Brad had only been in town a few days before Angel found him.

She could have found him right away, of course. Honestly, she had meant to wait longer. But he had arrived at the last minute, and the Harvest was only a couple days away.

So she started looking for him at sundown, and quickly found him walking along the sidewalk alone.

Angel stayed back several feet, pleased when he noticed her anyway. She hoped that wasn't the only way he had improved since his sloppy first patrol.

Brad picked up his speed slightly, and Angel followed suit, letting him know that yes, there was someone following him.

With a quick glance over his shoulder, he turned into a nearby alley. Angel could have laughed. If this wasn't irony, she didn't know what was.

So she found herself once again following a blonde man into an alley for a meeting that would change her life.

At least she wasn't drunk this time.

Brad was waiting for her at the end of the alley, his arms crossed.

"It's not very polite to follow people, you know."

Okay. Confidence. You've got this.

"Maybe not," she replied, stepping into the light from the streetlamp. "But don't worry. I don't bite."

His eyes widened, though he said nothing.

"Gotta say though," she continued, keeping her face blasé. "I'm a little disappointed you didn't have a stake out."

"What do you want?" he asked, the distrust clear on his face.

"The same thing you do."

"Okay," he said, uncrossing his arms. "What do I want?"

She smirked. "To kill them. To kill them all."

"Sorry, you seem to be thinking of the wrong guy here. What I want is to be left alone."

"Do you really think you can do that?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out the box holding the least girly cross necklace she could find. "You're standing at the Mouth of Hell," an unfortunately literal metaphor, "And it's about to open."

He seemed concerned at her words. Good.
She threw him the box, and he caught it without looking.

"Don't turn your back on this. You've got to be ready." Okay, way too dramatic, Angel. Focus. Give him the information.

Brad was still wary, but he sounded sincere when he asked, "For what?"

Angel let a small, almost ironic smile grace her lips. "For the Harvest."

"Who are you?" he asked. "What's your name?"

"Let's just say… I'm a friend."

"Maybe I don't want a friend," he said, almost petulantly.

She shrugged, and backed away into the shadows.

"I didn't say I was yours."

I didn't say I was yours? How stupid could I possibly sound? Who else would I be friends with, Larry the rat?

The moment she was out of the alley, Angel let her confident attitude drop and booked it in the other direction.

God Almighty, she had been given months to plan her first impression to Brad, months to figure out how to toe the line between not a friend and someone to trust. And she had sounded so. Dumb.

Even as she thought it, she could hear Whistler's voice in her head.

You've got to be nicer to yourself. You can't help anyone by beating yourself up.

Angel snorted. Easy for her to say. She only had to talk to a stupid vampire who lived in the sewers for two decades, not a teenage boy whose job was killing her.

Get it together Angel. She had a job to do here, and if she had messed up their first meeting, well. She could still try and help.

So she turned around and headed towards the nearest cemetery.

Brad had been here. Him, three other humans (two girls and a boy), two female vampires (one of whom she thought was named Lucy) and… Darwin. Of course.

There was a bit of dust on the floor of the mausoleum, and the whole place had been wrecked. If Angel had to guess, she would say Darwin and the others were taking offerings to the Master, and Brad had stopped them, killing the unknown vampire and saving at least the one girl whose scent was here the least.

He would be back, though. This was the entrance to the Master's nest, and Brad was smart enough to figure it out.

With a sigh, she sat down and waited.

"I don't suppose you've got a key on you?"

Angel shrugged, cocky face back on. "They really don't like me dropping in there."

"Really," he said, rolling his eyes. "How could I have guessed."

"I knew you'd figure out this entryway sooner or later." Crap, that sounds too complimentary. "Actually, I thought you'd figure it out a little sooner." Better. Keep going.

Brad looked like he wanted to roll his eyes again. "Sorry you had to wait." He sighed. "Look, if you're going to be giving me cryptic information on a regular basis, it'd be nice to have a name."

She hesitated. Trust, but not friendship. But how could you trust someone whose name you didn't know?

"Angel."

"Angel," he repeated. Brad looked like he was about to say something else, before he stopped and started to turn around.

"Don't–" she started, and Brad turned back around. "Don't go down there."

"I'm going," he snapped. "Get used to it."

"You shouldn't be putting yourself at risk." Like going out every night to slay vampires? Expand your argument, Angel. "The Harvest is tonight. Unless you prevent it… The Master walks."

Brad seemed a bit more uneasy. "If this Harvest thing is so bad, why don't you stop it?"

A bitter laugh escaped her throat before she could stop it. "Because I'm afraid."

Brad stared at her for a moment, before he turned and kicked down the door.

"They'll be expecting you," she warned.

"I have a friend down there," he explained. "Or at least a potential friend. Do you know what it's like to have a friend?" he asked, sarcasm clear in his voice.

No.

She looked down, unsure how to respond.

"...That wasn't supposed to be a stumper."

They were quiet for a moment, before Angel looked up again.

"When you get to the tunnels, head east towards the school. That's where you're likely to find them."

Brad nodded, giving a small smile before he turned and went through the doorway.

Angel gazed after him.


Something I've noticed from Female!Harry Potter fanfics, is that I prefer the genderswapped names to remind me of the character's original name. Like for Harry, I like Harriet and Holly the best, because Harriet has the "Harr", and Holly has the H-vowel-double letter-y.

That being said, Buffy's name was also chosen for a very specific reason: it sounds stupid.

After 7 seasons, our brains adapt and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" doesn't sound as dumb anymore, but Buffy is supposed to remind you of a dumb blonde cheerleader who only thinks about clothes and boys. So while I want male!Buffy's name to remind you of Buffy (short and with a B), it should also be stereotypical. So I present to you Brad Summers, the dumb jock who you think only thinks about football and girls, except he's actually the Vampire Slayer

You're welcome :)