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 8: The Intuition of a Half-Breed~


Footsteps sounded on the floor above and Spike inhaled sharply. His enhanced vampire senses picked up the smell of a half-breed. Without consideration towards his vulnerability, he put down the book he had been flipping through in boredom and made his way upstairs. He used the stairs instead of the elevator and opened the stairwell door to find the area awash in darkness. He was on the opposite side of the room from a lanky, dark haired man.

He watched silently as the ‘breed shifted through some papers and tucked what looked like a bundle of legal documents on top of the lot of it. The ‘breed then moved over to the computer and tapped at the keys. Once the ‘breed entered the computer lamp’s circle of light, Spike recognized him as Angel’s pet Seer, Doyle.

It had only been a couple of days since Spike had been brought to Angel’s apartment but he had heard enough about the Seer across the room from Cordelia and Angel to recognize that the somewhat oddly dressed ‘breed was long overdue in showing up. Spike wasn’t exactly sure how things worked around Angel Investigations but, by the time Angel had started pacing back and forth a few hours ago, he had the feeling that the ‘breed’s non-presence wasn’t exactly in character.

The way that Angel was acting could lead one to believe that Angel’s groupies were expected to hang around the office until he got back from wreaking havoc on the demon population. Spike wasn’t an idiot though; he knew that, when stuck waiting to see exactly how badly a fight had gone, you couldn’t just sit still. At least, Spike couldn’t – apparently Queen C felt perfectly fine with waiting at home for her man to return to her. This ‘breed had a hyper-ness to him – made apparent by the way that he never stayed still for longer than a few minutes before shifting in his seat – that wasn’t unlike Spike’s own inability to stay immobile. The ‘breed had most likely flown the coup as soon as he had run out of things to do at the office.

After a few silent minutes, the ‘breed shifted once again; he stood to sit on the edge of the desk, using one foot propped up on the chair to support him. He sniffed slightly as he rubbed the edge of his nose absently, his eyes still on the computer screen.

A moment later Doyle’s comfortable posture stiffened barely enough for Spike to catch the change before the ‘breed inhaled deeply but soft enough for – had Spike not been a vampire – no one else to hear as he scanned the room out of the corner of his eye. His gaze moved passed Spike before slowly making its way back to the vampire’s general position. The ‘breed tilted his head to the side as if recognizing the scent but still unfamiliar with it, which was probably the case as Spike probably smelt a lot like Cordelia and Angel these days thanks to living with them. “You gunna stand in the shadows all day or are yah gunna show yerself?”

Spike chuckled and came over to the desk. He grinned at the look on the ‘breed’s face when Doyle realized just who Spike was. “Was plannin’ on stayin’ in the shadows, mate, but since yah asked me to come out all friendly like…”

Doyle didn’t respond as he slowly stood in hopes that he would have some kind of advantage should the taller demon attack. Nervously, he asked the first thing that popped into his head, “How come ya haven’t killed me yet?”

Doyle winced and tried to recover, saying, “Uhh… not tha’ yah not killen me’s a bad thing. I ‘appen ta like be'en ‘mong th’ liven, is all, an’ don’ yah think yer a bit more cumf'rtable in th’ offices ov a dem’n hunter then most other dem’ns would?”

Still chuckling, Spike pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He inhaled deeply and thoughtfully blew the smoke back out and in Doyle’s direction. He watched the ‘breed silently for a while before answering. “I would just luv to tear you to pieces, mate, but you see, Peaches really wouldn’t like it if I killed my workmates. Wouldn’t look all that good on me resume and all that.”

A brief look of shock crossed Doyle’s face before he smoothed it with a cool mask of uncaring. “So Angel knows yer ‘ere. Are ya sayen tha’ yer worken fer ‘im? ‘Cause if ya are then I may ‘ave ta disappear fer a while an’ get m’self spitten drunk. Th’ world prob’ly jes went ta Hell.”

Spike shook his head. “Mind if I join you, mate?”

They were both grinning like fools when Angel stepped out of the elevator moments later. Thanks to the loud cranking of the decrepit elevator, they both knew he was there even before they turned to greet him. Doyle turned first to offer the vampire a sheepish smile and a small wave. Turning so that he was half facing Angel, Spike easily caught the goofy grin that his Sire was sporting.

“Doyle. You’re here,” Angel stated as he walked over to the two of them. He raised an eyebrow at Spike but didn’t say a word to him. They shared a silent look before Angel turned back to the dark haired man. “Where have you been?”

An eyebrow rose and a grin touched the man’s lips. “Do’en zactly wha’ I do ev’ry time yah go fight wit’out me. Wen’ ta ge’ fallen down drunk down at th’ pub. I fig’red if I wasn’t ‘ere then technic’ly I wouldn’t know if ye were back or no’ an’ therefore, could continue cellibraten yer great fighten skills.”

Angel frowned at the sarcastic twist in Doyle’s voice but chose to not to acknowledge it vocally. Instead, he just asked, “Why don’t you head out? There not much to do around here any ways. Call me if you get a vision.”

Sensing *something* was going on, Doyle walked out the door quietly. He stopped at the end of the hallway for a moment in hopes that he might hear something worthwhile. When nothing but the sound of a pacing vampire escaped to where he stood, he walked away with a shrug. The life of a vampire was complicated; especially if said vampire had a soul but still kept in touch with his bloodthirsty, psychotic childer.

Shaking his head at the stupidity of his boss, Doyle made his way to the closest bar. He had a feeling that as soon as the dynamic of the relationship between Angel and Spike was laid out for him he would need the support of half a bottle of whiskey to give him a good excuse should he do anything a friendly sober person wouldn’t.

~~~

A choked laugh caught Angel’s attention and he turn away from the door to find Spike watching him, his face awash in amusement. He just stared blankly at the peroxide blond for a moment before walking over and plucking the cigarette from between pale lips. “No smoking in the building,” he stated as he crushed the less then half smoked fag in an empty coffee cup.

“Bloody ‘ell! That was me last one!” Spike glared at his Sire. After a moment he backed down and once again leaned nonchalantly against the large desk. He was silent for all of thirty seconds before it got to him. “Well, are you gunna tell me that I have to call her ‘mum’? ‘Cause if you do you can piss on it.”

Angel grinned. “You don’t have to call her anything but her name. You know that things aren’t set in stone… yet.” His grin dimmed as he dwelled on that thought for a moment. Sadness touched his eyes but it was gone in seconds. “So, can I trust you to take care of Cordy in case anything ever happens?”

“Bloody ‘ell, Peaches, I just got here an’ yer askin’ me to take care of the little missuz?” Spike tensed and began pacing. “I can’t believe this! You haven’t even claimed her good and proper yet.” He was shaking with rage at that point.

Stepping in front of him, Angel grabbed the younger vampire’s shoulders. He looked deeply into wizard-blue eyes and saw what Spike wasn’t telling him. “Cordy will *never* replace you, William. You have a place in my heart that no one can get to – ever. You are my Childe; nothing can get closer to my heart then you.”

“What about Penn? And Dru?” Spike asked softly, lowering his gaze to the floor and pulling out of his Sire’s hold. He continued his pacing a safe distance from the larger man. His hands were still trembling but no longer from rage. “You always said –"

“Would you believe me if I said that all that was a lie?” Angel whispered. “Penn was rouge; he didn’t want anything to do with the family. All he cared about was the kill. I could never convince him to stay with us for long. When he did stay for more than a couple days, he was distant. Dru was something to amuse me. I was bored and I thought that eternal torment would entertain me, at least for a short time.”

Spike stopped and looked at him. He blinked rapidly before he went back to his pacing. He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it and causing it to stick out in wild angles.

“You left us,” he finally whispered, “you didn’t come back for so long and when you finally did, you were different. I killed a Slayer… You didn’t even bat a sodding eye.”

“My soul… I wasn’t used to it yet. Spike, I’d only had it for a year or so, I didn’t know if I was supposed to laugh and hug you and congratulate you and fuck you until dawn or if I was supposed to stake myself for creating such a monster. The one thing that I do know was that I was proud of you. I had never thought that you would end up so incredibly powerful. Look at me, I’m over two hundred and forty years old, if you take away the years I’ve had my soul, I’m still older than you – if only by a year or so. In all my years I’ve only come against a single Slayer; first I fell in love with her and then she sent me to Hell. Think about it for a minute won’t you?”

A smirk graced Spike’s countenance and he chuckled softly. “Yeah, you gotta admit. I am better then you in that aspect.”

“You could kill her. The two of you locked in a room with no escape… Buffy would loose. There’s no doubt about it, William, you are better then she is.” Angel sat down and rested his feet up on the desk. He rubbed his hands over his face and forced a sigh. “Buffy gains her strength from the people around her. She is nothing on her own but you thrive when left to your own devices.”

Spike stared at him. His jaw seemed to have hit the ground. “I can’t bloody believe that you admitted that. I have come against that Slayer too many times to count and every single bloody time I have her cornered she still whips my ass.”

“Every time you fought her, someone got in the way. I know you, William. Dammit, I had you in my bed nearly every single day since I made you. You like to have your fights solo. Nothing matters but you and the one you’re up against. You don’t like interruptions.” Angel sighed again and rested his head on his hand. “You never were one to share a blood bath. It was all about you.”

Silence followed as both vampires remembered old times. Spike crossed the room before Angel knew what was happening and kneeled down in front of him. He laid his cheek on Angel’s left thigh as he had so many times after Angel had finally broken Spike completely to his charms.

Angel shifted and slid foreword slightly to allow Spike better access. He nodded at the look in Spike’s eyes and closed his own, trying to do nothing but bask in the attentions of his Childe.

“Angel, are you up here?” a very female and highly unwanted voice called from the stairwell.

“Bloody effen ‘ell!” Spike muttered.

Spike was against the far wall sipping from a flask that he had pulled out of his pocket and Angel was going over some papers when Cordelia opened the door. Angel looked up as she came over and smiled. “Sleep well?”

Cordelia nodded and looked cautiously at Spike who flashed a grin. She sighed and said, “Well, I better show you around the office. Angel tells me you’re working here now. I don’t see why you can’t help him –"

“Sorry pet, but Peaches doesn’t like to have me at his back in a fight – all has to do with an angry Conikle demon and mob with torches.” Spike stated as he followed the brunette over to the filing cabinet. “He likes the lone wolf thing he’s got going.”

“Of course he had to remind me of that,” Angel muttered just loud enough for Spike hear him from across the room.