"Hey Diana, I'm in LA," Xander said, "care for a night on the town?"
"I'll be free in about an hour," she replied, the sound of an explosion coming over the phone. "Traffic, you know how it is," she joked.
Xander laughed. "Call me when you're free, I'm just wandering the streets at this point, no plans to speak of."
"I will," she said. "See you soon."
"See you soon, bye," Xander replied and hung up.
Hearing piano music that was actually pretty good even to his untrained ears, Xander followed it to a nightclub. It was a bit more (okay, a lot more) upscale than he was used to as everyone was dressed to the nines in designer clothes and the club itself was very stylish in a modern art version of the 1920's kind of way.
He probably stood out like a sore thumb, but the place felt… homey to him.
"Don't often see your kind here," the bartender noted as she poured a drink and set it in front of someone on the next stool.
"The more low rent types?" Xander guessed. "Coke," he ordered.
"Hunters," she replied as she poured his drink.
Xander blinked. "Do I have a sign on me?"
She smirked. "No, but you have a couple of vials of holy water and some kind of blade on you as well as a few stakes."
"You're good," Xander said, impressed. "Most people never guess I'm a hunter, not even when there are piles of ash suddenly scattered about."
"I have my talents," she said modestly. "You here on the job?"
"No, I'm actually on vacation and heard the piano, so I decided to stop by."
"Kinda young to be experienced enough for the level of paranoia that keeps you that well armed when not on the job," she said. "Sunnydale?"
"Home sweet Hell," Xander agreed while she smoothly filled several orders with a grace he normally only saw on slayers.
"Did someone mention Hell?" A neatly groomed man in a charcoal gray designer outfit that probably cost more than the Terakans had paid Xander asked curiously.
"Hunter from Sunnydale," the bartender said.
"Business or pleasure?" the man asked curiously.
"Drawn in by the piano and decided to have a drink," Xander replied before offering his hand. "Alexander Harris, my friends call me Xander."
"Lucifer Morningstar," the man replied, "my few friends call me crazy and how did you twist an Enochian rune so badly that it almost reads as lust?" he shook Xander's hand.
"Not sure, it was my first attempt at using a rune on a weapon," Xander explained. "What's the ruler of Hell doing here?"
"I got tired of the job and decided to retire," Lucifer replied. "I find it much more rewarding to play music and run a bar than deal with that whole mess."
"Yeah, I can see it," Xander decided after a moment of thought.
"Most people aren't quite so accepting of my identity," Lucifer noted with some surprise.
"Most people can't sense what I have on me like someone reading a book," Xander replied with a shrug. "I've had a very strange but fun week, part of which finding out the mayor of my hometown was messing with my mind so not everything I know may be true. Discovering even Satan didn't like being in Hell and would rather relax and enjoy life? That makes perfect sense to me. I never really got why people wanted to rule or destroy everything. It sounds like a lot of work for very little gain."
Lucifer smiled broadly. "At least you get it. A lot of people think I should be chained to the throne working my tail off until the end of time."
"Nah, though dipping in to kick some asses and put the fear of you into the place might help keep things on track so you don't have to take over when it all goes to hell. Of course I don't know enough about how things work down there to say, so it's just a guess."
"That… might not be a bad idea actually," Lucifer said thoughtfully. "Well, that's a thought for another time. How do you like my bar?"
"I like it," Xander said with a smile. "It has style, yet I feel… comfortable here for some reason and whoever was playing the piano was brilliant."
"Thank you, music is one of my many hobbies," he said, pleased, "and you probably feel comfortable here because you are from Sunnydale and I am the Devil."
"Huh," Xander said. "Yeah, the vibe reminds me of my high school library which was directly over the Hellmouth. Surprised this place isn't crawling with vamps."
"As if Maze would let such trash in," Lucifer chided, making Xander laugh.
"Most are sensitive enough to avoid this place," the bartender Maze said with a sigh. "Which is a shame because watching them turn to ash is always entertaining."
"That it is," Xander agreed and sipped his drink.
Lucifer's eyes suddenly became the most fascinating thing Xander'd ever seen, almost seeming to glow as he asked, "What is your greatest desire?"
"To dust every single vampire in existence," Xander replied almost in a trance before shaking his head. "What was that for?"
"Since you've been so polite I decided to reveal your greatest desire to you," Lucifer replied smugly.
Xander shrugged. "I could have told you that without the mind mojo."
"Really?" he asked, surprised. "Most people aren't so self aware, I've been using it to assist a local psychiatrist with her more difficult patients."
"I've been forced to face my greatest fear, been possessed a couple of times, and almost turned into a knock off version of the creature from the Black Lagoon, that sort of thing causes some serious self reflection."
"Or a complete mental breakdown," Maze suggested.
"Exactly and since that would mean a lot more vampires wouldn't get dusted, I decided to skip it," Xander said.
"And now I see why you were unsurprised," Lucifer said, clearly amused. "You are quite the bloodthirsty little thing, aren't you?"
"Only against vampires," Xander replied. "Well mostly. I'm a live and let live sort of guy for the most part but since vampires aren't really alive…"
Lucifer chuckled.
Xander finished his drink. "It was nice meeting you, but I have a date to get to."
"Feel free to stop by when you're in the area," Lucifer said, "I'd like to hear some of the stories you no doubt have."
"I will, but I'll warn you now I suck at telling them according to everyone," Xander said. "I ramble and forget things that other people consider important."
"See you next time," Lucifer said as Xander left.
"Very vengeful as well as bloodthirsty," Maze noted. "I think I like him."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Xander was looking in the window of a shop that sold leather jackets when his phone rang. "Hello?... Hey Diana. Want me to duck into an alley?"
There was a flash of yellow light and Diana appeared dressed in a pair of Levi's with a blue blouse. "No need," she said, taking his arm and pulling him into a quick walking pace, "as long as we don't make a scene and act normal no one will really know. The flash of light may draw attention but it also covers up who just arrived."
"It's a feature not a bug?" Xander guessed as he put his phone away.
"Exactly," she agreed. "Up for dinner? I've been craving Chinese since lunch."
"That does sound good," Xander said. "After that we can take a walk and see the stars on the Hollywood walk of fame. I always wanted to do that."
"I've always been too busy," Diana said. "Let's go."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"You no longer have to worry about losing your soul?" Buffy asked hopefully as soon as Angel answered.
"No, I now have a mystical tattoo that anchors it in place," Angel said with a smile she could hear.
Buffy squealed. "This is wonderful!"
"I'm pretty happy about it myself and was hoping you would be," Angel said, relieved.
"I'm over the moon," Buffy said, "my boyfriend no longer has to worry about losing his soul if I give him a happy."
"Yes," Angel said quickly, deciding they were just going to pretend the breakup had never occurred. "I know you are in training, but I wanted to make sure you had my address so you could visit if you liked."
"I would love that," Buffy said, voice heavy with emotion.
"I'm at the Hyperion Hotel in LA," he said, "I started an investigation firm so I could help people."
"That's a good idea," Buffy said. "I seem to be going the superhero route which I guess is a lot more punching supervillains, but is subsidized by the Justice League."
"I could come visit you, so I don't interrupt your training," Angel suggested.
"I would love that more than you'd believe," Buffy said eagerly. "When can you visit?"
"Barring sudden visions, tomorrow morning I have to watch a recording with Xander, but I can head out that night," Angel said.
"You have to watch a recording with Xander?" she asked, confused.
"Drusilla is sending us a copy of the recording Spike made of torturing Xander. He wants to see it," Angel explained.
"Why would Xander want to see it and would Drusilla send it to you?" Buffy asked, completely confused.
"Drusilla is sending it because Spike gets a kick out of knowing Xander will be watching it and Xander wants to know why the vampires who have seen it are terrified of him," Angel explained.
"Vampires are terrified of him," Buffy repeated, confused. "I really want to know what's on that tape, but I don't want to watch Xander being tortured."
"I'll watch it with him and let you know," Angel said. "I'll be watching it with him as moral support as I doubt it's going to be pleasant."
"I thought Spike had just roughed him up a bit, I didn't think he was tortured-tortured, ya know?" Buffy asked.
"Spike is almost as good at torture as Angelus," Angel said, "there is a lot that can be done without causing visible injuries, but I won't know how bad it is till I've seen it."
"Ouch," Buffy said, wincing. "Wait a second. When has Xander ran into vampires? I thought Superman and the Flash cleared out the entire town."
"He didn't run into them in Sunnydale," Angel said, "he attracts trouble and just moving around he runs into them and all the ones he's recently ran into have gotten word of him and are terrified."
"Is he okay?" Buffy asked anxiously.
"He's fine," Angel assured her. "In fact he looks happier and healthier than he was back in Sunnydale."
"Really?" she asked, surprised.
"Really," Angel assured her. "The only problem he has is dealing with all the things the Mayor's spell blocked as he'd never left Sunnydale before."
"Ah," Buffy said. "Yeah, learning about superheroes and aliens is a mindblower."
"I think he's quite happy to learn about superheroes," Angel said, thinking about Xander having a date with Wonder Woman of all people.
Buffy giggled. "Yeah, he always was a big comic book fan."
"He's more confused about vampires being terrified of him than anything," Angel said. "Other than that he seems to be enjoying himself."
"Well good, we all deserve a break," Buffy said.
"Aren't you training?" Angel asked.
"Yeah, but apparently super hero vs super villains is a lot more like kids playing cops and robbers than what we do, no one is going for the kill and they just want to steal things, not eat newborn babies," Buffy explained.
"I'm happy for you," Angel told her. "I'm still dealing with demons who want to kill people for the most part, but a lot less of them than we dealt with in Sunnydale. It's a lot less stressful."
"If you need help, call me," Buffy said firmly, "just because I'm having fun playing superhero doesn't mean I'm not still The Slayer."
"I will," Angel promised.
"Good," Buffy said. There was a silence for a few seconds and then she said, "I'd ask what you were wearing, but the phone is in the break room and there are quite a few ears about. Get here soon. Love you."
"I love you too," Angel said and hung up, a huge smile on his face. He froze for a second and then relaxed and let out a sigh, reminded that he didn't have to worry about the curse anymore. "That girl is going to kill me, again." He chuckled to himself.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Buffy turned to find the Titans were all staring at her. "Was I too loud?" she asked.
"No, but most of us have enhanced hearing," Cyborg told her, "and while we try not to listen in…"
"We are all very much of the curious," Starfire offered, "both because you are a new friend and because we are training to pay attention to everything."
"Just be glad we aren't allowed to heckle," Beastboy offered.
"So your friend was tortured and actually contacted them to get a copy of the tape?" Robin asked, figuring it was a less embarrassing topic to talk about. "That's hardcore."
"Xander's a big softie," Buffy said, "unless you are a vampire or threaten someone he loves."
"Which is completely normal for a vampire slayer or possibly even vampire hunter," Raven said thoughtfully.
"Or most people," Buffy said with a shrug. "My mom once sunk an axe in Spike's head when he interrupted parent teacher night."
"Much like Robin, your idea of normal is skewed because of where you grew up," Cyborg decided.
"I didn't grow up in Sunnydale, I grew up in LA," Buffy said, "though I was a bit of a bitch… Huh, Sunnydale is where I was forced to grow up and become an adult."
"Gotham isn't that bad," Robin said, rolling his eyes.
"Yes it is," Cyborg told him, "but since you grew up there you think it's normal."
"I'll readily admit Sunnydale isn't normal," Buffy said, "and my friends… my friends are amazing."
"You must tell us tales of your glorious battles!" Starfire said brightly.
"I wouldn't mind hearing some stories about normal people fighting demons," Robin said.
"Normal… doesn't quite fit any of us, even the ones without powers," Buffy said, "but sure I have a few."
"Glorious!" Starfire declared. "I will get the corn of popping!"
"Um… I don't have to worry about the statute of limitations or anything, do I?" Buffy asked, recalling some of the things they did.
Typing By: Abyssal Angel
Beta By: Abyssal Angel and Mist of Shadows
TN: "Thank you, music is one of my many hobbies," he said, pleased, Did this devil go down to Georgia and lose a golden fiddle to a hick? XD
AN: I had planned on adding a conversation on that, but it just didn't fit.