Xander and Gunn bowed to raucous applause and loud, high pitched whistling from the team, Dawn and Faith. Angel and Oz stood to one side, smiling.
"You know," Oz said, "They may not be Tom Cruise, but 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling' works even when not sung in a bar."
Lorne stood alone, behind everyone else, frowning and stroking his chin. Xander frowned when he saw this.
"What?" Xander asked.
Everyone was smiling as they turned and saw Lorne. Their smiles quickly vanished.
"I didn't turn evil, did I?" Xander joked.
"No, no, of course not," Lorne said. "But… hm."
"Why do I not like the sound of 'hm?'" Gunn asked.
"It's not a… Listen, babyface, you've got a guy here you need to talk to before tonight," Lorne said. "And then I need another singer."
"What?" Xander asked.
"You know who I'm talking about," Lorne said, turning to Faith. "Sweetpea, I need a minute with you."
Xander looked at the Pylean for a moment before sighing and nodding.
"Mike," he said. "Can we talk for a minute?"
Boxer looked up in surprise. "Me?"
Xander nodded and led him out of the room.
"Listen," Xander said, once the two of them were alone. "You should hear this from me, since we're teammates. I'm going to be breaking up with your sister tonight."
"You're what?" Boxer asked.
"Yeah," Xander said. "It's not her, I promise. She's a great girl, and she'll make someone happy someday, but… she's not for me, you know what I mean?"
"You mean she's not good enough for you, you little-"
"I don't mean anything like that," Xander said, stopping his teammate before he could really get going. "Listen, I just… I realized something about myself last night, okay? This is not a great time for me to be in a relationship. I'd just be using her for my own selfish reasons, and I have too much respect for her, and for you, and for me, to do that. I'm trying to do the right thing, here, and the right thing is to break it off. Because it wouldn't be healthy for either of us."
"She likes you, a lot," Boxer said.
"I know," Xander said. "And I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt her, but doing it now is better than waiting for the inevitable to happen. I know my history. I know myself. Trust me, it's better this way."
"You're breaking it off tonight?" Boxer asked.
Xander nodded.
Boxer sighed. "I knew there was a reason I didn't like you." He shook his head. "Be gentle. And come near her again and I'll beat your ass, vampire fighting skills or no."
"Understood," Xander said.
Boxer huffed off back into the lounge. Xander followed a minute later.
"I need you to sing for me," Lorne said.
"What?"
"Sing," Lorne said. "Or hum, whatever. Just do it."
"I don't –"
"It doesn't matter right now," said Lorne. "But quick, before Xander gets back in here."
"Why?"
"Because I want to be sure, now sing!"
Faith sighed and thought for a moment. Then she took a breath, and started singing "You Get Me," very quietly.
Angel opened his mouth to comment once she finished.
"One word and I dust you," Faith warned.
Lorne nodded. "Michelle Branch is an interesting choice. Anyway, I got what I needed."
"So, what?" Angel asked.
"So, we wait for Xander to get back. Then the three of us go have a talk."
"Three?" Angel asked.
"Hey, I didn't ask you over here in the first place, chief," Lorne said.
"Yeah, but –"
"But nothing," Lorne said. "What I have to say concerns this little lady and good mister Harris."
Angel frowned just as Boxer strode back in. He walked over the rest of the group in a decidedly sour mood. Xander followed a moment later, got a nasty glare from Boxer and caught Lorne's eye. Lorne grabbed Faith by the arm, and basically dragged her over to the door, where he caught Xander as well and took them out of the room and into Angel's office.
Angel stood there and looked at the SWAT team, who had watched the exit with interest.
"So, guys," Angel said, approaching them. "Anything else you wanna do?"
"How about you tell us a bit more about our partner?" Hondo said.
Angel smiled. Dawn smiled. Gunn grinned.
Oz managed a little smirk. "What exactly do you want to know?"
"What's this about?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, and leggo my arm," said Faith.
Lorne released the two of them and backed up a step, looking at them standing next to each other. "Yeah," he said. "That's what I thought."
"What's what you thought?" Faith asked, rubbing her arm.
"You two need to stick together," he said. "And seriously."
Xander and Faith regarded each other for a moment.
"What do you mean?" Xander asked.
"I mean, your destinies are tied together in a serious way. I don't know how, but something is coming, something big. And whatever it is, the two of you are going to have to face it together, and you're gonna have to be pretty well acquainted to do it."
"What, you mean like sex?" Faith asked frowning. "I don't just do that anymore."
"No, Sweetpea, that's not what I meant," Lorne said. "I mean, you need to stick close. Work together. Train together, slay together. Get to know each other so well that you can feel each others thoughts."
"Still not getting it," Xander said.
"Something's coming," Lorne said. "Some test, and all I can tell right now is you two are going to be central figures. I'll fill in the rest of 'em on what I can, but the two of you need to get comfortable with each other, and quick. As in, you, babyface, might find it useful shacking up here until whatever it is happens."
"Seriously?" Xander asked.
"Yes, seriously, how many times do I have to say it? Eat together, talk to each other, give up your deepest darkest secrets. Know everything you can about each other. It's that important."
Faith and Xander looked at each other. Faith shrugged. "I'm up for it if you are, boytoy."
Xander nodded. "Yeah. It's the cause. And hey, Slayer secrets. How can that not be fun, right?"
"And maybe I'll get to hear all about this night of stripping," Faith said, smiling.
"Oh, god," Xander said. "Now I'm doomed."
"Well, I'm glad you're so enthusiastic now, because you two will be getting sick of each other. Now go on back in there, I need to find Wesley."
Xander and Faith made their way back to the lounge as Lorne picked up the phone to page Wes. When they reached the room, the SWAT team and Gunn were bent over laughing.
"Oh, no," Xander said. "I left them alone. What have I done?" he turned to Angel. "More to the point, what did you do?"
"Hey, I didn't say anything," Angel said, hand over his unbeating heart. Xander scanned the non-laughing faces. Oz gave up nothing, as was the norm, but Dawn was grinning like she just got away with murder.
"Dawn, sweetie, am I going to have to ground you?"
"No," she said. "I was just answering questions about your very first girlfriend."
Xander was confused. "Willow?"
"Oh. Uh. No, the first one I ever heard Buffy talking about. You know, Ms. French?"
Xander groaned. "Great," he said. "Had to tell them about the virgin-eating praying mantis lady. Thanks Dawn."
The rest of the group looked at each other and burst out laughing again. Dawn herself was chuckling.
"What?" he asked.
Angel shook his head. "Nobody said anything about her eating virgins," he said.
Xander opened his mouth to speak, but no words were forthcoming. "Oh," he said, eventually. He leaned over to Faith. "Remind me not to talk anymore."
"Yeah, I'm gonna stop you from embarrassing yourself," Faith said with a snort. "Pull the other one."
Xander glared at the raven-haired slayer, who just smiled back at him.
After a few more minutes chatting, the group broke up and the SWAT team headed back to their respective homes. Xander went home to get ready for his break-up date.
-
End Chapter 20