“What’s up, Will?” he asked.
“Just look at this!” she exclaimed, jabbing a finger at her computer. Xander regarded her skeptically but got off the bed anyway. He perused the offending instrument, not understanding her anger. It was a fic by Bri, one of her favorite authors after Laura. Bri had a soft spot for the two of them and always wrote something sweet about them. Normally Willow was extremely happy after reading one of her fics. Why was she so upset now?
“What?” he asked again. She jabbed the monitor violently.
“Look at what she wrote!” she cried. Xander took the time to actually read the words on the screen and began to understand Willow’s irritation. “She put me with *Oz*!” she howled in rage. “How could she do that? She’s *always* written just about you and me! She’s *never* written about anyone besides us. Why is she all of a sudden putting me with *Oz*?”
Xander, also visibly upset but more levelheaded, took the time to read the author’s notes at the beginning. “Will, look,” he pointed out, gesturing to the small paragraph at the foreword of the fic. “She says she was dared to. More like goaded into it, actually. She says that some other chick who wants you with Oz said she wouldn’t be able to write a fic with you and Oz together. I kind of see why she did it.”
“But still!” Willow pouted. “She said that I don’t want to be with you. I hope the list disowns her for that,” she said spitefully.
“Will, that’s kind of the point of a ‘shipper fic,” he reminded her dryly. “Obviously if you’re supposed to be with Oz, then you *don’t* want to be with me.”
“She called me a closet country fanatic!” Willow replied, not about to be placated. “How dare she! I *hate* country music!”
“Will, you have the Terri Clark CD that she quoted in her story,” Xander pointed out with a grin. Willow glared at him.
“Yeah, you’re right,” she muttered admittingly. “Although I don’t know how she knows that I like Terri Clark. But that doesn’t mean I like *all* country,” she complained under her breath. Xander grinned. “I should stop reading her stuff altogether, if she’s gonna pull a stunt like that on us.”
“Well, look at her next project,” Xander indicated. Willow read ahead and her eyes widened.
“Angel?” she squeaked disbelievingly. “She’s putting me with *Angel* next time?”
“Another dare, I take it,” Xander chuckled. “But look on the bright side. She has a new idea for a fic with us, and she’s promised to write it as soon as she has the Angel one done. And look at it this way, it’s an Angelus/VampWillow story, so it’s not like it’s really you. It’s the vampire you.” Willow nodded reluctantly, finishing the comments at the end. Her face brightened and quickly turned bright red as realization hit.
“Xander, look,” she squeaked again, pointing at the words at the bottom of the screen. Xander looked and grinned evilly. “That new story she has an idea for, with us in it? It’s. . .”
“An ‘adult’ piece,” Xander finished for her. He smiled widely as Willow blushed to the roots of her hair. He reached over and flipped the switch on the computer, turning the room dark as the light source of the monitor faded. He bent over her and nibbled on her neck, effectively turning her brain to mush. “You know what?” he murmured seductively, running his fingers through her hair. “I say we forget all about Bri’s mistake with that Oz fic and go practice for her next one with us.”
As he lifted her out of the chair and carried her over to the bed, Willow forgot all about her favorite author’s temporary lapse in judgment, and thanked her profusely for her evil mind. Then, when Xander started to undress her, all thought flew out of her head entirely. . .