Challenge 2 - Unconventional Bonds

[Deleted]

Woo! This is my first fic challenge ever, so I hope everyone likes it! This challenge is all about the unconventional couples in fandom. I want you to take two characters that we never saw have an official onscreen relationship, but that you think have chemistry, and write your fic around that. Maybe it’s the start of their relationship, maybe it’s somewhere in the middle. It’s up to you.

Examples: Faith and Xander, Clem and Dawn, Fred and Angel, Mal and Zoey
Non-examples: Oz and Willow, Xander and Cordy, Fred and Gunn

Word Limit: no more than 2,000 words
Entries: no more than 2 (You must write a different couple in each entry.)
Deadline: March 12
Awards: I’ll have the standard 1st, 2nd, and 3rd with pretty awards that you can show off on your website, LJ, etc. I’ll also have an award for the most unconventional couple.
Fandoms Allowed: Buffy, Angel, Firefly…I’m willing to allow other TV fandoms, but only if I’ve seen the show. If you’d like to write a piece based on another show, just PM me and I’ll let you know if it’s okay or not.
Special Requirements: Nothing rated R or higher.

If you have any questions or concerns about the challenge, send me a PM.

I'm looking forward to reading some great pieces!

[shred]

Title: "Been There All Along"
Setting: Season 7
Pairing: Buffy/Xander
Rating: PG
Beta: None so beware of spelling and grammar mistakes!
Author's Notes: BtVS does not belong to me, yada, yada, yada. You know the drill.

~*~

Look, I don't need you to protect me.

Xander adjusted his eye-patch before rapping softly on the door in front of him. Almost immediately, a response came from the occupant inside, her voice muffled by the wooden door.

Xander placed his hand on the doorknob, hesitated for just a second before twisting it open. He popped his head in. “Hey.”

The room was dimly lit. The only source of light came from a small table lamp beside the double bed. Buffy was standing near the window of her room with her back towards him. The lacy curtains fluttered a little, allowing brief moments of moonlight to stream through. The moonlight hit Buffy’s profile, lighting her up in ways the sunlight couldn’t.

Come to think of it, it was hard to remember what Buffy looked like in the sunlight anymore. She needs to get out more – during the day especially.

The Slayer’s gaze flickered over to Xander as he ventured further into the room. A smile split her face and she cocked her head questioningly. “What’s up?”

Xander shrugged. “Nothing. I haven’t seen you around the house the whole day so I thought I drop by and see whether you’re still breathing.”

“I’m breathing. I just needed some time alone.”

Xander nodded in understanding. “Big day coming and all…”

“Yeah.” Buffy’s voice dropped to a whisper and Xander almost didn’t catch her. She wrapped her arms around her body and hugged herself, turning back towards the window.

Xander shifted awkwardly. “Well…I guess…I should…” He jerked his thumb towards the door. “Go.” He turned around and started towards to the exit.

“I got hurt, but I'm not done. I can still fight.”[/i]

Xander paused at the door – his hand hovering above the doorknob, his right foot just about to cross the threshold. He looked over his shoulder at the Slayer. “Buffy?”

Buffy looked at him again. There was surprise in the arch of her brow.

“I meant what I said, you know,” he continued. “I’m with you all the way.”

She lowered her gaze, looking as if she was ashamed of herself. “I know…”

“But?” Xander prodded.

“But I don’t want anyone else to get hurt anymore.”

Xander cringed at the sadness in the Slayer’s voice. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. What was he suppose to say? He can’t exactly promise her that no one would get hurt anymore. He was trying to cut back on his lying.

Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he slowly made his way towards the window. He stood beside his best friend, gazing out into the dark night.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said after a moment of silence. “It was just…bad luck.”

He could feel the daggers that Buffy shot with her eyes piercing into his right shoulder. “Bad luck is when you don’t win the lottery or when you lose your wallet, Xander,” Buffy said angrily. “Getting your eye poked out by a maniac preacher isn’t.”

Xander looked at her with a small smile. He reached out and took Buffy’s hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. “But it’s still not your fault. And trust me, I’m ok.”

I know. That's why I need you to do this. Xander, I need someone that I can count on no matter what happens.

Buffy nodded silently. Her eyes started to water and Xander pulled her into a hug. She fell into his embrace, her strong arms wrapping around him snugly. He placed his hand on the small of her back and other the across her shoulder. He held on tight.

As they settled into the hug, Xander took in a deep breath, the scent of her shampoo overwhelming him. The vanilla smell reminded him of the many times he lay on his bed at night thinking of how her hair smelt. That was when they were back high school. It seems like a lifetime ago. So many things happened since then. Angel, Anya, Riley…

…but her smell – it was still the same. After all this time, it still smelt like the girl he knew back in high school.

The girl he fell in love with.

Oh Buffy…I wish I could protect you forever. Just like how you have protected me.

“We’ll get through this.” Xander heard Buffy say against his shoulder.

Xander couldn’t help but chuckle. “Shouldn’t I be saying that?”

Buffy pulled away slightly and gazed up at him. Her face was wet with tears and her lips were trembling slightly.

“You’ve said it too many times, Xander,” she said. “Now it’s my turn.”

“You have to stop doing that.”

Buffy frowned. “Doing what?”

“Taking care of me. You have to let someone take care of you for a change, you know.”

Buffy smiled softly. “I know.

I just always thought that I would... I would be there with you... you know, for the end. I should be at your side. That's all I'm saying.[/b]

“Buffy, I’m serious. I hate it if anything happened to you – again. The last time…it was hard.”

Buffy’s grin faltered. She disentangled herself from him and moved away. Xander suddenly felt empty. He had his hands around her and now they were grasping air. The vanilla scent dissipated and all was left was the faint smell of bleach from the sheets on her bed.

Buffy went to her bed and sat on the edge. “I know,” she replied softly. She crammed her hands under her thighs and averted her eyes. “I’ll make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Xander shook his head hard. So hard, he was sure his head would go flying to the other side of the room. He could almost picture the whole thing happening. Pushing the thought out of his mind, he went to Buffy and knelt down in front of her. “No,” he told her.

Her brow creased. “No?”

“I’ll make sure that that doesn’t happen. Let me take care of you. It’s my turn.”

“Xander…” Buffy started, giving her head a slight shake.

Xander reached out and took hold of the Slayer’s shoulders. His gaze bored into hers. “I’m serious, Buff.”

Buffy nodded. She didn’t look like she could speak. “Ok,” she finally uttered.

“Ok.” For the first time since the day he resuscitated her, he felt like the friend he should be. Like the friend who is always by her side, fighting. Like the friend who made sure that she doesn’t jump off man-made towers and cause the world around him come crashing down.

“I love you, Xander,” Buffy said.

“I love you too.” He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her forehead. He was about to pull away when Buffy draped an arm around his neck and lifted herself up to his lips.

They stood up.

Their lips met.

You will be. You're my strength, Xander. You're the reason I made it this far. I trust you with my life. That's why I need you to do this for me.

Buffy’s lips brushed against his. Xander’s mind started to whirl. He wasn’t sure what was happening. Was he dreaming? Was he under some sort of a spell? Was Buffy under some sort of spell?

The kiss deepened. Xander slipped his hand around Buffy’s small waist and pressed her close against his body. He felt her fingers weaved through his hair and her other hand holding his neck in place.

Xander was trap in this position but, really, he didn’t mind one bit.

The kiss grew more intense. Sparks of electricity shot down Xander’s body, causing it to tingle in many, many places.

Buffy…

Then as if a switch for their senses were flipped on, the two of them jumped apart. Buffy stared at Xander in shock – her eyes were as round as saucers and her jaw hung slightly open with her fingers touching her lips. Xander was sure he mirrored her expression.

“Holy Mary of Bethlehem!” Xander cursed.

“What?”

Xander's expression turned sheepish. “Sorry. I curse funny things when I’m taken by surprise. And that was…surprising. Hence, I cursed.” Xander paused. “I babble too. In case you didn’t notice.”

“Right.”

Silence hung heavily above their heads. A moment passed. Then two.

Xander swallowed. “What just happened?” he blurted out, breaking the silence. Does he really want to know? For some reason, he almost didn’t want Buffy to answer him. Maybe he was afraid that the answer would be along the lines of, “I think it’s a spell” or “I thought you were Spike.” He didn’t think his ego could handle it if Buffy said those words.

“I don’t know,” Buffy replied instead. “But…but it felt so right.”

Xander blinked in surprise. He didn’t expected her to say that. But most of all, he didn’t expected her to say what he just felt. Xander knew what Buffy meant. When he was kissing her, he felt as if he was born to do that. Like his lips were meant to be kissing Buffy’s. Like his hands were meant to be holding her.

It felt sooo right.

I was born to kiss Buffy.

“Did you feel the same?” Buffy asked him, her eyes gazing at him intently.

The sentence surprised Xander and it took him a moment to reply. “I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, Buffy,” he finally said. “And…and I don’t think I ever stopped.”

Buffy smiled. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

Xander returned her smile as he took a step forward. “Yes.”

“So does this mean…” Buffy trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging in the air between them. She took a step forward as well.

Xander nodded. “I think so, yes.” Another step forward and Xander was inches away from Buffy.

“What about…”

“Doesn’t matter,” Xander said, cutting her off. “What matters is this.”

Buffy smiled, her twinkling. “I agree.”

Buffy ran her hands up and down Xander’s arms as he took hold of her hips. “Where were you all this time, Xander?” Buffy whispered. She was so close to him that he could feel her warm breath on his face as she spoke. She looked up at him, searching his eyes for an answer.

“Nowhere,” he replied, almost breathlessly. “I’ve been here all long.”

Their lips met again for another searing kiss.

Besides, if you die, I'll just bring you back to life. That's what I do.

~*~

[Deleted]

There's a week left for you to get your entries in!

[Allan]

Title: The Perfect Woman

Pairing: Anya and Andrew

Setting: Season 7, in particular End of Days

Word Count: 1,221

Rating: PG for very mild language

Beta: None, so I'm to blame for every little mistake!

Author’s Notes: Standard disclaimer about how they're not my characters, not my concepts, and I'm writing fanfic because I don't have the originality of the almighty Joss.

This story is written in the first person, from Andrew's perspective. He makes some comments about events in previous episodes, which aren't entirely accurate, but (just like possession) perception is nine tenths of the law. The fic stems from the interaction and bonding between the two characters when rummaging through the hospital.

Hopefully I'll have time to write a second entry, but if not, this is it.

Her name is Anya Christina Emmanuella Jenkins and she is the most beautiful woman alive. If you can consider a vengeance demon “alive”, that is. Well, she was a vengeance demon, but now… not so much. And if she’s dead, she’s the most amazing dead woman I’ve ever met.

The apocalypse is looming (yet again), and the forces of Hell are poised to descend upon the mortal realm for the final battle against the heroes for good (that’s us). Everyone’s scared: the potential slayers, Xander, Dawn, Mr. Giles, Willow, and even Buffy. Even I take a moment to worry, but I must remind myself that I am the glue that must hold this rag-tag group of heroes together. Just like Ben Grimm of the Fantastic Four, that is my purpose. And together, we are humanities last hope.

I look into Anya’s eyes, and I forget about all the evil in the world. Or all the evil that is about to invade this world and make us all its bitches.

As we rummage through the hospital, I discover some oxygen tanks which I show to my lovely companion. As if she had Spock’s twelfth level intellect, she answers with certainty.

“They'd only be useful if something big was attacking, and then we could shove one down their throat and blow 'em up like Roy Scheider did with that shark in Jaws”.

With widened eyes, I look at Anya in amazement. Not only is she incredibly beautiful, and not only is she incredibly intelligent, but it turns out that she knows her movies. No wonder she left Xander at the altar… she realised that she is above him.

“You are the perfect woman.”

“I always thought so.”

I look on in wonder. Like Leia to my Han, like Trinity to my Neo, like Kitty Pryde to my Colossus, I know that Anya is the woman for me. I comfort her in her hour of need, and tell her that everything will be right in the world.

“You know how to handle a weapon, and you've been in this world for, like, a thousand years,” I tell her.

Anya smiles sweetly, with beauty radiating from her face, as if she were Phoenix from the X-Men (before she went all evil Willow and tried to kill her friends, that is), but I can see her tremble. She’s still nervous.

“So, wheelchair fight?” I offer.

Sitting in my wheelchair, I briefly think of how Professor Charles Xavier must have felt every time he had to save the world from Magneto (though, admittedly, I’m not best friends with the First). I then think of how awesome it would be to be able to read minds, and be able to simply make the First stop being evil.

And then I consider what Anya must be thinking. What does she think of me?

Oh, Andrew’s so brave. And so sexy, and strong... He has no superhuman powers, and yet he faces all the world’s evils… and wins. He’s Batman to my Catwoman. He’s simply amazing.

I’m thrown from my thoughts by the barrage of Anya’s wheelchair hitting mine.

“Oh, now it’s on!” I say; my words drowned by her giddy laughter.

Channelling Cole Trickle from Days of Thunder, I speed after my opponent. I follow Rowdy Burns (Anya) with determination. I am the underdog, and my opponent shall fall!

In one swift move, Anya spins her wheelchair 180 degrees, and is facing me. Sweat glistens from her brow and she looks at me with determination and beauty. She wheels her chair back about a metre, and our eyes lock together. Mesmerised by her gaze, I fail to charge. Anya, on the other hand, doesn’t.

With the power, speed and grace of Speed Racer, Anya careens toward me, before reaching impact. Her wheelchair collides into mine, and the impact knocks us both from our wheelchairs and onto the floor. Anya lands on top of me, and my head hits the floor.

“Ow…” I say, as I rub my head.

Anya looks into my eyes. Her concern is evident.

“Are you okay?”

I smile back at her.

“You love me.”

“It’s obviously concussion. Or you’re faking it so you don’t have to fight and die.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” I snap back before realising that Anya’s joking. Wow, she’s funny too. She really is the perfect woman.

As Anya straddles me, I force my weight upward and toward her, wrestling her to the ground. Her head hits the ground.

“Ow! Are you stupid?”

“Stupid like Lex Luthor, maybe.”

“Lex Luthor always loses.”

“Lex Luthor is the greatest criminal mastermind that ever lived.”

As I utter those words, I am reminded of Jonathan and Warren, and our brief time as criminal masterminds (and how we failed to take over the world). How could Anya (Sunnydale’s very own Wonder Woman) love a criminal mastermind? Even if he is reformed?

“I’m reformed, you know!”

“What?”

I smile. It was sweet of Anya to treat my previous life of darkness with such nonchalance. Or maybe she can simply relate to my predicament – after all, she was a vengeance demon (and did her fair share of killing). I won’t question her over it, it’s sure to be a sore point.

“Never mind,” I tell her.

“You are one weird little freak, you know that?”

I know that Anya doesn’t mean those harsh words. She’s just lashing out at me, probably because of her guilt from her own past combined with fear over her probable death. I understand, though. I am the glue that holds this group together, after all. And while I am drawn to Anya’s perfume like Batman is to Poison Ivy’s, I know that I cannot abuse that trust.

I realise that I am still on top of Anya, and bring myself to my feet. I look down at Anya, and offer a hand to help her to her feet.

“We should get back to the others,” I tell her.

Anya nods her head in agreement, and we start to collect our night’s takings. As Anya collects medical supplies, I hear her speak.

“You’re not entirely weird, you know. You’re a sweet little freak.”

I turn my head and continue to pack, not wanting Anya to see me blush. I now know how Superman must have felt the first time Lois Lane noticed him soaring over the Metropolis skyline.

“Of course, if you tell anybody I said that, I will have to kill you.”

I finally turn my head toward Anya, and smile. Anya returns the smile, looking just like Buttercup in The Princess Bride.

“You’re carrying this stuff,” she tells me. I don’t let on that I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I carry the supplies (which are quite heavy; it’s not like I ever got hit with gamma radiation and can turn into the Incredible Hulk), and we proceed to leave the hospital.

“Wanna grab some ice cream on the way?” I ask.

“Maybe after we save the world,” Anya replies.

As we walk out the door, Anya places her hand on mine, holding it. I don’t know what to expect from our impending battle. But if Anya’s fears come true, and she does wind up like Linda in The Evil Dead, at least I’ll always have the memory of tonight.

[Veverka]

WHITE BREAD

A/N: In a way this doesn't quite follow Haffner's guidelines. I got this idea though, thinking 'who's really really never ever going to be together in a canon way?' and then, I though, well, Riley and Faith, and imagine if, unbeknownst to her, she inspires his 'darkness', rather than the usual interpretation of his increasingly odd/bad/'dark' behaviour in season five. Oh yeah, and the stuff that belongs to Joss, it ain't mine



***

“I don't understand. How could she have... I mean, how's it possible?”

“Magic.”

He thinks, sighs. Audibly? Maybe not. Inside. “There was something. I should've picked up on it. I should've just...” What could he have possibly done? Trajectory. No other possible way forward. Caught in the momentum. Involved with a slayer, life isn’t black and white anymore. He looks away.

She’s taken a moment too, to figure it out. “You slept with her.”

“I slept with you.” This he says aloud. Silently he thinks I slept with her. Without thinking he says “Man, would I like to get my hands on her.” A pause, a moment, a thought. Voiced. “Not in a sex way.” And he can’t help thinking 'or maybe in a sex way'.

***

Life goes on. Sunnydale is a synonym for strange and he ignores it as best he can. Life, that is. Briefly he thinks he might be in love with Jonathan, but before long he forgets that he never really could remember who Jonathan was. Things with Buffy continue on their own trajectory. Physically, they’re wrapped around each other, their worlds are one, the relationship is full of honey and moon and the little moments of not understanding, the little moments of jealousy, confusion, misunderstanding, anger are just that, moments, sometimes conversations. Explanations blow him away.

“They were doing great… she was totally dealing with Oz being a werewolf, it wasn't even-”

He’s listening, alert- Willow had dated a werewolf- someone untamed, wild. His envy flared. Here he was- Buffy. Dating Buffy, all the while, thinking… if only I could get my hands on her. He has to say something, interrupt. His emotions are blowing him away. “Wait- Oz is a werewolf, and Willow was dating him?!” He tries to back pedal. Demonstrate a little logic. “I'm just saying it's a little weird to date someone who tries to eat you once a month.” Make it about her, not him, twist words, upset her. Try to feel- something, anything. Wishing that he could just forget that the blonde he sees in front of him is not the blonde he wants to see in front of him, wishing the blonde he wants to see in front of him was actually blonde, or that he could at least remember what she really looked like.

The feeling, later, that if he could kill Angel, he’d be doing her some kind of favour, some kind of twisted equaliser, that she had stolen Buffy’s body, and he would dispose of the lover’s. Twisted, he knew. Part of him knew that. But only part of him. The other part saw the contempt with which Angel looked at him, saw the pain in Buffy’s eyes as she chose him over Angel, and the only reaction was the (now suppressed but not forgotten) desire to kill.

Chips, no chips, he’s a soldier, he fights, he wins, he always wins and playing captain cardboard is despair. Cards out on the table is not a choice and he needs to escape but he’s still with Buffy and needs to leave, needs an out. Blaming her for her distance (she’s doing her job, and doing it well) is the easiest way and he almost doesn’t care that she’s hurting. “It’s the real deal” he tells Xander. Xander is his friend, almost, and he’s with Anya, managed real and true to get over her. “Buffy doesn’t love me,” he voices it and it’s almost real; she doesn’t love the man he’s become- whiny, self obsessed (not self obsessed), inferior.

Looking after his girl is a chore. Why can’t he possess her the way some other girl he’s barely seen possesses him? Spike is an outlet, his taunts a refuge for the ugly. “What do you got, a piercing glance? Face it, white bread. Buffy's got a type, and you're not it. She likes us dangerous, rough …sorry Charlie, you're just not dark enough.”.

Not dark enough. Not nearly. Not dark enough to hold on to her. Be more than a game.

Enough with the games. The helicopter comes, and the game is over. He’s out of there. Chasing demons can’t be borne anymore. Not in Sunnydale. It’s over. And, he thinks, surrounded by the balck noise of the chopper- Buffy will be fine. And somewhere, she is out there, and he’ll find her.

***

She squints through the glass. Recognition hits, and she takes a second look. Damn, but he’s got a fine body. Damn, but if he wasn’t the first to tell her he loved her. And mean it, that is. Damn. Screwed the boyfriend, now she’s about to be screwed right back. She’s pretty sure. Deep breath, she tells herself.

He opens his mouth. A single word. “Faith.”

Her head on an angle, Faith’s not sure what’s going on. “Riley?”

He’s smiling, some cut between manic and warm. The kind of smile Faith’s seen too many times. In these walls and out. “I found you. Buffy never would tell me where you were. Too afraid I might go looking for you, I guess.”

“Find me? Been sitting still again, Ri. What’s up with B?”

“B?” He smirks. If only he’d known, could have done so much there. He’s looking at the girl who rocked his world, let loose his demons, tormented his girlfriend. Fascinated. Somewhere between sane and not. “Faith, I’m waiting for you. I’ve been waiting for you. All this time.”

Screwed she is, she realises. Understands. It’s painfully obvious. The simplicity which is Angelus’ evil is lacking. Riley is off the rails, overturned, tumbled over and lost. She can see the scars on his neck, tastes of darkness- which would have faded, had he been really turned. And B, B probably didn’t even notice. She sighs. “What do you want, Riley? You want me, is that right? Want me to take you, like I did before? Make you feel what you felt before?” She hopes she can reach him, now he’s staring at her like he’s never seen a woman before.

His smile is fading, somehow. “What I felt? You felt it too, right? I know you did, I can make you feel it, like you did before.” Damn the glass between them, she’s looking at him like he’s crazy, and he wants to shake her, push her, touch her, make her scream. Like she did him, so long ago.

Cocking her head again, this time the other way. “Riley. I don’t know what you want. I don’t know why they let you in to see me. But what ever you want, the answer is no. You had your fun, and you had your chance. Me, I hope one day I’m gonna have my chance, make up to Buffy all I took from her- you, Riley, coming to see me here, like this-” she pauses- “Riley, I’m the slayer. And you come near me again, glass or no glass, I’ll kick your butt.”

***

Leaving the prison grounds, Riley’s furious. Words come back to haunt him, as though from another life. “Face it, white bread …She likes us dangerous, rough …you're just not dark enough.”. White bread indeed. He’ll show ‘em, just how dark white bread can be.

[Deleted]

Title: “Go see a girl”
Written by: Yosso
Rating: G
Feedback: E-mail, PM, carrier pigeon, whatever floats your boat
Word Count: 1,373
Challenge: 'Unconventional Bonds' from haffner280.
Pairing: Riley/Willow
Beta: None
Setting: BtVS Season 4 in between “The Initiative” and “Pangs”

~+~

Cold night air cut at him. Whips and flickers of lamp light were fazed blurs as he hurried through the crowd, his heart drumming away rhythmically inside him, sensitive to his urgency. He wasn’t going to let the target get away this time. Not this time. Oh no, he had the target locked in his sight.

Be cool. Be calm. That was what she had told him. Be cool, be calm, be focused.

His eyes narrowed and focused, his gentle features sharpened, determined on a goal and one goal only. It was her.

Be you. Be yourself, she had told him, that would be enough.

“Buffy!” Riley exclaimed as he neared her, his voice hoarse in a desperation he couldn’t hide.

She turned to face him, dressed in a smooth petite denim jacket and a frilly skirt. Riley’s focused face instantly transformed into a boyish grin when he saw it.

“Riley, hi,” she greeted as she turned. Her eyebrows raised. “Were you running after me?”

Oh. Damn. Maybe being yourself was easier said than done.

“No.” Riley blurted instantly, wiping back a sweaty brow in an attempt to be casual. “I was just…jogging.”

“Jogging! No! Don’t be stupid!” Willow’s voice shrieked through the earpiece tucked into Riley’s ears, though hidden behind some neat, trimmed cut hair. The red-head was watching through the window of her college dorm, binoculars surrounded by her palms, watching the meeting with keen eyes. “She’ll see right through it,” she warned.

“You jog with groceries?” Buffy questioned, clearly not convinced.

“Oh yeah,” Riley hitched on a comfortable grin. “Why not get fit while doing your shopping?” the grown man blushed.

“Yeah, I guess,” Buffy shrugged.

The two stood there in the centre of the college campus. Two people so close together, yet at the same time a million miles apart. It was the pants. It was these damn pants. Riley cursed to himself internally. Awkward silence.

Why couldn’t he say anything? It couldn’t be this hard string one sentence together, could it?

“So…”

Yep. Guess it was.

Awkward silence. Yet again. Riley glared down at his tight jeans almost suffocating his legs. Stupid pants.

“So change the subject!” Willow suggested hurriedly as she gazed down at the two of them, her expression furrowing as she saw Riley standing there with Buffy, the two of them static and rigid.

“About what?” Riley replied subconsciously.

Buffy looked perplexed. “What?”

“What?”

“What?” Willow yelled into the microphone. Riley winced as the screeching pain seared into him from the earpiece.

“Are you okay?” Buffy queried.

“Yeah just… migraine,” Riley groaned. “Really big migraine.”

“Uh huh…” Buffy sighed.

“She’s sighing,” Willow piped up again, her voice echoing inside his head. “She’s folding her arms, that means she’s bored, offer her some coffee, that always works.”

“Oh, coffee?” Riley beamed fakely to the blonde in front of him.

“Yeah sure, it’s like you read my mind,” she accepted with a friendly smile to Riley.

“Oh really, what a coincidence,” Riley breathed, almost with relief.

The pair began to walk together, a walk that seemed like an eternity. Why was this so hard? Why was talking to this one girl so hard? She was just one girl right? Just a girl.

“Uh… nice weather then,” Buffy began. Riley could see the blatant discomfort growing in her cheeks.

“Help me here…” Riley pleaded to Willow with quiet anxiety.

Willow continued to watch the two of them stroll along the lamp lit pathway. But she couldn’t reply. What else could she do? The guy was lost.

“Yeah. It’s nice and… blue,” Riley commented feebly.

“Yeah.”

“Uh huh.”

~+~

“At least there wasn’t any projectile vomiting.”

“No, just the regular kind, when she puked after some bad coffee.”

“Oh.”

Riley moaned, sighing in utter defeat, wallowing in his deep disappointment. He sucked. He slumped down lower in his armchair, as Willow sat with him in her small dorm room.

“Maybe I should stop this, it’s just not working,” he continued. Where’s a surrender flag when you need one? He nodded in appreciation when Willow handed him another fat cookie.

“What? No, so you had one bad encounter, boo hoo!” Willow encouraged with vigorous fire, offering another chocolate chip which he munched hurriedly. With misery really did come hunger.

“Two.”

“So two bad encounters, but that’s two out of-”

“Two.”

“You’re not helping my optimism speech here mister!” the red-head countered.

“Yeah, I know,” Riley acknowledged with a nod. “But thanks. I appreciate it,” he turned to her, his features softer than ever. His eyes were deep, thankful. He meant it.

“Hey, that’s what I’m here for-”

“Plus cookies. Don’t forget the cookies.”

“It’s nice to see where your priorities lie, Mr. Finn!” she piped up.

“Yeah, I know…” Riley looked down, trailing off. Willow had cheered him up slightly, pulled him out of his disappointment, for a while. But it wasn’t enough.

“It’ll be ok,” Willow smiled encouragingly to Riley. “It’ll be ok…”

“Maybe in the backwards universe,” he murmured lowly, turning to her.

“So we’re in the backwards universe, you’ll get her. Guys like you do. The strong, kind, gentle type. There should be more guys out there like you. There should be. Why can’t all guys be loyal, a gentleman?” Willow took a breath. “A guy that doesn’t suddenly pack up and leave, ripping your heart and soul out and taking it with him in that small, blue van,” she rambled, her cheeks reddening in frustration. She was breathing heavily, her eyes no longer soft, but jagged in pain.

Willow didn’t know why she wanted to help Riley so much. She supposed it made it easier, helping someone else find somebody, made the blow of her pain fainter. He made her pain lessen.

“What happened?” asked Riley, troubled by Willow’s pain, suddenly forgetting his own. That didn’t matter. What was wrong with her? “Maybe the full moon tomorrow’ll shake up your luck a little, if you believe in that sorta thing though.”

Willow looked down. “Believe? Yeah, believe me. I do believe…” Willow’s heart skipped a beat as the words stuck into her deep, hard, sharp.

“Where did optimism lady go?” Riley wondered, with worried curiosity.

“She went out for a coffee break, depression lady’s filling in,” Willow stated blankly, the brightness in her eyes had vanished and was now filled with a hollow emptiness. After a pause Riley peered curiously into Willow’s eyes.

“Did I say something?” Riley asked, genuinely concerned.

“Maybe.”

“Is that translated as – Yes?”

“How did you get so good at reading Willow?” she queried in gentle questioning.

Riley shrugged, with a sly grin. “What can I say? I’m a natural,” he beamed. Willow chuckled a little, her eyes twinkled with soft sparks. That was good to see. “D’you wanna tell me what’s on your mind?” he offered.

Willow grinned, biting her lip lightly as she adjusted herself in her armchair. He was nice, really nice.

“Oz, my last boyfriend. He was in a band. I liked his hair. I liked his fingers. I liked his toes,” Willow began with heavy breath, every word weighing a tonne inside her. The memory, once a pleasure, was now a biting pain to her gut. “But now he’s gone. There’s no more hair, no more fingers, no more toes and it’s like – I can’t breathe. Riley, I can’t breathe.”

Willow turned herself to face Riley, looking seriously into him. Her face contorted with pain, suffering, yet Riley could also see courage and strength in her. He could see she wanted to go on, but it was hard. He saw her pain, he saw it, and he was going to bring her back.

Without thinking, without reason he clasped his hands gently around hers, a soft embrace, his large, soft hands holding her smaller ones, shielding her from the harsh pain she had to endure. She shouldn’t have to feel this. He grinned softly to her, an encouraging smile. She could do this. She can do this.

With that she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. When he thought the world had melted away, it all came rushing back, everything was vibrant, everything was fresh. Everything clear.

This was his girl.

The End

[Deleted]

This challenge is now closed. I will try to get awards out by this weekend.

[Lex]

Now this challenge is closed, if anyone would like to run a challenge please PM me and run your idea by me! Marie and I have done the first two but now it's up to you guys If anyone has any ideas, whatever you wanna do (within reason ) i'll accept!

Look forward to hearing from you all

[Deleted]

Awards time! Let me just say this challenge was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo hard to judge. I loved each of these pieces so much!


(Sorry, Allan, I forgot you'd changed your username.)



(This award wasn't judged by me. I asked a panel of Buffy fans to vote on what they considered the most unconventional couple, and this one won hands down.)
And for the few of you who didn't win one of those awards, you can take home one of these! I think everyone's efforts and talents should be recognized because it really was a hard thing to judge.


I will keep these awards up on my website for a week or two so that you have plenty of time to save them to your own computers (and will try to remember to post here when I plan to take them down).

Here's some feedback for all the writers. If you have any questions, though, please feel free to PM me. These are in no particular order and will be put in spoiler tags to keep the initial post length relatively short.

Irene:

SPOILER: Click to show

I really enjoyed reading this piece. I’ve always been open to a Buffy/Xander ship at different points in the series and like to see what the fanfic writers do with it. I thought it was well done, even if it would have changed the ending of the season. (As a writer, I like to write future pieces, because then I can’t mess anything up. I’m scared of writing something in an already existing season that does something a little bit differently than what we saw on TV. However, I admire people who can write that way and do it successfully, which I think you did.) I liked the idea of their thoughts working to head each section of the story, but it was a bit confusing to tell when it was Buffy and when it was Xander. I don’t know if it was important to you that the reader know who it was coming from, but I used those bold thought headings to shift my viewpoint from one character to another, which is a little difficult to do right away when you’re not sure where the thoughts are coming from.

Carla:

SPOILER: Click to show

I’m such a huge fan of this piece! I absolutely love it! The first time I read it I thought it all happened a little quickly, but reading it again I realized that the readers don’t get to see the whole story. We know that Angel has been longing for Willow for quite some time and that Willow originally thought her spell would cause her to see Tara. But we don’t know what went on inside Willow’s mind and heart between the time she cast the spell and reappeared in Angel’s office—or how much time has passed exactly.

Allan:

SPOILER: Click to show

You nailed Andrew so unbelievably well. I’m always scared to write him as I’m not much with the Andrew-like pop culture references, but you nailed them. There were some parts, though, when the references seemed a bit overwhelming. As much as I admire some of the other entries for working a fic into an already existent season, essentially changing the outcome of that season, I appreciated that you left your ending with a simple moment between the couple and Andrew’s feelings/memories, as Anya’s death was a large event at the end of the season.

Veverka:

SPOILER: Click to show

Actually, I think it does fit the guidelines, as my only instructions were, “I want you to take two characters that we never saw have an official onscreen relationship, but that you think have chemistry, and write your fic around that.” The fact that you think there was some amount of chemistry there doesn’t mean that it has to result in a happily ever after ending for the pair or be felt by both sides, as you brilliantly showed. I really enjoyed reading it and liked the idea of Riley’s time with Faith affecting him much more than we saw on screen. It didn’t disrupt anything that was in the show, just simply added a new dimension, a new thought.

Yosso:

SPOILER: Click to show

The first part of the story didn’t hold my attention the entire time. The premise of what Willow and Riley were doing was set up immediately and after a little while it became almost too embarrassing on Riley’s part to keep reading. The second part, though, I thought was brilliant. A shorter first part (with maybe a bit more development in the second if it floated your boat—though I think the second part is absolutely perfect as it is) would have worked better as it would have turned the attention away from Riley failing to get Buffy and onto him and Willow connecting, which is really what your piece was about.

And I just want to say again, you guys have no idea how hard it was to judge this. I mean, it was literally a very, very close decision.

[shred]

Weeee!!!! Thank you sooo much for the award, Marie!! I've never won a prize for fanfic challenge before so this is a very, very nice surprise.

Congrats to all the other winners!!

[Deleted]

You're very welcome. It was very close between second and third. I debated over those two fics for a long time before deciding.

I wish I had time to personalize an award for everyone, since there weren't a ton of entries, but I didn't. Everyone just did so wonderfully, though, it was a hard pick.

[Veverka]

Agreed. Thank you muchly Marie! This wasn't one of those 'it writes itself' challenges, but I was determined to enter!

Hope the many talented writers will enter the next challenge!!!

[Allan]

Wow, I can't believe it's taken me so long to respond to this here . Thanks so much for the award, much appreciated.

And congrats to everyone else, the fics were all awesome!