Angel stepped off the elevator and walked through the doors to the Wolfram and Hart cafeteria. He headed straight for what Spike had nicknamed the "vamp coffee stand" and collected a mug of blood.
He took a sip, then glanced around at his surroundings, finally, before noticing Sam sitting alone at a table. He wandered over casually.
"Morning," he said, standing behind the chair opposite Sam's. "Mind if I join you?"
Sam
Sam shrugged and indicated the chair.
"Go ahead."
Angel
Angel pulled the seat out and sat down, setting his mug of blood on the table.
"I'll hazard a guess that Faith is still asleep?"
Sam
"Yeah," Sam couldn't help but smile a little, fiddling with his coffee cup.
"I tried to wake her, but she doesn't feel too good after last night. She should be up when it wears off, which should be soon."
Angel
Angel chuckled, before taking a sip from his mug. He swallowed.
"So," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Things are good?"
Sam
"Things... are as good as they are able to be, with the end of the world resting on our shoulders," Sam nodded.
"Sorry. I'm not the optimist I once was."
Angel
Angel shrugged slightly.
"All you can do is enjoy the moments that are good," he mused. "Gives you something to fight for, I suppose."
Sam
"Yeah, I see it that way too," Sam nodded.
"Plus I still have some revenge to dish out, so..."
Angel
"Don't we all?" Angel mused.
He tapped on the side of his mug absently, wondering how he could launch into it and still seem subtle.
"So... Faith tells me she actually had a good birthday this year."
Good. Ten out of ten for subtle.
Sam
"Glad to hear it," Sam nodded.
"I like to lean towards making a good impression, myself."
Angel
Angel nodded, still tapping on the mug.
"Well, she hasn't had many good birthdays, so thanks, I guess."
Sam
"You're welcome," Sam finished off his coffee and started playing absently with the cup.
"I take it she'd usually be spending it with you guys?"
Angel
"To be honest, I don't think I've ever spent a birthday with her," Angel said thoughtfully.
"The last few years, she's been with Logan and Zac, and before that, she was in jail."
Sam
"I see," Sam nodded.
"I have a few more birthdays to pamper her then."
Angel
"Evidently," Angel said, hiding a smile.
"Eternity, from the looks of the present."
Sam
"I sincerely doubt we'll have eternity but I'm willing to try," Sam mused.
Angel
Angel shook his head.
"Rubies. They symbolise eternity."
He paused, thoughtfully.
"So, how did she take it?"
Sam
Sam tilted his head.
"She was a little freaked at first, but once I pointed out there was no obligation to get married... she seemed to warm to it."
Angel
"Yeah, she uh... she did shed some light on how she felt about that," Angel admitted.
"She's not opposed to the idea of marrying you, by the way."
Sam
Sam looked up, surprised.
He lowered his eyes again and nodded.
"Thanks for letting me know," he said with honest gratitude, "but I'm not hat sure that I could marry her. So... let's not get ahead of ourselves."
Angel
"Oh, I'm not saying I'll be funding a wedding anytime soon," Angel replied, shrugging.
"I believe her words were something to the affect of 'if he wants to do it then I will'."
Sam
"I'll be sure to remember that if I ever manage to drain the blood from my body and remain alive," Sam said condescendingly.
Angel
"Well, I could probably help you out there," Angel said lightly.
He shrugged.
"Though alive is different from undead."
Sam
"Exactly. No offence," Sam shrugged.
"I couldn't marry her if I was anything less than human. She deserves more than that."
Angel
"You know," Angel said, raising his eyebrows.
"It's actually kind of disgusting to listen to the way you two talk about each other."
Sam
Sam chuckled.
"So we've been told," he nodded.
Angel
"It's true," Angel insisted.
"Of course, usually Faith tries to make it worse by throwing in a sexual story."
Sam
Sam chuckled.
"I'm sure she does," he nodded.
Angel
Angel nodded, making a face. "I mean... no offence, but yeah. There are some things I do not need to know."
He put his mug down on the table.
Sam
"I doubt it'll ever change," Sam shook his head.
"But I don't want her to change, either."
Angel
"It's not as bad as when she was with Logan, I suppose," Angel replied thoughtfully.
"That was a lot worse."
Sam
"I can imagine," Sam's eyebrows rose.
Angel
Angel nodded.
"And when she was with Zac, I spent most of the time trying to cheer her up. So I think this is better than the last few years."
Sam
"So you said," Sam nodded.
He crumpled the coffee cup and threw it in a nearby bin.
"Guess I should go wake sleeping beauty up," he said as he stood.
Angel
"Word to the wise... don't splash her with water."
Angel grinned with the memory.
"She does not respond well to that."
Sam
"I wonder if jelly would make a difference," Sam winked.
"See you around, no doubt."
Angel
"Sure, stop by before you take off."
Angel saluted.