~*~*~
 

Willow looked up, a small smile creasing her face as Xander wandered into the
kitchen. She shook her head slightly, taking a small sip of her tea as she
watched him walk to the refrigerator, still half asleep. His hair was touseled,
pajamas wrinkled, and his eyes were mostly shut. He looked as though he hadn’t
slept in days, which was odd since he had just woken up – long after the sun
set. He was tired, true.

But he was happy – she could tell.

In the two months since he had come to live with their little foursome he had
opened up more than she had ever seen him do. Under the tutelage of both Spike
and Angel he had already become a key member of the investigative agency,
helping to dispatch two demons his first week alone. Out from under the shadow
of the Slayer he had finally grown-up. And lastly, away from the abuse his
parents had visited upon him he finally was able to open up, learn to trust
someone wholeheartedly.

“Morning, Xan.” She called out, laughing when he jumped slightly – obviously
not having noticed her before that moment. He rubbed the back of his head, now
tender from where it had hit the freezer’s handle when he stood too quickly.

“Hey, Wills.” He replied, the look of surprise draining slowly from his face.
Giving the back of his head one final rub he grabbed a small bottle of orange
juice and walked to the table. Turning one of the chairs around, he straddled
it, sipping from the individual-sized container. Only then did he notice how
quiet the apartment was. It just wasn’t normal. Not in a house of five people.
“Where’re Deadboy and Junior?”

“They got called to kill some demon thing.” The red head shrugged. “You looked
so exhausted after last night’s trip to the karaoke bar that they didn’t want
to wake you. It was in San Diego so I don’t think they’ll be back soon.” She
smiled softly, slightly saddened that two of her lovers would be gone for the
evening.

Xander groaned, remembering the night before only too well. How he had ended up
on stage singing “Quit Playing Games With My Hear” he would never know. It
could –possibly- have been those three shots of tequila Spike had dared him to
take. With another grin he murmured. “Guess that means its just you, me and
Cordy.” He chuckled. “Wonder what kind of mischief we can get into.” He winked
suggestively, leering at her slightly.

Willow smirked, shaking her head and turning back to the newspaper in front of
her. It was amazing, but after all this time she had absolutely no romantic
feelings for the young man sitting in front of her. The idea of him joining her
happy little family did little but turn her off, in fact. Though she knew he
was just playing with the flirting, she couldn’t help but feel a little sad for
him. It must be hard, after all, being the only unattached person in the house.
Suddenly it came to her, while looking at the article on the full moon on the
page in front of her. There was only one true thing she could do, as a friend,
to make sure that Xander wasn’t lonely.

“I know –exactly- what we can do tonight.”

~*~

Xander swallowed nervously, looking around the room. The furniture had been
cleared away, pushed to either wall, leaving the wooden floor beneath it clear
for them to move about.

And according to Willow there would be lots of moving to be done. Circles and
chanting and fire and incense – all those ‘normal’ things.

“I’m not sure about this, Wills….” He sighed, watching as the red head laid out
various items on the floor near her feet. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her
magic anymore – far from it. He had heard the stories of the foursome’s trip to
Europe – the good that Willow had been able to do. It had helped to ease his
mind that maybe her talents had grown, matured some. But this…this involved
–him-.

“Oh, come on Xan. Its just a simple spell. The full moon is the perfect time to
do it, in fact.” She smiled up at her friend, picking up a bag of powder off of
the floor. “Its just going to find your true love for you. Don’t you want
that?”

Looking into the innocent-seeming green eyes of his friend he couldn’t help but
cave in. She always did this – turned on the charm and made it seem like she
was only doing something to –help- him. And it always worked. “Ok. Ok. I just
don’t want to end up a toad or anything.”
“Have a little faith, Xander” Cordelia smirked, taking up her place in a chair
far from the proceedings. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her lover’s magic…she
just didn’t want to be nearby if anything went wrong.

“Uh huh. That’s why you’re all the way across the room.” He laughed lightly.
“Ok. Lets get this started.” His palms began to sweat slightly as he took his
place in the center of the room. Slowly Willow began to walk around him,
spreading the chalky white powder on the floor as she chanted quietly to
herself. When the circle was completed she reached down to the items she had
placed on the floor. He watched as she picked up a small stone, taking it to
the northern most point of the circle. Again there was chanting. Next she took
a small, smoldering bunch of incense, waving it slowly in the air as she made
her way to the East, her chanting never ceasing. A lit candle came next, taken
to the South side with the same slow chanting. Finally a small bowl of water,
sprinkled liberally on the floor of the West side.

When the red haired witch picked up a large pink candle and began carving upon
it, Xander started to focus on the goal of the night, just as Willow had told
him to do. Whether or not it worked, at least he could say he had given it his
all. He focused his thoughts on finding that one person he was meant for. The
one person in the world that could make him feel like he was special – the
other half to a whole.

“Blow.” Willow commanded softly, holding out the candle she had so carefully
carved. Two small hearts now decorated one side of the large pillar,
intertwined together like true love should be. She smiled, nodded slightly as
he did as he was told, the sweet smelling smoke drifting into the air. The hard
part done, the young witch slowly began to banish the circle, starting in the
West and making her way to the North, bidding each of the elements a goodbye
and thank you.

“Did it work?” Xander asked, blinking as Cordelia flipped on the lights. He
squinted into the sudden brightness, grinning at Willow.

“I don’t know.” She admitted. Crossing the room to sit on the couch next to her
lover, the witch looked at her friend. “It says you will be contacted by your
true love within twenty-four hours if intent was pure. Her mouth opened as she
prepared to continue – to offer some preliminary encouragement in case nothing
came of the spell.

But the doorbell rang first.

No one in the room moved, their mouths dropping more than a little in shock.
Not even Willow had really believed it would work so fast.

“Well, answer the door!” Cordelia said, the first out of the group to recover.
She hid a smile as she watched her ex-boyfriend shake off his own shock and
move towards the door.

He couldn’t believe it. If Willow’s spell was to be believed, his true love was
standing on the other side of the door, just waiting for him to open it. The
trek across the room seemed both too short and too long at one time – his heart
both anxious and scared at the same time. Wiping away the sweat that filmed his
palms, the dark haired young man gave the two women a small smile before
unlocking the door. He took a deep breath, swinging it open quickly.

Shock.

Disbelief.

All that and a million other emotions went across his face as he stared at the
person on the other side. Silence filled the room, not even the whisper of a
breath breaking the stillness. Then…

“Hi, Faith.”

~*~ The End ~*~

next