Angels Bad Night

Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn left around midnight. Angel walked them out, to make sure they at least got to their vehicles safely. As they drove off, he returned to the hotel to clean up before he went to bed.

He had to admit, it hadn't been a horrible night, really. He'd missed the past few weeks. He wasn't really sure what to think of Cordelia's present to him, though. Bunny slippers? Definitely a bit of human culture he'd never understood, but he was pretty sure they had been a gag gift.

He gathered up his other gifts. Wesley had given him a book of poetry, W.B. Yeats. Angel had been thrilled, Yeats was one of his favorite poets. Gunn had given him a very antique-looking battle axe, a gift he'd also loved. He'd broken his favorite battle axe a few days earlier when he and Gunn had cleared out a nearby warehouse which had become a vampire nest.

He put the axe in his weapons room and then returned to the lobby. He finished cleaning up the dishes and wrapping paper and was about to take the poetry book up to his room, when he remembered the slippers. They were staring back at him. He shuddered; they were creepy. He decided they would stay on the couch. Far away from him. He knew he was being silly, but he was
allowed his minor quirks.

He had almost forgotten; he had one more thing to take care of before he could go to bed, anyway. He opened the front door and called out into the night. "You think I don't know you're here? If you've got something to say to me, get in here and say it."

He walked back into the lobby and sat on the couch waiting.

Spike walked in and stood about ten feet away, smirking. "I was just waiting for your 'friends' to leave. Gotta admit, I was having a bit of fun watching you being tortured by them."

"Thought I told you to get Dru and leave town," Angel said.

"Yeah, well," Spike shrugged. "I saw Dru, but I didn't come here for her. We're through. And I know you want me to leave, but...I have something for you, before I go. Hold on." He walked outside and to his car.

Angel wondered what Spike was doing and retrieved a stake from his office. Just in case.

Spike went out to his car and got the item. He returned to the hotel. Angel was watching him, warily, sitting in the same place. Spike imagined he had a stake nearby. "Here," he mumbled as he handed a folder to Angel.

Angel looked at him suspiciously but took the folder. He opened it and gasped. It held sketches that he'd done, over the past hundred years or so. The sketches of his ... Liam's family: his mother and sister, mostly. And more pictures, of Angelus' family: Da Dru Dru and Spike. And a few more, of Buffy.

These were the images of the people who had meant the most to Angel at different points in his life. He'd thought he'd lost the sketches. After he'd moved to L.A., he'd not found them in the few boxes he'd taken with him. "Where..." He looked up at Spike.

Spike watched as Angel looked through the pictures. When he looked up at Spike, there were tears in his eyes. Spike looked at the ground and shrugged. "The mansion. I figured you'd want 'em. At least the pictures of the slayer."

"Why?" Angel asked.

He looked at Angel silently a moment before replying, "I figured they might cheer you up a little. He shrugged. "Now, I'll leave town." He turned away.

Angel couldn't think of how to reply to that. *Since when does he want to cheer me up?*

Spike walked to the door and stopped. He couldn't leave without telling him. He turned, Angel was still looking at him. "I didn't kill ," ," Spike said.

Angel blinked at that. "Who?"

Spike sighed. "The bloke in the car. Yes, I've got my bite back, but I didn't kill that one. I just happened to notice the car on the side of the highway, on my way out of Sunnydale. He was in the car, already dead. I helped myself to the car, just didn't bother to get rid of the body."

Angel's head hurt. He wasn't sure if it was a new headache, or the old one returning. Spike had just done something very... kind, returning Angel's sketches to him. That, in itself, was out of character for Spike. Now Spike was telling him he hadn't killed someone? Spike never worried about being credited with killings he hadn't committed. He liked his reputation as The Big Bad. "Even if I believed you that you didn't kill that human, I'm sure there are others--"

"No."

"Huh?"

"Haven't killed any mortals, except the occasional killers or rapists, ever since I got the chip out," Spike explained.

Angel's headache was approaching migraine levels. Spike, William the fucking bloody, didn't kill innocents? This was the same vampire who'd gotten his nickname by pinning his victims to the ground with railroad spikes, then watching them as they screamed in agony for hours until they finally died. Angel found it very hard to believe that he had reformed in such a major way. But he couldn't think of a reason for Spike to lie about it, either. "Spike, maybe I'm being dense here... but even if you HAVE changed, why are you telling ME about it?

"I just...I just am. I figured you'd want to know that I'm not the same anymore." Spike saw the look on Angel's face and knew he shouldn't have wasted his breath. Angel didn't believe him. Spike didn't blame him, he hadn't exactly done a lot to convince anyone of his trustworthiness.

"So is that why you came to L." An" Angel asked skeptically. "To tell me you've reformed?"

"No," Spike said. "I just came here on a whim."

Angel's eyes narrowed. He doubted it was a 'whim' that had brought Spike to L.A. He also had no interest in whatever game the younger vampire was planning. Darla had played enough games with Angel, the past few weeks,lastlast him a good century.

"A whim? Tell the truth," Angel said as he stood. "for once in your pathetic existence." He saw Spike wince at those words. He'd hurt his feelings? ... No, not likely.

Spike growled. He wondered if sometimes his sire just intentionally made things more difficult than they had to be. "Coming here isn't the result of some evil plan, Angelus. I swear to fucking god, it just happened." he said angrily. "I knew the Slayer would figure out I wasn't neutered eventually. I wasn't too interested in finding myself at the wrong end of Mr. Pointy. So I left Sunnyhell and came here."

"WHY HERE?!" Angel yelled.

"WHY does there have to be some deep reason?!" Spike yelled back.

"Because I know you, and you don't do things 'just because'!" Angel replied. "TELL ME WHY YOU'RE HERE!"

"YOU!" Spike exploded finally. "You're my fucking SIRE and I wanted to be NEAR YOU!" He took a deep breath and continued, more quietly, "You're the lucky one, you've got the soul so you don't feel the bond anymore. But I don't have that luxury. There, ya arsehole, I said it; now you know. Are ya happy now?!"