Thursday afternoon, Fandom jail
Bel knew this was a bad idea. Phoebe would stop him if she knew. So would Anders. Or Veronica. Or Logan. Or anybody. But knowing it was a bad idea didn't stop him from going to see the imprisoned Angelus.
He wasn't exactly lying to Phoebe about going outside to have a cigarette -- he just went for a walk afterwards and happened to pass by the jail. He didn't say anything when he got there and just watched Angelus instead, waiting for him to say something. If he even noticed Bel was there.
Angelus noticed. He also rolled his eyes and drawled, "Great."
"Just came to say goodbye," Bel said. "Didn't have a chance to last time they put your soul back in you."
Angelus gave a look of distaste. "Is there going to be touching? Because then I'll know I'm in hell."
"Not a chance," Bel growled.
"That almost makes me want to embrace the irony of thanking God," Angelus replied.
"How about the irony of last time I was trying to do everything in my power to bring you back, and this time I can't wait 'til you're gone?" Bel shot back.
"So you're fickle."
"No. Smarter."
"Matter of opinion."
Bel shrugged. "Maybe if you had appreciated me more I would've tried to stop people from catching you like this."
"That would have required you to have qualities that I appreciated," Angelus said. "Though your ability to be used did turn a few of my frowns upside down."
"Too bad for you you didn't use it better, then," Bel said. "Because I managed to unlearn that bad habit."
"As an effort to keep up with the cool kids, sure."
"Right," Bel snorted. "Except the 'cool kids' never trusted me and never will."
"So you know that Angel doesn't trust you," Angelus said, smoothly.
"You're just saying that," Bel said. "It's not true. He trusts me."
"Oh of course," Angelus said. "After all, who in this room knows soul boy better than you?"
"You're just saying that to mess with me," Bel said evenly. "Like you did the other night."
"All I do is make observations," Angelus replied. "What you conclude is up to you."
"No, you're lying," Bel said. "You lie all the time. I don't have any reason to believe you."
"You of all people should know I never lie when the truth suits my purpose so extremely well," Angelus pointed out.
"So I'm just supposed to believe that?" Bel said, more than just a trace of bitterness in his tone. "Like I used to believe in you?"
"Wow," Angelus said. "If I had a heart I'm sure it'd be broken right about now."
"Right," Bel said with a roll of his eyes. "I can't believe I once wanted you back so badly."
"Monday, as a matter of fact."
"I didn't know that was you!" Bel said.
"Did it matter?"
Bel was momentarily flustered, despite his vows to himself that he wouldn't let Angelus get to him. After all, it was Angelus he'd been drawn to first, not Angel. "Of course it mattered," he said. "You're not the same."
"Duh," Angelus replied, because really some things demanded that kind of answer.
"If I had known it was you I would've done something right then and there," Bel said.
"Gone right to offering a blowjob?"
"Shut up!" Bel snarled, lunging toward the cage. The bars kept him from getting in, of course.
"Temper temper," Angelus said, scolding mildly. "Can't be touchy if you want to be one of the good guys. Just ask Anakin."
"Anakin's an asshole," Bel snapped. "Last thing I want is to be like him."
"So more like me then."
"I used to want to be like you," Bel said. "Now I want to be like him."
"A pathetic loser who's unable to maintain an erection without crying?" Angelus asked. "Mission accomplished."
"Somehow I doubt that," Bel muttered. Not that he had first-hand experience or anything, but, well, Logan seemed satisfied enough, much as that train of though disturbed him.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night... or roll over and sleep after, what? A good two, three minutes?"
"Phoebe and Anders would beg to differ," Bel said. "You trying to get a rise out of me by insulting my dick? Not gonna work."
"Wouldn't I have to be able to locate it without the help of a microscope first?"
"You've been in my body," Bel said. "You know better."
Angelus shuddered. "Not me and thank god."
"That all you got?" Bel said. "Wow, being behind bars totally makes you impotent. No wonder you're obsessing on penis size."
"Hands up," Angelus said, keeping his arms folded, "which one of us is currently thinking we're just one jazz track away from fulfilling many, many warm and tingly dreams?"
When Phoebe had found Cole missing, it hadn't taken an empath or a seer to know where he had gone. After the mindscrew he had been given, her soulmate would definitely want to face off with Angelus.
Of course, she had no intentions of just leaving him to do it alone -- oh, hell no. She had slipped out of Xander's apartment before Anders had been able to catch her and stop her, and made her own way to the jail.
"Well thank god he doesn't really listen to jazz," Phoebe said, coming in at that and wrapping a rather possessive arm around her demon. "... and that he has better tricks up his sleeve."
"Aw, Pheebs," Angelus put a hand over his heart. "Seeing you again makes me feel all gooey inside."
"Phoebe," Cole said, "get out of here. You shouldn't be here."
"Awww, Angelus. I'd say that it was nice to see you again, but we both know that would be a big damn lie. We also both know that if you weren't wearing the face of a dear friend your gooey insides would be making friends with the inside of my Dustbuster."
Phoebe might still have a few issues where Angelus was concerned.
She looked up at Cole. "Neither should you. I'm staying as long as you do."
"Feel free to have him leave at any time," Angelus said. "Really. I won't mind."
Bel drew back a few steps, making sure Phoebe was out of Angelus's reach. "Be careful, love," he said in a low voice, but he also wanted Angelus to hear. "You know we can't risk you getting hurt. You can use Willow's notes to cast the spell to put his soul back. Do you have everything you need for the spell?" He was totally bluffing, but he hoped Phoebe would play along.
Phoebe nodded, immediately picking up on what Cole was doing. "Yes, sweetheart. I got the last component before I came to find you. I'm all set whenever you guys think it's time."
"Please," Angelus said. "If you could you would've done it by now."
"Took a little time to figure it out and get what we need," Bel said. "Magic's finicky that way. But we're bringing Angel back, and there's nothing you can do about it. Sucks to be you."
"It's not like anyone was going to let me do this without being sure that nothing could backfire and get me killed." She tsked. "You really should have learned not to mess with people who care about Angel." She frowned. "Oh, and you shouldn't fuck with what I love."
"You're bluffing," Angelus said. Though he wasn't 100% sure. Who the hell knew if gypsies allowed for power of three? Deciding to stick to topics he could be more confident about, he added, "And trust me: I would never fuck the guy you love. Besides, Pheebs, you're more my type."
And of course that sent Bel right back to the bars, a fireball appearing in his hand. "You're never gonna touch her," he snarled. "I'll fucking kill you if you try to lay a hand on her."
"Cole!" Phoebe wrapped her arms around him and pulled, sparing a quick glare at Angelus. "Cole, don't. Calm down! He can't hurt me. He can't do anything to me. I'm safe from him. It's okay. Just words from a caged animal who has nothing else." She tugged at him again. "It's an empty comment, love."
"'sides, wasn't my hand I was talking about," Angelus said. 'cause hey: they weren't going to kill him if they intended to soul him.
"Over my dead body," Bel growled. "You'll have to get through me to get to her, and I can kill you without even breaking a sweat." He threw the fireball at Angelus, just a warning shot, purposely missing.
The anger was starting to hurt.
"Cole, don't! He knows I'd never allow him to touch me." She lay a hand on Cole's arm. "Sweetheart, please, calm down. It will never be an issue. We'll bring Angel back and I'll be safe, okay?"
She looked at Angelus. "So not enough booze in the world for me to let you willingly touch me with any part of your body."
She'd stake him first and was pretty sure that Angel's soul would forgive her for it.
"Why do all you chicks keep assuming I care about permission?" Angelus asked.
Bel tried to calm himself, realizing his rage was threatening to overwhelm Phoebe's empathy. "You're not gonna touch her," he said again, "because we're gonna find a way to make sure you never come back."
Inwardly Phoebe felt sick and a little scared about what she realized Angelus was implying.
"Maybe because we mistakenly overestimate your sense of self-preservation," she shot back at him.
"And people wonder why I think it's funny to try to end the world," Angelus muttered, mostly to himself.
"C'mon, Phoebe," Bel said, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. He wanted her as far from Angelus as he could get her. "Let's get out of here."
Phoebe nodded. She didn't want to be near him. She wasn't so sure the bars kept her - and everyone else -- safe.
"Hope you enjoy hell, Angelus."
"I wasn't, but thankfully you two are leaving," Angelus replied.
"Good-bye," Bel said. "I won't say 'see you later' because no one will once Angel's back."
Phoebe didn't say anything further. She just wanted Cole as far away from him as possible until they got Angel back.
Cole slid his arm from her shoulders and took Phoebe's hand, leading her from Angelus's prison. He was tense and his back was stiff, but he didn't say anything. He knew, however, Phoebe would try to make him talk about it later, and he was not looking forward to that.
[Preplayed with notstakedyet and future_visions. NFI, radio and OOC OK.]
He wasn't exactly lying to Phoebe about going outside to have a cigarette -- he just went for a walk afterwards and happened to pass by the jail. He didn't say anything when he got there and just watched Angelus instead, waiting for him to say something. If he even noticed Bel was there.
Angelus noticed. He also rolled his eyes and drawled, "Great."
"Just came to say goodbye," Bel said. "Didn't have a chance to last time they put your soul back in you."
Angelus gave a look of distaste. "Is there going to be touching? Because then I'll know I'm in hell."
"Not a chance," Bel growled.
"That almost makes me want to embrace the irony of thanking God," Angelus replied.
"How about the irony of last time I was trying to do everything in my power to bring you back, and this time I can't wait 'til you're gone?" Bel shot back.
"So you're fickle."
"No. Smarter."
"Matter of opinion."
Bel shrugged. "Maybe if you had appreciated me more I would've tried to stop people from catching you like this."
"That would have required you to have qualities that I appreciated," Angelus said. "Though your ability to be used did turn a few of my frowns upside down."
"Too bad for you you didn't use it better, then," Bel said. "Because I managed to unlearn that bad habit."
"As an effort to keep up with the cool kids, sure."
"Right," Bel snorted. "Except the 'cool kids' never trusted me and never will."
"So you know that Angel doesn't trust you," Angelus said, smoothly.
"You're just saying that," Bel said. "It's not true. He trusts me."
"Oh of course," Angelus said. "After all, who in this room knows soul boy better than you?"
"You're just saying that to mess with me," Bel said evenly. "Like you did the other night."
"All I do is make observations," Angelus replied. "What you conclude is up to you."
"No, you're lying," Bel said. "You lie all the time. I don't have any reason to believe you."
"You of all people should know I never lie when the truth suits my purpose so extremely well," Angelus pointed out.
"So I'm just supposed to believe that?" Bel said, more than just a trace of bitterness in his tone. "Like I used to believe in you?"
"Wow," Angelus said. "If I had a heart I'm sure it'd be broken right about now."
"Right," Bel said with a roll of his eyes. "I can't believe I once wanted you back so badly."
"Monday, as a matter of fact."
"I didn't know that was you!" Bel said.
"Did it matter?"
Bel was momentarily flustered, despite his vows to himself that he wouldn't let Angelus get to him. After all, it was Angelus he'd been drawn to first, not Angel. "Of course it mattered," he said. "You're not the same."
"Duh," Angelus replied, because really some things demanded that kind of answer.
"If I had known it was you I would've done something right then and there," Bel said.
"Gone right to offering a blowjob?"
"Shut up!" Bel snarled, lunging toward the cage. The bars kept him from getting in, of course.
"Temper temper," Angelus said, scolding mildly. "Can't be touchy if you want to be one of the good guys. Just ask Anakin."
"Anakin's an asshole," Bel snapped. "Last thing I want is to be like him."
"So more like me then."
"I used to want to be like you," Bel said. "Now I want to be like him."
"A pathetic loser who's unable to maintain an erection without crying?" Angelus asked. "Mission accomplished."
"Somehow I doubt that," Bel muttered. Not that he had first-hand experience or anything, but, well, Logan seemed satisfied enough, much as that train of though disturbed him.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night... or roll over and sleep after, what? A good two, three minutes?"
"Phoebe and Anders would beg to differ," Bel said. "You trying to get a rise out of me by insulting my dick? Not gonna work."
"Wouldn't I have to be able to locate it without the help of a microscope first?"
"You've been in my body," Bel said. "You know better."
Angelus shuddered. "Not me and thank god."
"That all you got?" Bel said. "Wow, being behind bars totally makes you impotent. No wonder you're obsessing on penis size."
"Hands up," Angelus said, keeping his arms folded, "which one of us is currently thinking we're just one jazz track away from fulfilling many, many warm and tingly dreams?"
When Phoebe had found Cole missing, it hadn't taken an empath or a seer to know where he had gone. After the mindscrew he had been given, her soulmate would definitely want to face off with Angelus.
Of course, she had no intentions of just leaving him to do it alone -- oh, hell no. She had slipped out of Xander's apartment before Anders had been able to catch her and stop her, and made her own way to the jail.
"Well thank god he doesn't really listen to jazz," Phoebe said, coming in at that and wrapping a rather possessive arm around her demon. "... and that he has better tricks up his sleeve."
"Aw, Pheebs," Angelus put a hand over his heart. "Seeing you again makes me feel all gooey inside."
"Phoebe," Cole said, "get out of here. You shouldn't be here."
"Awww, Angelus. I'd say that it was nice to see you again, but we both know that would be a big damn lie. We also both know that if you weren't wearing the face of a dear friend your gooey insides would be making friends with the inside of my Dustbuster."
Phoebe might still have a few issues where Angelus was concerned.
She looked up at Cole. "Neither should you. I'm staying as long as you do."
"Feel free to have him leave at any time," Angelus said. "Really. I won't mind."
Bel drew back a few steps, making sure Phoebe was out of Angelus's reach. "Be careful, love," he said in a low voice, but he also wanted Angelus to hear. "You know we can't risk you getting hurt. You can use Willow's notes to cast the spell to put his soul back. Do you have everything you need for the spell?" He was totally bluffing, but he hoped Phoebe would play along.
Phoebe nodded, immediately picking up on what Cole was doing. "Yes, sweetheart. I got the last component before I came to find you. I'm all set whenever you guys think it's time."
"Please," Angelus said. "If you could you would've done it by now."
"Took a little time to figure it out and get what we need," Bel said. "Magic's finicky that way. But we're bringing Angel back, and there's nothing you can do about it. Sucks to be you."
"It's not like anyone was going to let me do this without being sure that nothing could backfire and get me killed." She tsked. "You really should have learned not to mess with people who care about Angel." She frowned. "Oh, and you shouldn't fuck with what I love."
"You're bluffing," Angelus said. Though he wasn't 100% sure. Who the hell knew if gypsies allowed for power of three? Deciding to stick to topics he could be more confident about, he added, "And trust me: I would never fuck the guy you love. Besides, Pheebs, you're more my type."
And of course that sent Bel right back to the bars, a fireball appearing in his hand. "You're never gonna touch her," he snarled. "I'll fucking kill you if you try to lay a hand on her."
"Cole!" Phoebe wrapped her arms around him and pulled, sparing a quick glare at Angelus. "Cole, don't. Calm down! He can't hurt me. He can't do anything to me. I'm safe from him. It's okay. Just words from a caged animal who has nothing else." She tugged at him again. "It's an empty comment, love."
"'sides, wasn't my hand I was talking about," Angelus said. 'cause hey: they weren't going to kill him if they intended to soul him.
"Over my dead body," Bel growled. "You'll have to get through me to get to her, and I can kill you without even breaking a sweat." He threw the fireball at Angelus, just a warning shot, purposely missing.
The anger was starting to hurt.
"Cole, don't! He knows I'd never allow him to touch me." She lay a hand on Cole's arm. "Sweetheart, please, calm down. It will never be an issue. We'll bring Angel back and I'll be safe, okay?"
She looked at Angelus. "So not enough booze in the world for me to let you willingly touch me with any part of your body."
She'd stake him first and was pretty sure that Angel's soul would forgive her for it.
"Why do all you chicks keep assuming I care about permission?" Angelus asked.
Bel tried to calm himself, realizing his rage was threatening to overwhelm Phoebe's empathy. "You're not gonna touch her," he said again, "because we're gonna find a way to make sure you never come back."
Inwardly Phoebe felt sick and a little scared about what she realized Angelus was implying.
"Maybe because we mistakenly overestimate your sense of self-preservation," she shot back at him.
"And people wonder why I think it's funny to try to end the world," Angelus muttered, mostly to himself.
"C'mon, Phoebe," Bel said, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. He wanted her as far from Angelus as he could get her. "Let's get out of here."
Phoebe nodded. She didn't want to be near him. She wasn't so sure the bars kept her - and everyone else -- safe.
"Hope you enjoy hell, Angelus."
"I wasn't, but thankfully you two are leaving," Angelus replied.
"Good-bye," Bel said. "I won't say 'see you later' because no one will once Angel's back."
Phoebe didn't say anything further. She just wanted Cole as far away from him as possible until they got Angel back.
Cole slid his arm from her shoulders and took Phoebe's hand, leading her from Angelus's prison. He was tense and his back was stiff, but he didn't say anything. He knew, however, Phoebe would try to make him talk about it later, and he was not looking forward to that.
[Preplayed with notstakedyet and future_visions. NFI, radio and OOC OK.]