1630 Revello Drive
Master Bedroom
The bedroom door flew open.
"Mmm…" Buffy moaned into Xander's mouth as they staggered through the door into the bedroom.
They hadn't made very good time, with all the breaks they took to lean against cars and broken light poles to make out. They set off car alarms that were randomly left in the middle of the street as the town made its grand escape. The need for each other was growing nearly unbearable.
Xander kicked the door closed behind them, his hands busy caressing her cheeks before running through her hair. Buffy's own hands were occupied with the task of unbuttoning his shirt before stroking his nicely muscled chest and abs.
When the need to breathe grew persistent, they pulled apart. Xander shrugged out of his shirt, letting it fall to the floor while Buffy pulled her own shirt over her head and quickly discarded it. Biting her bottom lip in that unconsciously incredibly sexy look, which always made Xander's knees jello. She reached back to unclasp her bra and released her breasts from their confines.
After a second's glance, Xander closed the small distance between them and palmed both her breasts. Buffy moaned and moved her hands around the back of his neck, lightly scratching his skin. In an instant, they were on the bed, Buffy's small body pinned beneath Xander's as they kissed one another passionately.
Xander reached a hand between them and unfastened the front of her pants. Buffy arched her back, pulling her pants down her thighs. He then, quickly tugged his pants down past his hips, freeing himself. He slid a finger inside her, mercilessly teasing Buffy, making her beg before he gripped his erection and led it to her opening, sliding inside her.
Xander pounded inside her, using the rough pads of his thumbs to tease her hardened nipples. There was a burning desire inside of him to mark his territory, especially after Buffy's run-in with Angel.
Buffy gasped as waves of pleasure crashed through her, her hips ceaselessly raising to meet his thrusts. Feeling himself nearing climax, Xander moved his hand between their bodies and found her nubbin, distended and begging to be touched. Massaging it with his thumb, Buffy cried out his name as her body was wracked with pleasure. He let himself go, pumping furiously as he spilt his seed deep inside her.
Spent, Xander collapsed on top of her as the both of them panted, taking a few moments to calm down.
"God, that was just what we needed," Buffy said watching Xander as he rolled off of her.
Xander wrapped his arm under her shoulders, hugging her to his body, "Yeah," he kissed the top of her head, smiling. He felt the urge to climb to the rooftop and pound his chest. But instead, Xander buried his nose in her hair and breathed in her fragrant scent.
Hours Later
Buffy woke with a sudden jolt. She was still nestled in Xander's arms. She looked at him and ran the backs of her fingers down the side of his rough cheek.
Carefully, Buffy reached down over the edge of the bed picking up Xander's discarded flannel shirt and wrapped it around her naked body. She got to her feet and went to the window.
A cool breeze gave her a slight chill. Drawn to the light of the moon, illuminating in the thickness of the black sky, Buffy held her arms around herself, looking out to the quiet and abandoned neighbourhood.
From the black shadows to Buffy's left, Caleb stepped up behind Buffy wearing a sinister smile on his face.
Buffy felt its presence immediately but did not turn to acknowledge it.
"Pretty, ain't it?" The First wearing Caleb's body came into view.
"You're not him." Buffy kept her eyes out for the neighbourhood.
"No," the First smiled, "you killed him. Right and proper. Terrible loss. This man was my good right arm—'Course, it doesn't pain me too much. Don't need an arm—got an army." The ghost grinned as it taunted.
With a small unthreatened smile, Buffy raised a manicured brow and faced the First, "An army of vampires? How will I be able to fight a bunch of vampires?" The Slayer mocked. "Oh, wait, I think I've been killing those parasites for years now."
"Everyday our numbers swell. But then, you do have an army of your own. Some thirty-odd-pimply-faced girls—who don't know the pointy end of a stake. Maybe I should call this off." The First smiled.
Buffy tilted her head to the side sizing up the First for a moment then said, "Have you ever considered giving yourself a cool name? I mean, 'the First' doesn't have the same ring to it as 'the Taunter' or—"
"—I will overrun this Earth." The Evil apparition said.
"I've heard that line so many times, maybe one of these days… I'll actually fall for it."
Moving around the Slayer like a predator about to take its prey, The First faced Buffy, "I'm well aware of all the empty threats you've ever received these past seven years. When my army outnumbers the humans on this Earth, the scales will tip and I will be made flesh. You're going to survive long enough to see that happen."
With a confident smirk, Buffy crossed her arms, "Talk on. I'm not afraid of you."
The First morphed into Buffy's ghost, "Then why aren't asleep in your lover's arms?" Its eyes went to Xander's sleeping form then back to Buffy, "He can't help you—despite my feeble attempts to break you and your Prince apart… Damn, I was so close." The First stepped closer to the Slayer, "Faith, your friends, your lover-boy—certainly not your little 'wanna-slay brigade'—None of those girlies will ever know the power you possess unless you're dead. You know the drill. Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl…" the First paused with a growing smile, "… Gee, there's that word again… What you are… How you'll die—Alone."
Buffy glared at the First as a haze of sudden realisation dawned on her.
"Where's your snappy comeback?"
"You're right," Buffy said with a quiet whispering voice.
"Hm, not your best—"
"—Buf?" Xander woke up hearing her voice. He sat up slightly to see her standing alone at the window.
Buffy looked back to the First but it vanished.
"What's wrong?" Xander asked with concern.
Buffy shook her head and looked at him, as an outlandish idea washed over her "Nothing—something…" she had Xander's complete attention. "I just realised something… Something that's never occurred to me before…" a small, faint smile tugged at her lips, "We're gonna win."
"That's an opium of optimism," Xander sat up against the backboard of the bed.
"I think I have an idea," Buffy said, looking at him. "But we're going to need the double-fudge-mint-chip ice cream that's in the freezer."
"Is that apart of the idea?" Xander asked, getting out of the bed to put back on his jeans.
Buffy frowned, "No, um, I just want it."
Xander nodded and fastened the button of the jeans and moved around the bed kissing her mouth. "Okay, I'll go get the ice cream then you tell me this grand idea."
"Plan." Buffy nodded in agreement.
Xander arrived back to the bedroom with a carton of ice cream in his hand. The house was quiet as everyone slept they were the only two awake.
He entered the bedroom gently closing the door behind him and placed the carton on the nightstand. He tossed his eye around the dark room wondering where Buffy had gone.
He felt a sense of relief when he heard the toilet flush and Buffy step out of the bathroom, reentering the bedroom. His gaze ran over her feeling his body awaken taking in the way his flannel shirt swallowed her slim toned body, exposing her tanned legs.
Xander kicked off of his pants, then his t-shirt, and jumped back into the bed. He reached over for the ice cream carton and opened the lid. Buffy climbed onto the bed and sat in front of him taking the second spoon from his hand digging into the ice cream.
"The First, Caleb… all of them have been talking at me about how weak we are and how I'm always alone…" Buffy dipped her spoon back into the ice cream.
Xander nodded swallowing the ice cream, "Yeah, the usual pillow talk... So, what were you thinking?"
"What if it wasn't just me… or Faith? What if it was all of us?" Buffy caught Xander's strange look as he tried to follow along. "What if there was a way to break the tradition… to break the Slayer prophecy… What if I was able to make every one of the Potential Slayers, Slayers. The fight would be fair—maybe even slanted for our side. Willow and Tara could use the power of the scythe to draw its energy to do this."
Buffy paused and looked at him biting her bottom lip. "What do you think?" She tried to read his thoughts through his eyes, but his expression remained undetectable.
Xander impaled the ice cream with his spoon, he leaned over cupping his hands around her face and kissed her mouth. "Just crazy enough to work." He told her.
"That's not the end of the plan," Buffy revealed.
"There's more?" Xander sat back stuffing his mouth with ice cream, watching as Buffy got off of the bed and dug into her jeans pocket for the amulet Angel had given her along with the folder.
"What is it?" Xander asked, holding the necklace in his hand. "Baby, if this is the sort of jewellery you wanted," he eyed her strangely, "you should've told me, 'cause I would've gotten it for you…"
"No, this is something Angel gave me—a tool to help defeat the First. I don't know much about it, that's what's in the folder and besides, I have absolutely nothing that would ever go with this and if you ever bought this for me, consider the wedding off." She teased.
Xander sat back, "Okay then... How can this… unfashionable amulet save the world?"
"I don't know. In the morning I need to talk to Giles, Willow, and Tara."
Reaching over to her, Xander took the amulet necklace from her hand. He then removed the ice cream carton between them placing the items on the nightstand. He turned his head back to Buffy watching her smile.
She moved to her knees and crawled back to him, straddling his lap and captured his mouth for another round.
Morning
Living Room
"…Well, what do you think?" Buffy asked, nervously wringing her fingers together as her eyes move around the room. She twisted the diamond engagement ring on her finger anxiously for a response.
The room was silent. All tried to grasp their minds around Buffy's extraordinary plan.
Immediately feeling about two feet tall, Buffy bit her bottom lip looking at Giles. "You don't think it's a good idea?" Buffy looked at Giles for his honest opinion.
Giles did not respond, he only took off his glasses deep in thought.
"It's pretty radical, B." Faith shook her head unable to fully wrap her mind around the ambitious idea.
"It's more than that, Buffy," Giles began, "what you're talking about flies in the face of everything we've ever—That every generation has ever done in the fight against Evil."
"What do you think?" Buffy asked.
Swallowing, Buffy feared Giles' disappointment. He pushed back on his glasses and lifted his eyes to the blonde Slayer and said, "Not only would it work but, I think it's bloody brilliant."
Buffy released a breath she had been holding in thankful for her former Watcher's support. "Really?—You mean that?"
Giles nodded with a small smile, "If you want my opinion—"
"—I really do."
Giles slowly nodded his head. His mind went back to the young sixteen-year-old girl that hopped into the library. This girl didn't fully comprehend all of the evils of the night nor her own self-courage. The woman she had grown into was breathtaking, with her mistakes and all, Giles felt incredibly honoured to have witnessed this growth.
"Whoa!" Willow's voice broke the tender moment between the Watcher and Slayer. "Hey! Not to poop on the party but we're," Willow gestured between herself and Tara, "are gonna be the guys that have'ta pull this off."
"Is it even possible?" Dawn asked.
Giles nodded, "I believe it is. If what Buffy has told us about this weapon is true."
Willow swallowed with nervous fear, immediately feeling the mounting pressure to perform. "Not to careen back to the 'us' subject, but…" Tara wrapped her hand around Willow's, "This is beyond anything I've—we've ever done before. This is a total loss of control—and not in a nice, wholesome—"
"—We can do it." Tara interrupted Willow's nervous rambles and looked at Buffy.
Buffy nodded looking at the couple, "I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you guys could do it."
We can do this. I'm a badass Wicca, I can totally do this. Willow inwardly, determined though she was terrified and the pressure on her shoulders weighed heavily.
There was one more seal of approval Buffy needed. Her eyes shifted to the back of the living room, catching Xander's eye that was fixed on her.
Xander slowly smirked falling in love with her all over again. His mind went back to the first time he ever spoke to Buffy Summers. It was in the hallway outside the library. He remembered feeling terrified like a nervous-wreck struggling to say two words to the beautiful girl. Xander couldn't believe the time that passed since now and then. The heartache both of them endured, the challenges they've faced, and somehow after all of that, they found each other.
He was going to marry this woman, as soon as the battle was over, he was going to drag her to the nearest chapel and make her his wife.
Leaning against the wall, Xander shook his head imaging his fiancée in a white dress walking towards him. Xander felt his heart flutter, "That's my girl… always doing the crazy thing."
Another dose of relief washed over Buffy and she turned her attention back to the room, "I hate being here. I hate you have to be here, too. I hate that there's Evil and that it's growing. I hate that I was chosen to fight it. I wish, a whole lot of the time I hadn't been. I know a lot of you wish, I hadn't been either." Her eyes moved around the serious faces of the Potential Slayers. "But this isn't about wishes. This is about choices. I never had one," Buffy said with a shrug. "I was chosen. And I accept that. I'm not asking you to accept anything. I'm asking you to make a choice."
Buffy looked at Xander feeling his support as she continued, "I believe we can beat this Evil. Not when it comes, not after its army is ready—but now." She paused feeling the rooms absolute attention. "Tomorrow morning, I'm opening the seal. I'm going down into the Hellmouth and I'm going to finish this once and for all. And the First will choke on me."
"I've got strong allies: warriors, charms, sorcerers, and I'll need them all. But I'll also need you." Buffy looked at the Potentials, "Every single one of you. So now you're asking yourself, 'What makes this different? What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls getting picked off one by one?' Its true none of you has the power that Faith and I have. I think both of us would have to die for a new Slayer to be called and we can't even be sure that that girl is in this room. That's the rule," Buffy gave a short pause, "So, here's the part where you make a choice—Here and now."