Mission #1: Lost
Nov. 3rd, 2020 10:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerI, uh...nearly forgot to post, how about that.
The first part does pretty well at explaining what the setup is for this particular AU, and it's kind of an alternate take on Echoes of Our Hearts.
Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry
Chapter Summary: Willow makes a new friend.
Word Count: 2173
Rating: Teen
Willow was a very unhappy bunny.
She didn't like to show it, not in front of Buffy. Even though Buffy was new, a new awesome and wonderful friend, they'd gotten close quickly. But more importantly, she was a lot stronger than the redhead would ever be. Even so, that didn't mean that she liked to advertise the differences. She wanted to be support-o-gal, and that meant acting like she could even understand all the burdens a Slayer faced. She wondered about it-what if I was the Slayer? and decided that no, she was perfectly happy being Willow, Hapless Normal. Even worse was the thought that she might have had to kill a friend, even if they were a vampire and not really her friend anymore, just some demon wearing her friend's body.
Jesse liked to pretend it didn't bother him, and given how hard he could be sometimes, maybe it didn't. Jesse liked to deal with things by repression, and anyway was pretty busy drooling over Buffy. Xander-if Xander had been in Jesse's place, and Jesse had been the one to get vamped, he would have dealt with it with a goofy smile and plenty of jokes and puns, but he would have been torn up inside. Still, he could deal. Despite the fact that she'd told Buffy she was okay and smiled a lot, Willow really wasn't. She didn't think crying herself to sleep and secretly visiting her friend's gravestone when she could were really anywhere in the definition of okay, but didn't want to mention it. She was weak enough, and her friends had enough to deal with without her saying anything. So she didn't.
She wondered whether Giles noticed. The librarian might act clueless, and was most of the time. But she might have cried herself to sleep in the library once. She couldn't remember having fallen asleep, or crying at all really, just feeling upset and sad. And she was pretty sure she'd been alone. But there was no way to be one hundred percent certain. She'd caught a few concerned glances in her direction since then.
Everyone else was doing researching tonight, but not her. Giles had told her that her schoolwork should not suffer and sent her home to complete it. Though that might have just been an excuse to give her a break. She wasn't certain.
Her mom wasn't available to pick her up, anyway, so now she was just walking a long way home, somewhat aimlessly. She'd end up there eventually. And she wasn't wandering through any graveyards or anything.
She crossed the street, head lowered. Buffy would probably have brought her shopping, but they'd probably started glancing through the cool old dusty books by this point. Without her. She didn't mind it, but sometimes the things in the dark...
Deep in thought, she accidentally bumped into someone and dropped all her books and papers. "Sorry," she apologized, ready to burst into tears, but when she looked up the person was gone already. Well, that was kind of rude...not that I wasn't. Get a grip on yourself, Willow!
And that's when she saw it. An old building with a small handpainted sign in the dingy window. It just said 'OPEN'. Didn't even say what kind of business it was.
Something led her to cross the street again, barely in time to get out of the way of an oncoming car, which honked impatiently. She gave the driver a sheepish and guilty smile before hurrying to open the door.
The inside was just about as grimy as the exterior. Pieces of broken furniture lay around, and a sagging couch that looked like it had seen better days sat in a corner and would probably fall apart if she spoke too loudly. A badly put together shelf was stuffed beyond full of books and...comic books...only a few of which were new. It looked like someone hadn't taken care of them very well, a fact that made Willow just a little bit angry. A spiral staircase in a corner had rusted and fallen apart, with a corresponding hole in the ceiling. So there's an upstairs. Exploring like this was kind of fun, and the thrill of maybe sort of doing something forbidden both terrified and excited her. Daredevil Willow, that's me. A few bags and boxes were haphazardly scattered across the floor, as if someone had lost interest in unpacking halfway through.
"I'll be out in just a minute. Though if you can't wait, there's probably money on the desk," a friendly voice called out from one of the rooms in the back.
The redhead jumped. Well, duh, Willow, it says OPEN so of course there's someone here. And what do they mean about 'money'? I'm not a thief, just a...trespasser, I guess. No, curious citizen. An older man, potentially in his early thirties, came out, hair dripping and with a towel draped over bare shoulders. Her cheeks instantly became inflamed, and she quickly glanced at the floor. The floor's safe. It won't...be scandalous or anything. At least I hope not. What do I know, maybe it's had a party with all the other floors. I might need to have a stern and thorough talk with it.
"How much do I owe you?" he asked quietly, yawning. There was probably also a stretch involved, but she wasn't looking.
"U-um, I'm not sure what you're talking about, so maybe I had better...go..." Her feet started shuffling backward to the door. He might not even notice.
He definitely noticed. "...You don't look like you're carrying a box of pizza," he remarked, sounding puzzled.
O-oh! Pizza! Yes, pizza was safe. And cheesy. "No! I don't work for a pizza place at all. T-though that might be interesting. I mean, I know a lot of people who like pizza and then I could give them pizza and that would be nice. But unfortunately, I don't, so I..."
The chuckle interrupted her, and she flushed even brighter. They can see me from outer space, she thought a little grumpily. "Slow down, Kitten! I mean, I could maybe keep up, but I don't know if I have the energy. That some superpower of yours or something?"
He's safe, and has a sense of humor. She could hear Xander singing 'Willow has a crush', which made her shiver.
"...Oh, right. Uh, let me put on a shirt, okay? You could leave if you want, but I've been a bit bored and have no one to talk to."
What a coincidence, Mr. Random Guy. I do too. I mean, not the shirt. B-because Willow does not get crazy and take off her shirt, not to mention that there's windows that people can see through if they really try hard through the dirt, and...
"Hey." He had returned, and it was probably safe to glance up again. It really did look like he'd just thrown a shirt on, because it was a little wrinkly and dirty and had what looked like a pizza stain on it. N-not like she was looking really closely or anything! The word 'Bearrific!' was across the top, and there was a strangely shaped and colored thing giving a thumbs-up. Noticing her puzzled look, he glanced down and then grinned. "Ah, yeah. That's Teddie. He's from something really obscure. I'm not surprised you don't recognize it."
"A-ah." Usually she was the Lady of No Trouble With Words, but she was really, really going non-verbal here. "I-is it interesting?"
"Very." The grin remained, and he leaned against the desk casually, facing her. "They've got this whole thing with mythologies going, and then of course they've got a lot of stuff about Jung...and I've gone and forgotten his first name again. You know, that thing with the Shadows and Personas and the collective unconscious and stuff. Psychology."
He'd just given her one of the best openings. Academics! And he'd even pronounced it correctly and everything. "You...you mean Carl Jung, don't you? We haven't talked about it much, since psychology is apparently less important than History or French, but what I've been able to find from outside research is fascinating. And personally, he makes a lot more sense than Freud, which is the one who everyone knows. I mean, some of the things, like kind of having a subconscious as well as a conscious mind, were really forward-thinking of their time, and both psychologists actually thought about it. But Jung covered a whole lot more useful topics to our lives, such as the importance of spirituality and resisting being molded into a person solely by the pressures of society, while Freud pretty much just comes off as a horny old man." She clapped her hands over her mouth, appalled at what had just said (brain stop working, mouth, keep going, apparently).
Mystery Man didn't seem to mind too much. In fact, he was laughing his head off. "Y-yeah," he managed after about a minute, propping himself on the desk with one hand (to avoid falling over?) "That is actually pretty much how it goes. Freud has some useful things he talks about, but the only thing everyone remembers is the obsession with sex. Honestly, he comes off like he's projecting his fixation on everyone else. And a lot of people in the English departments also use him way too much, when they're not doing economic analyses. Also, his stance on women is atrocious, but what else can you expect from a misogynistic guy who pretty much only thinks of women in terms of animal pleasure?"
Willow found herself nodding along, blushing a little, and then realized what they were talking about and blushed a whole lot more. "U-uhm..."
He snorted and looked away. "Relax, I'm not that kind of guy. Weird as I am, I actually like romance. Though not Romance books or films, and Romantic Comedies make me want to run down the street screaming." He looked like he'd decided she would be more comfortable if he went and sat behind the desk, so that's what he did, planting bare feet on the wood in front of him. "Then again-and I actually mean this-don't just listen to anyone that tells you that. If your instincts are screaming at you to get out of a situation or get away from someone, doesn't matter how charming they are or how nice of eyes they've got or even that they're the best friend you've ever made, run away. Preferably less than noticably."
To prove her trust, she found the half-falling apart visitor's chair and sat in it, probably more daring along the lines of this-chair-may-break-at-any-moment-and-send-me-embarrassingly-falling-on-my-bottom than on trusting the guy. In Sunnydale, you had well-honed instincts or you got eaten. "Make with the Invisible Woman. I gotcha."
He hesitated, watching her as if waiting for her to change her mind, then shrugged. "Whatever suits your fancy, lady."
"So, what is this place?" she asked, looking around. She must have been drinking Burst of Boldness coffee this morning or something.
His voice went deliberately casual. "Well, it's nothing yet. Lots of handiwork and stuff that needs to get done. But hopefully at the end it'll be a functional private investigation office."
"That's awesome!" She hadn't ever met a real life private eye before! Oh, but... "This is kind of a small town though. I'm not sure you'll get all that much business."
He shrugged, still casual. "Yeah, it doesn't matter that much. I'll tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to tell any potential clients of mine." He paused, then grinned again. "I'm actually kind of lazy, so not as many cases works for me. Besides the fact that I'm just starting out so I could use any business I get."
"Am I a dame?" What was with her today?
The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. "You're kind of more of a kitten. Not that you're not pretty to look at, but I get the feeling you're kind of young for me. I mean, illegally young. Besides the fact that my last couple relationships have been...well, not so great. I'm probably better off sticking with the 'friendship' route with everyone if I don't want to die prematurely."
She was having trouble not doubling over with laughter. "Y-you heartbreaker, you!"
He snorted. "Yep, that's me. All the girls and guys want me." Well, that was a bold choice of words. She hadn't even considered that he might...not that there was anything wrong with a choice like that, persay, and it might be a little interesting...
But that led to another realization. She was joking about stuff like this and it wasn't a problem. Whereas with Jesse-or even Xander-it had been mucho awkward even with something small. They soon moved on to other topics, such as books and movies. He knew a lot of foreign stuff, and started to recommend it but changed his mind halfway through. "It might be easier to wait until they're actually distributed here. Otherwise, it might involve a lot of traveling."
The first part does pretty well at explaining what the setup is for this particular AU, and it's kind of an alternate take on Echoes of Our Hearts.
Main Points:
Buffy/Devil May Cry
Chapter Summary: Willow makes a new friend.
Word Count: 2173
Rating: Teen
Willow was a very unhappy bunny.
She didn't like to show it, not in front of Buffy. Even though Buffy was new, a new awesome and wonderful friend, they'd gotten close quickly. But more importantly, she was a lot stronger than the redhead would ever be. Even so, that didn't mean that she liked to advertise the differences. She wanted to be support-o-gal, and that meant acting like she could even understand all the burdens a Slayer faced. She wondered about it-what if I was the Slayer? and decided that no, she was perfectly happy being Willow, Hapless Normal. Even worse was the thought that she might have had to kill a friend, even if they were a vampire and not really her friend anymore, just some demon wearing her friend's body.
Jesse liked to pretend it didn't bother him, and given how hard he could be sometimes, maybe it didn't. Jesse liked to deal with things by repression, and anyway was pretty busy drooling over Buffy. Xander-if Xander had been in Jesse's place, and Jesse had been the one to get vamped, he would have dealt with it with a goofy smile and plenty of jokes and puns, but he would have been torn up inside. Still, he could deal. Despite the fact that she'd told Buffy she was okay and smiled a lot, Willow really wasn't. She didn't think crying herself to sleep and secretly visiting her friend's gravestone when she could were really anywhere in the definition of okay, but didn't want to mention it. She was weak enough, and her friends had enough to deal with without her saying anything. So she didn't.
She wondered whether Giles noticed. The librarian might act clueless, and was most of the time. But she might have cried herself to sleep in the library once. She couldn't remember having fallen asleep, or crying at all really, just feeling upset and sad. And she was pretty sure she'd been alone. But there was no way to be one hundred percent certain. She'd caught a few concerned glances in her direction since then.
Everyone else was doing researching tonight, but not her. Giles had told her that her schoolwork should not suffer and sent her home to complete it. Though that might have just been an excuse to give her a break. She wasn't certain.
Her mom wasn't available to pick her up, anyway, so now she was just walking a long way home, somewhat aimlessly. She'd end up there eventually. And she wasn't wandering through any graveyards or anything.
She crossed the street, head lowered. Buffy would probably have brought her shopping, but they'd probably started glancing through the cool old dusty books by this point. Without her. She didn't mind it, but sometimes the things in the dark...
Deep in thought, she accidentally bumped into someone and dropped all her books and papers. "Sorry," she apologized, ready to burst into tears, but when she looked up the person was gone already. Well, that was kind of rude...not that I wasn't. Get a grip on yourself, Willow!
And that's when she saw it. An old building with a small handpainted sign in the dingy window. It just said 'OPEN'. Didn't even say what kind of business it was.
Something led her to cross the street again, barely in time to get out of the way of an oncoming car, which honked impatiently. She gave the driver a sheepish and guilty smile before hurrying to open the door.
The inside was just about as grimy as the exterior. Pieces of broken furniture lay around, and a sagging couch that looked like it had seen better days sat in a corner and would probably fall apart if she spoke too loudly. A badly put together shelf was stuffed beyond full of books and...comic books...only a few of which were new. It looked like someone hadn't taken care of them very well, a fact that made Willow just a little bit angry. A spiral staircase in a corner had rusted and fallen apart, with a corresponding hole in the ceiling. So there's an upstairs. Exploring like this was kind of fun, and the thrill of maybe sort of doing something forbidden both terrified and excited her. Daredevil Willow, that's me. A few bags and boxes were haphazardly scattered across the floor, as if someone had lost interest in unpacking halfway through.
"I'll be out in just a minute. Though if you can't wait, there's probably money on the desk," a friendly voice called out from one of the rooms in the back.
The redhead jumped. Well, duh, Willow, it says OPEN so of course there's someone here. And what do they mean about 'money'? I'm not a thief, just a...trespasser, I guess. No, curious citizen. An older man, potentially in his early thirties, came out, hair dripping and with a towel draped over bare shoulders. Her cheeks instantly became inflamed, and she quickly glanced at the floor. The floor's safe. It won't...be scandalous or anything. At least I hope not. What do I know, maybe it's had a party with all the other floors. I might need to have a stern and thorough talk with it.
"How much do I owe you?" he asked quietly, yawning. There was probably also a stretch involved, but she wasn't looking.
"U-um, I'm not sure what you're talking about, so maybe I had better...go..." Her feet started shuffling backward to the door. He might not even notice.
He definitely noticed. "...You don't look like you're carrying a box of pizza," he remarked, sounding puzzled.
O-oh! Pizza! Yes, pizza was safe. And cheesy. "No! I don't work for a pizza place at all. T-though that might be interesting. I mean, I know a lot of people who like pizza and then I could give them pizza and that would be nice. But unfortunately, I don't, so I..."
The chuckle interrupted her, and she flushed even brighter. They can see me from outer space, she thought a little grumpily. "Slow down, Kitten! I mean, I could maybe keep up, but I don't know if I have the energy. That some superpower of yours or something?"
He's safe, and has a sense of humor. She could hear Xander singing 'Willow has a crush', which made her shiver.
"...Oh, right. Uh, let me put on a shirt, okay? You could leave if you want, but I've been a bit bored and have no one to talk to."
What a coincidence, Mr. Random Guy. I do too. I mean, not the shirt. B-because Willow does not get crazy and take off her shirt, not to mention that there's windows that people can see through if they really try hard through the dirt, and...
"Hey." He had returned, and it was probably safe to glance up again. It really did look like he'd just thrown a shirt on, because it was a little wrinkly and dirty and had what looked like a pizza stain on it. N-not like she was looking really closely or anything! The word 'Bearrific!' was across the top, and there was a strangely shaped and colored thing giving a thumbs-up. Noticing her puzzled look, he glanced down and then grinned. "Ah, yeah. That's Teddie. He's from something really obscure. I'm not surprised you don't recognize it."
"A-ah." Usually she was the Lady of No Trouble With Words, but she was really, really going non-verbal here. "I-is it interesting?"
"Very." The grin remained, and he leaned against the desk casually, facing her. "They've got this whole thing with mythologies going, and then of course they've got a lot of stuff about Jung...and I've gone and forgotten his first name again. You know, that thing with the Shadows and Personas and the collective unconscious and stuff. Psychology."
He'd just given her one of the best openings. Academics! And he'd even pronounced it correctly and everything. "You...you mean Carl Jung, don't you? We haven't talked about it much, since psychology is apparently less important than History or French, but what I've been able to find from outside research is fascinating. And personally, he makes a lot more sense than Freud, which is the one who everyone knows. I mean, some of the things, like kind of having a subconscious as well as a conscious mind, were really forward-thinking of their time, and both psychologists actually thought about it. But Jung covered a whole lot more useful topics to our lives, such as the importance of spirituality and resisting being molded into a person solely by the pressures of society, while Freud pretty much just comes off as a horny old man." She clapped her hands over her mouth, appalled at what had just said (brain stop working, mouth, keep going, apparently).
Mystery Man didn't seem to mind too much. In fact, he was laughing his head off. "Y-yeah," he managed after about a minute, propping himself on the desk with one hand (to avoid falling over?) "That is actually pretty much how it goes. Freud has some useful things he talks about, but the only thing everyone remembers is the obsession with sex. Honestly, he comes off like he's projecting his fixation on everyone else. And a lot of people in the English departments also use him way too much, when they're not doing economic analyses. Also, his stance on women is atrocious, but what else can you expect from a misogynistic guy who pretty much only thinks of women in terms of animal pleasure?"
Willow found herself nodding along, blushing a little, and then realized what they were talking about and blushed a whole lot more. "U-uhm..."
He snorted and looked away. "Relax, I'm not that kind of guy. Weird as I am, I actually like romance. Though not Romance books or films, and Romantic Comedies make me want to run down the street screaming." He looked like he'd decided she would be more comfortable if he went and sat behind the desk, so that's what he did, planting bare feet on the wood in front of him. "Then again-and I actually mean this-don't just listen to anyone that tells you that. If your instincts are screaming at you to get out of a situation or get away from someone, doesn't matter how charming they are or how nice of eyes they've got or even that they're the best friend you've ever made, run away. Preferably less than noticably."
To prove her trust, she found the half-falling apart visitor's chair and sat in it, probably more daring along the lines of this-chair-may-break-at-any-moment-and-send-me-embarrassingly-falling-on-my-bottom than on trusting the guy. In Sunnydale, you had well-honed instincts or you got eaten. "Make with the Invisible Woman. I gotcha."
He hesitated, watching her as if waiting for her to change her mind, then shrugged. "Whatever suits your fancy, lady."
"So, what is this place?" she asked, looking around. She must have been drinking Burst of Boldness coffee this morning or something.
His voice went deliberately casual. "Well, it's nothing yet. Lots of handiwork and stuff that needs to get done. But hopefully at the end it'll be a functional private investigation office."
"That's awesome!" She hadn't ever met a real life private eye before! Oh, but... "This is kind of a small town though. I'm not sure you'll get all that much business."
He shrugged, still casual. "Yeah, it doesn't matter that much. I'll tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to tell any potential clients of mine." He paused, then grinned again. "I'm actually kind of lazy, so not as many cases works for me. Besides the fact that I'm just starting out so I could use any business I get."
"Am I a dame?" What was with her today?
The corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. "You're kind of more of a kitten. Not that you're not pretty to look at, but I get the feeling you're kind of young for me. I mean, illegally young. Besides the fact that my last couple relationships have been...well, not so great. I'm probably better off sticking with the 'friendship' route with everyone if I don't want to die prematurely."
She was having trouble not doubling over with laughter. "Y-you heartbreaker, you!"
He snorted. "Yep, that's me. All the girls and guys want me." Well, that was a bold choice of words. She hadn't even considered that he might...not that there was anything wrong with a choice like that, persay, and it might be a little interesting...
But that led to another realization. She was joking about stuff like this and it wasn't a problem. Whereas with Jesse-or even Xander-it had been mucho awkward even with something small. They soon moved on to other topics, such as books and movies. He knew a lot of foreign stuff, and started to recommend it but changed his mind halfway through. "It might be easier to wait until they're actually distributed here. Otherwise, it might involve a lot of traveling."
