Roomies

Disclaimer: The characters of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series Universes (Angel, Cordelia, Spike, Xander, Doyle, etc…) are the creation of Joss Whedon and are, therefore, the property of him, Mutant Enemy (Grr, Arg), and 20th Century Fox (and all other affiliated parties). No money is gained from this work as it is created purely for the enjoyment of others. Please do not sue.

AN: Constructive criticism and friendly fedback are always appreciated. Flames will be used to warm my toes.


~Part 10: Oh, Please, Mummzies, Can I?~


“Cordelia!” Angel jumped up with every intention of going out to talk to the girl. At the sound of a cleared throat he paused and turned back to look at Spike.

Spike took a moment to look at Angel in all his naked splendor before leaning over the edge of the bed to grab Angel’s slacks. He threw the pants at his Sire and said, “Put these on.”

After Angel pulled on the pants – leaning over to give a delectable view of his arse – Spike sighed and leaned back into the pillows. He had a feeling that he had screwed up again. With another deliberate sigh, he leaned over and wished for a cigarette. He spied a bottle of bourbon tucked behind the nightstand and grinned. He snagged it and considered the fact that Angel would be pissed with him once he found out that Spike had drank it.

With a shrug of his shoulders, Spike took a reasonably unhealthy pull from the bottle. The burn of the alcohol wasn’t near as good as his preferred nicotine fix but it was better than nothing. He let the bottle rest against his side as his hand strayed lower and lower, pausing for a moment to tease his nipples before continuing down. He had just about reached his destination when Cordelia once again appeared in the doorway.

Muttering to himself about the bad timing of women, he pulled the covers over to conceal his still aching cock. As an afterthought about how incredibly thin Angel’s sheets were, he brought up a knee and rested his arm on it. “Peaches didn’t catch you, Mummzies?”

Cordelia shook her head and climbed onto the bed next to him. She sat just close enough to Spike to pull the sheets taunt. With a bit of a sigh she picked up the bourbon bottle and put it on the nightstand. With over bright eyes and a hoarse voice, she said, “He’ll be back as soon as he runs into Doyle upstairs. I just had a question or two that I wanted to ask you. Are you and Angel… close—because of Dru?”

“Dru…?” Spike asked, confused.

“Giles said that she made you,” Cordelia specified.

“Oh, yeah, fergot about that,” Spike muttered. “You’d be best off not sayin’ stuff like that around the Pouf; he might get a l’il railed up about it.”

Cordelia looked confused as she tried to puzzle Spike’s meaning out. After a moment she gave up and asked, “Why?”

“It’s a loada codswallop, it is. Not a word is the truth,” Spike stated. “Angelus was runnin’ amuck with a rogue demon hunter ‘round the time that I was turned plus Penn had gotten into trouble in the vampire population. He killed somebody in someone else’s territory without asking permission first and well, Angelus was in deep shit. Long story short, Dru took enough to fill her up but not kill me and when she brought me ‘home’ she begged Angelus to turn me for her. Wanted somethin’ pretty and golden but couldn’t do it herself. She didn’t know how to at the time.”

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

A chuckle erupted from deep within Spike’s chest. “Well, Mumz, Angelus was fiercely possessive back in the day. He had rights to take any of his Childer into his bed. Dru’s mark never faded from my skin because, by the time Angelus decided to take me in I was as close to death as a human can get without bein’ dead. Dru had the meal but Angelus did the deed. Though I always smelled like Angelus… I also smelt like family. No scent was stronger then another. Darla was the only one that avoided me. She really hated it when Angelus decided that an orgy was the best way to end the night. For a tart, she was quite the dainty prude.”

“So what happened tonight?” Cordelia’s voice cracked on the last word.

Spike shrugged. The threat of Cordelia’s tears were starting to make him panic. “Listen, Mumz. What Peaches and I have is blood, not choice. He’s my Sire and I was – still am – hurting. It’s ingrained in ‘im ta try and make that hurt go away. You can’t erase two hundred years of gut instinct. The soul doesn’t make it all go away. The only way most vampires know how to sooth and love is by physical contact. Ever notice that whenever you or the ‘breed get upset the first thing the Ponce does is touch you? That’s how vampires work – albeit usually things are sweatier.”

Cordelia took a deep breath and nodded. The tears that had been struggling to make an appearance finally made their way down her cheeks and she turned her face away in an attempt to hide them.

At the sight of her tears, Spike pulled her into his arm. “Ah, Mummzies, don’t cry. I don’t know what to do when yah cry.”

~~~

Doyle looked up at the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards him. His eyes went wide at the sight of Angel’s undress. In shock, he watched as the man made for the door. “Angel man, where are yah goin’ dressed like tha’? Or should I say nawt dressed like tha’?”

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

Doyle took in the display of the now slowly moving vampire and couldn’t help but take notice of his odd appearance. Angel’s hair was wild and tufted out, his face flushed and lips swollen. It looked like he had walked straight out of a porn magazine. His pants were wrinkled and only zipped up – not buttoned – and he had neither shirt nor socks on.

He couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow in a poor imitation of Spike. “Yah wanna tell me why yah came runen up barely dressed an’ – " his eyes wandered low then back up to his boss’ face. “ – obviously abou’ ta get more lucky th’n I’ve bin in months?”

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

The Irish man couldn’t help but frown slightly. “She wen’ downstairs ta see if yah knew where Spike had gone ta. By th’ looks ov yah, I doubt she’d wanna be anywhere else bu’ wit’ you righ’ now.”

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

“Well, she didn’t run my way an’ I doubt she took th’ sewers so m’ best guess wou’ be tha’ she’s still downstairs.” Doyle sat down on the edge of the desk and grabbed Angel’s arm when the vampire made to leave. “Lis’en ta me man. Before yah go all ‘gung ho’ tell me how yah screwed up. There’s nuthen worse th’n runen in full throttle nawt knowen wha’ yer gunna say.”

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

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

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

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

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

“I think she already knows wha’ yah are. Wha’ yah need ta ‘splain ta ‘er is wha’ th’ ‘relationship’ ‘tween you an’ Spike is. ‘Splain tha’ wha’ you an’ Spike ‘ave or ‘ad is an’ ‘ow it developed.” Doyle jumped off the desk and grabbed his jacket. “I’m off ta th’ pub. If I ‘ear from yah… well, at least she didn’ dust yah.”

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

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

~~~

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

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

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

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

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

The look that Angel sent his Childe caused the blonde to laugh. “I have a feeling that you got him to explain a few things to you,” Angel said, turning his gaze back to Cordelia. At the girl’s nod he continued, “It has been a very long time since Wi – Spike and I have been even remotely intimate. What he and I did today – I’m sure Spike told you about the ‘why’ and the ‘what the fuck’… I desperately need to help my Childe, Cordy; when he’s in this much pain I can’t not help him. The crux of it is: I want you as well.”

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

Spike and Angel shared a look and Angel nodded at the blond. That brief look was all it took for them to come to an understanding. “Mumz, he wants to know if it would be okay with you if I inserted myself into yours and Angel’s relationship. Well… he probably wants to just bugger me blind but I’m not into one night stands.”

Cordelia grinned at the sound of Angel’s soft growl and lightly poked Spike in the ribs.

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

“So… you’re saying that you want a threesome?” Cordelia asked. “’Cause, if you are, Spike has got to stop calling me ‘Mummzies.’”