(last part...)
Up in his penthouse suite, tucked away in his nightstand drawer, was his constantly revised list of "Top Ten Places I Want to See in Daylight." In the back of the closed was a box full of recipes for various garlic-intensive Italian and Asian dishes he wanted to try. The list of baby names, however, had been torn up and flushed down the toilet a little over a year ago.
He was reasonably certain that there wasn't anything in any of his fantasies or on any of his lists about being locked up--all alone--in his office overnight. It wasn't right. This was his first night as a human, as a 'real boy,' and it should have been special.
He sighed again, wondering if he was ungrateful to be thinking about the unfairness of the situation.
Look on the bright side, he told himself. After all these years, he could live as a man, not a monster. He could have a life, and not just a tortured existence in which he tried to maintain a balance between the two states.
He took a breath of the night air that came in through the broken window. Despite the ever-present smog, it still felt fresh, and the sultry spring humidity did something oh-so-pleasant to his spine and his stomach. He wanted to go out and enjoy the night as a human, to run and chase, and...
No, he wasn't going to start being bitter again.
In the morning, he could go out not in moonlight, but in honest-to-goodness daylight. Maybe he could go up on the roof and start working on that tan Lorne had suggested. He held up his hands to see--for one last time--the vampire paleness illuminated by moonlight.
Huh. He frowned at his hands. Somehow, his skin looked a little darker than he remembered. Darker, and...hairier?
All at once, he knew why Wes and Lorne had been in such a hurry to get away. He looked up in horror as the first full moon of spring rose above the LA skyline.
"ohshit..."
Angel's--literal--howl of frustration could be heard all the way down in the basement, where wolf-Nina dreamed sweet, sultry spring dreams about her destined mate.
THE END
Anne made my afternoon! funny and touching
Hi, Baynar! The little guy loves everybody.
Poor Angel.
Ooh, very nice Anne. And Baynar. That little Minoto gets around.
Thanks for the compliments, all.
Connie, I hope you don't mind that I borrowed the Minoto family for a little cameo.
I'm sure Savlin and hte others were just down in LA getting the immigration papers worked out for the rest of the family. Darned paperwork.
'Tis the season for Ficathons. Here is my Darla&Dru for the Darlaficathon.
The weird thing is that -- and I had forgotten this -- I also requested Darla/Dru, it was assigned to the person who had gotten my request, and she wrote in the same time period as I did. Ah well, I hope that means she'll like this!
fic fic fic
Angel debated calling someone in Sunnydale, but he was reluctant to get into everything with the folks up there. Besides, Spike might be innocent of involvement in the murder--
He paused to boggle at thought processes that could ever conceive of putting the words "Spike" and "innocent" together in a sentence that didn't end with a sneer.
Still, a quick there and back again, no one the wiser. Simpler all round.
Wesley volunteered to go out to the Ramierez house and see what there was to see. Angel was not surprised when Gunn went with him. Fred disappeared back to her room, and Cordelia began searching the net for more information about Hector Ramierez and rare De Sotos. Angel went to do more tai chi to calm himself before dealing with his most obnoxious family member.
The late summer light was still in the sky when he drove into Sunnydale. Each time he came here he swore it would be the last. You'd think he'd learn.
It occurred to him that he wasn't sure where Spike was. Willow's communications, while vague, had mentioned he was still in town, but the last Angel knew, Spike was living in Xander Harris' basement. When he'd heard first that, he'd had to go for a long walk in the sewers so that his chortles of evil delight wouldn't make people nervous. It was just so perfect, two of his least favorite people in the world, forced into a perverted buddy movie, sneering at each other, sharpening their admittedly quick wits on each other, taking out their frustrations . . .
Angel paused, then made a mental note to stop listening to Cordy pointing out hidden sexual tensions on TV shows. Better to think of something more pleasant, like seeing if he could make Willy actually wet himself in fear.
Still a scummy little hellhole of a place. Lorne would be mortified to know Angel had even stepped into such a dive as the Alibi Bar. He went to the back door, just in case there was anyone in the bar he didn't want to deal with just yet.
The shadows gave him a place to lurk while he observed the barroom. An average crowd, with an average mix of species. No one he knew. He slipped out and took a seat at the end of the bar. A minute later, Willie jumped quite satisfactorily when he turned and saw Angel. He walked slowly down, a sickly smile on his face.
"He--hey, Ang--"
Angel put up a finger to interrupt him. "Don't say my name. How you doing, Willie? How's business?"
"O--o--okay. What can I get for you?"
"A beer," he said after a moment's thought. "Beer would be good."
Willie hesitated, waiting for the next request, then he hurried off. "Beer. Comin' right up."
Angel sipped his beer for a few minutes, observing the crowd in the mirror. He saw a few curious glances thrown his way, but no one seemed inclined to check further. Finally, he raised a finger when he saw Willie look his way. The barkeep took a deep breath and came slowly down the bar.
"Yeah?"
"Whiskey," Angel said. "I'd like a whiskey with my beer."
Willie hesitated again, then scurried off to fill the order. He paused only a few seconds after dropping off the glass, obviously waiting for more, but Angel only tossed back some whiskey with his beer and continued gazing into the mirror. Willie left quickly for the other end of the bar.
When both glasses were empty, Angel raised his finger again. Willie approached cautiously. "Hit me again," Angel said, indicating both glasses." Willie nodded and obeyed. "Oh, and where's Spike?"
Willie hesitated. "Spike?"
"Spike." Angel smiled genially. "And don't ask which Spike."
"Oh--Spike!"
"Yeah. Where is he? And while you're thinking, bring me my booze."
