jasonsnene | Why for kargrif

Title: Why?

Author: jasonsnene

Pairing: Angel/Xander

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Language, Preslash
Beta:

carinas_carinaeand

aayesha_r

Written for kargrif for the Xangel Ficathon.

There was exactly one word floating through Xander’s mind as he drove down the highway at a slightly higher rate of speed than he normally preferred. Wanna know what that word was? Yeah. It was ‘why’. Seriously. It summed up his world in ways that no other word could ever hope to attain.

For example, why did his life suck? Or, why did he always have to be the one who got the sucky jobs? And great, now he’d thought sucky, which is his world generally meant that something big and scary would be coming along and he’d be getting sucked. Although, suck could have another meaning and wouldn’t that just be…no, this was him after all. It could only mean sucked in the bad way. Not the bad/naughty way.

Why? (See, there’s that word again…told you it was fitting) Well, that’s easy. Because nothing ever worked out right for the Xan-man. It was his thing. Everyone had a thing, right? Buffy was the Slayer, Willow was witch girl. And he was Curiously Drawn to Demons Boy.

And, Xander’s mind provided darkly, in case you weren’t quite convinced, you would only have to open his trunk to see the bound and gagged vampire currently trapped there and being transported to Los Angeles to believe him that his world was nothing but one big “WHY?”

Xander cranked up the speaker, ignoring the thump from the trunk as Patsy soothed away his worries. Spike would just have to deal. There was no way he was listening to that punk rocker, make your ears bleed stuff. No, if he had to go face Deadboy and Cordelia of all people, and very possibly his last day on earth ’cause he wasn’t very popular with either of them, then by golly, he was going to listen to his music.

“I’m crazy…crazy for FEEEEEELLLINNGGGG so LOOONNNEEELLYYYYYYYY.”

The thumps from the trunk grew frantic and louder, so Xander stopped singing along with a sigh. Oh well, he’d already heard Patsy approximately three hundred times already on the drive up so he figured he could show the vampire a little mercy since they were almost at Angel’s.

Pulling to a stop in front of the office building, Xander lamented that he’d had to take the day off from his construction job to deliver the vampire to his rightful owner. He snickered at the imagery his brain provided then he groaned slightly when he pictured Spike kneeling on the ground at Angel’s feet, his leash held tightly in Angel’s hand. See? WHY??? This was exactly the type of image that made him have to refuse letting Spike stay in the basement again.

His brain was making him think all sorts of thoughts that shouldn’t be thoughts at all. They should be like…nightmares, or something. Yeah, big scary demony nightmares that in no way involved naughty touching by anyone with fangs. Especially when those fangs belonged to Spike. And Angel. ’Cause there’d been more than one Angel nightmare lately, way more than his Spike nightmares. And that was so not the reason why he’d insisted that Spike needed to not be with him anymore and why he should go to Angel’s. Nope. This was just another sucky (damn, there’s that word again) job that poor Xander had to take on. Oh yeah, he was so screwed. But not literally screwed because Angel didn’t do that, but man if he did…whoa! Down there evil!brain! No thinking the naughty thoughts about Angel.

Besides, Angel was all good and noble, right? He wouldn’t be into the naughty stuff…right? He’d take care of Spike now that he was all chipped and helpless. Xander mentally snorted. Right. Spike was so a dead vamp. But at least Xander wouldn’t have to worry about the naughty thoughts anymore with both vampires securely out of his way. All he had to do was go up to the door and drop off Spike without giving away his new, secret, very tiny, hardly even there, possibly slightly ginormous, Deadboy naughty thoughts. He could do it. Xander sat back in his seat. Spike wasn’t the only dead one.

Finally deciding to be a brave little soldier, Xander climbed from the car, ignoring the now slightly desperate thumping from the trunk, and went to the office. He knocked, although why, he wasn’t really sure, but it just seemed like the thing to do, even though the office had ‘Angel Investigations’ clearly emblazoned across it, and, oh crap, what was he thinking? Between the extremely broody vampire and his extremely scary ex-girlfriend, Xander was beginning to think that he would have been better off dealing with the naughty nightmares.

Which was why he was totally pleasantly surprised when Wesley opened the door. Xander blinked then rubbed his eyes. Maybe he was more tired from driving than he thought. “Wesley?”

“Xander? Well, hello.” Wesley stepped back from the door. “Do come…” He stopped, wincing at his almost mistake.

Xander grinned and passed through the doorway without aid of an invitation. “That was a close one, Wes. But this is a public place. No invitation needed. Course, I’m no vamp. Would a vamp ever wear this shirt?”

Wesley eyed the rather odd combination of coconuts and parrots that dotted Xander’s shirt and shivered. He refrained from commenting though. If he’d learned anything from his short time of working with Cordelia, it was that one never commented negatively upon clothing choices. Unless, of course, you were Cordelia herself. It was a lesson that had taken him only three shrill lectures to ingrain on his memory. It was very tempting though. That shirt was horrifying.

“Coffee?”

Xander crinkled up his nose and shook his head. “No, thanks. That stuff is disgusting. Now, if you have any Yoo Hoo’s lying around, I wouldn’t say no.”

Wesley gave him a blank stare.

“Yeah, I didn’t figure so. Anyway, is Deadboy around? ’Cause although it pains me to admit this, I kind of need his help.”

“Deadboy? I presume you mean Angel? He’s resting at the moment. Should I wake him?”

Just then, the door flew open and a shrill voice screamed “Xander!” Xander tried to quickly process whether or not it was an “OH MY GOD YAY IT’S XANDER!” scream or an “OH MY GOD I HATE YOUR GUTS!” scream. He decided on the former when he was jerked into a tight hug.

“Hey, Cordy!”

“So, did you miss me?” She gave him her brightest smile, and he realized in that moment, that yeah, he had missed her.

“How could I not? You are Queen C after all. I’m just a minion in your service.”

She laughed and turned to Wesley. “Wes, where’s Angel? Xander’s obviously here for a reason and it must include the almighty champion, so why is he not up here dealing with whatever catastrophe has brought Xander here?”

“Uh…”

“Oh, for pity’s sake, Wesley, tell me you still aren’t afraid of waking him up?” She looked at Xander and rolled her eyes before heading to the back of the office. She opened an old fashioned looking elevator gate and yelled, “Angel! Get up here, NOW!” Then she smiled happily and came back to the main room. “He should be here in three…two…one…”

“Cordy, what is it?” Angel came dashing into the room, dressed only in his pajama bottoms and brandishing both a sword and a stake. Xander tried really hard not to snicker over his bed head, which wasn’t as hard as you’d think since his eyes were drawn pretty quickly to Angel’s naked chest. Whoa, now he had naughty, naked Angel thoughts and, man, those were really way more intense visually, and, please someone kill him now before someone noticed that his pants were suddenly tighter. Thank everything good and holy in the world that he’d worn his best shirt for just this reason. People tended not to notice anything below the waist when he was wearing it.

“Xander’s here.”

“Hey, Deadboy.” And in no way was his voice a little breathy when he said that.

Angel blinked then looked around the office again. “No one’s trying to kill you?”

“Nope.” Cordelia answered, although it sounded more like she was saying a secret ‘duh’ in there. Heh. Cordy really hadn’t changed much at all.

“And you haven’t had a vision?”

“Nope.” Yep, there was another ‘duh’ there and wait, what had he just asked?

Xander turned curious eyes to his ex. “Vision?”

She shrugged. “Long story. I’ll tell you later. OH MY GOD! You can totally go out with me to this new club I’ve been wanting to go to for like forever but Angel totally won’t go and gets really grumpy when I want to go by myself ’cause last time I went to a club without him I kind of got impregnated by demon spawn. But really, it was so not the club’s fault!”

“Cool! L.A. club scene. I’m in! I’m hip with the crowd.”

“Well, not wearing that hideous shirt, you’re not. Xander, I know you live for the comic moments and all, but seriously, the wardrobe, too? Have you no shame?”

They shared a grin and Angel and Wesley looked confused. It was obviously an argument that she’d made to him many times before, yet Xander was unaffected. Intriguing. They would have to learn his secret and learn it well.

“I’m just going to go get dressed. I’ll be back.” Angel hurried back down to his basement apartment, already planning what to wear, and groaning over the fact that Cordy would surely be teasing him about the state of his hair for some time.

“So, Xander, why are you here really? And if you say it’s because you want me to take you shopping, know that you’ve come to the right place. ‘We help the hopeless.’ That’s our motto, and I know of no one more hopeless than you when it comes to fashion.

“Nope. No fashion tips necessary. I just have a vampire in the trunk that I need to turn over to Angel. Then, it’s vamoose, and I’m back to the ’Dale.”

“But you’ll totally stay for the club tonight, right?”

“Oh sure, yeah, I’m in. Sounds fun. You aren’t going to make me put that stinky stuff on my hair again, are you? ‘Cause really, I smelled like a girl for like a week last time you fixed me up.”

“No worries, I’ll just use some of Angel’s. He gets this really expensive stuff. It’s scentless. Apparently it bothers his sensitive nose or whatever. Please. I don’t know who he thinks he’s fooling.”

“Excuse me, Xander,” Wesley’s voice sounded slightly frantic, “but did you say you have a vampire in your trunk?”

“Yep.” Xander turned back to Cordelia. “So, tell me about this club? Any hot chicks there? Besides you of course?”

Cordelia smiled brightly. “Oh, you will totally not believe the hot chicks! All the hot little starlets hang out there. And the hot young stars, too.” She eyed him knowingly, and damn, shouldn’t his secret be safe from her? “You know, I bet I can call in a favor and get you in with my hairdresser this afternoon.”

“Heck no! Forget it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with my hair. Shaggy is in. And nothing you can say will change my mind so don’t even try it.”

“Well, I must admit that it does sort of work for you. But never, ever ask me to say anything like that again. But we are so getting you a new outfit and I don’t want to hear one word of complaint, mister! Got it? Good.”

Xander knew when arguing was hopeless, so he wisely kept his mouth shut. At least his hair was safe.

Wesley, still floundering over the fact that Xander was apparently traveling with a vampire in his trunk, was equally stunned that Xander was standing up to Cordelia and winning. The man was obviously a genius, and Wesley realized he’d misjudged Xander during their time in Sunnydale.

Angel came back into the office, looking as perfectly coiffed and put together as always. Xander and Cordelia didn’t look his way, so it was left to Wesley to break the big news. “Xander has a vampire in his trunk.”

Angel was currently waiting for some type of reaction from the other members of the room at his return, which was obviously not going to happen as they discussed Cordy’s new shoes and how they would perfectly match this outfit she made Angel buy her the week before when she’d been slimed during a job.

“Xander has a what?”

“A vampire in his trunk.”

“Xander?”

Xander and Cordelia didn’t acknowledge him, so Angel, feeling either incredibly brave or still not quite awake, decided to step between them and interrupt. “Xander? Wesley tells me you have a vampire in your trunk? Please tell me he misunderstood you.”

“Nope. It’s Spike. And he’s kind of grumpy ’cause I tied him up kinda tight before I put him in there.”

“You have SPIKE in your trunk?” Angel’s voice was a mixture of stunned surprise and outrage. It kind of made Xander squirm a little. But not in the good way, no sirree, absolutely not that way.

“Yep. Giles wanted me to drop him off here so you could have a turn taking care of him. He’s kind of getting on all of our nerves.”

“You have SPIKE in your trunk!”

“Um, yeah, Deadboy. That’s what I just said.” He turned to Cordy. “Did he get bashed in the head or something? ’Cause I don’t think this is that hard of a concept to understand.”

“No, not that I’m aware of, but you never know with him. Sometimes he gets all stoic about his injuries. I think it’s stupid, but whatever. It’s not like a bag of O pos won’t fix him right up.”

And damn if that didn’t bring sucking back to mind. Shit, Xander thought, he was so totally screwed.

“Wesley, get a crossbow.” Angel sounded more than slightly annoyed. “Xander and Cordy, you stay here. I’ll take care of him.”

“Cool. Thanks, Deadboy.” Xander turned back to Cordy before realizing what Angel had said. “No, wait. You can’t take care of him, take care of him. You really have to take care of him. He’s all helpless and annoying now.”

Angel paused at the door. “Helpless?”

“Well, yeah, didn’t Giles call you?”

“NO!”

“Oh. Oops?”

“Xander, I’m losing patience here. What the hell is going on?”

“Sheesh. Lose the ’tude, man. Don’t shoot the messenger and all that.”

Cordy was practically bouncing with excitement. “Come on, Xan. Tell us. I’m dying to hear how Spike finally met his match.”

Xander sighed and turned back to her, completely ignoring Angel and Wesley. “Don’t ever tell him I said this, ’k?”

“Oh, sure. I promise.”

“Well, it’s kinda sad. I mean, I get the whole evil vampire thing, and I’m all for stake first, ask questions later, but this is different. I mean, he can’t even fight back, you know?”

“Oh, wow.”

“Yeah. Who knew that the government would try to get involved with the whole ‘demon management’ thing?”

Cordelia made a little meeping sound. “The government? Like, the mayor?”

“Worse! Like the military! Man, it’s crazy. They have this big secret base somewhere in Sunnydale. Buffy says she’s all on top of it, but I kind of think she’s just kind of on top of one of the soldiers…” Xander suddenly remembered who else was listening and looked sheepishly at Angel. “Oops. Sorry.”

Cordelia stomped her foot, and her heel made a really loud clacking sound. “So…what happened next?”

“Oh, right, so anyway, the military captured Spike and put this chip thing in his head and it makes him totally unable to fight or anything. If he so much as hurts anyone a teensy weensy little bit, WHAM, it’s excruciating pain to the head.”

“Holy crap.”

“You’re telling me. At first, I was all like ‘stake him, who cares’, you know? But now I kind of feel sorry for him a little. No one deserves that.”

“Ahem.” Everyone’s attention turned to Wesley when he cleared his throat. “As enlightening as this conversation is, I’m inclined to think that Spike would be better served if he were put out of his misery. We can’t in all good conscious remove the chip and set him loose upon society, and we can’t leave him helpless either.”

“Hey! I object.”

Angel arched a brow. This ought to be interesting. Xander, objecting to the staking of a vampire? Who knew…? And why did Xander just look at him and blush a little? Weird.

Wesley arched a brow and loaded a bolt on to his crossbow. “What can you possibly object to?”

“You can’t just…stake him!”

Angel again risked life and limb and stepped between them. “Listen, Xander. We’ll get Spike out of the trunk and I’ll talk to him, okay? But remember that this is Spike we’re talking about. Staking him may really be our only option.”

Xander sighed. “Well, I didn’t bring him here to be staked. Just so we’re clear on that. I mean, Giles kept him chained up his bathtub, for pete’s sake, and Buffy’s just being Buffy about the whole thing. So, even though I really didn’t want to, I brought him here.”

“You did the right thing. Spike is a member of my family, whether I like it or not. He’s my responsibility and it’s time I showed some where he is concerned.” Angel felt himself straightening, looking at Xander in a new way. This was not the same Xander he’d left behind in Sunnydale, and Angel looked him over again, noticing him in ways he really hadn’t before.

“Whatever you say, man.” Xander was slightly blushing again over Angel’s attention, and damn, wasn’t that embarrassing?

Xander handed his keys to Angel and watched as he and Wesley left the office. He and Cordy stared at the door until it reopened moments later with Angel carrying a still bound Spike over his shoulder. The gag muffled any words Spike tried to say, and the gag was so totally Giles’ idea and not his, but Spike’s eyes spoke volumes and they told Xander that he was really, really pissed.

Cordy grabbed Xander’s arm as the vampires and Wesley disappeared down into Angel’s apartment. “Hey, let’s go do some shopping and we’ll grab some dinner before we hit the club.”

Xander’s eyes drifted back towards the door where Angel had disappeared with Spike.

“Come on, Xander. You know how Angel is. He’ll be all broody and thinky before he does anything. We have loads of time.”

Realizing that she was right, and that even if she wasn’t there wasn’t much he could do about it at this point, Xander followed her out the door. Besides, he really was looking forward to a night out in L.A.

********************************************************************

The club was everything Xander had thought it would be. He’d never seen anything like it in real life, of course. Sunnydale had nowhere near the population of L.A. and boy did these guys know how to party. Cordelia was immediately surrounded by a flock of hunky men all vying for her attention, and she set up court much like she had back home, only on a larger scale.

Xander wandered the edges of the club, taking in the sights and smiling every time he saw something and thought, “Only in L.A.” It happened more often that he’d figured it would. He’d gotten a few admiring glances himself, and was really glad that Cordy had picked out a new outfit for him, even though he wouldn’t tell her that or he’d never hear the end of it. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he was surprised when a strong hand gripped his arm and he turned quickly, ready to brace himself for whatever demoness decided he was on tonight’s menu.

Fortunately for him, it wasn’t a she-demon looking for a nummy Xander-shaped treat. Just some guy.

“Hey. You look lost.” The guy grinned sexily at him.

Xander grinned back. “Nope, not lost.”

“New in town?”

“Am I that obvious?”

“Maybe a little. I’m Lindsey.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Xander.”

“So, Xander, what brings you to L.A.?”

“Oh, I just brought someone to see his relatives and hooked up with a friend from high school while I was here.” He pointed towards Cordelia and saw the man pale.

“You’re with her?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You know Angel, then?”

“Yep. Me and De..uh, Angel go way back.”

Lindsey’s eyes grew speculative. “How far back?”

Xander realized what the man was implying and quickly grabbed Lindsey’s hand and put it to this throat. “Not that far back! I have a pulse!”

Lindsey chuckled and his hand went from a clinical touch to a caress. “Good.”

When Lindsey’s thumb stroked his cheek and over his jaw, Xander felt his mouth start to water and his pulse sped up a bit. He couldn’t seem to form words. Which was pretty much a first time ever for him. Weird.

“So, Xander, let’s get a drink and get to know each other better.”

“Okay.” Oh look, his voice did still work. Excellent. He’d been worried there for one tiny little second.

*********************************************************************

Angel watched Spike sleeping in his bed and tried not to lose his temper. What the hell was this? Spike looked horrible and from the amount of blood he’d consumed, Angel knew that Giles hadn’t been feeding him enough. It infuriated him to know that he hadn’t been contacted sooner, and that he had been only at Xander’s request.

And that was another thing. What was with Xander’s change of heart? Something must have changed for the boy since Angel had left town, and Angel found himself wanting to know exactly what had happened. Xander didn’t seem to be as uptight and single-minded as he’d been before, not to mention the fact that he was looking at Angel in a way he’d never looked at him before. Maybe he was just finally growing up. Then again, he did still call him Deadboy, so maybe not.

Wesley came back into the bedroom and handed Angel a mug of blood. Once Spike had fed, he’d fallen into a deep sleep, the exhaustion of the past few months apparently catching up with him. Angel had chained one arm to the wall, just to be on the safe side, but after he and Spike had talked he didn’t really think the younger vampire would be going anywhere anytime soon.

“Ahem.”

“Wesley, you do realize that you can just speak, right?”

“Yes, well, I just….thank you. I was wondering if perhaps you’d be interested in checking on Cordelia and Xander? I know I shouldn’t worry, but from what I remember of Sunnydale, Xander always seemed to find trouble, and you know Cordelia. I just…worry.”

Angel sighed and stopped staring at Spike. “You’re probably right. We’ll just go check on them.” The thought of his family being out and away from his protection didn’t settle well with him.

“Good.”

“Of course, if they see us, I’ll tell Cordelia that it was all your idea.”

Wesley gasped and paled. “You wouldn’t.”

“No, I wouldn’t. She’d kill you, and then I’d have that on my conscious as well.”

They drove quickly to the club, knowing exactly where Cordy would take Xander as she’d been begging them all week to come with her. Cordy wouldn’t admit it, and neither of them said anything, but she really didn’t like going out anymore without one of them. Angel knew that the demon pregnancy thing had terrified her more than she would ever acknowledge.

The truth was, it scared him too. They’d come very close to losing her that night, and as much as she irritated him sometimes, Angel knew that Doyle had been right. He did need to live among them, or he would be lost. He’d fought too long to take that risk.

As expected, the club was packed. Angel and Wesley looked over the crowd and finally spotted Cordelia surrounded by a flock of admirers. She looked towards the door as if sensing his presence and Angel saw a little tension go out of her posture. He continued to search the crowd for Xander, finally locating him sitting near the back of the bar with a…man? Who was leaning very close? Who had Xander smiling? A lot?

Angel was surprised by the sudden rush of jealousy he was feeling. He wanted Xander to lean close to him like that, to smile at him like that. Although he’d started towards the pair instinctively, Angel forced himself to stop and think. What would Xander say if he came barging over there like some caveman and jerked him away? It was hard to stop himself, though. Really hard. Angel didn’t know where these feelings were coming from, but he knew he felt differently about Xander now. The boy - no, Xander was more man than boy now - was part of his family.

That thought took Angel even more by surprise. Xander? Part of his family? Since when? Angel realized that Xander had become one of those few people in his world that he would sacrifice anything for from the moment he’d returned Spike. Family looked out for each other, and that’s what Xander had done, even though Angel knew he was uncomfortable with the whole thing. He could tell. He could also tell that there were a few other things that Xander was uncomfortable with, such as the reason why he’d looked at Angel earlier and blushed, followed by a sudden burst of pheromones.

Xander was one of his now, and it bothered Angel immensely that someone else was touching what was his. He continued to stare over at Xander and the other man, surprised that he hadn’t drawn their attention. Then the man turned slightly and Angel caught a glimpse of his face. Lindsey McDonald. There was no fucking way Angel was going to let Lindsey get anywhere near Xander. Before he knew what he was doing, Angel was across the room and leaning menacingly over the lawyer.

Lindsey paled, but didn’t draw back. He smiled, coldly, and fought the urge to flinch when Angel’s eyes flashed gold. “Hello, Angel. Long time no see.”

“Lindsey.”

Xander looked back and forth between them, hurriedly putting a little more distance between himself and the other man. Anyone who earned that look from Angel had to be a bad guy. He should have known.

Angel reached out a hand towards Xander and Xander got out of his seat and went to Angel’s side. Damn. Damn. Double damn. Why? Really, just why? Angel glared at Lindsey then leaned really, really close. “You stay away from what’s mine.”

Xander blinked. From what’s his? Huh? What? Then he was forcibly moved as Angel dragged him by the arm over towards Cordelia. Her groupies started to protest the interruption, but one look at her boss dragging Xander by the arm and she knew something was wrong. “What is it?”

“Xander had a little visit from Lindsey McDonald from Wolfram and Hart.”

“Oh, shit. Is he okay?”

“Um, hey. Standing right here. And can I just say, Ow! Watch the grip, Deadboy. You’re damaging the goods.”

Angel loosened his hold only slightly, and returned his attention to Cordelia. “He’s fine. I got there before Lindsey had a chance to do anything.”

“So what exactly is Wolfram and Hart?”

Angel and Cordy answered in unison. “Evil law firm.”

“No, seriously.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Angel’s tone spoke for itself, but Xander wanted to be sure. So, he looked. Nope, now that Angel mentioned it, he didn’t look at all like he was kidding. In fact, he looked mighty pissed. Great. Perfect. Just what he needed. A pissed-off vampire. And Cordy didn’t look too happy either.

“Tell me again why we can’t just kill them,” she said to Angel, and Xander had never heard such a cold tone from her, even after that unfortunate incident which he never ever spoke of because he valued his life.

“Because they’re human.”

“Right. Damn. Are you absolutely sure they’re human? Positive?”

“Yes.”

“Crap. Well, what did they want with Xander? And, you know, I so should have known better than to bring him out with me, like ever. I mean, really, Xan, could you attract any more trouble? You totally need a bodyguard.”

Angel agreed, and was wondering just how he was going to keep Xander safe from Wolfram & Hart’s reach if he went back to Sunnydale. Maybe if he left they would just leave him alone? Angel grimaced. No, not after that show he’d put on at the club. He’d practically staked his claim on Xander. There was no way they wouldn’t try to use him against Angel now. So Xander would just have to stay here then. With him.

Xander’s hand came up to rub his arm where Angel was holding him and their fingers brushed. Xander’s eyes shot up and met his, and Angel definitely wasn’t going to let Xander go anywhere. Not without him, at least. And when the hell did this happen?

Xander was wondering about the pretty scary gleam in Angel’s eye and was wondering if he shouldn’t take a chance and just run for it. No, he couldn’t leave Cordy like that. But, man, was Angel being all scary and Angelus-y right now. And that gleam in Angel’s eye was making him think all sorts of nightmary thoughts again. He hoped Angel wouldn’t notice, even though he was pulled awfully tight against his side.

Wesley stumbled up from wherever he’d been and took in the intensity of the expressions immediately. “Oh my. What did I miss?”

“Oh, not much. Just the evil lawyers from hell trying to get Xander.” Cordelia practically growled out the words, and Xander thought that maybe she’d been spending too much time with Angel when she started to sound like him.

“Wolfram and Hart? What on earth did they want from Xander?”

Angel felt another surge of protectiveness and glared warningly at Wesley. Wesley caught the look and quickly tried to backtrack. Xander just rolled his eyes and continued to try to get his arm from Angel’s grip. Damn, what did they put in that blood of his anyway? He wasn’t even budging.

Just as he gave another pull, Angel released him and Xander would have fallen if Angel hadn’t reached out to catch him and pull him closer than ever. He was now plastered completely against Angel and there really wasn’t any way to hide his not so little problem at this distance. “Um, Angel? Could you please let me go?”

“No.”

Xander sputtered. “No. NO? Why? WHY????”

“Because I said so. That’s why.”

He stared at the determined expression on Angel’s face and took a breath to argue, but Angel’s free hand came up and covered his mouth. There eyes locked, and between that look and the feel of Angel touching him, Xander suddenly wasn’t feeling the need to get away any more. He stopped trying to talk and they left the club, Angel making Xander sit really close to him in the front seat of the car.

Xander was quiet for the entire ride, thinking back on his day. He’d started the day wondering why, and he’d just gotten his answer. Because Angel said so. Huh. Seemed like as good a reason as any, especially with Angel’s arm wrapped tightly around him and Xander suddenly feeling more secure than he had in, well, ever.

Of course, his brain was still going a mile a minute. I mean really, how had this happened? And how was this going to work? How was he supposed to explain this to Buffy? And how come Angel was suddenly returning his glances and giving him those smug looks every time he blushed?

They got to the office, and Angel continued to keep Xander right by his side. His thumb was now rubbing gentle circles on his arm. Suddenly he didn’t care so much about the why’s anymore. And tomorrow was soon enough to start working on the hows.

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Date: 2009-01-10 09:11 pm (UTC)

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