Light in the Darkness
"I should leave," Angel bit out, as he stood awkwardly beside Rupert Giles—waiting for Buffy to join the both of them in the library—and resisted with all his might the urge to rip the man's throat out.
In many ways, Angel had never been close to Giles, since it was clear that he was so mistrustful of him and always waiting for him to reveal his true colors when Buffy wasn't around. And this pompous attitude in one so much younger than Angel—and yet not one of the children, so he might forgive and forget–didn't endear him to the Watcher at all.
He'd started to make strides to improve his relationship with the Council's dog for Buffy and Buffy alone. But now in learning that the Watcher's Council was holding his childe captive… and Giles knew this and had done nothing, Angel felt any favor he had gained for Giles quickly fading away.
Giles opened his mouth, Angel saw—no doubt about to tell him to do exactly that—but before he could get the words out, Buffy finally arrived on the scene and hopped up to Angel. And almost at once, he felt some if his bad mood evaporating as he smiled ever so slightly at her.
"Sorry, I'm late, Angel! But are you ready to go to that new candle attraction?" the Slayer beamed.
Angel thought that Buffy herself looked like she was ready to match whatever candles they might make together: and knowing her, that was surely the point of her outfit. She looked very cute, in a short pastel yellow dress with baby purple leggings and clear shoes. He also noted she'd put those baby blue clips in her short hair that seemed to be all the rage with teenagers these days.
"Now, see here, Buffy! Shouldn't you be patrolling first?" Giles argued with his Slayer, while fidgeting with his glasses. And if that didn't give Angel another reason to hate the Watcher right now. He growled low in his throat.
"No, Giles!" Buffy protested, horror clearly written across her face. "If I patrol now, the amusement park will be closed by the time we're done! Angel and I'll go out now and patrol after our date. Promise!"
She was giving Giles the puppy-dog-pout (something that Angel had been victim to a few times himself, and lost many a battle with Buffy because of), and he knew that the man wouldn't be able to hold out.
Finally, he relented: "Oh, alright! But you'd better be double thorough with your Slaying report to me tomorrow!"
And taking that as the dismissal it clearly was, Buffy grabbed Angel's hand—and he was glad that he was unable to blush as a vampire, as he would surely have been doing just that now with her innocent touch—and escaped with him out of the library.
The candle making event was a new attraction that had just been added to Sunnydale's one amusement park (for the time being, anyway. Angel had the feeling that eventually demons would destroy the entire place. That was just how things worked in this town). And when Angel had suggested that Buffy think of a date night for them, she had been adamant that they try this.
Angel thought that that was probably just because it was one of the few new things that Sunnydale had… But maybe also because the attraction was decorated a lot like the time he had grown up in—though thankfully, Angel could tell Buffy wasn't dreaming of being a princess again—and maybe because she suspected he had used to make candles some. And he most definitely had, back in the day. But it had most definitely been eons since he'd done so, though he didn't mind learning the craft again with Buffy. It would surely be fun.
As for Angel himself, he had most definitely wanted to go out with Buffy lately, and not stay in… because he knew that they were getting too close to making love. Coincidentally, he'd almost taken her virginity at a carnival not that long ago, when he'd been under a lust spell and she'd been under a pride one. And while Angel did think if Buffy was old enough to die for the world, she was certainly old enough to make her own choices… he still found himself wanting to delay the inevitable here, if for a moment longer, to try and make sure she didn't rush into something she wasn't really ready for. And so that when they finally did come together, hopefully it was something really special.
"Angel…" Buffy whispered his name now—pulling him out of his thoughts—as the two of them were already inside said candle store and making said items together, after having been given a lesson by one of the vendors. "Is everything… is everything peachy? I felt like when I came in the library there earlier, that you might have been thinking of clocking Giles a good one."
It took everything Angel had within him not to crush the green candle he had just crafted at Buffy's question. He tried to remind himself that he didn't even really care about this childe of his: they'd never had a bond, and he'd been coursed into the whole thing, anyway. But the sire/childe bond was strong. And really, it was the principle of the matter: that now his childe—his!—was being tortured day in and day out in the Watcher's Council's sick games, instead of being put out of his misery, like he should have been. And he could feel his childe's pain.
"Buffy… I don't know how to tell you this," Angel admitted. Looking at all of the candle samples directly ahead of him, so he didn't have to see her face as he debated whether he wanted to say any of this or not. "Part of me doesn't even want to tell you, or wants to lie."
"Then that's the exact reason you should tell me, Angel," Buffy said now with an urgency to her voice, as she took one of his hands and looked deeply into his eyes, as she stood on her toes. "What's going on?"
He tried to stroll away from her, to gather his thoughts into words, but Buffy wasn't having it. The best he could do was run a hand through his hair before he reluctantly settled on, "The Watcher's Council has someone I sired… and instead of just staking them, they're torturing him over and over again—to train up the future Watchers—and I can feel his suffering."
It took Buffy a moment to react, like Angel thought it might. At first, she narrowed her eyes, as if wondering why it was a bad thing at all: since this was a vamp. But in just a second, she empathized with Angel and pulled him into her embrace. "Angel, I'm so sorry," she whispered, as she kissed his chest. "Is there anything we can do?"
"No… no there's not." Not anything that wouldn't get his Slayer killed, anyway, and Angel would never allow that. "I'm just… furious. And I hate that Giles let this happen when he could have stopped it," Angel let slip out before he could stop it.
"Giles did what?!" Buffy demanded. And Angel could literally feel Buffy's body temperature heat up with her fury.
"It's nothing, Buffy," Angel contradicted the words he had just said to her, he knew. But he really didn't want to get into how he'd created this vampire when he'd gotten trapped in a different dimension. And the only way out was through the person he'd sired… And how the man wouldn't let him out unless he did sire him.
But even more than all of that… Angel had been desperate to be free because he'd just started to watch Buffy after she'd been called in L.A.—thinking he was protecting her—and even though he hadn't wanted to add any more blood to his name, he'd rationalized that he'd been doing this newest sin to help Buffy in the long run. "
"Giles… I guess he did what he had to do, so the Watcher's Council wouldn't open an investigation into him and everything going on here. And I didn't really care about this childe of mine that much, anyway," Angel shrugged.
Angel could tell that Buffy was giving him a good once-over, trying to detect any lie he might have just told. So it was good for him that he was a very good liar, wasn't it?
Or so he thought, anyway, until Buffy started working on more of the gorgeous white candlesticks she'd created and muttered, "That's literally the opposite of what you were just saying, and the fury I saw earlier. But I suppose if you want to let it go, it's fine. Lord knows I've had to let go of my own fair share of things as the Slayer."
Angel couldn't hold back the smirk that came to his lips as Buffy's words registered in his ears. He didn't give his girl enough credit. She was too clever. And possibly knew him too well.
Though it was because she knew him too well, that Angel instantly felt himself sobering. Suddenly, he didn't know if this date had been the best idea… This darkened room with candles everywhere, even though they were in public, was much too romantic. And he was once again imagining taking Buffy and doing things to her that would make her scream in pleasure and pain. The demon within him absolutely thrilled at the prospect.
Furthermore, though Angel hadn't intended it, instead of doing the smart thing and postponing this date when things had hit the fan between him and Giles today, he'd instead unwittingly started to drive a wedge between her and her Watcher. And that was something he'd never wanted to do, since no matter what he and Buffy were—or what her destiny was, or how short her life might be—he'd always wanted to give her things, not take them away.
Almost to prove what a poison he was, Angel noted that the two colored candles he had made were green and black—in comparison with the white ones that Buffy had made, painting her like the angel, and definitely not him. Green meant life… But the way he had subconsciously moved to hold the two candles in his hands, it was almost as if he was about to cover the green one with the black, to try and completely snuff out any sight of it. And the vampire couldn't help feeling like that's what he was going to do to Buffy's life in the end. He was a cancer, and he was going to choke her.
Buffy must have realized that he'd become entranced with his candles… Because suddenly leaning over his shoulder, she asked him with a smile in her voice, "You know what your colors are making me think of?"
"Kwanzaa?" Angel ventured, knowing that Buffy would have never gone to the dark place that he had. "If I make a red one, that is?"
"…Definitely a good thought," Buffy acknowledged then, striding away from Angel with the cutest blush staining her cheeks. "And probably better than my idea. In fact, I feel really stupid now. Forget what I was going to say. Knowing you, you wouldn't get the reference, anyway."
Well, color him intrigued… err, no pun intended. Or, then again, maybe it was. He could learn to quip as well as Buffy, after all.
And how amazing it was, that she could always turn his mood around so swiftly. How he loved her… And one day, he would tell her. He would.
"Okay, Buffy. You can't leave me hanging like that. Now you have to tell me. If you don't tell me, no more kisses for you for a week," he named his condition. And then the vampire had to laugh when Buffy glared at him and stomped her feet at the threat, like he knew she would. It was good to know that he was so desirable…
"Fine! But no laughing! And if you don't get the reference, I warned you you wouldn't, you oldie, you! The green and black remind me of that Disney movie 'Pete's Dragon.' Because, well, the dragon was green with black scales. It also helps that there's a song in the movie called 'Candle on the Water,' and we're making candles. And the colors we're talking about are your candles. Happy?!"
Huh. Angel could see why Buffy would make that connection. He had, actually, seen that movie. Or at least part of it… It was probably one of the few in the last century that he had, because the idea of combining live-action and animation had been so bizarre to him, that he had had to see how Disney might attempt it. The aforementioned song had also been quite pretty, he would admit.
"Buffy, are you saying you'll be my 'Candle on the Water?'" Angel couldn't help teasing his girl more. He couldn't help it (even if he knew he might end up well dusted for it). The Slayer was just too cute when she was flustered. But even though he'd posed it as a joke, a large part of him was serious in asking her that question. It was, after all, a very romantic song. And it would be nice to know that the girl he'd loved since he saw her would be willing to guide his way if he ever got lost. He did often drown in his guilty thoughts, Angel had to acknowledge.
But Buffy didn't seem embarrassed in the slightest. Instead, she raised her eyebrow—seeming to ask Angel if he'd finally gotten it—and indicated all of the bright candles she'd made. "What do you think I made all these blinding candles for, cryptic guy?—though I guess in this case, maybe I was being cryptic girl—but do you think I send out smoke signals for just anyone?" Buffy smirked at him. And it was a very welcome thought, for all that it meant.
Interesting. Very interesting. Angel had thought he had partly been planning this date for specific reasons, but it seemed as though Buffy had had her own plans all along, too. What a pair they made…
For the love he felt radiating from her—a love she hadn't said in so many words yet (except the one time he'd somewhat forced her to say it, when he'd been about to reveal stuff about Dru; he didn't fully count that), but knew she would when she was good and ready—he could do nothing else but pull her close and kiss her like she'd never been kissed before. A side of Angel did try to keep in mind that they were in public, and not to get too crazy, but it was Buffy, and it was always hard to remember anything when he was with her like this. She always stole his unneeded breath.
He couldn't help feeling, though (when they pulled away from each other), that where before he'd been worrying about some of their earlier kisses—that spoke of the unfailing lust between them, that he wasn't ready to completely unleash with her yet—this one was all about love. And how beautiful that was… as well as fitting, with what they'd just been through, and what Buffy had offered him with her promise. How his un-beating heart soared.
Reluctantly, however, he had to remind his girlfriend that it was a school night. "Come on, Buffy. Let's package up these candles and get you home. We don't want Joyce calling the police, looking for you. I'll patrol for you tonight."
Buffy looked as unwilling to leave him as he was her. But eventually, she gave a world-weary sigh, wrapped up her candles, and then took Angel's hand, before leading him towards the exit. "You're right, Angel," she said. "Let's get out of here before my mom does do the drastic. But, hey: at least I know that if my mom ever did something like that, to have me unwittingly picked up by the po-po… you'd find me. Right?"
Angel grinned. He knew what Buffy was asking, uncertainly, with her last question (as she nervously played with her fingers, while they checked out): If he'd be her "Candle on the Water", as she was his.
Dropping a kiss to her temple, he gave her his earnest answer "Always, honey. Always."
Author's Note: The ending of this definitely got a lot happier and fluffier than I thought it would.
Originally, the idea for this story (that randomly came to me while I was half-asleep) was for it to be sort of foreboding and hint at the later stuff to come in S2. And it definitely has that, but it doesn't end with it. And maybe that's okay. I mean, they're not there yet. So perhaps it's alright that there are only hints of it.
But the moment I had Buffy mention "Candle on the Water," it was all over, in keeping fluff out of here. And I don't think I really care. LOL. Let's give these two SOME more moments of happiness before the shit hits the fan: Lord knows they need it, since canon can never give them a break.
The vampire that Angel sired in this is a reference to something that DID happen in one of the classic comics.
Also, Angel having issues with Giles is inspired by that somewhat being true in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel "How I Survived My Summer Vacation," where those two did have some problems working together in the summer between Buffy S1 and Buffy S2 while Buffy was away. Some of that is for reasons I detailed here: Mainly in that Giles kept thinking that without Buffy there, Angel would reveal his "true self" or "true intentions" or whatever, and betray them all. And Angel, in his own words, hated having to defer to someone so much younger than himself, or something like that. LOL. As a whole, Angel in that book kind of felt… a bit wilder? But I feel that kind of makes sense. Because he'd only just decided to try this "being good" thing. And I think the more time he spent with Buffy, and humans in general, the more human he became. And I tried to replicate that here a bit: with the sense that Angel is maybe a tiny bit wilder than in some of my S3 fics, at least.
I also just wanted to try my hand at a S2 Bangel fic, as I realized I haven't done that yet. S2 is so important for them, of course. And beloved by many (and I definitely get why. It's even my favorite season of the show). Though I will admit it's not my favorite season for Bangel, if that makes sense. I do prefer them in S3 and post-S3 as S2 is a bit too sexual for my ace self. Oops. But it was definitely fun trying them out in S2, and trying to see how they're the same as they are in S3, and how they differ.
Oh. Buffy almost losing her virginity to Angel at a carnival, because he's infected by the lust Seven Deadly Sin and she's affected by the Pride one, IS something that happens in the book "Carnival of Souls."
