author: Lucinda
rating: pg, pg 13?
pairing: Willow/Doyle
third in 'Lucky Charm'
disclaimer: I own nobody from Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel the Series.
distribution: WLS, NHA, Bite Me please?, Wic, anyone else just ask.
note: AU. Hero never happened. Cordelia hooked up with Wesley, and Doyle's crush on her faded.
Friday had arrived, and Willow was still in Los Angeles. Doyle considered that a chance, not quite a sign, but certainly a chance. She knew that he was half demon and didn't seem to care, she knew about things that went bump, and wasn't unreasonably afraid. She was also beautiful.
On the down side, he was probably ten years older than her, and she had a life full of opportunities ahead of her. She should have someone that could help her become everything that she could be. Maybe someone normal.
But she'd been helping a Slayer, had resouled Angel once and was still an active witch. She'd dated a werewolf and a witch. Where was the 'normal' in any of that?
"Just talk to her." Angel muttered. "Stop pacing and mumbling about Willow and go talk to her."
"err..." He blinked, stunned by Angel's words. "Have I been that obvious about it, then?"
"Yes." Angel rubbed at his temples. "She won't push you away for being different. She won't laugh at you. And if you keep pacing and muttering to yourself, I'll have to start calling you Drusilla."
Doyle blinked, wondering if Angel had just made a joke, even if it had been a rather poor one. "Right then, I'll just go talk to her. Assuming that I can find her. Cordelia was threatening to take her out shopping."
He found her in the lobby, curled up on a couch, flipping through the pages of a book. Moving closer, he could se that there was a diagram, some sort of circle with a tree in the middle, inked onto one page. He felt terribly nervous and awkward. "Afternoon, Willow."
"Hey." She smiled, blushing a little. "So, Doyle, umm..."
"Dinner." He winced, deciding to flounder onwards. "I'd like you to have dinner with me tonight. Please?"
For a long moment, she was silent, and Doyle waited in nervous anticipation. What would she say? Would she be interested, or was he just one of Angel's strange friends to her? What if...?
"I think I'd like that." Her voice was soft, and she smiled, looking a bit uncertain herself. "So, this is a date?"
"I was hoping that it could be." He admitted.
Her smile was filled with hope and relief. "Oh, good. It sounded like a date, and I sort of like you, so I was hoping that it was supposed to be a date. Where are we going, should I change into something a little more fancy, a bit dressier?"
"No, you're perfect just the way you are." He reassured, unsure if he meant just the outfit or all of her. "There's a little place I know, sort of a sports bar, though they've got some decent food as well."
She put a scrap of ribbon in the book, closing it. "So, a date. I'm sort of hoping this works out. I haven't had a lot of luck dating before."
He reached up, touching the lump of the lucky charm the witches had given him. "Maybe your luck will change then. I think mine is."
"Shall we find out?" Her hopeful question was soft, as if she was turning over all the ways things could turn out, both good and bad.
Taking her hand, he smiled. "That sounds like a good idea to me."
end Lucky Charm 3: Changing Luck.