AB/BtVS FF: Alive at Last 47/? (Willow/Asher)
TITLE: Alive at Last
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRING: Willow/Asher
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the series for BtVS, even though I don't really remember much of it, since I haven't watched the last seasons in ages.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone. I'm just having a little fun.
NOTES: This story is AU, since it's a crossover; because of that, I've taken a few creative liberties with explaining why the BtVS vampires are different than the AB vampires, and so on.
Previous Chapters: 1-3, 4, 5, 6-7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23-4, 25, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34, 35-6, 37-8, 39, 40-41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46
PART FORTY-SEVEN
Willow woke up the next day with a headache and an upset stomach. She rolled over in bed, expecting to see Asher, but she quickly discovered that she was the only one in the room.
With a frown---and then a grimace, after she started moving---she eased herself out of bed and started to walk towards her robe, which was draped over the chair at the desk. She reached the robe and felt her stomach churn; she knew what that meant, so she raced on unsteady feet towards the bathroom.
She emptied her stomach into the toilet and eased herself down against the cool tiles that helped form the large tub. The chill made her feel better but she wished Asher's cool body was close by because he would make her feel better. She knew her hangover wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, and she had her bond to Asher to thank for that---or she assumed she did, because his powers were supposed to make her more resistant to poisons.
When she finally managed to leave the bathroom, she could smell something delicious in the outer room. Her first thought was that Asher had brought her breakfast, but when she went to find him, she found Nathaniel instead.
"How's your head?" he asked quietly.
"Kinda big," she mumbled drowsily.
He smiled sympathetically and motioned to the tray of food. She saw sausage and hash browns and eggs on toast; her mouth started to water. There was nothing she loved more than a big, greasy breakfast the night after drinking, and she could have hugged and kissed Nathaniel for the gesture if she hadn't felt so dirty on the inside.
"Jason mentioned this might make you feel better," he said as he guided Willow towards the sofa. "Big night last night," he commented.
Willow groaned and rubbed her eyes. "I think I had to get drunk to talk about all that stuff," she muttered. "Man... I hate trips down memory lane."
"I had no idea the world's come so close to ending," Nathaniel admitted. "I just... well, I guessed you had only faced stuff like we had faced... guns, hits taken on certain people... you know?"
Willow nodded and accepted the glass of diet cola he offered her. She drank a third of it and then, after swallowing and licking her lips, she said, "The world almost ends a lot."
"How do you do it?"
"My desire to live sort of carried me through it," she replied. "Buffy and Angel fight for different reasons. I just... wanted to live."
"Aren't you scared?"
"Pretty much all the time," she said as she blushed a little. "That's why I ran away, basically... and... well, I ended up here."
"Are you still scared?"
Willow popped a hash brown into her mouth and as she chewed she thought about his question. She was scared of facing her past and of having to explain the recent choices she made to people from her past. She was scared of letting everyone in her odd family down. But, she didn't feel the same fear she used to when she heard the word 'apocalypse.' She was worried about the rogue slayers and about the law firm but she she wasn't scared of them---wary, yes; scared, no.
"Not really," she told him honestly. She ate a few more potato pieces and then she asked, "Where's Asher?"
"Down the hall," Nathaniel said, gesturing in the direction of Jean-Claude's suite.
Willow smiled a bit, thinking of Asher and Jean-Claude together. "Oh... well... okay. So, what are you up to tonight?"
"Work in an hour or so," he told her. "Jason's giving me a lift."
"Cool," she said quietly.
"Eat up," he instructed. "Then, you can wash and get dressed... and after that you'll probably feel alive again."
&&&&
Nathaniel had been right.
After showering, Willow felt much more like her usual self. The cobwebs had cleared and she felt ready to face the night and what it would bring. She assumed they would be making some sort of defensive move against Wolfram and Hart, and she was almost looking forward to taking action. Waiting around for something to happen was making her a little twitchy.
She left her suite and wandered down the hall. She could hear Connor, Spike, and Gunn arguing about something ridiculous---it sounded like a movie or comic book plot, to her---and when she neared the sitting room they had taken over, she saw Angel leaning against the wall in the corridor.
He turned and looked at her. "Hey," he said quietly.
"Hi, Angel," she murmured. "You sleep well?"
"I'm sober now," he said with a little smile.
"Me, too."
She watched his smile fade into a frown. Then, he said, "Willow, I'm worried about you." She opened her mouth to respond to Angel's statement, but he cut her off. "You've changed so much since the last time I saw you... and---"
She interrupted him, putting her hand up before she spoke. "Angel, I'm home. This is where I need to be," she assured him.
He sighed. "I met Asher once. A long time ago," he confessed. "Jean-Claude, too. Their mistress, Belle Morte, wanted the Master's children dead..." he trailed off and sighed. "The things I've seen them do... and they didn't have the excuse of not having souls. They've always been the same, capable of the same things. They're corrupting you, Willow."
Willow looked into Angel's stricken face and tried to figure out what she should say to him. "Angel... there are laws now. Things are different. And, Asher loves me."
"Which is why he's down the hall with Anita and Jean-Claude?" Angel inquired.
The red haired witch tried to keep the frown off of her face and she reflexively put her magical and emotional shields in place. She knew she shouldn't be jealous; she knew she shouldn't be surprised, either. However, she couldn't keep insecurities and other negative feelings from welling up inside of her mind and heart. "I... well... sometimes he does that. But, if I wanted to go off with someone else, it would be okay. We're not married," she said defensively.
"How can you love someone who doesn't give you all of him to love?"
"When we're together I get all of him," Willow said quietly. "And---"
"The Willow I knew never would have done what you did last night," Angel interrupted. "He fed off of you and you... you... you really enjoyed it."
Willow blushed. "I don't think you ever knew me. Or the Willow from back then. I don't even think I knew that Willow very well, Angel," she told him. "I live here now and no one judges me for being a freak of nature. Nothing's normal, but that's sort of how I stumbled into this life." She paused and then said, "I'm Asher's human servant. I'm not a slave or an object, but there are some things that go with that title. It's acceptable for me to feed him. And when I feed him, I can make him feel as good as he makes me feel. It's not dirty or wrong."
"How can you defend him?"
"I love him," Willow replied honestly. A door opened behind her. She turned and saw Edward and Connor walking towards them, a map in Connor's hands. She sucked in a sharp breath, pasted a smile on her face, and said, "What's up, guys?"
"Connor and I have been going over entry and exit points on campus," Edward answered. "Anita's friend gave her an access card to get into the lab we'll need, so we're almost ready to go."
Willow nodded. She was glad to have a distraction. "How many of us are going?"
"You and Anita, Connor and me."
Angel frowned. "Connor---"
"Dad, you sent me here to help. I'm not going to stay locked up in my hotel room the whole time," Connor interjected. "Besides, if a slayer shows up, someone with extra strength might be useful."
"I can---"
"If the senior partners find out you're in town," Connor continued, "it won't be good. Stay underground."
Willow looked up at Angel. "He has a point, Angel."
He growled. "I don't like it."
"I'll call you as soon as we're out of there," Willow promised. "Don't worry. It's just a university and a computer lab. Nothing bad is going to happen... and I am jinxing the hell out of us by saying that. Sorry."
"I don't believe in luck," Edward told them.
Willow smiled a little. "Well... good, then. Okay."
Another door opened and Anita stepped out into the hall, followed by Asher and Jean-Claude. Willow glanced at Asher and she knew he was shielding from her as forcefully as she was from him; she glanced past him to Jean-Claude and they shared one of those knowing looks that she sometimes found comforting and sometimes found disconcerting. Angel made a quiet noise in his throat, as if to illustrate a point, and she glared at the dark haired vampire with a frown on her face before marching into the sitting room.
While everyone was discussing plans for that evening, Asher approached Willow and gently put his hands on her shoulders from behind. She didn't startle; she had felt him nearing her and when he touched her, she closed her eyes and leaned into him.
"What is on your mind?" he asked across their link, the moment she let her shields down enough for a message to cross their link.
"Just... worries... mostly about tonight. I don't want anyone to get hurt," she replied.
"I love you," he whispered.
She turned in his arms and looked up at him. She knew he meant what he was saying and she knew he couldn't prevent himself from loving more than one person; she wouldn't be with him if he hadn't opened his heart to one more person.
"I love you, too," she whispered across their link. "I just... never faced the reality of our situation before, you know? It's a bit weird. Gimme a little while to process it?"
"Is that all you need?"
Willow smiled a little and then she nodded. "Yeah," she murmured.
"Willow?" Anita called out from the other side of the room. "We're gonna gear up and go soon."
The witch turned her head and looked at Anita. She wanted to be angry---or even snide---but she also felt determined to prove to Angel that her new life was working the way it was, weirdness and swapping lovers and all. So, she smiled and nodded and then leaned up on the tips of her toes to give Asher a quick kiss.
He caught her in his arms and forced a deeper kiss upon her lips, so deep that she almost stopped breathing. When she caught her breath, Asher kissed her forehead and whispered sweet words meant only for her. She gave him another smile and then she slipped out of his hold and walked across the room to join the party that would be going to the university.
TBC...
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRING: Willow/Asher
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the series for BtVS, even though I don't really remember much of it, since I haven't watched the last seasons in ages.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone. I'm just having a little fun.
NOTES: This story is AU, since it's a crossover; because of that, I've taken a few creative liberties with explaining why the BtVS vampires are different than the AB vampires, and so on.
Previous Chapters: 1-3, 4, 5, 6-7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23-4, 25, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34, 35-6, 37-8, 39, 40-41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46
PART FORTY-SEVEN
Willow woke up the next day with a headache and an upset stomach. She rolled over in bed, expecting to see Asher, but she quickly discovered that she was the only one in the room.
With a frown---and then a grimace, after she started moving---she eased herself out of bed and started to walk towards her robe, which was draped over the chair at the desk. She reached the robe and felt her stomach churn; she knew what that meant, so she raced on unsteady feet towards the bathroom.
She emptied her stomach into the toilet and eased herself down against the cool tiles that helped form the large tub. The chill made her feel better but she wished Asher's cool body was close by because he would make her feel better. She knew her hangover wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, and she had her bond to Asher to thank for that---or she assumed she did, because his powers were supposed to make her more resistant to poisons.
When she finally managed to leave the bathroom, she could smell something delicious in the outer room. Her first thought was that Asher had brought her breakfast, but when she went to find him, she found Nathaniel instead.
"How's your head?" he asked quietly.
"Kinda big," she mumbled drowsily.
He smiled sympathetically and motioned to the tray of food. She saw sausage and hash browns and eggs on toast; her mouth started to water. There was nothing she loved more than a big, greasy breakfast the night after drinking, and she could have hugged and kissed Nathaniel for the gesture if she hadn't felt so dirty on the inside.
"Jason mentioned this might make you feel better," he said as he guided Willow towards the sofa. "Big night last night," he commented.
Willow groaned and rubbed her eyes. "I think I had to get drunk to talk about all that stuff," she muttered. "Man... I hate trips down memory lane."
"I had no idea the world's come so close to ending," Nathaniel admitted. "I just... well, I guessed you had only faced stuff like we had faced... guns, hits taken on certain people... you know?"
Willow nodded and accepted the glass of diet cola he offered her. She drank a third of it and then, after swallowing and licking her lips, she said, "The world almost ends a lot."
"How do you do it?"
"My desire to live sort of carried me through it," she replied. "Buffy and Angel fight for different reasons. I just... wanted to live."
"Aren't you scared?"
"Pretty much all the time," she said as she blushed a little. "That's why I ran away, basically... and... well, I ended up here."
"Are you still scared?"
Willow popped a hash brown into her mouth and as she chewed she thought about his question. She was scared of facing her past and of having to explain the recent choices she made to people from her past. She was scared of letting everyone in her odd family down. But, she didn't feel the same fear she used to when she heard the word 'apocalypse.' She was worried about the rogue slayers and about the law firm but she she wasn't scared of them---wary, yes; scared, no.
"Not really," she told him honestly. She ate a few more potato pieces and then she asked, "Where's Asher?"
"Down the hall," Nathaniel said, gesturing in the direction of Jean-Claude's suite.
Willow smiled a bit, thinking of Asher and Jean-Claude together. "Oh... well... okay. So, what are you up to tonight?"
"Work in an hour or so," he told her. "Jason's giving me a lift."
"Cool," she said quietly.
"Eat up," he instructed. "Then, you can wash and get dressed... and after that you'll probably feel alive again."
&&&&
Nathaniel had been right.
After showering, Willow felt much more like her usual self. The cobwebs had cleared and she felt ready to face the night and what it would bring. She assumed they would be making some sort of defensive move against Wolfram and Hart, and she was almost looking forward to taking action. Waiting around for something to happen was making her a little twitchy.
She left her suite and wandered down the hall. She could hear Connor, Spike, and Gunn arguing about something ridiculous---it sounded like a movie or comic book plot, to her---and when she neared the sitting room they had taken over, she saw Angel leaning against the wall in the corridor.
He turned and looked at her. "Hey," he said quietly.
"Hi, Angel," she murmured. "You sleep well?"
"I'm sober now," he said with a little smile.
"Me, too."
She watched his smile fade into a frown. Then, he said, "Willow, I'm worried about you." She opened her mouth to respond to Angel's statement, but he cut her off. "You've changed so much since the last time I saw you... and---"
She interrupted him, putting her hand up before she spoke. "Angel, I'm home. This is where I need to be," she assured him.
He sighed. "I met Asher once. A long time ago," he confessed. "Jean-Claude, too. Their mistress, Belle Morte, wanted the Master's children dead..." he trailed off and sighed. "The things I've seen them do... and they didn't have the excuse of not having souls. They've always been the same, capable of the same things. They're corrupting you, Willow."
Willow looked into Angel's stricken face and tried to figure out what she should say to him. "Angel... there are laws now. Things are different. And, Asher loves me."
"Which is why he's down the hall with Anita and Jean-Claude?" Angel inquired.
The red haired witch tried to keep the frown off of her face and she reflexively put her magical and emotional shields in place. She knew she shouldn't be jealous; she knew she shouldn't be surprised, either. However, she couldn't keep insecurities and other negative feelings from welling up inside of her mind and heart. "I... well... sometimes he does that. But, if I wanted to go off with someone else, it would be okay. We're not married," she said defensively.
"How can you love someone who doesn't give you all of him to love?"
"When we're together I get all of him," Willow said quietly. "And---"
"The Willow I knew never would have done what you did last night," Angel interrupted. "He fed off of you and you... you... you really enjoyed it."
Willow blushed. "I don't think you ever knew me. Or the Willow from back then. I don't even think I knew that Willow very well, Angel," she told him. "I live here now and no one judges me for being a freak of nature. Nothing's normal, but that's sort of how I stumbled into this life." She paused and then said, "I'm Asher's human servant. I'm not a slave or an object, but there are some things that go with that title. It's acceptable for me to feed him. And when I feed him, I can make him feel as good as he makes me feel. It's not dirty or wrong."
"How can you defend him?"
"I love him," Willow replied honestly. A door opened behind her. She turned and saw Edward and Connor walking towards them, a map in Connor's hands. She sucked in a sharp breath, pasted a smile on her face, and said, "What's up, guys?"
"Connor and I have been going over entry and exit points on campus," Edward answered. "Anita's friend gave her an access card to get into the lab we'll need, so we're almost ready to go."
Willow nodded. She was glad to have a distraction. "How many of us are going?"
"You and Anita, Connor and me."
Angel frowned. "Connor---"
"Dad, you sent me here to help. I'm not going to stay locked up in my hotel room the whole time," Connor interjected. "Besides, if a slayer shows up, someone with extra strength might be useful."
"I can---"
"If the senior partners find out you're in town," Connor continued, "it won't be good. Stay underground."
Willow looked up at Angel. "He has a point, Angel."
He growled. "I don't like it."
"I'll call you as soon as we're out of there," Willow promised. "Don't worry. It's just a university and a computer lab. Nothing bad is going to happen... and I am jinxing the hell out of us by saying that. Sorry."
"I don't believe in luck," Edward told them.
Willow smiled a little. "Well... good, then. Okay."
Another door opened and Anita stepped out into the hall, followed by Asher and Jean-Claude. Willow glanced at Asher and she knew he was shielding from her as forcefully as she was from him; she glanced past him to Jean-Claude and they shared one of those knowing looks that she sometimes found comforting and sometimes found disconcerting. Angel made a quiet noise in his throat, as if to illustrate a point, and she glared at the dark haired vampire with a frown on her face before marching into the sitting room.
While everyone was discussing plans for that evening, Asher approached Willow and gently put his hands on her shoulders from behind. She didn't startle; she had felt him nearing her and when he touched her, she closed her eyes and leaned into him.
"What is on your mind?" he asked across their link, the moment she let her shields down enough for a message to cross their link.
"Just... worries... mostly about tonight. I don't want anyone to get hurt," she replied.
"I love you," he whispered.
She turned in his arms and looked up at him. She knew he meant what he was saying and she knew he couldn't prevent himself from loving more than one person; she wouldn't be with him if he hadn't opened his heart to one more person.
"I love you, too," she whispered across their link. "I just... never faced the reality of our situation before, you know? It's a bit weird. Gimme a little while to process it?"
"Is that all you need?"
Willow smiled a little and then she nodded. "Yeah," she murmured.
"Willow?" Anita called out from the other side of the room. "We're gonna gear up and go soon."
The witch turned her head and looked at Anita. She wanted to be angry---or even snide---but she also felt determined to prove to Angel that her new life was working the way it was, weirdness and swapping lovers and all. So, she smiled and nodded and then leaned up on the tips of her toes to give Asher a quick kiss.
He caught her in his arms and forced a deeper kiss upon her lips, so deep that she almost stopped breathing. When she caught her breath, Asher kissed her forehead and whispered sweet words meant only for her. She gave him another smile and then she slipped out of his hold and walked across the room to join the party that would be going to the university.
TBC...