Elena,

I do like the new ending to the first part, very much, and I hope I haven't frustrated you with too much nitpicking. If I have, I'm sorry. It's a good story as it stands. Those are just my thoughts at the moment. I've got my yahoo messenger open if you want to talk about it more.

You have not frustrated me, Deena. I want the feedback. And I like your nitpicks.

Deb, do you know that spellcheck doesn't recognise any variation of 'souled'? I'm never sure if it's single or double 'l', but now I'll remember.

Goodness, all day I've been making its/it's and your/you're mistakes, which I never normally do.

Deena, how about if I change Wes' thinking about the crush to this -

Wes wished he could just ignore Andrew's crush, as Angel had Fred's, but that had ended so badly. "I'm just going to have to talk to the lad. Once I'm not so busy." He looked at his uncluttered desk. "Or maybe I'll ask Lorne to do it."

Oh, I like that a lot.

Does Wes use lad? I think boy sounds more like him. I could be wrong.

boy it is.

Wouldn't Andrew know Monty Python? It's a particularly geeky phenomenon, seems to me. I would think he'd be, at the least, quoting some back, even if it were just from The Holy Grail, which is probably (I think?) the most well-known Monty Python. I buy that he wouldn't know it was a group -- I didn't (embarrassed now, yes). something like:

"Oh, oh, I know this! Killer Rabbit!" (or) Ni! Ni!"

I do almost exactly that here -

"Monty Python is not a person, it's the name of a troupe of comedians."

"Right, like that strange walking guy."

"Funny."

Because of the Ministry of Funny Walks. Andrew, as I see him, is more of a SF geek than a generalised geek. And I wonder if he's not a touch young to be very much into MP. I think he'd be more of a Red Dwarf and possibly Dr. Who geek.

Revised, based on your suggestions -

Wesley stared down at Andrew, utterly bemused.

"It's okay, Wesley." Andrew lifted a hand and patted a stubbled cheek comfortingly. "It's okay for a man to have a crush on another man."

"And what," Wesley thought, "am I to do with that?" He smiled and lowered his head to kiss Andrew, quite thoroughly.

Ah, that was my monty python stupidity not getting it then. Cool. Nice revision. I like the word bemused. It seems particularly Wes.

edited because I liked the wrong form of the word.

I think that bemused - or baffled - would pretty much sum up Wesley's reaction to Andrew.

channeling fay or gobsmacked. It's a good story, Elena. I like it. I'm sorry for the pairing confusion. Did you write the other one, and if you did, are you going to post it?

I did write it, and I posted it upthread. It's the bucket story. And I like this one better.