It had been three days since Oz had seen Willow. Giles
breathed a mental sigh as he watched the young man
staring silently out the front window and wondered how
much longer he could listen to the wolf's gloomy
mutterings without going mad.
"I thought he rented an apartment yesterday," Xander
said quietly as he sat down next to Anya.
"He did," Giles nodded. "And then he came directly
back here, where he waited until midnight, in the hope
that Willow would stop by. I found him on my doorstep
first thing this morning, bearing the morning paper
and a sack of donuts. I'm still trying to figure out
how I ended up in the middle of this."
"Just lucky, I guess," Buffy quipped from beside his
armchair.
Giles grinned and looked back over at the young man,
"Willow actually hit him?"
"Yup, she did."
"I'm beginning to understand why," Giles admitted.
Buffy stifled a giggle as Oz turned from the window.
"It's him, isn't it?" he asked softly. "He's keeping
her away from me."
"I don't think Spike makes Will do anything she
doesn't want to do," Buffy answered bluntly.
"She probably just can't stand the sight of you," Anya
suggested brightly before turning her eyes on Xander.
"Can we go to the Bronze, now? We were supposed to be
there a half an hour ago."
"She's right," Buffy said. "We should get going."
"Mind if I tag along?" Oz asked as he followed them to
the door.
The slayer looked at him uneasily.
"They're going to be there, aren't they?" he guessed.
"Buffy, I promise I won't start anything."
"I don't know," she said.
"Please?" he asked softly, looking to Xander and Anya
for support.
"I don't mind," Xander shrugged.
"Just don't spend the night whining about Willow,"
Anya requested as she opened the door.
"Anya--" her boyfriend said reproachfully.
"Well, it's true. He dumped her, after all," the
former demon argued. "If I had my powers, I'd drain
all the water from his body. Then his tongue would
cleave to the roof of his mouth, and we wouldn't have
to listen to him sniveling on anymore."
Giles smiled softly and indulged in the fleeting wish
that Anya could make good on her threat.
***
Spike took Willow's hand and led her off the dance
floor as Buffy, Xander, and Anya came into the Bronze.
"I need a drink," the redhead said. "Want anything?"
He shook his head and went to the table Anya had
chosen while Willow joined Buffy and Xander at the
bar.
"Is he here?" Spike asked, taking a seat across from
her.
Anya nodded, "He came in behind us. The second he
spied you two together, he slunk off into a corner.
His eyes caught hers and held as he leaned slightly
forward and lowered his voice, "You're sure you can do
this?"
"I may be a bit out of practice, and my abilities may
be limited to the human, but I can do it," she
answered confidently. "If anyone deserves to squirm,
he does."
A cold grin curled his lips, and he nodded and sat
back just as Willow and the others approached. She sat
down next to him, and he took the hand she laid on the
table and curled his fingers through hers before
leaning over and giving her a quick kiss.
End.