A/N: Got another story for you guys. Just a little concept of why it might have taken Buzz and Jessie so long to get together. I have a ton of ideas that revolve around this particular subject; this just happens to be the first one I posted. I hope it's not too boring to read, lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own Toy Story or any of its characters.

"Hey, Buzz!"

Woody finished making his rounds and walked over to his best friend. Seeing as it was summer vacation, Andy and his family had went to see their grandparents in Florida and wouldn't be back till next week. So, it was just a typical day in Andy's bedroom...for most of the toys, anyway.

"Hi, Woody," The space ranger waved before focusing back on his game of Solitaire.

"Guess what day it is."

Buzz looked up at his friend, confused. "Uh...Tuesday?"

"That's right," Woody nodded. "Which means, it's been exactly one year since you said you would tell Jessie how you feel."

"How I feel about what?" Buzz asked, distracted.

"Her, Buzz."

He flinched, his hand frozen on the next card of the deck.

"It's actually been two years since Jessie and Bullseye got here," Woody continued. "But after the first year, it was obvious that you still needed another year to get the confidence to bring this up with her and now..." The cowboy spread his arms out wide before placing them back at his sides.

"Right," Buzz cleared his throat, returning back to his game. "Well, it's already been two years. I don't see how waiting one more year could hurt." He coughed and added under his breath, "Or five."

Woody crossed his arms. "You're telling her."

"Or what?"

The cowboy smirked. "Or I am."

Buzz flinched again. "You wouldn't."

He shrugged. "If you say so." Woody then attempted to walk away, but Buzz yanked him back.

"No, wait!" The space ranger stood up in front of his friend. "You can't tell her."

"Then you have to."

"But..." Buzz sighed and dropped his head. "I don't know how to."

Woody shook his head and placed a hand on the space ranger's shoulder. "Buzz, you're making this out to be way more difficult than it actually is."

"No, I'm not," He insisted. "A-and even if I could tell her, what about afterward?

"I don't know," Woody shrugged. "Then you can both be happy together."

"I'm not talking about it she actually returns my feelings."

The cowboy blinked. "You think she won't?"

"Well," Buzz paused. "It's not like it's completely out of the realm of possibilities."

Woody wanted to convince his best friend that there was no chance of that, but truth be told, Jessie's outlooks, choices, and decisions for certain things surprised him sometimes.

His hand found Buzz's shoulder again. "At least you'll know. At least you won't have to go your whole life wondering, 'what if'."

Buzz didn't look up.

"It won't be so bad," Woody tried. "I mean, remember when Molly first got Barbie and Wheezy went and told her he had a huge crush on her, but Barbie didn't feel the same way?"

"Yeah, things were awkward between them for weeks."

"But they got past it," Woody said, shaking his friend slightly. "And now they're best friends!" His eyes traveled over to where Barbie and Wheezy were taking turns singing karaoke on Mike's microphone.

Buzz followed Woody's gaze. "I guess so."

"So, what's stopping you from talking to Jessie?"

"I don't want there to be an awkward time between us," Buzz admitted. "Even if it doesn't last forever."

"You're going to have to tell her, Buzz."

"Why?" He insisted. "What's wrong with the way things are now?"

"You're miserable now!"

"And I'll be even more miserable if she turns me down."

"She's not going to turn you down!"

"How can you possibly know that?"

"Because you're one of her best friends," Woody answered.

Buzz blinked.

"And even if she doesn't feel the same way you do," He said. "She wouldn't ever reject you. Not as a friend."

He lowered his head again. "I don't know, Woody."

"You do realize I'm still not against telling her myself, right?"

Buzz glanced up, narrowing his eyes.

"Look," The cowboy began. "She just went down to watch a movie. She's alone with no distractions. It's the perfect chance to talk to her, one on one."

The space ranger looked towards the bedroom door, nervously kicking his boot against the floor.

"It's better to get it over with now than waiting another year wondering," Woody said, and then added, "Not to mention all the bothering I'll be doing over the next year, as well."

"That does sound pretty tempting," Buzz smirked.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

He sighed. "You promise me, no matter what Jessie decides, things won't change between her and me?"

He couldn't, but Woody couldn't let his friend put this off for any longer. "I promise."

"Okay, here goes," Buzz said, sucking in a deep breath and walked out of the bedroom. "Wish me luck!" He called over his shoulder.

A few minutes later, Buzz reached the family room, his breath catching as soon as he caught sight of Jessie's vibrant red yarn hair.

He walked over to the couch and coughed into his fist. "Jessie?"

There was the sound of rustling before the cowgirl's head peeked out from over a cushion. She smiled brightly. "Hey, Buzz, come on up!"

He hesitantly complied, his legs shaking as he climbed his way up the side of the couch.

Jessie patted the spot beside her and Buzz sat down, keeping a safe distance between the two of them.

He cleared his throat. "So, w-what are you watching?"

"Never Been Kissed," She replied. "It's a romantic comedy. At least, I hope it is. A movie's not worth watching unless it's funny, ya know?"

Buzz nodded, his cheeks burning as soon as Jessie leaned against him to get comfortable. Then she grabbed the remote and pressed "play".

Much to the toys delight, the movie had plenty of funny lines to keep them entertained. When the movie came to a quiet, slightly dramatic scene, Buzz took the opportunity to talk to the cowgirl.

He cleared his throat. "Hey, J-Jessie?"

She looked up from his shoulder with sleepy eyes. "Yeah, Buzz?"

"Can...Can I ask you something?"

She smiled. "Of course."

"I like – er, I mean...do you, well..." He trailed off.

Jessie blinked her sleepy eyes, curiously, making it even harder for Buzz to concentrate, if possible. "Yes?"

He inwardly sighed. "H-how are you enjoying the movie?"

She grinned wider. "I'm really likin' it so far." She frowned, her eyes now worried. "Aren't you?"

"Oh, er, of course," He answered, though, truth be told, he was barely paying any attention to the movie.

She smiled again, returning her gaze back to the television.

Buzz bit his lip and spoke up once more, despite himself. "Hey. Jessie?"

"Mhm?" She asked, not bothering to turn away from the movie this time.

His throat closed up immediately. He could hear Woody in his head, mocking him.

"What are you waiting for? This is the best chance you're ever going to get!"

"I don't care," Buzz silently told the voice. "I can't do it."

"You're crazy," The tiny Woody muttered. "Look at her! She's all over you! You're watching a romantic movie together...she's cuddling up beside you...what other signs do you need? A big glowing, 'I love Buzz' stamped to her forehead?"

Buzz shook his head angrily, giving himself a slight headache. Maybe he was just being stubborn, but this was just how him and Jessie were. They were close. Best friends. It didn't mean she loved him or anything. They were friends. Just friends. And he was fine with that, no matter what Woody said. Besides, he'd seen Jessie and Woody closer than this when they got into a tackle together.

Jessie yawned, snuggling even closer into Buzz's side. His cheeks went red. Well, almost this close.

Jessie felt Buzz tense underneath her. She looked up, pulling away just enough to give the space ranger's cheeks a chance to cool off. "Buzz?"

He blinked. "Hmm?"

"Did ya want to tell me something?"

"Oh. Right," Buzz stuttered. He paused for an instant. "N-never mind."

"Are ya sure?"

"Yeah," He brushed it aside. "Forget about it."

She stared at him for a second, squinting in the low light. Then she shrugged. "Okay."

They went back to watching the movie without another word. About halfway through it, however, Jessie fell asleep. Getting pretty tired himself, Buzz shut off the TV and carried the cowgirl upstairs.

After gently placing her in bed, Buzz ran into Woody, who had a wide grin on his face.

"So," He said, unsubtly peeking his head over Buzz's shoulder to glance at Jessie's sleeping form. "How did it go?"

"It didn't," Buzz said with a sigh.

"What do you mean?" Woody asked. "You did talk to her, didn't you?"

"Yes," He answered automatically.

"Oh." The cowboy's face fell immediately. "I'm sorry, buddy." It wasn't till Woody wrapped an arm around Buzz's shoulders that he realized what Woody had thought from his single word.

"Well, at least you know now, right?"

"Yeah," Buzz mumbled through a nod. "R-right."

Woody put on a smile and patted his friend on the back. "Don't worry, the awkward stage doesn't last that long." He gave Buzz one more comforting pat and walked off.

The space ranger kinda felt bad about giving Woody the wrong idea about what happened, but at least he wouldn't have to hear about all this "tell Jessie" nonsense anymore.

Now everything could go back to normal. Back to the way things were. With him and Jessie being just friends. With him just loving her from afar. Where nothing happened, but nothing could go wrong. And he was fine with that.

"I'm fine with that," He said, trying to convince himself aloud. He looked over at Jessie, still sound asleep. "I think."

...

A/N: As usual, ending went through a lot of changes. I'm pretty satisfied with what I stuck with, though. Also, I was originally gonna have "500 Days of Summer" as their movie of choice, but then I remembered that this story would have taken place back in the early 2000's, so I went with "Never Been Kissed" instead, lol. Thanks for reading.