Love - bites (Romance one shots)

Imperfectly Perfect

"Hey Xander, what's your take on afterlife?" She asked randomly.

He blinked a few times as if to shake off the abruptness of her question.

"That's out of the blue, but then again who knows what goes on inside that head of yours.." he trailed off with a teasing grin.

"Just answer the question will you?" She said rolling her eyes.

"Well the irrational part of me would like to believe it's possibility, but then there's the fact that the population keeps increasing... so what, God believes in recycling or something?" Hey replied squinting his eyes towards the end as if in confusion.

"I just thought of a theory.." she said facing him fully now. It was cue for him that his girl demanded his full attention right about now.

He turned around to face her completely, still sitting on the stool by the kitchen counter,"Enlighten me then" he smiled that charming smile she loved.

"I was thinking what if! What if only those souls are sent back to earth who couldn't live their life to the fullest the first time. Or those who were yet to fullfil their purpose in life. Bad people who had escaped punishment the first time around, I mean what better hell than having a bad life?" She said the last part with a devilish grin, "Or good people who suffered more than they deserved." Her tone inclined towards sadness as she said this.

He realized that her line of thought had involuntarily shifted to her mother but she was quick to shake it of.

he pulled her close by her wrists to stand between his knees. "What brought this on?" he enquired searching her eyes for the answer, for he knew her lips would only evade the question and her face would just lie.

Sure enough she looked down, slightly red faced and said,"Just curious, you know one of those pointless thoughts that roam about in my head" she brushed it of smiling up at him innocently.

He narrowed his eyes at her, obviously not buying it, but he decided not to prod. Instead he decided to comment on her "theory".

"That could be a possibility. A second chance at a 'perfect' life?"

"Well there's no thing as perfect, everything is flawed" she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yes because flaws make it real, real is beautiful, take the moon for instance" he countered.

"Ugh not you too. i don't get what's so special about the moon. Stars are way more beautiful, mesmerizing, perfect yet poets and artists all around seem to only notice the moon and 'how beautiful its imperfections make it'" she said rolling her eyes at the absurdity of it.

"Well there is the fact that it dominates the night sky like no 'perfect' star can" he countered, putting air quotes around perfect.

"That's only because its closer to us than stars are," she moved her face closer to his and whispered, "more obtainable, unlike the stars."

She moved to back away but he put a hand behind her head pulling her back in place.

"Perfection is unobtainable... that is why we settle for what we have, and sing praises about the moon, for it isn't beyond reach" he rasped out.

She knew what he was doing. He was pulling what she called the Flynn Ryder smolder like in the movie. He knew that look made all rational thoughts leave her head. He was cheating to win the argument. As soon as she reached that conclusion she narrowed her eyes at him. No way would she let him have the last word.

"Why is it then that people strive to perfection. They settle for less, true but they do keep perfection as a goal. They are just sore losers i would say, ignoring the perfection which they couldn't reach and calling the flawed piece of work beautiful and real just because it isn't out of reach? awfully unfair don't you think?" she said, giving his lips a peck for she couldn't resist the adorable face he made racking his brain for a comeback.

"Well stars deceive us an awful lot. You could be seeing them now without even knowing that they have died already. What you are seeing in fact is a make believe illusion. So you see its not always 'real' as you put it" he said, looking all smug that he came up with it and smiling like the dork he was.

"That just means that their beauty still lives on, to be celebrated even after they have died. Just because you can see them after they have ceased to exist, doesn't have to be mean they are deceiving us. Its just that they shone so brightly in their lifetime, that even in their death, the remnants of their light is their to serve as a memory for what was" she replied with a smile.

He felt that this pointless discussion needed to stop, and it would only go on if neither of them gave up and she was way to stubborn to be the bigger person of course.

He huffed out a breath and finally said,"Fine you win."

She whooped and did a little happy dance that made him chuckle at her sillyness. His eyes shifted to the vintage record player with a vinyl already placed on it. He snuck away quietly while she was lost in her happy bubble. He turned on the music which was some old jazz that his parents owned and started twirling her around the living room.

They were all giggles and happiness when Xander's parents entered the living room, the younger couple being oblivious to the world around them.

The smile on their faces suggested that they were reminiscing their younger years.

"Lily's good for him, I can't remember him ever being this happy," his mother said with a fond smile.

Her words couldn't have been any more right.