Title: Finally
Author: Sarah
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Fox. I’ve just borrowed them for a little adventure and then I promise to return them unharmed, but they may be happier! J
Summary: Willow and Xander finally realise their feelings.
Notes: This is my take on how Will and Xander should get together. This is a little idea that popped into my head at Jewel’s suggestion as to how Willow and Xander should get together. This is complete mush and drivel so be warned!!!
I will be there for you, was written by Jessica Andrews.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Finally
The sun shone through the window
into Buffy and Willow’s dorm room. The
light causing shadows to dance on the walls.
Willow lay on her bed her eyes
closed tight, trying to remember happier times, when life had been simpler.
Well as simple as life could get living on a Hellmouth.
She sighed as images of Tara filtered into her mind.
The shock she felt as Tara morphed into a demon.
Her pale skin turning a putrid greed, her hazel eyes mutating into evil
red orbs. Her delicate fingers growing and twisting, talons emerging
where finger nails once had been. Willow
had trusted her and yet again she’d been betrayed.
First Oz then Tara.
Why was love never simple?
She recalled Xander pushing her
out of Tara’s way, as the demon attempted to capture her with her razor sharp
talons. He’d successfully removed
Willow from danger but had received a deep gash on his shoulder where Tara’s
talons had gouged his skin. His
face contorted with pain and shock. Willow
winced, feeling his pain, just as she had as a child. It was as if the connection, their bond, the one that
they’d shared as children had suddenly been reconnected. With the reconnection Willow felt a new power flow through
her veins, a power that was stronger than any she’d felt before.
Angry with Tara for hurting Xander, Willow concentrated the power towards
Tara. Outstretching her arms, a
brilliant blue light suddenly began to emanate from her hands, swirling in the
air, moving closer to the demon, encapsulating it in its glow.
The demon let out a final anguished scream before she disintegrated,
showering Xander and Willow in Tara dust.
They’d sat on the floor of her
dorm room completely in shock. Tara’s
transformation had been a surprise, a nasty surprise, one that had tested them
to the limit, but they had survived, their friendship had survived.
In fact since that night their friendship had strengthened, deepened,
they were happy with being Willow and Xander, best friends.
They shared more with each other than they had in years.
Taking time to talk, to really talk, get to know each other again,
without the complications of growing up.
Willow smiled.
Xander. She’d spent so
much of her teenage years idolising him, believing she loved him.
Now she understood that she didn’t love him then, she loved the idea of
loving him, being loved by him. She
understood that then they couldn’t have handled love, they struggled enough
with handling friendship and surviving life on the Hellmouth.
If they had been in love then it would have withered and died, just as
their other relationships had. Their
friendship had come within inches of being lost forever, but fortunately
they’d saved it and rebuilt it. She’d
grown up, finding love first with Oz and then with Tara, finally identifying
what she needed, finally identifying what love was.
Well part of what love was, as yet she didn’t think she’d been
completely in love, maybe a little in love but not head over heels completely in
love. One day though, she knew
she’d find it and when she did it would be more special than anything else
she’d ever felt before.
Her reverie was interrupted by a
hasty knock on the door. She
climbed off her bed and walked to the door, casually opening it.
A huge smile crossed her lips as she found Xander in the hallway; a tub
of ice-cream grasped in one hand and a box tucked under his other arm.
“Hey Will.
Thought you could do with a visit from your friend.”
“Well I’m not sure about a
friend, but ice-cream is a different question!” She teased.
Xander pulled a face.
“The ice-creams just for me. The
box is for you. Your Mom asked me
to drop it off. But I might be
willing to share the ice-cream if you let me see what’s in the box!”
“You mean you haven’t
looked?” Willow’s green eyes glistened with mischief.
“Me look! As if I would ever
dream of looking in your box. For
all I know it could be a delivery of something you don’t want me to see.”
“Has that ever stopped you
looking before? I remember you looking through the boxes under my bed at
home.”
“But I was looking for my
Christmas present!”
“And what did you find?”
“Not my Christmas present.
And what I did find stunted my intellectual growth forever!”
Willow rolled her eyes.
“Well how was I going to know you were going to look under my bed?
I thought it was a safe hiding place; I was embarrassed enough when my
Mom gave that book to me. She
thought it would be easier than having to explain everything to me.”
“Well, it shocked me so much
that I was put off girls for at least ten minutes!” He grinned, his brown eyes
shining with mischief.
“I thought it stunted your
intellectual growth!”
“An overstatement on my part.
But it certainly made me think twice about looking in any of your boxes
again.”
“Well it served you right for
snooping. I do not apologise for
keeping my private stuff, well private!” She giggled. “You’d better come
in before your ice-cream melts.”
“You only want me for my
ice-cream.” His face filled with mock pain.
“It’s a start, maybe
you’ll demonstrate your other uses later!”
It was good to be able to play
around again, tease each other to be comfortable in the others company.
It was something both of them had missed, the easiness of their
friendship, no need to impress, to just be themselves.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They sat on pillows on the floor
eating ice-cream. Willow couldn’t
resist any longer. She placed her spoon down and moved towards the box.
Slowly lifting the lid, eager to see what was inside.
She grinned when she saw its contents.
“What’s in there Will?
A new spell book?”
“No better than that.”
“Come on Will the suspense is
killing me!”
“This!” She replied removing
a large red photograph album.
“A photograph album?”
“Not just a photograph album,
but our photograph album.”
Xander looked at her a bemused
expression on his face.
Willow opened the album and
showed the first page to him. It
was a photograph of Will and Xander playing in the sandpit in the park.
They were about two at the time, both smiling for the camera.
“I guess we have a big history
Will.”
“And most of it is recorded in
here! My Mom started it when we
were small. She always had this
crazy idea that one day we’d end up together.
Well together as in a together forever kind of way.
I haven’t seen this in years. I
didn’t realise she still had it.”
“Your Mom always has ways of
surprising me.”
Willow moved and sat next to
Xander, placing the photograph album on both of their laps.
They moved through the pictures talking and laughing about each memory.
Their first day at kindergarten. Their
first day at grade school, their first dance.
Xander cringed at the photograph of himself with his clip on tie for the
eighth grade cotillion. The
Christmas play. Every moment of
their lives catalogued.
They both stopped at the final
picture in the album. It was the
night they’d been trying on clothes for the Homecoming dance.
Her Mom had insisted on taking a photograph of them both dressed in their
finery. This was the only
photograph in the album, where both Willow and Xander looked uncomfortable.
It had been after their first kiss.
“I suppose that’s the end of
memory lane.” Willow said moving her hand to close the album.
Xander stopped her, gently
grasping her hand in his. “That’s
not the end of memory lane Will. That was the start of something else.
The start of our future.” He said seriously.
Willow turned to look at him,
her mind conscious of his hand still holding her own.
“That was the night that our
friendship changed. It might not
have been the perfect moment, but it was the moment I realised something.”
“Realised what?” She asked,
still aware of the contact of their hands.
“That you were more than
Willow my best friend. You were,
you still are this beautiful woman, who showed me so much.
You taught me so many things Will. Without
you I’d probably be in a prison cell, getting acquainted with Big Boy Bill!”
Willow batted his arm.
“You would never have ended up with Big Boy Bill. You’re too kind and
caring for that. You’ve put
yourself in danger too many times, for both Buffy and me.
You’ve been there when I needed a friend, well most of the time.” She
grinned.
“Since Anya left and Tara,
well Tara disintegrated, I’ve had time Will.”
“Time for what?” She noticed
Xander’s eyes fall to their hands, intensely scrutinizing them.
“Time to…time to…” His
courage was faltering.
“What?” Willow asked, moving
his chin with her hand, so that his brown eyes met hers.
“To fall in love with you.”
Willow gasped at his revelation.
Her mind and heart responding not how she thought they would.
She thought she’d grown out of loving him, but hearing those words
suddenly made her defences melt. The
last six months they’d spent so much time together, rebuilding their
friendship, reconnecting, she knew how it had happened.
They’d been given time, time to know each other again, time to open
their hearts, time to fall in love.
“Willow?” He asked, his eyes
studying her face, hoping with every ounce of his flesh that she felt something
for him, anything. His love life
had never been smooth; he’d protected himself to some extent by choosing the
wrong women, well mainly demons. Cordy
had been the closest he’d had to a normal relationship, but that had been
built on lust, not love. He’d
never really experienced love until now. Suddenly
he knew what it meant. It was
everything he’d ever felt about Willow, every moment they’d shared; they’d
built a relationship out of trust, faith and understanding. And eventually they’d allowed those emotions to develop
into something deeper and purer than either had felt before.
She looked into his eyes,
understanding now that she’d finally found what she’d always wanted. Love.
It had been an unusual and dangerous journey but she knew that Xander
would protect, care and love her, just as she would him.
She smiled. “I’ve had
time too Xander.”
He returned her smile. “Time
for what?”
“To finally fall in love.”
She replied as she moved her lips slowly towards his. Their lips met sealing their declaration.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I will be there for you
When I lost faith, you believed in me.
When I stumbled, you were right there.
For every act of love you’ve done, I owe you one.
There were hard times.
I know I survived just because you stayed by my side.
With all I have, with all I am, I promise you all my life.
Whenever the road is too long,
Whenever the wind is too strong,
Wherever this journey may lead to,
I will be there for you.
Oh, I will be there for you.
Through sorrow,
On the darkest night,
When there’s heartache deep down inside,
Just like a prayer,
You will be there,
And I promise you all my life.
Whenever the road is too long,
Whenever the wind is too strong,
Wherever this journey may lead to,
I will be there for you.
Oh, I will be there for you.
~*~*~*~
The End
