Fic: Loyalty (Willow, Angel)
Title: Loyalty
Characters/Pairings: Willow, Angel
Rating: Any Age
Summary: It’s been seven years since she’s set foot in California
Word Count: 805
Beta: None so please excuse an errors.
For velvetwhip just because! It’s an odd little thing but I wanted to write you Willow & Angel!
It’s been seven years since she’s set foot in California, and Willow hasn’t missed it. The circumstances bringing her back haven’t even changed. The last time, she and the others were here to help Angel and the very few remaining members of his group stop a hostile takeover from Hell. They had won, but at a cost of life that she’s no longer sure justifies their success. If the Powers That Be are so determined to preserve this world, she thinks they need to start doing so at the expense of their own lives instead of simply using the rest of them as pawns in some archaic chess game that never ends.
The warehouse that Angel now uses for his office and residence is straight out of an urban thriller, and Willow almost expects to see creepy dockhands walking around with hooks over their shoulders any moment. There’s no one around, but she’s still cautious as she approaches the front door. She hasn’t seen him since she left last time, before any of the funerals happened, and it’s not like they’ve really kept in touch. Traveling the world to stop evil doesn’t often leave time for pen pals, especially those who still hate using a computer. If not for Spike’s constant emailing and texting, she wouldn’t even know where to locate them without actually having to make the effort.
Before she can knock or ring the buzzer, the door opens. Angel hasn’t changed. Hello, vampire, she reminds herself. “Hey, Angel. It’s been a long time.”
“Willow, what are you doing here?” He’s suspicious and guarded, which is good because she knows how dangerous trusting people can be, even when they’re wearing the face of old friends.
“Did you hear about Xander?” She isn’t sure how well Spike keeps him informed, but she knows Spike is aware of the recent incident.
“Yes. I’m sorry I couldn’t attend the funeral. Allergies to the sun, you know?” He still isn’t letting her in, and she has to smile.
“Don’t worry. It was small. Just me and Dawn. We’re all that’s left now. Everyone else is dead and buried, or ashes in the wind, in some cases.” She shrugs. “I’m the last of the old group, and I expected that, considering everything, but I hadn’t thought it would be so soon. You gonna let me in or should I get down to business out here?”
“Spike told me that you claim Xander’s possession was deliberate and that the Old Ones were trying to obtain some type of magical object using him. Something about them planning to get power beyond what they should yiel.” Angel shakes his head. “I don’t agree with that. It sounds crazy.”
“Ever the loyal guy, aren’t you? Where’s the loyalty to the rest of us?” Willow can feel her hair starting to rise from the back of her neck and knows her eyes are probably turning black, so she takes a deep breath and calms herself the way Giles showed her so many years ago. She misses him a lot. Hell, she misses them all. “They aren’t what you think they are, Angel. They’re playing a game against an opponent that’s no longer indistinguishable from them. I know what happened, and I know what they did to Xander. I know what they did to Faith, to Buffy, to Giles. None of those deaths were accidents or caused by the bad guy getting the upper hand.”
“I’ll listen to you, Willow, but I make no promises. Spike thinks you’re planning to take them on, and that’s a suicide mission, even for someone with your power and skills.” Angel steps aside. “Where’s Dawn?”
“Safe. She knows I’m here, and I’ll be meeting up with her once I’m finished in Los Angeles,” Willow says. She wonders if Spike also told him that she won’t be leaving alone or that it can’t be a suicide mission if she’s immortal. She doubts it, since Spike is probably looking forward to her explaining all that to Angel.
“Are you planning to go to war against the Old Ones, Willow?” Angel crosses his arms and stares at her intently. “I hope you’re still smarter than that.”
“Of course not, silly. They should never have touched Xander, you know? That’s such a stupid mistake. A fatal one, really. It was bad when they took Buffy, but Xander was there, and we dealt with it. He handled them, and we did what we could to fight the good fight. With him gone,well, they’re going to have to deal with me.” Willow smiles as she loosens her control over her magic just enough for black and white streaks to spread through her hair and her eyes to flash. “I’m not going to war, Angel. I’m winning the war. Now, let’s talk about loyalty, shall we?”
End
Characters/Pairings: Willow, Angel
Rating: Any Age
Summary: It’s been seven years since she’s set foot in California
Word Count: 805
Beta: None so please excuse an errors.
For velvetwhip just because! It’s an odd little thing but I wanted to write you Willow & Angel!
It’s been seven years since she’s set foot in California, and Willow hasn’t missed it. The circumstances bringing her back haven’t even changed. The last time, she and the others were here to help Angel and the very few remaining members of his group stop a hostile takeover from Hell. They had won, but at a cost of life that she’s no longer sure justifies their success. If the Powers That Be are so determined to preserve this world, she thinks they need to start doing so at the expense of their own lives instead of simply using the rest of them as pawns in some archaic chess game that never ends.
The warehouse that Angel now uses for his office and residence is straight out of an urban thriller, and Willow almost expects to see creepy dockhands walking around with hooks over their shoulders any moment. There’s no one around, but she’s still cautious as she approaches the front door. She hasn’t seen him since she left last time, before any of the funerals happened, and it’s not like they’ve really kept in touch. Traveling the world to stop evil doesn’t often leave time for pen pals, especially those who still hate using a computer. If not for Spike’s constant emailing and texting, she wouldn’t even know where to locate them without actually having to make the effort.
Before she can knock or ring the buzzer, the door opens. Angel hasn’t changed. Hello, vampire, she reminds herself. “Hey, Angel. It’s been a long time.”
“Willow, what are you doing here?” He’s suspicious and guarded, which is good because she knows how dangerous trusting people can be, even when they’re wearing the face of old friends.
“Did you hear about Xander?” She isn’t sure how well Spike keeps him informed, but she knows Spike is aware of the recent incident.
“Yes. I’m sorry I couldn’t attend the funeral. Allergies to the sun, you know?” He still isn’t letting her in, and she has to smile.
“Don’t worry. It was small. Just me and Dawn. We’re all that’s left now. Everyone else is dead and buried, or ashes in the wind, in some cases.” She shrugs. “I’m the last of the old group, and I expected that, considering everything, but I hadn’t thought it would be so soon. You gonna let me in or should I get down to business out here?”
“Spike told me that you claim Xander’s possession was deliberate and that the Old Ones were trying to obtain some type of magical object using him. Something about them planning to get power beyond what they should yiel.” Angel shakes his head. “I don’t agree with that. It sounds crazy.”
“Ever the loyal guy, aren’t you? Where’s the loyalty to the rest of us?” Willow can feel her hair starting to rise from the back of her neck and knows her eyes are probably turning black, so she takes a deep breath and calms herself the way Giles showed her so many years ago. She misses him a lot. Hell, she misses them all. “They aren’t what you think they are, Angel. They’re playing a game against an opponent that’s no longer indistinguishable from them. I know what happened, and I know what they did to Xander. I know what they did to Faith, to Buffy, to Giles. None of those deaths were accidents or caused by the bad guy getting the upper hand.”
“I’ll listen to you, Willow, but I make no promises. Spike thinks you’re planning to take them on, and that’s a suicide mission, even for someone with your power and skills.” Angel steps aside. “Where’s Dawn?”
“Safe. She knows I’m here, and I’ll be meeting up with her once I’m finished in Los Angeles,” Willow says. She wonders if Spike also told him that she won’t be leaving alone or that it can’t be a suicide mission if she’s immortal. She doubts it, since Spike is probably looking forward to her explaining all that to Angel.
“Are you planning to go to war against the Old Ones, Willow?” Angel crosses his arms and stares at her intently. “I hope you’re still smarter than that.”
“Of course not, silly. They should never have touched Xander, you know? That’s such a stupid mistake. A fatal one, really. It was bad when they took Buffy, but Xander was there, and we dealt with it. He handled them, and we did what we could to fight the good fight. With him gone,well, they’re going to have to deal with me.” Willow smiles as she loosens her control over her magic just enough for black and white streaks to spread through her hair and her eyes to flash. “I’m not going to war, Angel. I’m winning the war. Now, let’s talk about loyalty, shall we?”
End