Re: Fic: Later... (A Willow's Birthday Story)

["Alex" <pga1ht@xxxxxxxxx>]

Utterly stupid & pointless? I think not. This brightened my night. Thanks
for sharing it with us.

Alex
~ What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Angelina Martin" <angelina2006@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <buffywantswillow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, March 16, 2002 5:27 PM
Subject: Fic: Later... (A Willow's Birthday Story)


> TITLE: Later.
> AUTHOR: Angelina
> EMAIL: angelina2006@xxxxxxxxxxx
> FEEDBACK: Most appreciated.
> PERSONAL ARCHIVE: http://members.aol.com/bufpop/default.html
> ARCHIVE: http://www3.mb.sympatico.ca/~shadow27/angelina.htm
> DISTRIBUTION: Take it, just drop me a line.
> SUMMARY: It's Willow's birthday
> RATING: PG-13
> DISCLAIMER: They don't belong to me, they're the property of Joss & Mutant
> Enemy.
> NOTES: This is utterly stupid and pointless. As in, there's no plot,
> nothing happens, it's just Willow's birthday and she's getting her
presents.
> So don't expect anything. It just came into my head and I wrote it
down.
> Enjoy, or not.
>
> *****
>
> "Ooooh, presents! I love presents! I love my birthday.with the presents
> and the cake and making with the merry.and all the presents!"
>
> Willow noticed a number of raised eyebrows in the room. She collected
> herself somewhat before continuing.
>
> "And of course, with the presents comes the chance to spend time with my
> lovely friends and reflect on the past year, cuz that's good too,
reflecting
> and friends, yeah."
>
> "It's OK Will, you can open the presents now." Buffy said, grinning
> indulgently at the exuberant red-head.
>
> Willow let out a tiny squeak of joy and held out her arms to the gathered
> crowd.
>
> "Ok, who wants to bestow me with gifts first?"
>
> Anya stood up immediately and thrust a paper bag into Willow's hands.
>
> "Open mine first, I don't hold with this strange custom you have of
spending
> good money on brightly coloured paper which just ends up being ripped up
and
> put in the trash so it's in a bag. And also, my present is the best."
>
> Anya smiled brightly at Willow before sitting back down next to Xander.
>
> "Was that OK, honey?"
>
> "Ummm, yep, an almost perfect gift-giving ceremony An."
>
> Willow smiled politely and slipped her hand into the bag warily.slightly
> concerned as to what she would find inside. Her hands connected with a
> seemingly spherical plastic.something. She pulled it out.
>
> "It's a pig that you can put your money in!" Anya spoke up excitedly.
>
> Willow regarded the red piggy bank, unsure of how to express gratitude.
But
> Anya was already getting up and reaching into her pocket.
>
> "See, you put money, say this quarter, into this little slot, and it stays
> in there and accumulates and then you have lots of money!" Anya nodded.
> "And now you can use the key to open it so I can get my quarter back."
>
> Willow obeyed and Anya sat down, happy that her present was the best.
>
> "Here, open mine next." Dawn said, holding out a small parcel and a card.
>
> Willow accepted the gift and drew Dawn into a hug, kissing her on the
cheek.
>
> "OK, OK, enough with the mushy stuff, just open it." Dawn said, blushing
at
> the display of affection, but secretly happy.
>
> Willow went with the tradition that said it was polite to open the card
> first before ripping into the gift. She opened the envelope and drew out
a
> hand made card. Dawn had cut pictures out of magazines of clouds and
> puppies and goldfish and stuck them all over the front of the card. Along
> the top she had painstakingly written in fancy writing: 'To my sister's
> girlfriend on her birthday'.
>
> "They don't make a card for that.I looked." Dawn said, shrugging at the
> lameness of the card.
>
> "A niche in the market, honey, write that down." Anya said, nudging
Xander.
>
> "Yeah, you could be the Hallmark for dysfunctional families." Buffy said,
> smiling sweetly at Anya.
>
> "Dawn I love it!" Willow said, struggling not to cry.
>
> She opened up the card to see 'Happy Birthday Willow, love from Dawn'
> spelled out in cut-out letters. It slightly resembled a ransom note but
the
> sentiment touched Willow deeply. She turned to the present before she
> started all-out bawling and made everyone uncomfortable. She unwrapped
the
> gift to find a single leaf, framed and mounted.
>
> "It's uh, it's a Willow leaf.it made me think of you." Dawn said, growing
> increasingly fidgety as Willow continued to stare at her present.
>
> "It's perfect." Willow's voice was thick with emotion as she pulled the
> embarrassed teenager in for another hug.
>
> When they parted Dawn was smiling, glad that her present was liked. As
she
> sat back down Buffy cuffed her lightly around the ear.
>
> "Great going squirt, now how am I supposed to top that?" she asked,
grinning
> good-naturedly.
>
> "Oh I think you just might!" Anya said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively
> at Buffy.
>
> Willow was about to ask what the gesture meant when the phone rang. As
she
> was closest to it she picked it up.
>
> "Hello?"
>
> "Hi, Willow?"
>
> "Yeah, Cordelia? Oh how sweet of you to call on my birthday!" Willow
> squealed excitedly.
>
> "Uhhhh.birthday, right.yeah, Happy Birthday!...so, is the next apocalypse
> scheduled for this weekend or the weekend after, cuz I need to know
whether
> or not to cancel my facial and Wesley can't decide. He says 'hi' by the
> way."
>
> "Oh, um, right, I think it's next weekend." Willow mumbled, trying to
> pretend that she hadn't thought the call was for her birthday.
>
> Willow was taken aback by the indignant sigh that greeted her response.
>
> "Don't you have a therapist somewhere to traumatise?"
>
> "Excuse me?" Willow asked, completely baffled.
>
> "Oh, not you, it's just our new little recently released psychopath,
leering
> at my cleavage...again."
>
> "Oh, right, Faith." Willow said, remembering hearing that she had been
> paroled.
>
> "Yeah, I'm trying to house-train her. It's a chore."
>
> "Right.so, was that all?"
>
> "Ummm, yeah, OK bye! Have a nice birthday!"
>
> "Yeah, bye."
>
> Willow hung up the phone, the strangely familiar, almost nostalgic,
feeling
> of confusion brought on by a conversation with Cordelia settling over her.
>
> "Cordy phoned to wish you a happy birthday?" Buffy asked, slightly
> surprised.
>
> "Ummm, kinda, yeah." Willow nodded and smiled brightly.
>
> "That girl should steer clear of wishing anything." Anya put in, a grave
> look on her face.
>
> "Ooookay, so back to presents then!" Willow said, not really wanting Anya
to
> launch into one of her 'when I was a vengeance demon' rants.
>
> "Here's mine.oh, and the card's from Giles, he sent it to my house so you
> wouldn't open it before the big day." Xander said, handing over a small
> rectangular shaped present and a card.
>
> Willow opened Giles' card and read the verse.
>
> "Adieu, dear, amiable youth!
> Your heart can ne'er be wanting!
> May prudence, fortitude, and truth,
> Erect your brow undaunting!
> In ploughman phrase, "God send you speed,"
> Still daily to grow wiser;
> And may ye better reck the rede,
> Then ever did th' adviser!"
> (From 'Epistle to a Young Friend' by Robert Burns)
>
> She smiled, strangely sad. She missed Giles. She resolved to call him
> later and talk about.stuff, Giles stuff. She placed the card next to
Dawn's
> on the table and moved on to Xander's gift. He had opted for the
'brightly
> coloured paper' route so she tore it off gleefully, unaware of Anya's
> disgruntled expression.
>
> "'A Charlie Brown Christmas'!" Willow exclaimed, looking up at Xander with
> wide eyes and further speech prevented by over-excitement.
>
> "Yeah, I figured you're grown up enough to have your own copy now.you're
> beyond corruption by our evil Christian customs. And maybe if you're a
good
> girl, you can get Buffy to do the Snoopy dance for ya." Xander raised his
> eyebrows at Buffy.
>
> "Hmmm, that might be interesting.you up for that Buff?" Willow asked,
> lowering her voice seductively.
>
> "Willow, there are many things I would do for you.I would go to hell and
> back to get you a flame-grilled cheese-burger.but I will not be doing the
> Snoopy Dance." Buffy said firmly.
>
> Willow pouted.
>
> "Even if I do that thing with the feather boa and the spray cheese?" she
> asked.
>
> Buffy paused. Then she turned to Xander.
>
> "So, you can teach me this Snoopy thing right?"
>
> A giggle rumbled round the room. Anya, spurred on by the talk of the
goings
> on in other people's sex lives, decided to share with the group.
>
> "Xander once dressed up in my underwear and licked ice-cream out of my
> navel."
>
> Xander put his face in his hands, Willow took great interest in the back
of
> her video-tape and Buffy covered Dawn's impressionable young ears.
>
> "Right.so.there's one person who hasn't given me a present yet." Willow
> trailed off, looking at Buffy through her eyelashes.
>
> "Yeah, uh, Spike says sorry but he's a little short on cash so unless you
> want his extra copy of 'Sid and Nancy' you'll have to wait a while." Buffy
> said, feigning cluelessness.
>
> Willow slapped her lightly on the shoulder. Buffy relented and pulled an
> envelope out from the side of the couch. She handed it to Willow, placing
a
> slow, lingering kiss on her lips.
>
> "Happy Birthday, baby."
>
> She sat back to watch Willow open the envelope. As an afterthought she
> reached over and dragged Dawn up out of her seat and placed her on the
floor
> on the other side of her, away from Willow, ignoring her protests. Willow
> opened the plain white envelope and pulled out a Polaroid. It was Buffy,
> grinning, naked, with a large red bow tied around her midsection. Along
the
> white strip was written one word in black marker: Later.
>
> Willow's breath had started becoming a little ragged. When she looked up
> Buffy could see that her eyes had darkened with desire. Buffy planted
> another searing kiss on Willow's lips, leaving her panting, yearning for
> more. But they had guests.
>
> "So what is it?" Xander asked, sitting forward in his seat.
>
> "It's uh.it's." Willow stammered, looking at the picture and trying to
think
> of a fitting description for the vision of beauty in it.
>
> "It's a nude picture of Buffy." Anya stated matter-of-factly.
>
> Willow almost choked, Xander reacted similarly and Dawn stood up with her
> hands over her ears.
>
> "Oh my God! That's not what it is, is it? Oh that's so gross. I cannot
> believe that. Are you trying to scar me for life?" she demanded as she
ran
> towards the stairs, lest she catch a glimpse of her sister's unclothed
body.
>
> "How did you know what it was?" Xander demanded of his fiancée.
>
> "She walked in on me when I was trying to line the damn camera up." Buffy
> said, flushing at the memory. "We could fill an album with all the
attempts
> I took before I finally got my whole body in."
>
> "That would be one to show the grandkids." Willow said, trying not to
think
> too much about lots of pictures of Buffy naked all contained in one album.
>
> "But not to show Dawn." Buffy said, reaching into her pocket.
>
> She withdrew her hand, in it she held a small black box which she held out
> for Willow to take. Willow accepted the box curiously, she knew they were
> kind of strapped for cash lately and the promise that the picture held was
> more than enough of a present from Buffy. She carefully opened the box to
> reveal a simple, plain silver band. She inhaled sharply. Buffy reached
> over and took the ring out of the box, and with trembling hands, she
slipped
> it onto the fourth-finger of Willow's left hand. She looked up into
> tear-filled green eyes.
>
> "I love you Willow, forever."
>
> "I love you, so much."
>
> Willow glanced around and saw that Xander was trying to get Anya out of
the
> door with some degree of subtlety. She looked back into Buffy's warm
hazel
> eyes.
>
> "So.is it later yet?"
>
> "It can be later any time you like."
>
> "I think we should take it upstairs though.we can't afford Dawn's therapy
> bills."
> No more words were spoken as Buffy scooped the red-head up into her arms
and
> took her upstairs to give her a very happy birthday indeed.
>
> END
>
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