"I've been doing some calculating, Cor and no math jokes, please."
"What have you been calculating?"
"Los Angeles is a damn expensive town to live in. I'm going to need two jobs and you're not going to have time to work, between acting classes and auditions. But I have an edge and I think we should take advantage of it."
"An edge? The Army stuff in your head." She realized. "How though?"
"Though either the National Guard or Army Reserves. The only difference seems to be on the number of days of training requirements. There's also a housing allowance, which will definitely help and isn't taxed. In between required times of service, unless I get called up, I can work a regular job. There's also a basic sustenance pay, food, also not taxable. It'll keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies and the money I make from regular work will help you with the acting classes. You won't be run ragged trying to live while doing the work necessary to become an actress."
"You'll be supporting me."
"You're the one with a dream, Cordy. I'm willing to do what's needed to help you achieve that dream."
"I believe you, you threw yourself into the Slayage to support Buffy."
"Buffy isn't the girl I'm in love with, she's the girl I used to have a crush on who by helping her with the Slayage I stood a chance of avenging Jesse. She never really wanted or needed my help in the first place. You're not taking advantage of me, Cordy, none of this comes with strings."
"I know, you're not that kind of guy. Eventually I want to earn a degree, I got into a lot of great colleges, but that's going to wait until I can pay for it myself. Alright, it's a good plan and will keep us from living on the street. Living poor hurts, Xander, I grew up with everything. On the other hand, I've got my very own Doofus. I think I'm going to be just fine." She grinned at him. He grinned back.
"It is my honor to serve my Queen." He swept her into a waltz around their small one bedroom apartment, while she laughed.
It took Cordelia about a month to find an audition, but she'd already started acting classes. Xander landed a job as an assistant carpenter on the set for a play and while it didn't pay much, it did help pay for Cordelia's acting class. Once he'd finished basic training, Xander was also an Army Reservist. They were both so busy that they often only saw each other just before bed and first thing in the morning, but they promised each other that they just had to stick it out, eventually Cordelia would land some kind of role. Well besides being a hand model on a commercial for fake nails anyway.
"It's a job, Cor." Xander reminded her. "It's just the first step, first one job and than another. Some day the hard work will pay off and it will be worth it and at least you don't have to worry about starving between auditions."
"I know and right now I can't afford to be picky. Have you been able to get ahold of Buffy or Willow yet?"
"I talked to Willow once, she said she didn't have time to talk and she'd talk to me later. That was a month ago and nothing since then. She must be really busy and Buffy seems to have meant it when she said leave a message at the beep. Only she hasn't called back either. Joyce doesn't have an answering machine and neither does Giles. At least the news hasn't mentioned anything scare inducing so it's probably just school keeping them busy and we don't have an answering machine either, so we're probably just missing each other. Eventually we'll be able to have an actual conversation and catch up. As long as the news doesn't show anything that might give me an early heart attack, I don't think it's anything to worry about."
"Me either." She yawned and stretched, while Xander admired the way her blouse pulled tight over her chest when she did so. Life continued to be busy and after awhile and not getting any response from Buffy or Willow, Xander stopped trying, there just wasn't time to think about it. He'd occasionally check to see if anything weird was reported by the news and since there wasn't, thought everything was fine in Sunnydale.
And then Cordelia got a job offer, the kind that necessitated a conversation.
"I've been offered a job, Xander. A potentially big one."
"Are we shouting in joy or are we crying because you don't think you can manage it?" He asked.
"Well that depends."
"On what?" He asked warily.
"On whether you'd be willing to move to New York with me. It's not an acting job, Xander. It's a modeling job. But I'd be required to work in New York because that's where the company is based out of. And it will probably involve travel, if they like me and want me for more than entry level work."
"Modeling isn't acting, is it? But it could lead to acting and in the mean time, it's a job, a pay check and experience. All of which will help you get to the next step."
"You're right." Cordelia nodded. "So we're doing this? We're moving to New York?"
"An Army Reservist can live anywhere as long as they can fulfill the requirements of active duty. And I can get another regular job there too. If you want to take this chance, Cor, I'll support you."
Cordelia smiled, a full megawatt smile. "I guess I'm going to try my hand at being a model for awhile. I'll let them know I accept tomorrow. Tonight let's celebrate!"
A/N /guard-reserve-handbook/pay-benefits/basic-pay-allowances. Found at military times dot com.