Part XXXVIII

"Xander, would you please answer your pho- ohhhh." Ken's words drew out in surprise as he took in the scene in the guest bedroom.

"His phone isn't ringing, Ken," Cee mumbled into Xander's soft chest, where she was tightly snuggled. Xander jumped guiltily and tried to sit up, but tanned, freckled arms resolutely held him down. He watched helplessly, blinking in the morning sun, as Ken's expression shifted from surprised to smug.

"Cee," he implored, nudging her.

"What? Too comfy to care. His phone is off, Ken, I don't know what you're talking about." She nuzzled his moobs with her face and lightly squeezed one of his love handles under the covers, making him jump again.

Ken, shaking slightly with suppressed laughter, replied, "I know it's off, but I also know that it's been ringing for the past forty-five minutes and it's driving me crazy. And before you ask, it's not your parents, so do you think you could answer it?"

"How do you-" Xander started to ask, but Ken interrupted him.

"I know shit sometimes, remember? Especially with electronics. So please turn the damn thing on and answer so I can game in peace."

He turned and closed the door behind him, and Xander relaxed back into the pillows and Cee's embrace and, with his free hand, reached over to pick up his phone. He switched it on and looked down at the tousled mess of bright, coppery curls pressed beneath his chin and smiled. Gently stroking her hair with one hand, he scrolled through his missed call notifications with the other and saw seven recent calls from his sister. Shit, he thought, and, just as he was about to tap on her number to call her back, the phone started ringing - it was her again.

"Lexi? What's wrong?

"Xander!" his sister exclaimed, "Finally!"

"What?" He inched his arm out from beneath Cee's sleeping form and sat up. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Everything's okay, brother, don't worry. We're just like only an hour away and I knew you said you weren't staying at your dorm but I didn't know where you were and you weren't answering your phone and I didn't know how we would find you..." she rambled.

His stomach clenched. "Who's we?"

"Chill out, just me and Jared. I told you I wanted to come see you, so we're coming to see you."

"Oh, okay. Where are you?"

He heard her ask Jared what exit they were at, then she said, "We just passed Newtown. Where are you?"

Xander looked down as he felt the covers shift and saw Cee drape herself across his lap, attempt to wrap her arms around his waist, and press her cheek into his belly, eyes closed and a contented smile curling up the corners of her lips. "I'm, uh...with friends." He gave his sister the address and directions to the hunters' house from his dorm.

"Okay, I'll put it in my phone and just call if we need help. We'll be there in about an hour, is that alright?"

He felt Cee nod into his abdomen, making his flesh quiver and warmth bloom throughout his torso, and he gave silent thanks that his gut was big enough to cover his crotch. "We have no plans for today," she told him, and gazed up at him with a smirk.

"Uh, y-yeah, that's...f-f-fine," he managed to stutter as Cee giggled. Way to forget she knows everything you're thinking, he scolded himself.

"Sounds good. See you soon!"

He dropped the phone into the fluff of the comforter at the foot of the bed and looked down at Cee, who was still smirking at him, and shook his head.

"What?"

I thought I was dreaming. Is this even real? I didn't think you'd still be here. Nothing he could think of seemed capable of adequately expressing the level of awe and gratefulness and pure contentment he was feeling just then.

Her expression softened and she sat upright, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling his face close to hers. "Same," she whispered. A small, happy noise escaped her as he kissed her, and he felt a glowing sensation in his chest.

"Oh..." He pulled away. "Is it going to be okay that my sister and her boyfriend are coming here? I mean, will Darshan...and what should I tell her? I mean about all this demon stuff."

"Darshan can literally go out in the back yard and suck on rocks if he has a problem with it. It's technically my family's house, so it's my call. And as for what to tell her, you don't have to tell her anything. She may have some abilities - they tend to run in families - but she may not, in which case there's really no point in telling her just to freak her out. Like I said, we have no plans today. There are no hunters coming, my parents and Talos and Costas have gone back to the city to try to recruit other hunters, and Mei and Thomas have done the same, so it's just the six of us. And we'll all be super-safe: my and Ling's parents quadrupled the shields and trips, and I can even show you how to shield another person so you can put up some shields on your sister and her boyfriend."

Xander nodded with relief.

"I was hoping to have you all to myself today," she told him with a slight pout, "but I'm glad you'll get to see your sister. It sucks when you can't see your family for the holidays."

"Yeah..." Xander trailed off, frowning.

"But," Cee continued, "we're your family now, too. Your dysfunctional, demon-slaying family. Not that our holidays were exactly great this year... Anyway, I'm excited to meet her. Her boyfriend is with her?"

"Yeah, Jared. They've been together since middle school."

"Wow, and they're seniors now? That's impressive. What do you think of him?"

"What?"

Her hands snuck under his arms to embrace him as she replied. "What do you think of him? You're a good judge of character; I want to know."

"Oh. Um..." He stroked her back for a moment before answering. "He's actually a great guy. Laid-back, funny, respectful. He's kind of a jock - he plays lacrosse and soccer - but he's cool. He's good to her. My parents can't even find a good reason to dislike him, other than the fact that he isn't an asshole to fat people."

"Ah. Your sister's chubby? I remember you saying that girl at the movies reminded you of her."

"I guess so. I mean, she's not scrawny...but she's nothing like me," he finished, a familiar twinge of doubt shaking his thoughts.

Cee disentangled herself from him and looked him in the face. "Well, if she looks anything like you," she told him, trailing the backs of her fingers down his cheek, "I'll bet she's gorgeous. Now, as much as I'd love to stay in bed with you all day, we should probably get dressed. I want to make you brunch before they get here."