I liked this. It's important to focus on friendships as much as romantic relationships, and it bothers me that a lot of fanfiction dismisses friendships as "just friends". Love is love, whether it's sexual/romantic or not. So... thanks for this.

Wow, and I thought the companion piece to this fic was achingly beautiful. This one's amazing... I love how you so clearly and accurately describe the paradoxes. Reminds me of an article I read where a mother-to-be marveled on her pregnancy, and how it was both the most miraculous thing she could think of, and yet the most commonplace thing in the world. The odds against a pregnancy happening, and then being carried to fruition, how so many amazing details have to work out just right; yet commonplace in that it's how we all came to be here, on this world being threatened by overpopulation.

So beautiful, love having Xander get this epiphany and sharing it with Buffy. So reminiscent of his lovely little speechlet to Dawn about not being special, but being extraordinary.

Author's Response: I was reading some other fic where Buffy was hearing about Xander saving the world and it just kinda struck me how she might feel - and then it struck me how extraordinary it was that Xander, of all people, did the job - and then it struck me how he would feel about all that, and this is the result. So glad you liked.