Owner	Pose
Angel	It was dusk. As the sun was setting on the city, and people were heading home for the night, a shadow detaches itself from the alleys and streets of Sunnydale, and moves towards a darker area, so as to avoid being seen. It was fast, and quiet, quick and supernatural in it's movements. Those who knew him could tell who it was.     Normally, Angel would avoid this area of the city, preferring to remain in his own "neck of the woods" so to speak. Where the Hyperion Hotel was located. However, tonight, something had brought him here. Something.
Buffy Summers	Patrol.     There were some nights Buffy hated it. Taking time out from her life to wander the dark streets of Sunnydale in search of monsters. It just acted as a daily reminder of how she was not normal. Other girls would be at home right now talking on the phone with their friends about their latest crush, online playing video games or streaming nonsense, or out with their boyfriends.     Other times, she loved it. She revelled in teh activity and the excitement. She wasn't sure which of those types of nights it was yet. Give it an hour.     The Slayer was wandering down the sidewalk eating a pretzel from that place at the mall while trying to balance a cup of sode and a little container of mustard on her opposite hand.     To fight evil. she needed to be well fed. Giles didn't see it that way but he wasn't the one out there with his stomach grumbling while staking vampires.
Angel	Angel wanders through the streets of Sunnydale, meandering this way and that, as though he has a purpose for being here. In reality though, there was probably only one real reason for being here, and he knew it. Shaking his head, Angel watches as a couple cross the street when they see him pass out of the shadows. "Smart." He says to himself, his deep voice respectful, "I guess people are getting more cautious here."     Pausing for a moment to look up at the last remnants of the light from the sun, and admiring the stars as they twinkled into existence, Angel hears them. There they were. The unmistakeable sound of her footsteps. Only one person moved that way, even at her normal walk.     Angel swings around at the sound of footsteps, out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. That was when he spots Buffy. With a slight smile, and a nod of his head, Angel clears his throat and says, "Buffy. What brings you out on a night like this?" Angel turns to completely face her, hands at his sides.
Buffy Summers	There it was. That hint of pain her abdoment letting her know that monsters were close by. Buffy didn't change her pace or even stuffing her face. She just continued forward as her mind prepared for what was to come. As the movement shifts out of the alleyway, everything in her hands is flung upwards into the air as she frees her hands for what is to come. A punch is automatically fired at the face of the monster.     The fist stopped about six inches away as her eyes went wide in surprise upon realizing who it was. She brought her hand back just as fast, the pretzel falling back into it. The other hand catches the soda. Unfotunately, this is doom for the mustard as it falls toward the ground at their feet.     "An--Angel?" Her voice is hesitaant, shaken. Then she clears her throat and takes on a more assured tone. "What're you doing here?"
Angel	His slight smile at the happiness at seeing her suddenly turns into a frown. There it was, that angst expression that he always got around her whenever he saw her. The feelings he had for her. It hurt. He could see that it hurt her as well. For that way led to madness, hate, evil, and to the one thing he never wanted to become again - Angelus.     Angel blinks, at the view of a fist six inches from his nose. Surprise registers on Angel's face, and he realises that she would have actually connected. He was slow around her, well, while he had his soul anyway. She was so...distracting.     "Buffy." Angel watches her juggle her food and condiments, frowning as the mustard hit the ground. "I don't know...I just thought I should come by, so we can talk. About...stuff." Now that was smooth. Stuff. Charming as always.
Buffy Summers	The last time Buffy spoke to him, she'd called him for help with a situation here in Sunnydale. So having him show up now to talk. And about stuff, no less! "Oh that can't be good. Stuff is never good. Stuff leads to Things which leads to Who-zee-whats-its. No, I think we shouldn't talk about stuff. I need to go on patrol. And...and clean my shoe." She glances down at the mustard splattered on her boot.     She shoves the pretzel and soda into his hands then squats down as she pulls a napkin out of her pocket. How she planned on using that when it was in her pocket is anyone's guess. She wipes the offending condiment off her boot, seeming to take an awful long time doing so. Stalling tactics. Gotta love 'em.
Angel	Angel rubs the back of his neck with his right hand, suddenly nervous. Only Buffy brought that out in him. Here he was, a couple of hundred years old, and he gets nervous around Buffy like a teenager. "Yeah. True." Angel allows himself a nervous smile.     Looking down at Buffy's shoe, Angel nods as Buffy cleans it. "I can see that being important. After all, can't have mustard stains on your shoe. No, can't have that." Angel sighs. "Oh, and I understand how important it is to patrol. Vampires to kill, people to save and all that. Rah!" Angel raises his fist in solidarity with the patrol thingy.     "I just thought, maybe, you know, we could talk. Catch up. I wanted to see how you were doing with all this..." his arms wave wide, taking in all of Sunnydale, "...monsters, vampire, and demon hunting."
Buffy Summers	No getting out of it. Buffy rises to her feet after his little protest. He's right of course. Dammit. She hated that.     Suddenly, she had no appetite so her hard earned (and saved!) pretzel and drink were tossed in the trash. She even picked up the tiny plastic container from the ground to add. The napkin went last after she cleaned her fingers. No help for the yellow stain on the ground. Hopefully it would rain soon.     She lifts her attention to him as her own sigh drifts past her lips. The he will see her visible shift her stance, shoulders going back as she approaches this as she does most everything--head on.     "Things have been good. Had a few freaky things other than the norm but nothing that we couldn't handle unlike that whole war god thing. God of war. Whatever. Had a hydra sort of thing a while back. That was new. Other than that, the usual creepers and jeepers." She tries to keep her expression neutral but it never works. She'll never win an Oscar. The concern shows through. "How've you been doing? Angel Investigations going well?"
Angel	For a regular night, the streets seem to be pretty empty. It was like everyone knew they were out here, and the universe wanted to leave them alone. For a change. Angel looks around for a moment, confirming that there was no demons, monsters or vampires charging out of the woodwork to kill them, eat them, or worse. Nope. Could even hear the crickets. Looking back at Buffy, Angel nods as she tosses her stuff in the trash. That made him feel a bit guilty, as his expression reflects.     "AH yes, that War God thing. I was wondering about that...and Hydra. I thought they were gone after World War II..." Angel trails off, letting Buffy talk. She was always better at that than he was. Talking.     "Angel Investigations is going great!" Angel says, glad they could talk about something other than their feelings or what has happened between them in the past. "Fred has really been running things. And Wesley. They have a good handle on clients and the like. It's been crazy." Notice it was about A.I., but nothing about how he was doing. Feelings. Ugh.
Buffy Summers	"Not that HYDRA. The other hydra. The one the stupid dumb ass HYDRA named themselves after. Multi headed snake thing. Turned it we had to use ginger. So we got super soakers and filled them with ginger ale. Boom, no more hydra! I wonder if that'd work on the other kind," Buffy murmurs for a second, her mind doing the driving and her filter fully disengaged for the moment.     It tended to happen when she was nervous. He made her nervous. There was so much unspoken, so many things. Things were changed for them now, utterly and completely. Thanks to their choices which had led to his changing which had led to...     Her expressive face shows it all. The sadnes. The guilt. She drops her eyes and looks to the side trying to refocus on the nothing talk instead of important things. She was good at avoiding those like the plague. "Had any cool cases lately? Following celebrities who are cheating on their wives or politicians visiting prostitutes?" She knows that isn't the type of thing they usually handle but she's trying to lighten things, get them away from serious stuff.
Angel	"Oh! The other Hydra. Sorry. Right. Multi headed snake." If Angel could blush, he would. "Ginger ale huh? Wow. Nice work!" Angel nods, truly amazed at the ingenuity of the Scoobies and their allies. "Doubt it would work on the Gang of Hydra though, or SHIELD would have finished them decades ago."     A lot has changed. Looking at the emotions running across her face, Angel decides to get them moving. Maybe that will help. "Um. Want to walk?" Angel nods towards the street, and away from the area where they had been talking.     Moving to stand besides her, Angel says, "Naw. Nothing like that. Although that is probably more interesting than Hunters drinking demon blood, Sorcerors trying to stop a Demon migration to Earth from a Hell Dimension. Although, that was probably where the politicians are from." Angel says that seriously.     "Funny how this place hasn't changed since I was here last. Same people I suppose. Same shops. Same atmosphere. Other things change though." Angel looks at Buffy, "Are you really okay?" And then Angel takes them right back. From light hearted fare to serious "stuff".
Buffy Summers	"Maybe they just haven't tried the ginger ale. I should get someone to send them an email with the suggestion," Buffy says in all seriousness. As he goes on the expound on the cases his company has been looking into, her brow furrows in confusion. Some of that was understandable, other parts not so much. The politicians she can only nod because there is no doubt in her mind they come from Hell. Probably one of the lowest levels where the really bad people go.     Then he does that shifting thing and she is looking at her shoes again. She considers the question then shrugs, turning her head and looking up at him. "I'm doing alright. Things have been--confusing lately. Not sure what to think or how to deal."