Xander loves Willow.
She'd written that on his notebook when they were ten and "dating" for a week.
It had been true then.
And it was true now.
Xander loves Willow. It was more than friendship, more than family, even more than the way lovers feel for each other. Willow was his soulmate through and through and his life would forever be connected to hers.
The two months she'd been gone had eaten at him. She was still a sobbing, hysterical mess when Giles had taken her away and her fingers had remained clenched around his shirt until the absolute moment she had to let go.
He hadn't slept for a week after she left, so filled with fear and worry that something would happen. That his Willow needed him.
But she was back now. She was okay.
He knew she hadn't hurt that man. He knew that what happened with Warren was a symptom of her grief. His Willow would never really hurt anyone. Now…now she was better. She was home.
And still she was too far from him. He told Buffy he was going to stay on the couch for the night, that he was too tired to head home, all of ten minutes away.
Really he waited until she was asleep and crept up the stairs, finding her sleeping deeply.
She stirred slightly as he slid in next to her and whispered, "Xander?"
"Yeah, it's just me Wills," he said, sighing with happiness as her body curved around his.
"'Kay….love you."
He smiled, wrapping an arm around her and closing his eyes, "Love you, my Willow."
Now…now he was home.