Title: WONKAVISION
Author: Orange Crush
Email: oranjecrush33@yahoo.com
Rating: Pg-13
Disclaimer: All property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
"You said 'comfort movie'. I distinctly remember that being the phrase." Willow rolled her eyes at Xander, who was trying desperately to make the old VCR obey him.
"Comfort movie is one thing. I hate watching movies with big explosions when I'm all… ick. But a movie we watched when we were six… is a little different." she told him. What did she have to do, write him a manual ?
"You always liked it. You know, now that I think of it, when I had the flu, you brought over 'Muppets Take Manhattan'. This is kind of the same thing."
"Um… but, do you really think anyone else is going to want to watch it ?"
She had a point. Xander had appointed himself party-planner, since Willow's rather nasty head cold had prevented her from picking up any videos. Anya was in the kitchen, arranging and re-arranging a veggie tray, and Tara would be back any minute from grabbing a few liters of pop. That left only two guests- Buffy and Spike. The thought of Spike actually coming to a Scooby movie night still made Xander hyperventilate ever so slightly. Still, props to the guy for sticking it out through the whole 'key' mess, and helping out with slaying, and trying not to cast too many blatantly longing looks in the slayer's direction. But, Spike ? And then two pieces of information came together, rapidly and disturbingly, in his mind.
Spike was coming for movie night- and he'd rented "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory".
"I'm toast…" he said, under his breath.
"Evenin', all…" he drawled, when Tara pulled the door open. "You're looking' edible, pet." Spike grinned at her, and she let out a shy smile. She'd never forget him punching her… but, at the same time, she'd never forget what it had meant, either.
"Everyone's here." she said, by way of a warning, and he nodded at her gratefully. "Come on in."
"Spike !" Xander said, a little too eagerly. "Why don't you go in the kitchen ! Buffy's nuking some cheese, there's nachos on the counter… we're fresh out of blood, though."
"Pity." he smirked. "Mighty hospitable of you, Harris." Spike sauntered off to the kitchen, looking forward to catching the slayer in a domestic act. Xander sighed, and turned a guilty glance at Willow.
"That was close. Are you sure you can do this ?" She rolled her eyes.
"It's lame, but- yeah. As long as nobody interrupts."
"Ugh ! It says, three minutes on the box, and it's still cold." a chuckle came from the opposite end of the kitchen. "Speaking of cold…" she smiled softly to herself, "…who let you in ?" He rose an eyebrow at her challenge.
"I…" he pronounced, "…happen to be an invited guest."
"M-hm." Both of them knew that was the truth, but welcomed the chance to needle each other, in a kind of weird affection. "Only 'cause we need an even number for cards…"
"…And none of you can play for beans." he finished for her. She grinned out of the side of her mouth.
"Do you want any nachos, or what ?"
"There are certain things I want…" he said, and slid closer to her. For a moment she forgot where she was, and reality was wrapped up in one pale blue pair of eyes; but she shook it off.
"Not right now, Spike. Okay ?" he sighed, and slumped against the counter.
"Back and forth." he said miserably. "Back and forth, like a bleedin' pendulum."
"Leave it alone. For now. I'm sorry, but… I don't mean to…" Her voice shook a little, and Spike slapped himself internally. She's only been back a few months, you stupid git. Give her some time. He took the rather chilly bowl of cheese from her hands, and scooped up her small palms in his.
"I'm sorry." he said, and smiled back up at him.
"Yeah. Me too."
It was an odd game they were playing, for the past few weeks. There had been some things said, some things that slipped out, that had made the possibility of their love seem not so far-fetched. But with everything that had happened, neither one was willing to push the other. It was pleasant, each having a source of comfort in the other; and at the same time mind-bogglingly frustrating. To know what you want, and not have it. To not know what you want. So they just went, very much like a pendulum, back and forth.
Buffy realized suddenly that some time had passed while they just looked at each other. It had happened a lot lately, whenever they were alone together. The other were probably guessing by now, she mused. Let 'em.
As if in response to her thoughts, Anya came out of the bathroom, waving to Spike when she noticed that he'd arrived, and stopping dead in her tracks when she caught sight of their intertwined hands. A slow, knowing smile spread across her face.
"Anya-" Spike began, not wishing Buffy to clash with her friends tonight, when they were supposed to be having fun; but she cut him off with her hand.
"No, no. I won't say anything." She made an elaborate pantomime of locking her mouth and flinging away an invisible key. It was cute, in an odd sort of way. "I'll just take the food out." she grabbed the tray quickly and scooted from the kitchen. Spike looked back at Buffy, who was seriously trying to restrain her giggling.
"Funny, pet ?" he said, and she burst out laughing.
"Let the colors be as another… let the sounds be as another…"
"I got the snacks !" Anya called out cheerily, and Willow looked up from her spell, horrified. This interruption would have been fine, if she'd stopped there.
But, of course, she didn't.
"We can pop into the movie now !" she added, sweetly.
And with that, there was a loud, appropriately timed 'pop'; and impossibly bright colors washed over the six of them at the speed of light.
"Pop IN the movie." Anya corrected herself. "Sorry." she looked around at the room. "Oh…"
"This is bad." Xander said, quietly. "This is very, very bad."
"Bloody- what in frickin'… ? What did you DO ?" They collectively looked at Spike, who was shouting at the from where the kitchen wall should have been; except that instead of a wall, there was a gigantic gumdrop. It would've been funny. If it hadn't been utterly terrifying, that is. Buffy just stood beside him, blinking.
"There's a six-foot lollipop over there." she remarked. "So I second the question."
"Oh. My. God." Willow gaped. "We're in the movie." she and Tara glanced around the room, anxiously. "Spell's not supposed to do this." she added lamely.
"Spell ?" Buffy's head snapped around. "What spell ?"
"What movie ?!" Spike yelled, but they ignored him, because Anya had found the chocolate river.
"Wow." was all she could say. "Wow." and then she regained her composure, and turned to her boyfriend. "Xander, can I have that ?"
"Uh, hon ?"
"The chocolate. There's lots of it, and chocolate is very comforting to women. I think it's only fair."
"It's better if we don't…"
"Don't what ? Tell anyone about our engagement ?" she fumed. "Oh, yes, don't think I don't remember that. How long did I have to wait, before I could be happy about marrying you ? You always put things off. Everything I ask you for, you put off. Like it's not important enough to do now ! Well," he voice raised to a crescendo, "I want it now !" The intensity of her voice startled her own senses, and she put down the gargantuan lollipop she'd been waving for emphasis. She smiled at him, lovingly. "I mean, please." she added. He looked at her sideways for a minute, and smiled.
"You know what ? This is probably some kind of surreal dream." he waved his arms around, and kicked an oversized gummy bear. "Big-time dream wackiness. So fine. The chocolate river-" he pointed dramatically, "-is yours." She squealed, and flung herself at him for a hug, but it was ill-timed. His shoe twisted in the rather slick spun-sugar grass, and before Buffy could grab him, or anyone could even call out, he tipped head-first into the swirling brown depths. "Urp !" he flailed around, looking for anything to grab onto. Thinking quickly, Spike and Buffy uprooted a candy cane that dwarfed them both, and held it out to him. He grabbed the end- and slid off as the sugar melted under his touch.
"Da- darnit !" the slayer shouted, frustrated, and hurled herself into the river after him. Spike hesitated, for about as long as it takes a hummingbird to blink, and followed her.
But he dropped the coat first.
"Tastes real." Anya said, licking the chocolate-covered back of Xander's hand. Spike grinned, while the extremely cocoa-ey carpenter shifted uneasily.
"Anya. Hon. Later." he said firmly. "Please. Right now- how do we get out of this ?"
Without meaning to, they all looked at Willow.
"It's not like I meant for this to happen !" she said, wide-eyed. "We were, just…"
"Just what ?" sighed Buffy, still flipping dried chocolate out of her hair. The redhead frowned, and shot Xander a glance that said 'this is your fault, too'.
"We were trying to… uh… change the video."
"Run that by me again ?"
"I thought maybe I'd, uh… had a lapse in judgment. Picked the wrong movie." Xander offered. "So I asked Willow if she could just, you know… poof."
"You were doing a spell on a movie." Buffy said, slowly and carefully.
"Yeah."
"You were doing a spell… on a movie."
"Yeah… you already said that."
"Pretty bleedin' stupid, if you ask me." Spike leaned back against a gummy bear tree. Xander shot him an angry, but underlying guilty, glare.
"Nobody did !"
"It really wasn't a very good plan." Tara said thoughtfully, stroking Willow's hand. "But it's not like you meant all this."
"I'm really sorry…" she said helplessly. "It wasn't supposed to… if Anya hadn't-"
"What's done is done." Buffy cut in quietly. "Right now, we have to fix this. But when we get back-" she pointed at the co-conspirators, "there's gonna be a little talk on magic, and its non-uses."
"Right."
"Right."
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