"Mahal"
By: Lynn
DISCLAIMERS: Making it short...NOT MINE!
SUMMARY: AU; Just another story where everybody's human and Angel, Oz, and Xander are the new students in school.
DISTRIBUTION: Are you kidding me! I NEED someone to host my fics. Just e-mail me if you want them. Previous Parts found at: http/
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BETA READER: Ashley Russo (last parts un-beta¡¦ed)
Part 14
/ Flashback- 1989
For the first time in a long while, Donovan Roarke finally had gotten some time off from his busy schedule. He was about to take full advantage of that by taking a long needed nap on the comfy couch in his living room when the sounds of feet stampeding through the house and the voices of his three four-year-olds echoed through the house.
"Daddy," they all yelled simultaneously as they charged for him. Donovan grunted when the very rambunctious boys jumped on top of him.
After a minor struggle, he managed to sit up with the giggling boys clutching his body. He smiled at his three sons and they all returned it with smiles similar to their mother's. They were triplets and they all looked alike, but like any good parent could, Donovan could tell them apart.
Of course, he could tell which one was Daniel, or Oz as he was going by these days, right off the bat. The boy had his red hair and blue eyes, just like him. He liked to annoy his wife, Bella, with the fact that at least one of his children looked like him.
With Xander and Angel, it was a little bit harder to tell them apart, but it was the minor details that helped him differentiate the two. Although both of them had brown hair and eyes like Isabella, Angel had always been slightly bigger than Xander, having being the oldest one out of the three. Also, while Xander was more playful and humorous, Angel acted more serious and was actually pretty wise for a four-year-old.
"What can I do for you boys," Donovan questioned the triplets, pushing aside the nap to have a moment with his sons.
"We was just wondering if it was okay if we go outside to play," Angel answered for all three of them.
"Yeah Daddy. Can we please," Xander begged while bouncing up and down from his seat on the couch. He was always more hyper than the other two.
"I don't know," Donovan drawled out playfully, "Do you know what the rules are for playing outside?"
"We sure do, Daddy," Oz boasted proudly.
"You do," the three nodded, "What are they then?"
"Don't run out on the street," Xander said first.
"Don't talk to strangers," Oz said next.
"And to stay in front of the house where you and Mommy can see us," Angel finished off.
"Right, and no biting," their father joked, causing the three to erupt in laughter at Donovan's silly comment. "Okay. Go ahead and play outside you little monsters." The three cheered happily and ran for the front door.
The triplets had unanimously decided to play a little kickball first before playing any other game. They were currently kicking around a blue rubber ball when Xander kicked it a little too hard and had Angel chasing it into the next yard despite what his dad said about wandering away from the house.
When Angel finally caught up to the ball, he looked up and met the blue eyes of a sad little boy sitting on their next door neighbor's, Mrs. Crenshaw, porch.
"Hi," Angel greeted, "I'm Angel. What's your name?" When the dark haired little boy didn't answer, Angel tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows, "Don't you have a name?"
"I have a name," the little boy finally answered with a thick Irish accent, "My name is Doyle."
Angel let out a small joyous laugh, "You talk just like my daddy. He's from I-land. Are you from I-land, too?" Doyle nodded. "Why are you sitting on Mrs. Crenshaw's porch? She don't like kids too much."
"She's my aunt," Doyle sadly replied, "Me and my mom had to move in with her for a little while before we get a place of our own."
"Oh." Angel turned his head when he heard the sounds of Xander and Oz calling for him. "Those are my brothers," Angel told Doyle as they approached them, "That one is Xander and he's Oz. Look guys! I made a new friend. His name is Doyle, he's from I-land, just like Daddy."
Angel's brothers happily said hi and Doyle shyly said it back.
"Why do you all three look alike," Doyle questioned them as he stood up to their height.
"'Cause we're chiplets," Xander answered, "We all came out of our mommy's belly at the same time."
"I'm the oldest," Angel boasted.
"Only by three minutes," Xander argued.
"So? Mommy said I was first so that makes me the oldest." Xander stuck his tongue and Angel stuck his right back at him.
"I don't have any brothers," Doyle said.
"You can have one of mine," Angel offered, "I have lots. We also have a sister, but you can't have her. Daddy said we have to keep her away from other boys."
"We can't tell Mommy that, though," Oz continued, "She gets all upset when Daddy tells us that."
"Do you wanna play with us," Angel asked Doyle, "We're gonna play Army Soldiers."
"Ok," Doyle accepted and then proceeded to follow the three boys into their yard.
Before they started their game, a man with auburn hair stepped out of the house with a small brown haired boy clutching his left pant leg and a little girl in pig tails on his hip.
"Daddy," Angel exclaimed and gestured for Doyle to follow him to his father, "This is Doyle," he introduced him, "He's from I-land like you. He's gonna be my new best friend."
Donovan took Doyle's small hand and they exchanged a friendly hand shake. "Nice to meet you Doyle. Angel, aren't you going to introduce your little brother and sister?"
"Oh yeah. That's Connor and that's Jessica. They're only two, so they can't play big kid games with us."
"Well, since you're going to be Angel's new best friend, you are welcome to come anytime you want, Doyle," Donovan said, "You two go ahead and play your big kid game. I'll be right here with the little ones on the porch."
Without another word, the two ran off to join Xander and Oz in their game of Army Soldiers./
Angel kept replaying the day he met his best friend in his head as he laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The other memory going through his mind was the very last day he saw or talked to Doyle. What Buffy said had put him in total brood mode.
After lunch, he tried his best to avoid any of his friends, even Buffy. He knew his mood hurt Buffy and he hated that, but he really didn't want to talk to anybody. His sour mood also effected his family. The car ride home was silent and awkward despite the music in the background.
As soon as he got home, he went directly to their basement where the was a mini gym set up for them to work out his frustrations.
It was after his long, steamy shower that lead him up to the position he was in now; a sad, brooding vegetable.
Hearing a knock on the door, he sighed, his eyes glued to the spot above him. "I'm not hungry Mom," he called out. Despite what he said, there was another knock. His eyes finally abandoned the ceiling and rolled toward the door. "I'm not hungry," he repeated, only louder this time, but the knocking just repeated itself, too.
Frustrated, he got off the bed and stomped his way over to the door, figuring it was one of his siblings trying to lure him out of his room by annoying him to death, again.
"I said I'm not...," right after opening the door, his anger melted into surprise when he found Buffy on the other side. "Buffy. What are you doing here?"
The small blonde started to fiddle with her hands and focused her hazel eyes on the oriental rug she was standing on in the hallway.
"Y-you turned off your phone," was the only response she came up with. They both stood there for awhile, not knowing what to say at the moment.
Finally, Angel found the words that he was searching for, "Buffy...," He stopped in mid-sentence and looked passed her when he heard a thump from across the hall. What he saw were three pairs of prying eyes peaking through Xander's slightly opened bedroom door. When they noticed they were caught, he heard Xander, Connor, and Jessica's voices harshly whispering to each other.
"Oh shit!"
"They're looking at us!"
"Shut the door, Crack-head!"
As soon as the door was slammed shut, Angel shook his head, "Sorry about them," he opened the door wider and stepped aside, "You can come in."
He gave them privacy by closing the door once she entered the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. After a beat, he walked the short distance that separated them and sat next to her.
Buffy tentatively reached over and grasped his hand, relieved that he didn't try to shake it off, but gripped her hand tighter.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong," she softly asked.
Angel sighed, "What you said at lunch... it just brought back bad memories."
The blonde slumped her shoulders, feeling guilty for hurting him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"
"I know. It's okay."
There was another bout of silence between them before Buffy asked, "What happened?" Knowing what she was asking of, he took a deep breath before starting his story.
"Over two years ago, my best friend, Doyle, was, um… He was killed by a drunk driver while we walking home from a party."
"Oh God," Buffy gasped, "I am so sor-"
Angel cut her off again by grasping her hand and saying, "Wait, there's more.
"I always blamed myself for his death. The car was coming towards me, but I didn't get hit because he shoved me out of the way. Luckily, the driver had sobered up enough to call 911, but it was too late. After his death, I just cracked and started to lash out because of the fact that two people very important to me had died right in my arms. It was around that time that I met this girl named Gwen. She's the one that lead me towards this dark path. She taught me about stealing, staying out late, how, um, using people for sex could be a good thing. We'd party hard with lots of alcohol and we even smoked pot. I was either drunk or high every night.
"Throughout those long months, the only ones who had faith in me was my mom and Jessica. But Jessica, she was my light. Every night she would wait for me to come home, no matter how late it was. She would wait for me just to make sure I made it through the night. When I actually did come home, I'd find her on my bed. We'd just stared at each other for a minute, and she would just walk away with sadness in her eyes. When I didn't come home after a day and a half, the family had a little intervention. They each told me how much I mean to them and the way I was going was not a very good path to follow. When Jessica's turn came up, she looked at me coldly and just said "You're dead to me" before walking off to her room. It was her words and the look on her face that began to break down the wall I put up and made me want to seek out some help. It was a long while before I could get back in everyone's good graces again. Especially my sister's. Eventually I learned that I shouldn't blame myself for things I can't control, and there are better ways to deal with issues."
"Oh Angel, I am so sorry," Buffy sincerely apologized again, feeling that she really put her big ass foot into her big ass mouth.
She felt Angel's pain and wrapped her arms around her tightly. He responded in kind and kissed her neck softly. When he lifted his head back up, he leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers.
"From now on," she whispered, "can you tell me when something's bothering you? I was really worried about you today."
He nodded and stared into her eyes that always changed from green to blue, "I promise," he vowed.
"Good... So you'll tell me anything," she prodded.
"Just ask."
"Okay. Then," she loosened her hold on him but didn't leave the comfort of his arms. Not losing eye contact, she suddenly smirked at him, "Tell me about your cookie issues."
Angel bursted out laughing, remembering the earlier argument he had with Xander.
"I don't have cookie issues," he claimed. Buffy raised her eyebrows, "I don't! That's how me and Xander bond. We argue. It's been that way ever since we learned how to talk."
Buffy smiled at him, glad to see that his mood changed. She glanced at his alarm clock, "Oh, I have to go. I was supposed to get stuff from the store."
Reluctantly, Angel allowed Buffy to leave his embrace, "I'll walk you out." He stood up and took her hand. Walking her out of the bedroom and down the stairs, they stopped briefly so Buffy could say bye to everybody. Including the three nosey ones who had ventured downstairs to join Oz in the tv room after they got caught.
"Your birthday's next week," Angel pointed out once they got to her car. He was currently leaning in her open window, while she sat in the driver's seat.
"So it is."
"What do you want?"
"You," Buffy purred, making Angel suddenly feel like he needed a cold shower.
Angel gave her a gentle kiss on the lips before saying, "I don't have a box big enough for me. Plus, knowing my siblings, they'll be way too enthusiastic to lock me in a box. And that worries me."
Buffy giggled, "Whatever you give me, I'll love it." She turned on her engine, getting ready to drive off, and then gave him one last kiss before she sped off into the night.
TBC…