FIC: FeatherRoads-Water(Sequel to Forge)2/2

[Mad-Hamlet@xxxxxxx]

Five minutes later we all collapsed on the grass exhausted. 
Xander had stopped begging for mercy about two minutes into the 
ticklefest and was now gasping for air as Anya clucked over him. 
Occasionally jabbing him in the side which launched him into a fresh 
bout of chortling.

Buffy pulled herself upright and straightened out her towel. 
"Your turn with the subscreen." She said.

"But all mine got washed off." I griped.

"Poor baby. Karma, using your witchy powers for selfish 
reasons. You're gonna burn." She looked up at the overhead sun. 
"Literally."

"Meanie." I stuck my tounge out at her.

"Don't do that unless you ..ah skip it." Buffy rested her head 
on her arms.

"But I like innduendo. Really." I whispered. 

"Too tired." Buffy sighed. 

"Not tonight honey I have a headache?" I asked while pouring a 
healthy quality of sunscreen into my hands.

"For cliché violation you should be shot. Oh, that's nice." 
She said as I began rubbing her shoulder blades.

"You sure about that death sentence?" I whispered to her. I 
moved my hands up and pushed away her hair and exposed her neck. I 
rubbed in some of the lotion and was rewared with a purr.

"Sentence altered on grounds of new evidence." She whimpered.

"Like what?" I whispered back.

"Magic hands." She hissed as I massaged the tension out of 
her. 

"Love you." I said.

"Recieved and reciprocated." Her voice died away.

"Buffy?" I whispered.

Silence was the answer, she was asleep. 

Well.. this was fine, who was going to put the sunscreen on me 
now?

**

I groggily woke up and looked around. Xander and Anya were 
snoozing themselves together on a towel a few feet away. Well 
actually Anya was on the towel, Xander was just..half on, half off.

I sat up and blinked a few times. 

"Hiya." Willow said behind me.

"Hey." I said and stood up and stretched. 

"Stretch anymore and we'll be having an Anya flashback." 
Willow says.

I turned around, she was seated at the table wearing Anya's 
straw hat and sunglasses and reading her book. 

I grabbed a chair and sat down. "How long was I out?" I asked.

"Bout an hour." She said. "You looked so cute I decided to let 
you stay that way. I even went so far as sooth you when you began 
saying embarrasing things in your sleep."

I froze, I was pretty sure she was just joking but Willow has 
pointed out on several occasion that I do seem to mumble sometimes. 
She keeps threatening to record them. 

"You're kidding." I said.

She just smiled and shook her head. I slumped foward and 
rested my head in my hands. 
	
"Oh Gods, what did I say now?" I moan.

"Not tellin'." She declared. "But," And she held up a finger, 
"I will say that you have a vivid imagination."

I groaned again and slumped even lower.

"I mean, who ever would have thought of putting whipped cream 
on their pizza?" Willow said.

"What?" I perked up. "I talked about food?"

"Yep." Willow nodded. "And as we are on that subject I'm 
getting kinda hungry."

"Yeah, me too." I said sitting upright. "What say we bail and 
snag a pizza for the movies?"

"No whipped cream though." Willow wagged her finger in 
warning.

"No whipped cream I promised." I paused. "But I still want 
pineapples."

Willow rolled her eyes and said. "Go wake up those two and we 
can go okay?"

	

A few minutes later we were heading for Xander's car where it 
was parked. Xander and Anya were walking in front of us and Anya 
herself was eating another ice cream that she insisted Xander buy for 
her, despite our assurances we had lots back at my place. Guess she 
wanted to make sure he'd give her all the..er...ice cream she wanted.

Willow was walking beside me, we had both changed out of our 
swimwear though she still had on Anya's hat. She let out a heavy sigh.

"What's up?" I said. "You got to see me swim y'know."

"Yeah." She mumbled. "But what I really wanted to have happen 
didn't."

"And what would that have been?" I asked.

"Well..it's kinda cheesy but.." She leanded foward with a 
conspiratory smile and whispered. "I was kinda hoping some studdmuffin 
would come and try to pick you or me up and we could blow him off by 
doing smoochies or something. Shock em' real good and all his friends 
would laugh at him. Then he'd call us rude names and you could beat 
him up to defend your girlfriends honor."

I gave Willow a look.

"You're strange." I said.

"Darn tootin!"