Let me set my mournful ditty
To a merry measure;--
Thou wilt never come for pity,
Thou wilt come for pleasure;
Pity then will cut away
Those cruel wings, and thou wilt stay.
-- Percy Bysshe Shelly, Song

Willow sighed heavily as she walked up the street to her house.
It had been a week since she'd walked out on Angel, and she hadn't
so much as been near the mansion even though she desperately wanted
to be there with him. < Confusion is a fun thing, > Willow thought.
She knew Angel was up to something, and she knew Faith was in on it.
The Slayer had been taking Angel blood at Willow's request and would
always come back with an enigmatic grin on her face. When Willow would
question her, the brunette would just wink and walk away.

"She can be such a pain in the...." Willow trailed off as she faced
her house and saw the large, brightly wrapped box leaning against
her front door. She walked up the walkway slowly. < This is Sunnydale,
and no one receives gifts on their doorsteps without strings attached, >
she rationalized. She unlocked her front door and stepped inside before
turning around and dragging the package in behind her. She shut the
door, not bothering to lock it, figuring that anything that was going
to attack her would have already. She carried the box over to the couch,
set it down, and pulled off the small card.

'Red, Girls' Night Out tonight? Your favorite Slayer.' Willow's brow
creased as tried to thing of any reason Faith would have to give her a
present for a 'girls' night out', and her mind kept coming back to one
name. "Angel," she whispered, pulling the silver ribbon off the box and
removing the top. As she brushed aside the tissue paper, her hand connected
with silk, and her eyes widened.

Her fingers found the straps of the dress, and she gingerly pulled it out
of the box. As she lifted the black silk dress out of the box, another
card fell out of it's folds and onto the floor. Willow quickly picked it
up and opened it.

'If you haven't figured it out yet, you're not as smart as I give you
credit for. F.' Willow placed the card inside the box and stood up, draping
the dress in front of her. She turned to the mirror in the hall and was
amazed by the dress.

"Fang has good taste," Faith suddenly commented from the doorway; Willow
jumped slightly and turned to glare at the Slayer. "And you're supposed
to put it on, not stare at it all night," she grinned, stepping into the
house.

"How long has he been planning this?" Willow asked, running a hand over
the silk. Faith cocked her head.

"Since you walked out on him," she replied.

"Oh," she whispered.

"Are you going to get dressed? Or do I have to go back and tell him to
find a new gimmick?"

"I don't have anything to wear with this," Willow stated, turning to
look at the Slayer. "Shoes o-or jewelry."

"Got it covered, Red," Faith grinned, holding out a shoe box and a
rectangular jewelry box. "Fang spares no expense," she shrugged,
handing the objects to Willow. The hacker narrowed her eyes but started
walking towards the downstairs bathroom to change. "I'll be outside in
the van," Faith commented, starting out the door.

"Van?" Willow whirled around. "Oz is in on this?"

"He wants you happy. Besides," she shrugged. "Who do you think told Fang
your clothing size?" Willow shook her head and made her into the bathroom.

Let me set my mournful ditty
To a merry measure;--
Thou wilt never come for pity,
Thou wilt come for pleasure;
Pity then will cut away
Those cruel wings, and thou wilt stay.
-- Percy Bysshe Shelly, Song

Willow pushed the door to the mansion open and stepped into the
hallway, praying to whatever gods were listening that she didn't
fall flat on her face from the heels. She glanced over her shoulder
to see Faith giving her a thumbs up sign; Oz waved her on then the
door closed and Willow was alone in the suddenly very dark house.

"Hello?" she asked, stepping into the living room. As she glanced
around she was struck by three things. The first was the total lack
of any electric light burning anywhere in the mansion, the second
was candles, candles everywhere casting very romantic glow into the
room, and the third was Angel standing in the center of the room
half-illuminated by the candles and half-encased in shadows. "Wow,"
she whispered.

"I second that," he replied, not moving, but she could feel his eyes
roving over her. Willow resisted the urge to cover the slit in the
dress with her hands; she straightened her back and met his eyes from
across the room. "Come here," he whispered, holding out a hand.

"Angel, we've talked about this--" He cut her off by raising a hand.

"Tonight, you're not my mate," he stated; she looked at him, not quite
believing his words. "Tonight you're just Willow, and I'm just Angel."
His hand was still hanging in the air, waiting for her. "Now, come here."
She sighed and covered the distance between them, but she stopped just
out of arm's reach.

"Promise me," she started, gesturing with her hands. "Promise me that
nothing's going to happen tonight."

"I can't promise that, Willow," he whispered. "I can promise that we
won't do anything you don't want to."

"So the ball's in my court? So to speak." He nodded. "Oh, goodie," she
sighed, taking his hand. "So what's on the menu tonight?" Her eyes
suddenly widened. "I didn't mean--" She was silenced by his finger on
her lips.

"I know," he murmured. "Tonight, I'm going to convince you to stay,"
he stated.

"And how are you going to do that?" she asked with a teasing smile.
He let go of her hand and bent down, picking up the small remote
control that had been lying on the coffee table; he pressed one button,
causing the large stereo in the corner to blink to life. He pressed
another button, and Willow heard a CD cuing up.

"One dance?" he asked, offering her his hand again. She took his hand
and he pulled her into an embrace as the song pulsed out of the speakers.

** Take a bow, the night is over
This masquerade is getting older
Lights are low, the curtain's down
There's no one here
There's no one here, there's no one in the crowd **

Angel's arms slid around her waist, and his hands found the warm skin
of her bare back. Willow shivered involuntarily as her own arms wrapped
around his shoulders. The heels gave her extra height, and she found
herself staring into Angel's eyes, eyes that still held the tiniest
glint of beast. He leaned forward, his forehead pressed against hers
and closed his eyes.

** Say your lines but do you feel them
Do you mean what you say when there's no one around
Watching you, watching me, one lonely star
One lonely star, you don't know who you are **

His fingers traced the edge of the scooped back of the dress ever so
slightly touching her flesh; Willow pressed against him, biting her
bottom lip to keep from moaning aloud.

"A-Angel?" she panted; he opened his eyes. "You said...just a dance,"
she whispered.

"I never said 'just'," he muttered, and Willow's stomach clenched at
his words.

** I've always been in love with you
I guess you've always known it's true
You took my love for granted, why oh why
The show is over, say good-bye **

Angel's lips pressed against her forehead, and he let them trail down
her face. He kissed her closed eyes, her cheek, the tip of her nose,
but before he could claim her mouth, she spoke.

"Angel?"

"Tell me to stop, Willow. That's all it will take," he whispered, sending
burst of cold air across her scalding skin. She sucked in air between her
teeth and tried to reply, but the words didn't want to form. With a low
chuckle, he pressed his lips against hers.

** Make them laugh, it comes so easy
When you get to the part
Where you're breaking my heart
Hide behind your smile, all the world loves a clown
Wish you well, I cannot stay
You deserve an award for the role that you played
No more masquerade, you're one lonely star **

His tongue gently lashed out, barely touching the curve of her bottom
lip before retreating back into his mouth. Willow's hand moved along
his shoulder and down his arm as one of his hands left her back and
gingerly touched her thigh peeking out of the slit of the dress.

His tongue darted out again, but this time, Willow opened her mouth,
inviting his tongue in with a quick touch of her own. Angel moaned into
her mouth and pressed her body harder against his. Willow jumped slightly
as his erection pressed against her stomach.

** All the world is a stage
And everyone has their part
But how was I to know which way the story'd go
How was I to know you'd break,
You'd break my heart **

Willow's hands moved to Angel's face, one softly caressing his cheek and
the other imbedded in his hair, as their tongues met and each struggled
for dominance. Angel growled softly as his demon visage came into view,
but he never broke the kiss, gently moving Willow's tongue out of the
way of his fangs. Willow groaned into his mouth as her hands stroked the
ridges riding across his cheeks and forehead. Gently, they both moved
away, breaking the kiss.

Willow slid her hands under Angel's tuxedo coat, touching his flesh
through the thin material of his shirt, as they both moved to the song
that was coming to an end. She laid her head against his shoulder.

** The show is over, say good-bye **

"Do you still want to leave?" Angel whispered against her ear.

"Wouldn't dream of it," she whispered.

*FIN*

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