Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

I acknowledge that Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all associated characters were probably created by Joss Whedon. No copyright infringement is intended. (In other words, please don't sue me.)

This was my first finished piece of fanfic in like 10 years, so if ya got feedback (good, bad or ugly,) I�d love to hear it!

Joyce Summers smiled to herself as Buffy scampered up the stairs to her bedroom. It would be the third time in the past twenty minutes that Buffy had decided to change her outfit. Joyce allowed herself a moment of reverie as she thought back to when her parents were first meeting Hank after she started dating him back in high school. She seemed to recall changing her outfit once or twice before he arrived, much to the amusement of her own mother.

"Buffy, you looked fine," Joyce shouted to her daughter. "You also looked fine the other two times you decided to change. You are starting to make ME nervous!"

Buffy had just about decided on another outfit when she stopped to consider her mother's words. She ran down the stairs and into the kitchen where her mom was getting dinner ready.

"What was that about me making you nervous?" Buffy questioned her mom as she grabbed a carrot stick from the vegetable tray she was preparing.

"Well kiddo, the way I see it *you* should be nervous about *me* meeting Angel. But with all your running around and fidgeting. . .it's making *me* nervous!"

"Sorry mom. I just want tonight to go well."

"Buffy, you know I'm not promising anything. I'm very concerned about the age difference. He's 22 and you're 16." Buffy started to interrupt but was silenced when her mother continued. "I know. You'll be 17 next month, but Buffy, that's still 5 years difference."

Buffy thought back to an evening a week ago. She and Angel had had a date(?) at the Bronze. It was just going to be coffee, but it was a start.

It has been a slow week slaying-wise. Even so, Buffy had been surprised when Giles had suggested that she take the night off. Judging from their conversation after the incident at the Delta Zeta Kappa fraternity house, she suspected that Willow had had something to so with that.

Buffy had told her mom that she was going to meet a friend at the Bronze for coffee.

"Look Buffy, I know you are quite capable of taking care of yourself, but I am still a bit worried about you walking home so late at night." Ever since parent-teacher night Joyce seemed to be a bit more relaxed about Buffy being out on her own at night, but as a parent of a teenage girl, she still worried. "Will someone be able to bring you home?"

"I'll try to get a ride or else I'm sure Angel will walk me," Buffy replied.

"Angel? Your history tutor? Is there something you'd like to share with me?" Joyce prompted.

"What do you wanna know?" Buffy asked, suddenly feeling like she was five years old again.

"What all mothers want to know. Do you like him a lot? Does he like you a lot. Is it serious?" she paused. "How old is he?"

At that last one Buffy swallowed hard. She didn't want to lie to her mom, but it wasn't as if she could tell her the truth. "Uh...I never really asked......." Joyce gave her daughter her best skeptical look. Buffy felt her resolve weakening as she searched for something to tell her mother. She thought she remembered Angel saying he was twenty-two when Darla "converted" him. "But I think he's, uh twenty......" More skeptical lookage. "...two," Buffy finally managed to squeak out.

"Let's go back to the 'is it serious' part," Buffy's mom eyed her with serious intent.

"We're just getting together for coffee...not running off to get married." Buffy responded.

"OK for tonight, but I want to meet him Buffy, really meet him. I hardly count that passing hello in the front hall last year. I have to look out for my little girl." Joyce impulsively reached out to hug her daughter.

"I'm not so little any more you know," Buffy responded as she hugged her mom back. "Mom, are you crying?"

"Just a little. You're right. You're not so little any more. Sorry. Now go. Have a good time and invite Angel for dinner next week."

"Dinner?" Buffy questioned trying not to look horrified.

"Is something wrong with dinner?"

"Oh no�dinner is great." Buffy glued a smile to her face. "I'll see if he can make it next week sometime."

"Have fun, but be careful." Joyce warned.

"I will mom." Buffy gave her mom's hand a reassuring squeeze before leaving out the front door.

As Buffy approached the Bronze, she could see Angel standing by the door waiting for her. The smile that he had been wearing when he first saw her approaching was quickly replaced by a look of concern once she had gotten to the door.

"Buffy, you OK?" Angel anxiously asked her.

"Uh yeah. No. I mean...can we walk?"

"Sure," Angel replied as he offered her his hand. Buffy took hold of Angel's hand and led him from the Bronze.

"How much do you care about me?" Buffy finally asked after several moments of silence.

"You know I.." Angel hesitated, not quite able to use the word 'love' yet, "care a lot about you."

"Enough to meet my mom?" Buffy quickly blurted out.

"You had me worried there. I thought something was really wrong." Angel replied as he pulled her close and hugged her to himself, and had he been able to, he would have breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll be happy to meet your mom under pleasant circumstances."

"But you don't understand. She asked me to invite you over for *dinner*." Buffy emphasized that last word.

"Dinner?" Angel raised his eyebrows at her.

"Yes dinner, you know when girl, that would be me, invites boy, that would be you, over to my parents, or in this case parent, for an evening of pure torture�for said boy and girl. But in this case doubly so. It's not like when she asks me what your favorite meal is I can just say B-positive!"

Angel just looked down at her and began to chuckle.

"What is so funny? It may not be as hazardous as slaying the odd demon or two bu-" Angel cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. When he finally broke off the kiss, much to Buffy's disappointment, she looked expectantly up at him.

"It'll be OK. Can your mom make something vegetarian?"

"I guess so," Buffy replied. "Can you eat that?"

"Most regular foods, especially meat, don't sit well with�" he hesitated. ". . .my kind, but I can manage a vegetarian meal here and there."

"So you'll do it? You'll come for dinner and be subjected to..I don't expect it will be as bad as the Spanish Inquisition. . ."

"Buffy�nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition," Angel joked, cutting her off once again.

"Huh?" Buffy scrunched up her face trying to get the joke.

"I used to watch a lot of late night TV. Never mind. It'll be fine."

"If you say so." Buffy didn't sound entirely convinced, but she trusted Angel so she believed it would be fine.

After settling the date for the following week, Buffy and Angel made their way back to the Bronze.

"Mom?" Buffy began snapping back to the present. "Why don't you just admit that you're worried about the whole sex issue?"

Joyce tried not to cringe as she heard her daughter use the word "sex." Instead she replied, "Is it that apparent? I had hoped it wouldn't be."

Buffy regarded her mother and pondered the meaning of what she had just said.

"I thought that moms were supposed to get all wiggy about thoughts that their teenage daughters might be having sex with their boyfriends."

"Are you?" Joyce asked hesitantly, not knowing if she really wanted to hear an answer.

"No, we're not," Buffy informed her mom. Joyce visibly relaxed. "Angel and I care very much about each other, and I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind�" Buffy paused almost surprised at what she had just admitted to her mother.

"But?" Joyce prompted.

Buffy chose her next words very carefully. It wasn't as if she could tell her mom the whole truth.

"But at the moment its a non-issue. We're still learning about each other. Neither of us is ready for something like that."

On an impulse, Joyce walked over to her daughter and gave her a big hug. Just then the doorbell rang. After a moment, Buffy broke away from her mom to go answer the door.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah mom?"

"I hope you know that when you feel the time is right, you'll be able talk to me about it."

"I know I can mom, and I will." Buffy replied.

At that point there was nothing more for Joyce to do but say a small prayer, set the vegetable tray in the living room, and hope that this Angel person was half as wonderful as Buffy seemed to think.

-End-