AUTHOR: vic_amy_z

EMAIL: victoriaamy76@hotmail.com

LIVEJOURNAL: www.livejournal.com/users/vic_amy_z

DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere I post. Anywhere I already said 'yes' to. Anyone else just let me know and I'll gladly let you have it... I even gift wrap at no extra charge!

PAIRING: Angel / Spike.

RATING: NC-17 for sexual content and language.

POV: Switches between Angel and Spike.

SUMMARY: There's an important Wolfram & Hart function. Angel needs a date and Spike isn't making it easy for him. Will Angel make it to the ball...?

NOTES: For the 'Forging Ghost' List - Challenge #26. It's silly and it's fluffy and I'm making no apologies for it, 'cause it was a helluva lot of fun to write!

SPOILERS: Nothing specific, set early AtS season 5.

DISCLAIMER: My story but no, I don't own them. If I did, they'd spend more time naked! All owned by a wonderful genius named Joss who should be encouraged to rethink their clothing situation. I get nothing from writing this, apart from a warm fluffy feeling...

FEEDBACK: Yes, please! Needed like a needy thing with needy wheels on!

DEDICATION: To Ghosts Forge, for setting us some brilliant challenges, and for being a generally marvellous list-dad - *Very* belated Anniversary and Birthday
wishes! Thanks also to Michelle, for the rapid beta.

~~~~~~~~

'Shit! Shit! Shit!' Spike yelled over and over to himself, looking for a handy wall to bang his head against.

He'd slipped out of the hotel complex and was standing in the immaculate gardens, fumbling in his pockets for a cigarette.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He'd had a plan this time: Get Angel to bring him along - check. Seduce Angel with his good looks and sexual magnetism - okay, so that part hadn't gone exactly as planned, but the final part of the plan, where he showed Angel that he was capable of being the perfect partner for at least one evening *had* been going well. It just hadn't allowed for being hit on by other vampires. Or for growling.

What was it about Spike and plans? He knew that he should just give them up.

And why the hell did Angel act all jealous when someone else showed an interest in Spike, when it was obvious that, despite Spike's best efforts, he wasn't the slightest bit interested in Spike himself?

On the sixth check of all of his pockets, it became patently clear that in his haste to get dressed and find Angel, he'd managed to leave his cigarettes behind.

'Fuck it!' he cursed to himself. Pissed off beyond all belief, he turned and headed back to the hotel room.

~~~~~~~~

What the hell was that all about? Angel wondered to himself, watching Spike hurry from the room. He excused himself to his fellow diners and began to follow him. However, as he moved down the side of the banquet hall, it appeared that a certain vampire couple were already two steps ahead of him.

'Oh dear, Angel,' drawled Marco, stepping into his path. 'Your date appears to have left in rather a hurry. I do hope you haven't upset him.'

'He's fine,' Angel hissed back. 'I'm sure he'll appreciate your concern though.'

'I have a lot of things that I'm sure he'd appreciate. Perhaps I should go and find him?'

Angel grabbed the leering vampire by the throat and slammed him hard against the wall, his face only inches away from Marco's. 'You stay *away* from him. You hear me? He's mine!' There was a polite throat clearing to his right, and Alex laid a hand firmly on Angel's arm, forcing him to loosen his grip on Marco. Angel dropped his hand and stepped back. 'He's mine,' he reiterated.

'But does he know that?' Marco asked simply, before calmly straightening his immaculate suit and walking away, leaving Angel even more confused than before.

Then it dawned on him. He mentally congratulated himself on being even more stupid than he'd previously thought and hurried out of the room. He just hoped that he could find Spike before he decided to leave.

Behind him, two vampires smiled at each other and touched their glasses together in celebration of a job well done.

~~~~~~~~

Spike bowled through the door of the suite at enormous speed, only to come screeching to a halt in an almost comic fashion.

Angel was sitting on the end of the bed, his head in his hands, staring at the floor. When he saw Spike he stood up quickly, but then stopped again, as if at a loss as to what to do.

Spike looked him up and down in the silence that stretched out between them. He was a magnificent looking man, and there would probably never be a day go by when Spike wouldn't think about him in some way, but this pathetic wanting had to stop. Spike couldn't go on kidding himself like this any longer. It'd drive him insane, and he'd been there once, thanks.

'Look, about what...'

'Spike, I'm sorry about...'

They both started speaking at once, and then they both tried to let the other one speak. Taking a deep breath, Spike said, 'you first.'

'I'm sorry.' Angel sat back on the bed again, but Spike held his position in front of the door.

'That's it?'

'No, of course that's not it. I mean...' Angel sighed. 'I think I might have been a bit of a shit to you recently.' He looked up at Spike.

'No arguments from me there.'

'It's been brought to my attention by... certain people, that I might have been giving you some mixed messages about... how I feel, y'know?'

'That would be the whole 'you're-a-gigantic-pain-in-my-arse-and-I-never-want-to-have-anything-to-do-with-you-ever-again-just-as-long-as-no-one-else-ever-goes-anywhere-near-you' thing, right?'

'Well, I wouldn't have put it quite like that...'

'Then you should, Angel. Christ!' Spike threw his hands up in exasperation. 'I worshipped the fucking ground you walked on for so long that I can't remember what it feels like not to have you in my life any more!' He sighed and let himself relax a little, trying to take the anger out of his voice. 'I might have been off doing my own thing for the best part of a century, but to me, you were always there, Angel. Always.'

Angel just sat on the end of the bed, staring at him.

Spike continued, quietly. 'I never forgot what we had together. Never forgot how good it used to be. And I never forgave you for leaving me, no matter what the circumstances.'

'But how could I...?'

'Oh, *now* I understand. Now I know what it does to you,' he touched his hand softly to his own chest. 'But for so long, all I had were the memories of what we used to be to each other, with no...' He laughed softly. 'I used to think that if I could just bring Angelus back, then everything would go back to the way it was. Soon found out how wrong I was when he pitched up in good old Sunnydale, huh?'

'Spike, I'm sor...'

'Stop apologising!' Spike snapped. 'I'm not telling you any of this so you can be sorry.'

'Then why are you telling me this?'

'I... I don't know... Fuck!' Spike yanked off the jacket of his suit and threw it across the room. Spotting his cigarettes by the side of the bed, he crossed the room and snatched them up, fumbling with his lighter in an attempt to light one.

And suddenly, Angel was standing next to him, taking the lighter gently from Spike's hand and touching the flame to the end of the cigarette. Spike looked into his eyes, trying to catch a glimmer of his feelings, but saw only more questions. Slowly, they sat down next to each other on the huge bed.

'You never wondered why I didn't go skipping off to find Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies, as soon as I got the chance?'

Angel just shrugged.

''Cos I thought that we might actually start to find some common ground again, if I stayed with you in LA. I thought that I could show you that I'm not the same childe you abandoned all those years ago. That we could actually be... friends?' Suddenly remembering the cigarette that was smouldering between his fingers, Spike took a deep drag, pulling the smoke into his lungs and watching as he exhaled. Wanting to be anywhere other than having this conversation.

Angel remained silent, staring down at the floor.

~~~~~~~~

The fact that Spike had had the same idea of them trying to have a new start was something of a revelation to Angel, although he didn't show it. If they both wanted this - if they both wanted to put the past behind them and find a new way forward, as friends - maybe even more, then why did they both keep missing it? Were they destined to fight and fuck-up forever?

'But we'll never be friends, will we?' Spike's voice cut across Angel's thoughts. 'We fuck and we fight, but we'll *never* be friends.'

Angel smiled. 'Haven't I heard that little speech somewhere before?'

'Maybe...' Spike smiled back. 'And I was right then too.'

'But this time, you're wrong, Spike. I want a new start as much as you. I want us to friends this time... more than friends.'

'Argh! You can't keep doing this to me, Angel. I won't settle for being yours when you think there's a chance I might find someone else. I've been shattered once too often to settle for second best any more.' Spike dropped his head into his hands.

Angel knew, deep inside, that they had to have this conversation. That they needed to talk out all the years of crap between them before they could start to slowly build anything resembling a friendship. And that a friendship would need time to grow and strengthen before they could even think about becoming more than friends.

But even deeper inside, Angel knew Spike.

Before he gave himself chance to think about the implications, he took a chance on that knowledge. What else did he have to lose?

'I just don't know what... mffgh...'

Angel pulled Spike towards himself and kissed him hard. Spike pulled back and stared at him, for once, silent.

'You'll *never* be second best,' he stated, simply. And before Angel could begin to explain himself, Spike was wrapped around him, kissing back with a passion that Angel had forgotten could exist.

~~~~~~~~

Oh god, he was falling! And the only thing Spike knew with any certainty at that moment, was that he could do nothing to stop it. Because Angel was kissing him... Or he was kissing Angel... There was definitely kissing of some sort going on.

Somehow, they'd fallen backwards onto the bed, still locked together. Angel's tongue was in his mouth, hands were roaming over his body, and he never wanted it to stop. Spike tangled his fingers in Angel's hair and rolled onto him, letting out a groan of pleasure when he felt Angel's hardness pressing against his leg.

'Spike, I can't...'

'Shut up, Angel, please. Before you have a fit of conscience and take all this back, just let me enjoy it for a bit longer, eh?' Spike mumbled as he licked his way down Angel's neck.

'I was going to say that I can't undo your buttons when you're lying on top of me.'

'Oh.' Obediently, Spike sat up to allow access to the hands that seemed to be shaking just a little. Angel's eyes devoured him whole and Spike was falling once again.

All finesse gone out the window, hands pulled impatiently at buttons and zippers, tearing clothes in an effort to feel skin on skin. They rolled together on the wide expanse of bed, and Spike couldn't help but gasp at the full body contact. Angel's arms were wrapped around him, pulling him closer as Spike thrust against the leg that had been pushed between his. He wanted it so much. He'd never stopped wanting it. Wanting Angel.

'Please...' Angel murmured to him. 'I... please... ' Words of want and need were whispered sotto voce against Spike's skin, making it tingle in anticipation.

He was on the verge of capitulation when Spike realised that he was still waiting to hear the words. 'Mmm, yeah... Tell me what you want, Angel...'

Hands and lips mapped out their desires on his body, as Angel rose to cover Spike's body with his own. 'Spike... please...'

'For god sake, Angel, just say it!'

Angel stopped and pulled away. He sat back on his heels, as if he was trying to work out whether Spike was actually serious. Spike raised an eyebrow at him and waited.

'Fine.' Spike found himself fixed by an intense gaze. 'I want you, Spike. I want to fuck you. Right now. I want to slide into you for the first time in more years than I can remember. I want to hear you cry out my name as you come... and I want to do it in there.' Angel gestured towards the bathroom.

'Fuck, yes...' Spike practically whimpered.

A split second later, two vampires were tumbling off the bed, laughing and tugging at their remaining clothes as they dashed across the room.

~~~~~~~~

Angel lowered himself carefully into the hot tub, which was still bubbling and steaming away, and then wished he hadn't got there first, when Spike decided to dive-bomb in on top of him, landing with a resounding thump at the bottom of the deep tub! Any reservations he had soon evaporated as Spike surfaced; his hair was turned into a mass of curls by the water and his eyeliner was smudged, making him look every inch the fallen angel. He swam the small distance between them, fixing Angel with that oh-so-familiar cornflower-blue stare that made him harder than ever.

Angel sat on the wide seat that ran around the inside of the hot tub, the water bubbling around his chest. Spike knelt to face him, straddling his legs. Their lips met once again and Angel wrapped his arms around his childe's waist, pulling him down in the buoyancy of the water. The need to take Spike was starting to consume him; Angel thrust upwards, trying to manoeuvre Spike into the right position but he wriggled away, lapping the tub with an iniquitous grin before disappearing below the surface once again.

Angel desperately tried to see what Spike was doing but the bubbles distorted his view. Then, in the heat of the water, a cool mouth fastened onto him, and Angel moaned at the sensation as Spike began to suck slowly.

Two minutes later, he was thanking every god in existence for the fact that vampires don't need to breathe. Three minutes later, he was trying to name them all just to have something else to focus on. Four minutes later and he was trying to remember his *own* name... Just when he thought he couldn't hold on any longer, Spike came up for air,
still grinning wickedly.

'You evil little...' Angel grinned back. Before Spike could slip away again, Angel grabbed hold of him, pulling him back on to his lap and kissing him fervently. They rocked together, both desperate for more than the gentle friction between them.

Angel shifted slightly, and felt himself being pressed against Spike.

'Like this...?' Spike whispered.

Angel nodded, unable to form any other answer. Slowly, Spike lowered himself down and Angel's world fell away...

~~~~~~~~

Fuck!

Spike's eyes were screwed up tight, his breathing erratic as he tried to relax and push past the pain. How could he have forgotten how much this hurt? He knew that Angel was pushing as slowly and gently as he could, but with no preparation, it still felt like someone was rearranging his insides.

He gritted his teeth and rode it out. He knew that it was about to get so good...

A few moments later Angel was fully inside him and all thoughts of ever stopping went out of Spike's head. He tried to move to meet Angel's thrusts, but the water held them back, forcing them to keep their movements slow and shallow.

Facing Angel as they moved together, Spike was able to look straight into his eyes. The desire he could so clearly read in them allayed all his fears about whether he'd made the right decision in coming here. He'd known Angel for a hundred and twenty four years, and had waited for over a hundred of them to see that look again.

'Fuck! This is killing me,' Angel breathed, pulling Spike against him. 'I want you so much...'

Hidden against Angel's neck, Spike smiled to himself. 'Just do it, Angel,' he grinned in reply.

Despite the weight of the water, Angel moved faster; gripping Spike's hips tightly as he thrust into him and making Spike curse in every language he knew as he hit that spot that made him want to scream. Angel reached between their bodies and took hold of Spike, stroking him to their ever-increasing rhythm as the water crashed around them in miniature tidal waves.

Their motions reached a crescendo as Angel bucked his hips beneath him. Above the roar of the water, Spike heard himself cry out Angel's name as he came...

~~~~~~~~

Much later, when they were curled together in the vast bed, Angel just had to ask the question that had been preying on his mind.

'Why'd you do it, Spike?'

'Huh?'

'Why'd you want the invite so badly?' Angel replied. 'I mean, it's not like you had any of this planned...' he gestured towards the now waterlogged bathroom.

There was a pause as a plume of smoke rose contentedly from Spike's side of the bed. He turned to face Angel, still-damp curls rubbing against the pillow. 'Didn't I?'

'Huh?' It was Angel's turn to be confused.

'Well, maybe not *this*,' Spike admitted, grinning, 'I just thought that if we could get away from Wolfram & Hart for a bit, then things might... I dunno... be a bit better between us.'

'Is this the kind of 'better' you had in mind?' Angel asked, comically.

'Well, I didn't want to presume too much.' He reached across Angel to put out his cigarette in the ashtray. 'The others'll be pleased to know they were right though...'

'The others...?' It was a sentence that Angel just knew he'd regret starting.

'Jees, Angel! You don't think I managed all this by myself do you?'

'So the mass work sabotage was...?'

'Mainly Lorne and Fred, with a bit of help from Wes, Gunn and Harm. They did all the alterations on the rotas and scheduling. And the suit was down to them too.'

'But... how...? Why...?'

'I believe Lorne's actual words were, 'In the name of all that's unholy just have at it will you, before the sexual tension around here makes my head explode!' Something to do with him being able to read people, apparently. Said we were driving him nuts.'

'And the rest of them?'

'Well, it seems that Fred's just really perceptive when it comes to these matters, Wes knows far too much from reading those bloody Watcher's diaries, and for some reason, Harmony actually thinks it's cute.'

'Oh god...' Angel groaned at the thought. 'I've been had, haven't I?'

There was a chuckle next to him. 'One step at a time, eh Pet...?'

~~~~END~~~~