Chapter Text
In the end
by Stephanie C
No one really saw them; the two men staring out over the city, watching the devil's fire consume it. Even now no one could be bothered to question why in the midst of all the chaos two battered beings stood so still, looking, for all they knew, as if they were figments of their imagination. Neither flinching from the scorching heat nor running from the promised death.
"You thought you could play God didn't you?" the darker one asked.
"I wasn't trying to. The power though, it's intoxicating," his companion replied. "You know what it's like. You had that power for so long."
"I never let it go to my head though. I never tried to play God."
"But you did. Maybe not purposely, but you did. You did so well, I put all my faith in you thinking you knew best. I would have walked into the sun with my arms open wide if you had ordered it."
Angel turned to look at him. " I have a feeling we're not talking about the same thing." A pause of uneasy silence passed as Angel turned back to the flames, "Why would you but your faith in me, I never deserved that, never gave you any reason to do that. All I ever wanted was obedience and compliance."
"And all I wanted was to be loved back, stupid ponce." Spike gave a lopsided grin to Angel.
"Why?"
"If I knew that, we wouldn't be standing here now would we?"
"Why did you do it?"
"For you, it's always been for you, everything I've done. It's been for you in one way or another."
"Yet for a hundred years you've done nothing but shown me hate. Now I'm supposed to believe you've done this because you love me."
"Hate, love, different sides of the same coin. We've walked that edge for 124 years. Which side of the coin did I get mate?"
"Sometimes I'm not sure."
"And other times?"
Angel gave him a lopsided grin and turned to stare out at the fire raging through downtown LA. "It's kind of romantic."
"I suppose it is. Not the angle that I was going for."
"Yeah, you always liked to go out with a bang. You've always had the tendency to over do things."
"Well, what the hell was I supposed to do? They had already killed our friends. Sit back and wait for them to kill us and however many innocents that got in the way? You've.we've, already lost so much tonight, I'm not sure I could have handled if I lost you again."
"I'm not blaming you. I can't say what you've done is wrong. I always knew we'd go down in a blaze of glory. Just never thought I would that I would have to watch everything that has been my life go down with it."
"We're not down for the count, pet. Miles to go and all that rot." Spike looks at him and tilts his head. "Besides, you still have me."
Angel gives him another grin, "well, I suppose that's something."
"Damn right it is."
Their eyes met and lock and an understanding passed between them. Everything that has happened to them has been hard, painful and stuffed with promises of more to come. They knew though, at least they would have each other and while they weren't sure what that meant, it didn't really matter.
They turned away from their city, the City of Angels burning all the demons that lied within. Angel cocked his head, "So why fire?"
Spike smiled at him "Well, it's the artist in me, always looking for the poetry."
Angel chuckled. "So where do we go from here?"
"How 'bout we just rest for awhile, how do you feel about New Orleans?"
"What's in New Orleans?"
"You'll see."
TBC