"Pretty swank digs you got here," Faith commented as she collapsed into the overstuffed sofa lining one wall of Angel's office. Since her unexpected arrival earlier that day, Angel had taken it upon himself to show her around. It had given him a welcome distraction from the headaches running Wolfram & Hart had begun to give him. Faith was also someone of whose company was always welcome.
"Thanks. We had it redecorated over the summer." Angel winced as Faith put her boots on the table but said nothing.
"Did you have a hard time finding a decorator?" She shrugged. "No, I suppose not. Xander made me watch so many home shows that I've begun to think they're all sent from the Devil himself."
"Actually, we have a decorator on the staff. We have almost every sort of occupation you could imagine staffed here - doctors, warlocks, computer techs. This is kind of like our own island."
"Guess that makes you king of the hill or something. How does it feel to be king?"
"I'd give my kingdom for an aspirin."
She raised an eyebrow. "That bad?"
Angel shook his head. "Not really, I guess. I'm just not used to this." He looked into the hallway and at the workers who rushed past. "All of these people answer to me, for the most part. And they call me Sir. I hate it when they call me Sir."
"You're in a position of authority, Angel. People have killed for this."
"That's what I'm afraid of. All of this was just thrust into our laps. I just wonder if one day all of this won't just backfire in our faces."
"Everything has a risk." Faith laughed. "Hey, when did I get so wise? Must have been the near-death experience."
"You still haven't told me what you're doing here. Avoiding the subject?"
"It's no big deal, really. We were just in the neighbourhood so I figured I'd stop by and see my old buddy Angel." Faith held her hands in mock surrender. "No devious master plan, though I think that's more your territory now."
Angel cocked his head. "We?"
"Me and Giles and Willow." She groaned. "I picked the short straw so I've spent the summer roadtripping it with them tracking down Slayers. No one knows the boredom I have suffered."
"Fred and Wesley tried to explain quantum physics to me once," Angel countered.
"Okay, so maybe you know. Did you understand any of it?"
"Not a word." Angel moved from the wall he was leaning against and sat down beside her. "What do you mean you picked the short straw?"
"Well, it's a long story but I'll give you the Cliff Notes. After we all got clear of the sinkhole that is now Sunnydale, we stopped at the first hotel we could find. Thankfully Will did some mojo so we didn't have to pay, which was good because we took a whole floor. But anyways - once she got some beauty sleep, B started to delegate again. Xander took this guy Andrew and a couple of the girls to England to get started on rebuilding the Council, Buffy and the brat went on a vacation with their father, and most of the girls went back to their respective parts of the world to see their families. Since I have no family and can't really leave the country with the whole fugitive thing, I got stuck with the bookworms. Get to play Ms. Mentor to girls barely out of puberty."
Angel laughed as she ended her tale of woe. Faith almost took offence until she noticed that he was smiling for what had to be the first time in ages. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. A whole generation of Slayers are modeling themselves after me, just remember that."
"That's not such a bad thing."
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Enough with the talking. C'mon, I want to see the rest of the place." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Maybe catch up with some old friends and then you can show me the barracks. Do you have barracks?"
"We have penthouses. If you want to stay, I can arrange for you to have one for as long as you want."
"Maybe just a few days. Any longer and then Giles and Willow would show up and we'd never leave. That library of yours is like a geek mecca."
"I know. If I can't find Wes or Fred, that's the first place I look."
"Should we stop by again? I'd really like to see Wes. I owe him a big thank you."
"He'd probably want to see you as well. Unfortunately, he's out on assignment." Angel pushed the lift button. "Most of the gang is away, actually."
"Where's the cheerleader?"
Angel paused as the doors opened. "Cordelia is in a coma. We don't know if she'll ever wake up."
"Oh." Faith looked genuinely sympathetic, following him into the lift. "I'm sorry. But hey - when she does wake up, head for the bunker. A coma can be killer on a complexion. She'll throw a fit."
Pushing the correct floor, he smiled a little. "I think you're right. She might bankrupt the company with post-coma cosmetics."
Faith was about to speak when the lift stopped. "Well, that was fast."
Angel stepped out first, looking rather pleased. "As far as I can remember, the VIP penthouse isn't being used."
"Ooooh, so now I'm a VIP?" Faith hooked her thumbs in her belt loops as she caught up with him. "I used to be a VIP back in prison too. It stood for Very Insane Person though. Not much of a compliment, I guess."
"Well, now it stands for Important. You're very important to me, Faith. Wait. I think we passed it."
As Angel tried to open the last door they'd walked by, she studied him. Vampires didn't age or get grey hairs, but she could see little wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. Her Watcher had once told her that those were just worry lines, since her Watcher had had so many of them. Angel sure did have a bunch of stuff to worry about. With a glint of mischief in her eyes, she resolved to try to cheer him up.
"Faith? Earth to Faith?"
She shook her head, not realising that Angel had been trying to get her attention. "Sorry, lost in thought."
"Ah." He pushed open the door, gesturing for her to go in.
"This is way better than the HoJos we've been staying at," Faith commented in awe. The place was magnificent.
Angel smiled. "The bedroom is through the door in the back and the master bathroom is off that."
"I get my own bathroom? Sweeet!" She raced back to it. From prison to Buffy's house to sharing a room with Willow, it had been literally years since she had her very own bathroom. And it didn't disappoint. It was huge. "Angel! You have to come see this!"
"I've seen the bathrooms before." Angel stood in the doorway, trying not to laugh. "You're the first girl I've ever known who could get this worked up about a bathroom."
"Oh, bite me."
Angel quirked an eyebrow.
"Well, I didn't mean literally." Faith slid the smoky glass shower door open. "This is huge! I bet two people could fit in here easily. Angel, come 'ere."
"I'm not getting in the shower with you."
"Your loss." Sliding the door closed behind her, she could see his shadowy figure still in the room. Wriggling out of her jeans, she tossed them over the top of the shower, followed by her shirt. "As long as you're standing there, you could get your guest a towel."
Pulling her socks off, she smiled as he tapped on the glass. Opening the door slightly, she reached for the towel - and the arm that was holding it. Her Slayer strength opposed to a vampire caught off guard proved an easy defeat and Angel tumbled into the shower.
"We can't do this, Faith." She cut off his protests with a fierce kiss. He fought her for a few seconds, before allowing her tongue entry. As his hands moved to her hair, she tried to blindly unbutton his shirt, deciding to just rip it instead. Pulling it off, she ran her hands over his chest. Moving her attentions to his pants, she cursed when a phone rang. Angel pulled back, and started to dig through his pockets for his cell phone. When he went to answer it, Faith tore it from his grasp and tossed it to the other side of the bathroom.
"You can tell them you were busy."
"Thanks. We had it redecorated over the summer." Angel winced as Faith put her boots on the table but said nothing.
"Did you have a hard time finding a decorator?" She shrugged. "No, I suppose not. Xander made me watch so many home shows that I've begun to think they're all sent from the Devil himself."
"Actually, we have a decorator on the staff. We have almost every sort of occupation you could imagine staffed here - doctors, warlocks, computer techs. This is kind of like our own island."
"Guess that makes you king of the hill or something. How does it feel to be king?"
"I'd give my kingdom for an aspirin."
She raised an eyebrow. "That bad?"
Angel shook his head. "Not really, I guess. I'm just not used to this." He looked into the hallway and at the workers who rushed past. "All of these people answer to me, for the most part. And they call me Sir. I hate it when they call me Sir."
"You're in a position of authority, Angel. People have killed for this."
"That's what I'm afraid of. All of this was just thrust into our laps. I just wonder if one day all of this won't just backfire in our faces."
"Everything has a risk." Faith laughed. "Hey, when did I get so wise? Must have been the near-death experience."
"You still haven't told me what you're doing here. Avoiding the subject?"
"It's no big deal, really. We were just in the neighbourhood so I figured I'd stop by and see my old buddy Angel." Faith held her hands in mock surrender. "No devious master plan, though I think that's more your territory now."
Angel cocked his head. "We?"
"Me and Giles and Willow." She groaned. "I picked the short straw so I've spent the summer roadtripping it with them tracking down Slayers. No one knows the boredom I have suffered."
"Fred and Wesley tried to explain quantum physics to me once," Angel countered.
"Okay, so maybe you know. Did you understand any of it?"
"Not a word." Angel moved from the wall he was leaning against and sat down beside her. "What do you mean you picked the short straw?"
"Well, it's a long story but I'll give you the Cliff Notes. After we all got clear of the sinkhole that is now Sunnydale, we stopped at the first hotel we could find. Thankfully Will did some mojo so we didn't have to pay, which was good because we took a whole floor. But anyways - once she got some beauty sleep, B started to delegate again. Xander took this guy Andrew and a couple of the girls to England to get started on rebuilding the Council, Buffy and the brat went on a vacation with their father, and most of the girls went back to their respective parts of the world to see their families. Since I have no family and can't really leave the country with the whole fugitive thing, I got stuck with the bookworms. Get to play Ms. Mentor to girls barely out of puberty."
Angel laughed as she ended her tale of woe. Faith almost took offence until she noticed that he was smiling for what had to be the first time in ages. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. A whole generation of Slayers are modeling themselves after me, just remember that."
"That's not such a bad thing."
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Enough with the talking. C'mon, I want to see the rest of the place." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Maybe catch up with some old friends and then you can show me the barracks. Do you have barracks?"
"We have penthouses. If you want to stay, I can arrange for you to have one for as long as you want."
"Maybe just a few days. Any longer and then Giles and Willow would show up and we'd never leave. That library of yours is like a geek mecca."
"I know. If I can't find Wes or Fred, that's the first place I look."
"Should we stop by again? I'd really like to see Wes. I owe him a big thank you."
"He'd probably want to see you as well. Unfortunately, he's out on assignment." Angel pushed the lift button. "Most of the gang is away, actually."
"Where's the cheerleader?"
Angel paused as the doors opened. "Cordelia is in a coma. We don't know if she'll ever wake up."
"Oh." Faith looked genuinely sympathetic, following him into the lift. "I'm sorry. But hey - when she does wake up, head for the bunker. A coma can be killer on a complexion. She'll throw a fit."
Pushing the correct floor, he smiled a little. "I think you're right. She might bankrupt the company with post-coma cosmetics."
Faith was about to speak when the lift stopped. "Well, that was fast."
Angel stepped out first, looking rather pleased. "As far as I can remember, the VIP penthouse isn't being used."
"Ooooh, so now I'm a VIP?" Faith hooked her thumbs in her belt loops as she caught up with him. "I used to be a VIP back in prison too. It stood for Very Insane Person though. Not much of a compliment, I guess."
"Well, now it stands for Important. You're very important to me, Faith. Wait. I think we passed it."
As Angel tried to open the last door they'd walked by, she studied him. Vampires didn't age or get grey hairs, but she could see little wrinkles at the corner of his eyes. Her Watcher had once told her that those were just worry lines, since her Watcher had had so many of them. Angel sure did have a bunch of stuff to worry about. With a glint of mischief in her eyes, she resolved to try to cheer him up.
"Faith? Earth to Faith?"
She shook her head, not realising that Angel had been trying to get her attention. "Sorry, lost in thought."
"Ah." He pushed open the door, gesturing for her to go in.
"This is way better than the HoJos we've been staying at," Faith commented in awe. The place was magnificent.
Angel smiled. "The bedroom is through the door in the back and the master bathroom is off that."
"I get my own bathroom? Sweeet!" She raced back to it. From prison to Buffy's house to sharing a room with Willow, it had been literally years since she had her very own bathroom. And it didn't disappoint. It was huge. "Angel! You have to come see this!"
"I've seen the bathrooms before." Angel stood in the doorway, trying not to laugh. "You're the first girl I've ever known who could get this worked up about a bathroom."
"Oh, bite me."
Angel quirked an eyebrow.
"Well, I didn't mean literally." Faith slid the smoky glass shower door open. "This is huge! I bet two people could fit in here easily. Angel, come 'ere."
"I'm not getting in the shower with you."
"Your loss." Sliding the door closed behind her, she could see his shadowy figure still in the room. Wriggling out of her jeans, she tossed them over the top of the shower, followed by her shirt. "As long as you're standing there, you could get your guest a towel."
Pulling her socks off, she smiled as he tapped on the glass. Opening the door slightly, she reached for the towel - and the arm that was holding it. Her Slayer strength opposed to a vampire caught off guard proved an easy defeat and Angel tumbled into the shower.
"We can't do this, Faith." She cut off his protests with a fierce kiss. He fought her for a few seconds, before allowing her tongue entry. As his hands moved to her hair, she tried to blindly unbutton his shirt, deciding to just rip it instead. Pulling it off, she ran her hands over his chest. Moving her attentions to his pants, she cursed when a phone rang. Angel pulled back, and started to dig through his pockets for his cell phone. When he went to answer it, Faith tore it from his grasp and tossed it to the other side of the bathroom.
"You can tell them you were busy."