Part 5. WESLEY
Sleep sure as hell wasn’t coming. With a kick at my covers I sat up in the darkness of my room. How the bloody hell could he ask me that question?
Isn’t redemption all that I’d been working for, being here every day and night, trying to find odd monster lore through dusty books, putting up with watching Fred and Gunn coo at each other, Faith scoff and twist everything thing inside my gut with presenting myself like the sacrificial lamb to Angel, just so I could redeem myself of the sin.
A sin that I had committed under false pretense with the best of intentions. Nobody remembers that!
I suddenly could identify with the vampire need to kill.
Sitting up, I grabbed my t-shirt off the chair and headed out of my room. Maybe Angel wouldn’t through a hissy fit if I used the basement for letting out some steam. It worked for the vampire and even Cordelia on some occasion. Maybe it would do me some good.
Luck though it seems is not on my side.
Before I could stop myself, I’d stalked into the basement purposefully and inadvertently welcomed myself to the sight that beheld me.
There, in the middle of the room, stood faith, wearing nothing but her leather pants and a brassier chugging down a bottle of water with one hand and the other wrapped around a wooden staff, with fine beads of sweat rolling down her skin.
Sweet mother of mercy.
There goes working off frustrations.
Already aware of my arrival the slayer turned to me deliberately recapping the bottle before speaking.
“Are you just going to stand there or step up Englishboy?”
I reached for the other staff hung on the wall.
***
ANGEL
“WATCH THE STOP SIGN! CAREFUL WITH THE TURN! YOU JUST PASSED A RED LIGHT!”
“Willow!” I half turned to glare at her as the car hurtled down the street picking up rolling garbage along the way.
“Don’t WILLOW me! I don’t want to die!”
For the witch’s sake I eased off the gas slightly with a collected sigh. Besides, her fingernails were digging into the upholstery. “Sorry. I just…he’s not…and she’s…”
I couldn’t begin to voice what the implications were of Cordelia being under Spike meant and my mind tended to go off lovely tangents and the warning Angelus was screaming in my head along with the need to pummel Spike,
I didn’t want to start imagining what Spike as doing to MY seer! That’s it! MINE! I saw her first!…as a seer I mean.
“Not gonna want human pancakes for visitors Angel!”
The knuckles of my hands gripping the steering wheel turned white with effort as I brought the car back under survivable speed limit.
“It’s just that he’s with her.”
“He can’t bite.”
Insane jealousy ate away at my undead insides. “No. But she can.”
Willow blinked at me with wide green eyes, before speaking, “Floor it.”
***
SPIKE
Cordelia Fucking Chase.
I sigh.
The human blur.
In the total of ten minutes that it has taken for her to dive off the couch and start gathering things off her floor and couch, she’d only managed to rearrange the mess in her little living room rather than fix much.
What really threw me off was why she was cleaning the bloody place, just because Peachwuss was coming over to kick my arse. How’s that for poetic justice.
I wonder if I’m ever going to get these birds. “Vix…”
“Shut up, shut up! There are STILL too many signs!!!”
My bloody neck was aching with the amount of twisting it was doing while I tried to keep in touch with the blur that was her. “What effin signs!”
“Uffff!” She waved an soft cotton garment in my face. “This! This is a sign!”
I fixed her with a compelling leer. “Frillies? You’re right, I’d have pegged you for the silk stringy type.”
She let out another exasperated snort and stuck her hands on her hips. “Don’t question me. It’s a sign! It’s a sign that I’m a slob! I’m never a slob! And do you KNOW what being a slob means?
It means that Angel, knowing I’m never a slob, is going to see that I’m a slob and naturally assume that something’s wrong, and when he thinks that he broods thinking he’s done something, and then he tries to fix it with his mumbling and his muttering about every damned thing he’s ever done to upset me before he OFFERS to FIX it!”
I stared at her as she panted at the end of tirade. Would it be highly traitorous of me to think the vixen looks bloody appealing when she’s all hot with frustration and looking panicked?
“Drives you nuts don’t it?” I tried to look sympathetic.
With a deep breath she sagged, letting her arms fall around her sides. “Oh yeah.”
Why do I have to bloody do this all the time for Angelboy’s chits! With a tortured sigh I dragged the girl to the couch, my hands on her shoulders to make her sit for a spot. At least she’d breathe better.
“Look Luv, just calm down. You don’t have to clean anything just so Peaches doesn’t go all up in your face like he always does, with everybody. All you have to do is tell him to back off.”
She let out a spurt of breath as she whined low under her breath. “Thus my sad attempt to hide in my apartment. He’s just so…” Her hands touched her forehead before her eyes darkened with anger.
“And I’m just so…” When words eluded her, which I’m starting to think is rare for this beautiful creature, she fell back dejected against the back of the couch. “I’m so tired of not knowing ya know. I bet I spent years building immunity to his broodish ways. Now look at me.”
Her arms crossed against her chest grumpily. “I’m a Cordelia Wannabe!”
I let out a snicker before her flashing hazel eyes shut me up and I cleared my throat. Oh yeah, Angel had been right. Deathglare perfected. “Ahem, look Vix. You haven’t lost all of it. Just some of it and there are some things you don’t forget.”
“Like what?”
“Like…your first kill!”
An eyebrow shot up.
Maybe I should have thought this through. With another embarrassed clear of my throat I thought quickly. “Like…uh…” What was it that humans liked when it came to first times? “Sex?”
Her brow drew together. “Now I’m really depressed.”
I blinked. “You DON’T remember?”
She threw up her hands in frustration. “Spark!”
“SPIKE!” I literally wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. What was so hard to remember about my bleedin’ name!
“SPIKE SPIKE SPIKE!” Okay I’d like to mention that by the time I was done I was jumping in front of the couch in frustration and she looked at me like I’d sprung a tail. Which might have been handy to choke myself right about now.
Bloody hell.
“Spike?”
I looked at her calmly. “Wot?”
“Are you done?”
I blinked, my eyes darting left and right almost to assure myself that I wasn’t still jumping. “Yeh.”
“Good.” She pointed to herself, looking deliciously peeved. “Back to me. Still having a semi-nervous breakdown. I’d like to finish before he actually gets here. So if you have some more words of wisdom I suggest you utter them now before the old lady downstairs comes up with a shotgun and shoots you in the ass.”
“Roight…” I blinked. “Old lady?”
“Prune-y.”
“Ahem. Moving on.” I sat back down on my hunches and faced her. “Okay so there has got to be lots of little details you remember. I mean what about the whole walking bit. And I bet you haven’t forgotten HOW to shag, just don’t remember who with.”
I leaned a little closer for emphasis. “Want to check Vix?”
“Neutered blonde Billy Idol look-alike. I can NEVER get that drunk.”
“Oh that hurt Luv.” I clutched my heart for emphasis. “That stabbed. You’ve quite a tongue on you.” I smirked. “Want a tangle with mine?”
“SPIKE!!!”
“Eh! You got my name right.” I smiled happily
“SPiiiike.” Yes the warning is bloody potent.
Alrighty. Back to comfort mode them. Putting both my hands on her knees I sigh.
“Look Cordelia, I’m sure you remember all the important stuff. Do you remember what you like about waking up in the morning?”
Her mouth twisted in a sensual pout as she contemplated my question. I was beginning to understand Angelboy’s attraction. When he’d given me a bell he’d said something about ‘she makes me want to be a better man’.
I kind of figured the bloody hormones weren’t the only thing talking.
“I like the warmth of the sun as it slants through the curtains on my windows.”
I started at her answer. This bloody chit packed quite a wallop. Who’d have thought she had substance. Not me anyway. “Good.” I smiled back slightly. “Why do you fancy the night?”
“The peace and the quiet.” Her own face calmed as if reliving the memories as I spoke them.
“The way you fancy your coffee?”
“Decaf with chocolate sprinkles.”
“Lavender or Vanilla?”
“Vanilla. French.”
“Tom or Jerry?”
“Duh! Jerry.”
“Your work?”
“Fulfilling.” She shrugged.
“Your vampire?”
“Angel.”
Try as I might I couldn’t stop the smug grin that spread across my mouth as she threw back the matter of fact answer without so much as a single thought. Then I saw the irises of her hazel eyes widen with the realization of what she’d admitted to herself and me.
The grin exploded into a triumphant cackle. Yes. I was evil.
Although, I’ve got to tell you. If Cordelia was a vampire, I’d be drained. The chit has a wicked lunge! “YOU HORRIBLE MONSTER!”
“Good come back chit.” Laughing uncontrollably at my own double meaning, I fell back with her wrists held firmly in my hands while she tried to inflict bodily damage.
As her legs straddled my waist and her eyes sparked with embarrassed anger the door swung open with a slap and everything stilled.
My head tilted backwards and I saw the upside down visage of my very pissed of sire snarling down at me.
Fuckity Fuck.
Above me Cordelia had gone deathly still. “Crap.”
Willow cleared her throat. “Well, at least it’s not him on top of her.”