FF Nka Part three

["Christeen Demons" <Shyfox30@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Okay, this is the next part in my Buffy/Voyager crossover. I hope you like 
it. Comments and criticisms are always welcome. In fact, I live off of 
them.:-)

Disclaimer: Buffy characters belong to Joss...Voyager Characters belong to 
Paramount.

Couples: Buffy/Willow; Seven/Janeway; A little bit Willow/Tara

NKA Part three


As the group left the Bronze, Xander ran into Anya, quite literally, who had 
been running into the Bronze at the same time.

"Anya!" Xander exclaimed, barely able to catch the racing girl who had just 
rammed hard into his chest.

"I?m sorry I?m late. Were you leaving?" Anya asked, noticing belatedly that 
they had been heading for the door when she had run into them.

"Yeah...it?s getting late." Xander gave his friends a brief, apologetic 
look. "Look, I?ll see you guys tomorrow...Anya and I have to discuss the 
rudeness of not showing up when one is supposed to." Xander took Anya by the 
arm and ushered her out of the door. The three girls remaining could hear 
the verbal argument as they walked away.

"She?s so...worse than Cordelia." Buffy said wryly, her blue eyes following 
the arguing pair.

"Yeah...he really knows how to pick them." Willow cast an amused glance at 
Buffy which was returned by a warm grin. The mutual display of affection 
disappeared when Tara linked her hand in Willow?s. Tara smiled as she saw 
Buffy flinch, the Slayer?s hand?s curling into involuntary fists as she 
tried control the extraordinary urge to hurt the other woman. The hurt in 
the Slayer?s eyes filled the drone with a feeling of satisfaction, before 
the blue eyes darkened to a mix of nonchalance and pride.

"Well...I guess we?d better get back to the dorm." Buffy said, icily, taking 
the lead as she walked out the door.

They remained silent as they walked back, the tension in the air so thick it 
covered the night like a cloak. Willow could sense the tension in her 
friend, she felt it in herself and between the two of them, but she didn?t 
know how she could possibly fix it. She thought that Buffy would be happy 
for her. She had found somebody to love, a fete she didn?t even know was 
possible after Oz had left. But the look of betrayal and hurt that had been 
in Buffy?s eyes the morning she had told her, revealed that Buffy wasn?t 
feeling happy about the situation at all. Willow wasn?t sure why Buffy would 
even care who she was dating. The Slayer had been spending so much time with 
Riley, that she hardly had any time for her now as it was. And now the 
Slayer was being all hurt by her affections for another woman? It didn?t 
make sense.

Buffy did her best to keep her attention on the road in front of her, and 
not on the couple that was nauseating her by their little displays. She 
didn?t know why they had to stand so close, or walk hand in hand like that. 
She tried not to remember that she had done the very same things with 
Willow. She wondered why it had never occurred to her exactly why she had 
done those things. She had just chalked it up to being something that best 
friends did with each other. But it had felt so special when she and Willow 
had done them. Now it just felt cheap.

Buffy was so wrapped up in her inner musings that she didn?t notice the 
silent presence that followed steathily behind them.

Upon reaching the dorm, Buffy looked back at Willow wondering if she?d be 
following her back into Stevenson Hall or if she?d be going with Tara to her 
dorm room. The mere thought of it sent shivers of revulsion through the 
Slayer, but she was helpless to control the negative reaction. She watched 
as the two women stopped in the moonlight, holding hands as they stared into 
each other?s eyes. They were just about to kiss when Buffy found she 
couldn?t take the sight anymore and the words leapt out of her mouth with no 
direction from her brain. "Will, are you coming or are you going to stand 
there all night looking goofy?" Buffy wanted to kick herself the second the 
words were out but it was too late to call them back, so she just stood 
there waiting for Willow to answer.

The words had the desired effect at least, breaking Willow?s mood as she 
moved away from Tara and sent an evil look Buffy?s way. "Umm, I-I think you 
two need time to talk." Tara suggested quietly, pensive on the outside while 
inside she was grinning like a Chesire cat. "Besides...I have a paper due 
tomorrow."

Willow looked at Tara concerned for a moment that Buffy had said something 
to hurt her, then realized that she was just trying to be a good friend and 
give them the time the needed to work through things. She hugged Tara 
tightly at the gesture, hearing Buffy cough uncomfortably behind her, then 
released her smiling brightly at her love. "Thank you." She whispered. "Are 
you sure you don?t want me to walk you back? It can be dangerous at night."

"I think I can handle it." Tara said, smiling gently at the naive girl. "But 
thanks, anyway. Good night." She kissed her then, noticing the way the 
Slayer?s fists clenched by her sides out of the corner of her eye, then 
walked into the shadows, disappearing from sight.

Buffy glared at Tara?s disappearing back, then noticed the way Willow was 
looking at her and forced herself to stop. She met Willow?s eyes and was 
about to say something when she felt something tickle across her senses. She 
scanned the parking lot, looking for whatever had triggered her Spidey 
sense. She thought she saw something or someone standing by a parked car, 
but when she went to get closer they vanished as if they had never been 
there.

"Buffy?" Willow noticed her friend looking around. ?Please don?t let there 
be a vampire in back of me.? Willow pleaded internally.

Buffy shook her head as if she were trying to clear it. "I thought I sensed 
somebody. Guess I was wrong...as usual." She muttered the last part, then 
continued her way to the dorm.

Willow shook her head at her friend?s strange behavior, then followed her 
into the dorm.

Seven had watched as the women had seperated outside Stevenson hall. Now she 
at least knew where Katheryn?s ancestor lived. She was torn between 
following the drone back to her dorm or contacting Janeway with the 
information. She watched until the drone disappeared into the evening 
shadows, then turned her attention back to the two women who stood outlined 
by the light coming from the dorm. She watched in stunned surprise as the 
blonde froze then seemed to zero in on her position with her stunning blue 
eyes. She noticed her start to step forward and knew that she had somehow 
been spotted. Seven quickly hit her combadge and asked for a beam out.

Upon entering the dorm room, Buffy flopped down on her bed, her arm curled 
under her pillow as she stared passively at the ceiling.

Willow looked at her friend?s position on the bed, knowing she was in a 
depressed mood just by looking at her. She hesitated, looking at the floor 
for a second, then nodded her head as she came to the decision to confront 
her friend. "Buffy, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did, but yes." Buffy sighed, not sure she wanted to get into what 
she felt was sure to be coming.

"Why do I get the feeling that you don?t like Tara?" Willow asked, quietly, 
sitting down on her own bed and staring at her friend?s closed face.

Buffy sighed, debating how to answer the question without hurting Willow?s 
feelings. "Does it really matter, Will?" She asked, trying to stall the 
argument she knew was coming.

"Yes." Willow insisted, wanting the truth from the Slayer.

"Why? What does it matter what I think?" Buffy asked, looking over at 
Willow, genuine confusion in her voice.

"Because you?re my best friend. And I need to know that my best friend and 
the person I love are going to get along." Willow answered. Buffy stared at 
Willow?s face for a long moment, noticing every subtle movement of her 
friend?s jaw as she waited for an answer.

Buffy sighed, wishing she could tell Willow that as long as she was happy 
that?s all that mattered. But she couldn?t put her distrust in Tara aside 
for the sake of her friendship. "No. I don?t like Tara." She answered 
finally, in a quiet voice, cringing internally at the hurt look that crossed 
the intense green eyes before her.

"Why?" Willow asked, the tears in her throat almost making it impossible for 
her to get the words out.

?Tell the truth.? Buffy?s mind whispered to her, seductively. ?Tell the girl 
how you feel about her.? Buffy shut the words out, refusing to listen to 
their call. Where the next words came from, she really had no idea. "Because 
somehow I get the feeling that she?s not quite human." Buffy would swear 
later that the words shocked her as much as they did Willow.

"Oh." The green eyes turned hard as emeralds as they stared directly into 
the Slayer?s soul. "Look who?s talking." The words were like a slap across 
the Slayer?s face, the pain lasting far longer than a slap would have. The 
Slayer stood from her bed, grabbed her leather jacket and headed for the 
door.

"Good night, Will." Were the only words the Slayer said, before the door 
slammed shut, leaving Willow to cry alone on her bed.

to be continued...
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