Room 121, Monday afternoon

[soldtoarmenians]

After a certain conversation last night in the Common Room (and no, not the one about dirty chips, though that had turned out to be oddly cool), Xander realized he... really, really needed to clean his room, if there was going to be visiting-by-people-not-Bridge happening. Not that he was a complete and utter slob, especially with his less-slobby-than-thou boyfriend hanging in so much, but things could be straightened and... put away and...changed, yes.

So he did that. There might even have been Bouncy Cleaning Music playing, and a frog rolling his eyes.

__

[For willbedone, but others are welcome to come by earlier or later.]

Comments

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow came knocking at the door with her arms filled with grocery bags.

[soldtoarmenians]

"Hey!" Xander opened the door, Bouncy Cleaning Music... which may have involved sex with doughnuts, because wtf, Captain Tractor, wtf, still playing in the background.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow squished him into a tight hug. This involved both determination and dexterity since she had cartons of eggs in the bags.

[soldtoarmenians]

Just like last night, Xander hugged back, because this is what Xanders do. Possibly best, although there are differing opinions about this depending on the survey subject.

"Glad to see you too..."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow would have ranked Xander hugs high on the list. Her reasons for why would have varied depending on what age and time of year you asked her, but right now Xander hugs were just what she needed.

[soldtoarmenians]

"We're gonna squish... something," Xander said eventually, looking down at the grocery bags.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Eggs," Willow agreed.

[soldtoarmenians]

"We should probably squish 'em in a bowl instead of the bag, maybe?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Since when do you use bowls?"

[soldtoarmenians]

"Since I realized making cupcake mix in the sink was a recipe for disaster."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"It's a lot easier than trying to do it in your hands too," Willow said. She started unloading the bags. "So. Um. Peter's out of town."

[soldtoarmenians]

Xander paused in the act of pulling a cheap plastic mixing bowl out of... the clean side of the sink. Because there was cleaning up, and then there was... putting stuff away that he was just going to get dirty again, right?

"Ahhhhh," he said wisely. "And that would be the reason for any recent down-in-the-dumpsiness?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow nodded. "He had to go home, and take care of stuff. And it's important stuff, I get that. I wouldn't like him if he was the kind of guy who blew stuff like that off. It's just he doesn't know when he's coming back and that's both way too familiar and it's making me feel like I'm living in an Edith Wharton novel only without the cool clothes."

[soldtoarmenians]

"I'm... gonna pretend I've read an Edith Wharton novel, and guess that that's bad."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Remember when I took you to that movie and you spent the whole time grumping because the only nudity was when Daniel Day Lewis unbuttoned a glove?" Willow said.

[soldtoarmenians]

"You know oddly, in retrospect, that's a lot hotter now."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"I could see that," Willow said. "375 on the oven, please. So, yeah. Can't be greedy girl and tell Peter to stay here, honestly wouldn't like him if he made the choice to stay here instead of helping out at home. Hate that I don't know when he's coming back. Having panic attacks over him meeting cute girls when he's over there that make him realize he so doesn't need to spend time with the spazoid, and on the whole not loving the reprise of all things Oz and me feeling like if I start crying I won't stop."

[soldtoarmenians]

Xander set the oven to 375 and turned to face her. "If he doesn't come back, he's an idiot and he doesn't deserve you. And I don't think Peter's an idiot."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"I know," Willow said. She used a spoon to smoosh butter in a bowl. "Even if he so is when it comes to taking care of himself. It's just... he's got obligations. Coming back might not be his choice."

[soldtoarmenians]

"Okay, I ...kinda... get that." Mostly due to things he was very good at not thinking about except quick glances out of the corners of his brain. Like the future beyond the next month or two.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow started mixing in the sugar. She was clearly making enough cookies here to feed an army. "Just call me Michelle Pfeffier I guess. Only not as skinny or blond or pretty."

[soldtoarmenians]

"Hey, you totally wear leather as well as Kittychick," he tried. Which...was actually true, but oh, so inappropriate.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow thwapped him on the arm. Using the hand that wasn't holding the spoon since ZOMG cookie dough was sacred.

[soldtoarmenians]

"Okay, you totally make a better Witch of Westwick than she did?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Now we're stereotyping," Willow said. In went the eggs and vanilla extract. Luckily it was a big bowl.

[soldtoarmenians]

"Nope, now we're picking Michelle Pfeiffer movies that don't involve her being in prison or turning into a bird, because I lose the parallel at that point, even for comparative purposes."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow then added in what she termed 'the white stuff' - flour, salt, baking soda. "Okay. So. Am I turning into that girl?"

[soldtoarmenians]

Xander...offered her a whisk, and tilted his head.

"Marlo Thomas?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"No thanks, too thick," she said, in re: the whisk. She kept mixing with her spoon. "No. That girl. The totally fixated on boys, denying her own woman power girl. Only maybe she's supposed to spell woman with a Y. I dunno."

[soldtoarmenians]

Xander eyed her skeptically. "What's your G.P.A.?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"They aren't grading us here!" Willow complained, immediately going into a pout. Though she still added chocolate chips to the mixture.

[soldtoarmenians]

"Yeah, I think we can safely say you're not fixated on boys," Xander pointed out.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"So I'm not a total pathetic loser?" Willow asked, giving him hopeful eyes. And, because she was not afraid of cheating, also a spoonful of cookie dough to taste.

[soldtoarmenians]

"Trust me, Will. I've bseen total pathetic losers, and-- mmphphphph." Cookie dough. "They don't have cookie dough this good."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," Willow said. She started putting blobs of dough on cookie sheets. "If he dies before he can come back I'm so gonna kill him."

[soldtoarmenians]

"See, that's the...slightly morbid... spirit," Xander said, nodding.

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"He better not die," Willow muttered. She thrust a pan into Xander's hands. "Oven. 10 minutes."

[soldtoarmenians]

"I wouldn't, if I had the wrath of Willow waiting for me." Xander opened the oven, stepped back for a second from the heat, then slid the pan inside and closed the door. "Is home really dangerous? I thought he lived in England."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow chewed her lower lip as she pondered how much to tell Xander. "Well. Yes. But it's World War II when he's from, so not exactly snuggly. But he's also a knight. From someplace not-England. That's where he is now. Doing... his job. Which includes knightishness."

[soldtoarmenians]

"I'm guessing this is the kind of knights who fight non-jello dragons, not the kind that get tapped on the head with a sword after a long and fulfilling career in pop music?"

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

Willow nodded. "Knights with swords and shields and duty. Big duty. Huge. Huger than any knight you could imagine."

Because, you know, Peter was also a king. But Willow couldn't tell Xander that.

[soldtoarmenians]

"Sounds like Buffy-level saving the world stuff. I can see how you'd worry."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Right," Willow said. "And, like Buffy, he's got a thing. A destiny. And it's all important and world-savey which, okay, yay for that. I'm a big supporter. But man does this suck on the mundane, just like having somebody to snuggle with perspective."

[soldtoarmenians]

Xander nodded. "I get that. Bridge is only here 'cause his academy sent him here; if they decided to yank him back or send him off on some kind of mission, he'd have to go. When they pulled him out for training before, when we weren't going out yet, I was kind of focused on 'yeah, but whee, training in space.' Now I think I'd worry too."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Exactly," Willow said. "Plus, you know, I don't have a destiny. I'm not a Slayer, or a - a knight. Sure the witch thing is a little not the norm, but given the way Peter and Susan reacted to finding out, I'm not sure if that's considered a bonus where they're from."

[soldtoarmenians]

Xander thought about that, and didn't answer for a moment. When he finally did, it was slowly, as if he was still working it out in his head. "If everybody was a Slayer or a knight, they wouldn't have a job to do, right? Some of us have to be the people they come home to."

[willbedone.livejournal.com]

"Awh." Willow gave him a snuggly hug. "Sometimes you say just the right thing."