Okay. Not my usual pairing. But holy moly! You wrote such a deep multi-layered painful story that touches on so many of the things (for lack of a better word right now cuz I am left a bit shocked and wordless) that were wrong (and right) between Connor and Angel. Showing Stephen's background let us in on how deeply wounded he was by Holtz and how much that wounded boy wanted to be loved. *shivers* I just want to KILL Holtz - he was the true monster of them all. And poor Angel - I can't even begin to describe how reading this made me feel. I might need therapy - but not because of any squickiness from the pairing - more from how much pain you captured in just a few words. I don't even know who to pet now - me? you? Angel? Connor? Yikes. Well done!