Soul Mates

A/N: No sex in this part, but one bit is pretty risque. Remember, feedback is key. And thanks again to everyone who's already sent it!

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They showered separately, Xander going in last, and after he'd dried himself off and stepped out of the bathroom, he could already smell pancakes cooking. They smelled delicious, and his stomach growled at the scent, reminding him that it was well past his usual breakfast time.

It suddenly occurred to him that he didn't actually have any clothes over here, so there was nothing for him to wear except what he'd worn last night. He stepped into the bedroom and gathered up his boxers, pants, and shirt from where they were scattered about the floor. Dressing quickly, he walked out into the living room.

Willow was seated at the table in their small dining area next to the kitchen. She had on a green and white striped bathrobe and her hair was still damp. She smiled when she saw him and motioned for him to sit next to her.

Xander sat at the side of the table opposite the entrance to the kitchen so he could see into it. Tara stood inside, in a dark blue robe with an apron over it. She was watching several pancakes cooking on the stove, but she looked up and gave him a quick smile when he sat down.

It only took a few more minutes before the pancakes were ready, and Xander quickly discovered that Tara's breakfasts were every bit as good as her lunches and dinners. None of them really wanted to try and tackle anything serious while they were eating, so they chatted about small things. The conversation was light and comfortable, and reminded Xander of the easy, friendly interaction they'd had between them prior to last night, though there was a good deal more under the surface now, obviously.

After they'd finished eating, Xander helped them with the dishes, and everything was squared away in the kitchen in short order. They returned to the table and Xander sat down at one side of it, near the end. Tara sat opposite him and Willow took the chair at the end of the table, between them.

Willow took a deep breath, and Xander could tell that she was gathering her resolve before speaking. He reached out and laced his fingers with hers just as Tara took her other hand. Willow smiled at them both, clearly grateful for the gesture of support, then leaned back a little, pulling away from them.

"Okay. So. We need to talk." Willow's tone was serious, but Xander could see the nervousness in her eyes. He felt it too, honestly, but pushed it aside as he spoke.

"Yeah. So... what happens now?" he asked. He'd certainly never been in a situation like this before and really had no clue as to how to proceed.

"Well..." Willow began, then trailed off. She glanced at Tara, who nodded, then she turned back to Xander. "We were hoping you'd move in with us."

Xander's uncertainty must have showed on his face, because Willow continued in a rush. "We've got a really nice apartment," she said. "And you spend most of your free time over here already. Wouldn't it be nice not to have to go back and forth to your place all the time?"

Tara smiled at him. "And, when you come here after work, you wouldn't be visiting anymore," she said happily. "You'd be coming home."

Willow nodded. "We'd love to have you. But, we don't want to pressure you to make a decision too soon. Oh no, we're pressuring you, aren't we?" she moaned. "Xander, please don't think that...."

"Hey! Don't worry, it's okay," Xander said quickly, cutting Willow off before she could really get going. He smiled reassuringly at her. "Believe me, I don't think you're trying to pressure me."

Willow relaxed a little, but she was clearly still nervous. Tara also seemed a little apprehensive as they sat in silence, waiting for his answer.

And what was his answer going to be? He looked at each of them in turn as he thought about it. It was definitely a big step, but....

At first, the question seemed very sudden. After all, they'd just made love for the first time last night. But as he thought it over, Xander realized that it wasn't, really. Tara and Willow had been a huge part of his life over the past few months. And they'd gotten along so well when they were together, the thought of spending even more time with them appealed to him more than he could say.

"Okay," he said, nodding. "If you want me, I'd love to live here with you."

Xander's spirits soared at the look of pure joy that appeared on Willow's face at his words. Tara's expression was similarly happy, and she looked on, smiling, as Willow threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely.

"Oh, Xander, thank you!" Willow said excitedly. "This is going to be so great!"

Tara nodded. "Yeah. I'm really happy you'll be living with us," she declared, catching Willow's eyes and sharing a smile with her before turning back to Xander.

"Me too," Xander said, chuckling. "I'll give notice at my place on Monday. I actually just paid my rent, so I'll have almost a month before I have to be out. Which is good - it'll give me plenty of time to bring my stuff over here."

"We should go over with you sometime," Tara suggested. "So we can all decide together if there's any furniture we want, or anything."

"That's a good idea," Willow said, and Xander nodded his assent.

"Okay," she continued. "Next thing. I think we should probably set up a few ground rules for our relationship."

"What did you have in mind?" Xander asked, curious.

Willow looked at each of them in turn. "First of all - no sex unless all three of us are together."

At Xander's quizzical expression, she continued. "I think it's a good rule. I mean, what if I had to stay late at the library studying for a test, and I knew you and Tara were back here having sex? Or suppose Tara was sick - I don't think it'd make her feel very good if you and I were having sex in the next room while she was feeling all icky, do you? Stuff like that could really lead to some bad feelings."

When she put it that way, Xander definitely saw her point. Still, now that he thought about it... there was one thing he had to ask about.

"Okay, I understand why it's not a good idea for me to have sex with either of you when the other's not around," he said. "But what about you two? I mean, you've been in a relationship for a while already. You're used to it being just the two of you. Won't you miss that, even if it's just once in a while?"

Tara shook her head. "No, Xander, it's okay," she replied. "Really. If you're worried that we'll resent you, or anything, don't be. You're a part of our relationship now."

"That's right," Willow added. "Plus, if Tara and I can have sex without you, but you can't have sex with one of us without the other.... Well, it kinda says that we're more important than you." Her expression turned earnest and sincere. "And we don't want that. We're all in this together, and none of us should be any more important than anyone else."

Xander couldn't help but smile at that. "Okay," he told them. "I think you're right and this is a good idea."

Tara and Willow beamed at him. "Next," Willow said. "There'll probably be times when one of us wants some space. I mean, it might not happen, but with two other people around? It might get kinda crowd-y sometimes. So we should have somewhere where one of us can go to get away for a while. We can use the second bedroom for that, or the main one if I'm on the computer."

"Makes sense to me," Xander said. "It doesn't mean any of us did anything wrong, it just means we want a little space for a while."

"Right," Tara agreed. "People just feel that way sometimes. There's no blame, or anything."

"Another good idea," said Xander. He grinned at Willow. "You've really given this a lot of thought, haven't you?"

Blushing a little, Willow smiled back at him. "Well, this is really important. I really want this to work."

"So do we, sweetie," Tara said, rubbing her shoulder softly.

"That's right," Xander agreed, leaning back a little in his chair. He'd be the first to admit that he didn't have the best track record for relationships, but this one meant so much to him, there was no way he wasn't going to give it everything he had.

As another thought struck him, he spoke again. "Okay, now I have a question. Last time I checked, you two were still witches, right? Practicing witches?"

Tara and Willow exchanged curious glances, but they nodded in answer to his question, and he continued. "Well, you know that magic isn't exactly something I can do with you, right? Spells and I... well, they don't mix."

"It's okay, Tara and I talked about this," Willow said. "We usually get home in the afternoon, a few hours before you get done with work. We can practice our spells then, and probably get some studying done too. It's usually when we do it anyway, so there's no problem." She smiled at him brightly, folding her hands on the table in front of her.

"Um, speaking of magic...." Tara spoke up, and they both turned toward her. "This morning, I had an idea. Come with me." She stood up and stepped into the living room, and Willow and Xander rose and followed after her.

Tara stopped in front of the shelves on the wall that separated the living room and the kitchen. "The flowers Xander brought last night?" she said, gesturing to the carnations in the vase on the middle shelf. "I thought maybe we could use the preservation spell on them. So we'll always have something to remember the night we got together."

"That's a great idea, honey," Willow said, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"Wait, preservation spell? What's that?" Xander asked.

"It's a pretty simple spell," Tara said. "It only works on plants - small plants, like the flowers you brought us. It, it preserves them. They'll draw energy directly from the earth instead, so unless we cancel the spell, they won't need water anymore and they won't ever die."

"Energy from the earth? Doesn't the earth need that energy?" Xander said, a little concerned.

"No, Xander, it's okay," said Willow. "The amount of energy we're talking about is *really* small. It'd take millions of spells like this one to have even a tiny impact on the earth. Your car has more of an effect on the earth than this spell will."

"Oh, okay." Well, if they wanted to do this, Xander didn't have any problem with it. What they'd told him made sense, and Tara and Willow knew what they were talking about when it came to magic - most of the time, anyway.

He stepped back and watched as Willow and Tara joined hands. They passed their hands over the flowers a few times and spoke a few words that sounded like Latin. Xander saw a faint shimmer in the air, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.

"There we go. All done." Tara picked up the vase, took it into the kitchen, and emptied out the water. She quickly returned and set it back on the shelf, then she and Willow stepped over to stand next to Xander again.

They stood in silence, looking at the flowers together. For his part, Xander was thinking over this new development in his life, wondering what living with Willow and Tara would be like. He was definitely nervous about it, but he was also looking forward to the days ahead and the new discoveries about them that they were sure to bring.

After a moment, Xander spoke again. "Well, I should run back to my apartment sometime today and pick up some clothes, I guess. Plus my toothbrush and a few other things."

Willow and Tara glanced at each other, then shared a conspiratorial grin.

"Well, you don't have to go right now," Willow said innocently, pulling the bottom of his shirt up from where it was tucked into his pants.

"That's right," Tara agreed. "It's not even noon yet. You don't have to go for another few hours at least." Tara started unbuttoning his shirt while Willow worked on his slacks and boxers, and between the two of them they had quickly rid him of all his clothes.

"Well, no, I..." Xander began, but quickly trailed off as Willow opened the tie holding Tara's robe closed. She slipped her hands under it and slid it off of Tara, running her hands over her girlfriend's chest and shoulders as she guided it to the floor.

Tara did the same to Willow, combining the removal of the redhead's robe with a slow, sensual caress. They both looked at Xander, and he shook his head and smiled ruefully at them.

"I do have limits, you know," he protested.

Willow and Tara smiled and stepped in closer. Xander gasped, feeling a surge of arousal, his body responding as they pressed themselves against him.

"We know," Willow whispered, running her tongue lightly over his earlobe. "But won't it be fun finding out where they are?"

Xander had to admit that she was right, so he simply followed as they led him, giggling, back into the bedroom.

END

Next: Willow, Tara, and Xander adjust to their new relationship. Soul
Mates: A Week in the Life, coming soon (hopefully).