Title: Float
Author: meagan <nutmeg@serv.net>
Summary: Cordelia and Xander have an argument. Set a couple of months before "There's Someone I'd Like You to Meet..."
Distribution: Bucky's, if Melissa wants it. Otherwise, please ask. If nothing else, it will eventually end up on my page -- http://geocities.datacellar.net/meaganola
Spoiler: Just my Return (any better name suggestions?) series up to and including "The Big Day." The rest of the series can be found on my page.
Rating: G/PG-ish.
Disclaimer: Of *course* they belong to someone else. If they were mine, things would be different. Specifically, they belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, WB, and anyone else I forgot.
Notes: Sometimes working for a soulless monolithic corporation has its up sides. I stayed here in December for my department's holiday thing. Other departments got brunch. We had dinner and stayed at the hotel used for the exteriors in _Twin Peaks_. Um, my department's better than their department. Anyway, it's a *really* nice hotel. The rooms have balconies and doors that open onto a view of the top of Snoqualmie Falls, among other things. And I got some ideas.
Dedicated to Andi who asked for more of this series. I hadn't thought about it in a while, but that email started me thinking about possibilities. See what shameless begging can get you?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I want a whirlpool tub."

The plan had been to let Cordelia remodel the bathroom. Xander had been expecting new paint and wallpaper. She had decided to redo *everything* -- flooring, mirrors, even the toilet. And that had all been fine with Xander. Whatever she wanted. But he questioned the tub. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." And she returned to the latest batch of brochures she had toted home.

"Sometimes what you think you want turns out to not be what you really need. You know that."

She pulled her eyes away from the sink flyer to glare at him. "Oh, and this was a lesson *I* was supposed to learn? Thanks a lot."

"No, Cor, wait." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "That was *my* lesson. You just happened to be here after I learned it."

"Okay, fine, whatever." She scooped up the brochures. "If you need me, I'll be at the hardware store." And then she stormed out of the house.

Once more, he sighed heavily. How in the world was he going to fix *this*? An idea began to form, and he picked up the phone.

~~~

When she returned, he was ready. "Let's go."

Confused and still a bit angry, she just glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

He pointed at the packed suitcases by the door. "Emergency. We have to go. Research."

"This is a Buffy thing, isn't it?" She sighed, but she reached for one of the bags.

But Josh beat her to it. "I'll take care of that." He opened the door and waved her out. "To your carriage, madam."

They rode in silence, Xander nervously beating his hand against his thigh. Finally, they reached the airport. Josh dropped them off and drove away, leaving Cordelia to watch the departing vehicle in confusion. Xander took care of check-in, and Cordelia followed him, still silent, to the boarding area. He went immediately to the boarding attendant, speaking softly so Cordelia couldn't hear his words. Then the flight attendant smiled, turned to Cordelia, and chirped, "Right this way."

~~~

"I'm sorry, Cor, but all I could get were coach seats. It was practically a miracle that I could get seats at all."

"What?" She hadn't been listening to him. She had been busy digging through the bag of goodies that Xander and Josh had prepared for her. Water, gum, trashy novel, cd player... She realized what he had said and shrugged. "That's okay. Last-minute stuff is impossible to get right." She turned back to the bag.

Xander just watched her, smiling at her delight at a bag of sunflower seeds.

~~~

The plane landed, and Xander headed directly for a car rental counter, leaving Cordelia with their bags. She gazed at them, thankful that he had opted for small carryon bags rather than huge suitcases. Waiting for baggage had to be one of the most boring concepts ever invented. Finally, he returned to her, handing over a piece of paper. "Okay, let's roll. You're navigator."

Xander drove while Cordelia read the directions to him. Hoping for some hint of their destination, she attempted to quiz him. But he refused to say anything aside from things related directly to the paper in her hands.

She grew concerned when they exited the freeway and began to go through more scenic areas And then through narrow roads lined with tall trees. Where in the world was he taking her?

Finally, he pulled into a driveway. "We're here." He turned the car over to the valet attendant. Cordelia exited the car, gazing at the structure in confusion. It was elegant but plain, and it looked extremely small. He held the door open for her, waving her inside when she hesitated. "Don't you want to know why we're here?" Sighing, she entered the building. A hotel, she decided after observing people milling around the small lobby with suitcases in their hands. After checking in, the pair attempted to go directly to their room. They made a couple of wrong turns, but they finally found it. Cordelia heard an odd rumbling sound in the bathroom, so she went to investigate the source of the noise.

And she stared at the bathtub.

"Um, Xander?" He followed her into the bathroom. "What's going on here?"

"Research." He sighed. "I know, it's not the best room. But it was the best I could get at the last minute."

"That's not what I meant." She turned her amazed stare from the fragrant filled whirlpool tub to him, grasping his chin and turning it so he could see the source of her shock. "*That* is what I meant."

He shrugged casually. "You wanted a whirlpool bathtub. I wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into." He grinned. "So, did you want to get into this or not?" His grin widened as objects of clothing went flying at his head. "I'll take that as a yes."

Once she was settled in the water, she turned her attention back to Xander, frowning. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"Huh?"

She smiled at his distracted response. "It's big enough for two. You won't squish me like at home."

~~~

Much later, they stood on their balcony, gazing at the natural spectacle below them.

Cordelia sighed. "This is really nice, but you really shouldn't have done this."

"Why not?"

"It's got to be super expensive. Just think of how much carpeting this trip would have paid for."

He stood behind her, arms wrapped loosely around her waist and chin on her shoulder. "I can afford it. I mean, *we* can afford it. Anyway, that's not the point."

"So. What was your point here?" But her voice was soft and happy, and Xander smiled.

"I just want you to make informed decisions. Don't decide that you want something just because someone told you that it was nice." He pulled her closer to him. "So. Do you still want that tub? Because it's fine if you do. I just don't want you to have to live with a torn-up bathroom *twice* if you decide you don't like it after all and that it needs to be replaced."

"Ah." She stared straight ahead, watching the water splash along the top of the falls. "So you won't get mad if I say that I don't want it now?"

"Nope. That is, if you tell me why."

She turned around so she was facing him. "Well, those things are loud. And the jets were annoying. After the first five minutes, I started wishing that the timer had gone off already. So you were right."

His face fell at the last sentence. "No. I wasn't 'right.' I didn't tell you to do one thing or the other. I don't *want* to tell you to do something. I just wanted you to know *why* you were deciding one way or the other. If you had fallen in love with this room and decided that you not only wanted the tub but the cut-out window thing over it, too, that would have been fine. Because you knew you liked it by experiencing it. But just because you saw it in a magazine? How do you *really* know you'll like something unless you try it? That's why you have to test-drive cars, after all."

"True." She frowned, considering something. "And there's one other reason. That I don't like the tub, that is."

"And what's that?"

"It's too big. It's nice that it's wide, but it's too long. I mean, I couldn't prop my feet up on the other end, and I've gotten used to that. I missed it."

"Fair enough."

"And one other thing." She turned him around, gently pushing him back in the room and closing the door behind them. "That I've gotten used to. That I missed."

"Oh, really?" He grinned as she planted a hand in the middle of his chest, forcing him back onto the bed. "And what would that be?"

She stretched out next to him, pulling him tightly against her body. "Our tub is nice and cozy. This one was like a pool. I guess I like it when we're squished. I felt like I was going to float away. Like *you* were going to float away from me." She sighed, releasing him just enough for her to rest her head on his chest. "Don't ever float away. And don't let me float away, okay?"

"Never." He pulled his hands lazily through her hair. "Any other requests?"

"Yeah." She moved away from him and crawled under the comforter, pulling it up to her chin. "You know, it's cold in here. I didn't realize how chilly those falls would make it in here. If you built a fire, I wouldn't need this comforter."

He frowned. "So I'm Fire Boy now? Is that your request?"

She shrugged. "We wouldn't need these clothes, either."

Now he smiled. "One roaring fire coming up."

~~~ the end ~~~