Secret

Rating: R

Pairing: W/C then W/A/S/C

Summary: Cordelia and Willow have a little secret. But is it really a secret?

Author's Note: This takes place during Season 5 BtVS/ beginning of Season 2 AtS and assumes that there is no Tara and that whole Darla thing? Didn't happen in my world. General rule with my fics - if something in my story doesn't make sense according to the canon I am pulling from - assume I ignored canon.

Feedback: Please? I love it - really I do.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
 
 

~*~Part One~*~

"Heeeelllooooo." Willow called out, her voice echoing through the seemingly empty lobby of Angel Investigations. She shifted from foot to foot, waiting to see if anyone would be answering her call or not.

"Maybe they went out, pet. We should be going. Just leave the book for the Ponce."

"Can't, Spike." The red head growled, glaring at the blond haired vampire. "Giles asked us to bring this book to Angel and that's exactly what we're going to do. Besides, I haven't been here since they got the new place - I'm curious." It had been at least a month since she had managed to get up to LA to visit Angel and Cordelia. 'Oh, and Wesley, too,' she reminded herself, distinctly aware that she would very much like to forget Wesley all together. He was just too stuffy for her, despite the fact that he had lightened up considerably since his days as Buffy's Watcher.

Spike sighed, an amazing feat for a creature that didn't breathe, and flopped unceremoniously onto one of the couches in the lobby, closing his eyes. They had been on the road for nearly three hours, a trip he was sure he could have cut in half if the human in the car with him hadn't been so insistent he not speed. He could still hear her screaming in his head, a delightful little sound that reminded him of his heyday when humans all over the world screamed at the sight of him. Now, though? Now he was just an errand boy for a washed up Watcher.

"Hello? Did I hear someone. Oh! Willow!" Cordelia ran down the stairs, smiling brightly at the sight of the red head.

"And Spike." Willow said, the words obviously holding meaning. She tilted her head towards the couches in the lobby, raising her eyebrows in warning. The former cheerleader slowed her run to a walk, looking with little curiosity in the direction Willow was pointing.

"Hello Spike." She moved closer to Willow, whispering in a voice she was sure the vampire could still hear, "Did you have to bring the bleached wonder with you? He'll be fighting with Angel within a minute of them being in the same room. You remember what happened last time, don't you?"

"How could I forget?" Willow grinned, squeezing the brunette's arm affectionately. She looked over at Spike, making sure he hadn't seen the gesture then winked at Cordelia. "They nearly tore each other's throats out, after all."

Cordelia chuckled, licking her lips and winking at Willow. Even though there were only three of them in the room, things seemed too crowded. Part of it was due to the fact that she hated being around Spike. The other part? Well that was something else entirely. "ANGEL! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE! WE HAVE VISITORS!!!!"

The shout rang through the lobby, no doubt carrying very well upstairs and to the ears it was intended for. Spike muttered a curse, closing his eyes and asking whatever powers looked after evil little vampires to give him strength. 'Red might turn me into a frog if I kill the bugger, after all.'

"Cordy? What's with the screaming?"

"Willow and Spike are here." Cordelia announced, craning her head so that she could see her boss, now making his way down the stairs from the second floor. She saw him roll his eyes at the mention of the other vampire and grinned. The fighting between those two was almost cute in a weird, twisted beat-me-up-every-night sort of way.

"Ah. Did you bring the book? Giles said you were." He smiled when Willow held up the dusty brown volume. "Great. Maybe now we can figure out how to move Dennis from Cordelia's apartment to the hotel."

"Goodie." Cordelia grinned, rubbing her hands together and trying to look interested. She truly did care about getting the move finalized. All they had left to do was get Dennis to the hotel and then she could move in permanently, leaving behind worries such as rent and utilities. Living at the hotel would, in all honesty, be a godsend. Even if she did have to share a building with Angel and Wesley.

It was a big building, after all.

"Show me around the hotel, Cordy?" Willow asked, tugging lightly on the girl's sleeve to get her attention. "I'm sure Angel and Spike have tons to catch up on." She smiled innocently.

"Actually, pet." Spike began.

Only to be cut off by Cordelia, "Sure, Wills. We'll start from the top and work our way down. Better take the elevator." She grabbed the red head's arm, steering her towards the ancient mechanical device. Behind them she could hear Angel trying to mount a protest as to why he shouldn't be left in charge of amusing Spike and it brought a smile to her face.

"Are we really going all the way to the top?" Willow asked quietly, the doors to the elevator sliding shut with a creak.

"Uh uh." Cordelia grinned wickedly, pressing the button for the third floor. "Thought I'd just show you my floor. I've already got some of my stuff there. Dresser...clothes.bed."

"OooOoo" Willow purred, her own smile noticeably less innocent than it had been in the lobby. She stepped closer to Cordelia as the elevator stopped on the third floor, her hand holding the button to keep the doors from closing and sending them back to the lobby. She licked her lips, her voice dropping in volume until it was just a husky whisper. "Bed sounds nice." Then they were kissing, their mouths exploring each other as though it was their first time.

'Which it most definitely isn't,' Willow thought, closing her eyes and leaning into the kiss. She could still remember the first time they had ever kissed, on a night of drinking that they both later admitted had left them not nearly so uninhibited as they had originally claimed. For nearly a year they had been together, without their friends having a clue. It was getting more and more difficult to find a way to come all the way to LA to visit, though - thus the reason she was kissing the brunette like she was starving for love. A month was a long time to go without kissage. Much too long, Willow decided. 'But we'll deal with all that later. There's got to be a better way.'

"Y-You said something about a bedroom?" Willow breathed, breaking away from her lover's hungry mouth long enough to catch her breath. She could feel the desire pooling within her, desperate for the release only Cordelia could give her. They would only have a little bit of time together before Spike and Angel would start to get suspicious - something neither of them was ready to face yet.

"This way." Cordelia panted, already unbuttoning her own shirt as she led the red head through the empty halls.

~*~

Spike looked over at Angel, smirking. "Amazing."

Angel nodded, chuckling. He sat down on the couch next to his Childe and grinned. He stretched languidly, his toes pointed with the effort, and then sighed in relaxation. "Should we bruise each other up to make it look like we fought while they were gone?"

"Nah. Red'll get pissed if we 'fight' again." Spike laughed. "Got something to eat? I 'spose they'll be at it for at least an hour."

The dark haired vampire stood up. "Yeah - I still can't believe they think no one has noticed." He looked upwards meaningfully. "I mean - we've known for almost six months." He chuckled again and then gestured towards the stairs. "Let me show you the kitchen. Might as well get comfortable while we wait for them to finish."

"Finish?" Spike leered. "Yeah - that's one way to put it, mate."

~*~Part Two~*~

Cordelia glanced in the mirror, making sure that her hair and makeup were straight. They had been gone from the lobby for nearly forty-five minutes, long enough for Angel and Spike to begin to wonder where they were, she was sure. "You almost ready, lover?"

Willow looked up from tying her shoes, grinning wickedly. "Ready for what? Because I don't think I'm up to another round right now - as much as I'd like to." The red head frowned, her own words reminding her of the situation the two of them were in. She would have to leave today, go back to Sunnydale and to her friends that were still quietly oblivious to her entire relationship with the brunette.

"Do you have to go back tonight?" Cordelia asked quietly, turning away from the mirror. The happiness of the past forty-five minutes faded away to sadness within an instant. It was getting harder and harder to let Willow leave when she came to visit - harder to want to hide what they had together. Who knew how long it would be until she saw the red head again this time? The way things were going in both of their lives it could very well be even longer than this past break had been. Sure, there was still the telephone and emails, which they both used on a daily basis to talk with each other, but it just wasn't the same as being there in person. You couldn't touch over the phone, couldn't hold each other, kiss each other and you most certainly couldn't make love.

"Yeah." Willow whispered, buttoning the last of the buttons on her shirt. She sighed, blinking rapidly to try to hold back the tears that she could feel burning in her eyes. "I wish I could stay, Delia. You know I do. If I stay we run the risk of getting caught - and are we ready to deal with *that* yet?"

"Maybe I *am*." The other girl stated fiercely. She turned, her eyes wet with her own unshed tears. "Buffy, Xander - they'll be shocked, I'm sure - Angel too. But they'll get over it."

The red head shook her head gently, reaching out to caress the brunette's cheek. "I'm not ready, yet. All you'll have to deal with is Angel. I'll have Buffy, Giles, Xander, Spike." She sighed in frustration, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "And you won't be there to make things all better."

Cordelia nodded, giving up. This was the same argument she had dealt with for their entire relationship. She understood, really she did. But it was so difficult. Especially with the love she felt for Willow. "Only one more semester and you'll be ready to transfer to UCLA, though, right?"

"Right." Willow affirmed. She pulled Cordelia to her, their bodies flush against one another, their mouths meeting again for kisses that would have to last until they could be together again.

~*~*~

"Bored. Boring. Boredom. Boredness."

Angel shut his eyes, trying to block out the incessant babble of the blonde haired vampire sitting only a few feet away. Nearly thirty minutes had passed since Cordelia and Willow had headed off to 'tour' the hotel. He knew for a fact they had spent that time in Cordelia bedroom, the sound of the bed creaking echoing down through the floor and to the second floor. Spike had been amused by the entire thing at first, making up his own play-by-play shots of the action as he presumed it must be happening.

'Which involved a lot of things I'm sure only happen in pornos.' The dark haired vampire smirked. Another string of adjectives involving being bored brought his attention back to Spike and he sighed. "Don't you have anything better to do than sit there and annoy me?"

Spike turned blue eyes to Angel, his mouth open to retort. A loud creak from upstairs caught him off guard and he shut his mouth with a snap, shifting in his chair as though he had suddenly gotten uncomfortable. Then - "We could shag? Like the old days?" He leered at the older vampire, waiting for the other man's retort and negation of the idea. But what he really got was a surprise.

Angel stood up, grabbing hold of the younger vampire's arm and hauling him towards the bedroom. "Have it your way. Anything to get you to shut up." He was amazed at his own ability to play off the feelings he had been trying to hide since the blonde had walked through the door. It had been hard, at their last meeting, to bruise Spike up and then just let him walk out the door again. The art of beating and bruising was something the two of them had perfect during the time they had lived together, though in those days it had always ended in rounds of brutal sex that left both of them too tired to leave the bed until hunger drove them from it. It had been exquisite torture to listen to Cordelia and Willow so obviously taking their pleasure of each other when he himself wasn't getting any from the creature he had dreamed about for nearly a month. There was no risk to his soul, hadn't been since he had come back from Hell. Something about the fires of damnation bonding it to him for all of time. Not that many people knew that.

"Wha-?" Spike stuttered, stumbling over his own two feet as he was forced into the bedroom. He felt his desire swell up at the rough handling, the unexpectedness of the entire situation. "Was just a joke, you ponce."

"Was it?" Angel asked softly, shoving the blonde onto the bed with only a minimal show of his own strength. He fell down next to the other vampire, grabbing hold of Spike's shirt and hauling his mouth to within inches of his own. "Because if that's all it was I can just stop now."

"No." Spike growled, passion finally winning the war with his better judgment. He leaned in the last few inches, their mouths meeting in a brutal kiss, their faces shifting within moments to allow their demons a chance to play. He could taste blood and knew it was probably his, Angel's fangs having grazed his tongue on more than one occasion. That didn't matter though. The only thing that did matter was releasing some of the pressure that had built up inside of him.

And that's how Willow and Cordelia found them.

~*~Part Three~*~

"Oh. my.. Goddess." Willow mumbled, fleeing the doorway of Angel's bedroom for safer parts of the hotel, namely - the lobby. She made it all the way to the front desk before her girlfriend caught up with her, the brunette sharing a similar look of shock. "We didn't just see that. did we?" The red head asked, sitting heavily on the edge of a chair and staring up at Cordelia, confusion and surprise mirrored on her lover's face.

"No. we did.trust me. it's a sight I won't be forgetting any time soon."  The brunette looked like a child who had just been told that Santa Claus didn't exist - complete and utter disbelief. "I thought. Don't they hate each other?"

Willow shrugged, biting her lower lip and trying to erase the scene of her friend's - of *Angel's* pale ass in the air, pounding into. She sighed loudly, beginning to pray. "Oh Goddess, please rid me of these images. I do not want to ever see *that* again. That's the stuff nightmares are made of. I mean - ew. They are my friends. Ew. Ew. Ew. EW!" She held her hands over her ears, as if trying to block out the sounds they had heard as they stood in the doorway of Angel's room for those brief moments. Sure, they had seen less than a minute of action, but it had been enough to scar her for life, she was sure.

"How are we ever going to be able to look them in the face again?" Cordelia moaned, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend's shoulders and trying to exert a little calm on her. It was difficult to give calm that she herself didn't feel, though, and she instead found herself feeding off of the shock the red head was exuding.

"To think - we've been running around with our secret behind their backs. and they've been keeping this from us in return. How long do you think its been going on?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"No - has to have been longer.than.that." Cordelia turned to look behind her, realizing that the voice hadn't belonged to Willow. It had been a man's voice. Angel's to be exact.

"Yeah - would've been longer if you two hadn't interrupted." Spike grumbled, storming down the stairs. His shirt was untucked from his pants, hair tousled. He looked, for all intents and purposes, like someone who had just crawled out of bed.

Which he had.

"No! No more talking. No more unpleasant visuals." Willow cried, standing up and turning away from the two vampires. "Goddess."

"Calm down, Willow." Angel murmured, stepping up to the red head and laying a hand on her shoulder. He could feel the tenseness in her body just through that simple touch and he sighed.

"Yeah, pet. It's not like we haven't put up with the two of you shagging each other for the past six months."

"WHAT?" Two startled female voices rang out through the lobby, one set of brown eyes and one set of green ones turning to look at Spike in utter shock. Willow felt as though the earth would surely be swallowing her up whole. At least - she prayed it would. They had known, almost the entire time? Did Buffy know? Xander?

"What?" Spike asked, his face a picture of innocence. "It wasn't supposed to be a secret, was it? 'Cus you two chits are so bloody obvious about it. 'Oh Willow - let me show you around the hotel'" He simpered, sarcasm dripping off of every word. "Oh please. The two of you were in her room for the past half hour shagging like bunnies."

"We.umm..er.." Willow sat down heavily on one of the chairs, hiding her face in her hands. They knew. Oh goddess. 'Wait.' She told herself. 'They know - have known, in fact - and they haven't treated me or 'Delia any different.' It was a plus, she realized, to have confirmation that at least two of her friends were there for her no matter what, even though she had had to receive that knowledge in such a startling way.

"Wills.It's ok.." Cordelia whispered, kneeling in front of the red head and giving her an encouraging smile. "See. They don't hate us. It's ok."

"Hate you?" Angel asked, confused. "Why would we hate you? For being happy together?" He snorted, rolling his eyes. "We wouldn't be very good friends if we hated you for that."

"Can't say I blame you, though, Red. We both know Bitchy won't like it. You being all woman-loving and all that. It'll make her uncomfortable. She isn't the most tolerant of people. The idiot might get a kick out of it though. He'll want to watch and all - but hate you? Never."

"And for Spike," Angel smirked. "That was reassurance." He kneeled next to Cordelia, trying to see into Willow's face. He caught her chin in his hand, forcing her head up so that he could look into her eyes. "But - If we still are your friends after knowing about the two of you *and* we've kept it secret for this long - won't you do the same for me and Spike?"

Willow's breath caught in her throat. She had done the very same thing she had been afraid people would do to her. True, she had actually caught Spike and Angel in the act, but what difference did it make? They were her friends no matter what and had been loyal and faithful to both her and Cordelia when they were trying to keep their own secret. How could she dare treat them like lepers for having secrets of their own. "Yeah." She said finally. "I can do that." She gave him a weak smile.

"It'll be easier for you now that things are in the open. and now that Spike and I . umm.." He wondered briefly if he would blush for the first time in two hundred years but the burning sensation in his cheeks never came. "Now that Spike and I have . "

"Shagged." Spike interjected, helping the dark haired vampire through the stumbling block he seemed to have set up in his own mind for what had happened. "I think what the Ponce is trying to say is that he'll be wanting to see more of me. We'll find ways to sneak out of Sunnydale and visit, Red. You'll get more 'quality' time with your little lover girl."

"Gee, Spike." Cordelia smirked. "I would think after seeing you naked we would at least be on a first name basis and not just 'little lover girl'." She laughed at the annoyance on the blond's face. Did he even realize yet how many different ways she had to tease him now? He was *so* in for it. "But the bleached wonder is right, sweetie." Her voice softened as she turned back to Willow, the red haired girl still sitting quietly, as though she was only half a part of what was going on around her. "We'll get to see more of each other now, hopefully. We don't have to hide it from them anymore. Not from Spike and Angel, at least."

"And the two of you will keep what happens with Spike and I private?" Angel asked, looking from his secretary to Willow, and then back again. Buffy would stake both him and Spike if she ever found out about this - what with him being her 'soulmate' and Spike being her newest lackey.

"I know absolutely nothing about you and Spike." Cordelia grinned, squeezing Willow's hand. She would convince her to stay the night. Too much had happened for the young witch to just hop in Spike's car and go back to Sunnydale. They could just call Buffy and tell her Spike's car needed repairs or something and that they'd be back in a day.or two.

"What about you, Red? Promise not to tell?" Spike's attention was entirely on the red head who was still staring around the room in a daze. For a split second he worried that she was in a deeper state of shock than any of them had realized. Then, she turned to look at him, the little smile he was so used to seeing firmly fixed on her face.

"I promise." She murmured. "The secret's safe with me."

~*~Part Four~*~

Willow found Sunnydale to be unbelievably oppressive upon her return from LA. It was everything she could do not to just run to her room and call Cordelia up and talk for hours and hours. Unfortunately, real life interfered, per the usual.

"What's up Buff?" Willow asked, upon answering the phone and hearing her friend's excited voice. "Prophecy? Huh? Sure I'll come to Giles' house." She hung up, sighing. It was just her luck that Giles would find a prophecy about the Hellmouth re-opening on a night when all she wanted to do was curl up in bed and talk to her lover. Didn't he realize that?

'No - of course he doesn't realize that.' She chided herself, slowly pulling on the clothing she had discarded in favor of total nudity in hopes of a dirty little phone call to Delia. 'And why doesn't he realize that? Because I haven't told anyone?' She frowned, not bothering to tuck her t-shirt into her jeans. What did she care if she went over there looking like she just crawled out of bed? That's what had happened, after all. Somewhere in the house she heard a knocking, the noise taking a moment in her brain to be connected to the front door. "ONE MINUTE!!!" She yelled, grabbing her shoes and running down the stairs. She peered through the peephole, smiling when she saw who it was.

"Buffy called you, too?" She asked as the door opened, Spike standing in plain view.

"Bitchy?" He asked. "No - why'd the Slayer be calling me? Assuming I had a phone, of course. Or that I'd give her the number if I did." He stared at her for a moment and then gestured. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah." Willow shrugged, backing up and issuing the invitation. She walked towards the living room, leaving him to shut the door.

"So - why'd Bitchy call you and why do I get the feeling you are about to leave?" Spike asked, watching as the witch sat on the edge of the couch and began putting on her shoes.

"Because I am about to leave?" She smirked, giving the blond a sarcastic roll of her eyes. "Apparently she needs me to come research some new prophecy at Giles' house. Like I don't have the right to just rest and relax - I mean, we *just* got back from LA!" The last part was an exasperated sigh and she finished tying her shoes. She turned sad eyes to Spike. "All I wanted to do was call Cordy and relax.is that too much to ask?"

The vampire frowned. "So why didn't you tell the Slayer to sod off? Can't she do her own bleedin' research?"

"Well - I wouldn't want to trust this one to her anyway. It's about the Hellmouth opening again and we all know how much we *don't* want that to happen. Not much choice. Either I go over there and help or we risk this place turning into a big old hotbed of demon activity again." She paused and smiled wryly. "More so than it is normally, that is. Why're you here anyway if Buffy didn't call you to come get me?"

"Was bored. You're the only one out of the lot of them that I can stand. Thought we could watch somethin' on the tele."

"You're more than welcome to come with me to Giles' house." Willow suggested, feeling sorry for the vampire. It was true, other than herself, he had no friends. Well, excluding Angel of course. Though Angel was much more than a friend apparently. A flashback of what she had walked into the night before ran through her head and she fought down an urge to go rinse her eyes out. It wasn't that she found the male body to be disgusting, far from it, in fact. No, this was more along the lines of walking in on your parents - it was something you never want to see and can only accept as a fact if you're not confronted face to face with it.

"Right. Fun there, witch." He rolled his eyes. But what better did he have to do? Nothing, really. If she wasn't going to be around to spend time with him, he was stuck drinking away his sorrows at Willie's place. It was tempting to just skip town and go to LA, but if he did that and the Slayer *did* start trying to find him he'd catch hell. Questions and other annoying nonsense. The type of things he didn't want. And if she did somehow figure out what was going on between him and the poof? He could expect to never see another moonrise. "Fine - let's go then."

~*~*~

Buffy looked at Willow out of the corner of her eye, a nagging suspicion gnawing at the inside of her mind. The red head had been unusually quiet since she got back from LA, her eyes haunted by a longing the Slayer knew only too well. But - could it possibly be? 'Nah - Wills and . Nah.' She shook her head, smirking at her own insane thoughts. Try as she might, though, the blonde couldn't get her attention back on the text in her hand. She read over the top paragraph on the page, re-reading it for good measure, and still didn't understand a word it was saying.

Could Willow possibly be meeting with someone each time she went to LA? Looking back over the past year, Buffy had to admit that Willow had been more than willing to be the one to run any errands that needed to be taken care of. A little *too* willing in hindsight - as though she would jump at any chance to go visit someone in that city. Buffy shut her eyes, desperately seeking any other reason for the red head's behaviour, for the reason the young witch seemed so lost now, as though she was missing a special someone terribly.

But there was no other explanation for it. Willow had a lover in LA. And there was only one person it could be. The blonde felt tears forming behind her eyes at the thought of the betrayal she just *knew* had been happening behind her back. But, wait. Didn't she want Willow to be happy? Willow certainly deserved happiness in all honesty. The red head had been thrown so many bad deals in life that it had stopped being funny. Her parents didn't care about her.the doting way she had crushed on Xander for almost her entire life.and Oz? Buffy didn't even want to get started on that subject.

And, in truth, how much of a betrayal was it, really? Sure - it was unexpected. But nothing too horrible. It would definitely be uncomfortable to be around the two of them. They had been discreet up until this point, though; so there was no reason to assume that they would start flaunting their relationship now.

Buffy sighed, standing up. "I need some fresh air. Come with, Wills?"

Green eyes looked up from the book of prophecy nestled in the red head's lap, shocked by the request. "Sure, Buff." She set the book on the coffee table, following the Slayer out into the small courtyard of Giles' apartment complex. Overhead a quarter moon was shining, barely giving any illumination to ward off the baddies of the night. The cool breeze that drifted over them was a welcome change to the heat of Giles' living room and Willow took a moment to just close her eyes and enjoy the feeling of cool air refreshing hot skin. She smiled, her head tilted up to the heavens, enjoying the night.

"So." Buffy began quietly, sitting on the edge of the small fountain in the courtyard. She looked over at the red head, so enraptured by the fresh air and couldn't help but smile. "Wills - how long have you and Angel been together?"

~*~Part Five~*~

Spike stood up, stretching with a loud yawn. The motion didn't even rate a 'look' from Xander or his girlfriend and the vampire found himself rolling his eyes. Were they really this caught up in the research because they didn't want the Hellmouth to open or because they wanted it all over with so they could get home and shag each other senseless? Either way, it didn't matter to him. He'd be leaving as soon as the little witch had done what she came to do.

Speaking of Willow.

He glanced towards the front window, wondering what the Slayer could be outside speaking to Willow about. They had barely been in the apartment for half an hour - had Bitchy already gotten her panties in a twist over something? He moved towards the window, pulling aside the curtain so that he could look out. Whatever the Slayer had said to the red head, it was obvious that it had gotten her flustered. He watched as her pale skin flushed and then paled, flushed and then paled. It was rather amusing to watch the petite girl turn so many delightful shades of red and pink. But it was wasting time. Time he would rather be spending holed up in front of  a television watching mindless American broadcasting.

He smirked. Time to save the witch. He would ask her later what had gotten her all worked up, once they were away from the prying ears of the Slayer. He opened the door, sticking his head out and putting on his most annoyed look. "Are we researching the Hellmouth opening or having a gab fest, luvs? I'd really rather be on my way if me and the moron are going to be stuck with all the work. It's not like the demon chit knows what she's doing either." He grinned outright at the shriek of outrage from Anya. She was always good for a laugh - whether it was something stupid she was saying or just irritating the hell out of her.

Buffy turned a scathing look to him. "No one actually asked you to come over and help anyway, Spike. So if you don't want to be here - leave." She made a shooing gesture, rolling her eyes at him.

"That's not nice." Willow muttered, relieved to have a reprieve from the accusation Buffy had been making. She shot Spike a thankful look while the blonde's back was still turned. "He came over to help. So did I. Let's go get the research finished. Believe it or not I'd like to get some rest tonight."

"Fine. Whatever." Buffy sighed, waving them towards the house. She'd have to find time to interrogate Willow some more later. It was annoying that the red head wouldn't just admit to the relationship she just *knew* the young witch was having with Angel. Didn't Willow trust her to be impartial about it? Okay. Maybe not. But there was no reason to continue hiding it - not when it was so incredibly obvious, at least to her. "We'll talk later, Wills."

"Great." Willow sighed, giving Buffy a weak smile when the blonde gave her a questioning look. After all, why shouldn't she be thrilled to know that at some point she was going to get to continue this enthralling intrusion into what Buffy assumed was her personal life. Didn't the blonde have better things to do than be nosy and overbearing? So what if the other woman believed she was dating her former boyfriend. She just didn't want to be hassled anymore tonight.

Not when there was mind-numbing research to be done.

"Thank you." The red head whispered to Spike as she walked past him and back into the living room. She settled back into her chair, making a mental note to get out of the apartment as soon as possible and back to her house, back to a place where she wouldn't be forced to come up with an answer to Buffy's burning question of how long she'd been with Angel when, in fact, she'd never been with him at all.

~*~*~

"So she thinks your bonking Peaches?"

Willow nodded, walking slowly down the sidewalk. It was almost two in the morning. Late enough that she was feeling the time in every weary muscle of her body. In the end, they had discovered that Giles' prophecy was not very spectacular at all. Yes, it related to a Hellmouth opening. But that Hellmouth was in another dimension. Not here. Not in Sunnydale. Their Hellmouth was, for all purposes, closed for good. "I tried to deny it but she just kept asking the same questions over and over again. 'Am I happy?' 'How long have you been together?' Etc. Etc." She sighed, kicking at a stray rock that had made its way onto the path. "She knows I keep going up there to see someone."

Spike nodded. It was, in his opinion, amazing that the Slayer hadn't caught on to things sooner. After all, he and Angel had figured it out months ago. He caught sight of her face out of the corner of his eye. Why did she hold on to this masquerade if it was hurting her so much? He knew that she would get grief from her friends for her choice in dating the former cheerleader. But wasn't that worth the absence of this kind of heartache? "So - what're you going to do?" He asked quietly. They were at her house now, the porch light burning brightly.

She shrugged. "I really don't know. I hadn't planned on telling anyone here about me and Cordy until I was ready to transfer to LA. Now." She sighed. "Now I just don't know what I'm going to do. Avoid Buffy for a few days until I can figure it all out?" She looked over her shoulder at the door to her parents' house. They weren't home. Wouldn't be home for another month or two, at the earliest. And she really didn't want to be there alone. "Want to stay?"

"Me? In your house? Overnight?" He grinned, licking his lips and giving her his best seductive smile. "What'll the Slayer say then, pet? You and the Poof. You an' me. Two men for little Red?"

The red head grinned, unlocking the door. "Uh huh. And if she believed that we'd all know she was off her rocker. Little Willow Rosenberg getting attention from not just one, but two sexy men? As if."

"You think I'm sexy?" Spike grinned, following her inside and shutting the door behind him. He turned, clicking the lock into place.

"Oh yeah. Of course." Willow stammered, realizing what she had just said and how it had sounded. "If I liked men I'd be all over you, in fact." She finished, congratulating herself on playing her slip of the tongue off like a true master. What would Cordelia think if she knew what she had just said? 'Probably agree with me.' The red head thought, smirking. Her lover wasn't shy about what she felt and it was quite obvious at times that the brunette still had an interest in men. Not that Willow ever worried she would cheat on her. No. That would never happen. More like Cordelia would end up inviting a man to share their bed with them.

Not that that wasn't a pleasant idea.

"What a shame that you don't like men, then." Spike purred, eyes half closed in contemplation. There was more to this little witch than he had noticed before. She was definitely worth getting to know better.

"Bah." Willow grumbled, smiling nonetheless. "You can stay in my parents' room. There's only the one window so if we cover it with a blanket you should be fine." She paused, her expression turning to one of utmost sincerity. "Thanks for staying. It's hard living here alone sometimes. Come on. I'll show you where their room is."

The vampire followed along behind her, his head filled with what she had just said. Living here alone? He knew that her parents were hardly ever around but she made it seem like hardly ever was more like 'never'. No wonder she held on to the friends she had with tooth and nail, keeping them in the dark about whatever she thought they might not understand. They were all she had.

Well - now she had him and Peaches, too. And they knew all about her little love affair with the receptionist chit. Between the three of them they should be able to keep her company no matter how badly the Slayer took the news when she finally found out.

next