Out of Mind, Out of Sight Drabble: Flashback from Escape Me Never (Willow/Angel)
This is probably a bit of an unusual entry. It's a flashback sequence from a much longer fic of mine called Escape Me Never. I have been assured that it stands on its own and since it is set during Out of Mind, Out of Sight, I thought I would share it here.
Title: Flashback Sequence from Escape Me Never (read the whole story here)
Author: Gabrielle
Characters: Willow, Angel, Giles, Xander
Rating: FRT/PG
Summary: Angel rescues Willow, Giles, and Xander from the boiler room.
Feedback: Please.
Distribution: Here, my LJ, and my site only.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to Joss and a bunch of other people who are not now and have never been me.
Flashback sequence from Escape Me Never
There were advantages sometimes to being a souled vampire desirous of avoiding notice, to taking the tunnels even when the streets were dark and safe for his kind. Take tonight for instance. If he hadn’t come on his errand into the nearly deserted high school from far below ground, he never would have smelled it. Gas. And at the rate it was leaking, the school could easily be blown up in a matter of minutes, taking Buffy and her friends with it. Good thing he was right near the boiler room. Now another advantage of his would come into play.
Wait. Mingled with the stifling odor of the gas, he could pick up three familiar scents. He could also hear the sound of three heartbeats slowing into the rhythm of an unconsciousness that would soon become permanent. There was a faint pounding on the inside of the door. Angel yanked it open.
The moment he did, Giles tumbled out at his feet. For a moment, Angel found himself extremely vexed with the man. It took a special kind of selfishness for him to remain closest to the last remaining source of fresh air. No time for that, though; there were two other lives at stake. One of which was actually worth saving. He dragged Giles quickly out of the room, not bothering with excessive politesse.
“C’mon.” He pulled the man’s body out of the doorway, dumping him unceremoniously to the ground once more. He had more important things to do than fuss over Rupert Giles.
His eyes immediately sought out Willow. She wasn’t responding to the noise and he was terrified that he might have been too late. Damn Giles. Whatever happened to chivalry? His spot by the door might have been better taken by Willow, whose lighter body weight also made her more susceptible to the fumes than he was.
Angel got to her in a flash, checked her pulse and carried her hastily from the room, not thinking about Xander for a moment, though he was depressed to see that Giles had gotten him out even before Angel emerged bearing Willow’s slight form.
Willow lay cradled against him, like a child. Somehow, though, the feelings she was evoking in him were none too innocent. He was almost glad that the presence of the others made it necessary for him to find the strength to resist temptation and set her on her feet. The feel of her in his arms was almost too pleasurable. Xander’s voice, blessedly, took his focus off the still-unconscious girl leaning against him.
“What happened?”
As if Angel should know. Logic chided Angel with the fact of Xander’s near death fogging his memories, but he had no real inclination to make any allowances at all for the boy. Was he unreasonable and childish in that regard? Perhaps. But Xander’s grating personality was more than sufficient excuse.
“You tell me.”
“I’m up, mom.” With those mumbled words, Willow came adorably awake. Angel’s arm remained around her.
“Hi. What do you want?”
Typical. He saves the boy’s miserable excuse for a life and Xander still treats him like dirt. All the dangerous creatures lurking in Sunnydale...couldn’t one of them do the world a favour? If it weren’t for Willow having been one of those trapped in the boiler room, Angel wondered if he would have even bothered to save the day.
Yeah.
He would have.
Sometimes he really hated having a soul.
“I brought you the Codex.” He handed the ancient volume to Giles and watched as Giles groped the book in an almost disturbing way, a gleam in his eyes that was almost... Okay, he got that the guy was a Watcher and a librarian, but geez did he ever need to get out more. And that was coming from someone who’d been living in alleys and eating rats for eighty years.
“I came in through the basement. I smelled the gas.”
“Y-y-yes w-well shut it off. Otherwise th-the whole building will go up.”
This was getting way too creepy. Giles was stuttering as if he’d just been caught reading Playboy. Angel decided that was something best left unthought about, though he did worry a bit about what might be in store for that Codex...
“I’ll get it. It’s not like I need the oxygen.”
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
With that, Giles hustled Xander and Willow out of the basement.
For a moment that went on just a bit too long, Angel stared after them. No, not them. Her. Then he went into the boiler room to turn off the gas - but not without taking one last look at the retreating girl. Would it have been such a bad thing after eighty years of penance if circumstances had made it necessary for him to carry Willow home?
End Flashback
Title: Flashback Sequence from Escape Me Never (read the whole story here)
Author: Gabrielle
Characters: Willow, Angel, Giles, Xander
Rating: FRT/PG
Summary: Angel rescues Willow, Giles, and Xander from the boiler room.
Feedback: Please.
Distribution: Here, my LJ, and my site only.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to Joss and a bunch of other people who are not now and have never been me.
Flashback sequence from Escape Me Never
There were advantages sometimes to being a souled vampire desirous of avoiding notice, to taking the tunnels even when the streets were dark and safe for his kind. Take tonight for instance. If he hadn’t come on his errand into the nearly deserted high school from far below ground, he never would have smelled it. Gas. And at the rate it was leaking, the school could easily be blown up in a matter of minutes, taking Buffy and her friends with it. Good thing he was right near the boiler room. Now another advantage of his would come into play.
Wait. Mingled with the stifling odor of the gas, he could pick up three familiar scents. He could also hear the sound of three heartbeats slowing into the rhythm of an unconsciousness that would soon become permanent. There was a faint pounding on the inside of the door. Angel yanked it open.
The moment he did, Giles tumbled out at his feet. For a moment, Angel found himself extremely vexed with the man. It took a special kind of selfishness for him to remain closest to the last remaining source of fresh air. No time for that, though; there were two other lives at stake. One of which was actually worth saving. He dragged Giles quickly out of the room, not bothering with excessive politesse.
“C’mon.” He pulled the man’s body out of the doorway, dumping him unceremoniously to the ground once more. He had more important things to do than fuss over Rupert Giles.
His eyes immediately sought out Willow. She wasn’t responding to the noise and he was terrified that he might have been too late. Damn Giles. Whatever happened to chivalry? His spot by the door might have been better taken by Willow, whose lighter body weight also made her more susceptible to the fumes than he was.
Angel got to her in a flash, checked her pulse and carried her hastily from the room, not thinking about Xander for a moment, though he was depressed to see that Giles had gotten him out even before Angel emerged bearing Willow’s slight form.
Willow lay cradled against him, like a child. Somehow, though, the feelings she was evoking in him were none too innocent. He was almost glad that the presence of the others made it necessary for him to find the strength to resist temptation and set her on her feet. The feel of her in his arms was almost too pleasurable. Xander’s voice, blessedly, took his focus off the still-unconscious girl leaning against him.
“What happened?”
As if Angel should know. Logic chided Angel with the fact of Xander’s near death fogging his memories, but he had no real inclination to make any allowances at all for the boy. Was he unreasonable and childish in that regard? Perhaps. But Xander’s grating personality was more than sufficient excuse.
“You tell me.”
“I’m up, mom.” With those mumbled words, Willow came adorably awake. Angel’s arm remained around her.
“Hi. What do you want?”
Typical. He saves the boy’s miserable excuse for a life and Xander still treats him like dirt. All the dangerous creatures lurking in Sunnydale...couldn’t one of them do the world a favour? If it weren’t for Willow having been one of those trapped in the boiler room, Angel wondered if he would have even bothered to save the day.
Yeah.
He would have.
Sometimes he really hated having a soul.
“I brought you the Codex.” He handed the ancient volume to Giles and watched as Giles groped the book in an almost disturbing way, a gleam in his eyes that was almost... Okay, he got that the guy was a Watcher and a librarian, but geez did he ever need to get out more. And that was coming from someone who’d been living in alleys and eating rats for eighty years.
“I came in through the basement. I smelled the gas.”
“Y-y-yes w-well shut it off. Otherwise th-the whole building will go up.”
This was getting way too creepy. Giles was stuttering as if he’d just been caught reading Playboy. Angel decided that was something best left unthought about, though he did worry a bit about what might be in store for that Codex...
“I’ll get it. It’s not like I need the oxygen.”
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
With that, Giles hustled Xander and Willow out of the basement.
For a moment that went on just a bit too long, Angel stared after them. No, not them. Her. Then he went into the boiler room to turn off the gas - but not without taking one last look at the retreating girl. Would it have been such a bad thing after eighty years of penance if circumstances had made it necessary for him to carry Willow home?
End Flashback