~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 11~
Angel sighed with relief when he saw Will's car in the driveway. At least the teenager hadn't gone somewhere else. Having run the whole way Angel panted as he threw the food and some fuzzy blankets into the back of Will's car. It was only as he stumbled up the front path that he realized how badly out of shape he was. In high school he ran 13 miles a day for cross country. Now he went out "hunting" every night, so why had running 6 miles tuckered him out? He knocked at the door and leaned against the frame praying that his vision would stop swimming.
When Giles opened the door he studied the boy before removing his glasses saying, "You're the best sitter we've ever had. I would hate to have to kill you."
"Is he upstairs?" asked Angel desperately. "Please, Mr. Giles, I want to see him. I wanna go to the beach with him. It's two o'clock and we haven't even eaten lunch yet because of a horrible misunderstanding. So please tell me he's here."
"Upstairs, behind his ever locked door."
"Thank you."
"Just remember, don't make me do something I'll regret."
Shuddering Angel brushed past the man and climbed the stairs. The music swept over him and he let it sink in before knocking. Nothing happened for a moment and then the music stopped. "Will? It's me."
"I know it's you, Angel."
"Can I come in?"
"You should be studying."
"I don't need to."
"You gonna ace it?"
Angel thought for a moment wondering how he should frame his reply. "Ya know my dead parents?"
". . . Yeah?"
"They were well off. This doesn't matter, I can fail it. No matter what, at the end of the day, I will still be filthy rich."
The door slid open, "Really?"
"Totally," Angel slid his hands over slight hips, "Oh, shiny lip gloss!"
Will pulled away, "My dad's downstairs."
"He just threatened to kill me: I think it's safe to say he knows."
"I've been denying it all day."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to disappoint him anymore than I already have. Believe it or not I am aware of what a loser I am."
"You aren't a loser. No one who knows you thinks that. He knows that. He didn't tell me not to make you a homo, he told me to not hurt you. You're lovely."
"Shush."
"Make me," Will started to pull him into the bedroom, "Not behind a closed door. I don't want to hide you." Will beamed and Angel felt his heart break. "Wanna show you off."
"So what? Ya gonna shag me on stage?" asked Will with a smirk
"Show you off not share you."
"Since when am I yours not to share?"
Angel studied the boy and said softly, "Last night wasn't a mistake." Will smiled and Angel couldn't read the expression. And with a slight laugh he said, "Your mom threatened me today over you. I guess I was obviously doting over you. And, hey, she said you never had blue hair."
"Never," agreed Spike with a devious smirk.
"So you got the name from maiming some guy with a railroad spike?"
"Maybe I made that story up too. Maybe it's because I'm so well endowed."
Shaking his head slightly and Angel pulled Will to him for a soft kiss. As he pulled away for breath he whispered, "I take it back. The shiny lip gloss is too slippy." He lapped at Will's lower lip, "It's sweet though. . . lunch is in your car. Please come with me."
Will nodded and turned from Angel to get a sweatshirt from his room. As he did so he caught sight of his little brother gaping. Xander pointed at the pair. "You twos wass kissin'. Tha's gross!"
Angel laughed, "It's not gross. People kiss when they like each other. It's nice."
"Not when i's boys! Tha's d-gusting. You'll go to hell- I heard it on tv- i's bad!"
Angel watched as Will's face closed at Xander's words, "Out of the mouths of babes," muttered the teen.
"You'll go of hell. Fags go of hell. I don' wan you to go of hell, Will! You can't kiss `Ngel no more!"
With hurt eyes Will looked to Angel, "No," said the older boy softly, "no one's going to hell and Will's not going to stop kissing me."
"Not going of hell?"
"No." Angel shook his head and Xander put stock in his sitter's words.
There was amazing beauty in the acceptance of children, "Good. So now yer Will's keeper?"
"What?" asked Will slowly.
"Friday, 'Ngel and yous was fightin' and you says tha' 'Ngel wasn't yer keeper. And whens you lefted 'Ngel says he would be if you let him. So, you lettin' him?"
Smiling slightly Will said, "Maybe, we'll see." He studied the college boy and spoke without looking at his brother, "Xand? Wanna play hide and seek?"
"Yeah!!!"
"Shut your eyes and I'll tell you when to look."
"'Kay!" The boy put his chubby hands over his eyes.
Slipping his fingers through Angel's belt loops Will pulled the older boy to him. With a gentle, shy kiss Will whispered, "Ya wanna be my keeper?" Angel nodded silently and Will just smiled with his cheek against Angel's. They shared another light, innocent kiss. "You can open your eyes now."
Xander was smiling when he opened his eyes but the brightness quickly faded, "Yer right there."
"You win," said Will in a singsong voice, "Angel and I are gonna go."
"But," the little boy's lip quivered, "yous didn' play wiv me!" He burst into loud tears.
"Go hide then," said Will softly, "We'll count to thirty." The boy instantly stopped wailing and ran off to hide. Angel wrapped his arms around the boy's waist. "Sorry about this."
"You know I love Xander."
"I know, but this is all time you could be studying."
"Will, I don't want to be studying. This is taking time away from us being at the beach. Please don't think about it. I have an A in the class. All a C on the test can do is lower my grade to an A minus. I want to be with you today. I want to. . . hold you. Don't fixate on my test. Ok?"
Will nodded and said softly, "He's in his closet with the door open because he's afraid of the dark."
Laughing Angel said, "Let's get your sweatshirt and then go "find" him."
~Part: 12~
Although they played three rounds, Xander nearly cried when they left. He wanted to go with them to the beach. He wanted to see them together. Will was smiling and that made Xander feel happy. It took twenty minutes for the pair to convince the little boy that he would be bored.
Will was pleased that his sister had slept through Angel's visit. Noticing his boy's quietness Angel asked, "What's wrong?"
"I'm angry at Buffy," Will said softly, not taking his eyes off the road as he drove.
"Why?" Angel was very confused.
"Xander said he heard that fags go to hell on tv. He's lying. Whenever he says something he thinks might be bad he blames it on tv. He covers up for whoever told him. He didn't learn about fags from PBS. I'll give ya three guesses and the first two don't count."
"Liz." Will nodded but said nothing, "Why do you let her bother you?"
"She's my sister." Will's words were soft.
Sighing Angel unbuckled his seatbelt and slid over the bench seat. He kissed Will's cheek and said vehemently, "Fuck your sister."
"That would be illegal," said Will with a little smirk. He leaned into Angel but kept his eyes on the road. ". . . Is it stupid for me to want my sister to not hate me?"
"You're not stupid. Maybe you should be nicer to her."
"She's my sister. I'm not meant to be nice to her. I mean I love her, but still, we aren't friends. You don't understand, you don't have a sister."
Angel said nothing for a minute and then said, "It'll work out. Don't think about her."
Leaning into Angel Will said softly, "We'll be at the beach in five minutes. Nice day for it."
"Yeah it's not too cold." Angel sounded oddly stilted as though he were still thinking of their last conversation.
"No," agreed Will, "Christmas is coming soon. .. . Do you do Christmas? The Rosenbergs are Jewish right?"
"Yeah. Shelia always to me to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. They had a little tree and a menorah. I got presents from Santa but none from the Rosenbergs, of course looking back," he laughed. "But I always got Hanukah presents. It was weird. My family was uber Catholic. I mean we moved over from Ireland when I was eight. So it was a huge change. They tried to keep things normal for me. Ira took me to Mass every Sunday. He wore his yamica into the Catholic church." He laughed again, fondly. "They took good care of me."
Will shrugged, "They love you." Pulling into the car park he saw it was empty. It was 55 degrees, cold by Southern California's standards. No one was mad enough to go to the beach. No one except Will and Angel. And it made the blond happy. He wanted the college boy all to himself. As he pulled the keys out of the ignition he pounced on Angel, "And I can see why," he said against Angel's lips.
~Part: 13~
Between the blankets they watched as the sun went down. Angel said, with a little smirk, "I should get you home: you have to go to school tomorrow."
Will kicked him in a less than vicious way, "Do shut up. It's not even seven yet. I won't mention your test if you don't mention school."
"Ok," Angel smiled as he slid his hands under Will's tee- shirt. "So hot." He pulled the boy on top of his body.
"Am I a blanket?" asked Spike with a quirked eyebrow even as he leaned into the touch.
"No," Angel smiled at him, "I'm not cold. Just wanna keep you close." He pushed a lock of stray hair out of Will's face. "How do you feel about sex on a beach?" he asked with mock solemnity as though he were asking Spike to judge the action's morality.
Will laughed, "Well, the last time I had sex on the beach I had a horrific hangover."
"That was a truly painful joke, *Spike*," he put a mocking edge on the name and Will just laughed as he shrugged. And then the damn cell phone started to ring. "Don't answer," begged Angel.
Sighing Will said, "It's Mum, I have Dad and her set to different ringers than everyone else."
With a slight push Angel said, "Speak to her."
The words were directed at both the dark haired boy and the woman on the phone when Will said, "Yes, Mum," as he picked up the phone. "No, I won't be home for dinner. I'm with Angel at the beach. . . No, Mum, there are no gangs on PCP here, I'm not stupid. . . I'll be home before curfew and in time for hot chocolate." He smirked as he said it. He was the only high school boy who sat down every night with his parents to tell them all about his day. Of course, most high schoolers didn't have his past. Most high schoolers could be trusted. His past showed that he couldn't be trusted and so every night he would tell them all about his day in detail so that they didn't worry about what he was doing. "I won't be late. I mean, after all, Angel has a test tomorrow." The punishment came swiftly and unerringly. Merciless fingers dealt out the retribution in the form of tickles as Will heroically tried not to giggle while on the phone. "What?. . . I love you too, Mum." Hanging up he shouted, "You bastard! You evil bastard!"
"I thought we decided that you wouldn't mention the test!" Angel laughed as he continued to torture the boy.
"Ger off!"
"You're on top of me. I'm not holding you," said Angel calmly.
"Stop using you *evilll* logic against me!" Spike tried to crawl away while also endeavoring to catch his breath.
The hands ceased in their movement, "We should get ice- cream later."
"What?" asked Will, still panting.
"You talked about PCP. It reminded me that I need to do a sweep of the graveyards before bed. And I thought I would reward myself afterwards with ice-cream. And then I thought, 'Hey, why not have a pre-killing treat with Will?' So that's how I got to ice- cream."
"Why do you go out hunting every night? Most of us just carry stakes and try to avoid *them*," his voice dropped as he said the last word as though they might appear if he said it too loudly. Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.
"It's my job to make it easier for you to avoid them."
"That's not your job. You aren't the vampire slayer."
Angel just laughed as though Will had said something adorable, "There's no slayer. She's made up to keep young demons and fledglings in line!"
"She's real," Spike said softly.
"How are you so sure?"
"Didn't you ever wonder why the curator for The British Museum would uproot his family and bring them here? My dad's a watcher. Sunnydale is located on top of a mystical magnet. They call it the Hellmouth because you can literally open hell here."
"I read that in a book. . . well actually Willow read it: it was in Latin. So why did you come here?"
Will thought about it for a minute. He didn't want to tell Angel about the past. It had been stupid to bring up slayers. He had just wanted Angel to see that it wasn't his job. So instead of the truth Will told the college boy a curtailed version of the events. "My father was the last slayer's watcher. When she died we moved here. The Watcher's Council sent out scouts to find the new girl. They'll train her up and send her here."
Angel was shocked. He had never known so much about the Giles. It was odd for him to learn that Will knew more about the occult than he himself knew. A sudden thought occurred to him, "What does your mother do?"
Laughing Will said, "She owns an art gallery and tutors you in exchange for babysitting."
"I thought that it might be a family thing."
"It is, for the men."
"So will you become a watcher?"
Clearly, Angel had no idea what he was asking. "I don't know," Will said softly, "there's always been a Giles on the Council. But I could never make Xander do it. So I might have to just take it on the chin. But the Council knows a little too much about me, they might not let me become a watcher. They know about a few . . . lapses in judgment."
The boy went quiet as he slipped into his memories. "Sorry," said Angel, successfully bringing Will back into the present. "I didn't mean to hit on such a heavy topic. . . We seem to do that a lot."
Will smiled but looked tired, "Let's blame it on that bastard Larry." Angel had no idea how heavy the subject really was. "Growing up is just scary, I guess. What are you gonna do after college?"
"I'd like to become an art appraiser for a museum. You get to see so many beautiful things."
Being the son of a curator and an art dealer meant that Will knew all about what Angel was saying. "What's your area of study?"
"British 18th and 19th century drawings."
"You draw, right? I saw a sketch of Willow on your floor."
"I dabble."
"It was amazing. You should try to be a "real live artist"."
Angel laughed, "It seems so self-indulgent. Rich kid decides he wants to be a starving artist? Sounds like someone playing at life. I'm not that skilled."
"It was beautiful, Angel." The older boy said nothing but ran a hand down Will's face. Turning slightly Will licked Angel's index finger painfully slowly. "Skilled hands." He saw that the dark boy was visibly fighting to keep his composure. Smiling brightly Will asked, "Wanna go for ice-cream?"
Lust filled chocolate eyes tried to clear themselves. Angel was making such an effort to be considerate and not push Will. The younger boy had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing. "You ready to go?"
Finally letting the laughter bubble out of his chest Will shook his head and said, "Fuck ice-cream!"
"Thank gods," muttered Angel and then said, "I want you so badly, Will. Wanna be inside of you. Can I make love to you?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Will laughed as he stroked Angel's face.
"Yeah," Angel nodded with a serious look gracing his face. "Maybe you want something else, something different. Maybe you don't want this. I never want to hurt you." Angel looked slightly anxious as he spoke, willing Spike to understand him.
Will felt oddly content when he said, "I like it when you take care of me.."
~~~*~~~
"Where's Will?" asked Liz as she sat down to dinner.
Her parents looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Their son saved them from having to talk. "He's at the beach wiv 'Ngel."
"Why?" Liz asked slowly.
"'A'cause they had a picnic and they like each of-er."
"Xander," Liz spoke in a deceivingly soft voice, "Angel's not a fag."
"ELIZABETH!" shouted Joyce and Rupert in unison.
The boy ignored their parents' outburst. "Yes he is! I saws 'im kissin' Will! And then we played hide in'seek an' Will and me hided in the shower. And 'Ngel said we was as sil'wy as each of- er! An' he kissed Will's forehead!" He stuck his tongue out at his sister having won the fight.
Liz stared at him and said, "I'm gonna puke." She pushed her chair out and ran upstairs.
"Rupert?" asked Joyce softly. He nodded and followed their daughter. Unsure of whether or not he was in trouble Xander looked at the vegetables he didn't want to eat. Joyce looked at the uneaten carrots and broccoli and finally said, "Want ice-cream?"
With a huge smile Xander asked, "Do we have choc'late?"
"Sure, baby, come into the kitchen." Her son deserved a treat. And then she paused for a moment and said, "I don't ever want you to call anyone a fag. Got that?" Xander nodded and reached for his mum's hand.
~Part: 14~
Staring at the front of his house Will spoke softly, "Is there anyway I can convince you not to go out there?"
"I'll be fine," Angel tried to assure him.
"That's not what I asked," Will said tiredly. "You're an arse, ya know that?"
Through gritted teeth Angel said again, "I'll be fine."
"You could get hurt, or killed, or turned. How long have you been doing this?"
"Nine years, and if I haven't died yet why would I do it tonight?"
"The average life span of an active slayer is six years. These girls with super human powers die. You're living on borrowed time. All you have on your side is righteous anger over your parents. Righteousness can get you a long way. I know why you feel you need to do this, I do. But that anger will fail you."
"Well there is no slayer here and someone has to do it."
"Not you."
"Who then?"
Shaking his head Will said, "Someone else." He sighed, "Come inside and have some hot coco. Go home and get a good night's sleep before the test." Angel leaned over and kissed the boy. Beneath Angel's distinct flavor Will could taste the cookie dough fudge mint chip ice cream that Angel had eaten. The taste reminded him of someone else, someone he didn't like to think about. "So that would be a literal kiss off?" he asked against Angel's lips. "You promised you wouldn't hurt me."
"I haven't," Angel sounded a though he was ready to beg.
"There are many ways to hurt someone." He kissed Angel's cheek, "Goodnight." He left the car still shaking his head with disappointment. His shoulders were slumped and he looked so worn from where Angel was sitting. It was only once he reached the front door that Will realized he had left Angel sitting in *his* car. Angel was studying the boy from the passenger set of the DeSoto. It took all of Will's strength not to slam the front door closed behind himself. He didn't want to wake his siblings.
In the kitchen his parents were waiting for him. It was odd, they usually didn't hang around the kitchen, it made the conversation that was about to take place seem far too formal and planned, an intervention of sorts. He looked at his watch, "You aren't late," said his dad, "This isn't a curfew speech."
"Oh," Will poured himself a cup of hot chocolate from the kettle and threw a handful of mini-marshmallows on top. Sudden apprehension dawned on him as he realized what they were going to want to talk to him about. "Bugger. I should have stayed out ten more minutes, then I could have gotten the curfew speech." Rupert laughed, "I got the whole sex and disease talk at school. And, oddly enough, I don't think I'm in danger of getting anyone in a family way." Rupert laughed again. Sighing Will asked softly, "Did you both have to threaten him? Couldn't you have pulled lots or something."
"You threatened him too?" Giles asked his wife.
"God, you two are useless. You couldn't hold a piss-up in a brewery."
"Where is Angel?" Joyce asked with a slight smile.
Looking down Will addressed his words to his marshmallows, "You picked yourself a fine ward, Mum. He's been hunting vampires since he was thirteen. He's out there right now." He watched detachedly as a tear hit the surface of his drink. "We had a tift over it. And I got in a strop and he got all righteous."
"Did you tell him why you were worried?" asked Giles in a soothing voice. Will just shook his head. "Maybe you should."
Will nodded slightly, "But right now I'm gonna go to bed."
He turned to leave but Joyce called after him, "Oh, Will? Oz called twice."
Without turning around he nodded.
~~~*~~~
As he walked into his flat Angel threw his keys on the counter. "You're home early," Willow sounded shocked.
Angel nodded, not answering as he walked to the phone. He dialed Will's mobile number. Joyce had given him the number to use in case of an emergency. Angel considered this to be an emergency. The answering machine picked up. "Will, it's Angel. I didn't go hunting. I didn't go because you asked me not to. Please call me back."
~Part: 15~
Will walked slowly up the stairs endeavoring not to spill the hot drink on himself. His back pocket began to vibrate. "Oz, can't you wait five bloody minutes?" Will asked speaking to the person he believed was calling his mobile.
Pausing on the stairs he studied all the photographs on the wall and his eyes paused over the one of the dead girl. It showed Xander, two hours old, being held by a dark haired young woman. Will was smiling at the camera from over her shoulder. Drusilla looked so beautiful and young in the picture. Of course, Will reflected, it was sort of impossible for a slayer to look anything *but* young. She looked happy and so did he. They hadn't known then that she would be dead within months of the photo being taken. Slayers never lived long and Drusilla had been no exception.
"I miss you, Dru," he said softly, "and I can't lose another person I love to the fucking vampires. What if he got turned? What if I had to watch him get turned? The way I watched you?" He sniffed hard, trying not to cry in front of his dead girlfriend. "How do I stop loving him? I can't love him, Dru. I'm not strong enough." He felt ill and ashamed of his weaknesses. Watcher shouldn't be weak? What would his godfather, Roger Wyndham-Pryce, think? He had been trying to get Will's father to send him to the Watcher's Academy. But then the council had learned about his dating Drusilla and had been furious.
Watchers should never date slayers, even if the watcher was only a watcher-in-training. After that Roger had stopped pressing Rupert to send Will to the academy. And then, well, with everything that happened after Dru's death Roger had pretty much cut the Giles' out of his life. However, Rupert Giles was still the best watcher on the council and so he was going to be watching the next slayer. The hypocrisy was laughable: no one would have the Giles to dinner but they would let the protector of the world live with them.
He continued up the stairs on shaky legs. He unlocked his door swiftly and relocked it behind himself before sinking on to his bed. The hot chocolate was now tepid chocolate which he gulped down. The warm liquid soothed his throat, rough with unshed tears. The comforting drink made him feel slightly better.
Slowly pulling his phone out he thought to check his messages and see what Oz wanted. A smile settled over his face as he listened to Angel's words. Angel was a good man. And maybe, just maybe, when he told the college boy the truth he would still be able to look him in the eye. He had no delusions about Angel telling him that they could still be together. He knew the older boy would want nothing to do with him once Angel knew about Will's past. But maybe they could be friends. Maybe Angel wouldn't shrink away in disgust if their hands bumped.
His parents were going to LA the next day and returning Thursday. His mother had an artist and dealer convention to go to and his father had some meetings with Council members. Angel was going to stay over to take care of Liz and Xander. That's when he would explain, once the kids were in bed he would tell Angel about Drusilla, and. . . and everything else. But at that moment he just wanted to call Angel and thank him, he wanted to pretend to have a boyfriend, if only for tonight. He knew that it cost Angel to not go out and he was touched by the action.
Still smiling he listened to Angel's phone ring. But the smile fall off his face when he heard a woman's voice pick up the other end. "Hello?" "Hi, Willow? This is Will- Angel's friend. Sorry to call so late. Is, is Angel still up?"
Willow heard the slight stutter and felt guilty for be the reason for the boy's nervousness. "Yeah, I'll go get him for you. Don't worry about the time we're all night owls here. This morning, I wasn't angry at you. I wasn't even angry. I was just being bitchy with Angel and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I just get a little overzealous when it comes to academics. I'm sorry." He heard her knocking on wood. "Angel? Will's on the phone."
"Hey," he said as he took the phone off his best friend.
"Thank you," said Will softly.
He could almost see Angel's smirk as the darker boy said, "Well, I figured I could take a night off: for you."
"I know that you must think I'm a total nutter. But I'll explain meself tomorrow. Ok?"
Angel nodded but remembered that Will couldn't see him, "Alright," he said finally.
"Ok, well," there was a slightly awkward pause, "good luck on your test. And sleep well, Angel."
"G'night, Will." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When he finally called Oz the redhead had been irritated. He wanted to know where Will had been all day. But when Will told his friend about Angel and the beach Oz went quiet. Quiet even by Oz's standards. He told Will they were having a band practice the next day. But the conversation left the blond confused as the session had been set up for days. Oz hung up quickly.
Will knew he wouldn't get any sort of an explanation until he actually saw the boy in the flesh. And sadly, that flesh would not be seen until after school. Oz was a college kid at SU, so Will wouldn't be able to talk to him during the day. Sometimes, Will hated that one of his two friends didn't go to his school. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As he sat across from her in Pierre's he couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face. Pierre's was one of Sunnydale's nicer restaurants and they had been there many times. "Why are you smiling?" asked Cordelia, pulling him out of his reverie.
"Just thinking. Remember when we first came here and I managed to spill water everywhere? Christ, I was so nervous." He laughed.
She laughed too but shook her head slowly, "Nuh-uh, Mister, you aren't allowed to do the tender remembering thing. You did the dumping so you have to do the guilty party act."
"Is that what the book on dating etiquette says?" he asked taking a small sip of water.
"It's what I say."
"Well then I'm sure the book says it too. You practically wrote it."
"I'm not sure if I'm meant to be insulted," she said leaning back in her chair, farther away from her ex. "One of us needed to know what they were doing! We can't all be naïve innocence embodied! I mean you're the oh-so-jaded rocker and yet I had to nurse you along! Now you're gonna say that it's all some sort of a formula?"
"Tha's not what I meant, Cor. You're just so good at all of this. And as you say: I'm a total loser."
"No you aren't," she said softly, "I don't wanna fight, Will."
"I don't either. You're my friend."
"I. . . I just don't get it. I don't get why we broke up, Will. Maybe you could. . . explain?" she let her words trail off.
When he opened his mouth Will had no idea what he was going to say. No one was more shocked than he when he said, "Cordelia, I think I'm bent."
Cordelia studied her ex as she sipped her diet coke and finally spoke softly, "I know about Larry. But I also know about Dru and Cecily. So you're just kinda bent. Right?"
"How did you know about Larry?" Will could feel his face burning.
"Oh, Will," she reached out and took his hand, "Everyone knows about Larry. He thought it was funny."
"Oh. . . well," he paused, stunned at the revelation, "Um. . . yeah. I think I'm totally bent."
"But what about Dru? And Cecily? And, hey, let's not forget me!"
He smiled slightly, still numbed knowing that everyone knew about Larry, "Drusilla was perfection and I was very young. Cecily was the most shallow, vapid, and feminine girl I've ever met. She was my last ditch attempt at straitness."
Cordelia interrupted, "Well if she was your last attempt what the hell were we? What am I?"
Another smile settled on his mouth; a happier one. "You're my best mate: the best thing that's ever happened to me. I was a complete train wreak when we met. She'd been dead for 22 months and I was still counting it in days. But you made me so happy. I mean, after everything, after having to leave England because I disgraced my family; you made me laugh again. You made it ok for me to not hate everything including meself. And I mistook my adoration to be something else. Not something stronger than what I feel for you. Just different," he shrugged. "What I feel for you is the deepest of affections not love. I just wish I had seen that before we started dating." She hit his arm, hard. "Ow!"
"You jerk! I was so worried about that stupid picnic and it really was for Angel!" she sounded so relieved, "-Were you cheating on me?" The question was tacked on as it occurred to her.
"Never. No! You know I wouldn't do that."
She laughed, sounding lighter now, "God! I've been obsessing over why we broke up. I was trying to figure out what I'd done wrong or if there was another girl. But you're gay!"
She sounded so happy and Will was so relieved that he didn't even mind how loudly she said it. And he was totally serious when he said, "They have that whole thing about nature and nurture, I don't know. But, if anyone could have straightened me out it would have been you: you're my girl, Cor." Cordelia beamed at him as he signaled to the waiter for the cheque.
~Part: 16~
"My babysitter could beat up yer babysitter!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Yuh-uh!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"'Ngel!"
Angel ran into the kitchen expecting to see one of his wards bleeding. Instead he saw Jesse and Xander exactly where he had left them moments before. They were both sat at the kitchen counter with large hunks of chocolate cake in front of them. Xander's face was covered in chocolate icing while Jesse had been more invested in arguing than in eating. "What?" he asked slightly agitated and riled to begin with. He had been trying to get Buffy to come downstairs but she refused to eat with her younger brother who she said was, "a complete and total idiot."
"Jesse saids tha' you couldn's beat up his babysitter."
"She's a teenage girl," said Angel slightly confused.
Jesse smiled at his victory, "See? Cecily would win!"
Swallowing, Angel asked, "Cecily Adams?" Jesse nodded but said nothing as he had a mouthful of a piece cake that was too big to talk through. As Angel pictured the petite brunette who had dropped the boy off he said softly, "I could cream her." With a high five to Xander he laughed.
"Is Buffy sulkin'?" asked Xander knowing that Angel had been standing by the locked door of his sister's room for twenty minutes.
"Don't call her Buffy, you know Liz doesn't like it."
"Buffy's sulking?" asked Will walking in from the living room.
Rolling his eyes Angel said, "Thanks for the reinforcement."
"Don't call her Buffy, Xan. It only upsets her when I call her Buffy so you're just gonna lessen the impact." Will stole a bit of cake off of his brother's plate and dropped his backpack to the floor with a thud.
"She wanted me to dump them on you and take her to a movie. But I'd promised the boys a full scale navel battle in the bathtub and her bedtime's eight o'clock."
Will smirked as Angel kissed his cheek. "I should go take a shower, redo my face, and go to practice."
"I like this. Nice and ephemeral." Angel ran a finger over Will's cheekbone. The pale blue and silver shimmer belayed his blush. "Go take your shower. I'm gonna go check on your sister." Turning to the little boys he said, "Finish your cake." He picked up Liz's backpack and followed Will upstairs.
"Yer babysitter kissed yer b-ofer. Tha's gross!" said Jesse before turning back to his cake.
"Missed you last night," said Will softly as they reached the top of the stairs.
"My bed felt really cold without you," Angel replied as he backed Will up against the wall. As they kissed the whole world fell away. Nothing existed outside their tongues, their bodies pressed close together, their wandering hands, the soft moan Will pulled from Angel's chest as he slipped his palm into the older boy's back pocket. They didn't hear the door open.
The thing that finally pulled them back into reality was the sound of Liz shrieking, "Ohmigod! Will! You knew I liked him so you perverted him just to spite me! I think I'm gonna be sick: you're so disgusting."
Glancing between the pair Angel saw the steely resolve and resentment in the girl's face and the myriad of emotions that played on his lover's visage. Disappointment, betrayal, hurt, anger, and shame all flooded the boy's expression. And turning back to the girl Angel said, "You're wrong, *Buffy*," he stressed the name she hated. "Will had nothing to do with my perversion. I was like this when we met." He pulled Will in for a loving, demanding kiss, "Try to be fast in the shower," he whispered against Will's lips, "I have to fill the tub for the boys."
"You kiss me like that up against a wall and then tell me to be quick?" he asked raising a scarred eyebrow.
Glancing down at Spike's slightly tented pants Angel smiled, "Well, as fast as you can be without blistering your palm." Will laughed breathily and left Angel alone with his sister without even glancing at the girl.
"I had no idea you were so sick," she said with vehemence.
"I'm downright terminal, sweetheart." He threw her bag at her feet, "Do us all a favour and do your homework."
~~~*~~~
When Will left he saw the boys having great fun, standing in the bathtub with warm water up to their knees, they were having a large scale navel war. When he got to the band practice there was a rather less fun, yet no smaller, land war going on.
"I know I'm not a drummer-"
"No, you aren't."
"I'm just saying. If you sped up at the beginning you would be able to slowdown at the end where we're having the timing issues."
Will liked Wes. He liked having another English person around. He liked how easily shocked the proper boy was. He liked that Wesley was 15 which meant that Will wasn't the youngest. He liked Wes' abilities on the keyboard. But he knew that the boy knew bugger all about drums. And he could see that Gunn was becoming steadily more pissed as the boy questioned his logic. Sometimes Wesley could be like a terrier with a bone: he just wouldn't let go.
Oz grabbed his arm and pulled Will into the studio apartment's toilet Will couldn't help but laugh. "How was yesterday?" the redhead asked.
"Lovely," Will smiled.
"That's great," Oz smiled tightly, "what did he say about Dru and the other stuff?"
Will faltered, "I haven't told him quite yet."
"You haven't known him long. It's understandable that you don't trust him yet," Oz spoke in his normal soft voice. Internally he was thrilled. He knew everything about his friend.
Laughing again Will said, "No I do. I'm gonna tell him tonight. It's just hard to fit into conversation."
"What will you say about the vampires?"
"He already knows. He kills vampires as a hobby."
"What about werewolves?"
"He's not a fanatic. He sees more than just black and white."
Oz blinked at him which was the equivalent of a head nod from anyone else.
From the other room Wes' voice could still be heard. Will rolled his eyes. "Sad thing is he's right for once. If Gunn started faster he could drop it at the end," said Oz resignedly, "We're not gonna practice tonight, wanna coke?"
~Part: 17~
Angel carried the tired boy up the stairs. Jesse's mother had picked the boy up hours before and Xander was as floppy as a rag doll. But bedtime was always a struggle with the boy, often tearful always reluctant. So Angel tried to make it a calm, pleasant experience. He always took the boy up early and walked slowly up the stairs as they discussed the myriad of photos on the stairwell wall.
He noticed one that was new to him. A stunning girl was holding a newborn while a dark-haired Will Stood behind her looking happier than Angel had ever seen him. "Who's she?" he asked pointing to it with his chin.
"Tha's Drusiwa. She was Will's gi'lfriend fers a long time."
"Was she nice?"
"She dieded, I don't 'member her."
"How did she die?" asked Angel swallowing a lump in his throat.
"She was a swayer, the vamp-res gotted her. She was special. She gotted vis-ons. But she was called as the swayer and the Conswa didn't finded her fast 'nough. The vamp-res gotter there first. They kilt her mummy and daddy and they reapt her in a field and thens her vis-ons got scarier."
Angel felt ill. There was a Xander word for rape? A word that was applicable to Will's girlfriend? "Then what happened?" for once the college boy wasn't egging Xand on.
"She camed and wived wiv us. But she was crazy 'cause of the vamp-res. But nice crazy. And she and Will loveded each ofer very much and she called Will Spike 'acause he's always so spikey- all happy an' sad. Mummy and Dada askeded why we calls him tha'. Buts Will never tol' 'em. Liz tolds me. Then she dieded."
Xander told the story like he told all his stories, with rapt glee at the adventure he was relaying. "And how do you know all of this?" Angel asked hoping that the boy would tell him that he had been watching it unfurl from his position on a spaceship, hoping Xander was lying. All the while he felt like he was somehow outside of his body, watching, nightmare like.
"Mummy and Dada talks about it sometimes when they thinked I was 'sleep. But I wasn't 'sleep!" he sounded so proud and Angel tired to smile.
Xander got tucked into bed with his hippo and sucked his thumb as Angel read him a story. The college boy laid with him until he fell asleep and then he walked calmly to the bathroom and threw up. He washed his face but could still tasted the acrid flavour behind his nose. He rinsed his mouth twice and glanced into the looking glass. All he saw was a pale, scared boy. But this wasn't his past to freak out over. He wasn't allowed to be frightened or horrified by it because soon Will was coming home. And Will had promised to tell him about everything. And Angel was going to have to act as though it were the first time he had heard the story. And he would have to be strong and hold the boy. Staring at himself in the mirror he tried to school his expression into something normal, relaxed.
As he left the bathroom he wanted nothing more than to sink into the couch and not think about anything until Will came home. But as he passed, Buffy's door swung open. "Don't you love Xander's stories?" she asked with a falsely light smile. Angel would have loved to have allowed himself to believe her.
But instead he just studied her and said softly, "Vampires are real, slayers are real, and Xander wasn't lying."
"Will told you?" she asked looking scandalized.
"No, I knew long before I met your family." He looked at his watch, "It's time for bed. Good night, Liz, sleep well."
She smiled maliciously and he could see the wheels turning in her head. "After she died he started hanging out with all the druggies."
"He was grieving," Angel shrugged.
"No," she looked gleeful. But the look didn't become her as it did Xander, "He was a junkie. That's why we had to leave England."
It was like a slap in the face. He knew that she hated her brother but to make up such an atrocious story was sick. Did she so badly want them to brake up? What she didn't realize was that it didn't matter. Nothing she could do or say would make him look at Will any differently. "Goodnight, Elizabeth."
~~~*~~~
Walking into his house Will saw Angel sitting on the couch gazing off into space. "How was your jam session?" Angel asked sounding someone dead. The kids could exhaust anyone.
Will smirked, "Jam session? The kids today are calling it rehearsal. We got nothing done. Wes and Gunn just argued. Kids in bed?"
"Just you and me," said Angel with a tired nod as the boy flopped down beside him. "So," his voice wasn't casual, though it was clearly trying to be. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
He'd been thinking about it all night; he was positive Angel was going to dump him. So he had a plan: he would dump Angel instead. He couldn't bear to expose himself *and* get kicked. "I know it was unfair of me to ask you to stay home the other night. My first girlfriend was a slayer. I watched vampires murder her. We went out for Indian food one night. We did a sweep of a graveyard on the way home. And we were surrounded by at least forty vamps. I couldn't get to her. They held me. They didn't even have the good grace to kill me too. They turned her as I watched and tried to make her feed off of me. But she, she wanted Xander. The vamps thought it was funny. But I guess it wasn't entertaining enough because they gave me a stake and let me go and told me to stake her. I couldn't. I, I," he caught his breath "I knew she wasn't my girlfriend, but she was still warm, she was wearing the perfume I gave her for her birthday. I couldn't ram a piece of wood through her," he breathed slowly in and out trying to stop his tears, "so I just ran. I was on track at school and I flat out ran and I guess they let me go, because I couldn't have outrun them. I'm sorry, but I can't lose someone else that I care for to them."
"Ok," said Angel simply.
"Ok?" asked Will not sure of the meaning.
Angel shrugged, "I'll stop."
"I can't ask you to do that."
"So what are you saying?" Will sat silently examining his hands and horror swept over Angel's face, "Don't dump me."
"Were we dating?" Will asked but then quickly shook his head. "You don't have to stay here. I understand your wanting to leave. I can take care of the kids. I'm sorry, Angel."
Angel shook his head slowly, "I'm not going home and you're not dumping me."
"I can't ask you to stop hunting."
"You didn't ask me. I hate to say it, and sound crass, but my family's dead, they're not coming back, no amount of vengeance can bring them back to me. I like you, Will, you make me happy. I haven't been happy in a very long time."
Suddenly Will was frightened. Angel was gonna dump him when Spike told him the whole truth. He was gonna be honest and get kicked for it. "There's a lot you don't know about me."
"It doesn't matter-"
Will interrupted him wanting the pain to be over as quickly as possible, "I'm a junkie! After Dru died I was strung out for months. And I got all these piercing, and I put on all this make-up, and dyed my hair and filled my veins up with smack. And, and, god!" he laughed a breathy laugh in bitter recollection, "I've never seen my parent's so disappointed. Don't give up your whole world for me. I'm not worth it, Angel, I'm a loser." If he destroyed himself Angel would have nothing to add, couldn't make him feel any smaller than his own words already had. " We moved here, not to get away from Drusilla's ghost, but from my dealers. My friends." He saw the shock and horror with Angel's eyes and misread it as disgust. He didn't know that Angel was just stunned that Liz hadn't been lying. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. I lo-" he cut himself off, "I like you. I wanted to tell you after the club on Saturday but the way you were looking at me made me feel so good. And when you touched me I forgot about the past. I felt beautiful. It wasn't until we were in the shower and you touched my arms that I remembered. And we were making plans for lunch; it felt nice and domestic. I should have told you. I mean, god, it's sick. I'm sitting here justifying lying to you by saying that it was something you did. Like my cowardice is somehow your fault for treating me nicely. I'm a pathetic bastard. You had the right to know about the disgusting -thing- you were bathing with-"
"You are *not* disgusting, you're beautiful," Angel said with conviction.
Will looked up briefly, confused by the other boy's words when he knew that Angel had to be repulsed by him but he continued, "My friends were educated and rich. We never shared needles or spoons. You can't catch anything from me. But I should have told you. I'm sorry. You honestly don't need to stay. You can leave. I understand if you don't want to talk to me. I'll leave you alone." He had no plans for asking the boy for forgiveness as he was too afraid it wouldn't be granted, too afraid Angel might laugh at him like Larry or Cecily. He got up to leave the room but Angel grabbed him by the hips and pulled him back down on the couch.
Will's head was stooped and he looked dejected as he sat rubbing his inner arms, a nervous habit Angel had noticed before. There were slight scars marring his inner elbow. "You've been given a second chance here. You've been clean for, what? Two years?" Will nodded. "And you didn't catch anything?" Will nodded. "So this could have had much worse consequences. Don't throw this away. Don't throw me away."
Will's head shot up and he stared in wonderment at the boy. All he saw was Angel looking scared, scared that Will would force him to leave. There was no disgust or hatred or pity. There was want, and fear, concern. "I love you, Angel," he whispered.
Shock washed over the dark haired boy, "No one's ever. . . not like. . . I mean." His flustered state made it practically impossible for him to tell Will that he had never heard those words from a lover before.
Will understood the boy's confusion. Sliding into Angel's lap with a laugh he said, "It only seems fair I get to be your first for something. You're my first in almost everything."
The boy in his arms was gray. Angel realized how hard it must have been for Will to tell the truth. He had some secrets that he couldn't imagine telling his lover, he was still too scared, maybe someday, the same day he would be able to tell Will he loved him without having to be afraid. He was touched by the boy's honesty; amazed by his bravery. "You should go to bed."
"Come with me?" he asked.
Tensing slightly Angel said, "Is that really a good idea?"
"I'm not asking you to fuck me 'til I scream and wake my siblings." He smiled slightly, "Mum didn't put any towels in the spare room."
Confused Angel had no idea what Will was trying to say, "I know where the linen closet is."
"That doesn't matter. If she thought you were gonna sleep in there she would have left towels. They didn't expect you to sleep there. No one cares."
"Your siblings?"
"Xander likes that we're together and I don't care what Liz thinks. Please come to bed?"
Angel let Will lead him upstairs turning out the lights and grabbing his overnight bag ass they went. Fiddling with his keys Will leaned against the door, kissing Angel and unfastening the locks all at once. They fell through the doorway both laughing into the other's mouth. Relocking the door took milliseconds for Will's skilled hands and then he turned his attention back to the older boy. Stripping each other's many layers with slow, warm touch they couldn't help but laugh again. It was all so foreign, slow, and innocent when compared to the encounters they had shared before. Biting his lip Will looked at the floor. He was as nervous as all hell. Before he had been some boy, not Angel's boyfriend. Before Angel hadn't known about Dru, or the drugs, or anything. It had been sex. This was real; they were playing for keeps.
Watching the blond Angel could see the tension in all of the boy's lines. Angel kissed the boy's face softly as he pulled Will's belt off. The tight jeans rolled off his hips under the pressure of Angel's hands. "So beautiful," Angel whispered happily as Will kicked off his trousers. Standing naked Will smiled slightly, ducking his head further. He felt foolish being bare while Angel was still practically fully clothed save for shoes and sweater. His warm fingers made short work of the dark clothes Angel was so fond of.
The older boy turned Will's face up towards him and smiled. Taking his hand Angel pulled his lover into the adjoining bathroom. He locked the doors swiftly. One lead to Buffy's room, one to the hall and one back into Will. Having shut off all exits Angel flipped on the harsh lights. The stark lighting hurt blue eyes. And he watched as Angel turned on the water and tested it to feel when it got warm. The college boy pulled his boyfriend in front of himself. Studying Will in the mirror Angel started to wash the boy's face gently. When he was finished he turned the taps off and stood silently staring at his boy in the reflection. "What?" asked Will laughing.
"So beautiful," repeated Angel. Will laughed but Angel shook his head seriously. "You're the best man I've ever met." He slid his hands over the tracks that covered Will's arms. He held the boy gently so that he couldn't shy away. "You're good, and kind, and sweet, and funny, and clever. You're just beautiful. Fucking hot," he whispered the last words with hot breath into Will's ear.
Will smiled and craned his neck to kiss Angel slowly. He felt lighter than he had in a long time. It was good that Angel knew everything. He felt safe and clean with the older boy. His boyfriend. Unlocking the doors he led Angel back into his room. The older boy paused to relock the door: he didn't want Buffy to come in. He stopped abruptly when he noticed Will's bed. A four poster, huge, dark wood bed sat in the corner. A lace canopy stretched over the top.
"Funky bed," he laughed.
Will laughed throatily as he pulled Angel along. "Dru brought it with her from her house. She willed it to me."
"Would she mind me sleeping in it?" asked Angel softly.
"She'd like you," Will said as he climbed in to said bed. "Knowing her?" he asked with a knowing, fond laugh, "She have wanted to tape us having sex, and sell it on the internet, and then climb in with us."
Angel laughed too as he slid in next to his boy and pulled the blond into his arms. And as he drifted off he was struck by how nice it was to have someone to sleep with. Just sleep, with nothing else.
~Part: 18~
Ata quarter to four a soft thudding woke him. It took a moment for him to remember where he was. And then he couldn't stop the huge smile from wiping itself over his face. He kissed Will's curly blond head and settled down to go back to sleep. The thudding noise came again. Soft baby fists, make soft baby noises. Xander was knocking.
"Just a second, buddy!" he called slipping out of bed and riffling through his bag for pants. He nearly fell on his arse as he tried to quickly squirm into them. Grabbing a pair of dark sweats off the floor he tried to dress his comatose lover.
"Is it mornin'?" asked Will sleepily around his thumb.
"No, babe, lift your hips for me."
Will did as he was told as his thumb slipped out of his mouth and he groggily opened his eyes to watch as Angel walked to the door. Unlocking it he swung it open to reveal Xander looking extremely distressed. He stood wringing his hands as he said, "I had a hobbiral nightwear! But Will doesn like peopwl in his woom!"
"Hey, pet. Angel's having a hobbiral nightwear too." Will smirked at the ugly Santas that marred his lover's pant legs. "Anyway, you're allowed in my room. It's just the others who aren't welcome."
"Will's a skweamer," Xander told Angel as he crossed the room.
"What!" asked Angel as he left the door open a little so Xander could leave if he wanted to. He watched as the blond gave his brother a hand up and crossed back over to the bed.
"When I have nightmares," clarified Will as Xander wasted no time in cuddling up to his older brother, "I scream, and I don't like company after a nightmare." The kid was already asleep. Will studied Angel as he climbed back into bed looking like a large, lazy cat. "But I'd like some company now," Angel took his hand, watched the boy who was cradled between them, and fell back to sleep.
~~~*~~~
Like a well oiled machine the older Giles children always got to school on time. It wasn't because they were good friends who helped each other. In fact, their loathing for one another made it so that they had created an elaborate dance so as to never force them together for any extended period of time. Liz would take a shower and then bang three times on her brother's door to let him know it was his turn. She would go down stairs and put bread in the toaster. Then she would go up to get dressed. Will would run down in a towel to pop out the toast, leaving his sister's buttered toast on the counter for her, and would go back up to pull on clothes. They would meet at his car and drive silently for ten minutes until he dropped her off at Sunnydale Central School. Five minutes later he would be smoking in Sunnydale High's car park
But that Tuesday morning was different. When Liz went to knock on the door it was ajar. As her fist touched the wood it swung open. The scene in front of her made her scream, "You fucking perverts!"
The girl bolted down the stairs. Will sat up and stretched slowly, "Stay with the kid." He nodded to the still sleeping Xander, "Good morning, pet." He kissed Angel's face as he climbed over his prone lover to get out of bed.
But, mum! You have to come home. They're perverts, they molested Xander, it's sick!"
Rolling his eyes Will pulled the phone out of his sister's hands. "Hi, Mum. I'm so sorry."
"What's going on?" asked Joyce sounding bewildered.
"Nothing happened to Xan-"
"I know, honey, don't even finish the sentence."
"Xander had a nightmare and climbed into bed with us."
"Is he ok now?"
Will smiled slightly, "I think he was just afraid without you two here. He misses you. How's work?"
"Met some very nice buyers who want all of the Cartwright collection from the gallery. So I said I would call them when I got home. And Daddy had his first meeting with the representatives from the Council. They finally found the slayer. She's nice. She's from northern California."
"So you're saying she's a hick?" he asked as he sat down at the counter.
"You'd better be nice."
"She's coming here?"
"Yep. You'll like Faith. Have a nice Tuesday."
"You too." Hanging up he turned to Liz, "Get dressed and get in my car."
"Are they coming home?"
"On Thursday night."
He felt ill as he walked back up the stairs. Smiling sadly Angel asked, "Is everything ok?"
"Same as ever," said the blond pulling on clothes. As he walked to the mirror he didn't look at his lover. Pulling gel through his hair Will tried to calm down. Putting metal bolts and loops through holes in his face he chanted silently that she didn't mean it. Applying lip liner and gloss he promised himself it was a stage she'd grow out of. Lining his eyes with kohl he reminded himself that Buffy was just a kid, that he loved her. Once he'd finished his face he spoke softly, "Xan's school starts at ten."
"Will, try to talk to her," Angel said in an equally soft tone.
"She's never forgiven me for making us move here. This is another reason to hate me. She's not gonna stop hating me for dating you. But I'll talk to her."
~~~*~~~
The first three minutes of the ride were filled with icy silence. Liz sat fuming and looking out the window. And finally when he could take it no more Will pulled off the road onto the hard shoulder.
"I'm gonna be late!" whined Elizabeth.
"I'll write you a note!" He nearly shouted as he pulled at his hair, "I'll only say it once. You can hate me for the heroin, you can hate me for forcing us to leave home, you can hate me for dating Angel. But don't hate me for being gay. Drop all of this "fag" and "pervert" shit. You know that I would never hurt Xander. And it doesn't make you look cleaver or better than me. You're my sister and I love you. I don't want you to hate me but if you have to hate me then do it for something more rational. All right?" he smiled pleadingly.
Liz was silent for a long time before saying, "Fine. This week I'll hate you because of Angel, and next week for the drugs," she smiled too, just a little smile, to show that she knew she maybe wasn't so "in the right".
"Thank you. And, don't take this the wrong way," he said pulling back onto the road, "he's 22. Even if he was straight he couldn't have dated you."
"I'm not a little kid!" she shouted.
"I know," he remember being 11 and thinking he was a grown up. Now he was 17 and realized that he was still a stupid little kid, "But in the eyes of the law he'd be a pedophile. I didn't do this to hurt you. I really like him. And he makes me feel really good about stuff. I'm sorry you like him too. But he wants to be your friend and it could be cool if you tried. We're taking Xander to a movie about Cartoon animals overcoming adversity and I know he'd like it if you came. And I'd like it because you know they'll both get weepy when the dad gorilla dies or what have you and I won't have anyone to heckle it with if you don't come."
"I'll see how much homework I have," she shrugged as they pulled up at her school, "Would you write me a note?" Nodding he got a notebook from his bag.
'To whom it may concern,
Please excuse Elizabeth for her tardiness. We are having a slight crisis and our parents are out of town. Everything is fine now and our parents will be back on Thursday night. If you have any questions please call the babysitter, Angel, on his mobile phone: 555-6241.
William Giles'
~Part: 19~
"Word is that you and Cordy broke up." Skipping his morning fags had put Will in a foul mood. Taking out his anger on his books had done nothing to soothe him. So he had slammed his locker and stood silently as Larry came to lean on the locker next to his.
Will just sighed as he heard the boy's opener. Rumors had been flying around school the day before. "Yeah, apparently I killed her cat, or eviscerated my own brother, because I worship Satan. Or it was because her father caught me deep throating their pool boy. I like to think his name is Enrique, it makes me feel manly."
"So who was the guy at the club?"
"Angel."
Larry waited for more details but upon seeing that none were to be offered he prompted, "Who's Angel?"
"My boyfriend," said Spike hurriedly, "I have to get to class."
"What are you doing Friday?"
Will couldn't stem the manic laughter that bubbled from his chest. "You kicked me when I needed a friend. But now that I'm in a cool band, now that I'm Cordelia Chase's ex, you want me? Dating me now would be salacious. I'm outside the high school hierarch because I sing for the hottest college band and I dumped the prettiest girl in school? I'm interesting now; back then I was just your *friend*. Fuck you, Larry. I have a boyfriend. And you're a loser."
Applause came from behind him and he turned to see Cordy smiling her brightest smile, "Walk me to class before we're late?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hello? Xander, don't put that in your mouth! Sorry, hello?" said a young, haggard voice.
"Angel? This is the principal from Elizabeth's school, Robin Woods."
"What can I do for you, Mr. Woods?" asked the college boy as he confiscated his keys from the toddler. He hated driving but knew he couldn't get Xander to class and get to his morning class if he walked. So he had gotten his father's Cadillac out of storage.
"Elizabeth was late this morning. The note from her brother said there was a crisis and I wanted to make sure everything was ok."
Angel paused, "That's very thorough of you. I mean, the principal doesn't usually call for lateness."
"Liz is a special girl."
The laugh came before Angel could think to stop it, "Is it true she burnt down the gym?"
"No," Woods' scandalized tone made it seem as though the very idea was ridiculous. "It was just the girls' locker room. Liz just needs a little guidance."
"Well, we had a rough morning but everything's alright now."
"If there is anything you need while the Gileses are away don't hesitate to call the school."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His morning class dragged. It seemed somehow surreal. He went to his lecture, compared notes with his classmates, and went to buy milk and "fruit snacks" for the Giles kids. On Tuesdays Angel had two classes with a large gap in between them. Sadly he would have to miss his second class, a lecture he always enjoyed, as it clashed with the pick up time of Xander's playschool.
Thankfully he knew the teacher well. Sunnydale U used the Donning system of mentors and students. Angel was quite close to his Don, Professor Mackeever, so he felt no apprehension in seeking the man out. Professor Mackeever had helped him with his schedule, had put him in contact with Joyce, had been the first person Angel had spoken to when he had started having "freakish, frightening" feelings for Penn.
The art department was where Angel lived when at school. If he wasn't at work, in bed, or in a cemetery he was invariably cordoned off from the world in his own little studio. He promised himself he would stop dallying with art once he finished school. That he would only indulge his fantasy until it became time to pretend to be a grown up. Professor Mackeever smiled widely at him. "Angel, what can I do you for?"
"I'm going to be missing class today and I was hoping you had the notes for today's lecture." Mackeever was one of those bless- ed teachers who handed out the notes to his classes before he even began talking.
"Sure, follow me to the risograph machine and I'll give you a copy. Is there an emergency?"
"No, I'm paying Joyce by babysitting. She's out of town right now and I need to pick up her youngest from daycare."
"Xander's a nice kid," said Mackeever gathering up his notes and walking towards the office. "So how are her other kids?"
"Liz can be difficult at times but we rub along. I really like Will."
The man noted the lilt of Angel's voice and studied his student for a moment. He placed the first sheet into the risograph as he asked, "Angel? Isn't he 15? He used to sit in his mother's gallery and sulk while doing his homework."
"He's 17 and he doesn't sulk that much."
"Does Joyce know?"
"She knows, she likes me."
"Be careful, ok?" The man's tone became lighter as he said, "You look good, happy and well rested. I like it when my undergrads are healthy."
"Well rested?" Angel smirked at Mackeever's paternal words, "Xander climbed into bed after a nightmare."
"Cute," said the man with a small smile as he handed the student 15 pages of notes.
"Very domestic." Angel waved the pages, "Thank you for this."
"Read chapter 40 for next week."
~Part: 20~
Free period was always fruitful for Will, but he never did school work.
Generally he avoided the library as he had enough social problems without
being, "The kid who hangs out with his father the librarian". He had been
hanging out in the senior lounge since freshman year. No one had ever argued
with his being there as even the seniors were intimidated by him. Today
he was rewriting "Good Girls Don't" so that it was now about a guy meeting
a transvestite saying that while good girls wouldn't he most likely would.
He was planning on forcing Oz to sing it as punishment for his recent weirdness.
What Will never understood was why Oz always agreed to go along with it.
The generally quiet boy had just shrugged when Will had suggested that
he should sing lead one night. Will had said it would have shock value.
But the real shock had been Oz's amazing voice.
Sunnydale High had a policy against mobile phones so Will left the
lounge and headed for his dad's office. Jenny Calendar was behind the counter
reading. "Hey, Jen!"
"That's Miss Calendar when we're here, young man." Will couldn't quell his laughter even though he did make an effort, "Will, pretend I'm an adult!"
"You called me young man!" The last time they'd been together they'd been having a chicken war in a swimming pool. Will and Xander had trounced Jenny and Liz. "You're only a year older than Angel."
"The babysitter?"
"Among other things."
Silence spread between them until she lost her calm and said, "Spill it, William. I know his roommate Willow, I'm her tutor: she's a witch. What's going on with Angel? "
"I don't think I can discuss it with a substitute librarian. After all, you're practically a teacher: this is my personal life and I'm not sure it would be totally appropriate."
"Call me Jen!"
"I don't know, you're a lot older than me. My father's protégée." He shook his head apparently woeful at not being able to confide in her, "How's librarian school? Is learning about the decimal system fascinating?"
"You can come behind the counter," she said in a sickly-sweet voice.
"Can I make an illegal mobile call?"
"Sure!"
"Excellent," he jumped the counter, "Let me go call Angel, y'know, my boyfriend."
Before she could ask any question he had walked into the office and locked the door.
~~~*~~~
"Hi," said Angel nervously, "I'm Liam Angel O'Rourke. I'm here for Xander Giles?"
"It's so nice to meet you," said the blonde woman, "Xander can't get over you." He smiled, "I'm Kate by the way."
"Nice to meet you."
"Xander!" she called.
The boy looked up from the Barbies he was using to play "murder victim" with Jesse. "'Ngel!" The boy's eyes lit up and he ran across the room throwing himself at Angel and landing mid hip.
"Ooph," said Angel pretending the boy weighed a ton,. He lifted the boy up to rest on his hip better "You're getting so big. You'll be able to carry me soon. How was your day?"
"Good! I di'n't nap!"
He threw the woman an apologetic and commiseration look just before his cell phone went off, "Sorry," he laughed apologetically, "let me just-"
"Go right ahead," said the girl watching the pair with a smile.
"Hello?. . . Hey, you! Say hey to your brother." He looked at the toddler and said, "It's Will."
"Hi, Will!" shouted the boy, not yet polished on the mechanics of using a phone.
"Hello?" asked Angel taking the phone back, "Yes I can pick up tickets. . . You convinced Liz to come with us? Good man. . . four o'clock show? Can do. . . See you at home. . . Bye. . . Bye." Hanging up he said to Xander, "We're going to a movie tonight. But you have to take a nap first." Turning to Kate he earnestly said, "It was great meeting you."
"You too," she replied but her smile was quite as bright as it had been. As she watched them leave she asked God why the cute ones were always gay.
~~~*~~~
Spike smirked at the sight. The door to his room had been half open
and, curious, he had investigated. He hadn't expected to find Angel and
Xander asleep in his bed. Angel had a half smile on his face while Xander
was sucking his thumb and cuddling Mr. Norbert Buttons. It was 3:30 which
meant they'd been sleeping for close to an hour and a half.
"Time to get up," he said softly as he crossed the room to kiss Angel's
forehead. "Wake up, boys."
"What time is it?" asked Angel.
And at the same time Xander simply said, "No."
"Movie's in a half hour."
Xander scrubbed his eyes and announced, "I 'ave to wee," he scrambled out of bed and into the bathroom.
Leaning down Will kissed his half comatose lover, "What a great wake up," Angel placed his hands on Will's hips and slowly moved to half sit up and half pull the blond down. "Good day?" he asked but left no time for Spike to answer as he kissed him.
"Getting better by the minute," Will pulled back but couldn't stop watching Angel's lips. "C'mon, up." He saw Xander standing in the doorway and asked, "Did you wash your hands?"
The bathroom was filled with little stepping stools to allow Xander to do everything by himself and to make him feel like a big boy.
"Yeah," he said sounding slightly suspicious. He added more happily, "We're goin' to Ice 'Ge."
"Good boy, yeah, Ice Age. Come on, put your shoes on," he said as he picked up the little shoes and started undoing the laces.
Still standing warily in the door the boy said, "Youse was kissin' again."
"Yeah, buddy, we do that a lot," Will nodded, "come put your shoes on."
The boy seemed pleased by the straightforward answer and went to the bed.
~~~*~~~
At four o'clock on a weekday the cinema was nearly empty. Will was in
the middle with Xander and the popcorn on his lap. "Wanna do a wee, Will."
Rolling his eyes at his brother's tiny bladder Will said, "Back in
a mo'," as he handed Liz the popcorn, picked the boy by the armpits, and
walked out quickly.
He helped the boy in the loo and was then scrubbing the toddler's hand when Xander asked, "Are you an' Liz sriends again?"
"As friendly as we ever are; we're not fighting."
Xander watched him in the mirror, "Will, am I gonna haves a boyfrien'?"
"Maybe, maybe not. Don't worry, Mum and Dad don't," he distractedly answered as he turned to the paper towel dispenser.
A man turning away from the urinals muttered, "Fag."
"My mummy saids tha's not a good word. My mummy saids you can't use it!"
"Shush," said Will quietly, wanting the man to leave quickly.
"Oh, that's real sweet: family togetherness. Perverts." Will kept his eyes down and said nothing the man gave a disgusted snigger and walked out.
"He didn wash his han's!" gloated Xander, "He'll get sicked from germs!"
"Yeah, one can only hope. Let's get back before Buffy and Angel kill each other. . . or eat all the popcorn."
A man washing his hands smiled kindly at Will, "He's sweet."
"Yeah," agreed Will with half a laugh, "C'mon buddy."
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