Title: The Little Things


Author: Jinni (druscilla@cox.net)


Rated: PG13


Pairing: Xander/Ginny


Disclaimer: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, et al. All things HP


belong to JK Rowling, et al.


Distribution: The normal places.


Summary: It’s those little things he does that makes him better than the


others.


Category: Pure fluff, plain and simple.


~*~*~


He doesn’t have magic.


Honestly, I don’t think he needs it.


To be anything other than what he already is would be. . . somehow wrong. As


if he was created to be just what he is, nothing more. Perfection in its


most simple form.


That’s my Xander.


“Hey, sweetie,” he murmurs as I enter the room, looking up from what he’s


doing. “Couldn’t sleep?”


I shake my head, knowing that I don’t need to elaborate. He’s so intuitive;


seeing so much even with just one eye. I’ve offered to look into a


replacement for his lost orb, sort of like old Mad Eye has, but my Xan doesn


’t want that. He wants to be one hundred percent natural, even if it means


he has to live life with something of a handicap.


Yet another thing I love about him.


“Sit down,” he gestures to my favorite chair. “I’ll go make some cocoa.”


Cocoa. My favorite. And he knows how to make it just right. My own mum can’t


do any better, and she’s a full-blown witch. He even adds these adorable


little marshmallows. I like to watch them melt, dissipating into the hot


cocoa. He just likes to watch me drink it.


I sigh, leaning my head back. I’m supposed to be resting, taking a nap; but


I honestly can’t sleep a wink. It’s hard to get comfortable on that bed. I


never would have thought moving from my family’s home would be so


unsettling. You’d think I’d be happy about getting away from a house that’s


always the center of activity – with my brothers coming and going for


visits. Always bustle, bustle, bustle.


And, yes, I –am- happy about it. Most of the time. I just still have trouble


sleeping. It was only a month ago that I was still sleeping in the room that


I grew up in. So much has changed since then.


I open my eyes as Xander reenters the room, smiling gratefully for the


steaming cup of cocoa in his hand. The first hot sip nearly scorches my


tongue, but it’s a good feeling. The liquid warms a fiery path down my


throat, to my stomach, warming me from the inside out. The little


marshmallows bump into my top lip as I sip slowly at the warm chocolate.


“Mmm,” I sigh, winking at him. “That’s good.”


He laughs. “You always say that.”


“Well, it’s always true,” I shrug.


He grins, that boyish smile I’ll never get tired of seeing. “Sometimes I


think you ‘have trouble sleeping’ just so I make it for you.”


And sometimes that’s just the truth, I tell myself silently, giving him an


impish grin. But not this afternoon. I really do need to rest, not be so up


and moving about as I have been. It’s just so hard. Maybe I should ask mum


if I can bring my old bed over for the next few weeks. . .just until


everything settles. Trouble is, there’s just hardly enough room in it for


both Xander and I to sleep at the same time. And usually he ends up on the


floor rather than deal with my knees and elbows poking him in the middle of


the night.


Maybe my old bed isn’t the best of ideas. I don’t think I could sleep


through the night without Xander there beside me. . . Not that I’m sleeping


through the night now. At least now he’s there to touch and hold when I can’


t sleep, though.


“Maybe sometimes I do,” I giggle. It turns into a yawn, though; just as I


should have known it would. His hot cocoa is a sure fire way to get me to


sleep. Must be all that warm milk in it.


Or maybe he’s been getting dreamless sleep potions when we visit Hogsmeade


and slipping me some to force me to take my naps.


“I’ll be glad when all this is over,” the mutter sounds grumpy coming from


my lips, but he only smiles.


“Me too – though, for different reasons.”


He reaches out, touching the round lump of my belly, swollen and plump after


almost eight months of pregnancy. Only a few more weeks to go, and then I’ll


be able to sleep like a normal witch again. Not on my back, belly full on in


the air.


Of course, that’s if my little darling lets me sleep at all.


“C’mon, I’ll come lay down with you,” he offers, holding out his hand. I


need the help getting up these days, especially from this chair. It’s big


fluffy folds just about swallow me, and I can’t get the leverage to get up


like I used to. I grab hold and let him pull me to my feet.


“Are you sure?” I ask with a raise of my eyebrows. He has work to get done.


Research for the Watchers’ Council that he’s put off long enough.


“Yeah,” he nods. “Just ‘til you fall asleep.”


See what I mean – the little things. And he doesn’t even realize he’s doing


them. Each and every day he does a million of them to make me feel loved.


And I do.


“Go on,” he gestures to the bed. “Get comfortable while I take off my


shoes.”


“Yes, sir, Mister Harris.”


He throws me a grin.


“That’s the kind of thing that got you in this position, Mrs. Harris.”


I stick my tongue out. “Weasley-Harris to you, smart arse.”


He just grins wider, kicking off his shoes before crawling into bed next to


me. One hand comes up to rest gently on the top of my belly, right where my


belly button has taken to protruding.


“I love you,” he whispers in my ear just as I’m closing my eyes.


“Love you, too,” I smile gently.


Merlin help me, I love those little things he does.


~*~The End~*~