From: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com (buffyfic Digest) To: buffyfic-digest@xmission.com Subject: buffyfic Digest V1 #35 Reply-To: buffyfic@xmission.com Sender: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Errors-To: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Precedence: buffyfic Digest Saturday, October 4 1997 Volume 01 : Number 035 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: Dust in the Bronze BUFFYFIC: ADMIN: List rules BUFFYFIC: Games (1/4) BUFFYFIC: Games (2/4) BUFFYFIC: Games (3/4) BUFFYFIC: Games (4/4) BUFFYFIC: i need games 2 BUFFYFIC: Deep Thoughts 1/1 BUFFYFIC: Bad Feelings and Love Handles (1/1) BUFFYFIC: Mourning Light (1/1) See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the buffyfic or buffyfic-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 26 Sep 1997 14:40:44 -0700 From: Lisa Rose Subject: BUFFYFIC: Dust in the Bronze A new arrival on the Little Buffy Site: - --------------------------------------- DUST IN THE BRONZE (To the tune of "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas) You hesitate Only for a moment, but it's long enough Feel your hate Exploding on her stake just like a powder puff Dust in the Bronze Now you are just dust in the Bronze Same old game Taunting you, she slays you and your kindred weep Your huge frame Crumbles to the floor for janitors to sweep Dust in the Bronze You're a pile of dust in the Bronze Hey, run away! Nothing you can do here but dissolve and drop Girls will slay And all your minions can't one single slayer stop Dust in the Bronze Everyday more dust in the Bronze Dust in the Bronze Floor to ceiling dust in the Bronze Dust in the Bronze Fear the maid who dusts in the Bronze - ------------------------------------------------- (Lyrics copyright 1997 by Lisa Rose; title inspired by Jim). Visit the Little Buffy Site: http://www.wco.com/~cybrpaws/lilbuffy.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Sep 1997 09:56:03 -0400 (EDT) From: romana@mindspring.com (sah) Subject: BUFFYFIC: ADMIN: List rules 1. Fiction should have Buffy characters in it and clearly be related to Buffy. Crossovers are great, and expected, but general vampire/monster stories that aren't in the Buffy universe and don't use Buffy characters belong somewhere else. 2. Discussion of posted fiction is permitted onlist. Please put "DISCUSS" in your subject line. Requests for missing story parts should go directly to the author, and not be posted to the list. Discussion that is not related directly to the fiction should go over to the general Buffy list. Discussion of fiction is expected to follow common netiquette guidelines and use PG-13 language. 3. No advertising of items or services, Buffy related or not, and no posting of non-story items such as .gifs, sound files, etc.. No attached files of kind-- if your mailer makes your fiction into attached files, you need to find another way to get it to the list. 4. If you're writing a story and including advance information on a new episode, and you're posting your story earlier than the national viewing time, please: **Mark the post as a "spoiler" in the subject header. **Leave about twelve lines (blank or with non-spoiler info) at the top of the post. This ensures that anyone w*o doesn't like knowing about an episode ahead of time is "protected." :) The blank space is for people whose mailers automatically open up the next piece of mail, without giving them a chance to see "spoiler" in the header. Spoiler warnings are not necessary after the start of the episode's national viewing time, which is currently set at 9 p.m. Mondays, Eastern Standard Time. Spoiler warnings are not necessary for reruns. 5. This list is absolutely NOT for erotic fiction. stronger than sexually PG-13 material is to be posted to the list under any circumstances. A story may be R rated for violence or language, however. If you have a question about something's suitability for posting, feel free to ask one of the listowners. Sending sexually explicit material will get you immediately and permanently uns*bscribed. No exceptions. 6. By subscribing and/or posting to this list, you acknowledge that Buffy the Vampire slayer and all characters associated with either the televised series or the motion picture were created by Josh Whedon and are owned by Mutant Enemy productions, Kuzui Productions, Sandollar Productions, and 20th Century Fox. All stories posted to this list are for entertainment purposes only, are not sold for profit of any kind, and are not intended to infringe on any copyrights. 7. When posting stories to the list, please follow the following formatting guidelines - --No story parts longer than 250 lines - --No lines longer than 75 characters - --Turn off your "smart quotes"-- many readers receive these as garbage or weird symbols - --Put the title of the story in the subject header, indicate if it's a multipart story, and if so what part this is. Example: Buffy Meets Godzilla (2/65) indicates that this post is part two of a 65 part story. 8. If a story is rated "R" for language/violence, indicate this in an introduction. For example, "There's a really bloody fight scene at the end of this part" or "if you don't like dismemberment, stop reading now!" If there's chance that someone might be disturbed by something in your story (even if it's not rated R) please include some kind of warning up front. 9. And last, but not least, the listowners reserve the right to deny subscription (new, renewed, or continued) to the list for any individual(s). PLEASE NOTE: not following any or all of these rules will get you the following: **First offense: offender is uns*bscribed for one week. **Second offense: offender is uns*bscribed to the Buffyfic list for a minimum of three months. **If the offender returns and does it again, they're offlist permanently. As noted above, posting sexually explicit material is the exception -- you go straight to permanent unsubbing. Again, welcome! If you have any questions about these rules, please contact either one of us offlist. If you have subscription problems or questions, the fastest way to get h*lp is to e-mail one of us at the addresses below, at the kirby@xmission.com addy which is the "official" e-mail owner of the list. Jill Kirby (jtkirby@mcs.com) & Sharon Himmanen (romana@mindspring.com) Listowners, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fiction List buffyfic@xmission.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 20:26:45 -0500 (CDT) From: smcculla@cswnet.com (Samantha McCullah) Subject: BUFFYFIC: Games (1/4) - --------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the story. The almighty Joss owns everything else. I'll return them when I'm done. - --------------------------------------- Games (1/4) by: Samantha McCullah Xander was sprawled unceremoniously on Willow's floor, pulling an assortment of things from under her bed. They were supposed to be studying, but Xander had an annoying way of getting out of it everytime. "Xander, we really should finish this homework," she told him. He suddenly straightened up from under her bed, holding something in his hands. He turned to face her with a smile. "Hey, Will. Bet I can still beat you at this," Xander replied. Willow looked at his hands. He held the one game that she could never beat him at: Twister. _________________________ An hour later... Xander was doing a rather spectacular back bend under Willow, while she was in a position that looked rather painful. He reached to the pointer and managed to flick it. "Right hand blue," He proclaimed. Willow looked to the blue circles which were on the other side of Xander from where her hands currently were. The only way she could make it work and not look obscene, was to turn so that she was face down on top of him. As she turned Xander caught a faint scent of perfume. he thought. Willow reached for the pointer and gave it a good turn. "Right foot red," she smiled at him. Give him credit, Xander tried. Unfortunately, unlike Willow, he hadn't taken gymnastics for four years. He collapsed in a heap and took Willow with him. The two friends laughed until it hurt. "I win," Willow stated. They lay there, Willow on top of him, for several minutes while Xander took the time to actually look at his best friend. Her hair was longer than he remembered and a beautiful shade of auburn. She didn't wear her glasses anymore. he thought. "Will, when did you stop wearing glasses?" he asked out loud. "Two years ago, remember. I got contacts," she replied. That moment the realized they were in a position that could look suspicious, especially to Willow's father. Both of them pushed away from each other, Xander back against her bed, Willow back in her chair. Xander questioned himself. She was his best friend, and he had missed so much. But most of all he had missed the moment his feelings for her had changed. Suddenly he realized he needed a cold shower, and fast. "Will, I -," Xander began. "Xander, I-," Willow, in unison. She stopped and laughed,"You first." Xander stopped and considered what he was about to say. Then decided against it. She couldn't possibly feel the same way, could she? "Will, I ... think I need to go home." It sounded lame, he knew that, but he couldn't be in the same room with her, not without doing something. He stood up and asked, "What were you going to say?" "Oh, nothing," she replied, disappointed. As Xander left, she got out of the chair and laid down on the Twister mat. Willow closed her eyes and daydreamed. she thought. - --------------------------- end part one... Samantha McCullah smcculla@cswnet.com "I fed off a flower person, and I spent the next six hours watching my hand move." - Spike ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 20:28:54 -0500 (CDT) From: smcculla@cswnet.com (Samantha McCullah) Subject: BUFFYFIC: Games (2/4) See part one for disclaimer. - ---------------------------- Games (2/4) by: Samantha McCullah The Next Day... When Xander arrived at school, he knew he wouldn't be able to hang around with Buffy and Willow. Especially not Willow, he knew that the minute he talked to her, the minute she looked at him, he'd lose it. Yet something in him wanted to walk over to her, smell her perfume, gaze into her eyes, kiss her lips, touch her.... he mentally chastized himself. Xander desperately needed to talk to someone about this. Xander snorted back laughter at that thought. his thoughts trailed off as Cordelia strutted by; he shook his head. And he made his way over to the little group made up of Buffy, Willow, and Giles. ______________________ Buffy and Willow watched as a myriad of emotions sprang over Xander's face and as he struggled with some decision. "See, I told you he's acting strangely. You should have seen him run out of my house last night," Willow commented. "Yeah, I believe it now. I wonder what's wrong?" Buffy agreed. Giles, walking by, managed to catch a snippet of their conversation. "Hormones. The surging of hormones to the brain... and other regions causes most men to act like idiots," Giles replied. He studied Xander for a moment. "Either that or he's hearing voices in his head." Giles' comments earned him a withering stare from Buffy. "Sorry." In the distance Xander reached some decision and walked to the group. ____________________ "Hey, guys," he said upon arrival. Xander was very careful not to look at Willow, even though she was wearing that red sweater that clung to certain places... he thought. "Hi, Xander!" Willow exclaimed, her face bright. Xander's breath quickened and his pulse soared. he thought above the pounding of his heart. "Willow," he replied, rather calmly considering the emotions going through his body. Against his better judgement, he studied her face. She wore makeup the way he liked, very sparse. A strand of her auburn hair fell into her eyes, and she brushed it away from her face with flick of her delicate hand. She wore fingernail polish that matched her sweater. That damn sweater! He felt his pulse swiften again. He turned away sharply; luckily the bell rang for first period, saving Xander from futher embarrassment. "Gotta go!" he stated before running off for the bathroom. _______________________ Buffy thought, observing Xander stare at Willow. Her heightened senses caught the quickening of his breath. she thought again as realization dawned. She smiled softly to herself. Her smile fell. When the bell rang, she watched Xander rush off to parts unknown. Buffy felt Willow's hesitant hand on her arm. "Buffy? Do you think you could talk to him? Find out what's wrong, please," Willow asked. "Of course, Will. Why don't you come, too?" "No, no. You saw how he was acting; he didn't want to even be around me," she finished softly. Buffy silently told her. As Willow walked to class, Buffy stood with Giles. "Hormones, hmm?" she asked with a smile. - ----------------------------------- end part two... Samantha McCullah smcculla@cswnet.com "I fed off a flower person, and I spent the next six hours watching my hand move." - Spike ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 20:30:24 -0500 (CDT) From: smcculla@cswnet.com (Samantha McCullah) Subject: BUFFYFIC: Games (3/4) See part one for disclaimer - --------------------------- Games (3/4) by: Samantha McCullah Xander ran to the one place he could go with out Willow following him: the boy's locker room. All the jocks would already be dressed out, so he wouldn't have to answer their questions or face their teasing. He slamed back the door and went straight back into the showers, dropping his bag along the way. He turned the knob to cold and stepped under the spray fully clothed. Unfortunately, it did little to stop his thoughts about Willow. He remembered the time last summer when they had gone swimming. Strangely, he could remember every detail of that day with perfect clarity. The color of her swimsuit - blue, to match her eyes -, the way the water slid down her arms and legs, and the feeling of her in his arms when he had pulled her into the water.... Xander jumped slightly when the cold jet was turned off. "Ya know, Xander, you have to wear those cloths the rest of the day," Buffy commented. Xander sighed softly before sliding down the wall to sit in his sopping clothing. "Oh, I don't know. I thought maybe I'd stay here until school's over," he replied, burying his head in his hands, "At least then I wouldn't go through what happened earlier again." "Speaking of which, what happened earlier?" she asked. "Nothing. Nothing, but a surge of blood to the nether regions," he replied. "Is that all?" she asked, with a knowing smile. "So you know? Great! Now I suppose Willow knows as well." "No, I don't know. What are you talking about?" Buffy replied with that damn smile again. "GODDAMNIT!" he shouted, rising to his feet, then sinking back down, "I love her," he sobbed quietly. "Tell her!" "Why? Just to find out she cares nothing for me beyond friendship? To confess my love, and to have her laugh in my face?" he snapped back, "No, I'm not going through that." Buffy tensed then slapped him hard. "Calm down. Tell her how you feel, you may be suprised." Before Xander could reply, Willow's voice called from the door, "Buffy? Xander? Are you in here?" "Back here, Will!" Buffy replied. "Please don't tell her," Xander begged, softly. "On one condition. You tell her at the Bronze tonight," she replied, just as softly. He looked pained for a moment before nodding. "Xander! What happened?" Willow asked hurrying over to him. "Nothing's wrong, Will. Xander just forgot that to take a shower one must remove all clothing," Buffy answered for him. She shot a look at Xander that read, 'Ask her.' He shook his head. Buffy glared at him. "So, Will, you going to the Bronze tonight?" "I-I don't think so. I really-," Willow began. "C'mon, you gotta go," Buffy pleaded. "All right, I'll go." Buffy shot a triumphant smile at Xander, who looked ready to sink futher into the floor. __________________ Equiped with some dry clothes, Xander went through the day with an over all sense of dread. His entire romantic life could begin or end with on word from her lips. At least he had finally faced the truth. When the final bell rang , Xander rushed out of the building without saying a word to either Willow or Buffy. He raced home, in the door, kissed his mother, and raced up the stairs. After slamming his door, he walked to his closet and pulled open the door. He scaned his clothes but saw nothing that would be could for what he had to do. He needed something dark in case he needed to sink into some convenient shadows. Finally settling on a black t-shirt, jeans, and a white dress shirt to go over it, he was ready to face the Bronze and the love of his life. - --------------------------- end part 3 Samantha McCullah smcculla@cswnet.com "I fed off a flower person, and I spent the next six hours watching my hand move." - Spike ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Sep 1997 20:32:07 -0500 (CDT) From: smcculla@cswnet.com (Samantha McCullah) Subject: BUFFYFIC: Games (4/4) See part one for disclaimer. The song 'One Boy, One Girl' belongs to Colin Raye. - ----------------------------- Games (4/5) by: Samantha McCullah Xander arrived at the Bronze fifteen minutes late, after nearly turning around and going home four times. he rationalized, He hesitated at the door several moments, earning himself very dirty looks from the bouncer, before finally paying the cover and walking in. The Bronze was loud, smokey, and crowded as usual. Buffy and Willow sat together at the juice bar. he thought, as the hormones surged again. Xander stepped around to the other side of the pillar he had been leaning against. "God," he mumbled, shaking his head. "Shouldn't you be with your friends?" a voice asked from his right. Xander didn't need to turn to see who it was. Angel. "Can't. Too many conflicting emotions, too much blood rushing, but you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, vamp boy?" Xander asked, his defense mechanism kicking in. "Still hung up over Buffy?" "Oh, no. I've moved on," Xander said, moving to the other side of the pillar to gaze at Willow. Angel followed his gaze; Xander heard Angel's short laugh. "Buffy told me about you and Willow. I didn't believe it until now," Angel commented. "So she sent you over here to distract me, while she tells Willow herself, right?" Xander replied. "No, I was sent over here by Buffy to tell you, and I quote 'to get his smartass self over here' unquote," Angel answered, heading towards Buffy. Xander thought as he followed. Willow turned to Xander as they walked up. "Hi," she said shly. Xander heard Buffy clear her throat; he glanced at her. She motioned with her eyes towards Willow. Xander's face went blank. Buffy sighed, grabbed Angel's hand, and pulled him passed Xander. "Tell her," she whispered as she walked by. Xander watched as Buffy continued to pull Angel out onto the dance floor. As he watched them, he didn't notice Willow's face fall. Slowly, Xander turned and took Buffy's vacated seat, facing her. He stared at his hands for a moment. "Xander? Is something wrong?" Willow asked, concerned. he wanted to reply. "No, nothing." He sighed before continuing, "Willow? Can we talk?" "Sure. About what?" she replied. "We've been friends for a long time...." "Since kindergarden, when you beat up that boy that was bothering me," Willow recalled. "Yeah," Xander laughed, a nervous laugh, "We've been friends for a while, and you've probably noticed I've been acting oddly around you," Xander paused as uncertaintity flickered in Willow's eyes. "I've got to go," she said hurriedly, gathering her bag and paying for her drink. Xander watched as she ran out the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Buffy and Angel stop dancing. Buffy gestured frantically at him to follow her. And he followed Willow out into the night. "Willow!" he shouted but she continued to run, "WILLOW! Please stop!" She hesitated before stopping and turning. Xander covered the distance between them. "Please give me a chance to explain." She slapped him. Hard. "I am not a plaything, Xander. I have feelings, too." "What?" he asked softly. "Everyday its the same thing. Some new girl comes, you drool over her, and tell me about it. Do you know how that makes me feel? When Buffy turned you down for the prom, did you have any idea how badly I wanted to say yes?" she replied. "No, I didn't," he responded. "Damnit, Xander, I love you, and you don't even care." She slapped him again, but before she could turn to run, Xander grabbed her arms. "I care, Willow," he replied, pulling her into a hug. "Willow, I-" "Xander, shut up." "Willow..." "Shut up." "Willow, please...." Xander felt her sigh, and his skin tingled as she ran her hand behind his neck. She pulled his head down to meet her and kissed him roughly. He got over the shock enough to wrap his arms more firmly around her. But it did. They stared at each other as the kiss stopped. Slowly they began to smile, and Xander tilted Willow's head back and kissed her again. This time both of them didn't try to stop the kiss. As it broke, disappointment showed in their eyes. "Someone really should tell Buffy," Willow whispered. "I agree." ___________________ They walked hand in hand back into the Bronze and over to where Buffy and Angel danced. Buffy looked up from Angel's shoulder and smiled. "Does this mean what I think it means?" she asked. Willow nodded as Xander pulled her to him as a slow song started, and they danced. **One boy, one girl, Two hearts beating wildly. To put it mildly, It was love at first sight.** Xander lifted Willow's chin to gaze into her eyes. "I love you, Willow Rosenberg, and I don't want to lose you." **One boy, one girl** - ----------------------- The End Samantha McCullah smcculla@cswnet.com "I fed off a flower person, and I spent the next six hours watching my hand move." - Spike ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Oct 1997 01:24:37 -0400 (EDT) From: Bogeymn666@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: i need games 2 hi i have games 1/1 by samantha and i was mailed parts 3/4 and 4/4 i was wondering what happened to games 2/4 i looked on the list serve sight and on some other sights but cant seem to find it i would greatly apreciate either you sending 2/4 or perhaps explaining why it doesnt exist if thats the case ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Oct 1997 18:20:13 -0400 From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Deep Thoughts 1/1 Deep Thoughts by Anya Edited by: Rob "Peter" Ullhorn *SPOILERS: Set immediately after "When She Was Bad" He sat hunchbacked, alone on the steps outside school, staring up at the setting sun. Confusion ran rampant through his mind. The longer he put off trying to sort through it, the louder and louder it got. His world, his entire universe had just gone topsy-turvy, and he didn't have a clue of what to do. Or even where to begin dealing with it. Xander sighed heavily, replaying scene after scene in his minds eye. The first week of school had been an ....experience. In those few short days, he'd done more emotional maturing than he had in the last four years. It was so weird. Feeling so many emotions, in such a short time, only to discover that everything he'd thought, everything he'd felt was all just an illusion. It all began the night before school started, before Buffy had returned. Those silly games as they walked.... the ice cream... and then... God, he had never wanted to kiss anyone as much as he had Willow. It was such a strange yet incredible sensation; the tension, the growing breathless anticipation, the growling of the vampire. The vampire that had interrupted that moment was a real piss-off. For the first time in his life, he had found himself in a "moment" that felt so unbelievably right..and it had slipped completely away with that vampire showing up. "At least he's dust now," he thought. The vengeful smile forming across his face, taking solace in that brief moment of revenge. The thoughts entering his conscious mind however quickly replaced that smile with a frown. Willow was probably grateful to that vampire. After all, hadn't she turned him down over the Spring Fling? "I was a jerk. Asking her out after Buffy did the "just friends" routine." He muttered to himself, absently rubbing his hand across the back of his aching neck. "What was I thinking? I should have never put her in that position. She had every right to tell me to go shove for being so cruel." Then later, at the Bronze. Buffy slinking in seductively, asking him to dance. His every wish, his fondest dreams finally being fulfilled. Her body, sexily grinding against his. Yet despite all that, he felt ...nothing. No spark, no interest. Yes there was lust, yes there was a perverse sense of pleasure at what she was doing, but nothing substantial, no connection. No, seeing Buffy like that, at her bitchiest, awoke a part of himself that he had never known before. Had he ALWAYS felt this way? Was it always this strong? What took him so long to realize? And more importantly, was it real? A dejected sigh ripped from his throat. Standing, he kicked absently at a small pebble on the step, watching it spin and fall. Allowing his feet to follow that stone, he aimlessly wandered down the stairs, and blindly across the courtyard towards the fountain. Since school was out, the campus was virtually deserted. Buffy was in the library, as was Willow. It was supposed to be a quick drop in and leave visit, but he knew better. Xander had elected to take the few minutes to try and get his thoughts in some sort of order. Bending down, he scooped up a small handful of little stones, and began trying to make them skip in the pools of rapidly moving water. As they darted across the surface, his mind replayed the vampire's trap in the library. Just like the jumping pebbles, things had moved quickly. One moment, the threesome had been holding their own, the next thing they knew.... He had heard Willow's scream, and turned to help her just as a vampire grabbed him and threw him into the railing. The last thing he saw was Willow being dragged away, kicking and screaming. When he came to, Willow and Giles were gone, and Buffy was walking in. In retrospect the fury, the rage, and the undeniable near hate he'd felt toward the Slayer shamed him. Yet he had been so afraid for Willow, so afraid she would be hurt or destroyed like Jesse was, so terrified that he would never see her smile again...he lashed out at Buffy. "If they hurt Willow, I'll kill you." Looking back however, he realized how ridiculous it was to even think he could kill the Slayer. It was a pure stroke of luck she hadn't pounded him into the ground for saying that. That, or she was probably too busy trying to keep herself from laughing at his temerity. And yet, he'd meant every word. It unnerved him even more to realize, that if he didn't kill her, he would cheerfully let Buffy kill him. Did his feelings for Willow really run THAT deep? "I thought that was soap-opera melodrama... nobody feels like that, do they?" He muttered, staring down at his wavering reflection. And seeing Willow hanging upside down above the Master's skeletal remains; Xander felt his stomach lurch once more. She was so close to that vampire with the knife. Xander had no doubt that if Angel, Buffy and himself hadn't arrived when they did, Willow would have been the first sacrifice. She was such a tiny person, that the beating she had taken at the library kept her unconscious far longer than the others. While Buffy was doing her little "ridding the world of a few more vampires" routine, he had cradled his friend in his arms, taking comfort in the sight of her steady breathing. When did he fall in love with her? The strength of these feelings weren't new, only his awareness of them were. He could remember the zookeeper, about to kill Willow, and felt the panic again. His Willow. Nobody hurt HIS Willow. But...she didn't want to be his. No, there was some other guy in school that she pined for. She had understood his crush on Buffy so well, empathized so perfectly...there had to be some guy out there that she was so hung up on. And Xander was jealous of him. The only thing he could do is wait, and hope. Maybe one day, Willow would notice her best friend as more than her best friend. He just had to wait. - --The End Comments, and criticisms always welcomed! anya@interlinks.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Oct 1997 09:59:06 -0700 From: Elizabeth Ann Lewis Subject: BUFFYFIC: Bad Feelings and Love Handles (1/1) Posting alert! Posting alert! I did not write this. (I'll be posting my own, much twistier story this weekend...) If you liked this story, write to the address below the author's name. And, for the record, it was written before WSWB... ~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~ Bad Feelings and Love Handles by Sheila Marie Lane slane@sunflowr.usd.edu Dedicated, with aggravation, to Chris, Judy, and Beth. And Lizbet: he is definitely "really much a lot better" in person. Standard disclaimers apply. "Owww!" "Sorry," Willow said for the hundredth time as she helped Buffy into a chair in the library. Giles came out of the stacks, took one look, and came running. "What happened?" "Nothing," Buffy said with disgust. "Nothing at all. Xander, quit hovering." Xander gave her an extremely offended look and plopped into the chair next to her. "Willow's hovering. I'm just being concerned." "What happened?" Giles repeated with some force. "Nothing, I told you. I tripped in gym class." "Over me," Willow said miserably. Xander patted Willow's arm. "It's not your fault. You just happened to be there." "And she just *happened* to take a header." "Will! It's okay, really. I promise." But Willow was obviously not convinced. Giles, meanwhile, was down on his knees examining Buffy's right ankle. "Yes, I'd say you definitely sprained it." Buffy looked pained. Willow looked guilty. Xander looked confused. "Wait a minute. How is it that you fight all kinds of demons, monsters, and what-have-you and barely breathe hard. But--" "But." Buffy said with a wince as Giles probed. "But I take a header in gym class. Gee, I'm lucky." She rolled her eyes. "I am *so* sorry, Buffy." Buffy reached over and tugged one of Willow's braids. "Stop it, silly. Or I'll sprain *your* ankle." Willow looked rather as though she'd feel better if Buffy did, but she subsided. "Well, stay off it," Giles said finally. "Slayers heal faster than most, but they still need to heal. Go home and rest." "No slaying? Way cool." Buffy grinned. "I'm gonna go home, suck down the Motrin, and watch bad movies on cable." "Sounds like a plan," Xander said with a grin. "Can I come?" "Sure! How about you, Willow?" "Uh...I don't know." Willow kept her head down and her face blank, anyway. "I'll get back to you. Bye. Sorry." As she disappeared out the door, Buffy turned to Xander with a frown. "For no apparent reason, I have a bad feeling." He looked down at her bag. "You might be wrong." "About the bad feeling?" "No, the non-apparent reason. Don't you usually carry a stake in here?" She twisted to look. "Yeah--it's gone! Willow!" She jumped to her feet, then sank back down with a moan. Xander sighed. Visions of semi-dates with Buffy floated above his head, then disappeared. "No. I'll go." Giles watched him hurry out the door, then turned to Buffy. "Now I *really* have a bad feeling," she said darkly. ***** Xander found Willow, as he had expected to, curled next to a tombstone in the graveyard looking incredibly scared. "Willow, what the heck do you think you're doing?" He crouched down beside her. "It's not even dark yet, for cripe's sake." "I know. But I didn't want to come in when it was dark." "Uh-huh. So you decided to come in..." He checked his watch. "At two-thirty?" She shrugged. "I didn't have anything better to do." He scooted closer to her. "I know you better than that, Willow. You're embarrassed, and you're guilty, and you're afraid Buffy's mad at you and hiding it. So you came out here to brood." She looked over at him in astonishment. "Where did all that come from?" He shrugged. "We've been buds since preschool, Willow. I was bound to get a handle on you at some point." She snickered. "What?" "A handle on me?" "Well..." She snickered again. "Stop that!" "I'm sorry. It's just...the mental picture..." She trailed off into laughter. He glared at her for a moment, then a really evil light flashed into his eyes. "Oh, really." And before she could react, he had her down on the ground as his fingers poked her sides. "Aaah!" "No handles here..." "Xander, stop that!" "And none here. Hm, wonder if..." "Eeeee!" "Okay, there's a possibility. Hey!" And Xander collapsed on the ground as Willow found the particularly ticklish spot at the base of his ribs. ***** Fifteen minutes later, they were both covered in grass and completely exhausted. Willow panted several times before finding the breath to say, "Get off me, you oaf." "Who you callin' an oaf?" Xander tried to summon the strength for revenge and failed. He propped most of his weight on his arms and looked down at Willow. He looked down at her for a long, time, in fact, until she shifted under him. "What?" "I don't know." He kept looking. "You're a pretty girl, Willow Ann." She caught her breath and tried to smile normally. "You haven't said that to me in a long time. Years." "It's still true." They stared at each other for a moment more, then Xander looked away and rolled off her. "Come on. You can't protect the world until after dark anyway, and you've already missed most of last period. Let's go get a Coke." "Okay." Willow let Xander pull her to her feet. They brushed each other off, trying to laugh and not quite making it. Xander grabbed her hand and started off. Willow hung back. "Xander?" "Yeah?" She waited until he turned back. Then she went up on tiptoe and kissed him. He looked at her for a moment. "Oh." "Oh?" She swallowed hard. "That's all you have to say? Oh?" "Yeah." He smiled, slowly, then took her hand again, linking their fingers together. Willow looked up at him. She knew she was blushing. "Oh." "Come on." Celli Sheila Marie Lane willow slane@sunbird.usd.edu - ----- -------------------------------------------------- "He looks really much a lot better in person." --Lizbet ===== ====HeLLLion====SunS====Prophile/BL====RFW/MFW==== http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4928 "See? Whenever we fight, you always bring up the vampire thing." ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 4 Oct 1997 10:02:57 -0700 From: Elizabeth Ann Lewis Subject: BUFFYFIC: Mourning Light (1/1) Nope, this one's not mine either. You know the drill... ~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~-*-~ Mourning Light by Sheila Marie Lane slane@sunflowr.usd.edu Dedicated to Leslie--I *will* return the favor someday--and David. *sigh* Standard disclaimers apply. Angel sighed and turned over. The morning light was bothering him--wait a minute, the morning light wasn't supposed to be there. He yawned and tried to forget it, but it was *really* annoying him. Besides, someone was knocking on his door. "Angel! Angel! Wake up!" He ignored the rattling of the door handle as long as possible--until the very real worry that Buffy might try to kick the door in occurred to him. "O-kay! Hold on." Jeans...where were his jeans? He finally dug them out from under his bed. He debated looking for his shirt, too, but there were some ominous sounds coming from the door... It was fairly amusing to see Buffy gape at him when he opened the door. He must remember to strip more often. "What *is* it?" he asked, trying to hold on to his annoyance. "What is *is,*" she mocked, "is a glorious day. And you promised to go to the movies with me this afternoon." "Oh, jeez, is it afternoon already?" He looked over at the window and blinked. No wonder the light hadn't seemed right. It was afternoon light. Wasn't it? He stood there, confused, for a moment, but Buffy was shaking his arm. "Yo! Angel! Snap out of it. Night owl," she said with a laugh. "Come on, drag a shirt over those glorious pecs and let's *go*!" The darkness of the movie theater was blessed relief to Angel. "I think I have a sunburn already," he groused. "Shhhhh!" Buffy stopped watching "George of the Jungle" long enough to poke him in the side. He sneered one more time, considered going back to sleep, then finally snuck Buffy's hand into his--and some of her popcorn into his mouth, while he was at it--and started trying to follow the plot. Weird tasting popcorn. Of course, what did he know? He hadn't had popcorn in--never mind. The movie was actually amusing. So was picking Buffy up off the floor when one particular scene involving a coffee commercial had her in hysterics. "Okay, I admit it," Angel finally said. "It was fun. Not really my style, but fun." Buffy looked smug. "Stop that." "What?" "That see-all, know-all look." She stuck her tongue out at him. "There, is that better?" The sun was getting way, way too hot. Angel knew he'd have to head home soon, or he was going to be duller than ashes. Er, duller than dirt. Er-- He grabbed Buffy and kissed her. She made a startled "eek," then hung on for dear life. He bent her back over his arm, started kissing his way down her neck-- And woke abruptly when the pillow he was clutching broke. "Damn," he said, looking down at the feathers all over the bed. "Not another one." And he wasn't talking about the pillow. At dusk, Angel stood at the window, watching the shade over it glow with the light outside. It dimmed and dimmed, until finally he could lift it up and stare at the stars above. Tucked tightly into his hand was a single feather. the end Celli Sheila Marie Lane willow slane@sunbird.usd.edu - ----- -------------------------------------------------- "He looks really much a lot better in person." --Lizbet ===== ====HeLLLion====SunS====Prophile/BL====RFW/MFW==== http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/4928 "See? Whenever we fight, you always bring up the vampire thing." ------------------------------ End of buffyfic Digest V1 #35 ***************************** To subscribe to buffyfic Digest, send the command: subscribe buffyfic-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@xmission.com". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-buffyfic": subscribe buffyfic-digest local-buffyfic@your.domain.net A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "buffyfic-digest" in the commands above with "buffyfic". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from ftp.xmission.com, in pub/lists/buffyfic/archive. These are organized by date.