Title: Sexual Healing
Author: Carol (lucrenzia99@msn.com)
Rating: R maybe borderline NC17
Pairings: Willow/Asher
Disclaimer: Willow of BtVS belongs to Joss Whedon and associates.
Asher belongs to Laurell K. Hamilton and associates. I'm just
borrowing these characters for a while to play with. I promise to
put them back when I'm done.
Buffy spoilers: AU Late Season 7. Meaning the First has been
defeated.
AB spoilers: Narcissus in Chains
Author Notes: This is in response to Jinni’s Quickie Challenge
for pairing #51. http://quickie.moonlitpaths.com/
Title inspired by the song of the same name by Marvin Gaye.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
“A sea was storming inside of me. Baby, I think I’m
capsizing. The waves are rising and rising. And when I get that
feeling, I want sexual healing.”—Marvin Gaye


Willow arrived in St. Louis with all the pomp accorded to her

station. Willow was going to see the Master and especially his

second-in-command, Asher, on Angel’s behalf.


Angel was running into difficulties with the ever intrusive Vampire

Council. They greatly disapproved of Angel’s management style.

He was rather strict in how he handled what he considered

infractions by his vampire populace. He allowed for very little

misbehavior towards humans. He gained many complaints for his pains.


Willow needed to gain Asher’s good will. Asher still had many

allies on the Council in spite of his continued association with

Jean-Claude. Asher might be able to dissuade the Council from

making a visit to the city of Angels.


Willow just needed to figure out what Asher might want in exchange

for his assistance. Angel was completely at a loss. Asher was

secretive in his plans and desires. The only thing known about him

was the long-time grudge he nursed against Jean-Claude. Obviously,

that was no longer the case.


Willow pondered why this burden fell to her. Angel had chosen

Willow because out of all his acquaintances, she was the one with

the most level head and most diplomatic nature. Angel couldn’t

leave his city and even if he could. Well, Jean-Claude didn’t

want the infamous former Scourge of Europe anywhere near his

territory.


Willow had plenty of time to psyche herself up into a really nice

case of nerves on the limo ride to the Circus of the Damned. Jason,

a really nice underling in Willow’s opinion, must have sensed her

nervousness. He attempted to distract her by flirting. She gave

him a weak smile for his efforts. She could only hope that her

welcome by the Master would be as warm.


All her worrying came to naught when Jean-Claude wowed her with all

the old school charm he could muster. She couldn’t get over how

attractive all the St. Louis vampires were. Angel had explained

that Belle Morte’s line was interested in beauty. But he

cautioned her not to assume that a beautiful face hid an empty

mind. Jean-Claude and Asher were very clever and even older than

Angel.


Eventually, Willow was left alone with Asher. They needed to get

down to the hard task of negotiation. No need for others to

distract them from the proceedings. Willow had enough problems

trying to stay focused. From what she could see of Asher, he was a

very attractive man.


She could only see half of his face. He had a perfect profile from

what she managed to sneak looks at. And his hair was just wow.

Long blonde hair that was almost golden and it was the reason why

she couldn’t see all of his face. He favored letting it drape

over one side.


For some reason it annoyed her a little that she couldn’t see all

his face. It showed a lack of trust on his part. At least, that

was Willow felt about the matter. And it was rather eerie how the

shadows seem to cling to him. Was that one of those Jedi mind

tricks that the older vampires like to employ? She really didn’t

have time for games but she had to be patient. She was asking a

favor and could jump through hoops if that was what it took to gain

his help.


Willow sat down at the table and he sat across from her. She gave a

weak smile. He chuckled at her fidgeting. She felt a warm soothing

sensation run down her spine as if a fingertip had done the

tracing. She frowned and gave a hard look into his eyes. She

wasn’t worried about her mind being rolled by a vampire. Being

as powerful as she was offered some protection from that nasty

little trick.


He smiled slightly at her loss of composure. He seemed to be

getting enjoyment at this entire thing. It must be very boring at

times being immortal. Have to find your fun when you can. She gave

him the benefit of the doubt and returned his smile more brightly

with one of her own. She was not going to be cowed.


Willow decided to just jump right into the conversation. Time was

wasting and Angel needed this help if he could get it.


“You know why I am here,” she stated baldly.


He nodded. “Your Angelus needs my help with the Council. What

would I benefit by interfering in his squabbles with the Council?”


Willow was pleasantly surprised that he got to the point so

quickly. She quickly covered her shock and continued on.


“Well, we are unsure of what you might want or need. Would it be

a future favor? Angel is quite prepared with in reason to

accommodate you.”


He seemed to ponder this for a moment. His next question managed to

yet again knock her off balance.


“How do you manage to meet my eyes? Are you Angelus’ human

servant?”


Willow realized that her mouth was probably hanging open at the

question. She fumbled for a moment and then answered.


“I’m no one’s human servant. I’m a very powerful

witch.”


He smiled and Willow was sure that her blood was dropping in

temperature. “Well, you might be able to assist me with

something immediately instead of a future ambiguous favor.”


Willow wasn’t sure what he meant until he swept that hair away

from the side of his face. Willow managed to stifle a gasp at the

sight. Half of his beautiful face was scarred. It looked like

melted wax. It must have been excruciating.


“Is that caused by holy water?” she managed to finally ask.


“Oui, the Church did this to me centuries ago. Would it be

within your power to rid me of my scars?”


Willow pondered for a long moment. She got up from the table and

slowly made her way to Asher’s side. He let her lift away the

hair for a closer examination of the scars. He flinched a little

when she lightly caressed his cheek.


She stepped away and let the hair fall back down. She didn’t

want to make him too uncomfortable. She gave him a brilliant smile.


“I’ll give it my best shot. I will have to do some major

research but I won’t rest until I find a way. You have my

word.”


He stood up and kissed the back of her hand delicately. “Then we

have a deal, little one.”

~~~~~

Asher kept to his bargain. He quickly interceded on Angel’s

behalf and got that stupid Council off his back. Angel was relieved

and happy until he heard the rest of what Willow had to say. He was

annoyed that she would be staying indefinitely in St. Louis. He

didn’t like the fact that she would be spending so much time

alone with Asher. But there was little he could do. Willow had

promised and she was resolved that she would succeed.


Willow eventually had to rest as her visit lengthened. She was

busily consulting with every person that might know of a way to rid

a vampire of his scars. When she wasn’t on the phone or on the

computer responding to email, she could be found with her nose

buried in many a dusty thick tome. Asher appreciated her tenacity.


He would often come to her room and spend time quietly going through

the books with her. He found her presence very soothing. She was

very beautiful and her intelligence was refreshing. He could have

long conversations with her about art, history, philosophy, and

etcetera. He never grew bored with her company.


Willow enjoyed the quiet elegance that clung to Asher like a cloak.

He was a nice change from the rest of the Scoobies or the Slayers-In-

Training. She could use some quiet. She hardly ever got it in

Sunnydale.


Eventually, Willow stumbled onto an answer. Of course, it was

always in the last place you look. It would really save time if you

could think of the last place you would look and then go there right

off the bat.


Asher was of course thrilled. They quickly gathered together the

necessary ingredients and arranged for a time to attempt the

ritual. It would be a private affair. Just Willow and Asher would

attend. Asher wanted to keep it secret for a while. He wanted to

give everyone a shock. She didn’t begrudge him his right to

surprise. He probably harbored a doubt that this might work. He

didn’t want anyone to be privy to his disappointment if it really

didn’t work.

~~~~~

The ritual was rather simple. Mainly it required blood, hers and

his. She gathered up the required blood into a goblet and returned

to sitting in the middle of a circle made with lit candles. Asher

sat cross legged in front of her. He patiently took in every detail

as she added the ingredients and chanted the necessary phrases. She

then offered the chalice to him. He gingerly took the chalice and

quickly downed the contents.


Willow then removed the chalice and took both of his hands in hers.

She asked him to close his eyes as she concentrated. He heard more

muttered Latin phrases and gasped at the tingling sensation that

come over half of his body. They sat quietly for the longest moment

in his very long life.


It was Willow’s excited giggle that caused him to chance to open

his eyes. Her eyes were shining with unabashed joy. She quickly

scrounged a mirror for him to look at his reflection. He was

amazed. There was the face unscarred. He hadn’t looked like

this in centuries. He was quickly overcome by his happiness.


He grabbed Willow and laid a kiss on her that curled her toes and

her hair too. She didn’t respond immediately. She hadn’t

been expecting the kiss but as the moment dragged on, she felt lost

in his embrace.


She was on fire from the caresses and tiny kisses he bestowed down

her neck. Quickly they were driven to feel the contact of naked

flesh against naked flesh. Clothing was ripped away in their frenzy

to couple.


They didn’t even bother to move from the circle on the floor.

The candles flickered as Asher brought Willow up to straddle his

hips. She pushed herself down and felt the heavenly penetration.

He quickly recaptured her lips and stole her breath as he began to

thrust forcefully up into her. She matched his pace with a bruising

intensity. She knew that her knees were going to pay for this

later. But for now, she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to

stop for even a brief moment to relocate to somewhere more

comfortable.


Willow broke away from his mouth to cry out his name as she finally

reached that pinnacle of absolute pleasure. He thrust a few more

times before he too joined her. Willow still straddled his lap

trying to catch her breath. She had never experienced such passion

before.


She felt his hand slowly caressing her hair. She lifted her head to

meet his gaze. Was this when he would give her the brush off

speech? The one that started with, ‘we were just caught up in

the moment.’ She didn’t want it to be. She had formed a

tentative relationship with Mr. Sexy Accent. She didn’t want to

leave.


He must have seen something in her eyes because he gave her a gentle

smile. He kissed her lips softly.


“Will you stay with me, Willow? I would like us to get to know

one another better. I wouldn’t want you to think that I

wasn’t entirely a gentleman in how I would treat a lady.”


Willow smiled. “A lady? Me?”


He nodded. “You are most definitely a lady, Willow.”


Another kiss exchanged and then the timeless dance begins anew only

this time in a nice comfy bed.


The End