Xander's room at the Arms, early Thursday Morning

[needsaparrot]

Right, this wouldn't be Xander pacing around, worrying about Bridge and Z and cursing the lack of new news, in between poking verrrrry carefully at the old news in his in-box in case something jumps out and bites him. Which hey, Fandom, always a possibility.

He was also hoping he might hear from somebody who'd be likely to understand how completely fraxx0red his brain was right about now.
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[OOC: For willbedone]

Comments

[needsaparrot]

"Good call. Starting with Halloween probably a bad idea." Xander stroked his thumb across the tip of his nose, then touched the edge of his eyepatch. "Which, about the pirate costume."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Are you working for radio now?" Willow asked. "Because you don't actually have to wear a pirate costume, I've learned."

[needsaparrot]

"So Bridge just did that for-- oh. I said that out loud, didn't I." That would've been funnier if merely saying the name out loud didn't send another spear of worry through his gut.

"It's not a costume," Xander said gently, after a second.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Maybe if you added a puffy shirt?"

[needsaparrot]

"One of the options we considered when I lost the eye. Also the Special Forces look, but actually I seem to be one of those rare people that plaid's more slimming on than black." Sometimes you just have to say it, especially when up against the power of Willful Scooby Denial.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow blinked. And swallowed. Then gave him a look that was not unlike her Hanukkah Harry is real, right? expression.

[needsaparrot]

"It was a while ago," he said evenly, trying not to let the look on her face create a matching one on his, because he'd been in that loop before, kthx. "More than three years now."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"I..." Willow tried to keep it together. She could keep it together. "Um. Okay. So... how old are you now exactly and how did it happen?"

[needsaparrot]

"I'm twenty-six. It's... now, back home. Which lemme tell you, really wasn't expecting that. Guess I just figured we were always gonna be six years behind." Xander fiddled with the strap on the patch, tucking it closer to his left ear. "There was this guy-- you really wanna hear this?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow nodded, looking determined.

[needsaparrot]

"He was evil, and he had an evil thumb. That's pretty much the short version."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow couldn't hide her wince. She reached over to hold Xander's hand. "Did I hurt him a lot?"

[needsaparrot]

Oh, that wasn't a loaded question.

That wasn't Xander's other hand behind his back with his fingers loosely crossed, either. "Buffy got to him first."

Which wasn't a lie, and he was pretty sure Faith would forgive him the omission under the circumstances, but a good finger-cross when you're not being completely honest never hurts. Unless somebody's watching your fingers and then it's just dumb.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"I guess that's okay," Willow said. She still scooted closer though, as though being nearer would somehow comfort him retroactively.

[needsaparrot]

He considered telling her exactly what Buffy had done when she got to him, but didn't. There was a reason why it was a loaded question, and it didn't have anything to do with Faith - more with what his Willow had done with the one she did get to first.

"Sunnydale kind of went kaboom, not long after that," he said instead. That much was in the e-mail he'd sent everybody.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"It's totally gone?" Willow asked.

[needsaparrot]

"Fell into the Hellmouth." He wasn't sure what kind of details to give her - or how little or much she even wanted to know - about a future that might or might not be hers. That much, though, could've happened... any given Tuesday, really.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Good way or bad way?" Willow asked, quietly.

[needsaparrot]

"Most people had left town already, and it killed a whole army of vampires, so... pretty good, overall."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Getting confirmation that Sunnydale was gone brought up a whole host of issues. But Willow wasn't sure she was ready to talk about them yet.

Luckily there was another topic of conversation readily at hand. "So what brings you back to Fandom?"

[needsaparrot]

"I don't know what got me back to Fandom, but ..." And only Willow would get the WTF of this, of everyone here, he suspected. "I'm working for the Watchers' Council now."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow gasped. "THAT'S SO COOL!"

[needsaparrot]

"We all do, actually," Xander told her. The people this Willow would think of when he said we, anyway.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow bounced at this news. "Where's the tweed? Did you bring tea? Oooh! If you brought good tea can I have some for Peter? He tries to hide it but I know Lipton doesn't make him entirely happy."

[needsaparrot]

Xander fingered his shirt. "There's a flannel option now. Also a black leather one but only for Spike because we already know he doesn't have a soul." He hung his head. "No tea. I could file a requisition, though."