Soul Mates: The Next Chapter by Ravenhawk

Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. They belong to Joss Whedon. Neither I nor any website on which this story appears receives any compensation for this work.
Distribution: The Mystic Muse: http://mysticmuse.net
Anywhere, just ask.
Feedback: Yes please.
Spoilers: AU in season 5.
Author's Note: I've created a new mailing list, Ravenhawk's Fanfic. It's going to serve as an archive for Soul Mates and the rest of my fiction. I'll continue to post new chapters of Soul Mates here, but there may be things I'll post to that list that I won't post anywhere else. I haven't decided yet. Sequel to Soul Mates: A Day Off.
Dedication: Thanks to Pete for helping out with this part. Also, thanks very much to everyone who's given me feedback and suggestions. I really appreciate it.
Grouping: Willow/Tara/Xander

Summary: A fight against supernatural evil reminds Willow, Tara, and Xander of the precious things in their lives.

Xander looked around, trying to get his bearings. He wasn't quite sure how he'd managed to get lost on the UC Sunnydale campus, but here he was, entering the same courtyard for the second time. He was coming in from a different direction, but this was definitely the same place he'd been just a few minutes ago – there was no mistaking the large building that housed the library directly ahead of him.

Well, it's a big campus, he tried to console himself. Anyone could get lost here. Besides, they added on to it over the summer. And sure, he'd been out here before, but that had usually been when there was supernatural nastiness to deal with – he hadn't exactly had time for a tour of the campus.

There was no supernatural nastiness happening today, thankfully. In fact, it was a very nice day – it had been raining off and on for the past few days, but today the sky was clear and although it was breezy, the light jacket he had on was more than adequate. A good day to surprise his girls at school and take them out to lunch – or so Xander had thought, anyway. He hadn't anticipated having this much trouble finding them.

He paused briefly to consider what to do next. He could head back to where he'd parked; there was a map of the campus there, which would hopefully be all he'd need to find the building where his girls were in class right now. But, glancing at his watch, he quickly decided he didn't have time for that. It was only a few minutes until noon, which was when Willow and Tara's class ended – they had class together today – and since they didn't know he was planning to meet them here, he doubted that they'd stick around for very long.

Better to just ask for directions. He was fairly sure that he was in the right general area, after all. There weren't too many people around yet, since classes were still going, but there were a few students scattered about, so Xander approached a small group gathered in front of the doors to the library.

"Excuse me," he said. The students ceased their conversation and turned to face him, and he gave them a friendly smile. "Hi. I'm looking for Meyers Hall. Could you tell me where to find it?"

One of the students, a slim brunette girl, returned his smile before answering him. "Sure," she said. "It's just on the other side of the library here. There's paths around, but if you're in a hurry, you can go straight through."

"Thanks," Xander replied. "I appreciate the help." He turned and made his way up to the library doors, and behind him, he could hear the students resume their conversation. He stepped through the doors and, passing through a short hall, he found himself in the main room of the library.

Slowing his pace a bit, Xander took a look around as he walked through the library. There were a good many students here, either sitting at tables studying or standing at the shelves looking through books. He made it halfway through before suddenly stopping beside the large central desk.

He took another long look around, and couldn't help feeling a vague sense of curiosity as he did. What would have happened if he'd decided to try going to college? Would he have been able to handle it? UC Sunnydale was far from the hardest school out there, but then again, he hadn't done very well in high school, so…

Still, how much of that was because he just hadn't tried very hard? He'd always hated studying, and once he'd decided he wasn't going to college, there was no reason to put any more effort into it. He'd done just enough to graduate, and that was that. He figured that he'd just make his own way after high school as best he could.

But things were different now. He didn't just have himself to think about anymore. He was in a serious relationship with two wonderful women, and if he wanted things to work between them, he had to start putting what would be best for all three of them ahead of his own personal likes and dislikes.

And that meant he had to start thinking about where he was going in his job. Sure, he'd made supervisor really quickly, but if he wanted to go much higher in the construction business, taking at least a few college classes would be a big help. It would probably mean a good deal more money in the long run, which they'd need if…

Xander stopped abruptly as he realized what he was thinking. He'd only been with Willow and Tara for a couple of months now, but he was already thinking about a future with them. It was a little scary, thinking along those lines, but it also just felt…right.

Except for one thing. They were still on a Hellmouth. And that made any kind of long-term thinking a dangerous proposition. How could he plan for the future when there was a very real possibility that he could be killed before the day was over? Or that Willow or Tara could be, for that matter?

And, god, that thought was too horrible to even contemplate. Even just his mind flashing on it for a second was enough to make him feel sick inside.

But the fact of the matter was, there was nothing he could do about it. The simple truth was that as long as they lived on a Hellmouth, there would be danger. He was just going to have to accept that, even if it was much harder to do so now then it had been back when he was single.

A voice to his left broke Xander's train of thought, and he turned to see a young man looking at him from behind the library counter.

"I'm fine," Xander snapped. He instantly regretted the harshness in his tone – this guy hadn't done anything wrong, after all – so he quickly spoke again. "Sorry. I'm fine," he repeated more gently, giving the man a quick smile. "You startled me, is all. But thanks."

The librarian looked at him askance for a moment, but then nodded and turned away, moving to the other end of the counter. After he'd left, Xander sighed and shook his head, then turned and resumed his trek across the library. He couldn't afford to waste any more time worrying about things he couldn't change.

But when he reached the doors opposite the ones he'd come in by, he stopped again. There was a rack full of class schedules for the next semester beside the door, and on impulse, he picked one up. It couldn't hurt to at least look at what he could take next semester. Registration was still a few weeks away, so he had plenty of time to think about it.

Stuffing the schedule into one of his jacket pockets, Xander stepped outside and quickly spotted Meyers Hall across another courtyard. Hurrying over to the building, he walked inside and made his way past the students just getting out of class to Tara and Willow's classroom. He arrived just in time to see the doors open and students begin exiting out into the hall, and it didn't take long before he spotted his girls making their way through a small crowd just outside the classroom.

Just seeing Willow and Tara made Xander feel a little better. They were dressed simply – both of them were in jeans, and Willow had on a dark red T-shirt, while Tara was in a pink blouse – but they looked amazing nonetheless. And the way they both smiled when they saw him only made them more beautiful.

Xander couldn't help smiling back at them as they approached. "Hey, Xander," Willow said, walking forward and hugging him. He hugged her back, and they held their embrace for a few seconds before stepping away from each other.

"Hey, sweetie," Tara said, giving him a hug of her own. "What's up?" she asked after they separated. "We didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, I wanted to surprise you," Xander said. "I thought we could go to lunch. Are you free?"

"Great," Xander said. "Let's go, then. I parked over on the other side of the library." The three of them fell in step together and made for the main doors of the building, walking slowly to get through the crowds.

"So did you have any place in mind?" Willow asked once they were outside. They turned toward the library, but instead of heading for the doors, they started down one of the paths that went around it instead. There were students everywhere on the grounds, but except for the occasional guy casting an appreciative glance at Willow or Tara, none of them seemed to pay them any particular attention.

"Yeah," Xander replied. "There's a sandwich place not too far from here that's pretty good. We get lunch there for work, sometimes." He fell silent for a moment as they made their way past a large group of students gathered around a notice board. "So how was class?" he asked when they were clear of the crowd.

"Oh, it was great," Willow enthused. "Sociology is really interesting. And we covered a lot of stuff today."

Xander glanced at Tara out of the corner of his eye as Willow continued, and the two of them exchanged brief smiles. Their girlfriend's excitement was always a great thing to see, and Xander found himself listening attentively as Willow chattered on animatedly all the way to the car.

Xander found himself in a very good mood when he got up the next morning. After lunch yesterday, Xander had dropped Tara and Willow off back at school and returned to work, and the rest of the day had passed pleasantly enough. He'd hurried home after quitting time, eager to see his girls again, and they'd spent the evening at home together, which was fast becoming a pleasant routine for all of them. All in all, it'd been a very good day.

It was Friday, which meant that Willow and Tara didn't have any classes, so they didn't get up when he did. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he went about his morning routine, but after he'd gotten done showering, he went back into their bedroom to get dressed and found the bed empty. He could hear Willow and Tara talking in the kitchen, so he dressed quickly and walked out to join them.

Crossing their living room, Xander saw Willow, in her bathrobe, sitting at their dining table. She'd turned her chair and was facing into the kitchen, looking at Tara, who was in her robe as well, closing up a Tupperware container. His girls smiled when they saw him, and Tara stepped forward, giving him a soft kiss.

"Hey sweetie," she said, handing him the Tupperware container. "I packed a lunch for you."

"Thanks," Xander replied, smiling back at her. He kissed her again and ran one hand down her arm, grasping her hand and giving it an affectionate squeeze. Then he set the container down on the table and stepped over to where Willow was sitting, and he leaned down and gave her a kiss as well.

"So what do you two have planned for today?" he asked, laying one hand on Willow's shoulder and looking from her to Tara.

"Lots of studying," Willow replied. "Oh! Speaking of that…" She abruptly stood up and hurried into the living room, returning a moment later with the class schedule he'd picked up yesterday.

"I noticed this on the floor underneath your jacket a few minutes ago," Willow said. "It's yours, right?"

Xander nodded. "Yeah. I picked it up yesterday. It must've fallen out of my jacket pocket."

"I was thinking about trying to get in. Maybe part time," Xander said, shrugging. "Just take a class or two next semester, nothing big."

"Xander, that's great!" Willow exclaimed. She had a big smile on her face, and Xander could tell that she was bubbling over with barely contained excitement. "We can be study buddies! We should figure out what you want to take, you know Tara and I still have some basic requirements left, so we might even be able to get classes together…" She started back to her chair, but stopped when Xander held up his hand.

"Whoa. Hold on," he said. "Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, here. I said I was thinking about taking a class or two. I haven't actually decided anything yet."

Willow's face fell. "Really?" she said. "But why wouldn't you want to do it? UC Sunnydale isn't hard to get into, I know you could make it…" She trailed off, looking at him questioningly, and Xander shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"Well, there are lots of reasons, actually," Xander replied. He hesitated for a moment upon seeing the disappointed look in Willow's eyes, but continued nonetheless. "For one, college classes cost money, and if I end up flunking, that money's wasted. May as well just…burn it, or something."

"I don't think you'd fail, Xander," Tara offered. He could tell that she was trying to make him feel better, and he appreciated that, but he wasn't sure he could accept her reassurances so easily.

"Yeah, Xander, come on," Willow said. "I can understand you being worried about that, but you can't let it stop you. You'll do fine."

"Well, what is it?" Willow asked, frustration creeping into her tone. "Come on, Xander, this is really important."

Xander sighed. How could he possibly explain this to Willow? School had always been one of the most important things in her life, as far back as he could remember – probably because she'd always been great at it. He seriously doubted that she was going to understand his point of view on this.

Still, he had to try to make her see where he was coming from. "I don't know that there's any reason for me to go back," he said.

"And what would that be, huh?" Xander asked, starting to get irritated. "I'm never going to be a scholar or anything. I think we all know that. And as for it helping out with work? I still don't even know what I want to do for a living. I mean, the construction business is okay for now, but I don't know if it's something I want to still be doing a few years from now."

"Well it's not like you'd have to pick a major right away," Tara spoke up. "I still haven't decided on mine, after all."

Sighing again, Xander ran a hand through his hair. "That's not the point," he said. "The point is I'm still not sure if I even want to try going to college, and if I don't know what I'm going to be doing for a living…"

"Xander, that's not the only reason to go back to school," Willow said, interrupting him.

Tara seemed to pick up on Xander's discomfort, because she turned from him to Willow and caught her eyes. "Willow, honey, he's not sure about this," she said. "This is his decision. We should…"

"No," Willow interrupted again, and the stubborn look on her face was one that Xander knew well from when they were kids. She wasn't going to let go of this easily. "There are other reasons to go to college," she insisted, turning back toward Xander. "If not to help you get a job, then just to…" She held one hand up in front of her, clearly having trouble finding the words for what she wanted to say. "You know, to better yourself," she finished after a moment's hesitation.

"Better myself?" Xander shot back. "So I'm not good enough if I don't do this?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Xander instantly regretted both what he'd said and the anger in his tone. Tara flinched at his outburst, and Willow looked torn between shock and rising anger. He wished he could take what he'd said back, but it was too late for that now, and what was even worse was that he couldn't find the words for an apology.

"I didn't say that," Willow replied, anger clearly winning out over surprise. Xander could see how tense she was from her expression and the way she was holding on to the class schedule as she continued. "God, I can't believe you sometimes. You can be such a…a…" She fell silent abruptly, but she didn't need to finish her sentence for the message to come across loud and clear.

But even though part of him wanted to retaliate, Xander held back. It would only make a bad situation worse. He needed to try to fix this, but again, he couldn't find the words he needed.

Tara frowned and, looking behind him, gestured toward the clock on the wall. "You're going to be late for work," she said quietly. He could see some sympathy in her eyes, but there was no small amount of anger evident on her face as well.

Xander hesitated for a second, then nodded. He walked over to the door and put his shoes on, then grabbed his jacket and looked back over his shoulder. Tara and Willow were still watching him, and he thought one more time about trying to say something to them.

But the fact was, he didn't know what to say, and right now, he was liable to say something that would make things even worse. In situations like these, he always seemed to be able to find the worst possible thing to say at the worst possible time. It was one of his talents.

On the drive to work, the full impact of what had just happened sank in, and he spent the rest of the morning feeling like a complete ass.

"I can't believe him!" she fumed. "Can you believe him? I was trying to help him see how good this would be for him, and he gets mad at me for that?"

Tara took a moment before replying. She was upset with Xander too – he shouldn't have lost his temper the way he did – but the truth of the matter was that Willow had been pushing him. He hadn't been justified in reacting the way he did, but this wasn't all his fault.

So the first thing she had to do was get Willow to see that. Then they could worry about Xander.

"Willow, honey…" she said, "Xander shouldn't have snapped at you like that, but did you really need to push him like you did?"

Willow frowned. "So you're taking his side?" she asked, giving her an accusatory look.

Tara sighed. "I'm not on anyone's side," she soothed, resting a hand on Willow's shoulder and rubbing her softly. "There shouldn't even be any sides here. We all love each other, right? So we're all on the same side."

Willow didn't say anything, but Tara could see her relax a little, so she continued. "Now, I'm not defending him for snapping at you," she said, "but I can understand why he was getting annoyed. You were pushing him toward a decision he's not ready to make yet."

Willow opened her mouth to reply, but Tara continued quickly, forestalling her. "You were," she said. "Wouldn't you get irritated if he did the same thing to you?"

"But this is different," Willow replied. "Xander would be so much better off if he went to college. I'm just trying to help him see what's best for him."

Tara took Willow's hand and led her over to their couch. They sat down, facing each other, and Tara stroked Willow's hand gently as she drew it into her lap. "Maybe you're right, sweetie," she said. "Maybe going to college would be best for Xander." She shrugged. "But we don't know that for sure. And anyway, Xander's an adult. This is his decision. We can tell him what we think, but…He has to make his own choice here."

Silence settled over the room as Willow looked into her eyes for a long moment. "You're right," she said at length, and relief washed over Tara as she saw Willow relent. "It's just so frustrating, you know? It is his choice, but I don't want to see him make the wrong one."

"Honey…College is the right choice for you," Tara said. "It might not be the right choice for Xander. I mean, maybe it is, but…" She shrugged again. "We have to leave this up to him."

"He still shouldn't have snapped at me, though," Willow said, frowning slightly.

"But…I guess I was pushing him too hard," Willow continued, looking down at her lap.

Well. That was good to hear. Tara loved Willow with all her heart, but there was no denying that her girlfriend had her flaws. And one of them was that she absolutely hated to admit it when she was wrong. So if she was willing to admit her part in making this fight happen, that was a big deal for her.

"Oh no," Willow said suddenly, her forehead creasing with worry. "I was being totally unreasonable, wasn't I? What if Xander's still angry? What if…"

"Shh," Tara said, silencing her. She reached out and touched Willow's cheek, smiling comfortingly as her girlfriend looked up at her. "It's okay. It's not that bad. Really."

Her words seemed to reassure Willow, but only a little. Tara could still see concern in her eyes as Willow looked up at her. "We should go see Xander at work," she said. "Talk to him."

Tara nodded. "Not right now, though," she said, letting her hand fall to her side. "It'd be better if you both had some time to cool off first."

Willow frowned. "What do you mean?" she said. "I'm cool. In fact, I've never been cooler."

Tara paused, taking a moment to study her girlfriend closely before replying. Maybe she was right. All her anger from before seemed to have vanished, and though Tara could see that she was still a little tense, that could very well have just been anxiety over trying to make things right with Xander. And from what she'd seen of Xander just before he left, he'd probably cooled off quite a bit by now, too.

Still, it was probably better to be safe than sorry. Willow was probably still a little upset with Xander even now. And Tara needed to put a little distance between herself and this argument, too – she'd been caught in the middle of it, after all. It'd be best to wait for a bit before going to see Xander.

"Maybe so, honey, but humor me on this, okay?" Tara said. "Besides, Xander's going to be busy with work right now anyway."

For a moment, it looked like Willow might protest, but then she nodded, and Tara smiled and leaned in to give her a quick hug.

"I'm going to shower, and then I'll make us some breakfast, okay honey?" Tara said after they separated. At Willow's answering nod, she stood up and turned toward the hallway, but stopped as her eyes fell on their dining table. She sighed softly as she saw the tupperware container with the lunch she'd made for Xander still sitting on the table.

"Sweetie…look," she said, nodding toward the table. Willow turned in her seat, frowning slightly as she followed Tara's gaze.

"Xander forgot his lunch," Willow said. "We could take it to him, around noon or so."

Willow briefly considered her words. "Yeah," she said, smiling after a moment. "That's a good idea."

"Good," Tara said. "Now, I'll make us breakfast, and then I really need to try to get some studying done."

It wasn't that there were a lot of problems on the site. He and his crew were measuring and cutting sheetrock, and that went about as well as he could have hoped for. When lunchtime rolled around, they were even a little bit ahead of schedule.

No, what made his time at work awful was how bad Xander felt about what had happened earlier that morning.

He still couldn't believe he'd lost his temper like he had. His relationship with Willow and Tara was the best thing that had ever happened in his life, and he'd let his annoyance and frustration make him forget that. Only he could be stupid enough to be so thoughtless about something so wonderful.

His worries had gotten worse as the morning went on, and it was only when he was really starting to panic that he finally managed to rein himself in. Perspective. Perspective was a good thing, right? It was just an argument. Couples had arguments all the time and were still okay, and, sure, he and Tara and Willow weren't a couple, but that should still apply to them, shouldn't it?

Still, he definitely needed to apologize, and sooner rather than later. He hadn't planned to go home for his lunch break, even though he'd forgotten the lunch Tara had made for him, but it didn't take him long to change his mind. Best to go home at his first opportunity, find Willow and Tara, and beg their forgiveness. Hopefully they wouldn't still be upset with him.

He spent the rest of the morning going over what to say in his head, and doing his job as best he could in the distracted state he was in, until he was interrupted about ten minutes before lunch.

"Hey, Harris!" Xander turned at the sound of his name being shouted into the half-finished room he and his crew were working in. He looked up from the interior wall he'd been measuring and saw one of the assistant supervisors standing in a doorway across from him. "There's a couple of girls out front looking for you," the supervisor continued as Xander turned to face him. "A blonde and a redhead."

"Thanks," Xander said, and the supervisor gave him a quick nod and left. He started for the doorway, nervousness running through him at the thought of seeing Willow and Tara again, but before he reached it, he paused and turned around, facing the guys on his crew.

"Guys, just finish up the measuring you're doing and then go ahead and knock off. It's almost lunchtime anyway," he said. Not waiting for a response – not that it would have registered if there had been one – he turned again and hurried through the doorway.

He quickly made his way through the building, stopping as he stepped outside. He blinked as bright sunlight hit his eyes, and raised one hand to shade them as he looked around. It only took him a few seconds to spot Willow and Tara standing a short distance away from the building. Several of the guys around the site were staring at them, their expressions both curious and appreciative, but Xander paid them no heed as he approached his girls.

"Hi," he said, stopping in front of them and looking at each of them in turn. Willow had on a tan sundress and had a bag thrown over one arm, and Tara was wearing a medium-length dark green skirt and a short-sleeved blue shirt. Even with all the anxiety he was feeling, Xander couldn't help taking a moment to just look at them. Even though he'd been in a relationship with Tara and Willow for a couple of months now, and he'd known them a lot longer than that, there were still times when he almost couldn't believe how beautiful they were.

"Hey, Xander," Willow said. She didn't smile, but he didn't see any anger in her expression or her posture, either. Xander felt no small amount of relief when he saw that.

The three of them stood together in uncomfortable silence for a moment – none of them seemed particularly eager to say anything. It didn't take Xander long to decide that since he was planning to apologize anyway, he needed to take the lead here.

Looking around, he saw that there were a few people within earshot, so he nodded toward an oak tree that stood a little ways away from the site. "Let's talk over there," he said.

"Okay," Tara said, and she and Willow followed Xander to stand underneath the tree. Xander took a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking again.

"Willow…I'm sorry for snapping at you this morning," he said. "And Tara, I'm sorry you were caught in the crossfire like that. Both of you, I'm so sorry for how I acted, and I hope you can forgive me." His words came out in a rush, all the preparation he'd done in his head that morning forgotten, and he waited anxiously for their answer.

"I'm sorry too," Willow said, her expression betraying the nervousness she felt. "I shouldn't have pressured you like I did. It's just, you said you were thinking about going back to school, and I got excited way too early. I was planning out your schedule when you hadn't even decided if you were actually going to take any classes yet."

Xander sighed. "I'm glad to hear that, but…Really, you should know…" He shrugged and spread his arms to his sides. "This is me. Sometimes I do stupid things. And sometimes those stupid things hurt people I really care about. I mean, I love you both, and I'd never do anything to hurt you on purpose, but I have a gift for finding the wrong things to say, and…"

"Xander, stop," Willow said, interrupting him. He could tell from her tone and her posture that she was totally serious about what she was saying and she expected to be listened to. "I've known you my whole life. And I've always loved you and I've never been anything but glad you were part of my life. Sure, there were times when you hurt me, but that's just part of life. It's part of being human. People hurt other people sometimes, even if they don't mean to."

"Yeah," Tara said. "Xander, it wasn't a good thing you did this morning, but don't blow it out of proportion. I haven't known you as long as Willow, but don't sell yourself short. I know you're a good person."

"You're one of the best I know," Willow said softly. "I mean, there's Buffy, and Giles, and of course you too honey," she added, turning and giving Tara a quick smile, "but you'd better believe you're right up there too," she finished, turning back to Xander and fixing him with a no-nonsense look.

Xander wasn't sure how much he actually believed what Willow and Tara were saying – he tried to be good, but he wasn't sure how often he actually succeeded – but it was good to hear just the same. And he could tell that they believed it, and that meant more to him than he could possibly say.

"Thank you," he said. "Both of you – thank you for being so understanding." He gave his girls a tight smile. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but…" He trailed off and shook his head. It was probably best not to start down that road. "Anyway, like I said, I'm sorry I lost my temper this morning, and I promise I'll do my best not to let it happen again."

"So…Are things okay between us?" Xander asked, addressing the question to Willow and Tara both. Neither of them looked like they were still angry, but he had to ask just the same. He wanted to be sure.

"Yeah. I think so," Tara replied. "It looks like we made it through our first fight okay."

Willow frowned slightly. "You think?" she said. "There's nothing special we need to do, or…?"

"Well, there should probably be make-up sex," Tara mused, "but I don't think this is the time or the place for it."

Willow giggled, and Xander laughed along with her. "No, definitely not," Xander said. Looking past Tara and Willow, Xander could see some of the guys on his crew standing out in front of the building mingling with a few of the other workers. Occasionally one of them would glance in their direction, and Xander had no trouble guessing what they were talking about.

"Thanks," Xander said. "Sorry about forgetting it this morning. I…had other things on my mind."

"No problem," Tara said, smiling. "And actually, we brought enough for all of us," she continued. "We were hoping we could have lunch together."

"I'd like that," Xander said. "Why don't we walk up the block to the park over there?" he suggested, pointing up the street to a park across the corner from where they were. "There are picnic tables and everything there. It's nicer than it is here."

"Me too," Tara agreed. "Let's go." She took a step toward the sidewalk, but stopped when Xander held up his hand. She and Willow looked at him curiously, and he cleared his throat before speaking again.

"One more thing," Xander said. "I, um…I thought about it some more, and I think I am going to try to take a class at UC Sunnydale next semester."

"Really?" Willow's face lit up at his words. "That's great…I mean, if you're sure about it," she finished. Xander couldn't help smiling at the way she was obviously trying to contain her enthusiasm.

"Yeah," he said. "I am. This time, I'm sure." He hadn't decided anything about school until that moment, but now that he had, it felt right. "Just one class for now, and we'll see how it goes. I don't think I'll ever go back full time, and I'll have to schedule everything around work, but I'm going to give it a shot."

"Okay, now can I get excited?" Willow said, looking back and forth between Tara and Xander eagerly.

Willow threw herself into Xander's arms and kissed him fiercely. "Xander, honey, this is great," she enthused. "This is going to be great for you." She stepped back and gave him a big smile, and Xander reached for her hand, squeezing it softly. It was great to see her so happy, especially after this morning.

His girls looked at him in confusion. "Xander, this isn't something you should do for us," Tara said. "You should do it for yourself. Because you want to."

Xander shook his head. "It's not that," he said. "It's…I mean, you two are so wonderful, I can't even tell you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me in my life. And when I think about you, you make me want to be the best man I possibly can."

Tara stepped in toward him and gave him a soft kiss, letting her lips linger on his for a moment. "That's really sweet, honey," she said, stepping back to stand beside Willow again and smiling happily.

"Yeah," Willow said. Then she smacked him lightly on the arm. "See, you don't always say the wrong thing," she chided, grinning at him.

Xander chuckled. "Okay, okay," he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "So why don't we go have lunch? These serious conversations always make me hungry."

As the three of them started down the sidewalk, heading for the park, Xander glanced back at the construction site. Over in front of the building they were working on, he could see that the half-dozen or so guys standing out front were all staring at him now. From the looks on their faces, they'd obviously seen the kisses.

He knew he was probably never going to hear the end of this from his crew, but right now, he found that he didn't care. He'd made up with his girls, and he'd made a decision about his life that he actually felt pretty good about. Right now, that was all that mattered. And even though this morning had shown him that there were going to be problems between him and Willow and Tara sometimes, he knew that he'd find a way to deal with them, no matter what it took.

Tara had always thought of Saturday morning as a good time to relax, but the sounds coming from the kitchen on this particular morning made that rather difficult.

It was the day after their first fight, and at the moment, Tara was lying in bed by herself. She was alone because when she and Willow and Xander had woken up, Willow had declared that she and Xander were going to make her breakfast to thank her for her role in resolving the argument they'd had yesterday, and Xander had agreed. Tara hadn't been sure that that was a good idea - Willow was a terrible cook, and Xander wasn't much better - but Willow had seemed so happy at the idea of bringing her breakfast in bed that she hadn't had the heart to object.

"Are you two okay in there?" she called out. It sounded like they were ransacking the place.

Tara wasn't so sure about that, but she decided to stay where she was anyway. She loved Willow and Xander, and they wanted to do something nice for her. The least she could do was let them try.

So she put what she was hearing out of her mind and tried to relax. It was a beautiful morning, and the sun was shining on the bed - Xander had opened the blinds on the windows before he left - and the warmth it brought felt good. She leaned back, resting her head against the pillows piled behind her, and closed her eyes. Who knows? she thought. Maybe whatever they're making will turn out well.

"Honey?" Tara opened her eyes at the sound of Willow's voice and saw her standing in the doorway to the hall outside. She sat up in bed, holding the sheets in front of her as her girlfriend stepped into the bedroom.

"What is it?" Tara asked as Willow stopped at the foot of the bed. "Do you need me to come out there?"

Willow shook her head. "No, we're okay," she said. "It's just…um…" She pulled at the tie on her robe nervously.

"Is this a teaspoon or a tablespoon?" Willow finally asked, blushing a little as she held up a spoon in one hand. "I can never remember which is which, and Xander didn't know either."

Tara chuckled. Willow could be so cute sometimes. Okay, almost all the time. "That's a teaspoon, sweetie," she said.

"Thanks," Willow replied, giving her a big smile. Before Tara could say anything else, she turned and hurried out of the room.

Well, she's certainly enthusiastic about this, Tara thought. Sighing, she leaned back again, but didn't close her eyes this time. She wasn't really tired anyway.

Instead, she thought about what had happened yesterday. It had certainly been something of a wake-up call. For the past couple of months, things had been pretty close to perfect in her relationship, but the argument yesterday had been a clear reminder that no matter how good their relationship was and no matter how wonderful Willow and Xander were, problems were going to come up from time to time. There was no way around it, especially now that the newness of what they had was starting to wear off.

And the newness was starting to wear off. There was no denying that, even though deep down, Tara could still hardly believe that she was in a relationship with two other people, especially since one of them was a man. But they'd been together for a couple of months now and she was starting to get accustomed to her new living arrangements, and she could tell that Xander and Willow were, too. And even though things were going to change somewhat when Xander signed up for college next semester, they were already pretty well settled into a routine.

It wasn't a bad thing. This happened in any relationship that lasted any significant amount of time. But the longer they lived together, the more of each other they were going to see - and that meant both their good qualities and their flaws.

Tara winced as her train of thought was interrupted by another loud crash from the kitchen. Speaking of flaws…

She stood up and walked over to their closet where she retrieved her robe. Putting it on, she hurried over to the door. She needed to check on what was going on out there before things got out of hand.

She and Xander were sitting in front of Tara on their bed, and Willow watched as she looked them over. "It's okay. Really," Tara soothed. "I enjoyed my breakfast in bed," she added, gesturing down at the tray in front of her.

Willow sighed. It was more like the other way around. Tara had done almost everything in the kitchen, and she and Xander had been the ones who'd helped a little. Until Tara had come to their rescue, their attempt at making breakfast for her had been a disaster. She'd actually managed to break a dish, which was quite an accomplishment for what was supposed to have been a simple task in the kitchen.

"We were supposed to be doing something nice for you," Willow said. "It kinda defeats the purpose if you have to help out with it." She sighed again. "I'm totally hopeless in the kitchen, aren't I?"

Tara leaned forward and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Honey, don't feel bad," she said. "Not everyone can be good at everything. I mean, I'm not nearly as good with computers as you are."

Willow had to smile. She was so lucky to have Tara. Even now, when she'd just gotten through making a total mess of things, Tara was trying to make her feel better. And it was working - just like it usually did.

"You were trying to do something nice for me," Tara continued. "Both of you," she added, turning to include Xander in what she was saying as well. "And believe me, I appreciate it, no matter how it turned out."

Xander chuckled. "Well, that's really gracious of you," he said. He stood up, picked up the tray, and carefully set it down on the floor next to their nightstand. Then he sat down on the bed again, right in front of Tara, and took her hand, lifting it to his mouth and kissing it. Willow scooted in closer to her girlfriend, leaning in and kissing her cheek, and Tara smiled at them both.

"Maybe we can find something else nice to do for you," Xander said, running one hand down Tara's arm as he glanced at Willow out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah," Willow said, grinning at the conspiratorial look in Xander's eye. "I'm sure we can think of something." She leaned forward again and kissed Tara deeply, and her pulse quickened as their tongues met. She guided her girlfriend to lay back against the pillows piled underneath her, and she stretched out next to her on the bed without breaking their kiss. Xander watched them for a moment, then laid down himself and opened Tara's robe a little, placing soft kisses on her chest. Willow rested a hand on Xander's back and rubbed him there encouragingly as he reached for the tie on Tara's robe.

"Damn it," Xander swore, pushing himself upward and reaching for the phone on their nightstand as Willow broke her kiss with Tara. She thought briefly about asking him to ignore it, but quickly decided against it. It might be Buffy or Giles calling about something important.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Xander picked up the phone. "Hello?" he said, and Willow was impressed that he was able to keep most of his irritation at being interrupted out of his voice.

"Oh, hi Giles," he said a moment later. "What's up?" Tara sat up as Xander stood and turned to face them, and Willow did the same, wrapping her arms around Tara from behind and resting her chin on her girlfriend's shoulder. Willow kissed her softly behind her ear, and Tara smiled, resting her hands on top of Willow's.

Xander listened for a moment, then spoke again. "No, it's no problem," he said. "Just give us half an hour, or maybe a little longer, and we'll be there." He listened for a few more seconds. "Okay, see you soon," he finished.

"Giles needs us," Xander replied. "Buffy saw something when she was patrolling last night, and they need our help to research it. He wants us all to meet them at the Magic Box." He paused for a moment, and Willow could tell that something had just occurred to him. "I hope you don't mind that I said yes for all of us," he finished, frowning slightly.

"No, Xander, it's no problem," Willow said. "Right, honey?" she asked, turning to look Tara in the eye as she released her and moved to sit next to her on the bed.

"Right. It's fine," Tara agreed. "If Buffy and Giles need us, I'm always happy to help, any way I can. You don't even have to ask." She smiled at Xander, and he returned the gesture, obviously reassured.

"Thanks," Xander said. "Anyway, we'd better get moving. I'll clean up the kitchen, if one of you wants to shower first."

"I'll help," Willow chimed in. "So you go ahead, sweetie," she said, giving Tara a quick kiss and then climbing out of bed to stand next to Xander.

"Okay. I'll make it quick," Tara said. Willow smiled at her and walked over to the doorway, stepping out into the hall. Xander followed after her, and they headed for the kitchen together.

"I guess there's a down side to fighting evil in your spare time," Xander said as they crossed their living room.

The familiar sound of the bell at the entrance to the Magic Box rang out as Willow opened the door. Standing over by the sales counter, Giles looked up as she stepped inside, Tara and Xander following after her. She looked around as Xander closed the door behind them; even though the store was open, the place was empty of customers.

"Hey Giles," Xander echoed. "Pretty quiet in here," he observed as he stopped at one end of the counter, leaning against it casually.

"Yes, I actually wouldn't even be open right now if I didn't need to be here anyway," Giles said.

"Might as well try to make some money while we're researching," Xander said. "I like the way you think, Giles. I need to find a way to work Slaying business into my job."

"That might be kinda hard, honey," Willow remarked. "Unless you guys unearth some ancient spirits when you're digging a foundation or something." Then she frowned as she suddenly remembered the Indian spirits from last year. "Er, again, I mean."

Giles chuckled. "In Sunnydale, I'm afraid that is a rather distinct possibility," he said.

Before Willow could reply, the bell at the Magic Box's entryway rang again. She turned to see who had opened the door, and smiled as she saw Buffy step into the shop.

"Hey Will. Hey guys," Buffy said, smiling back at her and walking over to stand over by the table across from them.

"Well, now that we're all here, we can begin," Giles said, stepping out from behind the counter to stand next to Buffy. "First, Willow, Tara, Xander, let me thank you for coming in this early on a Saturday morning."

"Well, be that as it may, it's still appreciated," Giles said. "Now, to the matter at hand. Last night, while she was patrolling, Buffy saw a group of vampires carrying an urn of some sort off a boat that had just arrived at the port."

"I tried to stop them, but three of them jumped me while the other two took off with the urn," Buffy said. "By the time I dusted the ones who came after me, the others were gone."

"Do you remember what the urn looked like?" Willow asked. If it was a magical object, they needed to find out what it could do as quickly as possible.

"It was pretty big, probably a few feet high, and it looked like it was made out of metal," Buffy replied. "And there was a word painted on the outside of it that I couldn't read."

"From the way Buffy described the letters to me, it sounds as though they were Cyrillic," Giles said. "It's not a lot to go on, I know, but I have some historical texts with information about artifacts from that region that might be of help."

"Willow and I could look through some magic books, too," Tara said. "I mean, you're concerned that this urn might be magical, or be used in some kind of spell, right? We could check that out."

Smiling, Willow nodded her agreement. "That's a great idea, honey," she said. She and Tara were thinking along the same lines, and it was always nice when that happened. Plus, looking through books about magic would be a lot more interesting than going through history books. Hey, we might even find some new spells along the way, she thought. That'd be a nice side benefit.

"So you're just going to leave me with the boring history stuff?" Buffy said. She glared in her direction, and Willow chuckled at her expression. "Some friends you are."

"Oh, come on, Buff. Research in foreign languages is always a barrel of laughs," Xander said.

"Yes, well, I do have some books on the subject in English. Why don't you start there?" Giles said, nodding toward Buffy and Xander. "I'll work on that as well. Willow, Tara," he continued, turning and fixing Willow with a serious look, "your idea of searching for spells involving urns is a good one, but please be careful with the magical texts I have."

"Don't worry, Giles. Your books are in good hands," Willow replied confidently. "We'll find your answer in no time. Come on, honey," she said, tugging excitedly at Tara's sleeve. Tara smiled, obviously taken by her enthusiasm, and followed after her as she led the way to the ladder up to the balcony overlooking the shop where Giles kept his books on magic.

Willow climbed the ladder, then turned and held out a hand to Tara, helping her onto the balcony as well. She could see Xander watching them, and she smiled and gave him a little wave. He returned it before turning his attention to a book Giles had just handed him, and Willow turned back to Tara. They sat down together, Willow crossing her legs in front of her, and looked over the books on the shelves next to them.

"So, if you see any spells that look interesting, let me know," Willow said, leaning toward Tara and speaking in a low voice.

"Sweetie, we're supposed to be researching something specific," Tara replied, a note of admonishment creeping into her voice.

"Sure we are," Willow agreed. "But if we happen to come across something else useful along the way, we should take a look. Who knows what might come in handy at some point in the future? I mean, think how much it would help Buffy if we could finally get that sunlight spell right, for instance."

Tara still looked a bit skeptical, but she relaxed after only a moment's hesitation. "Okay. You've got a point," she said. "But we shouldn't spend too much time on other things. I mean, if something looks really useful, we can always come back and read more about it later."

"That's fine," Willow said. It wasn't like they'd have time to read much of anything in detail right now anyway.

At Tara's answering nod, Willow looked into her eyes and smiled, then leaned in and gave her a brief kiss. "Okay, what books should we start with?" she said, turning to look at the shelves next to them again. "How about this one?" she asked, reaching for a book on material focuses for spells and taking it down from the shelf.

"Looks good to me," Tara said. "I'll take a look at this one," she continued, taking a book about magical artifacts and setting it in her lap.

Willow nodded. "Okay, let's get started," she said. "Hopefully this won't take too long and we can get back to our weekend soon."

It was well into the evening when Giles finally spoke the words Willow had been waiting to hear almost all day. "I believe I've found the answer," he said, and Willow looked up hopefully at his announcement.

"Thank god," Xander declared. "I think my brain is about to start leaking out of my ears." He pushed the book he'd been looking at away from him, knocking over a Chinese food carton in the process that, fortunately, turned out to be nearly empty. He grabbed it and turned it upright again before anything could spill.

"What's the good word, Giles?" Buffy asked, looking up from her own book, her expression cautiously optimistic.

Willow carefully climbed down the ladder to stand on the main floor and stretched her arms over her head as Tara made her way down to stand next to her. She really hoped Giles had found what they were looking for. They'd been at this for so long that even her enthusiasm for research had seriously dimmed; she could only imagine how the others must be feeling. She and Tara had managed to find a few spells that looked interesting and were definitely worth checking into further, but for now, she just wanted them to be done with this.

Giles stood up and stepped away from the table, turning to face everyone at once. Seeing that all eyes were on him, he cleared his throat before speaking again. "Well, according to this record," he said, nodding toward the volume he was holding, still open in his hands, "a few centuries ago, a powerful sorcerer from Eastern Russia bound his spirit into an urn fitting the description of the one Buffy saw last night in an effort to cheat death."

"Please tell me he was one of the good guys?" Buffy said, but from the look on her face, Willow could tell that she wasn't holding out much hope for an affirmative answer.

"Far from it," Giles replied. "By all accounts, he was a very brutal man, who specialized in the darkest sorts of magic."

"Okay, so, not the kind of guy who's fun at parties," Xander said. "But what's the deal with this urn? Is this something we need to worry about?"

"Well, it is believed that this sorcerer placed a contingent enchantment upon the urn before he transferred his spirit into it," Giles said.

At Buffy and Xander's blank looks, Willow spoke up. "A contingent enchantment is a spell that's set up to be triggered later," she said. "You can set up certain conditions, and when they're met, the spell will be cast. It's fairly complicated, as spells go." That was an understatement, actually - that kind of magic was way beyond anything she was currently capable of. "If this sorcerer could cast a spell like that, he was definitely pretty powerful."

Giles nodded. "According to this, when the urn is placed upon the grave of a fifteenth generation descendant of his at precisely three hours before midnight, the body of said descendant shall be restored to life and his spirit shall be transferred into it. He shall be reborn."

"I'm afraid your instincts are correct, Buffy," Giles replied with a sigh. "Many of this sorcerer's descendants were wiped out, but according to the last records the Watcher's Council have on the subject, the few who remained immigrated to Sunnydale about fifty years or so ago."

"So it stands to reason that these vampires think they can bring this sorcerer back to life now," Xander said. "Otherwise why bother bringing in the urn?"

"Yes, that is correct," Giles said, setting the book he was holding down on the table. "If we are fortunate, they may be mistaken, but for now, we must proceed under the assumption that the conditions for the spell can be met."

"So if there is a grave with one of these sorcerer's descendants they can use, how do we find it?" Tara asked. "Do you know how many cemeteries there are in Sunnydale?"

Tara chuckled. "Okay, silly question, given how long you guys have been doing this," she said. "But the point is, we don't have time to check them all."

"Fortunately, we have extensive records on local burials," Giles said. "I've checked them, and the family we're interested in has a plot at the Restfield Cemetery."

Buffy stood up, fixing everyone with a look Willow knew well - she was all business now. "Then what are we waiting for?" she said. "We need to get going."

Willow looked at the clock. They had less than half an hour until nine o'clock - three hours before midnight. The Restfield Cemetery wasn't far away, but they'd still be cutting it pretty close. She hoped they wouldn't be too late.

It was true that fighting vampires or demons was never calm or orderly, but this battle was more chaotic than most that Willow had been in. Okay, it wasn't as bad as when they'd fought the Mayor and his vampire henchmen at their graduation, but it was still a mess. Sounds of fighting swirled all around her, and she wished that she could take a look around to see what was going on, but she couldn't. She had to stay focused on the spell she was casting and the target of it.

The spell on the urn had already been triggered when they'd arrived; they'd gotten there just seconds too late. Thinking quickly, she'd immediately started a counterspell and had succeeded in blocking the flow of energy from the urn into the grave below it.

The problem was, she'd been continuing the spell for several minutes now and it was starting to become a strain. She'd only meant to use this counterspell to hold the urn's energy back for a short time - just long enough for Buffy or someone else to destroy it. But there had been at least a half-dozen vampires gathered around the grave when they'd arrived, and it was taking quite a while to deal with them.

Not for the first time since she'd begun the spell, Willow wished that Tara was with her. With Tara's power, in addition to her own, holding this counterspell would be a lot easier. They might even be able to force the energy back into the urn and break the enchantment completely.

But she and Tara had gotten separated as soon as the fight with the vampires had started. Willow was a little worried about her, but Buffy had been right beside her when Willow had lost sight of her, so she was as safe as anyone could possibly be in a situation like this. And as for Xander… He was with Giles the last time Willow had seen him, and they could handle a vampire or two for a few minutes. He'd be okay.

Or so she told herself. She couldn't afford to think otherwise. If she drove herself crazy worrying, she wouldn't be able to concentrate on her spell.

And it needed her full concentration. After the fight had started, Willow had briefly considered stopping her counterspell and trying to use her magic to help her friends. But she'd had to give up on that idea very quickly; if she dropped her spell for even a second, the enchantment on the urn would take effect and the sorcerer whose spirit it contained would be resurrected. And judging by the strength of the spell on the urn… Well, if it was this strong even given that it was a few centuries old now, Willow didn't figure they'd have much chance against the person who'd cast it.

So she kept her attention focused on her counterspell. The sounds of fighting were a little bit closer now, but she refused to let them distract her. She hoped that Buffy and the others would be able to finish off the vampires soon; she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to keep her spell going. She was drawing energy from the earth, but she was using more than she was taking in. Her own reserves were going to run out before much longer.

Suddenly, Willow heard someone crashing through the underbrush nearby. Her blood ran cold as a vampire emerged from the bushes in front of her. It looked around briefly before fixing its yellow eyes on her, a feral grin appearing on its demonic visage.

"Well, well," the vampire said, baring his fangs as he advanced on her. "What have we here? A little witch, all alone."

Willow fought to keep from trembling as the vampire closed the distance between them. "Well, if you know I'm a witch, you must know what I can do," she said, trying her best to hit the same calm, confident tone Buffy always used when facing down vampires. "You'd better get out of here right now, mister, or I'll, I'll…set you on fire!"

The vampire barked a harsh, guttural laugh. "No, I don't think so, witch." He spat the title out like an epithet. "If you could do that, you would have done it the moment you saw me. No, I think all your power is tied up fighting our master's spell."

And he was right. There wasn't enough time for Willow to end her counterspell and cast something else. And she couldn't move more than a few steps from where she was standing without breaking her spell, either.

The vampire gave her a cruel smile. "Which means as soon as I kill you, he will be reborn."

Willow fought down her rising panic. The vampire was only a few yards away now. Even though her instincts were screaming at her to run, she stood fast; keeping her spell up even just an extra few seconds might give the others the time they needed to destroy the urn. Keeping Tara and Xander and her friends safe was worth anything, even…

Just as the vampire was about to reach her, someone charged into it, knocking it away from Willow. As both figures sprawled on the ground together, Willow got a look at the new arrival.

"You stay away from her!" he shouted, landing a solid punch to the vampire's jaw. The vampire had been trying to sit up, so when the blow landed, it knocked him back down and his head hit the ground hard. Xander looked around for a second before spotting a stake on the ground a few yards away - he must have dropped it when he'd tackled the vampire - and scrambled toward it as quickly as he could.

But the vampire recovered quickly, and just as Xander reached the stake, it sprang up and charged toward him. Willow cried out a warning, but the vampire was too fast. It reached Xander and struck out just as he turned, knocking the stake out of his hand.

The two struggled for a long moment - how long, Willow couldn't have said - until the vampire finally managed to shove Xander away. Willow realized that now she had no choice; if she was going to save Xander, she had to stop her counterspell now. Regardless of the consequences, she was not going to let this thing kill Xander. They'd just have to find a way to deal with the sorcerer later.

Except the vampire wasn't going after Xander. It turned and, fixing Willow with a murderous glare, advanced on her quickly…

Only to be stopped by an invisible force slamming into it, hard enough to knock it back a step.

Tara stepped forward to stand next to Willow, and she could feel the soft hum of power radiating from her girlfriend. "You don't touch her," Tara growled, her expression at once angry and resolute as she stepped in front of Willow protectively. "Ever." Willow felt another surge of power, and a fiery explosion erupted in front of the vampire's face, causing the creature to howl in pain, momentarily blinded.

"You will die for that, w…" it began, but it was cut off as Xander stepped in between them and slammed a rock he was holding in one hand into the vampire's face. The creature's head snapped back as several of its teeth were broken, and another cry of pain filled the air. But it was abruptly cut off as Xander followed up with a well-placed swing of the stake in his other hand, and the vampire exploded into dust.

Willow nearly sighed with relief as she saw the vampire disintegrate. But there was no time to celebrate. "Tara, honey, I need your help," she said.

Nodding, Tara took her hand without hesitation. Willow could feel her girlfriend's energy swirling around her, reaching out and joining with her own. Relief was almost immediate; with their combined powers, the strain from the spell was greatly reduced. The shield was holding easily now, keeping the energy from the sorcerer's spell trapped in the urn.

Tara watched her carefully, and when she saw that Willow had recovered, she spoke again. "Let's push back now, okay?" she said.

"Do you want me to try to break that thing?" Xander said, nodding toward the urn. He sounded unsure about his chances - the urn looked like it was made of cast iron, after all - but he seemed willing to try.

Tara shook her head quickly. "No. Stay back," she warned. "There's a lot of power concentrated over there. We'll take care of it," she said, and Willow smiled at the confidence in her tone. Now that they were together, she felt it too.

Taking a deep breath, Willow summoned up as much power as she could. She felt Tara do the same, and as their energies mingled, they increased the power of their shield and moved it upward to envelop the urn, pushing in toward it. It was a struggle, but inch by inch, Willow and Tara were able to push the enchantment it carried back into it.

The urn began to glow with a faint reddish light that looked almost angry in the darkness of the cemetery. They were close now, Willow could tell. The effort was terrible - like trying to push a boulder uphill - but just a few more seconds, and…

With a bright flash, the urn's enchantment was broken, and a loud crack echoed through the cemetery as the urn itself broke along with it. A wail of frustrated anger was carried aloft on a sudden wind as the sorcerer's spirit was banished, its attempt at resurrection thwarted. They'd succeeded.

Willow let go of the power she was holding, her shoulders sagging with relief. Tara wrapped her arms around her, holding her close, letting Willow rest her head on her shoulder. Xander hurried over to them and embraced Willow from behind, kissing her cheek softly.

"You did it," Xander said, stepping around in front of Willow and Tara and smiling at them both. "Have I told you lately how wonderful you are?"

"I'd say Willow's the wonderful one tonight," Tara said, stroking Willow's hair softly. Willow smiled, a contented feeling settling over her, both at the praise and Tara's touch. "She kept the spell from taking effect, all by herself. And I know that couldn't have been easy - right, honey?" she asked, turning and meeting Willow's eyes as Willow lifted her head from her shoulder.

"No, it wasn't," Willow admitted. "But you two saved my life," she continued, stepping back a little to address Tara and Xander at the same time. "So I think there's plenty of wonderfulness to go around tonight."

Xander chuckled, and was about to reply when more sounds from the underbrush reached their ears. They all turned to face the source of the noise, and Willow relaxed when she saw Buffy and Giles step into the clear area around the graves, stakes in hand.

"Hey, guys," Buffy said, taking a quick look around. Satisfied that they were alone, she and Giles lowered the stakes they were holding and approached them. "Is everyone okay?"

"I think so," Xander said, turning to look at Willow and Tara, and they nodded their agreement.

"We're fine," Tara said. "There was only one vampire who found us here, and we took care of him. What about the rest?"

"I think I got them all," Buffy replied. "I counted seven vampires when we arrived, and with the one you took out, that's all of them."

"And the sorcerer's enchantment?" Giles asked, nodding toward the broken urn sitting atop the grave. "I take it that has been dealt with, as well?"

Tara nodded. "Willow held the spell in place, and then when I got back, we broke it together." Willow smiled at Tara's words - even despite the scare she'd had, she still felt no small amount of exhilaration at what she'd managed to do.

"Really?" Giles seemed a little surprised. "I would very much like to hear how you did that… But of course, that can wait," he added hastily. "You've done more than enough for one day. And that goes for all of you," he finished, gesturing toward all four of them with one hand.

"Good," Buffy said, tucking her stake in her belt and stretching her arms in front of her. "I don't know about anyone else, but right now I just want to get home. So how about we get going?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and they started making their way out of the cemetery back to where they'd parked. It'd been a long day, but they'd faced down terrible danger and emerged victorious, and that was all that mattered.

The drive home didn't take long, and Willow's steps were still a little unsteady from leftover adrenaline as she and Xander and Tara climbed the stairs up to their apartment. When they reached their door, Xander opened it and they all hurried inside, eager to put the dangers of nighttime in Sunnydale behind them.

As soon as Xander had locked their front door and turned on the lights in their living room, Tara pulled Willow close and pressed her lips to hers. After a brief but fierce kiss, Tara pulled her head back, but continued to hold Willow close. "Goddess, at the graveyard tonight, for a minute there, I was scared I was going to lose you," she said. "I love you so much."

Xander stepped in and embraced Willow tightly as well. "I've never been so scared as I was when I saw that vampire charging at you," he said, and Willow could hear the leftover anxiety in his voice mixed in with his obvious relief that she was safe. "I love you," he said, and kissed her deeply, sharing his passion with her.

"I was scared too, but you were there, you protected me," Willow babbled after Xander broke their kiss. "I love you both so much," she murmured, nearly overwhelmed by what she was feeling. She'd nearly been killed, but Xander and Tara had protected her, and with both of them holding her now, she felt loved, and safe, and…

Tara kissed her again, more aggressively this time, sliding her tongue past Willow's lips. Willow moaned softly as Tara plundered her mouth, and Xander stepped around behind her, pressing up against her back and wrapping his arms around her waist. Tara lifted her hands to Willow's face, cupping it between them as their tongues swirled together.

When they separated again, Tara turned Willow's head to one side, and Xander gave her a deep, passionate kiss as well. Willow leaned back into his embrace and opened her mouth for him, granting him the access he desired. Tara slid her hands down to Willow's chest, massaging her breasts through her dress. Her touch wasn't at all gentle, and Willow's knees wobbled a bit at the surge of arousal that ran through her, but Xander tightened his grip on her a bit, his strong arms supporting her easily.

After Xander and Willow broke their kiss, Tara took her hands off Willow for a moment and murmured a quick cleansing spell. She ran her palms over Willow's hands, then Xander's, and finally her own, cleaning them of the dirt and grime they'd picked up during the fight in the graveyard. Once she was finished, she reached for the belt on Willow's dress and unbuckled it, and she and Xander lifted it to her waist.

"Lift up your arms, honey," Xander said, and Willow complied quickly. Tara and Xander raised the dress over her head, Xander making sure it didn't catch on her hair, and once it was off, Tara took the garment and dropped it to one side behind them. Tara knelt in front of her and slid her panties down her legs while Xander unhooked her bra and pushed the straps over her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor in front of her.

Tara stood again and dropped Willow's underwear back with her dress. She looked over Willow's shoulder at Xander, and something unspoken passed between them as they held each other's eyes for a few seconds. "You're ours," Tara said, her blue eyes fiercely determined as she turned and locked her gaze with Willow's. "Mine, and Xander's. You're the most precious thing in our lives."

"And no one will ever hurt you while we're around," Xander said into her ear, resting his hands on her shoulders. "You're ours," he repeated, and Willow felt another rush of arousal at the possessive tone in both her lovers' voices.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, yes, yes…" She repeated the word over and over, chanting it like a mantra until Xander silenced her with another kiss. As their lips met, Tara leaned in toward Willow and kissed her neck, nibbling and biting just above her collarbone. She slid her hands down Willow's chest, cupping her breasts, rubbing and pinching her nipples, and Willow moaned into Xander's mouth as she pressed in toward her girlfriend's touch.

Just as abruptly as she'd started, Tara broke the contact between them, and Willow almost whimpered at its loss. "Get her down on the floor," Tara said. She took a few steps backward into their living room, away from the door, and Xander broke his kiss with Willow and guided her to follow Tara.

Xander knelt down behind Willow, drawing her down with him, and she leaned back into his arms, resting her head in his lap. Tara knelt in front of her, giving Willow a look she knew well, a look that made her heart race in anticipation. Were they going to do this right here?

But there was no mistaking the intensity in Tara's eyes, and as she looked up at Xander, she saw it in his, too. They wanted to take her, and she wanted to give herself to them - to both of them. As Tara leaned over her, she met Willow's gaze again, and Willow could see the unspoken question in her eyes.

Tara rested her hands on Willow's thighs, pushing her legs open and moving in between them. She slid one hand up her thigh to her sex, parting her lips and probing inside her. Tara smiled when she found that Willow was already wet - Willow could hardly believe that she'd gotten so turned on so quickly, but Tara and Xander did have that effect on her - and Willow moaned loudly as Tara pushed two fingers into her. She clenched tightly around her girlfriend's fingers and squirmed around a little until Xander put his hands on her sides to stop her.

Tara started thrusting her fingers into Willow, fucking her hard and fast with them, and Willow's whole body tensed at the pleasurable waves that ran through her. Xander moved his hands up to her breasts and rubbed his palms over them, not gently, but not rough enough to really hurt her, either. All three of them had gotten to know each other's bodies very well in the months they'd been together, and they all knew what felt good to the others - and what didn't.

Another rush of pleasure surged through Willow as Xander's fingers found her nipples. He pinched them, and Willow moaned again and pushed her chest up toward his hands. Her moan was abruptly cut off when she gasped as Tara stopped the motion of her fingers, leaving them buried deeply inside her, and brushed her thumb over her clit. As Tara rubbed quick circles over her most sensitive place, her arms shot out to her sides, and she dug her nails into the carpet. She had to close her eyes as she lost herself in the wonderful sensations her lovers were bringing her.

They didn't stay closed for long, though. Willow opened her eyes as Tara started moving her fingers again, fucking her just as hard and fast as before. She continued rubbing her clit, and Willow could feel her climax approaching rapidly. It usually took her at least a little longer to get to this point, but the intensity of this whole experience was almost beyond anything she'd ever felt before. Tara's fingers were rough, insistent, and so were Xander's hands, and it all just felt so good…

Meeting Willow's eyes, Tara gave her a look that was full of desire and passion - she knew that Willow was right on the brink. "Come for us, honey," she said.

Willow opened her mouth to respond, but all that came out was a cry of ecstasy as her orgasm crashed down upon her. Xander tugged at her nipples, and Tara kept up the motion of her fingers as her climax ran through her, hitting all her most sensitive places inside her. Her back arched, and she squirmed around, unable to keep still, until her orgasm finally passed and she collapsed into Xander's lap again, her chest heaving as she took deep breaths, trying to steady herself.

She didn't feel tired or drained at all - in fact, she still felt full of energy. She wanted more. So she was glad to see that Tara didn't slow down at all after her climax; she kept thrusting her fingers into her and rubbing her clit with her thumb, and between that and Xander's hands on her breasts, it only took a couple of minutes before Willow found herself approaching release again.

Just as Willow's orgasm was upon her, Tara leaned forward, and Xander moved his hands away as Tara lowered her head to her chest. Willow gasped as Tara bit her just above her left breast, hard enough to hurt, though she didn't break the skin. Tara looked up at her, and the look in her eyes was intense, almost fierce. It told Willow what she was doing - Tara was claiming her, and that knowledge was enough to send her over the edge again. A second climax tore through her body, even stronger than the first, and Tara lifted her head from her chest, watching her face as she was carried away on waves of ecstasy.

When her orgasm had passed, Tara withdrew her fingers, and Willow whimpered a little at the loss. Tara smiled down at her and brought her fingers to her mouth, tasting Willow's essence upon them. Afterward, she reached down and rubbed Willow's stomach affectionately, her gentle caress in stark contrast to the roughness of her touch just a moment ago, and turned toward Xander. He nodded to her as they reached an unspoken decision together.

Xander eased Willow off his lap, resting her gently on the floor. "Stay there," he said, and he and Tara stood. He grabbed a pillow from their couch and put it on the floor next to Willow, and she lifted her head slightly and allowed him to slide it under her. She looked up at her boyfriend and her girlfriend, shivers of excitement still running through her as they undressed quickly. They shared a quick kiss as they discarded the last of their clothes, then stepped in toward Willow.

Kneeling in front of her, Xander rubbed Willow's thighs as he positioned himself between them. He slid his hands upward to briefly caress her breasts, then down to her hips, gripping her tightly there. Tara knelt down above her, straddling her face, and Willow reached up and rested her hands on her girlfriend's thighs.

"Lick me," Tara said. Willow could hear from her tone that she was in no mood to wait for what she wanted, so she pulled down on Tara's thighs, guiding her girlfriend to move downward and lean forward a little until her sex was right above Willow's mouth. Willow slid her tongue over Tara's lips slowly - she was wet, as wet as Willow had ever seen her. Obviously, touching and pleasuring her had gotten Tara incredibly excited herself.

Xander rubbed the head of his cock against Willow's sex, then pushed into her, filling her with a single hard thrust. Willow clenched tightly around him as he entered her and moaned into Tara's sex at the sensation. This brought a long moan from Tara as well, and she pushed down a little, grinding against Willow's face. Willow circled her tongue around her girlfriend's clit, and Tara lifted her hands to her chest, cupping her own breasts and rolling her nipples between her fingers. Willow could tell that Tara wanted to come, badly, so she picked up her pace, swiping her tongue over Tara's clit, settling into a rhythm that she knew would bring her to heights of pleasure very quickly.

A second later, Willow had to moan again as Xander started fucking her hard and deep. He felt so good inside her that it took all Willow's concentration to remain focused on Tara. But she managed it, though just barely - given how excited she was, she knew that it wouldn't take very long for Xander to bring her to her own peak.

It was Tara who came first, just a short while later, pushing down against Willow's tongue as her cry of pleasure filled the air. Even though she was on the edge herself, Willow kept licking Tara's clit all the way through her climax, wanting to bring her as much pleasure as she could. She stopped when she finally felt Tara relax, and she smiled a moment later when Tara moved off of her.

Just after Tara had moved away, Xander leaned forward and met Willow's eyes, and she could see love and intensity in his eyes that was every bit as strong as what she'd seen from Tara a few moments ago. He dipped his head to her chest and bit her, on her right side just below her collarbone. The momentary pain was quickly carried away on a torrent of emotion - Tara and Xander had both claimed her now, she was theirs…

Willow moaned, long and low, from deep in her chest as another powerful orgasm shook her body. She wrapped her arms and legs around Xander tightly, holding him to her, loving the way his body felt against hers. Her head rolled back on the pillow and she closed her eyes, her inner muscles clenching tightly around Xander's cock as she let the pleasurable waves wash over her, a tide that seemed like it would never end.

Finally, her climax passed, and Willow relaxed a little, her arms and legs falling open once more. Xander gave her a quick but intense kiss before pushing himself up on his arms again, but stopped at the sound of Tara's voice. "Roll her over," Tara said, and Willow's eyes shot open at her words.

Xander pulled away, withdrawing from her, and put his hands on Willow's hips, pushing gently, but insistently. Willow rolled over, pushing herself up on her hands and knees to see Tara lying on her back in front of her. "Come here," Tara said, opening her legs and beckoning with one finger.

Xander slapped Willow's ass, hard, and she moaned softly and crawled forward, between Tara's legs, stopping in front of her sex. She could hardly believe all that was happening - Tara and Xander weren't asking her what she wanted, they were just taking what they wanted from her. Of course, Willow had no doubt that they'd stop if she protested, but she wasn't about to do that. She wanted this. She wanted to give herself to them completely, to let them have her however they wanted her.

Tara reached for Willow's head with one hand, threading her fingers through her hair. She pushed Willow down to her sex, and Willow wasted no time - her tongue darted out and swiped over her girlfriend's clit. Tara moaned and held Willow's head to her, her grip tightening as she played with her own nipple with her other hand.

Just after she'd started licking Tara, Xander thrust his cock into Willow again, her wet passage accepting him easily. He slid his hands underneath her, up to her breasts, where he pinched and tugged at her nipples the same way he had when Tara was inside her earlier. Willow moaned into Tara's sex as Xander's hands and his cock stoked the fire inside her again, and she slipped her lips over Tara's clit, flicking her tongue against the tip of it as quickly as she could. She knew that another climax was fast approaching, and she wanted Tara to get there with her.

Tara responded enthusiastically to what Willow was doing, moaning loudly and squirming around beneath her tongue. Willow rubbed her lips along Tara's clit, then circled her tongue around it quickly, just the way she knew Tara liked. It only took a few minutes of this before Tara cried out, her thighs pressing in around Willow's head, her fingers pulling her hair as her whole body tensed with her orgasm. The intensity of her girlfriend's response combined with the rhythm of Xander fucking her and his hands on her breasts was enough to make Willow follow along after her, joining Tara in that sweet moment of pure bliss.

When their climaxes had passed, Tara relaxed a little, but didn't loosen her grip on Willow's hair. She wanted more, and Willow was happy to give it - she resumed licking around and over Tara's clit, and was rewarded with a soft moan from her girlfriend. Xander moved his hands down to her hips and started fucking Willow harder, and she clenched her muscles around his cock, bringing a moan from him as well.

Willow kept up her attentions on Tara's clit, pleasuring her with her lips and tongue, and she was quickly able to bring her to another climax. Just a second later, Xander buried himself inside Willow deeply, and she heard his own cry of pleasure as she felt the warm, familiar sensation of him coming inside her. That was enough to send her over the edge one last time, and she lifted her head from Tara's sex, moaning loudly, her whole body tensing once more with waves of ecstasy.

Finally, when it was over, she collapsed, resting her head on Tara's stomach. A moment later, Xander withdrew from her, and silence settled over the room as the three of them took a moment to catch their breath.

Tara chuckled, low in her throat, and ran her fingers through Willow's hair. "Well, I think we can all agree, it was really something," she said.

Willow yawned. It was all catching up to her - the long day, the scare at the graveyard, and the intense lovemaking they'd just finished. She was exhausted. She wasn't sure if she could even summon the strength to stand up, let alone walk to their bedroom.

Fortunately, she didn't have to. Seeing how tired she was, Xander crouched down beside Willow and picked her up, cradling her easily in his arms. He gave her a long, slow kiss, and when he pulled away, Tara stood up and kissed her deeply as well.

Xander carried Willow into their bedroom, Tara following right behind, and set her down in the middle of the bed. He climbed in next to her, Tara lying down on her other side, and they cradled her protectively between them. With a contented sigh, Willow fell asleep almost immediately, nestled in between the two people she cared about most - warm, and safe, and loved.

Willow slept as well as she ever had that night, and she awoke the next morning to find the bedroom bathed in sunlight that filtered in through the partially closed blinds on their windows. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she saw that Xander and Tara were already awake. They were on either side of her, turned in to face her, and they smiled at her as her eyes opened.

Willow nodded. "Very well," she said. "I feel rested, and refreshed, and…" She paused for a moment, turning to look at the clock by their bed. It was just after eight o'clock - she'd slept for a little over nine hours. "And probably lots of other 're' words, too," she said, smiling and stretching her arms above her head.

"Although I am a little sore," she confessed as she lowered her arms to her sides again. Now that she was fully awake, she was starting to notice that her sex still ached a little from last night.

Tara and Xander frowned at her words. "I hope I wasn't too rough last night," Xander said.

Willow shook her head quickly. "No, it's not bad or anything," she said. It was true - she was actually surprised that her soreness wasn't a lot worse, given how rough Tara and Xander had been with her last night. "I'll be fine. Really. Neither of you was too rough." She gave them a reassuring smile, and after a moment they both relaxed a little.

"So… What do you think about what happened last night?" Tara asked, resting one hand lightly on Willow's chest. She ran her fingers lightly over the place where she'd bitten Willow last night, just above her left breast. The mark was still visible, as was the one beneath her collarbone where Xander had bitten her. Xander reached out to touch her lightly there, tracing the outline of the mark he'd made as Willow considered her reply.

"I liked it," Willow said after a moment. "Are you worried about me? Don't be. I would have told you last night if you were doing anything I didn't like. I mean, I…" She felt herself blushing as she admitted this, but forced herself to go on nonetheless. "I really enjoyed it. I just… I don't know what I really think about it, you know?"

Xander and Tara stayed silent. She could see from their faces that they were concerned, but they didn't push her for answers, and Willow took another moment to think before continuing. "It's just that… You were taking care of me last night, you know? First at the cemetery, when you saved me from the vampire, and then again when we were making love. And it felt really good."

Smiling, Xander leaned down and kissed Willow's shoulder softly. "I'm glad," he said, obviously reassured. She smiled back at him and reached for his hand, taking it in hers and running her thumb over his palm.

Tara licked her bottom lip as Willow turned to look at her. Their eyes met, and Tara fixed her with a look that was surprisingly intense. "So, were you nervous, at all…about what we were doing?" she asked.

Willow shook her head. "No, not really," she said. "Maybe a little at the beginning. But I trust you, and I trust Xander, so I didn't think I needed to worry."

Sitting up a little, Tara gestured toward the bed next to her, on the other side from Willow. "Xander, honey, could you come over here?" she said. Willow could hear an undercurrent of excitement in her voice, and Xander looked up, momentarily surprised - he'd obviously noticed it, too.

He didn't let it stop him for long, though. "Sure," he said. He gave Willow a soft kiss, then stood up and walked to the other side of the bed. He scooted in next to Tara, and she leaned back against him, turning her head and kissing him as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So, what was it like, last night?" Tara asked, looking back to meet Willow's eyes again.

"Well, like I said, it was a little scary at first," Willow replied. "But not the bad kind of scary, like when you have a vampire in your face going 'grr.'" She did her best approximation of a vampire's growl, and Tara and Xander both chuckled in response. "It was, you know, the good kind of scary. Like when you're on a rollercoaster, or something."

"But once I got over that, it was like I just…let go. You two were doing whatever you wanted to me, and it all felt so good, I just wanted to let you…have your way." Willow felt herself blushing again; this was a little hard to admit, but it was true.

Without taking her eyes off Willow, Tara took Xander's hands and guided them to her breasts. He started playing with her nipples, and she sighed softly, pushing herself back against him. "And you were okay with that?" she said, her voice low and her gaze intense. "Letting go?"

Willow considered the question for a moment. Even now, she felt a twinge of arousal when she thought back to the way they'd made love last night. "Yeah," she finally said. "It was exciting. It was like I didn't have to worry about anything. I could just lose myself in how I was feeling."

Tara didn't say anything in reply. Instead, she simply held out her hand to Willow, and Willow took it, sitting up and leaning in toward her. Tara kissed her, deeply and passionately, and Tara wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in close. Xander kept his hands on Tara's breasts, rubbing slow circles over her nipples, and Tara moaned into Willow's mouth. She ran her hands up Willow's back as Xander started nibbling her neck gently.

After a long moment, they broke their kiss, and Tara rested her forehead against Willow's as she caught her breath. "So, you two were planning something nice for me after I made breakfast yesterday," she said. "But we were interrupted."

Willow had to giggle at the obvious excitement in her girlfriend's voice. "That's right, we did," she said coyly, resting a hand on Tara's shoulder and rubbing her softly. She looked over Tara's shoulder at Xander, who met her eyes and smiled. He slid his hands down to Tara's hips and scooted out from behind her, and she laid back, resting against the pillows piled at the head of the bed.

After sharing another quick kiss with Xander, Willow leaned down to Tara's chest, kissing one of her breasts softly. Next to her, Xander did the same with her other breast, and Tara shivered at the touch of their lips. Willow took Tara's nipple in her mouth, and Xander again mimicked her actions, drawing a long moan from Tara in response. She reached down to their heads, running her fingers through their hair as they both sucked on her.

Pulling back a little, Willow looked up at Tara and smiled. Then she took Tara's nipple in her mouth again, scraping her teeth over it and sucking a little harder. She ran her fingers gently over the hollow between Tara's breasts, knowing how much she liked to be touched there, and chuckled low in her throat as Tara shivered in response.

Finally, Willow pulled away from Tara's chest and sat up, looking down at her girlfriends face, flushed with arousal. Xander sat up as well, resting a hand on Tara's stomach and rubbing her affectionately before turning toward Willow and giving her one of those big smiles she loved so much.

"That's fine with me," Willow said, smiling back at him. She reached for his hand, squeezing it lightly before turning back to Tara and locking eyes with her. The passion and desire she could see in Tara's gaze sent a shiver up her spine.

She crawled forward, over Tara's body, stopping when they were face to face. Without taking her eyes from Tara's, Willow lowered herself gently, resting on top of her, and gave her a slow, passionate kiss. Tara wrapped her arms around Willow, running her nails up her back, and Willow moved gently on top of her, a delightful shiver running through her body as her nipples brushed against Tara's.

Giggling, Willow and Tara broke their kiss, turning to look at Xander together. Willow glanced down at his cock and felt a little rush of excitement when she saw that he was hard. It always felt good to see how easily she and Tara could turn Xander on; it made her feel sexy in a way she'd never quite experienced before.

Willow smiled at Xander, then turned back to Tara, kissing her cheek and then her neck. Reaching down between Tara's legs with one hand, Willow ran her fingers over Tara's lips, prompting her to squirm around underneath her and sending another wave of arousal through Willow as their nipples brushed together again. She was a little surprised to feel how wet Tara was - even with her and Xander touching Tara together, it usually took a little longer for her to get this excited.

Well, there was no reason to make her wait. Sliding her hands down Tara's sides, Willow kissed her way down her chest, stopping at her breasts. She reached up and caressed them, squeezing them gently, loving the way they felt in her hands. It seemed that every time she touched Tara's breasts, she was surprised and delighted all over again by just how soft they were, and this time was certainly no different.

Willow nuzzled Tara's breasts with her cheeks, then rubbed her lips over one of her nipples. Tara sucked in a breath at the touch of her lips, and Willow smiled and kissed her nipple softly, then moved to her other breast to do the same. She was tempted to linger here for a while, but she knew what Tara wanted - what she needed - so after slowly circling Tara's nipple with her tongue, she moved again, kissing Tara's stomach as she scooted down to position herself between her legs.

Tara gasped as Willow kissed her lips softly, then ran her tongue over them, relishing the sweet taste of her essence. Smiling up at Tara, Willow parted her lips and swiped her tongue over her clit once, then again as she felt Tara's whole body tense in response. Willow put her hands on Tara's thighs, rubbing them softly, and Tara reached down with one hand and ran her fingers through Willow's hair. Her touch wasn't rough, like last night - instead of holding Willow to her, Tara simply stroked her hair softly. Lovingly.

Lifting her head a little, Tara looked down at her, meeting her eyes, her gaze intense and full of excitement. Despite the gentleness of her touch, Willow could tell that she already wasn't far from her climax. So she started circling Tara's clit with her tongue, licking all around and over it, enjoying Tara's enthusiastic response. She didn't move too quickly, but even so, it didn't take long to bring her to the edge.

When Tara's climax took her, Willow slipped her lips over her clit, sucking gently as she flicked her tongue over the tip. Tara writhed around on the bed, and she closed her eyes tightly as her head rolled back on the pillows beneath her. Her fingers tightened in Willow's hair, and she pushed herself forward, grinding her sex against Willow's tongue as her orgasm washed over her.

Finally, Tara started to relax, and she took a deep breath as she opened her eyes and looked down at Willow again. But Willow didn't give her any time to rest - just after she'd caught her breath, Willow slid two fingers inside her, quickly finding the sensitive places she knew so well. Tara gasped, then moaned, reaching down to play with her nipples as Willow started licking her clit again.

It only took a few minutes before Tara was crying out with her release once more. Willow lifted her head, rubbing Tara's clit with her thumb as she looked down at her, smiling in satisfaction as she took in the blissful look on her face. She could feel Tara clenching around her fingers, and she simply watched, entranced by her girlfriend's beauty as she rode out her orgasm.

After Tara's climax had passed, Willow withdrew her fingers, then kissed Tara's lips softly. Tara looked down at her, and Willow moved forward a bit to kiss her navel before sitting up.

"Thank you," Tara said, giving her one of those beautiful smiles she loved so much.

"It was my pleasure, baby," Willow said, resting her hand on Tara's thigh and rubbing her softly. "It always is."

"I think it was mine, too," Xander spoke up. Willow and Tara laughed and turned to look at him, and he grinned back at them. Moving in next to Willow, he kissed her shoulder softly, and she leaned forward and kissed him deeply, letting him taste Tara on her lips and tongue.

After they broke their kiss, Willow reached for his cock, and Xander tensed as she stroked him gently. "I want to watch you and Tara make love," she said, squeezing Tara's thigh with her other hand. Tara sat up, and Willow turned toward her as Tara covered her hand with her own.

Willow shook her head. "No, it's okay," she said. She moved back on the bed, letting go of Xander's cock, and let her hands fall to her sides. "Like I said, I'm still a little sore. It'll be enough for me to just watch you two together."

"Yes, I'm sure," she reassured him. "I'm really…" she continued, but abruptly fell silent as a thought struck her.

"Don't worry, it's just something I'll cast on myself," she continued quickly, in response to the wary look Xander gave her. "It's simple. It's just a spell that, if I touch you, it lets me feel what you're feeling. So I can share in what you're experiencing. That's all. I've been wanting to try this for a while now, and this is the perfect time, so please say it's okay?" she finished, giving him what she hoped was her cutest smile.

Xander's expression softened, and he smiled back at her. "You know I can't resist you, right?" he said.

"That's just one of the things we love about you," Tara added, looking at her fondly.

"Yep," Willow replied cheerfully. "That's me - totally irresistible." She knew she was being silly, but she didn't care. She was too caught up in the excitement of the idea of using this spell.

Xander thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay," he said. "If you want to - that sounds pretty harmless. Tara? What do you think?"

"It's okay with me," Tara said. "It's a simple spell. I don't see any problem with it."

"Great!" Willow exclaimed. "Just give me a second." She concentrated, feeling the power of the earth flow into her, and she shaped it into the enchantment she wanted, draping it over herself like a blanket. "Okay. That should do it," she said after giving it a few seconds to make sure that nothing had gone wrong. "Go ahead."

Xander looked at Willow a moment longer, then, apparently satisfied that everything was okay, turned toward Tara. She smiled at him, and he scooted in close and kissed her. She lifted one hand to his face, caressing his cheek, and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. Willow could hear Tara's soft moan of pleasure as she and Xander deepened their kiss, leaning into each other, sharing the incredible desire they clearly felt for one another.

Willow took a moment to just watch them together. The truth was, she treasured the deep, intimate connection her lovers had, not only with her, but also with each other. Even though it was nice when she was the center of attention, Willow knew that to make their relationship work, things had to be equal emotionally between all three of them. So she could appreciate how beautiful the love and passion that Tara and Xander had for each other was, because she knew that they both felt the same way about her, too.

Moving in toward them, Willow touched them both at the same time, resting one hand on Tara's arm, the other on Xander's. She gasped at the rush of sensation she felt - the desire and excitement and arousal of both her lovers at once was an incredible feeling. And she could immediately feel concern, as well, mixed in with the tide of everything else, and Xander and Tara broke their kiss and turned to look at her.

Willow shook her head. "No, it's fine." Now that the initial shock was over, she was quickly adjusting to what she was feeling from them. It was intense, but it wasn't more than she could handle. "It feels really good, actually," she said, blushing a little. "Keep going. Please."

Xander and Tara smiled at her, then turned and kissed again, more deeply this time. Xander slipped his tongue past Tara's lips, circling it around hers, and she opened her mouth to give him the access her wanted. As they kissed, he slid one hand around to her front to cup Tara's breast, and Willow felt a surge of arousal from both of them as he rubbed her nipple softly. Willow moaned aloud as she felt two sets of sensations - Xander's excitement at touching, and Tara's excitement at being touched. She felt herself flush with arousal, heat spreading outward from her center as she lost herself in the intimacy of the moment.

Willow watched as Tara pushed in toward Xander's hand, and he pinched her nipple softly, prompting Tara to moan and suck on his tongue gently. Their tongues swirled around each other for another moment, then Xander pulled back slightly and kissed Tara's neck before turning to look at Willow. He rested his free hand on Willow's shoulder, running his fingers down her chest, covering one breast with his palm. He rubbed her softly, then caressed her nipple with his fingers. Willow shivered at the pleasurable sensations that ran through her at his touch, mixing with what she was feeling from him and Tara, quickly bringing her to new heights of arousal.

She only lasted a few seconds before she gently pushed Xander's hand away. He frowned slightly and looked at her with concern again.

Willow quickly shook her head. "No, it's fine. It's just a little too much if you're touching me, too," she said. "That's all."

It was true - she knew now that there was no way she could possibly use this spell if she was going to be having sex, too. Still, what she'd felt from Xander when he was touching her made her happy. It was nice to know that he was just as excited and aroused by her as he was by Tara.

Willow took Xander's hand and led it to Tara's chest, and he smiled at her and turned his attention back to Tara. He kissed his way down her chest, and she rested one hand on his head, running her fingers through his hair. When he reached her breasts, Xander kissed the space between them, then licked one nipple slowly. Tara sighed softly as Xander took her nipple in his mouth, sucking on her gently even as he rolled her other nipple between his fingers.

Another soft moan passed Willow's lips as she felt what her lovers were feeling. She knew from experience - lots and lots of experience - how good it felt to have her nipples touched and sucked on, and if anything, Tara was a little bit more sensitive there than she was. But the real surprise was Xander. Ever since they'd gotten together, Willow had known that Xander was something of a breast man, but she'd had no idea just how exciting it was for him to touch and kiss and play with their breasts. It was no wonder he paid so much attention to them when they made love.

When Xander pulled away from Tara's breast and moved to her other one, Willow slid her hand from Tara's arm to her chest and caressed her there. Her nipple was still wet from Xander's mouth, and Willow rubbed it softly, enjoying the thrill of pleasure she felt from Tara at the touch of her hand and Xander's lips. Tara smiled lovingly at her, and she covered Willow's hand with her own, stroking it gently with her thumb as Willow continued to caress her softly.

Finally, Xander pulled away from Tara's chest and gave her a quick kiss. "Lay back, honey," he said, and Willow could feel the desire and anticipation from them both.

Tara lifted Willow's hand and kissed it softly, then laid back on the bed. Xander knelt in front of her, and she opened her legs for him, smiling as he moved in between them. He slid his hands up her body to her breasts, caressing them as he positioned himself in front of her. Willow grasped Xander's cock and guided him toward Tara's sex, letting go and resting her hand on his hip when his head was nestled against Tara's lips. Willow looked into Tara's eyes, watching her intently as Xander pushed into her.

Xander and Tara moaned in unison as he slid into her wet passage, but Willow's gasp was louder than either of them. She could feel their joining from both sides, and she had to close her eyes for a moment against the intensity of the feelings that ran through her from both of them. She opened them again and let out a breath of air as Xander started moving, slowly at first, but quickly picking up his pace until he settled into a steady rhythm. Willow shivered as tingles of pleasure ran through her, and Tara looked up at her, smiling as she squeezed her hand.

Over the next several minutes, Willow could feel Tara's arousal quickly building, and as Xander played with and pinched her nipples, it only stoked the fire inside her faster. She wrapped her legs around Xander and rested her free hand on his arm as she looked up at him. "Fuck me harder," she said, her voice thick with need that Willow could feel from her as surely as if it were her own. "Please?"

Smiling down at her, Xander picked up his pace, and Tara lifted her hips a little to allow him to enter her more deeply. "Oh, yes…" she moaned, even as Willow was gasping again at the surge of pleasure she felt. Tara's back arched, pressing her breasts up into Xander's hands, and she closed her eyes as she writhed around on the bed underneath him.

It didn't take long before Tara's climax was upon her. Willow saw her body tense, and Tara tightened her legs around Xander, using them to hold him close to her as she gave herself over to the waves of ecstasy that ran through her. Willow felt them as well, though it wasn't quite enough to send her over the edge - the sensations were just a little bit removed from the center of her consciousness thanks to the spell. Still, it felt incredibly good nonetheless, and when she felt a surge of pleasure from Xander as Tara clenched her muscles around his cock in the throes of her orgasm, she couldn't help moaning again.

After Tara's climax had passed, Xander leaned down and gave her a passionate kiss, which she returned eagerly. Her arousal had subsided, but only a little. She wanted to come again, and Willow didn't need her spell to know that - she could tell just from the look on her face.

Willow watched as Xander broke his kiss with Tara, then pushed himself up again. He slid his hands from her breasts to her hips and looked down at Tara, his gaze appreciative as it traveled up her body. "You're so beautiful," he said softly as he locked eyes with her. "And sexy."

"Thank you," Tara replied, her voice low and husky, and she smiled warmly at the compliment.

Rubbing her hips softly, Xander started fucking Tara harder, and she moaned softly as he increased his pace. Willow took Xander's hand and brought it together with Tara's, smiling as they threaded their fingers together. She covered their clasped hands with her own and took a deep breath, trying to steady herself against the torrent of sensations she was feeling from both of them. She could feel Tara nearing another climax, but Xander's excitement was quickly rising now, too, and the combination threatened to overwhelm her.

But even through that, Willow could feel Xander holding himself back, keeping his orgasm at bay in order to keep pleasuring Tara for as long as he could. Tara's climax wasn't far off, and Xander obviously wanted to keep going long enough to get her there. The effort warmed Willow's heart; she could tell that holding back wasn't easy for Xander. She remembered all the times he'd done the same for her when they were making love, and now that she knew what it took for him to do it, she appreciated it all the more. It was more proof of how much he loved her and Tara - not that she needed it at this point.

Xander slipped one hand between Tara's legs, rubbing her clit as he fucked her hard and deep, and it didn't take long to send her over the edge again. At Tara's first tremors, Willow could feel Xander let go, and he buried himself deeply inside Tara, his release following closely after hers. The combined force of both their climaxes hit Willow like a tidal wave, and she came without even touching herself, joining her lovers in their moment of bliss.

When it was over, Willow ended her spell, and they all took a moment to catch their breath. Tara let her legs fall open again as she relaxed, and Xander rubbed her thigh softly, staying where he was a bit longer before finally withdrawing from her. He laid down next to her, on his back, and he wrapped one arm around her as she rolled over to cuddle against him. Turning toward Willow, Xander smiled and held out his other arm, and he pulled her close as she laid down with him and Tara.

They rested together in silence for a moment, until a thought suddenly struck Willow, and she spoke up.

"You know, for a guy, you sure do like snuggling a lot," she said, poking Xander in the chest.

Xander chuckled. "The day when I don't enjoy having two beautiful women pressed against me? That's probably when you should start worrying about me," he said.

Willow giggled, and Tara laughed along with her. "Well, when you put it that way…" Willow said, smiling affectionately at Xander. She pushed herself up a little and pressed her lips to his, which turned into a round of kisses shared between all three of them.

"So, did the spell go okay?" Tara asked when they were done. "You looked like you were having fun." She rubbed Willow's back gently, and Willow sighed softly before replying.

"Oh, yeah," she enthused. "It was pretty amazing. I mean, I don't think it's something I'd want to do too often…"

"Definitely," Willow said. Xander kissed the top of her head, and she snuggled against his chest, resting one hand on Tara's hip. They passed another moment in silence, until Xander finally spoke again.

"Hey," he said, and Willow and Tara both looked up at him, surprised by the sudden seriousness in his tone.

"I love you," he said, his expression sincere as he looked between them. "Both of you. I just…thought I should say it. Especially after last night."

Last night. When she'd almost been killed. Sure, she was okay now, but that certainly wouldn't be the last time that one or all of them found themselves in danger. As long as they lived on a Hellmouth…

Willow quickly pushed those thoughts aside. She didn't want to think about that right now. Instead, she focused on what Xander had just told her.

It was such a simple thing to say, but hearing it from Xander and Tara always made Willow happy in a way that nothing else could ever quite manage. And this time was no different. Hearing those words was enough to silence her worries for the time being and let her just enjoy the moment she was sharing with them.

So she rested her head on Xander's chest and closed her eyes, content for the time being. She and Tara and Xander were all fine and they were together. Right now, that was all that mattered.

Her heart racing, Tara's eyes flew open, and she rolled on to her back, pushing herself up on her arms. As she looked around the room, Willow thrashed around on the bed next to her, and Tara winced as she was elbowed in the shoulder. Before she could say anything, Willow sat bolt upright, gasping for breath and clutching the covers to her as she looked around wildly.

Xander sat up just as suddenly, and as he looked around, Tara quickly did the same. Their bedroom was empty except for the three of them, and no sounds came from anywhere else in the apartment. Satisfied that there were no physical threats nearby, Tara cast a quick spell to check the room for magical auras. There was no evidence of dark magic anywhere around them, either - there were some residual magical traces in the area, from spells cast earlier, but they were easily identified as being from her and Willow. So Tara dismissed her spell and finally let herself relax a little.

As she sat up, she could see some of the tension leave Xander's body as well, though there was still great concern in his eyes as he gently rested his hand on Willow's shoulder. "Will?" he said softly. "What's wrong?"

Willow turned to look at him, and she seemed almost surprised to see him there. "Xander?" she said, and Tara could hear distress and confusion in her voice.

Willow turned toward her slowly, almost as if she was afraid to look for some reason. Tara could just barely make out her face in the morning twilight that filtered through the drapes, but it was enough that she could see that Willow's eyes were full of tears. "Tara?" she said, a note of desperation in her voice now.

Tara opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything, Willow threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around her tightly, holding on to her like she never wanted to let go. Tara froze for a moment in surprise, but then embraced Willow as well, holding her as she buried her face in the crook of Tara's neck. She was trying to speak, but "You're here, it's really you," was all that Tara could make out before Willow's sobbing drowned out the rest of what she was trying to say.

Scooting in closer, Xander rubbed Willow's back softly and mouthed the word 'nightmare' to Tara over Willow's shoulder. Tara nodded back at him; that was what she was thinking, too. Although Tara had never seen Willow react like this to a nightmare before - this one must have been pretty awful.

Tara held her close, and Xander moved to sit next to them on the bed, resting his hand comfortingly on Willow's shoulder. It took a few minutes before she started to calm down, and when Willow finally lifted her head from her shoulder, Tara could see that she was still pretty freaked out. She rubbed Willow's back with one hand, and kissed her cheek as Willow's grip on her finally started to relax a little.

"What's wrong, honey?" Tara asked softly, pulling out of Willow's embrace. She brushed Willow's hair back from her face and looked into her eyes as she took her hands. "Bad dream?"

Willow nodded, and Xander squeezed her shoulder, running his hand down her arm to cover her and Tara's clasped hands with his own.

When Willow spoke, there was fear and terrible sadness in her voice. "Tara, I…I dreamed you got shot," she said, tears welling up in her eyes again. "You died in my arms."

All the color drained out of Xander's face at her words. "Wow," he said, his voice suddenly a little shaky. "Okay, that definitely qualifies as a nightmare."

"But…sweetie, it was just a dream," Tara said, squeezing Willow's hands reassuringly.

"Yeah. That's right," Xander said, and Tara could see him push his own distress aside as he tried to help comfort Willow. "Tara's fine," he continued, nodding toward her briefly. "We're all here, and we're all okay. It was just a dream."

Willow sniffed. "I know," she said. "But, it felt *so* real. Like I was really there." She looked down at their hands, clasped between them, as she continued. "We were at Buffy's house, in her mother's room, and there were shots, and then…" She trailed off, tears rolling down her face, and Tara lifted one hand to her head, running her fingers through her hair gently.

"Shh. It's okay," she said. "I'm here." She looked into Willow's eyes, and was relieved when, even through the tears, she could see some of the fear there finally start to subside.

Willow nodded slowly, and Tara kissed her, then pulled her into her arms again. Xander kissed Willow's cheek and embraced her as well, and together, they held her close, sitting with her until the first rays of sunlight started to shine over the horizon.

When they finally got up, it was fast approaching the time when Xander had to leave for work, so he headed for the bathroom to take a quick shower, and Tara and Willow put their robes on and walked out into the living room. Willow sat at their dining table while Tara went into the kitchen. She didn't have time to do anything fancy for breakfast, so she just made some toast and sliced some melon, putting it in bowls for each of them. By the time she'd finished, Xander was already out of the shower, and it only took a couple of minutes before he'd dressed and joined them at the table.

Tara watched Willow as they ate. She seemed to be okay, though she wasn't quite as talkative as she usually was, and consequently their conversation was more subdued than usual. Tara noticed that Xander was paying close attention to Willow as well, and when they were finished eating and he stood up to gather the dishes, he rested his hand on her shoulder briefly, looking down and smiling at her, before picking up her bowl.

As Xander took the dishes into the kitchen, Willow stood and walked back into the living room. Tara followed behind and sat down next to her, kissing her cheek and wrapping one arm around her waist, holding her gently. Willow turned and smiled at Tara, and Tara kissed her again as Xander walked into the room.

"So, are you sure you're okay?" he asked, crouching down in front of the couch and looking up at Willow with concern as he laid his hand on her knee.

"I'll be fine. Really," Willow said. She gave a rueful smile as she continued. "It was just a nightmare, and…I feel really silly now, for waking you guys up and everything. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay," Xander said. "Do you want me to stick around for a while? Cause I can. I can call in to work, and…"

"No, it's fine," Willow said. "But thank you for asking." She covered his hand with her own as she continued. "Go ahead and go to work. I'll be okay. Tara and I have classes later this morning, and that'll take my mind off my bad dreams."

Xander chuckled. "You're right, it probably will," he said. "When you're in school, everything else tends to fade into the background." He leaned forward and embraced Willow, kissing her tenderly and holding her close for a long moment. Tara smiled as she looked on, and she rubbed Willow's hip softly.

When Xander finally broke his kiss with Willow, he rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. "I love you," he said.

Willow smiled at him, and Tara could see her eyes light up a little. "I love you, too," she said. Tara kissed her cheek, and when Willow turned toward her, she gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Tara couldn't help smiling herself at the look on Willow's face - for the first time since she'd woken up, she actually looked happy again.

"Okay," Xander said, standing up and stepping back a little to look at them both. "I'm going to work. I'll see you this afternoon."

"Why don't we meet at the Magic Box?" Tara said. "Willow and I need to pick up a few tings."

Xander nodded. "Sure," he said. "I'll see you there." He went into the kitchen to get his lunch from the refrigerator, and when he returned, Tara stood up and walked over to give him a quick kiss.

"We may be a little late today," she said. "We were planning to go to the library after our classes."

"No problem," Xander replied. "I'll wait for you if you're not there. If I'm not at the Magic Box, look for me down at the Espresso Pump."

Tara smiled and turned to go back to the couch, but Xander caught her arm lightly before she could move away. Surprised, she turned back, meeting his eyes, and the look on his face was as serious as she'd ever seen as he spoke.

"I just want you to know that, when Willow told us about her nightmare," he said, nodding toward Willow, who was looking up at them with interest. "I…I mean, the thought of anything happening to you…It's so awful, I…" He trailed off and looked down at the floor between them, clearly unable to even finish the thought.

"I love you," he said, looking up again and meeting her eyes. His gaze was intense, and when he stepped closer and kissed her, it took a second before she could react. But quickly enough, she returned the kiss, and Xander wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Willow stood and walked over to embrace them both, and as the three of them stood together, Tara closed her eyes and let everything else fade away for the moment, just enjoying the closeness she was feeling with Xander and Willow.

When they separated, Tara stepped back a little and smiled at Xander. "I love you, too," she said. She kissed him again, and he smiled back at her, holding her gaze for a long moment before he finally turned to look at the clock on the wall.

"Okay, I have to go," Xander said. "I'll see you later." He gave Willow another kiss, then turned and headed for the door, grabbing his jacket off the coat rack on his way out.

"Bye, honey," Willow said as he stepped out into the hallway and closed and locked the door behind him. When he was gone, she went back to the couch, and Tara followed, sitting down next to her. She watched Willow closely as she leaned back on the couch - she'd said she was fine, and Tara had no reason to doubt her, but…

Willow turned her head and caught Tara's eyes. "I'm fine. Really," she said, smiling. Tara chuckled - obviously Willow had noticed her concern. Well, Willow did know her better than anyone else - though with the way things were going with Xander, she probably wouldn't be able to say that for much longer.

"Hey," Willow said softly, resting her hand on Tara's arm. "I love you. So much. I never want anything bad to happen to you."

Tara smiled and gently ran one hand through Willow's hair. She knew exactly how she felt - she could hardly even bear to think about anything happening to Willow. Or Xander. "I know," she said. "I love you too, sweetie."

Willow sat up and leaned in toward her, giving her a hug which Tara enthusiastically returned. Tara kissed her softly, and Willow relaxed into her embrace. They held each other for a few minutes, and when they separated, Tara watched Willow for a long moment before she finally let her thoughts turn toward the day ahead.

It took a couple of hours before Xander felt comfortable at work. He spent much of the morning preoccupied, thinking about Willow's dream. No matter how much he told himself it was just a nightmare, the fact was that hearing Willow describe it, and seeing how it had affected her, had shaken him. Even though he knew she was fine, just the thought of anything happening to Tara was…

Well, it had definitely made him realize how much he'd come to care about her. It still surprised him a little, just how close he and Tara had become in the time he'd been with her and Willow. After all, it hadn't been that long ago when pretty much all they'd had in common was Willow.

That was something he'd worried about, back when they'd started their relationship. He'd known that he'd get along great with Willow, given their history, but Tara…He'd liked her, a lot, but he'd had no way of knowing if they'd be truly compatible or not.

But in the four months they'd all been together, those doubts had been put to rest. Tara was a part of his life now, just as much as Willow, and Xander didn't want that to change. He couldn't imagine a future without her and Willow in it. He didn't *want* to imagine it.

So he spent the day at work very deliberately not imagining it, and he felt better after a couple of hours. Tara was fine, and Willow seemed to have mostly gotten over her nightmare, and that was all that mattered. Besides, given the supernatural threats they faced all the time, he had more than enough to worry about without adding dreams to the mix.

The day passed uneventfully, and Xander spent most of it working with Joe, one of his carpenters, in a corner office on the second floor of the building while the rest of his crew worked on the main reception area. They finished up late in the day, and Xander checked everything over carefully before stepping back to take a last look at the room. Satisfied, he turned and nodded at Joe.

"Looks good," he said. "Let's go ahead and knock off. It's almost quitting time anyway," he added, glancing at his watch.

Xander sighed. The guys on his crew were good people for the most part, but ever since they'd seen Tara and Willow, and found out about his relationship with them, he'd had to deal with comments like that one almost every day. Okay, he and Willow and Tara *did* have a lot of sex. But that wasn't the point. No matter how many times he tried to explain that there was more to their relationship than just that, it never seemed to help.

He supposed it was to be expected. And his co-workers hadn't been nearly as crude as they might have been, so that was something, at least.

"Yeah, something like that," Xander sighed. "Look, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure thing," Joe said. He left the room and, after one more look around, Xander did the same. In the reception area, the rest of his crew was already packing up, so since there was nothing else to be done, he said goodbye and went downstairs to his car.

The Magic Box was only a short distance from the work site, so the drive was a quick one. He parked along the street out in front and went inside. Giles was behind the counter, and the store didn't seem to be too busy at the moment, so Xander walked up to say hello.

Giles looked up as Xander leaned against the counter. "Oh, hello Xander," he said, smiling. "I'm doing well, thank you, now that things here have slowed down a bit."

"Yes, quite," Giles replied. "Yesterday was Lisa's last day, and I haven't found anyone to replace her yet. Running this shop alone is quite a bit of work."

"I'd imagine," Xander said. "There's quite the demand for magic stuff around here."

"Indeed," Giles said. "Even though I only sell potentially dangerous items to a select few people I know, I do worry sometimes about what everyone is *doing* with the things they buy here. I think we've been fortunate not to see more incidents of magic-related trouble in the area, to tell the truth." He looked up at the sound of the bell over the store's front door, but it was just someone leaving. "In any case, what brings you here?" he asked, turning back to Xander.

"I'm meeting Willow and Tara here," Xander replied. "They need to pick some things up. They're coming by after they get done at school."

"I'm all set," Xander said. "I've registered for next semester, and paid my tuition, and everything. In a couple of weeks, I'll be entering the oh-so-exciting world of Introduction to Business. I'll be a college man - if, you know, guys who just take one really easy class at a time count as college men."

Giles chuckled. "Well, regardless of the relative difficulty of the class you chose, I wish you luck with it."

"Thanks," Xander replied. "I appreciate that. Hopefully it'll at least be interesting."

The truth was, Xander was actually looking forward to the class. A little. It'd be a big help if and when he decided to try to move up in the construction business. And everything he'd heard about the class told him that he hopefully wouldn't have much trouble with it. Lots of the things they were going to be learning about were things he already knew something about from watching his boss at work. For once, he actually felt positive about what was coming in his life.

Xander was pulled out of his thoughts by the chiming of the bell above the Magic Box's door. He looked up…and froze. For a moment, all he could do was stare in shock at the person who had just walked in.

Xander watched, a little uncomfortably, as Anya crossed the store to stand in front of him at the counter. It'd been, what, eight or nine months since he'd last seen her? And they hadn't parted on great terms. For one brief second, he worried that she'd gotten her powers back and had returned to hit him with some kind of terrible vengeance curse. But he quickly decided that wasn't the case; after all, their breakup had been just as much her decision as his. And besides, she didn't look angry - if anything, she looked a little anxious.

"Hello, Anya," Giles said as she approached. If he was uncomfortable at all, he didn't let it show. "You're looking well."

"Thank you," Anya replied. "And…So are you." The addition sounded a little forced, but Xander supposed that was typical for her. She was obviously still having trouble with human pleasantries.

Xander hadn't had any idea that she was back, either. She'd left town shortly after she'd broken up with him, which he'd taken as a clear message that she wasn't interested in trying to patch things up. He hadn't seen or heard from her since.

"You, um…You changed your hair," Xander said, nodding toward her blonde curls. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he was inwardly cursing himself for how inane they sounded. Here was his ex-girlfriend, who he was seeing for the first time in months, and that was the best he could come up with? Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Anya absently took a strand of her hair between her fingers. "Oh. Yes, I thought a change might do me some good. And they do say that blondes have more fun," she said, chuckling nervously. She paused briefly and looked at him, and the way she tilted her head slightly gave the unnerving impression that she was evaluating him. "So…Can we talk?" she asked.

"Um, sure," Xander replied. Willow and Tara had said they'd be late getting here, so he had a little time.

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Xander said. "Why don't we go to the Espresso Pump? It's only a couple of blocks from here. Giles, I'll be back a little later," he said, and Giles nodded in reply.

"Very well. I'll see you later," he said, unflappable as ever. Xander decided that one day he'd have to ask him how he always managed to stay so calm and collected, no matter what was going on. He wished he could do that. Was that something you could learn, or did it just come with being British?

Giles turned back to the cash register, and Anya walked to the front door of the shop, Xander following behind her. After they exited to the sidewalk, he fell in step beside her as they walked to the Espresso Pump.

"So, how did you find me?" Xander asked. She'd left before Giles had bought the Magic Box, so he was curious.

"Oh. I went to your house," Anya replied. "Your father was somewhat incoherent, but he told me that you'd moved out and he didn't know where you were living now, but that I might be able to find you at 'That fruity new-age magic store downtown.'"

Xander winced. His father hadn't changed one bit - not that Xander had expected him to. "I'm sorry you had to deal with him," he said.

"Oh, I've encountered far more unpleasant men in my time," Anya said cheerfully. "Though I was usually making them suffer horribly, which did make it more tolerable."

"Um, yeah," Xander said. "I…suppose it would." He was saved from having to say anything else by their arrival at the Espresso Pump, and he held the door open for Anya, then followed her inside. The place wasn't very busy, so when they sat down at a table near the entrance, a waitress approached them almost immediately. Anya ordered an iced coffee, and as the waitress left, she turned back to Xander and met his eyes, holding his gaze until he started to feel a little uncomfortable.

"So, what've…" Xander began, but that was as far as he got before Anya interrupted him.

Xander blinked. "What?" He'd heard her just fine, but he was caught off guard and that was all he could manage.

"You do remember when we broke up, right?" Xander said. "You said we weren't connecting."

"Yes, I remember," Anya said. "But I think I made that decision too quickly. I've been missing you. I don't like being single, and I don't see any reason to go through the hassle of looking for a decent man when I already know where to find one. Even if we don't see eye-to-eye on some things, you *are* a decent man."

Xander was about to reply when Anya spoke again. "And I miss the orgasms you used to give me," she said.

Of course, the waitress arrived with Anya's iced coffee at exactly that moment, and she stared down at them in shock upon hearing Anya's words. Xander chuckled awkwardly and looked up at her. "Thanks," he said. "We'll pay at the register."

Recovering quickly, the waitress nodded and set Anya's coffee down in front of her. "No problem," she replied, and made a quick exit back to the counter.

As the waitress left, Xander sighed and turned back to Anya. "Anya, didn't we…" Thinking better of what he was about to say, he stopped himself and shook his head. He didn't want this conversation to get sidetracked by another argument about what was and wasn't appropriate for discussion in public.

"Never mind," he said. "Look, I'm flattered that you want me back. Really. But…it's just not possible."

Anya's face fell. "Oh." She fell silent for a moment, absently twirling the straw in her iced coffee. She took a sip, then looked up at Xander again. "Who is it?" she asked.

Xander gripped his seat with one hand, suddenly very uncomfortable. His friends had accepted his and Willow's and Tara's relationship easily enough. But how was Anya going to react?

His first instinct was to tell her that it was none of her business and avoid the problem entirely. But he quickly decided that he couldn't do that. Anya had come back to Sunnydale for him, so the least he could do was be open and honest with her about why they couldn't be together. Besides, even if he didn't tell her about Willow and Tara, she could find out easily enough anyway; almost everyone he worked with knew that he was in a triad, even if they didn't know much about Tara or Willow beyond what they looked like.

"I'm with Willow and Tara," he said. "I've been with them for a few months now."

"Is this one of those jokes of yours that I never seem to understand?" Anya demanded.

"I know," Xander replied. "Sometimes I can hardly believe it myself. But it's true."

"Yeah. I am." Xander had to smile as he said that; he'd found that even just thinking about his relationship in passing was enough to make him happy.

"But…They're lesbians." Now Anya just looked confused. "Have you been having sex with them?"

Xander held back a sigh. Anya was as blunt and to the point as ever. "Yes," he said.

"At the same time?" Anya looked as if she still couldn't quite believe what he was telling her.

"Look, I'm not going to give you the intimate details of our sex lives," Xander said. "Do you remember how we used to talk about boundaries? Well, this is one you need to respect."

Anya sighed. "Fine," she said. "But at least tell me one thing. This thing you have with Willow and Tara…Is it serious? I mean, is this a long-term thing? Because if this is just about you three having sex together for a while, I can wait."

Seeing the look on Anya's face as she spoke, Xander couldn't help feeling a little sympathy for her. He'd been in the position she was in now, after all. "Yeah, this is a long-term thing," he said, keeping his tone gentle. "At least, I hope it is. We're happy together."

Anya gave a half-hearted smile. "Well, I suppose you deserve to be happy." She paused for a moment, a thoughtful look passing over her face. "You know, this is new for me," she continued. "Wishing a man happiness. Usually it's been all about the pain and the screaming, terrible vengeance."

Anya smiled, but he could tell that it was forced. She took another sip of her coffee and turned toward the window, watching the people walking by outside for a moment before speaking again. "Still, I feel I should tell you…" she said, turning to face him again and fixing him with a serious look. "In my time as a vengeance demon, I ran across a few relationships like yours. They don't usually work."

"Well, this works for us," Xander said. Still, he knew that Anya was right. There was a reason that three-way relationships weren't very common, after all. He'd thought about this a lot in the time he'd been with Tara and Willow, about whether they'd be able to make their relationship work. And although he did still worry about it sometimes, the truth was that he was starting to get more comfortable with the idea. Or at least, he didn't think there was any point in worrying himself sick about it. Granted, he had a history of screwing up relationships, but all he could do was give it his best. The rest would have to take care of itself.

"Anyway," he said, trying to gently change the subject, "what are your plans? Are you going to stay in Sunnydale?"

"I think so," Anya replied. "I'm almost out of money, which means I'll need to find some sort of - what do you call it? 'Gainful employment.'"

Xander paused briefly before replying. He *really* hoped that he wasn't going to regret what he was about to do, but…"Well, Giles owns the Magic Box now," he said. "And the cashier he had working for him just quit a few days ago, so he's been looking for a new one."

"Really? Perhaps I'll ask him about working there," Anya said. "Do you think he'd hire me?"

"I don't see why not," Xander said. "You know a lot about the kind of stuff they sell there, don't you?"

"That's true," Anya said. "When I was there earlier, I noticed that the conjuring powder was priced much too high. I wonder where Giles is getting it? Because I might be able to…"

Xander was distracted by the sound of the door opening, and he looked up to see Willow and Tara enter the coffee shop. He waved to them, catching their attention, and stood up as they approached the table. Willow frowned when she saw Anya, and Xander could tell from her posture that she wasn't happy. Tara seemed more at ease, though he could see a touch of concern in her eyes, too.

"Hi…honeys," he said, giving first Tara, then Willow, a hug and a quick kiss. When he pulled away from Willow, she held on to his arm, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her take Tara's hand with her other hand.

"Hello, Anya," Willow said, her tone cool if not exactly hostile. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello Willow, Tara," Anya replied, totally oblivious to Willow's reaction to seeing her. "I was back in town, so I thought I'd come see Xander. I wanted to see if he was willing to resume our relationship, but he told me that you two are giving him orgasms now."

Willow's eyes widened with shock, and her grip on Xander's arm tightened. Xander knew her well enough to know that she was on the verge of giving an angry reply, but then she seemed to think better of it. Instead, she drew herself up to stand a little taller. "That's right, we are," she said defiantly. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Xander couldn't tell, but she might have been a little taken aback by Willow's reaction. He certainly hadn't expected it, and from the look on Tara's face, he could tell that she hadn't, either. Willow had been trying to get more comfortable about being open about their relationship, but this…

"So, we should probably get going," Xander said, trying to head off any unpleasantness. Maybe there was nothing to worry about, but better safe than sorry. "Anya, I guess I'll see you around."

There was a touch of something in Anya's eyes - regret, maybe? - as she looked back at him. "Yes. I'll…see you around." She held his gaze for a moment, and Xander felt like there was something more he should say, but he honestly had no idea what it was, so he just gave her a tight smile and turned for the door.

"It was, um…nice to see you again," Tara said, nodding toward Anya as she and Willow fell in step beside him. When they reached the door, Xander held it open for them, and they exited the coffee shop together. Once they were outside, he stepped to one side of the sidewalk and turned to face his girls.

"I'm sorry, but she just showed up out of the blue," he said. "I had no idea…"

"Why don't we wait until we get home to talk about this?" Tara said gently, interrupting him.

Xander nodded. The sidewalk wasn't exactly crowded, but this still wasn't the place for this conversation. It was better to wait until they got home, even though Willow still looked a little upset and he wanted to reassure her as quickly as possible.

They turned and headed down the sidewalk together, making the short walk to his car in silence.

"What was Anya doing there?" she demanded as they walked into their apartment. "And did I hear her right? She came back to Sunnydale to get you back?"

After Tara had passed through the door, Xander closed it behind her and stepped into the living room. "Well, can you blame her?" he said. "This is the Xan-man we're talking about, here."

Willow glared at him, and Xander chuckled nervously. "Okay, not the best time to be making jokes. Look, like I said, she just showed up out of the blue. I'm sorry you had to walk in on us like that, with no warning, but I didn't know she was coming. And when she asked about getting back together, I had to tell her about us, I hope you understand…"

Willow was brought up short when she realized that Xander was starting to babble. She knew that he only did that when he was really anxious about something. Abruptly, she realized how she'd been acting, and all her anger drained away, only to be quickly replaced by guilt.

She stepped forward and hugged Xander, cutting him off in mid sentence. "I'm sorry," she said. Tara joined their embrace, and Xander wrapped his arms around them, holding them close, a look of confusion and not a little relief on his face.

"I'm sorry," Willow repeated after a moment's silence. "I'm just really emotional today." She sighed. "What with that nightmare this morning…" Even though Tara was alive and perfectly fine and Willow had been with her all day, the memory of Tara dying in her arms in her nightmare was still hard to bear. Willow shivered, and Xander held her a little tighter.

"Yeah," Tara said, reaching over with one hand to rub her back. "It's okay, honey. We understand."

Willow sighed again. However she was feeling, it was no excuse for her to treat Xander so badly. He hadn't done anything wrong, after all. Guilt welled up in her again, and her eyes started to water. She blinked rapidly to clear them - she was *not* going to cry.

"Sure," Tara said. Willow nodded, and they walked over to the couch together. She sat down next to Xander, resting her head on his shoulder, and Tara sat down at his other side, snuggling against him. She reached out and squeezed Willow's hand, and Willow held on to her hand, grateful for the gesture of support.

"So, are you all right?" Xander asked, and Willow smiled as he kissed her forehead.

"Yeah," she said. "It's just, when I saw you with Anya…Well, for a second I was afraid I was going to lose you."

"Well…I was a little worried, too. I mean, just for a second," Tara confessed. "I know you had real feelings for her."

"Well, let me tell you," Xander said, in a tone as earnest as any Willow had ever heard him use. "You don't ever have to worry about that. I'm not going to leave you two. I mean, yeah - when I was with Anya, I felt something for her. But it was *nothing* compared to what I feel for the two of you." He turned to look Willow in the eye as he finished. "Really."

Willow had no doubt that he was telling the truth. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. And honestly, she'd never really doubted him. It was just that the shock of seeing Anya, combined with her nightmare earlier, had thrown her for a loop.

"Hey, it's okay," Xander said. "Don't worry about it." He gave her a reassuring smile, and she smiled back at him, relaxing against him as she felt some of the stress and tension that had tied her in knots ever since she'd seen Xander talking with Anya finally leave her body.

Xander considered the question for a moment. "It was…I don't know," he said. "I really had no idea what to say to her. We had problems when we were together, even before we broke up, and I always sort of felt like it was my fault."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Xander," Willow said. "She *was* pretty hard to get along with."

"Yeah, but we did okay for a while." Xander shrugged. "It was always tough, with her. For whatever reason." He shook his head. "I guess it's pointless to wonder about it. What's done is done.

"But I do know one thing. It's not tough with you. With Anya, it was like, there was always friction, you know? Pieces breaking off. Maybe we eventually would have fit together, but I don't think it would have ever been really comfortable. But with you two, I just…fit." He chuckled. "That probably sounds lame, but I don't know how to put it any better than that."

Willow's only reply was to sit up and kiss him deeply, and when she was finished, she watched as Tara did the same. Xander could be so sweet sometimes, and he didn't even seem to realize it. It was one of the things Willow loved so much about him.

When Xander and Tara broke their kiss, Xander chuckled. "Okay, I'm guessing from your reactions? Not lame."

"Well, just remember that the next time I stick my foot in my mouth, okay?" Xander said with a grin.

"Okay," Willow replied, still giggling. "You have one get-out-of-foot-free card." She leaned forward to kiss Tara, then snuggled up against Xander again.

"Well, I'm glad that's over with," Willow said. "And I hope this doesn't sound too nasty or anything, but I'm glad Anya's gone."

"Oh god," Xander said as he slumped down on the couch. "Tell me why I decided to subject myself to the horrors of tests again?"

"It was something about bettering yourself, I think?" Tara said with a grin as she sat down next to him. Willow sat down on his other side, giving him a sympathetic look, and Xander wrapped his arms around her and Tara, relaxing a little as they snuggled against him. It still surprised him a little, that no matter how bad a day he'd had, no matter how stressed he was, just being with his girls could always make him feel better. It was one of the reasons he always looked forward to coming home in the evening.

"Was that it? What was I thinking?" Xander said. He'd had the midterm exam for his Introduction to Business class earlier that night, and it had basically been one long flashback to every quiz or test he'd stressed out over back in high school. Not fun in the slightest.

Willow gave him a sympathetic look. "Come on, honey. I'm sure you did fine. I know you studied really hard."

"Yeah - and thank you for your help with that," Xander said. "And you," he added, giving Tara a quick smile. "If I get a good grade in this class, it's only because of you guys."

Xander smiled. They never let him get away with that. "Okay, okay," he said. "So how about you guys? How do you think your midterms went?"

"Pretty well, I'd say," Tara said after a moment's pause. "I didn't run into any big surprises or anything. How about you, honey?" she asked, looking over at Willow.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I didn't have any problems," Willow said. "Except on my Data Structures midterm. I mean, I studied hard for it, and I think I did okay, but…"

Xander didn't miss the slightly pensive look that crossed Willow's face as she spoke. He knew that she was more worried about her Data Structures test than she was letting on. He'd seen this before - seen it several times over the years he'd known Willow, actually. Even though she was one of the smartest people he'd ever met, and definitely the best student, she always worried about school. It was just part of who she was.

Xander thought for a moment about what he could do. He could try to reassure Willow, but he knew from experience that that wouldn't work. He was sure that she was going to ace this test, but she wouldn't be until she actually saw the grade. If she was worrying about this, there was nothing he could do to get her to stop.

Pulling Willow a little closer, Xander leaned over and kissed her. He could see surprise in her eyes as his lips met hers, but she didn't stiffen or pull away, and it didn't take long before she was kissing him back. He tightened his grip on Tara a little as he kissed Willow, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see her smiling a little as she watched them.

When their kiss ended, Willow gave him a curious look. "What was that for?" she asked.

"Well, we're all done with our midterms," Xander said. "So I figured we should celebrate. What do you guys think?" He grinned, looking from Willow to Tara, certain that the eagerness he was feeling was obvious. Okay - maybe his motives weren't *completely* selfless, here. His girlfriends were so hot, he couldn't help himself sometimes. Okay, most of the time.

Willow smiled and fixed him with a look that said she saw right through him. "Like you need a reason to suggest sex," she said. "You want it all the time."

Tara gave him a smile of her own. "Yeah, pretty much any occasion works for you, honey," she said.

"We do it almost every day, and you *still* want more?" Willow's tone was lightly teasing, and Xander chuckled in response. Busted.

"Okay. You've got me," Xander said. "But, come on. You two know how beautiful you are, right? I mean, I think it's a wonder that I can ever keep my hands off you."

Still smiling, Tara leaned in toward Xander, and he kissed her deeply, holding her close. Willow kissed his cheek, sighing softly into his ear as she reached over and put her hand on Tara's thigh, rubbing her through her skirt.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Tara said when they finally separated. Xander smiled happily and kissed her neck, then turned to kiss Willow again. He slid his hand up her back to run gently through her hair, and she moaned softly into his mouth as they deepened their kiss.

When she finally pulled away from Xander, Willow turned toward Tara, and they leaned in toward each other, kissing deeply right in front of him. Tara lifted one hand to caress Willow's cheek, and Willow squeezed Tara's thigh gently as Xander looked on. He licked his lips, his mouth suddenly dry; the combination of watching his girls kiss and feeling them so close to him was quickly getting him very turned on. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself a little. It wouldn't do to get too worked up too early.

When Willow and Tara finally broke their kiss, they pulled away from each other a little, taking a moment to just look into each other's eyes, the love they shared almost palpable between them. It still amazed Xander sometimes, the incredible connection his girls had. It always made him feel so lucky, and special, that they'd decided to let him be a part of it, too.

When the moment had passed, Xander kissed Willow's cheek, bringing her and Tara's attention to him again. "So…" he said. "You remember that night a couple of months ago? After you destroyed that sorcerer's urn?" He'd been wanting to bring this up for a while now, and figured this was as good a time as any.

There was a soft intensity in Willow's eyes as she looked at him. "Yeah. I remember."

"Well, when we made love that night…it seemed like you really enjoyed it," he said, holding her gaze, watching her reaction carefully.

"Well, um…" Xander said. "Well, I…" He stopped, suddenly very self-conscious. What would they think of what he was about to tell them?

"What?" Tara's voice was gentle, reassuring. "Sweetie, you know you can tell us anything." Her blue eyes were full of love, and when he turned back toward Willow, she nodded, and Xander saw that she was looking at him the same way. He relaxed a little; he really *could* tell them anything, couldn't he?

"I really enjoyed it too," Xander said. "The whole being-in-charge thing." He looked Willow in the eye, his tone serious as he continued. "Having you do whatever I wanted you to…It was a total turn-on."

"So you liked being in control?" Willow's voice was soft, but her tone was just as serious as Xander's had been.

"Well…" Willow's blush deepened, and she looked down at her lap. "I liked it, too. I liked you and Tara telling me what to do." She looked up again, looking from him to Tara, and Xander gave her a reassuring smile.

"So, then, I was thinking…We could do it again," Xander said. "If you want to. And if it's okay with you, Tara," he added, suddenly realizing how quiet she'd been during this conversation as he turned toward her.

Tara was looking at him with a curious expression, but nonetheless, she nodded as he met her eyes. "If you want to try it again, I'm up for it," she said. "But the main thing is whether Willow wants to do it." She turned toward Willow and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "What do you think, honey?" she asked. "It's okay to say no. We don't want to pressure you or anything."

"Right. Absolutely not. Total lack of pressure, here," Xander said. "Don't worry if this isn't something you're interested in. Just say so, and I won't bring it up again."

Willow looked up, first at Tara, then at Xander, and smiled. "No, I…I am interested," she said. She was still blushing, but seemed a little more sure of herself now. "So, how would this work, exactly? You just…tell me to do stuff, and I do it?"

"Basically, yeah," Xander said. "But I was also thinking we could, um…tie you up. I mean, if that's okay." Amazingly, he managed to keep his voice steady as he said the last part. It was no mean feat; the image of Willow naked and tied to their bed kept running through his mind, and it was turning him on so much that it was all he could do just to sit still.

Willow shivered a little and licked her lips, and Xander could see her arousal in her eyes as she looked back at him. She was really turned on by this idea, he could tell. He wondered if she'd enjoy this as much as he thought he was going to. He hoped she would.

"Um, yeah. I'd like to try that," Willow said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Tara lifted Willow's hand to her lips and kissed it softly. "Are you sure?" she asked. Willow nodded in answer, and Tara smiled. "Okay. I guess need a way to stop things if you get uncomfortable, or if we go too far or something."

"You mean, like, a safe word?" Willow said. Xander gave her a curious look, and Willow chuckled nervously as Tara did the same. "I've read about them. On the internet. It's what people usually use for stuff like this."

"So, we pick a word, and if you say it, we stop everything? That's how it works?" Xander asked. He realized that he had no idea how this sort of thing was usually done. Maybe he should have read up on this before suggesting it. But then, careful planning had never been his strong suit.

At Willow's answering nod, Tara spoke up. "Okay, that makes sense," she said. "So, what should our word be? I guess we need an ordinary word, something that doesn't belong in the bedroom. And that doesn't sound like anything that does."

Willow looked up, over into their kitchen, her eyes falling on something over by the wall. "How about 'toaster?'" she said. "That's not a sexy word, or anything."

"Okay, that's fine," Xander said. "So, if we hear you say 'toaster,' we stop everything, and then you can tell us what's wrong."

"Okay. So…" Xander stopped suddenly as a thought struck him. "Wait. What if something's wrong, and you can't talk right then?"

Tara and Willow both laughed. "Oh, and whyever would I not be able to speak?" Willow said, still giggling. Then her expression turned serious again. "Still, I suppose that's a good point. How about this? In that case, I'll cross my fingers." She held up her right hand with her index and middle fingers crossed. "Like this. That should work, right?"

"Yeah, that seems fine," Xander agreed. He took a deep breath. "Okay, so, you're sure about this, Will? This is something you want to do? I mean, you're not just doing it for me?"

Willow looked him in the eye. She was still blushing a little, but the look on her face was as serious and earnest as Xander had ever seen from her. "I'm sure, Xander. This is something I want to do."

Okay. She was sure. No more questions. "Okay," he said. "Why don't you stand up?" Then he remembered that he was supposed to be *telling* her to do things, not asking her. "I mean, stand up."

Willow stood, stepping in front of Xander and Tara, and looked down at them, waiting. "Take off your clothes," Xander said. "Leave your underwear on for now."

Willow took off her sweater, then unfastened her skirt and let it drop to the floor around her feet. Then she removed her socks, leaving her standing before them clad only in her pink satin bra and panties. Xander let his gaze travel slowly up her body, taking in every inch of her alabaster skin, her thighs, her stomach, the soft swell of her satin-covered breasts. Her chest was still a little flushed, as were her cheeks, partly with embarrassment, but also with arousal, as he could see when he finally met her eyes.

Willow did as she was told, turning around slowly, letting them see her body from every angle. God, she was beautiful.

"Okay," Xander said. "Go into the bedroom and wait for us there. We'll be in shortly."

Willow nodded, turned, and walked over to the hallway to their bedroom. When she'd disappeared around the corner, Xander turned toward Tara and kissed her, long and slow and full of passion. She leaned into him, rubbing gently against him, driving his arousal to new heights.

When they separated, Xander took a moment to catch his breath. "I haven't really thought this through at all, you know," he admitted. "I don't even know if I have anything to tie her up with."

"Okay, that's good," Xander said. "But still, I'm a little out of my depth here. I'm not really sure what to do, or anything."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll come naturally," Tara said, giving him one of those beautiful smiles of hers that he loved so much. She kissed his cheek. "You'll do fine." She kissed his neck. "Don't worry." She kissed his earlobe.

Xander smiled. "Thanks." He was still nervous, though. He'd never done anything like this before.

"I do have one idea, though," Tara said softly, her breath warm against his ear. "Want to hear it?"

Xander walked into the bedroom, Tara following just after, and found Willow sitting on the end of their bed, waiting for them. She smiled as they entered the room, and she looked so cute that for a second, Xander forgot all about trying to stay 'in character' and smiled back at her. He could see nervousness in her eyes, but also excitement and eagerness - all things he was feeling, as well. How well this went was going to depend in large part on him, after all.

He walked around to one side of their bed and set the bottles of water he was carrying down on the nightstand. Tara went to the other side and put the glass full of ice cubes and the scarf she was holding on the nightstand there, then walked back to stand in front of Willow. Xander quickly moved to join her, giving her a quick smile before turning to look down at Willow.

Willow stood, and Xander stepped in toward her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her fiercely. She opened her mouth for him, and he pulled her close against him as he licked her lips, then slid his tongue past them. She moaned a little into his mouth, and he could feel her relax in his arms as she gave herself fully to the kiss, letting him take the lead, letting him plunder her mouth as he wished.

Finally, he had to come up for air, and when he stepped back, Tara pulled Willow close and kissed her as well. He heard another of those little Willow-moans he loved so much as Tara deepened their kiss, and Willow ground against Tara a little, leaning into her. Tara slid her hands down Willow's back, caressing her ass over her panties before gripping her tightly and pulling her hips against hers. Xander watched in silence, his own arousal quickly building as he was caught up in the passion these two beautiful women shared.

When they separated, Xander took Tara's hand and gave her a quick but intense kiss. Then he turned toward Willow again. "Take off your underwear," he ordered, his voice rough with desire.

Willow quickly removed her bra and panties, leaving her standing naked before them. Xander looked her over again; now that he could see all of her, she was even more beautiful. He wanted to throw her down on the bed right then, but he forced himself to wait. They had the whole night ahead of them, after all.

"Lie down on the bed," Tara said. Willow quickly moved to do as she was told, lying on her back and looking up at Xander and Tara. They moved to either side of the bed, and Xander reached down to touch Willow, running his hand over her stomach briefly. The temptation to move his hand up or down her body was huge, but he managed to resist, again reminding himself that it was best for them to take their time. So he let his hand fall to his side once more and looked over at Tara, giving her a slight nod.

Tara picked up the scarf and passed one end of it to Xander. He looped it through one of the posts on their headboard, then paused, looking down at Willow again. He could see anticipation in her eyes; she looked like she was all for this, but he had to be sure.

Willow obviously took the meaning of his question. "No," she said, shaking her head. "No. Nothing."

Xander nodded. "Okay." He reached for Willow's hand, taking it by her wrist, and lifted her arm above her head. He tied his end of the scarf to her wrist, making sure to get a good knot - not too tight, but not so loose that she could slip out of it. Tara did the same with her other wrist, and when they were finished, they stepped back, looking down to inspect their handiwork. The weave of the yarn was fairly thick; it looked like it would hold Willow. She pulled at her bonds, testing them, and another soft moan passed her lips as she realized that she could hardly move her arms at all. She looked up at them, first at Xander, then at Tara, her face and her chest flushed with arousal, clearly wondering what they had in store for her next.

Xander looked up and over at Tara. She met his eyes and, by unspoken agreement, they both began to undress. It didn't take long for them to shed their clothes, and when they were both naked, Xander took a moment to look Tara over. He knew every inch of her body by now, but it seemed like every time he saw her, he noticed how gorgeous she was all over again. She was just as beautiful as Willow, albeit in a different way, and not for the first time, Xander was reminded of how lucky he was.

Seeing him admiring her, Tara smiled at Xander and knelt on the bed next to Willow. Xander joined them in bed, kneeling on Willow's other side, and Tara leaned in and kissed him. Her kiss was hard, deep, full of passion, and out of the corner of his eye, Xander could see Willow lick her lips as she watched them, and god, that just made it even hotter. Tara reached down and grasped his cock, already fully hard, and stroked him slowly, and it was only a few seconds before Xander had to pull away. He didn't want to get too worked up too soon.

Tara kissed him again as she released him, then reached for the glass on the nightstand. She took an ice cube from it and, as Xander watched, slowly rubbed it over her chest, a seductive smile on her face. She rubbed the ice cube over her breasts, circling it around her nipples, and Xander could see them harden from the cold. He leaned forward and took one of them in his mouth, and Tara gasped as he sucked on her gently.

Xander pulled back and smiled at her. "You think?" he said before moving to her other breast. Tara's breath hissed between her teeth as Xander sucked her ice-hardened nipple into his mouth. She pushed toward him a little, his mouth quickly warming her again.

"Definitely," Tara said when he pulled away. She smiled and kissed him again, then laid down next to Willow, rolling onto her side and propping herself up on one elbow. Xander did the same on Willow's other side, and Willow looked at them in turn, her anticipation obvious in her eyes. Xander put his hand on her stomach again and rubbed her gently, loving the way her soft skin felt under his hand.

The ice cube Tara held was already melting, so droplets of water fell onto Willow's chest as Tara reached across it. She rubbed the ice cube over Willow's breast, the one closer to Xander, and Willow whimpered a little when Tara circled the ice around her nipple. The whimper became a loud gasp as Xander lowered his mouth to her breast, kissing her nipple, sucking the hard nub into his mouth. He slid his tongue over it, and Willow's back arched as she pulled at the scarf holding her. Tara ran the ice cube slowly over her chest, leaving a trail of goosebumps and moisture in its wake.

Xander lifted his head from Willow's breast as Tara slowly rubbed the ice cube over Willow's other nipple. Kissing his way across her chest, he kissed her breast softly, and Willow moaned, deep in her chest, as he took her nipple in his mouth. He circled his tongue around it, warming it quickly, and Willow squirmed a little, pulling at her bonds again.

When Xander pulled away, Tara smiled and gave him a quick kiss. The ice cube was mostly melted now, so she slid it up Willow's chest again, to the space between her breasts, and left it there, where it quickly melted from Willow's body heat. Tara kissed Willow's shoulder, then looked up and met her eyes, and Willow leaned forward as far as she could to kiss her. But Tara just nipped at her lips and pulled away, and Willow let her head fall back on the pillow as Tara smiled wickedly at her and reached for another ice cube.

They repeated the process - Tara chilling Willow's nipples with the ice, then Xander warming them with his mouth - and Xander could see Willow's excitement and arousal building ever higher. She was already as turned on as he'd ever seen her, and they were only just getting started. If he'd had any doubts about where or not Willow would enjoy this, they were gone now.

After the second ice cube had melted, Xander pushed himself up and looked down at Willow. Her whole body was flushed and her chest was heaving, her breath coming in short gasps. As he watched, she took a few deep breaths, bringing herself back under control, and looked up at him. Her green eyes were alive with desire.

"I want to see for myself," Tara said. She took another ice cube from the glass, passing it to Xander, then moved down the bed to kneel in front of Willow. She put her hands on Willow's thighs and opened her legs, lying down between them, and Willow lifted her head to see what she was doing. Tara smiled up at her and ran her tongue slowly over Willow's lips, not probing inside at all, but even so, it was enough to send shivers through Willow's whole body.

Xander slowly slid the ice cube down Willow's stomach, stopping between her legs, and Tara moved back a little to give him access to her sex. Xander ran the ice cube over Willow's lips, taking care not to linger too long; he knew how sensitive she was right now and he didn't want to hurt her. He pulled back, trailing the ice cube to one side, over her thigh, and Tara lowered her head to Willow's lips again, kissing them, covering and warming them with her mouth.

Willow cried out at the contact, writhing around and pulling hard at the scarf that held her wrists. Realizing that she was securely bound only served to excite her more, and she bit her bottom lip as her cry turned into a whimper. Tara looked up, pulling back a little and licking Willow's lips again, and she smiled as she saw her reaction.

Xander ran the ice cube over Willow's lips again, and Willow moaned loudly as Tara covered them with her mouth once more. Xander used his free hand to caress Willow's breast, rubbing and pinching her nipple; he was a little rougher than he usually was, but Willow didn't seem to mind one bit. She pressed her chest up into his hand even as she ground against Tara's face, and the feel of her breast sent another surge of arousal through Xander. His cock was so hard it ached, and he knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer without some sort of release.

Sliding the ice cube down Willow's thigh, Xander ran it over her lips a third time. Tara kissed her lips again, but this time, she opened them slightly with her fingers and circled her tongue around Willow's clit. Willow cried out again, even louder this time, straining against her bonds, her back arching off the bed. After that brief contact, Tara pulled away, and Willow collapsed back down on the mattress, breathing heavily and still squirming a little. The ice cube was almost gone now, so Xander put it on Willow's stomach, water pooling in her navel as it finished melting.

Xander looked down at Willow, meeting her eyes. "Is there something you want?" he asked.

Tara pushed herself up, kneeling between Willow's legs and stroking her thighs gently. "We want to come, too," she said. "So I think you should take care of us, first."

Willow nodded, and Xander moved up to untie one of her hands. "Sit up," Xander said, and she quickly did. This put her face to face with Tara, and Willow tried to kiss her, but Tara pulled away after only the briefest contact of their lips. Willow tried to follow her, but Tara put her hands on Willow's shoulders, holding her back, a mischievous smile on her face.

Xander tied Willow's hands behind her back, checking the knots to be sure they weren't too loose nor too tight. When he was satisfied with his work, he stood up, then reached for Willow and helped her stand as well. He stepped back a little from the bed and locked eyes with Willow.

Willow knelt in front of Xander and took his cock in her mouth, slipping her lips down it and circling her tongue around his head. He hadn't told her to do this yet, but it felt so good and he needed release too badly to care. Willow moved her lips up and down in a steady rhythm, her tongue working the underside of his shaft, and Xander moaned as she sent shivers through his body. Tara smiled and leaned back on the bed, sliding one hand between her legs and stroking her clit slowly as she watched them.

"Good girl," Xander said approvingly, resting one hand on her head, stroking her hair softly. He slid his hand around to the back of her head, using gentle but firm pressure to control her rhythm, spurring her to go a little faster. He looked down at her hands, tied behind her back, making sure her fingers weren't crossed, then looked to her face, meeting her eyes as she looked up at him.

The look in her eyes practically made Xander come right then. Willow had given him blowjobs before - she and Tara did it all the time - but she'd always had all the power then. She controlled his release; she could draw it out or bring him to it quickly depending on her mood. But this was different. He was in total control now - he could see it in Willow's eyes, and the knowledge drove his arousal even higher.

Xander thrust forward, fucking Willow's mouth. He knew how much she could take, and even on the edge of his orgasm, he was careful to go just that far and no farther. He tightened his grip on the back of her head a little, holding her in place, and her tongue swirled around him faster, seemingly everywhere at once, hitting all his most sensitive places. It only took a few seconds before he was crying out with his release, every nerve in his body alive as he came in Willow's mouth, his eyes locked on hers as she swallowed for him.

After it was over, he let go of Willow's head, letting his hands fall to his sides as he stepped back, and his cock, already softening, slipped out of her mouth. He smiled down at her as he caught his breath, and she returned his smile briefly before turning to look at Tara, watching with anticipation as she stood. Tara stopped to give Xander a quick kiss, then met Willow's eyes, her gaze intense as she moved to stand right in front of her, her legs slightly apart.

"Lick me," Tara said, sliding one hand between her legs and opening her folds for Willow. Willow leaned forward a little and kissed Tara's lips, then slowly slid her tongue over Tara's clit, earning a long, low moan in response. She circled her tongue around it, and Tara sucked in a breath, pushing against Willow's face a little.

"Faster," she ordered, and Willow hastened to comply. As Willow moved her tongue more quickly over Tara's clit, Tara slid her free hand up her body, caressing one of her breasts, rubbing and pinching her nipple. As Xander watched Tara touch herself, he found himself wanting to do it for her, but he decided that he shouldn't intrude on her moment with Willow. Besides, it was enjoyable enough just to watch.

Tara moaned again as Willow's tongue probed inside her, but it was only a few seconds before she returned her attention to Tara's clit. Tara reached down and stroked Willow's hair as Willow slipped her lips over her clit, and Tara closed her eyes, losing herself in the sensations Willow was bringing her.

"That's good," Tara said softly, her voice thick with arousal. "That's so good."

Xander's cock stirred as he looked on, his eyes riveted to the sight of Willow pleasuring Tara. Tara was in no mood for Willow to go slowly, and Willow obviously knew that. Her tongue circled around her clit again, moving over it quickly, making sure that not even the slightest part of it was neglected. Tara's chest heaved with her breath, coming more rapidly now, and she opened her eyes and looked down at Willow, her blue eyes alive with desire. She ran her fingers through Willow's hair and murmured soft words of encouragement.

It didn't take long before Tara was on the brink. Another long moan filled the air as Willow sucked her clit into her mouth again, and Tara's whole body tensed. Her fingers tightened in Willow's hair as the attentions of Willow's lips and tongue sent her over the edge. Tara's moan turned into an incoherent cry as her climax took her, making her tremble slightly with its force.

When her orgasm had finally passed, Tara let go of Willow's hair and stepped back. Xander walked forward, and the two of them shared a long, slow kiss as Willow looked on.

"What do you think? She did well, right?" Xander said, glancing down at Willow, then back up at Tara again.

Tara smiled. "Very well," she said, reaching down to stroke Willow's hair again.

Willow licked her lips, a look of anticipation on her face. But he wasn't ready to give her what she wanted quite yet. "Stand up," he said, holding her steady by one arm when she did. He stepped behind her and untied one wrist, guiding her toward the bed as Tara moved to join them.

Willow did as she was told, and Xander looped the scarf through one of the headboard posts and tied her hands again. When he was finished, he moved to one side and looked down at her, watching as she tested her bonds again, noting the little thrill that ran through her when she discovered again that she was securely held. Tara knelt in front of her, stroking her thighs softly. She smiled when Willow opened her legs, but didn't move from where she was kneeling.

"What do you want?" Xander asked, meeting Willow's eyes. Her excitement and arousal was obvious.

Xander shook his head, and Willow moaned in frustration. Tara chuckled and moved in between Willow's legs, leaning forward to lie on top of her. Tara finally did kiss her then, and it was positively scorching as Willow finally found an outlet for some of her passion. Willow moaned into Tara's mouth as Tara moved on her, slowly, rubbing her body against Willow's. Willow writhed around underneath her, and Xander felt a fresh surge of arousal, his cock growing fully hard as he watched these two beautiful women grind against each other. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing in the world even close to as hot as his girls together like this.

They held their kiss for a long time, but eventually, Tara pulled away and kissed Willow's neck, then moved back a little as she kissed her way down her chest. She kissed one of Willow's breasts, and Willow moaned as Tara took her nipple in her mouth, squirming around underneath her. Xander moved to join Tara, laying down beside her as she moved to the side a little to give him space. He kissed Willow's other breast, then ran his tongue over her nipple and sucked on it gently. Willow moaned again, louder this time, and pushed her chest up toward them.

Willow's moan turned into an incoherent cry when Xander slipped his hand down between her legs and stroked her clit with one finger. She strained against the scarf that held her, her whole body tense, and Xander scraped his teeth over her nipple, nibbling on her gently. They could keep this up all night, he knew - Willow couldn't come without some kind of penetration. Still, he didn't think there was any reason to drag this out much longer - but Willow had to give them the right answer first.

Xander and Tara kept up their attentions on Willow's breasts for a few minutes. Finally, pushed herself up and kissed her way down Willow's stomach, settling in between her legs. Xander moved his hand to give her access to Willow, and she parted Willow's lips with one hand and circled her tongue around her clit. Willow gasped as Tara licked her slowly, and Xander lifted his head from Willow's breast. He covered her other breast with his hand, rubbing and pinching her nipple, still wet from Tara's tongue, and looked up to meet her eyes.

Willow moaned, her breath coming in short gasps. "I want…I want whatever *you* want for me," she said. "Please, I'm yours, do whatever you want, please…"

Turning his head, Xander looked down at Tara and nodded. She slid two fingers inside Willow, thrusting quickly into her, and sucked her clit into her mouth. Willow screamed in ecstasy, her body shaking as her orgasm ripped through her. Tara didn't let up, and after Willow's first climax had passed, it didn't take long before she was nearing another. Xander lowered his head to Willow's breast again, sucking on her hard, pinching her other nipple and rolling it between his fingers, and then Willow was coming again, her head rolling back on the pillow, her body tense underneath him.

Xander looked up from Willow's chest and pushed himself into a sitting position. He kept one hand on Willow's breast, caressing her softly as he watched Tara guide Willow toward another peak. Willow writhed around on the bed, pulling at the scarf that held her, grinding against Tara's face. She lifted her head from the pillow, looking down so she could see what Tara was doing, and Tara met her eyes, her gaze positively smoldering.

It didn't take long before Willow was on the brink again. She moaned loudly, as Tara brought her to the edge, thrusting hard into her with her fingers as her tongue worked her clit. Willow cried out in bliss as Tara's tongue circled around her clit, licking everywhere, and her body trembled with orgasm once more. Tara kept up her ministrations until it had passed, leaving Willow flushed and breathing heavily.

Xander looked down at Willow, her red hair spilled out beneath her on the pillow. She didn't seem tired at all - in fact, as he met her eyes, he could see that she was still full of energy. So he moved down to the end of the bed, and Tara looked up as he approached, lifting her head from Willow's sex. She kissed him, letting him taste Willow on her lips and tongue.

Xander wasted no time moving in between Willow's legs, rubbing the head of his cock against her lips. He filled her with a single hard thrust, not stopping until he was buried inside her as deeply as he could go. He was amazed at how wet she was, and when he was all the way inside her, she clenched tightly around his cock, her muscles so tight around him that he had to moan himself. He looked down at her, his gaze traveling up her body, and he moaned again when he saw the look in her eyes. She was *his*; she wanted to give herself to him completely, wanted him to *take* her.

Willow cried out and writhed underneath Xander as he started moving inside her, thrusting hard into her. He leaned forward, watching Willow as he fucked her, loving the way her breasts jiggled with each thrust, the way she pulled at the scarf holding her, the way she was still looking at him submissively despite the raw desire in her eyes. He fucked her faster, settling into a steady rhythm, and it didn't take long before her back was arching, her whole body tense as another climax washed over her. Her inner muscles clenched and grasped around Xander's cock; the sensation almost made him come right then, but he held himself back. He didn't want this to be over yet.

Xander didn't let up. After Willow's climax had passed, he continued, fucking her hard and deep. He moaned again as Tara moved in close behind him, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing herself against him. Her breasts pressed against his back, and the feel of her soft skin against his sent a thrill through Xander's body. She kissed his neck, then moved to nibble his ear gently.

"Look at her," Tara whispered. "She's *yours.* She's given herself to you. You can take her, have her completely…"

Tara's words sent a fresh surge of arousal through Xander's body, and he fucked Willow faster, the sensation of her soft wetness all around him sending tingles of pleasure all the way down to his toes. Willow moaned again, biting her bottom lip as she shook with another orgasm. Her head rolled back on the pillow and her eyes closed, but they shot open again as Xander reached down to where they were joined and stroked her clit with his thumb. Willow squirmed around underneath him, grinding her hips against his.

Soon, Xander was on the edge himself; he knew he couldn't hold himself back any longer. Tara reached down to caress his balls, and Xander fucked Willow faster, watching her shiver as he stroked her clit. She screamed in ecstasy, and he drove himself into her, burying himself deeply inside her as he came. He moaned loudly as his orgasm spread through his body, and Willow clenched tightly around him, squeezing every last drop of his climax from him as she went over the edge with him.

Finally, it passed, and Xander let himself relax, trying to catch his breath. He felt Willow clutching at his arms, and when he looked down, he could see that one of the knots on the scarf had given way. He was surprised that they'd held as long as they had, honestly, with the way he'd seen Willow struggling against them.

Tara moved to one side and kissed him deeply, and Xander pulled back, slipping out of Willow. Willow sat up, and Xander kissed her as well, holding the kiss for a long moment. When they separated, he reached for a bottle of water and handed it to Willow, and they passed it among them, taking long drinks.

"So…" Xander smiled at Willow, rubbing her thigh affectionately. "Did you like that?"

"Oh Goddess, yes," Willow said enthusiastically. "I mean…it was *amazing.*" She blushed and looked down at the bed between them.

Tara chuckled and leaned in to kiss Willow. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it," she said, smiling.

Xander gave Willow another kiss, then turned toward Tara, reaching out to rest one hand on her shoulder. "But what about you?" he said, fixing her with a serious look when she turned to look at him in surprise. "You only got to come once."

Xander shook his head. "Don't say that," he said. "I want you to enjoy yourself, too." He leaned forward to kiss her neck.

Tara opened her mouth to protest again, but Xander silenced her by placing his finger to her lips. "It's okay, Tara," he said. "I'll take care of you." Tara fell silent again, and he pushed gently on her shoulder, kissing his way down her chest as she leaned back a little. He kissed his way to one of her perfect breasts, and she moaned softly as he took her nipple in his mouth, sucking on her gently.

He was a little surprised at how easily she let him take the lead, but Xander wasn't about to complain. He nibbled gently on Tara's breast, caressing her nipple slowly with his lips and tongue, and he smiled when he felt her shiver a little. He kept up his attentions for a long moment, then kissed his way slowly to the hollow between her breasts. He knew how much Tara loved it when he or Willow kissed her there, so he slowly trailed his lips up her chest, between her breasts, kissing her softly, and she moaned again, soft and low and sexy.

Kissing his way over to Tara's other breast, Xander looked at Willow out of the corner of his eye and motioned for her to join him. As Xander took Tara's nipple in his mouth, Willow leaned forward and did the same at her other breast. Xander felt Tara tense as he and Willow sucked on her together, and she threw her head back, leaning back on the palms of her hands and pushing her chest toward them.

Xander slid one hand down between Tara's legs, tracing one finger over her lips. He parted them slightly and found her clit, stroking it with his thumb. She squirmed around a little, pressing against his hand; she was already wet. Xander kept the pace of his thumb slow - he didn't want her to come yet, not until he was inside her - and Tara moaned in frustration, looking down at him with eyes full of pent-up desire.

It wasn't long before Xander felt his cock stirring again as his own arousal built. God, he loved both his girls' bodies, every inch of them. He knew they didn't think of themselves as conventionally beautiful, but convention didn't matter to him - Willow and Tara were the most beautiful women he'd ever known and that was all there was to it. And every time they made love, he was reminded of it again.

Xander took Willow's hand and put it on his cock, and she stroked him slowly as he hardened in her hand. He sucked on Tara harder, circling his tongue around her nipple, and rested his hand between her legs again, stroking her clit slowly. He kept this up, his caresses carefully slow, bringing Tara to the edge but not letting her go over, drawing out small moans and shivers from her as Willow stroked him to full hardness.

Finally, he was ready, and he could tell that Tara was, too. He pulled away from Tara's breast, turning toward Willow as she did the same. He lifted Willow's hand from his cock and brought it to his mouth, kissing it softly.

Tara blinked in confusion. "What?" He could hear her arousal in her voice, and it fed his own.

Tara did so, looking down at him with anticipation - she obviously had no idea what he was planning. Xander stood as well, then reached out to help Willow off the bed. "Go over to the wall there," Xander said, nodding toward the space between their bedroom door and their dresser. He slapped Tara's ass to emphasize what he was saying, and he and Willow followed after as Tara walked quickly over to the wall.

"Put your hands on the wall and bend over. And spread your legs," Xander said. Tara did as he instructed, her palms against the wall as she leaned over, and Xander stepped in behind her, rubbing her ass, caressing and squeezing it with his hands.

Xander turned toward Willow. "Get on your knees, in front of her," he said. Willow hastened to comply, kneeling in front of Tara, and Xander rubbed his cock over Tara's lips, his head glistening with her wetness. He reached around Tara to stroke Willow's hair and looked down at her. "I want you to lick her clit while I'm fucking her," he said.

Willow nodded, the look in her eyes familiar from before. Xander put his hands on Tara's hips, and Willow grasped his cock, guiding him into Tara's sex as he pushed forward. Tara moaned as he slid into her; he didn't stop until he was buried inside her all the way, and Tara's moan grew louder as Willow moved forward and kissed her clit, flicking her tongue over it. Tara clenched around Xander tightly, and he pulled back slowly and pushed into her again, and again, fucking her hard and deep as Willow's tongue worked her clit. Xander leaned in to kiss Tara's neck; he knew her, knew her body and her sexual response completely now, and he could tell that she was already so turned on that it wouldn't take much to send her over the edge.

Xander slid his hands up Tara's body, relishing the feel of her soft skin, and cupped her breasts. He rubbed them softly, his palms brushing over her nipples, and she moaned as he took her nipples between his fingers and pinched them. Tara squirmed, pressing back against his hips, and Xander quickened his pace a little, fucking her faster. Willow flicked her tongue over the tip of Tara's clit, then circled around it, and Tara moaned again, louder, her inner muscles squeezing Xander's cock in the most delightful ways as her orgasm washed over her.

Xander fucked Tara steadily, losing himself in the feel of her soft, wet warmth around him as he thrust into her, and he and Willow quickly brought her to another climax. Xander reached down to stroke Willow's hair briefly, then put his hand on Tara's back, running his fingernails downward. Tara shivered as Willow slipped her lips over her clit, and Xander cupped her breasts again, caressing her more roughly this time. He was careful not to hurt her, but he knew that she loved it when he and Willow played with her breasts, so he paid them close attention, rubbing and pinching Tara's nipples as he fucked her, and then she was coming again, grinding against Willow's face.

It wasn't long before Xander felt his own climax rapidly approaching. He put his hands on Tara's hips, holding her steady as he thrust into her harder. Tara's whole body tensed, her fingernails scraping against the wall where her hands rested, and she looked down at Willow, moaning incoherently as Xander fucked her hard and deep. Willow sucked Tara's clit into her mouth, licking all around it, and Tara cried out, driven over the edge by the two of them again. She clenched tightly around Xander's cock, and with a few final thrusts he came inside Tara, losing himself in the pleasurable haze of his orgasm and the amazing sensation of Tara's inner muscles milking him dry.

When it was over, Xander took a second to catch his breath, then stepped back, slipping out of Tara. She turned around and practically collapsed into his arms, utterly spent. Willow stood up and joined them, leaning into his embrace as well, and Xander took a half-step back and shifted his weight to his back foot to stay balanced. He pulled them close, some small part of him proud that he could support both his girls at the same time.

They held their embrace for a moment, then Xander walked them over to the bed. He helped them into bed, then got in himself, lying on his back, and Willow and Tara curled up on either side of him. He pulled them close again and gave each of them a kiss, then watched as they shared a kiss as they all snuggled together. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be.

Worn out by the intensity of what they'd just shared, Xander pulled the covers over them, and it wasn't long before he was drifting off to sleep, warm and loved in his girls' embrace.

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Soul Mates: The Next Chapter

by Ravenhawk

Copyright © 2007

ravenhawk450@gmail.com