BtVS Quadruple Drabble: Christmas Eve Kiss

[bk_forever]

Title: Christmas Eve Kiss
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Buffy, Angel.
Rating: PG
Written For: Challenge 10: Mistletoe at sunnydalescribe.
Spoilers/Setting: First half of Season Two.
Summary: It’s Christmas Eve and while everyone else is having fun, Buffy is patrolling.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Joss Whedon.
A/N: Quadruple drabble.





Patrol didn’t stop for the holidays; vamps weren’t exactly religious so the only reason Christmas might feature high on their calendars was as a suitable occasion for a mass slaughter. Being demons, they relished committing atrocities on holy days, proving how evil they were, thumbing their noses at the forces of good.


So here Buffy was, on Christmas Eve, doing the rounds of the local graveyards to make sure none of the undead were rising. Fun, fun, fun.


Not.


She should be hanging out with her friends, or at home drinking hot cocoa with her mom, or maybe even out on a date. The kinds of things normal teenage girls got to do, girls who weren’t the Slayer.


Duty first, that was the story of her life. Slaying came before friends, before family, before schoolwork, revision, exams… Having any kind of personal life was at the very bottom of a Slayer’s list of priorities, squeezed into whatever small amount of time could be spared from patrolling and training and research.


Was she bitter about having no life?


Hell yes, but it didn’t change anything, just made her feel worse.


“Thought I might find you here.”


Buffy whirled, instinctively raising the stake gripped in her hand, only to relax as her brain caught up with her Slayer reflexes. “Angel! Don’t sneak up on me like that! I might’ve dusted you!”


Angel raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be quiet, I thought you would’ve heard me.”


“Yeah, I was… thinking.” Buffy smiled sheepishly.


“What about?”


“Oh, about how my life sucks. Everyone but me is out enjoying Christmas Eve and here I am in a graveyard.”


“Not where you want to be.”


“No. Although, things did just get about a hundred percent better.”


“Really?” Angel’s eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled like that, setting butterflies fluttering in Buffy’s stomach. “Why might that be?” There was a teasing note to his voice.


“You know.” She started towards him but he held up one hand to stop her.


“Don’t move, stay right where you are.”


“Why?” Buffy looked around herself. “Is there something…?”


Angel crossed the distance between them in a few strides, pulling her close and kissing her, slow and lingering, making her toes curl.


“Wow!”


Pointing overhead, Angel grinned. “Mistletoe. I couldn’t resist.”


Buffy grinned back. “Mistletoe, huh? Guess we’d better make the most of it.”



The End

Comments

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

Christmas might feature high on their calendars was as a suitable occasion for a mass slaughter.

So true, poor Buffy. At least she got a great kiss out it. Loved it.

[bk_forever]

Yeah, demons really love to bring the misery.

At least Buffy's evening improved with Angel's arrival.

Thank you!

[cornerofmadness.livejournal.com]

You're welcome

Soldier gal for Christ: what the heroine of this show's supposed to be, and that's movie-based.

[vantiri.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and the sides in this are a very good analogue for the current spiritual warfare; indeed, there's a very good quality hint of that conflict within the series, including in the movie... this series has it's very good parts too.
And this author who wrote this story is also very good at these sort of things, so to the writer: I salute you!
Sincerely one of your hopefully entirely too many fans;
Vantiri.

Re: Soldier gal for Christ: what the heroine of this show's supposed to be, and that's movie-based.

[bk_forever]

Thank you.

[katleept.livejournal.com]

I don't usually do Bangel, but this was very sweet, very cute, and very enjoyable! Thank you! :)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

So really cute! I love it!

[bk_forever]

Thank you! Buffy needed some cheering up.

I even researched to make sure Mistletoe grows wild in southern California. Apparently it's a nuisance.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Like kudzu in the South?

[bk_forever]

Something like, but probably not quite as invasive. I've heard Kudzu vines grow really fast, but Mistletoe is a parasite, and much slower growing. It can kill trees though if it gets too out of hand.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Yup - I used to go collect mistletoe this time of the year in the South. It was fun. :D

I also have this incredible broom handle that is of an oak branch with parasitic mistletoe on it.

[bk_forever]

That is so cool!

I've seen it growing on an apple tree in a local garden, but that's the only time, although I think it's fairly common in parts of England. It's a fascinating plant.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I also have a broom made out of a drying stick from a Kentucky tobacco barn. That broom is fun because of the broom head - it's purple and blue. I've given it some hawk feathers to hold on to for me.

The mistletoe/oak broom handle wears the collar of one of my favorite dogs.

Mistletoe is just so much fun.

[bk_forever]

You have some awesome wooden things! Love that you've decorated them =)

I've got a walking stick made out of a branch, I keep it under my bed for clobbering burglars ;)

Plants in general are fun, there are so many strange ones.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I do love my wooden stuff. <3

One of my walking sticks has a face carved in it. I need to do some more decorating to it. It has a natural hole in it that I keep thinking I need to string with ribbons, and beads, and feathers. You know. Fun stuff.

I am very fond of plants. I collect irises and daylilies currently, because my yard has absolutely no shade.

[bk_forever]

I love anything made of wood, the more natural the better. My mum was the same.

Sounds like you have plenty of ideas for decorations!

I love plants and gardening, but my own health problems and the fact that I was caring for my mum for the last few years of her life mean the garden is seriously overgrown. I'm hoping to get more time out there next year, cutting back the brambles and ivy, and the overgrown shrubs. We get a lot of shade, thanks to trees in neighbouring gardens, and the lawn is about two feet lower than everyone else's so it gets waterlogged in heavy rain. I would like to have a few more plants and a few less shrubs. My day lily sadly died, I think it got suffocated under everything.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I love wood, too. We got a nice chest at work full of food from a customer and I nabbed it. I don't know what I'll do with it yet but...I think I want to turn it into an art box. I am considering hinges and a little lock for it, and something else. Not sure what yet. :D

Daylilies are pretty hardy. It might still be there, under everything.

My mom tries to dissuade me from buying more flowers for our yard but she likes them too. And this year, she let me plant a veggie garden. It did pretty well but I need to dig up the weeds surrounding the garden and put down some mulch. :D

[bk_forever]

Ooh, lucky you! That sounds like a great idea. I don't do art, can't draw much more than stick figures, but I do various crafts and hopefully will make progress next year turning my sister's childhood bedroom into my craft room. It's tiny, but I think I can make it work.

I had hopes, but not a single leaf has poked through all year, so it doesn't look too likely.

Well done with the veggie garden! I don't really have anywhere that gets enough sun for growing veggies these days, but I might grow tomatoes again next year, I usually do well with those.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I craft, too, but not as much as I draw. I need to start painting again - I miss it. I bought myself some inexpensive oil paints the other day and need to find my canvases. But that'll be after the holidays, because I have cookies to bake and presents to wrap and you know. All that stuff.

Awww, I'm sorry to read that about your daylily.

I love growing tomatoes. They have such a different taste than store-bought fruits.

[bk_forever]

Hopefully 2019 will give you plenty of opportunities to paint.

I'm planning to ease off a bot on my writing next year to allow more time for gardening and cross stitch, the two things I most want to do. Then again, I said I was going to do that this year and wound up writing more than last year... I blame the plot bunnies, they're out of control.

Homegrown tomatoes (that always makes me think of Guy Clark's song) are sweeter and have thinner skins, plus you can grow so many more interesting varieties. I have a fondness for yellow tomatoes, and you never see those in shops here in the UK.

I may have to try to replace my daylily, maybe get a few more, once I get that piece of garden cleared and ready. There's so much work to do out there when the weather starts to improve.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I hope so. I also need to get back to my stained glass - my cousin wants to teach me and help me get my window finished (an antique window that was partially broken that I found at a yard sale and got for next to nothing). Art is something that really appeals to me. I cartoon a lot but it's so different working with colors! I would love to get an art computer to play with but that's kind of out the picture at the moment.

I want to start writing more. My job is such that my computer is attached to my face for 8+ hours and then I don't want to write when I come home.

I like to grow a lot of different tomatoes. I had yellows, stripies, purples, bicolors...

I wish I could send you a daylily! I have so many...but I doubt I could ship them overseas. D:

[bk_forever]

I think tee are all sorts of customs restrictions governing plants, sadly. I'm sure I'll be able to get some here in England when I'm ready though.

I love stained glass, we have a small window each side of the front door, I think it was original with the house which was built in the thirties. There was more on the bay windows but we lost that when the we had double glazing fitted.

I've never seen a purple tomato, that really sounds different! I've grown a lovely green variety called Green Grape that turns a sort of olive green when ripe, little green cherry tomatoes. Those are great.

I hope you'll be able to write more next year, it must be hard to fave a computer screen when your work involves staring at one. Even though I want to cut down I'll still be writing every day. I've only pledged 200,000 words at getyourwordsout for next year instead of my usual 250k.

You should post some of your art online, I'd love to see what you do!

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I'm sure there are. There are rules and restrictions here within the U.S.; I'm betting they're tripled or quadrupled to go overseas.

I love stained glass, too. My cousin does some really pretty pieces. She made my Mom a red-winged butterfly for Yule this year, as well as a bunch of butterflies for her siblings, all different.

The purple tomato is a Cherokee purple. I've grown Mr. Stripey, Pineapple (one of my favorites; it's very tasty, large, and red, orange, yellow, and green), and my favorite cherry tomato is the Sunsugar. It's so sweet, it's almost a dessert tomato!

I will have to point out that group to my ex-roomie; she's always looking for things to help with her writing.

I used to do computers all day and all night but now that I'm ten+ years older, I don't do it as well.

I haven't really drawn or painted in a while. It's one of those things I want to get on to this year; being more artistic!

[bk_forever]

The butterflies sound gorgeous! I'm a big fan of butterflies and dragonflies.

I'm betting American varieties of tomato aren't available in Britain, even as seeds, and vice versa, which is a shame, all part of the restrictions designed to keep pests, fungi, molds and diseases from spreading across borders. It's a pity though. I'll have to see what interesting varieties I can find here, but it'd been years since last grew my tomatoes from seed. I tend to just buy young plants these days.

I hope it might help her, it's a good community with monthly check-ins and all sorts of advice posts.

I'm on mu=y computer practically all day because health issues mean I'm unable to work and I don't get out much either. Most of my friends are online, so I chat, and I write, and if I can find time, I read. I like the company I find online, keeps me from getting lonely.

Good luck with getting back to your artistic endeavours!

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

They are very pretty. My cousin made a red butterfly for my mother and I found a very large one at a yard sale a couple of years ago in blue and yellow. Mom has a few stained glass cardinals (the bird) I found, as well as a stylized blue bird my cousin made her (as well as a a blue heart). I have a couple of tiny windows and a full-sized window that came from Nottinghamshire.

I wouldn't be surprised if the tomato seeds aren't available in Britain (and vice versa).

I understand having friends through the computer! I have met some really wonderful people through mine.

[bk_forever]

How long have you had the one from Nottinghamshire? It's probably not one of ours that were taken out, but... (Yes, I hail from the land of Robin Hood *grins*

It's just amazing the people you can meet online. It's a lot easier to find people with similar interests online than in day to day life.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I bought my Nottinghamshire window (because I am a huge fan of Robin Hood!) in Florida - about two years ago. The gentleman who sold it to me said he buys them regularly and brings them to the States for sale. I got a really good price on it, too and my friend mailed it to me since I couldn't put it on the plane to bring it back here.

And it's mostly clear glass, with a thin ribbon of yellow running through it and some auburn bits here and there.

It is amazing who you meet - and from where. One of my dearest friends is from Peru. We met so long ago!

[bk_forever]

Sounds lovely, but it's not one of ours which had a fleur de lys type design. Would have been stretching coincidence too far if it had been. Still, how cool is it that a Robin Hood fan should bump into a Notts resident completely by chance!

My closest friends are in Florida, Colorado, Canada, Argentina, and Germany. I don't think I've met anyone from Peru. I like to look at my ff.net stats sometimes to see where my storis are being read around the world, and it's fascinating to see countries like Latvia and Togo popping up. I'm useless at geography, I couldn't say where they are without looking at a map, but I'm constantly amazed by the way the internet can bring people together no matter where they are.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

It is in my bedroom window but I never see it because I have the blinds closed most of the time.

Yes, I've been a fan of Robin Hood for almost as long as I can remember. One of my dreams is to make it to Sherwood Forest for at least a little visit.

The internet is very good for helping people introduce themselves to others! Fandom helps with that, definitely.

[bk_forever]

It's a shame you don't see it much, but still a cool thing to have.

It you visit Sherwood Forest, I recommend making time to visit Nottingham Castle too, get your photo taken with the Robin Hood Statue out front. The Robin Hood experience in town is supposed to be pretty good too.

Fandom is a great basis for friendships, I've found. Then they branch out from that as people discover other interests they have in common.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Those are very good suggestions!

I HOPE to get to visit Sherwood this year - or at least Wales. We'll see how that goes!

[bk_forever]

Well, the two aren't really that far apart, GB is a very small country, and coach fares aren't too bad or so I've heard. You might be able to swing both.

Check this out, you can see the statue - he's not life-sized, but still...

https://www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk/things-to-do/nottingham-castle-p357581

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

How very, very cool!

It really depends on my friend - she is going for work and we will be on her schedule. And if I can afford the trip, of course.

[bk_forever]

Well, hopefully you'll get there one day even if it's not on this trip. It's not going anywhere.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is true. :D