In the past week, Angel had discovered that the best time to really devote his energies to thinking about Spike was when the brunette was in the shower. The loud hiss of water combined with the walls of steam the heat created made it seem as if he were in a separate world from the rest of the hotel. The pounding of the heated liquid on his sore muscles helped remove the aches and stresses that had built up over the day, allowing the dark-eyed man to concentrate solely on something other than his trying existence. More frequently than Angel would have admitted, that something was Spike. The added bonus was that if he needed to wank off in the shower once or twice as a result of his thoughts no one was the wiser.
Since Spike had joined their happy L.A. family, their lives had developed into a set routine. At first the older vampire had been loath to see his customary way of living shattered by the presence of the blond in his home and in his life. However, given that there was pretty much no chance in hell that Spike - even a memory-less, subdued Spike - would be able to adjust to the lifestyle of a brooding near-recluse, Angel had no choice but to grudgingly change his habits to better suit the younger man. Now the brunette could barely recognize his life from before Spike came to stay with him, and in spite of himself he couldn't really say that he missed it so much. Life with Spike was...well, life with Spike. The most obvious change so far was that Angel never got much of a chance to hone his brooding skills anymore. Instead, he found himself compelled to go out to pubs and clubs practically every night with his grandchilde. This was mainly because of distrust; even after establishing a basic set of rules for the younger vampire, Angel found that he didn't trust Spike to wander around the streets of L.A. by himself. There were too many remembered images of William the Bloody in all his murderous glory, slaughtering innocents left and right until his naturally tawny hair was tinted red from spilled blood. So for the time being, the brunette was compelled to accompany Spike to the loud, repugnant places that the older man had been avoiding ever since arriving in the city. It was a far cry from sitting in an empty office with all the lights off, ruminating about the past.
The only time Spike didn't spend dragging Angel around the city was when they were out fighting for the forces of good. Yes, Spike even helped out with the cases, much to the incredulity and mounting chagrin of the other employees. Helped out not only with the violence of demon carnage but with the tedium of research as well. Spike actually seemed to have a knack for following a line of investigation through the dusty tomes. The skill in killing was no surprise, but that certainly was. Moreover, through his research efforts, the blue-eyed vampire seemed to be actively seeking the approval of not just Angel, but of all the people he worked with. Even though Angel had spent quite a few years with the blond before the older man had been cursed, he had few memories of a time when Spike actually attempted to integrate himself in with a group of people - lowly mortals, even - instead of simply insulting and abusing everyone around him.
An even bigger surprise was that the brunette had so far been able to spend practically 24 hours a day with his grandchilde and had not once wanted to throttle him. Besides work and their various excursions into L.A. nightlife, Spike still slept spooned against the other man, only falling asleep once Angel's strong arms had wrapped around him. In spite of himself, and definitely against his own better judgment, Angel realized that he, too, slept better clutching Spike to his chest.
That was actually the first in a series of realizations that the Irishman had had in the last few days concerning his amnesiac bedfellow. Another of which was the revelation that the older vampire had begun looking forward to many of the numerous trappings that went along with being a Sire. He had forgotten (or, as Angelus, had never known) some of the less brutal and controlling aspects that Sirehood entailed. This included the almost overwhelming feeling of being needed, as well as the trust and faith with which childer looked toward their creator. Angelus had only ever been concerned with the power that a Sire held over childer. Because he now had a soul, Angel could appreciate the fact that his relationship with the new Spike was more akin to that of a human father and his child than a demon and his offspring. He tried hard to steer clear of the sexual aspects of their dom/sub relationship for obvious reasons. Although Angel could finally admit to himself that he was very attracted to Spike, and knew that Spike was willing, the older vampire refused to allow any kind of "naughty touching" to take place between them. This being said, it had become somewhat hard for the brunette to spend so much time literally wrapped around the very thing that had him all hot and bothered and not do anything about it. Taciturn and broody he may be, but Angel was still very much a healthy male whose sexual appetite had been heightened, not dampened, by his prolonged celibacy. The fact that Spike had become so likable of late only fueled Angel's eternal horniness.
Besides Angel's sexual frustration, only one issue still nagged at the back of the Irishman's mind. Spike still had yet to really want to learn about his past. He had asked once or twice about specific things, and seemed especially concerned with having Angel describe his appearance. When Angel told him about the bleached hair, Spike hadn't really believed him until Gunn and Wesley had corroborated it. It was one of the (surprisingly few) times that the brunette had really wished that the no-reflection thing had just been another myth about vampires perpetuated by pop culture.
Of all of them, Cordelia warmed to the new Spike the most slowly, since most of her memories of the blond's previous incarnation were unpleasant. Angel, on the other hand, remembered the early years of William just after he had been turned and before he had begun to imitate Angelus's version of what it meant to be a vampire. Before he had become Spike. Wes and Gunn had never met Spike and therefore had no basis for comparison. The good news was that the ex-cheerleader did show definite signs of thawing, however. Even as Angel watched, she and Spike were flipping through a Spiegel catalog together, discussing fabrics and skirt lengths for the fall, a topic that Cordy was only too willing to bring to an end Spike's ignorance of.
The good mood was broken without warning as Cordelia suddenly sprang forward, falling out of the chair and hitting the floor on her knees before Angel could get to her. Spike was already getting the aspirin and a bottle of water by the time the older vampire had picked up his secretary and moved her back into the chair. The young woman was moaning loudly and rocking back and forth even as she accepted the painkillers from Spike.
"What did you see?" Angel ventured to ask once she looked reasonably recovered.
"Big icky slime demon in the sewers under some kind of a factory. Lots of big black pipes pumping water everywhere, tons of machinery clanging away..."
"Sounds like the waste-treatment facility. That must be what you saw. It's on the other side of town, though, so we'll have to hurry. Spike?"
"Already got 'em," Spike replied, holding up two long swords.
*********
The demon was right where the vision said it would be.
Spike jerked back as one of the thrashing tails knocked him off his feet and shoved him head first into the nearest sewer wall.
Angel, who had been closing in for the kill, was distracted by his concern for Spike and soon found that their opponent had the upper-hand, having cornered the dark-eyed man in between two sewage pipes. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, the brunette realized he was trapped. As the demon reared back for the killing blow, the top half of its body was suddenly tackled by a flying white streak which Angel assumed had to be Spike. Of course, the blond vampire was no match for a full-grown TH'iak, and the blue-eyed man was soon on the ground with two tons of slimy demon looming over him.
With the demon preoccupied with preparing to eat Spike, Angel had the chance he was looking for. Rushing forward, he rammed the silver sword into the beast's side, around the stomach area, and continued to split the flesh in a straight line across all the major organs, thoroughly disemboweling it. Only after he was certain the creature was actually dead did the brunette turn his attention back to the semi-conscious blond still on the ground.
"What the fuck did you think you were doing? That thing could have killed you!" Yanking Spike up by the shoulders, the brunette didn't let go until they were eye-to-eye, or as close as they would ever get to it, considering the difference in their heights. "*Never* do that again," Angel went on, still shaking the limp vampire in his large hands.
"I'm so-" The next thing Spike knew, he was without warning involved in a thoroughly searching kiss as Angel leaned forward and sealed his mouth over Spike's surprised one. For the blond vampire, that kiss immediately sparked a tingling sensation which started at his lips and seemed to spread slowly throughout his entire body until it reached from the top of his head all the way to his tips of his toes. It was without a doubt the best thing that he could remember happening to him.
But before the blond had a chance to begin to respond to the cool lips sliding across his own, he was suddenly being shoved roughly away by the same hands that had just been pulling him closer. Angel's expression was one of shocked horror as he pushed the blond back against the sewer wall. Then, before Spike's stunned mouth could even begin to form words, the brunette had turned on his heel and fled alone down the sewer tunnel.
-end-