That Dress Was Made For You
By Laura
Willow flicked off the TV, bored out of her mind. All that was on was the Dating Game. That show only made her think about Oz-of course, really everything made her think about Oz. She had seen the episode, anyway.
She stood up and walked around the house restlessly, wishing she had something to do. Xander had some kind of hot date with Anya that was supposed to end at her place-Spike was still in Xander’s basement; and Buffy had had to patrol that night. Willow might, out of desperation, even gone to Giles’ flat, but she knew that it was Olivia’s last night in town and two wouldn’t want to be interrupted.
Suddenly, Willow was struck with an idea. Why not turn to the God and Goddess for help? She could whip up a spell…Willow thought of the last time she had tried to fix her broken heart and shuddered. Buffy and Spike together…she hadn’t admitted it then, even to herself, but Willow had been desperately jealous of Buffy when she heard about it-in way too much detail-from Xander. But she knew she could write a spell that hopefully wouldn’t come out quite as insanely as the last one. It could just be a healing spell, to help her move on…yes, she was sure she could do it!
Happy at the thought of a communion with the God and Goddess, Willow began thinking immediately. Nothing too complicated…she hopped off her bed and surveyed the contents of the trunk that held her witchy stuff. She hesitated over a green candle for healing, but decided on yellow-green had monetary connotations that wouldn’t help her. She found a nice rose quartz-a very healing, gentle stone. Finally, one a whim, she picked up the long-stemmed red rose that she had bought in an attempt to make herself feel better. It was beginning to fade slightly now, but still looked pretty, and Willow thought that using it in a spell would be a nice way to finish it off.
Besides, rose had healing properties as well as ones related to love, so she deemed it quite appropriate for this spell.
She sat on the floor and arranged her things. She closed the curtains against the glare of the streetlights outside, then lit the candle and turned off all the lights. Willow cast a circle, keeping her supplies in the center of it, then called the quarters and invoked Spirit. She sat down in front of the candle and meditated for several minutes, trying to achieve a connection with the Universe. Finally she opened her eyes and stared into the candle. She picked up the rose and begun plucking off the petals one by one, while chanting - Goddess, heal my heart -over and over. She let the petals fall around the base of the candle and around the rose quartz. Finally, the stem was bare. She laid in down and picked up the crystal, staring into the candle as she sat quietly.
After a moment of concentration, Willow began to feel peaceful, even drowsy in a pleasant way. It seemed as though a wave of pure love had washed over her. It cleansed her soul and filled her up, but still more came, going into the crystal and imbuing it with loving, healing energy. Taking her eyes off the candle flame for a moment, Willow glanced down at the crystal in her hands. She could sense the energy in it, and thought she even saw a soft glow of light coming from it-or was that just a reflection of the candle flame? She couldn’t be sure.
A moment later, Willow gave a deep, almost involuntary sigh and came out of the trance-like state she had been in. She put the crystal down, then got up, feeling rested and rejuvenated-and also happier. She thanked the God and Goddess for being present at her ritual, released the quarters, and opened the circle. She turned on a light before snuffing the candle, not wanting to be in the pure darkness.
Willow felt light and happy. Suddenly she wanted to go out, do something! She glanced at the clock-it was only eight. She had plenty of time. With a new burst of self-confidence, Willow decided to go to the Bronze. Normally she didn’t go if none of her friends would be there, but she was sure she’d find someone to hang out with. Besides, she’d heard that a really good band was playing that night.
Willow practically skipped up to her room. She threw open her closet and began rummaging through. Although she had many nice clothes, none of them really felt right for tonight. Finally, pushed almost to the way back, Willow came upon a dress she had never worn.
She and Buffy had been out shopping and had discovered a quaint little thrift shop with lots of fun clothes. Buffy had practically bought out the store, but Willow had only found a cute hat that she liked. They had paid and were just about to leave when Buffy gasped and tugged at Willow’s sleeve.
“Check out this gorgeous dress!” she had exclaimed. Willow turned and looked. It certainly was beautiful-a light, almost ethereal thing made of pale green silk.
“It’s wonderful!” Willow had exclaimed rapturously. Buffy turned to her.
“Will, this would look amazing on you,” she said.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t,” Willow said, unable to drag her eyes from the dress. “It’s not me at all.”
“Are you kidding? You were born to wear that dress.” Willow shook her head. “Look, at least try it on. What’s the harm in that?” Buffy grabbed the dress and shoved it into Willow’s hands, then began herding her towards the dressing room.
The dress was a perfect fit. Willow looked in awe at the fairy-like wraith staring back at her from the mirror.
“Let me see!” Buffy yelled through the door. Willow stepped out of the dressing room.
“Oh…my…GOD!” Buffy exclaimed. “You are buying this dress. Uh uh uh-” putting her hand up to stop the beginnings of a protest coming from Willow’s mouth. “I don’t care. That dress was made for you.”
“It’s probably really expensive,” Willow said. Buffy showed her the price tag-only nineteen dollars.
“C’mon, you’ve barely bought a thing all day,” Buffy said. “I know you can afford it.”
“It’s secondhand. There are probably a ton of tears and stains and stuff,” Willow protested, without having the faintest idea why she was doing so.
“Let’s check it out,” Buffy said, and promptly conducted an extensive inspection of the dress. There wasn’t a mark on it.
“But…but…I’m not used to showing so much,” Willow said. Admittedly, the dress was quite low-cut.
“I don’t care,” Buffy said. “You’re buying it.”
She bought it. Willow loved that dress, and tried it on again the moment she got home, but could never get up the courage to wear it in public. Buffy had bugged her to at first, but had eventually forgotten about it and stopped bringing the subject up.
Now, Willow finally felt ready to wear the dress. She slipped into it, and was pleased to see that it fit her just as well as it had a year ago when she bought it. And, she looked just as beautiful. Willow considered putting on a necklace, but decided to keep her throat bare. For a final touch, she reached for her favorite bottle of strawberry perfume and dabbed a little on her pulse points and at the base of her throat. Feeling daring, the redheaded witch even put of a drop between her breasts.
Willow looked in the mirror and smiled, pleased with the effect of the dress and feeling very beautiful indeed. That spell must have really worked well, she thought. It really seemed quite powerful. Tonight’s not the full moon, maybe it’s the dark or something. Willow glanced at the kitty calendar hanging next to her mirror - what was the date? - and felt her stomach drop.
She couldn’t believe she had forgotten what today meant. Was Oz thinking of her today, too? He certainly would be if he remembered the date.
If Oz hadn’t left Sunnydale, today would have been their two-year anniversary.
Willow could feel hot tears begin to well up in her eyes. She couldn’t stay alone with the pain, she just couldn’t. Where could she go? Buffy was patrolling, Giles was with Olivia-
Xander. She could go to Xander. He wasn’t as good as Buffy, but he would be nice to her.
Doing her best to not sob and to see through her tear-laden eyes, Willow left her house and began running down the street to Xander’s. She knew it wasn’t a good idea to travel Sunnydale alone at night, but she didn’t care. Willow felt she would almost welcome death. Then, perhaps, the pain would go away…
A moment later, she arrived at Xander’s house. She went around back to the entrance to the basement. She pounded on the door and waited, not bothering to force down her sobs anymore. The door opened, and without looking she fell into the arms of the person in the doorway.
“Oh Goddess,” she said hysterically, through the tears.
“What’s wrong?” asked a voice that sounded familiar, and yet somehow not. A second later Willow realized why the voice didn’t sound right.
She wasn’t used to hearing Spike sound concerned.
Spike flicked off the TV, bored out of his mind. Bloody Dating Game reruns, he thought. Even Passions hadn’t been very good that day.
He walked restlessly around the basement once, wishing he had somewhere to go. No use going out, what was he supposed to do, drink? Spike gave a harsh internal laugh. Yeah, that would happen real soon. Buggering commandoes.
Suddenly hungry, Spike opened the mini-fridge in the basement and pulled out a packet of blood. He vamped and ripped it open with his fangs, then drank deeply, not bothering to put it into a cup. He plopped back down on the couch and finished the blood, not really enjoying it. He had tasted fresh human blood for too long. Now he was spoiled for anything less.
Spike walked across the basement and grabbed his duster. Searching in a pocket, he found one of his old railroad spikes. He sat back on the couch and looked at it contemplatively, remembering better days. For a while he was lost in a reverie, then snapped himself out of it as he thought of Angel. Bloody hell, he realized. I was brooding.
Spike flipped the TV back on and sat watching some stupid show apathetically. For once, he actually wished Droopy Boy were home. Trading insults was more fun than anything he was currently doing. Spike frowned as a different program came on. The hell was this? Something about a teenage witch? Wow, the WB really sucked nowadays.
With the thought of a witch, Spike’s thoughts turned to Willow. Wonder how Red’s doing since that Oz had left town. Yeah, I’d give her some comfort, he thought with a lewd smile. Somewhere, deeper in himself, Spike felt that he’d always had a bit of a fancy for Willow. And not just in a sexual way. But Spike firmly crushed the notion. He was a vampire, even if he was temporarily out of order. She was vermin. And he was no Angel-traitor.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Spike jumped a little, startled out of his thoughts. He got up and began walking to the door, thinking as he went, I hope it’s not that damn Slayer. He opened the door and was surprised to see Willow-looking beautiful in a pale green dress, if not exactly happy. She was sobbing. The look on her face struck the same chord that had sounded in Spike a moment ago when thinking about the witch. She fell into his arms, saying something a bit hysterically.
“What’s wrong?” Spike asked.
Willow looked up in shock, then quickly pulled out of Spike’s arms. He let her go almost-reluctantly? “I’m-I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I just…I…um, is Xander home?”
“No, he’s out with his demon,” Spike said, determined to be casual.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“Oh, uh, nothing,” Willow said quickly. “I’m fine, just fine.” Spike regarded her unbelievingly.
“Yeah, and I’ve turned vegetarian,” he said. “Look, I can’t make you talk to me. I can’t make you stay. But if you want to stay and watch the telly or something, I’m bored as hell and would take any company I could get right about now.” With that, Spike walked back to the couch and threw himself on it, pointedly staring at the TV and not at Willow.
The witch hesitated. She should go, she really should. Maybe Buffy would be back from patrolling soon, she could wait…Willow thought about being all alone in the dorm with nothing but thoughts of Oz to keep her company. With a sigh, Willow sat down next to Spike. Quick as a wink, he muted the TV and turned to her.
“Right then,” he said. “Now, make yourself comfy, and we’ll just have a nice little chat.”
“You actually want to talk?” Willow asked, unbelieving. Spike pointed at the TV. On the screen, Sabrina was in the kitchen, which was full of some kind of white stuff. The incredibly fake-looking cat said something.
“You’d rather watch that crap?” Spike asked. “So, what’s wrong with you? I could use a nice sob story. Maybe it would make my life seem better.”
“Well,” Willow said, blinking back the tears that pricked at her eyes. She couldn’t believe she was about to relate the emotional, personal events of the evening to Spike, of all people-um, all demons. “I did this spell-”
“Stop right there,” Spike said. “What did you do? Could it possibly, in any way involve me? Because I really don’t fancy wakin’ up to find myself kissing that damn Slayer again.”
“No, no,” Willow said with a smile. “It’s nothing like that. It was just a simple healing spell to make me feel better. And I did, afterwards - I was even going to go to the Bronze.”
“Yeah, you look all dolled up,” Spike observed. “Do you realize that dress was made for you?” That was an understatement. The girl looked amazing.
“So I’ve heard,” Willow replied, complimented in spite of herself.
“Anyway, I was all ready to go when I glanced at the calendar.” Despite her best efforts, a tear slid down Willow’s cheek. “If Oz was still in Sunnydale, today would have been our two-year anniversary.” Another tear followed the first.
Spike pressed his lips together, trying to deny the impulse to brush away her tears. “Well,” he said. “I never knew the guy much, but if he’s dumb enough to leave a beautiful girl like you, you deserve someone better.” Like me, he thought before he could stop himself.
Like him? Willow thought wonderingly. She never would have guessed…but the way he was looking at her just then… “But…he had a real reason…he has to deal with the wolf inside…” Willow tried to explain Oz’s actions. Spike shook his head.
“I don’t care,” he said. “He’s a moron. He should have thought about you, not about himself.” Another tear escaped Willow’s eye. This time Spike reached out and brushed it away before he could deny the impulse. Willow felt some-sensation-blossom throughout her at his touch. They stared into each other’s eyes.
Spike leaned forward. Willow leaned toward him. Their lips met. He tasted the salt from her tears and licked at it. She opened her mouth to let him in and he probed her gently with his tongue.
They remained that way for - how long? An eternity. Or so it seemed. Gradually they drifted closer and he held her in his arms, both content to stay there kissing forever.
Suddenly the door to the basement opened and Xander walked in.
“To all undead residents of this basement-” he began, and then stopped, staring openmouthed in shock. Willow had pulled back immediately, but Spike held on to her, and he grinned at Xander.
“Moron boy!” he said. “I was wondering when you’d get back. Red here’s having a hard night. Or…” he looked mischievously at Willow. “Maybe not so hard anymore.” Willow smiled back before she could stop herself, then suddenly remembered that Xander was watching.
“How-he-you-” he said helplessly. He thought for a moment, then pointed an accusing finger at Willow. “You did another spell, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” Xander looked around nervously. “There are going to be demons coming in here any minute, aren’t there?”
“Calm down,” Willow said, smiling. “Yes, I did a spell-”
“I knew it!” Xander exclaimed.
“-but, it wasn’t big like the last one. Just a healing spell. Then I realized-” Willow swallowed. She didn’t really want to get into that again. “I got upset. So I came here, cause I had forgotten you were out with Anya, and Spike was here, so we sat down to watch some TV, and then we just…” She gestured helplessly.
“Then we just decided to rebound with the evil undead?” Xander demanded, feeling like he had already said something like that, but brushing off the feeling.
“Well…” Willow looked at Spike.
“Yeah,” Spike said. “She did. And personally, I got no problem with it.” He grinned at her seductively. Willow laughed, then reluctantly stood up. Spike reached for her. “Come on now, pet,” he said. “Don’t go…” She smiled.
“No, I should,” she said. “We shouldn’t make Xander uncomfortable.”
“I’ll come to your place,” Spike said.
“Oh no you won’t!” Xander interjected. “If you make out anywhere-” He grimaced and shook himself. “If you make out anywhere, it’s going to be here, where I can keep an eye on the two of you.” Spike looked at him contemptuously.
“No, Buffy will be back from patrolling soon, and I think it’s best if we keep this from her for now,” Willow said. “You know, so she doesn’t stake you where you stand.” Spike nodded.
“Good plan, love,” he said. “Staking-not good.” Willow turned to Xander.
“That means you,” she said sternly. “You tell anyone, you’re dead.”
Xander frowned, but nodded.
“I should go now,” Willow said in the same firm tone she had used with Xander.
“Just one thing,” Spike said. He pulled her into his arms, dipped her, and kissed her hard.
“Oh, come on,” Xander said loudly. “Make me sick why don’tcha.” Spike let Willow up.
“Wow,” she said. “Um…wow.” They stood grinning at each other for a moment. Xander looked back and forth at them staring at each other. Back and forth. Back and forth. Finally he grabbed Willow’s arm.
“OK, enough vampire for you for one night,” he said, herding her out the door.
“Bye, Spike,” Willow called.
“Goodbye, love,” Spike called back. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, then puffed thoughtfully. “But not for long,” he said softly to himself.