Change of Hearts Series
Story one: Anya's Bad Day (1/1)
By: Evil Willow
Rating: PG-13...Spike swears
Spoilers: Season 4 of Buffy, up through Pangs.
Category: Story, Romance. I can't decide if this is a funny story
with a little bit of angst, or an angsty story with a little bit of
humor. You decide...
Couples: Anya/Xander at first, then Willow/Xan and Anya/Spike.
Feedback: Sure! lcaspell@yahoo.com
Distribution: If you want it, why not. Just email me first to let me
know where it's going.
Disclaimer: They belong to Joss. I'm just borrowing them to create a
story that he would never in a million years think of, so
what does he care? ;-)
Author's notes:
Summary: Buffy is off to L.A. to visit Angel after finding out about
his visit to Sunnydale over Thanksgiving. Xander and Willow spend
some time together, which leads to interesting changes in the Scooby
Gang's couple pairings.
Author's notes: This is a response to Goddess Isa's "I know My
Calculus" challenge. For details, see the end of the fic. Thanks for
leading me to this idea Isa! Oh, and I've removed Riley from the
face of the earth, at Isa's request. The Initiative exists, but he doesn't.
Words in * * are either emphasized, or thoughts. You'll be able to figure out
which it is.
***************
Giles' apartment...
"Will you two stop with the tonsil-hockey already!!!! You've been at
it all morning. It's almost noon for God's sake!!" Spike
bellowed. "And take off that stupid thing!!" He added. The objects of
his frustration were Xander and Anya, who was sitting on Xander's lap.
The "thing" he referred to was the plastic tiara Anya was wearing.
"Bite me," Anya said with a grin.
"AAAAAGH!" Spike leapt up to try to comply with Anya's request,
but the computer chip sent a shooting pain into his brain. He flopped
back down on his chair. "That wasn't funny! Not funny at all, you
twit!" He yelled.
"Geez, Spike. I guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks,"
Xander said with an amused smile.
"Oh, shut the hell up," Spike muttered.
"Please!" Giles entered the room, holding a tobacco pipe in his
hand. "Would you three stop bickering for five minutes? ...What are
you wearing???" he added as he noticed Anya's accessorizing.
"It's a tiara," Anya replied as if that explained everything.
"Yes, but it's plastic," Giles said stating the obvious.
"So? And if we're on the 'what are you wearing' kick, what are YOU
wearing!" she retorted.
Giles looked down at his smoking jacket. "This? It's a
smoking jacket. I like it. It reminds me of being at home. In
England. Where everyone acts like civilized human beings" and
retreats to the kitchen. "I need a drink," he sighed. "Spike?
Blood?"
"Sure," Spike answered. "I'll get it," he added. "Anything to get away
from these two." He joined Giles in retreat to the kitchen.
Anya noticed the newspaper on the coffee table. "OH MY GOD!" she
squealed and jumped up.
"Who died? What happened?" Xander asked worriedly.
"I'm missing the big sale at the mall!!!!" she wailed. She rushed
around the room, hurriedly gathering up her things.
Xander stood watching her for a moment, trying to decide how to ask
her what he intended. He finally got up the courage. "Anya, Sweetie, would you be
really mad if I didn't go with you?"
She stopped in her frantic rush, and said, "Oh, that's fine, Xander.
I'll get more done without you, anyway...No offense."
"None taken. I'll walk you at least as far as the campus, though, if
you want. I'll go see what Willow's up to," he said.
"Okay, let's go," she said and dragged him out the door.
Spike returned to the living room. "Now there goes someone who
is almost as psychotic as I am," he said with a grin.
"Spike, if I didn't know any better, I would think that was a
compliment," Giles said as he entered the room, looking at Spike
thoughtfully.
"COMPLIMENT??? ME compliment that.... that... twit???" Spike yelled in
disbelief.
"I believe you already called her that," Giles replied, a grin on his
face.
"That's because she is! She's a .... a..."
"A pretty girl?" Giles offered mischievously.
"WHAT????" Spike roared, following it with some sputtering.
Finally, he ended with "Bloody hell!" He grabbed his duster, threw it
over himself and ran off into the sunlight in search of a better
place to spend the day.
************
Outside...
Xander and Anya were walking toward the college campus, hand in hand.
Anya started singing, "I know my calculus, it says you plus me equals
us. I know my calculus, it says you plus me equals us, I know my
calculus, it says you plus me equals us."
She stopped singing as she noticed Xander's perplexed look. "What??? I
like the song, but those are the only words I know!" she said self-
consciously.
"That's okay," Xander chuckled. "I like your singing."
She smiled at him and they continued on to the dorm. Amazingly, Anya went
back to the song, repeating the same line until they reached the
dorm. "See you later?" She asked.
"Of course," he answered with a smile. "I'll call you tonight."
"Okay!" Anya gave him a quick kiss and walked on to the mall. Xander
chuckled as he heard "I know my calculus, it says you and me equals
us" fading off into the distance.
*********
Buffy and Willow's dorm room...
Willow sat at her desk, studying. "I HATE calculus!!! she
screamed and threw the offending book at the door. A knock at the
door followed the book's impact, and Willow jumped with surprise. "Come
in."
"Hey, Will," Xander said as he entered.
"Oh, hi," she replied with a sheepish smile.
"Looks like you need a study break," Xander smiled.
"Um," Willow said hesitantly, "I dunno. Third wheel and all
that."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Xander said and
quickly amended it to, "I mean, not that you are *ever* a third wheel. I
didn't mean to imply that at all. But what I was trying to say was,
Anya rushed off to go shopping. Something about a sale, a matter of
life or death, I think," he shrugged. "So anyway, I hate eating alone.
Whatd'ya say, Willow? Pleez?" He ended by giving her his best puppy
dog look.
*Yeah, like I'd ever refuse him anything...WHAT? Where did THAT come
from?*
"Uh, sure, Xander," she replied with a smile. "Give me five
minutes?"
"Sure, I'll wait in the lobby" Xander said as he turned to go downstairs.
Five minutes later, Willow realized she had spent way too much time
contemplating her wardrobe. "Just lunch, silly. With Xander,"
she admonishes herself. "Xander who is involved with Anya," she reminded
herself. "And I, who am waiting for Oz to come back." Having
gotten that straight, she went down to the lobby to meet Xander.
********
Thirty minutes later, sat at McDonalds, laughing and
enjoying small talk. Xander recounted the story of his and Anya's
enjoyable morning tormenting Spike, and Willow laughed
appreciatively. "I almost feel sorry for him, though," she said.
"Say what? He's a vampire! Buffy should have staked him a LONG time
ago!" Xander said, irritated at the thought that ANYONE could feel
sorry for Spike.
"Yeah, but he's harmless now," Willow insisted. "And besides, can you
really tell me it's not just a little pathetic that he can't do the
one thing he's driven to do anymore?" she asked.
"Uh, yes, I think I *can* say that, Willow. Do I NEED to remind you
that he went to your and Buffy's room and tried to kill you?" Xander
asked. "If he hadn't had that computer chip implanted....I don't even
want to think about that," he finished, shaking his head at the
morbid thought.
"Yeah, the Initiative saved me, big freaking deal," Willow muttered
under her breath. Unfortunately, not softly enough.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Xander asked, his eyes searching her face.
"Nothing, forget it, nevermind. So how are you and Anya doing?" she
attempted to change the subject.
"Uh-uh. Not so fast, Will. Did you mean that?" Xander pressed, a worried
expression on his face now.
"So what if I did?" Willow replied angrily. "So WHAT if that computer
chip saved me from certain death? Maybe I don't think that's such a
good thing! Maybe I'm *sick* of being everyone's happy friend Willow.
Buffy's got her Angel angst, and *I* have to be her strong best friend,
because she needs me! Well, why can't I have angst too??? And who do I
have, to help me deal with it?! Nobody!"
She looked around then, realizing the whole restaurant was staring at
her. Without another word, she ran outside. She kept running, not knowing
or caring where she was heading. The tears streamed down her face, as she
finally accepted what she had known for quite a while. She was totally alone.
Xander ran after her, and finally caught up with her outside her
dorm. "Willow!" He yelled for about the fiftieth time, as he grabbed her
arm. He turned her to face him, and she tried to break away.
"Leave me alone," she sobbed.
"Not in this lifetime," Xander said and pulled her to him in a hug. He
rested his cheek on the top of her head and asked, "You asked, who do
you have? Well, you know who you have, Willow. You have me."
"No I don't," Willow said, struggling against him. "Anya has you.
I'm just good old Willow, your friend who you grew up with."
"You SO do not get it, Willow!" he said, shaking his head. He removed
one arm from around her waist, and placed it under her her chin to
force her to look into his face. "And I'll admit, I'm not the
greatest at saying things right, so it's my fault. I've been so stupid, such a
coward for so long, that it's probably too late now. But I don't
care."
He takes a deep breath, as Willow just looked at him
questioningly. "I love you, Willow Rosenberg. I've loved you for
years. After that whole fiasco with Cordy, I got scared. Scared that
I could hurt her like that, instead of facing up to my feelings and ending it
with her before she found out about us the wrong way. And when you
started going out with Oz... I thought that if he made you happy, that
was good. You deserved that. But I never stopped loving you. I know you
probably don't feel that way about me anymore, if you ever did,
but I just wanted you to know--"
Willow let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding
during this declaration, and interrupted him. "Xander."
"Yeah?" he asked uncertainly.
"The reason I was really freaked, when Oz left, didn't have anything to do
with him. I mean, yeah, I was sad. I thought we were trying to
make it work between us. But the real reason I was so upset was that his
leaving made me face something." Now it was her turn to take a deep breath.
*I cannot believe I'm gonna say this. I'm out of my mind.
But I don't care, it's now or never.*
"Xander, I thought that by now I'd totally lost any chance of ever
being with the guy I really love. The only guy I've ever loved, since
I was like ten," she smiled at him shyly. "You, Xander. It's only
ever been you," she admitted, as a tear slipped down her face.
He reached up to brush it away. "Tell me I'm not dreaming."
*I can do better than tell you,* she thought and smiled at him
mischeivously.
He looks at her questioningly, until she reached up to wrap her arms
around his neck and pull his face down to meet hers. He figured it
out then and kissed her gently. He lifted his head to look into her
eyes. "Okay, so it's not a dream," he conceded with a grin. "So why
did we wait so long, anyway?"
"I dunno," Willow replied. "But what do we do now?" she wondered. *Is
there really a next move?*
"We *are* going to be together, Willow," Xander answered. "That is what
you want, isn't it? Or am I just assuming--"
She kissed him again, and he said, "Okay. Dumb question. But I'm
full of those, ya know. It's part of my boyish charm," he added with a
grin.
Willow laughed, and hits him playfully. She went serious again,
and said, "But seriously, Xander. If you want this...what
about Anya?"
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair in a gesture of
frustration. "I need to talk to Anya," he agreed. "I'll do it today."
"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Willow asked. "She's going
to be really upset."
"I have to be fair to her, Will. I can't stay with her. I should
never have gotten involved with her, not when I was still in love
with you. But I need to be honest with her now and
hope that someday she'll forgive me," Xander said. He pulled Willow
close. "Please tell me you'll be here, waiting?" he asked.
She met his eyes and flashed him a smile. "I've waited this long,
haven't I? I can wait a few more hours." She kissed him once more and then
finally extricated herself from his grasp. "I should go now. I'll see you..."
"Tonight," Xander answered.
"Good!" she smiled and then practically skipped inside. Xander stood outside
staring at the door for a while and walked down the sidewalk
whistling happily. *I'm not looking forward to talking to Anya, but
this is the right thing. Willow and I belong together. *
************
Xander didn't see Anya standing behind a row of bushes, tears
running down her face. She had been walking back home from the mall
after striking out on the sales; and had stopped at the dorm on a
whim, hoping to catch Xander. Instead, she got to watch her boyfriend
declare his love to Willow. She watched him leave and then ran down
the street in the opposite direction, as her heart broke into a
million tiny pieces.
She reached Angel's old mansion, and she stopped. *At least *there's* a
place I can be alone. Alone to contemplate Xander's horrible death.*
She walked inside and sat down in the living room. She finally let go and
screaed, "DAMN YOU, XANDER HARRIS!"
"Hey, not so loud," A voice with a familiar British accent spoke from
another room. "Although I don't mind the sentiment," Spike added as he
walked into the room.
"YOU! I don't need to deal with *you* right now!" she yelled and turned
to go.
"Hold on there," he said, grabbing her by the arm.
"Don't mess with me, you--you--vampire!" she spat out as she tried to
free herself.
"If I was gonna try to hurt you, that stupid chip wouldn't have even
let me touch you, right?" Spike reasoned quietly.
"I...I guess so," Anya conceded.
"Okay, then. So tell me what Stupid did to piss you off," Spike said.
"Why do you care?" Anya asked suspiciously.
"I...I'm bored. Humor me," Spike shrugged.
Anya's eyes narrowed. *I'm not in the mood for his sarcasm.*
As if reading her mind, Spike added, "I'm not gonna laugh or be
sarcastic, if that's what you're worried about."
"Oh, and you're such a trustworthy person?" Anya countered.
"Look, I'm a vampire, you are/were a demon," Spike said with a sigh.
"I think I understand you a little, probably better than any of those
idiots in the Scooby Gang could. So why don't you give it a shot, Anya.
You might find out I'm not so bad after all."
This uncharacteristic moment of civility from Spike got to her and
she started sobbing. "What the hell?" Spike muttered and awkwardly put
his arms around her, as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Xander--Willow--kiss" Anya managed to get out between sobs.
"Oh," Spike said, understanding now. "That sucks."
Anya found this last remark incredibly funny and giggled, in spite
of herself. "I don't think I've ever heard you used that phrase
before," she said with a small smile as she looked up at him.
"Yeah, well....there's a lot of things you don't know about me," Spike
answered cryptically. He shocked her a second time by brushing the
tears from her face gently.
"Really? Like what?" Anya asked curiously.
"Like I'm not a man of many words," Spike replied. He caught her by
surprise yet again as he leaned in for a kiss. The kiss was passionate,
making his attraction to her very clear.
She didn't react at first, but then decided the turn of events wasn't all that
bad. She kissed him back, tentatively. He was caught by surprise by this
development, and ends the kiss. "Did you just do what I think you did?"
he asked curiously.
"If you think I just kissed you, then yeah," Anya answered with a
smile. "So what do you think?"
"I think...." Spike sat down on the couch, pulling her with him. "I think
The Scooby Gang is going to be sorry they ever messed
with either of us," he chuckled as he leaned in for another kiss.
End pt 1
challenge requirements....
- Willow and Xander together.
- Anya and Spike together.
- Riley doesn't exist.
- The main couple doesn't have to be either of the
above, it can be any
couple that doesn't involve Riley, Graham, Kate,
Jheria or Forest. =)
- Someone has to be walking around singing "I know
my calculus, it says you
plus me equals us." they'll repeat the chorus a few
times and then say "What?
Those are the only lines I know!"
- A tiara.
- Someone wearing a smoking jacket.
Story one: Anya's Bad Day (1/1)
By: Evil Willow
Rating: PG-13...Spike swears
Spoilers: Season 4 of Buffy, up through Pangs.
Category: Story, Romance. I can't decide if this is a funny story
with a little bit of angst, or an angsty story with a little bit of
humor. You decide...
Couples: Anya/Xander at first, then Willow/Xan and Anya/Spike.
Feedback: Sure! lcaspell@yahoo.com
Distribution: If you want it, why not. Just email me first to let me
know where it's going.
Disclaimer: They belong to Joss. I'm just borrowing them to create a
story that he would never in a million years think of, so
what does he care? ;-)
Author's notes:
Summary: Buffy is off to L.A. to visit Angel after finding out about
his visit to Sunnydale over Thanksgiving. Xander and Willow spend
some time together, which leads to interesting changes in the Scooby
Gang's couple pairings.
Author's notes: This is a response to Goddess Isa's "I know My
Calculus" challenge. For details, see the end of the fic. Thanks for
leading me to this idea Isa! Oh, and I've removed Riley from the
face of the earth, at Isa's request. The Initiative exists, but he doesn't.
Words in * * are either emphasized, or thoughts. You'll be able to figure out
which it is.
***************
Giles' apartment...
"Will you two stop with the tonsil-hockey already!!!! You've been at
it all morning. It's almost noon for God's sake!!" Spike
bellowed. "And take off that stupid thing!!" He added. The objects of
his frustration were Xander and Anya, who was sitting on Xander's lap.
The "thing" he referred to was the plastic tiara Anya was wearing.
"Bite me," Anya said with a grin.
"AAAAAGH!" Spike leapt up to try to comply with Anya's request,
but the computer chip sent a shooting pain into his brain. He flopped
back down on his chair. "That wasn't funny! Not funny at all, you
twit!" He yelled.
"Geez, Spike. I guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks,"
Xander said with an amused smile.
"Oh, shut the hell up," Spike muttered.
"Please!" Giles entered the room, holding a tobacco pipe in his
hand. "Would you three stop bickering for five minutes? ...What are
you wearing???" he added as he noticed Anya's accessorizing.
"It's a tiara," Anya replied as if that explained everything.
"Yes, but it's plastic," Giles said stating the obvious.
"So? And if we're on the 'what are you wearing' kick, what are YOU
wearing!" she retorted.
Giles looked down at his smoking jacket. "This? It's a
smoking jacket. I like it. It reminds me of being at home. In
England. Where everyone acts like civilized human beings" and
retreats to the kitchen. "I need a drink," he sighed. "Spike?
Blood?"
"Sure," Spike answered. "I'll get it," he added. "Anything to get away
from these two." He joined Giles in retreat to the kitchen.
Anya noticed the newspaper on the coffee table. "OH MY GOD!" she
squealed and jumped up.
"Who died? What happened?" Xander asked worriedly.
"I'm missing the big sale at the mall!!!!" she wailed. She rushed
around the room, hurriedly gathering up her things.
Xander stood watching her for a moment, trying to decide how to ask
her what he intended. He finally got up the courage. "Anya, Sweetie, would you be
really mad if I didn't go with you?"
She stopped in her frantic rush, and said, "Oh, that's fine, Xander.
I'll get more done without you, anyway...No offense."
"None taken. I'll walk you at least as far as the campus, though, if
you want. I'll go see what Willow's up to," he said.
"Okay, let's go," she said and dragged him out the door.
Spike returned to the living room. "Now there goes someone who
is almost as psychotic as I am," he said with a grin.
"Spike, if I didn't know any better, I would think that was a
compliment," Giles said as he entered the room, looking at Spike
thoughtfully.
"COMPLIMENT??? ME compliment that.... that... twit???" Spike yelled in
disbelief.
"I believe you already called her that," Giles replied, a grin on his
face.
"That's because she is! She's a .... a..."
"A pretty girl?" Giles offered mischievously.
"WHAT????" Spike roared, following it with some sputtering.
Finally, he ended with "Bloody hell!" He grabbed his duster, threw it
over himself and ran off into the sunlight in search of a better
place to spend the day.
************
Outside...
Xander and Anya were walking toward the college campus, hand in hand.
Anya started singing, "I know my calculus, it says you plus me equals
us. I know my calculus, it says you plus me equals us, I know my
calculus, it says you plus me equals us."
She stopped singing as she noticed Xander's perplexed look. "What??? I
like the song, but those are the only words I know!" she said self-
consciously.
"That's okay," Xander chuckled. "I like your singing."
She smiled at him and they continued on to the dorm. Amazingly, Anya went
back to the song, repeating the same line until they reached the
dorm. "See you later?" She asked.
"Of course," he answered with a smile. "I'll call you tonight."
"Okay!" Anya gave him a quick kiss and walked on to the mall. Xander
chuckled as he heard "I know my calculus, it says you and me equals
us" fading off into the distance.
*********
Buffy and Willow's dorm room...
Willow sat at her desk, studying. "I HATE calculus!!! she
screamed and threw the offending book at the door. A knock at the
door followed the book's impact, and Willow jumped with surprise. "Come
in."
"Hey, Will," Xander said as he entered.
"Oh, hi," she replied with a sheepish smile.
"Looks like you need a study break," Xander smiled.
"Um," Willow said hesitantly, "I dunno. Third wheel and all
that."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Xander said and
quickly amended it to, "I mean, not that you are *ever* a third wheel. I
didn't mean to imply that at all. But what I was trying to say was,
Anya rushed off to go shopping. Something about a sale, a matter of
life or death, I think," he shrugged. "So anyway, I hate eating alone.
Whatd'ya say, Willow? Pleez?" He ended by giving her his best puppy
dog look.
*Yeah, like I'd ever refuse him anything...WHAT? Where did THAT come
from?*
"Uh, sure, Xander," she replied with a smile. "Give me five
minutes?"
"Sure, I'll wait in the lobby" Xander said as he turned to go downstairs.
Five minutes later, Willow realized she had spent way too much time
contemplating her wardrobe. "Just lunch, silly. With Xander,"
she admonishes herself. "Xander who is involved with Anya," she reminded
herself. "And I, who am waiting for Oz to come back." Having
gotten that straight, she went down to the lobby to meet Xander.
********
Thirty minutes later, sat at McDonalds, laughing and
enjoying small talk. Xander recounted the story of his and Anya's
enjoyable morning tormenting Spike, and Willow laughed
appreciatively. "I almost feel sorry for him, though," she said.
"Say what? He's a vampire! Buffy should have staked him a LONG time
ago!" Xander said, irritated at the thought that ANYONE could feel
sorry for Spike.
"Yeah, but he's harmless now," Willow insisted. "And besides, can you
really tell me it's not just a little pathetic that he can't do the
one thing he's driven to do anymore?" she asked.
"Uh, yes, I think I *can* say that, Willow. Do I NEED to remind you
that he went to your and Buffy's room and tried to kill you?" Xander
asked. "If he hadn't had that computer chip implanted....I don't even
want to think about that," he finished, shaking his head at the
morbid thought.
"Yeah, the Initiative saved me, big freaking deal," Willow muttered
under her breath. Unfortunately, not softly enough.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Xander asked, his eyes searching her face.
"Nothing, forget it, nevermind. So how are you and Anya doing?" she
attempted to change the subject.
"Uh-uh. Not so fast, Will. Did you mean that?" Xander pressed, a worried
expression on his face now.
"So what if I did?" Willow replied angrily. "So WHAT if that computer
chip saved me from certain death? Maybe I don't think that's such a
good thing! Maybe I'm *sick* of being everyone's happy friend Willow.
Buffy's got her Angel angst, and *I* have to be her strong best friend,
because she needs me! Well, why can't I have angst too??? And who do I
have, to help me deal with it?! Nobody!"
She looked around then, realizing the whole restaurant was staring at
her. Without another word, she ran outside. She kept running, not knowing
or caring where she was heading. The tears streamed down her face, as she
finally accepted what she had known for quite a while. She was totally alone.
Xander ran after her, and finally caught up with her outside her
dorm. "Willow!" He yelled for about the fiftieth time, as he grabbed her
arm. He turned her to face him, and she tried to break away.
"Leave me alone," she sobbed.
"Not in this lifetime," Xander said and pulled her to him in a hug. He
rested his cheek on the top of her head and asked, "You asked, who do
you have? Well, you know who you have, Willow. You have me."
"No I don't," Willow said, struggling against him. "Anya has you.
I'm just good old Willow, your friend who you grew up with."
"You SO do not get it, Willow!" he said, shaking his head. He removed
one arm from around her waist, and placed it under her her chin to
force her to look into his face. "And I'll admit, I'm not the
greatest at saying things right, so it's my fault. I've been so stupid, such a
coward for so long, that it's probably too late now. But I don't
care."
He takes a deep breath, as Willow just looked at him
questioningly. "I love you, Willow Rosenberg. I've loved you for
years. After that whole fiasco with Cordy, I got scared. Scared that
I could hurt her like that, instead of facing up to my feelings and ending it
with her before she found out about us the wrong way. And when you
started going out with Oz... I thought that if he made you happy, that
was good. You deserved that. But I never stopped loving you. I know you
probably don't feel that way about me anymore, if you ever did,
but I just wanted you to know--"
Willow let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding
during this declaration, and interrupted him. "Xander."
"Yeah?" he asked uncertainly.
"The reason I was really freaked, when Oz left, didn't have anything to do
with him. I mean, yeah, I was sad. I thought we were trying to
make it work between us. But the real reason I was so upset was that his
leaving made me face something." Now it was her turn to take a deep breath.
*I cannot believe I'm gonna say this. I'm out of my mind.
But I don't care, it's now or never.*
"Xander, I thought that by now I'd totally lost any chance of ever
being with the guy I really love. The only guy I've ever loved, since
I was like ten," she smiled at him shyly. "You, Xander. It's only
ever been you," she admitted, as a tear slipped down her face.
He reached up to brush it away. "Tell me I'm not dreaming."
*I can do better than tell you,* she thought and smiled at him
mischeivously.
He looks at her questioningly, until she reached up to wrap her arms
around his neck and pull his face down to meet hers. He figured it
out then and kissed her gently. He lifted his head to look into her
eyes. "Okay, so it's not a dream," he conceded with a grin. "So why
did we wait so long, anyway?"
"I dunno," Willow replied. "But what do we do now?" she wondered. *Is
there really a next move?*
"We *are* going to be together, Willow," Xander answered. "That is what
you want, isn't it? Or am I just assuming--"
She kissed him again, and he said, "Okay. Dumb question. But I'm
full of those, ya know. It's part of my boyish charm," he added with a
grin.
Willow laughed, and hits him playfully. She went serious again,
and said, "But seriously, Xander. If you want this...what
about Anya?"
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair in a gesture of
frustration. "I need to talk to Anya," he agreed. "I'll do it today."
"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Willow asked. "She's going
to be really upset."
"I have to be fair to her, Will. I can't stay with her. I should
never have gotten involved with her, not when I was still in love
with you. But I need to be honest with her now and
hope that someday she'll forgive me," Xander said. He pulled Willow
close. "Please tell me you'll be here, waiting?" he asked.
She met his eyes and flashed him a smile. "I've waited this long,
haven't I? I can wait a few more hours." She kissed him once more and then
finally extricated herself from his grasp. "I should go now. I'll see you..."
"Tonight," Xander answered.
"Good!" she smiled and then practically skipped inside. Xander stood outside
staring at the door for a while and walked down the sidewalk
whistling happily. *I'm not looking forward to talking to Anya, but
this is the right thing. Willow and I belong together. *
************
Xander didn't see Anya standing behind a row of bushes, tears
running down her face. She had been walking back home from the mall
after striking out on the sales; and had stopped at the dorm on a
whim, hoping to catch Xander. Instead, she got to watch her boyfriend
declare his love to Willow. She watched him leave and then ran down
the street in the opposite direction, as her heart broke into a
million tiny pieces.
She reached Angel's old mansion, and she stopped. *At least *there's* a
place I can be alone. Alone to contemplate Xander's horrible death.*
She walked inside and sat down in the living room. She finally let go and
screaed, "DAMN YOU, XANDER HARRIS!"
"Hey, not so loud," A voice with a familiar British accent spoke from
another room. "Although I don't mind the sentiment," Spike added as he
walked into the room.
"YOU! I don't need to deal with *you* right now!" she yelled and turned
to go.
"Hold on there," he said, grabbing her by the arm.
"Don't mess with me, you--you--vampire!" she spat out as she tried to
free herself.
"If I was gonna try to hurt you, that stupid chip wouldn't have even
let me touch you, right?" Spike reasoned quietly.
"I...I guess so," Anya conceded.
"Okay, then. So tell me what Stupid did to piss you off," Spike said.
"Why do you care?" Anya asked suspiciously.
"I...I'm bored. Humor me," Spike shrugged.
Anya's eyes narrowed. *I'm not in the mood for his sarcasm.*
As if reading her mind, Spike added, "I'm not gonna laugh or be
sarcastic, if that's what you're worried about."
"Oh, and you're such a trustworthy person?" Anya countered.
"Look, I'm a vampire, you are/were a demon," Spike said with a sigh.
"I think I understand you a little, probably better than any of those
idiots in the Scooby Gang could. So why don't you give it a shot, Anya.
You might find out I'm not so bad after all."
This uncharacteristic moment of civility from Spike got to her and
she started sobbing. "What the hell?" Spike muttered and awkwardly put
his arms around her, as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Xander--Willow--kiss" Anya managed to get out between sobs.
"Oh," Spike said, understanding now. "That sucks."
Anya found this last remark incredibly funny and giggled, in spite
of herself. "I don't think I've ever heard you used that phrase
before," she said with a small smile as she looked up at him.
"Yeah, well....there's a lot of things you don't know about me," Spike
answered cryptically. He shocked her a second time by brushing the
tears from her face gently.
"Really? Like what?" Anya asked curiously.
"Like I'm not a man of many words," Spike replied. He caught her by
surprise yet again as he leaned in for a kiss. The kiss was passionate,
making his attraction to her very clear.
She didn't react at first, but then decided the turn of events wasn't all that
bad. She kissed him back, tentatively. He was caught by surprise by this
development, and ends the kiss. "Did you just do what I think you did?"
he asked curiously.
"If you think I just kissed you, then yeah," Anya answered with a
smile. "So what do you think?"
"I think...." Spike sat down on the couch, pulling her with him. "I think
The Scooby Gang is going to be sorry they ever messed
with either of us," he chuckled as he leaned in for another kiss.
End pt 1
challenge requirements....
- Willow and Xander together.
- Anya and Spike together.
- Riley doesn't exist.
- The main couple doesn't have to be either of the
above, it can be any
couple that doesn't involve Riley, Graham, Kate,
Jheria or Forest. =)
- Someone has to be walking around singing "I know
my calculus, it says you
plus me equals us." they'll repeat the chorus a few
times and then say "What?
Those are the only lines I know!"
- A tiara.
- Someone wearing a smoking jacket.