Fade Into You

A/N: Ok so I need to clear something up. I DO like Angel as a character, I even like him as a match for Buffy. What I don't like is his constant habit of making decisions that affect more than himself and his constantly getting pissed off when Buffy moves on while he runs around having a kid with Darla and getting infatuated with Cordelia, etc. I think Joss did a hatchet-job on the original character in order to cash in on the spin-off series and make it interesting. BUT I also firmly believe that as long as Buffy still has a lingering attachment to Angel her personality would never allow her to fall for Angelus, it would be in direct conflict with her moral code. So I had to give her a couple good reasons to sever that connection, one big one that I haven't gotten into yet but that she's going to talk about with Angelus and Spike soon.

On with the story!

Sing For Me, Lover

The sound of footsteps roused Angelus from his waking dreams. Opening his eyes as he laid flat out on the concrete floor with his hands behind his head, he turned to face the door leading down to his basement cell. Over the last day since they locked his body in this cell before removing the soul, only Wesley has braved the demon in their midst. Not even Angel's whelp has come to goggle at the monster in its cage.

These steps were lighter – but furtive.

Someone doesn't want to be caught talking to him.

As the door opened Angelus found himself rather underwhelmed. Damn and he was hoping for a surprise to relieve his boredom until his Slayer gets here. Although he did arch a brow as the rather cubby brunette unplugged the camera before walking into its range.

"You've really let yourself go, lass." Angelus drawled, taking in Cordelia's shorn hair and heavy figure. "I doona see what me soul was thinkin' keepin' you around."

"Oh shut up, Angelus." Cordy snapped as she stepped up to the white line. "I'm here to make you a deal."

Sitting up in an absent flex of muscle, the demon eyed her. Surely the woman knew that the ex-Watcher already made a deal with the devil as it were. What could she possibly have to offer him that he would be interested in? Cocking his head to one side as heard the faintest clicking of heels coming this way as a wicked grin flashed across his face, a grin that the creature before him completely misinterpreted.

"Are ya, now? Well that's interesting." And completely predictable. "What are you here to bribe me with to cooperate? A bright new car? I've heard the new Mustangs are a thing of beauty." He flashed a smirk as he heard the steps pause just outside the door…

oOoOoOo

Gunn looked up from polishing his favorite knife as the doors to the hotel blew open at the sudden entrance of a pair of blondes.

"Can I help…?" He trailed off as the duo completely ignored him, the woman turning to the man and looking up at him.

"Where is he?" She asked her companion.

The tall, lean male in the leather jacket gave a suspicious sniff before jerking his head towards the door to the basement – and Angelus's cell. Acting like none of the AI team existed, Buffy strode for the door as Spike dropped the bag in his hand on the floor and dropped down into one of the chairs in the lobby, sprawling out with his usual lack of concern.

Wes saw their less-than-lowkey arrival and moved into the lobby to intercept them.

"Buffy," he greeted her, flashing a look of contempt towards her vampiric companion. William the Bloody. Marvelous. Because they don't have enough crazed vampires from the Order of Aurelious running around L.A. these days. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"You call, I come, I slay." She said after a moment, giving him an indecipherable look from her bright green eyes. "Whose idea was it to unleash one of the most vicious and powerful vampires ever upon the world?" She needed to know who to slap first.

"Well," Wes pinched the bridge of his nose. "It was a group decision, as such."

"Oh goody." She said giving a now-scathing glance at the team that has steadily gathered in the lobby. "Well then, feel free to share this with them."

With a resounding "smack!" she backhanded him, making his head turn to the side as he nearly stumbled with the force of the blow. The AI team moved to attack only to be held up at a gesture from Wes. Spike remained spectacularly unconcerned about all the by-play. All he wants to know is what beastie they need to hunt and kill so he can take his mate back to their lair.

"No." Wes shook his head, one hand rotating his jaw to ensure it was still attached. "I rather deserved that."

"Yes." Buffy said simply, crossing her arms over her chest. "You did. Unleashing Angelus, for any reason, is a bad idea." Her voice softened, sending chills up the backs of the AI team. "You weren't there, Wesley. For all your studying and research and the time you've spent with Angel, you weren't there. You've never dealt with Angelus. That Angel would agree to this is what really confuses me."

Turning her back on Angel's team, Buffy strode onwards towards her nemesis wearing the face of the man who used to own her heart.

She'd planned carefully for this confrontation. The subtext of her conversation with Wesley was easy for anyone to read. They don't know Angelus. But she does. And she's used what she knows to prepare herself.

That included what she wore since as surely as he's a demon, he still appreciates a beautiful woman. It was a part of his essential self that carried over from his human lifetime. Angelus has the refined palate of an artist. And this is one time where Buffy has no problem playing up to it.

Taking of her leather jacket, she tossed it to her mate and strode from the room, leaving the others speechless in her wake.

Her hair and makeup had been done with a deft hand, playing up her more mature beauty versus the ingénue that Angelus fought years ago. Blonde locks spilled in a wild tumble down her back, as if they've been tussled by a lover's hands. Her eyes were done up in smoke greys while her lips were a rich red. Blood red silk covering her body. Red leather high-heeled sandals covered her feet and exposed matching red-tipped toes. Her dress was modest enough in the neckline by barely exposing her collarbones but lost all pretensions at modesty when it screaming to a stop at barely below her ass while her entire back was almost exposed by the dress's deep v.

But the coup de grace was her necklace.

A gift from Angelus himself – which made Spike snarl when she finally showed him what was in the velvet wrapped bundle in the chest – it was a choker-collar of white gold and stunning red diamonds. Over two inches high, it banded across her neck in a luxurious display of wealth – and ownership.

Spike is her Mate and it chafed at him to have her wear something that smacks of another's claim on her. But in this situation it can't be helped. This Beast demon has blocked out the sun and only Angelus seems to have any information. Her chances of actually getting it from him will be a lot better if she plays to his vanity.

To that end she also has the dagger he left her strapped to one thigh.

Her Scythe she left with her Mate, hidden beneath his jacket. No one knows as yet of her possession of the weapon and that's how she'd like it to stay.

Hearing voices, Buffy came to a stop before the door separating her from the creature that still haunts her. Cocking her head she listened a moment.

"…No, something better."

Buffy arched a brow. What the hell was Cordy doing down there talking to Angelus?

Angelus scoffed, shaking his head. "What's a better ride than a new Mustang?"

"Me."

Opening the door Buffy couldn't hold in her giggles as she came down the stairs, instantly gaining two sets of eyes watching her upon her entrance.

"Wow, Cordy." She laughed, shaking her head as she locked eyes with Angelus. "Desperate much? Must be all that extra weight you've put on recently…"

"Shut up, Ms. Slays-A-Lot." Cordelia snapped, enraged by the woman's inopportune timing. "I'll have you know Angel loves me now."

"Really?" She asked Angelus skeptically, arching a brow.

"No accounting for taste, lover." He answered with a shrug as he climbed to his feet and sauntered over to the bars. With a wicked smirk as grasped them in his large hands, casting his eyes up and down her silk-clad form. My, my. His little Mate sure has grown. "Personally I prefer dangerous blondes, meself."

Tossing her head, Buffy gave him a wicked grin of her own, catching her tongue between her teeth in a gesture stolen from Spike. Recognizing it, Angelus gave a little growl.

"See," Cordy said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "No need for," eyeing Buffy's clothes in distaste, "Slutty the Vampire Layer here."

"Oh, I wouldna say that Cordy, lass." Angelus interrupted her with a pouting look. "Angel may be infatuated with you, but I only want me Slayer." Turning to face his favorite blonde, he gave her a charming smile. "I see you got my presents, lover."

Running one hand across the necklace so Cordy knew exactly what Angelus was talking about Buffy watching in undisguised glee as Queen C stormed from the room. Waiting for the pounding footsteps to retreat, the vampire and the Slayer watched each other warily. Once she was sure of being alone, Buffy collapsed in giggles against the wall as Angelus watched her in amusement.

"I've wanted to put her in her place for sooo long." She finally said as she caught her breath, wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Glad to be of…service, lover." Angelus said his voice ripe with seductive intent as he watched her saunter closer. The little cheerleader is long gone. This Buffy is a whole new creature, one that if possible fascinates him even more than her formerly-naive self.

Buffy just arched a brow.

"You demanded my presence before you would tell them what they want to know about this demon." She spread her arms in a wordless "here I am" gesture. "What is it you want in exchange for your assistance?"

"Do you really have to ask, lover?"

"Besides your freedom." She said immediately, a faint hint of regret coursing through her. Regret? Why would I ever regret not letting this monster out of his cage? What is going on with me since I came back? Before she could panic over her conflicting thoughts and emotions, he spoke again.

Angelus gripped the iron bars of his cage until his knuckles whitened. There was something off about her. Something has changed since the soul saw her last. Whatever it was it went far deeper than her return to the living. Inhaling deeply he stared at her eyes, a little smirk playing across his mouth as rage sparked in his eyes.

"Someone's been a bad, bad girl, lover." His voice was deceptively calm. "And someone's been a very bad Childe."

Fear trickled along her back at his words. Fucker. He knew. Somehow he knew.

"Whatever we've been," she said at last, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing he still frightens her. Although the effect now is radically different than it was before. Her reaction to Angelus now was entirely feminine and primal, she knew he wouldn't hurt her…much…but he wouldn't hesitate to punish her for what he obviously saw as a major infraction. Before she would've been scared for her life and running for the door. "It's none of your affair. Not anymore."

With a curse he punched the iron bars in front of him, making them rattle.

"You're my Mate!" He roared. "And you gave yourself to that whelp! I'll gut him and hang him from the rafters and you…"

"He's my Mate." She strode right up to the red "danger" zone and stared him down, her green eyes flashing silver for a moment, making him pause in his rant. "Spike is my Mate now. Not you. Not anymore."

"What?!" The group at the door exclaimed in unison, the presence of the majority of the AI team going unnoticed by the combative duo. Only Lorne and Fred had remained abovestairs to keep an eye on Spike while Connor was out and about somewhere.

Wesley eyed the pair, seeing for himself for the first time just how volatile the combination of the Slayer and Angelus was. Cordelia was still seething over the dismissal from Angelus and plotting how to use this information against the blonde once Angel was back. Gunn was just skeeved out over how the pretty woman could fuck not one but two vampires.

"Is this true, Buffy?" Wes demanded, ignoring the growl from Angelus over his disrespect to his Mate.

His Mate no matter what fucking shit the soul pulled or what bonds have been formed in his absence. She's still his fucking Mate. No matter what, she always will be. He wants no other. That silver flash in her eyes was very interesting though. He wondered if either Buffy's Scoobies or the soul's team knew that the Slayer was part demon?

"Yes, lover." He mocked Wes. "Is it true that you're a dirty, dirty Mate who needs to be punished?"

Buffy just rolled her eyes and brushed past the gathered group and out of the basement.

"I came, he saw me." She said as she strode from the room. "He's your problem now."

oOoOoOo

When the AI team came up from the basement, Gunn left immediately after grabbing Fred to go investigate the Svea Priestesses that Angelus told them about after much mocking and disdain from the vampire. Some of the things that creature said about his Fred… Gunn shook his head. He didn't know how the little blonde had survived dealing with that mouth for months the first time Angelus slipped his collar.

Cordelia simply stormed off upstairs, infuriated all over again by Angelus's constant scathing remarks.

Rubbing his forehead, Wes moved over to the trio that was seated comfortably in the lobby. As he sat, a look from Buffy sent Spike off into the hotel.

Her mate had better things to do than play nice with her former Watcher, this entire situation stunk to high heaven and while the others were busy there wasn't going to be a better time for Spike to do a little digging into this group's dirty laundry as it were. Hopefully all he'll find is that Wes and Cordy were carrying on an illicit affair but Buffy rather doubted that whatever secrets this crew was keeping close would be that benign.

"We have a problem." Wes stated bluntly, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "As you've Mated with Spike, a soulless vampire, it makes it difficult if not impossible to trust the pair of you." Especially with Angelus still claiming that she's his Mate and Spike being Angelus's Childe.

"But you need me, and my soulless vampire mate," she said the last bitterly. "For this fight you've got going on. You're out-classed and out-gunned. And that was before you let Angelus out to play."

"Precisely." Wes heaved a heavy breath. Her summary of the situation was apt enough. "We need to be able to trust you Buffy."

Sighing, she crossed her legs and leaned back against the couch she was sitting on, eyeing the green demon that had spent the last half-hour sipping a Sea Breeze and chatting gregariously with Spike.

"I suppose that's where you come in?" She shot Lorne a look.

"You bet, my little strudel." Lorne toasted her with his drink. "A little ditty from you and I can set everyone's mind at ease."

oOoOoOo

Speeding silently through the hotel, Spike searched for the faint presence he felt pinging in the back of his mind. Contrary to what Peaches' people obviously thought, he and his Mate didn't just walk into this situation blind. As soon as they heard from Wes that they'd released the soul from Angelus, the two of them came up with a rough plan. His little Mate was pulling off her part superbly, keeping everyone off balance with her beautiful bitch routine and throwing Angelus for a loop with her mating another vampire.

Now it was his turn to go to work.

They need the soul in their possession.

Spike had already sussed out that it wasn't in Peaches' safe like it was supposed to be. Someone among the group was playing a deep game of their own. The only real question was who. As he got closer to the captive soul – that buggering irritating presence that's crawling around and getting on his damned nerves – Spike smiled.

There was only two scents prevalent in this corner of the hotel.

One was the great poof himself and the other…the poofter's little cheerleader.

Cordy, Cordy, Cordy. Spike tsked in his head as he entered the empty room. Following his instincts, he flipped up the blankets that covered the bed and peered into the space below the frame. As he picked up the glowing orb, sturdier than an Orb of Thessula, Spike shook his head with a sigh. And Angelus said Buffy's been a bad girl…

oOoOoOo

"That's nice in theory." Buffy sighed after Lorne and Wes described how the green demon's powers work. "But there's a problem."

"What?" Wes asked shortly.

"Mates." She said quietly, eyes focused on some distant point not visible to the other men…ish people. "Mates are bound to each other completely. I don't think Lorne will be able to get any kind of clear read on either me or Spike."

"Do a duet then, sugar plum." Lorne shrugged, sipping at his drink. "You and Spikey-poo's aura will mix and mingle and I can get a read that-a way."

"What's this then?" Spike asked, coming to stand behind his Mate and dropping one hand on her shoulder, the orb safely hidden away in a secret compartment in the DeSoto. "You wouldn't happen to be tryin' to make us burn, are ya?"

"Had a run-in with a red demon?" Lorne asked, casting them a surprised look. Sweet usually didn't leave survivors. "Kinda like a demonic Fred Astair?"

Buffy just cringed as Spike told the others about their run-in with the singing-cursing demon butthead.

Lorne shook his head, so much talent in Sweet but always with the child-bride thing. Pedofilia isn't a good look, not even for a demon.

Wes caught Spike up on Lorne's powers, casting an impatient look at his wrist-watch. They didn't have time for this.

Sharing a resigned glance Buffy and Spike knew instinctively what they would sing for the demon.

"I touch the fire and it freezes me…"

"I died so many years ago…"

"I look into it and it's black, this isn't real…"

"But you can make me feel." They finished together, daring Lorne to speak out of turn about them and their relationship.

The green demon gulped, catching the warning clear as day in their combined auras. Hokey, then. No talky about demon essences or mating or anything else. But what a future…too bad I can't see a big chunk of it.

"We can trust them." He said once he gathered his thoughts. "In fact it's vital that they help us, we won't be able to kill the Beast and bring back the sun without them."

"Excellent," Wes brightened up considerably, coming to his feet. "Now then…"

"But there's a problem." Lorne interrupted the demon hunter.

"Problem?" Spike asked his voice silky with threat. Wes just gave Lorne a frustrated glance.

"A big part of your future is missing." Lorne said puzzled. "It's like that second before Spike joined Buffy only worse. I could see a fragment of her future but no more. Once Spike started signing their auras merged just like we thought they would and their futures fleshed out. But there's still bunches missing, sweeties."

"Greatttt…." Buffy laid her head on the back of the couch with a groan, staring up at Spike. "You know that the problem is, dontcha, love?"

Spike grimaced. He knew all right. He just fucking hated it…for the most part. Part of him was kinda…relieved and excited that the wanker was such a big part of them. The fucking fecker.

"What?" Lorne asked, clueless.

"Angelus." Buffy said at once, closing her eyes. "He's my original Mate and Spike's Sire. The missing piece to our little song is Angelus."