A Wolf In San Francisco
Oct. 31st, 2015 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katleeptTitle: A Wolf In San Francisco
Author: Kat Lee
Fandoms: Charmed/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Character/Pairing: Cole/Piper, Oz/Paige, Leo/Phoebe, past Oz/Willow
Rating: Soft R/M
Warning(s): Slight AU
Word Count: 3,740
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within and P3 belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
Piper has always had a too caring heart. As a little girl, she was constantly doing things to cheer the other people around her and bringing home stray animals she found in peril. As an adult, after being hurt too many times, she tried to cut back on her compassion, but she never could, even after becoming a Charmed One and swearing to stop caring for the humans whose rescues constantly interfered with her love life. Her sisters always knew she couldn't do it, and she herself has finally come to accept that, no matter what else she might be or might be happening in her life, she will always care for those around her, even if she doesn't know much about them.
Take the patrons at her club for example. She knows some of their faces but not all. Some have been coming since she opened P3 while others drift in and out and still others are first timers. Still, she can read them more easily than she can some books, her family's Book of Shadows and some of its more cryptic passages included. She sees the emotions they try to hide in their eyes and always notes when they've had one too many and are trying to bury their sorrow in a glass of their chosen poison that she knows, too, once emptied, will no sooner have resolved their problems than chocolate and ice cream do hers.
She tends to watch them when they're like that and offer help wherever she can that it might be accepted. She angers some of them by doing so, but sometimes, she does get to help some one who's hurting and without ever using her magic. That's one of her favorite things about running this club.
Right now, she's standing at one end of the bar, pretending to work on some receipts, while carefully watching a young man further down the bar. She knows he's not old enough to drink, and surprisingly, he hasn't tried. He just keeps downing one soda after another. He has short, sandy brown hair and is of no particularly interesting height, build, or looks. He's some one who she would pass by on the street without a second glance. The only interesting thing she does know about him is that he's got a great singing voice and is the lead singer of the band she booked just last week.
But his band mates aren't here right now. He's alone, and he has sat on that stool by himself now for hours, ever since maybe a half hour before the sun went down. He hasn't eaten anything. He's glanced at his phone a couple of times and at something else in his wallet, but mostly, he's just sat by himself, drinking soda after soda and looking for an answer she knows he's not going to find in any bottle or can.
The club has slowed. It's almost midnight, and on a weekday, that means very few people are going to come in. She's sent some of the workers on home. Everything's as ready for closing as they can get it until they do lock the doors.
Cole's arms encircle her waist, and he pulls his wife back against his chest. She willingly releases the pen she's been pretending to use and lets his embrace comfort her. She turns her head and rests her cheek against his strong chest, fully expecting to hear his usual encouraging, "Go talk to him," but he doesn't speak. She glances up and is surprised to see he's eyeing the boy, too.
Her mind made up, she speaks decisively, "I'll be right back," and starts to head to the boy whose name she knows is Daniel Osbourne. Cole tugs at her hand, and she looks up at him in surprise. His eyes are darkened by worry, causing her own forehead to crease in confusion. She senses no threats here tonight.
"Be careful," he warns, and she nods, although she's still not certain why he's suddenly so concerned. But then this is her Cole. Sometimes, he simply worries over her for no good reason.
"I will," she vows. She returns to his side, leans up on her tip toes, and kisses his cheek. "I'll be fine," she assures him with a smile and her eyes twinkling. "He's just a boy." Then she's gone from his side, leaving Cole still reaching for her, a warning he's yet to speak still perched on his tongue.
Piper walks around the bar, glancing at her workers with the look she uses to warn them away from her. She's never unduly angry or cross with them, but there are times, especially when she's balancing her life as a Charmed One with her career, when she simply requests them to leave her to herself and handle as many problems as might arise as they possibly can on their own. This is one of those times not because she senses any approaching danger but simply because she wants to help the boy and knows she can not do so without privacy.
She takes the seat next to his, looks at him imploringly from underneath her lashes, and asks softly, "Daniel, are you all right?"
"Fine," he answers without looking up from his soda. "Just trying to figure out how to get arrested this time."
"What?!" she cries, and Cole immediately moves further down the bar and closer to her side. His hands clench into fists, and he's ready to lob a ball of energy as he glowers at the teenager.
"I just . . . " He sighs and looks up at her, knowing she knows more than she lets on to these average people all around them -- with the exception of the Demon standing at the bar, of course. "I need to be locked up," he admits in a whisper both the Demon and his wife can hear.
"Why?" Piper questions again. "What's wrong?" She reaches out and places a hand on top of his that's still holding on to his glass. "You can tell me. I know I just hired you, but I promise it won't affect your gig and -- "
"He's a wolf," Cole cuts in.
Piper looks at her husband in surprise as the boy almost jumps out of his skin. "What?" she questions, certain she could not have heard him correctly.
"He's a wolf," Cole repeats, glowering at the boy.
"I'm not a bad wolf, Demon," Daniel responds in self defense and then chuckles at the sound of his own words.
Yet the phrase sparks an abrupt grin from Cole. "I'm not a bad Demon," he counters in return.
Piper's eyes are darting back and forth between the two. "He's a Werewolf?" she whispers sharply. At Cole's nod, she questions, "And how long have you known this?"
"Since he came in and asked for the job."
"And you couldn't have told me?"
Cole shrugs. "You've taught me to try not to judge, Piper," he reminds her gently. "He's a wolf, but he needed a job. I wasn't going to let him hurt any one."
"That's the last thing I want to do," Daniel speaks up again. He turns imploring eyes on the Witch and Demon. "That's why I need to be locked up tomorrow night. And the next two."
Piper inclines her head in a slight nod, considering his words. "Because tomorrow night is a full moon. You can't control your wolf and can only keep yourself from hurting people by being locked up. But I'm guessing your band doesn't know."
He nods.
"So you go from town to town, getting into trouble so the police will lock you up."
He nods again.
Cole chuckles. Piper cuts a glare at him, but still, he can't stop himself from commenting, "I bet those cops are surprised!"
She relaxes when Daniel smiles. "More surprised than if they found a bug in their doughnuts."
She laughs at his remark, and both of the guys chuckle. "We'll lock you up," Cole offers.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. You're among friends here, Daniel. You don't have to be afraid: not for yourself or for others."
The boy smiles warmly. He looks at them both in turn. "Call me Oz," he tells them.
"Oz," Piper replies, smiling. Then, she frowns. "We are still on for Friday night?"
He nods. "Full moon'll be over by then."
She smiles again. It's settled, then, and she knows right where to get the handcuffs.
=^.^=
"I still don't see why he has to have my handcuffs."
"It's just for three nights, Phoebe."
"But what if I want to tie Leo up in the mean time?"
"One, I don't need to hear about your sex life with my ex, and two, do you have a better idea?"
"Yeah. Borrow a pair from Darryl."
"And explain to him that we have a Werewolf spending the night at our club? Do you really want him to be freaked out and watching every step we make for the next three nights?"
Her younger sister sighs, defeated. "I guess not." She pouts. "But I don't have to watch him Friday night, do I?"
"No. We'll take turns."
"I'll take Friday night." When her sisters look at her, Paige shrugs. "I might as well," she replies. "I'm dateless any way."
"I'll take tonight," Piper agrees, "and you can have tomorrow night, Phebs."
"Oh, is that him?"
"Yeah."
"I'll take tonight. He's cute!"
Piper just rolls her eyes.
=^.^=
The next three nights pass without event. The sisters stick to their plan, and for once, evil doesn't interrupt them too badly. There's one incident that comes up with a set of Demons trying to take over the city, but between the three Charmed Ones, a Demon, a White Lighter, and a Werewolf to boot, the heroes make short work of the villains.
The only really had thing the sisters find about keeping the young Werewolf locked up in their night club's basement is awakening in Piper's office with the sunrise and working the creaks out of their necks at they force themselves to get going. They're used to the night life, after all, especially while fighting Demons, and none of them have ever been good at rising with the sun. But they have to get Oz out before their employees come in for the morning.
Phoebe never tried to advert her eyes from Oz's naked form, and Piper had Cole to go take the boy his clothes. Paige, however, is alone as she descends on the staircase into the shadows early Friday morning. Although the sun is up, its golden rays are not yet punctuating the darkness of the basement. "Oz?" she calls nervously from the bottom step.
"It's all right," he assures her, and she notes how deep and welcoming his voice is in the darkness. Here in the shadows, with her heart thumping in her ribcage, his gentle voice almost seems to caress her ears. It certainly does ease her fear, and she goes further in with a smile.
She's holding his clothes out before her, carefully making her way, when he reaches out and takes them from her. The sudden whisking of the clothes causes the key to fall from Paige's fingers. She bends after it, not thinking about the consequences, and when she straightens and looks up again, her pretty face turns as red as her dyed hair. "Oh my goodness!" Her words leave her in a quick breath.
Oz blushes and tries his best to cover himself with pressing his clothes before his most private body part. His face, too, is a bright red. "S-Sorry."
"M-My fault," Paige replies, still stammering, and fumbles with the key as she unlocks her sister's cuffs. Once he's freed, she all but runs from the basement.
She's just shutting the door behind her when a cheery voice calls out, "Good morning."
Paige whips around and finds herself face to face with the morning cook. "I just need to get some flour for the biscuits, Miss Halliwell," the rotund and older woman tells her gently. She wonders why she appears so frightened, but the sisters who run the club have never exactly been normal. She's not certain with what they're involved, but she knows when to hold her tongue and does so well.
Paige keeps a firm grip on the handle of the door behind her. "It'll just be a moment, ma'am." She barely keeps herself from stammering. It's not that she hasn't seen a naked guy before. She has lots of times, but she just hadn't expected to see Oz completely naked and so close. When she'd looked up, her mouth had been almost level with his staff. Just thinking about it flushes her skin again.
"Are you all right, Miss Halliwell? Are you feeling sick? Would you like me to call your sisters?"
"N-No, ma'am. I'm fine. I just -- " She thinks quickly. "I just saw a mouse. We need to get an exterminator in."
"Oh, there are other ways to deal with a little mouse, dearie. Just call that fine Mister Turner of your sister's. He took one out just last week, he did."
"Two in two weeks? We must be getting a problem." Oh, yes, they had a problem, all right, but it wasn't mouse related! How was she going to explain Oz being down there to the cook?
Unconsciously, Paige had relaxed her grip on her door while remembering her encounter with Oz, and now, suddenly, it swings open. The young man stands there with his hair disheveled, eyes blinking, and a pair of handcuffs dangling in one hand.
"Oh, my!" the cook cries out. It's her turn to be flustered while Paige turns and looks at Oz in horror. She stammers, trying quickly to think of an explanation, but he's cool and calm as he brushes closer to her.
"Sorry, sweetheart," he croons with a large, warm smile. His eyes twinkle as he acts the part of a lead singer in a band without any other problems in the world. "I didn't know the help had already arrived." He places the handcuffs in her hand, kisses her quickly on the lips, and walks on out into the bright, morning light.
The cook squeaks like a mouse and heads swiftly down into the basement. Paige is left alone again before she hardly knows what has happened. She looks toward the open door to the basement, but the old woman won't say anything to her bosses. Her gaze then turns after where she last saw Oz. His kiss was chaste, swift, and the perfect explanation to hush the cook, but somehow, she's still having trouble breathing.
She leans against the wall, all alone, her heart hammering in an entirely different pattern from earlier in her ribcage, and wonders both if a wolf's ears can pick up the sound of her rushing heartbeat and just exactly how old Oz is any way. Is he old enough to get her into more trouble? But then again, she's never exactly been one to shy away from trouble. The work she does rescuing lives and saving the world as a Charmed One is more than enough to keep her in trouble with the law. How much more trouble could dating some one just a few years younger than herself possibly get her into?
And how long, Paige wonders, still plastered against the wall, is it going to take her heart to calm back down again? She knew the boy is hot -- he's a singer in a band, after all --, but she never expected the wild appeal he also has. She's almost panting and still not moving as she smiles. What a wolf!
=^.^=
It's much later that night when the band takes a break before Oz finally dares to venture close to the young Witch again. He's experienced Witches before, and he's had his heart broken before. He's not exactly quick to want to suffer that painful experience again, but there's something about Paige that draws him near.
Maybe it's the red hair that reminds him of the first girl with whom he fell in love. Maybe it's the fact that she's a young, stammering, and blushing Witch, which again reminds him of his sweet Willow back in Sunnydale. Maybe it's how her pretty, green eyes widened with shock when he kissed her or the sweet smell of her perfume which has seemed to linger with him all day and well into this new night.
Maybe it's just the fact that he owes her an apology, Oz tells himself as he approaches her. Still, he's watched her dancing alone tonight, watching him, and he hasn't felt this way in years. He should run -- it would be the smart thing to do --, but he does owe her that apology. Doing the right thing has always been better than the easy, or smart, thing.
"Hi," he speaks bashfully as he reaches her side.
She jumps slightly, and he smiles. It's a wonder how she can constantly fight so many evils and yet be so easily spooked by him. He knows of some of their conquests against evil. They don't just fight Vampires; they fight Demons, Vampires, Sorcerers, and just about everything else, too. Between the tales Phoebe and Piper told him on the nights they watched over him, he wouldn't be surprised to find out they'd even fought aliens. He's still convinced they exist, after all.
"Hi," Paige answers, and if her smile's a little tremulous, they both pretend not to notice.
"You . . . look good tonight," he offers.
She grins. "Thanks. You know, I actually was a Queen in a past life. An evil Queen, but still."
He grins back at her. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," he admits.
"What?" she asks. "The Queen or the evil Queen part?"
He chuckles. "The Queen." Somehow, he does have difficulty picturing her as being evil, but then, even his sweet Willow had had an evil dobbelganger from an alternate reality.
But he's not here to reminisce or to fight these feelings he shouldn't be having. He's here to sing, to entertain the public, and here beside her to give her that apology he owes her. He scratches the back of his neck. "I . . . I'm sorry," he manages at last to say. "For earlier."
She almost asks him for which part, for the dangling right there in front of her and yet being untouchable part or the quick kiss that he might have stolen but had been the perfect charade to hush the cook. But instead she just smiles at him. "It's okay," she's saying before she even fully realizes it. She usually makes guys sweat when they've done her wrong, but not Oz. At least, not tonight.
"Do you want to dance?" she asks.
He should say no. He knows the troubles that come with becoming involved with a Witch. He knows he's a lowly Wolf not fit to love any one. He knows he'll place into her danger, but she is a Charmed One. She's already in danger constantly, but that helps ease his guilt no more than Willow's being placed in danger because of being the Slayer's best friend did back when he was in high school.
Paige's smile falters. "I-I'm sorry," she says, but there's anger in her voice instead of guilt or sorrow. She starts to turn away, feeling dejected, but he reaches out and grabs one of her gloved hands.
She looks back at him, and he bows before her. "It would be my honor, my Queen."
She grins, and they both let him sweep her across the floor. He's not the best dancer, but he's learned a few moves from his time touring with his band. It's enough to impress her, enough to make both their hearts pound, but eventually, they have to stop as the DJ announces and the return of the band. Oz's band mates are already picking up their instruments when Piper rushes up to him.
She's dressed as a Fairy Godmother tonight, and he grins at the sight. The costume suits her, but he's not going to tell her that -- at least, not yet. He can tell whatever she has to tell him is important, and they don't have time to discuss both. "Oz, I have an offer for you!" He looks at her curiously and waits as she continues, "Why don't you hang around? You guys can have a steady, paying job here -- my customers love you! --, and we can help you out on the next full moon."
"Just the next one?"
She shrugs. "However many through which you want to stay." Cole had warned her not to make her offer seem to be too long for the time period in which he might want to stick around. He knows the boy's type -- he was once the boy's type -- and knows he'll be loathe to take an offer that might cause him to endanger them.
But Oz grins and nods. Then he leaps back on stage and tells his guys quickly, "We just got an offer to keep performing here for a couple months." They all shout with joy over a steady, paying gig, and Oz, feeling in his bones and gut that this is finally the right move.
He picks up his guitar, grabs the microphone, and signals his band. They begin a number that's rare for them, because it's not one of their original songs. It's old lyrics with a new spin they've cast onto it themselves, but then it is Halloween. What better time to fall in love with a Spooky, little girl?
And as he sings, Oz gazes out over the crowd. He sees Piper and Cole dancing -- the Demon even grins at him -- as well as Phoebe and Leo. He sees Paige, a Witch and Queen among the humans, swaying to his every note, swaying to him, smiling at him, and at last, his heart swells with happiness and another emotion to which he dares not give a name yet. Still, he thinks, grinning, maybe he's at last found a place where he can stay for a while again. Maybe he doesn't have to run this time. Maybe his heart won't get broke. Maybe, just maybe, he's found a home where he can stay for a while longer, and his eyes locked on his Witch, he croons.
The End
Author: Kat Lee
Fandoms: Charmed/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Character/Pairing: Cole/Piper, Oz/Paige, Leo/Phoebe, past Oz/Willow
Rating: Soft R/M
Warning(s): Slight AU
Word Count: 3,740
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within and P3 belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
Piper has always had a too caring heart. As a little girl, she was constantly doing things to cheer the other people around her and bringing home stray animals she found in peril. As an adult, after being hurt too many times, she tried to cut back on her compassion, but she never could, even after becoming a Charmed One and swearing to stop caring for the humans whose rescues constantly interfered with her love life. Her sisters always knew she couldn't do it, and she herself has finally come to accept that, no matter what else she might be or might be happening in her life, she will always care for those around her, even if she doesn't know much about them.
Take the patrons at her club for example. She knows some of their faces but not all. Some have been coming since she opened P3 while others drift in and out and still others are first timers. Still, she can read them more easily than she can some books, her family's Book of Shadows and some of its more cryptic passages included. She sees the emotions they try to hide in their eyes and always notes when they've had one too many and are trying to bury their sorrow in a glass of their chosen poison that she knows, too, once emptied, will no sooner have resolved their problems than chocolate and ice cream do hers.
She tends to watch them when they're like that and offer help wherever she can that it might be accepted. She angers some of them by doing so, but sometimes, she does get to help some one who's hurting and without ever using her magic. That's one of her favorite things about running this club.
Right now, she's standing at one end of the bar, pretending to work on some receipts, while carefully watching a young man further down the bar. She knows he's not old enough to drink, and surprisingly, he hasn't tried. He just keeps downing one soda after another. He has short, sandy brown hair and is of no particularly interesting height, build, or looks. He's some one who she would pass by on the street without a second glance. The only interesting thing she does know about him is that he's got a great singing voice and is the lead singer of the band she booked just last week.
But his band mates aren't here right now. He's alone, and he has sat on that stool by himself now for hours, ever since maybe a half hour before the sun went down. He hasn't eaten anything. He's glanced at his phone a couple of times and at something else in his wallet, but mostly, he's just sat by himself, drinking soda after soda and looking for an answer she knows he's not going to find in any bottle or can.
The club has slowed. It's almost midnight, and on a weekday, that means very few people are going to come in. She's sent some of the workers on home. Everything's as ready for closing as they can get it until they do lock the doors.
Cole's arms encircle her waist, and he pulls his wife back against his chest. She willingly releases the pen she's been pretending to use and lets his embrace comfort her. She turns her head and rests her cheek against his strong chest, fully expecting to hear his usual encouraging, "Go talk to him," but he doesn't speak. She glances up and is surprised to see he's eyeing the boy, too.
Her mind made up, she speaks decisively, "I'll be right back," and starts to head to the boy whose name she knows is Daniel Osbourne. Cole tugs at her hand, and she looks up at him in surprise. His eyes are darkened by worry, causing her own forehead to crease in confusion. She senses no threats here tonight.
"Be careful," he warns, and she nods, although she's still not certain why he's suddenly so concerned. But then this is her Cole. Sometimes, he simply worries over her for no good reason.
"I will," she vows. She returns to his side, leans up on her tip toes, and kisses his cheek. "I'll be fine," she assures him with a smile and her eyes twinkling. "He's just a boy." Then she's gone from his side, leaving Cole still reaching for her, a warning he's yet to speak still perched on his tongue.
Piper walks around the bar, glancing at her workers with the look she uses to warn them away from her. She's never unduly angry or cross with them, but there are times, especially when she's balancing her life as a Charmed One with her career, when she simply requests them to leave her to herself and handle as many problems as might arise as they possibly can on their own. This is one of those times not because she senses any approaching danger but simply because she wants to help the boy and knows she can not do so without privacy.
She takes the seat next to his, looks at him imploringly from underneath her lashes, and asks softly, "Daniel, are you all right?"
"Fine," he answers without looking up from his soda. "Just trying to figure out how to get arrested this time."
"What?!" she cries, and Cole immediately moves further down the bar and closer to her side. His hands clench into fists, and he's ready to lob a ball of energy as he glowers at the teenager.
"I just . . . " He sighs and looks up at her, knowing she knows more than she lets on to these average people all around them -- with the exception of the Demon standing at the bar, of course. "I need to be locked up," he admits in a whisper both the Demon and his wife can hear.
"Why?" Piper questions again. "What's wrong?" She reaches out and places a hand on top of his that's still holding on to his glass. "You can tell me. I know I just hired you, but I promise it won't affect your gig and -- "
"He's a wolf," Cole cuts in.
Piper looks at her husband in surprise as the boy almost jumps out of his skin. "What?" she questions, certain she could not have heard him correctly.
"He's a wolf," Cole repeats, glowering at the boy.
"I'm not a bad wolf, Demon," Daniel responds in self defense and then chuckles at the sound of his own words.
Yet the phrase sparks an abrupt grin from Cole. "I'm not a bad Demon," he counters in return.
Piper's eyes are darting back and forth between the two. "He's a Werewolf?" she whispers sharply. At Cole's nod, she questions, "And how long have you known this?"
"Since he came in and asked for the job."
"And you couldn't have told me?"
Cole shrugs. "You've taught me to try not to judge, Piper," he reminds her gently. "He's a wolf, but he needed a job. I wasn't going to let him hurt any one."
"That's the last thing I want to do," Daniel speaks up again. He turns imploring eyes on the Witch and Demon. "That's why I need to be locked up tomorrow night. And the next two."
Piper inclines her head in a slight nod, considering his words. "Because tomorrow night is a full moon. You can't control your wolf and can only keep yourself from hurting people by being locked up. But I'm guessing your band doesn't know."
He nods.
"So you go from town to town, getting into trouble so the police will lock you up."
He nods again.
Cole chuckles. Piper cuts a glare at him, but still, he can't stop himself from commenting, "I bet those cops are surprised!"
She relaxes when Daniel smiles. "More surprised than if they found a bug in their doughnuts."
She laughs at his remark, and both of the guys chuckle. "We'll lock you up," Cole offers.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. You're among friends here, Daniel. You don't have to be afraid: not for yourself or for others."
The boy smiles warmly. He looks at them both in turn. "Call me Oz," he tells them.
"Oz," Piper replies, smiling. Then, she frowns. "We are still on for Friday night?"
He nods. "Full moon'll be over by then."
She smiles again. It's settled, then, and she knows right where to get the handcuffs.
=^.^=
"I still don't see why he has to have my handcuffs."
"It's just for three nights, Phoebe."
"But what if I want to tie Leo up in the mean time?"
"One, I don't need to hear about your sex life with my ex, and two, do you have a better idea?"
"Yeah. Borrow a pair from Darryl."
"And explain to him that we have a Werewolf spending the night at our club? Do you really want him to be freaked out and watching every step we make for the next three nights?"
Her younger sister sighs, defeated. "I guess not." She pouts. "But I don't have to watch him Friday night, do I?"
"No. We'll take turns."
"I'll take Friday night." When her sisters look at her, Paige shrugs. "I might as well," she replies. "I'm dateless any way."
"I'll take tonight," Piper agrees, "and you can have tomorrow night, Phebs."
"Oh, is that him?"
"Yeah."
"I'll take tonight. He's cute!"
Piper just rolls her eyes.
=^.^=
The next three nights pass without event. The sisters stick to their plan, and for once, evil doesn't interrupt them too badly. There's one incident that comes up with a set of Demons trying to take over the city, but between the three Charmed Ones, a Demon, a White Lighter, and a Werewolf to boot, the heroes make short work of the villains.
The only really had thing the sisters find about keeping the young Werewolf locked up in their night club's basement is awakening in Piper's office with the sunrise and working the creaks out of their necks at they force themselves to get going. They're used to the night life, after all, especially while fighting Demons, and none of them have ever been good at rising with the sun. But they have to get Oz out before their employees come in for the morning.
Phoebe never tried to advert her eyes from Oz's naked form, and Piper had Cole to go take the boy his clothes. Paige, however, is alone as she descends on the staircase into the shadows early Friday morning. Although the sun is up, its golden rays are not yet punctuating the darkness of the basement. "Oz?" she calls nervously from the bottom step.
"It's all right," he assures her, and she notes how deep and welcoming his voice is in the darkness. Here in the shadows, with her heart thumping in her ribcage, his gentle voice almost seems to caress her ears. It certainly does ease her fear, and she goes further in with a smile.
She's holding his clothes out before her, carefully making her way, when he reaches out and takes them from her. The sudden whisking of the clothes causes the key to fall from Paige's fingers. She bends after it, not thinking about the consequences, and when she straightens and looks up again, her pretty face turns as red as her dyed hair. "Oh my goodness!" Her words leave her in a quick breath.
Oz blushes and tries his best to cover himself with pressing his clothes before his most private body part. His face, too, is a bright red. "S-Sorry."
"M-My fault," Paige replies, still stammering, and fumbles with the key as she unlocks her sister's cuffs. Once he's freed, she all but runs from the basement.
She's just shutting the door behind her when a cheery voice calls out, "Good morning."
Paige whips around and finds herself face to face with the morning cook. "I just need to get some flour for the biscuits, Miss Halliwell," the rotund and older woman tells her gently. She wonders why she appears so frightened, but the sisters who run the club have never exactly been normal. She's not certain with what they're involved, but she knows when to hold her tongue and does so well.
Paige keeps a firm grip on the handle of the door behind her. "It'll just be a moment, ma'am." She barely keeps herself from stammering. It's not that she hasn't seen a naked guy before. She has lots of times, but she just hadn't expected to see Oz completely naked and so close. When she'd looked up, her mouth had been almost level with his staff. Just thinking about it flushes her skin again.
"Are you all right, Miss Halliwell? Are you feeling sick? Would you like me to call your sisters?"
"N-No, ma'am. I'm fine. I just -- " She thinks quickly. "I just saw a mouse. We need to get an exterminator in."
"Oh, there are other ways to deal with a little mouse, dearie. Just call that fine Mister Turner of your sister's. He took one out just last week, he did."
"Two in two weeks? We must be getting a problem." Oh, yes, they had a problem, all right, but it wasn't mouse related! How was she going to explain Oz being down there to the cook?
Unconsciously, Paige had relaxed her grip on her door while remembering her encounter with Oz, and now, suddenly, it swings open. The young man stands there with his hair disheveled, eyes blinking, and a pair of handcuffs dangling in one hand.
"Oh, my!" the cook cries out. It's her turn to be flustered while Paige turns and looks at Oz in horror. She stammers, trying quickly to think of an explanation, but he's cool and calm as he brushes closer to her.
"Sorry, sweetheart," he croons with a large, warm smile. His eyes twinkle as he acts the part of a lead singer in a band without any other problems in the world. "I didn't know the help had already arrived." He places the handcuffs in her hand, kisses her quickly on the lips, and walks on out into the bright, morning light.
The cook squeaks like a mouse and heads swiftly down into the basement. Paige is left alone again before she hardly knows what has happened. She looks toward the open door to the basement, but the old woman won't say anything to her bosses. Her gaze then turns after where she last saw Oz. His kiss was chaste, swift, and the perfect explanation to hush the cook, but somehow, she's still having trouble breathing.
She leans against the wall, all alone, her heart hammering in an entirely different pattern from earlier in her ribcage, and wonders both if a wolf's ears can pick up the sound of her rushing heartbeat and just exactly how old Oz is any way. Is he old enough to get her into more trouble? But then again, she's never exactly been one to shy away from trouble. The work she does rescuing lives and saving the world as a Charmed One is more than enough to keep her in trouble with the law. How much more trouble could dating some one just a few years younger than herself possibly get her into?
And how long, Paige wonders, still plastered against the wall, is it going to take her heart to calm back down again? She knew the boy is hot -- he's a singer in a band, after all --, but she never expected the wild appeal he also has. She's almost panting and still not moving as she smiles. What a wolf!
=^.^=
It's much later that night when the band takes a break before Oz finally dares to venture close to the young Witch again. He's experienced Witches before, and he's had his heart broken before. He's not exactly quick to want to suffer that painful experience again, but there's something about Paige that draws him near.
Maybe it's the red hair that reminds him of the first girl with whom he fell in love. Maybe it's the fact that she's a young, stammering, and blushing Witch, which again reminds him of his sweet Willow back in Sunnydale. Maybe it's how her pretty, green eyes widened with shock when he kissed her or the sweet smell of her perfume which has seemed to linger with him all day and well into this new night.
Maybe it's just the fact that he owes her an apology, Oz tells himself as he approaches her. Still, he's watched her dancing alone tonight, watching him, and he hasn't felt this way in years. He should run -- it would be the smart thing to do --, but he does owe her that apology. Doing the right thing has always been better than the easy, or smart, thing.
"Hi," he speaks bashfully as he reaches her side.
She jumps slightly, and he smiles. It's a wonder how she can constantly fight so many evils and yet be so easily spooked by him. He knows of some of their conquests against evil. They don't just fight Vampires; they fight Demons, Vampires, Sorcerers, and just about everything else, too. Between the tales Phoebe and Piper told him on the nights they watched over him, he wouldn't be surprised to find out they'd even fought aliens. He's still convinced they exist, after all.
"Hi," Paige answers, and if her smile's a little tremulous, they both pretend not to notice.
"You . . . look good tonight," he offers.
She grins. "Thanks. You know, I actually was a Queen in a past life. An evil Queen, but still."
He grins back at her. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," he admits.
"What?" she asks. "The Queen or the evil Queen part?"
He chuckles. "The Queen." Somehow, he does have difficulty picturing her as being evil, but then, even his sweet Willow had had an evil dobbelganger from an alternate reality.
But he's not here to reminisce or to fight these feelings he shouldn't be having. He's here to sing, to entertain the public, and here beside her to give her that apology he owes her. He scratches the back of his neck. "I . . . I'm sorry," he manages at last to say. "For earlier."
She almost asks him for which part, for the dangling right there in front of her and yet being untouchable part or the quick kiss that he might have stolen but had been the perfect charade to hush the cook. But instead she just smiles at him. "It's okay," she's saying before she even fully realizes it. She usually makes guys sweat when they've done her wrong, but not Oz. At least, not tonight.
"Do you want to dance?" she asks.
He should say no. He knows the troubles that come with becoming involved with a Witch. He knows he's a lowly Wolf not fit to love any one. He knows he'll place into her danger, but she is a Charmed One. She's already in danger constantly, but that helps ease his guilt no more than Willow's being placed in danger because of being the Slayer's best friend did back when he was in high school.
Paige's smile falters. "I-I'm sorry," she says, but there's anger in her voice instead of guilt or sorrow. She starts to turn away, feeling dejected, but he reaches out and grabs one of her gloved hands.
She looks back at him, and he bows before her. "It would be my honor, my Queen."
She grins, and they both let him sweep her across the floor. He's not the best dancer, but he's learned a few moves from his time touring with his band. It's enough to impress her, enough to make both their hearts pound, but eventually, they have to stop as the DJ announces and the return of the band. Oz's band mates are already picking up their instruments when Piper rushes up to him.
She's dressed as a Fairy Godmother tonight, and he grins at the sight. The costume suits her, but he's not going to tell her that -- at least, not yet. He can tell whatever she has to tell him is important, and they don't have time to discuss both. "Oz, I have an offer for you!" He looks at her curiously and waits as she continues, "Why don't you hang around? You guys can have a steady, paying job here -- my customers love you! --, and we can help you out on the next full moon."
"Just the next one?"
She shrugs. "However many through which you want to stay." Cole had warned her not to make her offer seem to be too long for the time period in which he might want to stick around. He knows the boy's type -- he was once the boy's type -- and knows he'll be loathe to take an offer that might cause him to endanger them.
But Oz grins and nods. Then he leaps back on stage and tells his guys quickly, "We just got an offer to keep performing here for a couple months." They all shout with joy over a steady, paying gig, and Oz, feeling in his bones and gut that this is finally the right move.
He picks up his guitar, grabs the microphone, and signals his band. They begin a number that's rare for them, because it's not one of their original songs. It's old lyrics with a new spin they've cast onto it themselves, but then it is Halloween. What better time to fall in love with a Spooky, little girl?
And as he sings, Oz gazes out over the crowd. He sees Piper and Cole dancing -- the Demon even grins at him -- as well as Phoebe and Leo. He sees Paige, a Witch and Queen among the humans, swaying to his every note, swaying to him, smiling at him, and at last, his heart swells with happiness and another emotion to which he dares not give a name yet. Still, he thinks, grinning, maybe he's at last found a place where he can stay for a while again. Maybe he doesn't have to run this time. Maybe his heart won't get broke. Maybe, just maybe, he's found a home where he can stay for a while longer, and his eyes locked on his Witch, he croons.
The End
