Disclaimer: I don't own anything Joss. He owns all, I own nothing.

Distribution: Anyone one can use it, as long as I know.

Author's Notes: This little idea popped into my head while surfing through the Dust Dead-Boy page by my sweet friend, Robyn TSH.

Dedicated: To The Brigade! United towards one cause.

Angel got off his bus, taking in Los Angeles. It was a busy city, even at night. A far cry from Sunnydale. He lifted his duffel-bag, slinging it over his shoulder. It was a mildly amusing concept. An immortal, over 240 years old, and barely anything to travel with. The vampire made his way outside, and walked down the street towards the line of cabs that awaited anyone needing a ride.

"Hey slick."

Angel turned around at the voice, recognizing it immediately. He whispered the name softly, shocked to see his mentor of sorts after three years.

"Whistler."

The badly dressed demon made his way out of the shadows, adjusting the lapels on his tiger-print jacket. Angel raised his eyebrow with amusement, but decided on surpressing the wisecrack that popped to mind.

"Haven't seen you in a while." The vampire stated. "It's been a long time."

The demon snorted and replied, "Long? Three years is barely a moment for guys like us."Angel sighed as he put his duffel-bag on the floor.

"I'm assuming this isn't going to be some happy reunion." Angel said.

"Happy?" Whistler smirked. "You? Not really concepts that fit together. It's time for a lesson."

"A lesson?" Angel repeated.

"What?" Whistler asked. "You thought I taught you everything. That whole cryptic, stealth stuff is easy. Any shmuck can do it. Now it's time for you to see what you got in the way of."

"Huh?"

"Boy, have I become more cryptic or have you become more dense?" Whistler questioned.

The demon turned slightly, and spun around, delivering a blow that rendered Angel unconscious.

Angel woke up with a pounding in his head. He looked around and noticed two things.

1) He was standing in direct sunlight.

2) He wasn't on fire yet.

He looked around and saw Whistler sitting under a tree, eating an apple. "Good to see you awake chum."

"Where are we? What aren't I-"

"Burning?" Whistler interrupted. "We're in Sunnydale. And we're not exactly in Sunnydale."

Angel winced, blocking the rays of sunlight that pierced his eyes.

"What?" Angel asked in confusion.

"We've taken a little jaunt through time and space." Whistler replied, throwing his apple core away. "We don't actually exist here, but we're here none the less. You messed up kid."

"What?" Angel asked.

"Derrrrrrr." Whistler mocked. "Watch this"

Angel followed Whistler's gaze, spotting two figures kissing in front of the Sunnydale High School. As they separated, Angel immediately recognized Buffy and Xander. He blinked rapidly to make sure he was seeing things right, and felt Whistler move his jaw shut again.

"What... That never happened." Angel stated, slightly angry.

"No, it didn't." Whistler said. "But it was supposed to. This is a couple months after Buffy came back from her dad's place in L.A... After she turned the Master into talcum powder. You see, you were NEVER supposed to get involved with her. You fucked with destiny here bucko."

"Wha..."

"I sent you to Sunny-Hellhole to help her." Whistler clarified. "You were supposed to be her sidekick in a ways. A Robin to her Batman. A Jimmy Olsen to her Superman. Someone to be counted on, not someone to get all smoochie with. Not Lois Lane to her Superman. But nooooooooo. You had to let your 240 year old hormones get outta whack, and you messed up fate. This is a vision of how it was supposed to be. But no, you laid on the broody, 'I need a hug' trip, and she fell for you, instead of him."

"I-I..."

But instantly, the view changed to Buffy's bedroom, with Buffy laying on her stomach, trying to study her textbook, while Xander was making lazy circles on her back with his fingers. Seeing such intimate contact between the two was sickening to Angel's eyes. He turned slightly as Whistler stepped up next to him.

"You messed it all up..." Whistler continued. "They would be friends, and although she had feelings for you, you WERE supposed to keep her away. She'd see Xand-Man as Mr. Right, as she should have."

Buffy turned to Xander and started tickling him suddenly, bringing a combined laughter into the air. Angel stared at Buffy, not recognizing the pure joy that was etched across her face. He had never seen anything like that in all the time they were together.

"You offered her a sorta dangerous figure to her." Whistler said. "Like Fonzie or something like that. It's something that girls drool over, while they look past the nice guy that they should be seeing. Well... Usually they do. Anyways... And you... You... Big... Moron... You had it right in the beginning. You kept her away, but as her confrontation with the Master neared, you started slipping, and then when she came back from L.A, you couldn't just keep her at arms length. Noooooooo, after the whole big snake deal, you had to start making kissy-face. Didn't I tell you? The more you live in this world, the more you see how apart from it you really are. Man, we need to work on your listening skills. There are lines buddy-boy. Lines we do not cross. Not only did you cross them, you did the freakin' Macarena on them."

Angel returned his attention to Buffy and Xander. Buffy's head was resting on Xander's chest, as Xander held up a textbook for them to study from. "She's..." Angel started with sadness in his eyes. "She would have been happier if it had gone this way... Wouldn't she?"

"Yeah..." Whistler said with a slight hint of regret in his voice. "What she had with you... It was puppylove. Kid love. You were something she couldn't have, but had to have, ya know? What these two were supposed to have is pure. This is the love you read in those cheesy romance novels you find in the supermarket. The kinda love that is mentioned in the same context as soulmates."

Realization passed over Angel's face, as the meaning of what he had truly done dawned upon him.

"After what I did..." Angel started. "Will they find love? Like they were supposed to?"

"Maybe..." Whistler replied as he turned around, pulling Angel along with him. He pulled the vampire away from the couple, even as Angel shot glances back at the cuddling teenagers.

As Angel and Whistler walked out of the house, Whistler stopped to sit on the steps, an action Angel soon copied.

"He loves her." Whistler said as he pulled sunglasses out of his jacket and put them on. "The deepest love I've ever had the fortune to see. He'd die for her without a thought, without hesitation. That's how much he loves her. She thinks it's kid love, when in reality, it's pure love. She's not dense enough to keep on missing that. My bet? I'm laying odds that YOUR reality's Xander and Buffy hook up a couple months after he comes back from his road trip. When you turned into psychopath killer guy again, she leaned on him, and there were times that it got really close, but she was still a kid, infatuated with you. Now, with you gone... Let's just say that me and a bunch of other high uppity-ups are rooting for them."

"So what does this lesson mean for me?" Angel asked. "What was I supposed to learn?"

Whistler smiled slightly as he said, "Things are gonna get bad. For you and her. Where you'll need her help, and she'll need yours. This lesson is to basically tell you, hands off. You'll screw up her life if you give any slight indication you still care about her, which I know you do. But lemme tell you, whatever happens... Her destiny is not with you... I think you know that."

With hesitation, Angel nodded. He closed his eyes, feeling the guilt of what he had done, and opened them to find himself laying on the street, outside the L.A bus terminal. He dusted himself off, picking up his duffel-bag in the process. He opened it and pulled out the picture of Buffy he had. He took it, and ripped it in half, and ripped the remaining pieces in half. As they fell from his fingers, the wind whipped around them, scattering Buffy's picture away in several directions. The past was the past. While he couldn't do anything about it, he'd learned an important lesson. His involvement in Buffy's life is restricted as a ally. Nothing more, nothing less. He'd be there to help her with demons and the darkness, as he was supposed to from the very beginning. Next time he'd talk to her, he'd try and give subtle nudges towards Xander. But that would be his only involvement with her personal life from now on. Because now... Now he knows how it's supposed to be.

The End

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