E-MAIL: saint.angelus@usa.net
DISTRIBUTION: The New Place, Fever of Fate, Willow's Guys, anyone else, please ask.
SPOILERS: Lover's Walk
RATING: G
CONTENT: Willow/Angel friendship [for now ;]
SUMMARY: Willow and Angel find comfort together
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Joss's. I am not Joss.
NOTE: Part 2 of the Nightly Visitations Series.
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You fell in a moment of weakness Well you just got to pull yourself back up Dry your morning-after tears 'Cause what's done is done Right now you hate yourself 'cause you knew better But there's no use crying over spilled perfume -- Pam Tillis, Spilled Perfume
She was numb.
Oz hated her; she knew deep in her heart that he did. Cordelia hated her. Xander hated her. Buffy probably even hated her. So she walked, her mind preoccupied with the pain coursing through her heart and her feet leading her towards the one person who might possibly know how she felt.
She lifted her hand to knock only to find the door pulled open and Angel standing slightly back from the sunlight streaming in.
"Willow?" he asked, obviously surprised to see her. "What's wrong? Has something happened?" She opened her mouth to reply but the only to sound to come out was a loud sob as fresh tears streamed down her face. Angel reached for her, hissing as pain sliced through his body at the touch of sunlight, but he soon retreated into the darkness of the living room, cradling Willow against his chest. "What happened?" he asked, stroking her hair as he felt hot tears wetting down the front of his shirt.
"Oz....Xander....Cordelia," she sobbed, and Angel felt anger welling up inside of him.
"Did they hurt you?" he asked, his demon fueled by the idea of someone harming Willow. She shook her head.
"No, I hurt them," she whispered, stepping back, her sobs quiet.
"Tell me?" he asked softly. She nodded, and Angel led them over to the couch.
"I...kissed Xander," she began, looking down at her hands. "Several times. Last night, this morning?, when we were rescued from Spike, they -- Oz a-and Cordelia -- found us. While we were kissing." Angel didn't say anything; he just waited for her to continue. "Cordelia ran out of the room. The stairs collapsed, and she fell through. She was impaled, nearly dead, and it's all my fault." Tears were running down her face; Angel slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him in a comforting hug.
"It's not your fault," he soothed. "You and Xander have been friends for years; it was bound to happen."
"But I hurt people I care about. I hurt them so much. Oz won't even look at me anymore," she replied.
"If he loves you, and he does," Angel comforted. "He'll come back." His voice caught slightly on those words causing Willow to look up at him.
"Angel?" He looked down at her, and she just met his eyes waiting for him.
"Buffy," he finally explained. "She decided that if I couldn't stop loving her, then we couldn't around each other." Angel looked away from her, hiding the pain in his own eyes.
"When I came to the door, you were expecting her, weren't you?" she asked softly; he nodded. "Today hasn't been a good day, has it?" Angel chuckled bitterly.
"Not really." Willow laughed shortly before pillowing her head on Angel's shoulder and staring off into space; Angel rested his chin on top of her hair and closed his eyes, fighting back tears.
They remained like that long after the sun went down.
The End