Antithesis
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. All characters from AtS and BtVS belong Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Update: 7/23/07 Sorry, to those who have already read this story. I deleted and reposted this fic because something strange happened to my profile today and this story wasn't showing up. I apologize because nothing has really changed.
"You know Wes, you should really get reacquainted with your razor. I know you think the stubble gives you a dangerous look but actually…it just makes your face look dirty." Angelus grinned nastily through the steel bars of his cage. "No matter how you change your look or what you do, you are always going to be the pathetic, failed Watcher."
Wesley sighed and tried not to show how much Angelus' words cut him. To show weakness to Angelus was perilous; he knew exactly which words would hurt most and he would take advantage of it to the fullest. He studied the creature before him and could not help feeling a sense of dread and confusion. It was difficult to put his finger on it…though there was no reason he should look any different than Angel, somehow he did. It wasn't just the hilarity in his expression…there was something else, an increased animation in his eyes and…and a sense of magnetism that Angel couldn't or wouldn't reveal. Wesley felt like he was being hypnotized by the grinning apparition which stood a few feet away from him.
Seeing Wesley's concentrated gaze, Angelus chuckled. "If you keep looking at me like that you're going to give me ideas…I was wondering why you couldn't close the deal with sweet Fred…maybe now I know why."
"You filthy…" Wesley stopped himself when he heard Angelus laughing uproariously; he had scored a point.
They were getting nowhere with him; all his training at interrogation was useless. Wesley decided that he had been foolish to conceive the idea of releasing Angelus and believing that he could get anything useful out of him. The only tactic left was a trade. Angelus wasn't going to give them the information for free but he didn't know what they could (or would be willing) to give which would satisfy such a monster.
Wesley had a feeling that Cordelia had tried to offer something to Angelus when she came down to see him a few hours ago. However, when she had come back upstairs her face was ashen and she refused to speak to anyone about what happened. He thought about re-souling Angelus but he changed his mind because he was still their best hope at averting the apocalypse.
"Wesss-leyyyy…wake up, buddy." Angelus gave Wesley his most disarming smile. "Give up, it's what you do best. You're tapped out and you know it."
He gripped the bars of his cage. "I think you also know I'm going to get out of here sooner or later. Why don't you make it sooner and I'll make it reasonably painless for you…well for me anyway."
Wesley kept his face neutral. "I may be 'tapped out' but I'm not ready to give up yet."
"Yawn…fine. Why don't you at least send someone more entertaining down to chat with me." Angelus examined his nails, looking bored. "How about you send Cordelia down here again…the look on her face when I set her straight on a few things…mmm…priceless."
"In fact…" Angelus suddenly froze and cocked his head, listening.
A slow smile curled his lips and he looked at Wesley. "Wesley…you shouldn't have. It's just what I wanted."
The door opened a few seconds later and Buffy descended the stairs lightly. One side of her mouth quirked up in amusement when she saw the cage surrounded by a red perimeter line. She took off the back pack she was wearing and placed it on the floor, mentally gathering herself to face Angelus again.
"Hello, lover." Angelus gazed avidly at Buffy. "You know…you're the person I was most anxious to see since my employees decided to get rid of that bothersome soul."
Buffy raised her eyebrows. "I'm touched."
She dragged her eyes away from his and turned to Wesley. "Hey, Wesley."
Wesley shook her hand and prayed that she would have success where he'd failed; she was the one who had the most experience with him. "I'm glad you could make it…is there anything you need?"
"Nope." She paused and stared at Angelus thoughtfully. "Well, you could leave. I think this will go better if we're alone."
"My girl," Angelus smiled and clapped his hands sharply. "Yes, let's clear the stage of the bit players." He laughed when he saw Wesley's pained expression. "Hey Wes, don't lose hope maybe Fred will take pity on you. You never know."
Buffy chewed her lip unconsciously and turned back to Wesley . "Um, don't come down until I tell you, okay?"
"Very well," Wesley looked sidelong at Angelus. "Be careful."
"I always am." She gave him reassuring smile and he walked up the stairs.
When the door closed, Buffy disconnected the cord on the closed-circuit camera.
He watched this interestedly and walked up the bars of his prison. "So, they called in the big guns…not that I'm not delighted you're here…but I'm wondering how you're going to get me to talk."
Buffy came back and looked dismissively at the cage and the red line. "You know this whole Hannibal Lector rip-off is so yesterday."
"Yeah, they're scared of me." Angelus smirked. "Can't imagine why...still… they might be a bunch of gutless wonders but they sure are fun to torment."
Buffy's eyes narrowed as she tiptoed on the line. "You do enjoy that, don't you?"
"Yeah, Sunnydale…that was some of my best work." Angelus gazed at her pointedly. "Tell me, does Giles' hand still bother him on rainy days? I still wonder how he managed not to scream when I broke his fingers one by one… pretty impressive. Of course, he did black out a couple of times…I had to wake him…no fun torturing if you can't see the expression on their face." A serene smile spread his features as he remembered.
Angelus snapped himself out of his recollection and focused on Buffy, whose lips had curled in disgust. "I think I'd have Wesley singing the Ave Maria in five minutes, not much of a challenge there."
A musing expression clouded his face. "I've often wondered how long it would take to make you scream."
Buffy swallowed her fear and tilted her chin up challengingly. "Please, you could have had me dozens of times in Sunnydale but you never did a thing about it. You saved the violence for my friends."
She smiled as his grin disappeared. "Maybe if you had been following me around like a puppy dog, leaving me pictures and flowers, you could have had me." Her smile widened. "Too bad, maybe if you had done more than threaten me I wouldn't have sent your ass to hell."
A brief look of rage contorted his face, but he reverted back to his predatory grin. "Mm, I did miss you. Now, you're a challenge."
She cleared her throat and gave him a businesslike look. "So, the Beast…what do you know?"
"Sloppy, Buffy…you didn't even warm me up." He chuckled and then looked disgustedly at his torso. "Jeez, that doofus really let me get out of shape; I guess it's all that lying around and brooding about Cordelia."
Angelus watched her sidelong and registered her wince. "Oops, looks like hit a nerve there."
I should have known something was going on when I saw her upstairs. She crossed her arms. "Is that supposed to hurt me? Pretty weak if you ask me." She managed to keep disappointment out of her face. "I didn't expect him to be alone forever."
"Oh come on, it must eat you up that Angel dumped you and is slobbering over Cordy now." He paused and stared at her fixedly. "'Pretty weak' for a guy who said he'd love you forever."
Buffy clenched her jaw and tried to control threatening tears. "Whatever, you do love to yammer."
"Nice, never let your opponent see weakness, right? I'll let you in on a little secret." His voice was low and conspiratorial. "Though Soul-Boy daydreams about the fair Cordelia it's still your name he cries out when he… takes matters into his own hands." Buffy turned her eyes downward as a hot blush suffused her face.
A lazy smile curled Angelus' lips. "As a matter of fact, you're the reason I'm here right now. This shaman made Angel imagine his perfect day…I won't bore you with the details but it ended with him banging Cordelia…but he/me was thinking of you the whole time. Voila, perfect happiness."
Buffy shook her head in disbelief. "Great, good to know I'm still good for a happy."
Angelus continued as if she hadn't spoken. "I mean I'd have to think about something else during that little interlude. The idea of doing Cordelia…so damn boring it makes me catatonic."
"You know I love a good ramble but I really do have better things to do…" She paused when Angelus rested his forehead against the bars and looked into her eyes. Oh, boy… why does he have to be so gorgeous?
"Now you on the other hand…that's different." He closed his eyes, his voice low and seductive. "I remember how it was with you…how soft your skin was against mine…how you bit down on my shoulder when I moved inside you...and when you came I thought you we're going to break my hips."
He bit his lip in pleasure and opened his eyes, gazing at Buffy closely. Though she was doing her best to look nonchalant he could hear her rapid breath and smell the musky smell of her arousal.
"That's not the sort of thing you forget." Angelus flared his nose delicately and smiled. "Have you ever forgotten?"
Buffy found herself staring at his even, white teeth. I don't think I remember ever seeing his teeth…he never smiled like that when he had a soul. She found her eyes drawn downward to his very evident erection and she dragged her eyes back to his smug smile.
"See something you like?" Angelus slowly rubbed his hand over his crotch. "Why don't you let me out…I might not be gentle, like him, but I promise it will be so good…until I kill you of course."
Buffy sighed shakily and then rolled her eyes, in an effort to appear unruffled. "Hey, there's an offer! Do you think for a nano-second I'd ever let you out?"
Buffy walked away from the cage and mentally shook herself. Damn, this is so hard. If he's trying to rattle me, it's working. She straightened her shoulders, coming to a decision and walked back to face him.
"Are you all calmed down, now?" Angelus asked in feigned concern.
"So, I think I'm picking up on a theme here." Buffy lifted her chin and crossed her arms. "What do you say to a trade? You get what you want and I get what I want."
Angelus raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, what do I want?"
"Me, of course." She smiled at his look of surprise. "Come on, you know you want it." She drew her hand slowly up the side of her breast.
Angelus licked his lips unconsciously and then chuckled. "You know, Cordelia offered herself to me for the proverbial fate worse than death a little earlier and I turned her down. And while your offer is much more tempting, I don't think you'll keep your end of the bargain." He paused, considering. "Besides, I do love an apocalypse."
She placed her hands on her hips and gave him a tense smile. "Oh, I'm not going to sacrifice myself for a little information on an apocalypse…I mean they happen every few months. Plus, you might lie. It's one of your talents."
Angelus gasped theatrically. "Now that hurts…I was always honest with you, way more than my lame alter-ego." His face became serious. "So, what then…if you aren't going to let me have my wicked way with you I'm not sure what you could give me that would convince me to talk."
Buffy walked over to her backpack and opened it. When she turned around, she held up a heavy pair of manacles in her hands. She smiled broadly as his eyes widened in surprise. "Do you wanna play?"
Angelus pursed his lips considering and then frowned. "No, not interested."
"I guess if you're scared…" Buffy twirled the cuff around her finger. "A guy like you probably couldn't deal with not being in control, I understand."
"Reverse psychology…it's an oldie but a goodie." He crossed his arms. "You're going to have to do better than that."
"All right, then let me spell it out for you; you want me and I want information." She looked fixedly at the manacles. "You put these on, tell me what I want and I'll make your day."
Angelus was silent, his brows furrowed mistrustfully. Sighing, Buffy put the manacles on the floor, removed her jacket and unbuttoned her shirt enough to reveal a hint of cleavage. She drew a small, silver knife out of one of the pockets of her jacket, holding it up for Angelus to see. She hissed in pain as she drew it slowly down the side of one breast, making a shallow cut. Angelus went into game face and gripped the bars hard enough to make his knuckles white.
Buffy lifted her eyebrow. "See something you like?" I really hope this is a good idea
An eager light danced in his yellow eyes as Angelus drew his tongue across his fangs. "You have a deal."
I was watching this episode and I thought Joss and Co. really missed a golden opportunity for some Buffy/Angelus interaction so I whipped this up.