Title: Bright Paper Packages Genre: Sapphire & Steel & Buffy the Vampire Slayer Rating: PG Word Count: 1177 Prompt Two strangers wind up participating in a holiday activity together. thoughtsbykatI hope that you enjoy your bit of Christmas cheer. My thanks to you and to sparky955 for her beta help Sapphire loved this time of the year on Earth. Everything seemed a bit easier and people, while rushed and frantic to get wherever they were going, seemed a bit happier with the prospect. It would be easy to say she’d been sent here, but the reality was that she was here because it was where she wanted to be, to escape however briefly away from the cold grey corridors her kind roamed. She stood outside the store and stared in at the display. Several automated figures moved about – one tiny green clad person was feeding a deer an apple and the one the children called Santa was waving from his perch on the chimney. Everything seemed so simple and easy within the image. Nothing but clockwork figures marking time and time, well, it isn’t exactly a friend, is it? she thought, her hand resting gently upon the glass. “It would be great to be a kid again, wouldn’t it?” The voice startled Sapphire from her reverie. She looked over her shoulder with a smile. The speaker was a blonde woman, young, but with a sense of age that clung to her like an unwanted odor. “Yes, I suppose it would.” “No responsibilities, no demands, nothing except you and the chubby red guy.” “I’m sorry, who?” “Santa, I was talking about Santa. You’re not from around here.” “No, no, I am a stranger to your shores.” “Yeah, Giles sounds like that, too.” She offered a mittened hand, despite the fact that the night seemed quite mild to Sapphire. “I’m Buffy.” “They call me Sapphire.” Sapphire took the hand, surprised by the strength of it. “You like blue, huh?” “Sapphires come in many colors, but, yes, I rather like blue.” She returned to the window. “I remember when I was a kid. We’d load into the car and drive out to the mall. The whole place was decorated and they would have these huge displays, all built around Santa’s toyshop.” She sighed. “I miss that.” She paused then. “I meant what I said about you not being from around here.” “Yes.” The slender woman moved closer and Sapphire could feel the power flowing from her. “I’m The Slayer and I won’t have trouble. Do you understand?” “Not at all.” Sapphire didn’t feel worried. One word and Steel would be at her side, or she would be gone. “What do you mean?” “Along with all the other fun stuff that comes with the package, like a laughably short life span and the ability to bend steel, my senses are all heightened. You don’t have a heartbeat. No heartbeat means you aren’t human. So, if you are here to do some last-minute demon shopping, we might have an issue.” Sapphire smiled benignly at her. “Rest assured I am no threat to you or to your kind. Just the opposite. Like you, I am here to keep them safe.” “Really?” It took Buffy some time to chew on that. “So what do you fight?” “The most insidious being of all - Time.” “Get out of here! I read about you guys.” Now it was Sapphire’s to be surprised. “You… you did?” “Yeah, you’re a Time Agent… like that Doctor guy.” That bullet dodged, Sapphire smiled. “Close enough.” “So, why are you here? I mean, why now? Is there some evil afoot? Is something going to mess with time? What can I do to help?” “Nothing like that.” Sapphire’s hand returned to the glass. “I feel strangely nostalgic for a lifestyle I’ve never known. Or will ever know.” “I get that.” Buffy watched the penguins spin and twirl on their ice. “When my mom and dad got divorced, I never thought about what it meant in the big picture, but I did realize that nothing would ever be the same. No more happy Christmas mornings, no more silly gifts or my dad wearing a bow on his head. My dad was all about Christmas. He would have run us into the ground in debt if Mom had let him. We always had to have the most lights up, the most lawn ornaments and the most gifts. I thought it was like that for everyone and then suddenly it was all gone.” “What happened?” Buffy’s voice got small. “Mom and I weren’t enough for him and he started looking elsewhere to spread his… affection. Mom found out and divorced him, then we moved here. Now my mom always looks so stressed. She tries to make it a nice Christmas for us, but it’s hard, you know?” Sapphire didn’t know, but she nodded anyway. “How do you combat this feeling?” “I grew up. One morning I realized that there were a lot of folks worse off than me. Sure, we don’t have the over-the-top Christmases we used to, but we have a nice home, plenty of food and nice clothes.” She blew on the glass and traced a heart on the window. “I realized that it wasn’t about how much you spend or how glitzy your house looks, but the strength and love of the people inside it.” “Your mother must be very proud. She has a wonderful daughter.” “Thank you.” Buffy moved a step away. “So, if you aren’t gonna blow up the world, I’ll just leave you to it.” She started to leave and then spun. “You know what? Come with me!” She reached out and grabbed Sapphire by the hand. “I’m gonna show you what really works for me.” Buffy led Sapphire into the store and Sapphire’s senses exploded. The color, the music, the flurry of rushing people ebbed and flowed around them. If she had to breathe, she would have passed out from a lack of it, her breath was so stolen from her. Buffy smiled at her and pointed. “It’s over there.” “What’s over there?” They stopped in front of a large artificial Christmas tree. It was covered with paper ornaments. Buffy studied it for a moment and then plucked one from the tree. She turned it over for Sapphire to see. “This is a giving tree. It’s for kids whose parents can’t afford to buy them anything for Christmas. I always come over and take a couple wishes. Then I buy whatever they have asked for, as long as it’s within reason. I figure if I can save my money and then spend it happily on a stranger, then I don’t need any fancy lawn decorations and lights. I have found the true meaning of Christmas.” “Which is?” “It’s better to give than receive.” “Your mother has done a lovely job of raising you.” Sapphire glanced back at the tree and then smiled. “Would you pick out two for me as well?” “Be careful, though.” Buffy said, laughed. “It’s addictive.” A warm glow started inside her and spread until she was filled with a sense of wellbeing and contentment. It truly was an incredible feeling. “I do believe I could grow accustomed to this.” “Come on, I’ll show you where the toy department is. That’s where the real magic happens.”