"Home, sweet home," Buffy said as they reached her house and she unlocked the door to let them in.
"So what's the plan?" Xander asked.
"Well, mom won't be home until nearly noon so… we can watch those cheesy Halloween movies we'd planned on," Buffy offered.
"I'll pop some popcorn," Willow decided.
"And I'll… do nothing," Xander said with a shrug, setting his backpack down and stripping.
"You can set up the movie while I get the sodas," Buffy told him, vanishing into the kitchen with Willow.
Xander smiled and quickly sorted through the movies to find the cheesiest ones and had them ready when the girls returned, shed their dresses, and prepared for the movie.
The three settled in on the couch to watch The Toxic Avenger when Buffy suddenly stiffened and turned to the kitchen.
"Someone is tapping on the side door," Buffy said. "Give me a moment to see who it is."
"You should probably get dressed first," Xander suggested.
Buffy glanced down at herself and smiled. "Yeah, anyone who shows up this late at night, who isn't already with me, doesn't deserve to see my undies." She wiggled back into her dress and retrieved a stake from her backpack which vanished on her person.
"Who could be calling this late at night?" Willow wondered as Buffy vanished into the kitchen.
"Angel," Xander replied in a flat tone that said more for his disdain for the vampire than any comment he could make.
"He's not that bad," Willow defended before biting at her lips, surprised to feel a little tinge of nervous jealousy on how Buffy normally responded to him.
"So, if Giles decided to bang one of the incoming freshmen you wouldn't mind?" he asked bluntly.
"Eww no," Willow said, making a face, "he's way too old to date a freshman."
Xander just stared at her until she groaned.
"Okay, I can see what you mean," Willow admitted, "but Angel is still physically young and it's not like he's all that mature."
Xander opened his mouth, paused and then closed it, frowning in thought. "He does seem kinda locked into the early twenties," he admitted. Xander shrugged. "Still I'm going to say my point stands, I don't think any of the girls in school should be dating a full-grown man, regardless of their lack of maturity. If they aren't willing to wait until the girl is eighteen, then I'm guessing once the girl does hit eighteen, they'll be fishing in the kiddie pool once more."
Willow winced. "I'll concede the point if we can change the subject."
"Sure," Xander agreed. "What's up with Cordy? I mean, I didn't expect her to fit in with us so well."
"I don't know," Willow admitted. "She was… No, she wasn't less catty, but it was less hostile and more fun when she was, less sharp edges."
"Yeah," Xander agreed, "and she was even kind enough to let us know she was going to be Queen Bitch in public."
"I can't see how being part of the popular people is worth all that," Willow said, leaning into Xander. "Geek patrol for life."
"For life," Xander agreed with a grin.
0o0o0o0o0o
"Buffy," Angel said in relief when he saw she was okay.
"Angel," Buffy replied, pleased to see him, but noticing the lack of sparkage she normally felt. Sure, he was still hot, but… something seemed missing.
"It was chaos out there and I wanted to make sure you were alright," he said, trying not to wince as he listened to Xander and Willow talk in the other room voicing thoughts he'd had himself.
"I'm fine," Buffy assured him. "We solved this little mystery in under an hour and no one died, which is always a bonus."
"I'm glad to hear it," Angel said with a small smile, something he often found himself doing in her presence. He took a deep breath and noticed the scent of Xander and Willow on her, which while not unusual was stronger than it normally was, also Cordelia for some reason.
"I'm enjoying movie night with the gang, I'd invite you in, but we're all in our underwear," she said, unable to come up with an excuse off the top of her head.
"Oh," Angel said, his eyes widening as he realized what was going on.
"Yeah… oh," Buffy agreed awkwardly.
"They're a good choice," Angel told her, forcing down the pain he felt and trying to do the right thing, the words of Xander Harris of all people repeating in his mind, 'I need you to be the man she thinks you are.'
"Really?" Buffy asked, surprised and a little hurt that he wasn't going to at least try and win her.
"If you asked me to name two people who were devoted to you other than your mother and Watcher, they'd be who I'd name," Angel said, feeling his chest unclench a little as he spoke. "They love you."
"Yeah," Buffy said, a smile lighting up her face.
"And considering my age, if we'd had any chance it wouldn't have been until you started college anyway," he said.
"I'm a long way from college and considering a slayer's lifespan... odds are I'll never reach it."
"No," Angel said, "odds are your average slayer would never reach it, but you're not an average slayer, the average slayer is alone."
"Yeah," Buffy said, perking up.
"Goodnight Buffy," he said, turning and vanishing into the darkness.
"Night Angel," she said, closing the door.
0o0o0o0o0o
"Didn't I tell you to keep it PG-13?" Joyce asked with a smirk when she spotted the three teens curled up together on the floor in front of the couch.
Xander blinked blurrily and looked around. "Is one of us naked?" he asked, half awake.
"No nudity, sleep now," Buffy muttered.
A squeak came from Willow as she withdrew her head from inside Buffy's shirt. "Sorry!" she apologized red faced.
Joyce laughed. "It's fine," she assured her.
"What time is it?" Buffy asked and looked over at the VCR. "It's only eight thirty, what happened to showing up around noon?"
"Honey," Joyce said with a smirk, "parents can be sneaky like that. Still, I don't see any alcohol and you're all decently dressed, so next time I say about noon I'll probably show up-"
"At seven thirty to catch us off guard," Xander interrupted as he stretched.
"Maybe," Joyce admitted, dropping her purse on the end table. "Who wants pancakes?"
"Me!" Buffy exclaimed.
"Us," Willow added, perking up and forgetting her embarrassment.
"All of us," Xander said.
"While I'm doing that you guys can get cleaned up," Joyce suggested, before vanishing into the kitchen.
"Shower?" Xander suggested.
"It'd be a tight squeeze," Buffy said thoughtfully.
"One at a time!" Joyce called out from the kitchen.
"Whoa, mom hearing," he said, impressed.
"Rock, paper, scissors for the first shower?" Buffy suggested.
"I'll go last, I don't mind the cold," Xander said.
"The cold never bothered me anyway," Buffy sang with a grin.
"So, I go first?" Willow asked just to be sure.
"Yes, I'll go after you," Buffy agreed and gave her a peck on the lips.
Xander leaned in to get his own kiss before Willow grabbed her bag and headed upstairs.
"Okay, let's straighten up the living room," Buffy said.
"I'll get the vacuum," Xander said, "I think we spilled the popcorn when Willow jumped during the goat sacrifice."
Joyce stepped out of the kitchen to stare at the two and then look around the living room.
Buffy burst out laughing so hard she had to hold her sides.
"We were watching horror movies," Xander reminded Joyce.
Joyce shook her head. "I really should have remembered that, besides you kids probably aren't responsible enough to remember to lay out tarps before a proper sacrifice anyway." She returned to the kitchen, hiding her grin.
Buffy stopped laughing. "Was she serious?"
Xander shrugged. "She's your mom… and she was a teen during the seventies."
"I'm just going to pretend she didn't say that," Buffy decided. "I'll vacuum, you move the furniture."
"Yes, dear," Xander said, giving her a peck on the cheek.
They'd just finished cleaning up the living room when Willow came back downstairs dressed in Levi's and a sweater. "Bathroom's clear."
"I'll be right back," Buffy said, grabbing her bag and bouncing up the stairs.
"Maybe you should have gone second," Willow said, "Buffy takes long showers."
Xander shrugged. "We'd all get finished at the same time anyway."
"True," Willow agreed.
Xander's stomach rumbled. "The beast must be fed," he said solemnly.
"After you wash up," Willow said.
"If I pass out in the shower from hunger, remember to rescue me… and save me a couple of pancakes," Xander said.
"One pancake and some juice," Willow teased.
"You are so getting the last shower next time," he threatened.
"You love me too much to make me take a cold shower all alone," Willow said smugly.
"I love you and I have done exactly that," Xander reminded her. "It's healthy."
"Oh yeah," Willow said as she remembered. "Still, a cold shower here is nothing compared to fresh ice melt."
"Curses, I've made you too strong!" Xander mock complained.
"Yes, soon I shall rule everything, and fattened calves will be sacrificed in my honor," Willow said smugly. "Except not in here, because we don't have a tarp."
Xander just stared at Willow for a moment speechless. "Does everyone know about animal sacrifices but me and Buffy?"
"Well…" Willow considered the matter, "I'm pretty sure Giles would know something about it, you know Ethan would. Cordelia's rich and you know how those people are. I don't think Joyce would… but she is a child of the seventies and there was a resurgence of the Greek, Roman, and Norse gods with a sprinkling of Egyptian mixed in… so maybe?"
"In that case I suppose me and Buffy better get on the ball and study up," Xander decided.
"Study what?" Buffy asked as she came downstairs, dressed in clean clothes, her platinum blonde hair shining in the light.
"The worship of old gods and animal sacrifice," Xander told her. "We are completely out of the loop," he complained as he hurried upstairs.
"What did I miss?" Buffy asked.
"We were talking about animal sacrifice," Willow replied. "Apparently only you and Xander know nothing about it." She grinned and tried not to laugh.
Buffy looked stunned for a second and then shook her head. "We'll ask Giles, he'll know," she decided before going to set the table, leaving Willow to giggle herself silly.
"Honey, when did you dye your hair?" Joyce asked. "And your eyebrows and body hair?"
"I didn't," Buffy said, "it turned this color last night during the gas leak that made everyone panic."
"That… doesn't sound right," Joyce said, frowning in thought.
"Well," Buffy shrugged, "it is what it is."
Joyce just shrugged, unable to think of anything to say in response and returned to cooking.
"Xander should be down in a minute," Willow said as she entered.
"Good, because I'm just about done," Joyce said as she turned off the stove.
0o0o0o0o0o
Giles smiled as the children entered the library, pleased to see they looked uninjured. "Good afternoon, or rather mid-morning. I trust you are all still well?"
"Better than," Buffy said cheerfully. "My hair is permanently platinum blonde now and I think I'm a bit taller."
"I think we're all a bit taller," Willow said as she examined her friends carefully, "because I didn't notice. Xander's a bit larger too."
"And every last inch of me's covered in hair!" Xander sang, making Giles sigh.
"Disney song, but still accurate," Buffy translated for her watcher.
"Xander is a bit beefier and hairier," Willow agreed, "plus if you're with him cold doesn't bother you."
"Really?" Giles asked curiously. "How did this come about?"
"Well, I dressed as a pagan winter party god," Xander explained, "and since I couldn't mainline all his power without exploding, we carved runes around my wrists to destroy Ethan's wards."
"Perhaps you should start at the beginning," Giles suggested.
"Well, it started with us buying our costumes at your buddy Ethan's," Xander began.
One long story later
"And mom noticed my hair, but I pushed it off as a side effect of the gas," Buffy explained. "It's not like she can claim I did it with magic or it was a hallucination after all."
"Very true," Giles agreed.
"So, that's about all the changes we've noted," Buffy said.
"Have you tried to freeze water?" he asked.
"Giles!" Buffy exclaimed blushing heavily.
Giles took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Intentionally," Giles said.
"Oh," Buffy said, calming down. "No, I haven't."
"Before worrying about Elsa's unintentional use of her powers, you might consider seeing if you can intentionally use them," he explained.
"I'll do that," Buffy said, "on a soda or something."
"Now Xander, let me see your wrists," Giles said. He examined Xander's wrists. "The runes are still there, they are faint, but some marks are not so easily removed." He released Xander's arm and rubbed his wrist in sympathy.
"Well, can't say I'm sorry about the side effects," Xander said.
"As side effects go, they are a good one," Buffy agreed. "I'm going to go grab a soda to use." Buffy patted herself down. "Anyone have any change?"
Xander patted his pockets and came up with some change. "Mostly nickels," he said. "Why do I have mostly nickels?"
"That's what I was going to ask," Willow said.
"I have a quarter," Giles offered.
"And I have a lot of nickels," Xander said, pouring a bunch in her hand.
"Okay, I'll be right back," Buffy said.
Once Buffy had left Willow turned to Xander. "Seriously, what's up with the nickels?"
Xander shrugged. "I don't know, I just ended up with a lot of nickels somehow."
"That's… weird," Willow said.
"Chaotic in fact," Giles said dryly.
"Oh," Willow said, "I hadn't thought of that."
"Chaos is like that," Giles said.
"If chaos wants to pay me, I have no complaints," Xander said cheerfully. "Free money is free money."
Buffy returned with a soda. "Okay, I have a root beer. I wanted a diet coke, but they were all out."
"It should suffice regardless of flavor," Giles said.
"Okay, now all Elsa had to do was-" Buffy began.
"Wait!" Giles and Willow yelled, just before the top of the can exploded, showering Buffy and Xander in soda. Willow had dropped and rolled beneath the table while Giles was far enough away to only get a few drops on his glasses.
Willow came out from underneath the table. "Ice takes up more space than water," she explained.
"Yeah, I get that now," Buffy said, wiping off her face. "I think I need a shower." She set the remains of the can on the table.
"A shower would be a good idea," Xander said, licking his lips free of root beer, more amused than anything.
"Right, I think we'll shower," Buffy said. "Willow, you coming?"
"But she didn't…" Giles' voice trailed off as Buffy and Xander gave him a look. "Quite right, you three go clean up while I deal with this mess."
"Thanks Giles, I appreciate it," Buffy said, the others nodding along, with Willow trying not to blush.
Giles just shook his head once they'd left. "Bloody teens… just as bad as when I was one really," he decided with a chuckle. "Well, at least that explains why Buffy looks so relaxed recently."
Typing by: fyrewolf5
TN: On the topic of chaotic effects, I'm surprised Buffy didn't press the button for a grape soda only to get a root beer instead, maybe time for another chapter of "On the Mountain"
Omake: Willow's Confession
by: RUGoing2writethat
Willow: Father bless me, I have sinned... and so did my boyfriend.
Priest: What did you do my daughter?
Willow: I flashed Santa my who-ha when he came down the Chimney and my boyfriend flashed him too.
Priest: I see, so you did drugs, got naked, had premarital sex and hallucinations of Santa?
Willow: No… um… uh… well there were two other girls involved but they aren't Catholic... neither am I… but he's a Catholic saint so… um...
Priest: Wait so if you aren't Catholic, why would you come to Confession?
Willow: Well, he's a Catholic Saint and… um...
Priest: Saint Nicholas is a Catholic Church saint, as well as for other churches my dear.
Willow: Well, yes but they don't have confession.
Priest: The Greek and Russian churches have confession but for the members only.
Willow: Right… so, there we were, naked, when the Chimney started getting bigger and bigger then Santa appeared. He saw us...me specifically because I was out in front and he saw my who-ha, so that's like a sin… very much a sin and so...
The Priest pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs: Very well, so after this… hallu… ahem, event, did you have intercourse with your… ahem, boyfriend and girlfriends?
Willow: No… that was before the event and we'd just showered so we were drying off in front of the fireplace because the water is so cold but not freezing like it usually is and my friend Buffy is going to try and see if she can still freeze things by mastur… um… never mind.
Priest: Are you sure you didn't do drugs? I mean even though you aren't Catholic, everything is still bound in confession so I can't tell the police. Did you smoke… what are the kids calling it… the Maria Jane… or the mushrooms or the… oh what was that one that he told me about… the LDS? No that's Mormons… wait, you didn't lick any Mormons did you... no I don't suppose licking a Mormon would make you hallucinate though licking one could still be a sin… did you lick a toad… one of them poisonous dart toad thingies… No they come from South America… Um… well, let's see, since you're not Catholic, I cannot technically give you penance but if you insist… I would say, since you probably wouldn't want to say the Our Father or Hail Mary, I would suggest that you find an Orphanage and give… let's see, you sound like you're in high school so… let's say $500 to the orphans or maybe buy them $500 worth of toys and clothes for this Christmas… and tell each of your boyfriends and girlfriends who were naked to do the same and that will absolve you. Bless you my child… and no more licking Mormons or frogs… or smoking the Maria Jane...
Willow sat there in a bit of shock until Xander came and got her. As they were walking away, she turned to Xander and said, "I think I broke him. I broke a priest. Now I got to go to confession, at another church and tell them that my confession broke the priest of this church but that might break that priest and on and on and I'll leave a line of broken priests in my wake..."
"Wills… maybe you should go to your Rabbi and tell him what happened but leave out the bits that sound like we were experimenting with weed… or maybe tell him that we smoked some weed, and you flashed someone dressed as Santa your who-ha and that way mmmmmph" Xander's idea was stopped short by an excited Willow kissing him causing said train of thought to crash and burn.
"Xander, that's a brilliant idea. I'll go to another Catholic church and confess that we did weed and that I went to confession and broke a priest with the hallucination… genius!" she said as she pulled away from the kiss.
