Title: Rebellious Desire (8/?)
Author: jasonsnene
Pairing: Angel/Xander
Rating: NC17
Warnings: AU, M/M, some violence , uh...maybe a bit of angst. Just a smidge really...kinda.
Summary: Modern, slashy version of a historical romance novel I read recently. Just, you know, cause I wanted to.
Summary: Modern, slashy version of a historical romance novel I read recently. Just, you know, cause I wanted to.
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carinas_carinae and aayesha_r
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purpledodah
Rebellious Desire part 8
Angel and Xander hadn’t gotten far from Graham’s rehab center when the car lurched and Angel had to release Xander’s hand to fight for control. He heard a familiar popping sound and yelled for Xander to get down. Xander was still too lost in thought to realize what was going on, but he heard the urgency in Angel’s voice and ducked down in his seat.
Angel grabbed his cell and speed dialed Riley. “Ri? Where are you? Someone just shot at us. They got a tire, and I had to stop.” Angel looked into his rearview mirror and saw Riley’s SUV squeal to a stop behind them. Angel was looking around cautiously and after a moment, he climbed from the car, using the door as a shield.
Riley was taking similar action, and both men had their guns pulled. “Riley, I’ll cover you. Get Xander into your truck and get him out of here. I’m calling the cops.”
Xander wasn’t really sure what to do, so he listened to Angel and let himself be loaded into Riley’s truck without protest. Riley waited for a few minutes until he heard sirens approaching and then headed out.
“Riley, what the hell just happened?” Xander’s voice was shaky as he thought of the implications of the shooting.
“I don’t know yet, Xander. We need to get you somewhere safe though so that Angel can check things out.”
“Someone tried to kill us. Why the hell would someone want to kill us? This is just crazy. I don’t get it Riley. And, hey! Why are we leaving Angel? I can’t believe we just left him. I can’t believe I just realized that we just left him. Oh my god.”
“Xander, relax. You’re in shock. It happens. Just take a few deep breaths and calm down. You don’t have to worry about Angel; he can take care of himself. Angel will take care of it. He wouldn’t want you to be there, though. With as much attention as you’ve been getting lately, it would be all over the papers. I’ll get you home and head back out to make sure everything is okay.”
The rest of the drive passed in silence and by the time they arrived at Xander’s father’s house, Xander was shaking. “Xander, don’t say anything about what happened, okay? Angel will want this kept quiet until he figures out what’s going on. This is Angel’s job. He knows how to handle it, okay?”
“Sure, Riley. No problem.”
Riley waited until Xander was safely inside before taking off again with a squeal of tires. Xander had the presence of mind to let Rupert’s butler know that the driver would need to go back for Andrew. Xander half hoped that Andrew would just decide to spend the night. Andrew would be able to look at him and tell something was wrong and Xander didn’t want his cousin asking questions that he couldn’t answer.
Xander went to his room and shut the door before collapsing into the chair by his bed. Why would anyone want to kill him? Maybe he was just over reacting, but after being pushed down a flight of stairs and shot at, Xander was pretty sure that he was the common factor.
He would have to talk to Angel about it. This was his area of expertise, after all. Angel would surely know what to do and would hopefully find out what was going on.
Meanwhile, Riley and Angel were searching the scene with the local police. They hadn’t found any evidence of the shooter, and Angel was worried. Someone was obviously after him. Coming after him was one thing. His job came with a certain amount of danger that Angel accepted. He wouldn’t put Xander at risk, though.
By the time he arrived back at his office, Angel had made up his mind. He would cut off all contact with Xander and devote all of his time to finding out what the hell was going on. He was also wondering if the attempted car-jacking with Spike wasn’t part of a plot to get to him. Groo said that he’d thought he heard one of the attackers say ‘It’s not him,’ but Groo wasn’t positive that he’d heard correctly so Angel had filed the detail away.
Now he wondered if Spike wasn’t the target at all. Spike had been in one of Angel’s vehicles when the incident occurred and had been traveling under the radar. It was possible that whoever had attacked thought that Angel was the occupant of the limousine.
Angel called in his best investigators and began working. Riley suggested that he call Xander and let him know what the deal was but Angel refused. “The less he knows the better, Ri. I’ll break it off, and he’ll be safe. That’s what matters.”
Riley disagreed but knew that Angel’s mind was made up. Changing Angel’s mind once it was set was nearly impossible, so Riley didn’t even bother trying. He simply grabbed an old case file and started reviewing. The sooner they figured out what the hell was going on, the sooner Angel could fix things with Xander. Riley hoped it wouldn’t take long. Xander didn’t seem the type to sit around and wait.
Unfortunately, that’s precisely what Xander was doing. He waited all that night for Angel to call, but he never did. The next morning, Xander blearily went down to breakfast and waited for the phone to ring. At lunch time, he finally gave in and called Angel.
The phone was answered by an assistant and Xander asked to be put through, making sure to explain who he was. The assistant came back on moments later and offered to leave a message. Xander asked for Angel to call him ASAP and hung up with a frown.
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Angel never called back even though Xander left several more messages. Xander was trying not to panic, but found himself not wanting to leave the house and jumping at shadows. Then he got the letter.
He came down to breakfast a few days later and saw an envelope by his seat. Curious, he opened it, thinking it was something from Angel telling him what was going on. It wasn’t. Instead, the letter was filled with horrible descriptions of just how the writer was going to kill Xander. It let him know that since the stairs hadn’t worked and the gunshots had missed, the next try would be much more up close and personal. Xander was terrified.
Rupert was concerned when Xander began refusing to attend functions, but Xander excused himself by saying that the hectic lifestyle was getting to him and that he needed a bit of a break. Since his father wasn’t really crazy about the schedule either, he accepted Xander’s reasoning.
Andrew worried about Xander, but was so lost in the glow of his rekindled love with Graham that he didn’t focus on Xander’s changing habits as much as he could have. Graham had asked Andrew to marry him and they were busily planning a small ceremony to take place in a couple weeks.
Rupert agreed to have the wedding on the property since there weren’t that many guests. Andrew didn’t even want his parents to come, since he and Graham intended to return home as soon as the ceremony was over. His parents were planning a huge reception for them for the day after the ceremony.
Xander wasn’t eating and was barely sleeping. He never left the house and was about ready to call Gunn and beg him to come back. It was that thought that finally snapped him out of his misery. Xander knew how to take care of himself and was suddenly furious that he’d allowed anyone else to cause him so much fear.
He marched downstairs and grabbed the stack of messages he’d been ignoring. Flipping through them quickly, he found one from Spike and headed for the phone. Spike was happy to hear from him and agreed to take Xander out on the town. Some big summer movie premiere was going on that night, and Xander agreed to be Spike’s date.
Dressing carefully, Xander hoped that no one would notice just how much weight he’d lost over the past couple weeks. He figured he looked Hollywood chic and let it go. By the time Spike arrived to pick him up, Xander was excited to be back out and about.
They walked the red carpet together, Spike dodging the questions about their relationship with his patented eyebrow waggle and wink. The movie was boring as hell, but they made it through it and headed for the after party without any problems.
Once at the party, Xander started to get worried. There were so many people and it was so crowded. He found himself looking around, terrified that whoever was after him was just waiting to grab him. He clutched Spike’s arm, nearly hyperventilating, when he was pushed from behind from someone trying to get by.
“Pet? You okay?”
Xander just shook his head, trying to remember how to breathe.
“Luv, come on, breathe. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Can’t. Sorry, Spike. I’ve got to get out of here.”
Spike took one look at Xander’s pale face and made for the exit. Moments later they were on their way home. “Xander, tell me what the bloody hell has you so spooked.”
Xander was embarrassed that he’d freaked, but he so desperately needed to confide his fears in someone. “Spike, you can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. Especially Angel.”
“No problem, luv. You’re my friend, too. Just tell me what’s going on.”
“Someone’s trying to kill me.”
“WOT?”
“First it was the car jacking. They stopped the wrong car. Then I was pushed down the stairs at your club opening. The other week, someone shot at me when I was with Angel. Then I got a letter describing the terrible things they are going to do to me. Oh god, Spike. I just need to go home. I can’t do this.”
“Hey now, running isn’t going to solve anything.” They pulled into the drive, and Spike walked Xander to the door. “Listen, pet, you just let Spike take care of things okay? I’ll find out what’s going on. I’m a movie star, ya know. I’ve got connections.”
Xander shrugged, and Spike pulled him into a hug. “Now, you just go on inside and get some rest. I’ll call you later.”
“Thanks, Spike.”
“No problem, luv. G’night.”
Spike stomped back out to his car, and the moment the driver started moving, he flipped open his phone. “Angel? Spike. Where the bloody fuck are you, you stupid arse?”
Shouting their new destination to his driver, Spike flung his phone across the seat and scowled. He was going to knock Angel senseless for this one. Bloody cavebrow-wanker-barbarian-shit-for-brains poof.
Angel and Riley were attending a charity casino night and were both currently well ahead in chips. Riley had agreed to be seen publicly with Angel for the last few weeks, fueling rumors that Riley was his new squeeze.
Spike came storming in and by the time he was at their table, he was enraged. He took one look at Angel and Riley cozied up together and punched first. Angel fell backwards in his chair and landed with a crash. Riley jumped to his feet but stopped when he saw the look on Spike’s face.
“That’s right, Corn-fed. You’d better back the fuck off.”
Angel clambered back to his feet, rubbing his jaw. “What was that for?”
“That was for being a blind stupid wanker. You’re leaving with me, now. Get your fuckin’ shit together and let’s go.”
Angel wasn’t sure he really wanted to go with Spike at the moment and paused. Spike stepped closer and spoke quietly to Angel. Angel’s outraged roar scared most of the other attendees, and he stormed out of the room with Spike and Riley hot on his heels.
Spike was looking very smug; Riley was completely confused. Spike’s car was waiting at the door, and they all piled in. The driver didn’t need to be told where they were going. He just headed back to Xander’s as fast as he could get the large car through traffic.
When Riley realized where they were headed, his eyes opened in shock. This could not be good. The car hadn’t even come to a complete stop before Angel was out of the car and pounding on the front door. Riley looked to Spike for an explanation, which Spike was all too happy to provide. Riley’s roar of outrage was nearly as loud as Angel’s. It redeemed him slightly in Spike’s eyes. Only slightly, though.
Angel had nearly pounded the door in by the time the butler opened it. “Where’s Xander?”
“He’s already in bed, sir. Perhaps you could come back tomorrow?”
“He’s already in bed, sir. Perhaps you could come back tomorrow?”
“Where?”
“Where, sir?”
Angel growled. “Where is he?”
“Upstairs, sir.”
Angel pushed past the butler and darted up the stairs. “XANDER!”
Xander didn’t answer, but it really wasn’t too difficult to find him. Only one door was shut, and Angel stomped to it, pounding only slightly more gently than he had on the front door. He didn’t want to scare Xander, after all.
“Xander, open the door.”
“No. Go away.”
Angel ground his teeth together. “Xander, open this door now, or I’m going to kick it in, and you’ll have to explain why to your father.”
“Fine, but you aren’t coming in.”
The door opened slowly, and Angel pushed his way inside and pulled Xander to him. “I’m so sorry, baby; so, so sorry.”
“Dammit. Spike told. He promised he wouldn’t.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Spike knows I’m the best at handling this stuff, even if you can’t believe it because I’m such an idiot. I won’t let anything happen to you, Xander. I swear it.”
Xander wanted to just shove Angel away, but it really was a relief to have someone else know what was going on. He was so tired of being scared and, even though Angel was a gigantic idiot, Xander knew that he could get to the bottom of what was going on. He didn’t want to do this alone anymore.
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More soon-ish. :D
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I'm *so* loving this!!!!
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Thanks for reading!! :D
LOVE your icon. ROFL
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When my father was Manager of Quality Assurance for the plant he worked at, per his request, I made him a 2x4 with a turned handle and the words "attention getter" painted on the sides. He would walk through the plant with this over his shoulder as necessary. He never had to use it but people knew to shape up when they saw it. I can make another for Angel!
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I love how you're doing this. You're really holding true to the ups and downs and plot twists that you find in historical novels. Not that I've ever read any. *cough, cough* :)
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*loves*
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Hey, who thought I would love Spike-y one day *smirk*sooooo much!
Poor Xander... *pets him*!
And now, and now, and now???????????????? UPDATE, please *begging* *ggg*
I soooo love this fic *hugs fic-y* :)
*hugs you too*
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Thinking on it, perhaps there would be *more*, tough.
Who could want to kill Xander?
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I dunno *evil smirk* Who *could* want to kill Xander? Dum dum dum (that's my evil villian music...heh)
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Thanks for reading. :D
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Ang x
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Don't use the puppy eyes! I cant take it! But I am working on the next chapter, but slowly cause I moved and am slowly getting back into a routine.
:D
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LOVED IT!
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Please don't jackhammer his head...its so pretty. :D
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