Cinderfella
by Lilithangel
A/N: thanks for the reviews I am glad you liked it. I wrote the whole story a while back and only released it this way because I wanted more reviews so enjoy!
That night Angel found himself driving aimlessly around the city, something he had not done for a long time. Without realising it he was unconsciously searching for the black Ferrari and the mystery William.
After driving around for an hour he found himself outside Spike's apartment building. Looking up he realised he had never been there before, not even after Spike had left the hospital with his newly replaced hands. All this time, and he had never seen where Spike lived.
It was not a very impressive looking building and Angel found himself wondering for the first time about how Spike was managing to live; he was not even sure if Wolfram & Hart paid Spike for the work he did.
Feeling uncomfortable with the guilt that gave him, Angel fully intended to drive on without stopping. Instead he found himself pulling over, curiosity getting the better of the guilt. He knew which apartment it was; he just never had any desire before to go there.
Walking down the corridor inside the building Angel began to regret the impulse. The building was drab and rundown full of the remnants of society. He paused outside Spike's door, unsure whether he really wanted to see how Spike lived or why exactly he was there.
Berating himself silently for being a coward Angel raised his hand to knock, only to pause again as the sound of someone singing filtered through the door.
In amazement Angel realised that it was Spike singing. His voice was strong and velvety; roughened by the cigarettes it was perfectly suited for the blues song he was singing along to. The song was typical of the genre, telling a tale of loss and betrayal and Spike was throwing everything at it.
Straightening his shoulders Angel took the plunge and knocked loudly. The singing stopped immediately and Angel could hear Spike cursing under his breath as he came to the door.
"Bloody hell, alright, I'll turn it down, ya stupid bint, give a guy a break..."
Spike flung the door open expecting to see the building manager coming to complain to him again. Instead he stood face to face with an apologetic looking Angel.
"What the bloody hell do you want?" he asked irritably. "Got some messy little job you want me to do?"
"No, I was just in the neighbourhood." Angel replied lamely.
Spike stared incredulously at Angel. "You were in the neighbourhood?" he repeated.
Angel smile nervously. "Yeah, can I come in?"
Spike looked at Angel with suspicion. "Why?"
"So we can talk?" Angel offered.
"Come in then, and let's talk." Spike raised one eyebrow in disbelief and stood aside to let Angel enter.
To Angel's surprise the interior of the apartment was warm and inviting. "This is very nice." He looked around in amazement.
"You expected some sort of dive?" Spike asked defensively.
"Well yes, considering your last place was a crypt" Angel confessed.
Spike laughed suddenly. "True enough, you should have seen it last week."
Angel stared at Spike in confusion, not understanding the reference and not willing to ask.
An awkward silence falls as they both stand staring at the floor.
"So... do you want a drink?" Spike breaks the silence first.
"Sure, what have you got?"
Spike laughs again. "I'm not sure, I'll look." He heads for a cabinet next to the T.V "Sit down, you're making the place look untidy."
Angel sits down gingerly on the sofa, surprised again to see how nice everything looks.
"Would you look at this?!" Spike exclaims in surprise, holding up a bottle of Irish whiskey.
Angel looks at Spike in puzzlement. "Didn't you know it was there?"
"A friend left me some things; I guess she thought I might have guests sometimes."
Once again Angel resisted the urge to ask questions, not sure if he wanted to know the answers at this stage.
Sitting on Spike's couch sipping surprisingly good single malt, this time the silence between them was closer to being comfortable.
"So..." Spike prompted again, "to what do I owe this honour?"
"I realised today that I had never seen where you lived." Angel hedged.
"And today for no apparent reason you decided to act on this?" Spike sounded only mildly curious about this, although the tenseness in his body suggested he cared more than he would ever admit.
"I was thinking of how cut off I have become from my friends, how cut off I have become from everything and I realised that you are the only one who does not treat me like the CEO -- you are the only one who still treats me the way you always have." Angel laughed. "Not the way I want you to treat me, but at least you haven't changed."
They sat in silence as Spike tried to digest what Angel meant. Angel was confused; it was not what he had been thinking but, as soon as he said it, he knew it was the truth. Spike was the only one who had not changed his attitudes, he still challenged Angel at every turn and Angel knew he would miss it if things changed.
"Not going to treat you any different to how you treat me," Spike managed. "Don't like it either, but what can ya do?"
They looked at each other and another bond was forged, strengthening the tentative one created over a hospital bed.
"We really managed to do a number on each other, didn't we?" Spike smiled wryly.
Angel looked at Spike in surprise.
"Yeah, I know, I've always blamed you for everything but that was bollocks. Yeah you made me, but you were only using what was already there. And everything after you left was all me." Spike rolled his eyes "Don't look at me like I'm some sort of freak, I've been doing some thinking is all..." he defended.
"You never cease to amaze me, Spike -- maybe you have changed." Angel looked at Spike closely "Or maybe I have too, I have been looking at you through my own guilt for years and I am sorry for that."
Now it was Spike's turn to look at Angel in surprise. "Never thought I'd see the day that you would apologise to me, figured you were always going to hate me."
Angel looked down in embarrassment "I never really hated you, you just pissed me off and... I convinced myself you couldn't change, even with a soul. But I was wrong." He confessed.
"So what now?" Spike asked.
"Now, I get you on the payroll proper and you start earning your keep." Angel grins.
"What the bloody hell have I been doing up till now then?" Spike growls but this time it is light hearted.
"Making my life miserable is not a job description!" Angel shoots back.
"Hey, someone has to stop you brooding all the time, at least when you're angry you're not thinking so much about things."
They sat in silence again until Angel suddenly stood up. "I should go... Thank you, Spike, I... I have enjoyed this."
"You don't have to sound so surprised, mate, I can be good company." Spike pouts indignantly.
"Yes, you can," Angel laughs then sobers up. "Ye,s you can. So I'll see you tomorrow?" he asks as he headed for the door.
"Sure thing," Spike replied, standing up to open the door.
Spike stood for a while staring at the closed door wondering what exactly had happened, had he and Angel actually had a civil conversation?
Angel turned the evening over in his mind trying to sort out the strange feelings he was experiencing. The interaction with Spike had seemed so comfortable and normal, like they had done it before, but he had no memory of ever being civil to Spike, not since the early days of his turning when Angelus had still found William to be entertaining.
William... Angel stopped at his car... the conversation had felt like the one he had had with William at the ball. Had it been Spike all the time?
Angel waited impatiently for Spike to turn up for work the next day; he was not sure how he was going to react, but was determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and find out if Spike had been playing them all for fools.
"Good morning Harmony!" A cheerful voice interrupted his reverie. "The boss in?"
Spike swept in before Harmony could answer. He had swapped his usual leather duster for a black button-down shirt and leather bomber jacket. The effect was still pure Spike, but managed to look semi-professional.
"So what's the deal, boss?" Spike asked ,throwing himself into a chair with his usual careless abandon.
Before Angel can react Gunn and Wesley enter with Lorne on their heels and the normal morning banter starts. Nobody appeared to notice Spike's change of clothes; they simply began the usual round of insults. Lorne looked at Spike with a slight puzzled frown as if he was trying to identify what was different; he intervened at first to greet Spike and Angel, but Wesley and Gunn simply continued with their normal behaviour.
In the past Angel had always ignored the interaction, not really caring what they said to each other. This time Angel paid attention; he saw the small twitches on Spike's face when certain comments hit home, he saw how Spike's retaliations began light-heartedly and ended up angry and defensive. He saw how Spike's carefully chosen replies then targeted weaknesses within both men, hitting them hard, and felt a momentary flash of pride at his ability to fight back.
Finally Angel couldn't sit still any longer. "Shut up all of you!" he commanded. "I have put Spike on the payroll, he is going to be working for Wolfram & Hart officially from now on. Stop..." he raised a hand to forestall the complaints he could see falling from their lips "Spike has been working hard for us and it is time to reward him for that. If you have a problem... get over it." He finished firmly.
Everyone stared at Angel; the shock in one pair of brilliant blue eyes made Angel smile and Spike was unable to stop an answering smile from forming. The moment passed, though, as a torrent of words began to flood from Wesley and Gunn then quickly increased when Spike leapt into the fray.
"Enough!" A commanding voice halted the commotion. Everyone turned to stare at the apparition that floated in the middle of the office.
"Hey, Cordelia." Spike was the first to find his voice.
"Cordy?" Angel choked out.
"Alright, you lot, this is going to stop. Spike has earned his place here; Angel has accepted him, and you will all have to do the same. Here..." She tosses a set of keys to Spike who catches them automatically.
As soon as he touches the keys there is a shimmer in the air and the bleached locks fade into the golden brown of William.
Suddenly everyone realises that the mystery man at the ball was Spike and it seems impossible that they could have not known.
Before anybody could say anything Cordelia continued, "Spike, I fibbed -- there was no glamour at the ball, everyone responded to you because of your looks, your confidence and your charisma. Instead of reacting to the leather, peroxide blonde and aggressive attitude they reacted to you, the real you." She surveyed the rest of the room sternly. "This is the way it is going to be, so get used to it."
Angel's soft laugh caused everyone to transfer their stare from Cordelia, "Why am I not surprised that you were involved in this?" He asked Cordelia.
"You're not upset?" She asked him curiously.
"Yesterday I might have been." Angel turned his enigmatic eyes to Spike.. "Friend in high places huh? That would be how you got the car then?"
At his question they both look at the keys in Spike's hand and then look at each other.
"Want to go look?" Spike asks with barely concealed excitement.
"You bet!" Angel agrees. "Can I drive again?"
"My turn first, I'll race you down." Spike sprints to the door.
Angel leaps up and chases after him, laughing. Everyone stared in silence for a moment before Cordelia's sigh of exasperation startled them out of their astonishment.
"I knew I should have left the car till last, boys..." She snorted before glaring at everyone. "Things change, people, so deal. They need this so don't spoil it for them. I'll see you all again later." With that she disappeared, leaving everyone speechless.
Down in the basement of Wolfram & Hart two friends scrapped happily over who was going to drive...
"I won!"
"She gave the keys to me!"
"Please..."
"Don't use those eyes on me, you've got plenty of cars..."
"Can I at least drive back?"
"Alright, just stop looking so pathetic and get in..."
And They All Lived Happily Ever After.
A/N: there you go all done. Hope you all liked it. I have other stories to finish so will stop messing around and finish them but I do hope to run with the fairy tale theme some more in later stories, maybe.