The One Who Does Magic
Chapter 16
A/N: I am sooooooooooo sorry—and apologetic and such—for the time it took to get an update out, as well as for the brevity of this chapter. I'm really not good with the mushy stuff, and I may have gone way overboard here, but, heck, they had to answer the questions, didn't they?
Disclaimer: I don't have any claims over Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the characters therein. I do not profit from this story. In fact, I'm probably losing money because I could be taking paying copy-editing gigs instead of doing this. But do I? No, because I am stuck in a fanfic loop from which I may never escape. (Another reason for the delay in updates: I've been reading a ton of fics lately.)
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"What with the who now?" Xander asked, shock written across his face. "Did you just say, 'Marri—'"
"No!" Willow said hurriedly. "I certainly did not! Unless, I mean…if you wanted—but no. I definitely didn't. Say that, I mean. Whatever it is you thought I said. Which I didn't." She looked down at her hands, which were tangling in her lap. "Because, you know, your idea was good, too. Hey, let's talk about your idea!"
"Oh, I don't know," Xander said casually. Willow eyed him suspiciously, but looked grateful that the pressure for her to talk had been momentarily averted. "I'm not known for my good ideas, Will. Historically, you're much smarter than I am. In fact, I can't think of one instance in which my ideas have been chosen over yours." He paused, taking Willow's fidgeting hands in his. "So why start now?"
Willow felt Xander squeeze her hands as he posed the question. His hands weren't shaking. Not at all. Hers, on the other hand, were shivering like a nervous poodle with an espresso IV. "Xander…" she began, without knowing where she was going.
"Willow," he said, stopping her argument before it could gain any ground. "Just look at me, okay?"
She looked. She saw the person who meant the most to her in the world. The boy who'd always been her friend, and the man he'd grown into. "Okay," was all she trusted herself to say.
"You probably think that your dad and I talked about marriage tonight, that he pressured me about it, and that you have to do this to make everyone happy." He moved his hands so they rested on top of hers, stilling them. Willow opened her mouth to interrupt. "Will, let me finish, okay?" She nodded, and he continued. "I know you're not sure about your sexuality—and don't worry, I'm not all insecure about it. I can tell when you kiss me that you're not faking that. I know that when you're with me, it's because you want to be. I just don't know…how long you'll want to be. And I care too much about you to imagine being hurt later because you decide you can't live the…well, for lack of a better term, 'straight life' with me."
"Xander," Willow said softly.
"No, Will, please. Just let me…I'm giving you an out here. I have to, because your idea sounded so…I just really wanted to believe…"
"Then just believe, Xander." She turned her hands in her lap, lacing her fingers with his. "Believe that, even though I have loved a woman, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm truly-and-forever gay. Believe that, in one form or another, I have always loved you." She let her gaze meet his, let him see the tears slipping down her face. "And I always will. Believe that the one thing I have always been sure of is you. I was sure of your friendship, and now I'm sure about this: I love you, Alexander Harris."
Xander didn't trust himself to speak, so he pulled Willow into his arms instead. They sat entwined until the strange angle of their embrace caused them to separate slightly. "If that's true, Will…if you love me, you'll wait," Xander said, a smile quirking his lips.
Willow looked slightly stunned. "Not that I'm not happy to dispense with the gender stereotypes, but…huh?"
"Well, listen," Xander said in his best rational tone. "If you love me, and I love you, and this is the twenty-first century, we should be able to shack up and have a kid together without turning too many heads, right?"
"I suppose…" Willow answered tentatively.
"And when we've given ourselves time to get used to the idea of being together like this—"
"Like this?" Willow asked playfully, kissing Xander deeply.
"Good God, woman, you like to interrupt me," Xander said when they broke apart. "Not that I mind," he continued with a sly grin. "But as I was saying, once we've gotten used to the cohabitation, and once the baby's born, if you decide you still love me, then…then my answer is yes."
"It is?" Willow asked.
"Yeah," Xander answered. "Did you really have any doubts?"
Willow smiled. "Nah," she said. "I always knew I had you wrapped around my finger."
"And now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take you to bed and wrap around some other parts of you," Xander said with a gleam in his eye.
"As long as you can extricate me from the death grip of this couch, I'm all yours," Willow laughed, offering her hand. Xander kissed it before hauling her onto her feet. "Oh, and Xander?" Willow yawned as they made their way down the hall.
"Yeah?"
"We might as well establish right now that I get the side of the bed closest to the bathroom."
"My Willow, always the romantic," Xander laughed, squeezing her hand as he pulled the tired girl into bed.
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To be continued…and I promise it won't take me as long next time!