Another Solitary Night

Angel silently glided through the shadows of the dark LA evening, bewilderingly watching the people who were dressed up for the holiday. It never failed to amaze him- he always spent so much time trying to hide the demon within from others, while these people seemed to want to become demons.

Well, at least for one night. With the promise of devious behavior and candy, he supposed anyone would be willing to trade their soul (and cash) for a Halloween costume. Make that pitiful costumes, he mentally corrected, as he passed a young man dressed as Robin Hood complete with tights. Men were just not meant to wear things like that, Angel thought with a grimace. Though he himself knew it was nice to pretend to be someone or something else.

But be that as it may, he still didn't like the holiday. Didn't really care much for overblown festivities. He decided to take a walk, make sure all resident demons were accounted for and staying out of trouble. Cordelia had heard about some fantastic party at a club nearby, and had wrangled Gunn and Wesley into becoming her escorts. For a party experience with lots of revelry, dancing and good specials on drinks, he'd heard her proclaim. He smiled slightly. He certainly didn't want to see them tomorrow when they were recovering, he thought with a slight smirk. Then the smirk vanished as he sighed. He hated feeling pitiful, but he was actually kind of lonely. And slightly wishing he'd gone with the gang, even though he knew he wouldn't fit in. But he shrugged off the feelings. It was just another night, he told himself. Just another solitary night. Just like every year. Just like every night.

He intended on walking straight past the apartment building, but when he saw the light in the window it seemed to beckon to him, so he walked on in. He stepped onto her floor and was slightly shocked to see Kate hunkered down in her doorway, talking to a young child dressed as Cinderella with the girl's beaming mother (he assumed) beside her. Interested, he got closer until he could hear what was being said. "Alright, now be good and enjoy this. Don't eat that all tonight, save some for breakfast," Kate said to the girl with a wink towards the mother. The two women laughed.

Angel watched in silent awe as the girl gave Kate a big hug, then moved to leave with her mother. He quickly backed away as they turned, feeling like a voyeur. "Oh, hello!" the mother said upon seeing Angel. "Happy Halloween," she said, sending a surreptitious glance back at Kate. Angel weakly returned her smile as she and the girl brushed past him. He looked back to see Kate looking at him in slight disbelief.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked, edging towards the stairs. "I'm sorry to bother you, I'll go now," he finished lamely, not really knowing what to say. Still surprised over the sight he'd just seen, his mind analyzing the change he'd seen develop in her since their night of epiphanies.

"No," she said quickly, then blushed, opening the door more fully to allow him entrance. "I'm just surprised to see you, that's all," she said.

"Who was that?" he asked, moving inside her warm apartment, taking his coat off and putting it on a chair. Kate smiled brightly, and Angel was amazed to realize he'd never seen her smile like that.

"Oh, that's Natalie and her mother. They live right down the hall. They're going to a Halloween party, but I wanted to give Natalie a small treat first." Angel nodded, though he wasn't sure he completely understood. Kate realized his confusion and continued with her explanation as she attempted to clear the floor of the newspaper, towels and other assorted items lying about.

"When I first moved into this building, I had nobody, nothing. They came right over that evening with a little dish of food. At first, I was a bit annoyed and standoffish, but they kept up. They kinda grow on you," she said with a knowing gleam in her eye.

"I never realized you liked children so much," Angel said, moving to sit down on the couch when she motioned to him. Kate nodded absently as she flopped down.

"I just remember what it was like at that age, feeling as though the world is so big and so magnificent. Their joy is infectious. I miss that," she said, with a self-effacing shrug, then looked at him expectantly.

"So why are you here tonight? Come to ask for some candy? Avoiding dressed up devils out there?" she asked, a slight grin on her face. Then her smile slid away and her brow furrowed, as he seemed to draw within himself.

"No,"Angel replied, shifting on the couch, suddenly insecure. "More like avoiding inner devils, I suppose. I'm just not a big fan of this holiday." Kate nodded, letting the half-explanation go for now.

"I actually assumed you'd be working today. You know, popular evening for the demons to be out and about, or so I've been told," she said carefully. Angel nodded, but changed the subject.

"I'm guessing you're a fan of the holiday, though," he said, gesturing around her apartment, which was layered with black and orange crepe paper, ghost window clings and, to his chagrin, a big bat that was hung directly above his head.

"Gee, whatever gave you that idea?" she asked with a smile. "Actually, I'm not that big of a fan. This is more for myself. I was bored- you know, the whole lack of a job thing, and thought it might be fun to decorate this place a bit. I didn't realize it before, but I never felt at ease in this place when I had a job. I always had some place to run off to. Now, I'm finding I'm not comfortable in my own home. So, I'm giving renovations a try. A new Kate Lockley, complete with new morals and new decorating ideas. I'm no Martha Stewart, but I think I did pretty well," she said, giving her apartment an appraising look.

She noticed Angel's small yet pained smile, and made a mental note to try to figure out what was bothering him later. She managed another grin. "But, enough of the heavy stuff. We'll just say my new policy is that change is good. Now, how are you? Didn't beat up any pretend dressed-up demons tonight thinking they were real, did you?" she asked teasingly. She watched in relief as Angel's tension subsided and he shook his head.

"Okay, so then what would you like to do, oh demon pal of mine?" she asked, tempering her urge to ask him more questions. Angel motioned towards her television.

"I thought maybe we could watch a bit of tv for a while, just sit, you know?" he said, trying to keep the pleading out of his eyes. He was slightly nervous that she'd ask him to go out somewhere. He sighed inwardly with relief when she nodded in agreement and reached for the remote, but then he was struck by another thought. He fervently prayed she wouldn't pick some grotesque movie to watch. He really didn't need to see blood and gore on this night- too many bad memories.

He noticed Kate flipping through channels and gazing at him out of the corner of her eye. "If you don't mind, I'm kind of hooked on these haunted house specials," Kate said, hoping she'd picked a program that would set him back at ease. She relaxed when he gave her a small smile of appreciation, as he gestured towards the show.

"So you like stories about ghosts and ghoulies, huh? Never would have pictured you as liking the paranormal. Although I was obviously wrong," he said, gesturing at the decorations again. I was obviously wrong about a lot of things concerning you, he thought silently.

"Angel, I'm now living with the paranormal," came the succinct reply, complete with a lift of her eyebrow. "And besides, I enjoy the scientific aspect of the show- how they can debunk a haunting and make it reasonable," she finished. He gave her a look. "Oh, alright, I suppose I do also enjoy a good scare," she said, giving him a frown. Moving up from the couch, she quickly walked to her kitchen. She grabbed a plate off the counter, then brought it over to the coffee table.

"We need some festive food in order to watch this," she said, plunking the wax-paper covered plate. Angel stared at the caramel covered apples.

"I didn't know you cooked," he said, pointing at them. Kate gave a snort as she picked an apple up.

"Angel, this is about the extent of my culinary skills. It's not that difficult. I'm sure even you could make them," she said with a loud derisive bite into the apple.

"Just watch the show, Kate," he said dryly, turning his attention back to the tv and hiding his smile. She gave a teasing half salute with her hand, and then turned back to the television.

But there was one more thing she realized she had to say before she could completely relax. "Angel," she said, turning to face him again. "Thanks for stopping by tonight. It's nice seeing you again." He smiled at her.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay. I got to learn some new things about you," he replied, giving her an intense look. Kate bit her tongue.

"I won't even ask if they're good things," she said deftly, turning back to the program. She heard him chuckle slightly, and finally settled down against the couch cushions. Yes, she thought again, eyes glancing around her apartment once more. Change is definitely not a bad thing at all.

Angel tried to settle down as well. He found he was actually quite comfortable in her presence. Mentally making note of what he'd seen tonight, he decided to think things over later. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be such a solitary night after all.