Office hours [all day]

[sith_happened]

Anakin was going to wear a path across his floor if he kept up his pacing.

And the sun wasn't going to set any faster, no matter how many times he checked out the window.

...why yes, Anakin was taking the news on the radio as a personal insult.

His friendship alpha-male off rivalry thing with Angel had always been...complicated. And his hatred for Angelus had never really gone away. Angelus'd nearly killed Rory, after all. Anakin wasn't the kind to just let that sort of thing go.

You know, ever.

So pacing. He figured it was a step up from lifting every rock on the island to figure out which one Angelus had slithered under.

The door was open.

Comments

[sith_happened]

Anakin's mouth set in a stubborn line. "I'm not going to put you in a plastic ball and roll you around the dorm hallways," he said, "but if you think I'm going to give you an okay to chase down a killer who has a body count that almost rivals mine, you're insane."

[solo_sword]

"Like I'd wait for an okay," she said bluntly.

[sith_happened]

"Like I'd blink about dragging you bodily back to the dorms," Anakin countered. "Angelus takes pleasure in hurting people, and would take especial pleasure in hurting friends--or relatives--of Angel's friends. I'm not asking you not to do this."

[solo_sword]

"Good," she said, taking it exactly as she wanted to. "I'm not saying I'm going to hunt him down, but I'm hardly helpless."

[sith_happened]

Anakin refrained himself--just barely--from beating his head against his desk. "If I end up visiting you in the clinic, I'm going to be beyond upset."

[solo_sword]

"I'm also not stupid," Jaina said. "I've had my fill of clinics and injuries, trust me. Actually, if you could trust me on this, that would be great."

[sith_happened]

"Neither were the rest of us when we went out vampire hunting and we still ended up pretty banged up," Anakin countered sulkily, but he managed to ratchet down his ridiculousness to about a 95 rather than the full hundred. "I do trust you," he said. "I don't trust him."

[solo_sword]

"And from the sounds of it, you shouldn't. But dealing with and being prepared for the bad guys is part of the job, too. Emphasis on 'being prepared for.'"

[sith_happened]

"Read up on vampires," Anakin commanded, "before you even think about forming up a search party."

[solo_sword]

She wasn't going to mention that she wasn't exactly 100% for reading yet. She just didn't want to bring that into it. "I wasn't even thinking of doing anything," she assured him, half-sighing.

[sith_happened]

Anakin didn't look entirely convinced. "Very well," he said. "It's okay to let the occasional battle pass you by, after all."

Not that he ever had. He didn't think that was particularly relevant.

[solo_sword]

"How?" she wondered, completely serious.

[sith_happened]

"When you haven't figured out how to win yet," Anakin said. "Getting killed heroically just leaves you dead."

[solo_sword]

He obviously didn't know her stories from the last few years. "And if it's not meant to be heroic?"

[sith_happened]

Anakin blew out a breath. "I know what it's like to be on the wrong end of a losing war," he said quietly. "You have to choose your battles. When the politicians start directing them, you have problems."

[solo_sword]

"But there aren't politics in this. One guy with a sometimes-psychosis."

[sith_happened]

"That will still beat you," Anakin said. "He's got a couple of centuries of experience trying to eat people and is not happy with being souled. I'd take you along as a lesson, but I'm not completely out of my mind."

[solo_sword]

She frowned, but did refrain from sighing or rolling her eyes. "There's absolutely nothing I could ever do that would prove me capable of hypothetically handling myself in a situaton like this, is there?"

[sith_happened]

"Not really," Anakin admitted. "I know you're perfectly capable, but Angelus...he hurt someone I love, and in a way that leaves more than just physical scars. I'm not going to let anyone I know just walk into that."

[solo_sword]

While she did get it, she was still dwelling way too much on feeling overprotected and hearing words like 'let'. Even her parents seemed to realize it wasn't up to them to let her do anything. "If I don't go, we're going to be having this same argument three hours from now, I'm thinking."

[sith_happened]

Anakin gave her a wry smile. "Solo, Skywalker and Naberrie stubborness. You never had a chance. See you on Thursday."