Rating: R or so
Pairings: Spike/Willow and Angel/Cordelia
Summary : Willow and Spike visit L.A. and help Angel Investigations by posing as newlyweds at a weekend touchy-feely couples seminar. Wackiness enues.
Distribution: You want it, you got it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, nothing I tell you. You sue me, you get nothing.
 
 
 

"Are we there, yet?" Spike's whiny voice came muffled from under the canvas
in his backseat.

"We're a few blocks away," Willow grinned.

"You said that twenty minutes ago," Spike accused.

"I know, but I'm not toying with you this time-"

"That was really mean, Red," Spike whined. "I really have to go!"

"I told you not to drink that Big Gulp!" Willow laughed. "You're bladder
hasn't been exercised like that in more than a century."

"Xander said it was an integral part of any road trip," Spike grumbled.
"Should have known the little bollocks was setting me up. When I get back to
Sunnydale-"

"You'll have forgotten all about it," Willow said. The pair planned to be in
L.A. for two whole weeks to visit Angel and Cordelia. The summer after her
freshman year, Willow had found a spell to permanently anchor Angel's soul.
Spike drove her to L.A. Willow had performed the ritual without any problem.
But with Buffy involved with Riley and Angel quickly adjusting to life
without deafeningly dysfunctional romantic problems, neither wanted to pick
up where they left off.

Angel and Cordy had made them promise they would come for a visit as soon as
things slowed down around the Hellmouth. Nearly six months later, here they
were driving to see their favorite investigators. Willow was on her
Christmas break. Buffy was skiing with her mum. Xander and Anya were
spending together in his Uncle Rory's cabin on Midnight Lake. Giles had gone
back to England to visit Olivia. The Initiative was keeping an eye on any
impending Armaggedons.

The others had made plans without even bothering to see if Spike and Willow
would have anyone to spend the holidays with, part of a rather irritating
trend Spike was noticing lately. Those brats didn't appreciate half the
things Red did for them. He was glad they would spending the hols with his
sire and the brunette, even if she was a little whiny.

"Spike, we're here," Willow said. "We're in the garage, so you can come out-

Spike had already bolted out the door and made a beeline for the nearest
bathroom... or availible corner.

- now." Willow laughed.

She shook her head and laughed. She peeked into the open front door to
Angel's basement apartment.

"Hello?" she called.

"Willow!" Angel swept his little redheaded friend into a fierce hug. "We
thought you guys might be here, all we saw was a bleached blonde streak
heading for the bathroom."

Willow laughed.

"Xander still pulling the old 'Big Gulp on the road trip' gag?" Cordy
grinned.

"What do you think?" Willow hugged her.

"It's so good to see you," Cordy squeezed her tight. "Your thrice-daily
emails aren't nearly enough."

"You know, I can't really tell when you're being sarcastic anymore," Willow
said, her eyebrow arched.

"You know, most of her biting sarcasm has been replaced by actual
sentiment," Angel said.

"Watch it, Deadboy, one word from me and the Wicca gives you antlers," Cordy
snorted. Willow had to laugh at the familiar banter between her two old
friends, they had definitely gotten closer since she and Spike were there
the last time.

They heard a flush from the bathroom. Spike emerged, his face awash in
relief. He sighed contentedly. Willow rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you two go out and get Spike's bags?" Cordy said.

"Why do I get the feeling we're being sent away so they can talk about us?"
Spike asked as Angel slapped him on the back affectionately.

"I've learned it's better not to question, just to obey," Angel shrugged.

As soon as the door shut, Cordy cried out and hugged her friend again.

"I thought they'd never leave!" she giggled. "So dish, girl. Have you gotten
anywhere with Blondie yet?"

The last time Willow was in town, Cordy had seen how the redhead looked at
Spike. In seconds, she had Willow confessing her love for the blond vampire.

"Of course not," Willow rolled her eyes. "It's always, 'Oh, Red, you're such
a good friend. You're like a sister to me. I don't know what I'd do if we
lost our friendship.' How am I supposed to put the whammy on a guy when all
he wants to do is be one of my woman-friends?"

Cordy laughed. "You've been living together for a semester!"

"Don't I know it!" Willow cried. Spike had moved into her parents house with
her after Buffy moved off-campus with Riley. He was even attending classes,
but with no intentions of getting a degree. "Do you know he scampers around
the house in a towel before AND after he showers? Does he do that just to
torture me? What am I, some sort of sightless nun-creature? How about you,
any luck with Lord of the Brood?"

"Of course not," Cordy grimmaced. "He's still adjusting to the idea that he
can have normal relationship without Fate bitch-smacking him. And of course
there's his whole 'I'm still getting over the love of my life' issue to deal
with, which I'm just getting sick of."

"We're in serious need of Ben and Jerry's here," Willow said, her mouth set
in a grim line.

"Tell me about it," Cordy said, wrapping her arm around Willow. "How did we
end up in love with two totally clueless vampires?"

"We were very naughty in a past life," Willow said. "That's all I can come
up with."

"Is it safe for us to come in yet?"

"Define safe," Cordelia deadpanned.

Angel and Spike set his bags near the couch. Willow would be staying over at
Cordy's. She couldn't wait to meet Cordelia's ghostly roommate, Dennis.

"Well, why don't you girls sit here and talk while Spike and I put dinner
together?" Angel said.

"Why would two perfectly capable women such as ourselves let vampires cook
for us?" Will asked.

"You've been driving all day, pet," Spike said tenderly. "I figured you
could use the break."

"And Cordy's cooking has been known to cause seizures," Angel called from
the kitchen.

"Hey!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, Angel," Willow sat back and sipped her wine. "You cooked Cordy and I
this wonderful meal and bought Spike's favorite cigarettes and whiskey. I've
got a case of the 'favor' wiggins. What's going on?"

"Why does treating my friends well translate into wrangling a favor out of
them?"

Willow raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay," Angel grinned and threw up his hands. "The truth is Cordy had
a vision yesterday-"

"He neglected to mention 'skull-splitting, face-numbing, eye-crossing
vision,'" Cordy snorted.

Angel grimaced. "Can I continue?"

Cordelia shrugged. Angel continued. "It led us to a very sweet woman named
Amanda Hayes. She's a newlywed, or at least she was until she and her
husband went on this couples' togetherness weekend. She said it was like the
group leader was egging on the fights. All of the couples broke up. It was
like he fed off them."

"Doesn't really sound like evil being afoot," Willow grinned. "Just an
ironically incompetent couples counselor."

"Well, it didn't sound like it to me either," Cordy said. "So I looked it up
in that CD-Rom Anthology of Demons you sent me and it hit on three different
demons that feed off the destruction of true love. So we thought...."

"You thought what?" Spike snorted. "Since we were already headed your way we
would go undercover as newlyweds with you and try to find out if it's a
demon putting the kibash on all these couples so we can turn him into goo?"

"Wow," Cordy breathed. "When'd you learn that neat mind-reading trick?"

"What!?" Spike demanded.

"We already signed you up," Angel said. "We're Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Chase.
You're Mr. and Mrs. William Rosenberg."

"Funny," Willow snorted. "Spike doesn't look Jewish."

"It was either that, or Mr and Mrs. the Bloody." Cordy said.

PART 2
 

"So tell me," Willow asked as she leaned against Spike in the backseat.
Spike wriggled against her, he never knew how irritating being in the
backseat on a car trip was. "How are we, your loving wives going to explain
our husbands inability to leave the lodge during the day? You guys aren't
going to pull that lame-ass 'allergy to sunlight' thing, are you?"

"Angel! She's on my side!" Spike whined.

Angel growled, gripping the wheel until his knuckles turned white. He was
tired of his childe's bitching. Spike was a lot more fun to travel with by
horse and carriage.

It had been like this for hours. It was like Willow was baiting Spike into
fights ever since she found out they were posing as newlyweds with
"problems." She had protested vehemently when Angel suggested they're going
"undercover" but it was an all expenses paid (by Angel) weekend at the
beautiful Red Bear Lodge in the San Calaveras mountains. And a chance to
spend a little personal time with Spike.

"Well, I've talked to Phil, the group leader and prime suspect," Cordelia
said. "He said we'll spend most of
the weekend inside. No leaving 'the safety of the community.'"

"-which I'm hoping means the lodge." Angel snorted.

"And how exactly are we going to explain that two couples who aren't
supposed to know each other rode up in the same car?" Willow asked.

"Phil is supposed to be meeting us at the Red Bear train station," Cordy
said. "He'll never know we rode together. It'll be dark by the time we get
there. What's with all the questions?"

"Just want to know what I'm getting into," Willow shrugged.

"It's not like being married to me is going to be such a chore," Spike
snorted.

"Oh, yeah, you're a real joy to be around," Willow arched an eyebrow. Spike
had been in a pissy mood all day. She couldn't figure out why. Probably
because Cordy made him leave his duster in L.A. and insisted both vamps wear
(gasp) color.

He jabbed her in the ribs with a bony elbow. She gasped and elbowed him
back. He jabbed her again.

"Spike!"

"Willow!" he they began wrestling for control of the backseat space.

The tires screeched as Angel pulled the car to the side of the road.

"I will turn this car around!" he yelled.

Spike and Willow straightened up and behaved themselves. Angel pulled back
onto the highway. Spike began snickering. Willow bit her lip to supress a
laugh. Spike poked her ribs again. She giggled and poked him back. Cordy
heard them from the front seat and began silently giggling.

"Don't make me come back there!" Angel yelled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Nice digs," Cordy breathed as Phil pulled the group van up to the lodge. It
was a beautiful sprawling chalet.

"Mmmhmm," Angel murmured. He was still stressed from the drive. Cordy
grinned and squeezed his knee gently- like any wife would. Angel squirmed
to ease the pressure building Cordy's innocent (?) touch.

"Alright, people, let's start a fun-filled weekend of togetherness," Phil
said, a little too enthusiatically.

"Why do I think I'm going to throttle him?" Spike whispered.

"No throttling," Willow rolled her eyes. "Anybody."

The six couples on the retreat filed out of the van. The real husbands
instinctively went to the back of the van for the bags. Willow and Cordy
looked at their fake husbands.

"Oh, yeah," Spike winced and followed suit.

"Have you seen all of her luggage?" Angel groaned.

"Stop!" Phil cried. "We start learning right now, people. Why are the
husbands the only one carrying the bags? People we have to break through
these expectations that have been foisted upon us, we have to carry the
burden together."

The wives did not look happy.

"Has anyone seen this guy's credentials?" Cordy swore under her breath as
she picked up a bag. "What exactly makes him an air-quote relationship
expert? Is he even married?"

(3/?)
The couples had gathered in the parlor of the lounge and were arranged in
twos. Angel sat stiffly on the carpet near the fireplace. Cordy sat next two
him, with enough space to fit other couple between them.

"Oh, come on, 'Delia' sweetheart, you can sit a little closer than that," he
said, his voice strained as he carefully pronounced her alias. She mouthed
"oops" and scooted closer. He awkwardly wrapped an arm around her and pulled
her close. She settled against him. (This is nice, she thought a little
awkward, but nice. Oh who are you kidding, Chase? You're having a hard time
not drooling.)

Spike and Willow were a little easier with each other. They joined the
circle and sat down. Spike pulled her into his lap and whispered something
in her ear. She laughed.

Angel rolled his eyes. He envied the easiness between the two of them. They
were much more believable as a couple than he and Cordelia. It wasn't that
he was repulsed by the idea of being more than Cordy's boss and friend,
quite the opposite. In the last year she had shown him she was more than
just a beautiful girl. She could be kind and considerate and funny. She was
the only one who could bring him out of his broods. But she had been acting
so strange around him lately, like she was afraid to get anywhere near him.
Did she blame hime for Doyle's death? Angel knew she had never really
trusted him, who could? No matter how many spells Willow cast, he would
always be a vampire. A killer.

He worried the group would never buy them as newlyweds, newlyweds with
crippling intimacy issues, maybe. Trying to look as casual possible, he
stroked Cordy's hair behind her ears. She flinched and then caught herself.
She looked into Angel's eye. They reflected such hurt at her mistrust. She
smiled reassuringly and squeezed his hand.

"Wonderful," Phil said, clapping her hands. "This is the start of a truly
beautiful experience people. We're going to grow. We're going to share. And
most importantly, we're going to become better couples. Now, you know who I
am, but I want to know about you. Everybody please tell us who you are and
why you're here."

The first couple, a very young, very perky blonde duo - Midge and Bobby
Warner had just had a baby and they felt like the pressures of parentage
were draining their sex life.

"It's not that we don't love little Robert, Jr. with all our hearts," Midge
said quickly. She pulled out a small photo album and thrust it at Cordy who
hesitantly began flipping through pictures of the ugliest child she had ever
seen- including the demon spawn she had seen in Willow's demonology book.
Angel peered over he shoulder.

"Ackh!" he winced.." That is one ....Beautiful baby."

"He's the light of our lives," Bobby said. "But lately with all the 3 a.m.
feedings and the constant dirty diapers, Midge and I would rather sleep than
make you know, whoopee."

Spike coughed to cover a laugh. Willow slugged him in the back.

"William," Phil said. "You seem eager to share, why are you and Anne here?"

"Us?" Spike squeeked. "Errr..... uh, no problems here. Nope, me and my
little ....cookie face are perfectly happy."

"Now Willam, if you were perfectly happy, you wouldn't be here," Phil
cajoled. "Don't be afraid to share with us. No one in this circle will judge
you."

"Well...."

"Honey, there's no sense in covering it up," Willow interupted. "William and
I are having problems with trust. He thinks I'm hung up on my former
boyfriends and I think he's still thinking about what could have been with
his first love."

"Really, pet-"

"Your honesty is beautiful, Anne," Phil sighed. "People, you could all learn
from Anne's openness. This is the kind of communication we need to break the
barriers that are keeping you from truly loving marriages. Thank you, Anne."

Willow grinned and shrugged. Spike jabbed her in the ribs and scowled at
her.

"Andrew, Delia, why are you here?" Phil asked.

"Ummm... well, Andrew and I have been married for a few months," Cordy said.
"And we've been fighting a lot more than usual lately, so we thought we
should get away."

"Well, honey, we don't really fight all that much," Angel said.

"Don't interupt, Andrew," Phil said. "Please Delia, continue."

"Well, the truth is, I can't remember the last time we made love," Cordy
said, her voice quivering with an Oscar-caliber performance. "Sometimes you
can't even tell we're a couple. I go to bed and he sits up for hours reading
or just ignoring me. It's like he's ... dead inside."

Angel groaned inwardly. If everything she had just said hadn't been true, he
would have smacked her.

"Andrew, how do you feel about what your wife just said?" Phil asked.

"Not real happy," Angel said through gritted teeth.

"Okay, we'll build on that," Phil said.

The other three couple included Grace and George- an elderly couple who were
trying to recapture the magic of their first few years together- Rick and
Vonnie, a unmarried hippy couple that went on these sorts of retreats every
year- and Lana and Dave, a young engaged couple who were trying to get past
Lana's staggering fear of sex.

Around ten p.m. they started their first intimacy exercise. Phil gave each
couple a basket and a pile of stones. For each thing they had in common
they were supposed to put a stone in the basket.

"These stones are the foundation upon which you'll build your relationship,"
Phil said.

Angel rolled his eyes. Cordy grinned and poked him in the side.

"Behave," she mouthed. He smiled conspiratorily.

"Okay what do we have in common?" she asked.

"We fight evil," he said quietly. "One stone for us."

"We.... both look devestating in black," she grinned adding another stone.

"I don't think that counts," Angel laughed.

"Don't mock me," Cordy narrowed her eyes. "Oh, fine. We have a long history
together."

"Some of us longer than others," Spike snorted.

"Shh!" Cordy hissed.

"Careful, William, she's armed." Willow laughed.

Cordy picked up another stone. "We both despise the French."

"We share an appreciation for the classics," Angel said, adding another
stone. Cordy arched her eyebrow. "I like the works Great Philosphers, you
like Chanel. It counts."

"You guys are cheating!" Willow whispered.

"You're just jealous 'cause your basket's empty," Cordy said haughtily.

"Come on, pet, we have to have a few things in common," Spike whined.

"We're both terrified of garden gnomes," Willow supplied.

"Excellent," Spike dropped a stone in the basket. "But we agreed never to
talk about that in front of others."

"What about music?" Willow asked.

"Ummm, I don't think so. You like that angry chic music..."

"Actually, I've been listening to your Sex Pistols records while you aren't
around, and I like 'em."

"I KNEW IT!" his eyes narrowed in mock-rage. He grinned and dropped a stone
in their basket.

"We've both suffered horrible breakups," Willow said quietly, adding a
stone.

"We helped each other get through those break-ups," he smiled gently and
squeezed her hand. They were leaning closer but were stopped when a loud cry
sounded from the other side of the room.

"Bobby!" Midge cried from the corner. "We have to have more in common than
liking Julie Andrews movies and ice cream! We have a child together for
goodness sake!"

"Now, Midge, calm down," Phli said, laying a hand on her shoulder.
"Sometimes these exercise serve to point out the weaknesses of a
relationship rather than its strengths. And that's okay, too. We can build
on that."

"Is there anything we can't build on?" Spike smirked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Six hours later, the very tired couples shuffled upstairs and went to their
rooms. The actual couples were emotionally exhausted. So many of the
exercises were aimed at the very core of their relationships, trust issues,
intimacy, attraction. At one point, the husbands had to write down one thing
they would change about their wives' bodies if they could.

Spike wrote that he would make her a little taller so they could dance more
easily. Willow laughed, the last time they danced she kept bumping her face
against his chest. His wish for her height didn't bother her at all.

Angel wrote that he would make Cordy's feet bigger. He worries about her
tripping in those big clunky shoes and bigger feet would give a more solid
base. Cordy grinned and rolled her eyes.

The other husbands weren't as careful with their answers. George wrote that
he'd get rid of Grace's wrinkles, reducing her to tears. Dave wrote he
didn't want to change anything about Lana's body, he just waned access to
it, which irritated her. Bobby wanted to erase Midge's stretch marks.

"These stretch marks were made bearing your child!" she cried, smacking him
with her notebook.

It was obvious these exercises were aimed at driving a wedge between the
couples. Angel flopped down on the bed.

"I want to put myself in a coma," he groaned. "Just so I don't have to go
back to group tomorrow."

Cordy laughed, sitting next to him. "I'm going to get into my pajamas, don't
pass out on top of the covers. I won't be able to get in bed."

"Oh, yeah," Angel said. He forgot they were supposed to be sharing a bed. "I
could still sleep on the floor you know. Wouldn't be the most uncomfortable
place I've ever laid my head."

"It's up to you," she shrugged as she stepped into the bathroom. She closed
the door and leaned her head against it. "Please please please don't let him
sleep on the floor."

Angel fully intended to do just that. He stripped to his black silk boxers
and hung a sheet over the window. He put some extra blankets out on the
floor and a pillow. He laid across the bed, just to rest his eyes while she
was in the shower. His complete exhaustion and the sound of the running
water lulled him to sleep.

"Angel?" Cordy shook his shoulder gently. Her heart had dropped into her
stomach when she saw the palette laid out on the floor. But here he was
sleeping in their bed. "Want to move on the floor? Nope, okay, I'll just
into bed by you."

She pulled the covers back. The jostling stirred her dark-haired vampire. He
blinked.

"Shhh," she whispered. "Just get under the covers, no protests."

He nodded, eyeing her sleek form. She was wearing some loose blue silk
drawstring pants and an embroidered camisole top. Her hair was wet and
loose, tumbling over her shoulders. The citrusy scent of her shampoo curled
towards him. He almost slapped his hand to stop himself from reaching out
for her. He crawled under the covers with her careful not to cross over the
imaginary line in the middle of the bed.

"Goodnight, Angel," she whispered.

"Goodnight, Cordelia," he sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Willow?" Spike whispered. "Pet? You still awake?"

Willow was leaned against his chest as he read the latest issue of Rolling
Stone. He shook her gently. "Red?"

"Mmmph?" she mumbled. She turned towards him in her slumber, offering him a
glimpse down the apple green silk gown she wore.

"You 'sleep?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," she yawned. He grinned and tossed his magazine aside. He pulled
her against his chest and the covers up to her chin. He buried his nose in
her hair and stroked her back.

"When am I going to tell you how I feel, pet?" he asked. He had loved the
little witch for months now. But she was still reeling from the loss of the
wolf, how could she start a relationship with a vampire? Better to be her
best friend, her roommate than to lose her altogether.

He sighed unnecessarily. Vanilla, she always smelled like vanilla. He had
never liked the smell of it before, but now he didn't think he could live
without it. He knew he couldn't live without her.

"What if you just tell me you love me and let me off the hook?" he asked.

"Okay," she mumbled and promptly dropped into deep sleep.

 

(4/?)

"Tell me again how this is supposed to make us closer?" Willow grumbled as
she and Spike lugged firewood back to the lodge through the darkened woods.
"They have people at the lodge to do this!"

"Here, pet, let me take it," Spike lifted her log easily above his head.
"Phil said this is supposed to teach us to enjoy each other during times of
adversity, not just during good times."

"So how did Cordy and Angel end up eating ice cream in the hot tub?" Willow
grumbled.

"Because they got into that argument this afternoon over who took more time
in the bathroom," Spike laughed. "Peaches never was much of a morning
person."

Willow giggled. The day had started out fine. Their first session wasn't
until 5 p.m. becuase they had stayed up until 5 that morning. Unfortunately,
Cordy and Angel were equally grumpy when they first woke up and at brunch
they got into a yelling match over who hogged the blow dryer. Phil thought
the only solution was forced intimacy. Because Spike and Willow seemed to be
getting along so well, they were assigned log detail.

Things were not fairing for the other couples. They were barely speaking to
each other. While they couldn't exactly prove Phil was a demon, yet, he was
obviously completely incompetent as a couples counselor.

"Would you look at that?" Spike grinned. He had stopped at a bend of the
trail, overlooking the moonlit mountains. "In all my years, I've never spent
any time in the mountains."

He put the firewood down and sat down, pulling out a cigarette. He patted
the grass beside him. Willow sat down.

"I figure the best way to keep this from happening again is to have little
spats during the sessions," Spike said.

"You want to fight with me?" she asked.

"Nothing to serious, pet, I promise not to wound," he said. "Just a lover's
squabble or two. That way we get in the hot tub, and Angel and Cordy gets
stuck mucking out the stable or something."

Willow grinned. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were
propositioning me."

His eyebrows wriggled. "Maybe you should pay more attention.

He stood to help her up. "Let's get back to the lodge, pet, I'm sure there's
emotional garbage that needs hauling or some such nonsense."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cordy, this Phish Food is reeaallly goooood," Angel sang as the hot water
bubbled around them.

"I'm not speaking to you," she grumbled.

"Chocolate.... marshmallow.... caramel....." he held a spoonful of Ben and
Jerry's out to her.

"Why don't we just bust this demon and go home?" she whined.

"Because we would have this weirdness between us and I want..."

"What?" she turned toward him. Her hair was piled on top of her head. She
had on a tiny black bikini that nearly made Angel swallow his tongue. Angel
didn't have any trunks with him, so he was sacrificing a pair of silk
boxers. How was he going to tell her what he wanted when he didn't know
himself?

"I want you te eat some of this before it all melts," he said quickly,
spooning some of the gooey chocolate in her mouth.

She laughed, wiping it from her chin.

"I'm sorry I blew up at you this afternoon," she said. "But I'm just so..."

"What?"he asked. (Bored? he wondered. Angry? Does she want to leave L.A.?
Leave me?)

"Frustrated," she said, taking the pint from him. "And I don't know why."

"With me?" he asked.

She shook her head. "With my situation."

(I want things to change. Cordy cried inwardly. I want you to look at me.
Really look at me. Dammit, Angel, I just want you.)

(Can't be easy for her, Angel thought. She thought she was coming to
Hollywood to become a star and she ends up lurking in the shadows all night
with the undead. Maybe I should just let her go.)

"Cordy, I-" she interupted him by shoving a spoonful of ice cream between
his lips. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"That's good, that's really good," he said. "But I'm afraid, you must be
punished."

"Angel, you got that look in your eyes," she said fearfully. He took the ice
cream from her and set it aside. He lunged for her. She yelped. He tried to
dunk her, but she wrapped her foot around his ankle and swept him under. He
took her down with him.

They surfaced quickly, she gasped for breath. His arms were wound around
her, pressing her close. Angel stared at the drops of water clinging to her
lashes and lips. He bent his head closer to hers, tempted to lick them away.

(Please, please, please, she begged inwardly. Let him kiss me.)

But Angel pulled away, he reached for his towel and jumped out of the spa.

"It's almost time for group," he said. "We should probably get dressed."

"You go ahead," she said. He walked back into the lodge. She sighed
miserably and sank under the water, tempted to just stay there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The grumbling couples were circled again, a lot less enthusiastic than the
last time they were together. But Phil was pastel-wearing font of energy.

"So how does everyone feel right now?"

"Irritated," Midge spat. She glared at Bobby, who she had spent the last
three hours peeling potatoes with.

"Frustrated," Dave grumbled. He and Lana were to spend the evening giving
each other massages, but Lana was so uncomfortable, she wouldn't let him
touch anything but her legs.

"Tell me about it," Cordy snorted.

"What do you mean by that?" Phil asked. "Why are you frustrated, Delia?"

"Because I can't do this anymore," she spat. "I'm tired of this. Why won't
you touch me?"

Angel's brow creased. "Delia-"

"You never touch me!" she cried. "Do I turn you off or something? I kill my
self trying to look good for you and nothing!"

This sounded a little too real for Angel's comfort.

"I'm right here," Cordy said. "Why can't you believe you deserve to be
happy? You have nothing to lose."

Angel was speechless.

"Why do you think Andrew doesn't want to make love to you?" Phil asked, he
might as well have been licking his lips with glee over the break-up of this
obviously close relationship.

"I think it's because...he has a sexual dysfunction!" Cordy yelled pointing
at him. Angel's jaw dropped. Spike lost it. He burst out laughing, rolling
over and knocking Willow out of his lap.

"WHAT!?" Angel yelped.

"Now, Andrew, calm down," Phil said. " Delia's just making her opinion
known, she should be commended for her honesty. Maybe you two should go
upstairs to your room to talk about this privately."

Willow gaped at him. No counselor would send a married couple off by
themselves after a bombshell like that. This guy had to be a demon.

"Fine," Angel grabbed Cordy's arm and dragged her upstairs.

Spike wiped a tear away as he finally stopped laughing. Phil turned his
attention on the blonde. "Now, William, how do you feel about your little
togetherness exercise with Anne?"

(Okay, Spikey, time to put on a show.)

"Well, personally, all it showed me was that she wasn't the woman I though I
married," he said.

"What?" Willow demanded.

"Face it, honey, you became the person you thought I wanted because you were
so unsure of yourself when we met. You're afraid I'm going to leave you."

(THIS is a small lovers' spat? Willow thought.)

He continued. "Honestly, Anne, it's not my fault that you have a tendency to
pick men with psychological problems."

"I PICK PARTNERS WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS?" She thundered. "Your last
girlfriend had a daddy complex and a doll that talked to her."

"Your last boyfriend was so conflicted he left town and didn't come back!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel slung Cordy through the door of their room and slammed it. Cordy was a
little panicked. She hadn't meant for her real feelings to come bubbling to
the surface, but they had and now she had to deal with them.

"I do not have a sexual dysfunction!" Angel hissed.

"You lose your soul every time you have an orgasm," she growled. "What would
call it? Face it Angel, you're so afraid of getting close to someone, even
someone who's right under your nose, that you've closed yourself off! I'd be
surprised if the equipment even works!"

He stalked towards her, tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her face
towards him. He laid claim to her mouth, stealing her breath and any chance
of cognitive thought.

He released her. She stumbled back, gasping.

"The equipment works," he panted.

She reeled back and slapped him. He grinned, pressing her reddened palm to
his cool lips. A shudder rocketed through her. She growled and pulled him to
her, claiming his lips.

He pushed her sweater from her shoulder, snapping the straps of her
camisole. He tossed it aside.

"I LIKED that tank top!" she cried.

"I like it better this way," he said smugly, cupping her breasts with eager
hands.

"Okay," she arched an eyebrow and ripped his shirt apart, sending buttons
flying in every direction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"First Drusilla and then Harmony," Willow growled. "One ignored you to screw
your 'father' and the other just wanted to smack you around. I swear you
must single out women with severe emotional issues!"

"I do not choose women with emotional problems!" Spike cried. "I chose you
didn't I?"

"Yes, you do- what?"

"I said, I chose you," he said, panting unneccessarily.

"I think this is a breakthrough," Phil said, clapping his hands. Willow
glared at him.

"May we be excused?" she asked.

"Of course," he shrugged. Willow took off for the stairs without looking
back. By the time he got to the room, she was in the shower.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"ANGEL!" Cordy cried. "Stop teasing."

Angel laved her throat with his tongue. "What do you say?"

"Ohhhh, please don't make me say it," she whined, twisting her fingers in
his dark silky hair.

"You're going to have to say it," he said, his tone sing-song. He nipped her
collarbone.

"Plleeeaaasseeeee," she moaned.

"Saaaay iiiiit," he sang.

"The equipment works," she panted.
 

(5/?)
Spike flopped down on the bed.

(Way to go, wanker. He groaned. That's how you tell Willow you love her. "I
chose you.?" Moron. No wonder she ran off.)

He heard the shower shut off. Willow emerged a few moments later, swathed
in
the long red satin robe she bought for him as a "honeymoon present." She
closed it high at the neck and sat at the vanity, brushing her hair in
short
trembling strokes.

"That was a nice touch in group tonight," she chuckled shakily. "'I chose
you.' Everyone really seemed to buy it."

He watched her reflection as her eyes grew glassy with tears. With her
eyes
trained on the mirror, she didn't know he was behind her until he put his
hands on her shoulders. She gasped.

"Did you buy it?" he asked, kneeling behind her.

She sniffed. "Oh, sure. for a minute there, it was almost real."

"It was real," he insisted.

"STOP!" she cried, turning around. "Please, don't do this, Spike. I can
handle Oz treating me like some clueless piece of fluff, but not you. I
need
you to respect me. I need you to be my friend. I need you..."

"Yeah?"

"I just need you," she said. "Ever since that night you broke into my room
and tried to bite me. I mean, before the commandos busted into the place
and
tried to quaratine me, I was having fun for the first time since Oz left.
You were the only one I wanted to spend time with, because you understood.
Why do you think I spent so much time over at Giles' heating your blood and
watching 'Passions?' Because I wanted to see whether Timmy got out of the
well?

"What? What are you saying?" he sputtered. Spike's brain labored to keep
up.
Was his imagination playing tricks on him? Were all the positive vibes Phil
was sending out making him poufy?

Her jaw dropped. "What do you THINK I'm saying? I LOVE YOU, you undead
idiot! I'm handing myself to you body and soul. If I had a silver platter
big enough I'd have ridden in on that. Schmuck!"

He laughed. "You mean it?"

"YES!"

"Well, then you should probably know I think I love you, too," he said.

"You THINK you love me?" her brows knit together. "I just poured my heart
out to you and you THINK you love?"

"Well, I don't have a lot of experience with love," Spike shrugged. "Does
it
feel like your stomach has been turned inside-out and backwards?"

"And your head's all swirly." She laughed. "And when the other person's not
around you feel like...."

"Like a piece of you got ripped off." he finished, stroking her cheek.

"Something like that," she nodded.

"So I guess I do love you," he said standing up.

She hopped to her feet and stomped angrily. "You GUESS you lov-

"I love you!" he shouted, kissing her. "I love you, I love you."

"Damn straight," she grinned. He pulled her to the bed and pushed his robe
from her shoulders. "I love you, too."

She hooked his ankle and shoved him on the bed. He laughed. "You are full
of
surprises, aren't you?"

She knelt over him and began trailing kisses along his body. She dipped her
tongue into his navel, grinning up at him. He groaned as she reached his
small dark nipples. Suddenly a creak and a deafening thump hit the wall
behind their headboard. They looked up.

"What the hell?" Spike cried.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the other side of the wall.....

"Oh, my god!" Cordy gasped, still quaking from her last climax. "We broke
the bed!"

Their headboard lay askew from the matress. They were laying half-off the
tilted matress. Cordy collapsed on Angel's chest, breathing heavily. He
kissed her forehead and rubbed her back. She looked up, searching his face
desperately. She pulled his eyelid up, checking for Angelus' telltale
golden
eyes.

"Oww!" he cried , clutching his forehead. "Cordy!"

"Sorry," she said, kissing him. "Just making sure the happiness clause
didn't come back to bite us."

"Trust me, my soul's intact," he kissed her again. "And you made me VERY
happy."

"Twice," she grinned. His clever tongue darted between her lips.

"Just think what we could do in that great big bed of mine at home," he
moaned as her warm fingers flexed around him.

"Let's go!" she cried. "Please!"

"Two minor problems with that," he said nibbling her ear. "One, we still
have to stop Phil from breaking up any more marriages. And two, I don't
think we should interupt Willow and Spike right now."

"What do you mean?" she laughed. He cocked his eyebrows. "You mean you can
HEAR them? Eww!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Still love me?" Willow asked, kissing his neck. He shuddered again as his
orgasm reverberated through his body.

"Yes, but dear god, woman, stop touching me for just a second," he gasped
as
she grazed his nipples with her nails. "Seriously, pet, I need just bit to
recover."

She giggled as she nipped his hipbones with her blunt teeth. "Stop
that.....ah oh, Sweet Christ woman, I may be immortal, but I'm still just a
man!"
 

(6/?)
"How the hell did we get suckered into this?" Spike whined.

"Like I said, obey, don't question," Angel shrugged. They watched their
lovers writhe and wriggle on the dancefloor of the hopelessly hip club.
While it was amusing, the soulless dance music was sort of tiresome. Spike
yawned.

They had arrived back in L.A. that afternoon. The night before (after Spike
regained the ability to speak) he and Angel confronted Phil in his room.
They told him they knew what he was, he immediately morphed into his true
face- that of an anguish demon. They agreed to let him live if he promised
to go after his food in a slightly more ethical way.

"You can't just go around splitting perfectly happy albeit moronic, couples
mate, it's just not cricket," Spike told him.

Phil left the lodge that night. The next morning, Angel and Spike pretended
to know nothing.

"What are we going to do?" Midge asked desperately. "Without Phil, how are
we going to heal our broken relationships?"

"Oh for God's sake," Cordelia cried. "You two, Bart and Mitzy, or whatever.
You had a baby. Congratulations, it's a wonderful thing. But get over
yourselves. Procreation isn't exactly an exclusive gig. As far the romance
thing goes, here's an idea - GET A BABYSITTER. Go on a date! Remember why
you did the stuff that led to the kid in the first place."

Willow stifled a giggle. Spike kissed her neck. His sire already knew about
what was going on between the redhead and the blonde (he could hear it, for
goodness sake) and had given Spike his sire's blessing. Spike still
couldn't
believe his sire was with the brunette. She was very different from his
usual type- flaky and sort of stupid. Cordy was unquestionably strong and
incredibly opinionated. But it seemed to work. Angel watched Cordy turn on
the elderly couple with a mixture of amusement and pity for George and
Grace.

"And you two, Grandma and Grandpa, I don't think there's anything wrong
with
your relationship, other than the fact that George has spent most of the
weekend checking out Lana's ass. You're a normal couple,who've managed to
stay together for 40 years. So the magic's gone, who cares? You've got each
other. You've got someone who loves you enough to want to grow old with
you.
Build on that." She turned on the sex-fearing Lana. "And girl, I could
understand your apprehensions about sleeping with him, I mean look at that
sweater for God's sake. But if you're going to marry him, you're going to
have to see him naked eventually. Fish or cut bait, sweetie. Don't leave
him
hanging. It's cruel."

Cordy dispatched each couple until she solved all of their problems.

"I think I missed my calling," she grinned after all the others left.

"As a psychologist?" Angel asked kissing her temple.

"No, Silly! As a talk show host." she giggled.

When they got back, Cordy had aready made plans to take Willow to a club.
She didn't mention taking the guys, who protested vehemently.

"She's been to L.A. twice and she's never been to a club!" Cordy howled.
"Besides, who said you guys were even invited?"

Their jaws dropped. Spike scowled. "Like we'll let you go without us!"

"How are we supposed to pick up guys with an albino Sid Viscious look-alike
and Lord of the Brood?," Cordy grinned. Angel stuck out his bottom lip.
"Fine, but we pick the club."

"Fine," Angel said smirking. "We pick your clothes."

"Our lovers are sick men!" Cordy shouted over the loud dance music. Willow
grinned as she raised her arms over head. Spike had selected a red
strapless
corset top and very tight pair of black leather pants. She felt liked she
was cinched up to her chin. Every time she rolled her shoulders, she
thought
Spike's eyes would pop out of his head.

"Sick sick sick!" Willow shouted. Angel was a little more subtle about
displaying his woman. He dressed Cordy in a long black skirt slit up to her
thigh and blue silk wrap-around top with teeny-tiny ties at the back.
Willow
kept threatening to pull on one and send the whole thing flying. "I can't
breathe!"

"Is it wrong that I find them dancing together just a little naughty?"
Spike
asked.

"Don't get any ideas," Angel scowled. "Cordelia is all mine."

"I heard," Spike grinned. "Both times. You happy, sire?"

Angel nodded. "I am. No strings attached."

"Happy for you," Spike slapped him on the back. "Now let's see what we can
do about get the little women to a real club."

"Spikey," Angel said in his best Ricky Ricardo voice. "You got dat look in
you eye."

"Submission," Spike grinned.

"Submission?" Angel's jaw dropped. Submission was an S&M club that catered
to vampires and demons of the like. It was strictly on the up and up, not
one got hurt- unless they wanted to. But still, it wasn't exactly the kind
of place he would take Cordy.....

"It's just crazy enough to work," Angel grinned, a naughty glint in his
dark
chocolate eyes.
 

They parted the crowd and approached their writhing women. Spike grabbed
Willow's hand and spun her in, colliding with his firm chest. He grinned
and
kissed her roughly, leaving her breathless and her hair mussed.

Angel, again with the subtlety, grazed her shoulders with his cool fingers
and skimmed the length of her arms. She shivered. He was barely contacting
her skin, but she thought she was going to cry out. He licked the nape of
her neck delicately and pulled her hips back against him. Willow giggled as
Cordy's eyes widened. Angel was excited.

"We're leaving, love," Spike whispered in her ear. Willow was surprised she
could hear him over the din.

She grinned and let him lead her from the floor.

"Where are we going?" Cordy asked.

"A real club," Angel grinned, nipping her neck. "You think you're up for
it?"

Part (7/?)

"Angel, sweetness, where are we going?" Cordy asked.

"You girls wanted to go to a club," Spike said. "We thought we should show
you what our clubs are like. Unless you think you can't handle it."

"I think we're up for it," Willow giggled, nipping Spike's neck from the
backseat.

Cordy pulled her back. "Don't make me get the hose!"

They had to stop three blocks from the first club and put Spike up front
because Cordy said it wasn't fair that Angel had to drive while Spike and
Willow made out in the backseat.

Angel pulled up in front of what appeared to be an abandoned building.

"Um, Angel, I know you've spent a lot of time brooding alone in the dark
recently, but this isn't what one would consider a social situation," Cordy
said Angel pulled her out of the car. He pulled her into a rather rough
kiss. He nibbled at her chin, he jaw.

"Just wait," he whispered against her neck. Cordy shivered with
anticipation. What did they have planned?

Spike thumped on the black metal door with his fist. A little sliding door
opened up at eye level and a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared.

"No way!" a voice from the other side of the door shouted. "You
sonofabitch!"

The door swung open and a short redheaded vampire appeared. "Spike!
Angelus!"

Barney, the redheaded doorman, hugged his old friends, who promptly slipped
into game face.

"Heard you'd gone all souled on us for a while, Angelus," Barney grinned.

Spike buried his face in Willow's neck to hide a laugh. He squeezed her
leather-clad ass possessively, she fought the urge to smack him.

"Worst twenty minutes of my life," Angel grinned evilly. Apparently, the
underworld hadn't heard about his re-souling, It was probably better that
way. Vampires and demons alike feared Angelus, the souled Angel was a
laughingstock.

"See you've got new toys," Barney leered, kissing Willow's wrist.

Willow's jaw dropped. Spike growled and snatched her arm back. Angel wrapped
a claiming arm around Cordy.

"If you remember, we don't like to share," he growled.

Barney threw his hands up. "Alright, alright. Enjoy yourselves."

He opened the inner door. "If you tired of them, let me know. I don't mind
seconds."

Cordy opened her mouth to tell Barney exactly what she thought of him. Angel
slapped his hand over her lips gently. "Thanks, Barney."

Willow gasped as they entered the club. The walls were painted black. Black
tiles covered the floor. Demons and vampires of every shape and size lounged
on red satin and black leather couches strewn throughout the room. The room
seemed centered around a raised stage in the middle. Slow paced techno music
provided a background to the lusty scene. Moans and gasps reverberated
through the room as it inhabitants gave and recieved punishments.

Leather clad submissives circulated throughout the room, fetching drink and
cigarettes, making sure no one who was lonely stayed that way. Cordy had a
hard time not staring as they were led through the club. Several of the
couples were involved in some pretty heavy petting. A tiny blonde in a black
leather top and slave bracelets was bent over her master's lap, crying out
as he spanked her. Her head reared back as her game face slid into place.
She grinned up at Willow.

Spike pulled her along. They were seated on a large black leather couch.

"Tequila," Angel growled at their submissive, in a voice that would have
made Angelus a little nervous. Spike grinned and pulled Willow into his lap.
She squirmed uncomfortably as the leather pants he chose for her chafed
against her. He groaned as she ground against him.

"Angelus, I presume," Cordy rolled her eyes as he pulled her against him.
"What have you gotten us into?"

"Just keep up the act, baby," Angel said, kissing the length of her throat.
"It's in your best interest."

"What do you mean?" she asked. Her pulse quickened under his lips as he slid
his hand through slit in her skirt.

"We haven't marked either of you," he murmured against her lips. He was
beginning to enjoy this. As much as the remnants of his life as Angelus
disgusted him. Seeing Cordy squirm was sort of fun. "As long as everybody
thinks I'm Angelus, you're safe by association. But if they suspect I'm the
souled version. You could be in some pretty hot water. To say the least."

The submissive, a young man with large green eyes and cornsilk blonde hair,
brought them a bottle of tequila, salt, a bowl of lemon and lime slices and
four shot glasses. He stepped out of sight quickly and quietly.

"You knew this would happen," Cordy accused Angel.

"Not me," he grinned. "Besides, you girls were looking for a thrill, weren't
you?"

"Not quite what we had in mind," Willow narrowed her eyes at Spike, slugging
him in the shoulder. Spike's face shifted from one of amusement to sharp
anger. Willow cried out as he bent her over his knee and spanked her twice
soundly.

"You are a submissive, remember?" he hissed against her ear. He rubbed her
stinging cheeks in light soothing circles. "You don't show any signs of
dominance or our little game is up. Got it? You're my little toy. You speak
when you're spoken to and when I allow you to speak, you call me master ."

He swatted her again before releasing his iron grip on her. She gasped,
glaring up at him. She didn't know how to react to this darkness. She knew
Spike had this in him. Hell, it was as much a part of her attraction to him
as the sweet, playful side she had known in the months they lived together.
Best to play along. She whispered angrily. "You are so going to pay for that
later."

"I'm sure I'll enjoy it," he winked. "Want daddy to kiss it and make it
better?"

"Bugger off," she grumbled.

"I'm sorry," he grinned. "But it's par for the course around here. Drink
this, pet. It'll take the sting off."

She glared at him as she swallowed the searing liquid, gasping and coughing
as it tore a fiery path down her throat.

"I suppose as my big bad master you get to drink first?" Cordy asked
pseudo-sweetly.

"Now you're getting it," Angel winked. He plucked a lime from the bowl and
put it between her lips. He slid a strap of her top down her shoulder slowly
and laved the spot with his tongue. She leaned into the caress and, despite
herself, moaned as he sprinkled a little salt over her moist skin. He
swallowed a shot of tequila, licked the salt from her shoulder and seized
her face, sucking the lime hungrily from her lips.

Cordy groaned. She could taste the burning liquor as Angel's tongue flicked
into her mouth. She clawed at the lapels at his coat, shoving it back from
his shoulders.

"You want a drink?" he asked, smirking.

"That... was a neat trick," Cordy heaved.

"It should be. He's been perfecting that for a century," Spike rolled his
eyes.

"Could we try it?" Willow asked, her eyes glowing with lust.

"Could we try it....." he asked. She wanted to play, her mood had obviously
improved.

"Could we try that, please, master?" she asked.

"Oh... I suppose," he laughed. He leaned her prostrate across his lap. He
hiked her top up higher from her navel and ringed the delicate flesh with
his tongue. Angel handed him the salt, which he generously spread over her
glistening flesh. He drank. She took a lemon between her lips and eagerly
fed it to him as he leaned in to claim her mouth. His hand slid between her
thighs and brushed against her quickly dampening cleft. She moaned.

"My turn," Cordelia grunted, her voice gutteral.

Angel let Cordy straddle his lap. She unbuttoned his shirt, pushing it back
to expose his firm,, muscled chest. She laved his nipple with her tongue,
watching it pucker as she sprinkled salt over it. She ground against him as
she placed the lime in his mouth. He handed her the full shot glass, his
dark eyes burning for her.

She reared her head back to take in the caustic liquor. He gripped her hips,
keeping her pinned to his growing bulge. She brushed her hair back as she
licked the salt from his cool smooth skin. He leaned back, relishing the
attention her talented lips. She caught his chin, crushing the tart fruit
between his lips. The juice dribbled down his chin. She followed the wet
sweet trails with her tongue. She worked her way back to his lips as he
cupped her ass through the thin material of her skirt.

"Would you like another drink, master?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.

(8/?)
 

Angel's reply was cut short by the approach of an overeager blonde female
submissive. She knelt before him, desperate to please the feared vampire. He
obviously treated his toys very well.

"Master Angelus, I have been sent by the management to cordially invite you
to the upstairs playrooms," she said, her voice sugared and fervent. "I
could accompany you and your playmate, if you like."

"Give us a moment," Angel said. The submissive, Jade, backed away while
Angel adjusted Cordy's disheveled clothes. "What do you say, sweet?"

"What?" Cordy murmured. Her eyes rolled back, she was so close to cumming.
If he would just-

"Do you want to take this some place private?" he asked, trailing kisses
along the neckline of her top. "We'll only go upstairs if you want to. I
won't do anything you don't want."

"Private?" she asked, her voice husky. "Private would be....good. Ohh."

"Goooood," he drawled. "Very good."

He looked over at his childe. "Spike, do you want to go upstairs?" Spike
couldn't exactly answer with Willow's tongue down his throat.

"They'll go," Cordy nodded, pulling him from the couch. Jade led the couples
up some private stairs in the back. The second floor was divided into a
dozen bedrooms designed to suit any of the exclusive patrons' fantasies.

Jade ticked off the names of each room as they passed. "The Rodeo Room. The
Pirate and Wench Room. The Naughty Schoolboy/Dominating Teacher Room...."

"Um....We'll take that one," Spike said quickly and pulled Willow through
the doorway. The door slammed behind them.

Angel laughed. "Where will we go, sweet?"

Cordy looked around desperately. At this point, she didn't care. A dark
corner would do. She pointed to the first door her eyes landed on. "That
one."

"Excellent choice," he purred. He stepped through the door. Jade stepped in
front of Cordy.

"I'd be more than willing to accompany you," she said, fingering the stays
of Cordy's skirt. Cordy growled with a feral hiss and slapped the blonde.
Jade whimpered and fell to the floor. She looked up at Cordelia, her lip
bloodied. Her face twisted into a thankful smile.

"No one touches what's mine," Cordy spat as she stepped over the submissive
and slammed the door behind her. "Bitch."

Angel was laying on a big four-poster bed on a raised platform in the middle
of the room. He grinned expectantly, his hands folded across his (still
fully clothed, dammit) chest. Cordy looked around the room. It seemed
perfectly normal. White walls. White carpet (not something you expect in a
sex room, but okay) White satin sheets on the sleekly sculpted wrought-iron
bed frame.

"So what's so porny about this room?" she asked, crossing towards him. She
untied the stays of her skirt and let it fall. Angel pointed to a small
closet near the bed and began unbuttoning his shirt. She opened the door.
Handcuffs. Cords. Ropes. Long silk scarves. Shackles. "What the?"

"Choose something," Angel said, his calm voice betraying his thirst for her.

She chose two long midnight blue scarves and brought them to the bed. She
laid them beside Angel, expecting him to know what to do with them. His eyes
trained on hers,he simply raised his arm above his head and grabbed the
headboard. Cordy's forehead creased in confusion.

Realization dawned. She grinned wickedly and crawled on the bed. "Oooooh,
goody."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"William!" Willow said sharply, striking her teacher's desk with a ruler.
Her corset top was covered with a prim red cardigan. A plaid wool skirt had
replaced her leather pants. "Do you have your homework?"

Spike squirmed expectantly in the uncomfortable wooden student's desk. "No,
ma'am, I don't."

"How many times do I have to remind you!?" she cried, smacking her palm with
the ruler. She stalked to his desk and pulled him from his seat. She threw
him across her desk. "You're simply going to have to do a make-up
assignment."

She ripped her cardigan, sending buttons flying. He pulled her on the desk,
straddling him. His hands laid under her skirt, she had skipped wearing
underwear. He smirked and kissed her thoroughly, exploring the warm wet
depths of her mouth. "I think I'm going to get extra credit for this."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're not allowed to move," she warned him. She rode him at an
excruciating slow pace. He kept "accidently" bucking up to meet her thrusts.

"Pleeeease?" he begged.

"Please what?" she asked her nails scraping the cool smooth flesh of his
chest.

"Please, mistress, let me please you," he begged.

"Well... since you asked nicely."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You've been a very naughty student, Willam," Willow said. Spike was
kneeling between her knees, kissing her thighs. "I'm afraid you're going to
have to stay after to school."

"I'll suffer through it," he murmured against her skin.

THUMP THUMP THUMP

"Bloody HELL!" Spike shouted.

"Are you guys almost ready?" Cordy shouted through the door.

"DO YOU MIND??" he shouted back. "I'm in the middle of an EXAM!"

(9/?)

"Well..." Cordy grinned as Angel opened the car door for her. "That was
certainly a lot more interesting than the first club we went to."

"Yup," Willow giggled. Spike had her propped up on the trunk with her legs
wrapped around his waist. He was keeping her hands pretty busy- he kept
untying the stays of her pants. "From now on, you guys pick the clubs."

Angel rolled his eyes at his childe's antics. He and Cordelia had had a hell
of a time getting the pair out of their schoolroom fantasy. Not that he
wouldn't taking his bossy little brunette back up to the "binding room" but
at the moment he was more desperate to get her home, in his bed.

"Spike," Angel said. "Um, would you mind getting Willow off the car so we
can go home and put these little girls to bed?"

Spike grinned over Willow shoulder. "Daddy's sleepy, pet, I guess we have to
go home so the old man can soak his fangs and rub in the linament."

"Old man!" Angel scowled. "I'm an old man!?"
 

"He's apparently senile, too," Spike whispered conspiratorily to Willow as
he led her around the car. Willow giggled. "Can't even remember his age."

"Can I consider that a challenge?" Angel asked, grinning wickedly.

Spike leered back. "Absolutely."

"What sort of challenge?" Willow asked.

"I'll explain later, love," Spike kissed her and tucked her in the backseat.
He winked at Angel over the hood of the car. He loved a good challenge. When
he and Angelus had run together they used to compete sexually, usually it
was with the same woman. But that was out of the question with Willow and
Cordy. The game would have to be modified.

"'Til sunrise," Angel grinned. "Keep count. The one with the highest score
by morning wins."

"Agreed," Spike nodded. "Winner takes your bed for the rest our visit."

Since Cordy was obviously staying at Angel's for a while and Willow couldn't
exactly stay at her place without her without upsetting Dennis, they'd
agreed that Spike and Willow would stay on Angel's couch. (It folded out.)

"What are they agreeing to?" asked Cordy.

"Got me," Willow shrugged. "But I think we're going to enjoy it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Goodnight, Will," Cordy said as Angel shut the door to his room.

"Goodniiiiight," Angel grinned.

"Prepared to couch-bound, sire," Spike said, his eyebrow arched.

"What's all this about, Spike?" Willow asked as she crawled under the
covers.

"Just a little wager, Willow," he kissed her forehead and knelt between her
thighs. He kissed circles around her hipbones as edged her panties down.
"Now be a good girl and keep count."

"What? Spike, what are you talking ab- aahh!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Angel?" Cordy stepped out of the bathroom into complete darkness.

"Right here," he whispered. He was standing right behind her.

She gasped. "Stupid superhuman speed."

"You'll learn to appreciate it," he grinned wickedly. He snapped off the
bathroom light and plunged the room into blackness. He brushed the straps of
nightgown away, leaving trails of brushfire along her sensitized skin. He
let her gown fall to the floor. Cordy reached out blindly for him, her palms
catching the curves of his cheekbones, she pulled his lips to hers.

He pushed her back on his bed. His great big bed where he had spent so much
time thinking of what he would do with her if he ever got her there.

"I've wanted you like this for such a long time," he said, slipping a cool
finger between her already wet thighs. "In my bed. Under me. Mine. All
mine."

He slipped another finger into her. She keened, thrusting up into his palm.
She was falling back, forever without landing. She grabbed his shoulders,
hoping for something to keep her earthbound. She cried out, disappointed, as
his hand left her.

"Cordelia?" he asked. Her passion-glazed eyes turn on him, barely focusing.

"Hmm?"

"Say it?" he begged, gently pushing into her.

"Mmm?" her legs wrapped around his hips, urging him deeper inside. He moaned
as her muscles clenched around him.

"Say it," he murmured against her skin. "You haven't said it yet. Please?"

She pulled him to her lips as she spasmed one last time. "I love you,
Angel."

He groaned as he filled her with his release.

"One."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What's the count, pet?" Spike asked, as lapped at her delicately.

"Two!" she cried out as another delicious spasm rocketed through her.

"Two?" he grinned, his teeth grazing her quivering flesh. "I'm ahead of
schedule. Maybe I should slow down, let you catch your breath."

She growled, her foot caught him squarely in the chest. He landed on his
back with a surprised "ooof!" She straddled him, hovering above his shaft.

"No more teasing," she hissed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Three!" Cordy cried as Angel moved above her one last time. He rolled,
bringing her over him.

"Is that all?" he grinned, cupping her breasts. "Are you sure?"

She leaned down, her blunt teeth grazing his lips. "Round four."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"FIIII-IVE," Willow cried. Early sunlight crept through a crack in Angel's
blinds.

Spike bent Willow over the back of the couch. "Few moment before morning,
love, think we can make it to six?"

"Twice," Willow grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next afternoon, Angel finally emerged from his room.

With a slight limp.

Willow was cradled against Spike's white chest. He peeked over the back of
the couch. He rolled her away gently and kissed her forehead. Sliding into
his jeans, he followed his sire into the kitchen.

"You alright, Pops?" he asked.

"That woman," Angel pointed at the bedroom door. "Is inhuman! She just fell
asleep!"

"Just now?" Spike laughed. "But sunrise was hours ago. The challenge ended
then."

"She didn't care!" Angel whispered. "She didn't even know about it. The
woman's insatiable!"

"Well, she did date Zeppo the pinhead for almost a year, you do the math,"
Spike grinned as he lit a cigarette. "So, what was the final score?"

"By sunrise?" Angel paused to do some math. "Five."

"Ha!" Spike said trumphantly. "Six and a half."

"A half?" Angel shook his head. "There's no such thing as half an orgasm."

"There is when a beam of sunlight falls across your lover's back and he
catches fire," Spike grumbled. "You really need to check those blinds."

Angel groaned. "So I guess Cordy and I are couching it tonight?"

"Nah, I just wanted to prove I could beat you, take the bed," Spike ground
his cigarette out and sauntered back to the couch. "Looks like you need the
rest anyway."
 

(10/?)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wakey, wakey, Spikey," Willow whispered in his ear.

"MRHAGGGHHH," he growled and rolled away from her.

She brushed her fingertips along his ribs with aching delicacy.
"Spppiiiiikkkke."

He jerked his head up and narrowed scowled up at her. She grinned and
attacked his mouth. She nipped at his lips and invaded him with her small
deft tongue.

"Mmmmm," he groaned, stretching. "What a way to wake up."

"Well, get used to it," she murmured. "But not this morning, Cordy and I are
going out for the day, leaving you boys to sleep it off."

"What?"

"The after affect of a challenge," Willow smirked. "Do you really think
after reading your complete history I wouldn't know about your and Angelus'
little contests..... Sinner."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Aaannngel."

Angel swatted at whatever was touching his face. He rolled and buried his
face in his pillow. "MMMwwwaaaaggghh."

"Angel," a sweet voice wrapped its way around his mind and pulled him from
slumber. Cordelia? What was Cordelia doing in his bed? He lifted his head
from the pillow and squinted up at the brunette sitting beside him in bed.
She smiled down at him and kissed his forehead. "Breakfast." She placed a
warmed mug of his refrigerator blood in his hands. He accepted it gratefully
as he sat up.

"Good morning," she said brightly.

"It is now that you're in my bed," he grinned and tried to kiss her. She
backed away. "Ummmm after you brush the meaty goodness from your breath."

"Chicken," he teased.

"Actually it's cow blood," she said. rising from the bed. "You have your
breakfast in bed. Spike is currently zonked out on the couch. Willow and I
are going shopping."

"Shopping?" he spat his blood back into the mug. His credit rating would
never survive this relationship. "Again?"

"Christmas shopping," Cordelia nodded, grinning. "There are only five
shopping days until the big holiday. And I figured now that you know how I
really feel about you, I should probably take back that 'World's Greatest
Boss' mug and get you something a little more personal."

"Mmmm," he kissed her cheek. "That's sweet. My wallet's on the kitchen
table, take whatever card you need."

"Thank you, but I won't be buying your gifts with your own money, that's the
old Cordelia," she gave him a quick peck. "But I will pick up a little
something for myself."

"Sweetie, I'm going to Christmas shop for you," Angel said defensively. He
couldn't believe he had forgotten one of the biggest human holidays of the
year. Stupid two-hundred-year existence as the undead, he grumbled inwardly.

"I know," Cordelia rose from the bed. "Trust me, what I have planned will be
a present for the both of us."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Auugh!" Willow groaned and slipped her shoes off under the table of the
little cafe where they had stopped for lunch. "How do you do it, Cordy?
We've been at thisfor hours."

"Sensible shoes and Angel's limitless credit cards," Cordy grinned, sipping
her mineral water.

"I blame physical exhaustion," Willow laughed. "I didn't get much sleep last
night."

"I'll bet," Cordelia smirked. "So what was your final score?"

"Six and a half," Willow grinned.

"And a half?"

"Long story," Willow shrugged "So what's the final present count for Angel?"

"Mmmm, let's see," Cordy checked through her bags. "Red fuzzy sweater. Hee
hee."

"That'll mess with his mind," Willow snickered.

"Two rare books, neither of which I can pronounce, but you insist he's been
looking for," she said. "And a few odds and ends. How about Spike?"

"A couple of things. A computer of his very own, so he'll leave my alone.
Used, of course, because let's face it, I'm a mere mortal without a trust
fund. Sex Pistols records, which he's been looking for for ages, on vinyl,"
she grinned happily. "They're packed away in my luggage. Here's hoping he
doesn't go rooting through my underwear."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Angel!" Spike cried from the living room. "Will you look at this?!"

He rushed into Angel's room carrying a bunch of records with tattered shreds
of wrapping paper hanging from them.

"The little witch bought me the records I've spent the a decade looking
for!" he cried.

"Where'd you find them?" Angel asked.

Spike's eyes shifted. "Umm, in her bag."

"And the fact that they were wrapped and hidden in her bag might mean she
doesn't want you to look for them?"

"Ummmm ... no," Spike shook his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what does a vampire get for his girlfriend?" Cordy wondered. "It's not
going to be anything.... gross. Is it?"

"What like, here's your mean werewolf ex-boyfriend's head on pike, Merry
Christmas?" Willow asked.

"You've thought about this... haven't you?" Cordy asked, her eyebrow arched.

"No," Willow said quickly. "What makes you think that?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"When are the girls due back?" Angel asked.

"An hour or so," Spike shrugged. "But you made the mistake of giving your
woman your platinum card, so we may never see them again."

"Sun's setting," Angel yawned. "First, we'll go out and find wrapping to
match that you ripped up, so Willow doesn't stake you on such a festive
occasion. Then we shop for the girls. And get back before they do."

"In an hour?" Spike grinned. "Do you know what shops are like at Christmas?"

"Superhuman speed, remember?"

(11/?)
"Spiiiiike?" Willow caressed his ear with her lips.

"Mmmm?" he rolled over, grateful that he didn't have a racing pulse to
betray the fact that he and Angel had just sped up two flights of stairs,
stashed the girls' presents in the office, dashed back down to the
apartment, stripped and ducked into bed as if they had slept the entire time
Willow and Cordelia were gone.

"We're back," she snuggled up against his body. "Did you miss me?"

"Mmmhmm," he nodded, stretching.

"Have you been sleeping all this time?" she asked.

"Mmmhmmm." he nodded again, feigning innocence. "What can I say, love. You
wore me out."

"You poor thing," she kissed him with gentle sincerity. She pulled away
slowly, eyeing the corner of the room. "Spike, my sweet, if you slept the
whole time I was gone, why is my suitcase, the one we just happens to
contain your Christmas presents, is unzipped?"

(DAMMIT! I'm busted.)

"Present gnome," Spike shrugged.

"You little sneak!" Willow cried, pummeling him with a pillow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Angel," Cordy called. Angel quickly shut off the water and and wrapped a
towel around his waist.

"Hi, Cordy," he emerged from the bathroom and kissed her cheek.

"Hi," she grinned at him, kissing him back.

"What?"

"Showering, huh?" she smirked.

He nodded, toweling his dry hair.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed kisses across his throat.
"For someone who just took a shower, your hair's awfully dry and you smell
an awful lot like Spike's cigarettes. So unless you've been standing around
in the shower with Spike, smoking. You have some splainin' to do."

"Un-obgh," he sputtered. "I'm busted, aren't I?"

"Oh, yeah," she nodded, kissing her very flustered boyfriend.

"ANGEL!" Spike shouted from the next room. "CORDELIA! HELP! She's gone mad!
OW, pet! That really hurts!"

"Spike looked through his presents, didn't he?" Cordelia asked.

"What do you think?" Angel asked. Cordy rolled her eyes.

"We have a surprise for you," Cordy said.

"Really," Angel's eyebrows wriggled. "Is it black and lacy?"

"No, it's green and covered with needles," Cordy said.

"You brought me an anguish demon?" Angel pouted.

"No!" Cordy laughed. "Come with me."

She led him through the living room where Willow had Spike pinned to he
couch and was beating him senseless with his own pillow.

"Heeeelp," Spike wheezed.

"Oh, come on, Willow, let him up," Angel laughed.

"You are SO getting a lump of coal in your stocking," Wilow hissed at him.
Angel flopped down on the couch, suddenly realizing, he was still dressed in
a towel. He crossed his legs, slapping Spike's hand away when his childe
tried to grab the towel away.

"Ta-dah!" Cordy grinned as she and Willow hauled in one of the greenest
fluffiest pine trees Spike had ever seen.

"A Christmas tree?" Angel laughed.

"Well, we're going to have our very first weird-ass family Christmas,
right?" Cordy grinned. "I thought we should start off right."

"I think that's a wonderful idea," Angel rose and hugged her tight. His
towel caught on one of the branches and dropped to the ground. "I'm naked,
aren't I?"

She nodded.

"Nice ass, sire," Spike snorted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What's the bloody point of putting cranberries on a bleeding string?" Spike
asked as he accidently jabbed himself with the sewing needle. "OW! Stupid
needle."

"You're just mad because you've only gotten three to stay on your string,"
Angel grinned, triumphantly holding up his full garland of cranberries.
Spike reached over and with a flick of his wrist loosened the knot holding
the berries. They tumbled to the ground.

"That was uncalled for," Angel grunted.

"Boys, play nice," Cordy giggled, hanging another blue glass ball on the
tree.

"What is the point of stringing craberries?" Willow asked. Though her
parents weren't exactly pious, they had forbidden her from anything
Yuletide. She was as new to Christmas as Angel and Spike.

"Well, I uh...." Cordy stammered. "Stop driving me crazy! It's Christmas,
dammit, let's just be a normal happy family!"

Her family stared at her, their jaws dropped.

"Well, it worked when my mom said it," Cordy shrugged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Christmas
Eve

"Happy, pet?" Spike asked. She snuggled deeper into his arms and nodded. She
was absolutely content
here, for the first time in a long time. No Giles constantly after her for
research. No Buffy constantly
treating her like she was a hapless moron. No Xander doing ... the stuff
that usually annoyed her.

Spike interupted her reverie. "Do I still get my prezzies?"

She glared up at him.

"Do you want one of yours?" he asked.

"Nah..." she grinned. "Um, yes, of course I do!"

"Angel, Cordy, she's speaking to me again!" Spike called. His sire and new
"mum" were in the kitchen. Cordy was trying to help Angel make a batch of
Christmas cookies for Willow, but it just wasn't working out.

"Are Christmas trees supposed to turn out black?" Angel asked.

"I don't think so." Cordy shook her head. "The important question is, does
Willow know that?"

"Spike and I are opening a present now!" Willow called.

"Why don't we open the presents from each other and leave the ones between
couples for tomorrow morning?" Cordy asked.

"Sounds good," Willow shrugged. Spike slid behind her and pulled Willow in
his lap.

"Cordy, this is from me," Willow handed her a small wrapped box.

Cordy opened it and found a stack of CD-Rom disks.

"It's every demonology book Giles has converted to CD-ROM," Willow said.
"Figured you could use them.

"At last, no more pouring through stinky old books," Cordy grinned. "Thanks.

"There's something else," Willow said. "Boys, you might want to look away."

Cordy pulled a beautifully engraved silver cross pendant from the bottom of
the box. She arched her
eyebrow and looked at her friend.

"For those nights you have a headache," Willow winked.

"That's just evil!" Spike cried.

"Better give him a present," Cordy grinned. Angel handed him a flat
silver-wrapped package. Spike
ripped away the paper to find a framed sketch of Willow and Spike. Willow
was lying in Spike's arms,
laughing. Angel had signed the bottom.

"It's beautiful," Willow breathed. "You didn't do this while we were
sleeping, did you?"

"NO!" Angel laughed.

"He's been working on it for months," Cordy said.

"But we've only been together one week," Spike said.

"Daddy knows best," Angel shrugged. "If you weren't together this would have
been the world's biggest hint.

"Just open your gift, Peaches," Spike laughed.

Angel opened a carefully wrapped box. He peeled back a layer of tissue to
find .... his flute. The polished wooden flute he played so many years ago
when he and Dru and Spike were together. The flute that lulled Drusilla to
sleep so any nights. Spike had kept it all these years. He looked up into
his childe's eyes.

"New music for a new man," Spike smiled.

"Thank you," Angel said.

Spike grinned and hugged his sire. A gesture that caught Angel off-guard.
With that, the others dug into
their presents. Cordy gave Willow a silver hand mirror.

"You live with a vampire, you know how hard it is to get mirrors into the
house," Cordy laughed.

"Thanks for the cig case, Cordy," Spike waved the elaborately engraved
antique cigarette case at her.

"You're welcome." She opened Spike's gift and held it up, grinning. "The
Kama Sutra?"

"It's a rare edition," Spike winked back at her.

"What have you done to me?" Angel groaned. He opened Willow's present. It
was a blank leather-bound journal.

"I figure Cordy's going to take two or three volumes," Willow winked.

"What does that mean?" Cordy demanded.

"Oh... nothing." Willow smiled mysteriously. She opened Angel's gift, a very
rare magic book, written in Gaelic. "Thanks Angel."

"You just have to promise me one thing," Angel said.

"What?"

"You'll never try ANY of those spells while I'm around," he grinned.

(12/12)
Spike and Willow lay among the ripped paper and unwrapped presents.
Christmas morning had turned
into total gift carnage.

"Like your prezzies, pet?" Spike asked.

"Mmmhmm," she nodded. "Thank you, for everything."

She laughed as her new black kitten, Midnight, licked at her feet. It had
definitely been a surprise when she was about to open her first present and
it went "rrrrow."

"Just keep him away from Amy," Spike said. "That would be too much irony to
deal with."

Willow's presents from Spike included Midnight, more magic books, very rare
crystal Willow had spent the last six months combing Wicca supply stores
for, an E-Z Bake Oven, which her mother would never let her have because it
enforced culural stereotypes and last but not least, a very special pendant.
A flat silver disk with a willow tree engraved on one side and a railroad
spike on the other. It would warn other vampires that she belonged to him,
at least until she allowed him to mark her.

"Thanks for my records," he said.

"Mmmhmm," she grinned at him. She had let him open his other presents- the
computer, a bunch of Spike's favorite movies on tape - including Four
Weddings and a Funeral, which incurred the wrath of Angel.

"Bugger off!" Spike grumbled. "Hugh Grant is bloody brilliant!"

There was also handwritten history she had done of Spike beginning with
where the usual books left off- Angelus leaving him. The last half of the
book was blank. When Spike didn't find his records, Willow could almost
swear she could see his lip trembling. She couldn't do it anymore, she
relented and told him where she had hidden them under the couch.

"I can't believe we're leaving in three days," Willow sighed.

Spike kissed her temple. "I know."

"I'm going to miss Cordy," she said. "And Angel. I guess my email account's
going to be pretty busy when we get home. I'll probably message her two or
three times a day."

"You don't have to, pet," he said.

Her eyebrows arched. "Well... that wouldn't make any sense...."

He chuckled. "I mean, we don't have to go back to Sunnydale. We could stay
here. They don't really need us around the Hellmouth anymore what with the
commandos helping out. Anything major comes up, they can call us for help."

"What?" she laughed.

"Think about it, you could transfer to UCLA if you wanted," Spike said, his
excitement growing. His eyes glowing more with each word.

"Where would we live?" Willow asked.

"Well, Angel and I have talked about it and he wants us to live here."

"But there's only one bedroom," Willow said. "No offense, but eww."

"No!" he laughed. "In this building. We could take up one of the other
apartments."

"We could knock out a wall!" Cordy cried. She had been listening from
Angel's bedroom doorway. "We could knock out that wall in the kitchen and
make one big place!"

"She has thing about knocking out walls," Angel shrugged, he came out of the
bedroom looking very festive the fuzzy red sweater Cordy had given him.
Spike had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. "But it sounds good. My
childe, my friend, my mate, all living with me."

"Your mate?" Cordy grinned, kissing him. "Interesting, I didn't even get any
jewelry out of it."

"Think again," Angel said. He pulled a ring box out of his pocket and
slipped a slim platinum band on her finger. It was encrusted with tiny
sapphires, Cordy's birthstone. "Be mine, Cordelia?"

"What does this mean?" Cordy asked.

"What ever you want it to mean," he said. "We'll stand on ceremony later,
right now I just want you to say you're mine. Are you?"

"Mmmmhmm," she nodded. "I love you Angel."

"Love you, too." he kissed her.

"Guess this makes us a big twisted family," Spike grinned. He rose and
kissed Cordy's hand. "Mum."

"A big happy twisted family," Willow laughed. She kissed Angel's and Cordy's
cheeks."Dad and Mum-in-law."

As his mate hugged his childe, Angel realized that he got exactly what he
wanted for Christmas.

Family.

THE END

(You like? If you're good, there'll be a sequel.)
 

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