The room had been decorated in grand Hogwarts fashion. Rather than candles, lit jack o'lanterns floated above the crowd. Higher still flew ghosts and poltergeists recruited by Nearly Headless Nick for the occasion. The ghostly party swirled and moved, adding a second layer to the corporeal one. Tables had been setup along the walls and filled with a sumptuous buffet. The faculty gathered around their usual table, watching the students and occasionally dancing to the phantom band floating with the ghosts.
Willow thought she would die from the sight. Giles had pulled out one of his old tweed suits, the like of which she had not seen since high school.
"Tell me you aren't here as a librarian," she said when they wandered over to him. She had just finished laughing so hard that her head hurt.
"Actually, I'm here as a muggle librarian," he replied, sipping his punch. "I thought it rather appropriate." He took in their attire. "What exactly are the two of you supposed to be?"
"Giles suffers from pop culture deficiency," Willow explained to Grey. "Star Wars … Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia?"
"Aah, I see," Giles said.
"I'm gonna grab some punch. I'll be back soon," she said, squeezing Grey's arm as she left.
"We've not talked much, have we?" Giles said after Willow had departed.
"Not really, no."
"I've been meaning to … well, to thank you." Emotion seeped into Giles' voice. "You may not know this, but I have always considered Buffy and Willow as … as my daughters. Especially with Willow's parents out of the picture, and now that Joyce has passed on."
"I got that feeling from her," Grey said, to let Giles know that he was listening as his eyes scanned the room. "She feels the same way."
"I was terrified of how this would turn out for her, that she might go inside herself and lose all the things that make her so wonderful." The older man paused, on the verge of tears. "I thought she would never recover when Tara left and she lost the ability to control her magic. More than anything here, you have prevented that from happening. You've given her something and someone to care about. I understand that you've had some … difficulty in the past year. What you've done for Willow, in spite of that, is something I could never repay."
"Giles," Grey said, turning to face the older man, "There's no debt. Believe me when I say she's done as much for me as I have for her." Giles nodded. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to be with her now."
"By all means." Grey left the Watcher, touched by the depth of his feeling, and found Willow talking to Harry and Ginny. The three of them chatted merrily as Grey half-listened. His hand rested in Willow's.
"Whatcha lookin' at?" She said after a few minutes.
"The Elvira wannabe." He pointed with his chin to a tall pale woman slow-dancing with Spike.
"Why?"
"Something familiar about her. The way she moves." He shrugged it off. "Let's dance."
They stayed on floor for a long time, slow-dancing regardless of the song, reveling in being so close. Grey could feel the barriers finally breaking down. He rested his face in her hair, loving the smell of the cinnamon. He realized that this was exactly where he wanted to be. For so long, he had talked with Willow, wishing he was talking to Jess. Longing for their banter, even for the bouts where it turned nasty. He had heard Willow's voice and wondered what Jess would have said.
Tonight, he only wanted to hear Willow, to listen to her, to bask in her giddiness and enjoy that she had opened her enormous heart to him.
When they finally broke apart, he looked into her eyes and smiled. His genuine smile. Not the one he had put into a box before Voldemort and never removed, but a new one.
"That's your smile, isn't it?" she said in a breathy tone. "The one you lost."
"No. That one is gone. This one … it's the other one, with more understanding. Does that make sense?" She knew he meant his feelings, not his smile, and felt warm and bubbly inside. "How did you know it was different from my others?"
"I never saw you smile with your eyes before." His kiss lasted almost as long as the dance, and no one broke them up this time.
"Good work, mate," Spike said after they left the floor. Grey was amazed to see that Willow wasn't even embarrassed. She went off to talk to the four kids and Neville Longbottom.
"Thanks, Spike. I had help." The sparring partners chuckled. "What's the story with Elvira over there?"
"Not a bloody clue. Good dancer, though. I think it's an illusion, but she's no student."
"Tell Willow I'll be back. My spider-sense is tingling." Grey left the vampire and walked towards the tall woman. She seemed to be lingering in the middle of the dance floor as a fast number came to a shattering halt.
As he approached, he looked her over carefully. Straight black hair in a beehive. At least six inches taller than him, not including the hair or her heels. Low-cut black dress, ankle-length but with a massive slit up the left side. She has good legs, Grey noted. He had almost closed the distance between them when the smell stopped him short.
Vanilla.
The tall woman turned and looked him over. Her lips curled in a predator's smile.
"Hello, lover."