QUE SERA, SERA (14/?)
 

               "Did you have fun today?"
 

               Willow looked up at the softly spoken words and smiled, "I enjoyed most of
               it."
 

               Angel sat down beside her, his eyes on her face. Since that moment in the
               living room, when he had wanted nothing more than to kiss her until they were
               both exhausted, he hadn't been able to get her out of his mind. He had been
               sitting in his dark room, lost in thoughts of her, when Buffy had dropped by
               to tell him she was going back to Sunnydale. She had smiled, a look entering
               her eyes as she searched his own, and she had whispered for him to take good
               care of Willow for her before kissing his cheek and joining Jamie. He wasn't
               sure if she really knew his feelings for Willow or just expected him to
               protect her friend. Either way, he was glad that Willow was back home. "Not
               all of it?"
 

               Willow shrugged, "Well, I had to go shopping with Cordelia. That wasn't a
               whole lot of fun for me, but she deserved the break. She went to an art
               museum with me today and didn't gripe once after spending four hours in
               there. I can't really gripe for sitting around while she tried on clothes for
               a couple of hours."
 

               "You didn't buy anything?" Angel asked, smiling at the image of Cordelia
               stuck in a museum for several hours. She must really care about Willow to put
               up with something he knew she hated just for the redhead's enjoyment.
 

               Willow snorted, "I hate shopping. I just waited for her. I read a bit of a
               book and made appropriate comments when she showed me this dress or that. It
               wasn't too bad."
 

               "Did you know that Buffy and Jamie left?" Angel asked.
 

               "Yeah, we took them to the airport," Willow said, not going to tell him that
               before she had boared the plane, the slayer had told Willow to look after
               Angel for her. The blonde had then winked before getting on the plane. Willow
               knew that Buffy knew of her crush on Angel, having had a roundabout
               conversation with her friend about it several times before.
 

               "Oh," Angel said. He looked out over the city, not really sure what to say.
 

               "I was wondering if you could help me," Willow asked quietly.
 

               "Of course," he said, looking at her with a frown. "What's wrong?"
 

               "Oh, nothing's wrong," Willow clarified. She smiled at him, "I just stayed up
               last night thinking...."
 

               "I'm worried now," he said smiling, glad that nothing was wrong.
 

               "Hey there, mister," she defended, smiling.
 

               "What do you need help with Willow?" he asked, looking into her shining green
               eyes and waiting.
 

               "Cordelia and Xander," she said simply.
 

               "What?" he asked, watching her smile widen.
 

               "They belong together. They are in love and about to lose it all because of
               their stubborn stupidity. They deserve to be happy," she said, her face
               resolved.
 

               Angel sighed, "And you think by interfering you will help them rediscover
               their love?"
 

               "I think that with *us* interfering, they might have better luck. I mean, we
               are talking about Cordelia and Xander here. They aren't known for their
               amazing communicating abilities, you know?"
 

               "Us?" Angel repeated quietly, a small smile crossing his lips. "So, we help
               them realize that they are in love and what they might be going to lose?"
 

               "Yeah. I think they just need a small reminder that they are in love," she
               said.
 

               "Sounds like it might work," he said, wondering if he should feel guilty for
               messing with Xander and Cordelia's lives just for the chance to spend time
               with Willow. If so, to hell with it. Surely he had earned some guilt free
               moments the past eighty some odd years. He smiled at Willow, "So, when do we
               start?"
 

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