AUTHOR: Goddess Isa
EMAIL: goddessisa@aol.com
SUMMARY: When the Slayer and her friends get together to play one of Anya's games, the turnout can't be all good. Set in S4
SPOILER: Graduation Day, S4 rumours
DISTRIBUTION: Crystal's site - my site - Anyone else, sure, just email me & lmk where it's going - I like seeing my name in print =)
FEEDBACK: Please, I'd hate to have to Slay for it. =P
RATING: TV-14 Hints on slash - very small hint but still, I wanna worn you
DISCLAIMER: Xander is mine and everyone else belongs to Joss. Okay, Joss may've given our dear Xand life, but he lives at my house, he eats when I tell him to eat, and he even kissed my toes the other day. It's great having him around g
"Hi honey, I'm home!" Buffy joked as she let herself, Angel and Cordelia into the mansion. She and Willow had taken it over after Angel left, loving both the freedom, the space, and the fact that they wouldn't have to pay rent. "Anyone here?" she didn't hear any commotion, no talking, no music, nothing, yet everyone was supposed to be over for a party. Cordelia and Angel hadn't been back in Sunnydale since May and it was now the end of November. Thanksgiving was a few days away and Buffy had been overjoyed when Angel had agreed to come home with her after she visited him. They'd brought Cordelia so that Xander could see her, and the drive back had been two hours Buffy won't soon forget. She was looking forward to letting loose and having a good time at the party, but when she entered the living room (the main room had been turned into a gym for Buffy and a computer room for Willow), she found Anya and Spike making out on the couch, Xander playing Game Boy in one corner, Oz and Willow on the floor tickling each other and the Amy-Rat was loose, running all over the floor as though she were looking for something. Probably her clothes.
"You guys!" Buffy shouted and scooped Amy up. She gently brushed her fur and wondered if Amy would remember any of this when and if they were able to de-rat her. "Hell-lo!!"
Only Willow looked up, pushing Oz off of her and blushing. "H-hi Buffy! Hey Angel," she gave him a friendly hug. "Cordelia."
"Nice hickey," she replied. Willow immediately went to her room to look for a scarf. Cordelia had made up her mind on the way over to play the visit off cool, but now that she and Xander were just inches apart, all logic flew out the window.
"Xander!" she demanded, tapping her high heel into his bare foot.
"Yeow--CORDELIA!" he threw his arms around her. "Where've you been? How've you been?"
"God, did you become a leech over the summer?" she pushed him away but instead of a disgusted look, she wore a smile. She gently touched his cheek and met his eyes. "I've missed you."
"Me too."
Angel went over to Spike and noticed a silver hoop in his right ear. He yanked on it, causing the vampire to disengage from his demon and cuss in several languages.
"Get a room," Angel snarled, causing Buffy to smile at her boyfriend. "What's with the sissy jewelry?"
"I did it," Anya put out her hand. "We were never formally introduced. I'm Anya. Buffy talks about you all the time."
"And then some," Spike added in a low voice.
Angel shook Anya's hand and threw a glance at Spike. "Can I ask why you waste your time with him? I might be mistaken but I thought you had a soul."
"I do, but it's a troubled one, you know?" she sat back next to Spike and cuddled against his chest.
"All too well," Angel replied.
"Okay, let's do something fun!" Buffy declared.
"Like?" Spike asked. "Peaches here had to go and rip half my ear off."
"You looked like an idiot. Not that you aren't an idiot, but--"
"Enough!" Buffy shouted, pushing Cordelia so that she would have to stop kissing Xander to catch her balance. "No making out at my party!"
"Aw, Mom, you're no fun." Xander whined.
"I wanna do something....partylike." she replied. "Any ideas?"
"Spin The Bottle?" Xander suggested, his eyes shining.
"No!" everyone shouted.
"Seven Minutes In Heaven?"
"We're not twelve anymore man." Oz said. "You gotta learn to let go."
"We could play Fantasies." Anya suggested.
"No!" shouted Cordelia, Willow, who was now wearing a sleeveless turtleneck sweater, and Spike.
"What's Fantasies?" Buffy asked as she settled onto Angel's lap, her interest piqued.
"I learned it from a bunch of sorority girls a couple of years ago. I was there to grant wishes to the entire Omega Beta Zeta house. What a bunch of ditzos! It was so weird. All twenty of them had been dating the same football player and--"
"The game Anya." Xander said, having too much experiance with her stories to want her to go on.
"Right, sorry. Everyone writes down a fantasy they have about someone in the room that's not their boyfriend or girlfriend, then we put them in a hat. Someone draws a piece of paper and reads the fantasy aloud, trying to guess who wrote it. If they guess right, they get to pick a piece of clothing that that person has to lose. If they guess wrong, the person they thought had the fantasy gets to pick a piece of clothing that they lose."
"That's stupid." Cordelia said.
"We'll all be sitting in here in nothing but our bloody shoes!" Spike yelled.
"Let's play!" Xander and Oz both said. They were both rewarded with slaps from their girfriends but their excitement remained in tact. Willow got out a dolphin decorated Lisa Frank notepad and a box of pencils. Everyone wrote theirs down and put the slips of paper in a lampshade-like hat of Willow's.
"You haven't worn that in awhile." Oz said to her as she shook it up and handed it to Buffy since she was on her left.
"Not since high school," she replied.
"You should wear it more often. It's cute." he leaned over to kiss her and Buffy snorted loudly before drawing a slip.
I wanna sleep with Cordelia.
Buffy read it aloud and thought about it. Her eyes darted around the room and she sighed. Even though it was cheating, she could tell from the handwriting that it didn't belong to Xander. Sighing, she picked what she hoped was the right option. "Spike."
"Sorry love," he grinned nastilly.
"Damn," Buffy said and threw the slip back into the hat.
"I'll go easy on you this time love." Spike said. Anya gave him a Look and he decided he should stop calling her 'love'. "Take off your sweater."
Buffy sighed and took it off. She figured she might be cold in just a tank top, but Angel was there to warm her up if she needed him. She leaned her head against his chest and handed him the hat.
"I really didn't want to do this," he said as he drew one.
I'm madly, madly in love with Buffy and I want to be able to make love to her all night.
"Um, I drew my own."
They all looked to Anya for what to do.
"Missed turn," she smirked at him. You were supposed to take all your clothes off if you drew your own, but she liked him too much for that. She valued her life too much for that.
Cordelia took the hat and closed her eyes as she drew, as though that might make a difference.
Just once, I want to know what it would feel like to kiss Xander's lips.
Cordelia paled, knowing who it must belong to.
"It's Buffy," she said quietly.
Everyone, especially Angel and Xander, stared at her with her mouth open.
"I don't mean it how you think," she told Angel. Her eyes glanced at Xander. "Sorry." she looked back to Angel. "It's just that I sorta owe him my life. I owe you both, but I've owed Xander one kiss since that night three years ago."
"I think instead of taking your clothes off," Cordy said slowly. "I want you to kiss."
"No way!" they both said instantly.
"You have to," Anya said. "Rules are rules."
Buffy looked at Angel, then at Anya, then finally at Xander. She scooted forward and just barely let her lips graze his.
"God, Xander, were you eating onion rings?" she pretended to spit.
"No chemistry, whatsoever, I promise and swear and all that." he told Cordelia, drawing a finger over his heart a few times.
She looked at Buffy making out with Angel again and shrugged. "Okay."
Anya and Spike both drew their own. Oz reminded them that he loved this game, then gulped and drew one.
More than anything, I want one night alone with Angel. Regardless of how it ends or if he's good or bad, I want that chance.
"It's Buffy's," he said almost immediately after reading it aloud.
The Slayer shook her head. "I already went, remember?"
"Then who..."
"That's not part of the game, right?" Cordelia asked quickly. By then they all knew it belonged to her. Oz threw the slip onto the floor behind him and handed Willow the hat. She drew and smiled as she read the boxed handwriting that had to belong to a guy.
I want to marry Willow Rosenberg.
"It's Oz," she said happily.
"Yes," he answered, beaming at her.
"No," Xander said at the same time.
"What?" Willow asked.
"You both wrote the same thing?" Anya asked. "That has never happened before!"
"I don't think I wanna play this anymore." Willow tossed the hat aside and left the room. Buffy glared at Xander then got up and followed her. Angel, Cordelia and Oz all glared at Anya.
"What?" she asked innocently.
*****
Buffy found Willow outside on the stairs, shivering. She sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders.
"I'd offer you my sweater, but it's on the floor, thanks to Spike."
"I'm okay," Willow said. "I can't believe what I just heard. Read."
"Pretty heavy."
"He couldn't be serious. Could he?"
Buffy shrugged.
"I mean, if he's serious...how can he be serious? Five minutes ago he was making out with Cordelia like there was no tomorrow and then he writes that he wants to marry me?"
"It was a fantasy Will. Sometimes, people have fantasies because they know they'll never happen."
"Xander didn't mean it as a fantasy," she was still shaking her head in disbelief. "Xander was trying to get me back."
"Back? Will, he never had you. You were never a thing."
She sighed. "I don't know if I want to be a thing?"
"Do you love Xander?"
"God, yes."
"Do you love Oz?"
Willow had to think about this for a long, long time. Finally, tears poured down her cheeks and Buffy had her answer. "You have to tell him."
"I can't," Willow said in a small voice. "I can't."
*****
"Okay, the game was cut off short, so everyone who didn't tell what they wrote has to tell." Anya said.
"That's bullshit," Spike said.
"It's also fair."
"Mine was about Spike," Anya said. "I can't say what though, it's X-rated."
"Can we try it out later?" he asked her.
"Depends. What'd you write?"
He sighed. "That I wanted to shag the Slayer."
"Mature," she rolled her eyes and Angel growled.
"Keep your panties on Peaches. I'm not gonna touch her." Spike shook his head. He watched as Buffy motioned for Angel to follow her into the bedroom and she went easily. "She has him so pussy-whipped," he commented.
"Mine was the one about Angel," Cordy said.
"We know," everyone chorused.
All eyes turned to Willow, who gulped.
"My fantasy has nothing to do with one person. I just want us all to be happy with the people we belong with."
Everyone smiled at each other or rolled their eyes and then Cordy jumped up. "WAIT a minute! Who wrote about me?"
Willow heard a squeaking noise coming from Amy's cage and instantly felt sick to her stomach.