A/n: future fic. Post shanshu. All good things must come to an end, the world moves on. Can a former vampire move on with it?
Feedback: yes please.
Disclaimer: Angel/Buffy TVS belong to Joss Whedon and co. I just play here.
He walks along the busy street, sun streaming down in the early morning crowd. As he passes a diner, the door opens and a couple comes out, laughing and talking. The smell of coffee hits him in a wave, and suddenly his mouth is watering.
Several orders of bacon and biscuits later, he relaxes in his booth, slowly sipping the coffee that had drawn him in in the first place. An unexpected belch escapes him, and he claps his hand over his mouth in surprise. The teenage girls in the booth across from him give him a 'look', then giggle to each other. He smiles in return; human actions and digestion are still relatively new to him.
Fairfax avenue is busy this morning. Cars and mororcycles jockey for position, while pedestrians and skaters move quickly by on the sidewalks. The man stares contentedly out the window, his now full stomach gurgling happily.
He knows he has an errand to run. But it's one he's not looking forward to. So sitting in the diner contemplating his non hungry state is a welcome form of procrastination.
A few more minutes of zen like zoning, and he finally gets up, sighing. Slipping a twenty onto the table, he stands, and heads for the door.
Hitting the street again, he resolutely heads in the direction of the nearest train station, above ground trains in the city, still so odd, he thinks, and upon arrival, recalls the instructions he had read on the net about the train stations.
Put the money in the slot, get the little ticket out, and procede with caution, he remembers, and does just that.
Entering the station proper, he scans the train signs briefly before finding the one he wants.
TRACK 29, LINE B. ALL TRAINS NORTH, MONTEREY, SANTA BARBARA, SUNNYDALE, SACRAMENTO.
Sunnydale. Yep. That's where he's going. No turning back now.
A half hour later and he's seated on the right train. A light and compact thing, it glides along slowly before revving up to final speed after exiting the station. He watches downtown Los Angeles glide by, and randomly leans his head against the window, lulled to a light sleep by the sound of the train on its single track.
A dream overtakes him. Visions of a house, two sisters, and their friends. An older man, with glasses, lectures him on the importance of behavior, before turning and walking away quickly. The older of the two sisters winks at him from the staircase, and crooks a finger seductively at him before walking the rest of the way up. The younger girl taps him on the shoulder and whispers, "she's always loved you, you know, Angel. She always will," then vaporizes in a puff of ash before his very eyes.
He jerks awake, wiping the sleep drool off his chin with a furtive gesture. A recorded announcement jarrs over the loudspeaker into his compartment. NEXT STOP, SANTA BARBARA. REPEAT SANTA BARBARA. LINE B CONTINUING ON TO POINTS NORTH, INCLUDING SUNNYDALE, SACRAMENTO, AND THE BAY AREA.
He relaxes a bit, knowing he has enough time before arriving at his destination. The town had been rebuilt about 25 years after the original destruction; something about what prime real estate it was, and how it shouldn't go to waste. He thinks it has a lot more to do with the draw of the hellmouth. But governments being what they are, it had taken quite a while to get all the permits in place before groundbreakin had even begun.
They may have been able to close the seal, but the seat of power hadn't ever really gone away. It had just manifested itself in other forms. Life in Los Angeles had been proof of that.
They had gotten their very own portal to hell. Not so much of a mouth; more of a 'giant sucking miasma of death' as Gunn had called it.
They battled the denizens of hell that had come out of it for years after. Even after Cordy finally lost her battle with the coma, even after Wesley and Fred had given their lives to the thing, he fought. And fought. Finally it was just him and an older, wiser Gunn who managed to take care of business. Gunn had had a lot more power than he gave himself credit for. And he had used the last of it to help Angel Investigations close the portal in Los Angeles. If Angel himself had known what the backlash would be from them closing the gate, he's still not sure if he would have done it or not.
Now, he's headed once again north, up the coast to a little rebuilt town and loads of buried memories.
The train procedes north finally after a 30 minute stop in Santa Barbara. One can see the ocean shining like a pearl in the distance from the station, although Angel doesn't step off the train during the layover. He rests his forehead against the plexiglass window, marveling again at the changes that have come over California in the recent years. No more polution. No more violence. Well, except for some of the demon kind. But not much anymore. Trains everywhere. People friendly again. It's almost a little like the Twillight Zone. But he's okay with it. It's a really nice change. Which makes what he has to do even harder.
Now that magick and magick users are out in the open, so to speak, the world, as they say, has moved on. Moved on rather quickly, in fact. Angel is hesitant to put his faith fully in the new changes and new ideas. He remembers all too well the last time someone tried to permenantly alter the behavior and ideals of the human race, and how in the end, he and his friends had payed for it. If not with their lives, than with just a little bit of their sanity and peace of mind.
Lost in his own thoughts, he barely hears the announcement system again. NEXT STOP, SUNNYDALE. LINE B CONTINUING TO SACRAMENTO AND THE BAY AREA. REPEAT, NEXT STOP SUNNYDALE.
Clutching his small overnight bag in his hand, he slowly walks down the steps to the station proper, as his train begins its final run to the north behind him.
Pushing through the revolving doors, he can't help but stop and gape at the center of town.
There's the Sun Cinema, there's the Espresso Pump, and there's the same main street as before. Oh, the names of most of the stores have changed, but to him it's like traveling back in time to a part of his consciousness he never thought to visit again.
Granted, he's never seen it in the daytime before, so he has a right to be a little dazzled. Oh, if only…
His chest suddenly hurts, and he puts a hand to it, as if to calm it. His back begins to twinge as well, and he realizes he's having what the humans you're one now too might refer to as a panic attack. He spies a bench on the corner, and heads for it, knowing he just needs to rest for a minute and he'll have everything under control.
A plack bolted into the sidewalk in front of him catches his eye, and he reads it, emotions churning all the while.
Sunnydale, California. Rededicated March 4, 2028. To our forefathers we contribute our success; to our forefathers we dedicate this replica of the original town we never knew.
Mayor David Wilkins, presiding.
He shudders slightly at the last sentence. Wilkins. He hopes it's a coincidence.
He notices that the pain in his chest and back are gone, so he stands again, and heads toward the neighborhoods to the north of the downtown area. Not sure if it will still be there, but with all the other replicating, he's pretty sure the houses will be the same.
Revello drive stands in silent watch as an old friend comes walking up its lane. 1640, 1636, 1632, ah, 1630.
By the gods it is actually the exact same house. His bag hits the ground unheeded, and he hunkers down in the street, not caring if anyone sees him.
The ring he kept for all those years still resides on a silver chain around his neck. Loathe to give it up, he had kept it hidden from his friends, not wanting them to chastise him or to tell him to 'move on, man. She's got to have as well.'
Sometimes I do think that far ahead.
Buffy, you done baking yet?
Had he ever actually had the balls to ask her that? Only in his dreams, he thinks. The years had gone by, they had talked upon occasion, or when things happened she felt he needed to know about.
Like when Willow hadn't made it out of the brief riot in Cleveland when the magick users were first coming into play. How Giles had gone back to England, and how she had gradually lost touch with him over the years. How Dawn had finally married some nice man, and had settled down in Seattle. How the law had finally caught up with Faith, although he had known about that one himself, and had sent her back to prison in Stockton. Neither of them had been allowed to speak with her.
The most recent call he had gotten had been the one he had not been expecting. Oh, somehow he had known when it happened, but had tried to deny it to his heart and soul. And it had only happened about a week after his gift had been bestowed, so had he called her when he had been planning to, it might not have been too late.
But as fate so often has a way of doing, something had made him hold back, had made him not call her right after it had happened.
Best just to wait a while, see if this mortal thing takes.
It had been Xander's voice on the phone that had shocked him so badly the minute afer he answered the insistant ringing.
"Angel. Can you come up? We'd like to see you."
"Xander? Is that you?"
"…the service is Wednesday afternoon. Can you come?"
Oh God. Sweat had beaded out on his forehead, and naseau had slipped into his stomache like he had stuffed himself on sweets.
"Uh…God. Yes, I'll be there."
He had hung up with no further niceties, and had sat silently on the edge of his office desk, head buzzing with the few simple words.
Can you come? Service is Wednesday…When I look into the future, all I see is you. All I want is you.
You still my girl?
I'm not gonna say goodbye. There's too much…
The last words they had had were, "talk to you soon."
His face had twisted into a bitter frown, desperately wishing that he could talk to her. Soon. Anytime.
Squatting in the middle of the road, Angel squeezes his eyes shut, and clasps the ring hanging around his neck ever so gently in his hand.
He hears the front door of her house, the house, open, and a voice changed a little with age say, "Soulboy? Come on in before you get run over."
Tbc…