Happy New Year
By DHArtemis
DISCLAIMER -- The characters in this story belong to Joss et al.
SUMMARY -- Buffy goes to L.A. for New Year's to help Ange lfight a group of apocalyptic
demons, but everyone ends upcrashing the party.
CONTENT -- Lots of couples, some action, a little angst, a little romance. Yes, I
will have my cake and eat it too!
RATING -- PG-ish. Some fighting, some kissing.
SPOILERS -- Through "Something Blue" and "Hero". ("Th eInitiative"
and "I Will Remember You" are particularly important.) "Hush"
and any episodes following it do not apply to this story.
DISTRIBUTION -- If you already have permission for my other stories, take it. Otherwise,
please ask.
FEEDBACK -- Pretty please. This is a something new for me -- a story with a plot
beyond angst or fluff.
AUTHOR'S NOTES -- This story was written in response to Felicity's Millennium contest
and a sincere desire not to write a ten page case study. I wrote ten pages of fanfic
instead. =) I wanted to post this before "Hush" so it wouldn't get Jossed,
but ... oh, well. Too late.
*______* represents italics
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Part One
"I still don't understand why you're doing this."
"I know you don't. But I don't think that explaining it to you for the eighteenth
time will be any more successful than explanations one through seventeen, so I give
up. You don't get it. I accept
that and love you anyway." Buffy sat in front of the mirror at her desk, her
mouth full of bobby pins and her hands weaving a delicate plait through her hair.
Xander watched in fascination as every few moments she would pause, remove a pin
from her mouth, glare at it, and then make it disappear somewhere in the braid. As
she finally secured the end of the braid, leaving the rest hanging in long curls
down her back, Xander flopped down on his back on Willow's bed. His head hung over
the edge as he looked up at Buffy, and his puppy dog expression was all the more
comical because it was upside down.
"But I don't accept it. Tell me again."
Buffy stood and started examining her reflection from every angle. "No."
The deep maroon spaghetti-strap dress she wore was made of slightly shiny material,
and as she turned a slit was visible to mid-thigh on the left side.
"Pwease?" Xander's lower lip jutted out, and his brown eyes were round
and pleading, though his eyebrows raised slightly in appreciation of the sight of
Buffy in the full-length dress.
Finally satisfied with her appearance, Buffy laughed at his expression as she pulled
a wrap around her shoulders and walked towards the door. "Fine. I am going with
Angel to a charity fundraising dance in L.A. because said dance is most likely going
to be attacked by a bunch of really nasty apocalypse- type demons. There are too
many of them for Angel to handle alone, Cordelia is on location in Vegas shooting
a commercial for a casino and can't really fight anyway, and Angel's police contacts
aren't able to help because of general Y2K confusion and mayhem. He bailed me out
of a hairy fight in Sunnydale last Thanksgiving; I'm going to return the favor for
New Year's in Los Angeles. Satisfied?"
"No. Buffy, demons in L.A. aren't your prerogative, you have a boyfriend --"
"He's not my boyfriend," Buffy interrupted.
"--semi-boyfriend," Xander continued without missing a beat, "who
is extremely disappointed you aren't spending New Year's with him, and every time
you get a glimpse of Angel you spend the next three weeks moping and glaring at any
man who crosses your path. I don't want you to get hurt." Xander sat up again
and grinned. "Besides, you really suck at under cover stuff."
At the sudden change in persuasion tactics, Buffy laughed and sat next to him on
the bed, squeezing his hand. "I really do. But dressing up and dancing I can
handle. And I am fully prepared to see Angel and NOT mope -- this is a business trip
only."
"Right," Xander scoffed. "You'll be just fine pretending to be Angel's
date for the evening, talking and dancing and pretending to be a couple. It won't
drive you crazy when the fighting is over
and you shake hands and drive back to Sunnydale alone. Hey, and there's another point
against going," he continued, on a roll. "You're a terrible driver. That's
probably the most dangerous part of this whole plan. At least let someone go with
you."
Buffy chuckled again as she stood. "You've never even seen me drive," she
protested. "And anyway, Riley took me driving a few weeks ago and I didn't kill
anyone. I want everyone to have a
nice, normal New Year's. I'm not dragging anyone else with me to fight." Buffy
moved again toward the door, picking up her purse full of weapons and checking that
the knife and stakes she
had concealed in the wrap were secure. "Besides, there isn't anyone who could
be that much help. I gather we're going to spend most of the evening swordfighting."
"Sure, and Giles has no experience with that," Xander pointed out. "I
bet Riley is a pretty good fighter, too, even without swords."
"Riley has no idea that I'm the Slayer, and I'm not going to tell him unless
and until I absolutely have to. Besides, I can't imagine anything scarier than having
Riley and Angel in the same room." Buffy shuddered a little at the thought,
adding under her breath, "I'd rather resurrect the Master again. And Giles is
going to stay in Sunnydale and keep an eye on the Hellmouth, just in case. Now I
have to go. And you better go get ready so you can pick Anya up on time. You never
know what demon contacts she still has." She paused with her hand on the door.
"Tell everyone Happy New Year from me. And don't worry," she commanded
mock-severely as she pulled the door shut behind her.
"Sure," he announced to the empty room. "Easier said than done."
Then he picked up his jacket and keys and headed out the door.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Tell me this isn't happening," Forrest moaned as he made his way across
the catwalk and down into the testing facility. "Because I was on my way to
the *best* New Year's party with the *hottest* girl ..."
"Yeah, who wasn't?" Graham countered easily. "They wouldn't call us
down here unless it was important."
"Don't be so sure," Forrest replied darkly. "Walsh just wants us all
to suffer. Besides, Riley's the one without a date. How come he can't handle it himself?"
Riley, who had listened to this conversation in brooding silence, spoke for the first
time. "Shut up, Forrest."
"You're just sore because Buffy would rather spend New Year's with her *father*
in L.A. than smooching with ..."
"I said can it, Agent," Riley interrupted sharply as they reached the command
station. He turned to Professor Walsh. "Situation?"
"Gentlemen, Hostile Group A7 has abandoned their base in the area. Agent Team
C had been sent to capture them this afternoon when they discovered the cave empty,
and they're currently tracking A7 heading north. Apparently whatever they were planning
is going to happen sooner than expected, and we need to prevent it. I want them all
tagged and brought back here before morning. Agent Finn, you're in charge."
Riley turned to face the group of assembled troops. "All right, men, let's get
to work."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Happy New Year!"
Willow stood on Giles' porch and gazed incredulously at the party hat on his head,
the confetti he had thrown dusting her hair and shoulders. "Wow, Giles, this
overdoing the holiday stuff is becoming a tradition," she announced as she stepped
inside. "I thought you didn't wear party hats," she teased, shrugging out
of her jacket.
Giles followed her inside, closing the door behind them. "Yes, well ..."
he stammered, as Willow took in the streamers and balloons that decorated the living
room. "Xander and Anya should arrive momentarily."
"It's too bad Buffy and Riley couldn't come," she commented. They were
both silent for a moment, and Oz's absence was an almost palpable presence in the
room. Willow absently opened the container she was holding, pulling out a brownie
and taking a large bite. Giles watched with sympathetic eyes, but said nothing.
They were both startled by a loud knock, but Anya entered the living room with Xander
in tow before Giles could rise to answer the door. Xander smiled apologetically.
"At least knocking first is an improvement," he said sheepishly, nodding
toward Anya as the pair hung their coats up and added their contributions to the
pile of munchies on the table. "Buffy said to tell everyone Happy New Year.
And by the way, I still can't believe she's ditching us to help *Angel*."
"What else could she do, Xander?" Willow questioned. "She was as surprised
as anybody else when Angel called. And she felt really bad breaking her date with
Riley."
"Yes, well, the Brotherhood of Lorknar are a force to be reckoned with,"
Giles said. "I've been looking into them since Buffy informed me of the situation,
and it's well to have the two of them there to fight. Particularly nasty demons,
according to most accounts. It is certainly unfortunate that a convention center
was built over the remnants of Lorknar's tomb." Giles picked up a book that
was sitting in front of him, thumbing through to find the correct page. "But
according to their legends, only twelve can participate in the ritual to open the
tomb that is to take place tonight, so Buffy and Angel should be able to handle it."
As he went to set the book down Willow took it from his hand, glancing through the
passages he had been reading. She became thoroughly engrossed in the text, and didn't
hear the knock at the
door or even look up when a puzzled Giles went to answer it. When she spoke, she
continued to stare intently at the pages and concern colored her voice. "Giles,
I'm not sure about this. It says twelve here, but I'm not sure it means twelve demons."
She finally looked up, expecting to see Giles standing in the doorway.
Which he was. But he wasn't alone. Willow's book fell quietly to the floor, and her
jaw nearly did the same. Oz stood slightly in front of Giles, gazing at her with
a soft but worried smile. "Hi, Willow."
Willow blinked a few times, then hurtled across the room and into his arms, a single
tear already rolling down her cheek. Oz held her, breathing in the scent of her hair
and softly stroking her back. "Shh, shhh, it's okay," he murmured. "I'm
home." Willow pulled back and gave him a quivery smile.
"Hi," she finally managed, and her smile grew brighter though the tears
continued to fall.
"So does this mean we don't hate him anymore?" Anya queried from the couch,
looking slightly disinterested. At Xander's pointed look, she became thoroughly interested
in the chips and salsa in front of her. "At least Willow will stop whining and
moping now," she muttered.
Oz looked slightly stricken at this comment, but was interrupted from his guilt by
a soft kiss from Willow. "I'm glad you're back," she whispered. She continued
to hold on to him tightly, as if she were afraid he would leave again if she broke
contact.
"Wow, Will, I can't breathe," he smiled. The two moved into the living
room, sharing the chair Willow had previously occupied alone. Giles followed them
in.
Xander stared at the pair incredulously. "That's it? Welcome home? Don't worry,
nobody minds that he ripped Willow's heart out and stomped on it as long as he's
sorry?"
"Xander ...." Giles tried to intervene.
"No," Xander cut him off flatly. "This is ridiculous." Anya tried
to place a restraining hand on his arm, but he shook her off brusquely as he stared
accusingly at Oz. "Aren't you even gonna say anything?"
"No. You're right, man." Oz took a deep breath and looked straight at Willow,
though he still spoke to Xander. "... but it's not up to you."
Willow glanced uncertainly between the two most important men in her life, deliberating.
Finally, she reached out and touched Xander's shoulder lightly, while her other hand
found Oz's and squeezed it reassuringly. "Xander, I know you want to protect
me ..." Anya looked disgruntled, so Willow turned back to address Oz, "and
I know we have a lot to talk about. A lot," she repeated more resolutely. "But
it's New Year's Eve -- can't we just all be together for tonight? For old time's
sake?"
Oz smiled and brought her hand to his lips, while Xander nodded slowly, relaxing
back into the couch cushions with Anya, though he still cast suspicious glances at
the other couple from time to
time.
After a few moments Giles broke the silence. "I hate to interrupt the reunion,"
he started apologetically, "but were you saying something Willow? Before?"
"Oh, right." Willow paused, trying to drag her mind back to demons and
away from Oz. "Oh. Trouble." She picked up the book she had dropped and
pointed to a particular phrase. "Giles, this part's a little smudged, and my
Latin is shaky, but I don't think it says 'twelve demons.' I think it means 'twelve
legions.' "
Giles put his glasses on and squinted at the page with a growing feeling of dread.
"We need to get to Los Angeles immediately," he announced, and started
pulling weapons from his trunk and distributing them, taking off his party hat at
the same time. Within moments the entire group was on their feet and struggling into
their coats as Giles grabbed a few more books from hisbookcase.
"I'll drive, " Oz offered as they headed for the door. "What's going
on?"
"I'll get the food," Anya announced, putting down the mace and chain Giles
had given her. Xander shrugged and picked it up as she filled her arms with treats,
ignoring the incredulous looks the rest were giving her. "What? I'm hungry."