SquidgeWorld Archive

Prolog.

"I can't believe you!" Buffy hissed. "You act like you're still back in the eighteenth century or whatever."

"What?" Angel shot back. "So I suggested that..."

"And you don't see how that might be more than a little patronizing?" Buffy flared.

"No!" Angel called out loud. "Maybe it's just my ignorance - being out of date by two centuries, you know - but I don't." He sneered angrily at her.

"That is it!!" Buffy exclaimed. "You wanna play that game, fine. I don't know why I even agreed to this in the first place!" She stood up and stepped away from the table.

"Agreed to it?" Angel told her. "You were begging for this date." His voice had gotten too loud, and several other Bronze patrons were staring at one or both of them.

"Oh!" Buffy groaned in frustration. "In your dreams, loser!" she spat out as she stormed out of the club.

- - - - - - - -

"Hello, honey?" Joyce Summers called out after Buffy slammed the front door closed. No reply came back to her but the sound of her daughter's heels stomping up the stairs.

With a warmhearted sigh, Joyce put the gallery inventory sheets away, got up, carefully made two mugs of hot chocolate, and went up to her daugeter's room. Knock-knock. No response. Knock-Knock.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Can I come in?" Joyce asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure I guess."

Joyce pushed the door open and came in. Buffy was lounged across her bed, staring at some teen magazine with a frown. "I made some hot chocolate, and I thought you might like some," she began. Buffy smiled half or a third of a smile and held out a hand, so Joyce passed one mug over. "So, would you like to tell me what's wrong?" Joyce continued, mentally counting up every time that offer had been made, and silently refused, during Buffy's teenage years.

"What??" Buffy asked innocently, just as if she had no idea what Joyce was talking about.

"You know, you'd been looking forward to tonight for a few days," Joyce explained. "Some special thing at the Bronze that you wouldn't tell me about, and now look at you. You're home early, came in slamming doors and stomping up the stairs. It doesn't take a genius to know that things didn't go exactly as you expected. What was it?"

"Hmm?" Buffy stalled, taking a long sip of the hot chocolate. It was the good kind - not from powdered chocolate substitute. "Oh, you know. Just teenage stuff."

"Nuh-uh," Joyce shot back, shaking her head. "You don't get to put me off with an answer that isn't an answer this time, Buffy. Was it a guy? Did you have an argument with him??"

Buffy thought fast. She really didn't want to tell her mom about Angel, in detail or in general. Even the conclusion 'it was a guy' was a little bit too close for comfort. So, with only a few misgivings, Buffy decided to tell her mother a fictional version of the evening. "No, it wasn't like that, Mom. I'm not really seeing anyone right now. It was just - well, tonight was supposed to be a girl's night out, and this guy comes up and starts hitting on Willow, convinces her to dance, that kind of thing. I didn't want to ruin things by dragging her away from him, but I guess I resented the whole thing on some level.

Joyce nodded. "See? Now, was that so hard? Don't worry, Buffy. You'll find the guy for you when the time is right." She smiled and stood up from the wooden chair. "Enjoy the rest of your hot chocolate." And with that, she headed back down to her inventory.

- - - - - - - -

Ding-deng.

Joyce turned the pot on the stove down to the lowest heat and walked over to the front door, admiring the way the afternoon sun lit up the living room along the way. "Hello," she said, opening the front door with a smile. "Buffy isn't here right now, Xander."

Xander's face dropped. "Oh, okay. Sorry to bother you, just thought I'd drop in and see."

"She said something about working after school in the library," Joyce offered helpfully.

"Naw," Xander said. "I just checked there. Thanks anyways. Next stop Willow's place, I guess." He started to turn away.

"No!" Joyce called after him. "Actually, I'd like to talk with you about something, Xander, if that's okay. Won't you come in?"

Xander turned back to her. "Huh?" He looked around nervously, then apparently decided that there was no danger. "Uh, okay I guess."

"Would you like something to drink?" Joyce asked with a chipper voice. "Lemonade??"

- - - - - - - -

"So, what do you say?" Joyce asked as Xander finished the last of his lemonade. "Will you do it?"

"So, what you want me to do, basically, is what?" Xander asked. "Go on a blind date for you?"

"Uh, yeah," Joyce agreed, nodding. "I guess you could call it that."

"Do I get any clue as to what this person is gonna be like?" he ventured.

Joyce considered that a moment, cocking her head. "No, I think we'll leave that as a surprise. I *know* that you'll like her, though."

"Okay..." Xander said uncertainly. "Uh, how will I know her?"

"She'll know how to recognize you," Joyce told him. "Just be at the Bronze at seven tomorrow night, and dress nice. She'll be there."

"Okay," Xander nodded.

"You promise me that you'll be there, on time?" Joyce confirmed.

"Yeah, yeah okay," Xander said. "I promise."

- - - - - - - -

"Hey?" Buffy asked as she rushed into the house, in a much more positive mood that she had the day before. "Mom, you there?"

"Hi, Buffy," Joyce called from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready, and, well, I've got a special surprise that I cannot *wait* to tell you about!"

Part one.

Buffy walked forthrightly into the library early the next morning, traces of righteous indignation on her face. She brushed past Giles and Willow without replying to either 'Hi' or 'Good morning,' and walked right up to Xander, who had been leaning against the wall.

As Xander was in the middle of raising his hand to wave a surprised hello to the Slayer, she grabbed him by the throat, and swung him over to land on his back on the table. "What do you know?" she asked him frantically. "*What did she tell you*!?"

For a second they held the pose in tableau, Xander shocked into speechlessness, and Buffy not about to give him one inch of personal freedom until he spoke up. Then Giles and Willow started into surprised action - well, Giles started into action, grabbing ahold of Buffy's arm and trying to persuade it out of its grasp of Xander's throat.

Willow just started into surprised babbling. "Buffy! What are you *doing* to Xander? Giles, is she posessed or something?? Buffy, you've gotta let him *breathe*!"

"I'm not choking him that hard," Buffy said evenly. "And I want an answer!"

"Enough!" Giles muttered, finally interposing himself between Buffy and her target. "Buffy, what on earth is this about?"

"My mom set me up on a date with him," Buffy announced, pointing a finger accusingly at Xander as if that were the worst crime in the world.

"What?" Xander and Willow exclaimed in unison.

"You guys are going out on a date?" Willow said, depression all over her face.

"The- the date is with you?" Xander asked Buffy in disbelief. "My god, Buffy, believe me, I didn't know. She said it was a blind date..."

Buffy regarded Xander critically for a second, then nodded. "Okay," she continued. "Then this is what you're gonna do. This afternoon, say around one or two o'clock, you're gonna call my Mom and tell her you can't make it. Something's come up - you can choose your own story. Make it convincing. Don't let on that that you know the date's with me."

"What?" Xander breathed, confused himself now. "I... I can't do that, Buffy. I gave your mother my word."

Buffy fixed him with a steely gaze. "Yeah, I believe that," she scoffed. "'Cause you're such an *honorable* guy."

"Why..." Willow stuttered. "Why don't *you* just tell you Mom you're not going, Buffy?"

Buffy turned away from Xander and sighed long-sufferingly. "I can't afford to," she muttered to Willow. "Mom's been sniffing around for a few weeks now, and I don't want her to find out about Angel. Me dating an older guy like that - it wouldn't be pretty. And if I back out of the date, it'd be a pretty good clue that there really is a guy in my life. She wouldn't rest until she found out who."

Xander spoke up. "If you want me to tell your mom that something's come up, Buffy, I'll do it." He took a deep breath. "But I'm honestly not sure that I could do it convincingly. And if your Mom gets the hint that you're behind my sudden change of heart... it'd be worse than if you just..." He left the ending hang in the air ominously.

"Okay, fine," Buffy groaned. "If I have to go out with you to protect my whatever with Angel, I'm gonna do it."

There was silence for a moment as everybody appreciated the irony of that statement. Suddenly, footsteps rang through the library as Willow turned and ran out of the room, tears streaming from her eyes.

- - - - - - - -

"Willow!" Buffy called out as she flew into the computer lab.

"Buffy?" Jenny Calendar asked in surprise, reflexively bringing a finger up to the vicinity of her lips.

"Oh, yeah, right. Quiet," Buffy mumbled as she slid over to sit down next to Willow. "What's wrong?" she hissed in a strained whisper.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." Willow paused in flummoxed anguish, brushing a few stray tears out of her eyes. "The whole you-Xander thing. I'm not as convinced as you that the date isn't going to amount to anything. I mean, you know, the whole point of a date is to give something a chance to happen. And... well, you know, I guess I'm not as over Xander as I thought. I could handle him going off with some other girl - but not with you, Buffy. I just, you know... I couldn't seem to deal with it."

"Hey, Willow," Buffy said with a smile. "Breathe, relax. Xander is not going to 'go off' with me, or anything. We're going to have a few sodas at the Bronze." She paused, and Willow tried to force a smile onto her face. "And dance a few dances," Buffy added reluctantly, and Willow's face fell a little. "And - have - a - bite - to - eat - beforehand." The words came out of Buffy's mouth as if dragged out by a malevolent spirit, and Willow grew sadder with every single one.

- - - - - - - -

Buffy stepped nervously into the Bronze, Willow's words running through her mind. Mom, never one to take a half-assed plan anything less than the whole way, had insisted that Buffy dress up to the nines - a lovely silk mauve dress, strappy up top and fairly short lower down, was the centerpiece of the outfit. Black high-heels, a few rings, a fancy gold bracelet, Buffy's trusty cross necklace, and small hoop earrings accessorized the outfit, and Buffy kept hold of a small leather purse packed full of the essentials - which included only one wooden stake. After all, what were the chances of running into vampires when she was on a date?

Maybe she should have made room for three stakes. And a bigger cross.

Xander and Buffy noticed each other the second Buffy walked into the club proper. Xander had dressed nicely, too, Buffy noticed - off-white button-down shirt, dark blue dress pants and sport jacket. His hair was carefully styled, and seemed to be kept in place by more than the usual amount of gel.

"Hey, Buffy," Xander said, with a smile, and headed over to her. Buffy joined him, a trace of a similar expression forming on her own face. So this wasn't exactly her definition of a date. It wouldn't be that bad - a little food, a little small talk, a little dancing. There were worse fates.

"Whoa," a voice called out from behind her, and Buffy spun round in surprise. "What's wrong with this picture?" Angel asked, a slightly suspicious smile on his face. "You two look like you're going out on a date or something!"

Part two.

"Date?" Buffy moaned. "Oh, god, don't even say that word."

Now Angel frowned, angrily. "You mean the two of you *are* here, you know, together??" He did not look happy at all about the prospect, and Xander could hardly blame him.

"Don't get your fangs in an uproar," Xander hissed at Angel. "This isn't a pleasure jaunt for Buffy, just a family obligation. And, truth to tell, I'm not so wildly happy about being here, either." That was the truth, Xander realized with some surprise. He'd dreamed of going on a romantic night out with Buffy practically ever since he'd met her, but not like this. She had to feel *something*, or it was meaningless. Just a scene being acted out, empty inside.

Angel sighed and turned to Buffy. "What the hell is he talking about?"

Buffy groaned out loud, gesturing Angel and Xander over to a table. "It's a set-up," she whispered to her vampire boyfriend. "My mom arranged the date."

"And you went along with it?" Angel asked accusingly.

"It's not that easy," Buffy complained. "It's part of the social contract of the modern era - a maternal parent has an inalienable right to arrange dates for their single children. It's 'The Mommy Perogative.'" Angel opened his mouth to speak, but Buffy raised a hand and cut him off. "There isn't anything that *I* can do about it. The only way to head this kind of garbage off is if we let her know about you. Are you willing to do that?"

Angel's mouth opened again, but he seemed to be struck speechless by the very idea of that. "You see my point," Buffy told him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm on a date." And she turned to Xander, dismissing Angel with a flippant wave of her hand. Angel got up, passed an unimpressed look from Buffy to Xander, and stalked off.

There was a long moment of silence. "That was kinda harsh," Xander told Buffy, who thought about it for a second, then shrugged. "I enjoyed it very much," Xander continued in a confessional tone.

Buffy broke out into a couple of giggles. "You would."

Xander just shrugged. "Well, hey. I don't like him, I never made any secret of it. And, to tell you the truth, I think he could use a lot more of a telling off than just that."

"Xander!!" Buffy was shocked now, offended on Angel's behalf.

"Well, that's my opinion," Xander maintained, shaking his head. "He... he doesn't treat you right, Buffy. I can see it, and I can see that you know it too. But, god knows why, you keep going back for more." Buffy just stared at him. "Oh, god," he muttered to himself. "Great dating etiquette, Xander. Insult the guy your companion might be in love with, and throw in a conversation-stopper to close. *Reeal* smooth."

"Yeah," Buffy shot back, still angry with him. "Um... you know what I think we could do with over here?"

"A rewind button?" Xander joked.

"You should be so lucky. Not what I was thinking of. Drinks. Hey, waiter?" Buffy leaned over, (inadvertently flashing Xander a good stretch of cleavage,) and waved at a guy in white who was walking between the tables.

- - - - - - - -

"So, um, are sir and the lady, like, ready to order?" the slightly snide college guy who was their water asked; Xander guessed that he was probably making fun of their outfits, which were considerably fancier than the Bronze usually got on a Friday night. But, well, that was the way Joyce Summers had wanted it - Buffy's mom had told Xander in no uncertain terms to dress nicely, and Buffy had dropped hints that mommy had been even more hands-on with her daughter's wardrobe for this occasion.

"Umm..." Xander looked over his menu, at the table, (with his and Buffy's sodas sitting on it, each a little better than half-full,) and Buffy, also sitting defensively behind her menu. "I'll... I'll have the flank steak and home fries, I guess."

"Good," Waiter-guy somehow managed to make that word a further joke. "And for madam?"

"Um..." Buffy sighed. "I'll have a hamburger, baked potato, and corn on the side."

"Very good," the waiter said, nodding and stepping back. But before he could leave, something happened that electrified both Buffy and Xander.

It was a voice - far enough away that it was not very loud, hardly audible over the crowds and the music. But the words were unmistakeable in the short silence following the waiter's reply. "No... don't... get away from me... oh, my god, what's with your teeth??"

Part three.

Buffy was the first up, running past the surprised waiter towards the voice. Xander awkwardly pushed his chair away and followed her. Quickly the pair of them were deep within the dark and quiet corridors of the Bronze. Xander asked "Buffy?" doubtfully, but the Slayer nodded enthusiastically.

Somewhere amidst these gloomy hallways was a feeding vampire - or several. There were only seconds left to save the innocent life of whoever the victim was.

Buffy peeked into a storeroom, came up short, and started digging in her purse. One pretty teenage girl-vampire was sucking the blood out of a tall buff guy, while two of her vampire girlfriends stood watch. Three vampires in all, one Slayer with only one stake.

Not the best odds Buffy had ever faced.

Buffy hesitated only a minute, but that was long enough for Xander to make his move. The numbers were obvious, and the solutions to the equations came out just as easily. Xander walked into that room, all innocent and victimy, full of tasty teenager blood. That way he would be a useful diversion while Buffy waited for the attack. Hopefully, he could keep the attention of the two occupied, and the third wouldn't even stop drinking, until Buffy staked vampire number one. The odds became a lot better for her then.

"Nasty sun-of-a-b..." Xander muttered for effect as he walked into the room. Do an obvious reaction take, noticing the two girls in front. He had come to a stop in just such a point that vampire two blocked his view of vampire number three and the guy she was feeding on. With luck, they wouldn't know that he already knew what was going on there.

"Uh..." Xander mumbled, needing no thespian effort to look speechless. In fact, it took a considerable effort to remember his next line. "I... I came in here looking for tomato sauce." That was a touch he was particularly proud of - with any luck, mentioning tomato sauce in front of vampires would make them think of blood.

Then again, what would happen if Xander was *too* lucky??

He scanned the shelves, which were mostly dishes and cleaning tools. "Is... is there any tomato sauce here?"

"A little," vampire number two said, stepping towards him. Xander tried to be on his guard, but she dived forward and sunk her teeth into Xander's neck in what seemed like an instant.

"Hey, are one of you guys gonna share?" vampire one complained, looking from two to three and back again. "I'm hungry too."

"Maybe it's time you took a nap," Buffy cracked, appearing behind number one as if out of nowhere. "Like permanently." She did something quickly, and vampiress one disintegrated into thin air, leaving only Buffy holding her stake.

Vamps two and three were staring at her now. "See what happens when you don't play well with others?" Buffy quipped at them.

Two threw Xander into the wall, and as he slumped to the floor and turned around to look at what was happening, he saw that the original victim had been tossed aside similarly. That other guy was out cold by this point.

Two and three were menacing Buffy with mean stares and outstretched claw-like fingernails, but they never had a chance. Punch. Kick. Double punch, and number three was staked. Now the odds were one on one, and that meant that Buffy could have a little more fun. She threw vamp number two painfully into the storeroom door, waited for her to recover enough to charge again, then tripped her and stomped harshly on the back of her knee.

"This is for sucking Xander," she called out, and plunged the stake into her heart.

"Thank you, thank you," Xander muttered, picking himself the rest of the way up. "Is that the first vampire you've dedicated to me, by the way?"

"Hmm..." Buffy thought about that. "I'm not sure, actually." She leaned towards him, concern on her face. "Are you okay?"

Fortunately, Xander had recovered enough that his biggest worry was keeping my eyes on Buffy's face rather than her boobs, which were again fairly well showcased in that pose. "I'm good. How about the other guy?"

Buffy rushed over to check mister Buff, feeling for his pulse and looking at the state of the fang wounds on his neck. "He's out cold, but the bleeding's stopped, and I think he hasn't lost too much blood. He's gonna be fine."

"Hmm..." Xander thought about that. "Maybe one of us had better spill something during dinner, though. Just to make sure that someone has to go in here for a broom or a mop, and finds him.

Buffy laughed at that. "You know, that's actually not such a bad idea."

- - - - - - - -

"Oh, I *know*!" Buffy agreed enthusiastically. "He's a menace. I mean, maybe, if I wasn't doing anything else in school, I could handle the workload Mister Mackenzie gives us. But hello! English is only one out of eight periods in the school day. It's unreal."

"I know," Xander admitted. They were working on their dinners. Buffy had managed to arrange things so that waiter guy knocked her soda on the floor once he was done serving them - not a bad trick, Xander thought. There had been a bit of a commotion while the cleanup was being prepared for, so it seemed quite likely that the vampire's victim had been discovered. Buffy had gotten a fresh new drink out of it, and was immensely pleased with the results all round.

"At least Mackenzie lets us go partners," Xander said. "And I had him last year for freshman - he's doing some of the stuff over again. We could team up, if you like - see how painlessly we could get through the year."

"Hey, not a bad plan!" Buffy said, smiling. "I'd love you." Suddenly, she realized what she had said. "Love it," she hastily corrected. "I'd love it if we could work together - on the English homework." She looked nervously over at Xander, as if expecting that he would tease her for her slip of speech.

But Xander somehow knew that he shouldn't do that. "Once we're finished our dinner, we should do a few turns on the dance floor, don't you think? Your mom would expect nothing less."

Part four.

Xander looked over at his 'date' as the energetic, (but not unpleasantly so,) dance song wound to an end. Buffy looked so amazing with her shaded blonde hair flying out every time she turned her head. Every step she took, every motion she made was co-ordinated with perfect agility, and yet somehow wholesome and unthreatening.

The skirt of her dress was short enough to not restrict her motions, and Xander was admiring her legs as far up as he could, not to mention the way her chest was heaving lightly with the exertion of dancing. He smiled over at Buffy, and she smiled back at him merrily - try as he might to fight it, Xander wondered if she had any idea what he had been thinking.

"Okay, let's slow it down a little," the DJ said as another song began. A twangy bass riff, sensual drumbeats, the beginnings of a pretty melody on a piano or keyboard, and harmonic strummings on guitar filled the club as the couples on the dance floor got into each other's arms - or, in rare cases, chickened out and returned to their tables. Xander looked over at Buffy uncertainly.

"Oh, why not," she said with a friendly smile. "It's a nice song."

Xander nervously stretched his arms around Buffy's slim waist, moving a lot closer to her, and Buffy wrapped her own hands up around Xander's neck. As if she had been waiting for them, the throaty vocalist on the CD began to croon at that moment.

**"Indian Summer, Abilene. You were new in town, I was nineteen. And sparks... flew."**

Suddenly, Xander was mentally reliving the first time he had met Buffy. Or the first times, rather, for it had come, as so many things in his life seemed to, in stages. Seeing her through the crowd, climbing up the stairs to Sunnydale high on her first day of school there, and being so incredibly stunned that he had ran his skateboard right into a railing. Bumping into Buffy outside the principal's office, literally colliding with her, and being so struck with her attractiveness that he had blurted out some truly unbelievable things as they picked up her belongings. Being formally introduced to her by Willow, trying to play it cool, and being frosty enough that he had made a fool of himself *that* way...

**"They called us 'crazy,' behind our backs..."**

For her own part, Buffy was thinking of Xander too. How he had given her that pretty bracelet, as a good luck gift before the cheerleading tryouts, and been too nervous to follow it up by asking her out. (Although she hadn't even realized he wanted to at the time.) How crushed he had been when she turned him down to the Spring Fling. How he had risked his life, going down into the Master's lair, and saved her life with his own breath.

How he stood by her, no matter what evil she was facing, no matter what she was doing with other guys, (make snide remarks though he did tend to.)

**"...'Romantic fools.' We just let them laugh! Because we knew;"**

And another picture started to form in Xander's mind. Not a memory, not something that had ever happened before. Himself and Buffy, strolling down the beach, smiling. Laughing. Flirting.

**"It may be a lo-ong - shot..."**

Buffy pictured something too. Herself sitting down on a park bench, a beautiful day with the sunlight shining down, puffy white clouds in a bright blue sky. Xander was sitting beside her, his arm around her shoulders, and Buffy's hand was on his knee.

**"We may be lonely down the line. But love knows no rea-sons..."**

Xander shifted his arms, relaxing them somewhat and pulling Buffy a little bit closer to himself. He looked down into her face and saw Buffy's bright greenish eyes looking speculatively up at him, a half-smile on her beautiful face.

**"And I won't let 'em make up my mind..."**

As Buffy felt herself being drawn nearer to Xander, looking up at him as the music washed over her, she felt the strangest notion come into her mind. An impulse... an impulse to kiss him.

**"My money's riding on this dark horse, baby / My heart is sayin' it's the lucky one."**

And Xander slipped into another fantasy... riding through a forest path on a strong horse, the stallion's black skin jumping out against the brown earth and green trees. As the path left the woods, opening on a clover-covered hilltop, Buffy followed him out, riding a chocolate-brown mare. The sun was setting, the clouds in the sky alive with oranges, reds, and purples. Buffy drew her horse up right beside Xander's and he leaned over the space between them and kissed her, his arms going around Buffy's body and stroking her back...

**"And its true color's gonna shine through someday, when we let - this -"**

Xander's hands were stroking the small of Buffy's back now, though he wasn't really kissing her, as they danced in the darkness of the Bronze. But he wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to kiss her. Just do it, a voice inside his head said. She's right here, you're already in position. Lean down, tilt your head to the side and put your lips to hers.

But I couldn't do that, the other voice said. She doesn't want that, she's not here for smoochies from me. This is just an ordeal she has to get through, she's gonna enjoy it if she can, but she doesn't want me like that. End of story.

**"Let this dark horse run..."**

In that moment, Buffy *did* want him to kiss her, though of course Xander couldn't have known that. She wasn't sure if it was the music, or the fight she had with Angel, all Buffy knew in that moment was that she wanted to be close with Xander and not let him go. She pulled her arms a little more tightly around Xander's neck, bringing his face closer down towards hers, running one hand casually through the back of his hair and rubbing at the muscles of his neck with the other hand.

**"Stars are brighter in a - desert sky..."**

And Buffy had another image flash through her mind. She was in a patio pool, huddling down into the warm water to avoid the chill of the midnight air. The sky above her was breathtaking, though, with a fairly narrow sliver of the moon shining just over the horizon, thousands of beautiful points of light overhead, and even two shooting stars crossing each other's paths. Xander was in the pool too, wearing swim trunks, and the sight of him made Buffy hot enough to not worry about the cold. He gathered her up into a passionate kiss, and Buffy sank into it gladly, her body in the swimsuit pressing against the length of his...

**"No need to wonder, or justify, where this will lead."**

Xander's daydreams, meanwhile, were getting progressively more intimate. There was a bed, and himself and Buffy lying down, embracing each other... and kissing passionately. Then there were clothes being taken off...

**"I wear your locket; our picture's inside..."**

Buffy's attention returned to reality, to the dance floor, and as she looked up into Xander's eyes, it was as if she saw the reflection of her own reveries in his clouded, glassy, inattentive eyes. He's thinking of me, she thought. Just like I'm thinking of him... I know I shouldn't be. I should be thinking of Angel... but why? I never made Angel any promises - I don't owe him anything. Angel himself has told me often enough that it can't work between us.

But it wasn't her thoughts that made the difference. With some more deep-seated urging she pulled his face further down, until his lips were no more than an inch from her own.

**"Inscription says: 'The joy's in the ride.' And I believe..."**

Xander was started out of his daydream by Buffy's motion. His first thought was... does she know? Does she know what I've been thinking about her? Bad Xander!! But soon enough, his thoughts took a new turn. She's smiling... what is she smiling about. Oh, my god, is she... is she going to kiss me? Why?? She's never... is this a daydream too??

**"That something so sacred - is something worth this kind of fight."**

But what was going on between Buffy and Xander in that moment was no dream. They stared deeply into each others' eyes for a moment, both of them startled and impressed by what they found there. And then Buffy brought her lips to Xander's for an eager kiss.

**"'Cause loves knows no patience, no no,"**

Their clinch quickly became more intense and passionate, Buffy's tongue slipping between two pairs of lips to tenderly caress Xander's, his arms moving up Buffy's back, rubbing more strongly and ardently. Pleasure and craving poured as one through both teenagers as they kissed like there was no tomorrow.

**"You can't please everyone, not all the time!"**

A new voice intruded on the kissers: "Ahh! No!!" Xander suddenly broke away from Buffy, recognizing the voice a full second before she could. Blushing furiously, the two of them turned to face the person who had discovered them - an ashen-faced Willow Rosenberg!!

Part five.

The three friends stood like that for a second, in an awkward tableau - Buffy and Xander standing next to each other, their hands not quite touching, trying as much as possible to act as if they had *not* just been passionately kissing. And Willow, staring at both of them with an instinctive expression of utter betrayal on her face.

"Willow," Xander began.

"...This isn't," Buffy started to protest.

"Save it," Willow snorted through the tears that were starting to form in her eyes, and started to turn away from both of them.

And, in the background, the earthy music played on...

**"My money's ridin' on this dark horse, baby."**

"No!" Buffy protested. rushing forward and grabbing her best friend's arm before she had completed her rotation away from Buffy and Xander. "It's not what it looks like, Willow."

"It's not?" Willow spat out. "Then what is it, Buffy??"

**"My heart is sayin' it's the lucky one."**

"It... I'm not sure, Willow," Xander broke in, knowing only that he had to try his best to push Buffy's point. "Just a weird, dance-ly thing, like a fluke of the music or something. But it's not like Buffy and I are..."

"Anything," Buffy said firmly. "It was just an impulsive moment, Willow. Pretend you didn't see it, if you can, because it *doesn't* matter."

**"An' its true color's gonna shine through someday,"**

"I don't know..." Willow said doubtfully. That kiss had looked like a lot more than a fluke or an impulsive moment to her.

"Come on, Will," Xander said, putting his arm around Willow to give her the soft sell. "Let's go grab a table, grab some sodas, and forget all about it."

**"If we let - this... let this dark horse run."**

As the chorus faded into an instrumental, Willow considered. "No, I... I had better not," she decided. "Wouldn't want your mom to hear I interrupted your date, Buffy. I'll just... I'll just go." She gave the other two her best attempt at a smile to convince them she was okay, and beat a hasty retreat.

"Uh... okay," Buffy said, somewhat startled by Willow's sudden disappearance, coming so quickly after her sudden appearance. "Guess it's just the two of us, then, Xander. Buy me a drink?" She smiled mischievously, a little surprised that she was in such good humor after that ill-timed scene with Willow, but it was as if the music was getting into her system, intoxicating her bloodstream...

"Sure," Xander said in his best mock-gallant tone, taking Buffy's arm and walking beside her over to the soda bar.

**"So rare..."**

"What'll ya have?" the barman asked.

**"So sweet."**

Xander ordered a diet cola, and 'a cherry fizz for the lady.' Buffy broke into giggles... and laughed helplessly again when she went to take the first sip of her drink and got fizz hitting her nose.

**"Toge-ther - baby, I know..."**

Xander wiped her nose off with his thumb, and for an instant they looked into each other's eyes.

**"We can... yes we can - be free..."**

"Oh, look!" Buffy said, purposely breaking the moment this time. "Is that Blayne Mol dancing with Cordelia?"

Xander looked. Blayne was still playing the role of ladies' man around school, despite the rather surprising revelation that Buffy and her friends had found out about him when the She-Mantis had targeted both Blayne and Xander as mates - and food. "Yeah, I think it is. I wonder if he's made it yet - with a human, that is."

**"Ooh oo, my money's ridin' on this dark horse baby."**

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want any repeat of the dance floor fluke. She had her own thing to worry about with Angel, and Willow was obviously still hung up on Xander. But she doesn't have a chance with Xander, a small voice in the back of Buffy's head argued. And maybe, just maybe, it'd be the best thing for her to have to accept that and move on.

**"My heart is sayin' it's the lucky one."**

Xander turned away from the dance floor and looked speculatively at Buffy, who was sipping her cherry drink like she didn't have a care in the world. What was she thinking? Had that kiss out on the dance floor really been just an impulsive whim to her? It had meant more to Xander - and felt like more. But he didn't want to either push the issue or tell her off for playing games with him... unless he could be sure.

**"An' its true color's gonna shine through someday..."**

Buffy found a table and they sat down, still not saying anything - an awkward silence developing between the two of them, broken only by the music.

**"If we let, this -- LET-IT-RUN, BABY!

My money's ridin' on this dark horse, baby."**

Buffy perked up, the queer expression on her face betraying the startling nature of the thoughts beneath. This was the first time she had really been listening to the song, and its analogy to what was going on had just struck her. A 'dark horse' was an unlikely candidate in a competition - a long shot. Like me and Xander, she thought. Boy, how weird is that??

**"My heart is sayin' it's the lucky one."**

Xander looked over at Buffy. God, she's so beautiful - I love her so much. I wish I could kiss her again... but there's no way I'd be able to get away with it now. The moment's passed.

**"An' its true color's gonna shine through someday,"**

Wait a second, Xander thought in utter shock. Did I just think... I love Buffy??

**"If we let this, let this dark horse run."**

As the music continued to play, Buffy looked over to Xander, and tugged on his arm to wipe the completely and totally stunned look off of his face. "So... what do we do now?" she asked him with a playful tone.

- - - - - - - -

They were playing pool in the quiet back room of the Bronze, (where you could hear yourself think no matter how loud the music was on the dance floor,) when HE showed up again.

"Buffy?" The slayer flubbed her shot, sending the cue ball right into the corner pocket for a scratch. Buffy hardly noticed though - all her attention was focused on Angel, who she hadn't expected to see again tonight. Seeing the affection and pain that flooded Buffy's face at the sight of him made Xander want to just charge at the vampire, pool cue leading straight into the back of Angel's chest, but he restrained himself.

"I... I came to say I'm sorry," Angel managed to get out.

Part six.

Buffy Summers straightened herself up, stepped casually back from the pool table, and over to the edge of the area in which Angel was standing. A completely unbelievable thought ran through her brain, and she said it out loud. "Maybe I can save you the trouble of apologizing."

Angel didn't realize what she had said at first. "I'm so sorry... to have said the things I said, both last night and earlier tonight... if I caused you any pain then I..." And then stunned realization started filtering through his face. "What was that again?"

"I..." Buffy tripped over her own tongue, and she took advantage of the delay to actually do some thinking. Didn't she want to just accept Angel's apology, take him back, and have her life in order again?

No... on some level, she didn't.

"It - it's not working out, Angel," she said instead, surprised at the words. "I *do* love you... but we're from different worlds in so many ways... not just vampire and slayer, but twentieth century and eighteenth century..." She trailed off at this point, mostly because she really couldn't think of any other ways they were from different worlds, though those two were really quite enough.

"No matter how much we love each other, we're never going to be able to be together without pain and heartache down the line, every step of the way. Are we?" She tossed the question to Angel, asking for an honest rebuttal, but as she had expected, he couldn't provide her one. "I think I've seen that from the beginning, but I was immature and stubborn enough to ignore the signs... and I think you could see too - you've tried to tell me this, actually, more than once." And indeed, all the times Angel had warned her off of getting involved with him rang in her ears...

**"I'm older than you, and this can't ever..."**

**"This isn't some fairy tale. When I kiss you, you don't wake up from a deep sleep and live happily ever after."**

Buffy shook herself back to reality. "So... um... any questions?" she finished lamely.

"So..." Angel carefully considered for a second. "You don't want to see me any more?"

"Not date you," Buffy clarified. "You can still be around... help with the monster business, *if* you'd like to. Though I imagine it'll be hard for us to be around each other much for the next little while."

Angel thought a moment, and Xander wondered if he was going to try to argue her out of it. If *he* had the inside track with Buffy, there was no way that he'd give it up without a fight... but then, he wasn't a two-hundred year old vampire...

"Okay," was all that Angel said, and he turned away from them and walked out of the room. Well, what do you know, Xander thought to himself. Maybe dead boy realizes that it really is all for the best.

"Hey, Buffy," he said after a second, realizing that friendly concern was called for, big time, in the wake of what had just happened. "You okay, bud? Need anything?" He put an arm comfortingly around Buffy's shoulder and started to maneuver her over to the couch.

"Yes, I do," she said, looking up at Xander with an expression that he couldn't immediately identify. The implication struck him rather belatedly, which was to say only after Buffy had brought her tender lips to his for another hungry kiss...

- - - - - - - -

Angel growled and, in sheer frustration, turned the old radio in his basement apartment to the station he had heard Xander refer to when he was talking about 'the music of pain.' A song was just starting, peppy yet, somehow, the sadder for all of its energy, and Angel found himself approving of the song for his current mood.

You always had a shine for things that glitter,
But I was far from being made o' gold.
I don't know how, but I scraped up the money;
I just never could quite tell, ya' know.

Just like when you were leavin' Amarillo,
For takin' that new job in Tennessee.
An' I quit mine so we could be together -
I can't forget the way you looked at me.

Just to - see you - smile,
I'd do anything,
That you wanted me to.
When all is said and done,
I'd never count the cost;
It's worth all that's lost...
Just to see you smile.

When you said time was all you really needed,
I walked away and let you have your space.
'Cause leavin' didn't hurt me near as badly,
As the tears I saw rollin' down your face.

And yesterday I knew just what you wanted,
When you came walkin' up to me with him.
So I told you that I was happy for you;
And, given the chance - I'd lie again.

Just to - see you - smile,
I'd do anything,
That you wanted me to.
When all is said and done,
I'd never count the cost;
It's worth all that's lost...
Just to see you smile...

- - - - - - - -

A half an hour later, Xander was still wearing a completely stunned grin on his face.

"You... you have feelings for me?" he whispered to Buffy over another round of drinks. "But... but I thought... you said, at spring fling..."

"What can I say?" Buffy told him with an embarassed shrug. "I guess these things can change. I think it would be a good idea to start off slow, though. See a movie sometime, say, early next week?"

"Sure," Xander agreed instantly. He looked deep into Buffy's eyes, and it seemed like his heart would burst when she smiled back at him.

"Of course, we still do have one problem," Buffy reminded him, reaching out to hold Xander's fingers in her own.

"What is it?" Xander racked his brains. "Vampires? Angry elder gods? Mind-controlling demon insects??"

Buffy laughed. "Maybe, but that wasn't what I was thinking of."

Uh-oh. "What is it, then??"

The Slayer sighed. "How in the Hellmouth are we gonna tell Willow??"

(Well, yes actually, this is the end until I begin the next 'Unlikely adventure,' which should feature the developing relationship between Buffy and Xander, and more unusual couples hehe.)