~1~

Angel couldn't remember the last time he'd actually been this
nervous.  Well, he was nervous now.  He had always liked Willow,
admired her intelligence, strength and honesty.  It bothered him
immensely that he'd never gotten to know her.  And now that she was
coming to L.A. to help set up the new Angel Investigations office,
and a new Demon and Spells Database on their computer, he hoped to
become her friend.

Although they had always been friendly before, in the past, Willow
had simply been Buffy's innocent little friend.  Frankly, considering
she had almost died in her attempts to give him back his soul, he
also knew that he owed her at least a thank you.  Angel was
determined that she have a good time in L.A.
~~~~

Willow was nervous, and she hated it.  A lot of things had changed
since the last time she'd seen Angel and she fervently hoped that she
didn't revert to a babbling idiot upon seeing him.  She was a mature
adult, damn it.

She fidgeted in her airplane seat and smoothed her small sleeveless
lavender sweater back in place.  As the plane taxied to a stop she
ran a hasty comb through her red hair and applied another coat of
shiny peach gloss to her suddenly dry lips.  Her nervousness did not
abate, especially since she had decided staying with Cordelia was not
an option.  Although Cordelia was no longer angry at her, Willow
could not picture living with the dark haired ex-cheerleader for the
3 months of her summer vacation.  With all that lay between them,
Willow knew it would simply be too awkward.  At least personally, she
and Angel had a clean slate.  Willow sighed.
~~~~

Willow's flight had arrived.  Angel positioned himself at the end of
the gate, easily seeing over the heads of most of the others
similarly waiting for friends and loved ones.

As the passengers filed off and marched through gate 28, Angel
proceeded to people watch.  It was a favorite pastime for the
vampire.  He watched enviously as a young couple strode by him.  They
were holding hands and giving each other long, looks full of
meaning.  Mentally he pegged them as newlyweds.

Then a couple of goth looking teens walked by.  Both their tresses
dyed an unnatural shade of black, their eyes rimmed with kohl.  The
ensouled vampire shook his head in confusion.  "Kids today", Angel
thought.

An overweight man lumbered past carrying three shoulder bags, and
behind him walked a lovely red head.  Angel watched with interest as
the slender red head walked past.  She wore slim fitting dark blue
jeans which hugged a very nice backside.  Her light purple sleeveless
sweater stretched across small pert breasts and left an inch of the
milky white skin of her stomach visible.  "Nice", Angel thought with
a grin of purely male appreciation.  His eyes travelled upwards.  Her
hair was cut to shoulder length, with layers that framed her face.

"Willow!", he exclaimed in surprise.  The red witch swung her head.
Mentally Angel chastised himself, "Lord man get a hold of yourself,
you just had impure guy thoughts about Willow.  Sweet innocent
Willow.  Buffy's friend Willow".  But as his eyes met hers, Angel
realized Willow was all grown up.  No longer did her green eyes hold
simply guileless innocence, naivete and intelligence.  They now held
a telling mixture of knowledge, pain and something else he could not
name.

"Goddess, he looks good", Willow thought.  Willow struggled to reign
in her raging hormones.  "Damn", she thought and hoped he hadn't
noticed the lusty look she'd given him.  But then, Angel had always
had an effect on her.  At the beginning, she knew that it was simply
because he had been the most beautiful man she'd ever seen.  His
presence anywhere near her in the past had usually left here a red,
babbling mess.

However, at this moment after taking note of the purely male interest
which had sparkled in the eyes of the dark haired vampire, Willow
felt a surge of confidence.  She didn't have to be shy little Willow
here, Angel didn't know her that well she could just be herself.

Gathering her courage, and striding over to where the ensouled
vampire stood, Willow deliberately let her hips sway in a manner she
never would have in Sunnydale.  Lifting her head and meeting Angel's
gaze Willow said, "Angel, long time no see".

Angel was stunned.  "Willow, you look wonderful".  As a matter of
fact she looked good enough to eat, he thought irreverently.

There was a moment of awkward silence as each tried to process what
should come next.

Licking her hips nervously Willow reached up and gave Angel a long,
heartfelt hug.  "I've missed you", she whispered.

Angel held on for dear life, enjoying the uncharacteristic show of
affection (for him anyway).  Affection was something that was in
short supply in his dark world.  The red head's whispered words
touched his undead heart.  "Thank you Willow", he managed to choke
out.  That means a lot to me".

Stepping backwards both individuals began to move towards the baggage
claim to hunt down Willow's luggage.

~2~

Twenty minutes later Willow found herself ensconced in Angel's pride
and joy, his classic black convertible.  "Nice car", the red headed
witch quipped.  "Cordelia told me you were quite attached to it".

"Well after she tried to give the thing a face lift by parking a
little too close to a telephone pole, she's been banned from any
further contact", Angel smirked.

Willow grinned.  "You know somehow I never pictured you driving."
She looked over at him and noticed that he had nice big hands.
Groaning, at the turn her thoughts were taking, Willow asked Angel to
put the top down.

Angel pressed the button, and as the ragtop withdrew he watched as
Willow took in the sights and sounds of L.A.  The wind tousled her
blood red hair and gave a cheeks a rosy glow.

He couldn't keep his eyes off of her.  Willow was beautiful.  Angel
had always knows she was pretty, but seeing her again after so long,
was truly eye opening.

The red head sat back and enjoyed the comfortable silence, and the
cool breeze ruffling her hair.  On the edge of her awareness she
could feel Angel's repeated glances in her direction.  Willow smiled
a purely feminine smile, allowing her pleasure in this moment to
surface outwardly.

Angel swallowed nervously and forcing air into long dead lungs,
sighed.  That smile-- it was sensual and knowing.  His pants suddenly
felt too tight, and he shifted in his seat.  He hoped she wouldn't
look at his lap.
~~~~
After arriving at his apartment, Angel showed Willow her room.
Willow glanced about appreciatively.  A large walnut bed took up an
entire corner.  It was a canopy bed outfitted in hunter green silk
sheets.  The floors were a dark shiny wood with a large colorful rug
dominating the middle of the room.  A matching walnut dresser with
mirror sat by the right wall, while a desk with a small radio sat
against the other.  A small bookcase took up the remaining wall
space.  It was beautiful.  She loved it.

"Angel, this is wonderful!", Willow exclaimed.

The dark vampire warmed to the praise.  He had really hoped the room
would please her.  "Cordelia helped pick the furniture, but I thought
you'd like the green.  It suits your coloring".  Images on her lying
naked on the green silk sheets sprung into his mind, and he forced
them down.

"Thank you Peaches", Willow blurted unthinkingly.

Shock registered on Angel's handsome features.

"Sorry", Willow apologized, "I've just spent a little too much time
with Spike".

"Well as long as you don't start peppering you sentences with luvs,
and ducks and bloody hells, I won't worry too much", Angel
responded.  Strangely he found the thought of Willow spending any
time at all with his wayward childe extremely disturbing.  Of course
he knew the circumstances which led to Spike hanging out with the
Scooby Gang, but he didn't have to like it.

Willow mentally berated herself for saying something so stupid
unthinkingly.  She had seen the bit of hurt with had sprung into
Angel's chocolate brown eyes, despite him being really good at hiding
it.

Touching his arm and gesturing to his living room.  Willow apologized
again.  "I'm sorry that was thoughtless."  Please don't brood , she
thought.

Angel chuckled suddenly surprising the slender witch.  Apparently,
she hadn't just thought that last comment after all.  Willow felt
heat rush through her, and knew she was blushing.

"Don't worry, I'll refrain from brooding while your here Willow",
Angel quipped.  "So why don't you tell me about what's new in
Sunnydale".

They sat down on his new leather couch.  "Ummm", she began clearing
her throat.  "Well you know about Oz, I gather".  Angel nodded
silently.

Willow continued, "Well he showed up again recently, but I was
already involved with someone else.  It seems that only jealousy
could break his control on the wolfie part of himself, and he ended
up trying to hurt her".

"I'm confused Willow", Angel interjected, "a her"?

"Yeah", the red head blushed.  "It didn't last too long though".
Willow squeezed Angel's hand.  "Also", she whispered nervously, "you
know about Buffy and her soldier boy."

Shrugging Angel squeezed Willow's hand, and nodded.  "I kind of found
out about that the hard way".

"What else?", Willow mused.  "Anya and Xander and still going strong
much to my disgust".

This disturbed Angel.  He felt he had to ask.  "So are you still in
love with Xander"?

Willow turned to the dark haired vampire in surprise.  "Gosh, no",
Willow laughed.  "I am so over that. Xander's like a brother, a
really annoying brother.  Its just that Anya makes me consider
committing homicide".

Angel's eyes sparkled, and he grinned, remembering that Anya's
tactlessness rivalled even Cordelia's.

Continuing, Willow smiled.  "And Spike, well he's just Spike.  Always
trying to prove he's the biggest, baddest evil.  Even though right
now he's closer to a big snarling tabby cat.  How about you", she
asked?

"L.A's demon central.  Even without a hellmouth, we get too many bad
guys over here", Angel began.  He told her about Wolfram and Hart,
Lindsey, the story of Cordelia's demonic pregnancy, and even Doyle.

"I'm sorry about Doyle, Angel.  He sounds like he was a very special
guy".

"Thanks Willow, he was certainly an original", the vampire said
gruffly.

Biting back a yawn, Willow glanced at her watch.  "Oh Goddess", she
yawned, "its 4 a.m.  I need sleep".

"Come on", Angel said.  I'll show you where the towels are so you can
take a shower before you go to bed.

~3~

Angel led her into his bathroom.  Willow couldn't help but gasp.  it
was absolutely decadent.  A huge sunken tub dominated the room.
Suddenly, Willow didn't feel so tired anymore.  "Oh", she moaned, "I
have got to try that".  A sudden image of Angel and herself in that
tub filled her brain, and Willow's heart sped up at the intensity of
that erotic imagery.

The vampire smiled indulgently.  "Go for it", he said and left the
room.

Angel went to the kitchen to nuke himself some nourishment.  He
listened as Willow ran back to her room, and the next sound was of
the tub filling with water.  The smell of vanilla and raspberries
reached his sensitive nose and he sniffed appreciatively.  He bit
back a groan as an image of a wet, naked Willow rising from scented
water filled his overactive brain.

Angel fought to get his libido under control.  Willow did not need a
horny vampire to deal with.  She came here to help and get away from
life on the Hellmouth, not fight him off.  However, he admitted to
himself, she was certainly the kind of woman, his mother would have
approved of.  The thought was bitter sweet.  He grimaced.  "Liam",
she'd said more than once, "someday you'll run into a woman who will
make you think with more than just that little head between your
legs".  His mother had been a plain spoken woman.

And Willow certainly was more than just a pretty face.  Angel thought
back to Buffy and their relationship.  Hindsight was a precious
thing.  he knew now what a colossal mistake that was.  First of all,
she was the Slayer, and he a vampire.  As if that hadn't been enough,
he'd realized recently that his relationship with her had been
completely based on hormones.  Lust.  They had never really had a
conversation.  She had never inquired about his life.  In fact, she'd
been so busy ignoring the fact that he was a vampire, neither of them
had really gotten to know anything other than the basics about each
other.  What Buffy had termed 'smoochies', had always taken
precedence.  Angel shuddered, shaking himself out of his thoughts and
swallowing quickly, the rapidly cooling blood.

Meanwhile, Willow adjusted the tub's temperature, stripped and
stepped gingerly into the tub.  She lay back and allowed the hot
wather to relax her tired body.  Willow thought about her stay so
far.  She smiled remembering the few appreciative looks she'd
received from the handsome vampire.  It pleased the redheaded hacker
that he was finally seeing her as a woman.  For her part, Willow had
had to stop herself from staring more than once.  The man was truly
droolworthy.  Willow sighed.

She had missed him since he'd left Sunnydale.  Somehow she had always
known when he followed her home to make sure she got there safely.
Even Angelus, had watched her.  Sometimes she wondered what would
have happened if the cavalry hadn't arrived to foil Angel's alter
ego's plans.  Somehow she doubted he would have killed her.  Or
actually she doubted she would have stayed dead.  She was certain for
some reason, that he would have turned her.  Thankfully that hadn't
happened.  She made a damned skanky vampire.  But still, she could
wonder.

Sighing again Willow shifted in the scented water.  It lapped at her
skin and filled her with a sense of peace.  Angel's face rose in her
mind.  Images of being kissed by him filled her senses.  Her nipples
beaded, despite the warm water and she could feel warmth spread
through her womb.  Feeling wanton and sure of her privacy, Willow
allowed her hands to travel her body.  Cupping each breast in her
hands, she flicked their tips with her fingernails.  Willow moaned
throatily.  Releasing them, her fingers searched out the secret spot
in the fold of her femininity.  She arched into her fingers.
Thrusting two of them inside herself, she rotated her thumb on her
clit in time to the thrust.  The feeling was exquisite.  It had been
so long for her.  Willow moaned again.  Release came suddenly, she
almost wailed, as her body convulsed around her fingers.

Limp and exhausted now, Willow rose from the now tepid water and
wrapped herself in one of Angel's big fluffy black towels.  The young
woman dried herself off thoroughly and applied a vanilla scented
lotion liberally into her skin.  She stepped into her favorite
flannel pajama bottoms and a spaghetti strap tank in preparation for
bed.

Finishing up, Willow stepped out of the bathroom.  She did not see
Angel anywhere.  So she went to her room and got into bed silently.
~~~~

Angel had not been able to tune out the slight noised he'd heard from
the bathroom.  He thought, at first, that his overactive imagination
was manufacturing the small gasps and low moans, but the little wail
he'd heard signaling Willow's climax, had been to much for him.

He ran a hand through his dark hair, resisting the urge to touch his
cock.  It strained against the cloth of his pants, and he tried to
block out images of the beautiful redhead pleasuring herself in his
tub.  And so he had retreated to his bedroom, waiting for Willow to
leave so he could take an extremely cold shower.

~4~

Stepping into the bathroom, moments after Willow had vacated it, it
was the heady scent of vanilla which hit Angel first.  Willow's
arousal had also lingered.  The vampire took a deep unnecessary
breath and jumped into the corner shower stall.  Angel yelped as cold
water poured over him.
~~~~
Willow was not a morning person.  And as technically this was her
vacation she didn't roll out of bed untill noon.  Stumbling blindly
from her room, Willow made her way to the bathroom.  Stretching
languidly and rubbing sleep from her eyes, all the spellcaster could
think of was consuming a large mug of java.  Caffeine consumption was
a necessity for surviving college life, and she was hooked.  A large
yawn shook her slender frame, and her eyes closed momentarily.  Which
was why it was no surprise to her when she collided with a large solid
mass.

"Who put a wall here,"  Willow asked, muttering under her breath.  And
then the 'wall' moved.  Angel grabbed Willow's shoulders to steady
her.  "Umm, Angel you know you're really big and um, solid",
Willow babbled.  She blushed furiously.

Angel stared, the little red headed witch was adorable.  Her
suddenly pounding heart sounded loudly in his ears and his ego
insisted she was as affected by his nearness
as he was to hers.  At least, that's what he hoped.   Angel smiled,
and noticed as her heart sped up yet
again.  "Would you like some breakfast Sweetling?", he asked.

Willow felt like and idiot, she was sure the handsome vampire could
hear how her heart was pounding. Trying to cover her sudden awareness
of his nearness Willow met Angel's eyes.  "Breakfast sounds great,
although I think technically any meal happening at noon counts as
lunch.  I'll see you in ten minutes" she continued.  "I've got to do
some morning maintenance".  The dark haired vampire nodded, suddenly
realizing he had never released the hacker from his grip.  Letting go
of her shoulders, he stepped back letting her brush past him.  This
visit was going to be very interesting, he mused.

Willow appeared in his kitchen almost exactly ten minutes later.
Looking fresh and colorful in a knee length lime green skirt and
raspberry sleeveless t-shirt.  Angel watched with amusement as the
little red head consumed vast amounts of his famous eggs, toast,
juice, sausage and coffee.  Lots and lots of coffee he noticed.  He
wondered idly where the hell she put it.

They climbed the stairs to the office, as Angel had yet to have an
elevator installed in this new building, and walked in to find Wesley
refreshing his cup of coffee. "Ah, good afternoon Miss Rosenberg".

"Hello Wesley", Willow stated.  She didn't know what else to say, she
didn't exactly have warm, fuzzy feeling when it came to the ex-
watcher.  Cordelia smiled brightly.  She and Willow had over the
course of the past year, dealt with their issues.  And being
surrounded by men in this office, she welcomed the addition of
more estrogen in her environment.  "Willow, you look great.  Wow, I
actually like your clothes.  I'm shocked!" Cordelia exclaimed.

Angel snorted and Willow grinned.  "Damn Cordelia, I think I actually
missed you."  The tall brunette continued undaunted.  "So do you like
your room? When did you cut your hair?  How's Xander?"  Willow,
self proclaimed Queen of Babble had no problem following the
ex-cheerleader's steady stream of questions.

"The room's amazing.  I cut my hair like 8 months ago, right before
school started.  And Xander's struggling to find out where he
belongs.  He's also dating Anya."  "Oh", Cordelia considered her
answer, before a wave of pain and images flooded her brain.  Wesley
hurried over, draping Cordelia's limp form over his shoulder, he
placed her gently on the office's couch.

Concerned Willow glanced over at Angel.  The vampire's countenance had
been transformed.  Gone was the new improved, slightly less broody
Angel she'd been hanging out with.  Suddenly he looked exactly as
he had when she had last seen him.  He looked haunted.  Cordelia's
body continued to convulse on the couch, although the shaking
appeared to be abating.

Willow walked over to the brooding vampire and touched his arm.  "I
hate when this happens to her", Angel said bitterly.  "It's just one
more thing that's my fault.  Cordelia doesn't deserve this kind of
pain".  "No she doesn't", Willow agreed.  "But she told me,
finally, how her life had been when she first got to L.A., and she
told me about the chance you took with her, giving her a job.  She
considers you family and she considers your fight, her own.  Family
members sacrifice many things for the people they care about."

Angel's brown eyes met Willow's green.  He saw understanding and
compassion in her gaze.  His hand reached out, his fingers stroked
her smooth cheek.  "Thank you Little One".  Wesley watched their
interaction with interest.  It amazed him that Angel's demeanor around
Willow was truly open and warm.  He didn't think he'd ever witnessed
his boss be so forthcoming.  Shaking his head, Wesley strode over to
Cordelia.  He asked whether she was alright.  Cordelia nodded mutely,
and then asked for water and aspirin.

This shook Willow from her reverie, effectively ending the
moment of electric connection that had
been sparked when Angel's chocolate gaze had met her own.

The Wiccan searched her bag and found what she had made for the former
May Queen's post vision induced pain.  It was a salve Willow had
concocted using lavender, ylang ylang, chamomile and various
other soothing herbs.  Striding over to the taller brunette girl,
Willow smeared some on her fingers, and spread a little on both
Cordelia's temples.  To complete the simple healing spell, Willow
whispered a short incantation and asked for the blessing of the
Goddess.

Cordelia was ecstatic.  "That was amazing.  The pain is completely
gone.  Willow, you are so going to spoil me while you're here.
Aspirin has nothing on you".  Proud of herself, Willow smiled and
gave Cordelia the little tin of salve.  "I'll show you how to make
it, it's a simple recipe and ritual.  And since I already asked
the
Goddess' it should work whenever you apply it to your temples".

Jumping up and hugging the smaller woman, Cordelia thanked Willow.
Angel was stunned, Willow had once again demonstrated her
thoughtfulness and generosity.  She was truly special.  He couldn't
tear his eyes away from her.  Wesley was also grateful to Willow.  He
still had unresolved feeling for the sometimes tactless Seer, and
seeing the pain the visions brought about was always difficult for
him to watch.  Glancing at the ensouled vampire, Wesley was once
again struck by the warmth in Angel's gaze towards the lithe red
head. A stray thought struck him.  Could his boss be falling in
love?  Turning slightly, Willow once again met Angel's dark gaze.  A
blush suffused her cheeks.

Oblivious to the undercurrents in the room, Cordelia hastily wrote the
details of the vision down.  The description was brief.  'Vampires at
Club Liquid, 1 a.m.'  "So Willow, do you want to look at our computer
system now?", Cordelia asked while simultaneously shaking her head no,
"or go shopping", she said nodding vigorously.  "Well as subliminal
messages go, that really wasn't obvious at all", the witch quipped.
"How about we go shopping and catch up", Willow said.  "Great!"
Cordelia looked over at Angel.  "Um, Angel", she began timidly.

Angel rolled his eyes.  "Don't say it Delia".  He'd already been
digging into his pocket.  The amused vampire handed his gold card
over to the ex-cheerleader and said, "go, have fun". Clapping
excited, the brunette grabbed Willow by the arm and practically
ran from the office.

Wesley took a chance, "so Angel, Willow is certainly special wouldn't
you say?"  "Wesley", Angel replied gruffly, "that woman is a gift
from above".  Suddenly conscious of what he'd just said, and how he
had said it, Angel met Wesley's amused gaze and would have blushed if
it weren't physically impossible for him to do so.  Embarrassed, the
vampire walked into his office and slammed the
door closed.

~5~

"So Willow how are you and Tara?", Cordelia asked.

Willow shook her head sadly.  "We're not anything.  I think we were
just lonely.  I actually introduced her to a friend of Buffy's
boyfriend, Riley and they seem to be really happy".

"Is this guy another one of those G.I. Joe types you told me about?,"
the ex-cheerleader asked.

Wilow nodded.  "Yeah his name's Graham, and he's a great guy".

The women walked into a small boutique and browsed.  Willow found a
lovely handkercheif hem skirt.  It was a startling shade of turquoise
and had a bit of beading with made it shimmer as Willow walked.

Cordelia agreed that it looked great on the slender redhead and
insisted she take it.

Willow hedged, she really didn't have all that much money on hand.

Being more perceptive than she was sometimes given credit for,
Cordelia added that it would be on Angel, and that the vampire would
be happy if Willow derrived pleasure from the purchase.

Upon hearing the name of the man who'd haunted her dreams the night
before, Willow once again found herself cursing her pale coloring.  A
blush bloomed in her cheeks.

Cordelia noticed Willow's reaction, and silently noted it.  "Hmmm",
she thought, "is it my imagination, or does little Willow have a
crush?"  It would be so wonderful if her two friends could make each
other happy.  Both individuals, to her way of thinking, needed and
deserved companionship and love.  "I need to think about this",
Cordelia thought.
~~~~

Back at the office, Angel paced the floor.  It was almost six, where
the hell were they?  "You don't think anything happed to them, do you
Wesley?"

"No, Angel, this is Cordelia and shopping we're talking about here.
Lord knows when we'll ever see those two again", the ex-watcher
replied, as he pushed his glassed back up to their proper place on
his nose.  Wesley shook his head in amusement and tried to find where
he had left off in his reading.

Knowing his friend was right, Angel tried to relax.  He sat at this
desk and picked up the newspaper he'd tried to read earlier.  He
stared at the newsprint blindly.  All he could see were flashes of
red hair.

Twenty minutes later, Angel was pacing again.  Deciding he was the
most pathetic vampire in existence, Angel went down to his apartment
to warm up some blood and get his mind off his unfounded worries.

The vampire had just rinsed his cup when he heard the sound of the
office door slamming shut.  Taking the stairs two at a time, Angel
returned in time to hear the excited chatter of the two girls and
then the door slam again.  He calmed immediately upon catching the
scent of Willow's return in the air.  Angel decided he loved vanilla
and raspberries.  Cordelia, he noticed seemed to prefer spicy, citrus
scents.

The first thing he saw were the shopping bags.  His eyes
automatically scanned the room, until he spotted his red head at the
computer.  "Wait, did I just think Willow was 'my' red head?", Angel
shied away from the thought.

Willow was flushed and smiling.  The shopping trip had been fun, and
enlightening.  Cordelia really had changed.  She seemed kinder, more
thoughtful.  Of course, the old tactless Queeen C did sometimes
emerge, but Willow actually found her blunt honesty to be somewhat
refreshing.  Also annoying, but still refreshing.

She typed rapidly on the keyboard.  After connecting to the internet,
the red headed hacker brought up her e-mail.  "Hmm", she
thought, "something from TheBloody@hotmail and something from
XanMan@freemail.  Willow grinned, Spike and Xander missed her
already.

"So how was the shopping trip?", a voice by her ear asked?  Willow
almost had a heart attack.  Muttering a few words under her breath,
the red head flung her hand wildly towards whoever was behind her.
And then watched in horror as Angel was magically thrown into the
wall.

Rubbing his head and posterior, Angel couldn't help but chuckle.

Willow was staring at him, as if he'd grown two heads.

Angel continued to laugh.  "Remind me to never sneak up on you
again".

Horrified, Willow scrambled over the the ensouled vampire.  "Oh
Angel, I'm sooooo sorry. "  Grabbing his arm to help him get up, the
red head continued to stammer apologies.

He hadn't really needed the help, but Angel enjoyed the feeling of
Willow holding him to much to protest.

Still having his arm around her shoulders, Willow looked up.  Only to
find her gaze captured by the warmth in Angel's chocolatey eyes.  Her
breath suddenly caught in her throat.  Awareness rushed though her
body.  "Oh please", she thought, "please kiss me".

As if he'd heard her silent plea, Angel's dark head swooped
downward.  He captured her lips with his own.  His tongue swept
across her lips, silently begging permission to enter.  Willow moaned
and her eyes fluttered closed.  Her mouth opened with a moan.  Their
tongues danced together.  Angel's lips were cool, but not as cool as
she would have thought.

The vampire's arms tightened around the slender woman in his
arms.  "Her body fits mine so perfectly", he thought.  Her warmth and
softness caused him to harden immediately.

It was the evidence of Angel's arousal which snapped Willow out of
the sensual spell, the kiss had woven around them.  She pulled her
head away, and her eyes opened reluctantly.

Angel was drowning in those eyes.  They were greener than he'd ever
seen.  Willow's lips were rosy and swollen.   He groaned, this woman
was driving his mad.  They had to talk.  He opened his mouth to say
something, but was interrupted the sound of Wesley and Cordelia's
voices.  "Wesley be careful with those bags", Cordelia's shrill voice
was heard.

The sound caused Willow to realize what had just happened.  "Oh
damn", she gasped, suddenly darting out of the dark haired vampire's
arms.

Angel closed his eyes feeling bereft without her warmth.

Wesley and Cordelia entered moments later, and noticed the tension in
the room.

Willow had fled to the other side of the room.  She stood there
stiffly, breathing rather heavily.  Wesley glanced over at this boss,
the ex-watcher saw that his eyes were closed as he stood awkwardly
near the other wall.

Clearing his throat, Wesley told Angel that they could probably go
see their only client now that the sun had set.  It was a simple job,
the man had requested help in exorcising an object.  Cordelia was
strangely silent.

Angel nodded and finally opened his eyes after exerting some control
over his unruly body.  Looking over at the red headed hacker he took
a deliberate unneeded breath and noted the scent of Willow's arousal.

Willow saw Angel's nostrils flare and flushed.  He knew!  He knew how
turned on she was.  Unable to avoid his gaze any longer, Willow
proudly lifted her head.  His eyes communicated that this was not
over.

"Willow, Cordelia", Angel stated gruffly, "I'm going to go check this
out with Wesley.  I'll be back in a couple of hours".

Mutely Willow nodded, and the two men left.  She'd kissed Angel.
She'd kissed Buffy's Angel.  Oh she was definitely going to hell
now.  Horrified Willow ran down the stairs to Angel's apartment.
Cordelia hurried to follow.

~6~

Cordelia rushed down to Angel's apartment after the red head.  She
had seen the look in Angel's eyes, and thinking herself to be a
pretty good judge of his moods, knew that something had happened.

"Willow!", the brunette called.  "Willow, slow down".  She found the
red witch sitting on her bed.  "What happened?", Cordelia asked.

"I was on the computer, checking my e-mail and Angel surprised me.
You know Xander was right, we should really put a bell aound Mr.
Stealty's neck. He almost gave me a coronary."

Cordelia stopped her in mid babble, "Uh Willow...."

"Oh right, anyways I automatically did a bit of magic and threw him
into the wall.  I felt terrible, I hadn't known it was just him.  So
I hurried to help him.  The next thing I knew, we were kissing."
Willow stammered and stopped.

Cordelia grinned, "that's great!"

"Are you crazy!", Willow groaned.  "He's Buffy's, I betrayed my best
friend.  Goddess, he probably thinks I'm some kind of deperate
freak."

"Willow stop.  Think.  Were you kissing Angel, or were you guys
kissing each other?"

The question gave Willow pause.  "He kissed me too."  Bemused, the
witch placed her fingers to her lips.  "Oh my."

"Oh my is right.  You guys have been dancing around this attraction
since you got here.", the former May Queen said.

Old insecurities reared their ugly heads.  "What are you talking
about?  How could he be attracted to me.  I'm just plain, old
Willow?"

Cordelia snorted in disbelief.  "Whatever girl.  Your amazing.  Your
Willow the Great. Intelligent, loyal, brave.  Your inner strength
rivals the physical strength of the Slayer herself.  And besides
that", Cordelia snapped, "do you know that you have the most amazing
coloring?"

Willow stared at Cordelia in shock. "Really?", she squeaked

Smiling Cordelia nodded.  "Yes, really."

"I can't face him though Cordy.  I mean he's Buffy's... I shouldn't--

"Stop right there!", Cordelia  nearly shouted.  She closed her eyes
and counted to ten.  "Angel is my friend, and a grown man.  Several
times over in fact.  He was never Buffy's.  They have a past, a
history, and its over.  You guys kissed each other", Cordelia said,
stressing the last two words.

"What do I do Cordy? I mean, I really like him, I have for so long",
the red haired hacker muttered.

"Take it slow", the ex-cheerleader advised.  "Talk to him".

The smaller woman simply sighed.
~~~~
After Cordelia left, Willow made sure to ge ready for bed early.  She
couldn't face Angel right now.  Laying on the bed, Willow's fevered
mind replayed the kiss over and over again.  Suddenly, she heard the
door open and close, and knew that Angel was home.

His voice called out to her.  "Willow?"  Willow swallowed and ignored
him, hoping he'd assume she as alseep.

Listening in the darkness, the vampire knew that Willow was awake.
Her breathing was too shallow and irregular for it to be otherwise.

Sighing, Angel decided to shower and go to bed.  The kiss replayed in
his head.  "Better make that a cold shower", he thought.
~~~~

The next morning, breakfast was a silent affair.  Angel tried his
hand at pancakes.  His guest shovelled it all away.

Considering that talking had never been his strong suit, Angel almost
smirked at the irony of suddenly finding silence uncomfortable.
Deciding to break the ice, Angel spoke.

"Willow, are you okay?

The young woman nodded distractedly.  She was wondering if Cordelia
was right.

"Willow, about what happened yesterday, I'm not going to apologize",
Angel said.

"Your not?", the red head squeaked, relieved.

"No, I enjoyed it too much to pretend I was sorry it happened", Angel
said truthfully.

~7~

It had been 3 weeks since the kiss, and Angel and Willow had both
been busy trying to ignore the entire episode.  Not that they were
avoiding each other, they just avoided that particular topic, and
their attraction.  Although they still talked and were friendly they
had both somehow managed to avoid being alone together.

Cordelia was getting annoyed, patience had never been her strong
suit.  Her two friends were being stubborn.  There was something very
definitely happening between them.  It felt right.  In her mind Angel
and Willow made sense.  They were loyal, courageous, lonely and had
similar interests.  That last thought made Cordelia snicker.  Still,
they were basically the two most amazing people she ahd ever met.  If
they didn't resolve things soon, she was going to have to take
matters into her own hands.  Cordelia grinned mischievously.  Maybe
she could just lock them in a room together, that would fix them.
They couldn't avoid the issue then. The grin disappeared when a
single thought entered her mind.  Angelus.  The ex-cheerleader sighed
unhappily.
~~~~

Angel could not stop thinking about that kiss.  Simply remembering
that timeless moment when Willow was in his arms caused his
unnaturally cool body to feel warmer.

Willow had been staying with him for a month and getting to know the
formerly shy hacker was proving to be an amazing experience.  Her
intelligence amazed him.  She challenged his intellect and kept him
guessing.  The dark haired vampire could never guess what was going
to come out of her mouth next.  Whether it was her own theories
regarding physics and the possibility of time travel, to whether Dusk
til Dawn or Bram Stoker's Dracula were the stupidest vampire movies
ever made.

The red head was quickly becoming almost an obsession with him.  She
accompanied Wesley and himself occasionally on patrols and had proved
invaluable on a number of times.  Gunn had also taken a liking to the
red head and Angel found himself a bit jealous of the flirting the
handsome youth directed towards his Willow.

When she didn't come with him, Angel always found himself stopping at
her bedroom door.  He told himself it was merely to make sure she was
alright.  Yet, he was continually fighting off the urge to seduce her
and make her his.

But no, he would control himself.  The dark haired vampire ran his
fingers through his hair in frustration as he paced in his living
room.  He vacillated between wanting her wet and naked beneath him
and knowing that he could not be that irresponsible.  He sighed
softly listening to Willow's steady heartbeat and continued down the
hall to his own room.

Willow let out the breath she had been holding.  She hadn't even been
aware she'd held it.  The red head had just been so sure for a moment
that Angel was going to open her door.  She really really wanted him
to open that damned door.  "Goddess", she thought, how she wanted
him.  Her dreams attested to that.

~8~

Cordelia stopped at the entrance to the oracles' chamber.   Glancing
at her wrist and the bracelet she was going to offer them, she felt a
moment of regret.  It was one of the few things her parents had given
her that she had managed to hold on to.  "Damn it!", she liked that
bracelet.  Cordelia harrumphed silently.  Squaring her shoulder she
discarded the random selfish thought.  She was going to do this for
her friends.  Two friends who had seen enough sadness to last many
lifetimes.  The tall brunette let out an unladylike snort,  thinking
specifically of Angel.  She would not think about her diamond tennis
bracelet.  They were just rocks after all.

Sighing, Cordelia performed the short ritual which allowed her to
enter the oracles' chamber.  She threw a powder into the fire, and
suddenly there was a flash of light.  She was in chamber.

Two slender figures greeted her.  Idly, Cordelia fingered the
bracelet and wondered if they were the same oracles.  Hadn't Angel
said they'd been killed by the demon Voca?  Cordelia shivered.

"Seer, whey have you come?", a male voice boomed.  "This place is for
the Warrior, lower being should not enter here."  Cordelia felt her
cheeks burn, and with humiliation came anger.

"Excuse me", she said loudly.  "I'm you Seer.  You know the person
cursed by you body painted freaks to suffer from blindingly painful
visions on an almost weekly basis.  I'll have you know that I didn't
ask for this, it was thrust upon me.  And damn it, I demand some
respect from you two."

Surprise registered on the strangely colored faces of the two current
oracles.  The male actually looked chagrinned, while the female
simply smiled enigmatically.  "Have you brought us an offering?, she
queried.

"Yes", Cordelia replied, removing the bracelet from her wrist
reluctantly.  She placed it in the female oracle's open palm.  Then
the former May Queen began to speak.  She tried to choose her words
carefully.

"I come here not for myself but to ask something that will aid the
Warrior in his quest."  Suddenly insecure, Cordelia trailed off.

The oracles stared at her unblinkingly.

Cordelia continued, "He is on a quest for redemption.  He saves the
world and many lives time and time again, and yet he himself has
nothing to live for."

The male oracle interrupted.  "It is his duty, he is the Warrior of
the Powers That Be."

"No", Cordelia almost shouted.  "He doesn't HAVE to do anything, he
has lived a long life and it had been full of pain and death.  He
cannot even find any kind of happiness for fear that he will become
that which he fights yet again."  Taking a breath, Cordelia felt her
throat tighten up.  "Angel and I both know that it would be much
easier for him to simply see the sun one last time.  Can he please be
allowed happiness without the clause?"

The female oracle was suddenly very close to the teenager.  Startled
Cordelia looked up.

"You love the Warrior.  And yet, this is not a selfish request, for
the love you feel is familial.  Interesting."

"Interesting, that all you can say?", Cordelia shouted.  "I'm telling
you that you Warrior is demoralized and depressed, he is hanging on
by a thread.  The only thing keeping him together right now is Willow
and myself".

"Willow", the male repeats, cocking his head to the side.  "The
Flame...  the  very resolution to your question".

"What?", Cordelia whispered nervously, licking her lips.

The female oracle began to speak.  "The Flame will cleanse the
Warrior.  White hot, burning away all else.  The Flame will be his
immortal sight, his companion, his source of joy".

Speechless, Cordelia was suddenly thrust out of the oracles'
chambers. She didn't hear then the oracles' turned to one another and
agree that, "the Queen's own fate lay with another very different
warrior".

"Oh my God", Cordelia thought.  She couldn't tell Willow any of
this.  The red headed hacker's new found confidence was much too
fragile.  If she mentioned this prophecy, Willow was sure to avoid
Angel altogether.  Cordelia knew that Willow would assume the
prophecy had prompted any development in the relationship between
herself and Angel.  That wasn't the way it was at all.  Angel wanted
Willow so badly. Cordelia saw it everyday in the office.  She watched
as his dark eyes followed the spellcaster's every move.  And Willow,
God, she practically melted whenever he got within 10 feet.

So, Cordelia resolved to stay silent and simply push her two close
friends together at every opportunity.  And suddenly, Cordelia was
grinning very wildly.  It was quite a wicked grin.  Her friends were
going to be happy, even if it killed her.

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