Summary: Willow gets jealous, things get complicated and a reunion is
involved. <g> The second in my Color series.
Spoilers: Minor through the fourth season. Set a couple of years in the
future.
Disclaimer: Joss made them. But I want to keep them. The song is by Lorrie
Morgan.
Rating: PG
Distribution: Just ask. I'm in the habit of saying yes.
Feedback: It's a perfect yum.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I'm looking for something in green.
Something to outdo an ex-high school queen.
Jealousy comes in the color of jade.
Do you have some pumps and a purse in this shade?
And a perfume that whispers he's come back to me...
I'm looking for something in green."
--Lorrie Morgan
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was the casual way he said it that made her stir. Almost as if he was
slipping it into the conversation, like he didn't want her to really hear it.
So that when she was surprised later, he could say, 'Don't you remember? I
told you about it the other night, when we were watching movies at your
place.'

Willow sat up, feeling a rush of cool air as her body disconnected with
Xander's. She looked at him with her eyebrows knitted. "What was that? You
got the ice cream and talked to Cordelia today?"

Xander flashed her a smile, pulling her back down. Willow reluctantly
allowed herself to be crushed back into his arms, and she sighed, breathing
in the scent of him.

"Yeah, we talked for a while," he murmured, dropping a kiss into her hair.
"She asked about you."

"Really?" That piqued Willow's interest. "What did she say? What did you
say?" She blushed a little, lowered her voice from the high squeak it was
beginning to reach. "How is she liking New York?"

"She likes it," he answered vaguely, brushing the hair out of his eyes. "She
just asked how you were. I said you were doing fine."

Willow blinked. "That's all?"

"Yeah. Well, no, she's coming to the five year reunion, after all," Xander
smiled.

"She is?"

"Yep. She got the time off, so she's coming up the night before. She asked
to have drinks with me," he explained casually.

"And you said no, right?"

He looked confused. "Why would I?"

A hot flash of jealousy tore through Willow. Cordelia. Xander's first real
girlfriend, first long-term girlfriend. The girl who had taken Xander away
from her, made him look another way, know that there were other choices. She
and Cordelia still kept in distant touch, she supposed, and there was nothing
to worry about. Xander was in love with her.

But then, hadn't he been in love with Cordelia once?

She supposed she was simply being irrational. Though, it would some kind of
irony for Xander to leave Willow for Cordelia. And he had always been the
ironic one in the group.

She sighed, shrugged her shoulders against him. Her words were soft,
worried, but firm. "No reason. Have fun."
* * * * * * * * *

"Willow, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Buffy said calmly, continuing
to brush her hair. She smiled at her best friend's reflection in the mirror.

"Buffy..." Willow paused, bit her lip. "Don't you remember how... Hot they
were? I'm not saying that Xander and I aren't hot, but they were in the wow.
They never kept their hands off of each other."

"Neither do you guys," Buffy pointed out.

"Yes, we do," Willow protested. A ghost of a smile passed over her face.
"Sometimes. In public."

"So what are you worried about?"

Willow hesitated, searching for the right words. "I guess I'm worried
because... Well, Xander was my first love. So I always sort of knew-- well,
okay, hoped-- that something would come of it. I always harbored these
feelings for him, even when I was with Oz. I mean, they were duller then,
and faint, but there. So, if I've always felt this way about him because he
was my first love, how am I supposed to expect him to feel about Cordelia?
She was his."

Buffy set her brush down and turned around in her chair to look at Willow.
She smiled gently. "You've always felt that way about Xander because it was
meant to be, not just because you've loved him all your life. You don't
think he feels the same way? Just because he realized it later than you,
after he fell for Cordy, doesn't make it any less intense or... true." She
reached out and touched Willow's hand. "So don't worry. He loves you. He
has for a long time. He will for always."

Willow smiled back, slightly comforted, and then sighed. She gripped Buffy's
hand tightly, and her words escaped as a whisper. "I hope so."
* * * * * * * * *

Willow ran to the phone breathlessly, dropping her keys on the table as she
passed. She picked it up, expecting to hear Xander's voice. She hoped he
could hear her smile. "Hey there."

"Um. Hi. Willow?" Cordelia sounded confused.

Willow raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Cordy?"

"Yeah, hi. Sorry about calling so late. I thought this was Xander's
number," she explained. "I guess I got them mixed up. ...Is he over there,
by any chance?"

"No," Willow responded slowly, closing her eyes against the fear that was
suddenly overwhelming her. "But he's probably coming over later tonight.
Didn't you guys meet today for drinks?"

"Oh, yeah." Cordelia laughed. "It's just that he left his jacket in my
hotel room, and I wanted to let him know about it. So, he's coming over
there? Some big evil happening? Need any help?"

"No, no big evil," Willow replied, trying to slow down the panicked beating
of her heart. "He just... We... He didn't mention me to you at all tonight?"

"Oh, we talked about you a little bit," Cordelia assured her casually.
"Mostly about high school."

"Well, he usually comes over when he gets off work. And stays," she added
coolly.

"Really," Cordelia said slowly, as if working it out. "And how long have you
two been... involved?"

"For almost a year," Willow informed her tightly, rubbing her temples. "I
would have thought he'd told you."

"Well, maybe he thought I already knew," Cordelia said softly, almost
soothingly. "I mean, I probably should have... Maybe it was even mentioned
in one of Giles's or Buffy's letters, and I just missed it."

Willow felt a wave of anger wash over her. Was that disappointment in
Cordelia's voice? Was she going to try to get him back now, be the
vindictive bitch everyone knew that she could be? Willow knew she was being
irrational, but suddenly couldn't care less. Her tone was clipped and
competitive. "You're going to the reunion tomorrow night, right?"

"Yep," Cordelia confirmed brightly. "I'm really looking forward to--"

"I'll see you there," Willow interrupted and then promptly hung up the phone.


She sank down into a nearby chair, fuming, and then sat up, running to her
closet. She rummaged around for a few moments and then pulled out the dress
she had gotten for the reunion. She eyed it critically.

With a few simple cuts and hems, maybe if she draped a couple of pieces of
fabric differently, she could have the dress dazzling by morning.

She ran down and scribbled a note to Xander and hung it on the door saying
that she wouldn't be back until after one, in case he came by. She just
hoped that he wouldn't decide to use his key and wait for her inside.

And then she got to work.
* * * * * * * * *

"Hello?" Xander picked up the phone, waiting for the disaster announcement.
The only people who called him after eleven were Buffy and Giles, or Willow,
but she always let him know when she was going to call late.

Cordelia sounded worried. "Xander?"

"Hi." His eyebrows knitted. "What's up?"

"Is something... I think I might have given Willow the wrong idea about us or
something," she blurted out.

"What do you mean?" he asked, alarmed.

"Well, I just called over there," she explained hurriedly, "Because I guess I
got your numbers mixed up... Oh yeah, you left your jacket in my room... And
Willow got sort of... UnWillow on me, like she was... I want to say jealous.
Xander, you know I'm involved with Jeremy, right?"

"Yeah, you told me about him earlier," Xander said, still piecing together
what had happened.

"Oh, good." She sounded relieved. "Because it would suck if I had given
both of you the wrong idea. ...Why didn't you tell me about Willow?"

"I thought I had," he said confusedly. "Yeah, when you brought up what
happened between Willow and I in high school, I said that even though I was
sorry for that, it was good that it had happened because now Willow and I are
closer than ever."

Cordelia laughed. "That must have just zoomed right by me. Sorry. And,
even if I had caught it, it is sort of cryptic. Well, I think I gave Willow
the impression that you hadn't said anything about the two of you. She hung
up on me."

The words 'insensitive, stupid male' flashed through Xander's brain, and he
groaned. "She was asking me about what we had planned the other night,
like... I don't know. I guess, thinking back, that she sounded sort of
uncomfortable. Maybe she wanted to go. I just thought that she would think
it was a stupid reason to take off of work, so I didn't ask her."

"Well, you might want to call her now," Cordelia suggested.

"Yeah, I will. I was going to go over there as soon as I picked up some
clothes for tomorrow, but now maybe I'd better call first. Wouldn't want her
wielding a gun, pissed because she thought I'd been cheating on her," he said
thoughtfully.

"Willow?" Cordelia asked incredulously. "You think she'd do that?"

"No," Xander laughed, "But it's a better picture than her giving me those
teary eyes that seem to make me feel horrible. I sort of prefer the gun.
Anyway, I'll let you go."

"Okay. Bye, Xander. See you tomorrow night."

"Bye, Cordy." He hung up the phone, and then quickly dialed Willow's. Her
answering machine picked up on the first ring.

"Hi, this is Willow. Leave me a message after the beep."

Xander sighed. "Willow, I'm on my way over there. I'll just let myself in
with the key and wait for you... We need to tal--"

Willow snatched up the phone with a feeling of horror. Was he going to tell
her that he had feelings for Cordelia? "I'm here."

"Hey," he greeted softly. "Why didn't you pick up?"

"I just got in," she lied. His eyebrows raised; hadn't Cordelia said she
called over there a little while ago? She continued, "I was at Buffy's."

"Oh." He paused, not knowing if he should confront her or not. He decided
to let it pass for the moment. "Anyway, I just needed to talk to you about
something. Think I could come over for a little while?"

"You can't tell me on the phone?"

"Well, I'd like to see you too," he smiled. "Busy?"

She hesitated. "Actually, Xander, yeah. Sort of. Can't we just do this at
the reunion tomorrow night? I've got a pretty packed day tomorrow. Sorry."

Xander was baffled. "Uh, okay. I'll pick you up at seven, all right?"

"I've got to change that too," Willow rushed to inform him. "I've got some
business tomorrow that will keep me *really* occupied, so could I just meet
you there? It's sort of important business, stuff I need to take care of."

"Willow..."

"Okay. Love you," she said brightly. "Talk to you later. Bye!"

Xander heard a click, and the phone went silent. A moment later, there was a
dial tone. He stared at the phone in his hand as though it had insulted him,
as if it were Harmony or someone equally annoying. Finally he sighed again,
and nodded.

He was never going to understand women.
* * * * * * * * *

Xander had been at the reunion for a half an hour, with still no sight of
Willow. He made his way through the crowd, to Buffy, and then tugged on the
waist of her skirt. She looked up at him with a smile. "Hi!"

"Have you seen Willow?" he asked hurriedly.

Her mouth curved into a small frown. She looked around quickly, and then
shook her head. "Nope. But I know she's coming. Weren't you picking her
up?" Buffy paused, then started laughing. "You forgot to pick her up?"

"No, she told me that she was going to meet me here," Xander explained. "But
I'm sort of concerned. Cordelia told me that she was acting really strangely
on the phone last night, and then when I called, she was sort of distant,
like she couldn't wait to get off the phone. Do you think she's okay? Have
you talked to her today?"

Buffy nodded. "Yep, for just a minute. She called me around ten this
morning, sounding sort of tired. ...Do you think something's wrong? I mean,
Sunnydale wrong?"

"Yeah." He bit his lip, fear settling like lead into his heart. A fear that
he had only known a few times in his life; a fear for Willow. "No. I'm not
sure. I think I'm going to leave here, go to her place. If you see her,
will you tell her where I am?"

Buffy looked at him with wide eyes. "Of course. Are you sure you don't want
me to go instead, and you could...?" she started to offer, then trailed off
with a smile. "Never mind, Xander. She's here."

Xander's head snapped around. "She is?"

"Yep. Just saw her go into the ladies room. She must have been standing in
that line forever, which is why we didn't see her," Buffy pointed out
logically.

A wave of relief hit Xander, and he hugged Buffy impulsively. "Thanks. I'll
be at our table, waiting for her."

"Wait," Buffy called, catching him by the arm. "They're about to do the
announcements." He stared at her for a moment until she explained, "You
know, those weird announcements that they do at reunions? Like, 'most
successful,' or 'cutest couple?' Sort of like the predictions in the
yearbook, except in reverse. Things that actually happened."

Xander shook off his blank stare and smiled, nodding. He waited by her as
Jonathan Levenson, former almost invisible nerd and now pretty well known
comedian stepped up to the microphone. He smiled at the audience.

"Hey everyone. I don't know why they chose me to come up here," he grinned,"
As I'm not that good at speaking in public." A ripple of laughter wove
through the crowd. "Anyway, I'm here to present the reunion awards for the
class of '99." Again, he smiled. "We made quite an impression, didn't we?"

Again, everyone laughed, recalling their private high school experiences, or
perhaps graduation, when everyone came together to act as one body.

Jonathan continued, pulling Buffy onto the stage twice for the awards, 'Girl
the guys would have loved to date, except that they were all a little scared
that she would kick their asses' (an award created specifically for her), and
'Most trusted.' Giles got called for 'Most liked teacher,' and was touched,
though he really hadn't taught any of them a thing, except for the Slayer and
her Slayerettes. He wondered if that detachment was the precise reason why
the former students had picked him.

Cordelia was named as 'Most feared,' and as she went up to accept it in her
sparkling purple dress Xander stifled a laugh, hearing Buffy mutter, "*I*
wanted that award!"

He turned to her. "You got two already!"

"Yeah," she smiled, "But that was the one I wanted."

Willow passed fleetingly through Xander's mind, but an instant later, he
forgot, when he heard his own name being called. He turned to Buffy in
confusion. "What was the category?"

"The then hottest couple in high school," she informed him, giving him a
little shove.

Xander stumbled up to the stage, still confused, but smiling. He met
Jonathan and Cordelia up there, and Cordelia gave him a kiss on the cheek,
and then a warm hug. She looked smug. "Don't let it go to your head," he
whispered in her ear. "You were only half of that couple."

Cordelia laughed and let go of him, pulling away to smile at the crowd.
Xander did the same, but his smile fell a moment later when he saw a flash of
red in the audience-- unmistakably Willow's hair. His heart dipped when he
saw the disappointment on her face. He tried to follow her with his eyes, but
she disappeared rather quickly from his view. He felt his heart slow, and
crush, and came to a decision, something that he had been avoiding deciding
for a while, simply because it felt too right. When Xander found her, he
would...

"And now," Jonathan called out as Xander and Cordelia made their way back
down the steps, "The follow up award, 'The *now* hottest couple!' We're
combining this award with another one, because the winners are the same.
'Everyone knew it would happen someday.' " He paused, opening the envelope--
though he obviously already knew the contents of it-- slowly.

"Xander Harris and Willow Rosenburg!"

Xander froze and then grinned widely, turning back around and bounding up the
stage. A moment later, the crowds seemed to part in shock as Willow made her
way toward him. His mouth dropped open.

The velvet dress she wore seemed to fit like a glove. Its waist was tight
and the skirt was short, the neckline low and daring. The fabric draped
gracefully across her breasts, and then for her skirt. Men's eyes followed
her every movement, drinking in everything, from the look of her calves and
thighs to the swell of her breasts under the soft fabric. Willow's hair was
up in a sleek bun, her lips painted dark pink. Her lashes were lowered
tantalizingly. Everyone held their breath.

Willow finally reached the stage and slowly walked up the steps. She looked
at Xander seriously for a moment, slipping her hands into his. Even Jonathan
seemed surprised, not able to come up with anything to say for a moment as
the couple stared at each other.

Willow whispered an explanation to him. "I dressed this way... I thought
that it would keep you as mine. But I can't do that. If you're in love with
Cordelia, I'm not going to force you to stay with me," she told him
tearfully. "And yeah, okay, jealous, but I'm not going to stand in your way.
I want you to be happy, so I guess..."

Xander had the sudden urge to start laughing and never stop. He settled on a
wide smile. "Marry me."

Willow blinked. "Um, what?"

"Marry me. Be Mrs. Xander." He grinned. "Okay, Mrs. Harris is a little
more dignified, I guess. Be her. Be one of them. I don't care, as long as
you marry me to get there."

Worry shined in her eyes. "Is this because of the dress?"

"It's because of you," he breathed. "When are you going to figure out that
I'm going to love you no matter what you wear? Sometimes I'm going to want
to tear your clothes off more than other times, but that has nothing to do
with how much I love you. And I want you to marry me."

"Xander?" she murmured uncertainly, gazing at him through wet lashes.

He just nodded, dipping his head to capture her mouth with his own. The kiss
was soft at first, and Willow melted against him, digging into his tuxedo
shirt with her nails, pliant and warm in his arms. His hands held her face
safely and he slowly intensified the kiss, sinking his tongue into her mouth,
tasting of her. They kissed hungrily, suckling and biting and licking,
holding onto each other tightly, as if both afraid that one of them would
disappear.

The silent crowd finally let out their breaths and started applauding, cheers
going up through the audience. Xander vaguely heard Jonathan say something
about how fitting the awards were, but he paid no notice as Willow was in his
arms, making the whole world fall away.

At length they pulled apart, and Xander grinned at Willow's pretty, blushing
smile. He raised his eyebrows, in question.

"Of course I'll marry you!" she shouted enthusiastically, hugging him
tightly, her smile lighting up the room. "You idiot, how could you even
guess that I'd say no?!"

Xander laughed as more cheers when up, and gave her another, shorter, kiss.
They made their way down the steps, holding each other close, leaning on one
another. He leaned down and tickled her ear with his breathy question.

"So... How jealous were you?"

Willow giggled, then smirked. She winked at him.

"I'll show you when we get home."

The End

The next part in the series....Shimmering White

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