slaves2

"Give me time to realize my crime, let me love and steal," sang Angel uncomfortably, "I have danced inside your eyes, how can I be real?"

"This is fucking brilliant," said Spike as he flopped into a chair. "Everyone should have one of these. You can torture all your friends in the spirit of a having a good time."

"Be nice," said Buffy as she sat down at his feet.

"Tell me this isn't hysterical," he said, enjoying the spectacle. "Admit to me that this is the funniest thing you've ever seen in your life."

"Do you really want to hurt me?" sang Angel stiffly. "Do you really want to make me cry?" Buffy cracked up, and so did Spike. Tara covered her mouth and turned around.

"Don't be so mean," said Willow. "Singing in public is very embarrassing for some people. Especially if you don't sing very well." Angel threw down the microphone and stormed off.

"That didn't come out how I meant it," said Willow to Tara. The blonde girl smiled at her sympathetically.

"You go apologize to him, Spike," said Cordy angrily.

"I'm going," said Spike as he rose. "I'll make nice." He grabbed his bottle of rum and left the room.

Buffy got up and sat next to Xander on the couch. "I want to sing 'Xanadu','" said Anya excitedly.

"Cordelia said I could be next and I want to sing 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'," said Willow. The two girls glared at each other.

"I found one we can all sing together," said Cordy. The quartet of girls gathered around the microphones and peered at the screen. "Can you hear them, they talk about us," she sang.

"Telling lies, well that's no surprise," sang Anya.

"Can you see them, see right through them," sang Tara.

"They have no shield, no secrets to reveal," sang Willow tunelessly.

Spike stepped out onto the back porch. Angel stood there and looked off into the distance. "Does she know you love her?" asked Spike softly.

Angel looked at him. "I don't know what you mean."

"I know you love Cordelia," Spike said. "There's no way you'd make such an ass out of yourself otherwise."

"There's no point telling her," said the other man. "Nothing could ever come of it."

"Why not?" asked Spike. "Because you can't fuck her?"

"Don't talk about her like that," growled Angel loudly.

"Is it just the sex that's holding you back?" asked Spike directly. "Or is it something else as well?" He held out the bottle to Angel.

"Pretty much just the sex," admitted Angel, as he swallowed the rum.

"The woman obviously loves you," Spike said. "She takes care of your child, tells you how to spend your money, argues with you night and day. You're as good as married already."

"But I can't ever be there for her, not completely," said Angel. "I can't fulfill her needs."

"Think about it this way," said the other man. "Imagine you've already shagged her every way imaginable, the sex is beyond belief, everything's great. Suddenly, there's an accident. You can't make love anymore; your equipment is out of commission. Do you tell her to go find a better man, a whole man?"

"Well, yes, I would," said Angel. "Because I love her, and I want her to be happy."

"That's your fucking problem, Peaches. You get all noble, and make the grand sacrifice, instead of using your brain." He looked at Angel. "You let Buffy go; you left her to make a life without you. And she has. Can you tell me that you don't regret it?"

"No," the other man admitted. "I can't."

"Then don't make the same mistake twice." Angel took a deep swig of rum. "You've got hands, and a mouth, and a heart, same as any other man. If you love her, show her how you feel." Spike patted him on the back and stepped inside. Angel sat on the porch, and slowly polished off the bottle of rum.

Anya and Xander looked through the karaoke discs. Anya put one in and handed a microphone to her fianc�. "I'm too sexy for my love, too sexy for my love, love's going to leave me," she sang.

"I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hurts," sang Xander.