Title: Protector

Universe: Angel. Season 3.

Pairing: Fred/Wes (of course!)

Location: The Hyperion

Episodic Timeline: That Old Gang of Mine (end/post-ep)

A/N: Hm, so little fic that came to mind. Fred/Wes and some sweetness, maybe a bit out of character, lemme know what you think. This is the first in many ficlets to come.

Wesley glared at Gunn. "It's never easy - the pull of divided loyalties. - Whatever choice we do end up making we feel as though we've betrayed someone."

"Yeah." Gunn replied, the events of the day clearly weighing heavily on him.

"If you ever withhold information or attempt to subvert me again, I will fire you. I can't have any one member of the team compromising the safety of the group, no matter who it is. If you do it again you will be dismissed, bag and baggage, out of a job onto the streets." Wesley glanced at Gunn and then turned to get into the back of a cab.

He slid in next to Fred, who was still looking a bit shell-shocked. Poor girl, it was the first time she had been out in five years and things had gone horrendously wrong.

Cordelia, who was sitting on the other side of Fred, placed her hand on Fred's shoulder reassuringly. "It won't always be like this." Cordelia's wide-brown eyes filled with apology.

Fred nodded, nervously. "I know. I- It's not all bad, right?" She drawled.

Wesley caught her gaze briefly. "No, it's not."

Fred stared quickly back down at her shoes. "Alright."

The rode the rest of the way back to the Hyperion in silence.

Wesley paid the driver and followed Fred and Cordelia towards the back doors.

Cordelia sighed. "I'm gunna go clean up."

Fred nodded, seconding the motion as she looked down at her demon-goo splattered sundress. She paused for a second and looked back at Wesley.

"Suppose I should be heading home." Wesley pulled his keys out of his pocket and jangled them for effect.

"Uh, Wesley?" Fred asked anxiously. "Would you, uh, do you think you could- what I mean is..."

Cordelia glanced between the two of them and decided to slip inside to give them some privacy.

Wesley gazed at her, trying to keep his obvious feelings at bay. "Yes?"

Fred fidgeted, "It was real nice what you did, at the club, I mean you- I uh wanted to say..."

"You're welcome." Wesley interjected, smiling.

Fred felt her heart flutter, which was strange, to feel anything but nervous and awkward around anyone. She blushed. "Do you think, would you uh," She gestured to the doors of the Hyperion. He quirked his brow quizzically, but walked over to hold the doors open for her. Fred walked through the threshold and paused, waiting.

"Oh, you want me to..." Wesley trailed off, not knowing exactly how to finish that sentence.

Fred nodded and Wesley followed her all the way upstairs, as it seemed that was where she wanted him to go.

She pushed open the door to her room. "I'm sorry, it's a little, well, it's a mess." Fred laughed nervously, kicking things out of the way. At least the bed was clean; she gestured for Wesley to sit.

He cleared his throat and glanced around, feeling incredibly awkward, and quite a bit shocked that she trusted him enough to allow him up here.

"I'm gunna uh, clean up." She said, grabbing a clean pair of clothes. "You'll wait here?" She asked, hopefully.

Wesley nodded and watched as she left the room, with a slight skip in her step.

He nixed the idea of sitting awkwardly and twiddling his thumbs waiting for her to return. The floor was covered with food, a pile of dirty clothes and papers. Wesley headed downstairs to grab a trashcan, and got right to work cleaning up the leftover food and dumping it into the trash. Next, he put all the papers into a stack on her desk, until you could actually see the floor. He paused at the pile of clothes, and decided it would be best if he just left it there. He set the garbage in the hall, and glanced around at the walls, waiting anxiously for Fred's return.

Refreshed and clean, Fred slipped on a baggy t-shirt and some sweat pants. Drying her hair quickly with a towel but not bothering to brush it. She walked up to the door of her room and pushed it open slowly.

"Oh!" She gasped, astonished. "Oh, it's" She glanced at Wesley. "You cleaned it."

He nodded. "I hope that's alright."

"Of course!" Fred beamed, spinning around to survey the whole room. "It looks real great."

She glanced nervously into Wesley's eyes, seeing something akin to adoration. She fought the urge to blush and sat down next to Wesley.

He looked down at his hands. "Some of your theorems are quite extraordinary." He gestured to the writing-covered walls.

Fred definitely blushed this time. "Oh, they're just ramblings. Things I need ta get out of my head or I feel like it's gonna explode sometimes. Ya know?"

Wesley nodded, smiling. "Yes, I believe we all have days like that."

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, listening to the clock on the bedside table tick.

Wesley was the first to speak. "So, was there a reason...?"

Fred glanced at him briefly. "Yeah, I wanted to thank you. For protecting me back there, and just, it was nice, what you did."

Wesley nodded, but was still a bit confused.

"I like you, Wes..." His heart sped up, hope flooding through him.

"I uh feel safe around you. Kinda like with Angel, but there's this weird fluttering in my stomach when you're around like I'm gunna fly away and never be able to touch back down to earth." Fred rambled, smiling at him timidly. "You think, well maybe you wanna..."

Wesley's mind raced through all the possibilities.

"Stay here with me tonight. I'd feel a lot safer... and maybe," Fred twisted her hands anxiously. "Maybe it'll keep the nightmares away. Sometimes I swear I'm gonna wake up and this'll all just be a nice dream. Y'know?"

Wesley nodded, understanding completely. There was obviously going to be some severe issues. It would take her a while to adjust, to believe that things weren't that awful. To get used to living the way she used to.

"I'll stay if that's what you would like." Wesley replied softly, not wanting to push.

"Oh!" Fred giggled, happy. "I would like."

Wesley kicked off his shoes and climbed under the covers; suddenly wishing he kept spare clothes here at the office. Fred climbed in right next to him, snuggling against his chest, clinging to him. He wrapped his arm around her and she sighed. "This is nice."

Wesley smiled and smoothed her wet hair back, planting a kiss on her forehead. "It really is."

Fred smiled, on the brink of sleep. "My protector..."

A/N: So, comments?