Myshuno! 12: Five great things about living in a post-Apoc 'verse
Prompt: Five great things about living in a post-Apoc 'verse
Universe: A Buffyverse Apocalypse
Word Count: 1125
The water was warm.
Liam gingerly put just one finger under the shower head, feeling the water. It wasn't hot enough to burn, and it didn't make him shiver the way cold water always did when he washed his hands over and over again. He'd never felt warm water before.
He tentatively tested with a hand, then an arm, then slowly climbed into the shower.
As the water poured down, he closed his eyes, basking in the sheer joy that was warm water. Then he picked up the bar of soap and slowly ran it over his body, making sure to get every spot.
When he rinsed it off, he felt clean. Not just less grimy, but truly clean, for the first time that he could remember.
This alone almost - almost - made being brought back to life worth it.
The Apocalypse was over, and now he could shower.
---
"What do you think, Buffy? Should we host a housewarming party?"
"I think that's a good idea, Cordy. Martin?"
He shrugged. "Why not? It would be nice to have all the kids over to see the new house. Your parents, too, of course." He hesitated for a moment. "And we should invite Liam as well."
"Not that he'd come," Buffy muttered.
"But it would be polite," Cordy pointed out.
"Alright," Buffy said with a sigh. "When do we want to hold this?"
"Sunday, maybe?"
"But it's Wednesday. You can't call people on Wednesday."
"...Right. I guess we could try?" Cordy said doubtfully.
"Might as well," Martin said. He picked up the phone and dialed a number, fully expecting to get a busy signal or a "line not working" message. He was completely surprised when it actually rang and was answered. "Xander? Hello? No, I wasn't expecting the phones to work, the phones never...what? Oh. Thanks for letting us know. No, that's not why I was calling. We're having a housewarming party on Sunday and wanted to invite you and Marisa. Yes, of course Fred and Armando are invited, please tell them. Of course. See you Sunday!" He hung up the phone and turned to his wife and sister-in-law. "Apparently Rupert lifting Gamer fixed the phones. We can now use them at any time."
"Great!" Buffy said. "Sounds like the party is a go, then!"
"Sounds like," Cordy agreed. As she picked up the phone to call her parents, she smiled.
---
"A second honeymoon?"
"I've always wanted to visit Tokyo."
"That does sound wonderful."
"We'll have to make arrangements. When do you want to go, Ris?" Xander suddenly thought of something. "Oh. Wait."
"What?"
"We can't go, can we? You'll get fired if you miss work, and I know you want to be a Business Tycoon. I wouldn't take that away from you, not even for Tokyo."
Marisa smiled at him. "You don't have to."
"What?"
"New laws. Going on vacation doesn't get you fired anymore."
"It doesn't?"
"That's what my boss said. As long as you have vacation days saved up, you can take time off to do whatever you want."
Xander's brow furrowed. "Huh. Do you have the time?"
"Plenty of it. And so do you."
"I do?"
"I checked. I thought we might want to go on vacation sometime, and I figured it was better to make sure we could ahead of time."
Xander smiled at his wife. "You're amazing, Ris."
She smiled back. "I know. Now what do you say to taking one of those days for us? Not even for Tokyo, but just for us?"
His smile grew. "That," he said, "sounds like an excellent idea."
---
"So much space," Anya said as she looked around the house. The building was downright huge, the living room far bigger than any room she'd ever been in.
"And no stairs either," Willow pointed out. "I wonder where the bedrooms and bathrooms are?"
"There's some doors to the left," Lester said. "And I think I see one in the kitchen."
They spread out to explore, trying the various doors and seeing what was behind them.
Willow grinned as she looked into the bedroom at the front of the house. It was clearly meant for her, as it was decorated in red and gold and even had a space for Kim's bed and scratching post. So much space, and it was all hers - she'd never have to share a tiny bedroom with her younger brother again.
Anya, meanwhile, found the blue bedroom (with some wood furniture) and attached bathroom. She smiled. It was perfect for her and Lester, a space that was just theirs.
Lester took the kitchen and the other bathroom. The kitchen table could seat eight. He'd never seen a table that size before, but it would be perfect for inviting their sons and their families over, much better than the small tables he was used to.
All three of them met in the living room. "I love it!" Anya exclaimed. "It's perfect for us."
Lester nodded. "Agreed."
Willow smiled. "Great. Looks like we've got a house - and much better than the ones we're used to, too!"
---
"Oh for..."
Rupert, Will, Fred, and Armando all looked over to the other side of the kitchen, where Lynne had started to cook a meal.
"Again?" Rupert asked as he caught sight of the flames rising from the stovetop.
Lynne shrugged. "I'm not the best cook on the planet, Rupert. Get me the fire extinguisher, would you?"
"Oh, yeah. Sure." Rupert turned around to go get the fire extinguisher only to see that Will was already holding it. He passed it forward and Lynne began putting out the flames.
Suddenly, a redheaded woman in full fire gear ran into the room and began spraying at the stove. When the flames went out, everyone turned to look at her.
"Who are you?" Fred asked.
"Maura Simpson. I'm a firefighter."
They all exchanged glances. "What's a firefighter?" Will asked.
"I put fires out. Your fire alarm sends an automatic signal to the stationhouse and someone is sent out to put out the fire." She gestured at the fire alarm on the wall.
Everyone looked up at it. "Huh," Lynne said. "When did we get one of those?"
"And why do we need one?" Rupert added.
Maura looked at all of them, somewhat stunned. "Um, they've been standard issue since Law Enforcement was lifted. And, well, I'm supposed to put out the fire so you don't get injured?"
Fred rolled her eyes. "We've been doing that on our own for ages."
Maura looked around. "Uh, I'll just, um, be going then. Have a good day!"
As she left the house, the five friends looked at each other. "Firefighters," Rupert said. "What unnecessary "improvement" will they think of next?"
Universe: A Buffyverse Apocalypse
Word Count: 1125
The water was warm.
Liam gingerly put just one finger under the shower head, feeling the water. It wasn't hot enough to burn, and it didn't make him shiver the way cold water always did when he washed his hands over and over again. He'd never felt warm water before.
He tentatively tested with a hand, then an arm, then slowly climbed into the shower.
As the water poured down, he closed his eyes, basking in the sheer joy that was warm water. Then he picked up the bar of soap and slowly ran it over his body, making sure to get every spot.
When he rinsed it off, he felt clean. Not just less grimy, but truly clean, for the first time that he could remember.
This alone almost - almost - made being brought back to life worth it.
The Apocalypse was over, and now he could shower.
---
"What do you think, Buffy? Should we host a housewarming party?"
"I think that's a good idea, Cordy. Martin?"
He shrugged. "Why not? It would be nice to have all the kids over to see the new house. Your parents, too, of course." He hesitated for a moment. "And we should invite Liam as well."
"Not that he'd come," Buffy muttered.
"But it would be polite," Cordy pointed out.
"Alright," Buffy said with a sigh. "When do we want to hold this?"
"Sunday, maybe?"
"But it's Wednesday. You can't call people on Wednesday."
"...Right. I guess we could try?" Cordy said doubtfully.
"Might as well," Martin said. He picked up the phone and dialed a number, fully expecting to get a busy signal or a "line not working" message. He was completely surprised when it actually rang and was answered. "Xander? Hello? No, I wasn't expecting the phones to work, the phones never...what? Oh. Thanks for letting us know. No, that's not why I was calling. We're having a housewarming party on Sunday and wanted to invite you and Marisa. Yes, of course Fred and Armando are invited, please tell them. Of course. See you Sunday!" He hung up the phone and turned to his wife and sister-in-law. "Apparently Rupert lifting Gamer fixed the phones. We can now use them at any time."
"Great!" Buffy said. "Sounds like the party is a go, then!"
"Sounds like," Cordy agreed. As she picked up the phone to call her parents, she smiled.
---
"A second honeymoon?"
"I've always wanted to visit Tokyo."
"That does sound wonderful."
"We'll have to make arrangements. When do you want to go, Ris?" Xander suddenly thought of something. "Oh. Wait."
"What?"
"We can't go, can we? You'll get fired if you miss work, and I know you want to be a Business Tycoon. I wouldn't take that away from you, not even for Tokyo."
Marisa smiled at him. "You don't have to."
"What?"
"New laws. Going on vacation doesn't get you fired anymore."
"It doesn't?"
"That's what my boss said. As long as you have vacation days saved up, you can take time off to do whatever you want."
Xander's brow furrowed. "Huh. Do you have the time?"
"Plenty of it. And so do you."
"I do?"
"I checked. I thought we might want to go on vacation sometime, and I figured it was better to make sure we could ahead of time."
Xander smiled at his wife. "You're amazing, Ris."
She smiled back. "I know. Now what do you say to taking one of those days for us? Not even for Tokyo, but just for us?"
His smile grew. "That," he said, "sounds like an excellent idea."
---
"So much space," Anya said as she looked around the house. The building was downright huge, the living room far bigger than any room she'd ever been in.
"And no stairs either," Willow pointed out. "I wonder where the bedrooms and bathrooms are?"
"There's some doors to the left," Lester said. "And I think I see one in the kitchen."
They spread out to explore, trying the various doors and seeing what was behind them.
Willow grinned as she looked into the bedroom at the front of the house. It was clearly meant for her, as it was decorated in red and gold and even had a space for Kim's bed and scratching post. So much space, and it was all hers - she'd never have to share a tiny bedroom with her younger brother again.
Anya, meanwhile, found the blue bedroom (with some wood furniture) and attached bathroom. She smiled. It was perfect for her and Lester, a space that was just theirs.
Lester took the kitchen and the other bathroom. The kitchen table could seat eight. He'd never seen a table that size before, but it would be perfect for inviting their sons and their families over, much better than the small tables he was used to.
All three of them met in the living room. "I love it!" Anya exclaimed. "It's perfect for us."
Lester nodded. "Agreed."
Willow smiled. "Great. Looks like we've got a house - and much better than the ones we're used to, too!"
---
"Oh for..."
Rupert, Will, Fred, and Armando all looked over to the other side of the kitchen, where Lynne had started to cook a meal.
"Again?" Rupert asked as he caught sight of the flames rising from the stovetop.
Lynne shrugged. "I'm not the best cook on the planet, Rupert. Get me the fire extinguisher, would you?"
"Oh, yeah. Sure." Rupert turned around to go get the fire extinguisher only to see that Will was already holding it. He passed it forward and Lynne began putting out the flames.
Suddenly, a redheaded woman in full fire gear ran into the room and began spraying at the stove. When the flames went out, everyone turned to look at her.
"Who are you?" Fred asked.
"Maura Simpson. I'm a firefighter."
They all exchanged glances. "What's a firefighter?" Will asked.
"I put fires out. Your fire alarm sends an automatic signal to the stationhouse and someone is sent out to put out the fire." She gestured at the fire alarm on the wall.
Everyone looked up at it. "Huh," Lynne said. "When did we get one of those?"
"And why do we need one?" Rupert added.
Maura looked at all of them, somewhat stunned. "Um, they've been standard issue since Law Enforcement was lifted. And, well, I'm supposed to put out the fire so you don't get injured?"
Fred rolled her eyes. "We've been doing that on our own for ages."
Maura looked around. "Uh, I'll just, um, be going then. Have a good day!"
As she left the house, the five friends looked at each other. "Firefighters," Rupert said. "What unnecessary "improvement" will they think of next?"