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DISCLAIMER: Not even a copy of the movie is mine.
TIMELINE: S2, post-'Reptile Boy' but before 'What's My Line?'
SUMMARY: G. Poor remote control, it's gonna be the center of this fic.
WORDCOUNT: 2377
NOTES: Written at the W/X ficathon for
Jordan. Hope you'll like it, hon.
LAUNDRY DAY
by Leni
Xander loved laundry day. Since he'd been big enough to carry a bundle of clothes through
Sunnydale, laundry day had been a day of joy at the Rosenbergs. It was the only time of
the month Mrs. Rosenberg didn't mind him staying until late and he liked talking to Willow
in their small laundry room while they waited. But today hadn't been as planned. The
Rosenbergs' laundry machine was broken. It would take days until it was repaired. Xander
had stood at the doorstep, jeans and T-shirts begging for a quick wash, until Willow had
taken pity on him, retrieved her own clothes and agreed to go to Buffy's for 'a little
favour'.
That was how he found himself in Buffy's room, contentedly sitting on the floor and
flipping through the channels during Willow's turn to check on the clothes. He took a
piece of candy from the tray he held, trying carefully not to upset the fragile balance it
kept on his knees.
"Hey! Change it back!"
Xander startled, dropping the candy. He looked at the blonde beside him in puzzlement. He
hadn't really been paying attention to the TV and didn't know which show Buffy meant. He
clicked on the button obediently, though. The answer to his former question came with the
black-and-white screen. "Oh no." He shook his head in emphasis.
"Nononononono."
Buffy looked at him curiously. "It's only Wuthering Heights, Xan."
He stared at the TV in horror. "No, it's a plot created to make us believe in true
love and that it defies every obstacle in its way."
She crossed her arms over her chest, effectively staring him down. "And you don't
believe love overcomes everything because..."
Xander cocked a sceptical eyebrow. Buffy could stay in her dreamworld, if she chose; but
he was backed up by reality. "It's foolish to think otherwise." He grabbed the
remote control and deliberately changed the channel. A werewolf's growl was heard from the
TV. Xander smiled and happily settled back against the bed's foot.
Disbelieving, Buffy turned to her friend. "You aren't really going to watch a horror
movie, are you?"
He only grinned wider. "Yup."
"And you made me lose Wuthering Heights for this?" she insisted, unsure if to be
annoyed or amused at Xander's antics.
"Yup."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Don't you think we have enough revolting movie effects in our
lives for..." She pointed at the screen. Saliva was dripping sluggishly from the
werewolf's oversized muzzle, its fur matted with something that Buffy was sure pretended
to be blood. She turned around, brow furrowing in disgust. "...this."
Xander nodded absently. Buffy sighed. Of course he'd be focused on the close-up of the
helpless and, more importantly, barely dressed 'victim'. The girl was screaming at the top
of her lungs, just about to be bitten by... Buffy looked closer. "Hey, are those
vampire fangs?"
"Shhh. And yes. It's The Vampire Werewolf III."
Buffy's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "You mean there are two of these before?"
"Yeah, and this is the best."
Against her best judgement, she couldn't tear her eyes from the movie now. Buffy watched
as the girl ran screaming again, somehow having torn herself from her captor. Shots from
every angle covered the fleeing scene. Then there was silence. The sound of thunder in the
background. The girl stopped in fright, looking around fearfully. Of course the werewolf
chose that moment to pounce. Buffy groaned. "Oh god, that's so cliché."
"Says the girl who wanted to watch Wuthering Heights," muttered Xander from
below.
"At least it doesn't resemble my real life," Buffy retorted.
Xander snickered. "'Course not. The one with the forbidden true love for a man with a
past darker than we can imagine must be my other best friend."
Buffy blushed, but she recovered quick enough to reply in defence: "So you admit it's
true love."
It was Xander's turn to blush, if not as strongly. "Errr-- I mean. No." He threw
her a dark look. Buffy only grinned and gestured for him to continue. "I just meant
that... that... well."
The blonde finally took mercy on him. "Don't worry, Xander," she said
condescendingly. "I won't tell a soul about your little slip."
Xander only glared harder. "This is stupid," he began. "You know I
didn't---"
"Hush, Xander." Buffy's eyes held a firm glint now. "We are having a good
time. Don't spoil it. Just... shut up."
Xander stared back at her for some moments, silently considering an apology. He knew her
relationship with Angel was a sore point for his friend. No, he finally decided, turning
back to the movie. Buffy was his friend, therefore her boyfriend - vampire or not - would
virtually be his friend too. Xander shook his head. Maybe with time... Who knew? Maybe
they'd smooth things over eventually. But, for now, he didn't like Angel one bit, and he
rather suspected the feeling was mutual. Until those two proved they were more than a
'doomed relationship', Xander would remain sceptical. Someone had to.
Only the soft murmur of the TV filled the room. Both friends watched quietly as the girl
finally fainted and the werewolf carried her fireman-style back to its lair. Then he
proceeded to peel her off the wet clothes and change her into a white robe.
Buffy sighed and decided to forget Xander's attitude. He would see her way one day, she
was sure, and she'd be hearing his apologies then. Now she debated briefly between
grimacing at the sheer cheesiness of the movie or snickering at Xander's enthusiasm during
the undressing scene. She settled for the latter when he moved forward jerkily - an
attempt to check if the white cloth was as translucent as he'd heard - and the tray on his
knee fell down noisily.
Buffy laughed harder at his expression and then smoothed it with an indulging smile.
"I'll bring a broom," she said to her distracted friend, standing up and leaving
the room, the sounds of screams renewing at her back.
---
Downstairs, broom already in hand, Buffy found Willow at the top of the basement stairs,
struggling to bring a basket back to the bedroom. It wasn't any wonder that the petite
redhead couldn't carry it easily, the basket was full to the brim with skirts and blouses.
Willow's laundry, then.
"Need a hand with that?"
"Eep!" Willow loosened her grasp and a thud sounded against the floor.
"B-Buffy, you startled me." The redhead took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Weren't you watching TV with Xander?" She reached down for her clothes.
Luckily, the basket had fallen so that it hadn't toppled over, leaving only a few stray
clothes laying on the floor. She picked them before trying to lift the basket again.
Buffy beat her to it, juggling a little with it and the broom, then easily started to
climb back upstairs with her load. Mid-stairs she stopped and turned around. "God. I
forgot. There's a dustpan under the sink, bring it upstairs please," she told Willow.
Willow groaned, what had Xander spilled now? And, how would it come out of that carpet?
Mrs. Summers would kill them when she came back. With a sigh, she went back to the kitchen
to retrieve the dustpan. She was on her way upstairs when the bell rang. Willow
contemplated calling for Buffy to answer; after all, it was her house, but she seemed to
be having fun upstairs - if the laughter and Xander's dismayed 'No!' was any indication.
This time there was an insistent knocking. Willow finally shrugged and went to see who'd
come over.
---
At the doorstep, Willow smiled at the exchanges between her best friends. None seemed very
fond of the other at the moment and were demonstrating it in every sentence. Willow
silently allowed a point for Buffy; anyone able to hold her own against Xander's tongue
deserved an award. When she entered the room, she immediately noticed Buffy folding her
clothes on the bed, keeping aside the shirts Willow had borrowed during the last weeks.
How she could squabble with Xander at the same time was a miracle Willow chalked up to her
friend's Slayerness.
"Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill!" Xander whined as soon as he saw his redheaded
salvation. "Buffy is making me watch Wuthering Heights!" He pouted. "She's
kidnapped the remote control!"
Willow contained a smile, trying her most serious face as she scrutined the scene
carefully. In fact, Buffy had stuffed the remote into her waistband. The smartest move,
Willow conceded, since it probably was the only place Xander wouldn't dare to get it back
from. Buffy looked up from the clothes and grinned unrepentantly. Willow cocked an amused
eyebrow.
"One," the blonde answered her friend's silent question. "He's not really
watching it because he's complaining too much about it. Two." Both hands went to her
waist as she glared at the dark-haired boy. "He actually expects me to watch a terror
movie. Something called," She made air-quotes with her fingers. "The Vampire
Werewolf, part THREE nonetheless!"
Willow shuddered at the notion. She'd actually watched the first of the trilogy with
Xander. True, later encounters with real vampires had caused more nightmares than that
mediocre B-rated movie could hope to. But still. It had been spooky. Bordering on
nauseous. A vampire werewolf? Willow shook her head. Wherever had the producer gotten such
idea?
"Hey! " Xander quickly protested. "Romance flicks are the real
horror."
Buffy's fist tightened dangerously around a helpless shirt. "It's not a flick; it's a
classic," she defended hotly.
"Cliché!"
The shirt-wearing fist threatened to close on Xander's stubborn head. "How can you
call cliché something that's surviv--"
Willow decided to intervene. "Hey Buffy, calm down. It's just a movie."
Buffy stopped then turned to her with a smirk on her lips, obviously aware of Willow's
reason to protect Xander. The redhead blushed. "Anyway," she continued, trying
to dispel her embarrassment. "you won't be watching anything Buffy. He's already
waiting for you downstairs."
"What?!" Willow cringed when the Slayer put the basket down forcefully and
huffed in annoyance. "Could he wait one more hour?" she asked rhetorically.
"Of course not. Vamps need to be staked as soon as the sun goes down. Whatever."
She kept mumbling as she pulled a drawer open and got a change of clothes into her
backpack. "I can't even enjoy a laundry day with my friends," Buffy finished
with an un-Slayer-like pout.
Willow patted her friend's arm comfortingly. "We can stay, wait for you. If you want,
that is."
The blonde sighed. "Nah, after Giles is done with me I'll go visit Angel."
Xander froze; the chip that had been on its way to the supposedly heartbreaking scene
stayed in his hand.
"It's been two days since I saw him." Buffy drifted off, remembering that
Thursday night. It had been nice, laying on the grass after the slaying was over, quietly
talking about their days, watching the stars and kissing...
"Earth to Slayer. Earth to Slayer. Is there a Slayer in there?"
Buffy snapped out of her memories, turning to Xander to glare at him.
The boy ignored her anger, shrugging and going back to his chip-throwing protest.
"You were lost there for a second," he said half-sulkily.
Buffy poked her tongue out behind his back - Willow giggled - and shouldered her bag.
Finally she handed the remote to Willow, a mock serious expression as she warned her
against Xander's tactics. "Be strong," she reminded her.
Willow nodded resolutely.
"Bye guys!" She gave one last longing gaze at Heathcliff's face and left the
room muttering about uptight Watchers and their unwillingness to let her spend a nice
time.
---
As soon as Buffy disappeared from view, Willow pointed the remote at the TV.
"Yes! That's my g--- Hey, no. What? What's that, Wills?" Xander asked in
confusion when he saw the program Willow had chosen.
"It's the latest interview Dr. Whitmore offered on cloning ethics."
"Oh," was his lost comment, his face blank as he tried to grasp the concepts
fired back and forth through the interview.
A giddy squeal loud enough to make its way upstairs interrupted them. A very tiny smile
appeared on Xander's face. "It wasn't Giles, was it?" he asked caustically, even
though he already knew the answer.
Willow grinned and shook her head. "Buffy never asked." She loved surprising her
friend, especially in the Angel category.
Xander nodded, a little amused himself, and waited for five full seconds before whining
again. "Wiiiiiiiill, change it back? Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"No."
"I'll die if you don't do it and it'll be your fault."
With a roll of her eyes, Willow decided to imitate Buffy and placed the remote in her own
waistband.
Xander smirked, sitting up and fishing his prize out. "Mine!" he said
triumphantly.
Willow looked down at her waist and sighed. Would Xander remain this blind forever? She
darkly decided to make Xander clean everything by himself before leaving. Suddenly she
remembered something. "Hey, Xand. Why didn't you want to watch Wuthering Heights? You
watched it with me once..."
"Yeah, and it was enough," he answered without taking his eyes off the screen.
"They were cousins. Yuck. Cousins! I can't picture ever kissing a cousin of
mine!"
"Xander, you don't have any female cousin," Willow said in amusement.
"Well...." Xander trailed off, obviously unwilling to be caught in such a small
technicality. "I imagine it'd be like kissing... Like kissing you!" Willow's
smile faded instantly. Xander was too busy ogling the newest 'virgin sacrifice' to notice,
he just continued voicing his thoughts. "You are my newest cousin, Wilster. Welcome
to the family!"
He turned around with a grin and somehow Willow summoned a smile to answer. "Don't
make threats."
Xander looked pensive for a moment. "You're actually right," he said hesitantly.
"But you're still my best friend, aren't you?"
Willow began folding the clothes Buffy had left untouched, keeping her eyes low so she
didn't have to look into his. "Of course, silly. Always."
Xander nodded and, on impulse, took Willow's hand and tugged her onto the floor at his
side. With a slight smile, she let herself be led. Both settled down just in time to watch
the werewolf finally kill its victim.
The End
02/11/04
Feedback
would be nice.
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