Holiday Grove, Monday September 7th

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

It was Labor Day which meant there were cd's of Union March and Protest songs, and little miniature shoes like those that workers had thrown into the machines.

Except there wasn't. Because someone at the shipping office had thought they meant a different kind of labor.


So instead there were baby supplies. Oz was amused. You could tell he was amused by the almost complete lack of expression on his face.

He had found a cd of the original cast recording of a musical about exploitation of workers in a dystopian post-apocalyptic city though.

Welcome to the Holiday Grove.

Comments

[formermayqueen.livejournal.com]

Cordelia was spending her holiday wandering around town and peeking into the shops that she hadn't visited yet. She paused after looking in the door of Holiday Grove, because she was pretty sure she recognized the guy, but she had to be wrong.

"Oz?"

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

It was a good thing Oz had already heard her on the radio. It meant his surprise at seeing Cordy was at a minimum.

Not that most people would have been able to tell the difference.

"Cordelia."

[formermayqueen.livejournal.com]

She smiled at the fact this was Oz, and didn't once think that it was a different Oz than the one she knew. "You transferred here too? I figured it would take the Hellmouth opening for you to leave Sunnydale."

She blinked and looked concerned. Well, a bit. "It didn't, did it? Would we even know if it did?"

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

The last time Oz had seen Cordelia he had in fact still been living in Sunnydale, and still with Willow. He actually had no idea how much contact she'd had with the old gang, so it was entirely reasonable to suspect that she didn't know about his breakup, or his leaving town.

He himself knew only the barest details of events after he'd left. He'd heard about an army of Slayers and seen the news about the sink hole. He didn't know what had caused either of these events though.

On the other hand, Cordelia was talking about transferring here. As if she had. Plus she seemed more sure of herself, than last he'd seen her. He'd heard that time on the island could be strange.

"Seems like it'd be kind of a big deal." How to broach the subject of possible time displacement in a way that wouldn't freak her out?

[formermayqueen.livejournal.com]

Army of Slayers and sinkhole meant Apocalypse and coma for Cordy, but that hadn't happened yet for her.

There was no way that it wasn't going to freak her out. She still had no idea that a Willow, a Xander and three Buffys had all been here. Homecoming was going to be so much fun.

"You'd think so. Maybe everyone else would finally pay attention and I could take a real break from the weird. Not that I think I'll have a break from the weird here. Did you see the syrup rain? I hid in my room and refused to leave, it would have destroyed my hair."

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

Actually neither did Oz. He hadn't even seen Tara yet.

"I saw it. It was hard to get the van clean afterwards." He had to ask. "What brings you here?"

[formermayqueen.livejournal.com]

Cordelia shrugged, even as she frowned at some of the decorations. "Oh, Daddy suggested that I spend my senior year at a good school to prepare for college, and this is the one I picked."

She held up a selection of baby bibs. "I think they had the wrong idea about labor."

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

"I think you're right." Oz agreed. "Also think that would terrify a new baby." He pointed to a giant teddy bear.

[formermayqueen.livejournal.com]

Cordelia blinked at the teddy bear and for a brief moment had a flash of 'I Want'. "Not the baby, but probably one a bit older. So, what are you doing here?"

Her mind was like a goldfish, or at least her attention span.

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

He was still trying to figure out the best way to let her know that their timelines might not exactly match. "Needed a change of scene. This place was interesting. Anyone tell you about how time is kinda weird here?"

[formermayqueen.livejournal.com]

"Oh, yeah, totally," Cordelia answered with a wave of her hand. "My big sibling is from two years before me, and apparently there are some people from like, 2009."

Occasionally a thought did sneak through the shallow fashionista vibe, and gave her a clue. She narrowed her eyes at Oz. "When are you from?"

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

Good then it wouldn't be as much of a blow. "I'm some people."

[formermayqueen.livejournal.com]

Cordelia looked really confused for a moment. "Some people? From... oh. Oh! Hey, did I finally dump Xander?"

There go her priorities again.

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

And here was a much more difficult decision. "You sure you want to know?"

Just how much do you want Oz to tell Cordelia about the future? I could always have him pull the old 'one should never know too much about their destiny' routine, if you don't want her to be spoiled.

[formermayqueen.livejournal.com]

"About Xander, yes. And maybe next year's spring line."


Oh, nothing. She doesn't need to be spoiled just yet. :D

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

Oz pondered a moment, then shook his head. "I don't think I should. It'd be like prophecy and that never turns out well."

[formermayqueen.livejournal.com]

"But, unlike a prophecy, you would make sense and have accurate details and directions," Cordelia pointed out.

[loyal-type.livejournal.com]

There was that. "But what if by telling you, I make things happen differently?"