Disclaimer: Same as last time.

Why's the Dog in a Cape?

00000

For the first time in a long time Xander was happy. He had a great girlfriend, decent apartment, great girlfriend, good job, did he mention the great girlfriend? Sometimes he still can't believe it. To him it seemed like one day he was working in the Fabulous Ladies Club to get his recently deceased car fixed and the next he had a cozy little life here in Metropolis.

Of course he hadn't planned on staying there at first. Only intending to stay long enough to see the sights and, if he was real lucky, catch a glimpse of the Man of Steel flying overhead.

Then the unexpected happened and his life changed all because he met a girl. Typical. At least he didn't embarrass himself by flipping over railings this time.

When he first saw her while visiting a local club it took all of his willpower not to stare slack jawed at the blonde haired, blue-eyed goddess that seemed to almost glide through the throng of rowdy teens and twenty something's crowding the floor. Somehow he managed it while most every other man in the club didn't. More than once he heard the smack of a girlfriend making her displeasure of them ogling the new arrival clearly known.

It's not that he didn't find her attractive cause well… boy did he ever. It was more that he didn't think he would stand a chance with her. So he just turned his attention back to the stage, clapping as the band finished their song and left while another took their shot. The competition would be close, the club's Battle of the Bands competition had a lot of talent participating, so different than Sunnydale where the only decent one was the Dingo's.

Smiling at the thought of his friend's band he turned back to his drink… only to find a pair of bright amused blue eyes staring back at him. For a moment he just stared blankly at the vision before him who somehow managed to sit down at his table without him even noticing. Finally he found his voice. "Umm… hi?"

The beauty giggled at the uncertainty in his voice as she replied. "Hi."

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"Almost five minutes."

"Oh… ah… Xander I am. I mean, I'm Xander."

She smiled at him. "Kara."

00000

It's been three months since then and Xander has yet to leave Metropolis. He found a job and a small but fairly nice apartment. More than that he found in his construction job a natural aptitude and satisfaction that disproved at least two of the things his father used to always tell him in his drunken stupors. He found respect and a circle of friends in some of the work crew and neighbours, but most importantly he had Kara. He was happier with her than he had been in a long time and for the first time since the gang had decided to try and push him out of the action a year ago he felt like he belonged.

That's not to say he didn't miss Sunnydale. Buffy was his first taste of love, even if it wasn't reciprocated, and there would always be a part of his heart with the word Willow stamped on it. Giles and Joyce were closer to parents to him than even his own. Even Oz's short, concise responses and Cordelia's scathing remarks were missed.

They still talked on the phone of course, but it wasn't the same. Not one of them had tried to convince him to return to Sunnydale. Secretly, and in some cases not so secretly, thankful to have him away from the Hellmouth and safe from the fight. Nobody commented on his new choice of home until they saw the property damage caused by the next fight between Superman and the latest supervillian to come to town. Suddenly they weren't so keen on Metropolis anymore.

Of course those thinly veiled protests fell on deaf ears. He definitely wasn't going to tell them that he still staked the occasional vampire and slayed the occasional demon. That would just be opening a new, well old really, can of worms.

It was bad enough when he told Buffy and Willow about Kara. Although they tried to hide it he could tell they immediate assumed the worst. For a while he thought he may have to go to extremes to keep them from coming down to 'introduce themselves' to Kara. Thankfully, things eventually died down on that front.

Right now he wasn't thinking on any of these things though. His only thoughts were of the young beauty in his arms.

His modest apartment was lit only by many strategically place small candles and a pair of large ones on a small table were the remnants of a meal and a couple mostly empty glasses of wine could be found. The heavy bass of a slow romantic song filled the room from an album that Xander had bought specifically for romantic evenings like this.

Xander held Kara close as they danced completely oblivious to the time passing. Truthfully they probably wouldn't notice if the music ended at that moment, or even half an hour ago. They did, however, notice the loud out of place bark and the thumping of a tail on carpet.

As one they turned towards the sound to find a white dog wearing a red cape adorned with an 'S' shield staring at them from his spot next to the window. If that wasn't strange enough said dog was floating a few inches from the ground, its tail falling down to thump on the floor as he happily wagged it back and forth.

"There is a flying dog in my apartment." Xander stated the obvious. "Why is there a flying dog in my apartment and more importantly why is it wearing a cape?"

"Shoo!" Kara said as she glared at the animal. "Go away Krypto! You're not suppose to be here,"

"Neither are you." A disapproving voice came from the outside as three figures flew into the apartment. At least they were kind enough to move the screen aside, not that it mattered with the huge hole Krypto had left in it.

Xander stared slack jawed as Superman and Wonder Woman looked sternly at Kara while Superboy merely shrugged as if to say 'it's not like I could have stopped them'.

"How did you find me?" Kara asked after a few moments of uneasy silence.

"We followed Krypto." Superman explained. "He picked up your sent."

"You mean he took off like a bat out of hell after sniffing stuff in your room, which looked like a bomb had gone of in it and that's usually my thing. I guess I know why half your closet was on your bed now though." Superboy chimed in helpfully (sorta). "Oh cool a Playstation, Ma won't let me get one. Says video game violence is a bad influence on today's youth. Like my life is so violent free as it is."

"Help yourself." Xander told him absently as he continued to stare in shock at the icons before him. Nobody seemed to notice as Krypto enter the small kitchen and dig into everything edible he could find.

"Diana, Kal, you may as well meet Xander." Kara said as innocently as she could.

Superman's look didn't waver in the slightest. "We'll get to him in a moment."

Xander gulped. "That doesn't sound good."

"You were supposed to be at the Island for training tonight." Diana said, getting into the issue at hand.

Superman's eyes softened as he added. "I was worried, you should tell someone where you're going."

"We just want what is best for you."

"I want a life!" Kara exclaimed, anger beginning to flow into her voice. This was obviously an old argument. "I love my life and friends on the Island but I want to live my own life too!"

"Ah… hi? Should I really be here for this?" Xander asked as the fight got into full swing, suddenly feeling like he was intruding in his own home. The voices raised so much he didn't even here the sound of his cupboard door being ripped off.

"Give it up man," Superboy advised from the couch, not looking up from the game of Tekken he was engaged in. "They've already forgotten we're here."

Xander sighed. "Story of my life."

"You game?" Superboy asked as he held the second controller in his outstretched hand.

"Sure but I get to be the Ryu look alike." Xander said with a shrug as he took the offered controller and took a seat next to the young hero. "Prepared to be trounced SB."

"Dream on."

Diana, Superman and Kara continued to argue as Krypto emerged from the cupboard triumphantly, a bag of Twinkies hanging in his jaws. A deep growl startled everyone but none more than Krypto. The poor dog dropped the Twinkies with a yelp and took off for the Fortress as fast as he could fly whimpering the entire way.

Everyone turned their gaze on Xander.

"What?"