TITLE: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
SERIES: Ice and Fire (Part 8/12)
AUTHOR: Kerry Blackwell
DISCLAIMER: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, UPN, the WB, FOX and
Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation. I own only my genius
(yeah, right!)
FEEDBACK: Well, I'm certainly not going to complain! :-)
"What's going on here?" Buffy laughed.
"Insanity," Giles said firmly. "Total insanity."
Brianna was sitting on the bottom step of the porch, laughing as she watched her husband and niece playing in the snow. Susan stood behind her, clearly unsure whether she should be stepping in to stop proceedings, or if she should just join Brianna and laugh.
Miri was standing in the snow, her coat and trousers covered in the stuff, give Angel orders like she was a drill sergeant. "No, Uncle Angel, you have to swing your arms up and down. Like this." She proceeded to demonstrate, waving her outstretched arms up and down with great gusto.
Angel did his best to pay attention, but he was rather hampered by the fact that he was lying on his back in the snow, staring at the cloudy sky rather than the little girl.
"Like this?" he asked, and obediently swept his arms through the snow.
Miri nodded in satisfaction. "Now your legs."
He obligingly repeated the motion with his legs.
Miri frowned thoughtfully and finally nodded again. "You can get up now. Don't step in the angel."
Looking a little confused, Angel carefully levered himself to his feet and walked over to stand beside the little girl. "Did I do it right?" he asked.
She grinned and pointed at the depression in the snow where he had been lying. "It's an angel, see!"
Angel tilted his head to one side, trying to see what she was seeing. Suddenly his perspective shifted, and he could see it; the patch of smeared snow did look like an angel. It had a head, wings created by the sweep of his arms and a robe made by his legs.
"I see it," he said in wonder.
Miri chortled happily. "See, Mommy," she called to Susan. "Uncle Angel made an angel." "She giggled again, clearly delighted by the entire concept. "Uncle Angel made an angel."
"So he did," Susan agreed. "Did you remember to say thank you?"
"Oops." Miri threw her arms around Angel's knees and hugged him. "Thank you, Uncle Angel." He would have scooped her into his arms, but she forestalled him. "Wanna play snowfight?"
"Ahh..." Angel was clearly looking for an escape when he was soundly hit from behind by a well thrown snowball. He spun around to see Joy and Hazel, well loaded with ammunition, preparing to fire again.
"Go and find us some reinforcements," he told Miri instead. "See if your Daddy and Uncle Alex want to play." She scurried off just as he was hit by another snowball.
He threw a desperate glance in Buffy's direction, but she held up Dawn's nightcase and shook her head. "Sorry," she called, sounding anything but apologetic. "We've got our hands full."
"I think this would be a very good time to make our escape indoors," Giles suggested.
They met Wesley and Alex at the bottom of the steps, where the men were being dragged into the action by an insistent Miri. Angel was making a good showing against the girls, but Gunn had arrived to join them and he was starting to look seriously outnumbered.
"Not playing?" Wesley asked his father as they passed.
Giles laughed. "I have more sense than that. I hope the electricity's back on, because you're all going to need hot showers."
"Fixed it while you were out," Alex answered. "Fortunately, we just had to replace some fuses."
"Spike?" Wesley asked hopefully.
"He's coming inside," Dawn said firmly. "Just in case the sun decides to come out after all."
"Yeah," Spike agreed reluctantly, watching the fighters with envy in his eyes.
"Tell you what," Brianna said suddenly from her position on the steps. "I'll let you throw one snowball at my husband if you promise not to hurt him too much. Then you can go inside and relieve Aunt Dawn's worries about you getting an unwanted tan."
Spike turned to look at her. "Am I that obvious?" He sounded annoyed that he'd given himself away, and Bree laughed at him.
"The only people I have ever seen with a more complicated love/hate relationship than you and Angel are..." She stopped. "Right now I can't think of anyone. One snowball, that's the deal."
Dawn exchanged a glance with her niece, understanding passing between them. She gave Spike a push. "Go on. Get it out of your system and come inside." He gave both women an incredulous look, then handed the box he was carrying over to Brianna and ventured out into the snow, a wicked look on his face.
Buffy shook her head at the both of them. "You shouldn't encourage it."
Brianna shrugged. "They've been at each other's throats for something like a century. At least now it's verbal sniping and snowballs."
"This is all a big conspiracy to make me accept Spike as part of the family, isn't it?"
"Only a subconscious one," Brianna promised. She gave her mother a more serious look. "We're home to the misfits, the ones that no-one else understands or that have no-where else to go. Where else does Spike belong except with us?"
Buffy looked out across the snow-covered front yard, just in time to see Angel go down to a well-thrown snowball from Spike. He spluttered, brushing snow off his face, and retaliated immediately. Spike got it right in the heart. The vampire staggered backwards, miming collapsing and exploding into dust.
A moment later, she realised both men were laughing.
"Okay, I'm convinced." She gave her sister a warning look. "But it's your job to keep him under control."
"Oh, come on, Mom," Brianna said with a chuckle. "That's the way it always is. Who keeps Dad under control?"
"I heard that, young lady," Giles called from where he was standing by the door, but he didn't deny the accusation.
Dawn laughed. "I'll go and drag Spike out of the fight."
"Leave him," Brianna answered. "Believe it or not, I think they're having fun."
Her aunt looked up at the sky. It was still overcast, but not so much as it had been earlier. She shook her head. "He's coming inside. We're only just starting out here, and I somehow suspect it would be rather difficult to have a meaningful relationship with a pile of dust."
Brianna found herself remembering all the times she had been in the same position, insisting Angel not play any risks with daylight. She was amazed to discover how quickly her mindset had changed. _I'm blessed_, she realised. _Angel and I always had the hope we'd get to walk in the sun together, and now we have the reality. Aunt Dawn's never going to have either._
"Make him go inside," she agreed. "Better safe than sorry."
While Dawn ventured into the fray to retrieve Spike, Buffy and Giles headed inside. They were stopped by Cordelia before they could cross the threshold.
She was standing in the hallway, her hands on her hips, giving them a steely look. "Are you deliberately ignoring all my hard work?"
She got two blank looks in reply.
"I've been decorating while you went off for walkies in the snow. Look up."
They did. Hanging above the door, daring them to dismiss it at their own peril, was a sprig of mistletoe. The stem was wrapped with red and green ribbon and Giles laughed as he saw it, remembering two sprays of the plant over his and Buffy's bedroom door the year before.
"So kiss, already," Cordelia said firmly.
"It's her house," Buffy said quietly. "I suppose that means we have to do what she says."
"If we have to," Giles agreed with mock reluctance.
"You're not fooling me," Cordy assured them. "I don't know any other two people more unable to keep their hands off each other."
"We wouldn't want to disappoint her," Buffy whispered wickedly.
"Never," Giles agreed and bent his head to kiss her.
Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer, and her mouth opened under his. He slipped his arms around her waist, holding her there, and her small, familiar body pressed against his. Unable to resist the opportunity, he tipped her over until her back was arched above his supporting hands, following her down and never breaking the kiss.
Buffy simply let herself fall, knowing she was safe in his arms. He would never drop her, never let her go and all she had to do was kiss him back, with every bit of the love and passion she had for him.
Giles didn't like to admit it, but they were both getting a little old for such antics. He was forced to pull Buffy up a little sooner than he would have done in the old days. Once she was upright again, she stood on her toes to kiss him once more, lightly, on the lips.
Behind them, they could hear Brianna and Susan cheering their performance. Dawn was laughing, and Spike stood beside her, safe in the cover of the porch, with an amused look on his face. Without needing to say anything, without even needing to look at each other, Buffy and Giles turned as one and swept elegant bows for their audience.
"Woo-hoo!" Brianna called. "Score one for the oldies!"
"Who are you calling old?" her mother demanded. Brianna just pulled a face at her and laughed harder.
Giles turned his head to look over his shoulder at Cordelia. She was standing there, grinning from ear to ear.
"You see," she said, "that makes all my wobbling around on the step- ladder worthwhile."
"Can we come in now?" he asked ironically and she laughed and stepped aside.
Safely indoors again, Buffy stopped her husband from walking on into the lounge. Instead, she turned back and looked steadily at her sister. "Next, please."
"Huh?" Dawn gave her a funny look.
"Cordy's hung mistletoe. You have to get a kiss before you get entry."
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Come on, Buffy. We're coming in."
"Not without kissing," Buffy said firmly.
"You're serious," Dawn said softly.
"Deadly," Buffy agreed. She turned her gaze on Spike. "If you're gonna date my sister, no more of this stalking her in the dark stuff. It'll be all out in the open and proper."
He inclined his head, a whole conversation in that look, and Buffy nodded back, equally serious.
Then he laughed and, before she could protest, pulled Dawn into a tight embrace. "Come on, Little Bit. Let's _really_ give them something to cheer about."