Soul Mates

See the author's note at the end of this part.

****

Tara looked up as the sounds from the kitchen ceased, and she smiled as Xander and Willow walked into the living room a moment later. They'd offered to clean up after dinner, and when Tara had tried to help, Willow had shooed her into the living room and told her to sit down and relax. Xander had said that cleaning up was the least they could do after she'd done all the cooking, and Tara supposed he was right, but even so, she still thought it was a nice gesture.

They approached the couch together and sat down on either side of her. "Thanks for dinner, honey," Willow said, taking her hand and smiling at her. "It was delicious."

"Yeah, it was," Xander agreed, resting a hand on her shoulder and rubbing it softly. "That was really good stir-fry. I even liked all the vegetables. Who knew that food that's good for you could also be so tasty?" he finished, grinning.

Willow giggled. "Xander's a big red meat fan," she explained. "He really likes steak, to give just one example."

"Well, we can have steak every once in a while," Tara said. "It's just, you know, I try to cook things that are good *and* healthy. But I hope you don't think I'm trying to make you...."

"No! No, not at all," Xander said emphatically, cutting her off with a shake of his head. "Tara, I've loved everything you've made for us. I don't think you've made a bad meal yet, and remember, I've been having most of my dinners here for the past couple of months." He chuckled, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "I'll eat almost anything if you can make it taste as good as you always do."

"That goes for me too, sweetie," Willow said. "I mean, part of me feels kinda guilty that you're always the one who cooks, but on the other hand.... My tummy really doesn't want you to stop."

Tara laughed. "Well, don't worry. I like cooking for you guys. It makes me happy when you like what I make."

She turned and glanced out the window, noting that it was almost completely dark out now - there was just a little bit of twilight left. "So let's go up to the roof," she said. "The stars should be out before too much longer."

Willow and Xander nodded, and the three of them stood up off the couch together. They went into the bedroom and put on sweaters, and Tara retrieved a sleeping bag and a couple of large pillows from the hall closet, stepping aside as Willow reached past her for a blanket. Xander stepped into their second bedroom and opened the trunk they kept just inside the door, taking out a couple of stakes and tucking them into his socks. He then fished out a few crosses and two more stakes before closing the trunk and rejoining them.

"I doubt we'll really have to worry about vampires on the roof," he said, handing her and Willow each a cross and a stake, "but better safe than sorry."

Tara nodded. As quiet as it'd been lately, this was still Sunnydale, and you couldn't be too careful. Although she wasn't quite sure what she'd do with the stake, if it came to that - she was fairly certain that she'd be pretty much useless in physical combat. Still, Tara supposed it couldn't hurt to have it just in case, so she tucked the stake under one of the pillows as they walked over to their front door.

They exited into the hallway of their apartment building, Willow closing and locking the door behind them. Making their way to the stairs, they climbed the last flight up from their floor to a small landing at the top. Xander opened the door there and they walked out on to the roof of their apartment building.

It was still fairly warm outside, though Tara knew that it would cool down very quickly now that the sun had set. Their building's roof was flat and completely featureless except for a central air conditioning unit and the door they'd just come out of, but the view all around her was a much more interesting sight.

Sunnydale was a fairly small town, at least by coastal California standards, but the array of lights stretched out before her was still rather impressive. She stepped over to the east side of the building and looked out over the edge. She could see the UC Sunnydale campus from here, the large building that housed the library being particularly standout, and her gaze traveled over the grounds, looking over all the familiar buildings and the paths and spaces between them.

Tara smiled as Xander stepped up and embraced her from behind. She leaned back against him slightly as Willow walked up to stand beside her.

"Right here's probably a pretty good place, isn't it?" Willow said. Tara glanced around her and nodded - this spot would do fine.

Xander released her and took the pillows from her arms, and Tara opened the sleeping bag completely, spreading it out on the roof like a blanket. After Xander set the pillows down, she laid down in the middle of it, and Willow and Xander quickly settled in beside her. Willow unfolded the blanket she was carrying and, handing one end to Xander, covered them all with it.

Tara sighed in contentment as her girlfriend and her boyfriend - and *boyfriend* still made her insides flutter just a little at the newness of it - snuggled against her. She reached for their hands underneath the blanket, finding and clasping them, Willow's small and delicate, Xander's large and strong. She ran her fingers over theirs as they lay together in comfortable silence for a moment, looking up at the night sky and the stars above.

"I always liked to look at the stars," Willow said at length. "When I was little. A lot of people say the stars make them feel all insignificant, but... not me. They always made me feel like I was... part of something. Something great. I loved it."

"I remember," Xander said, and there was a fond smile on his face as he looked over at Willow. "You used to get so excited when I'd sleep over and we'd go out and look at the night sky. You'd tell me what all the constellations were called, but I could never remember most of the names," he finished with a chuckle.

"I could remember them," Tara said, "but they never made sense to me. So I... sort of made up my own."

"Tell us." Willow's reply was soft, but earnest, and Tara flashed her a quick smile before turning her attention back to the sky.

She released their hands and lifted her arms from under the blanket. Xander and Willow followed with their eyes as she raised one hand and pointed to a cluster of stars. "See that one? 'Moose getting a sponge bath.'"

Willow and Xander both laughed, but without a hint of mockery. There was nothing but genuine happiness in the sound, and Tara closed her eyes briefly and let it wash over her, delighted at their reaction.

In anyone else's company, she would have been afraid to admit to one of her quirks like that. But she'd known that Willow and Xander wouldn't laugh at her, or make fun of her over it. She loved them, and she trusted them, and she knew that they'd never put her down or make her feel like less than she was. It was so completely different from the way that her father, her brother, and the rest of her family had treated her, and it was the most incredible, wonderful feeling. Like finally waking up after a long nightmare that seemed like it would never end and finding a world full of light and happiness and love.

"Tara, that's great," Xander said, still chuckling. "I love it. Tell us some more."

"Well, there," she said, pointing at a different constellation. "That's 'The pile of marbles.' And there? 'Little boy playing pick-up sticks.'"

"Is he winning?" Willow asked, her eyes shining with mirth.

"Well, that's hard to say," Tara replied, grinning. "It's not like there's a scorekeeper up there too. Although those stars there..." she pointed toward the horizon and a few distant, dim specks of light, "kinda come close."

"Hmm... I don't know about *that,*" Xander said with exaggerated skepticism. "I was on board with the moose getting the sponge bath, but this?"

Tara and Willow giggled. "Now you do it," Tara said. "Both of you. Come on."

"Okay..." Willow said slowly. She studied the various constellations above them for a moment. "There," she said, pointing toward the north. "That one. 'Tiger taking a math test.'"

Tara laughed. "And how do you know it's *math* test?"

"Well, best guess," Willow replied. "He's hunched over and he's really thinking."

"That one," Xander said, pointing at a different constellation. "'Penguin playing a guitar.'"

"'Bowl full of strawberries.'"

"'Teenage guy on a skateboard.'"

"Hey, that could be you," Willow said, turning to look at Xander. Tara glanced at her, puzzled, and she explained. "He used to skateboard a little, back in high school."

"Not much, though, and not for a long time now. I sold my skateboard at the beginning of our junior year. Figured I had enough excitement in my life," Xander said. "How about you?" he continued, grinning at Tara. "You ever do any skateboarding?"

"Oh God, I'd probably end up flat on my face," Tara replied. "I'm not very, um, athletic."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Willow said, a touch of mischief in her voice. "Some of the things you do when we're in bed...."

Tara's appropriately scandalized reply was forestalled when Willow leaned in and kissed her. Tara moaned softly into her girlfriend's mouth as their tongues met, the contact intense, almost electric. As soon as Willow moved back, Xander took her place, giving her another long, passionate kiss.

By the time they were finished with her, Tara had forgotten what she was going to say, so she just sighed happily and looked back up at the sky. They laid together in silence for a moment before Xander shifted next to her, turning onto his side and propping himself up on one arm, his gaze taking both her and Willow in.

"You don't want to look at the stars anymore?" Willow asked, glancing over at him.

Xander smiled. "Don't get me wrong, the stars are nice and all, but the view this way is much nicer."

Tara smiled back at him, blushing a little at the compliment. Beside her, Willow giggled, rolling on to her side and facing her as well.

"So Willow told me about her day," Xander said, looking down and meeting Tara's eyes, "but what about you? How was school?"

"I had a good day, actually," Tara said. "Classes were interesting, and lots of people smiled at me today, for some reason."

"For some reason," Xander deadpanned. He and Willow were both looking at her with laughter in their eyes, but Tara couldn't understand why.

"What?" she asked. "What is it?"

"Why do *you* think all these people were smiling at you, honey?" Willow said in reply.

"Well, I was in a good mood, and I just figured it must have showed," Tara answered. What were they trying to get at?

"Uh-huh. And you don't think it has anything to do with the fact that you're *gorgeous*?" Xander said, the amused smile on his face mirrored on Willow's.

"What? No, I... I mean, I'm not..." Tara stammered, but Willow cut her off.

"Yes you are," she said gently, her amused expression giving way to sincerity.

"That's right," Xander added, nodding, now completely serious himself. "Face it, Tara - you're really hot," he finished, smiling warmly at her.

"Very, very hot," Willow added with a grin. "So much with the hotness."

At their words, Tara felt herself blushing again. The truth was, she'd never thought of herself as beautiful. There had always been some part of her that simply refused to ever believe it. And even now, even with two people who she loved and trusted telling her that she was, it was still hard for her to think of herself that way.

That didn't mean that she didn't love hearing it from Willow and Xander, though.

"Well, as long as you like the way I look, that's good enough for me," Tara said, still a little embarrassed, but also flush with happiness from the compliment they'd just given her. "That's all I need."

"Oh! And also, at school today," she continued, "in my Eastern History class, I learned something interesting."

Willow chuckled. "Okay, you can tell him about this if you want to, but don't say I didn't warn you," she said, smirking down at her.

"Tell me what? And why was there a warning?" Xander looked back and forth between them, confused.

"Well, today we were learning about feudal Japan," Tara explained. "And by the standards of that time period? Our relationship isn't that unusual. Back then, samurai would often have more than one wife."

"Hey, so this makes me a samurai? Cool!" Xander exclaimed, and Tara had to laugh at the exaggerated glee in his voice, and after a moment, Willow joined her.

"I didn't say *that*," Tara protested, still giggling, but Xander paid her no heed. He sat up, pulling himself into a cross-legged position, and stared down at her and Willow, flashing that goofy smile that Tara was really coming to love.

"Samurai Xander. I like the sound of that, don't you?" he said. "Hey, does this mean I get one of those cool katanas? I always wanted one of those."

"Xander, there was more to being a samurai than just fighting," Willow said, but her attempt at admonishment was ruined by the obvious amusement in her voice. "They had to live by a very strict code of honor."

"Hey, I could do that," Xander said with a grin and an easy shrug. "I'm a very honorable guy."

"Yeah, but Xander, one of the things the samurai code called for was frugality," said Tara. "You know, simple living. Just the bare essentials."

"Aw, that's too bad," Xander said. "I was just about to suggest that we get cable, but I guess that's out now." He paused for a moment, thinking. "But we can still get over-the-air channels, right? That's frugal, by today's standards."

Tara chuckled. "I don't think so," she declared with a shake of her head. "I think, if you want to live the life of a samurai, it means no TV at all."

"No TV? Man, those samurai had it rough," Xander joked, bringing another round of laughter from Tara and Willow. "Hmm. Maybe it's not the life for me after all."

Willow sat up and rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Xander," she said fondly. "We love you anyway."

"That's right," Tara agreed, sitting up as well. She took his hand, ducking her head a little, but still meeting his eyes as she continued. "Xander.... Today when we were walking home from school, we were talking about you.... And Willow called you *our* boyfriend."

Next to her, Willow nodded, smiling warmly even as Xander blinked, taking in what she'd just said. Several seconds passed in silence as he looked back and forth between them, uncertainty evident in his expression. Tara stroked his palm with her thumb in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture, and Willow rubbed his shoulder softly, finally bringing a smile to his face.

"Wow," he said. "This is just.... It's hard to believe that a week ago, we were just friends. I mean, close friends, really good friends, but.... And now I'm...." He trailed off, shaking his head slowly.

"So I guess this makes you... my girls?" he asked hopefully, looking up at them again with a nervous smile.

"We want to be," Willow said softly, and Tara nodded, letting him know that she was speaking for both of them. "I mean, Tara's my girl too, and I'm hers, so, you know, lots of girliness all around, but... yeah."

Xander's expression suddenly turned serious again. "You guys show know that I don't have the best track record where relationships are concerned," he said. "But I promise you that I'll do my best here. I do *not* want to screw this up, so I'll do absolutely everything I can to make this work."

The sincerity in his voice made Tara smile, and she and Willow leaned in and hugged him tightly. Xander wrapped his arms around them and they held the embrace for a long moment. Tara closed her eyes and savored the feeling of Willow and Xander against her, the warmth of their bodies keeping away the chill of the night air.

Finally, they separated just enough to lay down again under the blanket, snuggling against each other. They laid together for the next couple of hours, watching the stars a bit, but mostly watching each other as they talked and laughed quietly. And when they finally went inside and went to bed, Tara's last thought before she drifted off to sleep was that even though it had only been a week, this thing, this relationship - being with Willow and Xander - already felt more *right* than anything else in her life ever had.

THE END

Author's Note: Okay, at this point I'm going to open the floor to suggestions from you readers. If there's anything you'd like to see in future installments of this series, whether it's of a sexual or non-sexual nature, email me with your suggestions. I can't promise to include anything, but I will at least listen to what you have to say. Thanks!