fic: Appearances (Willow/Doyle, pg13, 1/1) 

author: Lucinda
pairing: Willow/Doyle
rating: pg13
distribution: WLS, Wic, Bite Me, NHA, Paula - anyone else ask first.
disclaimer: I hold no legal rights to any characters from Buffy the 
Vampire Slayer or Angel the Series.
note: AU past mid season 4 BtVS so Oz has left the building, Tara is 
just a friend. AU for AtS - Hero did not happen. Doyle is NOT 
dead. Takes place during an AU second year for Angel Investigations.
Response to Wic's October Challenge - Willow pairing (of the 
author's choice)
include one of this: Alfred Hitchcock movie / an antique clock / an 
Pumpkin / an dark alley
you should use two of this: remote control / hairbrush / too tight 
Costume / an stolen or disappeared bowl of candy



"Remind me again why we're here?" Willow whispered to her 
boyfriend, her hand looped over his arm.

"Well, once upon a time, my parents had sex. A few years 
after that, your parents had sex. As the years passed..." He made 
an exaggerated flinch as she swatted his shoulder, chucking a bit at 
Willow's annoyed _expression. "Ah, not that why, hmm? Well, as I 
recall, it was your idea to make Kate feel like she was part of the 
group, considering."

"She got kicked out of the police for helping us deal with 
that swarm of crawly things. So Angel gave her a job working with 
us, and she's not that bad. Cordelia was worse in high school. 
Going to Kate's Halloween party is not that big of a sacrifice." 
Willow sighed, twitching her long black robes out of the 
way. "Although I'm still pretty sure that this is supposed to be 
come as you aren't night, why am I here in long black robes and a 
pointy black hat?"

"Because you, my sweet, are not here as Willow, you're here 
as Ginny Weasley, on the arm of the dashing Harry Potter, hero of 
Britain." He smirked just a bit, gesturing at the pair of them. 
Both dressed in long robes, a pair of dark glasses perched awkwardly 
on his nose, a mark shaped like a lightning bolt carefully applied 
to his forehead with makeup.

"I just wish there really were schools for magic - it would 
have helped so much." Shaking her head, Willow held up the 
carefully polished wand that they'd made for her costume. In 
reality, it was just a carefully smoothed bit of maple with a bronze 
handle, but it had the right look for a 'magic wand' in the fashion 
of the Harry Potter novels. "Maple, twelve inches, no core because 
it's not real... Lumos." A soft silver glow radiated from the tip, 
causing Willow to giggle a bit.

"Ahhh-ahhh, sweet, what did Sunnydale teach about that 
word?" Doyle grinned at her. "Either nothing happens - if we could 
be so lucky! Or utter disaster follows."

"Halloween party at Kate's, where we get to watch her flirt 
with Angel, and Cordelia and Wesley with round two of their... 
whatever." Willow shuddered. It wasn't that she thought Angel and 
Kate would be bad for each other, exactly, as the fact that she 
couldn't forget about that nasty Clause. A clause that Kate 
probably didn't know about.

"Good point... maybe we can find some rampaging demon, or a 
vampire infested alley instead..." Doyle shook his head. "He gave 
her this clock t' other day... had to be close to a century old, 
gleaming, expensive. All because she kept being late to work."

"Yeah, Wesley's smitten with her. It's almost sad, really." 
Willow sighed, thinking about the way that men just seemed to fall 
for Cordelia.

"Give that back!" The high pitched shriek sounded almost 
capable of shattering glass, and came from the left.

Years of dangerous living had left them both conditioned - 
run towards the distress. A shape clutching something was lurching 
away from a teary eyed child of perhaps seven. Again, the child 
shrieked in a loud and miserable voice - 'Give me back my candy!"

Doyle placed himself in the way, and the running figure, 
which turned out to be a boy of maybe fourteen ran into him, 
sprawling to the ground. Doyle almost fell with him, but Willow 
managed to catch him.

"Now, what is going on here?" Willow glared at the boy, 
thinking that she hadn't been much older when she'd started helping 
fight demons and vampires.

"It's Halloween... Don't you two know those stupid books 
aren't real?" The boy glared at them, his _expression filled with 
disdain.

Willow muttered a few things under her breath about idiots 
thinking with their stomachs, and created a small globe of green 
fire over her palm as the candy began to toss itself back into the 
bucket, floating back over to the now staring child.

Doyle looked at the boy. "Don't try to talk to her about 
not real - it gets her annoyed."

The boy ran off, nearly falling several times in his haste 
to flea.

"We aren't the bad guys... why is he so afraid of us?" 
Willow sighed, turning back towards the apartment. "Well... no more 
delays, time to go to the party."

"Remember, most people don't know." Doyle gripped her hand, 
trying to soothe her as they walked past some smashed pumpkins.

Arriving at Kate's apartment, they stepped inside, hearing 
the sounds of something playing on the television and the sounds of 
almost a dozen people chatting. Cordelia was in this incredibly 
tight shimmering purple dress that had no visible sleeves or straps 
and a red wig.

Doyle stopped short, his jaw dropping as he stared at 
her. " Who... what is she? Can she even breathe in that?"

Willow blinked, her own jaw dropping. "Oh my... I think 
she's Jessica Rabbit. How is that staying up?"

"She doesn't look like a rabbit... urmm... what's on the 
television anyhow?" Doyle shook his head, as if trying to remind 
himself not to stare.

Willow smiled, tugging him towards the couch. "oh, it's the 
Birds! One of Alfred Hitchcock's..."

"Maybe tonight won't be quite that bad after all..." Doyle 
grinned, pulling her onto his lap.

Willow snuggled closer, smiling up at him. "Looks better 
already."

End Appearances.