Disclaimer: All characters pertaining to the show Buffy the Vampire slayer are owned by Joss Whedon, the WB, Mutant Enemy, Fox et. all.  No copyright infringement is intended.  No profit is being made

 
It looked almost like a romantic picnic for two.  The
ingredients were there, a wicker picnic basket filled
to the brim, a red checked blanket, and a young man
and woman with obvious affection for each other were
in attendance.  Almost…excepting for the fact that the
blanket was spread inside of a musty crypt and the two
young people were Willow and Oz.

Fascinated, Oz watched Willow set out their respective
meals.  Two turkey sandwiches with cheese, a chicken
leg, peanut butter crackers, one hard-boiled egg and 2
bananas went on one plate.  The second plate held a
piled-high roast beef sandwich and a Hostess lemon
pie.

“Willow, I *really * can’t eat all that.” Oz said
incredulously.

Willow handed him the second plate.  “All that is for
me.  The roast beef is for you.  I know you like meaty
things during your wolfy time.”

Oz dug into the sandwich and watched as Willow started
to methodically consume her huge meal.

He swallowed and asked; “Do you mind telling me why?”

“Sure.”  Willow’s voice was slightly muffled as she
was chewing the remains of her first sandwich. “Every
month…” Willow blushed and began again. “Every month…
after, I’ve been losing weight.  Last month it was
five pounds.  Giles thinks my metabolism might be
getting a little whacked.  He and Angel have me on a
high protein diet the week before. To bulk up, you
know?”

“Oh.”

The two ate in silence then, Oz sneaking furtive
glances as his tiny friend consumed the vast amount of
food without blinking an eye.  She polished off the
bananas with a protein shake, wiped her mouth daintily
and smiled at Oz.

“So. I’m observing tonight.  I’ve got a stopwatch and
everything.  Giles wants me to take notes and report
back to him on your change.”

“Yeah.  You know what he’s doing, right?” Oz asked.

Willow shrugged. “Yes.  He’s worried since Buffy
doesn’t have the council anymore, that if something
happens to him she won’t have anyone even slightly
watcherly to help her.  I’m an ex-watcher trainee. Or
is that a not-a-watcher trainee?”

“Angel doesn’t mind?” Oz ventured.

“He’s fine with it. So he says, anyway.  I’m supposed
to meet him after Giles gets done with his ‘adult’
thing. That conjures up scary images, doesn’t it? But
he’ll show up before sundown. He frets.”

“Can’t blame him.  Do you really think Buffy’s going
to accept you as a not-a-watcher when she finds out
about you and Angel?  You’ve kept this from her for a
long time.”

Willow chewed her lip for a moment before answering.
“I hope so.  And we didn’t mean to keep it from her
this long.  I *hate * being a liar!  We’ve just been
waiting for the right time and it never seems to
happen. She’s suspicious that I’m seeing somebody.
She just doesn’t know whose body I’m seeing.”  She
turned a sly grin on Oz.  “*And * we thought that it
might come easier if she were already involved with
someone else when we tell her.  Someone kind…someone
understanding…someone who plays guitar in a band.”

Oz smiled. “Obvious?”

“Only in a ‘you’d have to be blind to miss it’ sort of
way.  She likes you too, you know.  One of you is
going to have to make the first move.”

At that moment, one of the stones slid back on the
floor of the crypt and Angel climbed out of the tunnel
underneath.  Oz gave him a hand up.

“Thanks.  Last night for lockup?” Angel spoke as he
crossed to Willow and pulled her to his side.

“Yup.  And tomorrow it’s your and Willow’s turn.”

Willow reddened, but wasn’t a bit surprised.  Everyone
knew their cycle.  Angel and she disappeared for at
least a day once a month.  She quickly changed the
subject and addressed Angel.

“So, did you send them?”

Angel sighed. “Yes.  As requested, I sent them. For
all the good it’ll do.”

“Sent what?” Oz’s curiosity was piqued.

“Portfolios. I convinced Angel to send some of his
sketches to a couple of publishing houses.  He’s going
to support me in a manner to which I’ll grow
accustomed.” She rose on her toe tips and gave Angel a
peck on his cheek.

“Cool.  Congratulations, man.”

“Yeah, well.  I’m not counting on anything, and
neither is Willow.  I’m an unknown.”

Willow elbowed him slightly. “I’m counting on it.”

Glancing at his watch, Oz headed for his cage.
“Speaking of counting, I’ve got five minutes.  You’d
better get your stopwatch out, not-a-watcher.”

“Ooh, right!”  Willow ran to picnic basket and
retrieved a stopwatch, notebook and pen.  The three of
them waited patiently for the sunset.

“Now, Willow. Start the clock now.  I’ll see you
later.”

“Night, Oz.”

Willow and Angel looked on as Oz changed from his
human to animal form.  Willow spent the next few
minutes recording data, while Angel waited quietly and
Oz-wolf crashed against the bars and howled.

“Done.” Willow capped the pen and began to clean up
the picnic mess, shaking the blanket free of crumbs.
Angel sneaked up behind her and pulled her backward
against him.

“You could leave the blanket out.  Giles said he’d be
a couple of hours.  That means we could…”

Willow pulled away from him. “You hush, mister.  I’m
not an exhibitionist.  I don’t want to do anything in
front of Oz-wolf. We’d just get him all worked up.”

Angel looked over at the werewolf pacing back and
forth in his cage.  “Maybe.  But he doesn’t remember
anything.  Besides, if he gets too worked up, at least
when he’s a wolf he can lick…”

“Shut up!”  Willow clapped her hands over her ears. “I
don’t *even * want to think about that.”

Chuckling, Angel pulled her back into his arms.  “All
right. I guess I can wait a few hours, since we’ll
have the next day and a half together. Can we neck a
little while we wait for Giles?”

The two of them settled down onto the blanket.  “I
suppose.” She looked at him.  “When you said neck, you
meant kissing, right?  Vampires can be very
confusing.”

****

The waning moon shone down onto Sunnydale cemetery,
casting shadows on the gravestones from the fight that
was taking place.

“Duck!” Buffy screeched.

Oz did as he was told and ducked.  A stake went
zipping over his head and landed squarely in chest of
the vampire behind him.  Buffy whirled and knocked
another vampire to the ground with a roundhouse quick,
leapt on him and promptly staked him.  Brushing off
her pants, she stood up.

“Well, those two were easy. It’s never as much fun
when they don’t play hard to get.”

“Uhm…Buffy.  There were three.”

Turning, Buffy was horrified to see Oz in the third
vampire’s grasp.  Before the demon had a chance to
fire off a witty retort, Buffy ran full tilt for the
headstone in front of them, jumped on it, did a flip
landing firmly behind them, turned and drove her stake
into the vampire.  Without the support of the vampire,
Oz fell backward onto Buffy, who barely had time to
keep the stake from piercing Oz’s back.  They landed
on the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Raising up on his side, Oz looked down at Buffy. “I’m
glad you were quick with that. Nice timing.”

Buffy licked her lips. “Yeah.  Timing is everything.”

“Right.  Without timing we’d never have the perfect
three minute egg or…oh, hell.”

Oz leaned down and kissed Buffy. Tentatively, he
brushed his lips across hers, ready to draw back at
the first sign of displeasure from her.  She parted
her lips, allowing him better access and he took it.
The pleasure of the first kiss, the sweetness of it,
all made for a perfect moment.

Oz pulled back, finally. “Wow.”

Buffy smiled, “As eloquent as ever. And yeah, wow.”

“I’d like us to go out.  I’d like for us to be more
than friends.”

“We have been going out, I thought.  It’s just taken a
long time to get to first base.”

“Buffy, I like you.  I mean, I *really * like you.  I
have for a long time.”

“Me, too. You’ve been exactly what I need.  I care
about you.  I trust you.”

Oz sat up and ran his hand though his bright red hair.
“Buffy, I…dammit!  I want you to trust me.  And if
we’re going to do this, I need to tell you something.
Something I know and you don’t that you’re not going
to like.  You might not even like me after you find
out what I know, but…”

Buffy put a finger to his lips. “Sshhh.  I’m not blind
you know.  Is this about Angel and Willow?  Because I
figured it out a few months ago.”

Oz’s jaw dropped. “You know?  And you’re okay with
it?”

Buffy shrugged, “Well, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t
really thrilled when I figured out that my best friend
and my ex had a crush on one another, but I dealt.
Maybe when they find out that we’re…together… they
might even decide to take it further.  They’d probably
be good for each other.”

Oz sat for a moment, but he knew it was now or never.
“Uhm, Buffy.  You’re sort of right…see, apparently,
there’s this sort of curse that only happens when a
vampire and a virgin….”

****

Willow looked up from her kneeling position between
Angel’s legs and swallowed.  She pushed him back onto
the sofa and straddled him, bringing her lips to his
and sucking his tongue into her mouth. Angel groaned
as teeth bit down on his tongue and drew blood.  He
felt himself  harden again, grabbed her shoulders and
pushed her away.

“You’re getting a little rough, little girl.”

She raised her eyebrows, “And you don’t like that?”

His dark eyes gazed into her deep green ones. “I
didn’t say that.  You’d just better be prepared to
face the consequences.”  With that, Angel raked his
nails down her back, but only hard enough to leave a
red trail from her shoulders to her buttocks.

Willow jumped and brought her face back down to his.
“Deal.”  She tugged at his lower lip with her teeth
and wiggled against his now full erection, teasing him
with her warm cleft.

Angel grabbed her shoulders and pushed her down as he
thrust upward, burying himself inside of her.  Her
heat was almost too much for him to take.  The feel of
her slick walls grasping him filled him with a heady
sense of power.   He knew that he was the only one who
could make her this wanton and eager. They had been
lovers for well over a year now and knew the ins and
outs of one another’s bodies so well that any type of
game or role-playing they indulged in only took their
gratification to higher peak.  Nothing was ever
routine in their lovemaking.

Willow squeezed his erection as hard as she could,
adding to her enjoyment and his.  She never felt freer
than when she was having sex with Angel.  She slid up
his length and then lowered, savoring the feel of his
course hair as it brushed against her clitoris. Angel
looked up at her through hooded eyes and released a
shoulder to pull her down for a searing kiss before
letting her up for air.

They began a rhythm in earnest, Angel hold her hips
firmly in his hands as he drove into her.  She writhed
on top of him, nearly lost in her own building orgasm.
 Willow remembered herself for a moment and grinned
wickedly at Angel, bringing her middle finger to her
mouth and coating it with saliva. He stiffened
momentarily, as if distracted, but then resumed his
thrusting, even as she slid that finger behind her,
down his scrotum and into his rectum. He jerked as she
slid her digit inside of him up to the second knuckle
and began rubbing his sensitive gland.

Willow groaned as she felt his shaft swell even
further inside her, adding to the sensations coursing
through her tender core.  She was so close to her own
orgasm that it was almost painful to hold back. But
she knew if she waited just a few seconds more, he’d
join her.  All sex was good, but it just seemed more
intense when they came together.  Angel’s fingers dug
into her flesh and she knew it was time.  She threw
her head back and let out a wail as she trembled and
shook.  Angel groaned and let go, bucking up into her
as he spilled his seed.

Before she even had time to catch her breath, Angel
grabbed a throw and settled it over her back. He
scooted to the edge of the sofa and stood, holding her
in his arms, and headed for the bedroom.

Willow questioned, “Is something wrong? What’s wrong?”

Angel shook his head. “Nothing. It’ll wait until
tomorrow.”

****

Oz had finally caught up with Buffy outside the
Crawford Street mansion.  He caught her arm just as
she was about to slam her fist through the window that
looked into the living room.

“Buffy,” he gasped. “Don’t.  You can’t talk to them
tonight.  You can’t settle anything.”

“But…”

“I don’t understand.  You were fine when you thought
they had a crush on one another.”

Buffy glared at him. “A *crush *.  I thought it was a
crush!  I didn’t know they’d betrayed me.  I didn’t
know they we’re doing…” she gestured towards the sofa,
“…that.  They lied! Everyone lied!  You lied!”  She
broke then, sobs wracking her body.

Oz held her.  “Buffy, no one wanted to hurt you.  No
one knew how to tell you.  And it really wasn’t our
decision.”

She sniffed, “You…you told me the truth.”

Oz sighed. “I want to be with you.  I didn’t want to
start it with a lie.”

“I’m glad you told me.  I think.  I don’t know what to
do now.”

“Nothing.  You need time to think. It’ll wait until
tomorrow.”

“Will you? Wait, I mean?  I don’t know…”

“Yes.”

****

The door to Giles’ apartment swung open, allowing the
afternoon sun into the room before slamming firmly
shut.  Giles, Cordelia and Xander looked up and from
the books lying on the table.  Oz and Buffy stood just
inside the room.

Oz spoke first. “She knows.”

Giles raised an eyebrow. “Ah…knows what.”

Oz repeated. “She *knows *.”

Xander looked at Buffy’s stern face, then to Giles and
back to Buffy.  “She knows.” He quietly started to
slip under the table; the better to avoid flying
objects aimed at his head.

“Stop that, Xander.” Buffy said.  He did.

“Buffy, I, uh…well,” Giles began.

Taking Oz by the hand, she walked into the room. “No,
Giles, no explanations.  First, one of you is going to
call Angel and Willow and get them over hear.  No
hints.  And then,” she sat on the sofa, “The five of
us are going to have a little talk about trust, and
how trust and *truth * are the most important parts of
being a team.”

The three sat in stunned silence.

“Now!”

***

Willow and Angel stood outside Giles’ door just after
sunset.  Angel took Willow’s hand in his.

“Before we go in there, I have to tell you something.”

“What? That I’m the cutest, most loveable witch you
know and you’re going to take me home and do naughty
things to me instead of watching me do boring
research.”

Angel’s was solemn. “Yes, that too.  And I love you.
But something *was * wrong last night. And…” He opened
the door. “Buffy knows.”

Willow tried to pull away from Angel as he walked into
the apartment, firmly holding onto her hand.

She hissed, “Why didn’t you tell me before!”

Oz spoke up. “Because he knew you wouldn’t want to be
here and you both have to face this."

Willow stood in the doorway, looking at her feet and
trying not to throw up.  She’d known this would happen
eventually.  She would have preferred to put it off
for another few months…or years. Angel put his arm
around her waist and steadied her.

Finally, Willow looked at Buffy. Tears shone in her
emerald eyes. “Buffy, I…”

Buffy interrupted, “You’re sorry. You never meant to
hurt me.  You didn’t want me to find out his way. You
never wanted to deceive me, or drag everyone else into
covering your lies.  You love Angel and he loves you
and will I please forgive you.”

Willow was taken aback, “Well, yeah, mainly.”

Buffy stood. “No. You’re not forgiven.  You lied, he
lied…everyone here is a liar!  Get your stuff out of
my dorm room, what’s still there anyway, and stay away
from me.  I don’t want you anywhere near me.  Not
doing research, not doing little piddly spells that
never turn out, not pretending to be my friend and
care about me.” She paused for a moment. “I’m going to
work really hard at forgiving these idiots for going
along with you…because I need them to help me with
what I do. But I don’t need you…and I’m going to leave
now.”

She brushed past the two lovers and opened the door.
“Oz, you can come if you want.”

Oz rose and walked over to her.  Buffy turned at the
threshold. “And think about this.  You two are *so *
in love.” She spat the words. “What if there weren’t
some sort of sick curse?  Do you really think you’d be
together?  You…fuck each other.  Is what you have
really love?”

She walked out, Oz trailing behind her. Stunned
silence followed her departure.  Several quiet moments
passed before Angel turned to Willow.

“Little girl, I’m so sorry. She’s hurt, she’s trying
to hurt back.”

Willow refused to look at him.  “What is she’s right?”

end