Disclaimer: Still not mine. Never will be mine. I am just borrowing ideas, characters, blah, blah, blah.
Author's Note: Thanks to people who reviewed. I like people who reviewed. Please keep doing so.
-Chapter 3-
"I don't want to talk about it." Angel whispered as Buffy wrapped the bandage around his side. His Slayer healing abilities had already started working but there was still blood coming from his wound. She'd been lucky and had gotten through the fight with only several bruises and a few strained muscles.
The two of them were in Giles' office while the Watchers explained what had happened to the four others. Through the glass window, Buffy could see the horror on Fred's face, and the worry on Xander's. She hadn't meant to bring them into this. Suddenly remembering that Angel had spoken her, she turned back to him. "Maybe you should talk about it. That might keep you from getting stabbed in the gut next time."
He looked at her, clearly not amused. "It's not something I want to talk about."
"Does it have to do with how you died?" Buffy looked up at his dark brown eyes wondering whether he'd finally tell her about that.
"No." Angel closed his eyes, unable to look at her innocent face while remembering that night. "I killed that vampire after I was revived."
"So, this is a different vampire." She taped the bandage tightly. "I think that'll stay."
"Thanks." He moved a little testing to se if the bandage held. "I'm not scared of this vampire."
"It didn't look that way."
"I'm scared of what he can do." Angel stared through the window at the four seated out there. "He's ruthless, this Master. He doesn't care about anything but getting his way. He'll kill his own minions if necessary. He doesn't need them. He just likes having them around to mess with."
"You know a lot about him." Buffy watched him as he shrugged his shirt back over his broad shoulders. The Slayer in him made even a simple act like that incredibly graceful. She bit her lip at just how good he looked buttoning up his shirt.
"He killed my parents even before I became a Slayer. I was left on my own." He looked at her, knowing that she would understand. "He knew what I was going to be and he killed the people I loved because of it."
She touched him gently, trying to convey her sympathy without pity. "I'm so sorry."
He ignored her words but didn't move away from her touch. "I was lucky, Spike's mom was willing to take me in. I've been living with them ever since then."
He swallowed, remembering again what had happened the evening before he had first met her. That had been an even scarier night than the one where he had died. "I thought he was dead but a month or so ago, he came back."
Buffy's eyes widened as the horror of his words hit her. The vampire that had killed Angel's parents was out there, obviously hunting him down still. And now he would know there was a second Slayer.
Angel turned away from the window. He looked at her and saw her expression but realized despite his words he had to tell her everything. "I met him again the night before you started school. He killed someone in front of me...again. If I'd been faster I could have saved her. I could have stopped him, but I couldn't. I'm not strong enough. Someone else died because of me and the fact that I'm the Slayer."
"We can't stop every vampire, Angel." Buffy whispered, unsure if she had any right to speak to him about something like this. "We can't doubt ourselves either. The moment we do, it's all over. But right now, we do have friends who we can and must protect because they are our friends. If for nothing else, we have to keep fighting for them."
Angel dolefully looked at her and smiled slightly. "That's what's amazing about you. You connect to people and enjoy your time with them so much. You so obviously love life, it's amazing. I just wish I thought there was as much to fight for as you do."
"Trust me, you do." Buffy smiled back. "Why else would you still be here fighting?"
-
Buffy clutched her brown bag nervously as she walked across the courtyard. It had been two days since she'd spoken to Angel after the attack. Neither of them had been able to patrol for the past few nights and he'd been avoiding her but now she felt it was necessary for them to talk.
"Looks like somebody's going to join us." Spike drawled lazily as he watched Buffy slowly make her way across the courtyard.
Gunn, Angel, and Faith all looked in the direction he was staring. Angel quickly whipped his head back around to glare at Spike. "What does she think she's doing?"
"Joining us for lunch?" Spike raised a dark brown eyebrow, his blue eyes staring amusedly at his closest friend. It wasn't often that he had an opportunity to tease Angel and he was going to take full advantage of the situation. "Why? Are you scared of her?"
There wasn't any chance for Angel to respond as Buffy came up to the group at that moment. Tilting her head, she frowned slightly as she looked at Spike. "Who is he afraid of?"
"You, luv." Spike grinned as Angel dropped his head to the table. "Don't know why though. Pretty little bit like you shouldn't scare the mighty ole Angel."
Buffy ignored the bleached blonde boy her sister was enamored with and sat down. "Do you guys mind if I join you?"
"No, go ahead. Sit, why don't you?" Angel muttered without lifting his head. He did not want to talk to her. He didn't want to have to look at her when she knew that he was at the verge of giving up. He couldn't face someone who knew how close he was to not caring.
"Thanks." She ignored the blatant sarcasm and opened her lunch bag pulling out an apple. "The others are acting all odd today. Apparently this is today's the anniversary of when they started to sit together."
She shrugged at Spike's laughter. He couldn't help it trying to imagine what they did to celebrate it. Rolling her eyes at him, Buffy started to eat her apple watching as Angel continued to sit with his head against the table.
"What do they do?" Gunn asked her. As amusing as it was to watch her stare at Angel, he was curious.
"They bring each other cupcakes and granola bars." Buffy said calmly trying to hold back her smile when she remembered how Willow had attempted to explain the significance of each. "They don't eat the granola bars though. Just the cupcakes."
"Oh." Gunn didn't understand but didn't question her further.
Awkward silence fell upon the five of them as they sat at the picnic table under the tree. Buffy slowly ate at her apple. Angel kept his head down. Spike watched the two thoroughly entertained. Gunn tried to picture what Fred looked like eating a cupcake. And Faith thought about a way to make the entire thing less awkward without making things more awkward. She gave up.
"So, what's up between you two?"
Angel and Buffy both looked at her, irritated expressions covering their faces. "Nothing."
"Whoa! No need for the both of you to snap at me." Faith looked at her twin quizzically, wondering what had been going on the past few days. She knew Buffy hadn't been patrolling, which was extremely unusual and Buffy had just been quieter overall. Quieter as in she hadn't been telling Faith anything private.
"Nothing is going on between us." Buffy clarified, trying to tell her twin to drop it with her eyes. Unfortunately, Faith didn't pick up on subtle messages too well.
"I know something's going on. I'm not blind." Faith hit the table to emphasize her point. "For the first month or so, Angel can't keep his eyes off of you and you clearly enjoy the attention despite pretending not to notice. But now, he won't even look at you and you stop ignoring him and come to talk to him. Something is going on."
"Nothing's going on." Angel persisted, ignoring the doubtful looks on the faces surrounding. He was not going to tell his friends that Buffy was the Slayer and Faith obviously didn't know.
Or so he thought. That idea, held by both him and Buffy was rudely smashed apart when Faith spoke up again. "Is it Slayer only business?"
Shocked at her sister's comment, Buffy quickly checked out the expressions of Spike and Gunn, only to see that they didn't look surprised. Angel had hinted that his friends knew but she doubted that he'd told them about her. It seemed that maybe he had.
For his part, Angel couldn't talk. He could see that all three of them knew that both he and Buffy were Slayers. He just couldn't figure out how.
"Something wrong?" Gunn asked, his voice thick with irony. "Or did you both think we'd never find out?"
"How?" It was an effort for Buffy to get even the one syllable out.
Faith rolled her eyes at her sister. "What kind of person would stalk you until you got home at three in the morning? Only a Slayer."
"I'm not stalking her." Angel snapped, wondering how much his three so-called friends knew.
Raising his eyebrow at Angel again, Spike gave him a look. "Angel, I've seen the way you stare at her window."
"What?" Buffy yelped as Faith smacked Spike on the arm. "When did you see that?"
"And you don't even deny it." Spike chuckled as he dodged as second blow from Faith, who looked pleadingly at her sister.
"He was only over late once, when Mom was out of town and we happened to see that you and Angel came back really late and I thought it'd be okay because well, you weren't there and..."
"And that's how we found out." Spike finished. "It wasn't that hard. I know Angel's the Slayer, Faith knows Buffy's the Slayer. We just put two and two together and found out you were both Slayers. Now we've just been trying to get you to admit you two actually like each other even if you don't know that you do."
Gunn stared at Spike trying to piece together the logic of his friend's statement. It was impossible. "Man, that makes no sense."
"Who dropped the Slayer information first?" Angel asked softly, a dangerous edge to his voice. He'd told Spike and Gunn in the strictest of confidence, only because they'd demanded to know. Since he was living with Spike it was inevitable that he should find out and what Spike was told, Gunn would also have to be told.
Spike and Faith looked at each other for a moment before Spike, meekly, raised his hand a little. "I didn't mean to, it was just the shock of seeing you staring at some girl's window! I just accidentally asked why you weren't out patrolling and Faith heard me and asked me if you were the Slayer. I mean you can't exactly blame me for being shocked. I knew you liked Blondie over here, but staring at her while she changed..."
His voice trailed off as both Buffy and Angel glared at him. "I don't change in front of the window. He just watches until I go to bed."
Angel winced slightly. He wasn't sure if that made him sound better or worse. And she was lying.
"Well, that's not the point." Faith spoke up again. "The point is we know you guys are the Slayers and we want to know what's wrong."
Buffy and Angel exchanged a glance, the first time they'd really looked at each other in during the conversation. Angel looked away. "It's nothing. Don't worry."
He stood up and walked away. The remainder of the group just watched.
-
Wesley exchanged a glance with Giles again before looking back at the two teenagers sulking before them. Taking an extraordinary risk, he and Giles had allowed both of the Slayers to take almost a week off from training and only asking for quick sweeps through the cemeteries of Sunnydale rather than the normal patrol. Somehow, their kindness didn't seem to be appreciated in the Slayers. Both had barely said a word since walking into the library at the hour that their Watchers had requested to see them. Instead they just sat their ignoring each other and the two older men.
Again, Wesley looked back at Giles. Despite the fact that Wesley had had a Slayer for longer, Giles was the senior Watcher on the Watcher's Council. At the moment, Wesley was hoping Giles would use that seniority and speak up first. It was odd how the Council never trained its members in how to deal with angry teens as every Slayer tended to be an angry teen.
Giles fiddled with his glasses again, cleaning them for the third time in since Buffy and Angel slumped into the library five minutes ago. He wasn't quite sure of what to do. Surly, Wesley who'd had Angel as a Slayer for over a year now would know what to do. Or so he hoped.
Buffy just sat examining her nails, waiting for one of the men in the room to break the silence. She didn't care about what was going on, she kept telling herself. She hadn't asked for this, her predecessor wasn't even dead. She just wanted a normal life with her wacky twin and strange new friends. Nothing that involved some grand complicated destiny with prophecies was necessary in her life right now. She was here because it was her duty.
Staring blankly, seeing nothing, Angel went over the conversation from lunch in his head for the thousandth time that day. His friends knew Buffy was the Slayer. They knew he watched her. (It wasn't really stalking, he told himself again.) Now, he just needed a way to figure out how to deal with all these new things. He needed to figure out why he felt that he had to tell Buffy all his deepest darkest secrets.
The clock ticked slowly as another five minutes crept by while the four of them sat silently. Finally, Giles decided that this had gone on long enough. "We called you two here for a reason. We've more fully researched the prophecy we found just before that attack and we think we understand what it says and what you need to do."
He noticed that this got a slight reaction out of the Slayers, as they both turned their gazes upon him. "It starts out saying that 'in the dark of the day when all are out the sweeper will come over all and all will not stand alone.' Now we are not quite sure what the sweeper is, but we think that perhaps that's not something we need to worry about anymore. However, we do believe that the all in this statement refers to both of the Slayers. So that means that it was prophesized that there would be more than one Slayer. And then it talks about 'messages of clouds,' which we think refers to the wind and is saying that evil is getting more powerful, and may perhaps become strong enough to walk in the light. Then the prophecy talks about how the Slayers will fight against evil. Now in the prophecy it uses terms like Sun, light, and dark, which we are quite sure are references to good and evil. Now, we're also pretty sure that it talks about a child or something of the sort that needs to be sacrificed for the world to end, but we're still trying to work on that."
Both Slayers stared blankly at him after his explanation. Finally Buffy spoke up. "You think you understand what it says and that's all you can tell us? Gee, that makes me sound much better. 'We think we know what we're talking about but we still have to research it.' Do you have any idea what we're supposed to do"
The Watchers exchanged a glace at her frustrated outburst. "We think that you have to save this prophesized child."
Rolling her eyes at her Watcher's vagueness, Buffy asked, "And do you have idea who this child is?"
Silence met her question. Giles took his glasses off again to clean them, "It gets a little confusing at this point. This is what we're still researching but it either translates to the child of the Slayers or the child with the Slayers or something along those lines. It's rather unclear."
"We don't have a child, so you can take that one out." Angel spoke coldly. He glared at the two men standing in front of him.
"Yes, well," Wesley stuttered for a moment, "We know that. It doesn't matter anyway, since Slayers can't really have children, male or female. But we think it might be someone related to you or something like that."
"Like my sister?" Buffy stared wide-eyed at the Watchers.
She released a sigh of relief as both Giles and Wesley shook their heads. "We considered that but we have reason to believe that Faith would not be considered a child."
"Why not?" If her sister were in any danger because of her, Buffy would never forgive herself. If anything actually happened to her sister, the world would have to watch out as she took revenge.
"Um, because..." Giles turned red as he tried to explain. "We don't think Faith seems...um, well, innocent enough to be considered a child."
Wesley nodded along as Giles struggled to explain why Faith wouldn't be the child in the prophecy. Buffy not understanding what they were hinting at stared confused. "What do you mean not innocent? Faith hasn't done anything wrong."
"It's not that we think she's guilty or anything, we just don't think she's innocent. We really think it does mean the child of two Slayers..." Wesley trailed off as he repeated Giles, struggling to find a better word to explain without being rude while not angering the two teens in front of him. "We don't think she'd be considered pure enough."
Something clicked in Angel's head as he remembered a previous prophecy. "She's probably not a virgin so she can't be a child?'
Flinching at the male Slayer's wording, Giles turned redder. "Yes, something along those lines."
"You two thought about whether or not my sister's had sex?"
-
"I can't believe those two. I cannot believe them." Buffy repeated the statement for the millionth time as she let Angel guide her down the street. After she'd started screeching at both his Watcher and hers, Angel had decided to remove her from the library. She'd come willingly but stubbornly stuck to the same topic.
"They think she's not a virgin. I can't believe it. Why on earth would they think that? I can't believe they would think about it. I can't believe them. I mean I know she's not but I can't believe they'd actually discuss that sort of thing. I cannot believe those two."
Angel dragged her down the street a bit further, struggling to keep himself from snapping at her. He had to admit it was a little unnerving to think that the two Englishmen had been talking about that kind of topic. However, he'd gotten the feeling they'd discussed the probability of him and Buffy having a child too, which was even more disturbing. He wasn't going to point that fact out to Buffy though.
"Where are we going?" Buffy stopped suddenly as she realized they weren't heading to her house or the cemeteries.
"My house." Angel said softly. He didn't look at Buffy. He just started to pull her along again. "We need to talk and I think that this is the only place that will happen without us being attacked or interrupted."
"What about Spike?" Buffy asked.
Angel bit back a grin. "I think he mentioned visiting your house tonight."
He didn't let go of her hand as she tried to pull it back. She kept trying to pull herself free but he didn't let go and it seemed like he might actually be stronger than her.
The house was dark when they got there. Spike's mom worked the night shift at Sunnydale hospital where she was a doctor. He opened the door and let Buffy follow him in. He didn't invite her, unwilling to take a risk even with someone he knew wasn't a vampire. But she didn't ask for an invitation.
The living room he turned a light on in was beautifully furnished. There was no real evidence that two teenage boys lived in the house other than the Playstation2 below the TV. Above the fireplace was a charcoal drawing with words around the edges. Curious, Buffy moved away from Angel to look at it more closely. It was a detailed scene at a beach, with waves and sandcastles all in black and white. The only thing missing was people.
"What do you think?" Angel asked.
"It's beautiful. My mother would kill for something like this in her gallery." Buffy answered honestly. There was something haunting about the picture. It looked like all the people had been there a moment before but just as she looked at it they had disappeared, hiding from her eyes. She tilted her head trying to read the words, which seemed to form a poem. But a signature caught her eye before she could finish. 'Angel O'Connor.'
"You drew this?' Buffy turned to him in disbelief.
His dark brown eyes withdrawn, Angel shrugged his broad shoulders. "Yeah. Spike wrote the poem that's on the edges."
"You draw and Spike writes poetry?" She tried to keep the amazement out of her voice, but Buffy had a feeling she was failing to.
"Yeah," even without turning her head Buffy could tell he was smiling. "That's what he's always scribbling in his little notebook."
"Oh, Faith was wondering what that was about. Is he any good?" She'd be able to tell if she could read the writing but the drawing itself kept her captivated.
"Um, well, we called him William the Bloody Bad Poet for awhile, but occasionally he turns out something half decent or better. That was one of his best." He watched as she turned around to stare at him. He shrugged. "Most of the stuff he writes is actually quite sappy. He's really big into having some guy fall in love with this perfect girl. The stuff he writes about other stuff is usually better."
"And do you think you're a good artist?" She continued to stare unblinkingly.
He shrugged his broad shoulders again. "I don't know. What do you think?"
She turned back to the large drawing. Again she had to blink and make sure there really weren't any people on that lonely beach. "I think you're an amazing artist."
-
The two Slayers sat in the kitchen both awkwardly pretending to eat the chips and salsa Angel had pulled out for them to munch on. The easiness they'd almost reached in the living room was gone and in its place was a stumbling stutter that refused to disappear. They'd tried talking about sports something neither of them was into, TV, which Angel didn't watch, movies that Buffy hadn't seen, and music they couldn't quite agree on, before returning to the silence.
For all of his bringing Buffy to his home, Angel could make himself talk to her about what they needed to talk to. It was too hard, too new, and far too confusing. The prophecy had mentioned a child of the Slayers. So, yes, that meant there were supposed to be two Slayers, but a child? That was a little hard to wrap one's mind around, especially since they were only eighteen. Although, had some of his most secret dreams been able to come true, it wouldn't have been hard to believe a child of the Slayers would be born. He quickly locked that thought back to its little cage in his mind.
Buffy started to fidget in the silence. She looked at Angel whose dark brown eyes seemed distant and then looked away. Sighing loudly she asked, "Are we ever going to actually talk about whatever you brought me over here for?"
She looked back at him again, wondering if what a child of his and hers could look like. It didn't take much effort to picture a pretty little girl with blonde hair and brown eyes...or dark brown hair and green eyes...or well any combination of either of them. She shook her head, annoyed that she could think like that at this kind of time. "Well?'
He struggled not to scowl at the snappish tone in her voice. "I guess so. I mean we have to. There's this prophecy that says we'll have a kid or there will be a kid with us and we need to know what to do."
She shrugged. "Not have kids. Not that it matters."
He flinched at the bitterness in her voice. "What do you mean?"
"Slayers can't have children. Did you miss that memo? You can't have kids. I can't have kids. So there will be no children from either of us. The prophecy is wrong."
"And if it isn't?' He knew Slayers couldn't have children but then again, technically vampires weren't supposed to exist and superpowers like those of the Slayers were just myths.
"Then we just don't have sex." She muttered, remembering that her Watcher and his had actually discussed the sex lives of teenagers. It caused her to shudder.
He saw her shiver as she spoke of them sleeping together and for some reason he felt something inside him tighten uncomfortably. It was like someone unkindly grabbed his heart and tried to smash it. Biting his lip, he looked at the blue salsa bowl. "Fine how 'bout we make it even simpler and just don't ever do anything that could possibly lead to us being together as a couple?"
Her head snapped up at his sarcastic tone. It hurt. She'd thought that maybe, despite everything...She shook her head to get the smallest of hopeful thoughts out of her head. "It's probably for the best. Two Slayers dating, it'd just lead to trouble."
"Yeah."
Silence descended on the kitchen again as they both thought over what they'd just agreed to.
"We'll still patrol together and be friends, right?" Buffy asked, silently damning that little optimistic thought that was screaming at her in her head.
He nodded, wondering if it would be okay for him to keep watching her, silently telling himself that it wouldn't hurt anybody.
"Good." She was quiet again for a moment. "I guess we can tell Giles and Wesley that we don't need to worry about that prophecy anymore."
-
Again, I appreciate/love/want reviews. That's all I have to say now.
-Kastia