A Brand New Day

Disclaimer: I own no commercial property nor claim any of the characters herein regardless of any claims made by any existent media company. (That should be enough quasi-legal mumbo jumbo to avoid attracting the attentions of the Dark Ones who wear suits and sit in judgment.)

"...I'll still love you," Xander told her, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her.

Willow cried and clutched him. "You don't understand, I have to do this!"

"You don't have to destroy the world, but more importantly you don't have to destroy yourself," Xander told her. "Tara's loss won't hurt forever, not like ending the world will."

Willow gave out a broken laugh. "The end is the beginning. Please, you have to trust me."

"I... alright," Xander said, ignoring everything he thought he knew about the situation and trusting her, his oldest friend.

She turned, pushing him behind her and turning in his arms to face the statue once more. "Hold me tight," she begged.

"I will," he swore, as she raised her arms and fed the statue her... their life force.

"What are you doing?" he asked, feeling the strain.

"Remaking everything," Willow replied intently. "All our loved ones back..."

"OK," Xander said, gripping her tightly as his hair began to gray.

"I love you," Willow said as the world dissolved in a wave of power.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*

Xander woke with a start, staring around himself in shock as he struggled to sort out two conflicting sets of memories. He remembered Sunnydale in all its bloodstained glory, but he also remembered Sunnyvale, a town that was everything Sunnydale promised.

His home life had changed drastically, instead of being the only child of a pair of borderline alcoholics who barely got along, he was the adopted son of... Shelia and Ira Rosenberg. The Rosenbergs had adopted him not knowing that Shelia was several months along at the time, so he'd grown up with Willow as his sister... leading to them leaving Willow in his care even more than in their first life. Still, with Xander there, Willow hadn't cared nearly as much.

The pair were thick as thieves and had completely wrecked the grade curve, leading to them being in roughly the same social position as they had been in Sunnydale, not that they cared, though it had stung a little when Jessie had started dating Cordelia and had ditched them. And speaking of his love life… Instead of the string of near disasters his love life had been in Sunnydale, here he hadn't really dated that much, beyond casual meet ups and a crush on a teacher or two. He wasn't sure which was better, a dangerous and painful love life or not having one at all.

The town residents were much the same, at least he assumed so as not being part of a demon hunting group, or there being one at all, had changed who he dealt with from day to day and who he was familiar with in this life.

Joyce hadn't died, but it was a couple of years before that point in the timeline, so it might still occur, having nothing to do with demons. Xander had never met her as he and Buffy weren't friends, running in completely different circles in this life, but he had seen her and Dawn at several school functions. Giles was the school Principal and Miss Calendar the vice Principal, while Snyder was the surly janitor. Both Warren and Anya were missing, but he wasn't sure if that meant they were dead or he had just never met them. Andrew and Jonathan appeared the same as they had been.

He jumped out of bed, shut off the alarm and rushed into Willow's room. She'd barely gotten up herself and looked completely surprised as he threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"Something wrong?" she asked, hugging him.

"Just a bad dream," he replied, not letting go. "How'd you sleep?" he asked.

"I slept fine, no dreams at all," Willow promised.

"That's good," he said, guessing she'd gotten rid of all her memories of Sunnydale. As long as it made her happy, he was fine with it. Their new world was lacking in demons and dark magic as far as he could tell and that was fine with him too.

"Are you going to let me go or are you planning to shower with me?" she joked, trying to cheer him up.

Xander picked her up and started moving towards the bathroom.

"Xander, I was joking!" Willow squeaked out.

He grinned and set her back down. "So was I, I'm just really relieved you're OK."

"That must have been a really bad dream," Willow said, concerned.

"Yeah, no more horror moving marathons for me," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need a shower."

"Alright... Hey wait! I've got first shower!" Willow said, rushing past him for the bathroom.

Xander let her win, grinning at her laughter as she slammed the bathroom door before he could enter.

Xander borrowed their absentee parent's shower, pausing to examine himself in the mirror as he noted the complete lack of scars and surprisingly blue eyes. "And now we have that in common," he said before glancing down. "At least she didn't feel the need to change anything else."

He was clean and dressed before she finished her shower, thanks to being male and having short hair. He could hear her getting dressed as he started breakfast, electing to go for French toast since it was fast and easy. He hummed as he buzzed around the kitchen, the eggs cracking perfectly for once, before he added the cinnamon and mixed them up.

*Ding Dong*

Xander went to answer the door, but froze on opening it.

"Hello," a familiar looking blonde said shyly.

"Tara!" Xander exclaimed, sweeping her up in his arms and giving her an enormous hug.

"Eep!" Tara turned bright red and Xander set her down.

"Sorry, had a bad dream," he said. "Just happy to see you alive and well. Come on in and have some French toast!"

A confused Tara found herself sitting at the Rosenberg's dining table being served breakfast a few seconds later. She shot Willow a questioning glance, but Willow just shrugged and slipped into the seat next to her.

"How are my two favorite girls this morning?" he asked while serving them.

"Good," Willow offered. "Was the dream really that bad?"

"Yes, and now I am going to repress every little bit of it," Xander said cheerfully. "Just think of it as every monster movie you know stuck in a blender and you won't be far off."

"Creature from the Black Lagoon?" Willow asked impulsively.

"The swim coach experimented on the swimming team," Xander replied.

"The Invisible Man?" Tara asked, surprising them both.

"Marci, a rather average girl, was ignored until she turned invisible, which drove her mad and she started murdering all the popular kids," Xander said.

"Frankenstein?" Willow asked.

"One of the chess team resurrected his older brother and was trying to make him the perfect bride by using bits of various girls," Xander said. "He wanted to stick your brain in Cordelia's head to attach to the body he'd already assembled thanks to a bus crash and the gymnastics team."

"That is one comprehensive dream," Tara said.

"Yeah," Xander agreed, "no more horror movies for me, I'm sticking to Disney for the foreseeable future."

Willow laughed and Tara hid a giggle behind her hand.

"Let me grab my stuff and we'll be good to go," Xander said, getting up and heading up the stairs.

"I thought he was jealous of all the time you spent with me," Tara said, "this is a big change."

"Yeah, that nightmare really shook him up," Willow agreed. "Think I should tell him about us?"

Tara chewed her bottom lip as she thought.

"I'll wait until we can see if his new change in attitude is permanent," Willow decided.

"That's probably for the best," Tara said, leaning forward to give Willow a kiss since they were alone together.

They quickly pulled apart a minute later as they heard Xander bouncing down the stairs, singing the Mighty Mouse theme song. He swept through the room putting everything in its place and the dishes in the sink, his former bad mood forgotten.

"Let us sally forth and wreck the grade curve!" Xander said grandly, making them laugh as they headed for school.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Xander was putting his books away and getting ready for lunch when he caught sight of Larry Blaisdell heading for Tara.

Larry Blaisdell had died a hero, facing down the town mayor turned giant demonic snake with a homemade flamethrower... but for a long time before that he had been a closeted homosexual who took out his confusion and self hatred on those around him by acting like the living stereotype of the high school bully and football player and in Sunnyvale he had yet to grow out of that stage.

Xander slammed his locker shut and moved quickly to catch up with Larry. He arrived just in time as Larry put an arm up to hem Tara in. Seeing the frightened look on her face, he didn't hesitate to body check Larry out of the way. "Hi Honey," he said cheerfully, "looks like I'm going to have to skip lunch with you, but you know how it is."

Before she could respond, Xander was yanked around and Larry swung at him. Only a couple of blows were exchanged before the pair were collared by the coach and drug off.

"What happened?" Willow asked, arriving a bit late as she'd had to talk to the teacher about the appropriateness of the subject of her history report on presidential assassins and their political ideologies.

"Larry tried to come on to me and Xander... took exception," Tara said slowly. "They got into a fight and the coach took them to his office."

"Xander got into a fight?" Willow asked in disbelief.

"Over me," Tara said. "I think... he likes me."

"Xander?" Willow said in shock.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Larry, you've been pushing it lately and I saw enough to say you were out of line here," Coach Marin said. "Rosenberg... You know the rules, even if you're right, you're wrong for fighting." He paced back and forth in front of the pair. "Now I have to come up with an appropriate punishment for the two of you."

"Have us run laps," Larry suggested.

"A few laps aren't gonna cut it," the coach said.

"So, don't make it a few," Xander said. "You give a lecture on appropriate behavior in school to the class while we spend all class doing laps behind you. It punishes us both in such a way Larry doesn't miss a game, but no one can say you're going easy on us."

"I'd run you into the ground," Larry said with a snort.

"Please," Xander said, "I got twenty that says you fall out before I do!"

"This could work," Coach Marin said, stroking his beard. "I start you off running a couple minutes before class starts and everyone will assume you've been running even longer."

"You're on," Larry told Xander. "I got twenty on me. You?"

"In my wallet," Xander replied.

"Get stretched and changed," Marin ordered.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Where has Xander gotten to?" Willow worried as she and Tara changed for gym. "He better not have gotten expelled!"

"They wouldn't expel him for a single fight," Tara assured her, "especially since no one was injured."

Willow took a deep breath and slowly let it out, forcing herself to calm down.

"For a nerd he was showing a decent amount of backbone," Buffy told Cordelia, as she tightened the laces on her shoes.

"Even if he is a nerd, he's still a guy," Cordelia said, rolling her eyes. "Larry should have known better than to hit on his girl. Rosenberg isn't a big enough wimp to ignore that."

"His girl?" Tara squeaked, turning bright red.

Cordelia laughed. "Please, he only hangs around with one girl he isn't related to."

"Not exactly a big secret," Buffy agreed.

As the girls filed out of the girl's locker room, Tara turned to Willow. "Have I been... dating your brother?"

Willow mentally went over all the time the three spent together, wondering if maybe he hadn't been annoyed with Willow rather than jealous of Tara taking up her time.

"Maybe..." Willow offered.

"Oh... OK," Tara said before starting to hyperventilate.

"Slow deep breaths!" Willow yelped, grabbing Tara by the shoulders. "Try and calm down. We can work this all out!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Xander and Larry completed their fifth lap, keeping a slow but steady pace so they wouldn't wear themselves out too fast.

"One and a quarter miles," Larry said, trying not to sound too out of breath, even though he was starting to feel the burn in his thighs. While he wasn't a long distance runner, he was in excellent shape.

"Tell me when we reach five," Xander challenged, finding running a lot easier than he thought it would be, but getting a little thirsty.

"-and posture and body language also play a part in how you are perceived by others," Coach Marin lectured the class who was sitting in the bleachers in front of him while the two boys ran laps behind him.

"But I like aggressive," Harmony complained, before realizing she'd interrupted the class and shrank back.

"No, that's fine," Coach Marin assured her. "Not everyone is the same. That is also something you have to take into account. If you aren't sure of something, ask. Miscommunications are one of the biggest problems with relationships, but back to topic. Your behavior on school grounds is expected to be above reproach. I don't care what you do off campus, but on campus I expect hands where I can see them and lips to remain untouched. Hugs... you got about two seconds. Everyone clear?"

"Yes, coach," the class chorused.

"But what if he doesn't read the hints?" Harmony spoke up. "I mean, I don't want to lead the guy by the hand!"

The coach paused, wondering when his lecture on appropriate school behavior had turned into dating advice, but seeing the confused and hopeful faces in front of him, he couldn't just brush the question off. "All the stuff you see in the movies or read about in stories where the people who just met are in complete sync about what they want? Forget it, it's crap. No, that is the behavior of a couple who has been together for a decent amount of time and talked openly about what they want. You are actually going to have to hold their hand and tell them everything to get what you want."

"Aww," Harmony slumped, as did a number of other students.

"Don't look too disheartened," he said, "you only have to walk them through it once or twice, after that they should know what to do."

Harmony perked right back up.

"That doesn't just apply to the boys, girls... guys are pretty easy in most cases but remember to check with them as well. Any other questions?"

"Can you get pregnant the first time?" someone called out.

"It's possible to get pregnant without any penetration whatsoever," he said, horrifying the group.

Xander turned to Larry. "I wonder what he said?" he asked as they saw the looks on their faces.

"I don't know," Larry panted out, beginning to flag.

"I'll ask the coach for some water on our next go around," Xander decided, taking deeper breaths but not nearly as tired as Larry.

"Thanks," Larry grunted out.

Near the end of class

Tara held out a bottle of water for Xander to grab as he went past, Willow doing the same for Larry.

"I can't believe they're still going," Willow said as the boys took the bottles and drank while on the move, though at half the speed they had started with.

Tara nodded.

"Those girls are angels," Larry gasped out.

"And taken," Xander said between gulps of water.

"They're not my type," Larry admitted.

"I know," Xander replied.

"You know?" Larry squeaked and stumbled.

Xander dropped the bottle and kept Larry from falling. "Yeah, don't sweat it."

"But..."

"Dude, it's not that big a deal, at least not to me," Xander promised.

The pair were moving a lot slower, staggering as they helped hold each other up.

"Not so sure anyone else would agree," Larry said.

"You never know until you try, but really... how often does it come up? It's like my thing for blondes who are double jointed, it's private and no one's business unless they happen to be a blonde I'm dating," Xander said.

"Huh," Larry said slowly. "I always thought it was all or nothing and you had to change your life and join a bunch of clubs."

The pair were barely moving, their feet dragging with each step.

"Nah, just makes it easier to find like minded people is all."

*RING*

The pair collapsed to the ground like puppets with their strings cut.

"This is the most comfortable ground ever," Xander decided.

"Yes, yes it is," Larry agreed.

Tara and Willow rushed over to check on Xander.

"Are you alright?!" Willow exclaimed, rolling him over.

"Just tired... and still thirsty," Xander said.

"Tara, sorry for earlier, I was a bit of a jerk," Larry said, not moving from his face down position. "Even if you weren't dating someone else, I was out of line."

"Th-thank you," Tara stuttered out.

The coach came over to the four. "Girls, you better get going or you'll miss your next class. Boys, nice teamwork. I'll write you an excuse for next period."

"Thanks coach," the pair chorused, as the girls departed.

"Want me to turn on the sprinklers?" he asked.

"Yes, coach," the pair chorused.

"I'll go do that, try not to drown," Coach Marin said, before walking off.

"Yes, coach!"

As the sprinklers came on they sighed in relief.

"Best coach ever," Larry said.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I'm dating Xander," Tara said nervously.

"Yeah," Willow agreed with a groan.

"How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Willow admitted.

"We really should have told him about us," Tara said.

"Looks that way," Willow agreed.

"I'm dating twins," Tara said with a snicker.

"Hey- Actually you kinda are," Willow admitted, as Xander and Willow always claimed to be twins, since they were so close in age no one would know the difference without checking their birth certificates.

"How am I going to straighten this out?" Tara asked Willow.

"Carefully and while doing your best not to break my brother's heart," Willow suggested.

"I'll take it slow," Tara promised, seeing how concerned Willow was about her brother's feelings.

"Good," Willow said with a sigh. "Thankfully Xander isn't a complete horndog and is pretty shy himself."

"He's a sweetie," Tara agreed.

"Well, off to history, and simpler questions like the effects superhumans had on each World War," Willow said.

"A much easier topic," Tara agreed. "I think I know a little more about Wonder Woman's actions than the types of perfumes guys like."

"Or lip-gloss flavors they prefer," Willow teased.

Tara developed an evil grin for a moment that she pushed down to try and sound innocent as she asked, "Does Xander like peach or wild cherry best?"

"Probably pea- Hey!" Willow exclaimed as a giggling Tara ran off with her in pursuit.

Typing By: Abyssal Angel

TN: And there it is! I was wondering when the other shoe was going to drop! I'll be honest, I actually thought for a moment near the middle there that this was going to be a regular high school fic, but that doesn't really fit Dogbertcarroll's style, ne?

AN: I absolutely loathe normal high school versions of shows… even the ones which are about normal high schools, give me something interesting to read other than just the typical teen drama!