Friday Night
Willow, Oz, and Buffy were at the Bronze, mourning their
soon-to-be-lost freedom from school.
"There's Xander," Willow pointed to the boy sitting on a couch by
Cordelia.
"So?" Buffy replied, but not as harshly as she could have.
"I hate this," Willow said. "Don't you miss him, Buffy?"
"Sure I do," Buffy shrugged. "But..." she realized she didn't
really have a 'but.' Not anymore. "I guess I've forgiven him,
Will. I just don't know if I'm ready to give him the opportunity
to hurt me again."
"Won't happen," Willow said firmly. "I say that with complete
confidence."
"Maybe," Buffy said slowly. She chose that moment to look over at
him, and saw he was looking at her too. The sadness in his eyes
was enough to break her last piece of resolve. "If I regret this,
Will--"
"You won't, Buffy, I promise," Willow said. "Go talk to him."
Buffy hesitated, contemplating the table top. She looked over to
where he was sitting, and saw that Cordelia, who had returned
earlier that week, had moved off to another area of the Bronze
with her Cordettes. "I'll be back," she said and walked over to
where Xander was sitting.
*********
*She's walking over here? Nah, she's probably just getting a
drink. Oh, or maybe not.* Xander swallowed hard and looked up at
Buffy.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," he replied. *Please sit, please talk to me. Please don't
walk away again. I'll die if you do.*
To his relief, she sat down next to him, and said, "Twenty-one
bouquets of roses, Xander? That's a little much, don't you
think?"
"Not if it comes the least bit close to telling you how sorry I
am," Xander shrugged.
There was a silence then, each contemplating what to say next.
"So, does this mean you're speaking to me again?" Xander finally
said. "Or is this just a temporary thing?"
"I'm speaking to you," Buffy said with a small smile. "Can we
really talk?" she asked.
"Definitely," Xander answered.
"The Bronze is too loud," Buffy replied. "Wanna walk to the
Starbucks down the street?"
"Sure," he said. They walked in silence all the way there. When
they'd found a table, he finally spoke again. "So, what made you
decide to speak to me?"
"Three people I care about have pointed out one simple fact that
I couldn't argue," Buffy replied. "And that was that no matter
what you did, you never wanted to hurt me."
"They're right," Xander said. "I hate that's what happened."
She looked into his eyes, and saw the truth in his statement. "I
believe that. After what you did Sunday especially, Xander. You
saved my life. I guess maybe you're a better friend than I
realized. The least that I can do after all that is give you
another chance."
Xander let out the breath he had been holding, and wondered if
he'd been holding it since the night of their fight.
"I don't want you to forgive me because you feel obligated," he
said. *What? What the hell is wrong with you! Shut up!*
"That's not it. When that happened, it just made me realize how
loyal you are, and that you always have tried to protect me. Even
when I'm so angry at you I say and do the most hateful things,
you're there. So I do forgive you for what happened. You just
have to promise me one thing."
"Anything," Xander said eagerly.
"Never lie to me again, Xander," she said. "Not to protect me,
not to keep me from getting hurt, not for any reason. If you do,
and I don't care how noble your motives are, our friendship will
be over. I don't want anything but the truth, always. I don't
care how hard it is. Got it?"
"Got it," Xander replied. "I won't make you regret this Buffy, I
promise."
"You'd better not," Buffy said. "I just realized I took you right
out from under Cordelia," she added with a smile. "Figuratively
speaking of course."
"She won't notice," Xander said with a shrug. "She's busy playing
Queen C, telling everyone about her summer vacation with her
family."
"Aren't you glad she's back?" Buffy asked.
"Sure I am," Xander replied, "She's my girlfriend, I'm happy.
Don't I look happy? I guess you're right, though, we should get
back."
"Okay," Buffy nodded, and they walked back to the Bronze
*********
Willow, Oz, and Buffy were at the Bronze, mourning their
soon-to-be-lost freedom from school.
"There's Xander," Willow pointed to the boy sitting on a couch by
Cordelia.
"So?" Buffy replied, but not as harshly as she could have.
"I hate this," Willow said. "Don't you miss him, Buffy?"
"Sure I do," Buffy shrugged. "But..." she realized she didn't
really have a 'but.' Not anymore. "I guess I've forgiven him,
Will. I just don't know if I'm ready to give him the opportunity
to hurt me again."
"Won't happen," Willow said firmly. "I say that with complete
confidence."
"Maybe," Buffy said slowly. She chose that moment to look over at
him, and saw he was looking at her too. The sadness in his eyes
was enough to break her last piece of resolve. "If I regret this,
Will--"
"You won't, Buffy, I promise," Willow said. "Go talk to him."
Buffy hesitated, contemplating the table top. She looked over to
where he was sitting, and saw that Cordelia, who had returned
earlier that week, had moved off to another area of the Bronze
with her Cordettes. "I'll be back," she said and walked over to
where Xander was sitting.
*********
*She's walking over here? Nah, she's probably just getting a
drink. Oh, or maybe not.* Xander swallowed hard and looked up at
Buffy.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey," he replied. *Please sit, please talk to me. Please don't
walk away again. I'll die if you do.*
To his relief, she sat down next to him, and said, "Twenty-one
bouquets of roses, Xander? That's a little much, don't you
think?"
"Not if it comes the least bit close to telling you how sorry I
am," Xander shrugged.
There was a silence then, each contemplating what to say next.
"So, does this mean you're speaking to me again?" Xander finally
said. "Or is this just a temporary thing?"
"I'm speaking to you," Buffy said with a small smile. "Can we
really talk?" she asked.
"Definitely," Xander answered.
"The Bronze is too loud," Buffy replied. "Wanna walk to the
Starbucks down the street?"
"Sure," he said. They walked in silence all the way there. When
they'd found a table, he finally spoke again. "So, what made you
decide to speak to me?"
"Three people I care about have pointed out one simple fact that
I couldn't argue," Buffy replied. "And that was that no matter
what you did, you never wanted to hurt me."
"They're right," Xander said. "I hate that's what happened."
She looked into his eyes, and saw the truth in his statement. "I
believe that. After what you did Sunday especially, Xander. You
saved my life. I guess maybe you're a better friend than I
realized. The least that I can do after all that is give you
another chance."
Xander let out the breath he had been holding, and wondered if
he'd been holding it since the night of their fight.
"I don't want you to forgive me because you feel obligated," he
said. *What? What the hell is wrong with you! Shut up!*
"That's not it. When that happened, it just made me realize how
loyal you are, and that you always have tried to protect me. Even
when I'm so angry at you I say and do the most hateful things,
you're there. So I do forgive you for what happened. You just
have to promise me one thing."
"Anything," Xander said eagerly.
"Never lie to me again, Xander," she said. "Not to protect me,
not to keep me from getting hurt, not for any reason. If you do,
and I don't care how noble your motives are, our friendship will
be over. I don't want anything but the truth, always. I don't
care how hard it is. Got it?"
"Got it," Xander replied. "I won't make you regret this Buffy, I
promise."
"You'd better not," Buffy said. "I just realized I took you right
out from under Cordelia," she added with a smile. "Figuratively
speaking of course."
"She won't notice," Xander said with a shrug. "She's busy playing
Queen C, telling everyone about her summer vacation with her
family."
"Aren't you glad she's back?" Buffy asked.
"Sure I am," Xander replied, "She's my girlfriend, I'm happy.
Don't I look happy? I guess you're right, though, we should get
back."
"Okay," Buffy nodded, and they walked back to the Bronze
*********