effect."
"I hope you don't either," Faith muttered in awe.
"Definitely not."
His erection grew as they danced, and on the last pass Cordelia's panties were removed, leaving the two of them mostly nude on stage. Of the entire packed club, only two sets of eyes watched them, and both belonged to Vampire Slayers.
Cordelia ran her hands down his chest and whispered in his ear. He gave her an astonished look. She just nodded and placed his hands on her hips.
They seemed to ooze across the stage, and soon Xander had her pressed up against one of the support pillars on the side of the stage. She groaned, and the two Slayers could just make out what she said.
"Do it Xander, please..."
He stared in her eyes, and pressed his cock to her pussy lips. He was large, almost too large, but she was slick with her own arousal and determined to have him inside her. She nodded as they looked into each other's eyes, and Buffy moaned as she saw Xander's penis slide slowly inside Cordelia.
Cordelia groaned loudly, totally lost in the moment. It was aching pleasure and delicious pain, and she wrapped her arms around Xander's strong shoulders as he slid deeper and deeper. Finally he was in as deep as she could take him, and she could not imagine feeling so full or content.
She kept them like that for a long moment, not wanting to break this perfect moment. She was whispering, "yes...yes" over and over in his ear. She was pressed up against the pillar, one leg wrapped around his back, most of her weight held up by her arms around his neck and his cock in her pussy.
Finally she began rolling her hips and Xander started pulling out slowly, and then in again. She was panting loudly and groaning her approval with every inch he moved.
"Harder," Cordelia moaned into his ears.
"Harder," Buffy whispered as she stared. Faith was speechless.
Xander plunged into her hard, and Cordelia screamed wonderfully at the action. She wrapped her other leg around his backside, locking her legs together and keeping him close. Xander increased the tempo, and soon they were rutting together against the pillar of the Bronze in front of the entire crowd. The song had changed and no one looked upon them, but the excitement was there all the same.
Cordelia burst into orgasm, screaming over the music and clutching Xander tightly. He continued his onslaught, even as she sagged in his grip. He held her against the pillar and plunged into her. Her orgasm waned slightly...and redoubled. She felt wave after wave of brilliant pleasure slam into her. As Xander tensed for his own orgasm and tried to pull back she held him tightly.
"The pill," she moaned. "Inside me Xander, please..."
He obliged, unable to disobey a request from his Lady. He slammed inside of her, deeper than she could have thought possible and came inside her. She screamed as he groaned, and when it was over they both sunk to their knees.
"Holy shit," Faith said, disbelievingly.
"Yeah," Buffy said, absent-mindedly rubbing her own breasts through her shirt. She saw Cordelia's eyes open and Buffy pointed a finger at her, curling it in the sign recognized as "Come here, you."
As Cordelia and Xander tiredly gathered their clothing and Buffy grinned like a she-wolf, Faith turned to her sister Slayer.
"So what's your deal, Big B, you into chicks?"
"I'm into special ladies. Like Cordelia."
"So you don't just have a thing for brunettes?" Buffy cocked her head to the side and eyes Faith's dark tresses. Faith looked a little startled by the brazen look, and after a moment she lowered her eyes.
"I have a thing for special brunettes. Are you?" Buffy asked.
"Am I what?"
"Special."
Faith grinned. This was exactly what she had been looking for. Maybe more than she had been looking for. This girl was cool, confident, and crackling with power. No wonder she had defeated the oldest vampire there was.
Faith really hoped she could do it again.
"So, how long do you think you'll be in town?"
Kakistos growled at his steak. The dripping blood of the very, VERY rare steak was making his fangs ache, but his cloven hands were unable to properly grip the fork his host insisted he use.
"Now I hate to be a stickler about that kind of thing, but good manners are really a sign of respect for those around you and for yourself," he'd said.
Normally Kakistos would have ripped the man apart and feasted on his flesh, but the Mayor of Sunnydale was not someone that even the oldest vampire in the world felt comfortable in crossing. Eventually, perhaps, but not yet.
"I have some unfinished business with the Slayer," Kakistos finally said, giving up on trying to grasp his fork between his hooves.
"Ah a business trip, how nice. Well be sure to let Allan here know if there's anything you need."
"There whereabouts of the Slayer would be *nice*," Kakistos growled.
Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair.
"Of course my friend, I'll be happy to help in any way I can. Although, there is one little thing you could do for me."
Kakistos longed to rip the man's head off.
"What is it?"
"I made a number of campaign promises that I'd like to do my gosh darn best to keep, and it would be splendid if you would do me the favor of providing a little...distraction. In the meantime, I've taken the liberty of having the chef prepare you a little something special."
The Mayor gestured to his left where a cart was rolled out. He pulled off the sheet to reveal his (former) secretary, Daisy, bound tightly and gagged. She let out a muffled scream as Kakistos tore into her neck and began draining her.
"Oh I'm so glad you like it," the Mayor smiled as his guest devoured his food.
They all went out for a patrol after leaving the Bronze, Buffy, Faith, Xander, Willow and Oz. Faith seemed more subdued after learning more of Buffy's battle with the Master, and Buffy was still a little shaken up herself.
"I didn't know you still thought of it," Willow said when Buffy whispered what had her in such a down mood. She had been clinging to Xander ever since they left, and even know was half-leaning on him as they walked. Xander held her protectively, offering his silent support.
"Not all the time, but when I do think about it it's like I can't get it out of my head. I can remember it clearer than ever before now," Buffy said sadly.
"Oh cause of the brain upgrade?" Willow asked. Buffy grinned slightly at Willow's term for it.
"I think so. I can remember every detail as if it happened yesterday," one memory burned brightest of all. Warm lips against hers...a hot breath slamming life into her lungs...the blinding light as her eyes opened, and the concerned face of Xander Harris when she realized she wasn't dead.
As she thought about it now she felt miserable for how she'd treated him afterwards. She hadn't even thanked him.
*I will from now on,* Buffy thought. *I'll thank him with every action, with every thought and every breath I take.*
She hugged him as they walked, and sighed.
Patrol didn't turn up more than a stray vampire or two, and Faith was more than enough to handle them. It wasn't until they were heading back to the library to give Giles the nightly report that they noticed something strange.
Buffy usually liked to swing by the hospital just in case some vamps decided to do a blood raid. It was as the group was strolling by that she noticed something off about the dozen or so men in white labcoats that were headed inside.
She flipped to Slayer-Mode, and let her senses wash over her. Since the curse had changed her she felt like a super-charged Slayer. She could feel them, feel the wrongness of them.
"Vampires," she said. For the first time since leaving the bronze she let go of Xander. He stood up straighter, reaching his hand into his jacket and pulling out the crossbow he kept there. He loaded four bolts into the specially altered device and primed the weapon.
"I'll watch for strays," he said and gave her a quick kiss. Buffy cracked her knuckles and looked to Faith, who stared back at the girl she thought of as "Little B."
"You coming?" Buffy asked coolly.
"No doubt."
Buffy nodded and rotated her shoulders, inadvertently revealing a bit more of herself than she may have intended. Her clothing was made more to entice Xander than to be made to patrol in, but right now it felt like she was wearing specially designed armor. She moved in the high-heeled boots better than she used to move in sneakers, and she didn't so much run towards the vampires as she glided.
She tapped one on the shoulder. "Excuse me, is this the visitors entrance?" she asked coyly. The undead man grinned at her, looking at her mystically enhanced body and tight outfit.
"Depends on who you want to visit baby."
"You mean you're not here to visit Mr. Pointy?" She asked, frowning like a ditz.
"I don't know no Mr. Pointy, but I know a Mr. Happy who wants ta meet ya," he cupped his crotch and grinned nastily at her. A few of his friends laughed.
"Aww come on," Buffy cooed, suddenly rushing forward and slamming Mr. Pointy into the vampire's chest. "He always makes friends right away."
"Shit!" cried a vamp to her right, the only one of the group smart enough to try and run. Xander tracked him easily and fired the bolt with precision, the vampire dusting with only the sound the bolt striking the ground. Xander immediately locked the next bolt into position and held it at the ready.
The other vamps took a more stupid approach, actually trying to fight the Slayer. Buffy was untouchable, flowing through them like water, dusting three before they even knew what hit them. Faith had circled around and took out two in quick succession herself.
The fight was quick and brutal for the vampires. Buffy's blows broke bones and shattered skulls. Dust swirled around her as she moved, and it was only thirty seconds later that she and Faith stood alone, the vampires gone.
The sound of someone clapping caused Buffy to turn her head. A man dressed in a stylish purple suit grinned at them, his vampiric features twisting his face into a cruel mockery of a man.
"Excellent! Truly remarkable display ladies."
"Oh no...we gotta get out of here," Faith groaned, backing away.
"What?" Buffy was pumped up from the fight, and not about to run away from one vampire, especially one who dressed like Willy Wonka.
"We were hoping to run into you later tonight, cause we were just running a little errand first. Guess we'll have to deal with you now though, cause the clock is ticking." The man opened the door to the limousine he leaned on.
The form that emerged was large, a powerfully built figure with a face permanently deformed by his vampiric visage. His hands and feet were formed into crude hooves, and he had slight horns atop his head.
"Ain't you gonna introduce us to your new friends Faith? I'm Mr. Trick, and this here's the Boss Man, Kakistos. Oldest Vampire in the world."
"Pleased to meet you," Buffy said. "I'm Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm the one responsible for you getting called up to the big leagues."
"I am unimpressed with your defeat of the so-called Master. He was no doubt weakened from his time trapped in that...holy place." Kakistos shuddered at the thought.
"I will not be so simple to defeat," he boasted. Faith backed away, and a small whine escaped her lips.
"We have to run Buffy. He'll kill us."
"I'm not running from some overgrown cow," Buffy said.
"You don't understand. He'll kill us like he killed-" Faith slapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to say that.
"What? Killed who?"
Faith's eyes were darting around in fear.
"My Watcher. He...I can't even begin to describe it."
Kakistos laughed. "Hardly the most imaginative way I could kill a person, Faith. As you'll soon find out." The huge vampire began approaching them.
Buffy was done with talk, and rushed forward to meet him. He swung a cloven fist at her head, connecting with her jaw. Her head snapped to the side, but she responded with an elbow to his gut. Kakistos grunted slightly.
"You'll have to do better than that girly!" He shoved her back hard, and Buffy was sent flying across the parking lot.
The crossbow twanged and the bolt flew, imbedding itself in Kakistos's thick chest. He laughed and snapped the bolt off.
"Pathetic," he sneered at Xander. Willow gulped as Xander, she, and Oz slowly backed away.
"I think you made him mad," Oz said.
"Yeah thanks for the newsflash," Xander replied.
Kakistos roared and bore down on them. Xander closed his eyes and hoped Buffy would somehow survive without him.
Faith charged into the vampire, knocking him aside. She was equally parts scared, pissed, and desperate. She wanted to run, and she wanted to fight.
She lashed out with a fist, striking Kakistos in the face. He grinned and bent back her fist, causing her to cry out. With a laugh he picked her up and tossed her against a dumpster.
Kakistos whirled on Xander and batted the crossbow from his hand.
"Hey! Foul!" Xander yelled.
"Annoying human," Kakistos rumbled and backhanded Xander. The boy twisted around and collapsed to the floor, bleeding heavily from the mouth. He thought he felt a tooth come loose.
The thing was on him in an instant, striking him with power that threatened to overwhelm him. Kakistos reeled back as the screeching blur slammed a fist into his face, shattering his deformed nose. Stolen blood burst over his face. Another blow to his chest bent him in half, and a third to his chin destroyed his mouth, actually tearing his jaw half off. He could only bellow wordlessly as it beat him to a bloody pulp.
After an eternity the thing dropped him to the ground, and the longest surviving vampire looked up at the diminutive blonde with the torn leather bodice. She was heaving in anger, causing her large breasts to strain across the remaining cords of leather.
This was his killer?
The last thing he saw was the pointed heel of her boot as it slammed into his eyes. The last thing he felt was the stake she punched *through* his chest.
Buffy rose to her feet, muscles rippling as she breathed heavily. She stared at the swirling dust before turning to where Xander lay on the ground. Willow knelt beside him, gently holding his head. Buffy was next to them before either of them saw her move.
"Oh my god Xander, are you all right?" she asked, fear in her voice. Her lip trembled as she stared at his swollen face.
Xander opened his eyes; one swollen to the point where you could hardly notice it was open. He smiled at Buffy, and then winced.
"Uh...yah...Ah fink fo," he mumbled, trying not to move his jaw too much. Buffy collapsed on top of him, sobbing as she buried her face in his shirt and held him tightly. He couldn't make out the words she sobbed, but he understood what they meant.
"It's OK Buffy," he said slowly, despite the pain in his face. "Everything's going to be fine."
Buffy wept in worry and relief as Faith stared at her in total confusion. That sleight little girl who couldn't even look Faith in the eyes had just beaten the snot out of the most dangerous vampire on the planet.
Mr. Trick pulled at his collar and silently slipped back into the limo.
"Punch it," he said to the driver. The driver, not being a total fool, obeyed at once. Neither of them wanted to risk the Slayer on their tail.
**Chapter 17 - A**
"So, how long do you think you'll be in town?"
Kakistos growled at his steak. The dripping blood of the very, VERY rare steak was making his fangs ache, but his cloven hands were unable to properly grip the fork his host insisted he use.
"Now I hate to be a stickler about that kind of thing, but good manners are really a sign of respect for those around you and for yourself," he'd said.
Normally Kakistos would have ripped the man apart and feasted on his flesh, but the Mayor of Sunnydale was not someone that even the oldest vampire in the world felt comfortable in crossing. Eventually, perhaps, but not yet.
"I have some unfinished business with the Slayer," Kakistos finally said, giving up on trying to grasp his fork between his hooves.
"Ah a business trip, how nice. Well be sure to let Allan here know if there's anything you need."
"There whereabouts of the Slayer would be *nice*," Kakistos growled.
Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair.
"Of course my friend, I'll be happy to help in any way I can. Although, there is one little thing you could do for me."
Kakistos longed to rip the man's head off.
"What is it?"
"I made a number of campaign promises that I'd like to do my gosh darn best to keep, and it would be splendid if you would do me the favor of providing a little...distraction. In the meantime, I've taken the liberty of having the chef prepare you a little something special."
The Mayor gestured to his left where a cart was rolled out. He pulled off the sheet to reveal his (former) secretary, Daisy, bound tightly and gagged. She let out a muffled scream as Kakistos tore into her neck and began draining her.
"Oh I'm so glad you like it," the Mayor smiled as his guest devoured his food.
"That was one of the hottest things I've ever seen," Faith admitted as the gang made the rounds of cemeteries on patrol.
Cordelia grinned and whispered something naughty in Xander's ear. He turned red, and both Buffy and Faith grinned, slayer hearing having picked up Cordelia's brazen statement.
Xander walked with Cordelia on one side and Buffy on the other. Cordelia kept his arm draped over her shoulder and held it there possessively, while Buffy kept his fingers entwined with hers on his other side. Every so often one of them would whisper something naughty in his ear in an unspoken game to see who could make him blush the most.
Xander didn't tell them that he was the winner by default.
"So Faith how long are you in town for?" Willow asked, her mind not quite registering the conversation, or the game between Cordelia and Buffy.
"Beats me, till I feel like leaving I guess."
"Where are you staying?" Buffy asked.
"Why, you gonna visit?"
"Not if you aren't more polite, young lady," Buffy teased. Faith felt a slight twinge of arousal. Buffy was very good at being playful and erotic at the same time. Faith didn't normally swing towards chicks, but she had known to make an exception or two, and she was definitely hoping to make an exception with her sister Slayer.
"I'm at that place off of the highway, I don't think it's got a name, unless it's called the "By the Hour" inn.'
Buffy laughed. Xander frowned.
"Did your Watcher give you money?" he asked, confused. His new and improved synapses had brought up the question in his head: Where did an unemployed vampire slayer get the money to stay at a motel and beyond that, could he in good conscience let that continue?"
"Here and there. Sometimes I rob the vamps before I dust 'em, and when that fails I'm not above a favor or two for a little cash.
"Oh my god," Willow said, shocked.
Faith rolled her eyes, "Red here doesn't bat an eye when these two start fucking on stage, but me giving out the goods for some spending cash lights her up like a Christmas tree."
It was true; Willow had turned a bright shade of red, appalled at the thought of using sex to get money. She also didn't quite get what Faith was talking about, but assumed it was some weird slang from back east.
"Buffy?" Xander asked quietly. Buffy turned his attention to him, and he found himself grinning slightly and lowering his gaze. She made his stomach tighten just by looking at him sometimes. He heard himself giggle like an idiot.
"What Xander?" Buffy asked, amused and turned on by his behavior.
"Um...what if...Faith stayed with us?"
Cordelia's eyes widened and she leaned in to Xander, whispering in his ear. Faith had to struggle not to laugh at what she heard. Xander didn't turn red, he turned pale as a vampire, and Cordelia gave Buffy a victory grin.
"I just meant...at the house. If Mrs. Summers doesn't mind," he added. "Not, you know, with *us*."
"Oh and what's wrong with me staying with you, huh Stud?" Faith said while giving him a teasing pout. Xander almost groaned and felt his knees wobble. He wasn't sure he could handle being teased by three gorgeous, strong, vibrant women at the same time.
"Don't worry Xander," Buffy said, stroking his cheek comfortingly. She always knew just when to back off and give him some time to ready himself for another delicious assault. "I'll take care of it, ok? That was very sweet of you to think of her."
Buffy kissed him on the cheek, and he grinned like an idiot. "You can stay on the couch if you want Faith, and then I think eventually we could clear out mom's old studio and put my old bed in there."
Faith could hardly believe it. Buffy had simply decided, and her tone didn't sound like she expected Faith to have any objections. Not that she did, but...
Faith was not used to being around a girl more forceful than herself, and it was driving her crazy. In a good way. A very good way.
"Uh...cool," Faith finally said.
"Excellent! I'll finally have someone I can trade slayer secrets with!" Buffy grinned as they strolled by the hospital, usually the last place she checked out before heading back to Giles and the nightly report.
Buffy leaned over to Faith and whispered in a mock-conspiratorial tone. "Hey do you get really horny after you get done slaying too?"
Faith's eyes widened. She nodded slightly.
"Must be a Slayer thing," Buffy remarked. "Don't worry, you can borrow Xander if you ever have a real problem." She leaned back and mussed Xander's hair, which somehow remained perfect nonetheless.
"Right Xander?"
"S-sure Buffy," he swallowed. He was so turned on right now that it hurt. Buffy smiled happily and pressed her lips against him, giving him a very long, very satisfying kiss. When he broke away from her, she frowned.
"Hey, I'm not done yet," Buffy pouted.
His eyes darted around and he looked across the parking lot. A dozen or so men in white labcoats had gathered there. Vampires, something inside of him said.
"Vampires," he said, staring at the group. Buffy's playful pout vanished and she looked across the street. She could very slightly sense them herself, but her vampire detection abilities had never been up to snuff.
"Yeah, I feel 'em," Faith said. "You up for this Big B?"
Buffy grinned at the nickname. She liked it.
"Oh yeah, without a doubt."
Xander moved to follow them when Buffy put a hand on his chest. "I want you to stay with the others, OK?" She looked past him to give a slightly worried Cordelia a concerned look. Xander nodded, understanding. Cordelia was still shook up about the attack earlier. Yes, he would protect her. He cracked his knuckles and nodded. Buffy gave him a glorious smile and kissed the tip of his nose.
"This won't take but a minute."
Cordelia clutched his shoulder as the four of them watched Buffy and Faith fight. It was astounding to witness, the two Slayer's moving in perfect unison. There was no banter, no quips or pauses in the fighting. The two just walked up to the group side by side, tapped two different vampires on the back, and dusted them at once. From there it had been an entrancing dance of death, and when it was over, Buffy and Faith stood back to back, panting from the exertion, and horny as hell. They both "accidentally" rubbed their backs against each other a few times.
The sound of someone clapping brought them out of their daze.
"Whoo! Well-done ladies. That would have been hot if not for all the vampire slaying," a man said. He wore a stylish purple suit and grinned at them through the deformed face of a vampire.
Faith almost stepped back in fear, but she could feel Buffy's presence behind her. The girl was pure confidence, and she could feel it seeping into her own outlook. Buffy had killed the Master, and after meeting her, Faith didn't have a hard time believing it.
She stood her ground, knowing Buffy was there to help her.
"We were hoping to run into you ladies later tonight, since we had a little errand to run first. Guess we'll have to deal with you now though, cause the clock is ticking." He stepped to the side; opening the door to the limousine he leaned against.
The form that emerged was large, a powerfully built figure with a face permanently deformed by his vampiric visage. His hands and feet were formed into crude hooves, and he had slight horns atop his head.
"Ain't you gonna introduce us to your girlfriend, Faith? I'm Mr. Trick, and this here's the Boss Man. Kakistos, Oldest of all vampires."
Buffy scoffed, her calm attitude helping to ease Faith's own fears. "I'm Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I'm the one who gave you that fancy title by killing the last guy who had it."
"I am unimpressed with your defeat of the so-called Master. He was no doubt weakened by being trapped for so long in that...holy place," he shuddered, dreading the thought.
"I will not be so simple to defeat!" he bellowed, and charged at them.
The two Slayers met his charge, both rushing forward with punches that would cave in the head of an ordinary man. Kakistos batted their arms away with his powerful arms, and laughed at their attempts. Buffy lashed out with her foot, kicking him hard in the knee, but found it hard as steel.
Faith backhanded him, but he only grinned and laughed again. Kakistos slammed his deformed fist into her chest and she was propelled backwards, barely able to breathe. She could barely keep her eyes open as she watched Buffy valiantly try to defeat the Master Vampire.
"You are disappointing," he growled after a minute of trading blows with the increasingly desperate Slayer. Buffy head butted him hard, succeeding in causing him to grunt slightly in pain. He responded by kicking out at her knee, and she felt a snap as her knee crumpled in the wrong direction. She cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Kakistos laughed and raised his hand for the killing blow.
*No,* Faith thought. *Not again. It wasn't supposed to happen this way.*
A blood-curdling scream ripped through the night air, and Kakistos was suddenly pressed back. He stumbled back against the thundering blows, each one causing a ripple in the air that was almost visible due to the strength of the impact. Kakistos cried out in pain as a fist smashed across his face, shattering his nose and causing stolen blood to spatter everywhere. Another blow connected to his stomach, causing him to double over. A third came under his chin, tearing his jaw from his face.
For several long, gut-wrenching minutes the blur pounded the Oldest Living Vampire into a bloody pulp. Willow covered her eyes after a minute, unable to watch, and Cordelia stared with total awe in her eyes.
Xander's first punched *through* the vampire before he let the barely recognizable Master Vampire collapse to the ground. Xander was heaving in fury when he reached down and picked Kakistos up by his thick neck.
Xander gave Kakistos a look of such righteous fury that Kakistos would have screamed under it's heat, had he still been able. When Xander's hand lashed out and tore Kakistos's head from his body, the vampire might have actually been pleased for the act of mercy as he crumbled to dust.
Faith was in shock as she watched Xander stand perfectly still, his only movement the heaving of his shoulders as he breathed deeply. The boy was cut, there was no doubt about that, but he had been barely able to look her in the eye for the whole night, and he sure as hell let Buffy and Cordelia tease him mercilessly without even a hint of anger.
Now he stood in a dark rage, anger rolling off of him in waves, and Faith found herself...
Incredibly jealous of Buffy Summers.
Xander finally seemed to get control of himself and dropped down beside Buffy, the pain in her leg forgotten as she stared at Xander's loving eyes. His were filled with tears as he held her.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I should have come sooner."
Buffy swallowed hard, tears filling her own eyes. She reached out a hand and stroked his face softly, then kissed him.
"You did it perfect," she whispered. And Xander laughed with relief, then sobbed once. He held her tight and cried into her shoulder. Buffy, despite the horrible pain in her leg, had never felt so loved in all of her life, and it only doubled when she felt the small trembling hands of Cordelia Chase on her cheek. She looked up to see tears in the other girl's eyes.
"I'm OK," she mouthed. Cordelia smiled and leaned down, kissing Buffy on the lips, and then she somehow melted into a three-way embrace with Xander and Buffy.
After the three of them had vented their emotions, Buffy told Xander to hold onto her leg, and Faith found her respect for the sleight girl come back with a vengeance as Buffy snapped her leg back into place. She gritted her teeth, but never let out so much as a whimper.
"Don't worry, a nice dose of Slayer healing and I'll be back to normal within the week," Buffy assured the two most important people in her life. Cordelia sniffled and nodded.
"Xander, be a dear and pick me up, would you?" Buffy asked. Xander knelt down and scooped her up in his arms, easily holding the small girl's weight.
As they walked home, Buffy grinned wickedly and leaned in close in Xander's grasp, and whispered something in his ear. His eyes went wide, and he actually dropped her in shock.
She landed with a thump and a slight groan, and Xander apologized profusely as he carefully picked her back up again. She just laughed and kissed him on the cheek, then turned her head to look at Cordelia.
"I win," she grinned. Cordelia couldn't argue.
"Ah Mr. Trick, was it?"
"That's right."
"I heard the unfortunate news about your former boss. My condolences for your loss. Allan? Have Daisy send Mr. Trick some flowers."
"Uh, Daisy is no longer with this organization sir."
"Oh yes! I sure do miss the old girl. She was a real spitfire, and always had a hearty 'good morning' for me each day. Oh well, we have a replacement for her?"
"Yes sir. A...Stacey."
"Very good, have Stacey send Mr. Trick some flowers, maybe a fruitcake."
"You don't gotta do that."
"Oh pish-posh. Nothing says you care like a good fruitcake. Now Mr. Trick, I also heard that you were unable to complete the favor I asked of you and your former boss. That's a darn shame, it really is."
"I thought you might feel that way, so I made sure to bring these."
"Pictures?"
"Pictures of the thing that killed Kakistos. I ain't never seen anything like this before. Dude ripped him apart with his bare hands. Slowly.
"Hmm...Very well Mr. Trick. I have an appointment with the president of the Parent/Teacher Association in ten minutes. You have until then to convince me not to kill you."
Buffy thought about Xander during the entire run, except for those times when she was so lost in the incredible lust she felt that she climaxed, when she thought pretty much nothing at all.
But as she ran in her incredibly skimpy clothing behind Faith, eyes glued to the other girl's shapely ass in her tight running shorts, her newly enhanced mind was devoting most of it's thoughts to Xander.
Buffy had been reading a lot the past few days, finding that research sessions were opening up huge avenues of thought to her, and she could almost feel her brain clicking as concepts involving math, science, and magic were snapping into place.
She was beginning to think that a potion of dill and rosemary with an Idonian incantation bound to it in a Zimmer's web could do wonder's for Xander's injury. It was purely theoretical of course, and patched together from four different spells and two potions she'd read about in different books, but she could see the logic of it in her head. Magic was like a very complex mathematical equation, and the new Buffy Summers solved equations in her sleep.
She trotted casually behind Faith as they ran through the streets of Sunnydale, and Buffy was a little surprised to look up and see that she barely had time to register who they were passing by on the streets before they were already beyond them. How fast were they running?
Looking ahead she saw Faith, muscles straining, as she seemed to run against molasses.
Except, she wasn't running against molasses. She was running fast. Incredibly fast. The kind of speed Buffy had only reached when she had poured every ounce of Slayer strength into a sprint.
To her it felt like she was jogging. Slowly.
For not the first time she found herself noting that the curse was definitely not all bad. She had this killer body, amazing new abilities, and...Xander.
Yet there was that doubt. Always that doubt. How much was them, how much was the curse? Giles had said it was a nudge, but could she have been "nudged" into running the streets of Sunnydale in a skimpy thong and way-too small tank top?
Just remembering what she wore made her almost stumble as a wave of arousal washed over her. If this was the curse...did she care?
When they arrived back the Buffy's house, Faith was doubled over, breathing heavily.
"You're...not even...tired," she panted.
"Curse stuff, I guess," Buffy said quietly, biting her lip and trying not to look at Faith's ass when she bent over. She held her thighs tightly together, still very aroused and very aware that Faith knew it.
"Hell of a curse," Faith said, regaining her breath. Buffy just stood there, thighs pressed together.
After a while Faith gave her a grin.
"You really do get off on this, don't you?"
Buffy whimpered and nodded. Her hand betrayed her and slipped between her legs. Faith stepped closer to her, and ran her hand down Buffy's arm. The shorter girl shivered and began breathing heavily.
"Well at least I found one way to get you out of breath," Faith drawled in Buffy's ear. "You love showing off those huge tits and smooth legs of yours, don't you Buffy?"
Buffy could only nod, eyes closed and hips rolling as she fingered herself on her front porch.
"You even get off on your Mom watching you, don't you?"
Faith breathed in Buffy's scent, and Buffy moaned loudly.
"You're a very dirty girl, Buffy." Buffy's knees buckled and she knelt, moaning and rubbing at herself.
"Dirty girls don't get to wear nice clothes," Faith said, and pulled Buffy's tank top off. Her huge boobs bounced free, perfectly globular and defying gravity. Buffy cried out, cumming. Faith continued to whisper in her ear, keeping Buffy aroused even as her orgasm ended.
"Look at you, frigging yourself out here for everyone to see. Your huge tits hanging down and your nipples hard as rocks. You're such a slut, Buffy. A little whore that loves sucking cock, right?"
Buffy moaned again and felt herself nod. A car door slammed and she heard her mother's voice.
"Hi girls, what are you up to?"
"Oh just talking to Buffy while she plunges her fingers into her hot wet cunt and tells me what a slut she is," Faith said.
"Oh that's nice. Well do be sure to get some rest today also, you had a big day yesterday." She kissed Buffy on the cheek as she passed by, and Buffy shuddered with arousal, as she burned red with deep humiliation.
"You're a hot little slut, Little B," Faith whispered in her ear and tweaked Buffy's right nipple. Buffy screamed and came hard, collapsing back. When it had passed she lay on her back, the sun beaming down on her firm stomach and large tits as she basked in the afterglow of Faith's very effective taunting.
"See ya later, Little B." Faith grinned and headed inside the house. Buffy remained where she was for a long time, one hand rubbing her clit gently through her thin thong, the other squeezing and pulling lightly at her breast. When she finally went inside it was because she had realized she was daydreaming about Xander, and remembered the potion she wanted to try and make.
The potion seemed to work well, and by mid-afternoon Xander's face was down to a dark brown splotch instead of a huge throbbing purple bruise. He kissed Buffy at least a thousand times, by her very accurate estimation, and had her giggling and squirming under his touch as he thanked her and told her what a genius she was.
Afterwards they decided on a quiet day at home, and watched movies in their big new bed. Eventually he coaxed the events of the morning out of her, and she burned deep red as she recounted the whole encounter with Faith in as low a whisper as she could. While she spoke she sat resting her back against his chest, his strong hands stroking her gently, sometimes fondling her breasts or teasing her pussy with his hands. It was a wonderful feeling, and she realized that while Faith had pushed the right buttons to get her hot, only Xander knew how to push the right buttons to make her feel happy.
A new thought rose in her brain, and Buffy bit her lip, wondering if she could actually bring it up. She wanted him, wanted him to take her. Wanted to be his forever. She squirmed under his touch, and felt her breathing quicken.
He sat up slightly then, and she leaned her head back to look at him. He grinned and kissed her on the lips.
"I love you Buffy," he said as perfectly as anything she could imagine. She wanted to say she loved him too, but her eyes were filling with tears and her throat felt like it was going to close up. So she kissed him. The heat of it had them both panting, and when it was done she whispered her love in a tiny voice, not wanting the words to be for anyone else but him. She whispered it over and over again, a mantra that filled her with happiness.
"I love you Xander. I'm yours. I love you Xander. I'm yours."
He turned her over, placing her on her back.
"No moving," he said. "And switch yourself off, too." She knew what he meant, and made sure the inner switch was on "Regular Girl."
He reached under the bed and pulled out several long scarves. Where had he gotten those?
Without a word he secured one of her hands to the headboard. When he had tied the scarf off in a secure knot she had moaned out loud.
"I remembered your reaction to the chains," he whispered in her ear as he tied off her other hand. Buffy was rolling her hips now, her pussy burning with desire. He took her shirt in both hands and...Ripped it off. She gasped with pleasure as her breasts burst free, and he trailed slow wet kisses down her body before doing the same to her thong.
Afterwards he whispered in her ear again, "This is the best thing you've ever worn."
She wasn't wearing anything. She whined as his lips left her mouth after a deep kiss.
Soon he was kissing down her again, past her breasts and belly before kissing and licking at her pussy. She had pleasured him with her mouth so many times since the curse, it seemed like such a long time ago. For the first time he returned the favor, slowly and teasingly licking at her hot cunt.
That's how she thought of it, using the harsh words Faith had whispered to her that morning on the porch. Her wet little snatch.
She came twice on his tongue, wondering how many times she could cum that day before her brain burned out. She knew she hadn't been this horny before she met Xander.
Inwardly she froze. Before the curse. Yet that's how she thought of it. The day she'd met Xander. Really met him. The day that changed her life and brought her to this amazing experience.
Finally he sat up, and pulled his own clothing off. She stared in awe at his body. It was lithe, with tiny scars here and there. She knew he had to be in decent shape from patrolling and training with her all the time, and his body had the lean look of a runner or a swimmer. His cock was larger than his frame suggested, respectable and perfectly Xander. That's what it was to her. Perfect. And Xander.
He kissed her again, and his eyes looked into hers. For a change she felt no embarrassment at looking at his eyes, no shy sense that she should look away, that she should submit. There was no point in such an act, as she was about to give him her ultimate submission.
She told him silently that she was ready, and she felt tears stirring at her eyes as he entered her for the first time. She didn't know when she'd started chanting the mantra again, but with every stroke he took she was chanting it faster. When he bit lightly at her nipples she would screech it, and when he shoved into her deep she would squeak it.
She felt that they were joined together, and loved that it was so. The scarves around her wrists constantly reminded her of her submission, her total deferment to him. She begged him to cum inside of her, finally glad that the embarrassment of her mother insisting she be on the pill at the age of fourteen had paid off. It occured to her that this was, in a way, the first man she ever had sex with. Angel was a vampire...not human. Not alive.
And Xander was well and truly alive. His heat inside of her burned her from within, and she was crying in ecstasy and joy when he came, her own orgasm slamming into her. Even after the lust filled day, it rocked her.
She was with Xander, bound in their bed and being worshipped by him in every way. She belonged to him, and she knew without doubt that he would always treat her...Xanderly.
Her climax was powerful more for it's emotion than for it's pure pleasure, though it had her screaming uncontrollably and chanting her mantra. It was the feeling of giving herself to him completely that had her softly crying when it was over, still chanting even as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Xander kissed each one, and then kissed her lips. She smiled then, and for a long time he lay on top of her, inside of her and gazed in her eyes as he stroked her face. She felt herself slipping into a relaxed slumber when she trembled slightly.
The shakes. She could feel her heart beating fast in her chest. He smiled sadly, knowing what it meant, and went to untie her hands.
"No," she whispered. "Leave them?"
He gave her his trademark lopsided grin. She licked their combined juices from his cock, and for a long while she slowly sucked him. He lasted a long time, having just cum a moment earlier, but she didn't mind. The taste of him was even better when she could taste herself on him as well, and even after he came she licked and nuzzled at him. He eventually untied one of her hands to allow her to roll over, and she fell asleep, her head on his thighs and his cock in her mouth, and secured to her bed.
Xander lay in bed between Cordelia Chase and Buffy Summers, laughing as they watched some weird cartoon they had flipped past. They all made jokes and side-comments about the show and were laughing and giggling constantly, generally just enjoying each other's company.
Yet at the same time Xander was contemplating if he could actually envision the entire sub-atomic structure of an object and exert a magical force against it, thus being able to re-arrange it in any way he saw fit. He was also re-checking his math on a formula he suspected might promote accelerated healing in human beings. Finally, he was trying to ignore the two soft feminine hands that were currently engaged in a territory dispute over his cock, with terrible slap-fight wars breaking out under the blankets as Cordelia and Buffy used him for yet another unspoken contest.
All of this was being processed at the same time, and yet another formed as he examined this ability. Obviously the idealized version of himself that Buffy's mind held had included incredibly mental capabilities, but he'd never suspected being able to hold four or five separate thoughts in his head at the same time. For not the first time, he thought that maybe this curse wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Without it, would he have ever found himself in bed with the two most gorgeous women in Sunnydale? He doubted it, and once again the nagging thought that this might all be the curse rose up within him. He sighed inwardly, and eventually let the thought slip away. Either way, there was nothing he could do about it. Whether Buffy really did love him or not would always have a doubt in the back of his mind. Unless the curse were removed.
The thought made him cringe. Did he even want it removed anymore?
Cordelia was altogether another story. Giles had mentioned that the curse might affect those who were witnessing he and Buffy together, and perhaps that was what had Cordelia so turned on that first time. Was it just that initial ice-breaker that had grown into this odd relationship between the three of them?
He knew he loved Cordelia, and he knew she loved him as well. But they both seemed to love Buffy as well, and the curse mucked things up bad enough when it was just he and Buffy to think about.
The one thing he could tell was that the submission he felt applied much more to Buffy than to Cordelia, though he realized the difference wasn't very noticeable. He simply enjoyed doing what they wished, or going to them for decisions. It was just that Buffy would always have the final decision in his mind.
From what he could tell, Cordelia had no problem with that. He'd noticed that while Cordelia was definitely not a submissive to Buffy, she would defer to Buffy's judgment and occasionally, just occasionally, he could see Cordelia truly enjoying obeying Buffy, and Buffy truly enjoying giving her orders. It was an interesting dynamic, to the say the least.
Most of the time was like now, however. Cordelia and Buffy would both work together to keep him on-edge and very occupied. The two of them never seemed to need to talk about their plans, but would simply fall into the pattern of it as if they'd been doing this their whole lives.
"My hand was there first," Buffy chided, rubbing Xander's cock where her hand was.
"No, your hand was here," Cordelia said, caressing Xander. "Then you started trying to impede on my territory. Your hand is too hot, so stay on your side of the cock, thank you very much."
Buffy giggled and he could feel her use two fingers to "walk" across his dick and "kick" Cordelia's hand. That inevitably lead to another slapping fight between their two hands, which always ended with the two of them apologizing to each other and leaning over Xander to kiss in front of his face.
It was torturous, and it was beautiful.
"Uh...Buffy, Cordy? I was thinking..."
"There's a change," Cordelia quipped. Buffy swatted at her.
"You be nice!" she said in mock-outrage.
"Or what? You'll limp at me?"
"Maybe I'll spin you over and spank that ass of yours until you learn some manners."
Cordelia stuck out her tongue. Buffy responded by kissing it. They giggled and started making out again.
"Uh...ladies?" Xander said.
"Mwhat?" Buffy said on Cordelia's lips.
"Well I was thinking that I might have figured out a p-potion to help with healing."
"It's so cute when he gets nervous," Cordelia said, kissing his chest.
"That's why I like keeping him nervous," Buffy grinned, planting a kiss on his cheek.
"A-Anyway I thought maybe it would help with your leg, B-Buffy, but also that we could have some for the future in case of any trouble."
"How did you come up with this potion Xander? You don't really do magic stuff," Buffy asked.
"Well ever since I've been thinking so clearly, it's just kind of forming in my head. I have some ideas about using magic to alter a human much like the curse did to me, physically anyway. It could help make sure Cordelia doesn't have to be afraid of vampires and stuff."
"You want to give Cordelia superpowers too?" Buffy asked.
"I think it's more like he wants to give me bigger tits," Cordelia deadpanned. Buffy gave her breasts an appraising look.
"He's not the only one," she said and waggled her eyes at Cordelia.
"Hey this are already too big for me," Cordelia said.
"No such animal," Buffy said, and leaned over Xander to kiss Cordelia, first on one nipple, then the other.
"You are so weird," Cordelia sighed pleasantly.
"So where'd you read this spell, Xandy?" Buffy said.
"Xandy?" Cordelia laughed.
"What? I think it's cute."
Cordelia was lost to the giggles however, and couldn't respond.
"I-I didn't really read about it. I kind of made it up."
"Really? Wow. I kind of wonder sometimes at how smart you're getting. It must be cool to be in that brain right now," Buffy said, peering at his head as if she could get a glimpse of what was going on inside.
"Well it's definitely pretty interesting. I've got some really good idea about-"
"What's sixteen times thirty two?" Buffy asked, cutting him off.
"Five hundred and twelve," he replied without thinking.
"The capital of Spain?"
"Madrid."
"Number of times you've kissed Cordelia."
"On the lips?"
"Anywhere."
"Eight thousand nine hundred and twelve."
"Really? That's a lot."
"It averages out to 28.65594 kisses a day since we've been going out."
"Wow."
"Xandy!" Cordelia guffawed, still lost in the giggles. Buffy whacked her with a pillow.
"Hey shutup, this is cool."
"What's cool?" Cordelia asked in between giggles.
"He kisses you 28 times a day since you guys have gone out."
"That's it? Feels like more. We better make up for lost time." She kissed him on the lips quickly five or six times.
"Hey I'm not done asking him questions," Buffy said pushing Cordelia's face away from Xander.
"How are your questions more important than my Xandy kissy time?" Cordelia said, stifling giggles at Xander's new nickname.
"Cause...listen. Xander, uh, how many times has Cordelia touched your cock?"
"After today? Six hundred and nine. Most of that's in the last week, and a hundred and fourteen of it came from today."
"How do I know you're not making that up?" Cordelia asked.
"I'm not," he said honestly.
"Ok then, what's my favorite color?"
"Orange, even though you never wear it." He said.
"What's mine?" Buffy asked.
"That's a trick question cause you consider blue and pink swirled together to be a color."
"Wow. He's good," Buffy said. "OK, what are Cordelia's measurements?"
"36-24-34."
"Wow, really?" Buffy said to Cordelia. The other girl nodded proudly.
"Ooh I like thinking about improving on perfection," Buffy said, referring to Xander's suggestion of enhancing Cordelia.
"These things already give me a backache all the time," Cordelia groaned.
"Well actually," Xander said. "With the proper spell we could probably make it so they never make you uncomfortable."
"Yeah with big hard nipples and a trim waist and a nice round ass that I can grab onto and...What?" Buffy said, Cordelia giving her a weird look.
"I never said I was doing this."
"Oh please," Buffy said, waving a hand. "I can't wait to start designing."
Cordelia frowned, but a strange part of her liked the idea of being Buffy's ideal version of herself, and was turned on by Buffy seeming to have made the decision for her. She shifted slightly on the bed and looked at Xander.
"I have a question," she said.
"O-Okay."
"Do you know how much I love you?" Cordelia asked. Buffy stopped her daydreaming of Cordelia and started paying attention again.
"Uh...a lot?" he asked hopefully. She shook her head.
"This much." Then she kissed him for the eight-thousand-nine-hundred-and-nineteenth time.
"Hey what about me?" Buffy pouted.
"How much do you love Xander, or how much do I love you?" Cordelia asked.
"Both."
"You love Xander so much you want him to fuck you raw," Cordelia said. "And I love you so much...I'll let you work on designing the bigger and better me." Buffy squealed happily.
"Whu?" Xander said, dumbfounded. Buffy had just said, indirectly at least, that she loved him. That she wanted to...oh man.
Cordelia frowned at him, and then realized what must going through his head.
"What?" Buffy asked. "What's wrong?"
"You broke his new brain!" Cordelia said, giggling.
"I did? How?"
"You never said you loved him before."
"I didn't? Nah. Sure I did. A bunch of times. Didn't I?"
"If you hadn't broken superbrain we could have asked him."
Buffy grinned wickedly. "I know how to fix him."
She grunted slightly as she slid down the bed, her splint making things awkward for her. Then she rolled over to her stomach and stared at Xander's monstrous dick. She licked her lips and kissed it.
After a few moments Xander seemed to snap out of his reverie. "Whu?" he mumbled, feeling lips on his cock. He groaned, and then looked down, expecting to see the dark hair of Cordelia. Instead he saw Buffy as she licked slowly up the length of his cock, shot him a grin and a wink, and then did her best to fit his massive tool in her mouth.
Xander moaned and lay back, enjoying for the first time the feel of Buffy Summer's mouth on his dick.
When he was throbbing and begging for release she rose, leaving him whimpering on the bed.
"Xandy?" she whispered in his ear.
"Ye-e-e-s?" he groaned.
"You better go make that potion quick so my leg is fixed, because then you're going to fuck me all night long."
He groaned, and spurted his cum all over his chest. Buffy grinned at him, swiped a finger through and licked it, giving an exaggerated moan at the taste.
"Hurry up now," she said. "You don't want to leave me waiting here with Cordelia all hot and bothered, do you?" She pulled herself over to Cordelia and the two of them began making out. Buffy's hands squeezing the other girl's large breasts. Cordelia moaned loudly. Buffy whispered something in her ear and Cordelia started nodding vigorously.
"Yes...please, oh yes..."
"Well tell Xandy to hurry, because once he fixes my leg, I'm going to eat your pussy while he fucks me until we all pass out."
Xander was out of the room in an instant, moving as fast as his newly gained powers would let him move. He raced downstairs to the kitchen and began preparing the potion; glad he didn't need anything weird to make it, just some common herbs and proper incantations.
He was halfway through making it when he heard someone clear their throat. He turned to see Faith standing in the doorway, a wide smile on her face as she appreciated his naked ass.
He spun around, and stood frozen.
"Faith!" he squeaked. Her eyes lowered to his cock, and he found he could do nothing but stand there with it pointing directly at her.
"Busy, Xander?" she asked.
"Uh...yeah...making a potion for B-Buffy."
"Sounds complicated."
"Um...not really."
She slinked over to him like a cat. "You know Xander, I didn't think you for taking care of Kakistos for me."
"It was...nothing!" he squeaked the last word as Faith's hand gripped his erection.
"It was definitely something," she said, giving him a squeeze. "You like to make people happy, right Xander?"
"Sure," he moaned.
"I think I'd be pretty happy with your dick in my pussy right now." He shuddered and groaned.
"Remember what your owner Buffy said? About how I could borrow you sometime?"
He'd never heard anyone refer to Buffy as his owner. It made his cock twitch and his knees almost buckled.
"Normally I'd let you take me up on that offer Faith, but I've got plans for him tonight."
Faith looked up to see Buffy in the doorway, her splinted leg held carefully off the ground as she used Cordelia to steady herself. Cordelia was wearing just a pair of panties and Buffy was completely nude. Faith raised an eyebrow at her. She looked very good.
"If you want you can borrow him afterwards."
Faith grinned.
"Or...you could watch."
Faith's mouth dropped open.
"What?"
"I plan on having him fuck me silly once he finishes that potion, and I plan on showing Cordelia how much I love her at the same time. You're welcome to watch if you want. I'd feel like a bad host if I made you feel left out. Afterwards, if he's still standing, you can borrow Xander." At his name she looked around Faith at Xander, still standing nude in the kitchen.
"I thought I told you to make a potion," She scolded teasingly. He turned red and got to work finishing his brew. Buffy licked her lips as she admired his muscular ass.
"You...really want me there?"
"Come on Faith, I know you're wet as the ocean every time we're around. I can smell it you know. I also know you've been thinking about how nice it would be if I strolled over to you, put my hands on your shoulders, pushed you down to your knees and ordered you to eat my pussy."
Faith, in truth, had not quite thought of that before. But in thinking of it now she only barely stifled a groan.
"I think watching us break in Xandy will be a good first step for you, Little Faith."
Faith nodded mutely.
The night was a very long one for Xander Harris, and he would remember it for the rest of his life.
The next few weeks established Buffy in her new life. Each morning she would wake up Xander with a blowjob, and usually they would make love before going to school, except on those occasions where they fucked like animals instead.
They usually ate breakfast with her mother and Faith, almost always a multiple-blush affair for Buffy, who continued to dress in increasingly revealing and, to her way of thinking, slutty outfits.
Faith and Xander had become fast friends, the two of them sharing an easy rapport that often had Buffy giggling shyly at the stories they told or the jokes they bounced off one another. There was also a clear and present flirting there, but Buffy didn't worry about that. She belonged to Xander, and besides...Faith was as arousing to Buffy as she was frightening.
Faith always made sure to dirty-talk Buffy into an orgasm once a day, sometimes even in front of Xander or when she was blowing him at random times. It was deeply humiliating, and also the hottest part of Buffy's day. She started wondering when Xander would work Faith into their relationship, and suspected he was holding back just to tease her.
She hated him and loved him so much for that.
They'd become much more brazen in their trysts as well. Xander was well aware of the fact that Buffy was extremely turned on doing it in public, and often had her take her "treatment" in the quad, the common area, or even in the library while they researched. When she'd told Xander that day that it was time for a dose, he looked at Giles, Willow, Oz and Faith and then looked at Buffy. When he started unbuckling his pants right there in the library Buffy turned brick red, and she actually fingered herself to an orgasm as she sucked him before quaking in climax a second time when she brought Xander off. Afterwards when she climbed out from under the table, her face beet red and her pussy still burning with heat, he'd whispered in her ear that maybe they'd have to try that again sometime.
She couldn't wait.
Aside from her mind-blowing - *And Xander-blowing,*she thought - sex life, Buffy was coming to terms with the enhancements afforded her by the curse.
She was now able to think about dozens of concepts at the same time, and spent most of her time in class working on different ideas from spells to weapons to training and tactics. She began thinking more and more that humanity living in relative ignorance of the forces of darkness was a terrible mistake, and had begun drawing up a plan that she and Xander had started discussing for global knowledge of the true nature of reality.
Buffy hoped that humanity, finding itself under hostile guerilla-warfare type attacks from an outside threat would put aside most of its differences to combat the menace. She had already designed, in her head anyway, several new weapons that she suspected would drastically increase the demon-slaying power of any normal human.
Beyond that she'd also designed several spells, which had sent Giles sputtering to his books. Apparently creating new spells was generally considered close to impossible. Buffy had bit her lip shyly and told him to thank Xander for wanting a Buffy who could do much.
The upper limit on her speed and strength was a bit hazy, but it seemed clear that she could move faster than the human eye could track if she really wanted to. Most of the time though she remained in "Regular Girl" mode when not patrolling, although a few close calls with Vamps had revealed that she switched back instinctually when facing a threat, much to Xander's relief.
Xander had somehow shanghaied Faith into enrolling in school, despite the girl's assurances that she didn't need school. Buffy had felt sorry for Faith when Xander dragged the girl into Giles's office and ranted at her for a good half an hour. When they emerged, Faith was pale, and had readily agreed to start going to school.
While she scowled constantly at Xander and always complained about it, Buffy strongly suspected that Faith was really enjoying having someone care about her future. She'd even noticed Faith giving Xander a few dreamy looks when she thought no one was looking. Buffy knew there'd been flirtations and outright offers from Faith, but Xander still kept her at bay. It was only a matter of time, she knew, and she suspected that Faith enjoyed the slow burn as much as she did.
Xander had been changing slightly as well. He had been doing better in school since he stopped being so worried that people thought he was dumb, and his newfound confidence had exploded into other aspects of his life as well. Her mother had sat down with Xander one night and the two of them had drawn up a detailed plan of his goals in order to allow him to go to college with Buffy. When he wasn't with Buffy, and he was with Buffy a lot, he was spending every waking hour studying, practicing, or working out.
She'd been helping him train in several weapons and a few styles, finding herself that styles she once knew only instinctually had blossomed in her mind. She'd even molded her own style, calling it "Xander-Fu" in her head, named after its inspiration and first pupil. Xander was a quick learner, although she suspected it was because he always gave her his complete attention. She loved his eyes watching her as she slowly went through a move. She wore a thong and a sports bra when they trained if she wore anything at all. The slow build up of arousal through the session was usually released when Xander couldn't hold back anymore and took her, which she had started noticing was almost always when she would have ended the session anyway.
He did that a lot, she noticed. Doing things at just the right time, or saying just what she wanted to hear when she needed to hear it. He could do it for something as simple as making her laugh, or knowing just how long to go on teasing her before finally letting her cum. If Buffy knew magic, science, mathematics and tactics better than anyone else in the world, Xander Harris knew Buffy better than anyone else. Even herself.
"Hey beautiful," he said to her, his hands wrapping around her as he kissed her neck. She was dressed in a parody of a schoolgirl's uniform, see-through white blouse tied into a knot just under her large breasts, a skirt that was too short to properly be called a skirt, thigh-high white stockings that accentuated her perfectly smooth legs (which she had not had to shave in weeks,) and four-inch heels. As always, she wore no bra or panties. She moved in the outfit as if she was born with it, and the comfort in wearing such provocative outfits always pleased her, because it meant she could entice Xander even more.
"Ooh, you're so bad," he groaned, pressing his crotch against her backside as they stood in the cafeteria. "You know I love you in the schoolgirl thing."
It was close to what she was wearing the day they'd met. Really met, that is. She still thought of the curse as the day she "Met" Xander, but the schoolgirl outfit was a throwback to the first time they ever saw each other.
She purred softly as he embraced her.
"So Giles tells me you've been working on spells a lot," he said.
"I'm trying to come up with a spell that mimics the secondary effects of the curse," she replied, and moaned softly when he cupped her breasts. She loved it when he played with her in public.
"Which effects?"
"The physical changes mostly. I h-hope that we can help the others so that they're not as vulnerable when fighting vampires and demons and stuff."
*And so that I can stop worrying that something might happen to you,* she thought.
"Buffy, I'm fine, remember?" He responded to her unspoken worry.
"Y-yes," she whispered.
"But you keep thinking about when Kakistos clocked me one?"
She shook under his arms, and he almost thought she was having an attack before he realized she was shaking with fear.
"I'm here Buffy. I'm here and I'm fine," he whispered in her ear. She felt tears dripping down her cheeks and turned in his grip. They hugged for a long time, Buffy softly crying her fears into Xander's shirt.
"I'm so lucky to have you Buffy," he said at last. "So lucky to have this body beside me every night, and this brain thinking about me every day." He hugged her body and kissed her head.
*And my heart, forever and always,* she thought. As if he heard her, he kissed her over her right breast.
They embraced again, both overwhelmed with the strength of their feelings for each other.
And both trying desperately to quash the nagging doubt in the back of their minds. How much was the curse?
Things had settled into a pattern after that incredible night. The three of them had firmly and decisively announced to each other that they were now in a Relationship with a capital R. While he still had to lick Buffy's pussy three times a day, that was nowhere near the extent of their sexual experiences.
Buffy was always sure to make sure Xander got as much as he gave, and between her and Cordelia it wasn't very hard to do.
Each morning usually began with Xander waking up entangled in the smooth tan legs of his two Ladies. He always slept with his head resting against one of their thighs, usually alternating each night. He almost always woke up Cordelia first with a slow sensual licking, and once she had woken up (and groaned his name loud enough to at least bring Buffy into a half-awake state) he usually felt the beginnings of withdrawal setting in, and woke up Buffy the same way.
After that Buffy and Cordelia would give him many a deep kiss and usually a blowjob of his own in the shower as they prepared for school. Then Buffy or Cordelia would giggle and tell him to "report" to Faith, and he would march off to see if Faith had any plans for him.
She always did, and they were often very creative. The girls had decided to alternate on dressing him. Buffy usually chose something with the least amount of fabric, muscle shirts and tight shorts, that sort of thing. Cordelia preferred slick suits and classy dress outfits. Faith preferred leather and dark blacks, and loved how he could pull off pretty much any outfit that required one to have more muscles than was usually humanly possible.
Faith usually "partook of Buffy's generosity" by having Xander either eat her out or fuck her, although once or twice she'd gotten a little kinkier than that. Whips and chains may have been involved; Xander was keeping his mouth shut. At least unless his Ladies asked him about it. He always told them the truth whenever they asked him anything, and they usually asked him about his time with Faith. Buffy in particular seemed to enjoy the creative ways Faith used him. Having him eat her out after they had...coupled was something that Buffy asked about often, usually while Cordelia was eating her out at the time.
After dealing with Faith Xander usually had a few minutes to grab some food before school.
He'd found that he could now hold over a dozen concepts in his head at any one time, and had been thinking of ideas ranging from spells, tactics, weapons and training for several days now. Classes were now spent going over ideas in his head rather than paying attention to lessons he had absorbed weeks ago. He was currently working on refining the offshoot spell he'd created based on the curse, hoping to allow changes to be designed consciously instead of created unconsciously by the mind of the target.
He was also working on several handheld energy discharge weapons that he hoped might harness the earth energy that existed in something like a stake and transform it into a bolt of piercing energy. If successful he'd have a highly effective long-range vampire-killing weapon that any normal human could use.
Aside from that he was also drawing up a plan to introduce the global consciousness to the idea of demons. He had been thinking a lot lately that fighting a hidden war against an enemy most people didn't know existed was a bad idea. If humanity had any chance at surviving, it would have to stop relying on a few poorly organized groups of misfits to avert potential world-ending crises.
Buffy and Cordelia had seen other changes in their lives the past few weeks, aside from the obvious sexual ones. Buffy in particular had found that her new confidence and take-charge attitude had given her the drive to commit herself fully to schoolwork and training. According to her tests Buffy had always been fairly bright, but rarely committed herself to actually working at utilizing that potential.
Likewise Cordelia had seemed to stop expending so much energy on remaining Queen of the school, finding that trading bland fashion tips with Harmony was no where near as fun as trading barbs of sexual innuendo with Faith or teasing Xander with Buffy.
As a result she'd been putting much more time into her schoolwork, and was threatening to finish school with straight A's and SAT scores almost a hundred points higher than anyone had expected. So far the plan was for the three of them to attend the University of Sunnydale along with Willow and Oz, both of whom seemed content with staying in Sunnydale and keeping the Scooby Gang intact.
Meanwhile Buffy had insisted that Faith enroll in school and start getting to work. When the other girl had shrugged off the idea saying it wasn't necessary, Buffy had actually tackled the dark-haired girl, pulled her into Giles's office, and...
They'd been in there for over half an hour. Xander had heard with his much enhanced sense of hearing Buffy ranting at Faith about futures and telling destiny where to shove it, and...Something that sounded suspiciously like a hand slapping against a bare bottom, followed shortly thereafter by kissing and moaning.
When they emerged, Faith was walking kind of funny, but she looked very relaxed. She had gone to school the very next day, and Buffy was always happy to give her a "stern talking to" when Faith complained. Faith complained a lot.
Meanwhile Xander had yet to find an actual upper limit to his new speed and strength. When he really wanted to he could move faster than the human eye could see, and Buffy said even she had trouble following him then. He'd felt very strange about showing off his powers in front of Buffy the first time, but she'd told him to stop being silly and thinking she was some tough guy with a fragile ego. She assured him that she didn't feel threatened by Xander being stronger than him...physically.
Considering Xander would happily do almost anything Buffy asked of him, it certainly seemed that physical strength was not quite the most important thing.
Although if it was, he was certainly winning in that department. Even when working together with both hands, Faith and Buffy couldn't budge his arm, and he had yet to meet a weight machine he couldn't actually pick up with one hand.
He felt her soft hands circle his middle. It was a Buffy clothing day, and he wore only a pair of cargo shorts, his muscular chest on display for all (but mostly Buffy) to see.
"Heya Xandy," she purred into his hear. He sighed. The nickname had stuck. So had the other one, but it was used much more rarely and had a much bigger effect on him: slave. A figurative title, or maybe just a voluntary one (could you be a voluntary slave?) but one that sent shivers through him when Buffy purred it in his ear.
*I am a slave to her heart,* he thought, and marveled at his own corniness. Sometimes though, love was very corny.
"Giles told me you've been working on the spell," Buffy said. Her delicate fingers stroked up and down his chest as they stood in the cafeteria.
"Y-yeah, I think I'll have it ready soon, then we can give it to the rest of the gang and not have to worry so much about them fighting vampires and stuff."
*And I won't have to think about Cordelia getting drained in some side alleyway,* he thought.
"You're really worried about her, aren't you?"
"I...I worry about both of you. All of you."
Buffy smiled against his back at how he remembered to add Faith in there.
"I'm the Slayer Xander, you don't have to worry about me."
"That didn't stop Kakistos," he whispered. It was one of his biggest fears. Buffy was fearless these days, and usually it worked in her favor. But he knew if she ever faced an enemy she couldn't beat, she wouldn't give up until she was dead. He could not imagine how he would handle that.
"No, my knight in shining...well, nothing since he's my knight and I'd rather see him strut around naked, he came and saved me." She kissed his neck.
"I don't feel right, saving you Buffy," he said. "I don't want to ever have to do it again."
She gently turned him around. Even though she was shorter than he was, the way she looked at him made him feel like she towered over him. He felt protected in her grasp, and knew he could always count on her to make things all right.
"You won't Xander. I'll do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen. Potions, spells, whatever it takes. Besides, maybe I'll get some bigger boobs out of the deal."
He smiled shyly.
"I like your breasts," he said. She grinned and quickly pulled up her shirt. As always, not a soul noticed, except him of course.
"You have ten seconds to feast your eyes," she said, and counted off as he soaked her in. She would do goofy things like this sometimes, ordering him to simply watch her or take in some part of her body. It was an odd Buffy kind of thing to do, and when she lowered her shirt she was still grinning.
He loved her smile, the childlike happiness she seemed to be experiencing so much recently.
"Hardly seems fair that I get to look at your chest all day long and you only get ten seconds for me. Does that seem right to you?"
"It's perfect," Xander said. *It's Buffy.*
"It's good to be the Boss," Buffy said, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the nose. "And since you gave the right answer, you get to take your afternoon dose while I lay back on that table over there.
He realized he was trembling slightly, and marveled at how she seemed to know him better than he knew himself. She leaned back and easily removed her pants and panties, then spread her legs at the table, a lewd display that nobody noticed but him.
"Hop to it," she said.
He did, and as he ate her out, the same thought ran through both of their minds.
*I love you...*
*...But how much is the curse?*
Neither of them knew if they wanted to find out.
"Now I hope you recognize the responsibility I'm giving you Mr. Trick," the Mayor of Sunnydale said to his vampiric cohort.
"Yes Sir, don't worry. This time the plan is more than just sending in a bunch of vamps."
"Yes I read your report. I think that hearty imagination of yours is going to work very well here."
"Thank you sir."
"Well, now that business is out of the way, I've got a golf game to work on. I tell you I could practice for a hundred years and I'd still need to shave off six strokes from my game. I'd invite you along, but there is that pesky detail about playing in the daytime."
"Don't worry about me, golf's never really been my thing."
"Well suit yourself."
Xander Harris was seated at cafeteria table, head propped up with one hand as he frowned at an SAT study sheet. Across from him sat Faith, who was also staring at a mass of text, face screwed up in confusion.
"This is stupid," Faith said.
"This is necessary," Xander replied. The girl frowned and tried to memorize another fact.
The theme of the passage is best described as: A) violence breeds violence, B) all things must end, or C) all systems tend towards chaos?
Xander groaned and let his head slip to the table with a hearty thunk.
"See? I told you this was stupid."
"This is not me quitting," Xander said, face flat against the table. "This is me marshalling my reserves for a killing strike."
"Looks more like you pretending your face is silly putty."
Xander lifted his head and wiped the faint smudges of ink off his face.
"Well how is your studying faring Ms...Hey, it just occured to me. What the heck is your last name, Faith?"
Faith scowled at him. "What do you care?"
"Well how am I going to sound all official and reference-y when people ask me if you're fit to work a fry-o-lator once you've given up on the studying?"
She flicked her pencil at his face.
"C'mon, I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
"I already know yours, Harris."
Xander clutched his heart in mock surprise. "Who told you? Was it the Russians?"
"Faith...Less? Faith...Ful? Faith...YourFears?" he lisped.
"You're a fucking idiot sometimes, you know that?" she grinned despite herself.
"Only sometimes?"
She tried to ignore him and stared at her book again.
"Fa-aith," he whined, and started tapping his fingers on her book. She slammed it shut, and he barely got his fingers out unscathed.
"If I show you my tits, will you leave me alone?" she growled.
"Nuh uh. I'll probably end up following you around like a puppy."
"Why do you want to know so bad anyway?"
He shrugged. "You're my friend, I tend to want to know my friend's names."
"And here I thought you were just keeping me around because Little B can't look at me for more than three seconds before she's wetter than the pacific."
"That too," he grinned. "Now come on, it can't be all bad."
She ran a finger through her hair and looked at his face. He was grinning in anticipation. She sighed, and pulled a worksheet out of her backpack.
*The backpack he picked out for me,* Faith thought. It was a hideous multi-colored affair, and it virtually screamed "Xander Harris Approved."
She slid the sheet over to him. On the top was her full name, the last name written in small sloppy letters. He stared at it.
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"No wonder you don't like to talk about it."
She growled and snatched the paper away. "That stays between you and me, got it?" she shook a fist at him.
"What does?" asked Willow as she and Oz took their seats at the table.
"Nothing, right *Xander?*" Faith intoned.
"Oh come on, friends don't keep secrets," Willow said. Oz whispered something in her ear.
"Oh...ok maybe they do," she giggled and blushed slightly. Xander raised an eyebrow.
"It's nothing anyway," Faith muttered.
Xander grinned and Faith shot him a warning look.
"Actually," he said. "Faith tells me she's got a secret crush."
"Oooh, juicy!" Willow said happily. Faith looked confused.
"Xander?" she asked carefully, wondering what he was doing.
"C'mon, dish the dirt. Everything's been so boring lately, we need some good Scooby-gang gossip."
Faith snorted at that. If Willow weren't under the effects of the spell, she'd surely think there was more than enough gossip to go around.
"I don't have a crush," Faith growled.
"It's on Buffy," Xander said, grinning. Faith's eyes widened. How did he know!?
"Oh...w-well...that's nice," Willow said, clearly a little perturbed by the news. "A-are you OK with that Xander?"
"Yeah, I think it's cute. Maybe I'll let you borrow her sometime, Faith," Xander mused.
Willow turned beet red, and Xander realized he was treading outside of spell-protected territory.
"Uh, well, we have to go," Willow said. "History project. Very busy. Bye!" she laughed nervously and soon she and Oz were gone.
"What the hell was that?" Faith asked when they were alone.
"Hey relax, we had to give her some secret, and it's not like you care if people know you dream about Buffy, is it?"
Her expression darkened. "How did you find out about that?"
"Faith, you are like an open book to me. And that book reads: Buffy is the hottest thing you have ever laid eyes upon. Trust me, I give her that look often enough to know when someone else is using it."
She felt very vulnerable just then, as if Xander had reached into her brain and pulled out her innermost secret. It sent a thrill through her. She was a Slayer, he was just a regular human, and yet he could play her like a violin when he wanted to.
"She dreams about you too, you know," Xander said, enjoying the flabbergasted expression on Faith's face.
"She does?" Faith hated the excited squeak in her voice.
"Absolutely," Xander smiled softly, remembering Buffy's whispered confessions that she had been fantasizing about Faith. She'd thought Xander might be upset about it, but he was sure to let her know that the idea intrigued him very much. He was constantly thinking of the best way to incorporate Faith into their relationship. It amazed him just how much the diminutive blonde Slayer would get turned-on after spending time with Faith. He wondered sometimes if Buffy's attraction to Faith was as a result of the curse's changes on Buffy's outlook, or some kind of connection between Slayers. Whatever it was, it was powerful, and he could clearly see that Faith felt it as well.
"She told me that you whispered dirty talk into her ear in class the other day," Xander said. "She's got quite an exhibitionist streak, Buffy does. She was insatiable that day."
Faith almost groaned, remembering how Buffy had gripped her desk in passion and screamed out Faith's name as she came from the whispered taunts that Faith breathed into her ear. Faith loved to push Buffy's buttons, and it came to her so easily.
Xander looked up, spotting Buffy across the room. She was standing shyly at the entrance to the cafeteria, and two jocks were hitting on her.
"Come on Summers, you know you want to go out with me," one of them said. While they didn't quite register that Buffy herself was half-nude in her skimpy and revealing outfit, they could still register that she was supernaturally gorgeous in every way.
"N-no, I...I'm with Xander," she whispered, and Xander could see she was getting pale. Pale on Buffy meant she was panicking. He much preferred red Buffy. Red Buffy meant she was mortified, which also meant she was a few dirty words away from cumming.
"Hold that thought," Xander said to Faith and strode over to the jocks.
"What's up fellas?" he said. It was Joe and Petey, two of the bigger, and dumber members of the football team.
"Screw off Harris, I'm talkin' ta Betty here." Buffy stared mutely at the floor.
Xander put an arm on Joe's shoulder, spinning him around. "If I ever catch you so much as looking at my Buffy, I will rip your arms off and beat you to death with them," Xander growled.
Joe guffawed. The class clown was threatening him? Class joke was more like. Joe reared back to throw a clumsy roundhouse at Xander.
Buffy, frozen in fear from the non-Slayer related experience, nevertheless felt a surge of protectiveness shoot through her. She felt herself slip into Slayer mode, but it was too late.
The fist hit the air beside Xander's head, and Joe grunted wordlessly as Xander's knee came up into his midsection. Petey threw a quick boxing combination at his head, but Xander bent back at the knees, kicking Joe's legs out from under him before throwing his hands back behind him and using them to springboard back at Petey. His boots slammed into Petey's chest, sending the large boy sprawling.
Xander Harris was a vampire hunter. Every day he fought creatures four times his own speed and strength, and every day he won. He grinned at Buffy, and offered her his hand.
He was also the world's first disciple of Xander-Fu. He was Buffy's star pupil. Her only pupil. She took his hand like a princess offering her hand to a brave knight. Her brave knight. She stepped over Joe and Petey, and Xander gave her a slow kiss.
"You OK?" he asked.
"A little shook up," Buffy admitted quietly. It felt so strange to be barely able to handle two regular guys when she could have taken out an army of Master vampires on her own. Yet it felt so good to have Xander's protective arms wrapped around her, comforting her and calming her fears.
"I thought you had English this period," Xander said. "Not that I'm not always grateful see you." He emphasized that by kissing her much harder, softly caressing her breasts through the thin material of her top. It reminded her that she was half-naked in school, and caused her to flush red. Xander grinned on her mouth.
"S-Snyder let us out early so we could start selling candy," she whispered when they'd broken apart.
Xander groaned, "Candy shilling time again?"
Buffy giggled shyly and nodded.
"Maybe we can get Joyce and Giles to buy a crate each. Neither of us really has time to go whoring out candy."
Buffy moaned slightly at the term he used. He chuckled, "When did you become so dirty minded?"
She whimpered and pressed herself against him, but didn't answer. She was too embarrassed.
"Is there something else you wanted to whore out?" he breathed in her ear. Buffy's knees buckled and she would have fallen had he not caught her. "Well too bad. I'm keeping it all for myself. You're mine."
She clutched at him, nodding her head and muttering her mantra at him.
"I love you Xander. I'm yours."
They made love in the middle of the cafeteria, oblivious to all, and all oblivious to them. Except for the dark-haired Slayer who pressed her thighs together and wished she didn't have to wait until she was in private to bring herself off.
"Now I hope you recognize the responsibility I'm giving you Mr. Trick," the Mayor of Sunnydale said to his vampiric cohort.
"Yes Sir, don't worry. This time the plan is more than just sending in a bunch of vamps."
"Yes I read your report. I think that hearty imagination of yours is going to work very well here."
"Thank you sir."
"Well, now that business is out of the way, I've got a golf game to work on. I tell you I could practice for a hundred years and I'd still need to shave off six strokes from my game. I'd invite you along, but there is that pesky detail about playing in the daytime."
"Don't worry about me, golf's never really been my thing."
"That's too bad. A gentleman's game, golf. There's no better way to relax. Not to mention a 5 iron is actually the perfect weapon for sacrificing to the Demon Lord Ferizzial. Isn't that strange?"
Buffy sat at a table in the cafeteria, staring at an SAT study sheet. One hand propped up her head while the other idly tapped her pencil on the sheet. She was valiantly trying to concentrate on studying, and not on thinking about when she'd had Xander fuck her as she bent over the kitchen table that morning.
The theme of the passage is best described as: A) violence breeds violence, B) all things must end, or C) all systems tend towards chaos?
She groaned and let her head drop to the table.
"Whattup Big B?" Faith asked as she sat across from the small blonde Slayer.
"I think my brain is going to explode," Buffy muttered.
"Yeah all this school shit really sucks," Faith said casually. Buffy looked up at her.
"Is someone in need of a little motivation?" Buffy grinned wickedly. Faith paled.
"Uh...no, that's OK. I like school. Really."
Buffy snorted and decided she'd give Faith a little "talking to" later anyway. Just to be certain.
"You're not getting off that easily Ms..." Buffy paused, thinking. "Hey you know, it occurs to me, I don't know your last name."
"It's not important," Faith said quickly.
"It is to me."
"Just forget about it," Faith said, pulling out a textbook in the hopes that Buffy would leave her alone if she were doing her precious schoolwork.
"Hey," Buffy said, putting her hand over Faith's book. "What's your last name?"
"Nothing," Faith said angrily.
"I'm the older Slayer here, that means I'm in charge and you have to do what I say. What's your last name?"
"Fuck you," Faith spat. Buffy grinned.
"Be careful what you wish for, Little Faith," Buffy breathed. Faith's eyes widened.
"Can't you just drop it?"
"Nope. I'm real tenacious," Buffy suddenly sat up straight. "Ooh! Tenacious!" She picked up her pencil and went back up her practice sheet, switching an answer to B) Tenacious.
Faith had hoped that was the end of it, but Buffy went right back to staring at her.
"Come on, the sooner you tell me the sooner it's done. Don't make me revoke Xander privileges until you spill the beans."
Faith growled. That wasn't playing fair! She reached into her backpack.
*The backpack Buffy and Cordelia picked out for me,*Faith thought. It was sleek, black, and fit Faith's dark style perfectly. She pulled out a worksheet and handed it to Buffy. On the top was her full name, the last name scrawled in small, sloppy letters.
Buffy tried not to laugh, but failed, letting out a half-snort. Faith scowled at her.
"Sorry, sorry. I can see why you keep that on the down-low."
"Yeah, thanks," Faith said, snatching the paper away and shoving it back in her bag.
"Hey at least it's better than Faith Sugartits," Buffy offered. Faith couldn't help but laugh and roll her eyes.
"This stays between us, OK?"
"What stays between you?" Willow asked as she and Oz took seats beside them.
"Nothing," Faith insisted. Buffy had an idea.
"Little Faith's got a cru-ush," she said in a sing-song voice.
"Ooh! Juicy!" Willow said, bouncing happily. Oz just raised an eyebrow. "Come on Faith, you can tell us, we're all friends here."
Faith didn't know what to say. What was Buffy doing?
"She's just shy," Buffy said. "But she's crushing big time on Xander."
"You took?" Willow said without thinking. Then she realized what she said and added quickly, "I mean, used to. I used to. Not anymore."
Oz gave her hand a re-assuring squeeze. "I trust you baby, don't worry." Willow smiled in relief. She was very glad Oz listened more to her heart than her words, because she had a habit of saying the wrong things at the wrong times.
Faith meanwhile had opened her mouth in shock. Oh no. Buffy knew. Buffy would kill her, if Cordelia didn't kill her first.
"Oh relax," Buffy said, lightly swatting at Faith's shoulder. "Cordelia won't care"
"Yeah," Willow said. "She's very confident when it comes to Xander."
Faith nodded. Considering the things Cordelia did with Xander, she didn't doubt that the cheerleader felt very secure in her ownership, or perhaps dual-ownership of Xander Harris.
Buffy leaned forward and whispered in Faith's ear, "And personally, I think it's the cutest thing in the world."
She leaned back and grinned at Faith's dumbfounded expression. Faith's heart was racing. How had Buffy figured it out? Was Faith too obvious when she thought of Xander?
At first she'd simply liked the boy because he was built like a superhero, had a dick that wouldn't quit, and always cared more about her pleasure than his. He was kind, thoughtful, brilliant beyond measure and obedient without being mindless. Faith always found herself anticipating her morning sessions with Xander, both for the experimental boundary pushing she did with him and also for those few minutes afterwards when they would lay softly together, Xander either nuzzling at her pussy or otherwise staring thoughtfully at her face as he stroked her hair.
It was when she'd looked into his eyes and seen the depths of the caring within that she first felt what could only be described as a crush.
Faith blinked out of her reverie, finding Buffy grinning at her knowingly. She mouthed, "Awwww..." at Faith, then made a little kissy face.
*Sometimes,* Faith thought. *I really hate that hot little bitch.*
Buffy's eyes flicked up and Faith turned around to see Xander and Cordelia entering the cafeteria. Cordelia was carefully guiding him through the throng of people, as Xander had three huge boxes of candy bars balanced in his muscular arms.
Buffy rose to meet them, and she and Cordelia shared a quick but heartfelt kiss.
"What's up?" Buffy asked when they'd greeted each other.
"Snyder cornered us when Xander was giving me a thorough tongue lashing," Cordelia complained. "Made us take these boxes told us if we didn't sell all of them we'd have detention for the next two weeks."
"That little troll!" Buffy said, stamping her foot. Cordelia grinned, always enjoying Buffy's cute expression of anger, at least when it wasn't directed at her.
"So anyway I thought we could probably pawn off a bunch on Giles, and maybe on Joyce too," Cordelia said.
"Yeah mom's usually nice enough to buy a bunch, and dad's been real generous with money lately. Plus Giles has a secret chocolate fetish that he thinks nobody knows about," Buffy giggled. Cordelia couldn't resist, and gave her a quick peck on the lips that soon turned into a much longer kiss.
"Whew," Buffy said. "What was that for?"
"For being the cutest Slayer in the world," Cordelia said. Then she noticed Faith sitting behind Buffy. "My bad. Make that *second* cutest Slayer." She gave Faith a wink, and the dark-haired Slayer blushed a little.
Faith had never believed she could meet two girls more brazen than she was. Buffy or Cordelia could give her a run for her money alone, but together the two could tag-team anyone into a babbling shell of shock.
"Well Faith does have better breasts than me," Buffy pouted. Cordelia frowned at her, shaking her fingers in Buffy's face.
"What did I tell you about that stupidity, you big dummy? Your breasts are perfect. Not to mention tasty."
Xander groaned from behind his boxes.
*Right there with ya, Xand,* Faith thought.
"I guess," Buffy said. Cordelia gave her another re-assuring kiss.
"Oh Xander, you can put those down," Cordelia said. He did, and Cordelia took a moment to admire his ass when he bent over to place them on the floor. It was her day to dress him, and he was wearing a slick dark suit that made him look like a million dollars. It also made her want to bite him right on the...
"Come sit with me," Cordelia said. She sat Xander down, and then took a seat on his lap, possessively wrapping his arms around her middle and holding them there.
"You got hit by Snyder Wonka?" Willow asked.
"He's more like an oompa-loompa, but yeah," Cordelia responded, causing the girls to all giggle.
"I could bring some to my gig at the Bronze," Oz said.
"Aw that's so sweet," Buffy said to Oz. "You should give him a kiss for that Willow."
Willow blushed slightly, but decided it wasn't a bad idea. The others watched the couple with smiles on their faces.
"You two are too cute for words sometimes," Cordelia said. Oz smiled softly, and Willow looked like she might cry, but in a good way.
The bell rung, signaling the end of the school day.
"Well I've got to go, I have a salon appointment with mom," Buffy said, giving Cordelia and Xander both quick kisses before grabbing a handful of chocolate. "I'll try to pawn these off on her when she's all relaxed."
"I'm uh...supposed to go work on the spell some more with Giles," Xander said softly. Cordelia groaned in disappointment and hugged his arms around her tighter. Finally she sighed.
"Fine, just make sure you're back home as early as you can, Dork-Face."
She got off his lap, leaned over and gave him a sloppy kiss before bouncing up straight. He couldn't help but stare at her large breasts, and she grinned at his reaction. Then she blew him a kiss and left, swaying her ass as she went.
"Damn," Faith whispered.
"You said it," Xander replied.
Buffy was currently sketching out an incredibly complex series of patterns. It was a mandala, a magical tool that was used to represent aspects of the universe in geometric shapes. She was attempting to infuse three different incantations into the design, and would tie them down with a magical web of earth magic when she was finished. If all went according to her theory, and there was no reason to believe it wouldn't, she would have created a ward that would act as a shield against demonic energy for fifty yards in every direction. She hoped to imbed a mandala in each of the homes of the Scooby Gang, but the test case would be used in the library. If it worked properly, it might even lessen the impact of the hellmouth energies on their everyday lives when they were in the library.
"That is truly astounding," Giles said, staring over her shoulder. Buffy blushed at the compliment. She and Giles had been working together on spells and training plans a lot lately, but she was still not used to being around him when she was dressed in her little outfits.
"I-I think that's everything," she said quietly. Giles leaned over her to examine the mandala.
"Excellent work Buffy. It seems indistinguishable from any of the ancient mandalas, and yet you created it out of thin air."
Buffy shrugged. He should be praising Xander. It was his desire that Buffy be so intelligent, and the curse had provided.
The curse. The curse that made her smart, beautiful, strong, and gave her Xander. She frowned.
"Giles?" she asked, her shyness ebbing slightly as she thought of the mystery.
"Hmm?"
"About the curse..."
Giles took his attention away from the mandala. "Yes Buffy? What about it?"
"I've been thinking about it a lot lately. About what it's done to me. For me. I'm smarter than I could have ever thought possible, strong too. My body is like a Barbie come to life, and...I don't think I've ever been so content before."
"I'm very glad that you have found some inner peace, Buffy. I've often worried that Slaying would overwhelm your life, but you have proven yourself to be remarkably strong."
She shifted uncomfortably, the praise making her blush a little.
"But Giles...how is this a curse?"
Giles seemed to understand. He took off his glasses, taking a bite of the chocolate bar he had bought after Xander had smooth-talked him into buying half a box.
"Well Buffy, you must remember that the curse is not designed for humans. The Tritelxii society is not one where acts of submission would be at all tolerated. Those seen as submissive are inferior, and treated as little more than animals by others.
"I suppose that the true reason the curse has not affected you too negatively is because of Xander. You should count yourself lucky that he was the first person the magic targeted after striking you Buffy. Imagine if Xander were the kind of man who liked women with little brains and no strength."
Buffy nodded softly, understanding what Giles was saying. It was true; she was incredibly lucky that Xander wanted her smart and able to protect herself, even while still being able to be her Knight in Shining Armor when more domestic problems arose.
"Likewise the "idealized" form is of that which the target would want. If Xander were your enemy, he might rather see you weak, ugly, and sickly than vibrant, beautiful, and healthy."
Giles sat on the edge of the table, and took her hand in his. He smiled at her in a fatherly way.
"I shouldn't worry on it too much Buffy. You've been very lucky that the curse worked out mostly in your favor. It may not always feel like a curse, and for that I'm glad."
Buffy frowned. The thought entered her head again. The nagging thought that was always there. She started thinking, really analyzing the insidiousness of it all.
"Giles...What if - what if the real curse is that...I'll never know for sure?"
"How do you mean?"
"I love Xander, Giles. With all of my heart and all of my being. But I can't help but think sometimes...what if I wouldn't feel this way without the curse? What if that's the *real* curse? That I never know for sure?"
She was trembling, not with withdrawal but with misery. Giles looked at her sadly.
"Oh Buffy, I'm so sorry. I never realized." He knelt down and gave her a comforting hug. She cried against his shoulder, letting out her fears and doubts. She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her back. She looked up to see Xander there, his eyes filled with concern.
"She's all yours, mate," Giles said softly, passing the crying girl to Xander. She melted into his arms. His warmth soaked into her, and she felt a little better.
She looked up at Xander, and knew she didn't need to tell him her worries. He knew her too well for that. He just smiled softly.
"Let's get you home and see about cheering you up," Xander said. "We can even rent any girly movie of your choice." She smiled. Then he leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"As long as, by girly, you understand I mean erotic." She shivered in anticipation, and moaned softly. He was too good at that.
As they left, Xander's arm around her shoulder and hugging him softly to her, Giles's voice followed them.
"Buffy, my only advice to you is to enjoy what you have when you have it. Don't think of what might have been, think instead of what is."
"He's got a point," Xander said on their way out. She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes. It was true. She couldn't do anything about the curse, so...for now...she would let it hide in the back corner of her mind, and not think about it any more.
Giles sighed, feeling both proud of, and worried for his Slayer. As they walked out, he frowned slightly to himself, and cocked his head to the side, admiring the girl's back-view. She was wearing short daisy dukes that showed the bottoms of her ass, her smooth tan legs bared for the entire world to see. He raised his eyebrow, and took another bite of chocolate.
*Blimey Ripper, how'd you let that bird fly without gettin' a nibble or two for yourself?*
Xander sat hunched over a sheet of paper. He was sketching a complex series of designs. He had created a mandala, a geometric representation of certain aspects of reality that he could infuse with spells and empower with particular aspects of magic. If his theory was correct, and there was no reason to believe it wasn't, then he could bind the spell to a series of motion detectors placed in various locations. The motion detectors would feed off of the earth magic supplied to it, and determine any demonic threats within its range. Then the spells in the mandala would unleash, binding the demonic energy in a containment field before eradicating it, dissipating the energy through a siphon of earth magic.
In theory, it meant he might have found a way to ease the hellmouth's influence on Sunnydale, a first step in bringing the supernatural to the attention of the world.
"That's astounding Xander," Giles said, munching on a candy bar. Cordelia had stopped by earlier to insist that Giles buy half a box. He'd resisted at first, but Cordelia had talked circles around him, soon trapping him in a logical bind by which he was forced to own lots and lots of chocolate.
He wasn't really complaining.
"I think that's everything," Xander said, a little uncomfortable with the praise. It was not something he was used to. Giles leaned over to inspect the mandala.
"If I had not seen you sketch it with my own eyes, I would have thought it was one of the seven ancient mandalas in the Hydrogi Texts. Truly remarkable Xander."
Xander shrugged. If he was going to thank someone, he should thank Buffy. It was her mind that had wanted him to be so smart, and the curse had provided.
The curse. The curse that made him built like a porn star crossed with He-Man, had made him smarter than Mr. Fantastic, and at least as fast as Quicksilver, though probably not Flash. He frowned a little that his supposedly far superior mind still equated things in terms of superheroes.
"Giles?" Xander asked, his mind toiling over the idea.
"Hmm?" Giles said absent-mindedly, staring at the mandala.
"About the curse..." Giles looked up, bringing his attention back to Xander.
"Yes?"
"Well...I mean. Because of the curse I'm smarter, way smart. And stronger, faster, durable...bigger. It's also got me living a life where I'm the sexual plaything for the two hottest women I've ever known. It just doesn't seem very...curse like."
Giles looked thoughtful for a moment and removed his glasses. He took another bite of chocolate.
"Well Xander, it must be remembered that the curse is not human in origin. It was designed to be cast as a vengeance curse from one Tritelxii to another. To them, your submissive nature concerning Buffy would be considered a forfeiture of all rights, and you would be treated as nothing but an animal."
Xander swallowed, still not used to Giles talking so openly about the effects of the curse.
"Likewise the enhancements to your mind and body are a result of your extraordinary fortune to be bound to Buffy. Imagine for a moment that Buffy simply wanted a man who was a empty-headed moron with no real thoughts of his own?"
Xander paled. He hadn't really thought of that. He was definitely very lucky that Buffy was not the kind of person who minded if her lover was smarter, or even stronger than she was. Especially since, despite his speed, strength, or smarts, it was always clear who was in charge. He wouldn't have it any other way.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it Xander. It should be considered a good thing that you hardly consider it a curse anymore. You are adapting better than I could have ever expected. I'm proud of you, my boy."
That caused Xander to blush. He didn't think anyone had ever said that to him before. It was a very good feeling.
Another thought assailed him. That same thought, the one he could never get rid of completely.
"Giles...What if...What if the real curse isn't the addiction, the withdrawal or the changes?"
"How do you mean?"
"Giles, I love her. Truly and with everything that I have."
"Cordelia?"
"And Buffy."
"That's wonderful Xander," Giles said, completely incapable of finding a three-way relationship in any way odd.
"But...there's always a doubt. Like...what if it's because of the curse?"
Giles sighed and nodded, finally understanding the looks of melancholy that would sometimes come to Xander's face, almost always during moments when he should be happiest.
For a moment neither of them said anything.
"Xander," Giles said. "I shouldn't think that a spell could induce love. However, even if you do suspect such has happened, there is no reason for you to dwell on it. My suggestion to you is to focus on what is, and not what might have been. Enjoy your life as it is, if you can."
Xander thought on that a moment. He was right. Whether or not the curse could actually cause real love was something he might not ever determine, and since that was the case, there was no reason to think on it. The un-alterable should not be dwelled on, simply accepted and moved beyond.
"Thanks Giles," Xander said. The two men shook hands, followed by a "Don't worry, we're man's men" style back slaps.
"Xa-ndy!" came Buffy's sing-song voice. She and Cordelia were arm in arm as they bounced into the library.
"Come on, we're going to have a brainstorm session about the spell for Cordelia," Buffy said. Cordelia grinned a little shyly. She felt some trepidation about the spell, but Buffy seemed so excited about it that she couldn't help but go along.
"Duty calls," Xander said. The two girls put an arm around either side of him, and both jumped into his arms at the same time. He walked out of the library with his strong arms holding a petite blonde Slayer on one side, and a busty cheerleader in the other.
Giles took a bite of chocolate and watched them go.
*Soddin' bastard,* he suddenly thought. *He gets two and I get none? Hardly seems fair, now does it?*
Buffy was currently sketching out an incredibly complex series of patterns. It was a mandala, a magical tool that was used to represent aspects of the universe in geometric shapes. She was attempting to infuse three different incantations into the design, and would tie them down with a magical web of earth magic when she was finished. If all went according to her theory, and there was no reason to believe it wouldn't, she would have created a ward that would act as a shield against demonic energy for fifty yards in every direction. She hoped to imbed a mandala in each of the homes of the Scooby Gang, but the test case would be used in the library. If it worked properly, it might even lessen the impact of the hellmouth energies on their everyday lives when they were in the library.
"That is truly astounding," Giles said, staring over her shoulder. Buffy blushed at the compliment. She and Giles had been working together on spells and training plans a lot lately, but she was still not used to being around him when she was dressed in her little outfits.
"I-I think that's everything," she said quietly. Giles leaned over her to examine the mandala.
"Excellent work Buffy. It seems indistinguishable from any of the ancient mandalas, and yet you created it out of thin air."
Buffy shrugged. He should be praising Xander. It was his desire that Buffy be so intelligent, and the curse had provided.
The curse. The curse that made her smart, beautiful, strong, and gave her Xander. She frowned.
"Giles?" she asked, her shyness ebbing slightly as she thought of the mystery.
"Hmm?"
"About the curse..."
Giles took his attention away from the mandala. "Yes Buffy? What about it?"
"I've been thinking about it a lot lately. About what it's done to me. For me. I'm smarter than I could have ever thought possible, strong too. My body is like a Barbie come to life, and...I don't think I've ever been so content before."
"I'm very glad that you have found some inner peace, Buffy. I've often worried that Slaying would overwhelm your life, but you have proven yourself to be remarkably strong."
She shifted uncomfortably, the praise making her blush a little.
"But Giles...how is this a curse?"
Giles seemed to understand. He took off his glasses, taking a bite of the chocolate bar he had bought after Xander had smooth-talked him into buying half a box.
"Well Buffy, you must remember that the curse is not designed for humans. The Tritelxii society is not one where acts of submission would be at all tolerated. Those seen as submissive are inferior, and treated as little more than animals by others.
"I suppose that the true reason the curse has not affected you too negatively is because of Xander. You should count yourself lucky that he was the first person the magic targeted after striking you Buffy. Imagine if Xander were the kind of man who liked women with little brains and no strength."
Buffy nodded softly, understanding what Giles was saying. It was true; she was incredibly lucky that Xander wanted her smart and able to protect herself, even while still being able to be her Knight in Shining Armor when more domestic problems arose.
"Likewise the "idealized" form is of that which the target would want. If Xander were your enemy, he might rather see you weak, ugly, and sickly than vibrant, beautiful, and healthy."
Giles sat on the edge of the table, and took her hand in his. He smiled at her in a fatherly way.
"I shouldn't worry on it too much Buffy. You've been very lucky that the curse worked out mostly in your favor. It may not always feel like a curse, and for that I'm glad."
Buffy frowned. The thought entered her head again. The nagging thought that was always there. She started thinking, really analyzing the insidiousness of it all.
"Giles...What if - what if the real curse is that...I'll never know for sure?"
"How do you mean?"
"I love Xander, Giles. With all of my heart and all of my being. But I can't help but think sometimes...what if I wouldn't feel this way without the curse? What if that's the *real* curse? That I never know for sure?"
She was trembling, not with withdrawal but with misery. Giles looked at her sadly.
"Oh Buffy, I'm so sorry. I never realized." He knelt down and gave her a comforting hug. She cried against his shoulder, letting out her fears and doubts. She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her back. She looked up to see Xander there, his eyes filled with concern.
"She's all yours, mate," Giles said softly, passing the crying girl to Xander. She melted into his arms. His warmth soaked into her, and she felt a little better.
She looked up at Xander, and knew she didn't need to tell him her worries. He knew her too well for that. He just smiled softly.
"Let's get you home and see about cheering you up," Xander said. "We can even rent any girly movie of your choice." She smiled. Then he leaned in and whispered in her ear.
"As long as, by girly, you understand I mean erotic." She shivered in anticipation, and moaned softly. He was too good at that.
As they left, Xander's arm around her shoulder and hugging him softly to her, Giles's voice followed them.
"Buffy, my only advice to you is to enjoy what you have when you have it. Don't think of what might have been, think instead of what is."
"He's got a point," Xander said on their way out. She smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes. It was true. She couldn't do anything about the curse, so...for now...she would let it hide in the back corner of her mind, and not think about it any more.
Giles sighed, feeling both proud of, and worried for his Slayer. As they walked out, he frowned slightly to himself, and cocked his head to the side, admiring the girl's back-view. She was wearing short daisy dukes that showed the bottoms of her ass, her smooth tan legs bared for the entire world to see. He raised his eyebrow, and took another bite of chocolate.
*Blimey Ripper, how'd you let that bird fly without gettin' a nibble or two for yourself?*
Xander sat hunched over a sheet of paper. He was sketching a complex series of designs. He had created a mandala, a geometric representation of certain aspects of reality that he could infuse with spells and empower with particular aspects of magic. If his theory was correct, and there was no reason to believe it wasn't, then he could bind the spell to a series of motion detectors placed in various locations. The motion detectors would feed off of the earth magic supplied to it, and determine any demonic threats within its range. Then the spells in the mandala would unleash, binding the demonic energy in a containment field before eradicating it, dissipating the energy through a siphon of earth magic.
In theory, it meant he might have found a way to ease the hellmouth's influence on Sunnydale, a first step in bringing the supernatural to the attention of the world.
"That's astounding Xander," Giles said, munching on a candy bar. Cordelia had stopped by earlier to insist that Giles buy half a box. He'd resisted at first, but Cordelia had talked circles around him, soon trapping him in a logical bind by which he was forced to own lots and lots of chocolate.
He wasn't really complaining.
"I think that's everything," Xander said, a little uncomfortable with the praise. It was not something he was used to. Giles leaned over to inspect the mandala.
"If I had not seen you sketch it with my own eyes, I would have thought it was one of the seven ancient mandalas in the Hydrogi Texts. Truly remarkable Xander."
Xander shrugged. If he was going to thank someone, he should thank Buffy. It was her mind that had wanted him to be so smart, and the curse had provided.
The curse. The curse that made him built like a porn star crossed with He-Man, had made him smarter than Mr. Fantastic, and at least as fast as Quicksilver, though probably not Flash. He frowned a little that his supposedly far superior mind still equated things in terms of superheroes.
"Giles?" Xander asked, his mind toiling over the idea.
"Hmm?" Giles said absent-mindedly, staring at the mandala.
"About the curse..." Giles looked up, bringing his attention back to Xander.
"Yes?"
"Well...I mean. Because of the curse I'm smarter, way smart. And stronger, faster, durable...bigger. It's also got me living a life where I'm the sexual plaything for the two hottest women I've ever known. It just doesn't seem very...curse like."
Giles looked thoughtful for a moment and removed his glasses. He took another bite of chocolate.
"Well Xander, it must be remembered that the curse is not human in origin. It was designed to be cast as a vengeance curse from one Tritelxii to another. To them, your submissive nature concerning Buffy would be considered a forfeiture of all rights, and you would be treated as nothing but an animal."
Xander swallowed, still not used to Giles talking so openly about the effects of the curse.
"Likewise the enhancements to your mind and body are a result of your extraordinary fortune to be bound to Buffy. Imagine for a moment that Buffy simply wanted a man who was a empty-headed moron with no real thoughts of his own?"
Xander paled. He hadn't really thought of that. He was definitely very lucky that Buffy was not the kind of person who minded if her lover was smarter, or even stronger than she was. Especially since, despite his speed, strength, or smarts, it was always clear who was in charge. He wouldn't have it any other way.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it Xander. It should be considered a good thing that you hardly consider it a curse anymore. You are adapting better than I could have ever expected. I'm proud of you, my boy."
That caused Xander to blush. He didn't think anyone had ever said that to him before. It was a very good feeling.
Another thought assailed him. That same thought, the one he could never get rid of completely.
"Giles...What if...What if the real curse isn't the addiction, the withdrawal or the changes?"
"How do you mean?"
"Giles, I love her. Truly and with everything that I have."
"Cordelia?"
"And Buffy."
"That's wonderful Xander," Giles said, completely incapable of finding a three-way relationship in any way odd.
"But...there's always a doubt. Like...what if it's because of the curse?"
Giles sighed and nodded, finally understanding the looks of melancholy that would sometimes come to Xander's face, almost always during moments when he should be happiest.
For a moment neither of them said anything.
"Xander," Giles said. "I shouldn't think that a spell could induce love. However, even if you do suspect such has happened, there is no reason for you to dwell on it. My suggestion to you is to focus on what is, and not what might have been. Enjoy your life as it is, if you can."
Xander thought on that a moment. He was right. Whether or not the curse could actually cause real love was something he might not ever determine, and since that was the case, there was no reason to think on it. The un-alterable should not be dwelled on, simply accepted and moved beyond.
"Thanks Giles," Xander said. The two men shook hands, followed by a "Don't worry, we're man's men" style back slaps.
"Xa-ndy!" came Buffy's sing-song voice. She and Cordelia were arm in arm as they bounced into the library.
"Come on, we're going to have a brainstorm session about the spell for Cordelia," Buffy said. Cordelia grinned a little shyly. She felt some trepidation about the spell, but Buffy seemed so excited about it that she couldn't help but go along.
"Duty calls," Xander said. The two girls put an arm around either side of him, and both jumped into his arms at the same time. He walked out of the library with his strong arms holding a petite blonde Slayer on one side, and a busty cheerleader in the other.
Giles took a bite of chocolate and watched them go.
*Soddin' bastard,* he suddenly thought. *He gets two and I get none? Hardly seems fair, now does it?*
** Chapter 22 - B Continued**
They were all over each other as they burst in the door. She was dripping wet, as Xander had insisted on removing an item of clothing for every block they passed on the way home. By the time they were three blocks from school she was nude. She had collapsed into his arms in orgasm when he'd asked her if she felt like whoring out that candy now.
She groaned loudly as he pressed her against the door and slid a finger between her legs. He raised his slick finger to her mouth and she gladly licked it clean of her own juices. He picked her up, and she wrapped her mystically enhanced and absolutely smooth legs around his waist as he carried her to the kitchen.
He placed her down on the table, and was quickly unbuckling his pants while she writhed and begged him to fuck her. Neither of them noticed Joyce Summers as she stood by the sink with a chocolate bar halfway to her mouth. Her eyes were wide in shock at the pornographic display in front of her.
Xander and Buffy had gotten used to satisfying their lust anytime and anywhere, and Buffy was rarely hot as when Xander made her perform in front of her oblivious mother. It was possibly the most excited she ever got.
Now however Buffy was too far gone to even notice her mother, instead changing her mantra at Xander in between begging him to fuck her hard. He was happy to oblige, and soon the two were rutting against the table.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Screeched Joyce Summers. Xander and Buffy froze. Joyce was staring at them with absolute horror in her eyes. Buffy flushed completely red...and came.
"People have to eat at that table!" Joyce cried. "What are you people doing fucking on it?"
Xander frowned, his erection fading. You people?
"Uh...What do you mean, Joyce?" hoping the spell was still in effect.
"How did you know my name?" Joyce asked. "What are you doing in my house?"
She looked around, confused. "Come to think of it, I know this is my house, but this doesn't *look* like my house. How weird is that?"
Buffy was coming down from her orgasmic high, but her red flush remained. Xander pulled off his oversized Hawaiian shirt and gave it to Buffy to cover up with. Her huge breasts strained against the material, but it hung loosely around the rest of her. He quickly covered up himself as well.
"Joyce...we live here. I'm Xander, remember?"
Joyce was giving Buffy a very strange look that was causing Buffy to bite her lip in embarrassment.
"Wow," Joyce said, staring at Buffy. "You're like Farah Fawcett times ten, only with bigger boobs. Way bigger boobs."
Buffy moaned and pressed her legs together. "X-Xander? What's going on?" she whispered.
"Is she like a porn star or something?" Joyce asked Xander. Buffy gasped in humiliation. Xander tried not to laugh.
"No...Actually, this is your daughter. Buffy. Remember?"
"OK, now I know you're crazy. I'm only eighteen, I don't have a daughter! I'm still in high school!"
Xander groaned. This was a bad, bad thing.
"Joyce, you have to look around OK? This is your house. The one you bought. Look at your reflection. Not that you don't look great for your age, but you're not eighteen."
Joyce frowned and looked at her reflection in a small mirror by the sink.
"Whoa...I am on such a trip right now," she said.
"What? You do drugs?" Buffy exclaimed, her shyness fading.
Joyce snorted. "Me and Jimmy did hits of acid in the bathroom the other day, I saw shit that was like going to the end of the universe." She sighed dreamily.
"My mother is a hippie," Buffy said dumbly.
"Hey I just like to have fun," Joyce said defensively, and gave Buffy another looking over. "I'm not the one fucking my boyfriend on the kitchen table in front of a complete stranger."
"We're not complete strangers," Xander insisted.
"Yeah right, she's my insanely hot daughter and you're the boyfriend that lives in the same house as her with me, her mother. And apparently you don't care about banging her on the table whenever you feel like it. Please."
Xander groaned. It sure did sound unbelievable, even to himself. Buffy was blushing at the inadvertent compliments her mother was sending her way.
"Oi!" came a voice from the hall. Giles let himself in, and swaggered into the kitchen. He had lost his tweed jacket and wore a t-shirt with what looked like a rolled-up pack of cigarettes in the sleeve.
"Well hello ladies," he said, giving Joyce the once over before letting his gaze shift to Buffy. His eyes almost popped out of his head.
"Bloody hell, you are the finest bird I've ever laid me eyes on," he whispered. Buffy whimpered, and Xander almost laughed at her response. He put an arm around her possessively.
"I'm afraid she's taken...Ripper?" he guessed.
"Yeah that's right," Giles said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "How'd you guess?"
"It makes a strange kind of hellmouthy sense," he muttered. Giles seemed to perk up.
"I thought I could feel the pulse of magic in me blood." He cracked his neck, and closed his eyes as if soaking in sunlight. "It's tinglin' all over this burg."
"So uh, Ripper, what are you doing here?"
"Fuck all if I know. I was comin' here cause I thought it was important, but I didn't rightly figure why. Now I know," he said, grinning at Buffy and Joyce. Joyce bit her lip much in the same way her daughter did, and gave Giles a wink.
"This is like a scale of bad that has not yet been invented," Xander said. Buffy would have agreed if she weren't squirming under the appraising looks of both Giles and her mother.
"Look, you to...why don't you go sit down in the living room for a while, OK? I gotta talk to Buffy and you guys are, well, distracting her." He shooed them off to the living room. When they were gone he knelt in front of Buffy and looked up into her eyes.
"You OK?" he asked. She was trembling slightly, but he wasn't sure if that was her reaction to being turned on by the humiliation, or withdrawal.
She shook her head. "I'm getting the shakes," she whispered. "And I feel like I'm going to cum again right here."
He grinned. If he ever wanted to give Buffy the hottest night of her life, all he'd have to do is fuck her in a stadium full of un-spelled people.
Xander stood and unbuckled his pants again, and this time Buffy slid to the floor. It was such habit now that they had forgotten that it might be a better idea to give Buffy her treatment somewhere more private.
Joyce and Ripper were giving each other flirting looks in the living room.
"What are we waitin' on here, eh? I don't even know that prat and I'm not takin' orders from him." Ripper stood up, noticing the stereo system and looking for a record collection.
"They're probably doing it again," Joyce said, taking a drag on a cigarette she bummed off of Giles.
"Again?" Ripper asked.
"Yeah they came bursting in like ten minutes ago and started doing it on the table. That girl's a real slut."
"What, you ain't never done it on a table?" Ripper teased.
"Not yet," she grinned.
Ripper grabbed her by the hand, and she let herself be pulled back into the kitchen. When they arrived they found the incredibly perfect girl on her knees sucking off the dark haired boy. Neither of them seemed aware of the presence of Ripper and Joyce.
"When in Rome," Giles whispered lecherously in Joyce's ear. Joyce let herself be placed on the table. She'd been horny as hell since watching those two rutting on the table, and this Ripper guy seemed really cool, even if he seemed kind of old. *Free love,* she thought to herself as he pulled down her panties.
When Xander and Buffy had both come, Xander stared wide-eyed at the scene in front of him while Buffy licked him clean, her back to the action behind her. When she finally noticed the rhythmic pounding, she couldn't tear her eyes away.
She was wearing only Xander's shirt and standing in the middle of her kitchen, and had just finished sucking his cock while her mother fucked a man five feet from her head.
Buffy groaned and Xander had to grab her around the middle so she wouldn't fall to her knees. He decided that this was a little too much for Buffy right now and carried her out of the kitchen.
"Look Buff, I think for now you should go put on some clothes. Conservative clothes, OK? Then we have to figure out what we're going to do about this."
It took Buffy a few moments to regain her sense, and then she went upstairs to change. She only masturbated once before coming back down in what she now considered her "conservative" outfit. Tight leather pants and leather bodice with knee-high stiletto heels.
Xander grinned and rolled his eyes at her when she came down. He could hardly believe this is what Buffy considered conservative.
"What do you think this could be?" he asked her. Buffy tried to keep her mind occupied on the problem, and not the increasingly loud moans from the kitchen that made her nipples hard.
"The chocolate," she whispered, the pieces of the puzzle snapping together easily in her mind. "It has to be the chocolate."
"Right. OK, we need to call the others and see if they've noticed any strange behavior. Then we need to find out who did this, how to reverse it, and why it seems like the "don't notice us" spell isn't working."
"The distributor is here in town, I remember seeing it on one of the packages. 412 Duster Avenue."
He kissed her nose, always impressed by her new photographic memory. She giggled.
"OK, I'll call Willow. We'll leave as soon as they're, well, uh...done."
They heard a piercing scream that Xander had heard Buffy use dozens of times, usually when his cock was inside of her.
"I think they're done," Buffy moaned.
"Definitely bigger boobs," Buffy said. Cordelia groaned. "Come on, we'll make them so they feel lighter than the ones you already have."
"Is this my new body or your new body?" Cordelia asked.
"Mine, of course!" Buffy said happily, kissing Cordelia on the forehead. "I claim this body in the name of Buffy."
Xander watched the scene, idly taking notes while he sketched a few designs for improved motion detectors.
"Ooh and nipples that get you really hot just if you tweak them a little," Buffy suggested, and gave Cordelia a little pinch through her shirt. The cheerleader squealed.
"Hey watch the hands!" she giggled. "It already feels pretty good as it is, you know."
"Yeah, but I want you to like melt into jell-o when I started playing with those knockers," Buffy said.
"You're such a freak," Cordelia moaned as Buffy rubbed her breasts through her shirt.
"I'm the freak and I'm the boss. You agreed I got to design, remember?"
Cordelia groaned.
"That's not fair, you wouldn't let Xander finish me off until I promised to let you!"
"Hey all's fair in love and boobs," Buffy said. "Besides, a promise is a promise."
Buffy sat on Cordelia's lap, facing the taller girl. Despite Buffy's small stature, she had no problem in intimidating anyone she met, and Cordelia was no exception.
"Now don't worry, you get good stuff too. How about not having to wax anymore? Or put on makeup? What about making it so you could wear heels without your feet hurting, or not having to wear a bra?"
She listed each idea while kneading Cordelia's already quite substantial breasts, occasionally licking against her cheek or kissing her neck.
"Oh...yes," Cordelia moaned, not really paying attention anymore. Buffy was fondling her roughly now, and Cordelia was getting hornier by the second.
"Now...why don't you get down on those lovely knees of yours and eat my pussy while I think of more ideas," Buffy breathed in Cordelia's ear. Cordelia, hypnotized with lust, slid off of her chair. Buffy sat herself down, hiking up her skirt to reveal no panties. Cordelia went to work with her tongue while Buffy slowly listed ideas.
"Ooh," gasped Buffy as Cordelia's tongue wiggled inside of her. "A longer tongue! That's a good idea. And uh...ooh...uh...mmm...a nice trim waist so I can put you in corsets...ungh...firm heart shaped ass...no hair below those pretty ears...make your head hair real easy to take care of too...YES RIGHT THERE!...full pouty lips, deep red all the time...longer legs...so smooth...so good...oh...Cordelia!"
Buffy trailed off into senseless babble as Cordelia did her job very well. After she brought her to orgasm, Buffy had Cordelia sit on her lip while she half-dozed.
"What about you?" Cordelia asked after a while.
"What about me?"
"Aren't you taking the spell too?"
"Yeah," Buffy said.
"Well do I get to design you then?"
"Nuh-uh," Buffy teased.
"That's not fair!" Cordelia whined.
"No, Xander gets to design me. After all, I got to design him and he didn't even get a chance to veto anything."
Cordelia pouted. "Could I at least make sure that if I'm getting mammoth tits that you do too?"
"I'll think about it," Buffy said condescendingly, and began playing with Cordelia's breasts again.
Within minutes all discussion was forgotten, and soon they had called Xander into the mix as well. The three of them surged through the house, making love in every room.
It was when Xander was pounding into Buffy on the kitchen table while Buffy licked at Cordelia's snatch and the cheerleader licked at the point where Xander and Buffy met that Joyce Summers screamed at them.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"
They froze, and Buffy looked past Cordelia's dripping pussy to see her mother staring at her, shock on her face.
"Uh...nothing?" Buffy tried.
"You're having an orgy on my kitchen table! People eat on that table! What do you people think you're doing?"
The three of them scrambled apart. Cordelia pulled her shirt on; Xander could only find his underwear. Buffy had lost her clothes at some point during the mad romp through the house, but she stood defiant and proud despite that fact.
"Uh yeah...well...what's the problem, Mom?" Buffy asked, hoping the spell was still working.
"Mom?" Joyce asked, turning to look behind her. "Is your Mom here?"
"Um, you're my Mom."
Joyce laughed. "I'm only eighteen! I'm nobodies mother."
Buffy frowned. "Uh...you are Joyce Summers, aren't you?"
"Yeah of course," Joyce said absent-mindedly, staring at the bulge in Xander's underwear. "Wow. This is hotter than the time Jenny Morowitz licked my pussy at that sleepover," she said under her breath.
Buffy's Slayer hearing caught every word. "WHAT? You've been with girls!?"
"Oh please like you're one to judge. Its just people giving other people pleasure." Joyce strode forward and gave Buffy a long look. She rubbed her shoulder.
"You're way hotter than Jenny Morowitz, too."
"OK! Time out!" Buffy said, pulling away from her mom. "Xander, go get me some clothes. Cordelia, call Giles and tell him we've got a problem."
"You," she said, pointing at her mother. "Stop flirting with me!"
Joyce Summers winked at her.
It was as Xander was returning with her clothes that the door opened. "Oi!" Giles shouted as he came in the door.
"From now on," Ripper said as he started pulling of his shirt, "I'm listenin' to me bloody instincts about everything. I sure as hell came ta the right house."
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Buffy said, "Keep your shirt on Giles! Jeez!"
Giles stared at the slim naked woman in front of him. Next to her was a much curvier brunette in her underwear, and to the other side a muscle head who was holding a pile of clothes.
"How'd you know me name, luv?" Ripper asked. "I usually remember naked birds what look like you."
Buffy fumed and grabbed her clothes from Xander. Cordelia sheepishly took her as well. They quickly dressed, Xander still standing there in his underwear. He spotted his shirt behind the couch and bent to pick it up, not noticing how the girls, Joyce included, stared at his ass when he did so.
"Yo there is some weird ass shit going on out there," Faith said as she burst in the door. "What's going on?"
"Mom and Giles have gone insane...and I think the spell doesn't work on crazy people," Buffy said.
"Hey!" Faith said as she realized the inadvertent insult.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
"Spells, is it? I thought I could feel magic tinglin' in the breeze," Ripper said. He closed his eyes to bask in the feel for a moment before he pulled out a cigarette.
"Hey! No smoking!" Buffy said, slapping away the offending item.
"Oi! Ya crazy bint!" Giles shouted.
"Wow, he's even talking in tongues," Faith said. Giles looked Faith up and down.
"You know this loopy skirt?" Giles asked her. Faith grinned.
"Yeah, we call her Buffy."
Giles snorted. "Serves her right." He pulled out another cigarette and dodged back as Buffy tried to swat it out of his hand. He lit it, then flipped her the bird.
"You are so paying for that when you're not crazy," Buffy growled.
"Sod off, will ya? It's not proper ta have a good shag without a smoke after."
"You didn't shag anyone!"
"Not yet," he said, grinning at her. Joyce giggled.
"Look just shut up! We gotta figure this out." Buffy started pacing back and forth. "Xander, do you have any idea what could be causing this?"
"Yeah, the chocolate," he said, the pieces of the puzzle easily fitting together in his mind. "They've both been eating a lot of it. I'd bet that's what's doing it."
"What, it's like magic chocolate?" Cordelia asked.
"Maybe," Xander said. "Mrs. Summers, do you still have some chocolate with you?"
Joyce stared at him blankly for a minute.
"Oh, did you mean me?" she asked.
"Yeah," he replied nervously.
"You can call me Joyce, stud," she winked at him, and tossed him the chocolate bar. He opened it carefully, unleashing his senses to look for signs of a magical web woven into the packaging. It seemed clean.
A closer inspection of the chocolate revealed a thread of chaos magic, a regression charm, he thought.
"Uh oh, Buffy...I think I know who did this."
"What? Who?"
"This thing is full of chaos magic. I think this is Ethan's work," he said.
"Ethan?" Joyce asked.
"Ethan Rayne."
"Ethan? That bloody ponce could barely cast an illumination charm without me holdin' his hand like a tot."
"Yeah well things have changed since you were an idiot, Giles," Buffy sneered.
"The name's Ripper, girly."
"Whatever. Look, you come with me; we're going to pay Ethan a visit. You guys keep an eye on Mo- on Joyce."
She grabbed Giles by the collar and dragged him out of the room.
The four of them made their way to the factor after calling Willow and getting her to contact the rest of the Scoobies to meet them there. Along the way Buffy was trying very hard not to pay attention to her mother's giggling and Ripper's boasting and very flirtatious stories.
As they passed by a store window, Joyce stared at her reflection.
"I guess maybe they're telling the truth about us being old," she said to Ripper. He shrugged, checking out his hair in the window as he took a pull off his cigarette.
"At least I've got me hair," he said happily. She giggled, and he pulled her close and kissed her.
"Look, Giles, Ripper, whoever you are, could you please not kiss Buffy's mom?" Xander asked.
"What do you care mate? You got your own tail, 'less you wanna trade."
Buffy stumbled and stifled a moan, and Ripper leered at her.
"Just, you're really going to regret it later, that's all."
Ripper snorted. "The only thing I'll regret is not gettin' a taste of her meself. How'd you get a perfect little harlot like that ta fancy you, mate?"
Xander punched him across the jaw. Ripper's head snapped back, but he retaliated with a jab of his own, surprising Xander with his quickness.
"Get him Ripper!" Joyce shouted. Ripper swung a precise roundhouse at Xander's head, the younger (physically) barely ducking in time. He rose to throw another punch, but suddenly Buffy was there.
She lifted Giles by the collar and slammed him against a wall.
"You leave Xander alone, got it?" She growled at him.
"Bloody hell," he groaned. "What are you, a soddin' Slayer?"
"And then some," Xander said, putting a hand on Buffy's shoulder. She relaxed, letting Giles down. He slumped to the ground. Xander whispered a thanks in her ear and hugged her.
"Look, just keep your thoughts about Buffy to yourself, and for god's sake, stop kissing him Joyce!"
They arrived at the factory to find it crowded with people, all adults demanding more candy. Buffy got at least ten propositions and more than a hundred lust filled looks as they made their way through. It seemed that the spell was truly no longer in effect. She started thinking that maybe her clothing wasn't as tame as she thought. They spotted Ethan standing by the loading area, saying something into a phone.
Xander led them through the mass of people, shoving aside the teenaged-adults that were chanting for candy. He climbed up to the loading area, and held out a hand to help Buffy up. She felt a thrill as he pulled her up to him and she felt dozens of eyes staring at her. She was blushing a furious red, and wished they had time for Xander to let her get off.
Ethan's eyes rose and saw Buffy. He let out a little "eep" and rushed into the factory.
"After him!" Xander called, and he, Giles, and Buffy ran after him, Buffy quickly disappearing in a blur of movement. Joyce stood there in shock for a moment before following after them.
They found Buffy holding Ethan against the wall, the sniveling chaos mage trying to talk his way out of her grip. Giles was panting and barely able to stand after the run.
"Ripper!" Ethan said, "My old friend!"
Ripper frowned. For some reason, he definitely hated Ethan Rayne. Since following his instincts before had led him to Joyce's house and a truly far-out shagging session, he went with it, shaking off his fatigue. Buffy let him go as Giles approached.
"Ethan you soddin' bastard!" He shouted, slamming a fast into Ethan's gut. Ethan coughed pathetically and groaned.
"What's the spell, you stupid, stupid man?" Xander asked.
"I don't know what you're referring to," Ethan said. Giles headbutted him, and Ethan fell to the floor.
"Oh the spell! A spell to induce teenaged-irresponsibility."
Buffy frowned. That didn't fit the symptoms that Joyce and Giles were showing.
"Why can't they remember anything since they were eighteen?" she asked. Ethan frowned.
"There was some interference, I'm not sure what it was. Altered the outcome," Ethan chuckled. "There's chaos for you!"
Giles kneed him in the face.
"Bloody hell," he croaked. "It's not me you want to kill, I'm not the man in charge this time. It's Trick you want. I'm just sub-contracting."
"Why? What's the plan?" Xander asked.
"It's a diversion...they need something for a sacrifice, and they need the people to not care when they take it."
"What kind of sacrifice, you prat?"
"To a demon," he flinched when Giles made to hit him again. "Lurconis!"
Buffy's mind raced. Lurconis! A snake-like demon who required a sacrifice of...Babies!
"Xander they're going to steal babies!" Buffy cried.
"That's horrible!" Joyce gasped.
"Where are they getting them from?" Xander demanded, shaking Ethan.
"I don't know," he screamed as Giles kicked him. "I swear I don't know!"
Xander was thinking fast. OK, two priorities, save the babies and end the spell.
"Buffy the spell, do you think that the reason it didn't work properly is because of the "don't notice" spell we cast?"
Buffy nodded. "Yeah, that could be it. The two spells are very similar in how they interact with the mind, they could have sort of cancelled each other out and altered each other at the same time."
Xander frowned at Ethan. "Look at her," he ordered, pointing at Buffy. Confused, Ethan looked at the Slayer.
"You notice anything strange about her appearance?"
Ethan had no idea what he was talking about, "You mean besides the way the blood in my eyes makes her kind of red?"
Xander almost laughed. Buffy looked red even if your eyes were clear. He wanted to make sure, and pulled Buffy to him. He kissed her deeply, one hand slipping between her thighs. She moaned against his lips, and had soon forgotten where she was.
Ripper and Joyce stared at the incredibly hot display. What the hell were they doing, making out in the middle of questioning Ethan?
Xander rubbed her between her legs and put his mouth against Buffy's ear.
"You're such a dirty slut," he said, and Buffy screamed in orgasm. When she was done shaking and screaming, she sat back against a crate, a satisfied smile on her lips.
"Noticing anything strange there?" he asked Ethan.
"No! I don't understand what you're talking about!"
Now that was confusing. Ethan had certainly not been in range of the spell when it was cast, so why was it affecting him now? And if the spell was still working, did that mean that it would work on Joyce and Giles once the regression spell wore off?
"Bravo Mate," Ripper said to Xander. "Now I know how you kept that chick. That was far-out."
Xander smiled slightly, and then turned to Buffy.
"Buffy, any idea why the spell is working on Ethan? I doubt he was in range when it was first cast."
Buffy sighed dreamily and opened her eyes. "Um...I think that the spell is actually more of a pulsing aura from the center of casting. When people come into range it takes until it pulses again before it affects them."
"Except for Faith," he muttered.
"Yeah...except for Faith," Buffy believed that was due to her Slayer powers.
"So if we stop the regression spell, the 'don't notice' spell should work again?"
"I think so," she said. Although there might be a slight problem...
"Ok then," Xander said, closing in on Ethan again. "How do we stop the spell?"
"It'll end automatically at dawn," he said. Giles kicked him across the face.
"What?" Giles asked when Xander shot him a look. "Ponce is gettin' on me nerves."
"I'm so glad you're not eighteen all the time, Giles," Xander sighed. "OK Buffy we don't know where the babies are going to be taken from, do you have any ideas?"
"Why do you keep askin' the bint about everything? She's made fer shaggin', not thinkin'."
Xander almost punched him again, instead pointing his finger right in Giles's face.
"Cause right now? That 'bint' is the smartest person on the *planet*."
Ripper raised an eyebrow at Buffy. This mind-blowingly beautiful girl? Hardly.
"Forget him Buffy," Xander said, kneeling in front of her. "Any ideas?"
"Yeah, they'd probably want to hit maternity wards, and there's only the one at Sunnydale General. I think I could be there in under a minute if I hurried."
"OK, what about a plan B in case we don't find them?"
"Lurconis dwells in dank places. The sewers most likely," she said, making a face at the thought of it.
"All right, you head to the hospital. The rest of the gang should be here by now, so I'll gather them and we'll try and check out as many sewer openings as we can. If you get the babies you page me 111. If you can't find them, page me 000 and start your own search. Got it?"
Buffy nodded. He kissed her, and gave her a little pat on the butt.
"Up up and away!"
She laughed and seemed to just vanish.
"Wow," Joyce said. "She's like a superhero."
"Yeah, Superslut," Ripper joked, and Joyce laughed. Xander slugged him across the face...again.
"Come on," he said as he left. "And that's your last warning. You talk about her again and Giles is going to wake up hating me tomorrow."
Ripper groaned and spat a few curses at him before he and Joyce followed Xander out of the factory.
Buffy arrived at the hospital just in time to see a group of vampires dropping into the sewers with bundles in their hands. She picked up her beeper and typed in the code 011. She hoped Xander would realize that meant she'd found them, but hadn't secured them yet. She had faith in his ability to anticipate her thoughts, and rushed in after them.
Xander and the gang arrived at the hospital five minutes later, having commandeered an abandoned SUV. They spotted the open sewer cover and Faith was out of the car in an instant.
"Faith!" Xander shouted at her as she bent to drop down into the sewer.
"What?"
"Be careful."
She grinned and dropped down. His voice echoed after her.
"We'll secure this area, if you find the babies bring them back here first before doing anything else!"
The stench of the sewer was overpowering, and Faith gagged a few times as she followed that odd connection she could sometimes feel between her and Buffy.
As she ran she suddenly felt a great gust of wind, and a sound like a gunshot rang through the tunnels.
She rounded a corner and found Buffy engaged in a desperate attempt to protect the babies, fight off the vampires, and not get swallowed by the giant snake thing that snapped at her. The vampires had formed a circle around her, each seeming wary to attack her.
"Little B!" Faith called. Buffy's face filled with relief.
"The babies! Get them away!" Buffy called. Several babies on the floor before Buffy, with two more in her arms. She was whirling and spinning, using her feet to kick away the vampires wherever she could. She couldn't unleash her full abilities without harming the babies.
Faith rolled into the fray, staking two vampires as she came up. She kicked away a third, and scooped up two babies from the ground. They were screaming their heads off, but Faith couldn't see anything wrong with them.
"Back in two!" Faith called, and sprinted down the sewers. Buffy nodded, and snap-kicked a vampire in the head, sending him flying into Lurconis. The demon screamed and eyed her warily.
Faith reached the manhole in record time for people other than Buffy, and found Xander and Ripper waiting there for her.
"Here! No time!" she passed the babies off to them and raced back the way she'd came. "More where that came from!"
Giles and Xander passed the babies carefully up to Willow, Joyce, and Oz. Then they looked at each other, turned, and raced after Faith.
Faith barreled knocked a vampire away and scooped up another baby. Turning, she saw Buffy punt a vampire across the room, slamming him into opposite wall with a sickening thud.
*Damn,* Faith thought. *Little B's got some moves.*
"Rragh!" Giles yelled as he leaped into the fray. He managed to stake two vampires before he was taken down. Faith growled. With one hand clutching the baby she yanked a snarling vampire off of Ripper, tossing the undead creature into the muck.
"Take the baby and get the hell out of here!" she spat, handing him the screaming baby. He looked for a moment like he wanted to tell her off, but instead he sighed and scooped up a second baby while Faith held off the vampires.
Xander dodged a kick and was dealt a glancing blow across his jaw. Enough to hurt, but not enough to stagger him. He dove towards the center of the battle and rolled up by Buffy. There were two more babies left besides the ones in her arms. He grabbed the two on the ground and protected them as best he could as he ran like a running back through the pack of vampires. Faith did her best to keep them off of him as he dodged but he still was struck in the back and almost fell. Faith reached out and snatched his shirt at the last second, saving both him and the babies from a plunge in the grotesque water.
"Get going!" she yelled. Xander didn't waste any time. Faith knocked two vampire's heads together and made her way to Buffy.
"Here!" she held her arms out and Buffy quickly passed the babies off to her. Faith turned to run, but couldn't help pausing for a moment to look at the remaining vampires and the giant snake demon.
"Kick their asses, Little B," she called before running. Buffy grinned and cracked her knuckles.
A few moments after Faith sprinted down the sewers, she heard the horrible scream of a dying snake demon, and the death cries of a dozen vampires.
"That girl has to be the hottest thing alive," Faith panted when she met up with Xander at the manhole.
"That she is," Xander grinned. They carefully carried the babies out of the sewers, where Joyce and Willow were cooing and giggling at them.
Several minutes later Buffy showed up. Somehow, out of all of them, she was the only one who didn't smell like sewer.
Joyce licked her lips, and smiled at the most handsome man she had ever seen. Cordelia grinned at Faith while Xander shifted uncomfortably.
"So, like, what do you like to do?" Joyce asked him.
"Um..."
"Cordelia!" Faith laughed. Xander blushed, and Cordelia giggled along with Faith.
"So you guys are a like all together? I guess you have a lot of girlfriends."
"Nerd-Boy?" Cordelia scoffed. "He doesn't have any girlfriends. We have him."
Xander grinned sheepishly. He loved it when Cordelia got possessive.
"What do you mean?" Joyce asked.
"Hey belongs to Buffy and me," she said proudly, tousling Xander's hair, which nevertheless remained perfect.
"Wow, really? That's so hot."
"You seen his dick yet?" Faith asked. Joyce looked suddenly shy.
"Well...maybe a little bit."
"A little bit's a lot when you're talking about Xander," Faith said. Joyce turned red, and giggled.
Cordelia whispered something in Xander's ear. He moaned.
"Isn't he just the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Cordelia asked happily.
"Totally," Joyce said.
"So you've been with girls before? I never knew that about you Joyce," Cordelia said, leaning against Xander as they sat on the couch.
"Well, a few times. Like once when I got totally high at this party and this girl started kissing my breasts...it was so hot."
"Did she look more like me, or more like Buffy?" Cordelia purred.
"Um...you, I think." Joyce said. She was getting very aroused. Cordelia was extremely beautiful and very bold, and Xander was the hottest guy she had ever even imagined.
"Ooh, that's so hot," Cordelia said, and rubbed herself through her skirt.
"What a shocker," Faith said. "Cordelia's getting hot and Xander's sitting next to her."
"Please Faith, you know you're dying to get a piece of Xander. It's been since this morning for you."
"You're with him too?" Joyce asked, amazed.
"More like he's with Buffy and Buffy gives me a backstage pass."
"Wow."
"Take off your shirt again, Xander," Cordelia ordered. He stared at her. "Come on, I want to show Joyce something."
He slowly pulled off his shirt, and Joyce gasped to see his incredibly cut chest.
"See that? Now tell me how you could sit next to that for more than two minutes without wanting to screw his brains out."
"Absolutely," Joyce breathed.
"So," Cordelia said, stretching languidly. "You want to?"
"Want to what?"
"Screw his brains out."
She wanted to play it cool, hard to get. But when she opened up her mouth she said.
"Oh god yes."
Cordelia grinned at winked at Faith, who was watching the whole scene with a look of true awe on her face.
Cordelia slunk over to where Joyce sat on the love seat. "What about me, Joyce? You want me to screw your brains out too?" she asked in a coy little voice.
Joyce could only nod and bite her lip.
"Come here Xandy," Cordelia said. Xander was a in a daze, and came over. "Why don't you show Joyce how you and Buffy got together?"
Xander's eyes went wide. Could he? His cock was straining against his underwear.
"You see Joyce, Xander here is, without a doubt, the world's best pussy licker. Am I right, Faith?"
"You are right, Cordelia." Faith said seriously.
"So...I say take him for a test drive," Cordelia's hands gripped Joyce's pants, and slowly slid them down. The older (physically) woman did not attempt to stop her.
"Well Xander," Cordelia said. "Hop to it."
She pressed down gently on his shoulders and guided him to Joyce's cunt. She pushed him forward...and he started working.
When Buffy called twenty minutes later, the four of them were panting and exhausted. Joyce had been thoroughly and amazingly fucked, had eaten both Cordelia's and Faith's pussies, and had hers licked by Cordelia while Faith sucked her hard nipples.
"What's up?" Cordelia asked into the phone.
"I gotta talk to Xander, there's some weird stuff going on."
Cordelia handed him the phone.
"What's wrong?" he asked, breathlessly.
"You were right, it's definitely Ethan. He cast some kind of irresponsibility spell but it didn't go right, he said there was interference."
"Oh," Xander realized. "The "don't notice" spell. They probably cancelled each other out and kind of altered each other at the same time."
"Yeah, well he says it'll wear off by dawn, you think the "don't look" spell will kick back in then?"
"I think so," he said. Although there might be a problem with...
"OK, we can figure that out later. What do you know about Lurconis?"
"Snakelike demon. Needs a sacrifice every thirty years...of babies."
"Babies!?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Dammit. Where are they going to get babies?"
"Maybe the maternity ward?" Xander suggested. "Also, Lurconis lurks in dank places, probably the sewers."
"Right, OK. What? No Giles! Put that down! Now, mister!" she groaned. "Giles is driving me crazy," she told Xander.
"Sorry," Xander said.
"Ethan's the one who's going to be sorry. All right, you need to get to the maternity ward as fast as you can. Have Cordelia call the gang and I'll meet you guys there as fast as I can. But Xander?"
"Yeah?"
"You have to get there as fast as you possibly can, we'll catch up to you. If we don't find the babies there we'll figure out what to do from there, OK?"
"Of course."
"Good. Go kick some ass, baby," Buffy said. He heard a muffled voice on the other end of the phone. "Because I fucking felt like it Giles!"
"Sorry Xandy. OK, get going. I'll see you soon," the phone clicked off.
Xander relayed the information to Cordelia, gave her a quick kiss, and was gone.
He was halfway to the hospital when he realized he'd forgotten to replace his clothes, and was running to save the day in his underwear.
He got there just in time to see the vampires dropping into the sewer with the bundles in their arms, and raced in after them. He was able to dust the ones carrying babies without any alarm, but the last one had cried out just before his head was torn from his body, and the others were alerted.
Xander held a baby in each hand and had a few more scattered by his feet as he tried to fight the vampires off with only his legs. He had to be careful not to move too fast or too powerfully, or he might hurt the babies.
That's when he heard the hissing sound, and looked up to see the giant snake demon grinning at him.
He groaned. Things never went easy on the hellmouth.
The hellmouth. He remembered the mandala. Remembered his theories of magic.
"Tsulani Ga Nidra!" he shouted, feeling the words form as he knew they must to properly align the forces. The air around him concussed against the vampires, exploding them away from him in a blast of super-pressurized air. A sound like a gunshot rang through the sewer tunnels.
"Xander!" Buffy's voice shouted in alarm.
"Here!" Xander called. The vampires were up again, standing around him in a wary circle. A few attempted to charge him. He whirled and spun, kicking one in the middle and sending him flying into another. A third got a crescent kick to the face and fell back into the muck.
"The babies!" Xander yelled. Buffy charged into the fray, knocking two vampires aside and dusting two more. Faith was suddenly there as well, rounding the corner at a dead run and not pausing at all as she tackled three vamps.
"Yeah! Take that, bitch!" Faith shouted happily as she and Buffy tag-teamed the vampires, taking down at least half in the initial tussle. She reached down and scooped up two babies, as did Buffy.
"Bloody hell!" Giles exclaimed at the sight of the demon. It snapped at them, and Xander drove it back by kicking a vampire in the head and punting him into the demon.
"Take these and run!" Faith shouted, handing him her two babies before taking the last one on the ground. Giles looked like he wanted to stay and fight, but relented and charged back down the tunnel, Buffy and Faith on his heels.
Xander held the last two babies, trying to shush them as they wailed like mini-demons themselves. Another vampire tried to attack, and he kneed it in the face, sending him back, but not out of the fight.
Buffy and Faith had returned and they fought their way through the remaining vampires. He handed them each a baby.
"We're gone!" Buffy shouted, and sprinted down the tunnel. As she ran she called over her shoulder. "Toast 'em, Xandy!"
He grinned and cracked his knuckles. The last few vampires snarled at him, but not with as much intensity as before.
"Damn, you again," Mr. Trick said. He was standing by a service door along with a man that Xander's newly enhanced brain recognized at the Mayor of Sunnydale.
"Well this is just no good at all," the Mayor said.
"You're the one doing this?" Xander asked in disbelief. The mayor shrugged.
"I'm not the kind of man who reneges on a campaign promise."
"Your campaign promise was to feed more babies to demons?"
"Well, it was really more of a campaign blood-pact. Let's not quibble over details young man. Since I can't feed Lurconis his babies, I guess he'll have to do with you instead."
"Yeah I'm thinking maybe not," Xander said. He lashed out with his arm, decapitating three vampires in a single strike. He rushed the remaining two, sending one sailing at Lurconis while he slammed a fist into the other's head. Lurconis caught the vampire in its jaws and snapped its head off. Xander ripped the head off of the last vampire.
"I think there's about to be a recall," Xander said.
The mayor rolled his eyes, "Young people today. No respect for the election process." The mayor raised his hand and a bolt of raw energy slammed into Xander's chest. Streaming yellow bolts of electricity flowed over his entire body.
"Draga Nor!" Xander shouted, and the electricity dissipated.
"Impressive," the Mayor said. "Being multi-lingual is a great skill to have these days. Well, unfortunately I don't have time to stick around. Mr. Trick, shall we?"
They opened the door, and Xander sprang to stop them. The Mayor's hand lashed out and a red stream of sparkles washed over him. Xander slammed into the sparkles, and was knocked backwards against the wall. The Mayor and Mr. Trick were soon gone, and Lurconis loomed over Xander, jaws snapping.
"Ow," Xander said. Lurconis roared and surged at him. Xander rolled and kicked to his feet, slamming a fist against the side of the demon's huge head. It screeched and smashed into the tunnel wall. Xander sunk another fist into its side, and the demon screamed again. He reached back and slammed his fist for a third time, and the resulting impact caused several bricks to splash down into the muck around them.
Lurconis let out a low groan, and collapsed, dead.
Xander ripped the service door off its hinges as he opened it, but there was no one there. He raced through the access tunnel and found himself outside. There was no sign of the Mayor. He'd have to deal with that another day.
For now he went back the way he came, back home to his Ladies.
"Can I ask you a question?" Joyce asked Buffy as they walked home. Xander was arguing with Ripper over how you treat a lady, with Ripper arguing that one does not feel her up in front of an evil warlock if she's really a lady.
"I g-guess so," Buffy said softly.
"You seem so shy, so how come you dress like that? Does he make you?"
"N-no," she blushed furiously. How could she explain this to her *mother?*
"Look at you, you look like you might pass out just talking about it."
Buffy moaned slightly.
"I..."
"Yeah?"
"I like it," she admitted. "I love it. When people watch me, when I wear these things...I love it."
"Trippy," Joyce said. Buffy grinned shyly.
"Is that why you let him feel you up at the factory?" Buffy nodded and felt the wetness between her thighs increase.
"That's not all," Faith suddenly said, sidling up to them.
"What do you mean?" Joyce asked.
"Watch this," Faith said, and she moved close to Buffy's ear, speaking low, but not so low Joyce couldn't hear her words.
"Little B, you're such a hot little cunt," she groaned in Buffy's ear. Buffy spasmed slightly and moaned. "You love people staring at your huge heaving tits. You love sucking Xander's hot cock and swallowing his cum. You're such a dirty slut Little B, what a cocksucking whore you are."
Buffy gasped and gave out a little scream as she jerked and stumbled into Faith's arms. The dark haired Slayer held her triumphantly as Buffy came, groaning and screaming.
"Wow," Joyce said. "She really does like that."
"She's a really kinky girl, our Buffy," Faith said, stroking Buffy's hair as the smaller girl recovered.
"Faith, are you being mean to Buffy?" Xander said jokingly as he slowed his step to join the girls.
"No way, in fact I just brought Buffy off," Faith said.
"Oh well in that case, what do you say Buffy?"
"T-thank you Faith," Buffy said, and felt her arousal rising again. If Faith could make her cum with a few words, Xander could make her cum with a look. He always knew exactly how much to tease her.
"Oh of course Buffy, don't mention it," Faith laughed.
"We'll have to think of a way to make it up to you later, Faith," Xander said as he picked up Buffy's petite form out of Faith's grasp. He carried her easily, her sleight frame hardly weighing enough to give him any trouble, despite her enhanced form.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled into him as he walked, ignoring the slight sewer-y smell that still clung to him.
"Trippy," Joyce whispered.
Xander treated her like a hero after they got back. He insisted on putting her into bed right away, and told her she was not to get out of bed for the remainder of the night. He showered, prepared dinner, and brought it to her in bed.
It was a very strange feeling to have Xander serving her, and it made her feel giggly and out of place the entire time. Still, he decided when she was finished eating, and afterwards he secured her arms to the bedpost and spent at least an hour slowly pleasuring her. She lost count of how often she came, but she was barely able to speak when he finally came inside of her.
Afterwards they dozed for a while before she told him of her encounter with Trick and the Mayor. They'd have to deal with that tomorrow, hopefully once Giles was back to normal.
"So what do you think of the eighteen year old version of your mom?" Xander asked her. She blushed and giggled.
"I think she's a little slutty," Buffy said. Xander mock-gasped at her.
"Is this the pot calling the kettle slut?" He said, and tickled her until she was squealing with laughter. He calmed her down by softly rubbing her thighs, occasionally caressing her pussy lips. She was soon moaning with need.
"Are you OK with what she and Giles did?"
She shivered a little, remembering the debauchery of earlier in the day. "Mmm-hmm," she murmured.
"Maybe a little more than OK?"
She bit her lip and shamefully nodded. He grinned at her.
"Did you enjoy your mother knowing what a horny girl you are?" he whispered in her ear. She nodded, whimpering.
"Did you enjoy her knowing that you fall asleep with my cock in your mouth every night?" she groaned and nodded.
"Did you enjoy when she watched as Faith called you a cocksucking whore and you responded by cumming Faith's arms?" Buffy grunted and felt another orgasm wash over her.
"That's what I thought," he grinned. "Now, regular girl mode until I say otherwise, got it?"
She panted and nodded, her arms still secured to the bedpost. He soon fastened her legs apart so she couldn't even rub her thighs together. She was still burning with need, despite the incredible eroticism of the day.
She lay there for over half an hour, desperately need release and wondering where he had gone. Finally the door opened, and she groaned as she turned her head to look.
Joyce stood there, staring at her in shock.
"Oh my god," she said. "I was just so curious."
Buffy moaned and her entire body blushed red. *Just like I do,* Joyce thought.
"He's downstairs watching TV with Faith," Joyce told her. Buffy whimpered.
"Couldn't you just break free?" Joyce had seen some of Buffy's incredible abilities first hand.
"Can't," Buffy whispered. "He told me not to."
"Why do you have to listen to him? I don't get it."
Buffy closed her eyes and felt a wave of pleasure wash over her. "Don't...have to. I belong to him. I love him. I'm his."
"So you like, decided to be his slave?"
Buffy shuddered and moaned louder, which Joyce thought must mean yes.
"Wow," Joyce breathed softly. She entered the room, slowly moving closer to Buffy's naked form.
"What's it like?" she asked.
"Perfect," Buffy whimpered. "So perfect."
"You really love him that much?" Buffy could only nod, tears filling her eyes. "And does he love you?"
"Yes, too much...oh too much," Buffy groaned. Xander's caring for her overwhelmed her. She shuddered again. She was so close.
"That's like the hottest thing I've ever heard of," Joyce said. "I must have been a really awesome mom, cause I'm so jealous of you it hurts."
Buffy panted, wishing Xander were there. Wishing her arms were free, wishing this would go on forever.
Joyce licked her lips, and leaned over Buffy. Her lips parted next to Buffy's ear, and she whispered. "You're a slut."
Buffy spasmed, and was lot to her orgasm. When she opened her eyes, Joyce was gone.
"You what?" Buffy was completely shocked.
"I kind of seduced your Mom," Cordelia grinned.
"Oh god," Buffy said. "That's too hot."
"I thought you might like that," Cordelia whispered into her ear as they walked home. Buffy stared at her mother, still eighteen years old in her own head. She noticed she was walking slightly...bow-legged.
"And Xander?" Buffy hissed at Cordelia. The cheerleader nodded.
"How could you?" Buffy groaned. "Without me?"
Cordelia sighed in relief, and then raised an eyebrow at Buffy. "You'd...want to be there?"
"Not to do anything, perv," Buffy said, swatting Cordelia's arm. "Just to watch."
"Oh yeah, cause that's totally normal," Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"How'd she take it?" Buffy asked, ignoring Cordelia's remark.
"Deep," Cordelia said, giggling.
"That's not what I meant!" Buffy couldn't stifle her own giggles. The others ahead of them looked back at them quizzically.
"Hey mind your own business!" Buffy told them. Ripper frowned and Joyce blushed. Faith let her step slow and came in line with Buffy and Cordelia. Xander was behind them with Willow and Oz, feeling more comfortable back there with the people who couldn't quite tell that he was walking around in just his underwear.
"She loved it, Big B," Faith said in a low voice.
"You were there too? Jeez Cordelia you invited the whole town, except me!"
Cordelia just laughed. They walked in silence for a while before Buffy spoke up again.
"What a day," she sighed. She stunk of sewer. They all did, except for Xander who seemed to have some preternatural ability to be perfectly clean and styled at all times.
"You're telling me you didn't do anything with Ripper?" Cordelia asked.
"What? No!"
"Please, you know you thought about it."
Buffy grinned, but didn't say anything.
"I've been thinking, Cordy," Buffy said.
"I'll call Dan Rather," Cordelia replied.
"Ooh, I was just going to ask you if you wanted to this, but now we're doing it purely because you're such a hilarious joker."
"What?" Cordelia asked, worried.
"Faith, how would you like to choose a change for Cordelia when we cast the enhancement spell?" Buffy asked.
"Hey!" Cordelia shouted.
"Why I'd love to," Faith grinned.
"Think about it and we'll talk about it tomorrow. I've already got a big list on my own. Then afterwards if it works for Cordy we'll see about letting the whole gang use it."
"Oh so I get to be the guinea pig?" Cordelia scoffed.
"Yup!"
"I hate you," Cordelia said coolly. Buffy swatted her right on the ass.
"That's what liars get," Buffy grinned at Cordelia's shocked expression. "Now tell the truth."
Cordelia fumed. "I love you, you evil bitch," she finally said.
"That's better. I love you too, especially the part that sticks way out front," Buffy teased.
Faith cracked up, and didn't stop laughing until they got home.
Buffy invited Faith to join them in the shower when they returned, and Xander was instructed to give them all a thorough scrubbing before drying them off with his tongue. He worked diligently, although his tongue was kind of tired by the end of it. Luckily he'd felt his heart racing just before the shower began, so he was done with his treatments for the day after sending Buffy to a crashing orgasm under the hot spray of the water, and the feel of Cordelia and Faith's mouths on her breasts.
Afterwards they had all gotten dressed and hung out downstairs with Joyce and Ripper, who had been flirting since the walk home. Joyce kept blushing and averting her eyes from Xander, usually responded the same way.
"I heard you and Xander had some fun," Buffy said to her mom. Buffy was seated on the right side of the couch, and Cordelia sat on the left side. Xander was in the middle, his feet on Cordelia's lap and his head on Buffy's. Cordelia was constantly giving him little tickles whenever he got too comfortable.
"Uh...yeah, don't freak out OK? I'm really sorry about that," Joyce said.
Buffy waved her hand, "Don't worry about it. I bet Xander's been having fantasies about you since sophomore year."
Xander buried his face in Buffy's tight jeans, trying to pretend he wasn't hearing this conversation.
"Y-You don't care?" Joyce asked. "I thought he was your boyfriend?"
"He's my Xander, is what he is," Buffy said. "Which is somewhere between boyfriend, love of my life, property, and slave."
"So you're like...his boss?"
"I'm his Lady," Buffy grinned, patting Xander's head. He sighed contentedly, which caused Cordelia to tickle his feet. He squirmed for a minute before she stopped and he calmed down.
"What about Cordelia?" she asked.
"She's my Cordelia, but she's also Xander's Lady."
"So you're like the boss of both of them?"
Buffy just gave her a beaming smile.
"You're not the boss of me," Cordelia muttered.
"If you go get me an iced tea I'll kiss you for a minute and a half," Buffy said to Cordelia. The cheerleader stared at her, then whimpered and got up to get her the drink.
"It's all in how you ask," Buffy said smugly to Joyce.
"Wow. I raise like the grooviest daughter in the whole world."
The next morning Buffy woke to the usual feeling of Xander's tongue on her pussy. She sighed happily and whispered, "Good Morning Xandy"
She turned her head and gave Cordelia a sleepy good morning kiss as well, then jerked as Xander hit that sweet spot he knew so well.
Just as things were getting good, a knock came to the door, and her mother opened it carefully.
"Um...Buffy?" Joyce Summers asked.
"Yeah?" Buffy said lazily, feeling very good.
"I need...I need to talk to you when...when you're done here."
"Sure thing," Buffy said, and arched her back. The door shut quickly.
She reluctantly left Xander and Cordelia in bed and padded downstairs. Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table looking very frazzled.
"Mom? What's up?" Buffy asked. Maybe her mom hadn't changed back?
"Buffy...I don't know what you did to me, but I need you to do it again," she whispered.
"What?"
"I woke up this morning like any other. I came downstairs, and I started to make coffee, knowing that I should leave some for Cordelia because she always gets cranky if she doesn't have her coffee. I wondered when Xander would wake you up and...Do things to you, and I didn't worry about it at all.
"Then I realized I didn't remember most of what happened to me yesterday. I thought about it, and suddenly I remembered. Everything. It's like I suddenly realized what you do with Xander and Cordelia, and even with Faith."
Buffy paled. "Oh no."
"I feel like I'm going to go crazy Buffy. On the one hand I'm your mother, and I know that taking care of Xander is something you have to do. I came to terms with that all those weeks ago. It's just...it's as if I never really thought about it since then. And when I think about you with Cordelia, about all the times you've had relations in front of me and I barely even gave it a thought. I get furious, and I don't know how I could have let that go on."
"And then I remember talking to you last night, even though it feels like years ago to me. I remember thinking how independent and vibrant you were. I remember thinking how incredible a person you were, and how incredible a person I must be to have raised you. And I remember being with Cordelia, Faith and Xander. I remember how amazing it felt...how loving they were. So...I want you to put it back the way it was, Buffy."
Her mother shuddered and let a few tears roll down her cheeks.
"Oh Mommy, I'm so sorry," Buffy said.
Joyce shook her head. "I can't handle this Buffy. I could barely handle you being with Xander because of the necessity of it, but not this. I love you Buffy, but I don't know what'll happen if I stay this way. I know rationally that the three...four of you are good for each other, but I'm still your Mother. I can't deal with that, not in my own home. Not like this."
"If that's what you want Mom, I think we can do it. We might have to anyway if you're not the only one who lost the effects."
"Buffy, I don't want you to think badly of me afterwards. I trust you not to do anything that would be a mistake, and that's why I want you to put me back the way I was."
Buffy hugged her mother tightly. "You're the greatest Mom anyone could ever have," she sniffed.
"And you're still the grooviest girl that I ever met," Joyce said.
The feeling of it was so odd to her. It was as if she truly had met her daughter when she was eighteen. She "remembered" growing up with the memory of that girl, and watching Buffy grow into her. It was a strange dual experience, and she knew it had changed her.
"I'll see if Xander can cast it today Mom," Buffy said.
Joyce hugged her daughter again, wondering for the hundredth time if this was the right thing to do.
Xander woke up to the usual wonderful feeling of Buffy's mouth on his cock. It had been an amazing night, he'd returned to Buffy to find out that Joyce had paid her a little visit. That was certainly unexpected.
"Morning baby," Xander moaned as Buffy sucked him. She hummed a good morning on his prick.
He lay back for a few minutes while she worked, feeling utterly relaxed. Then, just as Buffy began building up speed, there was a knock on the door and Joyce poked her head in carefully.
"Um...Buffy?" Joyce asked. She saw the lump under the bed and blushed furiously. "Oh...I'm sorry. I...um...when you're done. I need to talk to you. Both of you. I guess."
The door was quickly shut, and he could hear Buffy moaning as she fingered herself. They both came shortly after.
Buffy dressed in a pair of pink panties and a tight t-shirt, which was positively Victorian for Buffy these days. Xander threw on an old pair of shorts and a t-shirt as well, and the two headed downstairs together.
Joyce was seated at the kitchen table, looking completely frazzled.
"Buffy...Xander," she said. "Whatever you did to me...I need you to do it again."
"What? What's wrong Joyce?" Xander asked.
"I...I woke up this morning like any other. I came downstairs and made some coffee, idly worrying if you'd woken up in time to...do what you do with Xander so that you weren't in any withdrawal pain. I was worried about you, but I didn't worry about what you had to do. It was like it just didn't matter in my head.
"Then I realized that I couldn't remember what happened to me yesterday. I thought on it, and suddenly it was all there. I suddenly realized that I'd never thought about what you two do together, never cared about it. Even when it was going on right in front of me.
"I hated you for a little while Xander, even as I felt the love that I've had for you since you've been there for Buffy during the entire curse. I feel like I have three different people in me now, and it's driving me crazy.
"I remember meeting you both when I was eighteen. That's what it feels like to me. I have these memories of meeting these two amazing people who led these incredibly exciting lives. I remember how Faith said those things in your ear Buffy, and I remember the one I whispered myself when I first truly understood how you could enjoy it so much.
"I remember being so jealous of your life, of having a man you believed in that much. Of that feeling of perfectness you spoke of.
"I look at you Buffy and I see this stunning creature of unnatural beauty that you've become, and I want to scream, I want to cry, and I want to laugh. I don't know how to deal with this Buffy, I'm completely off the rails here."
Buffy was softly crying, unable to think of what to say.
"It's OK Joyce, we'll cast it again if you want. Make it like it was before," Xander said softly.
"Xander, she's so delicate now, and so strong at the same time. I feel this tremendous relief that I don't have to worry about her as the Slayer because she's so powerful, and I feel just as relieved that you're there for her in her normal life. But I'm still her Mother, I just can't deal with that the way I wish I could. I'm sorry. I hope you both don't hate me."
Buffy wailed then and wrapped her arms around her Mother. The two Summers women cried against each other, Buffy promising that she could never hate her mother, that she was so sorry for the way things were.
"It's not your fault Buffy," Joyce whispered after a long while. "That's the reason I want you to re-do it. You didn't ask for this, and it's not fair to you if I can't handle it."
Buffy sniffed and hugged her mother tighter.
"We can probably do it later today Joyce," Xander said, putting a comforting arm on Buffy's back. "And for the record, I think you're just about the greatest mother I will ever have the good fortune of knowing. I don't know how you can be this amazing about this entire thing."
Buffy stared up at Xander, and Joyce felt tears come to her eyes at the pure expression of love in her daughter's eyes. Buffy broke away from Joyce and pressed her lips against Xander's. She poured her love into the kiss, thanking him for being Xander Harris, right there in her mother's Kitchen.
Joyce smiled softly. Even though she would be glad when she could feel "normal" again, this was worth it to understand just how much Xander and Buffy relied on one another. While her motherly instincts railed against the nature of their relationship, she could not deny how much they cared for each other. And for the life Buffy Summers led, that was the very greatest thing Joyce could ever wish for her.
"So can you do it Xander?" Buffy asked.
"I think so," he said. "I think she still might remember what happened between her and...Us, though," he added.
"We'll deal with that when the time comes," Buffy said
"I'll need to gather the ingredients and get a copy of the spell from the library," Xander said. "I can be back in about twenty minutes to cast it."
"Do it," Buffy said. Xander nodded and got to work.
Buffy and Cordelia sat in the living room waiting for him to return. Buffy was leaning her head against Cordelia's chest, and the cheerleader softly stroked her hair.
"Hey, what's with the moping?" Faith asked as she came in the room, dropping down into an armchair.
"Just some problems with the 'don't notice' spell and Joyce," Cordelia said.
"That sucks," Faith remarked. "So what are you going to do about it?"
"Xander's going to cast it again," Buffy said glumly.
"Really?" Faith said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah."
Faith looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I want in this time," Faith said.
Buffy sat up. "What?"
"I want in on the spell. I'm tired of being on the outside looking in, especially since as far as most of the town is concerned, there isn't even an in to look at."
Buffy thought about this for a moment. Faith had definitely been getting much more involved with them lately, and had been using Xander at least once a day for a few weeks. Still, Buffy wasn't entirely sure of the dark haired Slayer.
"Ok," Buffy said. "I'll tell you what. You promise to be just as nice and obedient as Xander is, and I'll agree to let you in on the spell."
Faith paled. "You mean like...agree to be your slave?"
"In so much as Xander could be called a slave. More like a voluntary servant with pussy licking privileges," Buffy grinned. "Oh, and Cordelia and I get to dress you every day. Cordelia will be your Lady too, but I'm still the all-seeing overlord at the end of the day."
"Is that the whole deal?" Faith asked, feeling her arousal build.
"Allow me to confer with my Lady Cordelia," Buffy giggled, and the two of them went into the next room to whisper softly about the deal. They returned after about five minutes, Cordelia grinning wickedly.
"OK, here are the terms," Buffy began. "You agree to obey Cordelia and I in all things, including but not limited to dropping to those dainty knees and giving us a good spit-shine whenever we feel the need. You'll be allowed to use Xander and he'll be allowed to use you whenever Cordelia or myself don't have need of you.
"You let Cordelia or myself choose what you'll wear each day, with no complaints. You agree that if you're naughty either of us will be allowed to give you an appropriate punishment to that nice tush of yours."
Faith swallowed hard, and felt her pussy moisten.
"Oh also, you'll sleep between my Lady Cordelia's legs each night, as Xander will between mine. Your job will be to wake he up in the most pleasant way possible each and every morning. It will also be your job to lick her dry after showers.
"Finally, you agree that if and when we use the enhancement spell on you, Cordelia and I get to choose the design."
"Do I still get to choose a change for Cordelia?" Faith asked.
"For Lady Cordelia, yes," Buffy said, emphasizing the title.
"Ok, then I agree." Faith said, trembling in anticipation.
"All right then, remove all of your clothes and kneel in front of us."
Faith did so, her nipples rock hard and her pussy very wet as she did so.
"You will say the words: My Lady Buffy or Cordelia, I pledge my service to your pleasure for now and always. Then you may kiss our pussies until we come. After that, you're ours for as long as we like."
Faith knelt first before Cordelia.
"My Lady Cordelia, I pledge my service to your pleasure for now and always." She leaned forward and softly tongued Cordelia's hot snatch. She worked quickly, expertly, and soon had Cordelia cumming all over her face.
When she knelt in front of Buffy her face was glistening with Cordelia's juices.
"My Lady Buffy, I pledge my service to your pleasure for now and always," she moaned. Buffy nodded happily and Faith leaned forward, kissing her wet pussy. She licked and sucked for a long time before eventually sending Buffy into a shuddering orgasm. Xander had arrived back just as she finished.
"Oh Xandy!" Cordelia said happily, "You're just in time! Meet your new slave sister, Faith."
Faith grinned self-consciously, and Xander stared at her in fascination. Faith had always been so forceful with him. Yet he could recall all the times when Buffy had manipulated her so easily, and the small smile on Faith's face when she did.
"Uh...welcome to the family?" he said. Faith couldn't help the tear from rolling down her cheek.
Faith sat with Buffy and Xander in the living room while they discussed Buffy casting the spell again. Buffy was sitting on Xander's lap, luxuriating in the comforting feeling of his arms around hers.
"So you think you can do it?" Xander asked.
"Y-yes, I just need to get the materials," Buffy said softly. Xander smiled at her reassuringly.
"OK, how long do you think that will take?"
"Maybe twenty minutes," she said.
"What do you need to add me to it?" Faith suddenly asked.
"Awfully presumptuous of you Faith," Xander said jovially.
"Come on Xander, you know Little B loves me in the mix," Faith said. Buffy squirmed against Xander's crotch.
"Well she's got a point there," Xander said to Buffy. "What do you think?"
"I-It's up to you," Buffy whispered.
"Do you think you could live with obeying Faith like you obey me?" Xander whispered sultrily in her ear. She groaned and nodded, imagining the amazing feeling of being owned by Xander and Faith.
"What if she wanted you to eat her pussy? Would you do that?"
Buffy arched her back against Xander's touch as he softly caressed her through the tight t-shirt she wore.
"Ohh...Yes..." Buffy sighed.
"And if she decided that she'd like to get a strap-on and bang you in the middle of the Bronze?" Xander asked hypothetically.
Buffy gave a soft, "Oh!" at the thought, grinding into him.
"And what if Faith decided that...she'd like to take your other hole, Buffy? Would you let her?"
Buffy's eyes widened as she realized what he was saying. She stared at Faith, who grinned at her wickedly. The vision of it flashed before her, and Buffy shuddered.
"Ung...yes Xander! I'd do anything!" she cried, and came as he slipped a finger inside of her.
"Well Faith, could you live up to that kind of reputation?" Xander asked.
"I think I could give it a shot," she grinned.
"OK then Buffy, if that's what you want, then go crawl over to Faith and beg her to be your owner."
Buffy whimpered in delicious humiliation. She slipped off the couch and dropped to her knees, her large breasts swaying heavily as she crawled across the room. She stopped between Faith's legs, and stared up at the girl.
"P-Please Faith," she begged, unable to keep her hands from rubbing at her own breasts. "Please be my owner. Make me do what you want...tell me what a...what a slut I am. Take me where you want and when you want...please Faith. Please say yes. Please say you'll take me," she was rubbing against Faith's legs.
"Maybe if you eat my pussy very nicely," Faith said, and she arched her back as she slid out of her pants.
Buffy attacked her cunt with her tongue, licking and sucking as she made love to a girl for the first time in her life. This...woman. Her owner. She belonged to Xander and Faith.
When Faith came she grabbed Buffy by the hair and pushed her hard into her crotch, groaning loudly. Afterwards Buffy continued to lick at her snatch, until finally she mustered up the courage to ask in a timid voice, "Did I please you?"
"You are the hottest thing I have *ever* seen," Faith told her. Buffy grinned broadly, and a half an hour later Faith was officially part of the "don't notice" spell.
"I say we just go to his office and hit him with sticks until he tells us his evil plans," Buffy said. She was sitting on the couch with Xander's head in her lap, and was softly stroking his head. Faith and Cordelia were out on a shopping spree so Cordelia could pick out a number of sexy outfits for Faith to wear on her clothing-choosing-days.
Buffy had decided to stay home with Xander, as the two sometimes felt the need to spend time alone together.
"He's powerful Buffy, he was weaving spells together that should have torn him apart, and he did it with casually," Xander murmured. He had his eyes closed and was feeling very relaxed lying there with his head resting on Buffy's thighs. He loved her smell, the cleandetergentvanilla/BUFFY smell. She wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, and made it look incredible.
"So? You're powerful too, I bet you could kick his ass in a minute," Buffy said proudly.
"Maybe," Xander said, frowning.
"No maybe about it. You give 'em the old one-two punch and we'll have him out of office by three o'clock."
Xander sat up, and Buffy's expression turned to one of concern at the look on his face.
"What? What'd I say?"
"I'm not invincible Buffy," he said.
"But you kicked that snake's ass without a sweat," she argued. "Not that I would have minded some sweat."
He bit back the grin that tried to form at her playful teasing. "This is still the hellmouth Buffy, and yeah, I guess I'm pretty tough now, but I don't know what the Mayor can do. I just know I saw enough to make me worried about it."
"I don't like just waiting around for him to make the next move," she said.
"I know," Xander replied. "But I think we should do some heavy research on him before we try anything."
"I could always order you to go kick his ass," Buffy offered absent-mindedly. Xander frowned slightly.
"You could try," he muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Xander felt his stomach tighten. "It means that...I love you Buffy, and I love making you happy. But it doesn't mean I do something just because you tell me, it just means most of the time I like to do it anyway."
"B-B-But you're my Xander!" she insisted.
"Would you be my Lady Buffy if you could really order me to do something you knew I didn't want to do?" Xander asked quietly.
Buffy shot to her feet, "Xander this is something that could save lives!"
"I said I didn't want to do it," Xander said emotionlessly.
"Fine, you know what? Fine. Since you're so smart now you go stick your head in a book while the bad guy is out there plotting who knows what?" She stalked to the door and swung it open.
"I'm going out," she said, and slammed the door behind her.
Xander stared at the door, unable to quite grasp what just happened. He slumped back onto the couch and covered his face with his hands.
"How about we go in with you and Faith with guns a-blazing, and just take him out now before he can hatch any more baby-stealing schemes?" Xander asked casually. He was sitting on the living room couch, Buffy's head resting in his lap. They'd been talking of her encounter with the Mayor, and Buffy was feeling extremely relaxed in Xander's care.
"I don't know Xander," Buffy said softly, her eyes closed and her breathing regular. "He's really powerful. He was using spells that I'd never even expected could be weaved together without getting your lungs ripped out."
"Hey, nobody's tougher than my girl Buffy," Xander grinned; giving her ribs a little tickle. She squealed under his touch, and giggled into his stomach, relishing the closeness.
Faith was out for her daily run. Usually Buffy would accompany her, although it was more of an excuse to trot Buffy around town half-naked than for her to actually get any exercise. Today though Faith had seen the two of them sitting so comfortably on the couch, smiled at them, and left without a word.
Buffy frowned after a few moments of quiet.
"Xander?"
"Yeah babe?"
"You know...you know I'm not invincible, right?" She looked up at him, eyes wide with concern.
"He's not invincible either," Xander said. She frowned and sat up.
"I-I'm serious Xander," Buffy insisted. "I'm strong, way stronger than I used to be, but that doesn't mean I can do everything."
"C'mon, you could kick his ass blindfolded," Xander argued. "Hey what do you think of blindfolds?" he grinned.
She forced herself to put the alluring thought out of her mind.
"I don't want to do anything to him before we research it," she said. "Who knows what he could do if I attacked him?"
"Whatever happened to 'slay first, ask questions later'?"
"I slayed that Tritelxii nest without asking questions," Buffy whispered.
Xander looked like he'd been slapped. "And what, you're still kicking yourself over the consequences?"
"No! I just mean..."
"Yeah I get what you mean," Xander spat. He stood up angrily. "Afraid you might slay the mayor and have to spend even more time with me?" he raged.
"Xander you know that's not true!" her voice was wavering, and she could feel tears forming in her eyes.
"Do I? Maybe you've just come to your senses. Maybe I've just been taking advantage of you this whole time," he said dully. His anger was rapidly being replaced by self-hatred.
"No Xander, it's not true. It's not," she insisted.
"Whatever," he shrugged, one hand on the front door. "I'm going out. To think."
*About curses,* he thought. *Horrible Evil Curses.*
He slammed the door shut behind him, and Buffy curled up onto the couch. She sniffled once or twice, and hugged a pillow to her chest. She loved Xander, and she hated him in that moment. How could he have ever doubted her feelings for him?
Because of the curse. Always the curse.
She fell asleep clutching the pillow, and though she felt miserable, she didn't let herself sob once.
Xander was staring up at the ceiling when the front door opened. He sat bolt upright.
"Buffy?" he asked hopefully.
"Guess again!" Cordelia said happily. She had half a dozen large bags in her hands as she maneuvered into the room. "Come on Faith!" she called.
A moment later Faith slunk through the door, her ears red and a sheepish grin on her face. She was wearing the girliest pink blouse and short skirt, a far cry from her normal clothing of dark leathers and blacks. Her hair was styled into soft waves, and a pair of soft pink pumps adorned her feet. She looked like a completely different person, and not entirely comfortable in her new garb.
"How do you like Faithy's new look?" Cordelia asked Xander happily. He stared at Faith, whose ears turned a dark red under his gaze.
"One crack and I'll break your nose," she muttered. Cordelia grinned and kissed Faith on the top of the head, giving her a little pat on the butt.
"Why don't you go sit over there with Xander so I can see what a nice couple you make?"
Faith did as she was told, even remembering to cross her legs daintily as she sat. Cordelia looked at the two of them with a huge smile on her face.
"You two totally fit together," she said. "Same coloring and hair, you'd almost be brother and sister, which is just so deliciously naughty, don't you think?"
"I guess," Xander said sadly. Faith's shy expression was replaced with a questioning look.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Buffy," he said, as if that would explain it.
"What?" Cordelia asked. "What happened?"
"She kind of told me to do something, and I said no, and then she got mad and left."
Cordelia frowned. "What did she tell you to do?" She dropped her bags and joined Faith and him on the couch. She couldn't help herself, and wrapped a comforting arm around him, pulling him close to her. He rested his head on her shoulder, but felt a surge of depression despite the comforting act. It reminded him of Buffy.
"She wanted me to go fight the Mayor," he said, feeling like he was being a tattletale. "I didn't think it would be a big deal, but she got made when I asked her if she could order me to do something I didn't want to do."
"Did she?" Faith asked.
"What?"
"Did she order you to do it after that?"
"No...She just got mad and said she was going out. She's been gone since then," he said.
Cordelia sighed. "What am I going to do with you two?"
"I don't think there's a 'you two' anymore," he said sadly.
Cordelia smacked him lightly in the back of the head. "Doofus! Of course there is. She's just a big dummy, that's all."
"Huh?"
"Let me tell you about Buffy's brain," Cordelia lectured. "Buffy tells you to do something. You say you don't want to do it. Buffy thinks, 'oh no he's finally rejecting me!' and because she's a big dummy she tried to get you to agree by asking more forcefully. You say no, and she freaks out that she's an awful person who had been taking advantage of you. So she lashes out and tries to get angry with you, on account of the whole being a big dummy thing. She's probably out moping that you'd be better off without her right now."
"I think she's mad because I won't do everything she tells me," Xander insisted.
"Well that's because you're a doofus. Doofus and Dummy, you're like destined to make each other miserable when you're not making each other happy as drooling idiots," Cordelia said.
"I guess," he said doubtfully.
"She doesn't love you because you do what she says, she loves you because you're Xander. The rest is just gravy," she whispered softly, hugging him closer to her. "It's why I love you too."
"Even Faith," she whispered very, very softly. "Just don't tell her I said so."
Cordelia gave Faith a pleading look, and the other girl took that as her cue.
"She just gets carried away sometimes," Faith said, as she rested her head against Xander, curling up beside him. "She'll get over it, I promise."
No one said a word for a while as the three dark haired people drank in each other's presence. Cordelia suddenly frowned.
"Xander, are you shaking?"
"No," he said, too quickly.
Cordelia pushed him off her, which caused Faith to jerk in surprise as her pillow was suddenly pushed aside. Cordelia grabbed his hand and held it up. It was trembling softly.
"Oh my god. You complete idiot," she whispered, realizing Xander had let withdrawal begin without alerting anyone. "Where's the pager?"
"In my po--ngghhh" Xander's head rolled back and he sagged into the couch.
"Xander!" Cordelia shouted. She dug a hand into his pocket, pulling out the small device. She tapped in the code.
A half-second later a buzzing could be heard. Faith reached between the cushions of the couch and pulled out...Buffy's pager.
"Oh shit," she said.
Buffy was still curled up on the couch when the front door opened. She looked up expectantly.
"Xander?" she whispered.
"It's me, Little B," Faith said, panting softly with the exertion of her run.
"Oh," Buffy said softly, and put her head back down.
"Hey, why do you look like your puppy just died?" Faith asked.
"Xander..." Buffy said, her voice muffled by the pillow she hugged to her ample chest.
"Did something happen to him? Is he OK?" Faith asked worriedly.
"No, he just...he's mad at me."
"With you? That's hard to believe," Faith said honestly. She took a long swallow of water from the bottle she kept tucked in her back pocket, then flopped down beside Buffy. She put a comforting hand on the elder Slayer's back.
"So, come on, spill," Faith said.
"He thinks I hate him," Buffy moaned miserably.
"This is Xander Harris we're talking about, right? The guy you pledge your undying love to in your sleep?"
Buffy gave her a shocked look. "I do?"
Faith grinned. "You kind of mutter it over and over again in your sleep, 'I love you Xander, I'm yours.' It gets kind of annoying sometimes, but it's hella cute."
Buffy blushed softly.
"So why do you think he thinks you hate him"
"He...he wanted me to go fight the Mayor, and I didn't want to. He said I used to always want to slay first and ask questions later, and I said last time I did that...we got the curse."
Faith sucked in a breath. "Lemme guess. That's when he flipped out?"
"He said he's been taking advantage of me, and that I must have come to my senses."
"I'm gonna bust his teeth out," Faith said.
"What?"
"I can't believe that dude can be so stupid sometimes," she sighed. "Anyone who sees you two together knows your like so made for each other it's sick."
Buffy sighed. "That's the problem. I *am* made for him." She indicated her abnormally large breasts.
"Shit. This is all curse-guilt, ain't it?"
Buffy shrugged and said nothing.
"I didn't know you guys before the curse, Little B. I don't know what it used to be like then," Faith said, sighing. "All I know is that since I've known you, you two've been this explosion of love and lust that's either got me horny as fuck or so jealous I wish I could find a Tritelxii nest to take out myself."
Buffy let out a brief half-chuckle.
"What I'm sayin' is, shit, I don't know what's the curse and what isn't. But what I do know is that for whatever reason...you are Xander."
"Huh?" Buffy was confused. Was Faith implying that they'd body-switched from the curse? Cause that was just weird.
"Everything he is he put in you, Buffy. The dude is so totally into you that he flipped out when you showed the least bit of doubt, just like you're flippin' out right now." Faith carefully put her arms around Buffy, pulling the smaller girl into a comforting hug.
"You can wonder what's the curse, maybe you'll never know for sure. But if the two of you ever start doubting your feelings for each other the way you are now, I'll put you both over my knee and spank the stupid right out of you."
Buffy half-laughed half-sobbed, wrapping her arms around Faith. For a long while they say together in silence, Faith rubbing Buffy's back gently while Buffy just allowed herself to be comforted.
After a while, Faith frowned and looked down at Buffy.
"Are you shaking?" she asked.
"Um...maybe a little," Buffy said.
"What the hell are you doing? We gotta call Xander!" Faith exclaimed.
"I...didn't want to...bother him," Buffy said, and jerked in sudden pain.
"Shit! Where's your pager?" Faith cried. Buffy grit her teeth.
"My...my waistband," she said as she spasmed again. Faith leaned over her and clipped the small device off of Buffy's very small waistband. She punched in the code, and prayed Xander would hurry.
Faith heard a soft buzzing noise. She paled, and reached between the couch cushions. Xander's pager vibrated in her hands, having fallen out of his pocket earlier in the day.
"Oh fuck me," she whispered.
"What do you mean you haven't seen her?" Cordelia screamed into the phone.
"Oh no...Oh no," Willow panicked on her end of the connection. "Maybe she's at the Bronze?"
"Wherever she is we gotta find her ten minutes ago! Call Giles and Oz and start searching, I'm sending Faith to the Bronze, then she's going to make a sweep of the graveyards. I'll stay with him and try and try and keep him safe. Hurry!"
She slammed down the phone. Faith was holding Xander's head in her lap as the boy jerked and spasmed occasionally, his face screwed up in torment and his skin pale.
"Go," Cordelia said. "As fast as you can."
Faith gave Xander one last worried look and kissed him softly.
"I'll find her," Faith assured Cordelia.
"You better," the other girl said.
Faith nodded and rushed out the door. It was halfway down the block when she realized she was still wearing the girly outfit Cordelia had put her in. She kicked off the heels and ran barefoot through the streets of Sunnydale.
She arrived at the Bronze five minutes later, breathing heavily with exertion. The bounced put a hand up as she headed for the exit.
"Whoa there. Ten buck cover charge," he said.
"Look pal, this is an emergency, I don't have any cash on me, but I'll pay you back, OK?" Faith growled, trying to see over his shoulder. He looked down at her feet.
"No shoes, no service," he grinned. Faith's ears turned red.
"Fuck you," she said, and punched him across the jaw. He fell in a heap, and she hopped over him as she entered the club.
"Buffy!" she yelled over the din of music. "Buffy!" She couldn't see her anywhere.
She began pulling random people out of the crowd, asking if they'd seen the petite blonde. A few pointed to other short blondes in the crowd, but Buffy was not among them.
After a few minutes she was starting to get desperate. Every minute she was here was another minute that Xander was suffering. Her mind raced, and she started shoving her way through the crowd.
She jumped straight from the dance floor to the stage, a good fifteen feet, grabbing the microphone out of the lead singer's hand as she landed.
"Buffy?" she shouted into it. "Buffy are you here?"
"Boo!" chanted a voice. A few others repeated the cry. A plastic cup exploded against her chest, drenching her in cola.
"Hey watch it fucker!" she shouted.
Faith's eyes were scanning the entire club for a sign of reaction. "Buffy!" she called again into the microphone. The crowd began chanting for her to get off stage and let the band finish their song. The lead singer started trying to pull the microphone out of her hand, so she shoved him back into the crowd.
There! Up on the balcony, sulking in one of the more secluded areas of the club. Buffy gave Faith a sad look and slunk back into the shadows.
"Buffy wait It's Xa-" the microphone shut off, and her plea went unheard. "Turn it back on!" she yelled at the board operator. He flipped her the bird. She had half a mind to shove it up his ass, but she didn't have the time.
"You better hope I have a bad memory, asshole," she growled. She took a running jump and grabbed the scaffolding, swinging once before launching herself up to the balcony. A few people gasped.
"Buffy!" she called, and saw Buffy rushing down the stairs and out of the club.
"Shit!" she said, running after her. She took the stairs two at a time and shoulder-blocked the door open. She glanced left and right, and saw Buffy walking quickly down the street.
"Buffy wait!"
"Leave me alone Faith," she said angrily. "You're all better off without me."
"You stupid bitch!" Faith yelled. "Xander's dying!"
Buffy whirled, her face pale. He would have paged her, wouldn't he? Her hand absently reached down to pick the pager out of her pocket. It was gone.
"Oh my god," Buffy whispered. "Where is he?"
"Back home! Come on!" Buffy didn't need to be told twice, and soon the two of them were racing back to the Summers residence. Buffy was like the wind, and Faith was unable to keep up with the shorter slayer as the blonde girl dashed home.
Buffy burst through the door two minutes later. "Xander!" she cried.
Cordelia was holding him around his massive arms, trying to calm his frenzied spasms, and having very little luck.
"We have to get him on his back!" Buffy ordered, and the two of them held him tightly as they turned him over, placing him on the ground. His arms flailed and Cordelia was hit across the nose. She cried out and fell back, clutching her face.
"Cordy!"
"Help him!" Cordelia said, her voice muffled beneath her hands. Faith stumbled through the door.
"Faith! Help me hold his arms down!"
Faith rushed over, and held Xander's arms to his sides. He thrashed, but luckily not with his full strength. Buffy unbuckled her tight jeans and pulled them down, tearing them in half in her haste to get them off. She quickly knelt over Xander's face.
"Come on Xander, you have to do this," she muttered. His face remained screwed up in pain, and he showed no sign of noticing her. She lowered her pussy, rubbing it against his nose and mouth.
After a moment his nostrils flared, and Xander's eyes snapped open. He threw Faith off of him, and she went crashing into the armchair and groaned against the far wall. Xander's large arms grabbed Buffy under either thigh and suddenly he had lifted her up into the air. Buffy screamed and ducked her head just in time to avoid it being slammed against the ceiling.
She was held up with either leg over Xander's shoulders, his head between her legs. He gripped her tightly and pressed her against the wall as he began eating her with wild abandon.
"Oh...holy...ah!" she screamed, his tongue moving faster and more insistently than she could ever recall. She held onto his head for balance and screamed his name.
Cordelia stared wide-eyed at the incredible display, Xander's strong body holding Buffy up against the wall, the Slayer bent slightly to avoid slamming her head into the ceiling, and writhing in lust. She had never seen Buffy move like that, her entire body seeming to spasm in pleasure while Xander worked.
Finally Buffy stiffened, her entire body straightening. Cordelia winced as Buffy's head crashed into the ceiling, creating a head-shaped dent in the plaster. The Slayer seemed not to notice, as she was screaming her orgasm loud enough for the neighbors to wake up, if they hadn't been spelled not to notice.
As her orgasm died, so did Xander's strength. He collapsed back, and Buffy toppled to the ground with him. He lay panting on the floor with Buffy's slick pussy on his face, while Buffy covered her face and wept, shuddering every so often when Xander's tongue would give her a slow lick.
After a few minutes he slowly sat up, wiping his face with the back of his hand. Buffy curled into a ball, still sobbing softly. He looked around the room. The door was half torn from its hinges, the armchair was on it's back. Faith was lying stunned against the wall, and Cordelia was holding her hands over her face, blood trickling down. There were cracks and dents in several spots along the wall, and a large head-shaped hole in the ceiling.
"What happened? Demons?" he asked, confused.
"Doofus and Dummy," Cordelia snapped.
"Huh?"
Faith groaned, sitting up. "You went into the deep shakes, and when we finally found Buffy you were a little hard to control."
"I did this?" he asked, aghast.
"I did it, I'm sorry, I did it," Buffy sobbed on the floor. "I should never have left. I'm so sorry Xander. I'll never tell you to do anything again, I'm so sorry."
Xander felt his insides churn. He forced Buffy to a sitting position and hugged her gently. She sobbed into him, repeating her apology over and over again.
"Cordy? There's some of the healing potion in the medicine cabinet," he whispered.
"I'll get it," Faith said. She rushed to the bathroom, soon returning with the small vial of liquid. Cordelia had a hard time drinking it down with her nose bleeding, but once she had the bleeding soon stopped. Her nose slowly began to turn a purplish brown.
"This better work fast or I'm kicking both of your asses," Cordelia muttered to Buffy and Xander.
"I'm sorry Xander, I'm so sorry. You almost died because of me," Buffy whimpered in his grasp.
Xander hugged her tighter to him. "Buffy, you know that I love you?"
She sobbed again.
"I do you know. Even the bossy part of you. Maybe even especially the bossy part of you, most of the time," he said. "There's nothing wrong with arguing. If it wasn't for this curse, there wouldn't have been anything you did wrong. You're entitled to feel bad sometimes, and have time alone."
She cried a little harder, and her grip tightened around him. "I should never have tried to make you do something you didn't want to," she sobbed.
"Yeah, that's not very cool, but it's not the end of the world either," he said.
"The only reason you're not mad is cause of the curse," she whined softly.
"Buffy, the only reason for me TO be mad is because of the curse," he argued. "If there was no curse, and you said you wanted to go...I dunno, miniature golfing, and I said no, and you ordered me to go, and I said no, and you got mad and left, would that be a good reason for you to be crying hysterically?"
She hiccupped, and sniffled once. "I guess not. I'd still be a horrible person though."
He laughed, and kissed the top of her head. "Nobody's perfect," he said. "Not even my Lady Buffy."
He whispered softly in her ear, "She comes awful close, though."
She laughed, and then cried a little more.
"The only difference now Buffy, is that when you say you want to go miniature golfing, I'll probably say yes, and I'll be happy to do it because it makes you happy to do it. But if I really, really hated miniature golf, I'd still say no. You understand?"
"I guess so," she shrugged.
"I trust you Buffy," he whispered. "More than anyone in my life, I trust you. I love it when you and Cordelia come up with things for me to do, I love the games we play and the time we spend together. But not everything we do has to do with our relationship, and not everything we do has to be as Lady Buffy and her Xander."
"But...maybe a lot of it could?" she asked hopefully.
"A helluva lot," he grinned. She looked up with puffy eyes and kissed him softly on the lips. "Just not slaying. Or Babylon 5 marathons. Those are strictly off-limits."
She laughed, and kissed him again.
"You're the cutest thing in the whole world," she said, grinning at him. Then she frowned and looked at Faith, who was watching them with concern, care, and maybe a hint of envy in her eyes. She stood barefoot in the living room with her girly skirt and blouse.
"Well, maybe the second cutest thing in the world," she giggled as she looked at Faith. "Faith might just have you beat, today."
Faith's ears turned red, and she stared at the ground.
"Bitch," she whispered, and Buffy laughed.
"C'mon Red! You have to have seen him!" Faith screamed into the phone.
"I didn't! Oh no, oh no Buffy," Willow panicked on her end of the connection. "Maybe he went to the Bronze?"
"Call Giles and Oz and get looking, and hurry! I'll try to keep her safe until you find him."
Faith slammed the phone down and moved back over to Buffy. She held the small girl in her arms and hugged her gently, trying to calm her shakes. She kissed her softly on the head.
"C'mon Little B, I know you're a fucking pitbull underneath it all. You gotta hold on."
Buffy responded by spasming for a moment, then relaxing slightly to tremble in Faith's arms. Faith felt tears stinging at her eyes, and whispered softly in Buffy's ear as they came.
"Don't crap out on me, Little B. Not after everything just started going so good," she whispered. "Willow'll find Xander, you'll see. And he'll come back and be so sorry, and you'll forgive him cause you two can't not be together. And then Xander and me will spend the whole night showing you what an amazing chick you are. You're too tough to let this shit get you, I know it.
"I never met anyone like you before, you know. You seem so frail and tiny sometimes, and all I want to do is scoop you up and hold you forever. And then it's like some shit goes down and you're just like, 'Fuck it, who wants some!' and start dishin' out the hurt like I ain't never seen.
"You're so fuckin' amazing, Little B. Me and Xander talk about you sometimes, like when he's letting you writhe around upstairs tied to the bed. We got this game where we try and one-up each other with what we like about you. What we love about you.
"Yesterday I said I loved how you totally give yourself to being the hot little nymph you are, and he says to me 'Faith, the absolute best thing about Buffy is that she never does anything halfway. When she loves, it's with every part of her. When she fights, it's with everything she's got. She's the most committed person I've ever known.' Then he kissed me softly, and said that I was lucky to be someone you committed to.
"That shit scares me, Little B. The way you are with Xander, it's so intense that sometimes I think it's better not even to have it. But then I see you two sitting together on the couch, just being together, and I feel like my heart's gonna explode."
Buffy's trembling increased, and Faith clutched her tighter, tears flowing more freely now.
"I trust him, Little B. More than I ever trusted anyone in my life. When he tells me you love me...I believe him, and it makes me feel like I'm in another world. He says you don't do nothin' halfway, and I see the way you love him. If you love me even close to that, then you gotta be the most bad-ass chick on the whole planet.
"That's why you're gonna fight this shit until we find Xander, and then you're gonna help me kick his ass for being such a fuckin' dumbass, deal?"
Buffy said nothing. Faith nodded.
"Deal."
Willow found him where she knew he'd have to be. He sat on the edge of the sandbox, looking like he wanted to die. It was the playground she, Xander, and Jesse used to play in as children. He always came here when he was in a bad mood, as if visiting the place where they'd all been so happy and innocent might cleanse him.
"Xander!" she called as she jumped out of Oz's borrowed van. He looked up forlornly.
"Hey Willow," he sighed.
"Xander you have to come back, Buffy's in withdrawal!"
His eyes snapped up to hers. "What? No, she would have paged me!"
*Woudn't she? Maybe she'd rather die than have me come do that to her anymore*
"You left it at your house," Willow said. "Come on!"
He groped in his pocket, and felt his fear rise when he realized the pager was not there.
"Oh no..." he whispered, and raced to the van with Willow hot on his heels.
Willow drove like a maniac, and it was only the knowledge that if they crashed Buffy might die that made him tell her to slow down slightly and be more careful. She chewed on her lip as she drove, and he could see she was just as scared as he was.
He nearly dove out of the van while it was still moving when they arrived, and he almost tore the door off of it's hinges barging into the house.
"Buffy? Oh god..." he whispered when he saw Faith gently rocking the violently shaking Slayer. He began unbuckling his pants and rushed over. Faith bucked as Buffy spasmed again.
"You have her?" Xander asked, knowing that Buffy's enhanced strength could be deadly if she was spasming too powerfully.
"For now, she's in wicked bad shape," her voice strained as she grit her teeth.
He was out of his pants in an instant. Faith sat Buffy up, but the Slayer's head was lolled to one side. He stepped closer to her and gently held her head close to his limp penis.
"C'mon Buff," he whispered.
"Do it, Little B," Faith breathed in her ear. Xander gently placed his dick on Buffy's lips.
Buffy's eyes suddenly flared open, and she sucked in a great breath through her nose as her lips engulfed Xander's cock. Faith was thrown back as Buffy's arms broke free of her grasp, and she tackled Xander to the floor. He groaned as he fell to his back. Buffy held his thighs tightly as she suckled powerfully on his cock, and despite his pain he soon began growing erect.
Once he was hard she forced her head down on his dick, taking him completely down her throat. Her nose pressed against his pubic hair, and she held him there for almost a minute before she began bobbing up and down on his cock, violently fucking her own face on his shaft.
He came powerfully, spurting jet after jet of his seed down her throat. She swallowed it all greedily. When he was finished he let his head drop back, and whispered softly over and over again.
"I'm so sorry Buffy. Never meant for it to be like this. I'm so sorry."
Buffy came to her senses a few minutes later, becoming aware as she licked Xander's softening cock clean. She blinked, and licked a remnant of his orgasm from the tip of his cock. She could hear Xander's whispered chanting.
She crawled over him, and looked down at his face.
"Like what?" she asked softly. He stopped chanting, and looked her in the eyes.
"Never wanted you to have to do that again," he admitted.
"Why not?" she frowned.
"It's not fair. It's not right. I've been treating you horribly," he whispered. "I began to forget that this was the curse."
She frowned at him. "Do you really think I hate you?"
"If you don't, you should," he said.
"Good thing you're not the boss of me," she grinned, and kissed him on the nose. He blinked at her in surprise. "Well, in this, anyway."
"Xander," she sighed. "How can you know me so well most of the time, and then not know me at all other times?"
"Huh?"
She let herself lay down on top of him, hugging him slightly as they lay on the floor.
"You know what I think before I think it, sometimes. You know just when to tease me and just when to give me release. You know how long to let me stew alone in bed, and you know that if you tickle me for too long I might pee my pants."
He couldn't help but smile a little, but it was a sad smile.
"You know that you can drive me crazy with dirty talk, and you know that when I turn red is a good thing, but pale is a bad thing. You know that I'm a bad driver, but love giving you head while you drive," she grinned.
"And you know about...Faith." Buffy gave the dark haired girl a soft, shy smile. Faith sat up slightly, and grinned back.
"So how come you can know all this stuff, and still think that I could ever hate you?"
"But the curse..."
"Does whatever the curse does," she whispered. "I don't know where it ends and I begin, but it doesn't matter. I know how I feel now, and even if the curse were ever gone, I'd never forget how much I love you at this moment, and every moment in the last few weeks."
"I shouldn't have tried to boss you around," he sighed.
"No, you shouldn't have," she said scoldingly. "I'm the Slayer Xander."
"I tried to take advantage of our relationship," Xander said.
"You didn't. You talked about it, but you didn't," she said. "Xander, I love the way I feel being yours. I love how I feel when you and Faith tease me. I love doing things to please you and I even love it when you get me to do something I might not do otherwise.
"I'll never hate you for trying to make me do things, just as long as you understand that I still love you even if I don't do them."
"So you...want me to boss you around?" he said, a little hopefully.
"Yes," she whispered hotly in his ear. Then she sat up, straddling his chest, and put a finger to her mouth in thought.
"Except about Slaying and shopping. I still have final say in any and all clothing purchases."
She writhed against him softly, and then grinned wickedly as she leaned in against his ear. "Of course, you can still make decisions about how much of them I wear."
Buffy kissed him then, and he felt a little better. They embraced for several minutes before they heard Faith clear her throat.
"Don't think this means I'm not going to kick your ass, Xander," Faith said. Willow let out a sharp bark of laughter.
Buffy laughed as she tossed the popcorn into the air, and squealed happily when Xander caught it in his mouth. He grinned and leaned in to give her a deep kiss.
"Mmm," Buffy said, smacking her lips. "Popcorny."
She turned to give Cordelia a smug smile. "Yes! All tied up!"
Cordelia scowled and tossed up her own piece of popcorn. It sailed awkwardly through the air, and Buffy almost laughed in triumph as it arced far to the left. Xander, however, twisted gracefully in the air and snatched the piece in his mouth, before crashing against the bed.
"Hey that's cheating!" Buffy protested when Xander returned to his seat between the two girls and was rewarded with a deep kiss from Cordelia.
The three of them were seated in front of the entrance to Buffy's rather large closet, where Faith was currently putting on a very erotic showing of the different items that Cordelia had purchased for her. During her changing times Buffy and Cordelia were engaging in a contest of Xander-Popcorn-Basketball. Every goal meant a ten-second kiss, and the winner would receive an hour of personal attention from Xander, Faith, and the loser at the time of their choosing.
"You can't move the basket in basketball," Buffy insisted when Cordelia gave her that dazzling smile of hers.
"You should have made that rule beforehand," Cordelia said. "You can't expect Xander not to go leaping across the room at the chance to kiss me."
They were interrupted by Faith sliding open the closet door. Her ears were completely red, and she looked mortified.
"Ooh! It's so cute!" Buffy said, giggling. Cordelia guffawed, and even Xander had to struggle not to let out a few chuckles.
"I'm never wearing this," Faith insisted. She wore a white summer dress, the hemline coming down tastefully to Faith's knees. A smiling kitten was embroidered on the front. On her feet were cute white sandals revealing pink painted toenails (Cordelia had insisted on it during their outing the day before) and she wore dangling silver kittens from her ears.
"That's what you say about every outfit," Buffy said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I think it's adorable. Wook at da wittle Faithy-Waithy!" she giggled.
"I look stupid," Faith scowled.
"You look like the most respectable girl in town," Buffy teased.
"I hate you," Faith said, trying desperately not to grin.
"Aww that's not very nice," Cordelia chided. "I think you should kiss and make up."
Buffy puckered her lips at Faith. The dark haired Slayer leaned forward and pecked Buffy on the lips.
"I'm having such a hard time deciding," Buffy sighed. Tomorrow would be her day to choose Faith's first school outfit since joining their weird relationship. Faith had modeled more than a dozen outfits for them that morning, all of them either blazingly hot or sweetly cute. Cordelia had determined that the best way to keep Faith on her toes was to make her dress as girly as possible, something which drove Faith crazy.
"I say either this one, or the one with the daisy dukes and the pigtails," Cordelia had laughed for at least a full minute at the sight of Faith in pigtails, and giggled slightly just at the mention of it.
Faith shifted nervously. She usually liked getting attention, but had usually done it by dressing in stuff so hot the entire room would be staring at her. She was not used to wearing frilly dresses and soft clothing. It made her uncomfortable, but at the same time she loved the way it made Buffy look at her.
Buffy reached her hand out and took Faith's, pulling the dark haired Slayer onto her lap. "I like this one best, I think."
She brushed Faith's hair to the side with one hand and nuzzled at her bare neck. "It's absolutely adorable."
"What about you Xandy?" Cordelia teased. "What's your favorite?"
Xander paused for a minute, thinking hard. "The one she was wearing when Buffy wanted to see what was taking so long and opened the door early."
Cordelia started laughing. "She was naked!"
"Still my favorite," he said sheepishly.
"Well the fingers in her pussy were a nice touch," Buffy grinned, rubbing Faith's belly just above her crotch.
Faith groaned at her touch, and Buffy giggled in her ear. The sound was like music.
She had been halfway through changing when she couldn't take it anymore and had begun fingering herself, hoping to take the edge off. When Buffy had slid the door open and the three of them had stared at her with those knowing grins...She shuddered deliciously at the memory.
"I still think I'll go with this one," Buffy said, swaying Faith back and forth slightly in her arms. Buffy inhaled deeply.
"Mmm, you smell really good today Faith," she said. Cordelia leaned over Xander to sniff Faith, and then she sniffed Xander.
"I prefer Xandersmell," she said. Buffy leaned over to give Xander a quick sniff.
"Hey you know what would smell awesome?" Buffy asked.
"What?"
"Xandersmell and Faithsmell all mixed together."
"I think you may be right," Cordelia said happily. Buffy picked up Faith and dropped her down on Xander's lap.
"Oof!"
"Put your arms around her Xander," Buffy ordered. He did so, and couldn't help but take a small inward breath through his nose, tasting Faith's scent. She really did smell very good.
"OK now Faith, lean your head back on his shoulder," Cordelia said. Faith bit her lip and did so, looking up at the side of Xander's face. She could feel his huge cock stirring beneath her. He was too handsome for words, sometimes.
"Spread your legs a little Faith," Buffy swatted lightly at her knees. Faith moaned and slid her legs apart.
Buffy leaned over and sniffed them.
"Better, but it's not really mixed," she pursed her lips in thought. "I know! Stand up for a minute Faith."
Faith reluctantly got off of Xander's lap. Buffy reached down to her dress and slid the garment over Faith's head. She was nude underneath. She unstrapped Faith's sandals and had the girl step out of them.
"Take off your clothes Xander," Buffy said. He grinned excitedly and pulled off his tight shirt and boxers. The three girls each gave him an approving look as he sat there naked, his large cock straining upwards.
"Faith, stand over him...yeah like that," Buffy said, guiding Faith over Xander's throbbing erection. "Now down...slowly..."
Buffy pressed on Faith's shoulders lightly, slowly pushing Faith onto Xander's dick. Faith groaned with the delicious pleasure/pain of his cock filling her up inside. Buffy kept pushing until Faith was facing Xander and sitting on his lap with his cock completely inside her. Faith tried to grind against him, but Buffy held her firmly down.
"Don't move," she whispered in Faith's ear, and went digging in her closet. She returned with several belts. Faith's eyes widened.
Buffy slung the leather belt under Xander's thigh and over Faith's. She cinched the belt and snugly secured their legs together. She did the same with their other legs. Faith groaned and tried to move a little, but there was very little leeway from the strap.
"Now, arms under his shoulders," Buffy said. "Xander, put your arms behind Faith's back and cross your wrists."
Soon Xander's wrists were tied around Faith's back, and her own hands were secured behind Xander's. She was bound to him, his cock deep inside of her and her arms encircling his large muscular chest. She was breathing deeply, and couldn't remember being so turned on before.
Buffy secured them down with a few more straps, making sure they were bound to the chair, and each other. They were both slick with sweat by the time she was done, and breathing heavily.
"Now what?" Cordelia asked when Buffy was finally finished.
"Now we go see a movie with Willow and Oz," Buffy grinned to Cordelia. "No cheating and no super-strength," she warned them both, then she and Cordelia left, giggling as they shut the door.
"She's so fucking evil," Faith moaned into Xander's ear.
"So evil," he whispered back in agreement.
"I hate her," Faith groaned.
"With a passion," Xander shuddered, which caused Faith to writhe a little in pleasure. For a while they ground slightly against each other, able to move their upper halves slightly more than their bottom halves.
"You feel so good," Faith breathed, trying to rub her hard nipples against Xander's chest.
"So tight," he moaned.
"Why do we let them do this to us?" Faith whined.
"Because when they're not be oh so very good to us, they are being oh so very mean to us," he said. He made a good point.
For a half an hour they ground and flexed muscles they didn't know they had, trying desperately to get off. Faith had something of a mini-climax when Xander flexed his cock a few times, but he couldn't keep it up for long.
He was like an extension of her. His scent filled her every breath; his heart beat in time with hers. She rested her head wearily against his shoulder as they half-dozed.
"Xander?" she murmured after a while.
"Hmm?"
"Do you like me?"
"What? Of course I like you," he said. "I don't usually let myself get tied to people I don't like."
She groaned and rubbed against him slightly. Neither of them spoke for a long moment.
"I mean," she breathed heavily. "Do you like me? Like you like Buffy or Cordelia?"
"Faith, you are among the three women in the world that I can honestly say blows my mind, not to mention other parts of me." He joked. She laughed, her voice husky with lust.
"Why do you like me?" she asked after a moment. He pulled his head back, trying to look her in the eyes. She lifted her head off of his shoulder and pulled hers back as well. He looked into her eyes.
"I like how you came charging into the sewers without thinking about how stinky you would be afterwards," he said grinning. He gently placed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he spoke. "I like how when we used to be together in the mornings, you would lay there softly with a peaceful expression on your face, and then try to pretend it was gone if I noticed.
"I like how when you can't dress in the hottest leather biker chick outfit and act like you're the queen of the world, but if you get put in a dress you shy your eyes away and grin nervously. I like how you stare at Buffy when you think no one is watching, your eyes twinkling and a small smile on your face. I like how you pretend to hate when Cordelia preens and fawns over your clothes, or takes you shopping. I like how you take no shit from people who don't respect you, but you'll trust them so completely if you do.
"But mostly," he said, opening his eyes again. "I love you for being Faith."
She smiled broadly at him, blinking tears out of her eyes. She exhaled sharply in a laugh/sigh, and kissed him softly.
"Of course, your tight pussy isn't so bad either," he joked after a minute.
When Cordelia and Buffy returned an hour later, it was to find Faith resting softly against him, her eyes closed and a smile on his face. Cordelia and Buffy tread across the room silently before Cordelia softly brushed a strand of hair out of Faith's face. The exhausted, frustrated, and extremely happy girl opened her eyes slowly.
"Good morning, sunshine," Cordelia grinned at her. "Did you two spend some quality time together?"
"Feeling OK?" Buffy whispered in Xander's ear. She looked at him with concern in her eyes, wanting to be sure he wasn't upset with the situation.
"Never better," he groaned when Faith shifted slightly on him. "Well, maybe a little stiff. Particularly in one spot."
"You two look so awesome together," Buffy confided. "Like a piece of art or something."
"Imagine how much better we'd look with a Buffy and Cordelia painted in."
She laughed, and then whispered in his ear again. "I hope you liked it, cause Cordelia couldn't stop talking about it. I think she wants to try it herself sometime."
Xander groaned. "You girls are going to be the death of me."
"Well at least you'll die happy," Cordelia said. After they'd unstrapped the two of them, they showed him why he'd die with a smile on his face.
**Chapter 28 -B**
"You need to keep that elbow up, Xander," Buffy chided, and slowly spun towards him, extending her arm to show how she could have bashed his face in since he wasn't guarding properly.
"Right right, I just got a little distracted," he said, leering at her. Buffy's training clothes consisted of a sports bra and a g-string. She grinned a little at him and felt herself blush.
"Maybe next time we practice you should wear a burka or something," he joked.
"Or maybe you two should just bang before you start training and get it out of your system" Faith remarked before slamming a fist into a heavy punching bag.
"That works too," Xander grinned. Faith paused in her routine and shot him back a smile.
"Yeah, don't deprive the rest of us of the view just cause you can't control your hormones," she laughed, and eyed Buffy up and down. The smaller slayer bit her lip and shivered slightly.
"Where'd you learn that move anyway, Little B? That's some devastating shit."
"I uh...made it up," Buffy admitted. "It's part of the new martial art I'm designing."
"No shit? What do you call it?"
Buffy looked at the floor and responded shyly, "Um...Xander-Fu."
Faith stared at her blankly.
"I...I thought it was cute," Buffy said defensively.
"You're the only girl in the world who could design her own martial art and name it after her lover, Little B," Faith laughed. "Matter of fact, you're probably the only girl in the world designing her own martial art to begin with."
"Well you have to admit," Xander said. "It's better than Faith-Fu. That sounds like a bad sneeze."
"Hey there's nothing wrong with Faith-Fu!" Faith shot back.
"Sure there's not," Xander said, grinning. "If you're dumb."
"You're lucky your girl is here Harris, or I'd wipe that smile off your face."
Xander pulled Buffy to him and hugged her softly. "Our girl," he reminded her.
Faith blinked at him. "Right. Our girl."
Xander bent over to whisper in Buffy's ear, "Buffy honey, would you go show Faith how sorry I am?"
Buffy's face split into a mischievous grin, and she padded across the mat to where Faith stood, staring at the seductive swaying of Buffy's hips.
"Faith, Xander is very sorry about what he said," Buffy grinned. When Faith's eyes locked on hers, Buffy stared back for a moment before turning away shyly.
"So what's he going to do to make up for it?" Faith asked cautiously.
"I was thinking that he could make love to you while you eat my pussy," Buffy suggested in a coy voice.
"This wouldn't be a clever ploy to get Faith to eat you out?" Xander asked suspiciously. Buffy grinned in response.
"I'm willing to pretend I didn't hear that if you are Faith."
"You got a deal, Harris."
Xander stepped across the mat and kissed Faith softly on the lips. When they broke apart Buffy was grinning at them eagerly.
"I think she wants something," Xander said.
"Pants?" Faith joked, looking at Buffy's bare legs. The blonde Slayer blushed, but she also turned her legs slightly from side to side, showing off.
"I think less pants, actually," Xander observed. Faith laughed, and kissed him again.
"You really love watching us fuck, eh Little B?" Faith asked after they broke apart. Buffy nodded shyly.
"But I like it more w-when I join in too," Buffy stuttered. Faith reached out and grabbed Buffy around the wrist, pulling a squealing Buffy into her arms. Faith kissed Buffy softly on the lips.
"What's that taste?" Faith asked, smacking her lips slightly. Buffy looked down, which gave her the opportunity to take a peek at Faith's cleavage.
"Xander," Buffy admitted. Faith laughed, and turned to kiss Xander again.
"She never gets enough," Faith told him.
"Well considering the hotness of Faith, I can't blame her," Xander said.
"Damn that's corny," Faith said, shaking her head.
"I'm a big corn ball, and a big horn ball," Xander said as he slid an arm behind Buffy's back. The two of them held her gently as they kissed either side of her neck. Buffy groaned and shivered under their touch. Their hands worked expertly together as they removed her bra, and her large mystically enhanced breasts sprung free.
They each licked softly at a breast. Buffy made soft mewling sounds as Faith gently chewed on one nipple, and Xander licked at the other.
"Please," Buffy whined.
"Please what?" Xander prompted.
"Please Faith...eat my pussy," she whispered.
"Well since you ask so nicely," Faith said grinning.
Afterwards the three of them lay panting on the training mat. Xander had rolled off of Faith and was lying next to her, and Buffy crawled in between them. Xander and Faith both caressed her gently as they regained their breath.
"That was pretty awesome," Faith said.
"Yuh-huh," Buffy said softly.
"Buffy?" Faith asked.
"Hmm?" Buffy responded tiredly.
"You're cool with...me and Xander, right?"
"I dunno," Buffy shrugged. "Are you cool with *me* and Xander?"
Faith rolled over slightly and placed a hand on Buffy's breast as she kissed the girl. "More than cool. Hot."
"Likewise," Buffy grinned, and kissed her again.
"Nobody's going to ask me if I'm cool with Buffy and Faith?" Xander asked in mock-annoyance.
"Please," Faith scoffed. "Any guy who wasn't OK with us would have to be gay as the day is long, and even then I'd say he was lying."
Xander stared at the two Slayers, their glistening bodies softly rubbing against each other. Buffy gave him a sleepy smile, and Faith grinned wickedly.
"Good point," he said, and kissed one, and then the other.
He tried very hard not to think that things were going well. That amounted to running up to the hellmouth and chanting, "Nanny-nanny-poo-poo, you can't get me!"
Still, he had to admit. Things were going pretty well.
He could almost hear the hellmouth begin turning the gears to put a stop to that.
The next few days blended easily together, as good times always do. Buffy was ever dutiful to be available to Xander before any withdrawal symptoms began, and he'd yet to tremble even a little bit since that awful night.
Buffy and Cordelia seemed to have an unspoken agreement over dealing with Xander and Faith, and an alternating rotation of being in charge had taken place. Buffy still enjoyed talking Cordelia into admitting that Buffy was the high muckety-muck every once in a while, but for the most part the two shared that title.
If the girls had been creative when just teasing Xander, they had become downright geniuses when it came to teasing the two of them. A particular favorite game of Buffy's was to dress Faith in several layers of clothing. Every time Buffy paged Faith during the day, she was to remove one article. Faith never made it through one of those days without spending the last few hours in school nude.
Cordelia always liked to have Xander or Faith slowly lick her in class during lectures, and swore that she absorbed the knowledge much easier that way. Her straight A's in history seemed to attest to the truth of her method.
Buffy preferred sitting with Xander inside of her, slowly grinding against him, and masterfully timing his release for the end-of-class bell. She also loved it when she'd have Xander fuck her in front of a crowd, and was rapidly growing quite an exhibitionist streak. One day in particular Snyder called an assembly to lecture students on the improper usage of the couches in the common area by student or students unknown. While he ranted and raved about proper activities while in school Xander pounded into her until Snyder was shouting over Buffy's screaming.
While their days were usually filled with Buffy and Cordelia's increasingly imaginative games, they had still blended slowly together as time went on.
When they weren't doing what teenagers did so well, Buffy and Faith were usually training -together. The two had reached a level of Slayer-Synchronicity that bordered on telepathy. Buffy insisted it was because they had agreed to let Buffy "lead" in their dance of death. Faith said it was because she knew Buffy inside and out, and could just anticipate what the other was thinking. Xander suspected they were both right.
Xander usually spent a few hours a day either working on his various magical designs, or helping Cordelia to study. The cheerleader's grades had improved dramatically since their relationship had grown, but she'd had to work very hard to maintain it. Xander always made sure to sure positive reinforcement to help motivate her. Nowadays Cordelia would squeal in glee whenever she got an A and rushed to show Xander as soon as possible, knowing she'd get a very pleasurable reward. He had yet to disappoint her.
He'd also begun working with both Giles and Willow on various aspects of wizardry, the three of them often having long brainstorming sessions filled with discussion that left Buffy, Cordelia, and Faith scratching their heads in confusion. Things like how to best weave a Senchun Rune through a Parlnox Band were lost on them, but Willow, Giles and Xander could argue over it for hours.
Researching the Mayor had proved to only raise more questions. The Mayor seemed to be at least a hundred years old, and there were vague references in some newer tomes to the "Warlock of the hellmouth" that Xander suspected was about the Mayor. If indeed Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third was also Mayor Richard Wilkins the First, that was an indicator of just how powerful the man really was.
There was of course the usual hellmouthy goodness as well. Faith's replacement Watcher had turned out to be evil, much to the surprise of everyone except Faith, who had hated her from the start. Faith gladly chopped off the woman's hand in order to secure the magic gauntlet she had come to Sunnydale in order to steal.
A crab demon with the unlikely name of Lamarr had torn through town looking for some lost temple of evil evilness, and had briefly turned Giles into a statue for a few hours. He'd been returned to normal when Xander stabbed Lamarr with his own pincer, and Buffy lopped his head off. Giles claimed that his skin had not fully de-hardened after changing back. It meant that he was tougher to bruise, but it also meant that if he didn't moisturize he'd have a hard time smiling. Buffy thought he looked much younger after the whole affair, and really shouldn't complain so much.
Perhaps the strangest day had been the night they fought the Sisterhood of Jhe, an apocalyptic cult that had almost opened the hellmouth, despite the efforts of the entire Scooby gang. Willow had been inconsolable when werewolf Oz had been caught in a freak explosion in the basement after getting loose, but luckily when the full moon had waned he had reverted to human unharmed. The explosion itself had almost disrupted the binding spell Giles, Willow, and Xander had been casting, but Xander had managed to keep it stable long enough to seal the rift and keep the hellmouth closed.
Buffy was feeling pretty good about her life as she and Faith danced their way through a handful of vampires. She side-kicked one into a wall while Faith slammed a stake into another, the two girls clasping hands and pulling each other in opposite directions to snap devastating kicks to the heads of two more vamps. Buffy even grinned and had enough time to give Faith a quick kiss before kicking an old crate and sending one of the large splinters through the heart of another undead menace.
Buffy staked what she thought was the last vampire when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun quickly and grabbed the attacker, throwing him into a dumpster. He slammed against it, stunned as Faith moved in for the kill. Suddenly, Buffy realized something was wrong.
"Faith NO!" she shouted, and Faith froze in mid swing. Faith had gotten very used to obeying Buffy without thinking while they were in combat; it was part of why they fought so well together. She let the stake fall from her fingers when she realized the man she'd almost plunged a stake into was a flesh-and-blood human.
"Oh my god," Buffy whispered. "What are you doing, you idiot!" she yelled at the shaking man.
"M-my name is Allan Finch," he stammered. "I work for the Mayor...I came to warn you."
Faith was in shock, unable to take her mind off of the near-miss. She calmed slightly when Buffy put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You OK babe?" Buffy whispered into the younger Slayer's ear as she rubbed her arms.
"Yeah, yeah just a little shook up, that's all," she breathed. "I just hate when that kind of shit happens."
Buffy nodded. Every Slayer knew the sick-to-your-stomach feeling of almost getting an innocent person killed. When you fought human-looking vampires every day, it was also a possibility. Buffy pitied those poor Slayers of the past who hadn't been so lucky as to just get near-misses. She prayed that never happened to her or Faith.
"That was really stupid, Mr. Fish," Buffy scolded. "You don't grab a Slayer in the middle of a fight!"
"S-Sorry," he stuttered. Buffy blew out a frustrated puff of air.
"I guess you're coming back with us then," Buffy said, sighing. "Come on, Mr. Fish."
"Uh...Finch," he said.
"Whatever."
"How was patrol?" Cordelia asked as Buffy and Faith slinked in the door. Buffy growled.
"This idiot," Buffy said, pulling Finch into the house. "Almost got himself staked."
"How'd he do that?" Xander asked. He closed his sketchbook of designs and gave the two Slayers a concerned look.
"Decided to play Mr. Grabby Hands in the middle of some fine quality slaying," Buffy said. "It's got Faith a little shook up, she was halfway to staking him before we realized it."
"It's nothing," Faith shrugged, looking forlorn. Cordelia got up and looked in Faith's eyes, and frowned when she saw the fear and sickness in there.
"Oh Faith," she whispered, and pulled the other girl into a hug. Faith gladly accepted. After a moment Cordelia led them back to the couch where she had Faith lay with her head in her lap while Cordelia softly stroked her hair.
"He says he works for the Mayor," Buffy said after giving the scene a soft smile.
"I'm the D-Deputy Mayor," he said helpfully.
"Whatever that means," Buffy said, her experience with government not very broad.
"It means he probably knows what Mayor Warlock is up to," Xander said.
"You know?" Finch asked.
"Yeah well I kind of got some red sparklies thrown at me by him in the sewers, so I figured it out," Xander deadpanned.
"He's, he's more than just a warlock. He's completely insane. He's old as Sunnydale is, and he's been using it as a demon safe-haven and power-base for over a hundred years."
"Hence why the police are only slightly more effective than stormtroopers," Xander groaned.
"He's been working towards this s-special ritual that's coming up soon, called the Ascension," Finch said quickly. "He's going to use it to transform into a true demon."
"Yeah well I'm going to transform him into true-demon-kabob," Buffy spat as she flopped down beside Xander. He put a comforting arm over her shoulder.
"Buffy," Xander said carefully.
"What?"
"True demons? Big. Very big. Like, Godzilla big."
"Godzilla good version, or Godzilla Matthew Broderick Version?" she asked.
"Matthew Broderick version."
"Tsk, couldn't even be the cool version," Buffy groaned. "So what, can we just go take him out now before he changes?"
Finch shook his head, "The Ascension is one hundred days from now. The ritual has begun, and it means he's invincible until he transforms."
Buffy exploded in rage. "You couldn't have come to us yesterday with that little tidbit! Jeez! What use are you!?"
"I-I'm sorry...I was afraid."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Cordelia asked.
"I think we better call Giles and the others and get all the information he has," Xander said.
"Good idea," Buffy said, reaching for the phone. She dialed quickly.
"Giles? What? Oh I see, it's OK for me to go out Slaying at this hour, but it's not OK for me to call you? What if it was an emergency, then how would you feel? Hey!"
She put the phone to her chest for a moment and hissed at Xander, "Next time you get to call the cranky Watcher in the middle of the night." She picked the phone back up.
"Listen Giles, stop being so crabby for a minute and...what? Jeez! What are you even complaining about? You didn't get turned into a crab, you got turned into a statue BY a crab...Oh well excuse me for not knowing the finer points of post-statue-stress-disorder...Hey at least I didn't say shell shock," she giggled.
"Look, we need to have an emergency meeting cause we got this Mr. Fish guy who knows all about the Mayor...Yes tonight...No it can't wait...Because he's evil!...You take that back Rupert Giles!"
"They aren't always like this," Xander confided to Finch, who was watching the exchange with wide-eyes. "She just has anger management issues."
Buffy swatted Xander across the arm, and he stuck his tongue out at her, which she kissed quickly.
"Luckily I manage it for her," Xander grinned.
"Just get over here, OK?...Yeah fine...Xander bought some yesterday...Yes I'll boil some water this time...Hey just be glad we have your stupid tea to begin with, considering how grumpy you are."
"He'll be over in a few minutes," Buffy said sweetly when she hung up the phone. "Xander would you please put the water on so Giles doesn't use his evil Watcher powers to make my head explode when he gets here? Oh, then *YOU* can be the one to call Willow and Oz. I'm done yelling at sleepy people."
Xander grinned and kisser her on the forehead before he going to start the water. He called Willow shortly after, and she sleepily said she'd get Oz and bring him over. Xander pretended he couldn't hear Oz snoring next to her over the line. People deserved to keep their secrets.
Ten minutes later, while Deputy Mayor Allan Finch was spilling his guts about the Mayor's Ascension, a figure appeared in the darkened school library. It hovered for a half a second before slamming into the ground.
"Ow," the figure said.
Xander Harris looked up, rubbing his head where he'd slammed against the floor. "Where did everyone go? Buffy? Wills? Giles?"
There was no one there.
"Weird," Xander said.
The next few days blended together, as good days tend to do. Xander always made sure to be available to Buffy for treatments. She had yet to so much as tremble for an instant since that awful night.
The three of them had been fighting a kind of equilibrium in those days, as Buffy found herself participating more actively in the games Faith and Xander loved to play with her, and which she loved to play. She was finding that the timidness of those first few weeks was gradually being replaced by a real enjoyment of the things she did, although Xander and Faith were both more than capable of making her blush at any moment.
She went running with Faith almost every day, and always in clothing that looked barely able to be walked in, much less run in. Faith would let her heat grow as they ran through town in the early mornings, usually pulling her aside and fingering her to a shuddering orgasm on a side street, or, if she were feeling particularly naughty, the busier streets of downtown.
These days in school Buffy usually didn't bother to go somewhere private when an attack came on, and sucking him off in class became one of her secret thrills. Or perhaps not so secret, considering how often Xander would suggest the idea.
Faith must have picked up on it as well, and since Buffy had long since moved her own studies beyond what she would learn in school, she spent a lot of time each day giving her tongue a workout.
When she wasn't letting her teenaged hormones run wild with Faith and Xander, Buffy usually worked on Xander-Fu. The flowing dance of untouchable movement followed by precise strikes was versatile and well designed for fighting vampires with normal human strength. Faith had joined Xander as the second pupil of the newest martial art, although Xander had whispered to her once that he thought Faith was there more for the after-workout sex than anything else.
She and Faith had become a formidable force in slaying as well. Her enhanced abilities combined with the almost preternatural ability of the two girls to act in concert meant that the vampire population in Sunnydale was barely keeping up. They had decided to let Faith "lead" in their dance of death, and the result was an ease of slaying that would have had her shocked beyond all belief just a few months ago.
Buffy had also found a strengthening of her relationship with Willow as the two of them argued endlessly over magical theory, and along with Giles the three of them could be occupied for hours while Faith and Xander just scratched their heads and shrugged.
Xander and Faith usually spent such sessions studying, and Buffy knew it was only Xander's stern insistence that she do well in school that kept Faith at work. Buffy could see how much Xander's approval meant to Faith, and the dark haired Slayer worked very hard to keep up her grades. Buffy helped by offering her own "rewards" to the both of them if they got A's, and Faith loved nothing more than dangling a test with a large red A on it in front of Buffy, then leaning back and getting her reward. Buffy liked to think of it as her attempt to make learning fun for Faith, and not simply that she loved being between the other girl's legs.
So while the days were filled with interesting and exciting incidents, they passed without much worry, and for that, Buffy was glad. There had, of course, been a few hellmouthy incidents, which was to be expected.
There had been Faith's new Watcher, a stern and critical woman by the name of Gwendolyn Post. Faith had disliked her from the get-go, so Buffy had kept a stern eye on her. Ms. Post had considered Buffy too timid and quiet to be worth any of her time. So when Buffy uncovered her plot to steal a magic gauntlet and just generally kill a lot of people, Ms. Post had been more than a little surprised. Faith had happily chopped the woman's hand off to retrieve the glove, which, unfortunately for Ms. Post, had worked out with her getting fried to a crisp by lightning. Buffy didn't think it could have happened to a nicer lady.
Then there was the crab demon with the unlikely name of Lamarr who had torn through town looking for some evil temple of evilness. The demon had barged in on Giles demanding information, and had almost used its stone-gaze on Giles. Luckily she, Xander, and Faith had just finished...training, and were able to kill the demon before it could cause too much damage.
Perhaps Buffy's shining moment had been the night the Sisterhood of Jhe had attempted to open the hellmouth. When a freak explosion in the basement had interrupted her, Willow, and Giles binding spell Buffy was forced to use her hastily sketched mandala to seal the breach. She had been extremely relieved and extremely proud that her demonic-energy binder had worked, and since then they'd installed one in each of the Scooby's homes.
Buffy was feeling pretty good about her life as she and Faith tore through the vampires. Faith would generally choose a target, send it careening into a fairly large group, and let Buffy take them out in the ensuing confusion. Meanwhile Faith would take on the outside strays, trusting in Buffy's superior abilities.
Faith kicked a vampire into three of his demonic brethren, and Buffy was on them in a flash. She spun out with her arm, staking one and kicking another against a dumpster. She flipped back, catching a vampire in the back of the head with her high-heeled boot before kicking out at another, impaling it with the heel of her boot, dusting it instantly.
Faith had even had time to give Buffy a quick kiss before they went after the stragglers, and soon the alley was completely empty. Until a hand reached out for Faith's shoulder. Faith spun, pulling the man holding it into her knee. She pushed him back against a dumpster, and raised her stake to strike.
Buffy's eyes widened and she raced forward, "Faith NO!"
Faith's arm was already in motion and came slamming down. Buffy moved like lightning, bringing her forearm up between Faith's path. The stake plunged into Buffy's arm.
"Oh shit, Buffy!" Faith cried. She clutched the smaller girl's arm. "Oh no...oh Little B I'm so sorry..."
"It's ok," Buffy said through gritted teeth. The pain was intense, but she knew the healing draught at home would help her.
"What the hell are you doing, you fucking idiot!" Faith yelled at the man currently clutching his stomach in pain. He coughed out an incoherent reply.
"Shit," Faith cursed, and pulled off her jacket. "Wrap this around it, Little B."
Buffy shook slightly as Faith wrapped the cloth around her arm, cinching it tight. Faith steadied her with one arm and looked in her eyes.
"Are those bad shakes?" Faith asked, worried. Now would not be a good time for that.
"No...Pain shakes," Buffy grunted.
"OK we're getting you home right now," Faith said, and scooped up the smaller Slayer in her arms. Buffy held her bad arm out partially.
"W-Wait!" coughed the man. "The Mayor!"
Faith gave him a cold look.
"What about him?"
"I-I work for him. I came to warn you!"
"Shit," Faith repeated. "Pick your ass up and follow us. I'll deal with you at home."
By the time they arrived at Casa De Summers, Buffy was actually doing slightly better. She was pale and trembling slightly, but the bleeding had lessened. Her mystically charged Slayer healing was busy at work.
"Xander!" Faith shouted as she kicked the door in. He paled at the sight of Buffy, and helped Faith bring her over to the couch.
"Where's the healing potion?" Faith asked.
"The medicine cabinet, I'll get it," he said, and rushed off to get it. Faith sat beside Buffy, her face full of concern.
"It's not that bad, Faith," Buffy said softly. "It hurts like hell, but it's not going to kill me or anything."
Faith frowned. "I stabbed you Buffy. I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry."
"Thought he was a vampire," Buffy said. "Not your fault."
Xander returned with the healing draught, and she drank it down greedily, despite its rotten taste. Once she had gotten it down she eased into a steady breathing rhythm, letting the potion do it's job.
"So who's he?" Xander asked. Finch was standing by the doorway looking very nervous and clutching his stomach.
"Some prick who works for the Mayor. He jumped in the middle of a vamp brawl and I woulda staked him if Buffy...Fucking idiot."
"You work for the Mayor?" Xander pressed.
"I'm D-Deputy Mayor Allan Finch. I came to warn you about the Ascension."
"Now why doesn't that word fill me with feelings of flowers and puppy dogs?" Xander sighed. He reached over and plucked the phone from its cradle.
"I'll gather the troops," he said to Faith.
"Giles?...Xander...Uh, Harris?...No I'm just calling you to chat, of course something's going on!...Sorry, sorry. Buffy just got a little roughed up and I'm on edge, OK?...Not that bad, the potion should take care of it in a few hours...She and Faith were patrolling and there was an accident with some dummy who got in the middle of a fire zone...Says he's the Deputy Mayor...Apparently to warn us about something called an Ascension...Yeah...OK...I'll call her...Bye."
After he called Giles he called Willow, who sleepily said she'd call Oz and be over right away.
Fifteen minutes later the Scooby gang had gathered in the Summers house, and listened to Allan Finch explain the details of the Mayor's Ascension.
Several miles away at Sunnydale High School, a figure appeared above the floor of the library. It hovered for a half-second before plummeting to the floor.
"Ow," she said.
Buffy Summers rolled over and looked around the darkened room. Where had everyone gone?
"Giles? Willow? Xander?" she called. No one answered.
"Weird," she said, head out the door, on her way home.
Xander luckily made it home without running into any vamps. He knew his good fortune was bound to come bite him on the ass, hellmouth style at some point, but for now he was just glad to be able to go to sleep. It had been a long day, and while he was a little freaked out by waking up in the empty library, he was just too exhausted to think about it.
He was careful not to turn on any lights in his house, as he didn't feel like hearing a drunken tirade from his father for daring to turn on lights in the living room he was trying to pull off a stupor in. Xander quietly crept into his room, and collapsed onto his bed.
Except his bed wasn't there, and instead he crashed into a few boxes of beer. The crashing noise woke up a very hung over Tony Harris, who came bursting in the room with bloodshot eyes and a baseball bat.
"You punk kids trying to steal my beer!?" he roared, swinging his bat at the darkened figure lying on the floor. The figure just barely dodged out of the way, scrambling for safety.
"This usedta be a decent neighborhood!" Tony Harris screamed as he swung the bat again.
"Dad! Wait! It's me!" Xander cried, ducking as the bat sailed over his head.
"Wha?" Tony said dumbfounded.
"It's Xander! Jeez Dad, nobody's gonna break in here just to steal your beer," he said as Tony lowered the bat slightly.
"What the hell are you doing here? Your cunt kick you out?" Tony spat, picking up one of the unbroken bottles and twisting off the cap.
"Have you been drin-" Xander started to ask, then realized it was a stupid question. "Dad, where's my bed? Where's my stuff?"
"Your mother gave whatever of your shit you didn't take to the Salvation Army," his Dad said after a long swig of beer.
"Take where?" Xander asked, very confused.
"To that little blonde number's house when you moved in with them."
"Buffy?"
"I guess," Tony shrugged.
"I live with Buffy?" Xander asked, unable to comprehend the idea.
"You been drinkin' son?" Tony asked between swallow of beer.
"No, but I wish I had," Xander said. His father offered him a beer. Xander shook his head and stepped out of what used to be his room.
"Hey! You better pay for those bottles you broke!" His father shouted after him as he left the house.
He arrived at Buffy's house several minutes later and after one harrowing chase by a vampire. He managed to convince it to back off by shoving his cross in its face and brandishing his stake, but he was still a little on edge. He hoped Buffy would let him stay on her couch or something so he could get some sleep and try to figure out his father's insanity.
The lights were on, so he rung the doorbell. The door swung open.
"Faith?" he asked, surprised to see the girl here.
"Yeah? Who the hell are you?" she asked.
"What are you doing here?" Xander asked at the same time.
"I live here dipshit, who are you?"
"Uh...Doesn't Buffy live here?" he asked. Had he somehow come to a universe where Faith didn't know him and lived in Buffy's house?
"Buffy!" Faith called. "Some dude's at the door for you."
Faith gave him one more look. "Nice shirt."
He looked down at his multi-colored monstrosity. "Uh...thanks."
"Xander?" Buffy said in absolute shock.
"Oh good, so I do exist," Xander said in relief.
Buffy stared at him. Then she stared to her right. At him. To her right. Then she frowned.
"You are one very stupid demon," she growled, pulling him in the house by his collar.
"Whoa! Buffy!" he shouted.
"What's going on?" he heard Cordelia's voice ask.
"Good lord," Giles said.
"Oh my god," Willow whispered.
Buffy held Xander in place and he looked over the living room. The whole gang was here, minus Angel, and a big muscular guy in tight clothes and a nerdy looking scared guy had seemed to take his place. The big one seemed very familiar somehow.
"Spill it," Buffy said, shaking him slightly. "Who are you?"
"I'm Xander!" he shouted.
"Wrong answer," Buffy said, and kneed him in the stomach. He gasped for air and saw little spots flash in front of his eyes as he doubled over.
"N-Now hold on Buffy," Giles said. "Let's not jump to any conclusions here."
"Giles," Xander gasped. "What's going on?"
"We have a bit of a problem," Giles said. "You claim to be Xander Harris. Unfortunately, we already *have*a Xander Harris."
"What?" Xander choked, still trying to his air into his lungs.
"Hiya," the muscular guy waved. His voice seemed like Xander should recognize it. "I'm Xander Harris."
The connections flared in Xander's mind, and he opened his mouth in shock.
"No way," he whispered, and passed out.
Buffy pulled her stake back and nodded curtly as the vampire dusted. Only her second one on the way home, that was a lot less than usual. She shrugged as she fit her key in the lock and opened the door. She stepped in and saw the entire gang in the living room, along with a gorgeous woman with a large bandage wrapped around her arm, and a nerdy looking guy who seemed very scared. The woman looked...very familiar, but Buffy was sure she'd remember someone that beautiful, and with breasts that couldn't possibly be real, could they?
"What the hell?" Xander said from the couch where the woman's head was resting on his lap.
"My word," Giles said.
"Whoa," Oz remarked. Willow nodded mutely.
"Who the hell are you?" Faith asked.
"I'm Buffy? I live here. You may have heard of me," Buffy said tiredly. She was very sleepy, and the entire gang camped out in her house usually meant there would be little time for sleep.
"Sorry chica, but that's Little B over there," Faith said, pointing to the woman on the couch. Faith slammed a hand against her throat and suddenly pressed her against the wall.
"Want to try again?" she growled. "I'm in a bad fucking mood, bitch, so lie to me again."
Buffy slammed her hand down on Faith's arm and palm-striked her in the nose. Faith's head snapped back, but the dark haired Slayer spun around with the blow and suddenly her elbow had snapped out towards Buffy's face. The blow rocked her, and she fell to the floor. Faith jumped on top of her and bent her elbow back painfully.
*Where did she learn that move?* Buffy wondered.
"Wrong again!" Faith shouted.
"Faith wait!" Xander yelled.
"I'm not in the mood for stupid demons, Xan," Faith growled. Xander knelt beside them and looked Buffy in the face.
"Are you really Buffy Summers?" he asked.
"Yes! What's with the psycho intervention?" Buffy yelled.
"Well we have a problem Buffy. Cause that's you over there." He pointed at the incredibly beautiful woman on the couch. She sat up, cradling her bandaged arm, and gave her a shy smile.
"Hi," she said in a melodious voice that had a tone Buffy recognized. "I'm Buffy Summers."
Buffy stared at her face, noticing the eyes, the nose, and the basic features...
"Oh my god," she whispered. "You're me...sort of."
"You can let her up Faith, for now," Xander said. Faith growled, but released her arm.
"So...Buffy," Giles asked her warily. "What are you doing here?"
"I told you, I live here," Buffy said, rubbing her sore arm and glaring at Faith.
"All right, let's assume for the moment you are telling us the truth," Giles said. "How is it that there are two of you?"
"There's one of me!" she yelled. "That's not me! I don't look like that in my wildest dreams! Nobody does! She's clearly some kind of demon that has you all...brainwashed!"
The Not-Buffy gave her a sad frown.
"I'm afraid...Buffy, that the truth is far more complicated," Giles said. "However, before we get into that, do you recall anything strange that may have happened to you recently?"
Buffy sighed. "We were casting the spell to send the vampire Willow back to her reality, and then...I dunno, I woke up in the library and everyone was gone. Then I came here."
Her eyes widened as she realized what must have happened.
"No! This can't be the other reality! In that one I never came to Sunnydale!"
"This vampire Willow," Giles asked. "She was from another reality?"
"Yeah one where she wore these revealing leather skank outfits and way too much makeup," Buffy said. "No offense Willow," she added. She glanced at her alter-ego. Vampire Willow's clothing looked modest compared to her.
"None taken," the redhead said quickly.
"Then perhaps in sending this Willow back to her reality you were somehow drawn into our reality."
"And what, in this reality I'm like the hottest girl in the world?" she asked, not entirely disliking the idea.
"Among other things," Xander said sheepishly.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It all began with a curse..."
Xander Harris woke up to see Buffy and Giles standing over him with concerned looks.
"That it," he groaned. "No more Twinkies after five P.M."
"That's blasphemous!" came a voice. Xander's eyes snapped open and he sat up, feeling his head rush from the quick action.
"Twinkies are life's blood," said the superhero version of himself. "They are to be eaten at every-"
"Every opportunity," Xander finished. The two Xander's grinned at each other.
"This is my Twinkie!" they said together. "There are many like it but this one is mine. I will devour it thankfully and continue the search for more!"
Cordelia looked between the two Xander's. "I don't think a demon could mimic that level of dorkiness."
"Hey!" both Xander's said at the same time.
"Stop that!" they said again.
"No you stop it!"
They glared at each other, and then both broke into grins.
"Kill us both, Spock!" The two Xander's began doubling over with laughter.
"Yes, well, I gather we've determined that this Xander is indeed...Xander," Giles said when the two of them had calmed down.
"This is too weird, even for us," Buffy sighed. She flopped down on the couch beside Big-Xander.
"At least we don't look the same," Xander said, getting to his feet. "We had some crazy shenanigans with Vampire Willow and regular Willow confusion."
"Vampire Willow?" Giles asked.
"Uh yeah, I'm starting to think I know what's going on," Xander said. "See, this alternate version of Willow somehow got jumped over to our reality. Crazy shenanigans were had, and afterwards we did a spell to send her back. Then uh...I woke up in the library and everyone was gone."
"Astounding," Giles said. "You believe that you are an alternate version of Xander Harris?"
"No, I'm Xander Harris, he's the alternate Hulk Hogan version," Xander said, gesturing to his muscular double.
"Hey I've got just as much right to be me as you do!" Big-Xander protested.
"Whatever, muscle-head," Xander scoffed.
"Hey! Leave Xander alone!" Buffy and Cordelia said together.
"Yeah!" Both Xander's said together.
"I think they meant me," Big-Xander said smugly. Xander scowled.
"So, what are we supposed to do? Can we try and send him back to his reality?" Willow asked.
"There could be a problem with that," Big-Xander said. "We don't know what caused him to get drawn into our reality. Trying to spell him back to his own reality might cause other people to be pulled across universes, maybe bad things."
"So what, I'm just supposed to stay here?"
"For the time being at least," Giles said. "We can research the phenomena tomorrow."
"OK, well if I'm sticking around, can I ask a question?"
Giles nodded. "Of course."
"What the hell happened to me in this reality? I look like I'm on steroids." He gasped. "Oh no! Was it the fish steroids?"
Xander had been key in infiltrating the swim team coach's plan to enhance his players with mystically charged fish steroids.
"No, not fish steroids," Buffy said cautiously.
"OK, so what then?"
"Well," Giles said, clearing his throat for a big speech. "It all began with a curse..."
"Giles, tell me you're making a horrible, horrible joke and that you will never try to be funny ever again," Buffy groaned.
"Hey that's what I said," Little-Buffy whispered to Xander.
"I'm afraid I'm quite serious Buffy. It has been a stressful time for you and Xander both," Giles said.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure Xander's just beating himself up over the whole situation," Buffy scoffed.
"You better watch it, Fake B," Faith growled.
"It's OK Faith," Xander said. "She's got a right to be upset." His face was a mask, but Little-Buffy could feel the tension in his voice.
"You're damn right I do! Look at me! I'm some sexed up little tart! How do you even stand up without falling over with those things?" She screeched at her enhanced-double.
"Well she does end up on her back a lot," Faith snorted. Little-Buffy blushed.
"Not helping, Faith." Xander groaned.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Buffy said. She paled and sunk into an empty chair.
"I agree that the pain of withdrawal is very frightening Buffy, but you, that is to say, Our Buffy and Xander have it firmly under control these days. There's no reason to be so upset," Giles said.
"No reason to be upset? I'm blowing Xander three times a day!" Buffy exclaimed.
"I...Fail to see the trouble," Giles said, confused.
"Uh, Buffy?" Xander said.
"What?" she snapped, clearly annoyed with the young man.
"Could I talk to you in private for a minute?"
She growled. "Fine, just keep your hands to yourself."
Xander looked as if she had struck him. "Yeah. Sure."
He led her into the kitchen, where he offered her a seat at the table.
"It's my house, I'll sit if I want to. I'll stand," she said icily.
"Whatever you want," Xander sighed. He slumped down into a chair and buried his face in his hands.
"Look, Buffy, first of all I just want you to know that I never meant to take advantage of you."
"And yet it happened anyway," Buffy retorted. She was seething with anger, despite her knowledge that her alter-self would have died without Xander's help.
"This has been like two different lives for me, Buffy. For you too, I think. When the curse first started it was like the worst thing to ever happen to us. I thought our friendship would be doomed forever, and we'd never have a chance at...being more."
Buffy's eyes widened. This had to be an alternate reality if Xander still had feelings for her.
"We went through some really bad times. Angel left, I broke up with Cordelia, and you were crying almost every day. I hate seeing you cry Buffy. I'll never get used to it."
Buffy tried to keep the scowl on her face, but could feel it slipping all the same.
"Then we had a really bad day where you, that is she and I were um...giving her a treatment. That's what we call it sometimes. And...Cordelia opened the door, and the...whole school knew."
Buffy's anger returned with a vengeance.
"In school! What were you thinking, you idiot?"
"Withdrawal sets on fast sometimes Buffy. And...I think you - she was starting to enjoy herself a little."
Buffy scoffed. "Yeah I bet you'd like to think that," she growled.
"Anyway, you were mortified after that," Xander said, leaving out what it did to Buffy's libido to be mortified. "It was really bad. But then you remembered this spell you'd read about while researching."
"I guess it wasn't to break the curse," Buffy sighed.
"No. It was a 'Don't Notice' spell. It would make it so people just didn't care about what you and I would do...sexually."
"And you made her cast this spell?" Buffy crossed her arms.
"Well, more like the other way around. Giles did it the first time, only he didn't realize that he and Willow would be affected by it just like anyone else in town."
Buffy realized what he meant. "That's why Giles doesn't understand why I'm upset," she gasped.
"Yeah, to him it's like, I dunno, you have to shake my hand every day or you feel a lot of pain. He feels bad for the necessity of it, but he doesn't know why anyone would be horrified of the idea."
"You brainwashed them!" Buffy accused.
"You'd rather drive yourself to suicide from having the entire town know?" Xander snapped back. He understood why she would hate him, even thought he deserved it. But she didn't get to claim his Buffy did anything wrong.
Buffy closed her mouth and fumed.
"Giles, Willow and Oz can't understand how you feel. Faith never knew you before, and my Buffy...I can't imagine what she's feeling right now. But I understand why you hate me. All I can say is that I'm sorry."
"I...I don't hate you," Buffy admitted. "Well, not that much anyway. I just, I can't believe this is going on! It's just too weird."
"Weirder than losing your soul if you make love?" Xander asked.
"That's not fair," she said.
"Neither is life on the hellmouth," he replied. Buffy stared at him, his sad eyes, and his sagging shoulders. He looked awful, and she began to wonder if maybe he didn't really like this that much after all.
"You can't really hate this though," Buffy said. "I mean any guy would love for this to happen to him, right?"
Xander raised his eyes and gave her a chilling look. "Any guy would want a woman forced to have sexual relations with him? I pity your view of males, Buffy," he said coldly.
"I didn't mean that, I just meant...it can't be all bad."
He shook his head. "No, you're right. There are times when...When I think we're really happy."
She sighed and sat down across from him. "Well you told me the curse makes me - her like it."
"Buffy?" he asked desperately. "Do you think...I mean if you think about it right now, really think it through, could you ever feel happy in this situation?"
Buffy didn't know what to say.
"You mean with...Doing that every day?" Buffy asked.
"With everything. Buffy, I don't know where the influence of the curse begins anymore. I look at how you're reacting to this and all I can think of is that deep down there must be some true part of you the curse hasn't touched that hates all of this. It makes me sick inside."
Buffy thought about that. Her initial reaction was that this was all sick and wrong, and she would rather die than have it happen to her. That was more a visceral reaction than anything else, she knew. It was shock and humiliation at seeing herself that way.
Could she ever live with this? Could she do that to Xander every day without hating herself? Could she do it...And feel happy?
"Before you answer," Xander said. "There's more."
"More?" she dreaded the response.
"Buffy...I...I love you. We're not just together because of the curse. We're together in a much deeper way than that now."
That shocked her even more, and Buffy began to see why Xander was so upset. She could barely even comprehend living with the curse, how could he trust in his love if this un-cursed version of Buffy hated him?
"Xander, I...I don't know what to say."
He sagged. "I think...I think maybe you should talk to her. Would you do that for me Buffy? For the friendship we had before? I...I have to know if you could ever see yourself living her life, without some curse changing the way you think."
"I'll talk to her if you want me to," she said softly. "But...I don't know how I feel about any of this Xander."
"I understand," he said solemnly. "Look, no matter what happens, I'm with you...with her forever. Whatever made us feel this way about each other; it's real to me. To us. I just...I wish I didn't have to doubt anymore."
She nodded sadly.
"Buffy, my Buffy that is, she's really smart. Like smarter than Willow and Einstein put together. She'll find a way to send you home."
"Thanks Xander," she said.
"You can stay with us, of course. You could sleep in Faith's room if you want, there's an extra bed in there."
"Yeah OK, that's really nice of. I'll just..." Wait a second.
"Faith's room? She lives here?"
"Um...Yeah."
"Then why isn't she going to be sleeping in her bed?"
"Well the thing about that is..."
In the living room the Scooby gang sat around nervously. Little-Buffy was resting her head against Faith's shoulders and chewing on her lip. Giles was looking perplexed, and Willow amazed. Oz said stoically behind Willow with a hand on her shoulder, and Allan Finch looked like he might throw up.
All of them jerked in surprise when a shrill voice screamed, "WHAT!?" from the kitchen.
Except Allan Finch. He threw up.
"That's a good one Giles, but I like the one about the nun and the priest in the rowboat," Xander said.
"Hey that's what I said. Or, well that's what I was trying to say when I fell on the floor," Big-Xander whispered to Buffy.
"I assure you it's all entirely true," Giles insisted.
"I do that to Buffy and she doesn't rip my head off?" he asked.
"Of course not! It's not your fault that curse hit you," Buffy said.
"So I live here because of the curse?"
"Mom wanted to make sure you were close by in case you had an attack," Buffy shrugged.
"Your *MOM* knows!?"
"Well... sort of."
"Oh this just gets better and better," Xander said in disbelief. "Wait, this happened a few months ago? So I was still with Cordelia then."
"What do you mean, 'still'," Cordelia asked in a warning tone of voice.
"Ah...Well, I just meant...Well obviously we couldn't be together if..."
"And why not?" Cordelia asked.
"Hammina ho...bah," Xander babbled, not quite remembering how to speak.
Cordelia stopped comforting Faith and strode across the room to sit next to Big-Xander. She planted a wet kiss on his lips and put an arm around his large shoulders.
"So, I guess you're OK with the curse thing?" Xander asked in shock.
"Of course. It wouldn't be fair of me to hold that against you. It's not your fault."
"And uh...Willow, you and I, we never..."
"Never what?" Willow asked.
"Um...Fluked?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind!" he said quickly. Willow and Cordelia both frowned at him.
"I feel like my brain might explode," Xander said after a moment.
"While I admit that the curse can be quite frightening at times Xander, you shouldn't be too upset over it. Buffy is very dutiful about being available to you at any time, and there have been, to my knowledge, only a few close-calls."
"I shouldn't be too upset over it? Are you some kind of crazy hippie in this universe Giles? You should be rubbing your glasses and stuttering right about now!"
"I'm...Not sure I understand what you mean," Giles frowned.
"Xandy? I mean...Xander? Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?" Buffy asked quickly.
"I guess so," he replied.
She led him into the kitchen and offered him a seat at the table; he gratefully took it, still feeling a little woozy. She sat across from him.
"This is really weird," she said, staring at him.
"Tell me about it."
"I forgot you looked so good even before the curse," she said absent-mindedly.
"What?"
"Nothing. Look, are you OK with this?"
"With...doing that?"
"Yeah."
He ran his fingers through his hair. "Jeez I don't know Buff. This is major league weirdness for me. I mean I've dreamed about doing that kind of thing to you, but I'd never want us to be together because it was forced," he said.
She smiled at him coyly.
"You've dreamed about doing that to me?"
Xander Harris cursed his big mouth.
"No! I mean...Not that it wouldn't be an incredible experience or anything, I just...Oh crap."
"Do you think you could ever be happy this way?" she asked seriously.
"I don't know Buff, I mean...You seem so awesome about this, even Cordelia seems cool with it. I just, I'd never want to take advantage of you like that."
She smiled at him for a moment. "There's a lot more Giles hasn't told you."
He sighed and put his forehead on the table. "Lay it on me."
"We cast a spell, a little after the curse first started. We were worried about what might happen if people found out about your problem. So Giles cast a 'Don't Notice' spell. It makes it so people don't care about anything that we do...sexually.
"Oh," Xander said knowingly. "That's why Cordelia doesn't care about it?"
"Not exactly," Buffy grinned. "It affects Giles, Willow and Oz, and most of the town. Just not you, me, Cordelia or Faith."
"What? Why not them?"
Buffy looked at him seriously. "Xander...I love you."
Xander looked up from the table. She seemed completely serious. "Me? Or him?"
"Well him. Or both, maybe," she said. "I'm not totally sure anymore. I know I cared about you deeply before the curse, and I know that now I love you without a shadow of a do-" she paused, and seemed sad. "Well, I just know it."
"What's that got to do with Cordelia and Faith?"
"We have a very unusual relationship, Xander."
"All of my relationships are unusual," Xander reminded her. That was true enough.
"You, that is, he, he's my...My Xander," Buffy said.
"What does that mean?"
"Remember Giles told you that the curse kind leans one person towards submissiveness, and one towards dominance?"
Xander sat back, realizing what she was saying. "So I'm like...yours?"
She grinned sheepishly. "Well, mine and...Cordelia's. Together."
Xander's mouth dropped open.
"Sometimes we call each other Lady Buffy and Lady Cordelia," she giggled, her eyes glazing over with remembered experiences.
"Habba...pah?" Xander babbled wordlessly.
"I love her too Xander. And she loves you. It's a whole big love thing."
"Are you trying to kill me?" Xander squeaked. She laughed at his expression of total awe.
"Maybe I shouldn't mention Faith then," she muttered.
"Faith?" he wasn't sure he could handle the answer. He felt like his brain would explode only shortly after his dick did. "I belong to her too?"
Buffy shook her head. "Oh no, Faith belongs to me and Cordelia too."
"Faith? The chick who ripped my clothes off and then threw me out twenty minutes later?" Xander asked in disbelief.
"Huh?"
"Um...Never mind. I just never saw her as the...submissive type," he said.
"You just need to know how to push the right buttons," Buffy grinned knowingly. "When Faith trusts, she trusts with every part of herself. Sometimes I think about that exterior she puts up and I wonder how may times she put her trust in the wrong people."
Xander nodded wistfully. He had seen something similar in his own Faith. A sense of having been burned one too many times. Of a yearning to trust even while she pushed everyone away.
"But...I thought only you and I got affected by the curse like that," Xander said.
"Well supposedly they can feel some of the...Excitement that we feel. But mostly I think that they just, I dunno, like it."
Xander shook his head in shock. "Wow. I mean, Cordelia I could see being like that, she doesn't take crap from anyone."
"Almost anyone," Buffy grinned.
"What do you mean?"
"Cordy!" Buffy yelled.
"What!?" the cheerleader yelled back.
"Who's the boss of you!?" Buffy shouted. There was silence.
"Come on!"
Cordelia's response was too muffled for him to hear.
"Speak up!"
"I said Buffy Summers is the boss of me, are you happy now?" Cordelia yelled in exasperation.
"Very," Buffy grinned at him as she shouted back.
"That is...too hot for words," Xander breathed. Buffy's smile widened.
"Xander, I have a favor I want to ask of you," Buffy said. Xander's mind raced, what kind of sex-crazed favor would she ask for?
"Um...Sure Buff, what's up?"
"I love you. You love me. I know it with all my heart."
"O-OK," he stammered.
"But the curse does things to us, Xander. Pushes us in certain directions. Obviously in your world we're not together?"
He shook his head, a little sadly.
"I want you...I want you to tell me what you think about us. If you think you could ever be this way, without the curse."
Xander suddenly understood what she meant. "So you can know for sure?"
"Yes. I have to know if you could have done these things without the curse. I think you should talk to Xander, and after you know all the details, think about it."
"I'll try Buffy," Xander said. Buffy smiled at him, her eyes slightly wet with tears.
"Thanks Xander," she said, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I'll go get the other you."
As she left, Xander sighed and buried his head in his hands. Buffy Summers wanted him to tell her if he could be happy being...Being her love slave? This had to be the twilight zone.
"You," Buffy said, pointing at her alter-ego. "Come with me."
Her voice brooked no argument, and Little-Buffy stood shyly. Faith stood to argue, but Xander's look told her to sit down. She scowled, but her expression softened slightly when Xander sat her down next to him and put a comforting arm around her.
"She'll be OK," Xander said. "They need to do this."
Buffy led her other self into the kitchen.
"Sit," she ordered. Little-Buffy sat.
Buffy stared at her, taking in the tight leather outfit Little-Buffy generally wore while Slaying. She looked down at the ridiculously high heels, then back to Little-Buffy's perfect face.
"Look at you," Buffy whispered. "You're like some wet-dream come to life."
Little-Buffy turned red, and smiled shyly as she looked down. Buffy frowned, and felt this odd urge to...hug herself.
"So you're what Xander wishes I would look like," Buffy remarked.
Little-Buffy raised her eyes and gave Buffy a sharp look, "It's not so bad."
"Even those?" Buffy said, gesturing to her double's ample chest.
"Especially these," Little-Buffy grinned. "I like them, and so does Xander."
"And Faith?" Buffy growled.
"Faith too," Little-Buffy whispered.
"I can't believe this," Buffy groaned. "I'm a lesbian."
"No I'm not," Little-Buffy said. "Faith's just...special."
"You know what I think? I think Xander's a typical horny teenager and he decided he wanted his dream girl to want girls too," Buffy said.
"It doesn't work like that," Little-Buffy said.
"Yeah? Says who?"
"It just doesn't, OK? I love Faith. And I love Xander."
"And what about Angel?" Buffy asked.
"I...I loved him too. It just couldn't work, that's all."
"You sure do have a lot of love to give," Buffy sneered.
"I don't think I want to talk to you anymore," Little-Buffy said, standing up.
Buffy stood too, and held her hands up. "OK, look, I'm sorry. I just can't understand all of this. Me and Xander? And Faith?" She sighed and sat back down.
"And look at you, you're like this cute little thing that I feel like I need to wrap my arms around and protect forever," Buffy sighed. "You're the Slayer! Not some weak little girl."
"I'm not weak," Little-Buffy insisted, though her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yeah you are woman, hear you roar," Buffy said sarcastically.
"J-Just because I'm, kind of...shy, that doesn't mean I'm a wimp," Little-Buffy said. "I just...I kind of like being protected sometimes. Besides, it feels good....right."
Buffy blinked at her. Sure she could understand wanting to be protected. She could still remember the feel of Angel's comforting arms around hers, making her feel safe, despite the knowledge that she was stronger than he was.
"You and Xander aren't together in your reality?" Little-Buffy asked.
"No, I'm with Angel. I love him," Buffy said.
"And Faith?"
"We don't get along very well since she tried to frame me," Buffy said bitterly. She didn't mention those days leading up to the death of the Deputy Mayor. Those days where she and Faith had become so close that Buffy had almost begun to think...
"She tried to frame you?"
"She killed the Deputy Mayor and tried to tell Giles it was me," Buffy said. Little-Buffy looked horrified.
"Faith would never do that! Even before we...were together."
"Well she did. And after that she almost killed Xander in her motel room," Buffy said smugly.
"She and Xander were together?"
"Well for one night, but she threw him out of her room after they'd done it, apparently," Buffy said.
Little-Buffy frowned. "Then why did they have a motel room together?"
"That's where Faith lives," Buffy said in a tone that suggested her alter ego should know that.
"Faith lives here," Little-Buffy said.
"Well yeah, since you two are all lesbo for each other," Buffy scoffed.
"No, I mean before that. When we first met her. Xander didn't want her staying in that motel and Mom thought it was a really good idea for her to stay, so she moved into mom's old studio."
Buffy blinked. Why had she never thought to offer that?
"Look, it doesn't matter. The point is I don't trust her."
"What about Xander?" Little-Buffy asked.
"What about him?"
"Do you trust him?"
Buffy took a deep breath as she thought about the question. "With my life."
"Me too," Little-Buffy said. "Only I really trust him with it. I love him."
"Or maybe the curse just makes you think you do. I love Angel."
Little-Buffy put her hands over her face. After a few moments Buffy realized she was crying.
"Hey, come on...Don't do that," Buffy said. She suddenly understood why Xander hated to see her cry.
"I don't love him!" Little-Buffy said in a muffled voice. "You don't love him!"
"Wait hold on, just calm down!" Buffy said, not really sure what to do.
Little-Buffy sniffled. "I love him more than anything, but if you don't then that means it's all the curse!"
"I...I never said I don't love him," Buffy said after a long time. Little-Buffy looked at her hopefully.
"He's just...He's my Xander," Buffy whispered. Little-Buffy smiled.
"That's what I call him sometimes. My Xander."
Buffy smiled sadly.
"Do you think that you could ever love him?" Little-Buffy asked. "Like I do?"
Buffy sighed. "I don't know."
"So," Xander said.
"So," the other Xander said.
"What's it like being a superhero?" Xander asked.
"Not as great as I thought, but the fringe benefits are second to none," Big Xander replied.
"How does that work anyway? You just do whatever Buffy and Cordelia tell you, and they give you sex in return?"
Big-Xander chuckled. "It's a little more complicated than that. They like to give orders and I like to obey them. Most of the time anyway. We had a little issue a few days ago about that, but I think we're good now."
"You're not afraid Buffy might withhold...uh, treatments if you didn't do what she said?"
"Absolutely not. Buffy would never do that."
"Sorry," Xander said. "This is all just really weird."
"Yeah no kidding."
"What about Faith? I never really saw her as the obeying type," Xander said. Big-Xander grinned, remembering the "quality time" he and Faith had spent together recently.
"What? What'd I say?" Xander asked.
"Buffy, she's pretty tough, right?" Big-Xander asked.
"Yeah, she's the Slayer."
"And Cordelia, she's tough too?"
"Oh yeah. She's Queen C."
"You think Faith stands a chance against the two of them working together? You think anyone does?"
Xander's eyes widened. "I begin to see what you mean."
"What's it like in your world? Just you and Cordelia?"
Xander paled. "Ah, well that's kind of...over."
"Over?"
"She sort of broke up with me when she caught me and Willow kissing and wound up with a steal rod through her stomach."
"What!?" Big-Xander said, standing up quickly. He was an imposing figure.
"Whoa whoa! She's OK! It was just...a fluke," Xander tried lamely.
"I can't believe I'm not with Cordelia," Big-Xander said, amazed. "What about Buffy?"
"She's with Angel."
"And...Willow, you said?"
"Yeah well there were a few illicit smoochies, and then the whole steal rod incident. She's still with Oz now, they got over it. Me and Cordy didn't fare so well."
"What about Faith?" Big-Xander asked.
"Well I did kind of sleep with her," Xander admitted. Big-Xander seemed a little relieved. At least something made sense.
"Then a few days later she tried to kill me," Xander added.
"What!?"
"She kind of accidentally killed the Deputy Mayor, and things went downhill from there. I tried to go talk to her cause...Cause I thought we had something. But when I got to her motel she threw me on the bed and started choking the life out of me instead."
Big-Xander stared at him in disbelief. Faith did that? To him? The same Faith who had whispered so hotly in his ear as they'd been secured together? The same Faith who had asked him so sweetly if he loved her?
"So let me get this straight. You're not with Buffy, you're not with Cordelia, you're not with Willow, and you're not with Faith. Who are you with?"
"Ms. Palm and her five friends, mostly," Xander sighed. Big-Xander almost laughed.
"Did Buffy kick Faith out of the house after she tried to kill you?" Big-Xander asked.
"Uh...what house? I told you, Buffy's with Angel, not me, not Cordelia, and definitely not Faith. Although I kind of thought they were flirting a little when they first met," Xander mused.
"Wait, so where does Faith live?"
"The motel," Xander said.
"You all let her stay in that pimp's refuge?"
"Um...Yes?" Xander said hesitantly.
"Unbelievable. No wonder she tried to kill you," Big-Xander said.
"Hey! I don't deserve throat-crushing for that. What was I going to do, come have her live with me? She's better off in roach-motel than a house with Tony Harris," Xander said defensively.
"Well you have a point there," Big-Xander admitted. "I forgot you weren't already living with Buffy. Still, Buffy should have said something. She and Faith have a connection, she couldn't just leave her there."
Big-Xander suddenly seemed to realize something Xander had said. "She killed the Deputy Mayor?"
"Yeah, by accident, but it was pretty rough. She tried to say Buffy did it, and didn't want to take responsibility for it."
"The Deputy Mayor is the guy sitting in the living room who looked like he was going to throw up," Big-Xander said. "Faith almost staked him tonight."
"That's weird. That was like two weeks ago for us," Xander said.
"Well things definitely go differently here. Maybe the effects of the curse affected the turn of events.
*For the better,* he realized.
They sat there for a while before Xander finally spoke up again.
"Buffy wants me to figure out if I could live this way," Xander said. "Without the curse, I mean."
Big-Xander nodded softly. "She's hoping to finally get rid of the question of what the curse did to our feelings."
"I don't know what to tell her," Xander admitted. "You should know how I've always felt about her. Would I let her 'own' me if it meant being with her? Probably."
"But would you enjoy it?" Big-Xander asked.
"What?"
"I'm not...submissive, I guess, because Buffy wouldn't be with me otherwise. I do it because she likes it and I do too. You and I both know you loved Buffy before the curse ever started. That's not the question in my head. The question in my head is if I would be in this situation without the curse.
"Let's say Buffy came in here right now and said she wanted to sit...To sit on your, uh...you know. But you couldn't move while she did, and you would be at her mercy until she decided to let you...release. How would you feel about that?"
Xander's eyes were wide when he responded, "I think I'd be too far gone to be at anyone's mercy."
Big-Xander laughed.
"That's mind-blowing," Xander said. "She really does that?"
"That is the least of what she does. I think Buffy has a real exhibitionist streak, and ever since we cast that spell she's never passed up an opportunity to explore it."
"I can't say that this sounds like a bad thing," Xander admitted.
"I certainly don't think it is," Big-Xander agreed. "It gets frustrating though. She and Cordelia can work you up in an instant and leave you on edge for hours. They're like psychic when they start double-teaming someone. Watching them play off of each other to really get under someone's skin is amazing. You can't imagine how exciting it is to watch them do it to Faith. I have to remind myself of that whenever they're doing it to me, otherwise I might explode."
"But...Does she love you?"
"Who? Buffy? Cordelia?"
"Either," he said.
"Both," Big-Xander replied.
"How can you be sure? What if it's the curse?"
"That's what I'm hoping you'll find out. Maybe you can't find out what Buffy felt before the curse, but you can know what I felt. Maybe if you could see yourself in my position, then it means the curse doesn't really change you that much after all."
"I don't know, me and Faith being owned by Buffy and Cordelia? That's a hell of a change."
Big-Xander shrugged, "I used to think so. Now I'm not so sure. The right nudge in either direction, a little loosening of inhibitions and a few fierce kicks to the ass...who knows where you might go?"
"You want to know the truth?" Xander asked, looking his double right in the eye.
"Yeah."
"For Buffy?" Xander said seriously. "I would go anywhere."
Both Xander's smiled.
The two Buffy's emerged from the kitchen, both looking a bit somber. Little-Buffy slipped between Faith and Xander on the couch. Buffy forced herself not to show how creeped out she was.
"So Buffy," Giles asked. "I trust you've been brought up to speed?"
"Oh yeah, I'm sped."
"Excellent," Giles said. Little-Buffy groaned slightly and adjusted her bandaged arm.
"You OK?" Xander asked her softly.
"Yeah, it's getting better," Little-Buffy said.
"What happened to your arm, anyway?" Buffy asked her.
"Um...Faith kind of staked it," Little-Buffy said.
"Oh my god. You guys are like some kind of sex-pain freaks too!?"
"What?" Faith exclaimed. "No! It was an accident."
"We were fighting some vampires when he," Little-Buffy pointed to Finch with her good arm. "Got in the middle of it. Faith was in mid-staking so I had to get between them."
"Hey...I know you," Buffy said, frowning at Finch. "You're the guy Faith killed!"
"W-What?" Finch asked, turning even paler than before.
"I killed him?" Faith asked softly.
"Uh...yeah. But it was an accident," Buffy said, still not quite sure what to make of Faith.
"Oh my god," Faith breathed. Her fists clenched and she looked down, mouth tightly held shut.
"It's OK Faith," Little-Buffy whispered, leaning her head on Faith's shoulder. "I know what it's like."
"Ted," Xander murmured. Ted had dated Joyce for a time, and Buffy had never liked him. One day he struck her, and her retaliatory attack had sent him tumbling down the stairs to his apparent death. It was one of the worst experiences of Buffy's life, despite learning later that Ted was a mass-murdering robot.
*And somehow we think the curse is weirder than usual for us?* Xander thought. *We should be thanking our lucky stars.*
Buffy frowned with the memory, and suddenly realized she may have been too harsh with Faith in her own reality. She knew the utter pain of killing a human, even though she'd never truly done it.
"You should not feel too upset Faith. The risk of accidental harm towards an innocent is unfortunately a risk that every Slayer takes. Vampires are virtually indistinguishable from humans in many respects. Take heart in the fact that you had a friend who saved you from that anguish."
Faith nodded, hugging Little-Buffy in thanks.
Buffy frowned, and for a moment she wished things had been this way for the Faith she knew.
"Ah Xander," Giles said as the two emerged from the kitchen. "I trust you have been brought up to speed?"
"Well Ben Reilly here filled me on the details," Xander said.
"Hey, I'm not Ben Reilly. You are!" Big-Xander said defensively.
"You're the one with the superpowers," Xander argued.
"Peter Parker has superpowers too!"
"What the hell are you two talking about?" Faith asked.
"The Clone Saga," they both said.
"Huh?"
"Spider-Man."
"It's like dork in stereo," Cordelia grinned.
"So who's Ben Reilly?" Buffy asked.
"May I?" Xander asked his double.
"But of course good sir," Big-Xander responded.
"Ben Reilly is the clone of Peter Parker. Peter Parker is Spider-Man, but don't tell anyone because he likes to keep that a secret," he grinned. "He's called Ben Reilly after his Uncle Ben and his Aunt's Maiden name."
"Plus he came up with those cool impact-webs and he wore a hooded sweatshirt as a costume," Big-Xander added.
"You know, come to think of it, you look more like Kaine than Ben Reilly," Xander remarked.
"Hey!"
"Muscles wise, not horrible facial scarring wise," Xander amended.
"That's better," Big-Xander said.
"Are they even speaking English?" Buffy asked.
"I think they're speaking in nerd code. They're saying 'Warning - We are big nerds," Cordelia laughed.
"I trust then that you are feeling rather more comfortable with the situation, Xander?" Giles asked.
"Yeah, I guess so. It's still pretty overwhelming, but I'm cool."
"Excellent. For the time being we will have to put the question of your return to your own reality aside, as I'd like to continue our questioning of Mr. Finch," Giles said.
"Yeah OK, it's not like I've got anyone pining for my return back in Universe Prime," Xander sighed, slumping down onto the couch. Faith sat to his right, her head resting against Cordelia's shoulder while the other girl tried to comfort her.
"What?" Faith asked after a minute, while Xander tried not to show that he was watching them.
"Nothing!" he said quickly. "I just...I heard what happened. I'm glad that, that nothing happened." He said carefully.
Faith frowned. "Thanks. I guess."
"Hey why does your universe get to be Universe Prime?" Big-Xander asked.
"Because it's my universe, and I get to call it what I want."
"Oh yeah? Well then this is Universe Awesome," Big-Xander retorted. Buffy grinned at him, and kissed him on the lips. "For reasons that are clear to all."
"More like Universe Penthouse," Xander muttered.
"If you don't mind," Giles said. "I'd like to continue getting the information from Mr. Finch"
"Yeah sure Giles," Buffy said.
Several hours later they had come to the conclusion that there were really two possibilities for defeating the Mayor. The first was to locate the Box of Gavroc, a device that housed demonic energy, and either destroy it or keep it out of the hands of the Mayor until the Ascension. The second was to somehow cause a volcanic eruption on the Mayor after he had ascended. They all agreed that was a bit less feasible.
Buffy woke in a familiar bed, but an unfamiliar room. It took her a moment to remember where she was. Her mother's old studio, converted recently into a bedroom for Faith. Of course, Faith no longer slept here. She slept in Buffy's room.
*With me,* Buffy thought. *And Xander.*
In her mother's house. It was unbelievable. She wiped sleep from her eyes as she dressed, glad that at least she had all of her clothes here. Her double had discarded all of these things when her body had changed into that...dream.
*Xander's dream,* she thought bitterly. She couldn't believe that's what he wanted her to look like.
Not that the new Buffy didn't look incredible. She just looked too incredible. Unnaturally so. And the way she had been dressed last night, it was ridiculous. Nobody could even walk in boots like that, let alone kill a dozen vampires. And yet she claimed she did.
Buffy found herself inclined to believe her alter-ego. The smooth and easy way she had moved in the boots was amazing to watch.
Buffy got dressed in a pair of sweatpants and her favorite T-shirt. It hugged her body comfortably, although not too tightly. There came a knock at the door, and she pulled it open.
Faith was standing there in a sports bra and tight running shorts. A water bottle hung off of a belt at her hip, and old worn sneakers were laced tightly to her feet. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
"You sleep OK?" Faith asked.
"Yeah I guess. It is my bed after all."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I always think of that big motherfucker as your bed when I think of you before I got here."
Buffy shrugged.
"It's weird, you know? I never knew you before the curse. I mean I've seen pictures of you back then, but that doesn't really give the full effect."
Buffy felt her ire raise, and she spread her arms out at her sides. "Disappointed?"
"Heh, don't try to compare yourself to Little B," Faith grinned. "Nobody could do that shit and come off feeling good. That girl's probably the hottest thing on the planet right now."
"That's why you decided to own her." Buffy said matter-of-factly.
"She decided to belong to me. To us," Faith said.
"To you and Xander."
"Damn right. Ain't two people in the world that love her more," Faith said proudly.
"And what, you just tell her what to do and she does it happily?"
"Of course," Faith said. "It's not like we make her do shit she doesn't like."
"Why not?" Buffy asked rhetorically. "Xander could always threaten to hold back on the BJ's if she didn't agree."
Faith slammed into her hard, her forearm pressed up against her throat. The speed and ferocity of the attack surprised her. Faith leaned in close, hissing in Buffy's face.
"You don't ever say shit like that about Xander while I'm around, clear? He'd sooner die than let Little B go through the shakes. So don't you ever fucking think he uses that shit against her. You've never seen what it's like for her in withdrawal. When she's shaking so fucking bad you can't get near her cause she might knock you across the wall. It don't happen often, but when it does, Xander just about fucking kills himself afterwards."
"Fine. I'm sorry," Buffy gasped. Faith glared at her for a long second before releasing her.
"I didn't come here to fight with you," Faith said.
"What did you come here for?"
"We're going runnin'. Little B and me. It's kind of our thing. I wanted to know if you wanted to come along."
Buffy frowned, but she remembered telling Xander she would try and see if she could live like this.
"One condition," Buffy said.
"What?"
"I made a promise to Xander to see what I think about all of this. So you all have to try your best to act like you normally do."
Faith grinned. "Hey, just remember, you asked for it."
She pulled on her sneakers while Faith watched her oddly.
"What?" she asked self-consciously.
"It's kinda freaky," Faith said. "You move like Little B."
"I am her."
"More or less," Faith grinned.
"Why do you call her that?" Buffy asked. "She's taller than I am."
"Nah, she's actually a little shorter," Faith said. "But she wears these huge fucking heels all the time. It's crazy. And she moves in the fuckers like she's barefoot. Besides, I don't call her that cause of her height."
"Then why?"
"Shit, I dunno. She's my Little B. When she's turnin' all red and starin' at her feet, and just generally bein' all cute as hell, it's just what pops in my head."
"This is so weird," Buffy whispered.
"You tellin' me that in your universe, you don't feel that?"
"Feel what?"
Faith stepped closer to her, pressing close against her body. Buffy could feel her body heat, and her large eyes stared into her own.
"Feel that. The connection. That clench in the bottom of your stomach?"
Buffy felt it. She'd felt it before with Faith. Dancing. Slaying.
"Yeah, I thought so. There's more of Little B in you than you think, girl."
Faith grinned and swatted Buffy's backside lightly. "Come on! It's running time!"
Buffy gaped at herself. Little B, as Faith called her, was standing in the living room. She wore sheer pink baby-doll lingerie, her large breasts clearly identifiable beneath the thin material. It hung down to just above her belly button. Below that she wore an extremely skimpy pink g-string with ruffles. Lacey pink stockings adorned her incredible legs, and pink open-toed heels on her tiny feet.
"I thought we were going running," she managed to squeak.
"Oh yeah, but Little B'd smoke us if we didn't make her run with a handicap," Faith said, moving behind the dolled up Slayer. She kissed her neck, causing Little-Buffy to moan softly and turn red.
"You mean the heels and stuff make it so she won't run as fast?"
"Indirectly," Faith grinned. "She could still make it to L.A. and back in about eleven minutes in this. What keeps her from running too fast is that she won't get her reward otherwise."
"R-Reward?" Buffy was afraid to ask.
"Buffy's an odd duck," Xander said, entering the living room. Little-Buffy grinned at him, but averted her eyes when he looked her over. She shook slightly and turned even redder.
"Very few things make her hotter than embarrassment," he informed Buffy. "And I suspect she's got an exhibitionist streak about a mile wide. Isn't that right?"
He held her double around the waist and dipped her into a long kiss. Buffy had to admit, it was very hot. When he pulled her back up, Little-Buffy was panting, and seemed to be holding her legs closer together.
"It's true," Little-Buffy whispered.
Buffy wasn't so sure this was a great idea after all. But she'd made a promise. She'd keep it, no matter how weird this was.
The run was oddly normal, despite Little-Buffy's attire. She and Faith chatted about being Slayers, about the differences in their universes, and Xander.
The latter topic was the one that intrigued Buffy the most. Faith spoke of Xander like he was this paragon of honor. Buffy could clearly tell that Faith was crushing on her Xander-shaped friend. Although from the looks of it she was crushing in the opposite direction with her alter-ego. Faith seemed to love Xander's confidence and decisiveness, and at the same time loved Little-Buffy's shyness and hidden-exuberance.
"Xander once told me she never does anything halfway," Faith said. "And that shit's true. What she likes, she likes a hundred percent. I've never met anyone who gives herself to things so easily. Underneath all the blushing and shy shit there's a girl who decided what she wanted and went for it with everything she had."
"And she wants Xander?"
"Like you wouldn't believe. Little B, and me she's like a part of me now, but her and Xander bring it to another level. One time in school me and her are heading to class and he walks by us. Right as he passes by he just blows softly in her ear. That's it. I had to grab her just so she wouldn't fall over, and she was grinning like an idiot for the next hour."
Buffy frowned. "What do you mean? He has some kind of power over her?"
"Not like you're thinking. He just knows her. Knows you. She tells me sometimes that she thinks he can read her mind, cause he does things right before she knows she wants them done.
"Like there was this school dance like two weeks ago. Black tie and all that shit. She wore this backless dress that musta been spray-painted on. You know what he picked her up in?"
"What?"
"This hideous blue shirt with pink flamingos on it. She just stared at him. I thought she was gonna have a conniption, and I was kinda looking forward to it cause they almost never fight, but when they do the make-up sex is fucking awesome."
Buffy swallowed, not expecting that little tid-bit.
"So she's standing there like she's gonna cry, cause like I said Buffy goes into everything a hundred percent, and she'd been talking about the dance forever and a fucking day. She was expecting limousines and corsages and all that kind of shit. So she goes, 'Xander, I thought you were going to wear a tuxedo,' and her lip's doing this trembling sad shit that just fucking kills me. So I step in to start yelling at him for being a thoughtless idiot when he holds up his hands and goes 'Whoa whoa whoa! Wait! Watch this!'
"Then he kicks up the rug so he's on the wood floor, and I see he's wearing these polished black dancing shoes. He grins at her once, and starts spinning. Like he's Fred Astaire. All of a sudden, her eyes get all big and she tackles him, and at first I thought she'd snapped and was gonna kill him. But instead she's kissing him all over, and he's grinning at me from the floor."
"I don't get it," Buffy said.
"Shit B, think about it. Blue shirt with pink flamingos spinning around? What'd that look like?"
"I dunno. Just like a spiral of blue and pink I gu-" she stopped in her tracks for a moment. Faith jogged in place as she grinned at her, and Little-Buffy stopped beside him. The outrageously attired Slayer was red as a beet and quite clearly aroused.
"That's my favorite color," Buffy said.
"That's what I found out," Faith said, gesturing for them to continue running. "She went apeshit over it."
Buffy glanced to her alter-ego, and saw a wistful smile on her face as she remembered that night.
"That's what I'm talking about. She never told him about that, and I still don't know how he figured it, cause no offense B, but that's pretty stupid. Blue and pink swirled together isn't a color, it's a spirograph.
"He just figures things out like that. It's pretty amazing."
*I wonder if my Xander knows that,* Buffy thought. She never told anyone about her weird favorite color. Usually she'd just say pink if anyone cared to ask, but ever since she was four years old and had eaten cotton candy at the Ice Capades, blue and pink mixed together in a haze of memory had become her favorite "color."
Their run brought them all around Sunnydale, and Buffy found herself a little intrigued at Little-Buffy's growing arousal. The girl kept up with them easily despite her shoes, and moved with a grace that defied belief. At one point Faith had insisted they stop at a rather busy newsstand so she could buy candy bar and newspaper for Xander, but Buffy suspected it was a clever trick to have Little-Buffy fidget in unheeded arousal at the fairly large crowd bustling around.
Buffy turned slightly red herself when she realized that the slight sheen on her alter-ego's upper thighs was not sweat. If her double loved this so much, did that mean that Buffy would? Or maybe Buffy didn't enjoy it at all, and it was just the curse that had her double so aroused.
It was an odd mirror to look into. On the one hand Little-Buffy's attitude raised questions about Buffy's inner self that she had never really asked. On the other hand, there was always the possibility that these actions were completely unnatural. Buffy vowed to come to the bottom of it one way or the other.
Faith showed off the incredible nature of the "Don't Notice" spell shortly after leaving the newsstand. Little-Buffy had been slowing down in the run, and Buffy thought at first that she must have finally been feeling the strain of running in those heels.
Instead it turned out that Little-Buffy was so close to her orgasm that she was barely concentrating on running.
"Don't worry, this happens every day," Faith said casually. Soon she had Little-Buffy pressed up against a storefront, and...began to pleasure her.
Buffy thought she should have turned away, but the sight of Faith eating out Little-Buffy was simply not something she could tear her gaze from. Little-Buffy was quickly screaming in a level of ecstasy that Buffy could not imagine existing. Afterwards the two girls kissed for several minutes before Faith whispered a few dirty words into Little-Buffy's ear.
Buffy was shocked at how the taunting didn't cause Little-Buffy to look aghast, but instead caused her to turn red again and groan. Was this girl ever *not*aroused?
She was silent for the run back.
Xander woke up to someone screaming. He fell off the bed, a tangle of blankets causing him to trip three times before he got to his feet. He rushed out of the room, still half-asleep as he burst into Buffy's room. His cross was held in one hand, his stake in the other.
His eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw what was going on in the bed. Buffy was pressed against the headboard, naked as a jaybird and screaming. In pleasure. He could make out the dark hair of his alter-ego between her legs, the rest of him covered with the large blanket.
Just beyond them Cordelia was in much the same position as Buffy, her large breasts covered in a sheen of sweat as she panted and cried out. He assumed that was Faith's hair he saw between her legs.
He whined wordlessly.
"XANDER!" Buffy screamed one last time, her whole body heaving with her orgasm. Finally she sunk down onto the bed. After a moment her eyes opened slowly, and she spotted him standing there. In his underwear. His tented underwear.
"G'morning," she grinned lazily. "Already *up* I see."
Xander turned red and doubled over, trying to hide his erection. "Uh...Good morning," he squeaked.
"I, I heard the screaming," he said quickly. Cordelia sighed contentedly.
"I guess we should have warned you about that," the cheerleader drawled. "Buffy's a screamer."
"Big time," Faith announced, poking her head up.
"I just thought, you know, vampires and all that," Xander said. Why wasn't he leaving? Why wasn't he running away screaming?
His double sat up, and Xander could see he was shirtless. *Why can't I look like that?* He thought. *Even my clone is stronger than me.*
"No vampires," Big-Xander said. "Besides, I've got wards all over the house. We'd know if a vampire came within a hundred yards, on account of the horrible screaming."
"Uh, Xandy?" Cordelia said. "There just *was*horrible screaming."
"No, that was wonderful screaming," Buffy argued.
"I think I'd better go," Xander said, backing out of the room.
"Suit yourself," she said, and sunk back into the pillows. He shut the door, and felt his ears burn at the muffled giggles he heard behind it.
"Congratulations Xander," he said to himself. "That's universe number two where you've made a complete fool out of yourself to just about every girl you ever cared about. Why not call up Willow and tell her you used to dream of her dressed at Lieutenant Uhura and go for the cycle?"
He smacked himself in the forehead as he returned to his temporary room. His other self had given him all the old clothes that no longer fit him, so at least he had a good set of clothing while visiting this universe.
At least, he hoped he was just visiting.
He made damn sure nobody was in the bathroom before he went in to take a quick shower. At least they had the shampoo he liked, and wasn't forced to use the myriad of ultra-girly bottles scattered throughout the room.
Afterwards he made his way downstairs for breakfast. He found Faith and Joyce sitting at the table, chatting nicely.
"Oh! Good morning. You're the new Xander, right?" Joyce asked.
"Yeah, the new and much less-improved version," Xander said in self-effacement.
"It's pretty incredible," Joyce said. "You look just like him."
"Uh...I do?"
"Oh yes. There's something about you that tells me you're different, but it's really very remarkable."
"The spell?" Xander mouthed to Faith when Joyce was buttering her toast. The dark haired Slayer nodded.
"Well I'd love to stay and chat but I really have to get to work early this morning," Joyce said. "Bye Faith. Tell Buffy and Cordy I'll be home around seven. " Joyce kissed Faith on the cheek before leaving. Faith smiled softly at the woman as she left.
"Hungry?" she asked him.
"Starved," he admitted.
"You like Twinkies?"
"Only slightly more than breathing," he grinned. She got up and reached into a cabinet, pulling out a family sized box. She tossed him a few.
"Xander eats like six of these a day," she told him as he devoured one. "I always thought that was because he doesn't gain weight, cause of the curse and all."
"If's cauf day are dawishus," Xander said, his mouth full of starchy processed goodness.
"That's what he says," she grinned. He was ate the second slower, but paused when he realized Faith was staring at him.
"What?"
"It's freaky," she said, staring at his face. "You move like him."
"I *am* him," he reminded her.
"I never knew him before the curse," she told him. "It's weird to see you like this. You kind of look like his kid brother or something."
"Sorry to disappoint," he said glumly.
"Damn, don't go comparing yourself to Xander. The dude's built like Superman and He-Man combined. I just never realized he looked so good before the curse even happened," she said. He blinked at her, and she smiled a little shyly.
Shy was not something he was used to on Faith.
"So what's up in your universe?" she asked. "Xander said you weren't with any of us."
Xander shrugged, really not wanting to talk about this again. "I was with Cordelia for a while, then I kind of screwed that up. Angel never left for us, so Buffy's with him."
"What about me?"
"You," he said.
*You tried to kill me.*
"You were my first."
"For reals?" she grinned. "That's wicked as hell. So it's you an' me in that universe?"
"Not really," he admitted. There was something about her happy expression that made him sad. She seemed to really like the idea of the two of them together.
"What, you screw that up to?" she asked.
"You...Um..."
"What, am I dead or something?" she asked, a little frightened now.
"No no! It's nothing like that. You just...You kind of kicked me out right after."
She frowned. "Can I ask you something?"
"You just did." She gave him a goofy smile.
"Seriously. When I popped your cherry, did I ever kind of squeal a little and then shudder all over?"
"Uh, yeah, twice I think," he said. Once against the wall. Once when they'd fallen back to the bed. Oh, and the third time when he was grasping her breasts and blew in her ear. "Oh no wait, three times."
"Three times? Holy shit."
"What? Is that good?"
"I never did that shit with anyone before I got involved with them three," she admitted. "Buffy says I do it when I'm so hot that I'd explode otherwise."
"Wow," he said, feeling suddenly much better about that night.
"Wonder why I kicked you out, if you can do that to me."
He shrugged. That had been one really weird night.
"So did we ever do anything again after that?"
He looked in her eyes for a moment, seeing the hope in her eyes. He thought of those supernaturally powerful fingers around his neck. Squeezing.
"No," he said. "I don't really register with you."
"That sucks," she said.
"Sure does," he agreed.
"Good morning!" Buffy's cheery voice announced her presence. She padded into the kitchen, wearing a very tight t-shirt and what looked to be a pair of his old boxers. She had fuzzy pink slippers on her feet.
"Morning," he said.
"Mm, good morning," Buffy said as she kissed Faith lightly on the lips, smiling. Xander hoped he wasn't staring too wide-eyed.
"Xander says I popped his cherry," Faith grinned at him.
"Hey! Secrets told in confidence!"
"Anything you tell Faith you tell me," Buffy said as she sat down with a bowl of cereal. "We try not to have secrets."
He frowned at that, and finished munching on his Twinkie.
"So Xander have you thought any more about how you feel about all of this?"
"Besides like I walked into a porno?" Both girls laughed at that.
"Yeah besides that."
"Buffy...what are you really looking for?" he asked.
"I want to know if you think you could live this life without the curse affecting your mind," she said. "I want to know if Xander would feel the way he does, without the curse."
"And how does he feel?"
"He loves me. All of us," Buffy said.
"He loves us," Faith corrected. "He's in love with you."
"That's not true," Buffy said frowning. "Xander loves us all equally."
"No, it's not," Xander whispered. "If he's me, I mean if he's really me...Then he loves you Buffy. Always has, and probably always will. I loved Cordelia, and I think I could have loved Willow, but never the way I feel about you.
"You're Buffy," he said, as if that explained things. "You're this incredible force that entered my life. And even though we may never be together, I'll always be by your side, one way or another.
"I love you Buffy. I love this you. I love my you. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, because I know you would never ask me to do anything I could never do. I don't know what this curse has done or how it might have changed you all, but there's one thing you never have to question, and that's how I feel about you."
Buffy stared at him in amazement. "Xander..."
"I hope that helps you," he said, and quickly left the room.
He sat on the edge of the sandbox, digging a stick into the sand. Things were never simple on the hellmouth.
This Buffy loved him. This Buffy wanted him. Only he wasn't him. There was a bigger, better version of him here, and the Buffy he knew didn't have those kinds of feelings for him. The him of this universe seemed to have everything he ever wanted. Not only did Buffy love him, but she extended that love to Cordelia, even Faith as well. It was like an impossible dream. It was more than he could have ever asked for.
And yet in his own reality he had no one. The one woman he'd ever been with physically had tried to choke him to death a few days later. And no one seemed to mind.
That was the part that hurt the most. Sure, things had not been great since Faith had accidentally killed Finch, but the gang had not even bothered to deal with it. After Faith had staked Trick, they sort of let her go her merry way.
He began to wonder if his universe wasn't some terrible offshoot of a true reality in which not everything went horribly wrong. Maybe this was the real universe, and someone had made a wish to some vengeance demon that the curse never was cast, and his lonely universe was the result.
It didn't matter, since this universe existed along with his own. His spot was taken here, and that was that.
"Sometimes I wonder if the hellmouth has it out for me," he sighed to himself. No powers. No skills. No girl. This universe? Power. Skills. THREE girls. It was almost a joke.
"Did you ever tell her that?"
Buffy was behind him. Of course, all she'd have to do is ask his other self where he might go.
"Tell who what?" he asked.
"Did you ever tell your Buffy what you told me?"
"She's with Angel."
"So?"
He sighed frustratedly. "So they're like star-crossed lovers. I'd lose her as a friend forever if I said that."
"Well I'll tell you one thing," she said. "You'll lose her love forever if you never say it."
"Before the curse, did you love him? Your Xander, I mean."
Buffy sighed and sat next to him. Her presence hurt. She was Buffy in every way, and he knew this Buffy loved him.
Just the wrong him.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I loved you Xander, because you're Xander. You were my best male-friend."
"But?"
"But I was also dumb. And blind, I guess."
"Blind?" he asked. She nodded softly, her eyes wet with tears.
"You told me about something a few weeks ago," she said. "I have this...uh, I'll call it a game. Where I, kind of convince you to tell me things you've never told me before. Let's just say that you're very eager to tell me once I get going."
She was grinning sheepishly, and his mind raced with what this "game" could be.
"You've told me things that made me mad, and you've told me things that made me love you even more than I thought possible."
"Uh...what things?" he asked, not sure he liked the idea of Buffy knowing his secrets.
"Like how you didn't tell me Willow was going to re-ensoul Angel," she said. "I was pretty angry about that for a while. For two days the only time I let you touch me was for your treatments. Cordelia finally slapped some sense into me. She said I should have realized the whole world was at stake, and that you didn't want me stalling or not giving me all.
"She was right, you know. I hate it when she's right, but she was. You probably saved my life with that lie, Xander."
"I'm sorry," he said. "For lying to you. Not for saving your life."
She smiled sadly. "You told me something else though, something that might have changed everything Xander."
"What?" he asked, clearly eager to learn this bit of knowledge.
"When I went to fight the Master I thought I was dead. Giles thought I was going to die. Angel thought I was going to die. I went down there knowing my life was over and that there was nothing I could do about it.
"Then I woke up, and I thought 'Angel came to save me after all.'
"You revived me Xander, but I saw him there and *knew* he somehow brought you along. Except that's not what happened. Angel gave up on me. You didn't. You forced him to lead you down there, and you saved my life."
He said nothing, and stared at the sand.
"It changes everything, Xander. Angel never told me, and neither did you. I can only guess why Angel didn't tell me, but I know why you didn't tell me. You're Xander. You don't think there's anything special about giving everything you have to save the people you love.
"That's why I could love you Xander," she said, and a tear dripped down her cheek. "There had been no one else in my life who could stick by me like that. No one who would stay with me even with me telling him to stay out of it. No one who would fight with me so viciously when he thought I was doing the wrong thing.
"Do you remember when I came back the summer after the Master?"
How could he forget? The dance she'd given him. The threat he'd given her.
"When you told me that...that you'd kill me if anything bad happened to Willow, do you remember that?"
He nodded.
"I remember being afraid. I remember thinking you would do it somehow, and I remember thinking that I wished someone would care about me the way you cared about Willow.
"I just didn't realize you already had."
"Always," he whispered.
Somehow, he wasn't shocked when she wrapped her arms around him. She was Buffy. He knew her.
"Xander I don't want this to be the curse," she sobbed into his shirt. "What I feel is so strong, it can't be the curse. You have to tell me it's not. Please. Tell me it's not the curse!"
He turned slightly, stroked her hair softly. She lifted her head and stared at him with her big, wet eyes.
He kissed her softly, all love and no passion. It was sweet, it was soft, and it was perfect.
The second kiss was longer, and the heat began to build. His arms wrapped around her, and her small hands found their way under his shirt.
By the third kiss they were both breathing heavily and quickly removing each other's clothing. They made love on a cool, damp morning on the cold, wet sand. It was uncomfortable, it was cold, and it was perfect.
"Buffy?" he asked her softly when it was over.
"Hmm?"
"There's magic that can take a soul away. There's magic that can put a soul back. But I have never heard of magic that can change a soul. From what I hear, souls are top of the food chain, magic wise."
He placed his warm hand over her bare chest, above her heart.
"If you love my...his soul, Buffy...then I don't think you have anything to worry about."
She cried in his arms for a long time.
"How was your run?" Xander asked.
"Informative," Buffy said. He chuckled.
They were sitting at the kitchen table. Faith and Little-Buffy were showering after their run, another tradition, apparently. She was glad to have the time to talk to Xander alone.
When they'd arrived back after the run Xander had pulled Little-Buffy into a steamy kiss that had Buffy almost panting herself. The look of deep longing and contentment in her clone's eyes had frightened Buffy a little.
"She...she seems really happy," Buffy said after a long silence.
"I hope so," Xander sighed.
"I don't know what to say, Xander."
"Say you see yourself in her. Say you could feel the way she does, love the way she does, and live the way she does."
"I don't know if I could," she said truthfully. He sagged and stared at his coffee.
"Can I ask you a personal question?"
She sighed. "Considering your relationship, I guess I shouldn't feel weird telling you anything," she reasoned.
"Can you understand why she gets so aroused from things like your run?"
Buffy groaned. It would have to be the hard question. She thought of herself wearing those revealing clothes. Thought of herself in front of all those people. Thought about the words Faith had whispered in her double's ear.
"I don't know," she finally admitted. "I've only...only ever been with Angel. Just the one time. We never, you know, experimented."
He sighed. "She feels like you to me, Buffy. Despite how different you seem. I want to believe the person she is now isn't a new person created by the curse, but the same person, just recognizing different parts of herself.
"The way she cares, the way she fights, even the way she dreams of those fairy tale situations, all of them are you. But I always wonder now if there was this deeper part of you that you never showed. The part of you that could get off in public, the part of you that could be so sexually adventurous."
He looked sadly into her eyes. "I just want to be able to see that the person she is now is still the person she was then. That maybe she always could have loved me, and just needed to be nudged in the right direction."
Buffy stared at him, seeing the love and pain in his eyes. She wondered if her own Xander ever cared for her so deeply.
"You don't wonder if your love is the curse?" She asked. He almost laughed.
"Buffy, one thing I never worry about is whether my love for her is part of the curse."
He took her hand in his, looking her right in the eyes. "I have loved you almost since the day I first met you. You are it for me, Buffy Summers. The Alpha and the Omega. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you."
The utter conviction in his voice shot through her like lightning. He loved her the way he loved Little-Buffy? Except, she wasn't this other Buffy.
"I don't know if that part of me exists," she whispered. "But...I'm willing to find out."
"What?"
"Xander," she was breathing quickly, trying to keep her courage up. "I...I want to...To be her. For one day."
"Buffy, you don't have to do that," he said quickly.
"No. I see how you feel about her, and how she feels about you. If there's any chance that...that I can make you two happy, then I'll do it."
"You would do that for us?"
*For you,* she thought. *For Xander. Because he would do it for me.*
"Yes," she said, a little shakily. "Tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"What are you hesitating for? You get to have two of us for the day," she said, trying to grin.
"If this is what you want," Xander said carefully.
"It is. I think."
"You'll do what she does? Even with Faith?"
She squeezed her eyes shut. *For Xander.*
"Yes."
"If you change your mind, you just say so and it's over," he said.
"I won't. Not until I get the full experience. Then I'll tell you, good or bad."
"What if you hate it?" he asked, a twinge of fear in his voice.
"Then I'm sorry. For all of us."
Xander sat in Buffy's living room, trying to make sense of his life.
He'd just helped Buffy to realize she really did love him, and in doing so, had given her to another man.
Another Xander man, but another man all the same.
"You look like your dog just died," Faith said as she traipsed into the room. He glanced at her, and suddenly couldn't help but giggle.
Faith was wearing a light yellow sundress. It was form fitting but covered her decently. Her hair was braided, with yellow ribbons tied at intervals down her back. He had never realized her hair was so long. She wore white flats on her feet, with no socks or stockings. Her bare legs were smooth and tan. She looked as anti-Faithish as he had ever seen her. Even her heavy makeup had been wiped away, leaving a natural beauty that was currently, blushing slightly.
"Cordelia made me wear it," she said quietly.
"It's very...pretty," he chuckled.
"Shutup."
"Yes Ma'am, I didn't mean to offend your delicate sensibilities."
She fell on him, her tiny hands punching him lightly. He knew she couldn't be that mad if the blows didn't hurt, because with her strength an angry punch would have him in traction.
"I said shutup!" she yelled as he laughed. He turned his back to a blow, then squirmed under her grim and tickled her softly in the belly. She doubled over with laughter.
"No fair!" she squealed. He laughed with his victory and tickled her into oblivion.
A few minutes later they agreed to call a truce, and were soon both panting as she lay exhausted on top of him. Her warmth was familiar to him, even if her attire was not. He thought she looked beautiful.
"Xander? Could I ask you something?"
"You just did," he joked for the second time. She responded with the same goofy smile.
"What really happened with us?"
He breathed in deeply, not sure what to say. She was looking him right in the eyes.
"What do you mean? I told you."
"You didn't tell me all of it. I can see it in your eyes. You have to tell me Xander. I have a right to know."
She was looking at him so hopefully. He didn't want to tell her. He had to tell her.
"You...you hurt me," he said.
"How?"
"I...I came to talk to you. About, something bad that happened. That happened to you. I wanted to help you, and you got mad. Things didn't end well."
"Did I say some rough shit?" she asked. Her foul language was a direct opposite to her sweet clothing.
"Yeah, I guess."
"I can be brutal when I'm mad, I know it," she said. "Do you hate me now? The other me?"
Her voice was so fearful that he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. She snuggled against him easily, and he was surprised at how right it felt.
"No," he whispered. "I could never hate you."
She sagged in relief, and he felt her arms encircle him.
"Can I tell you a secret? The only one I keep from Buffy?" she whispered softly in his ear. He nodded slowly.
"The way you love Buffy," she said. "I think that's how I feel about you."
He almost groaned out loud. Nothing was ever easy on the hellmouth.
"Buffy and Cordelia, I love them, I really do. Buffy and me have this connection that's unreal sometimes, and Cordelia's like this complete force of nature. But you...Xander...Nobody ever looks at me the way you look at me. When we're together, I've never felt anything like it."
Xander held her tightly, unsure of what to say.
"I can't hate you in your universe," she insisted. "I could never. I must have just been so angry that I said the wrong thing. Sometimes, back before I was a Slayer, I'd get mad at people who tried to help me. Everyone who ever helped me always ended up using me. It got to the point where I just wouldn't let them help me.
"That's what I probably did," she said. "I probably just got mad that you were trying to help me. You have to know I didn't mean it Xander, they were just words, whatever I said."
He closed his eyes. He hoped she never found out. He wished he hadn't told his double the truth.
"You have to try again," she said, burying her face in his chest. "I promise it'll work the next time Xander. I promise. It has to."
He kissed her softly on the top of her head. Did Faith really feel that way about him? This one seemed to, but how could he be sure? Could he risk his life on her word?
He breathed her in, and could feel her own breath relaxing, easing into sleep. This beautiful girl. He thought of Buffy. Of how he loved her. Could he ever love Faith even close to that?
Could anyone love two people like he loved Buffy?
He didn't know the answer, but he did know that this soft, vulnerable girl was still Faith the Vampire Slayer. He knew because for a brief moment that night he had held her much like this, stroked her hair, and seen this vulnerable girl beneath the exterior.
"I'll try again Faith," he whispered as she fell asleep. "I promise."
It was still dark when she woke up. Small hands rubbed her shoulder. She blinked rapidly and looked at the face in the darkness. It was her own.
"What?" Buffy asked sleepily.
"Xander said you were going to be me today," Little-Buffy said.
She groaned. She'd almost forgotten.
"Yeah...I guess I did."
"Are you serious? Are you really going to do it?"
Buffy thought of Xander. Thought of how much she wanted him to be able to be happy. Of what she would do to help her friend.
"He deserves it," Buffy said. "I'm going to do it."
Besides, her Xander would never know. Whatever happened here would be her secret, forever.
Little-Buffy's face broke into a wide grin. "OK! I'm going to pick something out for you to wear. I always try to pick something I know Xander will like but also something that," she paused and gave Buffy a naughty grin. "Something that will keep me hot all day."
Little-Buffy flipped on the light, and Buffy glanced at the clock. 5:36 AM. The day was just beginning.
She stared in amazement at the perfectly shaped posterior of her double as the smaller (mostly) girl dug through Buffy's old clothes. She finally settled on a very tight tank-top and a thong that Buffy had bought on a whim but had never actually worn.
"That's it?" Buffy asked.
"Oh yeah!" her counterpart said. "Shoes!"
She began digging through the bag of old shoes she'd given Buffy. She selected the highest pair of heels Buffy had owned, an open toed white sandal type shoe. Buffy goggled at her counterpart.
"You can't be serious. My feet will be bleeding by the end of the day," she said.
"You're the Slayer aren't you? You haven't had to worry about aching feet since you were fourteen."
Buffy frowned, but realized it was true.
"I can't wear that," Buffy said, pointing to the thong.
"Why not? I'm going to wear the same outfit, although maybe the shirt'll be a size or two bigger," she giggled.
"I'm not uh...prepared. For something that small."
"Oh!" Little-Buffy realized. "That's ok, you can shave down before we go wake him up."
Buffy wondered what she had gotten herself into.
"Come on!" Little-Buffy said, grabbing her twin by the arm and dragging her towards the bathroom.
"Sit still," Little-Buffy said ten minutes later. The two of them were in the shower, Little-Buffy insisting on being the one to shave her personally. Buffy was biting her lip and trying not to look at...herself, as the other girl lathered her pussy hair with shaving cream. She hoped this was earning her points with whoever kept track of amazing favors done for friends.
Little-Buffy shaved her carefully, expertly. Buffy surprised herself by letting out a small moan at one point. The slow feel of the razor against her skin, the exposed feeling after the cream had been pulled away, it was getting to her.
A little spasm of pleasure shot through her when Little-Buffy finished and leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on Buffy's pussy lips.
"There," she said, kissing her quickly. "All done!"
The smaller twin grinned happily up at her double. Buffy's nipples were rock hard and she was breathing heavily as she stood in the hot shower, looking down at the most beautiful girl in the world who grinned up at her from her knees.
"I...I didn't know you were going to do the whole thing," Buffy said.
"Oh, sorry. I'm just so used to doing it that way for Faith."
"You shave Faith?"
"Mmm hmm, almost every day."
"And yourself?" she asked, looking down at Little-Buffy's very cropped strip of pubic hair.
"No this is all natural, or supernatural I guess."
They were out of the shower a few minutes later, Little-Buffy giggling as she dried off her larger twin. Buffy's apple sized breasts ached beautifully whenever Little-Buffy "accidentally" rubbed the towel against her hard nipples.
They dressed in their pre-chosen outfits. Buffy couldn't believe how small her shirt was. It came down to just barely below her breasts, accentuating her small but still womanly curves. The thong felt like it was barely there, and she felt like she was on display for the whole world to see. She felt her face burn red, and moaned softly.
"Oh yeah, you're way hot," Little-Buffy said. "Now come on, we have to go wake up Xander. You go first so you get the real feel for it."
"W-What do you mean?"
"Didn't I tell you? I wake him up every day with a blowjob."
Buffy trembled softly as her double led her onto the bed. This was it. This is what would solidify her day in the life of Little B. Could she really do this? Little-Buffy held up the blanket and motioned for her to climb under. She swallowed...and did.
The two Slayers were able to see quite well in the dark, and Little-Buffy motioned her over to Xander's crotch. He was nude, and to his left she could see Faith was as well.
*She really is shaved,* she thought idly.
"This is it," Little-Buffy whispered hotly in her ear. Buffy shook slightly. She stared at his soft penis. His cock. It was only slightly larger than Angel's, but it seemed huge to her now.
"Lean forward," Little-Buffy whispered. "And lick it softly."
Buffy whimpered. She promised. She promised!
She leaned forward, staring at it up close. She could smell him. He was musky and...Xander. Her tongue peeked out from between her lips, and gently touched the skin of his cock. It was warm, and not unpleasant.
She licked again, along the underside of his dick. It shifted slightly.
"Go on," her double whispered. Buffy nodded, and pulled it in her mouth. She sucked on the head softly, finding the taste was better than she anticipated. He was so warm. So human. This wasn't like Angel at all. He had tasted cold, clammy...
It began to grow in her mouth, and soon she was having a hard time keeping it all in. She pulled back, licking up and down it's hardening length until it was fully erect. Then she put the head in her mouth, slowly licking and sucking at it before beginning to bob up and down again.
"When he cums," Little-Buffy whispered. "You need to swallow it. That's what I always do."
Buffy groaned, and found that her fingers were rubbing against her thong. This was so wrong. She rubbed herself as she bobbed up and down on the hard shaft. She was throbbing with heat, and suddenly she felt small hands on her ass. Little-Buffy rubbed her backside softly, and soon brushed her hand against Buffy's pussy.
Buffy groaned again, and bobbed down on Xander's cock. She took in as much of him as she could, gagging slightly when he filled her mouth. She pressed down against the back of her throat a few times, but that was her limit.
Little-Buffy's hands slid down her thong. She could feel the wetness cooling her despite the hot air under the blanket. She licked his cock again, breathing in deeply as she tongued his balls for a few moments.
She had just taken him in her mouth again when she felt it. A hot tongue on her pussy. She whimpered softly on his cock, and felt the tongue slide up her slit. This was so bad. So bad.
So good.
She bobbed up and down on Xander's cock while her clone ate her newly shaved pussy. Her rhythm increased along with Little-Buffy's, and she began to feel Xander stir. Large warm hands slipped in her hair and held her head firmly against his cock. She bobbed faster, and suddenly it was happening.
Little-Buffy's tongue plunged inside of her, and Buffy felt her climax slam into her as the cum splashed against the back of her throat.
*Swallow,* she thought. *You promised.*
*So good.*
She swallowed, and felt her pleasure explode with the wanton nature of the act. She heard Xander moan, "Oh...Buffy."
When it was over she was panting from the incredibly orgasm that her double had inflicted on her, and softly licked at Xander's cock, making sure to swallow all of him that she could.
She groaned softly as Little-Buffy gave her pussy one last kiss. It had been so good. She began to wonder.
Did she really have Little B inside of her? She suddenly found herself hoping she did.
Things did not end there. Xander, now awake, had expressed his surprise that it was this Buffy, and not his Buffy that had woken him. After kissing him good morning, Little-Buffy had slid back down his body, and kissed his still wet dick. Buffy was shocked to see it begin to harden again.
"Benefits of the curse," Little-Buffy winked. "He has to be able to give me a treatment whenever I need one."
Buffy stared at them for a minute before Little-Buffy paused and looked up at Buffy.
"Guess whose job it is to wake up Faith?" she said, grinning.
Buffy felt the heat rising to her cheeks. She had come this far. She would go further.
She had never done anything like this before. The closest she had ever come to a lesbian experience was the flirtatious few days she'd spent with her own Faith. Unless she counted Little-Buffy just eating her out to an orgasm, which she didn't. That was simply masturbation.
Really, really good masturbation.
Buffy was still panting with her previous orgasm as she crawled between Faith's legs. They were smooth, tan, and almost as perfect as Little-Buffy's.
She felt her stomach clench as she leaned forward, staring at the cleft between Faith's legs. A promise.
She closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out, slowly moving forward. The taste of Faith was like a shock through Buffy's body, a sweet kind of human taste that she found undeniably exciting. Her pussy throbbed and she heard herself moan again. Slowly, so slowly, she began to lick.
Faith began responding immediately, already half-awake from the sounds of Xander earlier. Buffy plunged her tongue between the folds of Faith's pussy before licking upwards and sucking softly on her clit.
Faith was soon grabbing Buffy's hair and crying out her own orgasm. When it had ended, Buffy continued to lick her softly, swallowing her juices as she had Xander's sperm.
Faith peeked under the covers, and was met with a very red-faced half-smile from Buffy.
"Damn, you're just as good as she is," Faith murmured as she leaned her head back. Buffy grinned a little in satisfaction.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
After the morning, the rest of the day was much easier, though no less frightening. Buffy had jumped her first inner hurdle, and was bound and determined to match her double throughout the day.
The morning run was incredible. The only problem was that she simply couldn't keep up with Faith's top speed in the heels she wore, and so they were first to run a more leisurely pace than yesterday. The end result of that was Buffy was much more acutely aware of when they passed people.
She was burning with embarrassment for the entire run, and was sure people would end up throwing things at her for the indecent display she was putting on. Faith and Xander had both assured her the spell would work for, as she was able to "notice" what the three of them did.
Still, the fact that people didn't react to her didn't negate the feeling of being out in public dressed in such a way. The feeling of total humiliation.
Humiliation that made her burn with need. She had never felt such a thing before. Here with Faith and Little-Buffy, safe under the confines of the "Don't Notice" spell, she was actually getting off on the utter embarrassment of it all.
By the time they had circled back around towards her house, Buffy was about ready to burst. Faith had grinned at her then, and led the three of them onto a sparsely lit side alley. There she had plunged a finger between Buffy's legs and whispered the nastiest things in her ear as Buffy screamed her name.
After arriving home it was time to prepare for school. Buffy would be claiming she was "Buffy's Cousin" if anyone asked, although Xander said he suspected no one would notice, especially considering how Buffy was dressed.
Before they'd left, Xander had cornered her, whispering in her ear, "How are you doing so far?"
She'd had to bite her lip before responding, feeling like she couldn't quite control her voice. "I'm...G-good," she stammered slightly.
"Faith treating you nicely?" he asked, and slid a hand against her right breast, caressing her softly. She moaned, which caused her to blush in embarrassment, which made her lust burn hotter.
"Yes," she squeaked.
"Do you know what I usually do to Buffy in school?" he asked softly.
"N-No," she admitted.
"I usually fuck her in class while she tells me how much she likes it."
Buffy groaned against him and he had to put his arms around her to keep her from falling.
Despite his words, Xander didn't have sex with her in school. She'd actually brought it up to him as the day was coming to an end. She and her double had serviced him once more, and Faith had felt her up when they changed during gym. Everyone thought she was this universe's Buffy, and simply didn't notice when there were two of them.
Xander had smiled at her softly, and said that if ever did make love to her, he wanted the first time to be loving and slow, not lustful and crazed. She'd nodded softly at that, wondering at how easily she had slipped into this role.
She had realized even before the school day ended that there was a part of Little-Buffy inside of her. While she didn't seem to have that capacity to orgasm simply from dirty talk or being out in public, she definitely found herself excited beyond anything she could have imagined during either. It was an incredible experience for her, a sexual awakening that she would look back on with fond memories.
She thought of what might have happened if these tendencies she had were brought out by the wrong person, in the wrong place. Here with Faith and Xander the teasing and taunting were playful and carefully said, always with a hint of caring behind them. Little-Buffy's wide grin never left her the entire day, and Buffy thought she now knew why.
After school she had come with the three of them to their training session in the library, and had been incredibly impressed with what Little-Buffy shyly called "Xander-Fu." It was devastating and highly adaptable, and she almost wished she could stay here to learn it.
It was not the only reason she wished she could stay.
The training session was ended by a spectacular sexual explosion in which Faith ate her out while Xander fucked Little-Buffy.
Some researching with the Scooby Gang followed that, and Buffy was amazed at the easy camaraderie between them all. There was no strain, no sexual tension that always seemed to hang in the air. Willow and she talked easily and openly, and for a while Buffy forgot she was half-naked and expected to behave like Little-Buffy.
The only slightly annoying thing was that sometimes Giles, Willow, or Oz would kind of forget that she wasn't this universe's Buffy. Xander suggested that was because her outfit made her "blend in" in their minds.
After researching she went on patrol with them all, although Little-Buffy changed into the very tight and very revealing leather outfit she had first met her in, everyone agreed Buffy should wear simple sneakers when out for patrol. Little-Buffy took no risk in wearing the heels when fighting, but she would. She still wore the thong and tiny shirt, however.
Patrol was fairly tedious, a few dustings and one demon slaying. Xander and Little-Buffy talked a little about what the Mayor might be planning next, and their plans to acquire the Box of Gavroc. When they'd returned home the four of them had watched television in the large bed in her room, and after servicing Xander for the third time that day, Little-Buffy and Faith left them alone.
"You've been incredible today," he said when they were gone.
"It's been an incredible day," she said, blushing and looking him sheepishly in the eyes.
"I don't know how I can ever thank you Buffy," he whispered, brushing her cheek softly. "For the gift you've given me."
"What do you mean?"
"To know that Buffy really loves me. To know she's really herself. Maybe a little more to one side than you are, but the core of her is still her."
"You think that I liked this day?" Buffy asked, trying to sound offended. Xander grinned at her.
"Buffy, I knew you'd like this day from the moment I woke up. Have you asked yourself why my Buffy has been grinning like an idiot all day?"
"I thought it was because of all the sex," she said honestly. He laughed.
"Well maybe a little, but do you want to know the real reason?"
"Why?"
"This morning after you both woke us up, I spoke with her for a while. She told me something I should have realized. I didn't need you to "test" yourself all day today. We already knew the outcome."
"What? How?"
"Because Buffy, I know, and she knows, and you know...That if you would agree to doing something like that in order to help me, then you must really love me somewhere after all."
She blinked at him. Could it be? She...She would do anything for Xander. He was her best friend. He had brought her back to life. He was always there, and it seemed like he always would be, even when she tried to keep him away.
Did she love him? Could she love him?
"You know what Xander?" she leaned forward, and kissed him on the lips. "I think you're right."
They made slow, sweet love, and she knew her life would never be the same.
Xander and Faith lied together on the couch for several hours that afternoon, the dark haired Slayer pressed tightly against him as she slept. It was perhaps the most relaxed he could remember being since breaking up with Cordelia. The only time he had felt something similar was the few moments he lay with his own Faith before she kicked him out.
She let out a soft whimper and hugged him tightly, almost too tightly before relaxing and snuggling her face against him. He stroked her hair softly as she breathed deep and even, and a small smile formed on her face.
"You two always look amazing together," a voice whispered behind his head. He glanced up to see Cordelia Chase beaming her thousand-watt smile at him.
"Hey," he greeted in a low voice, not wanting to wake Faith.
"I wonder what it is about you," Cordelia mused.
"What do you mean?"
She knelt down beside the couch, her face close to his. The proximity was thrilling, intimate, and completely casual to her.
"You know we all sleep together?" she asked. He nodded, and felt himself shift slightly in his pants.
"She usually sleeps with me. Or on me, more like it. You sleep on Buffy." He nodded, not really sure what to say. It was an incredibly erotic idea.
"She has nightmares," Cordelia said. "Buffy too sometimes, but never like Faith's. She usually doesn't even remember them when she wakes up, but during the night she'll start whimpering and lashing out. Kind of dangerous when you're the only normal human in a bed full of superheroes," Cordelia added with a small smile.
"Xander, I know that Faith really loves me. She's almost my kid sister as much as my lover," she said. "But when Faith's crying out in her sleep, it's not my presence that calms her. Even Buffy can't calm her down. The only thing that helps her is when you pull her into your arms and stroke her hair. She whines once, presses her face into the crook of your shoulder, and sometimes she'll softly cry before falling asleep."
Xander looked at the small girl in his arms. She slept so peacefully; he could hardly imagine her thrashing with untold nightmares.
"She loves you Xander," Cordelia whispered. "The way you love Buffy."
He looked in Cordelia's eyes, trying to gauge to the feelings he saw there. "What about you, Cordy?"
"What about me?" she asked, smiling. "I've got two of the most amazing women in the world and one of the dorkiest, sweetest guys. They all love me, and I love them. Love isn't just either/or, Xander. I don't care that you love Buffy in a way that no one could ever touch. You can have love for other people at the same time. And c'mon, who *wouldn't* love me?" she grinned.
"Not a soul," Xander said truthfully. "You're a goddess, Cordelia Chase."
She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. "Don't you forget it."
She sighed then, and gave Faith a curious look. "Isn't she so cute?"
He had to agree.
"She hates it when I make her wear those things," Cordelia intimated.
"I think she looks incredible," Xander said truthfully.
"Well, when I say hate, I mean loves-it-but-will-never-admit-it," she said smiling. "Our little Princess Faith."
"Cordy?" he whispered.
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" she asked.
"For the things I did to you in my universe," he sighed. "For the things I didn't do for you."
"Did you say that to me? In your universe?"
"Yes. A lot. Over and over again for days."
"Well," she grinned. "That's a start."
"I'm a true idiot," Xander admitted.
"If you messed it up with me, you must be," she said softly. "Just answer me one thing."
"Of course."
"Do you think I could ever be with you again? Or did you do something that ended it forever?"
He sighed, and closed his eyes. "I don't know. I...I sort of cheated on you."
She frowned, and quietly flicked him in the forehead with her finger.
"Ow," he whined in a whisper.
"Who with?" she demanded.
"W-Willow," he whispered in defeat.
He got another flick.
"It's hard to understand, Xander," Cordelia said after a while. "Right now, all you'd have to do is tell me you were attracted to Willow and I might try to find a way to bring her into our games."
He felt his dick harden at that, but kept silent.
"But before all of this began? I don't know. I don't know if I could ever trust you again, if you had done that."
He nodded sadly, having feared this answer.
"So Xander, the question is: Do you care enough to make me trust you again?"
He closed his eyes, and thought of his time with Cordelia Chase.
"I do," he admitted.
"Then you'll find a way," she said. "Because you're still Xander Harris, no matter what universe this is."
She crawled on top of him, and soon he was holding a warm, dark haired beauty of a woman on either side. He was half-crushed and his arms were going numb, but he would not have moved for anything or anyone.
Except Buffy Summers.
He smiled softly, and was soon sleeping alongside Faith, followed shortly by Cordelia.
Buffy sighed as she hugged Xander, her Xander, that is. She felt as if a huge weight had been taken off of her shoulders. He rested his head against her chest as she hugged him to her, feeling the hot contact of their naked bodies, slick with sweat and the juices of their lovemaking.
She had been with him for hours since returning from the playground with Alter-Xander. The revelation that she loved him without any taint from the curse had been an experience beyond any she had ever felt before. The only thing that came close to it was the hot feeling of life being breathed into her lungs, of a soul being held tightly inside of her by the love of another human being.
She had cried half a dozen times since then, hot tears of joy whenever she thought of it. For weeks, even months she had been tormented with the thought that she and Xander's feelings might have been manufactured. That it had taken plain old regular Xander to show her the light seemed fitting somehow. She had to know she could love him before she could know she could love her own version.
"Xander?" she asked, voice trembling.
"Yeah?" he asked tiredly.
"I figured it out. Figured out that the curse isn't part of this," she whispered. He looked up at her, grinning.
"I knew that," he said.
"What? Since when?"
"Since about four hours ago when we began making love," he admitted. They had made love before, they had fucked before, and they had had outright berserker sex frenzies before as well. Today though they had reached a level of pure emotion that had blasted through any doubts he could have ever had.
Magic simply wasn't...Magical enough for this.
"I'm scared, Xander," she admitted.
"Why?"
"Because I don't think I could ever feel better than this, and that means something horrible has to be coming around the corner," she muttered atop his head.
"The hellmouth makes pessimists of us all," he mused.
"The only thing I keep thinking is...Is no matter what happens, I have this. Forever."
Xander leaned his head back and pressed forward, kissing her on the lips.
"Forever," he agreed.
They lay together in silence, breathing softly and enjoying the warmth of each other.
"Plus," Buffy said after a long while. "Faith and Cordelia are hot."
He started laughing, and soon they were both giggling and rolling around on the bed, content to make the best of however long the hellmouth gave them a break.
Buffy woke up nestled between Xander and Faith. They were softly resting against her, Xander's hand softly stroking her belly and Faith's small hand caressing her bare breast. She could feel the incredibly smooth and perfect legs of Little-Buffy from her spot between Xander's legs. The dream-girl's tiny hands stroked Buffy's own leg, sending a thrill through her.
Buffy sighed. This was incredible. This was hot beyond belief. This was loving, this was comforting, and this was blissful.
This was also not hers. This world that seemed to perfect to her, it already had a her in it. She didn't belong, and she knew she'd have to go back to her own universe soon.
The universe where Faith was alienated and hardly a friend. The universe where she and Xander seemed to never talk anymore. The universe where Angel and she were destined to dance around each other until he disappeared forever. The universe where she never felt anything like she'd felt in the last two days.
She had little time to think such dark thoughts, as she soon heard Little-Buffy begin to stir, and moments later could hear the soft sucking sounds as she roused Xander awake. The hand on her breast began to knead her with more insistence, and after a moment Faith leaned over and kissed her on the lips.
"Your turn," Faith whispered, and disappeared underneath the blankets. She felt Xander's hand clasp hers as the two of them gasped and groaned at the oral ministrations of Faith and Little-Buffy.
Buffy had to admit, if there was a better way to wake up in the morning, she had not thought of it.
A half an hour later she sat at the kitchen table sipping orange juice. She'd dressed herself in a bikini, finding she enjoyed the feel of showing off her body to the world. Another thing she'd learned about her life in this strange reality. She and her mother made small-talk while Buffy blushed furiously. She wondered if she could ever dress like this in front of her mother in her own reality, and the thought made her shudder deliciously.
Her mother, or Little-Buffy's mother as was actually the case, kissed her softly on the cheek before leaving for work. When Buffy was left alone she felt her face darken. Not her world. Not her place.
Faith bounced into the kitchen a few minutes later, hair pulled back in her ponytail and all dressed for her morning run.
"Hey B," she said. "Lookin' good."
Buffy grinned shyly, "Thanks."
"Xander's spendin' some quality time with Little B, so you want to go runnin' together? Just us?"
Buffy swallowed, remembering the incredible experience of the morning run yesterday. She pressed her thighs together, looking at the dainty heels on her feet.
"Yeah...OK," she said softly.
The tiny bikini had her on display as they jogged slowly through town, Faith's pace slightly slowed to allow Buffy to keep up despite her footwear. Neither had said anything about Buffy's attire, although Faith wore a cool grin as they ran.
Buffy could feel that connection Faith had spoken of. She had felt it before, in her own universe, but never with the intensity she felt now. It was as if the two could speak the same words, move the same limbs, think the same thoughts, all with just a modicum of effort. She felt that the Slayer spirit residing in both of them were entwined somehow, and basked in the thought that she was bound to this incredible woman.
That almost brought her to a complete halt. She was bound to her. But what of her own Faith?
"Faith?" Buffy asked as they turned the corner.
"Yeah?"
"I...I wanted to say I'm sorry."
"For what? Being hot as hell?" she grinned, and Buffy smiled proudly with the compliment.
"F-For...How we are in my reality," Buffy said. Their pace slowed as Faith looked her in the eye.
"How are we in your reality?"
"We...We kind of don't like each other anymore."
"Shit," Faith said. "That sucks.
Buffy nodded.
"I do some stupid shit?" Faith asked. Buffy looked at her oddly.
"Why do you think it was you?"
Faith shrugged. "I dunno, I always do stupid shit. Little B says sometimes I start punchin' at shit in my sleep and won't calm down until Xander starts huggin' me. I'm just dumb like that."
"No, it wasn't your fault," Buffy said. "Well...At least it's as much your fault as it is my fault. We're equally stupid in my reality, I think."
"So what'd I do? I cheat on you or something?" Faith asked. Buffy almost laughed.
"No, we never went out in my reality," Buffy said. She didn't mention that if things had gone differently...Well it was certainly within the realm of possibility. What if her Faith had leaned forward during those days they spent together...And kissed her? Maybe she would have freaked out, or maybe things would be completely different.
"Shit, sounds like things are much better here in Universe Buffy," Faith muttered.
"What?"
"Oh sorry," Faith said sheepishly. "That's what Xander started calling our reality. Universe Buffy. Cause he says the universe should be named after the best thing in it," she grinned at her sister Slayer.
Buffy felt herself turning red again.
"A-Anyway," Buffy stammered, trying to regain her composure. "I just, I was blind when you first came to Sunnydale, and I didn't pay attention to the things that were happening with you.
"Then...A bad thing happened, and I guess you didn't trust me enough because of it."
"I killed Finch," Faith said without emotion. Buffy had forgotten she'd let it slip.
"Yeah," Buffy whispered. "Afterwards you kind of freaked out, and...Things just didn't go so good."
"So well," Faith said.
"What?"
"Xander's tryin' ta get me to start talkin' better," Faith muttered. "Says I need to learn communication skills so I can do well in interviews. I told him I'd just wear a low-cut top and bust out the cleavage, but he said that'd be cheating."
Buffy laughed softly, trying to envision a polite Faith on a college or job interview. It just didn't seem to mesh.
"I kind of like how you talk," Buffy admitted. Faith's rough language and tough-chick accent were endearing, and uniquely Faith.
"Yeah well that's just cause you're all horny right now," Faith grinned, staring at Buffy's body. Buffy shivered and almost stumbled. "You're really turned on bein' outside like this, ain't ya Buff?"
Buffy groaned and this time she did stop. Faith sauntered up to her, placing her hands on Buffy's hips.
"Showing off your hot little ass to the whole town," Faith whispered in her ear, and Buffy groaned louder. Faith lowered a hand to Buffy's crotch, and began rubbing her through the thin material there.
"It always gets me hot to see how much you get off on bein' a slut," Faith whispered. Buffy moaned at the dirty talk, and then gasped as Faith slid her fingers under her bikini bottom and plunged a finger into her cunt.
"Oh!" she whimpered, but was silenced by Faith's mouth over hers. They kissed passionately in the middle of the street. Faith maneuvered them to a lamppost, pressing Buffy against it before kneeling down in front of her.
Faith ate her out in broad daylight, and soon brought Buffy to a screaming orgasm.
As Buffy stood on shaky legs and panted, Faith stood and kissed her hotly on the mouth. Buffy could taste herself on Faith's lips, and moaned softly.
"Listen B," Faith said as they stood close together. "Whatever shit happened between us, you and I both know we've got a connection. Don't tell me you're sorry. Just make sure you do somethin' about it when you get back."
Buffy nodded tearfully as she looked into Faith's eyes.
"Today I have two Little B's," Faith whispered in her ear. Buffy groaned, even as the dark thought rushed into her.
*Not my world," she thought sadly. *Not my love to take.*
The rest of the run was bittersweet, and Buffy was soon finding that every moment she spent here was much the same.
"I think I might have figured out what brought you here," Big-Xander said.
"Lay it on me, me," Xander said.
"Well, me," Big-Xander replied, grinning. "I've got these devices I made that are sort of demonic motion detectors. Any demonic energy that enters its range gets placed into a containment field before being dissipated by concentrated earth magic."
"Huzzawhat?" Xander asked.
"It's the same basic theory behind why a stake dusts a vampire. Earth magic, or life I guess you could call it, it disrupts demonic energy and destroys it."
"OK, so why would this bring me to your reality?"
"I think that when your universe-"
"Universe Prime," Xander reminded him with a grin.
"Yeah, well when Universe Prime opened a gateway between your reality and the Vampire Willow reality, the overlapping power of both hellmouths created a surge through adjacent realities. In doing that my motion detectors sought to absorb off the excess energy. I think the containment field pulled you in, then released you when you proved to not be demonic in origin."
"So your fancy security system sucked me into this universe?" Xander asked.
"Universe Awesome," Big-Xander reminded him. "And yeah, I think it did."
Xander leaned back in his chair, surveying the library. Cordelia and Buffy were sitting behind a mortified Faith, who was currently having her hair braided with pink ribbons. The two Ladies giggled and joked as they worked, occasionally leaning down to kiss Faith's neck. Willow sat with the two Xander's, frowning in thought as they worked out the possibility of how Xander had been brought to this reality. Giles was sipping on a cup of tea, his attention completely focused on the book he held in one hand. Oz snarled against the weapons cage. It was a full moon.
"So we think," Willow said. "That if we temporarily shut down the detectors we could send you back with no problem."
"But what if one of the other bazillion universes decides to leave their doodads on?" Xander asked. "Wouldn't I get pulled into their universe?"
"I think that I can tag you with an identifier rune. It would act as a kind of homing signal and attract itself to the demonic energy of your particular hellmouth."
"Well, if I can't trust a super-intelligent version of myself, who can I trust?" Xander mused.
"Exactly," Big-Xander said. "So where do you want it?"
"Want what?"
"The rune," Big-Xander answered. "It's like a small tattoo."
"You're going to give me a tattoo?" Xander wasn't sure this was such a great idea. Magical tattoos were usually big no-nos as far as he was concerned.
"Yeah but it should be fine. It'll just keep you on course when we send you back," Big-Xander assured him. "Any side effects would be minimal."
"Hold on there buddy! Side effects?"
"Well, there's a slight possibility it might attune itself to your hellmouth, but that might actually help you in the long run. It would mean you weren't so susceptible to the evil vibes it gives out."
Xander groaned and put his head on the table. "I don't like the term 'side effects' when we're talking about demonic energy and magic tattoos."
"It's the only way to get you home. Otherwise you really might just get sucked into some other universe. And it might not be half as nice as this one," Big-Xander grinned.
*Prime isn't half as nice as this one,* Xander thought darkly.
"OK, fine. But if I turn into some kind of evil ink creature, I'm oozing back to this dimension and killing you," Xander said.
"Deal."
Xander decided on his upper shoulder for the rune. The design reminded him of Celtic knot work he'd seen before, with a Japanese flavor mixed in. The design sprawled across his shoulder, and was bigger than he expected. Big-Xander drew it on with a special quill and ink he'd mixed himself, and when it was finished he simply spoke a few odd words over it.
"There you go, all done," he said.
"That's it? No painful needles and buzzing?"
"Nah, this is a rune, not a tattoo. It's still permanent but it's fused magically, not pierced through the skin."
"Great," he muttered. "I really hope it works as advertised."
"You can trust Xander, Xander," Buffy giggled as she stood behind Big-Xander, putting her hands on his shoulders and kissing him on the cheek. Xander smiled sadly. Universe Awesome indeed.
Cordelia was crouched in front of Faith, who sat dutifully still as Cordelia carefully applied make-up to the dark haired Slayer's face.
"So when do I leave?" Xander asked.
"So anxious to go?" Buffy teased.
"No," he admitted. "It's just that things weren't going so good when I left, and I know Willow's got to be freaking out that I'm gone."
This Willow nodded knowingly. "I'd be totally freaking out."
Buffy smiled at her, knowing that she would feel the same way.
"There! Perfect!" Cordelia shouted, and pecked Faith on the lips. "I present Princess Faith, as envisioned by Cordelia Chase."
Cordelia gestured Faith to her feet, and the Slayer stood shyly. Her hair was ornately braided all down her back, with pink ribbons tied in here and there. She wore a stunning pink dress that showed off her curves, and her makeup was soft and enhancing, rather than the heavily caked on style that Faith generally preferred. She wore short heels that showed off her toes, painted a glittering pink. Around her neck was a small choker with a delicate chain hanging off. On the chain hung a small silver pendant that read "Lady Cordelia's."
"Wow," both Xander's said at once. Faith looked down.
"This is so stupid," she muttered.
"It's very pretty Faith," Willow said casually.
"It's awesome," Buffy breathed. She stepped over to Faith and took her by the hand, looking her up and down.
"You like it?" Faith asked quietly.
"Totally," Buffy grinned. "Cordelia knows makeovers."
"I feel like a idiot."
"You look like a fairy tale."
Faith shrugged. Buffy leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, then whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, you're still so hot that we're all dying to fuck you."
Faith looked up and grinned. Buffy always knew just what to say.
"I think I know how you got brought here," Little-Buffy said.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Little-Buffy said as she stroked Buffy's hand. "See, I created these things called mandalas that are like magical designs that can be infused with spells. I made them into these kind of anti-demon energy wards. See right there over the door? That's one."
Buffy glanced at the intricate design.
"It's pretty," she said. Little-Buffy grinned.
"Anyway, I think that when your universe opened the gateway to Vampire Willow world, the combined energies of both hellmouths created like a feedback loop across adjacent dimensions. The resulting wave of energy pressed you through dimensional walls until you were stopped against the wards I set up."
"Huh?" Buffy asked.
"The hellmouth pushed. My shield caught you," Little-Buffy over-simplified for her.
"Oh."
"But we think we know how to send you back," Willow said excitedly. "All we have to do is disable the wards for a brief time and cast the spell."
"I still say we should give you a marker though," Little-Buffy added.
"I guess so," Willow agreed. "Better safe than sorry."
"A marker?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, it's like a link between you and your universe," Willow said. "It keeps you from getting blasted into any other universes by accident when we send you back."
"Oh. Well that's good," Buffy said. "Let's do that."
"Uh, well...It's kind of permanent," Willow admitted.
"What do you mean?"
"It's kind of like a tattoo," Little-Buffy said. "It's a rune that will be tied in with the energy of your hellmouth."
"Hold on there missy!" Buffy shouted, which caused Faith and Xander to look over quizzically. The two were busy practicing Xander-Fu. Xander, as the more advanced pupil found he could actually hold his own against Faith for a few minutes before the Slayer's natural strength, speed, and stamina began to make the difference. Plus training together usually led to at least making out, which was a definite plus.
"I have a bad history with magic tattoos," Buffy hissed at her double.
"I know," she whined. "But it's the only way. It's safe, I promise."
"Mom will kill me if she finds out I got a tattoo."
Little-Buffy giggled. "It is kind of...naughty," she said shyly.
Buffy felt herself flush. She hadn't thought of it that way. Little-Buffy leaned in closer to her.
"You know, we could put it someplace where mom would never see it," she breathed. Buffy shivered. Now there was an idea. "I think it would look so hot on the small of your back. Right over that curvy little ass."
Buffy half-moaned half-whined as she thought of it.
"OK," she whispered. "I'll do it."
The application of the rune was an exercise in sexual frustration for Buffy. Little-Buffy had her disrobe and lay on her front across the library table. Buffy wasn't entirely sure why she had to be nude, but she wasn't complaining. Xander and Faith had finished their training by then and watched silently as Little-Buffy expertly painted the rune above Buffy's ass.
Buffy tried not to groan at the feel of the soft brush tickling her, but she let slip one or two. She was almost trembling with desire by the time it was over, and knew that her pussy must be glistening with moisture.
Little-Buffy held her hand out and spoke a few strange words, and she felt a tingle over the cool feel of the special ink. Then it was gone. She had her runic tattoo.
Little-Buffy leaned forward and kissed the tattoo, "All done."
Buffy turned on her side, revealing her small breasts. She stared at the three lovers.
"Would someone please fuck me?" she begged. They were all more than happy to comply.
The sleek jet's engine whined down as it slowed to a halt. The door opened mechanically and a set of stairs extended. A moment later a man emerged from inside the plane. He looked around warily before he quickly descended the stairs, a large box handcuffed to his arm.
Two men stood waiting for him in front of a limo. One a well dressed black man with a bored expression. The other a white man in a chauffeur's uniform.
"Is he in the car?" the man with the box asked.
"No, we'll take you to him," the well dressed man said.
"The Mayor was supposed to meet me here in person with the money. I don't like surprises. That means the price just went up."
The well dressed man sighed, turning to open the door. Suddenly he whirled around, a large gleaming pistol in his hand.
"Surprise," he grinned, in full game face. He pulled the trigger, and the man with the box crumpled to the floor, dead.
"You shot him," the vampiric driver said in surprise.
"So? What do you care?"
"Why didn't you just drain him?"
Mr. Trick grinned, "I try not to do what they expect."
He pulled out a large knife, and easily severed the dead man's hand. He picked up the box and motioned to the limo.
"Let's go."
Giles pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"I'm afraid that I've just learned that the Mayor has obtained the Box of Gavroc," he sighed.
"What!" Buffy exclaimed. "We had a plan and everything!"
"Unfortunately it seems that the Mayor was willing to spend quite a lot of money in order to secure it earlier than we expected. The council's operatives lost track of it as it came into Sunnydale. We must assume it is now in the possession of the Mayor."
Buffy sat down with thump, a pouty expression on her face. "No fair," she whined. "Xander spent all that time coming up with the plan.
Xander, the one native to this reality, put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She rested her cheek on it, frowning.
"It's OK, we'll get it anyway," he assured her.
"How?" Willow asked.
"We bust in there and take it," Xander said.
"Uh, is that really a good idea?" Alter-Xander asked his counterpart.
"Yeah hon, I thought you were against the idea of a frontal attack," Cordelia reminded him.
"We don't have much choice," Xander said. "If we don't get that Box than there's nothing we can do to stop the Mayor's Ascension. This is our one chance."
"I'm afraid our knowledge of the extent of the Mayor's abilities are still largely unknown," Giles reminded Xander. "Mr. Finch has been helpful in detailing the measures necessary for Ascension, and while it's clear that the Mayor is one of the most powerful Warlocks in thousands of years, we still have virtually no hint of the limits of his powers."
"Xander's right Giles," Buffy said. "We need that box. Otherwise we gotta somehow explode a volcano on him, and that seems like it might be kind of tough."
"Yes, much as it pains me, I have to agree with Xander as well," Giles said snarkily. "Despite my reservations."
"Gee thanks Giles," Xander said sarcastically. They exchanged joking grins.
"So what's the what?" Alter-Xander asked. "Go in with guns a-blazing? Or go in all Mission Impossible and pull an Indiana Jones with a sandbag of equal weight?"
"I beg your pardon?" Giles asked the smaller Xander. The boy's use of pop-culture references sometimes seemed like another language.
"You know," Xander said, clarifying for his double. "We go in on wires and then really quickly snatch the Box, putting a sandbag that weighs just as much in the same spot at the same time. So that the giant ball doesn't come chasing after us."
Buffy started snickering. Cordelia gave her a strange look. "What?"
"Snatch the Box," she giggled.
"Oh my god," Cordelia laughed. "You are such a perv."
"Anyway," Xander said, grinning. "I think that's probably the best way. I mean without the sandbag. We should sneak in and just take the thing."
"He's probably got that place rigged with more security than fuckin' Fort Knox," Faith said, her language all the harsher compared to her clothing.
"That is a concern," Giles said. "However, with Willow, Xander and myself to counteract any magical wards and two Slayers for any problems that require physical violence, I believe we have a good chance."
"Xander could probably do it all himself," Willow shrugged.
"Hey Wills, come on. Who was floating pencils back when I couldn't even ignite a Torellian Chant?"
Willow laughed softly. Xander always tried to keep her feeling confident in her abilities despite the ease at which he had been mastering magic since the curse.
"A Torellian Chant?" Alter-Xander asked.
"Never mind," Xander said.
"So how do we do this?" Cordelia asked.
"Like this..."
Xander stared down into the skylight. The Box of Gavroc was sitting on a small pedestal. Xander shifted his vision, and could almost see the crackling power of the spells guarding it. He took a deep breath.
"Here goes nothing," he said. He carefully opened the skylight and sprinkled a fine dust into the room. A sphere of green energy flared, and vanished. "One spell down."
"Ready?" he asked Buffy. She and Faith would be lowered into the room first. If there were any trouble they would throw the box to Xander, who would run like the wind with it.
He didn't like the idea of leaving them there if things went wrong, but they'd all agreed it was worth the risk.
"Ready," Buffy said, kissing him lightly, then Faith.
"Let's do it," Faith said, and dropped into the room, landing like a cat. She wore her comfortable old leather clothes for this. There would be no risk taking.
Buffy nodded and dropped in after her. The two sister Slayers stood back to back for a moment, making sure the room was clear.
"Good to go," Faith whispered.
"Right," Buffy said. She carefully examined the Box. There didn't seem to be anything holding it in place. She bit her lip, and carefully picked it up.
The alarm sounded immediately.
"Shit!" Faith shouted, grabbing the Box and flinging it upwards. Xander caught it easily, but hesitated.
"Go Xander!" Buffy yelled.
Outside in Oz's Van, Willow and Giles sat with Alter-Xander and Cordelia. They heard the wailing alarm, and knew things hadn't gone quite as expected. Giles pulled up in front of the building, hoping Buffy and Faith would emerge any moment.
Xander leaped from the roof, landing with a heavy impact on the pavement below. He took one last look behind him before racing for the library.
He assumed his heart rate was fear for Faith and Buffy.
Buffy slammed her palm into a vampire, snapping its head back. Faith spun in the air, her leg arcing out to crash into another's back. They staked two more at the same time before looking at each other.
"We gotta bolt," Faith said.
"You take right, I take left," Buffy replied. They nodded, slammed their fists into two more vampires, and took off. Buffy to the left, and Faith to the right.
Faith didn't slow at all as she elbowed a demon in the face, then baseball slid between the legs of another. She was in her element. She jumped smoothly to her feet and turned another corner. Two vampires were waiting for her. Faith lashed out with a kick to the first one's middle, cracking her fist against the other's head. She staked them both in a one-two motion, and kept on the move.
Sometimes she felt sorry for the vampires. After all, she was Faith the fuckin' Vampire Slayer. Too cool for words.
Buffy flipped over a demon and kept running, not bothering to look back. She turned a corner and plunged a stake into the heart of the vampire that snarled at her. Three demons blocked the end of the hall. She ran at them at full speed, jumping against the wall at the last second to dive over their heads. She grinned as she rolled and snapped up to her feet.
"That was very impressive," The Mayor said. "You could have been quite the gymnast."
She stopped in her tracks. The Mayor and Mr. Trick stood there. The Mayor smiling politely, and the vampire grinning in full game face.
She clenched her fists, ready for the attack she was sure would be coming. She lunged forward, and heard a small puff of air.
The dart was imbedded just over her right breast. She frowned at it.
"They never expect that shit," Mr. Trick said. Buffy looked at him, confusion on her face. Then she fell over.
"Really, was that necessary?" the Mayor asked.
"What? I thought you wanted her incapacitated."
"The swearing," Richard Wilkins said. "It's the sign of an inferior vocabulary, you know."
"No shit," Mr. Trick grinned.
Faith jumped into the van, closing the door behind her.
"Where's Buffy?" Alter-Xander asked.
"I dunno, we had to split up," she said. "She'll be here any minute."
They couldn't wait. At least a dozen vampires came rushing out of the city hall.
"Bollocks!" Giles yelled as he slammed on the gas pedal. The van lurched forward and they sped away, leaving the vampires behind.
"She'll be OK," Faith said, trying to re-assure herself as much as anyone else.
"Yeah," Cordelia said softly. "She's the Slayer. She probably just went out the back."
"Yeah," Alter-Xander whispered. "Probably."
Xander slammed the box down on the specially prepared table, igniting the prepared spells he, Willow, and Giles had placed there earlier. A shimmering blue shield surrounded the box.
"Buffy," Xander whispered. He had to go back for her.
"Keep an eye on that, Oz," Xander said to the werewolf, who responded by snapping its jaws at him.
Xander raced out of the library...and stumbled.
He groaned as he slammed into the wall. He wasn't usually that clumsy anymore.
He rose to his feet, breathing heavy. Had he run too fast? He held out a hand against the wall to steady himself.
His hand shook.
Xander stared at it in disbelief. "Oh no," he said. "Not now."
Then the spasm of pain ripped through him, and he collapsed to the floor.
The sleek jet's engine whined down as it slowed to a halt. The door opened mechanically and a set of stairs extended. A moment later a man emerged from inside the plane. He looked around warily before he quickly descended the stairs, a large box handcuffed to his arm.
Two men stood waiting for him in front of a limo. One a well dressed black man with a bored expression. The other a white man in a chauffeur's uniform.
"Is he in the car?" the man with the box asked.
"No, we'll take you to him," the well dressed man said.
"The Mayor was supposed to meet me here in person with the money. I don't like surprises. That means the price just went up."
The well dressed man sighed, turning to open the door. Suddenly he whirled around, a large gleaming pistol in his hand.
"Surprise," he grinned, in full game face. He pulled the trigger, and the man with the box crumpled to the floor, dead.
"You shot him," the vampiric driver said in surprise.
"So? What do you care?"
"Why didn't you just drain him?"
Mr. Trick grinned, "I try not to do what they expect."
He pulled out a large knife, and easily severed the dead man's hand. He picked up the box and motioned to the limo.
"Let's go."
"Ah there it is!" the Mayor said happily, rubbing his hands along the edges of the box. Mr. Trick smiled smugly.
"Where's the courier? I suppose he'll want his money," he added.
"We renegotiated. He decided to settle for a bullet in the brain," Mr. Trick said.
The Mayor laughed. "That's what I like about you Mr. Trick. You're imaginative, and you take the initiative. That's very rare in vampires."
"Pretty rare in humans too," Mr. Trick said.
"Very true."
Mr. Trick carried the box into the conference room, where the Mayor had set up his protection spells until he needed to use the box. Mr. Trick placed it carefully on the pedestal.
"You sure this is safe?" he asked.
"Absolutely," the Mayor said. "Those are very powerful protection spells."
"You mind if I add a little somethin' of my own?" Mr. Trick asked.
"Of course not. You can never be too careful, I always say."
Mr. Trick nodded, fiddling idly with the clasp of the box, thinking to peek inside. The Mayor slammed his hand on the top of the box.
"Don't do that."
Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third smiled at the yellow striped demon before him.
"Excellent then Mr. Mlurr," he said. "We'll have those city contracts for you by Monday, and you can begin building your free-range orphanage."
"I ttthhhhank you, Miisssster Mayor," the demon hissed. "The tassste of free range human children isssss much more ssssuccullent."
"It's nice to see you're heating healthier. Have you lost weight?"
"I have, sssso kind of you to notisss," the demon replied. "My wife hasss forced me to cut back on our vissssits to fat camp."
The Mayor smiled. "I remember my Edna May used to poke me with her wooden spoon every time she'd make her special stew, and swear she'd never make it again because I was getting so pudgy," he chuckled sadly. "Cherish this time, Mr. Mlurr."
"It issss sssstill several yearsss before I am to devour her," Mr. Mlurr said.
"Glad to hear it. It's so rare to find someone you really click with."
The demon let out a slow clicking gurgle.
"Exactly," the Mayor smiled. "Well, it's been a pleasure, as always. Maureen will validate your parking on the way out."
"Ttthhank you."
The Mayor shook his claw, and slapped him heartily on the back as the demon left. As he left he frowned and pulled out a handkerchief, wiping the slime off of his hand.
He gazed out the window for a moment. He had that budget committee meeting at seven, followed by the Cullwater sacrifice. He sighed.
"A public servant's work is never done," he said to himself. He checked his hair and tie in the small mirror in his cabinet, then inspected his teeth. All in order, as it should be.
He was feeling good recently. The incident with Lurconis had been a setback, to be sure, but nothing he couldn't work past. In the long run it actually helped him. One less minor demon he would have to pay tribute to before he reached his goal. Lurconis would not hope to match his power after the Ascension, but it never hurt to eliminate a rival as early as possible. If he could ascend, well then someone else might be able to also.
The most worrying thing had been the encounter with the Slayer in the sewers. There had been something very strange about that encounter, and it had taken him several weeks to figure out what it was.
He couldn't remember what she wore. Wasn't that silly? He remembered meeting her, remembered speaking with her, even remembered that she was the same girl that had killed Kakistos. That was when his suspicions were raised.
It was a few weeks later that he gave into his paranoia and cast the detection spell. Sure enough, there was a pulsing spell affecting most of the town, including himself. A simple protection ward had freed him from its affects. He of course suspected it was either the Slayer or one of her lackeys. Magic of that order wasn't much more than a moderate spell, but it still troubled him that such a thing had gotten passed his own defenses. He had kept his wards up constantly since then, not wanting to take any chances that he would miss an important detail.
He thought he knew some of what the spell had done as well. Thinking back now he could clearly remember the positively indecent clothing of the young Slayer. The question was, why would the Slayer have a spell around her that kept people from noticing the clothing she wore? Why would she dress as a common harlot only to have no one notice it?
It was a mystery.
Well, he could ask her about it after the Ascension, when he was eating her and her family.
The alarm sounded after the budget meeting.
"What is that?" he asked.
"The motion detector I put on the box!" Mr. Trick shouted, and the two of them went to investigate. The halls were filled with his hired help, mostly vampires and a few stupider breeds of demon. They were simple to control and cheap to pay or feed.
"What's going on here?" the Mayor asked one of the vampires.
"They say the Slayer and her crew broke into the conference room, then bugged out. We're searching the whole floor for 'em."
"I see. Keep me informed," he said, and gestured for Mr. Trick to follow him.
"They die before they get the Box," he said icily. "Understood?"
"Yeah, no problem." Mr. Trick said.
They walked briskly to the conference room. When they turned the corner they spotted a dark haired young man. Three large demons stood blocking his path. The boy slammed an elbow into one's chest, flowing like water away from the claws of the other two, and suddenly lashing out with a crushing knee-strike to the head of another. He spun, ducking as the third demon attempted to tackle him. He spun a kick into its head, and stomped down on the one on the floor.
The young man moved like a dancer, seeming to simply flow around their attacks, his own striking with brutal efficiency. In less than fifteen seconds the three demons were either unmoving or dead. The young man looked up.
"Very impressive," the Mayor said.
"It's called Xander-Fu," the young man grinned.
"I take it you're one of the people who took my box?"
"I guess so," he replied.
"Well then, you can help me get it back. As my hostage."
"Yeah?" Xander asked, raising his hands in the defensive position Buffy had taught him. "Come try me."
"I got this boss," Mr. Trick said, and he slowly slipped off his jacket. Xander tensed, preparing for the attack. Instead Mr. Trick used the distraction of his jacket to snap his hand upwards. Xander heard a small puff of air. He looked down, and saw the small dart sticking out of his chest.
"Whu?" he said dumbly.
"Never expected that shit," Mr. Trick grinned. Xander collapsed face first on the floor.
"Was that necessary?" the Mayor asked.
"What? I thought you wanted him."
"The swearing," he said. "It's the sign of an inferior vocabulary, you know."
"No shit," Mr. Trick grinned.
Buffy woke up with a splitting headache. She opened her eyes, and the world spun. She quickly shut them again, groaning as she thought she might be sick.
"Well good morning," said a cheery voice.
"Whu?"
She tried to open her eyes again, and this time succeeded in keeping the world in one spot. The Mayor sat across from her, grinning.
"Oh great," she muttered.
"Did you sleep well? Mr. Trick tells me that was one of the most powerful tranquilizers in the world," he said.
"Fuck you," she moaned.
"Now now, that's hardly appropriate language for a young lady like yourself."
She repeated herself. The Mayor sighed.
"I have half a mind to wash your mouth out, young lady. Unfortunately I'm on a bit of a timetable. We're going to go pay your friends a little visit. And if you don't do anything stupid, you get to go home, and I get my box."
She said it a third time when she felt the dart hit her again. The world slipped away.
"She's probably waiting for us in the library with Xander," Willow said as they entered the school.
"Most likely," Giles said. Alter-Xander, Cordelia and Faith all remained silent. Willow turned the corner first.
"Xander!" she cried, rushing to him. Xander was lying on the floor, teeth clenched together as his back arched in pain. Faith and Cordelia joined him a minute later.
"Withdrawal," he managed to croak. "Need Buffy."
"We hoped she was with you!" Willow cried. There was a crash in the library.
"I'll check it out," Alter-Xander said. "You stay with me. I mean him."
"I'm going with you, just in case," Faith said. He nodded and they cautiously entered the library.
On the floor was a brick with a note tied to it. The upper window was smashed. Alter-Xander untied it quickly, then let it drop to the floor.
"He's got Buffy," he said.
"We have to get her back!" Cordelia cried, as Xander's body spasmed in pain.
"I don't think we can hope to survive an attack on City Hall," Giles said.
"Fuck attacking. We'll give him his fucking box."
Giles looked sadly at Faith, "That may not be wise."
"You saying we should just let them both die? Xander's a goner if we don't get her back soon, and the Mayor'll kill her if he thinks she won't be any use to us."
Giles opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it and closed it. He could not truly ask them to sacrifice Xander and Buffy in order to keep the box from the Mayor.
"X-Xander," Xander groaned from the floor. Alter-Xander knelt beside him.
"Hey just stay calm, we'll get her back," he said.
"The rune...There's no place...no place like home," Xander groaned.
"What?"
"No place like home," Xander muttered. "There's no place like home."
"He's fading fast," Cordelia said. "We have to do this now. Call him, have him bring Buffy here and tell him we'll give him the box if he doesn't harm her."
"There's little that keeps him from harming us all once he has the Box," Giles said.
"He's not going to risk fighting us all over his box," Alter-Xander said. "He gets it, I'm betting he's running home with it as fast as he can."
"Fine, I'm calling," Cordelia said, flipping open her cell phone, dialing three numbers. "Hello? I'd like the number for the Mayor's office."
Xander's head exploded, and his brains splattered against the wall.
At least, that's what it felt like to him. He opened one eye slowly, and almost threw up at the way the colors swirled around in his vision.
"wElL, LoOk wHo WoKe Up," a wavering voice said across the distance.
"Whu?" he managed to say.
"How are you feeling? Mr. Trick says that's one of the most powerful tranquilizers in the world," the Mayor of Sunnydale said.
Xander threw up.
"I see. Perhaps not quite as high a dose next time?"
"Next time?" Xander groaned.
"Oh yes. Normally I would keep you around for some questioning, but unfortunately I am operating on a timetable. I suspect we'll be taking a trip to your school any moment now."
"Gonna kill you," Xander mumbled.
"Not if I kill you first," the Mayor replied cheerfully. The dart bit into him, and Xander slipped away.
"He, he probably just slipped out the back," Willow said as they entered the school.
"Yeah," Alter-Buffy said glumly. Xander had been so impressive with his Xander-Fu, he could take care of himself. Right?
"Oh my god! Buffy!" Willow shouted as she turned the corner.
Buffy was pressed against the wall, clutching her chest and breathing heavily.
"Withdrawal," she groaned, and collapsed to the floor.
"Little B!" Faith cried, falling to the floor beside her. She held the twitching Slayer in her arms, trying to keep her calm.
"Xander is not with you?" Giles asked.
"Of course he's not!" Alter-Buffy said. "We have to go back for him!"
Giles saw his Slayer writhing on the floor. Anything they could do, they would.
A crash sounded from the library. Alter-Buffy slammed through the door with a stake in each hand before anyone even moved. She whirled around, looking for the threat. A brick lay on the floor, shards of glass surrounding it. She picked up the note, untying it and scanning it quickly.
"Oh no," she whispered.
"We can trade the box for him," Alter-Buffy said.
"Yes," Giles whispered, staring at Buffy, who was breathing heavily and trying to control her shakes. "
"B-Buffy," she groaned. Alter-Buffy knelt by her side, holding her counterparts hand.
"It's OK, we're going to get him back," she assured the slightly smaller girl.
"Buffy...in case, it doesn't work..."she groaned. "Just remember...There's no place like home."
"What?"
"No place like home," Buffy repeated before her eyes shut tightly closed and she grunted as a wave of pain shot through her.
"What is she talking about?" Alter-Buffy asked.
"No clue," Faith said.
"She may be delusional," Willow said sadly.
"That's it," Alter-Buffy said. "Any other suggestions?"
No one had any.
"Then I'm calling the Mayor. We'll trade the Box for Xander."
They stood carefully within the range of the ward spells Buffy had placed in the mandala. The circle extended to halfway in the cafeteria. They kept Buffy behind the counter, where Faith held her tightly, trying to keep her from thrashing too badly.
"Where's my Box?" the Mayor asked. He stood at the other end of the cafeteria. His associate Mr. Trick held Xander by the throat, and Xander was barely on his feet.
"What did you do to him?" Alter-Buffy asked.
"Just a little sleepy drug," the Mayor said. "Nothing permanent."
"It better not be," Alter-Buffy growled.
"Really now missy, you shouldn't make threats you can't back up. Now hand over the Box."
Alter-Buffy stepped forward, her teeth clenched in anger. Mr. Trick moved forward with her, and they met in the center of the room. They quickly exchanged hostage and prize, and Alter-Buffy dragged Xander back within the circle. Willow helped him behind the counter where Buffy was thrashing against Faith's grip. They unbuckled his pants and held him close to Buffy, and soon she was sucking him with a fervor.
The Mayor frowned, "What's going on back there?"
"Nothing," Alter-Buffy said.
"They're having intimate relations!" the Mayor gasped.
"So what Boss?" Mr. Trick asked.
"Ahh," the Mayor said, realizing suddenly. "That's what the spell was for."
"What spell?" Alter-Buffy tried to bluff.
"The one making the town not notice something. It was your teenaged sexcapades!"
"What do you care? You have your box. Get out of here."
"About that," the Mayor said. "I think it'd be so much nicer if you just died."
He opened the box. At first, nothing happened.
Then a grotesque armored spider demon emerged. And another. And another.
"There's about fifty billion of these cute little critters in here," the Mayor grinned. "I wonder how many it will take to kill you all."
Buffy flinched as the first little spider thing leapt at her. She held her hands out to cover her face, and was shocked to see the demon vaporize before hitting her.
"Now that's odd," the Mayor said. Several more of the demons exploded into nothing as they attempted to attack the Scoobies.
"Get back to the car Mr. Trick," the Mayor said. "This may take a while, and I'd hate to lose a trust associate to friendly fire."
Mr. Trick nodded, seeming a little sickened by the ever increasing numbers of the powerful little creatures.
The Mayor opened the lid completely, and let the demons fly free.
They all stood carefully within range of the motion detectors as the Mayor and his people entered the cafeteria. Xander was back behind the counter with Faith holding him tightly, trying to keep him from thrashing too violently.
Giles held the Box of Gavroc, and stared at them as they entered the room. Alter-Xander and Cordelia held crossbows on them, careful not to aim at Buffy.
She was held in Mr. Trick's grasp, looking sickly and barely standing.
"What have you done with her?" Giles demanded.
"Nothing permanent," the Mayor said. "Just needed to keep her from causing any trouble."
"If she is harmed, I will end you," Giles warned.
"Really now Mr. Giles, you shouldn't make threats you can't keep. The Box?"
Giles grit his teeth together and carefully stepped forward. Mr. Trick did the same, and they carefully switched Buffy for the Box. Giles led her back to the others, where Willow quickly helped her behind the counter. She removed Buffy's pants quickly and she and Faith held Xander's face to her crotch. Soon he was licking her with zeal.
"Take it back to the car Mr. Trick, I'll be along shortly," he said. He frowned at the noises coming from behind the counter. "What's going on back there?"
"None of your concern," Giles said.
The Mayor's eyes widened. "They're having sexual relations! That's obscene! What do you teach these kids of yours, Mr. Giles?"
Giles had no idea what the Mayor was talking about.
"You're insane," he sneered.
The Mayor frowned, and then seemed to understand.
"Ah, the spell," he said.
"There's no spell!" Alter-Xander said, too quickly.
"I understand that teenager's have hormones, but this is beyond me. Personally, I blame television. In my day we didn't have kids performing such acts on each other. And in the middle of a hostage negotiation?"
"Look, you got your box," Xander said. "Just get out of here."
"Yes," the Mayor said, wincing slightly. "See the thing about that is, I'd much rather see you all killed."
He grinned, and opened the box slightly. Alter-Xander fired the crossbow, piercing him in the chest.
"Hey! You could put have put someone's eye out!" the Mayor said, pulling the bolt from his chest.
As he spoke, a skittering black shape emerged from the box. Then another. And still yet another.
"Gavroc demons," the Mayor said, smiling. "There's about fifty billion of these happy little guys in there. I don't think it should take more than a dozen to kill you all."
Cordelia screamed as the first spider-thing screeched and jumped for her face. It seemed to hover in mid-air for a moment, and suddenly vaporized.
"The motion detectors," Alter-Xander whispered.
"Interesting," the Mayor said. "Is that a custom designed spell I see in that? Very impressive. Still, I shouldn't think it will outlast all of these. He opened the lid wide, and demons began pouring out.
All of them screamed and covered their eyes as the swarm of creatures bombarded the invisible circle, dozens of them exploding flashes of light every second.
"Hurry Buffy!" Giles called back. "The spell can't last forever!"
Xander was licking and sucking her with wild abandon, but in Buffy's half-drugged state, she was barely responding. She was moaning slightly, but seemed barely aware of her surroundings otherwise.
The Mayor laughed as the growing swarm, a black shadow of death that could not affect the impervious Warlock, encircled him.
Alter-Xander's mind was racing. The box was still wide open and the swarm was growing seemingly exponentially. Soon the whole room would be filled. The view of the Mayor was obscured both by the blinding white light of the vaporizing creatures, and by the dark swarm flowing around him.
"Giles!" Alter-Xander screamed over the cacophony. "I need a path!"
Giles's eyes met his. "Xander, no!"
"It's the only way Giles! Besides," his voice lowered slightly. "I don't belong here."
"That doesn't mean you have to die!" Giles shouted.
Alter-Xander stared into the dozens of flashes of light, and then looked back to Giles.
"It's the only way Giles. It's our only chance."
Giles frowned, and sought to argue more when one of the demons made it into the circle.
"It's weakening!" Alter-Xander said as he and Giles scrambled to stomp the creature before it could attack. "It has to be now, Giles!"
Giles nodded. He was right. It was their only chance. Maybe if Xander could get to the box, could somehow wrest it from the Mayor and get it closed...It was as slim a chance as he could imagine.
"Willow!" Giles yelled over the din. Willow was holding up Buffy. "Leave them! I need your help!"
Willow laid Buffy on the floor, and Faith realized she no longer had to hold Xander. The two lovers were locked in their embrace for however long it took Buffy to overcome the drugs.
"Grab my hand!" he called to her. Willow clasped her hand over his. "A barrier! For however long we can hold it!"
Faith covered her eyes as she yelled, "What are you doing!"
"I'm going, Faith," Alter-Xander said, and somehow she could hear his voice over the explosions.
"No! I'll go! I'm the Slayer!"
"It's already been decided Faith!" he yelled.
"Bullshit! I'm not letting you go out there to die!"
He put his arms on his shoulder, "I'm sorry Faith." He swung his fist at her face, a powerful blow that could shatter a man's jaw.
"What the fuck was that for?" Faith asked.
"Uh...It was supposed to knock you out," he said sheepishly.
"Stop fucking around Xander! We need to-" she was cut off as another demon made it through the circle, clawing at her chest. She screamed and cursed at the thing as she rolled to the floor with it.
"Now Giles!"
Giles nodded and used his and Willow's combined power to blast a magical barrier through the demons. They scattered across the floor as they were blasted back.
"Go!"
Alter-Xander dove into the tunnel of demons, heading straight for the Mayor. The Warlock's clothes were torn and near destroyed, but he himself was unharmed. Alter-Xander rushed him, running as fast as he could, even as he crouched low in the small magical tunnel.
"Just what do you hope to accomplish?" The Mayor asked him as Alter-Xander slammed the lid down on the box. "That barrier won't last more than another twenty seconds, and after that you'll be dead. Then I'll just sit here until your circle of protection is gone."
"Yeah, well there is that," Xander said, gripping the box firmly. "But you forgot one thing.
*Please let this work*
"Oh, what's that?"
He wrenched the Box out of the Mayor's grip.
"There's no place like home?" Alter-Xander said.
The tunnel collapsed.
The blinding flashes of the demons as they vaporized against the magical barrier bathed the entire room in a pulsing strobe of light. Dozens of the hideous things were pouring out at a time and lashing against the barrier.
"Interesting," the Mayor said. "That looks to be a custom spell. Very impressive. But only delaying the inevitable."
"He's right!" Giles yelled. "The barrier will only last for so long against such an onslaught!"
"Come on Little B," Alter-Buffy said. "You have to finish him quickly."
But Xander was drugged to the gills and unable to stand on his own. Willow held him up while Buffy sucked and licked at him, but he was still only half hard.
Alter-Buffy stared at the explosions of light.
*Not my world. Not my place.*
"Giles! You have to create a path!"
Giles stared at her. "No Buffy! It will kill you!"
Giles could only maintain a magical barrier against the demons for a few seconds, especially under that kind of stress. Once it broke down, Buffy would be at the mercy of the hundreds of demons.
"There's no choice!" Alter-Buffy cried. Then, more quietly she spoke honestly to him. "It's not my world, Giles. It's not my place."
"You shouldn't have to die for that," he begged. He could not see his Slayer, even this alternate version of her, go off to her death.
"It's what I love for Giles," she said. "I'm the Slayer. This is my job."
Giles stared in her eyes. She had a duty. So did he.
"Willow!" he called. "I need your help!"
Willow realized there was no longer a reason to try and hold Xander up, and gently laid him down on the floor. Buffy continued to suck at his half-erect penis, and Faith also realized she need no longer hold the girl.
"Grab my hand!" Giles called. "We need a barrier! Put everything you have into it!"
"What? What are you doing?" Faith asked.
"I'm going Faith," Alter-Buffy said.
"No! Together! I'm not letting you go out there to die!" A demon made it through the barrier and the two of them both kicked it at the same time with all of their strength. It shattered back against the barrier and exploded.
"I don't belong here Faith," she said in a low voice. "This isn't my world. You have to live. Be with them. Love them."
"I love you too!" Faith insisted.
Alter-Buffy smiled. "I'm sorry Faith."
She punched the dark-haired Slayer. Every ounce of caring and love in her body fueled the blow. Faith fell backwards, and groaned.
"Now Giles!" Alter-Buffy yelled.
Giles nodded and he and Willow's face turned grim in determination as a mystical barrier bored a hole through the swarm of demons. Buffy gave one last look to them all, and dove through.
She moved with all the speed of a Slayer through the thick tunnel of swirling demons. The Mayor stood at the end, his clothes tattered and torn, but unharmed. She slammed down the lid before he had time to react.
"Now really, what is that going to accomplish?" he asked. "In twenty seconds your little tunnel is going to collapse, and you'll die. Then I'll just open the box again until your friends are all dead."
"Yeah, well you forgot one thing," she said.
"Oh? What's that?"
She wrenched the box out of his grip.
"There's no place like home?" she said.
The tunnel collapsed, and the demons surged over her even as her back glowed with power. She screamed...and was gone, taking the box with her.
The demons continued to pour against the barrier one after another, a few making it past the defense. Faith had recovered enough to destroy them before they could hurt anyone, despite a few close calls. The numbers were still massive.
"Effugio!" the Mayor yelled, and suddenly the demons seemed to scatter to the four winds. He stood glaring at them.
"This is not over," he assured them. "That was my Box. Mine! You little hooligans will not get away with this. My Ascension will mean years of torment before you die."
"Gonna be hard to Ascend without your Box," Faith sneered.
"You die first," the Mayor promised. A moment later, he had gone.
Faith stared out at the devastated cafeteria. Chairs and tables were completely destroyed, and the walls were full of tiny holes. Pieces of demon lay everywhere.
There was no sign of Alter-Buffy.
"He just vanished," Cordelia said, unable to believe it. "How did he vanish?"
"I'm not sure," Giles said. "Perhaps something to do with the box?"
They still sat in the cafeteria, long silences filled with the slight moaning of Buffy as she gradually built towards her orgasm. Cordelia sighed.
"I hope they finish soon," she sighed. "I want to get out of here."
"She's started rubbing against him," Faith said. "That means she's close."
"Good. This place stinks of demon."
Faith sat on the floor, staring vacantly at the destroyed cafeteria. Cordelia sighed and sat next to the girl, putting an arm around her.
"Are you OK?" she asked the dark haired Slayer.
"He died for us," Faith said. "He didn't even really know us that long. And he died for us."
"We don't know that he's dead."
"We'll never see him again," Faith said sadly. "Even if he's not dead, he could have been sucked through the Box into some hell dimension."
"Faith, if...If Xander really did die," Willow said, sitting next to the distraught girl. "Then he died the way he wanted to." The redhead wiped away a tear from her own face, and put an arm around Faith as well. Faith buried her face in her hands. She felt hot tears running down her face.
Faith never cried.
Buffy's scream broke them out of their mourning. She bucked against Xander's face, clutching at her breasts as she came. When it was over, she collapsed back, dead to the world.
"Ohh," Xander groaned. "My aching tongue."
Faith and Cordelia rushed over to him, helping him sit back carefully.
"Are you OK?" Faith asked.
"Yeah," he grunted. "I think so. I feel like I got hit by a truck though."
"You were in withdrawal a really long time," Cordelia admitted. "We...We had to give him the Box to get Buffy back."
"Oh no," he whispered. "Buffy?" he looked around wildly, and saw her collapsed on the floor.
"Buffy!"
"Don't worry Xander," Cordelia said. "She's just kind of drugged up. She should be OK soon, and if not we'll give her some of the healing potion.
"I never should have left," he moaned.
"Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda," Faith said.
He leaned over, peaking out around the counter. "Whoa, what happened?"
"Turns out that box was full of demon spider things. The Mayor decided it would be nice to open it and let a few thousand out to say Hi."
Xander groaned, covering his face with his hands.
"You, I mean Xander, the other Xander...he had Giles make a barrier for him and he went after the Box. He grabbed it, and then...kind of exploded in light."
Xander sat up quickly, face full of hope, "He did?"
Faith frowned at him, and nodded slowly.
"All right! He figured it out!"
"Figured what out?" Willow asked.
"There's no place like home. I gave him the rune earlier, I just didn't tell him he could use it whenever. I put in the code phrase so he could go home at any time. I was going to tell him later when we took down the detectors, but when I thought...Thought I might die, I tried to tell him. Just in case."
"But Xander," Faith said. "The detectors weren't off when he said it."
Xander gave a small sigh. "We just have to hope the rune worked like it was supposed to. If it did, he would probably get pulled into the proper universe."
"And if not?" Faith asked.
"I guess there's a slight possibility he could bounce back and forth between the two universes, not really in either, just stuck in the nowhere that's between."
Faith leaned in close, looking him directly in the eyes. "Xander, you promise me you'll find out what happened as soon as fucking possible."
"Of course," he said. "As soon as I can."
She nodded, then felt her face lose its resolve and crumble into despair. Her bottom lip trembled and she leaned in to kiss him on the lips.
"Thank you Xander," she said to him, and to his absent double. "Thank you."
He hugged her tightly, and pulled Cordelia into the embrace. The three held each other on the cafeteria floor for a very long time.
Buffy was out of it for the rest of the night, but Xander announced that she would be fine by the morning, although probably with quite a headache. When she was fairly coherent they got her to drink the healing potion, after which she fell into a deep sleep.
Xander was sitting at the dining room table when Cordelia came to him. He was sketching out the basic theory he had behind determining where his double ended up.
"Hey," she said softly. The house was quiet.
"Hi," he smiled. She slid into his lap and they kissed briefly.
"You're working on the detection thing?" she asked.
"Yeah. I hope I can get it done by tomorrow. I don't want to leave him bouncing between universes, if that's where he is."
"Xander?" Cordelia asked shakily.
"Yeah?"
"Promise me you'll never do that," she said.
"Do what?"
"Never sacrifice yourself for us," she whispered, tears in her eyes. He lightly pressed his forehead to hers, and closed his eyes.
"No," he said softly. "I could never promise that."
"Xander Harris if you die and leave me here alone I will kill you," she said sharply.
"I could never live with myself if I let you die, Cordy." He stroked her face, gazing sadly into her eyes.
"You, He just did it, Xander. Without even thinking about it, he was gone."
"Do you know why?" he asked her. She nodded.
"Because he's a total moron, just like you."
He shook his head, smiling sadly. "It's because he loves you. Just like me."
She kissed him again, and let her tears burn down her cheeks.
"Never go away," she whispered.
"I won't," he promised, knowing he would break it if it would save her life. Any of their lives.
They sat together, taking comfort in the warm life of the other.
"I need to go to bed," she whispered. "But I need you to do something first."
"Anything for my Lady Cordelia," he grinned.
"You have to talk to Faith."
"I thought she went to bed"
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "See, that's why you're the big dummy and I'm the Lady. She lied down for ten seconds before jumping back up. She's been in the basement pounding away at the training gear for the last three hours."
"OK, I'll talk to her."
"Good. And don't be stupid," she warned.
He held his hands out defensively. "Me? Stupid?"
She waggled her finger at him threateningly, then kissed him again.
"Just be you. That's what she wants right now," Cordelia said as she went up the stairs.
Faith slammed her first into the heavy bag, grunting loudly with the blow. She was aching and exhausted, but she pressed on. She would keep going until she collapsed.
Slam. He had been so fucking noble.
Slam. What was she, some stupid princess he had to save?
Slam. The prince is supposed to stay with the princess, not die.
Slam. Gone away. Like they always did.
He caught her small hand in his, easily absorbing the Slayer-powered blow.
"Hi Faith," Xander said.
"What do you want?" she snapped.
"I thought maybe you could talk to me a while," he said.
"Yeah? What about?"
"About me."
She snorted. "Might want to get that ego problem checked out. I'm not your shrink."
She turned away, but he held her arm firmly and spun her back to look at him.
"I really think we should talk."
"Or what? You'll twist my fucking arm off?"
"You'd rather bust up all our training gear until you collapse from exhaustion?" he snapped back.
"Yeah? So what if I do?"
"Look at me Faith," he ordered. She flipped him the bird. "I'm serious."
She grit her teeth and looked at him. "So I'm looking. So what?"
"I'm right here," he said, holding his arms out. "I'm not going anywhere."
She wanted to punch him in that stupid mouth of his. Wanted to tear his fucking head off and stuff it down his neck.
"Stop it," she whispered.
"I'm here for *you* Faith. I love you and I'm staying here with you forever, whether you like it or not."
"Shutup," she said. "Just shutup."
He stepped closer to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She felt like screaming.
"I'm here with you," he whispered.
"Until you decide to go and fucking die!" she screamed at him. "This is the fucking hellmouth! One day some shit is going to go down and you're going to kill yourself over it!"
She punched his chest, hard as she could. He stood with her. She punched him again. A third time. Then she collapsed in his arms, holding him so tight she wondered how he was breathing.
"He died," she wailed. "I know it! He died for me! He died because I didn't stop him."
"If he died," Xander said. "It was so we all would live."
She sniffed. "Maybe some of us don't deserve to live."
"He thought you did," Xander said.
She put her face against his shirt as she cried.
"And I think you do too," he whispered, resting his cheek against the top of her head.
"Why?" she demanded. "What's so great about me? You don't even know me."
"I was inside of you for hours," he said softly. "I've held you as you slept, and I've seen the joy in your eyes when Cordelia dresses you up. I've watched you stare at Buffy in awe and I've seen you kick ass better than any person I've ever met. I've seen you give the finger to a biker gang while dressed in a sundress. I know you can be hot, I know you can be pretty, and I know you can be pretty hot.
"And I've stood in the basement with my arms around you while you proved to me why I love you," he whispered.
She sniffed and looked up at him. "My life is so different now Xander. I wasn't like this before. I wasn't like this at all."
He smiled. "You were always like this, Faith. You just never had anyone to be like this with."
She put her cheek against his chest. "I think I'm love with you," she said quietly. It was her dark secret. She loved Cordelia. She loved Buffy. She was *in* love with Xander.
"You know what?" Xander asked. "I think he was in love with you too."
She smiled as the tears filled her eyes, even as she wondered what that meant for them. It didn't matter. It was good enough to know that somewhere, sometimes, Xander Harris was in love with her.
He carried her upstairs ten minutes later. They crawled into bed between Buffy and Cordelia, and he held her all night long. She didn't have a single nightmare.
"S-She just disappeared?" Willow asked. Giles nodded solemnly.
"It was rather like an implosion of light," he said.
Faith kicked away the carcass of one of the spider demons she'd killed. She slumped against the wall and rested her forehead on the palms of her hands. Willow crawled over to her and put her arm around Faith's shoulders.
"Are you OK?" she asked.
"Yeah Red. I guess so."
"That was really brave of you," Willow said.
"Bitch knocked me out with one punch," Faith scoffed. "I always figured that without the curse Little B'd be a pushover."
"I don't think there's anyone in the world tougher than Buffy Summers," Willow said.
"I think you're right," Faith whispered.
"Are you upset that she knocked you out?"
"Just cause it meant I couldn't stop her," Faith said. "I'm not mad that she could do it."
Willow quirked at an eyebrow at her.
"OK, maybe I'm a little mad that she could do it. I'm the Slayer for Christ's sake!"
"So's she," Willow reminded her.
"I guess. I just can't believe she did that shit."
They were interrupted by Xander groaning loudly, and then going completely limp.
"Mmm," Buffy said after swallowing. "My jaw kind of hurts."
Faith rushed to her side, holding her gently as Buffy sat back. "Wow," she said. "I feel like I fell off a cliff."
"You were in withdrawal for quite some time," Giles informed her.
"Yeah, plus X was so doped up he could barely get it up," Faith said.
"Xander?" Buffy asked softly. She saw his limp form on the floor. "Xander!"
Faith held her back gently. "Chill Little B. He'll be OK. Probably need a hell of a lot of healing potion, but otherwise he'll be fine."
"I should have never left," Buffy said. "Did we at least get the Box?"
"Well um, about that," Giles said. "Unfortunately Xander was captured, and we were forced to trade him for the Box. However..."
"Yeah?"
"After the switch the Mayor decided to unleash the contents of the box on us. It was apparently filled with fairly large spider-like demons. We might have been killed if...If not for the actions of your double."
"My double? What happened?"
"She...Sacrificed herself," Willow said. "To save us. She had me and Giles hold open a tunnel and she grabbed the Box. Then she...kind of imploded."
"Imploded?" Buffy asked hopefully. "With a lot of light?"
"Yes," Giles said, surprised.
"Yes!" Buffy said, pumping her fist. "She got it!"
"Got what?" Faith asked.
"There's no place like home!" Buffy said happily. "It's the code phrase I put into the rune for her. I was going to tell her when I shut down the barriers, but when I thought, well I kinda thought I was going to die, so I tried to tell her then."
"But Buffy," Willow said. "We didn't shut down the barriers."
"Oh yeah," Buffy said. "Well that doesn't mean she didn't get back. The rune could probably get her back even through that."
"I hope you're right," Faith whispered.
"I-I can check I think. I'll try to work on it."
Faith nodded, and then leaned forward to kiss her lover.
"Thanks Buffy," it was as much to the girl she called Little B as to the Buffy that had sacrificed herself for them all.
They managed to get Xander coherent enough to get him to swallow some of the healing potion, and afterwards he had fallen into a deep sleep. Buffy and Faith knelt on the bed, watching him breathing deeply.
"I shouldn't have left him," Buffy said. "He's not a Slayer. I shouldn't have let him go with us."
"You really think you could have stopped him?" Faith asked.
"No. But I still shouldn't have let him."
She sighed and lay flat on her back. She was nude, as she almost always was before going to sleep. Her large breasts moved in time with her breath.
"You really think she made it back?" Faith asked.
"I think so," Buffy said.
Faith lay down beside Buffy, placing a possessive hand on the smaller Slayer's much larger breast and snuggling her face into the girl's neck. Buffy moaned softly, and turned to face Faith. They stared into each other's eyes, softly stroking each other's bodies as Xander lightly snored.
Buffy frowned when Faith's eyes began to slowly fill with tears.
"What's wrong?" she whispered.
Faith shook her head, and looked down, trying to hide her tears.
"Damn Little B," she said shakily. "I love you too much."
Buffy kissed her deeply.
"Don't ever go nowhere, OK?"
"Never," Buffy promised. "Always with you."
They stared into each other's eyes until they both fell asleep. The two girls in all the world with the power to battle the forces of darkness. And Xander.
*Always Xander.*
Xander screamed as he fell through the haze of color and sensation. The Box of Gavroc was held tightly in his arms, and his shoulder burned with pure white light where the runic tattoo was etched.
He felt himself pull back, only to fall again. Forever. Never. He was beginning to lose sense of it all. He thought he might throw up. Nothing and everything inundated him, and he screamed again.
*Gotta do something,* he thought. *Gotta try. Gotta get home. To Willow. To Giles. To Cordelia. To Faith, and to...*
"Buffy!" he cried, and did the only thing he could think of. He threw the Box of Gavroc into the void, and saw with sightless eyes as it exploded.
Buffy screamed as she fell through the haze of color and sensation. The Box of Gavroc was held tightly in her arms, and the small of her back burned with pure white light where the runic tattoo was etched.
She buffeted against the forces that did not exist, slamming against things that never were. She lurched and felt herself fall back the way she came, only to reverse direction and continue forward again.
*Have to fight,* she thought. *Always fight. Fight for home. For Willow. For Giles. For Faith. For Angel and...
"Xander!" she shouted, her voice echoing soundlessly in the place that was not. She could think of only one thing to do. She hurled the Box of Gavroc against everything that was, and ever would be.
Two forms hovered for a moment in the library. Then, as one, they collapsed, landing with two thuds.
"Good lord," Giles exclaimed.
"What happened?" Willow asked.
"Ow," Xander said.
"Ow," Buffy said.
Xander rolled over, staring up at the library ceiling.
"There's no place like home," he whispered. "I hope."
Buffy let out a sharp bark of laughter at his words.
"Are you guys OK?" Willow asked.
"I think so," Buffy said. "What happened?"
"We did the spell to send the other me back, and you two kind of...Sucked away."
"Funny you should mention sucked," Buffy muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
She sat up carefully, looking around. The candles were still in a circle around the room. It looked like...
"How long was I gone?" Xander asked before she could.
"The both of you were gone for no more than five seconds," Giles answered.
"Wow," both he and Buffy breathed at the same time.
"Why? Did it feel like longer for you? Where were you two?"
"I don't know about Buffy," he said. "But I went to a fabulous world of yellow bricks and emerald cities. And you were there," he pointed to Giles, then Willow, then Buffy. "And you were there! And you were there!"
"I see," Giles said seriously. "I seem to recall hearing of a similar incident. The books of Nolmar perhaps?"
"Wizard of Oz," Willow said. "The wizard, not the werewolf."
"Oh yes, of course. How silly of me," Giles laughed.
"Look Giles," Buffy said. "I don't know about Xander, but what happened to me is a really long story, and I don't really feel like getting into it right now."
*Not until I can figure out exactly how much I have to leave out,* she groaned inwardly.
Xander rose to his feet. "Yeah, ditto for me Giles. I need a good night's sleep."
Buffy stood, and gave Xander a cursory glance. Their eyes met. For a moment they simply stared at each other.
"I uh...I gotta go," Xander said.
"Yeah...Me too," Buffy agreed.
Somehow, they both knew things would never be the same again.
The next day had them all filled with mixed emotions. The other Xander had been a unifying force during his time with them, and having him gone made them all feel that maybe things would slip back into uncertainty.
Buffy woke everyone in the house that morning with her usual screaming orgasm, only to continue screaming for a long time afterwards. Apparently her headache was a bit more painful than they had anticipated. Lots of aspirin and another dose of healing potion soon had her lying with a pillow over her head and vicious growls at anyone making over five decibels worth of noise.
Cordelia ushered Xander and Faith out of their room shortly after. She told Xander to stay home from school that day to take care of Buffy.
"How come Xander gets to stay home?" Faith asked indignantly.
"Because Xander could pass his finals in his sleep, and you need all the help you can get," Cordelia said sweetly. Faith scowled, but a slow kiss from Cordelia soon melted the girl's sour expression. "Besides, Xander has to be close by if he has an attack."
"Still not fair," Faith muttered afterwards, but she was unable to keep the goofy grin off of her face.
"I'm going to be working anyway," Xander assured her. "I want to finish work on the body enhancement spell, as well as the detection spell for the other me. I'll try to get them both done while the Buffster sleeps it off."
"Good idea Xandy," Cordelia grinned, using his dreaded new nickname. He rolled his eyes, but like Faith before him, he was powerless against the lips of Cordelia Chase. He was still grinning when Cordelia gave Faith a little smack on the butt.
"Let's hop to!" Cordelia said, taking the opportunity to feel Faith up for a moment.
"Careful Cordy," Xander said. "You get her too worked up and you guys might not make it to school before she pops."
"Well a girl can dream," Cordelia smiled at him as the two amazing girls headed out the door.
Xander sighed happily as he watched them go, Cordelia fussing over Faith's hair while the other girl pretended to hate the attention. He slumped down at the dining room table, pulling his sketchbook over.
He began work on the detection spell first. The other Xander had given them all more than he could ever asked for. Not only had he alleviated Buffy's fears about her true feelings, but also he had removed the Mayor's ability to Ascend. Xander was determined to find out if his double had made it home. He owed him at least that much.
It was a very odd feeling, having the house so quiet and empty. Ever since the curse had begun it was almost always filled with the whispers, giggling, moaning or just plain chattering of quite a few teenaged girls. To sit here in silence working on his spells was almost eerie.
Several hours had gone by when Xander sighed and stretched his arms. It was almost noon, and he wondered how Buffy was feeling. He puttered around the kitchen for a while chopping up ingredients for some homestyle chicken noodle soup, making sure to use the star-noodles that Buffy loved. When his mouth was watering at the aroma filling the kitchen, he figured he was about done. He put a bowl of soup on a tray along with a glass of orange juice and some saltine crackers, and headed into Buffy's room.
He opened the door silently. Buffy was clutching the pillow over her head; her breathing was slow and even. He carefully put the tray on her desk, and padded silently across the carpet. Her left hand hung slightly over the edge of the bed. He bent down and kissed it gently.
"ACK!" She screamed, flinging her hand back and jumping to her feet. She stared at him in shock, then clutched her head and sunk down into the bed again.
"Ohh..."she groaned. "Xander?"
"Uh, yeah."
"I thought you guys went to school," she whined.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
She peeked out from under the pillow. "You stayed here with me?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Is that soup?" Her stomach was rumbling, both in a "Feed me!" way and in a "Give me anything and I'll give it right back!" kind of way.
"Chicken noodle soup," he smiled. "With stars."
"Stars?" she asked in a childlike voice. "I love stars."
"I know," he smiled. He brought the tray over to her, propping it up over her middle. She took away the pillow, revealing a mass of truly spectacular bedhead. She tried to smooth down her hair.
"I look horrible," she groaned.
"Never more beautiful," he lied sweetly. She rolled her eyes at him.
"This is delicious," she moaned happily as she tasted the broth.
"Just like mom never used to make," he grinned. She gave him a sad look.
"I promise I'll make you some the next time you get sick," Buffy said. He kissed her. She tasted of chicken broth. He smacked his lips.
"Hey, that is pretty good," he laughed. She chuckled softly, wincing slightly as she did so.
"How's the noggin?"
"Better," she admitted. "Down to a jackhammer instead of an earthquake."
He sat next to her on the bed as she ate her soup, realizing as she did so that she was ravenously hungry. The healing potion accelerated natural healing, and that used a lot of energy. The nutrients of the soup made her feel a lot better. When she had finished, she laid her back, sighing. Xander dutifully removed the tray.
"Xander?" she asked quietly. "Will you stay with me?"
"Forever."
"That's good enough," she smiled. He slid into bed with her, and she rolled against him, one arm over his middle and her head resting on his arm.
"I'm so glad I love you," Buffy whispered as she drifted off to sleep.
"I'm not too upset about it either," he joked. He kissed the side of her head, and soon she was sleeping.
As the love of his life slept peacefully next to him, Xander Harris sighed happily, and closed his eyes.
Xander's orgasmic groan turned into a wincing scream of pain shortly after. Buffy swallowed and coughed.
"Xander? Oh my god, I'm sorry!"
"Ahh! Not so loud!" he yelled, clutching his head. He curled up on his side, holding a pillow over his head.
"Are you OK?" she whispered as quietly as possible. He moaned.
"Brain...Melting."
She tried not to smile. Faith sighed in frustration, not used to being woken up so harshly anymore.
"I'll get the healing potion," she growled.
"Hurry and I shall give you a hundred gold doubloons," Xander managed to joke. "And don't forget the aspirin."
Xander chugged the healing potion down in one go, not even making a face at the taste it left in his mouth. He downed four aspirin afterwards, then sunk back into the bed.
"I'm dying," he groaned. "Make sure Buffy gets my Babylon 5 collectors plates, but I want to be buried with my signed Seven of Nine photo."
"Dumbass," Faith snorted. "You're not dying, you're just on withdrawal from a shit load of tranquilizer."
"Buffy?" he whined.
"Yes?"
"If this withdrawal is anything like yours, then you are officially the most amazing person in the cosmos," he grit his teeth and curled up into a smaller ball, and moaned.
"I thought we knew that already," Faith grinned. Buffy blushed softly and smiled shyly at the praise.
"C'mon Little B, let's let him get some rest."
Buffy nodded and followed Faith out of the room.
"I think you should stay with him today," Faith said as the closed the door.
Buffy nodded, having already decided she was staying home with Xander anyway.
"But first," Faith said, grinning wickedly. "We're going to go take a shower, and you are going to eat my pussy until I can barely stand. Cause it's gonna be hella hard to go through school without your hot little tongue in my cunt."
Buffy groaned, the dirty talk turning her on as much as the order. Faith took her face in her hands and kissed the smaller Slayer hotly, rubbing her huge breasts and tweaking her nipples. Buffy gasped, falling against Faith's body. The dark haired Slayer grabbed Buffy's perfect ass, and Buffy wrapped her legs around Faith's waist. Their tongues danced as Faith carried her into the bathroom.
In the shower, Buffy made sure to leave Faith with enough pleasant memories to get her through the day.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay with us?" Buffy asked as Faith got ready for school.
"Nah, it's cool. Red's gonna help me figure out some of this math shit anyway, and Xander'd kick my ass if I skipped."
"OK, I guess I'll work on the detection spell, and maybe the enhancement one."
"Good idea," Faith said. "X has got the skills thanks to this hot little piece of ass I know who's been teaching him to fight, but he still ain't got the speed, strength, or stamina to stay with them like we can."
Buffy blushed shyly at Faith's very Faith-like compliment, and nodded in agreement. "I can probably get it finished today, maybe tomorrow."
"Sweet," Faith said, kissing the Slayer one last time before turning to leave. "Take good care of him."
"Always," Buffy whispered.
Buffy sighed as she scribbled on her pad, sweeping lines and jagged edges combined into a clearly preconceived design. The internal structure of a spell was always the most difficult thing to create for Buffy. Considering no one had created a new spell from scratch in several thousand years, she didn't feel too bad about her shortcoming.
She looked up as the clock chimed softly that it was noon. She'd been working on the detection spell for most of the morning, and thought she could probably have it done by the next day. She frowned, thinking of the possibility of her counterpart, trapped forever in a place where time and being did not entirely exist.
Her alternate self had given her so much. Buffy still remembered the amazing day when the two almost-twins had serviced Xander and Faith side by side. The revelation that she might have had these amazingly naughty kinks even before the curse had been mind-blowing enough, but to know that her feelings for Xander were truly her own had been life altering.
Buffy groaned as she let a finger slip between the folds of her sex, her other hand kneading her large breast slowly. She enjoyed the feeling of walking around her house nude, knowing her mystically enhanced body was flawless in every way. Just another perk of the so-called-curse.
*My blessing,* she thought. *Not my curse.*
She reluctantly removed her hands from her body, deciding it would be a good idea to bring Xander something to eat. She decided on good old-fashioned chicken noodle soup, and flitted through the kitchen, dancing sultrily to the radio as she prepared the meal. She sang along (badly) with the songs she knew, and tried to fake it with those she didn't. She realized halfway through that cooking in the nude might be erotic, but it was definitely not practical, and thanked her increased durability that she didn't burn herself horribly when she splattered some broth on her front. After that she wore an apron, and she suspected that the skimpy piece of cloth was even hotter than simply being nude.
When she had finished cooking she set up a tray with soup, ginger ale, and crackers. She expertly balanced the tray as she trotted up the stairs, and entered their room with a silence only a mystically enhanced Slayer could duplicate.
Xander was lying with a pillow held over his face, occasionally moaning softly. She placed the tray on her desk and crawled on the bed. Xander stirred slightly at the shifting weight, and let out a slight moan when she kissed his neck.
"Muffy?" he asked, muffled and sleepy.
"No, I'm Buffy, her much sexier sister," Buffy said.
"Thought you left," he muttered. "School."
"You thought wrong," she grinned, and kissed him again. He smiled painfully.
"I brought you soup," she whispered, and then giggled when she heard his stomach rumble. "I guess that means you want some."
"Yes ma'am," he whimpered. She brought over his tray, and he goggled at her, dressed as she was in nothing but an apron.
"Jeez Buff," he whispered. "If I didn't already think my head would explode, you could do it just looking like that."
"You like it?" she grinned, twirling quickly. He groaned at the sight of her naked ass, and then he winced in pain.
"Oh, sorry," she said sadly.
"Totally worth it," he grinned as he sipped at the soup. "Wow, this is amazing."
"Daddy used to make it for me when I was sick," she said. He nodded and ate faster, realizing he was starving. The healing potion had taken a lot out of him. When he was finished, he felt much better, despite the continued throbbing of his head. Buffy removed the tray, and then slipped into bed with him.
"Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
He put his arm around her middle, resting his head beside her neck. His hot breath made her shiver as he snuggled closer to her.
"I love you," he murmured, slipping of to sleep.
"I love you too Xander," she whispered. A minute later he was asleep.
"I'm yours," she said softly. "Forever."
Xander woke up in his bed. His room. Just like he left it. Nothing moved, nothing changed, and no boxes of beer stacked along the walls.
He sighed and sat up. Had it all been real, or just some strange half-nightmare half-dream that he'd conjured up? A world where he was the sexual plaything of Buffy and Cordelia? A world where Buffy loved him as much as he loved her? A world where Faith had not tried to kill him? A world where Faith loved him in a way he thought he could someday love her?
It was too perfect, too amazing to be real. Too Awesome, as his dream-self had said. In his real life he had no one. Faith rarely though about him, and when she did it was to try and pop his head like a grape. Cordelia hated him, and with good cause. Buffy was his "friend," and Angel's "One Twoo Wuv" at that.
Willow was with Oz and avoiding him since the Fluke. Giles was pretty much indifferent towards him, occasionally peppered with a snide remark, and only very rarely any kind of praise. Xander didn't like to admit how much he craved that approval.
"No wonder I made up a fantasy world where everyone loves me," Xander groaned.
He'd even gone so far as to have himself be super powered, incredibly handsome, and a genius to boot. It was too unrealistic even for a hormonal fever dream.
So when he removed his shirt to take a shower, he was suitably shocked when he noticed the sprawling and ornate runic tattoo on his shoulder. Xander stared at his reflection for a long time, tiny connections flaring in his brain as he processed what its existence meant.
"It was real," he whispered.
He touched his shoulder reverently. He could feel a faint heat coming from the runes. Real.
He looked into his own eyes, remembering.
"You made a promise," Xander said to himself. "You'd better keep it."
He swallowed, feeling the fear gnaw at his belly. Despite it, he knew he would keep his promise to a girl that didn't technically exist. Not here, anyway.
He could see Buffy in his mind's eye; feel her soft skin and hot breath as they had made love in the damp sand. He remembered her shuddering gasps and heartfelt whispers. He could see with perfect clarity the expression her face made when she stiffened with her ecstasy, and told him she loved him.
Xander nodded to himself, almost imagining that his reflection was his interdimensional counterpart. He would do this. He would do all of it for her.
Always for her.
Faith was virtually dancing as she moved around her motel room. Soon it would be just another room, cause she was moving out. Moving out and moving on up, just like that old show said.
She crammed her clothes into a duffel bag; pausing for a moment when she came to the dress she'd bought for Homecoming.
She'd spent all the money she could scrape together to get that dress, and Buffy and her little lackeys hadn't even bothered to give her a second glance. She frowned sadly, then balled up the dress and scowled, throwing it in the garbage.
It was just cloth, and it didn't mean a damn thing. She had someone who cared about her now, someone who would take care of her and treat her right. Someone who respected her, and liked her for who she was. Fuck Buffy and fuck her Scooby Gang. She had a better gang now, and she would make sure her guys came out on top.
Her new apartment was greater than anything she could have ever dreamed of. It was huge, clean, and tricked out with every bit of gear she had ever gazed longingly at. The Mayor had even outfitted the place with a kick-ass training area with brand new equipment. She was looking forward to pounding on that heavy bag in preparation for pounding on Buffy's face.
Faith looked around the dingy room, trying to tell if there was anything she'd missed, or would miss if she left it anyway. She was surprised to find she'd actually accumulated some stuff since arriving in Sunnydale, but the duffel bag was still depressingly light.
On the television was a small black box. She picked it up, and opened it carefully. Inside was a small silver chain with a tiny green stone hanging down. It wasn't fancy, and it surely wasn't expensive.
Joyce had given it to her on Christmas Eve. She stared at it. Then she flung the door open and hurled it outside.
Into the face of a very surprised Xander Harris. He rubbed his nose where the box had struck him.
"Ow," he said. "And hey!"
"What the hell do you want?"
"Uh, yeah, well that's kind of complicated," he said, shifting his weight nervously. "I thought...I thought maybe I could talk to you."
"Didn't we already go through this?" Faith sneered.
"Yeah," he said miserably.
"Maybe you didn't get the message last time."
"I'm kind of slow," he said, trying to be funny. "Do you think I could come in? I mean, don't say yes or anything cause, you know, vampires. But you know, if you stepped kind of to your right I might take that as a sign that I could come in without you..."
*Killing me,* he didn't finish.
She glared at him. He smiled nervously back at her. She sighed and took a step to her right.
"So talk," she said as he entered the room.
"I uh...I've been thinking a lot about what I wanted to say to you," he sat on the edge of her bed, rubbing his hands together nervously. "But now it all seems kind of lame."
"So you decided to come by and bug the shit out of me anyway?"
Xander shrugged and took a look around the dingy room. He was pretty sure he saw a cockroach dart behind the dilapidated dresser.
"Wow," he said conversationally. "You must really hate this place."
She scowled, crossing her arms. "Are you actually looking to get your ass kicked?"
"No no, I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly. "I just meant...Well, it's not the kind of place that I think someone like you should be, Faith."
"Where the fuck should I be, then?" She was quickly growing tired of this, and was debating beating the shit out of him right there.
"Someplace nice. Pretty."
"I don't do 'Pretty'," she said.
*You'd be surprised,* he thought.
"I guess it's not as bad as it could be. At least there's no bottles of Jack Daniels piled up in the corner, or that sour smell of old beer in everything."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Xander shrugged. "Nothing. Just thinking out loud, I guess."
"You could think outside," she said, and grabbed his arm to drag him out. It hurt. A lot.
"Faith wait!" he said, his voice higher than he'd like. She shoved him outside, and made to shut the door.
"I'm sorry Faith!" he said as she slammed the door in his face. She stood on her side of the door, breathing heavily and seething with anger. He was sorry? Fuck him.
She stood there for a minute, breathing deeply and feeling her rage dissipate. Sorry. Yeah he was sorry. A sorry little prick who didn't have a clue who she was. Yeah. He didn't know her at all.
She opened the door anyway. He was still standing there, his head pressed lightly against the door. When she swung it inward he almost fell on top of her at the sudden loss of support. She caught him and pushed him back roughly. He fell on his ass, and groaned comically.
"What do you mean, you're sorry?" Faith asked.
"Give me a second, I've lost all feeling in my butt," he said. She growled and pulled him up by his shirt, then led him back into the room, pushing him onto the bed.
"Sorry about what?"
He winced, shifting his position on the bed. "I meant that I'm sorry. About a lot of things."
"Is this where you get all noble and say you're sorry I popped your cherry that night?"
"What?" he asked nervously. "No! I mean...no. That was...That was a good night."
She gave him a smug look and snorted, "For you maybe."
He raised an eyebrow at her, and suddenly she felt like he had just seen right through her. It made her uncomfortable. It kind of scared her.
"It doesn't matter," he said after a moment. "No. I'm not sorry about that night."
Xander sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. When he looked up at her, his eyes were full of seriousness. It was a look she had never seen on him before. He was the goofy guy, the stupid clumsy one that just seemed to hang around somehow. The one that had stroked her hair...
She met his eyes with a scowl.
"I'm sorry for not being a good friend," he said with all the sincerity of someone telling you they were sorry your mom just died. She stared at him in disbelief.
"That's it?" she asked.
"No," he said. "But yes, also. At the end of the day, that's what I'm sorry for. I'm sorry I wasn't your friend. I'm sorry I didn't ask why you lived in this place. I'm sorry that I didn't wonder how you paid for it. I'm sorry that I never talked to you after you first showed up, and I'm sorry that...That you don't like me."
"What is this? You're sad that I don't want to be your girl or something?"
"No!" he insisted. "I'm...I'm just sorry Faith. Really. I'm so sorry that you don't like me enough to trust me. I'm sorry that I never tried to be anything for you."
He sighed, and flopped back on the bed, covering his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I don't guess anyone ever told you about Buffy and the Master, did they?"
Faith frowned. Buffy. Always Buffy.
"She kicked his ass," she said. He shook his head and sat up to look at her.
"She was destined to die," Xander said. "All these old prophecies that could never be changed. Giles thought she was dead. Angel thought she was dead. She even thought she was dead. Giles was at least willing to die with her. You know what she did?"
*I don't care,* she told herself.
"What?"
"She knocked him out, and she went to fight the Master alone. To die alone."
Faith shifted uncomfortably.
"She was dead when I found her," Xander said quietly. "The Master had fed off of her, and dropped her in a pool of water to drown.
"I made a decision that day, before I went down after her. I made a promise that she was not going to die. I wasn't going to let it. I gave her CPR in the middle of a destroyed underground church, and she lived."
He stared in her eyes. "She lived."
"I don't have powers, Faith. I'm not smart. I can't do research well, and I don't have any skills that help kill vampires. Magic tends to blow up in my face, and I count myself lucky if girls aren't actively trying to kill me.
"But none of that matters. That's what I learned that day. It doesn't matter, as long as I do everything I possibly can to help. I'm with Buffy until the day I die, Faith. I'll follow her until it all crumbles down around us. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry, because I thought I could only give that to one person."
He stared in her eyes, and Faith could not turn away. "I'm sorry Faith. I should have known that you deserved that too. That's what I'm here for. I'm standing here for you. You could wrap your fingers around my throat right now. I'll die being here. For you.
"I will give all I have to help her. That's what I'm giving to you. All I have."
"Why?" she asked softly.
"Because you deserve it," he said.
"You don't know shit about what I deserve," Faith snarled, shoving past him.
"Show me," he said. "Show me what you deserve Faith. I'm standing here and I'm telling you that I'm with you. No matter what. You don't get any say in the matter."
She was at his throat in a second, the point of her stake pressed against his Adam's apple. "What if I just stuck this in your neck?" she hissed.
He smiled sadly. "Then I guess I'll be with you forever. We both know you'd never forget me then."
Faith held him against the wall, stake pressed against him and fire burning in her eyes. "You don't know me," she said again.
"That part's up to you," he said.
"I killed a guy," she spat.
"I know."
"I would have killed you."
"Maybe," he whispered.
"Your precious Buffy hates me," Faith growled, trying to keep her rage.
"I don't care."
She had already made her decision. She was with the Mayor now. She was one of the top guys now. The top bad guys.
"I'm not her."
"You're Faith," he said strongly. "You're not Faith the killer. You're not Faith the Vampire Slayer. You're Faith. You get to tell me what that means."
"I am a killer," she insisted.
"It may be what you are. It doesn't have to be who you are."
She shoved him against the wall and released him. "I don't want to hear your fucking preaching."
"What's your favorite movie?" Xander asked.
"What?"
"Come on. Your favorite movie. What is it?"
"Fuck you."
"I never heard of that one," he grinned. She glared at him.
"Fine, I'll start," Xander said. "I'm Xander. I will watch anything with Bill Murray in it, including Space Jam. I cannot resist any form of hostess snack cake, and I really hate vampires, particularly broody ones with souls. I grew up with two best friends. One grew up to become the smartest person I've ever met, and the other was turned into a vampire. I staked him. Accidentally."
He held out his hand to shake hers, "And you are?"
She gripped his hand, tight enough that he should have cried out. His jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
"I'm Faith," she said. "And I fucking hate you."
He grinned, "Pleased to meet you."
"We lost at least a dozen," Mr. Trick said.
"Gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet," the Mayor recited.
"I don't get it, why aren't we going to kill the Slayer and her crew?" Mr. Trick wondered. "Maybe they got the Box, but we can still kill 'em all, Ascension or no Ascension."
"Now you see Mr. Trick, there is a time and a place for revenge. In my case, I plan on the time being the Ascension, and the place being a crowd fully of tasty teenagers."
"But you ain't got the Box anymore."
"It's not the Box that's important," he assured the vampire. "It was the contents of the Box that I needed."
"Those spider things?"
"Exactly. That is why I've sacrificed a few minions in order to gather as many as possible. How many were you and your vampires able to capture?"
"They hide good," Mr. Trick said. "You said there must have been at least a thousand that fled after they destroyed the Box. Well we only found about a hundred and twenty."
The Mayor smiled cheerfully, "You see Mr. Trick? There is nothing that can't be solved through a little hard work. Be sure to have them securely stored until I need them."
"Yeah, sure."
The Mayor nodded and straightened his tie. "I have a Community Nightwatch meeting to go to," he said. "Why don't you come along?"
"Law enforcement ain't really my thing," the vampire said.
"Now my vampiric friend, that's hardly using your imagination," he said happily. "You've lost a dozen vampires in gathering the Gavroc demons. Well these people are already up all night anyway."
"You want me to turn the Community Nightwatch people?"
"Everyone except that seedy looking fellow with the Mohawk. Not exactly the kind of example we want to show to the rest of the group," the Mayor said. "I want my vampire task force to be respectable. Real pillar of the community type stuff."
"Whatever you say boss," Mr. Trick chuckled.
Buffy sat a wicker chair on the front porch. She was naked, her legs spread wide as Xander licked her pussy slowly.
"You're so fucking good," Buffy groaned as he shoved his tongue between her lower lips. She rolled her hips, loving the feeling of being out in the open as he ate her out.
"Well somebody's feeling better," Cordelia smirked as she and Faith came up the stairs.
"Oh yeah," Buffy grinned before shuddering and moaning again. "How was, OH! How was school?"
"Harmony tried to rag on Faith's dress," Cordelia snarled. "As if. There's only one girl in school that dressed better than Faith, and that's me."
"I believe you," Buffy whimpered. "What happened?"
"I shoved the bitch in a locker," Faith shrugged nonchalantly. Buffy started cracking up, but was soon distracted by Xander's tongue.
"It was a good day," Cordelia grinned. "What about you two? Did Xander finish his spells?"
"Muh-Huh," Xander muttered from between Buffy's legs.
"That's a YES!" Buffy shrieked.
"It sure is," Cordelia laughed.
"Does that mean we can do the detection spell?"
"Uh-huh," Buffy whined, her hips starting to rock involuntarily against Xander's tongue. He gripped her thighs and pulled her closer to him. "Just as soon...as...we're...DONE!"
She screamed, grabbing Xander's head and convulsing with pleasure. When she had finished, Xander gave her one last slow lick, and then rose up her body. She smiled tiredly and kissed him, slow and deep.
"You two are too damn hot sometimes," Cordelia complained. She stepped behind Faith and put her hand between the dark haired Slayer's legs. The girl wore no panties under her dress, and Cordelia slipped a finger between her moist pussy lips. Faith gasped at the intrusion, and her knees buckled slightly.
"Don't you agree?" Cordelia whispered in Faith's ear.
"Oh hell yeah," Faith groaned as Cordelia quickly began rubbing her slit. She grabbed one of Faith's breasts in he other hand, and quickly brought the Slayer to a shuddering orgasm.
"Everyone gets off but me," Cordelia sighed as they all entered the house a few minutes later. Buffy gently touched her cheek.
"Poor baby," Buffy said. "Come on, you can sit on my face in the living room while Xander sets up the detection spell."
"Lucky bitch," Faith muttered. Cordelia grinned at her.
"You're damn right I am."
Xander tried not to let the overwhelming sight of Buffy eating Cordelia's pussy distract him from casting the detection spell. Faith didn't help matters any; as she had several fingers plunged in her own snatch as she watched her two Ladies together.
"Um...Bring us forth the...Sight of the one we, ahem, we seek," Xander said, waving the small branch over the candles.
The flames burst forward, igniting the branch, and he waved it carefully in the proper pattern. The smoke circled in the air, and slowly formed a picture perfect image of the interdimensional traveler known as Xander Harris.
He was pressed up against a wall, with a stake pressed against his neck.
"Xander!" Faith called out in alarm, forgetting her arousal. The image pulled back slightly, and she saw who held the stake.
It was herself. Her double was dressed as she had often dressed before meeting Cordelia. Dark leathers and heavy makeup, with lots of metal chains and rings. She sneered in the face of the other Xander, and spoke words they could not hear.
"What the hell universe is he in?" Faith demanded. She couldn't stand seeing her own image threatening Xander in such a way.
"His own," Xander said.
Faith stared at him. "So what the fuck is going on?"
Cordelia whimpered in frustration as Buffy ceased her oral ministrations, but her complaints died on her lips as she noticed what was happening in the scene.
"Is that him?" she asked.
"Yeah," Xander said. "I'm going to try and figure out a way to help him."
"Help him?" Faith whispered. "I...I wouldn't hurt him."
Xander gave her a sheepish look, and kept his mouth shut.
"Xander," she said fearfully. "I wouldn't hurt him. Right?"
"Faith, I..."
"Xander, if you know something, you better tell me right the hell now!"
Xander looked helplessly at Buffy and Cordelia, and then back to Faith.
"You...She...Tried to kill him," he said quickly. Faith stared at the silent image of her double snarling words at Xander, and his silent responses.
"What happened Xander?" Faith whispered. "You have to tell me."
Xander knelt in front of her, looking into her tear filled eyes. "You're not her," he said.
"Just fucking tell me or I swear I'll kick your ass," she said softly.
"She...She didn't have a near-miss with Finch. It was an accident, and she killed him."
"No," she whispered.
"Afterwards, he tried to talk to her. She...Pinned him down on the bed and tried to choke him."
"But she stopped, right?" Faith asked. Begged.
He shook his head. "Angel stopped her. He had already blacked out by then."
She could hear the other Xander's words in her mind.
*"I...I came to talk to you. About - something bad that happened. That happened to you. I wanted to help you, and you got mad. Things didn't end well."*
She had begged him. Had made him promise to try again. That it would be different this time. That she could never hate him. She stared at the look of hatred on her double's face.
"I didn't know," she whispered. "I made him promise. Made him promise he would try again."
Her Xander held her hand in his. "His decision Faith. Both times."
"Help him," she said. Xander stared at her with concern.
"Help him!" she shrieked. "He's going to die because I told him I could never hate him Xander! This is my fault! You have to help him!"
"Faith, I'll try but...I don't know that I can."
Faith stared numbly at the scene while Xander drew diagrams and tested spell theories. Buffy and Cordelia sat to either side of her, but their comforting touches could not dull the sick feeling in her stomach.
The image moved slowly, as if it were in slow motion. Xander thought that might have something to do with the differences in the flow of time between the two universes, but he was unsure of that. For a while Faith tried to read their lips, but the slow movement made it hard to tell what they were saying. She found it hard not to stare at the point of the stake, pressing harshly against Xander's throat.
She screamed when she saw her double's arm tense, and for a moment she thought she would plunge the stake into Xander's throat. Instead, her double slammed Xander against the wall and stalked across the room.
"Believe him," she whispered. "Please believe him."
The other Xander spoke for a while, a small smile on his face. Her double seemed to answer shortly every so often. Then Xander held out his hand.
"Please," Faith begged.
Her double stared at the hand, and then back at Xander. She reached out and grabbed his. Faith could see the force she put into the grasp.
"You stupid bitch," she groaned. Buffy put a head on Faith's shoulder. Faith thought she might start screaming.
Her double slowly shook Xander's hand, and they could all read her lips when she said, "I'm Faith, and I fucking hate you.'
Then Xander smiled.
"Nice to meet you," his lips said.
Faith sagged against Cordelia and Buffy, and cried for a long time.
Xander rested his head against the back of the couch and groaned. His head still throbbed dully, but the hot mouth on his cock was certainly making him forget that.
"So good, Buff," he moaned. Buffy hummed a muffled "thank you" on his dick, and he shuddered.
Faith tossed her backpack in the corner as she entered the house, and grinned when she saw the upturned ass of Buffy, her head bobbing up and down on Xander's shaft. Buffy was deep in concentration, and hadn't noticed Faith entering. Faith put a finger to her lips as she snuck up on the girl.
Buffy let out a muffled, "Oh!" when Faith pressed her tongue against Buffy's pussy. The dark haired Slayer plunged a finger inside of her, getting it nice and slick. She stared at Buffy's tiny asshole, and grinned.
Buffy's eyes went wide as she felt Faith's finger slide into her ass, and she thought she might die with the humiliation. Faith's tongue slid between Buffy's pussy as her finger worked slowly back and forth, and soon Buffy was screaming on Xander's cock. Faith continued to stroke her finger in and out as she put her mouth close to Buffy's ear.
"Surprise," she whispered. "Why do I think you probably love my finger in your tight little ass, slut?"
Buffy groaned and shuddered again. Xander groaned as well, and grabbed Buffy's head, holding her steady against his cock. Buffy's eyes rolled up in lust, and she plunged down on his shaft, taking him deep down her throat. He grunted, and began cumming down her throat. Buffy screamed as Faith whispered nastily in her ear, her own orgasm ripping through her along with Xander's. His cum blasted directly down her throat, and her nipples ached with the need to be played with.
When he had finished cumming, Buffy relaxed slightly, and Faith pulled her finger out. She kissed Buffy's rosebud once, and then smacked her perfect ass. Buffy moaned lustily, and kept licking at Xander's cock. Faith waggled her eyebrows at Xander, and then went upstairs to change into something more comfortable.
*And maybe shower,* she thought with a grin. *Dirty is so hot.*
An hour later she sat around the living room with Xander and Buffy. Buffy had candles set up on the coffee table and a small branch she was waving around in the air. Supposedly they would soon be able to see where the alternate Buffy had gone after activating her rune.
The candle flame flared brightly, igniting the branch. Buffy swirled the smoke around, and it soon formed into a perfect circle. Within was the image of the unaltered Buffy Summers.
She stood with her back to a mirror, twisting slightly to see her own reflection. She was nude, her cute breasts topped with hard nipples as she stared at the runic tattoo just above her heart shaped ass.
"Hey, I recognize that ass," Faith grinned. Buffy blushed with a shy grin, and Xander laughed good-naturedly.
"So that's her universe?" Xander asked as he pulled Buffy onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, "Yup."
"That's good to know. I'm glad she got back."
"So what now? How long do we watch?"
"It lasts for about an hour," Buffy said, snuggling closer to Xander. "Then it should fade."
"Well maybe we should go," Xander said. "Since we already found out she made it back OK."
"I dunno," Faith grinned. "It's a pretty good channel."
The Buffy in the image felt her ass, rubbing it slowly. She said something, but they couldn't hear the words. Then she turned slowly and posed sultrily in the mirror.
"That is true," Xander said, transfixed. Buffy giggled at him and felt his hardening cock through his pants as she watched her other self.
The other Buffy slid a hand between her legs, and slowly slipped a finger in her cunt. Her eyes closed and her lips formed an O as she masturbated in front of her mirror.
"This is...Wrong," Xander said, making no move to avert his gaze.
"Very wrong," Faith agreed. She leaned back and unbuttoned her own pants, and began rubbing her own pussy. "Way wrong."
"Is that what I look like when I do this?" Buffy asked, mimicking her double by moaning softly and plunging a finger inside of herself. Xander nodded, absolutely speechless.
The Buffy in the smoke bit her lip, and seemed to make a decision. She moved to her dresser and pulled open the drawer. She dug around, and pulled out a small vibrator.
"Holy shit," Faith said. "That's fuckin' hot."
The other Buffy fell back on her bed, and placed the heels of her feet against the bed, spreading her legs widely, giving a perfect view of her snatch to her three unseen viewers.
"She would kill us if she knew we were doing this," Xander said.
"I would fuck you if I knew you were doing that," Buffy argued, and groaned at the thought. She leaned back on the couch, and began fingering herself.
"Watch me Xander," she begged. "Watch us both. I have such a hot little pussy. She wants it so bad Xander. She's such a horny little cunt, just like me..."
Xander groaned at his Buffy's words, his eyes darting back and forth between his own Buffy's lewd display and the smoke-Buffy's slowly fucking of herself with the vibrator.
"Unnggh," Faith groaned, unable to speak as she fingered herself as well, immensely turned on by the dual Buffys.
The Buffy floating in the middle of the room pulled out the vibrator, replacing it with several fingers as she moved the vibrator to her mouth. She licked her juices off of the plastic, which caused Faith to let out an "Oh fuck!" before increasing the speed of her own masturbation.
"Faith," Buffy whined. "I want to taste your hot pussy. Please..."
Faith was not one to argue, and quickly moved to Buffy on the couch. She sat on Buffy's face and moaned loudly when the smaller girl's tongue began to work at her. Xander had finally seen enough, and removed his pants. He grasped Buffy's perfectly smooth legs and held them apart before plunging his cock deep inside her. She screamed loudly against Faith's cunt, and soon the three of them were all groaning, panting, and whimpering in pleasure.
Many minutes later the three collapsed in exhaustion, a tangled hot mass of sweaty limbs and deeply satisfied parts. They all panted as they watched the Buffy in the vision arch her back with her orgasm, afterwards slowly licking the vibrator clean before replacing it in her drawer. She tweaked her nipple, and sighed happily as she sank back into bed. Then the vision began to waver, and was gone.
"Holy shit," Faith said.
"Buffy?" Xander breathed.
"Hmm?" she answered lazily.
"You are now the hottest girl in *two* universes."
Buffy sank back into bed, a satisfied smile on her face. She had never been so nasty when masturbating before, but she knew her visit to the alternate reality had made her realize a part of herself she never knew existed before.
The realization that her ornate tattoo was still etched above her ass had been amazing. Not only did it confirm that she really had experienced the wild few days in that other universe, but it was very hot in it's own right. It was like a beautiful work of art that just happened to be placed above her firm ass.
Buffy sighed and sat up, knowing she'd have to head out to school soon. Back to the usual. She frowned and began to get dressed. For a moment she thought about putting on her tightest shirt and smallest skirt, but she thought better of it. Instead she wore a fashionable belly shirt and fairly tight shorts. Perhaps slightly more risqué than she usually wore, but not too bad. That she wore the outfit without a bra or panties would be her secret thrill.
She decided on two-inch heels, hoping they wouldn't be so out of place that anyone thought it odd she was wearing them. She was still coming to terms with these strange desires she had, and wasn't sure how far to jump in. All she knew was that she had felt so amazing with her other self, Xander, and Faith that she couldn't simply ignore those feelings. Still, it was much easier to be an exhibitionist when you had a spell that kept people from caring if you ran through the streets absolutely naked.
She bit her lip at the thought. Buffy wondered if she could somehow trick Willow or Giles into casting that spell for her. She shook her head. Now was not the time.
She blew a kiss to the mirror as she left the room, pretending it was Little B as she did so.
"Good morning," Joyce said to her only daughter as Buffy entered the kitchen.
"Morning mom."
"Are you patrolling tonight?"
"Yeah I think so. Plus Giles wants to get a full debriefing on what happened to me yesterday."
"Something happened?" Her mom asked with concern.
"Uh...Yeah. No big though. I'll probably tell you about it later," she said. *Well, I'll tell you some of it, anyway.*
"Well all right. I just worry about you, that's all. Oh, are you all prepared for your History test today?"
"Yeah no sweat," Buffy said absent-mindedly as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. "Little B helped me study for it."
"What?"
"Uh...A little bee. That's what I call...The imaginary little bee that tells me to study?"
"Sometimes you are very weird Buffy," Joyce said, rolling her eyes and kissing her daughter on the cheek. "I'll be back around nine, so hopefully I'll see you before you head out for patrol.
"Sure mom."
Joyce gave Buffy a quick once-over. "Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't you think that shirt is a little too small for you?"
Buffy blushed slightly, "I-I like this shirt."
Joyce frowned. "You just might want to think about switching it before you go."
"Uh...Yeah, I will. Thanks."
Joyce nodded slowly and left. Buffy waited a moment, and then moaned softly. She was going to be drenched by the end of the day.
Xander rubbed his aching hand as he walked to school, but he had a small smile on his face. Things with Faith had gone much better than he could have expected, crushed hand aside. It had been a good first step, and he hoped that he could build off of that.
He'd made her promise to meet him for lunch that afternoon outside of the school. He'd bring the lunch; she just had to bring herself. She had made a snide comment about going on a date with him, but he made it clear he was having lunch with a friend. She frowned, but he was pretty sure she would show up.
Xander had realized that morning that Faith had never actually gone to class in all the time he had known her. Well, except those times when she convinced Buffy to cut with her, but that didn't really count. He wondered if she was even enrolled.
Not for the first time, he wondered what that incredibly tough girl had to do to keep that motel room. He wished things had gone differently when they'd first met Faith. He couldn't even suggest that she move in with Buffy and Joyce, not after recent events. Not yet.
He thought of asking her to move into his house, but he wasn't sure she would take that the right way. He had learned his lesson the first time, and any indication that he was "after" Faith for the sex would not be a good idea. He was bound and determined to show her the benefits of being a certified friend of Alexander Lavelle Harris.
Besides which, his house was home to Tony and Jessica Harris. Either one was bad enough on their own, but together they were a drunken force that rivaled the hellmouth. He had little doubt that his dad would hit on Faith, which to him meant rubbing lewdly against her and asking "Hey baby, how much for a BJ?"
Seriously. His dad had gotten out, "Hey baby, how mu-" when Xander had clapped a hand around his mouth the first and last time he had brought Buffy to his house. Casa De Harris was not a place for, beautiful women, friends, or people, for that matter.
Xander sighed as his thoughts turned to Buffy. Her counterpart had told him that he should tell her how he felt. How could he? She was happily (although not *too* happily) with Angel. Even if she might feel some spark for him, he couldn't throw a wrench in their relationship like that. Buffy didn't deserve that.
He had doubts. The perfect feeling of rightness when he had made love to the alternate Buffy had been bittersweet, but it had bolstered his resolve. Buffy was worth waiting for. She was worth fighting for. But was she worth the risk of losing her if he failed?
"Hey," Willow said as she fell into step with him near the entrance of the school.
"Hey."
"What happened to your hand?" she asked in concern.
"Uh, slammed a door on it by accident," he lied.
"Ouch."
"Yeah, I'll be OK though," he said, shrugging. "So how are you doing after Vampire Willow and her wacky antics?"
"It still feels weird," she said. "I got molested by my self. Freud would have a field day."
"Well, they do say you should love thyself," Xander grinned. The thought of two Willow's being intimate was certainly not an unpleasant one, as far as he was concerned.
She shuddered exaggeratedly, and he laughed as they entered the school.
"Over here Buffy!" Willow called. Buffy smiled broadly and trotted over. Xander tried to force his eyes back into his head as they threatened to pop out at the tight shirt and shorts that Buffy wore.
"Uh, H-Hey Buffster," he said, his voice cracking slightly. Buffy smiled shyly at him.
"Hey Xander," she said softly. "Um...You guy going to the library?"
"Yeah," Xander said, regaining his composure. "Giles is probably cleaning his glasses in anticipation of hearing the Tale of the Interdimensional Xander."
"Right," Buffy grinned at his goofiness. "Well I guess I'll come too. I've got to tell him my experiences too."
They both nodded self-consciously. Yes. They would tell Giles what happened.
Mostly.
Ok...Partially.
They were both thinking of lies as they entered the library
"How's she doing?" Cordelia asked.
"She stopped crying, but she's still clinging to Xander."
"I hate this," Cordelia said. Buffy nodded in agreement, and joined Cordelia on the couch. Cordelia rested her head on the Slayer's shoulder.
"You've been spending a lot of time with her lately," Buffy said. "I know how much this must affect you."
"Are you saying you don't feel like throwing up when she starts crying?"
"I feel like kicking the ass of whoever made her cry when she starts crying," Buffy said. Unfortunately, the person who had upset Faith so much was her own alternate self.
"I hate that there's nothing I can do when she's upset," Cordelia sniffed. "Only Xander can calm her down."
"Are you OK with that?"
"With her caring for Xander over you or me? I don't know. Are you OK with it?"
Buffy shrugged. "I don't know that I can blame her."
Cordelia nodded. "Me neither. Dork Boy must have us all brainwashed."
Buffy laughed, and hugged Cordelia.
"Cordy? You know I love you, right?"
"Yeah," Cordelia said softly.
"Cordelia?" Buffy asked, her voice slightly sterner. "Do you know that I love you?"
"I said yes," Cordelia sighed.
Buffy pushed away slightly and looked into the cheerleader's eyes. "I know you Cordy. I know that in your head you're thinking of Faith and Xander, and me and Xander. I want you to understand that I love you."
"You're just not in love with me," Cordelia whispered.
Buffy snorted. "It's the same thing Cordy. Me and Xander? Yeah, I'm in love with him. Guess what? I am fully capable of loving up to three individual people at one time. Maybe more!"
"I guess."
"Have you noticed something?" Buffy asked, pulling Cordelia back into a huge.
"What?"
"Faith has yet to actually dress in an outfit I picked out."
Cordelia frowned. She thought back over the last few weeks. It was true.
"She's heavy into you, Cordy. You're like this goddess in her eyes. Remember that time you started chewing out Aura because she started bitching about Faith? She was staring at you like you were floating six inches off the ground and glowing."
"Then how come only Xander can calm her down when she's upset?"
Buffy sighed. "He's Xander, I guess."
Cordelia nodded sadly. "Sometimes he really makes us look bad."
Buffy grinned and kissed the cheerleader's nose. "Not possible."
Cordy sniffed and smiled. "I love you too Buffy."
Buffy snorted and grinned, "Of course you do. I'm too loveable for words."
They kissed softly, and Buffy slid a hand across Cordelia's large breasts. Cordelia moaned softly, and leaned her head back. Buffy kissed her neck.
"Buffy?"
"Yes?"
"Make love to me."
She did.
"Hiyaa!" Faith exhaled with her strike, her fist slamming into the bag.
"Hey," Xander said as he descended the stairs into the basement/training-room.
"What's up?" she greeted, and threw a devastating combination of punches into the bag.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie," he asked. Faith stopped in mid-swing and looked at him.
"For reals?"
"Yeah, I thought it'd be nice. Maybe we could get dinner afterwards. No place real fancy, cause money is hard to come by, but I dunno, Red Lobster or something."
"Why?"
He frowned. "Cause I like spending time with you."
"What about Little B?"
He took her hand in his and pulled her in for a slow kiss. "Strange as it is," Xander said. "There are three people in this relationship. I don't mind when Buffy spends time with you. In fact, it kind of drives me crazy with lust, but that's another story.
"And Buffy," he said, brushing a strand of hair out of Faith's face, "doesn't mind when I spend time with you. In fact, I think it drives her kind of crazy with lust. It's kind of hard to tell though, because she's pretty much bouncing off the walls all the time these days."
Faith grinned, knowing he was right. If Buffy was anything, it was insatiable. She kissed him quickly.
"So what do you say? You, me, a tub of popcorn and maybe some heavy petting during the boring parts."
"What movie?"
He looked up in thought, "Well, Buffy thought we should go see Notting Hill."
Faith made a face.
"But I thought The Mummy would be a better idea."
Faith grinned and kissed him deeply again. She cupped his ass briefly and grinned against his mouth.
"I knew there was a reason I loved you."
"I could never imagine loving two amazing women the way I love you two Slayers," Xander said. Faith grinned and looked into his eyes.
"You really love me?"
"Absolutely."
"Well then you're going to want to marry me when I tell you I want us to double team Buffy. I think it's time she got her other cherry popped."
Xander groaned and kissed her deeper. "You realize you'll be creating a monster?" He knew that Buffy would go crazy over the idea, especially given her reaction to Faith's "probing" earlier. As far as Buffy was concerned, the naughtier the act, the hotter it was.
"Yeah," Faith grinned. "I can't wait."
Xander sat beneath the warm California sun, a sandwich in one hand and a bottle of coke in the other. He sighed. Faith hadn't shown up yet.
He couldn't say he was too surprised. Maybe it had been too easy after all. He couldn't expect Faith to open up to him after making one heartfelt, not to mention finger-crushing, speech.
He leaned back against the bench, letting the sun warm his spirits as he thought back to earlier in the day.
Giles had many questions about the alternate realities that both he and Buffy had apparently been sent to. Xander had been sure to keep his descriptions purposefully vague, not mentioning anything about the incredibly hot four-way relationship between himself, Cordelia, Faith, and Buffy. Instead he just mentioned a strange curse that had caused some trouble for all of them, but had resulted in his counterpart getting some pretty good benefits to mind and body out of the deal. He told Giles he'd stayed with them for a few days as his counterpart figured out how to send him back.
Giles had been fascinated by the tattoo, and of Xander's claim that it was somehow attuned to the energies of the hellmouth. Willow had stared at the sprawling artwork in amazement, but Buffy...
She had stared at it in wide-eyed shock.
Her own story had been remarkably similar to his own, and Xander found himself suspicious of what she might be leaving out. Was it really so impossible to believe that if he went to some crazy sexual alternate reality that Buffy might have experienced something similar? Indeed, she had mentioned a curse that had affected her alternate self, with the same enhanced body and mind as his own counterpart.
Although in Buffy's story there had been no mention of a tattoo, just that her counterpart had figured out a spell to send her back.
However, the most intriguing part of her tale was that the Mayor had been just as much a Big Bad in that universe as their own, and she had stolen the Box of Gavroc from him, and taken it with her when she jumped back to this reality. Giles had been very excited when Xander admitted he had done the same thing, but that he'd had to release it en route.
So now they were all researching the Box of Gavroc, hoping they could get their hands on it before the Mayor did, and in so doing stop him from Ascending.
"Fuckin' figures," Faith's voice said. "Can't believe I fell for this shit."
Xander sat up quickly, slamming the side of his forehead against the edge of the table he was currently hidden behind.
"OW!" he shouted, clutching his head as he tried to sit up. "Oh hey! Faith! You made it!"
He winced and tried to ignore the pain in his head. He gestured for her to sit. She frowned, but slid into the seat across from him.
"I'm really glad you came," he said. He pulled another sandwich out of a brown bag and held both before her. "I got tuna, and I got roast beef."
"Ugh, I hate tuna."
"Faith hates tuna," he pretended to write on his hand. "Check."
She afforded him a slight grin, "You're wicked stupid sometimes, Harris."
He slid her roast beef sandwich to her and tossed her an extra bottle of soda. They ate in silence for a minute or two.
"So uh, I noticed you had that duffel bag at your place earlier. What's up with that?"
"Moving, I guess," she said.
"You uh...Have a place to stay someplace else?"
She chewed on her food for a long moment before answering, "Yeah. I got a place."
"That's good. Is it nicer than the motel?"
"Hell yeah," she grinned. He nodded silently, not bothering to ask how she had come by this new place. Hopefully she would tell him on her own, and if not...Well then he'd wait until she did.
"That's great Faith, I'm glad you're getting out of there."
"Yeah," Faith agreed.
"Hey Xander, I was wondering if I could talk to y-" Buffy said, her voice cutting out when she realized who he was eating lunch with.
"Faith," she said carefully. She tried not to think about that face buried between her legs in the middle of the street.
"B."
"Xander, is everything OK here?"
Xander nodded. "We're cool Buffster. Just having lunch with my buddy Faith."
Buddy?
"I was just leaving," Faith said, standing up. She turned to leave, then looked over her shoulder. "Thanks for the sandwich," she said quickly.
"Faith!" Xander called after her. "Same time tomorrow?"
She shrugged as she walked away, and Xander hoped that meant yes. He sighed. Baby steps.
"What's up Buffarino?" he asked. He tried to only take a quick glance at her fairly revealing outfit. Her nipples were showing through her shirt. He swallowed hard.
Buffy was a little red when she spoke; "I was wondering if I could talk to you about what happened to you."
Uh oh. Bad territory. Warning Will Robinson!
"Y-Yeah, sure Buffy. What's up?"
"Could I...Could I see that tattoo you got?" she asked, almost shyly. He felt himself sweating a little.
"Uh, yeah I guess," he said. He rolled up his shirtsleeve, revealing the ornate runework on his shoulder.
Buffy bit her lip gently. Xander's arm was far more muscular than she would have guessed, despite her knowledge that he fought vampires on a daily, or nightly basis. The tattoo served to accentuate the defined muscles in his arms. It was definitely on the "very" side of hot, as far as she was concerned.
It was also the exact same design as the one resting just above the crack of her ass. Hers was slightly smaller, but that was the only difference.
He realized she was staring at his shoulder, "What?"
"Xander, can we keep this between you and me?"
"Sure," he said seriously.
"I kind of didn't tell Giles everything about what happened to me. They uh...They gave me a rune too. He glanced at her shoulder. The small t-shirt was not large enough that it would have covered the intricate design.
"It's uh...Not somewhere I can really show," she said, turning beet red. His imagination ran wild.
"My back!" she whispered quickly. "Lower back. Very lower."
He swallowed hard.
"Anyway, mine looks just like that. A little smaller, but otherwise the same."
She was staring at her hands, and fidgeting nervously.
"I see," Xander said, although he was a bit confused. "Shouldn't they be the same though? Since they're both tied to the same universe and all."
"Yeah," she said. "I guess so."
"Uh...That it?" he asked, hoping she would reveal more about what happened to her. She turned a little redder.
"No! I mean, no. That's it. Just...Just wanted to tell you that."
"OK Buff," he replied, frowning at her slightly.
She stood up awkwardly, and began to walk away. After three steps she stopped, and turned back to him.
"It looks nice," she said quietly.
"What?"
"Your tattoo. Your rune. It looks...Nice."
He blinked. "Thanks."
"Yeah. Uh...I have to go," she said, backing away.
"Right. I'll see you later."
"Bye!" she said quickly, and walked so fast she was almost running away. He found himself staring at her ass in those small shorts. She was way too hot.
Faith was depressed for a few days after the incident with the detection spell. While Xander constantly assured her that he'd checked in a few more times since then, and that everything was fine, she was still in a deep funk.
She had never believed she could ever be that way towards Xander. Not after how he made her feel, not after having him inside of her for so long. She thought that she had known what she was capable of, and that hurting Xander was not among those things.
The only times she felt better were when she was with Xander, being fawned over and teased by Cordelia, or when Buffy and her discussed what changes Buffy was planning for Cordelia's new body.
The enhancement spell was finished, and soon Cordelia would be the first guinea pig. Faith had been thinking long and hard about the one change she got to suggest, but was having a hard time coming up with anything. Buffy had a long list of changes and enhancements she had planned, but Faith wanted to come up with something unique.
Her mind had been racing between any number of things, from the sexual to the powerful, from a relatively normal change to the extremely weird. She'd fantasized of things like making Cordelia's breasts lactating some delicious liquid, of having Cordelia's eyes changed to some unique and exotic color, even getting the girl a dick so she could fuck Faith and Buffy at times.
None of them seemed right, and some of them were a little too weird.
"So I think I'm about done," Buffy told her one afternoon. The two girls were studying together, which consisted of one asking the other a question, and if they got it right, they got a good licking for twenty seconds. They had finished all the questions a few minutes earlier, and were now basking in the afterglow.
"Done with what?" Faith asked.
"With my plans for Cordelia. I got them all written down. It's going to be awesome," Buffy grinned, kissing Faith in excitement. "All I need is your little contribution."
"I guess I should look at the list so I don't pick something you already did," Faith said. Buffy nodded and kissed her again. "Don't move, and don't get dressed."
Buffy hopped up and trotted to her desk, bending over exaggeratedly to pull the list out. She did an impressive jump flip back onto the bed, showing off a little of her Slayer abilities in the process, as well as her hot body.
Faith was shocked with the thorough nature of Buffy's list. She'd been working on it for weeks now, and it was clear she had really worked her imagination to the limit. Cordelia would be stronger, faster, and far more susceptible to pleasure. Buffy had made her period optional, given her a form of mental birth control, and even made the girl's backside permanently clean. The list was long and complex, and some of the little touches would no doubt have Cordelia squirming with arousal.
"This is amazing," Faith whispered. "Do you think she'll really agree to this?"
"I didn't put anything in that she wouldn't agree with. She trusts me. I wouldn't abuse that trust. Besides, she said to me one time that half the excitement is knowing that I'll throw in a change or two that she might never have agreed with."
"Wow," Faith breathed. She could understand the excitement. The idea of giving that kind of power to someone you loved, knowing they would take you beyond what you might have done yourself. It was an awesome responsibility. It was the ultimate act of submission. She wondered if she would make the same agreement if the spell worked on Cordelia.
"Plus she gets a ton of stuff she's going to go crazy over," Buffy said. "I know she's going to love never being uncomfortable from those big tits ever again. Or aching feet from high heels. Or cramps. And she'll never be too skinny or too heavy, no matter what she eats."
"I don't know what to add to this," Faith said.
"Do you want to talk about it? I could tell you how I worked on it."
"Yeah OK," Faith said, and smiled as Buffy nuzzled against her neck.
"Well first let's think what kind of change you want to make. You want something she'll like, something that will excite her, something that will help her, or something that will surprise her?"
"Something she'll like," Faith said without a doubt.
"OK, what does Cordelia like?"
"Xander and Buffy," Faith said happily.
"And Faith," Buffy reminded her. "What else does she like?"
"Clothes. Attention. Sex."
Buffy chuckled at the materialist persona this painted Cordelia as. Faith closed her eyes in thought. Attention. Cordelia loved attention.
"Buffy...Could...Could we make it so that when people think about her, that she could like...hear it?"
"You mean like mind reading?"
"Sort of. Like what if when someone thought about what a hot ass she has, she can hear it?"
Buffy grinned and kissed Faith, "That's a really good idea. Especially if she only hears the good stuff."
"But...Could we keep it a surprise?"
Buffy smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I'm going to tell Xander though, just so he can put that big brain of his to work and make sure there's no problems we haven't thought of."
"OK."
Xander thought the idea was a perfect one for Cordelia as well. The cheerleader would no doubt love to be able to hear every nice (or even just plain sexual) thing that people thought about her. He did suggest that they give her a kind of off-switch though, just in case she went out in a bikini and the whole town started fantasizing about her.
Buffy wondered if that was really a worry since the "Don't Notice" spell was still in effect, but Xander told her that while people didn't really care when they saw the sexual kinks of the four of them, they still knew what was happening and could incorporate that into their thoughts. There could be someone fantasizing right now about the gorgeous body of Buffy Summers, and it would be an incredibly accurate fantasy, since they'd probably seen her naked more than once. Along with half the town.
So they had put the mental off-switch in as well. Xander had a bit of trouble figuring out how best to design such a thing, as the spell he had would only affect the body, and not the mind. He eventually came on the solution of creating a new "sense" for Cordelia that would be magically attuned to such thoughts.
The designing was done. It was time to meet the bigger and better Cordelia Chase.
Buffy completed the spell for Xander that afternoon, and they cast it that night. She had decided to forego the ability to personally design changed into his body's appearance. Instead she had limited the personally chosen changes to the physical capabilities he would have. He would be as strong, fast, and durable as Buffy was now, but his body would only change based off of her own desires. Xander had insisted that she get the same unconscious opportunity to alter him the way he had unconsciously altered her.
If all went well, they were already discussing what they might do with Faith's body. The dark haired Slayer was already brainstorming her own ideas in anticipation.
The changes would be gradual, as her own had been from the curse. He would likely not notice any changes for a few days.
That night Xander and Faith went out to a movie. Buffy could not stop grinning at the two of them that entire day, and sometimes it seemed that she were more eager for their date than they were. Buffy was very fond of the idea of Xander and Faith getting a chance to act like a normal couple. She always loved her times with Xander when they were just boyfriend and girlfriend, and she couldn't wait to swap notes with Faith.
It simply felt right to her that Xander and Faith should be together. She was theirs. As much Xander's as she was Faith's, and she loved it when the two of them were together. Buffy was well aware of Faith's crush on Xander. The dark haired Slayer worked very hard in school in order to please him, and always spoke of him with a slight reverence in her voice.
When they were gone, Buffy amused herself by inspecting her body in the mirror. She knew it was quite vain, but her incredible body never ceased to arouse her. The large breasts that dwarfed her tiny fingers, the slim waist that seemed impossibly small. Her perfectly tanned and smooth skin, her shapely waist and ass. She was always perfectly clean, her hair immaculately styled and her face seemed to have a natural make-up that always had her looking stunning. Her lips were ruby red, and her eyes were a piercing blue.
She grinned at herself and blew herself a kiss before flopping back on the bed. She masturbated for several long minutes before the thought entered her mind.
*How is this a curse?*
It was not the first time the thought had come to her. Ever since her alternate self had proven that her feelings were real and not manufactured, Buffy had a hard time understanding how this "curse" that had altered her life so dramatically could truly be considered such. She was gorgeous, she had a sex life that was deliciously exciting and naughty, she had two people she loved more than anything in the entire world, and she was smarter, stronger, and safer than she had ever been.
Aside from the pain of the shakes, the curse had turned out to be the single greatest thing that had ever happened to her.
Rather than make her happy, the thought darkened her mood. This was the hellmouth. Things simply did *not*go well by chance. She wondered when the other shoe might drop.
Buffy stood at the entrance to the mansion, feeling like she might throw up at any second. She hadn't seen Angel since her return. She wasn't sure what she would say to him.
She loved him; that much she was sure of. The one thing she had learned in her days in that reality was that love was not something you gave to one person and kept away from others. She loved him.
But she could never be with him. He was over two hundred years old. He was a vampire, immortal, and unable to love her fully without becoming a monster. He would be leaving after graduation. Probably forever.
"Buffy," he said, smiling softly when he opened the door. She smiled sadly at him.
"What's wrong?"
"I have to talk to you," she said.
"What is it?"
She held his hands, looking up into his soulful eyes. Those same eyes she had stared into when she plunged a sword through his heart and sent him to hell.
"Angel...I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," he said warily.
"You're leaving after graduation."
He winced and nodded quietly.
"I wanted you to know," she said, breathing steadily to keep herself calm. "That...I'm starting to move on."
He swallowed and turned away from her. "That's good. I'm glad for you."
"Angel, I wish it wasn't like this," she said. She was amazed at the calm in her voice. Before she was always crying and screaming at the cruel fate that brought them together to bring them apart. Now, it was a dull ache that she knew might never fully go away, but one that she could live with.
"Me too," he whispered. "I'm sorry Buffy."
"If you ever find a way..." she didn't complete the thought. If Angel was human, it might all be different. If he were human...Would she give up Xander for him? She wasn't sure, but there was little chance she would ever have to make that choice. And if she did...Buffy and Faith shared Xander in another world. Could Xander and Angel share her?
It would never be, she knew.
"I have someone that I could love," she told him. The pain was evident on his face.
"Who?"
Could she tell him? She hadn't even told Xander. Yes...Angel deserved that much at least.
"Xander," she whispered. Angel scowled, and took a deep breath.
"Good," he said.
"Huh?" she said in a very un-ladylike way. Angel hated Xander. She was pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
"If there's anyone else in the world that loves you as much as me, it's Xander."
She stared at him. He knew?
"How do you know that?"
He sat back in his reading chair and put his head in his hands.
"Do you remember when you were sick with the flu last year?"
"Vaguely," she admitted. The experience was a bit of a haze for her.
"I came to...Visit you."
"You did?"
"Angelus did."
She paled. Of course. She was half dead already from the sickness. Angelus should have killed her with ease. Why hadn't he?
"Xander was there," he said, answering her unspoken question. "He was standing guard over you."
Buffy could feel tears coming to her eyes. How had she never known?
"I threatened him. Could have killed him. Should have killed him. I didn't."
"Why?"
"His eyes. I could see that he didn't care about himself. There was no self-preservation in those eyes. Maybe I could have killed him. In fact I probably could have, but...He would have taken me with him. I was sure of it."
Angel looked up at her, his eyes wet with tears. "For you."
She stared at him, not sure of what to say.
"I never got to do that for you," Angel whispered. "He never ever gave up on you. I've fought beside you; I've probably saved your life a few times.
"He doesn't save your life. He guards it. He protects it like a rabid dog that cares about nothing else. I should have helped you. I should have fought with you against the Master. I didn't. He brought me down. He returned your life. He saved the life of the only woman I've ever truly loved."
Tears rolled down Buffy's cheeks. This was beyond what she might have expected. Angel, baring his soul for her, and in doing so reaffirming her own feelings for Xander. Still, Angel's heartfelt confession hurt her, because she knew he really did love her. Loved her enough to see her with a man he felt cared for her as much...Maybe even more than he did himself.
"I'm so sorry Angel," she whispered, and knelt beside him. She hugged his cold body to hers for a long time. He stroked her hair silently.
"Just be happy," Angel said. "Truly happy. For both of us."
Cordelia grabbed one huge breast in each hand and held them before Buffy.
"Are you kidding me with this?" she sighed.
"Nuh-uh," Buffy grinned. "You don't like?"
Cordelia stared at herself in the mirror. Over the last few days her breasts had been slowly growing in size, rapidly reaching proportions that didn't exist without a severe surgery habit. Yet they were completely natural, gravity defying, and *very*sensitive.
Buffy ran her hands over Cordelia's tits, causing the cheerleader to shudder and whimper loudly as incredible flashes of pleasure shot through her. Her large nipples, now at least as wide as her thumb, were hard in an instant.
"I didn't say that!" Cordelia groaned. Buffy licked her nipple, and softly sucked on it. Cordelia began to rock her hips, and her knees buckled as an orgasmic tremor washed through her. She felt the strangest sensation in her breasts and...Buffy swallowed.
"Mmm," she said, smacking her lips. "Delicious."
"What?" Cordelia asked breathlessly.
"When you cum, your tits get in on the action now too," Buffy said happily. "It's very tasty, and good for you too. Builds strong bones and healthy immune systems."
Cordelia moaned, and rubbed her titties, loving the way they felt.
"Hey," Faith said as she entered the bedroom, flopping down alongside Cordelia. "Whatcha doing?"
"Cordy's exploring some of her new features," Buffy grinned.
"Wow," Faith said, straddling Cordelia and holding her boobs together. "These are humongous."
Cordelia groaned, "Please keep touching them."
Faith grinned, and gave her nipple a light swat with her hand. Cordelia screamed and bucked her hips. "Oh god yes!"
Faith and Buffy both grinned at each other, and began lightly slapping Cordelia's large breasts. One of them would lick and suck at one breast while the other lightly smacked the other. Then they would switch, slapping one while the other licked and sucked. Cordelia seemed to be in a constant state of bliss, and her breasts were spurting a delicious white liquid with every orgasm. When they stopped, she was hot, wet, sticky, and incredibly pleased with the spell.
"I love her huge titties," Faith said.
"Mmm, I like them too," Cordelia said.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"I said I like them too."
"Like what too?" Faith asked, confused.
"My 'huge titties'," Cordelia said, quoting Faith. Faith exchanged a look with Buffy.
"Guess what Lady C?"
"What?"
"I didn't say that," Faith grinned. "I thought it."
Cordelia gaped at her. "No you didn't."
"Sure I did," Faith said. She stared in Cordelia's eyes and thought, *I love the way your pussy tastes.*
Cordelia gasped. "I heard that!"
Buffy giggled, and Cordelia stared at her. "And that!"
Four miles away Adrian Carmichael jerked off while thinking about the fantastic tits on that Cordelia girl at school. Five miles from him Stacey Dannon wished she had legs like Cordelia Chase.
"I can hear them all," Cordelia whispered. "They're all thinking about me."
"Is it all good?" Buffy asked.
"Definitely," Cordelia said. "Although this one won't stop thinking about fucking me in the ass."
Buffy laughed, and curled up next to Cordelia. Suddenly Cordelia gasped.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Xander," she whispered. "I can hear Xander."
Her eyes began to fill with tears. "Oh my god," she said. "He loves me..."
Buffy kissed her on the neck. "Duh."
Cordelia stared at Buffy, then at Faith. She was beginning to feel overwhelmed with the feelings she was experiencing.
"It's so wonderful," Cordelia smiled. "I love you guys so much...Oh...It's too much!"
She groaned and began fingering herself. Buffy whispered in her ear.
"You can turn it off if you need to," she told her. "Just think of the off-switch."
Cordelia let the wonderful thoughts swarm over her for another moment before reaching for the mental switch she suddenly could "see." She flipped it, and the voices were gone.
"That was incredible," Cordelia whispered in amazement.
"You can thank Faith for that," Buffy said. "That was her change."
Cordelia rolled over, her breasts slightly impeding her attempt. She stared into Faith's eyes.
"You came up with this? For me?"
Faith smiled and kissed her on the lips.
"For my Lady C," she said.
Cordelia hugged her tight, squashing her against her new bosom.
"I am so having Xander fuck you until you can't walk straight," Cordelia said with a grin. Then she flipped the switch, and basked in the thoughts that ranged from the sweet and loving to the raunchy and overtly sexual. She focused in on the thoughts of her three lovers, and lay there for a long time, just floating in the pure feelings of love and admiration she felt there.
She had never enjoyed a gift so much. And it hadn't cost anyone a penny.
Xander frowned as he inspected his body in the mirror. Same shoulders. Same face. Even his dick was the same size. He was fairly muscular and in good shape, but he had been that way ever since he had started vampire hunting, and it had only gotten better once he had begun training with Buffy and Faith.
He picked up a heavy weight with one hand, easily tossing it back and forth. He certainly seemed much stronger. So why wasn't his appearance changing?
A blonde whirlwind slammed into him, and he was suddenly on the ground with a grinning Buffy Summers straddling his chest. Her large breasts strained against her very tight tube top, and her hair hung down in his face.
"Hi!" she said happily.
"Well hello," he grinned. They kissed softly.
"Whatcha doin?" she asked.
"Just checking the progress," he said. He groaned when she ground her backside against his crotch.
"How's it going?"
"Well, I can do this really easily," he lifted her off of him, holding her suspended in the air. For good measure he bench-pressed her a few times, kissing her on each downward movement. She was giggling the entire time.
"I think maybe the body enhancements didn't work though," Xander said.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well...Look at me," he said. She stared at him for a minute before she crossed her eyes and he started laughing.
"Come on! I'm serious!"
"You look amazing to me," Buffy said honestly, lying down on top of him, her bosom cushioning her against him.
"Shouldn't I look at least a little different? I mean I look exactly the same."
She smiled and kissed him on the nose, "Duh."
"What do you mean 'duh'?"
"Xander, you're the hottest guy I know. I get wet just thinking about you. You don't *need* any changes."
"Oh," he said, not sure how to take the news that he wouldn't be changing. He was kind of looking forward to a few extra inches here and there. Mostly there. But hey, wasn't every guy?
She ran her fingers through his hair. "Notice anything?"
"No," he said.
"Your hair is clean. Always. You don't need to shave anymore, but if you think about it you could grow a full beard in a few days. You smell perfect all the time. Your skin is smooth and you don't have a single pimple anymore."
He blinked, and suddenly realized it was true. How had he missed so many little things?
Because he was too busy looking for the big things.
"Anything else I should expect?"
"Well, I may be swallowing a bit more when you cum." She grinned sheepishly, and then added in a conspiratorial whisper, "I like the taste."
He laughed and marveled at this incredibly sexual creature that he loved so much.
"Uh, I think also you can eat whatever without gaining weight."
He grinned. Twinkies for everyone!
Xander and Willow sat on the picnic table while they ate lunch. They both seemed a little nervous. For Xander it was because he was worried Faith wouldn't show up. For Willow, it was because she was worried Faith would show up.
Xander had decided that a good way to get Faith to trust him a little more would be to help ease her back into the group, and there was no better person to start with than Willow. Willow had been reluctant, as attempted Xander-cide was not high on her list of reasons to like someone. He'd begged her to give it a shot though, and his heartfelt speech to her about feeling like they'd failed Faith had won her over. She was willing to give it a try...She just didn't have to look forward to it.
Faith walked up to the table like she didn't have a care in the world, but her eyes betrayed an uncomfortable wariness about Willow.
"What is this, a double date?" Faith asked.
"Hey, none of that date stuff," Xander said. "Buddy Faith? This is Buddy Willow. Buddy Willow? This is Buddy Faith."
He grinned at them both, gesturing for Faith to sit. She did so reluctantly.
"Good! Now we're all buddy buddies."
"This is so fucking stupid," Faith said.
"Faith thinks buddies...are...stupid..." Xander pretended to write on his imaginary checklist. "Check!"
"What's that supposed to be?" Willow asked.
"Oh this?" Xander said, showing her the empty palm of his hand. "This is my mental checklist of Faith's personality traits. So far I have 'dislikes tuna' and 'buddies are stupid'."
He raised a finger in thought, "Now that brings up an interesting question. Buddies may well be stupid, but what about buddy movies? Can anyone really claim to dislike 'Another 48 Hours?'"
"I can!" Willow said, raising her hand before realizing it was a rhetorical question.
"You should write that down," Xander told Faith. "Willow likes to answer questions."
Faith just stared at him in amazement.
"Right," Xander said. "I've got roast beef, or pastrami this time."
Faith snatched the pastrami sandwich out of his hand.
"I love pastrami!" she said happily, before remembering she was supposed to be hating this.
Xander pretended to try and secretly write down "Faith loves pastrami" on his imaginary checklist. She rolled her eyes while taking a big bite of the sandwich.
"So...How are you Faith?" Willow asked.
"Five by five," Faith said.
"Oh. Is that good?"
Faith snorted, "Yeah I guess."
"Even about...That guy?"
*That guy you killed.*
Faith stopped chewing and glared at Willow, "What makes you think I care about that?"
"N-No reason," Willow said nervously.
"Faith, she's not asking cause she thinks you should feel bad. She's asking because she thinks you DO feel bad," Xander said. "You know why she thinks that?"
Faith scowled at him, "How the hell should I know?"
"Because Willow is very smart."
Faith threw down the sandwich. "Forget this. What do you think is happening here? You're going to buy me sandwiches until I'm your best friend? Or maybe you're just hoping I'll give you another piece if you play nice for a while. Well fuck that. I'm not Buffy. I'm not dead in some pool of water waiting for your goofy ass to come by and blow air into my lungs.
"You think you did something, coming to talk to me? You didn't do shit. What makes you even think I want you as a fucking *buddy?*"
"OK," Xander said solemnly. "Fine."
She stared at him and nodded.
"I think this means you're Nick Nolte," he said. "Which is cool, I can totally do Eddie Murphy's laugh. Check it out..." he did a very poor impersonation of Eddie Murphy's croaking laughter.
Faith's face split into a look of complete bewilderment. Then she started laughing.
It felt good.
Cordelia strutted confidently through the halls, a broad smile on her face as she heard the whispered thoughts of dozens of students. The "don't notice" spell kept people from staring at her in outright awe, but she loved the feeling of one of the teenaged boys suddenly finding he couldn't stop daydreaming about her.
The young Ms. Chase was not sure she had ever received a gift that she enjoyed as much as her new ability to hear good thoughts directed at her. Sometimes Xander would have to start rubbing her deliciously sensitive new breasts just to snap her out of the daze she went into. She would lie back, close her eyes, and tune in on the fantasies and jealous thoughts of dozens, sometimes hundreds of people.
Sometimes, when she was tuned in on someone masturbating to her image, she thought she might cum along with them at the sheer power of the emotion involved. It was a heady feeling, and one that she was quickly becoming addicted to.
She had found that those people she considered geeks and nerds were simply amazing to listen in on. Their fantasies were always much more detailed than the jocks, who generally just wanted to stick their cocks into a hole and somehow send her to crashing levels of ecstasy. The geeks however had fantasies that ranged from the sickeningly romantic to the titillatingly kinky. Over the few weeks since she had received this gift, she had found herself slowly joining the groups of "dorky" students.
Not that she would let them stay dorky with her around. She already had three or four pet projects she was working on, fixing up the real walking disasters. She vowed that she would personally make the geeks the most desirable students in school before Graduation.
Graduation. It was creeping on them, only a few days away. The tension was growing, as no one in the group had heard of the Mayor since the Box of Gavroc was destroyed. They hoped he could not Ascend, but only time would tell.
Cordelia flowed into the library with ease, her five-inch heels felt like sneakers to her, and her long smooth legs moved gracefully. She grinned at the lustful thoughts of her lovers as she took her seat.
"Xander!" she giggled. "That is none of your business!"
Xander grinned and leaned over to kiss her on the lips. She was smiling as he did so.
Faith was currently seated on Buffy's lap, the smaller Slayer whispering in Faith's ear every few minutes, causing Faith to burst into laughter or moan seductively. Cordelia smiled at the scene sadly. She wondered what things would be like after graduation. She was sure they would stay together, but she would miss these days at the library with the people she loved.
*Stop thinking about Cordelia's breasts,* she heard.
Cordelia's eyes widened and she looked around. Another thought came.
*They're so round and beautiful. No! Stop! OK, then how about those silken legs? Ack! No! Bad Willow!*
Willow!
Cordelia stared at Willow. The redhead seemed to be working hard at her homework from her position on Oz's lap. She didn't even look Cordelia's way.
*I wonder what her tongue would feel like...Hey! Stop!*
Cordelia was amazed. Willow was attracted to her? Willow hated her! Well...She used to hate her, anyway. Obviously things had changed. But Willow was with Oz, right?
"You know," Buffy said suddenly. "We should really start talking about what we're going to do after graduation."
"University of Sunnydale, right?" Xander asked. "Good professors, close to home, and hellmouth adjacent."
"Yeah," Cordelia said. "I thought we already agreed on that."
"No we did, I just meant, well we can't stay at my house forever."
"Ah leaving the nest," Xander mused. He put on his best pirate accent. "A worthy goal, but treacherous indeed. Arr!"
Buffy grinned and rolled her eyes at him. "Seriously, I mean Mom's been really cool about taking care of all of us, but who knows how long Dad's support money's going to keep coming in? He sort of comes and goes with that stuff."
Xander nodded thoughtfully. He certainly didn't want to be a hardship on Mrs. Summers, not after all she had done for them.
"Well I guess step one would be getting some jobs and making some money," Xander said.
"Too bad no one is hiring petite Slayers with attitudes," Cordelia grinned.
"But they *are* hiring complete knockouts with faces like angels," Buffy grinned back at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Come on Cordy," Buffy said. "You'd make for the hottest stripper ever!"
Faith licked her lips and stared at Cordelia's body. Her thoughts made Cordelia shiver with excitement.
"OK, say I would do that," Cordelia breathed. "And I'm not saying I would. But if I did, I'd have to commute thirty miles at least just to go someplace where they noticed me."
"Well you probably would make a lot more money in L.A. than you would here," Xander said. "Lots of people commute to L.A."
Cordelia rolled the thought around in her mind. Dancing in front of people who could fully appreciate her new body. Soaking in their lustful thoughts as they gazed at her overly perfect body. It was a seductive idea.
"What about you guys?" Cordelia asked after a moment.
"Well I could probably do any number of things," Xander admitted. His increased intellect qualified him to do virtually anything. "But I think I'd like to make things. I've got a few devices I'm working on that I could see about patenting. The ones that don't use magic, that is."
"And Faith could dance too!" Buffy grinned, hugging the dark-haired girl around the middle. Faith frowned and turned her head, leaning in to whisper in Buffy's ear.
"Really? OK baby, you don't have to," Buffy said. "I thought you'd like to."
Faith looked rather sad as she shook her head no. Buffy stuck out her bottom lip and kissed Faith on the cheek. "You don't have to. There's plenty of other jobs we could think of."
"Sure," Xander said happily. "With those Slayer skills you could do a lot of stuff. Personal trainer, martial arts instructor, construction worker, bodyguard, even a dancer."
Faith frowned at him at this last one. "Oh, I meant like a ballet dancer or something like that."
Buffy started giggling like an idiot at the idea of Faith in a tutu.
"Or a backup dancer in a video or something!" Xander added quickly at Faith's scowl.
Faith raised an eyebrow. She loved to dance, and she was damned good at it. She just...She didn't want to ever use her sexuality to make money ever again. But dancing, professional dancing...That could really be something.
"You really think I could?" Faith asked.
"Yeah absolutely," Xander said. "You're the best dancer I've ever seen. Better even than MC Hammer!"
Faith chuckled. Dancing. It was a hell of an idea.
"I think it would be cool to be a bodyguard," Buffy said. "But who is going to be afraid of a little blonde girl?"
"Oh I could totally make you look deadly," Cordelia assured her. "We put you in a tailored suit, pull your hair into a stylish bun and give you a kind of 'silent assassin' look."
"I'm still tiny," Buffy said sadly.
"That doesn't matter! Everyone's seen the movie with the tiny silent girl who doesn't react to anything and then suddenly flips out with the ninja kicks!" Xander yelled excitedly, making little chopping movements with his hands. "Yiaah!"
"Yeah," Cordelia said. "Bad guys would totally be afraid of someone with a tiny girl as a bodyguard. Especially since you actually could beat the crap out of them."
Buffy grinned. Now there was a job she could really look forward to.
"Buffy!" Xander screamed.
"What!" she yelled.
"I'm doing laundry! Bring down your clothes!"
A few minutes later Buffy Summers came traipsing down the basement steps, a basket of dirty and very tiny clothing in her hands.
"Oh good," she said. "I thought I'd have to go to school naked tomorrow."
"Yeah I'm sure you'd hate that," he grinned, kissing her as he took the basket from her. "One of these days you really should learn how to do your own laundry."
"Why should I do that when there's this hot guy named Xander who'll do it for me?"
"That's a good question," he muttered, separating whites from colors. She hopped up on the dryer, her smooth tan legs contrasting against the stark white. He leaned over and kissed her knee, which caused her to giggle.
"So Giles says things are pretty quiet lately," Buffy said, rubbing her legs together slightly. "He thinks maybe the demon types are still worried about the Ascension, so they're laying low."
"Yeah I noticed we haven't seen much on patrol lately," Xander said. The last few weeks had seen few demons, and even fewer that presented any challenged to Enhanced-Slayer, Slayer, and Enhanced-Xander.
"I guess it's too much to hope for that the Mayor won't be able to ascend," Buffy sighed.
Xander shrugged. "It is the hellmouth, after all."
"Yeah," Buffy said. She stared down at her dainty feet.
"Xander?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you ever wish we could get out of here? Go someplace where we aren't constantly afraid of what's coming next?"
He stopped sorting the laundry and stepped over to her, putting his hands on her legs. He rubbed her gently.
"Sometimes," he admitted. "But then I think about the people who live here, and about the good that we've done. Without us, the world would be over a few times over by now."
She nodded sadly. "I've been thinking about the future a lot lately."
"Graduation tends to bring that out in people," Xander pointed out.
"I was thinking...That maybe I should try to get a job soon."
"Well you are a bit of a bum," Xander grinned. Buffy smacked his chest with the back of her hand.
"I'm serious!" she whined.
"I'm sorry," he said seriously. "But I just cannot have this conversation while you have that ridiculous thing on your face."
She put a hand to her face, and asked worriedly, "What thing?"
"That mouth. It's just too kissable to be allowed," he grinned, and leaned forward to kiss her. She moaned against his lips.
"That was so corny," she smiled.
"Sometimes corn is good for you."
"I always like your corn," Buffy said seductively. Xander laughed.
"That is some weird dirty talk you've got there Buffster," he said. She pouted.
"OK," he said, relenting. "I like giving you my...Corn. Good?"
She frowned at him, but nodded anyway.
"So, jobs for Buffy the Bum," he said while throwing laundry into the machine. "What were you thinking of?"
"Exotic dancing," she said without hesitation. He looked at her for a moment.
"I don't think so," he said, shaking his head.
"What do you mean 'you don't think so?'"
"Buffy, think about it seriously for a minute," he said cautiously. "First, you'd have to drive thirty miles outside of town just to find someplace to work. But even if you did, could you honestly spend hours a day dancing nude in front of people? You wouldn't be able to stand up!"
Buffy moaned softly and rubbed her hands on her boobs. It was such an exciting thought. Xander gently pulled her hands away from her.
"I know it turns you on Buff," he said, smiling slightly. "But you'd be a quivering mass of flesh inside of an hour."
She nodded sadly, knowing he was right. It was an incredible fantasy for her though.
"Xander?"
"Yeah?"
"Could we fuck on the washing machine?"
He laughed. "On one condition."
"What?"
"Afterwards you, me and Faith are going to sit down and start brainstorming job ideas."
"Deal."
A minute later he had started the load of wash, and fucked Buffy doggy-style as she bent over the washing machine. When they had finished, she turned and kissed him.
"And you say I don't help with the laundry" she said sweetly.
Xander and Faith were talking animatedly. Or rather, Xander was talking animatedly, and Faith was staring at him with an expression between amusement and complete bewilderment.
"...And if there was anyone who noticed, they kept their mouths shut. That is the story of the Tale that Shall Never Be Told," Xander finished.
"That's total bullshit," Faith said, half smiling.
"Well yes, but it makes a good story, right?"
She laughed, something she found herself doing more and more during these lunches with Xander.
"Hey don't hog the chips," Xander said, grabbing for the sour cream and onion ruffles. Faith snatched them back, and held up a warning finger.
"You don't touch my chips," she said playfully.
"Oh they're your chips all of a sudden?"
"They were on my side of the table."
"I bought them!"
"Yeah, well possession is nine-tenths of the law."
"Oh yeah? Well an invention requires ninety-nine percent perspiration."
Faith gave him a confused look. "What?"
"Oh sorry, I thought we were playing the fractions game."
"The fractions ga- HEY!" Xander took advantage of her momentary distraction to snatch the bag from her hands and pop a chip in his mouth.
"Mmm," he said happily. "Derrishus."
"That's gonna cost you," Faith said.
"I regret that I have but one life to give for my chips," Xander joked. Faith vaulted over the table and reached for the chips. He held them high over his head, so she tackled him down to the ground, quickly pinning him to the ground before grabbing the bag.
"Anything to say now, Mr. Funny Man?" she grinned at him.
"Just this," he took a deep breath. "FREEEEEEEEDDDOOOOMMMM!!!"
Several students looked up at his terrible Mel Gibson impression, and a few gave quiet chuckles. She got off of him and went back to her accustomed seat.
Xander dusted himself off before sitting himself. Then he pretended to write on the checklist, his on-going gag. "Faith...Overly protective...Potato Chips..."
She grinned, and popped a chip into her mouth, crunching it loudly. "Don't you forget it."
His imaginary list had grown in the past few weeks. Faith. She hated tuna. She loved pastrami, but she hated rye bread. She was a sucker for any move with Sylvester Stallone in it, and as a kid she used to sing the Rocky theme song whenever she went up and down stairs. Xander had loved that one, and tormented her constantly by singing it any time they happened across some stairs.
They sat in silence for a few minutes while they finished their lunch. Finally, Xander felt it might be safe (relatively speaking) to bring something up.
"Faith?"
She looked at him.
"You ever think about going to school?"
She frowned and sighed. "What are you, my mother?"
"No, I'm just thinking that you'll probably have a lot more opportunities if you graduate high school."
She glared at him. "I'm the fuckin' Slayer."
He knew what she meant. Slayers did not have long life spans. If she made it to twenty-one, it would be a miracle. Xander nodded.
He would get her to twenty-one.
"Be Faith."
"Huh?"
"Don't be the Slayer. Be Faith."
"What are you giving me some Tony Robbins bullshit now?"
He shook his head. "I'm just saying, things don't often turn out like you expect. You don't have to just be the Slayer. You can be Faith too. And Faith should go to school."
She didn't say anything for a long time after that.
Buffy watched him silently. Watched him smile and laugh with Faith. She sighed.
She was of two minds when it came to this strange friendship Xander had forged with Faith since their return from the alternate realities. On the one hand, she was very happy for both of them. Her relationship with Faith was a huge regret of hers, and if Xander could help bring the girl some peace, then Buffy was all for it.
On the other hand, Buffy was more than a little jealous. She had been dancing around Xander for weeks now, constantly trying to gather the courage to talk to him about her feelings.
They'd spent a decent amount of time together. He always made sure to come with her on patrols, and she had found that their friendship had been greatly strengthened since her return, and her subsequent break-up with Angel. She still felt a pain in her chest when she thought of him, but she knew it was for the best.
He had insisted on staying until after Graduation, in order to help in the fight against the Mayor. She felt awkward about knowing he was in town but not seeing her, but she couldn't deny that they would need his help.
They had failed to retrieve the Box of Gavroc before the Mayor got his hands on it. From what she remembered from the alternate reality that meant his Ascension was pretty much inevitable. The thought gnawed at her.
Buffy sighed and crumpled up her empty lunch bag. Maybe today she would talk to him. Maybe today.
Xander stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he carefully placed the small wire into its proper spot.
"Whew," he said. "All done."
Buffy stared at the device blankly. "Uh...What is it?"
"It's a beautiful Slayer detector," he said grinning. He looked down at it. "Oh...No readings."
Buffy jumped down on his lap...hard.
"Oof!" he said, but Buffy's hot lips against his own silenced his grunt. He groaned against her and felt her small hands run up inside of his shirt.
"You were saying?" she grinned against his lips.
"Massive readings," he groaned. "Off the scale!"
"That's better," she said, and slid off of him, leaving him aching with need. "So what is it really?"
He stared at her confident grin, and wondered for not the first time how this amazing woman had come into his life.
"It's ah, it's a prototype for faster-than-light communication."
"A what in the what now?"
"Let's say that you go into space, and start flying towards the closest star. Once you start moving out past orbit you're going to find that there's a communication lag between you and whomever you're radioing. Hours at first, then days, and eventually years and even centuries."
"OK so what, this lets you talk instantly?"
"I hope so. I'm basing it off of the alternate realities that we now know exist. I can send the signal out of our reality and then instantly back in at any point. So a regular radio transmission could be sent across the universe in half a second, if I wanted."
"I thought you didn't want to make anything that had magic involved," Buffy asked, confused.
"Yeah," Xander said. "But then I start thinking about Clarke's Law."
"Clark Kent?"
He grinned and pulled her onto his lap. She sat facing him, and nuzzled at his neck for a moment.
"Not Clark Kent," he breathed. "Arthur C. Clarke. He said that any advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." He groaned when her small hands began working at his belt. She ground her bottom into him, and for a second he couldn't quite think straight.
"So...Ah, I started thinking that magic isn't really magic like we think it is. It acts outside of what we think of scientific law, but really it's just another force that no one has really studied properly in a scientific setting. I mean, why would the universe be ordered with all of these action/reaction rules, only to have the monkey wrench of magic thrown in?"
"I dunno," Buffy said, not really paying attention as she kissed his face. For a moment neither of them said anything as he kissed her deeply, sliding his hands under her shirt.
"Well...I think that magic is a force, just like gravity or electromagnetism. In Quantum Theory there's some thought that anything truly could happen, but the odds are so infinitesimal that you would have to wait a trillion years for just a one percent chance of it occurring."
"Oh," she said, licking his neck. He put his large hands over her breasts, caressing her small nipples and making her shudder.
"But I think that magic is a force that works off of the conscious mind. I'm even starting to wonder if intelligence evolved for the express purpose of being able to harness those forces. With magic you kind of increase the chances of something happening in line with your own wishes. So things like this device are really working on a level that doesn't appear to use magic, but utilizes it anyway on a quantum level."
"That's so hot," Buffy moaned, obviously not really hearing his words anymore. He grinned and kissed her again. His cock was rock hard as she lowered herself onto him.
"Buffy! Xander!" Cordelia shouted, running into the library. Buffy's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she shuddered with the feel of Xander's large dick inside of her.
"Huh?" she asked lazily.
"We have to find Jonathon!"
Buffy slowly ground on Xander's cock. "Why?"
"He's going to kill himself!"
Buffy and Xander both paused, looking at Cordelia with worry.
"What? What's happening?" Xander asked.
"I was hanging out with Tracey and Steven from the chess team when he walked by and I heard him think 'Cordelia. There's another beautiful woman I could never get. Today I'll end it all...' then I couldn't hear him anymore. I looked all over but I can't find him anywhere! I think he's still somewhere in school, but I don't know!"
Buffy reluctantly, but hastily removed herself from Xander, and the two began pulling their clothes back on.
"Xander, you check the surrounding area of the school and then check the basement. I'll do a sweep of all the classrooms on this floor," Buffy said, taking charge. "Cordy you check upstairs and the bell tower. If we don't find him, we'll try his house next. If you see any of the others, tell them to start looking to.
"Right," Xander said, possibly more turned on now than he was when Buffy's pussy was wrapped around his cock. Possibly.
They looked at each other for a half-second before nodding and splitting up.
Cordelia raced down the halls, checking every classroom as she went. Her newfound speed was very impressive, but she wished for more as she sped through the school. She was not used to hearing such horrible thoughts with her ability. The most negative thing she ever heard was when someone was jealous of her, and even that gave her a sly grin. Most of the time the thoughts she heard were exciting, lust filled, or just plain complimentary. She had never realized, for instance, how Giles found her an oddly refreshing personality among most of the teenagers he knew.
But now she felt her stomach tying itself in knots at what she had heard from Jonathon. He was never someone she had spent much, or any time with all throughout High School. He was always just sort of there in the background, a forgettable face among the crowd. The despair in his thoughts had thrown her for a loop.
She passed Faith coming out of the science classroom, and quickly explained the situation to her before running off again. Another empty classroom. Another. He was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly she heard his voice clearly through the background noise of people thinking about her.
*She's too beautiful to have ever paid attention to me. I'm such a loser to ever thi...*
He was still alive. She had to find him! She wished that she could hear the voices even when they weren't thinking about her.
She burst out of the upstairs exit and scanned the crowd below. He wasn't there. Her eyes roamed, and she spotted the clock tower. Her enhanced vision spotted movement.
She took a running jump, easily clearing the balcony and gripping the edge of the roof. She swung back and forth once before flipping up backwards and landing gracefully on the roof. She dashed along the roof, carefully balancing her weight on her toes so as not to pierce the back of her high heels through the shingles. She jumped towards the open window, gripping the wall in her powerful hands to pull herself in.
Jonathon was there, a rifle in his hand. He held the barrel against his chin.
"Hi," she said.
"C-Cordelia?" he asked. He was sweating, and his eyes were scared.
"Yeah. What's up?" she asked, trying to sound happy.
"W-What are you doing here?"
She stepped closer to him, carefully putting her hand on the barrel.
"I was worried about you," she said honestly. "You...You were looking kind of depressed."
He seemed to deflate, his shoulders sagging.
"I didn't think anyone ever noticed me."
Cordelia shrugged, softly pulling the rifle from his hands. "High School kind of sucks like that," she said.
"Yeah," he whispered.
"That doesn't mean you should kill yourself," Cordelia said.
"What? How did you know?"
Cordelia smiled and rolled her eyes. "Hello? Rifle to the chin? That was my first clue."
"Oh yeah."
*She's so beautiful.*
"You're very sweet, Jonathon," she smiled. He furrowed his brow.
"You know my name?"
She snorted. "I memorized the names of everyone in school when I ran for homecoming queen," she said.
"Wow."
"Could you do me a favor?" she asked.
"Anything."
"Could you not kill yourself?" Cordelia Chase was nothing if not a firm believer in getting straight to the point.
"Uh...Yeah. OK."
"Cool. I don't know what you're so upset about anyway."
"Nobody likes me. I'm too short."
She frowned at him, putting her hands on her hips. "Tom Cruise is short."
"I'm not Tom Cruise."
"No, you have better teeth. Plus you're not into the scientology stuff," she gave him an appraising look. Yes, he was short, but he was in good shape and had a pleasant face. She had done better with worse.
She grabbed his hand, "Come on."
"What? Where?"
"We're going to the mall."
"Why?" he squeaked. The mall was not a place he usually spent any time in.
"We're going to get you some new clothes for graduation!" she grinned. "I'm thinking dark blues for you, they'd go really great with your eyes."
Jonathon gulped.
"Jonathon! I've been looking all over for you," Buffy said.
"Y-You have?" the short boy croaked.
"Yeah," Buffy smiled cheerfully. "I'm working on this design and I wanted to use the computers in school to help process the final outcome, but I need to use their combined processing power, and everyone said you were the guy to talk to when it comes to computers."
"Really?"
"Uh huh!" she chirped.
"W-What are you working on?"
"Oh it's totally cool," she said, taking a hold of his arm as she led him to the computer room. "I've got this idea that I could take energy and sort of push it outside of our universe into a pocket space that I'm tentatively calling Xanderspace, and once there it would collect what I believe are units of energy in a state of pre-existence. Then it would pop back into our universe with the newly created energy, bringing back more than you left with. And yeah I mean I know people have worked on perpetual energy machines like forever and a day but so far all of my tests seem to say it'll work, and besides it makes the prettiest blue glow whenever I turn it on."
Jonathon blinked at her. The most beautiful girl in school knew about the concept of a perpetual energy machine? Of course any real scientist knew such a thing was impossible. Then again...He'd seen a lot in his sleepy little town that scientists would say was impossible.
"What do you need the computers to do?"
"Oh I just need them to process the actions of the energy and keep an accurate count of how many units it brings back."
"You mean you already have a working prototype?"
"Yeah! Check it out," she led him into the library and picked up a small mass of wires, two large metal O's stood on thing beams. "The energy forms between these thingys, and then gets conducted into this battery I built."
"You built a battery?"
"Yuh huh. I think it should hold uh...ten to the twenty fourth mega joules. I really like that word. It sounds like you're giving someone a really big diamond."
He laughed. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, doesn't it sound like that? When I get married I hope I get a mega-jewel," she quipped.
"I mean the power storage. That's impossible."
"Yeah I thought so too, but that's the upper limit that I estimated after testing the first battery. I couldn't actually charge it completely because I wasn't able to generate enough power, so I started working on this one."
"You're really serious," he said.
"Yeah."
"Well...uh I guess I could have a diagnostic setup in a few hours. Maybe tomorrow if I run into trouble."
"Great! Thanks Jon!" she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek. He blushed a furious red. He noticed she was trembling slightly.
"Oh," she said. "I have to go. Thanks again though." She happily skipped out the door. A second later she stuck her head back in.
"Oh! You're coming to the graduation party, right?"
"Um...party?"
"Faith talked Xander into having a huge party after graduation. You're coming, right?"
He shrugged. "I...I dunno."
"Aww," she pouted. "Well I hope you come. Xander needs someone to talk to Babylon 5 about, and he doesn't have any guy friends, except for Oz I guess."
"Babylon 5?"
"Oh sorry, I thought I heard you talking about it one day in computer class with Steven."
"No no, I was! You know about Babylon 5?"
Buffy shrugged. "Sort of. Xander watches his tapes every day."
"Wow," he whispered. "W-Where's the party?"
"Oh it's at my house. Mom made a one-time-only special permission to have a wild party. Here's the address." She picked up a pen and, despite trembling slightly, wrote her address on his palm.
"Sorry, I really have to go," Buffy said. "I'll come by in a little while and try to help, OK?"
Jonathon nodded dumbly. She grinned that fabulous smile at him, and seemed to float away.
"Wow," Jonathon said to himself. "This is the best day ever."
"Just a moment!" Professor Lester Wirth called as he shuffled to the door. He opened it to reveal a pretty young woman with dark hair and sad eyes.
"Hi, I'm looking for Professor Wirth," she said.
"Oh," he replied. "Well that's me, but I should ask you to come back during office hours. Students generally make appointments."
"Uh, I'm not from the college. I work for Mayor Wilkins. I'm Faith."
He blinked in surprise. "Oh! Well come in, please! I was so surprised when he called. I didn't expect a politician to be interested in my work.
"Yeah," she said softly. "He's a big fan Professor."
"Oh," he said waving a hand at her. "Lester's fine."
"Lester."
They stood in silence for a moment.
"Would you like something to drink?" he asked.
"Uh...no. I'm cool."
"Of course, of course," he said absent-mindedly, shuffling through his papers. "Well as you can see I'm a bit of a pack rat, and I take quite a lot of notes."
"Yeah."
"Ah here it is," he pulled a yellowing piece of paper from the pile. "I found it in Hawaii, a long dormant volcano bed. Biggest skeleton I've ever seen! I suspect they'll call it the Wirthosaurus."
She smiled uncomfortably at his joke.
"So this thing, it died in the eruption?" she asked.
"Yes I do believe so, although the carbon dating tests have been very intriguing. I'm sure you know the dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago," he said excitedly. "Yet this skeleton seems to be no more than a few thousand years old, although there are some very strange radiation traces involved."
"No shit," she said dully. Her fingers moved behind her and touched the cold hilt of the knife she kept in her belt. She should do it now.
"Yes, quite similar to my own reaction!" the Professor laughed. "Imagine, a dinosaur species that might have survived up until only a few thousand years ago. It's a truly remarkable find!"
She clenched her fingers around the hilt. Just do it.
"You...You tell anyone else about this?"
"A few colleagues of mine, and the Mayor of course. I've not really explained the full extent of the find to them though. You're the first."
She nodded. Do it.
"That's...Real interesting Prof - Lester."
"If you like I can give you the first draft of my report if the Mayor would like to take a look," Professor Wirth offered, visions of special commendations and the key to the city dancing in his eyes.
"Yeah. Ok," she said. Her fingers relaxed around the hilt.
*Coward,* she thought.
She shook her head. No. She wasn't a coward.
She was Faith.
"Ah there's my girl," the Mayor smiled at her as she entered her apartment.
"Yeah," she said glumly.
"Aww, why the long face? Things are going splendidly. The day of Ascension is almost here!"
She nodded, looking at the floor. "About that. I wanted to talk to you."
"Of course Faith. You can always come to me with your problems, even after I'm the overlord of the west coast," he chuckled. She couldn't help but grin at his easy laugh.
"Do you think...That maybe we could leave Buffy and them out of the Ascension?"
He frowned, "Now what brought this on? I thought we were going to show Buffy that she wasn't the only Slayer in town. Or even the best Slayer in town."
"Yeah, I just...I dunno. Do we really gotta kill them? Do you really have to kill anyone? Couldn't you like...feed on vampires and shit instead of humans?"
"Language," he said, holding up a warning finger. "Besides Faith, you know human beings are the only sustenance that will power me through the Ascension. That's why I'll be doing it at the High School Graduation, in front of all those tasty morsels."
She sighed.
"Come on, fess up," he said. "What's darkening the ray of sunshine that is my Faith?"
"I didn't kill him," she whispered.
"I beg your pardon?"
"The Professor. I didn't kill him. I couldn't."
He nodded solemnly. "I see. This is very serious Faith. If we can't trust one another, well then everything collapses into chaos. Now I trust in you, and I believe in you. I know you're a tough, yet sensitive girl, and I know you'll do the right thing."
The Mayor stood up, smoothing his suit. "Now I want you to march right back down there young lady and stick that knife in Professor Wirth's heart."
She stared at him, and blinked. He was...He was insane.
"Sorry Boss," she whispered. "But I don't think I can do this anymore."
"Faith," he said sternly. "Don't do this to yourself."
"I'm not doin' it to myself," she said, feeling a surge of pride rise up inside of her. "I'm doin' it for myself." She grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
"Faith, you walk out that door and this is over," he said. "I mean it."
She looked back at him. "Thanks for everything. I mean it."
He watched her sadly as she opened the door and walked out. Mayor Wilkins sighed. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a cellular phone.
"Maureen? Call D'nacxsis. I need him to do something for me."
Xander groaned as the incessant pounding drove him out of his slumber. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and rolled out of his bed. He was so tired he didn't even bother to put on a t-shirt, and padded across the living room in his boxers. He glanced at his father, who was passed out in his recliner.
"No no," Xander said mockingly. "Don't get up. I'll get it."
The knocking on the door persisted. He flung it open. "What?"
Faith stood there. A light rain had soaked her, and she held her duffel bag in one hand.
"Hey," she said. "Wanna hang?"
He stared at her. Faith. At his house. He stepped back, opening the door wider in a silent invitation to enter. She took a step forward.
And was thrown off of her feet by a huge dark shape. She slammed into the rotting wood of his front porch, and kicked the demon thing off of her. There came a howl, and Xander saw three more hulking demons ambling up the street, followed by more than a dozen vampires.
"Shit," Faith said. "Guess he wasn't lying when he said it was over."
"What? Who said?"
"Long story," Faith said. "I kind of pissed off the Mayor. You might want to get out of here."
He nodded and retreated into the house. She stared at the spot where he had been. He was just going to leave her?
The demon that tackled her rose clumsily to its feet, and snarled at her.
"Come on ugly," she said. "Let's you and me dance."
It sprang at her, and she snapped a circle kick across its gaping jaws. It spun in the air, and toppled down into the driveway. Two more demons rushed at her, and she leapt over them to let them slam into the porch. She threw a haymaker at a vampire that rose up in front of her, sending the undead creature flying back into two of his brethren. She spun around. The vampires were all around her, and four of the huge hulking demons as well. She clenched her fists. Fuck it, she'd go down fighting.
"Batter up!" Xander yelled as he slammed a wooden baseball bat with jagged nails covering it into the back of one of the demons. The thing screamed inhumanly and dropped to the ground. Faith's mouth dropped open. Xander was clutching the bloody bat in both hands, and a large neon-green water pistol was slung to his back. He was wearing nothing but his boxers.
A vampire jumped at him, and he swung the bat across its face, but lost the weapon in the process. Faith took advantage of the distraction to kneecap a vampire and barrel into him, breaking free of the circle of attackers. Xander swung up the super-soaker and let fly a stream of holy water, sizzling against three vampires. They screamed and flailed as their skin boiled away.
Faith's vision blurred as one of the huge demons pounded a meaty fist against her skull. She retaliated with a powerful uppercut of her own, but the demon was only slightly dazed by the strike.
"Xander!" she called.
"Kinda busy!" he said, holding back a few vampires with a careful blast of holy water. His supply was running low. He ripped the bat out of the face of one of the vampires as he kept his aim on the others.
"We gotta bolt," she said.
"Buffy's."
She nodded, despite never wanting to go to B for help ever again.
"Right then...on three. THREE!" she kicked the demon powerfully, sending it stumbling into two of the others. Xander squirted a long stream of holy water at the vampires and both he and Faith took off running.
"After them!" one of the vampires called. The tangled mass of demon limbs stalled them for a moment before they were free enough to chase down the two humans.
Buffy woke at the sound of a demon screaming. She burst out of bed in her tiny thong and sleeping shirt, grabbing the short sword she kept by her door as she raced down the stairs. Outside there was a large pack of demons and vampires, and two tired and bloody figures.
Faith and Xander had fought several skirmishes on the hard run to Buffy's house, with Faith worse the wear than Xander was. She had held off the demons so he could get away, before catching up to him with her superior speed. They were both exhausted and very beat up.
"Buffy!" Xander called happily as he saw her. "We brought friends!"
Buffy tightened her grip on both hands. "Get in the house!" she called. Xander nodded and stumbled towards her.
"You OK Faith?" she asked her sister Slayer as she came to stand beside her.
"Hey never better," Faith groaned. She had a wound on her side that looked nasty.
"You guys are so dead, you know that?" Buffy asked the demons.
She dove into the fray, hacking and slashing with her sword at whatever got in her way. Beside her Faith was throwing punches and kicks in every direction, and had managed to snap off a thick tree branch to stake a few vamps before she was disarmed. Buffy spun, her sword arcing sharply through the air to lop off the head of a vampire before she slammed a knee into an advancing demon.
A force slammed into her side and she lost the sword. She kicked off the vampire and snapped back to her feet. Faith rolled, grabbing the sword and throwing it into the forehead of another demon. It groaned softly as it fell back, dead.
Faith and Buffy clasped hands, each pulling the other in the opposite direction as they kicked into the heads of two vampires. Faith ducked under a haymaker and slammed an elbow into one's chest, and Buffy leaned out of the way of a swiping claw before grabbing its owner's arm and twisting it violently.
Buffy cried out when a fist slammed into the back of her head, and she saw stars when a boot cracked against her face. Three vampires held her down while a fourth stood over her, plunging his fangs into her neck.
Whizz-THUNK. The crossbow bolt sunk deep into the vampire's chest, and he looked genuinely surprised when he turned to dust. Buffy used the distraction to kick off the vampires holding her, and another bolt whizzed across the air to dust another. She glanced back to see Xander standing on her porch with one of her crossbows, hastily fitting in another bolt.
"Here!" he called when he noticed her glance, picking up a heavy broadsword and heaving it in her direction. She dove for it, catching the hilt in midair and swinging it around heavily to cleave one of the demons in two. She and Faith stood side by side, staring at the remaining demons. Buffy holding the huge broadsword in her tiny hands, and Faith clutching the short sword deftly.
"I told you that you were dead," Buffy grinned. She and Faith screamed and rushed the remaining attackers.
Two minutes later it was quiet. The dust of at least a dozen vampires wafted through the air, and the corpses of several huge demons lay in the street, various limbs hacked off.
"Huh," Faith said, weaving slightly as she looked at Buffy. The girl was barely dressed, and was now covered in demon gore. "Just like fightin' an alligator in the nude."
Then she collapsed to the ground.
Xander and Buffy carefully carried the dark haired Slayer into Buffy's house. They placed her down on the couch, and Xander knelt next to Faith, inspecting her bleeding stomach.
"We have to do something for this," he said. Buffy nodded and rushed off to get her first aid kit. She had a very good first aid kit.
Xander was forced to cut Faith's shirt off. Considering it was torn and blood soaked anyway, he didn't think she would mind too much. He and Buffy carefully cleaned the deep wound, and Xander showed off some of his fading soldier memories by doing a half-decent job of combat stitching it closed.
He sat back when he was finished, exhausted.
"What about you?" Buffy asked. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah, I think so," he said. "Mostly some scratches, and my feet are killing me from running here barefoot."
She looked down at him and suddenly they both seemed to realize they were in their underwear.
"Uh...I better go change," she said. "I think um...I think I might have that sweater your left here that time."
"Thanks," he said tiredly. She stared at him before leaving the room. His tattoo seemed to glow faintly in the dim light. It was very attractive. She could almost feel her own throbbing on her lower back. She suddenly blushed when she realized Xander had probably gotten a good view of it, considering the tiny shirt and almost non-existent thong she wore. It was fast becoming her habit to dress sexily for herself, but this was the first time she had worn anything like this in front of Xander.
In front of her Xander.
A few minutes later she returned in an old pair of tight jeans and a slight larger shirt. She tossed Xander his old sweater, and apologized for not having any pants for him.
"Hey," he joked. "I think I should be the one apologizing for not having any pants on."
He sat on the floor in front of the couch, leaning back against it. Faith was sleeping behind him.
Buffy sat down next to him, closer than either of them was used to.
"What happened?"
"I don't know," he sighed. "I was sleeping when she came over, and she barely said a word before she got attacked. She did say the Mayor was mad at her though."
"The Mayor?"
"Yeah, I don't know why."
He had his suspicions.
"X-Xander?" she asked.
"Yeah Buff?"
"Have I told you how nice it is, what you've been doing for Faith?"
"It's nothing," he said.
She shook her head, and put an arm around his shoulder. "It's not. She's really lucky to have a friend like you Xander."
She put her head on his shoulder, and sighed. "And so am I."
He rested his head against hers, and they sat together for a long time
Xander stared nervously in the mirror.
"You ready?" he asked himself. His image had no answer for him. Buffy came up behind him, and stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"You look good," she said.
"You look better," he grinned. She twirled, her maroon robes swirling around her.
"Maroon doesn't really help my complexion," she complained.
"Help is not necessary," he said smiling, and bent down to kiss her.
"Flattery will so get you laid," Buffy grinned. They kissed softly for a minute before Xander stood back up.
"Are you ready for this?" he asked her.
"As I'll ever be."
"We'll be fine. He probably won't even Ascend."
Buffy gave him a sad look. "Don't forget where we live."
"Hellmouth," he replied solemnly.
"Buffy, if anything happens..."
"Nothing's going to happen," she insisted.
"Yeah, but if it does...Nobody has ever made me as happy as you."
She smiled, her eyes wet with tears. "I love you Xander."
"I love you Buffy," he whispered. He held her tightly in his arms, and they kissed sadly. When they broke apart she wiped at her eyes.
"Now I have to re-do my makeup," she said, half-laughing.
Cordelia stuck her head into the room, "We ready?"
"Yeah," Xander said. "Let's do this."
The Mayor smiled happily at the crowd.
"Today is about change," he continued. "Graduation doesn't just mean your circumstances change, it means you do. You Ascend. To a higher level. Nothing will ever be the same."
A shadow fell across the Mayor's face, and he seemed to stagger. "And so...as we look back on..." He grunted, and clutched the podium. "On the events that have led us to this day. We...We must all..."
He screamed in pain and stared up at the sky. An inky black circle was rapidly covering the sun.
"It has begun," he said in amazement. "My destiny! It's a little sooner than expected; I had this whole section on civic pride. But I guess...we'll just skip to the big finish!"
He groaned and his face seemed to split open. He began to swell, his body growing taller and longer, thicker and more grotesque. His head transformed into a giant snake's head, with clawed mandibles covering his gaping jaws.
Parents were screaming and fleeing in random directions. Xander and Cordelia stood up at either side of the audience. Buffy nodded.
"Now!" she yelled. The students all whipped off their robes, revealing a dizzying array of weaponry. Xander and Cordelia ripped off theirs as well, both of them in full battle mode. The two enhanced humans rushed the stage at either side.
A wave of vampires poured up the street, and began clambering towards the students.
"First rank!" Buffy called. A line of students stepped forward, made of members of the archery team. "Aim! Fire!"
The arrows flew, dusting several vampires. "Archers fall back!"
Xander and Cordelia hacked at the Mayor's thick skin with heavy swords, their enhanced strength barely able to pierce his hide.
"Insignificant fools!" the Mayor rumbled, and snapped his jaws down at Xander. He sped out of the way, rolling to his feet and stabbing upwards. The Mayor bellowed in anger.
"Remember me?" Xander yelled, slicing across the Mayor's huge scaly underbelly. "My twin took something of yours!"
The Mayor roared, and snapped at him again. Xander hopped down off the podium and ran towards the school. The Mayor sped after him. Perhaps if he had not been feeling so overwhelmed by power, he would have noticed that the young man was not moving anywhere near as fast as he could. In fact, he was moving just fast enough that the Mayor could keep on his tail, but not catch him.
Xander burst through the double doors of the school, leading the giant snake-demon through the maze of halls, twisting him upon himself. Finally he dove into the library and kicked his way out the side door. The Mayor paused at the complete lack of books in the library. Instead it was filled with what looked to be...fertilizer?
"Well gosh."
The school exploded.
"This is it," she told herself. Buffy stared at her reflection in the mirror, idly marveling at how she could look so good even in the maroon robes.
"Hey," Xander said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her. "You ready?"
"I think so," she sighed. "Just nervous."
"You look amazing," he said, kissing her on the cheek.
"So do you," she smiled. "I'm so proud of you."
"You haven't done so badly yourself," he grinned at her. They stood that way for a while, Xander holding her around the middle.
"Xander?" she said softly.
"Yeah?"
"If...If things go wrong," she whispered. "I just want you to know...I've never been so happy."
"Me too Buff," he said. "Me too."
She turned in his grasp, and stared at him with tears in her eyes. "I really do love you, you know."
"I really love me too," he grinned. She smacked his chest. He looked down at her seriously, "I love you forever, Buffy Summers."
She wiped a tear away and kissed him again.
Faith poked her head into the room, "You guys ready?
Buffy nodded, "Let's do this."
The Mayor smiled happily at the crowd.
"Today is about change," he continued. "Graduation doesn't just mean your circumstances change, it means you do. You Ascend. To a higher level. Nothing will ever be the same."
A shadow fell across the Mayor's face, and he seemed to stagger. "And so...as we look back on..." He grunted, and clutched the podium. "On the events that have led us to this day. We...We must all..."
He screamed in pain and stared up at the sky. An inky black circle was rapidly covering the sun.
"It has begun," he said in amazement. "My destiny! It's a little sooner than expected; I had this whole section on civic pride. But I guess...we'll just skip to the big finish!"
He groaned and his face seemed to split open. He began to swell, his body growing taller and longer, thicker and more grotesque. His head transformed into a giant snake's head, with clawed mandibles covering his gaping jaws.
Parents were screaming and fleeing in random directions. Xander and Buffy stood up at opposite ends of the audience. Faith nodded and turned to the other students.
"Now!" she screamed, and ripped off her robes. She was decked out with every weapon she could get her heads on. She was all dark leather and bad attitude.
The other students whipped off their robes, revealing an assortment of weapons that would have been frightening, assuming you weren't already scared to death by the gigantic snake demon.
A large gang of vampires poured up the street, cracking their knuckles and ready for what they thought was an easy slaughter.
"Archers!" Faith called. A line of students clambered to the forefront, made up of the school archery team. "Kill the fuckers!"
The arrows let fly, and the vampires began to dust.
Xander and Buffy hacked and slashed at the Mayor's ever-growing form, their heavy broadswords only barely capable of piercing his thickening hide. The Mayor snapped his jaws down and Xander just barely rolled out of the way in time. Buffy jumped forward and shoved her sword up against the Mayor's jaw. He roared and tried to swipe at her.
"Hey!" she yelled. "Remember me! My twin took something of yours!" She stabbed him again, and he roared. Then she leaped off the dais and ran for the school. The Mayor slithered after her, blind with the incredible feeling of power flowing through him. He never realized that she was moving far slower than she was capable of.
Buffy led him through hallway after hallway, twisting the Mayor through the school like a maze. She dove through doors as walls crumbled around her from the destructive power of the Mayor. She kicked open the library doors and raced through the outer doors, smashing them open with her shoulder. The Mayor entered right after her, but paused when he noticed the lack of books.
Instead, the library seemed filled with sacks of fertilizer and drums of...diesel fuel?
"Well gosh," he said.
The school exploded.
"I wish we didn't have to leave her here," Xander said.
"We have to," Buffy said. She almost wished she hadn't convinced her mother to leave town until after the Ascension, at least then someone would stay with Faith.
"I know," he sighed. He adjusted his robes.
"This will work," she told him.
"I hope so."
She wrapped her arms around him in a crushing hug.
"Xander?"
"Yeah?"
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "If something happens..."
"Nothing will happen. We're going to win. You're going to beat him."
Xander seemed so sure. It was another thing she realized she loved about him.
"If it does. I just wanted...Just wanted to..." She felt the tears come, and buried her face in his chest.
He held her gently, and cursed himself for not saying the words that begged to be said.
The Mayor smiled happily at the crowd.
"Today is about change," he continued. "Graduation doesn't just mean your circumstances change, it means you do. You Ascend. To a higher level. Nothing will ever be the same."
A shadow fell across the Mayor's face, and he seemed to stagger. "And so...as we look back on..." He grunted, and clutched the podium. "On the events that have led us to this day. We...We must all..."
He screamed in pain and stared up at the sky. An inky black circle was rapidly covering the sun.
"It has begun," he said in amazement. "My destiny! It's a little sooner than expected; I had this whole section on civic pride. But I guess...we'll just skip to the big finish!"
He groaned and his face seemed to split open. He began to swell, his body growing taller and longer, thicker and more grotesque. His head transformed into a giant snake's head, with clawed mandibles covering his gaping jaws.
Parents were screaming and fleeing in random directions. Buffy stood, her heart racing. This was it. It was a hell of a long shot. She pulled off her robes, but she wore her normal patrol clothes beneath it. She would need all the maneuverability she could get.
"Now!" she shouted. The entire graduating class of Sunnydale High School tore off their robes. They were all outfitted with a wide assortment of weapons, and weren't prepared to go down without a fight.
Xander watched Buffy for only a moment before he turned to the oncoming throng of vampires. He would have to trust in her abilities. She would do it. She had to.
"Good luck!" Willow called to Buffy as she jumped up to the podium.
Xander tensed. "Ready!" he called. "Aim! Fire!"
The arrows found their marks, and several vampires were dusted immediately. The charge kept coming, and there was no time to reload.
"Hand to hand!" he yelled, drawing his own sword. Most of the students followed his lead, although some shakily. He looked to Jonathon, who had helped Xander plan the defensive formations weeks ago, after Xander had returned from the alternate reality. He had been working on his own crude defenses on the computers when Jonathon casually pointed out a few flaws in the formations. Soon he had told Jonathon the whole plan, and the smaller boy had been crucial in planning this battle.
"If it's got fangs, it's dust!" Xander yelled. The students all cheered with his battle cry, and they rushed against the wave of vampires.
"Flames!" Oz called, and his troops circled around the hilly side of the stairs, pouring fire against the vampires with homemade flamethrowers. The vampires screamed in horror and confusion, finding their carefully planned attack rapidly degenerating into their own slaughter.
Xander cut his sword into a vampire's gut, swinging it around for a killing stroke and beheading the undead creature. He called for Larry and Jacob to strengthen the line and back up Jonathon, and then slammed his shoulder into another vampire.
Angel was cutting a swath of destruction through the vampires, fighting with the destructive force of a man who had virtually nothing holding him back. He slammed his stake into another chest and almost ripped off another's head with a vicious backhanded blow.
Giles and Willow kept up the crossbow fire from the edges, Giles switching to the rapier he preferred when the vampires closed in on them. He dusted three in quick succession with the kind of smooth grace that came only from hours of practice.
Wesley tried to stick his sword into a vampire's back, but was knocked from his feet by a falling student. Afterwards he clutched at his leg and held his arm out for help as students swarmed around him.
Xander took a moment to stare out at the battle. They were winning! Casualties were lower than he could have imagined, and the vampires' numbers were dwindling. He turned to attack again, but a fist slammed into his face. He fell back into the claws of another vampire, and screamed with the deep scratches it left on his back. He collapsed forward to his hands and knees, his vision blurring and his back burning with pain. The vampire grinned and raised his elbow to smash Xander's skull in.
A heavy black boot slammed into the vampire's face, knocking him back. An instant later a sword had bit through his neck and he was dust.
Faith grinned and threw a punch into the other's face, cutting him down as he reeled from the blow. She held out her hand, and Xander took it, wincing as he rose to his feet.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey buddy," she grinned. He grinned back at her, and then they both dove back into the fight.
A moment later, the school exploded. The fighting paused as everyone stared up at the huge explosion. Xander's eyes searched frantically, and he felt relief surge into him as he spotted Buffy racing away from the school.
The rest of the battle went smoothly, as far as any battle can go. They lost no more than six students, and by the time the police showed up the vampires were all dust.
Xander stood in front of the ambulance, his shirt off and heavy bandages wrapped around the deep scratches on his back. The EMT said he might need stitches, but he wasn't prepared to go to the hospital yet. Faith's own stitches had popped during the fighting, and she was currently cursing at one of the paramedics that she didn't need him pawing at her stomach. Xander gave her a concerned look, and she sighed before relenting.
"Hey," Buffy said as she tiredly walked up to him.
"Buffy," he smiled happily. "We made it."
She grinned through her exhaustion. "I'm tired."
"Me too," he said.
"Hey! Watch it fuckface!" Faith yelled from inside the ambulance. There was a heavy thumping sound.
"She seems better," Buffy grinned.
"How about you? All your Buffy pieces still attached?"
She made a show of patting herself down, "All pieces present and accounted for."
"Good," he said.
Willow, Giles, Cordelia and Oz soon joined them, and Xander waved Jonathon over as well.
"Well," Giles said when they were all assembled. "I suppose someone should say a few words."
"Cranky horse exhalation," Xander said. Willow clapped politely, and he bowed slightly at her, grinning.
"In all seriousness," Giles said. "You should all be very proud of yourselves. The day is won, and we are all of us together."
Buffy smiled softly, remembering the image of Angel as he turned and walked slowly away into the mist. Almost all of them.
"So what's next?" Willow asked.
"Sleep," Buffy said.
"Food," Xander said.
"Ow!" Faith yelled from inside the ambulance.
"Was that Faith?" Giles asked.
"Oh yeah," Xander said. "She came by to help out. Kept me from getting an elbow to the brain.
"That's wonderful," Giles said happily.
"I like to think so," Xander said.
"Just think about this for a second," Oz said thoughtfully. "We survived."
"It was a hell of a battle," Buffy agreed.
"Not that battle. High School."
They were all silent. Except for Xander's stomach.
"What?" he said defensively as they all gave him odd looks. "I got attacked by demons before dawn and had an epic battle scheduled for this afternoon. I haven't eaten since yesterday!
Buffy kissed Xander passionately as she ground against him on the couch. People laughed and danced all around them, but they were oblivious to the crowd. Faith easily maneuvered through the mass of people and slid next to them. Buffy relaxed onto Xander's lap and leaned over to kiss Faith.
"Hey baby," Buffy grinned. She was feeling great. They had won, and they were all together.
"I'm surprised you two are coming up for air," Faith smirked. Buffy kissed her again, longer this time. When she pulled away, Faith was breathless.
"Thank you for surviving," Buffy said.
"Anything for you, Buffy," Faith grinned.
"In that case," Buffy said as she began unbuttoning her pants. "I think you should suck Xander's cock while he eats my pussy."
Faith grinned and slid off the couch, crawling between Xander's legs. She unbuckled his pants and pulled out his massive dick. Buffy scooted up so she was standing over Xander's face. He grinned as her hot pussy descended on his face, and the warm tongue began to work on his cock.
Life was good.
Cordelia slow-danced with Jonathon, enjoying the sweet thoughts that flowed from his mind. He was looking very good, and she should know, since she had manufactured his makeover. His nervous hands held her softly as they moved, and she was glad he was enjoying this so much.
Willow and Oz were dancing as well, moving parallel to Cordelia and Jonathon. Cordelia smiled at them both as they passed, and heard the fleeting thought.
*I wonder what those lips would feel like on mine,*Willow mused before shaking her head slightly. Cordelia grinned, and stepped from Jonathon's grasp.
"Excuse me a second," she said to him, and moved over to Oz and Willow. She tapped Willow on the shoulder. The redhead looked up, a little surprised.
"Cordelia? Wha-UMF!" Cordelia planted her lips on Willow's. She slowly kissed the surprised witch, while Oz stared on in amazement. Cordelia's tongue slid deftly against Willow's lips, and soon the two were making out in the middle of the dance floor, the eyes of almost everyone on them. Willow moaned softly, and Cordelia smiled as she pulled away.
"That's how it feels," Cordelia whispered in her ear. Then she turned away, remarking to Oz, "Think about it..."
Oz stared at her as she slipped back into Jonathon's arms. He would think about it. A lot. He turned back to Willow. Her lips were pursed like she was afraid to move them.
"Cordelia just kissed me," Willow breathed.
"She did," Oz said.
"Everyone's staring at me."
"It was very beautiful," Oz said truthfully. He slid his hand into hers, and kissed her still-tingling lips. She melted against him.
After they slowly began to dance again, Willow whispered in his ear. "I think I liked it."
He leaned forward and kissed her, slow and passionately. "Still like that too?"
She nodded breathlessly. He grinned wryly and raised an eyebrow, "Cool."
It was cool.
Xander pressed up against Buffy, and she gasped lustfully as his hands moved against her firm breasts. She groaned softly and pulled him closer to her. Their bodies ground slowly together against the wall, the beat of the music and the heat of their flesh driving them wild.
"Oh hi Buffy," Jonathon said. Buffy groaned and felt Xander's hands knead her flesh as she opened her eyes.
"Oh!" she gasped. "Hi!"
Xander kissed her neck, and began to undo his pants with one hand. His other slid underneath Buffy's skirt, rubbing at her bare pussy.
"Nice to...oh...See you!" Buffy cried.
"Pretty crazy graduation, huh?" He said conversationally. Buffy whimpered as she felt Xander's hard cock press against her.
"It was...SO GOOD!"
"It was?"
"No," she gasped. "It was - yes - pretty crazy." She groaned. Xander was driving her absolutely insane with this.
"Hey," Faith said, tapping Jonathon on the shoulder. "You wanna dance?"
Jonathon stared at the dark haired beauty, at a loss for words. He nodded slowly.
"Sweet," Faith grinned, and dragged the boy away. Buffy shut her eyes in ecstasy as Xander began to plunge into her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed hotly into his ear.
"Remind me to do whatever Faith wants later," Buffy said. "She rocks."
He grinned at her, kissing her neck. "Just so long as you know what Faith wants."
"What?" she asked, moaning loudly as he thrust inside of her.
"She wants us both to fuck you. One in front," he grunted. "And one in back."
Buffy clutched him to her and kissed him deeply as they began fucking in earnest. Soon she was screaming his name over the pounding music as he came deep inside of her.
"Well," she said as they sank down to the couch. "I did say whatever she wants."
"You're going to be the death of me, Buffy Summers," he groaned and kissed her again.
"That's OK," she said. "Just as long as I get to be your life first."
"Deal," he said. They kissed, and wondered at what the future would bring them.
"This shit is tight," Faith said, woozily showing him the little bottle of prescription painkillers. "I'm feelin' hella good."
"I'm so glad," Xander muttered. His back felt like it was on fire, and the painkillers they had given him did not seem to affect him nearly as much as Faith. Of course, Faith had taken a few more than directed. To make up for her Slayer metabolism. Sure.
"So Xand-ur," Faith drawled, grinning at him. "What are we going to do now?"
"Go home, sleep, dream about destroying that deathtrap of a school, and smile"
"Sounds good, Bud-dee," she giggled. "My good buddy Xander. Ten four good buddy!"
"You can't possibly be that whacked out on pills," Xander grinned.
"Why not?" She asked. "Shit's good, you know? Got me a kick-ass apartment in my name, the evil dick who gave it to me just got his ass blowed up, and me and my buddy are hangin' out in the ER."
"The Mayor gave you your apartment?"
"Yup. Started working for him, but then I was like 'No way Jose! I ain't killin' nobody for you.' And he was maaaaaaad."
Xander nodded, finally understanding. "That's why he sent the demon hit squad after you."
She pointed at his nose. "A-yup."
She sighed and rubbed her face.
"I think I might go to summer school," Faith said, a little more seriously, although she still slurred quite a bit.
"That's a good idea," he said.
"What about you? What are you going to do now that you're done with school?"
"I was thinking about going on a road trip. But I dunno if that's in the cards since I'll probably owe the hospital my kidney just to pay for the stitches. Then I'll have to pay them my liver just to pay for the operation to pay for the kidney, and before you know it I'll be scattered all over the world."
OK, maybe the pills were affecting him a little.
"Gotta watch out for that," Faith agreed. "Fuckin' doctors."
She flipped the bird to a man in a white coat that walked by. Xander started giggling.
Buffy came up to them while they were both giggling in a drug-induced euphoria.
"What's so funny?" Buffy asked. Faith showed her her middle finger in answer. Xander started laughing again.
"Gee thanks," Buffy said. "Look, Giles is going to pay for your treatment, OK?"
"The G-Man? Giles Von Watcher the Third? Gi to the Uls? The Notorious G I L?"
"Giles," Faith snorted. "He's my buddy."
"I'm assuming you two were given some kind of medication and aren't just suffering from degenerating brain syndrome," Buffy sighed.
"They gave me these little blue ones," Faith said proudly. "I took six."
"I took one," Xander mumbled.
"You took six Faith?"
"Hey it's cool," Faith said. She glanced around suspiciously, and then whispered, "I'm a Slayer, yo."
"Oh Lord," Buffy groaned. "OK, well I guess you guys are coming home with me then. There's no way I'm letting you roam around the town while you're all hopped up on the juice."
"I'm perfectly fine," Xander said. "Fine. Fi-un. Wow. That's a weird word. Fine. Fine fine fine! Heh, it sounds like a bell. Fine fine fine fine fine!"
"Come on," Buffy said, grabbing them both by the arms and pulling them to their feet. Xander swayed slightly and she held him tightly to keep him steady.
"Giles!" Buffy called across the emergency room. "We have to take them home, they're all loopy from pills."
Giles slipped his glasses on as he walked up to her, "Oh yes, I see."
"They can stay at my house until they calm down a little," Buffy told him. He nodded and helped her lead them to the car.
"Hey Buffy?" Faith asked as she stared out the window at the amazing scenery.
"What?"
"Are you my buddy?"
"Sure Faith."
"Sweet."
Xander groaned and rolled over. Unfortunately, there was nothing to roll over onto, and instead he rolled off of the couch and fell on the floor.
"Ow," he said. Then his back started aching. "And ow again."
He blinked and looked around. He was in Buffy's living room. He had apparently fallen asleep on her couch, and across from him in a recliner was Faith, snoring softly.
"Oh, are you OK?" Buffy asked. "I heard the thump."
"Yeah," Xander said. He groaned and got to his feet. "I feel awful."
"If it's any consolation, you look awful too," Buffy grinned.
"Oh thank you," he said. "Hey uh, you have anything to eat?"
"Yeah, there's some leftover pizza from the other night."
He winced slightly and followed her into the kitchen. She threw a few slices into the microwave and they sat at the table waiting for them to heat.
"How are you doing?" Xander asked after a moment's silence.
"Good," she said. "Still kind of dazed though."
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
The microwave beeped and she got their pizzas. They ate slowly. She watched him curiously, and found herself staring at the tattoo on his bare shoulder. He wore no shirt over his bandages, which were almost a shirt themselves.
"I like it," she said, gesturing to his shoulder. He felt it self-consciously.
"Never thought I'd have a tattoo," Xander said.
"Yeah me neither. I mean...Again."
"Oh yeah, I forgot about Ethan," Xander said. The chaos mage had tattooed Buffy with the mark of a demon a little over a year ago. She'd had it removed by laser.
"It looks good though," she said. It reminded her of her own tattoo, which made her think of the things she learned about herself in that alternate reality.
"Does yours ever kind of get hot and pulse a little?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said. "Sometimes. They told me that it might act as kind of an absorption thing for the bad hellmouthy vibes."
"Yeah, they told me that too."
They both looked down at their food.
"Buffy?" Her eyes rose to look into his. "In the universe you went to...There was curse, right?"
Buffy's eyes widened. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk about this.
"Yeah," she said warily.
"Did um...Did it mean that I...That I had to do things? To you?"
She paled when she realized what he meant.
"No," she whispered. "I...I had to do them...To you."
He blinked in astonishment. Could they be the same "thing?"
"W-What kind of things?"
Buffy swallowed. "Sexual things."
"Mine too," he admitted quietly.
"It was really weird," Buffy said.
"Yeah," Xander said. "Really weird."
They said nothing for a few minutes. Finally, Xander sighed and looked her in the face.
"Buffy," he said seriously. "When I was there, I talked to you. To the you that was there. I told her some things. She...She said I should tell them to you too."
Buffy stared at his eyes. They were filled with worry, hope, and fear.
"I...I was waiting until the right time. But I was also afraid. Afraid that if I told you these things, that maybe we wouldn't - couldn't be friends anymore."
"What is it Xander?"
He licked his lips and ran his fingers through his hair.
"I'm in love with you," he said simply.
She smiled softly at him.
"I know," she said.
"You what?"
"I know, Xander. You told me. The other you."
"Oh," was all he said.
"Xander? In the other universe...Did I love you?"
He closed his eyes, remembering the soft feel of her skin underneath his fingers. The way she kissed him. The way she moaned his name.
"Yes," he breathed.
"In my universe...I loved you too."
"Buffy I..."
"You're always there for me Xander. Ever since I came to Sunnydale, Xander is always there to help me, to save me, to make me laugh or to tell me when I'm being stupid.
"The very first day of school you pulled me out of the tunnels. The first day we met."
He nodded. He remembered the day. Buffy slid out of her chair and moved over to him. She held his hand in hers and knelt in front of him. He shook his head and stood up, pulling her to her feet. He put a hand on her upper arm.
"You're always there," she whispered. "And I know...I know you'll never leave."
"Never."
"Show me," she said.
He leaned forward, cupping her face with his hands as he kissed her for the first time. It was soft and slow, but confident and powerful at the same time. He held her face gently and kissed her with every ounce of feeling he possessed. Her eyes closed slowly and she pressed back against him softly, her hands covering his on her face. After a long time, he pulled back slightly. She held his hands to her.
She smiled, and his world was perfect.
Everything went white.
Three couples stood in a fog. Darkness swirled around them, and the air was chilled. They all stared around in bewilderment.
Three Xander Harrises and three Buffy Summerses stood as couples, forming a triangle.
"Uh, hi," the Xanders all said. Two looked identical, although one was bandaged with a large tattoo on his shoulder, and the third looked like the perfectly optimized version of the others.
"Weird," the Buffys said. Two looked identical. The third looked like the perfectly optimized version of the others.
"You're me from Universe Awesome," Tattoo-Xander said. "So why do I think that makes you the me from the universe Buffy went to?"
"I call it Universe Buffy," that Xander said. He looked at the muscular version of himself. "Universe Awesome?"
Big Xander grinned. "If you were there, you'd know why I called it that."
"So I guess in your universe the curse hit you, and not me?" Little Buffy asked Big Xander.
"Yeah," he replied. "You're from another universe too?"
"She nodded."
Buffy shook her head, "This is getting way confusing."
"Tell me about it," her twin said, wrapping an arm around Big Xander protectively, and a little possessively.
"Anyone know why we're here?" Little Buffy asked. They all shook their heads.
"Anyone know where here is?" Big Xander asked. Again, none of them knew.
*APOLOGIES*
"Ack!" the three Xanders all said, covering their ears. The three Buffys all winced as well.
"What the hell was that?" the Buffy who held Big Xander yelled.
*THAT WHICH HAS BROUGHT YOU HERE* the thought echoed in their minds.
"Uh, and where exactly is here?" The Xander next to Little Buffy asked.
*THE EMBODIMENT OF THAT WHICH IS YOUR CONNECTION*
"Our connection?" asked the Buffy beside Tattoo Xander.
*THIS PLACE EXISTS AS A CONSTANT OF ALL EXISTENCE. IT IS THE EMBODIMENT OF YOUR CONNECTION*
"Anyone following that?" Tattoo Xander asked.
"I think so," Big Xander and Little Buffy said together. They exchanged odd looks.
"Feel free to fill in us lesser mortals," Tattoo Xander said.
"After you," Big Xander said to Little Buffy.
"Why thank you," she smiled. The Xander next to her wasn't sure if he should be jealous or not.
"I think it's saying that this place is a universal, I'm sorry, make that multiversal constant. It is a place that exists always and never, and it is the embodiment of the connection between all Xanders and all Buffys"
"Kind of empty, isn't it?" Tattoo Xander asked suspiciously.
*OUTWARD APPPEARANCES HAVE BEEN FABRICATED FOR YOUR BENEFIT*
"You couldn't fabricate a few chairs?" the Buffy holding Big Xander asked. Six identical chairs formed out of the mist. "Cool!"
They all sat down, staring around at the nothing that surrounded them.
"So why are we here?" the Xander next to Little Buffy asked.
*CONGRATULATIONS. EXPLANATIONS*
"Explanations would certainly be nice," the Buffy next to Tattoo Xander said.
Two forms shimmered from the mist. Xander and Buffy stood there, completely nude.
"Oh great, more of us," Tattoo Xander groaned.
"In times past and times yet to come, there has been evil. Unyielding and everlasting, it has been a constant. Growing yet never aging, waning yet never dying. A constant of all existence," the nude Xander said in a hollow voice.
"In times past and times yet to come, there has been love. Unyielding and everlasting, it has been a constant. Growing yet never aging, waning yet never dying. A constant of all existence," the nude Buffy intoned.
"In an infinity of realities, there are pillars," Nude Xander said. "Existences rise and fall from these, and the greater works of the multiverse are affected by the outcomes of events within."
"Such a reality is known as PRIME," Nude Buffy said. "Left unaltered, it is a victory for evil. The love of the two is unable to flourish. A minor victory leads towards ultimate defeat."
"In an infinity of realities, there are two. Many upon many, they are bound in all ways. We are of those two."
"An infinity of love sought to counter an infinity of hate. A seed was sent to two adjacent realities. The balance of love is altered in both, so that the PRIME may find truth. Thus, is created the Lover's Reciprocation," Nude Buffy said.
"Forged by the constant of this place, the seed is empowered by the love of the two. As grows the constant, so grows the power of the Lover's Reciprocation."
"Wait a second," the Xander next to Little Buffy said. "You're saying that...What... My love for Buffy and her love for me somehow created the curse in the first place?"
"This is accurate enough," Nude Xander said. "The seed is forged of the constant."
"In one reality, the constant is embodied towards baser instincts and hidden desires. In another, baser desires and hidden instincts. In both, the strengthening of the constant cycles, and is ever stronger."
"The two of PRIME are extracted by the outcome of the seeds," Nude Xander said.
"The motion detectors," Big Xander whispered. "I created the mandala via the intellect I got from the curse."
"Me too," Little Buffy said in awe.
"The one-half of two in either reality strengthens the constant in both, but weakens in PRIME. However, upon return to PRIME, the constant is re-forged," Nude Buffy said.
"The evil grows and yet the constant does as well. The love of the two has flared, and the result will be ultimate defeat for the evil. PRIME has been fortified."
The nude Xander and Buffy stood silent.
"I am way confused," the Buffy next to Big Xander said.
"Ditto," said the Xander next to Little Buffy.
"I think they're saying that...The curse, that everything that happened from that was...For them," Big Xander pointed at Tattoo Xander and Buffy.
"For us?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah," Little Buffy said. "Apparently this big evil thing would have been real trouble otherwise."
Xander and Buffy stared at each other. She could still feel the beautiful kiss he had given her before they had found themselves here.
"Why us?" she asked.
"Congratulations Buffy," Big Xander grinned. "You're finally in an honest to god destined relationship."
Buffy blinked. Suddenly Little Buffy smacked herself in the head.
"Oh! I'm so stupid!"
"What?" the Xander next to her asked.
"Lover's Reciprocation! It's telling you right there! It would never have worked if we hadn't already loved each other."
All six of them, well, eight if you counted the naked ones, were silent.
"This is really freaky," the Buffy next to Big Xander said.
"So what are we doing here? Just so the big dark nothing place that's supposedly the embodiment of our love can tell us why it decided to curse two versions of ourselves in different universes?" Tattoo Xander asked.
*EXPLANATION. CONGRATULATIONS.*
"I think," Buffy said. "That its just here to congratulate us all on...Being together."
"The constant is fortified," Nude Xander suddenly said.
"The pillar is protected," Nude Buffy said.
"Seems like an awful lot of work to get me and Buffy together," Tattoo Xander said. Then he looked into her eyes. "Still, you won't hear me complaining."
"Me neither," repeated five voices.
Xander and Buffy kissed. It was perfect.
The world went white.