"So, Angel," Hank
broke the brand new awkward silence that had set in since they'd
sat down on the couch. "Are you still CEO of Wolfram and Hart?"
He inquired. Angel made a strange face, as if he was eating a lemon.
"Uh,"
"You were on all the covers of all my favorite
business magazines."
"Angel was on business magazines?"
Buffy asked, looking at Angel.
"I can't wait to tell my
friends that my soon-to-be son-in-law was CEO Wolfram and Hart."
"You
were on business magazines?" Buffy stared at Angel, sitting so
closely to him on the couch. Hank sat across from them in a chair.
"The guys at work will be so jealous."
"What business
magazines?" Buffy asked, still looking quite confused. Angel
coughed. Both Buffy and her father stopped talking, just staring at
him.
"I don't own Wolfram and Hart anymore. The building—fell
down."
"Oh yeah, I heard about that." Hank nodded. "Hey,
could you sign this magazine," Hank asked, pulling out a magazine,
handing it to Angel, with a pen. "My friend, Jim, would love it if
I gave it to him for his birthday." Angel seemed a little
uncomfortable, shifting a little in his seat. Buffy stared down at
the picture, and then started giggling. Angel's eyes shifted to
her.
"What?" He asked. She tried to stifle her giggling, but
it didn't work out, so she talked through her giggles.
"Y-you,
and your…broody face." She teased, burying her face in his
shoulder as she continued to giggle. Angel scowled, quickly signing
the magazine and handing it back to Hank.
"I'm a bit
concerned," Hank began, eyeing Angel once. "About you being a
vampire." Buffy's manic giggling changed to coughing, as if her
father knowing about vampires had caused her to choke, and then she
was just silent. Angel stared at Hank with wide eyes, as if Hank had
four heads. "Oh don't act so surprised, all the magazines talked
about it."
"Wh-well I-I'm not anymore…" Angel said,
slowly. "There was a prophecy that s-well I—I'm just not
anymore. I'm human now."
"So, you read that he was a
vampire, and you're totally cool and believing it?" Buffy
suddenly spoke up, harshness entering her tone. "Why weren't you
that believing when I told you vampires were real?" She asked, this
time the harshness took over her tone. "You sent me to an asylum,
you thought I was crazy! But these magazines say Angel's a vampire
and you're totally believing it! Wh—." She trailed off
suddenly, her eyes shifting down to her lap, where her hands were,
where one of Angel's hands was now covering both of hers. A simple
gesture to help her calm down, to show her he was there. She gently
leaned into him, frowning. "Why were you so quick to believe the
media, and not your own daughter?" She finished in a low tone, not
taking her eyes of her lap, and her hands covered by Angel's hand.
She laced her fingers with his, and he kissed the side of her head
gently.
"Buffy," Hank was staring at his shoes now. He seemed
ashamed. "When you told your mother and I… What were we suppose
to think, Buffy? I mean, at first we thought it was an act, that you
were saying you were some sort of vampire Slayer just to get out of
being punished when you missed curfew. And then we thought it was
just for attention… and then, we didn't know what to think.
Pumpkin, there were so many reasons not to believe you… but when
nearly every trustable business magazine says that someone's a
vampire, it's hard not to believe them." He explained. The oven
started beeping at that moment. All three of them were relieved for
the distraction. "That's dinner." Hank stated, standing. "Why
don't we all move into the kitchen to eat." He suggested, quickly
walking into the kitchen to make sure the food didn't. Buffy and
Angel stood slowly. Buffy had started into the kitchen when Angel's
hands grabbed onto her hips. He turned her around and pulled her into
a tight hug, and Buffy smiled, because an Angel hug was just what she
needed then. He let go of her to gently cup her cheeks in his hands,
placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He was surprised at the quiet
giggle she made.
"You were on magazines," She teased. "With
your broody face on." Angel rolled his eyes, and the two of them
headed into the kitchen, now hand in hand, fingers laced. Ready to
face the worst. And the worst stared them in the face.
Hanks cooking.
The
three of them sat in Hank's dining room, feasting on the
monstrosity Hank had prepared. They hadn't really been talking much
since they'd switched rooms. Angel had commented on how wonderful
the food was, an obvious lie, but Hank was just happy Angel was
polite. Finally Hank cleared his throat. "So, how did you two
meet?" He asked, pretending to be interested as he took another
large bite of his meal. Angel glanced at Buffy, trying to think of
what to say. 'In an ally; she kicked me down and got on top of me.'
Didn't seem right for the moment.
"He helped me fight the
vampires when I moved to Sunnydale." Buffy said without looking up
from her meal, the fingers of her free hand still laced with Angel's
under the table.
"Oh," Hank shifted in his chair. "So,
Buffy, how's your sister?"
"She's good. I talked to on the
phone a few days ago. She absolutely adores school."
"Art
school, right?" Hank asked. Buffy nodded.
"She's really into
photography. She sent me some of her photographs, they're
phenomenal."
"Oh, well that's good for her." Hank
smiled.
The rest of the meal was relatively quiet. Until Hank said something about hockey. That struck up a surprisingly heated discussion of sports, between Hank and Angel, while Buffy just stared at the two of them silently. Until, of course, Angel brought her into the conversation, mentioning her fighting talent, and how wonderful he thought she'd be at hockey. It was then that the conversation shifted to life as a vampire Slayer. Hank was amazed to find all the things his daughter had done for the world. To find out that he'd helped bring a true hero into the world.
"That was a great
meal dad, but, uh, I'm really tired."
"Oh, well, I wish you
could stay a little longer." Hank lied.
"We would, but, you
know, tired, need sleep, sorry!"
"We'll just have to do this
again another time." Angel said politely, his arm around
Buffy.
"Yeah, another time would be nice. Same time next week
sound alright?" Hank asked. Buffy and Angel both nodded at the same
time, giving small, partially fake, smiles.
"That sounds
wonderful, dad."
"Yeah, that sounds really great,
Mr.Summers."
"Oh please, call me Hank!" Hank insisted.
Angel's smile widened.
"Anyway!" Buffy cut Angel off before
he said anything. "We'd better be going, right honey?" She
poked Angel hard in the side.
"Ow." Angel squeaked, and then
nodded. "Yeah, we'll see you next week, --Hank." Buffy latched
on to Angel's hand and started leading him out. "You have sharp
nails, I think I'm bleeding." Angel whispered. Buffy couldn't
help but smile at his whining, it was kind of cute.
"I'll
meet you in the car." Buffy let go of his hand, "I just want to
say bye to my dad." Angel nodded and walked out to the car, sitting
in the front seat, turning it on, fiddling with the heater so he
could make it the absolute perfect temperature, just trying to occupy
himself while he waited for Buffy.
"It was great to see you,
princess." Hank murmured, hugging Buffy tightly, kissing the side
of her head. "I really missed you."
"I missed you too, dad."
Buffy replied, they held the hug for a long moment, and then Buffy
finally pulled away. "Dinner was great. I can't wait for next
week."
"Me either." Hank smiled. The two of them stood in
comfortable silence for a few seconds.
"Well, bye…" And with
that Buffy turned and started out to the car.
"Bye." Hank
waved. "Oh! And Buffy," She turned around to face her father. "I
approve of him. He's a lot better than that other boy you brought
home. What was his name, Tim?"
"Tyler, and yeah, Angel is a
lot better." They shared one of those classic after school special
smiles, and then Buffy waved, and walked to the car. Hank stood in
the doorway and watched after their car until it was out of
sight
xxxxxxxx
Authors Note: Um, sorry for the extremely long delay. I've been suffering from some health issues and stuff like that. Also computer trouble. I lost this a few times, so this is the rerererererewritten version. Just because of the long wait, I've decided to add the next chapter on as well. Also, because I'm not sure if I'm here to stay, and I'd like to leave you with something to read for longer than just a few minutes in my absence.
Xxxxxxxxx
Buffy and Angel dropped the car off, deciding that this evening was the best for walking down to the ice skating rink, breaking in, and skating. Yes, breaking in. What, you expected them to actually skate with other people around? Buffy knew full well that Angel was a terrible skater, and with other people around, she would never get him on the ice. And after all these years, the two of them were extremely confident in their breaking and entering skills.
So now they walked, their fingers laced, leaning against each other, towards the ice skating rink. Until Angel froze, and Buffy nearly tripped over his leg. He held her steady, flashing an apologetic smile. "What?" Buffy asked, wondering why he'd stopped so suddenly. Angel slowly shook his head, brushing it off.
"Nothing, I thought I felt something." He replied, slowly, his eyes scanning the area. Buffy looked somewhat alarmed.
"Felt what? Danger?" She asked, alert. Angel just shook his head.
"A friend. I thought I felt a friend."
"Barely a friend, but you did feel a son." Came a voice from behind. Angel spun around, a large smile now on his face. "Long time no see, how've you been, Pop?" Connor asked, sounding somewhat cocky, a pile of books held tightly in his arms. Angel didn't notice Buffy's mouthing the word 'son' and looking a little pale.
"Connor," Angel greeted, the smile on his face seeping into his tone. "I've been—it has been a long time—this is—what are those books—I… need to start making full sentences." Angel smiled bashfully. "Sorry, uh," He noticed Connor looking questioning at Buffy. "Oh, this is Buffy, my fiancé." He stated. "Buffy, this is Connor my s—"
"Son." Buffy cut Angel off, her brows furrowed. Her fingers slowly loosened. Angel stiffened, realizing he'd never told Buffy about Connor.
"Well, you sure do go for blondes." Connor stated, eyeing Buffy. "Fetish, much?" Angel blushed, slightly.
"How has—college been?" Angel changed the subject.
"Hard work. Barely any free time. In fact, I shouldn't even be talking to you right now, I should be studying."
"Oh, if you—…"
"Don't worry about it. I'm good at test taking; I can take a little time off my studying." Angel smiled. Buffy slowly leaned against Angel, forcing herself to smile. Angel seemed happy seeing Connor, so she'd be happy too. Or at least, she'd pretend.
"How are your grades?" Angel asked, leaning into the normal fatherly questions. "Do you have a girlfriend? Staying away from drugs?" The questions would've kept coming, but Buffy's finger digging into his side, and Connors nearly annoyed look stopped him.
"I've been getting good grades. I've barely been able to keep in touch with my girlfriend, so I think there's an imminent breakup in the close future. And I don't do any drugs." He answered, quickly. Angel let out a small sigh as Buffy's finger left his side. Buffy had obviously known that Angel's asking too many questions may drive the boy away, and making his side bleed was a way of warning him.
"How old are you?" Buffy suddenly spoke up.
"Nearly 20." Buffy's eyes widened at Connor's answer.
"You had him while you were dating me!" Buffy's voice rose, looking up at Angel, no longer leaning on him. Angel frowned, shaking his head. Connor frowned too.
"I grew up in a hell dimension. I should be like, four." Connor explained, almost painfully. Angel and he both stared down at the ground, now.
"O-oh…" And with that, she slowly leaned back against Angel, who gave a small smile and slid his arm around her.
"I should get going now," Connor stated, already starting back on his walk.
"Wait." Angel stopped him, pulling some paper out of his pocket, along with a pen. Why he carries a pen and paper around is beyond me, but he does. He scribbled down his number, handing it to Connor. "If you ever feel chatty, you can call me. Or if you need help with history homework, I'm good with that too." Connor nodded, smiling down at the paper.
"That's to be expected, seeing as you lived through most of what they're teaching in my history class. I'll call… we'll keep in touch." He guaranteed, before walking away.
As soon as he was out of sight, Buffy smacked Angel lightly on the shoulder. "How come you never told me you had a son?"
"I'll explain it all on the way to the skating rink." Angel promised with a smile, and he and Buffy, fingers once again laced, started again on their walk to the ice skating rink.
"Interesting day…" Buffy mused. "First you meet my father, then I meet your son." She paused, letting go of his hand. Her hand trailed up his back, slowly. Suddenly in his hair, messing it up. As soon as her hand was out of his hair she was running.
"That was a cheap shot!" Angel called after her, chasing. He caught her, she let him, his hands on her hips. He pulled her back into him, and began tickling her from behind. She struggled, helplessly giggling.
Five minutes later they were on the ground, kissing, tickling, and messing up each others hair.
