Disclaimer: Joss owns Buffy, I just own the entire series on DVD.
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Naked Challenge

Spike strode out of the house with purpose. Buffy could only hope that this would end soon, without Spike getting hurt.

Behind her Tara watched the scene unfolding. “Buffy? What’s going on?“

“It’s a fight to prove who is more worthy of being my mate,“ said Buffy sadly.

“Why?”

Buffy laughed. “That is a very good question. I’m going to chalk it up to Angel being dense.”

“Spike won’t get hurt will he?”

“Not if I can help it.”

Buffy stepped out on to the porch.

“Angel! Could you please at least put some pants on? The neighbours are gonna start to complain and call the cops.”

Angel stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

“Go back in the house Buffy. This doesn’t concern you,” said the brooding one.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “I see we are on the merry-go-round again. This is as much my fight as Spike’s, but he wants to go first. I hope you realise exactly what you are getting yourself into here.”

Angel ignored her. He and Spike stepped into the circle of blood.

“I challenge my Grand childe for the right to claim this human, this slayer as mate,” said Angel.

“I defend my right to claim this slayer as mate. We have performed the rights,” answered Spike.

Buffy jumped off the porch and entered the blood circle on the lawn.

“I defend my right to be mate to Spike, William the Bloody, Childe of Drusilla. I am his mate and he is mine. We have performed the rites,” said Buffy.

Buffy moved off to the side of the circle, she wouldn’t leave the circle until there was a winner. Spike and Angel crouched down in defensive positions.

Buffy couldn’t help but watch as Angel and Spike went at it on her front lawn. Angel naked, Spike shirtless. Spike got in a few good hits before being slammed down onto the ground hard by the elder vampire.

“I am your grandsire childe!” shouted Angel. “I will always be stronger than you”

Buffy stood up as Angel walked closer to Spike, who was only now attempting to get up. Moving between Angel and her lover, Buffy stood defiantly protecting Spike from Angel.

“Guess this means it’s my turn,” said Buffy with a smile on her face.

“It doesn’t have to be this way Buffy.”

“It does now. You started the challenge, now we have to finish it.”

Buffy ducked as Angel swung at her. She circled around and kicked Angel in the back, causing the dark vampire to land on top of Spike.

Spike groaned.

“Sorry!” she said in a high girly intonation.

Spike pushed Angel up off of him and belted him one in the gut.

Buffy moved to the sidelines once more. Angel had opened up a cut on Spike’s jaw line, and Angel was favouring his left arm.

“Give it up Peaches,” said Spike wiping the blood off his chin. “She’s my girl, not yours.”

Angel let out a feral roar and charged towards Spike. Buffy caught a flash of something in Angel’s hand. He had a stake! That wasn’t allowed in the challenge!

“Angel!” screamed Buffy.

Angel and Spike were now wrestling on the ground, each struggling to wrench the stake away from the other.

Getting the upper hand again, Angel thrust the stake at Spike’s heart.

“NO!” Buffy screamed.

An intense light emanated from Buffy and stopped the two vampires in their tracks.

Panting with the expending energy, Buffy shook off the static of magic that she had used and walked over to the two frozen vamps and took the stake out of Angel’s hand.

“Buffy? What did you do?” asked Tara.

Buffy had completely forgot that Tara had been watching. Buffy looked up at Tara, her eyes completely white. She smiled.

“Surprise?” shrugged Buffy.

“Buffy? You are a witch?”

“Not really. It’s kinda hard to explain. I couldn’t let Angel kill him. I love him.”

Tara nodded.

“But what about the...” Tara waved her hand towards Buffy.

“Oh, I don’t like to flaunt it. There’s a time and place for everything.”

“Willow’s eyes go black when she’s caught up in the magic. Yours are white.”

Buffy nodded.

“Yours would be white too Tara.”

Tara blushed.

“Is Willow evil?”

Buffy laughed. “No, she’s just a different kind of witch. Magic isn’t evil or good, it’s what you use it for, you let it control you or you control it.”

Tara nodded. “Are you just gonna leave them like that?”

Buffy chuckled. “No I suppose not. I just don’t know how to stop this with out hurting the both of them,” she sighed.

Buffy released the spell. Suddenly without the stake, Angel fell forward onto Spike’s chest. Buffy stood before them and waved a hand. Suddenly Angel was being dangled in the air.

“Angel, I told you that you would have to take on the both of us. Well here I am, not even touching you, and yet you can’t get away.”

“Buffy?” asked Angel surprised.

“That’s right Angel, I’m more powerful that you ever imagined. Spike is mine, Angel. Mine. And I am his. If you ever try to stand between us again, you won’t get out of the challenge alive. Do you understand me?”

Angel nodded.

“Put some clothes on and go back to LA Angel.” Buffy floated Angel over to where his clothes were.

“Buffy?” asked Spike confused.

Buffy’s hardened expression suddenly softened as she beheld her lover undead and well. Buffy rushed to his side and did a surface check of all his injuries.

Spike stared for a moment at her colourless eyes.

“What happened to the green?”

Buffy ducked her head and relaxed. She looked back up at him, her eye colour back to normal.

“That better?”

“Yes. Were you going to tell me about the whole witchy thing?” he asked.

“Eventually.”

“You turned Amy back didn’t you?”

“Yep. Come on in the house. You probably want to talk about this.”

“Damn right I do.”

Buffy looked out of the corner of her eye to see Angel slink off by himself.
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It was nearly 4 am and still Buffy hadn’t slept. She and Spike had stayed up talking about everything. He had been hurt that she had had secrets from him even now. Five hours of dishing secrets would make anyone tired but not Buffy. Spike was lying on his stomach growling in his sleep.

Placing a peck on his cheek, Buffy trod down stairs and got out that piece of paper on which held her list. She hadn’t looked at it in a long time. Looking it over she couldn’t believe how many things were missing from it. She should have anticipated Angel’s reaction to the claim. She should have had a secret swapping session with Spike.

Buffy’s List of Things To Do Now That I’m NOT an Old Crone

1. Go to the Beach - work on tan, before the ozone layer completely evaporates - Take Dawn Done
2. Have sex with love of your life, as much as possible.
3. Eat junk food.Done
4. Shop, shop like there’s no tomorrow.
5. Bronze it up - Take Spike - Get Drunk - get the hang over of all hangovers Done
6. Visit Mom’s grave, if possible, look to move her out of Sunnydale.
7. Patrol, kick undead booty
8. Have talk with Willow about magic over use - possible prop, ice cream, chocolate chips and gummy bears.
9. Marriage counsel Xander and Anya (Pre marriage counsel?)
10. Put nerds in jail, possibly after diamond bust (note, what to do about Andrew?)
11. Have Giles start looking into the watcher’s diaries about the first evil - thus stopping the trip to England.
12. Get paid by watcher’s council. God knows they can afford it. Done
13. Find Cameras put up by nerds
14. De-rat Amy. Done
15. Find Rack and take him out. Done
16. Get that Double meat icky lady demon thing. Done
17. Girls night out with Willow.

And there were still things to do. She really had to have that talk with Willow about Magic. She hoped that the engagement party for Xander and Anya would open Xander’s eyes and Anya’s. It’s not that she didn’t want them together. She wanted them to be happy together.

It was time to throw out the list. She debated for a while whether or not she needed a new list and after significant internal debate she decided against it.
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Giles had made up some sort of excuse for Anya not to be at work the next day. Employee of the year or some such thing. It was silly really, cause only Anya and Giles worked there. The scoobies sans Xander used the Anya free Magic box to set up the engagement party to end all engagement parties.

The walls were hung with heavy green cloth. Candles were set up to burn, and Dawn and Willow were at home concocting demon food goodness.

Buffy was busy, laying on her tummy, painting a banner to say ‘Welcome to the Arashamahar Family Xander.’

She was pretty sure he was going to flip. Or maybe it was flip out. She wasn’t sure. She had had confirmations from both Hallfrek and D’Hoffryn, they were both coming to the party.

Buffy checked her watch. She had 20 minutes to get to her dental appointment. Buffy dragged the banner into the training room to dry. She just hoped that Giles didn’t step on it.
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Buffy looked nervously around the dental office. She was quite familiar now with the torture that was the Dentist, having had to spend long hours awaiting her turn to get her dentures fitted or fixed.

But here she was for a check up and cleaning. She was determined to take care of her teeth this time around.

The other people in the dentist office weren’t as entertaining as she had deluded herself into thinking, the magazines were old and gross. Buffy wished that she had brought something to read. Even Moritz’s compendium on demon greetings would be better than sitting here, staring at the wall.

Luckily her boredom was solved by the hygienist calling her name. Walking to the chair as happily as she could Buffy struck up a conversation with the woman who would be cleaning her teeth. Buffy realised right away that the woman was not all she appeared to be. She was a demon of some sort. And the fear radiating off of the hygienist was well...frightening.

“Look, I know that you’re a demon, and You know that I know you are a demon. I’m not here to kill you. I don’t see you doing anything wrong. I’m just here to get my teeth cleaned,” said Buffy.

The hygienist looked visibly less scared but Buffy couldn’t help but feel that the fear was going to be there the entire appointment. This was probably the first time in the history of dentistry where the patient would have to reassure the hygienist.

“So what are you then?” asked Buffy.

“Excuse me?”

“What species are you?”

“Brownie.”

“Huh, cool. Never met one before. I usually meet the bad ones. You know, the vampires, the polgaras, the ones that want to destroy the world.”

Brownie nodded.

“Got a name?”

“Rowan,”

“Pretty.”

“Thanks”

“You don’t have to scared of me you know. I’m really a very nice person once you get to know me. I have demon friends. Well a couple anyway.”

“Anyanka and William the Bloody.”

“Ooh looks like you know more about me than I do about you.”

“Everyone knows about the Slayer. You’re famous.”

“Oh, well thanks,” Buffy blushed and leaned back in the chair. “Well let’s get this show on the road. Slayer’s gotta take care of her pearly whites.”
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tbc...