Old christmas ficlet: Five Holidays Faith Won't Forget
I *think* I've got another angsty Christmas ficlet coming up this year. I just need to find the time to finish it. In the meantime, there's this.
Title: Five Holidays Faith Won't Forget
Author: Beer Good (beer_good_foamy)
Rating: R for cruelty to minors and implied past abuse
Word Count: 500
Characters: Faith, Dawn
Disclaimer: Joss owns these characters. I make no money. Well, OK, I do, but not for fanfic.
Five Holidays Faith Won't Forget
Christmas, 1987: Faith
Of course she didn't believe Santa existed, she was a big girl now. But Faith had heard Santa didn't care if you believed in him or not, and after all, she had been good...
Mom was asleep in that snory mumbly way, even though Faith knew it wasn't even dinnertime yet. She knew better than to try and wake her up; there were no bottles of grown-up juice left. Instead, Faith made herself some PB&J sammiches and sat down watching TV (muted) as she waited.
But no one came, this or any year. Apparently, Santa really didn't care.
Thanksgiving, 1998: Dawn
Dear diary,
Man, I'm full. Mom makes the best turkey ever.
Really wish Faith woulda come, tho. She's so cool, nothing like yffub who's always going on about rules and responsibilities and school nights. I heard Mom ask her when she stopped by to pick up yffub the other night, but she just got all tough and said she didn't really do thanksgiving. Huh. OK, so the whole 'giving thanks' bit is kinda lame (yes, Mom, of course m'I lufknaht s'yffub kcab, but no way I'm telling her that) but still... hello, free turkey, what's gonna be wrong with that?
Christmas, 1998: Faith
"Hey, squirt, that ain't gonna work. Snow's too loose."
Faith shook her head as the 12-year-old tried to build her first ever snowman. What was the big deal? Nothing magical about snow, Boston streets were full of it. Pretty, sure, but damn cold. Why the hell would anyone willingly choose this over a warm living room and...
Then a snowball hit her in the face. As Dawn laughed her ass off, Faith couldn't help but grin. "Oh, you are so dead, kid." When they came in for cocoa, they were both soaked in melting snow, freezing but laughing.
Easter, 2000: Dawn
She opened the door and there was Faith, back from the dead, and then Faith's fist -
Woke up in the bedroom, terrified, Mom unconscious on the floor. "See how much good a family does ya?" Faith leaning over her, cold psycho rage in her eyes. "C'mon Dawnie, you're what, 13? About time we took care of that pesky cherry, dontchathink?" Knife at the waistband of Dawn's pants, icy sharp as it pricked her belly. "Think mom's gonna cry when she wakes up and finds you naked and bleeding... or yell at you for giving it up so easy?"
Then Buffy -
Christmas, 2001: Faith
As the Christmas mail was handed out, prisoner 430019 expected the same as last year: zilch. Angel wasn't big on gifts, everyone else wanted to forget she existed.
The envelope she got looked official, name carefully written in block letters. Inside was a letter from a 15-year-old who still dotted her I:s with hearts. It was a fairytale, complete with drawings; a girl created from nothing, fitted with false memories for her and everyone else. And the last page: IT NEVER HAPPENED, FAITH. MERRY XMAS.
She knew that was a lie. But little by little, she could believe it wasn't.
Title: Five Holidays Faith Won't Forget
Author: Beer Good (beer_good_foamy)
Rating: R for cruelty to minors and implied past abuse
Word Count: 500
Characters: Faith, Dawn
Disclaimer: Joss owns these characters. I make no money. Well, OK, I do, but not for fanfic.
Five Holidays Faith Won't Forget
Christmas, 1987: Faith
Of course she didn't believe Santa existed, she was a big girl now. But Faith had heard Santa didn't care if you believed in him or not, and after all, she had been good...
Mom was asleep in that snory mumbly way, even though Faith knew it wasn't even dinnertime yet. She knew better than to try and wake her up; there were no bottles of grown-up juice left. Instead, Faith made herself some PB&J sammiches and sat down watching TV (muted) as she waited.
But no one came, this or any year. Apparently, Santa really didn't care.
Thanksgiving, 1998: Dawn
Dear diary,
Man, I'm full. Mom makes the best turkey ever.
Really wish Faith woulda come, tho. She's so cool, nothing like yffub who's always going on about rules and responsibilities and school nights. I heard Mom ask her when she stopped by to pick up yffub the other night, but she just got all tough and said she didn't really do thanksgiving. Huh. OK, so the whole 'giving thanks' bit is kinda lame (yes, Mom, of course m'I lufknaht s'yffub kcab, but no way I'm telling her that) but still... hello, free turkey, what's gonna be wrong with that?
Christmas, 1998: Faith
"Hey, squirt, that ain't gonna work. Snow's too loose."
Faith shook her head as the 12-year-old tried to build her first ever snowman. What was the big deal? Nothing magical about snow, Boston streets were full of it. Pretty, sure, but damn cold. Why the hell would anyone willingly choose this over a warm living room and...
Then a snowball hit her in the face. As Dawn laughed her ass off, Faith couldn't help but grin. "Oh, you are so dead, kid." When they came in for cocoa, they were both soaked in melting snow, freezing but laughing.
Easter, 2000: Dawn
She opened the door and there was Faith, back from the dead, and then Faith's fist -
Woke up in the bedroom, terrified, Mom unconscious on the floor. "See how much good a family does ya?" Faith leaning over her, cold psycho rage in her eyes. "C'mon Dawnie, you're what, 13? About time we took care of that pesky cherry, dontchathink?" Knife at the waistband of Dawn's pants, icy sharp as it pricked her belly. "Think mom's gonna cry when she wakes up and finds you naked and bleeding... or yell at you for giving it up so easy?"
Then Buffy -
Christmas, 2001: Faith
As the Christmas mail was handed out, prisoner 430019 expected the same as last year: zilch. Angel wasn't big on gifts, everyone else wanted to forget she existed.
The envelope she got looked official, name carefully written in block letters. Inside was a letter from a 15-year-old who still dotted her I:s with hearts. It was a fairytale, complete with drawings; a girl created from nothing, fitted with false memories for her and everyone else. And the last page: IT NEVER HAPPENED, FAITH. MERRY XMAS.
She knew that was a lie. But little by little, she could believe it wasn't.