12559/A little R&R before the big Party.

A little R&R before the big Party.
Date of Scene:	15 December 2020
Location:	Apartment, the Blue Lady
Synopsis:	Thomas and Buffy enjoy a brief pre-party break after recovering from monsters and sewers.
Cast of Characters:	Thomas Raith, Buffy Summers

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Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith isn't wearing white, so there is that. Blue jeans and a "Ugly Sweater" that is red/green/white with reindeer pole dancing on candy canes and Christmas trees with busty angels topping them. The smell of candies ham roasting fills the air as well as pumpkin pie. The incubus whistling casually as he moves around the kitchen.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers had been working overtime, trying to clear the streets on a daily basis of all the demons and scary things that seemed to enjoy coming out, especially at this time of year. She was also driving the Scoobies harder than ever to make Bludhaven safer for all.

And after the latest venture into the smelly sewers that climaxed in an epic battle against a giant mutated squid monster thingy, and left them crawling out of the sewers covered in refuse, it was definitely time to slow down and take things easy.

She had gone home and slipped into the shower for a really long time before collapsing into bed. But was already up early the next morning, determined to get the Christmas tree up and decorated - happily, the real, life sized pine had arrived last night, and she is now busy putting the last few decorations on the tree, still in her satiny pink pyjamas, still half asleep with a cup of really strong coffee on the coffee table.

One thing was certain, Buffy was determined to have a perfect, demon-free Christmas this year, dammit!

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smiles a bit and walks over to the slayer and refills her coffee. "You can take a nap you know, you look absolutely beat." He says in an amused voice. He takes off his red apron depicting a Rooster that says "Kiss the Cook?! That doesn't make any sense!" and pours a second cup for himself. "I say this for purely selfish reasons mind you, if you are running low on energy, what's left for me to feed on." he says in a playful voice.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers shakes her head and smiles, taking another sip of her refilled coffee. "No way, I need to finish this tree, I just want Christmas to be perfect this year. And..And no more demons interrupting our life, if only for a couple days?"

She steps back to admire her handiwork, dusting her hands. "Sooo, what do you think? Is this just the most perfect tree you've ever seen? or What? Ooh, I need to get the presents out and maybe start decorating the Blue Lady, you know, this is the first time I'll be spending Christmas here, with you, and everything just has to be perfect!"

She's clearly running on adrenaline, all that coffee in her system, overly eager to make everything just right this year.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith sets down his coffee. He takes her coffee from her and sets it down as well. He then cups her face and he kisses her, long slow and gentle. It's not a "feeding" kiss, but the kiss of one lover to another. "Buffy. Slow down. It will be perfect because we are together. Nothing else nesssicary." He says with a smile then offers her her coffee back. "I've already hired a company that will come in after closing on the 23rd to decerate the Lady, and will be back on the 26th to take it all away. As for this," He says gesturing to the tree, "This is for /us/. It's supposed to be fun, not a monster to slay. So please, if you love me, take a breath and relax. Let's make it fun, okay?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers is pretty much forced to slow down when he kisses her, and it relaxes her considerably as she wraps her arms around his waist, pressing eager lips against hers.

"I know...I'm sorry. Just..My Christmas always seems to get interrupted by..Something. I mean, that whole tree lighting ceremony and those trolls..Last year it was that goth vamp girl killing my friend.."

She smiles faintly, climbing onto the sofa and sighs tiredly, curling against the arm rest. "I'm sorry, you're right, I'm working too hard. I'm just so happy to be here, with you. I guess..Maybe everything already is perfect."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smirks a little bit. "That is my thought exactlly." He says cupping her face and giving her another, gentle, kiss before standing. "Now then, with that out of the way, since our Christmas is going to be Bonkers anyway... I thought maybe you'd like one of your presents a little bit early." He says going over to the entertainment stand and pulling out a white wrapped gift with a gold ribbbon slightly bigger then a bread box. "I'll give you a hint, you can't shoot, stab or bludgeon anyone with it." He says playfully.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers nods and smiles, "Ooh, an early present? Does this mean I need to give you one of yours ahead of schedule, too?" she sighs, "Although to be honest, I was kinda running out of money after the last two anniversary gifts so..I hope it's not too shabby.."

Buffy does arch a curious brow at the non-stabby part tho, "Awwe, you mean I don't get any shiny new weapons? I mean, not like I don't have enough but..Now I'm intrigued."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith chuckles a little bit. "I'm afraid not," he says amused moving over and setting beside her on the sofa. "And you can give me one now if you want or just wait until later. I'm patient..." he pauses. "I can be patient." He pauses again "I can pretend to be patient." he decides at last with a bit of a grin.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers chuckles a bit and nods, moving to the tree to grab one of the smaller gifts. "Okaay, well I got a small one here, it's not much but..." Well, she already gave him two other nice gifts before this so.

She hands him the small silver holographic box. "SOoo, what kinda present did you get me?" Buffy watches him with eager eyes, tilting her head a bit curiously.

Thomas Raith has posed:
"It's a puppy." He says deadpan, "Of course it's been in that box for a month and a half, so by now it's probably spell components." he tickles her playfully, "Open it and see!" he adds with a grin, taking his own advice and opening the box.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers laughs a bit at the tickles, curling up on the sofa again as she carefully unwraps the present..Then gives up and just tears open the wrapper and gasps. "Oh wow! Bath oils and stuff..And a spa pass! Thomas, you're amazing!"

She laughs and wraps her arms around him, giving him another kiss. Of course she hasn't quite noticed the glittery red fabric underneath, assuming it's just part of the wrapping.

"Go ahead, open yours! Although it's probably not nearly as fancy as this.." His is certainly not as expensive and fancy, but still worth a lot.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith mms softly and does throw a bit of Hunger into the kiss this time as he slides his arm around her and his hand leaves a pleasent trail of sensation where it touches. Still he grins a bit and opens his own box, whistling slightly as he looks at the tie tack and cuff links. "Oh I love this," he says in a low whisper, glancing down at his Ugly sweater and chuckling, "I'll have to try them on later... Maybe when you try yours on." He adds glancing down into the bottom of her box.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smiles, climbing into his lap as she nuzzles against him, shivering at the kiss. "Mm, I really worked you hard lately didn't I? I hope you're not too drained these days." she sighs, "You're right, I really need to slow down, afterall, I don't wanna see a repeat of what happened with those trolls.."

Buffy smiles a bit, happy to see that he likes his gifts though, and is a bit surprised when he mentions there's more. "Ooh, really?" oh wait, that's not just gift lining. She digs further in the box, pulling out the dress and gasps. "Wooow, what's this? It's gorgeous!"

Buffy sighs faintly, "You know, I honestly dont remember the last time I got to dress up in something so fancy.."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smirks a little bit, stroking her face. "You know what happened?" he says with a smile, "I was hunting everywhere thinking "What do I get my girlfriend the Slayer. I was looking at knives, swords, hatchets. I even almost bought a novelty pencil sharpener that would take pieces of wood this big around." He says making a loop with his middle finger and thumb to show the size. Then I thought, "you know something Thomas, you handsome devil?" and i replied "No, Thomas? Why don't you tell me you fiendishly sexy masterpiece." So I said, "You are forgetting one thing. You aren't just dating an incredibly smart, funny, and sexy /Slayer/, you are dating an incerdiblly smart, sexy and funny /woman/. Maybe get her something for that."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smiles, pressing her face into his hands, rather enjoying his touch. "Mm, you know what? I think I got enough weapons as it is. And you're right, it's about time I actually indulged in something a little more..Feminine, right?" she grins, pulling out the dress, holding it up to her face. "And I do so love red..Gimme a sec, and I'll try it on..And I'm curious to see your cufflinks and tie too!"

And with that she vanihes.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith lets her have the bedroom while he steps into his office. He keeps a spare shirt in there in case something were to happen to the one he is wearing and it preserves the...surprise one might say. Ugly sweater replaces with a silk white shirt he attach's the cufflinks to the french cuffs and inserts the tie tack. He glances in the mirror and smirks, "You know Thomas, you absolute god of a man," he says to his reflection. "That girl has her hooks into you bad." He tilts his head the other way, "Well Thomas, you Sexy beast... I don't give a damn.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers is possibly thinking the same thing to herself as she disappears into the bedroom, maybe feeling a bit anxious as she tries on the long red sequined gown. And pauses as she stares in the mirror.

"Well, Buffy, it's been a long time since you actually let yourself look a bit more feminine. He's gonna die when he sees you like this." she smiles, tossing her head, "But I think this one's a keeper."

Finally, she steps out of the room, swaying on the red punmps that she slips into, impractical shoes that she never wears but that go so well with the sexy red gown, even if she feels just a bit overly exposed and girly with the low back and low dipping bodice that shows off just a bit more cleavage than she's used to - or comfortable with.

And of course a single slit up the right side that shows quite a bit more leg than she's used to either. "So..How do I look?" she smiles a bit shyly. Honestly, she'd never even dream of dressing this way, but she'll make an exception for Thomas.

Thomas Raith has posed:
The question is met with the stunned silence of a man whose just had his breath taken away. His deep blue eyes even flicker a bit, going just a touch paler to show the sudden awakening of his well fed Hunger. He actually has to swallow hard, twice, to get his voice back before he can finally say "Amazing.. Simply amazing."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smiles as she meets his gaze across the room, hazel eyes sparkling happily. "What's wrong, Mr Raith? Cat got your tongue?" she grins as she quickly crosses the room, moving with a surprising feminine grace that she doesn't usually show in her typical slayer gear and combat boots.

She grabs his tie, adjusting it just a bit with practiced expertise, grabbing his hands to inspect the cufflinks. "Hmm, looking pretty sharp yourself there."

She grins and gives a little twirl, before offering him her hand. "So then, shall we dance? May as well get some practice in before the big party."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith had a few Christmas songs he'd been making a playlist of for the party, including some.. less then children's appropriate versions of songs, but none of those would be appropriate for this. He reaches over and takes the TV Remote, flipping the TV to the "Slow romance" music station and walking over to her. He slides his arms around her pulling her close. "I must have done something right in another life to deserve you." He says softly. "Can't imagine what that might have been."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers smiles, swaying slowly to the music as she rests her head against his chest, softly closing her eyes. "Mm, maybe we both did..This is the best Christmas present I could ever hope for. And maybe this time it can be for real.." She sighs, memories of her last Christmas with..Someone else still fresh in her mind.

"You know, I always thought I was cursed in love. Never imagined of all people, I'd end up with...With.." okay, she cant exactly call him an 'incubus.' That just sounds. Mean.

Thomas Raith has posed:
"With someone that, by all rights and reason you should be driving a stake through the heart of?" he offers in an amused tone, stroking her face. "I always thought that I would spend my life alone, moving from one lover to the next, never being able to have something long term, something real. That I could either keep my Hunger fed, or starve it to the point that I no longer cared. I never thought I could have a third option. So we were both wrong.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers chuckles. "Well..I was gonna say an energy sucking vampire. But heck, who am I to talk, I'm supposed to be 'T'he Vampire Slayer', but all my closest friends are either werewolves, witches, vampires or zombies. Like what the heck's with that?"

She shrugs, still swaying rhythmically to the music, bringing his arm up to twirl underneath it before pulling close to him again.

"Funny thing is, all I wanted to do was either help you or, failing that, vanquish you..This whole 'falling in love' thing, wasn't really part of the plan. I mean, is that crazy or what?"

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smirks that looking utterly amused. "You planned to vanquish me?" he asks spinning her playfully and dipping her low, seeming rather pleased with the fact in a warped sort of way. "Sounds almost like it could have been a tragic love story."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers sighs, shaking her head. "Well I mean. Only if I couldn't 'fix' you. I mean..I get it now, you're not like the others, but..It was a last resort." she smirks, "But I guess the lines between good and evil kinda got blurred. Can't say the same for the rest of your family though, if I did catch 'em killing innocents. But..Let's not go there right now. Maybe I just wanna enjoy the rest of the evening. I mean, I dont think I could ever have a real relationship with a normal, ordinary human anyway." she chuckles.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smiles a little bit, laughing. "Oh yes I can see it now," he says amused "Hi honey, how was work?" he asks in a femine voice that sounds nothing like Buffy's own. "Oh, the usual. I filed reports, got yelled at by my boss, made some phone calls. How about you?" then back to the femine tones "Oh I staked three vamps, prevented a demonic apocalypse, had dinner with a werewolf. Oh and I baked a cake!"

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers chuckles and nods. "Hmm..I guess I could never live a normal life..But this isn't so bad. With you, I mean, I never thought you could even be capable of loving anyone. Guess I had a really low opinion of you.." she smiles apologetically, "Sorry about that."

She reaches up to brush a stray strand out of his eyes. "Soo, what are your plans for Christmas party? We gonna do secret Santa or what? Do you think the other Blue Lady staff already know about all of our crazy weird supernatural friends?" Buffy cant help but laugh at the irony.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith shrugs. "Well Didi is my cousin, so of course /she/ knows, he says speaking of the extremely busty Cigar girl. Axe, Smash, and Crush have all had their own brushes with the Supernatural. And Yosa? I'm not sure /what/ Yosa is, but I'm about 85% sure it's not human." He shrugs a bit. "You have to remeber /why/ I opened the Blue Lady. It was a hunting preserve basically. So most of my employees are key'd in." He smiles a little bit, "I feed on life force given off by sexual energy," He says in responce to her other comment. "Most people have to get on their knees to spit on their opinions of me."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers nods thoughtfully. "Yeah...I had my suspicions of course, but it makes sense.." She shivers a little. "Can't say I'm a hundred percent okay with the idea, but I get it. Although..Now that you have a reliable..'Source', I wonder if that doesn't mean there aren't others who still use this place as a 'hunting grounds'?" she shrugs.

"All the same, I trust you, and I know the Scoobies are safe when they're here, or with you. And hey, I'm glad you and Harry are on the same page too..This will be his first Christmas with his big brother, won't it? I wonder if he's excited."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith shrugs a little bit. "Didi does certainly. Have you ever seen her go home alone, or with the same guy two nights in a row?" he asks amused shaking his head. "I have astrict no blood-sucker policy, but most night clubs are hunting grounds of one sort or another. My Family owns a fetish club called Zero in Chicago." He smirks at the thought of Harry, "Well I got him the complete collection of Harry Potter books, delivered by a stripper in Slytherin robes for his Birthday last year, and a hockey stick that had been a wizard up in Canada's focus for last christmas.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers nods and sighs, "I guess there's always gonna be something going on there. I hoped I could save everyone, but I guess I can't. I mean, I'm assuming she doesn't kill on those she feeds though, at least? I really do worry about your family though, and on the other hand, I'm still anxious to meet them..I wonder how they'd react to their baby incubus brother dating The Vampire Slayer?"

No really, she is pretty worried about that. Buffy doesn't exactly want to get murdered over it or something.

Of course the whole 'Harry Potter books delivered by a stripper' gets a slight arch of the brow. "Seriously? You did that?" Buffy sighs and shakes her head. "I wonder, did I at least have the slightest positive influence over your playboy ways since then?"

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smirks just a little bit and shakes his head slightly, "Him and Karrin weren't dating at the time. He gets...angsty when he's single and I thought he might be better if he had a chance to... I dunno, wave his wand a little bit." He shrugs slightly and decides to answer her question honestly, which involves also telling her a secret that she might not take perfectly well. "Since the first time we made love, till this very moment, including our little break up some time back, I have not been with any woman but you. If that's not changing my ways, I do not know what is."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers chuckles a bit at that. "Ooh, does he really? I mean, I never really thought of him as the romantic type even. He always kinda seemed like he enjoyed being alone." Buffy shrugs, "Although I think Karrin's good for him.."

His admission has her smiling a bit, blushing even, just a little. "I'm glad. I mean...I didn't think you'd cheat on me, even if you don't see that as cheating. I mean. I guess I can't say the same thing..First with..What's his name, even if it was just a one night's stand..IT still disturbs me greatly. And Spike..Who I only kissed once, maybe twice, both times out of frustration. And to be honest, I dont even think of him at all anymore, don't even miss him.."

She bites her lip, looking away. "Gee, I guess you're a more noble person than I ever was. And here I was, worried you'd be the one to betray me first.."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smiles a little bit and turns her to face him, looking in her eyes. "That's not how I see it Buffy, and you know it." He says softly. "At least not the little fling with whats-his-name. Honestly kissing Spike pissed me off more then that did, but like I said I've got a skewed pespective. And I did /feed/ during that time. I just didn't have sex. If that makes you feel better.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers nods slowly, "I know, I know..I guess you had a few things to teach me about love too, huh." she smiles, reaching out to touch his face again, tracing his lips gently with her fingers.

"I don't blame you for having to feed...It was pretty selfish of me to run off like that, but..It's all in the past now, right? It'll never happen again, I promise. I mean, I have everything I could ever want, right here. I can't think of a time I've ever been happier than right now. Only other thing I really want is to meet your family."

Buffy chuckles at the thought, "But it can wait, I'm in no hurry."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith sighs a bit and pulls her to the sofa... Pulling her onto his lap which causes the slinky dress to ride up a bit... "I'm scared there." He answers honestly. "Scared that they will try to use you. Use me through you. Use you through me for that matter. I tell you all the time that I'm a monster love. My family just don't try to hide it."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers frowns as she joins him on the sofa. "Is that why you left? Openned up this place? To get away from them? I mean..Surely they love you, care about you? At least your sister Lara?"

She softly strokes his hair, as if it might have a calming effect on him. "As for me, I don't think they could use me, hurt me. Unless they're really that powerful? I guess..Maybe it's better to stay away then.."

Buffy sighs as she tries to imagine a bunch of more powerful white court vamps like Thomas. "I mean, heck, given what I am, I might feel the need to slay 'em all if they're as bad as you say they are. And I wouldn't want to hurt your family, even if some of them are kinda..Evil. Even if that's my job."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith sighs a bit. "It was...allot of things. I told you about Justine and them not coming to help me save her. That was part of it. Another part is i'm pretty sure my father is trying to get me killed, literally. there's Inari, who I don't want to see /become/ a White Court Vampire and i'm powerless to stop it. There is the fact that I didn't like how Silverlight treated Arturo.. Hell there were even selfish reasons. After all I made this a hunting reserve, right? A club owner is far sexier to the average woman then a porn star.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers nods. "Yeah, you mentionned some of that before. That's really...Complicated. I wish..I wish there was something I could do to fix it, but I dunno, maybe the best thing I can do is stay out of that mess. I really don't wanna cause you or your family more trouble than I might have, already."

She smiles, "Hey, at least you still have your brother. It's something at least, isn't it? I mean last year, he didn't even know who you were. I dunno what it would be like to not have my little sister around, pain in the butt that she is. Heck, my family's not perfect, but compared to yours.."

Buffy can't help but chuckle at the last bit. "Heh, hopefully not too sexy to the other girls.."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smirks a bit and gives her another gentle kiss, this time his hand sliding up through the exaggerated slit in the dress, eyes slightly wicked. "Oh, they find me absolutely irresistable. You better hold onto me tight, otherwise one of them might just snap me up." He says playfully. "So I was thinking, the party is going to be Christmas eve, but when do we go see Joyce and your sister... or Harry and Karrin for that matter?"

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers shivers at bit at his touch, leaning in close to meet his lips with a smile. "Mm, do I have to keep you on a leash or what?" she winks mischevously, "Hmm, soo I guess the Scoobies are christmas Eve..I'm sure we can invite Harry and Karrin to that, unless you wanna see 'em privately too."

She shrugs, "Maybe you could swing by the Summers' house on Boxing day. My dad is supposed to visit, unless he stands us up again.." Buffy rolls her eyes as if that happens a lot. "Although, after the last time he visited...I dunno, I hope I didn't scare him away with all the weirdness.."

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith barks at her playfully while wiggling his eyebrows at the leash comment. He sighs a bit and nods, considering. "Alright then, I guess having them come over for the Scoobie Party makes as much sense as anything. I just.." He shrugs, "I suppose I thought an actual, Id unno, Family dinner might be nice if we can arrange it with peoples schedules.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers chuckles and pets him some more. "Good boy.." she purrs. And ponders a bit. "Hm, well we could always have family dinner on Christmas day of course. I mean..Were you thinking just the four of us, or the four of us, plus my family? It'd get pretty crazy, but heck, isn't that what family dinner is all about? I mean, I'm happy t o do whatever you lke..As long as we at least get a bit of private time in too.." she wriggles her brows playfully.

Thomas Raith has posed:
Thomas Raith smirks just a little bit "why Barbara Anne Summers, I do believe that you are trying to seduce me." He says playfully, hand sliding up her leg again. "We'll separate them," he says casually fingertips dragging his hunger agienst her bare skin, "The insanity of my brother and Karrin meeting the equal but opposite insanity of your mother and sister might cause the world to implode." He says, but cuts off any further reply with a kiss...