Saturday, 8:30 pm
Buffy had slowly worked herself into a panic when Xander hadn't showed up at
eight. She'd called his house repeatedly but nobody had answered. After thirty
minutes, she couldn't take any more. She'd left the others to find Xander
herself.
She arrived at the house and knocked on the door. Mary Harris answered it and
Buffy could see she'd been crying. "Mary, is Xander here? He was supposed to--"
"Oh, Buffy, I'm so sorry!" the woman cut her off and the look on her face puzzled
Buffy even more. "He's downstairs, you'd better go on in. Watch out," she
stopped Buffy from stepping in the broken glass just inside the doorway. "I
dropped a ... bottle of..." The woman shrugged and wandered off into the kitchen.
"Okay," Buffy said, confused. She was unable to shake the premonition that
something bad had happened there. She walked to the door of the basement and knocked.
"Who's there?" she heard Xander call.
"It's me, Xan," she replied.
"Yeah, Buff. Come on in."
She walked downstairs but was bewildered by the fact that the lights were all off.
There was light from the streetlights coming in through the few small windows
along the cieling of the basement, but it was barely enough to see.
"Xan?" she called.
"Over here," she heard, and she homed in on the sound of his voice. He was
sitting in a chair near his bed, not appearing to be doing anything in
particular. As she got closer, she could see a very nasty bruise on the left
side of his face.
She winced at the look in Xander's eyes, when he spared a brief look at her.
In one moment, she'd seen anger, pain, sadness and most of all, despair.
She wasn't sure how to deal with his mood. Xander had always been the
one to cheer _her_ up.
She sighed and remained in front of him, willing him to look at her. He did, and
she asked, "What's going on, Xander? I was scared half to death when you didn't
show--"
"I'm sorry," Xander interrupted her. He grabbed her hand and pulling her closer.
"Please don't leave," he added, almost a whisper.
She recognized the fear in his voice, and moved to sit on his lap, pulling his
head against her chest. "I'm not going anywhere," she assured him, hugging him.
He wrapped his arms around her, and they stayed like that for several minutes
before either one spoke.
He finally raised his head, and looked into her eyes, saying, "I was going to call.
I just...." He sighed. He hadn't wanted her to find out like this, if at all.
"Most of the time, he doesn't hit in a place where the bruises are noticeable."
Buffy closed her eyes against the rage that bubbled up inside her. She'd
suspected as much, when she'd seen his black eye. If he'd gotten into a fight with a
demon, he would've been with them already, joking about it. Hiding out at
home though, that meant something worse than just your run-of-the-mill demon
encounter.
"He's not always like this. It's good when he's working, driving his truck.
When he's not working, though... he drinks alot, he loses his temper, things get broken,"
Xander said.
"Bones get broken?" Buffy asked.
"Only if I can't keep out of his way," Xander replied. "But there are times I
_need_ to get in his way, to keep mom safe. I'd rather he hit me than her.
"When I got home, he and mom had already gotten into it. I distracted him and
he calmed down. I thought it was over. I came down here to change but
they got into it again. So I had to get between them. He got a lucky shot
in; but once he'd gotten it out of his system, he went away and passed out.
Just like always.
"But I single-handedly ruined my own birthday party," he sighed. "I'm so sorry.
I'm sure you had everything planned so well--"
"Don't you _dare_ apologize for this," Buffy said and kissed him gently. "This
isn't your fault, Xan. You haven't ruined anything. Come home with me. You can't
stay here."
Xander thought about it for a minute, then nodded. "He'll be out all
night. Let me check on Mom, first. He walked half-way upstairs. "But...I'm
not in the mood for a party."
"I know," Buffy said. "I'll call Mom and have her send everyone home. You can
sleep on the couch tonight. I know she won't mind."
"Thanks," Xander said, and walked back upstairs.
**********
Buffy glanced over at Xander, who was walking with her. He hadn't said a word since
their talk in the basement. She was worried, but didn't know how to help him.
They arrived at her house but Joyce was nowhere to be seen. Buffy had planned it that
way. She'd called earlier, telling her mother that Xander needed a place to stay for the
night. She'd requested that her mom not ask for an explanation and Joyce had reluctantly
agreed. She'd simply said she trusted Buffy's judgment and Buffy was glad for
that.
She looked around and saw that Joyce had also removed all of the decorations from
the house. Which was probably also a good thing, since Xander didn't look
like he'd notice anyway and Buffy was sure she'd have been upset if he didn't. She'd
wanted everything to be perfect, but unfortunately things were never perfect
for very long, in her life.
She looked up at Xander and frowned. He had a blank look on his face, lost in
his despair. *That's enough of that,* Buffy decided. She pushed him down on the
couch. He gave her a mildly puzzled look, but nothing more.
She turned his face toward her and said, "I wish I could do something to help --"
"You're here, that's all I need," Xander replied, managing a smile. "I'll be okay,
Buff." He noticed her completely unconvinced look and added, "I will. I've
dealt with this pretty much all my life. I know it's not the most perfect of
situations, but it's the one I'm stuck with."
Buffy sighed, and said, "Well, let me get you a pillow and a blanket for the
couch. It's not the best of all places to sleep--"
"It's fine," Xander assured her.
She went to the linen closet and returned, handing him a pillow and blanket.
"So what can we do to salvage this night?" she wondered. "Oh!" She had almost
forgotten his present. She rushed into her mother's study to find the package.
She returned and handed Xander the box. "What is it?" he asked.
She giggled, "Silly, that's why you open the present; to find out what's in
it."
"You didn't have to..."
"Oh, don't even start!" Buffy protested as she sat next to him. "I know I didn't
_have_ to, but I _wanted_ to. I love you, Alexander Harris, and you'd better
get used to it."
"Never," he said. He kissed her, lingeringly and then smiled as he pulled away.
"I'll _never_ get used to the fact that I have everything I ever wanted right here,
right now."
Buffy blinked away the tears that clouded her eyes and wrapped her arms around
Xander's neck, pulling him into another kiss. When she pulled away, he brushed the
tears from her cheeks. She smiled and said, "Stop distracting me. Open the present,
Xan." She watched him, hoping he'd like it. She thought he would but--
"Oh, wow," Xander said and looked at her in surprise. "Buffy, this had to
cost--"
"Hush," she interrupted. "No arguing, just put it on," she urged.
He pulled the black leather jacket out of the box, and slipped it on. It fit
perfectly, Buffy was thrilled to see. Not to mention how he looked in it, "My
turn to say 'oh wow.'" She wondered if she was drooling. "You look so..." *good?
Sexy? Yummy? Buffy!* she giggled at the thoughts and decided to stick with: "Wow."
Xander smiled and said, "You've got great taste."
*Yes, I do.* She looked at him appreciatively. When she decided she'd had enough
looking, she tackled him for another kiss. Xander gave a surprised sound,
as she pushed him down on the couch, tangling her hands in his hair. He
responded to the kiss eagerly, though, wrapping his arms around her waist.
She pulled away after a few moments, and snuggled against him, laying her
head on his chest. "I don't suppose you're in the mood for a movie or two?"
"That sounds good. Anything to distract me from ... well, you know," Xander
replied.
Buffy lifted her head and couldn't help wincing at the nasty bruise on the
side of his face. "Okay. And just because I'm such a good girlfriend,
I'll let you pick the movie." She moved over to let him at the stack of movies
she'd rented.
Xander grinned and sat up. "Alien, Terminator, Die Hard..." He chuckled. "Am I
really that easy to choose movies for?" He returned to the stack of videos. Buffy
smiled when his eyes lit up and he turned to put the movie in the VCR.
He returned to the couch and dove in to lie behind her, pulling her back against him.
She turned her head and asked, "Which one is it?"
"Patience," Xander grinned at her, kissing the tip of her nose. "I guarantee
you'll like it."
Buffy huffed at him but turned back to the television screen. The minute she
heard the beginning sounds of the movie, the boy playing a video game, she
turned her head back to look at him in surprise. "Princess Bride??"
"I like it. It has a happy ending. I wanted to see a happy ending."
Buffy turned away again so he wouldn't see the tears that sprung into her eyes
at all that simple statement revealed about the lack of happiness in Xander's life
for so long. She wondered how she never had noticed before and mentally berated
herself for how she'd been much less of a friend to him than he'd been to her.
*Well, no more of that.* She looked back at him again, and smiled, "We've got a
happy ending right here, Xan."
Xander smiled back. "Yeah, Buff. We do," he agreed before kissing her.
She smiled at him and then turned back to the movie.
Buffy woke to the realization that she had an arm around her waist. Beyond
that, she was lying on her side, and another body was spooned up behind her.
*Oh, yeah. I must've fallen asleep during our movie.* She twisted her head to
look back at Xander, he was still sleeping peacefully. She caught the time on
the clock on the other side of the room. *Seven a.m.? Oh, well. Maybe a little
more sleep wouldn't be a bad thing.* She smiled and closed her eyes again,
sighing happily when his arm tightened around her.
***********
Buffy had slowly worked herself into a panic when Xander hadn't showed up at
eight. She'd called his house repeatedly but nobody had answered. After thirty
minutes, she couldn't take any more. She'd left the others to find Xander
herself.
She arrived at the house and knocked on the door. Mary Harris answered it and
Buffy could see she'd been crying. "Mary, is Xander here? He was supposed to--"
"Oh, Buffy, I'm so sorry!" the woman cut her off and the look on her face puzzled
Buffy even more. "He's downstairs, you'd better go on in. Watch out," she
stopped Buffy from stepping in the broken glass just inside the doorway. "I
dropped a ... bottle of..." The woman shrugged and wandered off into the kitchen.
"Okay," Buffy said, confused. She was unable to shake the premonition that
something bad had happened there. She walked to the door of the basement and knocked.
"Who's there?" she heard Xander call.
"It's me, Xan," she replied.
"Yeah, Buff. Come on in."
She walked downstairs but was bewildered by the fact that the lights were all off.
There was light from the streetlights coming in through the few small windows
along the cieling of the basement, but it was barely enough to see.
"Xan?" she called.
"Over here," she heard, and she homed in on the sound of his voice. He was
sitting in a chair near his bed, not appearing to be doing anything in
particular. As she got closer, she could see a very nasty bruise on the left
side of his face.
She winced at the look in Xander's eyes, when he spared a brief look at her.
In one moment, she'd seen anger, pain, sadness and most of all, despair.
She wasn't sure how to deal with his mood. Xander had always been the
one to cheer _her_ up.
She sighed and remained in front of him, willing him to look at her. He did, and
she asked, "What's going on, Xander? I was scared half to death when you didn't
show--"
"I'm sorry," Xander interrupted her. He grabbed her hand and pulling her closer.
"Please don't leave," he added, almost a whisper.
She recognized the fear in his voice, and moved to sit on his lap, pulling his
head against her chest. "I'm not going anywhere," she assured him, hugging him.
He wrapped his arms around her, and they stayed like that for several minutes
before either one spoke.
He finally raised his head, and looked into her eyes, saying, "I was going to call.
I just...." He sighed. He hadn't wanted her to find out like this, if at all.
"Most of the time, he doesn't hit in a place where the bruises are noticeable."
Buffy closed her eyes against the rage that bubbled up inside her. She'd
suspected as much, when she'd seen his black eye. If he'd gotten into a fight with a
demon, he would've been with them already, joking about it. Hiding out at
home though, that meant something worse than just your run-of-the-mill demon
encounter.
"He's not always like this. It's good when he's working, driving his truck.
When he's not working, though... he drinks alot, he loses his temper, things get broken,"
Xander said.
"Bones get broken?" Buffy asked.
"Only if I can't keep out of his way," Xander replied. "But there are times I
_need_ to get in his way, to keep mom safe. I'd rather he hit me than her.
"When I got home, he and mom had already gotten into it. I distracted him and
he calmed down. I thought it was over. I came down here to change but
they got into it again. So I had to get between them. He got a lucky shot
in; but once he'd gotten it out of his system, he went away and passed out.
Just like always.
"But I single-handedly ruined my own birthday party," he sighed. "I'm so sorry.
I'm sure you had everything planned so well--"
"Don't you _dare_ apologize for this," Buffy said and kissed him gently. "This
isn't your fault, Xan. You haven't ruined anything. Come home with me. You can't
stay here."
Xander thought about it for a minute, then nodded. "He'll be out all
night. Let me check on Mom, first. He walked half-way upstairs. "But...I'm
not in the mood for a party."
"I know," Buffy said. "I'll call Mom and have her send everyone home. You can
sleep on the couch tonight. I know she won't mind."
"Thanks," Xander said, and walked back upstairs.
**********
Buffy glanced over at Xander, who was walking with her. He hadn't said a word since
their talk in the basement. She was worried, but didn't know how to help him.
They arrived at her house but Joyce was nowhere to be seen. Buffy had planned it that
way. She'd called earlier, telling her mother that Xander needed a place to stay for the
night. She'd requested that her mom not ask for an explanation and Joyce had reluctantly
agreed. She'd simply said she trusted Buffy's judgment and Buffy was glad for
that.
She looked around and saw that Joyce had also removed all of the decorations from
the house. Which was probably also a good thing, since Xander didn't look
like he'd notice anyway and Buffy was sure she'd have been upset if he didn't. She'd
wanted everything to be perfect, but unfortunately things were never perfect
for very long, in her life.
She looked up at Xander and frowned. He had a blank look on his face, lost in
his despair. *That's enough of that,* Buffy decided. She pushed him down on the
couch. He gave her a mildly puzzled look, but nothing more.
She turned his face toward her and said, "I wish I could do something to help --"
"You're here, that's all I need," Xander replied, managing a smile. "I'll be okay,
Buff." He noticed her completely unconvinced look and added, "I will. I've
dealt with this pretty much all my life. I know it's not the most perfect of
situations, but it's the one I'm stuck with."
Buffy sighed, and said, "Well, let me get you a pillow and a blanket for the
couch. It's not the best of all places to sleep--"
"It's fine," Xander assured her.
She went to the linen closet and returned, handing him a pillow and blanket.
"So what can we do to salvage this night?" she wondered. "Oh!" She had almost
forgotten his present. She rushed into her mother's study to find the package.
She returned and handed Xander the box. "What is it?" he asked.
She giggled, "Silly, that's why you open the present; to find out what's in
it."
"You didn't have to..."
"Oh, don't even start!" Buffy protested as she sat next to him. "I know I didn't
_have_ to, but I _wanted_ to. I love you, Alexander Harris, and you'd better
get used to it."
"Never," he said. He kissed her, lingeringly and then smiled as he pulled away.
"I'll _never_ get used to the fact that I have everything I ever wanted right here,
right now."
Buffy blinked away the tears that clouded her eyes and wrapped her arms around
Xander's neck, pulling him into another kiss. When she pulled away, he brushed the
tears from her cheeks. She smiled and said, "Stop distracting me. Open the present,
Xan." She watched him, hoping he'd like it. She thought he would but--
"Oh, wow," Xander said and looked at her in surprise. "Buffy, this had to
cost--"
"Hush," she interrupted. "No arguing, just put it on," she urged.
He pulled the black leather jacket out of the box, and slipped it on. It fit
perfectly, Buffy was thrilled to see. Not to mention how he looked in it, "My
turn to say 'oh wow.'" She wondered if she was drooling. "You look so..." *good?
Sexy? Yummy? Buffy!* she giggled at the thoughts and decided to stick with: "Wow."
Xander smiled and said, "You've got great taste."
*Yes, I do.* She looked at him appreciatively. When she decided she'd had enough
looking, she tackled him for another kiss. Xander gave a surprised sound,
as she pushed him down on the couch, tangling her hands in his hair. He
responded to the kiss eagerly, though, wrapping his arms around her waist.
She pulled away after a few moments, and snuggled against him, laying her
head on his chest. "I don't suppose you're in the mood for a movie or two?"
"That sounds good. Anything to distract me from ... well, you know," Xander
replied.
Buffy lifted her head and couldn't help wincing at the nasty bruise on the
side of his face. "Okay. And just because I'm such a good girlfriend,
I'll let you pick the movie." She moved over to let him at the stack of movies
she'd rented.
Xander grinned and sat up. "Alien, Terminator, Die Hard..." He chuckled. "Am I
really that easy to choose movies for?" He returned to the stack of videos. Buffy
smiled when his eyes lit up and he turned to put the movie in the VCR.
He returned to the couch and dove in to lie behind her, pulling her back against him.
She turned her head and asked, "Which one is it?"
"Patience," Xander grinned at her, kissing the tip of her nose. "I guarantee
you'll like it."
Buffy huffed at him but turned back to the television screen. The minute she
heard the beginning sounds of the movie, the boy playing a video game, she
turned her head back to look at him in surprise. "Princess Bride??"
"I like it. It has a happy ending. I wanted to see a happy ending."
Buffy turned away again so he wouldn't see the tears that sprung into her eyes
at all that simple statement revealed about the lack of happiness in Xander's life
for so long. She wondered how she never had noticed before and mentally berated
herself for how she'd been much less of a friend to him than he'd been to her.
*Well, no more of that.* She looked back at him again, and smiled, "We've got a
happy ending right here, Xan."
Xander smiled back. "Yeah, Buff. We do," he agreed before kissing her.
She smiled at him and then turned back to the movie.
Buffy woke to the realization that she had an arm around her waist. Beyond
that, she was lying on her side, and another body was spooned up behind her.
*Oh, yeah. I must've fallen asleep during our movie.* She twisted her head to
look back at Xander, he was still sleeping peacefully. She caught the time on
the clock on the other side of the room. *Seven a.m.? Oh, well. Maybe a little
more sleep wouldn't be a bad thing.* She smiled and closed her eyes again,
sighing happily when his arm tightened around her.
***********
