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 13: Who Said It All Had to Be An Act?~


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

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

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

He grabbed his drink, stood and took a sip from the cup all without losing sight of the boy as he danced with the two girls. That is, if someone could call what the teen was doing dancing. What he was doing was more along the lines of a heart attack combined with a seizure all done with trying to imitate a landed fish. He chuckled as he made his way to a small table not far off from the dance floor and got comfortable.

He was working on his plan of ‘The Great Xander Escape’ when Angel appeared at the opposite edge of the dance floor. Through some kind of sign that Doyle couldn’t see from his angle, the three on the dance floor along with Angel and Cordelia met at a table barely ten feet from Doyle’s. He could see the tension surrounding the group from where he sat and he felt sorry for both Angel and Cordelia. They were talking to Buffy in an obvious attempt to break the ice when Spike sat down next to him.

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

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

The half-demon nodded in understanding as his eyes followed Xander’s path. Xander moved from the table to the edge of the raised edge of the stage where he spoke to a small navy-blue haired teenager then went back to the table. He winced slightly as his enhanced hearing picked up the bard that the youth threw at his ‘boss’ upon his return. He shook his head and risked looking away from the boy long enough to catch the grin on Spike’s face. “Care ta indulge as ta wha’s so funny?” he asked, quickly flicking his gaze back.

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

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

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

“I’ll sen’ Cordy yer way,” Doyle said softly as he stood to go. Spike’s hand shot out and grabbed Doyle’s arm and stop him. He turned to look at Spike with a mixture of curiosity and panic.

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

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

He turned to Cordelia and replaced his cocky smile with one that was as sweet as sugar. “’Low sweetums, wan’ed ta let yah know, me buddy o’er there,” Doyle pointed in the general direction of his table, “wants ta dance wi’h yah. ‘E isn’t one fer maken th’first move so I did it fer ‘im.” The look he shared with her stayed all of her question and she nodded so slightly that he very nearly missed it.

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

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

He chuckled softly and took in the look of the group. His eyes landed on the Soldier-boy and he fought back the urge to take a shot at him. There were some demon instincts that he could barely ignore and his instincts were telling him that the boy – no man – in front of him was a killer. “Hells man. Yer at a club no need ta stand ta attention. Th’soldier routine is so old,” he stated with a raised eyebrow.

He felt, rather then heard Angel’s growl and silently praised himself for a job well done before moving on. According to Cordelia, Xander was a strict heterosexual so catching the boy’s attention would be harder than trying to catch a deer while standing in the middle of a clearing. He would have to lay on the charm thicker than ever before for this one.

He leaned against the boy’s arm and almost moaned at the rippling muscle that he felt there. The hand that the group couldn’t see made its way to sit at the base of the boy’s spine. Doyle felt Xander stiffen slightly and silently swore as he casually pulled his hand away to rest on the back of the boy’s chair.

“’Nother reason m’ here is ‘cause I saw yah from ‘cross th’dance floor,” Doyle whispered, his eyes only on Xander now. “Cou’n’ help bu’ wunder wha’ yah wou’ say if I asked yah ta dance.”

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

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

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

In a last ditch attempt he turned his eyes back to Xander and felt a surge of lust leap through him when the boy stood. The looks on Xander’s friends’ faces were too funny for words and Doyle had to bite the inside of his lip to contain it. Doyle decided he would definitely do all of this again and again if it meant that he could see the Slayer do that fish impersonation every time. “Change yer mind?” he asked in the deepest voice he could muster.

Xander shrugged. “Nope: just recovered from the shock.”

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

Sure enough it did and Willow answered in a hallow voice, “I always wondered if he was at least a little bit gay.”

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