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 18: Loyalty To My Sire, Loyalty To My Duster~


Angel gripped the steering wheel with one hand while his other arm was wrapped firmly around the woman beside him, his hand on her hip. He absentmindedly drew patterns on her skin with his thumb while he brooded. That was the only good of car rides anyways. He had never been the type to strike up a conversation just to fill the silence and in his opinion car trips were definitely not the place for meaningful conversation.

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

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

The silence that settled between Doyle and Xander was something Angel was grateful for. Thanks to Doyle’s words and action over the course of the evening, he knew that the half demon liked Xander. On top of Doyle’s appreciation of Xander physical attribute, Doyle accepted the boy as a part of their team without question of his abilities or necessity to the group. Plus Doyle had told Angel a while back that he wasn’t exactly picky when it came to bedmates. He figured Doyle might have a chance with Xander given the boy’s reaction to Doyle back at the Bronze.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taking a deep breath Xander spoke again, “The way I see it is… he was with Dru for, well as far as I can tell, ever. I don’t know and I don’t wanna know what’s going on between the three of you but I can tell that whatever it is, it’s intense. I saw the three of you together and I’m not going to lie and say that I think it’s okay but, hell, you guys make a strange sort of sense so long as I don’t think about the fact that with your curse it shouldn’t be possible. To say the least: you were tense during the whole ride so I guess finding out that Spike can hit… demony people isn’t exactly the best of news in your book. Sure it’s a big yay! cuz he can take his frustration out on the demons instead of being a complete asshole and getting on everyone’s nerves, which I’m guessing happens… often?”

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

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

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

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

~~~

When they got back to the office they went through the motions before going downstairs. Angel immediately dropped into his favorite not-so-easy chair and started to brood once they reached the apartment. Cordelia fell across his lap after warming him something to eat. She placed the mug on the side table before moving to get comfortable. She arranged herself so that she was sitting with her ass between Angel’s spread thighs and her legs draped over the arm of the chair. Wrapping her arm under his and around his back, she began to play with the small churls she found at the back of his neck. After a long silence, Angel’s arms snaked around her waist and held on tight as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

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

Cordelia shifted slightly and ran her hand further into Angel’s hair. She considered what he had said and finally decided to say, “Angel… I don’t know. How could I know?”

Taking a beep, unneeded breath, Angel pulled back from her and picked up the mug. He sipped at the cooling animal blood, grimaced and thoughtfully pondered – okay, fine, brooded about – the answer to both questions. Her question was simple to answer but his wouldn’t be.

“After Darla kicked me out of our home she returned to Paris where my Childer were waiting for us to return. For once Penn had stuck around. I managed to get passage back to Paris, following Darla as she made her way back to the estate that we had taken residence in. The guilt hadn’t really started to affect me and I was still feeding, I just wasn’t playing the games that I had become known for.” Angel stopped to pull himself together.

He took another breath and shifted Cordelia in his lap so that her back was pressed to his chest. Taking her hands in his, he began again. “I followed her back and arrived only a few days after she did. She had told them a lie about why I wasn’t with her then had William and Dru pack all of their stuff while she took Penn into her bed. Dru – being the insane, vision seeing vampire that she was – wanted little more then the presence of her Sire, barely believing a word that left Darla’s mouth but still knowing better then to question her words out loud. William tried his best to calm Dru but he was still young and wasn’t as good with her as he later learned to be.

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

Angel tightened his grip on Cordelia’s hands and buried his face into the back of her neck. “I… I tried to tell her that Darla had placed the reason for the mean woman’s curse into my hands then knowingly lied to my blood family.

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

~~~

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

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

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

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

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