Reveal
by DawnBTVS
Chapter 13
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, Joss, etc.
Rating: PG-13 (think Buffy show for violence/subject matter/language)
Time Frame: Season 2 nearing "Halloween"
Pairings: G/J, B/W
A/N: Enjoy!
"The Bronze?" Buffy asked skeptically, her eyes running over the sign above the doorway entrance. "Look. I'm fine. Really. I don't need a night on the town because I'm over Snyder."
Xander and Willow exchanged a look before Willow gently pushed a hand against Buffy's back, sending the blonde into the club ahead of them. The place was packed for a Wednesday night and the band on stage seemed to be just finishing a song as several couples walked off the dance floor. Buffy turned around, pouting at Willow, but Willow ignored the look, instead leading Buffy and Xander towards an area beneath the stairs up to the second level. "Drink retrieval, who wants what?" Xander asked.
"Two Diet Cokes," Buffy said, confirming Willow's choice with a look. At the nod, she smiled at Xander before sinking down onto the orange velvet couch next to Willow. "I wasn't complaining that much," Buffy opined, leaning back as Willow's attention fell on the band. The redhead began to sway her head at the soft percussion beneath the upbeat twanging of the bass and lead guitar.
She glanced at Buffy, taking note of the frown at being ignored. "If you want to call spending the whole training session with Giles and the walking me home much, then you were barely making a peep."
"Whoops," Buffy replied, staring down at her black dress shoes in guilt. "What Giles said about putting you at risk..." Buffy glanced up at Willow. Willow stayed quiet and gave an encouraging nod for Buffy to continue, "I think you should start incorporating some of the training. As protection."
"Protection?" Willow asked, arching an eyebrow, and feeling a slight flush. "Are you implying I'm dainty o-or unable to defend myself? I-I mean, I know that I'm not Angel or Giles or even Xander but-but I've done the legwork. I've staked a few vampires."
Buffy winced, seeing Willow's spark of anger. "It's just with training, you'll be better able to protect yourself if I'm not there." Buffy's eyes widened at Willow's scowl.
"Oh, so now I need your protection all the time? I'm perfectly capable of handling myself! I may not be big with the-the jumping and those spin kicks you do, but I'm not some dumb person who runs in fear of everything. Just the really big demons," Willow finished, letting out a huff, and turning away from Buffy. Buffy closed her eyes and went to rest a hand on Willow's shoulder but Willow pulled away, folding her arms across her chest.
"You're certainly... adept at your, uh, unique fighting style, but I just want you to be safe."
Willow turned to Buffy, giving the blonde a cursory glance before returning her focus on the band performing on stage. "What about Xander?"
Buffy chuckled, earning a look from Willow. "Come on, Will. Can you imagine Giles lasting more than a half hour with Xander during training?" asked Buffy, a grin on her lips. Willow tried to keep her scowl but it broke into a smile when she giggled. Buffy giggled too, both girls glancing up at the offending topic of conversation as he returned with their drinks.
"What's with the festival of laughs?" Xander questioned, Buffy accepting her drink first. Willow took hers, taking a sip as Xander slumped onto the red velvet couch, his head against the far armrest closest to the stage.
"Willow and I have a bet," Buffy announced. Willow glanced sharply at the blonde, obviously the idea of a bet being news to her but Xander failed to notice the reaction.
"Does it involve making it through the night in a haunted house for ten thousand dollars?"
Buffy wrinkled her eyebrow. "No. They all received invitations anyway. And it's not a haunted house party either."
"Well, out with the details? If it's juicy enough, I'll take a part in the action."
Buffy gave a close-lipped smile at Willow, arching both eyebrows in challenge. Willow arched an eyebrow of her own, curious as to what Buffy was up to, and aware that she should probably object any second. "I was telling Willow that she should think about training with Giles. Despite her protests, she's agreed."
"Buffy," Willow spoke up but Buffy quickly continued, casting a fearful glance at Willow.
"She doesn't think you can last a half hour training with Giles and I think you can," Buffy hastily finished, drowning out Willow's claims of Buffy lying. Xander cast a skeptical look at Buffy and then fixed his gaze on Willow.
"You don't think I can last that long? You're looking at a man who can stay up four days straight on only one cup of coffee. I see your challenge, and raise you a half hour," Xander stated, watching Buffy and Willow exchange a look. Willow's one of nervousness while Buffy was visibly biting her lip, trying to hold in a giggle at the mental image in her head.
"You're gonna last an hour with Giles?" Willow asked, not believing that Xander had actually raised his training time. Willow sighed, glad that at the very least, she wouldn't quite be the only one training although she wondered if she'd be the only one continuing past the first week.
"You can't even finish the laps during gym," Buffy added before wincing. "Uh, but I have total faith in your ability to learn. Giles is a great teacher," she amended, remembering that she was the one supporting Xander. Xander eyed her with a soft glare and shook his head.
"Yes," he directed at Willow, "and that gym isn't town ordinate, Buffy. So, if I last an hour training with Giles, what does Willow have to do?"
"Under the conditions of our agreement, Willow has to allow me to choose her outfit for the Halloween dance," Buffy commented, smiling at Xander while Willow stared at her, goggle-eyed. "If you don't make it the hour, I'll owe Willow a dance at the Halloween party."
Willow swallowed, not sure she heard right. Evidently, Xander wasn't sure he had heard right either. "Wait, so you and Willow would dance at the party?"
"Yup." Buffy nodded her head, "No purposely quitting after like five minutes on your part for your fantasies either, Xander. You have to make an attempt and besides, don't you wanna see what I have picked out for Willow?"
"Oh," Willow whispered, ideas running through her mind fleetingly before new costumes entered. Her blush was growing as the costumes became more inappropriate. "Uh, but what about Snyder?"
Buffy cast a surprised look at Willow before turning her head to Xander, trying to mask her surprise from him. "Well, nothing says that the dance is male to female only. If Snyder calls us on it, I'm sure the school board would love to hear about any discrimination."
"You already have her costume picked out?" Xander asked, intrigue on his face. He spread his hands open in a 'come on, spill' gesture but Buffy shook her head. Xander's face fell before he wrinkled an eyebrow, peering past Willow. "Fang boy's here."
Buffy turned, peering over the top of the couch, before slumping back down with a groan. She glanced at Willow, seeing the slight narrowing of her eyes. "I'll be right back, okay?"
"Kay."
Buffy gave a close-lipped smile of thanks, rising from her seat, and skirting around the redhead. A quick weave through the crowd had the blonde standing before Angel. The vampire had chosen a seat at an isolated table, a bottle of scotch on the rocks before him. "You can drink?" Buffy asked, taking a seat across from him. Angel showed no surprise at the entrance and instead just stared at Buffy over his drink.
"We can drink and eat food. Most of it tastes bland but it helps us to blend in with the environment." Angel leaned forward, eyeing Buffy. "You've slept with her," he observed, pulling back as Buffy narrowed her eyes at his lack of tact.
"Did not," Buffy protested.
"I can smell her on you, Buffy. I'm not implying you two had sex, just that you've slept together."
Buffy shot Angel a look. "What we do now is none of your business. You were the one who practically threw me into her arms."
Angel lowered his eyes from Buffy's challenging stare, the blonde now having her arms crossed over her chest. "What we would've had wasn't fair to you."
"Way to string me along," Buffy hissed. "You knew about your soul. Knew that we could never be close. Was it some selfish, vampiric bragging right that you had been with a Slayer other than draining her blood?"
Angel lifted pained eyes to Buffy, causing the blonde to look away towards the couples on the dance floor. Xander was trying to dance with a brunette a couple inches shorter than him and he kept stepping on her feet judging by her tiny yelps every third or fourth step. "You don't need to be bitter with me."
"I didn't even have a say!" Buffy exclaimed, her palms pressed against the table. "You made the decisions for the both of us."
Angel shook her head, taking a small sip of his drink. "I had to, Buffy. You're not even seventeen years old yet. To put such a choice on your shoulders would have been too much for you to handle."
Buffy gawked at him. "Too much?" she snarled quietly. "I've died once, Angel. Being the Slayer doesn't afford me the opportunity to be the naïve, brainless schoolgirl anymore. Constantly I'm told that I am the only one who can stop the apocalypse. That as the Slayer I am the Chosen One who has to save the world from whatever demon wants to blow it up," Buffy remarked, leaning back in her chair. "I think I could've handled making a decision in my love life."
Angel returned her glare with a stoic look. "Is that why you were asking me how to handle Willow?" he asked softly, watching the blonde grimace. Buffy lowered her eyes.
"I thought my boyfriend would've liked a say," Buffy snapped quietly. Buffy turned away, catching sight of a blonde standing by the red couch where Willow had shifted. Buffy inhaled, glancing at Angel. "I'll see you." Buffy pushed herself from the table and began striding to where Amy and Willow were talking.
~~~BTVS~~~
Willow stared up at the fellow witch, intrigued with the idea of a spell to be able to alter physical features. "So, like can a person transform into another person?" Willow asked, curious just how deep the spell ran. So far from what she had gathered, a person was able to change hair color and eye color but Willow had already heard about those. Looking up old texts, Willow had learned about spells for transmutation but she hadn't been able to come across anything concrete.
"That requires quite a bit of skill, well out of my range. Even Ms. Calendar would probably have trouble. I have a book I could loan you though. About the best it has for transformations are animals like a wolf or a Rottweiler, nothing much larger than that."
"Really?" Willow asked, feeling herself growing more intrigued at the thought of being able to transform to a squirrel or a bat with a simple incantation. It could help Buffy too if she was ever in a tight spot. Who needed training when spells were a thought away?
Amy nodded, a small smile on her face as she leaned forward. "I was thinking of testing out some spells. You know, getting my feet a little wet. You in?"
"Thanks for the offer but... I'm still kinda recovering from our last spell and, well, could I peruse your book before we do something?" Willow asked, hoping she wasn't stepping on Amy's toes. "It's just that I'll be more prepared if I have some idea of what the spell requires to be performed correctly."
Amy smiled, flashing white teeth. "Sure," she agreed. "I'll stop by your house sometime and I'll make sure to mark anything that'll interest you... and me."
"Great," Willow remarked, her eyes glancing to the side as Buffy came into view, not looking pleased. Willow frowned, thinking maybe Angel had rubbed her the wrong way or something. Seeing Buffy's eyes narrow taking in Amy, Willow understood. Did Buffy think Amy was the reason she was making with the woozy?
"What's going on?" Buffy asked, keeping her voice calm and neutral despite her body's actions. Buffy swung her gaze to Willow, causing the redhead to avert her eyes at the penetrating stare.
Amy shrugged. "Just a little conversation about mutual hobbies," Amy supplied with an air of indifference. "What? You still think I had something to do with what happened?"
Willow turned her attention to Amy, a frown on her face. "But you didn't. I mean, you warned me."
"She's the one making the accusation," Amy said, gesturing with her head at Buffy. Willow turned confused eyes to Buffy. Buffy gritted her teeth, not about to get thrown in the middle.
"I didn't make an accusation. I just... gave Amy my voice of reason when I talked with her about your condition after the spell."
Willow gave a smirk. "So you made an accusation."
Buffy sighed, looking away from Willow to Xander, now dancing with a different brunette but seeming to fair slightly better. The brunette was actually smiling. "I just want you to be careful about this sorcery stuff. Some of it's dangerous and Giles has expressed his concern. That's enough for me to become parental Buffy."
Willow softly smiled at the blonde's concern. "I can handle the bad, Buffy. Besides, I already have Giles breathing down my neck. He has your role covered and if you're concerned about backup, Jenny's there too."
"I'll keep her on the tried and narrow, Buffy. As bad as what Willow's going through, the spell itself wasn't black magic," Amy remarked, emphasizing the words black magic in reminder to Buffy's threat. "I gotta get home but I'll drop the book off sometime this weekend."
"Great," Willow confirmed, giving a quick wave as Amy departed with a lingering look at Buffy. Willow turned to the blonde who had flopped herself on the empty space beside her. Willow frowned. "Still hold a grudge over the witch thing? That was her mother you know."
"Blood is stronger than water. If Amy has contact with the mojo her mom was wielding than I don't trust her as far as I can throw her, which is probably farther than most people."
"It's not like I'm doing spells for demons," Willow pointed out, aware that Buffy was avoiding looking at her by focusing on Xander, still dancing with some brunette. "I'll be working with Jenny and Giles. Not like I could have better teachers, right?" Willow gently nudged Buffy with her shoulder to get her attention. Buffy glanced at her and gave a resigned sigh.
"There are boundaries. Amy does anything to hurt you and I'm going after her," Buffy warned, staring hard at Willow.
Willow nodded her, giving her a close-lipped smile. "Xander said you were over protective."
Buffy shot a soft glare at the boy dancing. "As the Slayer, I can afford it. Did you know that the average Slayer's lifetime was around six months? The really good ones made it around a year to a year and a half."
"They didn't have the Scoobies to watch their backs," Willow said, a proud smile on her face. "And times have changed. You don't have to worry about chasing vampires in binding corsets or trying to kick a demon in a cook's skirt."
"I think I'd look sexy in a corset... although slaying would be a problem. Not the type of wear for a flexible ex-cheerleader."
Willow shook her head, creasing her eyebrow. "It'd show you off in places but I like when you're able to breathe."
"Breathing's a necessity. That's covered. As are my places," Buffy added, quirking an eyebrow at the blushing redhead. Both girls focused their attention on Xander walking back to them, head lifted high in confidence. Willow and Buffy exchanged a look. "Aren't you missing somebody?"
Xander chuckled. "A good gentlemen makes sure to provide the ladies with entertainment on the dance floor only."
Willow smiled. "Her boyfriend showed up?"
"I consider it achievement enough to not be pummeled right now, Will. Let's please look past the details."
Buffy nodded sympathetically. "Look on the bright side, Xander. With training, you can assert your machoness." Buffy gave an amused smile at Willow's giggle. Xander looked himself over.
"Will it make me more... physically intimidating?"
Buffy creased her eyebrow in thought, running her eyes over his body. "Nope," she replied, shaking her head.
"In light of that disappointing revelation, either of you care to boogie? Call it an ego massage."
Buffy glanced at Willow with a sly smile. Willow stared back, worried at what Buffy's mind was plotting. "What?"
"You should. If Xander's endurance falters, because I trust him so," Buffy commented, glancing at Xander before bringing her eyes back to Willow, "You might want to get some practice in. It is the Halloween dance after all."
"What?" Willow squeaked, bringing her eyes to Xander's puzzled ones. "Not that I don't want to dance with you, Xander but... I don't need practice. Really. I, uh, I follow."
Buffy and Xander's eyes met. Buffy smiled softly and turned to Willow, "I lead. See? Perfect match. So, up," Buffy prodded as Xander stepped forward, taking Willow's hand in his own and tugging the girl to her feet. Willow gave a startled look before glancing at Buffy with a look of betrayal. Buffy's grin only caused Willow to roll her eyes as Xander led her onto the dance floor, ignoring her protests.
"Just one dance. One, Xander," Willow said as a techno beat started up over the speakers. Buffy leaned back on the couch, content to watch Willow attempting to keep up with Xander and failing miserably. Buffy pursed her lips, trying to figure out if she wanted Xander to win or lose. With a shrug, she pushed it out of her mind. Giles was gonna have an outburst when she explained to him what she wanted.
TBC