"Harris! You got a visitor!" yelled the foreman.

Xander put down his hammer and walked up to the front of the site.

"It's a blonde this time."

Xander grinned. "Thanks, boss," he said.

"Heya, Buff!" Xander said, walking up behind his friend.

Buffy turned around and saw him wearing only a wife-beater and jeans. 'Whoa, when did he get those arms? Those are. . . good arms. No! Bad Buffy!'

"Buff? You awake in there?" 'What's she looking at?'

"Yeah, sorry. I was. . . drifting."

"I noticed. What's up? News on the big bad front?"

"Nope," she said, smiling. "Didn't have classes right now, thought you might want to get lunch?"

"Lunch with the Buffster? How could I pass it up?"

"Great!" she said. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just tell my boss. HEY, BOSS! LUNCH?"

"Yeah!" said his boss. "An hour!"

"Thanks Boss!"

"Xander, do you actually know his name?"

"Nope. And nobody will tell me. So I just call him boss."

"Sounds like a good system."

"Hasn't failed me yet," he said, pulling a t-shirt on, and revealing his abs for a second.

'Ooh,' thought Buffy. 'That was nice too. . . Stop! We are not having these thoughts about Xander. He is our Xander-shaped friend. . . although it's a very nice shape. . .'

"So, where do you wanna go?" he asked her.

"Somewhere close," she said, suddenly needing a drink.

"You ok, Buff?" he asked. "You look flushed."

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Must be the heat," she said. 'And I don't mean the weather. . .'

"Yeah. Come on, there's a little Mexican place right down the street. Good?"

"Good," she said.

* * * * *

"So, I suppose it wasn't our guy last night?" Buffy asked, after they had ordered.

"Nope," said Xander. "Although, when I got back last night Giles was asleep. You should have seen his expression this morning when he came downstairs and found a skewered demon head sitting in his sink." Xander grinned.

"You left it in his sink?!?" Buffy laughed.

"Well, I had to put it somewhere. And it was leaking. Seemed natural."

"Eww, leaking?"

"Yep. Green," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "Although, come to think of it, it was pretty much drained by the morning. Just a little drip when he picked it up."

"Oh, that's gross. So what was it?"

"Blood, duh. I'd think even you would pick that up, Slayer."

"I meant the demon, jerk. And hey, what do you mean 'even you'?"

"Nothing," Xander said, grinning, "but come on, even you have to admit that you occasionally need the obvious pointed out."

"I so do not!" she protested.

"Uh huh. Okay," Xander said, patronizingly.

"You're walking on thin ice here, Harris," she said, pointing at him.

"Right," he said, giving her a friendly glare. "Anyway, it was a Seltr'mac demon or something like that. Oh, and they're sexually active hermaphrodites. They can actually procreate with themselves, which, really? Kinda nasty. They're not usually much for the intelligence, but pretty strong, until they get a sword put through them."

"Well, I guess you're lucky I was there to save you then," she said, haughtily.

"Save me? Please, I could have taken it on my own."

"Right. So why was it, then, that you passed me the sword?"

"Like I said, distraction guy. Just because I didn't kill it doesn't mean I couldn't have."

"Whatever," she said. "You're just bitter because a girl had to save your ass."

"Yes, I'm sure that's it," he said, grinning. "Because in the past three years, I haven't gotten used to you pulling me out of sticky situations. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have just realized I don't smell very good, and I'm going to the bathroom to clean up a little."

Buffy watched him walk away, her eyes following his backside the whole way.

'That's nice. . . ugh, stop it! Stop having thoughts about Xander like that!' she thought.

'Why?' she asked.

'Because, it's wrong! He's our Xander-shaped friend!'

'So?'

'So it's wrong! We are friends, and we - I don't see him as anything more than that.'

'Why not?'

'Because!' she thought, becoming a little disturbed at the dual nature of her inner dialogue. 'I explained already. He's a friend. It's not okay to have more-than-friendly feelings for friends. . . is it?'

'He used to.'

Buffy frowned. 'Used to? That's not happy. . . er, I mean, I know. Good. And see where that led?'

'Yes. To you rejecting him, and then him bringing you back from the dead and becoming one of your most trusted friends. . .'

'But, it's still wrong!' she thought, getting frustrated with herself.

'Why? What are you afraid of?'

'I. . . don't know.'

Xander sat down across from Buffy again.

"You ok, Buff?" He asked, noting the pensive look on her face.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm of the good. Thinking is all."

"'Bout what?"

"Oh. . ." she said, looking at him, then quickly shifting her gaze down to the table. "The food. It's not here yet."

"It's been like three minutes."

"I know," she pouted, "but I'm hungry now."

"Awww, poor Slayer. Has to wait for her food like the normal mortals."

"It's not fair," she said. "Every restaurant should have a special chef devoted to cooking meals for the protector of the Earth and her best buds."

"And her best buds? You mean like we'd get it even if you weren't there?"

Buffy nodded.

"Well, then, put me solidly down in the 'support' camp for this one. Now how to convince the restaurants?"

"Oh! I know! We could do a protection racket. Don't want your shop destroyed by the forces of evil? Make sure you have the Slayer's food ready extra-quick."

"It's so devious, it just might work."

"You think?"

"Not a chance."

"Yeah. Oh well. So, Xan, whatcha got planned for tonight?"

"Well, I thought I'd possibly patrol the graveyards of Sunnydale in search of evil to be killed, then go back to Giles's place and sleep until the morning, because, let me tell you, they call it work for a reason."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Why, what are you doing?"

"Well, I thought I might start off the night by joining my Xander-shaped friend on a patrol. . . and then I was considering going back to the dorm and studying, but really I was hoping you were doing something fun so I wouldn't have to."

"Sorry to disappoint, it's a boring night at the Casa de Giles for me. Why don't you and Will do something?"

"She's going to a movie with Oz. Oh well, study it is."

"Well, you could always come back to Giles's with me, we could watch some movies."

"Does Giles even have a VCR?"

"Yep. He tapes Passions."

"Passions?"

"I know, scary, huh? But he does."

"Does he have anything else on tape?"

"I don't know, but I'd guess that a trip to the video store might not be a bad idea."

"That sounds good to me."

"Cool," said Xander. "So how about you grab a movie, I'll pick up some popcorn, and after making the world safe from evil, we can relax on Giles's couch and let the wonders of Hollywood take away our cares."

"Wait a second, you're actually giving me full movie-picking privileges?"

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that. . . do you think you're up to it? It's a big responsibility."

"I think I can handle it," she said, smiling.

Xander eyed her cautiously, then nodded. "All right. But fail this test, and you shall be forever stripped of movie-picking privileges."

"I'll do my best," she said solemnly.

"Oh my God, I just realized something!" Xander said.

"What?"

"Tomorrow's Saturday! I don't have to get up and work tomorrow! I can sleep in!" Xander was grinning from ear to ear.

Buffy smiled back at him. "I know. That's why I didn't want to study tonight."

Xander shook his head. "Buff, you should have told me it was Friday. There's no WAY I would have let you study on a Friday!"

"I thought you knew," she said.

"Oooh, food's here!"

* * * * *

"G-man, what's the what?" Xander said, sliding a jar of honey roasted peanuts across the table to Giles.

"Oh, thank you, very much. I'm just continuing the research is all. . . um."

"Yeah?"

"Yesterday. . . you seemed. . . upset, I guess was the word, when I saw you at your work site. You. . . said you would tell me?"

"Oh right. . . okay, how to say this delicately. . . I slept with Buffy."

"You WHAT?"

"No, no, only in the sleeping sense. Just sleep. Didn't quite make that delicate enough, I guess."

"Good lord, I do believe you are actively attempting to kill me."

Xander grinned. "Well, this is a pretty nice apartment. . . rent controlled, is it?"

Giles glared at him.

"Right. Anyway. . . Buffy was having. . .uh, boy troubles, I guess, that I kind of sorted out for her, but she needed to be comforted and stuff. So I slept with her, again, I cannot stress how much it was only sleeping. Anyway, I had to get up and go to work before she woke up, so I left her a note that said I'd be back later to check up on her, but, well, I didn't get to. You know, still saw her, and all, but. . ."

"I understand, of course, but the information. . ."

"No, I know, Giles. I just. . . she's had a lot of guys disappoint her recently, and I don't ever want to be one of those guys. She doesn't need any more of that in her life."

Giles smiled at him. "You are a good friend. Now pick up a book."

* * * * *

"So. . . Xander. . ." Buffy started as they were patrolling.

"Yeah Buff?"

"Well, it's been like. . . a week now, since you came back. . . and I was just, you know, wondering how you're dealing. . . you know, with everything?"

Xander paused for a moment. "You mean the powers, or the parents?"

"Well. . . you've had the powers for a few months now. . ."

"Right. Parents then."

"I mean, if you don't want to talk about it, I understand. . ."

"No, it's okay," Xander said, smiling at her. "I'm pretty much okay with it. I was a little shocked at first, you know. . . and angry, of course. But, really, it is for the best. That was never the healthiest environment for me to be in. How much do you know about what. . . I mean, did Willow tell you anything?"

Buffy shook her head. "I. . . never thought it was my place to ask. I mean, I got hints, from Willow, and from what Cordy used to say to you, but no details or anything like that."

Xander nodded. "Okay. Well, my dad. . . he was pretty much a drunk. And by pretty much, I mean there were a few nights a month when he didn't come home drunk. There were also a few nights when he didn't come home."

The pair sat down on a bench near a park, Buffy looking at Xander, Xander looking either at the ground or off to the distance.

"My mom wasn't much better, as far as the drinking goes. She stayed in a lot more, mostly because she couldn't hold a job, and she didn't get angry as often. Also, unlike my dad, she actually tried to be a good parent. . . it just wasn't in her though. She was on the receiving side of an abusive relationship, both mentally and physically."

"Your dad beat her?" Buffy asked.

Xander nodded. "Not just her, either. When I was 10, I dropped a glass of milk, and it shattered, waking my dad up from the couch, where he'd passed out. I told the school I'd fallen down the stairs, and I don't know if they believed me or just didn't want to know the truth, but they let it go. Everybody did, except Willow. That was the first time he'd ever hit me."

Buffy moved closer, gave him a quick hug, and stayed close.

Xander smiled at her. "Anyway, I think doing that kind of broke something. . . like a barrier, inside him, because he came after me more often after that. Either I was being too loud, or my room wasn't clean, or I breathed his oxygen or whatever. He pretty much found some reason to hit me or my mom just about every week.

"When I was thirteen, I grew up. . . had a growth spurt, and I started to provoke him, so he wouldn't go after my mom so much. That didn't really work, and I ended up sneaking out 2 or 3 times a week, and sleeping on the floor of Willow's room. If her parents knew, they never said anything, but I get the feeling they did. Willow would leave the French doors that lead to her balcony unlocked, and I'd come in and there would be a couple pillows and a blanket laid out for me.

"Most nights, that was enough, just getting out of the house. Sometimes, though, it wasn't, and I'd get to her house, and she'd be awake, waiting for me. I don't know how, but she always seemed to know. So she'd wait up for me, and she'd just hold me until I fell asleep."

Xander took a deep breath and sighed, pausing.

"You. . . don't have to keep going," Buffy said, touching his arm lightly.

"No, it's okay," he said. "I probably need to get this out anyway, I haven't talked about it in a while.

"Anyway, that went on until high school. I pretty much lived at Willow's house the summer before freshman year. And then my dad got into this program, like AA, but not the same thing exactly. He started doing better. . . he was still angry a lot, but he didn't drink so much. He was okay for a long time, actually. He'd still get drunk now and then, but instead of taking it out on me or my mom, he'd get in fights at bars, and my mom would have to go bail him out.

"Then, during the summer you were with your dad. . . after the Master and all that, he lost his job. That sent him off the deep end, again, and I pretty much stayed with Willow, again, and my mom went to live with her sister for a while. We were out of the house, so he couldn't get to us. He got a new job, about two weeks before school started, and I moved back in. I still don't know why, maybe because my mom did, too. I didn't want her alone there.

"He didn't keep that job long. That night, at the Bronze. . . um. . . where you danced with me, after you got back?"

"Oh, Xan, I'm so sorry for that. . . I was. . ."

"It's okay, Buff. We worked past that a long time ago. Still the damn sexiest dance I ever got," he said, grinning at her.

"You sure?" she asked.

Xander pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "I'm sure. We're good. No worries."

"'Kay."

"Okay. So, anyway, that night, when I got home, my dad was drunk again. He'd gotten fired for showing up drunk to work, and he stayed drunk the rest of the day. He decided that it was my fault he had gotten fired, and came after me. Needless to say, after the Bronze, I wasn't in the best mood. So when he came after me, for the first time ever, I fought back, and I broke his nose and his arm. He walked with a limp for a week or two. I felt bad at first. I mean, what kind of kid beats up his own dad?" Xander shook his head.

"But then I realized it was no more than the bastard deserved. I crashed at Willow's that night, but it was the last time I had to. My dad didn't come after me anymore, or my mom. He still got drunk, of course, but he didn't want to be shown up anymore by the kid he'd called worthless his whole life."

Buffy hugged Xander again, her eyes a little misty. "I'm so sorry Xan. . . I didn't know."

"I know," he said. "Anyway, now you know why I'm not too upset about them leaving. I don't know what my mom's gonna do now, but I can't protect her anymore. They didn't leave a forwarding address or anything. I just hope she has enough sense to get out. . . although I don't know why anything would change now."

"Xander?"

"Yeah, Buff?"

"You know I love you, right?"

Xander smiled at her. "I know. I love you too."

"Okay. I just had to make sure. I mean, I know I don't tell you guys enough. You, or Willow, or Giles. But I couldn't do. . . this. . . without you guys."

"Well, you won't have to. We're not going anywhere."

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End Chapter 6