Parts: 6 - 10
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 6~
Willow instantly fell in love with the small café downstairs. There were only a dozen or so tables with a few comfortable chairs near the front window for those just ordering coffee. She could already foresee herself spending a lot of time there. They served the sort of fare that appealed to her. For dinner there were only a few items to choose from. Tonight's menu consisted of chicken pot pie, meatloaf or a stew. Willow decided to try the homemade chicken pot pie and found it incredibly delicious. The lunch menu included sandwiches, soups and salads. They also served bagels, muffins and other assorted pastries all day, along with coffee and tea.
Angel sipped at a mug of decaffeinated coffee, telling her about the couple of cases they'd worked on so far this summer as Willow practically inhaled her dinner.
In between bites Willow requested, "I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but I was wondering, if it's not too big an expense, and I will help out with the bills once I find myself a part time job. I wonder if they're hiring here…"
"Willow," Angel interrupted, trying to hide his smile at her nervous babbling.
"Yes?"
"I think you were trying to ask me a question," he reminded her.
Blushing slightly, Willow said, "Oh, yeah. I was wondering if I could have my own phone line." She rushed to add, "Not that I don't mind sharing. But since my friends don't really like you," she smiled sheepishly, "I thought it might be easier for everyone. That way they could call me and not have to worry about you picking up. And you wouldn't have to constantly have them telling you to take care of me and not let me get hurt if you did pick up the phone."
"That makes sense," Angel casually agreed. "I have an even better idea. When you go shopping with Cordelia tomorrow, why don't you sign up for one of those cell phones. Cordy got one for me but I don't like carrying it around. This way your friends can always reach you, and if you ever do get in a situation when I'm not there, you can call for help."
"That's a great idea," Willow agreed.
"Now… I thought we already agreed that you're going to come work for me," Angel said.
"Yeah, you said I could help out to keep busy," Willow agreed. "But I'm going to need some kind of income while I'm here. I can't just sponge off you all summer."
"Of course you can," he contradicted. "But if you insist on earning your keep, then I can pay you for helping out at the agency."
Willow blinked in surprise. "Really? You'd pay me to do research and magick and stuff?"
"Why not? I pay Cordelia to sit at a desk and not answer the phone. I pay Wesley for his assistance. I don't see any reason not to pay you for any help you can give."
Willow opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before she was able to answer. "Thank you so much Angel. Giles would never think of paying us for all of the hours we put into doing research and patrolling. Not that he could really afford to. And we don't do it because we expect payment, obviously. I mean we do it because it's the right thing to do. Which I guess is why you do it too. Only you get paid for it."
"Is that a yes," Angel asked, her rambling thoughts slightly confusing him.
"It's a yes," Willow confirmed, rushing around the table to give Angel a quick hug before returning to her seat.
"Great, once you're all settled in you can begin helping out in any way you see fit. We're going to have to get the office space cleaned out first."
"Oh, hey," Willow said excitedly. "I could set up the computers for you. I can create a network for all of the computers so that you can share files."
"Would you mind picking out the computers too," Angel requested. "I try to avoid them at all costs, and Cordelia wouldn't really care either way, except for the color maybe."
Under her breath Willow observed, "You and Giles have one thing in common then." Having heard her with his enhanced senses, Angel merely glared. Realizing that he'd heard her, Willow bashfully offered, "Sorry, but it's true. Giles hates computers too." Changing the topic back, she said, "Of course I'll pick out the computers. How many do you need?"
Standing to return to the apartment, Angel said, "Two I think. One for Cordelia to use out front, and another one for the library I think, just in case someone else wants to use it."
"That's easy," Willow said. "And I'll find something inexpensive that will work well."
Standing outside the apartment door now, Angel gestured towards the locked door, "Care to do the honors?"
"Oh, right." She dug the key Angel had given her out of a pocket and opened the door. "I live here too."
Angel picked up the bags that he'd left by the door earlier and carried them into Willow's room for her. She followed.
"So what time is Cordy coming over tomorrow?" Willow asked.
"If it was for work I'd say between 10 and 11. But since you're going shopping, my guess would be around 9 o'clock."
Willow laughed. "I'm really in for it, aren't I?"
"Probably," Angel agreed. "Cordelia takes her shopping very seriously."
"I'll try to be quiet in the morning then," Willow offered.
"Don't worry about it, I sleep like the dead."
"Ha ha," she deadpanned.
"Do you have everything you need for tonight?" Angel asked. "I know there isn't much in here yet."
"I'll be fine," she assured him. "I'm gonna get some sleep. It looks like I'm going to be having a pretty busy day tomorrow."
"Sleep well, Willow."
"You too," she returned.
Angel closed the door behind him as he backed out of the room. He listened at the door for a moment as she rummaged around in her suitcases for her pajamas and bathroom things. When it sounded like she was ready to head to the bathroom he rushed into his room, thankful for his vampiric speed, closing the door just as hers opened. He let out an unnecessary sigh of relief.
Angel couldn't believe how happy he was having Willow there. After living alone for so many years he had thought it might be strange sharing his home with someone. Granted, he'd lived with Spike and Drusilla when he had lost his soul in Sunnydale, but that wasn't really him. Even so, this was different. Then he'd been living with his childer, his family.
Now he was living with a human girl. Even when he'd been with Buffy she'd go home after spending the night with him. But Willow would be here all of the time. She would be eating here, sleeping here, showering here – gulp. He heard water running in the bathroom and wondered if she was naked in the shower now. 'No, the water shut off, she's just brushing her teeth,' he thought, unsure if he was relieved or not.
Willow finished her bathroom routine and was turning to go back to her room, but instead found herself outside Angel's door. She quietly knocked.
"Come in," he called out.
Willow opened the door and leaned against the frame, hands twisting together behind her back. Angel was sitting in his chair with a sketchpad in his hands.
Looking up at her, Angel ignored the fact that all she was wearing was a tank top and boxer shorts and asked, "Was there something you needed?"
She nibbled on her bottom lip for a moment before quietly saying, "I wanted to thank you again for letting me stay here. I know how much of a loner you usually are. You didn't have to go to all this trouble of finding a place big enough for me too – and all of the money you're going to be spending to fix the place up – it's probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me before. So, thanks." By the time she finished Willow had tears in her eyes.
Angel was instantly in front of her. He wrapped the small girl in his arms, assuring her, "Willow, I promise you, it is no imposition. I already needed a new apartment, one which would have to be furnished, regardless of whether or not you were living here. And this way I won't be living in what Cordelia thinks would be a proper vampire lair," he joked.
Pulling back enough to look up at him, Willow teased, "So you think you'll like what I pick out better?"
"Undoubtedly." Willow relaxed. "Feel better?" he confirmed.
"Yeah. Good night Angel."
Angel kissed Willow on the forehead and reluctantly released her from his arms. "Good night Willow."
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Willow crawled into her new bed feeling happier than she had in a long time. She still couldn't believe that Angel had opened his home to her. When everyone else in her life seemed to make every effort to get and stay as far away from her as possible, Angel was asking to live with her. She could feel the tears prickling at her eyes again.
Willow rolled onto her side and tried to will her tears away. Unfortunately, now that her thoughts had started down this path, they refused to stray.
'Why would Angel want me to live with him when my parents can't be bothered to be in town when I'm living back under their roof? I mean, I know I was excited about that when Tara was going to be spending the summer with me there, but now she's not. No, Tara couldn't stand my life so she had to leave Sunnydale, and me. Oz couldn't be around me either. Wasn't wolf enough for him.'
Willow's silent tears were no longer so silent. Soft sobs forced their way out of her. Wiping furiously at her eyes she told herself, "I'm not going to do this. I am not going to cry myself to sleep, again."
Willow tried to clear her mind and picture how she was going to furnish her room. Unfortunately this brought her back to Angel's generosity, which rekindled her tears. Eventually she gave into them and cried herself to sleep… just as she had every night since Tara left.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Angel lay in bed awake, cursing the thin walls and his enhanced hearing. He'd thought he'd done a good job of making sure Willow understood that he wanted her there. Yet he knew that a few kind words wouldn't be enough for someone who'd been hurt so often. He'd never understood how her parents could spend so little time with their daughter. Or how she'd managed to become such a wonderful, caring woman without them.
Then there were the more recent reasons for her insecurity: Oz and Tara. To have your lover leave you once is extremely difficult. But to have another one leave after only a few months… Angel couldn't blame Willow for doubting his hospitability.
When he heard her begin to cry, then try to talk herself out of crying, he felt a tug on his soul. He wanted nothing more than to go to her and take her in his arms and promise that everything would be okay. Luckily he knew that such a gesture would not be welcome right now. Willow was in mourning and she needed to be allowed the luxury of doing so in a semblance of privacy.
It didn't take long for Willow to cry herself to sleep. Once he was certain the crying had stopped Angel finally allowed himself to sleep as well.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Willow woke bright and early in the morning. She opened her eyes and saw green. For a moment she didn't know why she had green sheets. Then she remembered… she was in LA, in Angel's apartment. Willow smiled as she stretched and sat up. She looked around her empty bedroom. There was sunshine coming in through the windows, broken by the trees from the park. Willow grabbed a towel out of her duffel and headed for the shower.
Willow was nibbling at the muffin she'd brought home from the café the night before when the doorknob rattled. When the door didn't open there was a sharp knock. Willow unlocked and opened the door to admit Cordelia.
"Did you know your door was locked?" the brunette asked as she entered the apartment.
"Good morning to you too," Willow mumbled. "Of course it was locked, this is LA."
"I know, but you live with a vampire. That's like, built in security." Breaking off a piece of Willow's muffin, Cordelia asked, "So how'd you like your bed?"
"It's wonderful, thank you."
"I knew you'd like it. You would have liked any other furniture I would have picked out too, but Angel insisted that you get a say in it."
"Well, I'm glad he did. I've never furnished an apartment before. This is going to be fun," Willow admitted.
"Then lets get the show on the road." Cordelia linked her arm with Willow and started to lead her out the door.
Pulling back, Willow said, "Just a sec. I need to grab my purse." Willow dashed back to her room and picked up her purse. After starting to leave, she turned back to rip a piece of paper out of a notebook in her backpack. She quickly scribbled a note for Angel to let him know she was out shopping. She folded the paper as she returned to the front of the apartment, leaving it in front of the microwave.
When they were almost out the door Willow remembered, "Oh, wait, I need to get Angel's credit card."
Cordelia fished a piece of plastic out of her purse and held it up for Willow's inspection. "Already got it taken care of."
"Does Angel know you have that?" the redhead asked warily.
"Of course. He told me to let you buy whatever you want. Now if only I could find a man like that," Cordelia said wistfully.
"Angel is not 'my man'," Willow corrected as she followed the brunette to her car.
"That's right, you're into girls now I hear," Cordelia teased. "Now how come I had to hear about that after you got dumped?"
Willow shrugged. "Forgot?"
"How could you forget to mention something like that?" Cordelia countered.
Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Willow asked, "Do you mind if we don't talk about this right now? It still hurts too much to talk about Tara."
Cordelia was about to argue, but with a quick look at Willow's pained expression, she relented. "Fine, but eventually I want a full explanation."
"Thanks," Willow sighed.
Changing the topic back to an area she was very familiar with, Cordy asked, "So what room do you want to start with?"
"The windows." Cordelia raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow. "I know; windows aren't a room. But I need to get new curtains for the living room, my room and the bathroom. So we may as well start by making the apartment safe for my roommate to move around during the day."
"Curtains it is." Cordelia nodded.
~Part: 7~
Angel woke in the early afternoon to an empty apartment. He stumbled into the kitchen for his breakfast and found Willow's note waiting for him. He couldn't help smiling at her thoughtfulness – that even though he knew she was going shopping with Cordelia today she still felt the need to let him know that's where she went.
As he drank his breakfast, Angel noticed a piece of paper near the front door. Keeping careful to avoid the patches of sunlight escaping the curtain over the living room window, Angel went to retrieve the paper.
It was a note from Wesley:
Angel,
I assume that you are not yet awake, as it is still the morning. Cordelia mentioned that she was taking Willow shopping today – I pity the girl and wish her luck. Using the key you had left for me, I was finally able to see the new office space for myself. I am amazed that you were able to find such a fitting space for us. I found the office with only one window, which you said you will be taking. Of the two remaining ones, I would like to request the office at the back of the building, with the lovely view of the park. I agree that the other office will make a fine library. When you are ready we can begin moving what remains of your old library out of my flat and into the new space.
I admit, I am very excited to begin this new venture and am at your disposal for preparing the space to be ready to re-open for business.
Please give my regards to Ms. Rosenberg and tell her I look forward to seeing her again.
Your faithful employee,
Wesley Wyndham-Price
Angel shook his head in amusement at Wesley's formality. He would love to get started cleaning up the office space, but the large storefront window prevented him from beginning until after sundown, which was still several hours away.
As he grabbed his towel and headed to the shower Angel idly wondered how Willow was faring with her shopping.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
"Are you sure your trunk hasn't been magickally altered," the redhead asked, dropping onto a chair at the restaurant.
"Of course it hasn't." Cordelia insisted. "I just know how to pack a trunk for maximum capacity."
"Well I am in awe," Willow said. She couldn't believe how much they had already done today.
Their first stop had been at Linens 'N Things. Willow found curtains for the apartment and Cordelia picked out something to cover the window in the reception room of the office. They also picked out kitchenware, bathroom accessories, hangers (which Willow had forgotten to bring) and some pictures for the walls.
Willow insisted on stopping to buy a cell phone next. She hoped that by signing up early enough in the day her service would be working by the time she got back to the apartment so that she could call her friends while she got off her by-then tired feet. She picked out a cute little flip phone that would easily fit in a pocket or purse.
Cordelia insisted on going to Crate & Barrel to look at furniture. Willow instantly fell in love with the leather sleeper club sofa. The leather was so comfortable – and she just knew Angel would love it. A coffee table was quickly matched to it, along with a chaise. Willow had always wanted a chaise – they seemed so decadent. They also picked out an entertainment center to match the coffee table. Willow didn't care for the bedroom furniture, so they put in their order for the living room pieces and arranged to have them delivered in a couple of days.
Now the girls were taking a much needed break for a fortifying lunch.
"It's a good thing Angel doesn't have a working heart, otherwise he'd have a heart attack when he sees the credit card bill he's gonna get." Willow commented.
"And we're not even done," Cordelia laughed.
"I don't know if I can do any more today. I'm exhausted," Willow admitted.
"Nonsense," Cordelia gestured in a dismissive manner. "I happen to know that it is possible for a person to shop for much longer without dropping from exhaustion."
"From personal experience I take it," Willow guessed.
"Of course." Cordelia flashed a toothy grin.
The girls ordered sandwiches and diet sodas when the waiter appeared at their table.
"So how you holding up?" Cordelia asked as soon as they were alone again.
"Aside from the exhaustion… I feel like we've gotten a lot accomplished."
"That's not what I meant," Cordelia quietly clarified.
"Oh." Willow let out a long sigh. "I'm doing about as well as could be expected after your lover leaves you because she can't stand living a dangerous life."
"So pretty crappy," Cordy surmised.
"Yep." Willow nodded for emphasis. "It's better being here. I can feel it already."
"Is… Is it okay to talk about this now?" Cordelia delicately asked. "I know you said earlier you wanted to wait, but it will probably be better to talk about this with someone."
Looking around the relatively secluded area they were in, Willow reluctantly agreed, "I suppose we may as well get this over with." She braced herself for a barrage of questions.
"Okay. Where to begin," Cordelia said to herself. To Willow she said, "So how did you two meet?"
Willow groaned – they were going all the way back to the beginning. "In Wicca Group. Tara was the only other real witch in the bunch, the rest were all wanna blessed-be's."
"So were you like, attracted to girls before or was it just Tara?"
"It was Tara." Willow got a wistful look on her face. "It was like it didn't matter that she was a girl. It wasn't something I was looking for or planned, it just kinda happened. I never expected to fall in love with her, but the more time we spent together, the more it made sense for us to be together."
"You really loved her?" Cordelia questioned, having her doubts. "Even after being in love with Xander for all of those years and then Oz?"
"Is it that hard to believe?" Willow countered. "I mean, I chose her over Oz when he came back. I must have loved her."
"But you stole Xander from me," Cordelia exclaimed a little louder than necessary. Once the other diners returned to the meals she continued quieter, "You were so in love with Xander in high school that even though he was with me and you were with Oz you two still made with the smoochies."
"And you're just devastated to have lost him?" Willow quirked an eyebrow in question.
"Well, no, not any more. He was, and always will be, a complete loser. But you never showed any interest in being with a girl back then."
"Things change," Willow shrugged. "Like I said, falling in love with Tara wasn't something I planned. Kinda like you falling for Xander." Willow pointed out.
Changing the topic a bit, Cordelia leaned forward and asked the question she'd been dying to ask since she found out about Tara. "So what's it like, being with a girl?"
Willow shifted uncomfortably in her seat and began playing with her napkin. She had never been comfortable discussing her sex life. Luckily the food arrived so she was able to delay answering for a few minutes.
After they had taken a few bites Cordelia tried again. "Did the two of you have sex?"
Willow glared at the brunette for a minute before answering her. "We were in love, what do you think."
"But… how?" Cordelia would never admit it out loud, but for all of her dating experience, she really didn't know much about sex, especially with women.
"Did you want me to draw you a diagram?" Willow sarcastically asked. She really didn't want to get into this with Cordelia of all people. Noting the genuinely curious look on the other girl's face, Willow relented. Blushing furiously, she tried to explain. "You know how a guy will sometimes bring you to orgasm before he actually enters you," she paused to see if Cordelia was following her, "it's like that."
"So you're stuck at third base?"
"That's a crude way to put it." Willow said defensively. "But there are ways… toys… for if you want more."
"But if a man can do that to you, then why date a woman?" Cordelia asked, afraid to ask about the 'toys' Willow used.
"It's different. Physically, a woman knows exactly the right places to touch you because she has the same type of body – the same erogenous zones. A woman's touch is softer, not so desperate. And emotionally…" Willow paused to think of the best way to phrase this. "You know how every woman's fantasy is to fall in love with her best friend?"
Cordelia nodded, "Like you did with Xander."
"Exactly, one reason we made with the smoochies even though we knew how wrong it was was because in a way we were fulfilling that fantasy. That's kind of what it's like being in a relationship with a woman. Tara really was my best friend. Yes, I still called Buffy and Xander my best friends, but Tara is the one who knew me best. She knew everything about me – my hobbies, the way my mind worked, the way my body reacted; we could talk about anything. I could be myself with her and not have to put up any kind of front. She would intuitively know what I needed when I needed it and vice versa. When Oz came back she was willing to let me go so that I could be happy with him, which only made me love her more. When Oz found out about us, he went all defensive and wolfy."
"So are you only going to date women now, or are you still interested in men?"
"I haven't decided. Dating Tara wasn't a conscious decision. If the next person I'm attracted to is a man, then I'll date a man. The same for if it's a woman. It was Tara's soul that drew me to her, not the package it was housed in."
"Just so we're clear, this soul's beautifully wrapped package is only interested in dating men." Cordelia informed the other girl with a smile.
"Dually noted," Willow grinned.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Several hours and stores later, Willow turned the key in the lock to the apartment. Angel came out of his room as the redhead collapsed on the ancient couch, sending up a cloud of dust. Willow coughed, but was too tired to move.
"How'd it go?" the vampire asked.
"Mission accomplished," Willow tiredly said. She lifted her head to look at the bags near the door and the ones still in the hallway that Cordelia had brought up. "I never want to move."
"You might want to get off of the dust magnet," Angel suggested. "Did you pick out a new couch?"
"Yep," Willow said, pushing herself into a sitting position. "New couch, chaise, coffee table and entertainment center for this room. Desk and dresser for my room... Kitchen and bathroom stuff... Curtains for every room but yours, since you already took care of that one... New cell phone for me. I am never setting foot in a store again."
"When does the furniture arrive," Angel asked.
"Couple of days," Willow answered.
"So when do I get the show and tell?"
"Later?" Willow hopefully asked. "I think I need a nap and a bath." Then looking down at her dust-covered body she added, "Not necessarily in that order."
"Go right ahead. Is there anything I can help with while you relax?"
"Can you bring in the rest of the bags? And if you really want to help, you could unpack and wash the dishes and stuff for the kitchen. They're in those bags." Willow pointed out the appropriate ones.
"Not a problem," Angel assured her.
Taking Angel's offered hand, Willow stood and trudged her way towards the bags. She rummaged through the Linens 'N Things bags until she found the apple scented bubble bath she had bought. She offered a weak smile to Angel before slowly making her way towards to bathroom to fill the tub.
Angel distracted himself from his impulse to follow Willow into the bathroom and offering to wash her back by doing as she requested. He sifted through the bags, finding the set of dishes, glasses, silverware, pots and pans. He also found sponges and dishwashing liquid in the bags, along with a drying rack and a linen towel.
'She thought of everything,' he thought to himself, only slightly amazed at her thoroughness.
Angel unpacked all of the kitchenware as he waited for the bathwater to shut off, not wanting to interfere with the temperature of Willow's bath. He then began to hand wash all of Willow's new dishes.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Once the bath filled with warm bubbly water, Willow stripped out of her dusty, sweaty clothes and lowered herself into the water. She let out a sigh of contentment, allowing the heat to ease the tension in her aching body.
As she lay there, Willow's mind replayed her conversation with Cordelia during lunch. She had brought up an interesting point, one which Willow had answered with much more thoughtful answer than she had given the subject. Was she strictly gay now?
She had answered Cordy truthfully – she hadn't been attracted to Tara because she was a woman - or for that matter to Oz or Xander because they were male. Although she doubted that she would have had such strong feelings for Xander if he'd been a girl. Willow couldn't help laughing at the idea of a girl with Xander's personality.
But was she only interested in being with women now?
Willow heard the water running in the kitchen and smiled at the thought of Angel doing the dishes for her. She pictured him wearing an apron to keep from splashing water on his silk shirt. Or better yet, wearing no shirt, and no apron. Willow let the image take form – she could see the strong muscles of his back gliding underneath his skin as he washed and rinsed the dishes.
Then she imagined those hands washing her... His hands would guide a soapy washcloth over her back. Once it was nice and clean he would pull her back so that she was once again lying in the tub, running the cloth over her shoulders and down her chest, brushing against her nipples, making them hard. (Willow found herself mimicking her fantasy with the washcloth in her hands.) The cloth would travel lower, grazing over her flat belly, then dip between her legs briefly, teasingly, then back over her hip and down one leg. Angel would lift her foot out of the water enough to wash the bottom of her foot before switching feet and then traveling back up her other leg, abandoning the washcloth when he returned to the apex of her thighs…
No, she was most definitely still interested in men.
Willow drained the tub and turned on the shower to rinse the remaining bubbles off her body. She adjusted the spray to a cooler temperature, her body flushed from the involuntary fantasy. With the towel wrapped securely around her, Willow dashed to her room to throw on some clean clothes. Luckily she missed Angel's head poking out of the kitchen to catch her barely covered form running down the hall.
"Feel better?" Angel asked as Willow entered the kitchen from behind him.
"How'd you know I was there?" she asked in surprise.
"I heard your heartbeat," he informed her.
"Well now I know to never throw you a surprise party with human guests," Willow joked.
"How was your bath?" Angel laughingly asked.
"It was wonderful," Willow sighed. Glancing at the kitchen, she saw the drying rack was full. "You finished all of them?"
"You were in there a while," he shrugged. Leaning against the counter, Angel asked, "What would you like to do tonight?"
"I thought we could hang the curtains. You know, make the place vampire friendly."
"Thank you, an excellent idea." Angel agreed.
Willow had chosen two sets of curtains for the living room. One set of light weight curtains that would block out the sun's rays while still allowing light into the apartment to fit within the window frame. Then another set of thicker, darker curtains to surround the windows, that when closed blocked out all light.
The bathroom received a new set of room-darkening blinds with a valance at the top to block the bit of light that would naturally poke out.
Finally Willow's windows received white paper blinds with pale green curtains to go over the windows and the window on the door.
They both collapsed on Willow's bed when they finished with her room. Willow turned her head to admire her newly covered windows. Turning her head back to the vampire she said, "We make a good team."
"That we do," he agreed, tucking a stay piece of hair behind her ear. His hand lingered for a moment longer than necessary, enjoying the flush of her skin from the exertion.
A beep ended the moment. Willow looked confused for a minute before she realized what the noise was. She jumped off the bed saying, "My phone."
She grabbed her purse and pulled out the new cell phone. Flipping open the cover she saw she had a new text message announcing that the phone could now be used. "Hey, look, my phone's ready. I have a cell phone." Flopping back on the bed next to Angel she asked, "What's your number. I want to program my new phonebook."
Angel smiled at Willow's excitement and rattled off the number. Willow diligently typed in his name and number, a speed dial number automatically being assigned.
"Oh, hey, you're number two on my speed dial," she showed the vampire.
"What's number one?" he asked.
"Um," she checked, "Voicemail."
"Well, I should probably let you call your friends to give them the number and let them know you're safe and sound here," he offered, already standing. "Did you want anything for dinner?"
"Yeah, I am kinda hungry. We can go down to the café again. I didn't have time to go grocery shopping today."
"I can go get something to bring back so that you can call Buffy," he offered, not wanting to cut into time with her friends.
Willow glanced at her watch and standing, closed the phone. "Buffy's probably out patrolling by now anyway. Let's go eat."
Willow walked out of the room, leaving a baffled vampire to stare after her. 'Willow just passed up talking to her friends to spend time with me,' he thought as he watched her stop by the door and tap her foot impatiently.
"You coming?" she called back.
"Right behind you," he answered, quickly moving to her side.
Willow grinned up at Angel as she took his hand and led him out the door.
~Part: 8~
After the large lunch she'd had, Willow opted for a salad for her dinner. Angel waited patiently for her at a table as she placed her order. He still couldn't believe that this vibrant young woman had chosen to spend time with him rather than call her friends.
Willow joined him at the table with a glass of water for herself and a cup of decaf for Angel.
"What's this?" he asked as she placed the mug in front of him.
"Decaf," she lightly told him. "To keep up appearances. Don't want people to wonder why you're just sitting there watching me eat."
"Oh, right. That was very thoughtful of you."
"No big," she shrugged.
"How was your day with Cordelia?" Angel asked, an amused undertone to his voice.
"You mean aside from exhausting? I was actually okay. She's not as bad as she was in high school."
"No, she's not," Angel agreed. "Being on her own has mellowed her a bit. So have the visions, I think."
"How did she get those by the way?" the redhead asked as her salad was placed in front of her. "That's definitely something new."
"Do you remember when I came to Sunnydale at Thanksgiving because my friend had a vision?" Willow nodded. "That was my friend Doyle. He sacrificed himself not long after that to save a group of demons from being destroyed. You see; he was half-demon himself." Angel looked up at Willow to gauge her reaction to the news that he associated with demons, or at least a half-demon. Her look was accepting and she gestured for him to get on with the story as she chewed. "Doyle had feelings for Cordelia and she was starting to reciprocate. Just before he died he kissed her, transferring his 'gift' to her."
"I imagine she wasn't pleased with his chosen gift," Willow commented.
"You have no idea," Angel laughed. "She kissed every man she met after her first vision, hoping to get rid of them."
"Even you?" Willow asked tersely.
"Even me," Angel confirmed. He barely caught the slight frown that passed over Willow's face as he added, "I didn't know why she had kissed me when she did it. I explained to her that I didn't feel that way about her, and then she explained that she was just trying to get rid of the visions."
Willow couldn't explain the flash of jealousy she felt when Angel said that Cordelia had kissed him. Even if it was only to get rid of the visions… she had had her lips against his before she did, just like with Xander. Why did she always beat her to the men she lusted after?
Angel broke into her musings by asking, "So what did you two talk about all day?"
"Well, in the stores we talked about what we were buying. But at lunch we talked about Tara."
"A little break-up commiserating?" he asked sympathetically.
"That's what I thought it was going to be," Willow laughed. "Instead I got the third degree about my sex life."
If Angel could have blushed, he would have. Instead he nearly choked on the mouthful of coffee he had just taken.
"Sorry," Willow apologized. "When Cordelia asked if it was okay to talk about Tara I thought she wanted to know how I ended up here. Instead she wanted to know all about how we met, what it's like dating a girl, am I only going to date girls now, that kind of thing."
"And are you?" Angel choked out, figuring he may as well know now if he stood of a chance with Willow.
"Am I what?" Willow innocently asked, knowing perfectly well what he was asking.
"Are you only interested in dating women?" Angel couldn't keep the hopeful look off his face that she would answer in the negative.
"I'll tell you what I told Cordelia." Willow paused to take a steadying breath. "The fact that Tara was a woman was irrelevant. It was her personality, her soul, that attracted me to her. So, I guess my answer is, No. If I am next attracted to a woman, I'll date a woman. If I'm attracted to a man," Willow met Angel's warm brown eyes as she said, "I'll date a man."
Angel felt as if time stood still as he looked into the green depths of her eyes. Her openness and ability to look past gender boundaries and see inside of a person awed him. It gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, she would be able to look past his demon to see the man he was inside. She said that she'd been attracted to Tara's soul… Could she find his soul attractive too?
A clattering from the kitchen startled the two roommates, breaking their eye contact.
Angel cleared his throat. "So, um, what's on your plate for tomorrow?"
"Well, I need to go grocery shopping. We can't keep eating here all of the time," Willow pointed out, not noticing that she had said 'we' instead of 'I', but Angel did and smiled.
"You can take my car," he offered.
Willow blushed slightly as she quietly said, "Thanks, but I, um, can't drive."
"And here I thought you could do anything," Angel joked.
"Well, I know _how_ to drive. I took driver's ed. I just never got my license." Willow retorted.
"We'll just have to remedy that situation," Angel informed her. "I'm sure Wesley or Cordelia would be happy to go with you to get a license. Although if it's Wesley you'll have to take my car because he only has a motorcycle."
Willow's jaw dropped. "Wesley has a motorcycle?" she asked in disbelief.
Angel nodded. "Yes, the first time I saw him in LA he was dressed in riding leathers calling himself a Rogue Demon Hunter."
Willow shook her head. "I just can't picture that."
"It was pretty funny," Angel admitted. "He doesn't wear the leather anymore, but he still has the bike."
"Geez," Willow observed as they returned to the apartment. "Everyone grew and changed so much since leaving Sunnydale."
"You've grown and changed too," Angel assured her, letting them into the apartment.
"No, I'm still just Willow. Nerdy, gullible, gets-left-behind Willow."
Angel stopped just inside the door, placing his hands on her shoulders after lifting her face to meet his. "That's not true," he insisted. "You've changed a lot from the shy sophomore I met years ago. You've faced and survived more horrors than any human should have to. You're so much stronger now. You've become an adept witch, you're a whiz on the computer, you don't limit your friendship choices based on a person's humanity. You are an amazing, beautiful, young woman. Never doubt that."
Willow involuntarily shuddered under the ferocity and sincerity of Angel's words. She had a hard time believing what he said, but wished that that was how he truly saw her.
With tear-filled eyes, she said, "I'll try."
"Please do," Angel said, placing a chaste kiss on Willow's cheek.
Backing up nervously, overwhelmed by the sudden wave of longing she had for this man in front of her, Willow said, "I-I think I'm just… gonna go to bed now… long day you know."
"Yes, I know," he quietly agreed, fighting his own urges to pull Willow back into his arms and kissing her dizzy. "I'd say you've earned it. Good night, Willow."
"Good night, Angel. I'll see you tomorrow. Some of the deliveries might be coming during the day, so I'll ask them to be quiet."
"Don't worry about it," he told her.
Angel headed into the kitchen to warm up a mug of blood as Willow returned to her bedroom, both wondering how they were going to be able to live together when there seemed to be a growing attraction.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~
Willow woke to a sunny morning. She rolled over and picked the clock up off the floor, wishing she had remembered to pick up, or even order, a nightstand the day before. She was surprised to find that she had slept until after 10.
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Willow decided to forego showering until after she cleaned the apartment. She walked around the apartment, looking in closets and cupboards to see what had been left behind by the previous tenants. She was excited to find that one of the closets housed a washer and dryer. That would definitely come in handy after a messy demon fight.
She was also happy to find an old broom and dustpan. She'd have to buy a small vacuum for the living room and hallway, but her room had a wood floor and the kitchen and bathroom were tiled.
Willow took a break to run down to the café to grab a coffee and bagel with cream cheese. She found out that there was a convenience store up a couple of blocks, so after she finished her meal she took a walk up to the store. For the first time she was really able to observe her neighborhood. There was a mixture of small apartments and small businesses.
She easily found the convenience store, picking up some paper towels, bathroom cleaners, Windex, and some more sponges. Wandering around a couple of blocks on her way home, Willow also came across an old bookstore that looked like it had a decent occult section and a small grocery store, where she bought an assortment of fruits and yogurts and chips.
Weighed down with her purchases, Willow arrived back at the apartment just as a Crate & Barrel truck pulled up. She eagerly led the delivery guys into the apartment, depositing her purchases in the kitchen.
The delivery guys took the old, dust-infested couch with them on their way out. Willow quickly used her new dust buster to 'vacuum' the space the couch had covered and pulled open the dark curtains. The movers first brought in the new couch, placing it in front of the window. Next they brought in the chaise, which was placed on the wall next to the door. The entertainment center went on the wall across from the couch. Finally the coffee table was brought in and the cushions placed on the couch.
After tipping the delivery guys, Willow squealed in delight as she collapsed on the chaise.
Angel came rushing out of his room, afraid that Willow was in trouble. "What's… wrong?" he started to ask until he noticed that his roommate lying on the chaise with one arm thrown behind her head and one leg on the floor, a happy smile on her face.
Willow leaped off the chaise and over to Angel, admiring the nearly naked vampire's form as discretely as possible.
"Look," she eagerly babbled, "the furniture came. What d'ya think?"
Angel took in each piece of furniture, his eyes returning to caress the sofa. Willow's smile grew as Angel walked over and sat on the couch. He sighed in contentment as he sank into the cushions.
"I knew you'd like it," Willow grinned. She practically bounced over to the couch to point out, "Look, there's a pull out bed too."
"This is wonderful," Angel agreed, pulling Willow to sit next to him. "You did a good job."
"Oh, and I did some wandering this morning," Willow began.
"Alone?" Angel interrupted.
"Yes, alone. I'm a big girl, Angel. And it's broad daylight, I was perfectly safe." Angel nodded his head in defeat, motioning for Willow to continue. "Anyway, I found a convenience store and bought some cleaning supplies. I also discovered a small grocery store and a nifty old bookstore."
"That all sounds wonderful," Angel agreed.
"You wanna go exploring with me tonight?" Willow asked.
"You don't want to do it during the day?" Angel queried.
She shrugged one shoulder. "I can always go back. We will be living her for a while. But exploring's more fun when you do it with someone."
"Then I'd love to." Angel shifted, relaxing back even more. He enjoyed the feel of the soft leather against his skin. His skin? Angel nervously looked down and realized for the first time that he was only wearing his boxer shorts.
Angel stood quickly, wishing Willow had picked up some throw pillows he could use to cover himself. "I'm just… going to go… get dressed."
"Okay," Willow laughed, admiring his rapidly retreating form.
Angel returned in sweats and a t-shirt and offered to help Willow finish cleaning the apartment. They stood in the kitchen together as Angel drank his breakfast and Willow ate a light lunch. They spent the next several hours cleaning, joking and flirting.
By the time they finished it was late afternoon. Willow hopped in the newly clean shower quickly before calling her friends. Angel took his time showering and dressing while Willow was on the phone. They couldn't go out until it was dark anyways.
Willow decided to test out her balcony while making her phone calls. She called Buffy first, but she was out with Riley. Willow left a message with her new cell phone number. Xander was next, but he couldn't talk long. He was only home to shower and change out of his sweaty construction clothes before going over to see Anya. Giles was home too, but he appeared to be in the middle of some pressing research. He lamented that Willow wasn't there to help and politely inquired after her settling in with Angel. Willow could tell he wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying, so she let him go.
She was leaning against the railing when Angel knocked on her bedroom door, having not heard her voice for a while and assuming that she was finished with her calls. Willow called out for him to come in but made no move to leave her perch.
"Did you reach your friends?" Angel politely asked, staying clear of the open door as the sun began to dip below the horizon.
"Xander and Giles were home, but they couldn't really talk long. I left a message for Buffy with my number." Willow sighed, still not looking at Angel. "I've only been gone a couple of days and they don't even miss me."
"I'm sure that's not true," Angel insisted, willing the sun to finish its decent so that he could join Willow on the balcony. "Like you said, it's only been a couple of days. They haven't had time to miss you yet."
"I guess you're right," Willow reluctantly agreed. "I guess I'm just feeling a little homesick."
"Are you not happy here?" Angel nervously asked.
"What? No," Willow briskly turned to face the vampire. "I'm thrilled to be here. I am so happy and comfortable here, a part of me feels like I was always meant to live here, ya know."
Feeling the same contentment, Angel agreed, "I know."
"It's safe now," Willow commented, holding her hand out for Angel to join her.
Angel smiled as he stepped out onto the balcony. Willow turned back to admiring the view as Angel stood behind her, admiring how perfect she looked.
"It's beautiful," Willow observed, watching as the sky faded from purple to black.
"It is," Angel agreed, his eyes never leaving Willow.
Willow turned around, finding herself face-to-chest with Angel. She hadn't realized he was standing so close behind her. She looked up into his face and inhaled sharply at the lust in his eyes. Willow placed a hand on his chest, unsure of what to do. Part of her wanted Angel to lean down and kiss her, but she also knew it was too soon. Her hand could either slide up to his shoulder to bring him closer or she could push him away. She found herself pushing back and stepping around the vampire.
Angel mentally cursed, afraid that he'd scared her. She'd turned too abruptly for him to cover the lust he was feeling. And when she looked at him… he almost thought that she would have welcomed his kiss, until she pushed him away.
"Willow…" he started to apologize, turning to face her again.
Willow was peering across the small balcony. "You know what we need to do?" she lightly asked. Without waiting she answered, "We need to go to Pier 1."
"What?" Angel asked, thoroughly confused. "You want to go to the docks?"
"No, silly. It's a store," Willow informed the vampire. "I just realized that what this balcony needs is a chair… and table. I like it out here and I'd like to be comfortable."
"What about exploring the neighborhood?" Angel asked, having been looking forward to walking around with Willow.
"We can do that later, or tomorrow. Tonight we need to go shopping."
"If you insist," Angel mock-sighed. "And you can drive."
"What? Really?" Willow asked hopefully.
"Well, you need to practice if you're going to get your license." Angel said, heading back inside to get ready to go out.
Willow threw her arms around him from behind, hugging him. "Thank you, Angel. No one ever wanted to take the time to let me practice before."
"I'll always have time for you," Angel told her, turning in her arms so that she could see the sincerity in his eyes.
Willow released her arms, stepping back. "We'd better get a move on."
"After you," Angel gestured, following the redhead out to the car.
~Part: 9~
Willow sat curled up on her new wicker loveseat on her balcony, grateful that the roof extended a couple of feet past the edge of the balcony so that she could remain outdoors during the thunderstorm that was currently raging around her. As she got settled in her mind drifted to the previous evening.
It had amused Willow to have Angel follow her around Pier 1 the night before. He'd patiently stood and watched as she explored the store until she found the loveseat she'd been looking for.
"I thought you wanted a chair," Angel asked when Willow finally stopped roaming the store.
"Chair, bench, loveseat… they're all things to sit on. This way you can sit out there with me," she pointed out.
After picking out cushions, pillows and a blanket to match the greens in her bedroom, Willow moved on to find a small table for the porch. She also found a suitable nightstand for next to her bed.
'No more clock on the floor,' she happily thought.
Willow's greatest amusement came when she began to pick out some candles. No college-aged girl, let alone one who was a witch, should be without a suitable collection of candles.
Angel was baffled that Willow was buying for fun what he had always used out of necessity. He had to wonder when lanterns went from practical to decoration. Willow pointed out that she would be using them for their intended purpose – burning candles. She picked out a couple of lanterns in different sizes and glasses along with some other candle holders for her room and the living room. She also bought an assortment of scented and unscented candles to fill her new candle holders.
By putting the top down on the convertible they were able to take all of their new purchases home right away. After setting up Willow's balcony furniture she dragged him back out to go grocery shopping at a supermarket. Angel had hoped that they'd go for that walk, but he was happy to at least be spending time with Willow.
Willow was now taking a well-deserved rest after having spent the morning helping Cordelia and Wesley clean the office downstairs. Luckily there was a lot of furniture already in there, so they wouldn't have to buy much – just a desk for Wesley, some bookcases for the library, a lockable closet for the weapons, and the computers. Still, they had a lot of dusting, sweeping, and straightening (the place had been left a mess) to do.
Wesley helped Cordelia to hang the lightweight curtains she had bought to cover the front window so that their boss would be able to join them during the day. Cordelia informed Willow that it was her job to ask Angel to paint their business name in the window since he was the resident artist.
Willow had protested the job being delegated to her, but Cordelia assured her that she'd be able to do it, with a wink. Cordelia knew that the reason she had barely seen her boss for the last several days, and it had everything to do with his new redheaded roommate.
One of the things the girls had found while cleaning out Cordelia's new desk were some trashy romance novels left behind by the previous office's receptionist. Not that she would ever admit it aloud, but Willow would occasionally indulge in the guilty pleasure of reading a romance novel. Which she was now about to do.
Willow had discretely pocketed the book about the tragic dark-haired hero who despite the many hardships in his life, some of them at his own hands, who opened up his home and his heart to the fair maiden who had also suffered. For some reason it seemed to call to her.
She had made herself some coffee and brought it out to her balcony just as the storm got under way. She lit the two lanterns whose flames remained safe from the occasional gust of wind that made it through the trees, around the building and under the roof to her balcony. She snuggled under the blanket and quickly lost herself in the book. Willow couldn't even remember the last time she had read, not for school or research, but for the pure pleasure and relaxation of it.
This was how Angel found her after his breakfast and 'morning' shower. He had smelled the approaching storm even in his sleep and woken to the sound of thunder. He could tell through the curtains in the living room that it was dark outside, despite the early hour. He listened for the sound of Willow's heartbeat, which led him through her open bedroom door to her balcony.
Willow had pulled her short hair up into a little ponytail in preparation for the possible wind. The wind that had reached her had pulled many strands of fiery hair loose to frame her face. Angel couldn't help but think that this is how her hair might look when she woke, or after being made love to.
Angel cleared his throat after Willow hadn't acknowledged his presence after a couple of minutes. Her only motion had been to turn a page in the book and absently take a sip of coffee from the mug on the table before returning it to its place. However, the sound was lost in the storm.
Not wanting to startle her, Angel slowly closed the distance between him and Willow. She still didn't look up when he was standing beside her, so he lowered himself to a crouching position in order to see what book had her so completely captivated. It was his bark of laughter that finally got through to Willow.
Upon hearing Angel's laugh, Willow jerked her head away from the engrossing words in front of her and into the laughing brown eyes of her roommate.
She squealed before admonishing, "Angel, don't do that!"
"Don't do what?" he laughingly asked as Willow tried to hide the book under the blanket.
"Sneak up on me like that!" she indignantly replied.
"I didn't sneak," Angel corrected. "I was standing here for at least five minutes before you noticed me. I cleared my throat and everything."
Willow had the grace to blush, "Oh, sorry."
Reaching under the blanket Angel pulled out Willow's book as he said, "So what do we have here?"
"I-It's just a book I found in a drawer in one of the desks in the office downstairs," Willow babbled. "It's not what I'd usually choose to read, but I'm kinda lacking in the fun reading material department at the moment."
"But 'The Champion'?" Angel teased.
"You should have seen the one Cordelia took," Willow retorted. "It was even cheesier-looking than this one."
"Aren't you uncomfortable reading out here?" Angel asked.
"I like it out here. There's enough light… Ohmygod, Angel, you're outside, during the day. What are you doing out here?" Willow worriedly exclaimed.
Placing his hands on Willow's shoulders, he sat next to her on the loveseat. "Willow, calm down, it's okay. Thunderstorm, remember? No direct sunlight. I'm perfectly safe, unless of course the clouds were about to part, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon."
"Oh, right."
Willow relaxed with his words and Angel relaxed his grip, but didn't remove his hands. Instead he turned to lean against the back of the couch, pulling Willow to lean against him. She shifted until she was comfortable, pulling the blanket to rest over Angel's lap as well and resting her head on his shoulder.
They remained like this possibly for minutes, possibly for hours, watching nature at work. Angel's hand mindlessly traced patterns on Willow's shoulder until Willow suddenly pulled back, looking at him.
"What…?" Angel started to ask, already missing her warmth from his side.
Willow shook her head. "It's just… this is the closest I'm going to get to seeing you in daylight. I don't want to miss it."
Angel wordlessly nodded as Willow studied him. He could almost swear that he felt himself heating up under her gaze, but he knew that it was physically impossible.
Willow noted that his skin seemed paler in natural light. Granted, the light was pale to begin with. She unabashedly traced the lines of his face and chest with her eyes. She could feel Angel watching her look at him, and it made her blood race.
She wanted to touch him, to feel that cool skin against her own. He looked luminous, with a light she wanted to believe was for her. It seemed to radiate from him, pulling her in.
Angel's eyes drifted closed as Willow's left hand moved to his forehead. He sucked in unneeded breath at the first touch of her warm, delicate hand. Her fingertips grazed over his forehead, tracing his hairline down the side of his face and along his jaw. Then her right hand touched the bridge of his nose, trailing down to the tip, his nostrils flaring at the scent of her so close. Those same fingers lightly traced his slightly parted lips as those of her left trailed down his neck. It was taking every ounce of control to remain still under her torturously wonderful caresses.
After a false start, Angel managed to quietly ask, "So, how do I look?"
He opened his eyes to find lust-darkened green staring intently into his own.
Willow had to lick her lips before she was able to purr, "Perfect."
Angel's eyes darted down to those perfect, pink lips before moving back to her eyes, silently begging for permission. The hand on his neck urged him closer and Angel wasn't about to deny it. He unclenched one of his hands from the blanket and rested it on Willow's hip as he began to lean towards her waiting mouth.
'Soft… cool… gentle… teasing… home…' Willow couldn't think. Words flitted through her brain as Angel kissed her, as she kissed him back. The hand on his neck wound its way into his hair, holding him close, never wanting to be separated from this delicious sensation, as her other hand held onto his bicep for dear life.
'Warm… soft… teasing… demanding… home…' Angel couldn't believe the sensations running through his body. He'd known that kissing Willow would be unlike kissing any other woman, but he hadn't been prepared for how Right it would feel. He never wanted to leave the warmth of her arms, the taste of her lips.
Willow panted, desperately pulling air into her oxygen-deprived lungs, when Angel relinquished her lips to explore her face with his. He made a mental note that as hard as it would be, he'd have to try to shorten the length of the kisses so that Willow could breathe.
Once she felt sufficiently re-oxygenated Willow recaptured Angel's mouth. Now that she'd tasted his lips she never wanted to stop. After one taste she was completely, hopeless, addicted to him. She ran her tongue along the seam of his lips, needing to taste more of him.
Angel eagerly opened for her, as desperate for a more satisfying taste as she was. Her tongue was like fire, heating him from the inside, her warmth rubbing off on him as her tongue caressed his. The heat amplified ten-fold when he returned the favor and explored her mouth as thoroughly as she had his.
It was only the prickling sense of impending death by sunlight that pulled Angel away from Willow.
"Inside," he panted, looking up to see that the storm had in fact passed and the clouds were preparing to break.
Willow looked nervous and apologetic as she said, "Angel, I want to, really I do, but I'm not ready yet."
Briefly recapturing her lips in reassurance, Angel clarified. "No. Storm's over. I need to get inside before you're kissing dust."
Willow looked over her should to see that the rain had indeed stopped. As she stood to lead Angel back into the apartment she joked, "I guess the storm didn't want the competition."
Angel laughed, relieved that was able to find humor in the situation and not condemn him for his shortcomings.
Back inside, Angel captured her face in his hands. "You're amazing," he sincerely told the woman in front of him before kissing her again.
Willow's hands slid around his back, caressing the muscles beneath his shirt. Her fingers itched to pull the material out of his pants and explore his bare flesh, but her mind reminded her that she wasn't ready for that yet. It was too soon.
Willow pulled out of the kiss this time and with a smile led Angel out of her bedroom (and the temptation of her bed) and into the living room.
"We should, uh, probably talk," she explained as they sat on the sofa, fingers entwined.
"We probably should," Angel agreed. "I'm not going to apologize. I've wanted to kiss you since you agreed to move in with me. I don't know what's happening between us, but I'd love to explore it if…"
"I do," Willow confirmed. "But I need to go slowly. It's only been a week since Tara… I want you, I do," she assured him. "I think a part of me has always wanted you, but you were Buffy's…"
"Not anymore. I moved on a while ago, as did she. I'll go at whatever pace you need, Willow." Angel reached out with his free hand to cup her cheek and Willow leaned into the caress. "Besides, this will give us time to find a way around that pesky curse of mine."
Willow nervously bit her bottom lip as the rose in her cheeks. "Okay, now please don't hate me…"
"I could never hate you."
"…but um, I may have forgotten to tell you that your soul is permanent."
~Part: 10~
Angel stared at the nervous girl biting her lip next him. He had clearly heard what she had said, but he couldn't wrap his mind around it. The longer he remained silent the more agitated Willow became.
Finally Angel said, voice devoid of emotion, "What did you say?"
"Your, um, soul is permanent?" Wide green eyes looked up to meet questioning brown ones.
Angel stood and began to pace, running a hand through his hair, mumbling, "That's what I thought you said."
Thoughts were running rampant through the vampire's head. 'It's permanent. I haven't needed to restrain my every reaction and emotion for fear of becoming too happy. Although I suppose that even if I had been "perfectly happy" that nothing would have happened. But since I knew, or thought that I knew, what could cause me to lose my soul I did everything possible to avoid it. Including staying away from Buffy. Even if I'm not in love with her anymore, I was. Or at least I thought I was. Distance certainly didn't make my heart grow fonder. just the opposite. Although if I'd known that I wasn't going to lose the soul again before I left Sunnydale, Buffy and I would probably still be together. But then I wouldn't be with Willow now.'
Willow didn't know if Angel's pacing was a good sign or not. He didn't seem upset with her for not telling him sooner, but he could be working up to that. Just as Willow was about to ask him how he was taking the news, Angel spoke.
"How?" he asked, pausing his pacing to look at the redhead. "When?" He moved to sit next to her again. "How long have you known?"
Willow sighed in relief, there was no accusation in his tone, only curiosity and disbelief. She took one of his hands in hers to keep from fidgeting.
Staring at their joined hands, Willow hesitantly admitted, "I've known all along." She paused to grin sheepishly up at Angel before continuing. "You see, when I gave you back your soul I was able to do it without the 'perfect happiness' clause. I didn't tell anyone I'd done that. And we didn't know for a long time if the curse worked since Buffy had taken off after she sent you to hell. I thought it had worked, I felt it go through me, but since it was my first big spell I couldn't be sure. Then when you came back, it had been so long that it just kinda slipped my mind that the soul couldn't go away." Willow trailed off, her voice growing quieter at the end.
"For two years?" Angel questioned.
"Well.when Buffy came back and she knew that your soul had been restored when she sent you to hell she felt so guilty that I didn't want to make her feel worse by telling her the soul was permanent. Then by the time we found out you were back I had forgotten that no one else knew about the permanency of your soul."
Looking back up at Angel she tentatively asked, "Are you mad at me?"
"What?" Angel asked in shock. 'Disappointed and frustrated; yes. But angry?' he thought. He kissed her quickly. "No. Willow how could you think I'd be mad about you making my soul permanent?"
"Well, you didn't know. You could have been happy. You could have been with Buffy."
"Don't feel guilty about that." He insisted. "I think you and I both know that Buffy and I never would have worked out."
When Willow was about to protest again, Angel captured her mouth with his, kissing her deeply. Using his lips, tongue and teeth, he tried to convince her how grateful he was that she had made his soul permanent in the first place. And there was no one else he'd rather share his soul with than her.
When Angel released Willow's mouth, he brought their joined hands to his lips, kissing her fingers. Looking into her glazed eyes, he asked, "Do you believe me now?"
"Uh-huh," Willow absently responded, still dazed from that kiss. She shook her head to try and refocus. Smiling she reiterated, "I really didn't mean to not tell you."
"I know," Angel affirmed, caressing her hair.
Willow started to lean forward to kiss him again when there was a loud knock at the door. Both of them groaned at the interruption.
"Delivery," they heard from the hallway.
"Coming," Willowed called back as she stood to open the door.
Willow spoke briefly with the delivery man who went back down to the truck to get the furniture. Willow turned back to Angel and bounced as she said, "It's the rest of my bedroom furniture."
Angel merely smiled as he leaned back on the couch to watch Willow direct the deliverers to her room with her dresser and desk. He found it adorable that Willow could get so excited about new furniture. He wanted her to feel comfortable in their apartment. Although with the new knowledge he had regarding his soul's permanency he hoped that before long they'd be sharing one bedroom.
Angel was still sitting on the couch with a dreamy look on his face when Willow thanked the delivery guys and closed the door behind them. She crawled onto the couch next to Angel who was still lost in his thoughts. She ran a hand through his hair and behind his ear as she whispered, "What'cha thinking about?"
Angel turned his head and gave her a very Angelus-like smirk, causing her heartbeat to speed up.
"Are they gone?" he silkily asked.
Willow nodded; she'd never heard him use such a sexy tone before - at least not with the soul.
"You want to show me your room?" he purred, running a hand along her arm. Willow shook her head, inching closer to him. "No?"
"No." Willow confirmed against his lips. She briefly licked her lips, licking his as well; such little space was between them.
With a growl Angel closed that miniscule distance, wrapping his arms around Willow and pulling her onto his lap. Her hands went around his neck, playing with the hair at the base of his neck. Angel's hands ran over Willow's back, occasionally straying to her hips as they continued to explore each other's mouths as only a new couple could.
Once again it was a pounding on the door that finally broke the couple apart, both panting for breath, whether they needed it or not.
"Yo, Angel. You in there?" Gunn called from the hallway.
Willow slid off of Angel's lap, trying to compose herself as Angel stood to answer the door, willing his erection away.
"What?" Angel virtually growled when he opened the door to the young demon fighter.
"Don't you growl at me. You were supposed to meet me half an hour ago to go kill that Mevlenore demon."
"We were going to meet just after sunset," Angel pointed out.
"Yeah, which was over half an hour ago," Gunn agreed, stepping into the apartment. He saw Willow sitting on the couch, blushing and nervously smoothing her hair and clothing. Grinning he said, "Well, I can see you were otherwise occupied."
Angel held a hand out for Willow to join them. "Gunn, this is Willow Rosenberg. Willow, this is Charles Gunn. He found the building."
"Call me Gunn," the young man insisted. "So, you're Angel's. roommate."
Choosing to ignore the implication, Willow said, "Yes. It's so nice to meet you, Gunn. You did a great job. I absolutely love this place."
He waved the complement off. "It was nothing. I'm glad you like it. Angel was very specific with what he wanted in an apartment. You did a good job furnishing the place."
"So what's this about a Mevlenore demon?" Willow asked the men. "They're not nice guys."
"There's one trying to set up shop in my neighborhood. Angel here said he'd help convince it to move on." Gunn said. "You've seen one before?"
"Yeah, there was one hanging around the campus. He was always trying to lure people into the old science building so that he could rip off their toenails. He'd eat them in order to maintain his human appearance." Willow shivered with the memory, leaning into Angel's side and he wrapped an arm around her.
"Yeah, well, that's what this guy's been doing. Only he's using an abandoned house."
"I'm going to go help Gunn get rid of this guy," Angel informed Willow. "Will you wait here?"
"And do what? Keep reading my book?" she asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.
Seeing an argument in the making, Gunn decided to give himself a tour of the furnished apartment.
Angel silently thanked Gunn's good sense. He quickly tried to figure out a way out of the hole he had just dropped himself into.
"You could finish unpacking now that your dresser's here," he suggested. He immediately winced at the hard, angry glare in the redhead's eyes.
"You want me to stay here and do housework?" Willow coldly asked, crossing her arms over chest.
"That's not what I meant," Angel hastened to explain. 'How am I going to get out of this?' he asked himself. "It's just. There's not going to be anything for you to do if you come along. You've seen these guys. It's just a quick slice and dice. I'll be back before you know it."
"Then why did Gunn ask you to go along in the first place?" Willow demanded.
Deciding to take pity on his friend, Gunn answered, "Because Gunn didn't know it would be that easy to kill it."
Willow spun to face Gunn, her face immediately losing its harshness. "Sorry. I didn't mean to insult you or anything."
"Nah, s'okay. All I knew was there was this guy torturing my friends. If it's just a slice and dice I can handle it on my own." Heading to the door he added, "Besides, it looks like you two have some serious talking to do."
"Thanks," Angel grumbled.
"I'll catch up with you later. Willow, it was a pleasure meeting you."
"You too, Gunn."
The second the door closed Willow was glaring at Angel again. "He was right. We need to talk."
Trying to head off the storm, Angel started, "Willow."
"No, don't Willow me. If we are going to have a relationship then there are a few things you'd better learn, and quick." She poked him in the chest with a finger. "Number one: You DO NOT tell me where I can go. I have been fighting demons and vampires alongside the slayer for four years. I know how to hold my own and I've got magick to defend myself. I am not going to let you go all macho on me and try to protect me like some weak little girl."
"I never meant to imply that you were," Angel calmly said. He had to control his amusement, and arousal, at seeing Willow stand up to him. "I know how strong you are, and how long you've been fighting." Willow began to relax her defensive stance. "I promise that I will do my best to try to not keep you protected. It will be hard though. I don't want anything to happen to you, especially now." Willow took a step closer to him and rested her palm on his chest and Angel wrapped her lightly in his arms. "But you need to understand also that I have been around for a lot longer than you have. There will be times when it isn't safe for you, despite your abilities, and I'll need you to trust me."
"I do trust you," Willow affirmed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so used to everyone thinking they need to protect poor little Willow."
"You're not her anymore. I know that, even if they don't."
"Then why were you going to go kill this thing without me?" Willow pouted.
"Well," Angel looked almost ashamed to admit, "Sometimes a little meaningless violence can be fun. Besides, when I agreed to dispatch the Mevlenore you and I weren't a couple." He tapped her nose with a finger. "How was I supposed to know I'd have more important things to do tonight?"
"I'm more important than ridding the city of demons?" Willow coyly asked.
"Oh yes," Angel confirmed as he leaned down to show her just how much more important she was to him.