~**~
-14-
~**~
"I am so not a part of having a crush on another *guy,*" Xander
fumed, pacing the apartment living room for at least the tenth time that night.
"Honey," Buffy tried to soothe him, "It's like Unity told Dawn,
she's her own person. Just because she's made up of the four of us, doesn't mean
she can't have feelings that don't originate with us."
He whirled on Willow. "This is all your fault. Your confused
sexuality has crept into my consciousness, and now I don't know what I am. But
I do know what I am. Straight. In love with girls. One girl. Buffy, let's go to
bed. I need to know I'm still functioning properly."
"Xander, it's only 6:30. We haven't even had dinner yet. We were
going to go out for Mexican," his girlfriend reminded him gently.
"Fine. I'll buy you dinner. We can even go to a movie. Then we'll
come home, and I'll screw your brains out. All guy things - guys that like
girls things - to do. Let's go." He
walked to the closet and grabbed his jacket, standing impatiently at the door.
"As long as there's not hitting over the head with clubs and
dragging by the hair involved, I'm okay with it," Buffy called to him.
Whispering to Giles, she asked, "He will get over this, won't he?"
"It was a bit disconcerting, even for me. But I believe Xander's
reaction, while a tad overblown, is not that surprising. He'll calm down with
time. I think part of the problem is him being the emotions, and lust is an
emotion. It just hit him a bit hard, especially coming so soon on the heels of
the situation with you. He's probably afraid you might question his devotion to
your relationship, which I can say unconditionally you should never do."
"I won't," she responded confidently. Striding to the man at the
front door, she took his arm. "Come on, you great big hunk of testosterone,
you. Let's go prove your manhood. I hear buying diamonds works well to
demonstrate one's macho quotient." Their voices faded down the hall.
"That *was* a bit weird, wasn't it Rupe?" Willow asked after the
couple left.
"I was quite surprised by the amount of independence Unity has
claimed from our roots," the Watcher admitted, his arm resting on the redhead's
shoulders, "Still, we are but Parts of her – she is in control when she
manifests."
"But she's us, isn't she?"
"Just as we are more than we once were because of her, she is more
than the sum of her Parts, and growing every time we combine. I actually think,
although I'd never admit this to Xander, that his new arrangement with Buffy
could be part of what has made Unity more independent of us."
She sighed, leaning back on his shoulder. "I can see why Dawn was
confused. I'm in the middle of it, and I still don't understand it all."
The Watcher smiled and deftly changed the subject. "I found some
absolutely beautiful steaks at the store tonight. What do you say we cook them
out?"
"It's kind of cool out," Willow said doubtfully.
"We'll see what we can do to stay warm," he responded, as
innocently as he could manage.
~**~
"The Key is here," Glory complained. "I just know it. Ben is being
no help whatsoever, and I'm getting tired of it."
"Glorious beauty," her sycophantic follower cooed, "Your brother
seems to think he has no need for this Key. Perhaps there is a good reason?"
"You're questioning ME?" the blonde god screamed. "He's always
been a fool! He likes these weak human creatures. He pities them. He'd be
content to stay here forever, never again to rule as we were intended." Her
voice dropped from its high register. "He'll come back with me, and we'll take
back our rightful place, if I have to force him. I want you to go to him and
tell him the time is near, and to be ready."
Bowing and scraping as he left, the minion nodded and backed out
carefully, wishing to avoid any further outbursts from his mistress.
~**~
Buffy polished off the last burrito and dug back into the basket
of chips. It had been a fairly quiet dinner, as if by ignoring the problem,
Xander could make it go away. "You better yet?" she asked him finally.
"I guess. I overreacted a little, huh?" His beer gone, he grabbed
hers and finished it.
"I know a lot of guys are kind of bugged by the gay thing, but
geez, Xan, like Giles said, it's Unity herself, not us."
"But I *felt* it, Buffy. I was all sweaty and goo-goo over that
*guy.* I know what a good looking guy looks like, and I know he was, but still…"
"Trust me, I, of all people, know how much you like girls." Buffy
grinned at him suggestively, and he smiled weakly back. "And if you're worried
'cos Unity looks like me, and you think I might be hot for him, he's the same
one I turned down the other day, remember? Nobody but you for this girl."
Seeing that raised a more genuine smile, she went on. "Did you get a load of
his colors, though? I've never seen anybody like that before." Buffy loved the
whole "emotional aura" skill that Xander was now sharing with her, and she'd
even found a few colors he hadn't noticed previously, and identified the
feelings associated with them.
"Yeah – it was weird. He seemed to have two strands of blue, and
white, and they wrapped around him. Same with red and purple, mixed. It was
odd. He's either really self-involved, or there's some other mental imbalance
going there. But I liked that he had gold going with Dawn, and she did back,
too. He really seems to genuinely like her." Xander's smile dropped again.
"Don't worry about the little strand of white he had going with
Yunni," Buffy scolded, knowing as soon as his expression changed the thought
behind it. "It was barely a thread."
"Yeah, but she had one back, too. And I could feel it – she seemed
to feel she'd found some kind of soul mate or something. I just don't like it,
Buffy."
"We form her, but we don't control her. The more she exists, the
less she'll be *us*, and the more of her will be just her."
"What if one day she decides she doesn't want to divide – she just
wants to be her all the time?" Xander left money for the check and headed out
of the restaurant, Buffy on his heels. "We just cease to exist?"
"You do the feelings, Xan. Do you think she's that kind of person?
I think she knows and loves us, too, and wouldn't do anything to hurt us.
Without us, she wouldn't have ever come into being." They had decided to patrol
tonight before going back to the apartment, and were heading towards the
cemetery.
He shook his head. "No, I guess not. She's decent. Even when she's
been angry, I think it's been more my anger than hers. She wouldn't hurt a flea
if they didn't deserve it." He sighed in resignation. "I used to want to
understand girls better - I really never thought I'd end up being one. Even
part-time."
"Trust me, in my book, you're all man." Looking helpless and
girly, batting her eyes dramatically, Buffy asked, "You do still plan to prove
it tonight, don't you?"
Xander struck a body-builder type pose, speaking in an unnaturally
deep voice. "We real men always keep our promises, and I remember promising to
make love to you until you passed out, or something of that sort."
She laughed, and took his arm as he relaxed again. "The wording's
a little off, but I'm still holding you to it. But first –"
"Vampires," he finished for her, and they headed into the shadows
together.
~**~
It was late when they got home, and Willow and Giles had already
retired for the evening. "They're home," Willow whispered unnecessarily in the
dark.
"Buffy must have patrolled this evening – good. She's been a bit
slack about that, lately." There were assorted thumps and thuds from the
adjoining room.
"In her defense, she's been distracted," Willow offered, moving
closer, as Rupert automatically put out his arm and she settled in his embrace,
resting her head on the curve of his shoulder.
A loud thud, like the sound of someone falling or being tossed
heavily onto the bed sounded, and then a vaguely animalistic roar, followed by
giggling and a loud "Shhhhh!"
"As we can only assume she will be tonight, once again," Giles
responded dryly.
They weren't ready for that yet, Willow knew, but she couldn't
help teasing. "Jealous?"
The Watcher's arm tightened around her affectionately. "Of who
he's doing, no. Of what they're doing? A little. Our day will come."
Her smile at that faded somewhat when she heard Xander's voice
from the next room cry out, "Buff – FY!" followed by a strangled moan.
Rupert relaxed his hug and snorted. "We live with a builder. Don't
you suppose he could soundproof these rooms?"
~**~
The following day, Giles took Dawn to her appointment, and Willow
and Buffy met for lunch. In the face of the inevitable teasing back and forth,
Willow admitted that she and Rupe had embraced the truth, but were moving
slowly. Buffy was happy for the two, and said as much.
"But how can you sleep there, all cuddled up together, and not
want more?" she had to ask the witch.
"I want more, trust me. But we're still at the kinda, sorta,
probably someday stage, and it's just too soon."
"Well, I hope you two don't think this whole thing to death,"
Buffy said, laughter in her voice. "I'd hate to see you still considering the
possibilities when you're both on Social Security."
"Look, I know once you and Xander decided how you felt, you wasted
no time in acting on it, but it's not our way," Willow said defensively. Still,
the wheels in her brain were turning, as she spoke. In her way, Buffy was
right. Or was it Xander? She wasn't always sure which of the two she was
talking to at any given time, anymore.
Whichever of her friends it had been, she knew they were to blame
as she stood outside the door to the Magic Box the next day, deli bag in her
hand and her heart in her throat. She and Rupe had talked, and decided that sex
should wait until they knew they were ready. But she had decided to push the
next step herself. Today she would have lunch with the man she was sure she'd
fallen in love with, and kiss him in a kinda, sorta, probably someday way.
He was sitting behind the cash register, reading something musty
smelling and probably written in an obscure language. His sandy hair was messy,
as if he'd been running his hands through it as he read. He almost never wore
his glasses anymore, but this must have been a book with fairly small print, because
they were perched on the end of his nose. He peered up just after she entered,
and smiled to see her.
Willow held up the bags. "Lunch," she explained. Turning, she
locked the door, and put up the "Back at:" sign up, after setting the clock for
12:30. An hour should be enough for lunch and a few serious smoochies, she was
sure. Turning back, she saw his quizzical gaze. "Lunch break," she grinned,
grabbing his hand and dragging him back to his office.
"We could sit at the table," he protested feebly as she set the
sandwiches out on his desk.
"I like it in here."
"Why today?" he asked around bites of ham and Swiss – his
favorite, she knew. "Amy's gone to take Dawn to her appointment, Anya's at
class, and there's no one to watch the store."
"That," she reached over and wiped a bit of mustard from the
corner of his mouth with her finger, and then licked it off, "was the whole
idea." She smiled evilly, and his eyes grew wide, before he gulped down the
rest of his sandwich in a single bite.
~**~
Willow felt wild and free. She reached up and touched her
kiss-swollen lips, and giggled. She knew she must look like a wanton hussy –
her hair in disarray and her clothing rumpled. She grinned with the realization
that she'd left Rupe looking about the same. But she hadn't felt this good in a
long time. Her mind raced and her body tingled.
Then she saw a familiar looking figure on the sidewalk across the
street, wearing blue jeans and a hospital scrub shirt. Wasn't that Ben?
Her train of thought came to a grinding halt, switched tracks and
began running in another state. Ben looked as if he were heading home. Unity
would want to know where he lived. Willow would follow Ben home.
She almost called out to him, but remembered he hadn't officially
ever met her. She'd been in the room a couple times when he'd come in to check
on Dawn during her hospital stay, but she'd never been introduced. She couldn't
very well say she'd met him while being a Part of the Unity, could she? So she
simply followed him, staying far enough behind not to be noticeable, but close
enough not to lose him.
He turned into a large, 1920's style building near the bad section
of town, and she waited a few seconds and followed him in, since it appeared to
be apartments and not a single-family residence. Relieved that she found
herself in a hallway with numbered doors, she accessed her Slayer-enhanced
hearing, and could tell he was about halfway up the stairs. She followed as
quietly as she could, and got to the top of the stairs just as he entered one
of the doors and closed it behind him.
She moved into the hallway to make note of the apartment number.
After all, they didn't even know Ben's last name, and she could search the
Internet and find out for Unity. It was the least she could do for – herself?
No, she wasn't interested in Dr. Ben personally, Unity was. Willow was quite
content with Rupe, thank you very much. For a part of herself? No – she was a
Part of Unity, not the other way around. For her friend? That description still
seemed lacking something, not quite what she was looking for, but would have to
do until the right word was created, she supposed.
While she was mulling the semantics, strange noises began to
emanate from the apartment, and she thought she heard Ben cry out. Then a
bright light flashed inside, and she could see it shining around the edges of
the door. Only a few minutes later, the door flew open, and Willow threw
herself back into a shadowy corner. Her eyes were wide as saucers when she saw
the confident blonde figure stride down the hallway, right past her and down
the stairs.
She went into mental broadcast mode. *Guys? I think we may have
trouble. I'm afraid Glory has Ben, and we'd better call Unity.*
~**~
Amy returned from taking Dawn to her therapy session and grabbing
herself some lunch to find her boss so radiant, she would bet he'd shine in the
dark.
"You must have had a good lunch," she said with some amusement.
"Looks like it agreed with you."
"Wha? Oh, yes, lunch. It was lovely." His smile broadened, which
the witch wouldn't have considered possible.
"What did you have?" she asked, making conversation.
"Something new," he responded quickly. "I think it's going to
quickly become a favorite."
Amy was going to press – after all, if it was that good, she'd
like to try it. But his face clouded over, and the whole atmosphere in the shop
changed. He turned suddenly to her, and explained. "Unity's being called. Take
care of phoning Xander and Buffy's jobs – sudden illness in the family, like
we've discussed. Let Anya know when she comes in, in case she tries to reach
me. I'll call when it's over." The last words were barely out of his mouth when
his body crumpled to the floor, grew misty and vanished.
~**~
Buffy barely had time to get into the ladies' room at the factory
where she'd been packing boxes before she felt the buzzing in her head reach
critical. Her last thought before she vanished was that the doubling of *this*
feeling wasn't one of the more pleasant side effects of her link with Xander.
In her head at the same time, she could hear her boyfriend
complaining, *Ben? Oh, joy.*
~**~
The slender redhead in black leather stepped from the shadows in
the hallway, poised and ready for action. "We should check on Ben first," she
said to herself, the spell to let her in the door the next words out of her
mouth. She moved through the apartment quickly and thoroughly, but there was no
sign of the handsome young intern. "What the hell did she do with him?" she
cursed.
Taking a few extra minutes, she examined the contents of the
one-bedroom luxury apartment more carefully. There were few masculine touches,
instead the apartment was decorated with expensive Art Deco furniture, fresh
flowers, and a great deal of mauve. Riffling through the closet, she found men's
pants hung interspersed with sexy dresses, and both delicate four-inch heels
and men's Bluchers on the floor.
"He lives with her," she realized sadly. "Ben and Glory are
involved. He's one of the bad guys after all." Thinking out loud, she went on.
"But there was a shout, and the light. Perhaps he was breaking up with her, and
she did something to him. We still have to find Glory."
She raced down the stairs, and tapping Willow's memory of watching
the rogue god though the hall window as she left, ran down the street in the
direction Glory had last headed.
~**~