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The Summer After Part 4
Well, here it is - finally! I have no idea why this is so hard to write... I have it all perfectly worked out in my mind, but when I write it down it falls apart and has to be re-assembled very carefully. *sigh*
Anyway, I have plenty of artwork to do, so I'll post this and then run away and be productive! I hope this is ok and you all like it (::prays hard::). Previous parts here.
Part 4
After walking down a few alleyways they came to the pub. With its painted brick facade and ‘The King’s Arms’ in gilt lettering it looked like every other pub Giles had ever been in. It was only when he noticed the carefully painted sign above the door that he realised that it was a demon-bar after all: It showed two arms, torn off at the shoulders - one holding a sceptre, the other a globe - with little droplets of blood for added effect.
He sighed and thought that at least demon bars usually had good whiskey.
Once inside and looking around, Giles noted that English demons - those not hanging out in graveyards looking for a fight with a Slayer - were obviously quiet types. There were a few vamps in jeans and Gap T-shirts playing darts, and some corpulent demons in knitted jumpers drinking (and talking about) Real Ale; but otherwise the pub was empty.
Spike turned to him as Angel and Illyria made their way to a corner table. “So, what can I get you?”
“Double scotch, please,” Giles answered automatically as he took off his glasses to polish them, since the sudden heat had caused some visual haziness.
He looked up to find Spike studying him critically and finally shaking his head lightly. “Single. And make it last - we need to talk, and for that we need you to be sober.”
And he turned around and walked up to the bar, leaving Giles flabbergasted, but also suddenly illuminated.
Spike had always acted like a rebellious youth. Giles knew that technically the vampire was at least a hundred, but he nevertheless behaved like a cheeky youngster, right down to the irreverent ‘Rupert’. But now...
Putting on his glasses again and making his way to the table where Angel and Illyria were now sitting, his mind was crowded with thoughts. As he looked towards the bar where Spike was chatting with the cheerful barmaid, he might as well have been wearing those magical specs he always dreamt of owning as a child...
Spike and Angel - in his mind they had always been sort of appendages to Buffy, since it seemed that for most of the time he had know her she’d had one or other of the vampires following her like a shadow. Loyal, loving, but always on the outside somehow - never a part of the gang, never really accepted by anyone except Buffy. Looking at them tonight he saw none of the subordinance they had always displayed around her. They were self-assured and proud, acting in a way he had not seen since the time of Acathla...
Voices drifted by him. "Now I ‘eard some outrighteous gossip that you and Dru had split up, and I said, 'Don’t come 'ere telling tales!' Never seen such devotion in all my days as you showed your lady..."
“I don’t really know them at all...” he thought and wondered what Buffy would say if she could see them now. Or maybe this was how she’d always seen them...
Lost in thought, Giles was rather startled when Spike put down a glass in front of him. "I s'posse Glenfiddich is OK?" the vampire asked, and the Watcher nodded.
Quietly sipping his drink, Giles absentmindedly observed Illyria as she appeared to be making a complicated, gravity-defying sculpture out of beer mats. Since neither of the vampires seemed fazed by this Giles decided not to say anything, but he began to wonder in earnest what she was doing in their company. He noticed that she wasn’t drinking anything, whereas her two companions were emptying their Bloody Mary’s rapidly.
After Spike had been back to the bar for refills for himself and Angel ("Fancy you a champion - I never would 'ave guessed it! You know - I had another champion in 'ere just the other week, right sombre fella...") he turned to Giles and said pleasantly, "Well, let's talk about betrayal then!"
***
Giles sat up and waited. He had expected this day to come for a long time, but he had always thought that it would be Buffy he'd be having this conversation with. He had known at the time that the plan was desperate, but when Wood had later told him about Spike's threat and Buffy's reinforcement of it, he had known that he was right. She was behaving exactly as she had with Angel, and he had wished to spare her the duty of killing a loved one again.
To his great surprise however, it was Angel who started to speak.
"You might remember, although it is quite a while ago now, the time Faith poisoned me."
Giles nodded, and thought to himself. "Good heavens, how far back do they hold a grudge? And - I had no part in that!"
"I believe that the Council was called and asked for assistance, which was turned down."
Giles nodded again.
"Can I ask - since I wasn't conscious at the time - what was your position? Did you believe that the Council made the right decision?"
The Watcher thought for a moment. "I thought that the extraordinary circumstances warranted more than a quick denial."
Angel studied him for a moment, and then continued. "If I had died, would you have considered the Council partly responsible - even knowing that their input could not have helped?"
Giles could not see where the vampire was going with this, but the question was clear enough. "You're asking if wilful neglect could implicate someone in manslaughter - or even murder?"
Nods from both vampires.
The man hesitated. But honesty won out - mainly because he suddenly saw Buffy's angry, desperate face very clearly in his mind. "At the time and in those circumstances, yes, I think the Council would have been partly responsible."
Spike and Angel both sat back in their chairs, their faces unreadable. Then a look passed between them that suddenly made Giles feel as uncomfortable as that first moment in the graveyard.
Angel spoke again, voice almost casual, but the Watcher could hear the dangerous undertones.
“I called you - some months ago now - asking for Willow’s whereabouts. You refused to help me, since The Council didn’t have dealings with ‘people like us’.”
Giles recalled the conversation, but as he tried to remember more clearly what had been said, Spike addressed him, voice frosty. "Well, wouldn't Quentin Travers be proud if he could see you now - how nicely you toe the party line!"
Giles turned to him, noting the coldness of the voice, and only vaguely saw Angel incline his head toward Illyria and whisper something.
When Spike didn't follow up on his statement, Giles leaned back in his chair again and with a jolt realised that across the table from him there was sat an attractive young woman - brown, wavy hair falling down over her shoulders, a wide smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes as she held out her hand: "Hi! I'm Fred!"
Part 5
Anyway, I have plenty of artwork to do, so I'll post this and then run away and be productive! I hope this is ok and you all like it (::prays hard::). Previous parts here.
Part 4
After walking down a few alleyways they came to the pub. With its painted brick facade and ‘The King’s Arms’ in gilt lettering it looked like every other pub Giles had ever been in. It was only when he noticed the carefully painted sign above the door that he realised that it was a demon-bar after all: It showed two arms, torn off at the shoulders - one holding a sceptre, the other a globe - with little droplets of blood for added effect.
He sighed and thought that at least demon bars usually had good whiskey.
Once inside and looking around, Giles noted that English demons - those not hanging out in graveyards looking for a fight with a Slayer - were obviously quiet types. There were a few vamps in jeans and Gap T-shirts playing darts, and some corpulent demons in knitted jumpers drinking (and talking about) Real Ale; but otherwise the pub was empty.
Spike turned to him as Angel and Illyria made their way to a corner table. “So, what can I get you?”
“Double scotch, please,” Giles answered automatically as he took off his glasses to polish them, since the sudden heat had caused some visual haziness.
He looked up to find Spike studying him critically and finally shaking his head lightly. “Single. And make it last - we need to talk, and for that we need you to be sober.”
And he turned around and walked up to the bar, leaving Giles flabbergasted, but also suddenly illuminated.
Spike had always acted like a rebellious youth. Giles knew that technically the vampire was at least a hundred, but he nevertheless behaved like a cheeky youngster, right down to the irreverent ‘Rupert’. But now...
Putting on his glasses again and making his way to the table where Angel and Illyria were now sitting, his mind was crowded with thoughts. As he looked towards the bar where Spike was chatting with the cheerful barmaid, he might as well have been wearing those magical specs he always dreamt of owning as a child...
Spike and Angel - in his mind they had always been sort of appendages to Buffy, since it seemed that for most of the time he had know her she’d had one or other of the vampires following her like a shadow. Loyal, loving, but always on the outside somehow - never a part of the gang, never really accepted by anyone except Buffy. Looking at them tonight he saw none of the subordinance they had always displayed around her. They were self-assured and proud, acting in a way he had not seen since the time of Acathla...
Voices drifted by him. "Now I ‘eard some outrighteous gossip that you and Dru had split up, and I said, 'Don’t come 'ere telling tales!' Never seen such devotion in all my days as you showed your lady..."
“I don’t really know them at all...” he thought and wondered what Buffy would say if she could see them now. Or maybe this was how she’d always seen them...
Lost in thought, Giles was rather startled when Spike put down a glass in front of him. "I s'posse Glenfiddich is OK?" the vampire asked, and the Watcher nodded.
Quietly sipping his drink, Giles absentmindedly observed Illyria as she appeared to be making a complicated, gravity-defying sculpture out of beer mats. Since neither of the vampires seemed fazed by this Giles decided not to say anything, but he began to wonder in earnest what she was doing in their company. He noticed that she wasn’t drinking anything, whereas her two companions were emptying their Bloody Mary’s rapidly.
After Spike had been back to the bar for refills for himself and Angel ("Fancy you a champion - I never would 'ave guessed it! You know - I had another champion in 'ere just the other week, right sombre fella...") he turned to Giles and said pleasantly, "Well, let's talk about betrayal then!"
Giles sat up and waited. He had expected this day to come for a long time, but he had always thought that it would be Buffy he'd be having this conversation with. He had known at the time that the plan was desperate, but when Wood had later told him about Spike's threat and Buffy's reinforcement of it, he had known that he was right. She was behaving exactly as she had with Angel, and he had wished to spare her the duty of killing a loved one again.
To his great surprise however, it was Angel who started to speak.
"You might remember, although it is quite a while ago now, the time Faith poisoned me."
Giles nodded, and thought to himself. "Good heavens, how far back do they hold a grudge? And - I had no part in that!"
"I believe that the Council was called and asked for assistance, which was turned down."
Giles nodded again.
"Can I ask - since I wasn't conscious at the time - what was your position? Did you believe that the Council made the right decision?"
The Watcher thought for a moment. "I thought that the extraordinary circumstances warranted more than a quick denial."
Angel studied him for a moment, and then continued. "If I had died, would you have considered the Council partly responsible - even knowing that their input could not have helped?"
Giles could not see where the vampire was going with this, but the question was clear enough. "You're asking if wilful neglect could implicate someone in manslaughter - or even murder?"
Nods from both vampires.
The man hesitated. But honesty won out - mainly because he suddenly saw Buffy's angry, desperate face very clearly in his mind. "At the time and in those circumstances, yes, I think the Council would have been partly responsible."
Spike and Angel both sat back in their chairs, their faces unreadable. Then a look passed between them that suddenly made Giles feel as uncomfortable as that first moment in the graveyard.
Angel spoke again, voice almost casual, but the Watcher could hear the dangerous undertones.
“I called you - some months ago now - asking for Willow’s whereabouts. You refused to help me, since The Council didn’t have dealings with ‘people like us’.”
Giles recalled the conversation, but as he tried to remember more clearly what had been said, Spike addressed him, voice frosty. "Well, wouldn't Quentin Travers be proud if he could see you now - how nicely you toe the party line!"
Giles turned to him, noting the coldness of the voice, and only vaguely saw Angel incline his head toward Illyria and whisper something.
When Spike didn't follow up on his statement, Giles leaned back in his chair again and with a jolt realised that across the table from him there was sat an attractive young woman - brown, wavy hair falling down over her shoulders, a wide smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes as she held out her hand: "Hi! I'm Fred!"
Part 5
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And you'll have to be on edge for a while I'm afraid...
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I love all the little details about the demon bar too. "King's Arms" indeed *g*, the demonic Real Ale drinkers and all the little comments in the background. Very nicely done.
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And (obviously) one of my favourite parts of AtS s5 was Angel and Spike's friendship, and how by the end they had a really good relationship.
And pubs are fun - my father-in-law loves Real Ale, and my sister-in-law worked in a pub for a while - they're wonderful places, so I thought I'd add a bit of proper englishness to my story! ;)
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*Thank you*!!! It's my favourite ship (although in a non-slashy way) right after Spuffy!
(Also very glad you're liking it - especially since this bit was so awkward to write...).
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One small thing, really nitpicky, so feel free to disregard it, but in the paragraph where you say "tow the party line", I think the actual term is "toe the party line". This site here ( http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/toetheline.html ) explains it better than I can.
The story itself is great though. I can't wait for the update!
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And *thank you* for pointing out my mistake! This is what comes of not having a beta-reader and having english as a second language (sort of). Will go fix now!
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And Fred! How? I can't wait to find out.
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::Thinks::
It's probably a bit like Andrew and Jonathan when Willow is trying to kill them ("it's just Willow") - they think they know her, when in reality they only know a small part!
And I'll try to find more time to write somewhere...
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Although I don't think I ever touch upon the thing with the Immortal again... well, not in this story anyway, although I do deal with hypocricy!
From the way my brain seems to be working, this might end up as a whole series of vignettes where Spike, Angel & Illyria go different places and meet different people. I have at least two other stories worked out (although shorter than this one) and a drabble. So keep watching this space! :)
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i need more NOW
come on... skip the rest of your life for a few hours and finish this story
i will make you my new bestest friend...
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Well, it'll please you no end that I've been busy writing for two days now (on and off) and Part 5 (which will be the last one!) is nearing completion! (There will be prequels and sequels though, so don't fret.)
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sequels??
you are too good to me! (well, of course i know you aren't writing for me, but i can pretend for a bit can't i?)
i promise, no fretting. i will be swet and patient and review like a good little journaler. thanks so much!
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Heeee! *chuckles*
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Oh, oh, oh! Wonderful build up of tension, then a bit of release and then ratcheting up the tension even more.
You do Giles' voice so well!
It's nice as well how you mirror Spike and Angel - yet each has their own defined personality.
he turned to Giles and said pleasantly: "Well, let's talk about betrayal then!"
LOL! Fantastic!
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Thank you!! It's very hard to judge these things myself.
It's nice as well how you mirror Spike and Angel - yet each has their own defined personality.
Oh, good - their differences is what makes them so much fun when they interact, and I'm trying to capture that. :)
So happy that you like!
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Oh, and thanks for commenting! :)
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