Maybe, If, Then, Or
A Willow ficlet, written for no reason other than the plotbunny that hopped into my brain on the train this morning...
Maybe, If, Then, Or
…and then she walked through the door, and there he was, all handsome and tux-wearing, looking confused.
He sighed with relief. “Will! So glad you’re here. Please tell me you’re not totally lost.”
And she grinned. “What happened to Mr Flawless Sense of Direction? I thought you could find your way out of anywhere.”
“Gloat later. Take me to the wedding ceremony now.” He grabbed her hand. “Here goes nothing.”
…and then she grabbed Buffy and said urgently, “Xander’s gone! I can’t find him anywhere!”
And Buffy looked at her blankly for a second, and then smiled and said, “You didn’t look very hard, did you?”
“What?”
Buffy opened the door. There they were, stunning white dress and black tux, locked in an incredibly passionate kiss.
“I told her it was bad luck before the ceremony, but she insisted.”
…and then they killed the old-guy demon, and they were looking around at all the chaos when they heard a noise coming from the utility closet off the entrance.
Buffy kicked down the door, and there was Xander, bound and gagged.
They untied him, and he said, “That demon’d better be dead, ‘cause I’m going to kill him.”
…and then, just when Xander and Anya’s whispered conversation was looking bad, in a very worrying sort of way, Xander’s face suddenly cleared. And he smiled, said “you’re right”, grabbed her hand, and walked back into the main hall.
He raised his voice over the din. “Hey! Stop punching each other for a minute - we’re getting married now!”
And she picked her bouquet up off the floor, and got ready to do her part.
…and then the ceremony went perfectly, without a single problem, and Xander’s family behaved themselves.
…and then Anya frowned and said, “You know, I don’t think those dresses are going to work as well as I thought.”
And they raced into town, bought some gorgeous blue silk dresses at a discount, and got back ten minutes before the wedding.
They looked beautiful.
…and then Tara came over to where she was sitting, smiled shyly, and asked, “Want to dance?”
She blushed, and said, “Oh! Yes, I’d… um… I’d really- I’d like that, yes.” And she tentatively took Tara’s hand and walked onto the dance floor.
…and then Xander and Anya went on their honeymoon (and refused to say where they were going), and they broke into the apartment and decorated it with streamers and paper lanterns everywhere.
Buffy filled their kitchen with Twinkies, Dawn put scented candles all round the bathroom, and she and Tara slipped chocolate body paint into Anya’s lingerie drawer and giggled together.
…and then it turned out that she’d checked the wrong room, and he hadn’t been missing at all.
…and then they had their third year wedding anniversary on the same day that Xander and Anya had their fifth, and they had a big party.
Dawn brought her boyfriend along, and so did Buffy. Except “boyfriend” wasn’t really the right word anymore, because Buffy was wearing a big diamond ring and an even bigger smile.
And Anya announced she was pregnant, and everyone was thrilled.
She and Tara snuggled together on the couch, and Tara sighed happily and said, “I always knew it would work out like this.”
…and then they grew old together. And everyone stayed friends, forever.
…and then everyone was happy.
…and then it was perfect.
Willow spends most of the day sitting on her hands.
She knows a hundred ways to make it happen - to fix everything. And she knows she could do it perfectly.
It would be so very easy.
Instead, she sits on her hands, urgently not doing magic, and watches everything begin to crumple.
Maybe, If, Then, Or
…and then she walked through the door, and there he was, all handsome and tux-wearing, looking confused.
He sighed with relief. “Will! So glad you’re here. Please tell me you’re not totally lost.”
And she grinned. “What happened to Mr Flawless Sense of Direction? I thought you could find your way out of anywhere.”
“Gloat later. Take me to the wedding ceremony now.” He grabbed her hand. “Here goes nothing.”
…and then she grabbed Buffy and said urgently, “Xander’s gone! I can’t find him anywhere!”
And Buffy looked at her blankly for a second, and then smiled and said, “You didn’t look very hard, did you?”
“What?”
Buffy opened the door. There they were, stunning white dress and black tux, locked in an incredibly passionate kiss.
“I told her it was bad luck before the ceremony, but she insisted.”
…and then they killed the old-guy demon, and they were looking around at all the chaos when they heard a noise coming from the utility closet off the entrance.
Buffy kicked down the door, and there was Xander, bound and gagged.
They untied him, and he said, “That demon’d better be dead, ‘cause I’m going to kill him.”
…and then, just when Xander and Anya’s whispered conversation was looking bad, in a very worrying sort of way, Xander’s face suddenly cleared. And he smiled, said “you’re right”, grabbed her hand, and walked back into the main hall.
He raised his voice over the din. “Hey! Stop punching each other for a minute - we’re getting married now!”
And she picked her bouquet up off the floor, and got ready to do her part.
…and then the ceremony went perfectly, without a single problem, and Xander’s family behaved themselves.
…and then Anya frowned and said, “You know, I don’t think those dresses are going to work as well as I thought.”
And they raced into town, bought some gorgeous blue silk dresses at a discount, and got back ten minutes before the wedding.
They looked beautiful.
…and then Tara came over to where she was sitting, smiled shyly, and asked, “Want to dance?”
She blushed, and said, “Oh! Yes, I’d… um… I’d really- I’d like that, yes.” And she tentatively took Tara’s hand and walked onto the dance floor.
…and then Xander and Anya went on their honeymoon (and refused to say where they were going), and they broke into the apartment and decorated it with streamers and paper lanterns everywhere.
Buffy filled their kitchen with Twinkies, Dawn put scented candles all round the bathroom, and she and Tara slipped chocolate body paint into Anya’s lingerie drawer and giggled together.
…and then it turned out that she’d checked the wrong room, and he hadn’t been missing at all.
…and then they had their third year wedding anniversary on the same day that Xander and Anya had their fifth, and they had a big party.
Dawn brought her boyfriend along, and so did Buffy. Except “boyfriend” wasn’t really the right word anymore, because Buffy was wearing a big diamond ring and an even bigger smile.
And Anya announced she was pregnant, and everyone was thrilled.
She and Tara snuggled together on the couch, and Tara sighed happily and said, “I always knew it would work out like this.”
…and then they grew old together. And everyone stayed friends, forever.
…and then everyone was happy.
…and then it was perfect.
Willow spends most of the day sitting on her hands.
She knows a hundred ways to make it happen - to fix everything. And she knows she could do it perfectly.
It would be so very easy.
Instead, she sits on her hands, urgently not doing magic, and watches everything begin to crumple.