Title: The Babysitter

Author: Azure K Mello

Part: 16?

Pairing: Angel/Spike

Rated: R

Type: AU

Summery: Jesse and Xander fight. Will makes oblique references to the past while talking to Oz.

Thank you to snowpuppies for the plot bunny inspired by On the Other Side. Remember how this was supposed to be the happy non-angst story to counteract OTOS? Yeah, that's sort of over now.

Disclaimer: I don't own BtVS.

NOTE: Wes is not a Wyndham-Pryce in this story.

"My babysitter could beat up yer babysitter!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-uh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Ngel!"

Angel ran into the kitchen expecting to see one of his wards bleeding. Instead he saw Jesse and Xander exactly where he had left them moments before. They were both sat at the kitchen counter with large hunks of chocolate cake in front of them. Xander's face was covered in chocolate icing while Jesse had been more invested in arguing than in eating. "What?" he asked slightly agitated and riled to begin with. He had been trying to get Buffy to come downstairs but she refused to eat with her younger brother who she said was, "a complete and total idiot."

"Jesse saids tha' you couldn's beat up his babysitter."

"She's a teenage girl," said Angel slightly confused.

Jesse smiled at his victory, "See? Cecily would win!"

Swallowing, Angel asked, "Cecily Adams?" Jesse nodded but said nothing as he had a mouthful of a piece cake that was too big to talk through. As Angel pictured the petite brunette who had dropped the boy off he said softly, "I could cream her." With a high five to Xander he laughed.

"Is Buffy sulkin'?" asked Xander knowing that Angel had been standing by the locked door of his sister's room for twenty minutes.

"Don't call her Buffy, you know Liz doesn't like it."

"Buffy's sulking?" asked Will walking in from the living room.

Rolling his eyes Angel said, "Thanks for the reinforcement."

"Don't call her Buffy, Xan. It only upsets her when I call her Buffy so you're just gonna lessen the impact." Will stole a bit of cake off of his brother's plate and dropped his backpack to the floor with a thud.

"She wanted me to dump them on you and take her to a movie. But I'd promised the boys a full scale navel battle in the bathtub and her bedtime's eight o'clock."

Will smirked as Angel kissed his cheek. "I should go take a shower, redo my face, and go to practice."

"I like this. Nice and ephemeral." Angel ran a finger over Will's cheekbone. The pale blue and silver shimmer belayed his blush. "Go take your shower. I'm gonna go check on your sister." Turning to the little boys he said, "Finish your cake." He picked up Liz's backpack and followed Will upstairs.

"Yer babysitter kissed yer b-ofer. Tha's gross!" said Jesse before turning back to his cake.

"Missed you last night," said Will softly as they reached the top of the stairs.

"My bed felt really cold without you," Angel replied as he backed Will up against the wall. As they kissed the whole world fell away. Nothing existed outside their tongues, their bodies pressed close together, their wandering hands, the soft moan Will pulled from Angel's chest as he slipped his palm into the older boy's back pocket. They didn't hear the door open.

The thing that finally pulled them back into reality was the sound of Liz shrieking, "Ohmigod! Will! You knew I liked him so you perverted him just to spite me! I think I'm gonna be sick: you're so disgusting."

Glancing between the pair Angel saw the steely resolve and resentment in the girl's face and the myriad of emotions that played on his lover's visage. Disappointment, betrayal, hurt, anger, and shame all flooded the boy's expression. And turning back to the girl Angel said, "You're wrong, Buffy," he stressed the name she hated. "Will had nothing to do with my perversion. I was like this when we met." He pulled Will in for a loving, demanding kiss, "Try to be fast in the shower," he whispered against Will's lips, "I have to fill the tub for the boys."

"You kiss me like that up against a wall and then tell me to be quick?" he asked raising a scarred eyebrow.

Glancing down at Spike's slightly tented pants Angel smiled, "Well, as fast as you can be without blistering your palm." Will laughed breathily and left Angel alone with his sister without even glancing at the girl.

"I had no idea you were so sick," she said with vehemence.

"I'm downright terminal, sweetheart." He threw her bag at her feet, "Do us all a favour and do your homework."

When Will left he saw the boys having great fun, standing in the bathtub with warm water up to their knees, they were having a large scale navel war. When he got to the band practice there was a rather less fun, yet no smaller, land war going on.

"I know I'm not a drummer-"

"No, you aren't."

"I'm just saying. If you sped up at the beginning you would be able to slowdown at the end where we're having the timing issues."

Will liked Wes. He liked having another English person around. He liked how easily shocked the proper boy was. He liked that Wesley was 15 which meant that Will wasn't the youngest. He liked Wes' abilities on the keyboard. But he knew that the boy knew bugger all about drums. And he could see that Gunn was becoming steadily more pissed as the boy questioned his logic. Sometimes Wesley could be like a terrier with a bone: he just wouldn't let go.

Oz grabbed his arm and pulled Will into the studio apartment's toilet Will couldn't help but laugh. "How was yesterday?" the redhead asked.

"Lovely," Will smiled.

"That's great," Oz smiled tightly, "what did he say about Dru and the other stuff?"

Will faltered, "I haven't told him quite yet."

"You haven't known him long. It's understandable that you don't trust him yet," Oz spoke in his normal soft voice. Internally he was thrilled. He knew everything about his friend.

Laughing again Will said, "No I do. I'm gonna tell him tonight. It's just hard to fit into conversation."

"What will you say about the vampires?"

"He already knows. He kills vampires as a hobby."

"What about werewolves?"

"He's not a fanatic. He sees more than just black and white."

Oz blinked at him which was the equivalent of a head nod from anyone else.

From the other room Wes' voice could still be heard. Will rolled his eyes. "Sad thing is he's right for once. If Gunn started faster he could drop it at the end," said Oz resignedly, "We're not gonna practice tonight, wanna coke?"