Fic - Sequel to Hyperion's Son

[cornerofmadness]

Dominion of Dust (Tentative title)
Disclaimer - Sing the chorus. I don’t own them Joss does.
Timeline – This is set post series for both Buffy and Angel and was originally started before the last season of Angel, so it goes alternative reality from the end of S4, disregarding Not Fade Away and any and all of the comic books.
Rating - teen
Characters - Way too many of them. All the major players from both shows so Buffy & Dawn Summers, Willow, Xander, Giles, Spike, Angel, Gunn, Fred, Wesley, Faith, Connor, Cordelia, Kate and Lorne.
Pairing - Buffy/Angel, Giles/OC (And Buffy suspects Dawn/Connor and Connor/Faith)
Summary - The Watchers are gathering to trade info and have a little fun.
Warningsalternative reality
Word Count 2,368
Author’s Note#1 - This is just going to be here in the blog for now. Yes, I said I wasn’t going to write a sequel to Hyperion’s Son and you knew I was lying. This is the first scene and it’s written for evil_little_dog for Trick or Treat and for one of my bingo fills (Excitement)

If you want to read Hyperion's Son you can find it here




XXX

Buffy had been looking forward to a day off all week. Not only did she have all her usual nightly duties plus the work at the Slayer school in Los Angeles, the Hyperion Hotel was full swing being what it was designed for: a hotel. Watchers were arriving from all over to compare notes, build libraries and have fun. Even though her and Angel’s suite was on the top floor, it still felt crowded and more were yet to come, a lot more. She wasn't exactly excited about it but it wasn't like she was stuck playing hostess. Giles was doing most of that.

She and Angel had slept in, which had been heavenly. He made her brunch, and finally they had descended down to the public areas of the hotel. It was suspiciously quiet. The necro-tempered glass let Angel follow her but if she wanted to go do something this afternoon, she'd have to do it alone or see if Dawn and Willow were available.

Spike sauntered out of the library, his eyes sparking when he saw them. He'd arrived early to what she'd taken to calling the Watcher Jamboree, returning with Connor from the Cleveland hellmouth. Things had been weird ever since. She was still shocked that Connor had gone to Cleveland, and worse, that it was Dawn's idea. It disturbed Buffy enough that she was ninety-eight percent certain her sister was sleeping with Angel's son, but then she sent him to visit Faith. Buffy asked for an explanation and was treated to the idea of openness and polyamory before her brain shut down. Buffy wasn’t sure if Dawn was yanking her chain. Maybe Connor hadn’t slept with Faith in Cleveland and maybe Buffy was suddenly a natural double D-cup. Dawn wouldn’t give her a straight answer, so she did the only thing she could and keep her sanity: let the topic die.

She was just as glad Connor was back because Angel had driven her insane with worrying about him when Connor was in Cleveland. Her pointing out Connor was a grown man hadn't helped. Yes, he had huge problems when he crashed into their lives, upending so very much, but that was over a year ago. If he wanted to go to Cleveland to do whatever perverted things Faith had planned for a guy with Slayer strength, then let him.

To make matters worse, he came home with Spike, all bonded and brotherly sending Angel right up a wall. He'd been bitching up a storm ever since, mostly because in the year Connor had been living at the hotel he still hadn't really bonded to Angel. Yes, he loved his father but he really had Daddy issues bigger than all of California. Connor bonded well with Giles, and apparently now with Spike, but he still got under Angel's skin at every opportunity, like a chigger. There were times she wanted to nail Connor’s skin to the mezzanine railing as a warning to others. Why couldn't he have left Spike in Cleveland until the actual Jamboree?

And more importantly what did Spike want now because he had that look in his eye.

"Peaches, your brat is being weird," Spike said.

Angel snorted. "What now?"

"Seriously with Connor that could mean he's staring out into space, to shrieking at the ceiling or all the way up to letting Dawn dangle him from the chandelier naked so she can make art," Buffy said, expertly ignoring Angel's annoyed expression.

Spike cocked up an eyebrow. "Did that happen?"

Buffy shrugged. "Matter of time. She's sketched or painted him naked more than once. I've accidentally seen the resulting works."

"So long as you don't actually see it in progress," Angel grumbled. Buffy shuddered at the thought. "So where are we on the weird scale?"

"Demon son is bonding with the Watchers, so you tell me." Spike inclined his head toward the library. "Best you see for yourself."

"I already know he likes the Watchers. Besides you are one, Spike, and I'd say vampire turned human only to become a Watcher is weirder than whatever Connor could possibly be doing,” Angel argued.

"You haven't seen the bonding yet."

Buffy looked at Angel who shrugged. She couldn't imagine what Spike would consider honestly weird, nor what Watchers could be doing that would qualify. Somehow, she should have expected the tableau that greeted them. Miyako, a rather attractive Watcher from the Seattle area, was apparently dungeon mastering a game. Dawn sat shoulder to shoulder with Connor - happily sans hookah unlike that time they saw that video of the two playing back in New York. She seemed to be playing too. Connor’s face was bright with excitement. Frankly Buffy would take it, because Connor in a good mood was rare, at least in those first months. He was slowly becoming happier which made Angel almost bouncy. Buffy found it cute.

"We've seen this too, Spike,” she said.

"They fight real demons all night long, and this is what they do for fun?” He tapped out a cigarette then replaced it at her and Angel’s twin glare. “It's weird."

"Well, the Watchers don't usually fight, and they're mostly geeks. It makes sense." Buffy shrugged. "And apparently Angel asked for his son to be rewritten as a nerd so there you go."

"I did not," Angel huffed. "He might have gotten that way naturally but god knows how."

"God had nothing to do with you and Darla having a child," Spike snorted and Buffy tried not to show any of her agreement to that.

"Powers that be then.” Angel waved a hand. “If he's having fun, Spike, and actually smiling, I'm fine with him being a geek."

Buffy believed that. Connor's life had been horrific, more than she could imagine. She thought she and Dawn had drawn the short stick for fathers - and theirs was pretty bad - but Connor had been screwed around by three different fathers. As much as she loved Angel, she couldn't say he'd done the best he could for his troublesome and troubled son. The last year had been a hard one, refereed in part by Dr. Lorelei McInness, Connor's Watcher trained psychiatrist and Giles’s girlfriend and in part by Dawn who had known Connor when they were in college and had liked him. As for herself, Buffy was there for the times where it came to blows between Angel and Connor which still happened to frequently. Hell, maybe she was the one who needed the vacation in Cleveland.

"Damn it!" Connor swore, glaring at the dice he rolled. "A one? Really?"

Miyako chuckled. "You've been caught in the incubus's love spell along with Rabbie over there." She gestured to a young Watcher from Scotland.

"Do we at least get to see if we can resist the spell?" Connor asked.

"Roll away."

Buffy watched him roll and swear even more loudly.

"Another one? Are you kidding?" Connor looked at Miyako plaintively. "What's the damage?"

"You've proposed to the incubus, and he's said yes." She replied, and the gamers howled. Dawn slapped Connor's thigh.

"Great." Connor glanced to the doorway. "Oh hey, do you three want something? Want to play?"

“Rather be lobotomized,” Spike grumbled and while she wouldn’t have put it that harshly Buffy agreed.

"Did I hear you just got engaged to an incubus?" Angel asked while Buffy tried to read what was on Connor's shirt. Did it say “If You Can’t Handle Me at My Worst….I Don’t blame you. That Shit is Ridiculous?” That seemed suspiciously like one of his Daddy issue shirts and frankly all too true.

"That's what happens when you suck at rolling dice." Dawn snickered, bumping his shoulder.

"So long as you avoid it in real life," Angel replied.

The doorbell cut off any reply Connor had. They all looked toward the doorway and the lobby beyond it but no one actually moved. Connor pushed back from the table and he started that way.

"Is our half elven thief running away?" Miyako grinned at his back.

"I need to stretch, and answering the door sounds better than planning my nuptials," Connor said, sauntering past Buffy and Angel.

She fell in step behind him. It was probably more Watchers coming. She was really beginning to regret agreeing to host them partially in the hotel because the place was honestly feeling like one. She missed the homey feel when it was just friends and family here.

Connor opened the door and a small man almost pushed past him, stopping only when he noticed Connor's expression. Buffy could barely hold in a groan. It was part of the New York branch, and only one Watcher she knew would be self-important enough to just walk in uninvited.

"Buffy!" Andrew sang out loudly as if they were old friends. She regretted the day they ever let him into the group, or let him speak for them. She knew what he had done but with so many of the Watchers gone, they were willing to take anyone. The whole debacle with Dana made her feel like apologizing daily to Angel and Spike. She heard both of them grumbling under their breath behind her.

"You know him, Buffy? Should I let him in?" The flat stiffness in Connor's voice told her he'd already marked Andrew as someone he was suspicious of.

"That's Andrew Wells. He works with the New York Watchers," Buffy said with a lack of enthusiasm that should have tipped Andrew off that he wasn't particularly welcome. Connor, on the other hand, picked up on it, judging by his expression.

Connor stepped aside without saying anything.

"Ah, I see Angel is here," Andrew sniffed, dropping his suitcase next to Connor's feet.

"I own the place," Angel said blandly.

"Super. Are Dawn and Xander here too?" Andrew brightened up. "Looking forward to seeing them."

"Dawn's in the library, and Xander's at the school," Connor said before Buffy could.

Andrew stared at him. "I don't know you. Which Watcher branch are you with?"

Connor’s lips skinned back. "Not a Watcher."

Buffy winced. She hoped Andrew didn't press that. They had decided not to enlighten most of the Watchers as to what Connor was and his relationship to Angel unless they had to. Giles and Wesley thought it would be better to let the other Watchers get to know Connor first, to make impressions without prejudice. It helped that Connor habitually called Angel by name - no doubt to be a jackass - instead of Dad. She wasn’t sure he could say the word Dad unless it was utterly sarcastic, or he was on the verge of a mental break down.

"Oh, all right then. You can take the bag to the room," Andrew said.

"Not a damn bellboy either," Connor growled as Angel face palmed. "Carry it yourself." He spun on his heel and stomped back into the library.

"Let me see where Cordelia put you," Buffy said wearily, wondering if Angel was going to say anything or just stand there like a statue. He raised an eyebrow but opted for statue. This was going to be a very long couple of weeks.

"Sounds great. So who was the unpleasant fellow?" Andrew asked. "He seems like a rough sort. Should he be here?"

Angel held up his hands and retreated into the library. Coward! Buffy forced a smile. "Connor lives here. He works for Angel Investigations. He and Giles are pretty tight actually." Buffy smiled a bit at that piece of honesty. She hadn't expected it, nor had Angel, but Connor honestly liked and trusted her Watcher. He was about the only man Connor didn't butt heads with. She wondered if it was because Giles was older and not an alpha male.

Andrew tried to arch an eyebrow but didn't quite get the Spock-like effect he was doubtless aiming for. "Really? He doesn't seem like a person Rupert would encourage."

"Connor's fine. Ah, here you go." Buffy rooted around the desk and found the old fashioned key, trying not to wince when she saw Andrew's room was just down the hall from both Dawn and Connor's suites. Cordy hadn't planned that one well but then again she didn't know what Andrew was like. "The room number is on the key. Several of the Watchers are in the library playing D&D with Connor if you want to join them after you rested up from the trip." She didn't bother to tell him there was an ancient elevator in the place. Let him take the stairs.

"Thanks, Buffy. It's wonderful to see you again."

He hugged her, and she refrained from decking him. Leaving Andrew to struggle his way up the steps, she went back to the library. Connor wasn't with the players - the game seemed to have been tabled - a fierce expression on his face as he sat next to his father on the couch.

Buffy sighed. That's all she needed, Connor in a mood, which would put Angel in a mood, and that would in turn make her homicidal. It definitely was going to be a long few weeks.