strangetrip | [Log] Date/Not Date - Buffy, Carlos, Kitty, Wyatt

Takes place after this. Kitty helps Buffy figure out if it was a fluke with Carlos or something more.

Buffy had been a seize the day kind of girl. She literally knew that life was short and not just a cliché. Grab it, hold on to it and don’t have regrets. But when it came to love life or lack of one, Buffy was gun shy. Hugely gun shy, but she liked Carlos. Even if it might be Valentine left over, Buffy wanted to find out. Better to learn it now instead of later.

Kitty was right, this was a good idea to test the waters with a no pressure group event and if it blew up in her face, well it could be classified as the beginning of a running club. That was a good thing, right? If it sounded like she was trying to convince herself, she was. On the bright side, Carlos had accepted her invitation for a running date with her, Kitty and Wyatt. She’d used the term specifically when asking, but she’d asked in a way that it could be seen as just a slang for get together.

Nervous energy was starting to get the best of her, which was why she was doing warm up exercises waiting for Carlos, Kitty and Wyatt to arrive outside the Inn.

Carlos wasn't entirely sure what was going on with him and Buffy, but when she asked him out for a running date... well, he wasn't going to refuse. He liked her, he thought, but after the whole Valentine thing it was complicated. Far easier to be friends - or so he thought. Well, he'd see. At least running was a good idea no matter what. Too easy to let yourself get out of shape here, and that was never a good idea when you weren't sure what would be thrown at you. Plus there was always the chance he could show off - a bonus. He was dressed casually, but ready for whatever length run Buffy wanted to suggest, and grinned he approached her, appreciating the view. "Good call, this," he said as he walked up to her. Date, or run... who knew?

"You're on 'get the goods' duty," Kitty reminded Wyatt as they walked through the lobby, hand in hand. She was trying not to feel smug about how well things were going between her and Wyatt, but it was hard. After a lifelong string of 'low self-esteem mistakes', finally dating a guy who didn't have commitment issues, wasn't an asshole, and who actually wanted to be with her was sort of a coup. "Buffy's into him, but she's worried he doesn't feel anything for her. They had a Valentine's Day fly-by that didn't end with a kiss."

"Get the goods. Check." Wyatt said with a twinkle in his eyes, but he squeezed her hand to show he was teasing her. He very much understood what it would have been like for him and Kitty if their initial introduction had been a Valentine's weirdness. As it was, it had taken him a while to realize the epiphany that it had been for them. "I'll filter through the guy code that we all got when we hit puberty." He was still kidding of course, there wasn't a guy code, at least not a written one.

Before they got too close, Wyatt watched Buffy and Carlos before they noticed others around them. The body language said that there was definitely attraction between the two and while Valentine's Day might have enhanced it, Wyatt would have bet a lot that it would have been there if they had met naturally.

"Sometimes running helps with the extra energy." Buffy said and then had a flash of another activity with Carlos that expended energy. Luckily before her pulse jumped too high or her face got red she noticed Kitty and Wyatt. "Hey." She said cheerily "Carlos, do you know Kitty and Wyatt?" She'd seen Wyatt at the bar with Kitty and a nod now and then but Buffy didn't really know him all that well herself.

Carlos gave the other two a grin as they approached. "I've seen them around." He knew Kitty a little from working in the kitchen in the hotel, but not well. Wyatt he'd seen about, mostly with Kitty. If nothing else, getting to know new people here wouldn't be a bad thing. "God knows I hate being cooped up here." Not enough to do, other than the obvious - which he wasn't even partaking in.

"Filter it through the 'I like getting laid' code," Kitty replied, voice too low for the others to hear, but thick with intimate teasing. Immediately she picked up Buffy's greeting and waved cheerfully. "Hey B, hey Carlos. This was a good idea. I'm getting sick of the music on my iPod and I've traded with everyone else who has portable already." Conversation while running could be tricky, but they were all in good shape, so hopefully it would be just enough trickiness to keep the conversation from getting to any uncomfortable subjects.

Before Wyatt could answer that it was probably the same code, they were greeted by both Carlos and Buffy. "Hey, guys." He'd seen Carlos around but hadn't talked to him beyond the informal hey, how are you polite greetings when paths crossed. "Maybe next, if there is a next, Wonderland beyond the door they'll have iPod music." He grinned at both Buffy and Carlos, "not that it might be needed for this. I have a feeling a running group might catch on."

Buffy actually could feel her muscles relax more as the others approached. This was a great idea. If it turned out that there wasn't anything there on Carlos' part or that it was Valentine's stuff just messing with her head it would be a nice beginning of a running club. "Yeah, it might help to get a little bit of normal that we're used to." She smiled crookedly at everyone. "It's one of the reasons why I walk the perimeter and around the grounds at night at the Inn." It was her version of patrolling even if there weren't any vampires to make "poof" or big bads to fight. It made her feel the connection back home.

No matter what, a running club was a great idea. He was too used to being prepared for anything, so it felt as if something was missing when he missed out on training. Sure, the gym helped, but never underestimate the ability to run like the gods were after you. He began stretching out, loosening up some of his muscles. Still suffering a little from all the war wounds he'd received, he knew himself well enough to know how to take it gently. Plus, he got to watch Buffy more as he prepped.

"If we run enough, we can cover more of the perimeter every night." Four hours could be a lot of distance to cover. Better to catch anything incoming farther from the inn rather than closer to it. There were people at the inn who could intercept anything that got through a perimeter watch. "Who is going to set the pace?"

"I will." Wyatt volunteered. He knew that he was probably the only base line human among them. Not that they would try to outrun him, but his pace might be slower than Buffy's. "And I promise I won't do it to a military cadence." He teased with a wink. "Unless you want me to." Wyatt was kidding, unless they wanted him to. "Which direction? I'll let you guys pick the way."

Buffy glanced both directions, she was quite familiar with the perimeter since she'd taken up 'patrolling'. "Uh, how about that way." She pointed to the easier area. It was better for conversations and there was a spot that was pretty for a rest if they wanted to. It would also take them in the direction where she'd first met Carlos, embarrassing sure, but it also would be a good test to see. "Ready?" She turned to look at Carlos and enjoyed watching him stretch.

Carlos patrolled his own way as well, but he was happy to let Buffy lead for this. If this took off, there would be time to work out different routes, work out the best way to cover the most area. "Awwww it's been a long time since I've trained like that," he replied to Wyatt with a grin. "Takes me back." Mostly the young Wardens in the barracks ran just to blow off steam in between fights with the vamps. That... and other things Carlos hadn't taken part in at the time. Thoughts of that brought his attention back to Buffy, and he nodded at her. Yeah, maybe he should do something about that when they were away from the group.

Kitty caught the nod from Carlos and smiled to herself. She didn't think Buffy had anything to worry about when it came to Carlos. Unless she was just bad at reading guys...oh wait. She was pretty terrible at reading guys. Sighing, she tweaked her ponytail tighter, finished her stretch and ran a hand up Wyatt's back. Quickly, she leaned up to kiss him and then jogged off, leaving him to catch up if he planned to set the pace.

It didn't take long for Wyatt to catch up and since Carlos had seemed to have run to a cadence before, he began one.

When I was just a very young lad
I walked up and I told my dad
An Airborne Ranger is what I want to be
I want the whole world to know about me
From a C-130 I’ll take my stand
I want to be known as a ruff and tuff man

I’ll be jumping from the plane when it’s way up high
Parachute reaching for the sky
Falling fast with my feet and knees together
You’ll ask “Who’s that?” That’s an Airborne Ranger
You’ll ask “Who’s that?” That’s an Airborne Ranger

The years of boyhood now have passed
It didn’t take long I learned the tricks real fast
Now I’m rolling down the strip earning my jump pay
And I heard we’re jumping into battle later on today

I’ll be jumping from the plane when it’s way up high
Parachute reaching for the sky
Falling fast with my feet and knees together
You’ll all know me, I’m an Airborne Ranger
You’ll all know me, I’m an Airborne Ranger

It had been a long time since he'd used that cadence and it brought back happy memories of his Ranger training days.

Buffy turned to look at her running partners. The cadence reminded her of Xander when he was soldier guy and she missed him a lot. "That's pretty cool. I've never run with a song like that. Of course I'm usually running into vampires so it wouldn't work." She glanced at Wyatt, not sure if Kitty had told him or not, "uh I fight vampires and monsters." Her attention turned back to Carlos, "do you have a Warden running song?" Laughter was in her voice, "besides Bibbity Bobbity Boo."

Carlos laughed, shaking his head at Buffy. "We keep that one for the special occasions," he said. "But most of the time we tend to just steal army ones, and someone adapts them." Bill was good at that. "Not much call for running songs when you are blasting the crap out of vamps, to be honest. Tends to break the rhythm." He also glanced at the other two, holding a hand up. "Wizard. Fight of a lot of supernatural crap."

"Hard to set a cadence when you run with speedsters," Kitty said cheekily, loud enough for all of them to hear. "They're too busy lapping you to listen." Since Carlos who was the only one who didn't know about her, she echoed him, holding a hand up. "Mutant superhero. Save the world from aliens and supervillains a lot."

Wyatt chuckled at the interplay between everyone. He might be the only non-superhero in the group, but he didn't feel like an outsider among them. He also really watched the interplay between Carlos and Buffy. He didn't think Buffy had anything to worry about. "Might not be a speedster, but..." With that, he took off in a faster gait.