QUE SERA, SERA (13/?)
 

               Cordelia walked into the bedroom suite she was sharing with Xander and put
               her bag down. She sat on her bed, sighing as she kicked her shoes off. She
               must have walked a dozen miles that day. She really wished that Angel could
               be in the sun. Then, he and Willow could tour all the dusty old museums and
               leave her to shopping.
 

               "You look beat," Xander remarked softly from the doorway. He had been in the
               living room when she and Willow had returned. He had followed her upstairs,
               wanting to try to make things better between them. He just hoped it worked.
               He had listened to Angel, surprised that he might actually be learning
               something from the vampire. Angel had told her that often times in
               relationships a point was reached where things were almost too comfortable.
               He believed that Xander and Cordelia had reached a stagnant point in their
               courtship. Xander had to agree. Before, they would fight and make up and just
               enjoy being together. Now, though, she seemed to be pulling away from her.
               The fighting was more personal, the quips more hurtful. He hated this
               widening gap between them.
 

               "Must have walked twenty miles," she said, yawning.
 

               "Welcome to Willow in the land of boring old museums," he said, smiling as he
               moved towards her bed.
 

               "God, I know," she moaned, laying back against the bed. "She's like a kid in
               a candy store. All I see is a bunch of junk. She could honestly spend hours
               looking at the same dusty old piece of crap. Today, though, I got to make her
               do some shopping."
 

               "Bet she loved that," he said, kneeling at her feet. He took her foot,
               watching as she stiffened slightly before relaxing as his fingers began to
               massage the bottom of her stockinged foot.
 

               "That feels good," Cordelia said softly, staying on her back as she let
               herself enjoy the soft touch of his hands on her aching foot. "She wouldn't
               buy anything. I even found her this perfect little dark blue dress set her
               hair off brilliantly. I know Angel's mouth would have dropped open if he'd
               seen her in it. I mean, there was this slit and a plunging neckline and
               everything. Would she buy it? Noooo...."
 

               "Angel huh?" Xander said, smiling slightly. "They do seem to be dancing
               around an attraction don't they?"
 

               Cordelia sat up and leaned against her elbows, catching her boyfriend's eyes.
               "You don't sound ticked."
 

               "Why would I be upset? He seems to really care about her. She could do worse
               than Deadboy. He isn't that bad."
 

               "Who are you and what have you done to Xander Harris?" Cordelia demanded,
               knowing that Xander couldn't stand Angel.
 

               Xander had to laugh, "Am I that bad?"
 

               "You're just...surprising me," she admitted, smiling slightly at his smile.
 

               "Oh, really?" he said, moving his hands to her other foot. He kept his eyes
               on hers, realizing that this was the first time they had really spoken in
               weeks. Had a normal conversation that hadn't ended with them arguing or one
               of them leaving in a huff. Of course, the conversation wasn't over yet. This
               is what he had missed. He remembered what had gotten them talking and smiled,
               "So, you remember where this dress was?"
 

               "The blue one?" Cordelia asked, nodding at his agreement. "Yeah, I remember
               the shop. They had it in her size and everything. Why?"
 

               Xander smiled, "I was just thinking we might have found a little project.
               Something we can work on together. Ya know?"
 

               "Together?" she whispered, licking her bottom lip as a small smile crossed
               her face. "So, you want us to work on getting Angel and Willow to fall in
               love?"
 

               "They're already in love. I just think they need some help figuring that news
               out," Xander said with a small smile. "I love Willow and want her to be
               happy. If Angel makes her happy, so be it."
 

               "So, we play matchmaker for them?" Cordelia asked, her eyes still caught by
               his.
 

               He nodded, "Together, we can do it. They won't know what hit them."
 

               Cordelia smiled, "Sounds like fun. When do we start?"
 

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