Roomies

Author: Poison

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~Part: 11~

“Cordelia!” Angel jumped up and ran after the streak that had, at one time, been his girl friend. Once he reached the door he stopped dead and turned back to look at Spike.

“Go you bloody dolt, before she does something that you’ll regret.” Spike threw Angel his slacks then leaned back into the pillows. He had a feeling that he had screwed up again. With a deliberate sigh, he leaned over and pulled out a cigarette. Angel would be pissed with him but for now it would do.

As he inhaled deeply, his hand strayed lower and lower. He had just about reached his destination when Cordelia appeared in the doorway. Muttering to himself, he pulled the covers over to conceal his still aching cock. He brought up a knee and rested his arm on it. “Not runnin’ from Peaches, pet?”

Cordelia shook her head and climbed onto the bed next to him. She sat close but not close enough to be personal and with her body half turned so she was facing him. She took in the way his jaw was tightly clenched and how the muscles in his chest were bunched. “I figure he’ll come back here after he goes to my apartment and then every chocolate, ice cream, or shoe store that’s open. Should give us enough time to have a chat. I have a feeling that what you and Angel had or were recently doing has to do with him being related to you through Dru.”

“Dru…? Oh, yeah, don’t talk to Angel ‘bout anything relating to Dru and me, kay? I get the feeling the watcher did some research on me and the books said that Dru was m’ Sire?” Spike paused to take a drag from his cigarette. At the girl’s nod, he continued. “Well, it’s a loada crap. Angelus made it look like Dru was… responsible for me but you see Dru couldn’t Sire a fly. Angelus was runnin’ amuck with a rogue demon hunter ‘round the time that I was turned plus Penn had gotten into trouble in the vampire population. He killed somebody in someone else’s territory without asking permission first and well, Angelus was in deep shit. Long story short, Dru took enough to fill her up but not kill me and when she brought me ‘home’ she begged Angelus to turn me for her. Wanted sumthin’ pretty and golden.”

The silence that followed wasn’t quite comfortable but at least Cordelia wasn’t thinking about using the stake that Angel kept hidden under the bed ‘just in case.’ Her mind was racing to try and keep up with all the information she was receiving. “But how did you manage to keep it… well, a secret? I know for a fact that vamps – Angel at least – have that smelling thing and the sensing emotions thing.”

A chuckle erupted from deep within Spike’s chest and he caught the ashes from his cigarette and dumped them in an old coffee cup. “Well, pet, Angelus wasn’t exactly well liked back in the day. He had enemies that would do anything to hurt him – which meant, attacking his family. That’s another reason why we were always moving around. Anyways, they may not ‘ave like Angelus but they all knew that he was fiercely possessive. He had rights to take any of his Childer into his bed. Dru’s mark never faded from my skin because, by the time Angelus decided to take me in I was as close to death as a human can get without bein’ dead. Dru had the meal but Angelus did the deed. Though I always smelled like Angelus… I also smelt like family. No scent was stronger then another. Darla was the only one that avoided me. She really hated it when Angelus decided that he wanted an orgy of sorts.”

“So what happened tonight?”

Spike shrugged and stubbed out his cigarette. After moment he leaned foreword and took her hands in his. “Listen, pet. What Angel and I have has nothing to do with you. He’s my Sire and I was – still am – hurting. You can’t erase two hundred years of gut instinct. The soul doesn’t make it all go away. The only way demons know how to sooth and love is by physical contact. Ever notice that whenever you or the ‘breed get upset the first thing Angel does is touch you? A hand on the arm here, a gentle rub on the back there. That’s how vampires work – albeit usually things get more sweatier.”

Cordelia took a deep breath and nodded. The tears that had been struggling to make an appearance finally made their way down her cheeks. Soft sobbing racked her body and Spike pulled her into his arm. “Don’t cry, pet. Don’t know what to do when yah cry.”

~Part: 12~

Doyle looked up at the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards him. His eyes went wide at the sight of Angel’s undress. In shock, he watched as the man made for the door. “Angel man, where are yah goin’ dressed like that? Or should I say not dressed like that?”

Angel paused and looked down at himself. “Shit,” he muttered as he ran a hand through his hair and began to pace. His face was a mixture of arousal and mortification.

Doyle took in the display of the now slowly moving vampire and couldn’t help but notice a few things. Angel’s hair was wild and tufted out, his face was flushed and lips swollen. It looked like he had come straight from a make out session and by the way that his pants were wrinkled and only zipped up – not buttoned – he had a feeling Angel had gotten further then a few deep kisses. He couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow in a poor imitation of Spike. “Yah wanna tell me why yah came runin’ up barely dressed and – " his eyes wandered low then back up to his boss’ face. “ – obviously excited?”

“Fuck!” Angel growled and ran his hands through his hair then dragged them down his face. A haggard look peeked out between his large fingers. He looked as if he was going to swear again but instead he said, “Cordy.”

The Irish man couldn’t help but frowned slightly. “I wou’ think she’s downstairs waitin’ fer yah,” he stated, once again looking at Angel pointedly. “Can’t think of anywhere else she wou’ be at all.”

Angel sighed and dropped into the nearest chair. He slammed his first down on the desk that the chair was conveniently stationed nest to and Doyle could swear he heard the furniture groan. “I screwed up Doyle,” Angel ground out. “I did something stupid and she ran.”

“Well, she didn’t run my way and I doubt she took th’ sewers so m’best guest wou’ be tha’ she’s still downstairs.” Doyle sat down on the edge of the desk and grabbed Angel’s arm when the vampire made to leave. “Listen to me man. Before yah go all ‘gung ho’ tell me how yah screwed up. There’s nuthin worse then runnin’ in full throttle not knowin’ what yer gunna say.”

With another, more pronounced sigh, Angel sat back in the chair. After a moment of silent deliberation and a few more hits to the poor desk, he spoke. “Me n’ Spike – "

“Ah hell!’’ Doyle interrupted. He had a feeling that no matter how the night turned out it would be best if he just went and got something to drink. Anything concerning both Angel and Spike could be enough to drive even a nun to drink.

“ – decided to get reacquainted – after we finished up a job – in  an ally,” Angel continued as if not hearing the other man’s comment. “I wasn’t thinking Doyle. I didn’t think about Cordy or how the office was empty or how you could show up with reports on a vision… I just lost myself and well, Cordy walked in on us – "

“On yers an’ ‘er bed. With a – lemme guess – somewhat nude peroxide blond vampire.” Doyle’s tone held a hint of sarcasm but he was far from joking. He knew that Angel would never lie about what he was now saying. He also knew that if the man went down there the way he was now he would most likely get the shit kicked out of him. “Angel man, wha’ were yah – oh, thas right, yah weren’t thinkin’.”

Angel hung his head in shame. He leaned foreword and rested his elbows on his knees then buried his face in his hands. “How do I make everything right again? How can I make her understand what me n’ spike are?”

“I think she already knows wha’ yah are. Wha’ yah need to explain to ‘er is what th’ ‘relationship’ between you an’ Spike is. Explain tha’ what you an’ Spike have or had is an’ how it developed.” Doyle jumped off the desk and grabbed his jacket. “I’m off to th’ pub. If I ‘ear from yah… well, at least she didn’t dust yah.”

The smirk that tugged at Angel’s lips couldn’t be helped and he followed the smaller man to the door. A smile and a wave latter and Doyle was gone.

Angel took a deep, cleansing breath and started towards the stairs. Halfway down, he paused and concentrated until the sound of Cordelia’s heartbeat touched his ears. He could tell that she was crying and it hurt him that she was hurting. After only a second’s more hesitation, he continued down the stairs and towards the bedroom.

***

Spike couldn’t suppress the grin and the sigh of relief that accompanied Angel’s arrival. Though his Sire looked like sex personified at the moment Spike knew that his Sire wasn’t going to make a move towards either him or Cordelia until a few things were settled.

Cordelia’s grip on his waist tightened and Spike knew that she knew that Angel was there. “Come on, pet. Peaches jes wants to know if you’re gunna be alright.” Spike touched the girl’s chin and tipped her head up so that their eyes met.  A lopsided grin graced his features and he gave her a bit of a squeeze.

Cordelia grinned back at him and sat back a bit. “Thanks,” she mouthed then turned to face her lover. “Hey Angel.”

Angel didn’t miss the strange intimacy between the two but he didn’t acknowledge it either. He noted the easy way that Spike held his mate and the way that she relaxed into his embrace. The sight of the two of them together tugged at his heart. “I had some thoughts between the door and the stairs,” he stated softly.

Spike scoffed and muttered, “It’s a miracle!”

The look that Angel sent his Childe caused the blond to laugh. “I have a feeling that you got Spike to explain a few things to you,” Angel said, turning his gaze back to Cordelia. At the girl’s nod he continued, “It has been a very long time since Spike and I have been even remotely intimate. What he and I did today – I’m sure Spike told you about the ‘why’ and the ‘what the fuck’… I desperately need my Childe, Cordy but I want you just as much.”

The silence that followed was almost deafening. Cordelia swallowed. Looking blankly at something on the wall to the left of Angel’s ear, she absently drew circles on Spike’s chest. In just minutes she had gone from dreading the worst to hoping for the best. She had a feeling that she knew what Angel was asking but she wanted him to say it out loud. “So what are you suggesting?”

Spike and Angel shared a look and Angel nodded at the blond. That brief look was all it took for them to come to an understanding. “Pet, he wants to know if it would be okay with you if you joined us. He doesn’t want give either of us up – at least that’s what I think he wants. You never know with Peaches.”

Cordelia grinned at the sound of Angel’s soft grow a lightly poked Spike.

“Ow! Bloody ‘ell, pet, you’ve got pointy fingers.” Spike’s tone was playful and light but both Angel and Cordelia could feel the tension rolling off the blond. It wasn’t hard to tell with the way his jaw was clenched and the slightest hint of sorrow in his deep blue eyes.

 “So… you’re saying that you want a threesome?”

~Part: 13~

The laughter that escaped from Spike’s mouth did nothing to help Angel as the older of the two continued to flush deeply. His head dropped and his hands clenched into fists as his shoulders shook. When his head rose again, his eyes were sparking with mirth. His lips twitched as he came in and sat on the edge of the bed and took the girl’s hand. “Yeah, Cordy, I guess that’s what I mean,” he said softly. He leaned in and softly kissed her before pulling back and cupping her cheek with his hand. “I don’t want to rush into anything with you yet. I want you to be completely comfortable with Spike and vise versa.”

Cordelia smiled and hugged him. “I love you Angel, I want you to know that.”

Spike made a choking sound and continued to grin even after Angel whacked him upside the head. “Well Peaches, looks like you got yer family that you’ve always wanted… what’re you gunna do with it?” the blond asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Angel and Cordelia shared a look before the ex-cheerleader stood and moved to the door. She stopped at the foot of the bed and turned back, her eyes on Spike. Without warning, she shot foreword and claimed Spike’s lips with her own.

After a second of shock, the blond responded wholeheartedly. His arms caught around her waist and he pulled her flush up against him while his tongue begged entrance into her mouth. Once her lips parted, his hand went up to the back of her head so that he had more control over the kiss. His legs parted and she rested between them with his rock hard cock poking insistently against her stomach – still hard from earlier and steadily growing harder. Her hands were far from stationary as her right ran through his soft bleached locks and her left explored his chest. She could feel his hand move from the small of her back down to cup her ass. Finally she pulled back to suck in some much needed oxygen.

“Wow,” she muttered, still leaning against his chest. After a moment she pulled away and sat on her heels. She liked the dazed look on his face, the messy hair, and the way he lay sprawled out under the sheet, his erection extremely noticeable. She grinned and turned to face Angel. He also had a dazed look about him and her grin grew three sizes. “There you go, Angel. He’s ready for you.” And with that said, the brunet stood and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Just before the door clicked shut the men heard her say, “Have fun and try and keep it down, I plan on getting at least *some* sleep tonight.”

“Bloody effen ‘ell, Peaches! Where the hell did you find that girl?” Spike muttered as he continued to stare after the girl long after the door had closed. He turned back to face his Sire and found himself lost in the man’s gaze.

Angel didn’t say a word as he slowly stood; keeping his eyes locked with Spike’s, and drew off the now extremely tight slacks. As his hard cock sprang from its prison Spike’s eyes darted downwards then back up in a silent question. Angel grinned wolfishly but shook his head ‘no’ before yanking the sheet from Spike’s body. He took in the sight of his Childe’s gloriously hard, pale body and couldn’t think of anyone quite as beautiful as his boy.

The urge to rock his hips was so strong that Spike had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from moving. It didn’t hurt but the slight twinge that it caused kept his mind clear enough to recognize that Angel was in control. He wouldn’t do a bloody thing until his Sire gave him permission to do so. He had learned long ago what would happen if he took things into his own hands.

“Don’t cum until I tell you to cum, m’boy,” Angel whispered as he crawled up his Childe’s body. He knew from the way that Spike’s jaw was locked and twitching that he was having a hard time staying in control. It had been too long since they had done this.

Spike nearly jumped out of his skin when Angel’s cock rubbed up against his own. Instead he hissed and clenched his fists so tight that his short nails dug into his skin and caused more blood to trail down and mix with now dry blood from earlier. “Bloody hell, Peaches!” he muttered. He clenched his eyes tight, concentrating on not giving in to the pleasure of his Sire’s touch.

‘Tsking’ Spike softly, Angel licked along the shell of his boy’s ear. “Spike, I don’t want to hear any other words then those three come of your mouth for the rest of the night,” he whispered between licks and nips.

Spike groaned at his words but didn’t say another word other then a tight-lipped “Bloody hell!” as Angel moved from his ear to his neck. His hands moved across Spike’s chest. First rubbing, twisting, pinching his nipples then clawing hard, drawing four long trails of blood down his washboard stomach. A finger dipped into his navel and Spike cried out. There was no coherency to the sound but Angel immediately stopped his ministrations.

“Don’t let that happen again, boy, all I want to hear from yah is: bloody, hell, and Peaches. Do you understand?” Angel’s voice was hoarse and deep. He was slowly starting to let his accent slip into voice and it scared the hell out of Spike.

Nodding his head, keeping his eyes shut and biting his bottom lip until it bled, Spike totally submitted to his Sire. He tilted his head to the side and willingly bore his neck to him. He was surprised when all Angel did was lick the length of his neck before turning back to explore his chest.

Angel nibbled across Spike’s collarbone and moved lower until he found a nipple. It was hard already and he couldn’t help the grin that crossed his face. He remembered just how responsive those nipples were. With a growl, he leaned in a bit down. Not too hard but hard enough for Spike to shout out a *very* loud “*PEACHES*!” and then turn into a quivering wreck as he did his best to stop from cumming. Angel chuckled as he ran his tongue over the assaulted nipple then repeated the process on the opposite nipple.

Finally, Angel reached for Spike’s straining cock and – the door flew open and Cordelia raced in. She stopped dead at the foot of the bed – not looking at them or making a sound. Angel groaned and pressed his forehead against Spike’s abdomen. He was silent for a moment before he turned to the girl that he loved and hated – if for only that moment – and asked, “Cordy?”

Cordelia had been standing there picking at a chipped nail and staring at the floor. Her head shot up at the sound of her name. She blushed and immediately looked down again. “Umm… Doyle’s upstairs. He had a vision on his way to the ‘pub.’ It’s about Sunnydale. He knows who one of those soldier guys are,” she explained in a soft voice.

Angel couldn’t stop the growl that grew from the middle of his chest. Angel’s eyes darted to his Childe but Spike hadn’t heard a word. His eyes were glazed over; his hips were rocking in an age-old rhythm while he whimpered the words ‘bloody hell’ and ‘Peaches’ over and over almost silently. “Cordy, give us a minute.”

She nodded and quickly fled.

“Spike, m’boy,” Angel whispered into his ear as he took a firm hold of his cock, “cum for me boy. I wanna see yah as yah lose yerself ta m’touch. Commo boy, do it fer yer Sire.” He tightened his hold and fondled the sack below his boy’s cock. The wolfish grin returned to his features as a finger touched the edge Spike’s puckered hole before plunging in.

Spike came with a roar. He screamed himself hoarse as his hips bucked and gyrated into Angel’s grasp. Stars exploded behind tightly closed eyelids and he pried them open so that he could look into his Sire’s fathomless eyes. The last thing he saw before darkness took a hold of him was a raw emotion that churned beneath the surface of those mud brown orbs.

~Part: 14~

Spike came to slowly at the sound of voices in the living room. He realized that he had moved from unconsciousness straight into a peaceful sleep. Now, as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair, he couldn’t suppress the grin that spread across his features. His mind fought to lose itself in the memories of all the sensations and emotions from earlier but he shook his head to clear it, stood and walked into the shower. He was covered in dry blood and semen – something that he had a feeling the others wouldn’t appreciate all that much.

He jumped out of the shower five minutes later already feeling slightly bereft without the cleansing heat soaking into his skin and dressed quickly. He couldn’t believe how well everything had went even though he couldn’t exactly remember what *had* happened. He felt like he had seen the sun rise.

He could remember almost every single touch and word said right until his brain had shut down around the time Angel had licked his neck. What had happened between them reminded his of nights from over a century ago though they were not the same. Angel’s touch had been gentle though rough. He had brought Spike pleasure though he made sure the blond had been forced to wait until he gave the command to give in to it.

The strain of his muscles had more to do with the fact that he could sense his Sire’s agitation from where he was then anything else. He wasn’t in the least bit uncomfortable when he walked so he knew that something had called a complete halt to things. That could only mean one thing; the ‘breed had had a vision and Angel had only hung around long enough to bring Spike off.

That in its self surprised him. Angelus had been into pain and intense blood play. If any opportunity arose for Angelus to wreak more pain and suffering to his youngest Childe, he would take it and tell him later that it was a ‘lesson well learned’ without actually explaining what the lesson was for. But the way the dark vampire had acted earlier had reminded him more of Angelus then any other stunt Angel had tried to pull since the night he had crashed parent teacher night at the high school and Angel had offered the boy to him. That had brought back memories so of many shared kills – even though he had been able to smell the soul in the vampire from across the room.

Stepping out of the bedroom wearing a plain white sweater that he had found in the depths of Angel’s drawers, a pair of plain black jeans that Angel had convinced Cordelia to buy for him and his old docs with his hair hanging in his face and a smile tugging at his lips the group on the other side of the door thought the man had never looked more human. After the moment it took for the three people there to take in his new look; two with outright desire in their eyes and one with surprise but acceptance, he sensed the unease that held the three people hostage jump up another notch.

He sighed and ran a hand through wavy locks. Preparing himself for a hard hit, he muttered, “Don’t bloody cushion the blow just tell me what you saw.” He met and held his Sire’s eyes for a moment before facing Doyle straight on.

Doyle shifted uneasily from foot to foot, his eyes darting around the room. “It’s bloody obvious that I had a vision just give me a minute to…” he stopped when he finally met Spike’s eyes. His feet stopped shifting and he began to rock slowly back and forth. “Saw SunnyHell, a brat wi’h dark hair – kinda cute – chatten with a bloke, a flash an’ th’bloke’s carrying a weapon an’s dressed in fatigues talkin’ ta a bird wi’h a doc’s jacket on. Th’ brat’s hurt bad an’ th’bloke has sumthin’ ta do wi’h it.”

Spike broke eye contact and swore softly. Without thinking, Spike’s left thumb found its way to his mouth and he began to chew on the nail. When he looked again at his Sire he saw poorly disguised confusion and a silent question. Before the words were asked he explained, “Picked it up from Dru. I can’t stand the mojo but I thought it would come in handy some time. Guess I was right – would’ve taken the ‘breed all week for him ta spit it out. Sorry ‘bout that, by the way.”

The Irishman just shrugged and grinned slightly. He ran a hand over his lined face and let out an almost hysterical bark of laughter. “Yer right. Can’t blame yah fer getting’ it outta me.”

The blond nodded. “So…”

“Sorry, don’t have needle or thread handy. You’re gunna have ta ask another time,” Angel said with a wry grin. He poor attempt at lightening the mood caused grins all around. “I figure we’ll head out soon as I can get in touch with Giles. Doyle recognized the ‘brat’ as Xander from a couple of photos that Cordelia was putting away while you were… somewhat unconscious. As far as Doyle can remember, there wasn’t any demon but that doesn’t mean there won’t be. I’m not leaving any of you behind so get your stuff together and be ready to go. Hopefully we’ll be outta here by sunset.”

***

Cordelia shifted once again in her position in Spike’s lap. The blond kept on squirming and after an hour he had begun biting the nail of his left thumb. She sighed and shifted so that she was more on his thighs then anything else. She continued her reading and soon heard the sound of sucking. She looked up and found that Spike had moved from biting to gently sucking on his thumb. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face and barely managed to contain the laughter that bubbled up.

“What the bloody hell are you smilin’ at, woman?” Spike growled teasingly. He unconsciously ran his damp thumb along a patch of smooth, tanned flesh that showed between the fabric of her shirt and the top of her jeans. He couldn’t help but chuckle when her breathing hitched. He was leaning in when Angel appeared from his downstairs office.

“I finally got a hold of Giles. I let him know that we’ll all be there. Spike, I didn’t mention your name but I did tell him that I’m bringing all three of you with me. What he assumes is up to him.” Angel dropped down and sat on the floor leaning against Spike’s knee. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

They were all ready to go and all they were waiting for was sunset, which was not far off. Both Spike and Angel could feel the sun sinking below the horizon and the oncoming darkness. It wouldn’t be much longer before they could leave. The silence that surrounded the three was completely comfortable. None of them noticed as Doyle took a quick picture. The two vampires didn’t even react to the sound of the camera or Doyle slinking off they were so wrapped up in the feel of family.

After a few more minutes of silence Spike spoke up. “Where’s the ‘breed? Thought he’d be all ‘let’s kill ‘em all’ and such.”

Angel shrugged. He stood and helped Cordelia out of the chair. “Well, might as well get going. By the time we get all settled into the car it’ll be dark. I’ll find Doyle.”

~Part: 15~

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please with sugar on top?”

“No.”

“Please with a strawberry on top?”

“No.”

“A cherry?”

“No.”

“Blood?”

“*No.*”

“A blow job?”

“I had one earlier. I don’t need another at the moment.”

“… A hand job?”

“Spike…” Angel did his best to keep his tone menacing. He even took the chance to throw a glare over his shoulder. Turning back to look at the road, he caught sight of Cordelia barely managing not to laugh. He couldn’t help it: he started to chuckle deep in his belly.

Spike glared at the back of Angel’s head and proceeded to pout. He huffed before drawing himself as close to the door as he could get and faced his death glare out the window. “Spoil sport.”

Silence reigned for the next ten minutes at which point the welcome to Sunnydale sign appeared. “Bloody hell, Peaches! It’s tradition!” Spike roared as they drew nearer to it. He hung his head in sorrow when his outburst was met only with snickers from all around. He plucked at Angel’s sweater that he was wearing and sighed dramatically.

Suddenly, the car jerked as it crashed. The sound of splintering wood reached Spike’s ears along with the tell tale sound of the welcome sign crashing down to the ground. Spike’s eyes flew to his Sire and he looked at the vamp with something akin to awe.

“You better think of a way to pay for any scratches,” Angel muttered as he backed up and started down the road again, ignoring the looks on Cordelia and Doyle’s faces.

Spike leered at him. “Don’t bloody worry ‘bout me payin’ yah back. By the time I’m finished with you, you won’t be able to walk for a week!”

Minutes later Angel pulled to a stop in front of the Bronze. He turned so that he was facing all the occupants of the car. “Okay, this is how we’ll do this. I asked Giles to have the Scoobies meet us here. Doyle, I want you to go in first. Scope out the place and see if you recognize any faces from your vision. If you see any of the Soldierboys I want you to get Xander out of there as fast as you can. If you can figure out a way to let me know who the guy from you vision is, do it!”

Doyle nodded an affirmative and got out of the car, heading toward the doors.

The crowd was thick but he managed to push himself through and sit down at the bar. After ordering his drink, he let his eyes roam over the many faces. The first familiar sight was the blond hair of Angel’s ex-love. To the girl’s left was a redhead and behind her was the dark haired youth from his vision.

He grabbed his drink, stood and took a sip from the cup all without losing sight of the boy as he danced with the redhead. That is if you could call what the man was doing dancing. What he was doing was more along the lines of a heart attack without having to worry about dropping dead. He chuckled as he made his way to a table not far off from the boy’s and his friends’ own and got comfortable.

He was working on his plan of ‘The Great Xan-Escape’ when Angel appeared at the table with Cordelia at his side. He could sense the tension surrounding the group from where he sat and he felt sorry for both Angel and Cordelia. They were talking to Buffy in an obvious attempt to break the ice when Spike sat down next to him.

Doyle threw him a look before he went back to his Xan-watching/planning. “Angel actually let yah come or di’ yah jes’ invite yerself ta th’party.”

“His Poufiness may be able to boss you and the cheerleader around but he doesn’t have any control over me… outside the bedroom that is,” Spike said with a shrug. “Anyways, he wanted me here just in case something went down. I have to get Cordy out if bad turns to worse.”

The half-demon nodded in understanding as he followed Xander’s path from the dance floor back to the table. He winced slightly as his enhanced hearing picked up the bard that the youth threw at his ‘boss.’ He shook his head and risked looking away from the boy long enough to catch the grin on Spike’s face. “Care ta indulge wha’s so funny?” he asked, quickly flicking his gaze back.

Spike laughed out loud as Xander insulted Angel yet again. “Luv to have that one around just so I could learn every single thing that kid knows about rilin’ the Pouf.”

Doyle smirked. “He’d prob’ly come up wi’h new ones fer yah an’ make th’both of yer unlives a livin’ ‘ell,” he predicted. He stiffened as a very large sandy haired man joined the group. “Fuck!”

Spike immediately knew that there was trouble. He shared a look with the ‘breed and watched as Doyle’s eyes flecked to the new comer and back to him. “Bloody *fuckin’* ‘ell! Tha’s him, isn’t it?”

“I’ll send Cordy your way,” Doyle said softly as he stood to go. The hand that grabbed his arm stopped him and he looked at Spike with a mixture of curiosity and panic.

The blond paused and his eyes darted back and forth between Doyle and the group not far from them. When Doyle nodded in silent knowledge, he sighed and ran a hand through his gel-less hair.

Doyle approached the group with a cocky smile on his lips and a sway of his hips. A moment before materializing between Xander and Cordelia, he caught sight of Angel watching him discreetly while the Slayer talked about one thing or another. He made his presence known by clearing his throat and grinned wider when he was met with suspicious gazes. Ignoring everyone but the three he was risking his life fore began his act.

He turned to Cordelia and replaced his cocky smile with one that was as sweet as sugar. “’Ellow sweet. I wanted to let yah know, me buddy over there,” Doyle pointed to his table, “wants ta dance wi’h yah. ‘E isn’t one fer makin’ th’first move so I did it fer ‘im.” The look he shared with her held answers to all her question and she nodded so slightly that he barely caught it.

“Oh my God!” she said trying to get a look and making a show of half standing in her chair. She grabbed Doyle with her eyes and metaphorically cornered him. “Does he have an accent like you?”

“Sorry luv, ‘e’s English. Kinda rough ‘round th’edges bu’ good on th’eyes.” Doyle winked at her and watched as she jumped up without another word and stalked towards her ‘prey.’

He chuckled softly and took in the look of the group. His eyes landed on the Soldierboy and he fought back the urge to take him out. There were some demon instincts that he couldn’t ignore and his instincts were telling him that the boy – no man – in front of him was a killer. “Hell man. Yer at a club no need ta stand ta attention. Th’soldier routine is so old,” he stated with a raised eyebrow.

He sensed rather then heard Angel’s growl and silently praised himself for a job well done. Now was the hardest part. According to Cordelia, Xander was a strict het’ so he would have to act like he had never acted before.

He leaned against the boy’s arm and almost moaned at the rippling muscle that he felt there. The hand that the group couldn’t see made its way to sit at the base of the boy’s spine. Doyle felt him stiffen slightly and silently swore. Eyes from the group were still on him and he knew that they were wondering why he was still there.

“’Nother reason m’ here is cause I saw yah from ‘cross th’dance floor,” Doyle whispered, facing the boy. “Couldn’t help bu’ wunder wha’ yah wou’ say if I asked yah ta dance.”

Xander swallowed audibly and unconsciously leaned into Doyle’s touch while trying to ignore the fact that Doyle was practically purring in his ear. He was silent for a long time before he felt the man pull away.

“Guess yah don’ wanna dance,” Doyle said with a large pout. He was thinking desperately for a plan B but he was drawing a blank. That was until his eyes sought out Angel. He purred as loudly as he could and racked his gaze over Angel. He knew that Angel was clued in to the fact the guy next to Buffy was the Soldierboy but he still had a message to pass on.

Pushing himself flush against Angel’s back, he whispered into the man’s ear, “Yah do anythin’ stupid an’ Spike will have yer balls fer lunch.” He ran his hand along Angel’s arm and cocked and eyebrow as if in silent question.

In a last ditch attempt he turned lust filled eyes to Xander and sighed in relief when the boy stood. The looks on Xander’s friends’ faces were remarkable. Doyle would do it again and again if it meant that he could see the Slayer do that fish impersonation. “Change yer mind luv?” he asked in the deepest voice he could muster.

Xander shrugged. “Nope, just recovered from the shock. Let’s dance.”

Angel watched the two take the dance floor with a sigh of relief and eyes full of surprise. He couldn’t believe that Doyle had managed to convince the boy to go anywhere with him but he had done it. “I always thought that Xander was straight,” he stated just to see if Buffy would do that thing where her whole face seemed to wrinkle up.

Sure enough it did and Willow answered in a hallow voice, “Well, he’s always been bi but he never really accepted it, yah know?”

Angel looked at the girl. Okay, she was perceptive – he had to give her that much. He was a vampire and he had barely noticed the boy’s reaction to other men… then again he had been more interested in Buffy at the time. Turning his gaze to Soldierboy, he committed his face to memory before considering his next move. He hadn’t really expected for things to play out so fast.

~Part: 16~

Angel bit back his demon as he listened to Buffy introduce Soldierboy as a ‘friend.’ He couldn’t believe that she couldn’t sense something off about the boy. He could recognize the smell of six different types of demon blood on the boy plus a few that were obviously mixed breeds. From the way that Buffy spoke he knew that she had no clue as to what Soldierboy did under the mask of darkness.

He rested his elbows on the table and hid his head in his hands. He pressed the heal of his hands into his eyes and silently made a deal with the demon inside him. The battle that was coming up against the Initiative was going to be fierce. If his demon just let Angel get through the next few minutes without ripping out the throat of the man that had destroyed his boy’s life he would give it free reign.

***

Xander stood awkwardly in front of the lanky, dark haired man. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and shuffled his feet. “Hey, look, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. I don’t usually – well I never dance with guys. You see, the last time someone mistook me for uh… being gay I was trying to get him to admit that he was a werewolf. He thought I was trying to get him to admit that he was gay and so was I. He thought I was coming on to him. Then there was that uncomfortable period where he would hit on me while I was around my friends. I have had many girlfriends and I'm not exactly unknown to women. I think you’re a good-looking guy as far as guys go and I can tell. I don’t want to hurt your feelings but I think I’ll go back and sit with my friends.”

The man smirked. “M’ Doyle. Ever been outta town b’for, yah look familiar?”

Xander shrugged. “I worked at the famous Ladies’ Night out in Oxnard. That’s about all of my worldly experiences. I'm Sunnydale – born and bread. It’s Xander by the way.”

Doyle nodded. He moved to allow a stone-faced man to walk past him. He touched Xander’s arm and led the way to a dark corner. “Okay, so yah won’t dance wi’h me. Maybe we can talk fer a bit?”

Confusion covered Xander’s face as he followed Doyle.

***

Silence surrounded the table as they all watched Angel hiding his face from the others. They were all uncomfortable with Angel’s actions. Buffy and Willow shared a look while Riley just sat glaring at ‘Tall, Dark and Handsome.’

Riley jumped when Graham came up and touched his shoulder throwing the other man away from his thoughts. He spared the group a quick glance and Angel a questioning upraised eyebrow before turning his attention to Riley. “Ri, there’s trouble. We’re needed at the dorms.”

Angel’s head shot up and he glared at the two Soldierboys. He considered confronting them right then and there but he knew that he needed a plan and he wanted to get Xander out of town as soon as possible. If the PTBs figured that Xander was so important that Angel had to be the one to rescue him then he would do just that. That didn’t mean he liked the boy – he just had to save him… again. Maybe he would get a chance to hit him in the face again – could be fun.

He tilted his head and looked at Riley. A thought struck him and he turned to Buffy. “So, what are all these rumors I’ve been hearing about a group of Soldierboys who’ve been running around campus lately?”

***

Doyle leaned against the railing and just looked at Xander, willing the boy to relax under his gaze. After a moment he couldn’t help the grin as Xander continued to shift uneasily in front of him, completely silent. “Why don’t yah tell me ‘bout this guy tha’ yah thought was a werewolf an’ misinterpreted yer… questioning?”

The youth laughed nervously. “You don’t seem the least surprised about the fact that I said werewolf.”

“Th’fact tha’ yah’ve lived over a Hell-mouth all yer life an’ managed ta stay alive is wha’ s’prises me. Havin’ a chat ‘bout werewolves seems so trivial,” Doyle said with a shrug. “Cou’ be worse though. Least yah ‘aven’t had ta deal wi’h a vengeance demon.”

Xander grimaced. “Actually, my date to the prom was a former vengeance demon that created an alternate dimension where me and my best friend were demons – vampires to be exact – the master was our best friend… sire, whatever and people rode other people – Angel  – like ponies. Believe me: that wasn’t the worst of it.”

Shocked, Doyle just stared harder at the boy for a moment. “An’ I thought tha’ I’d seen a lot.”

Chuckling, Xander said, “Well… seems like I’ve attracted yet another demony type. Fuck, does the Hell-mouth deem that I will forever attract things that will at one point lead to my death?”

“Who said I planned on killin’ yah?” Doyle asked, moving into the boy’s personal space. “I think I thought a bit ‘bout kissin’ yah, then maybe askin’ fer yer phone number an’ if yah happened ta give me th’right one there’s hope fer a second meeting. Some people call it a date but ta keep things safe let’s call it coffee.”

Running a hand through his hair, Xander nervously moved backwards until his back hit a wall. “A k-kiss? Um… kissage is something usually reserved for the female masses or people I’ve known longer then about ten minutes. I mean you just told me your name.”

***

Buffy glared at Angel for his comment but couldn’t help but notice that instead of leaving, Riley had sat back down – seemingly nonchalant – and Graham seemed to be making himself comfortable. She frowned. Only seconds ago they had been ready to leave – kicking up dust behind them. She decided to play along and see what Angel had planned. “Yeah, I know. I’ve run into them almost every night since starting at Sunnydale U. People are saying that they have a base nearby.”

A grin touched Angel’s face as he played this game. Not too much to give away what he was but not little enough that Riley didn’t do something stupid. Angel wanted Soldierboy to ruin his cover first. “I’m all the way in LA and I’ve heard stuff about it.” He caught Willow’s eye and felt the need to gloat when he saw the understanding there. “I heard that something happened in your dorm about a month ago.”

Willow nodded and rubbed her neck absently. “Remember Spike? We were ‘hanging out,’” she made sure that Angel recognized what she was saying before continuing on, “We just sat and talked for hours – well… no, yeah it was hours. Buffy had just left before he came by about an hour after sunset. We were just starting to get to know each other again when the power was cut. Everyone called it a prank but I saw them. They were all decked out in full military gear.”

Angel was careful to watch Riley as Willow told the edited version of what had happened that night. He knew the real story – Spike had explained every last detail. Now he watched Soldierboy’s expression. He was straining to hear his heart beat but in the club it was hard enough to tune out the sound of all the voices and heartbeats let alone single out a certain one.

~Part: 17~

The situation that Xander had managed to get himself into seemed somewhat surreal. He couldn’t remember what had convinced him to accept the offer to dance with the dark haired man. There was something about him that made Xander wonder. Suddenly he realized that a complete stranger – a *male* complete stranger – was attempting to kiss him.

Xander firmly placed his hand on the chest of the man and started to apply pressure. When Doyle didn’t move away at first, Xander forcibly pushed the man away. “Okay, I think I’ve already voiced my opinion about the kissing of me by you. Maybe it wasn’t all that clear to you but what I said came along the lines of a ‘Hell no!’ You are starting to freak me out and I think that you may have some kind of thrall ‘cause before I met you I was thinking about the greatness that is the female body. In fact I was getting a very nice visual of B – uh… some very good-looking females that would make me have to come up with an excuse for not dancing, which I always do.

“I don’t enjoy having a sudden urges to be someone’s butt-monkey. I think this is all some kind of evil scheme to get to either Buffy or Angel. At the moment I’m leaning towards Buffy ‘cause Angel really doesn’t like me all that much. Now what kind of demon are you and what have you done to mess with my mind!?!” By this time Xander had Doyle pressed against the opposite wall from where he had been pinned only moments before.

A pout graced Doyle’s features and he sighed. There was no convincing this man that his was desirable by not only females but males as well. The fact that he was half demon had nothing to do with it. “Yah prob’ly already answered this bu’: why da yah think ’m a demon again?”

***

Angel knew that both Buffy and Willow understood what he was doing. He was as closely attuned to the Soldierboys across from him as it was possible in the overcrowded club but his eyes stayed with the girls. Willow was keeping her head bowed over her drink while her eyes flickered about the group of people surrounding her trying her best not to erupt into a babble fit. Buffy, on the other hand, was outright staring at her friends. He was starting to think that they would never speak up when Riley cleared his throat in a thoughtful manner.

“I dunno. Between all the rumors throughout the college community and what I’ve actually witnessed it’s really hard to believe why anyone would want to maintain the idea of soldiers of any kind on campus,” he stated coolly. He was sitting in a way that to the naked eye it would seem that he was completely relaxed but, on closer inspection, Angel could see that he was nervously figuring the tablecloth.

***

“One: only demons or slayers or ex-demons have *ever* been interested in me. Kissage and the giving of phone numbers equals badness and sometimes – well, more times then considered healthy – the threat of death, which I explained – earlier… I think.” Xander sighed and dropped his hand from where it had been pointing into Doyle’s chest. He had been serious for too long – it was beginning to affect what little constructive thought processing he had after spending the last few days researching the latest and greatest evil that had decided to try and take over the world, starting with the Hell-mouth.

He looked into Doyle’s eyes and saw a guarded look that overlaid what looked like both desire and questioning. “I think I should be getting back to my table. Since you refuse to tell what kind of demon you are – since I’m positive that you are, in fact a demon – I guess my number won’t be finding its way into your possession.” He turned to leave then something he said struck him and he quickly turned back. “Not that I planned to give it too you in the first place! ‘Cause I’m not into guys, even though I don’t mind that you are – I just might act uncomfortable around you. I mean I could live with a few guy friends that would just like to hang out and shoot pool or something but guys and the liking of other guys isn’t something I do.”

Doyle titled his head slightly at the boy’s actions. Things weren’t exactly going as smoothly as he had hoped. The boy refused to stay anywhere near him unless he agreed to reveal his entire life’s story – or at least what kind of blood he had pumping through his veins. “Okay, promise ta hear me out b’fore yah go runnin’ ta yer Slayer?”

***

Growling sub vocally, Angel stood. The lack of any physiological change in the boy that he could detect other then his nervous fiddling was starting to annoy him. If he didn’t cool down and fast things would get ugly. “Well, I guess that makes every single person in Sunnydale I know that I’ve talked to recently – some of whom I have known for most of my lifetime – plus both Buffy and Willow liars. You’ve never seen it so there’s no way that it could be real.” On the last bit his every word dripped with sarcasm. His distaste of the boy’s opinion was painfully obvious. “Well listen closely *Boy,* if over half my friends in this town are running scared because of *rumors* then the story teller must be one *hell* of a good liar.

“Now let’s see. There’s Willow; she couldn’t lie to save her life and she even admits it. I know this because she needed to lie for me one time and – well technically I simply asked her not to mention something to Buffy. She turned into a wreck – of which both Buffy and Xander attest to. Now on to another point. Why would Willow tell Buffy that some Soldiers broke into her dorm? Why would she tell me? Hmmm?”

***

There was no way for Doyle to sugarcoat what the boy wanted to hear so he sighed and began. “I am human jes… not entirely. I work fer th’Powers – higher beings tha’ make everything work out th’way tha’ they do. I was sent ta LA ta contact their champion a few months back. So now I work wi’h Angel, Cordy an’ Sp… ah… ‘nother friend a Angel’s.”

Xander sighed and his shoulders slumped. He knew that to think someone could possibly like him just because they saw him in a club and thought he was cute was too much to ask for. “So once again I am just the demon magnet. Damn I wish that…” he trailed off and looked around warily. “Wishing won’t change anything so I’ll stop there. So… what have I done this time to earn the intervention of these higher beings?”

***

Both Riley and Graham had looked increasingly uncomfortable as Angel had gone on. They kept on glancing at each other out of the corner of their eyes. In the end, Riley was the one to speak. “I didn’t say that Willow or Buffy were lying. What I meant was that since I’ve never seen anything these Soldier guys I can’t really believe the rumors. I respect that both Willow and Buffy believe these rumors but I would like to see it for myself before I go and start telling people that the rumors are true. I’m not amazed in the least that this college rumor has found its way to you – since you do know a couple of the students at Sunnydale U. What astounds me is that your ‘friends’ seem to be telling you the same thing.”

Angel was doing his best to keep from vamping out. The boy was worse then Spike had been all those years ago when he had first come to Sunnydale. He had to think happy thoughts of Cordelia and Spike to stop from snapping Soldierboy’s neck.

“Now if you’ll excuse us,” Graham said, standing, “we need to be going.”

***

“Th’vision itself was mainly centered on my seein’ yer face an’ th’face of a coupla Soldierboys” Doyle began slowly. “I got th’jist tha’ one a ‘em were gunna set yah up then shot yah down. It’s all tied in ta wha’s happenin’ wi’h Spike and – "

“Woah, stop right the fuck there!” Xander exploded, ignoring any stares that his words caused. “Spike!?! What the hell do you mean Spike? Spike is evil and tends to try and kill me and mine on a regular basis!”

Doyle winced visibly and ran a slightly nervous hand through his hair. “Well, yah see, I had a vision ‘bout this Mooragh demon tha’ happened ta lead us – well, Angel – ta rescuin’ Spike. Now if a vision leads ta people tha’ means they are needed or need ta be rescued. I can’t pick en choose who gets ta be saved, it’s up ta th’Powers.”

Xander seemed to slump further under this new news. He ran a hand through his hair, mimicking Doyle’s actions from seconds before. He sighed and met Doyle’s eyes, confusion warring with a strange kind of acceptance displayed in the rawest form Doyle had ever seen were in the boy’s eyes. Unknowingly, Xander’s eyes had gone wide and slightly watery and his lower lip had slipped forward into a perfect pout, treating Doyle with an unadulterated version of the boy’s ‘puppy dog face.’ After a moment Xander spoke again, “What does any of this have to do with me? You have no idea how many times I’ve been humiliated in my short lifetime. The situation that you described reminds me of a million different instances in high school. Why the fuck am I so important to the Powers?”

***

The tension that had been flowing between Angel and the Soldierboys went out the door with Riley and Graham. Angel slumped into his chair and dragged a weary hand across his face. He knew what was coming and he really didn’t want to have to deal with it right now.

“Okay Angel, what the hell is going on!?!”

Oh, and there it is. With a sigh he faced Buffy and squared his shoulders. “My friend had a vision. I told you that already but what I didn’t tell you because LoverBoy showed up was that it gave me a face to a couple of Soldierboys. I know who some of them are and I know that one of them is going to do *something* to affect you. Maybe not directly but it will still devastate you if I let it happen.”

The glare on the Slayer’s face made it clear to Angel that she really didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t giving her a straight answer. “So yet again evil is trying to get at me through my friends. Who is it this time, Angel? Which one of my friends do I have to protect because my job is putting them in danger?”

“None of them,” he answered truthfully. At the look of horror on her face he grimaced. “I received the vision. I’m the one that has to take care of it. If you had any part it I would ask your help but you weren’t. The Powers trust that I do my job and that means doing it on my own.”

***

All Doyle could do was give a simple shrug. He knew that the boy deserved more then that but he didn’t have any answers. “When I fig’er out exactly why th’Powers send us ta save th’people tha’ they do I’ll let yah know but fer me ta do tha’ ‘m gunna need yer number.”

Xander couldn’t hold back the dry chuckled that Doyle’s statement caused. They were pretty much right back where they had started. He couldn’t believe that he had gone from pissed that yet another demon had been attracted to him to playful in about five minutes. There wasn’t much he could think to say other then a noncommittal, “Hmmm.”

“Yah know…” Doyle started, “It’s too bad I couldna met yah under better terms.” He grinned in what he hoped was a wolfish manor but the smile disappeared as the pain gripped him and images flashed through his mind. He grabbed his head and moaned, glad that the boy had gotten him up against a wall. “Hell,” he managed to gasp out.

Xander caught Doyle before he started to slide down the wall. When people started to stare, he chuckled. “C’mon Doyle. No more drinking for you. I don’t want to have to put up with your constant blubbering. Hey, next time let’s just say that you got shitfaced instead of actually getting you drunk.” He sighed in relief when the people turned away. “I’m guessing that this is you having one of your visions,” he said as he began to drag Doyle in the direction of his abandoned friends.

When the table came into view Doyle was walking again and Xander was happy to see that Riley was gone. He really hated the guy – maybe one day he would have a reason to back up his hatred. Hell, it had worked with Angel. Maybe Riley would turn out to be sociopath – hey look, big word, Willow would be proud – with killing on the mind as well.

“Hey Deadboy, got a mo?” Xander asked when he and Doyle reached the table. He frowned when Doyle pulled away from him. With a concerned look at the older man, he let go of him and watched as Doyle attempted to stand straight on his own.

Angel cocked an eyebrow at Xander and threw a slightly concerned look at Doyle. He considered telling the boy to fuck off but he knew that Buffy would pull out Mr. Pointy if he so much as looked at Xander the wrong way in her eyes. “Why would you want to – "

Doyle cleared his throat. “Angelman…” he didn’t bother to finish his sentence, instead he just gave him a look.

Immediately Angel clued in to Doyle’s woozy state and swore softly. He grabbed both Doyle’s and Xander’s arms and dragged them away, ignoring the girls’ protests. As soon as they were at a safe distance from anyone that could possibly want to eavesdrop he asked softly, “What did you see?”

~Part: 18~

“Xander, I’ll put it this way: your choices are very limited and no matter what you chose you will walk down the path that the Powers created for you.” Angel was holding the boy by his forearms and staring into his eyes intently. “Doyle has been living with these visions for a while now and he understands them. He’s the only one who can see what is in the visions and I trust what he tells me.”

Running his hands through his hair after pulling out of Angel’s grasp, Xander looked from Angel to Doyle and back again. He walked a few steps away, ending up against the wall of the alley. “I can’t believe this. Not… a few hours ago I was reasonably well off with a job that I was actually good at, the possibility of a new apartment and friends that finally started to pay attention to me again. Suddenly I get a call from Giles saying that you were on your way to town and my world goes to Hell. No, scratch that – I already live in Hell. This is worse… this is the Bronze on Karaoke night with drunken freshmen and Buffy and Willow on chocolate highs.”

The look on Xander’s face tugged at Angel’s heart and for once he pressed his hatred for the boy to the farthest reaches of his mind and approached him again. He grabbed the boy’s chin and pulled it up so that Xander was looking into his eyes again. “Xander I know what you’re going through. So does Doyle and Buffy and everyone else who has ever been asked or told they need to fight for the Powers.”

He paused and turned to Doyle, nodding at him to come foreword. “The choice that you are given is simple. You can accept that there’s more to you then there seems to be and that Powers know exactly what it is. You can embrace the good fight and be known as a warrior of the Powers,” Angel said, looking back to the boy. He spared Doyle another glace and considered hugging the man. The support that shown in Doyle’s was almost enough to give him wings. Angel masked his glee that he had such a worthy friend as Doyle and continued to tell Xander what he needed to hear.

“That or you can walk away much like I did at first. You can pretend that you really are the Zeppo and the donut boy. You can keep up your façade as a dimwitted pizza delivery boy that follows the Slayer around doing little more then providing some comic relief during the latest apocalypse. You can wait until the day that the Powers send someone to you to force you to see exactly what it is you’re needed for.” Angel stepped back and let his hands fall to his sides, limply.

His face reminded Xander of when the vampire had been dating Buffy. The angstful, kicked puppy, “I ‘m all ridden with guilt because the blood of so many innocents is on my hands” look. “I’m not going to force you into this Xander. I will remind you of what you are meant for. I will come back as often as I can to ask you if you’ve changed your mind but I wont make you do anything.”

And Xander watched as the vampire turned his back and walked away. Doyle stood and stared at him for a moment before walking away as well but before turning the corner he threw one last look over his shoulder. Xander stared after them and did his best to sink into the wall behind him.

He still couldn’t believe Doyle’s words from minutes before. His simple: “The Powers want Xander in LA” had nearly ripped him apart. He and Angel had never gotten along and according to Doyle, Spike was working for Angel alongside Cordelia. The Powers needed him to work with the only three people outside his family that hated him just for being Xander Harris. Well Spike had a reason but Xander figured that him being a friend of the Slayer wasn’t much.

He sighed.

“The Powers want Xander in LA. He’s working in our office and fighting at your side.” Doyle’s words were still ringing through his head and he pushed himself away from the wall and walked in the direction that Angel and Doyle had gone.

***

Angel found followed his Childe’s scent to the car and stopped as he took in the sight of Cordelia and Spike. They were leaning against the car kissing.

Spike had Cordelia up against the car so the he was standing with one leg between her thighs. One hand was holding the back of her neck while the other was fondling her breasts. His tongue seemed to have taken up a permanent residence in her mouth and his hips were mimicking his tongue’s in and out movements. At the same time Cordelia had both her hands moving from Spike’s ass to his hair and back again.

As suddenly as he had stopped, Angel began walking again. His eyes were burning into the pair making out while leaning on his car. Anyone standing in his way made a fast run for it and soon Angel was standing inches from the pair. His hands were in tight fists and his jaw was clenched. Suddenly a hand shot out and pulled Spike back by his hair. The feel of the blonde’s hair in his hand was somewhat reassuring. Angel just breathed in the scent of his Mate on his Childe for a moment. His mouth descended down on the blonde’s and Angel kissed his boy ferociously. He shoved his tongue out and forced his way into the blonde’s mouth. Seconds latter he pulled away and turned and attacked Cordelia’s mouth in the same manner. “Let’s go, when we get home I plan on fucking the rest of the night away.”

He ushered the two into the car and turned to see what was keeping Doyle. He was faced with Xander who was standing there with a dropped jaw. He smirk a purely Angelus smile and held the door open for the boy. “Well?”

Xander recovered slightly and started foreword. “Mind if we stop at my place? I’ll ignore the fact that you’re obviously sleeping with my ex if I can grab some things before I go to LA. Oh, and there *is* a place I can stay, right?”

They were all seated and the car was moving before Cordelia turned around in her seat and spoke. “Well, I’ve got this great apartment that you can have since I’m living with Angel now. It was really weird. I got the apartment then I slept with Angel and I was gunna have it put up again but since you’ll be working with Angel now I guess you can have my would be apartment.”

Nodding his head slowly, Xander gulped. “I’ll live there if you promise not to mention sex with Angel again. I only have one problem. Income could be – "

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, mate,” Spike said, throwing a glance over his shoulder. “Peaches takes care of the bills. Well, in actual truth I do but he has the money. Just wait until he gets rid of the sexual tension before you start insulting him. He might make you pay your own bills.”

Xander nodded his head again and addressed Cordelia, “So, what’s the place like?”

“Oh, Xander, it’s gorgeous! You’ll love it. I’ve only been there once but the place is great. There’s this one wall that needs to be taken down but other then that it’s perfect. Even you will have to admit it.” Cordelia was fast warming to the subject but the car coming to a halt and Angel clearing his throat stopped her from going on.

“Only take the basics Xander. I’ll bring you back after I’ve gotten laid and you can get the rest of your stuff. You’ve got fifteen minutes and I’m leaving,” Angel grated without moving a muscle.

Xander jumped out of the car and hurried along the walk even as he felt a cool chill of dread running down his spine. He spared a thankful smile at Doyle who had followed him. There was something about the Irishman that irked Xander but he was still grateful that he would have some help.

Back in the car Angel was waiting restlessly in his seat. He threw looks from the front door to the two sitting next to him to the clock before going through them all again. He jumped slightly when he felt hands on his shoulders caressing and soothing out the forming knots. Sighing, he relaxed into the touch. The hands on his buckle didn’t surprise him as much as the hands on his shoulders had.

When his cock was pulled out of his pants to meet the warm night air he hissed slightly and shivered as a hot mouth took hold of him. He gasped and looked down to find Cordelia looking up at him with mischief in her eyes. He had thought that the two were in the other’s spot. Spike was the type to fix everything with sex, not Cordelia even though he had voiced his desire to get off more then once in the past half hour. He groaned and leaned back as Spike found a particularly tight muscle. At the same time Cordelia began to move up and down over his engorged cock.

Angel chocked back a scream when her fingers messaged his balls while she tried to pull his pants down further with her other hand. Caught up in the sensations that she was creating, Angel could do little to assist her and became vaguely aware of Spike lifting his hips and pushing his pants down to his knees. In an attempt to keep himself quiet, Angel grabbed Spike by the back of his head and pulled the vampire in and captured his mouth; kissing him while massaging the back of the blonde’s neck.

Angel was having trouble controlling himself and it wasn’t often that that happened. Trying to keep himself preoccupied from what Cordelia was doing with her mouth, his hand deviled under the brunet’s skirt and he ran a finger along the fabric of her underwear. He chuckled into Spike’s mouth when she stopped her motions and moaned, the vibrations sending chills up and down the vampire’s spine. His hand tightened in Spike’s hair and he plunged his fingers into Cordelia’s sopping core.

In retaliation, the brunet squeezed tightly on Angel’s balls and the hand that had been content on massaging his thigh moved. She pulled back enough to slick her finger with some spit and precum before renewing her efforts on the dark hair vampire. She ran her fingers along his cleft and circled the muscles of his ass hole. Spike had his hand down his Sire’s shirt and was fucking Angel’s mouth with his tongue in a parody of what would be doing to him latter when they got back to LA.

Angel was drowning in the attention he was getting and soon he found that he could barely hold back. His fingers moved and soon he was pressing them against Cordelia’s magic spot and she was cumming. He grinned against Spike’s lips and moaned loudly as the blonde’s hand found his nipple and twisted it sharply. Suddenly, he stiffened. Cordelia had recovered from her orgasm and had shoved her fingers up his ass while still massaging Angel’s balls. Angel bucked three times up into her mouth before cumming with a muffled roar.

***

Xander gave Doyle another grin when he stopped on the front deck. “Well yah followed me. Now you’re gunna have to listen to me beg you to grab some stuff,” he said running a hand threw his unruly locks. A sound from the street caught his attention and he glanced over Doyle’s shoulder just in time to see Cordelia’s head disappear and Angel leaning into Spike’s touch. He shuddered in disgust at the sight of it and turned his eyes back to Doyle. “Would you mind going into the basement and grabbing some clothes while I chat with my parents?”

A grin tugged at Doyle’s mouth at the look on Xander’s face caused by the sight behind him. “Not a bit,” he stated and followed Xander inside.

Glancing around, Xander showed Doyle to the stairs before heading to the living room where he knew his dad would be, drinking away a paycheck that Xander had no clue where it came from. He approached the room slowly and the second he entered the room another cold shiver ran down his spine. He really hated Thursdays.

The darkened room immediately warned him that something was up. His parents usually ended up drinking themselves into a stupor before they got the chance to deal with the turning off of lights. He eyes scanned the room until they instinctively stopped at the spot where Xander knew his dad was sitting. Finally his eyes adjusted and he found himself staring into the watery eyes of his drunk-off-his-ass father.

Xander felt like a deer caught in the headlights and considered just what would have happened had he just gotten his stuff and left. He new the answer to that of course which was why he had asked Doyle to go downstairs ahead of him. He ran his hands nervously over his jeans, trying to rid himself of the sweat that had gathered on his palms. He opened his mouth to tell his dad that he was leaving, to explain why he had bothered to come home this late at all, to something, *anything.* Any words were cut off when the larger man lurched to his feet.

Xander couldn’t help but back away as the man approached him. The glint in the man’s eye along with the sound of the liquid splashing in the bottle warned him that the more he backed away the worse it could get.

“Well, well, looks like the good fer nuthin faggot finally decided ta bring his fuck toy home with him.”

What little blood that was still moving threw Xander’s veins turned to ice. That single slurred sentence cut through all his defenses and Xander began to tremble uncontrollably. In a very detached and appalled way he realized that he had faced multiple ends of the world with less fear then when it came to his dad. He swallowed against the lump in his throat and whispered, “I’m m-moving to LA. I-I f-f-found a job th-that I really en-en… um, like – better then con-const-struction even. I’m st-staying with s-s-some friends until I g-g-get a place of m-my own. Doyle offered to h-he-help me get some o-of m-m-my stuff.” Xander couldn’t believe this. He hadn’t stammered in over a year. He fucking hated what his dad did to him and still he seemed to stay in that strange detached place of his.

Suddenly, Tony threw the bottle. It caught Xander in the forehead above his left eye, leaving a deep gash but Xander barely winced. “You stupid li’l *fuck*! Do you really think that I would fall fer that shit? I don’t believe a fucking word that comes outta yer mouth. Yer mother tol’ me that there’s money missen and I wanna know where it is, Boy. The li’l bitch may not be good fer much but she knows better then ta steal from me! I know you did it you dumb fuck and I wanna get it back. Now!”

Scrambling back, Xander shook his head no. “I d-d-di-didn’t t-t-take anyth-thing. I-I-I s-s-swear!”

Tony laughed tonelessly as he neared Xander. “You don’t act like you didn’t take anything. If you didn’t have my money you wouldn’t be on the floor, you’d be standing up like a man.” He stopped and picked up an empty whiskey bottle. He considered it silently then turned to look at the gash on Xander’s forehead. He shrugged and pulled his arm back with every intent of hitting the boy with it when a sound at the door caught his attention.

He found himself looking into glowing eyes set in a face covered in what looked like spear heads. His jaw dropped along with the whiskey bottle and he stumbled back. His eyes went to Xander and he realized that this was the ‘Doyle’ that he had spoken of. “You li’l shit, knew you were a fucking fag! Yer pro’bly such a bad lay that th’ only thing that will go with you is deformed. Get yer ass outta here you sick cock sucker and don’t you fucking come back!”

Xander pulled himself out of his panic and made a mad dash for the door, the front walk - escape. He ran out without a word to Doyle who didn’t bother to close the door as he too hurried out. They reached the car to find Spike and Angel smoking while Cordelia lay in Angel’s lap with a distant look on her face. A glance at the clock on the dash told Xander that Spike and Cordelia had been able to distract Angel from starting the car five minutes after Xander’s time limit was up.

The vampires both stiffened at the smell of fresh blood and Xander was faced with two sets of cat eyes. He dropped his head in shame and climbed into his seat, still not able to control his trembling. He didn’t see the silent exchange between Spike and Angel and the next thing he knew, the car was on the freeway.

The ride had been completely silent and Xander was starting to go stir crazy. He still had the trembles but as always a strange kind of excitement was running through him at the thought that he had made it out of his house practically unscathed.

The thought of being unscathed reminded him that he had a gaping wound over his eye and caused him to realize that he was sitting next to an evil bloodsucker. An evil bloodsucker that happened to be wearing a fuzzy white sweater but an evil bloodsucker non-the-less. Reaching into his pocket, Xander pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to the gash over his eye and sent a weary look to the blond.

“Don’t worry pet, can’t harm a hair on yer bloody head,” Spike stated with a whispered of a grin on his face. He was watching Xander with what looked like worried interest. “Nice to know that I can still scare you stupid blokes. Woulda thought Red would’ve told you what happened in her dorm.”

Xander cocked his head to the side. He was quiet for a bit before asking, “What happened at the dorm?”

Spike stared at him slack jawed. After a moment he turned and slammed his fist in the direction of the seat in front of him. Instead of his fist connecting with the cushion he hit Angel in the back of the head. The dark haired vampire let out a un-vamp-like yelp and Spike grabbed his head, expecting the white-hot agony to explode through him.

Angel veered the car off the road and turned to the blonde with a look of horror on his face. Expecting to see Spike writhing in pain he was completely unprepared when, instead, he found himself faced with a large, toothy grin. Dread seeped into his bones and Angel waited for the worst.

“I can bloody well hit demons!” Spike exclaimed in child-like glee.

~Part: 19~

Angel gripped the steering wheel with one hand while his other arm was wrapped firmly around the woman beside him, his hand on her hip. He absentmindedly drew patterns on her skin with his thumb while he brooded. That was the only good of car rides anyways. He had never been the type to strike up a conversation just to fill the silence and in his opinion car trips were meant for people other then the driver to fall asleep.

In the backseat he could hear Spike talking excitedly. He wasn’t at all surprised that Spike was being completely ignored by Xander – who Angel had a feeling was probably cowering against the wall of the car – while Spike went on and on about the hordes of demon friends, or just demons that owed him a favor, he was going to get to help him take down the “Bloody fuckin’ Soldierboys and their idiot scientists who’re playin’ God”.

The boy had always loudly voiced his opinion about the vampire population and Angel and Spike in particular. He hated them, plain and simple. The fact that Xander had even bothered to ask Spike the details as to how the blond had come to work for – which had been quickly corrected and changed to with – Angel and his crew had utterly astonished the ensouled vampire. The uneasy acceptance of Spike’s answer Angel had found somewhat disconcerting but Cordelia had informed him that Xander would be asking her about it later.

The silent truce that Doyle and Xander had come to was something Angel was grateful for. He knew that Doyle liked Xander mostly because of the casual acceptance his seer had of the brunet. Doyle accepted the boy without question of his abilities or necessity to the group. Plus Doyle had told Angel that he was bi and Xander was attractive. Even Angel was willing to admit it. He just had to look past the boy’s hate of him and his gaudy fashion sense. He figured Doyle had a chance with Xander since the boy had no clue as to which team he swung his bat for – another tidbit that he had earned from Cordelia. His brunet girlfriend didn’t seem to have many hang-ups about talking about private conversations from previous relationships.

The drive back to LA was beginning to feel like it would never end. Angel was slowly starting to come to realize that Spike had no more reason for staying with him. His Childe wasn’t helpless. He wouldn’t need his Sire now that he knew he could defend himself – at least against the demon population.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Angel pulled to a stop in front of Doyle’s apartment building. His seer jumped out of the seat next to Cordelia and gave Angel a half salute before walking towards the doors. Angel nodded his head at the half-breed. At his side, Cordelia stirred from her light slumber and gave a soft farewell that Spike second. Xander waved hesitantly and smiled in return to the other man’s grin.

Ten minutes later, Angel stopped the car once again, only this time, outside of “Cordelia’s” apartment to drop Xander off. He and Cordelia both followed the brunet to the door, Angel to speak with boy and Cordelia to unlock it. After the door was open, she dropped the key into Xander’s open palm. “Angel has a spare at the office,” she said softly, “just in case anything happens. I’ll see if I can talk Spike into having the place put under your name tomorrow.”

Xander smiled and gave his ex a hug before turning to the brooding man that stood next to her. “Well Deadboy, looks like we’ll be spending a lot of time together.”

Angel nodded distractedly. “I’ll have Doyle come by tomorrow. He usually shows up at the office just before noon so you’ll have time to do whatever until then. Cordy will take you to get a new wardrobe in a couple days. There’s already some furniture so you can make do – at least for a while. There are linins and stuff in the closets and Cordy had couple boxes stored in the spare room. I haven’t set up cable so you’ll have to do without television and if you want to call anybody you’ll have to wait until you get to the office in the morning.”

Nodding at the information, Xander stifled a yawn. “You know… Spike’s real loyal,” he stated after a moment of thought.

Angel stood there not quite sure what to say to the former Scooby.

Taking a deep breath Xander spoke again, “The way I see it is… he was with Dru for, well as far as I can tell, ever. I don’t know and I don’t wanna know what’s going on between the three of you but I can tell that whatever it is, it’s intense. I saw the three of you together and I’m not ashamed – maybe embarrassed but not ashamed – to admit that you look hot together. To say the least: you were tense during the whole ride so I guess finding out that Spike can hit… demony people isn’t exactly the best of news in your book. Sure it’s a big yay! cuz he can take his frustration out on the demons instead of being a complete ass whole and getting on everyone’s nerves (which I’m guessing happens… often?).”

Angel cocked an eyebrow at the boy and cracked a slight smile. Well, Xander had grown a pair since he had left which was surprising but not all unexpected. He agreed with the boy’s words but stayed silent and didn’t acknowledge them out loud.

As he and Cordelia walked to back to the car, he silently thanked Xander. That was – until he saw the empty back seat of his convertible. His eyes shot up and down the block but he couldn’t see a sign of his Childe.

“Dammit,” Cordelia said softly and glanced at Angel. She winced at the look on his face and squeezed his hand that she held. “You okay?”

Angel’s shoulder’s slumped slightly and he ignored her words. “Let’s get home,” was all he said.

***

When they got back to the office they went through the motions before going downstairs. Angel immediately dropped into his favorite easy chair and started to brood once they reached the apartment. Cordelia fell across his lap after warming him something to eat. She placed the mug on the side table before moving to get comfortable. She arranged herself so that she was sitting with her ass between Angel’s spread thighs and her legs draped over the arm of the chair. Wrapping her arm under his and around his back, she began to play with the small churls she found at the back of his neck. After a long silence, Angel’s arms snaked around her waist and held on tight as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

“Do you think this is how he felt after I left when I got my soul?” Her neck muffled his voice but she still heard him. He moved his head just slightly breathing in her scent and waiting for her answer.

Cordelia shifted slightly and ran her hand further into Angel’s hair. She considered what he had said and finally decided to say, “Angel… I don’t know. Can you tell me how he felt after you left?”

Taking a beep, unneeded breath, Angel pulled back from her and picked up the mug. He sipped at the cooling animal blood, grimaced and thoughtfully pondered – okay, fine, brooded about – the answer to her question, which was, in essence, the answer to his question.

“After Darla kicked me out of our home she returned to Paris where my Childer were waiting for us to return. For once Penn had stuck around. I managed to get passage back to Paris, following Darla as she made her way back to the estate that we had taken residence in. The guilt hadn’t really started to affect me and I was still feeding, I just wasn’t playing the games that I had become known for.” Angel stopped to pull himself together. He took another breath and shifted Cordelia in his lap so that her back was pressed to his chest. Taking her hands in his, he began again. “I followed her back and arrived only a few days after she did. She had told them a lie about why I wasn’t with her then had Wil and Dru pack all of their stuff while she took Penn into her bed. Dru – being the insane, vision seeing vampire that she was – wanted little more then the presence of her Sire, barely believing a word that left Darla’s mouth but still knowing better then to question her words out loud. Wil tried his best to calm Dru but he was still young and wasn’t as good with her as he later learned to be.

“I watched from the gardens as they did their best to cope without my being there. When dawn threatened, I took shelter in the stables and fed off an older horse that had most likely been on its way to the glue factory. At nightfall, Dru found me. She demanded to know way Darla had told them that they were leaving Paris because I was bored and was no longer amused enough to come back from my travels while the stars had told her that ‘the mean woman of dresses and dance had touched me with a curse worse then damnation.’”

Angel tightened his grip on Cordelia’s hands and buried his face into the back of her neck. “I… I tried to tell her that Darla had placed the reason for the mean woman’s curse into my hands then knowingly lied to my blood family. But Darla was the oldest vampire in the household and even though I was the male, Darla still outranked me.

“Wil found us later, having become worried about his Princess. He had searched the grounds knowing that Dru wouldn’t leave while they were preparing to leave. When he found her with me… he freaked. I can’t think of any other way to describe the way he acted.” Angel nibbled slightly at Cordelia’s neck while he talked, her increased heartbeat taking his mind off of the difficult subject. “He beat the shit out of me… I hadn’t been feeding properly so I wasn’t up to the fight. That was the first time he ever bested me in a fight. I was scared shitless. What threw me more though was the look in his eyes. I spent weeks trying to capture his anger on paper but I couldn’t do it justice. He was so beautiful but so breathtakingly homicidal.”

Cordelia was having trouble keeping her mind on Angel’s words. She knew that Angel was in seriously on the verge of a major brood if he didn’t get his thoughts out. She quite for a while before asking, “Angel… how come I never see you drawing?”

Stopping his attack on her neck, he silently thought about her question before tightening his hold he had around her stomach. “Drawing was something I always did when I was killing people. I loved it so much… so I figured that I shouldn’t do it anymore.”

“I think you should. I mean… did you draw before you were a vampire?”

Angel nodded into her shoulder.

“Than it’s not technically an evil thing. You shouldn’t punish yourself just because you enjoy drawing. I wanna see your attempt at drawing Wil’s face from that night.” Cordelia stood and pulled Angel up along side her. She gave him a cheeky grin before adding, “It’s not like drawing will make your soul fly out the window.”

***

Angel woke to the sound of the trap door opening. Without bothering to dress, he slipped out of the bedroom. When he reached the kitchen, where the person who had entered his home had gone to he realized that he wasn’t dealing with an intruder. He silently leaned against the doorjamb and waited while Spike prepared himself some blood.

“Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?” Angel asked softly once the blond had finished his meal.

“You’re not my bloody keeper, Peaches,” Spike muttered, brushing past Angel and into the living room.

That was when Angel noticed Spike’s duster – dirty and cracked, but whole – thrown over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. A grin tugged at Angel’s lips and he moved to follow his Childe. He found Spike sprawled across the hid-a-bed uncaring of the demon blood and gore that covered him from head to toe. “Did you work it all out of your system?” he asked, ignoring the ‘keeper’ statement.

Spike growled and shot across the room. In a flash of vampire speed, he was against Angel rubbing his hardon against the taller man’s thigh. “What do you bloody think?” he demanded softly.

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