Changes (The Tinkerbell Series, Part 4)

AUTHOR: Beth M.

EMAIL: bemu@aol.com

RATING: NC-17, duh… Under 18, TURN BACK NOW… this one is a little… well… extreme. Consider yourself warned.

CONTENT: Willow/Angel

DISTRIBUTION: The New Place, if it ever gets a new archivist, Calliope's Garden, and any of my Willandis list sibs. You don't have to ask, just let me know where.

SUMMARY: Things get complicated. Please, don't hate me until you've read the whole thing. If you haven't read the first three parts of the Tink series, I suggest you read those first. Bump In the Night, Bright Lights City, and Forever, For Now. All can be found at the New Place, Willow's Angel, or Calliope's Garden.

FEEDBACK: Yes, please… I'm a feedback ho and I need my fix!!

DISCLAIMER: Willow and Angel belong to Joss Whedon, my own personal God. I mean them no harm… they're just kinda fun to play with.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm really, really, really sorry that it's taken me so long to get this out. This isn't the original Tink4… I've struggled with it for months and finally ended up chucking the whole thing and starting all over. Thanks for your patience!!

DEDICATION: First and always for Lore, because she is my true muse, and, also, for VT… and she knows why… And for David. Without him, our Angel couldn't exist.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh…"

"Like that, do you?"

"Oh, God, yeah… that's it… right there… oh… Angel… harder…"

"You're making me harder, Tink…"

"Shush! Don't start that. I'm trying to work here, you know? For you? Boss man? Tall, dark, handsome vampire-man that owns the company?"

Angel grabbed the office chair that Willow was sitting in while he massaged her shoulders, spinning it around so that she faced him, "Willow, it's my first night in Chicago with you, and I really don't want to spend it sitting in your office watching your fingers dance across that keyboard instead of dancing across me," he said, kneeling on the floor in front of her, a twinkle in his eye.

"I just have a few things to finish up, and then I'm all yours," she leaned forward planting a kiss on his lips, "Please? Just a little while longer?" she stuck her bottom lip out in what Angel had dubbed her new resolve face, a combination of her old resolve face and a pout.

"That's not playing fair," he mumbled, capturing her bottom lip gently between his teeth, "I can't say no to you when you do that and you know it. Not fair."

Willow briefly deepened the kiss, pressing her tongue quickly into his mouth before pulling away, "I love you," she informed him, spinning back around in her chair to face her monitor, a triumphant grin on her face.

Angel sighed and went to sit on the corner of the conference table sitting in the center of her office. Watching Willow work at her computer, he thought back over the past two years, the glorious two years since Willow came back into his life. Stumbling over that flowerpot had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. Staying away from her for a year had been the stupidest thing he'd ever done. But they were making things right now, or trying to.

Living on opposite sides of the country was hell on earth for both of them. Angel had convinced Willow not to move to Los Angeles until he had a chance to rid the city of a new master vampire that had settled in town, and she reluctantly agreed.

Instead, they had compromised and settled on monthly visits. Angel, as a result of Willow's resolve face, had bought a small plane for the company's use, and either Willow would fly to Los Angeles for a long weekend, or Angel would travel to Chicago, not a small feat for Willow to accomplish considering Angel's fear of being trapped on a airplane during the day.

The trips were too short, breathless, and wonderful. They spent the better part of their days and nights in bed together, quivering masses of sweaty flesh and limbs tangled in passion tempered by the tears that invariably came whenever the time came for one of them to leave. Willow tried to be strong and tried to hold back the tears, but they came nevertheless.

She was still a young woman, only a year out of college. Her twenty-fourth birthday was approaching and every time she looked in the mirror, she saw a woman that was growing older every day, while her boyfriend never aged. Angel wouldn't want her in a few years, she knew. It would become too awkward for both of them, and the one thing that could keep this from happening, changing her, Angel refused to do.

Willow knew it was stupid for her to want to be a vampire, but she loved Angel desperately. Although Angel assured her that they had many years to be happy together, Willow knew better. Her estimation was ten years, at the very most. She couldn't imagine, wouldn't even allow herself to think about, letting Angel watch her grow old and die.

The thought scared the hell out of her. Every once in a while, she would get a glimpse in her mind, a picture of what it would be like for her to be eighty years old with Angel taking care of her, seeing the pity and pain in his eyes while he watched her wither away. She couldn't face that possibility. And she also couldn't face the possibility of their break up a few years down the road.

Would she be the one to do it, or would Angel? No, she knew Angel better than that. His heart was too big, as was his love and devotion to her. He would stay by her side no matter what, trying valiantly to convince her that her aging and her looks didn't matter to him, that he loved her all the same, and still felt as passionately about her.

But that was impossible. How could he ever be attracted to an old woman? He would still love her, but would he still not be able to keep his hands off of her? She knew that passion such as that didn't last anyway. The psychologists that she had studied in college all claimed that it lasted no longer than six months to two years.

Even knowing that, Willow couldn't accept the thought of letting Angel watch her age. And Angel, being the sensible one of the two, refused to even entertain the thought of turning her into the monster that he was. He knew that she'd be different. Willow was a dreamer, a beautiful, tender, thoughtful dreamer. She had no idea how hard it was to do battle with the demon inside you every minute of every day. True, the demon could never fully gain control of him again. Tinkerbell had taken care of that little problem.

But the demon was still there, he hadn't be banished. He hovered beneath the surface, longing for a taste of what Angel had. He humored him sometimes, let him show himself a tiny bit. Now that Angel knew his soul was permanent, he could do things like that, knowing that he would be able to rein the control back into his hands when necessary. Angel had developed a sense of humor, allowing his biting wit, and sometimes sarcasm, to come out more often. This was his demon. Angel's intelligence grew every day that he lived. Over his two hundred and fifty years, he learned volumes, and his demon loved to show off that side of him, to taunt people with it. Xander was a fun target, although now that he accepted Angel as Willow's other half, Angel backed off, both because despite their best efforts, they were becoming friends, and because Xander had grown up to be quite a man, and Angel respected him.

The demon also begged for playing time during sex, which had caused several rather heated battles between himself and Willow after some of their more passionate encounters. Willow felt like he was holding back from her, and Angel was terrified that he would hurt her. Willow understood his fear, but also understood that Angel could never hurt her. She knew that if she ever told Angel to stop anything that he was doing, no matter how much the demon might think he was in control, Angel could immediately stop it. But Angel would never allow it to get to that point, never allow himself even the smallest pleasure that he knew he would get from a tiny taste of her blood, or even from the smallest bit of rough sex that he knew the demon, and, to a certain extent, Willow, wanted.

They had teased each other about it a little as the couple grew more familiar with each other. It started with Willow teasing him about a spanking, and then Angel had allowed things to get too carried away in Las Vegas. His dark, dominant nature had come forth, and Willow had played along with it every step of the way. After he had time to think about it, he was shocked that Willow had been so accepting of what he did to her that night, and had also seemed to love it.

They had never really talked about it, the orders that he had given her, the way she had opened herself up to him, and they had never approached sex that same way again after that.

But, he wanted to, and he knew that she wanted to. The first time Willow traveled to Los Angeles, she bit him during sex. Not a big bite, but small nibbles along his neck. He had been too far-gone to stop her, too close to his orgasm and she pushed him right over the edge. He had chastised her about it afterwards, and she played it off.

Several times since then, she had tried again but he wouldn't allow it, and that's usually when the fighting started. She would give in to him, and they would both reach their climaxes, and then Willow would start in on him, feeling insecure that Angel must be finding that release elsewhere. No matter what he did or said, he couldn't convince her that he didn't need that, that his orgasms were powerful enough without the rough sex. Willow would try to convince him that if he'd change her, he could do whatever he wanted with her, and Angel would argue that he could, and would, never change her, that he loved her exactly how she was, and that he was a completely sexually-satisfied vampire. Willow would pout, Angel would coo and coddle and whisper words of love in her ears, and she'd relent and they'd end up making love again, usually tender and sweet and slow, and all would be forgotten, at least, temporarily.

But it was still something that hung over their heads, another obstacle in their impossible relationship, a relationship that was doomed to end with someone being broken-hearted beyond repair.

End Part 1

"Angel?"

"Hmmm?" he answered, his thoughts being broken by Willow's voice.

"I'm done… we can go now."

Willow walked over to where Angel was perched on the table and he wrapped his arms around her waste, pulling her closer.

"Mmm… don't think I can wait," he grinned at her, "Ever done it on this table?"

Willow opened her mouth to speak, but Angel shushed her, "Nevermind… if you have, I don't want to know about it."

"I haven't," she answered, bringing her hands to rest on his shoulders, "but there's a first time for everything, I suppose…"

Trailing the fingers of her left hand down his chest, her hand came to rest on the bulge in his pants, massaging him. She felt him growing harder beneath her fingers as she fumbled with his belt buckle and zipper before releasing his enormous erection.

Taking him in her hands, she dropped to her knees on the floor in front of him, taking him in her mouth. Over the past several months, her techniques had greatly improved under Angel's tutelage. His hands gripped the edge of the table as Willow sank her mouth around him, sucking hard before moving back to the head of his cock, making sweeping circles with her tongue around the tip, worrying the little slit on the end with damning slowness. Her hands caressed his balls, kneading them between her nimble fingers as she brought him closer to climax with her talented mouth. Angel gripped the back of her head with his hands, readying himself for his release, but Willow pulled back suddenly.

Looking up into his confused eyes, she wrapped her hand around him, pumping him vigorously. Willow could tell how close he was as his eyes suddenly clenched shut and his hips thrust up off the table. She swept her tongue across the tip of his cock one last time before moving her mouth to his inner thigh, her cheek close enough to brush against his shaft.

Not pausing to think, she continued to pump him as she sank her teeth into the tender skin just below the juncture of his thighs, biting him hard.

"WILLOW!" he screamed, tangling his hands in her hair to pull her away as he climaxed uncontrollably. His cold fluid splashed against her cheek as she quickly turned her head to capture him in her mouth again.

His body betrayed him as he tried to get away from her, anger pouring off him in waves, yet unable to stop himself from thrusting down her eager throat as she drained him.

Sitting back on her heels, she looked up to the table at Angel. His head thrown back, he grasped tightly to the edge of the table, white-knuckled. After a couple of moments, he calmed slightly, enough to reach between his own body to feel the area that she had bitten.

Pulling his hand away, he held it up for his inspection, seeing the blood on his fingers. His dark, angry eyes met hers.

"Is this what you want, Willow?" he asked waving his hand in her face, "Is this really the way you want things to be between us?"

"Angel, I…"

"Shut up, Willow. I can give you want you want. You've pressed this issue for months… You want it rough? I hope you're ready for what that means, little girl, because I don't think you've quite considered the ramifications of what's about to happen. But then you've made it quite clear that you don't care, do you?"

Willow had never seen him so angry. His normally soft eyes were harsh and darker than she had ever seen them, almost black. The muscles in his jaws were twitching just beneath the surface, and she knew he was struggling not to slip into his game face.

"Angel…"

"Too late for words, Willow."

He jumped off the table and grabbed her by the back of the head, pulling her to her feet, crushing his lips against hers. She struggled only briefly before returning the kiss with equal passion, both determined to play out this game, both wanting to see how far the other would take it.

He pushed her away, seeing the glazed look on her face, her lips swollen from the intensity of the kiss. He had tasted his own blood in her mouth and the result was his increased anger and arousal. He reached out, grabbing the collar of her shirt in his hands and ripped it open. She shrugged out of it as he grabbed her skirt, ripping that off, too. The force of his efforts caused her to stumble into him and she tried to wrap her arms around him, but he stopped her, roughly pushing her back again.

"No, Willow… this is no time for tenderness. You made that perfectly clear."

Angel couldn't control what was happening. He tried to stop, but the anger consumed him, anger at Willow and anger at himself for the intense arousal that he was experiencing. This was what he had been afraid of, why he wouldn't allow the biting or the rough sex that Willow had been pushing for. He had been holding back with her, but not in the way that she thought. He loved her and their moments of passion were beautiful and exhausting. When he told her that he didn't need bloodshed to reach his climax, he meant it. His love for Willow was all-consuming enough.

But now she had taken it too far, and he couldn't stop. A tiny part of his mind told him not to do this, knowing that it was too dangerous, but the demon squelched that voice and took over the control. Angel felt as if he was helpless to prevent what was happening, and, as angry and frightened as he was, he wondered if he really wanted to stop it. His erection had returned as soon as Willow had finished her task, and it was almost painful. Whatever was happening, whatever was going to happen, he had lost control of the part of himself that made love to Willow.

He urgently removed the rest of her clothing and spun her around to face the table.

"Bend over, Willow," he said, barely containing his voice through clenched teeth.

"Angel…" she whispered, realizing that the game was out of control.

"Bend over, Willow," he repeated, harshly emphasizing each word.

Complying with his demand, she leaned across the table, resting her head on her arms, trembling.

Angel removed his own clothing and moved to stand behind Willow. Raising his hand, he brought it down on her bare cheeks.

She leapt as he made the contact, trying to move from his wrath, but he was faster, holding her securely down on the table with one hand pressed into the small of her back.

Again and again, he rained blows down on her backside, and with each blow, his cock surged. Tears were sliding down her face, yet Angel could sense her arousal. He stopped with the spanking and reached between her legs, quickly plunging three fingers into her weeping sex.

"Is this what you want, Willow? Is it really?" he bent down to whisper in her ear, "Even if it's not, it's a little too late now, isn't it? You wanted to play this game, so let's play."

He removed his fingers from her core and rubbed his wet hand over her reddened cheeks.

"Angel…" she moaned beneath him.

He ignored her as he spread her cheeks open with his other hand and wormed a finger into her tight hole.

"Angel…" she hissed.

"This is what you wanted, Willow, right?" he wiggled the finger inside of her, "You wanted it rough…"

Pulling his finger from her, he quickly forced it back inside, this time adding another finger. He maneuvered his fingers inside of her, stretching her before adding a third finger.

"Does it hurt, Willow?"

She could do nothing but moan.

"Because, Willow, you did this."

He removed his hand and positioned himself behind her, grabbing his hard cock between his hands, pumping himself several times. Placing the head at the entrance of her tiny puckered opening, he plunged inside, ripping a scream from Willow.

She pounded her fists on the table angrily as he pulled almost all the way out of her body before forcing himself to thrust back inside. He grabbed her hips tightly and began an angry, hard rhythm. He pounded her small body so hard against the table that the sensible part of him almost took the control back, afraid that he was going to crush her hips between his body and the table. Willow gripped the opposite edge of the table, crying out each time Angel thrust into her.

It felt nothing like it had in Las Vegas. Angel had been domineering then, but he had also been tender and loving. There was no tenderness in what he was doing to her now, and, although she was terrified of him, she couldn't stop the wetness she felt seeping down her legs.

Angel gripped her shoulders and began pulling her back against him with each of his thrusts. He knew that she'd have his handprints bruised into her shoulders for days to come, but he didn't care. He dragged his fingers down her back, leaving long, red welts in their wake, and Willow clenched her muscles tight around his cock. He reached below her body and angrily pinched her clitoris as he screamed and emptied himself inside her. Her body spasmed as she joined him, coming in waves as she nearly blacked out from the intensity of their situation.

Angel quickly pulled out of her and began dressing.

"Angel?" she whimpered.

He met her green eyes, and slowly shook his head, "I don't want this."

"Angel, please… let's talk about…" she pleaded.

"No, Willow. I made my position on this perfectly clear, but you wouldn't respect my wishes," he walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Home. I can't be around you."

End Part 2

Several months later in Los Angeles…

He stood in the shadows watching Angel fight another vampire, admiring his fighting techniques as Angel quickly dusted the young, inexperienced monster.

Angel brushed the dust from his clothes, "You can come out, Whistler. I know you're there."

"How?" Whistler asked, stepping out from the darkness.

"I can smell you," Angel snarled with a dangerous smirk, "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk, Angel."

"What's up?" Angel asked as the two started to walk out of the dark alley.

"She's in trouble."

"Who?" Angel asked.

"Your redhead. The little witch."

"What? What do you mean she's in trouble?" Angel spun, grabbing Whistler and pinning him against the wall.

Angel hadn't talked to Willow since he left Chicago that night. Everything had gone horribly wrong. He should have been in better control, should have been able to prevent what happened from happening, but he didn't… couldn't. The trip was to have been so special. Angel had finally defeated the master, and he was gone. He was going to ask Willow to move to LA with him. The timing had finally been right for them to be together, but it had been ruined. Whether it was his fault or Willow's fault, it didn't matter. It was over now.

"Answer me! What kind of trouble?"

"Put me down, Angel, and I'll tell you."

Angel dropped the smaller man.

"You've still got some temper, Angel. You really ought to learn to control that better," he chuckled, not noticing the dangerous look that Angel shot him.

"If she's hurt…"

"Calm down, Angel… I said she's in trouble, not hurt."

"What are you talking about?" Whistler was right, Angel wasn't doing a very good job controlling his anger, but if Willow needed his help, and Whistler was holding back from him, Angel would rip the head off the demon.

"It appears that she's decided to take matters into her own hands."

"Quit being so cryptic."

"Did she ask you to change her?"

"Lots of ti… She's a vampire?!" Angel bellowed.

"No, man… not a vampire. But she wants to be immortal, doesn't she?"

Angel slammed him against the wall again, "Tell me what the fuck is going on."

"An ascension."

"WHAT?!"

"You're little witch is very powerful, and she's about to become immortal."

"A demon? Like me?"

"No, Angel… a demon like me. She has way too much goodness in her soul to be…"

The hurt look in Angel's eyes stopped him in the middle of his sentence.

"I didn't mean it like that, Angel. I know what you think of yourself. I know how hard it is for you to separate your demon from what you really are. I mean that she's about to become a demon like me in the sense that she'll be on our team."

"I've got to stop it… I can't let her do this. She doesn't know what she's doing."

"She does know, and it's too late."

"Then why are you even here?" Angel hissed at him, "If it's too late, why are you here?"

"Because she's going to need you. It's already started and you can't stop it. But you can be there for her when she wakes up."

"She won't be my Willow anymore…"

"Quit being so dramatic. She's still going to be the exact same person and you know it. And, besides, from what she's told me, she's not been your Willow for a while now, has she?"

"She told you?"

"She loves you more than you deserve, and I don't mean because you're a vampire that's done some very bad things. I mean because you destroyed her when you walked out. All she wanted to do was please you, and you walked out on her. Why?"

"Why? Because."

"What kind of answer is that?"

Angel grew silent for a moment before answering.

"The only one I have."

End Part 3

Angel and Whistler were on the company plane less than two hours later. Whistler had found him early enough in the evening that they'd be able to make it to Chicago while it was still dark. A car was waiting at the airport to whisk them off to Willow's apartment.

As Angel readied himself to knock on the door, Whistler pulled a key out of his pocket and opened the door. Angel rushed inside looking for Willow.

"The bedroom, Angel."

Angel hurried into the room finding the redhead sleeping soundly.

"You left her here alone?" Angel turned to glare at Whistler standing in the doorway.

"I knew she wouldn't be waking up yet. It'll still be a couple of days."

"She couldn't defend herself, you asshole."

"No need for her to, Angel. She's been perfectly safe here."

"Get out."

"I'm going, I'm going… She should wake up in a couple of days."

Angel spent the next three days pacing around the apartment. He found all of Willow's papers and discovered what had happened. It wasn't exactly an ascension, but it was close enough. Willow wasn't going to become a pure demon, and no demon was coming to inhabit her body. Willow was being given a power. He read over the spell. It was like nothing that he had ever seen or heard of before. She would be immortal, subject to all the terms and conditions of the other immortals that he had come across. She wouldn't age, and would go on living forever unless she was decapitated, a thought that made Angel nauseated.

He was angry with her, but knew he couldn't leave until he was certain that she was all right. She had done this for him. She was young and foolish, and Angel cursed himself for ever allowing their relationship to begin. He should have known better. Willow was an idealist. It was one of the many things that he loved about her. She believed in a better world, believed in places where dreams could come true. And he had loved her, and he had left her when she needed him the most.

Angel couldn't imagine what would happen next, what she would be like when she woke up. Whistler had assured him that she would be the same, and the research he found in her apartment backed up his assertions. But Angel knew that there were no certainties in magic. One wrong word, one misspoken sentence and it could all change.

And why wasn't she waking up? It was time. The spell said that she should sleep for around a hundred hours, and those hundred hours had now passed. Angel took to sitting in a chair beside her in the bedroom, watching, studying her face for a sign of movement. Her shallow breathing let him know that she was, at least, partly still with him.

He didn't move from the chair. Whistler had finally come back around, bringing Angel blood, and standing vigil in the doorway, watching Angel watching Willow. He saw the love that Angel had for Willow, mixed with the anger over what she had done. They had a long road ahead of them, he knew, but, at least now they had the time to heal, and Whistler knew that's what Willow wanted. Whistler slipped away again, knowing it was nearly time, and they would need to be alone.

Her eyes finally fluttered open, immediately focusing on Angel's. The tenseness and anger that he had been feeling for the past days gave way to tenderness and relief when he saw her fathomless green eyes staring back at him and knew that she was still the same Willow. Uncertainty and fear, along with salty tears, shone from her eyes.

"Hey, Tink," he said gently, using the nickname he hadn't uttered in months, "You've really done it this time, haven't you?"

Anger flashed across her face, "Get out," she choked at him.

"Willow?"

"If you're going to start fussing at me, just leave." She rose from the bed, a bit unsteady, but of her own will.

"I'm not here to fuss at you. I'm here to help."

"I don't need your help, and you've made it clear that you don't want to be around me."

"Stop it, Willow. Just stop. You don't know anything about what I'm feeling or what I'm thinking. If you don't want me… don't want me here… why'd you do this?"

"Because I'm a stupid little girl that doesn't know what she's doing. That's what you're thinking, isn't it?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Angel scowled at her.

Willow launched herself at him, knocking him back into the wall. Angel was momentarily stunned, less from her new strength than from the shock of realizing the power of her new strength. Willow hadn't even realized what she had done.

She pulled back and punched him square in the face sending blood gushing from his nose, "Ouch, Willow. Damn it, stop."

"Oh, God, Angel?" she stopped in her tracks, suddenly realizing that once upon a time she could have never overpowered Angel like that.

She stumbled backwards, sitting on the edge of the bed. Angel watched her for a moment, almost amused by the shock on her face. He walked into the bathroom and grabbed a handful of tissues and holding them to his nose before walking back into the bedroom and sitting beside her on the bed. Tears had begun flowing anew down her face.

"You could have never gotten off a punch like that if I had been expecting it. You're not that strong," he tried to inject a little humor into the situation.

"What?"

He put his arm tenderly around her shoulders and pulled her against him, "We're going to get through this, Tinkerbell. Together."

End Part 4

They sat together like that for many long, silent minutes as Willow cried and Angel caressed her back. He finally felt her sobs begin to subside, but she made no effort to move from her position pressed up against him.

"How's your nose?" she finally mumbled.

"It's fine… bleeding stopped. You were a little off center, so it's not broken, but we'll work on that."

"What?"

"If you're going to be fighting alongside me in Los Angeles, I'm going to have to teach you how to fight. All that new power doesn't mean anything if you don't have technique."

"Angel?"

"What?"

"Los Angeles?"

"Yeah… you know I can't stay here, and if you hadn't bitten my thigh four months ago, I would have gotten the chance to tell you that the master was defeated and it was time for you to move to LA with me."

"You… you still want me to come?"

"Tinkerbell," he began, turning her body to face him, "I love you. You shouldn't have done this… I won't pretend for a minute that I like it, but it's done, so we have to deal with it. You and I are going to be together for a very long time, and you can't imagine how hard it's going to be. But, I don't want to worry about that right now, and I don't want you to, either…"

"But, Angel…"

"Shhh… no worries. Right now, all I want to think about is getting you packed up and moved to LA with me, teaching you how to defend yourself, and how good it feels to be able to have my arms around you again."

"I'm sorry, Angel."

"It's done… don't apologize for this."

"I'm not apologizing for this. I'm not sorry that I get to live forever with you. I'm sorry for what happened last time… I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have done that."

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to stay in control…"

"I didn't want you to. Angel, I wanted to see you lose control… I wanted to feel you lose control."

"We'll deal with it… what I did to you…"

"…was exactly what I wanted you to do."

"You couldn't have wanted that."

"Don't start telling me what I want and what I don't want again…" she warned.

Angel released an exasperated sigh, "You certainly are a natural redhead, Tink."

"And don't you ever forget it."

"Never. And since I can't tell you what you want, why don't you tell me?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah… what do you want right now?"

"Food."

"Willow?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel?"

Willow thought about the question for a moment before answering, "Good. Angel, I feel really good… strong… peaceful… like I know I made the right decision."

Angel quirked his eyebrow at her.

"I know you don't think I made the right decision, but I did. I know I did, Angel."

"Who I am to tell you any different?"

"Are we… can we…?"

"What, Tink?"

"What are we now, Angel?"

"I'm a vampire, and you're a… uh… a… I don't know the name for what you are, Willow…"

"That's not what I mean. Us. What are us, er, we?"

Angel sighed, "We're the same thing we've always been… friends."

"That's it? Just friends?"

"The best kind of friends," he answered her with a twinkle in his eye.

"Meaning…?"

"You ask a lot of questions, Tinkerbell."

"Angel!"

"Willow, we are whatever we want us to be. If you're asking if we're still lovers, well… I don't think we can ever stop being that."

"So… you still want to touch me?"

Angel didn't know whether to laugh at her question, or push her back on the bed and show her exactly how badly he still wanted to touch her.

"I very much still want to touch you. My desire for you hasn't gone anywhere," he leaned forward and their lips met tenderly.

"I love you, Angel."

"I love you."

End Part 5

Angel ordered a pizza for Willow while she took a long shower. She came out wearing sweats and a t-shirt and Angel couldn't stop smiling at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Not exactly a black nightie…"

"I didn't think the pizza guy needed to see that."

"Pizza guy's long gone…"

"Maybe after I eat, I'll go dig it out… I didn't really think I'd ever get the chance to wear it again."

"I'm sorry, Tink."

"Stop it. We've both apologized, now let's forget it. For now, anyway. Please?"

"Oh, my God…"

"What?!" she asked, bewildered.

"I just realized that I'm going to have to live forever with your resolve face!" he said, a mocking tone in his dark, sultry voice, "Think I'll ever grow immune to it?"

"Not a chance… I can change it at will, and you know that."

"Eat," he ordered.

"Yes, sir."

She consumed the entire pizza, something she could never do before even if it had been five days since she'd eaten anything.

Angel watched, impressed and bemused, as she piled the pizza away.

As she finished the last piece, she closed the box and pushed it away, "That was probably really gross to watch, wasn't it?"

"Gross? No… Interesting? Yes," he laughed.

"You stink."

"What?"

"You stink… when was the last time you took a shower?"

"Probably more recently than you!"

"I just took one."

"That's not what I meant, but I'm assuming that you're trying to give me a not-so-subtle clue that I'm going to have to shower before you're going to let me touch you."

"Yep," she giggled, standing to remove the pizza box and stuff it in the trashcan.

"Fine," he stood from the table, pulling his t-shirt over his head.

Willow admired the taut, rippled muscles in his stomach, moving towards him without a will of her own.

"Ah, ah, ah…" he admonished, grabbing her hands before she could touch him, "You said I had to shower first," he leaned forward and planted a wet kiss on her nose.

"It's a woman's prerogative to change her mind."

"Yeah, but even I agree that I stink. I'll be back in a few… and don't bother with the nightie… it won't be on long enough for me to admire it," he flashed her the grin that always made her weak in the knees.

She moved to the couch in the living room as she heard Angel start the shower. She sat with her hands in her lap trying hard to forget that he was in the other room, wet and naked.

Angel felt a cool breeze as Willow slid into the bathroom. He hadn't really expected her to join him, but he was certainly glad that she had.

She pulled back the curtain and stepped in behind him, running her hands across his smooth back.

"You already showered," he stated.

"I want to wash your hair."

"What?"

"I want to wash your hair. I've always wanted to wash your hair. Now, hand me that bottle."

He complied, never realizing that the sound of a shampoo bottle opening could be so erotic.

Willow placed one hand in his hair, pushing his head forward under the spray from the nozzle. His head hung under the water as Willow ran her other hand down across his back and his buttocks, sliding her hand down his hips as she pressed herself against him.

She brought her hand back up along his legs, reaching around to his front to briefly cup his erection. < Wet, naked, and hard… > she thought to herself.

Angel took her hand in his own, moving them to rest on his stomach.

"I thought you wanted to wash my hair," he groaned.

"I'm getting there," she reached up, running her hand across his chest, feeling his hard nipples, hugging his body to hers.

She finally pulled away and took the shampoo bottle back in her hands, pouring a generous amount in her palm. Reaching up, she pressed the palm against his scalp, lightly massaging the creamy liquid into his hair. Bringing her other hand up to his head, she begin caressing his scalp carefully, running her fingers through his wet, soapy hair, deliberately, slowly. He moaned with the agonizing tenderness that she was showing him. Her body was still pressed against his, and she couldn't help trying to grind her hips against him. However, she was much shorter than he was, and as a result, she ended up rubbing her chest against his strong back, which was almost as good.

Angel felt the her pebble-hard nipples pressing against him, and his cock jumped in response. Willow chose that moment to increase the pressure on his scalp, pulling his head back as her fingers continued to massage him. She stepped back a little, allowing the smallest of space between their bodies. Her soapy hands retraced the path she had created just minutes before, slower this time, pausing to rub and knead every inch of skin she came in contact with.

By the time her hands found his erection again, most of the shampoo had been rinsed away by the water.

"I'm glad I use a mild shampoo," she giggled, grabbing the bottle from the shelf behind her and bringing it around to the front of their bodies.

Again, she slowly squeezed a generous amount into her palm, knowing Angel was watching her hands by the way she could feel his stomach tightening in anticipation.

Languidly, she rubbed her hands together before reaching back down to touch his penis. Taking him in both of her hands, she covered his shaft with long, slow, hard strokes, pulling forward on him. Angel reached out, bracing himself on the wall with both his hands. His head hung forward, watching her hands. She continued her hard strokes with one hand, while the other slipped lower to take cup his balls in her hand. She kneaded them with the same agonizing slowness that she pumped his cock with, relishing the feeling of being the one in control for once, knowing that at this moment she could get Angel to do whatever she wanted.

But, this wasn't about control. This was about pleasure and being back with the man she loved, forever. She increased the speed of her strokes only slightly, feeling him thrust into her hand.

"Faster, Angel? Is that what you want, sweetie?"

"Tink… please…" he begged.

She released his sac and placed both hands on his cock again, stroking with one hand while the other coaxed and teased his sensitive tip, harshly rubbing the tight area just underneath the head with her thumb while her index finger fondled the very tip.

Angel felt her mouth open, sucking the skin of his shoulder into her mouth and he knew she was going to bite down. His entire body tensed as her tongue rolled across the skin, her teeth barely grazing him before releasing. He released a pent up sigh.

"No biting tonight, Angel… I just want to be with you…"

She gripped his cock tightly, increasing the speed even more, giving Angel the pressure she knew he needed. His knees buckled for a moment as he reached his orgasm, unable to hold back any longer. Willow quickly moved her hand over the tip of his erection, capturing his cold semen with her fingers as her other hand continued to stroke him. Drained, he slumped forward, crossing his arms on the wall of the shower and resting his head on them.

Willow released her grip on his now-softening penis and leaned back against the opposite wall of the shower. Angel heard her lips smacking and groaned as he started to harden again.

"Willow… you're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?"

"Mmm hmm…" she giggled.

Angel forced himself to turn around to face her, mimicking her position of leaning against the wall. Willow had lifted her hand to her face and was licking off her fingers like they were lollypops.

"Oh, God… Willow…"

Her eyes dropped to his stomach and lower, smirking as she continued to lick her fingers. Pushing herself off the wall, she moved towards him.

"Want a taste?"

Angel's mouth opened to speak, but no sound came out. His lower lip trembled as she placed her index finger on it, pulling it down slightly.

He reached out with his tongue, savoring the flavor before quickly sucking her finger inside his mouth. Soon he had three of her fingers in his mouth, and had pulled her body tightly against his. She lifted her mouth to his and her tongue quickly joined her fingers as she plundered his eager mouth.

Angel grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away, kissing her deeply.

"I need to be inside you, Tink… now…"

She tried to pull him back against the other wall, but he resisted, "Not in here. Bedroom…"

He pulled the curtains back and lifted her with one arm. She easily wrapped her legs around him, helping him hold her up as he grabbed a handful of towels and charged into the bedroom.

He dropped Willow to her feet and quickly spread the towels on the bed before pushing her backward onto them.

She scooted herself back a little until her head almost reached the pillows and pulled her knees up, spreading her legs open for Angel. Like him, she couldn't wait any longer, and held her arms out for him to join her. Crawling between her legs, he propped himself up on one arm, guiding his already rock-hard cock to her sex. Positioning himself, he quickly thrust into her, rocking his hips against hers.

Willow snaked her arms around the small of his back, holding him against her as she ground against him. Angel started a hard, deliberate rhythm, losing himself inside her. It had been too long since they'd been together, and both had thought that there was a chance that they'd never feel this again, and neither of them ever wanted it to stop.

Angel took his time with her, alternately thrusting fast and slow, hard and soft, bringing Willow to the brink of her climax before taking her back down again. He knew that Willow was past ready when she crossed her legs behind his back, linking her ankles and holding his body against her, preventing him from pulling out too far for her liking.

Angel allowed a warm smile to cross his face and he leaned in to give her a tender kiss, "Ready to come for me, Willow?"

Her only response was to flex the muscles in her legs, pressing him tighter against her. Reaching behind his back, he grabbed one of her ankles and pulled her leg free. He held it out to his side, spreading her wider to him and he lost himself in his motions. With his other hand, he reached down and grabbed her sex, rubbing his thumb across her clitoris roughly. She arched into his hand, screaming as her climax tore through her body, tears forming in the corners of her eyes from the intensity of their coupling. Angel released her ankle, grabbing her hips, and quickly thrust into her a couple more times, feeling her tight walls contract around him as she came down from her orgasm. Silently, he came inside her, beads of sweat forming on his upper lips as he collapsed on top of her.

"We're going to need another shower," she giggled breathlessly.

"I never knew you were so limber," he mumbled.

"Well, you know, you can't break me now…"

"Not permanently, but I could still break you."

"But you wouldn't…"

"Never… not on purpose."

"Don't ever let me go, Angel," Her words were more of a plea than a statement.

"I never have to now…"

The End

read the interlude 'Angel Leaves His Hat On'

back