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“Elizabeth Anne Summers!”

“M-mom, what...”

“Good evening, Elizabeth,” a deep, formal voice interjected. Buffy watched as her stoic, lawyer father walked into her apartment, surveyed his surroundings and clearly found them wanting. What were they doing here? She’d called them when she moved, even invited them to the house warming party; they’d never shown any real interest in her life since she graduated and started up her business with Faith, effectively destroying ‘The Plan’ in which she became a high powered lawyer in her father’s firm. Not that they ever expressly said it, but there was the general feeling of disappointment she felt whenever her parents decided to meander into her life.

“Dad. Not that I’m not trilled to see you,” she said dryly, “but why are you here?”

“Manners, Elizabeth!” her mother chided, looking around the room, a vague look of distaste on her perfectly made-up face.

“Do you guys have to call me that? My name is Buffy. Elizabeth is so...formal,” she said. Her voice lacked any sort of conviction; she’d been having this particular fight with her parents for as long as she could remember. She had always hated the way her parents made “Elizabeth” sound so...pretentious. A brief smile flitted across her face; she’d been spending a lot of time around her twinlets to come up with a word like pretentious. Apparently lots of sex upped her I.Q.

“That is the name I gave you when you were born, Elizabeth.” Her mother’s voice was enough to drive away the happy twin-sex thoughts, which honestly were a bit icky to be having around her ‘rentals.

“Fine. Why are you here?” Buffy did her best not to cringe at the disapproving look her father tossed her. She was twenty-seven, and her parents no longer had any control of her life, damn it! She crossed her arms protectively, trying not to quell under their stares.

“We received a rather disturbing phone call,” Joyce finally replied. She’d assumed the haughty, condescending posture that usually accompanied a lecture about Buffy’s grades or her propensity to skip class in high school. Buffy felt her stomach drop. Something in her was screaming danger.

“What kind of phone call could possibly have you two driving all the way--“

“You are our daughter, and we are concerned with you actions!” her father interjected angrily. Buffy froze. Her father was a lawyer; not just a lawyer, but THE lawyer. His emotions didn’t get out of control. Hell, she’d thought for years he didn’t even have emotions.

“What actions?”

“We received a concerned phone call regarding the...unsavory people you are currently gallivanting around with! It’s deplorable and morally disgusting! We raised you better than this, Elizabeth!” Joyce cried with fervor.

“Mom, what are you--“ she was interrupted by her father’s courtroom voice.

“Are you, or are you not, involved with your roommates? Both of them?” His voice was hard, the sneering veneer of a veteran lawyer cross examining a hostile witness. Buffy felt oddly calm facing her parents. She leveled with both of their gazes, calmly assessing them. For the first time in her life, Buffy felt truly and completely in control when faced with them. All other times, she’d been nervous and uncertain, wavering between dedication to her happiness and the guaranteed success her parent’s carefully constructed life plan offered.

This whole thing with Will and Spike had been a long time coming. They’d danced around it for almost six months, and when the dam had burst, Buffy had felt so relieved and complete. She hadn’t realized how much she needed them. This was it for her, she knew. She’d known from the first time she felt their arms around her, since she’d seen their duplicate smiles of contentment the first time she’d let them just be with her, heard their words of admiration. Of all the things in her life, Buffy had never been surer of anything. Her parents had pretty much disowned her already; some weird leftover sense of commitment kept them coming back to her. But they would not take this away from her.

“What I do or who I see is none of your business. But yes, I am dating Will and Spike. And no, I will not stop. I’m happy and content, and neither of you will change my mind.”

“Elizabeth! How could you? Did I raise you to be a--“

“Don’t even Mom! Don’t! You didn’t raise me! You were always too busy being the perfect wife and hating me for not being the perfect daughter! And Dad, you were always away being a hot-shot lawyer and banging your secretaries! The only time you ever paid attention to me was when I disrupted your perfectly planned out life! Well whatever! This is my life, and you don’t get to tell me how to live it!” Buffy didn’t even see it coming. Her mother’s hand struck her cheek with a resounding crack. She numbly raised one hand to her burning cheek, her eyes wide in astonishment.

“You ungrateful bitch! How dare you say such things to me! To your father! After all we did...” Her mother trailed of, tears slowly crawling down her cheeks. Hank came up and wrapped his wife in a protective embrace, glaring at his only child, who he’d had such aspirations for.

“It hurts us that you’ve turned out this way, Elizabeth. You are not the person we thought you were, the person we raised you to be.” He shook his head slowly. “We can help you, Lizzy Liz.”

Buffy felt her eyes well up. Her father hadn’t called her that since she was six. She shook her head, trying to chase away the confusion. He didn’t mean it. He was trying to manipulate her into doing what he wanted, and she wouldn’t fall for it. She shook her head frantically, stepping back from them. In a heartbeat, face shifted from warm and inviting to twisted, malevolent and angry.

“Elizabeth Anne, you will listen to me,” he snarled, reaching for his wayward daughter. A strong hand banded around Hank’s wrist, jerking him back. Spike jacked Hank against the wall, his blue eyes ice. Will placed himself between Buffy and Joyce’s icy glare. Despite Buffy’s resolution and brave words, he knew her parents words cut deep. And no one hurt the people he loved.

“I think you should leave now,” Will declared, his soft tone menacing. He was a bit surprised when Joyce stepped up to him, pulling her diminutive frame to full height. Spike, still eyeing Hank, released him and moved back towards his lovers. Shit was about to go down, and he wanted to be standing by their sides when it did.

“And I think you should stop corrupting my daughter! You have her all twisted, convincing her this...this...thing you have is acceptable! How can you live with yourself, lying to her like that? This isn’t a relationship! She doesn’t know what she’s doing, you’ve twisted her mind so much! You know what this is? This is rape!” Before he could react, Will felt himself pushed aside by an irate fireball. He smirked when Joyce took a startled step back at her daughter’s unrestrained ire.

“You bitch.” Buffy had the vindictive pleasure of watching Joyce Summer’s mouth drop open in amazement. “How dare you! Not only accuse my boyfriends of raping me, but in the same BREATH you manage to insult my intelligence! You think I can’t make my own decisions? That I’m so weak willed and simple that I would let someone take over my will? You really don’t know anything about me. You’ve never known anything about me...”

“Elizabeth, I just want what’s best for you--“

“I decide what’s best for me, not you, not Dad! And what’s best for me is Will and Spike. I love them, both of them, separate and together. They make me happy, and I need them! And I won’t give them up, not for anyone in the world. And if you can’t deal with that, then you’re not welcome here. It’s not like it would change much,” she added bitterly. Joyce reached out to try and embrace her misguided child when what sounded like a growl emitted from the glowering man beside her, causing the elder woman to jerk her hands away.

“Buffy, right now you don’t know what’s good for you, they have you so twisted--“

“Stop! Stop it! You need to leave. Now.” Buffy was fighting back tears, her anger warring with her parents callous dismissal of her feelings. Joyce opened her mouth to reason with her stubborn daughter, but was cut off by her husband.

“No, Joyce, she’s right. We should go. There’s no reasoning with any of them.” Spike sneered at the man; his only redeeming quality, as far as Spike was concerned, was that he helped bring Buffy into the world. Aside from that, he could just sod off. Hank and Joyce exchanged a resigned look, but Spike swore there was something else in it. They left the pair to find their own way out.

“Buffy, luv,” Spike murmured, a feeling of helpless despair washing over him when she stepped back, putting an almost physical barrier between them. She shook her head, backing away from both of them.

“I...I’m sorry, I just need space. This...I c-can’t...” She trailed off, miserable and unable to piece her jumbled thoughts together.

“Go, pet. We won’t bother you, we’ll be there for you,” Will said, though it ripped his heart out to say it. “Just...don’t leave? Please?” Buffy felt guilty for the intense vulnerability she could see on Will and Spike’s handsome faces.

“No. I’m not leaving.” With a lingering glance, she disappeared into her unused room. Spike turned, looking for something to hit, and collapsed into his twin when Will wrapped his arms around him.

“She’s pushing us away,” he said miserably, taking solace in Will’s unwavering strength.

“No, she just needs a moment to herself. Weren’t you listening? She said she loves us,” Will whispered, though he couldn’t keep his own fears out of his voice. But she’d said it, in front of her parents, and fuck if she could take it back now. Because they both felt the same way; Will had read it in Spike’s eyes, seen the dangerous glint that heralded their doomed fall.

“Yeah, she did.” Spike agreed. Still shrouded in misery, the twins sought the comfort of their bed, which had seen so many joyful moments.

~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy sat on her bed staring blankly at the walls, a pillow clutched in her lap. Scenes from her life flashed before her eyes: her mother forcing her to be a cheerleader instead of pursuing gymnastics; being dressed up to attend adult functions that no kid would ever enjoy; her father’s big hopes for his only child; her mother’s drinking and her father’s philandering; the austereness of the house she’d grown up in; the day she’d told her parents she wasn’t going to college, but gambling on a business with Faith, who her parents had never approved of.

Buffy had had to learn to fight for what she wanted, what she believed in. She’d been born wealthy, but she’d had to work for every single iota of happiness she could find. And Will and Spike...they were incredible. And she loved them. She loved them!

She’d blurted that out at her parents, her emotions so strong and powerful she didn’t stop to question them. But there it was. She felt a little sad that she hadn’t been able to tell them, that they’d heard it first in some fight with her stuck up, awful parents. But it had been said, and Buffy wouldn’t take it back even if they asked. (Which they wouldn’t.) Buffy felt a wide, goofy smile sitting lightly on her face. She, Buffy Summers, was in love! The smile slipped away as she realized she hadn’t yet told them, alone and...one-on-two that she was irrevocably and enthusiastically completely bug-shagging crazily in love with them.

With determination, she set out to see to her Twinlets, and ensure they understood EXACLTY where SHE stood.

~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike and Will were curled up in the dark taking solace from each other. Buffy had been gone awhile, and with every passing moment hope was harder to find. What could possibly be taking so long. Just when the tension seemed unbearable, the door snicked open, Buffy’s silhouette illuminated in the doorframe. They were up in a second.

“Buffy--“ Will started, but was cut off by her raised hand, once again keeping them distant. They felt their hearts sink.

“I love you.” Spike’s jaw dropped, and Buffy felt tears spring forth at the look of complete awe and adoration on his face. Will was looking at her with such hope her chest burned as newly acknowledged love bubbled up. “I...I just wanted you to know. Because I should have told you first, and it wasn’t fair that THEY got to hear it a--umphf!” Spike stopped Buffy’s babbling with a passionate kiss to her beautiful lips. He pulled away and stared into her luminous green eyes.

“Say it again.” Buffy shivered at the husky tone, the raw emotion present. She placed a soft, sweet kiss on his lips.

“I love you, Spike.” She looked at Will, and walked purposefully to him. Even though he knew what was coming, Will felt his chest tighten in anticipation and held his breath. Her kiss was sweet and tender and so full of promise he gasped. Stormy blue met impassioned green. “I love you, Will.” And there, in a room which had born witness to so much already, she showed her lovers, the mates to her soul, what it meant to truly make love. There was no room for doubters or detractors, no judgment, no parents, no hatred or bigotry; there was only the pure emotion of intense human contact as three people pledged themselves to one another time and again.

~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hank and Joyce warily entered the dank, smoky Chinese restaurant. Apparently, someone forgot to inform them that California had a no smoking law in effect. They made their way to the earnest looking dark-haired boy in a side booth.

“Hank.” They shook hands. “Joyce.” She smiled wanely at the earnest young man. Xander had been one of her daughter’s oldest friends, and his concern was truly touching.

“How’d it go?”

“It didn’t,” Hank grunted. “She’s completely brainwashed, she thinks she loves them!” He couldn’t keep the disgust out of his voice. What was his child thinking?

“She’s a bit misguided,” Joyce added tearfully. Xander simply nodded in understanding. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a well read pamphlet.

“I was afraid of that. But I may have found a solution...”


A/N: I know. I'm awful. And you're going to hate me more in about three words. Twinlets is going on hiatus. Ok, 5. I know, you're ranting at me ending it there. But I have a peace offering! You can read the preque Singlets. Since I put THIS on hiatus to write THAT, you might as well go read it. But I'll *still* be working on this, so you'll get some pretty good, quick updates after I get done with Singlets. And the way this story's going to go...well, let's just say it's really grown for a former PWP!!





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