Author: Ellen
Rating: PG / PG-13
Summary: Here's a very short story written in response to the AngelSlash challenge for a 400-word fic.
Disclaimer: Fox, the WB, Mutant Enemy Productions and the rest own these folks, and the piece of our souls that went along with Doyle, but they can't take away our fantasies.
Author's Note: Mental communication is //between double slashes.//
Though his lovers slept, it was always difficult for him to stay away from the night sky. In the small hours of the morning, he found himself on the roof, staring out at a half-moon and a scattering of stars. With one finger, he traced the faint indentation of the place where he had smashed the Ring of Amarra. Had it only been a few months ago?
//Seems a lifetime ago, don't it?//
The soft voice in his mind reminded him that his thoughts were no longer all his own. He closed his eyes, and could share the sensation of two warm bodies entangled with each other in the bed many floors below. One was sleeping, the other now gently reaching out toward him.
//Needing some alone time, or okay with some company?//
//Always okay with yours,// Angel sent back //But you don't need to get out of that warm bed for me. You're here with me already.//
He opened his mind wide to share with the other the shadows of streetlights, and the distant motion of headlights, and the dim moonlight touching the roof.
//Sometimes I need a few minutes away to remember just how lucky I am.//
Despite the distance between them, he could feel the other's smile.
//You'll get over that, when you're used to it that I'm back.//
//I'll never take it for granted. Give me some credit, I do learn a lesson now and then.//
//Well, and so do I.//
Eyes still closed, Angel savored the odd sensation of feeling over distance someone else's hands fastening someone else's clothing, someone else's feet sliding into shoes, someone else's body moving while his own remained still.
//And what lesson did you learn?//
//I spent a long time once not believin' in love. I broke a good woman's heart that way, y'know? And that, I still regret.//
//Would you go back to her if you could?//
//No. But I wouldn't be so cruel as to look in the eyes of someone who loves me, and think that all I saw was pity. I should've known better.//
The vibrations of movement, carried through the bond, told him the other was drawing nearer.
//When you get a second chance,// the quiet thoughts continued. //You don't want to waste the lesson.//
He turned, still grateful beyond measure at the sight of Doyle walking toward him, and he whispered: "Teach me again."
The End
