(Untitled)

[_wes_pryce_]

That went absolutely smashing. In a way I was quite relieved to be absolved of the duty to watch Alexia. Let's be honest here, when it comes to teenagers I really wasn't any good. Had we learned nothing from the Sunnydale incident? Apparently not, considering that it was Buffy who asked me to watch her daughter. A child, a girl who had been small

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[charlesgunn_]

He started blowin' off apology after apology at me but I knew it was mostly just blowin' smoke up my skirt. And hey, this brutha don't wear a skirt. Except that one time at that party....right, never tellin' that story. Ever. Specially not to Wesley. I took a deep breath, my eyes glancin' back and forth between the street outside waitin' for Terrel and back at Wesley who couldn't even apologize without makin' his snippy little comments. Boy had a serious snippin' problem and I hadn't listened to it for a long time now. I wasn't used to puttin' up with his crap anymore.

"See. Now? Now you're just puttin' words into my mouth." I glared over at him through dark eyes and he matched my expression almost exactly. "Never said I didn't think you'd bail me outta some nasty situation if one should arise all I'm sayin' is? We can't trust eachother anymore. Sorry if I'm a little on the cranky side but I just got my ass handed to me by Vampire in a wonder bra."

Crossing my arms over my chest I winced involuntarily. That bitch really did pack a serious punch. Someone had to do something about her and her boytoy. Not that Angelus wasn't the serious kick while he was around but I preferred my kick with a little less...kick. Not featurin' me bein' in the hospital again anytime soon. We just had to come up with a plan. Pain killers? Not really helpin' my brain wrap itself around anything.

"Look, you and me? We just on different sides of the fence playin' the same game. It's always been this way, you remember. Just strayed away from where I really belonged for the last few years. Now I'm back. Better 'n ever."

Better except for the whole kickin' thing. I needed to find a way to avoid that anytime in the near future.

[_wes_pryce_]

“I’m not putting wor--” shaking my head I let my words trail off. I can really talk until I’m blue in the face, it’s quite obviously we are no longer hearing each other. He’s not hearing me and apparently I’m not hearing him. Or understanding him right. I’m so confused about all this that I really don’t know what to do. All I knew when I got the phone call from Angel, Angelus whomever, about Gunn being in the hospital was that I was worried. Worried and afraid that he might be seriously hurt. But all I got from him was hostility when I didn’t jump right up and did what he told me to do.

I’m still not convinced he isn’t hurt. I know him. I know the macho crap he likes to pull. Pretending he’s not ill , or hurt or in this case wounded. I worry about that. I worry that he’ll be more wounded then he’s letting on. He got in a fight with Faith *and* Angelus, both vampires, both vicious. I’ve seen him in that hospital bed, connected to tubes and wires and god knows what else. I’ve never been so scared in my life. Well, maybe once or twice.

But just as I’m about to try and point that out, he says something so completely Gunn like that the corners of my mouth twitch for a moment and my eyes flick up him. “I very much doubt Faith has a wonder bra,” I point out. Not that I would *know* this, it just doesn’t seem likely. And for some reason I’m reminded of Cordelia and the arguments we had about her push up bra.

God, I miss those days. The days when things were simple. Maybe even the days when Angel fired us and we were struggling. But at least we knew where things stood.

Frowning at the look on his face, I dart back into the kitchen and grab a glass of water and some aspirin. Then I join him at the window and silently put it down on the windowsill. Crossing my arms across my chest, I look out over the city. Or what I can see of it anyway. “We’re not, you know,” I say softly. “On different sides of the fence. We’re on the same fence. We’re just no longer looking in the same direction.” Sighing, I drop my head and stare a the an unknown spot of point something or other. “I’m sorry to hear that you think so.”

What else it there to say?

[charlesgunn_]

Glancin' down at the windowsil I realized Wes was gettin' all motherly on my ass. Not that I was about to be complainin' considering my head was achin' like none other but it was kind've sweet. Smiling at him unsurely I picked up the aspirin and frowned cause there was no way in hell this shit was gonna be strong enough but whatever, right? I was tryin' here and now I knew that Wes was too. Maybe one of these days we could find some kinda common ground. I missed the way we used to be.

"You work for Wolfram and Hart." I pointed out to him as if he needed me to do that. I had the feelin' Wes already knew how fucked up it was that he was workin' for the same guys that'd been workin' to destroy Angel forever. Kinda weird how suddenly Angelus showed up too. Wouldn't rule out the evil law firm playin' games on that one.

"Direction I'm lookin' in has everything to do with kickin' a little ass and nothin' to do with puttin' on fancy suits everyday and spoutin' off the corporate line." I tried to soften the blow a little bit at the end as I turned around to look at him. Cause I was sorry too, ya know? Just wasn't about to be havin' a Hallmark moment over the fact that he'd sold out and I'd gone back to my roots.

All I really needed was a reason to stay and I'd do it. Workin' with Terrel and the boys was doin' good work but I knew that Angelus and Faith were way out of their league. I was gonna need to be on a team that knew what the hell they were dealin' with. So I guess I was just waitin'. For a reason. Any reason.

[_wes_pryce_]

I could tell him a thousand times how we used the recourses we had over at the firm for good. I could tell him a thousand times how I used it for good. How many people I had been able to save on a daily basis because I now had the right recourses. Because I didn’t have to spend nights in a row researching until my eyes bled. It was, however, useless. The man had an image in his head, he’d formed an opinion and no matter what I’d said he wouldn’t budge from it.

It was sad, really, all things considering. Sometimes it felt as though I had moved on, as one usually did, while he had stood still. “I’m sorry that your idea of what I do every day is sit in my office in some Armani suit and stare at the wall all day.” Which couldn’t’ be any further from the truth. For starters, I hated suits now. I didn’t wear any to work if only to annoy the people what worked that. I may work that same place, that didn’t mean I had to like it. I took every opportunity to rebel against them In earlier days I’d have had Gunn to laugh with about that. But those days were gone, slipped away from us like the night does every damn day.

But talking about it with him was fruitless. Pointless. I knew him. Once he’d gotten an idea in his head, no matter how unrealistic, he wasn’t going to budge from it. Which was even sadder, I’d been working on that before all the proverbial shit hit the fan. I think I may have actually gotten somewhere, now I wouldn’t get anywhere.

“I just want you to be careful out there,” I mumbled, walking away from the window when I noticed a car approaching. Letting the matter drop, as I said it was a pointless conversation in which we were both talking in circles, I moved to sit down on the sofa. I had no idea what to do now. Angelus and Faith were out there. And I had no bloody clue where the hell Angel was, or Cordelia, or Fred for that matter. The only one I could account for was Gunn, and now he was leaving too.

Bloody lovely.

“This morphine?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it’s bloody lovely.”

[charlesgunn_]

"C'mon man, that's not what I was sayin'." I tried to keep my voice on the none agressive side but I wasn't about the frontin' neither. Had to keep it real with Wes or else he was gonna know that I was bullshittin' him for real. It wasn't like I thought Wes just put on some monkey suit and then starin' at some wall and doin' nothin'. I didn't think that was what Wes did at all. I just knew what went on over in that building and it wasn't anything good. They were all about towin' the corporate line over at Wolfram and Hart.

Settin' my jaw I glanced back at Wes sittin' all forlorne on the couch while my brotha was outside in the driveway waitin' for my ass to get out there. With a nod towards Wes I walked out the front door still seriously hurtin' from the poundin' I'd taken not all that long ago.

Made it out to the truck in the driveway and quick gave Terrel the 411. Told him to keep the boys off the streets, that there was some trouble and I had to stick around here and take care of it. Course he gave me a ration of shit about helpin' out them white folks again but that ain't his business. After we cleared that up I told him I'd be in touch before headin' back inside.

When I closed the front door behind me I could see Wes' surprised expression from the couch as I carefully walked back inside and plopped down on the couch next to him.

"Gotta place where a brotha can crash for the night?" I asked him, turning my head and shooting him my usual casual grin.

[_wes_pryce_]

At his words I looked at him briefly, unable to keep the sadness and the feeling of defeat of my face and shrugged. It was exactly what he had said, that’s how it had sounded to me. And if that wasn’t what he’d said then it’s up to him to explain what he *did* mean. That wasn’t to be however, he set his jaw and walked out the door.

Or rather, he limped. I actually had to dig the nails of my fingers into my leg to stop myself from getting up to make certain he really did get downstairs. He was far to wear, if I may use that word for myself, to be walking around. He just got out of the hospital for gods sake. I think most of the reason I was able to keep myself seated was because I was to stunned that he had just walked out.

I had no idea what to do now. Look for Angel I supposed, listening to the door shutting with a small click. I had no idea where Angel was, I had no idea where to look. Not for him, not for anyone. It was all going to hell in a hand basket and apparently I missed the ride down. Not that I wanted the ride down, but that’s where everyone else was. I guess.

Sighing, I glanced at the kitchen and wondered if I had any beer left. Not that I could get drunk on just beer, these days it took a lot more then just beer. But, I realized as I set back and stared up at the ceiling, getting drunk would bet me exactly nowhere. Well, other then waking up with a hangover.

I listened to the car drive off, wondering what had taken them so long. Maybe Gunn had fainted or some such and his friend had to haul his sorry arse into the care. Damnit, I should’ve walked him down No matter how hard he glared at me, I should’ve made certain that he wasn’t going to fall down the stairs or some such. But since the car drove off, I’m *assuming* he got down in one or more pieces. One, I hope.

Letting out another sigh, apparently this one came from my toes, I contemplated the ceiling. I was just realizing that it could probably do with a new coat of paint when I heard the door. I frowned for a moment, thinking I had probably imagined it. Wishful thinking and all that, or maybe it was Angelus finally taking the time to come kill me. I never did to that spell to revoke his and Angel’s invitation did I?

Slowly I turned around and then actually looked rather startled when Gunn limped back into the room. Limped. The idiot went up and down the stairs in his condition. Bloody hell, stubborn idiot, and then they have something to say about me. My eyes narrowed and followed him carefully as he walked toward the sofa and plopped down.

I looked at him stunned for quite a while before I felt a small confused smile return his. “I think you know where the guestroom is,” I said quietly, knowing he did. After all, he spend some nights there after we’d been to a pub nearby and got drunk. “The bed’s still made so you can hop right in.” Giving him a worried look, I wondered if I should say that he *should* hop right in and get some sodding rest. “You should rest,” I pointed out carefully, “or are you hungry?”

[charlesgunn_]

I nodded as he told me where I could crash out for the night. The guest room. Yeah I remembered spendin' a few nights in there when the two of us went out to a bar and got plowed. Especially while we were workin' out of Cordy's apartment. Some nights we'd escape her constant yammering and sigh in relief as we both just looked at eachother and knew it was time to go get l'oked. Gotta love that. Wesley's apartment was closer so we always ended up crashin' here for the night. Least he had a guest room which was way better than my cousin Taneesha's couch.

"Naw. Not hungry. After the crap they fed me in the hospital? Not sure I can ever eat again. Man, that stuff is nasty." I kept the smile on my face and reached over to pat his leg like I always did. Like we were really just that familiar anymore. As soon as I did it I felt kind of awkward about. That was such a white boy move.

Shakin' my head I stood up and started headin' towards the guest room. Before I disappeared inside I turned around and looked at Wes who was still sittin' on the couch and lookin' at me all concerned like.

"In the mornin' we can talk about everything that's goin' on. A'ight?" He nodded at me and I took that as a good sign. Probably considering anytime one of the two of us opened our mouths tonight we couldn't stop from fightin'. We'd gone back to the way we used to talk together. It was a little on the disheartening side.

"Thanks, man. Night." With that I stepped inside the guest room and closed the door behind me. Knew the minute I was asleep he'd be peekin' in on me to make sure I was alright. Just the kind of guy he was.