Title: A Small Little Wager (1/1)
Series Wesley's Wild and Wacky Demon Hunting Adventures (Part 4)
Author: Kylia
Email: kylia_bug@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Nobody belongs to me, unfortunately. They belong to Joss & Mutant Enemy, and a few other people I don't know.
Rating: R
Spoilers: General S1 AtS - references to S3 BtVS
Category: W/W
Summary: Wes and Willow end up in the middle of a small bout of Vampire Slayage in a small midwestern town.
Distribution: Fire & Ice Fic, Wesleyan Aria, List archives, anyone else, ask, and you shall receive
Feedback: Please… I need it to breathe
Author's Note: Something new. I've never written a fic with Wes as the primary, so bear with me :)
Author's Note 2: This takes places several weeks after the events in "A Chance Encounter"
Dedication: To Inell, and Karen, and Dagney who seem to like this little series.

Willow tapped the keys a few more times before turning to face Wesley who was standing over her shoulder.

“Are you sure this is the place? This town is… dead.” Willow asked and then smiled sheepishly when he raised an eyebrow. “Okay maybe dead isn’t the right word…”

“No, I think it’s exactly the right word.” Wesley pointed the a spot on the screen of Willow’s laptop. “This is where he told me the trouble started. If there’s a nest, it’s there.”

Willow looked from the computer screen then back to her companion. “Wes, I don’t doubt your information, but… Wakpala? We can’t even find a place to stay in town.” She switched browser windows. “We’ll have to stay in a town called Mahto.” Her nose crinkled as she looked back at Wesley. “Where do they come up with these names?”

Wesley laughed at the expression on her face. Willow shrugged and looked back at the screen. It’s over ten miles from Wakpala. But that’s as close as I can get without physically driving around the state.”

Wesley lay his hands along the back of her chair. “Okay, we’ll leave after breakfast, is that fine?”

Willow nodded. “Sure, but if it turns out there isn’t anything resembling a vampire nest… you owe me that trip to Majic Kastle.” Her eyes lit up.

Wesley smiled. “And if there are vampires, you’re coming with me to the Pavilion Art museum.”

Willow nodded her head in agreement. “Okay then… Vampires, or no, our next stop after Wakpala is Sioux Falls.”

“It does appear that way.” Wes stepped away from the chair and grabbed his jacket.

“Dinner tonight?” Willow asked as he headed towards the door.

“Of course.”

“Great.” She smiled at him. “See you then.”

Wesley smiled back before turning and leaving her alone in her motel room.

Once he was gone, she leaned back in her chair. It had been three weeks since they had left Williams Arizona, and they had stopped in several towns along the way. Willow had to admit when she had left Williams with Wesley she wasn’t really sure what to expect.

She knew Wesley told her that he was still helping people, dealing with vampires and demons. But without a set plan of where they were going, and whom they would meet, the hacker was sure they wouldn’t really have much to do. She was wrong.

Wesley had made a lot of contacts, both before he had joined Angel in LA and since then. He knew more than enough people who would gladly accept assistance to keep them busy. Every town they left usually led them to another.

And Willow had to admit she was enjoying herself. She’d never felt so… alive before. She had never felt so good about herself. She was helping people, really helping them. Sure, she had helped Buffy slay demons and vampires before. But that was vastly different than this. She wasn’t some tag along nuisance who managed to help every once in awhile. She was right there in the middle of things, fighting along side someone who didn’t try to push her to the background because she was too frail.

That’s not to say Wesley didn’t try to protect her, because he did. More often than not he just wanted to make sure that she was being as safe as possible instead of telling her things were too dangerous. He recognized her need to help, to be an equal. It was a desire he shared, and one which he could fully understand.

It was only one of many things they seemed to have in common. Willow and Wesley could spend hours debating the merits of some obscure book they had stumbled across, or they could spend just as much time talking about absolutely nothing. And even on occasion Wesley would sit quietly while Willow babbled non-stop. Only when that happened he didn’t wear *that* look. The one all of her friends at home seemed to sport. Especially Giles. The one that was clearly begging her to shut up, or start making some sort of sense. Didn’t they understand she did make sense, they just couldn’t follow her train of thought?

But Wesley didn’t have that trouble. He either understood her completely or he himself analyzed everything she said until he did. He never looked at her as though she had said something so completely ridiculous that the very idea of her speaking the words were preposterous. She liked that. It was new, and nice.

Willow pulled out the map as the bike came to a stop. “Wakpala is about ten minutes that way.” She pointed down a road to their right just before folding the map up.

“But there isn’t a nest.” She whispered to him as she wrapped her arms around his waste once again.

Wesley laughed but his own helmet muffled it.

Ten minutes later they found themselves in the center of Wakpala. Wesley took off his helmet and looked around the still down.

“Perhaps you’re right. This doesn’t appear to be…” He trailed off.

“Told you.” Willow grinned happily.

“But,” Wesley held up a hand to still any other thoughts. “Since we’re here we’ll check it out.”

“Yes, dad.” Willow sighed and then crinkled her nose. She shook her head from the strange image, which had formed and then pulled the map out again. “Where did they tell you to come?”

Wesley turned around and took the map away, his fingers brushing slightly against hers. He looked up at her for a second. Her green eyes seemed to be staring into him instead of just staring at him.

“Here.” She spoke, even though he already had the map in his hands.

“Yes…” Wesley looked back down at the map. “Right here.” He pointed to a spot and concentrated. “According to this we’re not that far away. Did you want to go check it out?”

“Yep. Why not. The sooner you see I was right and there are no vampires, the sooner we can go to Sioux Falls.” Willow climbed back on the back of the bike as Wesley folded the map.

When they arrived at the building they believed the nest to be located, the climbed off the bike silently, and started gathering their supplies. It was still daylight so it was doubtful that they would be expected, if there even were vampires there.

“It’s awfully quiet.” Wesley whispered as he led her towards the building and what he thought was a side entrance.

“And stinky. Don’t forget stinky.” She whispered back, causing him to chuckle.

As they entered the building silently, Willow winced. The stench was strong. She could smell the death all around her. There were dead bodies littering the ground, a few hung along the walls. Some half eaten, some with their limbs removed. Some just staring blankly at something they could no longer see.

“Maybe I was wrong.” Willow told her companion and Wesley moved away into one corner of the room.

“No, not really. There aren’t any vampires… anymore.” Wesley was staring at the ground in one corner of the room, which was not littered by dead bodies.

Willow waded through the mass of rotting flesh to reach him. The corner was set up like some sort of sleeping quarters. Cots set up against the wall. A few blankets here and there, more for comfort than the need for warmth.

However there weren’t any bodies here. Instead there was a thick layer of dust covering everything. Willow bent down and picked up some of the dust with her fingers, rolling it around, feeling the texture.

“Vampire dust?”

Wesley nodded.

“What could do this?” Willow asked. “This was obviously a nest, and from the looks of some of those bodies, a large one.”

“I don’t know, but whatever it was, it’s gone now.” Wesley took her arm and led her away, not wanting to see the dead bodies any more.

Once they were out side, Willow took a big gulp of fresh air but she could still smell the death around her. She grabbed her helmet as they reached the bike. “So, we go on to Sioux Falls now?” She asked, climbing on the motorcycle leaving him enough room to get on in front of her.

Wesley nodded. “You were right. No vampires here, so I guess Majic Kastle it is.”

Willow grinned. “But so were you… there was a nest. So the Pavilion…”

The couple looked at each other and laughed.

“I guess we were both right. So where to first?” Wesley asked as he started the engine.

“Care to make another wager?” Willow whispered as she wrapped her arms tightly around him once they had taken off down the highway.