Touch of Evil
Part Eight
Author: Amanda Arlequin
E-mail: aca203@is8.nyu.edu
Rating: R/NC-17 overall (some parts are mild)
Summary: This is the story of the cat and mouse game Angelus plays with
Willow, and the romance that follows.
Spoilers: This takes place after Angel loses his soul but before Becoming,
which never happened in my 'verse.
I will keep and discard Buffy lore as I see fit.
Disclaimer: While I have taken the liberty of adding a few characters of
my own creation, all of the original BtVS characters and their world
belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and The WB. All are used
without permission and no copyright infringement is intended.
Adrian ended up taking Willow to an outdoor café that specialized in
American food. That meant that just about everything there was fried and
the majority of the customers were tourists. Willow had learned the hard
way that the English weren't quite as oblivious to their health as
Americans were.
They sat outdoors and ordered a basket of fried chicken, French Fries,
mozzarella sticks, and large cokes, eating and watching the people passing
by on the sidewalk besides them. Just south of their seats Willow had an
amazing view of The Tower of London.
They lingered long after they had finished the last fry, milking their
cokes as the conversation flowed as easily as water. Willow had never
talked to Adrian for this long or this easily before. She supposed it was
a combination of her having avoided any long lasting conversations with
Adrian in the past, and her unfair judgement that anyone as good looking
and self assured as him must not have all that much going on in the
sensitivity and intelligence departments. Today, Willow was finding out
she couldn't have been more wrong.
They covered every topic imaginable, excluding the Angelus incident, as
Willow had begun to refer to it. Willow told Adrian all about growing up
in Sunnydale with her absentee parents and two of the greatest friends
she'd ever known, Jesse and Xander. He told her about growing up in both
Paris and New York, then moving first to Venice where his father was the
official Watcher of Buffy's predecessor, then to London where the Council
enfolded them into their ranks at the young age of 17. He had always been
meant to join them, but it became official earlier than planned due to the
tragic death of his father, Dante, and the slayer, Gabrielle, in battle.
Willow told him about how empowered and special she had felt being part of
the Scooby Gang. How meeting Buffy had helped Willow to discard the shell
she had lived in for years as a product of her mother's repeated rejection;
how, as a part of the Gang, Willow had stopped feeling lonely and began to
live life to the fullest under the mantra "Carpe Diem."
Adrian spoke about his father, the bravest, most honorable man he knew.
He spoke about his dedication and loyalty to the Council, which his father
instilled in him at an early age. He spoke of remembered battles, of his
father swinging a sword or some other ancient weapon as he led the slayer
into combat, always right besides her on the front line.
Finally, they spoke of lost loves.
Willow told him about both Oz and Xander: Xander, her first love as a
young girl; Oz, her first love as an older, somewhat wiser young woman.
But no matter what the circumstances, they had been her firsts and in the
memory of her mind they stood like bright twin beacons of light- standards
in bravery, honesty and decency.
In turn, Adrian told Willow about Gabrielle. A hushed awe would color his
voice as he described her: tall and slim as a tree, with haunting hazel
eyes and a delicate manner of holding herself despite her tall stature. On
first meeting her, Adrian hadn't believed her strong enough to defend
herself, let alone the world. Gabrielle had quickly proved him wrong, and
though she would often indulge in quiet tears late in the night while he
cradled her in his arms, she never wavered while in combat.
When Adrian had lost the two people he loved most, his world had
collapsed. It was the Council, and his responsibility to honor the memory
of his father and Gabrielle, that saved him. And now, almost three years
later, Adrian was still trying to heal old wounds.
Since they first left for lunch late in the afternoon, dusk began to fall
before they knew it. Willow was so enraptured in their conversation she
barely even noticed until Adrian pointed out the orange and pinks of the
horizon as the sun set. When Adrian suggested he drive her home, Willow
was reluctant to end their afternoon together. The comfort and ease with
which she was able to talk to Adrian felt like magic, and she was afraid to
break the spell.
A relatively quiet drive back to Lydia's brought Willow's fears to
fruition. As Adrian steered the black Lexus through the city streets, and
then the countryside, Willow began to reflect and, as a result, withdraw.
It was as if the eerily quiet stillness of the passing countryside was
creeping into Willow's soul, blanketing her thoughts in a cold fear.
Willow was smart enough to recognize the feelings inside her that had
begun to take root. The seeds had been planted six months earlier, when
she first met Adrian, but only now were they nudging outwards, reaching
tentacles towards Willow's heart. She knew she had to stop them before
they succeeded in capturing it. At that point, there would be no turning
back, and Willow couldn't let things get that out of hand, because no
matter where she was, what she was doing, or who she was with, Willow
couldn't escape her own personal demon.
Angelus.
He was coming to retrieve her. Sometime soon- he had revealed that much
to her. As far as Angelus was concerned, Willow belonged to him, and
anyone that tried to come between them would meet the furious hand of his
anger. If Willow allowed her relationship with Adrian to become anything
more than friendship, that someone would become him. Therefore, Willow was
going to do what she had to stop her feelings for Adrian from growing
anymore out of control.
But there were other reasons, besides her concern for Adrian's safety.
Though she was loathe to admit it, part of Willow believed Angelus'
whispered words to her. It was the same part of Willow that had stopped
telling Lydia about her nightly dreams, afraid to admit the strong feelings
Angelus invoked within her. Maybe she was meant to be Angelus' life mate,
as he claimed. Some malignant twist of fate had crossed her path with his,
and part of her burned with desire to follow the twists in that path. She
was like the Bride of Frankenstein, or the bride of the Devil, to be more
exact; meant to be by the side of a demon for all time- that is, if Angelus
had his way. Maybe Angelus was right when he said he was the only one
meant for her; the only one who could satisfy her and fulfill those deeply
hidden needs and desires she admitted to no one. If all of it was true,
then Adrian would only end up getting hurt by her, and Willow, the part of
her Angelus didn't control, wouldn't allow that.
By the time Adrian pulled into the circular driveway of Lydia's home,
Willow's course of action was resolved. She would politely, but firmly,
make it clear to Adrian that all she could offer him was her friendship.
She would do her best to squash any feelings she may have for him and to
not notice how cute he looked with a few silky strands of his hair falling
around the curve of his ear, not to mention the curve of his behind.
Adrian held the passenger side door open for Willow, and his eyes couldn't
help but glance appreciatively at her legs as she swung them out the door.
Adrian made a move to take hold of Willow's hand as they walked up the
stone staircase to the front entrance but Willow managed to evade Adrian's
grasp. Hurrying ahead, Willow searched her bag for her keys, hoping to
escape into the house as quickly as possible.
Luck wasn't on her side when, in the midst of her fumbling to open the
door's locks, Adrian caught up with Willow and placed his hand lightly on
the small of her back. Willow immediately tensed.
"Willow?" She turned to face him as he spoke, her heart constricting at
the confused, sorrowful expression marring the perfect features of his
face. Willow stared at the ground, hoping it would make things easier.
"What's wrong? Things were so great at lunch, but then I could feel you
withdrawing in the car. I don't understand what went wrong. Was it
something I did, something I said?"
Willow shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.
"Then what is it?" When Willow began to shake her head once again, Adrian
cupped Willow's chin with the side of his hand, and tilted her head so he
could stare into her eyes. "I really like you Willow. I've never told
anyone most of the things I told you today. I did it because of the way I
feel towards you- because I think I could very easily fall in love with you."
Willow melted at his words and the soft touch of his hand on her skin.
When he lowered his mouth to hers, she didn't resist. The kiss opened like
a slow blooming flower, and for a moment, Willow lost herself in the pure
emotion of the experience.
The panic set in when Adrian cupped Willow's face in his hands and moved
in closer in an effort to deepen the kiss. Willow broke away from his
grasp, stepping as far back as she could, until her back was pressed
against the front door. Her emotions a conflicted mess, Willow felt more
confused than ever. Without meaning to, Willow found herself remembering
another kiss. Angelus, his body pressed intimately close to hers, closer
than any man had ever been, his fangs dripping bloody tears onto her face.
When he kissed her, Willow tasted the tangy sweetness of her own life's
blood on his lips and in his mouth. The sensation had pushed her over the
edge, propelling her into her third orgasm of the night. When she'd awoken
the next morning, she had still been able to taste her own blood in her
mouth. When Willow had realized it was only another dream, disappointment
had weighed heavy on her body, followed by shame and self-disgust at her
own arousal. Willow didn't want to compare the two kisses but she couldn't
help it. Adrian definitely evoked deep feelings inside of Willow.
However, she was still, against all reason, dangerously attracted to Angelus.
"Adrian, I can't do this. I'm sorry, but I'll only end up hurting you.
Let's just end it here before something bad happens. Please don't say
anything or ask me to explain. Let's just drop it." Then, before Adrian
could respond, Willow turned and went into the house.
On to
Part Nine
Back to
Part Seven
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