Title: Bring Me Into the Light (6/?)
AUTHOR: Mistress Ace & Em
E-MAIL: rosewood@inreach.com & slayerbuffy@aol.com
FEEDBACK: Is the butter on our bread. We write because the story begs to be told. Feedback lets us know if we struck a chord with you.
DISTRIBUTION: Our site, Fandom Writers (http://www.fandomwriters.com), of course. FINNatics, Vamps-N-Slayers, the other list archives as well. Anyone else interested, we'll be happy to share.
RATING: NC-17 (eventually – or maybe quickly depending on the whim of the muses)
CATEGORY: Story: Romance, Angst
SPOILERS: As You Were
PAIRINGS: B/R/Sam, m/f, f/f
DISCLAIMER: Don't own the characters at all. (More's the pity) They belong to the Great God Joss Whedon et al. We are just borrowing them for a little bit. That's all. No BtVS characters were harmed in the writing of this fic. Well, maybe just a little.
SUMMARY: Not back for long enough. Not nearly long enough and there were too many things left up in the air. But isn't that the purpose of fan-fiction?
DEDICATION: From Ace: Well, to Em of course for bringing this Riley to the fore. For her lovely Buffy and for giving me the chance to get to know Sam. To Jenf'r for the original pairing idea and to our betas – you rock.
From Em: To my talented co-author for bringing her Riley, because we all know Em doesn't write Riley well. To Jenfr, for her comment "Now someone must write the AR where Riley and Sam take Buffy with them" after the episode "As You Were" - we deviated quite a bit but you put the plot bunny in my head. And to our betas - you're the best!

 
Chapter 6

Riley shifted until he was lounging against the headboard, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Gentle humor dwelt in his voice and in his eyes as he watched both of them. "Full disclosure time, Buffy. You might not get another chance. I'd take it, if I were you." It did his heart good to see them so easy with each other. Without it, without them making a connection what Sam had suggested would never work. No matter how much he wanted it to.

Offer given, offer accepted. There were a lot of things that Buffy really wanted to know about. The biggest one was this, "How did you two end up together? Not that it doesn't seem like a match made in... well, anyways... you know. I know you said you met on an assignment, Sam, but I'm rather curious, I'll admit." There was a glint of similar humor on her eyes as she leaned forward and a hint of the girl she'd once been when she added, "So, spill. Tell me how it happened."

The lightness of their mood was infectious and besides Buffy had just asked for one of Sam's favorite stories. Sam laughed, merriment and mischief clear on her beautiful face. "We met in a firefight. Chain of command screwed up and sent both of our teams to the same location. Demons were mostly gone but we didn't know that... Didn't know another team was dropped in on top of us."

Not funny at the time but it was something they could laugh about now. With time and distance as a buffer from the crushing reality. Strange how that always seemed to be the case in their line of work...

The hotel room they sat in, the bed underneath them, the girl sitting between them – all of it flowed away as memory replaced her immediate surroundings and Sam was back in the thick of the battle. Felt the adrenaline rush and for a moment it was all real again.

Blood and smoke and fire, all around her and around her team. Bright copper tang in her mouth and orders being screamed in an almost inhuman voice. Bodies moving in the dark, new bodies, glint of a weapon to her left and she was spinning. Spinning and kicking and hitting, taking the big thing down, following it to the ground. Found herself staring into a pair of startled grey-green eyes right before a huge fist clocked her in the ribs, sending her flying.

Facing off against it, fighting for her life and rolling with each punch. Damn, it hit hard. Flare gun going off, bright flash above them as night became day for a brief instant and the world coalesced into something that almost made sense. Not demons, they were not facing demons... Black Ops gear everywhere and her opponent, a man, stared at her while barking out orders, calling for his team to stand down, to stand the fuck down.

And what a man he was - magnificent. Big, powerful with a face that could stop traffic – hard eyes flicked up and down her body and sent a quick flush of heat through her before he laughed out loud. Said something under his breath about slayers that left her confused and trembling... and yes... wanting him for her very own even though Sam didn't know the first thing about him.

Not even his name.

Riley interrupted with a chuckle of his own and a smile that lit up the entire room. "She kicked my ass. Mopped the ground with me, and when I got to my feet... I did the same with her. Sound familiar?" He grinned at Buffy, his brows raised. Challenging her to choose the memory running round and round in his head.

Her dorm, not knowing she was the Slayer, tracking an escapee from the Initiative with the dogged single-minded purpose that made him one of Maggie's best and brightest. He and his team tagged Hostile 17 in there and Forrest was about to haul Willow into quarantine. Rough hand on her thin arm, cry of pain in her little girl voice and Riley ordered him to leave her alone, to let her go.

No way was he going to let Maggie get her clutches on Willow. Not his partner-in-crime, the girl who threatened him with a beating with a shovel because a vague disclaimer was a friend to no one. Quirky little red-head with a quicksilver smile and the saddest eyes he'd ever seen. The girl was too innocent, too nice... and still reeling from the boyfriend who'd up and deserted her. Left right after they'd gotten wind of two werewolves roaming free around the campus.

Turned out he was one of them.

Riley had found the other with its throat torn out, long drifts of blondish fur fading into soft hair as the moon set. Watched it morph back into what might have been a beautiful girl, if her face hadn't been twisted in a rictus of pain, eyes blank and staring until he closed them for her. Closed them and said a silent prayer for whoever she'd been and the countless innocents she'd probably slaughtered while under the influence of the moon.

Just another startling discovery in the little shop of horrors that was Sunnydale.

That night, when they had a handle on both Willow and Spike, Buffy showed up with a flare-gun. Seems no one ever warned her about setting it off inside a building. The resulting blindness left all of them struggling in the unending glare. With neither of them knowing who they were facing, he and Buffy had a knockdown drag-out that left him bruised for days. She was so damned quick, every time he tried to hit her, he got a sucker punch in return that left him gasping for breath.

Hard to laugh about it then with Maggie staring him down, disappointment about his failure heavy in her voice. Brittle woman, all bound up in hate and ambition and her own unholy purpose. Taking him apart with her words when she had that thing, that monster tucked away in her lab. Maybe it was then that she put the chip in his chest... changed his nightly vitamins for opiates and inserted the god-dammed thing that almost cost him and Buffy their lives. Hard to tell with Maggie...

Couldn't laugh about it then. But he could laugh about it now.

Buffy laughed and nodded, the memory flashing in her eyes. He'd fought pretty well that night. He was quick and strong and for a minute or two, she'd wondered if he was going to take her. Not that he ever had but the strength was there, the strength and the speed and if she hadn't been so worried about Willow, she probably would have appreciated the fight more.

"You really have a thing for women who can kick your ass, don't you? After a while, like with me, you found out that you work better together than separately? Like in that church, with the Gentlemen?" Her eyes flashed and sparked the memory of the two of them coming to their feet with weapons pointed at each other. Both breathing hard and not believing what was in front of their eyes. What had been in front of their eyes if they'd only known how to look.

"Gotta love me a strong woman. It's what really gets me going and you know that." Riley's laugh filled the room. Strong and joyful and so utterly masculine. No hint of guile, no deliberate tease or push, no sarcasm. Everything honest and clean and good, all the things she'd been missing for the past year. So totally different from Spike.

"We know, Finn, we know." Sam's laughter joined his and after a moment or two, Buffy was laughing right along with them. Completely at ease with one another. No monsters hiding in the closet. No demons in the dark. Just what Buffy had needed for months and months and months.

Buffy spent a few moments just enjoying the pleasant atmosphere, soaking it up. The one thing she'd learned about joy, it was fleeting. You had to grab it when you could. Another question came to mind and, when all three of them had sobered, she turned to look at Riley. If she was going to be part of his team, she needed to know this.

"Is Graham still part of your unit, and does he still hate me?" It made her nervous, wondering if she would see him again and if he would be hostile towards her. After her run-ins with Forrest and his open animosity she didn't want another repeat of that. If anybody else in his team knew about Riley's vampire addiction, it would be Graham. And he probably blamed her for it.

Riley's smile didn't falter as he shook his head and slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Gray's still with us and no, he doesn't hate you. He hates what I did to myself over you but he knows I did it, not you. You should have heard him on the subject." His first day back, Gray caught him in the showers. Grabbed his arm and stared at it and started cursing up a storm. Riley was... impressed.

Didn't know Graham was fluent in that many languages. And it got worse when he found the ones on his neck then connected the dots. Abandoned the junkie idea for the truth. Dogged his steps for months afterward and there were more than a few nights when Riley woke up with his hands cuffed to his cot and Graham standing guard.

That usually happened when they were near a vampire nest.

The rest of the time, Graham functioned as his shadow. Even through his rebellious phase when he sought out every other kind of pleasure known to man. Anything to get the empty feeling in his gut to let up, the itch under his skin to stop. Booze, women, fights... anything that might bring about his own destruction. Demons couldn't do it, couldn't touch him so maybe the human element could...

Then he met Sam and the world... shifted.

His sweater was pushed up to the elbows, faint scars peppering the skin there. Standing out in high relief against his sun-bronzed skin. Sam reached over Buffy, her thumb pressing against one of them and Riley shivered. Gave her a heated look but didn't move away. "He's stopped watching you around vamps so I think he's worked most of it out, Ry."

"I hope so." Buffy murmured. For quite a while before he'd left the Initiative, most of Riley's teammates had seemed angry with her or outright disliked her. Forrest had been the worst, had come out and accused her of killing Professor Walsh. Even after Adam confessed to that murder, he'd been deliberately cold. It bothered Buffy that they didn't want her around Riley. That he had to separate those two parts of his life because of her.

She didn't want history to repeat itself.

Tentatively, Buffy reached out and brushed her fingers over Riley's arm. "Why did you do it, Riley? What did I do wrong?" she asked in an almost-whisper. It hurt so much, seeing him in that filthy place. His shirt off: bare, beautiful chest gleaming in the dim light and a thin, lank-haired almost-woman in his lap. Sucking on his arm and for a reeling moment, Buffy thought it'd been sucking on something else.

When he ordered it to bite harder, her whole world shattered. Shattered into almost as many pieces as her heart.

She hadn't been enough for him. He had to seek out his pleasure in another woman's arms. Angelus had been right, she wasn't good enough for any man. The mocking words from her junior year whirled round and round in her head as she stumbled out of that charnal house. Stayed in her head when she stopped in the alley and lost the remnants of what she'd eaten for dinner.

Still in her head when she crawled into her bed, pulled her pillow up to her face and breathed in... Riley's scent. The cologne she'd bought him, light traces of the scent that was uniquely his. The sparkle of the bracelet he'd given her caught in the moonlight as she tore it off her wrist and sent it flying across the room. Each a silent testament to what she'd lost, what had been taken from her... because she wasn't good enough. Because she would never be good enough.

Angelus' mocking, hateful words echoed through her despair as she cried and cried and cried.

Some of their memories were sweet and some of them were like this. Bitter, bitter things. She swallowed hard to clear away the taste and scent and feel of her tears from that horrible night. Struggled briefly with her emotions, then shoved them back down into the place inside where she locked all her insecurities and fears.

Buffy's fingertips on the scars provoked a moan was well as a shiver. When Riley looked at her, there was no mistaking the hunger in his eyes, on his face and in his voice. Stark and obvious and terrible in its purity. "It wasn't you. That morning, when your mom went in for the tests, I found Spike in your room. Found him sniffing your clothes. When I dragged him downstairs, he said I wasn't dark enough. Said you needed a monster in your man... And I believed him."

Knowing her husband better than anyone in the world, Sam knew he was on edge. If Buffy touched the scars again, all his good intentions would go out the window. It was the one holdover from those days, the spots where he'd been bitten seemed to have a sense memory. Whenever she really wanted to get him going, all she had to do was touch him there and he'd slam her up against the nearest wall or down on a table or the floor... whatever was handy.

She should warn Buffy but thought better of it. Let her find out for herself, let her discover the man again... not just the memory of him. Her memories of him, the ones she'd shared implied innocence and Riley was far from innocent now.

Far from it.

The deep hunger in Riley's eyes sent a shiver up Buffy's spine and made her eyes darken as she automatically reacted to it. She licked her suddenly dry lips and carefully pulled her hand away. They'd just talked about waiting and discussing things later, and now this. She didn't know what had happened to cause it, but she knew it was better to pull back for now and let things be.

She had to struggle with herself every moment, but she finally managed to pull her hands back and settle them in her lap, clenched tightly. "I'm sorry," Buffy whispered. Her voice sounded strained, even to her own ears, but it had needed to be said.

"Don't be. These..." Riley leaned forward, pulling his arm out from around her back. He ran his fingers over the scars inside the bend of his right elbow as he looked at Buffy. "These are triggers for me. That's how it worked, Buffy. The first bite left a scent on my skin, under my skin, and the vamp I dusted tonight... he smelled it. Found me in a bar and touched me here." He tugged on the neck of his sweater, pulling it down to reveal two shadowed pinpricks.

"I followed him. Couldn't stop myself. He led me to that place, the one you found me in. Took me upstairs, and rolled up my sleeve." Eyes downcast, Riley blushed, something he hadn't done since leaving Sunnydale. Bright flush of blood in his cheeks, heat rising as he continued to talk around the huge lump in his throat. His fingers pressed over a second scar, a few inches from the first set on his neck. "He bit me here first..."

While Sam and Buffy watched, Riley touched his arm, then behind his right knee. "Here and here." Fingertips brushed down the line of his left hip, right over the bone and there was that bright flare of absolute hunger in his eyes again. "Here too. I was lost, Buffy. I couldn't find my way back. And I couldn't ask for help. Didn't know how to." The last bite, the one that happened when he was plainly out of it... the one he found after he crawled home that night was the one that caused him the most shame.

Buffy nodded slowly. "I know how that feels. I'm sorry I didn't see it." Her fingers absently found the faint scar on her neck as she watched him point out his. She wondered if she would react the same way to a touch on her scar, and realized she couldn't remember anyone ever having touched it but her.

And Dracula when he bit her there. Dark eyes boring into her own, dark hair brushing her cheek. Nothing like the rush of sensations she remembered from Angel; possibly damped by the haze cast into her mind. She fought Dracula and his spells... tried so hard, but he had her truly trapped when he woke her that night. Only for a little while, but it was long enough. Long enough to shake her foundations. To make Riley jealous and suspicious.

She put those thoughts out of her mind, though, focusing on Riley again. "I'm sorry any of it happened. Spike was wrong. He only wanted me to be that way so that I would see him." Buffy lapsed into thought, thinking aloud more than outright talking... and so not entirely aware of what she was verbalizing. "I was never a thrill-seeker. I didn't need to be, because of my non-social nightlife. I've only ever been in love twice so far, and neither of you was a monster. I love you for you."

Riley's indrawn breath brought her mind back to the present, and she was startled by the look in his eyes. Buffy glanced at Sam, and realized she'd actually been speaking and not just thinking... and wondered if she'd just spoken out of turn. She never wanted to hurt Sam, sweet generous Sam who was offering to share her husband and herself.

"I love you too, Buffy. I never stopped," Riley murmured as he sought both her hand and Sam's. "I've only loved two women in my life and they're in this room. This is weird for me and it's not going to be easy but I want to give it a shot." Warmth and confusion in his voice. It was nice to know he was as thrown by all of this as she was.

Silent until now, Sam squeezed Riley's hand. She turned her attention to Buffy, fixing her with a steady gaze. Studied her for a moment with her head tilted to the side, taking her measure. One corner of her mouth lifted into a smile as she spoke, "Saying I love you is sometimes the easiest thing in the world, but it can also be the hardest. Thank you for telling him. He's needed to hear it."

Buffy held her free hand out to Sam, and smiled when the other woman took it. Her eyes, still a little darker than their usual bright hazel, met and stayed on Sam's. "I think I did too, honestly. I haven't said it to anyone in a romantic way since... since high school."

She couldn't say Angel's name in front of Riley, it was too hard. But she promised herself that she'd tell Sam about him someday. "I wanted to, but it was like... if I admitted it, everything would suddenly come crashing down. Perhaps not a rational fear, but a very real one. Because that's been my only experience of it."

Buffy shook her head, cutting herself off before her voice broke. She'd cried too much over this, these feelings. Cried oceans when Angel left her because she loved him and he loved her, but they couldn't be together. Because he wanted "normal" for her without realizing that she could never have it. Then she'd cried again, more rivers of tears when Riley left because she couldn't get past the walls that kept her from telling him that she loved him.

So he'd left, thinking that she didn't love him when really she did. Because she couldn't say the words then... still couldn't, honestly. She'd said them, yes... but that had been a slip. She hadn't been aware that she was speaking her thoughts, so the words slipped past her guard. "A psych team would have a field day with me, I'm afraid. This isn't going to be an easy road to healing..."

"We'll help. Wherever we can." Sam smiled and kissed Buffy's forehead. She couldn't stop touching the other girl now that she had permission. Soft scented skin, faint tang of salt and ash from their earlier activities. Something she could get addicted to very fast, the feel of Buffy under her lips.

Riley couldn't stop smiling, couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice no matter how hard he tried. "With us, you get a psych team. That's my degree, remember? And Sam's a doctor." His heart was singing, the weight of the last year dropping away from him. The pain of seeing Buffy with Spike, the memory of the vamp's taunts faded away as well. He'd been used by that cold-hearted bastard but so had Buffy.

Now it was time to heal.

Buffy giggled and made a face at him. "Ooh, lucky me," she teased. Then reality caught up again. College grads, both of them. Sam was a doctor, and that took a lot of schooling. Riley had a psych degree. And what did Buffy have? A calling. A fate to die saving the world.

Everything that her mother had ever wanted for her girls, Buffy lacked. And probably always would. She fell silent again as the pain in that thought hit her. Finally, she said softly, "But I don't have a degree to brag about and at the rate I'm going, I never will." She tried but didn't quite succeed in hiding the disappointment in her voice.

"Hey. We're gonna take care of that. No more Double Meat Palace for you, no more burger smell. Once we get you set up, you're going back to school." The pain in her voice made him want to gather her up in his arms and never let go again. Which would lead to them not leaving the room and they'd already decided to cool it for the night. All three of them sitting on a bed together wasn't helping with his libido at all.

Trying not to hover or tear anybody's clothes off, Riley let go of Sam's hand and reached for his drink on the nightstand. As he stretched for it, his sweater rode up and Buffy was treated to something she hadn't seen in a long time. Riley's taut stomach, skin bronzed and healthy and if she reached out to touch it, probably very warm too. Her brain suddenly went south for the winter, right along with her common sense.

His words were still flowing, but they stopped registering at that moment. But her eyes were following the tiny trail of dark blond hair that disappeared into the waistband of his jeans. Remembered following that trail with her fingers and her lips. Shivering as he mirrored the move on her own belly. A gentle squeeze of Sam's hand in hers brought Buffy back to herself. And God, was Riley still talking? With a mental shake, Buffy attempted to return her gaze to his face and listen to him properly. But somehow, she didn't quite make it.

"We can talk to admissions for you too. I know it's too late to apply through regular channels. But Drum's wife went to school with the Dean and I've still got some pull there." He drank a sip from the can, wetting his throat before looking back at Buffy. Who was staring at his stomach. And Sam, who was doing the same but she was smiling. In that instant of realization the air around them became heavy, thick and difficult to breathe.

Buffy felt Riley's eyes on her and she looked up to meet them, blushing faintly at having been caught staring. She shook herself and tried to return her thoughts to the topic of conversation. Now where..? Oh, school. Right? He was still talking about school? Operating on that assumption, she answered, "I already tried to... to apply normally. I was turned down." Her hands still itched to reach out and touch him, touch them, and she tightened her hands in theirs slightly, trying to restrain herself. Damn, but this was difficult.

"Buffy. It's okay. You can touch me." Amazed that his voice didn't crack, Riley eased back up against the headboard. Quick glance flicked at Sam who nodded, still smiling. Permission granted, thank God. He opened his body up to Buffy, let the sweater stay in its rucked up state. "You can touch either of us. We don't bite and if it gets too heavy, I'll put a stop to it."

Sam reached out, her fingers sliding through Buffy's hair and drawing the attention away from Riley for a minute. "As much as you want to touch us, we want to touch you. You're beautiful, Buffy." Her words trailed off as they gazed at one another. Sam's regard dropped from Buffy's eyes to her mouth. Coral pink, trembling, the lower lip full and begging for someone's touch, "I want to kiss you. May I?"

The hand that held Sam's trembled, then gave a gentle tug towards her. Buffy licked her lips and nodded slowly. "Yes... but I'm afraid that if I start, I won't want to stop..." she admitted softly. She shifted until she was sitting on her feet, her legs no longer between them and her body.

Sam understood exactly where Buffy was coming from. The girl was starved for affection and terrified of making another mistake. Her loneliness, her isolation from the rest of the world had driven her into the arms of a monster. The temptation to fall was so great, to simply lose herself in the pleasures of the flesh. And that wasn't what she needed right now.

But neither did she need a rejection after that hard admission. Easy enough to solve, if they could stick to a simple rule. But she'd have to be the one to lay it down because her husband was far past logic right now. He was stretched to his breaking point, otherwise he wouldn't be offering his body up like a sacrifice. No, Sam had to be the voice of reason for all of them. "One kiss, from each of us and then we'll go. Work off the buzz on the dance floor."

Buffy nodded her agreement and gave Sam a smile filled with gratitude for her understanding. She leaned in and gave the other woman a tight hug and whispered, "Thank you," in her ear as she drew back again.

"You're welcome," Sam whispered in turn before leaning in. Light brush of lips, soft and full and as welcome as water in the parched desert of Buffy's soul. Her mouth was warm on Buffy's, warm and gentle, whereas Spike's had always been cold and hard. Slender fingers threaded through her hair, combing it back, and the touch of Sam's tongue on her lower lip was nothing short of reverent.

Riley watched, his heart in his throat. Totally fascinated by what he was witnessing. Yes, he knew lesbians, some of his best friends were, but it wasn't like he'd seen them doing this. Tara and Willow had always been circumspect about their relationship, keeping it private and behind closed doors. Rarely touching in public and never kissing.

And he'd never been one for watching the movies Forrest brought to Lowell House, the ones filled with naked people and really bad music, so he'd never really seen two women kiss. Even with Graham's unreasoning fascination with the Spice Channel whenever they were anywhere near civilization, he'd managed to miss this before. Which was probably a good thing because he knew he'd never get tired of seeing it. Not after tonight....

Buffy closed her eyes and threaded her fingers through Sam's soft, silky hair, the long strands wrapping around her fingers. She parted her own lips as she returned the kiss, her tongue finding Sam's to brush together in a gentle caress.

Shifting closer, Sam pressed up against Buffy as she tilted her head further to the side. Their tongues glided together, parted and glided together again. It was going to be hard letting her go, hard moving away from this and for a selfish moment, Sam let the kiss continue until Buffy was ready to have it stop. She wasn't going to move away or do anything to break the spell.

A warm, broad hand glided down Buffy's back, one that she knew was Riley's. He didn't move closer, didn't say anything. Just touched her gently and carefully, like she was made of glass. Incredibly aware of the difference in their sizes, if not their strengths. He'd almost always touched her that way, though there were a few exceptions once she'd gotten it through his head that she wouldn't shatter.

Buffy let the kiss continue for as long as she dared, and then gently broke it. Her eyes opened and met Sam's, an intense fire flashing between them for a moment. Reluctantly, Buffy pulled herself back. She wanted it... God, she wanted it. But it was too much, too soon. She wouldn't risk it; a moment's hasty desire could ruin their growing relationship, and Buffy knew it would tear her apart if that were to happen.

Sitting back on her heels, Sam drew in an unsteady breath. That single kiss had shaken her to her very foundations, it blew away any semblance of sanity... scattering it to the four winds. Her face was flushed, her hands damp and if she looked at Buffy for another moment all resolve was going to go out the window. So instead, she looked at Riley.

Who was watching her with the same intensity Buffy had just shown. Desire so deep and dark it took her breath away. She hadn't seen that look in awhile. They were treading on the razor's edge right now. One move in either direction could send their house of cards tumbling down.

The air seemed to crackle with tension and barely restrained desire as Buffy looked from Sam to Riley. It only took half a second for her to see he was as on-edge as they were. All three of them wanted each other so much that it almost hurt. But she knew deep down that it wasn't the answer. She thought for a moment about leaving them to each other, but dismissed it immediately.

If there was ever going to be a 'three of them' in the future, they had to work through this together. Finally, in an attempt to break some of the tension, she softly teased, "Well, are you going to kiss her, Mr. Finn, or am I gonna have to beat you with a shovel?" The misquote was deliberate, and she relaxed when she saw Riley begin to chuckle.

Buffy's comment, spoken in that flippant tone she usually reserved slaying, certainly broke the spell. Riley's chuckle deepened into a laugh and he moved. Leaned towards Sam, slid his hand into her hair and pulled her into a kiss. A leisurely, determined kiss that neither pushed nor held anything back.

While Buffy watched, Riley's eyes closed and his mouth moved. He sucked gently on Sam's lower lip, touched his tongue to each of the corners before turning his head a little more. Invited her to play. Sam responded, her arms around his shoulders, holding him in place as she explored his mouth in return. Kissing was a favorite pastime for them, and it showed.

As she watched them, Buffy suddenly found out why Riley had been watching them so intently. The vision before her, almost straight out of her earlier fantasies, was incredibly erotic. She licked her lips and watched as the kiss continued. If kissing was an art, they had perfected it together.

Light tease of his tongue, swirling around Sam's before he dove in. Her breath was coming quicker, fanning over his cheek and she was moving against him. Pressing up closer, just short of crawling into his lap. Riley shifted, making room for Sam, pulling her in close as she did just that. Skirt riding up, long legs straddling his, pushing him back against the headboard. Pinning him there.

The kiss continued for the longest time until they finally had to pull back in order to catch a breath. Touching his forehead to Sam's, Riley swallowed heavily, visibly shaken. After a few more moments, he turned to look at Buffy and said simply. "You're next."

Buffy met his eyes, her own dark and smoldering, then scooted closer to the entwined couple and knelt there. Her hand lifted tentatively and she combed her fingers through his hair. It was soft and sweet and achingly familiar. She watched as his eyes closed when she slid her fingers through his hair a second time. For Buffy, it was a soothing motion and she allowed herself to continue for a moment until she felt better in control of herself.

Riley leaned into that touch, letting the memories flood through him. Buffy after patrol, lying in his arms and combing her fingers through his hair. She would do it for hours on end until he finally rolled her underneath him, covered her tiny frame with his and made love to her until the sun rose the next morning. The scent of her, so familiar, so much a part of his dreams – dreams that were becoming a reality again.

He felt Sam lean against him for a minute. Felt her pull down the collar of his sweater and place a warm kiss on his throat before she climbed off his lap. Ceding her place to Buffy... to their lover. It was the most natural thing in the world to tilt his head back, to leave the option open to Buffy, to let her choose the time.

She watched him for another moment, still brushing her fingers through his soft, dark blond hair. When she felt ready, she lifted her hand away from his hair and traced her fingertips down the side of his face. She cupped his chin in her hand as she leaned in to kiss him, her tongue flicking out to brush his lips just before they made contact with hers. A slow kiss, allowing the pent-up longing to drain out of her system as his arm wrapped around her. In a way, it felt like being home again after a long time way, and she took comfort in it.

There was no question about pulling her in closer, no question at all. Riley had to, just like he had to breathe. His mouth opened under hers, tongue tracing the line of her lips even as he settled Buffy into his lap. Memory, no matter how vivid, couldn't hold a candle to the real thing.

Tiny frame so familiar and so warm, fitting perfectly against his own. He cradled her little face in one hand while the other supported her, arm wrapped around her body, fingertips curving around, brushing the side of her breast. Soft moan from Riley, equally soft sound from Buffy, growing deeper when she felt a third hand, this one in her hair.

Sam combed her fingers through the bright golden mane, unable to resist the urge to touch. Watching Riley kiss Buffy was probably one of the most satisfying things she'd ever experienced. He looked so happy, so content even though the passion hadn't dissipated at all. At peace for the first time since she'd met him, the damaged portions of him healing right before her eyes.

Another soft moan escaped Buffy as she felt Sam's fingers in her hair. She felt tiny, surrounded by the two of them, but also absolutely safe. For a moment, she was back in Heaven, feeling safe, loved and protected. She melted into the kiss, her fingers finding their way back into Riley's hair. If nothing ever changed in the future, she would always have this. Buffy was happy, truly happy, for the first time since before her death.

Little licks, tongue finding hers gently and as Buffy opened to him, Riley followed the invitation. The kiss deepened, fire rising up and ebbing away again and again. His love for her never faded, no matter how hard he tried. No matter how much he drank or how many fights he'd gotten into or how close he came to dying. It was the one constant thing... that and his love for Sam.

Who was close to them, watching them and as his hand skimmed down from Buffy's cheek to her neck, he realized Sam was kissing her there. Soft lips on the nape, right where Buffy was so sensitive. Where a single kiss could curl her toes and make her whimper.

She'd meant to resist, meant to keep her promise but that stretch of skin was too tempting. Too vulnerable. So while her husband continued to kiss this beautiful girl, Sam pressed her mouth reverently to that spot, eyes closed and lost to the moment.

Buffy's eyes flew open and she cried out as Sam's lips touched her skin in the most sensitive spot she knew of on her neck. She began to tremble, shocks of sweet pleasure zipping down her spine and through her body. She clung to Riley, their kiss intensifying as she fought to keep control of her passion. Her eyes fell closed again as she tried desperately not to break down and simply give in.

She knew that unless Riley had told her, Sam couldn't possibly have known she'd found such a sensitive place to kiss.

He'd been in a lot of intense situations in his life but none of them compared to this. His clothes felt too tight - hell, his skin felt too tight. Riley had to be the strong one, had to keep his promise but it was so hard. He was so hard.

Pulling away, their mouths finally parting and breath shuddering back into their lungs. Riley swallowed, fighting for control and unable to speak. He couldn't have forced words out right now if the fate of the world depended on it. Forehead pressed against Buffy's, eyes tightly shut as he argued with his body. Told it to stand down. Ordered it to behave.

Sam leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. They needed to get out of this room. Needed to get away from this bed before all their good intentions melted away. Control gone, caution gone... everything gone but the need for more of this.

Buffy softly kissed Riley's cheek and very gently pulled out of his arms. She got to her feet and took a few steps away from the bed, putting her back against a wall and leaning heavily on it. Her eyes were closed as she fought the feelings still racing around through her. She knew that she'd have lost the battle if she'd stayed in Riley's arms, cradled between them. She longed to be there, but she knew that they had to stop.

It was Riley who regained his composure first. He ran a shaking hand down his face, eyes darting first to Sam and then to Buffy. "Guess that clears that up. It's getting a little warm in here. Why don't we go try that dancing thing? Work off some steam." His voice was calm and even, more even than it had a right to be. Control came with command and he was a commander through and through.

"Sounds good to me." Sam slid off the bed, getting to her feet. She took Riley's hand, helping him up and grinning as he adjusted himself. Not surprising, not surprising at all. Thankfully, Buffy's eyes were still closed at that point.

One deep breath, then another, and Buffy was finally calm enough to open her eyes again. The couple before her appeared collected, until she looked up at their eyes. Those eyes smoldered, their passion contained but not dimmed. Buffy grasped the topic gratefully, knowing that dancing for her would be an outlet. She'd probably get a lot of stares from a lot of people, but she honestly didn't care.

"Sounds good to me, too, if you'll tell me where my boots went?" Buffy shook her head with a teasing smile. "I need the extra height if I'm gonna dance with you two!" In her bare feet, looking up at them meant looking up at them. Sam was only a little shorter than Riley's six feet-plus. The brunette probably had a good nine or ten inches on her, and Riley more like a foot. A matched pair, the two of them, warriors to the core. And though she still had trouble believing it... they could be hers.

Hers.

 
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