"I love you two in every possible sense of the word, in every way possible, even in ways thought to be impossible. Buffy, Willow; you two are my heart and soul. My everything. I couldn't stop loving you if my life depended on it. Even when my life depended on it."
Xander was knocked to the floor as two other Scoobies launched themselves at him. Tears of happiness and love soaked his shirt as he held them close to his chest. To his heart. They held each other for a long time.
"What do we do now?" Willow asked into Xander's chest.
"We take it one day at a time. Together." Buffy told her.
"Coolness."
Xander lifted his head up off the floor.
"Actually I was thinking I should get up and have a shower. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the Scooby snuggles here, and I'm looking forward to some more. But I got Feoral goo in my hair that needs washing out. Soooo…" Xander reluctantly untangled himself from his fellow Scoobies and headed for the shower.
Buffy watched him go - a look of contemplation on her face. After a minute or two she got up and headed to the shower as well.
"Buffy! Where are you going?"
"To get some more Scooby snuggles, Will. Coming?"
Willow hesitated of a moment, then, with a sly grin on her face, she followed Buffy into the shower.
Even the best made (or lust made) plans of a Slayer can be derailed by a locked door.
"Xander! Open the door! Come on. Let me in!" Buffy called out to Xander in the shower.
"Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!" he sung back.
"You let us in and I promise me and Willow will get all huffy and puffy and blow your house down." She said in a sweet and innocent voice. The only response from Xander was the sound of a dropped shampoo bottle.
In the mean time, Willow was having second thoughts. And third ones. And fourth ones. With a strangled eep, Willow bolted for Xander's room.
"Willow! Wait! Willow?" Buffy caught up with Willow and they sat on the bed.
"What's the matter? Don't you want…"
"Yes!… No!… Maybe. I don't know, Buffy. It's just all so… and it's like all of a sudden, whoosh! Group grope in the shower. Going from never been kissed to menage a Scooby is just too quick."
"You've never been kissed?"
"No!" Willow jumped up in a panic and started power freaking. "Xander's got all this experience and I don't know how to kiss properly and what happens if I'm a terrible kisser and Xander hates me and the Scooby gang breaks up and we go all evil and destroy the world and…" Buffy grabbed hold of Willow shoulders.
"Willow, breathe, OK? Breathe."
"Breathe." Willow repeated.
"That's it, breathe in and out. Calm down. Relax. It's going to be OK."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive. Look, who knows Xander better than anyone else in the world?"
"Me. I suppose." Willow mumbled.
"And could he ever hate you?"
"No." the red head admitted.
"After everything that he went through, he loves you, loves us, more than ever. I don't think there's anything that would make him hate you. Right?"
"Right." Sighing Willow sat down next to Buffy again. There was a moment of silence.
"You never kissed anyone before?"
"Not-a-one."
"Not even a practice kiss?" Willow looked confusedly at Buffy.
"Practice kiss?"
"Yeah, you know. Practicing kissing with your friends. You never did that?"
"No. Did you?"
"All the time back in LA. We'd get all the girls at slumber parties practicing with each other. That's how I learnt. Hell, I bet Cordelia and Harmony got some practice in together all the time." Buffy stopped, the image of Cordelia macking on Harmony bouncing around her mind.
"You want some practice, Will?"
"Practice?" Willow asked, a little shocked.
"Yeah, I could teach you before Xander gets out of the shower."
"W… wouldn't that make me… you know… kinda gay?" Buffy just raised an eyebrow at Willow.
"Oh! Right. That Tara thing. Got ya."
"OK, Wills. Here's the deal. The key to good kissing is to relax."
"Relax."
"That's right. You ready?"
A nod.
Willow watched as Buffy leaned in. Willow froze, stiff as a board, as Buffy's lips touched hers. After a few seconds of trying Buffy backed off.
"What did I say about needing to relax?"
"I can't, OK."
"You have to."
"Buffy, I couldn't relax with a box of Valium washed down with a case of whisky."
Buffy tried stifling a giggle but it escaped. Willow started giggling, which started Buffy laughing, which set Willow off, and soon the pair were in fits of gut aching laughter. It took them a minute or two to get under control again.
"Case of whisky?"
"At least a case, maybe two." Willow told her friend.
Without warning, Buffy leaned in again and kissed her. Willow started to freeze up again, but stopped. She closed her eyes. She relaxed a little.
Suddenly it was OK.
Suddenly it was better than OK.
Suddenly oxygen became an issue.
"Wow."
"OK, that was…" Buffy was cut off by Willow's lips.
The kiss was getting pretty intense when Xander walked in. He froze at the sight before him. It took Buffy and Willow a few seconds to realise that Xander was standing inside the doorway. They quickly sprung apart.
"Xander! I…"
"Don't mind me Buff. Obviously I've fallen asleep in the shower and I'm having THAT dream again. So I'm just going to wake up now and turn the cold water up. A lot."
"No, you see, Willow was worried about not knowing how to kiss properly and I offered to help her practice and that's how… yeah."
Xander looked over at Willow.
"So… Wills. What do you think?"
"What do I think? I think I'm kinda bi."
Xander gave a strange little laugh, turned and headed out of the room again. Willow raced after him.
"Wait! I'm sorry!"
Xander stopped and faced her.
"You've got nothing to be sorry about, I'm not upset."
"Then where are you going?"
"Cold shower."
"Parent teacher night? When?" A startled Xander asked Willow as they walked hand in hand to school on Monday.
"Week after next. Why?"
"Spike? As in Spike that vamp that…" Buffy tailed off. The Scooby Gang was assembled in the library. Xander nodded.
"Him and Drucilla: Queen of the Crazy."
"Why'd he come here?" a frightened Willow asked.
"Um… it was because of Drucilla. She was pretty trashed after some mob attack and Spike brought her here to restore her."
"Sunnydale, it's just a regular vampire health spa."
"I did some research on this Spike. Like Xander said, he's killed two Slayers and left a trail of death and destruction wherever he went. The Watcher's Diaries speak of him as a particularly dangerous vampire."
"And let's not forget Drucilla killing Kendra. My future history aside, we need dust those two real quick." Xander got up and started pacing.
"Alright, so Spike and his gang crash parent teacher night. Something about the night of some vampire saint or crusade, I really can't remember exactly."
"The Night of Saint Vigeous?" Giles perked up concerned.
"Yeah! That's the guy."
"Oh dear."
"Oh dear? Giles! What's with the oh dear!?!?"
"Er, uh, from memory it's a night of a great vampire massacre. I'll need to consult my books for more information."
"Might be a good idea to get Miss Calender involved with the research." Xander suggested.
The bell rang for next period and they started to head off to class.
"What's next on the program of fun for you guys?" Xander asked as they walked down the hall.
"French." Buffy replied with a resigned sigh.
"It's ze language of love." Willow said with a little French accent and she and Buffy went off to class. Shaking his head in amusement Xander headed to wood shop.
"French." He snorted. "Cheese eating surrender monkeys."
"Next thing I know there's two of me running around trying to kill each other. Complete chaos." Xander was entertaining Buffy and Willow in the quadrangle during lunch. The three of them were snuggled up together under a tree and just enjoying being with each other.
A shadow fell across them.
"What pathetic tale are you wasting good oxygen on this time, Harris?" It was Cordelia. It had been decided that she wouldn't be told about the whole situation with Xander until it was absolutely necessary.
"Just telling the tale of the time I got split into two by a demon." Xander told her light heartedly.
"Wonderful. Looser in stereo."
"Maybe I should tell you the tale of the bug man and the basement."
"Whatever. Look, I'm just here to tell you that Giles wants to see you guys after fifth period. Mentioned something about vampires and parent teacher night? So if you need a hand with anything just don't hesitate to not call me. I'm so over the whole vampire sacrifice deal. Understand?" With a little huff she left.
Ever since Cordelia was exposed to the Slayers world she had become something of an interested observer of the three. But she couldn't understand what was going on with them lately. She might spell stuff with her arms but even she knew that no growth spurt could turn Friday's geek into Monday's hotness. The very fact she could even use 'Xander Harris' and 'hotness' in the same sentence was an indication of the Hellmouth being involved.
Then there was the unnerving closeness thing. In the past few days you would have needed a crowbar to separate the three of them. And the looks they had been giving each other. ALL of them. Cordelia was used to seeing Willow shooting out the wishful loving looks at a completely clueless Xander. But recently the looks had become less wishful and more substantial and not just restricted to Willow any more.
All in all it screamed creepy magic and Xander was the number one suspect. Cordelia was determined that he wouldn't get away with it.
Back under the tree, it was an amused Xander who watched her retreating figure.
"I'd almost forgotten how pleasant it is to be on the receiving end of one of Cordy's verbal drive-by shootings."