Dealing with Loss.: Dealing with Loss.
by Sean
“Bad things always happen here”

“Of course you’re saying that, it’s because you’re a champion. You’ve got Karumption!”

“It’s my boys.”

“If this evil thing comes, we’ll fight it and we’ll keep just fighting it till we whoop it.”

“Handsome man saved me from the monsters.”

“And that’s the way it’s supposed to be” Angel thought, miles away from the desk where he was methodically tapping one hand against the polished mahogany of his desk. They were the heroes, the champions; they were the good guys, damnit! Doyle, Cordiela, and now Fred; when would it all end?

And suddenly, Angel was filled with a sure but terrible understanding that it never would. One by one they would all fall, crushed beneath the weight of a cross far too heavy to carry. The way things were Angel was half fearing that a day would soon come where he’d walk into Wesley’s office and find the former watcher hanging from a light fixture by his neck, maybe a picture of Fred on his desk in lieu of a suicide note.

In that instant Angel felt the will to fight drain from him. He would go. As soon as the sun dropped beneath the horizon he would venture farther into downtown LA where his old GTX was stashed beneath a tarp in a parking garage and then just go. Leave the others to wallow in their own misery, leave the Shanshu to Spike if all of this left him with any will to remain a champion. Angel was done. He was out.

He looked up at the sound of his opening door, if this was some paralegal with contracts to sign then Angel was going to-

“In case nobody mentioned it, the brooding looks even more ridiculous in the day time.”

Angel didn’t even bother to meet his eyes. “What do you want, Spike?”

The younger vampire shrugged his shoulders. “Just thought I’d see how you were holding up.”

Angel’s reply was short and terse: “I’m not.”

“Mhmm, thought as much.”

With that said, Spike lashed out with a hook punch that threw Angel clear from his chair. Angel was scarcely back to his feet before Spike sent him staggering back with another blow. Angel was livid, “Spike, what the hell are you doing!?” The other vampire readied his fist for another punch but Angel was ready this time, he snapped off a punch of his own first and followed up with a spin kick to the head.

Spike was thrown against the far wall by the force of the kick but was still able to block a follow up punch from Angel and retaliate with an elbow to the side of his Grand-Sire’s head. Angel took the blow with barely a flinch and hammered his own elbow into Spike’s nose hard enough to draw blood.

Shifting into his game face, Spike pushed Angel away and planted a fierce kick into his stomach. Before Angel doubled over, Spike noticed his features shifting to reveal their vampiric nature. It was also the last thing he noticed before Angel surged forward, driving his shoulder into Spike’s gut. Spike let out a gasp as Angel reared up, flipping the younger vampire onto his back and through the desk behind them.

From the ground, Spike swept out a leg, knocking Angel off his feet as well. Acting quickly, he lifted the leg again and pounded the heel into Angel’s trachea. Undead or not, Angel let out an involuntary wheeze and rolled onto all fours, vaguely aware of Spike struggling to his feet as well. Instinct overriding the burning pain in his throat, Angel struck out blindly with an uppercut, sensing that Spike would be there. Riding on the momentum of the pistoning motion that brought Angel to his feet, Spike was hit hard enough to put his head and shoulders through the ceiling tile and drop him back to the floor in an undignified heap.

Angel kept his distance and his hands knotted into fists as Spike gradually got back to his feet, shaking away the facial features that marked him a monster. Angel heard the crunch of bone that signified his own face’s return to normal as Spike wiped away the blood from his nose. “Feel better?” he asked before flicking the blood from his fingers and onto the inordinately expensive carpet. Angel could scarcely belief what he’d just heard. Fury and disbelief clouded his eyes as he opened his mouth to respond, but then he closed it again and looked thoughtful for a moment. “Actually, yeah. I really do.”

Spike smirked and turned to leave. “Me too” was the last thing he said before shutting the door behind him.


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