The Date 4

Buffy and Willow's Dorm Room,

UC Sunnydale,

Tuesday 9th November 1999, 21:45

Willow was sitting at her desk finishing off her revision whilst waiting for Buffy to arrive. She had found a message left on her bed when she got in from Buffy saying that she needed to talk to her about something and that she was going to patrol early that night to make sure that they were both wide awake for it.

She had instantly become worried about what it might be, but quickly realised that if it had been anything 'Hellmouthy' as Xander puts it, she would have told her to meet her at Giles' apartment, or come to see her before patrol.

That meant that it was something personal and, knowing that she hadn't done anything to upset her friend, knew that was probably boy related.

That thought made her happy; Buffy had been in a sullen mood ever since 'Poopy Parker', with Buffy clearly stating that all men, excluding Xander and Giles, were bastards of the highest order and that she was taking a vow of chastity.

She remembered Xander's face when he heard that, she doesn't think he breathed at all for the next five minutes. It was then that she noticed that he had started looking at Buffy the way he did when he first met her and for a moment she felt a pang of jealousy that she quickly dismissed.

She hadn't felt that way about Xander for quite some time, even during their fluking incident her feelings for him weren't like they were when Buffy had arrived in Sunnydale. She realised that it was simply her mind remembering what she felt like when she had first seen those smitten looks Xander had thrown the blonde's way, looks that she either didn't see or simply ignored.

As always, her thoughts turn to her boyfriend. Oz was still on tour with the Dingoes for a few more days and she was missing him terribly. Their relationship was going from strength to strength and she was pretty sure that he was 'the one'.

The only sticking point was his lycanthropic status; they've been doing some research on their own and found out that if they had children, they too would become werewolves once they hit puberty. That did explain how his baby cousin managed to infect him in the first place; she couldn't see how a werewolf would have been able to bite a baby without killing it. That meant that Willow was also at risk of becoming infected, so they've been trying to find ways to either rid him of the wolf or find a protection spell for her.

She did want children one day and she wanted Oz to be the father, but she didn't want to keep her kids in a cage for three nights a month. Of course, they could simply have their house made of reinforced steel and a time lock built on the door…

They still had time to think about it, they had decided to wait until they'd graduated from college before making those sorts of plans, but she wanted to make sure that they had options when it came to the time.

She's brought out of her thoughts when the door to their dorm room opens and Buffy appears, partially covered in iridescent gunk.

"Buffy, you okay?"

"Yeah, I just had a run in with a tissue demon is all. They're not hard to kill, but they do bleed a lot."

"You mean a Tik'Schu demon?"

"That's what I said, a tissue demon." Sometimes Willow didn't know whether she said the names wrong on purpose or she simply couldn't pronounce then correctly. "I need to have a shower before we talk, I smell like a cesspool." She's in the shower before Willow can reply.

Fifteen minutes later, a freshly cleaned and happier looking Buffy appears from the shower, dressed in a terrycloth bathrobe and her hair wrapped in a towel.

She walks over and plops herself down on her bed, Willow taking that as an indication that she's ready to talk so she leaves her desk and mirrors Buffy's position on her own bed.

"So, what's the sitch?" the redheaded Wicca asked after about a minute of silence, she could tell that Buffy was nervous about something and needed a gentle push to get her going.

Buffy decides to continue the trend of getting straight to the point she started with her mother. "Xander asked me out last night."

"Oh." That threw Willow for a loop; yes, she knew that Xander had started his 'can I have you?' phase with Buffy again, but she didn't think he would put himself on the line again by asking her out. She remembers how sullen he was the last time.

His self-esteem has always been his biggest weakness and it had taken an extreme amount of courage for him to ask her out the last time, the first time he had ever asked anyone out in fact. If it hadn't been for that prophecy concerning the Master, she knew that Xander would have been a contender for Angel's world brooding championship title.

Going by previous experience, and the fact Buffy has never shown any interest in Xander beyond friendship, she comes to the only logical conclusion. "How did he take it when you turned him down?"

"I didn't," she said, surprised that that was the first thing she asked but understood why.

Willow once again comes to the logical, if completely wrong, conclusion. "You said yes!" She has no idea why she said that so loud, or so incredulously. She had no problem with them being together, it was just the shock of it all she figured.

"No, but it sounds like you'd have a problem with it if I had." She responded, her voice sounding a disappointed that Willow thought that way.

"No! Not at all!" she exclaimed, trying to back-pedal from her over the top reaction. She then gets confused, "wait, you didn't say yes, you didn't say no, so what did you say?"

"If you'd let me get a word in edgeways I'd tell you."

"Hey! There's no need to get snappish with me."

"Sorry," Buffy said a little sheepishly. "I didn't know what to say and I told him that, so he said he's give me some time to think about it."

"Have you thought about it?" she asked, hoping that Buffy wasn't just dismissing him. She didn't know if he would survive it if Buffy simply ignored the question altogether.

"I haven't thought of much else," she admitted, smiling a little. "What do you think I should do?" she asked, still worried that Willow might have a problem with her going out with Xander.

She was sure the Wicca didn't have any more-than-friendly feelings for Xander, but she has always been very picky about who he goes out with. Knowing his dating history she couldn't blame her either.

"That completely depends on how you feel," she replied diplomatically.

Personally she thought they'd make a cute couple; even when she was still jonesing for him herself a tiny part of her felt that if she couldn't have him she wouldn't mind Buffy having him instead.

She knows that made her sound possessive, but she always has been when it came to Xander, and probably always would. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I've never seen any sign of interest in Xander on your part before."

"You're right, I haven't really. It's not like I can say I've never thought of him like that, but it was never more than a fleeting moment. I've even had one about Giles."

"Firstly, I'd like to say eww to that last statement, that's Giles you're talking about."

"Whatever," Buffy responded with hand gesture and a smile. She had had the same thought herself when that particular thought containing Giles had entered her mind, but she realised that it was just a harmless fantasy and nothing to be worried about.

"Secondly, I take it that's changed? The way you think about Xander I mean?"

"Yeah; when he called and said he wanted to meet up, it was as though I'd gotten back a part of myself I didn't know I'd lost. I suddenly realised that I'd come very close to losing him from my life and the thought made me feel hollow."

"I've felt the same way, that doesn't mean I want to start dating him, are you sure you're not just feeling guilty about neglecting him and want to make it up to him?" she asked, being the Devil's Advocate that she knows Buffy wants her to be.

She'd learned some time ago that Buffy needed someone to challenge her point of view from time to time, to ensure that she was thinking things through clearly. Normally she didn't have to assume that role as Xander had a natural talent for it, but with his growing absence in their non-Scooby lives, she'd had to take his place. She had to suppress a shudder at that, the thought of replacing Xander in any way just didn't feel right.

"No, when he turned up it was as though I was meeting him for the first time. Firstly he looked good; not just 'those clothes look good on him' good, but also 'those clothes would look good on my bedroom floor' good."

"TMI! TMI!" Willow exclaimed in mock horror.

"As I said before," Buffy continued, choosing to ignore Willow's interruption, "I can admit to having the stray thought about him before, the Speedo incident comes to mind, but nothing that felt like last night. These weren't sexy thoughts," she sees the look Willow is giving her and blushes slightly as she remember her last statement, "okay, not just sexy thoughts, there were boyfriend-y thoughts. I've never had boyfriend-y thoughts about Xander before, and I liked them." She said with a shy smile.

"Don't take this the wrong way then, but what's the problem? You like him in a boyfriend-y way, you know how Xander feels about you, so why are you needing time to think?" she asked reasonably. She couldn't see why she hadn't just said yes when he asked her, but Buffy does like to turn things into an episode of 'All My Children' from time to time.

"Because it's Xander! He's been there every time I've needed him, supporting me and encouraging me, even telling me what I needed to hear instead of what I wanted to hear. We're talking about a guy that stepped between two Slayers to stop them from fighting because it was the right thing to do, and to make amends for what he did. He told me that he'd always be there for me no matter what I decide, but I know that he'll have to keep his distance from me for a while and that thought alone scares me to death. If I actually went out with him and something went wrong, I don't think I could take it. Both you and Xander mean so much to me already, I'm worried about letting him in any further."

"I don't see any of that as a bad thing; all it means is that on top of all the good stuff you get from being friends with him, you also get Xander smooches. That is something I can fully endorse by the way and it didn't look like Cordelia minded them either."

"Willow Rosenburg I am shocked and appalled!" she said with a wide smile.

"Of course you are, being the pure and virtuous woman that you are. Seriously though I don't see you've got anything to worry about and if you keep worrying about what might happen you'll never do anything. Now go phone Xander and put him out of his misery before I do it for you."

With a smile, Buffy gets up and hugs her best friend. "What would I do without you Willow?"

"Don't worry you'll never have to find out." Willow watches as Buffy goes to the phone and rings Xander and can't help but hear the shout of joy coming from the receiver as Buffy gives him the answer he's been longing to hear.