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A/N: Bear with me here till the end. It might be rocky. My muse has run off with my sense of humor so I'm alone in this.
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"And she's loving him with that body I just know it. And he's holding her in his arms late, late at night. You know, I wish I had Jessie's girl. Oh, I want Jessie's girl. Oh, oh, oh, Jessie's girl," Dr. Royce sang.
Lorne turned towards Angel, who stood in the doorway that separated Angel's office with the conference room Lorne was listening to people sing in, and gave Angel a thumbs up. That meant Dr. Royce was clean, Royce didn't have anything to do with the kidnapping of Nina. Which meant they were back at square one.
Angel silently cursed, again, whoever had stolen Nina and he vowed to get her back and inflict some major pain on the kidnappers. Not so much for Nina as because Angel and Wesley were getting somewhere when they were interrupted. Angel had almost worked up the nerve to tell Wesley that Willow had altered his curse a little when she restored his soul. Ha, a little, like a hundred years is a little while.
Angel could be happy, get happy, experience perfect happiness and not lose his soul. Or at least that's what Angel had found out by branching as far as he dared into the realm of happiness. Angel knew he didn't love Wesley but he did care deeply for him and every time with Wesley was like playing Russian roulette with his soul.
Angel just wanted to be able to finish his unfinished chat slash impromptu make-out session with Wesley. He wanted to tell Wesley he 'cared deeply for him' so they could move right along to the mind blowing sex and then the cuddling. Out of all of the people Angel had fucked or made love to (however you want to say it) he had never cuddled afterwards.
"Lorne's read the entire security team already," Wesley grumbled, "and the lab staff, as well as half of my department."
Angel walked into his office where the rest of his friends sat. He stood as close to Wesley as he dared, lest he lose control and jump Wesley right there.
"If the kidnappers had someone inside Wolfram & Hart, Lorne'll know," Angel said and moved closer to Wesley.
So close that if he wanted to Angel could reach out and the stroke the course stubble on Wesley's face. Or, pull Wesley up out of the chair, rip his clothes off, throw him to the ground, and screw him into the carpet.
"What if she was detected somehow," Wesley said, "before we found her?"
"Yeah," Gunn said, "but by who?"
"The scariest thing was how organized they were," Fred said from her seat next to Gunn. "Almost military."
Angel walked across the room while Fred talked. He was jealous of Fred, he realized. Jealous of the power she held over Wesley, the power she would always have. Even Angel letting Wolfram & Hart magick over their memories hadn't changed that. It had made Gunn and Fred's entire relationship, and subsequent problems, never happen but Wesley still wanted her.
"An underground monster-hunting military organization," Wesley said. "It's happened before."
"It's all my fault," Fred said for the thousandth time.
While Angel was jealous of Fred she was still a part of the team, a part of the 'family', and it was not at all her fault. Angel made the 'how is this all your fault' face and Fred explained.
"I was stupid."
"Anything happens to Nina," Angel cut her off, "it's on me."
"That's weird," Fred continued. "Why don't I just approach the mysteriously ajar door?"
"Stop with the mocking," Gunn sighed. "Get enough of that from blondie bear."
"Spike," Fred said anxiously. "Has anyone seen him-"
"Since he went poof?" Angel asked looking at Wesley and not Fred. "No."
"Uh, but it's been hours," Fred said and crossed the room to stand in front of Angel. "Angel-"
Fred started but was cut off by a knock on the door and Dr. Royce walking in.
"What do you got?" Angel asked Royce.
"Usual suspects," Royce said and handed Angel a sheet of paper.
Wesley got up and walked over to stand behind Angel. Very close behind Angel. Angel could feel Wesley's warmth radiating off of him, it seeped through Angel's clothes and at that moment Angel realized exactly how much he had missed being that close to Wesley.
It wasn't just Wesley's heat, or his surprisingly soft skin, it was Wesley. All of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches that made up Wesley. The steady sound of Wesley's heart and the way it picked up when Angel was close, the way Wesley moaned, whimpered, or cried out when Angel did something he liked. The taste of Wesley's skin, salty, tangy, human. The mixed scents of anticipation, desire, and the slightest hint of fear Wesley poured off when Angel touched him. And the sight of a naked, sweating, panting, moaning, achingly hard Wesley was something to die for. Wesley's body was... god Wesley was sexy. And now he was standing so close... so close.
"There's the sacrifices," Royce said snapping Angel out of his fantasy and Angel handed the paper over to Wesley, "wackos who want to rid the world of abominations, and werewolf packs looking for new recruits. Then there's the paranormal sporting groups."
"I'll be..." Fred said and took off out the door.
"Vampire hunting in eastern Europe. That kind of thing," Royce finished.
"Great," Angel said and cast a sideways glance at Gunn while silently working out a plan to get rid of both Gunn and Royce so he could at least tell Wesley about the curse. "Well thanks."
Royce smiled, nodded his head, and walked out of the room.
Angel ignored Wesley who was still pouring over the list in his hands and focused his attention on getting rid of Gunn. This would be tricky. Angel was still on shaky ground with Gunn from their previous conversation, or lack there of. Angel had to think of a way to make Gunn leave without ordering him to or making Gunn more angry.
"So," Angel said loudly and cleared his throat. He gave a quick look back at Wesley, who had stopped reading the list to look over at Angel, before walking over and sitting in the chair that Wesley had vacated earlier. "Gunn."
Gunn looked up at Angel from the book he was leafing through. "Yeah?"
Angel smiled at Gunn and looked back at Wesley for some kind of support but Wesley gave a silent chuckle and leaned against Angel's desk to watch what was obviously to become an Angel stutter fest. Angel scowled at the British man and turned his attention back to Gunn.
"McManus," Angel said quickly. "How did it go with that, it, him?" Angel stuttered and this time he heard Wesley chuckle.
Angel silently belittled himself for choosing a conversation topic and not a 'get out of my office and work on something' topic. But Gunn looked pleased that Angel was taking an interest in his work so at least, Angel thought, it wasn't a complete waste.
"I took those papers-"
"I think I found something," Fred said running into Angel's office and interrupting Gunn.
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"You're right," Wesley said to Fred, "it's calendula."
Wesley, Gunn, and Fred were in Royce's office where Fred had 'found something' and clocked Royce over the head with a lamp. Wesley examined the blue liquid in the tiny vial while Gunn and Fred went through Royce's office drawers and paperwork making a right good mess.
"He must have known we'd have him sing for Lorne," Wesley continued.
"So he came prepared to block the reading," Fred clarified. "It's like taking valium to pass a polygraph test. I knew as soon as I saw the vial in the trash can."
"How'd you end up going through Royce's trash anyway?" Gunn asked her.
"It was... well, Spike." Fred said. "He led me in here."
"Yo," Gunn exclaimed, "here we go."
Gunn pulled up the bottom of a drawer he'd been fiddling with to reveal a secret compartment. There were a few polaroids, a knife, and some papers inside. Fred picked up the photos and began looking at them.
"Are they...?" She asked and looked closer at the pictures. "Ew!" She threw the pictures down on the desk. "We'll just... yeah, burning. Burning would be good for these."
Wesley picked up the large knife and commented, "not exactly an autopsy knife."
"You're not gonna believe this," Gunn said and both Fred and Wesley looked over at the small piece of paper he was reading.
"Oh, god," Fred exclaimed.
Fred took off at an almost a run for Angel's office leaving Gunn and Wesley to follow. They raced down stairs and stormed up to Angel's office just as he was coming out.
"I know where she is," he said.
"Angel," Fred said and held out the paper to him, "we found... It's what they plan to do to her."
Angel took the paper and read it over proclaiming, "It's a menu."
"Yeah," Fred said.
"Alright," Angel said and walked back into his office. He grabbed Royce by the scruff of his neck and marched him towards the elevator. "Let's go get her. Wes, Gunn."
Wesley and Gunn nodded. Wesley ran back to his office and grabbed hid gun, a tranquilizer gun, and a shot gun then returned to the elevator just as the doors were opening. They stepped inside and Angel pushed the lobby button.
"Good luck," Fred called belatedly as the doors closed.
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They drove to a ritzy section of town and parked in front of a huge house. Angel had, after some prompting, told them the plan. As plans went it was one of those that only Angel could possibly come up with, well Angel or a five year old child. They'd use Royce to get in, pull out their weapons and kick ass until they free Nina and then run away.
It allowed for nothing, no snag in the plan and if there were any they would be shit out of luck.
They piled out of the car and walked up to the door. Royce knocked while they hid and in seconds someone slid a panel open on the door.
Royce didn't say anything and a moment later the panel slid shut and the door opened. Gunn stepped inside and punched the man behind it in the face.
"I'm all up in the law now," Gunn said, "but damn it feels good to get my violence on."
"Crane's not going to like this," Royce whimpered.
"If I were you," Gunn said, "I'd just be hoping the girl's alive."
"She has to be," Wesley spoke up, "at least through dinner. Once a werewolf dies it reverts to it's human state."
Wesley kept his gun digging into Royce's back as they walked into what appeared to be the main dining room and a number of guests were seated.
"You mean," Gunn said, "to eat werewolf, they got to eat her alive?"
"Evan," a balding man, who Wesley assumed was Crane, said to Royce, "you've brought guests."
"We're just here to pick up a friend," Angel said and Gunn cocked Wesley's shotgun then pointed it at Crane.
A few people screamed and everyone turned to stare at them. Angel hit a man in a chef hat with a tray and made his way over to where Nina was strapped to a table. Angel began extracting her from the table while she put up protest.
"Jeez," Angel said and ungagged her, "they garnished you?"
"No get away," Nina protested. Wesley fought the urge to roll his eyes, some people could be so melodramatic. "Just let them choke on me."
Angel walked over to a wall an grabbed a candle holder then walked back over to Nina and began to break the chains holding her to the table.
"Listen to me," Angel said, "tomorrow you're gonna be home."
"This is what I am," Nina said. "I can't go back there, ever. This is better."
"Nothing better about ending up in a doggy bag," Angel said.
"What," Gunn asked looking down at one of the menus while keeping his gun trained on Crane, "no leprechaun soufflé?"
Crane scoffed, "there's no such thing as leprechauns."
Suddenly armed men came running out into the room and pressed their guns against the back of Wesley's neck and pointed one at Gunn's back.
"We've hit a snag," Wesley said to Angel.
"We're not leaving without the girl," Angel said and crept closer to Wesley.
"I'm willing to let my men die," Crane said, "can you say the same?"
Angel flicked his eyes in Wesley's direction.
"I go," Gunn said, "you're going with me."
"It's a risk," Crane said, "what can I say?"
"Probably should have told me to drop this," Angel said and threw the candle holder in the air and punched the guy standing in front of him in the face.
One of the security guards shot Angel and Angel fell backwards. Wesley flinched to move towards Angel. Even knowing that Angel was a vampire and that a bullet wound wouldn't hurt him it still freaked him out to see someone he cared about get shot. He was still worried he wouldn't get up again.
Suddenly Nina turned and since she was loose she sank her teeth into the throat out of the nearest person. People started screaming, Angel jumped up, and Gunn elbowed the man behind him with the gun. Were-Nina went towards Gunn and he aimed the shotgun at her but couldn't pull the trigger and kill her. She knocked him down and proceeded to go in for the kill. Wesley pulled a tranq gun out and shot were-Nina. She went down and Gunn let out a sigh of relief.
"This is the part where we take our friend and go," Angel said.
"I'm afraid not," Crane said. "Thought tonight may not be salvageable, but my guests have paid a high price... some higher than others." He said and looked down at the dead man were-Nina had killed. "And I promised them a werewolf."
Were-Nina raised up suddenly and bit Royce's leg. Wesley shot her again with the tranq gun and she fell back again.
"And a month from now," Angel said, "you'll have one."
"NO!" Royce screamed and began begging for his life as Crane beckoned his people away from Wesley and Gunn. They drug Royce off screaming.
Angel picked up were-Nina and they put her in the car, then drove back to Wolfram & Hart.
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Angel invited them all up to his apartment the next day. He'd asked them to be there by seven. Then asked Wesley, personally, to be there a little early.
Wesley arrived at Angel's apartment at six forty-five. He wanted to be earlier but he was afraid of what Angel might want to talk about and didn't want to be alone with Angel for two long. Their previous conversation was leading up to something, Wesley could feel it, and now Angel had asked him to be early.
Wesley knocked on the door to Angel's apartment and Angel opened the door.
"Hey," Angel said.
"Hello," Wesley replied.
They stood there like that until Wesley looked around the hallway.
"Oh," Angel said and threw the door open wide, "come in."
Wesley muttered a thank you and stepped into Angel's enormous front room. He tried not to look as awed with the place as he felt. Not only was it huge but it was designed very modern. He couldn't understand how Angel could live there seeing as how he was so behind the times.
"I thought you would be here earlier," Angel said to him and shut the door.
"Yes," Wesley said, "sorry."
"I wanted to finish our talk," Angel continued.
"Right," Wesley said and walked further into the room.
"I was going to tell you..." Angel trailed off.
Wesley looked at him expectantly. They had seemed to be doing well before but that was back when it was a return to form, a return to the sex they both seemed to like. This was talking, this was a personal conversation, and it was the personal that made it awkward.
"Yes," Wesley prompted him.
"I was... Icaredeeplyforyou," Angel said in a rush.
Wesley nodded. "I care for you too," Wesley said, "you're a good friend-"
"More than that," Angel said and stepped closer to Wesley. "I care for you as more than that."
Angel had wanted to tell Wesley about the curse, about his soul, about everything but he figured that maybe this was enough for now.
"Oh," Wesley said.
'Oh'. It wasn't what Angel had pictured Wesley saying. This wasn't what Angel pictured himself saying, nothing was going the way he had meticulously planned it in his head.
"I want you to stay here tonight," Angel said.
Wesley looked surprised and Angel thought for a second he'd said the wrong thing until the faintest of smiles broke across Wesley's face.
"You want me," Wesley said softly, "to spend the night... here?"
"With me," Angel said as if this weren't already a given.
Wesley smiled at him and Angel felt happier than he thought he should be but he let that pass. He swooped Wesley into his arms and kissed him hard on the mouth. Wesley wrapped his arms around Angel's neck and kissed him back and it was hard, needy, passionate, all lips and the need to wrap up in each other and... perfect.
There was a knock on the door and Angel broke the kiss but didn't let go of Wesley.
"I should have come over sooner," Wesley said as Angel opened his mouth.
Angel smiled at him and kissed him quickly, chastely before moving away to answer the door. He put his hand on the knob but didn't turn it and looked back at Wesley.
"You'll stay then?" Angel asked.
"Yes," Wesley called over his shoulder as he walked further into the front room. "I am your faithful servant, Angel."
"That's my boy," Angel whispered to himself and let a big doofus grin slide across his face.
There was another knock and Angel opened the door. Lorne, Gunn, and Fred were standing outside.
"We didn't carpool," Lorne said and brushed past Angel into the apartment, "you just took so long opening the door that we all were there by the time you did."
Fred and Gunn walked in too and Angel shut the door behind them. They all walked into the front room and greeted Wesley then made jokes about how big Angel's apartment was and how every place Angel gets seems to be big and that maybe he was compensating for something...smaller.
Finally they all gathered by the floor to ceiling windows and looked out at the town.
"Mmm," Lorne said, "talk about a room with a view."
"Wow, is that the hotel?" Fred asked.
"Where?" Wesley asked and Fred pointed. "No, I think that's the center for scientology."
"Oh, right," Fred said. "They look nothing alike at all."
"I was starting to think we were never going to see the inside of this place," Gunn said and they all drifted away from the window.
"I'm sorry," Angel said. "I probably should have had you guys over sooner but I'm still trying to get used to the place myself."
"Look. At. This," Lorne said and wandered over to Angel's mini bar. "I'm home! Hey, cosmos all around."
"Sounds good," Fred chirped.
"Quite luxurious," Wesley said.
"Ah, it's not bad," Angel said from his seat on the couch.
"Don't mean to talk shop," Gunn said, "but Crane's bistro of the bizarre..."
"Out of business," Angel finished.
"Permanently." Gunn said.
"What if I have a craving for sasquatch soup?" Wesley joked.
"Is that something you English eat with your beans on toast?" Gunn asked.
They sat down in the two chairs opposite Angel.
"Mmm," Fred said, "you guys are making me hungry. Who wants chinese?"
"Long as nothing comes tar-tar I'm in," Gunn said.
Lorne walked over and sat down next to Angel and Fred shoved the take out menu at Wesley.
"No," Wesley said and held up his hand, "I'm too tired to make any decisions."
"Just order the usual, Freddikins," Lorne told her.
"I'm buying," Angel called out.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Lorne said, "hell just froze over."
"So.." Gunn said. "Werewolf girl. Think you got a shot?"
"She gave me a look," Angel said and looked over at Wesley.
"Really," Wesley said, "a look?"
Wesley and Angel held a look for a moment before the sound of Fred ordering broke through their personal bubble.
~fin~