TITLE:  Smile Time- What If?  
AUTHORS: Salustra and Pet
E-MAILS: Salustra: goddess_salustra@juno.com ;  Pet: 
spikespet2001@yahoo.com .
PAIRING:  Angel/Spike 
SUMMARY:  What if Spike got turned into a puppet too? 
SPOILERS: Through Season  5 Ats: Smile Time. 
DISCLAIMER: We don't own any of these characters; they belong to Joss 
and ME.  We really wish we could borrow Spike and Angel for a little 
while though. 
FEEDBACK: Yes please. It's like good drugs. 

 
Spike, having nothing better to do, had tailed Angel to some 
television studio.  After a long time, seeing no one emerge, he 
decides to go in after Angel.  He follows the familiar scent into a 
room.  The lock is broken and the door open.  There is a sign on the 
door that says don't.  He steps inside.  "Angel?"  
 
A man with a towel covering his head says, "Not another one."  There 
is a blinding flash of light.  Spike is knocked into a pile of 
boxes.  He crawls out...looks at his hands in horror.  He's a puppet! 
 
He heads back for W&H as fast as little puppet legs will take him.  
He barely makes it there before dawn.  He walks into Angel's 
office.  "Angel, you won't believe what happened to me!" 
 
Angel turns on his little puppet legs and groans. "You went in the 
don't room didn't you?"
 
Spike gapes.  "You too?  So we're both puppets?"  And he bursts out 
into hysterical laughter. 
 
Angel hops back into his office chair and puts his head in his four 
fingered hands. "Shut up Spike."
 
"What, you gonna make me, wee little puppet man?" Spike hops up onto 
the desk, smirking. 
 
Angel drops his head on the desk. "Please just go away."
 
Spike smirks.  Indeed, his face is pretty much stuck in a 
smirk.  "Not gonna happen, Peaches.  If I have to be a puppet, I'm at 
least gonna have the fun of looking at your little scowling puppet 
face." 
 
Angel shoots up and touches his face. "Is it....Spike is it stuck?" 
Angel then get agitated and slams his fist down and mutters. "I don't 
scowl and quit smirking."
 
"Yep, it's stuck.  Scowling little puppet face."  Spike chuckles.  
Spike starts messing with his own face.  "Look, the nose comes off," 
he says in a stuffed-up sounding voice, holding his nose in his 
little four-fingered hand.  He sticks the nose back on.  
 
Angel pulls off his nose, then scowls at it and puts it back 
on. "Great, just great wonder what else willlll........nevermind."
 
Spike perks up.  "Hey, wonder if we even have those.  C'mon, let's 
look. "  He starts to reach for his belt buckle.  
 
Angel jumps off the chair and tries to run out of the office. "No, 
Spike don't even think it."
 
Spike leaps across the office and lands on Angel and they roll across 
the floor in a tangle of felt.  "Hey, could be fun.  If they're 
detachable we could switch!" 
 
Angel throws Spike off and starts to run again as fast his short felt 
feet will carry him, but he just looks like he is a cheap version of 
the running man.
 
Spike moves over to block the door.  "No good, Angel.  I'm still a 
little faster than you. So, you gonna look?" 
 
Angel shakes his head and backs up and brings his hands up in front 
of his face. "No, I mean it Spike, No."
 
Angel can hear the hiss of the zipper as Spike opens his own 
pants.  "Yep.  Got the size right and everything. " Spike 
grunts.  "It's attached, though."  Angel can hear the zipper and the 
belt buckle again.  "Ok, all covered.  You can look, shrinking 
violet.  It's not like you haven't seen it before.  Except it's made 
of felt."
 
Angel peeks and sees it's ok.  He turns back around and heads for the 
elevator door. When he gets in front of it he starts to jump for the 
buttons and tiny grunts of frustration start to emanate from him. 
 
Spike saunters to the elevator--well, as much as a puppet can 
saunter.  "Need some help there, wee little puppet man?  I could give 
you a hand." 
 
Angel growls although it sounds like a tiny puppy rumble. "You're no 
taller than me, Spike, so how are you gonna help me?"
 
"I could lift you up...or you could lift me, since you probably 
wouldn't trust my hands anywhere near your waist."  Spike chuckles.  
 
Angel grumbles something along the lines of stupid puppet legs and 
steps behind Spike and lifts him up to the buttons.  Spike pushes the 
buttons.  "Oh, Angel, you're so manly!  I felt so safe in your 
arms!"  He says mockingly as Angel lowers him. Angel smacks Spike on 
the head and walks into the elevator and gives Spike his best 'Well?' 
face that he can manage while in puppet form. He is gonna need help 
with these buttons so that means he has to tolerate Spike even 
longer.  
 
Spike chuckles and walks into the elevator.  "I love you too 
Peaches.  Ok...lift me up!" 
 
Angel smacks Spike again then lifts him up "Just press the button, 
Spike."
 
"Ok, pressing the button.  You're hurtin' my feelings now, Angel.  
After I'm bein' all nice and helpful and everything.  So are you 
gonna look?"  
 
After Spike presses the button Angel drops him and he lands on his 
ass in a heap before him. "Thanks, and no I am not. I'm gonna sleep 
in my clothes and just not think about it. So why don't you follow 
along with me on this path?"
 
"Awww, c'mon, Angel.  Aren't you even curious? I could look for 
you."  Spike waggles his eyebrows. 
 
The elevator dings and Angel steps off and starts walking as fast as 
he can he isn't even gonna try to run* "No, Spike you're not looking."
 
"Angel, don't walk away.  We can bugger each other with fantasy 
penises. PLEASE ANGEL!" 
 
Angel holds up his hand and waves.  He kicks the door but it doesn't 
close all the way and he stamps his foot.
 
"Angel?  You're not gonna lock me out of the room are you Angel?  
Don't be a stupid cow.  I won't molest your puppet parts, I swear." 
 
Angel makes sure he scowls intensely. "If I could close the door, I 
would lock you out.  Hell, even if I could've closed it I couldn't 
lock it."
 
Spike comes inside.  "I'll behave.  I'll wait to molest you until 
we're not puppets." 
 
Angel is sure his look of surprise on his puppet face is 
amusing. "Are you on a puppet happy high?"
 
"What?  You don't want me to molest you then either?" 
 
Angel tries to roll his eyes but the effect is lost on not having the 
ability to roll eyes. "Come help me shut the door Spike."
 
Spike comes over and helps him push the door closed.  "Kinda nice 
working together."
 
Angel nods again, and finally has enough time to look over Spike in 
his puppet appearance. After a few minutes he sighs. "How come you 
get to still be cute and adorable? Whereas I look ridiculous?"
 
Spike twirls around.  "I'm cute and adorable, am I?  Nice to know.  
You're still a hulking, broody, handsome hunk of puppet man-meat."  
Spike chuckles.  "The girls are going to think you're cute."   
 
"Fred has already seen me and I hid from Harmony didn't feel like 
having my hair braided or worse. Bad enough, I thought Fred was gonna 
tell me when she was little she had a stuffed toy, and I could go 
home with her, and I could, maybe, if I didn't mind, help her relive 
her childhood." Angel says as he walks to the bed and looks way, way 
up, then moans in anguish and lays his head against the bed. "I hate 
this."
 
Spike comes over and strokes Angel's face.  "It's ok, big guy.  Here, 
hoist me up on the bed and I'll pull you up."  
 
Angel leans back and looks at Spike.  This offer of help came with no 
witty remark or cutting snideness and the fingers on his face...felt 
or not sent a tiny fissure of times long gone. He lifts Spike up so 
he can climb on the bed. 
 
Spike reaches down and pulls Angel up.  "I promise, no funny 
business, no ulterior motives.  I'll behave.  Besides, I've got 
nowhere else I can go tonight.  Wouldn't be able to get out of here 
again alone.  So can I stay?" 
 
Angel sits on the bed next to Spike, and looks how huge it looks from 
his point of view, like a red ocean. He nods. "Yea, just take off 
your shoes if you can.  I haven't even tried.  You can be my 
experiment-in-puppet-land dummy."
 
"Sure."  Spike leans over and starts unlacing his boots.  "Dang 
fingers.  They don't do well."  After a while he finally manages, and 
slips his boots off.  He wiggles his puppet feet.  "No toes.  Huh." 
 
Angel looks at the toeless feet and moves his feet towards Spike's 
hands.  "Can you untie mine?"
 
Spike looks over at Angel's face.  The puppet eyes are really brown.  
The color is just right.  He nods.  "Sure."  He starts patiently 
unlacing Angel's shoes.  This was probably the longest they had been 
in a room together without snarking at each other in...forever, it 
seemed.  
 
Angel looks at his toeless feet when Spike takes off his shoes and he 
swings them back and forth. "You know this is as innocent as I will 
ever seem, I think."
 
"Probably.  At least since...well, you had to have been innocent 
once.  I know I was."  Spike lays back and snuggles into the 
covers.  "When was the last time we were in a bed together?  China?  
No...that sub, in '43." 
 
Angel lays behind Spike and moves a bunch then sits back up and just 
slips out of his coat then lays back down on his side. "No, wrong 
again there was the Angelus period-- I seem to remember a few times 
then, but if were talking companionable, then yeah, the sub. And as 
for my innocence, Spike, honestly I can't remember when I was truly 
all that pure.  But you're right, you were."
 
Spike slips out of his duster and pulls it over him. "I miss those 
days.  I mean, when we still spoke to each other." 
 
Angel nods and covers himself with his coat as well.  He is silent 
for a bit then says quietly, "I miss them too."
 
"Do you think there's any chance...nah, it's stupid to ask." 
 
Angel places his four fingered hand on Spike's arm but then pulls it 
back. "Tell me do I think there's any chance of what?"
 
"That maybe things could be good between us again?  I mean, ever?" 
 
Angel looks over himself, then at Spike.  He is still a few inches 
shorter than himself, even in puppet form, and he still looks smaller 
if possible. Angel sits up and taps Spike's shoulder. "Sit up and 
face me, and no laughing I'm gonna try to be serious here."
 
Spike sits up and faces Angel.  "No laughing.  Can't help the smirk, 
apparently it's stuck that way." 
 
Angel shrugs and brings his toeless feet in front of him, crossing 
them. "It's you.  Guess that's why the scowl is stuck. But, anyway do 
I think things could be as they were? I don't think we can be just as 
we were-- so much has happened-- but maybe we can take the good and 
make new from that. Start over, maybe.  But what do you want, 
exactly?"
 
"Not sure.  But 'angin' around 'ere, I've seen enough of you to 
know...to know I want you back." 
 
Angel nods and looks at his feet for a second.  Then he takes his 
hand, and grasps Spike's hand in his.  He says softly, "I think we 
can explore that." But then he looks up and shakes a finger on his 
other hand. "But not now, William, I'm made of felt and my nose comes 
off, so just don't ask."
 
Spike grins.  "No puppet sex, huh?  Ok, I can buy that.  Can we 
cuddle?" 
 
Angel ruffles Spike's hair and lays down, patting the bed beside 
him. "Yes, come on then, Will. Two more days of this then I can hold 
you right-- not to mention with five fingers and not four."
 
Spike moves over, snuggling in close.  "You sure you're still going 
to feel like this when you're not made of felt?" 
 
Angel rolls his eyes. "They said extra-sensitive emotions not fake 
ones."
 
"Good.  "Cause I'm holding you to it.  It's gonna be a long three 
days." 
 
Angel nods and pulls up as much of the blankets as possible around 
them. "I wonder if they alerted everyone to our condition? Don't want 
the cleaning lady trying to come in and wash us."
 
"We could just fight her off.  We are two fiercesome vampire 
puppets. "
 
Angel laughs and cuddles his head into Spike's back.  "I'm kinda glad 
I don't have to do this alone, Spike. So even though you shouldn't've 
gone in the don't room, I'm glad you did."
 
"I've never been a member of the brain trust, you know that.  But I'm 
glad we're going through this together too." 
 
"All right, sleep.  Tomorrow we'll help each other get back 
downstairs, then back up at the end of the day, til we're done being 
puppets. Then we can work on just being Vampires around each other 
each day.  Sound like a plan?"
 
"Yeah.  G'night Angel."  
 
Angel closes his eyes. "Goodnight Spike."