PART ONE

Xander stood at the back of one of Sunnydale's forty-three churches. Near the front he could see Buffy, wearing a hat - a novel sight. Sitting next to her were Cordelia, who had returned from LA for the occasion, and Anna, who had been eagerly awaiting this day for the past three months. And, right at the front, looking almost as detached as ever, was Oz. Xander felt an intense feeling of hate swell up in him as he watched the man who had stolen everything that was important to him. He ignored the fact that he had lost Willow entirely through his own doing, callously destroying the relationship that she and Oz had forged. But he hadn't been able to destroy their feelings for each other, and when they had rediscovered each other's love, nothing had been able to keep them apart, certainly not Alexander Harris. As the music swelled, a bustle in the congregation made him turn towards the church entrance. Standing there, in the early evening sun, was Willow. Xander sighed unconsciously as he looked at her. She was radiant; so happy that it seemed to glow out of her, her light warming all those near her. She stood for a moment, her hand on Giles' arm, then they proceeded down the aisle, accompanied by the church organ. As the vicar started the ceremony, Xander watched in despair as he saw his childhood friend, his one true love, disappear from his life for the last time.

***************

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the face of God..." Willow felt as if she was floating in champagne. As the music died away and the service began, it suddenly hit her that this was really happening, that she was really marrying Oz. Despite the long years of separation, they were finally going to spend the rest of their lives together. She felt so happy she thought she might burst, and she was afraid that her smile of pure joy was going to stretch right off her face.

***************

Oz felt like laughing. He had dreamt of this day for so long, it seemed unreal now that it was actually happening. He felt a sudden urge to pinch himself, to make sure that the whole thing wasn't just the figment of his desperate imagination. But it was real. He looked down to his left, at where Willow was standing beside him. When he had seen her at that concert, he couldn't believe his eyes. Then he had been afraid that it had just been a coincidence, that she hadn't sought him out. When she had smiled, he felt like bursting into song. Not the depressing, slightly suicidal song he had been singing at the time, but a full chorus Disney finale, or something from a Rogers/Hammerstein oeuvre. That feeling hadn't lessened in the past few months, when everything he had ever dreamed of seemed to be coming true. As Oz listened to Willow's responses (Do you, Willow Anne, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband...) the tiny part of his mind not drinking in the sound of her voice, so devoid of the hesitancy apparent in their youth, turned to the man who had brought such misery to them. Xander Harris. His wife-to-be's best friend...ex best friend. Xander had tried his best to keep them apart. Oz could almost understand his actions - the man loved Willow, after all - but he wasn't sure he could ever forgive them. And it was a sure bet that Willow wouldn't - she refused to even mention him. Xander hadn't received an invitation to the wedding, although Oz would bet a large percentage of his net worth that he would be there.

PART TWO

Xander cursed his love for Willow. Because of it he would probably...no, already had lost his best friend. And his actions had severed him from the rest of the group. He was under no illusions on that score - once Buffy, Giles and the others had found out what he'd done, there was no way they were still going to be on speaking terms. As the service continued, Xander was reminded of a dream he'd once had, a few years ago. A dream that had caused him to wake up shivering with dread. He had been lying in the ocean and a big wave swept over him. When it flowed away, Xander felt himself being pulled away from the shore. At the edge of his vision he could see the whole Scooby gang watch with a detached interest as he felt himself being pulled further and further away, until he was all alone. The dream had freaked him when he had it, and Xander noted bitterly that Buffy wasn't the only one who had portentous dreams.

***************

Buffy watched as Willow and Oz got married, with a sentimental squirmy feeling in her stomach. It just felt so right that the two of them were tying the knot: of all the high school couples they had been the most...dedicated, she guessed the word was. When Oz had left with no explanation while Buffy was abroad it had almost destroyed Willow. Buffy had never understood why he had left, and had always suspected there was something more to his departure than a sudden decision that the musician had had enough of Willow. It hadn't made sense. When Willow had told what Xander had done, Buffy had known immediately that it was the last piece in the jigsaw, the bit of explanation that made everything make sense.

The wedding ceremony proceeded apace, both Willow and Oz giving their vows in clear, unswerving voices, promising to love, honour and cherish, to be together till death did them part. The vicar declared them man and wife, and the declaration was followed with the obligatory kiss - a kiss, incidentally, that scorched the knickers off Willow. As they turned to walk down the aisle, Buffy started to cry in earnest. Her best friend and the man she loved were together, and happy, and married. But they would leave Sunnydale. They would want to raise a family, and Buffy knew that there was no way in Hell Oz would let Willow stay. No matter how much Willow might display her "resolve face", Oz had already told Buffy that they weren't going to stay. He hadn't told Willow, he admitted, a trifle ruefully. He wanted to get through the wedding night without his new wife ready to do battle with him. Buffy knew that it was probably the right decision - after all, how many times had she wished that Willow and Xander were somewhere else, anywhere else but Sunnydale? Still, she would be losing her best friend. Well, not precisely losing, but Willow wasn't going to be on hand to talk to, to go shopping with, to just hang out. And she wouldn't be the same Willow any more. She was someone new - almost the same, but not quite. Instead of Willow Rosenberg she had become Mrs Oz Greene - there was now someone else who would always come first in Willow's life.

****************

Bach's Toccata in Fugue blared forth from the organ pipes in Sunnydale Church as Willow and Oz left the building, to start their new lives as man and wife. The sun shone (to Giles' relief - he had feared that the Hellmouth would produce dismal weather for the couple's big day) as they collected outside the church for the obligatory photographs - Oz with his arms around his new bride; the two of them in a more formal pose; Willow with Giles; Willow and Oz with Buffy; Willow and Buffy alone; and then finally shots of the whole gang.

Xander watched as the photographer arranged the various poses. He had stayed in the church, watching from the shadows of the big oak doors. Willow and Oz stood together, flanked by Giles and Buffy on one side, and by Anna and Cordelia on the other. It wasn't as he had imagined Willow's wedding to be. He had always been there. Even during high school when he had lain on his bed listening to country music and being depressed about Willow's relationship with Oz, he had always felt sure that he would be there with her on her big day - if not as the groom, then at least as the best friend. After Oz had left Sunnydale, Xander finally dreamed that Willow's wedding would involve him as groom. But not now. That hope had disappeared as soon as Willow showed him the letters from Oz that she had found at Xander's apartment. Now they had finished the photographs. Willow and Oz got into the big old-fashioned Rolls Royce that had been hired for the occasion; laughing together at some private joke that was for their ears only, and were whisked off to the reception; the others following behind, squashed into Giles' pathetic excuse for a car. And Xander watched from the shadows of the big oak doors.

THE END

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