MCA0, Friday night

[needsaparrot]

That whistling coming from the kitchen in MCA Number Zero? That's not the teakettle. First because Xander doesn't have a teakettle, and second because it's the whistling of a happy man with happy pasta boiling away on the happy stove, who got to see Version 1.0 of one of his favorite people today, and gets to have happy pasta for happy dinner with another of them tonight. In short, it's one of the best days to ever have the word "Parents" attached to it that Xander can ever remember experiencing. Largely because there have been no actual parents involved in it.

None of which explains why he's whistling Macho Man. Possibly it's the apron?
_

[OOC: for two dinner guests, one expected and one... not so much.]

Comments

[needsaparrot]

Xander glances down at the butter sauce in the saucepan in his hand, because for once he's doing buttery *fingerwiggle* pasta instead of sauceinjar. "No, though I guess it's an idea..."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge raises an eyebrow. "Dirty?" he's pretty sure that actually was.

[needsaparrot]

"Possibly. But I'm thinking dinner first? Or it'll get cold."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"I agree," Bridge says. "Plus, I really am kinda hungry," he admits. "It's been a long sort of day."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

Jessica had taken a rickshaw to Mauvaise Chance, then gone looking for a directory. Not finding one, she sighed long-sufferingly, and went to the Manager's Apartment.

Knock knock knock.

[needsaparrot]

Xander holds up the saucepan, then reaches for the knob to turn the boiling pasta down. "You want to get that?" he asks Bridge.

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Sure!" Bridge chirps, standing up from his spot at the table where he'd been busy appreciating certain... assets... while Xander was cooking.

He wanders over to the door and opens it to find... someone who he's never met before. Yet there's *something* he can sense about her aura that just seems... familiar. And the fact that he's picking up her aura at all, with his gloves on, is odd enough, because he can count on one hand the number of people who he's ever been able to do that with.

"Uh. Hi? Can I help you?" he asks her politely.

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Wow, you're young to be a manager." Jessica blinked, then gave him a tight smile, feeling like she was in the home stretch of a way too long day. "Yes, hello, I know this isn't really approved of, giving out information to total strangers, but it's not like I'm an axe murderer, which has to be pretty obvious, and I need to find my son. I think he works for you? Xander Harris. Can you tell me where he's living right now?"

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Manag- works for- *son*?" Bridge says, trying to say too many things at once and ending up saying nothing at all, really. "Right now? He, uh. Lives here, actually."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"He what? XANDER!" Jessica pushed past the kid at the door, looking around and unwillingly a little impressed. "What are you doing living in the manager's apartment, and why the heck weren't you at the picnic? I looked everywhere for you! What's the big idea, leaving your mother to search for you all day?"

[needsaparrot]

Xander came out of the kitchen, apron still tied round his waist - though at least it was a barbecue apron, with nary a ruffle to be seen? - and a dishtowel-cum-potholder over one arm. "Bridge? Man, I could've sworn I heard-- gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Sweetie!" Even if he's a rotten kid, he's your kid. Jessica swooped in for a hug and then a cheek-pinching. "You couldn't call and just tell us you got a real job? And what's with the eyepatch? Oh, wait, it's that Halloween theme, isn't it. People really get into it around here." She backed off to beam at him, then said, "You need a haircut."

[needsaparrot]

"... I'm still stuck on gaaaaah."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Wide-eyed, Bridge looks at Xander. "Dude, that's your mom," he says, for the second time that day. "Whoa, deja vu."

[needsaparrot]

That at least snaps Xander out of his daze for a moment. "Yeah, I know; we've met."

He turns to his mother. "Mom, what're you doing here?"

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"I'm visiting for Parents Weekend, of course. We got the invitation, and after Tony was such a dipstick this week, I figured, why not?" Jessica shrugged, and then frowned. "Wait, you weren't expecting me? You didn't think I'd come?" Which may have been fair, since she didn't call to warn him, but still. "Then why did you send the invitation?"

[needsaparrot]

"I didn't. I didn't even send one when--" Okay yeah, maybe best not to say that. "I mean, the school probably sent one back when I actually went there, but..." Xander stopped. "Oh."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"So, what, it's six years late?" Jessica sighed long-sufferingly. "Good thing you came back here to work, or I would've been pissed that I'd be trying to get a hotel room because you didn't live here any more." She looked around, admiring the woodwork, then turned back to gift Xander with a forgiving smile. "So. Where am I sleeping?" She turned to look at Bridge, then made a significant nodding motion toward him. "Ahem. And. Um. Who's your friend?"

[needsaparrot]

More like two years late, if you looked at it from Fandom's point of view, and Xander could well believe it had taken that long to get redirected from The Hole That Used To Be Sunnydale, given that most people hadn't left forwarding addresses when they fled.

He couldn't very well explain that without breaking her brain into little tiny shiny pieces, though, so he seized on the last question instead.

Because the answer to that one was going to go so much better. "Uh. Right. Mom, Bridge. Who... you probably heard about from Dad years ago and OH GOD PLEASE TELL ME HE'S NOT HERE."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Of course Tony's not here. What, you think I'd forget to mention that?" He'd be sitting on the couch demanding a beer already, if he were. "He's back in Oxnard. Probably still trying to heat up the frozen pizza I left him." Jessica turned to the new kid with a smile, and held out her hand. "Bridge? Hi, I'm Jessica, Xander's Mom. Even though he didn't introduce me. Wait, how does Tony know about him?" she asked, giving Xander a confused look.

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Bridge says politely, shaking her offered hand.

[needsaparrot]

"I told him?" Xander answered, not without his own confusion, which honestly still hadn't lifted since he walked out of the kitchen. "Back in Sunnydale, there was this whole of-all-the-gin-joints thing but with beer because only sissy-boys drink gin? Not that I actually like gin, though now I kinda wish I'd been drinking it just to make a point."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Xander, have you been drinking tonight? Because that's the only way that makes sense," Jessica told him, then looked from him to Bridge, feeling a step behind. "You told Tony about your friend Bridge. In Sunnydale." She paused. "Okay, he's so getting what-for when I get back home. He said nothing to me about seeing you. Now I'm wishing I'd dumped all his beer out before I left."

[needsaparrot]

Xander blinked slowly, wondering if maybe he could convince himself this was all a hallucination and the next time he opened his eye, she'd be gone.

...nope.

"He didn't mention meeting me and Faith in a bar, maybe a year after I graduated?"

Because given the way he'd walked out of said bar, it seemed like the kind of thing his dad would mention. Maybe not right away, but the next time they each had a few in them and he needed new ammunition?

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"That rat. No! And what's the big deal about it, anyway? Aside from your father being a secretive jerk. Big surprise." She frowned and said, "Can you take off the eye-patch? I keep expecting you to end a sentence on 'arrrr.'"

[needsaparrot]

And Xander was suddenly, just for a moment, as young as he ought to have been when that invitation was received, as it hit him that his dad never. said. anything. She didn't know.

The followup beat that she hadn't seen him in person since before Sunnydale blew, and she really did think the eyepatch was a Halloween costume, was sort of anticlimactic after that. He reached up to slip it off, because... he probably couldn't tell you why, if you asked him, though somebody smarter than him could likely give you a few theories beyond one bombshell at a time.

"Bridge was the big deal about it, for me. I'm guessing for Dad it was more that I'd been dating a guy."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge, who's been watching the exchange quietly, and, well, somewhat awkwardly, reaches out for Xander's hand with his own.

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

Jessica stared. The words, "dating a guy" hadn't really sunk in before Bridge was reaching for Xander's hand. So for a minute, she had a lag there of cognitive dissonance, thinking, But Xander, why would you date a guy? before the obvious reason kicked in.

"Hunh."

She waited for her brain to come up with something more. Nope.

"Um...."

[needsaparrot]

Xander curled his fingers over Bridge's, embarrassingly grateful for that tiny but essential hit of stability. "So, yeah." He really ought to do this right. "Mom, this is my boyfriend, Bridge. Bridge, this is my mom. Who I've met already."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Hi," Jessica repeated blankly, staring at the kid. And jeez, he was young. Younger than Xander, anyway. What was up with that? "Your father's so hearing about this when I get back." She frowned, looking from their hands, up to Xander's face. He kind of looked-- happy?

She cleared her throat and said, "It's very nice to meet you, Bridge." That worked. "Yeah. This is... good. I can be good with this." Especially since she guessed Tony hadn't been. Thinking of that helped her go in the opposite direction. "I mean, hey, I watch Queer Guy all the time. Great show."

[needsaparrot]

"I think you mean Queer Eye," Xander said, running his other hand through his hair. Was this small talk? Was he having small talk with his mother? Was he having talk with his mother?

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"What eye?" Bridge blinks and frowns. "...This is one of things I've never heard of, right?"

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Your family doesn't have cable?" Jessica felt a little sorry for the kid, so explained, "It's a makeover show, they do a straight guy's hair, and house, and wardrobe as if he knew all the stuff about being metrosexual like gay kids do. They're always really grateful." She turned to look at Xander, then raised her eyebrows. "You're sure you're gay? Because I'm your mother, and I know you've never dressed like it."

[needsaparrot]

Xander's instincts warred between facepalming and answering as the gods of comedy demanded. He settled for both. "Yeah, my clothes are straight. They actually like girls. It's kind of a pain; I keep finding them sitting on the couch with a beer whenever America's Next Top Model is on."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Are you being smart with me?" Jessica demanded. "Don't do that. I was just asking! I don't know how this works, suddenly I can't ask questions?" She turned back to Bridge. "So. How long have you been dating my son? Who didn't tell me about you, even when you two were in California together?"

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Oh, uh. well. Ten months, sort of, collectively? I mean, we were dating last summer and then there was this thing where we... sort of broke up for a while," Bridge frowns, thinking of that. It hadn't been his favourite time. "But then we got back together this April."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"So this is serious?" Jessica turned back to Xander, staring at him. "A year, almost? That's a long time. Especially at your age. And you've visited him at home...."

[needsaparrot]

"My age? I'm twenty-six," Xander pointed out, because of course that was the key thing he was supposed to be responding to there. You could maybe forgive him given how most of his brain was occupied with hoping she didn't start doing the not so complicated math on how he could've been telling his dad about Bridge over four years ago.

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"And he's... how old?" Jessica prompted him. Then frowned. Because yeah, that math was not possible. "Wait. What? Wait. Are you lying to me? Did you not tell Tony? Because you couldn't have been dating him ten months, but have told Tony about him four years ago. And I remember, you were dating some girl, what, Faith? Around then." And as usual for Sunnydale residents, that led to more confusion. "Or was that a joke?"

[needsaparrot]

Askdfjhsdkfjh. Xander tried not to pull his hair out by the roots when he ran his hand through it. It wasn't like she'd believe him if he said the words 'time travel.'

"He's older than he looks?" he tried.

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"That wouldn't be difficult, 'cause he looks around seventeen," Jessica pointed out. "And, still confused about the four years and the Faith person and... Never mind. I'm just your mother. It's not like you need to explain yourself to me." She gave Xander an exhausted look. Then smiled tightly at Bridge. "Are your parents okay with this?"

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"My parents?" Bridge blinks. "Yeah. I mean, it was sort of awkward at first, but they like him. And they understand how much he means to me."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Oh, so everyone else knows first. Right. And Tony was supposed to tell me?" Jessica gave Xander a look of mixed hurt, confusion, and stubborness. "Well. I want to meet your family. Sometime. When it's convenient for them, because, obviously, it's not that important... it's been a long, long day," she finished up, rubbing the at her forehead. "Xander, where's the guest room?"

[needsaparrot]

"I thought--" Xander'd thought he had, and had vaguely assumed her reaction was probably a more subdued version of his father's, given that she'd never brought it up, the few brief times they'd talked since then.

He sighed, because it didn't really matter what he'd thought, and for a conversation with one of his parents, this was actually an up note to end on. Following it anyplace else could only be a mistake. "The guest room's over here, Mom." He led the way.

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

Jessica followed him without saying anything else, and settled into the room with one last disappointed look before starting to unpack.