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Summary: Jessie is having a difficult time understanding where her heart belongs… can Buzz help her figure it out? One-shot.
Words: 2,054
Disclaimer: Just a fan. I wish I could say I owned TS3, but I’ll leave all the credit to Mr. Unkrich. 
A/N: I absolutely love the credits of Toy Story 3; Buzz and Jessie’s dance was absolutely darling. Soooo. I decided to write a short one-shot with what I believed to be the events leading up to it. I tried to keep the cuteness and innocence of their relationship towards the end, but I wanted to add a lil’ more emotional depth to it. And here we are! 
Thank you so much for reading!
Slight TS3 spoilers; slight. You might have to see the credits to understand the ending.
“BUZZ! Buzz, hey, wait,” Jessie called out as she caught up to Buzz’s pace. It was nearly a day after the gang had become familiarized with their new life at Bonnie’s; friendships had been made, and old habits broken. Bonnie was at swim practice with her mother, allowing the toys to roam around the house freely. Jessie watched all of this from afar, happiness manifested in her smile. Her eyes, though, seemed to tell an opposing story.
Buzz’s true affection for Jessie had been flourished quite unsubtly while he was trapped in his Spanish mode. Somewhere in the depths of his subconscious, he regarded her as his “desert flower”. The glance he had thrown her way in the incinerator, along with the simple gesture of grabbing her hand, proved his sincere feelings for her. Each piece of evidence was practically writing on the wall, for all Jessie cared; that gave her comfort. She knew Buzz genuinely cared for her, so why did something feel amiss?
She yelled his name once more, locking onto his full attention. “Jessie!” Buzz greeted her with a smile as she ran up to him. Jessie returned the smile, but remained silent. As she had consistently declared her confidence and outgoing demeanor in the past, Buzz naturally began to perceive the awkwardness in the air; this was something he was not used to. Ogling over her beauty and attempting to find a subject matter to discuss, he reached his hand to the back of his neck and blushed. “I was, uh, j-just heading over to assist Trixie and Rex with their, um, computer c-console, if you would like to come… with, uh, me.” What followed was such a diminutive nervous laugh, Jessie had to question if she really heard it. She gazed at him for a few seconds more, her eyes attempting to bore past his anxiousness. No matter how hard she squinted, though, the task was nearly impossible.
“C’mon, Buzz. I’m gonna take ya somewhere.”
As before, Buzz glanced at Jessie with a synonymous nervous contortion upon his face. Nevertheless, he took hold of her outreached hand and began to follow her out of Bonnie’s room. He trusted her.
Hand in hand, they swiftly passed the laundry room and bathroom. Down the stairs they went, through the foyer area. They walked and they walked for what seemed like eternity (in a toy’s perspective), until they reached the windowsill in the living room. Jessie hopped up with no effort, doing so as if she had a million times prior to this. She glanced down at Buzz, who was safely stationed on the ground. He wasn’t quite positive what made him more uneasy- the risk of a neighbor witnessing them full of life, or the fact that Jessie wanted to “talk”. In all the years he had become close to her, she was never the one to initiate an emotional conversation. Sure, she had flirted with him countless times, but it was always his belief (and slight comfort) that she would never attempt to “talk”. If she did so, he would be obligated to reveal to her what she should never be aware of.
Breaking free from his thoughts, Buzz glimpsed at Jessie sitting atop the windowsill. The assimilation of the sunlight flooding through the window, her sparkling emerald eyes, loose red braid flowing down her back- all topped off with a smirk that screamed, “Well? Ya comin’, space boy?” Buzz smiled as he hurdled himself onto the windowsill; that was his Jessie, alright.
The two remained wordless for a number of minutes, seated next to each other with one hand atop the other. They watched the activity occurring outside of Bonnie’s house: a mother teaching her son how to ride a bike, two teenagers grasping hands as they strolled on the sidewalk, an elderly couple gazing at each other whilst sitting on a bench. “Ya see all of them out there, Buzz?” Buzz nearly jumped when Jessie broke the silence that was engulfing them. Before he had a chance to respond, Jessie spoke up reiteratively. “Lookit,” she pointed. “That lil’ guy over there has his mom to take care of him. That boy and girl walkin’ right over there on the sidewalk? Well, they’re just fine together. They don’t need anyone else. And those two old 'uns over there-” she slapped her knee, scaring Buzz once more- “why, would you look at them? All those years, and they still depend on love to get them through. Nothin’ else.” Buzz glanced over at Jessie, struggling to comprehend where she was taking the conversation. He didn’t look away as she continued- he couldn’t. “They all belong to someone. The little boy to his mom, the girl to the boy, and the grandma to the grandpa.” Longing saturated Jessie’s eyes as she turned to look at Buzz. “I- I want to belong somewhere, Buzz. I want someone to hold me, to stroke my hair again. I want someone to say that they love me; I want to hear it.” She sighed. “Somewhere along the way I stopped puttin’ all my trust in owners. Sure, they’ve all been the best any toy could ask for- 'specially Andy.” They both smiled at the mention of his name. “But there’s Emily, Andy, Bonnie… I’m not really anyone’s toy. Just a hand-me-down.” Buzz’s heart ached at the sound of this. All he desired right then and there was to grab her, pull her into a great big hug, and tell her everything would be okay; he couldn’t bring himself to it, though. This openly emotional aspect of Jessie’s personality was something of novelty to him. It granted him a sense of complacency. Maybe telling her his secret wouldn’t be so difficult after all.
“Y’know, Emily, Andy, Bonnie- they all look at me and what do they see? Plastic. I’m just a hunk of plastic to them.” No, Buzz wanted to tell her. No, Jessie, you’re so much more than that. “They don’t even know we all have souls; they can’t, Buzz. I’m just… even startin’ to wonder if anyone loves me for me, not the fun they have with me. I want my heart to belong to someone; I want to know it, too.”
“Lookit Woody, for Pete’s sake. Bo Peep is gone, and she ain’t ever comin’ back. But that boy still loves her like there’s no tomorrow.” Jessie sighed as she pulled her knees to her chest, releasing his hand. “It’s not even that I want something like that anymore; I- I need it, Buzz.”
And so, the valiant cowgirl let a single tear slip from her eye. Buzz refused to refrain himself this time around, and embraced her like he never had before. “Jessie…” he whispered, his throat hoarse from not being utilized for such an extended period of time. The single tear that slipped from her eye filled him with an emotion he was unable to comprehend; he almost felt protective of her. He squeezed his arms around her before he pulled away. “Jessie, listen, I… I’m sorry.” Jessie drew her face from her knees, listening to Buzz with curiousity.
“Why are you-”
“Wait,” Buzz interrupted. “I’m sure someone’s already told you, but when I first arrived at Andy’s, I… wasn’t exactly who I am today. I was a bit deluded, believing that I was a real space ranger. It was like I was a stranger to myself.”
“Oh, trust me, Buzz, I know the feeling,” Jessie chuckled. Not yet aware of his previous commitment to Lotso at Sunnyside, Buzz shrugged the comment off, thinking another toy had already narrated his story to her.
“After many, many adversities, Woody finally helped me find myself and who I was truly meant to be. Things were easier. Even so, I would watch him… focus on his mannerisms. The mannerisms a common toy should posses were still slightly foreign to me. The most prominent aspect of Woody’s personality I noticed was his love and devotion for others: protecting the rest of us and, of course, committing himself to Andy.” Each of them smiled at the fond memories accompanied with the latter portion of the sentence. “What always fascinated me most, though, was his love for Bo.” Jessie looked at Buzz, a sort of passion filling her to the brim. This was the first occurrence where he had opened up to her, allowed his thoughts to pour out without stumbling upon his words.
“I had never seen such interaction between two toys prior to that. They truly loved each other. By that point, two emotions overtook me- jealously, but also hope. Jealously due to the fact that I was lacking someone like that, but hope because I knew I would find her one day.”
“When I was first properly introduced to you, Jessie, I understood what Woody felt with Bo.” Jessie blushed and threw Buzz a small smile. “You were just, so… perfect. Incredibly perfect. I’d never been aware that there were girls out there like you.” He sighed. “Anyway, I’m sure you know by now that I become a bit, uh… nervous, heh, in your presence.” Jessie laughed in agreement. “I had always wanted things between us to grow as strong as what Woody and Bo had-” Buzz was nearly sweating out of nervousness now- “but I never initiated anything. I was, u-uh… afraid. Blast, I was so frightened that you would reject me if I did initiate anything. I-I didn’t want to lose you. So, Jessie-” he took her hand now- “I am truly and deeply sorry for any doubt I imprinted into your mind. You are the most special toy I have ever had the pleasure of coming across; you’ve brought so much joy to my life. So, for that, I would also like to say thank you. You can trust that your heart always has and always will belong with me.”
Jessie stared. She stared and she stared for what was seemingly forever. She stared, all until she couldn’t hold it back any longer. A giggle escaped her sealed lips, begging to break the silence. The giggles reached a greater frequency, until, to Buzz’s confusion, Jessie was practically gasping for breath from such a laugh attack. She slapped her knee, unmistakable and genuine amusement plastered to her face. Oh no, Buzz thought. This is exactly what was not supposed to happen.
Through her fits of laughter, Jessie managed to look up at Buzz. “You mean to tell me that Buzz Lightyear, THE Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, is afraid of a girl?” One more spell of laughter followed. “Ohh, Buzz! Buzz, look at me, will you?” Buzz gazed into her eyes, dismay saturated into his own. “Buzz, listen. I love you. Did you really not see all the times I was flirtin’ with you, or all those glances Woody would throw in my direction whenever you came around? I ain’t ever ‘rejecting’ you, space ranger. Face it: you’re stuck with me forever.” She looked at Buzz, who was flooded with relief. “Well then,” he said, “I don’t think I’ll be trying to escape anytime soon.” He touched his forehead to hers out of pure joy and happiness. They stayed like this for a good minute, wordlessly communicating. Jessie was the first to pull away. “So, waitwaitwait,” she ordered. “You’re tellin’ me that since you’re not scared anymore to declare your love for me…” (a dramatic hand gesture accompanied) “You’ll have no trouble doin’ just that in front of everyone else?” Buzz scoffed. “You’re on, cowgirl.”
A new day had passed, adventures with Bonnie and her toys passing along with it. It was an apparent common day for the toys, who had grouped themselves with other toys. All except Jessie. She stood against Bonnie’s radio that Woody had helped her shift to the ground, slyness and pride hidden in her eyes. She gazed in Buzz’s direction. He was assisting another toy with one of Bonnie’s “spaceships”; that is, until Jessie pressed play. Spaceships could wait… he had a challenge to fulfill. Much to his own surprise, Buzz’s hips began to sway with the latin music emitted from the speakers. It took a few spins and turns, but he soon found himself dipping Jessie low to the ground as the music continued on. “I, heh, I don’t know what came over me,” he managed as he blushed. Jessie smiled. “Just go with it, Buzz.”
