Written for It Hurts My Brain LJ Community, using the pairing of Demona (Gargoyles) and Clem (Buffy).
NOTES: Takes place in May/June 2003, after the events of the BtVS finale "Chosen." It's been over six years since the TGC finale "Angels in the Night" at this point, so I think gargoyles would be accepted into society, at least for the most part. Everyone knows Demona is human by day and gargoyle by night, and she goes by the name Dominique. She still doesn't like humans too much, but she tolerates them.
Chapter 1
by Zzilly14
With the impending apocalypse, everyone was ready to get their butts out of Sunnydale. Myself included. Who knew it would get that bad? Then again, it was a Hellmouth. I guess I was surprised it lasted that long.
I decided to head East. California hadn't been too good for my complexion. Anyway, impending apocalypse! I wanted to be far away from Sunnydale as possible.
I managed to make it all the way to the Big Apple. Hey, I like big towns. Easier to blend in.
A few weeks later I heard of Sunnydale's fate - and word that Buffy and most of the gang survived.
Except Spike. Apparently he went down in a blaze of glory. But still... it was difficult to hear the news.
So I found one of the many demon bars downtown - a place called Whedon's - and had myself a few yak urine shots. They weren't as good as the ones in Sunnydale, but I didn't care too much.
"Rough day?" I heard a voice say. I turned next to me and was surprised to see a nice-looking red-haired blue gargoyle staring back at me.
Gargoyles were funny creatures. They weren't demons, but they definitely weren't humans either. They had wings to glide with and during the day they became stone. And I thought werewolves were strange.
"Yeah... I just heard that my friend died. Back in Sunnydale."
"I thought everyone vacated from that dreadful place," she replied before sipping her drink of... whatever it was she was drinking.
"Everyone did. Except a bunch of my friends. It's their job to save the world, you know. And Spike... well, he kind of caused Sunnydale to become a crater."
"Spike... William the Bloody, right?" she wondered. "I thought he was a vampire. Didn't he kill two Slayers?"
"Yeah, well it's a long story. But he got his soul back. There was this amulet he wore, and that's what caused the Hellmouth to be destroyed."
"A magic amulet... I tend to stay away from those kind of things nowadays."
"Magic can be very dangerous," I concurred. "One of my friends who helped saved the world - last year was rough for her. She got addicted to magic. Then she got better, for a while. When her girlfriend was murdered, though... it was bad. Really bad."
She turned her eyes away from me and stared at her drink. "Vengeance is never a good place to go. Trust me, I've been there."
"Willow ended up killing the guy that did it... almost killed his two friends... even was willing to kill her own friends. I thought the world was going to end that day, but... another apocalypse was averted, thankfully."
"You've got some interesting friends," she noted.
I ordered another shot. "Yeah. Living in a Hellmouth, you get to meet some interesting characters."
"So what brought you to New York?"
"Impending apocalypse. I hauled my tail out of Sunnydale and didn't want to be anywhere near it when it happened. And hey, I've always wanted to see New York. There's Times Square, Broadway. I'm a huge fan of musicals."
The gargoyle brushed back some of her scarlet hair and smiled. "What's your name?"
"Clem," I replied. "How about you?"
"Dominique."
My eyes widened. "Hey, I know who you are! Dominique Destine! Half gargoyle, half human! Right?"
"I am not half human!" she screamed. I stared at her as she took a deep breath. "Sorry," she uttered quietly, refusing to look at me. "I'm not too fond of humans."
"Hey, I used to feel the same way. Whenever they see a demon they think 'It's evil!' But I'm not evil. I don't kill people or anything. I'm one of the nice guys. But humans never gave me a chance, until I met Buffy."
"Buffy? The Slayer?"
"One of many Slayers now. But yeah, that's the one. She treated me with respect. She trusted me. She even trusted me enough to watch her little sister Dawn during the whole evil Willow thing."
Dominique looked up at me with teary eyes. "A human, a Slayer no less, gave you a chance? That's... unbelievable."
"Well, believe it. It's really true." I cleared my throat. "So, set me straight with this human thing. About you being one, I mean."
"I'm a gargoyle. I was born a gargoyle. I've been alive for... a very long time. Anyway, I've always wanted to see the sun rise. A spell was cast by the trickster Puck, which allowed me to see daylight. However, when the sun rose I became the very thing I hated. A human. And that's happened to me every morning since."
"Neat," I nodded. I drank my fourth shot of yak urine before putting some cash on the bar. "It was nice to meet you, but I should get going. I don't want to get too drunk."
"Well... it was nice to meet you too, Clem. Have a good night. And... I'm sorry about your friend."
"Thanks. Well... bye!" I waved and exited the bar, wondering if I'd ever see her again.
...
I sat at the bar for a few minutes more, thinking about my conversation with that odd-looking demon. I had no idea why I started talking to him. Usually when I hung out in a demon bar I kept to myself. But there was something about Clem...
"Another monkey martini," I demanded from the human bartender. "No, wait. How strong is yak urine?"
"Sorry, Ms. Destine," he shrugged. "Can't give it to you. It's deadly to gargoyles."
"Damn! Well... what's strong and something I can stomach?"
"Actually," his voice quieted, "we do carry drinks for our not-as-demonic customers, but we try not to advertise it too much."
"Really?" I said. "Give me a shot of liquor. Now."
He poured the drink and placed it in front of me. I stared at briefly before downing the whole thing.
"Whew! I'm going to call it a night. I've got to be in the office tomorrow."
"Need me to call a taxi?" the human bartender asked. "I don't know if I want you gliding home..."
"I'll walk," I replied harshly. I threw him a few bills and was about to leave when I turned back to him. "That demon I was talking to... Clem... where does he live?"
"I think he's at hotel a near Times Square... the Best Western between 6th and Broadway."
"Well... thanks."
"No problem, Ms. Destine. Any time."