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Angel watched her through the window, listening in amusement to Spike questioning her about where she had been and what she had been doing.  The witch was fidgeting, trying desperately to get Spike to leave the room. Only after the blond vampire gave up and disappeared from sight, did Willow remove her scarf. The dark vampire smirked, pleased to see his mark. The bite contrasted beautifully against her pale skin.

Turning, he stalked quickly into the dorm, intent on having Willow in his arms again. He paused at the doorway of her dorm room, waiting for her to
turn around. He chuckled softly, and watching her back stiffen.  Slowly, the small redhead turned around to face him.

"What you doing here Angel?", she demanded angrily. He smirked catching the slight tremble in her voice.

'She's afraid', the ensouled vampire realized, 'good.'

"Can I come in?", Angel asked, catching her verdant gaze in an effort to gauge her reaction. He could feel the nervousness washing off of Willow's
small frame in waves.

"I, I, --what are you doing here Angel?", she asked again, ignoring his question, her voice higher.

"Are you sure you want to discuss this with me out here?", he asked slyly, gesturing to illustrate the fact that he was still standing in the very
public hallway.

"I think you should just go home back to L.A. where you belong Angel", the witch said shakily, with an air of finality. Deliberately, she turned her
back to him, and the vampire had to wonder just who his witch thought she was dealing with.

He moved across the room quickly, and spun her around to face him. "But, I think, we should talk Willow", he said, grasping her wrist firmly.  The
redhead gasped in shock.

"You can't... How? I didn't invite you."

Angel chuckled darkly.  "Buffy did, ages ago Willow, you should really find out who she's inviting into your room."

He slipped his arm about her, dragging her easily against him.  Angel's other hand slid into her short, red locks.

"Let me go Angel", Willow begged softly. The vampire growled, remembering how just recently she had begged for other things.

"That's not at all what you wanted yesterday", he purred silkily against her ear, leaning down closely so he could draw in her sweet scent.

"That was a mistake", she whimpered, half heartedly trying to pull herself from his grip on her arms.

"Yesterday? The day before? Or last week, Willow?", Angel demanded, nuzzling her cheek, before moving his mouth down along the side of her neck.  The fingers buried in her hair, tightened almost painfully, forcing her to arch her neck into his touch. He used the tip of his tongue to lave the bluish mark that marred the perfect ivory softness just above her pounding pulse point.

"Buffy...Buffy could walk in at any moment. T-this is her room too",  Willow gasped. The dark vampire grinned wickedly, allowing his fangs to scrape
along the same path his tongue had traveled over seconds before.

"Let her," he growled, allowing his true face to slide into place as he suckled her soft skin into his mouth again.

"Don't!", she moaned, pushing frantically against his chest. Angel chuckled darkly, before biting down harshly. He purred in pleasure as Willow's hot
blood flooded his mouth.

"Mine!", he growled, lifting his mouth from her flesh, not bothering to wipe the trickle rich, red liquid that escaped from his lips.

"You begged me to make you mine", Angel whispered, looking down into his witch's wide, green eyes. "I won't let you go. Not now, not ever", he added harshly, before capturing her lips without warning in a searing kiss that forced her mouth open. He plunged his tongue into the warm
depths of her mouth, almost brutally.

The vampire heard the soft moan that escaped her unwillingly as she stubbornly continued to try to resist.  She was failing miserably, trying to
push him away only to drag him closer. Willow was his, they both knew it. He had only to force her to accept it.

"Why did you leave?", he demanded, once he lifted his lips from hers.

The slender young woman stared up at him, her gaze tearing as she tried to catch the breath he'd stolen.

"Because this is where I belong," Willow responded softly. "This is my home. Everything I've ever known is here. They need me Angel."

The dark vampire nodded slowly. All of that was true, at least from where she was standing, but he couldn't, wouldn't accept it for them, he wouldn't let go. Not without a fight.

"What happened last night Willow?"

He saw her eyes widen slightly, telling him he'd hit on some thing.

"What makes you think something happened last?", she demanded, her voice shaking.

"Did they even notice? Did they even know you were gone Willow?", Angel asked.

Willow looked away from him, staring at the other bed in the room.

"Willow?", he whispered, capturing her chin in his large hand, and forcing her to look at him. Her eyes refused to meet his, and suddenly Angel knew he was right. They hadn't even noticed.  He couldn't believe it.

"Tara and Spike noticed", Willow said, defending her friends. The vampire nodded, not surprised that the little blond witch had noticed Willow's
absence. After all, she had spent a major Sabbat camped out in his living room.

"Did she know where you were?", Angel asked curiously.

"Yes", the witch answered, softly, glancing toward the door, worriedly, Angel sniffed the air, catching the scent of something on it, familiar but
he couldn't figure out what it was or where he'd smelled it before. Someone, not Buffy, was to the door.  He could feel a presence hesitating. Finally there was a knock, and Angel slowly released his hold on Willow, wondering who it could possibly be.

Freed, the witch moved quickly. Pulling the door open, a relieved smile formed on her lips when Tara came into view. The blond witch noticed him
immediately and offered an apologetic smile and a slight wave.

"Sorry to bug you Willow, but I sort of have a problem", the blond girl said hesitatingly.

Angel's gaze hardened.  He could see how eager Willow was to talk to  the other witch.  She was eager for any excuse to get away from him.  That could not be allowed.

Tara looked at him, her expression odd.

"You know," Tara said quietly, "it looks like you're in the middle of something here.  Nevermind Willow. I can get it worked out by myself.  That
might be better anyway.", The blond sounded a bit nervous, and Angel had to wonder if she could somehow feel his barely leashed demon demanding that he drag Willow away from the girl, and remind her that she belonged to him.

The blond's gaze caught the vampire's, and he saw something powerful flash behind her eyes. Angel had the strangest feeling he'd just been warned not to hurt the hacker, despite that fact that Tara had said not a word. For just a fleeting moment the witch had seemed as strong as any Slayer.

"Tara, wait...", Willow urged desperately, her voice trailing off. Although the other girl had to have heard the panic in her friend's voice, she choose
to ignore it. The girl walked quickly out of the room without turning back.

"What did you do?!", his witch growled, turning back to face him.

Angel chuckled. Done? He hadn't done anything that's what was so funny.

Giving him an exasperated look, Willow walked away. Angel sighed, moving quickly to block her only exit, and closed the door again.

"Now where were we Willow?", he asked cockily, advancing on her again. She drew back, and his nose twitched.  He could smell her fear, and while one part of him felt guilty for frightening her, the other part of him, the primal, male part, crowed at the knowledge that she was smart enough to be wary. He wouldn't harm her, he could never harm her, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. Willow knew that.  And he knew that she loved him, all of him.

"Angel please... let this go", she whispered, looking up at him with liquid emerald eyes. The vampire shook his head and smiled down at her showing a hint of fang.  He couldn't do that, she was a part of him.

"Angel?"

The warrior for the Powers leaned forward, capturing the young woman's lips once more.  The kiss was hungry, deep. His hands moved to twine in the silky strands of her hair, holding her against him.

Angel growled softly as her lips parted, and her tongue met his in desperate combat. He could feel her resolve weakening, as she sagged into his arms, her own circling his powerful shoulders.

"No", she gasped, jerking away from him suddenly. "This is what got us into trouble in the first place." Willow swallowed, looking down at her hands.

"Trouble? That's what you consider what happened between us?  Trouble?", the dark haired vampire asked, sounding hurt.

Willow immediately looked contrite, but continued. "It was wrong Angel, we shouldn't have... I should never have let it happen", the witch murmured softly.

"Why?"

He gently caressed her cheek, enjoying the tactile feeling of her velvety skin.  "Why does this have to be wrong, Willow?", he asked leaning in again to press a soft kiss to her lips before drawing back slightly.

"I...I, Buffy--!", she gasped, looking past him, her face paling.  Angel turned, the blond Slayer stood in the doorway, a shell-shocked expression on
her face.

"Buffy?", Willow gasped her friend's name again, before pulling away from Angel and running from the dorm room, leaving Angel to face the Slayer.

"Go on Angel. You didn't come all this way to let her walk out, did you?", Buffy demanded.  The vampire could see the blond fighting to hold on to her composure.

"I'm sorry", he whispered. The last thing he had wanted to do was hurt his ex-girlfriend like this.  He hadn't meant for her to find out like this.

"Later", the Slayer said shortly. "Go get Willow." The blond stood there stiffly, her hazel eyes demanding that he do just that.

"Thank you", he whispered, before disappearing down the hallway. Vaguely, he thought he heard her murmur, "Don't run too hard Wills, the old man might get winded."

Angel smiled to himself.  Even in pain, Buffy truly loved Willow more then herself

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Willow could feel the tears that threatened to overflow from her eyes. She sobbed softly, wishing that Angel's arms were around her, while at the same time hating herself for it.

The red haired hacker looked down at her feet, feeling more then a little guilty. She'd done something wrong, something unforgivable, and he wouldn't let it go. What happened between them shouldn't have. She didn't belong with him, and he certainly didn't belong with her, no matter how much she wanted him to.  She had no right to Angel. He belonged to Buffy and could never be hers.

She fought back another round of sobs. Realizing abruptly, that standing in the middle of a Sunnydale street at night wasn't exactly the safest thing to do, she began to walk. Even in her current state of mind, Willow was anything but stupid.

As she walked, she circled her arms about her waist, trying to offer herself some comfort. She needed him.  She needed him more then she could ever recall needing anyone, even Xander, and she'd run from him.

Would Angel forgive her?  Would he even want her now that he'd seen Buffy? Could she really compare what had seemed so extraordinary only
days before, with what he and the Slayer had shared? To Willow, intoxicating was far too tame a word for what she and Angel had shared. Never had she experienced anything like the white hot passion that flared between them, somehow born, or perhaps nurtured by the comfortable
friendship they had always had.

Scende la notte, tranquillitàà
Piano il buio respiraSolo la luna veglieràà
Con argento ci coprirààDal grande cielo splenderàà
Solo la luna veglieràà

She wiped angrily at the tears, wanting to hate herself for her weakness, for the weakness of wanting and loving someone she shouldn't. The redhead found herself wondering how it could be so easy for him. How could he simply appear to cast off his love for Buffy? Why hadn't things stayed simple? Why had she gone to him? Why had she allowed things to happen as they had?

It wasn't like this was really that sudden. It wasn't as though she had been unaware of the slow changes that had taken place in her relationship with the vampire over the past months. Anymore then she was surprised by the tender kiss that had been pressed to her lips, when she'd cried herself out the night Oz left. That night she hadn't gone to Buffy.  No, that night she'd found comfort in the arms of her other best friend.

La luna della notte
Dolcemente ci proteggeràà
La luna della notte
Dolcemente ci proteggeràà

When exactly had he gone from being her best friend to something else? She frowned thoughtfully.  It was somewhere between his leaving, and Buffy dating Riley and having no time for her.

She supposed it was only natural to have found common ground with him. Angel had been there for her when the others had been too busy, or too tired of hearing about her pain.

He'd even found humor in the fact that her 'will be done spell' had lead to Spike and Buffy believing themselves in love. Angel had been beside himself. He hadn't been able to stop laughing, and oddly it was the first time, that the vampire hadn't brooded for days after the mere mention of the Slayer's name. Willow almost smiled, thinking of all the things they had shared with each other.

Scende la notte, e lei èè la
Su tutto'l cielo lei regna
Con gentilezza lel guarderàà
Illuminando la sera
Con gentilezza lel guarderàà
Illuminando la sera

The loss of Doyle, and how heavily it had weighed not only on him but on Cordelia as well. She'd returned the favor, helping him through his pain, as he had with hers.  She had held him, the way he had held her.

Willow sighed and pushed her hair back out of her face. She drew in a calming breath, and began to walk at a quicker pace, when her house came
into view. 'Her parents house, actually', she amended mentally as she reached the front steps. Already she could feel her mind whispering the truth against her senses. She'd felt more at home, over the last couple weeks in L.A., than she had for the last four years in this house. L.A. wasn't so strange really, at least not with Angel by her side.

She shivered delicately as the memory of the vampire's touch washed over her. She groaned, and forced herself up the stairs to the front door as her mind replayed exactly what had happened.  What had preceded their move from friends to lovers.

La luna della notte
Dolcemente ci proteggeràà
La luna della notte
Dolcemente ci proteggeràà

Her heart pounded in her ears as she recalled the sound of his voice whispering her name over and over, as he pressed his mouth to her neck. The
feel of him, as her arms held him closer as comfort gave way to passion. How his hands had trembled as they uncovered her pale flesh. The feel of his lips caressing hers. His whispered Gaelic words, as he slowly joined their flesh for the first time. The feeling of falling asleep with his cool, hard
body pressed intimately against her own.

'Oh Goddess', she whispered breathlessly, forcing her thoughts away from the memories.  The redhead exhaled harshly, and propelled herself up the stairs to her room.  She was not surprised to see that little had changed since the last time she'd been there. She sat on her bed, not bothering to turn on the lights.  All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep.  To allow herself to get lost in her memories.

She wanted him, she knew. Willow realized as she sat there, that she wanted to take back all the things she'd said to him. Whether this was a mistake or not, there was no denying, she wanted Angel.

Luna non veglieràà
Fuggiràà Luna scompariràà

Are you an ember; are you a flame? Do you stand strong or melt in the rain? Are you a weak link or part of the chain? Are you the solution Or part of the blame? For we are the People and we are the change. Who should be watching, Protecting the earth? Is the land sacred Or just so much dirt? Your sisters and brothers, Who helps with their pain? Are you part of the filling Or part of the drain? For we are the Power and we are the change. ...

read the sequal 'I Will Find You'

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