Part 13

      "I get to push it."
      "No, I do!"
      "But you drove over here."
      "Your car's too bleedin' broody to take around town! It'd
scare the townies."
      "You are such a-"
      "Stop it!"  Willow was beginning to get a headache.
      "How do you put up with this?" Xander asked as he stood
beside her.  The two
vampires were fighting over a shopping cart at the local 24 hour
grocery store.
      They both glared over their shoulders' at the young
man.  "Shut up!"
      Xander did.  Angel was still seething over the `floorboard
incident'. Willow and
Xander had managed to get Buffy and Riley to leave them alone.  After
Angel had
extricated himself from the floorboard and dusted his coat off, he
had growled at
Xander and chased him around the yard.  Luckily, Willow had
intervened. They had all
gone inside and when Xander mentioned baking cookies Spike had
insisted that they
bake them this evening.
      Spike surrendered control of the cart to his sire just as the
vampire gave a
particularly savage tug.  The result was Angel lying flat on the
tiled floor, under the
shiny cart.  "Fine, you push the cart, mate.  I'll help Red."
      Angel rose from the floor, desperately trying to appear
dignified.  Two college
students who were buying enough alcohol to drown a small country gave
him curious
looks as he started pushing the cart down the wide grocery aisle.
Willow and Spike
were looking at the chocolate chips when he caught up to them.
      Angel smiled despite himself.  He remembered how scarce food
was when he
was a young man.  Now, one could simply walk into a store and obtain
any food at all
hours of the night.  He voiced this to Willow, hoping to engage her
in a discussion
about history,  only to have Spike glower at him.
      "Stupid bleedin' poof." Spike muttered as they continued down
the aisle, having
picked up  their chocolate chips.  "Why don't you go drool over all
the potatoes in the
bins? You Irish fairies like that sort of thing, don't you?"
      "Why don't you go buy some hair dye, blondie?" Angel snarled.
      "Why don't you lead the way, Peaches?  It's probably right
next to the bleedin'
hair gel."
      "Good one, Spike!" Xander said, ever one to enjoy a good put
down.
      "Enough!" Willow hissed.  "Or I will make all of you wait in
the car."
      As the entered the frozen foods section, Willow caught site
of a familiar face.
      Anya regarded the ice creams with rapt attention.  Her cart
was already filled
with three varieties.  She looked up as she saw them all
approaching.  "Willow!" The
ex-demon said, it wasn't a friendly greeting.  The redheaded witch
was glad she still
didn't have use of powers.  Anya raised one eyebrow at Xander but
said nothing to
him.
      "You have to let me explain-" Willow began.
      "No, I don't.  I know all about how you broke up Cordelia and
Xander.  You. .
.you seduced him."
      Spike decided it was time to intervene.  "Listen, Anya, Red
isn't involved with
your little boy toy, alright?  The witch is with me.  She just had to
lie to the Slayer so I
wouldn't be clogging up her dustbuster.  Get it?"
      Anya's forehead wrinkled.  "So, you're sleeping with Spike?"
Her eyes
wondered over Angel appraisingly, "What about the big tall one?"
      Spike rolled his eyes.  "No, she's not sleeping him with. But
you could say that
he's involved with the dustbuster."
      "Spike!" Angel said angrily.
      Willow gave the blond vampire an irritated look.  "No, I'm
not `sleeping' with
Spike.  We're, er. . .well, it's complicated. Angel and I
are. . .well, that's a long story.
But Xander and I are not involved.  We're just friends, like we have
always been."
      Xander finally regained his ability to speak.  "I'm so sorry
for dragging you into
this mess, Anya."  He walked over to her and held out his arms.
      She looked up at him.  "So, you were only playing a joke on
Buffy, right?"
      "Right."
      "You never had an affair with Willow."
      "No."
      She smacked his chest.  Hard.  "Never do that again!"  Then
ran into his still
outstretched arms.
      Xander hugged her gratefully.  He smiled over the ex-demon's
head at Willow.
"Thanks."
      "Sorry, Xander."  Willow said, pleased that they were back
together.
      Xander looked down at the ice cream in his girlfriend's
cart.  "What's with all the
fat grammage, An?"
      "Every time I helped a girl who'd been wronged, her friends
always bought her
ice cream.  I thought it was what I was supposed to do."  She said
into his shirt.
      He chuckled, stroking her hair.  "Let's not fight again."
      "We won't.  If you stop doing stupid things."
      Sensing another argument about to erupt, Willow said.  "Well,
I guess I'll be
seeing you two later."
      "I think so.  But I want those cookies tomorrow, Wills.
Before noon."  He looked
down at Anya.  "Well, early afternoon." They watched the two lovers
exit the grocery
store.
      Willow sighed in relief, at least she hadn't done any
permanent damage to their
relationship. "Well, lets get the ingredients, luv.  Oh, can we can
get some chicken
wings and some buffalo sauce?"  Spike grinned.  "Don't you like
those, luv?"
      "I'm sure she'd rather have filet mignon, wouldn't you
Willow?"
      "Right now, I'm thinking I really want a stake."
      "Steak?" Angel repeated.  "I knew you'd like my suggestion
better." He smiled
smugly at Spike.
      "No, a stake."  Willow repeated, pantomiming the action of
staking a vampire.
      Just then the college guys wandered into their aisle.  They
started to snicker as
the saw her doing the gesture.  Willow flushed when she realized that
from their
perspective she was doing a lewd motion with her hand. One of the
young men called
out.  "Think you're in the wrong area for that, sweetie.  Condoms are
in aisle four."
      Spike and Angel vamped out and watched the terrified kids
drop their beer and
run for the door.  They both looked at each other grinning for a
moment, the ice was
melting a little.  Then they scowled as they both realized they
were. . . gasp. . .bonding.
 

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