Title: Anuta is not Christmas Island...
Author: lilyme
Summary: See what happens when an alleged Grinch and a Christmas fanatic are snowed in together
Pairing: A slayer and a Witch - yet again;)
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story, nor do I own any rights to the television show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". They were created by Joss Whedon and belong to him, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar Television, Kuzui Enterprises, 20th Century Fox Television and the WB Network. No copyright infringement intended!
Dedication: To the Buffyverse-characters and the people behind them (actors and writers)
Anuta is not Christmas Island
Part Three of Three
Willow awoke. Again.
This awaking was different than the one a few minutes ago. It was light out. The dark slayer was neither lying snoring nor sitting lewdly on top of her. Instead there was the blanket, in which she had wrapped herself yesterday.
And there was something else – she had a terrible headache.
Okay, definitely a sign that this was real.
But... were the happenings from just moments before also real? Or had it all been just a dream – as Willow hoped? But if so – what did that dream mean?
Before she worried about that, she had to make sure first. Slight panic overcame her, as she thought about what she might find underneath the blanket. Or what she might not find. Carefully she lifted it up... and noticed that her clothes were still on, complete and - most importantly - seemed untouched.
Okay... good... now she was ninety per cent sure that it all had just been a dream. The missing ten per cent certainty would have to be provided by a brunette – who hopefully had not been involved in any 'actions' with her.
As on cue, this one came floating into the room. "Well, good morning, sleepyhead," Faith grinned and put a drink on the table that at the moment was of little interest for Willow. The redhead sat up and was promptly reminded by her head that all too fast movements were a really, really bad idea right now. The strained sound of her vocal chords made that clear to her surroundings.
She looked at Faith. How was it possible that the slayer wasn't hungover? After all she had consumed much, much more punch. In her – as she hoped - dream she had still been drunk, whereas Willow had been more or less sober again. Oh, God, that dream. She had to pull herself together and try to not imagine Faith naked. Luckily she had had her mental blackout before they had reached that critical point, and she was grateful for it.
Faith watched on worriedly as Willow rubbed her eyes and other parts of her face with a desperate-sleepy-hungover expression. Maybe the punch had been too much for the poor girl. "Hey, Red, everything okay over there?"
"It will be," Willow nodded cautiously, careful not to disturb her head any further, and slowly opened her eyes. After a few moments of silence, in which she fought with herself and the throbbing of her head, she finally asked, "Faith...um, did we... you know... yesterday..."
The brunette frowned. "Did we...what?"
"Well...". Clearing her throat and nervous not-looking-at-Faith. "Things that... might have...been inspired by that... movie," she finally found the words for a hopefully unambiguous description.
Now Faith was befuddled all the more. How in the world did Red come up with that? Yeah, okay, the redhead had gotten pretty hot over the years – anyone with fairly good eyesight would agree with her there. But... she and her? "Well... I was pretty drunk... but I'd remember having sex," she smiled hearteningly. Okay, in her past there had been boozy nights out, after which she hadn't known if she had slept with the person next to, atop or underneath her... but Willow didn't need to know that. "And you still got your clothes on, as you might have noticed."
Willow smiled in return – grateful for the negation of her fears. And concerning her fantasies about Faith... she could always blame in on the punch and the fact that Faith had gotten comfortable on her chest.
Faith's thoughts centered on the same thing. Why would Willow dream about her? She had Kenny, after all. Although she had to admit that the little witch had been a comfy, cuddly cushion. Even though the sleeping position she had chosen had confused her at first.
She had been able to get up without disturbing the slumbering redhead. She only vaguely remembered what had happened last night. They had watched TV and had drunk a bit of punch. Or a larger bit of punch. What happened afterwards... the movie... she didn't take responsibility for that – the alcohol had deprived her of her control over her senses. She was sure that Willow wouldn't lose a word about the happenings to anyone. But if, she could live with it.
What she still remembered well was her head first landing on Willow's shoulder and later on her chest. But she didn't care about that, because she knew that she hadn't had any bad intentions. She felt sorry for the fact that Willow's head seemed to have bigger problems with that. On the other hand, it was kinda funny.
Faith picked up the glass she had brought with and handed it to the redhead. The drink turned out to be an Aspirin dissolved in water. Willow noticed this and put on a grateful smile. "Okay, from now on you'll never get punch to drink when I'm around. Slayer's honor," she pledged with raised hand and a resolute, yet amused expression.
"As long as it's not almost entirely made of alcohol, you could let me have a tiny sip," Willow replied and gulped down the liquid, which tasted much yuckier than the Christmas beverage.
"Deal". Faith took the glass from Willow's hand and went into the kitchen. "If you're done then...I have a little surprise for you."
The surprise was that the temperatures had risen over night and that the snow's depth had decreased significantly. Willow's hangover flew away within seconds. Because that meant they could get back into the car and – if a little belatedly – enjoy Christmas with their loved ones. Or maybe in Faith's case elude the festivities – the slayer hadn't fully decided yet.
After a quick breakfast and after storing the improvised Christmas tree and the various cookie creations in bags and backpacks, they made their way out.
"Nice snowman," Willow remarked with a smile when her eyes fell on the figure that hadn't been there yet yesterday.
"It's a snowwoman, Red. Look. Recognize her?" Faith replied with a wicked grin.
And really – if it was even possible, the sculpture showed stunning resemblance to one of the lead actresses in last night's movie. The two snowballs on the upper front and two smaller branches forming a deer head were a clear sign.
At least to well-informed minds.
THE END
So... I hope you liked this a little unconventional Christmas story ;)