As the car wove its way through Los Angeles' late night traffic Selene sat fidgeting in her seat, her head hung so her hair covered her face, utterly silent, staring out as they passed Burger King.
Angel swung through the drive through, making quick work of the list Selene took and within five minutes they were back on the road headed back to the firm, Selene holding the others food.
Noting his wife's silence, Angel glanced out of the corner of his eye and watched her for a moment. "What did you feel like tonight? Redhead? Blonde? Brunette?"
"Whatever the slush of the night is," she said glancing back at him suspiciously.
"I thought you felt like a whore tonight?" he said gently.
"I just wanna go home." The ancient one whispered sadly.
"Are you sure?" he reached out and placed a hand on her thigh, "I don't mind another stop."
"I'm sure Boss," she started brokenly, "I've fucked up enough tonight. Boss what hurts worse? Silver or wood?"
"Hmm?" Angel looked over at her for a moment before glancing back at the road, "Why?"
"Just for research," she said offhandedly.
"What are you researching?" he questioned her uneasily.
"A lawsuit," her eyes glancing to him again.
"I didn't know you had a case going." Angel said suspiciously.
"Yea," Selene said her mind working in over drive, "Summers vs. Lupin."
He frowned slightly, "Selene. There's no case going through our firm with those names." A lawyer he may not be but he knew what was going on in his building.
"Summers vs. Rosenberg?" She revised her answer hoping to get away with it.
"Selene, what's going on?" Angel questioned his agitated lover.
"I told you Boss, I got a case." The old one replied, strangely no longer referring to Angel by his name or a pet name.
"So Buffy, who happens to be in Rome is suing Willow and Kennedy? Who happen to be nowhere near Rome? Despite the fact that there is no such case going through the firm right now? And that you strictly deal in werewolves and neither of them are said being?" Angel said puncturing her lies.
Knowing she was trapped, Selene began to bite her lip again, "I'm trying a few mortal cases...the fur is giving me a rash."
"Are you forgetting I know every inch of your body? Intimately. You haven't had any rashes." the brunette said, "Why are you suddenly lying to me?"
"Its an internal rash...in my rectum! I'm not lying Boss I really do have a case!" Selene argued as best she could, her stomach growling viciously.
"Selene. I know that isn't true. I get case files across my desk every morning." Angel pointed out his eyes still fixed on the road.
"Why would I lie about a case?" she questioned.
"Because you're trying to hide something from me," he replied softly.
"No I'm not..." she muttered trying to escape the conversation.
"I thought we didn't keep things from each other..." the younger male said sadly and rather hurt.
"I'm not," she whimpered tears starting to prickle her frozen gold eyes, "L-let me out."
"No, we're going back to the firm." Angel stated firmly.
"I'm hungry!" Selene tried a last ditch attempt.
"I offered to stop and you told me no! What is going on with you lately? If you want to stop we will stop but then we will go back to the firm." he stated in a firm tone.
"Maybe I don't want to go back to your damn firm!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Angel pulled off to the side of the road and hit the brakes. "If you want to go then go. I won't stop you..." his face was shadowed and the obvious pain he felt hidden by them.
Tears started to trickle down the old one's marble face as she opened her door, "Angel..." she whispered, lowering her head and getting out of the car sadly.
He sighed heavily and crossed his arms over the steering wheel, lowering his head on top of them as she ran into the night streets leaping up taking to the air crying hard as she flew landing on a rooftop curling up watching the sky whispering, "My Romeo."
Down in the car Angel sat for a long time, waiting, hoping for her to come back.
Back at Wolfram & Hart, Spike was watching the slowly lighting sky, frowning while Mana lay beside him, her face pressed into his ribs.
"Something's wrong love," he said staring at the pink tinted sky.
She frowned, lifting her head and glancing up at the window. "What's going on?"
"Morning's coming." he stated.
Quickly Selene leapt from the roof so she could lay whimpering in the filthy alley, staring at the paling sky, "Please go..." she whispered vocally before mentally hissing, ~Be gone you creature of Satan!~ Her command ignored, she looked around the alley to where a prostitute stood, offering her one hundred dollars to go tell Angel to leave. "Y-you'll be my prince and I'll be the princess." she sang weakly as she raised a hammer, a glint of silver visible even from where he was parked.
~Baby?~ Mana reached out, she was starting to get worried now as the sky started to lighten, ~Why haven't you guys come home yet?~
~I-it's ok Momma. W-we're safe, I promise.~ she projected even as she was screaming verbally driving the stake through her ankles. Biting her lip slamming a second stake through her wrist setting the third throwing the hammer up so it hit perfectly.
When Angel heard the first scream he was off like a shot, out of the car and running in the direction it had come, seeing her on the ground he flung himself at her, trying to shield her body from the rising sun.
"G-Get out of here you idiot! You'll burn to cinders! You're just a child!" she screamed.
"Are you mad?! I'm not going to leave you here!" he proclaimed rather heroically holding her close.
"Go back to your mortal Angel." The crying female whimpered to him.
"I have no mortal, I have no one but you!" Angel said stroking her cheek.
"You two were happy," she whispered sadly.
"Oh yeah right up until I tried to kill her or when she killed me?" He sighed and started pulling at the stakes, "We're going home."
"I have no home my homes are all in cinders. Angel I can't love you." Selene sobbed gently.
Angel said nothing as he pulled at the last stake, flinging it across the ground, before standing and turning away, walking back to the car.
Watching him retreat tears began falling down Selene's face, her heart breaking in two as she rose and ran into a nearby warehouse.
The younger male waited in the car, hoping for her to come back, but as the sun rose higher in the sky he had to leave, peeling down the street and into the underground of the firm.