Part 58 - A Happy Ending
Two weeks later
Monday, 12 pm

"Buffy," Xander said, sitting on the bed. He smiled at the
sleeping slayer. "Wake up." She replied with a grunt and he
chuckled. "Come on, Buff. I'm hungry."

"Tired," she mumbled and rolled over, her back to him.

"Buff, it's technically afternoon, and that means it's time to
get up!" Xander insisted.

"Why?" she questioned, rolling over and opening one eye to look
at him quizzically.

"Um..." Xander thought about that a moment, before remembering a
very good reason. "Because Willow and Oz are coming over and
we're going to the park for a picnic lunch!"

"XANDER!" Buffy jumped out of bed. "Why didn't you say so
earlier?!"

"I just remembered, myself," he shrugged. "Sorry"

Buffy rolled her eyes and rushed into the bathroom to take a
quick shower.

Xander smiled and went out to the living room of the apartment
to wait for her. His apartment. He'd decided on it a few days
after graduation. It was not five miles away from UC Sunnydale,
which was a good thing since Buffy had pretty much decided to go
there.

She'd all but moved in with him, without him even needing to
ask. She kept some clothes in his dresser, and had taken over a
shelf in the bathroom. He was more than happy with the
situation, and had thought about asking her to just move in and
make it official. He hadn't, though, because he worried she
might say no. He wasn't sure _why_ he thought she'd say no.
Willow had informed him that she thought he was being silly,
when he had no reason to back up his fears. And maybe he was.

Buffy showered and dressed in five minutes flat, which even
surprised herself. She pulled her hair back in pony tail and
walked to the living room. "Good morning - afternoon, I guess,"
she said as she curled up next to Xander on the couch. "How long
have you been up?" she asked. Not waiting for a reply, she
kissed him soundly.

When Xander had to come up for air, he tried to remember what
she'd asked before the kiss. "Uh..." He remembered finally. "I
think it was around eight."

"What on earth have you done for the last four hours?" Buffy
wondered. "You *could've* woken me up."

"You had a busy slaying session last night," Xander frowned. "I
knew you needed your sleep. I didn't do much while I waited;
showered and dressed."

"And?"

Xander shrugged. "I suppose I watched you sleep a while."

"A while?"

"Three hours," he admitted with a grin.

Buffy rolled her eyes, "You know, you are incredibly hopeless."

"Yes," Xander agreed. He leaned down to kiss her. "But would you
really want it any other way?"

"I suppose not," Buffy shrugged, smiling at him. "You know, Xan,
if anyone had told me, a year ago, that we'd end up together
within the year... no offense, but I think I would've laughed in
their face."

"No offense taken," Xander assured her, "because I would've
reacted the same way. But look at us now, happy... you are
happy, right?"

Buffy laughed and kissed him, passionately. "I am happier than I
ever thought I could be," she said. "I love you, Xan. Everything
about you, even your adorable, little insecurities. I love
spending time with you, I love making love with you and I really
love waking up with you."

"I feel the same way," Xander said. "And that's why I've been
meaning to ask you... I know you were planning on moving into a
dorm at UC Sunnydale with Willow in the fall but I was wondering
maybe if you'd, maybe like to, possibly, uh..." Xander trailed
off, trying to find his nerve again, which seemed to have run
away in fear.

"Possibly, uh..." Buffy prompted, with a teasing grin. "Xan,
don't you know, you can ask me anything?"

"Yeah," Xander smiled. "God, I know I'm being silly. Just say
it, Xander. Okay, Xander, I will." He took a deep breath and
said, "Buffy, I was wondering if you'd like to live with me.
Move in here." He looked at her, waiting for an answer.

She grinned and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him
deeply. When she pulled away, she giggled at the dazed look in
his eyes. "Is _that_ all you wanted to ask?" she wondered.
"We're almost living together already, how could you doubt I'd
say yes??? I love spending every possible minute with you, Xan.
So the answer is a very definite yes, I can't think of anywhere
else I'd rather live."

"Really?" Xander replied, not sure he was hearing what he
thought he was hearing.

"Really," Buffy said with a smile. "Surprisingly enough, Mom's
been okay with how much time I've spent here, including the
sleep-overs. So I think she'll have been expecting this. I'll
start moving my stuff as soon as you're ready."

"Now?" Xander suggested.

Buffy giggled at his eagerness. "I think it can wait 'til after
lunch, Xan. Don't worry, I'm not going to change my mind."

"Have I told you yet, today, how much I love you?" Xander asked,
running his hand through her hair.

"Not in those exact words," Buffy said, "but I know. I've never
doubted it, not for a minute."

"Good," Xander said. "Because I do love you, Buffy Summers. And
I can't imagine a day ever coming when that won't be the case."

"I'm glad to hear that," Buffy said with a smile. "Since I'm
pretty set on a happy ending for us."

"Then we'll have it," Xander replied.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And what makes you so sure about this?" Buffy wondered.

"It's one of the few things that you've taught me to be sure
of," Xander said. "When Angel came back, I was sure you would
choose him. I mean, how could you not? I was nothing, compared
to him. At least that's what *I* thought. But you did the
strangest, most amazing, most surprising thing. You
showed me that you didn't think that I was nothing. You chose to
be with *me*, and you believed in the truth of our love. That
was the most incredible thing anyone's ever done, in my life.
And your belief in us taught me how to believe, too. And now, I
don't know what else will happen in our lives, but I do know
that as long as we hold on to our love, we'll be okay."

"More than okay, Xan," Buffy said. "Perfect. As long as we're
together, everything will be just perfect." She smiled and
snuggled up against his chest, as they waited for their friends
to arrive. She felt that everything *was* perfect. Their love
was strong; in spite of all the odds against them, they were
still together. And that's what made everything perfect for
Buffy. Being with Xander made her feel wanted, needed and loved,
with an intensity that she was certain would last forever. And
if that wasn't a happy ending, then she didn't know what was.

++++++++++
THE END of Little Earthquakes!