She had been in a grumpy mood all morning. Having run across a vampire nest the previous night, Buffy had had little time to study for a heavily weighted test being given that morning. Add to that the fact that two of the vamps had gotten away and you've got one cranky slayer. The lack of sleep combined with mental exhaustion had Buffy ready to bite off anyone's head that dared even glance at her the wrong way.

Buffy was grateful to find the Scooby Gang in full force that afternoon in the cafeteria. Xander had opted for a visit to the campus after losing yet another job. Anya had trailed along, perching herself on a chair near her boyfriend. Willow and Riley rounded out the group and as Buffy approached, Willow offered her friend a smile as Riley pulled out a chair for her after giving her a small kiss on the cheek.

Running her fork through her lumpy mash potatoes, she listened only half-heartedly as Riley tried in vain to cheer her up with a recount of his patrol the previous night. One of which involved a Portious demon, acidic slime, and ten commandos racing back to Lowell House with nothing but the dark of night covering them. Though Riley's mishaps usually allowed her a good laugh, today it just was grating.

He knew with finals just around the corner Buffy had been over- stressed. Wanting to offer a his services any way he could, Riley suggested to take one of her duties off her hands for the time being."Ya know Buffy, if you are having time constraints, the guys and I could handle the slaying end for a while. You know just until you get caught up with your school work."

Buffy's head snapped up, her eyes wide, "Are you saying I can't handle this?" Buffy's mood began to sour even more. She was the Slayer; she could deal with anything. Tests, vampires, they were all the same, she could slay each in their turn.

"No, I'm just saying if you need a break..." Riley tried to back peddle as he saw the crazed look in her eye.

"You think I can't cut it, don't you? Well I've got news for you buddy....I'm the Slayer, I can handle this and a whole lot more." Buffy said, gripping the fork tightly in her shaking hand. She could feel the stress induced tears welling up as her voice continued to rise. "I don't need you telling me what to do."

"Buffy, please calm down." Willow placed her hand on Buffy's, trying to get her to settle down.

"Oh, so you don't think I can do it either...is that it?" Buffy said, turning on her friend.

"No Buffy, its not that..." Xander started.

"You just seem stressed...." Riley finished, rubbing his hand down Buffy's back, hoping to get her to relax.

Buffy raised her eyebrow at her boyfriend, sizing up his intentions. "Stressed? I'm not stressed, I have everything under control." Buffy slammed her fist down onto the table, emphasizing how in control she was. Inadvertently, her hand hit the mashed potato laden fork that was perched precariously on her plate. The potatoes went flying. Willow was quick, moving out of the way as the food flew past her, nailing another girl in the back of the head.

The girl screamed bloody murder as she felt the wet substance in her hair. Her burly boyfriend was on his feet in an instant, stalking around the table to face the culprit that had attacked his now crying girlfriend. "What in the hell do you think you are doing?" He said as he made his way to the now stammering Slayer.

"I-I'm so...so sorry, I ..." Buffy watched as the big man loomed over her.

"Hey, back off man, it was an accident." Riley intervened, as the man clenched his fist as he peered down at Riley's embarrassed girlfriend.

"Oh yeah, you want some of this." The man grabbed the Jell-o from off of Willow's tray and flung it at Riley. The commando maneuvered out of the path of the jiggling stream of strawberry flavored gelatin and watched as it hit the guy behind him. That's when all hell broke loose. The Rocket Café became a battleground as food was flung around the room. A handful of spaghetti took Willow out of the fight as Anya went to cover the fallen redhead. Xander, anticipating the onslaught had crawled under the table, managing to remain unscathed.

Riley felt a banana peg him from behind. Turning, he flung his half eaten hoagie at a young man that was smirking at him. Buffy was defending herself; her remaining potatoes were hucked across the room, nailing a girl who was preparing to launch an attack herself. The room was in chaos with flying food and screaming young adults as the food fight quickly changed into an all out war. No one was safe. The crowd began to thin out as people started ducking for cover or falling on the now slippery surface of the tile floor.

Soon it was just the two of them. Riley, covered in pudding, potatoes stuck in his hair, and noodles hanging from his shoulders, regarded Buffy. If she hadn't been looking at him so threateningly, Riley would have laughed out loud. Her white shirt was stained with ketchup, milk dripped down her silky hair as pieces of bread stuck to the strands. A piece of lettuce was plastered to her face with the rest of the salad resting on her shoulder. Still, she was beautiful to him. Even with her holding her last line of defense in her hand, a weapon closely resembling his own. Lemon meringue pie.

Buffy watched her boyfriend, eyeing him for any sign of aggression. A few tense moments passed between them as they stood waiting for the other to make a move. From the corner of her eye, came an object that felt out of place in the mess they had created. A pristine white napkin was raised, a shaking hand waving it in a gesture of peace. Xander's head soon followed, nervously glancing back and forth between his two friends. Untouched by the activities of the last 10 minutes, Xander was a little hesitant, but decided the violence must stop. Looking at Buffy and Riley, he said quietly "Can't we all get along?"

Buffy turned to look at Riley. Catching the sly glint in his eye she knew he would go along with it. Smirking at Xander, the two turned on him, throwing the pies at him. As the pie splattered across the young mans chest, Buffy turned and high-fived Riley. All negative thoughts of earlier that day having vanished when she saw the sight before her. Riley, covered in food, grinning at her. Throwing her arms around her boyfriend, Buffy returned his smile "We make one hell of a team."

"You know it, baby." Riley smiled as he pulled his girlfriend in for a victory kiss.

 

The End