Sons and Daughters of Sineya 3

Part 1: ANYASEMF Ch48

Part 2: ANYASEMF Ch49

"As much fun as this is, I need my morning shower," Buffy reluctantly said. "How does the shower work anyway? I mean, I looked in, but it's stone everywhere and no drain on the floor and a weird nozzle thing on the ceiling."

"The floor slopes a little to the side so the water drains through a thin crack where the wall meets the floor," Xander explained, "and the nozzle is an old firehose nozzle. Push up to stop the water, pull down to turn it on."

"It's kinda up there," Buffy said with a frown.

"Yeah, it's built for people my height," Xander said, "and I'll warn you again, it's fresh ice melt, about as far from warm as you can get."

"I can probably jump up and reach it," Buffy said thoughtfully. "Towels?"

"Air dry," Xander replied. "The water is so cold that just stepping out warms you up and I usually just drip dry in front of the fire."

"Wow," Buffy said shaking her head, "you really don't have any privacy here."

"Actually, I have a lot of privacy here," Xander replied, "we are the only humans."

"What about Santa?" Willow asked. "Oh my goodness, I just realized, Santa is real here!"

"And not human," Xander said, "a jolly old elf is he."

"Oh yeah," Willow said, "but still… Santa."

"He ever drop off any presents?" Buffy asked curiously.

"Not even coal," Xander replied. "Not sure if it's because of the way I built this place or because I'm not part of the cult."

"Cult?" Buffy asked with a grin, knowing this was going to be good from the way Willow groaned and buried her head underneath the covers.

"Cult," Xander said firmly. "There are a bunch of rituals you have to perform, like the sacrifice of milk and cookies, not to mention the decorating of a pine tree. It's all very cult like."

Buffy pulled the covers from over Willow's head. "Any comments?"

"He's technically correct and it was originally a pagan tradition, but it's not a cult," Willow argued.

"Sacrificial offerings, seasonal rituals, chanting," Xander listed off with a grin.

"Chanting?" Buffy interrupted.

"Christmas carolers," Willow answered.

"Not to mention the plethora of Christmas songs," Xander added.

"It is kinda cult like," Buffy agreed, amused.

"And it's a cult I'm not a part of," Xander replied, "thus no presents."

"His parents don't really celebrate it and I'm Jewish," Willow added, "though getting presents from Santa would be really cool."

Buffy was a bit surprised Xander didn't celebrate it but decided it would be rude to ask why so she changed the subject, "Back to showers. How do we handle this?"

"You take a shower, making all kinds of squeals and curses that makes sure Santa will never visit," Xander teased, "and then you stand naked in front of the fire while I pretend not to look."

Buffy stared at the ceiling and weighed her options.

"You're seriously considering it?" Willow asked in disbelief.

"Xander has saved my life," Buffy told her, "that gives him almost as many brownie points as putting up with me when I am being a complete bitch."

"Almost?" Xander asked surprised.

Buffy shrugged. "I'm a bitch a lot more often than I am in danger of dying," she admitted, "it adds up."

"You may be a bit touchy at times, but you're rarely that bad," Xander assured her.

Buffy pulled them both close, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth. "You guys put up with me even when I'm being a bad friend and that means a lot to me."

"We love you too, Buffy," Xander said, squeezing the two.

"No telling people you've seen me naked," Buffy told Xander, deciding she would air dry in front of the fire.

"I don't exactly hang out with anyone but you two," Xander pointed out, "and bragging to Willow would backfire, as she can top it."

Willow puffed out her chest and smirked. "Summers? Yeah, me and her get naked and soaped up together nearly every day," she said, lowering her voice in a poor attempt to make herself sound like a boy.

Buffy and Xander burst out laughing at the uncharacteristic joke from their normally shy redhaired friend.

Willow blushed but grinned, proud she'd actually made a dirty joke without using any bad words.

"Just promise me what happens in Narnia stays in Narnia," Buffy told Xander.

"So I swear," Xander said solemnly then grinned.

"Okay, then… off I go," Buffy said, crawling over Willow and slipping out of the covers. "Not as cold as I thought it'd be," Buffy noted as she got up, wincing a little at how cold the cement floor was on her feet and wondering when she'd kicked off her socks.

"Thick walls make it easier to heat," Xander said, "and speaking of heating. I'll throw a couple more logs on the fire." He got out of bed and stretched, long used to how cold the floor was.

"Soap?" Buffy asked.

"Small shelf set into the wall," Xander said, "you have to be in the shower to see it."

"Shampoo?" she asked hopefully.

"And creme rinse," Xander added, "it's with the soap. I don't have any extra toothbrushes, so you'll have to use mine, it's on the sink."

"You are a noble and generous host," Buffy said formally and gave a mock curtsey. "I shall return after my morning abuelitas."

"Ablutions," Willow corrected her, amused.

"What did I say?" Buffy said.

"The Spanish word for grandmothers," Willow replied.

"Close enough, I'll be right back," she said and bounced off with a spring in her step, smiling at their laughter.

Xander grinned. "We should probably plug our ears."

Willow didn't say anything just waiting and less than a minute later there was a high-pitched squeal and a lot of cursing that caused her to stare at the darkened doorway that led to the bathroom. "Wow, I don't think all those are even in a human tongue!"

Xander laughed. "Pretty sure at least half of those are demonic."

"I wonder if she knows what they mean or she's just repeating things demons have said after encountering her," Willow said thoughtfully. "She could just be saying different variations of 'It's the slayer, run!"

Xander laughed and picked up the fireplace poker, poking at the logs to stir them up, because Buffy was going to need the heat in a minute. He added a few chunks of wood and put the poker back, satisfied.

Willow reluctantly got up and joined him in front of the fire, watching the flames and listening to Buffy curse. It seemed like only a minute had passed before a naked and wet Buffy practically teleported in front of them.

"Cold!" Buffy exclaimed, standing directly in front of the fire, hair still dripping. "Fire good!"

Xander took off his shirt and handed it to her. "Use this to dry off a little, I know it takes some getting used to."

Buffy was completely unconcerned with modesty as she patted herself down, giving the two quite a show. "I couldn't shut off the water, it's too high to jump with everything wet and… I forgot."

"I'll get it, I need to take my shower anyway," Xander said.

The two turned to stare at him.

"What?" Xander asked.

"You're going to walk away while I am naked, right here where you can ogle?" Buffy asked in disbelief, turning to face him so she could warm her butt.

"It's a riveting sight," Xander said honestly, "but it's not like this is going to be a onetime thing and I don't want to be creepy about it."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Buffy said with a warm smile, "but we are totally going to be creepy when you get out of the shower."

The two girls burst out laughing at the look of surprise on his face.

Xander couldn't help but chuckle. "With how cold the water is, there isn't going to be much to ogle. Be back in a couple of minutes."

"I get to see Xander naked," Willow whispered excitedly to Buffy, bouncing on her heels.

"Just before he gets to see you," Buffy teased.

Willow froze and bit her lip, chewing on it in thought. "It's by firelight… I can handle it," she decided, wondering where she was getting the courage from and guessing it was hormones.

"Narnia, a land of magic, where all your dreams come true," Buffy said, wringing out her hair.

"I think that's Disneyland," Willow said, "Narnia is… Narnia. They don't have a tourist bureau, so no slogans."

"Narnia where you can get a good night's sleep and cuddle in bed with friends before huddling naked with them in front of a fire," Buffy said.

"Catchy," Willow said. "If we ever start a tourist bureau for here, that will be our slogan."

"I am so bringing towels next time," Buffy decided, "my hair is going to take forever to dry." She turned to Willow and saw the redhead was watching the doorway to the bathroom. "Watching isn't going to make him come out any faster."

"It might," Willow argued, "this is Narnia."

Buffy grinned. "If we had towels you could offer to help him dry off."

Willow blushed hard enough to be visible in the firelight.

"Next time we'll plan better," Buffy said, "maybe bring enough food for a week."

"An extra week of just the three of us," Willow said quietly. "No parents or homework being due."

"No demons or patrolling," Buffy added. "This place is a wonder."

"Bracing, that's what I would say if I were British," Xander said as he came out of the doorway and joined them in front of the fire, "but since I'm a Cali boy, I will simply say penis shrinkingly cold."

"You're uncircumcised?" Buffy blurted out surprised and unable to keep herself from looking.

"No, it's just that cold," Xander replied, forcing himself not to cover up.

"It's normally a lot bigger," Willow said. "I mean from what I can tell through his jeans," she quickly added.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Xander said, trying not to laugh. "By the way, shower's free."

"Yeah," Buffy said, "your turn to strip and freeze, then you can join us."

"I'll be back," Willow said, taking a deep breath and whipping off her shirt, before tossing it on the table quickly followed by all the rest of her clothes and hurrying to the bathroom.

After a few seconds of silence Buffy said, "Well, at least I can tell you're not circumcised now."

"Yeah," Xander agreed absently, eyes glued to the doorway to the bathroom.

"Are you just warmer now or is it because it was Willow?" she asked curiously, wondering why he hadn't reacted to her like that.

"I think it's the context," Xander said.

"Huh?"

"There is a big difference between cold, wet, and having no choice but to be starkers to avoid freezing and simply stripping in front of your friends," he explained. "Plus… I am warmer now."

"Okay, I can see that," Buffy agreed.

"I still think you're hot as hell, but I was trying not to think about it, helped by being very, very cold," Xander said as he worked things out in his head. "What Willow did was… out of character and really… brave? Yeah, I'm going with brave. She's always been really shy, so it took me by surprise and I had no time to brace myself."

"She's been a lot more comfortable in her skin here," Buffy said thoughtfully, "and so have I."

"Could be the situation, could be Narnia," Xander offered with a shrug. "I know I'm always more relaxed here, but a good part of that is because I built some seriously strong walls."

"That does help," Buffy said. "Eh, whatever the reason, it's good to see her this way."

"I can certainly get behind that," Xander agreed.

"Yeah, I can tell," Buffy agreed, making a show of looking at his groin.

Xander snickered. "Your shower was pretty fast, did you actually have time to shampoo?"

"Yes, but no conditioner," Buffy replied. "I am not staying in the cold that long. I think that was the fastest shower I've ever taken in my life."

"I know the feeling," Xander said, "I learned to wash quickly here. I suppose I could get one of those big metal tubs and wash like they did in olden times, but I'd rather just put up with a little discomfort and spend my time relaxing."

"Yeah, we have better things to not do than try and build a primitive water heater," Buffy agreed, "and I can't believe I'm saying that. Normally I'd be the first one demanding for room service to fix the water heater and send up extra towels."

"You have to have your priorities in order," Xander said, "and here the priority is to relax."

"Amen to that," Buffy said. "I think I'm almost dry."

"Same here, but hold off on the clothes until Willow can get dressed too," he suggested.

"Good idea," Buffy said, "I wouldn't want her to feel uncomfortable."

"Cold is an understatement," Willow said as she joined them, pale and shivering. "I skipped shampooing my hair and it still took way too long to get clean!" She grabbed Xander and Buffy and pulled them to her like a blanket. "Warm me!"

"Ack! You're freezing!" Buffy complained.

"I think that's her problem Buff," Xander said as they squeezed her between them.

"If I wasn't so wet right now I would drag you both to bed," Willow swore. It was only after the two burst out laughing she realized what she'd said. "You know what I meant!"

"We do," Buffy assured her, "though that would certainly warm us up."

"I refuse to comment," Xander said, rubbing Willows arms to help her warm up.

"I can feel your comment behind me, mister," Willow said, blushing but not letting the two go.

"So, what are we going to do once we're all dry and warm again?" Buffy asked. "I'm not sleepy at all for once."

"Play cards," Xander suggested, "we can play reverse strip poker and get dressed again, cause there's no way I can concentrate enough to read with you two like this."

"I left my clothes in the bathroom," Buffy said, remembering how she'd rushed out to warm herself in front of the fire.

"That reminds me, I couldn't shut off the shower," Willow said, "it's a little too high."

Xander groaned. "Okay, I'll be right back, looks like I've gotta get wet again."

"Hurry back," Willow said, reluctantly letting him go.

"I'll be just a second," he promised before rushing off.

"Next time towels," Buffy said firmly.

"Towels," Willow agreed. "The naked cuddling will be a lot more comfortable while dry."

"Not quite what I meant, but yeah it would be," Buffy agreed. "I am surprised you're so… okay with all this."

"The cold has really helped," Willow said as Xander returned.

"The cold has helped?" he asked.

"Yes," Willow agreed. "Being in fear of having bits freeze off has made it easy to ignore my shyness and being shy just seems all sorts of silly now."

"Point, a very good one," Xander agreed, stoking the fire to increase the heat as he was cold and wet once more.

"Huddle around Xander," Willow told Buffy as she hugged him.

"Your butt is cold and wet," Buffy told Xander.

"Yeah, I think I may have to either find an easier way for you two to turn off the shower or just shower with you," Xanser said.

"If it leads to a faster shower I won't complain," Buffy said.

"Once we get all dry again, I say we go back to bed and warm up," Willow said.

"I second that," Buffy agreed. "While we're there we can talk about what we're going to dress as for Halloween."

"We could go with a Narnia theme," Willow suggested.

"Nah, that's just tempting fate," Xander disagreed. "I say spandex!"

"Good luck on that," Willow said. "I am not nearly comfortable enough wearing something like that in public, it makes me feel like I'm naked."

Xander and Buffy stepped back to look at her.

"This is private, I can be naked in private," Willow said firmly. "It's just the three of us and dim lighting from the fireplace."

"Yeah, I'll agree with that," Buffy said. "I was thinking medieval princess type myself."

"Medieval is good," Xander agreed. "I could dress up like a hunter."

"I like my ghost outfit, it's very traditional," Willow said.

"How about something different?" Xander asked. "I don't think we could find armor for Joan of Arc or King Arthur in your size, but you could dress like a plague doctor or something."

"That's not a bad idea," Willow said with a smile, getting enthused at the idea. "I could make one of those leather bird masks they wore."

"Leather bird mask?" Buffy asked confused.

"Plague doctors in the middle ages thought the smell of sick people made you sick, so they had these masks with little sachets of herbs they'd breathe through that looked like beaks," Willow explained.

"Sounds very historical," Buffy said. "We'll have to see what's available. Are we dry enough for bed now?"

Xander checked himself and looked at them. "Close enough for government work."

"Then to bed," Buffy said, quickly pushing them towards it.

"I've had dreams that started off this way," Xander joked.

"Really?" Buffy asked doubtfully.

"Well, no," he admitted, "at least not yet."

"Less talking, more moving," Willow said, looking forward to being cuddled up and warm again.

Typing by: fyrewolf5

TN: That is a level of cold water I never want to deal with, dead hot water heater in winter cold is bad enough, but fresh ice/snow melt is another thing altogether.

TN2: Would be less fun, but they could also just shower in set order; Buffy, Willow, Xander, Buffy can jump and turn it on, Willow goes in once Buffy is done, then Xander goes last and turns it off when he's finished. But then again, if he joins them, he can turn it off mid shower so they're not under a constant stream while soaping/shampooing, turn it back on to rinse, then turn it off when done.