The room was aglow with the twinkling of colored lights. Christmas music played softy in the background as the walls danced with the flashes of primary colors. A young woman sat on the floor, legs crossed, trapped in a barricade of wrapping paper and presents. She was concentrating fully on the task at hand, taping paper covered in sparkles on a Malibu Barbie.
A devastatingly handsome man kneeled on the floor nearest to the tree. The lights reflected off of his blonde hair as he carefully put down the instructions and picked up his screwdriver. Ever so slowly, he began to twist the small screw clockwise when it fell quickly to the ground.
"Bloody hell! I hate Christmas!" he declared.
"Shh," she snapped. "They finally fell asleep. What's the matter? Instructions too hard, honey?"
"Don't patronize me, Woman. I'm nearly two hundred years old, I think I can read instructions thank you. Only, it's like they're written in Chinese, and I don't speak Chinese."
She stood up slowly and walked over to her husband. Grabbing the directions from his hand, she smiled and flipped the page over. "It's Japanese, but there's English on the other side, Genius," she laughed. He quickly captured the beauty and pulled her down on his lap as he began to tickle her mercilessly. "Stop! You win!" she yelled as he quickly shushed her.
"Quiet now, Love," he whispered seductively, "the nibblits are sleeping." They stared hungrily into each others eyes before their lips met in a heated kiss.
A throat cleared from the hallway. "Can't you two ever keep off each other? It's sickening," the tall brunette said as she entered the room and sat in the middle of the presents.
"Sorry, Dawn," she said as she left her lover's lap and returned to her spot amidst the mountains of unwrapped gifts. "Seems that the bicycle over there was getting the best of the Big Bad."
"Oi, Love. That hurts ya know," he added before grabbing his screwdriver once more.
She winked at her sister. "Something tells me you and I are going to end up putting it together, Dawnie. Just like the Barbie Corvette last year, and the Hot Wheels Racing set the year before…"
"I think I got the point, Buffy. No need to be mean," he pouted. The two women smiled at each other. "This is ridiculous. Place part C above part Q then tighten with screw H. There is no sodding part Q and I think I already used screw H. Whoever wrote this was a complete fad, I'd wager."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Fine ya big ninny. You come wrap the presents and I'll put the bike together."
They both stood to switch places. "And why couldn't we have bought the pre-assembled bicycle as I suggested," he asked, eyebrow raised.
"Because it's just too damn funny watching you try to figure these things out," she winked. He pinched her on the bottom before taking his place beside his sister-in-law.
Buffy had the bike done in five minutes flat, effectively bruising Spike's ego, and sat between her family. An hour and a few cups of eggnog later, all of the presents where arranged under the tree and the three Summers sat on the couch, memorized by the lights.
"I think this should be a good Christmas," Dawn said to the two. "I hope William likes what I got him."
"He'll love it sweetie. He's been asking for that since his birthday," Buffy smiled. Spike shifted the arm he had around his wife slightly, and she laid her head on his chest.
"What exactly does it do anyway?" he asked.
"It's a Scooby Doo tent that fits on top of his bed," Dawn explained.
"But he already has a tent," he stated.
"Correction, HAD. Remember when you tripped on one of his cars and landed on it?" Buffy added.
"Well, if he'd clean his damn room like we tell him to. They both have too many toys as it is. It's an embarrassment. We should be shareholders in Toys R Us with as much money we spend there. Honestly, when I was a child, all I got for Christmas was a few nuts and fruits in a sock, and sometimes, if it had been a good year for my father, I'd get a book. That was rare though."
Buffy smiled sadly at him. "Aw, honey. That's so sad. Did you walk eight miles to school in the snow barefoot too?"
"Well, not barefoot…" he began.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Dawnie and I had great Christmas presents. Remember the year we got the My Little Pony dream castle?"
"That was so cool. I remember dad had to sell his golf clubs to get it, but he was so happy when he saw the look on our faces."
"I wish we'd have kept that. Joyce would have so much fun with it," Buffy thought. The unexpected ring of the phone made them all jump out of their skin. Buffy padded across the floor in her snowflake pajamas and matching slippers to answer it.
"Hello? Hey, Giles, we were just…. What? Where? You're kidding right?" Spike crossed the room and placed a hand on her shoulder. He mouthed, "What is it?" but she waved her hand to dismiss him. "Okay, call Xander and Anya and have them meet us at your place. Tell them they can bring Nicky over here and Dawn will stay with the kids. Fill Willow and Tara in, but tell them we can handle it. I don't think they'll be able to bring Amelia over without her waking up. Plus it's so cold out and she's still so tiny. Spike and I will change and be there in a few." She hung up the phone and approached her sister. "Is that okay with you, Dawn? They'll all be sleeping, so you really have nothing to worry about."
"No problem at all, Buffy, but what's going on?"
"Remember how Anya said Santa was a demon? Guess she was right."
TBC