There were things that, as the Slayer, Buffy could easily do.
Take, for instance, warding an entire city from a population that consisted largely of the undead variety. Easy. She did it every night the previous seven years, all with relative ease.
Averting the annual apocalypse? Check. Again, big with the easy. She'd done so, only really dying the one time--and, anyway, that was more of a death by proxy than a direct consequence of her job.
Buffy was the Slayer. Well, a Slayer now. She was a Slayer; the previously called non-magicked Chosen One. The Fighter of the Forces of Darkness, the She Alone in All The World--and it was being in this stupid elevator that was seriously freaking her out. And not just freaked, their might've been some slight wiggage involved.
Being enclosed in a tight, stuffy space wasn't exactly ringing high on her 'most favorite things to do' list, and, gee, why wouldn't she like being cramped in a small box? It might've been that whole unfortunate 'woke up in a coffin' thing.
Though... at least the coffin didn't filter in adult contemporary music. Seriously, who was this they were playing? Barry Manilow? Sure, because that's not lame or, you know, 1970.
The whole reason for being in the elevator, aside from the fun mental reminder of her Big Death Scene (circa 2001), was the slightly more fun trip to visit Angel. At Wolfram and Hart, which was a whole new level of things to experience. She only hoped she wasn't a walking bull’s eye. No fluorescent sign blinking over her head saying "Slayer, here! Attack at will!" Buffy had a feeling that this building didn't just employ humans. That feeling might have had something to do with the fact that the newly hired CEO was a vampire.
Slayer Tinglies. Not just a myth.
Buffy watched patiently as the floors passed by, a quiet bell sound ticking throughout the otherwise silent space with each new level. There was an uncomfortable awkwardness laying thick, and Buffy tried to ignore it as she smiled politely at the other random people in the elevator. It was made even more awkward when they shot the obliging smile back.
She was contemplating the very serious thought of whether or not this elevator would ever stop, or if it was indeed evil and was actually launching them into some unknown hell dimension, when it slowed to a stop with the courteous ding signaling the arrival of their destination. The doors slid open and Buffy quickly stepped out, immediately, if not figuratively, shaking off the weird vibes she'd been feeling since first walking into the building.
The lobby of Wolfram and Hart was huge, brightly lit and... really, really white. She'd only gone a few steps when she realized that... she had no idea where exactly she was supposed to be going. And while, yes, she was looking for Angel--she was supposed to find him--where? That little map thingy on the first floor lobby wasn't particularly helpful. There was the red arrow with the traditional 'you are here' mark, but she couldn't exactly find any 'ex-boyfriend you so aren't ready to see, here' destination marks.
"Buffy?" a familiarly perky voice called out from her right, and Buffy immediately stiffened at the sound of it.
No, it couldn't have been. That voice...
"Oh my god, Buffy!" the voice called again. Okay, there was definite familiarity there.
Buffy turned slowly to her side, and... it was her.
"Harmony?" She stared in shock as the blonde vampire rushed up to her with enough energy to power a small civilization--at least a small, evil, demon-y civilization. "You're here." With a frown, she pointedly looked around the wide lobby. Thought one: Harmony, plus thought two: Wolfram and Hart, weren't exactly connecting. "Why are you here?"
Harmony rolled her eyes. "Well nice to see you, too!" she scolded playfully, her voice that same peppy tone of 'annoying cheerleader' Buffy very clearly remembered. "Duh, I work here!"
Right. Of course. "You work here?"
"Yuh huh!" Harmony nodded eagerly, smiling painfully bright. Her voice turned gossipy as she leaned in closer, like they were about to spill secrets of Queen C proportions. "I know. At first I was like, 'An office job? Please, I am so above that.' But the pay is really good, and the benefits are awesome. The hours completely suck, being daylight and all, but they do make up for it with tons of free blood. There's this vending machine on the fifth floor--"
"Free blood?" Buffy asked, low profile be damned. She was a Slayer, Harmony was a vampire, and--free blood? Hah, she so knew this place was evil.
"Not human!" Harmony was quick to point out, looking very much like she thought Buffy was about to break out a stake and use it on her. "Cow's blood, pig's blood, otter's blood--you know, your every day, run of the mill farm animal. I've been off the really good stuff for, like... months now."
Okay, maybe not so evil then.
"You work here?" Buffy repeated, still in a mind-looping sort of shock. The last time she'd seen Harmony was in Sunnydale. At Spike's crypt, when he'd chained her up and--okay, not going there, but... now Harmony was here? Working? It would've been really funny, if it wasn't so... pathetic.
"Wesley gave me the job," Harmony was saying, by way of explanation. "It was kinda surprising, you know? Last time he saw me he totally wanted to kill me."
"You don't say."
"At first I thought it was some big, elaborate scheme to try and stake me, but it turns out he really was offering me a job. Secretarial, which is a huge step down from having my own minions."
Buffy blinked. "And so… you took it?"
"It's not like I had other options," Harmony answered honestly. "Finding employment as a vampire sucks. Seriously, you'd think in this day and age people would be a little more open-minded about things like that, but apparently we've yet to reach that landmark." She paused, a wide smile forming. "Sooo,“ she said, playfully, very much a Harmony that Buffy had never, ever known, “why are you here?" There was another pause, and this time her smile faded. She nodded the nod of the sage and wise. "Ohhh."
"Ohhh?"
"It does make sense," Harmony mused out loud, glancing off thoughtfully. "I mean, he's always going on and on about 'the Slayer this' and 'the Slayer that'. It's like, okay, freak. " Mid-eye roll, she seemed to suddenly remember that she was standing in front of said Slayer--said Slayer with a moral obligation to kill her kind--and she started to smile uncomfortably. "I mean, no offense!"
Buffy stared at Harmony, bemused (and... slightly offended). "What are you talking about?"
"You're all he talks about, ever since he got here."
Finally, something she understood. The whole reason for being there. "And speaking of," Buffy said, directing the conversation into thoughts of the more logical kind. "Is he here?"
Harmony looked around the lobby. "Probably," she shrugged.
Buffy blinked, waiting as a few more seconds passed by. When it didn't look like Harmony was going to elaborate any more, maybe point her in the direction of where to find him, she pressed on. "Does he have, I don't know, an office?" Angel was the Big Honcho guy of this place--Big Honcho guys get offices, right? Even if they're (possibly evil) vampires.
"An office?" Harmony laughed, but it was only a short-lived chuckle. That thoughtful-musing look was back. "I think maybe he sleeps in Wesley's..."
"Okay, what exactly are you talking about? Because, call me crazy, I'm getting the idea that we're not on the same page here. Forget the page, we're not even in the same book. Your book is all... confusing, and non-pagey, and--you work here?"
"Buffy?"
Buffy turned around at that deep familiar voice, seeing the vampire in question standing behind her. "Angel," she sighed in relief, and stepped awkwardly towards him and far, far away from Harmony.
She was happy for the diversion, except the initial gratitude soon started to fade when she saw the frown on Angel's less-than-thrilled face. Well, gee, she thought sarcastically to herself, don't get too excited to see me.
"Buffy, you're... here." His brow furrowed as he folded his hands across his chest, making him seem twice as large. "How come?"
"Duh," Harmony helpfully inserted.
"Harmony, stay out of it," Angel immediately warned, glaring briefly at her. "And go... work."
She returned his gaze with a cheerful smile. "Right, work," she said, bobbing once in agreement before turning around and hurrying back to a desk Buffy hadn't noticed before. Harmony, working behind a desk. And just when you'd thought you've seen everything...
Buffy felt her nerves kick in when quietness settled between her and Angel as they were left to themselves. She hadn't seen him since that last night in Sunnydale, had only talked to him a few times since. Weirdness was definitely ensuing.
Folding her hands across her chest, she turned to him, willing herself to stay casual. "So, Harmony works here?"
There, that was light and cheerful--not at all awkward (or possibly redundant). They were conversation buddies, with absolutely *no* thoughts of cookie dough swirling around in either of their heads.
"Wes hired her," Angel said, in a way that sounded almost apologetic.
Buffy leveled a cool, if not petty, stare in his direction. "You do know she formed a gang to try and kill me, right?"
"She joined a cult to try to kill me," he countered, the very picture of unimpressed. The unimpressed look quickly shifted into grateful. "But she does make good blood. Actually... that's pretty much all that she does."
"So I've heard. Nothing like some of that good ol' otter's blood, straight off the family farm."
"Right, otter's blood." He looked down at her, tall as he was, suddenly serious. "So, why'd you say you were here again?"
"I didn't, but..." Buffy glanced around the lobby, noticing the blatant stares they were getting from passers-by. So not the place to talk. "Can we have this discussion somewhere a little less, 'hey, let's eavesdrop on the private conversation'? Somewhere not so... open?"
"Yeah, of course." He looked over her shoulder. "Harmony, hold my calls."
Buffy almost laughed out loud at the sheer ridiculousness of that, but managed to hold it in. Guess Angel really was running this place. It should've been obvious by the suit and tie he was wearing, which... had she ever seen him in one of those? Because it was a look of definite goodness. You know, conversationally, non-cookie dough speaking.
"Will do, Boss," Harmony was saying. There was a heavy pause. "But what if I see--"
"You won't," Angel cut her off quickly.
"But if I do?"
"You won't."
"Okay, but if I do, and I'm just saying because you totally know he's gonna have one his lame-o spaz attacks--"
"Harmony," he grumbled tightly, effectively ending that argument.
"Okay, you're in charge," Harmony shrugged, just as the phone on her desk started ringing. She picked it up with a dutiful smile. "Wolfram and Hart, this is Harmony speaking... No, I'm sorry," she answered, looking pointedly at Angel. "He's in an important meeting, completely busy and totally unavailable. Can I take a message?"
Buffy felt Angel's hand on the small of her back, all at once familiar and not entirely unwelcome, and the next instant she was being guided towards two large double doors. When they got there, he pulled one half of the double door equation open and stepped to the side to let her walk through.
"Wow," she said, taking in the large room that immediately came to view before her. Old-looking artifacts straight out of the pages of National Geographic magazines were everywhere, giving the place an artsy, natural look, like some bachelor den in one of them European countries. Paintings, plush couches. Comfortable amounts of leather. This was the digs of the well-off. "Is this your office?" she asked.
"Yeah," he answered distractedly, busy closing the door behind him.
Buffy stared. A lot. I mean, just. The ambiance alone. Wow. "It's... big."
"Well, not that big," Angel countered defensively. "Not when everyone's in here. Then it can get a little cramped." Off her look of extreme skepticism, he lamely added, "There's only so much sitting room..."
Buffy smiled at his awkwardness. The room was nice. Definitely of the large variety, and again with the brightness. Only this light was coming from something other than light bulbs, she realized. "Your windows..." she started to say, throwing him a worried glance.
Angel just smiled as he walked over to them, not at all caring that the blinds were wide open. Wide open in a completely fatal way. "Necro-tempered," he explained, holding his hands up in demonstration as he stood not-exploding-into-a-pile-of-dust in the streaming sunlight. "One-of-a-kind, specially installed."
Seeing him standing in the sunlight, free of combustion, made Buffy's insides hum in that familiar way that they always seemed to do around him, no matter the time they spent apart. He looked almost normal. Kinda pale, but to a to-be-expected degree.
"Wow," she finally managed.
"I know, it's nice. They're everywhere, too. The whole building has it. The cars, my apartment."
"That's just... wow." Great. Repeat-o Buffy. Wonder how many times she can say 'wow' today?
"Yeah, so..." His hands dropped back down to fold across his chest. He tried to look casual, though he was failing miserably. "So why are you here? Not that I mind," he quickly added.
"I guess my 'I was just in the neighborhood, thought I'd swing by and check out your new place' line I practiced on the ride over isn't gonna work, is it?"
There was a certain flirtiness to her words that she chose to overlook.
Angel smiled a little. "It's just... sudden."
Buffy folded her own hands across her chest, immediately channeling the Slayer within. Getting down to business, because she actually was here for reasons that extended beyond current awkward social visitation. "We got a phone call."
"We?"
"Me, Giles... everybody," she elaborated shortly, not really in the mood to tick off names. "We're camped out in Cleveland now--did anyone tell you?"
"I heard."
"After Sunnydale, it kind of left us on the homeless side of things. Cleveland was destination number one on our list, 'cause what says 'rest and retreat' like another Hellmouth?" Silence on his part. Right. That joke usually only works on other Slayers. Mentally noted. "Anyway," she continued, "we got this phone call a few days ago. One of those cliché, raspy, low-voiced calls. It was some guy telling us that he had a surprise for us--for me, he was sure I'd be interested in."
"A surprise?"
"Yeah. And naturally that's the point where I thank him in my sarcastically sweet voice for wasting my time and hang up. Except before I could, he mentioned the amulet."
Angel started to frown. "The amulet? The one..."
"Right," she said, staring pointedly at him, waiting for the dots to connect. "That one. And I'm wondering--why the hell is this guy calling little ol’ me to ask me about it, when he tells me that you have it." Angel tensed at that and Buffy couldn't help but notice. She took a few hesitant steps forward, trying not to sound or look too accusing. "Of course, I threw back at him the fact that you had it. Months ago. End of conversation, right? Imagine my surprise when he tells me that, while that was true, it's not what he meant."
"And that's why you're here?" he asked, his tone having a defensive edge to it. "Because some guy called you--"
"He said you had a surprise for me that I'd be interested in, Angel." With a wry smile, she shrugged stiffly. "I'm curious by nature. It's a real downfall, so I'm told. So, yeah. You working at Wolfram and Hart, which isn't exactly the most ease-inspiring of places, plus this phone call? Warning bells went off and flashing lights... flashed." She winced a little at the lameness of that sentence, before stopping in front of him completely. "And I figured I could use a little 'me' time and take a trip out here to sunny LA. So?"
"So did this mystery caller have a name, or was he just all about the immediate pointing me out?"
Buffy's glare softened as she lifted her shoulders, shrugging. "I don't know. It was some guy that called himself 'Doyle'."
Angel met her eyes, a silent sort of seriousness. "Doyle?"
"He didn't leave a last name. Just said to tell you 'Doyle says hi', and that there's something to do with the amulet waiting for me in LA. So, what is it? Do you have the amulet? Because I'm kinda thinking that's not in the realm of possibility."
Angel's body relaxed as his hands fell to his sides, but tension still hardened the lines in his face. "Are you sure... he said his name was Doyle?" he asked, carefully, staring at her in confusion like he was still trying to process all the given information. "Because--I knew a Doyle."
"Pretty sure that's what he said," she insisted tightly. "'Doyle says hi'." She paused, breathing in deep. Not really wanting to ask, but needing to anyway. "So. Do you have it, or what?"
He stared at her for a few more seconds, his confusion fading into indifference, before he slowly walked over to and around his desk. She felt her chest tighten when he pulled open the top drawer and started to fumble around. "Is this what you're talking about?" he asked, raising the familiar amulet into view.
The clear jewel swung back and forth from where he held it by the chain between his fingers, and she could only stare at it, shocked. "How?"
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!