Title: Devastating Past
Author: Valerie
E-mail: funbreath@msn.com
Disclaimer: they don't belong to me
Summary: AU Angel is new at Sunnydale High. He meets Buffy and the gang. They think he's just a regular kid. Not likely.
Timeline: during season 2 of BTVS...sorta. Let's just say that Buffy and the gang are in their Junior year in Sunnydale High.
Spoilers: as far as alternate universe goes...almost nothing. References on demons from BTVS and Angel from time to time, but that's about it
Rating: R
Distribution: You can take it but ask me first please.
Feedback: That's a big big big yes!!!!! It's my first fic, so please?
*********
31.
Angel remained silent for a few minutes. He just couldn't express what he was feeling...it was too much. Keeping his secret from Buffy had been really hard for him the past few weeks...and now she knew. And she was just like him. He couldn't describe his feelings. Then he realized she was crying. *Do something damn it! Walk over her! Say something! She's crying, go comfort her!!!* He thought, trying to actually move. Eventually, his body responded and he slowly walked over to Buffy, who was looking at him with fear in her eyes. *She's afraid I'm gonna leave her. Just like I thought she would if she knew...* They remained silent, the only sound they could hear was the faint siren of the police far away. Angel swallowed, reaching out to brush away the tears staining Buffy's cheeks with his thumb. Her bottom lip was slightly trembling, and the sight of her tear- filled eyes gripped his heart in self-loathing. *She's hurting because of me...* "Shh, baby, it's alright" He whispered softly, kissing her forehead. With a sob, Buffy let Angel gather her petite form in his arms, and she gripped his shirt with both her hands, burying her face in his chest and staining the blood-covered material with fresh tears of relief.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I lied to you" She murmured in a scared voice, as Angel tightened his hold of her body. His cheek was resting on top of her head and he was running his hands up and down her back soothingly.
"I'm sorry too. God I hated so much lying, but I was afraid you'd run away from me. I can't lose you Buffy, I can't." He hold back his own tears as her body shook between sobs and he gently raised her chin so that she'd look into his eyes. "Don't cry baby, please, I hate seeing you sad, please stop crying...I'm sorry I hurt you, I"
"Shh, I'm ok, Angel, I'm fine. I'm just a little overwhelmed right now, please don't blame yourself."
He nodded with a deep breath and touched his forehead to hers. He looked into her eyes once more. "Are we ok?"
"We still need to talk about...everything. But yeah, we're ok. Well...I am...are you?"
"Ya, a little surprised, but otherwise I'm good." He smiled weakly at her and they shared a sweet kiss as the police arrived in front of the school.
"We should go see the others." Angel murmured as they pulled apart.
"I'm so tired." Buffy admitted, her eyes closed, glad that Angel was holding her, or she'd already be laying on the floor by now. Angel smiled slightly and swept her off her feet, carrying her, cradling her tightly against his chest.
"Sleep baby, we'll talk later. Just rest now." He kissed softly her lips, and she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes as he carried her out of the building. In a matter of minutes, Buffy had dozed off. Angel spotted the scoobies minus Xander, talking with a police officer. As he walked over them, the police officer left to go talk to some people who had been staying with Buffy's mom.
"Oh god! Is she" Willow trailed off, looking at Angel anxiously.
"Sleeping. S-she's tired after...everything." The young warrior's gaze was on his sleeping girlfriend, but it was mostly to avoid everyone else's. The tension was thick between Angel and the Scoobies. Eventually, Angel found enough courage to speak up. "I'm not gonna hurt you." He raised his head and locked his gaze with Willow, who smiled sheepishly, Cordy, who shrugged, Jenny, who smiled reassuringly. Giles, on the other hand, didn't seem friendly.
"What-" The librarian started, but was interrupted by Kristin, who was running towards them with Xander.
"Hey, Angel, what happened? Is she ok?" Kristin pointed at Buffy, who seemed exhausted.
"Yeah, she's fine."
"What...er...was it..." She looked at the scoobies, embarrassed. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"They know." Angel stated simply, knowing she's get what he meant.
Kristin looked shocked. She stared at Willow, Cordy, Giles and Jenny, then Xander, then back at Angel. "They do? Does she?"
Angel looked at Buffy, who was burying her face further between his shoulder and neck. "Yeah."
"We're fine, Kristin. We already knew about demons, cause Buffy's the slayer." Willow explained briefly, receiving a blank look from Kristin.
"Ok..." She looked at Angel expectedly "A slayer?"
He shrugged with a sigh. "Don't ask me, I dunno what it is."
"Is she like a demon??" Kristin asked incredulously.
"not a demon" Buffy mumbled sleepily, rubbing her cheek against Angel's shoulder.
"Buffy!" An angry familiar voice woke her up fully. He eyes shot open as she stared at her mother, who was approaching them. Then she realized she was still in Angel's arms and gestured for him to let her go. He set her on her feet reluctantly, but keeping an arm around her waist possessively. He didn't like that woman's behavior.
"Mom..." The slayer bit her lip nervously, unconsciously squeezing Angel's hand tighter.
"Where in the world were you? I was worried! The police said it was a gang...were you with him?" She pointed accusingly at Angel.
"Mom, he-he...he saved me. I was attacked and he saved my life." Buffy half- lied, her eyes pleading with her mother to let it go for tonight. She was exhausted, and she knew she'd have to stay up a few more hours to talk with Giles and the others, and more importantly, there was Angel to deal with. "Please, mom, I don't have the strength to argue with you. Please let it go."
Joyce looked at her daughter, who was slightly injured. Then she glanced at Angel and noticed the obviously deep cuts in his chest and his arm, his torn shirt and his bruised, bleeding face. She looked back at Buffy, sighing deeply. Whatever happened tonight, she couldn't argue with the fact that it wouldn't be wise to yell at her teenage daughter. They'd have time to talk the next day or some day soon. "Fine." Buffy's eyes widened in surprise. "But we'll have a serious talk tomorrow."
"Yeah...er...can I stay at Willow's tonight? I need to be with my friends tonight." Buffy asked hopefully.
Joyce seemed to think about it, then after a minute, she nodded. "Alright. But don't do anything stupid."
"Thank you mom!" Buffy pulled away from Angel to hug her mom, showing her how much she was thankful. Buffy knew her mother could be a stubborn pain in her supernatural ass, but Joyce could also be the understanding loving mother every teenager wished for.
Before pulling away, Joyce whispered in her daughter's ear "If you sleep with him, I will have to kill him."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. And he'd never push." Buffy whispered back, closing her eyes with an amused smile on her face.
"Bring him home one evening for dinner." Buffy knew that she wanted to interrogate him and try and find every single detail that could make him a bad boyfriend...still, the slayer appreciated the effort. And anyway, nothing could take her away from Angel. Her mom would just HAVE to see how wonderful he is.
As they pulled apart, Joyce looked at Angel, who had walked away a little and was listening to his sister, with a sad expression on her face. "I'll see you tomorrow sweetie." A minute later she was gone, and Buffy turned back to her friends, surprised to see that Angel had moved away from the group.
Seeing her friend's confusion, Willow stepped in. "He...just walked away...I think he wasn't comfortable around us."
"Can we meet you at the library?" Buffy suggested, and they all nodded, taking off shortly as the police left the campus. Buffy approached Kristin and Angel, who was sitting on a bench, holding his head in his hands.
"She'll get hurt. She's gonna die because of ME. They always die. Or leave." Angel replied, staring at his shoes absently.
"No, bro, Buffy's not like Julie or Steven or all the others, she's got something. We don't know what she is, but she has power. And she's fighting on OUR side. Maybe that's what you need. Someone who'll understand you and fight by your side. Feel your pain because she lives through it, too." Kristin argued, sitting next to her brother and taking one hand in hers.
"You don't know if she'll able to understand. It's not because she knows about this world that she can understand mine."
"Why not? WE do."
Angel lifted his head and looked into his sister's, a flash of pain, confusion and anger in his brown orbs. "Really? Is it just my imagination or is Spike's dad locked up in jail for dealing drugs to kids? Didn't Faith run away from her alcoholic parents? Are Gunn's parents and sister still alive? Did you ever see Jessica hugging and kissing her abusing father before she ran away from her home? Do you actually think that any of them could have lived more than a week in my world if they had anything to lose?"
Kristin couldn't really answer that. But she could defend Buffy. And she would as long as her stupid brother would keep complicating his love life for nothing. "You can't possibly blame her for loving her mother." She snapped at him, starting to get angry.
"I didn't say that." He murmured sheepishly, looking away once more.
"Give her a damn chance Angie! You know you can't live away from her. Don't blow everything away because your relationship reached a new level." Angel sighed and stayed silent for a long time. Eventually, he spoke up.
"I already told you not to call me Angie." He grumbled, making Kristin grin victoriously.
"She's coming over. Don't even think of giving her the infamous I-know- what's-best-for-you speech. Just make sure everything's right between the 2 of you. And I'm warning you, I'm waiting close, if I see her crying or looking sad, I'll be staking you myself." Angel smiled his thanks and Kristin winked at him and left. He stood up, breathing deeply before walking the rest of the way to Buffy.
"Hey...are you ok?" The slayer asked with a shy smile.
"I'm fine baby, don't worry." He placed his palm on her cheek and she leaned into his touch with a tiny moan.
"How about we go to the library and get on with the details? I'm sure you'd rather tell the story only once." Her gaze fell on his bruises on his face and the cuts on his chest. "And you need some serious patching up, mister." He smiled at her and placed a soft kiss on her lips, then grabbed her hand, and they walked towards the library, and ran into Kristin on their way.
"Diane and Frank drove Xand and I here, they're waiting to drive me back home. Are you guys gonna be fine?" She asked them, staring pointedly at Angel.
"Yeah. Thanks Krissy." Angel kissed her on the forehead, squeezing Buffy's hand.
*****
There was an awkward silence in the library. The school was deserted, but a little group was sitting around the research table of the library. Angel was sitting between Cordelia and Buffy, Willow was sitting on Oz's lap (who had just arrived from Dingoes practice), next to Xander, Jenny and Giles.
"I'm tired. I'd like to know if any of you is gonna say something, otherwise I'll just fall asleep right now." Cordelia exclaimed bluntly after a moment. That seemed to break the tension a little.
"So...Angel," Giles started, taking off his glasses and starting to clean them with his handkerchief.
"What's a slayer?" Angel interrupted him, looking at Buffy as if he expected to just know the answer by looking at her. But she looked like she always did to him, young, innocent, pure, gorgeous...she didn't look like a girl who would 'slay' anything.
Giles seemed offended that Angel didn't even acknowledge what he was about to say. But as a dutiful watcher, he relented to explain the concept of the slayer, exchanging a nod with Buffy. "The slayer. The one and only girl in the whole world with the skills and abilities to fight the forces of darkness. In each generation, a vampire slayer is born."
"One dies, the new one is called." Buffy added with a fake smile.
"A slayer is guided by a watcher, from the Watchers Council of England" Giles finished, eyeing suspiciously Angel. The young man had gone very pale and was staring at Buffy, his breathing deep and forced.
"V-V-vampire s-slayer? You...what do..." He stuttered, shifting in his seat nervously.
"I kill vampires...and also demons...but I tend to have a thing against vamps more than demons." Buffy told him with a smile, joking lightly. He didn't seem to get the joke though. "Angel?" She looked into his eyes and briefly saw fear there, but he quickly recovered and pushed it away. So...she was a VAMPIRE slayer...he was half vampire...that didn't mean that she'd change her mind about him...hopefully. But he wouldn't tell her the whole truth. Not yet. Softly, he caressed her cheek with his fingers, tracing the outlines of her lips with his thumb.
"I saw you fighting. Your moves were smooth and graceful...but your aim was still the kill. How do you that?" He asked her softly, pushing aside his fears for the moment.
Buffy blushed at the compliment. "I was born with this. I'm human, but I have slayer strength and I heal fast, and I know how to fight." She kissed his palm and intertwined their fingers. "What about you?"
Angel looked away with a sigh, rubbing his temples to calm himself down. "I wasn't born with it."
"What are you?" Xander asked, curiosity taking the better of him.
"I'm a warrior for the PTB" Angel answered, glaring at Giles as the librarian came back from his office with different old books, obviously ready to search about Angel.
"The Pity Bee? What's that?" Willow asked, confused.
"The Powers that Be." Angel replied simply. Giles gasped in shock and Jenny caught in time the book he was about to drop.
"The Higher Powers? What are you talking about?" The watcher asked in disbelief. There was no way the annoying boyfriend of his slayer was in any way linked to the Powers.
"I work for them" Angel rolled his eyes, annoyed by the attitude of his girlfriend's 'watcher'...
"But...but..." Giles stuttered, staring at Angel. When he noticed his lifted eyebrow, Giles quickly focused his attention back to his books.
"What's wrong Jeeves? Surprised the stupid boyfriend isn't as useless and worthless as you thought? I'm touched by the disbelief on your face, ya know." Angel stated sarcastically, crossing his feet on the table, much to the watcher's annoyance.
Buffy could feel the tension between the two men and quickly put the conversation back on tracks. "What are the Powers that Be? And what do you mean you work for them?" She asked, stroking softly his arm. That's when she noticed the deep gashes on his biceps and on his chest. "Don't move baby." She whispered sweetly in his ear before dropping a light kiss on his forehead and heading towards Giles' office to get the first-aid kit.
When she came back, she made Angel sit on the table so that his chest would be on her eyes level and started unbuttoning his shirt carefully so that she wouldn't hurt him more. She mentioned to him to answer her earlier question. "The Powers are...well, no one really knows actually. They more or less make stuff happen...They can't actually control humanity, but they plan the destinies of the warriors for their cause."
"Like you" Oz added, and Angel nodded.
"So...how did it happen for ya? Do you have a watcher too?" Xander asked, looking at Angel with a mixture or annoyance and admiration.
"I found out about demons, decided to fight them, the PTB contacted me and here I am." He glanced over at Giles and tried not to chuckle. "And me having a watcher? That'd be a BIG no"
Buffy looked up at him questioningly. "Then who trains you?"
He shrugged, playing the hem of his girlfriend's shirt. "I do it myself."
"And yet you manage to be a good fighter, from what we saw tonight. Interesting." Giles stated, staring at Angel expectantly. "Angel, would you mind coming over here this week-end so that I can judge of your abilities?"
"My abilities are just fine, I don't need judging." Angel retorted, scowling at the watcher.
"Hum, yes I understand that, but if you're planning on staying in my slayer's life, I'll have to check if whether or not you'll interfere in a positive way in her work." Giles insisted seriously.
"Come on, I wanna see if you're strong enough to take me down. It'll be fun." Buffy told Angel quickly before he could say anything, knowing that the relationship between him and her watcher could turn bad. She wanted to avoid that with all her heart.
"Fine." Angel relented, sitting back down on his chair and making Buffy sit on his lap. His mouth close to her ear, he whispered huskily "And I'd take you anytime baby."
"Hey, not that this conversation is utterly boring, but...isn't there some big evil event tomorrow that we know crap about?" Cordelia suddenly exclaimed, making everyone turn their head in her direction. "What? I worry about the world too, you know!"
"She's right guys. Saint Vigious night, tomorrow, and still no clue about what to expect." Jenny agreed.
"Oh crap! I had forgotten about that." Buffy groaned and buried her face in Angel's shoulder.
"Well, we found some pretty interesting stuff the last few days. It seems that this is supposed to be a big deal for vampires...it's supposed to" Willow started to explain, handing books to Giles where she had read things about this night.
Angel interrupted her suddenly. "it's a ritual vamps need to perform in order to double their strength. But they have ways to accentuate the effects on their power, but only master vampires know it. They organize a ceremony which includes chanting, blood sharing, human sacrifices. The usual. They're led by Morfran, who's a 150 year old vamp. He's a good planner but lately he let his emotions decide for him. And also, he takes revenge seriously. Stopping them from finishing the ritual would be the best option." There was a minute of silence, where the scoobies stared at Angel in surprise. He had never talked that much and he...obviously knew a LOT more than they did.
Xander broke the silence. "How the hell do you know that stuff? G-Man here ignored half of what you just said."
"I've been working at the Magic shop downtown for a few days, so I was able to do some research."
"Oh, well...I guess...we have, you did..." Giles trailed off, unsure of what he intended to say. It'd certainly take some time for him to get used to Angel as part of the team. "So we should start setting up a plan to-" He stopped when everyone except Angel groaned. Sleepless night. Again. Oh joy. "What's the matter?"
"Giiiles!" Buffy whined, her exhaustion clearly showing on her face. "We're all tired, we had a rough night! Don't make us stay up all night!"
"My friends are coming over tomorrow morning." Angel informed them, smiling at Buffy. "The plan is already clear. It won't take long to locate Morfran, and as soon as we found his lair, we'll interrupt them. So you can either join us and sleep tonight or...stay here."
"Giles, don't take it the wrong way, but Angel's idea's really good." Buffy grinned at her frustrated watcher.
"Stay with me tonight?" Angel suggested in a whisper, which made her giggle.
"Sure" They kissed sweetly before standing up and saying their goodbyes. Shortly after they left, the rest of the scooby gang agreed to meet up the next day, and they all went home.
*********
Author: Valerie
E-mail: funbreath@msn.com
Disclaimer: they don't belong to me
Summary: AU Angel is new at Sunnydale High. He meets Buffy and the gang. They think he's just a regular kid. Not likely.
Timeline: during season 2 of BTVS...sorta. Let's just say that Buffy and the gang are in their Junior year in Sunnydale High.
Spoilers: as far as alternate universe goes...almost nothing. References on demons from BTVS and Angel from time to time, but that's about it
Rating: R
Distribution: You can take it but ask me first please.
Feedback: That's a big big big yes!!!!! It's my first fic, so please?
*********
31.
Angel remained silent for a few minutes. He just couldn't express what he was feeling...it was too much. Keeping his secret from Buffy had been really hard for him the past few weeks...and now she knew. And she was just like him. He couldn't describe his feelings. Then he realized she was crying. *Do something damn it! Walk over her! Say something! She's crying, go comfort her!!!* He thought, trying to actually move. Eventually, his body responded and he slowly walked over to Buffy, who was looking at him with fear in her eyes. *She's afraid I'm gonna leave her. Just like I thought she would if she knew...* They remained silent, the only sound they could hear was the faint siren of the police far away. Angel swallowed, reaching out to brush away the tears staining Buffy's cheeks with his thumb. Her bottom lip was slightly trembling, and the sight of her tear- filled eyes gripped his heart in self-loathing. *She's hurting because of me...* "Shh, baby, it's alright" He whispered softly, kissing her forehead. With a sob, Buffy let Angel gather her petite form in his arms, and she gripped his shirt with both her hands, burying her face in his chest and staining the blood-covered material with fresh tears of relief.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I lied to you" She murmured in a scared voice, as Angel tightened his hold of her body. His cheek was resting on top of her head and he was running his hands up and down her back soothingly.
"I'm sorry too. God I hated so much lying, but I was afraid you'd run away from me. I can't lose you Buffy, I can't." He hold back his own tears as her body shook between sobs and he gently raised her chin so that she'd look into his eyes. "Don't cry baby, please, I hate seeing you sad, please stop crying...I'm sorry I hurt you, I"
"Shh, I'm ok, Angel, I'm fine. I'm just a little overwhelmed right now, please don't blame yourself."
He nodded with a deep breath and touched his forehead to hers. He looked into her eyes once more. "Are we ok?"
"We still need to talk about...everything. But yeah, we're ok. Well...I am...are you?"
"Ya, a little surprised, but otherwise I'm good." He smiled weakly at her and they shared a sweet kiss as the police arrived in front of the school.
"We should go see the others." Angel murmured as they pulled apart.
"I'm so tired." Buffy admitted, her eyes closed, glad that Angel was holding her, or she'd already be laying on the floor by now. Angel smiled slightly and swept her off her feet, carrying her, cradling her tightly against his chest.
"Sleep baby, we'll talk later. Just rest now." He kissed softly her lips, and she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes as he carried her out of the building. In a matter of minutes, Buffy had dozed off. Angel spotted the scoobies minus Xander, talking with a police officer. As he walked over them, the police officer left to go talk to some people who had been staying with Buffy's mom.
"Oh god! Is she" Willow trailed off, looking at Angel anxiously.
"Sleeping. S-she's tired after...everything." The young warrior's gaze was on his sleeping girlfriend, but it was mostly to avoid everyone else's. The tension was thick between Angel and the Scoobies. Eventually, Angel found enough courage to speak up. "I'm not gonna hurt you." He raised his head and locked his gaze with Willow, who smiled sheepishly, Cordy, who shrugged, Jenny, who smiled reassuringly. Giles, on the other hand, didn't seem friendly.
"What-" The librarian started, but was interrupted by Kristin, who was running towards them with Xander.
"Hey, Angel, what happened? Is she ok?" Kristin pointed at Buffy, who seemed exhausted.
"Yeah, she's fine."
"What...er...was it..." She looked at the scoobies, embarrassed. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"They know." Angel stated simply, knowing she's get what he meant.
Kristin looked shocked. She stared at Willow, Cordy, Giles and Jenny, then Xander, then back at Angel. "They do? Does she?"
Angel looked at Buffy, who was burying her face further between his shoulder and neck. "Yeah."
"We're fine, Kristin. We already knew about demons, cause Buffy's the slayer." Willow explained briefly, receiving a blank look from Kristin.
"Ok..." She looked at Angel expectedly "A slayer?"
He shrugged with a sigh. "Don't ask me, I dunno what it is."
"Is she like a demon??" Kristin asked incredulously.
"not a demon" Buffy mumbled sleepily, rubbing her cheek against Angel's shoulder.
"Buffy!" An angry familiar voice woke her up fully. He eyes shot open as she stared at her mother, who was approaching them. Then she realized she was still in Angel's arms and gestured for him to let her go. He set her on her feet reluctantly, but keeping an arm around her waist possessively. He didn't like that woman's behavior.
"Mom..." The slayer bit her lip nervously, unconsciously squeezing Angel's hand tighter.
"Where in the world were you? I was worried! The police said it was a gang...were you with him?" She pointed accusingly at Angel.
"Mom, he-he...he saved me. I was attacked and he saved my life." Buffy half- lied, her eyes pleading with her mother to let it go for tonight. She was exhausted, and she knew she'd have to stay up a few more hours to talk with Giles and the others, and more importantly, there was Angel to deal with. "Please, mom, I don't have the strength to argue with you. Please let it go."
Joyce looked at her daughter, who was slightly injured. Then she glanced at Angel and noticed the obviously deep cuts in his chest and his arm, his torn shirt and his bruised, bleeding face. She looked back at Buffy, sighing deeply. Whatever happened tonight, she couldn't argue with the fact that it wouldn't be wise to yell at her teenage daughter. They'd have time to talk the next day or some day soon. "Fine." Buffy's eyes widened in surprise. "But we'll have a serious talk tomorrow."
"Yeah...er...can I stay at Willow's tonight? I need to be with my friends tonight." Buffy asked hopefully.
Joyce seemed to think about it, then after a minute, she nodded. "Alright. But don't do anything stupid."
"Thank you mom!" Buffy pulled away from Angel to hug her mom, showing her how much she was thankful. Buffy knew her mother could be a stubborn pain in her supernatural ass, but Joyce could also be the understanding loving mother every teenager wished for.
Before pulling away, Joyce whispered in her daughter's ear "If you sleep with him, I will have to kill him."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. And he'd never push." Buffy whispered back, closing her eyes with an amused smile on her face.
"Bring him home one evening for dinner." Buffy knew that she wanted to interrogate him and try and find every single detail that could make him a bad boyfriend...still, the slayer appreciated the effort. And anyway, nothing could take her away from Angel. Her mom would just HAVE to see how wonderful he is.
As they pulled apart, Joyce looked at Angel, who had walked away a little and was listening to his sister, with a sad expression on her face. "I'll see you tomorrow sweetie." A minute later she was gone, and Buffy turned back to her friends, surprised to see that Angel had moved away from the group.
Seeing her friend's confusion, Willow stepped in. "He...just walked away...I think he wasn't comfortable around us."
"Can we meet you at the library?" Buffy suggested, and they all nodded, taking off shortly as the police left the campus. Buffy approached Kristin and Angel, who was sitting on a bench, holding his head in his hands.
"She'll get hurt. She's gonna die because of ME. They always die. Or leave." Angel replied, staring at his shoes absently.
"No, bro, Buffy's not like Julie or Steven or all the others, she's got something. We don't know what she is, but she has power. And she's fighting on OUR side. Maybe that's what you need. Someone who'll understand you and fight by your side. Feel your pain because she lives through it, too." Kristin argued, sitting next to her brother and taking one hand in hers.
"You don't know if she'll able to understand. It's not because she knows about this world that she can understand mine."
"Why not? WE do."
Angel lifted his head and looked into his sister's, a flash of pain, confusion and anger in his brown orbs. "Really? Is it just my imagination or is Spike's dad locked up in jail for dealing drugs to kids? Didn't Faith run away from her alcoholic parents? Are Gunn's parents and sister still alive? Did you ever see Jessica hugging and kissing her abusing father before she ran away from her home? Do you actually think that any of them could have lived more than a week in my world if they had anything to lose?"
Kristin couldn't really answer that. But she could defend Buffy. And she would as long as her stupid brother would keep complicating his love life for nothing. "You can't possibly blame her for loving her mother." She snapped at him, starting to get angry.
"I didn't say that." He murmured sheepishly, looking away once more.
"Give her a damn chance Angie! You know you can't live away from her. Don't blow everything away because your relationship reached a new level." Angel sighed and stayed silent for a long time. Eventually, he spoke up.
"I already told you not to call me Angie." He grumbled, making Kristin grin victoriously.
"She's coming over. Don't even think of giving her the infamous I-know- what's-best-for-you speech. Just make sure everything's right between the 2 of you. And I'm warning you, I'm waiting close, if I see her crying or looking sad, I'll be staking you myself." Angel smiled his thanks and Kristin winked at him and left. He stood up, breathing deeply before walking the rest of the way to Buffy.
"Hey...are you ok?" The slayer asked with a shy smile.
"I'm fine baby, don't worry." He placed his palm on her cheek and she leaned into his touch with a tiny moan.
"How about we go to the library and get on with the details? I'm sure you'd rather tell the story only once." Her gaze fell on his bruises on his face and the cuts on his chest. "And you need some serious patching up, mister." He smiled at her and placed a soft kiss on her lips, then grabbed her hand, and they walked towards the library, and ran into Kristin on their way.
"Diane and Frank drove Xand and I here, they're waiting to drive me back home. Are you guys gonna be fine?" She asked them, staring pointedly at Angel.
"Yeah. Thanks Krissy." Angel kissed her on the forehead, squeezing Buffy's hand.
*****
There was an awkward silence in the library. The school was deserted, but a little group was sitting around the research table of the library. Angel was sitting between Cordelia and Buffy, Willow was sitting on Oz's lap (who had just arrived from Dingoes practice), next to Xander, Jenny and Giles.
"I'm tired. I'd like to know if any of you is gonna say something, otherwise I'll just fall asleep right now." Cordelia exclaimed bluntly after a moment. That seemed to break the tension a little.
"So...Angel," Giles started, taking off his glasses and starting to clean them with his handkerchief.
"What's a slayer?" Angel interrupted him, looking at Buffy as if he expected to just know the answer by looking at her. But she looked like she always did to him, young, innocent, pure, gorgeous...she didn't look like a girl who would 'slay' anything.
Giles seemed offended that Angel didn't even acknowledge what he was about to say. But as a dutiful watcher, he relented to explain the concept of the slayer, exchanging a nod with Buffy. "The slayer. The one and only girl in the whole world with the skills and abilities to fight the forces of darkness. In each generation, a vampire slayer is born."
"One dies, the new one is called." Buffy added with a fake smile.
"A slayer is guided by a watcher, from the Watchers Council of England" Giles finished, eyeing suspiciously Angel. The young man had gone very pale and was staring at Buffy, his breathing deep and forced.
"V-V-vampire s-slayer? You...what do..." He stuttered, shifting in his seat nervously.
"I kill vampires...and also demons...but I tend to have a thing against vamps more than demons." Buffy told him with a smile, joking lightly. He didn't seem to get the joke though. "Angel?" She looked into his eyes and briefly saw fear there, but he quickly recovered and pushed it away. So...she was a VAMPIRE slayer...he was half vampire...that didn't mean that she'd change her mind about him...hopefully. But he wouldn't tell her the whole truth. Not yet. Softly, he caressed her cheek with his fingers, tracing the outlines of her lips with his thumb.
"I saw you fighting. Your moves were smooth and graceful...but your aim was still the kill. How do you that?" He asked her softly, pushing aside his fears for the moment.
Buffy blushed at the compliment. "I was born with this. I'm human, but I have slayer strength and I heal fast, and I know how to fight." She kissed his palm and intertwined their fingers. "What about you?"
Angel looked away with a sigh, rubbing his temples to calm himself down. "I wasn't born with it."
"What are you?" Xander asked, curiosity taking the better of him.
"I'm a warrior for the PTB" Angel answered, glaring at Giles as the librarian came back from his office with different old books, obviously ready to search about Angel.
"The Pity Bee? What's that?" Willow asked, confused.
"The Powers that Be." Angel replied simply. Giles gasped in shock and Jenny caught in time the book he was about to drop.
"The Higher Powers? What are you talking about?" The watcher asked in disbelief. There was no way the annoying boyfriend of his slayer was in any way linked to the Powers.
"I work for them" Angel rolled his eyes, annoyed by the attitude of his girlfriend's 'watcher'...
"But...but..." Giles stuttered, staring at Angel. When he noticed his lifted eyebrow, Giles quickly focused his attention back to his books.
"What's wrong Jeeves? Surprised the stupid boyfriend isn't as useless and worthless as you thought? I'm touched by the disbelief on your face, ya know." Angel stated sarcastically, crossing his feet on the table, much to the watcher's annoyance.
Buffy could feel the tension between the two men and quickly put the conversation back on tracks. "What are the Powers that Be? And what do you mean you work for them?" She asked, stroking softly his arm. That's when she noticed the deep gashes on his biceps and on his chest. "Don't move baby." She whispered sweetly in his ear before dropping a light kiss on his forehead and heading towards Giles' office to get the first-aid kit.
When she came back, she made Angel sit on the table so that his chest would be on her eyes level and started unbuttoning his shirt carefully so that she wouldn't hurt him more. She mentioned to him to answer her earlier question. "The Powers are...well, no one really knows actually. They more or less make stuff happen...They can't actually control humanity, but they plan the destinies of the warriors for their cause."
"Like you" Oz added, and Angel nodded.
"So...how did it happen for ya? Do you have a watcher too?" Xander asked, looking at Angel with a mixture or annoyance and admiration.
"I found out about demons, decided to fight them, the PTB contacted me and here I am." He glanced over at Giles and tried not to chuckle. "And me having a watcher? That'd be a BIG no"
Buffy looked up at him questioningly. "Then who trains you?"
He shrugged, playing the hem of his girlfriend's shirt. "I do it myself."
"And yet you manage to be a good fighter, from what we saw tonight. Interesting." Giles stated, staring at Angel expectantly. "Angel, would you mind coming over here this week-end so that I can judge of your abilities?"
"My abilities are just fine, I don't need judging." Angel retorted, scowling at the watcher.
"Hum, yes I understand that, but if you're planning on staying in my slayer's life, I'll have to check if whether or not you'll interfere in a positive way in her work." Giles insisted seriously.
"Come on, I wanna see if you're strong enough to take me down. It'll be fun." Buffy told Angel quickly before he could say anything, knowing that the relationship between him and her watcher could turn bad. She wanted to avoid that with all her heart.
"Fine." Angel relented, sitting back down on his chair and making Buffy sit on his lap. His mouth close to her ear, he whispered huskily "And I'd take you anytime baby."
"Hey, not that this conversation is utterly boring, but...isn't there some big evil event tomorrow that we know crap about?" Cordelia suddenly exclaimed, making everyone turn their head in her direction. "What? I worry about the world too, you know!"
"She's right guys. Saint Vigious night, tomorrow, and still no clue about what to expect." Jenny agreed.
"Oh crap! I had forgotten about that." Buffy groaned and buried her face in Angel's shoulder.
"Well, we found some pretty interesting stuff the last few days. It seems that this is supposed to be a big deal for vampires...it's supposed to" Willow started to explain, handing books to Giles where she had read things about this night.
Angel interrupted her suddenly. "it's a ritual vamps need to perform in order to double their strength. But they have ways to accentuate the effects on their power, but only master vampires know it. They organize a ceremony which includes chanting, blood sharing, human sacrifices. The usual. They're led by Morfran, who's a 150 year old vamp. He's a good planner but lately he let his emotions decide for him. And also, he takes revenge seriously. Stopping them from finishing the ritual would be the best option." There was a minute of silence, where the scoobies stared at Angel in surprise. He had never talked that much and he...obviously knew a LOT more than they did.
Xander broke the silence. "How the hell do you know that stuff? G-Man here ignored half of what you just said."
"I've been working at the Magic shop downtown for a few days, so I was able to do some research."
"Oh, well...I guess...we have, you did..." Giles trailed off, unsure of what he intended to say. It'd certainly take some time for him to get used to Angel as part of the team. "So we should start setting up a plan to-" He stopped when everyone except Angel groaned. Sleepless night. Again. Oh joy. "What's the matter?"
"Giiiles!" Buffy whined, her exhaustion clearly showing on her face. "We're all tired, we had a rough night! Don't make us stay up all night!"
"My friends are coming over tomorrow morning." Angel informed them, smiling at Buffy. "The plan is already clear. It won't take long to locate Morfran, and as soon as we found his lair, we'll interrupt them. So you can either join us and sleep tonight or...stay here."
"Giles, don't take it the wrong way, but Angel's idea's really good." Buffy grinned at her frustrated watcher.
"Stay with me tonight?" Angel suggested in a whisper, which made her giggle.
"Sure" They kissed sweetly before standing up and saying their goodbyes. Shortly after they left, the rest of the scooby gang agreed to meet up the next day, and they all went home.
*********