Chapter 10

At the bar, the three vampires chose a table near the back door, ordered their drinks—Spike and Xander ordered whiskeys while Angel only ordered a beer—and settled in. At first, the talk was kept to a minimum for a while as they observed the bar's patrons. It seemed to be relatively normal, just some supernaturals hanging out and drinking alcohol…among other things. Still, looks could be deceiving.

After a while, even Angel relaxed as he listened to Spike and Xander banter back and forth.

"So then I said, wanna bite?"

Xander and Spike roared with laughter at Spike's joke. Even Angel cracked a smile. Xander had just opened his mouth to tell his own joke when a fuzzy green demon bumped their table, spilling his orange, foul-smelling drink all over himself.

"Hey! This was a new shirt!" He turned to Xander and grabbed him by the collar. "You're gonna pay for that!"

Angel glanced at Spike who was reclining in his seat, lighting a cigarette. This time, Angel followed his lead, leaning back into his chair, and taking a long drink of his beer.

Xander shook himself free, sizing up the demon, and taking note of the turquoise shirt with purple alligators. "The shirt was ugly, anyway," Xander said. "You did yourself a favor by spilling your drink on it."

"Are you trying to say I don't know what happened? Are you calling me stupid?"

"Wow." Xander began clapping slowly. "He figured it out. Give the guy a medal."

Spike and Angel both smirked as the demon threw a punch which Xander dodged, before planting an uppercut on the demon's chin. And just like that, the fight was on. Before any of the demon's friends could interfere, Spike and Angel had flipped the table and joined the fray.

Fighting side-by-side with Spike and Xander was something Angel couldn't really describe. Until he realized…this was fun. Fun in a way he'd almost forgotten. The kind of fun he couldn't have with anyone else. It was exhilarating.

As the last of the demon's friends fell to the ground, the three vampires made a hasty exit out the back door. Even though Spike rolled his eyes, Angel threw some money on the bar as they passed. When the cool night air brushed past their faces, they broke out into large grins. They playfully punched and shoved each other as they walked, nearly tripping over each other a few times, which set off new bouts of laughter.

Walking next to Angel, but throwing an arm around Xander's shoulders, Spike spoke for the first time since they'd left the bar. "Hungry, whelp?"

Angel tensed, jolted back to reality.

Xander noticed, but addressed Spike. "A little, but why don't we go back to the hotel? We can all grab a mug of blood before we turn in." He glanced at the sky. "The sun'll be up soon anyway."

The older vampires glanced at the sky too. Spike and Angel both knew that the sun wouldn't be up for a few hours at least, but Angel appreciated Xander's attempt to include him. The sense of camaraderie returned to the eldest vampire, and he surprised himself by saying "That's okay. Why don't you two go grab a bite? I'll just go back to the hotel."

Spike stared at the man who had acted as his sire in awe, before blanking his face. "Why don't you come with us? We can go save some innocents before we get something to eat."

Angel's surprise showed on his face when Xander nodded. "I'm not too hungry yet. I could go for another fight."

Spike smiled at the newfound maturity in his childe, but kept his questioning gaze on Angel.

"That…" Angel hesitated. "That would be nice. Let's go."

The three vampires turned as one and headed out into the night, Xander babbling about every mundane thing he saw, and Spike taking time to share some of the places they could visit while they were in LA. Angel even found himself offering to go with them to a few of the places. The cool night air caressed his face, and Angel realized he was happier than he'd been in a long time.