Swords are cool.

Note to self: typing one-handed while supporting 18n pounds of fidgety feline is not good idea.

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RL, I enjoyed your Faith fic very, very much. Are you going to continue it through the episode(s)?

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It was *meant* to be really short.

No, I have the ending. It stops right before she visits Joyce, at the latest.

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Lizard, so cool! I'm hardly your dream audience, not having seen much FF,but it pulled me in anyway.

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I don't know if anyone here is interested in Lorne, but I'm so pleased I actually managed to write this I thought I'd post it. Comments welcome- in fact, comments please!

Title: A Night Out Author: Am-Chau Yarkona E-mail: grant@hagden169.fsnet.co.uk Pairing: Lorne/Fred Rating: PG Summary: Lorne takes Fred out for dinner. Just a little ficlet. Notes: Princess Twilite wished for Lorne/Fred: I am the fanfic genie, and her wish is my command. The LoveLorne list desire Lorne in Angel’s clothes, and Lorne in formal clothes. I’ve done my best. Un-betaed, because there didn’t seem to be enough here. All comments appreciated.

Set just after season 2 Angel.

Prologue: The Hyperion, the few seconds after the season closes

Willow nods slowly. “I’m sorry, Angel.”

He closes his eyes. “I have to see the grave,” he says. “You can manage here, can’t you? Wes? Cordy? Gunn?”

Three ‘yes’s.

“I’ll just go, then.”

“No! Fred, you need- what do you need?”

She considers for a moment. “Looking after?”

Angel nods. “You three take care of her, okay? Get Lorne to help you. Willow, we need to leave now if we’re to get to Sunnydale before dawn.”

• **

Part One: Fred Sings to Angel’s Car

Caritas, a few days later

“You have a beautiful voice, sugarpuff,” Lorne tells the shy girl. “We should get you up on stage more often.”

Fred smiles slightly. “I used to sing, in my cave. All mother goose rhymes, everything I could remember. Very quietly, or they might have found me.”

“If you sang loud enough, you might have killed some of them- but that’s not a problem now. We won’t let them take us out of LA again, will we?”

“We won’t. Not leaving. No, no, no, no.”

“No indeedy. Now, how about you grace us with another number? There aren’t many people here tonight. Possibly because of the car.”

“They’ve all gone home. Like me. I’m home, here. Home!” She grins at him.

“That you are- and so am I. Tell you what, I’ll shut up shop early tonight and we can go and get you a taco. Would you like that, honey?”

Fred nods eagerly, and Lorne heads across the room to speak to his bartender about locking up early.

• **

Part Two: Aggie to the rescue

“Now, sugar, do you want to eat out, or shall we get something in?” Lorne asks, when they’ve got back to the hotel- Fred’s current home and Lorne’s temporary accommodation. Wesley and Cordy departed for home some hours ago, and Gunn’s gone to see if he can find his gang.

“Eat out,” Fred replies after a moments thought. “Somewhere nice.”

Lorne considers this, and says, “Somewhere slightly posh, then. Have you gat anything smart to wear?” The young woman looks blank. “I’ll ask Aggie, then. She must be about your size, and she’s always dressing up for something or other.”

A phone call and fifteen minutes wait later, Fred is out numbered one to two by psychics.

Aggie looks Fred up and down, assessing what she’ll look good in. “Come upstairs, girl,” she says, and they leave Lorne to look after himself for ten minutes.

• **

Part Three: Stealing Vampire’s Clothing

Forty-three verses of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ later, they came downstairs again, to an interesting surprise. Lorne had- knowing something about Aggie’s taste in formal wear- changed his clothes as well.

He wasn’t sure that Angel would be happy that he’d borrowed the vampire’s tux, but it was worth risking his wrath to see the look on the women’s faces. Fred was dressed in a figure-hugging white dress, simple but elegant, the perfect compliment to his dinner jacket.

Aggie laughed, a deep, rich laugh that held all of her mystic understanding. “Lorne, old friend, you have surpassed yourself. You’re going to have to eat something smarter than tacos now!”

“We are,” the Host agrees ruefully. “I think it’ll be worth it, though.” He climbs the few steps to stand by Fred, and takes her arm. “Winifred my dear, how do you feel about La Tana del Catudo?”

Fred looks puzzled, and Lorne goes on, “A demon friendly restaurant where they serve a wonderful menu. I think you’ll like it, and I won’t look out of place.”

Aggie smiles, and Fred takes her cue, smiling in return. “Let’s go then,” Lorne says, and the two of them head out into the night, arm in arm.

• **

Part Four: Damn it, I can’t write dinner conversations

The evening passes Fred by in blur. She remembers the food- soft food, tasty food, crunchy food, food of kinds and types and tastes she hasn’t had for years, if ever- and the kisses- soft, warm kisses, kisses that end with wide eyes, kisses that end with other things, kisses that she has never had before because, although many guys on campus will take a physics student out, not many guys on campus are members of the Deathwok clan.

Lorne has a little more focus, but he find that he loses some of that to Fred’s warm smile and soft lips, her long hair and body with all those human female curves. In the end, though, he gives in to her, only retaining enough control to prevent himself taking her upstairs and kom-shucking with her.

With Cordelia would upset Angel enough: with this delicate young flower the vampire would probably kill him.

• **

Epilogue: Dawn

Fred wakes slowly, savouring the sensation of a soft bed, cool sheets, and an actual mattress. For once she has slept deeply and refreshingly, no nightmares at all. I must go out for dinner again, she decides, and smiles to herself.

Lorne is slammed roughly from sleep by Cordelia banging his door open. When she asks for details of what Fred and he did last night, he merely grins widely, hoping she won’t ask for more details. He is right: but she does pause, confused when she notices Angel’s clothes in a pile on the chair.

Cordelia decides not to think about it, and when she sees that Fred seems happy, she decides not to mention it either.

When she meets Aggie later that day, the psychic is amused to note that Cordelia feels she could decide to talk about it wi

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It cut you off, I think.

“If you sang loud enough, you might have killed some of them-

BWAH!

I don't think that Aggie was anywhere near Fred's size. But I love that Lorne finally got into Angel's pants . .. .. .. What? You were all thinking it.

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Hey pm - have you written anymore of that Buffy/Wesley/their daughter fic? I'm anxiously awaiting more of it.

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Some, yep.

I tend to wait until I have huge chunks to post it, and I've been a: slammed as hell at work (fucking responsibility) and b: obsessing over my other AU B/W. (Ask SA, I've basically given her the low-down on what I want to do... moohahahaha.)

But in good news, I had two bright shiny epiphanies, and now know how to segue the rest of the stuff I have into one coherant whole so that I can finally sign off on the story that ate my summer.

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Cool! Can't wait to read it.

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It's worth it. I can remember when she first started this stuff... Damn, it was forever ago. But we kinda joked around until it became the DE -- Damned Epic. And then she started Route 66 -- Imposters in this Country -- as a little sidelined PWP from a list challenge. And then that ate her brain.

It was fun to watch.

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