Handling the Situation
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Angel series except my own.
Angel ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Any attempt at trying to cease the constant pacing he was doing had not worked. He could feel his panic level rising steadily, his eyes dropping to his watch every couple minutes. Where the hell were they? They should have been back by now. The logical part of his mind was reminding him that he got to the hotel a lot quicker than his friends because of a combination of fear and vampire speed.
He couldn't remember the last time he had traveled such a distance so quickly. And because of that he had to deal with the horrible waiting, the not knowing if Gunn was okay or not. He promised himself that he would tell Gunn how he felt as soon as he got the chance. He turned around, his ears picking up shuffling right outside the front door, and then he saw his friends half dragging Gunn across the lobby. They set him on the circular chair and his body immediately leaned on Cordelia.
Wesley immediately dropped his satchel, retrieving the book that he needed quickly, while Angel rushed over to kneel in front of Gunn. He tentatively brushed a hand across the smooth dark skin, drawing back the hand swiftly when Gunn's eyes fluttered open. "How is he doing," Angel asked, his eyes flitting to Cordelia.
Cordelia rubbed her hand down Gunn's arm soothingly and then cradled his head on her shoulder. "He just came too a couple minutes ago but...he's not doing so good," she said shakily.
Angel took a closer look and he understood what she meant. Gunn was shaking uncontrollably and beads of sweat was forming on his forehead. He placed a hand on Gunn's forehead and his fear went up a notch. "Wes he's running a fever and he's shaking," Angel called out fearfully. Suddenly, Gunn pushed Cordelia away from him, turned his head to the side, and began retching on the floor. All the while, Cordelia rubbed his back, murmuring words she hoped was reassuring while she tried to swallow her own nausea. Angel gritted his teeth and stalked towards Wesley. "Wes-answers-now," he ordered, his voice gaining in volume with each word.
Wesley raised his eyes from the book, sighing heavily. "The wand that boy used to attack Gunn released a powerful blast of magicks," he began hesitantly. Angel gave him a look that was impatient. "Yes I guess you already assumed that. Well, for the most part he will be alright. What he's experiencing now are symptoms that are similar to when you're ill with the flu. It should pass in a day or two."
Angel closed his eyes for a moment, letting the good news soak in that Gunn would be okay. "So what you're saying is he just needs to ride this out," he said hopefully, his eyes re-opened and focused solely on Gunn's hunched form. He watched as Cordelia dug in her purse, pulling out a tissue. She then wiped the tissue across Gunn's mouth, her hand still rubbing his back. His eyes returned to Wesley, looking at him expectantly for an answer.
Wesley swallowed painfully. "Yes he will be alright but Angel---," he paused uncertainly. "He will need constant care and supervision. He can't stay by himself. He needs someone to take care of him."
Gunn raised his head from between his knees. "I don't need no coddling," he wheezed, his forehead now sweating profusely. "Just take me home so I can get some sleep."
Angel crossed the room quickly until he was in front of Gunn. "You're not going anywhere," he said firmly. He then knelt to get a good grip under the man's legs and smoothly lifted him into his arms. He was immediately met with protesting.
"Man, what the hell do you think you're doing," Gunn said weakly. "Put me down. Do I look like a girl to you?"
Angel ignored him. "Cordelia do me a favor and go over to Gunn's apartment to pack a bag of clothes for him. He'll be staying here for a while." Cordelia smirked at the curse that flew out of Gunn's lips. "Where's your keys," he asked calmly, looking down into the brown eyes that were glaring back at him.
"Angel I'm serious...I'm not staying in this frigging haunted hotel," he said vehemently, well as vehemently as he could seeing as how his head was killing him. "I'll be fine at my apartment."
"Cordy, just pick the lock like I showed you," Angel told her, ignoring Gunn's protests again. "Try to hurry okay." Cordelia nodded, smoothing a hand down Gunn's arm, before grabbing her purse. Wesley came over to them and dug the keys to Angel's car out of his pocket. He placed them in her hands and she immediately headed out the doors.
"Angel what can I do to help," Wesley asked softly. This day couldn't have gotten worse if he had tried. Once again watcher extraordinaire had fouled up. How could he have missed such an important passage in the book? They had been caught up in the drama unfolding between Angel and Gunn and then they had rushed out so quickly. He didn't stop to check to see if they had all their bases covered.
"You can help me get this guy settled upstairs," Angel answered, shifting the young man in his arms slightly.
"Man are you deaf or something," Gunn said stubbornly. He was beginning to feel light headed, but he couldn't let Angel take on such a burden. "I told you I'll be okay. I don't wanna be a burden to nobody." Even as the words came out of his mouth, his head was already resting on Angel's chest. He noticed that they had already reached the top of the stairs and were heading down the hall. Oh please tell me that he's not taking me to his room.
Angel cursed softly. "You're not a burden...now shut up," he gritted out. He stopped in front of his room, waiting a minute for Wesley to catch up and open the door. As soon as the door was opened, he followed Wesley inside and gently laid Gunn on the bed. "Wes can you bring me a bowl of cool water and a washcloth from the bathroom," he asked, as he started the task of untying Gunn's laces and removing his boots. He continued to ignore the protesting as he removed the socks as well. "Lift up a little," he said gently, shrugging Gunn's arms out of the heavy denim jacket.
Gunn allowed him to remove his jacket but began shaking his head in refusal when Angel tried to take off his shirt. "What are you doing," he asked dumbly.
"I'm undressing you...what does it look like," Angel replied sarcastically. "You're sweating and you need to remove those clothes. What...are you shy or something?"
Gunn snorted. "Maybe I would rather you see me undressed at a better time, like when I'm not sick as a dog," he commented in an almost flirtatious tone. He felt himself blushing when he saw the shocked look on Angel's face. "Sorry...I-I didn't mean to say that out loud," he said quietly, closing his eyes to hide his embarrassment.
Just then Wesley came back into the room with the bowl of water and a cloth. He placed both items on the small table next to Angel's bed. "What else do you need," he asked urgently.
Angel didn't answer for a moment, his attention completely on Gunn or rather what Gunn had just said. He heard his name being called. "Oh...um...I'm not sure...nothing else right now I think," he said, stumbling a little. "Why don't you go downstairs and wait for Cordelia? I don't think Gunn wants you to be here when I finish taking off his clothes."
Wesley's eyes widened. "I beg your pardon," he said indignantly. "Surely you're not thinking of doing that when he can barely lift his head!"
Angel fixed him with a glare. "I'm undressing him because he's sweating like a pig Wes. That's what you do when people have the flu."
Wesley's cheeks flushed pink. "Right...right you are...sorry," he mumbled. "I'll just be...you know...going downstairs. Gunn, I do hope you'll be feeling better soon." And then he hurried out the door.
Angel rolled his eyes. Then he heard snickering. "What's so funny," he smirked.
Gunn lifted his arm tiredly and threw it across his eyes. "Nothing man," he said, snorting because he was trying not to laugh. Could this day get any worse? First, he gets attacked by Cordelia with her 'share your feelings' thing. Next, when he does spill his guts Angel actually overhears his confession. Then he gets hit with some kind of a magic mumbo jumbo thanks to some college dumbass, which was currently the reason why he felt like hell. And now he was being undressed by Angel, who now knew of his feelings for him as well as realizing that Wesley also seemed to think that their was something else going on between him and Angel besides just friendship. When would the embarrassment and emotional torture end?
"Ignore Wesley...he has a habit of jumping to conclusions," Angel stated matter of factly. "Now come on. Are you going to let me undress you or what? I don't want to have to force you."
Gunn moved his arm to glare at Angel. "Just get on with it okay," he told him, exasperated with the situation. "And watch those hands."
"Yes sir," Angel grumbled as he helped Gunn pull his two t-shirts off. "How could you wear two shirts and a jacket over that in this California heat?" He then reached down and started fumbling with the belt, his hands shaking slightly from nervousness.
"Says the guy who always wears a trench coat no matter what time of day it is," Gunn shot back, closing his eyes again. Maybe if he didn't look at him he could pretend that this wasn't really happening.
"Touche," Angel said flippantly. He finally just gave the worn leather a sharp yank and it broke. He then opened the buttons on the jeans, pulled down the zipper, and eased the denim off Gunn's legs. He then looked down at the crotch area, only because he couldn't help it. Angel swallowed hard because Gunn seemed to be getting aroused.
Angel distracted himself from that sight by gathering the strewn clothing and folding them neatly to place on his dresser. He then folded the comforter down, first asking Gunn to roll over on to his side. Then Gunn was underneath the warmth of the comforter lying on his back. "You're still cold," Angel said aloud, noting that Gunn had started shaking again. He thought of stripping down and snuggling close to the man, but he didn't want to make Gunn any more uncomfortable. Then he saw the shaking get worse and he figured that his friend would just have to get over it. Just as he started unbuttoning his shirt, Cordelia breezed in the door, chattering a mile a minute, hefting a black duffel bag.
"Gunn I didn't know how long you were going to stay so I packed a lot of---," Cordelia rambled but then her speech stopped, her eyes widening. "Um...am I interrupting something?" Her brown eyes moved from Gunn's form on the bed and back to the vampire's face. "Wesley told me that you put him in your room but---."
"Cordelia just stop," Angel growled, rolling his eyes again. He sighed loudly. "You and Wesley can go now. I'll take care of him."
"But Angel I---," Cordeila tried again.
"Cordy, I said I'll take care of him," he said a little more forcefully. "Go on home. Get some rest. I'll see you and Wes in the morning."
"Okay," she conceded. "But you will call me if you need anything right?"
Angel smiled. "Yes I'll call you," he replied, and then added a beat later "mother hen."
Gunn turned on his side, groaning a little in pain. "Look who's talking," he mumbled out.
Cordelia laughed at that because Gunn was right. There was no other person more overprotective than Angel. She waved to them both and then she was out the door.
"Is she gone," Gunn asked quietly.
"Yeah, she's gone," Angel replied, his voice just as quiet as he continued to undress.
"Good," was all Gunn said. He needed to sink into sleep and hope that this day would just end. At least in slumber he could forget that he was currently lying in Angel's bed, the faint smell of the soap the vampire used ingrained in the sheets. He could forget all the embarrassing moments of today, especially Wesley thinking that he and Angel were going to have sex. Most importantly, he could forget the arousal that he had felt growing from Angel undressing him. His last thought before he gave into the darkness was that he hoped Angel hadn't noticed it.
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