Rewards, by M. McGregor

Chapter 10

To Xander’s surprise, he did not wake up the next day to find that Buffy had appeared in the apartment at sometime during the night. Likewise, when he sleepily entered the living room that morning, he did not find Faith or Buffy trussed up in some unique bondage scenario. All he found was Faith, sprawled out on the couch with a few blankets bunched up around her, snoring cutely.

He smiled to himself and went to start a pot of coffee. He wasn’t working that day, but they were all going to be meeting at Giles’s new shop to discuss the recent developments, and that would likely be an all day affair. Xander sat at the kitchen counter while he waited for the coffee to brew, and found himself watching Faith’s even breathing.

Her face looked so different when it was relaxed, free of the tension that was always within it. It was so rare that he got to see her looking like that. It was, he knew, instantly addicting. It was impossible not to ache with caring for the girl with such a sweet, innocent looking face. When her guards were down, Faith was perhaps the most vulnerable person he’d ever seen.

The first time he’d seen that look was when she’d made a man out of him. It had changed him more than he could ever say, both the sex itself and gazing at the face afterwards.

He’d seen the look again just the day before, although a blindfold had obscured it. She’d had that look during dinner, when out of nowhere she’d rested her head on his lap. It was such a trusting and beautiful gesture that it took his breath away just to think of it.

They’d talked last night, as he’d helped her gather extra blankets and pillows for her night on the couch. Anya had made a few rumblings about Faith staying with them in their bed, but there was no way he was going to make that kind of suggestion. Not yet, anyway. Buffy might have had him re-thinking the guilt he felt over their situation, but he still knew that he had to take things with Faith in a much more careful way. She was fragile, Faith was. She was a paradox of strength and vulnerability, at once the toughest person he’d ever known and the softest person he’d ever known. To treat her like Buffy would be a mistake, but he could bring lessons from one to the other, and vice versa.

She’d told him about her talk with Angel. Apparently reality had been tweaked a bit to allow her freedom from prison, but she was now legally in his custody. Angel and the others seemed to know that, but not about what went on with the spell. Faith hadn’t seemed interested in telling them, and Xander hadn’t pressed the matter.

A quick search of his desk the night before had resulted in finding the documents that did indeed give him unique custody over Faith. He was her warden, so to speak, and responsible for her in every way.

Faith had surprised him as they spoke of it, telling him she was glad for it, that she was glad she was his. She’d said a lot as they sat together on the couch staring at the papers, things she said she knew she could have never found the courage to say if it hadn’t been for his order to “tell me what you want to say.” He offered to rescind it. She declined.

So he knew, knew that Faith was very scared, but also hopeful. He knew that she’d felt peaceful the night before, and he knew that she was very grateful for any compassion he gave her. He knew that she was filled with remorse, and that she was deathly afraid of never being different from the person she once was. He knew that she was uncomfortable around Buffy, slightly in awe of Anya, and…

That she wanted to stay with him for as long as he could stand her. He knew that she was afraid he would reject her, and knew that she thought she deserved to be rejected. He knew she feared losing that brief feeling of peace that had her so confused.

At the very least, life was interesting. Two days ago he was thanking his lucky stars that he had Anya, that she loved him and that he loved her. Now he was looking at the prospect of building some kind of strange family with Anya, Buffy, and Faith.

He frowned. If they found a way out of the reward, would Faith have to go back to prison? Would she still want his help? Would she lose the growth he thought he could see within her?

Anya kept insisting it was a reward, and not something they should be looking to get rid of. Buffy, it seemed, had accepted and even embraced the whole situation. She was looking to push her boundaries and explore not only herself, but Xander as well. Was it at all possible that they could revert to how they were just two days ago if the reward was gone? He didn’t see how they could.

If Buffy was embracing it, Faith was growing because of it, and Anya was more than willing to take advantage of it, should they be attempting to get out of it?

He didn’t know the answer. Research was a good idea, however. At least then they might have more of an idea of what it all could mean. If they could find a way to reverse the magic, then they could figure out whether they wanted to actually do that. If they didn’t find a way, he hoped they could at least learn about how it worked.

The magic was confusing. In many ways, it seemed to have a life of its own, and the rules seemed strange and ever-changing. At first he’d had to make love to Buffy and Faith to get them free of their bonds. But since then they’d both been in and out of bondage, and although he’d done some things with both of them, he hadn’t actually had full-blown sex with them since then.

There was also the custody thing with Faith. How far did that magic go? Willow hadn’t seemed to know anything about it, but Angel and the others did. Would Giles remember the court order, or would he be like Willow? If he didn’t know about it, why not?

Then there was the way his orders worked. He’d told Buffy not to freak out, and it meant she was incapable of panicking. But he’d also told Faith to look at him, and while she had at the time, she hadn’t been stuck staring at him for the rest of the day. Was there an interpretation aspect to his orders? Did that have something to do with why he couldn’t order Buffy not to love him? He was sure he’d said one or two things that, if taken literally, might have been considered orders, but neither Buffy nor Faith had acted on them. What did that mean? Did it have to be a direct order, and if so, how was it interpreted?

It was clear that for one reason or another, they needed to know all they could about their situations. His brain, well practiced from years reading sci-fi, was already coming up with questions, and he was sure Willow would have some of her own.

What would happen if he ordered Buffy or Faith to turn blue? Would they? What if he told their hair to fall out? Where did his control end? Could he counter an order, once given? What if he told Buffy and Faith to act as if he didn’t have control over them?

A different kind of question arose. Would they want him to give that order? Yesterday morning he would have assumed they would without question. Now he wondered, especially about Buffy. She seemed to have embraced his control over her, possibly even enjoying it on a base level. After all, she’d had him tell her to be honest with him always, despite it meaning she said things that embarrassed her.

Or perhaps because it meant she said things that embarrassed her. With her and Faith’s new feelings, or amplified feelings, or whatever they were, that was a distinct possibility.

Xander pursed his lips in thought, gazing at Faith again. The things Buffy had said last night when she appeared at the table, they were indicative of her heightened desires. Desires she supposedly felt with Faith. He wondered why Faith seemed better able to control them, or at least not display them so openly.

Was it because of what Faith had said about feeling out of place, alone, and uncomfortable? Was it that Buffy knew she trusted Xander from the get-go, and thus was able to focus more on her sexual desires, whereas Faith was too busy focusing on her own troubling issues?

That seemed likely. He grinned slightly to himself. What might Faith be like if she could work past her demons? Buffy was, despite her new feelings, still fairly naive sexually. Xander knew without a doubt that some of the things he and Anya had experimented with would shock her, although he suspected they would also excite her greatly. He doubted there was much that wouldn’t excite her greatly now.

But Faith was definitely someone who’d known what she enjoyed, and wasn’t afraid to enjoy it.

Of course. He nodded sadly to himself. That was her problem. Not only did she feel she had no right to enjoy things, but she was also afraid of what giving into those feelings might mean. Those feelings, or similar ones anyway, had driven her to the crimes that had scarred her soul. To Faith, it was all a slippery slope.

With a resolute nod, Xander slid off his chair and flicked off the coffee maker. The key, he decided, was to show Faith that she didn’t have to deal with things on her own. To show her that she didn’t have to be alone at all. He glanced at the bedroom, where Anya still slept, and smiled a half-smile. He wondered if his new luck had something to do with why this all seemed to fit so perfectly. Anya would likely be very happy about his idea.

Thinking about Anya made his smile widen. He was looking forward to this.

Xander quietly stepped into the living room, and knelt down beside the couch. Gently, he put his hand on Faith’s arm. She made a soft, “hmm” sound, but didn’t move. He leaned towards her, and cocked his head to look at her face. As much as he loved Anya, as much as Buffy owned a piece of his soul, and as much as Willow’s smile could warm his heart, he didn’t think he’d ever seen a face that was as innocently beautiful as the relaxed face of Faith. It was without a doubt her best feature.

With a quiet smile, Xander kissed her gently on the lips, and then whispered in her ear. “Faith.” He leaned back, staring at her face from inches away, and stroked her hair with his free hand, knowing that she had enjoyed a similar touch the night before. She’d told him so.

“Hmm?” she whined sleepily.

“Good morning,” he said, and kissed her again. This time he let his lips linger, and Faith inhaled slowly through her nose, her head turning back slightly to prolong the kiss. Her tongue poked tentatively between her lips, and he touched the tip with his own.

Faith’s eyes fluttered open, taking a few moments to focus. For half a second, she tensed, and then relaxed as the kiss deepened. Her hand slid up his arm, clutching his bicep, holding him to her. She moaned quietly against him, and her eyes slid closed again.

Finally, after several long moments, Xander pulled back, and lowered his forehead to hers. She looked up at him, her eyes wet.

“Xander?” she breathed in quiet astonishment. “What…Where…” Her eyes flicked around the unfamiliar surroundings as her memory seeped back into her. She exhaled softly, her breath surprisingly sweet after a night’s sleep. “I’m still here.”

She licked her lips and added in a nearly inaudible voice, “It was real.”

Faith looked into his eyes, and they were wide and full of an almost childlike expression of hope. He grinned at her.

“It was,” he assured her. “I thought you might not want to wake up alone.”

“You did?”

“Yeah,” he cupped the side of her face, brushing his thumb gently across her cheek. She sunk against his hand, rolling her head into the touch. “I’ve been thinking about you.”

“I’ve been thinking about you,” she admitted. He was impressed at how she kept her eyes on his; almost defiantly proving she could say the words.

“Can I tell you what I was thinking first?”

“You can do anything you want,” she whispered, more a granting of permission than a statement of fact.

“Is it okay if what I want is what you want?” he asked with a sly grin.

“What do you mean?”

“Scoot over,” he said, getting off his knees and sitting on the edge of the couch. Faith pulled her legs up underneath the blanket so he had room, and curled up on one side. Xander sat at the other side, and frowned at her. He offered his hand. “Not that far.”

Faith stared at him for a moment before she reached out, taking his hand. He pulled her gently to his side, and put his arm around her. She tensed for the briefest of moments, and then relaxed against him.

“Do you like this?” he asked.

“It scares me,” she said in a small voice.

“Because you like it?”

“Yes.”

“This isn’t an order,” he said. “But you don’t have to be scared, Faith. I want you to be with us, you don’t have to be alone anymore.”

Faith closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest. “That’s what you’ve been thinking about?”

“Yeah. I’m worried about you.”

“You don’t even know me,” she whispered, her heart breaking because it was true.

“You think so?” he said, an almost arrogant tone coming to his voice. “I’ve seen you at your best, Faith. I’ve seen you at your worst. I see you struggling to be more than you were, and I see you reaching out for someone to help you.”

He sighed and leaned his head back. “So do you know what I was thinking?”

“No.”

“You have a place here. For as long as you want it. With me, with Anya, maybe even with Buffy too. Reward or not, I’ve decided that you’re stuck with me.”

“You decided?” she murmured, close to falling asleep again as she lay against his chest.

“Yeah. I thought I should get used to doing that, seeing as how I’m the boss of two Slayers now,” he said with a grin. Then he cleared his throat. “I mean, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. But I kind of thought you did.”

“Stay here?”

“Well, with me. Us. Maybe not here, but always with us.”

“With Anya?”

“Oh yeah. She’s real impressed with you. She might try and weasel you into being a full-time cleaning lady or something, but that’s between you guys.” He squeezed her gently, and Faith let out the tiniest little moan of contentment. “In all seriousness, I think she’s really intrigued by you. You guys are a lot alike. You’re both, you know, atoning.”

“Yeah,” Faith whispered, the darkness returning. Xander frowned, and bent his head forward to whisper in her ear.

“I love her,” he said. “She killed people, Faith. And I love her. Think about it.”

Her eyes opened, and she turned her head to his. “You do?”

“I do,” he said, nodding seriously. “Maybe that makes me a bad person. I dunno. But I forgave her, Faith, and watched her become a better person. It can be done.”

“I want to,” she said suddenly, her arms going around him, clutching him almost desperately. “I do.”

“Then you will. And we’ll help. I promise.”

“I can really stay?”

“On one condition.”

Faith paused. She took a deep breath. “What?”

“Be happy sometimes. Oh, and-and if you aren’t happy, tell me. Okay? Cause I’m great at cheering up unhappy Slayers.”

She smiled softly. “That’s two conditions.”

“What are you, a lawyer?” He demanded in mock outrage. “Fine! Two conditions.” He nudged her arm gently. “So what do you say? You want on the Xandyer train? That’s Xander and Anya mushed together, by the way.”

“You mean I’d be like…with you?”

“Yeah. I guess so. I mean, sort of like how you are now anyway, but in an official capacity.”

Faith swallowed. “You mean,” she licked her lips. “Your slave.”

“Maybe,” he said, carefully. This was uncomfortable territory for him, but he knew from Buffy that Faith might not necessarily feel the same way. “How would you feel about b-belonging to me and Anya? We’d be boyfriend and girlfriend, and you’d be the girl we drove delirious with orgasms as often as we could. Not so much a slave as a, uh, a…” he swallowed. “A love slave.”

Faith looked up at him through thick eyelashes. “You don’t sound so sure.”

“I’m new at this,” he said with a grin. “And if you don’t want that, you could just kind of be…I dunno. What do you call the girl that lives with you and your girlfriend but is constantly having sex with both of them thanks to a magic spell?”

“Lucky,” Faith said with a grin and a waggling of her eyebrows. Xander blinked at her.

“Faith…did you just make a joke?”

Her grin widened. “I think I did.”

“Does that mean you’re feeling better?”

The smile faded to a slightly sad one, but she nodded. “Yeah. A little, I think.”

“I’m glad,” he said, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Do you want to think about it?”

“About what?”

“About being, uh…lucky?”

“I don’t have to,” she whispered. “I was thinking about it all night. I-I feel safe with you, Xander. I feel so free when you’re, um, in control. Like I know I can’t mess up, because you’d be there to stop me if I did.” She lowered her eyes for a moment before looking back up at him. “I want to be lucky. A- a lucky slave.”

Xander smiled, and hugged her to him. Faith settled against his body, letting herself relax. She was still tired, and was soon dozing against him. The feel of her warmed him. She made him feel good, in the way that Anya’s love made him feel good or Buffy’s exuberant nature made him feel good.

If he wasn’t being honest, he’d say it had taken a day for her to join the others in the upper echelon of people he cared about. But the truth was that his caring for her had been laid down the night he’d first made love to her, and had been waiting beneath the surface for a chance to break free. Sitting with her with his arms around her felt important, like they were forging a bond that had come so close to solidifying two years ago.

Xander shifted, moving his body so he lay lengthwise across the couch. Faith snuggled against him, lying with her back against his chest, his arms around her middle. Her soft and dainty hands rested on his, and she breathed deeply and evenly as she dozed. Xander kissed her neck, and she hunched her shoulders in an adorable show of ticklishness.

“Welcome to the family,” he whispered.

Then, for the first time, he spoke aloud the words he’d thought in regards to every one of the people he considered his family. To each he’d made a silent promise, never daring to say them out loud. Never before had he felt he had any right to do so. Now, however, his position was changed. Not only was he Xander, best friend, comfortador and sometime demon fighter. Now he was also Xander, supernaturally lucky owner of the two girls in all the world with the power to fight against the forces of darkness. Now he had two reasons to speak the words that had always filled his heart whenever he thought of his family. From Buffy to Willow, from Giles to Oz, from Faith to Anya and everyone in between. For the first time, he told one of them.

“I’ll take care of you,” he said, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek against Faith’s, embracing as much of her as he could. “I promise.”

As Faith closed her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek, Xander smiled, and marveled at the wonderful feeling of beauty that filled his heart. It made him wonder why he’d been so afraid to say it out loud in the past.

He knew that from then on, he wouldn’t fear it at all. He would take good care of all of them, and he was determined that they would know it.

For Anya, sleeping was often the most difficult thing for her to adjust to as a mortal. It seemed that when she was in bed in the dark quiet of night, she was hyper-aware of her human-ness. The beat of her heart, the soft intake of breath, and the simple aches and pains that came from the average day of activity, all of these things served to remind her that she was a mortal, and that she was doomed.

In the first month of her existence as a mortal, she’d rarely gotten any sleep at all, which had not helped her state of mind. When she was a demon she had no need for sleep, and had forgotten what pain could be. Her stubborn refusal to sleep once returned to mortality had given her some very scary nights where her fallible human mind would play tricks on her.

That had changed once she became Xander’s girlfriend, and she wasn’t quite sure how it had occured. It just so happened that one night when she was struggling not to focus on the slow deterioration of her body she rolled over, putting her arm around Xander’s middle in some instinctive grasp for comfort. Then, lying there in the dark with her head against his chest and her arm around his middle, she’d heard his heartbeat.

It was slow and steady, a gentle rhythm that had, before she knew it, lulled her to the best night’s sleep she’d had in over a thousand years. It was the night she began to wonder if being mortal wasn’t so bad after all. It was the night she started to think she loved the silly human who gave her orgasms, made her smile, and calmed her fears.

She and Xander were a team, each working to help the other overcome their fears and be what they could be. She’d supported him during his darkest times, assuring him he would make something of his life, promising him she’d love him no matter where he lived, where he worked, or what he was.

In return, he held her at night, and made her forget that she was dying. He helped her understand the culture of humanity, the culture of America, and the culture of Sunnydale. Xander showed her that her body could give just as much pleasure as it could pain, and he’d accepted her when she was completely alone in the world.

So it was that Anya rolled over, extending her arm to put it over Xander, to calm the brief uprising of fear that sometimes gripped her as she slept. Her arm touched only blankets, and she frowned in her half-sleep.

Then she felt his weight sink onto the bed, and could make out the shadow of his movement beneath her closed eyelids. She fluttered them open, and smiled at him. The smell of his shaving cream was evident on his face as he smiled at her, his face inches from hers.

“Hey,” he said, and showed her the smile that made her wish to kiss him. Since there was no reason not to, she did, and smiled dreamily back at him.

“Hi.”

“You sleepy?” he asked, grinning at her and bouncing slightly on the mattress. He was excited about something. She liked it when Xander was excited about things, because she very often got excited over things that were everyday events to him. Like the time he showed her how the payphone would give her quarter back if the call didn’t go through, just by pressing the little lever at the top. Anya had squealed in excited glee at this revelation, which Xander seemed to find puzzling, although he’d smiled right along with her as she practiced feeding the quarter in and getting it back.

Still, it made her especially happy when Xander was excited about things, because it meant that no one else would think it strange if she was excited about it too. Anya didn’t worry too much about what others thought about her interests, but she was also doing her best to fit into society, especially with her new goal for financial prosperity. It meant she was doing her best to keep her “abnormal” excitement in private, and just between her and Xander.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I brought you a present.”

Anya sat up quickly. “A present?” She quickly looked around for any telltale boxes covered in colorful paper or ribbons. “Is today another holiday where people I know will give me gifts?”

She was never quite sure when those holidays were coming up. They seemed to happen at random intervals. The only one she knew of was Halloween, which still made her curl her lip in disgust, although the concept of accumulating samples of candy from her neighbors for the simple price of a bag and a costume interested her. It was a confusing holiday nonetheless, because only children could work as candy collectors, despite the child-labor laws she’d learned existed.

There were birthdays, which were no less confusing. On her birthday, an arbitrary date that Xander had chosen based on the day she was turned mortal, she was given free goods from most of the people she knew who were informed of the date’s significance. That was a very exciting day, and she was eager to come up with a new date to do it again. Unfortunately, Xander claimed she could only do it once a year, and once chosen, the date must always remain the same.

Other people had birthdays too, but she didn’t like them as much. She was intended to give free goods to other people on those days, which offended her new capitalist sensibilities. She was really losing out in the long run if she had to give a gift to each of the people she knew, only to gain back one gift a year in return. She was hemorrhaging gifts every year, and for a while had tried to convince Xander to have less friends so they wouldn’t have to get them gifts.

But then Xander’s birthday had occured, and suddenly the obligation of getting him something seemed almost more fun than receiving something herself. She particularly enjoyed the part where he tore the paper covering off of the box. That was nice, and she’d changed her mind about birthdays since then.

Except then Christmas occured, which confused her even more. Christmas was Jesus’ birthday, only they didn’t give presents to Jesus. It was a slightly more profitable holiday than birthdays. They bought goods for all their friends, and in turn their friends all gave them goods as well. Except that some of the goods she was given weren’t because of Jesus’ birthday. Some of them were because of candles, which made no sense to her at all. Humans were very strange about their gift giving.

Then there were other holidays as well. There was a day when Xander was supposed to get her flowers and candy, and if he didn’t it meant that he was not in love with her. She was very pleased that he got her not only flowers and candy, but also gave her four very quality orgasms as well. Anya, just to be on the safe side, had given him a jumbo-sized package of Twinkies, unsure if that counted as candy or not. Xander had seemed pleased, however, and made her promise to do the same thing next year.

There was another holiday for Jesus, which seemed unfair since he already had one. Only this time instead of multicolored boxes with goods inside, they were given eggs. Sometimes they were multicolored on the outside, but still just eggs on the inside. Others weren’t actually eggs at all, but chocolate made to look like eggs, which Anya found confusing because eggs were white and chocolate was brown, and who was stupid enough to be fooled by a chocolate egg?

To make matters worse, there were bunnies involved. Bunnies were everywhere during the time leading up to Jesus’ second holiday. They stared at her from store windows, they showed up in television commercials, and she often saw stuffed bunny cadavers held by small children. Anya definitely didn’t like Jesus’ second holiday as much as his first one.

“Is it another Jesus day?” Anya asked, swallowing nervously and making sure there were no bunnies waiting to spring out at her.

Xander grinned and kissed her nose. “No, and it’s called Easter.”

“Right,” Anya said, shuddering at the memory. “I don’t like that one.”

“I know, babe,” he said, nodding sympathetically. “But don’t worry, this isn’t a holiday.”

“Oh good,” she sighed. “They’re very confusing.” She sat up straighter. “What’s my present?”

Xander grinned, and touched her on the nose. “Wait right there.” Then he bounced off the bed and stepped out of the room. Anya scratched her head sleepily, and stretched her arms with a yawn. A moment later Xander came back into the room, this time leading Faith in by the hand. She was dressed, for once, in normal clothes, which consisted of one of Xander’s oversized shirts and a borrowed pair of panties from Anya.

Xander stood Faith in front of the bed, and she stood there with one arm at her side, the other firmly grasping Xander’s. He grinned at Anya.

“Notice anything different?” he asked, gesturing to Faith.

“She’s not wearing her collar or cuffs,” Anya said.

“No, not that. I mean, yeah, I guess that’s different, but look!”

Anya squinted at Faith. There did seem to be something different. A slow smile spread on Anya’s face, and for a moment she was unsure why. Then she followed Xander’s eyes, and realized.

“She’s smiling.”

“Exactly!” Xander beamed.

“What does this have to do with my present?” Anya wasn’t sure why they were beating around the bush when there were goods to be exchanged.

“She is the present,” Xander said, putting his arm around Faith’s waist. He whispered something in her ear, and Faith’s smile turned dazzling. Suddenly Xander flung himself forward, and Anya squealed as he bounced onto the bed beside her. He took his position on his side of the bed, and Anya gave him a puzzled look. “You wanted to keep her, right?”

Anya looked from Xander on the bed to Faith standing at its foot. “Yes. I think it would be very exciting.”

“Well today’s your lucky day.” He glanced down at Faith, and then patted the slim space between Anya and himself. “Come on, you know you want to.”

Faith looked for a moment like she might laugh or cry. Anya spoke up.

“Yes, come enjoy the squeezing bodies. It’s very comforting, and many times leads to sex.”

Xander held his hand out in invitation, and Faith nodded silently. She knelt onto the bed, and took one half-crawl forward before taking Xander’s hand. With a mischievous gleam in his eyes, Xander tugged her sleight frame towards him, Slayer strength being no match for superior leverage. Faith gave a surprised yelp and bounced down between them.

Anya smiled and leaned back against her pillows, and rolled over slightly to put her arm around Faith. The other girl was very soft, a fact Anya had learned yesterday. She smelled very nice as well, a certain feminine scent that was an interesting counterpart to Xander’s masculine odor.

“You have a very good smell,” Anya said, inhaling at the crook of Faith’s neck. Faith squirmed slightly, and shut her eyes with a brief moan when Xander took a sniff at the other side of her neck as well. He made a brief sound of approval before putting his arm around Faith’s taut stomach, sliding across Anya’s arm as well. He gripped her forearm lightly, and Anya smiled at him from the other side of Faith.

“Does this mean Faith is your, I mean our, um,” she tried to think of a proper term. Girlfriend didn’t fit, because Anya was the girlfriend. She recalled some of the terms she’d learned when investigating lesbianism on the Internet to better understand Xander’s best friend. “Our subservient life partner?”

Faith spoke up for the first time. “Life?”

Xander ignored her incredulous question, and answered Anya’s instead. “If she wants to. The subservient part is, uh, kind of up to the magic as much as any of us, but one way or another, I think she should stick with us. What do you think?”

Anya nodded in agreement. “Oh yes. It’s clear that we’re a good influence on her. She hasn’t murdered anyone since she’s been here.”

Xander whapped her in the face with a pillow, causing Anya to sputter playfully and try to smack his chest. “Hey!”

“You didn’t murder anyone either,” Xander pointed out with a reproving look. Anya frowned, a cold feeling washing over her. She glared at him. “Not so nice to bring up, is it?” he whispered. Anya’s frown melted away, and she understood. Putting her elbow against her pillows, Anya propped her head up and looked at Faith.

“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t want to start our new relationship dynamic on the wrong foot.”

“It’s cool,” Faith shrugged, not looking at either one of them. Anya nodded knowingly.

“Oh, I understand. You wish to keep up the pretense of aloofness. I read about that in one of my books.”

“No, I just—”

Anya shushed her, and put her head back down before snuggling against her. “Quiet please.” She put her head against Faith’s bosom, noting that the other girl’s breasts were slightly larger than her own. When Buffy inevitably joined their relationship as well, Anya would be able to compare and contrast and find out if she enjoyed large breasts or small ones. For now, large ones seemed very enjoyable, not to mention comfortable.

“What are you doing?” Faith asked, looking down at Anya, who had her arms around Faith and was resting her head against Faith’s chest.

“Practicing,” Anya said, closing her eyes and imagining that she was sleeping. “You may sleep in our bed, and I want to know if your heartbeat is scary.”

Faith looked to Xander. “Scary?”

“She’s got a whole heart thing,” he said, smiling at Faith. “Her own kind of freaks her out, but she likes listening to mine.”

“I can’t hear it with you two making noise,” Anya huffed, shifting against Faith.

“Sorry,” Faith whispered. Xander grinned at her, and let his head rest beside hers, staring at the side of her face. He kissed her cheek gently, and whispered in her ear.

“Thanks for making a weird relationship weirder,” he said. “Welcome to the family.”

Growling, Anya sat back up. “This isn’t working.” She looked down at Faith. “Could you take your shirt off? Xander sleeps shirtless a lot.”

Licking her lips, Faith nodded. She reached down slowly, and pulled the oversized shirt over her head. Xander hissed an inward breath at the sight of her bare breasts. Anya noted with some interest that the rings were gone. Shrugging, she reached out and tweaked Faith’s right nipple hard.

Faith gasped, back arching as she cried out. Xander sat up quickly.

“Whoa! What was that for?”

Anya frowned at him. “For doing what I asked,” she said. “That’s what you’re supposed to do with a submissive partner. Reward them when they obey you.”

Faith was breathing heavily now, coming down from the sensation of the unexpected assault.

“And then they’re supposed to thank you,” Anya said, looking down at Faith. The Slayer’s eyes looked dreamily up at her.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Holy shit.”

“Oh,” Xander said slowly. “Right. A good hurt, right?” He swallowed. “I kind of forgot.”

“Hella good,” Faith replied, her eyes sliding closed.

“I’ll remember this time,” Xander assured them both.

“Just for her,” Anya said. “I don’t enjoy pain like Buffy and Faith.” With that she lay back down, and nestled her head between Faith’s breasts. They were warm and soft, like two comforting pillows. She could hear Faith’s heavy breathing much louder now, but as it calmed down, she could make out the steady thumping of her heart.

It was strong and actually louder than Xander’s usually was. The heart of a Slayer. Anya suddenly felt a stab of panic grip her. Slayers never lived past twenty-five. Faith would die long before Anya ever did! The dark fear of her own mortality that Anya faced every day, Faith must have felt it to a greater degree.

She suddenly felt very sad for Buffy and Faith. Suddenly felt very afraid for them. They would have, at best, only five more years. They could both be dead tomorrow.

Tears stung her eyes, and Anya sniffed. She squeezed Faith tighter, feeling the strength and the life of the Slayer. Her tears turned to a brief, embarassed sob as Xander put his arm around the two of them, gently rubbing Anya’s back.

“What, what’s wrong?” Faith asked in horror. She was not used to someone hugging her and crying, and definitely not when she was topless in their bed.

“You’re a Slayer,” Anya said, weeping quietly. “I shouldn’t have become attached to you, because you’re going to die and then we won’t be able to do things together and then later I’ll die too!”

The heartbeat remained steady. Slow and strong, never wavering. Anya’s body wracked with sobs as she clung to Faith. Xander moved quickly over them, onto Anya’s other side, and held her from behind. Her sobs grew louder, fueled by her own anger at her inability to control the awful feelings that being a mortal instilled within her.

“It’s okay, Ahn,” Xander whispered. “It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t okay, and she felt miserable. Her body curled up into the fetal position, her legs entwining with Faith’s. Xander’s arms went around her stomach, and she felt worse even as he comforted her.

“It’s not fair. It’s not enough time. I don’t want you to go away. You’re very soft and you smell nice and you give good orgasms.”

Xander kissed her behind the ear, and she sniffed. “That’s why I love you. You make up your mind quick.”

Anya smiled a little, thinking about her own decision to be with Xander. While there had been a few months between her showing up at his apartment and their date to the prom, it had only taken one encounter with Xander to know she was going to be his girlfriend. It seemed equally inevitable to her that Faith, and likely Buffy, would become important sexual and emotional partners as well.

Except they would die. Then Xander would die, because men died before women. Then Anya would be alone, and she would die too, and nobody would want to give her orgasms because she would be old and wrinkly and she would be crying all the time because Xander and Faith and Buffy and everyone else was dead.

Faith’s heart beat steadily on without a pause, without a flutter, without losing its perfect beat even once. It was strong and proud. She couldn’t imagine it ever halting. Beat. Beat. Beat. Beat. It just kept going.

The Slayer was warm and alive, full of strength yet more vulnerable than anyone Anya had met since becoming mortal. Was she scared like Anya was scared? And if so, how did her heart maintain that steady beat?

“I-It’ll be okay,” Faith said awkwardly. She gently patted Anya’s back and tentatively kissed the top of her head. Xander and Faith surrounded her, holding her close. Anya sniffed, and looked up at Faith. “We’ll do like you said. Um, maximize efficiency.”

Anya blinked at her, and her soft crying halted. She took a deep breath. Yes. Yes, she had to remember her plans, and her plans were to get everything she could out of the time she had left. Faith had even less time, so it meant that Anya would have to be extra dutiful in helping the Slayer experience happy things.

“Yeah,” Anya said, nodding as she stared up at Faith’s dark eyes. “And-And maybe we could help you not die.”

Faith grinned a little. “Could be.”

“No,” Anya said, shaking her head and dismissing Faith’s lack of a resolute response. “We will. We’ll take care of you.” She tried to turn her head back to Xander, but it was hard to do while she was holding Faith, and she didn’t want to let go. Xander squeezed her gently, and poked his head over hers. Anya kissed him lightly. “Right?”

“There will be taking care of for everyone,” Xander said. “And nobody is allowed to die.”

“Yes, that’s a good rule,” Anya said, smiling a little. Then she remembered something. “We should incorporate Buffy as soon as possible. She needs to have happy naked hugs and promise not to die too.”

“I’ll work on it,” Xander assured her, and kissed her again. Then he turned to Faith, and she seemed surprise when he gave her a quick peck on the lips. The surprise became more acute when Anya stretched her neck and mirrored Xander’s kiss.

“I’m glad we’re keeping you,” Anya said. “I look forward to many bondage games, as well as the enjoyment of sexual punishment and reward systems to promote good behavior.”

Faith turned slightly red, but smiled back down at Anya. “Me too.”

“Me three,” Xander added. And on a whim, he reached over and pinched Faith’s nipple. Faith stiffened and groaned loudly. Xander nudged Anya. “Like that?”

“You should put more force into it,” Anya said, and she slid a hand up Faith’s chest, causing goosebumps to rise along the Slayer’s smooth skin. Anya rolled Faith’s nipple gently as it stiffened. Then she took it between thumb and forefinger. “Like this.”

Faith’s eyes rolled back in her head as Anya tugged hard on her nipple, twisting it slightly as she squeezed it hard. “Oh shit!” When Anya let go, Faith’s arched back relaxed, and she fell back against the bed, panting.

“You see?”

“Yeah,” Xander replied. “Wow.”

“You go call Buffy,” Anya said as she sat up slightly, only to straddle Faith’s supine form. The Slayer lay on her back, her dark hair spread around her head, breathing heavily but appearing to have lost the strength to move. “Then we can have sex until she gets here.”

“And after she gets here?” Xander asked.

“Then we can have more sex after we tell her we’re keeping her too.”

Xander smirked. “Tell her? You mean ask her.”

Anya rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t need to be asked. Besides, she’ll be much more excited if you just tell her. They’re very aroused by being ordered around, isn’t that correct?” This she directed at Faith.

“Yes,” Faith whispered. “Fuck yeah.”

“Good!” Anya said happily, and did her best to recall her research on dirty talk. “In that case, I think you should lick my pussy with your hot and slutty tongue until I cum all over your face. And if you don’t do your best, then Xander will put you over his knee and spank you until you can’t sit down for the rest of the day.”

That was likely impossible, what with Slayer healing, but she was really speaking more for effect than anything else. It seemed to work, because Faith groaned loudly and reached up to pinch her own nipples. Anya grabbed her wrists. “No, only me or Xander can touch those for the rest of the day. Maybe Buffy too, when she gets here.”

Faith stared up at her pleadingly. Xander brought his face to Faith. “Remember how I told you Buffy had been talking me into embracing this?”

Her eyes turned to Xander, wide and expectant. She nodded.

“For the rest of the day, you’re not allowed to touch your nipples,” he ordered. Faith shuddered and groaned.

“Oh god. Oh god.”

“See?” Anya said. “She likes orders. Now go call Buffy and tell her she’s our second concubine.”

Xander raised an eyebrow at her, even as Faith writhed against Anya, hotter now than she’d been even a few moments ago. Anya amused herself by lightly stroking at Faith’s breasts, teasing the other girl, who began to whine pitifully as she rocked her hips.

“Concubine?” Xander asked.

“Or slave. Or pet. Or toy. Whatever you think will excite her the most.”

“After yesterday I think any of that will excite her,” Xander said, sounding a little surprised at his own observation.

“Then say all of it,” Anya remarked, and she slapped Faith’s left breast sharply.

“Yes!” Faith gasped. “Oh shit! Pull them! Fuck!”

Anya obliged, taking both nipples and pulling them straight up. Faith groaned even louder and her hands slid up Anya’s chest, and grabbed at her breasts.

“Gently,” Anya reproved, and was glad to see Faith obey, kneading Anya’s breasts in a very pleasurable way. Anya began to rock against Faith as well, a satisfied smile coming to her lips as she did so. She glanced at Xander. “Hurry and call so you can come back and fuck me.”

“Uh…okay!” Xander said, and quickly sprang off the bed to race to the phone. Anya grinned at him as he left, then turned her attention back to Faith.

“You know what would be fun?” she asked, and paused for a moment to moan as Faith’s fingers brushed against her nipples. “To see if you can eat me to orgasm before Xander returns. And if you don’t, you’ll just have to keep going while he fucks me. Sound good?”

The sound of Faith groaning in ecstasy as Anya pinched her nipples was her only response, but Anya knew the answer was yes. She smiled, and congratulated herself on being Xander’s girlfriend. Clearly, the choice had paid off in more ways than one.

Anya leaned back, spreading her legs as Faith crawled between them. She was determined not to cum until Xander was back. Closing her eyes as she felt the first desperate licks against her lower lips, Anya sighed happily, and began making a mental list of all the things she could do with her boyfriend and their two horny slavegirls.

It was a long list.