Playtime

by Susan L. Carr

Copyright © 2008

skeeter451@mysticmuse.net

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All non-original characters herein belong to persons such as Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, WB, etc, etc, etc, rather than me, myself and I. No compensation is received by me, only the pleasure I take in writing it..
Distribution: The Mystic Muse    http://mysticmuse.net
Feedback: Always welcome.
Spoilers: Doppelgängland
Author's Notes: When I told Dragonwriter17 the plot bunny scampering about in my head for this story, she demanded I write it and write it now. So I did. And then I made her beta it. Hey, there's no such thing as a free lunch, you know.
Pairing: Willow/Buffy

Buffy finished staking a vampire hanging outside the Bronze and then brushed the dust off her coat before heading inside. She was looking for Xander who had mentioned he would be there to see K's Choice. She thought maybe they could go around to Willow's to cheer her up.

Inside, she looked around and finally spotted Xander talking with some strange woman. She trotted up to them. "Oh, there you are," she said, looking at Xander.

"Hey Buff," he replied. She wondered at the look on his face.

"Aren't you gonna introduce me to your…holy god, you're Willow." Buffy felt her heart pounding as she took in the sight of her best friend decked out in…oh god, Buffy thought, she's so beautiful!

Willow's eyes narrowed in recognition. "You," she sneered.

Buffy was taken aback by the tone. She had never heard Willow use that tone before, at least not against her. In a panic she said, "You know what? I, I like the look. It's, um…it's, it's extreme, but it, it, it looks good, you know, it's a leather thing, and, uh…I said extreme already, right?

Willow stepped closer and Buffy had to force herself from moving backward. She felt her heart thump painfully as Willow sneered, "I don't like you."

Buffy was stunned. "Will, I'm sorry about today. You know how my foot likes to live in my mouth. But you know…y-you really didn't have to prove anything."

Buffy waited for a response. Any response. But all she got was total contempt as Willow looked at them. Finally she began to move. "Leaving now," she said and turned her back as if they were nothing more to her than the lowest form of life.

"Will, gotta say not loving the new you," Xander said.

Buffy looked at Willow's retreating back, her panic rising. She ran after her. "Will, wait…"

"Get off me!" Willow roared as she threw off Buffy's hand. In horror, the slayer saw her friend's face morph into the nightmarish visage of a vampire. She couldn't move as she watched Willow stalk away.

Finally, she turned to Xander and saw her feelings reflected in his face.

"Oh my god," he said, barely above a whisper. "Oh my god. Oh no, not Willow."

"Xander?" she said, putting a hand on his arm.

"Buffy," he said, looking up at her. "What are we gonna do?"

Buffy's mind raced as she moved into Slayer mode. "Go to the library. Get to Giles. Stay together. There's strength in numbers and vamps have a bad history of going after their former friends first."

"What?" Xander said and then his face got even whiter. "You don't think…? Willow wouldn't hurt us."

"That's not Willow," Buffy said. "Look, just get to the library. I'll meet you there." She started to leave.

"Buffy!" he stopped her. "What are you going to do?"

She firmed up her face. "My job."

Buffy ran around the corner and stopped when she saw Willow holding down a hulking vampire. She heard the crunch of bone and winced at the vamp's roar of pain. After a few moments, the two vamps headed off in opposite directions, but Buffy continued to follow Willow.

Willow's pace was stalkerish as she idly ran her hand along the chain link fence, the soft ringing of nails on metal echoing softly in the alley. Finally, she stopped and turned around, pivoting gracefully on one boot heel. "I know you're back there, Slayer," she sing-songed. "Come out come out, wherever you are."

Buffy slowly stepped into the light, a stake held in her upraised fist.

Willow smirked. "That's what I like…a woman who comes packing. For me? I'm flattered."

"I'm sorry, Willow," Buffy said. "I love you and I wish it didn't have to be this way, but I have to."

Willow's mouth moved into a pout. "If you loved me, you wouldn't stake me."

Buffy moved closer. "I love you, Willow. I'm sorry," she repeated and thrust the stake forward.

Willow's lightning reflexes caught the stake in mid-flight. "Stake later, Slayer," she said, twisting Buffy's arm painfully, forcing her to drop the stake. "Now it's playtime."

Buffy felt the soft spring of the fence yield to her back as the vampire pushed her against it. Cool, but soft lips pressed against hers. She let out a whimper as she tried to fight off Willow's advances, but then a moan escaped her when she felt Willow's tongue against her lips. With a gasp, she opened her mouth and invited Willow inside.

Kissing Willow was not like kissing Angel, Buffy instantly decided. The soft lips for one. Oh, so soft! And no wimpy pig's blood on her breath. She had fed recently, and from a human. With a groan, she pushed Willow away.

"Willow, no," she gasped. "Let's go to Giles. He'll figure out something to help you."

"Help me?" Willow sneered. "There's only one thing that can help me now, Slayer." With that she pushed her body once again against Buffy's. Buffy tried to struggle, but the vampire grabbed both of her hands and held them down. "Willow!" the slayer cried, trying to push her off. "No!"

Willow leaned back, this time positioning her knee between Buffy's legs and holding her down even harder. Buffy drew in a surprised breath at the contact and involuntarily moaned in pleasure. Willow leaned close and whispered in her ear, "You want me, Slayer." It wasn't a question.

Buffy turned her head away, squeezing her eyes shut. The vampire whispered again, this time increasing the pressure on her thigh. "Admit it…you want me, don't you?"

Buffy moaned and said, "God help me, yes."

Willow smiled in victory, but the sound of her returning minions echoed toward them. She sighed. "Bored now."

With a flash of yellow eyes, she sank her teeth into the vulnerable flesh on Buffy's neck.

Buffy gasped, and her eyes jerked open at the pain. She struggled, but the vampire practically had her tied to the fence. "Willow…please!"

After another moment, Willow suddenly stiffened and leaned back, looking at Buffy. Their eyes met, and Willow's demon eyes seemed to flash with something Buffy couldn't recognize. As the cadre of vampires reached them, Willow finally let her up and turned away. One of the minions started to reach for the slayer, but Willow barked out, "Leave her!" and the minion jumped back into line as if stung.

Holding her hand to her bleeding neck, Buffy watched the group disappear around the corner. She pushed herself off the fence and started to walk toward the school. After a few moments, she started to run.

Buffy walked into the darkened library to find Xander and Giles sitting on the stairs leading to the stacks. She threw off her coat and slumped onto a riser next to them.

Finally Xander said, "This isn't real."

"I can't feel anything," she said, staring blankly at nothing. "Arms, legs, anything." She raised a shaky hand to her neck where the bite mark was still oozing blood.

"She was truly the finest of all of us," Giles sighed.

Xander nodded, playing with the cross in his hand. "Way better than me."

"Much, much better," Giles agreed.

"It's all my fault," Xander said, blaming himself.

"No, it's me," Buffy insisted. "I-it's me. I'm the one that called her reliable. She must have gone out and gotten attacked, which she never would have done if I hadn't have called her reliable. And now my best friend is..."

A shadow fell over the three unnoticed. "What's going on?" Willow asked.

They all looked up surprised, and Xander lifted his cross in defense. Willow looked at them and asked sarcastically, "Jeez, who died?"

When they didn't answer right away, she said in a panic, "Oh, God! Who died?"

Xander jumped up and thrust the crucifix into her face. "Back! Get back, demon!"

Willow looked confused. Xander shook the crucifix as if to activate it and waved it back in her face. Buffy and Giles slowly stood up, realization on their faces.

"Willow, you're alive?" Buffy asked in complete wonder.

Willow frowned at the question, "Aren't I usually?"

Buffy ran to Willow and hugged her. "Oh!"

Willow groaned in slight pain and then again as Xander joined in the group hug fest. She took a breath and said, "I love you guys, too?" Finally, Willow gasped out, "Okay, oxygen becoming an issue."

They finally let her go, embarrassed. Willow looked at them and asked Giles. "Giles, what's going on with these...?" Before she could finish, Giles had swept her up in a fierce hug. "Oh!"

Giles finally released her, very embarrassed at the display. "Oh, sorry."

Willow looked around. "It's really nice that you guys missed me," she said. "Say, you all didn't happen to do a bunch of drugs, did ya?"

"Will, we saw you at the Bronze," Xander explained. "A vampire."

Willow looked astonished, then angry. "I'm not a vampire!" she protested.

"You are," Buffy insisted. "I-I mean, you, you were." She paused, her mouth working. "Giles, planning on jumping in with an explanation any time soon?"

"Well, uh…something," he cleared his throat. "Something, um, very strange is happening."

"Can you believe the Watchers Council let this guy go?" Xander quipped.

Willow looked at Buffy and finally noticed the slayer's neck. "Buffy, you're hurt!"

"What?" Giles said, moving to inspect his slayer.

"Oh, it's nothing," Buffy said. "Just a scratch."

Willow ran to the office and grabbed the first aid kit. "Who bit you?" she asked. She sat Buffy on the table and pulled out a bottle and some pads to attend to the wounds.

"Um, well…" Buffy looked at her friend hovering so close. "You did, but uh…you got away."

Willow paused a moment and then continued. "Well, at least I was very neat, no tearing like you sometimes see. And I didn't take much blood either. You're still flush and warm." Willow laid a hand on her friend's forehead. After a moment, Buffy took it and held it in her hands.

"No, she could have, though," she admitted.

"What do you mean?" Giles asked with a frown on his face.

"She had me, Giles," Buffy said with self-disgust. "I couldn't kill her and she almost got me. I don't know why she didn't finish me off."

Willow looked at Buffy for a long moment and then squeezed her hand. "Maybe for the same reason you couldn't kill her."

Buffy looked at her in surprise as Willow gathered up the trash and took it to the office.

The next morning after Vamp Willow had been sent back home, Buffy was sitting with her best friend trying to cheer her up. She watched in amusement as the school's biggest jock and biggest jerk gave Willow an apple and slinked away…yes, there's definitely slinkage involved, she thought, amused.

"So," she repeated, "you wanna go out tonight?"

"Nine o'clock sound good?" Willow asked with a gleam in her eye. "That'll give me time."

Buffy frowned. "Time for what?" she asked.

"Time to talk to Oz," Willow explained. Buffy frowned and Willow continued, "I mean, if you and I are going to be dating, I don't think I should keep seeing him, do you?"

Buffy's mouth fell open. Willow reached out a finger and pushed up on Buffy's chin, closing her mouth. "I mean," she continued, "you do want me, don't you?"

Buffy's face grew pale. "Oh god," she whispered. "She told you!"

"Well, yeah," Willow said. "Remember: evil, skanky…and definitely kinda gay."

"Willow, I…" Buffy started.

"There I was, being held by the vampire version of me, and let me tell you it was quite disturbing," Willow said, interrupting. "First she offers to turn me, and then she offers to turn you as a playmate for me."

"She did?" Buffy said, horrified.

"Yeah, and…as tempting as that offer was, I kinda like you just the way you are!" Willow finished triumphantly.

"You do?"

"Well, actually…more than like," Willow replied. "Okay?"

Buffy smiled. "Okay."

"So…nine o'clock?"

Buffy nodded, happier than she had been in a long time.

The End