Prompt #4 - Hovel - AtS Spike/Angel R18
Aug. 3rd, 2006 06:54 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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tamingthemusePlan #2 – Get an Office and Find out What Angel’s Up To
Author: Lilithangel
Email: abchainey@xtra.co.nz
Website: www.livejournal.com/users/lilithbint
Fandom: AtS
Genre: Fluff
Warnings: contains sexual desires between two male vampires and kissing.
Characters: Spike/Angel
Disclaimer: I am holding them hostage in return for the Spangel movie, they will be returned unharmed when Joss signs the papers.
Summary: part three of the Getting What He Wants series. Title explains all. I used the first part for Prompt #1 Pickpocket and the second part can be found here http://lilithbint.livejournal.com/39554.html
Spike wanted an office of his own. Where he could put up his posters and have meetings and a secretary that wasn’t Harmony. Somewhere that he could retreat to that wasn’t the hovel he lived in with a sofa he could bunk on that didn’t have a family of rodents living in it.
Despite their increasingly warm relationship and regular sunbathing meetings Angel was not willing to give him one.
“You don’t need an office you don’t actually do anything.”
“Yes I do, mainly your dirty work.”
“And why would that require an office?” Angel tried to return to his paperwork but Spike was still there.
Even though their relationship was better than before and the sunbathing often ended with kissing and fondling, Angel was still the head of Wolfram & Hart and had to make decisions based on that fact not his own feelings.
“If you want to hang somewhere why don’t you go down to Black Ops and bother them. You spend enough time with them as it is.”
Spike paced Angel’s office in frustration. He wasn’t going to come out and admit his need for validation from Angel, to be considered a full part of the team. For some stupid reason he wanted Angel to realise it without Spike having to tell him.
Well if it was going to take another plan then Spike was prepared to do what it took to get what he wanted. Except admit his need to Angel that is.
* * * * *
Spike was always around. Every time Angel looked up there was Spike either in his office proper or lounging around distracting Harmony and the others.
It was really beginning to bug Angel especially when nobody appeared to mind being bothered by Spike.
No matter what Angel said Spike would simply ignore him. The blond would open his briefcase and bring out either a beer or his game consol and drop down on Angel’s sofa to pay Angel no attention at all.
Angel had gotten rid of the big screen television (at least as far as his own penthouse) which at least put an end to the Passions marathons.
He had tried ignoring Spike, insulting Spike, bribing the others to take him away, but nothing worked. It wasn’t as if he could claim Spike was bothering him. Since the last no to the office Spike said very little to Angel. He was just always there.
The sunbathing still happened and Angel really enjoyed the reading they did together. Spike had introduced Angel to a new world of literature very different to what he normally read. And touching that sun warmed skin putting his lips to Spike’s arched throat was an amazing sensation that Angel was happy to continue with.
It hadn’t gone any further which confused Angel a bit. Not that he wanted it to go further but he had expected Spike to push for more.
Spike watched Angel over his Game Boy. He could tell his silence was getting to the big vampire and wondered just what it would take to push Angel over the edge.
An interesting side effect to this plan was the realisation that Angel was planning something of his own. Something that none of the team knew anything about. Spike was very good a watching people and Angel had given away lots of small clues. Spike didn’t know what it was but he was going to find out.
It didn’t feel like anything big, but it was a secret and Spike liked ferreting out secrets. There was another bigger secret out there but Spike had a feeling he didn’t want to know that one, not yet anyway.
* * * * *
Now Spike was chatting softly with Fred and she was giggling. He was showing her his cell phone for some reason and she was finding it amusing.
It frustrated Angel no end that Spike had such an easy way with people. Liam had had no trouble getting on with people either at least Angel didn’t think he did. When he was Angelus he had no trouble, although eating them was probably not the best relationship to have, but when he wanted to charm someone he did.
Angel was at a loss to figure out just why getting the soul had ballsed everything up so badly. Aside from hating humanity for a hundred years and resenting the guilt laid upon him, he got on well enough with people. He had spent plenty of time at A list parties in the past. He played squash dammit. So what if his partner was a devil, it still had to count.
Fred hugged Spike and hurried away. Angel quickly got busy with paperwork before Spike could notice he had been watching. Now Gunn had caught Spike and they were chatting, standing far too close together for Angel’s liking.
Angel checked his watch and realised he was going to be late for his squash game. He shoved the notebook under his pile of paperwork and left his office with a quick nod to Gunn and Spike as he passed.
* * * * *
Angel had given up trying to order Spike to stop and returned to ignoring him again.
Angel ignored Spike so much he started to forget the blond was in the room. He knew that Spike was just trying to goad him into giving in to the office demand and refused to be manipulated that way again.
Now Spike not only hung around Angel’s office all day but he was taking phone calls every other minute. It didn’t matter what Angel was doing or who he was meeting with. At the worst possible moment obnoxious music would blare out of Spike’s pocket and he would answer. Sometimes it was about work but it was just as likely to be arrangements for a poker party or drinks.
Sunbathing and comic reading continued but Angel retreated from the roughhousing that had followed. Spike attempted to goad him into retaliating but soon fell silent and allowed Angel his distance.
Angel was obscurely disappointed with Spike’s capitulation expecting more resistance to his withdrawal.
Spike was getting angrier at Angel, but was determined this time not to be the one who cracked first.
He flirted with Fred and Gunn because it made him feel good and both knew it was only harmless. It was nice to not have people question his motives all the time even if the Big Bad growled at the lack of fear and respect.
It was time to bring in the big guns. Angel might have removed the telly from the office but if he thought that was all Spike could do to really annoy him he was fooling himself.
Angel came back from his squash game to find that someone had dismantled his desk. It was not a kitset desk so it would have taken time, dedication and wilful determination to destroy and Angel only knew of one person capable.
“Spike,” Angel said the name almost hissed.
“Yeah?” the blond in question wandered into the office.
“What did you do to my desk?” Angel said holding onto his temper only by clenching his hands so tight he drew blood.
“Nothing,” Spike said, “why?”
“Look,” Angel’s voice was shaking with rage.
“Bloody hell, how did you manage that?” Spike crouched down by the remains of the desk.
“How would I know?” Angel said close to tears at the sight of his beautiful desk.
“I’m sure maintenance can fix it,” Spike said with sympathy.
The next day the desk was returned to its former glory. Angel barely resisted hugging the gleaming wood when he saw it.
Throughout the day each of his treasured weapons crashed down from the wall all of the supports mysteriously weakened. Spike was there for the first couple but he left complaining of the distraction.
Angel was a wreck by the end of the day. He had checked the supports holding all the weapons and they had seemed fine but things still fell down. Angel had the mystics sweep the room for curses but they couldn’t find anything to explain it.
Angel knew Spike was involved somehow but he hadn’t been able to prove anything, and the glare Fred gave him when he vented his frustration told him he needed absolute proof before he could confront and punish the blond vampire.
Angel was on edge the next morning waiting for something to happen. By lunchtime he began to relax and felt safe enough to leave the office. After threatening Harmony with severance if she let anyone in while he was out.
When Angel returned Harmony was not at her desk. Hurrying into his office Angel found Spike camped out on his sofa again. A quick glance seemed to indicate nothing was missing except Spike’s shirt.
It was a sign of how accustomed Angel was to seeing Spike naked that this fact did not register at first. The next thing to register was the number of blood covered rags scattered around the sofa as Spike tended a large wound in his side.
There was a bowl of water on the coffee table that Spike was dipping a cloth into and slopping water all over the carpet. A gore covered tee shirt was seeping blood all over the Persian rug.
Angel’s concern for Spike was quickly swamped by horror at the state of his rug and sofa.
“Spike, why are you bleeding all over my office?” Angel said with distaste.
“Got injured in the line of duty didn’t I,” Spike said, “Got nowhere else to clean up.”
“We do have a medical clinic in the building,” Angel reminded him.
“Don’t do clinics,” Spike replied, “don’t like doctors.” He began to wind a bandage around his ribs.
Angel watched the appalling way Spike was bandaging his body and sighed with frustration.
“Give me that,” Angel took the bandage off Spike, “you’ll just keep bleeding on my carpet if you do it that way.”
Spike sat still as Angel carefully treated his injury not commenting on the way Angel’s hands lingered on his undamaged skin.
“Thanks,” Spike stood when Angel finished and headed for the door.
“At least clean up your mess,” Angel said to Spike’s retreating back.
Spike looked over his shoulder and grinned unrepentantly at Angel. With a heavy sigh Angel went to his desk and paged maintenance again.
* * * * *
Spike walked into Angel’s office as he normally did, one quick scan of the lobby the only indication that he was up to something. Angel was not in the office and Spike made quickly for the repaired desk. Rifling through the papers on top he extracted the notebook he had seen Angel writing in at times when the big vampire had forgotten he was there.
Making himself comfortable in Angel’s chair Spike quickly flicked through the notebook, pausing occasionally to read something closely. Some of the pages brought a frown to his face but the later ones smoothed the frown and put a huge grin there. By the time he had finished reading Spike was laughing out loud.
“You sad git Angel,” Spike said out loud, “this is your plan. Well you’re ballsing it up right nicely so far.” He slipped the notebook back where he took it from and got up to leave.
Spike stopped and turned back to the chair he had been sitting in. With a smirk he knelt down and pulled out a screwdriver from his jacket. Satisfied with his work Spike finally left Angel’s office.
* * * * *
Angel’s roar of anger could be heard at the other end of the lobby where Spike was standing chatting with Gunn.
“What did you do man?” Gunn said.
“Sounds like Angel’s chair collapsed under his increasing bulk,” Spike said with an innocent grin.
“One of these days he is going to stake you,” Gunn said.
“That’s the plan.” Spike raised an eyebrow suggestively.
“I’ve told you before Spike,” Gunn said, “go easy on the information, there’s only so much a brother wants to know about another brother.”
Spike laughed and clapped Gunn on the shoulder, “I’m heading out before hurricane Angel gets off the floor and comes looking for me.”
* * * * *
Angel had intended to head straight up to his penthouse when he returned to Wolfram & Hart but the light pouring out of his office drew him like a moth. As he got closer he could hear voices and smell cigar smoke.
“Angel you made it,” Gunn said.
“We started without you,” Fred said puffing gamely on a cigar, “but Spike saved you a seat.”
The whole gang was sitting at a round table in the middle of Angel’s office. Once again his furniture had been pushed aside to make room for whatever scam Spike was working. The table was covered with cards and gambling chips. A lot of alcohol appeared to have been consumed by the way Wesley was swaying.
“Come on cupcake,” Lorne added, “you told us you once played with the Rat Pack in Los Vegas. Come and show us your stuff.”
Angel debated being angry, but then it dawned on him how long it had been since they had all been in a room together just relaxing. Angel sat down next to Spike as the blond dealt him in.
“What are we playing?” Angel said.
“Five card stud,” Spike said as the cards flew around the table, “I’ll stand you the stake to get you started.” Spike pushed a pile of chips over to Angel as everyone picked up their cards. “Also losers take shots.”
“By the state of everyone I am guessing you’re winning Spike?” Angel said.
Spike simply grinned and picked up his cards, “ante up people.”
Spike indeed proved to be the most skilled player at the table. Angel suspected some card fuzzing but couldn’t catch him doing anything. After five shots Angel didn’t really care who was winning. They were all laughing and relaxing together.
By the end of the evening everyone had lost their chips to Spike but even he was worse for wear with three bottles of tequila and two of vodka lying empty on the floor.
“Right then,” Spike called a halt to the festivities, “some folk have to be at work in… four hours,” he blinked at the clock.
“Oh god,” Gunn said with a moan, “that means I’ve got to be in court in eight hours.”
Spike managed to extricate his phone after two failed attempts and made a call, “Harvey, pick up please.”
Angel frowned, “Who’s Harvey?”
“Driver,” Spike said, “figured nobody should drive.”
“What a thoughtful thing to do,” Fred slurred and flung her arms around Spike.
“See you later this morning Angel,” Wesley said with a wince as Lorne and Gunn helped him stand.
Spike half carried Fred to the door as the others staggered out with cheerful goodbyes to Angel.
Angel looked around at the disaster that was his office and couldn’t bring himself to care. He was drunk and happier than he had been for a long time.
On a whim Angel made his way to a window where he could see the others leave. Frowning Angel watched Spike usher the other four into a waiting car and wave them off.
Angel hurried back to his desk to look casual when Spike returned. Ten minutes later he was still sitting there waiting. Suspicious now Angel headed out to find the annoying blond.
There was a surprising number of staff still in the building as Angel stalked the corridors hunting the scent of his grandchilde. He startled several hard working individuals when he flung doors open and possibly exposed a number of interoffice affairs, but he was too busy to notice.
Finally he got a whiff of leather and cigarettes, the distinct scent of Spike. Angel was completely sober now and very suspicious of what Spike was up to.
Angel pushed open the office door ready to lay into Spike for whatever nefarious scheme he was working on.
“Bloody hell,” Spike said jumping up from the sofa he had been lying on.
“What are you doing in here, naked?” Angel said.
“Getting some sleep,” Spike replied irritably.
“Why are you doing it here?” Angel said.
“Didn’t want to drive home,” Spike said quickly pulling on his jeans.
“Why didn’t you go in the car with the others and since when did you care about not driving drunk?”
“Live in the wrong direction don’t I,” Spike’s reply was muffled by his tee shirt, “and since I nearly hit someone last time.”
“What are you doing now?” Angel asked.
“Leaving what does it look like?” Spike finished lacing up his boots and grabbed his jacket.
“I thought you weren’t going to drive?”
“Not going to am I,” was Spike’s reply as he walked past Angel.
Angel stood awkwardly in the hallway and watched Spike walk away. He wanted to say something but could only shove his hands in his pockets.
Looking back into the now empty office Angel noticed that the ashtray was overflowing and there were a number of empty bottles underneath the sofa. The sofa also had a large number of throw pillows and a rug folded neatly over one arm. All in all it showed all the signs of habitation not just somewhere Spike found to bunk down in for a few hours.
Choosing to leave it for the morning Angel made his way back to his emptier than normal penthouse to pretend to sleep.
The next day everyone looked the worse for wear except for Spike who showed up late teased everyone about their hangovers and challenged them all to a rematch the following week.
Angel watched the way Spike interacted with his team and it dawned on him that Spike was the one actively including him in the banter even if it was by teasing him and arguing about everything.
* * * * *
“Spike,” Angel tossed a card at Spike when they were getting undressed to sunbathe.
“What’s this?” Spike caught the card easily.
“The access card for your office, I would rather you didn’t keep forcing the lock,” Angel said stretching out on the floor.
Spike stood there the surprised look on his face making him look like a teenager, “my office.”
“Your office,” Angel repeated, “but we should still have the poker game in here. It does have the most space.”
“Okay.” Spike lay down next to Angel and opened his book.
They read in silence. Angel managed to keep a straight face every time Spike glanced in his direction with puzzlement.
Spike didn’t know what to say to Angel. He hadn’t expected to get an office so easily.
“Angel,” Spike finally said something.
“Yes,” Angel turned his head and all conversation ceased when Spike kissed him. In all their roughhousing the kisses had been brief and normally lips only met skin not lips. This time lips parted slightly and pressed against lips. If they had to breathe then breath would have been shared, a gift of life in place of the love that neither was ready to accept.
“Thank you,” Spike said when their lips parted.
They both returned to their reading with smiles warmer than the sun on their backs.
This time there was no roughhousing after the sunbathing neither of them felt the need to disguise their touches with fists. Hands stroked across sun kissed skin almost casually as if both had possessive claim to the other.
They dressed in silence not pretending to look away from each other’s sex both of which twitched in response. Another unspoken claim made to what was happening between them.
Spike was itching to stake out his office, mark it as his and use the telephone. He figured it might be an idea to cancel the Llama order before they turned up in Angel’s office.
“Boss,” Harmony’s voice trilled through the open door, “I’ve got Accounts on line one, they have a few queries about unauthorised purchases on your credit card.”
Spike left before the familiar roar of his name hurtled through the lobby.
THE END
Because these two will always fight about something but maybe this time the making up will be more fun.
Author: Lilithangel
Email: abchainey@xtra.co.nz
Website: www.livejournal.com/users/lilithbint
Fandom: AtS
Genre: Fluff
Warnings: contains sexual desires between two male vampires and kissing.
Characters: Spike/Angel
Disclaimer: I am holding them hostage in return for the Spangel movie, they will be returned unharmed when Joss signs the papers.
Summary: part three of the Getting What He Wants series. Title explains all. I used the first part for Prompt #1 Pickpocket and the second part can be found here http://lilithbint.livejournal.com/39554.html
Spike wanted an office of his own. Where he could put up his posters and have meetings and a secretary that wasn’t Harmony. Somewhere that he could retreat to that wasn’t the hovel he lived in with a sofa he could bunk on that didn’t have a family of rodents living in it.
Despite their increasingly warm relationship and regular sunbathing meetings Angel was not willing to give him one.
“You don’t need an office you don’t actually do anything.”
“Yes I do, mainly your dirty work.”
“And why would that require an office?” Angel tried to return to his paperwork but Spike was still there.
Even though their relationship was better than before and the sunbathing often ended with kissing and fondling, Angel was still the head of Wolfram & Hart and had to make decisions based on that fact not his own feelings.
“If you want to hang somewhere why don’t you go down to Black Ops and bother them. You spend enough time with them as it is.”
Spike paced Angel’s office in frustration. He wasn’t going to come out and admit his need for validation from Angel, to be considered a full part of the team. For some stupid reason he wanted Angel to realise it without Spike having to tell him.
Well if it was going to take another plan then Spike was prepared to do what it took to get what he wanted. Except admit his need to Angel that is.
* * * * *
Spike was always around. Every time Angel looked up there was Spike either in his office proper or lounging around distracting Harmony and the others.
It was really beginning to bug Angel especially when nobody appeared to mind being bothered by Spike.
No matter what Angel said Spike would simply ignore him. The blond would open his briefcase and bring out either a beer or his game consol and drop down on Angel’s sofa to pay Angel no attention at all.
Angel had gotten rid of the big screen television (at least as far as his own penthouse) which at least put an end to the Passions marathons.
He had tried ignoring Spike, insulting Spike, bribing the others to take him away, but nothing worked. It wasn’t as if he could claim Spike was bothering him. Since the last no to the office Spike said very little to Angel. He was just always there.
The sunbathing still happened and Angel really enjoyed the reading they did together. Spike had introduced Angel to a new world of literature very different to what he normally read. And touching that sun warmed skin putting his lips to Spike’s arched throat was an amazing sensation that Angel was happy to continue with.
It hadn’t gone any further which confused Angel a bit. Not that he wanted it to go further but he had expected Spike to push for more.
Spike watched Angel over his Game Boy. He could tell his silence was getting to the big vampire and wondered just what it would take to push Angel over the edge.
An interesting side effect to this plan was the realisation that Angel was planning something of his own. Something that none of the team knew anything about. Spike was very good a watching people and Angel had given away lots of small clues. Spike didn’t know what it was but he was going to find out.
It didn’t feel like anything big, but it was a secret and Spike liked ferreting out secrets. There was another bigger secret out there but Spike had a feeling he didn’t want to know that one, not yet anyway.
* * * * *
Now Spike was chatting softly with Fred and she was giggling. He was showing her his cell phone for some reason and she was finding it amusing.
It frustrated Angel no end that Spike had such an easy way with people. Liam had had no trouble getting on with people either at least Angel didn’t think he did. When he was Angelus he had no trouble, although eating them was probably not the best relationship to have, but when he wanted to charm someone he did.
Angel was at a loss to figure out just why getting the soul had ballsed everything up so badly. Aside from hating humanity for a hundred years and resenting the guilt laid upon him, he got on well enough with people. He had spent plenty of time at A list parties in the past. He played squash dammit. So what if his partner was a devil, it still had to count.
Fred hugged Spike and hurried away. Angel quickly got busy with paperwork before Spike could notice he had been watching. Now Gunn had caught Spike and they were chatting, standing far too close together for Angel’s liking.
Angel checked his watch and realised he was going to be late for his squash game. He shoved the notebook under his pile of paperwork and left his office with a quick nod to Gunn and Spike as he passed.
* * * * *
Angel had given up trying to order Spike to stop and returned to ignoring him again.
Angel ignored Spike so much he started to forget the blond was in the room. He knew that Spike was just trying to goad him into giving in to the office demand and refused to be manipulated that way again.
Now Spike not only hung around Angel’s office all day but he was taking phone calls every other minute. It didn’t matter what Angel was doing or who he was meeting with. At the worst possible moment obnoxious music would blare out of Spike’s pocket and he would answer. Sometimes it was about work but it was just as likely to be arrangements for a poker party or drinks.
Sunbathing and comic reading continued but Angel retreated from the roughhousing that had followed. Spike attempted to goad him into retaliating but soon fell silent and allowed Angel his distance.
Angel was obscurely disappointed with Spike’s capitulation expecting more resistance to his withdrawal.
Spike was getting angrier at Angel, but was determined this time not to be the one who cracked first.
He flirted with Fred and Gunn because it made him feel good and both knew it was only harmless. It was nice to not have people question his motives all the time even if the Big Bad growled at the lack of fear and respect.
It was time to bring in the big guns. Angel might have removed the telly from the office but if he thought that was all Spike could do to really annoy him he was fooling himself.
Angel came back from his squash game to find that someone had dismantled his desk. It was not a kitset desk so it would have taken time, dedication and wilful determination to destroy and Angel only knew of one person capable.
“Spike,” Angel said the name almost hissed.
“Yeah?” the blond in question wandered into the office.
“What did you do to my desk?” Angel said holding onto his temper only by clenching his hands so tight he drew blood.
“Nothing,” Spike said, “why?”
“Look,” Angel’s voice was shaking with rage.
“Bloody hell, how did you manage that?” Spike crouched down by the remains of the desk.
“How would I know?” Angel said close to tears at the sight of his beautiful desk.
“I’m sure maintenance can fix it,” Spike said with sympathy.
The next day the desk was returned to its former glory. Angel barely resisted hugging the gleaming wood when he saw it.
Throughout the day each of his treasured weapons crashed down from the wall all of the supports mysteriously weakened. Spike was there for the first couple but he left complaining of the distraction.
Angel was a wreck by the end of the day. He had checked the supports holding all the weapons and they had seemed fine but things still fell down. Angel had the mystics sweep the room for curses but they couldn’t find anything to explain it.
Angel knew Spike was involved somehow but he hadn’t been able to prove anything, and the glare Fred gave him when he vented his frustration told him he needed absolute proof before he could confront and punish the blond vampire.
Angel was on edge the next morning waiting for something to happen. By lunchtime he began to relax and felt safe enough to leave the office. After threatening Harmony with severance if she let anyone in while he was out.
When Angel returned Harmony was not at her desk. Hurrying into his office Angel found Spike camped out on his sofa again. A quick glance seemed to indicate nothing was missing except Spike’s shirt.
It was a sign of how accustomed Angel was to seeing Spike naked that this fact did not register at first. The next thing to register was the number of blood covered rags scattered around the sofa as Spike tended a large wound in his side.
There was a bowl of water on the coffee table that Spike was dipping a cloth into and slopping water all over the carpet. A gore covered tee shirt was seeping blood all over the Persian rug.
Angel’s concern for Spike was quickly swamped by horror at the state of his rug and sofa.
“Spike, why are you bleeding all over my office?” Angel said with distaste.
“Got injured in the line of duty didn’t I,” Spike said, “Got nowhere else to clean up.”
“We do have a medical clinic in the building,” Angel reminded him.
“Don’t do clinics,” Spike replied, “don’t like doctors.” He began to wind a bandage around his ribs.
Angel watched the appalling way Spike was bandaging his body and sighed with frustration.
“Give me that,” Angel took the bandage off Spike, “you’ll just keep bleeding on my carpet if you do it that way.”
Spike sat still as Angel carefully treated his injury not commenting on the way Angel’s hands lingered on his undamaged skin.
“Thanks,” Spike stood when Angel finished and headed for the door.
“At least clean up your mess,” Angel said to Spike’s retreating back.
Spike looked over his shoulder and grinned unrepentantly at Angel. With a heavy sigh Angel went to his desk and paged maintenance again.
* * * * *
Spike walked into Angel’s office as he normally did, one quick scan of the lobby the only indication that he was up to something. Angel was not in the office and Spike made quickly for the repaired desk. Rifling through the papers on top he extracted the notebook he had seen Angel writing in at times when the big vampire had forgotten he was there.
Making himself comfortable in Angel’s chair Spike quickly flicked through the notebook, pausing occasionally to read something closely. Some of the pages brought a frown to his face but the later ones smoothed the frown and put a huge grin there. By the time he had finished reading Spike was laughing out loud.
“You sad git Angel,” Spike said out loud, “this is your plan. Well you’re ballsing it up right nicely so far.” He slipped the notebook back where he took it from and got up to leave.
Spike stopped and turned back to the chair he had been sitting in. With a smirk he knelt down and pulled out a screwdriver from his jacket. Satisfied with his work Spike finally left Angel’s office.
* * * * *
Angel’s roar of anger could be heard at the other end of the lobby where Spike was standing chatting with Gunn.
“What did you do man?” Gunn said.
“Sounds like Angel’s chair collapsed under his increasing bulk,” Spike said with an innocent grin.
“One of these days he is going to stake you,” Gunn said.
“That’s the plan.” Spike raised an eyebrow suggestively.
“I’ve told you before Spike,” Gunn said, “go easy on the information, there’s only so much a brother wants to know about another brother.”
Spike laughed and clapped Gunn on the shoulder, “I’m heading out before hurricane Angel gets off the floor and comes looking for me.”
* * * * *
Angel had intended to head straight up to his penthouse when he returned to Wolfram & Hart but the light pouring out of his office drew him like a moth. As he got closer he could hear voices and smell cigar smoke.
“Angel you made it,” Gunn said.
“We started without you,” Fred said puffing gamely on a cigar, “but Spike saved you a seat.”
The whole gang was sitting at a round table in the middle of Angel’s office. Once again his furniture had been pushed aside to make room for whatever scam Spike was working. The table was covered with cards and gambling chips. A lot of alcohol appeared to have been consumed by the way Wesley was swaying.
“Come on cupcake,” Lorne added, “you told us you once played with the Rat Pack in Los Vegas. Come and show us your stuff.”
Angel debated being angry, but then it dawned on him how long it had been since they had all been in a room together just relaxing. Angel sat down next to Spike as the blond dealt him in.
“What are we playing?” Angel said.
“Five card stud,” Spike said as the cards flew around the table, “I’ll stand you the stake to get you started.” Spike pushed a pile of chips over to Angel as everyone picked up their cards. “Also losers take shots.”
“By the state of everyone I am guessing you’re winning Spike?” Angel said.
Spike simply grinned and picked up his cards, “ante up people.”
Spike indeed proved to be the most skilled player at the table. Angel suspected some card fuzzing but couldn’t catch him doing anything. After five shots Angel didn’t really care who was winning. They were all laughing and relaxing together.
By the end of the evening everyone had lost their chips to Spike but even he was worse for wear with three bottles of tequila and two of vodka lying empty on the floor.
“Right then,” Spike called a halt to the festivities, “some folk have to be at work in… four hours,” he blinked at the clock.
“Oh god,” Gunn said with a moan, “that means I’ve got to be in court in eight hours.”
Spike managed to extricate his phone after two failed attempts and made a call, “Harvey, pick up please.”
Angel frowned, “Who’s Harvey?”
“Driver,” Spike said, “figured nobody should drive.”
“What a thoughtful thing to do,” Fred slurred and flung her arms around Spike.
“See you later this morning Angel,” Wesley said with a wince as Lorne and Gunn helped him stand.
Spike half carried Fred to the door as the others staggered out with cheerful goodbyes to Angel.
Angel looked around at the disaster that was his office and couldn’t bring himself to care. He was drunk and happier than he had been for a long time.
On a whim Angel made his way to a window where he could see the others leave. Frowning Angel watched Spike usher the other four into a waiting car and wave them off.
Angel hurried back to his desk to look casual when Spike returned. Ten minutes later he was still sitting there waiting. Suspicious now Angel headed out to find the annoying blond.
There was a surprising number of staff still in the building as Angel stalked the corridors hunting the scent of his grandchilde. He startled several hard working individuals when he flung doors open and possibly exposed a number of interoffice affairs, but he was too busy to notice.
Finally he got a whiff of leather and cigarettes, the distinct scent of Spike. Angel was completely sober now and very suspicious of what Spike was up to.
Angel pushed open the office door ready to lay into Spike for whatever nefarious scheme he was working on.
“Bloody hell,” Spike said jumping up from the sofa he had been lying on.
“What are you doing in here, naked?” Angel said.
“Getting some sleep,” Spike replied irritably.
“Why are you doing it here?” Angel said.
“Didn’t want to drive home,” Spike said quickly pulling on his jeans.
“Why didn’t you go in the car with the others and since when did you care about not driving drunk?”
“Live in the wrong direction don’t I,” Spike’s reply was muffled by his tee shirt, “and since I nearly hit someone last time.”
“What are you doing now?” Angel asked.
“Leaving what does it look like?” Spike finished lacing up his boots and grabbed his jacket.
“I thought you weren’t going to drive?”
“Not going to am I,” was Spike’s reply as he walked past Angel.
Angel stood awkwardly in the hallway and watched Spike walk away. He wanted to say something but could only shove his hands in his pockets.
Looking back into the now empty office Angel noticed that the ashtray was overflowing and there were a number of empty bottles underneath the sofa. The sofa also had a large number of throw pillows and a rug folded neatly over one arm. All in all it showed all the signs of habitation not just somewhere Spike found to bunk down in for a few hours.
Choosing to leave it for the morning Angel made his way back to his emptier than normal penthouse to pretend to sleep.
The next day everyone looked the worse for wear except for Spike who showed up late teased everyone about their hangovers and challenged them all to a rematch the following week.
Angel watched the way Spike interacted with his team and it dawned on him that Spike was the one actively including him in the banter even if it was by teasing him and arguing about everything.
* * * * *
“Spike,” Angel tossed a card at Spike when they were getting undressed to sunbathe.
“What’s this?” Spike caught the card easily.
“The access card for your office, I would rather you didn’t keep forcing the lock,” Angel said stretching out on the floor.
Spike stood there the surprised look on his face making him look like a teenager, “my office.”
“Your office,” Angel repeated, “but we should still have the poker game in here. It does have the most space.”
“Okay.” Spike lay down next to Angel and opened his book.
They read in silence. Angel managed to keep a straight face every time Spike glanced in his direction with puzzlement.
Spike didn’t know what to say to Angel. He hadn’t expected to get an office so easily.
“Angel,” Spike finally said something.
“Yes,” Angel turned his head and all conversation ceased when Spike kissed him. In all their roughhousing the kisses had been brief and normally lips only met skin not lips. This time lips parted slightly and pressed against lips. If they had to breathe then breath would have been shared, a gift of life in place of the love that neither was ready to accept.
“Thank you,” Spike said when their lips parted.
They both returned to their reading with smiles warmer than the sun on their backs.
This time there was no roughhousing after the sunbathing neither of them felt the need to disguise their touches with fists. Hands stroked across sun kissed skin almost casually as if both had possessive claim to the other.
They dressed in silence not pretending to look away from each other’s sex both of which twitched in response. Another unspoken claim made to what was happening between them.
Spike was itching to stake out his office, mark it as his and use the telephone. He figured it might be an idea to cancel the Llama order before they turned up in Angel’s office.
“Boss,” Harmony’s voice trilled through the open door, “I’ve got Accounts on line one, they have a few queries about unauthorised purchases on your credit card.”
Spike left before the familiar roar of his name hurtled through the lobby.
THE END
Because these two will always fight about something but maybe this time the making up will be more fun.
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Date: 2006-08-03 11:31 am (UTC)Loved it!
~Nebula
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Date: 2006-08-04 01:09 am (UTC)glad you liked it
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Date: 2006-08-04 01:28 am (UTC)Also, who doesn't want to spread them both on toast and have them for breakfast? Even better if they're together!
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Date: 2006-08-04 04:33 am (UTC)I took a lot of inspiration from AtS Season 5, I loved the snark fests they got up to.
Spangel toast... Yummy... with marmalade
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Date: 2006-08-06 04:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-06 05:28 am (UTC)we can but hope,
family matters to both of them no matter what they say
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Date: 2006-08-06 05:59 am (UTC)Spike watched Angel over his Game Boy.
Why does the image of Spike with a Game Boy make me laugh so much?
He startled several hard working individuals when he flung doors open and possibly exposed a number of interoffice affairs, but he was too busy to notice.
That is SO Angel. You got him down to a 'T' right there.
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Date: 2006-08-06 09:05 am (UTC)I sometimes dream the boys now.
I love how Spike can go from seeing through everything people do to being a 13 year old with a computer game and Angel for all his smarts is just so oblivious to things...
glad you liked it
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Date: 2006-08-07 05:06 am (UTC)it always amused me that Angel was such a doofus with people when his alter egos were so much better at it so I figured it would annoy Angel too.
Glad you liked it
Lili
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Date: 2006-08-06 08:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-07 05:07 am (UTC)I always thought that was when they were at their best *grin* as it were,
so childish and adorable
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Date: 2006-08-10 08:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-08-11 05:38 am (UTC)and Spike's schemes always lead to fun things