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.

Comments

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Well, I wouldn't go that far."

Cal flips the soda can tab onto the table.

[if_inconvenient]

"Oh, good."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"No, if you went and turned ordinary on me, I'd have to do an exorcism."

Cal considers.

"Do demons do that?" Is possession a thing? He doesn't remember coming across any mention of it.

[if_inconvenient]

"Some kinds, yes."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal grimaces.

"Neat."

[if_inconvenient]

Dryly: "Although, that I recall, the result is not usually ordinariness."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal gives him a narrow-eyed look.

"Well, that's what you would say, isn't it?"

[if_inconvenient]

"Oh dear. You have me there."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Yep."

Cal sips his soda.

". . . you think that thing was a demon?"

[if_inconvenient]

"A definite possibility," he admits. "Or some other variety of spirit."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"But not actually -"

No, he knows it wasn't. He also knows he should tell Sherlock about the whole thing. Any detail can be important.

He's just kind of working up to it. In his own way.

[if_inconvenient]

Sherlock waits.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"I keep wondering," he says eventually, "why it was Stane first. I mean. You'd think it would have tried Dad first. That would make the most sense, wouldn't it?"

He looks down at the soda can, which he's rotating mechanically in one hand.

"But I think it just wanted to freak me out. It was only Dad for a, a minute. Not even a minute."

[if_inconvenient]

"It tried Obadiah first on Tony, too. Perhaps it just has an affinity for that personality type."

Because creepy. Creepy is why.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal laughs a little.

"Maybe."

Then he shakes his head.

"It really fucking got to me, too."

[if_inconvenient]

Quietly: "I know."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"'Course you do," Cal mutters.

Then,

"It wasn't - my hand just went right through it when I tried to touch it."

[if_inconvenient]

"I find it moderately reassuring that it does not seem to be capable of solidity."

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

Cal shudders.

"Yeah. Me too."

He's been doing his best not to think about what could have happened if he had been wrong. If his hand hadn't gone right through.

[if_inconvenient]

All of a sudden Sherlock would very much like to make this thing solid long enough to throttle it.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"I mean, I basically told it to give me its best shot. Probably not the smartest thing I could have said."

He definitely left that part out when he told Peter about the incident.

[if_inconvenient]

"I would have done the same," Sherlock offers.

Yes, he recognizes that he can on occasion be impulsive.

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, but you'd actually be able to back it up."

Cal has no illusions about his abilities in that respect.

[if_inconvenient]

"Granted."

Sherlock is good at violence.

Why does he feel vaguely guilty about that all of a sudden?

[americas-son.livejournal.com]

"But I couldn't," Cal says. "Wouldn't have been. Able to."

He shrugs.

"Lucky I didn't have to."