Running Chances

With the Slayer gone through the summer of ‘98, the remaining Scoobies had to be the line that stopped vampires from feeding on humans. Xander took on the bulk of the Slayer duties, fighting vampires, demons, and even a zombie. Fortunately, it wasn’t a busy summer for the forces of evil. Willow and Oz helped as well, and they certainly wanted to do more, but Xander felt it was important the cute couple spent as much time alone as possible. Just because he spent most of his time alone in a graveyard didn’t mean they should sacrifice their relationship to do the same. Xander forged simple weapons for them to use, but without more relics or supernatural materials to mix into the metal, they weren’t nearly as powerful as Dreadnought, Hellguard, or Slaymore.

A focused Xander worked on his bike, on his home, trained his body three times a day, and slayed vampires repetitively throughout the summer. But, in between each activity—when his mind had more leeway to wander—he’d think about Buffy. Sometimes he would be concerned about her, but more than anything, he was angry; angry at her for leaving and at himself for thinking he could seize some form of closure from her. Because he didn’t think he could let go without closure. The only thing he could be grateful for was her being alive, or he’d have looped back. Adversely, that only made him anxious and angrier by the day. Buffy never called him, or any of the Scoobies.

Xander’s life brightened when Cordelia returned from her family vacation in Las Palmas, Mexico. In school, they squabbled about innocuous things—as they do—but that very night, she invited herself on patrol with him. Wearing a silky, gray blouse unbuttoned enough to show cleavage, and gray slacks, the beautiful girl watched on as he fought vampires. Cordelia was surprised to witness how easily one hit from the supernatural being could turn the tables on Xander, and he explained how having intuition, technique, enhanced strength, and strategy didn’t take away from him still being human. The young warrior always fought conscious of the fact that he might have to fight at a disadvantage—whether he was dizzy, lost control of his limbs, or was injured. Thanks to the utilities of his tools—Dreadnought, Hellguard, and Odin’s ring—Xander always came out on top. Since it was a slow night, Cordelia only cheered him on through three fights.

Walking back to her after dusting his third vampire, Xander remarked, “You probably shouldn’t give away your position cheering like that.” With a smile, he added, “I mean, you make great bait, but I’d rather not have to make pretty, sparkly dust out of you.”

“As if you’d have the guts to dust me,” Cordelia shot back with absolute confidence. They began walking back to his motorcycle as she asserted, “And FYI, you had better ensoul me if I ever get turned. With my looks, walking the earth for all eternity would be to everyone’s blessing.”

Xander shook his head in disbelief before asking, “How could something sound so wrong and right at the same time?”

“Obviously, when it’s a fact,” she answered assertively.

Xander chuckled before driving her home. It was a cool August night and the moon above them was bright. The way she held onto his torso, warming him up, made Xander miss human contact. He hadn’t been with anyone since Buffy left two months ago, and he hadn’t had a girlfriend since Cordelia at the beginning of the year. When Xander pulled up in front of the tall gate of her luxury home, he waited for the stunning girl to get off, but she didn’t.

After a dozen seconds, a curious Xander turned his head, looking out of his periphery, and asked, “Uh, Cordy? We’re here.”

She held on for another moment before moving back to see him, and abruptly asked, “You want to watch a movie?”

Getting the sense something was wrong, Xander kicked out the bike stand before rotating his body to ask, “Is everything alright? Is it your parents?”

Getting off the bike, the animated girl moved in front of him and said, “Now that you mention it, I have, like, a lot of rings I need melted down.”

Ever since he gave her the Draupnir ring nearly six months ago, she would ask him to melt the gold rings into a small bar. He’d done so three times, going so far as to even polish the precious metal and stamp the weight and element symbol on the face of it. Though he was happy she was making thousands of dollars for doing nothing more than wearing the magical ring, the process typically took thirty to forty minutes, and it was already 2 AM.

“You want to do that now?” he asked her in disbelief.

Eying him with sassy incredulity, she asked, “You have something better to do?”

“Sleep would be nice,” he answered with raised eyebrows.

She tilted her head, batted her eyelashes, and pressed her lips together as she sweetly asked, “Please?”

Looking at her captivating face with annoyance, Xander grumbled, “Fine.”

She squealed before turning about, and entering her large home as she said, “Okay, wait right here.” She soon returned with a teddy bear bag over her shoulders, then they drove to his house. Upon entering his clean home, Cordelia called out, “Oh, thank God! I had the strongest fear your terrible sense of style would destroy all the hard work I put into making this place beautiful.”

Taking her hand and turning to walk back outside, Xander casually said, “Well, I guess you don’t want me to melt these-”

“Alright, alright,” she insisted, pulling his hand to stay. “Sorry. I’m just…”

“You’re just… what?” he asked, looking at her with some confusion. “What’s going on, Cor? This is me. Even if I have to be really patient, and brave mind-numbing headaches, you know you can tell me anything.”

“Okay… Okay,” she started, letting go of his hand. “So, you know how I’m, like, so gorgeous? Like, literally one of the most attractive women you’ve ever seen?”

His face quickly morphed to incredulity, eyes squinted and mouth gaped before asking, “Is that an actual question, or are you being rhetorical?”

“You’re right. It’s so obvious I am,” she pronounced as if it was so undeniable.

“Wow, it’s almost like you never left,” Xander gasped in growing disbelief. “I already feel like ripping my ears off.”

“All I’m trying to say is that I can attract a lot of guys; almost anyone I want.”

“Then say that!”

“I just did!”

In an effort to avoid exasperated squabbling, Xander took a deep calming breath before patiently asking, “Cordy, where’s this crazy train going, and is there an exit anytime soon?”

Cordelia took a moment for herself and slowly replied, “Ever since we stopped doing what we were doing all those months ago, I went on dates with some of the hottest men you could imagine—like, one almost every other week. Even in Mexico, some drug lord offered to pay me ten thousand dollars just to pee on him.”

Surprised, Xander asked, “Did you?”

“What? Of course not!” she yelled, as if offended, then shrugged as she added, “I did get his number though, just in case.”

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Xander replied, “I’m assuming you’re subjecting me to this auditory abuse for a reason.”

Crossing her arms, Cordelia looked at her boots, almost nervously, then swayed her lustrous mane of chestnut brown hair over her shoulder before timidly asserting, “It’s just… I didn’t feel it… with any of them.”

Leaning his head in closer, Xander asked, “Feel what?”

“I don’t know,” she stomped her foot in agitation. “Good? Well, that’s not true. Some of them were pretty good. But, not… really good… like you.” Xander was surprised again, and she quickly explained, “I mean, for the life of me, you somehow knew exactly what to do. I can’t explain that unbelievable miracle, but there it is. You got an A+. And you did it so… ughh!” she growled with a clenched fist, making Xander smile. “Anyway, none of the other men even came close to getting me as excited, let alone eager for it.”

Though he appreciated the compliment, he understood the loops perfected their physical coupling. So, he wasn’t surprised. Xander cared more to ask, “How many guys have you slept with?”

“Ugh! That’s the worst part!” she called out. “Not a single one made it to the end! From the word go, I couldn’t stop comparing them to you. Two managed to get to third base, but one was such a quick shot and the other had a strange package.” With a slightly turned-off expression, she showed him her index finger bent like a hook as she elaborated, “It curved downward; a complete turnoff.” She pointed that same finger in his face before yelling, “This is your fault, Harris!”

Gently moving her finger out of his face, he asked, “Me? What’d I do-”

“You ruined other men for me!”

“I can’t clarify enough how confusing all of this is,” he groaned, pondering if he should stop dealing with women altogether. ‘Buffy, Cordelia, Jenny, it’s always something,’ he begrudgingly thought. Xander rubbed his face hard before eventually asking the cheerleader, “What do you want me to do-”

“Take responsibility, obviously!”

Xander was silent for a moment, figuring out what she was indirectly trying to say. He then asked, “Did you bring the gold?” Cordelia looked like she wanted to say more, but grabbed her teddy bear backpack and pulled out a sandwich-sized ziplock plastic bag full of gold rings. At the sight of the bag, he informed her, “This is going to take a while.”

“Fine. Whatever,” she responded with a hint of defeat and annoyance in her voice.

Taking her hand, Xander said, “Come on.”

He led the confused girl upstairs to his room, tossed the bag of rings on the bed, then told her, “In the bathroom, there’s a robe. I want you to wear it, and nothing else.”

Cordelia hid her smile well, but he could see the eagerness in her eyes as she turned on her heels and rushed into the bathroom. Having visited sex shops on several occasions, Xander had come across many subtle ideas that he could add to his room without turning it into an outright sex room. At each corner of his Queen-sized bed, Xander pulled out black straps that were fastened to the frame. He went into his closet and returned with a polished oak chest. The teenager took out scented candles, a blindfold, lubricant, and a black bag, placing them on the bed.

When Cordelia exited the bathroom—robe loosely closed to tease skin down to her luscious C-cups—the room was dark except for the ten lit candles that gave off an aroma of rose and vanilla orchid. As Xander extended his hand, his face featured the slightest hint of desire and confidence. Holding her smile to an eager grin, Cordelia took a deep breath before taking his hand. He led the sexy cheerleader to the foot of his bed. She spotted the bondage items aligned on the right side edge and her spine became straighter, accentuating her large breasts in anticipation.

Xander handed Cordelia the black blindfold, and she gave him a, ‘really?’ look. Xander nodded, making her roll her eyes before slipping the garment on, eliminating her sense of sight. With the alluring aroma of the candles dancing under her nose and his warm proximity to her, Cordelia’s heart began racing. Her body was warming up, and through the white bathrobe, Xander could see an outline of her erect nipples.

“Lay down,” Xander ordered, helping her lay in the middle of the bed.

Gently, he fastened each limb of her seductive form to the four corners of his bed. She tested the give of the straps and found herself helpless to his every whim. Xander could do anything he wanted to her, and Cordelia would have no recourse but to accept his base desires, making her toes curl in excitement. He then unzipped the black bag. They both knew what was inside as this was not the first time he’d used a vibrator on her. The sound of Xander turning the vibrating egg on and off made the blinded, tied-down girl squirm with anticipation. The teenage boy lubed up the egg, leaned on the bed, and brought the sex toy to her leaking womanhood.

“MMnnnn,” the deeply breathing girl moaned as Xander slowly inserted the slippery oval into the tight nook of her wet sex. “X-Xander…” she gasped, unsure of how to finish.

Xander pressed his forehead against hers, feeling her heat as he slowly slid the slippery ovule to the depths of her love tunnel, rousing her sex into a pulsing fervor. The hypersensitive girl pressed her flush brow against his, sticking to his heat. Her body felt more from the loss of her sight, the heightened scent of sex, and the warm touch of him. Then Xander turned the vibrator on.

“MMMNN,” she moaned, arching her spine and squirming against the straps holding her to the middle of the bed. “Holy shii… haah, mmmn, Xander. I want it. Give it to me. Jus-Just give it to me.”

As Xander fingered her wet snatch, he softly said above the humming of the vibrator, “It’s going to take me a while to melt all that gold.” Getting off the bed, he finished, “I’ll be back when I’m done.”

“Xander- MMN!!” Her moan cut her off when he increased the vibration. “Waiaaahh!”

He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I want you to think about all the very naughty things I’m going to do to you when I get back; How many times you’re going to be gushing around my cock… And how I haven’t had sex in months. So I’m very, very backed up.”

Xander kissed her, diving his tongue in her hot wanton mouth as he sucked on her full, red lips. She kissed him back with rage and desire, but Xander pulled away before she could feel more satisfaction.

“MMNAAAAAUHH! Xander!” she yelled as he left her in a building cocoon of pleasure.

Smiling as he sat at his workbench, Xander was rock hard in anticipation as he rushed through melting the gold. With Cordelia gone, and Jenny restarting things with Giles, Xander hadn’t had anyone in his bed for months. It took a solid twenty minutes to set up his propane furnace and melt all sixty rings into small gold bars. Though he couldn’t recall the exact price of gold per gram, he was sure the four small bars were worth ten thousand dollars. When he wrapped the precious metal and put it in her backpack, he noticed she had brought a change of clothes. Realizing she’d always planned on spending the night made him snicker. He then walked upstairs to enthusiastically reacquaint their sexual organs with earth-shattering orgasms.

Opening the door to his dark room, her womanly fragrance permeated the room, mixing with the scented rose & vanilla candles. Then he heard her mewling moans, the straps of bondage crinkling as she pulled, and the creaking wood of his bed frame. Cordelia was tied up, sweating, with her legs spread, and a circle of love juice wetting the sheets underneath her. Her damp hair was matted to her sweaty and blushing face, and she was moaning between deep breaths. Best of all, parts of her sexy body would tremble from the aftershocks of an intense orgasm.

Considerate of her overloaded nerves and vaginal wall, Xander pressed his hand to her flush and heaving chest. Through his ring’s power, Xander thought about how he wanted her to recover. He wanted her to enjoy the pleasure of his prowess without losing sensation from the intensity. After a moment, Cordelia’s breathing began to even and her legs relaxed. She hummed in appreciation as her body swayed in the pleasant tingle sweeping through her.

“How’s that feel?” he asked.

“Mmnn… Like I’m floating,” she sang.

Xander unclothed himself as he said, “I hope you’re ready for the main event.”

“Xander,” the sweaty and heaving Cordelia called. When the nude boy’s weight pressed down on the mattress, she begged, “Wait! Just… ah! Let me rest a li-little.”

Xander removed the vibrating egg—to her relief—before he massaged her toned and restrained legs, making her spasm from the firm touch. He said, “So warm; ready. And I’m rock hard, Cor.”

She couldn’t see the naked man between her legs, but she could imagine the lean boy with his muscular chest and shoulders, and it was her imagination that ramped up her sensitivity to begin with, making her moan, “OOOHhh! I’m not gonna survive! I’m not gonna survive! You’re gonna kill me!”

Xander leaned down, heating her further as he whispered into her ear, “What better way to go is there?”

As Xander opened her white robe, a thrill ran up her spine, making her pelvis shake with building pressure. He marveled at the stunning beauty of her naked body, and his jutting cock ached to be inside her. He brushed his manhood against her leaking vulva, and the heaving Cordelia bit her plump, lower lip as she swallowed audibly. Her whole body pulsed under him, and he could tell she was highly sensitive. It wouldn’t take much from him to get her to orgasm multiple times that night, and he was eager to feel her squeeze him dry.

While Cordelia was busy trying to steady her racing heart, Xander aligned his unruly erection and pressed the crown of his shaft at the slit of her hot wet sex. Cordelia’s back arched as much as she could when his cock vigorously drove deep into her tight pussy. Her mouth was open but little noise came out, and Xander didn’t move as the hot, moist grip of her sex squeezed his cock so deliciously.

“Oohhhhh, God,” Xander voiced, relishing in the radical pleasure. “I so missed you…”

The horny teen pulled his cock out before pushing back in, making her tits jiggle beautifully, then did so again. Building a rhythm, her body swayed from shallow thrusts, and the pleasure of repeatedly filling her hot, dripping hole was unbelievable. Little by little, his meat stretched her love tunnel, easing his ability to go deeper and caress her trigger zones.

“MMMNNNNN!” Cordelia squealed with shut eyes.

Feeling the pressure build at the core of her being, like a water balloon filling past safe levels, she was too sensitive to not pop soon. Pulling at her bindings as she tried to fend off the strong wave of building ecstasy, her tits jiggled like jello, and Xander couldn’t resist a mouthful. His mouth clamped on her soft delicious flesh, sucking tightly as his strong tongue flicked her nipple. Cordelia shook her sweaty head from side to side in desperation, completely at the mercy of his overwhelming pleasure.

For minutes, wet, skin-on-skin clapping echoed off the walls, making the bed creak under his powerful rocking. The scent of sex, fire, and sweat made Xander mindless of anything but their swelling pleasure. As he pistoned his drenched cock into her convulsing sex—easily stroking her G-spot—his eager mouth switched to the other breast, tonguing her rock-hard nipple. Cordelia moaned over all of it, too exhausted to focus on anything but the pleasure about to burst magnificently from her aching vulva.

Her spine stiffened when one of his hands played with her sensitive clitoris. Her restrained legs flexed, but her pussy became so warm and pliant, becoming even softer and inviting him farther in; as far inside as he could. Her hands pulled at the straps when her sweaty body began trembling, knowing she was moments away.

“Xa-Xander!” the blindfolded girl moaned. “I’m gonna- You’re gonna- You’re making me- I’m cumming! I’m cumming! I’m cumming! I’mmmmmmmmmmm!”

“Cum for me, Cordy,” the pumping boy ordered. His dick repeatedly knocked against the upper flesh of her cunt, his balls slapping against her ass. Since it’d been months for him, Xander wasn’t going to last long either. Massaging her pleasure bean as he sped up his pounding, he said, “Squeeze me dry, Cor.”

Cordelia wasn’t expecting Xander to suddenly kiss her. And with one final thrust, he buried his sharply tingling cock as deep as he could. Her pleasure coil snapped and her mind detonated. A long, heart-busting explosion of pleasure ripped through her restrained form, and her pussy sealed shut around him, quivering as she held his dick in place. Since she couldn’t draw in her limbs, the rippling electricity was free to run up and down her entire body, wrecking her with pure bliss. So hot, so full, and so high, Cordelia had never felt such a powerful orgasm.

In her pleasure haze, she repeated over and over, “Oh... my... God.”

Xander forgot his name as he emptied his balls into the quivering girl. His throbbing cock felt like it would never stop ejaculating, expending load after load of his potent seed in her pulsing womb. After what felt like forever, Xander extricated his slightly softened penis from her pussy before laying beside her and catching his breath. Though Cordelia was just as tired, Xander had a magical ring that reinvigorated him in seconds.

After a minute, a refreshed Xander removed her restraints, then said, “I hope you’re ready for more, because it’s been a while and I’m just getting started.”

He removed her blindfold and her expression was one of surprise, worry, and eager arousal. The two kept fornicating sporadically throughout the night until his balls were empty and she was thoroughly sated.

The next night, Xander was once again faced with a running vampire, a situation he hated with a passion. Vampires that ran from him happened rarely during the summer, but after dusting most of the group—whether three or four—the last one would always run, and they ran faster than him. He’d been chasing a short Asian vampire in a full sprint for a mile when he was ready to let the Asian vampire go. Then, from behind a tree, an arm stuck out and stabbed the unsuspecting vampire in the heart with a stake.

Spinning Dreadnought to the harness at his back, Xander wasn’t surprised to see Buffy step out from behind the tree. After looping around his friends for over a century, he was rarely surprised by them anymore. Buffy had left without keeping in touch before. It would be no wonder if she did so again.

Xander lowered his black camo scarf and stared. The blonde Slayer looked as gorgeous as ever, wearing tight blue jeans, a pink shirt, and a black jacket. Her silky hair was done up, with curling bangs framing her heart-shaped face. She tilted her head, looking him over his stealth, tactical outfit before saying, “I guess you haven’t lost your touch, if they’re running from you.”

He had thought of this moment for weeks, and now that it was finally here, he didn’t know what to say, how to feel, or even how to react, so he deflected. “He probably didn’t want to miss the sale at Macy’s.”

Turning to the dust on the grass, Buffy remarked, “Aww, now I feel bad.”

Xander didn’t move to hug her. He crossed his arms, wondering why he spent so much time thinking about her as he asked, “How’ve you been?”

“Something akin to good,” she casually answered. “But then again, the bar wasn’t super high, to begin with.” Buffy took a measured step closer, eying him with optimism in her greenish-blue eyes as she asked, “You?”

Xander shrugged before answering, “As long as I don’t die, have to wash gross goo out of my clothes, or—the most important one—go into the sewers, it’s a pretty good day.”

Clutching her chest with both hands, she smiled empathetic appreciation as she said, “I’m touched you know the real pain of a Slayer now.”

“Yeah, no, I don’t, actually,” he quickly rebuffed, shaking his head. “If they jump in a sewer or bleed green goo, they’ve as good as won in my book. Go ahead and have the old lady, I say.” Buffy snorted at the dark humor, covering her mouth with her hand and shaking her head. Their smiles soon faded and silence descended for a few awkward moments. Clearly, there were issues they needed to discuss, however, Xander simply asked, “So, were you looking for me? Or thought it was a nice night for a stroll in a creepy cemetery?”

Buffy tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear as she answered, “Just out.”

“Oh,” he lamely sounded.

Taking a step closer, she blushed a bit as she added, “Buuuut, I thought I might run into you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” the smiling girl said, then silence once again stretched between them. Xander wasn’t going to be the one to talk, and he had no qualms turning around and walking away. Seemingly understanding as much, with a hard swallow and a deep breath, Buffy spiritedly offered, “I’ll just come right out and say it. I’m sorry… for a lot of stuff, really.”

“Okay… just a blanket apology, or do I get specifics?”

Nodding, her expressive eyes were apologetic as she answered, “For leaving like that. For not calling. For messing everything up. I’m really sorry for all of it, Xander.”

‘Fuck,’ Xander thought as he stared into the greenish-blue eyes of such a stunning girl. ‘That face can captivate harder than Drusilla’s hypnosis.’ Fortunately, Xander would always know how much she could hurt him. The memory of her and Spike was like a defense mechanism, and that held him back from ever losing his reason. With a nod, Xander accepted her apology, adding, “I wouldn’t say you messed everything up, per se. More like hit the pause button. But now that you’re back and…” At her change of expression, from friendly to uncertain, he lamely finished, “Everything can get back to the way it was?”

Taking a step back, Buffy winced as she said, “I don’t know, Xander.”

Not surprised, Xander smirked as he asked, “You don’t, huh? Do you want to tell me what happened after I got knocked out? I talked to Willow, and she said she cast the curse.”

Shaking her head, Buffy quickly replied, “Nothing happened. I closed the portal. That’s all.”

Xander knew better, but rather than pick at that scab, a niggling bit of dread had him inquire, “Just out of curiosity—and please be honest with me…” At her raised eyebrows, he asked, “Did you see Spike at any point while you were away?”

Surprised by the question, Buffy pulled her head back—like smelling a strong, pungent odor—then answered, “Uh, no.”

“Do you know if he’s in Sunnydale? Like you wouldn’t hide that from me, would you?”

Shaking her head at the odd line of questioning, she replied, “First: weird. Second: no. I just got in today. The only people I’ve seen were mom, Giles, and Willow.”

“Am I last on your list?”

“It’s not, like, in order of importance or anything—”

“No, no, I know,” he assured her. “I just mean… if you’ve got nothing planned after this, we can catch up.”

Tilting her head at the way he said that, the incredulous girl voiced, “Xander…”

Mimicking her tone, he voiced, “Buffy…”

“I came back because I can’t run away from my destiny,” she informed him. “But, I still need time for everything else.”

“Right, okay,” he flatly stated with a nod. “Um, I’m not going to play this song and dance with you.”

“Xander…”

“It’s fine, Buff,” he assured her, raising peace signs. “You’re back in one piece, I don’t have monster goo on me, and I’m not in a smelly sewer, so really, it’s a stellar day.”

“You can’t give me a little time just to think?”

“When you want something, there’s nothing to think about,” he reminded her. “I could be gone tomorrow, and then what would there be to think about?”

“Crazy thought, but if you stopped fighting vampires and demons, you might live longer.”

“Until I’m possessed,” he reminded her. “Or fall for some demon chick, or any number of specials the Hellmouth is serving up that day. You’re here because you see it as a duty you can’t escape. In a way, so am I.”

“You can stop-”

“I can’t!” he emphatically asserted, surprising her. “When you’re nothing before, and then you become more, you don’t just turn your back… You don’t just run from the fight…” Xander stopped himself from explaining more, unwilling to volunteer too much personal information. She either got it, or would ask. And until she did, he’d keep it friendly. Moving on, he stated, “Look, whenever you feel like telling me what happened that night, you know where to find me.”

Without hesitation, he raised the camo scarf to his nose and left her in the cemetery.

In school the next day, Xander warned everyone he expected a third Slayer soon. Sure enough, after a week of school, forging, and slaying, Faith showed up in Sunnydale, however, he didn’t meet her at the Bronze with the others. Xander had been slaying every night to get the irritation out of his unsettled system. Along with his complicated status with Buffy, Xander was four to five months away from passing the year-loop and had a lot of building anxiety to get out.

With his vision and hearing enhanced, the vigilant teenager was patrolling Sunnydale Cemetery when he heard a scuffle and ran to the sight of Buffy being ganged up by four vampires while a punch-drunk Faith straddled a single vampire, and gleefully punched him nonstop. It reminded Xander of the last time he had made it this far, and how annoyed Buffy was with Faith because she almost died fighting four vampires on her own. This skirmish seemed to be that night, and what’s worse was how close Slaymore was to Faith. The tip was buried in the earth and sticking upright. But with the brunette Slayer between Buffy and Slaymore, it was clear calling the magical weapon to her would seriously injure the distracted Faith.

Xander sprinted to help Buffy, who was fending off her vampires with a single stake. Enhancing his strength, Xander tossed his battleaxe, spinning in the air until the blade buried itself into the back of one blood-sucker. The demon screamed scathingly, flailing his arms up as he fell to the ground, giving Buffy a better chance against the remaining three. Buffy moved defensively from side to side, slipping punches as best she could. Now closer, Xander threw Hellguard into the side of another with the force of a bowling ball dropped from twenty feet up. Another violent scream echoed out into the cold night as Xander pulled out his wooden daggers as he kicked a third away from her with all his enhanced strength.

The two vampires, with magical weapons stabbed deep into them, could not remove the holy weapons, meaning Xander could deal with one whilst Buffy dealt with the other. A feint followed by a one-two combination by Xander dusted the vamp before he called Dreadnought. Buffy ripped Hellguard out the side of the incapacitated vampire, then staked its heart as it shrieked in pain. It turned to dust just as Xander decapitated the last one. He crossed his arms with Dreadnought fixed in the crook of his elbow while Buffy walked to Faith. She pulled the Boston girl off the beaten vampire and humanely staked the demon of the night.

“Hey, what gives?” Faith yelled as Buffy called Slaymore into her hand, then sheathed it.

Heavily irritated, Buffy exclaimed, “Did you even realize I couldn’t call Slaymore because you were in the way? I could’ve killed you if I did.”

To Faith’s credit, she looked from where she was fighting to where Buffy was, and it seemed to click. The girl winced a bit before asserting, “My bad. But you’re good, right? So, no biggie.”

Watching on, Xander asked Buffy, “New Slayer?”

Nodding, an annoyed Buffy walked to him as she motioned toward Faith, and answered, “Xander this is Faith. Faith, Xander.”

At the sight of him, Faith’s face lit up like a big Christmas tree, complete with cookies and milk. Her leather-clad hips swayed sensually as she walked over to him, giving him a playfully seductive greeting. “Hey there, handsome.” Xander loved her husky voice as her brown eyes landed on his battleaxe, and commented, “Ooooh, I’m really diggin’ that axe.”

Smiling at her bold flirtation, Xander jovially answered back, “The axe is really diggin’ you.” With wide eyes, Buffy looked at him in surprise, and he defended himself with a shrug, adding, “What? I said the axe.”

Squinting her eyes in skepticism, she clearly wasn’t buying it and replied, “Please don’t hit on her.”

Staring at her with a small smile, he asked, “Why? Jealous?”

Looking between them in odd wonderment, Faith asked, “Are you two…”

In unison, they answered, “Yes/No.” However, Xander cheerfully explained, “We’re currently denying our feelings for each other. And by we, I mean her.”

Turning to him in disbelief, Buffy asked, “Really? You have to do this right now?”

“What?” the playful teen defended. “She’s a Slayer. She’s practically family.” Moving on before Buffy could say more, Xander asked the newest Slayer, “So, Faith, where’re you staying?”

“Uh, the Motor Inn,” she said, still assessing her sister-Slayer and the teen boy.

“On Olive Ave?” Xander verified, recalling many loops when he had stayed in that disgusting motel. “Ugh, gross much?”

Faith casually shrugged, asserting, “It’s not that bad.”

“Maybe once you’ve secured an alliance with the rat colony,” Xander remarked with repulsion. Shaking his head, he declared, “I won’t have it! You’re staying at my place.”

Taken aback by the abrupt invitation, Buffy asked him, “Excuse me?”

“Buff, she’s visiting-” he tried to say, then cut himself off to ask Faith, “You are visiting, right? Or is there a mission you’re on?”

“Visiting,” the Boston girl replied.

Xander recalled the legendary vampire she was running from, so he knew she was lying. Still, he acted curious as he asked, “Your Watcher let you visit?”

Clearing her throat, she smiled as she answered, “She’s on a retreat, so I thought I’d check out Cali.”

Turning to Buffy, he gestured to the brunette Slayer as he stated, “There you go. She can save some money and we can get to know the newest Slayer.” At Buffy’s unconvinced expression, he asked, “What? It’s not like I don’t have the room.”

Cautiously, the Boston native remarked, “Uh, I don’t want to get in the middle of anything-”

“Faith, you’re solid. Don’t even worry about it,” Xander told her while enjoying Buffy’s conflicting feelings. The axe-wielding teen moved beside the brunette Slayer and led her away as he voiced, “We’ll go get your stuff and you can stay at mine.”

After she finished admiring every side of his motorcycle, Xander drove her to the dingy motel, grabbed her single bag, and went home. He quickly explained his situation while giving her a tour of his house. Xander didn’t push her for information, flirt, or even respond to her flirting. They simply went to sleep, and the following morning, she met Giles in the school library. After Faith repeated being in Sunnydale to take in the sights, Xander suggested Willow, Oz, and Cordelia give her a tour of the school.

Once they were gone, Buffy quickly proclaimed, “I can’t believe you let a complete stranger stay with you.”

“I let Kendra stay with me,” he reminded her.

“That…” Buffy fell short of an immediate response, then asked, “Is that what this is about?”

Truly enjoying how off-kilter she was behaving, he smiled as he mischievously asked, “Why Buffy, what-ever do you mean?” She stared at him in growing annoyance before Xander turned to the curious Watcher. “Giles, can you call the Watcher’s council and ask about Faith’s Watcher?”

“To-to what end?” the elder asked, taking off his glasses to polish them.

“I don’t trust what she told us.”

“And you let her stay at your house!?” the irate blonde quickly asked.

“Buffy, just because I think she might be lying, doesn’t mean she’s a bad person,” he gently explained. He very poignantly asked, “Don’t you think people lie to cover up pain or embarrassment?” The insinuation being she, herself, refused to tell him what happened the night she closed the Acathla vortex.

When Buffy couldn’t refute his question, Giles affirmed, “I’ll call today.”

“Thanks,” he said, however, before the watcher left, Xander moved along with the loop’s event. “Oh, real quick. Do you know anything about Taquitos- no, uhhh, Kati- Help me out here, Buff.”

“Wasn’t it, Kissing Toast?” a thoughtful Buffy asked, trying to recall the name she heard.

“Uh, I could’ve sworn it was… Kakito?”

Giles nearly stumbled getting out the word, “K-K-Kakistos?”

“That’s the one,” Xander said, as Buffy snapped her fingers.

Rushing toward his office, a concerned Giles asked, “Wh-wh-where did you hear that name?”

The teens followed, and after looking at one another curiously, Buffy answered, “One of the vamps we dusted last night mentioned it.”

Playing along, Xander asked, “Is that important?”

“It is,” Giles told them as he grabbed volume after volume of tomes, reading the spines for a specific one. “It very much is. Kakistos is Greek. It means, ‘the worst of the worst.’ A vampire so old his hands and feet have cloven. One who revels in bloodshed.”

Xander skeptically voiced, “Well, it could be a coincidence that Faith is here around the same time this Kakistos dude shows up…”

Getting on his wave-length, Buffy finished, “But it could be linked.”

“Maybe she’s running,” Xander added.

Curious, Buffy asked, “What makes you say that?”

“Before I was chasing down vampires, I was running very fast from them,” Xander genuinely answered. Buffy mulled on his words as he added, “There’s a fear there I can sorta see.”

“You may be correct,” the Englishman voiced, as he read from his tome. “Her strong persona may be indicative of a defense mechanism.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Buffy told them.

“And tell her what?” Xander challenged. “Expose whatever she’s trying to hide? You think she’d be cool with that? Do you like it when people try to expose what you want to keep secret?”

“This is different,” Buffy asserted, eying him pointedly. “What she’s not telling us could put people’s lives in danger.”

“I agree with Buffy on this,” Giles weighed in, making Xander roll his eyes. “We must confront her. Kakistos is not an adversary we can take lightly. For now, I have calls to make.”

When Giles left, Buffy took a long look at Xander, as if words were on the very tip of her tongue, however, she held them in and turned to leave. Xander tried not to linger on it, and instead focused on everything he missed in the last long loop. He completely missed the fight in the warehouse between Buffy, Faith, the ancient Kakistos, and his minions. Xander had also missed most of the fight against ‘roided out monstrous Pete Clarner, who killed three people, including his girlfriend. He’d missed helping Buffy and Cordelia when they were kidnapped for Slayerfest ‘98. And after that, he had missed fighting the snake demon, Lurconis, that needed baby sacrifices to survive. Xander wanted to make sure he was at the center of all of it now.

Later in the day, Xander and Cordelia were walking to the student parking lot when she told him, out of the blue, “I don’t care what you do with her in the bedroom, just give me some warning if it turns to more than that.”

Confused, Xander asked, “Huh?”

Cordelia explained Faith was asking them a lot of questions about him, which Xander found amusing. But then again, Faith was very flirtatious when it came to anyone who caught her eye, so he thought little of it.

After forging at Wild Dinks, he returned home and found that Faith, along with her things, was gone. He figured Buffy came to talk to her after school, and Faith had likely decided to keep running from the threat of Kakistos. Fortunately, Xander knew exactly where they would be, and he had a very fast motorcycle.

From afar, Xander surveilled a closed warehouse until Buffy and Faith took shelter within the building. Ten vampires ran into the building as well, and with Dreadnought tight in his grip, Xander rushed inside as well. Several vampires were trying to surround the two Slayers, and the largest of them, with cloved hands and feet, was watching in glee. The leader was bald, with a sadistic smile, and a red wound cut down his forehead, through his right eye, and to his cheek. Kakistos was large, looming over a frightened Faith, while Buffy was dealing with eight vampires.

As Xander ran in to help, he noted the few times Buffy outstretched her palm and realized she didn’t have Slaymore with her. The blonde Slayer was attempting to call her weapon, however, with the number of enemies around her, she had to make do with a stake and pipe she’d found. Deciding to help Buffy, Xander threw Dreadnought between Kakistos and Faith, its blade penetrating through the concrete floor with the handle sticking up.

Xander took out Hellguard as Faith and Kakistos looked at the battleaxe between them. Xander was slipping punches and countering at the same time, while also watching Faith desperately reach for the axe. However, Kakistos punched her hard enough to send her flying. It laughed as it tried to draw Dreadnought from the stone floor. Xander and Buffy were making quick work of the dozen vampires, combining knees with kicks, elbows with punches, and dusting one vampire every five seconds. However, they couldn’t help Faith yet.

At least not physically.

Xander yelled, “Get up Faith!” She was slow to her feet, bleeding from her nose. Despite how dazed she appeared, Xander yelled, “He can’t pick it up! No matter how strong you think he is, he can’t pick up my axe.” She looked at Kakistos, trying with all its might to lift the battleaxe. However, he was failing miserably. The ancient vampire nearly looked pathetic, like a child refusing to release its toy.

“But you’re strong enough,” Xander yelled as he elbowed a vampire in the jaw, then kicked it toward Buffy, who staked it in the heart. “You can lift it!” he continued. “You just gotta get up!”

Faith spit blood on the dirty warehouse floor, and like a wild animal being released on prey, she grit her teeth, pushed off one knee, and darted at the large Kakistos. With a forward kick, she snapped the heel of her boot into Kakistos’ chin, whipping the vampire’s head to the side. She followed with a strike to its knee with her other foot, bringing it down to one knee as she grabbed Dreadnought’s handle.

Faith lifted the battleaxe out of the concrete, smiling before remarking, “Well, what’d’ya know.”

Though it weighed more in her hands than in Xander’s—with her Slayer strength, it didn’t matter. She whirled the heavy blade in a circular motion and decapitated the ancient vampire with a single swing. The head hit the floor and rolled lopsidedly toward his stunned men. Mr. Trick and the remaining vampires watched the scarred head fade to gray before slowly crumbling into dust. They turned to Faith, battleaxe in hand, bleeding from her nose, and smiling. The vampires ran out of the warehouse to fight another day.

Xander exhaled a deep breath, extending his hand. The ring on his finger and the magical weapon he called to his hand took care of any aches and pains he had accumulated.

After Dreadnought magically left her hands, an excited Faith exclaimed, “God, I love that axe!”

With a smile, Xander said, “Maybe I’ll make you one.”

Faith leaned in, showing more cleavage from her black, low-neck shirt, and seductively asked, “What do I gotta do to turn that ‘maybe’ into a ‘definitely?’”

Xander heard Buffy take in a quick jet of air before mirthlessly remarking, “If you two need some privacy-”

Xander grabbed Buffy’s hand and pulled her to his side before explaining to Faith, “Family is in short supply around here. We gotta get it wherever we can, so if you really want an axe like mine, all I ask is that you try to trust us.” Turning to Buffy, who was staring at him, he added, “Try giving us a chance.” He was holding her hand, but after a moment, Buffy smiled, seemingly touched, and slowly interlaced her fingers with his.

He returned her smile before they suddenly heard an, “Uggh,” from Faith before the disappointed brunette asked, “Does this mean he’s off the market?”

Leaning against Xander happily, Buffy answered with a smile, “Yes.”

Though Xander was skeptical about his own happiness—always questioning if he was regressing to the love-sick puppy that was hurt so badly—he felt a measure of contentment. Things with Buffy were looking good, and in a few months, he’d be out of the year-loop—or any loop—forever. But it all made him skeptical. Xander’s mind was prepared for the worst.

—B—

Buffy returned to the mansion on Crawford Street; to the exact spot she killed Angel to close the portal to the hell dimension. Standing in that room felt suffocating, as if she were buried alive and desperate to get out. Looking down at the cold, tile floor, the sorrowful Slayer took out the Claddagh ring Angel had given her. Staring at the beautiful silver, the knowledge that it was her last connection to the greatest love she’d ever known weighed heavily upon her soul. To move forward in heart and mind, she gently placed her most cherished love on the floor.

“Goodbye,” she softly said, hoping against hope it wasn’t forever.

After Buffy left the long, empty room, the silver ring began vibrating, tapping repeatedly on the hard floor before lightning and wind swept the abandoned space. After several bright flashes of blinding light, a powerful gust of force pushed all the windows open. The source of a heavy THUD hitting the hard floor turned out to be a naked, starved, and shivering body. Sulfur permeated the air as steam rose from the underfed body. The pale and trembling man turned his wounded body, barely taking in his surroundings.

It was Angel, and his first word back was, “B-Buffy?”