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snoggedI'm pleased to bring you the latest chapter of Self-Destruct Button. Enjoy!
Title: Self-Destruct Button (6/?)
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
Word Count: 1766
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. All other mistakes are mine.
A/N: Written forrua1412 who inspired me with her gorgeous artwork.
Banner byrua1412
Previously on Self-Destruct Button
Willow pulled the phone out of her pocket, looked down at the display, and gulped a little as she flipped it open.
----
“Hey Buffy. What’s up?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Buffy countered, irritation lacing her tone.
“Well-,” Willow started, mouthing an apology to Fred as she bee-lined over to the closest bench and plopped down on the hardwood. Fred followed her, but didn’t sit down. Instead, the other girl pointed toward the other side of the street where a vendor was busy selling salt-soaked pretzels from a moderately-sized metallic cart. Willow nodded, accepting the fact that churros wouldn’t be the snack of choice today, especially since Buffy wasn’t known for her short phone calls.
“Actually, don’t tell me,” Buffy said before Willow had a chance to launch into an explanation. “Well, at least, don’t tell me unless you’re planning to tell me about what happened between you and Kennedy and why you haven’t zapped over here for a hazelnut gelato gorgefest.”
Willow inhaled sharply. “I wanted to tell you, I just….”
Teleported to LA first?
Somehow, ending that sentence with the truth just didn’t seem like the right thing to do. If Wesley and Angel’s initial icy reception was any indication, Buffy’s reaction to her visiting the City of Angels would not be kosher.
“Decided to tell Andrew first? I didn’t even think you two were friends,” Buffy interrupted, ultimately saving Willow from having to become a big fibber.
“Andrew?” Willow asked. “I haven’t spoken to Andrew in weeks. Whenever he calls, he insists on talking to Kennedy because she’s the Slayer of the Vampyres.” Her eyes narrowed slightly as she mimicked Andrew’s infamous turn of phrase.
“So Kennedy confided in Andrew?”
The pause that followed was pregnant with enough shockwaves to crumble the Golden Gate Bridge. Of all the people in the world for Kennedy to talk to, why on Earth would she pick Andrew? More importantly, what was Andrew doing blabbing the details to Buffy? Though the more she thought about it, the more Willow realized that she could easily imagine Andrew standing on the rooftop of the villa screaming the news aloud for the whole world to hear.
“Okay, screw the hazelnut gelato. You need a John Cusack marathon and four scoops of triple chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and strawberries,” Buffy replied with a sincerity that was as genuine as it was commanding. In any other circumstance, Willow would have been on board, but she couldn’t leave now. Not after she’d risked it all just so she could come to a party.
“Buffy, you know I’d love to, but I have something I need to do first.”
“Is this the LA thing?” Buffy inquired. “Giles told us about that. Or at least, he told me and I think he called Xander so that pretty much covers the ‘us’ thing, doesn’t it?”
“Are you mad?” Willow asked, anxiety creeping into her tone.
“Should I be?” Buffy countered. “I mean, yeah, I’m not happy that you’re working with Angel seeing as how he’s thrown in his towel with Evil, Incorporated. Nor am I happy about you going to Sirius Black’s party….”
“It’s Cyvus,” Willow corrected stifling a giggle. “Cyvus Vail.”
“Whatever,” Buffy replied, laughing a little. “The point is, Will, I trust you and if you trust Angel, then I’ll deal with it. But I swear, if he gets you hurt at this thing, he will be meeting the business end of my stake. Soul or not.”
Willow gulped. Had she heard Buffy right? Was her best friend assuming that Angel was going to be her bodyguard?
“Buffy…Angel’s not going with me to this.”
“He’s sending you in alone?!” Buffy shrieked angrily. “What kind of champion is he these days? The couch-potato kind?”
“No…he’s…Spike’s going with me,” Willow admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Spike,” Buffy repeated. The anger had left her tone, but there was a dullness left in its wake. It was as if the name itself was enough to suck the life force from her. It was reminiscent of the months after they had left Sunnydale, the nights where Buffy had looked almost as hollow as she had when she’d come back from the dead.
“I know Andrew probably told you, but he is alive. He….” Willow had gotten most of the story out of Fred once Fred had come to collect her from Spike’s hospital room to take her home the night before. It wouldn’t be any trouble to share it, but the sound of shuffling feet and heavy breaths made Willow rethink the idea.
“Giles just called for me. I gotta go brief the troops,” Buffy replied hastily. “We’ll talk later okay? Don’t forget about my gelato offer.”
Buffy hung up the phone without another word and as a double-decker bus thundered past her, Willow pressed the tiny red ‘end’ button and tucked the phone back into her purse. It wasn’t long before Fred appeared, holding a giant pretzel that had been lathered in butter and salt and Willow graciously took it from her, not caring about getting grease on her fingers.
“You okay?” Fred asked, spotting the frown creasing Willow’s face as Fred ripped off a hunk of pretzel off with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.
“I’ll survive,” Willow replied, sinking her teeth into soft, yielding snackness. Salt and oil instantly enveloped her taste buds and she moaned in appreciation.
A playful smile crossed Fred’s face as she allowed Willow an extra moment or two to lose herself in pretzel pleasure.
“I’ve got good news for you. Lorne just called as I was walking over here. He’s got some news for us back at headquarters about this shindig of yours.”
Willow nodded and rose from the bench. Then the two girls headed back towards the Wolfram and Hart offices in companionable, pretzel-munching silence.
***
When they arrived at Angel’s office, Willow was greeted by several faces she recognized, including Spike’s, and one she didn’t. Lucky for her, the one she didn’t recognize was the one everyone was giving the stink-eye to.
Choosing to ignore the strange woman in the room who looked twice as bitchy as the store clerk from earlier, Willow opted to go straight to Spike. Buffy may not want to speak to him anymore, but he’d been the comforting shoulder she’d needed the night before and that was enough for Willow.
“You’re out of bed,” Willow said, her stoic expression instantly shifting to a bright, 100-watt smile.
“Fingers are working,” Spike murmured, releasing his grip on a stress ball made to look like the planet Earth. It was the same sort of thing Willow remembered getting at various Sunnydale U events, most notably the Save-The-World campaign sponsored by the Greenpeace organization. She didn’t have it anymore though. It was likely nothing more than specks of dust under tons and tons of post-apocalypse rubble.
“Right,” Willow replied. “Still, you being up and about bodes well for our shindig tomorrow night.”
“Sure does,” Spike said, looking out over her shoulder and pursing his lips in a tight grimace.
Willow should have taken it for the warning it was, but instead, she instantly whirled around and came nose-to-nose with the woman no one wanted to talk to.
“I’m Eve.”
The woman extended her hand and Willow wrinkled her nose, keeping her hands at side. Out of the corner of Willow’s eye, she caught Angel giving her a nod of approval. Score one for Rosenberg.
“I’m Willow.”
“I know,” Eve replied, drawing back her hand. “The senior partners are well aware of your presence here. That’s why they sent me.”
Angel snorted. “Get on with it, Eve, before I call security.”
“That’s not necessary, Angel,” Eve said, flirtatiously winking at him as she removed a silver chain that had previously not been hanging from her throat. “I’m merely here to extend a token to Willow as protection for tomorrow night. Cyvus Vail is an important client of Wolfram and Hart, but the senior partners feel it’s in their best interest to be present at this gathering.”
Before Eve could hand it to Willow though, Spike said: “Hell, no” and rushed forward, knocking it out of Eve’s hand. The necklace skittered across the floor and came to a stop in front of Lorne’s colorful loafers. Lorne cautiously kicked it back towards Willow who gingerly picked it up off the ground and examined the craftsmanship. The charm attached to the chain reminded her of the Triple Goddess symbol, except that the crescent moons were inverted.
“What did you do that for?” Willow inquired, raising her gaze back to Spike’s. She could have sworn she saw terror dancing in his eyes. He didn’t need to explain for it to click though. The necklace reminded him of how he had once burned to save the world, how he’d been trapped in an incorporeal state by Pavayne. No wonder he was scared.
“Absolutely no amulets,” Spike muttered.
“Agreed,” Angel replied. “Willow’s not wearing that.”
“But she has to,” Eve insisted, pushing out her bottom lip for extra measure. “It’s not like it’s gonna kill her.”
“She’s right,” Gunn stated. “Section CA, Subheading 5Q clearly states that the necklace in question provides the wearer with protection. While it does serve as the eyes of our constituents, it should not place Willow in any danger.”
Willow was startled by the lawyer speak, especially since she recalled Gunn being more of a rough-and-tumble type, but she knew well enough to know that just because it had a subheading, didn’t mean it didn’t have a loophole. After all, the senior partners were the guys who wrote the books. They could just as easily rewrite them.
“We’ll have Fred’s science team examine it,” Angel stated, snatching the necklace out of Willow’s hands.
Willow didn’t argue against Angel’s point. In fact, she was thrilled he had made one because it meant that he cared about her safety at least.
“Roger that,” Fred replied brightly as Angel passed the necklace over to her.
Eve sighed dramatically and stomped towards the exit. It wasn’t long before the rest of the gang followed suit, leaving Willow and Spike behind to watch the sun set through the necro-tinted glass.
“You still ready for this?” Willow asked, not looking at Spike but peering at her own reflection in the window.
“Told you I was earlier, pet. I haven’t changed my mind and I don’t plan to,” Spike replied, folding his arms across his chest.
Willow nodded. In an earlier life, her nerves would be getting the better of her by now, but they weren’t. She was just as assured as Spike was and that spoke volumes about how far she’d come.
Chapter 7
Title: Self-Destruct Button (6/?)
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
Word Count: 1766
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. All other mistakes are mine.A/N: Written for
rua1412 who inspired me with her gorgeous artwork.Banner by
rua1412Previously on Self-Destruct Button
Willow pulled the phone out of her pocket, looked down at the display, and gulped a little as she flipped it open.
----
“Hey Buffy. What’s up?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Buffy countered, irritation lacing her tone.
“Well-,” Willow started, mouthing an apology to Fred as she bee-lined over to the closest bench and plopped down on the hardwood. Fred followed her, but didn’t sit down. Instead, the other girl pointed toward the other side of the street where a vendor was busy selling salt-soaked pretzels from a moderately-sized metallic cart. Willow nodded, accepting the fact that churros wouldn’t be the snack of choice today, especially since Buffy wasn’t known for her short phone calls.
“Actually, don’t tell me,” Buffy said before Willow had a chance to launch into an explanation. “Well, at least, don’t tell me unless you’re planning to tell me about what happened between you and Kennedy and why you haven’t zapped over here for a hazelnut gelato gorgefest.”
Willow inhaled sharply. “I wanted to tell you, I just….”
Teleported to LA first?
Somehow, ending that sentence with the truth just didn’t seem like the right thing to do. If Wesley and Angel’s initial icy reception was any indication, Buffy’s reaction to her visiting the City of Angels would not be kosher.
“Decided to tell Andrew first? I didn’t even think you two were friends,” Buffy interrupted, ultimately saving Willow from having to become a big fibber.
“Andrew?” Willow asked. “I haven’t spoken to Andrew in weeks. Whenever he calls, he insists on talking to Kennedy because she’s the Slayer of the Vampyres.” Her eyes narrowed slightly as she mimicked Andrew’s infamous turn of phrase.
“So Kennedy confided in Andrew?”
The pause that followed was pregnant with enough shockwaves to crumble the Golden Gate Bridge. Of all the people in the world for Kennedy to talk to, why on Earth would she pick Andrew? More importantly, what was Andrew doing blabbing the details to Buffy? Though the more she thought about it, the more Willow realized that she could easily imagine Andrew standing on the rooftop of the villa screaming the news aloud for the whole world to hear.
“Okay, screw the hazelnut gelato. You need a John Cusack marathon and four scoops of triple chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and strawberries,” Buffy replied with a sincerity that was as genuine as it was commanding. In any other circumstance, Willow would have been on board, but she couldn’t leave now. Not after she’d risked it all just so she could come to a party.
“Buffy, you know I’d love to, but I have something I need to do first.”
“Is this the LA thing?” Buffy inquired. “Giles told us about that. Or at least, he told me and I think he called Xander so that pretty much covers the ‘us’ thing, doesn’t it?”
“Are you mad?” Willow asked, anxiety creeping into her tone.
“Should I be?” Buffy countered. “I mean, yeah, I’m not happy that you’re working with Angel seeing as how he’s thrown in his towel with Evil, Incorporated. Nor am I happy about you going to Sirius Black’s party….”
“It’s Cyvus,” Willow corrected stifling a giggle. “Cyvus Vail.”
“Whatever,” Buffy replied, laughing a little. “The point is, Will, I trust you and if you trust Angel, then I’ll deal with it. But I swear, if he gets you hurt at this thing, he will be meeting the business end of my stake. Soul or not.”
Willow gulped. Had she heard Buffy right? Was her best friend assuming that Angel was going to be her bodyguard?
“Buffy…Angel’s not going with me to this.”
“He’s sending you in alone?!” Buffy shrieked angrily. “What kind of champion is he these days? The couch-potato kind?”
“No…he’s…Spike’s going with me,” Willow admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Spike,” Buffy repeated. The anger had left her tone, but there was a dullness left in its wake. It was as if the name itself was enough to suck the life force from her. It was reminiscent of the months after they had left Sunnydale, the nights where Buffy had looked almost as hollow as she had when she’d come back from the dead.
“I know Andrew probably told you, but he is alive. He….” Willow had gotten most of the story out of Fred once Fred had come to collect her from Spike’s hospital room to take her home the night before. It wouldn’t be any trouble to share it, but the sound of shuffling feet and heavy breaths made Willow rethink the idea.
“Giles just called for me. I gotta go brief the troops,” Buffy replied hastily. “We’ll talk later okay? Don’t forget about my gelato offer.”
Buffy hung up the phone without another word and as a double-decker bus thundered past her, Willow pressed the tiny red ‘end’ button and tucked the phone back into her purse. It wasn’t long before Fred appeared, holding a giant pretzel that had been lathered in butter and salt and Willow graciously took it from her, not caring about getting grease on her fingers.
“You okay?” Fred asked, spotting the frown creasing Willow’s face as Fred ripped off a hunk of pretzel off with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.
“I’ll survive,” Willow replied, sinking her teeth into soft, yielding snackness. Salt and oil instantly enveloped her taste buds and she moaned in appreciation.
A playful smile crossed Fred’s face as she allowed Willow an extra moment or two to lose herself in pretzel pleasure.
“I’ve got good news for you. Lorne just called as I was walking over here. He’s got some news for us back at headquarters about this shindig of yours.”
Willow nodded and rose from the bench. Then the two girls headed back towards the Wolfram and Hart offices in companionable, pretzel-munching silence.
***
When they arrived at Angel’s office, Willow was greeted by several faces she recognized, including Spike’s, and one she didn’t. Lucky for her, the one she didn’t recognize was the one everyone was giving the stink-eye to.
Choosing to ignore the strange woman in the room who looked twice as bitchy as the store clerk from earlier, Willow opted to go straight to Spike. Buffy may not want to speak to him anymore, but he’d been the comforting shoulder she’d needed the night before and that was enough for Willow.
“You’re out of bed,” Willow said, her stoic expression instantly shifting to a bright, 100-watt smile.
“Fingers are working,” Spike murmured, releasing his grip on a stress ball made to look like the planet Earth. It was the same sort of thing Willow remembered getting at various Sunnydale U events, most notably the Save-The-World campaign sponsored by the Greenpeace organization. She didn’t have it anymore though. It was likely nothing more than specks of dust under tons and tons of post-apocalypse rubble.
“Right,” Willow replied. “Still, you being up and about bodes well for our shindig tomorrow night.”
“Sure does,” Spike said, looking out over her shoulder and pursing his lips in a tight grimace.
Willow should have taken it for the warning it was, but instead, she instantly whirled around and came nose-to-nose with the woman no one wanted to talk to.
“I’m Eve.”
The woman extended her hand and Willow wrinkled her nose, keeping her hands at side. Out of the corner of Willow’s eye, she caught Angel giving her a nod of approval. Score one for Rosenberg.
“I’m Willow.”
“I know,” Eve replied, drawing back her hand. “The senior partners are well aware of your presence here. That’s why they sent me.”
Angel snorted. “Get on with it, Eve, before I call security.”
“That’s not necessary, Angel,” Eve said, flirtatiously winking at him as she removed a silver chain that had previously not been hanging from her throat. “I’m merely here to extend a token to Willow as protection for tomorrow night. Cyvus Vail is an important client of Wolfram and Hart, but the senior partners feel it’s in their best interest to be present at this gathering.”
Before Eve could hand it to Willow though, Spike said: “Hell, no” and rushed forward, knocking it out of Eve’s hand. The necklace skittered across the floor and came to a stop in front of Lorne’s colorful loafers. Lorne cautiously kicked it back towards Willow who gingerly picked it up off the ground and examined the craftsmanship. The charm attached to the chain reminded her of the Triple Goddess symbol, except that the crescent moons were inverted.
“What did you do that for?” Willow inquired, raising her gaze back to Spike’s. She could have sworn she saw terror dancing in his eyes. He didn’t need to explain for it to click though. The necklace reminded him of how he had once burned to save the world, how he’d been trapped in an incorporeal state by Pavayne. No wonder he was scared.
“Absolutely no amulets,” Spike muttered.
“Agreed,” Angel replied. “Willow’s not wearing that.”
“But she has to,” Eve insisted, pushing out her bottom lip for extra measure. “It’s not like it’s gonna kill her.”
“She’s right,” Gunn stated. “Section CA, Subheading 5Q clearly states that the necklace in question provides the wearer with protection. While it does serve as the eyes of our constituents, it should not place Willow in any danger.”
Willow was startled by the lawyer speak, especially since she recalled Gunn being more of a rough-and-tumble type, but she knew well enough to know that just because it had a subheading, didn’t mean it didn’t have a loophole. After all, the senior partners were the guys who wrote the books. They could just as easily rewrite them.
“We’ll have Fred’s science team examine it,” Angel stated, snatching the necklace out of Willow’s hands.
Willow didn’t argue against Angel’s point. In fact, she was thrilled he had made one because it meant that he cared about her safety at least.
“Roger that,” Fred replied brightly as Angel passed the necklace over to her.
Eve sighed dramatically and stomped towards the exit. It wasn’t long before the rest of the gang followed suit, leaving Willow and Spike behind to watch the sun set through the necro-tinted glass.
“You still ready for this?” Willow asked, not looking at Spike but peering at her own reflection in the window.
“Told you I was earlier, pet. I haven’t changed my mind and I don’t plan to,” Spike replied, folding his arms across his chest.
Willow nodded. In an earlier life, her nerves would be getting the better of her by now, but they weren’t. She was just as assured as Spike was and that spoke volumes about how far she’d come.
Chapter 7
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
on 2011-03-07 08:38 pm (UTC)Gabrielle
no subject
on 2011-03-08 02:23 am (UTC)And yes, things are definitely tense for our heroine.
no subject
on 2011-03-07 09:25 pm (UTC)The best chapter ever!
I love how the plot is coming thick! I even loved Buffy this time around!
HUGS
no subject
on 2011-03-08 02:23 am (UTC)no subject
on 2011-03-08 02:12 am (UTC)I can't wait to see where all this goes. I can't wait to see this party!!!!
no subject
on 2011-03-08 02:23 am (UTC)no subject
on 2011-03-30 09:31 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2011-03-30 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2011-05-07 07:16 pm (UTC)And oh no. I'm sensing things are going to go wrong...
no subject
on 2011-05-09 04:11 am (UTC)