Title: Iron Fisted 7/13

Author: Mike McD

Rating: R (for some naughty language)

Summary: The follow on from 'Silver Tongued'.

Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer nor do I own any other characters. This is a work of fiction written for fun and enjoyment.

------

So she called home to say she'd be late
He said, he worried but now he'd feel safe
I'm glad you're with your girlfriend,
Tell her "Hi" for me
then I looked at you, you had guilt in your eyes
But it only lasted a little while
And then I felt your hand above my knee

And we laughed at the world
They can have their diamonds
And we'll have our pearls
I kissed a girl
I kissed a girl
I kissed a girl, her lips were sweet
She was just like kissing me
I kissed a girl, won't change the world
But I'm so glad
I kissed a girl

And we laughed at the world
They can have their diamonds
And we'll have our pearls
I kissed a girl (for the first time)
I kissed a girl (and I may do it again)
I kissed a girl

I kissed a girl
I kissed a girl, her lips were sweet
She was just like kissing me (but better)
I kissed a girl
I kissed a girl, won't change the world
But I'm so glad
I kissed a girl (for the first time)
I kissed a girl (won't be the last time)
I kissed a girl
I kissed a girl
-------

Standing just inside the doorway of Xander's hospital room, Willow watched his sleeping form as she tried to make sense of everything.

She loved Xander; she truly did and had done so for years. She had lusted after him for not quite as long; it had taken the rush of hormones associated with puberty to turn innocent thought of love into more carnal ones.

But now she also lusted after Cordelia.

It was un-natural. Not the part about Willow being interested in another girl; her mother's psychology texts had made it clear that curiosity and sexual experimentation within ones own gender wasn't uncommon in teens.

No, the un-natural part was the fact it was Cordelia. If it had been Buffy then Willow could have at least understood it. Buffy was a superhero, beautiful, and strong.

But Cordelia? The same Cordelia that had made her grade school years a living hell. The same Cordelia that had inspired the 'We Hate Cordelia' club.

The same Cordelia she had just spent the best part of an hour this afternoon getting her groove on with in the janitor's closet.

"Hey Will."

Willow snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of his voice.

"Hi... um, I didn't want to wake you."

Willow's heart did its usual flutter when Xander smiled.

"The smell of junk food and Willow is more than enough reason to awake up, not to mention the fact they both smell good enough to eat." Xander's sensual tone made Willow blush and the memory of Xander going just that gave her tingles in all sorts of places.

She sat down beside him and pulled out the food.

"I got you something from the Double Meat Palace."

"Ah, good old 100% A grade premium American beef." Xander declared then stuffed his face with the burger.

"You do realise that while it may have come from a cow, it's highly unlikely to be A grade premium anything." Willow pointed out. Xander shrugged.

"I don't particularly care, it still tastes better than hospital food."

With a speed that would be alarming to anyone who hadn't seen Xander eat before, the burger disappeared leaving only some sauce on Xander's face as evidence that it ever existed. Willow rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you should try slowing down a little when you eat, you keep getting more food on your mouth than in it. Here, let me." Willow lent over to wipe it off his face.

As she did so, her proximity was having all sorts of effects on Xander. The unique scent that was Willow, her gentle touch, the amazing beauty inside and out. He had been an idiot for too long.

With his good hand he tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek. Willow closed her eyes and revelled in his touch. Opening them again she found herself gazing deep into the warm chocolate pools of Xander's eyes.

Inch by agonizingly slow inch, their faces drew closer together until at last their lips met.

Unbelievable. That was the only word to describe it. Xander was kissing her and she was kissing him back. For years she had dreamed of this moment and now it had arrived it was a million times better than any dream. On Halloween they had done much more than kiss, but that had been Punk Rocker Chick and Casanova.

This time it was just Willow and Xander.

Eventually the kiss ended and Willow, her eyes still closed, savoured the sensation of the moment.

"Buffy."

Willow's eyes snapped open at Xander's single word.

That was so was NOT what Willow wanted to hear from Xander at that moment.

"Um... sorry to interrupt. I'll... come back later."

Willow breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Buffy standing at the door rather than a particularly cruel slip of the tongue by Xander.

"It's OK Buffy. Come on in. Pull up a chair." Xander told the Slayer waving to a spare seat. Sitting down, Buffy looked at the two of them.

"Tell me I saw what I think I saw. I mean... you know, the kissing."

Xander had the biggest grin on his face.

"Yeah Buff, you saw what you saw."

Buffy let out a squeal of excitement.

"Ohmygodthat'ssocool!" Buffy was genuinely happy for them. She knew this was what Willow had always wanted and Xander deserved some happiness.

Willow's happiness however was tempered by guilt.

"Um, sorry guys. I've... got a stack of homework to do." Willow got up, not looking at either of them. "I'll see you tomorrow Xander." Buffy and Xander watched as the redhead left the room.

Buffy's happiness was replaced with sadness as she witnessed Willow's departure.

"She's never gonna forgive me, is she?" Buffy asked Xander, mistaking the reason for Willow's unhappy exit. Xander tried to reassure her.

"Give it time Buff. It just gonna take some time for all of us. It'll be OK eventually."

-----

In a quiet corner of the hospital, Willow lent up against a wall and closed her eyes.

She was a bad, bad person. A two timing tramp. It didn't help that she wasn't sure if she was two timing Xander with Cordelia or vice versa. She had feelings for both of them, different ones to be sure, but real feelings never the less.

She got off the wall, muttering sarcastically to herself as she headed out of the hospital.

"Oh no, my life's not too complicated."

-----

"Did you hear the news?" Buffy blurted as she came into the library. Giles was stacking books back into the shelves while Willow and Cordelia sat at the table reading.

"What news?" enquired Willow.

"About Jonathan and Larry."

"What happened?" Willow asked with concern. Jonathan was, if not a close friend, then someone whom Willow thought was a nice guy. A confrontation between Jonathan and Larry could only have a negative result for Jonathan.

"Well, Larry was being his usual charming self with Amy when Jonathan comes up and tells Larry to leave her alone. Larry tells Jonathan to get lost and, get this, Jonathan walks right up to Larry, looks him square in the eye and says 'Do you want me to kick your ass again?'"

"He what?" Cordelia couldn't believe her ears. "No way! Larry would paste the runt!"

"Yes way! It gets better. Larry looks down at Jonathan, mutters something about not being worth it, and leaves!"

"Holy shit! Larry just left?" Cordelia just couldn't get over it.

"Good Lord!" Giles came down from the stacks. "Mr. Levinson actually said that and survived?" Giles, while not deeply involved in the lives of many of the students, he never the less knew of both Larry's aptitude and inclination to violence and Jonathan's lack of same.

"It's gotta be something Hellmouth-y." Cordelia declared. Giles thought about it for a second.

"I believe that for once Cordelia may be onto something."

"See!" Cordelia proclaimed triumphantly. The triumph only lasted a second. "Hey! What's with the 'for once' business?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the costumes from Halloween." Willow speculated.

"Quite possibly. Does anyone know what Mr. Levinson's costume was? Or for that matter, what Larry's costume was?"

"Well, I think I saw Larry dressed up as a pirate. Willow, do you know what Jonathan was dressed as?" Cordelia asked. Willow just shrugged her shoulders.

"Looks like we've got some sleuthing to do." Observed Buffy.

"Yes. And I think it might be a good idea to see if we can get a list of what Ethan sold to whom. Just to be safe." Suggested Giles as the Scooby Gang headed out of the library in search of information.