TITLE: Issues of Trust
AUTHOR: Jazz
EMAIL: jazz_s_shadow@hotmail.com
DISCLAIMER: Willow & Co. don't belong to me, and unfortunately never will.
They belong to Joss and his cronies. Julian also doesn't belong to me, but
to the incredible LJ Smith, author of the Forbidden Games Trilogy.
RATING: PG
DISTRIBUTION: List Archives. Bite me... Please?, THE Triad's site and
anyplace that already has any of my fics. Otherwise, ask and ye shall
receive. I just want to know where it's going.
SERIES: Tarnished Halos
SUMMARY: We learn a bit about Julian's and Graham's past together.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have a bunch of short pieces planned in the TH 'verse. No
clue how many or when they'll come out, but they'll all have TH in the
header in hopes that it won't confuse people.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: I realize that this may not fit in to some of the lists
very well, but since it relates to TH, I figured it couldn't hurt to send
it.
DEDICATION: To Jennifer, who gushed at seeing Julian in TH, and reminded me
I had this piece on my harddrive that I hadn't sent out yet.

Issues of Trust

Julian fiddled with phone, bored out of his mind. He really wished that it
would ring. Anything would be welcome at the moment. However, as Jenny was
the only one with the number, that would hardly classify in anything. A
blessing would be closer.

Julian’s ears sharpened as he heard the vampire, *Angel* he reminded
himself sharply, enter the next room where Graham had collapsed a few hours
earlier. He’d heard his companion awaken a few minutes earlier, but he’d
been hesitant to bother him. When he heard his name, however, his hesitancy
got tossed out the window.

“What’s the deal with Julian, then?” he’d heard Angel ask. “I mean, you
said you hadn’t trusted in centuries, but...” Angel trailed his sentence
off, not certain how to ask his friend about this.

“It’s a long story,” Graham said with a sigh.

“Not particularly,” Julian interjected as he walked into the room. “Graham
doesn’t trust me. Not after what I pulled.” Julian smiled self-mockingly.
Angel looked at him with confusion, while Graham sighed.

“We met about seventy years ago. I was working on a Elder assigned
assassination. Julian had been stalking one of the target’s daughters. We
literally ran into each other, and the familial connection kicked in. I was
stunned, but Julian was extremely angry.”

“I was a loner. My kind all are. The bond just didn’t agree with me,”
Julian continued. “I ripped into him with words, but only after I tried to
physically attack him. The bond wouldn’t let me, though.”

“Oh, you did just fine with words,” Graham said ruefully.

“I then took off, and we didn’t see each other again for about eight years,
when we ran into each other again almost literally. This time I was nice to
him, told him how I was just surprised about the bond, that I didn’t like
things forced on me.”

“I knew exactly how that felt,” Graham said with a touch of amusement.

“So, I told him about myself, or more accurately, about what I was.”

“Which is?” Angel asked.

“A Shadowman.” Julian finally sat down, and drummed his fingers against his
leg as he tried to decide the best way to explain just what he was.
“Shadowmen are from a different dimension, where we’re the only ones there.
We come here for amusement. We enjoy torture and violence, as well as
anything that makes mortals miserable. We aren’t born, but rather made, by
carving our names into the Stave of Life. Get rid of our name, and we cease
to exist. I explained to Graham how although I couldn’t die, the others
could very easily unmake me, and probably would because of my association
with him.”

Graham took up the narration. “So I took him to the Elders, and they talked
to the Shadowmen, who were convinced to put Julian’s name on a separate
runestave and it was given to me. I then gave it to Julian.”

“I took it, and then basically said 'So long, sucker!' The only reason I
had played nice was to be free of the others. I taunted him for being so
trusting, and then took off again.”

“That really shook me. Not since before the day of the Familial Bond spell
has any Shaper been treated like this by a companion.”

“But you’re friends now?” Angel asked, sounding extremely confused.

“I tracked Graham down about eight years ago. I’d met Jenny, and was
starting to understand how it was to really feel. I never had before.”

“Of course, I didn’t trust him an inch. But over the years, we’ve gotten
closer.”

“He still doesn’t trust me, though. But I don’t blame him a bit.” Julian
caught his friend’s eyes with his, trying to show his understanding with his
eyes. Angel took this moment to quietly slip out of the room. Graham and
Julian barely noticed.

“It hurt, you know.”

“I know. I wish I could take that back, now. I didn’t understand, back
then.” Julian’s smile was bittersweet.

“I know.” Graham looked down, his face lined with thought.

“What?” Julian asked.

“Think you could talk Jenny to come here with you?”

“Maybe, I don’t know. I guess.” He looked at his friend carefully. “You
want us to live here, with all of you?” Graham nodded. “I’d be honored,”
Julian said, his voice slightly tight. He’d almost given up on ever having
Graham trust him again. Oh, they looked like great friends to the average
person, but they could never be great friends without trust. Graham trusted
him with his money and business, but not with his feelings. Not since that
debacle 60 years ago. But maybe he could re-earn that trust.

“Great,” Graham said as he rose. “Want to come pick a room?”

“Sure,” Julian said as he rose as well. “Sounds fun.” The two companions
looked at each other, and smiled. Things were going to work between them
after all. Who would have figured that?

End
So, should I bother with these little filler bits or not?