Title: The Babysitter
Author: Azure K Mello
Part: 25?
Pairing: Angel/Spike
Rated: R
Type: AU
Summery: Will tries to help Faith make friends.
Thank you to snowpuppies for the plot bunny inspired by On the Other Side. Which I need more of.
Disclaimer: I don't own BtVS.
Maria, you don't suck.
The phone rang twice as the Gileses waited for Angel to arrive. He was already ten minutes late. Joyce picked up impatiently. "Hello?"
"Joyce, hi, it's Angel. I'm really sick. I was fine all day but I think I must have eaten something off. I'm running a horrific fever and I have a headache."
"You poor thing."
"I'm sorry. I know you had plans."
"Don't be silly," Joyce smiled at the boy's thoughtfulness.
Will came down just as she hung up, "What's going on?"
"Angel's sick."
"He was fine earlier."
"It came on quickly."
"Oh. . . well I'll stay with the kids."
"No, it's fine. I will. Daddy and Faith can go without me. Take some of the homemade soup out of the freezer, take your movie, go see him."
"Are you sure?" asked Will hesitant as to what was right.
Joyce smiled, "Go." And he went.
Willow opened the door expecting to see a short Asian man with a toupee carrying a rather large order of Chinese food. But Will was standing there with a smile on his face, "Oh hey," was all she could think to say.
Smiling widening at the friendly greeting Will said, "I have homemade soup. Sicky-mac-sick-sick?"
"He's asleep," she faltered.
Stepping inside he said, "I'll put this in the fridge and go see him."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
"He," she seemed to search for a reason, "he has a fever."
"I won't make him overexert himself," he beamed as he put the soup in the fridge. It was nice that Angel had such a caring friend. Walking by her again he smiled and pushed the bedroom door open. The scent of blood told the truth and the stained sheets acted as proof. "Fuck me," Spike laughed bitterly. He had bought Willow's poorly delivered lies because he really believed in Angel. "I brought the movie," throwing the DVD at Angel's feet. He gave a huff of angry, hurt laughter. He turned to leave, "There's soup in the fridge."
Angel was out of bed like a shot and grabbed the teen before he could leave. "It's not what it looks like," he shut the door so prying ears wouldn't hear.
"No?" shouted Spike disbelievingly, "because it looks like I told you about my dead girlfriend and you lied about not hunting! It looks like I'm a fool to have been so stupid as to have believed you. God, idiot, You're Angel. . . and I'm just a stupid little boy. I should have known you would never stop for some boy-child. Fuck, idiot, like it might have mattered that I said I love you. Now let go of my arm. I want to go home and just pretend this didn't happen."
Angel held fast and pulled the boy close though Will went rigid in his arms. "I didn't hunt." His face was bruised, swollen, and bleeding in spots, "I swear." Spike snorted is disbelief, "I was coming to you. I wanted to drive to get there fast so I went into the underground parking lot to get the car and got jumped."
"Yeah, like a normal person could do that to you," Will said scornfully.
"Actually, seven normal people did this to me: Larry and a few of his football friends paid me a visit." He didn't mention that there were only five of Larry's friends and one other person, someone Angel didn't want to mention. "He said it was fine that you didn't want to date him but that I sure as hell wasn't going out with you either. I'm a fast healer by Monday I'll be fine and I was going to take you out to make up for tonight."
Relaxing slightly Will said, "Why didn't you just tell me?"
"Because you would want me to report it."
Pulling away Will was shocked and asked, "You're not going to? Why?" he snorted at himself thinking he was an idiot. "Don't even tell me. I already know. Cordelia's uncle is the chief of police; he won't care-"
"This isn't about being a fag," he stressed the word to make Will flinch, "I broke two ankles, three wrists, and four noses. It doesn't matter that I was attacked: I did all the damage. How do I explain that to the cops? 'Yes, officer, I actually have a background in hunting vampires.' I scared the shit out of the footballers. They won't ever jump me again." He didn't mention the other person, the one who wasn't a footballer, he didn't want to get into trouble.
"Fine," Will said sulkily.
With a smile Angel brought him close again, "You brought me soup." He wasn't sure if he should address Will's earlier words about love not mattering, about being a boy child. He didn't want to upset him anymore. But he said softly, "You're not a boy-child. You're my boy. It matters, you matter, you're all that matters right now. I don't ever want to hurt you. I'm not them I would never lie to you or harm you on purpose. You brought me soup."
"Yeah," Will agreed as he pulled towards the bed, "want you well."
The doorbell rang and Angel said, "Cold noodles are here." He pushed the blond to sit on the edge of the bed and moved to put on the DVD. "Be right back." He left and came back with forks and cold sesame noodles. Settling down with Will he rested against the pillows as he handed Will a fork and stroked his hair, "I love being domestic with you."
Curled up together they watched the movie in comfortable silence. After a half hour Will spoke softly, "Are you happy, Angel?"
The question surprised the college student and he thought before saying, "Very. Are you?"
"Yes," Will said and his voice bled with happiness.
"Have you written me a poem yet?" asked Angel as he watched a young girl receive an emergency tracheotomy under a bus.
"No," Spike shook his head. "Don't make me. I'm scared. You can draw I can't write."
"Will, just write one, nothing amazing, just a poem that's mine."
Sighing he said, "Fine, but I resent that you're using the puppy voice to get what you want."
Angel kissed his forehead gently, "Thank you." He paused the DVD with the remote and said, "I'm gonna go warm up the soup for us. Write," he thrusted a sheet of paper and a pencil into Will's hands and left.
Will glared at his boyfriend's back but he wrote. It wasn't a love poem. Not really. But Angel had told him it could be about anything and it was true and it was all he thought about at the moment. He wrote and when Angel came back it was done. Will didn't look at the boy as he handed the paper back, "Laugh and I stake you. I don't give a fuck if you're human."
Angel read it aloud, much to Will's horror. The only time he'd heard his stuff read was that day when Cecile laughed at him. "It's not so much the heat that scares me. It's the light. Light burns more efficiently than heat. It takes away shelter and strips it bare. And lets everyone in on what's really there." Angel stared at the paper before asking, "Will, does this scare you?"