Walking back through the rat-infested alleys, Angel pulled a disgusted face as he finally caught a smell of what he was covered in.
"Oh yeah, this coat's ruined. I mean, I just can't win, even when-"
"Hey, Dapper Dan, wait up!" shouted Spike.
"What do you want?" said Angel, without turning around.
"Well a 'thank you for saving my nearly snake food ass' might be nice. That, or just your undying gratitude of course."
"I could have handled it myself," growled Angel. "It was your fault it woke up in the first place."
"Hey now, that's no way to speak to your Shining Knight now, is it?" said Spike, once again walking next to Angel. "And really it's your own fault you look like a walking snot ball."
"Ye know what Spike?" said Angel, angrily turning to face the other vampire. He paused for a moment before the anger melted to be replaced by dejected depression. He sighed. "I really don't care," and continued walking.
Spike remained standing statue still for a few seconds, before an angry frown formed on is face. "Oh that's right! I try to help you and what do I get in return? A big 'sod all' for my troubles is what. Maybe if you hadn't gone off half-cocked on this, taken a spot of weaponry with you, you wouldn't have been on the messy end of a Xelic slime fountain," he said, then began to walk after the retreating vampire. "What you really need is more help. Some other fighter to join your little wonder-gang..."
Spike was just about to continue with his rant when Angel spoke up.
"I have," he said in no more than a quiet mumble.
"What?"
"I have," Angel repeated. "That's what this was about."
A puzzeled look crossed Spike's face at that before realization dawned.
"Oh, well...right. Erm, don't know what to say, I mean...never thought I was welcome 'round 'ere and..."
Now it was Angel's turn to look confused. "What?" then once again, the penny dropped. "Not you Spike!"
"...and...huh? What do you mean 'not me'?"
"Tonight wasn't about testing you bleach boy, I was testing myself. That's what this," he said, pulling a piece of slightly gooey paper from his pocket, "was about. I had Gunn and Wes come down earlier and the defense team put one of the demons on guard."
"So you mean to tell me you came here to find something you had hidden and fight a demon you put there for some unknown and mysterious reason? I really underestimated how bored you were," said Spike.
"It's not about boredom!" Angel shouted. "It was a test," he sat down on a packing crate and stared silently into space for a moment. Spike stood opposite watching him before Angel spoke again. "You were right," Spike went to speak but Angel interrupted. "Don't say anything Spike." He focused again. "I have been sat in that office too long. I needed to know. I needed to find out if I could still do what I used to. I have to be ready. And the fact that you had to kill that Xelic while I'm sat here covered in radioactive demon goo just answers my question," Angel said, wiping some slime from his face and flicking it to the floor with a wet 'splat'.
Spike didn't speak. Instead he came and sat down next to his sire. But not so close that he got yellow sludge all over his coat. Pulling out a cigarette and offering one to Angel, who declined, he lit up. He seemed to think for a moment before saying: "When I got my soul back, I became a pretty useless fighter too. Well, no, first I went crazy, but after that..." at this, he turned to Angel and said in a low voice, "you repeat this to anyone and I'll...do something extremely horrible to you."
Angel stared back, his look conveying just how unlikely this was.
Spike continued: "You..." and let out an irritated sigh, "are one of the best fighters I've met. Excluding me of course," each word showing how hard it was for him to admit this. "Anyway, whatever big bad is coming next you can handle it. With help from yours truly, of course."
Angel sat contemplating this for a moment, looking at the ground and up at the sky but never at the man sat next to him. It finally occurred to him how much Spike had changed in the relatively short time (for the undead, at least) he had known him. Then, after a long but comfortable silence, he spoke again.
"I never thought I'd say this Spike, but, thank you."
"You're welcome," said Spike, all animosity forgotten for just a moment.
A very short moment, in fact, because his expression quickly changed back to it's normal lop-sided grin. "Just don't let it out I'm goin' soft on ya Peaches," said Spike, pointing at Angel with his cigarette before standing and crushing on the ground with his boot. "I'd never live that one down."
Angel just rolled his eyes and stood also
"So, what terrifying apocalyptic evil do I have to save you from now?" asked Spike.
Angel stood and, with a new sense of resolve and determined purpose, turned to leave uttering two simple words.
"A Slayer."