Heat

Wesley was neither stupid nor blind and he'd have had to be both to miss the tension in the air at Angel's entrance. Rupert greeted Angel who simply walked inside and so had to have been invited in at some time in the past, and yet he and Rupert immediately took up posts at opposite ends of the room. Both their body postures screamed of tension and Wesley found his mind traveling paths that worried him deeply.

Unfortunately, there was very little he could do for his lover in front of Buffy, and even less he could ask.

"Well, we need to call Willow and Xander, get everyone here so that we can form a strategy." Wesley sighed, happy to have something else, even this, to focus on. "We're not even sure what we're going to find, if we'll find anything, so it's best if we start soon, get it over with."

"Yeah," Buffy said with a shrug, clearly not oblivious to the tension in the room, but ignoring it. Apparently whatever lay between Rupert and Angel was bad enough that she'd rather listen than fight him. Wesley couldn't say he was relieved by that. "So, I'll make the calls, you and Giles get the maps together, Angel gets the body. Oh," she turned to the vampire, "uh, how are you going to transport it?"

"I have to wait for Oz, borrow his van," Angel said with a shrug.

"Uh, why don't you take my car," Wesley offered, both to get the vampire--and the corpse--out of there more quickly and because the van would be better transport for all of them. "We can all go in the van and you can put the . . . body in my boot."

"Okay," Angel shrugged. "Come help me with the body and we'll get it--"

"I'll help," Rupert said, his voice a tad sharper than Wes had ever heard it. It sounded almost like panic, though Wes couldn't think why Rupert might have that reaction. He wasn't surprised that Rupert had volunteered; he knew Wesley was . . . squeamish about the body. It was that something close to panic in Rupert's voice that worried him.

"No, it's fine," Wesley said, determined to deal with the body if it meant Rupert didn't have to be around someone he obviously had problems with. Besides, it would likely be easier to ask Angel what was going on than ask Rupert. Though . . . perhaps he shouldn't do that. Would it be disloyal not to ask Rupert first? Wes wasn't sure and hated the uncertainty.

"Why don't I do it," Buffy volunteered with a smile that was just a bit pained around the edges. "It'll be easier for Angel and me anyway and you two can start getting whatever maps we'll need. Then I'll call the gang, good?"

"Thank you, Buffy," Rupert said. She gave him a slightly worried glance, her eyes drifting consideringly to Wesley for a moment before she shook her head and accepted his keys.

When they were gone, Wesley turned to Rupert. He was unsure whether it would be better to show his worry, or if that might make the other man defensive.

"What's all that about?" he asked, trying to keep his voice casual even though he wasn't feeling it.

"Hmm? What was what?" Rupert didn't look at him, instead flipping through the maps.

"With Angel. The tension between the two of you?" Wesley retrieved his translation, bringing it over to the coffee table and sitting down to go through the maps with Rupert. Only the other man had stopped flipping through the maps, instead staring at them blindly.

"Can, uh, can we not--not talk about this now?" Rupert swallowed hard and Wesley felt his stomach lurch. Whatever it was, it was painful.

"Of course, I--I'm sorry." He laid his hand over Rupert's. The smile he received in return was a weak thing, but it was something.

"Don't be. We'll talk later."

Wesley nodded, turning back to the work at hand. He wanted this over with more than anything, but just then it was a good way to take his mind off the worry, to push it into the background for a bit longer.

Buffy returned without Angel and Wesley was faintly relieved. He didn't know how to deal with the friction between Angel and Rupert, and it was definitely two-sided. Sighing, Wesley helped Rupert find the correct maps, listening as Buffy called the others. It didn't take them long to arrive and when they did, all was prepared.

"So? Do we have a where to search for the what in?" Xander asked, flopping down on the sofa and picking up the maps.

"Yes," Rupert answered. "Wesley has narrowed it down to two cave complexes. I'd rather we didn’t split up, as we have no idea what kind of numbers we're facing. We're not sure of much of anything and so I'd like for us to stay together."

"Sounds good to me, but maybe . . ." Buffy shrugged, giving everyone an apologetic glance. "Maybe I should go and look for this knife by myself? I mean, these guys aren't playing nice. Wesley's already pretty beat up and I don't want you guys getting hurt. It's better if I--"

Wesley refused to glance away from the Slayer, even though he thought he might be blushing. "No. We're not sure how many opponents we're up against, we're not sure what to expect." Once, he might not have cared. He'd have sent her in there alone and thought nothing of it. Now . . . now he saw her laughing in his head, smiling at her friends, with Rupert. "At least this way, if retreat is necessary, we'll be in a lot better position to get everyone out alive. Willow and Rupert--" he didn't even notice the slip in names, "--can handle the obscuring spells we've prepared, as can I, in a pinch. Xander, Oz, and I can cover with crossbows. We'll all try to stay out of direct--"

"Uh, whoa," Xander held up a hand and only then did Wesley realize that the children, excluding Oz, were all watching him with wide eyes, not as hostile as they had once been, but not exactly welcoming either. "Who put you in charge?"

Wesley stood there, opened mouthed, blinking. Damn it. Why now? He knew what he was doing, the plan was good; why couldn't they just listen?

"I did," Rupert said, his tone clipped but not angry. Wesley looked over to find Rupert leaning against the mantel, arms crossed over his chest. "We've been going over this all day while the rest of you did what you needed to. Wesley and I have planned out all the details we could. Now, if you'll let Wesley finish, then we'll discuss it."

Xander and Willow wore confused expressions. Buffy seemed puzzled, but there was a hint of speculation in her eyes when she turned back to Wesley.

"All right. So, finish," she said, glancing quickly back to Rupert before focusing on Wesley. Her stare made him a bit nervous, more because he was wondering what was going on in her head than because of her.

"Uh, r-right." Wesley quickly detailed what they were looking for, describing the knife as best he could. The others all seemed to be listening, but he couldn't be sure. He only hoped they wouldn't dismiss his warnings. "Now, we don't now what this knife is, or does, or . . . well, we know very little about it except that they want it. Given the tactics they're using, we can assume we don't want them to have it. When we find it, none of us should touch it directly." Wesley shrugged, sighing. He didn't like this at all. They knew too little, but it didn't seem they'd be learning more until he could study the knife.

There was silence around the room for a long moment. Wesley glanced from face to face, but saw no signs of dissension. His eyes landed on Rupert, who had ducked his head in a familiar gesture. The man was hiding a smile.

"Well?" Rupert asked, looking around the room. "Is there anything we need to discuss?" The others looked at him blankly. "Thought not," he said and turned away, flashing Wesley a quick grin.