Disclaimer:  The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and I think UPN. 

Subtext?  Nuh uh...Main text. This story involves good, glorious sex between Buffy and Willow...if that is not your bag...don't read.:-)

This picks up in the middle of Gingerbread...enjoy. Oh, and for clarification sake, I moved the burning at the stake scene from the court house to the high school gymnasium for my own convenience.:-)  Just so there are no misunderstandings there.

On occasion: In the Showers

We live by rules made up by society.
But I guess I must have missed election day.
Cause so much about you looks so good to me, yeah.
For what I'm thinking I could go to jail,
But some laws are born to break.

Whoah, playing with fire
Whoah, fighting my desire baby
Whoah, my conscience is a liar
Oh lord, have mercy on the shameless sinner.
Whoah, playing with fire
Whoah, stakes are getting higher, now I
Whoah, I face the crucifier
Whatcha doing to me?

Richard Marx
Playing with fire.

The flames were getting higher.  Willow couldn't believe it...she couldn't believe she was going to die tied to a stake in the schools gymnasium, and her own mother was holding the torch.  It didn't seem possible...it didn't seem real...but it was.  "Buffy, I can't take it! It's too hot!"  She cried, pleadingly to her lover who was struggling mightily to get free.  Amy had made her escape seconds before, by turning into a mouse.  Too bad she hadn't stopped to do them the same favor.

Buffy turned apologetic eyes her way, looking at her lover through the smoke rising up from the books scattered around them.  "I'm sorry, Will. If it wasn't for me, none of this would have happened." She'd tried everything she could think of to get out of this, tried pleading with her mother to recognize the insanity of burning her own child at the stake, tried getting out of these ropes, but there were too many of them, and they'd tied them too tight.  Still, she struggled, not willing to give up for a second, not while Willow was still in danger.

The smoke was starting to choke her, it filled her lungs, sending great coughing heaves through her body.  She knew there was a room full of people watching her, but she also knew that she didn't have a lot of time left.  She couldn't help it...if she was going to die, she wanted it to be with Buffy's name on her lips.  "Buffy..."

Buffy stared into vibrant green eyes and stopped her struggling for a nanosecond.  "I love you, Will."  She mouthed.  The redhead recieved the sentiment and sent it back, just as clearly.  Neither noticed Giles when he came through the door...they were both focused on each other.

Somewhere in the distance they noticed the sound of glass breaking, but it didn't really get their attention until the collected mob started crying out to stop the invaders.  Buffy was immediately surprised and relieved to see Cordelia holding a fire hose on the overworked crowd.  She took a guilty pleasure in seeing people getting washed away by the hose, but she did wish Cordelia would hurry up and get the hose onto them...or more accurately the fire just below them.

Giles was speaking something badly in what Willow thought was German, but she couldn't pay too much attention to that considering the flames had reached her and were starting to burn through her clothes.  "Buffy, I'm on fire!"

"Cordelia, put out the fire!"  Buffy shouted, with no short amount of urgency.

"Oh, right."  Cordelia said, taking aim at the flames now, much to Buffy, and Willow's relief.

Giles continued to speak his muddled german, then he threw two vials at the children.  Seconds later the children were replaced by a grotesque, seven foot tall demon.  "Okay, I think I liked the two little ones more than the one big one."  Cordelia said, in a sarcastic murmur. 

It looked like the rest of the crowd agreed with her, people were screaming and running out of the building, Joyce and Sheila were staring at the demon in horror.  The trance was broken, and Joyce looked from the repulsive beast to where she had several others had tied Buffy and Willow to stakes, and felt herself go faint.  "Oh my god." she whispered, feeling the enormity of the act settle over her.

"Protect us! Kill the bad girls!"  The demon growled, but this time the words fell on deaf ears.

"You know what?"  Buffy asked, her voice filled with anger.  "Not as convincing in that outfit."   The demon growled and came after her.  Buffy struggled anew at the ropes, but they just wouldn't give...luckily for her, the stake did, she heard it snap near the base and the extra weight of it on her back forced her to bend over.  She couldn't see it coming, but she felt it as it impaled itself on the accidental weapon.  "God, this thing weighs a ton."  She thought, struggling to stand erect.  "Did I get it? Did I get it?"  She asked, nervously, and just a little out of breath.  Just then the ceiling above them gave way, and Oz and Xander came crashing down.   The two men stared at the odd sight for a moment, before Oz broke the silence with his usual straightforwardness.  "We're here to save you."

Buffy bit back a chuckle, merely rolled her eyes and sighed.  "Great...would you mind getting this thing off my back?  It weighs a ton and it's getting goop all over me...not that  it's never happened before."  Buffy griped, sarcastically.

Xander and Oz scrambled to help Buffy free herself of the extra weight.  Joyce had rid herself of her guilt complex for the moment and was presently helping to untie Willow.  "What a mess."  Cordelia shook her head as she examined the place.  "I'm not cleaning it."

Buffy rolled her eyes.  'Typical.'  She watched as Oz and Xander gathered the body of the dead demon.  She didn't know where they would take it...only that they would take it to where nobody would trip over it.  She looked over to where the redhead was making her way over the piles of books toward her.  "You okay?"

Willow shrugged and wiped at a smudge on the blonde's cheek.  "I'm okay."  She managed, her voice was a little raspy from the smoke, but at least she wasn't burnt to a crisp.  "I could use a shower..."  She paused as she looked at her lover's dishevelled, soot covered, goop splattered body, then grinned mischievously.  "...so could you." 

Buffy laughed, as she looked herself over.  "Yeah...ugh..."  She wiped a particularly disgusting bit of goop away.  "You're right...luckily...there's showers not that far away."  She indicated the shower room that was addexed to the gym.

"Are you girl's sure you're okay...I can't believe I...we almost..."  Buffy put a comforting hand on her mother's arm, noticing the frazzled, bewildered air of somebody just released from a spell.  "We're fine, mom.  It's okay.  It wasn't you.  We'll talk about this later, though...right now...all I want is a shower." 

The two smoky girls headed for the cool, refreshing feel they knew they would find at the other end of the gymnasium.  Buffy was just about to enter the shower room when something occured to her.  "Oh...Cordy...would you mind hunting for Amy?  She's...scampering around here somewhere...thanks."  Buffy yelled across the room, before she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Scampering?"  Cordelia questioned...apparently no one, they were all walking out in a daze, except for the regular scooby gang, who were starting to clean up the mess.

*****

Buffy had her shirt off in about two strides, feeling glad to get rid of the soiled garments.  'Now if I only had something to change into.'  She thought, removing her pants and underwear with quick movements.  She remembered, absently, the clothes that she had in her locker, used primarily for gym class and decided she'd just have to use those, and return them in the morning.  She was tired, dirty, hurting, and focused only on getting clean.

Willow, however, was focused on the body that was being revealed right next to her, and was thinking thoughts altogether different.   Maybe it was the near death experience, or maybe it was just being near to this perfect body, this perfect person, who she had almost lost  due to a spell cast by a gruesome demon and the stupidity of a few townspeople.  And maybe, just maybe there was a small factoid to that saying that danger made you horny...cause looking at Buffy's increasingly nude body was making her horny right now.

She watched as Buffy padded, naked, over to the showers, turning on one without even seeming to notice, then tilted her head back into the spray, releasing a long sigh of relief.  She was mesmerized by the trickle of water running over the Slayer's body, and almost jealous of the droplets that clung to her lover's skin, rinsing away the soot and the grime, leaving only the soft, pink skin behind...she wanted to be those droplets, wanted to slide delicately over the form and curves of the supple body, she wanted to be the moisture that cleaned that vibrant body, tasting the surface as she slid wetly, all the way down the powerful frame.

Eyes opened wide, she felt no trace of her previous exhaustion, all thoughts of being tired having been swept away by the unwitting display before her.  Buffy's eyes were closed, a look of such complete and utter bliss on her face that Willow couldn't help but want to be swept up in it.  Her eyes tracked over the wet skin, noting the graceful arch of the Slayer's neck, the sculpted perfection of her shoulders...she always had the strangest urge to bury her face in those strong muscles and nibble...the rise of her chest...oooh, just looking at the way the water played over those slopes made her shiver...the fascinating way the liquid would wash over the washboard tight abdomen in rivulets.  Willow felt her heartbeat excellerating and wondered abstractly where all the moisture in her mouth had gone, then her eyes tracked to where the water was dripping from textured blonde hair and she felt the answer.  'Oh, there it is.'  She thought abstractly, licking her lips, almost able to taste those droplets on her tongue.

Her feet moved without her conscious awareness of it, her eyes locked on Buffy's...everything.  She didn't even notice she was only half undressed as she stepped under the shower's spray, her focus centered only on the pulsating need ravaging her from inside out, and her need to quench it.  She was shaking with the intensity of it, as her hands came into contact with the Slayer's waist, and her mouth locked onto the spot she had fantasized about nibbling before.  She felt and heard the startled gasp as Buffy became aware of her prescence, felt the solid arms coming up to circle her as hands clenched into the back of her shirt.

"Will?  Wha?"  The surprise was evident in Buffy's voice, as the unexpected feel of Willow pressing up against her amourously, sent pleasant shivers up and down her spine.

"Mmm...Buffy...I need you."  Willow whimpered, barely managing to reply, not wanting to take the necessary time away from her enjoyable task of cleaning off all of the droplets she could reach with her tongue.

"Need me?"  Buffy felt as if her brain was backfiring, it needed a good jumpstart.  Willow's lips nibbling on her ear provided the energy she needed to get it working again.  "Right...right now?  At...at school?"  She gulped, feeling curious and yet knowledgeable hands searching over her back.  A rapid heat started to consume her as those hands started to travel south.  'We can't...we're at school...what if somebody comes in?'  All perfectly good, reasonable arguments and questions...too bad they never made it past her lips.  They were caught racing silently through her brain as bright, passionate green eyes met her own, and she could see the fire of lust burning deep within.  She had almost been burnt alive tonight, just a few minutes earlier by an unruly mob, led by her own mother...but now she was being burned in an altogether different way.  Albeit, much more pleasant. 

"Please, Buffy?"  Willow pleaded, kissing her softly, those eyes beseaching her.  "I need you so bad."  She whimpered into her lips, feeling almost desperate.  "I'll be quiet...nobody will know." 

"You?"  Buffy chuckled, feeling her hormones reving up.  "What about me?"  She asked rhetorically, but then the answer really didn't matter as she had set herself loose, her self-control already taking more than she thought it capable of, threw up it's hands in surrender.  Their lips met passionately, and between the spray and the two of them meshed together, Buffy didn't know what was making her wetter.  "You forgot to take your shirt off."  Buffy noted when they paused for a breath, her eyes taking in the glorious sight of Willow's pink nipples appearing through the now transparent shirt.

"I did?"  Willow's brow wrinkled in that cute distracted way she got sometimes, before she looked down, taking note of the thoroughly drenched garment.  She started to turn red as she realized what she had done.  "I must look like an idiot."  She mumbled, feeling clumsy next to Buffy's natural grace.

Buffy smiled at her in reassurance, while shaking her head.  "No...it looks real good on you."  She said honestly, her eyes going back to take in the outlined nipples.  She couldn't resist their appeal, and her fingers didn't take long in finding them, playing with them through the material.  She delighted in Willow's gasps, as her fingers tightened on the nipples, her thumbs rolling lightly over the sensitive tips, her eyes never straying from her treasures.  "Real good."  She said as she leaned forward and took a mouthful of nipple into her mouth, nipping on the soft flesh through the material.  But soon Buffy was craving the feel of Willow's flesh in her mouth and she pulled back.  "But, if you don't mind...I'm going to take it off now."  Buffy murmured, lifting the wet t-shirt up and over Willow's head.

"I don't mind..."  Willow trailed off weakly as Buffy resumed her position, sucking gently on a rosy tip.  She pulled Willow towards her as she leaned against the wall.  "...at all." Willow breathed, grasping on to strong shoulders as she counted on Buffy to keep her standing.

Buffy pulled back after a minute and looked up at Willow, her mouth working as if she'd tasted something bad.  "Something wrong?"  Willow asked, feeling suddenly nervous.

"Sooty."  Buffy replied with a grin, Willow cast a dubious look down at her chest, wondering how the smoke could have possibly gotten there.  It didn't matter, Buffy was soon brandishing a bar of soap and doing wonderful things with it as she moved it in gliding circles over her chest, the gentle motions causing her nipples to stand erect.  It felt so good, Willow thought she'd return the favor.  Brandishing a bar of soap of her own, she started with Buffy's back, caressing her with slow, slippery circles and working her way down, until they were writhing together like slippery eels...getting soap lather everywhere.

"How's this for good...clean...fun?"  Willow asked, cheekily, between kisses, her hands had found Buffy's butt and were busy making the skin nice and clean, so what if it was a little cleaner than absolutely necessary, she just loved sliding her fingers through the lather, finding curious dips and creases to investigate the longer she searched.

"mm, nothing better...than a nice...hot...shower..."  Buffy replied, breathless, and edging on losing her ability to communicate completely, and her ability to remain standing was taking its toll as well.  A slip of Willow's finger over a sensitive area caused Buffy to lose her grasp on the soap, Willow felt it slide down her abdomen, and over her thigh, coming to rest next to her right foot.  "Oops...lost the soap."  Buffy said, a mischievous grin lightening her eyes, and Willow gulped at the clear message of lust communicated to her.

"Guess I'm going to have to bend over to get it, huh?"  Buffy's voice was teasing, but the rich huskiness of it sent waves of pure desire racing through her blood stream.  "...or maybe...I'll just...work...my way down..." The murmured words were lost to the sound of the shower running, but the impact of Buffy's lips, teasing and nipping over sensitive skin as she took her time, tasting favorite spots on the way to retrieve her missing soap made Willow lightheaded in delight.

Buffy relished the taste of the clean skin, sucking moisture from pert, erect peaks, before blazing a trail over sensitive ribs and a ticklish tummy, until she was kneeling between trembling legs, one hand reaching for the soap, while the other tickled it's way up one thigh, seeking moisture that wasn't caused by the steaming water dripping on them.  Buffy took great pleasure in gently washing the area, feeling Willow jump and hearing barely restrained cries of pleasure when her fingers would stroke an especially reactive spot.  She played in her lover's arousal, easily differentiating it from the shower water, she loved the difference in texture, how it coated her fingers, in how it tasted when she brought her fingers to her mouth to lick them clean. She loved the taste of her, and wanted more.

Ignoring the awkwardness of the position, she wrapped her arms around Willow's waist and tilted her head up, tasting her lover directly with her tongue.  Her mouth was immediately flooded with the sweet musk, and she felt Willow's knees almost buckle as the redhead tested the acoustics of the room, the room echoing with muffled whimpers.  Buffy could tell Willow was biting her lip in an attempt to keep quiet, and rewarded her lover's self control with a lick across her clit.

"Mmm...Buffy..."  Willow groaned, her hand tightening into a fist in the blonde's hair, as a quick and agile tongue flicked her most sensitive area ruthlessly.  Electric sparks were  shooting off haphazardly inside her body, like fireworks at a Fourth of July display, and she felt an unrelenting pressure building in her stomach, a pressure that had her begging and reaching for more.  "Buffy...please..." Willow whimpered, unable to articulate her need, good thing Buffy knew what she needed, Willow concluded as she felt two sturdy fingers joining the foray.

*****

Joyce looked at her watch again for about the millionth time.  She knew it had only been about fifteen minutes since the two girls had gone in to take a shower, but it felt like a lifetime and she was starting to worry.  She had heard bad things about smoke inhalation, and due to her incredibly stupid, not to mention disgusting behavior, the two girls probably had breathed enough smoke for a lifetime.  On the other hand, she didn't think she'd have to worry about Buffy smoking cigerettes anytime soon.  Glancing one more time at the closed locker room door, Joyce shook her head worriedly, wishing she could just go in and make sure they were okay.  But that might look...strange...and she wasn't sure Buffy would appreciate her checking up on her.

Spotting Cordelia out of the corner of her eye, she had an idea.  Thinking about it for a moment, she nodded her head and made her decision.  "Cordelia..." She called out the brunettes name, getting her attention.  She was eyed warily by the girl, and Joyce had to wonder what had happened to alter the friendships that had seemed to be blossoming between this girl and Buffy's friend.

"If Buffy wants to find Amy...she can just find her herself.  She didn't tell me the girl had turned herself into a rat."  Cordelia griped, looking around the gym in disgust.

"Cordelia..."  Joyce started again, reining in her patience.  "Buffy and Willow have been in the shower for a while and...what with the smoke inhalation...I'm afraid something might have happened.  Would you mind checking on them for me?"

"Smoke inhalation?"  Cordelia asked, dubiously.  "Buffy's the Slayer...I'm sure a little smoke isn't going to hurt her..." She started to protest, then noticed the tension in Joyce's face.  "...but...if it would make you feel better..."  she said, throwing up her hands in a shrug.  "I'll go look."

With a great amount of resignation, Cordy trudged over to the locker room door and pushed it open.  She could hear the sounds of a shower running, along with unidentifiable sounds she couldn't quite make out.  Her experience with troubles in Sunnydale had made her cautious, so entering the room slowly, she barely whispered Buffy's name, then thumped herself upside the head.  "Right, like she's going to hear that over the water running."  She chastized herself, gathering her courage to move through the room toward the showers.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting to find...a green finned monster eating the Slayer...Buffy and Willow passed out from the smoke...any number of things filled her head...but what she ended up seeing wasn't any where near any one of them.  She spotted the Slayer and Willow all right...in a position she hadn't imagined in her wildest dreams.  Willow had her head tilted back in the water's spray, a look of sheer enjoyment on her face, her chest was heaving with big breaths, and quiet whimpers were leaving her mouth. She looked like she was 'really' enjoying her shower, and Cordelia suspected she was, what with Buffy's head taking what looked to be a permanent residence between her legs.

Cordelia was too shocked to squeek, but Willow didn't seem to have any trouble with it, considering her squeeks were getting louder and more...what's the word she was searching her addled mind for...needy...desperate...desperate, yeah that's it.  Willow definitely was sounding desperate now.  'Oh my god...oh my god...Buffy and Willow...Willow and Buffy...oh my god.'  The words tumbled over and over again in Cordelia's head, and she knew she should get out of there and leave them some privacy but her feet seemed to be stuck to the tiling.

And then it was too late...Willow was scrunching up her face, emitting a long, low whine, and it looked like Buffy was the only thing holding her up as her knees started to buckle.  Cordelia couldn't believe what she had just witnessed.  'Oh my god...I've got to get out of here.'  The prospect of being caught by Buffy was not a pleasant one.  She was pretty sure it would involve violence, something, her mind reminded her, the Slayer was exceedingly good at.  Backing up on rubbery legs, she managed to find the way out, without tripping on anything, and stumbling back out into the Gym.

Joyce saw her come stumbling out of there, looking white as a ghost, and felt her heart speed up in worry.  "Cordelia?  Are Buffy and Willow all right?" Cordelia looked up at her in a daze, then started nodding her head, rapidly.

"They're...they're uh...they're taking a shower."  Cordy blurted, looking almost panicked as she pointed her thumb back at the bathroom door.  She looked around like she was looking for a way out then spotted Xander, and couldn't help issuing a stinging retort.  "Though why she was kissing you, I'll never be able to figure out."  Xander had to scratch his head in confusion as she stumbled past him, intent only on finding some fresh air.

*****

"Did you...hear...something?"  Buffy asked, between kisses.  Somehow they had ended up lying on the floor, Willow resting on top of her, though neither were sure how they had gotten there, it seemed to be the perfect position for continuing what they were doing.

"No...can't say...I did..."  Willow murmured, licking her way across Buffy's chest, stopping to nip at places designed to cause Buffy to shiver.  "But then...you do have better...hearing...than me...and I was...distracted."  Willow said, kissing her way across and then down a velvet, tight abdomen.  "What was it?"  Willow asked, licking a line across Buffy's stomach, just above her pubic bone.

Buffy was finding it hard to breathe as Willow tantalized her senses.  "I...I can't remember."  In fact, she couldn't even remember her own name.  Willow's nose tickled against her pubic hair, sending an odd sensation to her stomach.  Willow giggled, and the vibration sent shudders through her body.  "Will...stop teasing."  Buffy pleaded, not sure how much more of the gently inquisitive exploration she could take.

"Was I teasing?"  She inquired, a quirky grin lighting her face.  Buffy eyed her incredulously, a groan escaping her lips as Willow fought the urge to giggle.  "I'm sorry."  She said, contritely, licking Buffy's belly button, earning another heartfelt groan.  "I'll stop teasing."  She promised, and kept her word as she eased into warm wetness.

"Oh...yes..."  Buffy groaned, getting a tighter hold on Willow's head.  She closed her eyes and just pictured Willow above her, leaning over her, head busily bobbing as she lapped enthusiastically at her juices.  Willow always put her all into making love to her...much to her bodies enjoyment.

Being with Buffy was like having your very own all night, ice cream buffet, Willow thought as she licked up the copious wetness, or...like that folgers commercial... she was good to the last drop.  And she intended to taste every last one of them.  She chuckled mentally, her body jiggling as she tried not to snort into Buffy's folds.  Her lover was getting tauter by the minute, although she remained deathly quiet, and Willow could never figure out just how she did that, she could never contain herself that much.  But she knew Buffy was perilously close to the edge, all she had to do was push her off.

She felt Buffy's warm muscles welcome her in as she slid two fingers deep inside her, and heard Buffy grunt, enjoying the invasion.  Her mouth tenderly enveloped Buffy's clit, greeting the little nubbin of pleasure and sucking on it gently. 

Buffy breathed in sharply, closing her eyes against the white hot pleasure that invaded her senses.  "Just a little...more."  she gasped, feeling her lover increase the suction on her clit as her fingers increased their tempo.  She felt it coming...coming relentlessly, like a freight train about to bowl her over.  Her heart felt like it was about ready to jump right out of her chest, and a mantra of 'oh god's' had started running pel mel through her brain.  Then the pleasure washed over her and the thinking stopped, as well as her breathing, and she couldn't tell for sure, but she could swear her heart beat had stopped too, as the intense searing rush made her want to cry out to the heavens.  She couldn't hear nor feel anything but the pleasure for a few timely moments, and then her breathing came back with a slight gasp, and she felt her heart beat again, sending blood rushing to all of the parts that so desperately needed it. 

Her head was spinning, she presumed from lack of oxygen, and she felt limp all over, but when Willow crawled up to lay her head on her shoulder she realized that she'd never felt so good, just being alive.

*****

Joyce was about to go in to the showers herself about ten minutes later, when both girls came out, dressed in their gym clothes, and looking rosy and healthy, except for Willow, who apparently had a split lip.  Joyce was on her in a second, searching for any more injuries.  "I'm so sorry...did that happen tonight..."  Willow sent a panicked look Buffy's way, looking for a helping hand, or at least a reasonable explanation.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it, Mrs. Summers."  Cordelia said, glibly from her spot on the unburned books.  "It doesn't look like their feeling all that badly to me...in fact...I think they enjoyed it."  Cordelia said, before she got up and walked out, leaving them all speechless. Willow's eyes turned big as saucers, while Buffy started coughing spasmodically, earning a worried frown from her mother.

"Are you sure you don't want to be checked out, Buffy?"  Joyce asked, frowning as Buffy continued coughing while waving her away.

"Take it from me, Mrs. Summers.  Buffy's the picture of health...if you looked up health in the Dictionary, there Buffy would be.  I know...cause I've already checked her out...in a purely medical way of course...like there'd be...any other way to check her out...right?  And you know me...I know stuff...and all her stuff checks out. Yep...she works good...really good, even." 

Buffy eyed her lover, not knowing if she was making things better or worse.  "Uh...you know...I think it's Willow that you need to worry about mom.  See how red she is?  She came...you know,*real* close to losing it earlier..." Willow shot Buffy an evil look for that. "...and before it gets any worse, I think I oughta take her home."  Buffy continued in a hurry.  Yeah, home, where they could pick up where they left off...a smile tried to break out on the Slayer's face, but she forced it back, blinking at her mom innocently.  Joyce just shook her head, and sighed, leading the way out of the school.