Soul Mates

A/N: Here are two new parts. Special message to TheShadowCat: There's no smut in either of these parts because I'm working on building their relationship. But, I initially wasn't going to do this, but since you asked and since you've been one of my best feedbackers, I will have more smut in the next part I post. In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys these parts.

****

Surveying the work in front of him, Xander nodded in approval.

"Looks good," he announced. "I think we're back on schedule now. Not bad, considering our material shipment got here a day late. Good job, guys."

From various places around the half-finished interior of the first floor of the building they were working on, the half-dozen men on Xander's carpentry crew exchanged grins and high-fives. Xander let the display go on for a few moments - they had a right to be happy about what they'd accomplished. They'd put in a lot of hard work on this place over the past few days, trying to get caught up after the unexpected delay, and it had paid off.

"Okay, we've got three more interior walls to finish, so let's get back to work," Xander said. "I've got to go talk to Chuck and give him the good news. I'll be back in a few minutes." Smiling, he turned and walked outside as his crew busied themselves behind him.

Xander supposed that he should be happy about getting caught up, but the truth was his good mood had nothing to do with the job and everything to do with his new home life. These past few days living with Willow and Tara.... Well, everything else just sort of paled in comparison.

He'd been really anxious at first - not just about moving in with them, but at the whole idea of having a relationship with them. Truthfully, he was still a little nervous about it. He really, really wanted things to work between them, but....

He just didn't have any kind of blueprint for a successful relationship. His parents... well, they definitely weren't an example for any kind of happy or healthy relationship. And his own track record in that area was pretty terrible, too. Cordelia, caught cheating on her and she fell on a chunk of rebar; Faith, turned evil and tried to strangle him; and Anya, tearful breakup as she declared that they were just too different. So all in all, he supposed he had good reason to be concerned about this.

But to his surprise, he'd found that he was starting to relax a little. Even though it had only been a few days since they'd gotten together, he was already noticing that he wasn't nearly as worried anymore about saying the wrong thing around Willow or Tara, or screwing up somehow, as he was right after he'd moved in. He was already really beginning to feel comfortable with the new arrangement.

And a lot of that was because of Tara and Willow themselves. They hadn't just opened their living space to him, they'd opened their *home.* Since he'd moved in, he'd never felt like he was intruding on their space or their time together. They'd always made him feel welcome, made him feel like he belonged, no matter what they were doing.

Yet again, he had to marvel at how lucky he was. For most of his life, the idea that a woman as wonderful as either Willow *or* Tara would be interested in him had seemed... well, "far-fetched" was putting it mildly. That wasn't to say that his previous girlfriends had been bad people (well, there was Faith, but she hadn't been bad at the time they'd had sex, and besides, Xander doubted she'd count as a girlfriend anyway). They hadn't. Cordelia and Anya had a lot of good qualities, even if they'd sometimes been hard to get along with. But Willow and Tara... well, they were *really* exceptional.

And now that he was living with them, he was seeing it in new ways every day. And that made him happier than he could say. When he saw the way they looked at each other, and at him, or when they were all snuggled up on the couch, or when they woke up together in the morning, it seemed there was always something new he noticed about Tara or Willow, something that made them seem even more special in his eyes.

And then there was the sex. While it was *far* from the only thing, the sex was one of the biggest things Xander was enjoying about their new relationship. He couldn't help it - Willow and Tara were both extraordinarily beautiful, and sex with them was beyond incredible. The three of them had pretty much been all over each other since he'd moved in, and judging by the way they were acting, Tara and Willow were enjoying the physical side of their relationship just as much as he was.

Although he supposed that he had to be careful. His experience with Anya had told him that sex wasn't something you could base an entire relationship on. Even if they were all enjoying their newfound sex lives, there would have to be more to their relationship if it was going to last. And so far, there was, but it was still a concern.

But all in all, he had to say that things were going very well. Tara and Willow were constantly in his thoughts, and a great deal of the time he had to force himself to concentrate on his job as a result. During the day, he found that he couldn't wait to get home in the evening and see them.

God, he was really falling for them. And it was the most amazing feeling - joyous and terrifying all at once.

There was one other thing he was worrying about, though. They'd gone over to Buffy's house for a visit two days ago, but hadn't told her or anyone else about their new relationship. But soon, they were going to have to, and Xander couldn't help but worry at how she'd react. Giles too, for that matter. He was pretty sure they'd be understanding - after all, they'd accepted Willow and Tara being together easily enough - but he couldn't be completely certain.

Still, even all his worries about screwing things up or the reactions other people would have couldn't dampen his mood very much. And besides, he knew that dwelling on stuff like that was pointless anyway.

Xander ceased his musings as he reached his boss' trailer. He knocked on the door and, hearing an answering shout from inside, opened it and stepped in.

"Hey Chuck," he said in greeting as his employer looked up from his desk. Chuck had been a general contractor for over twenty years now, but didn't show much sign of the stresses involved in the job. He was a little heavyset, maybe, but otherwise appeared in very good health. He didn't even have any gray hairs - Xander could only hope he'd be so lucky when he got to be that age.

Chuck gestured to the chair in front of his desk as Xander closed the door behind him. "What's up?" he asked as Xander sat down.

"Just wanted to let you know we're back on schedule," Xander said. "The last three interior walls should be framed in by tomorrow."

"That's great news," Chuck said, smiling. "If only my other crews were as efficient as yours."

They spent the next few minutes talking over the specifics of what needed to be done after the walls were finished. Chuck didn't mention anything out of the ordinary, so Xander was fairly confident that his crew could handle everything without any further problems.

After Chuck had gone over everything with him, Xander stood up. "Okay, I'd better get back," he said. "Just thought I'd let you know where we're at."

Chuck nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later," his boss said, and Xander turned and left the trailer.

As he headed back to the building, he glanced at his watch. Just a few more hours and he could get out of here, go home, and see....

Xander nearly tripped and fell flat on the ground as the realization of what he'd just thought hit him.

Go *home.*

When had he started thinking of the apartment he shared with Willow and Tara as home? Had it happened just now?

He honestly wasn't sure. But whenever it had happened, it was definitely a big change for him. Thinking about it, Xander realized that he'd never really had a place he'd thought of as home before. His parents' house definitely didn't qualify - he'd hated it there and had spent as much time as possible being somewhere else. And the apartment he'd rented after leaving had been a nice enough place to live, but nothing more than that.

But now, living with Tara and Willow, it was different. It *felt* different. Their apartment wasn't just a place to live; it was more than that. And Xander knew that it had nothing to do with the place itself - it was completely because of Willow and Tara. When he was with them, he felt like he *belonged.*

That thought stayed with him for the rest of the afternoon, and once more he found it very hard to concentrate on his work, but really... it was very much worth it.

****

Willow was sitting on the couch with Tara, reading over her psychology notes, when she heard the sound of a key in the lock on their front door. She and Tara looked up as the door opened, and when she saw Xander step inside, Willow set her notes on the table in front of her and quickly stood up. She hurried over to the door, smiling happily as Tara followed after her.

"Hey Xander," Willow said cheerfully in greeting as he turned back to her after closing the door. Before he could say anything, she stepped in toward him and kissed him passionately, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her body against his. After a moment's surprise, Xander returned the kiss with equal fervor, and when Willow finally pulled away from him, he was flushed and breathing heavily.

Tara gave her a mischievous glance, grinning as she stepped in toward him. "Hey Xander," she echoed, walking forward and kissing him a little more softly than Willow had, but with no less passion. They embraced, Tara digging her fingers into Xander's back as he stroked her hair with one hand. Willow smiled happily as she looked on. It still came as a little bit of a surprise, just how good it felt to see them like this.

After a long moment, they broke their kiss and Tara stepped back. Xander took a second to catch his breath, then smiled at them. "Hey," he said. "Just for the record, I love being greeted like that, but... to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Xander kicked off his shoes, and Willow stepped forward and took his left arm, Tara mirroring her and taking his right. "We're just glad to see you," she said as they led him to the couch, guiding him to sit down between them.

"That's right," Tara agreed as they settled themselves. Still holding on to Xander's arm, she reached out with her other hand, her fingers entwining with Willow's, and they rested their clasped hands in Xander's lap.

"So how was work?" Willow asked, tugging slightly at Xander's arm.

"Actually it was a very good day today," Xander replied. "My crew got all caught up after that shipping delay I told you about. We're working on the interior walls for the first floor now, and..." he paused briefly, glancing between them, "and I'll spare you all the boring details of what we're doing," he finished, chuckling softly.

"Oh, come on Xander," Tara protested, smiling. "You're not boring."

"But my job is," Xander said. "Well, it's engaging enough when I'm doing it. But talking about it? Not so much." He grinned. "Don't get me wrong, I like my job. But even I can get a little bored sometimes hearing myself talk about it."

"So how about you guys?" he continued. "How were your days?"

Willow recalled what Professor Henrickson had told her earlier and felt a sudden rush of excitement at the thought of sharing it with Xander. She gripped his arm a bit more tightly and shifted a little on the couch. This didn't go unnoticed by Xander, and before she could speak, he turned and met her eyes, his grin not fading one bit.

"Well, looks like someone has something to tell me," he said, chuckling. "Wait - let me guess. Something good happened today." He thought for a moment. "Now, there's only a couple of things you usually get this excited about, and if this had something to do with magic, Tara would probably be just as enthusiastic about it as you are." Xander glanced at Tara, who gave him a small smile, but otherwise managed to keep a pretty good poker face.

"So, I'm guessing..." Xander finished with exaggerated slowness as he turned back toward Willow, "it's good news of an academic nature. Am I right?"

Willow had to smile at that. Xander knew her so well. There was no one else, except for Tara, who would have been able to guess what she was so happy about from so few clues. Yet again she found herself both delighted and thankful that she had two people in her life who understood her the way Xander and Tara did.

She gave Tara's hand a loving squeeze as she answered Xander. "You're right," she said happily. "I was talking to one of my professors today, and he said it was a pleasure to have me in his class. And this is someone who *never* gives out those kinds of compliments!"

"Well, you deserved it, sweetie," Tara said affectionately.

"That's right," Xander agreed. "Come on, Will, I've never known anyone who's a better student than you. It's no surprise that your teachers would sit up and take notice."

Willow beamed at the praise. As nice as it was to get complimented by her teachers, to hear it from the people she cared about most.... It was the most amazing feeling. The love she felt in her heart at that moment... she never wanted it to end.

She pressed her lips to Xander's, kissing him hotly. She meant it to be quick, but once she started, she let her lips linger on his briefly, trying to share everything she was feeling with him. After a moment, she broke away and leaned across him, kissing Tara with no small amount of passion as well.

"Wow," Tara said after Willow finally pulled back. "You'd better be careful, sweetie," she continued with a grin. "I have to start dinner in a little bit, and if you keep that up, we might get seriously distracted."

Willow pouted in (mostly) mock disappointment, but she couldn't keep it up for long. It was only a few seconds before she was smiling brightly again. "Okay, okay," she said. "Just snuggling is fine for now."

"Oh! That reminds me," Xander said suddenly. Willow scooted back a bit on the couch as he extracted himself from her and Tara's embrace and stood up. They watched him curiously as he walked around behind the couch and over to the windows.

"What's up?" Willow asked, standing up and walking over to him. Xander seemed to be studying the layout of their furniture, and he was silent for a moment as Tara, too, left the couch and moved to join them.

"Well..." Xander replied at length, "I was thinking maybe we could rearrange the furniture. I mean, if you guys think it's a good idea," he added quickly, nodding toward Willow and Tara.

"See, right now, the couch is facing into the room and the TV is set up on the interior wall," he continued, gesturing back toward the middle of the living room. "But I was thinking, since you've... we've..." Willow smiled happily at his mid-sentence correction, "got windows that face south and west, we could put the TV in the corner here," Xander said, pointing to the area where the two outer walls of their apartment met, "and then we'd have the furniture laid out so we could sit and watch the sunset together."

Tara looked over the living room for a moment, considering what Xander had said. "So all we'd really have to do is turn the couch around and maybe move it a little bit," she mused, turning back to look at her and Xander.

"Well, actually," Xander said, looking at each of them in turn, "I was thinking we might want to get a new couch. Maybe one of those right-angle types with a curve where the two sides meet, you know? It'd make it easier for us all to sit together."

Despite how much she liked the idea, Willow couldn't resist teasing Xander a little. "You mean, it'd make snuggling easier for us," she said, smirking at him.

To Willow's surprise, Xander actually fidgeted a little uncomfortably at that. Still, he recovered quickly enough. "Well, yeah," he said. "I.... I like snuggling with you." He chuckled and ducked his head a little. "And god, could I possibly sound any less manly, saying that?"

Willow saw Tara's face light up at Xander's admission, and she knew that her own expression matched Tara's. Xander was talking about one of their favorite things, and to find out that he enjoyed it too.... Especially when, as his last comment indicated, it was something a lot of guys didn't like.... It was certainly a nice surprise.

They stepped forward together and embraced Xander, pulling him into a tight three-way hug. "Believe me, Xander," Willow said, giving him a quick but intense kiss, "your manliness is not in question here."

"Not even a little bit," Tara agreed, kissing his neck softly as she ran one hand down his chest.

"I think we can have dinner a little late today," Willow whispered, reaching for the bottom of Xander's shirt.

"Woah! Hold on," Xander said suddenly, backing out of their embrace. "Wait."

Willow stared at him in confusion. Tara glanced at her, unsure, then back at him.

"Xander? Is something wrong?" Willow asked, concerned.

Xander shook his head quickly. "No, nothing's wrong. It's just... well, why don't we sit down?" he asked, gesturing toward the middle of the room. Puzzled, Willow followed as he led her and Tara back to the couch where they sat down once more. Willow took the middle this time, and Xander turned as he seated himself. He took her hand, reaching across her to clasp Tara's as well, and fixed them with a serious look as he spoke.

"Okay. Like I said, there's nothing wrong, so please don't worry. It's just...." He trailed off, pausing momentarily, clearly anxious about what he was going to say. "I don't want this to just be about sex, with us."

Willow opened her mouth to speak, but Xander continued in a rush, cutting her off. "I mean, don't get me wrong! I *love* the sex. Sex with you two is absolutely one of my favorite things in the world. This isn't because I have *any* complaints in that area."

"Then... what is it?" Willow asked, genuinely curious.

"Well.... I was thinking today," he said. "When I was with Anya, we were having sex all the time. And it wasn't until after we broke up that I realized we'd been doing it because there just wasn't much of anything else in our relationship."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't think that about us," he continued hurriedly. "But just the same, I really don't want to screw this up. It's too important to me. *You're* too important to me. I...." Xander looked down slightly, his eyes betraying his nervousness, and took a deep breath before continuing. "I love you. Both of you."

"I know this probably seems sudden, but it's not, really," Xander said as Willow processed what she'd just heard, her heart racing. "I mean, I think I've been falling for you for a while now, I just didn't realize it...."

Xander was abruptly cut off as Willow and Tara recovered from their surprise simultaneously and tackled him to the couch. He tried to speak, but between the tightness of their embrace and the long, passionate kisses they took turns giving him, it was several minutes before he could manage to say anything.

"Woah... I...." That was all he could manage before Willow put a finger to his lips, quieting him.

"Xander.... You love me?" she asked, smiling, her face just inches from his. Tara had ended up pressed against both of them as they lay together on the couch, and she looked on as they waited for his answer.

"Yes," he replied. His earlier nervousness was gone, and he spoke quietly, but with conviction. "I've loved you the whole time I've known you, but now... it's different. Stronger than ever, which I didn't think was possible." He chuckled. "But it is."

"And you love me?" Tara asked, that beautiful smile that Willow loved so much lighting up her face as she spoke.

Xander nodded. "Yes. I know I haven't known you that long, but.... Yes. It's different from what I feel for Willow, but it's just as strong."

Willow found that she was just as elated to hear that Xander loved Tara as she was to hear that he loved her. The sense that the two most important people in her life *fit,* not just with her, but with each other too.... It was the most incredible, wonderful feeling she'd ever known.

Tara stared into Xander's eyes for a long moment before replying. "I love you too," she said, holding his gaze for a few seconds before turning to Willow, her blue eyes twinkling as they caught the light of the sun coming in through the windows. "And you," she added. "I mean, you know that, but...."

"But you just had to say it again." Willow knew exactly how she felt. "Me too. Both of you. With the love. And Xander, what you were saying before.... The truth is, I'm happy doing *anything* as long as it's with you," she finished, looking at Tara and Xander in turn.

"Me too," Tara agreed.

"I'm glad," Xander said, and Willow knew he spoke for all of them. Their position on the couch was a little cramped, but none of them wanted to move, so they just laid together for a moment, each of them thinking over this new development and what it meant for them.

Finally, Tara stirred. "I'd better get dinner started," she said, rolling over and pushing herself off the couch. Willow and Xander disentangled themselves, sitting up as Tara turned back to look at them.

"But afterward... if we're going to be looking for something to do, how about we go up to the roof?" Tara said. "It looks like it'll be clear tonight, so we can look at the stars.... And we can talk."

"Sounds good to me," Xander said. He looked at Willow questioningly.

"Sure," she said. "I think that's a great idea, sweetie." She smiled at Tara, who returned the gesture warmly.

"Great!" she said, and turned and headed for the kitchen. Xander stood up, pulling Willow gently to her feet, and walked after Tara. He sat down at the kitchen table, motioning for Willow to take her usual place next to him so Tara could participate in their conversation and they could help her if she needed anything.

And Willow felt as though she was walking on air as she followed after him.

TBC...