Part X - "Love puts things where they belong."
Xander looked at her with those deep chocolate brown eyes that she never failed to drown in. "Buffy, not that I'm complaining, in fact there's not even a remote possibility of a complaint escaping my lips." Buffy just looked at him sweetly, knowing all too well Xander's ability to ramble before arriving at the point. "I'm just curious how I got so lucky... I mean how it came to be... I mean..."
As Xander rambled, it took a monumental effort on Buffy's part to stifle her giggles, but what took even more effort to stifle was her urge just to run her fingers across the slight stubble on Xander's jaw. Suddenly an image popped into her head of how she usually quelled an attack of the XanderRambles. I'm so definitely in trouble if he keeps rambling, cause the longer he rambles the more I'm going to think of ways for him to get to the point. And ALL of them involve smoochies. Of course, there's no real downside to that solution.
Xander's breath caught at the sight of the look on Buffy's face. It was the exact same look she got when she was thinking about smoochies with Angel, except of course that Angel was obviously NOT in her list of kissable people on this world. Hmmm, I wonder if she's thinking about smoochies. A few seconds later, Buffy's eyes darkened in the streetlight and she smiled at him with that sexy half-smile. Oh yeah, she's definitely thinking about smoochies! And God help me, she's thinking about smoochies with me!
Buffy was so lost in Xander's eyes by this point that she hardly even realized that his mouth was no longer moving. Oh damn! He stopped talking, and I have absolutely NO idea what he was saying. Buffy blushed slightly and lowered her gaze away from his eyes. "Sorry, Xander my mind was wondering, what were you saying?"
Xander smiled at Buffy teasingly, letting her know he knew exactly where her mind was wondering. This caused Buffy to blush even deeper. "Well, after a few seconds of rambling, I finally got around to asking why I'm staying at your house. Or more specifically, why I started staying at your house." He raised his hand and gently brushed a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. "I certainly know why I'm still staying there."
Buffy looked at Xander with mirth and love in her eyes before suddenly they clouded over with darkness. "Xander, I don't know if I want to get into that with you right now. It's not exactly a fond memory."
Xander softly curled his fingers around her chin and raised it mildly until he could look her in the eye again. "What happened Buffy? What's so terrible about me moving in with you? Do I constantly leave the toilet seat up?"
Buffy couldn't help but giggle at his comment. "No Xander, it's not that at all. You're a very considerate roomie, it's just that I'd rather not rehash this out on a dark street in public."
Xander looked at her with concern and sympathy in his eyes. "How about this, we go to your house, I fix us some tea, and you tell me all about it, ok?"
Buffy sighed in relief. "Deal."
*****
As they neared her house, Xander's mind finally clued him in to a very important fact. Buffy's hand was very firmly intertwined with his own. While they were walking her hand had naturally traveled down the length of his arm and threaded its fingers around the very familiar hand it was now holding. Xander also became acutely aware of Buffy's thumb, which was absently stroking the top of his hand very tenderly. Xander silently expected her to realize what was happening and immediately remove her hand from his, but that moment never came. Why isn't she jerking her hand back and mumbling something about Angel yet? Xander mentally kicked himself. Oh yeah, this isn't the Buffy that I know... this is a totally different Buffy. A Buffy who feels that holding my hand is the most natural thing in the world, like there was no one else she'd rather be with. Who am I to argue with this twist of fate? I mean, I've always dreamed of holding her hand, and here I am doing it.
If Xander could read Buffy's mind, he'd be very surprised to find that her thoughts were almost exactly mirroring his own. What am I doing? I didn't mean to move my hand down like that, but it just comes naturally after loving a man for over two years. I know for a fact that I'm not going to move my hand, it just feels so right. Like a part of me is home. But why hasn't he said anything yet? Surely he's noticed that my hand is in his, so why hasn't he pulled his hand away and told me that only HIS Buffy can do things like that? But, carpe diem, cause I've never been a girl to look a gift horse in the mouth. So until he makes me move my hand, I'm keeping it right where it is... right where it belongs.
Xander looked at her with those deep chocolate brown eyes that she never failed to drown in. "Buffy, not that I'm complaining, in fact there's not even a remote possibility of a complaint escaping my lips." Buffy just looked at him sweetly, knowing all too well Xander's ability to ramble before arriving at the point. "I'm just curious how I got so lucky... I mean how it came to be... I mean..."
As Xander rambled, it took a monumental effort on Buffy's part to stifle her giggles, but what took even more effort to stifle was her urge just to run her fingers across the slight stubble on Xander's jaw. Suddenly an image popped into her head of how she usually quelled an attack of the XanderRambles. I'm so definitely in trouble if he keeps rambling, cause the longer he rambles the more I'm going to think of ways for him to get to the point. And ALL of them involve smoochies. Of course, there's no real downside to that solution.
Xander's breath caught at the sight of the look on Buffy's face. It was the exact same look she got when she was thinking about smoochies with Angel, except of course that Angel was obviously NOT in her list of kissable people on this world. Hmmm, I wonder if she's thinking about smoochies. A few seconds later, Buffy's eyes darkened in the streetlight and she smiled at him with that sexy half-smile. Oh yeah, she's definitely thinking about smoochies! And God help me, she's thinking about smoochies with me!
Buffy was so lost in Xander's eyes by this point that she hardly even realized that his mouth was no longer moving. Oh damn! He stopped talking, and I have absolutely NO idea what he was saying. Buffy blushed slightly and lowered her gaze away from his eyes. "Sorry, Xander my mind was wondering, what were you saying?"
Xander smiled at Buffy teasingly, letting her know he knew exactly where her mind was wondering. This caused Buffy to blush even deeper. "Well, after a few seconds of rambling, I finally got around to asking why I'm staying at your house. Or more specifically, why I started staying at your house." He raised his hand and gently brushed a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. "I certainly know why I'm still staying there."
Buffy looked at Xander with mirth and love in her eyes before suddenly they clouded over with darkness. "Xander, I don't know if I want to get into that with you right now. It's not exactly a fond memory."
Xander softly curled his fingers around her chin and raised it mildly until he could look her in the eye again. "What happened Buffy? What's so terrible about me moving in with you? Do I constantly leave the toilet seat up?"
Buffy couldn't help but giggle at his comment. "No Xander, it's not that at all. You're a very considerate roomie, it's just that I'd rather not rehash this out on a dark street in public."
Xander looked at her with concern and sympathy in his eyes. "How about this, we go to your house, I fix us some tea, and you tell me all about it, ok?"
Buffy sighed in relief. "Deal."
*****
As they neared her house, Xander's mind finally clued him in to a very important fact. Buffy's hand was very firmly intertwined with his own. While they were walking her hand had naturally traveled down the length of his arm and threaded its fingers around the very familiar hand it was now holding. Xander also became acutely aware of Buffy's thumb, which was absently stroking the top of his hand very tenderly. Xander silently expected her to realize what was happening and immediately remove her hand from his, but that moment never came. Why isn't she jerking her hand back and mumbling something about Angel yet? Xander mentally kicked himself. Oh yeah, this isn't the Buffy that I know... this is a totally different Buffy. A Buffy who feels that holding my hand is the most natural thing in the world, like there was no one else she'd rather be with. Who am I to argue with this twist of fate? I mean, I've always dreamed of holding her hand, and here I am doing it.
If Xander could read Buffy's mind, he'd be very surprised to find that her thoughts were almost exactly mirroring his own. What am I doing? I didn't mean to move my hand down like that, but it just comes naturally after loving a man for over two years. I know for a fact that I'm not going to move my hand, it just feels so right. Like a part of me is home. But why hasn't he said anything yet? Surely he's noticed that my hand is in his, so why hasn't he pulled his hand away and told me that only HIS Buffy can do things like that? But, carpe diem, cause I've never been a girl to look a gift horse in the mouth. So until he makes me move my hand, I'm keeping it right where it is... right where it belongs.