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snoggedToday I bring you the start of a new story I'm working on that takes place during Angel Season 5 (pre-Hole In The World). My goal is to post chapters weekly.
Title: Self-Destruct Button
Author: snogged
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and many other corporations own the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel the Series. I don’t.
Pairing: Willow/Spike, Willow/Kennedy
Word Count: 1514
Overall Rating/Warnings: FRAO/NC-17 (Eventually)
Setting: Buffy – Post “Chosen”/Angel – set shortly after “Damage.”
Summary: Willow gets a party invitation from a certain warlock in Los Angeles.
Beta(s):![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
angelskuuipo and purplefeen, with special guest beta: velvetwhip. All other mistakes are mine.
A/N: Written forrua1412 who inspired me with her gorgeous artwork.
Banner byrua1412
“What do you want to do today?” Willow asked, leaning over the tiled kitchen counter to pluck a banana from the green mesh basket sitting next to the sink.
“Well…” Kennedy started, pursing her lips as she pressed her fingernails into the thick, but slightly squishy, skin of an avocado.
Willow watched in awe as Kennedy kept one hand on the fruit and stretched herself partway across the kitchen to pull a small knife out of the silverware drawer. Anyone else would make that sort of move look clumsy and unnatural, but Kennedy was way gifted in the bendy department, which often came in handy for other things like….
“I was thinking I’d go for a swim,” Kennedy finished, interrupting Willow’s soon-to-be-erotic train of thought, as she deftly sliced her breakfast in half. “Want to join me?”
The wink and dirty smile that followed her comment were more than enough to get Willow back on track to Naughty-ville. Ever since they’d left Italy for Sau Paulo, Kennedy had been more than adept at getting Willow in touch with her inner outdoor sex fiend. Especially when cresting waves, warm turquoise waters, and Kennedy’s red flower-printed bikini were part of the equation.
Unfortunately, those things weren't going to be adding up anytime soon. Willow had made a promise to Giles to do a little astral travel today. “I’d love to, sweetie, but I can’t. I promised Giles that I’d….”
“Whatever,” Kennedy interrupted, her eyes narrowing in irritation as she set the avocado half back down on the counter.
Willow frowned, feeling frustrated that Kennedy had killed all her lusty thoughts with a pouty lip and a stomping foot. So what if Kennedy didn’t get her way this once? Nine times out ten, Kennedy always got her way in these arguments.
Besides, it was totally slayer-related and Kennedy knew darn well that was their priority. Buffy hadn’t agreed to send her favorite witch to South America just so she could have a vacation in paradise with her girl. “It’ll only be for a few hours. I won’t be gone forever this time, I promise.”
“Whatever,” Kennedy repeated. “Just don’t get lost this time. I’m not really in the mood to call in a search party. Besides, I’m pretty sure your little witchy friends from the coven in England think I’m a bad influence on you or something.”
“That’s not true,” Willow protested. “They like you just fine. They’re just…cautious. Kinda like moms who just want what’s best for me.”
Kennedy rolled her eyes. “I’ve met dads cleaning their shotguns who were friendlier than them.”
Willow sighed, allowing silence to fill the space between them. As Kennedy started scooping out the meat of her avocado, Willow looked down at the banana in her hand. She hadn’t unpeeled it yet and the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she wasn’t feeling so hungry anymore.
“I promise to find my way back to you,” Willow said finally, taking it upon herself to smooth things over between them before they started going about the day. She’d always been a big proponent of not going to bed angry and even though bedtime was at least fourteen hours away, it was always good to get a head start. “You’re my kite string, remember?”
Kennedy nodded, leaning over to drop a kiss on Willow’s cheek. “Just don’t get us stuck in a tree.”
“I won’t,” Willow replied, plastering a smile on her face. So what if Kennedy couldn’t let it go? Willow could so be the bigger person right now. She certainly had plenty of experience with it. “I’ll be back before you know it. Say hi to the fishes for me.”
“Will do,” Kennedy replied, scooping out the last bits of her avocado before dumping the skin into the trash. Then, she flounced out of the kitchen, leaving Willow to her own devices.
Willow returned the uneaten banana to the basket and headed into the hacienda’s small living room where she already had several candles burning in their holders.
The key to using candles in astral travel was to make sure you had the right colors and Willow had a fondness for blue and green ones. Blue because the books called them calming and trustworthy. To her and to Kennedy, it meant the probability was high that their small flames would guide her safely home. The green she used for relaxation. Having a clear psyche was essential for the work she had to do. She found it was much easier to locate slayers when her brain wasn’t feeling all cluttered and when they got into tiffs like the one they’d just had, Willow often needed all the help she could get in order achieve a proper state of mind.
Taking a deep breath, Willow lowered herself to the fluffy white carpet. Then she bent both of her knees and pressed the soles of her feet together. Her hip flexors practically responded with a raucous cheer, grateful for the stretch. From there, Willow placed her hands on her thighs and let her chin drop to her chest. From here on out, every movement counted, every breath was needed to energize and transform her.
She closed her eyes, carefully erasing the images in her mind until she was left with a blank slate. Then, she imagined a black spot and focused her concentration on that. Slowly but surely, the spot began to expand, growing into a full-sized portal that quickly sucked her inside.
The astral plane was gorgeous today. There was a seemingly endless landscape of rolling hills and trees and the sky was decorated with twinkling stars that shone brighter here than they did at home.
Willow exhaled sharply and started to move towards the sounds of rushing waters. For some reason, her psyche always seemed more open to finding slayers if rivers were involved, which she always found funny given how frequently they acted like Fires and Earths.
Her feet moved swiftly over the lush grasses, determined to reach their destination and pushed by the time constraints Kennedy had given her earlier. By the time she reached the banks of the first river, Willow felt like she’d run a marathon. Her legs ached, her lungs felt ready to burst, and her throat felt parched. But she knew better than to try drinking the water. Last time she tried to quench her thirst here, the Powers that Be had gotten a little cranky with her and sent her on a wild goose chase through Kyrgyzstan to find a potential slayer who continually managed to evade her, forcing her to return home with an extra-dry throat and no slayer.
Instead, she just sat down on the ground, pressing her back against a willow tree that had appeared as if from nowhere and a rustling wind blew past her and sufficiently cooled down her skin.
After a few minutes of relaxation, she crawled over towards the water and reached her hands into the current. Slowly, she moved her hands away from each other as if she were opening the drapes in her living room. Normally, this was when she would see an image, often just a flash of color, that would give her details about where to find another Slayer recruit for the army, but instead a letter flew up at her. The edge of the envelope bonked her in the nose and she had to react quickly to keep it from falling back into the river.
Her name was printed on the front in loopy calligraphy and it didn’t take long for her to rip it open.
A folded sheet of paper fell into her hands and she opened it slowly, hoping nothing would pop out at her unexpectedly. But the only thing that jumped out her was the header. It was an invitation for a party in Los Angeles.
The host: Cyvus Vail.
Admittedly, Willow had never heard of him, but she immediately deduced that his ability to send mail via the astral plane must make him a fairly powerful warlock. Given the fact that he contacted her directly, she guessed that there was a strong chance that he was one of the good guys. Or, Willow thought, realizing that this was coming from LA and therefore sitting on top of Hell, that he was one of the bad guys and he was cleverly disguising himself as someone who wanted to meet her so he could slice her open with a lightning bolt and stick her head on a rod in front of his mansion as a warning to all the other good witches out there….
Ack!
Willow inhaled sharply, feeling overwhelmed by the jumbling mess of thoughts filling her head.
Clearly, this was not going to be a dilemma she was going to be able to deal with by herself.
It was time to head home and if she’d played her time card right, she would even be there in time for lunch.
There was no way Kennedy would be able to argue with that.
Chapter 2
Title: Self-Destruct Button
Author: snogged
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and many other corporations own the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel the Series. I don’t.
Pairing: Willow/Spike, Willow/Kennedy
Word Count: 1514
Overall Rating/Warnings: FRAO/NC-17 (Eventually)
Setting: Buffy – Post “Chosen”/Angel – set shortly after “Damage.”
Summary: Willow gets a party invitation from a certain warlock in Los Angeles.
Beta(s):
angelskuuipo and purplefeen, with special guest beta: velvetwhip. All other mistakes are mine.A/N: Written for
rua1412 who inspired me with her gorgeous artwork.Banner by
rua1412“What do you want to do today?” Willow asked, leaning over the tiled kitchen counter to pluck a banana from the green mesh basket sitting next to the sink.
“Well…” Kennedy started, pursing her lips as she pressed her fingernails into the thick, but slightly squishy, skin of an avocado.
Willow watched in awe as Kennedy kept one hand on the fruit and stretched herself partway across the kitchen to pull a small knife out of the silverware drawer. Anyone else would make that sort of move look clumsy and unnatural, but Kennedy was way gifted in the bendy department, which often came in handy for other things like….
“I was thinking I’d go for a swim,” Kennedy finished, interrupting Willow’s soon-to-be-erotic train of thought, as she deftly sliced her breakfast in half. “Want to join me?”
The wink and dirty smile that followed her comment were more than enough to get Willow back on track to Naughty-ville. Ever since they’d left Italy for Sau Paulo, Kennedy had been more than adept at getting Willow in touch with her inner outdoor sex fiend. Especially when cresting waves, warm turquoise waters, and Kennedy’s red flower-printed bikini were part of the equation.
Unfortunately, those things weren't going to be adding up anytime soon. Willow had made a promise to Giles to do a little astral travel today. “I’d love to, sweetie, but I can’t. I promised Giles that I’d….”
“Whatever,” Kennedy interrupted, her eyes narrowing in irritation as she set the avocado half back down on the counter.
Willow frowned, feeling frustrated that Kennedy had killed all her lusty thoughts with a pouty lip and a stomping foot. So what if Kennedy didn’t get her way this once? Nine times out ten, Kennedy always got her way in these arguments.
Besides, it was totally slayer-related and Kennedy knew darn well that was their priority. Buffy hadn’t agreed to send her favorite witch to South America just so she could have a vacation in paradise with her girl. “It’ll only be for a few hours. I won’t be gone forever this time, I promise.”
“Whatever,” Kennedy repeated. “Just don’t get lost this time. I’m not really in the mood to call in a search party. Besides, I’m pretty sure your little witchy friends from the coven in England think I’m a bad influence on you or something.”
“That’s not true,” Willow protested. “They like you just fine. They’re just…cautious. Kinda like moms who just want what’s best for me.”
Kennedy rolled her eyes. “I’ve met dads cleaning their shotguns who were friendlier than them.”
Willow sighed, allowing silence to fill the space between them. As Kennedy started scooping out the meat of her avocado, Willow looked down at the banana in her hand. She hadn’t unpeeled it yet and the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she wasn’t feeling so hungry anymore.
“I promise to find my way back to you,” Willow said finally, taking it upon herself to smooth things over between them before they started going about the day. She’d always been a big proponent of not going to bed angry and even though bedtime was at least fourteen hours away, it was always good to get a head start. “You’re my kite string, remember?”
Kennedy nodded, leaning over to drop a kiss on Willow’s cheek. “Just don’t get us stuck in a tree.”
“I won’t,” Willow replied, plastering a smile on her face. So what if Kennedy couldn’t let it go? Willow could so be the bigger person right now. She certainly had plenty of experience with it. “I’ll be back before you know it. Say hi to the fishes for me.”
“Will do,” Kennedy replied, scooping out the last bits of her avocado before dumping the skin into the trash. Then, she flounced out of the kitchen, leaving Willow to her own devices.
Willow returned the uneaten banana to the basket and headed into the hacienda’s small living room where she already had several candles burning in their holders.
The key to using candles in astral travel was to make sure you had the right colors and Willow had a fondness for blue and green ones. Blue because the books called them calming and trustworthy. To her and to Kennedy, it meant the probability was high that their small flames would guide her safely home. The green she used for relaxation. Having a clear psyche was essential for the work she had to do. She found it was much easier to locate slayers when her brain wasn’t feeling all cluttered and when they got into tiffs like the one they’d just had, Willow often needed all the help she could get in order achieve a proper state of mind.
Taking a deep breath, Willow lowered herself to the fluffy white carpet. Then she bent both of her knees and pressed the soles of her feet together. Her hip flexors practically responded with a raucous cheer, grateful for the stretch. From there, Willow placed her hands on her thighs and let her chin drop to her chest. From here on out, every movement counted, every breath was needed to energize and transform her.
She closed her eyes, carefully erasing the images in her mind until she was left with a blank slate. Then, she imagined a black spot and focused her concentration on that. Slowly but surely, the spot began to expand, growing into a full-sized portal that quickly sucked her inside.
The astral plane was gorgeous today. There was a seemingly endless landscape of rolling hills and trees and the sky was decorated with twinkling stars that shone brighter here than they did at home.
Willow exhaled sharply and started to move towards the sounds of rushing waters. For some reason, her psyche always seemed more open to finding slayers if rivers were involved, which she always found funny given how frequently they acted like Fires and Earths.
Her feet moved swiftly over the lush grasses, determined to reach their destination and pushed by the time constraints Kennedy had given her earlier. By the time she reached the banks of the first river, Willow felt like she’d run a marathon. Her legs ached, her lungs felt ready to burst, and her throat felt parched. But she knew better than to try drinking the water. Last time she tried to quench her thirst here, the Powers that Be had gotten a little cranky with her and sent her on a wild goose chase through Kyrgyzstan to find a potential slayer who continually managed to evade her, forcing her to return home with an extra-dry throat and no slayer.
Instead, she just sat down on the ground, pressing her back against a willow tree that had appeared as if from nowhere and a rustling wind blew past her and sufficiently cooled down her skin.
After a few minutes of relaxation, she crawled over towards the water and reached her hands into the current. Slowly, she moved her hands away from each other as if she were opening the drapes in her living room. Normally, this was when she would see an image, often just a flash of color, that would give her details about where to find another Slayer recruit for the army, but instead a letter flew up at her. The edge of the envelope bonked her in the nose and she had to react quickly to keep it from falling back into the river.
Her name was printed on the front in loopy calligraphy and it didn’t take long for her to rip it open.
A folded sheet of paper fell into her hands and she opened it slowly, hoping nothing would pop out at her unexpectedly. But the only thing that jumped out her was the header. It was an invitation for a party in Los Angeles.
The host: Cyvus Vail.
Admittedly, Willow had never heard of him, but she immediately deduced that his ability to send mail via the astral plane must make him a fairly powerful warlock. Given the fact that he contacted her directly, she guessed that there was a strong chance that he was one of the good guys. Or, Willow thought, realizing that this was coming from LA and therefore sitting on top of Hell, that he was one of the bad guys and he was cleverly disguising himself as someone who wanted to meet her so he could slice her open with a lightning bolt and stick her head on a rod in front of his mansion as a warning to all the other good witches out there….
Ack!
Willow inhaled sharply, feeling overwhelmed by the jumbling mess of thoughts filling her head.
Clearly, this was not going to be a dilemma she was going to be able to deal with by herself.
It was time to head home and if she’d played her time card right, she would even be there in time for lunch.
There was no way Kennedy would be able to argue with that.
Chapter 2
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2011-01-25 02:24 am (UTC)Gabrielle
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on 2011-01-25 12:14 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2011-01-25 03:12 am (UTC)no subject
on 2011-01-25 03:31 am (UTC)no subject
on 2011-01-25 04:16 am (UTC)no subject
on 2011-01-25 12:15 pm (UTC)If I'm delayed for any reason, I shall let you all know via blog post.
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on 2011-01-25 07:55 am (UTC)no subject
on 2011-01-25 12:15 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2011-01-25 09:31 am (UTC)I knew it would be a gorgeous series and what I read just confirmed it!
Looking forward for more!
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on 2011-01-25 12:15 pm (UTC)Thank you, sweetheart.
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on 2011-01-25 09:55 am (UTC)no subject
on 2011-01-25 12:15 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2011-01-31 01:05 am (UTC)no subject
on 2011-01-31 01:22 am (UTC)no subject
on 2011-02-25 06:06 pm (UTC)P.S. Sorry it's taking me so long to start this. You know me and WIPs though.
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on 2011-02-25 06:31 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2011-03-08 06:33 pm (UTC)Gotta go and read the rest now!
*kisses* xxx
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on 2011-03-08 06:57 pm (UTC)