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Once Upon a Time

By Rach

SPOILERS: Up to and including The Gift, and up to and including There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb
PAIRING: Fred/Wesley
RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: None of these people are mine. They all belong to Joss (who is a God) and David, and the other writers, and Fox, and Mutant Enemy (grr-arg), and probably many, many other people that I forgot. Moral of the story? Not mine :-)


"It's no good, there's nothing here." Fred slammed yet another book shut in frustration.
"That's how it is around here, I'm afraid. We just have to keep looking until we find something."
"But what if it kills again before we find it?"
"Then that's something that we can't help. As horrid as it may sound, sometimes more people have to die before we can catch whatever's doing it." Wesley replied, his tone sombre.
"But that's just not fair!" she exclaimed. The two of them had been researching for hours. They didn't have a lot to go on, as Cordelia had given them the details of her vision down the phone, and the reception on her cell phone was terrible. Fred leant her elbows on the edge of the desk and began to rub her temples to relieve some of the tension. Wesley turned back from the bookshelf behind her, and noticed this.
"Here, let me." He spoke softly, and covered her small hands with his own, continuing the circular motion.
"Mmmm," she murmured. "That's nice."
There was a knock at the door, and Gunn entered, the two of them quickly jumping apart. Gunn smiled, giving Wesley a 'look', before speaking.
"Cordy's on the phone again. She says she'll be back in LA in a couple of hours, but Angel's staying on in Sunnydale for a few more days. Do we need her to come in tonight?"
"No ... I think we've pretty much exhausted all our books - unless you've found anything that is?"
"Not a thing. So I'll tell her we'll see her tomorrow?"
"Yes, thank you Gunn. It must have been a very stressful time for her - make sure she gets some rest."
"Will do." As Gunn exited, Fred turned back to Wesley.
"How come you didn't go to Sunnydale with them?" she enquired, shyly.
"Although I was Buffy's watcher, the two of us were never really that ... close. She wasn't happy that the council fired Mr. Giles and hired me, so we didn't get along that well. And they've both known Buffy for years, where as I was only there for a few months."
"Oh."
The two of them continued to look through the books in front of them in silence, the closeness of a few moments ago lost.
"Uh ... Fred?" Wesley spoke with a slight nervous shake in his voice.
"Uh-huh?" She replied without looking up from the book she was currently reading.
"Would you like to come to the cinema tonight? With me?" That made her look up.
"You mean like ... a ... a date?"
"Well ... I suppose that is what I meant, yes. Would you?"
"I haven't been to the movies in the longest time." She laughed quietly at herself. "But I guess you knew that. I'd like that."
"You would? That's wonderful. Well ... I'll pick you up at Cordelia's at 7:30, is that OK with you?"
"That would be nice." Before Cordelia and Angel had left for Sunnydale with Willow, Cordy had taken Fred to her apartment, and told her she could stay as long as she wanted. It will be some company for Dennis, Cordy had told her. She had been a little taken aback by Dennis at first, but after all her time in Pylea, not a lot surprised her and she'd quickly gotten used to the friendly ghost.
They continued their research for a while longer, but when they felt there was nothing left to read, all three of them decided to call it a day.

***

"Hey, Fred, hey Dennis." Cordelia called out as she entered her apartment. In reply, Dennis brought her a cup of coffee. "Oh, you have no idea how much I need this!" She kicked off her shoes and collapsed on the sofa. Fred's head peeked out of Cordy's bedroom door.
"Hi," She began, quietly. "I've been wearing some of your clothes, you said that was alright didn't you?"
"Oh, sure, honey. Come out here and let me see how they suit you." Fred opened the door wider, and nervously came out to where Cordelia could see her properly. She was wearing a long black dress with a plunging neckline, and were it not for the timid face she wouldn't have known it was the same girl that they brought back from Pylea. On her feet were a pair of black heels with straps over the top of her foot and around her ankle.
"Wow," she breathed. "Going somewhere special?" It wasn't really a question, there would be no other reason Fred would be dressed like that.
"I ... I have a date."
"Really?!" squealed Cordelia. "That's fantastic! Who's the lucky guy?" Fred opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"I'll get it." Fred almost pushed Cordelia back down onto the sofa in her rush to get to the door.
"Hey, Wesley." Cordelia yawned. "We were expecting someone else."
"You were?" Wesley looked slightly put out for a moment, then glimpsed Fred's laughing face.
"Yeah. Fred has a date tonight, did you know that?!"
"Yes, actually I did." He smirked, then turned to Fred. "Are you ready?" He held out his arm and she took it willingly.
"Yeah. I'll try to not be late, Cordy." Fred closed the door behind her before Cordelia could question them any further. Inside, Cordelia was gobsmacked.
"Dennis, did you know about this?" The lights flicked off and on again once. It was a code the two of them had worked out - one flick for yes, two for no. "You did?! Why didn't you tell me?" She thought for a second. "OK, dumb question alert. It's been a long week, I'm having a shower, and then I'm going to bed. And NO peeking at me in the shower."

***

Three hours later, Fred and Wesley took a slow walk from the cinema to the car, her arm still linked through his.
"So did you like the film?" enquired Wesley.
"To be honest, I wasn't really paying that much attention to it. It was kind of a novelty, something I haven't seen for a while. I kept remembering things I used to do in LA before, things I've missed. Things I'd convinced myself weren't real, just a dream."
"And the popcorn?" He smiled at his recollection of that particular moment.
"It was wonderful! All crunchy and buttery ... oh I've missed proper food. Crug-grain oatmeal and tree-bark enchiladas really can't compare!"
Wesley laughed. She really was a remarkable girl, the way she's adjusted to life in Pylea, and then readjusted back to life in LA so easily. They chatted the rest of the way back to Cordelia's apartment. Wesley pulled up outside and they both climbed out.
"Well, that was ... nice."
Fred nodded. "We should do it again."
"Yes ... well, I'll see you tomorrow then." Wesley turned and began to walk back to the car. Fred grabbed his arm and smiled shyly.
"Wait ... don't I get a goodnight kiss?" Wesley smiled and took her in his arms, planting a small, tender kiss on her lips.
"See you tomorrow." He walked back to his car, and Fred put the key in the lock. She didn't notice the curtains twitch, or Cordelia's bedroom door slam shut at the same second she closed the front door behind her. Instead she leant against the inside of the door for a few moments with a dreamy, faraway look on her face, before turning off the lights and heading to bed.

***

"And he kissed her?" Gunn asked, incredulously.
"Yea," replied Cordelia. "Big smoochie, right on the lips. Saw it through my own window." She cleared her throat in warning as Wesley came through the hotel door, whistling. Gunn turned around, and spotted him.
"Well, English, I never thought I had it in you!"
"Fred's in the office, Wes. She came in with me."
"Thank you for that Cordelia, and Gunn, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Pfft." As Wesley opened the door to his office, he added "Yeah right."

***

When Angel returned to LA two days later, he found Cordelia and Gunn standing outside the office, peeking through the windows.
"Guys, what are you doing?" The two of them spun around in surprise.
"Angel! Hi! We were just ... uh ... looking."
"At?"
"Fred and Wesley are making out." She replied, her tone that of a naughty schoolgirl.
"It's like a fairytale," added Gunn. "Once upon a time, there was an English guy, and a pretty girl. Only problem was, pretty girl was in a different dimension ..."
"Gunn?"
"Angel?"
"Shut up. If it's such a fairytale, then don't you think they deserve some privacy?"
"Yes Angel," she replied meekly.
"No way! This is something that needs to be watched!" Gunn was adamant.
As if to make it so this were no longer a point of contention, Angel strode forward and knocked on the door. Gunn could see Fred and Wesley reluctantly pull apart and straighten their clothes before Wesley shouted for Angel to come in.
"Angel! You're back!"
"Yeah. I have to go back to Sunnydale on Saturday for the funeral, and I think they'd all like it if you came, too, this time."
"Of course." He turned to leave the room. "Oh, and Wesley?"
"Yes?"
"You might want to pull the blinds a little tighter. Looks like you've got a couple of peeping toms out here." He smirked, and left the room. Wesley and Fred both blushed furiously, before Fred did as Angel suggested and the two of them continued where they'd left off.

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