Please see previous parts for disclaimer, etc.
Part 6 to come soon. Very soon.
**********
“Willow, could I speak to you about something
privately?” Wesley asked softly. Willow glanced up at
the former Watcher from the computer.
“Sure, Wes. What is it?”
Wesley glanced around to make sure the others were
busy before pulling up a chair next to the redhead.
“It’s rather embarrassing, really.” He swallowed hard
before continuing. “You remember Lori?”
Willow nodded. She’d met the slight black-haired
woman Wesley was dating about a month ago. Normally,
the woman might not have made much of an impression,
but Willow had been able to sense the magic power the
woman had immediately. “Is something wrong?” Willow
whispered. From the other side of the room, Angel
noticed the whispered conversation. He tried to get
the redhead’s attention, but she didn’t notice him.
“No, nothing’s wrong.” Wesley sighed again and stared
at his hands.
“What is it, Wes?” Willow coaxed. “Whatever it is,
you can talk to me about it. And I won’t say another
word to anyone. Not even Angel.”
The Englishman visibly relaxed at that statement.
“Not that I don’t trust Angel, of course, but it is a
somewhat delicate matter.”
Willow nodded. “So, what is it?” she asked.
Wesley sighed again. “Well, as you know, Lori has a
familiar. A black kitten, of all things.”
“O-kay,” Willow said patiently, waiting to hear what
the problem was.
“Well, it doesn’t seem to be very fond of me. We were
at Lori’s apartment the other night and were, um,
indisposed when the creature attacked me!”
Willow couldn’t control the snort that erupted.
Wesley glared at her. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“Anyway, this, this creature really seems to despise
me. Needless to say, the mood was ruined and I left
shortly afterwards.” Wesley sighed and pushed his
glasses back up his nose. “I really care for Lori,
but I don’t know how to deal with that animal.”
Willow shook her head slightly. “First of all, you
need to stop referring to it as ‘that animal.’ What’s
the kitten’s name?”
“Mephisto.”
“Well, you need to make friends with Mephisto.
Especially if you want to continue your relationship
with Lori, which I’m guessing you do.”
“Of course I do. But how am I supposed to do that?
Since I first met it, him, he’s been suspicious and
vicious towards me.”
“I’d suggest bribery.”
“Bribery?” Wesley asked, stunned.
“Sure. Mephisto may be a familiar, but he’s still
inherently a cat. So, shower him with things cats
like – milk, little cat treats, stuff like that. And
you have to remember that Mephisto probably sees you
as a threat. You have to convince him that you’re not
going to take Lori away from him, that you’re not a
threat to that relationship.”
Wesley frowned, wondering why he hadn’t thought of
that himself. “Wes, don’t worry about it. Sometimes
you just get so deeply into the arcane side of things
that you overlook the everyday stuff.”
“Yes, well, I suppose you’re right. Are you sure I
couldn’t just do some sort of spell?”
“If you had a familiar, don’t you think you’d have
done a protection spell on it?”
“True, true.” Wesley stood up. “Thank you, Willow.”
“Anytime, Wesley. Let me know how it goes.”
The Englishman walked away and Angel casually made his
way towards the desk. Willow watched his approach out
of the corner of her eye.
“What did Wesley want to talk to you about?” he asked
as casually as possible.
Willow glanced around conspiratorially. “Can you keep
a secret?” she whispered.
“Yes,” Angel whispered, leaning forward.
“So can I.” Willow returned her attention to the
computer, a smug smile on her face.
Angel frowned. “Was it about me? About us?”
“Oh, Angel, relax. Wesley just wanted some womanly
insight.”
“Oh.”
“Besides, I didn’t believe anything he said about you
anyway.”
It took Angel a moment to realize that the redhead was
joking. He growled and attempted to pounce on her,
but the redhead was out of the chair and running
before he got to her. Angel proceeded to take off
after her, hurling empty threats at her as she giggled
and continued to evade him.
“You know, I never would have guessed I’d see Angel
like this,” Gunn said, watching the childish display.
“You think you’d never have guessed it,” Cordelia
said. “He was even broodier before you met him.”
“She is good for him, isn’t she?” Wesley commented. A
squeal and the sound of a chair being tipped over
signaled that the redhead had finally been captured.
“Guys, what time are we meeting that informant?” Angel
asked. From her position slung over his shoulder,
Willow kicked in a half-hearted attempt to get free.
“In an hour,” Cordelia replied, checking her watch.
“Right. We’ll be back,” Angel said, disappearing down
the stairs.
There was silence for a moment in the large lobby.
“You guys want to grab some dinner?” Gunn asked.
“Anything to avoid the concert,” Wesley replied,
grabbing his coat.
“Yeah.” Cordelia threw down the magazine she’d been
reading and slipped on her jacket. “Who would’ve
guessed that Willow was a screamer?” Cordelia said.
“I would have,” Gunn answered. He was met with two
incredulous stares. “What? It’s always the quiet
ones,” he said, holding the door.
**********
Angel held the sleeping redhead tenderly in his arms.
He stroked her hair, enjoying its soft texture. For a
moment, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply,
savoring her scent, their combined scents. In spite
of his better judgment, Angel had fallen in love. He
had known it could happen, had anticipated the
possibility. What he hadn’t expected, however, was
that it would happen so quickly or hit him so hard.
They had routed a pack of demons, thanks to
information from a reluctant but helpful informant.
Angel had dispatched his opponent and turned to see if
any of the others needed help. As his eyes scanned
the battle, he was suddenly frozen in awe and delight
by the beauty and grace of his redheaded childe. She
wore the face of a demon, the ridges of her face
clearly visible. Her movements were deliberate and
fluid, her attacks reflective of the deadly predator
she could have been. His demon reveled in the joy of
having created such a creature. As Angel continued to
watch, she delivered a roundhouse kick, separating the
demon’s head from its body in a spray of sticky blue
fluid. Willow turned and caught the dark vampire’s
stare. Her vampiric features disappeared, and she
smiled at him warmly. Her once again green eyes held
the innocence she had once known as a mortal, that
part of her still preserved in spite of the change.
Her smile was full of the same admiration and
acceptance she had always expressed. In that
expression, Angel realized that he had finally found
some measure of the redemption he sought. His soul
rejoiced in that knowledge. And Angel realized that
he was hopelessly lost.
In her sleep, Willow snuggled closer to her sire,
unconsciously seeking more contact. She sighed
contentedly as the dark vampire tightened his embrace,
and Angel found himself falling even deeper. He
pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and closed his
eyes. He would worry about the consequences of
falling in love later.