Author: Lilithangel

Email: abchainey@xtra.co.nz

Website:   www.livejournal.com/users/lilithbint/

Fandom(s): AtS

Genre: slash cause I'm a Spangel girl.

Pairings/Characters: Spike/Angel and the rest of the AtS gang.

Rating: includes boy on boy sex so if you don't like, don't read.

Warnings: see above.

Notes: This will start from AtS series 5 'Destiny' episode and carry on from there so there will be spoilers for various episodes. However this is going to go AU from the beginning and will deviate more and more as time goes by.

Inspired by a challenge but totally deviating from the original suggestion.

Summary: Drusilla renounces her claim as sire to Spike. Master vampires from all over the country arrive to vie for the right to claim him. The AtS gang and Wolfram & Hart have to deal with the fallout and Angel has to deal with his conflicting feelings. Spike has to come to terms with himself, his relationship with Drusilla and what he wants to do with his future.

A/N: will not be following the series episodes as closely now but certain things that happen in the series will happen in here but not necessarily in the same order.

Forgiveness

Spike sat in a booth at the bar nursing a beer, the line-up of glasses on the table a testament to the amount he had drunk already.

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" A voice broke through Spike's gloom.

Spike looked up and Christian's face swum into view. "Hey mate." Spike waved his bottle. "Sit down, take a load off."

Christian sat opposite Spike and stared at him. "You seem unhappy, why?" he questioned. "You received everything you wanted did you not?"

"Not what I wanted, never what I want mate." Spike answered morosely.

Christian raised an eyebrow in enquiry.

"Forget it mate, just the booze talking." Spike waved at the barman who brought over another beer and whiskey shot. Christian watched Spike swallow the whiskey in evident enjoyment.

"I do not understand your attachment to alcohol, why do you allow yourself to be drunk?" Christian asked.

"'S'more fun this way, no point unless you're drunk." Spike looked at Christian, his gaze suddenly clearer than before. "You mentioned Drusilla last night, did you talk with her?" He leant forward.

"I found her fascinating, so much knowledge and innocence and her abilities were incredible. It was also nice to be brought up to date with your adventures." Christian replied with a seductive smile.

"Never understood half of what she was going on about, myself." Spike confessed drinking his beer.

Christian laughed, "Nobody else has done any better. The council set up a team to try and interpret her seeings. We would be grateful for any assistance you could provide."

"Sure." Spike shrugged. "Got nothing better to do."

"I will ask permission of Angelus first of course." Christian smiled.

"Pounce won't even notice let alone care." Spike said bitterly finishing off his beer and signalling for another.

"Things off to a rocky start?" Christian asked sympathetically.

"No more than you would expect between us, not really the best of friends Angel and I." Spike looked gloomily into his empty glass.

"But we thought the claiming was completed?" Christian looked concerned.

"It was, but that appears to mean very little to my new sire." Spike snarled then he shook his head impatiently. "Anyway, tell me about Dru, how crazy did she drive everyone?"

Christian laughed, "She made several of the council members sit down to a tea party with her and Miss Emily one night before she would tell them what she saw." He reminisced.

Spike barked out a laugh and Christian continued to regale him with stories of Dru's escapades while he got drunker and drunker.

Christian had moved to the seat beside Spike and was running a languid finger along Spike's arm as they talked. Once Christian had finished his tales about Dru they had started to discuss the old days.

Finally Christian brought the conversation back to Angel.

"Pounce," Spike spat out angrily. "I was just a means to an end again. He pushed me aside quick enough."

"What happened?" Christian leant in inquisitively.

Spike stared unblinking at Christian for a moment then grinned, "Always was a jealous sort, just ignore me, letting the booze talk again. What did Dru say about the old man then?" He leant in closer to Christian.

"One of Dru's last prophecies's confused all our seers." Christian stared intently at Spike. "It was part of the reason we agreed to the reinstatement of Aurelius. She said that Aurelius would decide the fate of all vampires and the son and childe would set him on his path." Christian's grip on Spike's arm tightened.

Spike laughed, "Knew it wasn't our charm and good looks that won the day."

"Do you know what she meant by the son and childe?" Christian pressed.

"If the stars had told Dru that Angel would claim me then I'm your vampire. She always called him daddy so in her twisted mind she probably saw me as his son and her childe, she was mad as a hatter remember?" Spike leant back in his seat and grinned at Christian.

Christian frowned, "Could it be that simple?"

"Don't always read too much into my princess's ramblings, not everything was real." Spike smiled ruefully.

"That would make a kind of sense." Christian mused.

"Hey Spike." A voice drawled and Lindsey slipped into the booth opposite Christian and Spike.

"Lindsey." Spike nodded.

"Missed you at the office today, figured I'd find you here after what happened." Lindsey and Christian ignored each other.

Spike snorted, "You come to baby-sit me then?"

"If you think you're acting like a child." Lindsey threw back.

"Alright cowboy, take me home and tuck me into bed." Spike struggled to his feet forcing Christian to stand with him.

Spike cast a wicked smile at Lindsey and then grabbed Christian and gave him a passionate kiss goodbye. "Been fun, pet we will have to do it again some time." Spike left a befuddled Christian standing in a daze and wandered off with Lindsey.

As they left the bar Spike's posture straightened up and his drunken weaving disappeared.

"So what was with the act in there?" Lindsey asked him with a narrowed gaze.

"Master Christian thought he could charm information out of me." Spike chortled. "Ended up telling me more than I gave him."

Lindsey laughed, "I suspect that a lot of people underestimate you, Spike."

"Including my erstwhile new sire, think it is time I had a quiet word with Angel." Spike lit up a cigarette and walked over to the viper parked across the road. "Need a lift cowboy?"

"Thanks but I have been warned about your driving, I'll take my own car. Will we see you at Fred's later?" Lindsey asked and headed off after Spike nodded.

"Spike we need to talk." Angel said urgently.

"Too bloody right we do but this time I will do the talking and you will do the listening." Spike glared at Angel until he sat back down.

"Right, what the hell were you thinking, using magic to change reality? Making deals with a firm like Wolfram & Hart is never going to work out well." Spike loomed over Angel's chair.

"I had not choice, he was going to kill himself and Cordy if I didn't do something. Wolfram & Hart were able to give him a real life, something I could never do." Angel replied defensively.

"And it never occurred to you to talk it through with your friends, ask for their help? They would have given it without question to save the boy you should have known that." Spike began to pace angrily. "But once again you took it upon yourself to make the decisions for everyone, once again only the almighty Angel could possibly know what was best."

"Spike, I am sorry..." Angel began.

"Cut the crap Angel. You're always sorry and you always do it again. Playing with people's minds is always going to end badly. Red did it to Glinda and she ended up dead." Angel stared at Spike in puzzlement at the reference but Spike was on a roll and kept talking.

"Now Wes alternates between guilt at what he did then anger at you for what you did and then guilt again for being angry at you. Fred can't stop crying, Gunn hasn't talked to anyone all day and Lorne has crawled so far into a bottle all he can breathe is sea breeze."

"I know" Angel looked at his hands, "I don't know what to do to fix things."

"You don't 'do' anything. You talk to them, help them cope all over again with what happened and stopped taking all this shit on your own shoulders." Spike grabbed Angel by the said shoulders and shook him gently, anger ebbing away as he let his concern for Angel show. "No wonder you have been such a prick since I came back. Carrying all that by your self, suffering in silence. I am not going to let you continue martyring yourself to the cause, Angel it is tearing the team apart."

Spike punched Angel hard in the nose and then before Angel could react he kissed him. "They're both for being so stupid."

Angel touched his nose gingerly.

"Don't use that puppy dog look on me, Angel. It was dumb and you know it. How much more are you not telling me?" Spike demanded.

Angel looked at Spike sheepishly and then tried to mask his expression a moment to late.

Spike groaned with frustration. "Are you going to tell me or do I have to kiss it out of you?"

Angel grinned at the thought and then sobered, "I will explain as soon as I can I promise, Spike. There is something going on and I do want your help..." Angel looked earnestly at Spike.

"Fine." Spike huffed. "As soon as you smooth things over with the gang, help me and Fred to move and agree to the party Cleo has asked Lorne to organise, you and I will have a proper talk. I've got stuff to tell you and you are going to tell me everything." He warned.

"What party, you're moving?" Angel asked in bewilderment.

"You really need to get out more." Spike laughed. "Fred is moving in with Wesley so I am taking over her place, it's a lot better than my basement and I can get a bigger bed. Cleo wanted to throw a party to celebrate the reinstatement of Aurelius and our link with Ptolemy. I thought it was the perfect way to cheer Lorne up so you will be all enthusiastic when I suggest it." Spike warned Angel who sighed but nodded.

Spike moved around behind Angel and began to massage his shoulders. "You need to relax more, help me move tonight and we can christen the new bed." Spike nuzzled at Angel's neck causing him to shiver and lean into Spike's hands.

"But first..." Spike purred. "You really need to reinforce your claim on me before I am a bad boy again."

Angel growled as he caught the faintest scent of Christian on Spike. "What have you been up to Spike?"

"That's for me to know and you to beat out of me." Spike grinned moving quickly out of reach.

"Spike..." Angel lunged for the laughing blonde who easily avoided him.

Angel tackled Spike before he could reach the door and pinned him to the ground. "You're mine nobody else touches you without my permission." Angel kissed Spike forcefully.

"Goes both ways mate." Spike answered responding to the kiss. "You have a lot to explain but for now just remember we are family and that means more than anything." Spike's free hand snaked down to caress Angel's hardening cock.

Angel groaned and kissed the claiming mark on Spike's neck causing Spike to groan in unison. Hands fumbled with fastenings, vampire speed useless as desire overwhelmed them both.

"Hell..." Angel cursed as he struggled with Spike's jean button.

"Starting to sound like me pet." Spike chuckled then cursed, as he was unable to get Angel's shirt out of the way.

"You are a bad influence on me, Spike and that may be a good thing." Angel sighed with satisfaction as he finally released Spike's cock from its denim constraints.

"Mmm." Spike could only mumble as he latched onto Angel's nipple sucking the nipple till it was rock hard.

Angel's grip on Spike's cock tightened and he began to stroke the shaft running his thumb over the head to gather up the pre-cum that shone there.

Spike nearly lost it when Angel brought the thumb up to his mouth and sucked it clean. With a moan he captured Angel's mouth with his own taking in his own flavour from Angel's tongue.

Somehow they had managed to get naked; Spike ground his erection into Angel's. Both were now slick with pre-cum and slid against each other easily working up a pleasurable friction.

"Not going to last long like this." Angel moaned into Spike's ear.

"Don't matter, neither am I." Spike managed to reply as he thrust faster against Angel.

"Shit!" Angel yelled and bit down on the claiming mark as he reached climax.

Spike howled and followed suit, biting into Angel's throat blood pumping in rhythm with their release onto each other's stomachs.

Angel withdrew his fangs and rested his head against Spike's shoulder. "Every time..." he panted, "you do it to me every time, I feel like a teenager around you."

"You can remember back that far?" Spike chuckled.

"Just because some of us have never grown up." Angel laughed.

"Right get off me you big lug, you're helping me move remember?" Spike pushed at Angel.

"I don't recall agreeing." Angel grimaced as he peeled himself off Spike.

"That's because you're atoning, so you don't need to agree." Spike looked down at the mess that coated the two of them and the floor. "Glad this is your office, mate and not mine."

"I'm glad I have never met the cleaners. I can't imagine what they think." Angel groaned. "Let's go up to the penthouse and get clean."

"Right." Spike said firmly. "Everyone take a break and sit down, we've got some talking to do."

He waited until everyone was seating in uncomfortable silence and then stood behind Angel. "First things first, Angel was an idiot and has something to say." He squeezed Angel's shoulders comfortingly.

"Spike's right, I was an idiot." Angel sighed. "I am really sorry guys, I had to act quickly to save Connor and Cordy but I should have tried harder so you didn't have to forget."

"Yes you should have." Wesley agreed angrily. "How could you allow them to change reality like that, why would you do that to us?"

"Why did you take Connor from Angel?" Spike interrupted.

"Because of the prophecy." Wesley stammered.

"You did what you thought was the only thing you could do." Spike clarified. "So did Angel. Neither of you meant to hurt anyone, only to protect the people you loved."

"How were you able to work with me day after day without hating me?" Wesley asked Angel in despair.

"Knowing what I had done, how could I possibly continue to blame you for trying to protect my son?" Angel looked earnestly at Wesley. "I don't know how you can forgive me for what happened in the hospital."

"I understand anger Angel; I understand the need for retribution. I only hope we can move on from this." Wesley looked down sadly.

Fred went over and hugged him tightly. "We all understand retribution." She exchanged a sad glance with Gunn.

"Well I think it is time that everyone stopped trying to atone for the past and start looking forward." Spike said. "Lorne, has Cleo talked to you yet?"

"Something about a party." Lorne murmured.

"Yep, we're celebrating and we want to impress everyone, don't we Angel?" Spike squeezed Angel's shoulder hard.

"Yes." Angel agreed hurriedly. "We need to announce the reinstatement of Aurelius with a bang and you are our master of bang, Lorne."

A small smile appeared on Lorne's face and he began to perk up.

"Invite everyone who is anyone, demons, vampires, clients we want to outdo the last shindig you organised. In particular the council, they need to see our powerbase." Spike instructed. "Money is no object, between Wolfram & Hart and Ptolemy the sky's the limit." Spike grinned at Angel's inevitable shudder at the thought of spending money.

Everyone began to chatter about the upcoming party and the atmosphere noticeable eased. Angel tilted his head and smiled at Spike who was grinning with satisfaction.

Spike smirked and dropped a kiss on the top of Angel's head. Angel smirked back and without any other warning grabbed Spike around the waist and swung him into his lap.

Spike's gasp of outrage and protest was lost in the laughter from the room as everyone took in the look on his face.

"Let's get back to work people." Spike growled. "I can't move in here until you lot are finished." He struggled out of Angel's embrace and flounced over to Fred. "Let's get started on your bedroom kitten." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.

Fred laughed and punched him lightly on the arm. "Just because you are the only who will truly appreciate my Shania Twain albums."

Everyone laughed at Spike's expression of disgust but he didn't complain and followed Fred obediently.

"Are we really okay?" Angel asked Wesley diffidently.

Wesley nodded, "I understand so much more now. We both have done things for the best of intentions and have paid the price. I don't think I will ever forgive myself for what I did to you and Connor but seeing him so normal was... nice."

"It was nice. He remembers everything now but the other set of memories are still there and he's coping really well." Angel said with pride.

"Cordy would be really pleased." Wesley commented.

"Yes she would." Angel agreed. "The whole gang working together like we used to."

"Plus a few she would never have expected." Wesley quipped.

Angel and Wesley looked at the hive of industry going on in the apartment with indulgent smiles. Lorne and Gunn were packing up Fred's kitchen and arguing about themes for the upcoming party. Lindsey and Eve were boxing up all of Fred's books although Eve could not seem to stop flicking through each one first.

Lindsey gave up and wandered over to Angel and Wesley. "I've been talking with Gunn about your contracts and we were wondering what impact the memory return would have on them."

"What do you mean?" Angel wanted to know.

"According to Eve you signed on for the promise that Connor's memories would be changed. Wolfram & Hart have failed to uphold that agreement, in effect reneging on your contract. We thought it might be worth going a little bit deeper, if we can get them over a barrel then we will been in a position of power." Lindsey explained.

"With Gunn and my combined skills and what Eve knows they don't stand a chance." Lindsey concluded confidently.

Angel and Wesley looked thoughtful at Lindsey's revelations. "This could change everything." Wesley mused.

"You have no idea." Angel said quietly.

"Come on people," Spike returned to the living room, "let's get a move on, I want to move in here sometime this century."

Everybody got moving and within a couple of hours the apartment was packed up and bundled into the van Fred had hired. Spike and Angel waved everyone goodbye after Spike assured them they had everything under control at his end.

Angel looked at Spike with questioning eyes as they stood in the empty apartment.

Spike grinned and pulled out a cell phone, he dialled a number and spoke quickly. "Okay, bring it all in." He hung up. "Didn't fancy a second move so Cleo leant me some muscle. They packed my place up earlier and have been waiting for my call."

Within a few minutes there was a knock on the door and a team of movers carried Spike's belongings in. Spike pulled Angel over to the windowsill to keep out of the way and directed the movers from there.

Angel looked in amazement at all the possessions Spike had accumulated. There was a big screen television; play station, a huge stereo and what seemed like dozens of speakers. There were works of art for the walls and thick luxurious rugs for the floor.

The bed that had been carried in looked large enough to sleep ten, Spike had been particularly please to see that arrive. There were even boxes of books waiting to be placed in the bookshelf but Spike would not let Angel explore them.

When they had finished the boss of the movers handed Spike a small parcel. "The lady said to give this to you; she said you should enjoy it. She also said to say everything is warded as you asked." He said gruffly and left after refusing a tip.

Spike opened the parcel curiously and took out a small pottery vial. He pulled the cork and sniffed the contents. His eyes widened and he dabbed on a small amount rubbing it between two fingers.

"It's warm and it smells incredible." Spike's eyes were heavy with lust as he stared at Angel.

Angel grabbed Spike's hand and brought his fingers up to sniff the oil. It smelt of spices and sunshine and Angel reacted with a similar rush of desire that doubled when Spike rubbed the oil onto his neck and he felt it warm his flesh.

"She's right we will enjoy this." Angel leant into Spike's touch and the oil warmed even more. "Let's go christen that monstrous bed of yours and then we will talk."

"Thank you for what you did for me earlier." Angel lay with Spike sprawled across his chest. "With Wesley and the others."

"It was nothing." Spike dismissed his actions.

"No it wasn't, it was more than that. You brought us all back together again; I think we can make it now." Angel assured him.

"It's what you do for the people you... care about." Spike finished lamely.

Angel looked down at him with a quizzical look.

"Care about is it? We'll leave it there for now." Angel smiled with understanding. "We should talk, who wants to start?"

"I will cause I'm pretty sure mine will be the quicker." Spike volunteered.

"Christian tried to chat me up earlier, told me something you should know. Remember that prophecy they all referred to?"

Angel nodded.

"Well, turns out that Dru saw something about us and your boy, Connor. She said that Aurelius would decide the fate of all vampires and the son and childe would set him on the path. Now she could have just meant you claiming me would make me your son and childe, that's what I told Christian anyway." Spike explained.

"Or it could be that Dru saw something happen that Connor and you were involved in." Angel finished. "So you chatted Christian up to find this out did you?" There was just a hint of jealousy in Angel's question.

"Figured he'd tell me more if he thought he could get something out of it. Don't fret, I had Lindsey turn up before anything happened." Spike assured him. "Figured he owed me after that whole 'champion of the people' scam."

"But you are a champion, Spike and a damn good one." Angel nuzzled his cheek against Spike's hair. "You're abrasive and annoying but you save people. You saved everyone in Sunnydale, you gave a chance at being solid to save Fred and you saved me."

"Shut up you soppy ponce." Spike complained without heat. "Start spilling your story cause I am sure I am not going to like what I hear. Cleo has made sure nobody can listen in here, electronically or magically."

"Okay." Angel took an unneeded breath. "It started the night Cordy came back..."

TBC...

Next time: they throw a party, we meet all the vampire families, Spike and Angel go to Europe to meet their new overlord Cleo confesses a few things.