Another AtS Fic - "Lazy Days"
Title: Lazy Days
Fandom: Angel the Series (Early Season 2ish)
Prompt: Murder
Word Count:1,125
Warnings: Unbetad?
Rating: G
Characters: Angel, Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley
Summary: Some enemies you can fight, sometime the enemy is just boredom.
"Angel!" He heard Cordy's shoes clacked down the stairs as she headed towards the office. "I think we've got a case."
Angel looked up from the ownership papers he'd received from Lilah. Anything was better than paperwork, and he still couldn't figure out what all the code violations and repairs were. Knob and tube wiring? He was just happy that the lights worked.
Gunn popped his head up from one of the chesterfields in the lobby. "A case? Great. Where are we headed?" His feet hit the floor. "As much as I like lazy days, I'm thinking I need something to compare them to."
"All I know is that I was on the phone with Wesley, mostly because there's a sale on my shampoo at a store that's only a few blocks out of his way, well by blocks I might mean his side of the city, but as Gunn pointed out it's not like we're been doing anything important and without that shampoo my hair looks post apocalyptic, and coming from Sunnydale that means something."
Angel let Cordy in rant mode wash over him. She was so passionate about everything. It reminded him what Doyle had said when he realized how much she kept him engaged in the here and now. Wait, she'd stopped talking.
"You mentioned a case?" He was pretty sure the rant had mostly been about forcing Wesley way out of his way for beauty products.
"Mr. I'm Englisher than thou hung up on me. But before he did he said something about a murder."
Angel could see the conflict in Cordy's eyes. She was as bored as the rest of them, but he knew she hated not being the center of attention - well unless it was on a case. It was probably the reason that she'd had such a short rant. "Did you have?" He hated watching her get visions, or rather the pain she suffered to do so.
"Nope, this is all on Wes. He isn't picking up his phone. He'd better be picking up that shampoo; the sale ends tomorrow. "
It was almost reassuring to know that despite everything they'd faced in the last few years, that Cordy's priorities were still so, well, Cordy.
"Yup, if he's shouting murder, I'm sure a side trip to a beauty shop is high on his to-do list."
Still at his desk, Angel refrained from dropping his head into his hands. Gunn must have decided to live dangerously if he was bugging Cordy. As leader, he had to step in, be a distraction. "Is there anything we can do now?"
Cordy opened her mouth, and then closed it and shrugged.
It was at that point that the hotel's doors opened and Wes rushed in, head covered with a newspaper as if it had been raining. "Finally - I thought I would never get clear of the damned things."
"Damned? Are we talking possession? Curse?" Gunn almost bounced on his toes.
Maybe things had been too slow lately.
"Are there demons? Why didn't I get a vision?" Cordy paused. "Wait a second, minster. No vision, plus I don't see any bags. If there's no demons, why didn't you get my shampoo? How could you have not gotten the one, well three things I asked?"
At this point Angel was hoping for demons.
Wesley, on the other hand, was looking at them all with his 'don't be afraid, I'm merely analyzing you' face. It usually didn't work- the not making people afraid part-- but they'd all grown used to it and it didn't even faze the gang most of the time.
"Did we receive any strange packages or did you all try some new food since last night?"
Gunn was the first to reply. "Now you mention it, I did swing by this new burrito place but..wait a minute, you think WE'RE the ones possessed. No I'm asking about the murder."
"Murder? Has there been a murder? Why didn't anyone call me! Is it mystical? Was there a vision?"
Angel wanted to soak in the comfort of what was usually the start of Wesley's brain organizing them into productivity, but something was off. Wesley sounded like this was all new to him, while Cordy had said-a strong odor hit him, and unfortunately he thought things fell into place.
"Wes, why were you hiding under a newspaper?"
"If it wasn't food,"
While Angel respected Wes' brain, but once it was set on a track, it was hard to change direction. "Wes? The paper?"
The repetition had Wesley shake his head as he tried to focus on the new question. "Hmm the paper? Protection. It's winter and those damned birds have congregated everywhere. Can't you hear them?"
Taking a moment, Angel realized that there was a new aspect to the world outside the walls, one he'd tuned out without thinking much about it. Cackling, cawing, flapping and, not noise but more noxious, excrement. Great, he'd have to get cleaners in on top of everything else. "The crows," was all he said aloud.
"Crows?" Gunn repeated. "What do crows have to do with a murder, unless they're eating the body, cuz man that's just gross."
"Murder is the proper collective noun for a group of crows," replied Wesley. "Much like you have an army of ants, a shrewdness of apes, or a clowder of cats."
"Cat chowder? That can't be good," contributed Cordy. "Which still doesn't explain the lack of shampoo, minster."
Gunn, on the other hand, must have come to the same realization that Angel had, because he just flopped himself down on the same chesterfield. "So another lazy day it is."
"But.." Cordy looked ready for another assault, whether on the potential case or the lack of cosmetics, Angel couldn't be sure. Again he opted for proactive distraction.
"So, no case?"
"Sadly, not any I can bring to bear. Although, since a group of bears is a sloth..."
"No going for a pun you've already explained Brit guy," rose from the sofa where Gunn rested. "If I can see it from here, it's not worth saying."
Wesley removed his glasses and gave them a, from what Angel could see, completely unnecessary wipe. "Well then. Might I suggest a game of Jenga?"
Cordy looked at the three of them, then turned on her heel and huffed up the stairs. "If I'm going to be piling things up, it's going to be to re-organize my shoe boxes by order of goo resistance."
"I'm in," said Gunn. "Gotta continue my domination."
"Angel?" Wesley turned to him and asked.
Angel looked at the piles of paperwork. Looked around at his people, all safe and sound for the moment. This was a good thing. "Sure, let's get to work."
Fandom: Angel the Series (Early Season 2ish)
Prompt: Murder
Word Count:1,125
Warnings: Unbetad?
Rating: G
Characters: Angel, Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley
Summary: Some enemies you can fight, sometime the enemy is just boredom.
"Angel!" He heard Cordy's shoes clacked down the stairs as she headed towards the office. "I think we've got a case."
Angel looked up from the ownership papers he'd received from Lilah. Anything was better than paperwork, and he still couldn't figure out what all the code violations and repairs were. Knob and tube wiring? He was just happy that the lights worked.
Gunn popped his head up from one of the chesterfields in the lobby. "A case? Great. Where are we headed?" His feet hit the floor. "As much as I like lazy days, I'm thinking I need something to compare them to."
"All I know is that I was on the phone with Wesley, mostly because there's a sale on my shampoo at a store that's only a few blocks out of his way, well by blocks I might mean his side of the city, but as Gunn pointed out it's not like we're been doing anything important and without that shampoo my hair looks post apocalyptic, and coming from Sunnydale that means something."
Angel let Cordy in rant mode wash over him. She was so passionate about everything. It reminded him what Doyle had said when he realized how much she kept him engaged in the here and now. Wait, she'd stopped talking.
"You mentioned a case?" He was pretty sure the rant had mostly been about forcing Wesley way out of his way for beauty products.
"Mr. I'm Englisher than thou hung up on me. But before he did he said something about a murder."
Angel could see the conflict in Cordy's eyes. She was as bored as the rest of them, but he knew she hated not being the center of attention - well unless it was on a case. It was probably the reason that she'd had such a short rant. "Did you have?" He hated watching her get visions, or rather the pain she suffered to do so.
"Nope, this is all on Wes. He isn't picking up his phone. He'd better be picking up that shampoo; the sale ends tomorrow. "
It was almost reassuring to know that despite everything they'd faced in the last few years, that Cordy's priorities were still so, well, Cordy.
"Yup, if he's shouting murder, I'm sure a side trip to a beauty shop is high on his to-do list."
Still at his desk, Angel refrained from dropping his head into his hands. Gunn must have decided to live dangerously if he was bugging Cordy. As leader, he had to step in, be a distraction. "Is there anything we can do now?"
Cordy opened her mouth, and then closed it and shrugged.
It was at that point that the hotel's doors opened and Wes rushed in, head covered with a newspaper as if it had been raining. "Finally - I thought I would never get clear of the damned things."
"Damned? Are we talking possession? Curse?" Gunn almost bounced on his toes.
Maybe things had been too slow lately.
"Are there demons? Why didn't I get a vision?" Cordy paused. "Wait a second, minster. No vision, plus I don't see any bags. If there's no demons, why didn't you get my shampoo? How could you have not gotten the one, well three things I asked?"
At this point Angel was hoping for demons.
Wesley, on the other hand, was looking at them all with his 'don't be afraid, I'm merely analyzing you' face. It usually didn't work- the not making people afraid part-- but they'd all grown used to it and it didn't even faze the gang most of the time.
"Did we receive any strange packages or did you all try some new food since last night?"
Gunn was the first to reply. "Now you mention it, I did swing by this new burrito place but..wait a minute, you think WE'RE the ones possessed. No I'm asking about the murder."
"Murder? Has there been a murder? Why didn't anyone call me! Is it mystical? Was there a vision?"
Angel wanted to soak in the comfort of what was usually the start of Wesley's brain organizing them into productivity, but something was off. Wesley sounded like this was all new to him, while Cordy had said-a strong odor hit him, and unfortunately he thought things fell into place.
"Wes, why were you hiding under a newspaper?"
"If it wasn't food,"
While Angel respected Wes' brain, but once it was set on a track, it was hard to change direction. "Wes? The paper?"
The repetition had Wesley shake his head as he tried to focus on the new question. "Hmm the paper? Protection. It's winter and those damned birds have congregated everywhere. Can't you hear them?"
Taking a moment, Angel realized that there was a new aspect to the world outside the walls, one he'd tuned out without thinking much about it. Cackling, cawing, flapping and, not noise but more noxious, excrement. Great, he'd have to get cleaners in on top of everything else. "The crows," was all he said aloud.
"Crows?" Gunn repeated. "What do crows have to do with a murder, unless they're eating the body, cuz man that's just gross."
"Murder is the proper collective noun for a group of crows," replied Wesley. "Much like you have an army of ants, a shrewdness of apes, or a clowder of cats."
"Cat chowder? That can't be good," contributed Cordy. "Which still doesn't explain the lack of shampoo, minster."
Gunn, on the other hand, must have come to the same realization that Angel had, because he just flopped himself down on the same chesterfield. "So another lazy day it is."
"But.." Cordy looked ready for another assault, whether on the potential case or the lack of cosmetics, Angel couldn't be sure. Again he opted for proactive distraction.
"So, no case?"
"Sadly, not any I can bring to bear. Although, since a group of bears is a sloth..."
"No going for a pun you've already explained Brit guy," rose from the sofa where Gunn rested. "If I can see it from here, it's not worth saying."
Wesley removed his glasses and gave them a, from what Angel could see, completely unnecessary wipe. "Well then. Might I suggest a game of Jenga?"
Cordy looked at the three of them, then turned on her heel and huffed up the stairs. "If I'm going to be piling things up, it's going to be to re-organize my shoe boxes by order of goo resistance."
"I'm in," said Gunn. "Gotta continue my domination."
"Angel?" Wesley turned to him and asked.
Angel looked at the piles of paperwork. Looked around at his people, all safe and sound for the moment. This was a good thing. "Sure, let's get to work."