A/N: Takes place during Alien Force. I actually have another Gwen X Charmcaster fic idea, but it'll take a bit longer to work out or it might never be written. Who can say? not I.

Gwen checked her watch and sighed. It was already past 7 PM, and her secret admirer still hadn't shown up. Looking out at the vast shimmering lake before her, she watched a pair of geese thrust their heads underwater in search of food. Most of the park was now deserted, as people were beginning to head home. The sun was even starting to set.

'Maybe I should just leave too...' Gwen thought, and as she grabbed her book bag, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

Shrieking, Gwen jumped back and spun around, fearing it was a mugger or a rapist. Instead, it was someone she had never, ever expected to see again...

"Charmcaster."

The white-haired, tanned-skinned woman smiled and replied, "Hello, Gwen. Long time no see, huh? You've really grown into a beautiful woman, I must say. Really beautiful..."

"W...What are you doing here?" Gwen demanded to know. She raised her hands in a fighting position, and was ready to even use her magic spells in public if the need arisen.

"Hold on!" Charmcaster exclaimed, "I'm not here to fight."

"Huh?"

"I just want...to talk."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. C'mon...can't we?"

Gwen shook her head before saying, "...No, I'm sorry, but I can't. Maybe afterwards. You see, I'm waiting for someone, and-" She took out the note she had received in her locker earlier that day as proof.

Charmcaster looked at the note and smirked. "I see you followed through with my letter. Good girl."

Gwen's eyes widened, her cheeks turning bright red. "You...you sent this to me? It was you? Seriously?"

"Of course!" Charmcaster replied, "You see, Gwen, I've been thinking about you lately...alot." She gently touched Gwen's chin with her nimble fingers, and chuckled slightly as the orange-haired girl's blush grew even stronger.

"I'm not really sure how to respond to something like this..." Gwen stammered, wanting to get away as soon as possible.

"Gwen, it was ages ago, I know, but still...I always felt we had a certain special connection with each other when we were kids. Back in the old days, as the senior citizens downtown would say...I loved you then, too."

Suddenly furious, Gwen slapped Charmcaster's hand away. "YOU LOVED ME THEN?" she snapped, "IF THAT'S TRUE, THEN WHY DID YOU TRY TO KILL ME AND MY COUSIN SEVERAL TIMES OVER?"

Charmcaster grabbed Gwen by the shoulders and said, "My uncle and my own twisted greed is what drove me to attack you. You have to believe me."

"Yeah, I'm sure...especially when you were acting on your own, trying to take over my body, it was a labor of love..." Gwen muttered sarcastically.

"Fine, fine. I kind of lied a bit," Charmcaster admitted, "Yes, I did try to kill you and your cousin once or twice back in the past, but now...it's different. I swear. I've given up being evil and all I want is to be with you. Okay?"

Gwen closed her eyes and broke out of Charmcaster's grip. Turning her back to the white-haired woman, Gwen stared out at the lake again for a moment before speaking solemnly.

"...Why did it have to be me?"

"Well, like I was just saying, we do have some history together...and I think you're really beautiful." Charmcaster explained.

"We're both women, Charmcaster."

"Of I can see that! You have boobs, I have boobs. You don't have a penis, and I don't have a penis. You go through menstrual cycle, I go through menstrual cycle. We're both women. That doesn't mean we can't love each other." Charmcaster exclaimed, waving her hands around for emphasis.

Gwen crossed her arms. "But...that doesn't mean we CAN love each other, either!...Why did you have to come back? Why did it have to be you?"

Charmcaster sighed and pressed her thumb against her forehead, now deep in thought.

"You're really a hard person to convince, Gwendolyn."

"Hmph...same goes for you too, I suppose."

Charmcaster looked up at the sky and watched a pack of ducks fly overhead. "You're not happy to see me at all, then? Actually, no, of course you wouldn't be..."

Gwen didn't say anything.

"Gwen...listen...I just started thinking about you one day, out of the blue, barely even two months ago, and I immediately realized...that I like you. More than 'like you', I love you. I know, I'm practically forcing this onto you all of the sudden, and it's making you feel uncomfortable, especially since I know how much you're crushing on that Kevin 11 guy, but I still wanted to tell you. Is that okay? Can you at least acknowledge my feelings? Know that out here in this big crazy messed-up world of ours, that there's a woman who loves you?"

Gwen was silent for a moment, taking it all in, and then she finally spoke again: "...You think I like Kevin?"

"Well, I've been watching you guys for a while, mainly you, but I notice how friendly you two always were. You even blushed once when your hands touched! Don't deny it! I saw it! I'm not angry about it, though, since it's only natural for women to like men, and I'm unnatural, I guess...since I love you."

Gwen finally turned around and stared at Charmcaster right in the eyes. Sighing, she said, "Charmcaster...Kevin is gay."

"...Didn't see that one coming..." Charmcaster muttered aloud.

"I don't know, he and Ben...it's just really hard to explain. I walked in on them kissing once; Kevin's shirt was half-off and Ben was moaning and sweating and...it's really complicated...I only like him as a friend, nothing more, nothing less...okay?" Gwen explained, rubbing her face with her hands.

"Oh...then I guess I was wrong."

"Yes...yes, you were."

The two women just stood together in silence for three minutes, both of them trying to think of something else to say.

Gwen glanced at her watch. "I...I guess I better get going then. I have homework to do..."

Charmcaster nodded, still a bit off-kilter after being rejected. "Y-Yeah...I guess you should. It was nice seeing you again, Gwendolyn. And...I'm sorry if I upset you with my rants about how much I love you and everything..."

"It's alright...I accept how you feel about me. I do." Gwen said, forcing a smile.

Charmcaster suddenly had an idea. "Can I...at least give you a friendly hug before you go? Just so I can know that you can think of me as a friend now instead of an old foe..."

Gwen nodded to the woman's request and wrapped her arms around her. She pressed her head against Charmcaster's chest and breathed in deeply, allowing the musky scent of the former-sorceress' old coat fill her nostrils. It brought about a dozen diverse emotions flowing into her mind, all of them fighting to gain control. Gwen wasn't sure what she wanted in life, but right then and there, she suddenly had a pretty good idea what.

Charmcaster laid her chin on Gwen's head and watched as the sun began its slow descent into darkness. They stayed like this for quite a while, standing in that one spot together.

"Charmcaster..."

"Hmm?"

"After everything you've said, after thinking about it, I don't want to lie to myself anymore...I want to put the past aside because...because...because I think I love you too..."

Charmcaster just smiled in response and lifted Gwen up while still hugging her before kissing her passionately on the lips. Saliva and sweat was mixed in with their kisses as tongues lashed about inside their mouths.

"My sweet little Gwendolyn..."

"Charmcaster...I love you."