Rated: R
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer belong exclusively to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Warner Brothers. I'm just borrowing.
Part four in the Demon...Angel... Series.
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Willow held Angelus' gaze for what had to be minutes before she managed to pull herself together. She managed to stand up, very slowly, watching him closely as he mirrored her action.
"Open the door, Willow." It was, surprisingly, a request more so than an order. But either way, she wasn't moving any closer to the door, and her head was shaking in denial of his hopeful demand. He laughed, "Okay, we can play it your way, Will. I can make a whole bunch of noise and your Mommy and Daddy can come out here and investigate. I can snap your mother's neck, just like I did Jenny. And I'm sure your father would satisfy this growling stomach of mine..."
Terrified by the threat, Willow stepped carefully to the door, opening it quietly, stepping as far back from it as she could. "All right. The door's open..."
He smiled, "Wanna invite me in?" She shook her head and Angelus only smiled all the more. "Okay then, why don't you come out here?"
"Please..." Willow's voice was reeking with fear, "Just leave me alone."
Angelus' face set solemnly, "I wish I could... But the truth is, I kinda like you, Will." He extended his hand, running it against the invisible standing between him and the girl who mystified him. "If you come out here, Willow, I promise, I won't hurt you."
Doubt filled her face, "That's what you said last night."
He nodded, "And I kept my promise. I didn't hurt you."
"Yes you did." Willow held a shaky hand over her heart, "You hurt me here."
His voice was almost apologetic, "That wasn't the plan, Willow. I don't want to hurt you..."
She cut him off, a sense of venom filling her, "No, you just want to hurt Buffy."
"Yes." He motioned to the moonlit sky, "Why don't we take a walk? No tricks," Angelus shrugged, "No violence. No sex." He sighed, "Although that kinda takes the fun out of it." Willow shook her head again and he raised his face, "Oh Mr. and Mrs. Rosen..."
Without thinking, Willow stepped forward, clamping a hand over his mouth. When she felt his lips curl into a smirk under her hand, she moved to take her hand away, but Angelus already had a firm hold of her wrist. He stepped back, yanking her outside. She was trembling on instant, "Please, please... D-Don't hurt me..."
Angelus leant forward, tenderly pressing his lips to her pale cheek. He took her hand firmly, but gently, and started to lead her away from the house. "You're safe as long as you do what you're told." Afraid, she pulled back against him as he escorted her down the path and out into the quiet Sunnydale street. He pulled her close to him, tilting her face toward his with his free hand, "Don't fight me, Willow." She nodded, and when he began to walk down the street, still holding her hand, she fell, involuntarily, into step beside him.
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"Buffy?" Giles was surprised to see his Slayer in the middle of the night she had so determinedly declared she was going to devote to finding Angelus.
She stepped past him into his apartment, groaning angrily, "I've looked everywhere, Giles. Everywhere! Five dusted vamps and three Willy bashings later, and nobody seems to know where Angel is." Buffy dropped onto Giles' couch, "I never thought I'd say this, but my feet are actually killing me."
Giles closed the door and walked over to sit beside her, "Buffy, maybe it's better you don't find him tonight."
"What are you talking about?" She snapped defensively.
He eyed her seriously, "You're upset, understandably, but in this frame of mind... Angel could very well turn that anger against you. You must admit, tonight, he'd certainly have both an emotional and psychological advantage over you. Better to let your emotions settle, somewhat, and regroup."
Anger filled Buffy as she leaned toward Giles, glaring dangerously, "What? And give him the opportunity to get to Willow again?" She got up, storming around the coffee table to the other side of the room and whirling on her Watcher, "Giles, just the thought, the very thought of what he did to her... It makes me sick..." Tears welled up in her eyes, "I should've killed him when he changed. I could've saved Jenny, and Willow, she would never have had to face this. This is my fault, Giles. I let this happen."
"No..." Giles got up, hurrying to Buffy's side and pulling her into an intense hug, "Buffy, none of this is your fault. Angel killed Jenny. Angel did this to Willow. Don't blame yourself. I know Jenny wouldn't, and I'm sure Willow doesn't."
Buffy sighed, "Giles, I don't want to give him the chance to get to her again."
The Watcher nodded understandingly, "We won't." He moved away from her, rounding the couch to move to the large chest he kept at the foot of his stairs.
"What are you doing?" She asked, confused by his change in demeanor.
He opened the box, delving inside among his collection of most formidable weapons, "You and I are going to go back out there, and we're going to find Angel. Two against one are much better odds."
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Willow nestled her bare feet into the soft sand, casting a long, mournful look out into the ocean as Angelus sat down beside her, stooping to remove his own shoes to drop them beside Willow's, which he had carefully removed for her. He smiled, "The sand's warm..."
"Warm?" Willow turned to gaze at him curiously, "It's kinda cold."
"Too cold?" He asked. She shook her head, looking back out into the sea. He watched her closely, happy that she had relaxed somewhat since they'd left her house. She had, evidently enough, finally figured out that he had no plans to harm her, not tonight at least, resigning herself to his company.
Without looking back over at him, Willow whispered through the warm night air, "Angelus?" She paused for a moment, "Why did you bring me out here tonight?"
He shrugged, "I'm not quite sure." He thought for a moment then went on, "The truth is, I get sick of the company I keep. The vampires in Sunnydale are incredibly dim. And, well, Druscilla's just insane. That can get to you after a while. And Spike..." He spat his name out like it was a dirty word, "Good ol' Sit n Spin is just a bundle of joy at the moment." He continued to think over her question for a moment, realizing she'd used he's actual name. "You called me Angelus."
Murmuring shyly, Willow nodded, "That's your name."
Angelus reached out, gently running a hand through her hair, turning her to face him, "You always call me Angel." He looked into her eyes, "Why not now?"
"You're not Angel." She felt small tears coming to her, but she forced them away, not wanting Angelus to see the pain in her eyes. It was too late, she noted, seeing the expression on his face change accordingly. "Last night, you... You proved that."
"How?" He asked.
Stark honesty filled her voice, "A-Angel... He wouldn't hurt me. Ever." She looked away again, "What you did... If there was any Angel left inside you, you would never have done that."
Impressed by her honesty, Angelus grinned, "You get it." He lay back in the sand beside her. "Buffy doesn't, Giles doesn't." He laughed, "And Xander definitely wouldn't get it." He glided his hand easily across the sand and took Willow's. She jumped, frightened by the unexpected move. "But you, Willow," he continued, choosing to ignore the short display of fear, "You get it. You know he's gone, totally. Buffy, after that *incident* at the school with those damn ghosts... She looked and me, and she thought it was him. No matter how she tries to think of me as someone else, she still thinks there's some part of him in here." He ran his thumb teasingly along the back of Willow's hand. "Why, I bet my bottom dollar that when you told her about what happened between us last night, she even got jealous." Surprised by the hint of truth in his prediction, Willow whirled to look at him. He smiled again, "I thought so."
Willow's brow pressed together suspiciously, "How did you know... That I... I told?"
"That's my little secret." He tightened his hold on Willow's hand and pulled her on top of him. She tensed immediately. "But I bet she's just mostly just really, really pissed off." Nervously, Willow nodded. Wrapping his hands in her hair, Angelus gently moved her face closer to his. She shuddered and he smirked happily. "Did you tell her the whole truth, Willow? Or did you just tell her I raped you?"
Heart pounding, Willow answered between deep breaths, "You did. T-tricking someone... That's..." She broke off, not wanting to contemplate the night before any more than she already had, "I told Buffy the truth."
Curiosity layered his voice, "So she knows. Her cute little best friend had a thing for her boy, Angel. I'm *sure* she was impressed..."
"How did you..." She paused, cursing her curiosity. She wanted minimal conversation, but a need to know, a desire for closure, kept her talking. "T-that I had feelings..."
The vampire watched her intently, "You mean for Angel?" She nodded, "When you were laying there in front of me, I could see. In your heart, it's all for Angel." He smiled, "It's so strange. I always thought it was Xander that was your secret crush. Maybe he used to be, but that changed, didn't it? When you met Angel?" Somewhat reluctantly, she nodded again. "What about Oz? How do you feel about him?"
He brushed a strand of read hair that had fallen in her face away as she flinched at the mention of her boyfriend. She didn't want to talk about Oz or think about him or anything else. She knew when he got back, she'd break his heart with the unhappy news she had to share. A wary glance at Angelus' face caught her, his eyes pressing her on. She mumbled, "I care about Oz."
"But do you love him?" She shook her head. "I thought as much." He clasped a cold hand softly over the back of her neck, pushing her lightly so her face neared his, "Your heart is Angel's. You love him." Willow's face flushed with shame, "I'm almost sorry he's gone. I'd just *love* to see you and Buffy slugging it out for him." Angelus pressed his lips to hers. She did not return the kiss, but she did not try to push him away either.
"Angelus..." She whispered as he broke off the sweet kiss, "You promised."
He nodded, reminding himself how sweet and innocent and pure she was when it came down to the deepest parts of her young heart. "You're right. I did." He sat up, sliding out from under her and standing. He offered her his hand to help her up, but she did not take it, instead climbing to her feet herself. "I'll walk you home." He winked at her, "Although you might be safer walking alone."
When she did not laugh, he sighed, taking her hand and leading her up the beach. For the briefest moment, Willow gazed back down the beach and out into the water, almost hoping the *former* Sunnydale swimming team that Buffy had battled earlier in the week would show up. But she knew her luck wasn't that good.
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Angelus only walked Willow as far as the letter box outside her house, stooping to kiss her on the cheek, chuckling when she slunk away from him as he did so, but still without putting up a fight against his advances. It was as though this was her fate. She seemed to truly believe that her life would end at this hands, maybe not tonight, but eventually. Angelus sighed. This was not the Willow he enjoyed. Her spirit was one he never wanted to break. She was a fighter, full of hope and love and joy. Druscilla had been right, he told himself. If he played too hard, he'd break her, and he didn't want to. Willow would be no fun if he ruined her. No, that honor was for Buffy, and Buffy alone.
Her beautiful face was marred with the question she longed to ask, and when Angelus spotted it, he decided he had nothing to lose by doing her a favor. "I won't come by again for a while. I promise." He grinned wickedly, "If you ever need some back up when you tell Oz what happened, just let me know. I'd be happy to give him details."
Meek voiced, Willow looked away from him, "I think... Er... I have it c-covered."
"Tell Buffy I'll find her before she finds me." Angelus leant forward again, this time kissing her forehead. "Night, Will."
Willow watched him go, her mind buzzing through the various snippets of information she longed to process. She wasn't going to even try to understand Angelus' strange behavior. She didn't want to.
She crept into her bedroom, startled by the voice that greeted her. "Willow?"
"Buffy?" She asked into the darkness, running her hand along her desk as she neared it, looking for her lamp. She found it, switching it on.
"It's almost morning, where have you been?" She climbed off Willow's bed, where she'd been sitting impatiently since stopping by almost an hour ago. Concern weighed down her usually light, sweet voice, "Angel didn't..."
Willow interrupted her, her voice hushed, "He came."
The Slayer let angry panic fill her, "God, Will, why did you go outside?"
"He was gonna call my parents... If they'd gone out..."
Buffy tried to nod, but the gesture was wasted, panic burdening her instead. "What did he do?"
Crossing the room to sit down on her bed, she watched as Buffy followed suit and then spoke quietly, "He... He just took me for a walk... Talked to me... That was it." She took a deep breath, "He said to... To tell you that he would find you before you found him."
Buffy grunted, "We'll see." She looked at Willow seriously, "Tomorrow night, you're staying at my house, end of story." She tried to smile, "Besides, I need some study help... You know, final exams." Willow simply smiled in response. Buffy pat her arm gently, "Have you thought about what you're going to tell Oz?"
"No..."
"Well, you've got time, Will." She hugged her friend warmly, "And I'll be here to support you, all the way, okay?"