The Hart of L.A.

Xander was sitting in his room thinking about what had happened. It had taken him completely by surprise, and could tell that Talia had been equally surprised. The thing was, he didn’t even really know her, so why would he kiss her? He couldn’t even remember who kissed her, he just remembered kissing her. He’d tried to talk to her after it happened, but she took off with Faith. Seemed as if she was embarrassed about being caught. It weirded him out because he hadn’t kissed anyone other than Anya in a very long time. He’d stopped Lorne, wanting to know why he was all smiles, but he just said that he was finally on his path, whatever that meant. Everyone talked in riddles around him, and he didn’t like it. He couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone. It was going to change, though, because he was going to talk to Talia. He was going to talk to her whether it she wanted to talk to him or not. After making his mind up, Xander tried to go to sleep without much success.

Talia was just as confused as Xander was. She’d still been really torn up about Gunn kissing Faith, then, Wham!, she was kissing another person. She really liked kissing Xander, but she didn’t know him. The main thing was she didn’t want anyone to think she was easy, and she was ashamed that she cared. She wasn’t fast, she was really particular in who she dated, let alone sleep with. She didn’t really know Xander, but she’d noticed him. She’d just noticed Gunn first. Buffy had taken her aside, and been highly amused. She’d given her this big speech on being careful with Xander, because he was sensitive and her best friend. She kissed him, so she was automatically dating him. She thought it was funny, but annoying at the same time. She’d talk to him eventually, just not right now.

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Spike was brooding in the training room. He’d tried to vent by exercising, but it hadn’t worked. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to win over Buffy. He’d tried to deny it, but he’d always known that she’d pick Angel. He’d done absolutely everything for her and she didn’t care. He spoken from the heart in that circle, but captain forehead was not to be outdone. He’d turned into a big softie when it came to the slayer, and it was time to stop. He wasn’t going to take it anymore. It was definetly a time for a change. As soon as they defeated this next big bad, he was going to leave. He would break it to Buffy gently, but he really didn’t think she’d mind much. She’s got her beau again, now, so it doesn’t matter if he left or not. He still wasn’t sure how he was going to tell her, though.

Buffy and Angel were sitting outside of Wesley’s apartment building. She was getting ready to get Dawn, and go back to her own apartment. She’d invited Talia to stay with her, since Kennedy had left. Angel had taken her aside and said he wanted to talk to her before she left. She was standing in front of her with his hands in his pockets. She crossed her arms and sighed.

" What did you want to talk to me about, Angel?" He looked down, not really knowing what to say.

" I wanted to tell you about the shanshu prophecy. It’s a prophecy that I found quite a while ago, and Wesley translated it. It pretty much said that after I paid my dues that I would become human. It talks of a vampire with a soul, trials, and it clearly says that I’ll become human. The reason I know it’s about me, is because I was drawn to it. I’d never seen it before in my entire life, and when I laid my eyes on it, I had to have it. I took it, and that’s it. I signed it away to Wolfram and Hart when I was running it, but that’s kind of null and void. I just wanted you to know about it."

Buffy was completely speechless, and didn’t know what to say. She just stared at him for the longest time, trying to form her thoughts. She sat down on the porch, and put her arms around herself.

" Why didn’t you tell me this before?" Angel sat down next to her, and looked up to the sky.

" I don’t know, cause mostly I didn’t believe it. Well, I did, but I felt that if I told anyone about it, it wouldn’t come true. I’ve wanted to call this whole mission of mine off for some time, but there was you, and the possibility I could be with you. I remember that day too, and when I heard about this, it was the first thing that popped in my head. The second thing was that it was too good to be true. That’s why I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t want to get your hopes up, and it would have raised mine."

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Talia was about to leave with Buffy to her apartment, but she was outside talking with Angel. She was in the living room with Dawn, Lorne, and Xander. Wesley and Fred had gone to sleep earlier in the day, and Spike was downstairs with Faith sparring. Xander stood up from him spot on the couch, walked over to where she was sitting, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into the kitchen. Lorne watched them go with a big smile on his face. When he shut the kitchen door, he let go of her hand, and turned to face her.

" Okay, I really think we need to talk about what happened. I wasn’t expecting it, and it’s obvious that you weren’t either." Talia sat down in one of the chairs, and smiled up at Xander.

" I was wondering if we were going to talk about this or not. You’re right, I wasn’t expecting it to happen, but it wasn’t a bad thing. I like you Xander, and I’d like to get to know you better. I just didn’t want to approach you yet, because I didn’t know if you wanted to get to know me." Xander sat in the chair opposite her.

" Of course I wanna get to know you, Talia. It’s not like I’ve been trying to ignore you or something. We’ve just been really busy, and I realize that’s not what you meant by getting to know me. I’d like that a lot." Talia’s smile got wider.

" Well that’s good, cause I was worried. I got a stern talking to from Buffy about being sensitive about your feelings. She told me about your girlfriend, and I’m sorry." He bent his head.

" She wasn’t my girlfriend at the time, we were just friends. Thank you, though. Buffy gave you a talk about me? That’s weird, she’s never done that before. Off subject, have you seen the way Lorne keeps leering at us? It’s kinda starting to freak me out." Talia laughed out loud at this.

" I have noticed that, but I really don’t want to hear his theory on the whole situation. It’s kind of creepy about how good he is at reading people." Xander nodded, and they fell into a comfortable silence.

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Cordelia was sitting on the bed in one of Wesley’s guest rooms. She wasn’t a happy person, because she could clearly hear the conversation that was going on outside between Buffy and Angel. That had been what he’d thought about? Not, ‘yay, I’m going to be human?’ It really bugged her that he hadn’t confided in her, because they’d become really good friends. They’d almost dated, for crying out loud! She really needed to get over this, but she was still determined to tell Buffy about her and Angel. Buffy thought that she was the only one in Angel’s life, and she was sadly mistaken. Well not in the literal sense, because he really didn’t date. She’d tried before to get his attention, and it hadn’t worked. It looked as though whenever Buffy entered the room, he honed in, and forgot everyone else. He really had to get over this concept. There was a knock on her door, and when she invited the person in, Gunn walked in.

" Hey stranger, long time no see." He smiled at her, and closed the door behind him.

" I just came up to see how you’re doing. I’m sorry I didn’t say hi when you first got here." She smiled back at him.

" It’s okay, you were distracted by the new girl. I see she’s moved on to the dumbass that is Xander Harris, and boy will she regret that decision. I’ve so been there and done that." Gunn looked at her funny.

" You dated Xander? You, really dated him" She rolled her eyes at him.

" Unfortunately, yes I did. For almost a year I dated that dweeb only to have him cheat on me for his best friend." He sat down, shocked at the news.

" He dated Buffy? She doesn’t seem like his type." Cordelia howled with laughter at this statement.

" No, he cheated on me with Willow." This got another confused look from him.

" The gay redhead?"