InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "You can't prove anything!"

Angel (mr_angel) wrote in somerealityrpg,
@ 2019-06-27 09:15:00

Log: Buffy & Angel
WHO: Buffy & Angel
WHERE: Around the city
WHAT: Patrolling & catching up on apocalypses
WHEN: Tonight (June 27)
WARNINGS: Who knows with these two, but nothing crazy.

There was a sense of nervousness when he checked with Buffy to see if she wanted to take a walk and patrol. There would always be certain feelings whenever it came to Buffy, but Angel's busy thoughts had nothing to do with that part of their relationship over the years. No, this was more so because he had no idea how she'd react or feel about what he's been up to over the last year while he sat in his plush chair at Wolfram & Hart. He didn't know how she'd react to the reason behind them choice to take the Partners' deal. Other than his brief trip to Sunnydale last year, he hadn't been in contact with her much recently, and there had been a lot that happened. There was so much he hadn't told her, though, for all he knew Faith or Willow had given her a few updates on what they'd seen in LA - on seeing Connor.

The problem, though, was that he'd taken the deal to manipulate everyone's memories when it came to his son. With the box destroyed and Cyvus Vail now dead, Angel didn't have a clue if that made a difference in how the magic affected everyone's memories. Wesley had known, and Connor to a lesser degree, but no one else had been there that day, and they'd all been a little too busy fighting for their lives to catch up on the details.

Once the sun had set, Angel made his way outside and leaned against the building as he waited for Buffy to join him. The only weapons he had were ones that had been on him at the time he'd arrived - a sword and a couple stakes that always were tucked into his duster's inside pockets. He left the sword hidden away in his room, but kept the stakes. It was unlikely he'd need them, but old habits died hard.

He felt her before he saw her, and pushed away from the brick as she approached. "Hey," he said. "I thought we could head down towards the Park unless you wanted to try somewhere else first."

Patrolling felt halfway normal even if it hadn't been something he'd done a lot over the last several months, and he'd actually missed it. The "small stuff" that he'd pretended not to care about at Wolfram and Hart. After everything, he wondered if he'd be able to get back to that.

"Are you settling in alright so far?" Stalling? No, of course not. Angel would never do something like thst.

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mr_angel
2019-06-30 09:56 pm UTC (link)

"That's what I was thinking, too," Angel agreed with her thoughts on the park. During the nights he'd been out since his arrival, he hadn't caught onto any demonic activity yet, but the park had always been a place he'd known vampires and other sorts to lurk after the sun went down. Hell, he'd been one of those lurkers once upon a time during his time spent in the city. It was a time he'd feasted on rats and other vermin, but he'd turned a blind eye to a lot of other attacks that went on during those darker years.

"You got a job?" He asked curiously. He doubted that there had been a posting for 'Chosen One: Vampire Slayer' in the wanted ads, so he was genuinely curious what she had decided to go into. Whatever it was, though, he was sure she would be fine. Buffy could do anything when she set her mind to it. He'd seen that first-hand. "I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do. Finding workable hours might be an issue." He couldn't exactly work a nine-five schedule unless there was sewer access to his office, but he had a few ideas rolling around. "And since I'm not looking to be a CEO anytime in the near future again, I was thinking of opening up an office again. Like we had in LA."

Angel Investigations would never be the same without Cordelia and Wesley with later Gunn, Fred, and Lorne, but he felt a pull to try getting back to the basics rather than out in the open. He worked best in the shadows.

"And... yeah. The firm was throwing everything they had at us, but we knew it was going to happen. Make up a plan to take out their most powerful instruments on earth, and you're probably going to piss off the bosses." Angel glanced over to her as they walked. "It's hard to know how it would have ended once the smoke cleared."

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buffy_summers
2019-07-01 03:49 am UTC (link)

“Kind of. I think.” Buffy suddenly sounded unsure of her job position. What if Stark had been kidding? “I mean, if the job is real, it’s art buying. It was kind of a casual conversation and stuff but Stark said I was hired, so if legit, that’s what I got.” She hoped it was, she had been looking forward to trying it out. “I mean, even if it’s not, I’m sure I could talk my way into something where I punch stuff for him.” She shook her head and figured she’d deal with all of that later. Focus on the present and roll with things. It seemed the sane way to deal with this place. “Helping the helpless? That’s kind of a big step down from running an evil law firm. Think you can handle that kind of power shift?”

She grew quiet, thoughts trying to find their way into words. Quaint platitudes and lies didn’t really feel right. “I really want to say I’m sure it’s fine, or will be, but.. you know.” Hell, she may have technically won in Sunnydale, but it wasn’t without any losses. They both knew how the fight worked. “But I’d like to hope it turns out okay in the end. But hey, you’re here, so maybe that’s a good sign?”

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mr_angel
2019-07-03 12:48 am UTC (link)

"An art dealer?" Angel weighed that in his mind for a moment. "That doesn't sound so bad," he said. He'd never been a collector, but he'd appreciated a few artists in his time, even when he didn't have a soul. Actually, he might have appreciated it more without the soul though that wasn't something he was going to analyze or mention. "If he said you were hired then I'd think he hold to it. I've not spoken to him much, but he seems to hold up his end of his deals from the looks of it."

Helping the helpless. It had been a while since he'd heard that phrase. Life had gotten so complicated. "In all honesty, I'm looking forward to that downward power shift. I'm not sure if we'll ever have such a big need for it here, but I like the idea of trying it out again." He'd miss the others, but there was still a chance some of them would show up, right? People were showing up from so many different universes and even more timelines.

"Yeah. I know." They'd already lost Cordy, Fred, and more recently, Wesley. Gunn was fading fast. It was a battle that would likely cost all of their lives in the end, but it would be worth it. It would have to be.
"Maybe it means the others were taken some other place like this too," he said with a shrug. "I don't know." Was that the best case scenario? He had no idea.

As they walked, Angel cleared his throat, sighing a little. "But I guess you're probably wondering how I got mixed up in that in the first place." It wasn't so much of a question as much as a way to shift the conversation. He glanced over at her briefly. "How much did Faith or Willow tell you about how they helped us out with The Beast and getting my soul back before they came back to Sunnydale? Not long before your battle with The First." How much she knew about his life, about his son, would determine where he'd need to start. She hadn't mentioned Connor to him, but he had no idea if Faith or Willow had even mentioned him.

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((Ugh, so sorry, been sick and could barely do anything coherent lately.))

buffy_summers
2019-07-09 06:09 am UTC (link)

“Well, I hope it works out.” Buffy said with a shrug. “I mean, I didn’t exactly get to finish college yet, but his is something I know a little bit more about than guidance counselor at least. Plus the idea of it makes me feel a little closer to mom. So, fingers crossed and everything.” It also felt... normal. It also sounded a hell of a lot less stressful then trying to give advice to teenagers when she was just winging it herself.

She looked over at him with a curious expression. Personally, she liked the idea of him downsizing. Maybe because it was familiar, but it was more likely because she wanted him to avoid falling into any pitfalls from any more uber evil law firm type of powers. As much as she hated to admit it, Giles had at least made a compelling case for the whole power corrupts thing, even if she believed Angel could handle it. “Well I think it sounds like a good idea and if you need any extra hands, I’ve got two right here.” She even held up her hands and gave him a little wave before sliding them into her pockets.

“They could have been.” Buffy wasn’t really sure how the place worked, but she was hoping it worked in a positive way. It wasn’t that bad yet. “They could already be here, or been here, who knows? That’s probably the one thing I don’t like so far... the not knowing.” It was annoying when you didn’t have all the information. Sure, she liked to improvise, but she wanted to know how this place worked, despite the fact she liked it so far. She sometimes felt unequipped to adapt to it, but she was trying.

She quirked her head to the side, “I was wondering. Faith and Willow told me about that whole Beast thing and you getting your soul back,” she pulled a hand out and attempted to give him a light shove, “Soulless, again? Seriously? STOP IT. There is no good there. I swear I’m going to find spiritual superglue for you one of these days.” Yes, she was making light of it, but what else could she do right now? It was done and over already. Buffy shook her head, “But I don’t have any really good info about why you went all CEO on me. Unless you count some extremely biased theories or weird rumors. I’m pretty sure you didn’t inherit it from some long lost relative that finally died.” Weirdly, that had been one of the tamer ideas some of the girls liked to gossip about. “There’s even a betting pool with some of the girls about what happened.”

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((that's okay! I hope you're feeling better!!))

mr_angel
2019-07-12 03:14 am UTC (link)

"I guess we'll see how it goes once it's up and running. I'm not sure how much it'll be needed in a place like this, but it's strange enough just by us being here that who knows what to expect down the line." Or how long they'd even be sticking around, but there didn't seem to be any reason to believe they'd be sent back home so soon after arriving.

"You're welcome to stop by or help out anytime. If I do get some cases going, it would probably be nice to have a couple of extra hands," he said and smiled briefly at her before turning back ahead as they walked. It was also nice having at least one familiar face around here rather than being completely alone, so having someone he was familiar with to work beside too would be nice if it ever came to that.

Her explanation of what she knew, or rather what she didn't know, was what he assumed given he hadn't received a phone call or visit from her asking questions. He probably preferred it at the time, but it made explaining the decision to come on board at Wolfram and Hart a lot harder right now. He sighed heavily but then laughed a little. "Yeah, not the best idea in hindsight. We got the information we needed from him, but afterwards... didn't go quite as planned."

To say the least. It would have been impossible to predict the reason it had all gone south, Cordelia being possessed by Jasmine while she was pregnant, but it had still happened and a lot of damage was left in Angelus' wake. Again.

"You'll have to fill me in on some of those rumors and theories sometime," he said. "The reason I went CEO is, well, it's complicated. But the short answer is that we struck a deal. They originally offered all of us the position, and I originally told them hell no. Then circumstances changed, and I guess I didn't know what else to do, so I set my own terms and said yes."

Angel paused for a moment and glanced over at her. "There was this kid that I cared about. He was lost and all shades of messed up. Most of it wasn't his fault, but he believed he had nothing else to lose and was going to hurt people. Most of them were strangers, but Cordy was one of them. I'd done everything I knew to do to help him, but he was just so lost. So, I struck a deal with the firm to give him a better life. A life without me, vampires, hell dimensions, demons, or any of the in between. I didn't have the power to help him on my own, so I took the deal."

He stopped talking for a moment to her take in everything that he was saying. Angel knew he probably didn't make any sense, but there was a lot of history she didn't know and might not ever understand. No one could if they hadn't been there themselves. "He was my son, Buffy."

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((Getting there! So yay!!!))

buffy_summers
2019-07-13 08:30 pm UTC (link)

“As mellow as this place seems to be, I kind of don’t think it’ll stay that way all the time.” Buffy frowned and shook her head. “Maybe it’s just the paranoid side of me. Or maybe I’m too old and jaded right now.” She wasn’t really that jaded, but there were moments... moments she usually tried to keep to a minimum these days or at the very least keep to herself.

That would be interesting. They hadn’t actually really worked together in years. Sure, Angel had come and helped with Caleb, but that was all too brief. Not that she regretted not letting him stay for the final fight, but if he had and he’d used that amulet... She’d already lost Spike because of it, she wasn’t ready to see a world without Angel at least somewhere. “Hey, you know as long as I’m here, I’m willing to lend a hand. Drive you crazy with Buffyisims. Steal any pens you may have with your logo on them.” She offered him a grin. “Helpful things like that.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll hear the rumors as soon as I think of the most inappropriate times to bring them up.” She said with a teasing tone. But other than that comment, he had her complete attention. Her brow furrowed as he elaborated. It must have been one hell of a circumstance for that- Oh, it was a kid. So that exp-OH. There’s the bombshell. She literally stopped in her tracks, her mouth agape.

“Son?” The word was quiet. Astonished wasn’t quite the word for it. Shock? Confusion? Buffy couldn’t say. Maybe it was all of it. No, it definitely was. There was also a hint of jealousy at the back of her brain that she really hated. Not that she wanted kids. Or his kids or anyone’s for that matter. Not that she didn’t not want any either. Whatever. But it was so... human and </i>normal</i>. Something she pretty much gave up on in her life. Buffy shook it off as best she could, but she knew that little ember of fuel was going to hit her later. “Ok, we are so getting into the semantics about all of that later. So many questions. So. Many.”

She sighed and put them on the backburner for now. “So you went to the dark side, kind of, because of your son. I can understand that.” And she could. After all, she was willing to let Glory win if it kept Dawn alive. Of course, she’d also changed her tune a bit when dealing with the First. At that point, she was more Slayer and the mission first. It wasn’t something she was proud of, even if it had to be done. “You’re his dad. It’s your job to take the hard hits to save him. That’s a reason that makes sense, but how come I’m only just hearing about this now? I mean, if Giles knew about your son, he wouldn’t automatically think you’ve gone evil.” At least she hoped not.

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((good!!))

mr_angel
2019-07-16 02:20 am UTC (link)

While he was certain that some of the rumors that had swirled around about him and the reasons he'd taken over a branch of an evil law firm were incredibly colorful and creative, he doubted that any of them involved him having a son. A son that grew up hating him in a hell dimension with one of his greatest enemies as Angelus and came back as a teenager, sent him to a watery grave for a few months, slept with his best friend and someone he possibly had fallen for himself, had a demonic hellgod of a daughter that wanted to make everyone her brainwashed slaves, and spiraled down into darkness after he killed said demonic hellgod of a daughter. No, he wouldn't have been able to make any of that up himself if he'd tried.

Angel let all of his words sink in, and stopped next to her when she paused and turned to him. "Yeah. My son," he said, confirming what was probably hard for her to believe. It wasn't as if Angel ever expected to have any children outside of the ones he made forcibly through blood and death. He assumed she did have a lot of questions and likely wanted to know who Connor's mother was, and that was going to be another complicated question he'd have to answer.

"Part of the deal was making sure no one else but me remembered him. Though, I'm not even sure if Willow or Faith ever told Giles about him before the spell happened. But everyone else, those memories were hidden away. Wesley found out eventually, and Connor... he showed up as a client one day and a few pieces started to come together for him, but he still had his other life, his normal life and normal memories, to fall back on." Angel sighed and shifted in place before looking at Buffy again.

"After he was born, I never knew how to tell you. There was so much going on, and then he was..." He stopped and shook his head. He didn't need to get into absolutely everything. "That's the short version of it, at least."

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