The Third Power
by Kirayoshi
Closer To Fine
[reviews]
Chapter 3
Closer To Fine
"I went to the doctor,
I went to the mountains,
I looked at the children,
I drank from the fountains.
There's more than one answer to these questions,
Pointing me in a crooked line.
And the less I seek a source for some definitive,
The closer I am to fine."
--Indigo Girls
"Closer To Fine"
"Get your--" Scissor kick to the head. "--slimy paws--" Jab to the kidneys. "--off me!" Uppercut to the jaw. Buffy nodded with grim satisfaction as the monster that bore the face of a man she once loved fell hard on the sidewalk. No, not love, she mentally corrected herself, lust. No, not even that, just hiding from my feelings for Willow. She ended that line of thought quickly; she didn't have time to deal with it. First, she had to eliminate this newbie vampire who, just two days ago, was a man named Riley Finn.
"Yeah, baby," Finn taunted her. "How did you know I like it rough?"
"Just lie still and die, monster," Buffy growled, reaching for a nearby sign, advertising some mayoral candidate. Ripping the signpost off the sign, she brandished it as a makeshift stake.
"Now, y'see," Riley smiled, showing his needle-tipped canine teeth, "I'm hurt. After all I did to become what you always wanted, what turns you on in a man."
"You mean--" Buffy could feel her jaw drop, imagining that she looked like Wile E. Coyote after watching the Road Runner shift into third and leave him in the dust. "You wanted to become a vampire? Man, you're even dumber than I thought!"
"Hey," Riley shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say? You clearly wanted that Pretty Boy from L. A., I finally figured it out! Buffy, the Vampire Layer!" Riley started to laugh viciously at his crass joke.
His laughter stopped when Buffy rammed her fist into his left eye, sending him flying again. "Riley, get a clue! I would never take you back if we were the last two people on Earth!"
"And after all the work I did to make him the man he is today--" Buffy heard the all-too familiar voice behind her. She spun on her heel, ignoring the injured vampire behind her, and found herself looking into the face of insanity. The dark red-brown hair, the glassy eyes devoid of reason, the child-like expression of her mouth and chin. A facade of innocence, hiding a devious, deranged mind.
"Drusilla," Buffy identified her nemesis. "You Turned him?"
"He wanted me to, didn't he, Miss Edith?" she happily cooed, talking to the rag doll she constantly carried with her. "How could I resist such a sweet face?"
"Man, talk about one egg roll short of a combo platter," Buffy muttered as she adapted a compact crouching stance, preparing to strike at Drusilla. Before she could attack, however, she was blindsided by Riley. Damn, she cursed herself. What the hell am I thinking? She knew her problem, she was distracted by her recent revelations at Shepherd's Meadow. The love, the passion, she felt for both her best friend Willow, and Willow's lover Tara. And that distraction may have cost her life.
"Nobody makes a move against my Sire," Riley glared at the felled Slayer.
Drusilla clapped her hands with glee. "Do it some more, do it some more!" she shrieked, reminding Buffy of a vampire cheerleader.
"Go to hell, both of you!" Buffy gritted her teeth as she tried to stand. "I will never join you!"
Riley laughed acidly. "I don't recall offering you a choice in the matter, Buffy." He grabbed the disoriented Slayer by the neck, and pinned her to a tree. "Just relax, Buffy. It'll be all over in a minute. I take from you, you take from me, then we'll be together forever!" He leaned in toward Buffy's corotid artery, and allowed his fangs to puncture her skin. Drusilla laughed merrily as Riley started to drink.
"BACK OFF!" a voice shouted, causing Riley and Drusilla to turn their heads. Willow and Tara stood before them, each carrying a dead stick of wood. Willow lunged at Drusilla, clipping her throat with the stick, and landed catlike on her feet, before she had the time to wonder how she pulled it off. Tara took the lead from there, grabbing Riley under his ribcage and tossing him like a sack of wheat away from Buffy. Willow dove toward Riley, and plunged the stick she was carrying into his chest. He howled with rage for a second, then dissolved into ash.
"We have to go, Miss Edith," purred Drusilla, clutching her doll to her. The psychotic vampire fled the scene, disappearing into the dark between the too-widely spaced lampposts that lined the street.
Tara started to run after her, but Willow stopped her. "No, Tara. Buffy's in trouble." Tara rejoined Willow, who knelt beside the fallen Slayer. "Riley was going to turn her," she stammered, her grief a palpable force within her, "and he started to drink--" Willow couldn't say anymore, and she didn't need to; Tara could see what was wrong. Two holes in Buffy's neck, the blood seeping out, bright and crimson, and too fast for Willow and Tara to staunch easily.
"You told me that B-Buffy heals faster than m-most," Tara said nervously.
"Normally," Willow lamented, as she pressed her hand to Buffy's neck, hoping to stop the blood from exiting her wounds. "But she's lost so much blood already, I don't know if she can--"
Tara scooted around, and cradled Buffy's head in her lap. "We can help her, Willow. Keep her warm, keep her safe," Tara said, feeling the same anguish that Willow felt at the prospect of losing Buffy. She innately knew without knowing why, that she now felt as strongly about Buffy as she felt about Willow. She loved both of these women as deeply as she had ever loved anyone. And somehow, she knew that Willow both returned that love, and shared their own love for each other. And now, that knowledge gave her hope. She looked at Buffy's neck and suddenly saw that hope validated.
"I should call 9-1-1," Willow offered, but Tara hushed her gently. "No, Willow. We don't need to." Willow looked at Tara, stunned that she could suddenly be so calm, but Tara still held Buffy's head gently in her lap, and smiled at Willow. "The three of us, Willow. The bond we share. The love we share. We're helping her already. Look." Willow glanced at the puncture wounds on Buffy's neck, and noticed that they were already smaller, the blood flow had stopped. Willow had observed Buffy's body healing before; she had seen Buffy walk into their dorm with a nasty gash on her arm one night, and waking up the next morning she saw that the gash had closed completely, with only the slightest scarring. But seeing the punctures literally shrink and close before her eyes-- she looked at Tara again, saw the sly knowledge in her eyes, and suddenly knew.
Buffy, Willow and Tara had performed a ritual that would allow them to ask the Fates why they were bonded together after Willow's enjoining spell should have worn off. The Fates showed them a single cord, braided from three threads, the threads of their lives. Now they understood; their threads were interwoven together, into one single whole, a cord that was stronger than the three threads individually. And by this bond, they could lend their strength to each other as needed. Even without willing it, apparently.
Willow nearly wept with relief, as her best friend began to heal her wounds. "She'll be okay now," Tara assured her. "All we can do is be there for her when she comes to."
"And we will be there for her," Willow agreed, her words were a vow. "Always."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
She floated in a void. No land, no sky, just emptiness. She had no idea which way was up, and trying to stand when there was no surface for her feet to land on was pointless. She had a vague idea who she was, but little details like her name escaped her.
She drifted, her thoughts hazy and indistinct. She recalled seeing someone whom she loved, now someone she hated. She recalled how he had changed, become evil, become--
Vampire.
She bolted upright, if only in relation to the rest of her body. Vampire. Enemy. Slayer. She was the Slayer, the memory coalesced in her mind with crystal clarity. She was the Slayer, the Chosen One--
Buffy.
She knew what happened now. Riley Finn, the man she foolishly thought could make her forget her feelings for Willow, had become a vampire, and tried to Turn her. Had he succeeded? She was floating in some unknown space, was this her soul wrenched from her body? Was she dead?
She heard sounds around her. Calling to her, entreating her. She pivoted slowly, toward the voices. The voices were exotic and familiar at the same time, inviting her to an unknown country, while simultaneously summoning her home.
"Buffy, come to us," the sweet birdsong voice of Willow called to her. She craned her neck to see her friend. Willow hovered in front of her, her naked body bending toward her, her hand outstretched. Next to Willow, Tara was likewise denuded, and neither girl seemed ashamed or self-conscious about their state of undress. A cursory glance at her own body revealed that Buffy was also naked.
Willow held Tara's body next to her with her left arm, while beckoning to Buffy with her right. Tara held her free arm out to Buffy as well. "Come back to us, Buffy," Tara joined her lover in welcoming Buffy. "We are not complete without you."
"We need you back, Buffy," Willow smiled warmly. "We love you."
Buffy felt her breath catch in her throat as Willow declared her love for Buffy. Tara smiled at Willow's declaration, and nodded in agreement. "We do love you, Buffy," Tara whispered. "Come to us. Join us. Love us."
Love us. They were offering her the love they shared with each other, the hearts they had already joined, asking her to bring them her heart as well. She was humbled by their offer, and knew of only one response.
"Yes," she breathed, taking both offered hands into her own. "I love you. I love you both."
Willow and Tara pulled Buffy toward them, and as her skin contacted with theirs in a passionate three-person embrace, currents of electricity fired along every nerve ending in her flesh. Just the knowledge of their love, and their desire to share with her, was enough to send her dizzily into sheer bliss. It was both the most erotic experience she ever felt, and the most holy.
Here, amid her two true loves, she had come home.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"She's coming 'round," Willow said excitedly. Tara nodded happily as Buffy started to shake her head in Tara's lap. Her eyes suddenly snapped open, and she took in her surroundings. She felt her head rest on something soft and warm, and as she took in Tara's face she realized what she was resting on.
"Hi, Tara," she murmured dreamily. Tara shifted slightly, and Buffy smiled. "Oh, don't mind me, Tara. I'm just admiring the view." She could see Tara's head, upside-down above her, looking over her bosom at Buffy. Tara blushed slightly at the compliment.
"Buffy," Willow's voice snapped Buffy back to the here and now. "Are you okay? Can you stand?"
"I'll try," Buffy answered, as she slowly lifted her head from the pillow of Tara's lap. Tara and Willow helped Buffy steady herself as she attempted to stand erect. She tested the strength of her legs, and decided that she could stand without further assist. She started to walk, slowly, shaking off the last of the wooziness that she felt from Riley's attack.
"Willow," she said suddenly as she recalled Riley. "You two okay? What happened to Riley and Drusilla?"
"Dru got away, Buffy," Willow reported sadly. "It was 'chase her' or 'make sure you were okay', so we chose the latter."
"I'm glad you did, Wills," Buffy smiled. "We'll find her later, don't worry. And Riley?"
"Oh, he's dust-buster chow," Tara said animatedly. "You should have seen Willow, Buffy. She dropped him like she was Jet Li."
"Hey, you weren't exactly a slouch yourself, Tara," Willow answered. "I'm sorry about Riley, Buffy. I didn't think he'd let his guard down long enough to get Turned."
"It's not like that," Buffy said grimly. "He went to Drusilla. He asked her to Turn him. He thought that if he were a vampire, like Angel, I'd want to be his girlfriend again."
Willow whistled softly. "Wow. Dumber than advertised."
"Yeah, don't remind me," Buffy groaned. "I dated the idiot!" Shaking her head to exorcise the memory of what Riley tried to do to her, Buffy continued, "But what about the two of you taking out vamps like that? You two dropped Riley all by your lonesome, and from what I gather you didn't even use your hoojoo on him."
"I guess we're sharing our skills as well as our memories, Buffy," Tara suggested. "You said you were able to immobilize a group of vampires the other night."
"You're right, Tara. I guess I have your magic as well as my Slayer-ness now."
"And a little of your fighting skill's rubbing off on us," Willow mused. "Cool."
Buffy said nothing, she just stared long at Willow. The redhead stood next to Tara, her hand resting on the blond witch's shoulder. Buffy took in the sight of these two women, both beautiful in their own unique way. "God I love you two," she whispered.
"We know," Tara smiled. "And we love you too." Willow nodded slowly, as she walked toward Buffy, and reached out her hand to caress the Slayer's neck, where the bite-marks had faded to mere indentations.
"And this doesn't bother you, Wills?" Buffy had to ask Willow. There was the rub. Willow and Tara had a loving and passionate relationship before the three of them were bonded. As much as she loved them, and as sure as she was of their love for her, Buffy still felt like an interloper on their happiness.
Willow looked at Buffy, her smile tinged with sadness. "Buffy, you were the one who saw me at Sunnydale High School, and saw someone other than the class computer nerd. You brought me out of my shell, you told me I was beautiful so many times I had no choice but to believe you. I have loved you from the first time I saw you, Buffy. I just hid those emotions for so many reasons, my faith, fear of losing your friendship, your love for Angel, my love for Oz. You showed me the door, Tara invited me to step outside. However much I love Tara, and I do, I will always love you as much. Our bond didn't create my love for you, it just clarified it."
"And how can I not love Willow," Tara confessed, "without loving you as well, Buffy? The two of you together, your bond goes beyond any friendship, or even any ordinary love. When Willow says she loves me, I know that she still loves you as well. You are responsible for the woman I love, and I love you too, for the gift of Willow, and for your own self."
"And I love you, Tara," Buffy answered, "for loving Willow when I was too busy with the Initiative, with Riley and all that crap. For making her happy when I should have been there for her. For giving her someone to fall in love with when Oz left her. Willow is my heart, and you made my heart happy." Tears welled in her eyes as she finished. "Is this possible, for us to love each other like this, no jealousy, no regrets? 'Cause that's all I want. To love you two, to make love with you two, to be with you. Can we really do that?"
Willow smiled, as she took Tara's hand in her own. "Buffy, I want to show you something, both of you." She offered her free hand to Buffy, who took it without reservation. "Close your eyes," Willow said in a soothing voice. Buffy and Tara did as they were told, and--
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Tara was sitting on the lawn outside of Sunnydale High School, as Willow chatted happily about her college plans.
"Must be tough," Willow said, "I mean, here I am, I can do anything I want. I can go to any college in the country, four or five in Europe if I want."
"Please tell me you're going somewhere with this?" Tara lamented.
"No. I'm not going anywhere." Willow flashed an acceptance letter in front of Tara's eyes.
"UC Sunnydale?" Tara asked incredulously.
"I will be matriculating with Class of 2003."
"Are you serious?"
Willow beamed happily. "Say, isn't that where you're going?"
"I can't believe it! Are you serious?" Tara cried as she embraced Willow. She cut off the embrace suddenly. "Ah, wait, what am I saying? You can't."
Willow looked at Tara, puzzled. "What do you mean, I can't?"
"I won't let you."
Willow suddenly looked a trifle offended. "Of the two people here, which is the boss of me?"
"There are better schools," Tara argued.
"Sunnydale's not bad," Willow insisted. "A-And I can design my own curriculum."
"Okay, well, there are safer schools. There are safer prisons. I can't let you stay because of me."
"Actually, this isn't about you," Willow countered. "Although I'm fond, don't get me wrong, of you. The other night, you know, being captured and all, facing off with Faith. Things just, kind of, got clear. I mean, you've been fighting evil here for three years, and I've helped some, and now we're supposed to decide what we want to do with our lives. And I just realized that that's what I want to do. Fight evil, help people. I mean, I-I think it's worth doing. And I don't think you do it because you have to. It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
Tara realized that she was living one of Buffy's memories, one where she and Willow shared their dreams, their plans. Tara saw into Buffy's heart on the day when Buffy realized who she truly loved. There was only one thing left to say;
"I kind of love you."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Buffy sat alone in a darkened dorm room. She was alone in her dark thoughts, thoughts that she had let go of the most important person in her universe. Her heart, her soul, her--
A knock at the door sent her to her feet. She turned to answer the door.
Willow stood before her, her face radiant. She carried with her a large squat candle. Buffy was surprised to see her; she had expected Willow to be with Oz.
"No candle?" she asked, smiling. "I brought you one. It's extra flamey."
The two women stared at each other, an awkward silence growing between them. Willow broke the silence; "Tara, I have to tell you. . ."
"No, I understand," Buffy answered, as she realized that she was cast as Tara in the young witch's most treasured memory. "You have to be with the person you love."
"I am," Willow said simply.
"You mean?" Buffy blinked in surprise, in absolute joy as Willow voiced her decision.
"I mean. Okay?" Willow's smile was incandescent.
"Oh, yes." Buffy matched her smile as she blew out the candle.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Buffy and Tara stood before each other, silent in reverence to what they had shared, through Willow.
Willow had allowed them each to see into the other's mind, to recall with absolute clarity a moment from each other's past. Buffy had seen the moment when Willow pledged her love to Tara, and Tara was witness to Willow's decision to follow Buffy down her dangerous path.
"I had no idea," Buffy said to Tara, the tears streaming freely down her cheeks, "how much you two love each other."
"As deeply as you love her, Buffy," Tara answered. Her face was flushed, and so close to Buffy's. She leaned in forward, meeting Buffy's lips in a kiss. They kissed deeply, tasting each other, sensing their passions. As they broke away, they turned to Willow, who watched this tableau unfold, without jealousy, without fear of losing either of these two loves.
"Tara's right, Willow," Buffy felt she had to make the offer to bow out, out of respect to Willow, one last time. "You should be with the one you love."
Willow smiled warmly, with the slightest hint of a growing hunger. "I am, Buffy," she said as she claimed Tara's lips for a brief but hot kiss. Breaking off the kiss, she stepped toward Buffy, and added, "Both of them."
Buffy had dreamed of what Willow's lips would be like, and the reality far exceeded her wildest fantasies. Warm and sweet, gentle and at the same time, insistent. The fact that Tara was with them, holding them both in her arms as they kissed, just stoked the fire of Buffy's passion. Tara leaned in to the other women, and soon they had achieved a clumsy yet pleasurable three-way kiss. Buffy reflected that they would have to work out the mechanics of all three of them kissing at the same time, and smiled at the thought of how much fun it would be to experiment.
Finally, oxygen became an issue, and the three lovers disengaged the kiss, but still remained close. Buffy looked longingly into the eyes of the other two women, and breathed, "I don't want to be alone tonight."
Willow grinned mischievously. "I don't think we were considering that option, were we, Tara?"
Tara nodded her head enthusiastically. "You're a part of us now, Buffy. What better way to acknowledge that, than for us to make love?"
Buffy was aware of the goofy grin plastered on her face, but didn't care. "Who's dorm is closer?" she asked quickly.
"We'll go to our dorm, Buffy," Willow offered. "We can move our beds together. Besides, Tara and I left Kitty Fantastico in our dorm, we'd better go back and feed her."
"I think we should get some food for ourselves," Tara suggested. "After all, we don't want our energy reserves to conk out at the last minute, do we?"
Willow and Buffy grinned evilly at Tara, and the three of them headed off, arm in arm, to the dorm room.
It was going to be a night to remember.