Guess this makes me the bad guy now

@Buffy <3

He knew neither of them would get it, but it felt nice to somewhat say. Despite her strong emotions filling the air with thickness that seemed to either make Daniel dizzy or nauseous, he felt a slight relief. He looked at Buffy as he felt her hand on his shoulder, though he could feel Baal’s eyes like a burning fire. Since when had the daemon managed to pool up this much hate in a few weeks? Then again, so typical. He was guided to the kitchen and sat down, closing his eyes hard as he shook his head. “Shit,” he mumbled a little hoarsely, before grabbing the cup that placed next to him. He gulped down the water rather fast and Baal just begged internally that he wouldnt throw up on the floor. Juno walked out to see what was happening, passing Daniel to walk to Buffy and rub against her leg with soft purrs. Daniel looked at the cat as he thought about what to say. “I’m saying in another time, your mother would have died at Baal’s hands and later you would make him kill you too,” he just said in a monotone tone, not looking up from the cat as he felt his eyes water a bit. “Dont fill her head with nonesense,” Baal hissed, not believing a single word coming from the lycan’s mouth.

Baal looked at her as she whispered his name, sighing with a slight frown of worry, “He could just be filling you with dread to make you feel bad for him.” He said with a sad tone before he looked at Daniel. How they had managed to drift this far apart was a mystery to him, but Buffy and her wellbeing or safety always came first to him. He held her hand and looked down at them for a bit before looking at her once again, “We cant know if he’s telling the truth,” he argued quietly, making Daniel scoff. “In all the years you’ve known me Baal. Would you really call me a liar now?” He said seriously as he looked at the daemon. He had had enough with the hostility.
He looked at Buffy and frowned at her question before looking away. He blinked a few times before he rubbed his forehead. “You spoke his full name and lashed out the command, is my guess. I dont know, who I saw when he came to me wasnt my best friend anymore,” he said with a shrug. He looked to Buffy and narrowed his eyes a little, “You wouldnt think him killing your mother would have dented and broken what you had?” He asked.
He exhaled deeply before he looked at the cat that started hussing at him. It was like the hissing made sense now, because Baal would probably have been sounding this way too if he was a cat. Weird thing to think in the moment but it made Daniel smile in a mournful way to himself. “Even the god’s seem to have agreed that you need to stay alive, since I havent seen any visible signs of dismay from above,” he said with a shrug.

Daniel would have just left and figured that all was lost with Baal. He could accept that Buffy couldnt forgive but to know how Baal despised him now for his actions was just salt in the wound. Of course the daemon didnt believe nor wanted to believe the explanation, because it would mean that he for a moment would have to believe that he had killed Buffy in another reality. Obviously he wouldnt even entertain the idea. As he was about to leave, he heard Buffy scribble on a paper before she placed a hand on his shoulder, much to his surprise that showed in his eyes as he looked at her.
He grabbed the little piece of paper and eyed it as he listened to her explain. He frowned a little, not sure if what he did could be forgiven or looked past, especially by someone close to Buffy. He sighed and made a small nod, placing the paper in his pocket. “Thank you,” he said sincerely as he looked at her.
“I wasnt expecting you to forgive me. I wouldnt have done it if I was,” he said rather seriously as he carefully placed a hand over hers, “I’m very sorry for your loss. But I had no other choice,” he just said, keeping the physical contact at a minimum as he walked out of her grip and made his exit. He would call the number eventually, but for now, he felt like he needed another drink.

Baal watched Daniel leave, turning his eyes back to Buffy as he frowned in worry. “Buffy...” he said in a quiet tone as he stepped closer and cupped her face. He just looked at her without asking any questions as to why she did what she did. Instead he just leaned in and kissed her lips gently, just a short kiss as he lifted his face to kiss her forehead while he wrapped his arms around her.

He saw her tears as he moved his head to kiss her forehead, though he didnt move his arms that held her in a safe warm embrace. It was one of those moments where he wished he had more arms so he could both hold her and caress her face and remove those salty tears. Her whisper made him sigh, it was a tough question. He had known Daniel for most of the lycan’s life, but when they first met, the blonde guy had been around 16 and dealing with some pretty tough things. Baal had helped him only to realize sooner or later that the lycan wouldnt let him go that easy. “Like blood,” he whispered in a sad tone, pressing her closer, feeling quite defeated. He was angry at Daniel but he was also sad for what they had lost. It didnt feel like losing a friend, it felt like losing a limb. “He was one of the few I wouldnt have lived without. But that wasnt the man who killed your mother that night,” he said, clenching his jaw a little, pressing his head into Buffy’s hair to hide his face and inhale her calming notes of lavender.

She might have thought none of them to be the bad guy, but someone had to be, right? And if it wasnt Daniel or Baal then who would it be? He leaned into her hand closing his eyes for a bit. He still hadnt really accepted the fact that he would never see Daniel again, but he also kept oushing the thought away to keep himself from reacting to it. He nodded at her words and opened his eyes again to look at her, placing his hand loosely on her wrist, with his fingers resting up the back of her hand.
Parts of his mind was imagining the picture that Daniel had painted of another past and he felt so bad if that once had been a truth. He listened to her words and frowned a little. But then she kissed him and he returned it, pressing her a little closer to himself. He broke off the kiss after he realized he hadnt answered what she wanted him to promise. He looked down for a bit, “This wont change how I look at you and feel my heart flutter, if that’s what you’re asking,” he said as he looked back up and caressed her arm with his thumb, “But I couldnt know if this will change something between us. I know that I will love you no matter what, that I promise” he said as he leaned down to kiss her again.

He could only agree to focus on the present rather than ponder about the future. He seemed a little more relaxed after she said that.
He smiled a little as Buffy spoke to Juno. He loved seeing how well she would treat the stray cat, though his eyebrow rose a little as Buffy gave in to the little rascal’s charms, “She’s just doing it because she knows you’ll budge and give her treats,” he said as he looked at Juno with suspicious eyes. Juno knew she couldnt fool Baal so she rarely tried to be cute around him. He touched her fur as she stood on the counter, feeling out a few dusty lumps she must have found when she crawled under the sofa. Maybe it was about time that he soon cleaned. He looked at Buffy and made a shrug at her question, touching her arm lightly, “Well, I was just thinking about cuddling up on the sofa with a movie,” he said as he glanced at Juno. “Originally I would have wanted some help with bathing this stinky cat, but I’m not really feeling up for another fight,” he admitted, running his hand along Juno’s back before looking at Buffy with a small smile. He heard a phone ring and knew that it wasnt his.

[Messages between Aiden and Buffy]
[Aiden:] Can I call you?