Author: Katie
Disclaimer: Angel, Willow et al do not belong to me, but to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB et al.
Rating: PG - British System.
Feedback: Much appreciated - it really helps.
Distribution: If you want it, just tell me where it is going.
Dedication: To Jasmin.
Notes: This is just a short piece. Basically it is the thoughts of
Willow, Angel and Buffy in that order as they participate in
the same event. It's not really complicated!
*************************************************************************************************
I'm sitting here, wondering what exactly I'm doing. There's no research
to be done, but I seem to be incapable of moving
from this spot. I'm trying not to watch him, but I'm pretty sure
it's a battle I'm losing. He's training with Buffy, giving Giles
a
rest from the punishment she inflicts on him. His movements are so
natural, graceful even. Oh yeah, drooling. That's a
good way to keep your infatuation a secret. Calm down Willow, and
remember to breathe. Concentrate on the book...or
Buffy! Yeah, Buffy. Best friend, Angel's soulmate. Oh,
I want to be his soulmate. Bad Willow. Book, yeah. I'll
read the
book.
***********************
Why did I offer to do this? Training with Buffy is bad enough, but
with Willow sitting so close, it's rapidly becoming a
torture that not even Angelus could top. I keep stealing glances
at her, but she appears to be in some world of her own.
I've really got to concentrate. If I'm distracted, I'll end up on
the wrong end of a Slayer - not something I find particularly
attractive. I wonder what she's researching. It certainly has
her deep in thought. There's a smile on her face, and I know
she must be thinking of something good - Xander or Oz perhaps? Are
they the reason that her book is upside down?
************************
I'm so glad Angel's training with me tonight. We really don't spend
enough time together. I mean, I know I ended it with
him, but that doesn't mean we can't spend time together. He seems
a bit distracted, though. I wonder if he's thinking
about me. I see him look at Willow, and it's obvious he wants her
to leave so we can have a bit more privacy. Giles is
locked in his office, so if Willow would just go, we could be alone.
I really need to get Angel's full attention. I don't like it
when a part of him is somewhere else. I know - a sharp kick should
do it.
***********************
What was that? Oh God, what has she done? Why did she kick
him like that? This is meant to be training, not all out
combat. What am I doing? How did I get here? I hadn't
even noticed that I'd got out of my seat, and now I'm pushing
Buffy away and helping him to his feet. That kick must have broken
a rib, even if he is a vampire. I lead him to the table
and make him sit in a chair. I'm dimly aware of telling Buffy to
get Giles and the first aid kit, but I'm concentrating so much
more on the fact that I'm unbuttoning his shirt. It's an action
I've dreamed of performing, only in the dreams there is no
audience.
************************
What did she just do? One minute I'm looking at Willow, and the next
I'm on the floor with a pain in my side indicating at
least one broken rib. That kick was a bolt out of the blue.
I try to get up, and feel a small hand on my arm helping me. It's
Willow. The sudden weakness I feel has little or nothing to do with
my injury, and everything to do with the girl helping me
to a chair. She's giving orders to Buffy, and then I feel her hands
on my chest, and she's unbuttoning my shirt. I know it's
only to patch me up, but a thrill unlike any other I've experienced during
my souled years goes through me.
************************
Well, that got his attention. Perhaps it was a bit much, but I don't
want his mind wandering, and after all, he's a vampire.
He can take it. I hold out a hand to him to help him up, but Willow
just pushes past me and does it instead. She's helping
him to a chair. She's giving me orders. I'm too shocked not
to obey. As I go into Giles's office, I see her unbuttoning his
shirt, and a pang of jealousy shoots through me before I catch myself.
This is Willow, after all. She's hardly a threat to
me. She's just being Willow, and Angel is in pain, so that's why
he's not stopping her, and it also explains the strange
look on his face.
************************
Giles hands me the bandage, and I motion for Angel to stand so that I can
wind it around his chest. I know my hands are
shaking, and I really need not to look at his chest. Or his back.
The tattoo that Buffy mentioned is there, in all its glory.
I'm fighting myself now, in an effort to get a grip on my emotions, and
force them back to where I keep them locked up.
Giles is saying that Angel should go and rest, and I hear Buffy saying
that she'll take him home. Then Angel speaks, and
what he says sends warmth spiralling through me. He says I should
go with him, so that Buffy can carry on training with
Giles. I silently beg Giles to agree, and he does. By now my
heart is thumping in my chest, and I grab my bag and head
to the doors, with Angel holding my arm. I'm in heaven.
*************************
With trembling hands, she bandages my ribs, and the shaking seems to worsen.
I wonder if it's from shock, or
something I've never dared to hope for before. I can literally feel
her gaze as she takes in my tattoo, and suddenly I need
to know. When Giles says someone should take me home, I immediately
volunteer Willow, coming up with the first
excuse my brain manages to spit out. To my relief, Giles thinks it's
a good idea, and I watch Willow as she snatches up
her bag. I take her arm, not so much because of the pain, which is
fading thanks to her tender touch, but because I need
to touch her. I'm hoping she needs to touch me too.
**************************
I see her wrapping his ribs, and for a moment I wish it was me, but then
I remember that it's my job to cause the damage,
and Willow is there to clean it up. Giles says he should go home,
and I know that this is my opportunity to get some
private time with him, so why is Angel saying no? It must be because
he wants me to train, so I can be safe. Willow will
take him home, and everything will be okay. I can talk to him tomorrow,
and we can work things out. I see her get her
bag and let him take her arm. I see a look in his eyes that used
to be reserved for me, but I'm not going there. I won't
deal with the implications of that look. Tomorrow I'll go and see
him and everything will be alright.
The End.