#325 on Oz's list of oddest L.A. sights: Wesley Wyndam-Price standing in the drive through lane of the Happy Hamburger Shack, talking to the inactive cartoon hamburger statue.
(#324 had been the chaos demon trying to make a living as a stage actor.)
He'd known that he couldn't be in L.A. forever and not run into someone he once knew. L.A. was like that. But he wasn't expecting that 'someone' to be the stuffy Watcher that had once replaces Giles.
And even without that, he didn't expect to see anyone he knew…talking to the hamburger.
So when the other two guys closing the restaurant looked at Wesley and chuckled and then went away, Oz stayed.
"Wesley."
The British man was plainly startled. Nervous and jumpy, he blinked at Oz. Oz could see the confusion, the uncertain recognition. Which was okay. It was not like any of them had really welcomed Wesley into the group back in Sunnydale. And they were both outside of the group now. So, it was okay if he didn't recognize him.
"Oz?" Wesley asked after a long moment.
Oz nodded slightly.
Wesley swallowed visibly. "It's…uh…it's been a while," he said.
"Almost three years," Oz agreed.
Shifting slightly on his feet, Wesley was clearly preoccupied with something. Oz could tell that Wesley really wanted simply to be left alone, but was too polite to say it. He fiddled with an object he carried, his eyes flicking back and forth between Oz and the statue. He swallowed again.
"Is it supposed to talk back?" Oz asked as the moment stretched on uncomfortably.
Wesley blinked at him from behind his glasses. "Actually, yes."
Oz cocked an eyebrow at that, but didn't comment. Stranger things had happened. "Okay, then. I'll leave you two alone." Starting to walk away, Oz waved slightly. "Nice seeing you."
But Wesley's attention was already back on the statue.
That could have been that. The whole encounter could have ended there. Wesley was obviously busy, and Oz had…nowhere in particular to go. But he really hadn't intended to eavesdrop.
There were just certain phrases meant to capture the attention.
"That the vampire will devour his child is certain."
Oz turned. Blinked for a moment. Thought about what the now giant hamburger statue had said.
Yeah, said.
Watched Wesley argue with it. Listened to portents of doom. Turned around, and walked back towards Wesley and the Happy Hamburger Shack.
Oddest L.A. sight #326: Giant talking, prophecy spewing, fast food hamburger statue.
Wesley stared at the statue long after it had gone quiescent; just a statue once again. He just stood there, what hopes he had brought to this encounter completely dashed. To leave now meant that he was turning his back on this possibility and having to face Angel with the knowledge that he was destined to kill his own son. Angel, who waited for Wesley to tell him what prophecy had in store so that he could stop it.
And Wesley would not accept the possibility that prophecy could not be stopped.
So what if he had been told there were no other possibilities but death? He would make another possibility. He would do whatever it took to save a completely innocent life. And he would do it alone.
"It doesn't do that every day."
Wesley startled and turned to see Oz standing a short distance to his left. The boy seemed completely unperturbed by whatever he had heard. Wes found himself envying that calm.
"Let me see if I've got this straight," Oz continued as if he hadn't noticed Wesley's reaction. "You're trying to keep a vampire's child from being killed."
Wesley's facial expression must have been enough of an answer, for Oz kept right on going. "You wouldn't be so scared if it was a vampire, so I'm guessing - human child."
Wesley answered without thinking. "Angel's child." Too late, he wished he had not spoken. This was his secret, his burden to bear. But maybe…maybe a part of him didn't want to be alone in this, no matter how much he thought otherwise.
The pause before Oz spoke again was enough to show the younger man's surprise. "That's new," he said finally.
It was too late for Wesley to take back anything he'd said, the secret that he'd revealed to this person he barely knew. But…he knew he could trust Oz. Something in his face, in his demeanor, told Wesley that he could tell Oz anything and the boy would tell no one else. So Wesley could do nothing but nod and continue.
"Three months," he said softly.
Oz was silent for another moment, serious and contemplative. "Huh," he said thoughtfully to himself.
Wesley swallowed hard. He should never have said anything. He should have avoided the young man entirely. "Oz," he hesitated, "I must ask…"
The werewolf looked at him in silence, his head cocked slightly to the side as he waited for Wesley to get over his nerves and continue.
With a deep breath, he finished his sentence. "Don't tell anyone."
Oz nodded slightly. "Will you?"
"Will I what?"
"Tell Angel."
Wesley's mouth went dry. "I…"
"I'd want to know," Oz said matter-of-factly. "In his place."
"No!" Wesley found himself nearly snapping. The clutch of dread in his gut grew stronger.
Oz just blinked at him.
Wesley took a deep breath and tried to continue in a calmer tone. "This must not come to pass. I will keep Connor alive."
But Oz was pretty much unperturbed by Wesley's vehemence. Or at least, that's how he seemed. "Does Angel love him?" he asked, oddly reasonable.
Wesley really had no good answer for that. He just nodded slightly.
"Then he'll want to stop this prophecy as much as you do."
"But…if Angel knows…he's destined…" Wesley tried to explain, only to find his reasons crumbling around him.
"Or it could be a scene right out of Greek myth," the young man interrupted. "The man, doing everything he can to avoid a prophecy of murder and incest, instead walks right into his destiny. Prophecy fulfilled while trying to avoid it."
"Oedipus," Wesley said mostly to himself, knowing the tale.
Oz nodded. "Or it could mean something unexpected. Prophecy doesn't have to be straightforward. Maybe avoiding it would make things worse."
Wesley shook his head. "It's death. Death to an innocent child who just happened to have been born of two vampires. There is nothing unclear about it, and certainly nothing worse."
"Are you sure?"
"I…of course." But he wasn't. The longer he spoke, the less certain he was. And the portents…they were rather vague.
Maybe Oz saw his growing uncertainty, or maybe he just figured his points had been made and now he'd have to let it be. He just shrugged. "I'd tell him," he said, and without another word he turned and walked away.
Leaving Wesley alone with heavy thoughts and a silent fast food hamburger statue.
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