Willow was happily bouncing through Party City looking for just the right
decorations. She hadn’t been this excited in quite a while so Tara just
smiled patiently and watched as her girlfriend filled their shopping
basket with balloons, streamers and various party favors. The blonde
*was* curious, however, as to why Willow was choosing such childish party
goods.

"Umm…Willow?"

"Yeah Tara?"

"Explain to me why you want to throw a children’s birthday party for a 20
year old man? I don’t get it." She didn’t want to spoil the mood the red
head was in but she was confused.

"Didn’t I explain that?" Willow tilted her head, trying to remember.
"No…I guess I didn’t. Well, you know Xander’s birthday is Saturday,
right?:

"Uh… I thought it was tomorrow."

"Actually, because of the day he was born, we usually celebrate on the
28th. But Xander’s birthday is actually February 29th since he was born
during leap year.

"Oh…ok." Tara was still clueless. "But why a kid’s party?"

"It’s tradition. Every leap year we have a party based on how many leap
years have gone by,"

Finally a light bulb went on inside Tara’s head. "Oh! So, because
February 29th only comes every four years, this is like Xander’s fifth
birthday?"

"Exactly!" Willow was, again, bouncing on her toes. "We’ve done this
since Xan turned 8 years old. Of course, back then it started out as a
joke between Xander, me and Jesse. But we had so much fun that we kept
doing it every four years."

"That’s actually a really sweet idea."

"Yeah…" Willow lost her smile for a moment. "This is the first one
without Jesse."

Tara gave her girlfriend a comforting hug. "I’m sure, from what you’ve
told me about him, that he would want you to carry on the tradition,
Willow."

"You’re right!" The smile was back. "It was always something special to
do for Xander. There’s no reason to break the tradition now! Besides, we
need something like this to cheer him up."

"He has been rather distant since Anya left." Tara was distractedly
looking through party hats and noise makers. "Did he ever tell what
actually happened between them? To make her leave?"

"No," Willow frowned at that. "He just said it was a mutual decision.
But he still seems off somehow."

"We’ll cheer him up, Will. Don’t worry about it. Come Saturday, we’ll
have him back to his old self."

"Yeah…come on. Let’s pay for this stuff and get over to the Magic Box.
We need to make sure Giles and Buffy are working on the food for the
party."

As the two witches headed for the check-out, a thought occurred to Tara.
"Are there going to be clowns at the party? Ya know…entertainment?"

"Oh no! Can’t have clowns!" Willow was suddenly very serious. "Xander
*hates* clowns!"

"Oh. So…no entertainment then?"

"Ooo that’s the best part this year!! I found this magician named David
Pepka who is coming out to put on a show!"

"A magician?" Tara asked incredulously.

"Yeah! Ya know…card tricks and stuff!"

"Oh…well that sounds like fun! This guy any good?"

"Better than good! I saw his act a couple years ago. He was incredible!
Trust me! Everyone will love him!"

****

"Are you sure a surprise party is the way to go with this, Wills? How’d
you get a key to Xander’s apartment without tipping him off, anyway?

"Relax, Buffy. Xander will be thrilled. With everything that has gone on
over the past four years, especially lately, it will be a welcome
surprise."

"And the key?"

"Hm? Oh…well I snuck his out of his pocket during the last research party
and ran out and made a copy while no one was paying attention."

"Willow!!"

"Oh calm down! It was for a good cause."

"Okay…the last one was a lot of fun! It was nice to be invited into your
private party since I had just come to town. I just don’t want him mad
that we were in his apartment without him. You know that’s his personal
haven. We hardly go there at all anymore."

"Trust me!"

****

"Okay, let’s go over this one last time before he gets here." Willow
seemed to be about to burst with excitement. "Tara, you watch out the
window and let us know when he comes into the building. Buffy, you flip
the lights off. Then we’ll all hide and wait for him and yell *SURPRISE*
as soon as he walks in!"

"Y..yes, Willow, I’m sure we know how a surprise party works." Giles
rolled his eyes good naturedly. He was still wondering how he was
convinced to take part in this silly celebration. But he wasn’t
complaining. He’d never admit it, but he was touched that Willow would
invite him. Especially when she told him of how it all began.

"I know. I’m just *so* excited!"

"I think we picked up on that, Will." Tara smiled at her post by the
window. "Oh..oh! Here he comes…"

"Quick, the lights!" Willow interrupted her. "Everyone hide!"

"Umm…Willow?"

"Shh…Tara, you have to be really quiet for this to work right."

"B…but…."

At that moment the door swung open and they heard Xander stumble in.
Instead of him turning on the lights, as they expected, all they heard was
a low moan and the rustle of clothes being removed. Willow, not wanting
her best friend to be embarrassed by undressing at the most inopportune
time, ran over to the light switch and flipped it on.

"SURP…" Everyone fell silent at the same moment, taking in the sight
before them.

There was Xander, all right. And Spike.

As Buffy, Willow, Tara and Giles stood there with their voices caught and
their jaws firmly planted on the carpet, Spike and Xander proceeded to
essentially maul each other. Lips seemingly permanently attached, hands
were flying everywhere trying to rid them of unwanted clothing.

"Oh dear lord," came the response from Giles who was only partially
recovered from the shock.

That seemed to bring the girls out of the collective stupor that had
descended.

"I…I tried to tell you he wasn’t alone." Tara was unable to pull her eyes
away as she whispered her defense.

Willow was also transfixed on the men before her. "Have you ever seen
anything so intense?"

The gasping and panting from the erotic scene unfolding was like
background music. It was obvious that neither Xander nor Spike even
realized they were being watched. Or rather gawked at. Finally shirts
started to fly and the group was witness to the first contact of skin on
skin and the accompanying groan that escaped the throats of both men.

Buffy had yet to avert her eyes from them. It wasn’t until she saw
Xander’s hands reach down to undo Spike’s button-fly jeans that she was
able to break the trance she seemed to be in. Not really wanting to, she
walked over and tried to dislodge the oblivious couple before they could
strip each other completely.

"Hey! Guys!! Xander! Spike? Come on guys let go!" It took nearly all
her strength to finally pull the blonde off her friend. "Now, what the
hell is going on?!" Not receiving a response, she watched as Xander
reattached himself to Spike who was struggling to get out of her grasp.

Finally loose, the brunette backed the vampire into the wall and continued
his task of removing the tight black jeans. Pulling back slightly,
Xander paused to bend down and unlace Spike’s Doc Marten’s and his own
shoes. As he stood back up both men toed off their shoes while Spike went
to work on Xander’s jeans. Moments later they were grinding naked bodies
together desperately seeking the friction they both needed.

To say the very least, their audience was once again dumbstruck. Not even
Giles could manage to pull his eyes from the writhing bodies before him.
Tara and Willow had drifted closer to each other and appeared to be having
their own battle to control their hormones. Buffy had a look of confusion
oddly combined with unadulterated lust on her face. They all knew it was
wrong to watch but none could find the will to turn away. And if there
had been even a chance of gaining control of their reactions, it was lost
as the mindless gasps and groans became words of want and need.

"Gods, Spike…I gotta have you…now."

"I need to feel you, luv. Please!"

With that, Xander lifted the vampire up allowing his legs to wrap around
him. Spike wound his fingers into the young man’s hair as Xander began to
lick and bite at his throat.

"Bed, luv… *now*!"

Pushing away from the wall, Xander carried his lover to the bedroom and
kicked the door closed behind them.

****

"Wow." Finally, Buffy was able to find the her ability to speak. "That
was…"

"Yeah…very." Willow collapsed on the couch, Tara following right next to
her.

"Yes…well," unable to finish his thought, Giles took off his glasses and
began to vigorously polish them on the hem of his shirt.

"Do…do you think we should leave?"

No one was able to answer Tara’s question at first because there was
suddenly two moans of obvious bliss from the bedroom.

"Perhaps we should stay. Just to make sure everything is alright."

Three heads spun to look, in shock, at Giles. None of them wanted to
leave. They were *really* curious as to what exactly was going on between
Xander and Spike. Besides the obvious, of course. But no one was
expecting Giles to voice it!

"Um…right," Buffy came to the unneeded defense of her watcher. "This
could be something, ya know, hellmouthy or something!"

"Yeah. Just in case." Willow snuggled closer to her girlfriend, ready to
wait it out.

****

Meanwhile, in the bedroom two bodies were entangled, looking like nothing
more than a mass of flesh. There was no way to tell where one body ended
and the next began. Words of need and desire were whispered. Pleas for
release were panted. Cries of pleasure filled the air.

****

"Xan, luv?" Spike looked down at his lover. He didn’t really want to
disturb him, but knew that something had to be done with the situation
they were about to find themselves in.

"Hmm?" The young man snuggled closer to the vampire.

"Come on, pet. We may as well get this over with," Spike whispered while
trying to pull away.

"Don’t wanna!"

"That pout isn’t going to work, Xan. We have to go out there."

"Fine! But just remember that leaving this room was *your* idea," Xander
stated matter-of-factly as he began pulling clothes out of his closet.

Chuckling, Spike answered, "Duly noted, luv."

As both men finished dressing, they shared another passion filled kiss
before reaching for the bedroom door.

"Ready, Spike?"

"Always."

****

Two heads shot up as the door slowly opened to reveal the couple entering
the living room. Immediately, Buffy walked over to Xander and shoved a
cross in his face. After a protest from Spike, Xander took the cross in
his hand and tossed it back to the slayer.

"Sorry, Xan. I just had to make sure." The brunette was satisfied with
the look of embarrassment on his friend’s face.

"No big deal. Would have thought you were crazy if you didn’t suspect
something like that." The brunette looked around the room and saw a
slightly embarrassed Giles but no sign of the witches. "Where’d Wills and
Tara go?"

"They went to the kitchen for drinks…30 minutes ago!" Buffy realized
quickly what had happened and started toward the kitchen. "Willow!!!"

Spike took hold of her arm to stop her. "Shh…they’re almost done, pet.
May as well give them another minute."

"How do you know that, oh-biteless-one?"

The vampire tapped the end of his nose while responding simply, "Can smell
it." A wide grin spread across his face then. "And now," he tilted his
head toward the kitchen where the girls in question were finally coming
out. "they are done."

Xander, who had shifted around Spike to rest his chin on the blonde’s
shoulder, smiled at his best friend. "So…have fun Wills?"

Blushing furiously, Willow and Tara sat down mumbling apologies for their
actions. But, remembering what had happened two hours earlier (and ever
since) to set them off, the red head went over and poked a finger in
Xander’s face.

"Don’t you start in on me!! What the hell happened here? Since when are
you and Spike bed buddies, huh? What happened to ‘I am *not* gay’?? Not
that I’m not happy that you found someone since Anya left, but Spike?!
How did this happen?" Then, almost wistfully, "Are you in love? Did you
always find him attractive? Who came to whom? Are you happy with him?"
Not pausing for a breath, Willow’s babbling turned toward Spike. The
finger she had put in Xander’s face quickly jabbed into the vampire’s
chest with surprising force. "And *you*!!! If you hurt him, you’ll beg
me to LET Buffy stake you!! I don’t care if you are defenseless with that
chip in your head! You lay one fang on him and you will live…umm, unlive
to regret it!!"

"WILLOW!!" Xander could already see that if he didn’t stop her now, his
best friend would never take a breath. "Calm down, okay? Spike isn’t
going to hurt me. Can’t bite, remember?"

"Hey!" As suspected, the vampire piped up at the reminder of ‘the soddin’
chip’. Then a little calmer, "I would never hurt my Nummytreat! Love
him. Would rather stake myself."

"Oh," was the only reply that Willow could come up with.

At the brief pause in hysterics, Xander took a moment to finally look
around his apartment. Seeing the streamers and party favors, he couldn’t
stop the tears from welling up in his eyes.

"Wills?" His voice caught in his throat.

"You okay, pet?" Spike wasn’t sure what to make out of the look on his
lover’s face. Turning on the Scooby Gang, the vampire glared daggers as
he spoke, "What the hell did you…"

"No, Spike," he was interrupted by Xander as the brunette moved to get a
better view of the room. "This is definitely of the good. I just can’t
believe you remembered, Willow." The birthday boy was obviously in shock
at what he was seeing.

"Is it okay, Xander? I figured why should we break such a great
tradition?" Willow didn’t seem nearly as certain about the party as when
she was planning it.

"It’s perfect, Wills." Xander pulled away from Spike long enough to hug
his best friend and plant a kiss on Tara’s and Buffy’s cheeks. Stopping
himself a split second before doing the same to Giles, he reached for a
hearty handshake.

****

The rest of the night proved to be an absolute blast. Although, Xander
was disappointed to hear that the entertainment had only performed a
vanishing act after hearing the noise coming from the bedroom when Willow
answered the door. There was chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream of
course. And pizza that had long since gotten cold. Giles had even
conceded in allowing Spike to do a beer run for the underage group.
//Only because it’s a special occasion! Don’t get used to it!//

As the evening wore on, Xander and Spike began to explain how they had
become friends before Anya left town saying that Xander was meant to be
with someone else. She wouldn’t say who but told him that, in order to
finally be truly happy, he’d have to open his mind and heart to new ideas.
She had kissed him on the forehead and walked away.

"I had known we weren’t going to be together forever but I was kind of
shocked that she stepped aside for someone else. And *then* wouldn’t tell
me who!"

"Err…she told me, pet." Spikes voice was almost a whisper.

"What?!" Xander could not have been more surprised at this piece of
information. They had discussed Anya’s departure at great lengths and
this had never been mentioned.

"Well, she didn’t really come right out and say it!" Spike tried
desperately to salvage the situation. "It wasn’t like she was going to
make it easy on either of us. Just left me with a few cryptic words."

"What did she say, Spike?" Oddly, the question came from Buffy. It seems
they had all become entranced by the tale.

Spike glanced around the room at the Scooby gang before settling his blue
eyes on his lover. "She said, ‘Protect his heart and show him what true
love is. Do this and the future is yours together. Fail and spend
eternity searching for what you will never find.’ Took me a while before
I really understood her."

Hearing those words, Xander stood and walked over to the vampire while
telling his friends, "Spike and I were put in Sunnydale at the same time
for a reason." He reached Spike and held out a hand to him but kept
talking. "There is one true love out there for everyone. Fate always
manages to bring them to the same place and time. It’s up to us to
realize it before it’s too late."

With that, Xander and Spike leaned forward at the same time, there lips
meeting in the middle. A happy sigh came from all around them and without
breaking the kiss, they vaguely heard the group quietly walk out the door.
Leaving them to each other.

Pulling apart, the blonde smiled at the young man. "Do you think they
bought it?"

"Oh yeah! No doubt about it!" Xander laughed as they both fell back onto
the couch. "That was pretty quick thinking! I would have hated for them
to find out the truth!"

"Right," Spike said with a nod of certainty. "Wouldn’t do for them to
know we were bested by that damn sex demon!"

"You’re telling me! They already think I can’t handle helping in the
slaying! They’d have me on research duty until I turned old and gray if
they found out about this!!"

The two sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. Neither wanting
to admit the evening had been thoroughly enjoyable. And extraordinarily
exciting for both of them.

"So, Spike…"

"Well, Xan…"

They both began at the same time. Then stopped and shared another laugh.
A slightly nervous laugh.

"The sun will be up soon," Xander managed to look Spike in the eyes as he
spoke. "would you like to stay?"

In answer, Spike leaned forward and brushed his lips to the boy’s.
Together they rose from the couch only to make their way to the darkened
bedroom. And as the door closed behind them, their came a light giggle in
the air.

"It’s about time!" Oddly, the voice sounded suspiciously like that of a
certain ex-vengeance demon.

End!