TITLE: Revisionist History VII -- 'Tis The Season
AUTHOR: Lex
EMAIL: lex@bitchenvy.com
RATING: R
SPOILERS: "Amends"
CONTENT: Some angst, some swearing, some threatened violence. Oddly enough, no smut. Who knew?
SYNOPSIS: Buffy spends the holiday with *everyone* she cares about.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Borrowing. Will return when finished. Promise.
NOTES: I *know* I said if I rev'd "Amends" there would be smut...but I lied. Sorry. :-> I was overtaken by the holiday spirit.

It was a miracle.

Buffy turned her face up to the sky, letting the snowflakes kiss her face. There was no other word for it, for the snow that drifted lazily down from the heavens. Finally, after all her pleas, God had listened. He had heard, and He had saved Angel. And her, because if Angel were to die, her heart would turn to dust with him.

Tightening her hand around Angel's, she skipped merrily towards a snowdrift, dragging her halfheartedly protesting boyfriend along with her.

"Buffy, we're going to get soaked!"

"Come on! We are *never* going to see this again!"

He opened his mouth to protest, then shut it as he abruptly sailed through the air, only to land on his ass in the drift. Dazed, he swiped at the snow covering his body.

She stood before him beaming. "Oooh, look, my very own snow angel!!"

Wickedly, he grinned. "Oh, you are *so* going to regret that." Nearly quicker than her eyes could follow, he scooped up a handful of snow, forming it into a makeshift ball, and lobbed it at her. He then proceeded to rain snowballs on Buffy's wildly shrieking blonde head.

"Angel!!" she howled, ducking and running for cover, "No fair to launch an attack like that!!"

"Should have thought of that *before* you tossed me on my ass." More snowballs punctuated his statement.

Buffy eventually realized that there was no cover to be found, and throwing all caution to the wind, tackled Angel to the ground. He took the brunt of the fall, Buffy landing quite comfortably on his chest. "Excellent battle strategy, Ms. Summers. Flinging oneself bodily at the enemy."

She grinned widely, and then ducked her head to steal a kiss. "Worked, didn't it?"

"One could say that."

"And one would be right." Suddenly, she shivered. His arms clamped around her, cuddling her close to his broad chest.

"Are you cold? Stupid question, of course you're cold. It's freezing out here."

She pouted. "I hate to go inside...it's so beautiful out here...oh, damn, everyone's coming over for Christmas dinner tonight. We have to go."

Buffy stood, pulling him to his feet beside her.

"We?"

"You're coming."

"Buffy, I can't go to your house for Christmas dinner."

"Why not? You don't have to eat anything, you can just sit with us."

"Baby, I hate to break this to you, but everyone, with the possible exception of Willow, hates my guts with a fiery passion. They would like nothing more than to see me fit into an ashtray. Me sitting down to Christmas dinner like nothing has happened would NOT go over well."

She crossed her arms in front of her, jaw jutting out stubbornly. "I wanted this holiday to happen. I wanted everyone I care about in the same room, celebrating the season together. Do you understand me? You *will* sit there with us, and you will be nice to my family and friends, and they will be nice to you, even if it kills you all!"

Angel opened his mouth to argue, then saw the look on her face and thought better of it. "Well, at least I can pray for a quick death," he muttered, ignoring her glare.

Persistently, she grabbed his arm, and towed him down the street.

=====

The house on Rubello Drive was full.

From her station in the kitchen, where Xander was currently attempting to consume all the hors d'ovres in a single sitting, Joyce heard the front door open. "Buffy, is that you?"

There was no answer.

Quickly, Faith slid off her perch on the kitchen counter, hand going into her pants for a cleverly hidden stake. "Everyone wait here."

At Faith's announcement, Willow and Giles looked up from their cookie decorating. Giles frowned slightly. "Do you think it's...him?"

Faith shook her head. "In the daytime?"

Pointing to the window, he said, "There's no sun out there. The snow's blocking it."

Faith shushed him as she slunk to the doorway. There were two figures before her and she sprang at them. The inhabitants of the kitchen heard a muffled, "Faith!" and a thud. They all piled out of the kitchen clutching makeshift weapons, Cordy holding her deadly spatula aloft.

Angel and Buffy stood there, covered in snow. Faith was being held dangling mid-air by Angel, who was clearly trying to avoid being kicked in the groin. Joyce did the only thing she could do. "Angel, put Faith down right this instant," she barked, brandishing her wooden spoon in front of her.

Reacting to the sheer 'momness' of her tone, Angel promptly dropped Faith, who landed on her feet. She whirled around to face him. "What is wrong with you!?!"

"You attacked me," he pointed out mildly. "I didn't want to hurt you, so that seemed like the easiest way to avoid bloodshed.

As Faith sucked in a breath clearly intended to fuel a lengthy tirade, Buffy stepped in. "Faith, be quiet. You jumped us. Um, Mom, you remember Angel..."

Joyce smiled weakly. "Oh, hello."

Angel smiled back just as weakly. "Mrs. Summers."

"Oh, great," Cordy moaned, "Buffy's gone crazy and let her demon ex-boyfriend back in the house. Hello, Death, here we come."

Willow winced at Cordy's habitual tactlessness. "But...but Angel's good now! He saved me, remember? We like him again." Thinking quickly, she went to stand next to Buffy and Angel. It was the three of them facing everyone else. Willow's stomach sank.

Xander smirked in his usual smarmy Xander fashion. "Yeah...he's good...until Buffy gives him another great big happy!"

Hearing that, Angel snarled, stepping forward with murder written in his eyes.

Xander, coward to the end, ducked behind Cordelia and her spatula.

Buffy yelped and threw herself against Angel. "Honey, back down. It's okay. Really."

Over a mouthful of partial fangs, he growled, "I'm tired of him treating you like that. He needs to be taught that you don't speak to women that way."

"The insult was to me."

Angel nodded tightly and stepped back.

Eyes wide, Joyce watched the exchange, noting the concern in Angel's eyes as he looked down at her daughter's tiny hand clutching his arm.

Buffy addressed everyone. "Now listen up. This is Christmas. The day of joy and peace on earth, and we cannot eat together? We will all sit down at that table and forget past grudges, and we will do it if it kills us!"

Surprisingly, Faith was the first to speak. "If B says he's fine, I believe her." She stepped up to Angel, and looked him in the eye. "But if you hurt her again, I will take you apart, piece by piece. Do you hear me?"

Angel nodded tightly. "I'd kill myself before I'd hurt her again. But I don't want all of you to feel uncomfortable with me here...what I've done cannot be forgiven. I'll just go..." he trailed off, turning for the door. Buffy planted herself in front of him.

"Oh, no you don't. You're not getting away this easily." She looked pleadingly at Willow.

The redhead paled. "Um, you really should stay, Angel. Because we're all friends, and you're still our friend, right...?" She looked around at everyone gathered there.

Giles remained silent.

"I don't think you want me as your friend," Angel said quietly, eyes downcast. Buffy's heart broke at the sound of his defeated voice.

Suddenly, Oz spoke up from the back. "I think everyone's a little on edge with the potential for chaos here. You could lose your soul again...I'm not saying that you would...uh...do what you did the last time...but it's still possible."

Willow shook her head frantically. "The curse was changed...he has his soul permanently." All heads turned to look at her.

"WHAT?" everyone exclaimed simultaneously.

Sputtering, she backed up slightly. "Uh, Miss Calendar translated the base curse...just the soul, no clause. She wanted Buffy and Angel to be together without being afraid of what could happen. I was going through some of her files last night, looking for a different spell, and I found her notes."

Buffy was floored. Her vision blurred as her eyes filled with tears. "Say that again, Will?"

Willow took Buffy's trembling hand. "It's okay, Buffy. Angel's soul is here to stay."

At those words, Angel staggered slightly, falling against the wall. The room erupted into pandemonium, everyone trying to speak at once.

"WHAT?"

"You have GOT to be kidding!"

"That's good, right?"

Buffy didn't hear them. Her entire being was focused on Angel. He raised shocked eyes to meet hers. She stepped towards him on numb legs, and suddenly she was in his arms, wrapped in his embrace. They clung to each other tightly, not allowing even an inch of space to come between them.

"Love me?" she asked, tears streaming down her face.

"Forever," he swore, covering her lips with his own.

=====

And it was forever, because some things, despite acid tripping madmen, are Just Meant To Be.

THE END