AB/BtVS FF: Nightmares in Waking Life 2/?
TITLE: Nightmares in Waking Life
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1
PART TWO
Willow woke up as a small cry escaped her lips. She had bolted into a sitting position, both hands landing over her chest after they propelled her upwards; she inhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath, as she looked around and saw that she was with Asher, who was still asleep, and no one else.
"Just a dream, Willow," she muttered under her breath. "Just a dream..." she trailed off and snorted. "Riiight." She looked around again, made sure she was alone, and then said, "Great, now I'm talking to myself."
The witch eased herself out of bed. She missed Jason and Nathaniel, but at the same time, she was glad they weren't in bed with her. Over the past few weeks, she had been having awful nightmares. Sometimes, they started out really pleasurable---but they always ended in some way that left Willow's heart pounding and her skin clammy. She was able to hide the dreams from everyone when she was only sharing her bed with a vampire who was dead to the world for most of the day.
As she padded across the bedroom, she tied her hair back in a loose, messy ponytail. Her trunk of magical equipment was unlocked and she used her sock-clad foot to flip open the lid. Normally, she locked it, but she had been using its contents so much that fiddling with a key had quickly become annoying.
A few minutes later, she was heating a substance over a small fire. She smiled wryly as she thought of popular movies where witches were viewed brewing potions, but as all colour faded from the transparent liquid, her smile faded. She knew she had to add the last ingredients within a few seconds and with minimal splashing.
It didn't take long for her to finish with the magical potion. She extinguished the fire with a quiet word and then she waited for the steam to stop rising from the surface of the glittering liquid.
She poured it into her water glass from the bathroom. She watched it sparkle for a moment and then she glanced back at Asher. In the dim light provided by the partially closed bathroom door, she as able to see that he was still sleeping---or still unconscious, however it was properly defined.
Then, she looked back at the potion.
She hated that she had to use it to get any sort of sleep after one of her bad dreams, but she refused to burden anyone with her problems.
Everyone seemed to be getting along so well. Everyone seemed to be so happy. She didn't want to burden anyone in her odd family with her problems---especially since they were only nightmares. It seemed silly, to run to Asher or Richard for comfort from dreams that scared her. They couldn't chase them away. She had to do it herself.
And in the meantime, she would be able to sink into a dreamless sleep by using a mixture she had found in one of her spell books.
It tasted like metal and a little like a smoky fall day---there were no other ways for her to describe its flavour.
Once she finished drinking it down, she rinsed the glass thoroughly and dried it on her bath towel. She put it back on the counter and turned off the light, using memory and slow steps to find her way back to the bed.
She was already on her way back to peaceful sleep before she finished pulling the covers up to her shoulders.
&&&&
When Jason gently shook her to awareness, she knew that she had actually heard her cellular phone ringing through her sleep. She wished she could have ignored Jason as well as she had apparently ignored her phone.
"God, since when do you sleep like the dead?" Jason muttered as Willow blinked up at him.
"What's up?" she asked quietly.
He smiled. "No, 'hey, hot stuff, how's it going?'"
"Hey, hot stuff," Willow mumbled around a yawn, "how's it going?"
"You're a riot, Alice," he said on a chuckle. "C'mon, time to get up."
Willow moaned wordlessly. "Why?"
"Anita said she's on her way over to pick you up," Jason replied. "She said you have a meeting with Bert at the same time she's meeting a new client... so you two made plans to drive over together." His eyes narrowed. "Remember? We were over there, celebrating Christmas with the big turkey dinner and presents and stuff?"
"Hmm?" Willow hummed as she yawned again.
"Does your not worshiping Santa extend to repressing memories of big, cooked birds and heaps of mashed potatoes?"
Willow smiled. "I remember the bird," she murmured drowsily.
"Do you remember Bert's ten messages at Feral Byte?"
She did.
"Vaguely," she said, joking with the werewolf a little.
"And Anita coming to pick you up?" Jason inquired. "She called like five times. When she couldn't get an answer, she called the Circus and passed the message to me. Didn't sleep much yesterday?"
Willow flushed at the teasing tone in Jason's voice---then, she silently cursed herself for reacting to him, even though nothing had happened.
"Yeah, something like that," she muttered. "Go wait for her, please?" she asked. "I just need to wash up and get dressed."
"You have about forty minutes," he told her. "She was refereeing a small dispute between Gregory and Zane when she dropped the phone."
"Nice," Willow said as she sat up, stretched her arms over her head, and proceeded to work the kinks out of her spine. She opened her eyes and saw Jason studying her carefully. "What?"
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"You look... pale. What's up?"
"I live underground, Jason. I don't get much sun anymore because I usually keep a vampire's schedule. Are you surprised I don't have a tan?"
He rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."
"Go do something useful, would you?"
Jason flashed her a big grin. "Sure. I'll go fed Jean-Claude. He must be up now." He waved and looked to the spot on the bed next to Asher. "Hey, Asher, how'd you sleep?"
"I do not remember," he reminded the werewolf. He put a hand on the hem of Willow's t-shirt and toyed with it while he looked back at Jason. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah," the younger man said with a nod. "Anita's coming to pick Will up to go to her meeting with Bert."
"Ah, yes, I forgot that was this evening."
"So did Willow, apparently," Jason joked before waving again and bouncing off.
Willow chuckled and rubbed her face with both hands as she felt Asher teasing her thigh. His cool fingers brought a fresh wave of shivers over her legs and arms; she sighed and her quiet laughter faded into the silence of the room.
"What's up?" she asked quietly as she looked over her shoulder at the blond vampire.
"Did you sleep?" he inquired, smiling a bit. "Or did you join me simply to brighten my awakening?"
The witch grinned despite her exhaustion. "No, I slept," she murmured. She twisted her body so she was facing him; she leaned over his body and pressed her lips to his. "I slept, and I know this because Jason woke me up," she added. "I had a little dream about you," she confessed, deciding to distract him with a bit of the truth. At Asher's arched eyebrow, she kissed him again. "Yep. We were at a birthday party... all gussied up. You liked my corset."
"Of course," he said, lifting her onto him so she was straddling his hips. "I do usually prefer you in corsets," he added. "They do wonderful things to some of your... assets."
"You noticed in the dream, too," she murmured. "I think Jean-Claude liked 'em, too."
"Mon corbeau was there, as well?" Asher asked.
"Yep."
"What else were you wearing?"
Willow's brow furrowed as she tried to concentrate on the better memories of her dream. "Um... I think he said it was a... an elegant construction of fluffy layers and boning, or something. Not the exact quote. But, it was quite the get-up." She dropped down and kissed him again. "We were guests of a prince. I've never been at a prince's birthday party. Especially one in 'your' France."
"My France?" he inquired.
She nodded. "We were at a prince's birthday. You two were wearing spiffy socks and those buckled shoes... and capris. Well, I know they're not capri pants, but that's what they looked like." She nuzzled her cheek against Asher's scarred face. "It was before... you were supposed to be with Juliana."
"We were there with Juliana," Asher told her as he rubbed her back in long, slow strokes. "Jean-Claude used a light form of mass-hypnosis on the crowd, and the three of us danced."
"Yep, just like you told me in the dream... and I was there, sort of," she murmured, "and then we were dancing at Narcissus in Chains... in more modern clothes."
"Did we do anything more than dancing?"
"I think you were both gonna bite me," she whispered as she looked into his eyes.
"Hmm... one of our more brilliant ideas, I suspect," he whispered in reply. He brushed a hand over her arm. "Is this dream a reaction to our shared bonds?"
Willow nodded because she didn't know what else to say---it was either a product of their bond or a product of her mind, and she didn't know which option sounded better. She kissed him once more so she wouldn't have to tell him anything else about his dream. He followed her lead, kissing her lips, until he decided to blaze a trail of nibbles down the side of her neck. As he did that, he gathered her into his arms and sat up. A few seconds later, he was carrying her into the bathroom, while paying very diligent attention to the hollow of her collarbone.
"Stop," she croaked. "I have to get ready."
"Which is why I brought you into the bathroom, mon colibri," he told her. "I will start your shower. While you are getting ready, I'll see if there are any of Nathaniel's muffins left in the kitchens."
"You're perfect," she whispered.
Asher chuckled and as he did so, he shook his curtain of hair into his face to hide his scars. "Only sometimes," he told her.
Willow pushed his hair back. She kissed his scarred cheek. "All the time," she said firmly. "Remember, this is my---"
"Resolve face, oui, oui," he interjected. He smiled and kissed her jawline. "After a few years together, I am familiar with that face."
She chuckled quietly and felt compelled to hug him, so she did. His hair smelled faintly of lilacs---from their bath the night before---and of cigarettes---from the bad habit that he kept from her---and she inhaled deeply as he squeezed her to him in reply.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
"Much better now," she promised.
"What happened?"
She shook her head slightly. "Nothing, Asher," she lied, "I'm just still sleepy."
"I will let it stand for now," he told her, seeing through her evasion. He set her on the countertop, so she was sitting on the cool marble and looking into his eyes. "I will feed and find a muffin or something for you while you shower and dress," he said, as he smoothed an index finger along her cheek. "Is there anything else you desire?"
"Coffee? And maybe a doppelganger so I don't have to go to the meeting?" She asked. "Then, I could stay with you all day."
He grinned. "I would like that. Perhaps you should keep your shields open while at the office," he suggested. "I would like to visit you later."
"I don't think Anita would approve," she murmured.
"Anita's tolerance encompasses many more things than it used to," he reminded her.
"Still, you, mentally pushing my buttons... might not be something she wants to deal with."
"Ah, when you are logical..."
"It bugs you?"
He smirked. "Just the opposite."
"Save the sweet talk for later, mister," she said after kissing his cheek.
&&&&
Willow sipped coffee from her travel mug. Asher had been kind enough to fill it for her while she had been getting dressed. Anita was driving, glaring at the rush hour traffic as they slowly made their way to Animators Incorporated's main office, while telling the witch a story upon which the redhead hadn't completely focused.
"...so, anyway, now, Nathaniel keeps a calendar nearby at all times and he keeps checking my schedule!" Anita ended with an exclamation. "I can't believe it's so important... I mean, we live together, but now he wants to date?"
The witch smiled. "That's kind of cute," she said as she processed the point of the story. She paused, looked at Anita, and said, "You've never been on a date with Nathaniel?"
"Does greeting vampire dignitaries count?"
"No, it doesn't."
"Damn."
Willow smiled more. "What's so hard? You'll dress up... go to a movie... and hold his hand. Maybe he'll try to put his arm around your shoulders during the scary or romantic parts. It's survivable."
"Says you."
"I say because I date. I go out with both Richard and Asher... in public. To restaurants and parks---"
"I date, too."
Willow nodded. "But, you don't date Nathaniel."
"Jean-Claude doesn't take Jason out on dates."
The witch rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but, Jason's probably up for it if either of them thought you wouldn't send them packing." She chuckled at the look on Anita's face. "Oh, come on. Jason loves performing for an audience and when Jean-Claude focuses his attention on someone, that person feels like the only one around."
"You sound like you know."
"From talking with him, yeah, and seeing how you and Asher are around him," Willow said. "But, don't you ever watch him around Jason? He indulges him... he may gently scold him... but there's some deep affection there between those two."
Anita scowled.
Willow continued talking. "And, Nathaniel's not really your pomme de sang anymore. So... maybe you guys should date."
"It's just... Nathaniel... I don't see him as the guy I do those date things with."
After a brief pause, Willow said, "I think you need to take him out of his pigeon hole, Anita. No set categories or boxes. Nathaniel's allowed to have layers."
"A few months ago, you never would have said that to me. And if you did, I would have really wanted to hit you."
Willow nodded. "You're right."
"Why'd we try to bury the hatchet?"
"Because Jean-Claude, Richard, and Asher teamed up on us and pretty much made us try to get along."
"Oh... right. Yeah." She stifled a yawn. "I'm so tired, I think I forgot," she said with a wan smile.
Willow's eyes narrowed as she studied Anita's profile. "Didn't sleep much?" she asked.
"Weird dreams." Anita hesitated and then said, "Okay, well, I'm sure they'd all be scary if I didn't see what I see and know what I know, but for now, they're just weird."
"I've been having weird dreams, too," Willow admitted. "Some scary. Some just weird. Slayers' dreams are often prophetic... but, I don't think we're making prophecies while we snore." She smiled. "Maybe it's just our way of processing all the changes in our lives."
"Maybe..."
Willow felt relieved that someone else was having dreams that kept her up at night. She didn't think they were related; she knew that they had all undergone changes in their lives, sharing magical bonds with more people, and that combination could affect how they slept. She was almost completely sure that her nightmares were a mixture of uncertainty---in the case of Xander's disappearance---and dealing with the life changes she had experienced over the past year. She didn't know what Anita's mind's reasons were, but she thought she had figured out her own mind's reasons.
"So," Willow said, trying to change the subject, "did you pick a date night yet?"
Anita snorted loudly. "Not yet."
"You should do it soon."
"I know," she said on a sigh.
"And I think... maybe, he'd enjoy it if you didn't let him plan the date. Surprise him," Willow advised. "Tell him what sort of clothes to wear and when to be ready, but only that stuff. I think he'll like knowing you spent that much time thinking about him."
The necromancer smiled. "You're probably right about that." Her smile faltered. "Did he tell you---"
"No, he didn't tell me anything," Willow interrupted. "I just... I get him sometimes... but other times---"
"And those are the times I still wish I had a manual for him," Anita admitted to the redhead.
Willow smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Pretty much. Still... just think about how his eyes are gonna light up when he realises you spent time thinking about him. Only him."
She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it: Anita's face softened and her smile became a little goofy around the edges; pure, uncensored love, teasing the edges of her features without the reserves she held so close to the surface.
"I wasn't supposed to fall in love with him," Anita mumbled as she tried to end the smile.
Willow's smile stretched. "But you did. Can you think of a better way to show him how important he is to you?"
"No... damn it. He's gonna do that knowing smile thing... and... he's gonna be impossible."
The witch chuckled. "But cute."
"But cute," Anita agreed grudgingly. "Speaking of cute, what're you gonna do when Bert tells you he wants to make you 'more of an integral part of Animators Incorporated?'"
Willow tried not to smile, but she couldn't help it. At the beginning of the month, she had started doing a few jobs for the firm. Some of the animators believed the last thing they needed was a witch. Anita, Larry, and Manny had been rather welcoming---the latter after talking with his powerful protegé for a few minutes over coffee. Bert had seen dollar-signs when he realised Anita knew Willow, who had somehow built up a reputation between the few cases RPIT sent her way and the publicity she received as the human servant of the Master of the City's second in command. He wanted to expand the firm's clientele and he saw Willow's powers as the ticket to achieve his goals---he assumed, unlike Anita, that her moral compass would lean towards his own since she tied herself to a powerful vampire.
He had assumed wrong, but so far, Willow hadn't had a problem with any of the jobs he had brought her.
However, he did want to add more clients to her dance card. He saw more than sanctuary spells for businesses; he saw personal protection spells and glamours and special effects at exciting, or spooky, parties.
She hadn't had to sit him down, yet, to tell him magic wasn't a parlour trick or something to be used without care of the results.
But, she knew she would have to do just that---maybe when they arrived at the firm.
"I'll tell him I already have a job. I'll tell him that magic isn't a force to be abused for entertainment purposes... and I am not signing anything," Willow told the necromancer. "Of course, he may not listen... but I guess that's his choice."
"Of course he's not going to listen."
Willow smirked. "Well, I can play a joke or two on him..." her smirk faded as she trailed off. After a pause, she said, "I could try to explain karma and the Powers That Be, but I really don't think abstract concepts frighten him."
"It may just be better to stage a palace revolt and turn his hair bright pink," Anita commented.
A brief laugh burst from Willow's lips as she considered the damage a simple glamour spell could do to the man.
"You think pink's his colour?" Willow asked.
"Maybe purple."
"Maybe," the witch agreed.
&&&&
Anita was still meeting with her client, so after her disastrous meeting with Bert, Willow stepped out into the hallway outside the offices and prepared to wait a while.
She sighed and slipped her hands into her pockets as she leaned against a wall. A rueful smile flitted across her face as she thought about the way Bert's face paled when he looked into his reflection in the window's glass---when he watched the glamour spell Willow had cast, as it turned his hair a rainbow of colours. He had yelled; when he produced no reaction from Willow with his anger, he actually resorted to pleading. He claimed to have understood her point---about the power of three and the abuse of powers---and Willow released the spell's effects on his hair.
They had reached a tenuous agreement: Willow would remain independent; Bert could continue to take cases, but he could not take payment until he went to her with the files; she would pass ultimate judgement on the cases and could even back out after the initial consultation, if she sensed things were 'fishy.' Bert didn't like it, but Willow said she could leave and never work for Animators Incorporated again. He feared she'd strike out on her own, start a business herself.
Of course, that wasn't the case. Apart from the legalities she would have to consider, there were other problems with running her own business. Willow didn't think it was the right thing to do---to profit from her powers. She wasn't even sure that it was acceptable to allow Bert to profit from them---while taking a small percentage of the transaction for her time and energy---but she tried to negate any karmic imbalance by picking real cases where seemingly good people had problems with which she could help. Her next one would be a woman who escaped to St. Louis to avoid an abusive ex-boyfriend---a man who liked his bourbon and apparently had friends in St. Louis who were keeping a very attentive eye on her.
When her cellular phone rang, she pulled it from her bag and flipped it open without thinking.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Willow."
She smiled. It was Noel, one of the main employees at Feral Byte. "What's up? Need me to come in early?"
"Nah, we're handling the rush okay. Buffy's on the phone for you," he told her. "I thought I'd see if I could transfer the call instead of just taking a message."
Willow's smile lasted through her next response. She had finally finished negotiating Buffy's visit with Jean-Claude and Richard. No other group had a problem with the slayer visiting, so the only thing left was to make sure she knew Buffy's travel schedule and plan events for her visit. "Sure, go ahead. Thanks, Noel."
A few minutes later, the redhead heard Noel telling Buffy that Willow was on the line and that she could talk to her.
"Will?"
"Hey, Buffy."
Willow could almost feel Buffy relax over the phone. "I didn't expect you to be around. It's kind of early, isn't it?"
"Well, the sun's just setting, but... I'm not at work. Well, not at the café anyway. I freelance a little from time to time... safety spells, things like that," she told the blonde slayer.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Buffy asked. "I mean... what if... what if something wrong---"
Willow cut her off gently. "No one knows my real name... or that the name they have isn't my real name. I use a glamour spell for consultations, and no one is home or around when I do the work. Plus, Bert has a whole bunch of legal hoops for them to jump through first. And, I pick the cases."
"Still... I worry."
"I know. Thanks." She paused, and then she said, "You still coming to town?"
"On the third," Buffy replied. "If that's still okay?"
"Yep," the witch said. "You can have my room at Dawn's apartment. I'll clean out the witchy stuff first. And, if you know when you land in town, I can have a driver pick you up and take you there."
"Why don't you just pick me up?" Buffy asked.
Willow hesitated. She knew her friendship was a lot better with the slayer than it had been since she struck out on her own, but she was still hesitant to put all of her trust back in Buffy. She didn't know why; she knew Anita for less time and they had several issues between them, but she had put her trust in the black-haired woman who she had only known for a few years. Still, she wasn't sure all the years of friendship with Buffy could make up for what had happened between them. Something held her back and she couldn't label that reservation.
"I might," Willow said. "But, it's hard to say what'll happen in the next week. Things are unpredictable here."
Buffy chuckled. "Between jobs, vampires, werewolves, and the other furry creatures?"
"Something like that," Willow agreed.
"Alright... well, Faith or Dawn could come, right?"
"Afraid to be alone with someone I'd send?"
It was Buffy's turn to hesitate. "Well, no," she said finally, "but I don't know all of your new friends."
Willow saw Anita near the exit; her back was turned, and she must have been talking to Mary, the receptionist. She and Buffy managed to talk through the awkwardness, and when Anita finally stepped into the hall, Willow was telling the slayer that she'd try to get Dawn and Faith to pick Buffy up, as long as their schedules permitted it.
"Cool... I guess I'll see you later, then?"
"Yep, you will," WIllow promised. "I better go."
They said their good-byes, and then Willow snapped her phone shut and dropped it into her bag. Anita looked at the witch with a little smile on her face.
"How's Buffy?" Anita asked.
Willow shrugged. "Good, I guess. She just wanted to confirm her visit... as far as I could tell."
"Why are you frowning?"
"I... I don't know. I guess... I... I'm worried about her coming here."
Anita nodded and motioned towards the exit to the building. They started to walk as Anita asked a question: "Are you afraid of being judged?"
"Yeah... and I'm afraid she's not going to like the people I've... built a family around," Willow confessed quietly. "She pretty much said she doesn't want any of my family coming to pick her up at the airport if it can't be Dawn or Faith or me."
The necromancer didn't reach out and touch her. Willow missed having close girl friends---Buffy never shied from physical contact, in terms of a comforting touch or hug, and even though Anya wasn't the best with human emotions, she was usually there for her friends when it was the most important---and she wished she and Anita could move past the tentative truce they were trying to strengthen into something more like a real friendship.
"Firstly, I'm gonna give you some advice that I've had given to me," Anita told her, "and that's if you're life is working and you're working in it---don't let anyone tell you it's wrong and don't try to talk yourself out of it. Secondly, if Buffy just wants to go to Dawn's and avoid the monsters," she continued on a little laugh, which told Willow that Anita didn't think of their friends and lovers as monsters at all, "tell her to get a cab. Leave enough cash on the other side of the first door, give her the address, and make sure someone will be there to let her in."
"Since when did you get so wise?" Willow asked teasingly.
Anita smirked. "I think it's just everyone else rubbing off on me," she admitted wryly.
They stepped out onto the chilly sidewalk. Willow snuggled into her coat and she watched as Anita shivered. Her coat was open---closing it would have done wonders for her body temperature---so she could reach her gun in case of emergency. Willow wasn't sure if she'd forfeit comfort for weapon access; however, she knew comfort was irrelevant if she was injured or worse in some sort of impromptu fight.
"Should I drop you at Feral Byte?" Anita asked.
Willow nodded and followed the woman to her jeep.
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1
PART TWO
Willow woke up as a small cry escaped her lips. She had bolted into a sitting position, both hands landing over her chest after they propelled her upwards; she inhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath, as she looked around and saw that she was with Asher, who was still asleep, and no one else.
"Just a dream, Willow," she muttered under her breath. "Just a dream..." she trailed off and snorted. "Riiight." She looked around again, made sure she was alone, and then said, "Great, now I'm talking to myself."
The witch eased herself out of bed. She missed Jason and Nathaniel, but at the same time, she was glad they weren't in bed with her. Over the past few weeks, she had been having awful nightmares. Sometimes, they started out really pleasurable---but they always ended in some way that left Willow's heart pounding and her skin clammy. She was able to hide the dreams from everyone when she was only sharing her bed with a vampire who was dead to the world for most of the day.
As she padded across the bedroom, she tied her hair back in a loose, messy ponytail. Her trunk of magical equipment was unlocked and she used her sock-clad foot to flip open the lid. Normally, she locked it, but she had been using its contents so much that fiddling with a key had quickly become annoying.
A few minutes later, she was heating a substance over a small fire. She smiled wryly as she thought of popular movies where witches were viewed brewing potions, but as all colour faded from the transparent liquid, her smile faded. She knew she had to add the last ingredients within a few seconds and with minimal splashing.
It didn't take long for her to finish with the magical potion. She extinguished the fire with a quiet word and then she waited for the steam to stop rising from the surface of the glittering liquid.
She poured it into her water glass from the bathroom. She watched it sparkle for a moment and then she glanced back at Asher. In the dim light provided by the partially closed bathroom door, she as able to see that he was still sleeping---or still unconscious, however it was properly defined.
Then, she looked back at the potion.
She hated that she had to use it to get any sort of sleep after one of her bad dreams, but she refused to burden anyone with her problems.
Everyone seemed to be getting along so well. Everyone seemed to be so happy. She didn't want to burden anyone in her odd family with her problems---especially since they were only nightmares. It seemed silly, to run to Asher or Richard for comfort from dreams that scared her. They couldn't chase them away. She had to do it herself.
And in the meantime, she would be able to sink into a dreamless sleep by using a mixture she had found in one of her spell books.
It tasted like metal and a little like a smoky fall day---there were no other ways for her to describe its flavour.
Once she finished drinking it down, she rinsed the glass thoroughly and dried it on her bath towel. She put it back on the counter and turned off the light, using memory and slow steps to find her way back to the bed.
She was already on her way back to peaceful sleep before she finished pulling the covers up to her shoulders.
&&&&
When Jason gently shook her to awareness, she knew that she had actually heard her cellular phone ringing through her sleep. She wished she could have ignored Jason as well as she had apparently ignored her phone.
"God, since when do you sleep like the dead?" Jason muttered as Willow blinked up at him.
"What's up?" she asked quietly.
He smiled. "No, 'hey, hot stuff, how's it going?'"
"Hey, hot stuff," Willow mumbled around a yawn, "how's it going?"
"You're a riot, Alice," he said on a chuckle. "C'mon, time to get up."
Willow moaned wordlessly. "Why?"
"Anita said she's on her way over to pick you up," Jason replied. "She said you have a meeting with Bert at the same time she's meeting a new client... so you two made plans to drive over together." His eyes narrowed. "Remember? We were over there, celebrating Christmas with the big turkey dinner and presents and stuff?"
"Hmm?" Willow hummed as she yawned again.
"Does your not worshiping Santa extend to repressing memories of big, cooked birds and heaps of mashed potatoes?"
Willow smiled. "I remember the bird," she murmured drowsily.
"Do you remember Bert's ten messages at Feral Byte?"
She did.
"Vaguely," she said, joking with the werewolf a little.
"And Anita coming to pick you up?" Jason inquired. "She called like five times. When she couldn't get an answer, she called the Circus and passed the message to me. Didn't sleep much yesterday?"
Willow flushed at the teasing tone in Jason's voice---then, she silently cursed herself for reacting to him, even though nothing had happened.
"Yeah, something like that," she muttered. "Go wait for her, please?" she asked. "I just need to wash up and get dressed."
"You have about forty minutes," he told her. "She was refereeing a small dispute between Gregory and Zane when she dropped the phone."
"Nice," Willow said as she sat up, stretched her arms over her head, and proceeded to work the kinks out of her spine. She opened her eyes and saw Jason studying her carefully. "What?"
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"You look... pale. What's up?"
"I live underground, Jason. I don't get much sun anymore because I usually keep a vampire's schedule. Are you surprised I don't have a tan?"
He rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."
"Go do something useful, would you?"
Jason flashed her a big grin. "Sure. I'll go fed Jean-Claude. He must be up now." He waved and looked to the spot on the bed next to Asher. "Hey, Asher, how'd you sleep?"
"I do not remember," he reminded the werewolf. He put a hand on the hem of Willow's t-shirt and toyed with it while he looked back at Jason. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah," the younger man said with a nod. "Anita's coming to pick Will up to go to her meeting with Bert."
"Ah, yes, I forgot that was this evening."
"So did Willow, apparently," Jason joked before waving again and bouncing off.
Willow chuckled and rubbed her face with both hands as she felt Asher teasing her thigh. His cool fingers brought a fresh wave of shivers over her legs and arms; she sighed and her quiet laughter faded into the silence of the room.
"What's up?" she asked quietly as she looked over her shoulder at the blond vampire.
"Did you sleep?" he inquired, smiling a bit. "Or did you join me simply to brighten my awakening?"
The witch grinned despite her exhaustion. "No, I slept," she murmured. She twisted her body so she was facing him; she leaned over his body and pressed her lips to his. "I slept, and I know this because Jason woke me up," she added. "I had a little dream about you," she confessed, deciding to distract him with a bit of the truth. At Asher's arched eyebrow, she kissed him again. "Yep. We were at a birthday party... all gussied up. You liked my corset."
"Of course," he said, lifting her onto him so she was straddling his hips. "I do usually prefer you in corsets," he added. "They do wonderful things to some of your... assets."
"You noticed in the dream, too," she murmured. "I think Jean-Claude liked 'em, too."
"Mon corbeau was there, as well?" Asher asked.
"Yep."
"What else were you wearing?"
Willow's brow furrowed as she tried to concentrate on the better memories of her dream. "Um... I think he said it was a... an elegant construction of fluffy layers and boning, or something. Not the exact quote. But, it was quite the get-up." She dropped down and kissed him again. "We were guests of a prince. I've never been at a prince's birthday party. Especially one in 'your' France."
"My France?" he inquired.
She nodded. "We were at a prince's birthday. You two were wearing spiffy socks and those buckled shoes... and capris. Well, I know they're not capri pants, but that's what they looked like." She nuzzled her cheek against Asher's scarred face. "It was before... you were supposed to be with Juliana."
"We were there with Juliana," Asher told her as he rubbed her back in long, slow strokes. "Jean-Claude used a light form of mass-hypnosis on the crowd, and the three of us danced."
"Yep, just like you told me in the dream... and I was there, sort of," she murmured, "and then we were dancing at Narcissus in Chains... in more modern clothes."
"Did we do anything more than dancing?"
"I think you were both gonna bite me," she whispered as she looked into his eyes.
"Hmm... one of our more brilliant ideas, I suspect," he whispered in reply. He brushed a hand over her arm. "Is this dream a reaction to our shared bonds?"
Willow nodded because she didn't know what else to say---it was either a product of their bond or a product of her mind, and she didn't know which option sounded better. She kissed him once more so she wouldn't have to tell him anything else about his dream. He followed her lead, kissing her lips, until he decided to blaze a trail of nibbles down the side of her neck. As he did that, he gathered her into his arms and sat up. A few seconds later, he was carrying her into the bathroom, while paying very diligent attention to the hollow of her collarbone.
"Stop," she croaked. "I have to get ready."
"Which is why I brought you into the bathroom, mon colibri," he told her. "I will start your shower. While you are getting ready, I'll see if there are any of Nathaniel's muffins left in the kitchens."
"You're perfect," she whispered.
Asher chuckled and as he did so, he shook his curtain of hair into his face to hide his scars. "Only sometimes," he told her.
Willow pushed his hair back. She kissed his scarred cheek. "All the time," she said firmly. "Remember, this is my---"
"Resolve face, oui, oui," he interjected. He smiled and kissed her jawline. "After a few years together, I am familiar with that face."
She chuckled quietly and felt compelled to hug him, so she did. His hair smelled faintly of lilacs---from their bath the night before---and of cigarettes---from the bad habit that he kept from her---and she inhaled deeply as he squeezed her to him in reply.
"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.
"Much better now," she promised.
"What happened?"
She shook her head slightly. "Nothing, Asher," she lied, "I'm just still sleepy."
"I will let it stand for now," he told her, seeing through her evasion. He set her on the countertop, so she was sitting on the cool marble and looking into his eyes. "I will feed and find a muffin or something for you while you shower and dress," he said, as he smoothed an index finger along her cheek. "Is there anything else you desire?"
"Coffee? And maybe a doppelganger so I don't have to go to the meeting?" She asked. "Then, I could stay with you all day."
He grinned. "I would like that. Perhaps you should keep your shields open while at the office," he suggested. "I would like to visit you later."
"I don't think Anita would approve," she murmured.
"Anita's tolerance encompasses many more things than it used to," he reminded her.
"Still, you, mentally pushing my buttons... might not be something she wants to deal with."
"Ah, when you are logical..."
"It bugs you?"
He smirked. "Just the opposite."
"Save the sweet talk for later, mister," she said after kissing his cheek.
&&&&
Willow sipped coffee from her travel mug. Asher had been kind enough to fill it for her while she had been getting dressed. Anita was driving, glaring at the rush hour traffic as they slowly made their way to Animators Incorporated's main office, while telling the witch a story upon which the redhead hadn't completely focused.
"...so, anyway, now, Nathaniel keeps a calendar nearby at all times and he keeps checking my schedule!" Anita ended with an exclamation. "I can't believe it's so important... I mean, we live together, but now he wants to date?"
The witch smiled. "That's kind of cute," she said as she processed the point of the story. She paused, looked at Anita, and said, "You've never been on a date with Nathaniel?"
"Does greeting vampire dignitaries count?"
"No, it doesn't."
"Damn."
Willow smiled more. "What's so hard? You'll dress up... go to a movie... and hold his hand. Maybe he'll try to put his arm around your shoulders during the scary or romantic parts. It's survivable."
"Says you."
"I say because I date. I go out with both Richard and Asher... in public. To restaurants and parks---"
"I date, too."
Willow nodded. "But, you don't date Nathaniel."
"Jean-Claude doesn't take Jason out on dates."
The witch rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but, Jason's probably up for it if either of them thought you wouldn't send them packing." She chuckled at the look on Anita's face. "Oh, come on. Jason loves performing for an audience and when Jean-Claude focuses his attention on someone, that person feels like the only one around."
"You sound like you know."
"From talking with him, yeah, and seeing how you and Asher are around him," Willow said. "But, don't you ever watch him around Jason? He indulges him... he may gently scold him... but there's some deep affection there between those two."
Anita scowled.
Willow continued talking. "And, Nathaniel's not really your pomme de sang anymore. So... maybe you guys should date."
"It's just... Nathaniel... I don't see him as the guy I do those date things with."
After a brief pause, Willow said, "I think you need to take him out of his pigeon hole, Anita. No set categories or boxes. Nathaniel's allowed to have layers."
"A few months ago, you never would have said that to me. And if you did, I would have really wanted to hit you."
Willow nodded. "You're right."
"Why'd we try to bury the hatchet?"
"Because Jean-Claude, Richard, and Asher teamed up on us and pretty much made us try to get along."
"Oh... right. Yeah." She stifled a yawn. "I'm so tired, I think I forgot," she said with a wan smile.
Willow's eyes narrowed as she studied Anita's profile. "Didn't sleep much?" she asked.
"Weird dreams." Anita hesitated and then said, "Okay, well, I'm sure they'd all be scary if I didn't see what I see and know what I know, but for now, they're just weird."
"I've been having weird dreams, too," Willow admitted. "Some scary. Some just weird. Slayers' dreams are often prophetic... but, I don't think we're making prophecies while we snore." She smiled. "Maybe it's just our way of processing all the changes in our lives."
"Maybe..."
Willow felt relieved that someone else was having dreams that kept her up at night. She didn't think they were related; she knew that they had all undergone changes in their lives, sharing magical bonds with more people, and that combination could affect how they slept. She was almost completely sure that her nightmares were a mixture of uncertainty---in the case of Xander's disappearance---and dealing with the life changes she had experienced over the past year. She didn't know what Anita's mind's reasons were, but she thought she had figured out her own mind's reasons.
"So," Willow said, trying to change the subject, "did you pick a date night yet?"
Anita snorted loudly. "Not yet."
"You should do it soon."
"I know," she said on a sigh.
"And I think... maybe, he'd enjoy it if you didn't let him plan the date. Surprise him," Willow advised. "Tell him what sort of clothes to wear and when to be ready, but only that stuff. I think he'll like knowing you spent that much time thinking about him."
The necromancer smiled. "You're probably right about that." Her smile faltered. "Did he tell you---"
"No, he didn't tell me anything," Willow interrupted. "I just... I get him sometimes... but other times---"
"And those are the times I still wish I had a manual for him," Anita admitted to the redhead.
Willow smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Pretty much. Still... just think about how his eyes are gonna light up when he realises you spent time thinking about him. Only him."
She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it: Anita's face softened and her smile became a little goofy around the edges; pure, uncensored love, teasing the edges of her features without the reserves she held so close to the surface.
"I wasn't supposed to fall in love with him," Anita mumbled as she tried to end the smile.
Willow's smile stretched. "But you did. Can you think of a better way to show him how important he is to you?"
"No... damn it. He's gonna do that knowing smile thing... and... he's gonna be impossible."
The witch chuckled. "But cute."
"But cute," Anita agreed grudgingly. "Speaking of cute, what're you gonna do when Bert tells you he wants to make you 'more of an integral part of Animators Incorporated?'"
Willow tried not to smile, but she couldn't help it. At the beginning of the month, she had started doing a few jobs for the firm. Some of the animators believed the last thing they needed was a witch. Anita, Larry, and Manny had been rather welcoming---the latter after talking with his powerful protegé for a few minutes over coffee. Bert had seen dollar-signs when he realised Anita knew Willow, who had somehow built up a reputation between the few cases RPIT sent her way and the publicity she received as the human servant of the Master of the City's second in command. He wanted to expand the firm's clientele and he saw Willow's powers as the ticket to achieve his goals---he assumed, unlike Anita, that her moral compass would lean towards his own since she tied herself to a powerful vampire.
He had assumed wrong, but so far, Willow hadn't had a problem with any of the jobs he had brought her.
However, he did want to add more clients to her dance card. He saw more than sanctuary spells for businesses; he saw personal protection spells and glamours and special effects at exciting, or spooky, parties.
She hadn't had to sit him down, yet, to tell him magic wasn't a parlour trick or something to be used without care of the results.
But, she knew she would have to do just that---maybe when they arrived at the firm.
"I'll tell him I already have a job. I'll tell him that magic isn't a force to be abused for entertainment purposes... and I am not signing anything," Willow told the necromancer. "Of course, he may not listen... but I guess that's his choice."
"Of course he's not going to listen."
Willow smirked. "Well, I can play a joke or two on him..." her smirk faded as she trailed off. After a pause, she said, "I could try to explain karma and the Powers That Be, but I really don't think abstract concepts frighten him."
"It may just be better to stage a palace revolt and turn his hair bright pink," Anita commented.
A brief laugh burst from Willow's lips as she considered the damage a simple glamour spell could do to the man.
"You think pink's his colour?" Willow asked.
"Maybe purple."
"Maybe," the witch agreed.
&&&&
Anita was still meeting with her client, so after her disastrous meeting with Bert, Willow stepped out into the hallway outside the offices and prepared to wait a while.
She sighed and slipped her hands into her pockets as she leaned against a wall. A rueful smile flitted across her face as she thought about the way Bert's face paled when he looked into his reflection in the window's glass---when he watched the glamour spell Willow had cast, as it turned his hair a rainbow of colours. He had yelled; when he produced no reaction from Willow with his anger, he actually resorted to pleading. He claimed to have understood her point---about the power of three and the abuse of powers---and Willow released the spell's effects on his hair.
They had reached a tenuous agreement: Willow would remain independent; Bert could continue to take cases, but he could not take payment until he went to her with the files; she would pass ultimate judgement on the cases and could even back out after the initial consultation, if she sensed things were 'fishy.' Bert didn't like it, but Willow said she could leave and never work for Animators Incorporated again. He feared she'd strike out on her own, start a business herself.
Of course, that wasn't the case. Apart from the legalities she would have to consider, there were other problems with running her own business. Willow didn't think it was the right thing to do---to profit from her powers. She wasn't even sure that it was acceptable to allow Bert to profit from them---while taking a small percentage of the transaction for her time and energy---but she tried to negate any karmic imbalance by picking real cases where seemingly good people had problems with which she could help. Her next one would be a woman who escaped to St. Louis to avoid an abusive ex-boyfriend---a man who liked his bourbon and apparently had friends in St. Louis who were keeping a very attentive eye on her.
When her cellular phone rang, she pulled it from her bag and flipped it open without thinking.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Willow."
She smiled. It was Noel, one of the main employees at Feral Byte. "What's up? Need me to come in early?"
"Nah, we're handling the rush okay. Buffy's on the phone for you," he told her. "I thought I'd see if I could transfer the call instead of just taking a message."
Willow's smile lasted through her next response. She had finally finished negotiating Buffy's visit with Jean-Claude and Richard. No other group had a problem with the slayer visiting, so the only thing left was to make sure she knew Buffy's travel schedule and plan events for her visit. "Sure, go ahead. Thanks, Noel."
A few minutes later, the redhead heard Noel telling Buffy that Willow was on the line and that she could talk to her.
"Will?"
"Hey, Buffy."
Willow could almost feel Buffy relax over the phone. "I didn't expect you to be around. It's kind of early, isn't it?"
"Well, the sun's just setting, but... I'm not at work. Well, not at the café anyway. I freelance a little from time to time... safety spells, things like that," she told the blonde slayer.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Buffy asked. "I mean... what if... what if something wrong---"
Willow cut her off gently. "No one knows my real name... or that the name they have isn't my real name. I use a glamour spell for consultations, and no one is home or around when I do the work. Plus, Bert has a whole bunch of legal hoops for them to jump through first. And, I pick the cases."
"Still... I worry."
"I know. Thanks." She paused, and then she said, "You still coming to town?"
"On the third," Buffy replied. "If that's still okay?"
"Yep," the witch said. "You can have my room at Dawn's apartment. I'll clean out the witchy stuff first. And, if you know when you land in town, I can have a driver pick you up and take you there."
"Why don't you just pick me up?" Buffy asked.
Willow hesitated. She knew her friendship was a lot better with the slayer than it had been since she struck out on her own, but she was still hesitant to put all of her trust back in Buffy. She didn't know why; she knew Anita for less time and they had several issues between them, but she had put her trust in the black-haired woman who she had only known for a few years. Still, she wasn't sure all the years of friendship with Buffy could make up for what had happened between them. Something held her back and she couldn't label that reservation.
"I might," Willow said. "But, it's hard to say what'll happen in the next week. Things are unpredictable here."
Buffy chuckled. "Between jobs, vampires, werewolves, and the other furry creatures?"
"Something like that," Willow agreed.
"Alright... well, Faith or Dawn could come, right?"
"Afraid to be alone with someone I'd send?"
It was Buffy's turn to hesitate. "Well, no," she said finally, "but I don't know all of your new friends."
Willow saw Anita near the exit; her back was turned, and she must have been talking to Mary, the receptionist. She and Buffy managed to talk through the awkwardness, and when Anita finally stepped into the hall, Willow was telling the slayer that she'd try to get Dawn and Faith to pick Buffy up, as long as their schedules permitted it.
"Cool... I guess I'll see you later, then?"
"Yep, you will," WIllow promised. "I better go."
They said their good-byes, and then Willow snapped her phone shut and dropped it into her bag. Anita looked at the witch with a little smile on her face.
"How's Buffy?" Anita asked.
Willow shrugged. "Good, I guess. She just wanted to confirm her visit... as far as I could tell."
"Why are you frowning?"
"I... I don't know. I guess... I... I'm worried about her coming here."
Anita nodded and motioned towards the exit to the building. They started to walk as Anita asked a question: "Are you afraid of being judged?"
"Yeah... and I'm afraid she's not going to like the people I've... built a family around," Willow confessed quietly. "She pretty much said she doesn't want any of my family coming to pick her up at the airport if it can't be Dawn or Faith or me."
The necromancer didn't reach out and touch her. Willow missed having close girl friends---Buffy never shied from physical contact, in terms of a comforting touch or hug, and even though Anya wasn't the best with human emotions, she was usually there for her friends when it was the most important---and she wished she and Anita could move past the tentative truce they were trying to strengthen into something more like a real friendship.
"Firstly, I'm gonna give you some advice that I've had given to me," Anita told her, "and that's if you're life is working and you're working in it---don't let anyone tell you it's wrong and don't try to talk yourself out of it. Secondly, if Buffy just wants to go to Dawn's and avoid the monsters," she continued on a little laugh, which told Willow that Anita didn't think of their friends and lovers as monsters at all, "tell her to get a cab. Leave enough cash on the other side of the first door, give her the address, and make sure someone will be there to let her in."
"Since when did you get so wise?" Willow asked teasingly.
Anita smirked. "I think it's just everyone else rubbing off on me," she admitted wryly.
They stepped out onto the chilly sidewalk. Willow snuggled into her coat and she watched as Anita shivered. Her coat was open---closing it would have done wonders for her body temperature---so she could reach her gun in case of emergency. Willow wasn't sure if she'd forfeit comfort for weapon access; however, she knew comfort was irrelevant if she was injured or worse in some sort of impromptu fight.
"Should I drop you at Feral Byte?" Anita asked.
Willow nodded and followed the woman to her jeep.