The End of the Story

Author: Chrislee

Written for the 2007 Blood Roses Advent Calendar

**

-eight drabbles in which characters talk about Buffy and Angel

Rated G

Whistler

It wasn't supposed to go down like this. Nobody saw you coming. I
figured this for Angel's big day. But I thought he was here to stop Acathla, not
to bring him forth. Then you two made with the smoochies. Now he's a creep
again." - from Becoming Part 2

It’s the oldest tale in the world, yet we never get tired of hearing it or telling it. We never get tired of scrutinizing every detail: their eyes met across a crowded room, her knees grew weak; his groin grew tight- what? Trust me, this is an x-rated story.

We all want to believe in it. But nobody ever pays attention to the warning labels. Angel came with some pretty big blinking-light warnings.

I see what she saw in him- what they saw in each other. They had that whole champion mojo working for (and against) them. Those crazy kids.

*

Cordelia

They've got the forbidden love of all time. They've been apart for months. Now he's suddenly human? I'm sure they're down there just having tea and crackers - from I Will Remember You

Buffy- so not my favourite person. Okay, she’s all heroic and big with the world saving thing and, sure, she saved my ass on more than one occasion. What ever.

Angel, though, him I love. He’s smart and strong and beautiful. And generous, too. He’s my best friend. And it might have even been something more. On another day in another universe.

Buffy and Angel together- well, they’re like Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson. Only without the boobs and drunken partying. You know what I mean.

If I were a romantic, which I’m so not, I’d probably be rooting for them.

Giles

A vampire in love with a Slayer! It's rather poetic! In a maudlin sort of way. -from Out of Mind, Out of Sight

It is the Slayer’s sworn duty to stake vampires. It’s their raison d'être. Of course, Buffy isn’t like other Slayers. Then again, I admit, Angel isn’t like other vampires. I suppose in some way, that made him more dangerous. Having a soul doesn’t necessarily make you good; I believe it makes you vulnerable, susceptible to all the human weaknesses.

He’d be irresistible to her, naturally. It couldn’t have been any more romantic if he’d ridden into town on a white stallion. We couldn’t have known about the curse. None of us could have predicted the way it would turn out.

The Mayor

Well, I wish you kids the best, I really do. But if you don't mind a bit of fatherly advice, I, uh, I-I just don't see much of a future for you two. I don't sense a lasting relationship. - from Choices

Naïve. That’s what they were. I tried to tell them; I most certainly did. Kids today don’t listen, certainly not to their elders. Well, in point of fact, it turns out that Angel and I were more like contemporaries, but you get my meaning.

There were all sorts of obstacles in their way- things they never even considered. Life and death stuff. Certainly not the sort of problems that could be solved with a nice glass of warm milk.

Turns out that the Slayer getting her heart broken was just about the most delectable thing ever. Love hurts, doesn’t it?

Spike

You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood... blood screaming inside you to work its will. - from Lover’s Walk

I could’ve told them it’d end badly. Course they wouldn’t have listened- all caught up in the moment. Peaches was so damn hot for the Slayer. I could see it. It was all in the way he wouldn’t kill her, even though he had plenty of opportunities.

Said to kill her you had to love her.

Bullshit’s what I say to that.

And she wasn’t any better. Could have rammed a stake straight through his heart, but she didn’t. Why? Love, children. They did it for love.

Look at them now, though.

Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt, y’know.

Joyce

Because when it comes to you, Angel, she's just like any other young woman in love. You're all she can see of tomorrow.  But I think we both know that there are some hard choices ahead.  If she can't make them, you're gonna have to. I know you care about her. I just hope you care enough.” - from The Prom

I remember the first time I ever saw Angel, standing in the shadows of my living room. He was trouble with a capital ‘T’. I knew he was neither a history tutor nor a college student. Despite that face, beautiful enough to stop traffic, he was much, much more than Buffy could handle. I wanted to do that thing I swore I would never do- meddle in her life. She was almost an adult, but to me- just a baby. I wanted so much to protect her from what was coming- even if I didn’t know exactly what that was.

Darla

"But that - that cheerleader did?  We were together 150 years!  We shared everything.  You're saying - never?" …Guy gets taste of something fresh and he thinks he's touching god." …There was a time, in the early years, when you would have said I was the definition of bliss! - Buffy wasn't happiness. She was just new!” - from Dear Boy

I guess, ultimately, a man’s ruled by his dick. Something younger and sweeter comes along and he just has to have a taste. The irony’s not lost on me.

Innocence versus experience: it’s a no-brainer. They want the experience and Angelus was no difference. He lapped it up like a dog in heat. Gave as good as he got, too.

Then he got a soul. Wanted something different after that: redemption, forgiveness. He wanted to touch something pure and that turned out to be Buffy.

But I made him. I know him.

He was such a disappointment in the end.

Gunn

The "B" word was the love of his life. And he's what, two hundred and fifty? That ain't no short life. This grief-work's gonna take more than a vacation in Sri Lanka.”

Never met the girl myself. Just knew her through Angel and the others. Knew enough to know that she was the one. Personally, I ain’t a big believer in the one, but I can see how it’d have its merits and its pressures. Like, when she died. It was easy enough to see how that tore Angel up, even though he hid it pretty well. Having a decent poker face is probably one by-product of living so long. Losing someone you love, I guess that’s another. I think he got through it. I think he’s okay. Love’s a bitch.

The End

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