Hearts and Secrets

Spike woke to the ringing phone and Angel’s not so pleasant string of curses as he untangled himself from Spike’s body to answer it. He had never been a morning person; in fact, Spike would say Angel was a real pain in the arse until he had his second cup of coffee. He normally had to be at the office by 8:00, but this morning, as Spike glanced at the clock on the nightstand, he realized Angel was two hours late. Watching him pad naked across the room and into the hall, Spike smiled and remembered just why he was still lying in bed.

He stretched languorously, rubbing his hand over his stomach and felt the flaking mess that he’d been too lazy to clean up after… well, after both times they’d made up. He pulled himself upright, lying back against the headboard with the sheet tucked firmly around his waist. Spotting his pack of Marlboros on the nightstand, he indulged, lighting one and enjoying the fix before Angel had a chance to come back and complain about the smoke.

He was just stubbing out the finished butt when Angel strolled through the door, sliding back in under the covers, laying his body against Spike’s.

Spike ran his fingers through the top of Angel’s hair, lovingly rearranging the mussed spikes, and then asked, “Cordelia?”

Angel closed his eyes and nestled closer, wrapping an arm around his waist. “Who else?”

Spike smiled. “She pissed?”

Angel glanced up. “Little bit. Had to reschedule Ms. Rivers again.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “That the bint who keeps calling you to follow her husband around?”

Angel sighed and pushed his fingers under the sheet, playing with the curls below Spike’s belly button. “I keep telling her to leave. I’ve caught him with three different women and she still thinks he’s going to change.”

“Stupid.” The muscles in his abdomen flinched when Angel slid lower, twirling a single finger around the head of his soft cock.

Angel shrugged. “She loves him.” His thumb joined in and he made a circle, beginning a long, leisurely stoke, feeling Spike’s shaft harden. “People in love see what they want to. Sometimes it’s just easier than the truth.”

Spike inhaled and closed his eyes. “If the sod doesn’t want to be there…” he let out a small, breathless moan, “he should let her go and do them both a bloody favor.” His body shuddered slightly. “That’s nice, pet.”

Angel chuckled. “Got time for a quickie before I have to go in.”

Spike smiled coyly. “Such a romantic, you are.”

Angel threw the sheet off and pulled Spike down, rolling his body on top, pinning him to the mattress. “There’s a time and place for romance. Sometimes a fuck’s just a fuck.”

Spike wrapped his legs around Angel’s waist, gripping his ass tightly between his fingers as he ground upward. “I knew I loved you for a reason.”

~*~

“What time do you work tonight?”

“Ten thirty. Got a barge comin’ in. Should take us most of the night.”

“Gunn on shift with you?”

Spike ducked his head out from behind the shower curtain, dripping water onto the rug beside the tub. “You almost sound jealous,” he teased, smiling widely.

Angel was standing fully dressed in front of the mirror, his gelled hands working their way into his damp hair. “Nah. Gunn’s alright.”

Spike nodded, disappearing back under the spray, letting the water run down the length of his back. “Better believe it, mate. Been watching my back for as long as I can remember.”

“Which brings up my next point. You know I hate you working down at the docks at that time of night. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

Spike sighed. “And you know I’m not gonna quit so you might as well drop the subject.”

“I know, I know,” Angel answered giving in. “Not saying that. I’m just saying… if you insist on being there, he’s a good guy to have around.”

Rinsing the last of the soap from his body, Spike stepped out of the tub and used the large towel hanging over the rod to dry his hair and then wrapped it around his waist when he was done. Angel turned to him and stepped closer, placing a kiss that tasted of minty toothpaste on his lips. “Gotta go.”

“Will you be working late?”

“Not too late. I’ll be here before you have to go, unless… why don’t you meet me for dinner? I could leave early enough for that.”

“Can’t get enough of me, eh?” Spike chuckled, leaning in to nip Angel’s bottom lip.

Angel smiled. “Really can’t.”

“Alright then, better get to it. You’re already, what? Four hours late?” Spike dropped his towel, turned around and purposely wiggled his hips as he walked back into the bedroom and plopped ‘stomach down’ onto the bed. “So, see you at Guido’s? Around seven?” he asked innocently, looking over his shoulder and locking eyes on Angel who was now leaning against the doorframe, watching him.

The look of lust in his eyes couldn’t have been more obvious. “Or I could just stay here.”

“Go,” Spike stated firmly. He slipped his body beneath the blankets and made himself comfortable, closing his eyes. “Wouldn’t be able to get any beauty rest with you hangin’ about.”

Angel smiled when he saw the grin curl at the corner of Spike’s lips. “See you at seven.”

~*~

Spike walked into the restaurant, greeting the hostess when he walked past. He and Angel were frequent customers and knew most of the staff; always using the same table nestled in the far back corner. He was running late and knew Angel would already be waiting so he rushed through the large room, nodding as people greeted him. He got closer, close enough to see their table, and that’s when things seemed to start happening in slow motion.

There, sitting across from Angel, facing Spike's direction, was Wesley. He’d never met him, but he knew. A little scruffier than the pictures Angel still kept hidden inside a box in the top of the closet, but it was definitely him. Better looking, in fact. The pictures showed innocence. Clean-cut with glasses, an almost boyish quality, where as now, the two-day old stubble along his chin and jaw line, plus the absence of the eyeglasses, gave the appearance of strength and attitude. Angel’s ex was gorgeous.

Both men stood when he approached and Spike wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. How was he supposed to act casual around someone he felt he was always competing with? When Angel reached for him, drawing him into their usual ‘hey, how was your day’ hug, Spike was stiff in his arms, his fingers clenched in fists around Angel’s back.

Pulling away, Angel said, “Hey, baby. I hope you don’t mind, but I figured since Wes and I have been spending so much time working on his case, it was about time that the two of you met.”

The other man held out his hand to Spike, as if they were friends or something. “Wesley Wyndham Price. Angel’s told me so much about you.”

The sound of his voice, so prim and proper, so… ‘I’m much better than you’ made Spike’s skin crawl. Actually, his accent was a little more upper crust than Spike’s own, but Spike considered the term snobbish to be a better description. When he failed to give his own hand in return, Wesley took the hint and pulled his arm back. Spike turned his gaze on Angel. “Didn’t know this was a reservation for three.”

Angel, appearing much more comfortable than Spike would have liked, answered as he sat back down, “I tried to reach your cell to let you know, but I got your voicemail.”

Spike’s eyes shifted to Wesley as he watched him sit. How long had they been here? Did they arrive separately or share the same car? And what exactly led to Wesley’s invite?

“I hope you don’t mind my interrupting.” The sound of Wesley’s voice caught Spike’s attention. “I’ve been telling Angel it wasn’t fair that I’m stealing an abundance of his time without so much as an introduction and an apology.”

Spike glanced between them and took the chair closest to Angel. “Right.”

“I ordered you a beer,” Angel said, leaning into him.

Spike nodded and tried not to stare too hard at the man sitting across from him. This was the person Angel had shared his life with. The person he’d bought his apartment with. The same apartment Spike was now living in. When Angel and Wesley began to talk, Spike ignored them, more caught up in the thoughts and images swimming inside his head. Thoughts that did nothing to help the situation. He pictured them together in the shower, against the kitchen counter, on the carpet in the sunroom… everywhere he and Angel had made love. He replaced his own face with Wesley’s, picturing the other man lying beneath Angel, screaming as they fucked. Did Wesley scream? Or was he the type to bite his lip and hold in his pleasure when he came? Spike was a screamer and Angel always told him how much it turned him on. So yeah, he’d bet Wesley was the same.

“So, Angel tells me you paint.”

Spike only half heard Wesley talking to him, but rested his eyes on his lips. He wondered if Angel had kissed them recently. “What?”

“Paint?” he repeated. “Angel says you’re a fine artist.”

The waitress appeared with their drinks and Spike greedily took his. “I’ve got it, luv,” he told her, downing a quarter of the bottle before she could pour it into his glass. She nodded and sat the empty glass in front of him. He felt Angel’s hand on his knee and returned to Wesley’s question. “Dabble a bit. Not a bloody Picasso.”

“Well, I suppose not,” Wesley chuckled lightheartedly, “you certainly wouldn’t be working the midnight shift at the docks.”

Spike clenched his jaw. “Nothing wrong with the docks, mate.”

“Oh, c’mon, Spike. He didn’t mean…”

Wesley interrupted before Angel could finish. “I meant any kind of work. I wasn’t trying to offend you.”

Spike shrugged and tipped his bottle to his lips. “I’m sure you weren’t.” Arrogant ponce.

Giving up on the niceties, Wesley turned his attention to Angel and began discussing details of his case. Spike watched and listened, finishing a second beer before dinner had even arrived. They had tuned him out, and he quickly became the third wheel in what was supposed to have been a nice night out for just the two of them.

When the food arrived, Spike ate quickly and silently, watching the way the other men interacted. He listened to the way they talked, the way they finished sentences for each other, reminding him that this wasn’t just a work-related meeting, but also a dinner between old lovers. Wesley was someone who was just as familiar with Angel as he was, if not more. This other man knew his likes, his dislikes, the things that made Angel hum, that made him shiver.

When he caught a glimpse of Angel’s finger brushing tenderly along the side of Wes’s when they both reached for the same roll, Spike excused himself to the bathroom before he made a commotion. Once inside, he paced the length of the room, trying to get his emotions in control. He knew he was acting like a bloody idiot, but how could Angel put him in this situation if he cared anything for him at all? He had to have known how uncomfortable it would be. “I just thought it was time the two of you met,” he mocked, giving his best impersonation of Angel. He leaned against the sink and shook his head at the mirror, sarcastically adding, “Bloody brilliant idea, mate. Why don’t we all have a real nice snog and become best friends?”

Sighing, he took a deep breath, vowing to accept the inevitable. He’d have to play nice and accept that the other man was still alive and part of Angel’s life. Although a gruesome, disfiguring accident… he shook his head and stopped himself before the thought completely surfaced. Although, it gained a sinister smile at any rate. One more glance at his image in the mirror and he left the room, heading straight back into the lion’s cage.


Wesley started in before Spike was fully seated. “So, what’s your opinion, Spike? As much as he’s determined to talk himself out of it, I think it would be wise of Angel to start his own agency. After all, he’s the best private detective in southern California.”

His own agency? When had he started thinking of going out on his own? Spike looked directly at Angel, seeing the blush moving up his cheeks. “And when exactly were you planning on bringing this up?”

Angel shrugged. “Just an idea I’ve been toying with. Ran it past Wes to see what he thought.”

Spike couldn’t hide the expression of annoyance on his face. “Oh, and I wasn’t important enough to ask?”

Angel’s eyes sparked and Spike knew guilt when he saw it. Angel’s expression changed suddenly, as if he was trying to hide it and he explained, “Didn’t want to tell you until I decided if it was something I really wanted. I’m sure you can understand that.”

Spike understood just fine. Angel was sharing important decisions in his life… with his ex. “Yeah. I got it.” Loud and clear.

The look that passed between them was filled with hurt and aggravation. Spike was almost happy he had to work later because he knew it would have been another night for one of them on the couch if he were at home.

After a minute spent in awkward silence, he sighed and then stood up. As much as he hated the idea of leaving Angel and Wesley alone together, he had to get out of there. He was biting back his temper as it was and the fuse was shortening quickly.

“Hope you enjoy your dinner.”

Angel stood up, reaching for Spike’s arm, slowly letting his finger slide down the length of it. “Where are you going? You’re blowing this way out of proportion. Let’s talk about this.”

Wesley stood up, clearing his throat. “I think I’ll… visit the restroom. Leave the two of you to...”

Spike shook his head. “Don’t bother, mate. We’re done.”

Angel grabbed his hand. “Spike…”

“Leave off!” he snapped, pulling away, glancing in Wesley’s direction. “Not exactly the right time for a heart to heart, now is it?”

“Why are you being so pigheaded?”

Spike spun around furiously. “Fuck you, Angel!” he snapped before staring him down and then walking out.


TBC