i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overatonerJune 9 2009, 01:05:52 UTC
Fights in the house. Unnecessary ones, ones where Faith gets hurt right after things are getting better for her. Angel knows that he should have been there sooner, to stop it from happening, but the information hadn't reached him on time. He regrets that, but it doesn't bring out disapproval despite her words. He's not going to disprove of her actions, not right now-a fight with Illyria in his mansion (his mansion, the idea is still weird, despite having owned an entire hotel) is better than crawling into Sylar's bed, than being elsewhere.
He can watch over her better this way.
So Angel just moves to a chair, sliding down into it and leaning over so he can keep his eyes on her. "You won't be doing it again, right?" he asks, not because he needs confirmation, but because he doesn't know where to begin. She's been there: that's good. She's around: that's good. A turn around? It's not one entirely, but it's a new horizon, a new day-exactly where she needs to be again.
"... And I didn't like that one too much," he adds, as an afterthought, really, but his nose wrinkles in distaste.
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overthesecondslayerJune 9 2009, 01:21:19 UTC
It's not a conversation with Angel until he makes her feel like a scolded little kid. Hell, it's deserved here, and kind of comforting. Things with Angel have been so confusing, lately-- he's her rock, he's the enemy, he's here, he's not, he gets her more than anyone and then he doesn't understand anything at all-- but this? Familiar ground. Safe ground, too.
"Angel, I'm chilling on your kitchen floor because I'm pretty sure if I stand up right now, I end up face down and passed out. I'm not gonna start shit with Blues Clues again, swear to God."
She sighs. "Yeah, whatever. Still buying you a new one since washing this one's a lost cause now, so... deal and take the damn shirt." She turns her neck to look at Angel, eyes finally open, her face as blank as she can make it. "You gonna ask?"
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overatonerJune 9 2009, 02:25:06 UTC
There are a lot of questions he can easily ask. Who she fought with. Why she's there. The big one: what's wrong with her relationship? The last one is the one that sits on the end of his tongue for a moment, because he isn't certain he wants to push ahead with that one. Angel figures that they'll get there soon, but he instead chooses to go with the easier question, the one that will break the tense feeling of the situation a little bit.
"You fought with Illyria," he says, answering it himself. "I saw it on the network." He hesitates for a moment, leaning back, glancing away. "Probably not the question you expected me to ask, but you can start telling me if you want. I'd like to know." A pause, a beat of silence. "Either way, I like having you around again. It's nice."
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overthesecondslayerJune 9 2009, 02:37:51 UTC
"Yeah, if you can call her knocking me around like it's time for kick the can and I'm the freaking can a fight." It's rote grumbling; there's no heat in Faith's voice, no anger; just resignation and something that could almost be humor. Just fulfilling the roles they always play. "Was a bad call. Not like Wes couldn't have given me some damn warning I was getting into it with a brick wall or something, but I started it. She just finished it, that's all. Not a big."
She pulls her hair back from her face, grimacing when a few strands pull at one of the slowly scabbing over wounds on her face. Bass will flip his shit. Great. "Spent the night on a couch. Blue got in my face, I told her to bring it." She gestures at herself, rolling her eyes. "She brought it. There, now you got the whole story."
Silence on Faith's end for a second, then she shrugs and says a little awkwardly, "Yeah. I mean... nice to be back, too."
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overatonerJune 9 2009, 03:12:42 UTC
"No, I don't," Angel says quickly, this time not bothering to mull over his words. He's already mulled over them long enough: he left her the opening and she hadn't taken it. Although there's always the chance that he can leave it to sit, he doesn't want to chance it. Gabriel-Sylar-can always change things, can always render this situation into a new one; if she's here, it's not some sudden change in her attitude, it's not him letting go of her. Angel understands guys like him to some extent. He understands them all too well.
"This isn't about the fight. I'm not surprised you made a mistake and decided to fight Illyria." Her antagonistic behavior is just one reason, but Angel doesn't go into it. He's not surprised. It's as simple as that. Faith may be redeemed, but it takes two sides to tango, and there's no reason to walk down that path. "I want the story behind why you're here."
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overthesecondslayerJune 9 2009, 03:31:27 UTC
"Told you, I--" Faith falls silent, prods at a cut inside her mouth with her tongue, worrying it until blood begins to seep again. "Jesus. You and Wes, Angel. Can't just... let it be."
That startles a laugh out of her, creaky and a little rough, but honest. "Yeah, me neither. Anyway, me and Blue been heading for this for a little while. Might as well get it done now." She sighs, looks back down at her hands. "Just needed a little space, is all. Things got pretty jacked up after that last curse."
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overatonerJune 9 2009, 03:50:39 UTC
The smell of the blood makes him pause for a moment, but he doesn't let up easily, not like she wants him to. Brush it off like it's a curse, act like it's nothing. Angel's not going to step back down when he cares about her, when he's made it pretty clear that he believes in this possibility for her. He considers standing, but looming over her will only increase the pressure. Not a good idea.
"What kind of jacked up?" He ensures that his tone is softer, more casual, not pushing, but enough that the words should be responded to.
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overthesecondslayerJune 9 2009, 04:06:56 UTC
Toying with a small, unshredded portion of the hem of Angel's shirt, Faith shrugs, still looking down at her hands steadfastly. She's not turning on Sylar, not just yet. He said he wanted to explain, so... she owes him the chance. But Angel's not going to give this up if doesn't give him something.
"Some shit just not sitting right, that's all. I needed some space to figure it out. Too hard to do it there." The book flashes in her mind, names and powers all neatly arranged, like a grocery list of things he could use. People he could use. "Thought here was as good a place as any." A beat, then she looks over at Angel, half smiles. "Probably better."
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overatonerJune 9 2009, 04:23:40 UTC
Vague, it's too vague. Angel knows she doesn't want to say what it is, because then that might be giving him something to work with. The problem is something that could make Sylar look bad; he's picked up that much from the situation, because she would have said it already. She hasn't even lied-she's dancing around the truth.
"I'd like it if you stuck around." Coaxing, just a little bit-even if she wants to go back, she'll know he's here. "Until you're absolutely certain you've got that worked out. Or even if you ... wanted to stay here, afterward."
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overthesecondslayerJune 9 2009, 05:07:04 UTC
Faith's trying her hardest not to lie to Angel, because that draws a line she can't step back over too easy. She owes Gabe the chance to explain, but if he can't... she picks her side and stands on it, and there's no going back. Lying to Angel is just another side she can pick, one that isn't even a possibility.
"Yeah, why not. Not like I got a hell of a lot else to do, since Bass is probably gonna take one look at my face and give me the week off." Faith traded on the appeal having a hot chick as a bouncer to get the job. Shine kind of wears off when she's like this. "I gotta go grab some clothes when Ga--" her face shuts down, embarrassed and a little ashamed. "Just later, is all. But yeah, why not. Just make it clear to Big Blue her Slayer chewtoy's not down for round two, we're five by five."
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overatonerJune 9 2009, 05:21:53 UTC
"I'm planning on speaking with Illyria, making it clear that if she's going to stay here, these things aren't going to happen. I'd like to open this place to other people, not just us ..." Oz comes to mind when he says this, but so do others. Angel doesn't know if there's a chance he will continue that, but he doesn't have the same standing here as he did back in LA. Still, still, there is always the room for change, for something different-for keeping himself from even doing what he did those months while LA sank into Hell, because helping others is important.
And Faith is a good starting point.
"Anyway, you go get clothes and come back here, maybe I'll make you something tonight. It could be nice. You, me, Illyria stomping around, tigers in the other room ... werewolf in the cellar. It could be interesting." He speaks casually, a quirk to his lips forming. "I'd like that."
No part of him believes this is the immediate breakthrough he's been waiting for. She still hasn't told him the problem, but he's still going to try. He has to try.
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overthesecondslayerJune 9 2009, 14:22:49 UTC
"Sweet. Because Blue hits like a damn piledriver. Not really looking forward to trying to back down if she wants to play again." She smiles at Angel, ruefully and a little hesitant. This feels right, again. Tenuous and a little fragile, like things could shatter if she moves too fast again.
...Not like she's down for doing much but sitting still for a little while, anyway.
"Halfway house, something like that?" Faith considers that quietly, then nods. "Not a bad deal. I like it."
Things are still messy. She wants to believe Gabe, wants it to be... a list of all the nice kids Santa needs to hit up this year, whatever. But even Faith can only ignore her gut for so long, and right now... She'll cross that bridge when she comes to it. Maybe pull it down stone by stone, if she has to. But right now, it's good enough she's where she is. She can deal with it later.
"Like that, too." Ignoring the werewolf thing-- and the tigers; Angel's got tigers now?-- Faith nods. "Sounds good."
i'm safe up high nothing can touch me but why do i feel this party's overatonerJune 9 2009, 21:44:28 UTC
Angel has tigers. Temporary visitors, but white tigers. He keeps them in a larger room and remembers Sharhazard's words about the tigers-and he figures as long as they keep out of everyone else's way, everything's fine. It's just a sign of the weird things that happen in the City, but not as weird as curses, people coming in and out, and the apparent and existing lack of control.
"Good," he says, awkward, and then he rises up, moving to the fridge and taking out a thing of eggs. "Would you like some? And ... if you need another shirt, that's fine, too." Angel respectfully doesn't take in all the tatters of the shirt, and hasn't been, but he knows how these things get, how these things are.
He can watch over her better this way.
So Angel just moves to a chair, sliding down into it and leaning over so he can keep his eyes on her. "You won't be doing it again, right?" he asks, not because he needs confirmation, but because he doesn't know where to begin. She's been there: that's good. She's around: that's good. A turn around? It's not one entirely, but it's a new horizon, a new day-exactly where she needs to be again.
"... And I didn't like that one too much," he adds, as an afterthought, really, but his nose wrinkles in distaste.
Reply
"Angel, I'm chilling on your kitchen floor because I'm pretty sure if I stand up right now, I end up face down and passed out. I'm not gonna start shit with Blues Clues again, swear to God."
She sighs. "Yeah, whatever. Still buying you a new one since washing this one's a lost cause now, so... deal and take the damn shirt." She turns her neck to look at Angel, eyes finally open, her face as blank as she can make it. "You gonna ask?"
Reply
"You fought with Illyria," he says, answering it himself. "I saw it on the network." He hesitates for a moment, leaning back, glancing away. "Probably not the question you expected me to ask, but you can start telling me if you want. I'd like to know." A pause, a beat of silence. "Either way, I like having you around again. It's nice."
Reply
She pulls her hair back from her face, grimacing when a few strands pull at one of the slowly scabbing over wounds on her face. Bass will flip his shit. Great. "Spent the night on a couch. Blue got in my face, I told her to bring it." She gestures at herself, rolling her eyes. "She brought it. There, now you got the whole story."
Silence on Faith's end for a second, then she shrugs and says a little awkwardly, "Yeah. I mean... nice to be back, too."
Reply
"This isn't about the fight. I'm not surprised you made a mistake and decided to fight Illyria." Her antagonistic behavior is just one reason, but Angel doesn't go into it. He's not surprised. It's as simple as that. Faith may be redeemed, but it takes two sides to tango, and there's no reason to walk down that path. "I want the story behind why you're here."
Reply
That startles a laugh out of her, creaky and a little rough, but honest. "Yeah, me neither. Anyway, me and Blue been heading for this for a little while. Might as well get it done now." She sighs, looks back down at her hands. "Just needed a little space, is all. Things got pretty jacked up after that last curse."
Reply
"What kind of jacked up?" He ensures that his tone is softer, more casual, not pushing, but enough that the words should be responded to.
Reply
"Some shit just not sitting right, that's all. I needed some space to figure it out. Too hard to do it there." The book flashes in her mind, names and powers all neatly arranged, like a grocery list of things he could use. People he could use. "Thought here was as good a place as any." A beat, then she looks over at Angel, half smiles. "Probably better."
Reply
"I'd like it if you stuck around." Coaxing, just a little bit-even if she wants to go back, she'll know he's here. "Until you're absolutely certain you've got that worked out. Or even if you ... wanted to stay here, afterward."
Reply
"Yeah, why not. Not like I got a hell of a lot else to do, since Bass is probably gonna take one look at my face and give me the week off." Faith traded on the appeal having a hot chick as a bouncer to get the job. Shine kind of wears off when she's like this. "I gotta go grab some clothes when Ga--" her face shuts down, embarrassed and a little ashamed. "Just later, is all. But yeah, why not. Just make it clear to Big Blue her Slayer chewtoy's not down for round two, we're five by five."
Reply
And Faith is a good starting point.
"Anyway, you go get clothes and come back here, maybe I'll make you something tonight. It could be nice. You, me, Illyria stomping around, tigers in the other room ... werewolf in the cellar. It could be interesting." He speaks casually, a quirk to his lips forming. "I'd like that."
No part of him believes this is the immediate breakthrough he's been waiting for. She still hasn't told him the problem, but he's still going to try. He has to try.
Reply
...Not like she's down for doing much but sitting still for a little while, anyway.
"Halfway house, something like that?" Faith considers that quietly, then nods. "Not a bad deal. I like it."
Things are still messy. She wants to believe Gabe, wants it to be... a list of all the nice kids Santa needs to hit up this year, whatever. But even Faith can only ignore her gut for so long, and right now... She'll cross that bridge when she comes to it. Maybe pull it down stone by stone, if she has to. But right now, it's good enough she's where she is. She can deal with it later.
"Like that, too." Ignoring the werewolf thing-- and the tigers; Angel's got tigers now?-- Faith nods. "Sounds good."
Reply
"Good," he says, awkward, and then he rises up, moving to the fridge and taking out a thing of eggs. "Would you like some? And ... if you need another shirt, that's fine, too." Angel respectfully doesn't take in all the tatters of the shirt, and hasn't been, but he knows how these things get, how these things are.
Reply
Leave a comment