Title: Best of Friends
Description: This is from a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Challenge- by Gigi.
Author: Elionwy Ersatz
Pairing: Angel/Xander Friendship (sort of)
Disclaimer: Not mine. Joss's.
Dedication: For Keiko, who put up with me sending her every little bit of it, asking her mindless questions and who agreed to be my beta.
Ah, the library. Everything in my life can be traced back to library, Buffy thought. It's kinda sad, actually. The Gilesmeister, king of the Librarians was nowhere to be seen, but sitting at the table was Xander, munching as per usual on Ho Ho's, and, unusual, so was her creature of the night boyfriend. Uh, not munching on Ho Ho's though.
"Buffy." He stood up.
"Angel." It was a stupid thing they always did.
Xander snorted. She looked past Angel to him.
"Yes, Xander? Something you wanted to say?"
Xander shrugged. "I'm not saying anything."
She turned back to the vampire in front of her. "What are you doing here?" She asked, absentmindedly playing with the collar of his shirt.
A smile played at the corner of his lips. My smile. "I heard some rumours about a big bad downtown. Thought you might want to know."
She grinned back. "I do. Hey, Xander, you know where Giles is?"
Xander had his feet on the table. "I haven't seen the G-man today, Buffster. Weird, he practically lives here."
Buffy frowned. It was a bit weird. Usually Giles would be here to debrief her, or whatever, before she patrolled. "I guess we should just wait here, then."
Angel sat back down. "I'm not complaining," he said, and pulled her into the chair next to him.
Xander looked into his packet. There were a few crumbs left...
Buffy and Dead Boy were engaged in their own little show, just sitting there staring at each other like morons. Occasionally they would say something stupid like 'I missed you', when Xander knew they'd seen each yesterday. He grinned, picked some choice crumbs and aimed his missiles...
"Ow!" Dead Boy flinched as the flying fatalities hit his cheek. Buffy looked at him in alarm, and he turned to face Xander. The grin went away and he smiled innocently.
Buffy frowned. "Xander, did you just throw something at Angel?"
Angel narrowed his eyes, and then turned away. He and Buffy resumed their staring, googly-eyes contest.
"Surprised you noticed."
The wonder couple turned his way again, wearing matching glares.
Angel got up suddenly. "I just had a thought on that rumour. I think I'd better check out this new lead."
Buffy smiled, but it was a tense one, seeing as she'd so recently been glaring.
"I love it when you talk military to me, Angel."
Xander coughed. What is wrong with him today?
Angel winked and left the library. As he exited the doors, Xander called to him "Try to eat before you come back, we don't want you snacking on Buffy later!"
"Xander!" This was beyond a bit of fun, now. "What is your problem?!"
Xander shrugged. "Well, gee, Buff, it could be something to do with the fact that your boyfriend is a cradle-robbing, bloodsucking undead."
Buffy sighed. Relax, Buffy, it's just Xander being a dork. "Xander, he's a good guy. Why can't you understand that?"
Xander gave her a look. "I'm all for him being a good guy, Buffy, but... you're in love with a vampire? I mean, how can you kiss a guy who's as cold- literally- as the grave? How can you even spend time with a guy that crawled outta his own coffin and who's nourishment comes in handy little red cells?"
Buffy smiled suddenly. "You wanna give it a try?"
"Huh?"
This is a perfect idea.
"Oh, no, Buffy- you have that look on your face."
Buffy was far away, thinking of her brilliant plan. "Hmm? What look?"
"That look that makes me think I'm not gonna get out of whatever it is alive."
Buffy grinned. Not yet, don't tell him yet.
"Ah, Buffy, there you are."
Buffy jumped up, all smiles and slayerish eagerness. "Hey, oh lesser spotted Watcher of mine."
"I've just had a rather interesting phone call from Angel- the potential threat he told you about, I believe, was no threat at all and he's taken care of it. He's coming round as soon as he can."
Great, then I can tell them both.
Giles cleared his throat. "However, that doesn't mean that-"
"I know, Giles, I'll patrol, I'll just wait for Angel to get back." And then the fun will begin.
"Very well- I'm afraid I'm quite busy, but ring me if necessary. I'm having a book shipped from Asia, you see, and there's a lot of paperwork."
"Because God knows you haven't got enough books."
Giles sighed. "Yes, thank you for that comment, Xander."
"And then, Willow missed her footing and we both fell in-"
Buffy whipped her head round as the library doors swung open. She stood up and walked over to greet Angel.
"Hello, I think I was talking there..." Xander trailed off as Buffy led Angel over to the table and they both sat down.
Buffy considered the males in front of her severely. "You two, I'm sick of your bickering. You're like two old ladies." She put up her hands as the men folk tried to protest. "You argue, insult each other, you get on each other's and my nerves. Especially you, Xander."
Angel smirked at him as Xander opened his mouth indignantly.
"But," Buffy continued, "I'm sick of it. So you two are going to spend an evening in each other's presence and you are going to work out your differences. Understand?"
"Buffy, you can't make me-"Angel started incredulously.
"You will do it. Both of you." And she gave them the evil eye. The slayer eye.
They both looked down, shifting in their seats.
No one can resist the slayer eye, thought Buffy. Yeah!
"Okay guys, I'm going patrolling then I'm studying with Willow in the library, we're gonna come and listen to you every once in a while. I think you've got everything you need here."
Buffy surveyed the small room. It had a television, a couch, and some shelves with board games, movies and comic books stacked on them. She placed the bowl of popcorn on the little table next to the couch and smiled happily. Both Angel and Xander were standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, looking at her dejectedly.
"Buffy, there's gotta be some other way..." Angel started feebly.
"None of your excuses. Now, have fun." She stepped out, smiling pleasantly, and shut the door.
Angel sat down heavily as he heard the click of the lock.
Xander sat on the opposite side of the couch and eyed him wearily. "Did you-"
"I ate before I came."
Xander shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, okay."
Angel sighed. He did want to try with this boy, not because he liked him but because it would make Buffy feel better. "Maybe we could watch a movie?"
Xander jumped up at the chance of a distraction. He pulled the pile of movies from the shelf, dropped them on the table and started to sort through them. Angel leaned over him. "How about... that one?" He pointed at a utilitarian case with bold silver writing. That earned him a glare from Xander. He nodded. Best leave the movie-choosing to the professionals.
Xander's face lit up with unholy glee as he uncovered a case right at the bottom of the pile. He pulled it out and turned the television on, slotting the tape into the machine.
"What's that?" Angel asked.
Xander just smiled smugly as he grabbed the bowl of popcorn and left it on his lap.
The title screen came on. Bram Stoker's Dracula. I should have known.
Much against his better judgement, Angel found himself enjoying the film somewhat. They had it completely wrong, of course, but it had been a while since he'd seen something like this. He absentmindedly reached over for popcorn, but found his hand batted away by a glaring Xander.
"You're hoarding the popcorn," he protested.
"Am not," said Xander sulkily, circling his arms round the bowl protectively. "You don't eat, anyway."
"I eat."
Xander gave him a good impression of Buffy's slayer eye, so he settled back to watch the remainder of the film without argument.
When the film was finished, Xander stretched and put his feet on the table.
Angel frowned. "Don't put your feet on the table."
Xander looked at him, confused. "Why not?"
"Because it's annoying."
Xander laughed. "Oh, no."
Angel inspected his fingernails. "I could kill you before your next breath, you know."
The teenager stuck his tongue out, and stood up. "Comics?"
Angel looked up. "Huh?"
"You wanna read some of these? I sure don't wanna talk to you."
Angel grunted in response and was chucked a copy of a Batman comic.
Xander plonked down next to him. They read in almost-companionable silence for a few minutes, and then Xander put down the issue he was reading.
"Nothing beats Batman, huh?"
Angel shrugged. "I'd say Superman beats him hands down."
Xander raised one eyebrow. "You're kidding, right? You've got to be kidding. Batman is so much better."
Angel raised his eyebrow in a matching expression. "Oh? How?"
"Well, first of all, Bruce Wayne is so much cooler than Clark Kent. Clark's just this little geek."
"Nothing wrong with being a geek. Superman is more powerful than a locomotive, faster than a speeding bullet and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound."
"Well... but then Batman has all these nifty gadgets, too."
"He only has gadgets because he doesn't have any powers to speak of," Angel countered, warming to the subject.
"You don't need powers to be a superhero, Batman's proof of that."
"Superman would cream Batman in a fight."
"No he wouldn't, Batman would capture his Krypton ass in a net, then give him over to the Gotham police."
"If it was hand-to-hand combat, Superman would cream him."
"Maybe so, but then Batman would capture Lois Lane and hold her for ransom."
"Then Superman would kill him, the little rich boy."
"Oh yeah?" Xander looked at him threateningly.
"Yeah."
From outside the door, Buffy and Willow convulsed in silent laughter. They sounded like complete and utter nerds.
They glared at each other. Then they broke into laughter.
"We must've sounded so stupid," Xander said, chuckling.
Angel reached up and tugged the pile of board games off the shelf.
"Scrabble?"
The friendly atmosphere had disappeared with the last of the popcorn.
"There is no way that 'bereft' is a real word."
Angel laughed evilly. "Face it, boy, you just can't win."
Xander looked at the scrabble board. He was pretty sure all of Angel's words hadn't been used at all in the last century. "I'm not letting you have it; you didn't let me have 'Baywatch'."
"You sure that isn't because 'Baywatch' isn't a word?"
"Vampire."
Angel looked at his letters. "Hey, thanks." He placed 'vampire' down.
"Cheater." Xander grumbled.
Xander looked at his letters, then placed a few down and made 'apartment' with some letters that were already there.
Angel grunted. "Good."
Xander was truck with an idea. "Hey, how come you've got an apartment when you don't have a job or a last name?"
Angel glared and said nothing. He put the word 'ubiquitous' down.
Xander cursed. "Damn, you used the Q!"
Angel looked up. "You give up?"
Xander hunched his shoulders and mumbled "Yeah" so quietly that Angel only just caught it with his vampire hearing.
Angel smiled.
"How about Monopoly, now?"
They set it out, and had a brief fight over who got to be the top hat, and so Xander eventually chose the car. Angel had never played before, and he found it quite difficult.
"You landed on my Park Lane, mister! Pay up!" Xander said triumphantly.
"But that... I'm bankrupt." Angel said, pouting like a child.
"Exactly! So I say Ha to your Ha!"
"I didn't say ha."
Xander grinned, and waved his cash under Angel's nose tauntingly. "You're just jealous because I won."
Angel growled and tackled Xander, but it was an almost playful tackle.
"Hey, get off me, you evil bloodsucking demon!" But it was said with a chuckle.
"So, what's it like having about a hundred exes?"
"Huh?"
Xander sat up a bit in his bit of the couch. "I mean, you must have dated a lot, huh? I have problems getting just one."
"I didn't date, Xander."
Xander whacked Angel on the leg. "Oh, yeah, I bet you were a eunuch all that time."
Angel laughed. "We didn't call it dating."
Xander raised his eyebrow. "Say 'courting' and you'll never be able to hold your head up in Sunnydale ever again."
Angel just laughed harder.
"I'm not kidding, though, I mean, you must know a lot about girls."
Angel smiled mysteriously. "A bit."
A thought struck Xander and made him grimace. "But, but... not Buffy, right?"
"Don't worry about it."
"I try not to... so, you know the kind of stuff girls like?"
"They hate it when you're late but if they're late you have to be okay with it. They like flowers, but it has to be their favourite kind and if you push them to put them somewhere while you're watching then they... don't like that. They like chocolates but not from a convenience store, and not when you're going to a restaurant."
Xander blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"No wonder I never get any second dates."
"You'll get better at it."
"I guess."
They were just having a discussion on the benefits versus the disadvantages of SUV's when there was a knock at the door.
Willow stuck her head round timidly. "You guys, you can come out now."
They both heaved themselves to their feet and came out of the room.
Buffy was sitting at the table in the library, a grin stretched from ear to ear.
"So, how are you guys feeling?"
"Great" said Xander at the same time Angel said "Okay".
"Great," Xander repeated.
Buffy walked over to Angel and stroked his cheek. "Have fun, Man of Steel?"
Willow giggled.
"Wha...? How?"
Buffy giggled too. "We were listening, remember?"
Xander blushed. If Angel had circulation, he would have, too.
Buffy smiled. "So, how do you guys feel about each other now?"
"I hate him." They replied simultaneously.