Spoilers: S4 Angel, S7 Buffy. Written for the Faithficathon
Worried In Mind
The meeting dragged on.
Angel had gone to hell and come back. He had slaughtered innocents on almost every continent. He had tried to destroy or save the world a half-dozen times.
None of it required administrative approval. None of it required forms filled out in triplicate. None of it involved staff meetings. None of it involved long discussion with the most insufferable asses ever to pass the bar exam.
Sometimes, he missed the old days.
"Mr. Angel?"
"Again, it's just Angel."
"Yes, Mr. Angel." Cynthia Vladek was top of her class in one of the second-tier law schools, and had passed on partner-track positions in both a New York entertainment firm and a DC lobbyist to start as an administrative assistant for Wolfram and Hart. She literally would've sold her soul to be in Angel's position.
Angel wasn't sure if it was the good side or the bad side of him that chuckled when he thought about it.
"Mr Wyndam-Pryce has arranged for a four-o'clock meeting to discuss his translation of the lesser Alhazred texts. Mr. Gunn and Ms. Burkle have already been invited. Mr. Wyndam-Pryce advises that it might be a long meeting. Should I make arrangements with Spago to provide dinner?"
"I think that would just encourage him."
"Very good, Mr. Angel. The renovation of the third floor women's rest room are on your desk, waiting for your approval. The plans are on your desk. Mr. Kemp wants to meet with you for a strategy meeting on the Bathory account. Ms. Wilcox has the first set of contracts drawn up for the Talbot buyout."
"Words can't describe how much I'm looking forward to those meetings."
"Very good, Mr. Angel. Oh, yes. There's a woman waiting in your office. She wanted to thank you for saving her puppy?"
"Puppy?"
"Yes, Mr. Angel. That is what she said."
"Block off my next hour."
"Yes, Mr. Angel."
Faith wondered if this was a good idea. It was too good of a thing to pass up, though.
Willow told her that a change of look would make it harder for her to be recognized. With the State Police still looking for her, this was a good thing.
She wore a light brown sundress and pair of strappy sandals. A short-sleeve linen shirt covered her upper arms, hiding her tattoo. She looked all sweetness and innocence, and she smelled of vanilla body wash. True, she might have stolen some of this look from someone she knew. Someone she knew like her own skin, or at least used to. Well, borrowed, anyway.
She had been in the room ten minutes before she started considering the view. Ten minutes of the warmth of the Sun on her arms, legs and face, just enjoying windows without bars.
His office is on the fifteenth floor, above the neighboring buildings and with a western view and a great view of the ocean. The afternoon sun was peeking into the window. Another beautiful sunny California day.
Another beautiful sunny California day.
Sunny.
What are they? Morons?
She was up at the curtains immediately, searching for the drawstring. Damn it. Damn it! Where is it?
"Controls are over here."
She turned with a start. "Angel, stop. Step back!"
Angel stepped into his office. "Don't worry. They have filtering glass on all the windows. Perfectly vampire-safe."
Faith stood there, breathing hard. "Damn it. You think they could put up a sign or something."
"Y'know, I suggested it, but really, don't you think it'd look a bit cheezy?" He walked up to her, standing in the afternoon sun. "We do enough mundane business that advertising the supernatural aspects of the practice would be counterproductive."
"So, how's the business?"
"Busy. How's tricks?"
"Tricky." The panic was draining from Faith's features. It was still a major part of her odor, and despite himself, he still found it intoxicating.
"How's your puppy?"
"Puppy? Oh. Yeah. She's good. She's been working as an attack dog recently. She's been behaving, staying in the yard at night. She's even started playing nice with others."
"That's good. Now, what brings you down to the office?"
"Willow's ride. She has some research going on and wanted to borrow Wes' books. I thought I'd visit my favorite person, and since I said 'hey' to Gunn, I thought I'd look you up."
"Funny."
"I try." She stepped forward, closing into his chest. "I try so many things."
"I don't know if this is such a good idea."
"I think it's a wicked fine idea." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I've been in you, Angel. I think it would be a good idea if you were in me."
"You know my heart belongs to ...."
"I know who your heart belongs to. I'm not interested in taking the deed to that. I'm mostly interested in your body. Just want to take it for a test-drive." She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled herself up to his eye level. "Wait just one moment."
She leaned back, over his desk, and pressed two buttons. The first was the speakerphone button. The second was Wesley's office on speed dial. It rang twice.
"Wyndam-Pryce."
"Yo, Wes. How goes?"
"I'm doing quite well, Faith. The translation has been going quite well, and I do believe that Willow's almost finished."
"Close, but not quite. I've found quite a number of prophecies relating to northern Ohio, and I'm expanding the search to the Ohio River valley."
"Got a rough ending-time, Red?"
"Um ... half an hour?"
"That's great. I'll meet you at the door."
"I'll just hang around until then." She leaned back and touched the speakerphone button, hanging up the line, and then pulled herself back up.
"You do want me to hang around, right?" She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his face.
He knew what his body wanted, and he knew she knew. He could argue against it in so many ways. He didn't want this. It would make things so complicated. But he did want this.
So he did. He reached down and grabbed her hips, noticing for the first time her lack of underwear. "Drop 'em and lay on the desk, Angel", she whispered as she nibbled his ear. So he did. The setting sun warmed his skin. Months later and he was still getting used to that feeling. She unbuttoned her dress, letting it fall open and exposing her dark brown nipples and her supple white skin. She rubbed herself against him as she slowly crawled up, unbuttoning his black silk shirt as she went. He reached up to caress her, but she caught his hands, and with gentle but unyielding pressure, she forced his hands above his head. As she lowered herself, forcing him into her he could feel her nipples and the ends of her hair brush against his chest. Her hips swayed. Her breasts bobbed. Her breath came and went in small gasps. He could feel her squeeze with her legs, with her hips, with her cunt, with her hands as she moaned.
Then he felt her pull away. He tried to sit up, tried to form a sentence, when she moved both his wrists under one hand and gently placed the other over his mouth.
"Y'see, I can't let you. It could just be B you're living for, but I'm biased. I think I'm good enough to knock that soul right out of you, and y'know, you're the only vamp who has ever got a taste of me. I don't wanna play that game again. Willow's downstairs and all, sure, but I don't want to get that lecture, either. I'm done, so we're done."
She dragged her hair across his chest as she climbed off him and walked, in the sexiest walk she could pull off with her sundress still hanging off her arms, toward his private restroom, swinging the door closed behind her. He could hear the water start to run.
"Hey, I'm about to run across state lines to hunt bigger, badder evil. Do that whole white-hat thing. Thing is, I get caught out there and I'm immediately into big bad Federal heat for crossing state borders. Since I got an in with the boss here, I thought I'd try my luck. I figure the best way to keep things cool would be stay in, but, y'know, I had to bust out and help somebody. Think you can do me a solid here?"
"Umm." He could move lightning-fast in attack, but he was still slowly moving to an upright position. He was trying to decide if he should finish himself or not. The sun warming him through the window argued one side. The woman in the bathroom and the woman out the door argued the other. There was still intense debate.
"Where do you keep the mirror in here? Oh. I found it!"
He sat up and pulled the shirt over his shoulders, the silk running over his nipples reminded him of her hair.
She walked out of the bathroom, a mean, cruel vision of loveliness. "The blueprints rolled under the desk. I took a quick peek at the prelim sketches, and it looks like a wicked head. Maybe a bit too, I dunno, bright for me, but hey, I never learned to trust my color sense. I may have to roll back when it's done, though. So, think you can help me?"
"There's not much can really do to free you while you're free, Faith, but I'll get some good people on it." He pulled on his pants. He throbbed once against the fabric.
"Thanks. I know there's not too much you can do, right? Did the deed and liked it, and now, just gotta live with the results. Really too late to renegotiate or anything, right?"
Damn Gypsies. "Right."
"Thanks for everything, Angel. Call you later." She closed the outside door behind her.
Vladek. Kemp. Bathory. Wesley. And that bore Alhazred. He hated the rest of the day already.