Oncoming Train

Chapter 21.

Wesley was clearly, inconsolably, disappointed that he missed meeting the Oracles and by his thinly veiled glare Angel realized his ex-Watcher somehow blamed him. After the horn disappeared it did not show itself again, despite several spells Wesley and Willow both tried. When the fourth attempt made his hair stand on end Riley shoved both of them away in one of his rare flares of anger. Gunn leant him a skullcap that he found on the floorboards of his car and he adjusted it to hide his mark.

“That’s so cool,” Dawn bounced at her end of the couch, eyeing the space between her and the seer. “So is it no more touchy still?”

Riley smiled, holding out his hand. “I think hugs are now safe, brat.”

“Huggy!” the teenager crowed, throwing herself at the blond. Coming into the room with the coffee tray, Tara trailing him with a stack of mismatched mugs, Angel grinned at the relieved look on his mate’s face. Obviously Xander had not been a fluke upstairs. Though he still had issues to work out with the PTB the master vampire was grateful for this. Seeing his expression over Dawn’s head Riley relaxed ever further.

“Wesley, we have original and cactus Pickwick left,” Angel told his ex-Watcher, pointing to the packets as he set down the service. Seated on the opposite couch with his nose firmly planted in his reading Wesley nodded without glancing up. The smell of coffee drew everyone else into the room and Dawn abandoned Riley to play hostess, tickled by the old English style tea service the psychotic Angelus had kept in the mansion. Everything had been scoured clean so that even Angel couldn’t whiff a scent of blood though Spike cocked an eyebrow settling on Xander’s lap with his porcelain cup of cactus tea.

Chairs were dragged in from the dining room to accommodate everyone. Tara and Willow followed Xander and Spike’s example in the armchair. At Angel’s hopeful, questioning look, Riley snorted.

“I stopped sitting in laps when I was like eight. So don’t even think it.” The blond didn’t add that he outweighed Spike by a good thirty pounds easy and had at least a head in height. With Spike’s size it was cute. With his it would look ridiculous and he firmly ignored his lover.

“Indeed,” Wesley murmured, barely scooting to allow his own boyfriend to claim the space next to him.

Plopping down on Wesley’s other side, ignoring his offended glare, Faith eyed the service with an amused smirk. “I want a cactus tea.” The Slayer grinned up at Angel. “You can sit on my lap if you want, Angel-kins.”

While the vampire gaped Riley snapped, “He’s fine, thanks, Faith. Angel,” and he pointed to the couch space next to him, “sit.”

Angel sat. Cordelia rolled her eyes at Dawn before taking one of the chairs. Giggling, the youngest Scooby added a dollop of coffee to her milk and chocolate syrup, carefully stirring with a dainty silver spoon as she settled into Angel’s side. The vampire threw an arm over her shoulders and Wesley finally set aside his book.

“The Oracles’ intervention on Riley’s behalf has saved us from one problem, but we still have the Hellmouth and the Frenkhin to deal with,” Wesley began. Gesturing at Faith with his teacup he continued. “Agent Miller quit his cell this morning and left post haste.”

Faith picked up the story from there. “I followed him to a payphone outside of Mama Jose’s quick mart,” the Slayer reported. “He spoke about two minutes and then hoofed it to a coffee shop nine blocks away where men in a black car picked him up.”

“While we do not know what he has told his superiors,” Wesley continued, “the spells we have at either end of the street have not reported anyone of hostile intent.”

“Do we have a watch anyway?” Riley asked. “Not that I doubt the magic, but what if Graham is feeling protective, not hostile?”

“No funny cars,” Dawn spoke up. “Me, Cordelia and Gunn have been taking turns.”

“Still, it’s too dangerous to stay here,” Riley insisted. “It may take Graham a few hours to debrief and assemble a team, but Initiative MO is to hit this house. We need to leave here, quietly.”

“Wesley, do we have a time frame on the school?” Angel asked.

“Yes. Though not exact, the Hellmouth will shift between four and five a.m. tomorrow morning.”

“You mean tonight, as in we are all on the early side of Monday now?” Xander clarified. When the detective nodded he frowned, hooking his chin over Spike’s bony shoulder. “Does that give us time to,” and he freed a hand to twiddle his fingers, “ya know?”

“Dismantle all the of the spells that have been cast over the Hellmouth?” Xander shrugged. “With three witches,” Wesley gestured at Willow and Tara, then at himself, “then yes, though we need to start early. As soon as the school empties, preferably.”

“There’s sewer tunnels under the school,” Spike said. “We can spend the day down there.”

“Um, ew?” Cordelia wrinkled her nose. “I’d rather lay low at the mall if it’s all the same.”

“Yeah, no one will think to look for Cordelia Chase there,” Xander snorted.

“Look you-” the former cheerleader started, but Angel cut her off.

“Cordelia and Dawn will stay with the vehicles. We’ll need to park them somewhere out of the way so we can get out of town without attracting attention. Everyone else will be needed at the school in case we need to buy time.”

“Hey, why do I have to stay with the cars?” Dawn complained. “I’m going to be at school, aren’t I? Why can’t I just stay?”

“Sorry nibblet,” Spike grinned, “but I think school’s out.”

“Great,” Dawn grumbled, slumping back.

“Should probably call in a bomb threat anyway,” Faith said. “That always shuts down school for a few days nowadays.”

“Yeah, but then the police are going to be combing the school for bombs,” Gunn disagreed.

“This is Sunnydale,” Xander reminded them. “The school will be completely empty once it’s dark out. Though no one wants to admit there are monsters out there, all the good citizens of Sunnyhell will be safe at home.”

“Xander is right,” Angel said. “Everyone, get your stuff packed and meet back here in an hour. We’ll load the cars and head out.”

“What are we doing after?” Xander asked, nudging Spike to his feet.

“I’ve got a few calls to make,” Angel answered, brown eyes meeting brown, “but we’ll be heading to an airstrip on the way to LA.”

“Gonna fly the coop, Peaches?” Spike cocked an eyebrow.

Angel’s hand settled high on Riley’s thigh and the blond didn’t shrug him off, playing with his coffee cup. “That’s the idea.”

“Dawn will be coming with us,” Riley said, finally looking up. “What I said earlier, Xander, you guys can come.” His gaze swept everyone who was still standing around listening to the conversation. “Everyone’s welcome wherever we end up.”

Angel did not disagree with him. “Most likely southern Europe.”

“Cool,” Faith said, “I’m in.”

“Yes,” Wesley adjusted his glasses, “it will take some years before the relocated Hellmouth will attract sufficient attention to warrant the fulltime presence of the Slayer. The demon population of Europe is considerably older and more firmly established than what is to be found here. Certainly there shall be work for Angel Investigations.”

“What he said,” Faith laughed.
***

Monday.


-scritch-scritch- Long, slender fingers spidered across the cardboard box before a larger hand flattened them abruptly.

“Stop that,” Angel snapped, “it’s distracting.”

Wiggling his fingers free Spike gestured at their dark surroundings. The sewer tunnel that ran beneath the school had high ceilings but were also completely without any artificial lighting, leaving the two vampires sitting on a short ledge in the dark. Demonic eyesight compensated enough for the bleached blond to see his sire’s annoyed frown. “Oi, distracting from what, Peaches?”

Wesley, Willow and Tara had gone on into the school to begin preliminary set-up in the school’s basement, Faith going along to keep a watch out. Classes were just starting and Riley, Xander and Gunn were making a second trip to the cars for more weapons, leaving the sun allergic alone to wait with the boxes of magical ingredients Wesley had required. Considering they had the entire day to wait Spike was hoping either the demon hordes would get a move on or he and Xander could shag in one of the storage closets upstairs. Maybe he could talk Angel and Riley into joining in. Make it a right family bonding moment.

Angel growled softly at his sarcastic tone, but not more than that. Perversely, Spike was angered and disappointed. Angel losing his cool could have led to a distracting tussle, passed a few minutes quicker. It showed, though, just how much old Angelus was influencing the poof. Soul boy would have snapped, but his sire always was one to keep focused on the game. Old days, Angelus would jerk him back in line with a smack or two, and then meted out his punishment later once the scheme was done. Made a boy wonder if he’d be feeling his sire’s retribution again soon.

Luminescent yellow eyes narrowed at him. “What’s that grinning for, childe?”

Before Spike could whip out a comeback sure to get him cuffed both vampires stilled at the faint sound of sloshing. One person, but there was a quieter noise accompanying it that Spike recognized from their first trek through Sunnydale’s scenic sewer system: Riley’s near silent glide through water. Boy moved like he had scales, showing off his fancy military training and he did it naturally, like he didn’t remember how to splash like a proper person should. Two of them, and Spike’s nose told him who the noise maker was.

“Xander and the hayseed,” he said to say something, and Angel made a small sound of agreement. Boys were still a few klicks off and the vampires quietly waited as Xander’s progress grew steadily louder. His pet was walking heavy, carrying a good weight. Couldn’t tell a thing by Riley’s gentle lapping. Spike tapped out a cigarette. “Need to put a bell on that boy,” he muttered, briefly twirling the stick waiting for Angel’s reaction. When the older brunette frowned at him Spike cheekily grinned and patted for his Zippo.

“Do it and I’ll snap your fingers,” Angel quietly growled.

Spike settled back against the wall and happily went back to playing with the cigarette. “Didn’t know you cared so much about me health, Peaches. Right touching that is.”

His sire gave an exasperated snort.

*

Hefting the duffel bag he was pack muling into a better position Xander splashed his feet a little harder and glanced to his friend moving quietly beside him. Before this week’s apocalypse went down he needed to deal with his guilt. Needed to be absolutely certain Riley was with someone he wanted. No question of Deadboy’s interest, but one-sided love did not a healthy relationship make.

“Riley,” he began, but greenish hazel eyes cut him off.

“I’m good with Angel, Xander,” the older blond said softly, just as mindful of the sharp ears of the undead. “I wasn’t looking for a relationship, let alone one with a man, but we work.”

“Work?” Xander skeptically repeated, not at all romanticized.

The seer rolled his eyes. “Not all of us are for declarations of love or cutesy nicknames, Xanpet. We work.”

“Oh, I get it. Macho gay,” the brunette teased.

“First time out in the open gay,” Riley corrected. Then, “And do you really want to hear saccharin nicknames from the two of us?”

“Twenty dollars if you call Deadboy ’Angel-poo’ to his face,” Xander promptly answered.

“You are talking to a former US Marine. I can do a whole lot better than ’Angel-poo’ for a PDA,” Riley grinned back.

“Is this a challenge I hear?”

“Angel and Spike, speechless, in under five.”

“You’re on, Marine boy.”

Twenty minutes later they took the turn that would deliver them beneath the school. The first they saw of their lovers was the reflection of their eyes in the beam of Xander’s flashlight and then the white of Spike’s hair. The petite vampire graciously took the heavy bag from his lover, though not without a quick grope.

As Riley and Xander had been walking the last few hundred yards Angel had quickly scaled the heavily rusted ladder leading into the school’s basement. Once his heightened hearing assured him the storage room above was empty he lifted up the trap door and boosted himself through. When Riley appeared beneath they easily exchanged the duffel bags with Riley handily tossing the sixty or so pound bags the fifteen feet straight up. Standing off to the side while his boys did their superhuman thing Xander glanced at his watch, but Riley didn’t seem concerned. The blond patiently waited while Spike boosted Xander up through the hole, Angel catching him and setting him off to the side. Spike came next and then it was Riley’s turn. Crouching down Angel seized his wrist and effortlessly lifted him up.

Standing lookout near the door while Spike shouldered a bag Xander grinned when Angel took the moment to steal a kiss. Literally dangling Riley looked perfectly pleased to return the affection, slinging his other arm around Angel’s neck. Still swapping spit the vampire stood, Riley rising out of the dark hole with him.

Then Riley pulled away, his whispered words too low for Xander to hear. Whatever he said froze Angel in place. Xander had never seen the usually brooding vampire show such frank amazement and his eyes darted to his own lover, but Spike was little better. What the hell had Riley said?

The blond seer laughed at his accomplishment and made to step out of his mate’s arms, but the retreat seemed to snap the vampire out of his shock. Angel hauled Riley back, the blond grunting sharply before he moaned sweetly. Watching Riley melt into Angel’s arms recalled the way he’d behaved last night and Xander swallowed thickly. Last night had been the realization of several fantasies and his eyes greedily followed Angel’s hand as it slid down the small of Riley’s back to cup his ass. He well remembered the feeling of that tight backside pressing into his groin. So different from Spike’s smaller bottom but just as arousing.

“Doin’ a good look out, pet?” Spike snarked, coming up to his side. The brunette started at being caught staring, flushing guiltily.

“Sorry. What did Riley say? It didn’t sound like he was speaking English.”

Spike actually squirmed and used the excuse of glancing out the storage door’s small window. “He wasn’t. speakin’ Gaelic.”

Gaelic? “I didn’t know Ri’ could speak Gaelic.”

“Well, his name wouldn’t give it away, now would it?” Spike snapped, but immediately regretted it seeing the flash of hurt in his boy’s eyes. “Sorry, pet. I don’t speak most of it but he made on about what he wanted Peaches to do with the plug he’s got in his ass.”

No way. There was no way Riley was walking that easy with a four inch plug in his ass. Xander stared hard at the blond’s tight little derriere that Angel was rhythmically kneading, ignoring Spike’s snort of laughter. If anything was spreading those cheeks he couldn’t see it, but Riley’s ploy had certainly worked. He’d stunned them all.

TBC.

TheShadowCat: sorry, that’ll have to be left to your imagination, but what are the chances, right?
Krimson: I wanted to overwhelm Riley with his new powers, but not in a constant, Dru like state, nutso way. More subtly he retreated, and the constant barrage of events did not help him wrestle control of his new powers while trying to deal with a gorgeous Angel climbing into his pants. Did that make sense? It might be too early in the morning for me to be making sense. Hope you like the return of commando Finn!