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Treacle-Antlers
"This feels weird."
Willow shook her head, pushing her hands deeper into the pockets of her jeans, glanced at Xander.
"Doesn't this feel weird to you?"
He wasn't listening, tipping back a can of Pepsi to catch the last few droplets on his tongue.
"Xander!!?"
She slapped him in the stomach with the back of her hand, frowned with annoyance as he spluttered into semi consciousness again, crumpled the can, tossed it. Trust Xander to be all cool and casual about this. All 'Hey, whatever!', while she was fighting tummy butterflies the size of fruit bats. She folded her arms, stared up the line for about the twentieth time that minute.
"Relax, Will."
His voice was irritatingly calm, filling her with a horrible sense of foreboding again. Remembering. God, he was always like this, always so freaking nonchalant, just before the shit really hit the fan. And then came the running and the screaming. She closed her eyes, sucked deep breaths of cool, clear, non-hospital-scented air again. But there was good here too. There was freedom and time being spent hanging with her best friend, albeit time spent in Sunnydale Station. Her composure gave way suddenly and her face crumpled into a mask of anticipatory fear,
"God, why do we have to meet him? Alone? I mean...I don't know what to say to him? Do you? Why couldn't Dawn or...Anya or something...?"
It sounded hopeless even to her ears. Xander raised his eyebrows, steered her gently to a bench out of the heat,
"Anya's pregnant and it's forty degrees....and besides she barely knows Angel. And Dawn's too young to cope with...any of this."
She heard the whine even before she spoke,
"Maybe I'm too young? Did'ya ever think about that?"
He pulled her close, planted a brotherly kiss on her temple,
"We'll be fine. It'll all be fine. We're adults. We can do this."
he glanced up the track, grimaced,
"So you want a freeze pop?"
"Blue flavour."
He stood up, headed inside jangling his change.
A hint of a breeze moved the chip packets at her feet, creating little eddys that didn't so much cool as dehydrate. God, she could almost see the water evaporating from her body, sending her into an almost catatonic state, the heat rising from the rail-tracks in waves, distorting the air. She let her eyelids droop closed, thought about air-conditioning, thought about cool, clear water, the rain on her face. Opened her mouth, let her tongue loll.
"Hey Will."
His voice sounded different, lighter, and for a second she thought no. Someone else, a guy from college, then her eyes cracked open, saw the familiar towering shape of him, the dark cropped hair, the almost apologetic way of standing he had, as if he were a little uncomfortable with his whole persona. But this time the effect was different. The sun made him seem smaller somehow, less glowery. Never the less she found herself stammering, stuttering to her feet, unsure of whether to hold out her hand, hug him, what? What was it she'd done before? What had she said before, in the old days when she met him...socially? When she wasn't being a complete spaz?
"Angel! Hey!"
And suddenly Xander was there, grabbing his hand in a spontaneously friendly gesture, his other hand coming to rest on her shoulder, pushing her forward a little, willing her to speak.
"We thought you were...so we were waiting."
she gulped, took in his face, her eyes narrowing as she noticed the subtle change,
"You...?"
"Takes some getting used to doesn't it?"
he smiled slightly, rubbed a hand distractedly through his hair,
"Seeing a vampire with a tan?"
She shot a glance at Xander, willed him with all her being not to speak, not to say the words she knew were dancing on the very tip of his tongue and for once and without the aid of telepathy he heard her, bit down on his lip. Swallowed it whole.
"So...you in town for long?"
And they were walking almost like buddies or something, Angel allowing Xander to take one of his cases, one on either side of them as they did the polite stuff, 'the you look well', 'how've you been' questions, marred only slightly by Willow's answers, 'thanks, mental institution' and 'O.K, apart from the whole wanting to burn the world thing'. She couldn't help but smile at his reaction though, four hundred odd years and there was very little that phased him these days. She wondered what his take on Black Magic Will would have been, something like,
"So...evil. That's a new look for you."
Wasn't long before the question came though, the one they'd both been dreading, accompanied by the look, some residual pain and a little confusion.
"So where's Buff? Why didn't she meet me?"
Got admire the ex-vampires. Always straight to the gut, no bullshit. Why was that? She supposed it was a continuance of the whole immortality thing. Give up your fear of dying and you suddenly lose all patience for the frills and niceties of life. Cut to the chase. God bless Xander though, got in there first with,
"She's busy, Angel, real busy. She wanted to...heck yeah! But she's been so busy with the..."
he was faltering, feet skittering as he walked the thin gangplank of excuses but Willow swooped before the damage became fatal,
"...with the whole college thing! She's re-applying...and she is sooooo nervous... about getting back in this semester? So much to catch up on...with the death and the...catching up to do! With the classes I mean."
she smiled brightly, hoped it would distract him,
"But as soon as she's done...she'll be right over...she said. But there are...so many forms and...she may be a while."
His head was down, was he buying it? She didn't think so. She knew he wasn't stupid, despite all the stuff Spike said. His eyes came up met hers, then Xander's, calm, full of the maturity they lacked,
"Guys. It's OK. I knew she'd be thrown by this,"
his brows knitted together in an amused expression of confusion,
"I mean...I know I still am...and I've been this way for a while."
Her curiosity twitched, wanting to ask all the things Buffy hadn't allowed her to, that she hadn't felt she could ask before she and William...Spike, had hotfooted it out of there. She wondered where they were now, what she was telling him. She frowned. Whatever it was she was pretty darn sure that touching would be involved....and that was something Angel needed to know as little about as possible.
She felt a sudden stab of sympathy for him. Poor guy, all full of the new humanity, thinking how Buffy was just going to flip out over it, the heartbeat, the breathing. How were they going to tell him...sorry buddy, but someone else beat you to it...with the whole de-vamping thing? Oh and just so as you know? It's that guy you hate and he's been screwing the girl who said she loved you. Since pretty much...forever.
"She's not thrown...exactly...she's just...surprised. I think she just needs some time to...."
What? Get used to it? Get Spike used to it? Try to figure out if her 'one true love' might still actually be just that? That the blonde might be just a diversion? She swallowed audibly again, realised that Angel was staring at her,
"Will? Is there something you guys aren't telling me? Is Buffy all right?"
"She's fine."
Xander came to her rescue, for about the third time that day and she thanked him silently, bought him an imaginary corndog.
"Everything's fine. You should just....come home with me now. Maybe freshen up? And later...we'll all go and see Buffy together."
That seemed to work, appeased him. Plus he was starting to look real hot in that leather coat. Maybe he should rethink the whole monochrome wardrobe thing now he actually had working sweat glands? She smiled in what she hoped was a reasurring way, patted his back with a tentative gesture,
"It really is good to see you Angel. Hey...how's Cordy? And Wesley?"
It was going to be O.K. Xander had been right...they could get through this. They were adults and they could deal with this in an adult fashion, make sure no one got hurt. But as she thought it, her mind flashed a sudden picture to her, glorious technicolour. Angel's fist connecting with Spike's jaw, a resounding crack, Buffy dressed only in a sheet, hands clenched into fists, pulling them apart, pleading for the man she loved to end this, right this instant! Either man! Any man! She took a deep breath, let it out long and slow.
Yeah. This was going to be a piece of cake.