Warmth

Author: enigmaticblue

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own these characters; if I did, they'd all be living happily ever after by now.

Summary: Set in Angel S5, sometime after Spike becomes corporeal again.

Dedication: For kats_meow, who asked for Spike/Fred and warmth. You got it.

Normally, Spike made sure he was out of the building as soon as it got dark. Wolfram & Hart usually emptied out by nine, and there wasn't any reason for him to stay, not like there was for some of the others who chose to work late.

He couldn't quite figure out what Angel's crew wanted at the law firm. It was pretty obvious to him that they weren't doing much to affect anyone outside its the walls. Not that Spike was out saving the world every night, but he had saved one or two people, and he got to see the expressions on their faces. Their gratitude was refreshing, although he had no problem chewing them out for walking through dark alleys after dark.

Spike had no patience with stupidity; he never really had.

Tonight, though, Spike wasn't in the mood for trouble. If it had been a different time, in a different place, he would have found himself on a certain back porch with the hope that a particular girl would join him while he smoked a cigarette or two.

That time was over, however; Sunnydale was gone, and Buffy was in Europe, getting on with her life. Spike thought about her every day, but he wasn't going to do anything about it. He still loved her, but he had the curious sense that their time had passed, that their story had ended in that cavern deep below the earth.

Also, Spike didn't really want to face rejection again; he didn't think he could handle knowing that she hadn't meant what she said.

So Spike had stayed in L.A., deciding that Angel could use his company, if only to prevent him from growing too complacent. The big oaf had a tendency to start thinking pretty highly of himself, and Spike's job was to make sure that didn't happen.

Spike wanted something else right now, though; something other than needling Angel, or the cold shoulder he usually got from everyone except for Fred.

His feet carried him towards the science labs without him thinking too hard about it. Fred was the only one who might be happy to see him, and Spike wanted to be wanted, or at least welcomed.

Sure enough, she was there, working late, and he watched her for a moment, flitting from station to station, making notes on her pad. "Do you need anything else tonight, Fred?" Knox asked.

"No, you should go home, Knox," she replied absently. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure," Knox replied, giving Spike a strange look as he left the lab.

Spike didn't trust the lab tech; the other man smelled funny, and he was too interested in Fred.

Of course, Spike's own growing affection for the woman might have something to do with that.

He watched, smiling, as she turned in his direction, glancing up from her notepad to catch sight of him. "Spike! What are you doing here?"

Spike felt his smile falter at the less-than-warm welcome. "Just thought I'd stop by and say hello. If you're busy..."

"No!" Fred said hastily. "No, stay. It gets awful quiet here at night."

"And that's why you sent Knox away?" Spike asked, his smile returning.

Fred grimaced. "He's just been crowdin' me lately. After I told him it wasn't going to work out, he had a hard time getting the picture."

"So you're not with him?" Spike asked, having thought that Knox and Fred were getting pretty cozy.

She shrugged. "It was a nice theory, but the actual practice didn't work like I thought it would."

Spike leaned back against one of the tables. "Disappointed with that?"

"Not really," Fred replied, throwing him a coy look. "Not when there are other options available."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "See something you like?"

"I didn't say that," Fred replied, but her smirk said something different. "So what are you doing here? I mean, I'm happy to see you, but you're usually out and about this time of night since you got solid."

He shrugged. "Didn't feel like going anywhere tonight, thought I'd find a friendly face. You're about the only one who fits the bill around here."

"The others are friendly," Fred protested, although she didn't sound terribly certain about that.

"To you, luv," Spike replied. "Not so much to the prodigal vamp. Peaches has made it very clear that I've more than worn out my welcome here."

Fred frowned uncomfortably. "Why did you stay, Spike? I'm glad you did, but we all figured that you'd be out of here as soon as you could."

"Go where?" Spike asked. "Think I'm done following Buffy around; she's happy enough without me, I'm sure. Figure Angel might need me, whatever he keeps saying."

"Angel doesn't think he needs anybody," Fred pointed out. "So it's not just you."

Spike shrugged. "He's always been that way; it's nothing new."

She came to lean against the table next to him. "So you think you'll stay?"

"Dunno." Spike shrugged. "As good a place as any, innit?"

Fred leaned into him a bit, her arm brushing his. "Better than some, that's for sure." She hesitated. "Do you want to go somewhere sometime?"

"That's a bit vague," Spike teased.

Fred shrugged. "You know, get out of here for a while, go get a drink maybe. It's just—you seem lonely, and I could use the company."

"If you want me along, I suppose that might be alright." Spike looked over at her shyly, then smirked. "Haven't had a hot date in a long time."

Fred met his eyes, and fought back a smile—unsuccessfully. "It's a good thing for you that I'm available tonight, isn't it?"

Spike grinned; this was exactly what he needed—just a little warmth.