Title: I Finally Remembered You. Part 34 – Love Is A Powerful Thing
Author: Xanfan
Rating: R/NC-17 for other chapters
Pairing: X/A
Summary: AU futurefic. Slash. Xander, not Buffy, had gone to see Angel in “I Will Remember You”
Years later, he finally keeps his promise.
Spoilers: All of BtVS & Ats
Warnings: Slash M/M, mild language, more in future chapters
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective
owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way
associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is
intended.
Words in Italics indicate thoughts. Except at the very beginning when they indicate ‘previously on ….”
___________________________
Previously on IFRY:
“But that doesn’t answer the question as to why I had the dreams and why I’m remembering things now,”
Xander pointed out, setting aside the discovery that he was considered a champion by The Powers for
later freakage.
“Yes, why the dreams and why does he remember?” Angel asked, letting Xander put aside the
champion thing, knowing the young man would be ‘freaking out’ about it later. He would comfort him
then.
Lorne smiled. “It’s simple really, to answer your question. Love is a wonderful and powerful thing.”
Angel and Xander just stared at him in confusion.
“Huh?” they said in unison.
*************
“What the heck is that supposed to mean?”
All three of the room’s occupants turned towards the closed door where they had distinctly heard Faith’s
voice.
Xander walked over and opened the door to reveal a certain brunette slayer who was pretending not to
be embarrassed over the fact that she had just been caught blatantly eavesdropping.
“Faith, you were supposed to be guarding the door, not plastering your ear to it so you could listen in,”
Xander chided.
“Not my fault you guys didn’t remember that I got slayer hearing. Almost as good as a vampire’s,” Faith
said indignantly, desperately trying to bluster her way out of getting the full on puppy-dog-eyes-of
shame action from her closest friend.
“Since you can hear everything, I don’t need to invite you in to hear the rest, right? You can still keep
watch and listen in on private conversations at the same time, can’t you?” Xander asked with a smirk
before he closed the door in her face, not nearly as gently as Lorne had earlier.
Angel stifled a laugh at his boyfr… at Xander’s antics and turned his attention back to Lorne when the
young man came to stand next to him to hear what the green demon had meant.
“As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted…” Lorne paused for the indignant huff from
outside the room, “Love is a wonderful and powerful thing. It can overcome any number of obstacles…
circumstance, time, pain, stubbornness… and even the machinations of Higher Powers.
“Love can touch even the coldest or most logical beings. Even Oracles. No matter how disdainful they
acted towards the thought of sacrificing so much to save a loved one… at least one of them was
inspired by the devotion between the two of you. She was honestly surprised when you let Xander walk
away that day, Angel.
“Even though she had seen that it would happen, after seeing the love you felt for him, she could not
imagine a love that powerful ending before it had even begun. So she… tweaked things a bit. It was
known that you would both have many trial and struggles. Life and un-life would not be without more
than your shares of pain and tragedy. And unlike some of her colleagues, she understood that fighting
without hope of something better to come does not make a strong warrior. Champions need something
to fight for, something to believe in. Otherwise they forget why the world needs them and they stumble
and fall.
“So she allowed Xander’s subconscious mind to retain memories of that day. If I’m not mistaken, even
though you couldn’t remember those dreams when you woke up, you remembered the feelings from
them, didn’t you?”
Xander nodded slowly. He thought back over all those times he had awoken from a dream when he
couldn’t remember anything that had happened in the dream, but he had felt… love, loved, cherished,
joy, pain, alive, safe.
Angel’s mind was reeling. All those times when he had been bitter towards the Oracles, hated them for
being unfeeling, all along one of them had been trying to help him.
“She couldn’t have done anything without some consent from the Powers. If it hadn’t been the right
thing, they would never have allowed it,” Lorne added.
“They knew?” Angel asked.
“Well, they are the Powers That Be, they know a lot of things,” Lorne pointed out.
“What does them knowing mean, exactly? Is that a good or a bad thing?” Xander asked in confusion.
Angel rubbed a hand in circles on Xander’s back, trying to give them both a little comfort from the stress
of all this information being given at once. He smiled when Xander leaned back into his hand.
Lorne bit back an ‘aw’ at how cute these two were. He loved the relative ease of their interactions; it
gave testament to how well they were getting along and how much the Oracle’s intervention had paved
the way for them to resume their relationship.
“It means that the Powers at the very least approve of you two,” Lorne said.
“And at most?” Xander asked.
“What do you mean?” Lorne replied.
“You said, ‘at the very least.’ What’s the ‘at most’ part?”
Angel nodded in agreement, he would like to know the answer to that himself. Not that he didn’t
appreciate that they had the Powers’ approval, but there seemed to be more to it than that.
“Yes, from your explanation, the Oracle let him subconsciously keep his memories, but that doesn’t
explain why he is now remembering the dreams or why we had the shared flashback,” Angel offered.
Lorne smiled a very pleased, cat-ate-the-canary smile. “Well Sweetcheeks and Sugerpie, it seems that
some higher beings are starting to get soft, not to mention impatient, in their old agelessness.”
“Again with the ‘Huh?’” Xander said.
“You guys were taking too long to finally get together, so things were pushed along a bit,” Lorne
explained.
Angel and Xander stared at him for a moment, then turned to stare at each other in shock.
Faith burst through the door. “So Big Green, what you’re saying is that Xander and Angel are freakin’
meant to be together as ordained by those pains in the ass PTBs, but since they’re both stubborn and
slow and actin’ like typical stupid men, some of the Higher Powers got off their butts and did something
about it?” she summed up loudly and impatiently.
“Exactly, Pumpkin Pie.”
“What?!?” was screeched from somewhere down the hall.
Part 35
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