SUMMARY: A great conversation between friends
RATING: TV-PG
SPOILER: Primevil
DISTRIBUTION: http://planetslaythis.homestead.com
DISCLAIMER: Joss owns them. Blah. I'm nicer to them than he is.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm spring cleaning in the fall, but I keep finding new stories WOOHOO

"Wow," Willow said when she hung up the hone. "Cordelia sure is wordy."

"Cordelia?" Buffy asked. "You were talking to Cordelia?"

Willow nodded and swallowed her first bite of pizza. "She's trying to decode some files Angel got from those evil lawyers."

"Did she mention..." Buffy stopped talking when she noticed the look Giles was giving her. It was a mixture of pity and disappointment. She slumped back in her chair and muttered, "Never mind."

"She said Angel's been extra broody since he got back," Willow added helpfully. "She thinks maybe next time, she should come and deliver the bad news."

"Wouldn't her coming here be the bad news?" Xander asked, dipping a breadstick in marinara sauce.

"She says she misses us," Willow announced. "And she hopes to visit soon."

Xander handed Giles another piece of pizza and shook his head. "Nah, she just misses the malls."

"I miss her," Buffy spoke up. "The last time I saw her was—"

Buffy's pager went off suddenly, and everyone froze.

"Ignore it," Buffy said, and they tried to eat, but the buzzing noise of her vibrating pager distracted the Hell out of them. Finally, Buffy stood up and turned the damn thing off. Then she hurled it into the bushes outside.

"Good riddance," Willow added.

"That was symbolic," Buffy said as she joined the celebratory pigout again. "I did it to signify that you guys are my family and you will always be my family. When everything with Riley started happening, it was new and fun at first. It was different from Angel, and I think that may have been part of the attraction even though it shouldn't have been. I don't know, his geeky friends seemed like these humans who had a great, normal life when I first met them. I wanted in, regardless of the cost.

"I almost lost you guys because I got too into myself. I missed nearly a year with you guys, and that time can never be gotten back. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Giles said. "I don't believe I've been the best mentor this year."

"I've been a lousy friend, too," Willow spoke up. "I sort of wanted to hog Tara and use her to punish Buffy, instead of sharing out magick with you guys."

"All I did was have sex," Xander shrugged. "I should've stopped Buffy from getting involved with such a moron though. We all could've been killed."

"Buffy, shouldn't you call Riley?" Willow asked. "Just to—"

"Just to what? See how he's doing? Riley's a big boy. He can take care of himself. I hope. And if he can't, oh well." she shrugged. "Not my problem."

Giles smiled. "I can't tell you how glad I am to hear you say that."

"He's gonna be on his own a lot from now on," Buffy said. "Friendship should've come first, and it didn't, so I'm audi."

"Shh, don't tell Anya that," Xander said. He and Buffy reached for the same piece of pizza, the last one, and smiled at each other.

"Friendship is thick," Xander said, taking the last piece of pizza, "But not thicker than hunger."

"Amen," Willow repeated and everyone laughed. It felt wonderful to have the real Buffy back.

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