Yet to Nature True, Part 2 (BTVS/AtS)
And here's part 2
Yet to Nature True, Part 2
**
After a while they stretched out, Xander held protectively close to Angel, his head pillowed on the vampire's chest. The shaking had stopped and they had been silent for some time.
"I thought it would be weird, you know? Not hearing a heartbeat. But I like the quiet," Xander's soft words barely stirred the silence, as gentle as his fingers slowly tracing a pattern over Angel's chest.
Angel smiled, his own fingers happily buried in Xander's silky hair, "I'm glad you like it. I can do quiet."
Xander smiled back, "And I can do anything but."
"Not exactly," Angel said, nudging his lover's face so he could look at him. "I don't say anything. You don't say anything that really matters to you."
"Sounds like we need to work on our communication skills." A teasing grin.
Angel felt the last of the fear melt from his stomach, contained the smile, "We will." He let the peace linger over them for a few minutes longer, but there were things they still needed to communicate about. Fairly urgently. "Tell me about Lindsey. Please."
Reluctantly, Xander did. Telling him more about that "lost" summer than he ever had before, and more about his feelings for Lindsey McDonald than Angel had really wanted to know. But he had asked, and Xander had answered. "You really cared about him."
Xander raised himself a bit, eyed him warily, but didn't lie. "Yeah. I did. But not anymore. I couldn't. I--he started to make me an offer--I just, I felt sick. I mean--it was so hard to believe that the guy I thought I knew really thought the things he did were ok. Like as long as the money was good it didn't matter that the people he worked for regularly killed other people and stuff. I mean--"
"I know." He brushed his lips over Xander's hair, "You're a good man."
"No, I--"
"You are. You're wrong, I'm right, get over it," Angel said, using Xander's favorite line when they argued over music. And clothes. And movies.
A grin came, "Your delivery's off." And went, "What are we gonna do?"
Angel knew what he wanted to do: take his lover far away, find an island somewhere that had no vampires or demons or capricious Powers, and spend the rest of their lives making love and walking on the beach. Short of that, he tightened his hold, "Be very careful. Keep better track of Lindsey. Find out how he got those ashes in your locker in the first place. Figure out how he found out about us."
Xander nodded, snuggled close, "I think I know that last one. When we were leaving the club a couple of nights ago, I thought I saw his car zipping away. There are a lot of silver Mercedes in this town, but..."
"You're probably right. It's the last place we were together in public."
Xander frowned, thinking a bit, "I think it's the only place we've ever been together in public."
Now Angel frowned, "Can't be. We go lots of places together--"
"But usually they're fighting-evil related. Or they could be. And the couple that aren't look pretty innocent."
"You think he's been watching you."
"I think Wolfram & Hart always keeps tabs on us. So do you. What the firm knows, Lindsey probably knows."
Angel didn't disagree--they each knew that they were probably under some form of surveillance more or less all the time, but he'd put it out of his mind long since. He had to, to function. But this was different. It was... personal.
"Quit your job," Angel said.
"And that will help how?"
"It..." the vampire struggled to justify the impulsive words with something remotely rational. "It's one less place you're alone and more vulnerable."
"It's also a much needed source of income for me and my landlord."
"So move in."
"Even ignoring Cordy--which is impossible--uhm, no."
"Why?"
"Because." Xander shifted until he could look at Angel. "We're not ready for that. I'm not ready for that. The mortal needs time to adjust--it's been kind of an eventful day. Major scare and worldview undergoing titanic shift and all."
Angel stroked his back, feeling the hurt again, weighing the words, "You really thought I'd use you like that."
Xander lowered his eyes, hiding them behind absurdly thick lashes, shrugged as diffidently as he could within Angel's tight hold. "Well, it's not like any of us have a lot of choices. I mean Cordy and I talk about it all the time. It's why I broke up with Curtis--for us to keep going he would have to know about... y'know, everything... That's a lot to ask from somebody."
Angel went cold, "Is that why you went along with it?"
Xander lightly touched the cool flesh of his lover's face, "It's why I wanted to want to go along with it. It's not why I did." He paused. "Did that make any sense?"
Smiling again, Angel nodded, carefully brushing back a strand of the young man's hair. There was still a visible trace of shock and wonder in Xander's face that he was the one reassuring Angel. It did as much to assuage Angel's fears as the words and the touch, but also brought home to him just how much his lover needed the same from him.
Flowery verbal declarations weren't going to cut it with Xander. He'd pretty much said all he could anyway. So he tried something else, which would also take care of the unexpected problem he'd been having at the club. The experience had not been a pleasant one, even discounting his own less than stellar turn on the dance floor. He kissed the tip of Xander's nose. "Now that we've got that cleared up, there are a couple of other things we should straighten out."
"Like what?"
"Like Frank Lee, Donald Hayes, and Gerry Cruz. Hands off."
Xander started to laugh, saw no trace of answering amusement on Angel's face. "You can't be serious. Hands are never on. We just dance."
"Is that what you call it."
Xander studied him some more, trying to decide whether this was just a heretofore unsuspected level of pokerfaced-ness from Angel or something deeper.
Angel let him know the truth, allowing himself to dwell on some of the imagery, especially with Gerry. There had been one particularly close dance where he would swear Gerry had done some unauthorized pinching, and a tiny growl escaped.
Xander's eyes widened as he heard that, shock and amusement flickering in his face. "Surprise guest appearance from the Cave-vamp! So tell me, ye of the hairless chest thumping: Is this your own personal tribute to the Lord of the Apes or a freaky vampire thing?"
"A little of both," Angel admitted. "You might have noticed that vampires are possessive by nature, and I can be. Am, with you."
"You never were before."
"That's not exactly true. I just never said anything."
"Why?"
"Didn't know if I could. And I didn't want to scare you."
"Oh." Xander studied him for a long moment, then leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his favorite UnDeadboy's mouth. "Hmm. Very not scary."
Angel smiled and brought Xander's head down for another kiss, tongue saying a leisurely good-bye as they parted.
Xander sighed, folded his arms over Angel's chest, rested his head upon them, and contemplated his lover. "So. How badly did you want to go all Grr during Frank's salsa lesson? Cuz I gotta tell you, Don and Gerry can go, but Frank is a god on the dance floor and no way am I giving him up, at least not until you become a better dancer."
Angel thought about that for a moment, "Define better."
"At least as good as me."
"I can do that," Angel decided.
Xander laughed, "Delusional much? You've been around for what, over 270 years? I'm pretty sure if the rhythm was gonna get you, it would've happened by now. Which leaves me with a bright future full of Latin dances ahead of me."
"I was lacking the proper incentive."
"So now I'm incentive?" Xander grinned, delighted. "Just how much incentive do you need? He promised to teach me the passo doble in a few weeks, and I know he said something about the Argentine tango--"
Angel growled and abruptly rolled and pinned Xander, "The only person you're ever going to tango with, is me. Got that?"
Xander's grin widened, and his cock jerked to attention at this display from his lover. Exaggerated or not, he knew there was a kernel of truth in there somewhere, so his voice was solemn and gentle as he whispered, "Got it." Leaning up to lick along Angel's neck, he nibbled up his jaw until Angel pushed him down and claimed his mouth.
Their lovemaking was sweet, and tender. Angel had been aware that Xander was holding back, but he'd never even come close to guessing how much. He'd never felt so... loved by anyone. Xander had been a generous bedmate, always making sure to please but he'd never been very affectionate. Now Angel was finally inside the walls and it was even better than he had imagined. So much warmth... so much caring... so much love. He might even send Lindsey a thank-you note.
He thanked Xander in person, using every ounce of skill gained over the decades to show his lover how much he was wanted, needed, and how very much he was loved. And when he had swallowed the last drop of his partner's come, he pulled him close, cradling his shaking body and gently kissing the tears from his eyes. "I love you, Xan," he whispered, "no matter what happens, please don't ever forget that."
The young man buried his face in Angel's neck, arms wrapped around him so tightly, he would have cut off circulation--had Angel had any. "Love you, too."
The words were no more than a hasty breath, but Angel heard them. And if the curse had been in effect, his soul would be making a hasty exit because Angel had never felt happier in his life.
****
Xander woke up several hours later still in Angel's arms. For a long moment he just lay there, basking in the unfamiliar sense of feeling extremely loved. And... his mind cast about for the right word. Cherished. This was what cherished felt like. He snuggled closer, breathing in the scents of their lovemaking and trying to imprint the feel of Angel wrapped around him deep inside himself. This wouldn't last--Angel was bound to come to his senses sooner or later--but for right now it was real and he would store each moment carefully. It was a lot more than he ever thought he'd have.
"Go back to sleep," Angel muttered against his shoulder.
Xander smiled, "I'm awake, you're awake. The bed's already messy. Is going back to sleep really our best option?"
"Hmm, always thinking," Angel said softly, suckling on the nearest lobe, "One of the many things I love about you."
Xander chuckled, "So you love me for my mind."
"Among other things," Angel murmured, leaving a trail of goosebumps on his lover's skin as he placed cool, wet kisses down the middle of his throat to the hollow between his collar bones.
"Oh?" Xander's voice was already husky. "Like what."
"You have great shoulders. Wide and beautiful. Why did you hide them under those awful shirts for so long?" Angel asked, licking and nipping his way up a collar bone to the top of one said shoulder. "As a matter of fact, your whole chest is a work of art. The Greeks would have loved you." He kissed down to one nipple, nibbled at it, rolling it with his tongue until it was hard and stiff, until Xander flinched and moaned if Angel so much as blew air on it, "You taste delicious, too. Must be all that chocolate."
Xander laughed, it turned into a groan as Angel pinched the sensitized nipple and sucked on the other one, the twin sensations rolling through him. Angel grinned and moved lower, his fingertips caressing his lover's sides lightly, lightly. He licked a wide stripe right down the middle of Xander's chest, laved his belly button, then went with an impulse and blew a raspberry on Xander's sensitive tummy, setting off a fit of giggles in his lover as he hastily doubled over and onto his side to protect against further attacks.
Angel merely smirked, staring at his lover's delectable ass. This couldn't have gone better if he'd planned it. Far be it for him to refuse the invitation. "Have I ever told you how perfect your ass is?"
"Can't imagine how we skipped that," Xander snickered.
Angel propped himself on one arm, undaunted. "It is, you know. I always thought that runners had the best asses, but judging by you, it's swimmers." He leaned down and gently bit one of the well-muscled mounds, licked the mark to soothe it, kissed it. "Perfect." One hand ran up and down the young man's leg, teasingly close to the barely visible balls. "I have dreams about you in those blue speedos. What would you do if I showed up at the club one night, after hours?"
He trailed some kisses down to the curve of his lover's spine, blew on the wet skin as the tip of his index finger teased at Xander's hole. "I can see you. All alone in that big pool. Would you let me touch you?" Another kiss on a cheek as the tip of his thumb caressed the perineum, followed by a slower lick of his tongue all the way from balls to hole. "Would you let me taste you? Please let me taste you, I want to lick you dry..."
"God, Angel..."
"Was that a yes?" Another lick as he reached under to stroke Xander's heavy sacs.
"God, I--"
"Yes or no?" A light tug, some careful maneuvering for a lick.
"I--yesss..."
"Then open up for me..." Angel whispered, the air from his words gently tickling the sensitive hairs of his lover's balls. Xander moved instinctively, parting his legs further for his lover, rolling over completely onto his stomach. Angel smiled and dove in. He loved to taste Xander like this, loved the heat, the strong, animal scent, the intimacy of it, loved the way it drove the younger man wild. But his lover was shy, he had to be seduced into allowing it. Not that Angel really minded performing the seduction. The payoff was the tight ring of muscle around his tongue, the heat radiating from his lover, the young man's tiny moans and whimpers, the loosening of his body as it accepted and welcomed the invader, the sweat slickening his skin and mixing with the bitter taste, the heaving breaths and pounding of his heart, and finally the helpless shudders as he was stripped of everything but need, aching for the feel of Angel's cock inside him.
After a bit more preparation, Angel was only too happy to oblige. As he sunk in, it felt like coming home. A home that was scorchingly hot, and so tight it almost hurt, it was so good. And then he began to move, slow at first but that didn't last. He needed more and so did Xander. Before, their lovemaking had been about love and reassurances. Now it was about mating. The primal need to claim what was wanted, what was needed. The joy in the freedom to do so.
Angel fairly rammed into him, and Xander met him stroke for stroke, shakily getting to his knees to find better purchase, bracing himself against the headboard, arms taut, trembling, but unaware of anything except the implacable force driving into his body, a hot-cool grip around his cock pulling him higher until he sobbed with need... just a little bit more, please, god, just a little bit...
And then the missing piece, the touch he didn't know he was missing. As he felt the cool, delicate rip of fangs sinking into his flesh, hot lips and strong suction, he fell over the edge, his orgasm flashing through him like lightning, sweeping all thought, all sense, all awareness with it.
**
"Xan?" An insistent, worried voice called him back to the world. He didn't want to listen, wanted to sink back to the velvety blackness, but worry from the other wouldn't let him. "Xander? Baby, please, I didn't mean--"
"Hmphf?"
"Xander?"
Recent events trickled in for inspection. "Wow."
He forced his eyes to open and focus. The first thing he saw was Angel's anxious face, hovering. Anxiety changed to confusion even as he watched.
"Wow?" Angel said uncertainly.
"Hmm," Xander nodded, a lazy smile on his face. He felt completely and truly sated from the tips of his toes to the depths of his soul for the first time... ever. "Very wow."
"But I--" Angel's hand darted towards his neck, to a spot Xander was just beginning to realize throbbed a bit.
He caught the hand with languid fingers, brought it to his lips and kissed it. "That was amazing."
"It was?"
"Uhm-hmm. Way, way amazing. C'mere."
Angel slowly lowered himself down, was only slightly startled when Xander took his mouth in a bruising kiss. "Wow," the vampire murmured.
Xander smiled again, brushed a heavy finger along Angel's cheek. "Couldn't agree more."
"So you really don't... mind?"
"This is not the face of a man who minds. Although I might have second thoughts tomorrow when my whole body isn't jell-o and I have to sit down. But I'm pretty sure I won't. Wow doesn't happen every day."
Angel started to smile, "It was very, uh, wow for me, too."
His lover grinned, "Wows are best when they're mutual."
"Very mutual," Angel whispered against his lips before kissing him again, slow and deep. Xander moaned into the kiss, his body melting beneath his lover's and his mind not far behind. A pair of beaming eyes regarded him warmly as they broke the kiss in deference to Xander's pesky need to breathe. Xander blinked. The vampire was... glowing. He was pretty sure Angel had never glowed before.
"You're glowing."
Angel laughed, "So are you."
"Oh." He tried to look at himself but his eyes crossed and his head started to hurt and it was all too much effort. "Ok. Sleep now?"
"Sleep now," Angel agreed with a chuckle, then leaned down and kissed each eyelid closed. Xander smiled dreamily and Angel couldn't resist one more kiss to that rosy mouth. Then he lay on the bed and pulled the puddle that was his beloved over him, closing his eyes and letting his lover's comforting scent lead him into sleep.
****
Xander worked his way up the layers of sleep languidly, feeling that Sunday morning laziness permeating his body even though somewhere in the back of his head he knew it wasn't Sunday. The only thing missing was his lover. A slight frown drifted onto his face and he opened his eyes. Smiled. Angel wasn't there, but he had been and the romantic lug had left him a red rose on the pillow. God only knows where he'd gotten it, but it was there. And underneath it, a flat package in plain wrapping.
Curious, he reached over and tore the wrapping, a wide smile lighting his face. "Best of Looney Tunes: 50 Years of Great Cartoons, the Collector's Edition DVD, including the classic 'What's Opera, Doc?'" It was perfect but how the hell had Angel scrounged that up in the middle of the night? Shaking his head at the mysterious ways of a certain broody vamp, he set the DVD aside for later viewing with more discipline than he would have given himself credit for.
Xander took another moment to smell the rose--it was even the good kind, which had a smell--then reluctantly acknowledged that he really should be upright. A glance at the clock assured him he could still make it to work. Good. One less thing to deal with. Sitting up brought protests from certain well-used parts of his body, and a few twinges in his neck. Another smile. Finally, a scar with good memories. He vaguely wondered why he wasn't more upset about this, after all, he'd spent the better part of the past six years trying to avoid being bitten by vampires. But the old rules, like the old judgements, didn't apply to Angel anymore.
The thought revived his frown as doubts returned with a vengeance. Angel knew too much now. He had actually said the fatal words. He was too far in, it might cause permanent damage when the break-up came. And what if he'd been lying? Xander felt hollow at the thought, that Sunday morning glow disappearing and leaving a frozen blizzard in its wake. It was just the sort of thing the vampire would do. Not to be mean. He didn't believe that anymore. Angel was kind, far more so than he'd ever suspected. He could be lying to protect him. He'd probably looked so pathetic the vampire couldn't help but lie.
Shit. Who could he ask? Angel had already been up to the office. He could've told Wesley what to say. His own relationship with the ex-Watcher was much better than it had been back in Sunnydale, but he had no doubts that Wesley's first loyalties were to Angel.
Would Cordy tell him the truth? Ordinarily, yes. But she'd definitely lie to spare his feelings, that protective streak looming large--
Suddenly Xander stopped. Cordelia. He grinned, weak-kneed in relief. Cordy would've dragged his sorry butt over every mile of highway back to Sunnydale rather than stand by and let Xander get himself into a userly relationship with the vampire. And she might just stake Angel with his own bedpost and cheerfully tell him to DustBuster the mess away if he hurt him. It's what best friends do.
Silently, he again sent thanks for her presence in his life and vowed to deserve her friendship.
"Fuck." Starting with making sure she hadn't been targeted by his personal legal stalker. Mind full of what could have happened, Xander ran for the stairs, forgetting his nude state.
Footsteps behind him made him halt. Angel stood at the bottom of the landing and smiled at him, eyes very obviously taking in his body, and just as obviously enjoying the view. Xander blushed scarlet, aware now of every very exposed part.
"I thought you might be awake."
"That happens in the morning. Sometimes." He glanced beyond Angel to the offices above, worry evident even through the blush that refused to fade.
"Relax. They're ok," Angel told him, stepping closer. "Cordelia spent the night here, nothing happened. Wesley and Gunn checked on Lindsey, we still don't know how he got those ashes in your locker, but he didn't so much as stir out of his apartment last night."
Relief drained some of the color away and he looked up, sent off a silent, "Thank you." Saw Angel staring at him again, but the teasing desire was gone. It took less than a second to figure out why. His hand instinctively went to his neck. "It's ok. I'm ok. No regrets."
Angel searched his face for a long minute. The naked emotion on that normally impassive face as the vampire saw he was telling the truth overwhelmed him and he had to look away, blushing again. It was hard to see that aimed at him. "I, uh, I'd better go take a shower, don't want to be late for work."
"Xander."
Just his name but no one had ever said it like that before. Xander licked his lips, gaze flickering to his lover and down again. The desire was back and so much more. He felt Angel step nearer and take one of his hands in his, kissing the inside of the wrist, licking the edge of the palm. Xander watched, swallowed heavily. Angel pulled him closer, "Call in sick."
"I--" abruptly very sensitive parts of Xander came into contact with something hard and cold, and it wasn't Angel's happy. "Oww! Belt! Bad! Bad belt!"
"Shit, sorry," Angel said, flushing as much as he could and feeling like a complete idiot. So much for smooth, early morning seductions.
"It's ok, I'm out of sick days anyway," Xander said, backing up. "I'll just go take that shower now. By myself."
Angel looked crestfallen.
Xander sighed, damn the broody vampire was adorable like this. "Ok, get your clothes--and that damn belt off and c'mon. But I swear if I'm late you're sitting home tonight, in the dark, while I party with Cordy and Gunn and Frank."
Angel smiled and followed his lover into the bathroom, shedding clothes as he went. He slipped quietly into the shower behind his lover, took the soap before Xander could do it. His lover eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but presented his back. And ass. Angel smiled again and sternly told himself to be good. Xander's words echoed in his head and his smile faded a bit. "You know I used to do that."
Xander turned his head, his eyes asking the question.
"Sit home alone in the dark. I did it for years before I got to Sunnydale. And did it here more nights than I'd care to admit to." Angel fell silent, not really knowing why he'd spoken, especially about this, and wishing he could take it back. He didn't want Xander's pity. Or even his sympathy.
So he was surprised by his lover's words, at his even, matter of fact tone. "Sometimes, when I couldn't be home and I couldn't run to Will's or Jesse's, I used to go to this place in the park. It was so quiet, and even kind of beautiful really late at night. You couldn't see the rust on the swings or the rotted part of the see-saw, just moonlight shining over everything. My parents never missed me."
The eyes that met Angel's own held all the understanding he needed, but none of the pity, and asked the same from him. So he took the soap again and went back to bathing his lover. His touch gentle, constant, a reminder to both of them that they weren't alone anymore.
The rest of the shower was silent. Afterwards, Angel commandeered the towels and began to dry his lover with the same care he'd used to bathe him.
"You don't have to do that," Xander whispered.
"You can do it tomorrow."
"Deal," Xander smiled, caught a glimpse of them in the steamy bathroom mirror and chuckled.
"What?"
Xander gestured to the mirror, which showed his own foggy form, and a fluffy blue towel hanging in mid-air, rubbing itself all over him. The chuckle turned into a snorted giggle. "Kinky."
"I'll give you kinky," Angel growled, wrapping the towel around his lover and tugging him close.
"Promise?" Xander asked, grin at its most reckless.
"Try me."
Xander laughed and slipped his arms up Angel's chest and around his neck. "I think I just might have to..."
Xander was 20 minutes late for work but Angel was fairly certain a night alone was not in his future.
****
For the next week, they were on the alert, taking extra care and making sure not to go anywhere alone. But nothing happened as the week turned into weeks and into months. Eventually, things returned to normal.
****
Nearly a year later...
It had taken far longer than Lindsey had hoped. But his case load had been heavy, and he couldn't allow his personal research to interfere with the firm's work. In the back of his head had lived the hope that the damn vampire would just die and it had nearly happened a few times. But the bastard had always managed to pull through. Once at Xander's expense. The idiot boy had pushed his precious Angel out of the way of a crossbow and taken the bolt in his own leg. He'd almost bled to death before they could get him to a hospital.
It made him sick that the younger man was throwing himself away on the "souled" demon. But it had made him realize that merely killing the vampire wouldn't be enough. He had to completely destroy him.
So he had searched--and searched--for the right spell. There was no such thing as "permanent," not when you dealt with magic. His diligence had finally paid off.
A cold smile on his face, Lindsey gathered his notes and the Egyptian scroll, and put a call in to Holland's secretary. "Beth, does he have a minute today? I think I have a solution to a long-standing problem."
**
Just after lunch, he got his chance to present his case to Holland. The man listened to his proposal and scanned the text. "Beth, please send Lucas in."
Lindsey hid a smile, having expected this, and waited.
The half-demon walked in a few moments later. Holland slid the scroll and Lindsey's brief over to him. "Lindsey's come up with an interesting, and potentially lucrative, solution to our vampire problem. Will it work?"
"This is for mummies."
"It's for cursed immortals with a soul," Lindsey corrected ever so softly. "Most of which happen to be mummies."
Lucas read over the scroll again, thinking. Finally he nodded. "It could work. But we need to identify the tpy ka'mri."
"It's that Slayer," Lindsey replied, "they had something special."
Lucas threw him a slightly annoyed glance, "It's not that simple."
"Maybe not, but this should positively identify the soul we need," Lindsey said, sliding another spell over to Lucas and hiding his irritation with the half-demon's attitude.
This time Lucas read and nodded immediately. "Yes."
"Living or dead?" Holland asked.
"This covers both."
"Excellent. Very good work, Lindsey," Holland beamed at him, then turned to his aide, "I want you to get moving on this right away." He held up a hand to forestall Lindsey's objection. "Don't worry, Lindsey, the senior partners will know exactly whose idea this was. But I think you'll agree that Lucas is more well versed in the finer aspects of the execution of your proposal."
Lindsey did not want to agree, but forced a smile and nodded. "Of course. I will be there." It was a statement that tried too hard not to be a question.
"Of course." Holland smiled at him again but his attention was already shifting back to Lucas. It was a clear dismissal and Lindsey made himself nod and walk away. Holland would do right by him, he kept reminding himself of that. And it wasn't really important that he perform the spell himself. Holland was right, magic wasn't his forté. All that mattered was it would happen, and he would be there to see it.
**
Holland tracked Lindsey's progress down the hall on his personal monitor, waited until the man had entered the elevator before turning back to Lucas. "How soon can we perform the ceremony?"
"Six days. On the new moon."
"Will it work?"
Lucas nodded, "It should."
"Should, not will?"
"There are no true certainties in life, Mr. Manners."
"Of course." He leaned back on the plush leather chair, "Get on it then. Identify our key ingredient and secure it."
Lucas bowed his head in acknowledgement, started to turn to leave.
"Lucas..."
The half-demon waited.
"If it's the boy... leave Lindsey out of it."
Lucas bowed again and backed out.
****
Buffy Summers quietly sipped her drink in one corner of the room, a smile fixed on her face and her gaze constantly on the move. Her eyes kept drifting to a shady corner, but she was not about to be caught looking. Not that anyone was paying her much attention, she hardly knew a soul here. Except for the gang from Sunnydale--they had all driven down for Xander's birthday party.
Looking around the place, you'd think it was one of the kids who was having a birthday. Children outnumbered adults two to one. Like her, the kids were here because of Xander, and they clearly adored him. She personally found the notion that Xander was now a swimming teacher and occasional chaperone a bit on the wiggy side, but taking a step back she could see why the kids loved him. He had all the qualities that had made her 4th grade English teacher her favorite--neither one talked down to kids, they weren't afraid to look silly, they listened, and they knew how to laugh and make other people laugh. It was a pity the Children's Community Center couldn't afford to take him on full time and he still had to work at the health club part time. Not that it was affecting his status as one of the family.
No, Xander's place here wasn't a surprise. Angel's place here, however, was. Big time. Her ex was currently holding court in front of a dozen enthusiastic children, plus Gunn and Riley. All of whom breathlessly waited for Angel to balance yet another spoon on his face, to add to the four already there.
It must be a guy thing. The sight alone was freak-worthy and she thought she was handling it very well. A part of her wanted to hunt for the pods or check for green blood or maybe black oil. Throw him up against a wall: Who are you and what have you done with Angel?
She didn't. She sipped, smiled, and made sure no one caught her staring.
She was barely over the whole notion of Xander and Angel. As in, Xander and Angel. Together. In every possible way. That had been trippy enough, but Will and Giles had broken it to her almost a month before. She'd prepped herself for it. Seeing it wasn't quite the shock she thought it might be, certainly not compared with The Amazing Spoon Boy in the corner. And thinking about it, she had seen the signs as far back as last Christmas. She'd seen them, but jumped to the wrong conclusion. Not that anyone could blame her. Not really.
*
The L.A. scoobies had come down for the Christmas holiday. Everyone had converged at her mother's house for dinner that first night, minus Dawn, who was spending a semester in Japan, thanks to the high school's exchange program. They all gathered 'round the TV for a double feature of "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th St." Xander and Cordelia had ended up on the couch along with Willow and Tara. Weird coincidence: they had all fallen asleep, each pair cuddling together. She had dozed on Riley, too, she knew, but she'd been awake enough to catch the looks Angel occasionally sent toward Cordy and Xander, especially when Cordelia had snuggled closer, her arm wrapped around Xander, and practically in his lap. And she had definitely been awake when the movie ended and Giles, Wesley and Angel got up to leave and go to Giles' place, where they--and Xander--were supposed to be staying. Angel moved to wake Xander up, but her mom had stopped him.
"Let them sleep, they look exhausted, the poor dears."
"We do need to get going, Joyce," Giles said.
"I know. And I know about Cordelia and Xander. They've been living together for almost a year, it's silly to split them up, let them both stay here. Besides, I'm sure you could all use a break from the kids."
Angel had opened his mouth to say something, and Buffy was sure she saw Wesley nudge him. It was the ex-Watcher that spoke, "Right. Why disturb them if you're all right with them staying here. Angel and I will go get Xander's bag from the car and bring it right in."
Angel had followed Wesley out without another word, but he sure hadn't been quiet in any other way. Gone was the man who could disappear in the blink of an eye. Enter King Klutz. Who banged the door, rustled the bushes outside, and even set off the car alarm. Not that that did any good. Not even Will and Tara had stirred, all of them too used to grabbing whatever sleep they could to let a little honking wake them up.
She caught the quick glare Angel had sent towards the couch and the control in his voice when they had all said their good nights and agreed to meet at Giles' the next day for a day-long Christmas Eve fest. And she was watching closely when her mom finally did wake the couch group up, and Xander and Cordelia were told of the new sleeping arrangements. Cordelia had looked amused, Xander mortified.
"Mrs.-Mrs. Summers," Xander stammered.
"It's all right. We're all adults here. Sleep well, we've already taken your bags up to the guest room."
Cordelia had smiled and thanked her, and taken Xander well in hand all the way into the bedroom. After they said goodbye to Will and Tara, Buffy had followed, leaving Riley and her mom tidying up downstairs. She was in time to hear Cordelia's laughter and Xander's, "Not funny, he's gonna kill me! He'll probably kill both of us."
"Chill, it's Christmas. I'm sure he and Wes are laughing hysterically about it right now."
"Yeah right."
"I just wish I could have seen his face." Giggles from Cordelia.
"Oh man..." now Xander laughed, too. "You know, that would almost make impending death worth it."
Buffy had heard enough, wandered into the bathroom to think. It seemed obvious to her that Angel and Cordelia had gotten together recently. And she was mostly ok with that. It had been nearly four years. She had Riley, it was only fair that Angel have someone, too. Given that they all lived in each other's pockets in L.A., it had been bound to happen. Once, she might not have been ready for this, but she'd learned a lot--grown up a lot--since losing Riley and more in working to get back together with him again.
By the time she left the bathroom, she congratulated herself on having seen what was happening between Angel and Cordelia and being happy for them. She was even touched that they obviously weren't saying anything in order to spare her feelings during the holiday.
By graduation that summer they'd all been told that Xander was bi, and he very definitely wasn't staying with Cordy in the guest room. Gunn was. She tried to see if Angel was all right, but he hung around Xander, mostly. To give Cordy some space, she figured. And maybe show he was ok with Xander's bi-thing, make sure that everyone else was, too. Like a good friend should. Or so she thought.
Even Angel's reaction at dinner hadn't tipped her off. She had made some ill-advised, off-hand remark about it being a pity that Xander took a while to come out since Graham had always thought he was cute, but now the ex-soldier lived in Chicago, so opportunity lost...
Xander had smiled politely, while Angel interjected a too-even, "Who's Graham?"
Cordelia kept talking to Willow but both women were watching the two men, as were Giles, Gunn and Wesley. All five were visibly relieved when the conversation wandered elsewhere.
*
Looking back, Buffy shook her head. Blind much? One good thing though--this whole situation had really made her think. And she knew she desperately needed to talk to Xander.
"I can't believe that's the same guy who cleaned my clock in the alley that one time," Riley said, breaking into her thoughts. "I mean, who would even believe he's a vampire." Riley's voice dropped dramatically on the last word.
She smiled, "What was the final tally?"
"Six." He couldn't quite hide his admiration. "I did four once, but never six."
It had to be a guy thing. "You're all nuts, and I definitely need another slurpee."
"Want me to get it for you?" he offered.
She shook her head, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm a big Slayer, I can get it myself. You know, I'm sure Angel would give you some pointers with the spoons if you asked."
Riley contemplated it for half a second, then looked embarrassed at having given it that much thought, "I don't think so."
She smiled again, "You never know, stranger things have happened. Excuse me for a sec, cherry slurpee calls." She saw Wesley making his way over to Riley, threw the ex-Watcher a grateful smile for keeping her boyfriend company. Seems like everyone had come a long way since high school.
The cherry slurpee was less of a factor in her sudden need to relocate than the fact she'd spotted Xander and one of the center's directors by the machine. It looked like it was just about out of... something.
"We need more ice and more syrup, I think we have some in the back or maybe downstairs, Xander--god, I'm sorry, you're the guest of honor, you shouldn't be running around today," Margo was telling him.
He smiled. "The guest of honor has arms and best of all, he already knows where you keep all the supplies. Be back in a sec."
"Need an extra set of arms?" Buffy offered. "Purely selfish reasons," she held up her empty glass, "I'm in desperate need of a fix."
Xander nodded and kept the smile, but there was something warier about his entire body. She really, really needed to talk to him.
**
Angel saw Buffy heading for the slurpee machine, where Xander was. He easily saw the tension in his lover's body, and frowned. "Gunn," he said, not looking at the young man. "Would you do me a favor?"
"Already on it, man," he replied, having noticed the same things Angel had. "He's my friend, too."
**
"Ice is in the freezer in the basement, we should probably get that first," Xander said.
"Xan," she placed her hand lightly on his arm. He stopped immediately. "I was hoping we might talk a little bit."
"Hey X-man," Gunn said as he sauntered into the kitchen. "Heard a nasty rumor that the slurpee machine is out of fuel. Need a hand?"
"So much helpfulness in the world today. Kinda gives you that Jiminy Crickett, 'When You Wish Upon A Star' feeling, doesn't it?" Xander replied, knowing exactly why Gunn was here, and getting less anxious and more curious to find out why Buffy was. "Since you're so much cooler than us backwater 'burb kids, you can get the ice."
Sharp brown eyes flickered from him to the deceptively tiny blonde at his side, but Gunn nodded. Didn't have much choice if he didn't want to make a scene. "Be up in a second."
"Take your time. There's plenty of sugary goodness out there to keep those kids hyper for days."
Buffy smiled with no teeth as Gunn went past them, and silently followed Xander to the back pantry. He took down two bottles, a red and a blue, set them on a more convenient shelf, then leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "You said you wanted to talk."
"Actually, what I want to do is apologize."
He frowned, confused. "What for?"
"For being a lousy friend."
**
Gunn booked it down the stairs and to the set of freezers along one wall of the basement. He checked the second door, saw what he needed. There were six bags of ice down there, three should do the trick. Before he could get them, an odd noise made him pause and had him instinctively reaching for a stake that wasn't there. He hadn't come packing today, there were too many kids to risk it. And the party started in broad daylight, there was no reason he should need it. But the back of his neck was itching like crazy and he had a belly full of rattlers, as one of his neighbors used to say.
He turned around, surveyed the semi-dark room uneasily. What was tripping his alarms? He ventured down the hall, grabbed an old mop leaning in a corner. It was probably nothing. But he hadn't stayed alive on the streets this long by ignoring his instincts and his instincts were screaming that something was wrong. He felt a breeze as he rounded the corner, saw some light pouring in. That wasn't right. Those doors should be closed now. He went to close them, gripped the mop tighter.
"I wouldn't, if I were you," said a voice from the shadows.
Gunn whirled, handle at the ready.
"Nice mop, Pet, what d'you plan to do, swab me to death?"
"Who the fuck are you?"
"Party crasher. Here to see an old mate or two, wish the birthday boy a happy one. Imagine my surprise when I find I'm not the only one coming in the back door."
"I asked you a question."
"I'm not the one you should be worried about." Spike moved faster than the human eye could follow, yanked both Gunn and his mop close and into the boiler room, clamped a hand over his mouth. "They are."
**
"What?" Xander asked, sure he hadn't heard right.
"Let's just say it's been a real wake up call. First when you had Will and Giles tell me that you're bi, and then about Angel. Look, it hurt that you didn't tell me yourself. And that even my mom knew the whole story before I did."
She shook her head when he would have interrupted, "Don't apologize. That's not why I said that." She looked down, her arms crossed. "It made me think. I started wondering why you didn't want to tell me yourself. Why pretty much everyone I knew agreed that they had to be careful what they told me and when." Her voice dropped, "I came up with lots of reasons."
Buffy took a deep breath, and her eyes were clear and steady as she met his startled gaze. "A lot of stuff came up when we had that fight, the one before the Unity spell, remember? I apologized to Will, but I never did to you. And not a lot changed afterwards, either. I know it's a few years late, but I'm apologizing now."
"Buff--"
She shook her head, "Please, let me finish. If I don't get this out now, I might never. And that would be bad. Because I really want to tell you that Angel... he's different with you. I mean really different. The best kind of different. And when you two are together... the happiness looks good, Xander. On both of you."
He watched her intently. "You're really ok with this, with me, and him, and the fact that we're an us?"
She smiled a little, nodded. "You're good for each other. Like Riley is for me. It's been a bumpy road for all of us, but I think we ended up with the people we're supposed to be with."
He stared at her in utter shock for a very long moment. "Thank you," he whispered, opening his arms and pulling her close.
She went to him with relief, and her own gratitude, "Thank you."
**
"Don't move," Spike hissed.
Gunn was still, pressed against the cool door with his new pal, watching through the bent metal slats in the door. He wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but the dark shapes moving down the hall argued for a little bit of faith. Especially when he spotted the funky guns.
"You gonna stay nice and quiet, Pet, or do I have to knock you out?" Spike asked, voice barely loud enough to carry.
Gunn made himself go even more still. That satisfied his captor/rescuer, and he let go of his mouth.
"What's the plan?" Gunn said in the same low tone.
"The plan is we hide until they're past us and run like hell the other way. He may be a right wanker, but Peaches needs to know about this."
"Peaches?"
Spike grimaced, rolled his eyes. "Angel."
"He know you call him Peaches?"
"I've called him worse." He pulled them both further into shadow, putting his own body slightly in front of the other man's.
"You know those folks, too?"
Spike shook his head, held a finger to his lips.
Gunn immediately went quiet. He could almost feel something approaching, held his breath as the pale figure before him tensed. One beat, two, five. Nothing happened. Gradually he felt himself relaxing, just as Blondie was. The other man finally moved away and gave him room.
"They went back the way you came. Is there another way up to the main room?"
Gunn shook his head.
"Right. Then we do this the hard way. I swear this time, I'm finally getting a damn cell phone." He opened the door and strode down the hall, quiet and sleek as a cat. Gunn followed, still wondering who the hell Blondie was.
**
Xander pulled away slightly, "I think I owe you an apology, too. We all do. We didn't give you a chance--"
The lights went out and they both tensed, breaking away from each other and taking up defensive stances automatically.
"Edison strikes again?" she asked.
"Could be," he said, but something inside him wasn't buying it. Apparently, Buffy was having the same trouble.
"Could be but it's not," she said, poking her head around the pantry door. She never saw the men, or the beam that struck her. With a grunt she went down.
"Buffy," Xander immediately went to her, intending to drag her back into the relative cover of the pantry. He saw a shadow move in front of him but had nowhere to go when the beam flashed again and he knew nothing.
**
Two of the shapes came forward. "That's the one, just like he said."
"And the girl?"
The other used his foot to turn her over, grunted. "The Slayer. Hit her again and take her. She might be worth something." His partner took aim, fired twice.
"Can't be too careful," he said as he crouched down to pick her up.
"Right."
Hefting the unconscious bodies over their shoulders, the two men moved back to the stairs. A third shadow accompanied them along the ceiling.
**
Spike and Gunn were almost back at the freezers when the lights went out.
"Shit," the blond swore and speeded up.
They had started up the stairs when the door swung open and they spied the same shadowy figures they had seen before. "Dive!"
Gunn had figured that one out on his own, was already throwing himself over the railing and back down. He wasn't fast enough. The men at the top of the stairs weren't human. He barely had an instant to register the sting, then the world faded to black.
Spike moved almost as quickly as the demons at the top of the stairs, and wasn't encumbered by two human bodies. He eluded them for half a second more. Could have been longer, but he never saw the third shape on the ceiling.
His final conscious thought was to aim himself where he would do the most good, twisted to hit the empty garbage cans lined up at the bottom of the stairs. The last thing he heard was a satisfyingly loud crash.
**
"We'll go on ahead. Collect your pet," said the taller demon, glancing at the ceiling. The blob seemed to nod and drifted over to a side corridor, where the room with the circuit breakers was. Standing by them was a woman. Her name had been Sherilyn Gonzales, and she had worked at the center for 30 years. She had died four hours past, when a hgesh demon took control of her body. Now its master was here to collect it. Its milky tendrils reached out of her mouth, nose, and ears straight up, reforming into a thick, eel-like shape and disappearing into the folds of the thing that commanded it. Sherilyn's body fell to the ground. Neither demon noticed.
**
Angel tried to hover unobtrusively by the hall leading to the kitchen, knew he wasn't quite succeeding when Cordelia came over.
"Don't worry. Will said she took it fine," she told him.
He snorted, "Handling surprises well is not one of Buffy's strengths."
"Maybe she's growing up," Cordelia suggested, then paused to listen to herself, shook all over. "And I so can't believe I said that."
That earned a grin, "I guess if you can do it, anybody can."
She stuck her tongue out at him and was about to say something more when a flicker caught her eye. "Lights."
"Huh?"
"The light, down the hall, near the kitchen. It's out."
Angel started moving before consciously deciding to do so. Cordelia was right on his heels and their movement alerted Riley, who had been keeping an eye on Angel more or less out of habit. Riley followed them down the hall, saw the darkness ahead. Too many lights out for it to be the bulbs. Could be a blown fuse but from the evident tension in the pair ahead of him, they didn't think so and neither did he.
Angel slowed by the double doors to the kitchen. "I don't hear anything. There-there should be--"
"Heartbeats, " Cordelia finished for him as they both burst through, both wishing they had weapons. She detoured by a set of drawers to at least grab a knife, noticed Riley for the first time.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Cordelia grabbed another knife and passed it to him, shook her head. "Nothing. We hope."
Angel had poked his head around the corner into the back pantry, smelled Xander and Buffy's scents but there was no sign of them or of a struggle. He came back around and shook his head in response to their unvoiced question.
"Maybe they went outside?" she ventured.
"Is there a way out of here besides the way we came?"
"Yeah, the basement or--"
A crash interrupted Angel's reply, and as one they ran, Angel in the lead and Cordelia between him and Riley.
"Basement?" the ex-commando asked. She nodded, paused as Angel reached the door and yanked. The knob came away in his hand and he kicked the door open, eyes automatically adjusting to the darkness below. He picked out one form immediately, "Spike?!" He didn't bother with the stairs, jumped over the railing directly to his fallen childe.
It was Cordelia who saw the shuffle along the ceiling, "Angel, look out!" Shouted even as she threw herself and Riley back through the open doorway.
Angel saw the manta demon and dove away just in time, grabbed one of the cans Spike had knocked over and hurled it at the thing. That spoiled its second shot and made it decide that discretion was the better part of valor. It fired a couple more shots as it retreated down the hall.
"Fuck," Angel got to his feel and stumbled after it, Riley pounding down the stairs in his wake. A sizzling yellow beam slowed them both as they ducked but continued on. The thing moved much faster than a vampire, though, and was soon disappearing through the open door at the end of the corridor.
Angel rushed forward but afternoon sunlight still streamed out, he couldn't follow. Riley ran up the steps but saw nothing, not even a car.
"They're gone," Angel told him, a violent crash underscoring his words.
"Buffy?" Riley asked as he rejoined the vampire.
"And Xander."
Riley contributed a few choice curses, ended with a sharp kick at defenseless cardboard. "We gotta go after them."
Angel was tempted to reply with a "no shit Sherlock"--he had definitely been hanging around with Xander and Cordy too long--but he sympathized with Riley a bit too much. "We will."
"Any idea who took them?" Riley felt somewhat reassured by the cold determination in the other's voice.
"Demons. We saw the manta, there had to be others. A manta can't carry much weight."
"Are we sure they took them?" Riley asked, flushed when the vampire shot him a look. "I mean Spike was back there, looked like someone else, too, maybe--"
"No."
The absolute certainty in Angel's voice silenced him. It's not like he really thought they were still here, he just... hoped.
"What do we do first?" Riley asked, the soldier in him automatically ceding leadership to the local commander.
"Cordelia probably got Wesley and Giles already. We need to make sure there's no one else down here."
"But you said--"
"Xander and Buffy aren't here. But--"
"Bodies," Riley supplied, grim-faced. "I'll take the left."
Angel nodded and they split up, Riley back out to check the parking lot and Angel heading towards the main room, where they'd come in. Willow and Tara met him three-quarters of the way there.
"Any sign of them?" Willow asked.
"No. What about Gunn?" He had recognized the young man's scent in the hallway.
"Knocked out, but Giles says he should be fine. Spike too."
"Go back to them and get set to do a scrying spell. I need to check the rest of the basement and fix the lights."
"Cordelia went to do that," Tara offered diffidently, still shy around the vampire.
Angel frowned, speeded up. A few moments later he was back in the main room, saw a still groggy Spike helping Giles with Gunn. The lights came back on. Nodding at Giles and receiving one in return, Angel then hurried to the electrical room. There, he found Wesley crouched near the body of an older woman who looked familiar while Cordy stood by the circuit breakers, arms firmly crossed, a light sheen of tears in her hazel eyes.
Wesley looked up, nodded in acknowledgement. "Hgesh demon."
Angel had expected it. "We saw the manta."
Wesley nodded once again--where there was one there was usually the other.
Angel moved to Cordelia, touched her lightly on the arm. "Are you all right?"
"I will be," she said. "Any sign of Xander or Buffy?"
He shook his head and it was her turn to reach out and comfort him. "Maybe Spike or Gunn saw something."
"Maybe."
"We're going to find them."
"I know." They had to. Anything else was not an option. "We have to call Kate. Contain this. And get her body out of here."
Five years ago Wesley might have been appalled. Now he merely nodded. The police would learn nothing from this crime scene, man's laws would yield no justice for the poor woman who'd died. And she was past caring where she lay.
Back to Part 1
Or on to Part 3
Yet to Nature True, Part 2
**
After a while they stretched out, Xander held protectively close to Angel, his head pillowed on the vampire's chest. The shaking had stopped and they had been silent for some time.
"I thought it would be weird, you know? Not hearing a heartbeat. But I like the quiet," Xander's soft words barely stirred the silence, as gentle as his fingers slowly tracing a pattern over Angel's chest.
Angel smiled, his own fingers happily buried in Xander's silky hair, "I'm glad you like it. I can do quiet."
Xander smiled back, "And I can do anything but."
"Not exactly," Angel said, nudging his lover's face so he could look at him. "I don't say anything. You don't say anything that really matters to you."
"Sounds like we need to work on our communication skills." A teasing grin.
Angel felt the last of the fear melt from his stomach, contained the smile, "We will." He let the peace linger over them for a few minutes longer, but there were things they still needed to communicate about. Fairly urgently. "Tell me about Lindsey. Please."
Reluctantly, Xander did. Telling him more about that "lost" summer than he ever had before, and more about his feelings for Lindsey McDonald than Angel had really wanted to know. But he had asked, and Xander had answered. "You really cared about him."
Xander raised himself a bit, eyed him warily, but didn't lie. "Yeah. I did. But not anymore. I couldn't. I--he started to make me an offer--I just, I felt sick. I mean--it was so hard to believe that the guy I thought I knew really thought the things he did were ok. Like as long as the money was good it didn't matter that the people he worked for regularly killed other people and stuff. I mean--"
"I know." He brushed his lips over Xander's hair, "You're a good man."
"No, I--"
"You are. You're wrong, I'm right, get over it," Angel said, using Xander's favorite line when they argued over music. And clothes. And movies.
A grin came, "Your delivery's off." And went, "What are we gonna do?"
Angel knew what he wanted to do: take his lover far away, find an island somewhere that had no vampires or demons or capricious Powers, and spend the rest of their lives making love and walking on the beach. Short of that, he tightened his hold, "Be very careful. Keep better track of Lindsey. Find out how he got those ashes in your locker in the first place. Figure out how he found out about us."
Xander nodded, snuggled close, "I think I know that last one. When we were leaving the club a couple of nights ago, I thought I saw his car zipping away. There are a lot of silver Mercedes in this town, but..."
"You're probably right. It's the last place we were together in public."
Xander frowned, thinking a bit, "I think it's the only place we've ever been together in public."
Now Angel frowned, "Can't be. We go lots of places together--"
"But usually they're fighting-evil related. Or they could be. And the couple that aren't look pretty innocent."
"You think he's been watching you."
"I think Wolfram & Hart always keeps tabs on us. So do you. What the firm knows, Lindsey probably knows."
Angel didn't disagree--they each knew that they were probably under some form of surveillance more or less all the time, but he'd put it out of his mind long since. He had to, to function. But this was different. It was... personal.
"Quit your job," Angel said.
"And that will help how?"
"It..." the vampire struggled to justify the impulsive words with something remotely rational. "It's one less place you're alone and more vulnerable."
"It's also a much needed source of income for me and my landlord."
"So move in."
"Even ignoring Cordy--which is impossible--uhm, no."
"Why?"
"Because." Xander shifted until he could look at Angel. "We're not ready for that. I'm not ready for that. The mortal needs time to adjust--it's been kind of an eventful day. Major scare and worldview undergoing titanic shift and all."
Angel stroked his back, feeling the hurt again, weighing the words, "You really thought I'd use you like that."
Xander lowered his eyes, hiding them behind absurdly thick lashes, shrugged as diffidently as he could within Angel's tight hold. "Well, it's not like any of us have a lot of choices. I mean Cordy and I talk about it all the time. It's why I broke up with Curtis--for us to keep going he would have to know about... y'know, everything... That's a lot to ask from somebody."
Angel went cold, "Is that why you went along with it?"
Xander lightly touched the cool flesh of his lover's face, "It's why I wanted to want to go along with it. It's not why I did." He paused. "Did that make any sense?"
Smiling again, Angel nodded, carefully brushing back a strand of the young man's hair. There was still a visible trace of shock and wonder in Xander's face that he was the one reassuring Angel. It did as much to assuage Angel's fears as the words and the touch, but also brought home to him just how much his lover needed the same from him.
Flowery verbal declarations weren't going to cut it with Xander. He'd pretty much said all he could anyway. So he tried something else, which would also take care of the unexpected problem he'd been having at the club. The experience had not been a pleasant one, even discounting his own less than stellar turn on the dance floor. He kissed the tip of Xander's nose. "Now that we've got that cleared up, there are a couple of other things we should straighten out."
"Like what?"
"Like Frank Lee, Donald Hayes, and Gerry Cruz. Hands off."
Xander started to laugh, saw no trace of answering amusement on Angel's face. "You can't be serious. Hands are never on. We just dance."
"Is that what you call it."
Xander studied him some more, trying to decide whether this was just a heretofore unsuspected level of pokerfaced-ness from Angel or something deeper.
Angel let him know the truth, allowing himself to dwell on some of the imagery, especially with Gerry. There had been one particularly close dance where he would swear Gerry had done some unauthorized pinching, and a tiny growl escaped.
Xander's eyes widened as he heard that, shock and amusement flickering in his face. "Surprise guest appearance from the Cave-vamp! So tell me, ye of the hairless chest thumping: Is this your own personal tribute to the Lord of the Apes or a freaky vampire thing?"
"A little of both," Angel admitted. "You might have noticed that vampires are possessive by nature, and I can be. Am, with you."
"You never were before."
"That's not exactly true. I just never said anything."
"Why?"
"Didn't know if I could. And I didn't want to scare you."
"Oh." Xander studied him for a long moment, then leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his favorite UnDeadboy's mouth. "Hmm. Very not scary."
Angel smiled and brought Xander's head down for another kiss, tongue saying a leisurely good-bye as they parted.
Xander sighed, folded his arms over Angel's chest, rested his head upon them, and contemplated his lover. "So. How badly did you want to go all Grr during Frank's salsa lesson? Cuz I gotta tell you, Don and Gerry can go, but Frank is a god on the dance floor and no way am I giving him up, at least not until you become a better dancer."
Angel thought about that for a moment, "Define better."
"At least as good as me."
"I can do that," Angel decided.
Xander laughed, "Delusional much? You've been around for what, over 270 years? I'm pretty sure if the rhythm was gonna get you, it would've happened by now. Which leaves me with a bright future full of Latin dances ahead of me."
"I was lacking the proper incentive."
"So now I'm incentive?" Xander grinned, delighted. "Just how much incentive do you need? He promised to teach me the passo doble in a few weeks, and I know he said something about the Argentine tango--"
Angel growled and abruptly rolled and pinned Xander, "The only person you're ever going to tango with, is me. Got that?"
Xander's grin widened, and his cock jerked to attention at this display from his lover. Exaggerated or not, he knew there was a kernel of truth in there somewhere, so his voice was solemn and gentle as he whispered, "Got it." Leaning up to lick along Angel's neck, he nibbled up his jaw until Angel pushed him down and claimed his mouth.
Their lovemaking was sweet, and tender. Angel had been aware that Xander was holding back, but he'd never even come close to guessing how much. He'd never felt so... loved by anyone. Xander had been a generous bedmate, always making sure to please but he'd never been very affectionate. Now Angel was finally inside the walls and it was even better than he had imagined. So much warmth... so much caring... so much love. He might even send Lindsey a thank-you note.
He thanked Xander in person, using every ounce of skill gained over the decades to show his lover how much he was wanted, needed, and how very much he was loved. And when he had swallowed the last drop of his partner's come, he pulled him close, cradling his shaking body and gently kissing the tears from his eyes. "I love you, Xan," he whispered, "no matter what happens, please don't ever forget that."
The young man buried his face in Angel's neck, arms wrapped around him so tightly, he would have cut off circulation--had Angel had any. "Love you, too."
The words were no more than a hasty breath, but Angel heard them. And if the curse had been in effect, his soul would be making a hasty exit because Angel had never felt happier in his life.
****
Xander woke up several hours later still in Angel's arms. For a long moment he just lay there, basking in the unfamiliar sense of feeling extremely loved. And... his mind cast about for the right word. Cherished. This was what cherished felt like. He snuggled closer, breathing in the scents of their lovemaking and trying to imprint the feel of Angel wrapped around him deep inside himself. This wouldn't last--Angel was bound to come to his senses sooner or later--but for right now it was real and he would store each moment carefully. It was a lot more than he ever thought he'd have.
"Go back to sleep," Angel muttered against his shoulder.
Xander smiled, "I'm awake, you're awake. The bed's already messy. Is going back to sleep really our best option?"
"Hmm, always thinking," Angel said softly, suckling on the nearest lobe, "One of the many things I love about you."
Xander chuckled, "So you love me for my mind."
"Among other things," Angel murmured, leaving a trail of goosebumps on his lover's skin as he placed cool, wet kisses down the middle of his throat to the hollow between his collar bones.
"Oh?" Xander's voice was already husky. "Like what."
"You have great shoulders. Wide and beautiful. Why did you hide them under those awful shirts for so long?" Angel asked, licking and nipping his way up a collar bone to the top of one said shoulder. "As a matter of fact, your whole chest is a work of art. The Greeks would have loved you." He kissed down to one nipple, nibbled at it, rolling it with his tongue until it was hard and stiff, until Xander flinched and moaned if Angel so much as blew air on it, "You taste delicious, too. Must be all that chocolate."
Xander laughed, it turned into a groan as Angel pinched the sensitized nipple and sucked on the other one, the twin sensations rolling through him. Angel grinned and moved lower, his fingertips caressing his lover's sides lightly, lightly. He licked a wide stripe right down the middle of Xander's chest, laved his belly button, then went with an impulse and blew a raspberry on Xander's sensitive tummy, setting off a fit of giggles in his lover as he hastily doubled over and onto his side to protect against further attacks.
Angel merely smirked, staring at his lover's delectable ass. This couldn't have gone better if he'd planned it. Far be it for him to refuse the invitation. "Have I ever told you how perfect your ass is?"
"Can't imagine how we skipped that," Xander snickered.
Angel propped himself on one arm, undaunted. "It is, you know. I always thought that runners had the best asses, but judging by you, it's swimmers." He leaned down and gently bit one of the well-muscled mounds, licked the mark to soothe it, kissed it. "Perfect." One hand ran up and down the young man's leg, teasingly close to the barely visible balls. "I have dreams about you in those blue speedos. What would you do if I showed up at the club one night, after hours?"
He trailed some kisses down to the curve of his lover's spine, blew on the wet skin as the tip of his index finger teased at Xander's hole. "I can see you. All alone in that big pool. Would you let me touch you?" Another kiss on a cheek as the tip of his thumb caressed the perineum, followed by a slower lick of his tongue all the way from balls to hole. "Would you let me taste you? Please let me taste you, I want to lick you dry..."
"God, Angel..."
"Was that a yes?" Another lick as he reached under to stroke Xander's heavy sacs.
"God, I--"
"Yes or no?" A light tug, some careful maneuvering for a lick.
"I--yesss..."
"Then open up for me..." Angel whispered, the air from his words gently tickling the sensitive hairs of his lover's balls. Xander moved instinctively, parting his legs further for his lover, rolling over completely onto his stomach. Angel smiled and dove in. He loved to taste Xander like this, loved the heat, the strong, animal scent, the intimacy of it, loved the way it drove the younger man wild. But his lover was shy, he had to be seduced into allowing it. Not that Angel really minded performing the seduction. The payoff was the tight ring of muscle around his tongue, the heat radiating from his lover, the young man's tiny moans and whimpers, the loosening of his body as it accepted and welcomed the invader, the sweat slickening his skin and mixing with the bitter taste, the heaving breaths and pounding of his heart, and finally the helpless shudders as he was stripped of everything but need, aching for the feel of Angel's cock inside him.
After a bit more preparation, Angel was only too happy to oblige. As he sunk in, it felt like coming home. A home that was scorchingly hot, and so tight it almost hurt, it was so good. And then he began to move, slow at first but that didn't last. He needed more and so did Xander. Before, their lovemaking had been about love and reassurances. Now it was about mating. The primal need to claim what was wanted, what was needed. The joy in the freedom to do so.
Angel fairly rammed into him, and Xander met him stroke for stroke, shakily getting to his knees to find better purchase, bracing himself against the headboard, arms taut, trembling, but unaware of anything except the implacable force driving into his body, a hot-cool grip around his cock pulling him higher until he sobbed with need... just a little bit more, please, god, just a little bit...
And then the missing piece, the touch he didn't know he was missing. As he felt the cool, delicate rip of fangs sinking into his flesh, hot lips and strong suction, he fell over the edge, his orgasm flashing through him like lightning, sweeping all thought, all sense, all awareness with it.
**
"Xan?" An insistent, worried voice called him back to the world. He didn't want to listen, wanted to sink back to the velvety blackness, but worry from the other wouldn't let him. "Xander? Baby, please, I didn't mean--"
"Hmphf?"
"Xander?"
Recent events trickled in for inspection. "Wow."
He forced his eyes to open and focus. The first thing he saw was Angel's anxious face, hovering. Anxiety changed to confusion even as he watched.
"Wow?" Angel said uncertainly.
"Hmm," Xander nodded, a lazy smile on his face. He felt completely and truly sated from the tips of his toes to the depths of his soul for the first time... ever. "Very wow."
"But I--" Angel's hand darted towards his neck, to a spot Xander was just beginning to realize throbbed a bit.
He caught the hand with languid fingers, brought it to his lips and kissed it. "That was amazing."
"It was?"
"Uhm-hmm. Way, way amazing. C'mere."
Angel slowly lowered himself down, was only slightly startled when Xander took his mouth in a bruising kiss. "Wow," the vampire murmured.
Xander smiled again, brushed a heavy finger along Angel's cheek. "Couldn't agree more."
"So you really don't... mind?"
"This is not the face of a man who minds. Although I might have second thoughts tomorrow when my whole body isn't jell-o and I have to sit down. But I'm pretty sure I won't. Wow doesn't happen every day."
Angel started to smile, "It was very, uh, wow for me, too."
His lover grinned, "Wows are best when they're mutual."
"Very mutual," Angel whispered against his lips before kissing him again, slow and deep. Xander moaned into the kiss, his body melting beneath his lover's and his mind not far behind. A pair of beaming eyes regarded him warmly as they broke the kiss in deference to Xander's pesky need to breathe. Xander blinked. The vampire was... glowing. He was pretty sure Angel had never glowed before.
"You're glowing."
Angel laughed, "So are you."
"Oh." He tried to look at himself but his eyes crossed and his head started to hurt and it was all too much effort. "Ok. Sleep now?"
"Sleep now," Angel agreed with a chuckle, then leaned down and kissed each eyelid closed. Xander smiled dreamily and Angel couldn't resist one more kiss to that rosy mouth. Then he lay on the bed and pulled the puddle that was his beloved over him, closing his eyes and letting his lover's comforting scent lead him into sleep.
****
Xander worked his way up the layers of sleep languidly, feeling that Sunday morning laziness permeating his body even though somewhere in the back of his head he knew it wasn't Sunday. The only thing missing was his lover. A slight frown drifted onto his face and he opened his eyes. Smiled. Angel wasn't there, but he had been and the romantic lug had left him a red rose on the pillow. God only knows where he'd gotten it, but it was there. And underneath it, a flat package in plain wrapping.
Curious, he reached over and tore the wrapping, a wide smile lighting his face. "Best of Looney Tunes: 50 Years of Great Cartoons, the Collector's Edition DVD, including the classic 'What's Opera, Doc?'" It was perfect but how the hell had Angel scrounged that up in the middle of the night? Shaking his head at the mysterious ways of a certain broody vamp, he set the DVD aside for later viewing with more discipline than he would have given himself credit for.
Xander took another moment to smell the rose--it was even the good kind, which had a smell--then reluctantly acknowledged that he really should be upright. A glance at the clock assured him he could still make it to work. Good. One less thing to deal with. Sitting up brought protests from certain well-used parts of his body, and a few twinges in his neck. Another smile. Finally, a scar with good memories. He vaguely wondered why he wasn't more upset about this, after all, he'd spent the better part of the past six years trying to avoid being bitten by vampires. But the old rules, like the old judgements, didn't apply to Angel anymore.
The thought revived his frown as doubts returned with a vengeance. Angel knew too much now. He had actually said the fatal words. He was too far in, it might cause permanent damage when the break-up came. And what if he'd been lying? Xander felt hollow at the thought, that Sunday morning glow disappearing and leaving a frozen blizzard in its wake. It was just the sort of thing the vampire would do. Not to be mean. He didn't believe that anymore. Angel was kind, far more so than he'd ever suspected. He could be lying to protect him. He'd probably looked so pathetic the vampire couldn't help but lie.
Shit. Who could he ask? Angel had already been up to the office. He could've told Wesley what to say. His own relationship with the ex-Watcher was much better than it had been back in Sunnydale, but he had no doubts that Wesley's first loyalties were to Angel.
Would Cordy tell him the truth? Ordinarily, yes. But she'd definitely lie to spare his feelings, that protective streak looming large--
Suddenly Xander stopped. Cordelia. He grinned, weak-kneed in relief. Cordy would've dragged his sorry butt over every mile of highway back to Sunnydale rather than stand by and let Xander get himself into a userly relationship with the vampire. And she might just stake Angel with his own bedpost and cheerfully tell him to DustBuster the mess away if he hurt him. It's what best friends do.
Silently, he again sent thanks for her presence in his life and vowed to deserve her friendship.
"Fuck." Starting with making sure she hadn't been targeted by his personal legal stalker. Mind full of what could have happened, Xander ran for the stairs, forgetting his nude state.
Footsteps behind him made him halt. Angel stood at the bottom of the landing and smiled at him, eyes very obviously taking in his body, and just as obviously enjoying the view. Xander blushed scarlet, aware now of every very exposed part.
"I thought you might be awake."
"That happens in the morning. Sometimes." He glanced beyond Angel to the offices above, worry evident even through the blush that refused to fade.
"Relax. They're ok," Angel told him, stepping closer. "Cordelia spent the night here, nothing happened. Wesley and Gunn checked on Lindsey, we still don't know how he got those ashes in your locker, but he didn't so much as stir out of his apartment last night."
Relief drained some of the color away and he looked up, sent off a silent, "Thank you." Saw Angel staring at him again, but the teasing desire was gone. It took less than a second to figure out why. His hand instinctively went to his neck. "It's ok. I'm ok. No regrets."
Angel searched his face for a long minute. The naked emotion on that normally impassive face as the vampire saw he was telling the truth overwhelmed him and he had to look away, blushing again. It was hard to see that aimed at him. "I, uh, I'd better go take a shower, don't want to be late for work."
"Xander."
Just his name but no one had ever said it like that before. Xander licked his lips, gaze flickering to his lover and down again. The desire was back and so much more. He felt Angel step nearer and take one of his hands in his, kissing the inside of the wrist, licking the edge of the palm. Xander watched, swallowed heavily. Angel pulled him closer, "Call in sick."
"I--" abruptly very sensitive parts of Xander came into contact with something hard and cold, and it wasn't Angel's happy. "Oww! Belt! Bad! Bad belt!"
"Shit, sorry," Angel said, flushing as much as he could and feeling like a complete idiot. So much for smooth, early morning seductions.
"It's ok, I'm out of sick days anyway," Xander said, backing up. "I'll just go take that shower now. By myself."
Angel looked crestfallen.
Xander sighed, damn the broody vampire was adorable like this. "Ok, get your clothes--and that damn belt off and c'mon. But I swear if I'm late you're sitting home tonight, in the dark, while I party with Cordy and Gunn and Frank."
Angel smiled and followed his lover into the bathroom, shedding clothes as he went. He slipped quietly into the shower behind his lover, took the soap before Xander could do it. His lover eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but presented his back. And ass. Angel smiled again and sternly told himself to be good. Xander's words echoed in his head and his smile faded a bit. "You know I used to do that."
Xander turned his head, his eyes asking the question.
"Sit home alone in the dark. I did it for years before I got to Sunnydale. And did it here more nights than I'd care to admit to." Angel fell silent, not really knowing why he'd spoken, especially about this, and wishing he could take it back. He didn't want Xander's pity. Or even his sympathy.
So he was surprised by his lover's words, at his even, matter of fact tone. "Sometimes, when I couldn't be home and I couldn't run to Will's or Jesse's, I used to go to this place in the park. It was so quiet, and even kind of beautiful really late at night. You couldn't see the rust on the swings or the rotted part of the see-saw, just moonlight shining over everything. My parents never missed me."
The eyes that met Angel's own held all the understanding he needed, but none of the pity, and asked the same from him. So he took the soap again and went back to bathing his lover. His touch gentle, constant, a reminder to both of them that they weren't alone anymore.
The rest of the shower was silent. Afterwards, Angel commandeered the towels and began to dry his lover with the same care he'd used to bathe him.
"You don't have to do that," Xander whispered.
"You can do it tomorrow."
"Deal," Xander smiled, caught a glimpse of them in the steamy bathroom mirror and chuckled.
"What?"
Xander gestured to the mirror, which showed his own foggy form, and a fluffy blue towel hanging in mid-air, rubbing itself all over him. The chuckle turned into a snorted giggle. "Kinky."
"I'll give you kinky," Angel growled, wrapping the towel around his lover and tugging him close.
"Promise?" Xander asked, grin at its most reckless.
"Try me."
Xander laughed and slipped his arms up Angel's chest and around his neck. "I think I just might have to..."
Xander was 20 minutes late for work but Angel was fairly certain a night alone was not in his future.
****
For the next week, they were on the alert, taking extra care and making sure not to go anywhere alone. But nothing happened as the week turned into weeks and into months. Eventually, things returned to normal.
****
Nearly a year later...
It had taken far longer than Lindsey had hoped. But his case load had been heavy, and he couldn't allow his personal research to interfere with the firm's work. In the back of his head had lived the hope that the damn vampire would just die and it had nearly happened a few times. But the bastard had always managed to pull through. Once at Xander's expense. The idiot boy had pushed his precious Angel out of the way of a crossbow and taken the bolt in his own leg. He'd almost bled to death before they could get him to a hospital.
It made him sick that the younger man was throwing himself away on the "souled" demon. But it had made him realize that merely killing the vampire wouldn't be enough. He had to completely destroy him.
So he had searched--and searched--for the right spell. There was no such thing as "permanent," not when you dealt with magic. His diligence had finally paid off.
A cold smile on his face, Lindsey gathered his notes and the Egyptian scroll, and put a call in to Holland's secretary. "Beth, does he have a minute today? I think I have a solution to a long-standing problem."
**
Just after lunch, he got his chance to present his case to Holland. The man listened to his proposal and scanned the text. "Beth, please send Lucas in."
Lindsey hid a smile, having expected this, and waited.
The half-demon walked in a few moments later. Holland slid the scroll and Lindsey's brief over to him. "Lindsey's come up with an interesting, and potentially lucrative, solution to our vampire problem. Will it work?"
"This is for mummies."
"It's for cursed immortals with a soul," Lindsey corrected ever so softly. "Most of which happen to be mummies."
Lucas read over the scroll again, thinking. Finally he nodded. "It could work. But we need to identify the tpy ka'mri."
"It's that Slayer," Lindsey replied, "they had something special."
Lucas threw him a slightly annoyed glance, "It's not that simple."
"Maybe not, but this should positively identify the soul we need," Lindsey said, sliding another spell over to Lucas and hiding his irritation with the half-demon's attitude.
This time Lucas read and nodded immediately. "Yes."
"Living or dead?" Holland asked.
"This covers both."
"Excellent. Very good work, Lindsey," Holland beamed at him, then turned to his aide, "I want you to get moving on this right away." He held up a hand to forestall Lindsey's objection. "Don't worry, Lindsey, the senior partners will know exactly whose idea this was. But I think you'll agree that Lucas is more well versed in the finer aspects of the execution of your proposal."
Lindsey did not want to agree, but forced a smile and nodded. "Of course. I will be there." It was a statement that tried too hard not to be a question.
"Of course." Holland smiled at him again but his attention was already shifting back to Lucas. It was a clear dismissal and Lindsey made himself nod and walk away. Holland would do right by him, he kept reminding himself of that. And it wasn't really important that he perform the spell himself. Holland was right, magic wasn't his forté. All that mattered was it would happen, and he would be there to see it.
**
Holland tracked Lindsey's progress down the hall on his personal monitor, waited until the man had entered the elevator before turning back to Lucas. "How soon can we perform the ceremony?"
"Six days. On the new moon."
"Will it work?"
Lucas nodded, "It should."
"Should, not will?"
"There are no true certainties in life, Mr. Manners."
"Of course." He leaned back on the plush leather chair, "Get on it then. Identify our key ingredient and secure it."
Lucas bowed his head in acknowledgement, started to turn to leave.
"Lucas..."
The half-demon waited.
"If it's the boy... leave Lindsey out of it."
Lucas bowed again and backed out.
****
Buffy Summers quietly sipped her drink in one corner of the room, a smile fixed on her face and her gaze constantly on the move. Her eyes kept drifting to a shady corner, but she was not about to be caught looking. Not that anyone was paying her much attention, she hardly knew a soul here. Except for the gang from Sunnydale--they had all driven down for Xander's birthday party.
Looking around the place, you'd think it was one of the kids who was having a birthday. Children outnumbered adults two to one. Like her, the kids were here because of Xander, and they clearly adored him. She personally found the notion that Xander was now a swimming teacher and occasional chaperone a bit on the wiggy side, but taking a step back she could see why the kids loved him. He had all the qualities that had made her 4th grade English teacher her favorite--neither one talked down to kids, they weren't afraid to look silly, they listened, and they knew how to laugh and make other people laugh. It was a pity the Children's Community Center couldn't afford to take him on full time and he still had to work at the health club part time. Not that it was affecting his status as one of the family.
No, Xander's place here wasn't a surprise. Angel's place here, however, was. Big time. Her ex was currently holding court in front of a dozen enthusiastic children, plus Gunn and Riley. All of whom breathlessly waited for Angel to balance yet another spoon on his face, to add to the four already there.
It must be a guy thing. The sight alone was freak-worthy and she thought she was handling it very well. A part of her wanted to hunt for the pods or check for green blood or maybe black oil. Throw him up against a wall: Who are you and what have you done with Angel?
She didn't. She sipped, smiled, and made sure no one caught her staring.
She was barely over the whole notion of Xander and Angel. As in, Xander and Angel. Together. In every possible way. That had been trippy enough, but Will and Giles had broken it to her almost a month before. She'd prepped herself for it. Seeing it wasn't quite the shock she thought it might be, certainly not compared with The Amazing Spoon Boy in the corner. And thinking about it, she had seen the signs as far back as last Christmas. She'd seen them, but jumped to the wrong conclusion. Not that anyone could blame her. Not really.
*
The L.A. scoobies had come down for the Christmas holiday. Everyone had converged at her mother's house for dinner that first night, minus Dawn, who was spending a semester in Japan, thanks to the high school's exchange program. They all gathered 'round the TV for a double feature of "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th St." Xander and Cordelia had ended up on the couch along with Willow and Tara. Weird coincidence: they had all fallen asleep, each pair cuddling together. She had dozed on Riley, too, she knew, but she'd been awake enough to catch the looks Angel occasionally sent toward Cordy and Xander, especially when Cordelia had snuggled closer, her arm wrapped around Xander, and practically in his lap. And she had definitely been awake when the movie ended and Giles, Wesley and Angel got up to leave and go to Giles' place, where they--and Xander--were supposed to be staying. Angel moved to wake Xander up, but her mom had stopped him.
"Let them sleep, they look exhausted, the poor dears."
"We do need to get going, Joyce," Giles said.
"I know. And I know about Cordelia and Xander. They've been living together for almost a year, it's silly to split them up, let them both stay here. Besides, I'm sure you could all use a break from the kids."
Angel had opened his mouth to say something, and Buffy was sure she saw Wesley nudge him. It was the ex-Watcher that spoke, "Right. Why disturb them if you're all right with them staying here. Angel and I will go get Xander's bag from the car and bring it right in."
Angel had followed Wesley out without another word, but he sure hadn't been quiet in any other way. Gone was the man who could disappear in the blink of an eye. Enter King Klutz. Who banged the door, rustled the bushes outside, and even set off the car alarm. Not that that did any good. Not even Will and Tara had stirred, all of them too used to grabbing whatever sleep they could to let a little honking wake them up.
She caught the quick glare Angel had sent towards the couch and the control in his voice when they had all said their good nights and agreed to meet at Giles' the next day for a day-long Christmas Eve fest. And she was watching closely when her mom finally did wake the couch group up, and Xander and Cordelia were told of the new sleeping arrangements. Cordelia had looked amused, Xander mortified.
"Mrs.-Mrs. Summers," Xander stammered.
"It's all right. We're all adults here. Sleep well, we've already taken your bags up to the guest room."
Cordelia had smiled and thanked her, and taken Xander well in hand all the way into the bedroom. After they said goodbye to Will and Tara, Buffy had followed, leaving Riley and her mom tidying up downstairs. She was in time to hear Cordelia's laughter and Xander's, "Not funny, he's gonna kill me! He'll probably kill both of us."
"Chill, it's Christmas. I'm sure he and Wes are laughing hysterically about it right now."
"Yeah right."
"I just wish I could have seen his face." Giggles from Cordelia.
"Oh man..." now Xander laughed, too. "You know, that would almost make impending death worth it."
Buffy had heard enough, wandered into the bathroom to think. It seemed obvious to her that Angel and Cordelia had gotten together recently. And she was mostly ok with that. It had been nearly four years. She had Riley, it was only fair that Angel have someone, too. Given that they all lived in each other's pockets in L.A., it had been bound to happen. Once, she might not have been ready for this, but she'd learned a lot--grown up a lot--since losing Riley and more in working to get back together with him again.
By the time she left the bathroom, she congratulated herself on having seen what was happening between Angel and Cordelia and being happy for them. She was even touched that they obviously weren't saying anything in order to spare her feelings during the holiday.
By graduation that summer they'd all been told that Xander was bi, and he very definitely wasn't staying with Cordy in the guest room. Gunn was. She tried to see if Angel was all right, but he hung around Xander, mostly. To give Cordy some space, she figured. And maybe show he was ok with Xander's bi-thing, make sure that everyone else was, too. Like a good friend should. Or so she thought.
Even Angel's reaction at dinner hadn't tipped her off. She had made some ill-advised, off-hand remark about it being a pity that Xander took a while to come out since Graham had always thought he was cute, but now the ex-soldier lived in Chicago, so opportunity lost...
Xander had smiled politely, while Angel interjected a too-even, "Who's Graham?"
Cordelia kept talking to Willow but both women were watching the two men, as were Giles, Gunn and Wesley. All five were visibly relieved when the conversation wandered elsewhere.
*
Looking back, Buffy shook her head. Blind much? One good thing though--this whole situation had really made her think. And she knew she desperately needed to talk to Xander.
"I can't believe that's the same guy who cleaned my clock in the alley that one time," Riley said, breaking into her thoughts. "I mean, who would even believe he's a vampire." Riley's voice dropped dramatically on the last word.
She smiled, "What was the final tally?"
"Six." He couldn't quite hide his admiration. "I did four once, but never six."
It had to be a guy thing. "You're all nuts, and I definitely need another slurpee."
"Want me to get it for you?" he offered.
She shook her head, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm a big Slayer, I can get it myself. You know, I'm sure Angel would give you some pointers with the spoons if you asked."
Riley contemplated it for half a second, then looked embarrassed at having given it that much thought, "I don't think so."
She smiled again, "You never know, stranger things have happened. Excuse me for a sec, cherry slurpee calls." She saw Wesley making his way over to Riley, threw the ex-Watcher a grateful smile for keeping her boyfriend company. Seems like everyone had come a long way since high school.
The cherry slurpee was less of a factor in her sudden need to relocate than the fact she'd spotted Xander and one of the center's directors by the machine. It looked like it was just about out of... something.
"We need more ice and more syrup, I think we have some in the back or maybe downstairs, Xander--god, I'm sorry, you're the guest of honor, you shouldn't be running around today," Margo was telling him.
He smiled. "The guest of honor has arms and best of all, he already knows where you keep all the supplies. Be back in a sec."
"Need an extra set of arms?" Buffy offered. "Purely selfish reasons," she held up her empty glass, "I'm in desperate need of a fix."
Xander nodded and kept the smile, but there was something warier about his entire body. She really, really needed to talk to him.
**
Angel saw Buffy heading for the slurpee machine, where Xander was. He easily saw the tension in his lover's body, and frowned. "Gunn," he said, not looking at the young man. "Would you do me a favor?"
"Already on it, man," he replied, having noticed the same things Angel had. "He's my friend, too."
**
"Ice is in the freezer in the basement, we should probably get that first," Xander said.
"Xan," she placed her hand lightly on his arm. He stopped immediately. "I was hoping we might talk a little bit."
"Hey X-man," Gunn said as he sauntered into the kitchen. "Heard a nasty rumor that the slurpee machine is out of fuel. Need a hand?"
"So much helpfulness in the world today. Kinda gives you that Jiminy Crickett, 'When You Wish Upon A Star' feeling, doesn't it?" Xander replied, knowing exactly why Gunn was here, and getting less anxious and more curious to find out why Buffy was. "Since you're so much cooler than us backwater 'burb kids, you can get the ice."
Sharp brown eyes flickered from him to the deceptively tiny blonde at his side, but Gunn nodded. Didn't have much choice if he didn't want to make a scene. "Be up in a second."
"Take your time. There's plenty of sugary goodness out there to keep those kids hyper for days."
Buffy smiled with no teeth as Gunn went past them, and silently followed Xander to the back pantry. He took down two bottles, a red and a blue, set them on a more convenient shelf, then leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. "You said you wanted to talk."
"Actually, what I want to do is apologize."
He frowned, confused. "What for?"
"For being a lousy friend."
**
Gunn booked it down the stairs and to the set of freezers along one wall of the basement. He checked the second door, saw what he needed. There were six bags of ice down there, three should do the trick. Before he could get them, an odd noise made him pause and had him instinctively reaching for a stake that wasn't there. He hadn't come packing today, there were too many kids to risk it. And the party started in broad daylight, there was no reason he should need it. But the back of his neck was itching like crazy and he had a belly full of rattlers, as one of his neighbors used to say.
He turned around, surveyed the semi-dark room uneasily. What was tripping his alarms? He ventured down the hall, grabbed an old mop leaning in a corner. It was probably nothing. But he hadn't stayed alive on the streets this long by ignoring his instincts and his instincts were screaming that something was wrong. He felt a breeze as he rounded the corner, saw some light pouring in. That wasn't right. Those doors should be closed now. He went to close them, gripped the mop tighter.
"I wouldn't, if I were you," said a voice from the shadows.
Gunn whirled, handle at the ready.
"Nice mop, Pet, what d'you plan to do, swab me to death?"
"Who the fuck are you?"
"Party crasher. Here to see an old mate or two, wish the birthday boy a happy one. Imagine my surprise when I find I'm not the only one coming in the back door."
"I asked you a question."
"I'm not the one you should be worried about." Spike moved faster than the human eye could follow, yanked both Gunn and his mop close and into the boiler room, clamped a hand over his mouth. "They are."
**
"What?" Xander asked, sure he hadn't heard right.
"Let's just say it's been a real wake up call. First when you had Will and Giles tell me that you're bi, and then about Angel. Look, it hurt that you didn't tell me yourself. And that even my mom knew the whole story before I did."
She shook her head when he would have interrupted, "Don't apologize. That's not why I said that." She looked down, her arms crossed. "It made me think. I started wondering why you didn't want to tell me yourself. Why pretty much everyone I knew agreed that they had to be careful what they told me and when." Her voice dropped, "I came up with lots of reasons."
Buffy took a deep breath, and her eyes were clear and steady as she met his startled gaze. "A lot of stuff came up when we had that fight, the one before the Unity spell, remember? I apologized to Will, but I never did to you. And not a lot changed afterwards, either. I know it's a few years late, but I'm apologizing now."
"Buff--"
She shook her head, "Please, let me finish. If I don't get this out now, I might never. And that would be bad. Because I really want to tell you that Angel... he's different with you. I mean really different. The best kind of different. And when you two are together... the happiness looks good, Xander. On both of you."
He watched her intently. "You're really ok with this, with me, and him, and the fact that we're an us?"
She smiled a little, nodded. "You're good for each other. Like Riley is for me. It's been a bumpy road for all of us, but I think we ended up with the people we're supposed to be with."
He stared at her in utter shock for a very long moment. "Thank you," he whispered, opening his arms and pulling her close.
She went to him with relief, and her own gratitude, "Thank you."
**
"Don't move," Spike hissed.
Gunn was still, pressed against the cool door with his new pal, watching through the bent metal slats in the door. He wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but the dark shapes moving down the hall argued for a little bit of faith. Especially when he spotted the funky guns.
"You gonna stay nice and quiet, Pet, or do I have to knock you out?" Spike asked, voice barely loud enough to carry.
Gunn made himself go even more still. That satisfied his captor/rescuer, and he let go of his mouth.
"What's the plan?" Gunn said in the same low tone.
"The plan is we hide until they're past us and run like hell the other way. He may be a right wanker, but Peaches needs to know about this."
"Peaches?"
Spike grimaced, rolled his eyes. "Angel."
"He know you call him Peaches?"
"I've called him worse." He pulled them both further into shadow, putting his own body slightly in front of the other man's.
"You know those folks, too?"
Spike shook his head, held a finger to his lips.
Gunn immediately went quiet. He could almost feel something approaching, held his breath as the pale figure before him tensed. One beat, two, five. Nothing happened. Gradually he felt himself relaxing, just as Blondie was. The other man finally moved away and gave him room.
"They went back the way you came. Is there another way up to the main room?"
Gunn shook his head.
"Right. Then we do this the hard way. I swear this time, I'm finally getting a damn cell phone." He opened the door and strode down the hall, quiet and sleek as a cat. Gunn followed, still wondering who the hell Blondie was.
**
Xander pulled away slightly, "I think I owe you an apology, too. We all do. We didn't give you a chance--"
The lights went out and they both tensed, breaking away from each other and taking up defensive stances automatically.
"Edison strikes again?" she asked.
"Could be," he said, but something inside him wasn't buying it. Apparently, Buffy was having the same trouble.
"Could be but it's not," she said, poking her head around the pantry door. She never saw the men, or the beam that struck her. With a grunt she went down.
"Buffy," Xander immediately went to her, intending to drag her back into the relative cover of the pantry. He saw a shadow move in front of him but had nowhere to go when the beam flashed again and he knew nothing.
**
Two of the shapes came forward. "That's the one, just like he said."
"And the girl?"
The other used his foot to turn her over, grunted. "The Slayer. Hit her again and take her. She might be worth something." His partner took aim, fired twice.
"Can't be too careful," he said as he crouched down to pick her up.
"Right."
Hefting the unconscious bodies over their shoulders, the two men moved back to the stairs. A third shadow accompanied them along the ceiling.
**
Spike and Gunn were almost back at the freezers when the lights went out.
"Shit," the blond swore and speeded up.
They had started up the stairs when the door swung open and they spied the same shadowy figures they had seen before. "Dive!"
Gunn had figured that one out on his own, was already throwing himself over the railing and back down. He wasn't fast enough. The men at the top of the stairs weren't human. He barely had an instant to register the sting, then the world faded to black.
Spike moved almost as quickly as the demons at the top of the stairs, and wasn't encumbered by two human bodies. He eluded them for half a second more. Could have been longer, but he never saw the third shape on the ceiling.
His final conscious thought was to aim himself where he would do the most good, twisted to hit the empty garbage cans lined up at the bottom of the stairs. The last thing he heard was a satisfyingly loud crash.
**
"We'll go on ahead. Collect your pet," said the taller demon, glancing at the ceiling. The blob seemed to nod and drifted over to a side corridor, where the room with the circuit breakers was. Standing by them was a woman. Her name had been Sherilyn Gonzales, and she had worked at the center for 30 years. She had died four hours past, when a hgesh demon took control of her body. Now its master was here to collect it. Its milky tendrils reached out of her mouth, nose, and ears straight up, reforming into a thick, eel-like shape and disappearing into the folds of the thing that commanded it. Sherilyn's body fell to the ground. Neither demon noticed.
**
Angel tried to hover unobtrusively by the hall leading to the kitchen, knew he wasn't quite succeeding when Cordelia came over.
"Don't worry. Will said she took it fine," she told him.
He snorted, "Handling surprises well is not one of Buffy's strengths."
"Maybe she's growing up," Cordelia suggested, then paused to listen to herself, shook all over. "And I so can't believe I said that."
That earned a grin, "I guess if you can do it, anybody can."
She stuck her tongue out at him and was about to say something more when a flicker caught her eye. "Lights."
"Huh?"
"The light, down the hall, near the kitchen. It's out."
Angel started moving before consciously deciding to do so. Cordelia was right on his heels and their movement alerted Riley, who had been keeping an eye on Angel more or less out of habit. Riley followed them down the hall, saw the darkness ahead. Too many lights out for it to be the bulbs. Could be a blown fuse but from the evident tension in the pair ahead of him, they didn't think so and neither did he.
Angel slowed by the double doors to the kitchen. "I don't hear anything. There-there should be--"
"Heartbeats, " Cordelia finished for him as they both burst through, both wishing they had weapons. She detoured by a set of drawers to at least grab a knife, noticed Riley for the first time.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Cordelia grabbed another knife and passed it to him, shook her head. "Nothing. We hope."
Angel had poked his head around the corner into the back pantry, smelled Xander and Buffy's scents but there was no sign of them or of a struggle. He came back around and shook his head in response to their unvoiced question.
"Maybe they went outside?" she ventured.
"Is there a way out of here besides the way we came?"
"Yeah, the basement or--"
A crash interrupted Angel's reply, and as one they ran, Angel in the lead and Cordelia between him and Riley.
"Basement?" the ex-commando asked. She nodded, paused as Angel reached the door and yanked. The knob came away in his hand and he kicked the door open, eyes automatically adjusting to the darkness below. He picked out one form immediately, "Spike?!" He didn't bother with the stairs, jumped over the railing directly to his fallen childe.
It was Cordelia who saw the shuffle along the ceiling, "Angel, look out!" Shouted even as she threw herself and Riley back through the open doorway.
Angel saw the manta demon and dove away just in time, grabbed one of the cans Spike had knocked over and hurled it at the thing. That spoiled its second shot and made it decide that discretion was the better part of valor. It fired a couple more shots as it retreated down the hall.
"Fuck," Angel got to his feel and stumbled after it, Riley pounding down the stairs in his wake. A sizzling yellow beam slowed them both as they ducked but continued on. The thing moved much faster than a vampire, though, and was soon disappearing through the open door at the end of the corridor.
Angel rushed forward but afternoon sunlight still streamed out, he couldn't follow. Riley ran up the steps but saw nothing, not even a car.
"They're gone," Angel told him, a violent crash underscoring his words.
"Buffy?" Riley asked as he rejoined the vampire.
"And Xander."
Riley contributed a few choice curses, ended with a sharp kick at defenseless cardboard. "We gotta go after them."
Angel was tempted to reply with a "no shit Sherlock"--he had definitely been hanging around with Xander and Cordy too long--but he sympathized with Riley a bit too much. "We will."
"Any idea who took them?" Riley felt somewhat reassured by the cold determination in the other's voice.
"Demons. We saw the manta, there had to be others. A manta can't carry much weight."
"Are we sure they took them?" Riley asked, flushed when the vampire shot him a look. "I mean Spike was back there, looked like someone else, too, maybe--"
"No."
The absolute certainty in Angel's voice silenced him. It's not like he really thought they were still here, he just... hoped.
"What do we do first?" Riley asked, the soldier in him automatically ceding leadership to the local commander.
"Cordelia probably got Wesley and Giles already. We need to make sure there's no one else down here."
"But you said--"
"Xander and Buffy aren't here. But--"
"Bodies," Riley supplied, grim-faced. "I'll take the left."
Angel nodded and they split up, Riley back out to check the parking lot and Angel heading towards the main room, where they'd come in. Willow and Tara met him three-quarters of the way there.
"Any sign of them?" Willow asked.
"No. What about Gunn?" He had recognized the young man's scent in the hallway.
"Knocked out, but Giles says he should be fine. Spike too."
"Go back to them and get set to do a scrying spell. I need to check the rest of the basement and fix the lights."
"Cordelia went to do that," Tara offered diffidently, still shy around the vampire.
Angel frowned, speeded up. A few moments later he was back in the main room, saw a still groggy Spike helping Giles with Gunn. The lights came back on. Nodding at Giles and receiving one in return, Angel then hurried to the electrical room. There, he found Wesley crouched near the body of an older woman who looked familiar while Cordy stood by the circuit breakers, arms firmly crossed, a light sheen of tears in her hazel eyes.
Wesley looked up, nodded in acknowledgement. "Hgesh demon."
Angel had expected it. "We saw the manta."
Wesley nodded once again--where there was one there was usually the other.
Angel moved to Cordelia, touched her lightly on the arm. "Are you all right?"
"I will be," she said. "Any sign of Xander or Buffy?"
He shook his head and it was her turn to reach out and comfort him. "Maybe Spike or Gunn saw something."
"Maybe."
"We're going to find them."
"I know." They had to. Anything else was not an option. "We have to call Kate. Contain this. And get her body out of here."
Five years ago Wesley might have been appalled. Now he merely nodded. The police would learn nothing from this crime scene, man's laws would yield no justice for the poor woman who'd died. And she was past caring where she lay.
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