A/N: A few things. One, thanks to Jen for all the help. No beta of this
chapter, but she did help with Nate in the one before. Two thanks, to her
for not helping so much with this chapter. Much appreciated.
Three, thanks to reviewers. I live for reviewers. I tend to have a crisis about my writing about once a month. It was time for one.
Plus, if this is a bit OOC, (yeah, it's possible with your own characters) it's cuz I had a crisis. See above.
That's it. Story ho. Ho-ness of story. Okay. maybe not the right word usage.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Can I help?' he asked, eyes raking her over, not attempting to hide his clear appraisal of her.
"No," she said, momentarily confused. "No, go away. Stop-" she broke off, a little freaked out. "How did you know I was behind the bushes?"
He gave a secret little half smile and shrugged.
"I didn't," he replied.
Great. Cryptic hot guy. This was just icing on the cake. She sighed.
"Apart from standing around like..um, um. an, uh.." Nasty inner voice made a come back. 'Model for Calvin Klein? The one on the billboards? In his underwear?' Mentally picturing the guy in front of her in his underwear, and trying not to turn bright red, and handle a conversation, Izzy's conversational skills went up the ying-yang.
"And attempting to look all. y'know, um. big with the moody, do you think it's possible you have other capabilities, like, um, parachuting, or maybe cheesecake baking, or stuffing teddy bears or, uh, maybe you could just turn around, and walk away again?"
He blinked.
"Cheesecake baking?"
"Shut up," she said impatiently. "Go away. Very busy.. um.. thinking. about.. stuff. Yeah. Stuff. Stuff-y type stuff. And plans. Evil plans. Grr. Arrgh." She made fangs with her fingers, and held them up to her mouth. "See? Evil. Go away now."
He frowned.
"Don't give me that. All I want to do is be left alone to break into the big evil law firm. So shoo," she made appropriate motions with her hands.
"Right," he nodded. "So you want in to Wolfram and Hart."
"No. I mean, yes. I mean, I. go away!' she pleaded.
She knew she was being irrational. He was perturbing, what with the knowing- she-was-there-ness, and the non-irrationality. How was it whenever she met a guy, it always seemed to go to hell in a hand-basket? Not that this was a guy, guy. Nope. He'd be turning and walking away soon. Yep. No help necessary.
"I didn't ask for a diatribe," he said, walking forward. "You're wet, and standing around outside. Plus," he shrugged. "You're cute."
She glared at him, momentarily forgetting that his name, as far as she knew it in her head, was Hot Guy.
"So," he said, looking around. "Need help?"
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Turn left," Spike ordered from underneath his blanket. Xander glared at him with all the loathing of the past twenty odd years.
"No backseat driving from the vampire," he snapped. "Evil undeads stay quiet in my car."
Spike rolled his eyes. "Which of us spends more time driving from L.A to Cleveland and back again?"
"You can't even see! You have a blanket over your head," Xander protested. Spike smirked.
"I can still drive better than you."
"Why do I have to drive you, anyway? Is it torture Xander day?" Xander asked, frustrated.
Spike grinned. "Put it this way. Would you like it to be?"
"Shut up."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"I don't need help. I can get inside," she answered, folding her arms. He raised one eyebrow.
"Past the security systems, and guards?" he asked.
She sighed. "How are you going to do it?"
He just smiled.
She watched as he strode purposefully towards the entrance, and she snuck closer to the building, hiding in the shadow of a decorative yew hedge. The glass doors slid open, and the demon stood up, to greet the Hot Guy,
"Pass," he ordered in a deep, menacing voice.
"Rick, it's me," the Hot Guy said, as the demon took his proffered pass.
"Heya Nate. How're you?" the big yellow demon asked, in a much lighter tenor tone.
"I'm good. What was with that big alarm blaring?" Nate asked nonchalantly, as he was handed back his pass. Rick shrugged.
"There've been a lot recently," he answered. "System screw ups I guess."
Nate glanced at the stylish clock on the wall above the reception desk.
"Bout time for changeover, isn't it, big guy?" he asked. Rick nodded.
"Newbie," he grunted. "Always late. Probably eating my bone marrow in the locker room."
Izzy grimaced.
"Yeah. Why don't you just go? Slow night," Nate suggested, running a hand through his dark hair.
"Yeah, I know," the demon replied slowly. "But if I take off, there's no one here."
"C'mon, Rick, it's me," Nate flashed a cocky grin. "Who's gonna make a fuss? And with all the state of the art stuff, you'd have to be in here to get in here."
"I guess. If you'll cover my ass, kid, I'll take you up on it. Thanks," Rick ambled off.
"Say hi to Annie and the kids for me," Nate called after him. As the yellow demon left, Nate sat down in his vacated chair, and spread out his fingers over the computer keyboard.
"So it's Nate," Izzy remarked, standing in the doorway. He looked up briefly, and flashed her a grin that made her feel all gooey inside. She instantly told her inner-goo to stop goo-ing, and behave itself.
"Depends who's asking," he answered.
"What's with the hacker stuff?" she asked. He began typing again.
"No one gets in with the systems up. So they're gonna go down," he said, hitting the enter key.
She stepped over the entranceway.
"Welcome to Wolfram and Hart. Elevator that way, stairs the other," he pointed. She looked around, nervously. Big time evil lawyers, demons, and clients were all in this building. Locked away somewhere were prophecies that told her what she was.
One small problem. She was actually scared of what stood between her and them.
He glanced at her.
"Of course, if you need help," he drawled, with an annoyingly cocky smirk. "I wouldn't be accused of not helping the damsel in distress."
"I dislike you," she said bluntly, kicking her inner voice with steel capped Doctor Martins to a chorus of protests. Inner voice was so gonna die. He wasn't that hot. Much.
"Where are you going?"
"Prophecy room."
He nodded. And walked away.
"Where are you going?" she asked, panicking. He turned around.
"Prophecy room?"
"Right," she answered uneasily. Great. It was gonna be a case of 'see-how- far-Izzy-could-embarrass-herself' tonight. Dandy.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Where are you going?" Fred asked, frowning, as Angel flipped the catch open on the weapons cupboard.
"Out. To save people," Lin answered, evasively. "Because, this is a saving- y agency. That saves people. While out."
Angel gave him a weird look.
'We're going to get Izzy," he reminded the teenager. "She's at Wolfram and Hart."
"Oh," Lin said in a small voice. How was he supposed to know which stuff was secret, and private-eye-like, and which was regular stuff?
"Oh. Wolfram and Hart?" Fred repeated, her eyes widening. "That's not so good."
"Yeah. I'd thought with Lindsey there, and Fa-" Angel shook his head. "Lilah's evil. It is a proven fact. Yet when she's headless, she looks oddly helpless."
"You're not to blame," Fred patted his arm comfortingly. Lin wondered if the entire agency had gone slightly mushy, like cookies left out for too long, and then he started thinking about cookies, and lost his thought train.
"So we'll go in, and get her, and then come back. Simple," Angel said, hefting a sword. Lin stared at it.
"What's the sword for?" he asked. Angel looked at the sword.
"Insurance policy."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
A/N: Okay. I'm writing waaay too long chapters.
If you wanna see more of Nate, check out 'Trick or Treat with a Cookie on Top'.
Three, thanks to reviewers. I live for reviewers. I tend to have a crisis about my writing about once a month. It was time for one.
Plus, if this is a bit OOC, (yeah, it's possible with your own characters) it's cuz I had a crisis. See above.
That's it. Story ho. Ho-ness of story. Okay. maybe not the right word usage.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Can I help?' he asked, eyes raking her over, not attempting to hide his clear appraisal of her.
"No," she said, momentarily confused. "No, go away. Stop-" she broke off, a little freaked out. "How did you know I was behind the bushes?"
He gave a secret little half smile and shrugged.
"I didn't," he replied.
Great. Cryptic hot guy. This was just icing on the cake. She sighed.
"Apart from standing around like..um, um. an, uh.." Nasty inner voice made a come back. 'Model for Calvin Klein? The one on the billboards? In his underwear?' Mentally picturing the guy in front of her in his underwear, and trying not to turn bright red, and handle a conversation, Izzy's conversational skills went up the ying-yang.
"And attempting to look all. y'know, um. big with the moody, do you think it's possible you have other capabilities, like, um, parachuting, or maybe cheesecake baking, or stuffing teddy bears or, uh, maybe you could just turn around, and walk away again?"
He blinked.
"Cheesecake baking?"
"Shut up," she said impatiently. "Go away. Very busy.. um.. thinking. about.. stuff. Yeah. Stuff. Stuff-y type stuff. And plans. Evil plans. Grr. Arrgh." She made fangs with her fingers, and held them up to her mouth. "See? Evil. Go away now."
He frowned.
"Don't give me that. All I want to do is be left alone to break into the big evil law firm. So shoo," she made appropriate motions with her hands.
"Right," he nodded. "So you want in to Wolfram and Hart."
"No. I mean, yes. I mean, I. go away!' she pleaded.
She knew she was being irrational. He was perturbing, what with the knowing- she-was-there-ness, and the non-irrationality. How was it whenever she met a guy, it always seemed to go to hell in a hand-basket? Not that this was a guy, guy. Nope. He'd be turning and walking away soon. Yep. No help necessary.
"I didn't ask for a diatribe," he said, walking forward. "You're wet, and standing around outside. Plus," he shrugged. "You're cute."
She glared at him, momentarily forgetting that his name, as far as she knew it in her head, was Hot Guy.
"So," he said, looking around. "Need help?"
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Turn left," Spike ordered from underneath his blanket. Xander glared at him with all the loathing of the past twenty odd years.
"No backseat driving from the vampire," he snapped. "Evil undeads stay quiet in my car."
Spike rolled his eyes. "Which of us spends more time driving from L.A to Cleveland and back again?"
"You can't even see! You have a blanket over your head," Xander protested. Spike smirked.
"I can still drive better than you."
"Why do I have to drive you, anyway? Is it torture Xander day?" Xander asked, frustrated.
Spike grinned. "Put it this way. Would you like it to be?"
"Shut up."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"I don't need help. I can get inside," she answered, folding her arms. He raised one eyebrow.
"Past the security systems, and guards?" he asked.
She sighed. "How are you going to do it?"
He just smiled.
She watched as he strode purposefully towards the entrance, and she snuck closer to the building, hiding in the shadow of a decorative yew hedge. The glass doors slid open, and the demon stood up, to greet the Hot Guy,
"Pass," he ordered in a deep, menacing voice.
"Rick, it's me," the Hot Guy said, as the demon took his proffered pass.
"Heya Nate. How're you?" the big yellow demon asked, in a much lighter tenor tone.
"I'm good. What was with that big alarm blaring?" Nate asked nonchalantly, as he was handed back his pass. Rick shrugged.
"There've been a lot recently," he answered. "System screw ups I guess."
Nate glanced at the stylish clock on the wall above the reception desk.
"Bout time for changeover, isn't it, big guy?" he asked. Rick nodded.
"Newbie," he grunted. "Always late. Probably eating my bone marrow in the locker room."
Izzy grimaced.
"Yeah. Why don't you just go? Slow night," Nate suggested, running a hand through his dark hair.
"Yeah, I know," the demon replied slowly. "But if I take off, there's no one here."
"C'mon, Rick, it's me," Nate flashed a cocky grin. "Who's gonna make a fuss? And with all the state of the art stuff, you'd have to be in here to get in here."
"I guess. If you'll cover my ass, kid, I'll take you up on it. Thanks," Rick ambled off.
"Say hi to Annie and the kids for me," Nate called after him. As the yellow demon left, Nate sat down in his vacated chair, and spread out his fingers over the computer keyboard.
"So it's Nate," Izzy remarked, standing in the doorway. He looked up briefly, and flashed her a grin that made her feel all gooey inside. She instantly told her inner-goo to stop goo-ing, and behave itself.
"Depends who's asking," he answered.
"What's with the hacker stuff?" she asked. He began typing again.
"No one gets in with the systems up. So they're gonna go down," he said, hitting the enter key.
She stepped over the entranceway.
"Welcome to Wolfram and Hart. Elevator that way, stairs the other," he pointed. She looked around, nervously. Big time evil lawyers, demons, and clients were all in this building. Locked away somewhere were prophecies that told her what she was.
One small problem. She was actually scared of what stood between her and them.
He glanced at her.
"Of course, if you need help," he drawled, with an annoyingly cocky smirk. "I wouldn't be accused of not helping the damsel in distress."
"I dislike you," she said bluntly, kicking her inner voice with steel capped Doctor Martins to a chorus of protests. Inner voice was so gonna die. He wasn't that hot. Much.
"Where are you going?"
"Prophecy room."
He nodded. And walked away.
"Where are you going?" she asked, panicking. He turned around.
"Prophecy room?"
"Right," she answered uneasily. Great. It was gonna be a case of 'see-how- far-Izzy-could-embarrass-herself' tonight. Dandy.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Where are you going?" Fred asked, frowning, as Angel flipped the catch open on the weapons cupboard.
"Out. To save people," Lin answered, evasively. "Because, this is a saving- y agency. That saves people. While out."
Angel gave him a weird look.
'We're going to get Izzy," he reminded the teenager. "She's at Wolfram and Hart."
"Oh," Lin said in a small voice. How was he supposed to know which stuff was secret, and private-eye-like, and which was regular stuff?
"Oh. Wolfram and Hart?" Fred repeated, her eyes widening. "That's not so good."
"Yeah. I'd thought with Lindsey there, and Fa-" Angel shook his head. "Lilah's evil. It is a proven fact. Yet when she's headless, she looks oddly helpless."
"You're not to blame," Fred patted his arm comfortingly. Lin wondered if the entire agency had gone slightly mushy, like cookies left out for too long, and then he started thinking about cookies, and lost his thought train.
"So we'll go in, and get her, and then come back. Simple," Angel said, hefting a sword. Lin stared at it.
"What's the sword for?" he asked. Angel looked at the sword.
"Insurance policy."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
A/N: Okay. I'm writing waaay too long chapters.
If you wanna see more of Nate, check out 'Trick or Treat with a Cookie on Top'.