Feel The Fever
BY: Lady Raven
SUMMARY: When Buffy battles a succubus, it has an effect on her relationship with Angel that no one
could anticipate.
DISCLAIMER: The Buffyverse and all its characters belong to Joss Whedon, and I made no monetary
profit from writing this. 'Nuff said. I wrote the first draft of this sometime around 'Inca Mummy Girl', so
'Surprise/Innocence' never happened, Xander and Cordy were never a couple, and Oz isn't around. Enjoy
anyway!
WARNING: This is rated NC-17, so if you're underage, go away and come back once you turn 18.
"Ready to go?"
Nathan nodded, not believing his luck. He'd never had trouble getting dates, but anything further was
out of the question. Until now.
He'd been hanging out at The Bronze, nodding his head to the music, when this girl had approached
him. For a second he thought it was his ex-girlfriend Amber, but then he realized it was just a
resemblance, this girl was much sexier. Just the way she walked...
When she'd invited him back to her place while they were on the dance floor, he hadn't been able to
believe his ears. But then she'd pressed against him, smiling knowingly when she'd felt the reaction he
hadn't been able to suppress. As she took him by the hand and led him out of the club, he hoped like
hell that no one else could see how she affected him. Then they exited the club and as she kissed him he
stopped caring.
As she unlocked the door of her apartment, for a second Nathan was astonished at how empty it was. It
was just for a second, though, because as soon as the heavy door was locked she was all over him,
kissing and caressing and tearing.
Nathan saw the buttons from his shirt fly away as she tore his shirt open, and gasped as she ripped open
his pants and slid her hand inside, rubbing her hand against the front of his briefs. He didn't lose any
time unzipping and taking off her dress, not even surprised when he found she wasn't wearing anything
under it.
She pulled him towards the bed, one hand holding the front of his unbuttoned shirt, the other still busy
down the front of his jeans, encouraging his erection to epic proportions-at least for him.
She lay back and pulled him on top of her, shoving his underwear and jeans around his calves.
Nathan dazedly wondered if he shouldn't stop to put on a condom, but then she pulled his face down to
hers.
She whispered "Feel the fever" and kissed him deep and hard.
Nathan felt his desire turn into a wave of raw lust that left him almost completely mindless as he thrust
into her.
He saw her eyes gleam red as he rammed in and out of her, but wouldn't have registered a bomb going
off underneath the bed. He was completely lost to anything but the need that made the veins stand out
in his neck and temples and his heart beat as fast as if he was sprinting full out for miles.
As he came with a shout, he could feel the juices spurting out of him, leaving him drained.
Then he was vaguely aware of something else draining out of him, something that shouldn't be.
He looked into his lover's face, and was horrified by what he saw.
After less than an instant, his world went black
*****
"Why did you call us here, Giles?" Angel asked.
"About this." Giles said, tossing a pile of photos on the table of his living room.
Xander leaned forward and picked them up, sorting through them. He pulled one out, frowned, and
asked, "Isn't this one of the senior guys?" He showed it to Cordelia, sitting on the arm of the sofa next to
him.
She studied it and nodded "Nathan Marshall. Nice guy, but kinda gropy."
"Gropy?" asked Giles.
"Free with his hands, if you get my meaning? He might actually get somewhere, except he's a really
sloppy kisser."
"Is this personal experience?" Buffy asked teasingly.
"Not quite. Aphrodesia went out with him a couple of months ago, gave us all a full report."
"That fits in with the others." Willow told them.
"Others?" Xander asked.
Giles told them "Willow was doing a random search through the morgue files when she noticed a
pattern forming. She asked me to get photos of them all from the school files. Over to you."
"After I noticed a funny pattern in some coroner's reports, I did a search through the police files. Over
the past month, four young men have been found dead. All of them went to Sunnydale High, but that's
not surprising considering they're all aged between seventeen and twenty-two. That's how old they
were when they died, but that's not how old they looked. When they were autopsied, they all had
several things in common. They had no marks of violence, and the coroner said they all had the internal
organs of someone who'd been dead for a month. No" she said, forestalling Buffy "it isn't vampires, the
blood was still there, no marks on the neck whatsoever. Something's grabbing these guys and draining
the life out of them. There's something else, too."
"What?" Cordelia asked.
"The coroner noted that all the bodies showed distinct signs of recent sexual activity. I mean, really
recent. The coroner lists it as taking place from ten minutes before death to...well, as they were dying.
All of them went missing between 11:30 and 1:00 on a Friday or Saturday night, last seen at The
Bronze."
"Well, if this monster is after young guys, that's the best place to get them. There isn't a single person
below the age of twenty-five in Sunnydale who hasn't been there at least once." Cordelia remarked.
"Hell, it's the best place to get them even if you aren't a monster."
Giles interrupted with "Life drained from young men and recent sexual activity? That sounds very
familiar." He grabbed a book titled 'An A-Z of Creatures of the Night' and flicked through it.
Willow went on "Nathan was found early Sunday morning, after going missing on Saturday night, two
days ago. He's number five, and also the only one who was still alive when found. He's been in hospital
since then, slipping in and out of consciousness. He managed to give the police a statement," She held
up a manila folder "which is in here, so my parents wouldn't see it. He remembers being picked up by a
girl, who took him to her place. He can't give them a description any more detailed than, quote 'hotter
than a volcano' unquote, but he gave them a very detailed description of what she did to him."
"Yeah?" Xander asked, snatching it from her and opening it.
"Xander, that isn't the sort of thing you should read in public-" Willow broke off as Cordelia, Buffy and
Angel watched in fascination as Xander's eyes opened wide, he gulped, and shifted in his seat before
closing the folder and putting it in his lap.
"Oh man."
"What's in that?" Angel asked.
"When Jesse and I were fourteen, he stole a copy of Penthouse from his older brother and we snuck off
to read it. This" he said, putting the folder on the table "is hotter than half the stuff in Penthouse
Forum."
"Yeah?" Buffy asked, fascinated.
"Now you know why I wanted to meet here, instead of the library." Willow told them.
"Found it!" announced Giles.
"So what are we dealing with?" Buffy asked.
"Given that it's young men who are being taken, and that the latest victim identified a female, we're
dealing with a succubus. Just as well, given the proportions of our team."
"Proportions?" asked Cordelia.
"Succubi-the name comes from either 'succumb' or as some jokers suggest, 'succulent'-are so exclusively
focused on men that they don't notice women at all, almost literally don't see them. It's much the same
for Incubi-the male of the species-only the other way around. They prefer victims in the last half of
adolescence or fairly soon after.
"Given that our team has four members in that age period and three, including the Slayer, are female, it
gives us-well, not so much an advantage, but we're not at a disadvantage. It means that Buffy can
approach the Succubus without her being warned of her foe's approach.
"Succubi and Incubi are the original nymphomaniacs. They only need to feed about once a week, but
they take lovers every day. The more they need to feed, the stronger their powers are, so we should
move quickly. Their powers include close to superhuman strength, and a hypnotic ability used for both
catching their prey and feeding. They also have a low-level telepathic ability that tells them exactly what
their prey finds most attractive, and can use it to make their prey see that image."
Willow told him "Nathan mentions in his statement that the only thing he can remember about her is
that when they were-uh, you know-she said to him 'feel the fever' and then his...umm, lust took him
over. He said that he was blinded to everything else."
"That's the hypnotic ability, to infect their chosen prey with overpowering lust-like a fever-so they don't
notice anything strange. The lowest grade is used in public, to make sure the prey follows. The full
power is turned on once intercourse has begun, and is the first stage in the feeding process. The
succubus uses the fever to convert the energy of the victim's orgasm into their food, and once it has
passed to allow them to literally drain the victim's life energy."
Cordelia said in amazement "I can't believe you got through that description without even stuttering."
"It's called professionalism, Cordelia." Giles told her, then ruined the effect by blushing.
The next night, the Slayerettes went stalking. They expected to have to come back for several nights, but
they hit the jackpot first try, when she made straight for Xander. Xander managed to keep his head just
enough to get her to agree to come back to The Bronze after closing.
"I can't believe we lucked out like this." Cordelia commented as they started to scatter in preparation.
"I can. It just makes me very nervous, that's all." Buffy replied. "When things go this well early, it usually
means that something's going to go wrong in a major way in the near future."
"I don't suppose you could wait to trap her until after..." Xander trailed off when he saw Buffy's look. He
added "I think I'll go stick my head in the ice bucket" and wandered off.
Cordelia came over to where Buffy and Angel were inscribing chalk marks on the floor. Angel had
stripped off his black velvet coat so that he wouldn't get chalk dust all over it, and was just in his black
jeans and white T-shirt. He was drawing the designs while Buffy gave him directions, occasionally
crouching to show him.
Cordelia asked "Did you get a good look at the thing, by the way?"
Angel grinned and nodded. Buffy shook her head and asked "Why?"
"The way the succubus looked when she was making her move on Xander."
"What did she look like?" Buffy asked Angel.
"Not what, who. A bit like you, a bit like Neve Campbell and a whole lot of Willow." Angel told her,
smiling.
"Of course, Xander didn't notice the resemblance to her." Buffy stated.
"Of course not, that would be logical." Cordelia rolled her eyes and went off to find Willow. After they
were done, the Slayerettes gathered around the chalk design on the dance floor.
"Okay, what's the plan?" Xander asked.
Willow said "Once she gets in, you'll have to lure her onto this chalk design. It'll trap her for just a
minute, but that should be long enough for Buffy and Angel to grab her-they're the only ones strong
enough to hold her."
"Then you three get out of here, and I shove this" and Buffy held up a siletto blade as long as her
forearm, "somewhere lethal. Giles gave it a special treatment to make sure it kills her."
"What do we do?" asked Cordelia.
"We get Xander out of here, quick as possible." Willow told her.
"If she's given him the fever enough to give her limited control over him, it's going to take both of us to
stop him from coming back here and letting her drain him."
"I keep thinking I should be doing something." Xander complained.
"You are Xander, you're the bait." Buffy reminded him.
"Oh yeah, I forgot."
The plan went off just right. The succubus was lured by Xander's voice onto the design, which flared with
a white light when she stepped onto it. As Buffy and Angel rushed to pin her down full length on the
floor, Willow grabbed Xander and she and Cordelia hustled Xander out. Cordelia had the presence of
mind to flip the lights on as they locked the back door.
That's when things started to go wrong.
The Succubus, desperation making her thrash about wildly, clamped one hand on Angel's bare forearm.
"Buffy, hurry!" Angel yelled, struggling to hold her.
Buffy pulled out the siletto, but then the Succubus managed to snake her other hand down to where
Buffy was sitting on her legs, and clamped onto the calf of her leg below her short skirt. In one last
desperate move, she whispered "Feel the fever" and gave it to them. She could feel the fever take hold
of them with an almost audible 'click' and she knew that the fact they were lovers already-in spirit if not
body-was what enabled the fever to take them for each other, not her.
Angel and Buffy looked at each other as the Succubus stopped struggling, and as their gazes locked, the
expression in their eyes changed.
Buffy shifted, feeling the liquid heat between her legs, and felt her womb clench with desire. Angel
sensed her heartbeat speed up and he could smell her lust, not able to restrain his own. In the back of
his mind alarm bells were clanging, but Angel didn't really hear, blind and deaf to anything but Buffy.
The siletto clattered to the floor as they launched themselves at each other, holding each other as tight
as they could as they kissed with desperate hunger. Buffy was only brought out of the haze in her mind
as the Succubus squirmed out from beneath them.
"She's getting away." Buffy gasped.
Angel drew away from her with a snarl, and they staggered to their feet and raced after the Succubus as
she ran toward the front door. She managed to slam it shut just as Buffy reached it, her arms giving at
the impact as she ran full tilt into the door. Angel couldn't stop himself running into her, and at the
contact of their bodies, the fever took hold of them again.
Angel pulled Buffy around to face him, and slammed her back against the door. With a small gasp, Buffy
wound her arms around his neck and kissed him as passionately as she could. Angel ran his hands down
her body, caressing, and pulled her skirt up around her hips, then reached between her legs and ripped
away the crotch of her underwear, savagely pleased that the cotton was already sopping wet with her
need.
At the feel of his hand at the molten core of her, Buffy bucked against his hand, wanting him inside her
badly. She lifted one leg and hooked it around his hips, then dug her fingers into his shoulders so she
could raise herself up. Angel crouched a little to take advantage of the gap she'd given him, then pressed
his body against hers as he rose, pushing Buffy's body up along the door as she wrapped her legs around
his waist, gripping tightly as she shamelessly rubbed herself against him and whispered her love and her
need for him.
Angel felt his ribs grate from Buffy's grip, but didn't care as he rasped "Not here"
"There" Buffy told him breathlessly, indicating the pool table just a few feet behind him.
As he crawled on the pool table and laid Buffy down beneath him, Angel couldn't stop himself from
pistoning his hips against hers compulsively. Buffy couldn't stop herself from pressing back. She distantly
heard Angel mutter something in what must have been Irish, but not understanding it she ignored it,
ignored everything but the longing that set her blood on fire.
Angel had an erection so big and hard it hurt, and he knew that the only thing that would turn the pain
to pleasure would be sinking into Buffy's body, to feel her close around him as they plunged together
wildly. Angel tried to push himself off her long enough to undo his jeans, but couldn't stop himself, and
Buffy couldn't unwrap her legs from around him. He felt Buffy's nails bite into his back again, but the
scent of her arousal grew stronger, and he stopped caring-if he ever had.
Something was screaming inside his head. No, it wasn't something, it was someone. It was the part of
him that wasn't lost to the hunger inside him for her body and her blood, the part that loved her enough
to try to live without her, though that battle had been lost long ago. But the spirit of self-sacrifice that
had been born in his soul, of fighting the demon, fighting his love for her, blazed up in his heart taming
the hunger.
Angel ripped Buffy's legs from around his waist, rolled off her body, and practically fell onto the floor. He
could sense her reaching for him, and that and the smell of her desire almost undid him, but he stopped
his senses as much as he could and slammed his fists into the wall again and again until the hunger
abated. Then he grabbed his jacket from next to the door and ran out of The Bronze as fast as he could,
before he jumped back onto the table and made love to her until neither of them could stand.
*****
Angel shoved the library doors so hard, one of them almost came off the hinges.
"Giles!"
At the unearthly scream echoed around the library, Giles shuddered at the fury in that sound. He quickly
picked up a discarded stake of Buffy's, and held it by his side as Angel strode up to him, grabbed him by
the jacket lapels, and slammed him against the wall. Giles brought up the stake, but Angel didn't even
notice it as he started speaking in a low, snarling tone that gave Giles goosebumps.
"I don't suppose that you noticed a deficiency in the information you gave us?"
"No, no I didn't. I take it there was one?"
"I'll say there was." Angel snarled, his face rippling and his eyes turning gold. Giles knew that meant that
the demon was being held back by the thinnest of threads, and he pressed the stake in a little harder.
"See Giles, when you told us that the succubus infected her prey with a feverish lust so she could drain
them completely, you forgot to mention that she could give it to someone she wasn't screwing. You
forgot to mention that she could pass it through bare skin to skin contact, and the lust wouldn't
necessarily be for her, either."
Giles stared at him in horror and asked, "Are you saying..."
"I'm saying that she infected Buffy and me with the fever, and it wasn't for her. She managed to escape
while we were...busy."
Angel let Giles go, his face smooth again though his eyes were still gold. Giles put down the stake and
straightened his jacket, saying "By busy, you mean-what?"
"Specific details?" Angel asked sarcastically.
"Details, yes, specific, no."
"Well then, let's see, first we grappled at each other while kneeling on the floor as the succubus
squirmed out from underneath us. We managed to break apart as she made for the door, but she
slammed it behind her. When Buffy hit the door, the fever rose again and I slammed her against it. Buffy
wrapped her legs around my waist and nearly cracked a couple of ribs while I pushed my body against
hers so hard she slid up the door. Then we more or less fell onto the pool table, and stayed there for
about 20 seconds until I managed to get control of myself."
At this, Angel showed Giles the scratches on his hands from when he'd slammed his fists against the
wall. To be scratches by now, they must have been deep enough to leave bloody marks on the surface.
"I think at one point I put my fists right into the wall." Angel put his hands over his face, and dragged
them down. When he opened his eyes, they were brown again.
"God, Giles, the fever sweeps you with such...raw hunger. I haven't felt anything even close to it since
the Torment."
"The what?"
"The Torment. It's what vampires call the time between becoming a vampire and drinking your first
blood. It's so overpowering that every vampire kills savagely the first time they feed from a human. I
never thought there was any hunger in the world to equal it until now. I've seen vampires go insane
from starvation-it was the Master's worst punishment-but I don't think it was anything compared to
this."
Angel gave Giles a crooked half-smile that really wasn't one, and told him "If I'd had even five years less
experience controlling the demon inside me, I wouldn't be here right now."
"Where would you be?" asked Giles, needing to know even though he didn't really want to.
"I'd be at The Bronze, pounding Buffy into that pool table so hard she'd be leaving dents in the top. I
couldn't even look at her as I ran out of there."
"You're sure that both of you were infected?"
Angel gave Giles a crooked half-smile that definitely was one, and slid off his jacket and turned around.
Giles let out a slow breath as he fingered the long rents in the back of Angel's T-shirt, the edges crusted
with blood.
"Buffy did that with her nails alone in less than a minute. Good thing I took off my jacket before the fight
with the succubus, or I would have had to come here like this. You'll have to think of a way to get Buffy
out of gym tomorrow, too. I think her back's going to be bruised where I slammed her against the door,
and I know, Slayer healing abilities or not, that she's going to have bruises the exact shape of my fingers
all over her butt. I don't think anyone should see those, do you?"
Giles thought about how fast news like that would reach Principal Snyder-he hadn't worked in a high
school this long without learning something about rumor mills-and shuddered. "No, they shouldn't. I'll
commandeer Buffy to help me during her gym class tomorrow, the bruises should heal by tomorrow
night."
*****
When Buffy walked into the library the next day, Giles came to meet her.
"What's the sitch Giles? How come you shanghaied me out of gym to help you-not that I'm not grateful."
Giles gestured towards the office with his head, and Buffy followed him in. "Sit down."
"No, thanks." Buffy said.
"The bruises are that extensive?"
Buffy blushed and asked, "How did you find out about those?"
Giles pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and told her "Angel came here from The Bronze last
night-"
"I know, why?"
"I was researching some way of restoring Nathan to full health. He was very upset."
"How upset?"
"I held a stake against his chest hard enough to break the skin, and he didn't even notice." Giles
continued "I'm sorry Buffy, I was in such a hurry for you to kill the creature before she became any
stronger that I missed something. I have to ask you, are you and Angel lovers?"
Buffy grimaced and told him "Actually, hard as it may be for you to believe, I'm still a virgin-no thanks to
that succubus." She continued grimly "I'm going to get her for this. I want to make love with Angel-more
than I'll ever tell anyone except him-but I want it to be because it's the right time for us, not because
some thing is trying to escape me."
"Well, that fits in with what I've managed to discover since last night. We knew that the succubus needs
bare skin-to-skin contact to give the fever, but there's only one book that mentions a succubus giving
the fever for someone else, to someone else. The succubus must be truly desperate, and the two people
she gives it to have to be lovers-"
"But I just told you-"
"Buffy, in magic the intent can be the same as the deed. You and Angel may not be lovers physically, but
obviously you're close enough to it in your hearts that it didn't matter. It also means we have another
chance to trap her."
*****
"So why is that?" Xander asked after school.
"The fever takes a great deal of the succubus' energy. Normally that's no problem, because she gains
more energy as she feeds, and if the prey escapes for some reason or other, the fever eventually wears
off, and the power bleeds back to her gradually. Correct, Xander?"
Xander looked slightly sheepish and agreed "Yeah, it's all gone now. Gave me some really wild dreams
last night though."
"Luckily for us though, it won't work that way now."
"Ready Giles" Willow sang out.
"What's she been doing back there, anyway?" Cordelia asked.
Willow laid the library phone on the table, but it had several weird attachments on it. "Setting up a
conference call."
"Hi guys" Angel's voice came floating out of the speaker attachment.
"What are you doing there, Angel? Why didn't we just wait another couple of hours until dark?" Cordelia
asked.
"I think I know" Xander said, looking at Buffy with dawning comprehension. "The fever hasn't worn off
for you two, has it?"
"No" Buffy and Angel said in unison.
"My sympathies. I spent all last night and half this morning feeling like I was about to crawl out of my
skin-it drove me nuts, and I only had a small dose. Not to mention certain other types of physical
discomfort."
"The fever didn't kick in the first time until we looked in each other's eyes. Giles thinks that if we don't
see each other or have any physical contact, we can handle it-for a little while." Buffy told Xander,
Willow and Cordelia.
"There's a side effect that might be useful" Angel broke in.
"You feel it too?" Buffy asked.
"Feel what?" Giles asked.
"Besides the obvious?" Buffy and Angel asked simultaneously.
"Yes, besides that."
"I'm...aware of Angel's presence, no matter where he is. You're in the mausoleum with the entrance to
the underground tunnels, on your mobile phone, right? You're sitting on top of the crypt."
"Right. It's obvious you're in the library, but you're pacing between the stairs and the table. You're
wearing your knee boots, with the blue dress that your mom gave you for Christmas and my leather
jacket."
"Uh-huh. You're wearing the same outfit you were wearing last night, only" Buffy frowned "a different
shirt. You've been hurt too, how did that happen?"
"Doesn't matter. The point of all this being that Buffy and I know where the other is, always, as long as
we have the fever. That should help since we have to touch the succubus, right?"
"Right" Giles said. "She needs to touch you both to drain the fever from you, to get her power back. That
will get you close enough to kill her."
"Why do we have to wait for that to happen? Can't Buffy just load that big knitting needle on her
crossbow and shoot her?" Cordelia asked.
"No, because if the succubus dies before she can drain the fever, Buffy and Angel will have it for the rest
of their lives."
The response from Angel and Buffy was simultaneous and instant.
"Oh God, no."
"How can we be sure that she'll be willing to risk everything to get that power back?" Willow asked.
"The reason that the fever hasn't bled off Buffy and Angel is that the fever...sticks, if you will, to
supernatural creatures. Being a vampire certainly qualifies, evidently being the Slayer does too, which
certainly solves that argument."
"What argument?" Cordelia broke in.
"There's a centuries-old debate among Watchers about whether the force that enables a Slayer to fight
supernatural creatures, makes her a supernatural creature herself. Obviously it does, or the fever would
have bled off from Buffy by now."
"I wish. This isn't very comfortable."
Night fell as the group worked out their plan, then they broke up to put things in place. Buffy paced back
and forth restlessly the whole time, the others becoming unnerved at the amount of times she and
Angel spoke in unison.
As they packed up, Buffy looked longingly at the phone. Willow saw the look and started to take the
attachments off. Giles saw her and told Buffy "The two of you could probably use some time alone, take
the phone into my office. Just remember that you only have half an hour before Snyder leaves and locks
the last door."
"Thanks" Buffy tossed over her shoulder as she grabbed the phone and headed to the office. When she
put the phone on the desk, she brought the receiver to her ear and smiled.
"How are you doing?" Angel asked. Just the sound of his voice made her run her hands along her thighs
as she sat, making her skirt ride up.
"Not so great. I'm gonna go insane if this doesn't stop soon. All day, I've been remembering last night
and I'd get turned on all over again. By lunchtime, my underwear was so wet I had to lock myself in the
girls' bathroom and wash it out in the sink. I need you so badly, Angel" Buffy pleaded, squirming in her
seat, her womb clenching with want as he murmured back to her. She'd never spoken this bluntly about
sex before-especially with Angel-but the fever took away her inhibitions, made her shameless.
"It's just as bad for me, it's just easier to bear from all my decades of fighting the demon inside me. We
have to finish this tonight, Buffy, or I won't be able to stop myself from finding you tonight." Angel told
her, his voice husky with desire.
Buffy closed her eyes, her breath coming harder as she thought about what would happen. "I wish you
were here right now. I feel so empty. There's a hollow place inside my body, and I want to feel you in it."
Angel closed his eyes in the mausoleum, feeling his almost nonexistent heart rate speed up. "I want to
be there with you so much. I can't stop myself from imagining the two of us in that chair you're sitting in
now, behind Giles' desk. Me sitting in it, with you straddling me-"
"I can feel you inside me, and you're big and hard and stroking every place that needs you so badly"
Buffy continued as she slid her hand between her thighs and eased a finger under the elastic of her
bikini underpants.
"I can almost taste your pulse in my mouth, it's so loud, and I can feel you around me, hot and wet and
gripping me tightly, and I'm getting even harder in reaction-"
"I'm rocking back and forth harder and harder, until the chair legs threaten to give way-" Buffy cried out
as she felt the pleasure sweep over her, and could hear Angel's snarl, oddly muffled. Breathlessly, she
told him "If I knew this would happen, I would have called you at lunch before the girls bathroom."
"It won't help for long" Angel told her. "You should see my wrists."
"Oh my God, I hurt you last night, didn't I?"
"I'm healed, don't worry. How are the bruises?"
"Almost healed. What's wrong with your wrists?"
"Oh yeah, I never gave you the vampire section of sex education, did I?"
"No, is there something I should know?" Buffy asked, still tingling.
"I didn't want to scare you, but I have to tell you sooner or later. You know that most of a vampire's
internal organs don't work anymore. Well, that includes the parts that produce sperm, so we can't have
children. It also means that we can't orgasm the same way as human males."
"So, how do you?"
"Blood."
"Mine?"
"It's better, but mine works too. That's what I've been doing all day, when it got too much to bear-I don't
have any distractions like school in here. My wrists look like a ten-year junkie's, I've bitten them so many
times."
Buffy remembered something she'd meant to ask him about and mentioned "When we were on the
pool table last night, you said something, I think it was Irish-"
"Gaelic."
"It was something to do with lions..."
"Liomsa. It means 'mine'. I thought I'd gotten over the possessive-guy thing, but obviously the fever
brings things out in you that you try to suppress."
"I guess it's time to go" Buffy told him, looking at the clock. "I'll see you soon."
"One way or another, you can count on it." and Buffy shivered at the promise in his voice.
As the four of them walked down the corridor, Cordelia asked "Giles, would it be so bad if they
just...well, you know."
"The point of the fever is that those who feel it fall into an almost mindless state. I don't think Buffy or
Angel wants the physical part of their relationship to start because they can't think straight. Besides"
Giles continued "if we just shut them up together while they have the fever, we probably won't see
them for days. We need to kill the succubus now, while Nathan can still be restored to health by her
death. Not to mention Buffy and Angel would both be too exhausted to do much good, given the
violence of their passion."
"Violent? Buffy and Angel are always gentle with each other" Willow pointed out.
Giles pulled something out of his pocket and gave it to Willow.
"What's this?"
"One of Buffy's nails. She broke it last night."
"I don't remember her breaking her nails while we were getting ready." Cordelia commented.
"She didn't." Giles said. "I used tweezers to pull that out of Angel's skin last night. Buffy clawed at his
back so hard, if he was human he would have needed medical attention."
Willow looked at the pale pink fragment in her hand, sobered.
An hour later the Slayerettes scattered over The Bronze, keeping a lookout for the Succubus. She didn't
have enough power left to change the perception of her form, so they knew what they were looking for.
Angel leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. The fever was pulling at him again, and he could feel
Buffy out in Cordelia's car. They'd agreed that the Succubus would recognize him more readily than
Buffy, given her peculiar blind spot for women, so Buffy sat outside with Xander-the other prime
target-so they wouldn't run into each other.
Angel didn't care what happened anymore, he just wanted this to stop. Whoever thought that
adolescent hormones were tough had absolutely no idea. Even now, he couldn't stop himself from
looking at the pool table, and remembering the way Buffy had gasped with delight and pressed her hips
against his when she'd felt his full weight settle upon her...
"Looking for me?"
Angel whirled around, snarling when he saw the Succubus. "Damn right I am. I want this to stop."
"Well, I'll need you and your little girlfriend together-"
"Done. Just tell me where and when."
"The back alley. Now. I'll be waiting for you." She smiled as she turned away.
Angel followed her, knowing that Buffy already had the message through the bond the fever gave them.
< I hope that the connection doesn't go away when she drains the fever > Angel thought absently. < It's
kind of handy, and I don't have to miss her anymore when we're not together >
Out in the car, Buffy's eyes snapped open, and she sat bolt upright. "Time to go" she told Xander.
"Where?" he asked.
"Back alley. Now. She's waiting." Buffy strode off the alley, almost running in her eagerness.
"Buffy, you do remember the plan, right?" Xander watched her go, worried.
Buffy stepped into the alley, breathing hard and fast in anticipation. She couldn't be sure what the
anticipation was for, the end of the fever, killing the Succubus, or seeing Angel. Just thinking about him
made her skin tingle and her womb tense, and even in the first heady days of her crush on him that later
turned to love, she had never had that reaction.
The fever made her aware of her body in a way that she never had been before. As the Slayer, she knew
that her body moved differently. Warily, ready for any attack and to attack in return, as befitted a
hunter of other hunters. She knew her body still did, but now there was a new sway to her hips as she
walked, and she was conscious of every piece of clothing rubbing against her skin in different ways.
She saw the gleam of the Succubus' pale yellow dress in the dark, and moved swiftly towards it, only
stopping when she felt the Succubus' outstretched hand against her chest. Angel came out of the gloom
behind her, and when Buffy saw him, she felt her skin prickle.
"Take off the shirt."
"What?" Buffy tore her gaze from Angel to look at the Succubus.
"I need skin-to-skin contact, remember? Besides, this way I can make sure that you don't have that
blade somewhere, the boots too." She turned to Angel, and told him in a sultry voice "You need to take
off the coat and shirt too."
Angel didn't even notice her tone as he slipped off his jacket, hanging it on a protruding pipe from the
fire escape that ran down the wall from the second floor of The Bronze. He kept his eyes locked on
Buffy's face as he unbuttoned his shirt. They flickered when a lock of hair fell from the Chinese-style
upsweep hairdo to lay against her cheek. When Angel's shirt came off too, Buffy licked her lips and her
breathing quickened.
"The shirt?" the Succubus prompted.
Buffy unzipped her boots, took them off and shook them upside down one at a time, then put them on
again. She kept her gaze locked on Angel's as she undid her sleeveless mandarin-collared top at the
front and slid it off, hanging it over Angel's shirt. As the fever increased, the bond between them
strengthened and she could feel how sexy he found the sight of her in her bra and the short skirt.
Buffy ran her hands along the sides of her skirt, raising first one side then another to the hem of her
bikini underwear, so the Succubus could see that she didn't have any kind of thigh sheath. She could feel
the liquid heat start inside her, and she knew that Angel could smell it as his pupils dilated. They started
towards each other intently, and they both snarled with frustration as the Succubus stopped them with
a hand on Buffy's chest and Angel's abdomen. Buffy stumbled as she felt the fever drain away, grateful
for the absence of it, yet missing it too.
"Sayonara, people. The aftereffects of having the fever for so long-unfulfilled, too-should keep you busy
for a while."
As she smoothly moved from between them, Buffy took the two steps needed to bring her into Angel's
arms. As she felt his bare skin against hers, she gasped with pleasure. Angel, lost in Buffy's kiss, opened
his eyes enough to see the Succubus watching them, smirking. With the bond the fever gave them still
strong, Angel and Buffy knew exactly what to do.
They moved forward two steps as one, still kissing. Buffy threw her head back to give Angel access to her
throat and her hands flew to her hair as they pivoted. As he kissed the side of her throat, he could feel
her hair tumbling down around his hand at the base of her neck, then drawing back upward as Buffy
lifted her head.
The Succubus stopped smirking as Buffy thrust her arm forward over Angel's shoulder and shoved the
siletto-cut down to the two palm-length ornaments that held her hair in place-into her eye. As the
Succubus screamed, Angel whirled around as Buffy spun in his arms, so she was facing the Succubus
directly when she thrust the other into her heart.
As the Succubus dissolved, Angel felt a fierce rush of bloodlust as he watched her blood stream down
her face. He knew that Buffy felt it, as he had felt the rush of triumph when she had killed the Succubus.
The bond the fever brought them was fading, but they both treasured the connection that made them
feel like one as they stood there in the alley, relishing the feel of their skin against each other as their
enemy turned into a puddle of bloody goo.
*****
"So, it's all gone?" Xander asked quietly two nights later at the Bronze.
"Yeah, no more waking up in the middle of the night from the middle of an X-rated dream, wondering
why he isn't there beside me. I haven't seen him since that night-I think he's trying to give me time to
get over any embarrassment. There isn't any though. The fever was her creation, but the feelings were
mine. I just wish we hadn't lost the connection the fever gave us. I liked being able to feel where he was.
Giles said that he thought there might be some permanent aftereffects, but I haven't seen any."
Xander looked at her, wondering how to pull her out of this mood.
"Did Willow tell you? Nathan's coming out of the hospital tomorrow."
"Yeah" Buffy replied. "Great, huh?"
When Willow and Cordelia returned with the drinks, they stood talking for a while, when Buffy
felt...something. As a new song started, she told her friends "I'm going to dance, if I don't see you again
tonight, don't worry." Leaving behind their puzzled expressions, she made her way down the stairs. She
stood at the edge of the dance floor, and as the dancers shifted and parted, she looked across the dance
floor straight into Angel's eyes.
Cordelia was still talking with Willow about Buffy's disappearance, when Xander looked onto the dance
floor on a hunch.
"Look" he said quietly.
As the Slayerettes looked over the dance floor, they had no trouble pinpointing Buffy and Angel. As the
music played, sensual as silk, pounding like a heartbeat, Buffy and Angel moved in patterns around the
dance floor, circling each other, moving in time to the elemental rhythm, in perfect synchronization.
They came together in the center, Angel holding his hand out to Buffy. She reached out and entwined
her fingers in his, then spun into his arm, coming to rest with his chest against her back and their joined
arms around her. Angel spun her out again, both pairs of hands joining now, pulling her back to him as
their hands reached towards the ceiling.
As Angel held her hands between his, Buffy turned away from him. Then her arms slowly lowered as his
hands ran down her arms to lingeringly make their way down the sides of her body to her hips, where
her hands covered his as they slowly bent their knees and dipped, their bodies moving in sensual
counterpoint. Angel's hands ran across her body as she slowly turned, her arms going round his neck.
"I've danced enough for tonight. How about you?" Buffy asked.
"Where did you want to go?"
"Your place."
Buffy hung up the leather jacket that Angel had given her on the back of the door and turned around.
She gasped as the room gradually came to life, as Angel lit more and more of the candles on the
candelabra at the foot of the bed.
"Nice candles." The huge wrought-iron candelabra at the foot blazed, sending soft light all over the bed.
More candles were on the bed-head, and on the table next to it.
"Like it?" Angel asked as he came to her and drew her into his arms.
"It's very romantic." Buffy said, touched.
"Good, that's what I was aiming for." Angel's eyes were both serious and loving as he touched her cheek
and added, "We're only going to have one first time, Buffy. I wanted to do it with style."
"You knew, back in the alley as our connection faded, that I would ask you for this, didn't you? Why
didn't you want to see me until now?"
"I wanted you to be sure that it was you who asked me to make love to you, not the fever."
"It was always me talking Angel, the fever just let me come out and say it."
Buffy stepped out of his embrace and bent to take off her shoes, womb clenching once more as she felt
the now-familiar heat start inside her. Angel watched her and copied, his irises turning gold at the edges
as he smelled her arousal.
Buffy smiled and reached back to unzip her dress, when Angel stopped her. He gazed into her eyes,
smiling slightly, as he unzipped her dress himself. Buffy waited for him to slide it off, but instead he took
off his jacket, swept her up into his arms, and carried her to the bed, laying her down on it gently. As
Buffy looked into his face, she thought that she'd never seen so much love in his eyes.
Angel slowly started to strip her naked, smiling as he told her "Did I mention that there's no one around
to hear us, no matter how loud we are?" and Buffy blushed a little. Angel kept taking her clothes off,
kissing each new piece of skin he exposed until she was trembling with desire and she eagerly pulled off
Angel's T-shirt, pushing him onto his back so she could reach his jeans. Angel moved his hips to let the
denim slide down, aroused by the way Buffy almost ripped his boxer shorts off, gazing at his body
hungrily.
He drank in the sight of her nakedness, reaching out to bring her body against his, turned on even more
as she arched against him. Buffy and Angel kissed passionately as they felt the bond between them snap
back into existence, connecting them in a way that let them know exactly what the other felt and what
they wanted.
While Angel sometimes had to show her what to do, there was no hesitation in her response. Buffy told
him with every murmur of delight, every gasp of pleasure that she wanted this as much as he did, and
Angel gloried in every sound she made, straining his control to the utmost.
Angel ran his hands over her body, caressing and fondling, and he brought her to orgasm twice before
he entered her, once with his hands and once with his lips and tongue. When she felt Angel's tongue
licking at the center of her, Buffy almost tore the sheets trying to hold herself still, but couldn't stop
herself from screaming as she came. Any self-consciousness had long since melted away, leaving only
the hollow place inside that wanted his body locked with hers.
Angel felt each of Buffy's orgasms rip through him as if they were his own, and couldn't keep control any
more. He whispered "I wanted to make this longer a grha, but if I wait any longer I'll go insane" and he
gently nudged her legs apart so he could mount her.
"What took you so long?" Buffy asked breathlessly, lifting her hips to meet him as he slowly slid inside
her. Angel had prepared her for him so thoroughly, she only felt an instant of pain. Angel watched as the
expression in her eyes changed from anticipation and desire to awe, as she adjusted to the feeling of his
body inside hers. Then to bone-melting pleasure that made him even more aroused in reaction as she
instinctively raised her knees to bring him deeper inside her body.
When she felt his need build up to almost overwhelming levels through their bond, Buffy pulled Angel's
face against her throat. She felt his tiny head shake of denial, and murmured "I know you can use your
blood, I want you to use mine. I can't take much more of this-now, Angel!"
She felt a tiny sting as Angel's fangs entered her carotid artery, felt the intense satisfaction her blood
gave him and reveled in it as the climax took them both in a body-sweeping rush of pleasure. Lying there
afterwards, still joined together in body and mind, Buffy asked, "What was that you said before? More
Gaelic?"
"Yeah, I thought that since I used it during the fever, I should use it now."
"What does a grha mean?"
Angel chuckled softly and corrected her pronunciation, then added, "It means love. My love."
"Me too" Buffy laughed and told Angel "I guess Giles was right when he said there might be permanent
aftereffects."
"I can't say I'm sorry-"
"I hope not!"
"But I won't tell Giles about this if you don't mind" Angel said.
"A Slayer is supposed to tell her Watcher just about everything, you know. You're gonna have to
persuade me that I shouldn't." Buffy teased, moving under him.
"Just how could I do that?" Angel asked, feeling his body start to harden again.
"I'm sure you'll think of something" Buffy told him as she led his lips to hers.
FINIS