Title: Dancing Around Love (10/13)
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=62966
Rating: I'm gonna go say R for semi-explicit sex.
Spoilers: Up to As You Were and Forgiving.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to the almighty Joss. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: What if Buffy wasn't the only one with an illicit affair?
Author's Note: Okay, so we've got major T/Xness, along with some W/X, W/T, and the A/X demanded by the time setting. I'm not fond of A/X. You have been warned. Also, due to popular demand, I'm throwing in some B/X to go along with all that. ^_^'
* * *
"I'm sorry, Willow."
She looked up at Tara, "A-about what?"
"I heard you."
"Oh." The redhead's eyes widened in realization, "Oh!" After a moment, her expression shifted into a hardened Resolve Face, "That doesn't mean I'm going to give up."
"I know," Tara smiled sadly. "You wouldn't be the woman I fell in love with if you gave up that easily."
She shook her head, "You don't understand. Did he tell you? About the night he told me he loved me?"
"What?" Tara asked, shock written all over her face.
"I guess that's a no," Willow smiled faintly. "It was before the Fluke, a couple of months after I started dating Oz. I was in a coma, and he told me he loved me." She looked up, "I called for Oz. All this time, I thought it was Oz. I didn't find out until Dawn told me yesterday."
Tara couldn't think of anything to say except, "Oh."
"I love you, Tara. I don't want to fight you... but I have to follow my heart."
"I know," she said morosely. "Me too."
* * *
D'Hoffryn shook his finger scoldingly, "Quite disappointing, Anyanka."
"The name is Anya," she corrected acidly.
"Losing your power center the first time was bad enough, but this! This is unforgiveable. You've turned your back on us, Anyanka. You'll never get reinstated this time."
"I know, and I accept that."
He turned and sighed wistfully, "And that was such a _wonderful_ little universe you'd created too."
"I didn't think so."
"I just don't get it," he shook his head. "You gave up all that power, immortality, eternal youth, all for what?"
"You know perfectly well what."
"I suppose I do," he said in disgust. "Redemption," he spat the word out as though it were curse. "Such a... seductive thing, that. So nebulous, so noble, but tell me: What do you actually _gain_ from something so... immaterial?"
Anya could not answer.
* * *
//Ring-ring! Ring-ring! *click* Hello, Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless.//
"Angel," Buffy blinked. His voice sounded about as hopeless as those he advertised helping.
//Buffy. What's up?//
"Is, um, is Cordy there?"
//No,// he said quietly. //She's on vacation. With her boyfriend.//
Buffy frowned. There was something odd in his voice. The last time she'd heard him use that tone of voice was...
Was when he found out about Riley.
"You love her," she said bluntly.
//Buffy...//
"No, no," she rushed to say. "This is great," she lied. "This... this actually makes this easier."
//What's wrong, Buffy?//
"What's not wrong?" she said bitterly. "I'm in love with my best friend, who just moved in with my other best friend's lesbian girlfriend, I think that same other best friend's in love with him too, and I just found out that my first love has finally moved on."
There was silence at the other end for a long moment.
//Is it Xander?// he finally asked.
"Yes," she said in a small voice.
//Don't worry,// Angel reassured her, his voice catching. //He loves you.//
"He did, once," she said dejectedly.
//He still does. He loves you so much... that kind of love doesn't stop.//
"How can you be so sure he loved me that much?" she asked dubiously. This was probably not a good idea -- asking her ex to convince her how much someone else loved her -- but she had no one else she could turn to.
He paused for a long moment, then said, //I nearly killed him once.//
"What?"
//After I lost my soul, you were sick and in the hospital. I... paid a visit that night. He wouldn't budge. He knew he couldn't stop me, he knew he would die, but he wouldn't step aside. For you.//
"That... he did that?"
//Yes, he did. That's why... I knew I had to leave. I couldn't make you happy, I couldn't risk loving you that much... but he could. He can. He still does.//
"So, what... what are you saying?"
//Buffy, I love you. I won't ever stop loving you. But...// he hesitated, obviously struggling with the words, //...you don't belong with me. You belong with someone like him. You need someone... someone who can fight by your side and still walk with you into the light.//
* * *
Spike glowered at the city of Sunnydale. It looked so small from up here, but the Hellmouth was so much more than the little lights and buildings. It was a proverbial magnet for demons and vampires, an upwelling of dark power.
It was also the source of all his troubles.
"Get nice and comfy, Slayer," he said. "I'll be back. And when I do... things are gonna change."
* * *
"Hey," Willow said, stepping in and closing the door behind her.
Xander looked up and smiled, "Hey, Wills. What's up?"
"Just seeing how you're doing," she said, giving him a Willow wave.
"I'm doing okay, except this hospital food's horrible."
"So you finally found something you don't like eating?" she said in mock surprise.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh." There was something different about her, and it took him a moment to realize what it was. His smile broadened, "Well, look at you. You're all fuzzy."
Her gaze dropped, and she nodded shyly, picking at a loose thread in the pink sweater she wore. "Yeah."
"What happened to bad ass Wicca girl?"
She shrugged and said nervously, "Found some of my old clothes and thought I'd see if they still fit. You like?"
"Of course I do," he grinned. "_This_ is more like the Willow I fe-..." he stuttered to a halt.
"The Willow you what?" she asked hopefully, looking up.
"N-nothing," he said, looking away quickly... a little too quickly. "Nothing." He shot her a smile she saw right through, "Just remembering the Willow I first met. The girl with fire hair and emerald eyes and the cutest nose beneath these skies."
Willow blushed and began examining her feet, "When did you get so poetic?"
"Since you walked in," he said sincerely. "You bring out the best in me, Wills. Always have."
Neither spoke for a long moment.
She finally broke the silence, watching his reaction carefully, "By the way, I never got to thank you."
"For what?"
"For waking me up."
He froze. When he found his voice again, all he could manage was a weak, "H-how?"
"Dawn told me," she said calmly. "Yesterday." She gauged his reaction and saw... fear.
"Willow, I..."
"Don't. Don't say anything, and don't you _dare_ apologize," she said, her Resolve Face rising, "because if you do, I'm going to have to apologize for last week, and I don't want to do that."
He blinked in confusion, "'Last week'? What about last week?"
"Didn't you hear me?" she asked, suddenly uncertain. "Before you woke up from that coma?"
With sudden understanding, he shook his head. "No... no, I didn't, Wills. All I remember was thinking about Tara, worried she'd get hurt by that demon. Willow, if I'd known..." he trailed off.
"Well? What would you have done if you'd known?" she asked. "Would you have called out for me? Would you have left Tara for me? Would you have broken her heart for me?"
He looked away.
"That's what I thought."
* * *
Author's Postscript:
Well, nothing to say here, really. Just habit to have one of these.
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at http://fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=62966
Rating: I'm gonna go say R for semi-explicit sex.
Spoilers: Up to As You Were and Forgiving.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to the almighty Joss. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: What if Buffy wasn't the only one with an illicit affair?
Author's Note: Okay, so we've got major T/Xness, along with some W/X, W/T, and the A/X demanded by the time setting. I'm not fond of A/X. You have been warned. Also, due to popular demand, I'm throwing in some B/X to go along with all that. ^_^'
* * *
"I'm sorry, Willow."
She looked up at Tara, "A-about what?"
"I heard you."
"Oh." The redhead's eyes widened in realization, "Oh!" After a moment, her expression shifted into a hardened Resolve Face, "That doesn't mean I'm going to give up."
"I know," Tara smiled sadly. "You wouldn't be the woman I fell in love with if you gave up that easily."
She shook her head, "You don't understand. Did he tell you? About the night he told me he loved me?"
"What?" Tara asked, shock written all over her face.
"I guess that's a no," Willow smiled faintly. "It was before the Fluke, a couple of months after I started dating Oz. I was in a coma, and he told me he loved me." She looked up, "I called for Oz. All this time, I thought it was Oz. I didn't find out until Dawn told me yesterday."
Tara couldn't think of anything to say except, "Oh."
"I love you, Tara. I don't want to fight you... but I have to follow my heart."
"I know," she said morosely. "Me too."
* * *
D'Hoffryn shook his finger scoldingly, "Quite disappointing, Anyanka."
"The name is Anya," she corrected acidly.
"Losing your power center the first time was bad enough, but this! This is unforgiveable. You've turned your back on us, Anyanka. You'll never get reinstated this time."
"I know, and I accept that."
He turned and sighed wistfully, "And that was such a _wonderful_ little universe you'd created too."
"I didn't think so."
"I just don't get it," he shook his head. "You gave up all that power, immortality, eternal youth, all for what?"
"You know perfectly well what."
"I suppose I do," he said in disgust. "Redemption," he spat the word out as though it were curse. "Such a... seductive thing, that. So nebulous, so noble, but tell me: What do you actually _gain_ from something so... immaterial?"
Anya could not answer.
* * *
//Ring-ring! Ring-ring! *click* Hello, Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless.//
"Angel," Buffy blinked. His voice sounded about as hopeless as those he advertised helping.
//Buffy. What's up?//
"Is, um, is Cordy there?"
//No,// he said quietly. //She's on vacation. With her boyfriend.//
Buffy frowned. There was something odd in his voice. The last time she'd heard him use that tone of voice was...
Was when he found out about Riley.
"You love her," she said bluntly.
//Buffy...//
"No, no," she rushed to say. "This is great," she lied. "This... this actually makes this easier."
//What's wrong, Buffy?//
"What's not wrong?" she said bitterly. "I'm in love with my best friend, who just moved in with my other best friend's lesbian girlfriend, I think that same other best friend's in love with him too, and I just found out that my first love has finally moved on."
There was silence at the other end for a long moment.
//Is it Xander?// he finally asked.
"Yes," she said in a small voice.
//Don't worry,// Angel reassured her, his voice catching. //He loves you.//
"He did, once," she said dejectedly.
//He still does. He loves you so much... that kind of love doesn't stop.//
"How can you be so sure he loved me that much?" she asked dubiously. This was probably not a good idea -- asking her ex to convince her how much someone else loved her -- but she had no one else she could turn to.
He paused for a long moment, then said, //I nearly killed him once.//
"What?"
//After I lost my soul, you were sick and in the hospital. I... paid a visit that night. He wouldn't budge. He knew he couldn't stop me, he knew he would die, but he wouldn't step aside. For you.//
"That... he did that?"
//Yes, he did. That's why... I knew I had to leave. I couldn't make you happy, I couldn't risk loving you that much... but he could. He can. He still does.//
"So, what... what are you saying?"
//Buffy, I love you. I won't ever stop loving you. But...// he hesitated, obviously struggling with the words, //...you don't belong with me. You belong with someone like him. You need someone... someone who can fight by your side and still walk with you into the light.//
* * *
Spike glowered at the city of Sunnydale. It looked so small from up here, but the Hellmouth was so much more than the little lights and buildings. It was a proverbial magnet for demons and vampires, an upwelling of dark power.
It was also the source of all his troubles.
"Get nice and comfy, Slayer," he said. "I'll be back. And when I do... things are gonna change."
* * *
"Hey," Willow said, stepping in and closing the door behind her.
Xander looked up and smiled, "Hey, Wills. What's up?"
"Just seeing how you're doing," she said, giving him a Willow wave.
"I'm doing okay, except this hospital food's horrible."
"So you finally found something you don't like eating?" she said in mock surprise.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh." There was something different about her, and it took him a moment to realize what it was. His smile broadened, "Well, look at you. You're all fuzzy."
Her gaze dropped, and she nodded shyly, picking at a loose thread in the pink sweater she wore. "Yeah."
"What happened to bad ass Wicca girl?"
She shrugged and said nervously, "Found some of my old clothes and thought I'd see if they still fit. You like?"
"Of course I do," he grinned. "_This_ is more like the Willow I fe-..." he stuttered to a halt.
"The Willow you what?" she asked hopefully, looking up.
"N-nothing," he said, looking away quickly... a little too quickly. "Nothing." He shot her a smile she saw right through, "Just remembering the Willow I first met. The girl with fire hair and emerald eyes and the cutest nose beneath these skies."
Willow blushed and began examining her feet, "When did you get so poetic?"
"Since you walked in," he said sincerely. "You bring out the best in me, Wills. Always have."
Neither spoke for a long moment.
She finally broke the silence, watching his reaction carefully, "By the way, I never got to thank you."
"For what?"
"For waking me up."
He froze. When he found his voice again, all he could manage was a weak, "H-how?"
"Dawn told me," she said calmly. "Yesterday." She gauged his reaction and saw... fear.
"Willow, I..."
"Don't. Don't say anything, and don't you _dare_ apologize," she said, her Resolve Face rising, "because if you do, I'm going to have to apologize for last week, and I don't want to do that."
He blinked in confusion, "'Last week'? What about last week?"
"Didn't you hear me?" she asked, suddenly uncertain. "Before you woke up from that coma?"
With sudden understanding, he shook his head. "No... no, I didn't, Wills. All I remember was thinking about Tara, worried she'd get hurt by that demon. Willow, if I'd known..." he trailed off.
"Well? What would you have done if you'd known?" she asked. "Would you have called out for me? Would you have left Tara for me? Would you have broken her heart for me?"
He looked away.
"That's what I thought."
* * *
Author's Postscript:
Well, nothing to say here, really. Just habit to have one of these.