CSI: Sunnydale
by Rin
Secret Societies
[reviews]
--------------
Darla had big plans for the blonde and redhead. She was devising them, preparing everything to make it perfect. If everything went well, she may even turn the two, just for fun. Torture was always a pleasure, and she had a feeling both would be great partners. She did miss the companionship she had with Angelus; immortality can get lonely but the evil always kept her company.
She carefully examined all of her tools, making sure they were perfectly rusted, perfect for infecting, perfectly sharp or dull. She was going to have so much fun.
---------------
Doyle walked the premises, placing markers so that Buffy could take pictures of the crime scene. They were short-staffed this week, and they only had this one solvable murder to investigate. He noticed Willow talking with Kate again, the blonde detective flirting once more, since it was close to closing a big case. The first one since the new blonde came into all their lives, and it was obvious from the "lovey" eyes they would give each other (especially when they thought noone was looking) that Summers and the boss lady were still harboring those feelings. They really needed to get together, though Doyle knew Willow loved her job too much, and believed Buffy was refraining because of the same reason. Stupid rules. Most CSI rules didn't apply here in Sunnydale, so why that one?
"I have one request." Buffy looked up at her partner, arching an eyebrow.
"What's that, princess?" Doyle shook his head to come back to reality.
"Either come back to work, or tell me what you were thinking. One of the two because this silence from you is disheartening." Buffy smirked before letting the camera fall to her chest.
"Sorry, Buff. Just thinkin' about a new project of mine. Did you find something?" Doyle felt a sneeze coming, and was afraid of being sick again. He took more sick days off, even more than Xander because the smallest sneeze, and he was outed. There was no way for him to explain himself if his Self were shown, and sneezes always brought it out.
"Are you okay? You're not as talkative, and you're not teasing me about Willow." Buffy was afraid he knew, finally, and they were being so careful.
"Nah. No need. I know." Doyle started to look for clues again, as he shined his flashlight at the dry land.
"You know? I was afraid of that." Buffy panicked. Would he tell? Would she be fired? Would Willow be fired?
"Yeah, you can't date her because of the restrictions. I get that; thought I'd cut you some slack, since it's obvious you're still harboring strong feelings for her. No need for me to rub salt in the wound any more than I already have." Doyle looked at her. She was panicking. Why would she panic? "I think the question is: are YOU feeling well, princess? You're all flushed and sweating. Do you need to take a break?"
"Maybe wouldn't be a bad idea." Buffy looked over to see Willow frown a bit, as she continued talking to Kate. "Wonder what they're talking about."
"I don't wanna say what they're probably discussing. Then, I really would be rubbing salt in those wounds." Doyle knew the patterns from the past. Whenever a big case was solved, Detective Lockwood and Dr. Rosenberg went on major sex fests, sometimes the only vacations they'd ever take. Willow would come back to the office cheerier and happier, and Kate would start to pine over Willow again for a few weeks before they went back to the normal patterns of every day work.
"I know they dated Doyle. It's not the end of the world if you tell me." Buffy walked back to the CSI van, and deposited the camera and materials, ready to call it a night. They had what they needed as soon as they picked up the samples from the site. This would be her first major murder case closed, and no vampires or demons involved. Just good old-fashioned homicide, human to human.
"I'd rather not. It was my New Year's resolution not to give you a hard time about your feelings for Red, and what those two are probably talking about involves something your pretty little head shouldn't have to think about."
"They're not going to get back together, Doyle, if that's what you mean." Buffy wanted so badly to tell somebody, anybody besides Dawnie...but all her friends worked with them, and if they were ever caught, they didn't want their friends involved.
"They never get back together...well, emotionally, at least." Doyle really felt a sneeze coming but he took deep breaths to prevent it. He liked these people, and didn't want to scare them.
"Surely they wouldn't...not after all this time...I mean...Kate's attractive, sure but..." Buffy didn't want to believe the implications Doyle presented. "They slept together after they broke up? How long did that happen?"
"Well...before you came?? I believe three or four days before your arrival was the last time. Apparently, just because Rosenberg is coldhearted towards her, Kate still has a knackering for the heat in her sheets." Doyle could see Buffy start to flush again. "Look, maybe they won't anymore. It's obvious Willow has those feelings for you, too, which makes it all the more reason why I don't want to break out the salt....and it'd only happen after big cases were closed. This is just...I mean...ahh...see? I did exactly what I didn't want to do. I'm sorry, princess."
"No, no, it's okay. It's...good to know. Makes it hurt less...or more, I can't decide yet. Either way, I'm glad you told me." In the morning, they were supposed to have breakfast, maybe watch a rented movie...just be together, maybe makeout some more, maybe take another heated step to sleeping together themselves. Surely Willow wouldn't...with Kate...not since they were...
"Make a fella feel worse, why don't ya?" Doyle pouted a little before sneezing out of the blue. Then, it happened...what he wanted to hide was out in the open. He shook his head to clear the spines, and noticed Buffy's shocked look. "Oh...um...I think I'm catching a cold."
"You...uh...your face...and...the spines...and...what..." Buffy was flabbergasted; what just happened? She couldn't ignore it; she knew the truth, so her mind wouldn't make up some fake story. "Just tell me you're not evil?"
"Oh, princess. I was hoping it would never come to this." Doyle took a deep breath. "I was hoping your brain didn't catch it...guess that's to be expected from somebody that investigates minute details for a living."
"Are you some new kind of vampire? The ones we saw...they were all...grr argh..." Buffy made claws, and acted like a movie monster. "You've never acted evil, and I've seen you eat...and drink...a lot. I hope it wasn't blood you were drinking all those times because...eww..."
"You're taking this too well." Doyle was surprised but glad he didn't have to hide it anymore, or at least afraid of hiding it. He wasn't exactly proud of it. The Watcher in the morgue was the one he was most afraid of.
"I've had time to get used to the idea that we're not alone." Buffy scratched her neck before breathing out heavy. "So...what are you then?"
"Have you collected all the samples? Ready to go? Shift's over in forty, and I'm starving." Willow interrupted before noticing the flushed faces. "Were you two flirting again?"
"Wills...it's not...just...Doyle...he's..." Buffy wasn't sure Doyle wanted his secret exposed, especially to the boss lady. Then again, she didn't know if Doyle was evil, or sacrificed innocent goats or children. Maybe he ate babies at home; he did live alone, and he never had a solid relationship. "She knows, too. We were attacked on a case; it was around the time I got here."
"Know what?" Willow waited for an answer but nobody was talking. "Is everything okay? Did you find something else?"
"No, doc. Just...Buffy found out something about me that I'm embarrassed about...but I guarantee..." He looked Buffy in the eyes with all the sincerity he could muster. "I'm not dangerous or evil in any way."
"Doyle's a demon." Buffy felt relieved, though she still had tons of questions. She knew Willow would have more, and better ones.
"Half-demon, actually. My father was a Brachen demon, pretty blue spikes all over, never met the bloke but mom had pictures to show me. I didn't even know until I was 21. Mom just sorta thought she'd wait to see if I sprouted his genes before telling me. It practically ruined my marriage."
"Wait! You were married?!" Buffy was shocked. Doyle was so...
"Yeah, he was a teacher before this job, too. Little kids, though I always wondered why the switch; figured it was something more drastic than just a divorce." Willow wasn't acting surprised at any of this, which sort of bothered Buffy. How could her girlfriend be so distant from everything and so different at home when they were alone? It surprised her more how passionate and caring Willow really is than even Doyle's secret identity.
"So...now you know. Now what?" Doyle directed his question more towards Willow.
"Brachen? Let me do some research, and talk to you more afterwards. Right now, let's collect this evidence, and call it a night." Willow was exhausted, and more than frustrated with Kate. Even after the blowup at the Christmas party, she asked if she'd like to have breakfast, knowing full well the intentions since their big case was solved once they collected this evidence. She was baffled, and somewhat tempted to fall into old patterns, remembering those lustful 'vacations' fondly. Then, she saw Buffy, and those temptations were gone. The only person she wanted to celebrate physically with was the one person she couldn't until the curtains were drawn.
They gathered their evidence, tagged it, and deposited it to the appropriate corners of the lab before taking off for the night. Buffy and Willow were driving to Willow's house in silence, both contemplating the same things: Kate and Doyle.
When they finished breakfast (Willow's omelets), they cuddled on the couch to watch the morning news. They were too tired and exhausted from the mind-boggling Doyle news that they didn't attack each other on sight. Instead, they just relaxed, ready to enjoy the next few days off.
"What do you think about Doyle?" Buffy finally broke the silence, realizing it was one of their first uncomfortable silences.
"I won't know until I learn more about his demon." Willow just continued to watch the screen, yawning a bit.
"How do you do that?" Buffy was truly baffled. "Is it all about research with you? Do you always have to know everything about something before you decide what to think about it?"
"No. I don't know everything about you, and I know that I like you a lot." Willow smirked a bit but stopped when she noticed that Buffy didn't reciprocate. "Is something wrong?"
"No. Yes. I don't know." Buffy huffed in frustration before removing herself from the warm cuddle. "It's just...you're so detached, and then we're alone, and you're so...caring. How can you be two people? Does it not hurt that we can't be together, or at least tell our friends that we're together?"
"It's more difficult than that, Buffy. You know this." Willow knew that her professional demeanor would come between them eventually; she just didn't think it'd be so soon. Then again, they were just thrown for a big loop with Doyle. "I realize that I'm detached; I have to be in order to get the job done, though. If I let my emotions take over my investigations, I would go literally insane with frustration and guilt, especially here because of the high unsolved crime ratio. Knowing what we know...it makes it that much more difficult because we know we can't solve cases; we know we can't find tangible evidence, and place an actual person behind bars. That's why these big cases are always such a big deal at work when we close them with a definitive arrest."
"Are you gonna sleep with Kate?" Buffy didn't want to say anything, was mentally mantra-ing not to say anything but it blurted out.
"No, of course not." Willow looked hurt at that. "Why would you...oh..."
"Doyle told me that you two usually..." Buffy made a provocative hand gesture.
"I won't lie to you."
"Oh, god." Buffy felt sick.
"Nothing like that, Buff. Listen to me: you're the only person I want to physically celebrate with now. Kate is my past, even if she still doesn't understand this. I figured she'd ask me but...no. I wouldn't...not when I have you, and I'll take you any way I can get you. So we're not having sex to celebrate? That's not a problem with me. I like this just fine, too...but like I said, I won't lie to you. Yes, we always seemed to...that." Willow pointed at Buffy's hands to indicate her previous gesture. "But things have changed for me, and I can't say yes to her anymore, even if we put Hitler behind bars."
"That's..." Buffy took another deep breath. It was true; Willow was such a passionate person. How could she doubt for a minute that the redhead would go back to Kate? Was it because they weren't having sex yet? "We could...ya know..."
"No. Not yet. I told you. I want to do this right, and I don't want our first time to be because we closed a big case. I don't want you to think that's the only time sex will happen with me. I'm in this relationship, Buffy, because I want a relationship with you, not because you're convenient and my hormones go crazy happy when we solve a case."
"I know that now. It's just...it's been three months, Willow, and...don't get me wrong...the kisses are great, grabbing your ass is great...the kisses are great...just...I want there to be more." Buffy took a deep breath. "I kinda love you."
Willow just smiled before leaning in for a short, hot kiss. She didn't have to say another word; Buffy understood.
----
"Are those two ever gonna do it already? They're driving me insane...surely they're not nuns. I've seen them kiss; that's not how nuns kiss. At least none of them I've eaten." Darla watched through the window as the two continued kissing. She wouldn't make her next move until she knew they were physically intimate; it always made it that much sweeter to torture lovers. These two were taking forever; it was like they were virgins, and she knew that wasn't the case. Darla was smart...she did her own research.
The two stood, and the lights went off in the house. Darla watched, as the continued kissing all the way to the bedroom.
"Finally." Darla climbed the tree, and prepared to watch a little live action. She was very disappointed, as the two just went to bed. "Dammit. What does a girl have to do to get these two to sleep together?"