"Good Gods! Are you actually going out on patrol?" The sneer and shock brought the voice upwards almost painfully. "I think I might just die."

Rayya Veritas sighed, set down her hair brush on her vanity table, and spun to glare at her guardian. "Then just do, will you, Jules?" she replied sweetly. "You keep that up and I'm gonna get a migraine. And you know how those work. I'll be laid up for the night, no patrolling at all."

"Right, right." Julius sat back on his haunches and studied her thoughtfully. "But you have to admit that you've been lazy about it."

"With one thing and another, sure." Rayya shrugged and stood. "But I can't let Gina go out alone on patrol. She's just a kid." A small smile flashed out at the pig before she squelched it. "And we're meeting up with Wade and Jamie. Who I'm looking foward to meeting." She absently bent to pat Julius on the head. "Hopefully, it'll be a slow night and we can just kinda get to know each other better."

"I just bet that some people would love to get to know you better ," Julius muttered under his breath sourly. Then he looked back up at Rayya and nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later?"

The hopeful note in his voice brought another smile to her face. "Of course. I have to come home to sleep, right? Later, Jules!" With that, she was out of her room and then, seconds later, out of the apartment silently.

Bacchus shivered slightly as she waited beside the lamp post. Where was Gina? she thought. It had to be almost time. After all, they were due to meet up with Wade and Jamie in about an hour and they needed time to patrol their way on over there. Looking around, she thought she spotted a figure approaching her. "Urania?" she called out softly.

"Bacchus!" Urania called out cheerfully; she was clearly in high spirits as she ran up to greet her fellow Romanus. "Beautiful night, is it not?"

Grinning, Bacchus hugged her friend. "Gorgeous. Let's hope it stays that way, huh?" she answered. "Now, off we go for our obligatory patrol. We're meeting Wade and Jamie, er, Neptune and Cupid near the Taco Bell on Elm Street in about an hour." She grimaced down at her wrist. "Shame these things don't come with watches." With that wry observation, she led the younger senshi off into the shadowy night.

Neptune waited with his blonde comrade quietly at the darkened meeting place in an alleyway, triton leaning against his side as he carefully devoured the remnants of a burrito supplied by the establishment down the street. All too soon it was gone and he looked at Cupid mournfully.

"D'you think they'd notice if I went in and got another one transformed?" he asked, thoughtful. "'Cause, y'know, if it was Halloween they wouldn't. But then again, it'd be useless anyway, since I can't find my wallet anywhere on this outfit and it hasn't got pockets or anythin'..."

Cupid giggled. "I wonder why no one ever thought of practicality when it comes to these things," she mused aloud, alternating between taking sips of the Pepsi from Taco Bell and idly spinning her bow from one end on the ground. "No one ever thought about warmth either, I guess," she said with a shiver as a cool night breeze blew through the alleyway.

After a few moments of silence, Cupid drank the last of the her soda, then crushed the cup under a sandaled foot. "When do you think Bacchus and Urania will get here? I wonder if Julius will be with them."

"They'll get here pronto," a light alto interrupted, followed closely by the appearance of Bacchus and Urania. Bacchus grinned at her two waiting teammates and added, "And why is everyone obsessed with that pig?" Switching gears abruptly, she bounced over to Neptune, stood on tiptoe, and dropped a light kiss on his cheek. "Hey, handsome." Then she skipped over to Cupid and hugged her impulsively. "You must be Cupid," she continued. "I'm Bacchus and that's Urania over there. Hope we didn't keep you waiting long."

"N-no," Neptune stammered immediately, face contrasting raspberry red to the navy tattoo stretching across his face. "You're just on time, y'know, 'ay - Bacchus. Um." Realizing that he was alternately staring and rubbing his cheek, he attempted to stare in a better direction - the top of Cupid's head. "Um," he added again for emphasis, lamely.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Wa - Neptune," Urania quickly corrected herself, looking slightly sheepish. "It seems you're not the only one who will be stumbling over the sudden change in names."

Cupid returned Bacchus's hug, then waved and smiled brightly at Urania. Replacing her bow in the quiver strapped against her back, Cupid asked, "So...what do we do now?"

Urania shrugged. "I have no idea. I've never done... 'patrolling' before so I'll be following your lead tonight."

Bacchus smiled at the younger girl. "Well, you've had your first hour already," she teased. "Though, since it was with me, Julius would have called it a casual stroll through the playground." She motioned to Neptune and Cupid. "With the four of us now, we can better deal with anything that comes our way. Right?" Her smile turned towards Neptune and Cupid.

"O'course," the sea senshi beamed at her. "All of us ready, willin' and able, right?"

"I suppose..." Urania said softly, though she still looked dubious.

Sensing that the situation needed a bit of a jump start, Cupid jumped and stood up to her full (although somewhat insubstantial) height. "Well... we could patrol together, but that might call attention to us. Or we can split up again, and meet here at our neighborhood Taco Bell here," said Cupid with a slight grin.

Urania shrugged and wrapped one arm around her staff as she leaned on it. "I don't really mind how we do it, but could we try and keep it quick? I have a game tomorrow and I'll need all the strength in me for it."

The tall sea senshi nodded at her. "Don' worry, Urania. If you want to, you can call it a night early on." Neptune pondered the situation, tucking his triton carefully to the side in case he poked one of his comrade's eyes out with it. "We could split up for a while, I think, but I want to stay sort of close-ish so that if one team gets into trouble we can find you easily... Bacchus, what do you think?"

Bacchus was quiet a moment, thoughtful purple gaze resting on her teammates briefly, each in turn. Then she smiled brightly. "Well, in deference to Urania's game and my exam tomorrow," she paused to pull a disgusted face before continuing, "I think we should just stick together for another hour or so and then call it a night. Then we can all go home and report to sundry pushy guardians that we were dutiful." Dramatically, she struck a pose, pointing further down the dim street. "Onwards, my friends. There'll be warm beds at the end of it all, I promise."

"Sounds great to me," Cupid said cheerfully. "Venustus'll be happy and I don't have to shiver on a cold street all night."

Neptune nodded his assent, picking up his triton again to beam at them all, moving into the shadow of a building nearby. "Let's jus' hope we don' meet anything bigger than a dog."

Urania nodded, and pulled the end of her staff from the concrete. "Well, then, let's go."

The thought of the young senshi echoed blocks away, in the head of a young man who stood poised on the roof of one the town cathedrals. The Angelus known as Seraphiel had been sitting against an old steel cross for the last half-hour, in silent meditation. His brown eyes focused deeply towards the sky, a thousand questions running through his mind. He felt like he should have been used to being this new ... whatever he was already. The events that lead to his awakening and the first battle against the Romanus happened so quickly, it was as if they didn't happen at all. He shook these thoughts off, standing up. Leah would be here soon; the two would go on their first patrol together. She wasn't exactly what he would call a kindred spirit; in fact, in his human form, she put him at mild unease. Nevertheless, in this strange new life, he needed all the companions he could get.

Leah walked up the street deep in thought. Just how many other Angelus were there? Most decidedly less then the enemy, that's for sure. She turned the corner toward the cathedral where she was to meet Seraphiel. He might know, but somehow she thought that he wouldn't know much more than what she did.

"Where in the cathedral are you to meet him?" the black rat hidden in her pocket questioned.

"On the roof, where else? Honestly, for a guardian you can be dense."

There he was. Leaning on the roof's cross. No passerby would see him unless they were looking for him. Leah went up the cathedral steps and opened the door. The silent cathedral's stain glass windows were shineing with the setting sun. She went to the right and asended the spiral staircase which lead to the roof. When Leah got to the top she opened the door and steped out. The wind ruffled her long brown leather jacket.

"Hello, Seraphiel."

The ivory-clad Angelus turned his head slightly. "Leah," his greeting held the cold tone of a corporate business meeting. Seraphiel turned and regarded her with a cautious glare. "Why haven't you transformed yet?" he asked lightly.

"Walk the streets in that getup during daylight? I don't want to draw extra attention to myself. I was planning on waiting untill dark."

Leah looked at the horizion to see the last rays of sunlight diminish behind the earth. She put Odilo down next to her and he skittered a short distance away. Leah took the hankerchief out of her hair and held it in front of herself.

"Azrael Archangelus Power, Make-up!"

The air around her seemed to darken and maroon and black swirled around her. At the end of the display all that was left was a ready-to-go Sailor Azrael.

"Happy?"

Seraphiel scoffed, turning his attention once again to the approaching night. He was silent for a few minutes, finally breaking the quiet with a comment.

"We're to be joined by a third tonight."

"Really. Who might that be?" Azrael asked and looked toward the street.

"That would be me," came a voice, and a figure stepped from a small, shadowed crevice. His robes rustling softly in the night wind-- his feet moving silently in their Persian slippers-- a long, silver staff glinting in the insufficient light.

It was Ariel.

"Azrael-- Seraphiel," he said, keeping his voice quiet, but nodding in each of their respective directions in acknowledgment. "Anything of interest on the agenda? Or are we going to just watch little old ladies go into the church hall to play Bingo all night?"

He didn't feel it necessary to remind them that he had other things he would have liked to do this evening--- then again, who wanted to be a full-time senshi? He even had a sneaking suspicion that both of them had other things that they would prefer to be doing.

Still, you really had your team obligations that you had to fulfil, once in a while.

Even if it meant not checking your email for a whole two hours.

Seraphiel regarded his teammates carefully. "Tonight the Angelus roam the city," the ivory-clad senshi said simply, turning his attentions toward a taller office building just across the street. With an effortless leap, he was airborne, and already patrolling the streets.

When his sandaled feet met with the roof of the building, he smiled slightly. Tonight... finally... there would be battle.

Ariel followed the younger senshi easily, not quite sharing his satisfaction with the situation, but determined to make the best of it. He was itching to ask what, exactly, they were to protect the city from.

Vandals? Gang members? Red-light runners?

His face twitched, just a little bit.

Now that would be interesting, if they could jump in a car and get on the Interstate, and zap all the idiot drivers they came across over the course of the night. The people who didn't signal when they changed lanes, the ones who drove thirty miles an hour over the speed limit, the ones who changed four lanes at a time, the tailgaters, the ones who drove with their brights on...

Ariel discovered he was grinning from ear to ear.

Heh.

He easily kept stride. "Been getting much practice in recently?" he asked conversationally, after ditching two or three other conversation-starters that might have been viewed as a little too acidic for so early on the patrol.

"Some by myself, little with teamates," Azrael replied, keeping just a step behind her teamate. She took a deep breath. The crisp winter air had snap to it, which promised good fighting conditions.

"Teamwork is what we'll need tonight; if we meet anyone," she said with a shrug. Azrael looked at her teamates and wondered what would happen if they found an enemy. How well could the three function together? She grudgingly reminded herself they had to find someone first.

Seraphiel walked across the roof of the building, half his attention on the conversation behind him. Obviously they weren't taking this as seriously as they should, losing themselves in useless prattle. Action must be the language of this night.

"We will," he answered as he reached the other end of the roof. "I can almost smell them in the air... taste their tainted power." He looked down at the patch of smaller buildings below.

Odilo glared at Seraphiel from Azrael's shoulder. This guy was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Well, if you do pick up their scent, could you point us to them, Fido?" Odilo asked in the most sarcastic way he knew how.

Seraphiel looked over his shoulder. "Why do you care? It's not like vermin like you will do much good in battle, guardian," Seraphiel said, his voice dripping with malice. How dare a lowly rat speak to an Archangelus in such a tone?

"Well, nobody ever said that the guardians were good for much," a voice echoed.

"Hush," a voice responded. "They make good burglar alarms." A giggle bounced off the bricks, difficult to locate.

"Alarms indeed! Their guardian isn't a very good one if he hadn't been able to sense us all this time. I felt them coming at least thirty minutes ago," the first voice called back. Seraphiel's muscles tightened at the sound of the voices. Instinct quickly took over. A small nimbus of white light quickly formed in his awaiting hand. It shifted, and became a solid sharp-edged boomerang. With a growl, he hurled it in the general direction of the voices. He had no idea who they were. But he knew WHAT they were.

There was a scuffling noise and a hissed intake of breath as the weapon hit home; the hideous screech of metal-meeting-metal heralded the fact that it had found it's mark in something, if not flesh.

"Man," rumbled a startled voice from the darkness, deeper and huskier than the light female voices that had preceded it. "I think that took off some of my hair, y'know?"

"Your hair looks fine, Neptune."

"Don't be so vain, handsome," the other voice giggled. "Now shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, the voice's owner stepped just barely out of the shadows. The leggy brunette grinned. "Hello, there. Any chance that we can just give this a pass?"

Seraphiel's eyes blazed, and the weapon in his hand shifted with a milky, white light. It had become a broadsword, and the senshi of battle was already rushing at top speed toward the smiling Bacchus. "Die, scum!"

Huge eyes going even wider, Bacchus took a step back and raised her hands defensively. A soft white glow began forming between her palms even as she glanced over her shoulder and called, only mildly hysterical, "Some help here?" Then she swung her arm back, moving into a smooth follow-through as she lobbed the ball of white light at her attacker. "Morning After!"

Seraphiel would hardly thank him for interfering between himself and Bacchus, and so Ariel stood by, poised, motionless, but ready, watching as Seraphiel charged and Bacchus retaliated. A misty haze swirled gently over his head, almost invisible shadow in the night. It slowly drifted from Ariel and towards the shadows, from whence the voices had come, but the Angelus paid no attention to it; his eyes were fixed on the two combatants.

He hardly thought that "Die, scum!" was the best way to go about this, but he kept his sarcasm to himself for once. Solidarity was important when dealing with the enemy, and there would be enough time to razz his fellow Angelus about his approach after this was all wrapped up.

Another figure appeared out of the shadows to leap immediately to Bacchus' defence; large and intimidating, his triton was held in a defence position to protect the girl from Seraphiel's sword in the important few moments before her attack started working on him. Weapons clashing together with an ugly clang of metal, Neptune glared down ferociously. "Attackin' a girl! Coward!"

"And is two-on-one any better?" asked Ariel, seeing the opening he needed. He swung at Neptune's ribs with his silver staff, as the latter was already engaged with Seraphiel and Bacchus was recovering from her last attack.

If it hadn't been for the brightly-glowing orbs which capped the pointy-ends, the staff would have been a much more effective weapon. As it was, it was heavy and blunt enough to not want to get hit with, and Ariel was counting on that.

Neptune winced as he fell back slightly, one hand leaving the triton to rest momentarily on what felt like hideously bruised ribs. Unsteadily gripping his triton again with both hands, he furrowed his brow at Ariel. "Yeah, but you're both guys. Urania! Cupid!" he bellowed. "Get over here, y'know?"

Azrael rolled her eyes, "Like that has something to do with it?" She stepped up from where she was watching the hastely rushed battle. So much for group strategy. "See if this gets bloody enough for a girl. Blood Letting!"

She brought up her hands and a warm blood-red mist rolled over Neptune and Bacchus and spread into the darkness. Azrael jumped into the mist to tackle the nearest outline.

Ariel flashed Azrael a brief smile as she joined the fray, then returned his eyes to the orbs of the staff as he took care to keep out of the way of his fellow Angelus' attack.

The glow was slowly intensifying, bit by bit.

A smile flickered across his face. Taamir had found a mark.

Cupid, still hiding in the darkness, was surrounded by the green mist, which was slowly absorbing her energy.

Seraphiel sensed movement around him through closed eyes, slowly regained his senses. He commanded his legs to work, and they obeyed shakily. As his feet became reaquainted with solid ground, he used his sword as a crutch, standing tall once again. He leapt back somewhat awkwardly when Azrael's attack began. The Romanus would PAY for that shot.

The battle had broken out all at once, and chaos was ensued. Neptune suddenly had his hands full not only with attempting to protect Bacchus from getting stabbed and the two behind him from anything else, but the surprise of the various attacks was beginning to get on him - three on four, after all, and the Angelus girl up ahead of him was the first one he'd ever faced and he was beginning to get nervy about that.

However, there were more things to get nervy about as he suddenly felt something soft and warm dripping down his face, raised a hand to brush it off and saw the crimson. He was bleeding everywhere and he didn't know why, and worse, little blonde Cupid staggered out the darkness with her eyes wide in shock as something was happening to her, but what he couldn't quite identify. She opened her mouth and then shut it again, like a fish, before letting out a slight mewl of pain.

"Oh, damn," he muttered, which was the worst oath he could think of at the time.

"Damn straight," hissed Bacchus, standing at his side, using a small hand to mop blood from her face. She hadn't been affected quite as badly by the attack thanks to the sheer fact that Neptune was a big guy and had been standing in front of her at the time. Still, blood oozing from various orifices was not fun nor confidence-inspiring. Managing to sidestep Neptune with only the slightest of stumbles, Bacchus drew back her hand again. This time a faint purple glow hovered above her palm as she squinted, trying to pick a target. "Urania? Think ya could watch Cupid, hmm?" Locking her eyes on the forbidding woman who had tossed the last attack, she spun, using the movement to swing her arm around. "Bacchanal Frenzy!"

"... Sure..." Urania said, as she wasn't too keen on the idea of testing herself out on any of the Angelus senshi. She skittered away into the shadows and leaned against the nearest building, eyes trained on Cupid.

Seraphiel watched the tendrils of light with warrior's eyes. Wait, he thought. Not yet... almost... NOW! His hand shot forward, and a shield of white, crackling energy expanded in front of Azrael. The Romanus' attack met it and stalled for a moment, before flashing into nothingness. Seraphiel gave his teammate a nod, as if to say "don't mention it", and turned to his enemies once again.

"Not terribly PC of you, oaf," he spat at the larger Romanus. "The sexes are equal on the battlefield."

Neptune's face flushed, but he shook his head. "Not sayin' they ain't, but girls should be protected an' if there's a guy there, you go for him and not the lady."

There was a soft sigh and a slumping noise as Cupid finally gave in in the darkness and careered forward, lying back on the ground and obviously unconscious. Rattled, the blue-haired warrior looked behind him, eyes wide as he was thrown off-guard. "Cupid!"

Roughly, Bacchus bumped against Neptune's arm. "Eyes forward, handsome," she muttered, violet eyes huge. She then took a step backwards, nearer to Urania and Cupid. Quickly, she risked a glance back at them. "You okay, sweetie?" she asked Urania, gaze swinging immediately back to the others, her hands raising again in preparation.

"I am well, Bacchus, you do not need to worry about me." Urania hadn't moved from her leaning position against the building, and eyed Cupid's body speculatively, apparently not bothered - which was a rather significant change when compared to her first "fight."

Neptune glanced back at the girls, gripping his triton and immediately filled with righteous anger that anybody could hurt them on his watch. "What'd you do to Cupid?" he demanded Ariel through clenched teeth.

Ariel looked genuinely baffled. "What do you mean, what did I do?" he asked, slightly shifting his grip on the silver staff. "My fight's here."

"She didn't just collapse for no reason!" Aggrieved, Neptune wished momentarily he was fighting Hyperion instead. At least his motives were easier to understand. "S'pose the Angelus are jus' as untrustworthy as the Graikos, huh? Attack little girls?"

"And how manly does that make the Romanus?" returned Ariel, slowly rotating the staff to make the long streamers dance and flutter. "Letting little girls fight? Heck, she hasn't even fought. She was just standing there, and no one touched her. You're crazy to bring her out if she makes a habit of collapsing for no reason."

"She gets hit on the head a lot! It's not her fault!" The pain on Neptune's face showed that Ariel had hit a sore spot. "I... I don' want little ones in the war or anythin', but just because they have to be there doesn' mean you go for them first. Somethin' called ethics!"

"All's fair in love and war," smiled Ariel. He didn't particularly have enough spare time for much of either, but it seemed like an appropriate comment to make. "You just find it easier to blame it on us than to accept responsibility yourself, for not telling her to stay home where she'll be safe. No one's laid a finger on her. A half- decent doctor would tell someone like that to take it easy, not go skulking in the shadows picking fights."

"She's loyal," the blue-haired warrior persisted, knuckles going white as he gripped his triton further, the points shining wickedly sharp in the night. "I doubt she'd stay home if I told her to. I'm not the leader. I'm not a good leader. I..." Neptune shook his head, tan cheeks ashen. "Stay away from her. You three haveta get through me before you go after my girls."

Ariel eyed the triton as he stood poised and ready to block if the need should arise. "You don't have to be a leader," he shrugged indifferently. "If you're so gung-ho on being her friend and protector, you should get it through her head that she should stay home and not get in the way of whatever-it-is you guys are trying to do. If she half-cared for your safety, she'd take it into consideration."

He paused for a moment. He hadn't been this wordy in quite a while, and the feeling was a little unnatural. Coming to a decision, he stood up straight, swinging the staff into a vertical position to the ground and taking a few steps back. "I don't care to go after your girls. Why don't you take them home? It's better than dragging them around in the shadows, picking fights, and then getting to defend them."

Ariel glanced at his fellow Angelus. "Come on, you guys. Let's get on with the patrol... there's nothing interesting here."

Urania rolled her eyes and craned her head so that she looked at the sky, exposing her unguarded neck. "Of course there will be nothing if all that's done is talk. Which seems to be all that you are capable of." She pushed herself off the wall, rolling her neck and shoulders, listening to the satisfying crack before turning and leaping back onto the roof with a practiced jump. She then sat down on the edge of the roof, long legs swinging and banging her heels into the wall as she looked at her teammates expectantly.

Bacchus shot Urania a slightly irritated glance and then stepped closer to Neptune, placing a small hand on his forearm. Her other hand remained slightly raised and curled as if set to hair- trigger. "If we can call it off, let's walk," she murmured. "Cupid needs something and fighting over her won't do a damn bit of good."

Neptune's aggressive stance melted slightly as Bacchus touched him, mouth softening as he looked back at her and then at Ariel. "T'anks for that," he rumbled. "I do remember y'. You were - with Sorcha... downtown." He slung his triton over his back and moved back into the shadows, slinging Cupid over his shoulder gently. "I won't let any of mine end up that way. Bacchus? Urania? We're blowin' it."

"Nonsense," Seraphiel said, his blade twitching in anticipation. He took a few steps towards Neptune, his eyes burning. "None of you are walking away from this alive." One could have taken this as an idle threat... from anyone but a very pissed Archangelus of Battle.

"And who's going to stop us? You?" Urania snorted disdainfully.

Neptune raised one of his hands, shifting Cupid over his shoulder lightly, directing a harsh glare towards Seraphiel. "This's over," he stated with bleak finality. "No fight. Aborted. Exit. Mission failed. Got me, huh?" He turned away, back to the Angelus senshi.

Ariel stared dourly at Seraphiel. "Game's over," he replied. "If you get your head handed to you on a platter, I'm not going to be around to help you reattach it."

He swung his staff over his shoulder, the streamers dancing gently with the movement, and began to walk in the opposite direction, beckoning to Azrael to come along.

Seraphiel's jaw dropped in shock. What manner of Angelus were these that walked away like cowards. He glared at Ariel as he walked away, wanting nothing more than to jab his sword between his shoulder blades. His gaze shifted to the Romanus. He stood little chance against three of them. He wasn't stupid.

Watching the other two leave with serious eyes, Bacchus stepped after Neptune, walking backwards carefully. "Go," she murmured. "Life's funny and we'll be seeing each again."

Seraphiel regarded her with cold, harsh eyes. "Count on it." With that, he took off at a dead run straight towards them. Just before reaching Neptune, he leapt high into the air, sailing off into the night. He saw no harm in leaving them with a little fear in their hearts.

The sea-senshi momentarily pulled back, guarding the precious bundle in his arms, heartbeat racing as he watched the Angelus disappear into the darkness.

"Somebody really don' like us," he muttered softly. "Guess we were lucky tonight."

Cupid, at his shoulder, made a soft whimpering sound, obviously coming to. Neptune turned around to look at Bacchus and Urania, cocking his head gently to one side. "I think Jamie'll be fine. We jus' gotta get her home. An' then I think we deserve some sleep."

Bacchus sighed heavily and reached out a hand to steady Cupid, gently brushing aside some of her hair. "We need sleep and a whole new lifestyle," she replied softly, a virtually unknown sadness coloring her voice. Then she brightened. "On the other hand, tonight's done and we made it out. Go, us."

Much later, deeper into the night, Neptune let out a sigh and his form shivered as he detransformed back into Wade. Cupid had eventually gained enough strength to walk; Urania had seen her home, leaving only him and Bacchus.

"Geez," he said lightly. "We didn' even battle tonight an' I still feel drained."

"It's the stress, handsome." There was a shimmer of white light and Rayya stood next to him, slouching. Wryly, she smiled as she reached behind her head to rub at her neck. Her voice rose, high and squeaky, a very fake Russian accent evidencing. "Tension. It's a killer."

"You're tellin' me." Wade turned to her and reached out to pat her lightly on the shoulder, cheeks flaming slightly as they always did when he dared to touch her. "Uh... I don' suppose... Wanna go get some coffee?"

The brunette immediately brightened. "Sounds like heaven." Efficiently, she slid her hands down her hips to smooth out her hip- hugging jeans and then reached up to tug her halter top down more. "Lead and I shall follow, hmm?"

Managing with great difficulty to tear his eyes away from her, Wade stuck his hands in his pockets and tried not to shiver in the cool night air; he'd been caught transforming in just old jeans and a singlet top. "Funny," he started, walking down the abandoned sidewalk. "Never fought Angelus before - not like that."

She was silent for a moment, concentrating on adjusting her pace to his long-legged stride. "Stupid platforms," she whispered to herself. Then, louder, she asked, "Not like that?"

"Yeah. I met some... before. One. Two." Wade slowed down his stride slightly, measuring his pace for her. "We didn't... fight."

"Oh. You never told me that."

"It didn' happen very long ago." His voice was murmur-soft, and he stared ahead at nothing as they walked. "Week or two, maybe. I... it..." Wade took a breath. "First time I ever watched somebody die."

"My god." Reaching out, Rayya wrapped her hands around his upper arm and dragged him to a stop. Then she looked up at him, the streetlights turning her wide, solemn gaze pale lavender. "Oh, Wade," she breathed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

His ink-blue eyes were black in the darkness, mouth set in a firm line as he looked down at her. The grief twisted in him more than ever, but he would not give in. Poor, poor little Sorcha... "I - I didn' want to say it. Make it real. I..." Wade let out a shuddery breath. "I couldn' do anything and, God, I was so ashamed."

"Why? You said yourself. You couldn't do anything." Biting her bottom lip, eyes serious, she stretched up to cup his face in her hands gently. "If you could have, I know you would have. You're that kind of guy."

Wade leant his face into her hands slightly, briefly closing his eyes. "I... 'Ayya, she was so small. Both girls were. Just... and... so much blood..."

"I know. Wade, I do," Rayya's voice softened, becoming barely audible. "Remember Acacia? She was just eighteen and I, me, I helped to kill her." Her thumb brushed his cheekbone reassuringly. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Neither did you, girl." Wade pulled her forward into a hug. "I... this war's jus' gettin' to me finally, s'all. I'm so tired of it."

Immediately hugging him back, she nodded. "I hear you loud and clear, handsome." Then she released him and stepped back to smile faintly up at him. "And it'll be over some day. I know it. At least it's done one good thing, though. I found you and the others."

"An' that's been wonderful." He gave her a warm smile, starting up their walk again. "Can't tell you how much... oh, look. Cheap coffee in sight."

"Oh, goody, that's perfect. I forgot my purse and just have a couple of bills."

"I invited you, so I'm payin' for watery caffeine, hokay?" Wade attempted to give her a mean look.

She giggled. "But, Wade, hon, I'm the working stiff here." Reaching the shop, she grabbed his hand and tugged him inside, dragging him to a small table near the door. "Which I don't think I've told you about, have I?"

"You got a job?" He gave her a big grin, pulling out a chair for her. "That's wonderful!"

"Who said chivalry is dead?" she asked lightly, sitting down in the offered chair. Then she leaned forward as he took his own seat across the small table. "Yep, I'm working at Dante's. Just started this past Friday and," she grinned brighter, "Dad's finally letting the apron strings go and I move into my new apartment next Friday. You'll definitely have to come over for a house-warming."

"Livin' by yourself in an apartment, huh? Hope it's over on the nice side of town." Wade pulled his chair in with his legs. "So you're workin' as a waitress?"

She giggled. "Sort of. Waitress, idea person, general cheery bouncy person. It's a new place and the owner, Silas, well, he told me he needs all the help he can get. He's an angel."

"Sounds perfect f'you, then." Wade chuckled. "I have to get a job over summer. Man, can't believe school's over for good."

"For some of us, anyway." Rayya rolled her eyes dramatically. "I still have to retake that one class so my graduation actually counts."

"I came real close to summer school. Luckily they ignored my awful marks in everything 'cause of my maths and music. I passed English by about one mark, though." Wade shifted in his seat. "I'll see you a lot over the summer even though, right?"

"Of course, Wade. Wouldn't want it any other way." She smiled sweetly. "It's just one class, six weeks, and my job is mostly evenings and nights. Even if it was too messy, I'd still make time for you." Her smile became teasing. "We'll do the beach."

"Summer's all about goin' to the lake. We're shipping the twins off to camp so I'll be lonely." Wade gave her a sunny grin. "I'd miss you terribly if it was otherwise, 'Ayya."

"I'd miss you, too." Impulsively, she reached across the table to squeeze his hand. "Anyway, who'd keep me out of trouble, hmm? You're my knight in shining armor."

A slow blush spread across his face. "Aw, 'Ayya, you don't mean that."

"Of course I do." She grinned; it was sinfully fun to make him turn colors. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

A strange look came over his face. "All right. Maybe you do mean it."

Playfully, she froze in position, bright grin directed up at him. "Mm-hmm."

Wade reached out to pat her on the head teasingly and then walked off to the counter, digging in his pocket to get his wallet out. The little place was almost completely deserted; the same strange look was still on his face.

Rayya managed to hold the position until he returned, collapsing and relaxing as soon as he set down the coffees in an exaggerated manner. Then she reached up and scratched behind her ear. "Lucky you got back, handsome," she giggled. "That itch was about to drive me over the edge."

He burst out laughing, tucking a blue spike behind his ear as he grinned at her. "You're silly," he accused primly, taking his paper cup. "Very much so, y'know?"

"How could I not?" She giggled again. "The pig tells me at least once a day."

"Don't worry. I still think you're - adorable." Wade chuckled and buried his blush in sipping his coffee.

"Mmm, thank you. Takes one to know one." Gingerly, she picked up her own cup, testing the heat with her hand.

"No, I really think you're adorable." He made a face as he sipped. "Brown caffeine."

She set her cup down again and reached across the table for the sugar and creamers. "That's why you never drink it straight, handsome," she pointed out with a smile. "And, again, thanks and ditto."

"No, 'cause I really-really-really think you're adorable," he teased. "An' sugar just makes it worse."

"Oooo, I rate three reallys." Neatly, she poured a creamer into her cup and tore open three sugar packets. Then she looked up and grinned at him. "How many times are you going to make me say thank you, hmmm?"

"No times." Wade's face was earnest. "I meant it. So it wasn't a compliment. Well, it was, but... aw, you know what I mean, right?"

Rayya was quiet a moment, finishing the necessary doctoring to make her coffee drinkable. Then she nodded. "I know you mean all of it, Wade. You're a sweetheart like that."

"No, I really mean it." He frowned momentarily, took a sip of his coffee and then set the cup down. "I... geez, where do I start?"

Cocking her head to one side, she studied him with serious eyes. Then she picked up the stirrer and attacked her coffee again. "Wherever you like," she answered gently. "You should know better than to be afraid of lil ole me."

"Mortally afraid." He toyed momentarily with the lid on his coffee, then looked back up at her.

Now or never.

"Jus' that..." Wade began carefully. "I care for you a bunch, 'Ayya, you know that."

A bright grin blossomed over her face, relaxing her. "Of course. Just like I really care for you, Wade. I'd want to die if anything happened to you."

Heartened, he relaxed as well, giving her a lopsided grin. "I'm glad. Really glad. If somethin' happened to you, I wouldn't want to live any more."

"So we won't let anything happen, right?"

"No. I'll always be watchin' your back. I'd die t'keep anythin' from happening to you." Wade swallowed, trying to keep himself coherent and to not sound like a complete moron. "An'... And... I've always known that. I knew since I met you."

The faintest of frowns appeared between her thin eyebrows. Then she reached out and brushed her fingers over his hand. "Right," she whispered.

The moment her hand touched his, he turned into absolute mush. His fingers enfolded hers protectively, thumb softly stroking the heel of her palm. Anything Wade had scripted before to say - and, God knew he'd gone over this scene in his mind ten thousand times - disappeared. "Oh, Rayya." He swallowed, voice having suddenly moved into a scratchy husk. "God, Rayya, I love you so much, y'know? Always loved you. Always have, always will. I did... when I first met you, when you woke up, when you looked at me... I can't imagine life without you." He swallowed again. "I don' want to."

Her hand tightened on his convulsively and she stared at him, wide- eyed and silent.

"And I..." His deep voice trailed off as he stared back, time practically stopping as he searched her face with his eyes. "I... Rayya?"

It seemed to take her a moment to find her vocal chords; she blinked, swallowing hard. "Wade?"

Wade stared at her face, saw imagined pity, and his fight-or-flight mechanism immediately switched to flight. He stood up, chair clattering as he pushed it back clumsily, shaking his head. "... I'll go now."

Her hand remained on the table where he had dropped it while her face turned up to watch him stand. Her violet eyes stared right through him, wide and startled.

Wade attempted to say something, but his voice came out strangled; staring at her one last time, he pushed his chair in and fled completely.

As if his disappearance had broken the spell, Rayya drew a sudden, ragged breath. "Oh, god," she hissed. "Wade..." She stared at his cooling cup of coffee then, feeling a numbness creep over her. Slowly, trapped in a never-ending moment, she stood and pushed her chair under the table. Looking up, she saw the sympathetic eyes of the girl behind the counter on her and she choked slightly, unworthy and pained by the kindness. Her arms wrapped around her stomach, squeezed, and then, head down, she walked out of the little shop. "Oh, god," she again murmured. "Wade..."

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