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See Chapter 1 for Ratings and Disclaimers
"Morning," she says, smiling at me-a smile so full of love it makes me love her even more.
I stretch again, purposely making contact in all the right places and I'm sure I hear her try to suppress a groan. Mission accomplished. Softly, my voice still deep from sleep and well you know- I return her word, "Morning," then a small yawn escapes. I mentally roll my eyes. [Some vixen you are Rosenberg.] But it worked!
I watch her as she leans forward and her lips meet mine, surprising her I lean in as well. I put my hands on her back and pull her closer. She touches my face with her hand as she cups my cheek. The sensation is amazing. Seconds later it's even more so as her lips open and close against mine. Lost momentarily in her I just feel-but seconds later I react, my lips moving with hers.
Then, the kiss intensifies-passion, just like that-and wow! Goddess I so need air, I try to think-to breath but I can't. Finally she pulls back and I gasp dragging air into my lungs. My face is flushed I can tell-it feels hot. I look at her and can see the desire in her eyes, on her face. I feel myself smile. I want and need her so badly. "Have I told you how much I love waking up with you?" I manage to say-forming the words was a trick, my mind so full of her. I watch as she grins, then for just a second something seems-nah-it was nothing. Nothing to worry about.
She says, "Not in a day or two. And I love it too. The other night was awful." I watch as her eyes drop and I too try to push the memories of that terrible night away. "I couldn't sleep at all," she says.
I refuse to remember-remember the pain and the hurt, I kiss her again and she returns it, moving her lips against mine, slowly, deliberately. The bad just melts away. 'Make it all go away-' I think as the kiss continues. But then she's gone, the smoochies are over.
I see my girl smiling at me. "Only way I ever want to start the day!" She states as her eyes lock with mine.
I bring a hand up and cup her cheek and I feel her lean into my palm without hesitation. "I vote for that," I agree with a smile. The alarm goes off as my words stop- the buzz is shrill. I see that look in her eyes and I reach over to stop it before she slays another clock. They're not safe in her presence. Then I realize what it means and I make a pouty face."But sadly--we need to get going-" I so wanna stay here with my girl but I know it's not possible today. "We can't be late again this week Giles will be all--eeeeeeeee," I say and without realizing it my hands emphasize the sound with a funny wave.
I see her pout too, and it makes me happy in a way. I know she had other plans for the morning too. She wanted to snuggle together and have a peaceful morning just like me. The two of us alone together. I see a light in her eyes as she says, "Guess we should shower, huh?"
I smile, I couldn't stop it if I tried, the picture of us together under a steady stream of water-well that brings a smile-and-I let the thought drift. Pulling myself from the images I say, "One at a time." I watch as her eyes get big and then sad. That face, she is pulling out all the guns this morning. But, I can't give in-we can't be late, no matter how much I want her. "I'll make breakfast," I add-my heart not quite in it.
"How can I possibly get my back clean that way?" My tough Slayer whines.
"You'll manage."
She reaches for me and pulls me close. "Don't wanna manage. Want you!" She tells me before she kisses me.
As we break for air I smile again, "Good answer." Then a thought occurs to me and I ask, "How did you do it before you meet me?" I raise my eyebrow in curiosity. I can tell she is thinking, trying to remember.
"I had this sponge on a stick. Don't have one here."
I smile at her still pouting face and say,"Maybe I should buy you one for your birthday?"
When I see her pout even more I begin to feel a little bad about my teasing. She looks so down, giving up is so not my girl but she knows I'm right. She drops her eyes like she's helpless. Then, without warning she dives forward, grabbing me and pulling me close. She rolls us both and I end up under her and she smiles down into my eyes."Holding what I want for my birthday," my Slayer says, her tone teasing like mine had been.
I smile at her and her maneuver. "Giles is gonna be so mad." I attempt to protest but honestly I don't care. I want her as much as she wants me. I lean up and kiss her lips.
She kisses back for a few seconds, then her lips are gone. She's frowning at me and I'm not sure why. Then she speaks, "But we gave him all those books." There is still a little whine in her words. "Doesn't that give us some slack?"
I agree with her reasoning but I'm not sure the man will. I make a sudden and out of character decision as I whisper, "At this point, don't really care," I tell her my voice becoming husky with my awakened desire. I can tell by the look on her face that I surprised her.
Without anymore talk I kiss my Slayer heatedly and she eagerly returns it. Her studded tongue flicks out to lick along my lower lip. 'Goddess' I think as this one small action invokes so much need in me. I feel her body shift and then her full weight is gone. I miss it instantly. I just can't convince her that she's not too heavy. She hovers slightly above me.
I decide more contact is needed to replace what I just lost so I work my hand under my lover's nightshirt. My fingers begin to trace random patterns on her soft skin and I hear her moan very softly as our kissing intensifies. Our tongues duel a little as we both explore each other's mouths.
She pulls back a little panting hard and I do the same to get much needed air into my lungs. After a few seconds she starts pressing little kisses and licks along my cheek and jaw line. She moves down to my chin, and along the front of my throat. Finally, she's at the hollow- then back up along the base of my neck. Goddess, she's driving me crazy. She stops at my pulse point for a few seconds, my girl licks and sucks there. I can feel the heat rise and still I want and need so much more.
I hear myself moan softly, my eyes closed-as I begin to get quickly lost in her and the sensations she is causing in me. I want to cry out as her lips stop but I wait-though not patiently and try to force my eyes open but I can't because I feel her tongue return to my skin and all else is gone. She licks and nibbles up my neck, using her tongue ring to tease my already over sensitized skin still more.
Her lips travel up my neck, pressing a kiss behind my ear. She knows what that does to me and this time is no different. My body tingles and burns even hotter. She flicks my ear lobe a couple times, back and forth, using her tongue ring, then teases the little dangling bit of flesh between her lips. I can't take much more of this-my mind tries to warn me but I can't stop her-don't want to stop her. She nibbles there for a second or two, then gently suckles on it.
I moan out even louder and then force words, "Love it when you do that," I pant.
Then her lips slip away and I know she is smiling though my eyes won't open to check. She says softly, "It's why I do it," she exhales more than needed, blowing softly in my ear.
[Please,] my foggy mind begs.
Then I register a slight giggle. "Well, that and you just taste so yummy!"
[Gotta have you,]-my mind and body scream in unison and I act.
My eyes snap open and I grin mischievously at my lover-oh is she so gonna pay for the torturing I just endured. Before she can speak, we're suddenly rolling and I have her on her back. My Slayer looks up at me, her face full of surprise. "My turn now," I declare, smiling down. She smiles and then leans up to kiss my lips and I return it for a few moments before I begin to kiss along her jaw, copying the path she traced on me earlier.
I pause a second and whisper, "Taste so good!" before continuing to kiss and lick my way down my girl's beautiful body. Her head falls back granting me access to her and she moans oh so softly. 'Got you!' I think as my lips and hands continue to tease her. I start my path back up the opposite side of her neck-kisses soft, playful but yet tantalizing as I cup her breasts in my hands.
"God, yes!" She cries out.
My lips part in a quick smile against her heated skin before I continue to nibble and lick my way to her ear. I place little sucking kisses as I reach my lover's pulse point and again I cause her to moan, then gasp as I squeeze her breasts lightly, my thumbs tweaking her sensitive nipples.
I hear a soft growl as my lips leave her neck. I watch her as she opens her eyes and looks up at me. I smile, obviously pleased by the effect I'm having her. Unable to resist I kiss her again, the passion ignites as I press my body to hers.
* * *
As we race along the streets, heading for Giles' house, I barely hear her words, "You okay? Too cold?" Doesn't she know there's an easier way?
I say, "I'm good," before I decide to make this discussion trouble free. [I'm good, sweetie,] I talk inside her head. It's just so surreal. But the words that I follow with bring worry. [But he's gonna be so mad.]
[We're only a half hour late,] says my girl as she tries to relieve my concerns. [And I called while you were in the shower.]
[He's gonna be all British,] I return. [And lecture me about the finer points of being punctual.]
In my mind I see her rolling her eyes. The whole projecting thing we've been practicing is starting to work on a regular basis and it is so cool. [He's always all British!] She tells me, her mental voice coming across with a British accent, trying her best to copy Giles at his most pompous.
I whine, [You know what I mean!] I tighten my arms around her waist because the closer I am to her the more protected I feel.
[Hey, it was all my fault and I told him that.] She moves her hand from the handlebar to pat mine. [So, don't worry about it.]
[But, it's not all your fault,] I tell her. My voice almost purring as I remember our morning-touching her, tasting her-late, who cares about late. I try to pretend I don't-but I do care.
She laughs, both out loud and in my thoughts. [And who got you started this morning?] She points out.
[You--] I admit, [But I was well -you-know-with the flipping and -ah-stopping now.] Stopping before I have to have you again.
[You sound like it was a bad thing,] says my Slayer.
[No-,] I reply quickly. I don't want her to think that I didn't want- [Not bad-good but bad-cause we're late.] I press my face to her shoulder again needing to feel her against me-I've never felt like this with anyone-so-so safe-not even with--I stop the thought before it's accidentally sent to her.
As we approach Giles' house, I feel the bike slowing, then stopping. She turns the motorcycle off and locks the handlebars. I remove my helmet and look at my girl. I grimace as I say, "We have no self control - face it."
My lover smiles a little "Isn't that called love?" She asks me, her voice and manner somewhat teasing. She gets off the bike and stands beside it, facing me
I smile and lean up, kissing my Slayer softly. "Sometimes."
She rocks back on her heels, acting all insulted. "Only sometimes?"
I smile as I get off the motorcycle and turn to walk to Giles' front door. "Yep-and others, no self-control."
"Wanna change anything?" She asks as she hurries to catch up to me.
"I didn't say that," I tell her smiling over my shoulder at her.
As she catches up, she slips her arms around my waist and gently places her chin on my shoulder. "Good."
I turn my head a little, so I can see my girl's face and she can see my profile. "I'm just saying that well-we lack self control when it comes to the whole you know-" I can't stop the blush and something Xander said years ago enters my mind. He told me that if I was doing it I should be able to say it-but nevertheless-after all the doing it's still too hard. I can't explain it. Even if I could the words would be all-you know-wrong. I finally decide to phrase it like this, "Let's just say we have trouble keeping our lips to ourselves on occasion."
"Again, that's a bad thing?" She asks smirking. And I have to admit that it's so not. She adds, "Besides, you taste too good to wait all that long between samplings!" Kennedy kisses the side of my neck to prove her point.
Without thought my body molds to hers, "No its not bad-well the no control is sorta-," I stop speaking, a worried look on my face. The last time I lost control totally I almost ended the world and I so don't want that to happen. I don't want to be that Willow ever again.
She takes a half step back and gently turns me till we're facing, then steps back, putting her arms back around my waist. "What do you want to do about it?" She asks her words full of genuine concern.
I shrug, and I know I look a little confused, cause I honestly don't know what we can do. "I don't know-I mean its just me being silly right?" My eyes meet hers-I want us to fix this but I don't know how. "Cause we aren't really late for important stuff right?"
"I don't know, but, you're right. We're good on the important stuff." She says trying to reassure me. "Do you want to stop having sex?"
Her words shock me and I feel my eyes go wide. "No-no! So not what I meant!" I state quickly, then I think. If we could not-for-for just a day-I could do better then my first attempt to stop the magic. I could be strong for us-, "Well, maybe," I say reluctantly. "For one day, just to see."
I hear my Slayer's sigh, and I listen to her words."Not sure I can go a whole day without touching you." Then she pouts.
"You're mad?" I ask cause she looks mad. "Don't be mad."
She shakes her head vehemently. "No! So not!" She offers a little smile.
"So a test," I clarify. "One day and tomorrow we won't be late." I smile tentatively at my girl.
I see the pout cross her face again, "So no more smoochies today?" She moves a step back and her hands slide around to rest on my hips.
I jump a little at the contact, my body still wanting and needing her-but I have to be strong-I can be strong. "Well-ah-no cause they lead to-and -no, no smoochies." I make a face too- I was trying for a reassuring smile, but I can tell it's not what is there. I know instantaneously that we both already hate this.
She drops her hands from my body and I miss them immediately as she takes another step away from me. "If that's what you want," she says.
I shake my head wanting to stop this-this wacky plan, but I can't. "It's not--but the late all the time-this is- it's a dumb idea." I wait for her to tell me it isn't but she is quiet. "Right, just really dumb cause being late not that important-and if we wanted we could not be-right?" I can't stop the babble.
"No," she shakes her head. "It's important to you. I can tell." My girl reaches for me-starts to touch me but stops. I don't want her to stop but I understand why she did. "We can do this for one day."
"Okay-but just one day," I reluctantly state. I search my girl's eyes needing to know if she's really okay with this, but I'm having a hard time reading her emotions. "And I'll hate it!"
Kennedy smiles but I can tell it's forced. She is trying hard to show her support for my plan. "Yeah, me too." Then I see worry in her eyes. "Does this mean we can't sleep together tonight?" That's not worry I decide it's fear.
I shake my head quickly telling her, "No-sleeping is okay right-just no-no touching." I trail off hoping she understands that if we touch if I touch her I won't be able to stop myself-I'm so addicted to her. "Are you mad?" I ask, my nose all crinkled up in worry.
"No, just..." She trails off, looking at the door and knocking. She looks back at me and I see a playful grin. "It's gonna be a long day!"
"Yeah-" I smile and add "Long night too."
She smiles and moves toward me. She wraps her arms around me and I raise an eyebrow in confusion, cause I'm pretty sure we just agreed to no touching. This-this is definitely touching. She explains, "On the other hand, if we're going a whole day without..." Her words stop and she is kissing me. She slowly moves her lips against mine.
My mine races and I just stand there-then [Hello lips-our girl is kissing-kiss back.] After a second, I respond and we kiss, slowly, unrushed, until we run out of air.
"That's gotta last us, right?" Kennedy asks, panting a little.
I slowly open my eyes, my breathing a little labored. "Wow-ah-maybe just one more..." I say, a sly grin covering my face. Playfully I wink and kiss my lover again, slow, like the last one, only better.
The door opens before we can get completely carried away and we pull reluctantly apart. I start to pull away, but she hugs me to her tightly for a moment first, like it's the last time and I almost panic. She holds me a bit longer and then drops her arms. I slowly step away.-I need her arms around me or distance cause this is hard- being so close but not touching. I do the only thing I can think of-I turn and walk passed Giles.
I realize my hand is in hers but as I move it slips away too. I hear her talk as she follows me inside, [As long as I can hold you while we sleep, we'll be okay.] After a few seconds she speaks again but this time it is to Giles. She mumbles, "Morning Giles."
I keep walking until I am in the study. Work will make it better, get my mind off of her. I sit down, plug in my laptop, and grab the closest demon text I can find- [Work-work is good,] I think to myself.
"It's closer to afternoon," he says, rather pointedly before sneezing as they enter the room.
I look up and give the watcher a worried look as I ask, "Giles are you sick?"
"It is not! It's only 20 til 9!" Kennedy complains bitterly, turning to look at the man. Her tone changes to one of concern, "You were fine when we left yesterday."
"I'll be fine again-lets get to work on the text," Giles says, attempting to divert attention from himself.
"Seriously Giles, if you weren't standing in that sunshine, I'd stake you. You look like shit."
"Thank you, Kennedy, for your concern," he replies, his tone a little sarcastic.
She looks at me and I smile over the top of the books then she looks at Giles, "Did you get a chance to go over the books?"
"Afraid not." He sniffles deeply before continuing. "Whatever this is attacked not long after you left."
I watch as my girl nods and makes a sympathetic face. Then outta no where she smacks herself in the forehead. "Oh yeah. Be right back." She calls back over her shoulder as she runs out of the room.
I stop typing and look at the sick man, "I am sorry." I apologize once again.
"Indeed-but will it correct the behavior. Willow this isn't like you."
I hear his words and he's right, this is not responsible Willow. I fight away a smile, this is the new and improved Willow-have fun Willow. This is the Willow that comes from being with Kennedy. This Willow is trying hard to put the past-in the past and learn to love life again. But instead of explaining how I feel I simply say, "I'll be on time tomorrow."
Kennedy comes back in before we can continue and she holds up her pack, showing it to Giles. She looks around the room and I watch unsure as she motions for him to follow her to a table across the room. I guess she doesn't want to disturb my work.
"Come on over here, okay, Giles? I've got Will's books from the infectious box." He nods and follows her as she pulls out books and puts her pack on the table. As she hands them to him I start to go back to work, but she glances over at me and she smiles. [No touching,] I think to myself- [but looking is okay.] I smile too my eyes traveling her body but she turns to face Giles. [Hey!-I was looking.] I smirk as I stare at her again, [I might be a breast girl, but she has one nice ass.] I shake the thoughts away and try to focus on the typing.
I type for a few paragraphs and then I find my eyes on her again and she looks worried-no, not worried, angry. Is she angry with Giles? Her features soften and I smile. [Goddess-she is so beautiful.] I think as I try to look away but can't.
I watch her as she gets a little animated, animated Kennedy is too cute for words. I chuckle to myself-she'd be all grrrrrr if she knew I called her cute-enough if it was just in my head. She's not cute she insists, she's tough-a Slayer and cute sounds just not tough so she couldn't possibly be.
But I know the truth, she's tough-and tender and gentle and someday-I let the words fall away as I smile crosses my face. "Someday," I whisper so only I can hear.
Then suddenly Giles voice fills the room,"Yes, some medicine might be a good idea. Yes, something for the sneezing."
"Sure, I can do that," Kennedy replies. I look up as they come toward me. My girl speaks again, "Gonna run to the store for Giles, Red."
I smile slightly "Okay baby, be careful."
She starts to go around the table to kiss me goodbye, but then my girl stops, smiles and gives me a little wave.
At first I'm confused but then I realize it's the whole no touching thing. I force a smile and wave back. What else can I do? It was my stupid idea. I give her a little pout.
[See? We can do this,] I hear her words in my mind. She is trying to reassure me I know it.
My smile gets more sure, [We can do this.]
She gives me a grin. [But only one day. Any more'd kill me, for sure!] She teases me with another smile.
I nod once and can't stop the grin, [Just one day.] Then, I think of something. [And it's already started-so not a whole day!]
My girl's smile grows even more. Kennedy speaks, [That's true. I love you!]
Suddenly, my mind is filled with an image of me in her arms. It's so strong, I can almost feel it. My Slayer holding me seems so real and I can't help but smile. [I love you.] My mind whispers as I send an image as well. I see her jump a little and when she puts her hand against her face I know she can feel my touch on her cheek as well. My mind caresses her cheek. After she looks lovingly at me again she turns and heads for the door closing it behind her. I stare for just a few seconds before beginning to type again.
"Is everything all right?"
The words surprise me, I was so lost in my girl I forgot he was here. [Is everything alright?] I ask myself-I consider the question and decide that yeah-it mostly is. I answer with a smile, "Alright-yeah, fine peachy with a side of keen-yep, uh huh." And as if that wasn't overkill I add, "Just great," a somewhat unsure smile plastered on my face.
He looks at me unsure and I know instantly he doesn't believe a word of it. I wait for his quote-something along the lines of Thou doest protest too much-but he doesn't press the issue and I'm glad. I really didn't want to explain the agreement my lover and I had reached.
Kennedy's POV
I inhale deeply as my eyes start to twitch open and a smile spreads as I breathe the scent of my love deeply into my lungs and soul. Her hair tickles my nose as memories flit across my mind's eye and my smile gets even bigger.
I feel her start to move, then she stretches, her body moving along mine as she works kinks from her muscles. I watch as my favorite gems are slowly uncovered, then focus on me. My goddess smiles at me.
"Morning," I tell her, smiling at her what I'm sure is a lovesick smile.
She stretches again, her body sliding against mine as I suppress a groan. "Morning," she yawns. Ok, now I know I'm lost. Even her yawns are sexy.
I can't resist, don't even want to, really. Leaning forward, I press my lips to her soft lips, intending a simple good morning kiss, but she leans into it. I feel her hand on my back as she pulls me closer and I reach my own hand up and cup her cheek.
I start to open and close my lips, followed a second later by her response. Our kiss intensifies, growing hungry until we both have to breathe or pass out. Pulling back a little, we both pant for a moment, Willow's face appearing flushed with her mounting desire. I'm sure mine looks the same, as I feel my need for her flaring high.
She smiles at me as our eyes meet and I feel love surge through me, hers and my own. "Have I told you how much I love waking up with you?"
I have to grin at her, cause, if I smile, it'll cause the tears I feel gathering to fall. Can't have that, can I? "Not in a day or two. And I love it too. The other night was awful." My eyes drop as I remember that awful fight and the night after. "I couldn't sleep at all."
Her face gets this look that's part 'ewww' and part 'growly' before she kisses me again. I return her kiss, moving my lips against hers, slowly, deliberately.
This time, I pull back a bit before things can get too heated, smiling at my girl. "Only way I ever want to start the day!" I declare, looking into her gorgeous eyes.
Willow brings a hand up and cups my cheek and I lean into her hand, not even giving it any thought. "I vote for that," she assures me with a smile. The alarm goes off as she finishes speaking, buzzing shrilly and I can feel myself scowl at it. I want to reach over and turn it off, Slayer style, but that's the whole reason we put it on her side of the bed.
She makes a little face. "But sadly--we need to get going-" My redheaded beauty turns the alarm off, a little less permanently than I had in mind, then turns back to me. "We can't be late again this week Giles will be all--eeeeeeeee," she says, her hands waving comically.
I have to pout. I was so looking forward to a slow morning with Willow. Maybe we can still have a little fun, though. "Guess we should shower, huh?"
She smiles and I think she's thinking the same as me. "One at a time." Guess not. I open my eyes as big as I can, letting them take on a sad expression that isn't all faked. "I'll make breakfast," she finishes. Don't want breakfast, at least not food.
"How can I possibly get my back clean that way?" I whine.
"You'll manage."
I reach for her, pulling her close to me. "Don't wanna manage. Want you!" I tell her petulantly before kissing her quickly.
Willow smiles at me. "Good answer, " she says. "How did you do it before you meet me?" she asks, her eyebrow raised in curiosity.
I think back a bit, though it's kinda hard. There's a lot of my life before I met her that I don't want to remember. "I had this sponge on a stick. Don't have one here."
She pauses and her smile turns teasing. "Maybe I should buy you one for your birthday?"
I pout harder, feeling my lower lip almost rolling up I'm sticking it out so far as I drop my eyes, totally acting like I'm surrendering. Then, I dive forward, grabbing my Willow and pulling her close and rolling us both. I end up on top of her, and smile down into her face and eyes. "Holding what I want for my birthday," I tell her, returning her teasing tone.
She smiles at me and my maneuver. "Giles is gonna be so mad." She says, before leaning up and kissing me.
I kiss her back for a few seconds, then pull back and frown at her. "But, we gave him all those books," I whine, still trying to get a few more minutes before giving up and getting ready to go. "Doesn't that give us some slack?"
"At this point don't really care," she says, her voice becoming husky with her awakened desire. Okay, not what I was working on, but very much more than welcome.
She kisses me heatedly and I eagerly return it, my tongue flicking out to lick along her lower lip. I suddenly realize my full weight is on her, so I drop my arms and get my elbows on the bed, lifting my body off hers slightly.
Willow works her hand under my night shirt and I can feel her fingers begin to trace random patterns on my skin. I moan very softly as our kissing intensifies, out tongues dueling a little as we both explore each others mouths.
I pull back a little, panting hard to get much needed air into my lungs, Willow doing the same. Leaning back down, I start pressing little kisses and licks along her cheek and jaw line, down to her chin, then down along the front of her throat. Down to the hollow then back up along the base of her neck, stopping at the pulse point for a few seconds, licking and sucking there. Long enough to make the area sensitive, but not long enough to raise a bruise.
I hear/feel my love moan softly and sneak a look at her face. Her eyes are closed and I can see plainly that's she's quickly getting lost in the sensations of what I'm doing. I want to give her more, so I bend back to my "work" with a grin. Leaning back in, I lick and nibble my way up her neck, using my tongue rung to tease her skin a bit.
I kiss/nibble my way up her neck, pressing a kiss behind her ear when I get there, before pulling back a little. I reach out and flick her ear lobe a couple times, back and forth, using my tongue ring, then tease the little dangling bit of flesh between my lips. I nibble on it for a second or two, then gently suckle on it.
I hear/feel her moan again, this time louder. "Love it when you do that," she pants.
I let her ear lobe slip from between my lips as I smile. "It's why I do it," I whisper, exhaling more than needed, blowing softly in her ear. A thought wanders through my mind and I giggle. "Well, that and you just taste so yummy!"
Her eyes snap open and she grins mischievously at me. Before I can ask, we're suddenly rolling and I'm on my back, looking up at her with surprise. "My turn now," she tells me, smiling down. [Fine with me,] I think as I smile back. Leaning up, I kiss her lips, a kiss she returns for a moment before she begins kissing along my jaw, copying the path I trace on her earlier.
She pauses a second, whispering, "Taste so good!" before continuing to kiss and lick her way down my body. I can feel my mind shutting down as I get lost in the feelings and sensations she causing. I feel my head falling back and I moan out my pleasure softly. All thoughts of what I want to do to and for her are forgotten as I lose myself in her teasing lips and hands.
Willow stops her nibbling kisses downwards as I feel her start back up the side of my neck. At the same time, her hands come up and cup my breasts and I can't help myself.
"God, yes!" I cry out, all my nerve endings screaming in pleasure and desire. I can feel her lips part in a quick smile before she continues to nibble and lick her way to my ear. I can feel her sucking kiss as she reaches my pulse point and I moan, then gasp as she squeezes my breasts lightly, her thumbs tweaking the sensitive nipples.
I growl my approval as I feel her lips leave my neck. Prying my eyes apart, I look up and see her smiling down at me, obviously pleased by the effect she's having on me, then she kisses me again and I stop thinking altogether.
* * *
As we race along the streets, heading for Giles' house, I turn my head slightly, so I can shout behind me, "You okay? Too cold?" One of the bad things about riding my bike is it's hard to talk.
Thanks to Slayer hearing, I manage to catch her response of, "I'm good," before I hear her voice in my mind, the best way to talk in this case. I smile a little cause talking like this always feels a little like us making love to me. Probably why I use it so often.
[I'm good, sweetie, but he's gonna be so mad.]
Keeping one eye on the road, I turn my attention to out internal conversation. [We're only a half hour late,] I point out. [And I called while you were in the shower.]
[He's gonna be all British,] she says, a little petulantly. [And lecture about the finer points of being punctual.]
I send her an image of rolling eyes. We've tried the trick of projecting pictures into each other's minds before and it usually works. [He's always all British!] I tell her, mixing my mental voice with a British accent, trying my best to copy Giles at his most pompous.
She whines, [You know what I mean!] I feel her arms tighten a little around my waist.
[Hey, it was all my fault and I told him that.] I move my left hand from the handlebar and pat her hand, trying to be reassuring. [So, don't worry about it.]
[But, it's not all your fault,] she sends, her mental voice almost purring. I can feel my hormones waking up just from that.
I have to laugh, both out loud and in my mental projection. [And who got you started this morning?] I point out, reasonably, I think.
[You--] she admits, [But I was well -you-know-with the flipping and -ah-stopping now.] God, her mental babbling is even cuter than the spoken version! How the hell is that even possible?
[You sound like it was a bad thing.]
[No-,] she replies quickly. [Not bad-good but bad-cause we're late.] I feel her press her head into my shoulder, well, her helmet, anyway.
I almost catch something else she thinks/sends, but it's too faint and, since we're approaching Giles' house, I let it go, concentrating on getting the bike parked. Slowing, then stopping, I turn the motorcycle off and lock the handlebars. In one fluid move, I remove my helmet and turn to Will, just in time to see her take her's off as well.
She grimaces at me as she says, "We have no self control - face it."
I have to smile a little at her serious, almost mournful tone. "Isn't that called love?" I ask her, my voice and manner somewhat teasing. I get off the bike and stand bedside it, facing her.
She smiles and leans up, kissing me softly. "Sometimes."
I rock back on my heels, acting all insulted. "Only sometimes?"
She smiles as she gets off our ride and turns to walk to Giles' front door. "Yep-and others, no self control."
I just shake my head and smile at her, hurrying to catch up. "Wanna change anything?" I ask, hoping the answer is no, but willing to do anything she wants. This obviously bugs her, so, we'll fix it, no sweat.
"I didn't say that," she answers, smiling over her shoulder. She faces front again and stops in front of the door, but doesn't knock.
As I catch up, I slip my arms around her waist and gently place my chin on her shoulder. "Good."
She turns her head a little, so she can see my face and I can see her profile. "I'm just saying that well-we lack self control-when it comes to the whole you know-" She blushes. She still blushes and can't say the word sex or any others dealing with it. God, I love that about her, cause it's another cute and sexy thing. "Let's just say we have trouble keeping our lips to our self on occasion."
"Again, that's a bad thing?" I ask, smirking. "Besides, you taste too good to wait all that long between samplings!" I declare, kissing the side of her neck to prove my point.
She leans into my kiss, though, I'm not sure she consciously noticed. "No its not bad-well the no control is sorta-," she stops speaking, a worried look on her face
Okay, she's really freaking about this, so time to get serious. I take a half step back and gently turn her til we're facing, then step back, putting my arms back around her waist. "What do you want to do about it?"
She shrugs, looking a little confused, but still worried. "I don't know-I mean its just me being silly right?" She looks in my eyes, her own seeming to ask for me to make this better. "Cause we aren't really late for important stuff right?"
"I don't know, but, you're right. We're good on the important stuff." I stop for a second, then make a suggestion I hate. "Do you want to stop having sex?"
Her eyes get so wide, I'm almost afraid they'll fall out. "No-no! So not what I meant!" She states quickly, then she thinks for a moment, "Well, maybe," she says, reluctantly, it seems to me. "For one day, just to see."
I breathe a huge and somewhat exaggerated sigh of relief, but then get a little worried by the second part of what she says. "Not sure I can go a whole day without touching you." I pout.
"You're mad?"
I shake my head vehemently. "No! So not!" I offer a little smile, hoping she'll think I was playing. Wasn't, really, but that's ok, as long as she's happy.
"So a test," she declares. "One day and tomorrow we won't be late." She smiles tentatively at me.
I have to pout again as I realize she means to start this test now. "So no more smoochies today?" I take a step back, my hands sliding around til they're resting lightly on her hips.
Willow jumps a little, then answers me. "Well-ah-no cause they lead to-and -no, no smoochies." She grimaces a bit, trying for a reassuring smile, but I can tell we both already hate this.
I move my hands, letting them drop to my sides and take another step back. "If that's what you want."
She shakes her head. "It's not--but the late all the time and it was a dumb idea." She looks at me, several emotions racing across her beautiful face, before she starts with the self-recriminations. "Right, just really dumb cause being late not that important-and if we wanted we could not-right?" she babbles out, but this time, I don't find it cute. She's being so down on herself, and I can't stand that.
"No," I say, shaking my head. "It's important to you. I can tell." I reassure her, automatically reaching out to touch her, to hold her and tell her it's okay, but I catch myself and stop before my hand gets more than a few inches. "We can do this for one day."
"Okay-but just one day," she reluctantly agrees. My girl looks into my eyes, seeming to be looking for something. "And I'll hate it!"
I give her what I hope is a 'We're in this together' smile. "Yeah, me too." I assure her, then a thought almost makes me want to take it back. "Does this mean we can't sleep together tonight?" I try to keep the fear that she'll say yes out of my voice, but I can see from her face, some of it was there.
She shakes her head, quickly, telling me, "No-sleeping is okay right-just no-" She trails off, but I know what she means. Okay, if I can hold her tonight, I can wait til tomorrow for us to make love. After all, I waited nineteen years before I could be with her, twenty four hours'll be easy.
[Keep tellin' yourself that, Kennedy!] a voice in my head responds instantly, but I try to ignore it.
"Are you mad?" Willow asks, her nose all crinkled up in worry.
"No, just..." I trail off, looking at the door and knocking. Looking back at her, I give her my best playful grin. "It's gonna be a long day!"
"Yeah-" she smiles. "Long night too."
I smile and move toward her as a thought occurs to me. Putting my arms around her, ignoring her raised eyebrow, I tell her, "On the other hand, if we're going a whole day without..." I stop speaking and kiss her, slowly moving my lips against hers. After a second, she responds and we kiss, slowly, unrushed, until we run out of air. "That's gotta last us, right?" I ask, panting a little.
She slowly opens her eyes, her breathing a little labored. "Wow-ah-maybe just one more..." she says, a sly grin on her face. She winks and kisses me again, slow, like the last one, but better.
The door opens before we can get completely carried away and we pull reluctantly apart. Willow starts to pull away, but I hug her to me tightly for a moment first, then release her. She slowly steps away, turning and walking passed Giles.
I keep her hand in mine as long as possible, but let her go as she moves further away. "As long as I can hold you while we sleep, we'll be ok," I call after her, following her into Giles' house.
I suddenly remember my manners and, blushing a bit, I manage to turn and mumble, "Morning Giles," as Willow moves on into the study. When Giles and I get there, she's already at the table with her laptop open and a demon text at her elbow.
"It's closer to afternoon," he says, rather pointedly before sneezing.
Willow looks up and gives the watcher a worried look. She asks, "Giles are you sick?" at the same time I protest his statement.
"It is not! It's only 20 til 9!" I complain bitterly, turning to look at the man.
I hear Willow comment on how sick he looks as I really see our Watcher for the first time since we came in. Okay, getting concerned, now, cause I've killed things that looked healthier than he does right now.
"You were fine when we left yesterday."
"I'll be fine again-lets get to work on the text," Giles says, attempting to divert attention from himself.
Not gonna let him, though, cause he looks like shit. Like he should be lying down, trying not to die. "Seriously Giles, if you weren't standing in that sunshine, I'd stake you. You look like shit."
"Thank you, Kennedy, for your concern," he replies, a little sarcastically. Okay, a lot sarcastically.
I glance over a Willow as she works on the book at the top of the stack, just in time to see her smile, and look up at Giles. "Did you get a chance to go over the books?"
"Afraid not." He sniffles deeply before continuing. "Whatever this is attacked not long after you left."
I nod and make a sympathetic face, then smack myself in the forehead as I remember, I left the bag of books in my bike's storage bin. "Oh yeah. Be right back." I call back over my shoulder as I run out of the room.
I jog out to my ride and open the larger storage bin, pull out my backpack and sling it across my shoulder, before closing and locking the box again. Turning, I go back inside and into the study. No one seems to have moved.
I hold up my pack, showing it to Giles as I look around the room for someplace to show him what's in it. Most of the books inside are Will's, but I also have something else in there to show our Watcher. Something that'll upset my girl and I don't want that. Not if I can help it.
Spotting a smallish table on the other side of the room, I motion for him to follow me, but he looks a little unsure. "Come on over here, okay, Giles? I've got Will's books from the infectious box." He nods and follows me as I pull all but Tara's book from the pack. I put my almost empty pack on the table and hand him the small stack of books.
"Thank you so much," he says, turning the books so he can read the spines. He moves them out of the way quickly and sneezes, then brings them back.
I glance over at Willow, making sure she can't hear us. She notices me looking at her and I smile quickly before turning back to Giles. Damn. He caught me.
He looks at me for a second before asking, "Is there a reason Willow is being excluded?"
I turn to him, holding out Tara's book. "We went back to the bookstore yesterday and found this." I hand him the book. "Recognize it?"
He looks at the front cover and the spine, then opens it. His eyebrows shoot up and I see he knows. "Tara's," he says softly.
I nod, once, sharply. "Based on how the beautiful redhead over there collapsed in my arms, yeah."
Giles flips through a page or two, but he quickly closes the book. "How?" he asks, though I'm not sure he's talking to me. His eyes come up and focus on me and he asks again, "How?"
I scowl, glancing to the side for a second. "I don't know how." A question occurs to me, so I look back at my Watcher. "Could someone be salvaging things from Sunnydale?"
He lays the book on the table beside us and glances back at Willow. Watching his face, I'm pretty sure he understands, at least a little, what finding this thing did to my love. He returns his gaze to me with a head shake. "There's been no one allowed back into the area-no one."
Yeah, sure. Like a buncha bored weekend warriors could really keep anything out of there if it really wanted back in. But, for now, I'll believe that. "Then how?" I ask, pointing back at Tara's property.
He removes his glasses and starts to furiously clean them. It's something I've noticed that Giles does when he's upset or embarrassed, and the others confirmed it for me when I asked. "I'm not sure-maybe you should go back to the shop and ask them?" He puts his handkerchief away and his glasses back on. "Don't go alone, though, Kennedy. Take someone with you. Buffy, perhaps."
I shake my head, feeling me eyes narrow and my jaw set as I think about the two clerks I've met at that store. Both had flunky written all over them, but I'm sure I can... persuade them to answer my questions. I look over at Willow typing away and think of what happened last night. I feel the anger double and I'm almost hoping the clerks won't be helpful. "No, I can handle this alone."
"Kennedy, going alone--" he says, sounding hesitant.
I glance at my girl again before answering. "You didn't see her yesterday," I tell him, giving him a glare. I've backed off vampires with that glare.
He doesn't flinch. "I didn't, but I can imagine--You just shouldn't go alone-" He looks at Willow, then back to me, his message loud and clear.
Okay, using Willow against me is so not fair! I have to admit, though, that it's also kinda smart. With a soft snarl, I drop my eyes and agree. "Fine. I'll go get Buffy."
Giles puts his hand on my shoulder and gives me a small smile. "It's for the best, you know. You have no idea what you may encounter."
I look at my redheaded beauty again and it suddenly hits me about the timing of finding those two books. Tara's spellbook wasn't there the first time we were in there, even though we were looking in the same section, but it was on our second visit. Almost like someone knew we'd be back in and wanted to make sure we would notice it.
I feel my anger grow yet again as I start thinking about someone doing this, hurting my Willow, deliberately. My teeth clenched, I snarl, "Neither do they!" For their own sake, those two had better hope they can prove this was an accident.
I see Giles give me one more searching look and I try to hide what I'm really feeling. I don't want him to decide to send Buffy alone, cause, to me, it's pretty simple. Willow is my girlfriend, my everything. If someone is hurting her, I get to hurt them back, not Buffy, or Giles or anyone else.
Finally he nods slightly and turns back toward the middle of the room, saying loudly, "Yes, some medicine might be a good idea. Yes, something for the sneezing."
"Sure, I can do that," I reply, following him. Willow looks up as we come toward her. "Gonna run to the store for Giles, Red."
She smiles slightly "Okay baby, be careful."
I start to go around the table, to kiss her goodbye, but then I remember our talk as we got here and our deal to not do anything for a day. So, I stop, smile and give her a little wave instead. Willow looks a little confused when I stop, then she smiles and waves back. I doubt Giles saw it, but I plainly see the little pout she gives as well.
[See? We can do this,] I send the thought to her, trying to reassure her that she was right about this. I'm still not sure about it, myself, but she wanted to do this, so we can get through it.
Her smile gets surer. [We can do this.]
I give her a grin. [But only one day. Any more'd kill me, for sure!] I tease her with a smile.
My witch nods once, an answering grin on her lips. [Just one day.] Her eyes open, like she just thought of something. [And it's already started-so not a whole day!]
My smile dims a little, then brightens a lot as her words sink in. [That's true. I love you!] Along with the thought, I try to send an image of holding her as well, but I'm not sure if she gets it. We've been trying to transfer images with our thoughts for a little while now. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but neither of us knows why it does or doesn't work.
[I love you.] I hear in my mind. I jump a little, then smile, putting my hand against my cheek as I can almost feel her hand caress my face. I give my love one more long look, then turn and head for my bike.
* * *
A high pitched growling whine sounds, growing louder 'til a bright red racing motorcycle comes screaming down Westmore Avenue. As it approaches a modest brick ranch style house, it slows dramatically, then stops in front of it.
The rider doffs her helmet, showing long raven colored locks of hair and a seriously pissed expression. Locking the handlebars and taking her keys, Kennedy drops her helmet over one handgrip and jogs up to the front door of the oldest Slayer's house.
Before she can even stop moving, she's knocking, hard and loud, already impatient that the door hasn't opened. She waits a beat then knocks again, louder and harder. After a few seconds, she growls and sighs explosively, pounding on the door, rattling it in it's frame. "Come on, Buffy!" she mutters in an annoyed voice
Seeing movement through the door's glass, the brunette takes one step back, just as the door opens fractionally. An annoyed face, topped by rumpled blonde hair appears. Buffy glares at the younger woman.
Kennedy takes in the glare, then shrugs. "What?" she asks tersely. She spits the older woman with a baleful glare of her own. "I need you to come with me. Now." When the blonde looks like she's gonna say no and close the door, the younger Slayer adds, "Giles said so."
Buffy stops closing the door and, after a second, opens it and wordlessly invites her best friend's lover in. "Do you know what time it is?" she can't help but ask. The blonde had been having a very pleasant dream, just enjoying herself, when the pounding had awoken her.
Kennedy again shrugs. She stands, agitated, wanting to go. "Daytime," she answers tersely. "Come on, let's go." She reaches over and grabs what she knows are her leader's favorite stake and dagger. Turning, she holds them out to the elder Slayer to take.
Buffy holds up her hands, taking a step back. "Can I at least get dressed first?" she asks plaintively.
Kennedy scowls a little, but nods. "Sure. Hurry, though."
Now, it's Buffy's turn to scowl. 'What's so damned important this early in the morning?' she wonders. Sighing with frustration, she turns back to the stairs leading to her bedroom. "Give me five minutes, okay?" she asks rhetorically.
As the Slayer reaches the half way mark on the stairs, the brunette makes a decision. "Buffy."
The blonde woman pauses. "Yeah?"
Kennedy's eyes track up from the floor, finding the eyes of her fellow Slayer. Dark brown orbs blaze hatred and fury at greenish hazel. Buffy almost flinches from what she sees in the other girl's eyes. "I think someone's trying to hurt Will. On purpose."
Buffy's own eyes harden at that thought. "Back in two." She gives the younger girl a nod of assurance. "We won't let that happen," she adds while she jogs up the remaining stairs. She starts removing her sleep clothing as she goes.
* * *
I start to pace in a small circle, waiting for Buffy to come back. I want to get there, so I can ask what the hell's going on and find out who I get to hurt for causing my Willow so much pain. Doesn't she miss Tara enough without this? Doesn't she worry enough about whether I'm jealous of their relationship?
I'm not, of course, but I can't make her believe that. At least, I couldn't 'til last night. I think I've finally gotten through to her now. I can't help the smirk that flashes across my face, cause all that took was letting her read my mind. Not that I care about that.
Suddenly, I know I'm not alone as my senses go off. I look up and about, my hands moving into a defensive position without thought. Then, I see Dawn coming in from the kitchen, a bowl in one hand and a glass of milk in the other. Relaxing and lowering my hands, I say, "Hey Dawnie."
She smiles at me. "Kennedy, hey." She gestures with the bowl. "Want some cereal?"
I shake my head. "No, thanks. I already ate." I give my friend a smile that's only about half forced. "Thanks, though."
Dawn gives a little shrug, trying to not spill either of the things in her hands. "It's cool. Gonna go watch cartoons." She gives me a little grin. "You wanna watch with me? It'd be fine with me."
I shake my head again, this time a little regretfully. She and I have had some pretty fun times with the watching of the cartoons while the others research the latest demon threat. I can do research, but my super brain girlfriend is so much better at it. I'm a little like Faith when it comes to all this. I don't really care about the reasons, just point me at what needs killing. Looking at Dawn, I tell her, "Waiting for Buffy, so we can go do something for Giles. Thanks again, though."
She shrugs once more, smiling a little, then disappears through the door that leads to their living room.
Hearing a noise behind me, I turn just in time to see Buffy bounce down the last few steps. She immediately takes the stake and dagger I'm holding, hiding them quickly and easily from long practice. If I didn't already know where she usually carries them, I'd never know she was armed. Never even slowing, she heads for the door. "Fill me in while you drive," she calls back over her shoulder.
"While I ride," I correct her, actually grinning a little. She hates to ride with me on my bike.
She stops and turns back to me, rolling her eyes as she does. Scowling, she says, "Fine. While we ride."
I just smile, a totally unforced one, then lead the way over to my pride and joy. Well, the second place finisher in that contest, behind my girl, of course. Getting Will's helmet out of the storage bin, I hand it to her as I straddle the seat and drag my own brain box on. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her resigned face as she puts Will's red and green helmet on and I feel her climb on behind me. She puts her hands on my sides, loosely, more for balance than anything else. Geez, you'd think I bite or something.
Okay, I do bite, but only Willow. That thought leads me to memories I'd better suppress for now, what with the no touching for a day thing we got going. Smiling to myself, warmed by thoughts of my girl, I start the engine and we pull out, Buffy's hands suddenly much tighter on my waist.
* * *
Kennedy parks the bike just up the street from the store, where it can't be seen from the front windows. She's a little hoarse from shouting at Buffy, but the blonde has been filled in on everything, including how the box of books had apparently made Giles sick. By the time the brunette is finished and they've arrived at the store, the blonde is nearly as angry as Kennedy herself.
They walk toward the store, falling naturally and unconsciously into the same movement pattern they follow when on patrol. Buffy constantly scans left and ahead of them, while Kennedy watches their right side and rear. When they reach the front door of the bookstore, Kennedy goes in first, then Buffy, the blonde staying a half step behind her. While Kennedy scans the store for the faces of either of the two clerks she's dealt with, preferably the first one, Buffy just keeps an eye out for trouble.
The younger woman makes a victorious sound, spotting the guy she's looking for at the counter. She immediately moves toward him, Buffy following her. The elder Slayer keeps looking at her companion, having picked up on a vibe coming from her young friend she doesn't like.
Coming up to the counter, the brunette gives the clerk a tight smile. "Hi. Remember me? I had a few questions about that box of books you sold me couple days back." Her voice is deadly sweet and calm, giving nothing away about what she's feeling.
The guy tries a smile, but young brunette in front of him scares him. Something about her eyes. "Ah - books, miss?" His eyes flick to follow the blonde girl's movements as puts her back to the counter, watching behind the girl talking to him. "We sell a lot of books."
Kennedy's smile gets tighter and more menacing. She doesn't have a lot of patience and this guy seems determined to use it all up quickly. "Yeah, a bunch of occult books? My girlfriend and I bought them. You said the owner wanted to get rid of them."
The man's eyes open a little. "Occult, miss? We don't really have any occult books, unless you count some books on Wicca. They're in the Religion section." He points vaguely off to the left.
Kennedy just shakes her head and point to a now bare patch of floor. "They were on a table over there," she tells the frightened man, a soft growl now present in her voice.
"We just have shelves of books." the man babbles. "We don't keep them on tables."
The dark haired Slayer growls in frustration "Let's try this again. I paid for them with a credit card. Wanna call the bank and ask them if I bought something here?"
Buffy looks at her companion, frowning when she notices that Kennedy isn't faking to scare information out of this guy. She really is on the verge of beating the hell out of him. She shifts her stance a little, so she's ready to grab her friend, if need be.
The blonde turns her head a little and gives the man a baleful stare. "I'd think hard before telling her more lies. She sounds a little... irritated."
The scared man looks toward the back room, his eyes flicking between there and Kennedy.
The leash on her temper slipping a little, Kennedy slams her hand down on the edge of the counter, snapping the triangular piece of wood off. "Look, you little shit," she snarls. "I wanna know where those books came from. Now!" She takes another step toward the terrified clerk
He drifts back a step, trying desperately to keep his distance from the furious woman. "I really don't know what you're talking about."
Kennedy darts forward with a growl and grabs the guy's shirt, pulling close. Lips pulled back from her teeth in a snarl, she informs him, "You got 5 seconds, then you bleed. Talk!"
Buffy looks back and forth between the two, starting to get concerned about Kennedy's behavior. She's mad about what these people have done, too, but Kennedy is starting to scare her. It's one thing to act like you're gonna hurt someone, but Slayers don't really hurt humans. Not deliberately.
She moves forward, pulling Kennedy and the clerk apart a little. She looks at the man first, saying, "She's got a temper. Even anger management didn't help, so you should start talking."
Her gaze turns to her fellow Slayer and she stares at her, locking her hazel eyes on Kennedy's dark chocolate ones. When Kennedy cocks her fist back and starts it forward to hit the terrified man, she puts her hand on the brunette's arm, stopping her. "He's gonna talk, so relax." Her attention swings back to the hapless man and she gives him a look that clearly tells him to cooperate or she'll stop interfering. "Right?"
"No," Kennedy contradicts, her eyes blazing in her fury. "He's gonna mumble. And swallow teeth!" she snarls, shaking Buffy's hand off her arm.
Panicking, the man begins to babble. "He told me you'd be in. To make sure you got them all."
"Who did?" the brunette demands.
His eyes rolling wildly, he sputters, "The owner!" He looks frantically from one woman to the other. "That's all I know--honest!"
Kennedy gets her face right into the guy's, demanding, "And where is he?"
"I don't know!" the clerk says, desperate to please the furious woman who's still holding him. "I just started here. I've never meet him." He gives Buffy a pleading look.
She returns a confused look to him. "How'd you know who to sell them too?"
"There was a note describing the red head! It said to make sure her and anyone who was with her got the proper books." He gives Buffy another look, silently begging her to believe him. "That everything I know, honest!"
Kennedy snarls at him and kicks the counter, shearing off the bolts holding to the floor and sending it sliding several feet. "Where is he?!?" she screams in his face, totally ignoring the exchange between him and Buffy.
The older Slayer immediate drops her hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "Kennedy!"
The brunette shrugs the hand off her like it was a troublesome insect and shoves the guy into the wall between windows hard enough to make his head bounce off the bricks.
Buffy shoves her way between them, pushing Kennedy back a few precious inches. The furious woman turns a fulminating glare on her leader, but Buffy just stares angrily back. "Kennedy! Back off!" she commands. "Now!"
Kennedy glares at her for a few more seconds, long enough for Buffy to start mentally planning on how she's gonna be able to subdue her without hurting her too much. With the growl of a baffled predator who's lost her prey, Kennedy drops both her eyes and the man, moving back several paces.
Both woman and moaning man on the floor hear the rear door open. The Slayers turn toward it, both bringing their hands up to defend themselves. When another man steps through, Buffy drops hers a little, shock registering on her face as her eyes get bigger. "Ethan," she breathes.
The younger Slayer looks at her, confusion cutting through her fury.
Ethan smiles when he sees the petite blonde. "Slayer. And a friend, I see."
Kennedy looks at the older man and sneers contemptuously. "Who the hell are you?"
Buffy just shakes head. Now that he's shown himself, she can look back and see Ethan Rayne's hand in all this. "I should have known this had you in the middle of it--" She takes a step toward him, lowering her hands to her sides.
The brunette Slayer scowls at her companion, her anger coming forward again. "Buffy, who the fuck is this guy?"
Buffy waves her hand at the man, faking a friendly smile. "Kennedy Sanchez, meet Ethan Rayne. Ethan, this is Kennedy."
"Charmed." he smiles.
"So, how'd you do it?" the older woman asks. "Get the books, I mean."
Ethan smiles a greasy smile, full of false friendship. "Now, what would be the sport in just telling?"
Kennedy remembers Willow mentioning Ethan once, so she already is wary, but when Buffy asks about the books and Ethan says what he does, she sees red. Snarling, "You did this!", she darts forward at full speed, catching Buffy completely off guard.
For his part, Rayne tries to defuse the situation, starting to say, "Young lady..." but gets nothing else out before the young Slayer has her hand around his throat and lifts him from the floor.
Her eyes blazing raw hatred, Kennedy snarls through clenched, bared teeth, "You hurt my Willow!"
Buffy is there beside the enraged Slayer in a flash. "Kennedy! He can't tell us anything if you kill him." She starts to wink, then really looks at the younger girl's face and sees she's not acting. "Kennedy!" she shouts, finally diverting her attention.
Kennedy shifts a small portion of her attention to Buffy. Slowly, she nods and releases her grip ever so slightly, just enough to allow the dark mage to breathe again, although only shallow breaths.
Ethan sucks in great lungs full of air for a moment, then tries to regain his cocky attitude. "A new Slayer, hmmm? I must say, my dear, you look rather smashing for a corpse."
Buffy gives him a sarcastic smile. "Why thank you. I try." She looses the smile. "And yeah, Kennedy's a Slayer, but more importantly, she's the girlfriend of the person you've been torturing with those books. You may have noticed, Ethan, she's a little pissed. Actually, she's a lot pissed about your latest scheme, so details while I can still keep her under control--"
Kennedy bares her teeth again and slams the wizard into a bookcase hard enough to knock books from the other side. "What kind of sick game are you playing?" she demands.
Ethan starts to deny things, but one look into the brunette's eyes convinces him that she will kill, easily and without a second thought. He decides that, this once, he needs to be totally honest, fast. "No game-it was simply a job."
The blonde Slayer shakes her head sadly. "Ethan. I like to beat you up. It's fun, but, I'm not so sure she's gonna stop when you pass out. A little more, please?"
The man attempts a shrug, but it's difficult with his shoulder buried in a bookcase. "I knew they belonged to the witch--thought she might want them back, that's all." He smiles, trying to calm the woman who holds his life in her hands.
Buffy smiles at him, mockingly, then she turns her attention to Kennedy, and concern lines her face. She's seen this look before, 5 years ago, on another dark haired Slayer. After all that happened there, she stops worrying about Ethan and starts trying to figure out a way to get Kennedy out of here, quickly.
Before she can even begin to form a plan, Kennedy snarls, "Bullshit!" Pulling the helpless man away from the bookcase, she slams him against it again, cracking his head and once more sending books flying. "What's the real reason?!"
"I already told you, it was simply a job," he gasps out, his shoulder nearly dislocated by that blow.
Kennedy listens to the answer, but an image of Willow from the day before, outside this very shop crosses before her mind's eye. She sees again her love, her everything, falling apart, wracked with grieving and guilt because of what this asshole set up. Her vision turns red and she begins to tighten her grip, cutting off the man's breathing.
"Kennedy!" Buffy shouts, dragging her away when she sees Ethan turning a nasty shade of bluish purple. "He can't talk to us if he's dead!" The mage thumps to the floor, hacking and coughing and rubbing his throat. When the infuriated Slayer starts passed her, the blonde stops her "Stay! Good girl!"
Kennedy glares at her leader for a moment, then, slowly, so slowly, she pushes the need to kill back and stands still. She clenches and unclenches her fists, hoping and praying that the creature on the floor will give her the excuse she craves to ignore Buffy.
Once she's sure that Kennedy is going to obey her, Buffy turns back to her old enemy. "Now, what kind of job?"
Coughing a few more times, Ethan smiles up at them. "A demon wished it," he informs the blonde Slayer, before coughing once more.
Buffy looks skeptical. "A demon? Well, my friend here wishes to hurt you. Badly." She gives him a hard look, making like she's gonna stand aside and let the brunette by. "Does she get her wish, or are you gonna talk some more?"
Ethan just smirks. "Sadly, she does not, but I will tell you this---there are more." As soon as the words leave his lips, the magick user vanishes.
Kennedy screams, "No!" and charges, running into the bookcase she was pounding him into as he disappears, knocking it over.
"Damn it!" Buffy curses. Stopping her own forward movement. She goes to her prone friend and squats. "Kennedy are you okay?"
Kennedy glares up at Buffy, then leaps to her feet. "Why the hell did you pull me off him?! Now he's gone!" She snarls, slamming her hand down on a shelf, collapsing it.
The dark haired girl takes several deep breaths, then her eyes narrow as she looks at the petite girl beside her. "You knew that asshole. Who is he?"
"Ethan Rayne, " she sighs. "An old friend of Giles, from back in his not so Giles days." Seeing the younger girl's angry confusion, she just waves a hand. "Long story."
Kennedy narrows her eyes a little, filing the 'friend of Giles' comment away for when she next sees the Watcher. She scowls, sweeping her eyes around the store for a moment. "What did he mean, there are more? More books?"
Buffy shrugs. "Book store, so probably," she says, sounding like it's obvious. "Let's look around. See what we can find." she suggests, heading back to the counter area.
Kennedy gives her one, last glare before moving off toward where she and Willow found the first two books.
The elder Summers finds nothing behind the counter, really, except for a strange, almost mystical looking symbol on the register. She finds a piece of paper and a pen and copies for Giles to find later then resumes her search. After a few minutes, she hears a loud crash, like half the store being knocked over. She rolls her eyes, the thought, [Kids.] echoing through her mind. She starts in that direction, figuring she might as well see if Kennedy really is wrecking the store.
* * *
I have to get away from Buffy before I do something neither Willow nor I will forgive myself for. I'm still so furious at that Ethan Rayne guy, but also at Buffy for stopping me.
[So, you're mad at your friend, huh?] A part of my mind asks, tauntingly. [You're mad cause she stopped you from committing murder?]
I'm a Slayer, I tell myself. I kill evil things, so it wasn't murder. As I walk back to where Will first found the talisman book and I found Tara's spellbook, I try to convince myself I'm right, but my words don't sound right, even to the part of me that still wants to feel his neck snap between my fingers.
I shake my head, knowing I'll never win an argument with myself when it concerns killing a human. Instead, I look at the shelves, trying to find a title that sounds magical, but all the books in this section are different now. They're historical books, all twentieth century. Frustrated that this Rayne guy thought of this, I shove the bookcase over, trying to relieve some of the fury I can still feel running through me.
With a loud crash that sends up clouds of dust, the bookcase I pushed, hit the one behind it and they both smashed to the floor with an oddly satisfying crash and lots of breakage.
Breathing a little heavily, I stand and pant, trying to catch my breath when I notice it. A loose board. Before I can think, I call out, "Buffy!"
Her voice, when it comes back, sounds close. "Find anything or just breaking things for the hell of it?"
"Yes." I tell her succinctly.
She rounds a bookcase and scowls a little at me. "To which? A hiding place?"
"Both," I tell her, pointing at the loose board. She watches as I kneel down and move the piece of wood, throwing it aside. Inside the cavity, I spot a cloth wrapped bundle, the right size to be a couple more books. I pull them out and unwrap them, carefully. I can see Buffy's expression as I do, and she looks like she's just not sure if we should be doing this.
Inside the cloth, I find three books, all magical types. Opening the first, I can easily see the same type of ornate initials. TM. "Tara's," I hear Buffy breath. I look up and see she peering over my shoulder and has spotted the same thing I did. "Yeah." I confirm. "All of'em." I hold them out to her and she reverently takes them.
She flips through the pages, her face showing the grief of her lost friend and I have to turn away, cause it's a pale echo of Willow's grief and I know my temper is only barely under control. If I think about that too much, I might... Can't think of that now. I feel around the hole, hoping there might be something else, but it's empty now.
Movement catches my eye and I turn my head in time to see a picture flutter to the floor. Without thought, I pick it up and look at it. I can feel all the air in my body leave at once and I'm suddenly gasping. I stare at the image I'm holding in trembling fingers and feel tears starting to prickle at my eyes, wanting to be shed.
I really thought I was handling this pretty well. I truly was. I mean, I've seen a couple pictures of Tara by now. Willow even has one she keeps in her underwear drawer. But, this picture. This one completely undoes my confidence and goes through my heart like a dull knife. The sight of Willow and Tara, in each other's arms and looking so happy, I just wasn't ready for that.
Sure, in my mind, I know they were this happy and I know Will loved her, still loves her, but I don't share easily and my heart only knows Willow's mine now. Even though I know Tara's dead and no threat, my heart still feels... not betrayed, but still hurt, for some reason. I feel a touch on my arm and I look up, into Buffy's eyes. She tries to tell me something with that look, and I think I get the message, that Willow loves me too. I know that, but I'm gonna have to think about this.
I wordlessly hand the picture back and she tucks it back into a book
"You okay?" She asks me, her voice soft and full of sympathy.
I nod, feeling my anger coming back, still mostly for Willow, but now, for myself as well. This Ethan asshole made me doubt my girl. "I will be, soon as I kill a guy." I tell Buffy, hoping she'll think I'm joking.
When I look back at her face, I know she knows I was being serious. She shakes her head and pulls me to my feet. "Lets get you outta here."
Buffy turns and starts to walk to the door, but I stay where I am. Reaching into a pocket, I pull out a book of matches and look at them, then around the store, then back at the matches.
"Put'em away."
The voice startles me. I look at Buffy and she's staring at me, her expression her commander face. I stare at her for a moment, then deliberately take two steps away and light a match.
She closes the distance, knocking the match from my hand. "Kennedy, you're a Slayer. Act like one!"
The way she says that, it mixes with the feeling inside me and I make a decision "I am." I tell her. "I'm Slaying the evil shop."
"The shop's not evil," she tells me, her voice rising in volume as she gets angry too.
I bend over and pick up a book, tearing a couple pages out of it. Striking another match, I start to light the paper in my hand. "Close enough for me."
Suddenly, I'm being yanked backwards. Matches and paper go flying and I see we're nearly to the door before I can pull away and regain my balance. Rounding on her, I demand of Buffy, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Getting you back to Willow so she can talk some sense into you." Her answer comes back just as hot and angry as my own question. Unexpectantly, she gives me a shove through the door. "Now, go!"
I stumble backwards, then stop and turn toward her with a growl. Today is so not the day to pull this shit.
Buffy glares at me. "Are you channeling Faith?" she demands of me.
Faith. Her name stops me cold, but only cause I'm pissed at her too and I don't want to be thought of at the same time as that bitch. "What are you talking about?"
Buffy gestures toward the store. "With the crazy?"
"Again, what the hell are you talking about?"
She sighs explosively. "Can we just go now? We need to tell Giles what we found."
I just snarl at her. "Fine! I wanna check on Will anyway." 'And ask Giles a question or two' I think to myself. Like who the fuck is Ethan Rayne and how do I find him, since they're old friends.
Buffy looks me in the eyes and asks, "Can you drive?"
"Blindfolded." I assure her, my tone completely indifferent to her worries
"Comforting to know--I think," she mutters.
I just snort with irritation and lead the way back to the bike. Cramming my helmet on, I hand her Willow's and climb on, starting the engine at the same time. As soon as I feel her butt hit the seat and one hand on my waist, I gun the throttle, getting the bike to forty before we leave the block. Buffy's scream makes me smile.
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