Lost Lovers (14/?)
There was so much tension in the air that Buffy was convinced that you could cut a knife through it. Literally.
Ever since Angel and Illyria had returned from whatever mission they had been out on, she had slowly come to a realization that the others of the ‘fang gang’ avoided the vampire. Like plague.
“Is everything really alright?” she now asked Fred - who was doing her best to avoid Illyria’s obvious interest.
The god king tilted his head as Fred sidestepped him for the seventy eleventh time and followed her with unblinking eyes as she walked over to a desk littered with paper.
“I’m okay,” said Fred with a hint of exasperation in her voice. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well,” drawled Buffy, carefully picking her words, “it’s just that you seem to avoid Angel recently. A lot. Emphasis on a lot.” Pause. “Actually you all do…?”
Illyria sent them both a calculating stare which had Buffy instantly on an edge. Obviously this creature knew all to well what was up with the ‘fang gang’.
“I’m really sorry, Buffy,” said Fred and looked away. “But this is something I can’t speak about. Not yet anyway. And it is really Angel’s duty to tell you what’s going on.”
“And will I like what he has to say if he decides to speak to me?”
Illyria picked up a syringe and studied it curiously.
“I don’t know, Buffy.” Fred sighed deeply. “I don’t think so.”
Illyria tried to jam the syringe into his arm - but it broke on contact.
“Oh,” breathed Buffy with her focus on the scientist. “Bummer.”
Illyria reached for a scalpel and as the two woman turned to look at him, he guided it to his face and pressed it against the skin. When he withdrew his hand there weren’t even a scratch mark on the skin.
“Illyria.” Fred walked over to the entity and took the scalpel away from him. “Please leave.”
The god king studied the young woman with an unreadable expression, before tilting his head.
“As you wish.”
And with that he left the room, quietly and gracefully.
Buffy hated how much he could remind her of Spike sometimes.
§
Illyria walked through the corridors. He thought that it was typical that the ‘fang gang’ and slayers to ignore him. He did not mind it when it was the others, but for Fred to do it brought about emotions inside of him that he refused to name.
The god king ruefully admitted these feelings to be a residue of the vampire that had inhabited the shell before him. Spike had obviously been a creature of strong emotions. Very strong emotions.
Rounding a corner, Illyria spotted the redheaded witch as she walked towards him with her head buried in a thick book - obviously totally unaware of the entity’s presence.
“Red.” He studied her reaction as he spoke the old nickname that Spike had used for the woman. There was shock as her head snapped up. Shock and pain and weariness.
“Illyria,” she breathed and closed the book as she reached the god king that had placed itself in her path. “I thought that… well, weren’t you with Fred and Buffy?”
“Fred did not wish my presence,” admitted Illyria and felt a pang of something he couldn’t name or really comprehend. Why would it bother him so that the human girl had such influence on him?
“I see.” Willow gave the entity a quick look before she averted her gaze - but it was enough for the god king to snap up the pity in her eyes.
He hated it.
“Illyria,” began the witch and brought his attention back to her. “I’m on my way to the kitchen to cook something… would you like to… er… join me?”
He tilted his head and regarded her offer for moments of silence. Then he slowly nodded - deciding that he was enough curious of this woman to spend more time with her.
Obviously pleased with his company, the witch began to walk down the corridor. And after a second, the god king followed her - a tiny smile playing on his lips.
She amused him; this petite redheaded woman with her sweet smiles and pleasant manors, and all the while she held so much power inside of her. Enough power to end this wretched existence if she choose to.
“Oh,” breathed Willow and stopped in her tracks, making the god king come to an abrupt halt.
“What now, Witch?”
“I felt the baby move!”
“I do not understand. You felt what move?”
Willow took his hand and before he could yank it away, guided it to her tummy. She saw the look of utter shock in his face when he felt the tiny movement.
“What was that?”
“It’s the baby,” explained Willow and smiled. “You know; my offspring.”
“You’ll give birth to a being like Connor?”
“No… Not exactly. It’s much, much smaller. But it will grow up. Just like Connor.”
Illyria withdrew his hand and gave her a calculating glare.
“You know the truth,” he said speculatively. “Yet you do not reveal it to the ones you call your friends.” He noticed the guilt stricken look in the witch’s face and gloated. “I realize that I haven’t given you enough of credit.” Pause. “You’re indeed a worthy adversary.”
§
Fred walked into the kitchen and found, to her utter surprise, Willow and Illyria busy with throwing different ingredient into a big casserole. The witch seemed to instruct the god king of how to best chop onions and the entity actually seemed to take after her. It looked… homy.
“No. No, no,” corrected Willow suddenly and slapped Illyria and the hand. “You’re doing it totally wrong! It should be chopped finely. Julienne.”
“I did as you instructed, with,” the entity said clearly insulted of her actions. “It is you that has wronged - not me.”
Fred blinked as Willow only fired of a smile at the irritated Illyria and he simply glared back.
For a moment he looked just like…
Don’t go there…
Fred bit back on the sob that threatened to escape her lips and backed into the shadows to watch unnoticed as the two in the kitchen kept on bickering.
“No!” laughed Fred and threw herself into Spike’s arms. “I’m not kidding; I told you that you put to much sugar in the batch!”
“Dinnit,” he denied and swung her round and round in a wide circle. “I followed the recipe down to the last dot.”
“U’huh,” she said skeptically. “The why is Lorne jumping around like a bunny rabbit singing I’m so high?”
Spike joined in on her laughter and started spreading soft kissed all over her face and neck - making her moan in pleasure.
“Little sugar for you,” he whispered as he dipped a finger in the batch of chocolate cake and brought it to her lips for a taste.
And it tastes divine.
“Mmm…” Fred licked his finger and met his burning gaze. “I like the way you taste.”
“Oh, Fred…!”
Together they began feeding each other from the bowl; licking and sucking and laughing. Fred was in heaven and was convinced that if he didn’t pull her down to the floor to finish their little ‘game’ she would literally dissolve in atoms.
“Spike…!!”
“Illyria!!”
Fred blinked and skyrocketed right back into the present when Willow squeaked in reaction to the god king’s abuse of the cooking knife.
“You can’t bend it like that!” There was a short sigh. “Well, luckily we don’t need it anymore. All the ingredients is in and cooking already.”
Illyria frowned.
“The ritual is ended?”
“Huh?” The witch stared at the entity in confusion. “Ritual? What ritual?”
“The ritual of preparing food.”
“Oh.” Willow blinked then shook her head. “No. It has to heat up first.”
“I see.” Illyria studied the casserole with curiosity. “Will this be enough to feed the masses? I have noticed that slayers consume impressively amounts of food.”
“Their metabolism is rather high,” admitted Willow with a tiny smile.
“Intriguing indeed,” stated the entity and tilted his head. He reached out a hand and picked up an apple, examining the fruit with calm eyes. “This shell held appreciation for human food.” Pause. “Other vampires do not - in such degree. Why was that?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Willow with sorrow in her voice. Then she lifted her gaze and noticed Fred in the shadows. “Fred!”
Illyria gracefully swung around and directed his gaze intently on the scientist - who immediately felt a pang of pain when she yet again was reminded of Spike.
“When I look at you I see the future.”
“’m sorry,” she mumbled and quickly left the kitchen.
Will you leave me, Fred? Leave me like the others?
§
Buffy stood in front of Angel as the vampire sat behind his desk, looking at her with an expression of patented patience.
“Angel, we need to talk.”
“About what?” The vampire played with his pen doing his best to avoid her gaze. And succeeding. To Buffy’s great dismay.
Annoying vampire…
“Care to tell me why almost everyone… no, make that everyone on your team seems to avoid you?”
Silence.
“Angel?”
Another long stretched silence.
“Why can’t you tell me…?”
“Yeah, why can’t you tell her?” sounded a sarcastic voice from behind her and as she swung around she noticed Connor standing on the doorstep. The youngster seemed to direct quite the hateful glare in the vampire’s direction.
“Come on, dad,” de drawled the word ‘dad’ out, “tell her.”
Buffy’s world came to an abrupt halt.
“Dad?” she focused on the silent vampire and when she saw the regret in his eyes she knew that Connor had told the truth. Somehow… Angel was a dad.
“Angel?”
“’m sorry that I haven’t told you, Buffy.” Angel met her gaze and then looked over her shoulder at Connor. “And I’m sorry that I did all those things to you, Connor.” Pause. “But I actually thought I was doing the right thing. For all of us.”
“Did you now, Angel?” asked a bitter voice and Buffy blinked in shock as Fred stepped into the office. With the rest of the L.A team in a tow.
“It would have been nice if you asked us what we wanted,” said Wesley between gritted teeth.
“You stole our memories,” accused Lorne and looked like he lost every ounce of faith for their leader.
“Was Connor’s new life a part of the deal to take over Wolfram and Hart?” asked Wesley. “Was we the price so that your son could have a… ‘normal’ life?”
“Was Spike the price?” spitted Fred vehemently. “Was he?”
“Fred…” Angel’s voice was filled with sorrow and pain and Buffy felt a moment’s compassion with him. Then she couldn’t help to think that maybe Fred was on to something. She turned around to the vampire.
“Spike?” She drew in a deep breath. “Are they right? Was Spike… was he the price for your son?”
“No.”
Angel’s answer came so fast and so unhesitant that Buffy immediately believed him. He hadn’t known that Spike would return from the amulet - now had he? Otherwise he wouldn’t have volunteered to wear it himself in the first place. No, Spike’s death had been a totally different event. But she had a sneaky suspicion that Angel withheld something about the other vampire’s death as well.
“Angel…” Fred shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “How can we ever trust you again?”
§
“Angel… How can we ever trust you again?”
Angel met the many stares from his friends and felt like the lowest order of scumbag. Like he wasn’t even worthy to be dirt under their shoes. Like his actions when accepting to be CEO of Wolfram and Hart actually had led to Spike’s ultimate death.
Had Spike been the price…?
Angel met his son’s unwavering stare and wished desperately that a miracle would happen to make the young man not hate him so much.
“Angel… How can we ever trust you again?”
“I’m sorry,” he told them now with earnest. “I did what I thought was best and I screwed things up.” He shook his head. “All I wanted was for Connor to have a normal life. A happy life.” He looked pleadingly at the young boy. “I love you - even if you never believe. I love you so much.”
“You have a funny way of showing it.”
“Give the fellow a break,” said Xander suddenly behind Wesley. “He obviously made a bad call - but he did it out of love.” Eying the group. “Can anyone of you honestly say that you haven’t done similar things for the sake of love?”
That statement was followed be an uncomfortable silence.
Angel met Buffy’s gaze and silently begged her for forgiveness.
And she gave it.
Angel then watched the rest of the group and saw reluctant understanding in their eyes. Maybe things would settle themselves after all.
New life, new rules…
Tbc...