He hadn’t meant to grab her too hard, but Xander wanted to get her out of the crowd long enough to have this little private conversation, and he didn’t want her causing a scene before he got his piece out. Thankfully it had all seemed to work out. She was small to him because she was young, not necessarily because she was short. He did notice her posture change, he thought it was funny, but he hid a smile. The thought of her ever meeting Gibbons made him laugh, almost out loud. She’d see then just why he’d called him Frankenstein. 

“Whatever. Nicole, then.” he repeated, mulling over the situation he found himself in now, offering to help her learn how to stick it to the Man better, and not get caught should she try the same thing next time with someone who’d take her down the alley and do something a lot less nice than he’d done. 

Xander chuckled, “All right, there’s a good one a couple blocks up.” He started walking, not even looking back. She’d follow. He didn’t want to make small talk with her, figured she was beneath that, and who needed to be prodded about their situation when they were obviously living on the streets. She wasn’t too dirty, her clothes seemed in decent shape, so at least for the basics, she seemed to be doing all right, but he was already figuring on offering her the couch in his warehouse loft. “I think I’m gonna get a chocolate shake.”