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"You, uh, huh?" Willow looks completely shocked. Which really worries me and kind of surprises me at the same time. I thought maybe she might have had a bit of an inkling, and that's why she headed the conversation in this direction. Apparently not, because it sure doesn't look like she expected the answer I just gave her. If I hadn't broken her before, I think I might have just got the job done now. "You, you never want to, uh…..get up?"

Well the cat's already out of the bag, there's no reason to not follow through on it now. I've probably already blown our relationship to bits, why not finish what I started. Ugh, I should have just kept quiet.

I get up out of my chair and kneel down in front of her, slowly, making sure that she's not going to bolt and knock me flat on my butt in the process. Her eyes are shimmering with unshed tears, but I honestly can't tell if they're the good kind of tears or the horrified and disgusted kind. I take her hand in mine and when she doesn't pull away I take that as silent permission to answer her. "Never. Once somebody falls in love with you, there is no chance of them ever stopping. I should know."

"Buffy, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

I know she knows the answer. Like I said, she has always worn the smarty pants in the family. I think she just needs to hear me say it. "I love you Willow."

She looks at me for a minute and for the first time that I can ever remember I honestly have no idea what she's thinking. Her expression gives nothing away. I'm not sure if that's bad or not. "But you mean best friend love right, not, you know, not the other kind. You're not in love with me, not that kind of love?" She actually looks nervous, but I swear I can see a glimmer of hope in her jade eyes. That glimmer is all I need to continue.

"Not best friend love, although I do love you as my best friend. But it's so much more than that. It's the kind of love that totally consumes my entire being Will. I've been thinking about you non stop, everything that I've been doing, everywhere I go, you're always in my thoughts. When I patrol I wonder what you're doing, if you're safe. When I go to bed at night all I dream about is you. What it would be like to hold you, to kiss you, to make love to you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you in my arms, and the hell with the rest of the world, because I know, that as long as you're there, everything is perfect. And I know that I will never feel this way about anybody else."

I pause, gathering the courage to say the next words. Although from my little outburst I'm sure I don't really need to say them, I made the picture more than clear.

"I'm in love with you, Will."

I don't think it gets anymore crystal than that. The ball's in her court now, which pretty much scares me more than any of the hell creatures I've faced over the years.

She looks down at our linked hands for a moment and then looks back up at me, catching my gaze. The tears that were building up have managed to brim over and are now coursing their way down her pale cheeks. But I honestly don't think I've ever seen her look more beautiful. She slowly brings our joined hands up to her cheek and nuzzles the back of my hand. This is a definite good sign.

"Do you know how long I've dreamt about this moment? How long I've wished one day you would come to me and tell me that you felt the same way about me that I've always felt for you?"

Does that mean…………?

"The same way? Will, do you mean…………"

She places a kiss against my knuckles and then sits up in her chair so that our lips are mere inches apart. "I love you Buffy. I've been in love with you for years. I just never thought………"

I didn't let her finish, I knew all I needed to. She loves me too! I crossed the small space between us and captured her lips with my own. I was tentative at first, adjusting to the newness of it all. But I've never tasted anything as wonderful, never experienced anything remotely as exhilarating, as Willow's kiss. Her lips are the softest thing I could imagine, they felt like pure silk against my own. As long as I live I'll never forget what our first kiss felt like. It was bliss, pure and simple.

I pulled away reluctantly when something she said earlier registers with me. "When you said two people, you weren't talking about Oz were you?"

She smiles that gentle, sweet smile of hers and quickly drops another loving peck onto my slightly swollen lips. "No, I didn't mean Oz. When I said that I didn't think I was ever in love with Tara it was because I've always been in love with you. I don't think it's possible that I was in love with her too. Not with how much I love you."

I'm awestruck. I never thought that when she was with Tara she loved me. I never would have figured it out. "I never would have known Will, you never said anything at all. I mean we've said 'I love you' to each other plenty of times, but I never would have thought you meant it this way." I motioned between the two of us, tracing a fingertip over her slightly swollen bottom lip. "You really know how to keep a secret. And here I thought we agreed that there was a rule about that, hmm?" I couldn't help it, I love when she blushes and gets flustered, even if it was a dirty trick.

"Well I do have a confession to make. I did sort of tell you once, or at least I came close to telling you. And when I did I knew you wouldn't think anything of it. I really kind of took advantage of the situation. And I've felt horrible about it ever since. But I just hated seeing you in pain, and I thought that maybe it would make you feel better knowing that I was there for you. But it was kinda selfish of me, plus it was the chicken's way of telling you too." I can't remember anytime when I thought there might have been more to her words than just unconditional friendship, so I'm really confused.

"Will, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. You told me before that you were in love with me?"

"Well not in so many words. I never actually used the term 'in love', but that's definitely how I meant it."

"When?" I'm definitely curious, cause I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have missed something that important.

Willow looks down guiltily for a second before returning her gaze to mine. "I was hugging you, and I told you I loved you so much."

No wonder she felt guilty about it, that happened right after Mom died. We were in the hospital lounge and she came up to me and hugged me so tight. I remember I latched on to her like a lifeline. I thought maybe if I could just borrow some of her strength that I could make it through that day. I can't hold it against her though, because honestly, when she said that, it did help me. I felt her support, and it made that day just a tad bit less horrible. "And I said I know. You're right though, I didn't think twice about it. I've always relied on your strength and support that it didn't even occur to me."

"I'm sorry Buffy. I said it knowing you wouldn't think anything of it. And it made me feel better knowing that I had told you, in a roundabout way. There you were going through the hardest thing in your life and I'm trying to sneak my real feelings into our hug." Willow looks away ashamed.

It really doesn't bother me. She's right, I didn't think anything of it, but now that I look back on it, that was the first time she said 'I love you' to me without me saying it first. And the 'so much' kind of is a dead giveaway, but I was just so preoccupied that I didn't let myself think about it. I'm just starting to realize how long I've loved her, so if she's been carrying around the same thing I'm feeling with her for years, I can't blame her for wanting to get it off her chest. And I know Willow well enough to know that it was probably only about 10 percent selfishly motivated, she really was just trying to comfort me the best way she knew how. "Will, you don't have to apologize." I stroke away a tear that is slinking it's way down her already moist cheek. "You being there, holding my hand, giving me your support, it made that day just a little bit easier. You're right, I've never gone through something as hard as losing Mom, that day was probably the worst day of my entire life. But when you came up to me and wrapped your arms around me, and told me that you loved me, for just that one moment, even with everything going on, I felt better. I felt better knowing that you loved me, because I knew that you would be there when the dust settled. I knew you would help me through it, comfort me. So you don't need to apologize for being my best friend."

"But I took…."

I placed a gentle fingertip against her lips, effectively silencing the protest I knew was going to come. As much as I'm into the self blame, I think she's managed to pick up a few pointers over the years. "No buts Will, you helped me that day. And I know you, you didn't say it out of selfishness. You were trying to be supportive, and so you snuck a little bit more sentiment in there than usual, so what. You were there for me, and that's all that matters." I took my finger away and replaced it with my lips, barely brushing them against hers, trying to prove that there was nothing for her to feel sorry for. After a few blissful moments I pulled back to make sure that she believed me. The returning gaze almost knocked me back off my feet. I've never seen such pure, unwavering love in someone's eyes before. I've always felt Willow's love for me, on a friendship level at least, because all I ever had to do was look into her gorgeous emerald eyes. They say that some people wear their heart on their sleeve. Well Willow's heart is in her eyes, those vast pools of warmth and caring have been my lifeline for years. But not once have I ever seen so much love in them before, and I realize that it's all directed at me. I don't think anyone could be more lucky than I am at this very moment.

I must have been staring for a while because I notice that Willow's cheeks are slightly pink, which means I must have made her blush. She reaches up and strokes away an errant strand of blonde hair from my forehead. "What are you thinking about?"

"I love you." It makes me feel so good to say it, I can't even begin to describe the feeling.

Willow chuckles softly and continues playing with the wisps of hair at my temple. "I love you too." I love the feeling when I say it to her, but it's infinitely better when she says it back. "But what were you thinking about just now?"

Sometimes, even though she's probably the smartest person I know, with the possible exception being Giles, she can be so dense that it's cute. "That's it. I was thinking about how much I love you. And yes, I'm very well aware that the mighty Slayer is turning into a mushball as I say this."

"Aww, my mushbally Slayer, whatever will we do with you?" I can think of a few things at the moment, and they aren't so much sweet as they are naughty. But there is one thing, one fantasy I guess you would call it, that I've always wanted to do with her.

"I can think of quite a few things now that you mention it Will." I gave her a lecherous grin, just to see her blush again. My plan worked pretty well, because she's almost beet red. I'm so mean. "But, there is one thing I've wanted to do, if you're up for it?"

She looks at me pensively for a brief moment and then a small seductive smile forms at the corner of her lips. "I think I might be up for just about anything." I take that as a yes, and quickly stand up, pulling her out of her chair as I do so. I pull her forward and quickly slide into the chair that I just yanked her out of. And without any hesitation I grasped her gently around the waist and pull her into my lap. "What exactly are you doing?" Willow grins at me, amusement and a small amount of confusion dancing in her sparkling eyes.

"I just wanted to be close to you, to hold you. Just for a little while, if that's ok?"

She relaxes in my arms and leans back, resting her head softly against my shoulder. "It's more than ok Buff, I could stay like this forever actually." She turns a bit in my arms and drops a sweet kiss onto my lips before returning her head to my shoulder.

"Forever sounds just fine to me Will."

I place a gentle kiss to her forehead and tighten my grip around her waist, grasping her hands in the process and interlocking them together with my own. I have my fire back, my purpose, and I finally have my Willow. The future starts now.

The End