{"id":7799,"date":"2015-11-01T19:36:37","date_gmt":"2015-11-01T19:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/?p=7799"},"modified":"2015-11-01T21:18:20","modified_gmt":"2015-11-01T21:18:20","slug":"circle-in-the-sand-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/01\/circle-in-the-sand-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Circle in the Sand 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Title: Circle in the Sand<\/b>
\nAuthor: <\/b>Sunscorched<\/strong>
\nPosted: <\/b>06\/07\/03
\nEmail<\/b><\/a>
\nRating: <\/b>PG-15
\nCategory: <\/b>AU
\nContent: <\/b>
\nSummary: Psychofilly<\/em>‘s<\/b> challenge number one.
\nSpoilers: <\/b>Only for past seasons
\nDisclaimer: <\/b>The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
\nDistribution: <\/b>NF, GTCA,\u00a0anyplace else just ask
\nNotes: <\/b>
\nThanks\/Dedication: <\/b>Dedicated to Psychofilly<\/b><\/em> who posted the challenge and gave me some cool advice and Lilyana<\/b><\/em>, my pardner-in-crime. Hope you all enjoy.
\nFeedback: <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

Part 1<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u201d Buffy started as she poured the hot water into her cup as she sat opposite Angel, \u201cYou\u2019re human now\u201d she stated the obvious as she didn\u2019t have a clue where to begin. One minute she had been standing at the beach, the next a human Angel had her in his arms and was kissing her passionately.<\/p>\n

The kiss had shaken her, it had been passionate, full of want and need but it hadn\u2019t felt to her like the ones they had previously shared. His lips had been strangely warm which was a big difference to his cool ones when he had been a vampire.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it seems,\u201d Angel responded just as awkwardly as he fidgeted, the rise and fall of chest feeling weird after 250 odd years of living without it. He couldn\u2019t hear Buffy\u2019s heart beating or her blood flowing beneath her skin, things seemed quiet without his extra hearing. Having no sound like that made him feel like he was in a soundproof room. He didn\u2019t feel scared or strange without it but he missed hearing those sounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have any idea on what you\u2019re going to do now that you\u2019re human?\u201d Buffy asked, keeping the polite tone they seemed to have agreed on. She took a sip of her tea, keeping her blue eyes on Angel across from her. Even though he was no longer a vampire, his face and eyes were as unreadable to her as ever.<\/p>\n

Angel shook his head slightly, \u201cI don\u2019t know how long this is going to last. I keep expecting to wake up and this to be a dream\u201d he told her honestly. \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about us?\u201d Buffy asked, risking looking directly into his eyes, hoping to see what she wanted him to say reflecting in his.<\/p>\n

A deep breath was inhaled, \u201cI think we should take this cautiously, see how things work out. I mean I still don\u2019t know if this is permanent\u201d Angel replied truthfully.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mature plan\u201d Buffy agreed softly, wondering how she was going to make it of the kitchen without falling into his arms. \u201cSounds good to me. I call you, you call me we stay in touch just not literally\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel nodded at her words, \u201cI think that\u2019s for the best, just until we know if this is real\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffy nodded in understanding, but the problem was she didn\u2019t understand how could she? She had never lived without the sun, without a heartbeat or any of those things only to suddenly have them again. \u201cWould you give any thought to returning to Sunnydale?\u201d she asked, keeping hope purposely out of her voice and her expression neutral. Inside, her head was screaming for him to say yes and come home with her.<\/p>\n

Angel looked at her, did she want him to go back to Sunnydale with her? Did he want to go back to Sunnydale with her? What else could he do now that he was human? It wasn\u2019t like he had any living family or relatives and it wasn\u2019t as if he could live with Doyle or Cordelia and take up room in their lives was it? \u201cDo you want me to go back to Sunnydale?\u201d he asked in a quiet voice that was filled with hope. He would give up everything he had to be with the girl he loved.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cGood luck to ya man\u201d Doyle told Angel sincerely with a lewd but playful wink at Buffy as he shook Angel\u2019s hand in congratulations on his new life.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, go have fun in the Sun-nydale\u201d Cordelia teased as she stood next to Doyle, blinking against the bright afternoon sun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can do that now\u201d Angel looked up at the sun pointedly, \u201cThanks both of you. I couldn\u2019t have done this without you\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know\u201d Cordelia sighed with a lop-sided smile, she linked arms with Doyle and squeezed his arm slightly and got a squeeze in return.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you ready?\u201d Buffy asked from her position at Angel\u2019s car. \u201cI want to get back in time to do some patrolling.” Angel was coming home with her and life would be good again.<\/p>\n

Angel gave an apologetic look to both Cordelia and Doyle, \u201cI guess this is it huh?\u201d he asked, though he was smiling his tone and eyes were sad. \u201cDon\u2019t drink too much\u201d he said to Doyle, \u201cStay out of trouble\u201d he said to Cordelia firmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill do boss only you\u2019re not the boss anymore so I\u2019ll get in as much trouble as I want. So there\u201d Cordelia stuck her tongue out at him in a show of childish defiance.<\/p>\n

Angel stilled as he took her words to heart, \u201cAngel don\u2019t worry man\u201d Doyle told him with a shake of his head, \u201cI\u2019ll take care of Princess just fine\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the part I\u2019m worried about\u201d Angel deadpanned.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel, that was just crude\u201d Cordelia said in mild disgust, \u201cHe\u2019s way too short and poor\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel\u201d Buffy called again impatiently as she crossed her arms over her chest smiling happily at Cordelia and Doyle who stood just behind Angel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mistress has spoken\u201d Cordelia muttered to Doyle and earned a chastising look from Angel in response. \u201cSorry, geez. Go, shoo go play in some graveyards with little miss slay happy\u201d she waved him away.<\/p>\n

Angel gave a manly pat on Doyle\u2019s back and gave Cordelia a quick hug goodbye. \u201cTake care Angel,\u201d she whispered softly in his ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou too Cordy. Keep Doyle out of trouble\u201d he whispered back as he squeezed her a little tighter and a little longer than boss and secretary or friends should. Angel pulled back and Cordelia gave him a dazzling smile, taking his breath away and putting the sun to shame. \u201cI better go before it gets late,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Angel walked backwards for a few steps, taking a long last look at his surroundings and the two people who had helped get this far. Doyle, the Irishman who had a strong fondness for a single malt and the brunette handful next to him Cordelia, said brunette, standing with both hands behind her back and her shoulders swinging back and forth as she chewed her lower lip. Her long hair flowing loose around face, catching the sun\u2019s rays making it shine, her hazel eyes glinting with gold…<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel, we have to go now so I can patrol before I go to bed, I have an early start at college tomorrow and I don\u2019t want to be late\u201d Buffy\u2019s voice interrupted his study of his friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry\u201d Angel replied as he turned away from Doyle and Cordelia to face Buffy and his new life in Sunnydale.<\/p>\n

\u201cBye Angel\u201d Cordelia called out with a wave, \u201cBye Buffy keep in touch\u201d she said with forced sweetness, doing her best not to make any comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee ya man, don\u2019t do anything I wouldn\u2019t,\u201d Doyle advised, and there wasn\u2019t all that much he wouldn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t\u201d Angel called back as he started the engine on his car, he gave them a wave before driving off back to Sunnydale<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe now he won\u2019t be Broody Boy\u201d Cordelia said to herself, \u201cWell it\u2019s just you and me Doyle, we\u2019re all we have now\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAye Princess. An we got our own business to run\u201d Doyle replied as the turned back to their office.<\/p>\n

Cordelia gave him a little surprised look, \u201cYou still want to run Angel Investigations?\u201d she asked, hoping against hope that she would still have a job.<\/p>\n

Doyle returned her look, \u201cYa didn\u2019t think I\u2019d run out on ya, did ya Princess?\u201d he asked with a little smile. God, she was beautiful when she smiled like that, it was like her whole face lit up and that smile was contagious so Doyle found himself smiling back at her. \u201cPeople need people like us, we can fight the good fight ourselves\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd no vampire He-Man to do the fighting. Not that I\u2019m totally helpless, but there\u2019s only so much I can do with a book while screaming for help\u201d Cordelia told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll have you know I\u2019ve been known to knock a few heads together in my time\u201d Doyle exaggerated a little bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was probably your head getting knocked off somebody else\u2019s\u201d Cordelia replied as she watched him automatically open the door for her and stepped inside. He could be so sweet sometimes and a complete bonehead at others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat hurt Princess\u201d Doyle feigned a pained expression as he placed his hand over his heart. \u201cThat crackin sound is my heart breakin\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordelia gave him a look, \u201cYou are such a… I don\u2019t know what you are\u201d she brushed past him into Angel\u2019s office and sat in the chair behind the desk. \u201cHello promotion\u201d she said in an excited, breathy tone \u201cYou do realise that this means I have to have a raise?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you work that one out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEasy\u201d she replied simply, \u201cIf I\u2019m going to be in charge of Angel Investigations now, then I need to look the part. And looking the part means I need new boss type clothes which takes money. In order to make money, you need to have a vision so get to it\u201d<\/p>\n

Doyle looked at a loss for a second, \u201cI can\u2019t just blink my eyes and have a vision\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about if I hit you over the head really hard, would you have a vision then?\u201d<\/p>\n

He was about to answer but the familiar tingle lanced through his brain as a vision hit. Cordelia immediately got out of her seat to fetch his usual glass of single malt to relieve his headache. Doyle shook a little as the vision subsided and he saw the mug placed on the desk in front of him, he raised his blue eyes gratefully to Cordelia who only smiled in response.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr I could just talk about you having visions and voila\u201d she said with a beaming smile, \u201cSo, what have we got?\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Angel stood awkwardly in Buffy\u2019s living room, shuffling under the weight of everybody\u2019s intense study of him. Xander was just plain staring at him with \u2018What did you ever do to deserve this?\u2019 clearly written on his face, Willow was just sat still, her eyes flickering back and forth between Buffy and Angel.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u201d Xander was the first to speak, breaking the uncomfortable silence in the room, \u201cI, uh, guess I can\u2019t call you Deadboy anymore can I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cXander!\u201d Willow scolded before turning back to Buffy and Angel, \u201cWell you look, uh, the same as you did the last time I saw you\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel only nodded in reply with a tiny, tight smile to the red head.<\/p>\n

Giles rubbed his head and removed his glasses, \u201cWell this has come as quite a shock I can tell you,\u201d he told Angel. \u201cI suspect it must be rather strange for yourself\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could say that\u201d Angel replied curtly.<\/p>\n

An awkward silence descended on the room until Buffy spoke up, \u201cAngel, I have to go on patrol now. Will you be okay until I get back?\u201d she asked lightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go with you\u201d he replied, wondering why she didn\u2019t ask him if he wanted to go with her.<\/p>\n

Buffy shared a look with the others, \u201cAre you sure? I don\u2019t mean to sound uppity or anything like that, but you\u2019re human now. Do you think you could manage it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel frowned, but realised she was only being concerned about him, he nodded, \u201cI\u2019ll be fine, no problem\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n

Buffy nodded, \u201cOkay let\u2019s go. It\u2019ll be just like old times\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh the romance of smooching between vamp dusting\u201d Xander blurted out, \u201cOww!\u201d he said when Willow stood on his foot.<\/p>\n

Willow smiled encouragingly at the Slayer and Angel, \u201cOkay, we won\u2019t wait up have fun\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight, bye guys\u201d Buffy replied as she led Angel out of her front door, eager to leave the stares and unspoken thoughts behind as she shut the door after Angel.<\/p>\n

After they left, the conversation immediately began. \u201cWhoa, can I just say that I so did not expect that\u201d Xander breathed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a shocker all right,\u201d Willow agreed as she turned her wide eyes to Giles, \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do I think about what?\u201d Giles asked in return, determined not to share his thoughts about Angel with any of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Fonze\u201d Xander replied as he rolled his eyes, \u201cAbout not-so-dead-Deadboy and his remarkable return to the human race\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not at liberty to say at this particular moment\u201d Giles replied, \u201cSuffice to say I only want what is best for Buffy and if Angel is best for her then I shall support her\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you don\u2019t, do you?\u201d Willow asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, I am not at liberty to say Willow, I have to know what Angel\u2019s intentions are before I go jumping to any rash conclusions\u201d Giles replied in the same none-judgemental, even tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he was Cordelia\u2019s boss on some kind of soul-saving mission in L.A\u201d Xander pointed out. \u201cIf he\u2019s here and she\u2019s not, wouldn\u2019t that make Cordy by herself in L.A?\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow shook her head, \u201cFrom what Buffy told me, there\u2019s a man working for him too called Doyle who\u2019s stayed in L.A with Cordy\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPoor guy\u201d Xander commented with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not very nice Xander\u201d Willow chastised, \u201cYou weren\u2019t exactly the world\u2019s greatest boyfriend you know\u201d<\/p>\n

Xander\u2019s face went from laughing one minute to guilty the next as he remembered Cordelia falling through the stairs and being impaled on a rebar. \u201cThanks for reminding me Will, one massive guilt trip coming up\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there too,\u201d Willow reminded him lightly as her own face became a little guilt-ridden. \u201cShe may have changed Xander, we have changed why couldn\u2019t Cordy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Cordy changed better than anyone here Will,\u201d Xander replied, \u201cBut charging people for saving their lives just seems a little…\u201d he shook a hand from side to side. \u201cYou know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have to make money to survive in some way Xander, it wasn\u2019t just the helpless who got charged you know. It is-was-is a fully working detective agency,\u201d Willow told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I\u2019m saying is Cordy can\u2019t be that much different from senior year at high school. It took her three years to stop calling us losers, how much could half a year change her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe, but I doubt we\u2019ll ever find out because I\u2019m sure the words ‘I would rather have my skin peeled off by a potato peeler than come back here again’ came from her mouth\u201d Willow told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can be thankful for small mercies then\u201d Xander responded, not wanting to admit he still had leftover feelings for Cordelia Chase, his first real girlfriend.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Buffy slammed her stake through the heart of the last vampire before hurrying to help Angel off the ground where he was lying breathlessly. She held her hand out to help him up, \u201cYou okay?\u201d she asked with a frown on her face as she looked at his bruised face.<\/p>\n

Angel dusted down his coat and ran a hand through his hair, wincing when he felt a lump forming on his hairline. He nodded, \u201cYeah, just wasn\u2019t really expecting to, you know, get beaten to a bloody pulp\u201d<\/p>\n

Biting her lip Buffy looked up at him, \u201cWe should get home, get you patched up\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about you? Are you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffy shook her head, \u201cSlayer here, super strength remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah\u201d Angel replied as they started walking, or rather Buffy walked while Angel kind of hobbled after her. He looked around the graveyard, it hadn\u2019t changed from the last time he saw it before he left Sunnydale for L.A.<\/p>\n

L.A.<\/p>\n

A soft smile tugged at his lips as he thought of Cordelia and Doyle still there, wondering if they were going to keep the business open or close it. \u201cWhat are you smiling about?\u201d Buffy asked as she awkwardly laced her fingers through his and felt him squeeze her hand back.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoyle and Cordy\u201d Angel replied, \u201cI was just wondering if they were going to keep the business open or close it\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffy shrugged, not really caring what would happen to his old business. \u201cOh. Don\u2019t get me wrong Angel, but why would they keep it open? You\u2019re not there to fight anymore\u201d<\/p>\n

He wasn’t a vampire anymore and if he was breathless from a fight with a few dimwitted vampires, then Buffy doubted he would be able to hold his own with some of the demons on the Hellmouth. Granted he had fought better than Riley or the others who worked at the Initiative, but that was only due to the fact of his experience in martial arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoyle gets visions from the Powers, I doubt Cordy or Doyle would let the hopeless save their own lives\u201d Angel told her. He had only been in Sunnydale for a short amount of time but he already missed the noise of the traffic and people, Sunnydale seemed too… quiet without it. The familiar feeling of guilt crept in as he thought about leaving Doyle and Cordelia by themselves, fighting what was his fight.<\/p>\n

But it wasn’t his fight anymore was it? He was human now and with Buffy so how could it be his fight?<\/p>\n

Part 2<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Title: Circle in the Sand Author: Sunscorched Posted: 06\/07\/03 Email Rating: PG-15 Category: AU Content: Summary: Psychofilly‘s challenge number one. Spoilers: Only for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-to-be-continued-fic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7799\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}