As Faith watched Angel shovel spoonful after spoonful of soup into his mouth, she couldn't help grinning. Damn, she thought, doesn't he know he has to breathe now, too? She shook her head a little -- she couldn't believe she was getting a mega-happy just by watching someone eat, for God's sake. But she was -- in fact, watching Angel stuff himself was the most fun she'd had in a hell of a long time. And it was so different from the "fun" she'd had before she went to jail. She guessed it was what they called "good clean fun," because it was good -- and it did feel so clean.
Faith knew she was still pretty screwed up in the head. Guilt and anger and jealousy were all mixed up inside her, and being around the Scoobies made it even worse. They all had lives to look forward to -- in fact, if she did her job right, they just might get the whole Happily Ever After package. She, on the other hand, had years and years of doing the Powers' grunt work to look forward to. She couldn't even get a little release out of hitting something: the Guardian was a guide, not a champion, and she was strictly forbidden from taking part in the fighting.
But it was different with Angel. She'd tried to kill him . . . and he'd still saved her. It wasn't just atonement with him; she really just wanted him to be happy. Even if it was going to be with that airhead cheerleader . . .
She felt a strong need to think about something else for a while, so she glanced over at Willow, who was on her cell phone, busily filling Tara in on everything the blonde had missed at the Magic Shop.
Well, almost everything. Red hasn't said a word about what I said to her in the training room, before Buffy and Angel had their little blowup. Hope she's just waiting for a little privacy; Red's a little too smart for her own good, and she needs more than smarts to work this one out.
She hadn't liked going all Cryptic-Girl on Willow, but there were rules. Yeah, she was bending them till they screamed for Angel and Buffy, but those two were special, and so were the circumstances. What she did for the two of them made their lives easier, sure, but she was still working within the letter of some pretty major prophecies. Willow's problem, on the other hand, was about as personal as they got, and there was nothing explicitly written about her, so Faith had to hold something back. Knowledge she could hand out freely -- sometimes. But wisdom could never be given away, it could only be learned . . . or earned.
Go on, Red, talk to your girl, she silently urged the witch. Let her help ya. You may be smart, but she's wise. Why d'ya think I'm not worried about getting any messages to her? She knows who she is and where she's goin'; the Powers-That-Be-A-Pain-in-My-Ass don't have to tell her anything.
"C'mon, just a few bars of somethin', Slayergirl. If you're half as important as I think you are, I'll bet I could see some pretty amazing things if you just opened up a little."
"I dunno, Jolly Green. Last time I sang in front of a demon he said he was gonna take me to Hell and make me his queen. So not looking forward to that again."
"This demon, was he reddish and bald, with a pearl in his forehead??"
"Yuh-huh."
"That's Sweet. For all his smooth moves and fancy clothes, he's a real lowlife, even for a demon. Believe me, sweetie, no one hates that guy more than I do. He gives musical demons a bad name."
"You should talk, Mr. I-made-Angel-sing-Barry-Manilow. I'm surprised that didn't bring the apocalypse all by itself."
Faith smirked to herself. She didn't think Dawn really disliked Lorne all that much -- he was a fellow psychic, after all, and the two of them could learn a lot from each other. Besides, Faith had seen the grin on Dawn's face when she'd brought up the infamous "Mandy" incident.
"Faith?"
Angel's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Yeah, Liveboy?" she answered with a grin.
Angel blinked, then quirked an eyebrow at her reversal of the hated nickname that Xander had hung on him. "Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but . . . wasn't I supposed to save the world before I turned human again?"
Faith lifted an eyebrow back at him. "You have saved the world, Soulman. A couple times, I think. But that's not what the prophecy said: it said you had to 'fulfill your destiny.' You had to pass a buncha tests -- prove that you'd earned your humanity."
Angel looked confused. "What 'tests' did I pass?"
Faith held up a finger. "One, you resisted the First when it tried to get you to kill Buffy or lose your soul with her again, and you offered your own life in her place. That kinda cancelled out, though, 'cause the Powers had to whip up that snowstorm to keep you from toasting yourself -- I should thank you for that, by the way," she added with a wink. "That Christmas snow is probably the best memory I have of this town.
"Two," she continued, counting off on her fingers, "you got the Oracles to turn back time when you became human before -- and that was a biggy, Angel," she said as his eyes widened. What, didya think that the Guardian of the Balance wouldn't know stuff like that, Angel? She went on "When that Oracle said you weren't a 'lower being,' that was as good as admitting you deserved the humanity you were giving up.
"Three . . . " Faith paused a bit before going on. "You saved me, when killing me woulda been much easier. The way the Powers see it, you didn't just save a soul, you took a Warrior from the Dark and brought her -- me -- back to the Light."
She smiled at him gratefully, then went on. "Four, you spared Darla."
"What?!" Angel exclaimed. Then he thought about it. "I . . . see. My 'moment of clarity' after . . . that night."
Faith nodded. "You hated yourself for what you'd done . . . and you wanted to take it out on her. But you didn't kill her. If you had, Conner would've never been born."
She sighed. "And last, but definitely not least, you won your Seer's heart. As the prophecy said, she had to be willing to give up her humanity for you. And she did -- she hated her showbiz life, even with all the money and fame, but it was seeing you, broken by loneliness and visions, that made her choose this life instead." She shuddered at the memory of seeing that version of Angel.
Angel frowned. "But what am I supposed to do now? I'm going to have the same problems now that I did the last time I became human. I won't be able to help people anymore."
Faith stared intently at him. "Is that gonna keep you from trying?"
Angel blinked at her question. "No, of course not."
She smiled and relaxed. "That's why you've earned this, Angel." She shook her head. "Say what you will about the Powers, but they did manage to learn something from the last time this happened. Cordelia's part Mohra demon, but only part -- her blood didn't have enough power to make you completely human. So you've got a little of the old vamp speed and strength thing going. And you can walk around in the sun . . . but if I were you, I'd always use some major sunblock; you'll burn like hell pretty quickly."
Angel just looked stunned. "So I'm still a Champion?"
"You're a Champion, and Cordelia's your Seer. Nothing's ever gonna change that, Angel." She grinned. "You're stuck with each other for good."
As she smiled at him, Faith heard more of Dawn's conversation with Lorne.
"Angel's been responsible for wrecking your place how many times?"
"Three."
"That's Angel for ya -- he ends up destroying everything and everyone around him, no matter what side he's on. I always used to think Spike called him 'the Poof" 'cause things always went 'poof" when he showed up. Hey, why don'tcha start a new club here in Sunnydale? The Bronze could use a little competition, and besides, a place in Sunnydale where the vamps can't go after the customers would be fantabulous!"
"Open a club on the Hellmouth? You gotta be kidding me, Key-Key. It'd be safer trying to rob a casino run by the Mafia!"
"Even if you had William the Bloody -- and maybe a Slayer -- as your bouncers?"
* * *
Pause. Everyone else at the table was staring at Dawn like she was crazy.
"You're joking, right?" Lorne was asking her.
"Nope. My sister has a job, but we still could use some more money around the house. She could work one or two nights a week at least. And if you paid her enough that she could make up the cost of a class or two per semester, she'd probably give up her job at the college and work for you full-time. And even with his chip, Spike can beat the heck out of any demons that get out of line. His reputation alone should keep most of the troublemakers away."
Lorne shook his head. "I'll say this for you, kiddo, you've got some imagination. But there's no way it would work."
Dawn, having been taught by Xander Harris, had the most potent puppy-dog face of any teenager in Sunnydale. She turned it on Lorne full-blast.
The demon endured it for ten whole seconds, then held up his hands in surrender. "All right, all right, I'll tell you what. You give me a couple choruses of something, and get your sister and your friend Spike to do the same, and if I see any sign that this thing could pan out, I'll think about it. Okay?"
Dawn gave him a huge grin. "Great!"
Willow frowned at her. "Do Buffy and Spike know you're volunteering them for this, Dawnie?"
She shrugged. "Hey, it can't hurt to ask. And you heard Lorne; having Angel around hasn't been good for his business. At least the Bronze has only been wrecked once in the whole time Buffy's lived in Sunnydale." She thought a moment. "Oh, and maybe they had to replace the front door once or twice."
* * *
No one noticed Faith grinning to herself.
Go Little D! At least that's one thing I don't need to meddle in . . .
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