Timeline note: Set between the end of the truck chase and the epilogue.
Note: As the Toy Stories are my favorite Pixar movies by far, this was bound to happen sooner or later. To anyone who knows me from my other stories: Don't worry, I have not abandoned the monsters; they're still my main focus.
It was difficult to find a chance to talk to the other toys at the new home. Of course, they had had to get into the boxes before anyone came to the back of the truck to collect them, and for a few days, there was no getting out of them with other junk placed on top of them.
Sure, Woody could have gone to talk to the others through the holes that served as handles, but somehow, that did not seem appropriate. Not that he even knew what to say, mind you.
Besides, he did not really have the time. After having to go without him and Buzz for so long, Andy barely left them out of his sight for even a minute. For the first two or three days, he would take both of them along everywhere he went, to the point that it annoyed Mom enough to make her ban the toys from all family meals.
But whenever Andy did leave them out of his sight, at least the current near-solitude gave Woody ample time to get to know his new friend. And as it turned out, this new Buzz was not such a bad fellow. The guy did not get on his nerves at all! He was good company - funny, even! - insightful, and now that those delusions were gone, one could actually get some decent conversation out of him. Of course, Woody had already seen a glimpse of that new personality, up there on Sid's desk, but more and more, he got the feeling that he would finally grow to enjoy having this guy around in Andy's room.
Or what counted as Andy's room these days. Now that the wallpaper had dried, the bed had been brought in, along with the desk, chair, and a dresser, though not much more than that. It was not until after Andy's actual birthday date had come and gone that the boy got started on all of those smaller tasks that went with moving. But Woody knew it was just a matter of time until the place would look inhabitable again. Soon enough, everything and everyone would once again have a place where they belonged.
However, Andy surprised him on that count. He had expected the boy to start whining about getting the other toys out of the boxes as soon as possible, but it had yet to happen. Andy seemed completely content with playing with just him and Buzz.
And Woody was content just being played with.
"Oh, no! Buzz, watch out, they're trying to stop us, they don't want us to see Andy ever again! Don't worry, Woody, I have a laser and I'm about to use it! Ah, take cover!"
Had his face not been frozen in the standard expression, Woody would have smiled. Sometimes, it was heartening to see the boy come so close to what his toys were actually feeling.
The morning light reflected off Buzz's helmet as he was thrown onto the bed in a long, arching rocket flight. Andy soon followed with Woody to make both toys raise their hands in victory.
"Yeeha, Buzz Lightyear saves the day! No problem, Woody, we're a great team!" With that, the boy swept both of them into his arms for a crushing embrace, as if unwilling to let them go ever again.
Being held by Andy was bliss. He had thought he had lost that forever. Just the way the boy looked at him…
Not just at him. Andy looked at Buzz that way, too. Yet, to his own astonishment, Woody found he did not mind. He was not entirely sure where the sudden turnaround in his reactions had come from, but presumed it had to have something to do with realizing that there was enough space in Andy's heart to hold more than one toy at a time. Or maybe it was the fact that Andy seemed to have transitioned to casting both him and Buzz as the good guys, even now that no one was around to play the antagonist. Why that would change anything, Woody was not sure.
He did not deserve it, he knew. Any of it. Not after everything that had happened.
Before Andy had the chance to come up with another game, Mom had entered the room. "Andy, are you playing again? Come on, I want you to help."
"But, Mom!" he argued immediately, pressing both of his toys even closer to his chest. "It's the weekend, and I haven't seen them for so long, and…"
"I'm sure they can do without you for a while," Mom insisted sternly, but she was smiling as she said it. "C'mon, I want you to get the rest of your things in here, and then you need to help me in the living room. I can't watch Molly and do everything on my own at the same time." With that, she left, clearly expecting him to follow.
Andy gave a huge sigh, but he had always been a well-behaved boy, so he got up and placed his two friends on his bed. For a while, he kept adjusting both their positions on the pillow, in a clear attempt to make it the most comfortable for them. "See you later," he finally whispered before running off and closing the door behind himself.
Immediately, Buzz snapped out of his rigor to sit up and send a fond smile after their kid. "You're right," he declared. "Somehow, I feel significant."
Sitting up as well, Woody was surprised to find himself mirroring the expression. "Well, you just wouldn't take my word for it," he teased.
There was no chance for a proper conversation, though, as they had to go rigid again upon hearing the sound of Andy's approaching footsteps. The boy made several trips, actually, as there was so much to carry into the room. The toy box was one of the first things to return. From where Woody was lying on the bed, he also spotted the cardboard box labeled "Andy's Toys" at some point, and then the one reading "More Toys." It looked as if he and Buzz would reunite with the others today.
Fortunately, the boxes were not stacked on top of each other, so when the sound of Andy and Mom's voices finally drifted up from the living room, Woody and Buzz sprang back into life almost simultaneously to go over and free their friends.
Truth be told, Woody could not wait to see the others again. As delightful as Buzz's company had turned out to be, by now, he was longing for some sense of normality. Going back to the peaceful days before Andy's last birthday party… was that too much to ask?
Buzz was a little faster than he was, which meant he got to pick a box. Curiously, though, he seemed aware of the difference in speed, for he chose the one farther away from the bed. Or maybe Woody was reading too much into it. As it was, he was left with the box that had "Andy's toys" written on it, and it did not take long to open the flaps and peer into it. And after everything that had happened, the sight of so many of his friends felt ridiculously good.
"Morning, everyone, and welcome to your new home!" He could not help smiling at the way they were all blinking against the sudden brightness. They had done that last time, too, but today, the circumstances were so much better. There had to be worlds between this moment and the one in the back of the truck. Or to utilize a completely overused metaphor, light years.
Potato Head was the first to recover. And he glared.
"Think you're gettin' off easy, eh?"
Woody could practically feel the smile slip off his face. Oh. Yes. They were not on good terms. For some reason, he had assumed that with the way the toys had all reached out for them from the truck, the issues had been resolved. It was a bit of a blow to discover that was not the case, but then, this was Potato Head, so he really should have known better. In fact, he barely had time to get out of the way before Potato Head threw himself against the side of the box to tip it over and its inhabitants unceremoniously toppled out all over the floor.
When Potato Head spotted Buzz, he wasted no time reattaching one of his arms and ambling over to extend a greeting. Rex, Rocky, Snake… Most of them barely dared to shoot Woody a look before hurrying after their friend to greet Buzz as well. "Hi, Woody," Slinky offered in passing, and it seemed heartfelt, but Potato Head's open disdain had obviously discouraged him from elaborating. In fact, most of them seemed ready to go down the Buzz-how-great-to-see-you-oh-Woody-you're-there-too road. And they probably would have.
Had it not been for Bo.
With a huge screech that might have been his name, she rushed over from the other box, even pushed a few smaller toys out of her way, and before Woody knew what was happening, she had thrown herself into his arms to lock him in a crushing embrace. In front of everyone. He would have blushed madly, had he been physically capable, but after a few seconds he decided that, just this time, he did not care. Not about the odd way Buzz was smiling at them, or how Potato Head was still glaring from a distance, and not even about the fact that Andy and Mom might have heard Bo downstairs - well, they probably had not. No, right now, the only thing for him to do was to wrap his arms around her, too, and enjoy the presence of the one he had been longing for.
Bo. He had her back. He had tried his best - and failed spectacularly - not to think about her during the last days, fearing she might have gotten crushed packed into the box with all the other toys. But, no, she was still there, and she was still his.
Much sooner than he was happy with, though, the moment was over. As if she had sensed his discomfort about her open display of affection, she let go of him rather abruptly to look him up and down and even feel the front of his vest a bit as if that would tell her anything about his condition. "Are you okay? What did Sid do to you? What is that mark on your forehead, why is…"
"Bo," he cut her off, catching her wrists, in that gentle way she always required. "Bo, I'm fine. I'm sure the mark is gonna fade." At least he hoped so. No, he should not think about that right now. The mark was gonna fade. And Andy seemed not to have noticed it yet; of that, he was pretty sure.
She seemed to take his word for it, as she immediately turned around to Buzz. "What about you? Are you all right?"
Buzz gave a curious cross between a nod and half a bow. "I assure you, ma'am, that I am in excellent condition."
She turned back around again, but now she would face neither of them; instead, she closed her eyes for a moment, and the tension visibly left her lean frame; what remained was only the regular stiffness of the porcelain she was made of. "You wouldn't believe how worried I was about you two. Oh, and Andy," she added, opening her eyes again, "he wouldn't stop talking about you, both of you! And he wouldn't stop clutching your accessories! It was heartbreaking to watch!"
Woody gave a smile. "Thank you, Bo." Not that they had not found out about Andy's feelings themselves by now, but it was a good thing to be assured of hers. It felt great to have been missed.
Now that Bo had provided such an antipole to Potato Head's hostility - and secretly, Woody suspected that she knew exactly what she was doing - the other toys seemed to feel encouraged to come over and strike up a conversation. All of a sudden, Woody found himself surrounded by three, four, five others who all tried to talk to him at once.
But Potato Head, still standing a small distance away and by now unsurprisingly joined by Hamm, just crossed his arms. "So that's it, yes?" he called over rather loudly. "We're just gonna act as if nothing had happened, yes?"
"Oh, will you just let it go, Potato Head?" Bo as good as snapped. "Buzz is right here, and he's been with Woody all along, just as Woody told us. What more do you want?"
"No," Buzz cut in quietly, and immediately, everyone else fell silent. "I believe it is very important to talk this through."
It was arguable if it was Potato Head's place to dwell on the incident, but if anyone did have that right, it was Buzz. And as if he was not aware of everyone's eyes now on him, he slowly moved forward, approaching Woody so matter-of-factly that even Bo moved out of the way without argument. And it was not long until Buzz was standing right in front of him. There was no eye contact, but that felt even worse than being stared at could possibly have done.
Woody felt pure apprehension creep up inside of him. They had not exactly talked about that. With Buzz basically admitting that the space ranger thing was nothing but idiocy on his part, and especially with the way they had interacted these last few days, Woody had not expected to actually have a conversation about that topic.
Had Buzz even forgiven him for what he had done? In fact, now that he thought about it, should Buzz forgive him for what he had done?
But before Woody could act on his ridiculously belated horror at his own actions, Buzz had turned around, and instead of talking to him, he was facing the other toys. No, actually, he was sort of half-facing Woody, still, as if to make it a point that he was talking to the group as a whole.
His very presence seemed to command attention, and Woody was helpless against the unanticipated bout of admiration for the talent. And against the jealousy. He felt surprisingly wistful at the realization that all signs seemed to point to Buzz being the new leader now. But Woody knew - as painful as it was to admit it to himself - that he had cost himself that position. He had attacked one of Andy's toys. He had placed his own need before their duty of being there for their kid. Was there anything worse he could have done, especially as their leader?
How could he actually have hoped for things to go back to the way they had been?
Drawing a breath, Buzz now locked eyes with Potato Head. "Would you please elaborate on why you are being hostile toward Woody?"
What? Woody was completely stumped at the question, or maybe even just the wording. And so was Potato Head, he could see that. Was the answer not obvious?
"Well, he pushed you out of the window because Andy played with you more," Hamm pointed out helpfully, and his mild tone clashed horribly with the bitter accusation in his statement. "To be honest, I'm a bit surprised you're not being hostile toward him."
"Me, too," Woody muttered before he could stop himself, and was a bit startled to catch the ghost of a smile passing over Buzz's face at the words.
But the others had definitely caught it, too. Almost in unison, they had all started staring, so confused about how well he and Buzz were suddenly getting along that it was almost palpable.
Buzz crossed his arms. "While that is true, he also brought me back to you, back to Andy. I thought that was enough to settle the matter, for everyone. If you did not want him back, then why did you reach out to us in the first place?"
Woody frowned. In all honesty, the only reason he had brought Buzz along was because he had known that showing up in Andy's room without him would have been suicide, and that was a lot less selfless than Buzz made it sound.
"I was reaching out to you," Potato Head snarled.
"You weren't reaching out at all," Bo pointed out coolly. "Slink was the one who risked his life to get them into the truck."
Slinky seemed flustered, but he just shuffled his front paws a bit and did not deflect the praise.
"Woody did not mean to push me out of the window, you know," Buzz now stated, and Woody was amazed that he had even caught that little detail. "It was an accident."
"He tried to get you out of the way so that he could be Andy's favorite again!" Potato Head argued irritably, to the fervent nodding of Hamm next to him.
But Buzz seemed persistent. "He did mean to push me behind the desk - which is bad," he added, sending a pointed look over his shoulder that made Woody cringe, and then turned back, "but I would have been found when Andy's room was emptied out, at the latest, and Woody knew that. So it was nowhere near as unforgivable as you make it out to be."
Actually, he had hoped at that moment that Buzz would be stuck there for all eternity, but his friend seemed to believe what he was saying, so Woody was not going to contradict this version of events.
Maybe he should.
"So how come you ended up outside the house?" Potato Head cut in, crossing his arms.
Woody grimaced. That was a good question.
"It was an accident!" Buzz insisted. "Neither one of us was to blame, or maybe we both were. Still, the outcome was not malicious intent on Woody's part, and you know that, Potato Head."
It was obvious that Potato Head was not convinced, but he did not get a chance to argue.
"Um, Captain Buzz," Rex piped up timidly, "you seem… seem different somehow."
Buzz dumbly blinking at Rex was a sight for sore eyes. At least until Woody realized that the other toys were still used to Buzz treating them all like bizarre aliens he had encountered on his travels. They had not witnessed the internal transformation, so how were they supposed to know?
A moment later, Buzz seemed to have understood the same thing. "Oh… oh, yes. That. Well… um…"
"We're not gonna force you to explain, Buzz," Bo cut in, firm but gentle.
Just "Buzz." Not "Captain Buzz." Now they did know.
Buzz seemed abashed for a moment. After getting rid of an attitude like that, it had to be mortifying to be reminded of it. But as was to be expected, he quickly cleared his throat and moved on. "Anyway, whatever malice there was, Woody made up for in saving my life. Sid strapped me to that rocket to blow me up, and it was only because of Woody's selfless interference that I am here today."
Ah. Now he had actually used the word. But even that was not true, Woody knew. If Buzz had managed to get rid of the rocket with his wings while they were chasing the truck, what would have stopped him from doing it the first time?
"So as far as I'm concerned," Buzz went on, "Woody is still our leader and you should show him some respect."
Woody whipped his head around to stare at him. Surely, Buzz could not have meant that, right?
"The only reason I am alive," Buzz stressed one more time, still fixing the other toys, "was because he put himself in harm's way to keep Sid from destroying me."
Even while he was still in shock over what Buzz had just said, Woody could not help but note that he had favored "destroying" over "murdering." Being a toy actually seemed to be something he was unconsciously aware of by now.
"Well, I'm with you, Woody!" Slinky declared, which was abrupt but very much anticipated. "I knew it couldn't have happened the way we thought it did!"
"And we're so glad that you two aren't fighting anymore!" Rex squealed.
One after the other, they piped up with small declarations of support, until it was just Potato Head and Hamm who were left.
The two shared a look, and then Hamm gave a small shrug. "If Buzz isn't holding grudges, then who are we to argue?" With that, he left Potato Head behind to come over. "We missed ya, Woodster," he offered, and that, from someone who had openly opposed him, felt a tenfold more heartwarming to Woody than the admissions from the toys who had secretly still been his friends anyway.
The lack of support for his position seemed to have registered with Potato Head by now. "Well, fine," he finally snapped, throwing up his arms. "But if you do that again, don't expect us to be so accommodating!"
"Warning taken," Woody promised. What else could he say? It would take time to truly convince them that an incident like that would never happen again. In time, they would see what he had seen, that Andy's love for all of them was unconditional and not a finite resource that needed to be shared, and they would see that Woody had come to accept that.
With the tension resolved for the moment, the toys scattered a bit, reassured by Andy and Mom's voices still floating up from the living room. It would probably be a while until everyone needed to get back into the boxes.
"So this is Andy's new room," Rex observed, looking around in awe.
"It's a bit spartanic, if you ask me," Potato Head snarked.
"Well, I like the new wallpaper!" Slinky argued cheerfully, slightly wagging his tail.
Woody smirked. "It's not gonna stay this empty, obviously. Just you wait, once Andy has all of his stuff back in place, it's gonna feel like home again."
To his surprise, the toys who were in earshot seemed reassured by his words. Which should not have surprised him, of course. They had always looked to him for advice and guidance. The only surprising thing about it was that they were still doing it, even now.
So he went around the room a bit, pointed things out to people, helped the smaller toys climb the desk, assured Rex that missing Whiskers was not so bad and there would be plenty of cats in this neighborhood to make friends with, and had to keep himself from completely falling apart in emotion when he learned that they had gone through with the moving buddy system even with him considered a murderer, and even though they had all whined about it when he had first kept bringing it up.
Maybe his sudden anxiety was unfounded? But he knew better. Now that they seemed willing to just let the matter rest, he found that he himself was torn over it. Sure, his realization came way too late, but what had happened could not be resolved already. If there was nothing to argue about, then why had Buzz had to bring it up in the first place?
And talking about Buzz, where was he? A quick survey of the room yielded no result, so Woody was forced to wander around trying to spot his friend. It was the first time, he noted, that he was actively seeking out the guy's company while there were other toys available. He could not believe how much their dynamic had changed in just a few days. Hating each other seemed like something from years ago.
When finally, out of options, he climbed onto the desk for a better vantage point, he spotted a flash of white over on the bed, and sure enough, there was Buzz, sitting by himself for some reason.
He really wanted to talk to Buzz, just Buzz this time. He had no idea why. All he knew was that their last meaningful conversation had managed to make both of them feel better, so it could not be such a bad idea to have another one, right?
Getting to the ground again, he was about to do just that, but was stopped when someone took hold of his hand from behind. Turning back around, he discovered that it was Bo, and she was not the one he had expected, as she usually just pulled him close with her crook. But she did not even have it with her.
For a moment, she did not say anything, and that was equally as uncharacteristic for her. She never had to search for words. She always knew what to say, always knew what she wanted to say and how to express it. "I missed you, Woody," she finally whispered.
All of a sudden, he felt a little wobbly. Sure, they had been dating for a while, but this was somehow different. There was an intensity in her voice that he could not quite place. Most likely, she had genuinely believed that she would never see him again.
And who should blame her for it? He had believed the very same thing.
"I missed you, too, Bo," he replied, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. He was not sure what else to say, but judging by the way she visibly relaxed, it seemed to be enough.
"You know," she started, now appearing a bit surer of herself, "what do you say to us, well… making up for lost time?"
His features melted into a smile. Oh, how he would love to spend the rest of the day with her - or at least the rest of their free time, for Andy would return to his room at some point. But right now, he really could not fight that urge to get everything sorted out between him and Buzz. They had not really done that. They had talked, yes, and they had wrapped their minds around each other's standpoints, yes, but he felt that, at the very least, there still was the need for an apology.
When he did not say anything, Bo seemed to realize that he was going to reject the offer. "But only if you want to, of course," she added, somewhat timidly.
His bit his lip for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. "Bo, right now, I…" He was not sure what he was going to say, then cleared his throat and tried again. "Bo, would you excuse me for a moment? Just a moment? I… I need to talk to Buzz."
Her eyes briefly widened in surprise, but then she smiled. "Sure, I'll be right here waiting. It's good to see you two get along."
"Thanks, Bo," he whispered, squeezing her hand once more in the hopes that it would convey all those feelings he never dared to voice, and then excused himself and went over to climb the bed.
Buzz was still there, sitting with his back to the wall and absently speaking into the fake recording device on his arm. "…so now that the local hierarchy is reestablished, chances are the populace can focus all its energy on adjusting to the new living conditions. Even so…"
"Uh… Buzz?" Woody interrupted, because he really, really had to. He could not believe what he was seeing, much less what he was hearing.
Buzz's head snapped up at the sudden noise, and then, his eyes widening, he looked back at his arm before hastily closing the flap with much more force than necessary. "I… I'm sorry, I… don't know what came over me…"
"You don't need to apologize, Buzz!" Woody cut him off incredulously. Now that his friend was back to his old self again - or rather, back to his new self - it felt safe to approach him and sit down next to him. "I mean, it's amazing you haven't called me 'Sheriff' yet!"
He half expected a reply along the lines of "shut it, Sheriff!" but, of course, that was not Buzz's style. His new friend's personality might have changed, but his speech patterns were still roughly the same. And so, apparently, were his ticks.
"It's habit," Buzz kept defending himself, seemingly unable to look him in the eye. "And it always helped me order my thoughts. But it's okay. I'm sure I'll grow out of it soon enough."
Well, at least the habit had provided a clue to Buzz's earlier behavior. "Now that the local hierarchy is reestablished," Buzz had said. Why did he even care about reestablishing it in the first place? Would it not have been more reasonable to try and assume command himself?
With a sigh, Woody turned away to let his head rest against the wall and direct his gaze out of the window. "Buzz, why did you stand up to the others for my sake?" Which was rather blunt and abrupt, but he supposed it got the message across.
He really hoped the answer would not be "because you saved my life," because that alone did not change the fact that he could very well have taken Buzz's life before that. And surprisingly enough, he would hate to think that Buzz owed him or anything. So much did he dread this answer that he almost missed what Buzz actually said.
"Because you deserved it."
Blinking, Woody turned to look at him again. "How? This would never have happened if I hadn't snapped like that."
Buzz frowned. "No, but it would never have ended well if you hadn't pulled yourself together, either."
"No need for pulling together if nothing is wrong!" Woody insisted.
"Something was wrong!" Buzz argued. "You were hurting!"
Woody was not sure how to respond to that. In all honesty, he had had no idea that Buzz had been aware of his feelings. But he supposed there was no misinterpreting all those insecurities he had revealed up there on Sid's desk. "But does that give me the right to mistreat you?" he muttered.
"No," Buzz agreed with the implied answer. "And that's what I said. Trying to push me behind the desk was bad. And the person you were then would not have deserved defending. But the person you are now does."
"Oh?" Woody chuckled humorlessly. "What kind of person am I now?" To his knowledge, Buzz was the only one who had developed a new personality.
"I have not known you for long enough for a complete analysis," Buzz answered, which was fair enough, but really just a way of smoothly sidestepping the question. Or so it seemed. "But what I do know is that you're a strong, intelligent, resourceful leader."
That was really weird coming from the one who had had to suffer so much from his actions. "Some leader I am," Woody scoffed, rolling his eyes.
Buzz put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and it was odd how natural it felt. "C'mon, Woody, you're doing a fine leading job!"
Woody just stared. How could the guy even say that? "Oh, yeah? You mean before or after attacking members of my community?" But then he gasped, and covered his mouth with both hands. He could not believe what had just escaped him.
"Both," Buzz answered without flinching, then gave a smile. "Though not 'during,' that's for sure." He cleared his throat. "What I'm saying is that all the toys in this room look up to you to lead them, and with good reason. You did not leave me behind even though my presence was harmful to you."
Yeah, but only because Buzz's absence would have been more harmful to him.
This was the first mention of the lifesaving thing, Woody noticed. Apparently, Buzz really did believe in his character that much if he could argue how good it was even without bringing up that incident until now.
Not that there was any reason to believe in him. "I don't know, Buzz, I wouldn't read too much into that."
"Woody, you risked your life to save mine!" Buzz insisted. "And you wouldn't let anything stop you from doing it, not Sid, not Scud… not even me," he added a little more softly.
"Because I needed you!" Woody blurted out, and he realized it was the very last thing he should be saying. The implications were way too unfortunate. But it hurt too much to keep it to himself. "Had I shown up back in Andy's room without you, the others would just have kicked me out again! I mean, that's exactly why they threw me out of the truck!"
Buzz was silent, and he was for a while. Great. It had taken so long for them to become friends, and now Woody had destroyed that just to make himself feel better about what had happened. Selfish yet again.
Finally, Buzz crossed his arms and raised a brow. "You honestly believe that, don't you?"
It seemed the wrong thing to be angry about. No, not angry. Had he seen Buzz truly angry yet? Maybe when they had been arguing in the back of Mom's car, but other than that…
"I didn't really save your life," Woody muttered dejectedly. "You didn't need my help in the first place. You could have saved yourself. I mean, you did in the end."
Buzz was looking at him, surprise etched into his features. "No, I couldn't have. Sid was watching me."
Woody blinked. Then he blinked again. Wait, that was true. Buzz had not needed help freeing himself. He had needed help getting an opportunity to do it. "Yeah, fine, so maybe I saved your life, but let's be honest here, Buzz, I benefited from that as much as you did. Not that I don't like you or anything… well, now. But there's no selflessness involved there, no matter how much I might want it to. So even though I appreciate you defending me to the others and stuff…"
But Buzz raised a hand to stop the flood of words, because even that harsh truth did not seem to deter him. He did not even seem agitated. In fact, he appeared to be completely sure of himself. "There was one time," he stated firmly, crossing his arms again. "In the crane game."
"The crane game," Woody repeated somewhat lamely. He remembered that, of course, and especially its inhabitants, but…
"When Sid pulled me out," Buzz explained, "you willingly offered yourself up to be taken by him. You didn't have to. Andy was right there. But you chose to go with me instead."
And how was that different from the other times? Rather frustrated by now, Woody clutched his forehead with one hand. "Buzz, I told you, I couldn't have shown my face in Andy's room without you."
"You couldn't have shown your face in Andy's room at all after that," Buzz pointed out. "You had no hopes of ever getting out of there again, right? 'Once we go into Sid's house, we won't be coming out,' remember?"
Now that was true and all, but how did that make a difference? "…c'mon, Buzz, I didn't think about it like that at that moment."
Buzz gave a smile. "And that's what makes it selfless," he agreed quietly.
Woody mulled that over. It was… well, it was true, he supposed. Going with Buzz at that time had been a spur-of-the-moment thing, but on the entire trip back to Sid's house, Woody had been shaking in his boots, convinced that he would soon be ripped to shreds, or worse. For one of the few times in his life, Andy had not been on his mind then. Survival had been on his mind. And yet there he had been, right at Buzz's side.
Buzz stood up now, brushing a bit of imaginary dust off his legs. "Yes, you used to be selfish. But that's in the past now. There are few things more selfless than to risk your own life to save someone else's." At that point, he slumped a bit, if that was even possible with that unbending body of his. "And I suppose it wasn't easy getting along with me, because I… well…"
"…was an idiot?" Woody offered.
Buzz coughed a bit, neither conceding nor arguing the point. "Anyway…" He turned back around. "I never thanked you for…"
"Come off it," Woody interrupted rudely. Reflex, he knew. Had Buzz not just made him see that it had been something which deserved some thanks?
"…for saving my life," Buzz continued, completely unimpressed. "So… thank you, Woody."
He looked at Buzz for a moment, just looked at him. But then he nodded. "You're welcome." That was the only thing to be said about it, right?
No, it was not. "I'm glad you're still around."
Buzz gave a smile, and a nod, before turning to go and jump off the edge of the bed.
Well, that could have gone worse.
With a smile of his own, and suddenly feeling inexplicably energized, Woody also got up and scanned the floor, looking for Bo. He was feeling much better now. Like he was actually worthy of getting to date a woman like her. No, he felt more than that, but the rest, he could not pinpoint.
It did not take long to spot her. She was sitting on the desk chair with Slinky, the two of them deeply immersed in some sort of conversation. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, or maybe they were just happy. He could imagine why. They had to be overjoyed about his return. Buzz's too, but especially his. They were the two closest friends he had.
Make that two of three. He was amazed at how easy it was to talk to Buzz, and how rewarding his company.
Just as Woody had reached the ground again, Andy's voice floated over from the hallway.
"I know, Mom, just a few minutes, please! I swear it's just gonna be one game!"
Bad, bad, bad! There was not enough time to get everyone back into the boxes! If Andy found them like this…
"Andy, please, just those two stacks of books and then you can have all the time until lunch to yourself, I promise!"
"Guys, quick!" Woody hissed.
"Everyone, gather at the boxes!" Buzz also commanded in a low voice, already in the process of righting the one Potato Head had tipped over.
Had Woody had to get them all back into the boxes by himself, there would not have been enough time. With Buzz's help, though, it was not only possible to do that, they even managed to get everyone into the box they had been in before. All that was left after that was a mad sprint over to the bed, and they both managed to lie back down on the pillow and freeze before Andy burst into the room - with a few seconds to spare, no less.
"Woody, Buzz, I'm back!" the boy called over from the doorway, but almost immediately, he went to pull the rest of his toys out of the boxes they had just entered. Oh well, it had been necessary, anyway.
But he did not play with them as he had announced to Mom. In fact, it looked as if he was finally going to find everyone a new place. Not that that made much sense, given that the room was not even fully furnished yet, but Andy did not seem to mind. He would pick up one toy at a time, wander around the room in circles, then finally settle on the toy box, or the space under the bed, or the desk.
As he was careful with every single one of them, the procedure took quite a while. But eventually, everyone did have a spot to call their own, and with that, Andy came over to the bed to choose one for the two toys he had left for last.
He picked them up at the same time, studied their faces for a moment, and then… he placed them back down. Instead of searching the entire room for the perfect spot like he had done for the others, he just looked at the two of them for a moment and then nodded.
And Woody was completely satisfied with his choice. This was a spot he could live with calling his. And it was definitely large enough to share.