Title: A Ritual of Owning

Author: Syn

E-Mail: veruca_werewolf@hotmail.com

Content: Fred/Lorne ficlet

Rating: PG-13

Time Period: Post-Season Four

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.

Summary: Fred and Lorne realize something.

A/N: My F/L obsession rears its head once again. There really should be more F/L fic, ya know? Oh and I tried my hand at the Pylean language and since there's no written rule on the language itself, like Klingon or something, its basically gibberish. lol

Feedback: Yes please! ****

It started off innocently enough, but things were destined to change. Too bad neither of them saw it coming.

They were both sitting in the garden; him with a Seabreeze and her with a mound of paperwork and a bikini on. It was a hot summer day and the sun was shining down on them from a bright, almost blindingly blue sky. Her skin was warm and she wasn't really paying attention to the paperwork she was sorting. The day was meant for lazy naps and long swims in the ocean. But it was also Monday and that was a workday. So here she was, sorting through old files, her glasses slipping down her nose as sweat collected on her skin. She could feel her back sucking up the sun and turning her skin a light pink where the bikini strings didn't cover.

"I hope I tan." He said out of nowhere from a lawn chair he'd set out to catch the rays.

She flipped her hair out of her face and stared at him in amusement. "You are turning a darker shade, actually. Green beanish, I'd say."

"Oh goody. Winter was turning me into a great big lime. I was afraid to go to the beach." He replied with a grin, leaning his horned head back on the lawn chair. He was nearly glowing in the sunlight streaming down, his purple shirt open to reveal his flat stomach. He slid his sunglasses down his nose and looked her over from her sprawl on the ground. She had a blanket and pillows spread out beneath her, papers stacked in neat piles to either side. Her hair was pulled back in a haphazard ponytail that was flung into her face every time she moved her head. "How's the work going, Toots?"

"Okay. I'm about to give up though. This can wait for a rainy day." She said, glancing down at the files she was barely paying attention to and shrugging.

"What did Broody Boy want 'em for anyway?"

"He didn't. Just picking up the slack while they're away." She replied with a sigh. "When do you think they'll be back?"

"No idea, baby doll. Whenever Cordelia feels like coming home, I guess. She's got a lot to deal with and Angel wants to be there for her." He said as a frown crossed her face. "Hey, don't look so glum. They'll be back before fall. They always are."

"'Suppose you're right. Just feels weird with them gone. And Connor is around much anymore and neither are..."

"And Gunn and Wesley aren't around much either..." He supplied as her voice trailed off. "You miss them don't you?"

"Yeah, but...not like that, you know?" She said, fingering the edge of a fat file, her lip tucked between her teeth. He watched her and felt his heart ache. Since Wesley had gone to Sunnydale to get Faith--and had yet to come back and Gunn had decided to stay away while Angel and Cordelia were gone, Fred had been listless and moody, something new for her.

"All too well, pumpkin nut." He said with a sigh, looking her up and down with an all too familiar painful ache in his gut. "You just miss your friends."

"Yeah." She said as she laid her chin on her arms and stared over at him from under the tumble of her ponytail. "You miss em?"

"Sometimes, but when I get to spend a beautiful day like this alone with the prettiest girl I know, I don't mind a bit." That brought out a smile and he felt his heart warmed as she graced him with it.

"I'm glad you're still here, Lorne. You're the one constant in my life." She glanced down at the files and took a deep breath as he stared at her, his eyes softened.

"That's what I'm here for, sweetheart."

Silence fell over them and he took a deep drink of his Seabreeze, feeling the tangy liquid spread out over his tongue as he laid his head back, face to the sun again. He closed his eyes, the sun turning the inside of his eyelids a bright yellow. He felt a rustle of movement and the brightness was suddenly blocked out. He cracked an eye open and saw her standing over him.

"Lorne?"

"Yeah, Fred?"

"Could you...rub this lotion on my back?" She said as she brought out a tube of sunblock and thrust it at him. He looked from it to her and back again, his eyes going wide beneath the cover of his sunglasses.

"Okay!" He sat up as she crouched before him, turning her back to him so he could rub it on. She shivered as the cold lotion hit her skin, but sighed when his hands started massaging it in, fingers kneading over her bony shoulders and back across her neck. She tilted her head to get her ponytail out of the way as he brushed his fingers down to her lower back. He swallowed hard at the feel of her skin beneath his palm.

Unconsciously, she leaned into his hand, biting down on her lip as a shudder went through her body. The sun warmed all the places she didn't want reached and she closed her eyes, willing the feelings away. She sighed and put her head down so that he couldn't see the red flush creeping up her cheeks.

"Fred?"

"Hmm?" She asked, tilting her head to the side as she felt his breath slide along her skin.

"I'm in love with you."

She went completely still beneath his hand and he felt like smacking himself. He hadn't meant to say it--he really hadn't. But when he'd opened his mouth, it had just spilled out and there was no going back now. He pulled his hand away, squeezed his eyes shut and waited for rejection to come knocking on his door.

And he waited...and waited...and waited...

Finally, he dared to open one eye and stared at her cockeyed. She had turned and was now looking at him, with her mouth turned up and her glasses dangling perilously on the tip of her nose.

"Why are you smiling?" He asked as his other eye popped open and he took in the full view of her. She reached out and pulled the sunglasses from his face, peering into the dark depths of his crimson eyes. Then she leaned in and he found himself drawing her up in his arms as she pressed against him, lifting her mouth to his. It was a sweet, sensual kiss, lips lingering at all the right moments, warmth drawn between their bodies as they pressed together.

They were both breathless when she finally pulled away, leaving him slack-jawed and yearning. Their eyes met again as she took his hand.

"Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok Clan," His heart skipped several beats and he pressed his wet lips together at the knowing look in her eyes. "Vsk lmash nh mrb."

"Plvd nersh lmash nh yrb." He responded numbly, remembering the old customs and rituals he'd long tried to forget. Now they served him well and he felt a tug go through his body as she touched her fingers to the center of his chest, then to his forehead in the signing ritual. He did the same thing to her, his fingers lingering between her eyes as she grinned solemnly at him. "Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't, Lorne. You know that."

"I just...didn't think. I thought you'd never..."

"Me too. Just took me a while to realize it. I'm glad you said something."

"It just kind of popped out. You didn't have to..." Fred silenced him with a hand to his mouth, leaning in to press her body against his again.

"You think I don't want to own you? I know your Clan very well, Lorne and I can make you very...vlshnm." Her eyebrow arched and he saw a gleam of mischief sparkle in her brown eyes. "And think of all the ways you can make me vlshnm right back. You own me just as much as I own you, ya know."

"Vlshnm?" He asked, dazed. She grinned and nodded. "I knew there was a reason why I liked the Ritual of Owning, despite the eating of the drokken brain afterwards. We don't have that here..."

"I'll make chicken." She offered, standing up and bringing him with her. He wrapped his arms around her and squinted up at the sun that had been so kind to them. Just an ordinary day with extraordinary results. He kissed her forehead and moved down to her lips. The kiss grew more passionate with every second and they both felt tingles move through their bodies as their skin touched. "Why do you love me?" She found herself asking, as they pulled apart.

"Because...you're you. You're smart and funny and...brave. I love everything about you, baby doll. And you know so much about my Clan and you're still willing to like me. You're the most accepting person I know. I love that. I love you."

"And I love you for all the same reasons. I always have. You're different from the others back in Pylea. I wish you'd have been there when I was. Things wouldn't have been so bad if it had been you." A shadow passed across her face and she lowered her head against his chest.

"If I'd been there, no one would have touched you, sweetie." He said as he lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.

"I know." She said, letting the shadow pass as he kissed her forehead and then moved his mouth down her face. Soon they were kissing again and the world melted around them. Not even the sun could penetrate the secluded world they now dwelled in.

"So...about that vlshmn thing..." Lorne said, as they finally pulled apart again. Fred laughed and landed a quick kiss on his lips, then lead him back into the quiet, empty hotel.