Chapter 16

Buffy wound a towel around her wet hair and hurried back into the bedroom. William had straightened the room and re-made the bed while she showered and was now sprawled out on his stomach, half asleep.

“C’mere,” he mumbled as he buried his face in her pillow.

“No way, mister. I come near you and it’ll be another hour before I get downstairs to calm my sister down.” Buffy pulled on a pink tank top and slid a pair of grey sport shorts over her lacy pink thong. Satisfied with her appearance, she dug into her bottom drawer and found her baggiest pair of sweatpants. “You ready to get up yet?” she asked, dropping the sweats on the bed by his feet.

“I AM up, luv.”

“Not THAT kind of *up* you perv.” She giggled.

He rolled over, that wicked tongue curled behind his teeth as he fondled his erection and leered at her. “Come on, baby. I can be quick…I promise.”

“Pffft! Quick? You? Yeah, RIGHT!” She scoffed. He glowered at her and began crawling down the bed towards her and she retreated, hands held out in front of her. “No! Shower. Dress. Come downstairs.”

William pouted. “You’d leave me like this?”

“Sweetie, you went without for over a hundred years; another hour isn’t going to kill you.” Buffy laughed.

With a heavy, put-upon sigh he rolled to his feet and started towards the bath. “Bossy bint!” he groused. “And stop ogling my arse. You and your sister. I swear you’ve got some kind of sick obsession with my hot, tight little body. Always eyeing my naughty bits.”

He was still bitching when the water came on. “She can look, but I can’t touch? Not bloody fair if you ask me…”

Buffy rolled her eyes, praying for patience. “William?”

“What, pet?”

“I’ll see you downstairs. The kitchen is to the left of the staircase.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Buffy couldn’t wipe the silly grin off her face as she made her way downstairs.

After twenty minutes in her sister’s presence, she was ready to pull her hair out.

“Okay…” Dawn spoke as though she were talking to a two year old. “The hot guy in the painting…William, right?”

“Right.”

“Was imprisoned there by a spell because he wouldn’t give it up for a witch. He’s been in there since 1880. Whoever owns the painting are his keepers. Now, you’re his Keeper. You touch the painting and get all with the warm and fuzziness. I touched it and nothing happens.”

Buffy shrugged. “We haven’t been able to figure out exactly why that is.”

Dawn raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly. “Aha. So, the other night you have a hot monkey sex dream about him and BAM! He’s there, he’s real, and the sex is real. But YOU don’t realize that he was actually THERE until you see all those lovely little bities that you just showed me. You come home to confront him about it; hotter monkey lovin’s ensue, and he’s upstairs right now taking a shower?”

“Basically, that’s it in a nutshell.”

It was dead quiet in the kitchen for a full two minutes before Dawn found her voice again. “Okay, here’s what I think. I think that all this craziness with Riley on top of all the other stuff that’s happened in the past few years has just tipped you right over the freakin’ edge.” She moved warily around to the other side of the cooking island.

“Fair enough. I thought that myself until last night. There’s just one thing you forgot in that scenario. The man upstairs in my room. You saw him, too.” She arched an eyebrow at her sister. “You saw practically ALL of him, in fact!”

Dawn‘s face blushed fire red, but she persevered.  “You met him at the Bronze and brought him home. Granted that’s not your typical style, but not unheard of when a person has been as stressed as you.”

Buffy laughed. “And I manage to find one that looks EXACTLY like the man in a painting that’s over a hundred years old? Lucky me!” She threw her hands in the air. “I KNEW I should have lied about this! But, oh no, I have to be all truthful with it.”

“Calm down, Buffy. Maybe you should start taking those pills Dr. Walsh gave you after mom died?”

“ARGHH!!!”  Buffy shrieked, fisting her hands in her hair. Her sister was saved from agonizing death by the sound of William’s voice floating down the stairs.

“Buffy? We got a bit of a problem here, luv!”

She glared at Dawn as she left the kitchen and pounded up the stairs.

William was standing in her bedroom doorway, frowning in confusion. He looked up as Buffy approached, Dawn hard on her heels.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking him over. “Oh, good, the sweats fit. Why didn’t you just come downstairs then?”

“That’s the problem.” William said with forced patience. “Can’t get out.”

“Huh?”

“Can’t. Get. Out.” He lifted his hands, palms outward, and pushed them towards her. They seemed to flatten against an invisible barrier. He moved them around to different spots, still unable to move an inch beyond her doorway.

Dawn looked at Buffy in horror. “Oh my God, you’re dating a mime?”

Both of them shot her an evil glare. “I’m not a bloody mime, you twit!” William snarled.

Buffy chose to ignore her. Raising her own hands, she reached out and laid them on his chest, feeling warm skin and sleek muscle. With a frown, she took hold of his arms and tugged.

His face bumped hard. He scowled at her as he rubbed his abused nose. “Give a bloke some warning, won’t you, luv?”

Rolling her eyes, Dawn stepped forward. “You two are so lame. Har dee har har. Great joke on Dawn. Get over yourselves.” She snatched hold of his wrist and yanked hard. His hand thudded against nothing. She continued to pull with stubborn determination while William simply stood there wearing a put upon expression and let her.

He cast Buffy an amused look. “Looks like I’m your prisoner, pet. Do with me what you will.” he smirked.

Dawn finally gave up, her expression one of disbelief as she eyed him warily. “This is SO not possible.”

Buffy had a sudden burst of inspiration. A wicked smile curved her lips. “William, can you poof back into the painting? I want to try something.”

He shrugged and turned to lead the way over to the portrait. Stopping in front of it, he closed his eyes. The two girls watched; Buffy in fascination, Dawn in disbelief, as he began to slowly fade out until he was gone.

Buffy snatched the painting down and ran for the stairs. When she reached the living room she propped it up on the mantle. She made sure Dawn was standing behind her. “Still don’t believe me? Watch this.” She turned back to the painting. “God, I hope this works. Okay, William, you can come out now.”

In seconds he had materialized beside her. With a whoop of joy, she threw her arms around him and kissed him. Never one to pass up such a golden opportunity, William picked her up and wound her legs around his narrow hips, capturing her lips in a scorching kiss as he twirled her around. He toppled them over onto the sofa and continued his assault on her mouth as he pushed her down into the cushions.

Buffy glanced over at her sister and pushed him back. “Dawnie? You okay?”

Her jaw was doing the soundless flapping thing again. Suddenly her eyes rolled up and she slid to the floor in a dead faint.

William winked at Buffy. “Good to know I haven’t lost my touch with the ladies!”

TBC

Chapter 17

William was extremely nervous.

Across from him sat three women, each very beautiful in her own way. All of them were staring at him, but with varying expressions.

Dawn was obviously over her earlier shock. She was staring at him with barely concealed lust that he found infinitely amusing, much to Buffy’s disgust.

Willow, the fiery red-head, looked intrigued. She obviously couldn’t wait to start researching the phenomenon that was William. Before their arrival, Buffy had explained her friend’s same-sex tendencies, adding that Tara was Willow’s girlfriend.

Tara was gazing at him with a dazed, almost awed expression. Where Willow was hard, brittle edges, Tara was curvy and sweet-natured. William could almost feel the generosity of her spirit.

It was Tara that spoke first. “I’m sorry for staring at you, William,” she apologized, her voice soft and hesitant. “It’s just…well, your aura is amazing!”

“My aura?” He turned to look up at Buffy in confusion. She was perched on the arm of his chair, idly raking her fingers through his hair.

She smiled down at him. “Tara reads a persons aura. It’s basically the energy that surrounds you. I think she likes yours,” she laughed.

Tara nodded. “I see a lot of red…meaning your very physical; but I also see some white and some black. All very good colors. Simply amazing.”

“Well, if you think his aura looks good, you should see him naked. I mean, really!” Dawn quipped.

“DAWNIE!” Buffy shrieked, horrified.

Looking thoroughly unrepentant, Dawn tossed her head. “I call ‘em as I see ‘em,” she giggled.

“You’re gonna be seeing through two black eyes if you keep it up, bones!”

“Bring it on, shrimp!”

Seeing Buffy and Dawn nose to nose; well, chest to nose actually, was funny enough. The names they called each other were hilarious.

Before the squabble could get out of hand, Tara got up and moved between them, resting a gentle hand on each girl’s shoulder. “Now, girls. Don’t be mean,” she chided. “Come sit down so we can discuss this rationally.”

Buffy resumed her seat on the arm of William’s chair, scowling at her sister.

The red-head was still staring at William, completely ignoring Buffy and Dawn’s antics. “Tara can you feel it? There’s magic all around him. Dark magic. Vengeance.”

Tara nodded. “It’s powerful.” She was inspecting the painting carefully, fearlessly running her hands all over it. “The level of energy around this is amazing. It practically sizzles.”

“I find it intriguing that the spell has lasted for so long, yet Buffy merely touched the surface and he is able to become corporeal.”

“Do you think her spell can be reversed?” Buffy asked. Her whole body tensed as she waited for their answer.

“It’s not unheard of, but not that simple either,” Willow mused. “There are a lot of ramifications that need to be considered before we would even attempt to do a reversal.”

“Ramifications?” William didn’t like the sound of that.

Tara resumed her seat next to Willow. She looked at William and gave him a patient smile. “Well, it would sort of defeat the whole purpose if we reversed the spell and you simply turned to dust because of your actual age, wouldn’t it?”

Buffy’s eyes went wide with horror. “Is that…Tell me that was a joke,” she squeaked.

“Unfortunately, it’s a very real possibility, Buff,” Willow commiserated. “The original spell has bound him to this painting. A lot of things could go wrong once we start interfering with someone else’s magic, even if she is dead.”

“You say that you can only corporealize if Buffy is nearby. Am I right in assuming that after a certain amount of time spent ‘outside’, you need to return?” Tara asked William. “I guess the best way to describe it would be a need to recharge yourself; kind of like a car battery.”

They shared a brief laugh at her analogy before William confirmed her suspicions.

“The amount of time I’ve been able to stay away gets longer each time. I suppose that’s why I had hopes that the spell was breaking itself,” he shrugged.

Both of the Wiccas shook their heads. “It won’t break or reverse on its own,” Willow said. “This ability to pop in and out could last indefinitely, or it might suddenly stop. I hate to sound so negative, but I want you to be aware of everything that could happen.”

Buffy didn’t even try to hide her dejection. “So, basically, it’s hopeless?”

“I didn’t say it was hopeless. We need to research different reversal spells and be very, very cautious, that’s all,” Willow told her, leaning forward to cover Buffy’s hand with hers. “We’ll try to find out as much as we can as quickly as possible, but you’re gonna have to be patient, sweetie.”

Sensing her despair, William pulled Buffy down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling her neck. She leaned into him, closing her eyes and lifting her hand to run her fingers though the curls at his nape.

“What I want to know is…Why Buffy? When I touched it, nothing happened,” Dawn said.

The witches exchanged secretive smiles. It was patently obvious to them, but they were reluctant to voice their thoughts. It wasn’t something that could just be blurted out, especially if the couple hadn’t figured it out for themselves yet.

William felt the familiar weakness and cursed softly. He leaned in and kissed Buffy’s neck. “Getting tired, luv,” he whispered.

She pressed her forehead against his and smiled. “Okay. See you soon.”

Willow and Tara watched as William dissipated right before their eyes. One minute Buffy was sitting on his lap, the next she was alone in the chair.

“Amazing!” Tara exclaimed.

Dawn snickered. “That would be a major pain in the ass if that happened during…” she let her voice trail off suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows and snorting with laughter. “Poof! Aghhh!”

Buffy had to laugh at her sister’s expression. “Fortunately that hasn’t happened…yet!” she giggled.

“Oh, dear!” Tara exclaimed, clapping a hand over her mouth to stifle her own mirth. Willow was leaning against her, giggling helplessly.

“HA BLOODY HA!” William’s voice was muffled but clearly irritated. “Laugh it up, you silly bints!”

Which, of course, only made them laugh harder. Dawn was giggling so hard she fell off the couch and lay shaking at Tara’s feet.

When they eventually calmed, Willow suggested they go get something to eat. That got Dawn on her feet in a hurry.

“Ooh! Greasy cheeseburgers and tater tots, with a great big strawberry shake. Buffy’s buying!” she cheered, running off to find her shoes.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Like I don’t always pay for her food,” she muttered. Her eyes widened as a sudden thought struck her. “Will?” she called out to him.

“What?” he answered curtly, obviously pouting over the ‘poof’ joke.

“Are you hungry? I don’t suppose you’ve eaten real food in over a hundred years, have you? I can bring you something back.”

“Oh bloody hell, now I have hunger pangs AND a hard-on. Thanks ever so, pet,” he snorted sarcastically.

“Don’t be mad at me, please?” she wheedled. “I’ll bring you back something really nice.”