Part Twenty-Seven: All Together Now, I

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When the elevator opened, Willow hesitated. “Maybe I’ll just . . .”

“Come on,” Buffy said with only a trace of impatience. “It’s time for you to return to the land of the dinner partying. Staying inside a cinderblock dorm room is not going to make you feel any better. And besides, this is going to be harmless fun. Fun with food. It’s not as if Oz and . . . Nathan!” She proclaimed the name brightly when they both saw him standing next to Xander and Spike’s doorway.

“Hey,” Nathan said.

“Hey,” Willow replied nervously.

“Hi,” Buffy added with a nod before she turned to the doorbell and rang it with vigor.

“That doesn’t seem to work,” Nathan pointed out.

“It doesn’t?” Buffy asked. She frowned and pressed even harder. “I can hear it, though, so it’s not broken. I mean, at least it wasn’t,” she added in a plaintive voice as the pressure of her finger turned the doorbell’s buzz into a screeching noise and then halted it abruptly.

“I meant they don’t seem to be answering,” Nathan said. He addressed Buffy, but his eyes went to Willow.

“Maybe they had to run out for more hummus?” Buffy offered.

“Or, uh, ice,” Nathan said, gesturing lamely.

“Oh, right, ice,” Willow said, tucking her hair behind her ears and nodding emphatically. “Because you need ice for drinks, especially when you have guests. I mean for their drinks, not just for yours, because that would be rude, hoarding the ice, and leaving everyone else standing around holding lukewarm beverages when that’s not really a welcoming thing, and what’s the purpose of having people over when. . .” She frowned at the still-closed door and then took a step back. “Hey, you know what? I’m going to go . . . wait for them in the lobby. In case they need help . . . with the ice. Because guests should be helpful.”

Nathan and Buffy watched her get back on the elevator and push the button repeatedly until the doors closed.

“I’m thinking that you all didn’t know I was coming tonight,” Nathan said.

“You’d be right,” Buffy answered.

“I wasn’t trying to stage some big confrontation,” Nathan said quickly.

“What did you think would happen when you saw her?” Buffy asked. “That you’d hang around the punch bowl and make small talk? Nathan, look -- if you wanted to see her, I don’t think some kind of dinner party was the best time and place.”

Nathan’s gaze drifted back to the closed elevator doors. “She wouldn’t return my calls, Buffy. I can’t get a hold of Oz either. And I don’t have the kind of in with the rest of you to ask what move I should make next. Besides, I thought Xander and Spike told her -- ”

“Hey, party people,” Xander said brightly. He stood in the now-open doorway, hair still shower-damp and shirt only partially mis-buttoned. “We, uh, with the . . . sleeping, and then there was a shower . . . I mean . . . that is . . .”

“I have cookies,” Buffy said, holding up a bag.

“Yes! Cookies,” Xander said, relieved by this introduction of a new topic. “Come on in.”

“Xander, you might want to, uh . . .” Nathan said, gesturing at the shirt.

“Oh! Right, right.” Xander hastily re-settled his clothing.

As Buffy set the cookies down, Spike sauntered out of the bedroom and nodded towards Nathan before grabbing Xander and kissing him thoroughly.

“Well then,” Buffy said brightly.

“Those chocolate?” Spike asked, eyeing the cookies.

“And hello to you too,” Buffy said with a small shake of the head. “Need any help with stuff?”

“I think it’s broken,” a voice said from the hall, and some rhythmic knocking ensued.

“Oz, Devon. Hey, and Giles!” Xander waved the newcomers in after opening the door.

“Hey, Oz,” Nathan said with a small nod.

“Hey,” Oz said quietly.

Xander coughed. Buffy cleared her throat.

“How is it that I know you again?” Giles asked Devon in confusion, obviously continuing some conversation from out in the hall.

“Remember? I did that report on the thing. My senior year? And you totally helped me out.”

“Ah, yes,” Giles nodded vaguely. “The thing.”

“Hey, helped me pass the class. And I graduated a whole year ahead of Oz.”

“Yeah, that was something,” Oz said mildly.

When Xander moved over to the kitchen area, Buffy joined him quickly. “Where’s Will?” he asked as he moved a bowl of dip to make room for a tray of carrots. “She’s not running late, is she? Because the artichoke dip is her favorite, and it’s going to get all crusty and weird if it sits out too long.”

“She’s outside,” Buffy said in a low voice. “At least, she went outside, though if she ran into Oz in the lobby, she might have bailed already. Xander, what were you thinking, staging this whole reunion surprise without telling Willow?”

Xander froze, a pile of brightly colored paper napkins that he’d pulled from a drawer in his hand. “Um. I knew there was something I forgot to do.”

“Did Oz know?” Buffy asked as she waved a hand towards Oz and Nathan, standing across from one another but avoiding each other’s gaze. Devon was keeping the conversation going, genially talking about the Dingoes’ most recent gig to the other two, while behind them Giles peered at the contents of the apartment’s one bookshelf.

Xander’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, I . . .I think I told him, but--”

Another knock sounded at the door.

“Come on in then,” Spike said to Clem and a female-version of Clem as he let them in. “Cindy, you look smashing.”

“Now Spike, don’t go trying to steal my girl,” Clem said in a jovial voice. Cindy just giggled and held out a covered tray. “We made brownies,” Clem added with a vigorous nod at the offering. “Cindy said we shouldn’t add nuts in case people are allergic.”

“It turns out people are allergic to all kinds of things,” Cindy noted. “You’d think that they’d be a little heartier, what with them dominating the planet, but nope.”

“Right. Well. Get you a Mike’s Hard Lemonade?” Spike asked Clem.

“Aww, you remembered!” Clem said happily.

“Uh, hi,” Willow said distractedly as she pushed in past the couple. She began to head over to Xander when she saw Oz. “Oh.”

“Hey Willow,” Xander said, his voice cracking slightly.

Willow walked swiftly to the kitchen area. “Xander Harris, tell me you did not invite Oz and Nathan to this dinner party without letting me know first.”

“Uh . . . surprise!” Xander said weakly.

Willow’s cheeks reddened. “What were you thinking? Were you thinking at all?”

“Okay, Will, okay,” Buffy murmured, moving slightly to block them from the others in the room as Willow’s voice increased in volume.

“No, Buffy, it is not okay,” Willow said loudly. Giles looked up from his perusal of the bookshelf and took a step toward the brewing conflict, but was intercepted by Clem and Cindy as they introduced themselves.

Moments later Xander and Buffy had pulled Willow into the bedroom so that they could speak privately.

“I can’t believe that you invited them. I can’t believe that they came,” Willow said. She sat on the bed and covered her face with her hands. After a quick exchange of glances with Xander, Buffy closed the door and leaned against it.

“Hey, if they hadn’t come tonight, when else would you have spoken with them?” Xander asked. He sat next to her and put a gentle hand on her arm. “I know it’s tough, but the awkward with all of you is going to take a sharp left over to awful if you don’t connect with each other but quick. So even if you don’t like them here, maybe it’s still a good thing.”

“Maybe he’s right,” Buffy said softly.

“How can you take Xander’s side, Buffy?” Willow dropped her hands to her lap and looked at her tearfully. “There’s no good here! You know how upset I’ve been, how much this hurts me--”

“I’m not saying he made the best choice, not telling you about this before tonight,” Buffy said. She crossed to the bed and sat on Willow’s other side. “But he did it to help.”

Xander reached over and squeezed Buffy’s shoulder gratefully.

Buffy patted Xander’s hand and continued on. “So just remember that. Don’t think about how he should have remembered to tell you instead of getting distracted with dip and Spike, or even how misguided and crazy it was to spring it on you this so soon after you all fought, or--”

Xander let go of Buffy with a pained expression. “Man, my side sucks,” he observed.

“I’m not on your side,” Buffy exclaimed.

“But you’re sure not on mine if you think this is all fine and dandy,” Willow said.

Buffy’s voice rose a little. “Willow, Xander and I don’t even have sides in a thing that’s between no one except you and Oz and Nathan. He just wants to see you happy, and that’s what I want too.”

Willow sniffled a little. “I’m still mad.”

Buffy and Xander exchanged glances. “Okay. I think we get that,” Buffy said softly.

“I am sorry for springing them on you like this, Willow,” Xander said. “I really meant to say something . . .”

“Yeah, I know. Even so. . . maybe I should leave,” Willow said.

“No way,” Xander said. “Look -- if you want, I’ll tell them to take off. You stay no matter what. It’s not worth it to me to make tonight, or any time, unhappy for you. But if you think there’s a chance with them . . . Willow, I just don’t want you to miss it.”

Willow took a deep breath. When Buffy reached up to brush her hair away from her face, Willow leaned against her and sighed.

“Maybe there’s . . . I don’t know . . . half a chance.”

“Hey, half a chance is something,” Buffy answered with a small smile.

“Really?” Willow asked doubtfully.

“Sure,” Xander said. “It’s 50% better than zero, right?”

“Well, I did say maybe half,” Willow said with a shrug. She moved a little closer to Xander, bumping his shoulder with hers. “So . . . that’s more like a third of a chance.”

“Quit messing with my head,” Xander said with a grin. “You know I missed that converting fractions day way back in fourth grade.”

When Willow stretched out her arms and hugged Xander, Buffy threw her arms around both of them as far as she could reach.

“Are you all coming back out anytime soon?” Spike asked impatiently from the doorway, his eyes fixed on the entangled trio on the bed.

“Hold your horses; we’re on our way,” Buffy’s muffled voice announced.

“Good,” Spike muttered, turning back to the main room and stalking off. “We’re running low on artichoke dip, and you know how that can lead to mayhem.”

* * *

“Hey,” Willow said simply as she sat next to Oz on the couch. Devon got up from the furniture arm languidly like he’d planned to do that all along and wandered off to get a drink.

“Hey,” Oz answered, blinking a few more times than was strictly necessary.

“You know, I wasn’t going to come over here. I was more going to stand over there and eat hummus and brownies.” She waved over at the counter where Cindy was writing down the brownie recipe for Buffy. “And, you know, pointedly not talk to you, but I guess that part’s kind of implied.”

“Glad you didn’t,” Oz answered. He touched her hand briefly, then pulled his own back. “Missed you.”

“Me too,” Willow said with a sigh. “This is all too weird.”

“Maybe it can be weird in a good way,” Oz said.

“If I don’t get the urge to go hang out in the parking lot again, yeah,” Willow agreed.

“Yeah, that probably wouldn’t be positive oddness,” Oz nodded.

“So how do we do this?” Willow asked with a half smile.

He held out a tray of hors-d’oeuvres to her. “I find starting a conversation with an offer of a canapé often turns out well.”

* * *