Fancy Meeting You Here

[i_amthezeppo]

Who: Xander and Cordelia
Where: Hope Falls' Mall
When: Sometime during the Halloween Shopping
What: The return of Xander Harris - and maybe the return of Xordy, or would it be Cander? :D
Status: CompleteMan, oh, man did he screw this up. BIG TIME. Like bigger than the usual "Xander Harris Screw Up." And he felt horrible about it. More than horrible

Comments

[queen_cordette]

"My shoes! My beautiful shoes! You *idiot*!" Cordelia hissed. Xander or not, ex or not, the guy had just ruined her new shoes! She loved those shoes, she was gonna poke Buffy's eyes out with those shoes. And possibly other girls who gave a damn. And along came Xander the klutz extraordinary and ruined her shoes!

Seriously, some things never changed. And she thought Wes was the uber klutz, at least he never ruined her shoes! Ruined several shirts with food spoilage, embarrassed her in front of other and sometimes famous people, but never her shoes!

Narrowing her eyes dangerously, she glared down at the dork while he cleaned her shoes. Tried to clean her shoes cause they were ruined either way. She so should make him pay for those! Once he was done, she sighed and turned her foot this way and then that way before shaking her head. Nope. Ruined. Totally, utterly, without a doubt, *ruined*. Her favourite shoes since-- yesterday. Yeah.

"Apparently just *waiting* to run into someone who's gonna ruin my favourite and very *expensive* shoes, Xander," she drawled, putting her hands on her hips as she gave him a Cordelia special look. "You spend *how* long with Buffy and-- okay, never mind Willow cause shoes and Willow eh," she waved her hand to indicated the none fashionableness of Willow.

But Buffy! Buffy and shoes, he should know! "And you, destroyer of favourite and very *expensive*," just mentioning that again, "shoes. What are you doing here? I thought you hated mall." At least he never wanted to shopping with *her* when they were dating. What was with that? Why did so few people want to come shopping with her?

[i_amthezeppo]

Xander winced as Cordelia began her screeching about her shoes. Of all people to drop ice cream on... why couldn't it be a dude? Dudes don't care about shoes and ice cream on them! Even a Buffy or a Willow or a Dawn wouldn't be giving him this much grief about ice cream and shoe colliding into a mess of ruins. Okay, Dawn might have, and Buffy would've given him an evil eye for a second...

He stood there, taking it until she allowed a moment for him to answer. He gave her a sheepish smile. What else could he do? He was hardly ever good at really stopping the force that was Cordelia, except maybe with a kiss, which so would not be the ideal at the moment - or, like, EVER.

"I still have the hatred for this place," he assured her. "But it was a last minute craving for gross, greasy mall food. And, well, it was gonna be dessert, behold my success." He was here to mope, that was the bottom line. "So, uh, how are things with you? I know you've been helping ole Wes out with the kid?"

[queen_cordette]

Seriously. Men! Cordelia was totally *convinced* they were so out to ruin her wardrobe. And so not in a fun and playful way! The way she had hoped Wesley would, you know, ruin it. But Cordelia had resigned to the fact that Wesley for a start didn't even damn well notice her flirting and for another wasn't gonna be ready to move on, as they said.

Cordelia was never one to give up but this time she had. She wanted to be Wesley's friend first and foremost, not get herself totally with the frustrated because she wast trying to get somewhere he wasn't ready to go. Besides, stupid watcher boy wouldn't know a good thing if it ran up to him and all but shot him in the face. That's why it had taken so long with-- With Fred.

Wesley may be a lot of things, Cordelia thought as she sighed once more over the loss of her precious shoes but, "Wes isn't old," she scolded Xander automatically. Sure, sure, it had been Xander speak and blah blah blah. The guy should have learned by now that Cordelia was kinda very defensive about her family. Gunn, Lorne, Angel, Wes... her boys. Okay not *her* boys, but... They were kinda all she had.

"Yup, I have," she said, giving up on the lost cause that were here shoes. For now. Instead a small smile appeared on her face as she thought of the cute little boy that was the light of their lives. "And 'the kid' has a name, it's Max," she pointed out, putting her hands on her hips.

"And you? Still having heaps of fun with the tramp?" she asked. Hey, two could so play that game. Besides, Faith? Total slut who liked to torture people. Oh yeah, Cordelia could hold grudges for a long, long time as Faith had already found out.

[i_amthezeppo]

He put up his hands at Cordelia's snip about giving 'the kid' a name. "I know his name is Max," he told her. "I helped babysit him for a little while." Which really lead to a hot make out session with Faith, but she didn't need to know that and he didn't need to be thinking about those times with his now ex-girlfriend. "Don't looked so sur - ok, disgusted - he lived, right?" He gave her his small, boyish smile.

Xander had to wince at Cordelia mentioning Faith and not by name. "Uh, funny you should mention her." He stuck his hands back into his pocket, looking a little lost for a moment. "No. I've been gone for the past few days. Kinda outta the blue type trip. But important, nonetheless. Anyway, came home single. Heh. Imagine that."

He shrugged. Just another notch in Xander Harris' belt of failed relationships.

"Anyway, greasy food and ice cream usually make me feel better after break ups. It's why I got to being puffy Xander at one point." He patted his stomach which was far from puffy and more on the muscular side. "Lotsa practice. Okay, so, now that I spilled more of my guts than I ever wanted, I'll be on my way." He pointed in some generic direction. "See ya'."

[queen_cordette]

Ohhhh! Ouch. Score on the sore subject much? So Faith and Xander had broken up? That explained Faith's tetchy attitude lately. To be honest Cordy had been very surprised to hear about Faith and Xander being together. After all, hadn't the slayer tried to kill Xander after the pair had sex? Way with the afterglow there, Faith, go, go, go!

Of course then she had to wonder who Faith *hadn't* tired to kill. Why was that girl still around again? Oh yeah, redeeming and making up and yak yak yak more from Angel and heck even Buffy had joined the choir of 'give Faith a chance'. They should make a single, could earn lots of cash. The only reason Cordelia was giving Faith 'a chance' the Cordelia way was cause of Angel and Wesley. No other reason at all.

So to hear that Faith and Xander had broken up? Yeah, it made her inner self happy. She'd worried about her former boyfriend. What's to say he wouldn't like... wake up one night to find Faith had wrapped her hands around his throat in her sleep or whatever? The girl was dangerous. She could only hope the Slayer would move on to someone who so deserved her.

She knew better then to show any of that though. Hey, she had learned *something* over time. Hello! She wasn't as stupid as people often thought she was. Xander needed a distraction that wasn't food that would really make his flat stomach no longer flat. Plus he owed her a favour, totally and Cordelia needed a packing mule....err... someone to carry some things for her.

"Hold it right there gutspilling buster," she took a step to the side and blocked his escape route. "Way I see it? You owe me some shoes," she went on, and then loaded some of the packages into Xander's unexpected arms. "But I'll let it slide if you carry these for me," she said, turning around on her now damaged shoes and making her way to another store.

"Come Xander! Lets go, time is not for wasting."

[i_amthezeppo]

The sidestepping blockage did its job as Xander was unable to take another step forward once Cordelia was in his way. He was a little surprised at her not letting him go. They hadn't spoken much since they had reconvened, and when he and Faith were found out together, even LESS people seemed to talk to him.

Sure, they made an odd pair, he and Faith, but Xander's gut had told him there were so many good things about them.

That was the last time he listened to his gut.

Xander stumbled a bit at the sudden armload of packages and boxes. He stared at the items in shock then looked over at Cordelia, who was making her way elsewhere. Was she doing what he thought she was doing? Helping with the distraction from self-pity thing? Cordelia had never, ever ceased to surprise him once and awhile.

"Right, okay," he called out, having to up his pace to catch up to her. "You do know I'm as broke as Enron, right? So the shoes I owe you, it might have to go on layaway, unless Giles can pull some strings and I get on a payment plan. That guy can be worse than credit monsters coming after you. How about I buy you some fancy galoshes? I heard they were the 'in' thing."