*****

It started out like one of those get together evenings. Buffy and her slayerettes all lay around in Willow's room watching one of those old movies on TV when Xander had a, in his idea, great idea to add some fun.

�Listen up, we've already seen �The Great Gatsby " five times in the last few months. I'm bored out of my mind. Didn't we have more fun about hmm.....let's say 10 years ago? Why not forget we're teenagers for a night and play one of those childish games like, well Hide and Seek..."

"Xander Harris", Cordelia snapped..."I had my hair done yesterday. Do you honestly believe I'd crawl under a bed or something???"

"You don't have to Cordy. What about you Wills, Buffy?"

Willow liked the idea a lot while Buffy just stared at her unbelievingly. "Oh come on Buffy" Willow said" it's going to be fun and you could see it as slayer training, like......finding hidden vampires or whatever." Buffy had to admit she desperately wanted to do something that didn't involve dust, slime or worse for a change.

Grinning evilly she agreed.

"Oooo... k... let's have fun" the blonde girl said" Cordy are you in or do we have to cope without "Queen C" tonight???" The Slayer's mocking went unnoticed by Cordelia who exclaimed: "I'm in. For. One. Game. Xander is searching, after all it was his idea. And... to contribute my part to the fun... it's Hide and seek... in the DARK!"

And with a that's-what-you-get-when-you-try-to-fool-me look on her face she marched off to find a hiding place, carefully switching off all lights on her way out. Xander turned around and started to count while Buffy and the Hacker ran off. Willow turned to her friend and whispered: " I know the perfect place where we could hide. Do you want to join me? It's not that I don't want to hide alone or anything. I just stumbled over this hidden closet last week and I thought it was a perfect place to hide if I ever needed to hide and you don't really have to come with me,... you know... it's just..."

"Easy.." Buffy interrupted her strangely nervous friend. Then she giggled: "you're cute when you babble, you know." Willow was glad that they were surrounded by darkness and the Slayer couldn't see her turn red.

*Oh my...did I just tell her she's cute?* and Buffy was glad that they were surrounded by darkness and the Hacker couldn't see her turn red.

XXX

65...66...67 * I wanted to hide and not to seek....I'm a bad seeker...* 68...69 * How did I end up counting anyway?* 72...73.. *I wonder where they all are. I bet Cordy's hiding in the bathroom* 74....75....76...

XXX

"Damn!" a hissed swear could be heard from the bathroom. Cordy blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the complete darkness. She knelt down to see what see what she had knocked over on entering. It smelled exactly like....nail polish and an expensive one at that." Must belong to Willow's parents." She pondered "Would be a shame to waste it." The experienced beauty queen she was Cordelia sat down on the side of the bathtub and started to paint her nails in the dark. After all she wouldn't want to give the others the chance to accuse her of cheating.

XXX

After their little blushing match Buffy and Willow walked in silence until they arrived in the hallway where Willow abruptly stopped causing Buffy to run into her. "Ooops...sorry." the redhead said opening a door. Buffy felt herself get nervous at the realization that she was about to spend an unknown amount of time in a closet with her best friend who she secretly had a crush on.

Willow went into the closet and disappeared, leaving Buffy alone in complete darkness. "Scary." the mighty Slayer said, walked over the doorstep and peeped around the corner to see... nothing at all when she heard the redhead's muffled voice... "Half a meter to your left there's a door in the wall that's pretty much invisible in this blackness. I'm gonna open it now, step back or it will hit you.

Buffy did as she was told and a few seconds later she felt a hand grabbing her arm. Her friend pulled her in the general direction of more darkness and Buffy wondered if she would hit her head on something any second now. When she was in the closet Willow shut the door and sat down telling her friend to do the same. When they had both settled down there was a space of about 5 inches between the two girls. Buffy felt the warmth coming from Willow, felt a strange, tingling sensation in her belly and asked: "You sure there's enough oxygen in here for both of us?"

Willow said smiling: "Don't worry, when I found this place I was so tired that I fell asleep and spent a whole night in here. It will be fine." And she took Buffy's hand not really knowing why. The blonde girl squeezed back and didn't take her hand away. None of the two wanted to end this beautiful moment. They both thought the other would freak when she learned of the feelings they both had but didn't dare to tell the object of their affection about. So holding hands in a dark closet was definitely something to treasure and think about in less happy times.

Buffy and Willow were content for the time being when Buffy suddenly had the urge to rush out her feelings to the redhead. When Buffy had finished Willow just sat there not knowing what to say. Finally she managed to sort through her happy thoughts, her eyes filled with tears and she mumbled: "Remind me to thank Xander again for this idea of his. I don't know what to say. I feel so happy every time we're together no matter if we fight for our lives or just watch a movie. Buffy, you just made me the happiest person in Sunnydale. I have loved you for so long, I'll never ever leave you." And she enveloped her friend in a big hug.

XXX

Meanwhile Xander had made his way to the bathroom and was not surprised at all to have found Cordy who remarked: "Wow. You found me. And so fast. My nailpolish almost dried. I guess you're happy now. Go on find the others. Bye."

"Don't you want to help me at all Cordy?"

"Xander,.....no. Just no, ok? But I think I heard them go in the general direction of the hallway....both of them."

XXX

Buffy and Willow were just happy and couldn't have cared less about being found. But when they heard Xander approach they sat very still and were silent. The boy opened the closet and peeked in but naturally didn't see anything. He switched on the light and behind the wall he heard his friends shout: "You're cheating, Xander!" and they opened the door to their hiding place.

The boy replied: "And you're not cheating, hiding together, huh? I've been searching you for quite a while. About time you two came out of the closet."

Buffy and Willow, who were still holding hands immediately turned beet red,

"What?? Did I say anything wrong?

Finis