Rewards, by M. McGregor

Chapter 18

For Buffy, the morning was shocking her to no end. Not only had Anya completely surprised her both with her caring and with her incredibly enjoyable dominance, but Xander had shown her that he could be every bit the Master she dreamed of him as. Buffy had been so afraid that Xander would never be able to be comfortable as her owner, but the time she’d spent with him that morning was rapidly eradicating that worry.

She’d peed in front of him! That was unlike anything she’d ever done in her life! The shame of it was powerful, but the eroticism of the act was even stronger. Knowing that Xander was watching her during such a private act had her almost cumming right on the spot.

Afterwards, they’d showered together, which had been no less fulfilling. She’d spent a good deal of the shower on her knees, sucking his cock with slow and careful enthusiasm. Her fingers worked furiously at her pussy the entire time, and she’d been unable to stop reflecting on the notion that she was on her knees with Xander’s cock in her mouth.

Blowjobs had never been something she was that interested in giving. With Riley, she performed them infrequently, and usually during foreplay. To her, oral sex was a special treat, or something only to be done when feeling particularly adventurous.

Well she was feeling particularly adventurous these days. Compared to what she’d done or had done to her in the last few days, giving a blowjob in the shower could hardly make the list. Having her pussy pounded by Xander’s girlfriend with a store-bought cucumber or getting fucked while hanging from her wrists in the magic shop’s back room kind of made a blowjob seem tame in comparison.

Except that really, it hadn’t felt tame at all. It had been thrilling in the extreme. Every aspect of it was exciting. The strange feel of Xander’s cock in her mouth, the way his fingers gripped her hair without realizing it, the little moans or grunts of approval he made, and the unyielding hardness of the shower floor against her knees, all of these things served to make the experience that much brighter.

She’d taken her time of it, slowly licking up and down the length of him several times. The first time she engulfed the head, she’d covered the rim of that bulbous head with her lips and pressed her tongue against the underside, tasting him like she was sucking on a Popsicle. He’d groaned beautifully then, and she’d matched that groan with a high whimper of pleasure as she stuffed three fingers into her soaked pussy.

Her fingers sawed back and forth in time with her increasingly rapid bobs up and down his shaft. She took her time of it, luxuriating in the aching eroticism of the act. Buffy found herself savoring the taste and feel of him. She did her best to be touching as much of him with her tongue as was possible, filling her mouth with Xander’s cock.

Xander’s fingers tightened their grip on her hair, and soon he was pushing her down the length of him, pressing against the back of her throat. The wild insistence of it drove her wild, and she encouraged it further by gripping his ass cheeks and attempting to impale her throat on his rod.

Soon she was gagging with every thrust, with Xander pulling her head forward with surprising strength. It was ferocious and animalistic, and it was rough like she’d never experienced it before. Gimmel had told her that Xander could get like this, but she never would have believed it.

He was wild for her. He was out of control for her. For those few moments as she blew him, Xander had lost that careful worry about how much she was enjoying herself. Suddenly he was demanding, powerful, and willing to take what she’d been trying to give him.

She was moaning with every thrust. The noise came out as a garbled sound, almost like a choking hiccup, but it made her feel all the more indecent. She was a wanton slut, a cocksucking slave who was there to relieve her master’s pent up dick.

“Ungh, ungh, ungh… Buffy!” Xander suddenly grunted, and for the second time in as many days, she felt the hot spurt of Xander’s cum in her mouth. He held her head as close to him as he could, nearly grinding her face into his pubic hair. She kept her eyes closed, basking in the seductive nature of the entire degrading and oh-so-exciting scenario. Her cheeks bulged as jet after jet of hot spunk flood her mouth.

She held it there, frozen like a statue for as long as she could remain that way. Xander continued to spasm every few moments, releasing more of his cum into her waiting mouth. Every spurt made her moan through her nose, and shove her fingers deeper into her sopping cunt.

Finally, Xander sagged, releasing his hold on her head. Buffy slowly drew back, sucking his cum away with her, holding it in her mouth. Xander groaned and sagged slightly, leaning against one side of the shower.

“Buffy, I—” he began, but trailed off when he saw her kneeling there, cheeks bulging and staring up at him. She waited until he was looking her in the eye, and then she swallowed, slowly and deliberately. It tasted great. It felt ten times better. “Wow.”

She smacked her lips. “Good?”

Xander had been unable to reply. He just nodded, held his hand out, and helped her to her feet.

The rest of the shower was somehow more innocent, although no less sexual. Xander had her wash him from head to toe, and she couldn’t stop from giggling nervously as she went over his body with a soapy washcloth, scrubbing him dutifully. She was sure to leave no stone unturned (or dick un-lifted, as the case may be), despite how it made her ears turn red to do so. Her level of arousal hadn’t ebbed at all the entire time, and by the time she announced Xander squeaky clean, she was desperately hoping for more games.

Instead, Xander told her it was her turn. Exercising his power over her, he had her stand in the shower with her legs spread about two feet apart and her arms held out at her sides. She wasn’t allowed to move as he slowly went over her entire body, using his soapy hands more often than the washcloth. When he got to her aching tits he drove her crazy by ignoring her rings, which screamed to be pulled on.

He soaped her breasts up, and although she couldn’t help but tremble with pleasure at the slick feel of his hands against her nipples, he’d left them alone after that. Her pussy, however, was another story.

“Do you usually shave?” he asked her as his hands dipped down to her slit. It was soaking wet, and not from the shower. It seemed that being moist with arousal was the norm in the last few days, and she could hardly remember a time she wasn’t dripping. His fingers brushed her trim patch of pubic hair.

“Yes,” she breathed, feeling indescribably naughty. She sighed happily when he kissed her just above her belly button.

“I like it,” he told her. “It’s cute.” He patted it gently, and she groaned his name.

He had her show him, after that. Using Anya’s shaving kit, she sat on the edge of the tub with her legs spread wide, and shaved her legs and pussy in front of Xander. He watched with obvious interest, and when she was done, he insisted on helping her to clean off the excess shaving cream. This resulted in him fingering her while she thrashed and held him for support, and soon she was screaming his name as yet another climax overtook her.

Sadly, in her mind anyway, the shower was over after that. When they got out, Xander wrapped them both in big, fluffy towels, and she grinned like an idiot the whole time as he rubbed her down, warming her body and drying her off. She felt so exposed and open to him then, and couldn’t help but give in to her urge to throw her arms around him.

They stood in the steamy bathroom for some time, the both of them wrapped in an oversized towel, her head resting against his chest, naked bodies pressed together.

“This is nice,” Xander said, rubbing her back through the terrycloth.

“Yeah,” she sighed.

“I guess I got a little carried away i—”

“No,” she whispered. “It was amazing.”

He grinned at that. “That’s for sure.”

Buffy smiled and snuggled against him. After a few minutes, Xander spoke.

“This is nice,” he said again. “But we have to stop.”

“Do we have to?” she half-whined.

“Yes.”

“Why?” her bottom lip stuck out in what she knew was a very cute pout, and nearly irresistible to any man she’d ever met.

“Cause I really have to pee,” he said, sounding a little strained. Buffy looked up at him, and then started to giggle. “Oh sure, now you giggle, but when the shoe was on the other foot, you weren’t laughing then, were you?” he snarked good-naturedly.

“Sorry,” she said, trying to hide her mirth. “You’re just cute.”

Xander rolled his eyes. “If all I had to do to get you to see how cute I was is tell you I had to pee, I could have gotten you years ago. I’ve had to pee thousands of times since I first met you.”

She snorted. “You’re so weird.”

He smirked at her, and kissed her forehead. “That’s ‘you’re so weird, sir.’”

Buffy grinned and looked down, mildly surprised when she saw his cock dangling between them. “Sorry, sir.”

“You should be sorry,” Xander teased. “You’re lucky you don’t get a spanking for that.”

“Really?” she asked, too hopeful to remember to try and not sound hopeful.

“Maybe later,” he said, rolling his eyes. He gestured to the door. “You mind? I have some business to take care of.”

Buffy pouted slightly. “I can’t stay?”

“Y-you want to stay?”

She nodded slowly, biting her lip in anticipation. “I’ve never seen a guy… you know.”

That was how she’d found herself on her knees in Xander’s bathroom, staring in abject fascination as he urinated. It was strange in that the sexual excitement in seeing something so private was actually overshadowed by the more peaceful feeling of intimacy she gained in watching him. It meant that she was closer to him than she’d ever been before.

There was the thrill of being there as his dutiful slave girl, watching as her master relieved himself, but there was also the thrill of sharing something with him, even something as strange as that. He’d seen her, and now she had seen him. There was something important in that. There was an acceptance there; a shared moment of intimacy that meant more than just a kinky game. It had her grinning, and finding it hard to stop.

The realization that she was nude, on her knees, and grinning while Xander peed was a very strange one, and she felt a flush of heat surge through her. Xander cleared his throat as he finished, and shook himself a few times before flushing. A few moments later, he turned back to her, and shook his head in amazement.

“I dreamed of a lot of things, Buffy, but I don’t think I ever dreamed about this.”

Her grin remained, but her ears grew redder. She’d had a dream or two like this before, although never with Xander as the main focus. Xander reached down and touched the side of her face. Gently, he brought his hand up, and she rose up along with it, enjoying the quiet feel of subservience this instilled within her. Her eyes met his, and her grin turned into an embarrassed one, but remained strong as ever.

“If I knew you’d look like this in it, I’d have dreamed about it every night,” he said.

“Xander.”

He kissed her lightly on the lips. It was an almost chaste kiss, and the desire to push herself against him was a hard one to fight. His hand rested on the curve of her hip, while the other cupped the side of her face.

“Faith’s going to be a deal breaker for you,” he said, surprising her.

“What?”

“This, what I’m looking at right here, I don’t see this when Faith’s around, Buff.”

She lowered her eyes. Faith. Faith intruding again. Faith ruining another moment for her. Faith sending her crashing back down to a terrible reality. Faith.

“You don’t trust her,” he continued. “That’s why you got upset today?”

“N-not really,” she whispered. “I mean, maybe a little. More than a little.”

“Then why?”

Buffy closed her eyes, and focused on the anger inside. She focused on the pain generated by the things Faith had done to her. Tears stung at her eyes. Her fists curled up into balls. She took a deep breath and then released it.

“I fingered myself in my bathroom last night,” she admitted, unable to quite look at him. The truth was going to spill from her, but she didn’t have to look at him while she said it.

“Tha—”

“I didn’t plan to,” she continued, ignoring his interruption. “I couldn’t help it, Xander. There was this catalog.” Her voice lowered until it was no more than a quiet whisper. “There were girls in it. In bikinis. Dresses. L-lingerie.”

Xander’s brow furrowed, and he looked at her in confusion. “Um, okay. That’s the reward, right? It made you, uh, like that kind of thing. Right?”

She nodded. “I got so turned on by them, Xander. I’ve never really thought like that before. I’ve never… I mean, only once but, it’s new to me. It’s kind of scary.”

“Buff, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let Anya—”

She shook her head and let her eyes open. “No! No, that’s not it. I-I could handle that, Xander. I could like it. Love it, even. Anya, she’s…” She let out a soft sigh. “She’s so sexy. When I touch her, or she touches me, I just get so…”

“Then what’s this got to d—”

“I could handle it if it was Anya,” Buffy said, eyes locked with Xander’s. “I could love it if it was Anya. I thought I could handle how I keep thinking about Willow, and how soft her lips probably are. I thought could handle how much I loved licking Anya’s breasts. I thought could handle how much I loved her s-spanking me.” Her eyes grew wet, and she was having trouble getting out the words, but still they came. Angry and desperate, she could not hold them back. Xander would get the truth, and all of the truth.

“You can’t handle them?” he asked, and the lack of surprise in his voice made her ache.

“I can’t handle her.”

“Faith.”

She nodded. She felt miserable. She felt selfish, petty, angry and self-righteous all at once. She felt desperate.

“I want her,” she whispered.

Xander’s face scrunched up in puzzlement. “What?”

“I want her,” she repeated. “She makes me… God, she makes me so hot, Xander.”

“Faith?”

She nodded again, and had to close her eyes. Tears dripped down her face. “She’s the only girl I ever came close to thinking about before this. Now she’s— She’s so beautiful, Xander. I want to taste her. I want to touch her. I want to— I want to be close to her. I want to hold her and kiss her and be right there with her and with you and with Anya and let it be so incredibly hot and beautiful that I’d never be able to forget it.”

“There’s a but. Right? There’s a but coming up?”

“Yeah.”

“But what?” he asked.

“You love her,” she whispered. It came out as half a sob, surprising even her. “I’m so sorry, Xander. You love her, and I… I hate her. I hate her, Xander. I hate her so much. I hate her, and sometimes I want to do her more than almost anything in the world.”

Her eyes opened, and took in the sight of him. Took in the sight of the only other thing she wanted more. It was a desire that was both as new as the one for Faith and indeed for all women, but somehow old and comfortable as well. It made her hurt all the more inside.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

Xander looked in her eyes for a long time, never saying a word. His eyes searched hers, and she felt she could not look away. Finally, after a longer time than she could gauge, he looked away — down at the floor. His shoulders slumped. He breathed slowly, and closed his eyes.

Buffy remained quiet, even as she felt herself slipping away. She’d been pushing him so hard to accept the reward, and now she was the one who was going to ruin it all. She was the one who was going to be unable to move past her own issues and enjoy herself. Without Faith, she thought she could be happy, truly happy and content in a way that had eluded her for most of her life. If it were just her, Xander, and Anya exploring this strange new lifestyle, it wouldn’t be heartwrencing.

If it were just them, she wouldn’t feel that lurch in her stomach whenever Xander turned from her to pay attention to Faith. If it were just them, she wouldn’t have to bite back that fear and mistrust whenever Faith looked at her. If it was just them, she wouldn’t have to hide her feelings, wouldn’t have to fear letting her worst enemy view her at her most vulnerable. That would be for Xander, for Anya, for people she could trust and put her care into. If it was just them, she could let go, and just enjoy.

Her shower with Xander was, for her, a beautiful experience of intimacy, trust, and exploration. With no Faith, it could always be like that. With Faith, those moments would always be fleeting. They would always be taunting teases that dangled such closeness in front of her, and then snatched it away.

How could she let herself go, let Xander be her control when Faith was around? If she let go, she would give in to those desires, and then…

Faith would find some way to hurt them all. Kill them. Destroy the trust she so desperately needed.

Faith was between her and Angel. It was perhaps the only thing he’d ever truly turned against her on.

Faith was between her and Riley. He’d slept with her, unknowing and unable to see who she’d truly been. Since then, there had always been that doubt, that shadow of pain and mistrust between them. It was unfair, but it was what was there. Faith. In the middle, stealing her trust, shattering her life.

She watched Xander, heart aching as he stood with his shoulders slumped, a sense of desperate defeat rolling off of him. She’d just told him he loved Faith. She wondered if he even knew before that moment.

Buffy knew Xander. She knew he couldn’t ever give up on Faith. Buffy knew the way Xander loved. He loved her like that. Now he loved Faith like that. It meant he could never do what Buffy wished for. He could never set Faith aside. It was all goi—

“Okay,” Xander said suddenly, his head rising. His shoulder drew straight and he looked her in the eye. “You hate her.” He nodded, as if he’d said she hated roast beef. “Let’s see what we can do about that.”

“What do you mean?” Her heart began to beat faster. Did he mean he was going to order her to change her mind? It was a heady thought, dark, frightening, and more than a little thrilling. Xander could just make the decision for her. It was the ultimate in control. “You’re going to… order me?”

“What?” Xander said, sounding genuinely surprised. “No! No, I told you before, I’d never do that to you.”

She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or disappointed.

“I just meant—” he frowned down at her. “Well, look at us, Buffy.”

She did so, looking down at their nude bodies, covered by the thick fluffy towels. It reminded her just how strange it was that she was naked with Xander. That she’d showered with Xander. That she’d done hot, sexy-type things with Xander, and would be doing a whole lot more.

“I’ve got Buffy Summers naked in my apartment,” Xander said. “My girlfriend’s out there right now, and the only thing she’s annoyed about is that she’d have to get her hair wet to be in here with us. It just makes me think… maybe we can figure something out. Too much has changed for this to be what ruins everything.”

“Ruins everything,” she said, half out disbelief and half out of an angry sense of irony. A week ago she would have been very glad to know something would “ruin” her chances at being someone’s sex slave. Now it felt somehow like she really would be giving up something that meant much more to her than she could put into words.

It would be easy to blame it all on Gimmel. He’d given her all these desires. It was because of him that she could still feel the way her bottom tingled with each of Anya’s echoing smacks. It was because of Gimmel that she was staring at lingerie catalogs, unable to take her eyes off the figures within. It was because of Gimmel that she so loved the feel of the rings through her nipples, or the constant pressure of the collar that was so often around her neck.

But was it Gimmel that made her feel suddenly like Buffy again? Was it Gimmel that had made her realize she was becoming more and more “The Slayer” and less and less Buffy Summers? Was it Gimmel that had her feeling so safe, so loved, so cared for as to seem almost like an afterthought?

It couldn’t be. That meant it was real. It meant that somewhere inside of her, this was good, and she wanted to keep it. For once, she had taken the Hellmouth’s lemons and turned them into an Olympic sized swimming pool of lemonade. For once, she felt like everything in her life wasn’t destined to be ruined by who she was, and who she would always be.

This time, when it was ruined, it would be her fault. Her fault, because she could not forgive the person who had taken more from her than perhaps anyone else ever had. That’s how Xander would see it. It’s Buffy’s fault that she can’t forgive Faith, not Faith’s fault for being a liar. A killer. A rapist.

“I can’t help it, Xander,” she whispered, and her eyes stung slightly as she spoke. “I just don’t want to forgive her. I want to want to forgive, but I just don’t. I can’t. I can’t do it, Xander.”

He hugged her tighter, and she squeezed him probably harder than she should have. Suddenly it was a desperate bid on her part to hold on to him, to make him understand that she needed him just as much as Faith did. Faith, all quiet and frightened since her return. Buffy knew Xander. She knew he could never watch a girl do that to herself. It’s why he’d turned his stance around on Faith so quickly.

He would choose Faith, if it came down to it. She could see it in the way they acted. Faith seemed to need him. Maybe it was an act. She wanted to believe it was an act, but it didn’t matter. Xander believed her, and that meant he would go to her if it came down to it. She just knew it.

There was no way to get her to feel anything less than quiet hatred of Faith, not unless Xander ordered her otherwise. That meant they would have to choose. One or the other. Buffy or Faith.

Only he wasn’t allowed to choose. He had to take both. It was so close to being something beautiful. If there’d been no Faith, Buffy believed she might be truly happy at that moment, contemplating a life of exciting exploration, deep trust, and connections on a true and dedicated level.

Instead, she could see nothing but the brilliant glimpses of that life in the moments when she was with Xander alone, all while knowing that Faith was waiting to share it. To taint it.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered again. “I can’t do it. I’m sorry, Xander. I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Xander asked in a quiet voice, secretive and almost teasing. “For the hot sex, or the naked hugging?”

She sniffed and looked up at him. “For hating Faith.”

He gave her a puzzled look. “Buff, you have every right to hate her.”

“I guess.”

“No, seriously. Don’t think I’m getting all judgmental-guy on you about Faith. If you can’t ever forgive her, that’s fine with me. We’ll come up with something, whatever’ll keep you both safe from curse-type-stuff.”

“But you want me to—”

“Yeah, it would be great if you could” he said, and gave her another quick squeeze. “But I know it might not happen, and it’s not like I can blame you. All I’m asking is you give her a chance, Buffy. Maybe you’ll see what I see.”

“What do you see?” she asked in an almost accusatory tone. “A scared little girl? Cause that’s so an act. With all the stuff she’s done, you think she’s scared of some kinky sex?”

He frowned at her. “Is that what you thought she was afraid of? Is that what— Is that what you thought she’s been upset about?”

“Why? What did she tell you?” She crossed her arms over her chest — her bare chest, she realized — and glared at him. The strangeness of the situation was not lost on her. She and Xander were old pros at having some pretty harsh arguments. She just never expected they might happen after she’d sucked his cock and declared herself his sex slave.

Of course, she’d never counted on either of those two things occurring in the first place.

“A lot of things.”

“Whatever she said, it was just what you wanted to hear,” Buffy said, and she felt a little satisfaction that she could say exactly what she thought about Faith. She had to tell Xander the truth, and that meant she didn’t have to hold back. “It’s just like with Angel. She told him what he wanted to hear and then he was suddenly on her side.”

“I’m on your side,” Xander said.

“And then, after less than a year in jail she’s suddenly back and I’m supposed to feel sorry for her?” Buffy shook her head angrily, and had to step away from him. Xander’s hands slipped from around her body as she paced the short length of the bathroom. “She’s a murderer, Xander, and just because she mopes around for a few days I’m supposed to think she’s fine?”

She paused then, and blinked at him. “Wait, what did you say?”

“I said I’m on your side,” he replied, a sullen look on his face. He lowered his towel from around his shoulders and cinched it around his waist.

“But you— you’re in love with her.”

His eyes flicked to hers. An almost guilty look flashed in them. He looked away.

“I’m still on your side.”

“My side is the we-hate-Faith side,” she said, but with less conviction.

“I know.”

“You don’t hate her,” she pointed out. “That kind of negates your Buffy-sidy-ness.”

“Buffy, you’re on the right side, okay? You’re right. You’re not doing anything wrong. You’re not doing anything even remotely approaching unfair. What I’m asking, what I’m looking for, it’s way beyond anything pretty much anyone should expect.”

“I can’t do it. I can’t do it, Xander. I can never tolerate her. I can never forgive her. I can never like her. I can never trust her. I ju—”

“What if you could? Trust her, I mean.”

“I can’t!”

“Before the reward, did you ever fantasize about Willow after you found out she was a lesbian?”

Buffy cocked her head slightly in confusion. “What? No! What are you—”

“Hold on, I just want to show you something. Um, have you ever… No, that’s not… Oh, okay. Um, were you attracted to me when I was the Hyena?”

“Yes,” she said, eyes widening. She slapped her hand back over her mouth. Xander blinked.

“Really?”

Her head bobbed up and down as a muffled “Yes!” came from between her hands.

“Wow,” Xander said, looking stunned. “That’s, uh, I mean, I don’t remember anything about that, but I always… Wow.” He took a deep breath, and then focused on her again. “Oh, okay, so, did you ever like, touch yourself, and think about that time?”

Her eyes were so wide she thought she might never be able to close them. Unable to help herself, Buffy whimpered another affirmative through her clamped mouth, and nodded several times. What was he doing? Besides making her burn from shame and lust.

“I’ll bet you never wanted to tell anyone that. Especially me.”

She nodded again.

“But you had to, right?”

Another nod.

“Because I told you to tell me the truth, Buffy, and you can’t disobey that order. Well guess what?”

“What?” she asked from beneath her hand.

“Neither will Faith.”

Xander had no idea if this would actually work, but it was all he could think of to do. Anya’d seen that Faith and Buffy was a real issue, and he was now very aware of that fact as well. There was a kind of forlorn atmosphere in the apartment ever since the reward began. He’d assumed it was Faith and Buffy’s reaction to finding themselves as hyper-kinky sex slaves. How was he to know that they’d both apparently be just fine with that, but couldn’t deal with having to actually be close to each other?

Faith looked very sleepy as she stood in the middle of the living room, teetering on the five-inch pink heels with the fluffy pink fur on top that had appeared on her feet after he’d woken her up. Aside from the thick collar around her neck, the rings through her nipples, and the cuffs on her wrists, she wore nothing else. She seemed a little too sleepy to care about her nudity, or perhaps was just used to it after the last few days.

Buffy was dressed to match, and stood beside Faith with a nervous look on her face. Xander gave her a reassuring smile, and then clapped his hands together.

“Okay. Uh, first things first.” He looked at Faith. “You’re awake and alert.”

Faith blinked, and stood up straight. “Whoa.”

Anya, sitting on the couch with her legs crossed while she watched the proceedings, made an impressed noise. Faith blinked rapidly a few times and looked around, then down at herself. She gave Buffy a quick look, and then turned away before humming three soft notes. Xander frowned a little, while Buffy looked confused.

“Okay,” Xander said. “Since you guys both, uh, you know, decided to stick with this whole slave thing, it’s kind of up to me to figure out what to do here.” He gestured between them. “Obviously you guys aren’t best buddies or anything.”

Faith shrugged morosely, and Buffy just stared at Xander.

“And if this is going to work without us all being miserable, you’re going to have to get past that.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Could be it’s not something you can get past. I don’t know. This could be blood-pact till-the-end-of-time kind of stuff here. I uh, I kind of hope that’s not true. If it is, well then this can’t hurt. If it’s not…”

He upturned his palms and shrugged exaggeratedly. “Who knows?”

“What are you going to do?” Anya asked.

“For starters?” He looked between the two Slayers. “Well, we keep saying this is about trust, right?”

Both girls nodded apprehensively.

“Well, Buffy, from now on, you can’t lie to Faith. You’ll always tell her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And Faith? You can’t lie to Buffy. You’ll always tell her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

“What about me?” Anya said. “It’s not fair if I’m the only one who can be lied to.”

Xander thought about that for a second. “Okay. Unless either of you have a major reason why I shouldn’t.”

They both shook their heads, speechless.

“All right. The both of you can’t lie to Anya. You have to tell her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but truth.” He paused for a moment, and then added, “When she asks you a direct question. Matter of fact, the same goes for me too. If Anya or I say, uh, I dunno, ‘Slave, answer me this:’ then you have to tell us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Other than that, you just have to be fairly truthful with us, but you can keep a secret if you really want to.”

“What?” Buffy asked, a little disappointed. She enjoyed her complete inability to lie to Xander about even the most trivial of things. “B-but I liked that.”

“Don’t worry, you still have to be totally truthful with Faith all the time, and the same for her to you.”

“Why?” Faith asked.

“Because that’s the only way you guys are ever going to trust each other. At least, I hope you’ll learn to trust each other. You don’t have to assume what the other is doing or why anymore. If you ask them, they’ll tell you.”

Faith paled, and hummed her three notes again. Anya got off the couch and gave a bewildered Faith a quick hug and a gentle kiss against the side of her head. Anya smiled cheerfully until she noticed Buffy’s confused expression, along with the mild look of envy in her eyes, and put her other arm around Buffy’s shoulders, pulling both Slayers into a tight hug. She looked to Xander. “So are they all fixed now?”

“Not quite.”

“Oh. Can we have more sex at least?”

“Actually, I think I need to go talk to Giles.”

“What for?” Buffy asked, who seemed a little embarassed at being hugged by Anya.

“Nothing big. Probably just this luck thing I’ve got going on, but I want to make sure. You wanna come down to the shop with me, Ahn?”

“I was hoping to stay here and have Buffy repay her orgasm debt,” Anya pouted.

“There’ll be time for that later. For now I want Buffy and Faith to spend some time together. Alone.”

Buffy paled. Faith remained utterly silent; save for the almost inaudible three-note melody that she hummed. Buffy tried to step away from Faith, but couldn’t without forcing her way free from Anya’s hug. “You want us to… sex?”

“No,” Xander said, rolling his eyes. Then he thought about it for a second. “Well, yeah, but that’s just on account of the hotness. No, I want you guys to talk, that’s all. In fact, I order you guys to stay in the living room while we’re gone, except for bathroom breaks or emergencies. And you each have to actually talk to each other about stuff that matters.”

Buffy bit her bottom lip, and Xander was sure she was weighing her enjoyment at being ordered to her annoyance at being forced to spend time with Faith. Finally, she just nodded slightly.

“Good. So, Ahn, you coming?”

“Fine, but there better be time for Buffy to eat my pussy when we get home. I worked very hard at her spanking and fucking, and it’s really not fair if I don’t get any orgasms in return.”

This had the effect of turning Buffy crimson, while Faith’s mouth dropped open in quiet surprise.

Xander grinned and took his girlfriend by the hand. “Let’s get going then. Oh, and no violence, okay?”

Faith nodded seriously. Buffy added a grim nod of her own. Then, just as he was about to close the door behind him, Xander popped his head back into the room.

“Oh, by the way,” he said, looking from Buffy to Faith and back again. A mischievous grin spread on his face. “The more you guys tell each other the truth, the hornier you get. Bye!”

Then he pulled the door closed behind him, and turned to Anya. She gave him a frowning look. “Do you really think that will work?”

“I dunno,” Xander said, grinning as he put his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders. “Maybe.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “If I’m lucky.”