**This is so fluffy it will make your teeth rot. Just a warning**

Title: In Your Eyes
Author: Carol (lucrenzia99@m...)
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: W/Shang-Da
Disclaimer: The character Willow belongs to Joss Whedon and
company. (Grr! Argh!) The character Shang Da belongs to Laurell K.
Hamilton and associates. I'm just borrowing them for this little
ficlet.
Author Notes: This is in response to Jinni's "Quickie
Challenge" for pairing #54. Go here to check it out for
yourself.
http://quickie.moonlitpaths.com/
Inspired by the song "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel but I
don't really consider this a song-fic. The point of view will be
switching between Willow and then Shang-Da and then back to Willow
to start the whole process over again. I hope this makes sense.

"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel
love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are

all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes

love, I don't like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
the heat I see in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes
in your eyes in your eyes


Willow breathed the fresh sea air. She was standing at the bay in

San Francisco. She was reveling in her freedom. She had freedom

from her cares and from her worries. Things had gotten rotten in

Sunnydale. She had lost her girlfriend to her magic addiction.

Buffy was so distant. Willow was beginning to wonder if there was

much of a difference between Buffy and the Buffybot. So, she packed

up the car her parents had given her for graduation and she hit the

highway.


Shang-Da stood patiently at the luggage carousel. He was waiting

for the rest of his bags to swing around. He just got off a flight

from St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco, California. He had to

return home to take care of his mother's estate. She had passed

away and as he was her only living relative, it fell upon him to

take care of things. Richard, his Ulfric, had found a temporary

replacement Hati so that Shang-Da could take of his personal

concerns. It would be nice to have a little vacation away from his

pack's matters even if it wasn't under the best of

circumstances.


Willow was casually strolling along the busy open market in

Chinatown when she first laid eyes on him. He stood out from the

crowd. He had a look straight out of GQ. His black hair had been

gelled into spike configurations. He was busily chatting with an

elderly shopkeeper in rapid Cantonese. He had a presence to him.

She could feel the shimmering energy that seems to surround him. He

turned around and gazed directly at her. She felt stripped bare

before that gaze. He was mesmerizing.


Shang-Da decided that it would be nice to visit his old

neighborhood. Nothing much had changed since his last visit to

Chinatown. Old friends waved hello as they hurried along their

ways. He stopped off at his former local market to have a

conversation with the shopkeeper. It was surprising to Shang-Da

that Mr. Quong still was puttering around his store. Old Quong had

been ancient when Shang-Da was a little boy. It was during his

conversation with Old Quong that he felt he was being watched. He

turned around and his vision was arrested by the sight of a lovely

young woman. Her red hair shone vibrantly in the sunlight. He felt

compelled to cross the street and make her acquaintance.


Willow was caught in that gaze. She couldn't move. He was

crossing the street. He was coming near. Willow wondered if now

might be the right time to hyperventilate. Too late, he was

standing just a few feet from her. He was smiling. She couldn't

help but smile back. He finally spoke, "Hello beautiful. Would

you like to go get some coffee?" She was stuck dumb. Her mouth

was no longer communicating with her brain. Finally, thought began

to flow again. "Hello, yes, yes I would like that very

much." He offered him her arm and she gave him a wide brilliant

smile.


Such a vision of loveliness and she stood perfectly still. She had

enchanted him with her pale white skin and her gorgeous green eyes.

He halted a few feet from her. He couldn't help but give her a

smile. She seemed interested in him. His breath caught when she

gave a lovely return smile. He needed to say something to get the

conversation ball rolling. So, he said the first thing that came to

his mind. He complimented her on her looks and invited her to

coffee. He thought for a moment that she would deny him a chance to

get to know her but she finally agreed and together they walked to a

local café.


Willow couldn't help but be swept up into the romantic maelstrom

that she saw every time she looked into Shang-Da's eyes. He

showed her the sights of San Francisco since he was a returning

native. They went to candlelit dinners in fancy restaurants. They

would take nightly strolls walking hand in hand. He would bring her

bouquets of wild flowers. She couldn't help but fall in love but

it wasn't the things they did or anything he did. No, it was his

intensity that she fell in love. It was in those dark pools that

some would call eyes that she sunk into and lost her heart.


Shang-Da couldn't believe his luck. She was absolutely charming.

He loved to hear her voice as she would babble about the things he

would show her throughout his old stomping grounds. He couldn't

help but woo her with fancy dinners that were lit romantically by

candlelight. She didn't mind just taking strolls at night and

going nowhere in particular. He actually started to buy flowers for

her but they didn't compare to her particular brand of beauty.

She had him completely under her spell.


She should have known that all good things come to an end. Her

romantic entanglements always ended badly. She was eternally

doomed. She had kept her magical abilities secret. She didn't

want to scare him away. Not many people are very understanding of

the supernatural. She couldn't help that she was born with this

innate talent. She didn't know how to bring it up in

conversation. "Hey honey, guess what? I'm a witch. So,

where would you like to go for dinner?" She didn't think that

would fly very well. But she was resolved. She couldn't base

their love on omitted truths. That was the same thing as lying. She

had to tell him.


He knew that sooner than later he would have to admit his

lycanthropy. The moon's cycle would continue to progress

regardless of his feelings on the matter. He didn't mind that he

was a werewolf but she might. Many people were biased against

shifters. He didn't want what they had to end but she had to

know the truth. She had to know what she would be getting into if

she continued to date him. He had to tell her and he couldn't

wait any longer.


Willow wouldn't let Shang-Da speak. She had to get her peace

spoken before she lost her nerve. She faced him but kept her eyes

closed so that she wouldn't see his likely unfavorable reaction.

"I have something to say to you and I don't want you to

interrupt. This is hard for me to admit and I'll understand if

you don't want to see me anymore. I have been keeping a secret

from you. I'm a witch. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you

sooner. I just want you to know that I love you and always will.

Even, if you don't want to see me anymore." She finally took

a breath and dared to open her eyes.


At first, he was frustrated. He had been defeated by the look on

her face. She referred to it as her Resolve Face. He was bursting

to tell her what he was before he lost his nerve and she wouldn't

let him speak. He was perplexed at what she would have to say that

was so important. She smelt of fear. Her body language spoke of

anxiety. She wouldn't open her pretty green eyes and look at

him. Then he heard it. She was a witch. She wasn't normal just

like he wasn't. This made him hopeful. "Willow, I have

something to confess also. I'm a lycanthrope. I'm a

werewolf." It was his turn to hold his proverbial breath.


She couldn't believe it. It still wouldn't sink in. She

must be in shock. Everything was going to actually turn out okay.

She had found someone who loved her and didn't care about her

previous mistakes. She was getting a fresh start. She would be

with the man of her dreams. True, he would be furry every month but

that wasn't anything new for her. She loved the man and she

didn't mind his beast. He was something beyond a normal human

male. He was hers.


He couldn't get over it. Here sitting next to him on the plane

was his sweet Willow. True, it had been an eye-opening conversation

regarding her past and his. The past didn't matter. It would

stay buried for them both. He could finally have someone to call

his own. She agreed to move in with him. She would follow him

halfway across the country. She was a wonder. She was his.