Title: Invited
Fandom: BtVS
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Angel / Angelus, Willow, Buffy, Joyce, Giles.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 350
Spoilers: Lie to Me, Passion.
Summary: Vampires can’t walk in without an invitation.
Content Notes: None needed.
Written For: Challenge 393: Amnesty 65, using Challenge 90: Doorway.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BtVS, or the characters.



Angel paused outside the doorway to Willow’s room, feeling slightly embarrassed; this was always so awkward. Doors, and windows for that matter, were a protection against his kind; private residences were inaccessible to vampires unless they received that all-important invitation.

In this modern world, people readily let almost complete strangers into their homes, but just standing aside and gesturing for them to enter wasn’t enough for a vampire, not even one with a human soul. The owner of the property, or at least someone who lived there, had to say the words, and Angel really hated having to ask.

“Well?” Willow looked at him expectantly, and Angel felt a sudden surge of affection for Buffy’s friend; she always treated him like a regular person.

“I can’t. Unless you invite me, I can’t come in,” he explained.

“Oh!” And now it was Willow’s turn to look embarrassed at having forgotten what he was. She seemed nervous too, which was only fair, but she invited him anyway, and Angel stepped across the threshold.

OoOoO

Later, when he loses his soul, the invitation still stands, as do the ones to Buffy’s house, and Giles’ apartment. Angelus gloats to himself; they make this almost too easy. The door to Willow’s room isn’t even locked! All he has to do is step through the doorway and look for some kind of gift he can leave to let Willow know he was here and can get to her whenever he chooses. Time-consuming though it is, he thinks stringing the fish on a length of thread is a nice touch.

For Buffy, Angelus leaves artwork, a sketch of Joyce, asleep and so deliciously vulnerable, and for Giles… That’s the best one, a gift left in his bed, everything staged to look like a romantic seduction scene. How poetic!

The lock is child’s play. Angelus leaves Jenny Calendar on the bed, strews rose petals, puts champagne on ice, and sets soft music playing. He pauses in the doorway on the way out, checking to make sure nobody sees him leave. He hopes Buffy and her friends appreciate their gifts.


The End