Not an Island
by Scorpio
***WILLOW***
It was such a lovely day today. Fun. Sweet. Almost...perfect.
She and Tara had woken up a bit early, so their morning routine had been more
relaxed than rushed. Classes had been interesting and she had received a 94%
on the surprise quiz that she'd not considered herself prepared for. Study
time in the library that afternoon had been wonderful. A book that she had
needed had *finally* been returned and the guy on the waiting list above her
name had changed his mind, so she was able to grab it *today*. Dinner had
been a sweet and slightly sappy affair as she and Tara had shared it in their
door room...alone.
Yes. Life was wonderful. She was deliriously happy. Things were...almost
perfect.
With a wide smile on her face and the fingers of her left hand entwined with
the fingers on Tara's right hand, she pushed open the door to the Magic Box
and strolled in.
"Hello everyone. We're here and we brought a new book."
They walked across the front room to the single step down that separated the
"to be sold stuff" from the Scooby Research Area. Five faces turned to face
them.
Five.
Not four.
Spike was with them.
Spike.
Her happiness balloon burst with a big resounding pop as she suddenly
remembered. All of the same emotions she'd had when she'd first heard the
news swept over her in rapid-fire sensation, then she was hit in the chest
with major guilt for forgetting in the first place.
It wasn't so hard to forget that two months ago Anya had left Xander for
another man. One who earned more money. It wasn't even that surprising
really. The ex-Demon always was greedy and grabby and her understanding of
how human feelings worked was shaky at best.
No. She didn't really forget that.
The thing that kept slipping from her mind, and she suspected it was an
emotional block, was that Xander had a *new* lover. And that lover was Spike.
SPIKE!!!!!!
She felt her smile become forced and stiff even as her eyes hardened. Walking
around the back of the table with Tara in tow, she shot the bleached blonde
vampire a glare that just *screamed* hatred. He smirked back at her and she
had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling at him to let go of *her* best
friend and take his cigarettes, his leather jacket and go walk in the
sunshine.
It wasn't *fair* that Spike was taking advantage of Xander. After all, the
boy wasn't that bright to begin with, throw in a broken heart and *boom*,
instant vulnerability. And Spike was just using him, Willow was certain.
She'd *have* to do something to break them up...but what? A spell? A charm? A
curse? A stake through Spike's unbeating heart? So many choices...how was a
girl to choose?
***BUFFY***
Today sucked. Really sucked. The ultimate in suckdom. Suckage was the word of
the day.
First, she had overslept and Dawn had taken the last of the Honey-Nut
Cheerios. That left her with a choice of toast, dry because they were out of
jelly, or the last moldy bagel.
Classes had been long and overblown. Even the one she shared with Willow
hadn't been as nice as it usually was due to a stupid surprise quiz. She
hadn't studied because she hadn't *known* she needed to. *Her* night last
night had consisted of saving the world from a bunch of demons that resembled
giant fish with legs. But did that count? No. She was *not* graded on the
special Slayer Grading Curve and so had to except a 75%. Not *bad*...but not
*good* either.
Then, after classes, she had broken down and went grocery shopping. Since
that task always left her feeling stupid, poor and completely orphaned since
her mother died, she figured that taking Dawn would help to ease the tension
her subconscious associated with the domestic task.
Mistake.
If it had sugar in it, Dawn had wanted it. Price be damned. It had been like
trying to shop with Xander.
Xander.
That was another reason that today was a sucky type of day. On her way over
here, she had caught the two of them making out in an alley. Ewww! Well,
Xander kisses weren't anything that bothered her. After over a year of him
dating Anya, Buffy had grown immune to seeing him paw his love interest in
public. But *Spike* kisses!
Eck!
Her brain had automatically screamed "Vampire eating Xander!" and she had
automatically drawn her stake and had been seconds away from staking him in
the back when she realized that Xander wasn't being *eaten*, he was being
*kissed*.
By Spike.
Again.
She had barely managed to get the stake down and tucked away before they
turned and saw her.
Now...Willow and Tara had just arrived and the redheaded witch was throwing
glares and dirty looks at Spike like they were going out of style.
Hmmm...maybe Willow would be willing to distract Xander and then she could
stake Spike. They could just play it off as if the vampire had dumped Xander
and took off. Maybe spread some rumors that Drusilla had been seen
around...that would convince the brunette idiot that Spike had left town.
Right?
And besides the pleasure that she would get from staking the bleach abuser,
it *was* for Xander's own good. If he wasn't smart enough to see how bad the
evil vampire was for him, than as good friends, it was their duty to save him
from...himself.
***TARA***
Pulling the chair out away from the table, she sat down and offered a tiny
shy smile around the room. She got a smile and nod from Buffy and Anya. An
absent minded nod from Mr. Giles, a huge and friendly grin from Xander and a
smirk from Spike.
Willow continued to glare at the blonde vampire.
Biting back a sigh, Tara considered her lover with a tiny barely there frown.
It had been such a good day. A lovely day. And now...her lover was angry and
confused. The target for all that badness was, of course, the smirking blonde
sitting next to Xander.
Tara didn't really understand just *why* their relationship upset her
girlfriend so much. It was very plain and obvious to *her* that Xander had
never been so happy before. His relationship with Anya had been strained and
intense and even occasionally loving, but there hadn't been any happiness
involved at all.
It had been almost as if they had merely been going through the motions. Anya
had felt that she had *needed* a boyfriend because that's what mortal girls
did. Xander was not only conveniently *there* at the time, he wasn't put off
her status as an ex-demon. And Xander had been desperate for *any* kind of
affection...even affection from an ancient being whose emotional development
was that of a third grader.
But now...Xander was painfully obvious about expressing his happiness and
Spike seemed much calmer and steadier and less manic and hopeless. Xander was
more confident and he was standing up for himself more and more often. He was
visibly less jittery and jumpy. Spike was still rude, but his comments lacked
their normal bite and he often laughed when those types of comments were
turned on himself, instead of getting all moody and nasty and storming off in
an offended huff.
She honestly felt that Xander was good for Spike and that the vampire was
good for Xander. They were good for each other, allowing their lover to grow
and change and become better people due to their own influence.
So, how come she seemed to be the only one to see this?
***GILES***
Giles absentmindedly smiled and nodded at Willow and Tara as they made their
way in, grabbed some books to research, and quieted down. A quick glance
around to make sure no one was asleep or on the verge of causing a commotion,
not to mention to be certain that Xander and Spike weren't sneaking off to
snog again, he turned his full attention back to his work.
The Soul Restoration Spell.
After all, Xander was like a son to him. Granted, an often willful,
inconsiderate and alarmingly stupid son...but a son nonetheless. And if the
boy *insisted* on romancing the evil undead, then it was his duty as the
father figure to curse his love interest. With a soul.
If anyone, especially Spike or Xander, found out about his idea, they would
be upset. His ears would undoubtedly ring with cries of "The chip! It makes
Spike safe!" but Giles had long since learned not to put his faith in
American technology. In fact, it seemed as if many products were made in such
a way as for them to break just as the warranty ran out so as to *force* you
to spend more money to either fix said object or to simply replace it with a
newer model.
And Giles also worried about it malfunctioning due to misuse as well. The
chip was subjected to, most likely, thousands of vile and evil thoughts a
day, not to mention Spike routinely had his head bashed about during fights
with demons. How long until it stopped working?
So...the Soul Restoration Spell.
The only problem with it was the happiness-clause. Xander would never forgive
*that* little addendum, so...here he was, trying to find a way to modify it
so that the two could...God help him, still enjoy sex.
The things he does for his children. It boggles the mind.
***DAWN***
The day had been...weird. First, her sister had freaked over *cereal*! Talk
about being *way* too stressed and...what was that word?...oh yeah...*anal*!
Then school had been...school and after that, Buffy had dragged her to the
grocery store and then *refused* to let her get a big of chocolate chip
cookies *or* a package of chocolate pudding.
What...*Buffy* never gets her period? Dawn had gotten it twice, and her third
one was due any day now and her best friend Melissa had *promised* that
chocolate helped with the mood swings and the cramping. But did Miss I'm The
Slayer So Bow To My Will care? No!
However, when Melissa called to ask her to go to the Mall, Buffy agreed as
long as afterwards she came right to the Magic Box. So...a few hours of
coolness with Melissa helped her feel better. And she *did* buy a Hershey's
chocolate bar when she was there. So, it was okay.
Now, here she was, standing in front of the Magic Box and not wanting to go
in and deal with her sister. Willow and Tara were cool. Always nice to her
anyway...even if they did tend to see her as a little kid when she was
practically a woman now. But she could forgive them that...they *were*
teaching her magic after all.
No, the only real reason to go inside was Spike and Xander. Xander had been
her first crush and she guessed he would *always* hold a soft spot in her
heart. And Spike? Well, he was her second best friend...right after Melissa.
He never talked down to her and he never treated her any different because of
how young she was. She guessed it was because to him, even *Giles* was just a
kid. And Giles was just about the oldest old person she knew!
Still...maybe she'd get to see Spike and Xander sneaking kisses. They were so
adorable when they kissed and it made a warm squishy feeling grow inside her
belly to watch.
She hoped they stayed together forever.
***ANYA***
Her attention was diverted slightly when Willow and Tara came in, then again
when Dawn came in. But she had lots of discipline and was able to jerk her
attention back where it belonged...where it wanted to be. On him. Them.
She missed him. Terribly. And she loved him. Completely. Enough to set him
free of her.
She had known from when they first started dating that he was bisexual with
more interest in the gay end of that spectrum. She had known that one day, he
would mature enough to be able to except this about himself.
She had also needed a touchstone, friend and protector in the frightening
mortal world. And he was there for her. Teaching her, helping her adjust,
loving her and accepting her for what she was, had been and eventually would
be.
And through it all, she waited, knowing that one day, he'd find the man he
was destined to spend his life loving and that he would someday be able to
deal with and even thrive from that love.
And while she waited and learned and became a functioning member of society
once again, she did the most stupid and idiotic thing of her entire
existence. She fell in love with him.
So, when he began to realize that his heart belonged to Spike...she set him
free. Her "new* boyfriend had been a complete fabrication, but no one knew
that.
And now...she watched and yearned and loved and ached...but he was happy. And
that was all that counted.
Right?
END
