Rating: R
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~*~Part Six~*~
Willow glared at the phone, waiting for the answering machine to pick up. She knew already who it would be.
Buffy.
The blonde had been calling at least once an hour since morning, trying to 'talk to Willow' about 'what had happened' and to let the red head know 'just how happy' she was for 'her and Angel'. It was enough to make Willow angry.
"I'M NOT DATING ANGEL!!!" She screamed at the little machine as Buffy's voice began to come across to her. It was all she could do not to just throw the device across the room. At least then Buffy wouldn't be able to leave her any more 'understanding' messages. The witch had yet to decide what she was going to do about her friends. Knowing Buffy, the other woman had already told everyone about her little 'theory'. Meaning Willow was going to have to come clean if she didn't want everyone pestering her about a relationship she didn't actually have.
"Pet?" Spike mumbled groggily, stepping carefully into Willow's bedroom. He skirted the shaft of sunlight coming in through the balcony doors, making his way around the walls until he was standing next to her. "Somethin' wrong?"
"Buffy." Willow growled. "She keeps calling. Won't leave me alone. Why can't she just get it through her head that I'm *not* dating Angel?"
"Calm down, luv." He sighed, sitting next to her on the bed. "You going to tell the annoying chit the truth? It won't be that bad - and if it is I can rip her bloody head off for you."
"No you can't." The witch grinned. "You have that chip, remember? Can't hurt humans?"
Spike grinned. "I dunno, pet. She's not much of a human. I'm sure it would only hurt a little."
"Bad vampire!" She spluttered, hitting him lightly on the arm and laughing. "She's still my friend - even if she is dense as a brick."
"'Bout as smart as one, too."
Willow shook her head, grinning. Trust Spike to be there to cheer her up when she needed it. He was turning out to be a better friend that she would have imagined. "Do I have to tell her anything? Can't I just hide out in here for the rest of my life?"
"Don't think that would work. Then the chit would imagine that you were in danger and come barreling in here to 'save' you."
"You're right. That won't work. Mom and dad will get mad if the door gets broken down because I wouldn't answer it." She sighed. "Want to go to LA for the rest of the week? I'll leave a note for Buffy on the door. She'll just assume I ran off to be with my 'lover'." She gagged on the word, rolling her eyes.
"Aw, c'mon, Red." Spike chuckled. "Give Peaches a little credit. He's not *that* bad."
"Oh - I'm sure, blondie. And I'll thank you not to tell me just how 'good' he is, if you don't mind. He's not my type. Once, maybe, but not anymore. Not now that I have Delia."
Spike nodded. He glanced at the balcony doors. "Another few hours 'til sunset and then we can go visit, okay?" He reached out, rubbing her back gently. It didn't take a genius to see that she was one huge ball of tension. He knew that her only true choice was to tell Bitchy and the rest of her little friends - but he didn't envy her that one bit.
Willow leaned into his touch on her back, closing her eyes for a moment. It felt good to have someone around that she could talk to without fear of recrimination. His hands felt so good, touching her back, caressing her and easing her anxiety even if only for a moment. Then she felt something she knew was wrong.
Desire.
It hit her like a rushing wave, scalding her inside and out. How could she be feeling this for Spike when she loved Cordelia? Her face heated up and she stood suddenly, backing out of the room. Her eyes were fixed on the wall above his head, refusing to meet his just in case he saw what she was trying so hard to deny. "I'm going to go take a shower and then get ready to go."
Spike watched her go, confused. He shook his head, giving up for the moment. "Chits."
~*~Part Seven~*~
The ride to LA was made in silence, something Willow was immediately glad of. She didn't want to talk to Spike any more than necessary, especially since just being near him lately seemed to be enough to make her body betray her. She frowned, remembering the feelings she had experienced towards him earlier in the day, before they had left Sunnydale. It was harder than she had imagined to just ignore those sensations. Cordelia brought them out in her, of course, but she loved Cordelia and that was how it was supposed to be.
She most certainly did not love Spike.
'Can hardly stand him.' She reiterated to herself, glaring at the vampire out of the corner of her eye as he drove on, mercifully taking the exit that would lead them out into the streets of LA. Only ten more minutes and they would be at Angel's building and she could get out of this car and away from this infuriating, dastardly, 'Sexy, sensual.' Her brain shot at her, before she could stop it. She groaned softly, closing her eyes and leaning back into the seat.
How would Cordelia feel if she knew about this? Not to happy, Willow could guess. She knew if the shoe were on the other foot she'd be horribly hurt by the entire thing. There was no way she could expect her lover to react any differently than she herself would.
'But you need to tell her.' Her conscience reminded her gently, urging her to do something she would just as soon not do at all. Telling Cordelia about the feelings she had for Spike could very well end the relationship that she had worked so hard at for so long. It was so hard to just -think- about throwing it all away by telling her girlfriend about how she had gotten a hot and bothered just by being near Spike. What if Cordelia chose to take that as a sign that she didn't love her anymore? There wasn't anything farther from the truth, Willow knew. But would Cordelia realize that? Was it possible for the brunette to take the admission for what it really was? - Nothing more than a little lust?
"We're here, pet."
Willow opened her eyes, noting for the first time that the car had stopped. She looked out of the window, her eyes roaming over the outside of the Hyperion. It really was a beautiful hotel, a magnificent piece of architecture and design. Angel was lucky to live there.
With Cordelia.
He lived with Cordelia now. The reality of that struck Willow like a slap in the face, inspiring in her new heights of jealousy and paranoia. Who was to say that her lover wouldn't one day end up in Angel's bed. It wasn't far fetched. Cordelia had, after all, often admitted to her before they got together how she had thought the vampire was handsome. One night things were bound to go too far and the two of them would end up in each other's arms.
'Stop that!' She screamed internally, forcing away the negative thoughts like so much trash. It was just a buildup of the bad day she had had, after all. There was no reason for her to believe that any one of her friends would ever betray her. 'How can you say that? Cordelia loves you!'
"Pet?" Spike asked again, tapping the red haired witch on her arm. He waited for a response and, finding none, sighed in frustration and got out of the car. Something had been eating at the woman since before they had left Sunnydale - something she was reticent to talk about to say the least. He opened his door, climbing out of the car and into the cool night air. The lights were still on in the lobby, a good sign that someone was still working in the offices. The thought of calling ahead to let them know they were coming hadn't occurred to him until they were on the road, far from any phones. He glanced one more time at the red head, still caught up in her own thoughts, and trudged up the sidewalk and into the hotel. Maybe he could get her girl to come out and check on her.
~*~*~
Willow looked up as the driver's side door of the car opened again, her face falling when she saw who was taking a seat next to her. "Hey, sweetie."
"Hey yourself." Cordelia whispered, her face worried. She had stood in the doorway of the hotel for five minutes before coming out to the car. It had broken her heart to see Willow sitting there, looking so lost, just staring up into the sky through the dusty windshield of Spike's car. The vampire hadn't been able to give her any clue as to what was wrong with the red head, other than the fact that Buffy had been pestering her about some imagined relationship Willow was supposedly having with Angel. That shouldn't have been enough to send her into this kind of spiral, though. "What's wrong?"
The red head frowned, staring down at her hands. She didn't want to walk into the hotel without being truthful to Cordelia about how she was feeling - about the way being around Spike was making her feel. "I -"
The brunette woman waited a moment before prompting her lover. "You -what-, Wills?" Her hand caressed the other woman's arm gently, her fingernails trailing lightly over the red head's pale skin.
Willow shook her head, turning her gaze to the window on her side of the car so that she wouldn't have to look Cordelia in the face when she said what had to be said. She didn't want to see the other woman if and when she decided that Willow had betrayed her. In no part of her mind did Willow believe that this would turn out good, though she was secretly praying for a happy ending. After all - she hadn't acted on those feelings. She had, in fact, tried to stay as far away from Spike as possible afterwards.
Licking her pale pink lips, Willow turned to her lover, her entire body radiating sadness - her eyes speaking an apology for things yet unsaid. " I have something I need to tell you, Delia."
~*~Part Eight~*~
Cordelia listened, patiently, as her lover babbled on and on about these feelings she had had for the vampire that was currently waiting in the hotel lobby with Angel. She listened attentively as her heart's mate told her how she had been attracted to another individual.
And it didn't bother her one bit.
What -did- bother her was the fact that Willow was so keen on beating herself up over something completely normal. She laid a hand on her lover's arm finally, bringing the torrent of words and apologies to a crashing stop. "Wills. I love you. No matter what. Remember that?"
The red head nodded, her face tear streaked and blotchy. She sniffled, pulling her purse from the floor with the little energy she had to get a tissue for her nose. The silence in the car was oppressive as she did so and she longed for Cordelia to speak again, to say those words that meant so much - I still love you.
"I know this may not be easy for you to hear," Cordelia began again, slowly. "But this is normal. I never once, in a million years, thought that you would be able to be so inhuman as to not feel anything for anyone other than me." She spread her hands wide, shrugging. "I don't think you love me less because of it. I think you love me just the same. It's not like you felt that way and actually -did- something about it."
The words took a moment to sink in - and even when they did Willow could scarcely believe what she was hearing. Cordelia wasn't mad at her. Cordelia wasn't even upset with her. "Really?" She asked quietly. "Promise you don't hate me?"
"I could never hate you." Cordelia whispered, leaning in close enough to her girlfriend to kiss the other girl gently on the lips. Her hand rubbed Willow's arm, absently, as though she could offer reassurance through touch alone. Maybe she could, because Willow slowly began to relax under her touch, her lips softening. The tears and sniffles faded away until they were all but gone. The kisses she was giving to her lover and receiving back from the red head were those of reassurance - not passion. If there was one thing she knew it was how to read Willow's emotions. Her girlfriend didn't need passion right now. Now she just needed comfort.
And comfort was something Cordelia could give her.
~*~
"What do you think they're out there talking about?"
Spike shrugged. "Can't say as though I really care. The little witch was all but unfriendly to me all day. It's like she suddenly can't stand to be around me or somethin'." He flopped into one of the lobby's chairs, glaring at the doors of the hotel. It would have been one thing if he could convince himself that he just didn't care for the young witch. But this? Caring for some stupid human girl who had done nothing but make him miserable all day and wouldn't even tell him why? This was something altogether different.
This just made him angry.
"Spike.." Angel said warningly, noting that the blond's face had shifted, his demon showing. "What's going on with you? Don't tell me you're this pissed off just because Willow is having 'one of those days'?" He stopped when Spike turned blazing golden eyes to him. "You -are- this upset because of her, aren't you? It's just eating you up that something's wrong with her and she won't tell you what it is?"
"Don't know what you're talking about." Spike growled, forcing his human mask back to the front with a supreme force of will. 'Stupid bloody vampire. Letting the Ponce see you like this.' He stood up. "I'm going to go get a drink."
"I'll come too, then." Angel sighed, following the blond out of the building. If Spike even realized he was tagging along he gave no indication of it. And now Angel knew why. The stupid imbecile of a vampire had gone and fallen for the one person on the face of the earth that he had absolutely no chance with. Willow. The dark haired vampire snorted derisively. There was nothing wrong with the red head - he loved her in his own way, after all - but what had Spike been thinking? Willow was hopelessly in love with Cordelia and his receptionist returned those feelings wholeheartedly. There was no way in Hell Spike would ever be able to come between them.
'Sort of like how you don't stand a chance with Cordelia?' He reminded himself morosely. 'Where do I get off berating Spike for doing the same thing I did weeks ago?' Falling in love with a human was always tricky business. They broke so easy - couldn't take the pressures of being with a vampire or just couldn't handle the lifestyle. He had never stood a chance with Cordelia. Not before she fell in love with Willow and certainly not afterwards. He wouldn't want to do anything to hurt the love that they shared. But there was always that nagging thought in the back of his mind - the one that whispered 'what if he could be with both of them?' - the thought that did him absolutely no good since it would never be a reality.
The sidewalk raced by under his feet as he struggled to keep up with the blond vampire that had now lengthened the distance between them to nearly half a block. A sigh of relief escaped Angel's pale lips when Spike slowed finally, stopping in front of the door of one of the seedier bars in all of LA, before entering the dark doorway. He'd go in, have a few drinks while Spike slowly got himself very much wasted, and then he'd drag the other man back home for some rest. The bar was every bit as dark as the doorway had implied and smoke hung thick in the air. Any humans in the bar would no doubt find it difficult to breathe or see.
But there were no humans in this bar - not on most nights anyway. He sat down at the counter next to Spike, motioning the bartender over with a wave of his hand. The drink he ordered was something that wasn't too toxic - enough to give him a buzz without totally inebriating him. What Spike ordered on the other hand - now that was something that would end up causing Angel to have to carry him home. The older vampire sipped the drink set before him, wincing as the taste of the alcohol hit his tongue. He drank to have something to do - but also to ease the heartbreak he was bringing on himself by having fallen for Cordelia. Spike drank to get rid of the thoughts of Willow in his mind, though Angel knew if he asked the blond would insist he just wanted to drink for the fun of drinking and being drunk.
They drank to hide the pain of the secrets they kept close to their own, unbeating hearts - and neither of them would admit it to the other.
~*~Part Nine~*~
The hotel was quiet when Cordelia led Willow back inside; no sign of either of the vampires that had been there when she had left a short while ago to comfort her lover. She sighed, leading the witch quietly to the elevator and then to her room. They didn't speak and it was clear that Willow was physically as well as emotionally exhausted. The door shutting behind them broke down some barrier inside of the brunette that she hadn't even been aware of until that moment. She watched her lover sit hesitantly on the edge of the bed, her green eyes cloudy with the memory of the sadness she had only recently harbored. There was also still some insecurity there - a belief that Cordelia would turn on her at any moment for what she had admitted to her.
'Like I would ever do that.' Cordelia thought, bitterly. 'I love her more than she can possibly imagine. That doesn't mean I'll leave over her feeling something so insignificant for someone else. It's not like I haven't had those kind of thoughts about Angel sometimes.' She sat down next to the red head, wrapping an arm around the other woman's shoulders and pulling her close. Willow shifted, laying her head on the former cheerleader's shoulder. The tenseness in her shoulders drained away as Cordelia began to rub her back gently, lovingly.
"Stay with me." Cordelia whispered at last, her throat blocked with tears she was too ashamed to shed. She was tired of this. Tired of hiding things from those losers in Sunnydale. She knew Willow feared what they would say but, in the end, how much did they really matter? If they were her true friends they would be happy for her. If they weren't - well who had time for 'fake' friends anyway? "Not just tonight. Or tomorrow night. But for the rest of my life, Wills."
Willow lifted her head, turning her own tear-filled eyes to the woman she loved more than anything. "Oh, Cordy. I wish I could."
"Why can't you?" The brunette tried to keep the frustration she was feeling out of her voice, and knew she failed from the hurt look on her lover's face. "I'm sorry, Wills. I'm just so tired of this lie we're living. For god's sake - Buffy thinks you're dating -Angel-! I don't want them to think you're with Angel. I want the world to know that you are mine and only mine." The tears she had fought so hard to keep from falling came pouring down now and she wiped angrily at them with her hands. "Are you ashamed of me?"
The hurt in her lover's whispered words tore holes into Willow's heart. "No, Delia, it's not that. Baby. Oh, Goddess. I love you so much it hurts. I just don't want to face them. and I still have school to finish up."
"Drop those classes and just enroll at UCLA next semester." Cordelia replied, her voice no longer hesitant but now filled with rational logic. "It's not too late to drop. You can make up the time by taking an extra class or two next semester. I don't want you going back there under the guise of Angel's girlfriend. I want everyone to know, now. Everyone. Even Giles - though that might offend his delicate British sensibilities."
Though what Cordelia was saying made sense, Willow couldn't find it within her to just jump on the idea. She wanted to be in the open with everything just as much as Cordelia did, but what about schoool? Getting behind, even by one semester, would throw off her entire plan. Sure - she could make up the classes at a later date. But, still -
She sighed. "Let me think about it for a day or two, please?"
Cordelia nodded, swayed by the entreaty in her lover's voice. She leaned in, kissing the red head gently on the lips. The salty taste of tears coated Willow's pale pink mouth and Cordelia tasted it eagerly. She wanted to lick away the sadness, kiss away the pain. She smiled when she pulled away, prompting a small ghost of a smile from the red head. A change of topic was definitely in order. "So - tell me what prompted all those warm tingly feelings for our favorite bleached blonde vampire?"
Willow blushed, the heat spreading across her face in an uncomfortable wave. "Just the way he says things. He's such a flirt. You know how he is."
"Not to mention that accent and that ass." Cordelia agreed, smirking when her lover gasped in shock. "What? You can have naughty thoughts about him and I can't even make a comment? C'mon - no hypocrisy."
The red head sighed. "That's fair, I guess." She frowned playfully. "You think he has a nice ass? I dunno.it's sort of flat."
"Well, I'll agree it's not the best ass in the world." The former cheerleader snickered. "But its got some merits. Looks good in jeans."
"True." Willow laughed. She could feel the uncomfortableness of the situation fading away as they talked. "Looks good when he's walking - probably not much to grab onto, though."
"I bet Angel would disagree with that."
Willow laughed, remembering the time they had walked in on the two male vampires having sex. Certainly Angel had to see some redeeming quality in the blonde's ass - he had definitely had his hands all over it. "What bad lesbians we are, Delia - sitting her talking about a guy's butt."
"Bad, bad us." Cordelia murmured, planting butterfly kisses on her lover's neck and earlobe. The red head moaned and Cordelia could see her green eyes closing in pleasure. She brought her lips to Willow's ear, whispering. "How 'bout we spank each other, then?"
"Why, Cordelia, what a grand idea." Willow purred, stretching her arms over her head in a languid motion. She turned half-lidded eyes to her lover, smirking. "I've been very bad - spank me, baby?"
The brunette grinned and stood up, beginning to remove her clothes. She gave Willow a wink as the red head began to remove her own restricting articles of clothing, each girl giving the other a show worthy of a strip tease. "Only if you promise to spank me afterwards."
~*~Part Ten~*~
She dreamed.
Dreams of pleasure and pain that was so close to pleasure that the two were nearly inseparable.
And in the dreams she was with her lover, those soft curves responding to her every touch. The other woman's body an instrument of heat and pleasure; those pale lips opening to cry out in ecstasy. In her dreams her lover was spread before her, back arched and legs spread so that she could lap at her juices.
But there was someone else there, too.
Two someones.
And they were male. Hard, rough men. They made her cry out in pain only to kiss it away with pleasure.
She turned in the dream, struggling to see their faces through the fog of the dream. One of them was kneeling behind her, his hands on her ass, completely sheathed within her body as she licked at her lover. Whoever was there, with her and her girlfriend, was supposed to be there. It just felt right. His hands on her skin felt like they had been made to hold her, made to touch her, made to make her scream his name.
Her body spasmed, wave after wave of pleasure cascading through each and every cell, every nerve and every fiber of her being. She cried out, her mouth barely open yet the scream loud and primal, as though she had lost all ability to speak rationally. And the pleasure didn't stop there. The man behind her pulled out, only to be replaced by someone else. She groaned, her fingers working furiously on her own lover as she herself was brought to the brink of release again.
Only then did the dream coalesce into some semblance of normalcy. She looked around, seeing Cordelia's face first, her lover's eyes closed in pleasure. Someone's hands were on the brunette's body, working it and massaging it towards the ultimate goal of orgasm. With hesitant eyes Willow followed the hands up well-muscled arms, and over a finely toned chest, and then to the face.
Angel.
The red head turned her head, her hands never stilling their constant movement on her girlfriend's warmth and wetness. Behind her, his hands fixed firmly on her hips, was Spike. Willow bit her lip, stopping another scream before it could leave her lips. Why was she dreaming this? And, if it was really a dream - why did she know it was a dream? That wasn't generally how things worked.
Whatever the reason, this felt right. Having the three of them in her bed. She closed her eyes in the dream, abandoning herself to the ministrations of not just one lover, but three.
~*~*~
Willow's eyes shot open, her breaths coming in short pants. She could feel the wetness between her legs, knew that the pleasure she had been getting in her dream had manifested itself in reality. She felt tired, achey, as though she had just been fucked senseless. She could smell the sweet scent of her lover next to her and something else, too. The cologne she associated with Spike and the hair gel scent she associated with Angel.
It was as though they had been there, in the room with her. But she knew that that couldn't possibly be the case. She would have known if Angel and Spike had been in the room with her.
So what had the dream really been? A spell? A message? A vision? If it was a spell she needed to figure out who was doing it and why. What would be the point of sending her 'happy' dreams? Unless the unknown culprit was trying to make sure she was too tired to function the next day. Which was entirely possible, though hardly realistic. She had no enemies that she knew of.
Throwing aside that possibility, Willow turned to the other two - message and vision. Both would indicate the intercession of a god or some other benevolent spirit. Was there a purpose to getting her together with Angel and Spike, as well as Cordelia? Some ultimate goal that she was missing?
'Maybe whatever is doing it just wants be to be happy?' She questioned, closing her eyes and willing herself back to sleep. Perhaps it -had- only been just a dream and she was overanalyzing it.
Yeah - that's it.
~*~*~
Cordelia heard her girlfriend's breathing settle into the deep, shallow breaths she associated with sleep and the brunette exhaled in relief. She had been afraid for a moment that Willow would roll over and want to start something. That wouldn't have been good. Not with the dream she had just had. She wasn't sure if she could handle another go-round after that yummy snippet of an orgy she had just experienced in her dream. She rolled over, dismissing it as nothing more than an active imagination, and promptly fell back asleep.
~*~*~
Angel trailed his fingers over Spike's bare stomach, knowing that the blonde was awake even though he was still feigning sleep. The dark haired vampire had been tossed out of his own sleep by a wickedly evil dream of making love to not just Spike, but Willow and Cordelia as well. It had been beautiful, and so realistic that he had woken with the knowledge that he would need to change the sheets on the bed in the morning. Unfortunately, things had ended in the dream before he could release all of his pent up frustrations and now he was determined to take it out on Spike.
'Funny.' Angel thought, continuing his ministrations on the blonde. 'It's almost like I can smell Cordy and Willow in here now.'
~*~*~
Spike was jerked out of the dream he had been having by the feeling of Angel's hands on his skin. The hands were moving lower and lower, touching him inch by inch until he thought he would scream aloud.
Maybe this would makeup for the interruption of that wonderful dream he had been having of shagging a red haired witch.