Paradise

Kennedy's eyes fluttered briefly. She raised out her unoccupied arm and stretched, letting out a low moan. Her eyes slowly opened to take in the now darkened room of their hotel.

The slayer let out a big yawn and turned her head to the left to take in the sleeping form of her lover. There, curled up against her side, the witch lay in a peaceful slumber. She had Kennedy's arm wrapped around her side with her hand tucked over her heart.

The slayer smiled at the sight before her. It was in moments like these that she was convinced Angels exsisted, but never in her wildest imagination did she believe she would have one to call her own.

A light smile played over her lips as she watched her Angel start to wake.

The last remaining bits of sleep slowly widdled away, and Willow finally resigned herself to waking up with a light groan. She didn’t open her eyes at first, just fidgeted underneath the covers slightly and snuggled up closer to the warm body occupying the space beside her.

After a moment, she was able to crack one eye open, the second one soon following. “Mmm…” was all that her mouth was able to form as she saw an awake Kennedy smiling down at her. “Morning,” she slurred.

The slayer chuckled. “Not quite baby.” She leaned in to claim her kiss before pulling back and snuggling into the warmth of their bed. “It seems as though we slept through breakfast, lunch, *and* dinner. My tummy's so thoughtfully reminded me.”

She smiled at her girlfriend's light chuckle. She wrapped her arm tighter around the witch and pulled her in closer. “Whaddya say to a late night candlelit picnic on the beach? Just the two of us?”

“Aww… but I wanted to invite the hotel staff to join us, and maybe the cab driver who dropped us off,” Willow teased lightly, smiling widely and leaning in to place a quick peck on Kennedy’s chin.

She too stretched her limbs above her head, one flopping uselessly against the headboard while the other snaked its way around Kennedy’s waist. “Picnic sounds nice… but it involves moving, and clothes, and getting out of bed…” She pouted slightly.

Kennedy smirked. “Well, maybe just two out of the three...” She had to move back to avoid the swinging slap from her lover. “Just messin' with ya baby. That's something only *I* get to see...but don't go thinking I've ruled that whole naked on the beach thing out just yet.” A shapely eyebrow raised as her smirk grew wider.

“I may be getting braver, but public nudity isn’t something you’ll find on my list of things to try,” Willow replied, nudging Kennedy in the ribs again.

Grinning slightly, she snuggled against her lover, burying her face in the brunette’s chest and wrapping her left arm around her back. “Though, technically beaches aren’t really ‘public’ at night, with the lack of people and all. Plus, I think there’s supposed to be a big, full moon on Thursday, so it’ll look really beautiful…” She glanced upward slyly at Kennedy.

The slayer's smirk suddenly faded and she felt her mouth grow dry. “Th...Thursd-day?” The look in her eyes did nothing to hide her surprise at her lover's words. She never thought that Willow would *actually* consider acting out the fantasy. “Really?”

“Of course, we’ll need to buy a big beach towel, I don’t particularly want too much sand to get into unpleasant places.” Willow patted Kennedy on the arm, gave her a big smile, then rolled over and sat up. “I’m gonna shower.” Wrapping one of the sheets around her, she shuffled towards the bathroom.

Kennedy stared blankly at the retreating form of her girlfriend. Had she just heard right? Did shy, blushy little Willow just say she wanted to have hot moonlit sex on a *public* beach?

The slayer shook her head to rid the shock before a slow smiled crept onto her face. She threw the covers back before jumping out of bed to follow her lover into the shower. “That is so hot.”

***

Kennedy's eyes scanned the beach as her toes melded into the cool sand. She took in a deep breath of the sea air as she looked over at her lover before reaching down to interlace her fingers with the witch's. She let out a dreamy sigh and smiled. “I've never seen anything so beautiful.”

When the redhead looked over at her with a soft smile on her face, the moonlight hit her just right, bringing out the soft glow of her skin. The slayer quickly corrected herself. “Well...almost anything.”

Willow blushed characteristically, and pulled the other woman closer to her. “I could say the same about you,” she replied softly, her eyes scanning Kennedy’s perfectly shaped form constrasting against the almost glowing sand.

Though it was only Saturday, the moon still emitted enough light to cause the nearly white sand to glow. It cascaded off of the water, making the whole beach look magical.

A small smirk coming to her face, Willow gently squeezed Kennedy’s side. “But I won’t,” she added cheekily.

Kennedy wrapped her arm around the witch's side and drew her in even nearer to her own body. “Hey, I'm supposed to be the romantic one here, remember?” She gave the witch a slight poke in the side. “So it's better that you don't. Wouldn't want you upstaging me or anything.” Kennedy finished the last sentence with a smile before suddenly stopping and turning to face her lover. “Close your eyes.”

Willow arched an eyebrow at her girlfriend. “Why?” she asked a bit warily. When Kennedy just repeated herself, Willow hesitated slightly before doing so. “Is this the part where I say ‘I’m flying, Jack, I’m flying!’?” she joked.

Kennedy moved around to stand behind the redhead, placing her hands under her forearms. “Well, I'm no Leonardo,” she started as she began to lead the woman along the beach. Leaning in to whisper as they walked, “but I'd really like to be your Romeo.”

The witch felt her heart flutter at those words, and she slowly allowed Kennedy to guide her blindly down the beach. “No one else I’d rather have,” she whispered softly, a small smile forming over her lips.

Kennedy smiled against the witch's ear as she continued to lead her through the sand. They only traveled a few moments before reaching their destination. “Wait here,” Kennedy softly instructed into the witch's ear before withdrawing herself from her body. She smiled at the light whimper of protest from the loss of contact, but she stayed focused on her task.

The slayer reached into her pocket and pulled out the matches she had hidden away there. She bent down and lit the candles surrounding the blanket. She blew out the match and gave the scene one last check before turning back to see her lover waiting patiently, her eyes still tightly closed. Another one of the many things Kennedy loved about her girl, her complete and total trust in her.

“Okay,” Kennedy took a deep breath, “open 'em.”
The older girl immediately opened her eyes, and let out a soft gasp. “Kennedy…” she breathed, her mouth agape as she looked around at the scene her lover had set up. What topped it off was the way the moonlight washed over the perfect location, and the water washed ashore fifteen feet below the blanket. The candles cast a warm glow, their light dancing off the white sand.

“It’s perfect,” she murmured, turning to her girlfriend. “You’re perfect.”

“I wouldn't call it perfect,” the slayer smiled. She once again closed the gap between their bodies and took the other woman in her arms. “And believe me, I'm far from it.” She studied her lover's face intently, gazing deeply into the expressive green hue of her eyes. “But, you make it...*me* feel that way. Will, when I'm with you, I feel like there's nothing I couldn't do.”

She lifted her hands to gently cradle the redhead's face as a soft smile fought its way back onto her lips. “I love you so much...I just want this to be right. You deserve it, and so much more.”

Well, what do you say to that? There wasn’t anything Willow *could* say. She just gazed lovingly at Kennedy for a moment before leaning in and capturing her slayer’s lips.

They stayed like that for a moment, before Willow pulled away the width of a hair. “Everything you do for me is right, Kenn. I don’t know why I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” Her arms snaked their way around the slayer, holding her close.

Kennedy stared back at the older woman a bit dumbfounded. “You? You think *you're* the lucky one?” The slayer shook her head adamantly. “God Will, I don't think you know how many times I've prayed to whoever or whatever was listening that I'd have just one more day with you...but I never thought one more day would turn into this.”

Kennedy lifted one of the witch's hands and placed a gentle kiss on the back before pulling it back to rest against her heart. “I know you think that I saved you from some big dark place in your life, but it doesn't even compare to what you've done for me.” She leaned in and dropped her forehead to rest against Willow's. “Your love's been more than I ever dreamed of, and if one day you ever decided that it wasn't mine to have anymore, well, I just want you to know that it's the best thing that's ever happened to me...ever.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that.” Willow took her hand from Kennedy’s and gently cupped the slayer’s cheek. It was no secret that tears were already starting to glisten in her eyes. “Where my head, and my heart are at right now… I can’t see myself without you. Not now, not a million years in the future. So don’t ever think that that’s going to happen… ‘kay?” She tried to smile and add that last word a bit lighter, but instead found herself nearly collapsing against Kennedy as she pulled the younger woman into her arms and sniffled loudly several times.

“And don’t you be goin’ anywhere any time soon, either, or there’ll be a whoopin’,” she managed to quip, laughing through her tears.

Kennedy smiled through her own near tears. “Yes ma'am.” She hugged the warm body of the older woman tightly against her own for a few peaceful and silent moments before slowly pulling away and nodding toward the blanket. “Now, whaddya say we pig out?”

Sighing deeply, Willow nodded and grasped Kennedy’s hand. She tugged the slayer over to the blanket and flopped down in the center, eyeing the large picnic basket sitting on the edge. As if it had eyeballs as well, her stomach made a loud gurgling noise, and Willow gave Kennedy a sheepish look, blushing. “We really need to remember to eat while we’re on vacation, tempting as it is to spend the whole thing in bed or on the beach.”

Willow scooted closer to her girlfriend, resting her head on the brunette’s shoulder and lacing their fingers together. “What did ya bring?”

Kennedy reached into the picnic basket with her free hand and pulled out a container. She looked down and smiled at the witch as she popped the lid. “Only your favorite...”

Acting almost like a child on Christmas morning, Willow hurriedly took the container and looked inside. A grin slid across her face. Chocolate covered strawberries *were* one of her favourites… where her girlfriend had learned that fact was beyond her, but she wasn’t going to complain.

“You’re a genius, did anyone ever tell you that?” She delicately picked one up and held it in front of the brunette to take a bite of. Suddenly she let out a small giggle, causing the slayer to give her a funny look. “Sorry, it’s just… kind of metaphorical, don’t ya think? Chocolate, strawberries…” She giggled again, and put the strawberry to her lover’s lips.

“Did I miss something?” Kennedy asked carefully before taking a big bite of the offered fruit. “Cause, I only brought them cause I thought they'd get you in the mood.” She grinned around a mouthful of strawberry, darting her tongue out to catch the tiny trail of juice from the corner of her mouth.

Rolling her eyes, Willow stuffed the bottom part of the half-eaten strawberry into the slayers mouth. Pausing for a moment, she then leaned in to lick more of the red juice from Kennedy’s delicious lips. “Whatever gave you that idea?” she questioned with a quirked eyebrow, extanging her grin for an innocent look.

With an innocent look of her own, the slayer leaned forward, slowly closing the gap between their bodies. She brought her lips within a breath of the redhead's as she stared deep within her eyes.

Kennedy reached out and placed her hands on the older woman's thighs, her fingertips brushing the hem of the witch's summer dress. “Well, what kinda girlfriend would I be...” She trailed off as she slowly slipped her hands under the light fabric of Willow's dress. “If I didn't even know what turned my lover on?”

‘Hmm’ing quietly, Willow rested her forehead against the brunette’s. “I don’t know…” she pretended to think, then smiled softly and raised a hand to Kennedy’s chest. “Lets not find out,” she added, pushing Kennedy back onto the blanket and following after.

Kennedy let out a light chuckle as her back hit the blanket. She gazed up lovingly into Willow's eyes as she ran her hands up and down the witch's sides lightly. “I wish we could stay like this forever, Will.” Kennedy smiled softly as she looked up at her lover. The witch almost appeared to be glowing against the back drop of the late summer night sky. “You're so damn beautiful.” She continued to gaze lovingly for a few moments before her serious expression faded. She let out a dramatic sigh and shook her head. “It really pains me to have to do this."

Kennedy grinned at the sudden look of confusion on her lover's face. Her grip on the witch's sides suddenly tightened and in one quick lift, she was on her feet with her lover in her arms. The slayer didn't say a word as she carried the other woman over to the water's edge. Once there, she stopped and raised a brow, grinning down at the look of horror on the witch's face.

“No! Kennedy!” Willow squealed, trying to cling to the slayer’s neck. But alas, it was no use, because she soon found herself flying through the air and landing in a very, very big puddle of water. Also known as the Atlantic Ocean.

She came up for air sputtering, and resembled a drown rat. The water was still relatively shallow, so she was able to gather her legs. She flipped her hair out of her face and got to her feet sooner than Kennedy would have expected. “You’re dead!” she yelled, grinning wildly, and took off towards the slayer.

Somehow Willow managed to jump onto Kennedy’s back, tipping them both forward and back into the water.

Kennedy laughed just as she felt Willow jump onto her back, but her laughter was short-lived as she instantly felt herself taking a swan dive straight into the water. However, her slayer strength once again gave her the upside. As soon as she hit the water, she was already twisting her body to reemerge above the redhead.

The slayer sat up on her knees and brushed her wet hair back out of her eyes with both her hands as she waited for Willow to rise to the surface. As soon as the witch was back at eye-level, Kennedy grinned. “You should know better than to pick a water fight with a slayer, Red.” She tsked as she reached under the water to grab the witch's sides. She pulled her into her lap with a sly grin. “We always win.”

“Cheater,” Willow laughed, squirming slightly in Kennedy’s lap. Another wave crashed over them, and she yelped slightly, clinging to her girlfriend. “H-have I ever mentioned how much I hate water?” The redhead shivered slightly, both arms wrapping tightly around her lover’s neck.

Kennedy seemed to pause for a moment, as Willow gave her a nervous looking glancing. However it was quickly replaced by a devilish grin, and she lunged once again, dunking Kennedy’s head underneath the water.

Kennedy sputtered as she pulled herself back out of the water. She shot the witch a mock death glare, but Willow only laughed. Kennedy pouted for only a moment before reaching out and grabbing her girlfriend under the thighs. “I hope that was worth it Rosenberg...” She leaned in and smiled, her voice a soft growl. “Cause its gonna cost ya.”

The slayer suddenly pulled on the witch's thighs, effortlessly lifting the woman into mid air. The muscles in her arms popped and strained from the effort of supporting another body. She gazed into the soft green eyes of the smiling witch. “That is, unless you could change my mind.”

“I seem to recall changing your mind quite a few times the last few days,” Willow shouted over the loud crashing of the water hitting the shore. She grinned down at Kennedy. “Y’know, I *could* kiss you, but I’m way up here…” The middle of her torso lay even with the slayer’s smiling face as she held her up.

Kennedy licked her lips sensually as she slowly lowered the redhead's body down through her arms. She waited until her lover's feet was back on the sand before licking her lips again. She fought back the smile as she watched the entraced expression on the witch's face.

Kennedy leaned in and brought her lips to nearly touch her girlfriends, when suddenly she pulled away with a smile. “You know what? I changed my mind.” The slayer once again lifted the witch up, only this time she jumped backward, pulling the older woman under the water after her.

After remerging for the upteenth time, Willow shook her hair out of her face, running a hand back through it. “You realize this means war, yes?” She stated in a mock-serious tone to her girlfriend. When Kennedy’s answer was to grin and sink back beneath the water, Willow started to jump down after her when she suddenly stopped.

“Kenn?” Without looking down, Willow fished beneath the surface before grabbing her girlfriend’s shirt and dragging her back to the surface. “Listen…” It was hard to hear everything above the crash of the waves- especially if you’re right in the middle of them- but she could’ve sworn she’d heard… something.

“Will?” The slayer studied her girlfriend's face intently, but the witch's eyes stayed focus to the side. Kennedy turned her head back towards the beach, but she only saw darkness. “What is it? I don't see any...” Before the words could leave her mouth, the slayer heard a loud scream from beyond the darkness.

The slayer turned her head back to her lover above her, meeting the worried and slightly annoyed look in her green gaze. “You know us Will,” Kennedy started as she waited for the older woman to remove herself from her lap. Once the witch was standing again, she pulled herself to her feet right after her. Brushing her hair back from her face, she sighed. “No such thing as a vacation.”

Kennedy reached a hand over and placed it on the witch's abdomen lightly, never taking her eyes off the darkness. “Wait here. I'll make sure it's safe.” Before her lover could respond, the slayer was off, running into the darkness.

“Kennedy, WAIT!” Willow called after her lover, but she disappeared into the darkness. “Damn slayer stuborness,” she muttered underneath her breath, starting to wade her way back to shore. “Only the most powerful witch in the western hemisphere… can take care of myself…”

Once out of the water, Willow paused and looked down the beach. Between the water in her eyes and the minimum amount of light coming from the streets up the beach, she couldn’t see very much. “Kennedy!” she called out again, a knot of worry forming in her stomach.

Kennedy came to a skidding halt. She was in such a hurry to find the source of the scream, she nearly tripped over it. The slayer waited until her eyes readjusted to the darkness before peering down at the lump in the sand.

Her breath caught in her throat when her eyes locked on the pale, cold, and motionless body of a young woman. Dried blood clung to the woman's throat and her cold blue eyes stared up lifelessly at nothing.

Kennedy covered her mouth to keep from vomiting. “Jesus,” she muttered as she bent down to lightly touch the body. Kennedy had seen a lot of things since becoming a slayer, and a helluva lot more since before, but nothing quite like this. It was so...

“Heartbreaking, isn't it?” A smooth, feminine voice drifted over from behind causing Kennedy to swiftly jump to her feet. Her eyes scanned the darkness before settling on the faint outline of a woman.

“Let me guess, your handy work?” Kennedy nodded back over her shoulder at the woman's lifeless body. An amused chuckled rang through the darkness. The slayer watched, transfixed as the woman stepped out of the shadows, her dark yellow eyes gleaming.

“More like a midnight snack,” the vampire smiled, lifting a finger to her lips to suck off the last trace of the woman's blood.

Kennedy let out an annoyed sigh. ”Look, can't you just attack me so I can kill you and get back to my girl? I was just about to get laid and I really hate when that gets interrupted.”

The vampire's features suddenly changed back to human form, revealing a much more beautiful visage. She lifted a shapely brow and slowly stalked over to the slayer.

Kennedy found herself suddenly enthralled by the vampire. Her head screamed at her to attack, but her body stood frozen, her eyes fixed on the approaching woman. It wasn't until she was face to face with the vampire that she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

The vampire smiled. “My name's Layla.” She reached a hand up and lightly trailed a fingeritp along Kennedy's neckline. “What's yours?”

Back down the beach, Willow was cursing in her ability to run in a sopping wet dress. She had no clue which direction Kennedy had gone in, and even though she knew her girlfriend was perfectly capable of kicking ass, they were in unfamiliar territory and had no clue what kind of bad guys Rio de Janeiro held.

“Ke-“ Her next call died in her throat as she spotted the outline of her girlfriend and someone else just up the beach. A second later the body of an unmoving figure also came into her line of sight.

Panick arose in the witch’s chest, and she ran forward. Well, ran as best as she could in her current state. Muttering underneath her breath, she cast a brief cloaking spell to keep her blundering arrival from being a complete disaster.

The closer she got, the more she could see, and what she saw disturbed her. Kennedy was standing stalk still, not attacking, while the creature (it appeared to be a woman so far) was reaching for her. “What’s yours?” drifted into the redhead’s ears. Instantly dropping the cloaking spell, Willow came up behind her lover and the other woman.

“Mine.” She stated in a fierce and protective tone. She side-glanced a look at Kennedy before turning a stern eye on the woman in front of her. “I believe that’s *my* girlfriend you’re currently touching. Care to explain?”

Kennedy jumped at the sound of her girlfriend's voice. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she saw the redhead standing before her. “Willow! I...I was just...” She trailed off at the stern look from her lover. That look could only mean one thing.

Uh-frikken'-oh.

Layla dropped her hand from Kennedy's chest, smiling innocently at the redhead. “Girlfriend?” She glanced back at Kennedy, her blue eyes raking over the slayer's body slowly. “What a pity. This one looks like she was built to go all night...”

Willow let out a little smirk. “Won’t argue with you on that one,” she replied in an icy tone. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re touching her.” Her lover fidgeted slightly beside her, but Willow continued.

“Lemme guess… vampire? Hmm… slayer?” She pretended to think for a moment, then looked over at Kennedy. “Sweetie?” She didn’t like how Kennedy was acting all… weird suddenly.

“Huh?!” Kennedy nearly shouted. “I mean...vampire,” she nodded towards the blonde currently smirking back at her. “She's a...vampire.”

“Yes, I… gathered that…” Willow furrowed her eyebrows at Kennedy. “So… what do we usually *do* with vampires?”

Kennedy heard the faint sound of Willow's voice registering in her brain, but she found herself transfixed on the vampire once again. It was almost as if she had some kind of spell over her. One that she couldn't resist...no matter how hard she tried.

“We...stake...them.” Kennedy's words came out in slow deliberate breaths as she watched the vampire in question smile back at her seductively. She felt a pull in the blue eyes currently fixed on her own, and she knew it had to be some sort of trick, but she just couldn't break away.

A faint and distant voice whispered in her mind. 'Come...come to me.'

Before she knew what was happening, she felt her feet start to move, slowly closing the gap between herself and the vampire.

“Wha- Kennedy!” Willow darted forward and grabbed the slayer by the arm, spinning her around to face the witch. “What the hell are you doing?!” Plain hurt and uncertainty showed in her eyes.

Not waiting for an answer, she stepped in front of the brunette and glowered at the vampire. “Leave. Now.”

Layla gave Willow the once over with a raised brow. “No matter,” she sighed before glancing back over to meet the slayer's eyes. “Til we meet again,” she smiled before sauntering off into the darkness.

Kennedy felt her heart slow down to an almost still. She shook her head to rid it of the cobwebs before turning her eyes to meet the slightly pained expression of her lover's. “Will? Baby?”

Willow just looked at Kennedy for a minute, before biting her lip and turning around. “W-we should head back to the hotel,” she said quietly, trying to keep the strain out of her voice. The witch all but ran back in the direction of their room.

“Will, wait,” Kennedy reached out for her lover, but the woman was already out of her reach. She just stood in silence staring at the retreating form of her girlfriend.

“Shit,” she mumbled under her breath before glancing over her shoulder at the woman's lifeless body. “Double shit.”

TBC...