{"id":5901,"date":"2015-07-18T17:10:59","date_gmt":"2015-07-18T16:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/?p=5901"},"modified":"2015-07-18T17:10:59","modified_gmt":"2015-07-18T16:10:59","slug":"a-talk-in-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/18\/a-talk-in-the-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"A Talk in the Dark."},"content":{"rendered":"

Title: A Talk in the Dark<\/b>
\nAuthor: <\/b>Nickle<\/strong>
\nPosted: <\/b>04\/04
\nRating: <\/b>PG-16 for swearing
\nEmail<\/a><\/b>
\nCategory: <\/b>Angsty post-ep for Origins
\nContent: <\/b>A\/C
\nSummary: <\/b>He\u2019s had a bad day\u2026..
\nSpoilers: <\/b>very very slight for Origins.
\nDisclaimer: <\/b>The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
\nDistribution: <\/b>Just ask
\nNotes: <\/b>
\nThanks\/Dedication:<\/b>
\nFeedback:<\/b> Is needed like air. Or amaretto sours.<\/p>\n

\n

It was familiar and safe; the good old days, sitting alone in the dark. No one disturbed him. No one asked him to sign anything or to save anyone or what color to paint the 4th floor lab facility. That left his cognizance when he entered the apartment and shut the door behind him.<\/p>\n

Shut out the world.<\/p>\n

He kept all the lights off and sat in the middle of the room, alone and still. The walls were soundproofed; he couldn\u2019t hear anything beyond the thick silence that blanketed him and weighed him down into the chair.<\/p>\n

\u201cBad day?\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel didn\u2019t open his eyes or raise his head up from the back of the chair. His voice was low. \u201cBad life.\u201d<\/p>\n

A silvery sigh drifted over his shoulder and a waft of vanilla teased his nostrils as Cordy strolled by and sat on the sofa facing him. She tucked her bare feet under her body as she looked at him steadily.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the life itself, Angel, it\u2019s the effort put into living it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid seeing Connor upset you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Yes. I did the right thing. I know I did. You should see him, Cordy.\u201d Angel\u2019s eyes opened and he smiled softly. \u201cStanford. Can you believe that? God, he\u2019s smart. And good, Cordy, he\u2019s a good kid. He\u2019s a\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a good man.\u201d Cordy finished for him. Angel nodded, staring up into the darkness.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is that. A good man. I know I did the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did what was right for Connor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u201d They were silent for a moment. \u201cDid I do the right thing, Cordy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just said\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. I want to believe that. You\u2019re my voice. You\u2019re\u2026..you\u2019re what makes sense. Did I do the right thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordy rose from the sofa and walked to the window, staring out into the inky blackness of the moonless night. \u201cOur lives, Angel\u2026..they\u2019re not that simple. One flicker, one small choice can affect all that we do\u2026all who we are. You gave Conner a chance at a life that he wouldn\u2019t have had\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026and signed on with Hell to do it..\u201d Angel finished bitterly. \u201cShit. A fucking prophecy that my son had to fulfill\u2026.it\u2019s not choices, Cordy, it\u2019s games and prophecies and torture and being chess pieces on a board played by Gods and Goddesses who use humanity\u2019s flaws for entertainment. Fuckers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordy\u2019s voice was gentle. \u201cWe talked about this. Gunn made his own choice. He made a couple of them lately; you think you\u2019re alone in the dark here? Try going down to the basement.\u201d Angel couldn\u2019t even summon the strength to glare at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWesley made his choice, too. My heart breaks for him.\u201d A tear slipped down her cheek. \u201cFred\u2026.oh God she was young, and all joy.\u201d She rose and walked to Angel\u2019s chair, kneeling in front of it and staring up at him. \u201cShe can\u2019t come back, Angel, but her soul\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was destroyed, Cordy.\u201d Angel\u2019s voice was hard. \u201cBurned and destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBullshit. You can\u2019t destroy a soul. It bends and stretches and rises and floats and dances in realms that layer around us. She\u2019s gone, Angel, she can\u2019t come back, but her soul soars as joyfully as she lived.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel closed his eyes again. \u201cIt\u2019s too much. I\u2019m surrounded in a siege I know nothing about. My soldiers are\u2026broken. I\u2019m in the dark and clueless while the fucking Senior Partners have liaisons and contacts and contracts and plans and plots. How am I supposed to fight that? How the hell am I supposed to fight what I can\u2019t see or know anything about all alone? Because that\u2019s what I am. I\u2019m alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019ll sit here in the quiet dark, and hope that evil\u2026what? Passes on by\u2026.rings the bell and decides no one\u2019s home? Are you waiting for it to come to you?\u201d Cordy\u2019s voice began to hum with anger. \u201cthen you damn well deserve what you get, Angel. You don\u2019t want to fight anymore, step outside and watch the sun rise. Don\u2019t worry about the rest of the world; they\u2019re just chess pieces anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWILL YOU FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE?\u201d Oh, God, this was too hard. There was a long silence, and he finally looked down. Down at the empty space by his chair. He stared at the empty space and felt his body grow even colder.<\/p>\n

He rose and walked towards the bedroom, his steps measured as his body plodded on. She came to him so rarely anymore; he shouldn\u2019t have sent her away like that. He paused at the doorway, looking back at the empty, tomb silent room. She had always been his voice.<\/p>\n

God he missed it. He turned and walked slowly to the bed, falling down on it face first and burying his head under the pillow.<\/p>\n

In another realm, a gentle spirit floated, watching, listlessly dancing as Angel\u2019s body shook with sobs. The spirit\u2019s soft ribbons of love and compassion reached out to gently stroke Angel\u2019s back until he stilled and pulled the pillow off his face.<\/p>\n

A whisper of a caress smoothed his brow until he fell asleep. His last thought before slumber overtook him was that he smelled a comforting scent of vanilla.<\/p>\n

End<\/b><\/p>\n

Nickle<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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