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The alley behind the magic shop was dark. Not as, you might suspect, because it was the dead of night but because it was raining. The sky was completely overcast no ray of sunshine anywhere. It was a miserable damp that also carried an uncharacteristic chill in the air. Just precisely the kind of whether that had driven Giles out of England the first time and now he finds it here. It was still good to be back. He felt more at home here than he had felt anywhere else. More at home than he had felt in a very long time. Refusing to hunch over against the weather he strode quickly from his car to the door, key in hand. Unlocking the door, he entered the shop and traded the cold and wet for cobwebs and musk.
Being greeted by the empty shelves and the spiders didn’t bother Giles, mainly due to the fact that in his mind’s eye he saw them all. The ghosts of his beloved past weren’t cold or dead but warm, lively, loving. They filled gray dark rooms with color, light, laughter. His heart swelled and his eyes watered as he stood in the center of the main floor turning slowly from one cherished memory to another. He did not notice, right away, that he wasn’t alone.
A slight cough brought him back to the moment and he looked into eyes that were familiar but unknown to him. Waiting quietly almost benignly, deceptively at ease Giles did not utter a sound.
Feeling an unease steal into his bones, the man spoke, “Mr. ... Giles? Um..I was told that ... I could call you...What should I call you?”
“Well, said Giles, that depends on who you are.”
“ I...You know ... Don’t you?...I mean I am sorry of course. My name is Zavier. Zavier Andrew Rosenberg. Everyone calls me Zavier. How may I address you, sir?”
Giles looked at the boy, seeing now that he was little more than a boy. His eyes didn’t glow but there was a certain light coming from them and his shoulder length hair was straight and unmistakably red. He carried an intensity that was belied by his gentle spirit. Wondering at himself for such a sentimental view and chalking it up to his overall sense of nostalgia, Giles was a bit startled when he heard Xander say, “Just call him Giles, Zavier.
Xander embraced his old friend and fought back the tears that threatened. “How are you?” In a voice weakened by emotion, “Anya will be here soon. Willow and Tara are getting her from the airport. She spent the last week in San Francisco with our youngest. The girl is convinced that she doesn’t need to attend class to graduate from college. Zavier, get a chair for our friend.” The two men still held one another as their eyes met and the life they shared passed between them. They didn’t notice Zavier’s discomfort at the mention Xander’s youngest child and the visit from her mother. One more embrace before sitting in the chairs brought by the younger man. Giles sighed gesturing toward Zavier he asked, “ Is this ....?”
Xander cut Giles’ question short with a reply, “Yes, yes this is Tara and Willow’s boy. He looks like them doesn’t he?”
Giles looked at the red hair and quiet intense eyes noticing only now the square jaw and the full mouth. He smiled and nodded his agreement.
Just then the cobwebs moved in response to the cold wet wind from outside. They heard the voices of women. Giles wasn’t sure but he thought he saw a faint glow emerge from the boy. The women were laughing and talking excitedly as they entered the room.
“Giles!!! Oh my God, Giles!!!” Willow squealed running to her former school librarian. A moment later Giles was surrounded by them each greeting and hugging all crying. Zavier stood still watching, pleased and puzzled.
When Anya left the group hug, she went to Xander. “So, did you miss me?” He looked into her eyes not planning to answer when heard himself say, “I didn’t remember how pretty you are.” Just as surprised to find himself kissing her, Xander remembered that they were not alone. They laughed and Xander started asking questions, “Is my daughter going to go school? Did she tell you who this boyfriend is? Do we get to meet him?”
Anya answered, “ No. She will not listen to me. I even threatened to have her god mother put a spell on her, turn her into a tree frog, again. She was unmoved. You will have to go and see her. You have always been the only one to really affect her. Maybe we should send her to college in New York with her brother.”
Xander made a face.
“ I know they fight all the time but at least we would have an effective spy. Someone to turn her in when she starts to mess up.”
Xander moved Anya’s hair off her face he smiled at her, “ I love you. You know I can’t go now.”
He kissed her forehead, her temple and her mouth again. His eyes closing as he felt her hands in his hair and the pressure of her lips as she returned his kiss. As they parted, each became aware of the people in the room with them. Without letting go of Anya, Xander turned to face Willow.
Willow and Tara were holding hands. She smiled at Xander, “Giles and I will do some more research tomorrow. We have until tomorrow night.”
Xander and Anya moved, still arm in arm, toward the back door.
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She watched as he hummed a tuneless song moving from counter to refrigerator and back to the counter. Spinning, he danced over to the stove lifting the hot bacon strips from the skillet and placing them on a rack to drain. The movements causing the muscles in his arms and shoulders to bulge and ripple. Years of working as a master carpenter had sculpted his body as cleverly as he had sculpted the banisters on the staircases in their home. The shoulder length hair held back from his face with a leather tie was as dark as ever although the temples were gray. She had to admit the long hair looked good on him, She liked the neatly clipped beard and mustache that had been artificially grayed at Tara’s suggestion. Anya herself had added the earring, a diamond. He looked almost like an advisor to a Czar she once knew. Sighing as he broke eggs and diced onions, Anya had to admit the new look had been a factor in his meeting with the restoration firm that hired him to do the finishing work on the Delancy Mansion. He did not look like a man that worked with his hands he looked like a pirate or a corporate raider and they treated him a bit more gingerly. It added a couple of zeros to the job. Just as he was about to move the scrambled eggs to a warm plate, he felt the towel he was wearing around his otherwise naked body ripped away.
“Hey!!! What the.... give that back or no breakfast for you young lady!!!”
Anya laughed, “You would let me starve. It _is_ your fault I am so hungry the least you can do is feed me. Besides, if I give you the towel what will I wear?”
Putting the skillet down and moving the bacon and the eggs to a serving dish, Xander walked naked to the breakfast nook ignoring the bay windows and the bright sunshine they poured over the table set for two. On the other side of the island he had built in the center of the kitchen, Anya watched him still smiling.
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