Author: The Butterfly Queen
E-mail: ellsie@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13 (for some language and a little mindless violence) Ooooh, mindless violence.... *drool*
Summary: *tag* Yer it! (Oh, yeah. Have I ever mentioned I have a tag fetish? *gigglefits* I will never forget the games of tag I started at the Rainforest Cafe when I worked there. Tour Guides and Safari Guides would be tagging each other subtly while talking to guests. It was hilarious.)
Note: This doesn't really take place at any particular time, except that it would have to be during the 4th season, but, since I can't see Joss ever letting everyone get cozy enough to do this, it would never really happen. But I'm the one writing this and Joss in an evil bastard. Hmph.
Dedicated To: Rachael, Sarah, Elliot (I hope I spelled that right), Amy, Kakie, all the people at Rainforest (especially Wilson 'cause he always played with me), most of the people at Dobson who would play spontaneous games of tag in the halls on the way to the next class, Tommy, Mike, Klopper, Kat (although I know she hated it and never really joined in except when she was hyper), Gina, Sadie Hawkins ('cause he plays a really nice version of tag that should not be played in public), Lorcy, Sherry, and everyone else who has ever kept me entertained with Tag. *mwah* Thanks, sugars.
Disclaimer: It's all mine. Send money.
"Tag! You're it!"
"Bitch! I'll get you yet and then I'm goin' t' use your intestines as Christmas decorations!"
"Do you think that'd look good on a tree?" She stopped running and he nearly crashed into her. "Spike, you don't celebrate Christmas."
He grinned and tapped her on the shoulder hard enough to almost knock her over. "That I don't. Tag, you're it, Butterfly."
She made a sound of rage in her throat as he bolted and started after him. "Bloody prick," she growled as she searched the bushes lining the walkway. "He took advantage of me. And did I just say 'bloody'? Jesus, I'm talking like him now. Soon I'll be wearing retro eighties clothing and bleaching my hair."
"You're talking to yourself, love," Spike called out. Butterfly whirled, trying to discern where his voice was coming from. "Nyah, nyah, can't catch me!"
"You're acting like a child!" She grumbled to herself about peroxide-headed Vampires and then spied a potential victim. She waited in the shadows for a few more moments until the girl was within reach, then pounced.
"You're it, Willow!"
The red head blinked up at the girl on top of her. "Who are you?" she asked quietly, too stunned to say anything else.
"That wasn't nice, pet," Spike murmured, pulling Butterfly off the other girl. "Sorry, Willow. We're just playing tag."
"Yeah. And now she's it," Butterfly stated.
"She can't be it. She didn't even know we were playing."
Butterfly gave her patented "so what?" look (any of you who know me know what I'm talking about) and glared at him. "So? I'm the Tag Mistress and I say she's it. I tagged her. She's it. End of story."
"But she's not playing, ducks!"
"She is now."
"I still don't think it's fair." Spike glowered at her.
Butterfly stared wide-eyed at him, all innocence. "I'm sorry! Did someone tell you I was a fair Tag Mistress? Oops. They misled you."
A deep growl eminated from Spike and Butterfly stiffened for a moment, ready to run if necessary. But then she remembered that Spike was only an incredibly lickable half-Vampire now, with the implant, and relaxed. "Oh, stop it. She's it!"
"Is not!"
"So."
"Not."
"Tag."
"What?!"
Butterfly giggled at Spike's reaction to Willow's statement, then took off, following the red head. "Hah hah! Surprise, Spikeykins!"
The girls pounded around a building and ran smack into Buffy, all of them getting knocked to the ground.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked quickly, palming a stake. "And who're you?" she asked Butterfly suspiciously.
"Butterfly," Butterfly answered. "C'mon! Hurry," she urged, grabbing at Willow's arm.
Willow giggled and began to push past Buffy. "Wait!" the Slayer ordered. "Willow, what's going on."
"Come with us," Willow said, backing away. "But hurry. Spike's it."
"Spike...?" Buffy asked, lost. "What?"
"We're playing tag, Buffers," Butterfly explained as if to a three-year-old. "Spike's it. Hurry before he gets you."
Buffy shrugged and took off running with them just as Spike rounded the corner.
"Oh, not the Slayer!" he whined, continuing after them. "That's not playing fair, Butters."
Butterfly stopped dead in her tracks and spun to face him. "I told you not to call me that!" she shrieked as he reached her.
"That you did, love," he chuckled and tapped her on the nose. "You're it."
He dashed past her and caught up with Buffy and Willow, keeping them from running away from him by yelling, "Butters is it!"
Butterfly growled in a fairly good imitation of Spike and then moved along softly. They had disappeared and she didn't want to let them know she was coming. Buffy and Spike might be able to run for a good while longer, but Willow should be tired by now and hiding somewhere.
She heard the bushes rustle to her left, but instinctively knew it wasn't Willow. Grinning, she made her way behind the trio hiding there.
"Hey, Riley," she whispered, standing just behind him and his two friends. They all turned with muffled curses and stared at her. "Guess what."
"What?" Riley asked dumbly, wondering how this weird girl with butterfly wings could have snuck up on them. He stopped wondering when she punched him in the stomach, making him bend double. She had one hell of a punch.
"You're it!" she sang and danced away. She laughed when the three just looked at her as if she were insane (which wasn't far off). "C'mon, guys! Get in the spirit of things. Tag. Run. Tag. Hide. Riley's it had a fit, blah, blah, blah, etc."
"What?!" Forest asked in an incredulous tone.
"We're all playing tag," she explained. "Riley's it."
"Uh, we can't play," Riley muttered slowly. "We're on a mission. And why'd you punch me?"
Butterfly sighed and rolled her eyes. "'We're on a mission', 'we're on a mission'," she mimicked. "Fine." She reached her hand out and waited expectantly. "Well? Tag me back, Finn. I need to go play. And I punched you because you're part of the group that hurt my Spike."
Riley touched her hand briefly and she began walking away quickly.
Riley looked at his friends blankly. "Her Spike?"
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Butterfly sang, peering into the shadows around campus. "Here, Willow, Willow, Willow. Here, Spike, Spike, Spike. Here, Buffsey, Buffsey, Buffsey." She let out a low growl. "C'mon guys! It's no fun if there's no chase."
"I agree," Spike said, sauntering out of the shadows. He poked her in the side and waited for the tap on his shoulder. "Go, pet. I'm going to give you a ten second head start."
Butterfly was off in a flash and Spike grinned. He glanced around and then started for the copse of trees nearby. He walked a short ways in, then paused. Suddenly, he jumped straight up and pulled the Slayer out of the branches. She fell with a thud and cracked her head against the tree's trunk.
"Ow!" she screeched. "Bastard!"
Spike smirked. "Sorry, love. Wasn't my fault, or I'd have a bleedin' headache right now. It was just an accident. You're it." He took off at a run.
Buffy stood and brushed herself off, glaring daggers in his direction. "Wasn't his fault...." she grumbled. "Stupid jerk. I should stake him."
Soon she was back to where she had run into Willow and Butterfly. Looking around and stretching all her senses as far as they would go, she walked along the path.
There was a faint rustle in the bushes next to her and then some muffled giggles. Darting forward, she shoved her arm in between the leaves and grabbed someone's arm, dragging them onto the path. She grinned when she saw who it was. "You're it!" She ran off.
Willow pouted and then lunged forward toward where she'd been hiding. Butterfly jumped back, just in time. "Oooh, not fair!" she called out. "You were hiding with me!"
Willow giggled and lunged again, just barely missing her target. "I'm not a fair Tagger, either."
Butterfly laughed and ran down the path, away from Willow. She was joined shortly by both Buffy and Spike coming from opposite directions. "Hurry, hurry, hurry," she panted, as Willow gained on them.
"Who knew the little Witch could run so fast," Spike commented.
"Slayerette training," Buffy answered sagely.
Suddenly, they all turned a corner and ran smack into someone, tumbling them all to the ground. As Willow rounded the same corner, she tripped and fell on top of the group. They all began laughing and helping each other up, until they saw who they'd run into.
"What are you people doing?" Parker asked, half agrily as he stood.
Butterfly gave him an evil grin. She reached toward Willow and the girl tagged her, then she looked back at Parker. "Buffs, I'm going to show you what you do someone who does what Parker did to you."
She slammed her fist into the boy's midsection and watched in satisfaction as he doubled over, then waited until he straightened. As he opened his mouth to say something, she grabbed his shoulders and moved him forward as she brought her knee up between his legs. He let out a little squeek and fell to his knees, then onto his side. Spike winced in male sympathy and Willow and Buffy had to hide their smiles.
Butterfly grinned. "Tag. You're it." She watched a moment longer as Parker gasped and writhed on the ground and she shook her head and sighed. "God, Parker, don't be such a baby. We're just playing tag."
