Thick clouds hung overhead. Dark grey under bellies promised rain. The birds and the bugs must have felt the oncoming storm as not a one made a sound. Nyx ambled up the driveway toward her cabin, bag of groceries in hand. After the chicken Kismet cooked last night, she was excited to see what she’d make tonight.

She let herself in, the scent of steak and potatoes filled the air. Nyx rested the bag at the door and kicked off her sneakers. Angel’s canvas shoes were already in the porch. Then she heard his laugh and her stomach flipped.

I don’t think I’m ready to talk to him yet, not unless he’s ready to change.

Rounding the corner, she saw Kismet setting the table with Angel. The evening sun streamed in from the window behind him, glittering through his messy bun. Loose wisps dangled around his face. He flashed a mischievous grin, lighting up his eyes. The anger eased if only a little. Even Kismet smiled, still giggling over whatever he had said before Nyx came in.

Angel saw her and put down the plate he was holding, waving her over.

Like this is his house or something.

“Hey!” he called.

I don’t want us to fight in front of Kismet.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I came to talk to you,” he said. “Then I got helping Kismet with supper. I can go if you want?”

“No, that’s fine.”

They got their supper from the stove and sat down at the table.

“You picked a great cabin,” Angel said. “If you want, I can help you fix it up?”

Nyx shrugged, finishing her mouthful of potatoes.

“How’d your party go?” she asked.

Angel tensed, tucking back into his food. “Fine.”

Rain pounded against the windowpane. Lightning flashed, crashing thunder immediately behind it. The three of them jumped at the sound.

Kismet looked from Nyx to Angel, wringing her hands.

I’m sorry she had to come in the middle of this.

“Oh, by the way,” Angel began, still picking at his food. “Kismet knows about my powers.”

Nyx clenched her jaw, gripping her fork tighter. Her heart pounded under her ribs along with the storm outside.

How has he screwed this up already?

“What?” she asked, still holding hope she’d misheard him. Angel had confessed so calmly, that couldn’t possibly be what he said.

Kismet shrunk back, dipping her head to examine her food, chasing a small carrot.

“It happened so fast…”

“Angel!” Nyx struggled to keep her rage from boiling over.

“I cut my finger and -” Kismet tried to explain.

“It’s not a big deal.” Angel examined his rings. The muscle in his jaw twitched. “It’s not like she’s going to tell anyone, right Kismet?”

“I won’t, I promise.”

“Don’t bring her into this,” Nyx snapped. “I asked you -”

“I know what you asked.” Angel’s blue eyes sharpened and for a moment, she thought he was going to bite back. Instead, he sighed. “I’m sorry, ok? I wasn’t thinking. She got hurt and I just reacted. How am I supposed to watch someone bleed all over the place, cut finger dangling in the wind, and not help them?”

I hate that he has a point.

Nyx sighed.

“Kismet said she can help me. She’s going to teach me what she learns from Daisy.”

Kismet nodded, eager to diffuse the tension.

“Just be careful,” Nyx said.

Perhaps it’ll be for the best.

“Also, I made another discovery,” Angel continued, sheepishly prodding his steak.

“What is it now?”

“Alcohol seems to dull my powers, so I was thinking if all else fails -”

The mere suggestion conjured up such an image that pushed Nyx over the edge. Things would only get worse, not better, from here if she did not reign it in. It seemed no matter what, he was determined to crash and burn and all she could do was watch.

“Like you need another excuse to drink,” she snapped.

Angel’s grip tightened on his fork as he fixated on cutting steak, cheek twitching. The metal scraped against the plastic plate. Wind thrashed rain against the windows, rattling it in place.

“Am I wrong?”

He scrunched his brow, thinking, but wouldn’t answer. A carrot rolled and he tried to chase it with his fork instead.

Kismet fidgeted, chewing on the ends of her sleeves and swayed slightly side to side like a sapling in a breeze. Her hazel eyes took on a clouded haze, staring at some fixed point in space no one else could see.

“Sorry. I’m just -” Nyx sighed and examined the table. “I dunno. I didn’t mean to upset you Kismet, we’re… I don’t know what we’re actually doing. Are you ok? Do you think a bath would help?”

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Kismet nodded. “I’m sorry, I can -”

“No, no you rest, I’ll be right back,” Nyx insisted.

Relieved to have a distraction and a way to be useful, Nyx hurried away from the table to run the bath.

Angel didn’t try to stop her.

The water took a moment to heat up. She sat on the edge of the tub as it filled, eyeing the closed washroom door and taking in the solitude. Rain pounded against the ceiling, lashed against the shingles by the harsh wind. The room filled with steam until the mirror fogged.

Sometimes I wonder if he says these things just to wind me up? Or maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on him?

When the water was nearly ready, a quick knock came at the door. Angel opened it and stepped inside, clicking it shut again. She looked up at him. His hair had come loose, dangling to his chest. From her position on the edge of the tub, she noticed how tall he was.

When did that happen?

“I’m gonna go,” he said.

“I won't send you out in that," she muttered.

"A merciful Queen.” He sat down on the toilet lid. "Where should I sleep? The armchair? The tub? Full or drained, I suppose it doesn't really matter -"

"In my bed obviously," Nyx glowered, refusing to take the bait.

"So I'm forgiven?"

"I haven't changed my mind."

"Me neither."

Both of them looked at the floor. Nyx intertwined her fingers, and fidgeted. A silverfish scooted out from the grate, skittering across the linoleum to the baseboards.

"So now what?" she asked and risked a glance at him.

Angel's eyes were dark and distant like deep ocean water before a storm. Something desperate lurked like the shadow of a leviathan underneath.

"A truce," he suggested. "These last few days have been... a lot."

"Are you saying you want a break then?" Her voice cracked and she steeled herself for his answer.

"No," he said quickly. "I'm saying I don't want to fight with you anymore. I can't do it on top of everything else. Please, I miss you. Can we call it a draw?"

That was the closest thing to 'I need you' she'd ever heard him say. Nyx nibbled her lip. "I can, but under some conditions."

"Name your demands," he said, a playful glint returning to his eyes, but the lines of his face were drawn in thought.

"I'm not competing for you Angel," she said. "Not with other women, not with alcohol or any of your other reckless whims. I'm telling you this now, and I'm telling you only once, if you break the terms of this truce then it's over."

"You drive a hard bargain."

Again, he tried to laugh it off but she stared at him.

"I'm only asking you to calm down, to try and not die in front of me again."

"Is that all?" he asked drily. Angel twisted his ring. His fingers tense and quick.

"If you can't do it, then just say so and we'll call it quits now instead of wasting anymore of each other's time." Nyx clenched her jaw to trap the tears in her throat.

Angel turned his diamond eyes on her. "It's that easy for you?"

"You haven't made any of this easy."

"I'm sorry loving me has to be so hard," he snapped.

Nyx touched his arm so he would look at her again. "Loving you has always been the easy part, it's getting you to accept it that's difficult."

"How can I?" He asked, his eyes pleading. "I can't promise you anything. I'll only wreck it."

"I'll risk it.”

Her heart pounded as if a butterfly perched on her fingertip. One wrong move...

"Won't it hurt more this way?" Angel asked.

"I trust you."

"After everything?"

"I'm giving you a chance," she said. "You can't pretend like the other night didn't bother you, that it didn't even matter. If you didn't have that power you'd be -"

"Of course it bothers me," he said, interrupting her. "Just a split second impulse, what a way to go, and nothing to show for it."

Nyx scooched and leaned over and embraced him, feeling the warmth of his body pressed to hers. She tightened her grip. He tensed, then snaked his arms around her, his lips in her hair.

"I concede," he sighed. "I'll agree to your terms."

Nyx thought this moment would be victorious. After all these years of on again - off again dating, there was clarity and commitment. Finally, she had him pinned, but it didn't seem fair.

They left the bathroom and Kismet went in for the bath. She seemed to have perked up without them in the room. Nyx’s heart twisted to see she had already cleared the table and did the dishes while waiting.

What must she think? She’s walked into an awful mess. Maybe she would have been better off with Alistair and Cass after all.

Angel plopped beside Nyx on the couch, ruffling up the neatly folded blankets. He leaned back, his arm draped over the top. He eyed the stack of boxes in the far corner.

“I’ll help you with those tomorrow if you want?”

“Sure.” The knot in her stomach tightened. “I can’t imagine how you must feel about all this. Did Julian say anything about the rumors?”

Angel rolled his eyes, but turned away. “Oh, you know, the usual.”

“Maybe we should tell him what actually happened?”

“That’s insane,” Angel said, fear sparked in his eyes, and her gut twisted to have suggested it.

“I was only thinking maybe he could answer some questions, or at the very least he might be nicer to you.” Nyx sighed. “I hate how he treats you.”

Angel didn’t respond. Instead, he grabbed the pack of cigarettes off the side table and slid one out for each of them. He lit hers and then his own.

“I discovered something today as well,” she said and explained the conversation she had with Watcher Liz. “It was just really odd. I understand the concern, but it felt like she knew or she’s suspicious, at least.”

“I don’t see how,” he said, furrowing his brow. “Only you and Cass were there in the car when it happened.”

She shrugged. “Regardless, you gotta stop the fighting. Liz knows about that for sure. If you don’t quit it, Ivy will notice, or perhaps she was implying she’d report it herself.”

“Why me specifically?” Angel exclaimed. “Why not shut the whole thing down? None of this makes any damn sense.”

Nyx nibbled her lip and looked down at the scuffs in the hardwood floor. “She told me about Ivy’s powers. She said that Ivy didn’t become immortal until she started absorbing people.”

“Well, I’m not going to absorb anyone when I fight,” he grumbled. “That’s cheating.”

“It’s also murder,” Nyx added.

“That too.” He grinned, but she wasn’t amused.

The lump in her throat burned a dull ache into the top of her chest.

“I need you to take this seriously. No fighting. Please.” She took his hands, interlocking their fingers. Tears stung her eyes and she looked down, choking against the pressure. “I’m begging you with everything in me, please stop before things go too far, or you get taken away… or… or…” Killed was what she wanted to say, but couldn’t bring herself to utter the word. “ I’ll never ever be in this position again. I’m only going to grovel once.”

He curled his fingers, tightening his grip on her hands. “You don’t need to. I swear. It’ll suck to give it up, but I will. I have to. I can’t risk getting caught… or seriously hurting anyone.”

“You wouldn’t do it on purpose.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Nyx leaned over and Angel wrapped his arm over her shoulder. Rain tapped on the roof, The wind whistled through the gaps in the house. The cabin creaked, groaning as it shifted. She listened to the steady drum of his heart.

Her heart cinched, hating that he was right.

There's bound to be something that slips.

The room suddenly became even smaller. She pressed in closer, wrapping her arms around him, squeezing tighter. Still, she could not escape the feeling he was slipping through her fingers.