From: badbard <tiger_by_night@xxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: buffyloveswillow@xxxxxxxxxxx
To: buffyloveswillow@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [buffyloveswillow] FF There can only be Three (challenge answered)
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 20:10:24 -0800 (PST)
There can only be Three
by badbard
(tiger_by_night@xxxxxxxxx)
WARNING/DISCLAIMER:- This story is written directly
in answer to Ivy Gort's challenge to the
BuffyLovesWillow list. Thus it contains these 5
elements:
1) Willow saves Buffy
2) Willow tells how she and Oz are sooo OVER
3) Buffy reminisces about her one night in Angel's
arms
4) The number three must be somwhere (and incidentally
crops up everywhere *EG*)
5) Giles makes a phone call regarding his anxiety over
one of the Slayerettes
Now on to the legal...cr...formalities. I don't own
Buffy or Willow or anything much but I do happen to
own a slightly used kleenix and I'm interested in
trading it for some writing paper. How 'bout it?
Advertising here is cheaper than the trading post...
Buffy loves Willow and Willow loves Buffy and if you
don't love it, leave.
Takes place before Sunnydale High blew sky high.
Towards end of third season.
***
"In every generation there is a Chosen One," read
Giles, pouring over a particularly dusty volume of
prophecies while Buffy yawned and Willow tapped away
happily at the library computer. It was Friday night
and Buffy was absolutely certain she had an elsewhere
to be. Now if she could just convince her stuffy
Watcher of that..."She is the Slayer!" proclaimed said
stuffy Watcher.
"Thus sayeth the book," groaned said Slayer, rocking
back on her chair to prop her boots up on the table.
"But wait, there's more..."
"She will fight against the demons..." recited the
librarian before stumbling to a stop to stare at the
moldy tome in disbelief.
"And?" Buffy asked, watching worriedly as his cheeks
grew grey.
"And..." stammered Giles, "and...and she will die."
Buffy gaped at him. Willow stopped typing. Buffy
glanced over but the hacker was hiding behind her new
cropped haircut. "So?" managed the Slayer finally,
wishing Willow would take her hand for moral support,
"everybody dies sometime." She started as Willow
abruptly pushed back her chair and moved around the
table to Giles' side.
"What else does it say?" demanded the hacker, sounding
strained. Buffy could tell from the set of Willow's
shoulders that her slight friend was about to rip the
book from Gile's shaking hands.
"Ah," mumbled the Watcher, "uh it says that..."
Willow grabbed the book. Giles staggered to a seat.
"The Slayer will die," read Willow. "The Slayer of
this troubled generation will die under circumstances
not befitting her calling. For as long as evil has
existed in this world, there can only be three."
"Say what?" said Buffy.
"Hmm huh?" muttered Giles.
Willow ignored them. "One to stand against the forces
of darkness, one to watch over her and one to hold
onto her soul while she battles the souless."
"Say what?" said Buffy.
"Most interesting," muttered Giles, pushing his hands
into his tweed pockets. "The tome seems to suggest
that the...er...the Slayer's
untimely...er...dea...er...demise can be averted.
Seemingly by embracing the power of three."
"The power of three?" queried Buffy in obvious
disbelief. "I saw that on tv last week! Look, Giles,
I'm not a witch and I don't have such bad taste in
guys that I'm dating a warlock. Sure, I was dating a
demon..." Giles brought his hands from his pockets to
brandish them excitedly in the air.
"Angelus! Perhaps he is the third power in the
prophecy. You, Buffy are most certainly the only one
standing against the forces of darkness and I would
assume I'm your Watcher despite the fact we are no
longer sanctioned by the Council..."
"Blah blah blah," parroted Buffy. "Blah blahbity blah
and speak American please."
"Is Angel the holder of your soul?" Giles wondered
aloud, pacing around them. Suddenly he whirled and
pinpointed the Slayer over his glasses. "Well is he?"
"Personal much?!" gasped Buffy. Giles continued to
stare her down.
"Please, Buffy," he said quietly. "It is imperative
that you cooperate. Our understanding of this
prophecy could be the only thing standing between you
and..."
"...I'm standing," interrupted Willow nervously,
placing the book back down and finally showing her
face. It was tearstained. "I'm here and last time I
checked I was standing up, although I really feel like
sitting down now and I'm a bad-ass Wiccan and if
anything were to happen I could, I dunno, turn it into
a rat although I haven't really had much, make that
any, success with rat spells..."
"Will," said Buffy gently, gesturing to the chair next
to her, "sit," and surprisingly enough, Willow did.
"Now Buffy," began Giles earnestly. "We need to know
the truth. Does Angel hold your soul?"
"He can't!" burst out Willow. When they stared at her
she muttered rather bitterly, "he can barely hold onto
his own."
"Yes, well," bumbled Giles. "Buffy?"
"I was in love with Angel," remembered the Slayer,
staring down at her hands only to half-see them
encased in the large cold hands of her vampiric lover.
"Was?" whispered Willow.
"Go on," prompted Giles.
"I stayed the night," murmured Buffy. "He...I...we
both wanted me too." She paused and took a deep
shuddering breath. "He was my first."
"Oh Buffy," choked Willow. Giles shook his head
slightly.
"He was wonderful," whispered Buffy. "So gentle, so
eager to please...we took it slow. He did everything
right. Afterwards when I was drifting off to sleep,
safe in his arms, I realised I couldn't hear his heart
but by then, I knew I'd given him mine so that was
okay. We loved each other so much. We could've spent
the rest of my life together."
"And afterward?" asked Giles, beginning to look
uncomfortable. Buffy sighed. How clearly she
recalled the first terrifying seconds after finally
understanding, following so close on the painful
confusion waking up alone had brought. Angel had
taunted her, tormented her and devoured her aching
heart, handing her the mutilated remains on his
halloween platter. Angel had been her first and
there'd been times since when he'd eyed her neck
hungrily and she'd been equally sure he'd be her last.
"I was in love with him," she admitted and Willow hid
her face. "That's not the same as this soul reaper
stuff though. What is a soul anyway?"
"Ah, well that's an interesting question really,"
began Giles, "there have been many theories put
forward and..."
"Giles!" interrupted Buffy. "Priorities! Prophecies!
I'll even take afew Prayers right about now."
That was when the lights went out.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" screamed Giles. "Somebody turned out
the lights!"
"Did they?" asked Buffy ever so casually, not
bothering to move from her comfty chair as her spidey
sense weren't sensing much of anything in the way of
corpse life. "I hadn't noticed." Sudden Soft lips
pressed against Buffy's hair and a small distinctly
feminine hand smoothed at her cheek.
"Did you notice that?" purred Willow into her ear.
Buffy sat up straight and took her boots off the
table. A finger brushed over her upper lip and shy
green eyes gleamed boldy in the dark.
"W...Willow?" gasped Buffy in disbelief.
"I'll find the generator," offered an oblivious Giles.
"You two girls keep each other company. Buffy, be on
the alert."
"I'm alert," mubled Buffy. "I'm so alert it's giving
me tingles."
Willow's hands curved over Buffy's familiar features,
easily tracing a map to the destination she had wanted
to arrive at for a very long time. She didn't need
the light to find Buffy's slightly parted lips in the
cosy darkness, to taste them tentatively with her own.
She didn't need the light to hear Buffy's deliciously
heavy breathing or to take note of Buffy's increase in
body temperature. Willow would never be scared of the
dark again.
"Willow," husked Buffy, finding Willow's hands in the
dark only to have the Wiccan bend down to cover her
palm with small sweet kisses. "Will, what about Oz?"
"Who?" panted the hacker. Buffy grinned uneasily,
concentrating on the warmth in the darkness that was
Willow, moving around her, doing things to her...
"I guess that answers that question."
"No it doesn't," decided Willow relunctantly, seating
herself in a delighted Buffy's lap and wrapping her
arms around her Slayer's neck. "I want to share
everything with you, B...Buffy. That includes the
truth."
"I'm here, Will," murmured the Slayer, burying her
face into Willow's warm chest. "I've always been
here."
"Except when you were with Angel," reminded Willow and
Buffy's cheeks coloured as she realised the truth
behind the painful statement. "To tell you the truth,
Buff, I was never really in love to Oz. I know it
sounds awful. I just wanted to be with somebody who
wanted me. I was sick of waiting for Xander, sick of
wanting you so hopelessly. Buffy, I needed someone to
love me for all that I am, not just all that I could
be..."
"Willow," whispered Buffy. "I may have only just put
a name to it but I've always...I've always loved you.
Like that. Like this."
"I know," whispered back the hacker. "I mean, I even
knew! I knew that you didn't know you knew!"
"There's the Willow I know and love," giggled Buffy,
hugging her best friend close to her. With a dull
roar the generator ground to life and Giles was
revealed in all his tweedy glory, studying the
cuddling girls almost protectively over his glasses.
"Am I to understand," he began in mild disbelif, "that
I didn't need to engage the services of the emergency
generator? That I could simply have flicked the light
switch?"
"Concept," grinned Buffy, watching as Willow's face
flushed shiny and red.
"Sorry," mumbled the embarassed Wiccan. "I had to do
some...some...reasearch, yeah that's it!"
"I heard," smiled back Giles, putting his hands back
into his pockets with evident satisfaction. "I think
we can safely assume Willow is the enigmatic third of
the prophecy, Buffy. Now that you two have...teamed
up you should be safe as houses."
"Houses that haven't issued invitations to their
friendly neighbourhood dead," quipped the Slayer,
getting to her feet with Willow's hand safely esconed
in hers. "Thank god we don't have to play library
anymore! I was about to die from boredom."
"But I saved you!" bubbled Willow, curling her fingers
through Buffy's.
"From a fate WORSE than death," agreed Buffy
cheerfully. "C'mon, Will. Let's leave Giles to make
his morning tea." Glancing out the windows, the
Watcher saw the first hints of sunlight were
highlighting the dawn sky. Practically skipping in
place, Willow followed Buffy out of the library.
"Can we have a sleepover?"
Giles smiled fondly after them and even indulged in a
little rolling of the eyes. Then he turned back to
his book, deciding to finish the paragraph before
turning in.
'The Slayer of this troubled generation will die under
circumstances not befitting her calling. For as long
as evil has existed in this world, there can only be
three. One to stand against the forces of darkness,
one to watch over her and one to hold onto her soul
while she battles the souless. When the three work
together, even unsurmountable obstacles can be
conquered. Yet heed this warning. The third will
falter and fall and when her spirit journeys past the
grave, the Slayer will not be far behind.'
Giles blinked. His very blood felt as though it was
congealing in his veins. "Willow," he whispered
harshly. "Not Buffy, Willow. Merciful heavens. I
have to warn them." Picking up the phone he started
dialing. Nobody answered.
THE END
Much evil laughter from my end. *VBEG* Ah, it was a
happy ending of sorts. It answered all aspects of the
5 point challenge. And it bloody well better have a
sequel. *ROTF*
=====
Get an eyeful inside Gabby's BGSB!
http://members.xoom.com/badbard/
FanFiction Addiction? Satisfy your cravings
http://members.xoom.com/badbard/fanfiction.html
Join my update list. Mail bgsb-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Community email addresses:
Post message: buffyloveswillow@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subscribe: buffyloveswillow-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx
Unsubscribe: buffyloveswillow-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxx
List owner: buffyloveswillow-owner@xxxxxxxxxxx
Shortcut URL to this page:
http://www.onelist.com/community/buffyloveswillow
<< text3.html >>