After night I do crowd,
And with night will go;
I turn my back to the east,
From whence comforts have increas'd;
For light doth seize my brain
With frantic pain.
-- William Blake, 'Mad Song'

Willow had a headache from her mind constantly going over every
thing she'd done, every thing that could possible happen now, and
frankly, she was sick of it. She wanted to go home and forget
about everything that had happened, forget that Angel was back,
but she just knew she wouldn't be able to forget and despite what
her mind was trying to convince her of, she had enjoyed it.

"Stupid!" Willow berated, shaking her head; her sudden movement
caused Angel's arms to tighten around her waist. They were still
lying in the park, and he showed no signs of allowing her to move.
"Angel?" she asked, knowing he was awake. An answering growl and
a tightening of arms came in reply. "Just checking," she sighed
and tried once again to figure a way out of this. She checked her
watch and noticed that dawn was rapidly approaching. "Angel,"
Willow started, trying to get out of his arms. He snarled but not
in a nice way. "The sun's coming up," she explained, turning to meet
his eyes. His eyes were no longer held the completely animalistic
look from the night before; he grinned suddenly and rolled away
from her. "That was easy," she muttered as Angel rose to his feet
and pulled on his pants. "Too easy."

Willow stood as well, pulling her panties and jeans back into
place and looked up to see Angel holding her sweater out to
her.

"Thanks," she muttered, pulling it over her head; he nodded in reply.
< Well, at least he understands, > she thought, < Even if he isn’t
conversation guy. > Angel held out a hand, and Willow looked up at him
in confusion. He cocked his head at her, and she sighed, placing her
hand in his. With a playful growl he scooped her up into his arms; he
nuzzled his bite mark gently.

"Mine," he whispered, carrying Willow down the path. < This, this is nice, > 
nice, Willow thought as they exited the park. <No! This is bad. I'm
being carried down the streets of Sunnydale by a shirtless vampire! >
She sighed heavily. < What if someone sees? > She hid her face against
Angel's neck and prayed that no one she knew saw them.

Both Angel and Willow were to involved to notice a dark shadow step
out of the shade of one of the trees in park.

"Well, well, looks who's gettin' some," Faith grinned then followed
the couple at a discreet distance.
 

After night I do crowd,
And with night will go;
I turn my back to the east,
From whence comforts have increas'd;
For light doth seize my brain
With frantic pain.
-- William Blake, 'Mad Song'

Angel carried Willow past her house and, much to her protestations,
towards Crawford Street. Every time she tried to convince Angel to
take her back to her house, he silenced her with either a snarl or
a growl, and, while she knew he was slowly coming out of his animal
side, she also knew he wasn't quite out of it yet. They managed to
make it all the way to the mansion without being stopped or questioned
by anyone.

< Good old Sunnydale, > Willow commented to herself, < Still got its head
firmly in the sand. > Angel let Willow down out of his arms as they
crossed the threshold into the mansion. She stood in the doorway and
marveled at the elaborate architecture; as she stood there with her
mouth hanging open, she noticed Angel staring at her, waiting.

"It's....wow," she commented. He smiled and held out his hand; she
smiled in return and let him lead her to the leather couch. He sat her
down and made a staying motion with his hand. She nodded her understanding,
and he disappeared behind the curtain. Willow looked around the room
and noticed the scorch mark signaling Angel's landing place back in this
reality. "It's really real," she whispered, reality finally hitting her.
"What am I gonna tell Buffy?" she didn't get a chance to answer her own
question as Angel reentered the room, carrying a small notepad and pencil.
He sat down on the couch and watched her with hooded eyes.

"How did you....Why did you....?" she trailed off unsure of how to voice
the questions on her mind.

"Mine," he stated simply.

"Your what?" she asked, stating the question that had plagued her mind
Every time he'd said that word.. He opened his mouth to reply, but no sound
came out. He snarled in frustration and scribbled on the pad. He held it
up for Willow to read. "'Mate'?" she read, confused. Her eyes widened
suddenly
in understanding. "Oh, no, no, no. No!" she denied, rising to her feet; she
shook her head.

"Looks like your in a tough spot, Red," a voice commented from the doorway.
Angel was suddenly on his feet with his arms locked around Willow's waist
and shoulders in a protective embrace; he growled a warning at the
newcomer.

"Faith!" Willow exclaimed. < Oh, Goddess, this is where my life is over! >

"You know, I didn't think you had it in you. Screwing around on Wolfie
while he's outta commission and with this hunk of man," Faith laughed
stepping into the room. Angel growled again and started to step towards
Faith.

"Angel, no!" Willow ordered, stopping him with hand on his wrist.

"Woah, woah!" Faith exclaimed, holding her hands up. "Angel? B's psycho
ex?" Willow looked away but nodded. "I can't believe this!"

"Faith, you cannot tell anyone," Willow ordered, "About this, about him."
She pointed at Angel. The brunette Slayer shrugged.

"Sure, no prob, but you're gonna owe me," she replied.

"Thank you," Willow replied honestly, unsure if she should dread whatever
she would owe Faith. The Slayer grinned at the two of them.

"I'm just gonna leave the two of you alone," she laughed, walking out of
the mansion. Willow watched her leave then turned back to Angel.

"I can't be your mate," Willow whispered to him; Angel just stared at
her in confusion. "I-I....Oz," she explained lamely. She felt tears
welling up in her eyes for unknown reasons; she turned and made it halfway
to the door before Angel was suddenly in front of her. His demon face was
in full view, causing Willow to gasp and step back. The demon melted away
into his human face. "You're not going to let me leave." She made it a
statement. He shook his head, and all Willow could do was sigh loudly.

*FIN*

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