here's my third installment. please let me know what you like and dislike about the story as a whole. i'm pretty much sticking to canon for now, but that may change. also i'm planning to write a joss/alex story on my own timeline instead of the show's. would anyone be interested in that? thanks for reading and please bear with me; it will get better and more action-packed. thanks.
Joss wasn't sure how or why, but somehow after her huge, emotional fight with Savi she had ended up on Alex's doorstep, the burn of unshed tears still stinging the backs of her eyes. She didn't hesitate to knock, but still found herself trying to dry her eyes and be composed before the girl could answer.
Alex opened the door quickly, her genuine smile upon seeing Joss fading as soon as she saw the wracked emotion on the girl's face.
"Joss, what happened?!" Alex asked, immediately pulling the girl securely inside her home and shutting the door behind them. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah," Joss scoffed. "It's nothing. Savi is just being such a bitch, and—" Joss tried to play it off, but Alex could see the shine of tears in the girl's big blue eyes threatening to spill over.
"Hey," Alex said softly, stopping Joss's façade, brushing a strand of blond hair away from the girl's face and forcing her sad eyes up to look into her own. "It's me. You don't have to pretend with me, Joss."
Joss broke down instantly upon hearing Alex's sweet and sincere words. It was as though she just needed to know she had permission to let it out before she could allow herself to. Alex pulled her into her arms and held her tightly as she cried. Joss tried to speak occasionally, between sobs, to explain it all away. This was all so unlike her.
"Shh…" Alex soothed, brushing Joss's hair down and rubbing her back as she led them to the couch, where she continued to hold her close. "Take your time. It's okay, baby."
Joss allowed herself to cry it out, which she hadn't done in as long as she could remember. She took a few deep breaths, inadvertently inhaling the distinctive smell of Alex, and calmed easily.
"I'm so sorry," Joss chuckled nervously, suddenly embarrassed by her out of character outburst, wiping the tears violently from her face.
"Hey- hey…" Alex stopped Joss's rough hand with her own, wiping the girl's tears away gently, lovingly, instead. "Don't ever be sorry. Tell me what happened."
Alex and Joss remained comfortably cuddled up on the couch as Joss recounted the events of the fight. After hearing herself say it all aloud, Joss felt like it didn't sound as horrible as it had felt to her at the time. She wasn't sure if that fact made her feel better or worse about the situation.
As the two lie there- Joss absently playing with the buttons on Alex's blouse and Alex running her hands softly through Joss's hair- Joss wondered if this was what it would be like to be in relationship. She'd never been in one, not really, so she couldn't tell. Was this just how female friends were together? She didn't think so. But whatever this was, she loved it.
"We should go dancing. Do you want some wine?" Alex said, distancing herself from Joss suddenly and ripping the girl out of her contemplation.
Joss laughed. "What? And yes, please," she grinned with her respective answers.
"Well, I think you just need a distraction, you know?" Alex said, already in the kitchen somehow, pouring glasses of white wine. "I think that if you don't think about your fight for a little while you'll get a new perspective on it," she said as she walked carefully back to the couch with two nearly full to the brim wine glasses in her hands. "I mean, if you want to stay in, that's fine too. I'm okay with anything. I just don't want you to stew in it and overanalyze." Alex sat back onto the couch, this time with an entire cushion of space between the two of them. Joss couldn't help but notice that she missed the feeling of heat emanating from Alex.
"Do you dance?" Joss asked, unable to hide the slight surprise in her voice.
"Of course I dance! Why is that surprising?" Alex jokingly scoffed.
"You just don't seem like much of a dancer," Joss smirked, taking a gulp of her wine happily.
"Well, Sally didn't dance, so I haven't gone in a long time," Alex admitted, almost sadly. "Maybe 'Alex that was with Sally' didn't dance, but 'post-Sally Alex' certainly does," she smiled, scooting a little bit closer to Joss naturally.
"Well who am I to deny 'post-Sally Alex'? I like her. She's fun," Joss grinned. "I can't wait to see your moves," she laughed.