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“Come on, Buffy!”
“No. There’s not enough money in the world, let alone your pocket, to get me up there,”
“Urgh, don’t be such a stick in the mud!” the younger Summers’ sister whined, “It’s fun!”
“Yeah, Buff. Fun. Humiliating on a level I didn’t know existed but, hey, big fun!” Xander encouraged, earning himself an elbow in the ribs for his efforts.
“We’re trying to get her up there, remember Xan?” Dawn hissed under her breath, whacking her boyfriend’s arm before fixing him with a powerful glare,
He held up his hands in surrender. “I know, I know. Jeeze, you Summers’ women are dangerous,”
Buffy grinned despite herself, wrapping an arm loosely around her sisters’ shoulders. “And don’t you forget it,”
Dawn, sensing a weakness stemming from their sisterly bond, fixed the blonde with a fierce pout, “Please, Buffy? Just one little song,”
She shook her head, sipping her Whiskey Sour with a quiet shudder; she and alcohol would never be friends, it seemed. “Not gonna happen,”
“Aww, come on!” she whined, letting out a dramatic whimper like she was a puppy caught underfoot. “Isn’t there anything I can do to get you up there? Anything?”
Buffy sighed. “I’ll make you a deal, alright? I’ll go up there when Faith does,” she said, a smug little smirk settling on her lips as she leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. She was sure she had them now; there was no way, come Hellmouth or high water, that the brunette Slayer (who was taking an awfully long time to come back from the bar) would get within thirty-nine and a half feet of that dreaded karaoke machine.
But Dawn, rather than pouting or sulking as she’d expected, was smirking back at her in a way that closely resembled…triumph. “Then you’d better pick a song out, sis,” she said, nodding past Buffy towards the stage, “‘Cos it looks like you’re up next,”
Narrowing her eyes at her sister with undisguised suspicion, she reluctantly turned to see the stage and promptly gasped aloud. Because there, standing at the microphone, was none other than her sister Slayer in all her leather-clad glory.
“Seriously?” she gaped, her mouth dropping open as the first familiar notes of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas cut through the din of the assembled karaoke crowd.
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas,” she began, her voice throaty and smooth as velvet and damn it, how had it never come up, not once, that Faith could sing? “Let your heart be light,”
“From now on, our troubles will be out of sight,”
A quick glance at her companions’ floored expressions assured her that at least she wasn’t the only one surprised by this latest development. And, unwilling to miss even a single note of it, she turned back to the stage, her eyes transfixed by the surprisingly soulful brunette.
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Make the yuletide gay,” Buffy pulled back slightly because, seriously, did Faith just wink at her? “From now on, our troubles will be miles away,”
“Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore. Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more,”
“Through the years we all will be together. If the Fates allow,” She took a breath, early preparation for the upcoming high notes, and Buffy, entranced, found herself taking one too. “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough,”
The note was achingly flawless, earning a round of cheers despite the song not having quite reached its’ end; even in the bar’s poor lighting Faith’s smile was bright and, was she just imaging it, or did it really feel like it was just for her?
“And have yourself a merry little Christmas now…”
The place erupted into a chorus of clapping and wolf whistles and Faith, cheeks slightly pink from the attention, gave the assembled a small mock-salute before grabbing her drink off the stool behind her and abandoning the stage.
Swaggering victoriously back to their table, she resumed her previously abandoned seat with a sort of languid ease, her mostly full drink dangling between her fingers, and laughed at the still-shocked faces of her companions.
“Better close yer mouth, X-man,” she drawled, full lips quirking upward into her signature smirk, “Don’t know what might crawl in,”
Obediently, his mouth clicked shut but his eyes were still blown wide. His surprise was clearly echoed by Dawn who wrapped the brunette in a one-armed hug as she crooned her praises, “Faith, that was…wow. Just…wow,” she said, her eyes wide and undeniably awed as she looked over at her.
She smirked and shrugged nonchalantly, “No big, right? Just doin’ my part ta spread X-mas cheer or whatever it is karaoke’s s’posed ta do,”
Buffy had never put much stock in karaoke’s ability to spread anything other than abject humiliation but, then again, she’d never heard someone in this place sing even half as well as Faith had. If anyone was capable of spreading Christmas cheer through music, it was the dark-eyed Slayer.
Taking a long sip off her Jack and Coke, she faced Buffy with a curious look in said dark eyes, “Awful quiet over there, B; was I that bad?” she asked and, despite the teasing tone, there was a hint of vulnerability there that drove her to waylay whatever insecurities the brunette might be feeling.
“You were amazing,” she said honestly, earnestly, and the honest-to-god smile that Faith sent her way made the room warmer. Or maybe that was the blush she felt worming its way up her neck? It was hard to tell. As for why she was blushing, well…she preferred not to think about it.
She wasn’t aware that they’d stopped talking and were, essentially, just staring at one another until Dawn clapped her hands together and they both jumped. So much for Slayer reflexes.
“Well, deals a deal,” Dawn crowed, turning to her with a wicked little grin in place, “Pick your song yet?”
Faith laughed, undoubtedly at the blondes suddenly horrified expression. “Dawnie, there’s no way B’s goin’ up there,”
Buffy, for her part, wasn’t sure whether she should be happy that Faith was trying to keep her off the stage or annoyed that she was so certain she wouldn’t go up.
The younger Summers’ shrugged, devilish smirk still firmly in place, “Hey, she said she’d go up there if you went up and, wow, were you up there,” she said, making the brunette laugh, “Besides, we’ve all done it; it’s her turn,”
Turning to Buffy with an overly dramatic wince, she shrugged, “Sorry, B; looks like yer up,” she said and the gleam in her dark eyes belied her sympathy, “Woman’s only as good as her word, right?”
She groaned and fixed her sister with a look she hoped (but secretly doubted) would earn her some shred of mercy. “Do I have too?”
“Yes!” Dawn and Xander cried while Faith offered her a smirk that she supposed was meant to be comforting.
The elder Slayer sighed forlornly, knowing when to accept defeat. “Fine,” she muttered, crossing her arms and scrunching up her face in what she knew to be her most petulant expression, “Just gimme a minute to think of a song,”
“One minute,” Dawn warned, holding up a single finger for emphasis, “Any longer and you’re singing Santa Baby,”
Buffy cringed and waved her sister away, brow furrowed in thought as she mentally sorted through the Christmas songs she knew in search of one that she could fake her way through. Knowing the words was all well and good but having a room full of people laugh at the way her voice warbled during Silent Night wouldn’t exactly be the highpoint of her evening.
Which was why, exactly fifty-eight seconds later, she stood and stalked towards the evil machine, thumbing through the digital tracklist until she found the song she was looking for.
Pressing enter and waiting for the machine to start up, she moved to the mic and glanced out at the crowd, “Just a quick shout out to the worst little sister in the bar; you know who you are,” she wetted her lips, “This one’s for you,”
Dawn whistled loudly, waving her arms like she was some kind of small, demented windmill, ‘That’s my sister!” she called helpfully, just in case there was any doubt.
The first few notes of the song rolled out and Buffy’s eyes closed as she took a deep, steadying breath, releasing the better part of her mounting tension with it.
And, when she opened her eyes again, she offered her friends a smile that hedged more towards a smirk, “You better watch out, you better not cry. Better not pout, I'm telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town…”
Barely finished the first verse and Dawn and Xander were already all but falling out of their chairs as they cackled. But Faith, while smiling, seemed far too busy staring at her to laugh. Buffy felt her cheeks flush and slammed her eyes shut.
That’s how she stayed for the rest of the song, too. With her eyes tightly shut and her hands tight around the microphone, trying to ignore the lingering feeling of Faith’s mahogany gaze.
The song was nearing its end, though, and she could only hide behind the safe haven of her lids for so long. Besides, there was a part of her, a big part, she was surprised to realize, that kind of wanted to fall into those dark eyes. That wanted to drown in them.
“Oh!” Her own eyes sprang open, only to instantly lock with those of her sister Slayer. And as she smiled, soft and sweet, Buffy was powerless to do anything but mirror the expression.
“You better watch out, you better not cry. Better not pout, I'm telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town,”
“Santa Claus is coming to town!”
A round of applause, certainly more of it linked to the song’s ending than her performance, heralded what was hopefully the end of her musical career, and she returned to her seat with her dignity bruised but intact.
“Happy now?” she asked, mussing Dawn’s hair until the younger girl swatted her hand away.
“Yes,” she said and, to her credit, she did indeed sound happy. “You were terrible but victory is sweet,”
Xander laughed and clapped Buffy on the shoulder. “You did good, Buff. I mean, not really, but, well, you know,”
The blonde laughed and punched him in the shoulder, though she was careful to gauge her strength. “Thanks for the support, Xan,” she said, shaking her head. “Now, not to be a - what was it she said earlier? - a ‘stick in the mud’ but can we go now? I’m exhausted and Dawn’s wasted,”
“I am not!” Dawn protested, indignation all but leaking from her pores, “I am slightly inebree…inebry…” she sighed forlornly, rising unsteadily to her feet, “Alright, I’m done. Xan, take me home,”
Before placing his hands on his girlfriend’s shoulders to better steer her towards the exit, Xander offered the Chosen Two a sideways look. Even though leaving had been Buffy’s idea, neither she nor Faith had made to rise. “You, uh, alright to drive, Faith?”
She waved him off, “Sure, X-man, I got this; just focus on gettin’ yerself an’ yer girl,”
He nodded his consent and, with a drunkenly waving Dawn in tow, weaved expertly through the small crowd of patrons and out of sight.
Becoming simultaneously fascinated by their respective drinks, the remaining pair lapsed into a silence that, while companionable, seemed oddly charged. Like there were words they both knew they should be exchanging but neither was willing to be the first to voice them aloud.
Faith, the first to tire of the uneasy deadlock, cleared her throat and took a long drink off her glass. “You, uh, weren’t that bad, ya know,” she said, nodding towards the stage as though Buffy had already forgotten the mentally scarring experience.
The blonde laughed. “I was terrible,” she said, earning chuckle, “ You really were amazing though. I had no idea you could sing like that,”
She shrugged again, a hint of pink whispering across her cheeks. “Ya never asked,”
“I should’ve,” she heard herself say and they both started at the slight reminder that, once upon a time, they’d had a chance to ask each other anything, everything, and they’d wasted it.
And yet, here they were, just the two of them sitting in a bar, just like that night in the Bronze. They were both a few years older – and hopefully wiser – then they’d been back then but, despite the differences, the similarities were hard to ignore. It was the little things, really, the way dark eyes danced in the lowlight and her heart thundered in her ears. Did Faith feel it too?
As if hearing her unspoken question, Faith smiled, really smiled, as she rose to her feet. “Ya ready, B?” she asked extending her hand and, was it just her imagination, or was she asking about more than her readiness to head back to Slayer HQ?
Something, her smile, maybe, or the softness in her eyes, told her she wasn’t imaging it – just like she hadn’t imagined it back then – and, as she let the brunette pull her to her feet, she smiled back at her.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice soft as she looked down at their joined hands, “I think I am,”