“Sounds nice,” said Kara, her voice neutral. “I hope you have a really good time.” As they bought their tickets, Alex was glad she was keeping her thoughts to herself – and even gladder that the issue was settled. Because to be alone with Willow, really alone with her, for an entire night...god, right now there was nothing on the planet that he wanted more.

When they got home, Willow and Seb were both in the kitchen; Willow was peering into the fridge. “Hi,” she said, straightening up as they came in.

Her green eyes lingered on Alex’s, smiling. He smiled back. Knowing that just a few nights from now they’d be alone together made it easier to see Seb standing there against the counter. Like always, he’d gone quiet, though Alex had heard him and Willow talking as everyone came in.

Alex had the impression there was something she wanted to tell him; then she glanced at the others and seemed to decide to wait. “I was just thinking about fixing dinner,” she went on. “How does chilli sound?”

“Thanks, but I’ve already got some chicken marinating,” said Liz, coming into the kitchen. Her tone was so polite it was practically an insult.

Alex saw Willow give a small sigh as she closed the fridge door. “Well, just let me know if you want any help.”

The others passed through without saying much, heading to their dorms or the TV room. As she disappeared, Kara gave Alex a tell me what he says as soon as you talk to him look, and he nodded. Meanwhile, Liz had taken Willow’s place at the fridge and was pulling out a covered dish. With a flash of irritation at Liz, Alex went to Willow and kissed her, though they didn’t usually in front of the others.

He saw her look of pleased surprise as they pulled apart, and resisted the urge to kiss her again. “Hey, can you do something for me?” he said, caressing her arms. “The Shadow’s been acting kind of funny – would you take a look?”

Liz glanced up, startled. “What – you fix motorcycles?” she blurted out.

“Yes, when I’m not fixing dinner,” said Willow mildly. Liz coloured and looked away. Still propped silently against the counter, the corner of Seb’s mouth twitched, and Alex knew that none of this had passed him by either.

“‘Funny’, how?” Willow asked. She was wearing jeans and her green camisole; the pendant he’d given her caught the light with a tiny sparkle.

Alex described how draggy the Shadow had been behaving the last time he’d driven it to the Torre Mayor. He’d forgotten to mention it afterwards, and now he was glad – the look on Liz’s face had been pure gold.

“The air cleaner might be blocked,” said Willow thoughtfully. “Or it could just be the spark plugs. But I don’t have a toolkit, remember?”