americas_son | Sunnydale AU: simple words

"Don't," she blurts out. "I mean... it sounds dangerous. Something you shouldn't mess with."

Cal gives her a curious look.

"Probably," he says. "So's leaving the house at night, but I still do that."

"You should probably leave all it to experts."

She's reluctant to give her opinion. She doesn't do it often.

"Magic gives me the creeps. No offense, but I think it's kind of... wrong."

. . . It has never even occurred to Cal to pass moral judgment on magic. The hardest part was getting used to the fact that it exists on their world, and that wasn't very hard. If you can accept vampires and demons, magic isn't much of a leap. It's just another tool in the arsenal.

Of course, considering the range of tools in the Chandlers' arsenal, maybe he doesn't have any right to pass any kind of moral judgment.

The look he gives her this time is blank.

This is why she doesn't give her opinion. She folds into herself, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"I just don't get it, that's all," Cal says quickly.

He shrugs.

"But whatever, my family's in politics, we do shit that's kinda wrong for a living. I'm probably not the best judge."

"Like what?"

His family might do wrong things, but she can't imagine Cal doing anything horribly wrong. He's too sweet for that.

But then again, she doesn't know him all that well. If she finds out he does wrong things (and what does that mean, exactly) what will she do? Run away? Try to change his mind? Do nothing? Not care because she likes him so much already?

"Depends," Cal says. "'Whatever it takes' is kind of our unofficial motto."

He glances at her.

"I just try not to get involved. Nothing really bad's come up since Dad."

He pauses.

"Well, I mean. I watched a guy get sucked into hell, but that was his fault, it didn't have anything to do with us."

That might just be something of a diversionary tactic.

She nods with a furrowed brow.

"But what happened with your dad... that was a lie, but it was a necessary one."

If that's the kind of wrong he means, then that's not so terrible. She knows rich people do whatever they like, but that's not the same as kidnap or murder or seriously bad stuff like that.

"And I guess as long as you didn't purposefully push anyone into- did you say hell?"

"Hell," he confirms, watching her.

"Don't go into the school basement."

It's not a joke.

"Is that why they have all the locks and 'Keep Out' signs?"

Which Stane had managed to quietly breeze right through. Maybe he did some magic of his own.

"Yep. There's this - thing on the floor down there? It looks like a, a - I don't know, some kind of seal. And he did something to it, and it sucked him right in."

If Cal doesn't sound disturbed by this, it's because he's not. The experience itself, of being close enough to hell to smell it for a second or two, was unnerving, but he doesn't lose any sleep over Stane's fate.

"And this guy- he's someone better off in hell?"

Because she gets that, too. Sometimes there are people who deserve what they get, no matter how bad it is.

"Yes," Cal says emphatically.

"You remember that funeral I was coming in from? That was him."

"You were really shaken up. I remember that."

"Was I?" Cal shrugs a little.

"It was weird. The whole thing. Stane was really important to Tony, and Tony has no idea what kind of person he was."

A faint, ironic smirk crosses his face.

"I helped fake his death, too. It was really soon after Dad, it was like - fuck." Cal rubs his hand over his face. "He would have loved knowing he got to fuck with my head one last time."

Nothing like a little emotional trauma. Jesus.

Tina feels pretty damned lucky right now, despite her lack of money, family issues, and embarrassing job.

She takes Cal in her arms again, hugging him and whispering, "It's going to be okay."

Cal leans his head on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her.

He was right. He was definitely right to tell her. She's the right person to tell.

"I'm okay," he says softly.

She turns her head to kiss his cheek.

"Good."

He smiles a little, touching her hair.

After a moment, he says,

"Tony doesn't know that - I mean, he knows what happened, he was there, but he doesn't know that Stane did anything to deserve it. He just, he just knows I didn't like him, that's all."

And it should stay that way.

"I won't say anything. I haven't even met him yet, so the secret is safe with me."

"You will eventually."

Sherlock is Cal's best friend, but Tony has become important, too.

"I was just making sure. That I was clear, I mean."

"Clear as a bell. I won't tell anyone any of what you told me today."

Just so she's clear, too.

"Thanks," Cal says softly.

"I mean, not like most of it's top secret, but uh, I went to a lot of trouble. There's a lot of paperwork when people die. I'd hate to see it all go to waste."

"I can't even imagine."

She really can't.

"Nothing's going to go to waste."

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