TITLE: Secrets and...
AUTHOR: Claudine
EMAIL: claudine423@yahoo.com
PAIRING: W/G
RATING: PG
FEEDBACK: Yes, please...I am a junkie.
NOTES: AU - This story takes place in the future, when the majority of the gang has reached the age of 30. Buffy died at the end of "The Gift" but she was never brought back to life. The explanation of what happened between that year and the time of this fic will unravel in the story. It starts off a little slow, but I promise all the characters will be introduced.
DISCLAIMER: Permission to use these characters relating to BtVS & AtS has not been given. Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy own TM and copyrighted them. This is purely for fun, and no copyright infringement is intended.. Oh how I wish Giles was mine, though. Sigh...
Giles woke with a start, heart racing, blood pumping as he shot out of a nightmare into the reality of the black of night. Hard to tell the two apart these days. Willow was asleep beside him, her fiery mane falling all around her angelic face. He sighed at the sight of her, still smitten after all these years.
He slipped out of bed quietly, covering her bare arms before he stepped away. When he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, naked from the waist up, he stopped and examined his weathered exterior. Scars of varying age made up most of his chest and forearms, proving he’d earned the muscular build he was studying even though Willow helped him maintain it with magick. Only the flecks of grey creeping into the tufts of brown hair on his chest showed his true age.
The Watcher pulled on a black silk robe before leaving the room. He strolled quietly down the hall away from their bedroom, which was located in one of the more private parts of the mansion. As he made his way toward the study he noticed a dim light seeping from beneath the threshold of Wesley’s door. Truthfully it wasn’t that unusual, the group, as a whole, often kept odd hours. But it was 4 am and Giles had been worried that the younger Watcher was losing himself in the fight against evil. He’d seen it happen many times in the past and all the warning signs were in place. Wesley was working far too hard and brooding far too much.
Though he planned on continuing on to his destination without bother Wesley, he stopped and knocked softly when he heard the exchange of two voices inside.
When the door crept open Giles saw Angel, dour and forlorn, standing a few feet behind Wesley. “Everything alright,” Giles asked.
Wesley responded by stepping aside and opening the door wider, clearly an invitation for him to join their conversation. Clandestine meetings under cover of night…all in a day’s work, he thought as he entered and closed the door behind him.
Though every other item for sale was in the display case in the lobby of Ethan's auction house, the journal Dawn was searching for was not. It was valuable and sought after by many, so Ethan surely had it hidden and well protected. Dawn had been searching for hours and had found nothing. The only place she hadn't searched was his bedroom, a place she dreaded going. If Ethan and Faith had fallen asleep in the dining room after their little tryst this would not be an issue, Dawn would simply snoop like she'd been doing all night. But the dining room was empty and Faith was nowhere to be found. One plus one equals ewww.
She checked her watch, 4:30 am. Had she really been snooping around Ethan's place for five hours? Well, it's not like she was going to go to sleep. Letting your guard down in a place like Ethan's was foolish all around. She hoped Faith understood that.
She headed for the auction room again. It was worth one last look, after all. Even though her search, hours before, failed to produce the journal, there might be something of use to a powerful Wicca like Willow, something she could bring home. The room was dark, save for the little flashlight Dawn was holding. As she looked over the items beneath the glass case carefully, it occurred to her how wrong this was. How was she going to keep Faith from telling Giles where they'd been? Too many secrets to keep track of. Something had to give sooner or later. And, given the amount of secrets she was keeping, she was betting more 'sooner' than 'later.'
"Does she know?" Ethan asked from the shadows.
It startled Dawn. Though she shone her light all around the room she couldn't find him. It wasn't until he flicked open a lighter and lit a cigarette that Dawn saw him. "Anybody ever tell you that'll kill ya," she said, nodding toward his cigarette.
"I only smoke after sex," he mused, moving closer.
"Well, then, I'm guessing you're carcinogen free," Dawn responded.
Ethan held a hand to his heart as if she had just shot him. "You haven't answered me," Ethan said, now face to face with Dawn.
"What was the question?" She knew what he'd asked, she just wasn't sure what he meant.
"Does Faith know what you're planning?" He asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said and turned to leave.
"Oh come, now. You know it hurts my feelings that you don't give me enough credit," he said.
"Fine," she said. "Enlighten me. What are we planning?"
"Well, first of all," he said as smoke billowed out of his mouth, "It's no coincidence that you showed up for the auction."
"Bored already," she said.
"And I'm guessing that in addition to hiding something from Faith, you're also hiding something from Ripper. Surely he'd disapprove of your coming here. What I'm not certain of how all these secrets fit together," he said as he tamped out his cigarette in an antique ashtray in the corner. He took Dawn's flashlight from her and softly spoke the word, "Luminos," a simple statement that commanded light from the ceiling.
Dawn was surprised. Ethan had never had any power to speak of, magical or otherwise.
"How did you..."
"Magick," he responded, cutting her off. "Now, answer my question."
"I'm not telling you anything, Ethan," she said and tried to leave the room.
Again he stopped her. "Look, I've said it before but you haven't heard me. I'm a good man. I've atoned for my sins tenfold, though you'll never understand. You'll never believe me so I won't waste my breath any more. However, I do insist that you tell me what you came for."
She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows in defiance.
He smiled. She looked just like that strong little girl he'd seen standing by Buffy's side a lifetime ago. "You know if you tell me...I might help you."
Dawn lifted her shirt slightly and looked down at her belly button.
"What are you doing?"
"Just searching for traces of an umbilical cord, seeing as how you seem to think I was born yesterday," she said.
"Funny, but untrue. I find you fascinating and quite astute. Though you don’t offer me the same consideration, still I say - if you tell me I may help you," he said.
"Doubtful," she said and made her way for the door.
"Alright, but I have a sinking suspicion that this is what you're after," he said and held up Grismay's journal.
Her eyes lit up. She didn't even see where he had taken it from. An inside pocket of his robe, maybe?
"I don't even know what that is," Dawn said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Ethan just raised an eyebrow and cocked his head.
"Ok, fine," she gave in. "Yes, that's it. Big deal, Kreskin" she said, dismissing his guess. "Every creepy, crawly fiend in the world is trying to get their hands on that."
"And that would make you...what...creepy or crawly, I can't tell," he said.
"It would make me a renegade grasping at straws, trying to keep that from falling into the wrong hands...though it seems I'm too late," she replied.
"My hands are just fine. If you don't believe me you can ask your friend when the sun comes up," he said with a sneer. "And now it's time for me to 'not' believe you."
"Whatever," she said.
"Though you're not telling me the truth I do believe that your intentions are noble. So..." he paused.
"So..?"
"It's yours," he said.
"Just like that?"
"Well, no, silly," he said. "Everything comes with a price."
"Yours being?" She didn't have any money, but she thought she'd entertain the idea for a moment.
"I'm coming with you," he said.
"You really are delusional," she said.
"Far from it. I know the only reason Faith jumped into bed with me is because she's been denied male companionship for years. I'm no fool, Dawn." He turned and moved away from her and opened the drapes slightly to peek out at the early morning. "What I am is eager to help. So, this is the deal and I suggest you take it. You'll stay through the day and attend the auction tomorrow evening. You'll bid whatever it takes on the journal so that no suspicions will be raised. After the auction the three of us head back to Sunnydale and I join your little justice league. The journal is yours and my lips are sealed should Ripper ask any questions. The only thing you have to do is convince him I'm there to help."
"Still trying to convince myself," she said.
"Take it or leave it," he said.
"Giles will kill you himself when he sees you," she said.
"Not if you and Faith attest to the change in me. Ripper, of all people, knows about redemption. It's not fair that he gets to change but the rest of us are forced to live forever as if we're still the same people we were three decades ago." He waved the journal, taunting her with it. "Besides," he said with a knowing look, "Two Slayers are better than one."