Willow looked up when the shop door opened. She was startled to see Faith but smiled and welcomed her in anyway. It had been just over a week since she’d been in L.A. and she hadn’t really expected the slayer to come to Sunnydale, even though she had issued the invite.

“Nice place. Feels real… mystical.” Faith eyed the various jars and whatnot lining the shelves. She hadn’t been too sure she was ready to make this trip, but from what the redhead had told her, the town needed a slayer, one who was experienced with the darker aspects but could recognize the balance. She wanted to be that slayer.

“Thanks, we like it. It pays the bills, and hey, I never run out of spell ingredients!” Willow scrunched up her nose in thought. “Well, at least when I remember to place the orders on time.” She grimaced as she remembered coming back from L.A. a week ago only to find out that they were short a few key ingredients that they should have had on hand. She had almost yelled at Tara in her frustrated state until she remembered that it was she who was supposed to have sent in the order.

“Oh, yeah, I wondered about that. You know, whether you had done the spell to get Xander and Blondie back yet.” She picked up one of the books and began flipping through the pages. She looked up at Willow and grinned. “Wood nymphs, huh?”

Willow blushed and took the book. “I ordered it for the spells.” Faith winked at her and smiled. Willow frowned at her but then shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not saying I didn’t look at the pictures, just that they weren’t the reason I ordered the book.”

Getting right to business, Faith asked, “So, where does this Trisha usually patrol? Thought I might check her out tonight, be all covert-y.”

Willow frowned. “I’m not sure. She seems to just sort of pop up. But I can locate her for you when the sun sets.” Faith nodded and headed for the door. Willow stopped her before she left. “Where are you going?”

“Just thought I’d walk around a bit, take in the sights. See what’s changed, you know? Maybe get a room.” Faith looked a bit uneasy and unsure of herself.

“Okay, will you come back later? You could… you could stay with Tara and me. There’s a spare room.” Willow smiled reassuringly. She wanted to give Faith a chance to prove herself; extending an invitation just seemed like the right thing to do.

“You sure? I won’t be putting you out?” Faith looked Willow over, searching for any signs of mistrust or hostility. She didn’t find any, so she relaxed.

“Not at all. We’d be glad to have you.” Willow nodded enthusiastically. “So will you stay?”

“Sure Red, I’ll be back here in a couple hours.” Faith walked out into the sunny afternoon and felt better than she had in ages. She made her way to Buffy’s grave and took a minute to clear the leaves from the headstone.

“Hey, B. You have good friends, you know. I hope you’ve found peace, God knows you deserve it. I just wanted to tell you that I’ll take real good care of your family for you. Willow, man, she’s something. Forgave me straight off; I hope Xander will. He’s gonna be a tough sell, though. I hope you believe that I’ve changed; I have. I’m gonna make you proud, B. I will.” Faith wiped the lone tear from her face and walked away.

It was barely light out when John was awakened by the sound of someone pounding on his front door. He rolled Trisha away from him and got out of bed. After slipping on his pajama bottoms and robe, he made his way down stairs to the door. “Who is it?”

“Stephan Hawkes. I’m from the council. Open the door.” John sighed and tightened the belt on his robe. He wasn’t expecting a visit from the watchers this soon; it had to be trouble. Or maybe they had finally come to do something about that Faith girl. She was causing him all sorts of trouble with his slayer.

John opened the door and was greeted by three very large men. They certainly didn’t look like watchers. “Who are you?” John was already stepping away from the door as he asked. If he could get upstairs and wake Trisha, they might stand a chance against these guys.

“I told you already,” the largest of the three answered. “I’m Stephan Hawkes. This is William Pryce and Eugene Milburn, my associates.” He pointed to the other two men, and then grinned nastily at John. “We’re here to escort you back to London, Mr. Leeds. It seems you’ve been a very bad boy.”

John sputtered and once again tried to make for the stairs when Eugene caught hold of his arm and held him in place. Stephan made tsking noises and reached into his jacket pocket. “He pulled out a sheaf of fax papers and presented them to John. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain what these are.”

John looked at the pictures of himself and Trisha making love and hung his head in shame. It was clear to him that he had no choice but to follow these men back to England. He could only hope that his career wouldn’t be completely ruined. “I’ll just pack my things and say goodbye to Trisha.”

“You have five minutes. After that, William here comes after you.” Stephan stood by the front door, while Eugene went outside to cover the bedroom window and William took up position at the foot of the stairs.

Trisha woke up as John came back into the room. She watched as he pulled a suitcase out of the closet and began to pack. “What are you doing?” She got out of bed and walked toward him.

“For God’s sake, Trish! Put some bloody clothes on, we have company.” John continued to pack as Trisha pouted but did as she was told. Once she was dressed in her t-shirt and track pants she wandered over to John again to see what he was doing.

“Why are you packing? Should I get my things?” A trip away from Sunnydale sounded like fun. She hated this place; the vampires never stopped coming, and the number and varieties of demons was overwhelming.

“I’m going back to England. You are staying here.” John was angry with her for putting him in this position in the first place. If she hadn’t seduced him he would still have his career as watcher to an active slayer; now he wasn’t sure what would become of him. “There are three very large men waiting downstairs to escort me.”

“What? Why?” Trisha wanted answers, if she was going to lose her watcher and be left here in demon central, she wanted to know why.

“Because they know. They have pictures, Trisha. Pictures of us… together. They will be sending you a new watcher, preferably a woman.” Hopefully, he thought to himself, she wouldn’t try to seduce her as well.

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce hadn’t felt this useful in ages. He hadn’t thought about his place in Angel Investigations in ages, just doing what he always had. Now it was painfully obvious that he was nothing more than a fifth wheel. Cordelia and Angel had formed a little family of their own with Angel’s son, Gunn and Fred had started seeing each other and were becoming quite seriously involved. He was still pulling his weight in the research department, but he knew that Fred could research just as well as he could, and did when he wasn’t available.

They had Lorne to read them and give them advice; Charles was a more capable fighter than he, Angel was capable of spell casting, and Cordelia was some kind of super-demon now. What was left for him? Not a lot as far as he could tell. So it was with great relief and pleasure, even, that he accepted the offer from the council of watchers. It was merely temporary, but it gave him a chance to make up for the past mistakes he’d made with Faith. He would make sure that Trisha didn’t follow in her footsteps.

“Wes! Hey man, come on in.” Faith opened the door of the apartment and ushered him inside. She was happy to see him. He had been the biggest supporter of her returning to Sunnydale, telling her that he had complete trust in her ability to protect the town and it’s residents.

“Faith, it is good to see you. How have you been?” He smiled as she hugged him briefly before heading for the kitchen.

“Five by five. You want tea? We have herbal - yuck - and Earl Grey.” Faith moved around the kitchen, putting on the kettle and getting some eggs from the fridge. “So what brings you to Sunnyhell? Checking up on me?”

Wesley followed her into the kitchen. “Earl Grey if it’s no trouble. I can’t stand herbal tea, and I’m here because the council has asked me to step in and take over temporary duty as Miss O’Leary’s watcher.”

“Cool. You want eggs? I make a pretty mean omelette.” Faith began cracking eggs into a large mixing bowl. She wasn’t sure why she was so pleased about Wes being here, only that she was. She hoped the council didn’t replace him too soon.

“Oh, yes. That would be good. I left quite early this morning and didn’t have time to eat.” Wes took a seat at the table and watched as Faith moved around the room, fixing tea, making toast and cooking eggs. He was amazed at the changes in the young woman. Once again he felt the burden of his failure. He knew that in some ways, it was his fault that she had turned away from her calling, had gone bad. It was something he could never truly atone for.

“Hey, ease up. You’re gonna give Angel a run for king of brood if you keep that up.” Faith smiled at Wesley’s startled expression. She knew he was thinking about the past; Sunnydale had bad memories for both of them. “We have a clean slate here. A chance to make up for things. I know we can’t forget the past, but we can make sure it doesn’t repeat itself.”

“You are a wise and remarkable young woman, Faith. Thank you.” Wesley took the cup of tea she held out to him and smiled. Maybe things would be good here this time.

Trisha was less than pleased with her new watcher. First of all, he was friends with the other slayer, Faith. Second of all, he was also friends with the witches. The very ones that had corrupted the last slayer. She was currently standing in the back room of the Magic Box watching the older slayer go through her training routine. She had to admit - somewhat begrudgingly - that the girl was good. Way better than she was.

“Now Trisha, show me what your watcher had you do in the way of training.” Wes wasn’t expecting to see much. From what Faith had told him, she had been very lucky so far. If she had ever had to face Spike or Angelus she would have been killed easily. It was lucky for her that no new master vampire had yet tried to claim the Hellmouth.

Trisha glared at him but did as she was told. Both Faith and Wesley watched as she went through her stances; they could both see that she needed a lot of work. “Sloppy. It’s a wonder some fledgling hasn’t made a meal of you yet.” Wes stepped in and directed her movements.

For the next hour Trisha worked harder than she had since becoming the slayer. She sparred against Wesley and was appalled at how easily he took her down. If she couldn’t hold up to a regular human being, even a well-trained one, what chance did she have against a master vampire? She was beginning to think that she might have been wrong in her assessment of these people.

Willow and Tara brought in lunch and tried to make Trisha feel welcome. They could see the similarities between her and a younger Faith. Willow was determined not to let Trisha go down that path. She thought that maybe, if they had been better friends to Faith back in high school, she could have been saved as well.

By the end of the day, Trisha was exhausted. She had watched Faith and Wesley fight, amazed at the ease in which Faith bested the man when she could barely get a hit on him. She made a decision right then and there to give these people a chance. If she was going to live, she needed their help.

Willow was ecstatic. The shipment she had been waiting for had finally shown up. She bounced around the front of the shop waiting for the others to arrive. Wesley and Faith were moving their things into the house the council had set up for Trisha, and Tara had gone to collect Clem. It was only a matter of minutes before she could finally bring Xander home.

The front door opened and Tara and Clem arrived. Clem was still nervous about being in the same room as two slayers, especially one that had tried to kill him, and he had heard things about the other one - things that made him doubt his own sanity in coming here. Tara had assured him that Faith was different now, and that Trisha was learning that things weren’t always black and white. Still, if it weren’t for the fact that he missed his friend, he wouldn’t be here.

“Oh good, you’re back!” Willow rushed over and kissed Tara soundly on the mouth. Clem smiled and turned away to give them some privacy. Tara hugged her lover and stroked her back softly. She knew Willow was excited, but if she didn’t get a hold of herself they wouldn’t be able to do the spell. Willow’s power was unpredictable when she wasn’t concentrating.

“Honey, you need to get your focus. Why don’t you go in the back and meditate until the others get here. I’ll keep watch for them.” Tara gave her girlfriend a gentle shove toward the training room. Willow nodded her head and left. She knew Tara was right.

By the time Wesley arrived with the two slayers, Willow was calm and focused. Tara helped her to set up the spell and draw the doorway to the next world. It was the one part of the spell that made her nervous. They couldn’t just drag Xander and Spike back through the portal, someone had to go through and retrieve them. Willow was that someone.

Tara finished brushing the blood and herb mixture onto the wall. It was in a large oval shape from floor to ceiling. Willow set up the altar and lit the candles. All that was left was for Willow to picture where she wanted to go and then chant the words that would open the doorway.

They had decided it would be best if Willow focused on the outside of the cabin they had seen when they looked in on the two men before. That way she wouldn’t accidentally walk in on them doing things. Willow kissed Tara goodbye and began to chant. The doorway opened and with one last smile to the group of people watching, she stepped through.

Spike and Xander were just heading back from a swim in the pond. They were laughing and chasing each other around. Xander was complaining that it wasn’t fair that Spike didn’t need to breathe and could always sneak up on him underwater and pull him beneath.

“Yeah well, doesn’t bother you so much when I’m sucking you off, now does it?” At Xander’s glassy-eyed look, Spike chuckled. “Wait till we get home first luv; last time I took you outside, you got poison oak.”

Xander grimaced at the reminder. His days of sex in the great outdoors were definitely over. It had been pure hell waiting for the rash to go away. Plus no sex for a whole week, ‘cause Spike didn’t want to take any chances on catching it. “Right. Home. Let’s go.”

Xander grabbed Spike’s hand and began pulling the vampire toward the house. Spike just chuckled and allowed himself to be pulled along. He wasn’t about to turn down a chance at sex.

As they rounded the top of the hill Spike grabbed Xander and pulled him into a soul-searing kiss. It was almost enough to make Xander give sex outside another go. He was just about to tumble Spike to the ground when he heard someone shout his name.

“Xander! Oh my God, I thought I’d never see you again!” Willow flew toward her friend and jumped into his arms. Spike stepped back from the pair as Xander twirled her around in a circle. When he stopped spinning he was smiling so wide, Spike thought his face might split.

“It’s Willow! Spike, look. It’s Willow!” Spike smiled at his lover and then burst out laughing as Willow noticed his nudity and blushed furiously. It didn’t get any better when she realized that Xander was naked, as well. Naked and still hugging the stuffing out of her.

“Eeep! Um, Xan? You’re kinda naked there.” Willow stumbled as Xander pushed her away and immediately hid behind Spike. Of course that was when he realized that Spike was naked as well. He tried to cover Spike and only succeeded in embarrassing Willow further when she saw where his hands were now.

“Er, maybe you should close your eyes and let us run away now. We’ll put something on and then we’ll talk, okay?” Willow giggled and nodded her head. Xander grabbed Spike again and they took off for the cabin. Willow couldn’t help but peek at them as they took off down the hill. “How the hell did I miss that?” She muttered at herself. Two gorgeous naked men and she hadn’t even noticed. “Man, I really am gay.”

Once inside the cabin, Spike pushed Xander up against the wall and kissed him desperately. He knew as soon as he had heard Red scream his lover’s name that they had been rescued. Only thing was, he didn’t want to be rescued. He liked it here. But if Xander wanted to leave, he would follow. Even if it meant a life in the dark again, skulking around cemeteries and drinking stale blood from a bag.

Xander gently disengaged himself from Spike’s lips and asked him what was wrong. He knew that kiss wasn’t about passion; Spike wasn’t hard. And if Spike wasn’t hard, he was worried. Then it struck him. Willow was here and that meant that they could go home now. Back to Sunnydale and the scoobies and demons and the hellmouth. Xander grimaced at the notion; he really didn’t like that idea.

“Spike, hey, relax. We’re not going anywhere. This is home, you and I - here. Okay?” Xander smiled when he felt his lover sag in relief. He pushed him away gently and then took his hand. “Come on, let’s get something on before we give Wills another free show.” Spike chuckled and followed Xander into their room.

Willow waited on the bench outside for the two to come out. She had so many questions she wanted to ask, especially about them being together. They had been kissing when she saw them; really kissing like she and Tara did when they were seconds away from tearing each other’s clothes off. She wanted to know how that had happened.

Spike walked out first and Willow finally noticed how different he looked. Gone was the fishbelly white pallor; his hair was longer and sun-bleached a beautiful shade of blonde. He was smiling - not sneering or smirking - at something Xander whispered in his ear and he looked happy, like he was in love.

Xander did too. Willow knew what ‘happy Xander’ looked like, and this was definitely a happy Xander. She felt bad about what she was going to have to tell them. About Buffy, about Anya, it wasn’t going to be easy.

Xander stopped a few feet in front of Willow. He squeezed Spike’s hand and then took a deep breath. “Willow, I’m not going back. I’m sorry you spent all this time trying to locate us only to find out it was wasted effort, but I am home. I’m happy here, and I don’t want to leave.”

Willow’s eyes filled with tears. “You’re staying? Why? Xander, we miss you! So much has happened, I… I tried so hard to find you.” Willow broke down in tears and Xander moved in to hold her. He hated seeing her cry, especially since it was his fault; but he had to tell her the truth. He wouldn’t leave his home and Spike. Not to go back to a place he wasn’t really needed and where his lover would be stuck in the dark again.

“Shh, hey, calm down and tell me what’s happened. How is the gang? The Buffster still kicking demon ass? Is Anya okay?” Xander looked imploringly at Spike as Willow began to sob harder. He didn’t know what he said wrong, or how to fix it.

“Oh Xander, I’m so sorry. Anya went back to D’Hoffryn. She left her share of the shop to Tara and me. She was so broken after you disappeared.” Xander nodded and kissed her forehead. He was kind of relieved that she was a demon again. At least she would be safe now.

Willow struggled to sit up and then took Xander’s hand. She turned sad eyes to Spike before speaking in a low pain-filled voice. “Buffy’s dead. She threw herself into the portal to save Dawn.” A shudder ran through her body as she described how she had looked up to see Buffy suspended in the portal’s center before it collapsed, sending her body hurtling to the ground.

Spike and Xander listened as Willow told them everything that had happened since they’d been gone. How Dawn was in L.A. with her Dad and seemed to be happy there. She told them about Trisha, and that Faith and Wesley were now training her to be a good slayer. She talked about her and Tara taking over his apartment and how they had Clem crypt-sitting for Spike. That brought a smile to Spike’s face. Willow returned the smile. “He’s really sweet, you know? How does a guy that sweet survive in Sunnydale?”

Spike chuckled. “He made be ‘sweet’ as you say, but he can defend himself - don’t you worry yourself about that.” Now that he knew Xander had no intention of leaving, he was more relaxed about Willow being there. One thing had been bothering him since she had begun her tale. “Red, how long have we been gone?”

Willow looked at Spike strangely before answering. “Just over a year, why?” She saw the look that passed between Spike and Xander and knew something was up. “What’s going on, guys? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Xander stroked a hand down her back and Spike cupped her cheek in his hand and looked her in the eye. “It’s been about ten years for us, luv.”

“Now do you understand?” Xander and Spike had spent the last hour answering questions about their life here. He was hoping that Willow would see why they didn’t want to leave now that she knew how happy they were. “Do you see why I can’t go back?”

Willow sniffed and wiped her eyes. She did understand. Why go back to Sunnydale when you had all this? Xander could live forever here; no demons to fight, no parents to avoid, no worries about impending apocalypses. She would miss her best friend, but she understood. “Yeah, I do. I’m going to miss you so much!” Willow threw her arms around Xander and wept. Xander held her close and tried to ignore the wetness on his own cheeks.

Spike watched the pair of humans crying all over each other and grimaced. He just knew that it would take weeks to get his mate out of a funk after she left. Of course, there was always another option. One that would solve both their problems. “Er, Willow, luv? This spell, can you do it again?”

Willow nodded and turned her bloodshot puffy eyes toward him. “Of course, why?”

“Well, I was thinking. You could bring that lovely girl of yours with you sometime and come back to visit. Hell, you wouldn’t lose much time back home seeing as things move faster here.” Spike shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

Xander smiled at his lover. “Spike! That’s a great idea! And she can bring chocolate!” He jumped up and pulled the vampire into his arms and kissed him. Spike melted into the kiss and almost forgot they had an audience. Xander must have too, seeing as how his hands began to wander-

Willow cleared her throat and the two men broke apart. “Do you guys need to be alone?” Xander blushed and Spike laughed. Willow bounced as she thought about Spike’s idea. She could visit, often. This was great!

“Do you think she’ll come back, Spike?” Xander had been thinking about Willow a lot since she’d left. It had been two months or so and no sign of her. He was starting to worry.

Spike sighed. Yeah it had been his idea for the witch to come and visit, but if he’d known it would send his lover into a fit of Angel-like brooding he’d never have suggested it. “Time’s different there luv, only a year went by in ole Sunnyhell, after all. Don’t fret, she’ll come back.” She would, Spike had no doubt of it. He knew keeping Xander all to himself was selfish, but he didn’t like the idea of sharing him with the witch. He was possessive by nature, and this place was perfect for him - not another soul in sight. No one to occupy his boy’s time or thoughts except him. Spike decided that Xander had spent enough time worrying about the redhead and set out to distract him.

They were sitting on the front porch, just enjoying the sunset. Spike eased down off the bench and kneeled between Xander’s open thighs. “Enough thinking, luv.” Spike licked a wet stripe from knee to thigh and then nipped Xander playfully.

“O-okay, thinking bad. Spike good. Good Spike, nice Spike.” Xander babbled and closed his eyes as Spike took him into his mouth. He felt the vampire chuckle against his rapidly-swelling length; it felt good. “Oh, God do that again.”

“Mmm?” Spike felt Xander shudder as he hummed around his cock. He thought of all the wicked things he could do to his lovely boy while he was in such a state of wanton need. He pulled off Xander’s cock with a loud ‘pop’. “You wanted something, luv?”

Xander opened his eyes and glared at Spike. He couldn’t form words right now - lucky for Spike, or the vampire would quickly realize what a mistake he’d made.

Xander moved faster than Spike had expected him to. He pinned the smaller man beneath him and spread his legs wide. He’d learned early on that his lover liked it a bit rough every now and again; good thing seeing as he had nothing to prepare him with. Xander spat on his palm and coated his shaft and Spike’s pucker quickly before pushing inside.

Spike howled and his eyes bled to gold. Fangs elongated and pricked his bottom lip as he ground his teeth together. He’d almost forgotten how powerful Xander was for a human; they didn’t play this rough very often and it had been awhile since the last time. The boy selfishly preferred to bottom. So much so that Spike went out of his way to annoy him into taking him hard and fast, or sneaking up on him and literally impaling himself. But that was half the fun - taking what he wanted.

Xander wasn’t thinking about anything except the cool, snug channel encasing his swollen flesh, the golden-eyed stare of his mate burning holes into him, the tiny drops of blood that were welling up on that luscious full bottom lip. He leaned forward and licked them away, smiling as his lover groaned with lust.

“Fuck, so hot Xan. Love it when you taste me. Harder pet, fuck me!” Spike was in heaven; he had his lovely boy buried deep in his ass, pounding him into the floorboards of their front porch. He didn’t need anything else as long as he had this. “Xander, fuck. Gonna cum luv, want to feel you cum with me.”

Xander sped up his thrusts; he pounded furiously into his lover. He could feel Spike begin to tremble, knew it wouldn’t be long and he wanted to cum with him. “Yes, God yes. With you, always with you.” Xander leaned closer to those ivory fangs, wanting to feel the connection of his lover inside of him while he was inside his lover. Spike bit down without hesitation and they both stilled and then cried out their completion. It was perfect, exactly what they both needed.

Willow was nervous. It had been a week since her trip into the other dimension and she and Tara were planning a visit. They had packed clothes and swimsuits, toiletries, foodstuffs, chocolate for Xander and Jack Daniels for Spike. Wesley was going to remain at the shop to keep watch over the portal while they were gone.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine sweetie. They did say we could come visit.” Tara was trying to reassure her lover while she herself was a nervous wreck. She had never traveled by plane before, let alone a portal to another dimension. She hoped she didn’t get travel sickness.

“I know, it’s just … if you had seen them together, you’d understand. I feel like we’ll be intruding on them sort of. They have everything they need there. What if…” Willow trailed off, tears in her eyes.

Tara comforted her lover. “Shh, of course Xander still needs you. You’re his best friend.” Tara pressed a gentle kiss to Willow’s quivering mouth and then wiped the tears from her face.

“Willow shook her head sadly. “I’m not anymore. Spike is.” She attempted a smile and it fell short of the mark. “That’s okay though. He should be; I mean they’ve been all each other had for ten years. It was bound to happen. Wasn’t it?”

Tara nodded her head and hugged Willow again. There was nothing she could say to make this better. It was something Willow needed to come to terms with on her own. It was right that Spike and Xander were best friends as well as lovers. She had always suspected that Xander and Anya would have broken up sooner or later for that very reason. For as much as Xander loved Anya, she wasn’t his best friend. Tara viewed Willow as her best friend as well as her lover; she hoped that one day, Willow might feel the same way for her.

“We should go. I’ll get the bags. Can you call Wesley in?” Willow moved toward the pile of luggage as Tara walked toward the door to the front of the shop. A few seconds later she returned and relieved Willow of some of the bags.

The spell was cast and the two girls joined hands and stepped into the portal.

The first thing Willow noticed was that it was sunset; the second thing she noticed was that Xander and Spike were in a tangle of naked flesh on the front porch. Judging by Tara’s blush, she assumed she had noticed them as well. She didn’t want to interrupt them, they seemed like they were… busy.

Tara turned away from the sight of the two men making love. It was too intimate, too personal. She knew that she would be mortified if this had happened to her. She tugged on her lover’s hand and they walked a few feet away. “I-I wasn’t expecting that.”

Willow giggled. She couldn’t help it, for all the things she expected Tara to say, that wasn’t it. “Well, neither was I. Not that they don’t look good together, but I just didn’t expect to actually see them.” Willow frowned as she thought of something. “I always thought Spike would be a top.”

“Maybe they switch off?” Tara couldn’t believe they were standing there calmly discussing Spike and Xander’s sexual preferences. It was just too surreal. “Um, maybe we shouldn’t talk about it. In fact, I think we should forget we even saw them… doing that.”

Willow nodded but grinned wickedly, this wasn’t something she was liable to forget anytime soon. “You’re right. We didn’t see anything. You think they’re done yet?”

Both girls jumped as a deep baritone voice chuckled and then answered. “Yeah, we’re done, you can come on over now.” Spike grinned as he took in the blush staining the blonde witch’s face. He’d always liked that one; she was still scared of him when no one else was. “Xan’ll be out in a mo’, he just needs to stop blushing first.”

That made Willow smile and Tara blush further. She could only imagine how embarrassed he must be. Getting caught like that by your childhood friend and her girlfriend. It sounded like a bad soap opera plot. “We brought presents, do you think that’ll cheer him up some?”

Xander was inside the cabin pacing. He could have died of embarrassment when he rolled off of Spike and saw Willow and Tara - their backs to them - standing about thirty feet away from them. It didn’t help any when Spike chuckled and told him what they were saying. He managed to drag Spike inside and they both put something on before the girls noticed they were gone.

So now here he was, hiding inside the house while his lover went out to greet the girls and likely embarrass him further. He should just get over it and go out there, it wasn’t his fault that they had shown up when they did. At the sound of Tara’s question, Xander’s ears perked up. “Presents? Well hell, what am I doing in here!”

With a slight blush staining his cheeks, Xander opened the door and was immediately jumped by a squealing redhead. He hugged her fiercely and then kissed her on the cheek. He then turned to see his lover and Tara both smiling. “Did I hear something about presents?”

Tara smiled again and nodded her head. She opened one of the bags and pulled out two brightly wrapped packages. Willow took the one for Xander and handed it to him while Tara presented the other one to Spike. Spike looked taken aback for all of about ten seconds before grinning widely and tearing into the paper. He saw the four bottles of Jack and whooped loudly before grabbing hold of the blonde witch and spinning her around in circles.

Xander laughed at the startled look on Tara’s face. Then he repeated his mate’s actions and tore into his present as well. He could have cried when he saw the box of plain Hershey’s chocolate bars inside. Willow always new how to make things better. He grabbed his friend and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, this is great!”

That night they had dinner outside and looked at the stars. It was a perfect night for stargazing; the sky was clear and the stars were shining brilliantly. They shared stories about things that had happened in the year - or ten - that they had been apart, Willow and Tara laughing at Spike’s tales of teaching Xander to hunt.

Everyone was silent as Willow talked about Buffy’s funeral service, Dawn’s moving to L.A. and the way Giles had crawled into a bottle after the battle, never to come back out. Spike shook his head sadly; he had known Rupert was in love with the girl; he had been the only one the vampire took as serious competition.

“He loved her, what did you expect him to do?” Spike took in the shocked faces of the others and snorted. “Oh, please. Don’t tell me you didn’t know. It was bloody obvious to anyone who bothered to look.”

Willow thought about it for a few minutes before gasping as she realized Spike was right. “Oh my God, he did. How did we miss that? I should have seen it. It’s so obvious now. Oh, poor Giles.” Tara wrapped her arms around the distraught redhead and just held her.

“Eh, don’t be so hard on yerself, Red. You wouldn’t have noticed because you all thought of Rupes as a father figure, yeah? Figured his love and concern for Buffy was that of a parent. I only saw it ‘cause I fancied myself in love with the girl. Had to feel out the competition.” Spike sighed and snuggled back against Xander’s chest. He hated this, going over things in the past. One thing a demon knew for sure, it was that you couldn’t do sod all to change the past, so no point in reliving it.

Xander held Spike a little tighter; he knew this wasn’t as easy on Spike as it looked. After Willow had left the first time, they had talked about Buffy being dead, what that meant to them both. It was hard, hearing his lover grieve, knowing that if things had gone differently, they might never have found each other. Spike had made his peace with Buffy’s death that night and hadn’t dwelled on it since. They had moved on and wished Buffy peace and happiness. Now it was all being dredged up again.

“Hey, why don’t we all go for a swim? It’s a nice night, plenty of light to see by and the water should be nice and warm.” Xander was trying to get everyone back in a better mood. If the girls were having fun, maybe Spike wouldn’t be so moody. “Come on, it’ll be fun. We can skinny dip!”

Things in Sunnydale were going along well. Trisha had begun to take her calling very seriously, especially after Faith told her about everything she had been through. She didn’t leave anything out, so the younger Slayer knew how hard Faith had worked to get to where she was now. It made her see how selfish she had been.

A day trip to L.A. with her watcher, the older slayer and the two witches also helped. They had met up with Dawn for lunch, and after meeting the girl that Buffy had died to protect, she understood. She might have been a key, but now she was just a girl. A girl who deserved to have a life as much as anyone else.

Dawn had been thrilled to learn that Spike and Xander were not only okay but that they were together. She smiled all through Willow and Tara’s tale of their vacation with the boys. The idea of Spike in the sunlight made Dawn happy. She had always liked the vampire; he had been a friend to her when no one understood what she was going through, and Xander had been her secret crush as long as she could remember. “So tell me more about Xander being naked.”

Wesley choked on his tea, Faith smirked, Trisha smiled, and Tara and Willow burst out laughing. It was no secret to them that Xander had been the feature of Dawn’s adolescent fantasies. “What do you want to hear about first? How he spun me around in circles the first time I saw him? Or how about how he and Spike were… never mind. That’s an R rated tale. Oh! I know. I’ll tell you about skinny dipping in the pond.”

Dawn’s eyes lit up and she leaned closer to Willow; she didn’t want to miss a single detail. Willow smiled at her lover and then began the tale. “We were watching the stars when Xander suggested it; of course we both thought he was joking at the time. Turns out he wasn’t. See, their clothes had long since deteriorated beyond the wearable point - which would explain why they were naked both times when I got there.”

The whole table had fallen silent as Willow continued her tale. “Anyway, they were wearing these… skins. You remember the unit you studied on Native Americans? Like that. Turns out they only wore them for hunting or building and stuff. So when we got to the pond, they both stripped off and dove in. Tara and I just sort of stared for a minute - shock will do that to a person, you know. Then we jumped in too - we were wearing our suits. Xander built this long dock, it stretched out to almost the middle of the pond so it was really deep.”

“But did you guys get naked with them?” Dawn was beginning to get impatient. She wanted to hear the good stuff; the stuff that Spike would have told her and Buffy would have staked him for if she ever found out.

Willow giggled as Tara blushed. “Not that first night. We stayed fully clothed in our swimsuits. The next night though, after Spike shared some of his present with all of us, we all got naked. It was fun.”

Dawn laughed as Tara continued to blush. Faith gave the girls both an approving look and waggled her eyebrows at Wesley. “Maybe next time they go we should tag along.”

Willow covered a laugh at Wesley’s stunned expression and squeezed Tara’s hand under the table. She really did miss Xander, and they had such a great time while they were there. It was nice to just relax without the pressure of the hellmouth on them. They could just enjoy being outside at night without constantly looking over their shoulders for danger. She missed it, and totally understood why Xander wouldn’t come back to Sunnydale. If she had spent the last ten years in a paradise like that with her lover, she wouldn’t want to leave either.

The next couple of weeks went by and Willow became more and more depressed. She wasn’t happy at school anymore, her grades were slipping and she’d fallen behind in her duties at the shop as well. Tara finally confronted her about it. “Willow, we need to talk. You haven’t been acting like yourself lately. I’m worried.”

Willow sighed and slumped down in her seat. She knew it was only a matter of time before Tara brought this up. She had tried really hard not to let her depression show but it wasn’t working. “I’m sorry. I just… What are we doing here, sweetie?” At Tara’s confused look Willow continued.

“We run the shop and go to school. We aren’t needed to help patrol - there are two slayers here; Wes does all the research and Giles-y things, plus he knows magic. So, what do we do here?”

Willow got up and started to pace. “With Buffy, I always knew what my place was, I was her friend and I was the magic user of the group. Giles did the book thing, Buffy slayed, Xander kept us all going - always ready to cheer us up or throw himself in the line of fire. People came and went, but the three of us were steady. She’s gone, Xander’s gone, there’s a new group of world-savers, and I don’t feel like I belong anymore.”

“You want to go back, don’t you? To Xander and Spike, to a simpler way of life? I understand.” Tara really did understand; she had never felt like she belonged with these people. The only person she truly felt that she belonged with was Willow. Xander had always tried to make her feel welcome as well, and Spike, well Spike scared her. But not anymore. It’s kinda hard to be scared of someone when you’ve seen them reduced to helpless giggles by a man in a fur bikini bottom.

“I do. We won’t go if you don’t want to, but don’t you want to? I mean, do you remember how beautiful it is there, how bright and sunny the days were, how clear the night sky looked- We could have forever, you and me. I want that, I want forever with you.” Willow turned pleading eyes on her lover. “I learned something from watching Xander with Spike. He’s not my best friend anymore, too much has changed and it’s for the better. You are my best friend, Tara. You have been there for me through the worst year of my life, you’ve never once complained when I spent every spare minute looking for a way to bring Xander home. You had every right to, but you didn’t. I don’t think I could have done it without your support. Thank you.”

Tara was overwhelmed. She had hoped, prayed that someday Willow would feel this way. She felt the tears run freely down her cheeks and smiled happily at her girlfriend. “I’ll follow you anywhere. If this is what you want, then it’s what I want too.” The two kissed softly and then Willow pulled away with a smile. “We have a lot of packing to do. We have to pack up all Xander’s clothes - Spike’s too; we’ll need blankets and cookware, utensils and tools, books… How are we going to carry everything?”

It had taken longer than they had hoped but eventually they had everything in line. The shop and the apartment had been turned over to Wesley; their belongings as well as Spike and Xander’s had been packed up. They packed several books on horticulture and some volumes on frontier survival. Wesley had suggested they purchase handheld woodworking tools, and Faith reminded them to pack more whiskey and chocolate.

Finally they were ready to go. They hugged and kissed everyone and then stepped through the doorway; their belongings followed behind them by way of a binding spell. They were really leaving Sunnydale and the hellmouth behind.

Xander and Spike stood back and surveyed their work. The cabin was good, the same basic design as their own. The garden wasn’t quite as big as Xander’s but it would be eventually, plus he had supplemented theirs with a few wild herb plants that he didn’t have in his own. “Do you think they’ll like it, Spike?”

“I’m sure they’ll love it pet. And if they don’t, we’ll just call this my place for the day you eventually get sick o’ me and throw my arse out.” Spike had meant it as a joke, but apparently Xander didn’t find it very funny.

“Not gonna happen. I love you; that doesn’t stop. And if Willow and Tara don’t want to stay, if they never come back, this place comes down. I’m not giving you any options to leave.” Xander kissed Spike soundly and then threw him over his shoulder and headed home.

“Oi, pet! I can walk, you know.” Spike wasn’t really complaining but he needed to make a token protest about being thrown around like a sack of potatoes.

“I know, but this way is more fun. Besides, you need to save your strength for when we get back; I want to be fucked through the mattress.” Xander chuckled as Spike began to growl.

It didn’t long to get back to their cabin and as soon as they were inside, Spike struggled free of Xander and dragged him into their bedroom and pounced on him. “Gonna fuck you through the mattress now Xan, as requested.” Xander moaned in approval and let Spike position him on the bed. Foreplay was a waste of time as they were both more than ready.

Spike gave Xander a cursory preparation before entering him in one smooth stroke. He pulled his mate’s legs off his shoulders and encouraged him to wrap them around his waist instead. After giving him enough time to relax into the stretch, Spike began to move.

Xander moaned and thrashed beneath him and Spike watched with unblinking eyes; he took in every flash of emotion that crossed his lover’s face. Xander’s words still echoed in his head - ‘I love you, that doesn’t stop’. He believed him. For the first time in his life, Spike believed that he was loved forever. That he would not lose this love to another, or to the passage of time. He had forever with Xander, no matter whether the girls came to stay or not. Xander was his, forever.

As his climax approached, Spike bit into his wrist and offered his blood to Xander. Without hesitation, Xander accepted and Spike sunk his fangs into his mark on his mate’s neck. As they exploded into orgasm, Xander heard Willow calling his name.

Spike chuckled and rolled off of his mate. “Chit’s got a lousy sense of timing, luv. Come on, let’s get presentable and go out to meet them.” Spike reached out for his ‘butt-flap’ as Xander liked to called it and put it on. Xander did the same after cleaning himself up.

They were both surprised to see the amount of stuff the girls had brought with them. They didn’t figure this was just a visit; it looked like they were here to stay. Xander smiled hopefully at his childhood friend. “Planning on staying awhile?”

Willow smiled back a bit sheepishly. “Would forever be too long?” She felt Tara slip her hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. She watched as Spike and Xander exchanged an amused look. “Did I miss something? What’s so amusing?”

Xander chuckled and slung his arm over Willow’s shoulders. “Come and let me show you lovely ladies what Blondie and I have been up to since you left.” The foursome walked off toward the girls’ new home. Spike and Tara shared a smile at their lovers’ happy chatter. Things were going to be just fine.