Because You...

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/The Case Files of Young Kindaichi
Summary: Willow and Buffy help Xander finish his costume.
Word Count: 640
Rating: Teen
Warning: again, mention of kindaichi being a perv; xander is better but he doesn't 100% understand why because his home life is...not great

        “There you are, Xander.  We were getting worried—” is all Buffy manages to get out before he barges past her with a “Nice costume!”, barreling past Ghost Willow on the stairs.  From what Ethan had said, it sounds like getting a wig on is a lot harder than he’d thought, so he’s got to have the most time possible to get it on.
        Both of them actually end up doing most of the work, as cramped as it is with Buffy’s ballgown and the sheet, because when it comes to hair clips he has no clue what he’s doing.  It’s even more awkward because he can feel Willow’s hands tremble as she helps Buffy get his hair ready to put on the wig cap.  “A-are you okay?” she asks, and he counters with a question of his own.
        “Yeah, but will both of you be okay?  You’re gonna be late.”  Sure, it won’t look great if he ends up doing all this on his own and would probably take five times as long, but it’s okay if he ends up getting punished on his own.
        Buffy snorts.  “Pff, if I have to take on the Troll, I will.  Don’t think we haven’t noticed you’re avoiding there, though.”
        He winces, and she continues.
        “Did you get attacked by a vampire?  I could’ve had Mom pick you up so you wouldn’t be walking around.”
        Perfect.  Now all you have to do is play along.
        “Eh, it’s okay.  I didn’t get too banged up, and he seemed happy enough to ruin the costume.  I think he had something against soldiers.”  Lie by omission.  “You don’t have time for a quick Slay, though, sorry.  Ethan was helpful, but we’re still going to be late.”  I’m going to have to dispose of the evidence, but I think I can manage that.
        “But what kind of costume is this, anyway?” Buffy asks, incredulous.  It’s okay; it’s practice, because he’s pretty sure the Troll’s going to bother him for the same thing.
        He puts a finger in the air, posing as much as he can without moving his head.  “In the name of my grandfather, my group will definitely get the most candy!”
        Buffy just blinks at him, and it takes Willow a moment to catch on.
        “W-wait, Hajime-chan?  You’re too much!”  She’s playing along, which is nice.  There’s even a smile in her voice, even if she’s also a little sad.
        “Insert perverted remark here, because I don’t want to actually say anything and get all this wig hard work messed up,” he confirms and watches the sheet shake her head at him disapprovingly in the mirror.  It’s not the only reason, of course.  Even if he’s clever, the only one who actually appreciated that was Jesse, and after how freaked out Willow got the on time she was over at his house and his dad was drunk and decided to flirt, he really doesn’t want to remind her of that.  But even bringing that up is of the bad, so…better just to make a joke out of it.  “I can just act like I got roughed up by a suspect.”
        Buffy stares blankly at him for another moment, then decides, “You know what, I don’t want to know.  Okay, shake your head around; let’s see how well it’s kept in place.”
        He does, and it doesn’t move too much.  Which, ‘pretty good’ is all they have time for, really.  “The last step is borrowing one of your hair ties.”  He can probably get the necklace on along the way.  Or, well, he thinks that; Willow decides to do that instead, and Buffy puts in the hair tie to try to prevent him from moving the wig too much.  At least Buffy’s mom is driving, so they’ll get to the school in relatively reasonable time.