MCA #0, Friday night.

[needsaparrot]

Xander was on the phone. Which... is probably good because otherwise he'd have been talking to himself. Or possibly the frog.

"Yeah, Andrew, I know it's 0 God Hundred in the morning there. I also know there's always somebody awake; that's why I called the office instead of Giles' cell. Just checking if he found that book for me yet."

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[ooc: For Bridge.]

Comments

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge wasn't really in the mood for a Valentine's dance. Especially without a date. Which is why he's knocking on Xander's door just now.

[needsaparrot]

Xander carried the cell over to the door with him, still talking as he opened it. "Just leave him a note, Andrew; you don't need to wake him up. Hey, Bridge."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Can I come in?" Bridge says. "Um. I can go if you're busy, though."

[needsaparrot]

Xander shook his head. "I'm not. Come on in." Into the phone he added, "I gotta go; got company. .......No, my ex, actually." Xander shut the door behind Bridge. "Yeah, good to hear from you too. Bye, Andrew."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

There's a flicker of... something, across Bridge's face at the word "ex". Sure, he knew Xander must have described him that way before. Hell, *he'd* used the word to describe Xander. There was just something different about actually hearing it from *him*.

"I know I was just over last night but the dance is tonight and I didn't really want to go and so I thought maybe I could hang out here? With you?"

[needsaparrot]

"Sure." Xander answered the last part automatically, then took a second to parse the entire sentence. "There's a dance you're not at?"

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Yeah?" Bridge shrugs. "Didn't go to the one last year either, actually."

[needsaparrot]

Xander put the date (or rather two days ago's date) together with 'dance.' "Ah. Yeah." He felt the urge to say he was sorry, but smothered it, because there were too many things it could mean, most of them true. "Me neither."

He tried to think what he had been doing. "I remember staying up talking to Sam Carter on Valentine's Day - she kissed Jeremiah. The dance was later that week th--- oh."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Oh?" Bridge blinks.

[needsaparrot]

"I was busy having Ms. Calendar tell me there weren't any spells on me."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"I think I've got that beat," Bridge says. "As I was busy having *boobs* at the time."

[needsaparrot]

"........."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"I was in Cally's body, remember?" Bridge says. "Although, I guess it's been longer for you than me since then, so maybe you don't."

[needsaparrot]

Xander laughed. "No, I do. You guys switched around. I just didn't remember it was around Valentine's Day. I was a little preoccupied with proving I wasn't into guys at the time."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Well, I'm glad it turned out not to be a spell," Bridge says, ducking his head slightly. "Just so you know."

[needsaparrot]

"Yeah, me too." And that was...awkward and not. And made Xander want to fill the silence that followed it. "Not that I'd have said that at the time, but I wasn't exactly operating on all six cylinders. I mean seriously, a Gay Me Up spell? What idiot would come up with something like that? And why would they want to use it on me? And you want to sit down, want a drink, watch some tv?" He could shut up any time now, yes.

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"TV's good, but no horror movies, please?" Bridge makes a face. Last night's events weren't enough to turn him off horror movies forever- he's got certain first-date associations with the genre, after all- but it's probably going to be a while before he'll willingly watch one again.

[needsaparrot]

Xander nodded. "I think I could scrape up some black and white comedy that was old when my parents were teenagers, thus avoiding that whole issue where you make me think about okay I'm gonna shut up and make some cocoa. Try Channel 17."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge wanders over to the couch and makes himself comfortable, flipping through channels.

[needsaparrot]

Xander didn't exactly spend a *lot* of time making the hot chocolate, what with the replicator thingy in the kitchen. But maybe he dawdled long enough to lose a little of the awkwardness, and wonder what the hell had made him think that way in the first place. He carried two mugs out and handed one to Bridge.

"There you go. Best machine-made cocoa in Fandom."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"One day we might have to have a competiton," Bridge says, taking the offered mug carefully. "Synthetron versus food replicator."

[needsaparrot]

"You've had years of experience using yours, though," Xander protested, sitting down on the couch with his own.

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"But yours is from further in the future," Bridge points out. "More advanced technology."

Bridge is quiet for a few moments as he debates bringing up the fact that he'd *finally* read all of Xander's emails. It is something they need to talk about, after all. On the other hand, it's really, really nice to be able to just *be* here, with Xander. Bringing up the emails might bring back some of the awkwardness, so Bridge just keeps quiet and sips at his cocoa.

[needsaparrot]

"Unlike, say, that." Xander points at the early-50's kitchen on the screen, then quickly covers a yawn. "The closest that show gets to futuristic cooking is when he threatens to send his wife to the moon."

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Moon's where a lot of villains used to hide out, back home," Bridge observes. "They didn't do a lot of cooking."

[needsaparrot]

"You sure? I mean, they had to eat." Xander sipped his cocoa and leaned back.

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Not the ones who're robots," Bridge says, and he's actually managed to finish his cocoa *already*. He places the empty mug down on the table before settling back on the couch, leaning his head against the armrest and totally not bothering to cover *his* yawn.

[needsaparrot]

"Okay, point. Evil robots not--" Yawn. "--so much with the needing of food."

Xander took another drink of his own mug, then wisely set it down because he had the feeling based on how often he was having to blink at the screen, that it might eventually tumble out of his hands, otherwise.

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

"Mmmhmm," Bridge mumbles in agreement. He's peering at the screen, *trying* to stay awake and pay attention to the show.

It doesn't work, and within minutes he's drifted off to sleep.

[needsaparrot]

Xander was just awake enough to notice this, and some more conscientious part of his brain knew he ought to wake Bridge up and get him back to the dorm because crashing out in a group was one thing, but like this was... something else, he didn't know what. But he wasn't quite awake enough to listen to it; instead he watched Bridge sleep until he wasn't quite awake at all.