This is strictly AU. Connor was never taken away, Groo never even bothered to be in the picture and Miss Faith is back from prison. Gooberness ensues. Faith/Wes C/A undertones.
Wesley Wyndham Pryce sat up in bed at precisely 4:13 AM, sweat glistened on his torso as his chest heaved up and down. He most definitely did not have a sex dream about Faith... or had he? Leaving his glasses sitting on the bedside table, he stumbled into the bathroom. Turning on the cold water, he let it run for a minute or so before letting it pool into his hands. He leaned down, splashing the cool water against his face.
Finished with the water, he stood back up and stared at the lone reflection in the mirror, his father stared back at him with a dismayed look, shaking his head in disappointment, "Bloody pathetic." Blinking, the apparition disappeared .. leaving in it's wake an enraged young man. He was pathetic. He was everything his father was not, including a watcher. Thanks to his lovely jailbird... his thoughts ran back to Faith. He knew it wasn't all her fault, he could have stood up to her like a man ought to do .. or kill her. He sighed, walking back into his bedroom, pulling the covers up to his chest. Staring up at the ceiling, he could faintly smell lilacs.
Lilacs.. that was the last thing he could remember before sleep descended.
-- Afternoon, Hyperion Hotel --
Wesley stepped inside the Hyperion which seemed eerily quiet, he surveyed the room and found nothing of particular interest. "Hmmm.."
"Yo English, I'm taking lunch orders. Deli up the street, want anything?" Gunn asked as he came from behind the lobby desk. A smile as he looked down at Fred's tuna sandwich on rye before he looked back up to Wesley.
Wesley shook his head, pushing past Gunn to his office. He nearly slammed the door behind him, looking over to his desk. The chair swung around as Faith smiled. She placed her hands together in mock prayer as her feet slid up to his desk, tilting the chair back. Oh and one more thing.. she was naked. Wesley pulled at his tie which seemed to be knotted too tightly around his neck at that moment. As he opened his mouth to speak, there was a knock at the door he was leaning against. Faith's lips curled into a feline smile as she waggled a couple fingers. He blinked and she was gone. Damn him and his blinking! He was going to have to learn to keep his eyes wide open. "You sure?" Gunn asked from the other side of the door.
Wesley ripped the door open, nodding. "Quite sure, thank you."
"You okay?"
Wesley nodded once again, "Quite. Thank you."
As Gunn went in search of Cordelia, Wesley turned back around. Frowning slightly at the sight of an empty chair. He walked over and sat down, even went as far as swiveling around in the chair.
"New game?" Cordelia stood in front of him, hands on her hips as she watched. He smiled, he must have looked like he lost his marbles. "Err, no. Thought a screw was loose. Any new visions?"
"Yeah, a screw loose. No 'Hi Cordelia, how are you today?' Sheesh and no."
"Forgive my insensitivity, how are you Cordelia?"
She shrugged, walking over to a chair. Her body slumped down onto it, stretching out. Wesley had resumed swinging the chair around, kneeling onto the floor, he checked under his desk. Cordy's eyebrows raised slightly, "Are you okay?"
"What?" He said, careful not to slam his head against the desktop. His eyes peeked over the top of the desk at her. "Fine, fine. Why is it that everyone is asking me that very same question today?"
She snorted, "I wonder why. Lemme think. You're swinging your chair around, rolling around on the floor and.. you're weird." She stood up and walked over to his door. Leaving it open as she jetted out and up the stairs to Angel's room.
Feeling defeated, he picked himself up off of the floor.
"Looking for me?" she asked, lounging on one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk. This time she was fully clothed in an orange jump suit. The 'Hi I'm a murderer!' jump suit. She reached over, grabbing a pen from his desk. Leaning back, she clicked it open and shut. Wesley sat back in his chair, watching her.
"Perhaps."
----- ----- -----
"Angel?" Cordelia asked with a little bit of uncertainty shining through in her voice. She didn't even bother to knock on his door anymore, just barged right on in.
"Yeah?" He answered from the bathroom. Here's the part where you, me and Cordelia get to fantasize. Angel stood in front of the mirror, of all places. The towel hung low around his waist as he continued to play around with his hair. It was the best part of his appearance after all.. right? Cordelia peeked in, her mouth hung open from when she started her sentence.. but for some reason, a very hunky reason she couldn't remember to finish.
Angel continued to push his hair from side to side, primming like the big girl he really was. That snapped Cordelia out of it, "Wesley's acting strange."
"Again?"
"Again? Has he acted strange before?"
"Well yeah, all the time. He is British yanno."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "No. I mean he's acting like 'Hi, I'm guilty of something' kind of strange... " And again, her eyes shifted over his body. He really was a big guy.. he was sexy and he had that smile, the one only she sees.. she bit down on her lower lip in thought.
"Cordy?" Angel was staring at her now, waiting for her to move out of the doorway.
----- ----- -----
"Perhaps?" That smile that seemed so evil it had to be an entity all on it's own found it's way to her face. It gave him chills right down to his toes. That night on the roof her smile made it's appearance after each new trail of blood appeared, last night before he attacked her lips, it appeared and even now. It was unnerving, causing him to squirm in his chair.
She stood, walking around his desk. Curvaceous hips swayed dangerously towards him as he swung to the side, waiting for her. She slid down into his lap, snaking her arm around his shoulder as she moved to just the right spot. She leaned against him, cupping her hand around his ear, in a whisper, "Sure about that?"
He squeaked. How unmanly could one be? All you have to do is squeak to find out.
His hands slipped to her hips, pulling her closer to him. Those vampy red fingernails of hers raked over his cheek gently, she knew what he liked. He inhaled softly, tilting his head back against the chair. "Faith.. "
Fred knocked softly on the door, "Faith?"
"What?" Wesley looked to the door, horrified is the only thing that would probably do as an expression written clear on his face.
"You said faith. Should I come back?" She asked, shyly at that. She had already started to inch towards the other side of the door frame.
"No, no. Well yes, faith. We've got to have faith!" He exclaimed, almost a little too loudly as he rushed out of his seat and grabbed a book from the bookcase. She was sitting right in his lap, he felt her weight against his body.
"Gunn's back. Do you want half of my tuna sandwich?" The southern twang was adorable at times, but not when he was trying to think of other.. more dark and sinister things.
"No thank you. Enjoy your lunch." He threw a smile over his shoulder to her, hoping that would give her a dismissal and felt guilty when he realized what he was doing - sending them all away so his visualizations of a criminal could continue. 'Who's the criminal now, Wes?' he could hear her saying.
----- ----- -----
"Wha?" She felt disoriented for a second, then realized he was standing there watching her, he probably knew she was thinking about him.. in the most compromising of positions. She turned away, cheeks flushing as she went over to the baby's crib. Smiling down, she smoothed the child's hair away from his face.
"Maybe it's contagious."
Cordelia stood up, turning around to watch Angel's back as he sat on edge of the bed, pulling up a pair of silky black boxers. "Maybe what's contagious?"
"Wesley's strange." Now standing, he chuckled as he turned back around to find her facing him. She snorted at him, hopping onto his bed and placing her arms behind her head. "I am so not strange and you know it." She continued to watch him, admire him. Him as in her best friend, those were bad thoughts. He sunk down onto the bed next to her, not bothering to put on anymore clothing than he already had on. "Of course not dear."
"Whatever." She slapped at his arm playfully. Growing a bit more serious, he grabbed her wrists, yanking her body against his. As she yelped, that was the baby's cue to start crying. She leaned her head down on his chest, closing her eyes for a moment. This could be nice. Removing herself from his hands, she walked over to the crib, bending down to smile. "Hi Connor, how's my baby doing today? Hi sweety." She picked the baby up, holding him against her body.
Angel never envied his son so much as he did now.
"He needs a bottle."
Angel got up and headed for the door as Cordelia cleared her throat.
"What?"
"Oh I don't know, Tarzan much?"
He sheepishly looked down to his body. "Clothes, right."
----- ----- -----
'This is wrong on so many levels, why would I indulge in something like this?' Wesley rubbed his forehead for what seemed like the millionth time that evening as he stared down at the book in front of him. Flip, flip, flipping through the pages. He began flipping so fast, a few tore. "Lovely."
Leaning against his door frame this time, she knocked gently. A smirk riding on her pale lips, "Hey Wes."
"Bloody hell, are you ever going to leave me alone?" He raced over to her, entangling his fingers into her hair as he pulled her closer, his blue orbs staring into her almost timid brown orbs. The scent of lilacs invaded his senses just before he crushed his lips against hers. It took her a couple of seconds to understand what was happening, when it finally hit her, she darted her tongue out over his lips.. this was more like it. Every girl should be greeted like this fresh from prison!
"Uhm, Wesley?" Damn that Fred! She looked over Faith's shoulder at him.
Wesley pulled back, a groan as he did. He blinked. Again. And again. "Faith?"
"Yep." She nodded, her hands rubbed together awkwardly as she averted her attention to the new addition.
"Faith?"
"Didn't we establish that? Earth to Watch.. " she stopped herself short. "Earth to non-watcher man."
Wesley's hand slammed against his mouth, "Oh my.. " He turned away from them, his tongue running out over his lips. He could taste her, he could smell her and he certainly wasn't alone in seeing her.
"Is everything alright in here?" Fred's twang was beginning to annoy him.
"Looked like it to me." Gunn answered with a grin from behind her.
TBC..