Work Text:
Title: Happenings.
Fandom: Ats.
Genre: Angst, Ficlett
Spoilers: Takes place in season 2.
Characters: Angel and ?? (I want it to be a surprise)
AN: This was a scene that came into my mind and I just had to write it down.
Summary: Angel comes home and find things are not as they should be.
It was dark in the hotel when Angel got back from his patrol even though it wasn't all that late, considering that he cut it short tonight. The others had already gone home without any notification and a part of Angel shrank. They still weren't on the best of term but he hoped, oh how he hoped that it would get better because quiet frankly he didn't know how much of this he could take.
Shredding off his coat as he walked through the lobby into the kitchen, he dumped it on one of the red couches. While in the kitchen he prepared himself something to eat. After going through the motion of heating the blood and removing the mug he leant against the counter.
Tipping the mug he paused, tilting his head to the side and listening for a moment before bringing the mug to his lips, drinking down the nourishment his body craved.
For the last couple of days he had had an ominous feeling creeping up him that something had or was going to happen. He didn't know what but something was amiss. It irked him not being able to determin whether there was a threat or not. Whatever it was it kept him coiled up inside unable to relax.
Shaking his head he turned around and rinsed his mug out. Not bothering to turn on any lights he retreated up the stairs after making sure everything was locked up. Walking to his room he began to unbutton his shirt, his thoughts wandering aimlessly, thinking of nothing and everything.
He walked into his room not noticing the dirt smeared at the bottom of the doorway nor the fact that it had been slightly ajar even tough he had closed it before he went out earlier tonight. His mind was occupied with other things.
He did, however, notice the overturned small table and blinking he brought his focus back to what was before him. His shirt was undone and un-tucked hanging from his shoulders. Toeing off his shoes he silently looked over the room. His instinct now screamed that something had happened, someone or thing had been in his room, something or someone that did not belong there.
Apart from the overturned table everything was in its place but the whole atmosphere screamed of wrongness. Sniffing and tilting his head he noticed the very thing that had passed over his head and he amended his thoughts, whatever, whoever that had been there was very much still there.
He couldn't believe that he had missed that oh so familiar sound, a sound every vampire knew. Silently, moving with the grace of an experienced predator he followed it, the sound of an erratic heartbeat. Cautiously sniffing he noticed that it was afraid - good - who was the fool to enter a master vampire's domain?
Following the sound he moved silently to the double doors to his bedroom. Stepping in he looked around the darkened room. He saw a movement from the corner of his eyes and, eyes yellow; he walked closer to the bed and into the far corner of the room.
As he saw the figure he relaxed fractionally; it was human, though it didn't smell right. Crinkling his nose at the filth that clung to it's frame he deliberately stepped on the floorboard that creaked.
At the sound the figure jerked like it had been electrified, a muffled shriek coming from behind the hands clamped on the mouth. She, as he now could tell, by filtering through the different layers of the smell of filth and pain that hovered around it, wildly looked up and he was met with blue eyes glazed with the pain he could smell and something else. He saw panic flash momentarily in her eyes before something strange happened.
Seeing her quickly look him over to judge who he was and if he was a threat, something that deep inside him annoyed him as this was his home she had broken into, a wave of relief passed through her. She still shook and was plastered against the wall but the level of her terror receded a bit.
Wearily she watched as he stepped closer slipping back into his human guise as he decide that whoever she was she didn't pose a threat to him.
Closer still he peered into her dirt smeared face, that could be seen under her hair which he thought, if he wasn't mistaken would be blond under normal circumstances.
"Who are you?" he asked her but as the same time even though he knew he had never met her before he should know her.
He watched as she tried to forms words, her entire form shaking so hard it was obvious she could not get them out very well.
"A-A-Angel?" she stuttered pleading hoping that he would give the right answer. Nodding to her he knelt before her. A choked off cry escaped her as tears began to flood her eyes. She began mumbling a mantra and leaning closer he detected only one word, his name. Frowning he wondered if he was dealing with someone a little touched in the head.
Looking her over he tried to place that familiar feeling. It didn't take long for him to realize why she was there as soon the mantra of his name was added with one simple word but one that spoke volumes.
"Angel safe Angel safe Angel safe Angel safe..."
Whoever she was she had come thinking him to be safety and it puzzled him. That answered a part of the question 'why' but now the question remained - what the heck happened to her? Who was she? Suddenly he stilled his eyes narrowing down as he fixed her with a hard stare. This time she didn't jerk as he moved disappearing from the room, she only kept rocking back and forth, back and forth.
Angel ran down the lobby, an airy feeling and dread filling him. Stopping at Cordelia´s desk he looked over its surface but not finding the one thing he was looking for he began to tear the drawers out scrambling around in its content before his fingers clamped round it. Drawing out the photo his eyes swept over the faces on the image zeroing down to the one he didn't want to find there. Not caring that he didn't have permission to go through Cordelia´s desk he tried to find something that would prove to him that he was wrong.
Finding another picture he looked at it and his heart dropped, it was the same face. Recognizable even though it was clean.
Returning to the bedroom she hadn't move. How? Why? What had happen to bring this girl to him?
Falling to his knees he watched her, feeling her fear recede in her. They had never met but she still seemed to find comfort in his presence. She had gone silent since he had knelt down so close and getting closer he peered down at the two picture he still held in his hand. Numbly he watched as they dropped from his fingers and drifted to the floor.
Looking at her he noticed that her eyes were still fixed on him.
Stuttering, confusion in his voice, the many reasons to why she was there still not hitting him, he said, "T-Tara?"
The next thing he knew he had his arms full of a sobbing girl chanting his name, a world of pain and betrayal in her voice.
And on the floor were the smiling faces of the Scooby gang looking up from the two photos.
The End