ONCE MORE PART 13
"Now, if we know Spike, he'll treat it as nothing," Willow warned, pouring the thick French roast into two black mugs. "But it's really not. This is very serious, Buffy."
Neither woman had gotten any sleep the previous night, and so the next morning they were each accordingly cranky. "I know," she insisted. "I get the picture. Aging seriously screws up a vampire's system." Buffy reached for a cup.
"Careful. It's hot." Willow added some cream to her coffee. "That's just it. I have no idea. As far as I've read, this has never happened before. It could make him weaker, but it could also make him stronger. He can do things now that humans can - cry, feel, eat, the whole nine yards. It's probably shocking to Spike, but he may treat it as a good thing."
"Hey, I do," Buffy reasoned. She slowly sipped the black brew, letting the caffeine settle into her throat. "I think."
"As of now, think of him less as a vampire than as an all-powerful 30-year-old." Willow winced. "It is only a five year age difference."
"You forget, Will," the Slayer responded, "that there's another dimension to the fight Spike hasn't considered yet."
"What's that?"
"I have nothing to live for. My life is worthless these days. All I have left is you. And if Spike threatens my friends, I'd go to my death to stop him. It's no longer long term. It's as simple as that." She was utterly cold, giving Willow flashes of the long-ago death of the Master and its aftermath.
"Oh." Willow shifted nervously. Once more, she wanted to tell her friend that she knew, offer her friendship again, be seen as a place to turn to. But she couldn't do that.
Before she could think of an appropriate reply, the doorbell rang. Willow moved to get it. "That's probably Xander." Or Cordelia.
Buffy jumped out in front. "I'll get it." She jogged away to the door, pulled it open, and got a look on her face that was most likely not intended for Xander or even Cordelia. Willow couldn't hear what she was saying, though, so she came behind her.
"Babe!" Once she saw who it was, Willow threw herself into his arms. "Hey, Will."
"Hey, stranger." They kissed lightly. "This is Buffy." Please don't mention anything touchy.
"Duh!" Oz smiled at the blonde behind the door, trying to wipe the frown off her face. "How could I forget the Buff? How've you been?"
Buffy managed a half-smile for Willow's long-distance love, then shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, so-so. Nothing that great lately. How's the band going?" It was too funny that Willow had ended up with a rock star.
"Great, great." He dragged his duffel bag through the doorway, taking off his sunglasses. "In fact, I came home an afternoon early to surprise my geek girl." He tweaked Willow's nose lovingly. "But I couldn't top the surprise of you, I bet."
"Both are good surprises," replied Willow sweetly, taking his duffel into the bedroom. "As long as you remembered the tux, you're my hero."
"Locked and loaded!" Oz called. He winked at Buffy. "Can you believe I'm doing black tie? It's odd ... and WONDERFUL!" he added for Willow's benefit.
Buffy chuckled. "Actually that reminds me. I only have one dress. I guess it's shopping time."
Willow emerged from the room and put her arm around her boyfriend, grinning. "Summers, you could make your entrance in a paper bag and still slay 'em." It was a bad choice of words, given, but Buffy loved it just the same. It was a long time since either of them had used last names for each other, and it felt good.
"Maybe Cordelia could show me where to get a sufficiently sexy dress," said Buffy.
Oz gave an answer that was less than half joking. "As long as you're not as sexy as Cordelia, that's sufficient enough for her."
They all laughed, rather nervously.
********
"You're sure you're fine with this."
"Alexander, don't you think I would tell you if I wasn't fine?" That told him she wasn't. Cordelia slipped on a drop-diamond earring. "Honestly, I'm okay. I even drove her to Eos to get a good enough dress."
"Wow!" That was a big step. Xander had been at work the whole day while Cordelia shuttled around town, doing all the usual necessities to prepare for the dinner. Thirty luminaries of the city of Sunnydale, if luminaries or city were the right words, would be swarming the Bronze within an hour. Not to mention the potential swarm of evil. He could understand that his wife was stressted. "So you guys talked."
"As much as can be expected," she replied coolly, kissing him on the cheek.
Xander was resigned to it. It was a direct result of his own stupidity, not to mention Buffy's selfishness and stubbornness. Of course, the latter quality was still firmly in place. There was nothing else he could do; as he invaraibly reminded himself every day, his wife was the victim and should be treated as such whenever the topic of Xander's trysts came up. Hopefully, there would be enough vampiric activity to stymie that the women would be distracted from their differences.
"So, do you think Angel will be coming?" she asked peacefully, the glint of bitterness behind her stare. She knew how to work him, all right. Things had never been sunny between the young man and the vampire, despite the passage of time.
"I'd wager it," Xander said, taking a hint and detaching from the conversation. He retied his bow tie, looking to change the topic. "He has a tuxedo and Buffy's there. Two requirements fulfilled." Xander looked away from her.
He could never have guessed what she did next. Cordelia dropped her ice queen demeanor, shaking her silver cocktail dress around her shoulders and striding over to her husband. She took his face in her hands and said: "Xander, I haven't forgotten what you did and what she did. I can't and I won't. But with your blessing, let's drop it. Seeing you saddled with guilt has never made me feel any better. I hope you know that."
He grabbed her waist and pulled her in close to him. The taste of nectar was still in his lips long after they kissed. "I love you too, Cordy."