Sunnydale AU: at the corner of your eye

[americas_son]

The problem with Grahame being in LA and Mother spending most of her time in Sacramento is that, for all intents and purposes, the Chandler household has been whittled down from three (from four) to one. That makes less work to go around, and it's getting harder and harder to justify keeping on all the staff. Cal is combing intently through records and other paperwork, trying to find a balance between what's best for the Chandler finances and what will cause the least amount of difficulty for those who depend on the Chandlers for their wages.

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[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

There's a hint of movement from one side of the room, in the shadow cast along the wall by a large bookcase.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal pauses in his work, glancing up with a slight frown.

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

Nothing.



Now, on the other side of the room...

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Six months ago, Cal would have dismissed it as paranoia and gone back to what he was doing.

Now, though, he slowly puts down the pen he'd been fiddling with, reaching down instead to open one of the desk drawers.

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

"Boo," says a soft voice from directly behind him.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal goes cold all over before his mind has even fully registered the voice. He stills for a second - two seconds - then yanks a cross out of the drawer and twists around hard in his chair.

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

It's Obadiah Stane's voice, and a moment later it's Obadiah Stane's dry chuckle.

"I don't think that's going to help you any," he says, smiling an unpleasantly familiar smile.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

. . . this is not possible. He saw - this isn't possible.

It's occurred to him, more than once, that Stane could show up in Milliways. Cal would have been ready for that. But here? At home? In his room?

All he can do is stare.

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

"What kind of a welcome is that?" he admonishes. "Put the toy away, Cal. You're a big boy now."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

It might - no. It can't be a vampire. Cal sure as hell never invited him in, and even if Mother were in town, even if she didn't know better, she wouldn't on general principle.

The cross, then, probably isn't any use. And Cal isn't doing himself any favors, sitting here gaping like an idiot.

He gets up and tosses the cross aside, casually, like it was his idea.

"Was there something I can help you with?" he asks coolly. (A lot cooler than he feels right now.)

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

He leans forward slightly.

"I'm so glad you asked."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal holds his ground. There's a button installed in his desk, if he can just get to it, it will call security -

But wait. How did he get past security to begin with?

"That is not an answer." Keeping his voice steady is hard, harder than it should be. He feels more like he felt in New York than how he did outside the Stark residence that day, telling Stane the new rules of the game. He's still trying to get his footing.

What the hell is going on?

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

"Isn't it?" he murmurs, reaching forward as though to touch Cal's face.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal flinches back hard.

He curses himself even as he does it, but he can't help it.

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

Laughing, he drops his hand.

"You're too easy," he says affectionately.

(The words are right, the voice is right, but the cadence isn't. A little too fast. Obadiah was never in a hurry for his sentences to be over with.)

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Even in his skin-crawling relief, he feels that something doesn't quite fit.

Why did Stane back off? Why isn't he pressing his advantage?

(Why is this so unlike half the nightmares he's had, and too much like the beginnings of the other half?)

There are other things wrong, too, registering on a level Cal isn't listening to yet.

Whatever. Button or no, he's not going to let himself stay trapped against his desk. He grabs the chance, ducking around and away from Stane. (Not toward his bed.)

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

He doesn't follow, just stands there, smirking slightly.

"Even Tony did better than that."

Go on, Cal, think about the implications there for a second.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Jesus.

"What are you doing here?"

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

"I just came by to say hello," he says, with a predatory smile and not even the slightest effort to look innocent. "See how you're doing. You've grown up a lot."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Too old for you by now," Cal snaps back.



- cologne. He couldn't smell that cologne, or any cologne. Or anything. Shouldn't you be able to smell something when someone's that close?

What is going on?

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

"Hasn't anyone ever warned you about the dangers of wishful thinking?"

But he's still not making a move.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal stares at him hard for a long moment.

"What are you doing here." His intonation is different now, sharper and less confused. He doesn't mean his home this time. He means here, in this dimension. What is Stane doing here.

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

"It's amazing what some people will do for the sake of sentiment," he says smugly. "I always knew that boy would turn out to be good for something eventually."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

It makes a horrible kind of sense. He remembers having to stop Tony from lunging after Stane, remembers the way Tony had gone perfectly still, remembers drinking and talking with him for hours while they waited for Sherlock.

But his head is starting to clear and he's starting to think again and too many details aren't adding up.

"So you came here. And you magically got past the wards, the guards, and the door. Without anyone noticing."

[thefirstexpert.livejournal.com]

Silently, he spreads his hands.

"Looks like your security isn't all it's cracked up to be."