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| a.connor a.doyle a.lindsey a.oz a.spike a.wesley a.xander a.other three.somes het.fic character.study |
| Title: After Hours Author: Karen Rating: NC17 overall Pairing: A/Oz Setting: AtS S2 "There isn't a lot of room here so we'll be sharing the bed." Angel stopped when Oz raised a single eyebrow in surprise. Angel frowned. "In shifts. I get day. You get night. Is that a problem?" Oz nodded. "No rent. Hot showers. Definitely not a problem." He walked over and eyed the sheets. "Silk?" "Yeah. Cordelia liked that to when we were sharing the bed." Angel blinked. "In shifts." "In shifts." Oz echoed with a smirk. "I'm starting to realize why I don't talk that much." Angel remarked. "Wesley and Cordelia are here all the time. So you can come and go whenever you like. The case load has been light lately." He walked over to the refrigerator. "The downstairs fridge is mine. It's loaded with blood, mostly O negative. Comes in handy if one of us gets hurt. And you have an herbal blend?" "Buffy told you?" Oz asked casually. "Yeah. She called. She was hoping you would end up here." "All the Sunnydale rejects come out here." Oz looked away. "I have to drink it once a day and chant. Does chanting bother you?" Oz dropped his ruksack in the corner of the room. "No. I sleep like the proverbial dead. Which I am. Dead." Angel shook his head. "It's been a long night. Wesley's been reading up on about a hundred prophecies. We're looking into ten of them. The stars are right. If Cordelia has a vision we all want to be ready." Oz leaned against a pole. His eyes glittering in the dark. "I'm good in a fight." "Then you're hired. Welcome to Angel Investigations." Angel offered Oz his hand. Oz accepted and Angel grinned at the touch of Oz's warm hand. Oz half smiled. "It's good to be wanted." * Oz settled in and crashed on the sofa. It was daytime, so Angel had the bed. Cordelia was smiling down at him, "I am so glad you decided to come out to LA, Oz!" She knelt down and gave him a little hug. "After Willow turned out to be a lesbian I thought I'd never see you again." Oz winced then smiled. "It's good to be wanted." "Well you're definitely needed and wanted here!" She replied brightly. "You can help me with filing." "Oz is not here to do your job, Cordelia." Wesley's light British accented voice informed her. He had a magnifying glass held over a delicate manuscript. "He's here to help Angel with the fighting." Oz nodded. "I can file." He offered, "And fight. Plus I make a mean quesadilla." Cordelia smiled. "I just love having you here." Night fell and Angel woke up. "Bed's all yours." He told Oz as he stepped into the shower. Oz watched him go. It was tempting to catch up on sleep but Wes had offered to show him the manuscripts with werewolf references in them. So Oz elected to wait for Angel to get out of the shower and accompany the vampire upstairs to their version of a scooby meeting. Pulling his shake of weird herbs out of the refrigerator, Oz tried to relax. He'd been on edge ever since he left Sunnydale. Willow had met someone else while he was gone. She hadn't told him about the other woman until Oz had found out on his own. Then Oz had changed and almost killed Willow's new bitch. Now he was having a hard time forgiving himself. He couldn't afford to lose control like that again. Inhaling the combined scents of Angel, Cordy and Wesley helped. This was their place. They had all left Sunnydale and made this place their home. He could do the same. Angel walked out of the shower in a white towel. His hair was dripping into his eyes. "New look for you." Oz remarked. Angel frowned. "I figured your towels would be black." "Do you know how hard it is to get black towels?" Angel grimaced. "How is a guy supposed to brood in a white towel?" "It's difficult. Not impossible. You're a master." Angel rolled his eyes and grabbed another towel to dry his hair. "I'm lucky Cordelia didn't get me pink fluffy towels." "Now those are serious brooding towels." Oz heard Angel laugh. It was an unusual sound, though not unpleasant. They heard a scream from upstairs. Oz and Angel jumped into the freight elevator. They were halfway out of it when Oz spotted Cordelia in Wesley's arms in the middle of the room. "What happened?!" "Vision." Wesley replied tersely. He had a glass of water and was trying to feed her aspirins. "She saw a group of children. A house and what sounds like a nest of Mannikins." Cordelia was struggling to sit up. Angel rushed to help her. "They weren't maniquins...They were little men. And they were agh, spinning the children." "Spinning?" Oz echoed. "Yeah. Apart. Oh...I need to throw up. Gah." Wesley let Angel lead her away to the bathroom. "This is terrible." Wesley ran a hand along a column of books. Pulling out a dusty volume he opened it to a page and placed it on the counter. Angel walked back in without Cordelia. Oz raised an eyebrow but Angel shook his head. Oz took that as a 'not now'. Then he heard and scented what Cordelia was doing in the bathroom. "Mannikins, I've never run into them. Are they demons?" Angel asked. "You'd know them as bad fairies, Angel. The Brothers Grimm dubbed them as Mannikins in their bedtime stories." Wesley frowned as he ran his hand along the page. "They all took delight in torturing children." Oz watched Angel gather up some weapons and disappear downstairs to put on more than a towel. Cordelia stumbled out of the bathroom looking a little wane. Oz moved to hold her up. She nodded her thanks. "I have never seen anything like that before. It was *horrible*." She shuddered. "Do you know where the house is?" Oz asked her gently. Angel reappeared and nodded approvingly. "Somewhere um, near Ontario. Um...Oh. I thought I saw a sign for Euclid. Or maybe San Antonio." Cordelia grimaced. "Good work, Cordelia." Wesley remarked. "According to this *procured* watcher's diary, the beastly little things are no match for a hatchet or any other sharp blade. Your basic mutilation. Should be a piece of cake." He closed the book. Angel nodded. "Okay. Wes, grab your axe and get one of the blades for Oz. I'll take a sword. Cordelia?" "I'm in. I need a um, short knife. Maybe we should burn them out?" Oz stood there as Angel gave orders. He was completely in charge and Oz was surprised to be included. He knew he was supposed to become a member of the team but Angel was already counting him as a fighter. Angel handed him an axe as Wesley scrambled to get Cordelia a small can of gasoline. "You ready for this?" Angel asked him. "It's been a few months..." Oz answered honestly. "Just like falling off a horse," Angel smiled. "Onto a pile of burning lava. You'll do fine." He wrapped an arm around Oz's slim shoulders and gave him a shove towards the door. * Oz jammed on the brakes when Cordy shouted, "HERE!" Angel's black car stopped on a dime and they all flew forward then back. "Ow! Give me whiplash, why don't you?" Cordelia exclaimed, ripping open her door. Wesley leapt over the side of the convertible, so did Oz and Angel. Angel nodded at Wesley and Cordelia. Cordelia nodded once, lit her small torch and stood well back. Wesley moved up to stand beside Angel. Oz followed suit and stood on Angel's other side. As one they moved forward, Cordelia hanging back with her torch and little can of instant inferno. Angel kicked the door down. Oz was almost exhilarated by the sight. His heart started pumping. It had been too long since he'd been up against the forces of evil. Angel moved in and Oz followed him. Wesley pulled in the rear just ahead of Cordelia. "The children." Angel barked. Wesley nodded. He stared into the dark house, searching for signs of the children Cordelia had seen in her vision. "This way?" He asked her, pointing off towards the left. Cordelia nodded her face paling a bit. They both moved in concert. Oz looked to Angel. Angel grimaced. He wasn't sure where to go. Oz scented the air. "Blood," Moving forward he hit the stairs. Angel raised an eyebrow but trusted Oz and let the werewolf take the lead. Oz could almost taste the inhuman little bastards. The stairs were pitch black. Oz was relying completely on his sense of smell. "Look out!" Angel slammed Oz into the wall as a pint sized sword flew past into Angel's heart. He grunted. Oz's eyes widened. Angel just pulled the knife free and handed it to Oz. "All right, now I'm mad." Oz held the knife as the room was filled with tiny lanterns. The room jumped into clear focus. A long dull hardwood floor appeared and golden ropes lay on it and eyes glittered from behind the lanterns. Cob webs hung from the ceilings and there were more eyes in the rafters. His senses filled with their scent. It was old and muddy with a disgusting underlying rotting meat feel to it. He turned to see if Angel was smelling the same thing. The light caught him in the eyes. Angel was a silhouette against the tiny lights. "Oz? Your eyes..." The Mannikins attacked. Oz rammed one through with the tiny sword. It squealed and he let go of the blade. The machete Wesley had given him flashed as he slammed it into another of the little bastards. Angel was covered with the things as they dropped from the rafters. Oz rushed to help. His hands made it into the lantern light and he saw the claws. Shocked, Oz backed away. He was changing and he hadn't even felt it start. Terrified, he squeaked, "Angel?" Angel crashed to the ground. Blood splattered him. Oz's senses flared with the new blood smell both Mannikin and vampire. A burning started up in his guts. Angel needed help. "Uhn," Oz tried to force the change back down and heard himself growling. Launching himself forward, he felt his eyes shift to the Wolf's and the room was bathed in a red that highlighted everything to be eaten. His claws tore into the soft flesh of a Mannikin and it squealed in terror. Oz snapped the beast's back and tossed it aside. Small blades stabbed at him and he clawed their owners into raw meat. Angel was tearing them up with his bare hands, his face a mass of small cuts and vampire ridges. Oz saw his eyes glitter yellow as he snapped one in half just as Oz had done. Then Oz instinctively searched the room for stragglers. Catching one he resisted the urge to bite into it and eat it. Dispatching it, he tossed the tiny corpse away from him. He stared down at the mass of miniature body parts. Small heads with mouths full of sharp teeth stared up at him in terror. Oz backed farther away from them into the corner. He was covered in their blood. He could smell individual types and it freaked him out. Oz stared down at his bloody clawed hands and started to shake. Angel held up a lantern. "C'mon. We need to find the others." The light hit Oz's eyes and he felt them glitter green and animal. Angel turned to stare into the corner with his yellow demon eyes. "Oz?" "I'm half," Oz whispered. "I can't go until, can't see me. Angel, it doesn't happen this way." Angel moved the lantern closer to Oz. "Oz," "No, Angel, I could hurt..them." Oz scrunched up into the corner, trying to get away from the light. "You have to calm down, Oz. You didn't hurt anyone. You, all right you killed the bad faeries.." Angel knelt down next to him. "We can talk about this later. Right now we gotta," He shook his head and the ridges were gone. Angel was normal looking. "Pull it together." Oz stared at him. Angel pulled his hand forward. "Concentrate." Oz looked down at the claws and fur. Breathing carefully he watched the hair recede as his heart rate slowed. In seconds the flesh was smooth and pale in Angel's cool hand. Angel nodded once. "Good. Let's go." He pulled Oz to his feet. "Angel? Oz?" Wesley came into the room breathing hard. "We found the children. I took the liberty of calling the police. I think a fire would be surreptitious, don't you?" He stalled as he spied the mass of dismembered Manikins. "Well, hello! You two did quite the number on them. Beastly little things." "Yeah." Angel responded. "How many children were left?" "Three." Wesley paled. "One was killed before we entered the room. Horrible. Cordelia dealt the monster a fatal blow and I killed three more. She has the remaining children out front. I trust everyone is well?" He frowned at Oz. "You look a bit shaken." Oz shrugged so Angel answered for him. "First time in combat after a long while." "Understandable." Wesley clapped the werewolf on the back. "I myself was a bit queasy when I became a rogue demon hunter. * "Do you want the shower first?" Angel asked, pulling off his long coat. There were several slashes through his black T-shirt. Blood rimmed the edges but Angel's skin was already knitted closed. Oz wished he healed as fast. His muscles ached and there were several cuts in places he couldn't reach with the Neosporin. Angel was waiting. "No, you go ahead." "Oz," Angel began. "I can wait." Oz turned away but Angel grabbed his arm. "About what happened back there," He waited for Oz to face him. Oz couldn't do it. "It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong." A wry smile caught a hold of Oz, "Yeah. Because I can't control it means it's not my fault." "That's not what I meant." Angel turned him around so he could look him in the eyes. Of course Angel sat on the edge of a chair to even out their heights. "You changed. It scared you. But you kept fighting. That's not wrong. You saved my life." "What if I had attacked you?" Oz asked quietly. "You don't know that I wouldn't have." "Oz, you didn't even change all the way. I understand dual nature. Believe me. What I saw in there was an asset. Now go take a shower. When that's over I'll get a patch on that slice down the middle of your back. I know you can't reach it." Angel stood up and gave Oz a friendly shove towards the shower. Oz didn't fight him. "Thanks Angel." "Yeah, just hurry up. Fighting evil, getting those children home and watching all three of you wolf down breakfast has seriously cut into my brooding time." Angel offered Oz a half smile as the werewolf laughed. The shower felt good. Oz let is sluice all the blood and sweat scents off of him. It was a wonder he ate anything smelling like a slaughterhouse. Grabbing the soap he scrubbed his skin pink until the hot water ran out. Stepping out of the shower he scrubbed at his hair. The roots needed to be done soon. Ignoring that, he dried himself and pulled a dry towel around his waist. He walked out into the apartment to find Angel sacked out in the bed fast asleep. It was the middle of the morning and way past Angel's bedtime. Oz sighed. He had been hoping to get a half hour in the bed before Angel got out of the shower. Pulling a pair of boxers out of his ruksack he let the towel drop to the tile floor. Dragging them on, Oz stared at the nice comfy bed. Angel barely occupied half of it. Shrugging away his manly dignity, Oz lay down on the unoccupied half of the bed. He was too tired to care about anything but how great silk sheets feel on sore bodies. * Oz woke up face to face with Angel. "I thought we agreed to share the bed in shifts?" He remarked. Neither one moved. Oz stared at the vampire. "Fell asleep." "I see that. You want something to eat?" Angel asked, still lying on the bed. "Food would be great." Oz remarked, "You're really pale." "So? I'm dead. Not much chance for sun. Besides you're almost an albino." "I burn. Then turn whiter. It's a vicious cycle." Oz told him. They sat there, bodies facing one another, faces inches apart for few minutes. Oz was surprised at how incredibly not uncomfortable he felt lying there. Black silk sheets under him, good looking but incredibly pale vampire staring at him and their scents mixed by proximity and shared sheets all made him not at all uncomfortable. "Can you get up now?" Angel asked with a smirk. "Yes I can." Oz stayed motionless for a minute longer. "Getting up." Oz rolled over so his bare back was facing Angel. Before he could get off the bed Angel's hands were on him. Oz stopped. "This doesn't look any better." Angel let Oz go and he could still fell where Angel's cool hands had been. "Let me get something for that." Angel sat up. He walked over to the kitchen and opened a cabinet. There were a few salves and a box of bandages. "I don't eat." Angel remarked. "So storage." Oz nodded. He opened the fridge and pushed a few packs of blood out of the way. His blend was the perfect shade of neon green. Oz placed it on the counter. "So is every night as exciting as last?" "Usually there's a lot more banter. Hm, more comments on my hair being solid or at least something derogatory about Wesley from Cordelia and yeah, our life is exciting." Angel pulled out a few jars and a bandage. "Turn around." Oz did. Angel slathered salve down the line of Oz's back. It was cold. Oz closed his eyes. The light pain he'd been feeling vanished. Oz let out a slow breath. Angel laid a bandage against the skin and taped it in place. "Better?" Oz nodded. Angel's scent was all around him again. It was starting to feel comfortable. He'd have to watch that. Next thing you know he'd be out on patrol and feel warm and fuzzy whenever a vamp attacked. "I'll get dressed." Oz told Angel. "I could bring food down if you're not ready to.." Angel replied quickly. "It's three o'clock." Oz remarked good-naturedly, "I am always dressed by two." Angel smiled. "Right. I'm going to make you something to eat." "I can cook." "Yeah but I don't usually eat and I kinda like to cook so, bear with me." Angel walked into the freight elevator. Oz watched the gate close. Shrugging he turned around in search of pants. * Oz sat down on the edge of Cordelia's desk with an armload of files. Cordelia frowned. "I know I had the 'J's here somewhere..." Scrabbling under the desk Oz smirked when there was a triumphant, "Ah ha!" Cordelia reappeared with the files. She graced Oz with a smile. "See? Filing is easy!" Oz kept grinning at her. Cordelia rolled her eyes and smiled. "Okay it's a lot easier now that you're here. Who'da thought of organizing people by their last names?" Oz's eyebrows dipped in a puzzled expression. Cordelia gave him a playful shove. "I'm kidding! Did you think I was in here organizing by outfits? 'D' for Donna Karen? You did!" She gave him a mock growl. "I didn't say a word." Oz laughed. "Yeah but I'm getting to know those facial expressions of yours. What's up with you and Angel? You two bonding?" Cordelia sat behind the desk meaningfully not looking at him. "Bonding?" Oz wasn't sure what she meant. "I saw intensity the other night on the ride home. Something happen, you aren't telling?" Cordelia handed him another 'J' file. "You don't have to tell me, it's not like we're friends or anything..." Her smile faded a bit. Oz touched her arm. "We're friends." Cordelia's eyes glittered. "So then SPILL! Angel never has more then two facial expressions a day. Usually 'brood' and 'oops, you caught me brooding', today he had three." "Not sure." Oz answered honestly. At Cordy's frown, Oz decided to elaborate, "In the house I started to change." Cordelia widened her eyes and came around to sit next to him on the desk. "You're not supposed to do that unless the moon's full..." "Actually I don't do that. Long story. Angel pulled me back. It's complicated." Cordelia nodded. The door opened and Wesley bustled in. She hopped off the desk to give him a hand even as she scolded him for interrupting. "Don't you ever knock? Oz and I were having a conversation." "I do work here, Cordelia." Wesley answered good-naturedly. "Yeah? Then why aren't you filing? We're filing. Aren't we Oz?" Oz held up a file for Wesley to see. Wesley nodded. "I see. Well I have been gathering up my purchases from the last ancient book sale. The black market is wonderful around here." "Hey, that black market was going to cut out my eyes!" Oz gave her a surprised look. "Because I had the eyes of a seer. Long story. So I'm not exactly all brimming with praise for it." She explained dropping her half of Wesley's purchases on the table in the upstairs kitchen. "Yes well I found several volumes with references to your condition, Oz. So you'll forgive me for hobnobbing with the underworld, won't you?" He dusted off his hands and frowned at the smudges to his plane white shirt. "Anything new?" Oz asked coming over to inspect the books. "Not as such but I only had time to browse through the volumes. I figure since we're in such a slump I should have just enough time left over from my usual worrying to worry your particular problem." He gave Oz a smile. "Appreciated." Oz pulled out a book and flipped delicately through the pages. "I have basic Latin down so I can help." Wesley beamed. "You are an asset! Well, I took the liberty of ordering us dinner in, do you mind?" He asked Cordelia. "Chinese?" "Extra duck sauce." Cordelia beamed at him and moved back to the files. Oz gently placed the book back among the others. "Oz. Files." Obediently, Oz moved back to the files. Wesley gave them both an indulgent smile. Night found them all sitting amid the books. Even Cordelia was flipping through one of the old English texts. Angel walked into catch Oz arguing with Wesley over the finer points of a Welsh researcher's account of lycanthropy. "No." Oz stated firmly. "But the man met three living werewolves..." Wesley argued, "Perhaps they're experience differed?" "Pain. Weird pain. No marks on me. Devil's or otherwise. No outward signs except heightened senses." Wesley nodded, making a note of Oz's statement in a little notebook. Angel noticed the notebook had Oz's name written on the front and wondered where Wesley kept his book on souled vampires. "Then this book is entirely inaccurate." He frowned at the book. Oz shrugged. "Might be useful later." "Your right of course. Angel. Good morning." Wesley offered him a friendly smile. Oz offered him a small wave and Cordy started reading out loud. "The werewolf is attracted and often controlled by sexual heat. Hello romance novel. I am going to be so famous if I ever write my memoirs." Oz smirked. Wesley gave him a look and Oz responded. "I've been told I'm attracted to couples." Wesley nodded and scribbled that down in the book. "What happened to the regular research?" Angel asked, unsure if Oz was enjoying the research spotlight or not. "Finished." Oz answered. He indicated a pile of neat notes in both his and Wesley's hands. "There's a fear of a Chara demon scare next month. Three benign entities have risen and we have a dinner meeting tomorrow for what sounds like a poltergeist sighting. When did we become Ghostbusters?" Wesley grumbled. "Who ya gonna call?" Angel remarked. Oz raised an eyebrow at the pop culture reference. "I have cable." Angel replied. "Yeah well don't come calling to my house. I like my ghost. He cleans up after himself. And he tapes the soaps." Cordelia twirled her pencil and flipped the page. "You have a ghost?" Oz asked, wondering what else he didn't know. Cordelia smiled. Angel grabbed up a book. Wesley moved over on the couch to give the vampire room to sit. Oz smirked at Angel's outfit. "So do you own a white shirt?" Angel looked down at his all black ensemble. "Black goes with everything." "Everything in a funeral." Cordelia muttered under her breath. "You don't see Oz all in black. He's a werewolf and he knows how to dress. See? Laid back cool. Even Wesley's got relaxed Brit going on. You, you look like.." "I've been dead for two hundred years?" "Absolutely." Cordelia gave him a tight grin. "I have." Angel growled defensively. "Doesn't mean you have to look it. Even the undead should have a variety in their wardrobe. Ask Oz to dress you. You both have the pale thing working for ya." Angel looked at Oz. Oz winked, still expressionless. Angel rolled his eyes. "Are we going to make fun of me all night or are we going to remember who's paying all of you?" * "So you're fitting in." Angel remarked around two in the morning. Cordelia and Wesley had left hours ago. Oz had gone out to buy more herbs and Angel had read through a few more of the books on lycanthropy. The table upstairs was now littered with notations and theories. "Yeah. Looks like." Oz smirked, remembering how everyone liked to make fun of one another. It was a good atmosphere. "Wesley's different here." "He's a good man." Angel admitted, sitting in one of his leather chairs. Oz moved around to sit in the opposite chair. He had his shake in hand. "I think we'll be friends." Oz offered. "Yeah." Angel confirmed. "The armload of books proves it. He honestly wants to help you. Does that bother you? He pries..?" "No. He asks. Doesn't pressure. How did he end up here?" "Same way you did. I take in strays." Angel crossed his legs. Oz nodded. "Tell me about Willow." Oz froze. "Willow." He hadn't thought about her in hours. He had been so wrapped up in the research and the conversations. Now it all came flooding back. A pain started below his heart. "Why?" "Because you need to talk about her." "I went to Tibet." Oz stated. "I was out of money. Had to barter my way into a cargo hold in Germany. I was cold. I hadn't eaten in three days and all I drank was water from free fountains. The plane was full of cages. Animals bound for slaughter. Or to be pets, I don't know. And I sat among them, another animal. All that marked me from them was a bag of dirty laundry and a picture of Willow." "I didn't write." Oz looked up at the ceiling so he couldn't see the empathy in Angel's eyes. "Xander said, 'You never write. You never call.' and I keep thinking if I had...She might have waited for me. But I didn't have any stamps. No paper or a pen. I," Oz looked directly at Angel and he knew his eyes were wet and his face was cracking under the pressure. "All I had was a bag of dirty laundry and the picture of a girl who was moving on." Angel stared at Oz. He stared back, his hands shaking with suppressed rage. "She thought I was off having adventures." His voice went on quietly. "And I was because it wasn't all bad...The wizard, the monks, they helped me. But all I did was miss her. Need her. Go on for her. I never expected her to wait...No I did. I did expect her to wait. I told her, I told her in my whole life I had loved only her and she...I came and she didn't. Didn't want to be." Oz's hands clutched at the couch. He felt the claw tips and the fur and the rage. His pupils were blown wide and the room was so bright he couldn't see. "I killed for her. But I cheated because I'm not human. I'll NEVER be human. Auhn." Oz pulled his arms in close as the change hit him. He slid out of the chair and to the carpet still blinded. Then arms were around him and they weren't warm. Angel was talking to him above the ocean of noise in his mind and Oz clutched at him, trying to suppress everything, to shove it back down inside. "Stop, Oz. Stop fighting it." Oz choked on rage and pain. "Have. To. Have. Control." He growled as his teeth elongated. "You can't do it this way. It'll eat you up inside. Drive you crazy. I know. Oz. Damn it I know!" Angel's voice was so far away. "You can't cry." Oz growled. He didn't know who he was talking. The words sounded familiar. "She's leaving us but we can't cry..." Oz's mind flashed to his mother's funeral. He'd wanted to cry so bad. "Oz? Oz?" Angel had lifted him off the ground. Oz felt his claws ripping into Angel's shirt and his clothes getting tight as his muscles shifted then shifted back. His whole body was racked with the change. Oz kept trying to keep his mind afloat but it wasn't working. He hurt. He was angry. He was out of control. He woke up in the morning, naked. Disgusted with his lack of control, Oz wanted a shower. Unfortunately he was chained to a post. The post had claw marks tearing it into modern art. Oz stared at his pale fingers. "Dual nature's a bitch." Angel remarked. "Tell me about it." Oz slid down into an exhausted heap. * "I cut you." Oz remarked as Angel unchained him. "Don't worry about it. Vampires can't get lycanthropy. Have to be living for that. Go take a shower." Angel sounded angry. Oz stood up shakily. "Sorry. I," "No. Oz I pushed. This is my fault." Angel frowned. "I lost control." "Go shower." Angel told him. His face was unreadable. "I can leave tomorrow." Oz offered. Angel stared at him. "Why would you leave?" Oz didn't answer. "I'm not mad at you, Oz. This had to happen sooner or later. So you're not leaving. I just didn't realize how much you were suppressing. I gave into the whole "calm Oz" thing." "I am calm." Oz told him although inside he was shaking. Last night had disturbed him. "Don't lie to me." "I'm calm." He told Angel and turned his back on him. Angel watched the smaller man walk into the bathroom and close the door. * "What kind of effect can suppressed emotions have on a person?" Wesley jumped. "Angel? Oh, what are you doing here?" He was sitting in front of his TV watching cartoons. "It's Saturday morning..Sorry? What were you saying?" Angel smirked at Wesley's outfit. "Nice PJ's." Wesley looked down at the small bunnies adorning his night things. "Yes. What is it you wanted? Suppressed emotions?" "Yeah. How do you think that effects a person physically?" Wesley stood up. "Is this about Oz?" Angel leaned against the wall. "He had an 'episode' last night." "An episode." Wesley repeated slowly. "And what caused this episode and I do presume you mean he changed?" Angel nodded. "I got him talking about Willow and it was scary." "Yes, I remember how emotional he is when it comes to her." Wesley thought about the spell Oz had obliterated rather than give up Willow to Mayor Wilkins. "I had no idea the change could happen without the full moon." "Apparently the herbs and all have stopped the mandatory changes but whenever he becomes upset or angry he changes. I didn't tell you but he half changed when we were fighting the Mannikins." "Dear Lord." Wesley paced. "And I suppose because of his special circumstances a psychiatrist is more than well out of the question?" "Yeah, he might eat him." Angel sighed. "We're never easy are we?" Wesley asked Angel quietly. Angel raised an eyebrow. "Your charges. Cordelia and I and now Oz, we all came with baggage. I just hope we were worth the trouble we seem to put you through." Wesley pulled off his glasses and polished the lenses. "You have your moments." Angel offered. "Oz will to." "Can you help him?" Angel asked. "No, I dare say I can't." Wesley smiled, "You can. It's your job is it not? Another lost soul for you to save." * Oz decided it was better to be quiet. Pulling his guitar out he tuned it and started plucking out the melody to 'Pain'. Then his fingers started strumming the chords for 'She Knows' and he just let them go. Angel walked back into the room with a pensive expression. Oz didn't ask him where he'd been. He smelled like daytime, fresh air and the scent of Wesley was so light Oz had to strain to smell it. Angel had been discussing him. Oz didn't look up. Angel leaned against a post. The tall vampire had a habit of leaning whenever he wasn't supposed to be intimidating. He listened as Oz ran a few chordal exercises. Oz let his mind find the music. "I've never heard that one before." Angel remarked after a while. "Didn't know you were a fan." Angel stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Bronze lurking was my favorite pastime for a while. I had Willow make me a tape." Oz smiled at the sound of Willow's name. "She used to love to talk about the band." "Maybe we shouldn't talk about her so soon." Angel said quietly. "Right." Oz shut up for a few seconds. Playing the song softly through again he changed a chord here and there. It needed a base line and a drum beat. It wasn't bad, a little raw. Oz was a little raw. "So is it new?" Angel asked. "Not even on paper yet." Oz told him and mentally added a repeat. Playing out the middle he thought about Devon and stilled his strings. "I think I'll call Devon." "Good plan." Angel started to walk away. "Angel," Angel stopped. "Not everything hurts." Oz told him. "Love does when you lose it. But there's new love to look forward to." "Not for me. I have a gypsy curse." Angel made a face. Oz laughed. "Yeah okay." * Cordelia smiled as Oz dropped the envelope on her desk. "What's this?" "Song." He opened a drawer and pulled out a stamp. "Gift for Devon." "Sucking up? Because you ditched him and the band again?" Cordelia asked. "Something like that." Oz sat down on the edge of the desk. Cordelia nodded. "I liked Devon. If he had been more popular I might have stayed with him longer than three seconds." She dropped the envelope into her 'to be mailed pile'. Oz grabbed up the book of notes on him and started paging through it. "Meeting tonight?" "Yep. Poltergeist thing. Good news! Guy's rich so we might actually get paid!" She said gleefully. "Angel's a good boss but he's a real bleeding heart. Last week I swear I caught him saving kittens from trees." "He must be stopped." Oz dead panned. "Am I saving kittens again?" Angel asked, walking into the room. Cordelia jumped. "Angel. Bell. You." She muttered angrily but she was grinning. "Yeah, every time I do a freebie, Cordelia brings up that cat." Oz nodded. "So there were kittens." "One cat. One tree, I'm not a boy scout." Angel grabbed up Cordelia's message pad. "Boy scouts don't drink blood." Cordelia allowed. "I wouldn't be to sure..." Oz still expressionless. Wesley walked in. "Hello all. Everything's set for tonight. I have reservations for four." "Four?" Oz asked. "Well, I trusted that you would want to be included in tonight's festivities?" "Sure he does." Cordelia chirped. "It's dinner at a fancy restaurant!" "It's on me." Angel remarked. "Woo! Free food, Oz. Can't beat that! And we get to dress nice. Angel, you are not wearing that." Cordelia glowered at Angel's all black ensemble. "You fear my haute couture." Angel grumbled. "You may be centuries behind the times Angel and usually retro is in but wear that and you may disappear in the shadows." Cordelia waved her pencil at him. "It does scream intimidating." Wesley added. "And your hair is..." Angel held up a hand. "STOP. No more talk about the hair." Oz took pity on Angel. "I'll help you change." Angel glowered at them all. Then stalked into the freight elevator. Oz followed him. The gates closed and Oz tried not to laugh at his boss. "Laugh and you are fired." "I wouldn't." "I'm serious. How am I supposed to be the damned 'dark avenger' in a white shirt?" Oz laughed. "Dark avenger?" "Something Cordelia came up with awhile ago. It's embarrassing." Angel ducked his head and shoved one hand into his pocket. "I'll bet." The elevator stopped. Oz pulled open the gate. Stepping into their apartment he walked over to Angel's wardrobe. Sliding it open he stared. It was wall to wall black. "Impressive." Angel, even more uncomfortable now, stared too. "It takes a lifetime to achieve the complete Goth look." "Being dead helps?" "I don't have to buy the Kabuki face paint, no." Angel sighed, long suffering, "Maybe there's something in one of my drawers." Oz walked over to the dresser and threw open the door with a flourish. Black met his eyes and Oz almost laughed again. He settled for a slow smile. Digging underneath yielded one dark green shirt, a red over shirt, "Spikes?" Angel nodded. "I think I stole it when I was Angeles to piss him off." And a nice dark blue shirt. Oz held it up. "This'll do. Strip." Angel raised an eyebrow but complied. Tugging at the buttons on his black silk shirt, he watched Oz shake out the royal blue shirt. It was cotton and dark enough to not make Angel feel totally uncomfortable. Tossing the black one on the bed, he noticed Oz take a deep breath. "What?" "Contrast." Oz indicated Angel's well muscled chest. Angel looked down. "I am pale." "Incredibly pale." Oz agreed. "I could blind someone." Angel snagged the blue shirt. Stuffing his arms into the sleeves, he was surprised when Oz started buttoning him up. Oz must have noticed the look, "I noticed you had two of your buttons in the wrong holes last time." He finished buttoning the shirt as Angel stood there awkwardly. Oz took a step back, admiring. "It'll do." Oz continued to stare at him. "What?" "Ever think of dying?" Angel blinked. "Your hair. Highlighting." "Oz." Angel growled. Oz shrugged. * Dinner was fancy. Oz was glad he put on his good shirt. His spiked hair was garnering enough attention to the table in the corner. Angel gave him a long suffering look then turned all business. "Mr. James, you say things have been escalating?" Oz watched the nervous black guy in the too tight business suit. Cordelia raised an eyebrow at him. And Wesley gave her a look for it. The silent communication got confirmation when Mr. James started talking. "I can't even get into the house now. And the last time I did laundry, the bastard thing shrank all my clothes. I found the washer on hot and my cat floating above the thing. You've gotta help me." "Oh we will," Cordelia flashed the man a brilliant smile. "For a moderate fee we'll have that ghost moving to a new neighborhood in no time." p>"Thought. Who owned the house before you and are they dead?" Oz asked, trying to distract everyone from Cordelia's perfect showman smile. Mr. James ran a nervous hand over his close cropped hair. "Far as I know the last owner moved to Philadelphia." "Yeah, well that's what they said about my ghost but his mom had walled him up in the living room." Cordelia stated with her version of sarcasm. Wesley leaned forward, "We're going to need access to all the records regarding your home as well as your address and anything you can tell us about precisely when these attacks occurred." "Yes, of course. The attacks began three months ago. My wife was shoved down the stairs. Mercifully she had the sense to grab for the banister and I caught her before...Yes, three months ago. We took her to the doctor's. I though it was a fainting spell." "Mr. James, don't go home. Stay at a friend's for at least a week while we look into this. And if you think the spirit followed you I want you to call me right away." Angel calmly ended the meeting. Mr. James stood, thanking them and left for his sister's. Angel leaned back. "Thoughts?" "Could something the couple had done in the house disturbed the spirit?" Wesley asked, discreetly looking at the notes he had jotted down. "Like what? Remodeling?" Cordelia frowned. "Maybe, psycho mom from hell got mad when all I wanted to do was knock out a wall." "Containing her dead son." Wesley reminded her. "Am I ever going to hear the whole story?" Oz asked Cordelia. Cordelia smiled. "Okay, here's what we're going to do, Wesley I want you to get the blue prints for the house. Check it for any anomalies. Fake walls or unexplained areas. Cordelia I want you to check the houses history. Oz can help you." "What about you?" Wesley asked even as he was standing to leave. "I'm going to the house." "May I make a suggestion? Take Oz with you. He can invite you in since we sent Mr. James to his sister's house." Angel nodded. "Okay. Oz?" "Fine by me." Angel handed Cordelia a couple of twenties. "Take a cab back okay?" "Like I'd walk anywhere at night without holy water breath. Come on Wesley." She got up imperiously and Wesley followed her. "She has him trained." Oz remarked. "She has us all trained." Angel replied. "Let's go." * Angel drove. Oz sat back, thinking. Angel glanced at him a couple of times but said nothing. He turned a corner and they were both blinded by a truck's headlights. "Night vision sucks." Angel remarked as he tried to readjust to the darkness. Oz nodded. They drove on for another ten minutes in silence. Angel glanced at him again and started to ramble. "I'm not actually used to a quiet driving companion. Cordelia tends to go on about everything and even Wesley talks. You, you're like me the shorter version." Oz smirked. "So what are you thinking about?" Oz gave him a look. "Humor me. I'm very very old." "I was thinking, that you paid for my dinner and wondering if that meant I had to put out?" Oz said dryly. Angel stared at the road. Then he stared at the road some more. The houses appeared up ahead. So Angel asked Oz, "House?" "Third one on the left." Amused at Angel's discomfiture, Oz made no mention of how high the vampire's voice had gotten. The car stopped. Angel stared out the windshield for several seconds. "Can we go?" Oz asked. "Yeah." Angel hopped out of the car. * Oz stepped into the dark house. "Come in." He said over his shoulder to Angel. Sliding his hand along the wall he found the lights. "I like that he gave us the key." "Yeah that whole breaking and entering thing is highly overrated." Angel remarked. "Nice house." Oz walked into the living room. Something cold swished past him. "Company." "I didn't feel anything." Angel stalked past Oz into the kitchen. Oz turned slowly. He didn't smell anything unusual. Something cold brushed up against his leg. Oz looked down, nothing. Angel moved back into the room. "Nothing." Oz nodded, "Something." The cold swirled around him and seemed to touch him tentatively. Air solidified. Angel blinked. "Definitely something. Try backing away from it." Oz took a step back. The cold reformed around his waist. Then it was hugging him tightly. Oz started taking in larger breaths in case the thing decided to...It tightened until Oz was seeing stars. Oz glanced down and he wasn't on the plush carpeting anymore. "Oz?" Oz was tossed into the nearest wall. He hit, all the air exploding out of him. Angel was staring around the room trying to spy the thing. Oz knew where it was. It had wrapped itself around his legs. "Angel." Oz was dragged to the front door. Angel grabbed at him but was slammed into the door frame. Then Oz was tossed out on the lawn. Angel followed and the door closed itself. Angel helped him up, "What was that you were saying about this being a nice house?" * Oz winced his way down into the underground apartment. Never a dull moment he thought as he walked over to the bed and fell face first onto the silk sheets. Angel came in a second later. "Wesley's got a few spots mapped out for us on the house. Hopefully we can wrap this up before any of us gets slammed around by that thing again." Oz made a noncommittal grunt. His back was a mass of pain. He heard Angel pad over to the bed. "Take your shirt off, Oz." Oz didn't bother to argue, not that he was known for debating. Angel frowned. Oz couldn't see him but he knew the vampire was frowning. Then he heard Angel pad over to the kitchen. Opening a cabinet, the vampire came back with clean bandages. * Angel stared down at Oz's back with a mixture of hunger and disgust. The wound down the center had reopened. He'd smelled the blood earlier but hadn't been sure until he saw the blood slowly seeping through Oz's shirt. Oz's pale back was a mass of soon to be bruised flesh and that one long cut from one of the manikins. He touched the werewolf's back gently. Angel's fingers came away bloody and he was overcome with the sudden urge to lick the blood off his fingers. He stared at them. The scent was so powerful. Shaking his head, Angel went to wipe his fingers off. Then ended up sliding them down the length of the wound. "Angel?" Oz's voice snapped him out of it. "Right. I'll just clean this up." "No." Oz's voice sounded strange. "Go ahead." Angel stared at the wolf's pale back for another few seconds before walking around to the other side of the bed. An invitation to drink human blood? Is that what Oz meant? Angel fought down the demon, but climbed onto the bed. Placing hands on either side of Oz's back, Angel let a little more blood well up before he couldn't take it anymore. Keeping his face human by force of will, Angel slowly lowered his mouth to Oz's back. Careful, Angel licked a little bit of the pale skin clean. Oz exhaled very slowly but made no attempt to stop him. Angel touched his cool tongue to Oz's back again, taking more blood off the werewolf's back. Again Oz made no move to get up or stop him. Angel could feel Oz's heart beat through the palms of his hands. It had sped up, but not to the rate of terror he remembered. It was just enough to satisfy the demon half of him as he cleared another path of white skin. When Oz still didn't attempt to escape or stop him, Angel gave in and lapped as much of the blood off of Oz's back as he could get. Fresh blood well up and Angel gently licked that away. Stopping as he caught himself scented Oz's skin, Angel pulled away. Oz sat up on his elbows. He rolled onto his side to see Angel hiding his face. "Why did you stop?" Angel could feel the ridges. He knew his eyes were yellow. Oz's question made old desires feel fresh and burning. "I-" Oz stared at him, his green eyes almost glowing in the light of Angel's reading lamp. He didn't say anything. But Angel could almost here the wolf thinking, "Duality's a bitch." "I'm going to go brood, for awhile. I haven't done that in about a week and I'm afraid I might be losing my touch. I'll wake you when it's my turn to use the bed." Angel tried to get off the bed. "Wait." Angel froze. Oz sat up. His expression never changed but his eyes seemed to glow with intensity. Angel faced him as his face finally lost the demon. Oz touched his face, curious. Angel looked down. When he glanced up Oz was a lot closer to him. "And they say I need a bell." He whispered. Oz very lightly touched his lips to Angel's. It wasn't demanding a response. It just was. Angel felt his warmth and felt himself returning the light pressure. Oz steadied himself by placing his hands on Angel's shoulders. Angel was afraid to move anything but his lips as the kiss intensified. Then it was over. Oz let go of him and sank back down onto the bed. "Okay, go." Rolling over the werewolf dismissed him. * Shell shocked, Angel drifted upstairs. Cordelia was pouring over some newspaper clippings. "Wesley went to get us more instant coffee." She told him. "He thinks it'll be an all night thing. Are you okay?" Angel glanced around. "Shouldn't I be?" "Well since you came back from the house you've been, not dark and broody or anything, just preoccupied. So what's up?" Cordelia kept her eyes fixed on the computer screen but he knew she wasn't reading anything. "Not sure. That house tossed Oz a good fifteen feet..." Angel tried to steer the conversation away from his feelings. "Oh, Oz." Cordelia remarked with a smirk. Angel gave her a look. "What? All I said, was 'oh'." Angel narrowed his eyes, then tried to adopt a bland expression. "So? Has he been talking to you or something?" Cordelia stopped messing with the computer. "I know you're supposed to be all obsessed with Buffy and Oz is all getting over Willow and I know both of you are pretty masculine but is there something maybe going on between you two?" Angle balked. Waving his one hand around, he jammed the other into his pocket. "We're sharing a bed...Shifts. In shifts." Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "That's it?" Angel opened his mouth and was saved from further conversation as Wesley walked in. Cordelia smiled tightly, "Great! Coffee. No sleep for us." "What have you got?" Angel asked, letting business distract him from the man in his bed. Continue to next part |