"Are you sure you're going to be okay there alone?"
Buffy asked as Willow dropped onto the sofa in Giles'
living room.
"I'm sure," she answered. "It isn't like it's anything
new. You know my parents have made a career of being
anywhere but home."
"Yeah, but you've gotten used to dorm life. Pretty
much the direct opposite of solitary confinement," the
slayer said.
"Exactly. I'm going to bask in a few weeks of peace
and quiet," Willow nodded.
"Okay. Anyway, you won't really be alone all that
much."
Willow's eyes flew to hers, "I won't?"
"Well...I mean...there's Xander, and me, and of
course, we'll have to make sure we pester Giles on a
regular basis," Buffy fumbled to recover from her near
slip.
"Oh, yeah," Willow agreed.
Giles emerged from the hallway, carrying a box which
he placed on the floor beside several others near a
bare tree in the corner. He dug around in the box and
pulled out a long, tangled string of lights.
"Shouldn't you be patrolling?" he asked the slayer as
she opened another box of Christmas decorations.
"I did a quick sweep. It's pretty quiet tonight. I'll
go out again later," she answered.
He nodded and attempted to unknot the string of bulbs
as the doorbell rang. Buffy went to open it, and
Xander stepped inside with Anya on his heels. She
stopped under the threshold and yanked him into a
bruising kiss. The others looked on in amused
fascination as the young man attempted to unglue his
lips from hers. She finally pulled back and pointed
above them in answer to the gang's curious stares.
"Mistletoe," she said, glancing up at the sprig
hanging above her.
Buffy laughed and looked at Giles, "How many
unsuspecting women are you planning on luring onto
your doorstep?"
"As many as possible," he grinned.
"Why have you tied Giles up with green cord?" Anya
asked.
"It's self-inflicted bondage," Willow giggled.
"An extra pair of hands would be appreciated," Giles
grimaced.
Buffy grabbed the other end of the string of lights
and began to unravel it.
"Do I smell donuts?" Xander asked hopefully.
"And cocoa," the slayer nodded. "In the--"
Xander made a beeline for the kitchen.
"Never mind," Buffy grinned and began winding the
lights around the tree.
"Xander and chocolate," Anya murmured staring toward
the kitchen. "I'll be right back."
Giles, Buffy, and Willow exchanged pained looks as the
doorbell rang once again.
The slayer looked innocently over at the redhead,
"Will, would you mind answering that?"
The sprig of mistletoe just inside the door did not go
unnoticed by the blonde vampire standing outside. He
shot Buffy a look, and she quickly dropped the string
of lights behind the tree.
"Um, Giles, could you help me get those?"
He nodded and ducked behind the tree as she busied
herself by crawling underneath it to hand them up to
him.
Spike took advantage of the former watcher's
preoccupation to place his hands on Willow's shoulders
and pull her into a soft kiss. When he drew away, her
lips were parted slightly, and she was blushing
furiously.
"Mistletoe," he spoke softly and brushed his fingers
over her crimson cheek.
"Uh, yeah," she nodded a bit breathlessly.
Giles reappeared from behind the tree, struggling to
hide a grin, and wondered to himself just how dense
they thought he was. Whatever their misconceptions
about his state of ignorance, he had no doubt that
Buffy had suddenly been cured of them as she stood
back up, clearly surprised by the expression on his
face.
"What is taking that boy so bloody long?" he asked,
maintaining the charade of blind innocence.
Buffy took his lead, "Alone, with Anya, and donuts and
hot chocolate. Maybe we'd better--"
"Yes, I think we had," he nodded and lead her out of
the living room.
"Your turn," Spike said as the slayer and Giles
disappeared from view.
"Huh?" Willow mumbled.
He looked up and back down at her.
"Oh," she replied, the flush returning to her pale
face.
"Oh?" he repeated and lifted an eyebrow, silently
daring her.
She grinned and stepped into him, and his arms went
around her as he stole her soft kiss and replaced with
with a gently lingering one.
End.