Magic Box, Wednesday

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

Giles was back pouring over his purchase orders again, trying to figure out if the error with the rabbit's feet was his fault and if so how to make sure it doesn't happen again. He didn't want a repeat, otherwise he might just end up sharing Anya's opinion of bunnies.

Not to mention what could happen if the same error occurred on an order of mummy hands. He shuddered at the thought.

The Magic Box was open.

Comments

[needsaparrot]

This time Xander didn't come bearing doughnuts.

Yeah okay, he totally did. But only because his initial plan to do something surprising and substitute, say, muffins or croissants had failed the second he walked past the new double-chocolates-with-mint-sprinkles.

Even the presence of absurd amounts of sugar didn't quite wipe the thoughtful, slightly-frowny expression off his face as he entered, though. "Hey." Xander waved. "I brought things which aren't doughnuts, because that would be unoriginal."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"We wouldn't want you to be unoriginal," Giles replied dryly.

[needsaparrot]

Xander opened the box. "I think these are called 'Breadlike Sugar Rings.'"

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"How novel. Do any of these sugar rings perhaps also have jelly?"

[needsaparrot]

Xander moved the mint-sprinkles aside. "These appear to have a sticky fruit-scented substance inside..."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

Giles took one and nodded. "Thank you."

[needsaparrot]

Xander glanced around the shop. "Wow, this brings back memories. Not exactly the same layout, but looks like you're getting settled in pretty quick."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"Yes. Doing it a second time seems to be easier." He looked at Xander. "So a young man named Bridge stopped by yesterday."

[needsaparrot]

That would be Xander looking surprised, guilty, and uncomfortable all at once. Which was actually a creditable imitation of how he might've looked if someone had said the same thing around this time last year, if for vastly different reasons.

"Ah. Yeah, I guess he would, eventually. I mentioned last week that, uh, there was a new you in town."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"He seems.... nice."

[needsaparrot]

"Too much for his own good, usually." Xander rubbed the back of his neck. "Assuming that nice wasn't code for 'differently normal' there."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"Actually he seems more normal than other people you've been involved with. Or my Xander's been involved with at least."

[needsaparrot]

Xander gave a short laugh in spite of himself. "I think he got awfully tired of getting asked if he was a demon by everybody from Sunnydale who showed up here. Except Cordy, but she was friends with him before I was."

He reached into the doughnut box and picked at the mint sprinkles on one of the not-doughnuts, without actually picking it up.

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"You still care for him," Giles observed, watching Xander fidget with the pastries.

[needsaparrot]

"We're still friends." Even Xander couldn't quite maintain the level of Sunnydale-born denial required to pretend that was what Giles meant, but he gave it the old college try. "And by the way, someday there's gonna be a Giles I actually get to come out to? And then I will be so confused I forget to say anything."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"Willow babbled about it inbetween talking about her boyfriend who is king in the closet," Giles supplied. "Which seemed almost like a logical progression actually."

[needsaparrot]

"Ahh. You got the Willow-version." Xander spread his hands. "It's not that Willow has the wrong end of the stick? She just seems to be constitionally incapable of recognizing that the stick has two ends."

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

Giles raised an eyebrow. "So you're not in love with this Bridge fellow then?"

[needsaparrot]

Xander's mouth opened, then closed, than opened again. "That's... not exactly what I meant." Or remotely an answer, but that was so beside the point.

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"So you are in love with him then."

[needsaparrot]

"You've been taking lessons from Dawn, haven't you." Xander finally picked up a doughnut, though he seemed to be contemplating the mysteries of it rather than contemplating eating it.

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"Dawn's a very perceptive young woman," Giles observed.

[needsaparrot]

"Dawn's.... " Xander shrugged with a mixture of fondness and exasperation that he'd be either horrified or amused to realize he learned from Giles in the first place. "Dawn. She pokes." Without going near an answer to the original question, he looked up and asked, "Did he seem okay to you?"

[exwatcher.livejournal.com]

"He seemed a little.. wistful at times," Giles said. "Also he mentioned somthing about being possessed last week....?"

[needsaparrot]

"Yeah. That didn't go too well." Master of understatement, huzzah.