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cyrus felt himself start to zone out as the teenagers surrounding the campfire fell into easy conversation. he knew he should have been talking as well, this was cece’s going away party, after all. however, he just couldn’t bring himself to it as he thought of a certain blonde, basketball-playing heartbreaker.
cyrus always had a special feeling for him, but he had only discovered it a few weeks ago. when he saw tj and kira at what he thought was their spot, their safe place, he was a bit jealous, and utterly heartbroken. he was happy for the two, really, but sometimes (most of the time) cyrus would wish that it was him tj was looking at, that it was him tj was giving a piggyback ride, or feeding the ducks with.
buffy cleared her throat on the other side of the bench they were sitting on, and cyrus then realized how he was staring wistfully at tj. of course, when could he not be a gay disaster?
“boys suck,” buffy said.
cyrus sighed, “i know. it really hurts, buff.”
“i’m sorry.”
“i was probably deluding myself anyways,” cyrus replied softly, looking at the campfire in front of them as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
buffy felt a wave of sympathy rush through her. she put her hand on top of cyrus’, and took a glance at the group of friends chatting before them. there was a comforting silence between the friends for a few moments as they thought on their own.
eventually, cyrus spoke up again. “i’m happy for you and marty. and i mean it with you two,” he said, a slight smirk on his face as he nudged his head towards tj and kira, who were engaged in a conversation.
buffy smiled, reflecting on her new relationship with her boyfriend, marty. they were, in fact, happy. after marty broke up with rachel, the two began to realize how they truly felt for one another. they really liked each other, and buffy wished her best friend could feel the same way with tj. “i really like him, cyrus.”
cyrus smiled, “and he really likes you. it’s pretty obvious.”
“you know what we did to find out all that?” buffy asked.
“what?”
“we communicated,” buffy explained, “we didn’t avoid each other. we felt like there was something that could happen between us, so we talked about it.”
cyrus grimaced, knowing the message buffy was trying to get across. “whenever i try talking to him, kira’s always there. it’s always kira this, kira that.”
“maybe it’s a misunderstanding,” buffy pointed out, “maybe you two are just trying to talk to each other at the wrong place and time.”
cyrus showed no response, so buffy continued, “you need to find him completely alone and just try and clear things out.
“i’ve seen tj looking at you. he’s trying to talk to you, i can sense it. you two could-“
buffy was cut off by andi, who was announcing to everyone that the pizza arrived. as a result, the teens outside started to go inside so that they could eat.
buffy stood up, and looked back at cyrus, who was still sitting on the bench, “you coming in? you should get some pizza before the crazies eat it all.”
cyrus shrugged, “if you don’t mind, i’m just going to sit here for a few more minutes. just to.. think everything over.”
buffy smiled softly, “okay,” before heading inside.
she wanted the best for cyrus, he was her best friend after all. she hoped he could have a happy ending with tj, like she has with marty. buffy wished that she inched cyrus a little closer to that happy ending, because that’s all she wanted for him to have.
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+bonus
cyrus rested on the bench, feeling lonely and distant. he wanted to clear his mind, but his thoughts were uncontrollably swirling around like a tornado.
he heard the crunching of leaves as a figure walked towards him.
“is that seat taken?”
tj.
“no, go ahead,” cyrus muttered. now was his chance to communicate.
and if he got the kiss and the boyfriend afterwards, he would silently thank buffy as he walked inside, hand in hand with the blonde, basketball-playing heartbreaker.
(except, his heart wasn’t broken at the slightest.)