Evil Empire, Buffyverse, PG
Dec. 8th, 2006 01:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
phantismaFandom: Buffyverse
Title: Evil Empire
Characters/Pairings: Angel,Buffy,Spike
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1322
Summary: Post-Chosen and Mid-Season 5 of AtS, Buffy pays a visit to Wolfram and Hart. For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
xevildeadgirlx who wanted: BtVs/AtVS - Buffy, Spike, Angel -Angst - Finish - I'm just thinking a little mid AtVS S5 confrontation of some sort
A/Ns & Warnings: No real warnings here, unless you haven't seen everything there is to see. A little angst, a little slapping...
“Where is he?”
“Buffy?”
“Don’t make me stake you Harmony, cause so help me I will.”
“Angel isn’t here.” Harmony cowered behind her desk as the Slayer put her hands on her hips.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t always tell me. He doesn’t like me very much.”
“Neither do I.”
“Don’t take your anger out on Harmony, Buffy,” a very British voice said behind her and she whirled.
“Wesley. I heard you were mixed up in this too.”
“Why don’t you calm down, and we can go into my office and—“
“Don’t need calming down, Wesley. I need to speak to that—boss—of yours.”
“As Harmony has said, he isn’t here right now, and I think—“
“I said no, Spike.” Angel’s voice came from the elevator bank and Buffy turned, her eyes wide. Both vampires stopped dead and stared. “Buffy. What are you doing here?”
She opened her mouth and closed it again, turned to look at Wesley, then back to Angel. “I need to talk to you.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Spike. “Both of you.”
Angel paused a beat, then looked at Spike. “My office.” He pointed, and started toward it. “Harmony, hold my calls.”
“You have that meeting with Mr. Gurlock in—“
“I’ll be there, Harmony. Get Gunn to cover in case I’m late.”
Angel held the door open and Buffy stalked past him, her arms folded, her face pinched and pissed. Spike looked torn between being happy to see her and pissed himself, but he followed and Angel closed the door.
Buffy whirled, slapping Spike across the face. “How dare you!”
“Me? What’d I do?” Spike asked, his hand against the sting.
“Dawn had to find out from Andrew.” Buffy said. “Andrew, Spike. You broke her heart.”
“You came all this way to avenge your sister’s broken heart?” Angel said bemusedly.
She pouted and walked toward his desk. “No. Well…no. I was pretty angry myself.” Buffy turned back to look at him. “You couldn’t call?”
Spike chuckled and nodded. “Haven’t been myself, pet. Just now getting back to the whole being able to touch stuff. Woulda…eventually.”
“Eventually?” The anger was back in her voice, the warm flush making her cheeks pink. “Spike. I watched…I saw…The last I saw you were burning alive. Do you know what that did to me?”
“Oh? Felt something did ya?” Spike cocked an eyebrow at her, then looked to Angel who was watching the whole thing silently. “That bit’s new.”
Buffy stalked across the room and slapped him again. He let her, then moved to flop onto Angel’s couch. “You didn’t love me, Buffy. You and I both know that.”
“Don’t tell me what I feel.”
“Buffy…did you fly here from England to insult and beat up Spike? Because if you did, I’ll have Harmony bring me some blood and settle in to watch.” Angel said, a smirk on his face.
“I’ll get to you in a minute.” Buffy snapped before turning her eyes on Spike. “You sacrificed yourself Spike…you saved a lot of people….the world. That means something.”
Spike shifted uncomfortably. “Just did my part, pet.”
“Stop calling me that.”
The room was quiet for a minute, then she turned to Angel. “Okay. Now you.”
“Now me what, Buffy?” Angel crossed to his desk and shuffled through the papers on it.
“What’s with the evil empire?” She waved her arms to indicate the room they stood in.
Angel smirked. “Evil empire?”
She rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. “You know what I mean. You’re no lawyer, why…how…?”
“That’s a long story, I’m afraid…one I don’t have time for.”
“Giles says you’re just showing your true colors.”
“And he’s an unbiased source of opinion.”
“Should he be? I mean…you killed his girlfriend, tortured him. Why shouldn’t he be a little biased?”
Angel looked stricken, like she’d stabbed him in the chest all over again. He sat down. “Buffy—“
“I know, Angelus did those things, right? Funny, from where I stand the two of you look an awful lot a like.”
“I had my reasons.” Angel said, his voice cold.
“What reason is worth willingly giving away your soul Angel? And…not just yours. Wesley—“
“Everyone made the decision for themselves, Buffy. I didn’t force anyone.”
“What was the price, Angel? What did they give you to make this—seem like the right thing?” Buffy seemed uncertain for the first time since walking into the room and Angel looked up and shook his head.
“Something you could never understand.” Angel said quietly.
Spike stirred off the couch, drawing Buffy’s eyes. “If you’re done abusing me—“
“No. Don’t—“ Buffy shook her head. She sighed. “I just…I want to understand.”
“Do you?” Angel stood up. “What about Giles and the council?”
Buffy offered a weak smile. “I have issues with authority figures. Says so in my permanent file…or would if my permanent file had survived.”
Angel shook his head. “Yeah, I remember.”
The silence between the three of them was almost like presence of its own, filled with the complicated history and emotional baggage. “I mean…not like…say, Faith…”
Angel chuckled. “Can you trust me, Buffy? Once more?”
She squinted at him. “I came here willing to stake you.” Buffy said. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go all the way to trust.”
He nodded. Spike cleared his throat. “Don’t start Spike.” Angel said.
“What?”
“Buffy, I have a plan. Can you trust that?”
She sighed and glanced aside at Spike. “Does your plan include him?”
Angel shrugged. “Might. Depends on how much he annoys me between now and then.”
Buffy nodded slowly. “I—Willow…she’s the real reason I came.” She chewed on her lip for a minute. “She didn’t get all the details, but she says something’s coming. Something big.”
Angel nodded. “I expect there is.”
“It will be war.”
“And you want to know which side we’re on.” Angel said. It wasn’t a question.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“There was a time you wouldn’t have had to ask.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Is this going to get all mushy?” Spike asked, his voice clipped. “Stake me now.”
“Spike—“
“No. I’m bloody well not going to stand here and watch you two get all lovey-dovey. You want to talk about feeling something? About hurt? Fuck that.”
He stalked away and slammed the door. “He really does love you.” Angel said, surprise evident in his voice.
Buffy stared at the door. “I know. I wish—“ She shivered and looked back at him. “So…here.” She handed him a business card. “My cell is on the back. Faith’s too. And Willow’s.”
“What’s this for?”
Buffy looked away. “The end. When it comes. No sense facing an apocalypse without a Slayer or two.”
“You want me to call you…to what?”
She shrugged. “When the time comes, hopefully we’ll both now. Just give us enough lead time, okay? That flight from London takes forever.”
Angel nodded and pocketed the card. “Are we finished?”
Buffy looked a little sad, and a lot younger as she nodded. “Yeah, I think we really are.”
Angel smiled softly, picking up the underlying feeling with a small catch of hurt. “Then I should get back to running my evil empire.”
“Yeah, okay.” Buffy turned for the door, but stopped with her hand on the knob. “Angel?”
He looked up and smiled. She nodded and took a deep breath. There really wasn’t anything else to say. Then she realized something. “Could I at least stake Harmony? You know…so the trip wasn’t wasted or anything?”
“Goodbye, Buffy.”
She nodded again and left. Angel starred after her for a minute, then pulled the card out of his pocket, running his thumb over her looping letters. After a while, he opened his drawer and dropped the card into it, knowing he wouldn’t call, because anyone following him into this war, wasn’t coming out the other side.
Title: Evil Empire
Characters/Pairings: Angel,Buffy,Spike
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1322
Summary: Post-Chosen and Mid-Season 5 of AtS, Buffy pays a visit to Wolfram and Hart. For
xevildeadgirlx who wanted: BtVs/AtVS - Buffy, Spike, Angel -Angst - Finish - I'm just thinking a little mid AtVS S5 confrontation of some sortA/Ns & Warnings: No real warnings here, unless you haven't seen everything there is to see. A little angst, a little slapping...
“Where is he?”
“Buffy?”
“Don’t make me stake you Harmony, cause so help me I will.”
“Angel isn’t here.” Harmony cowered behind her desk as the Slayer put her hands on her hips.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t always tell me. He doesn’t like me very much.”
“Neither do I.”
“Don’t take your anger out on Harmony, Buffy,” a very British voice said behind her and she whirled.
“Wesley. I heard you were mixed up in this too.”
“Why don’t you calm down, and we can go into my office and—“
“Don’t need calming down, Wesley. I need to speak to that—boss—of yours.”
“As Harmony has said, he isn’t here right now, and I think—“
“I said no, Spike.” Angel’s voice came from the elevator bank and Buffy turned, her eyes wide. Both vampires stopped dead and stared. “Buffy. What are you doing here?”
She opened her mouth and closed it again, turned to look at Wesley, then back to Angel. “I need to talk to you.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Spike. “Both of you.”
Angel paused a beat, then looked at Spike. “My office.” He pointed, and started toward it. “Harmony, hold my calls.”
“You have that meeting with Mr. Gurlock in—“
“I’ll be there, Harmony. Get Gunn to cover in case I’m late.”
Angel held the door open and Buffy stalked past him, her arms folded, her face pinched and pissed. Spike looked torn between being happy to see her and pissed himself, but he followed and Angel closed the door.
Buffy whirled, slapping Spike across the face. “How dare you!”
“Me? What’d I do?” Spike asked, his hand against the sting.
“Dawn had to find out from Andrew.” Buffy said. “Andrew, Spike. You broke her heart.”
“You came all this way to avenge your sister’s broken heart?” Angel said bemusedly.
She pouted and walked toward his desk. “No. Well…no. I was pretty angry myself.” Buffy turned back to look at him. “You couldn’t call?”
Spike chuckled and nodded. “Haven’t been myself, pet. Just now getting back to the whole being able to touch stuff. Woulda…eventually.”
“Eventually?” The anger was back in her voice, the warm flush making her cheeks pink. “Spike. I watched…I saw…The last I saw you were burning alive. Do you know what that did to me?”
“Oh? Felt something did ya?” Spike cocked an eyebrow at her, then looked to Angel who was watching the whole thing silently. “That bit’s new.”
Buffy stalked across the room and slapped him again. He let her, then moved to flop onto Angel’s couch. “You didn’t love me, Buffy. You and I both know that.”
“Don’t tell me what I feel.”
“Buffy…did you fly here from England to insult and beat up Spike? Because if you did, I’ll have Harmony bring me some blood and settle in to watch.” Angel said, a smirk on his face.
“I’ll get to you in a minute.” Buffy snapped before turning her eyes on Spike. “You sacrificed yourself Spike…you saved a lot of people….the world. That means something.”
Spike shifted uncomfortably. “Just did my part, pet.”
“Stop calling me that.”
The room was quiet for a minute, then she turned to Angel. “Okay. Now you.”
“Now me what, Buffy?” Angel crossed to his desk and shuffled through the papers on it.
“What’s with the evil empire?” She waved her arms to indicate the room they stood in.
Angel smirked. “Evil empire?”
She rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. “You know what I mean. You’re no lawyer, why…how…?”
“That’s a long story, I’m afraid…one I don’t have time for.”
“Giles says you’re just showing your true colors.”
“And he’s an unbiased source of opinion.”
“Should he be? I mean…you killed his girlfriend, tortured him. Why shouldn’t he be a little biased?”
Angel looked stricken, like she’d stabbed him in the chest all over again. He sat down. “Buffy—“
“I know, Angelus did those things, right? Funny, from where I stand the two of you look an awful lot a like.”
“I had my reasons.” Angel said, his voice cold.
“What reason is worth willingly giving away your soul Angel? And…not just yours. Wesley—“
“Everyone made the decision for themselves, Buffy. I didn’t force anyone.”
“What was the price, Angel? What did they give you to make this—seem like the right thing?” Buffy seemed uncertain for the first time since walking into the room and Angel looked up and shook his head.
“Something you could never understand.” Angel said quietly.
Spike stirred off the couch, drawing Buffy’s eyes. “If you’re done abusing me—“
“No. Don’t—“ Buffy shook her head. She sighed. “I just…I want to understand.”
“Do you?” Angel stood up. “What about Giles and the council?”
Buffy offered a weak smile. “I have issues with authority figures. Says so in my permanent file…or would if my permanent file had survived.”
Angel shook his head. “Yeah, I remember.”
The silence between the three of them was almost like presence of its own, filled with the complicated history and emotional baggage. “I mean…not like…say, Faith…”
Angel chuckled. “Can you trust me, Buffy? Once more?”
She squinted at him. “I came here willing to stake you.” Buffy said. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go all the way to trust.”
He nodded. Spike cleared his throat. “Don’t start Spike.” Angel said.
“What?”
“Buffy, I have a plan. Can you trust that?”
She sighed and glanced aside at Spike. “Does your plan include him?”
Angel shrugged. “Might. Depends on how much he annoys me between now and then.”
Buffy nodded slowly. “I—Willow…she’s the real reason I came.” She chewed on her lip for a minute. “She didn’t get all the details, but she says something’s coming. Something big.”
Angel nodded. “I expect there is.”
“It will be war.”
“And you want to know which side we’re on.” Angel said. It wasn’t a question.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“There was a time you wouldn’t have had to ask.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Is this going to get all mushy?” Spike asked, his voice clipped. “Stake me now.”
“Spike—“
“No. I’m bloody well not going to stand here and watch you two get all lovey-dovey. You want to talk about feeling something? About hurt? Fuck that.”
He stalked away and slammed the door. “He really does love you.” Angel said, surprise evident in his voice.
Buffy stared at the door. “I know. I wish—“ She shivered and looked back at him. “So…here.” She handed him a business card. “My cell is on the back. Faith’s too. And Willow’s.”
“What’s this for?”
Buffy looked away. “The end. When it comes. No sense facing an apocalypse without a Slayer or two.”
“You want me to call you…to what?”
She shrugged. “When the time comes, hopefully we’ll both now. Just give us enough lead time, okay? That flight from London takes forever.”
Angel nodded and pocketed the card. “Are we finished?”
Buffy looked a little sad, and a lot younger as she nodded. “Yeah, I think we really are.”
Angel smiled softly, picking up the underlying feeling with a small catch of hurt. “Then I should get back to running my evil empire.”
“Yeah, okay.” Buffy turned for the door, but stopped with her hand on the knob. “Angel?”
He looked up and smiled. She nodded and took a deep breath. There really wasn’t anything else to say. Then she realized something. “Could I at least stake Harmony? You know…so the trip wasn’t wasted or anything?”
“Goodbye, Buffy.”
She nodded again and left. Angel starred after her for a minute, then pulled the card out of his pocket, running his thumb over her looping letters. After a while, he opened his drawer and dropped the card into it, knowing he wouldn’t call, because anyone following him into this war, wasn’t coming out the other side.
