brat_inslayage | Sunnydale, California, Not Quite March 2003

Kennedy had never been into doing housework, and why should she when she'd grown up with an entire staff of people to do that? But with a houseful of teenage girls plus Scoobies and Andrew, it had only been inevitable that someone would ask her to take a turn at it eventually, and less inevitable (also surprising) that eventually she'd stop bitchfacing and agree to do it if a specific someone asked.

Trying to help set an example for the younger Potentials was such a pain sometimes.

So, laundry, which was the biggest pain in the ass when everyone tended to get sweaty, not dirty, on a daily basis.

She was leaning against the washer, waiting for the rinse cycle to end so she could shove everything in the dryer (and hoping she hadn't accidentally sorted anything red and bleedy into a load of light colors), with her phone in hand. Turning their current inventory of information upside down and shaking it hadn't given them any more leads, and they'd come really close to literally doing that out of frustration. She kept hoping maybe she could get through to someone in Fandom, and today that just happened to be Wesley.

"Come on, Watcher Junior, buck the trend and pick up, will ya?"

No luck, so far. Big surprise.

Buffy	"I am positive," Buffy said as she came in with another basket full of clothes to add to the workload, "that I did not have this many clothes when I was that age." This was a total lie. Or at least an accidental fabrication.
Kennedy	Kennedy took one look at the basket and practically whimpered. "They're multiplying, I swear to God. Is there, like, a laundry demon we can slay to fix this?" Her phone was still ringing, and she glared at it. "These are totally questions I would ask people if they would pick up the damn phone."
Buffy	"Hello, slayer here," Buffy pointed out, putting the basket down. "Who are you trying to call."
Kennedy	"Wesley," Kennedy replied, and now she was eyeing the washing machine like it would be some kind of traitor if it finished soon and therefore made itself available to wash another load of clothes. Then, because she was starting to remember that multiple timelines were a pain in the ass and she had to differentiate now, "Not the one in L.A. The one I know."
Buffy	Buffy blinked, taking the moment to process that. "Oh my god. There are two of them?"
Kennedy	"Welcome to my reaction to most of your friends," Kennedy said, deadpan. Also, not above glaring at the washing machine when the spin cycle ended. As she shoved wet clothes into the dryer she added, "Seriously, between you and Xander-- was he really that bad when you guys knew him? 'cause the one I know is pretty..." Okay, she had to stop and think about that. "Uptight, granted. But helpful."
Buffy	"Are we talking about the same Wesley?" Buffy asked. "All stodgy and British, acts like he's got a scone stuck somewhere deeply uncomfortable?"
Kennedy	"...never eating a scone again," Kennedy decided, once she'd started to process that mental image and realized she really, really didn't want to go there. "Totally screwed things up around here with you and Faith, right? Which is why he ended up in Fandom, at least for me." She couldn't really argue with the description, but she couldn't help being a little defensive of her friends, either. "Same guy, yeah. And don't think I didn't give him crap all the time about being so stuffy. 'cause it was fun," she added unrepentantly. "But he had my back a bunch of times."
Buffy	"I'd say Faith sort of screwed things up for herself," Buffy admitted. "So you're like friends with him?" Trying to picture it here. Trying really hard...
Kennedy	This was probably not going to do Kennedy's credibility any favors, was it? "I was gonna say semi-professional acquaintance, but yeah. I trained with him sometimes. Okay, at first I spent a lot of time rolling my eyes at him when he kept trying to give me advice..."
Buffy	Buffy began nodding along. "I find that last part totally reasonable..."
Kennedy	"But once I figured out how to blow that off he helped me out a lot. I guess he's working with some people in L.A. now?" Yes, Kennedy, bring up Angel, why don't you, even obliquely? "Seems to be working okay for him."
Buffy	Look at Buffy ignoring that part! Mostly! She'd just obsess over it to Willow for a while later. "Uh, yeah. Not that I've been keeping track or anything," she said quickly. "Because I haven't." Since the last time she'd been there hadn't gone so well and oh hey, maybe she wasn't doing such a great job of ignoring that, huh?
Kennedy	"A friend of his came out to visit at Parents' Weekend once," Kennedy went on, leaning back against the washer and raising an eyebrow at Buffy in a total I see you there not obsessing really way. "What was her name, Cordelia? She said I should think about coming to L.A. and seeing what I could do with them, but I never really took her up on it. Kinda wish I did, but I'm okay with ending up here, lurky evil and all."
Buffy	"Is there anyone you don't run into?" Buffy wondered. Just... wow, all these names she hadn't really thought about with everything going on. Lurky evil and all.
Kennedy	"I'm starting to wonder that myself," Kennedy almost whined. Okay, totally whined. "Don't get me started on how that kind of Fandom wacky is a bite in the ass." "...not Andrew, though, thank god. Or Spike, or Anya. Or any of the Potentials..."
Buffy	"That's weirdly specifically non-specific," she said, because there were people who were totally big names to her that weren't on it.
Kennedy	"...I was a TA for Faith's class for a while?" Because the idea of Faith as a teacher wasn't going to be weird or anything.
Buffy	"...Nuh uh." BECAUSE WHAT. "What did she teach, cleavage in ten easy steps? Class one, oh hey, no need for the rest of the semester?" Sorry, Faith.
Kennedy	"Tchah, like I needed that anyway," Kennedy scoffed. (What? She didn't. There wasn't much there.) "It was a self-defense class. Besides, she was kinda old." Sorry, anyone the age of, like, 24 and up.
Buffy	"How old we talking here?" Buffy asked dryly.
Kennedy	"Um. Like... twenty-five, maybe?" That was ancient, okay? It was.
Buffy	"Oh. Well that is old." Not like she had gotten there yet.
Kennedy	Buffy, don't give Kennedy reasons to give you a smug told-you-so look. She'd do it anyway, but don't give her reasons. "But anyway, who freaking knew?" she asked. "Like, I'd meet people and it'd be all, 'oh, cool, I think you might be from the same world as me,' but this is extreme small-world-ness."
Buffy	She didn't want to ask. Shouldn't ask. "Did you ever meet a me?" Apparently she was asking, and totally trying to be casual about it.
Kennedy	Kennedy was so not bringing up the part where she'd gotten startled and dropped her crossbow, because hi, embarrassing. "You showed up for Homecoming weekend and went on patrol. I totally did not act like a giant fangirl, I swear."
Buffy	"Oh, that's freaksome," Buffy decided. "...You fangirled me?" She did not but the 'not' there, Kennedy.
Kennedy	"Said I didn't," Kennedy retorted. In that tone of voice that made it obvious that she totally had. "...much."
Buffy	"I get fangirled. Neat." Now who was the smug one?
Kennedy	...not Kennedy. SIGH. "Not any more, you don't." Did it stop her from trying? Not really, no. "So I wanted to know what you were up to. The whole Slayer-y gig. Is that so wrong?"
Buffy	"No," she said honestly. "I might've been curious about the last girl, too." Why did everyone get to find out about this beforehand except her? Come on, seriously.
Kennedy	Because they made everything up on the fly afterward, duh. It made it easier to be all put-upon and self-sacrificing, too. "'course, now I get that my Watcher was holding back on stuff," Kennedy added, sounding a little annoyed about that. "From what Wes said that's sort of not new."
Buffy	"Not really," she said. "I think Giles is better about it than most." She paused thoughtfully. "I think there's a chapter on holding back in the handbook."
Kennedy	"Fun," Kennedy said dryly. "You should hear some of the crazy-ass gossip the other girls come up with as far as stuff they think they've heard about you. No, actually, you don't wanna know."
Buffy	"Okay, you can't say that and tell me I don't want to know." She totally wanted to know what she didn't want to know.
Kennedy	"Well, Chloe thinks you did something that totally screwed traffic between here and San Francisco for days, but she says she doesn't actually know any details. Mostly, though?" Kennedy smirked like she wasn't aware she was setting herself up for retaliation. "I catch 'em whispering about you and Spike a lot. I swear, there's swoony reenactments."
Buffy	"Okay, I didn't want to know," Buffy decided, just this side of wide-eyed. "Why aren't they whispering about you and Willow?" Just in case Kennedy had ever wanted the view of the underside of a bus...
Kennedy	It was a scenic bus underside! Very, um. Metaphorically technical. "What? Whoa, hey." Don't try to play innocent, Kennedy. Nobody buys that. Also it was a smooshy bus underside. "Nothing to whisper about there!"
Buffy	Buffy folded her arms. So clearly she believed that. "Uh huh."
Kennedy	"Hey." It was a good word, okay? She liked it. Kennedy held her hands up. "Completely innocent, okay? Nothing gossip-worthy going on there." A beat. "Also they've been giving me crap forever."
Buffy	"Swoon-worthy reenactments?" Buffy checked.
Kennedy	"Nah." Kennedy risked a smirk for a second. "We save those for our fearless leader." Actually the girls probably did that when she wasn't looking.
Buffy	"You're doing laundry forever," Buffy decided. "And dishes."
Kennedy	Who knew that was such an effective way to get Kennedy to shut up? "Okay, that was a joke, right?" Well, shut up except for the question.
Buffy	Buffy just shrugged. Vaguely. She didn't really care who did the laundry or dishes as long as she didn't have to but she could and would use this.

[[nfi/nfb/ooc-okay, preplayed with the smashing

annieadderall as

stillbaking. this post exists for two reasons: a) i don't have to get everything done in 13 episodes so i can de-rush things a little thank god, and b) it's the teacup's fault. basically.]]