Hell Is In the Details
The Game Is Afoot
Hell Is In the
Details – Interlude – The Game Is Afoot
Buffy toed off her shoes and threw herself face-first onto
the luxurious bed in her borrowed room. God, she was exhausted. That dinner
party had been a colossal bore. Her face hurt from holding onto a smile of the damned
for literally hours on end.
‘Hello, I’m Buffy – nice to meet you,’
‘Yes, it’s true – I’m that
Slayer,’
‘No, I certainly don’t miss guarding a Hellmouth.’
All night long, the same questions! Over
and over and over again. And all night long, the same answers. She could
have sent the Buffybot for all the sparkling wit or
personal opinion she’d been allowed to exhibit.
And she’d been plastered to Angel’s side for the entire
evening – paraded around like a show dog. It wouldn’t have surprised her if
some of the guests had thought about prying her mouth open to look at her
teeth. She’d practically had to ask permission to go pee!
If parties like this were going to be a staple of her new
life with Angel, they were going to have to have a talk, and soon.
She remembered being introduced to some of the original Fang
Gang – Gunn… and Fred, was it? Definite issues between
Gunn and Angel. An undercurrent so thick you could have cut it with a dull
butter knife. They’d stared and postured and waltzed around each other like
prizefighters before a match.
At one point, it seemed as if Angel was sniffing at him like
a dog! Buffy shuddered, delicately. No matter how much time had passed, that
scenting thing was the one vampire sense that really, really
For the umpteenth time since she’d decided to make Angel
pof hof her life again, Buffy pondered her choices. She missed the
companionship of someone who knew her life from top to bottom.
the Slayer had done to her. Who knew her heartaches and her losses and
would never inadvertently bring those subjects up to cause her pain.
Angel fit the bill,everything that mattered about her. She’d loved him once, fully and without
reservation. And he loved her. So why wasn’t she more
enthused?
For a change, she wanted to talk. Needed to talk this all
out with someone who wouldn’t judge her and find her wanting.
She needed Spike. It was so easy to picture in her mind’s
eye and ear, the way the conversation would go:
Spike, my brain’s all
~That
Be nice, you. I need
someone in my life and since you’re no longer here, he’s the next best thing.
~Bloody hell, Slayer –
who are you kidding? You don’t need anyone but yourself. And I’m always here
for you, pet. All you have to do is open your heart.~
I wish there was some
other way, Spike. I’m not as strong as you think.
~Yeah, well – he’s a
right git, that one. Don’t let him push you around,
and your lows.~
You never judged me,
even when you should have.
~Got no
love – you just do.~
Buffy shivered and wrapped her arms protectively around
herself. She wished she could just keep her eyes closed forever and listen to
the sound of his voice.
~*~
Angel was thrilled. Walking into his suite, he quickly
undressed and tossed his clothing into the hamper for the maid service to pick
up in the morning. The smile he wore, however, he knew he wouldn’t be able to
lose for a week.
Buffy had been just perfect tonight, dressed to the nines in
a blood-red velvet gown with matching heels, making her at least four inches
taller than her petite five feet two. Arm in arm they’d greeted his guests and
employees. She’d been everything he could have hoped for – charming and sweet,
winning over everyone she met.
He couldn’t remember a better night at Wolfram & Hart.
Except for one little flaw… Gunn. Something was just…
off about the man. Wary and ill at ease – hearkening back to
the days when the street punk had first allowed his guard down enough to work
with a vampire.
And his smell… something had pricked at Angel’s senses when
he’d scented Gunn tonight. Something almost familial, with
hints of terror and resignation. A heady aroma, but
disconcerting. Was it possible he’d run into Dru?
The only other time he’d smelled quite that combination of
aromas was… William! That was it. When William had first fledged, he’d been
terrified. Angelus had taken full advantage of his situation to ‘teach’ William
the finer points of submission and family pecking order – by beating and
fucking the fear out of him until he’d come to expect and then crave the
attention.
Angelus had relished destroying the last illusions of
self-esteem the younger vampire had. Drusilla was a wonderful tool, and he’d
used her to crack the thin veneer of importance and place William had wanted
with his new ‘family.’ Tease and taunt, pretend to allow and then snatch it
away at the last moment – that was the perfect way to break William down.
And the nights he’d taken his frustrations and pleasures out
in William’s ass were the sweetest of all. He’d never been easy; always put up
a fight before being beaten and overpowered. Plowing into that virgin hole for
the first time was like being strangled by an iron fist in a velvet glove, and
he’d made sure to ‘shake hands’ with the boy as often as possible.
Angel could feel his demon crowing even now over those
delicious memories. In his own way, William had been as much a masterpiece of
devastation as Drusilla ever was. But that was done – over with.
He shrugged the memories off like an old coat. Those days
were gone, Spike was gone. Unimportant in the scheme of
things.
Buffy was all that mattered now.
He’d grinned to himself. Oh yeah. He had some wonderful
things planned for the pair of them…