While I Lay Dreaming Of You, Part 4/5

[dragonyphoenix]

Title: While I Lay Dreaming of You
Author: Dragon's Phoenix
Rating: Adult themes but no explicit adult content
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon: genius; me: just playing with his characters.
Pairing: Angel/Willow
Summary: At Graduation, Angel turns Willow, who has been bitten by another vampire, as she is dying.

Story Index is here.

Angel doesn't trust me, Willow thought. That won't do. That won't do at all. She started using her Childe self, which had an unerring understanding of Angel's interests, to direct her actions. Angel's human soul was fascinated by high culture, which Willow found amusing since she knew, from Giles' Watcher diaries, that Angel had been a lout of a drunken rake before being turned by Darla. When Angel had taken her to private exhibits, Willow had barely bothered to hide her distaste for art; her Sire might have a human soul to appreciate this junk with but she didn't. Now that changed. Slowly, not wanting to give her deception away, she started pretending an interest. Luckily, as a human, she had been interested, and so could easily pretend to be learning about art from Angel while only giving him half her attention.

 

Now this one I can mock, she thought noticing the bemused look on Angel's face. And rightly so, she added as she eyed the exhibit. Assorted, what must be chairs were laid out in a circular pattern. They could be raised and lowered, for what human purpose Willow couldn't imagine, up to a maximum of ten feet off the floor. Wonderful torture devices, she thought. Put a human victim up there and they either have to sit on the most uncomfortable looking thing I've ever seen or break a leg jumping down.

 

“He,” Willow said, referring to the artist, “can't possibly mean for anyone to actually sit on them.”

 

“Sadly, I'm afraid he does,” Angel replied, taking her hand and giving it a slight squeeze, pleased that her tastes so matched his.

 

Wanting to revisit one of Angel's pet humans who had a particularly interesting collection of magical tomes, Willow played on Angel's tastes. “Can't we go back and look at the haiku scrolls again? Now that you've been teaching me to read Japanese, I think I could translate some of them. I mean, not as well as I'd like to be able to truly appreciate them, but I'd like to see how well I could read them,” she said, trying to recreate her human Willow babble since it calmed Angel to think of her as her old self.

 

“I'll see what I can do but we need to finish up here tonight.” At Willow's quizzical look, he added, “Mr. Althouse...”

 

“The man who owns this,” she added sarcastically, “art.”

 

“Correct. He has some pieces I want to look at. Renaissance scenes. Religious. By Giotto.”

 

Willow didn't bother to hide her distaste. Angel expected that she, as a vampire, would never the appreciate Christian art that he so enjoyed. “Don't worry. I won't expect you to join me.”

 

Willow allowed her Childe-self to finish off the conversation, expressing a disinterest in the art but also a desire to remain at Angel's side. It didn't matter to her whether she joined him at that specific viewing or not.

 

* * *

 

When she was ready to display her devotion in a more proactive manner, Willow started denigrating her outfits – this one was out of fashion; that color didn't suit her; she's worn the other too many times before – until Angel decided to take her out to buy new clothes.

 

“Could we go back to the tailor, the one who also made an outfit for you?”

 

He frowned at her. “I'm happy with my current wardrobe.”

 

“But I have an idea.” Willow allowed a Childe's devotion to take over her features, “You'll look stunning.” Seeing that Angel wasn't convinced, she changed her words to, “We will look stunning, together.”

 

Intrigued, Angel took her to the tailor's shop.

 

“Mr. Drubeck, how nice to see you again,” Willow said, charming the older man. While she still didn't like the clothes Angel picked out for her, finding them less revealing than she wanted, Willow was friendly with the old tailor. She tried to be as pleasing as possible with everyone she met, unless she had a specific reason not to, to avoid alienating anyone who might turn into a useful ally.

 

“Sid. I tell you each time to call me Sid,” the man replied.

 

“Sid,” Willow said, smiling as if from happiness. “I had an idea. Do you still have that darker cloth you showed me last time, the one with the shimmery patterns woven in?”

“The one your boyfriend didn't like, saying the pattern was too discrete for you?”

 

“Exactly.” Willow could almost hear Angel growling behind her.

 

“Well, yes, but you know he's not going to go for...”

 

“Wonderful,” Willow interrupted. “And how about that tan silk? The one that's so similar in color to the shimmering material.”

 

“Yes,” the tailor grew excited and his eyes lit up. “Those two together? Is that what you're thinking?”

 

“Willow,” Angel interrupted. “I said last time that cloth was too dark for you.”

 

“It's not for me,” Willow looked up at Angel adoringly. “The cloth is the exact same shade as your eyes.” Turning back to the tailor, she asked, “Can you bring them out here?”

 

As the tailor ran off to find the cloth, Angel said, “I don't wear glittery clothes, Willow.”

 

“Trust me,” Willow replied. When the old man brought the cloth back, she had him drape the darker cloth out by itself. “Look at how discrete it is,” Willow said, picking it up.

 

“I'm not impressed.”

 

Willow smiled mischievously. “Sid, please bring the other cloth over.” Angel's eyes lit up as the darker fabric's pattern shimmered when enhanced by the tan silk.

 

“I still think it's too dark for you.”

 

“It's not for me,” Willow replied. “We will use the darker cloth to make a vest for you. I will wear the tan silk. Think of the impression we'll make when we walk in, arm-in-arm.”

 

Angel gazed off into this distance for a moment before coming back to the room. “Wonderful idea, Willow.” He smiled shyly at her, “I'm so pleased you're taking an interest,” but then turned, commanding to the tailor. “But not tan. Find something that will have the same effect but in green, to bring out Willow's eyes.”

 

* * *

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