"This is not how I wanted to spend the evening, you know," Wil muttered from the back seat.

"Yes, well, it is your job," Wesley shot back, shouting over the din of inner city traffic.

Angel smirked, glancing around the car at his coworkers. It would take almost an hour to reach their destination, plenty of time for him to play brooding vampire and think about things, primarily his childe.

Wil had improved greatly over the past four months. Angel had been surprised at how quickly the blonde had adjusted to having a soul. Wesley and he had discussed it and the vampire had, in the end, agreed with the ex-watcher's theories. Wes had hypothesized that between the circumstances under which Wil had gotten his soul, the younger vampire's involvement with fighting evil beforehand, and the nature of his human self before he was turned, along with the support he got from Angel, worked together to help Wil adjust. Wil had taken on his soul voluntarily, as opposed to being cursed like Angel was. He also willingly fought alongside the Slayer without a soul. And, before he was a vampire, Wil was a pretty good human, whereas Angel had been a right bastard, in Wesley's words. Lastly, Angel had had no help, left to drift around the world for nearly a hundred years. Wil had Angel to help him, and a mission from The Powers, even though that mission was currently rather vague.

Angel was privately rather proud of Wil. The blonde vampire became more and more like the human he used to be with every passing day. Well, somewhat like that humanWil was definitely stronger and wiser, and a lot less vulnerable. Angelus would have hated what Wil had become. The thought made Angel smile. He and Angelus had very different tastes. Angelus liked Darla and Drusilla. Angel, on the other hand, loved Buffy. Apparently he rather liked Wil as well. The thought bothered Angel somewhat; he felt himself getting quite attached to his newly ensouled childe, something he did not want to let happen. Such attachments could serve to weaken him. He could also easily fall in love with the younger vampire; his unsouled self had certainly taken an interest in Wil's violent alter ego Spike. His emotions were complicated by their Sire-childe relationship; since his return to Angel, Wil had worked hard to rebuild their bond, reaching out to Angel out of need. The older vampire was honest with himself; he liked his role as Sire, with its responsibility and devotion. It was yet another thing for him to watch over carefully.

Angel was brought out of his ruminations as they neared their destinationa rundown brick building situated in a row of old warehouses. "This the place?" He asked.

"Yes, it would appear to be the location in Cordelia's visions," Wesley replied, arming himself with swords and daggers.

"Right. Let's get to it, then." Wil swung out of the car.

The three men entered the building as quietly as possible, trying to ascertain the demons' location. All too soon they found them, a half-dozen tall, well-muscled figures surrounding a group of four teens who were bound to an altar. They were just in time; it looked like the bloodletting was about to begin.

Wesley and Wil circled around the sides as Angel took on the leader. In a matter of seconds all three were engaged in combat, holding their own rather well against far stronger opponents. Angel managed to disable two of the demons, Wesley a third, and Wil a fourth, when the remaining two began chanting. All three men fell to the ground, writhing in pain, their screams echoed by the youths tied to the altar.

With the last of his strength, Angel threw a knife at one of the remaining demons. It embedded in the creature's shoulder, not doing enough damage to kill it, but managing to interrupt the spell. With the spell broken, Angel managed to stand up and approach the demons again, who chose to flee the building at that point.

Wil found a stray knife and cut loose the bound humans. The four youths took off at a run, one of them calling the police on a cell phone. "Guess that's our cue to exit stage left?" He walked over to Wesley, pulling the human up off the concrete floor.

"I suppose we should leave now, before we have questions to answer," He said, looking around at the carnage. "I wonder, though, what type of incantation was that? It appeared to affect all of us equally."

"We'd better get out of here." Angel led the way to the car and the tree men piled in, sore but generally unharmed.

.........

"Did you get them?" Fred asked, bouncing around the lobby.

Angel grinned. Fred could be a bit bloodthirsty at times. "Most of them. We got the kids out, though."

"So, did they look like Star Wars extras or what?" Cordelia asked from her perch on the counter.

"Indeed they did look like Chewbacca's cousins," Wesley agreed, throwing himself on the couch. "And we have a spell to investigate."

"Spell?" Cordelia asked.

"The demons used some sort of incantation that managed to incapacitate all of us, as well as the other humans there. It was quite painful, unlike anything I've ever felt." Wesley noticed Wil and Angel looking pensively at each other. "What?"

Angel looked at Wesley, then back at Wil. "I think I know what it is."

"Well, what? We may need to find something to counteract it."

"If I'm right, it's a spell to rend souls from their bodies." Wesley inhaled sharply at that pronouncement. "My guess is that the demons knew we might be coming. The spell wouldn't have any effect on vampires, unless they had souls."

"Do you think they knew about Wil?" Cordelia asked.

"If they didn't before, they do now. Two got away. It reeks of Wolfram & Hart. It's just too well orchestrated," Angel spat.

"The fact that the warehouse is owned by the law firm probably helps that theory, doesn't it?" Cordelia said. "I made some phone calls after you left."

"Why would anyone want to take away your souls?" Fred asked.

Wil turned to stare incredulously at the young woman before he remembered that she didn't know everything about Angelus and Spike. "Well, luv, you wouldn't want to meet me & Angel without our souls. We're.bad-tempered."

"Oh, that whole Scourge of Europe thing?" Both Angel and Wil looked at her in shock. Cordelia and Wesley laughed nervously. The two vampires turned to them, looking more than a bit angry.

"What? She needed to know. You do have a habit of misplacing the damned thing, you know," Cordelia defended tartly.

The two vampires growled a bit before giving up. "Fine. What do we do?" Wil asked.

"Yes, we must find something. Once Wolfram & Hart know that the spell will work, they will not stop until Angel is destroyed, and probably Wil along with him," Wesley said. "Perhaps you should visit the Oracles, Angel?"

Angel thought about it. Perhaps he should visit the Oracles. It was worth a try. "Ok, but maybe the rest of us should start researching. Maybe there's a binding spell."

"Yes, perhaps. I've been searching for something for a while now." The gang was soon engrossed in research while Angel went to visit the Oracles.

.........

"Wesley, what about this one?" Fred carried a large, thick book over to the ex-Watcher. She pointed to a complicated binding incantation covering several pages.

"Let's see." Wesley studied the spell, one of several hundred the group had dug up during the past few days. At the moment, they had had no luck in finding something that could withstand Angel's curse, much less the powerful soul-rending spell they were trying to counteract. The Oracles had been their usual vague selves, simply telling Angel to work with what he had.

"What's it like, Wes?" Angel asked, ever hopeful. The entire group was on edge; every time they went out there was the chance that they'd run into one of Wolfram & Hart's flunkies trying to cast the spell. They'd already encountered the remaining Kragrlange demons, who had attempted to use the spell again, although they were easily defeated.

"It does show promise. I need to translate it, though, to get a better idea."

"Oh, I did that already. Here." Fred handed over a translation of the spell. Wesley took it, comparing it to his own work.

"My, I didn't realize you'd gotten proficient at neo-Thalonili, Fred." Indeed the translation was dead-on. Wesley read the translation, then the original, with growing excitement. "I think that Fred may be onto something here." He took the spell over to Angel and Wil, pointing to specific lines of text.

"How so?" Wil asked.

"It is a binding spell, much like the others we've looked at previously, but this one specifies binding the soul to a specific corporeal formsuch as a body. As long as the body exists, the soul cannot be separated from it, by any means." He read some more of the incantation. "However."

"What?" Angel asked.

"However, if the corporeal form is destroyed, the soul cannot be reclaimed. That is, the soul would go to hell, or heaven, and could not be brought back as yours has been in the past. There would be no risk of Angelus returning, but Angel would be lost as well."

"Seems right. I mean, if we died, then we'd go to our ends, and that's that?" Wil summarized.

"I believe so. It is a rather powerful spellI seriously doubt that Wolfram & Hart could come up with anything strong enough to affect it," Wesley said, continuing to study the spell. "I think it was created to prevent people from being turned into vampiresfrom the way it reads, a person under this spell would either remain human despite the effects of vampiric blood, or die in the process."

"Are you sure it wouldn't kill vampires?" Cordelia asked, worried that they might inadvertently do away with their friends.

"I see no reason why it should. It worked to prevent vampirism by keeping the soul intactwhich would interfere with being turned. It doesn't seem to matter what the soul is init just can't get back out."

"What about the clause?" Cordelia asked, referring to Angel's happiness clause.

Wesley peered over the book at Angel, who stared back with great interest. "This binding spell is far more powerful than the cursethere isn't any happiness great enough to overcome the ties this incantation would put between the soul and the body." Angel exhaled audibly.

No more happiness clause? Thoughts swirled in Angel's mind. No more.

Wil watched his Sire, sure that Angel was thinking of Buffy. With nothing standing between them.he would lose his Sire to the Slayer, the older vampire's one true love. He loved both of them, Buffy and Angel. At this point, he could live without the Slayer, but his Sire? Angel had become the center of his world. And now he would be free.

*****
Part 10:

The dining room of the Hyperion was transformed into an altar room under the watchful eye of Cordelia. The rest of the gang scurried about as she did her best impression of a field marshal. The spell had required several days of preparation as a rather large number of repulsive ingredients fermented in the kitchen. The humans had resorted to takeout when the stench became overwhelming.

"Gunn, if you drop that pot of goo I'm going to kill you," Cordelia shouted, watching the vampire hunter heft a huge container of bubbling liquid.

"Shut up, Cordy. I don't see you risking your fake-guccis over here," Gunn shot back, annoyed at the perky young woman.

"Whatever. Fred, could you check on Angel and Wil?" Fred hurried out to the lobby, running up the stairs toward the vampires' rooms. She knocked softly on Angel's door.

"Angel? You all doing ok?" The vampires had to undergo purification before the spell could be cast.

A muffled voice answered her. "Yeah. Go back downstairs, Fred." Fred answered in the affirmative, and then repeated the process at Wil's door.

Angel sat in his room, staring at the items laid out before him. Wesley had sworn that the purification ritual was quite painless. He'd even said that some people found it pleasant. Angel didn't buy it. There were six, no, seven different herbs and oils he had to use in the bath, along with dozens of white and black candles that had to be burned in a specific manner. Then there was the meditation, and the infusion. The vampire grimaced at the carafe of herbal tea nestled in a warmer. All sorts of herbs, most assuredly bitter, with no honey or milk to soften the flavor. Oh well, better get started. He spared a thought for his childe. If he was uncomfortable, Wil was probably terrified.

A second knock on his door startled the vampire. "What is it now?" He said, slightly annoyed at the intrusion.

"Um, Angel? Is Wil in his room? No one will answer me over there," Fred replied, obviously worried.

Shit. "I'll check on him. Just a second." Angel quickly opened the door, avoiding running into Fred who was hovering there. He jogged over to his childe's room and knocked on the closed door.

"Wil? Open the door, Wil," Angel said softly, hoping that the blonde was simply preoccupied. When he got no answer, he tried the doorknob. It was, thankfully, unlocked. Angel opened the door and ventured inside. Closing the door behind him, he tried to spot his childe in the gloom of the unlighted room.

"Wil?" He repeated, turning at the sound of shuffling fabric. Wil was piled into a chair behind the door, covered in blankets. "Wil, what are you doing? You need to get ready."

Wil peered out from his nest of blankets. "Go away," He snarled, channeling Spike.

Angel's head snapped back. "Excuse me?" He growled back, unwilling to accept such a tone from his normally polite childe.

"Don' wanna do it. Go away," Wil replied, pulling the blankets over his head. Angel reached over to him, pulling the blankets away. A brief tug of war ensued before Angel, snarling, pulled Wil into his arms, holding the vampire still.

"Wil, we agreed that this is what must be done. You will do this." Angel's tone of voice left no space for willfulness. Wil slumped against him. "What's gotten into you?"

Wil stared over Angel's shoulder. "Scared," He whispered. Angel relaxed slightly. His childe, although accustomed to magic, was never comfortable around it, especially when he was the focus of it. Perhaps.

"Wait here, alright?" Angel waited for Wil to acknowledge him, and then quickly left the room, calling for Wesley.

The ex-Watcher ran up the stairs, wondering what might have possibly gone wrong with a simple purification ritual. "Angel, I told you, it's really quite"

Angel cut him off. "I know, painless and simple. It's not that. Wil's scared." Wesley's face showed obvious disbelief. "He's never liked having spells cast on him." The mortal's face melted into comprehension. He, privately, felt the same way whenever he was the focus of magic.

"Ah.is there anything we can do?" he asked.

"Maybe. Can the purification.does it have to be done alone?" Angel queried, knowing that Wil would be far more secure if he was there.

Wesley thought about it. He'd not considered having the vampires perform the ritual together. He couldn't think of a reason why they couldn't, as long as they followed all the steps exactly. He told Angel as much. The vampire thanked him, promising to start as soon as possible.

.........

Angel returned to Wil's room, once again pulling the younger vampire up out of the chair. He piled the purification supplies into the blonde's arms, taking up the infusion in one of his own hands while dragging his childe toward the older vampire's rooms with the other.

"Whatwhere are we going?" Wil asked.

Angel didn't speak until both of them were inside his room. He locked the door, and then turned back toward his childe. "We have to do the purification, Wil. Otherwise we can't do the binding spell. Help me set this up." He picked up their parcels, walking into the bathroom. Wil followed behind, unsure of what was happening. He grabbed up the tea along the way.

"What are you doing, Angel?"

The brunette smirked, his face hidden by the sunken bathtub he was kneeling over. "The purification ritual, Wil. Remember?"

Realization finally struck the younger demon. "Oh." He silently began to assist his Sire. The entire contents of the bathroom that were not bolted down were quickly removed from the chamber. Soon the only things left were the ritual supplies. Wil and Angel stood outside the door, stripping off their clothes. The younger vampire followed his Sire back into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

The pair worked in unison, setting candles on the floor in an intricate design of swirling black and white lines; white candles to drive away impurities, black candles to absorb them. Soon the bathroom was awash in gentle flickers as the vampires finished this task, careful of the many potentially deadly flames.

They then moved to the tub, gathering up the many jars and pots Wesley had given them. Angel plugged the drain, draping the heavy chain around the faucet several times. Each vampire stood on either side of the tub with his herbs and oils, opening and sprinkling each in succession. As they prepared the bath, they silently chanted the first of several simple mantras involved in the ritual. Soon all the ingredients were ready and Angel turned on the water. They watched as the dark marble tub filled, the water turning an opaque, milky white color, swirled with herbs that bled their essence into the hot water. A fragrant steam rose, curling around the two figures.

Wil followed Angel's lead, climbing into the tub, right foot first, balanced on the right arm, followed by left foot and finally left arm on the rail. Then the whole body was immersed to the neck, sinking below the surface only to rise and rest against the wall. They faced each other, the size of the tub large enough that even stretched out they weren't touching. Angel opened his infusion, pouring out the first of many cupfuls. He drank it quickly, watching Wil's throat work as he swallowed his own. The stuff was surprisingly good, not nearly as bitter as he'd feared. It sat lightly in his stomach.

Angel found it easy to begin his meditations, despite Wil's presence. Under any other circumstances, having his childe with him, naked, in the bath would be a significant distraction. Wil, however, was as deeply engrossed in the ritual as he was.

After many minutes and several cycles of mediation and infusion, Angel opened his eyes, catching Wil's cerulean gaze. They were finished with this part of the ritual. Next was the bathing itself, the purification of the exterior. Angel smiled slightly at the thought of vampires purifying themselves. Had they been human, this would have been unnecessaryvampires were simply inherently too polluted for the binding spell, unless they went though serious cleansing.

Catching up the pot of soft, fragrant soap that was part of the ritual, Angel smeared half of it onto an accompanying sponge. He was suddenly very aware of Wil's presence across from him. He moved to the center of the tub, meeting Wil there. The blonde froze momentarily when he felt his Sire begin to lather the soap on his shoulder, but then quickly recovered and returned the gesture. They moved in counterpoint, like mirror images, cleansing each other's bodies.

Angel watched as the last of the tension flowed from Wil's body. He was glad for the sudden insight he'd had; the simple motion of washing each other helped ground his anxious childe. Such little things bound them together, the pleasure of bathing, touching once-familiar skin.

Increased flickering from the candles they'd set out drew Angel's attention. They hadn't been in ritual more than an hour, but the seemingly large candles were already nearly gone. Must be a peculiar type. Angel quickly finished rinsing his childe with the now-cool water, then reached for his hands, drawing both of them up. They exited the tub opposite from how they entered it, ending that part of the ritual facing each other identical to how they started.

Each man chanted the final mantra, then watched in awe as the candles on the floor winked themselves out one by one, tracing back the pattern they'd drawn in reverse. Soon the room was engulfed in darkness. After a minute, Wil heard Angel carefully make his way to the wall, flicking on a light. The blonde was immediately grateful that his Sire had turned on only a single, low lamp instead of the bright overhead fixture. He looked around the room. The candles were goneno trace of wax remained anywhere. The bathwater was also changed; dark blue had replaced the milky color from before. Angel and Wil left the bathroom, allowing the last of the water on their bodies to evaporate, as the ritual demanded.

Once dry, the pair donned the soft, comfortable clothes they'd selected for the bonding spell. Comfort was important; the spell would take considerably longer than the purification ritual, and neither man wanted to suffer any more than necessary. After some argument earlier, they had each separately decided on soft, silk pyjamas.

Angel dressed himself quickly, consciously avoiding looking at his childe's lithe body. Now was certainly not the time to be lusting after him. Fully dressed, he ventured to turn around, only to catch Wil wearing the same thing he was. Both vampires gaped in shock.

"You have pyjamas?" They said in unison. Angel recovered first, smirking at Wil.

"Of course. But you, you never wear them.do you? And cream, Wil? How charming." Wil glared, but remained silent. Angel's smirk grew. Indeed, the picture was charming. Such a pale color should have been unflattering on the pale vampire, but for some reason it just made his childe glow with an unearthly light, like he'd been carved out of moonstone. Angel's own clothing was considerably darker, a soft gray nearing black.

"Let's go then, Angel. Haven't got all night." Angel's remarks had irked Wil. Yes, he wore pyjamas. Not to bed, but around his room when reading. Cordelia had helped him pick them out, and she'd managed to refrain from laughing the entire time. She'd even whistled her approval the one time she'd caught him in them.

.........

"Hey, Wes! Two purified vampires, ten o'clock!" Cordelia shouted, jumping up at the sight of the silk clad men descending the stairs. She took in the sight, from bare feet to soft, uncoiffed hair. "But no rush. I mean, you two can just lounge down here for a while," She added more softly, winking suggestively at Wil.

"They won't stay pure for long if you keep that up, Cordelia," Wesley admonished, ushering the vampires into their makeshift altar room. "Remember, no one touches them." The entire gang was soon in the room, which Fred sealed off with a simple spell. "Angel, Wil, you will need to sit in the circle." he pointed at two spots on the floor.

The two vampires obediently sat, taking up traditional cross-legged mediation postures. They sat side by side, facing forward, stone-faced. Wesley and Fred took up their incantations and ritual knives, while Cordelia held a censor and Gunn an asperger for the noxious liquid they'd prepared earlier. The four humans began the spell and the room was soon filled with the lilting strains of magic spoken in a long-dead tongue.

The mortals stepped back, watching as a thick, golden light surrounded the vampires, swirling and pulsing with alien energy. It seemed to grow, almost filling the room, then contract until they could almost see their friends through it. Each wondered just how long this would takethey had been unable to find out in their research; it was the only unknown they'd faced.

Wil watched the light dance in front of him, both enthralled and frightened by its intensity. It reminded him of snowflakes illuminated by flashes of lightening, sharp points on a pitch black background. The swirling light went on and on, licking over his skin, pouring into his lungs when he gasped at the sensation. The sharp feeling of being invaded tore through him. He reached out in pain, grasping at Angel. The blonde calmed slightly when he felt Angel take his hand. The older vampire gripped him tightly. For some perverse reason, it comforted the younger vampire to know that he was not alone in the sufferingAngel hurt as well.

He felt like he was on fire. Angel resisted the urge to stand and run away, to extinguish the flames he was sure were burning through his flesh. The sensation was purely physical, unlike the emotional pain he was far more used to. He felt something at his sideWil, reaching out for him. He grasped his childe's hand, trying to telegraph support. They couldn't stop this now.

The golden light flashed bright once, twice, then a third and final time. The humans blinked to clear their eyes and looked anxiously at their vampires. Wil and Angel lay slumped on the floor, passed out.

*****
Part 11:

"Wes, did it work?" Cordelia worriedly asked the ex-Watcher. She moved forward tentatively.

Wesley bent down next to Angel. He couldn't check for a pulse or breath, but at least they weren't dust. If they'd just wake up.

Angel moaned. He felt like he'd been run over by a truck or ten. He reached out to one side, hitting Wil gently. The younger vampire groaned in response. The brunette vampire felt a warm hand ghosting over his face. "Wesley?"

The ex-Watcher answered anxiously. "Angel? Did it work?"

The vampire blinked, then sat up, dizzy. "I don't know. Try ripping my soul out and we'll see." The human looked taken aback, then embarrassed.

"Stupid question?" Wesley joked.

"No stupid questions, just stupid people," Wil muttered, sitting up against his Sire. Why did spells always leave him feeling so incredibly bad? Fred reached out, rubbing the back of Wil's neck soothingly.

"Hey! Way to be grateful for the soul-superglue spell, fangless!" Cordelia snapped, simultaneously hugging the blonde vampire. The five friends laughed, some of the tension broken. Only Gunn hung back, unwilling to become involved. The ex-cheerleader frowned briefly at him, and then returned to her friends.

"Honestly, there is no good way to test the spell. We'll just have to wait and see," Wesley finally said, helping Angel off the floor.

"Well, that sounds moderately less painful than Angel's suggestion," Wil replied, still leaning on Cordelia. "How long did that take, anyway?" He was surprisingly hungry, to the point that the human looked downright edible.

Cordelia grinned at Wesley. "It's 12:00." They had started the spell at 9:00 pm. It was now 12:00 noon.

Angel frowned. "That's not right. It's daylight out.it took that long?" He stared at the humans. They'd been in the room for half a day?

"Yeah. We waited for the first few hours, and then took shifts. I mean, we love you and all, but jeez, girl's gotta sleep, you know," Cordelia joked.

"Vampires have to sleep too. During the day, to be exact," Wil murmured, staggering into the kitchen. Neither he nor Angel had completely regained their footing, so both resembled drunks. The brunette vampire followed his childe, equally hungry. Their human companions trailed into the kitchen, stopping once they realized that they didn't want to watch the vampires drinking blood.

Angel and Wil had recovered somewhat by the time they made it up the stairs and to their rooms. The humans had left them there, leaving the hotel for their respective apartments. Cordelia took Fred with her, making sure the vampires would have the rest of the day to sleep in peace before returning to work the coming evening. Angel caught his childe's arm as Wil started toward his own room.

"Wil" Angel began slowly, trying to form a coherent sentence. Bright, if sleepy, blue eyes met his. The older vampire gave up trying to figure out what he meant to say and simply pulled Wil with him into his room. He tossed back the covers, shoving the younger vampire into bed. He soon followed, curling around his childe as the pair immersed themselves in blankets. Angel lay there, feeling the blonde slowly relax and drift off to sleep. He soon joined him, soothed by the mere presence of his childe in his arms.

���...�...�...�...���

Several hours later, a wheaten mop of curls emerged from the bed. Wil looked around blearily. He was definitely not in his own room. Actually, unless he was mistaken, he was currently occupying his Sire's bed. That would explain why there was a large, male vampire wrapped around him. Wil replayed the last memories he had, and then gave up, assuming that Angel had had some role in him ending up here instead of in his own room. Not one to let such an opportunity pass him by, the blonde vampire snuggled back under the covers and into his Sire's embrace, burying his head in Angel's neck.

Angel smiled. He'd sensed his childe wake and felt his muscles tighten when he realized that he wasn't alone. He was pleased that Wil had chosen to stay. They didn't have to move for a few more hours, and the time could be spent together. The older vampire had moved past merely enjoying spending time counseling his childe; being with Wil was now his favorite way to pass the time, no matter what they were doing.

"Sire?" Wil said softly. Angel's smile widened. Wil rarely used the deferential title, preferring to use Angel since it did not infer status.

"Hmm?" Angel murmured, nuzzling his childe's hair gently. He ran one hand up Wil's back, rubbing circles between his shoulder blades.

"Just.Sire." Wil relaxed further, practically melting onto Angel and the bed. /Ah, right there./ He was a puddle of goo under Angel's hands.

Angel continued the idle caress, listening to the sounds of his fingers running over silk. He closed his eyes, focusing his other senses on Wil. His childe had his own unique scent, which was more pure now that the blonde had stopped smoking like a fiend. Angel was, of course, addicted to that lovely perfume. He didn't remember being that way before, when they had been Angelus and Spike. Perhaps it was the soul that added a fuller note. The brunette let his hand fall away, only to hear a low growl in response.

Wil growled when Angel stopped rubbing his back. He felt his Sire chuckle, then resume petting. The younger vampire moved closer, pressing himself into Angel. A low, rough rumble began deep in his chest.

The older vampire grinned more than ever when he heard Wil start to purr. At this point, the blonde could be thrown out of a window with no resistance, he was so relaxed. They could continue this way for hours, and Angel had no objections.

As was to be expected, the world intruded on their peace. The vampires listened as first Cordelia and Fred, and then Wesley and Gunn arrived at the hotel and began milling around. They could tell that the humans were trying to stay quiet and not bother them overly much. Reluctantly, Angel released his childe, rolling away to exit the bed.

"We have to get up, Wil," Angel said, hoping the younger vampire wouldn't fight him on this.

"I know," Wil snarled, snaking his way off the bed and to the door. "See you in a few." The blonde left for his own room and Angel heard the shower come on from beyond his wall. Smiling at the memory of peaceful sleep, Angel took his own shower, and then dressed for work.

���...�...�...�...���

"You'd think that after a couple of years of this, I'd learn better than to stand near Angel when he's fighting a slime demon," Cordelia moaned, surveying her ruined clothing. Indeed, she was covered in bright yellow muck from head to toe. Gunn smirked at her predicament.

"Yeah, you'd think, or maybe you wouldn't. Doesn't matter, you're riding in the back." He just laughed at her indignant sputtering.

"Angel! Tell him that's not fair! Whatever, can I ride with you? Please?" Cordelia looked hopefully at the vampire.

Angel shook his head violently. "No way. Gunn's truck is perfectly suited for.transporting you directly to a shower. I just had the car detailed." He, of course, managed to fight several of the slime demons without so much as a drop of the resulting mess getting on his clothing.

"Wesley?" Cordelia begged, hoping for a reprieve.

The ex-Watcher backed away, fearful that the woman would cover him in slime. "I promised to give Fred a ride back on the motorcycle, which I'm sure is quite allergic to whatever that stuff is." Fred glowed at the mention of her promised ride.

Cordelia stomped to the back of Gunn's truck. "Fine, but see if any of you get cookies from me!" She hopped in, situating herself as comfortably as possible. "Let's get out of here."

"Boy, slime makes her mad," Gun muttered, climbing into the cab. "We got anything else to do tonight?"

"No. Why don't you drop Cordelia off, and then get some sleep." Wesley made sure Fred's helmet was securely strapped on, and then rode away; Fred's excited squeals audible to the remaining people.

Angel nudged Wil toward the convertible. Wil, like Cordelia, had been hit by slime, but only a little on his clothesotherwise the younger vampire would be joining the former cheerleader in the truck. "Oh, and Cordy? I hear club soda gets that stuff right out." He ducked flying projectiles and livid curses as he drove away, taking his slightly slimy childe home.

Gunn chatted with Cordelia on the way back to her apartment. More precisely, he talked to Cordelia while she fumed in the truckbed. "You know, Delia, if you'd take more self-defense lessons, or at least do what we ask you to, you wouldn't get slimed so much." He waited for a particularly long string of curses to stop. "I mean, you're vision girl, not vampire girl. This isn't your gig." He was then treated to a diatribe chronicling her high school adventures on the Hellmouth, where Cordelia Chase kicked vampire ass on a regular basis, thank you. "At least when Wesley tells you they shoot lots of yellow snot, remember to duck?" Silence followed that statement. "Cordelia?" He asked, worried that maybe she'd bounced out of the truck.

Cordelia sat back in the truck bed, tears streaming down her face. She didn't need Gunn telling her how useless she was in helping the gang. She got the visions, told Angel about them, and the tough guys took care of it. She couldn't even stay out of the way of demon mucous. Well, fuck them. She didn't notice the truck pulling into a spot in front of her apartment building.

Gunn leaned over the side of the truck, watching Cordelia mutter to herself. The tears were obvious, even through a thick coating of slime. "Hey, Cordy, what's with you?" He asked, more coldly than he intended.

Cordelia snapped her head up at the question. She'd had enough of his insulting banter for one day. "Nothing." She jumped out of the truck, surprising Gunn by landing deftly on high heeled shoes. "Get lost," She said, a perfect imitation of how she spoke to underlings in high school. She forced herself to saunter casually into her apartment building, refusing to run or look back.

Gunn watched her go, perplexed. Yeah, he'd been a little hard on her, but damn. Sometimes her inner bitch came out to play for no good reason. It wasn't his problem. The vampire hunter started his truck and drove away, the promise of rest a welcome one.

"Wheee!" Fred screamed, jumping off the bike. "Can we go again, please, Wesley?" She begged shamelessly. It had felt like flying.

Wesley grinned. Fred had certainly enjoyed the short ride back to the hotel. "We'll go again soon, Fred." He ushered her into the hotel, noticing that the vampires had already arrived and retired. "See you tomorrow then. Don't forget to lock up." He waited until she'd locked the doors behind him, and then rode off for home.

Fred tripped up the stairs, still high from the ride. She stopped by Wil's room, noticing that the door was cracked open. She widened the crack and peered in. As she had suspected, the blonde was absent. Smiling, she pulled the door closed. She'd seen Wil leave Angel's room the night after the spell, and had thought that the two had been staying in Angel's room during the days since then. It made them happy, so it made her happy. Whistling softly, she went to her own room, collapsing on the bed.

*****
Part 12:

"Come on, Wil!" Cordelia cried, pounding on his bedroom door. Impatient, she flung it open, determined to drag the vampire out.

"Delia, luv, hand here?" Wil said, standing in front of his closet, wearing a bath towel slung low on his hips. Cordelia paused to admire the alabaster skin before moving to stand next to him.

"You know, men are supposed to be the quick ones when it comes to clothes," The brunette remarked, smirking at Wil.

Wil snorted. "Yeah, and you've never seen Angel poking through the closet."

"Actually, I have. Not a pretty sight. If the world found out." She sighed, and then tossed a few garments on the bed. "Now, get dressed. Lorne needs our support for the grand reopening."

Wil obediently got dressed while Cordelia left to harass his Sire. He was looking forward to the evening; Caritas had been trashed by Gunn's old friends soon after his arrival in L.A. and he'd never gotten to see the place. He'd met the Host, though, and he and the green demon got along very well.

"Wil! Wow, that looks great!" Fred complimented, bouncing around the lobby. She was going to sing tonight, more Patsy Cline if possible. "So, we're ready to go?" Everyone but Gunn nodded the affirmative. Cordelia sneered at him, mocking his inability to face Lorne.

"Yeah, come on. We've got places to go!" Angel laughed at his seer, herding the five of them to his car.

"Angel!" Lorne yelled over the din of laughing patrons. The demon was clearly happy to see the intrepid demon investigators. He waved them toward the bar, setting out each person's favored beverage. "There's a table for you over there," he pointed. "Where's Charles?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Guess. 'Somebody's got to work!'" She mocked, doing a dead-on impression of her surly coworker.

Lorne shrugged. "He's got to come back sometime." The Host was quickly drawn away by other customers. The demon community had rallied around him in the aftermath of the human attack and he'd had no problem rebuilding the nightclub. At the moment, a scaly, grayish demon was belting out a fairly good rendition of 'Jesse's Girl' on the stage, while the audience cheered supportively.

"Wow. Lorne really outdid himself," Cordelia remarked, cataloguing the renovations.

"Indeed, one would never know that dozens lost their lives senselessly just a few months ago," Wesley said, watching the stage.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Way to be depressing there, Wes."

Fred looked over at Wil. "So, Wil.you're the only one who's never sung here, right?"

The blonde vampire snarled. Leave it to Fred to mention something like that. "Um.I don't know. I'm not much of a singer."

Angel laughed. "Don't lie, childe. You used to out-sing professionals." He remembered Spike shaming the most prominent of the continent's voices, shortly before draining them dry.

Wil blushed. This could go very badly. He didn't particularly want to sing, especially since Lorne would read him, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what the demon would see. So much had changed since he'd arrived in L.A.

"Well, then, you simply must perform for us, sweetcheeks," Lorne said, surprising the group. He'd managed to sneak up on the vampires, something he'd been trying to accomplish for a while.

"No," Wil said resolutely.

"Wil." Angel warned. There was no way his blonde childe would get out of this, even if he had to force him up there. It was, to Angel, like a follow-up visit to a therapist-he needed to know how Wil was doing, and Lorne could tell him.

"I.don't.want.to," Wil spat back, becoming surly.

Angel's best Sire voice rumbled out of his mouth. "Now. Wil. Sing." He lifted an eyebrow in warning. Wil cursed, and then shoved out of the chair, stomping to the stage. "Just when you think you've got them raised right."

Cordelia snorted. "They go and charm your socks off." She grinned at Angel's expression. "What? You didn't think we'd notice? The two of you are like.like.help me out here, guys," Cordelia searched for the right word.

"George and Gracie?" Lorne supplied. Angel groaned. Shit, shit, shit.

"Fred and Ginger!" Fred picked up the string. "I mean the dancers. Ginger from Gilligan's Island is cute and all, but far too dumb for my tastes." Wesley's jaw dropped at the statement. Then his eyes crossed as he pictured Fred, his Fred, and Ginger, on the beach.

"Rhett and Scarlett?" Cordelia said. "No, they broke up. Bad comparison."

"Enough!" Angel growled, his eyes flashing. The friends looked over at him in surprise. Apparently his personal life was off limits today.

The truth was, he didn't want to think about it. Yes, he and Wil had grown very close. But both of them were in love with someone else. At least Wil was. Angel's feelings for Buffy would never go away, but he had consigned them to the past long before she'd died. Her resurrection had affected him far less than he would have expected. Wil, though, didn't have the years behind him for recovery. Angel refused to consider a close relationship when his childe was attached to someone else. He was simply too possessive of his lovers to share any part of them.

While Cordelia and Fred were embarrassing Angel, Wil was scrolling through the music selections. What to sing.to get this over with. His friends appeared next to him on the stage, making suggestions for his choice.

"Let me guess, you're looking for Sex Pistols?" Angel said laughingly. "I doubt Lorne's got them in there."

Wil glared at him, flicking an obscene gesture at his Sire.

"Oooh. Do 'Wind Beneath My Wings!'" Lorne suggested, suddenly way too close to a gamefaced, growling Wil.

"Oi, mate. I got a soul, I didn't lose my knackers." Apparently Wil was channeling Spike this evening. Everyone took a step back.

"Um.I'm guessing Faith Hill's out of the question?" Cordelia said tentatively.

"I can do this myself, thank you. Just go away and let me get this over with, hmm?" Wil snarled, shooing them off the stage.

After a couple more minutes, he found what he was looking for. Sex Pistols, indeed. He was amazed at what companies would put in prepackaged karaoke collections.

The gang focused their attention on the slender blonde perched on a barstool, glowing under stage lights. They looked at each other in confusion as the first strains of music flowed from the speakers.

"I loved you for a long long time. I know this love is real. It don't matter how it all went wrong. That don't change the way I feel. And I can't believe that time can heal this wound I'm speaking of" A smooth baritone drifted from the stage, entrancing the audience. "There ain't no cure, there ain't no cure, there ain't no cure for love."

Angel's eyes closed at the words. It was a sad song, remembrance of things lost. It was definitely not what he expected, even considering his childe's soul.

"I'm aching for you, baby. I can't pretend I'm not. I need to see you naked in your body and your thought. I've got you like a habit and I'll never get enough" The dark haired vampire's face froze, blocking his raging emotions from surfacing. "There ain't no cure, there ain't no cure, there ain't no cure for love."

"All the rocket ships are climbing through the sky, the holy books are open wide, the doctors working day and night, but they'll never ever find that cure for love-there ain't no dream, no drug-there's nothing pure enough to be a cure for love."

"I see you in the subway and I see you on the bus. I see you lying down with me and I see you waking up. I see your hand, I see your hair, your bracelets and your brush. And I call to you, I call to you, but I don't call soft enough-There ain't no cure, there ain't no cure, there ain't no cure for love." Wil looked over at the table briefly. "I walked into this empty church-I had no place else to go-when the sweetest voice I ever heard came whispering to my soul. I don't need to be forgiven for loving you so much. It's written in the scriptures, it's written there in blood. I even heard the angels declare it from above-There ain't no cure, there ain't no cure, there ain't no cure for love."1 He finished quietly, returning to flop down in his abandoned chair. He smiled as Cordelia patted him on the back, cooing over his voice before wandering off to chat up a former client who owed them money.

Lorne glanced from Wil to Angel and back again. This was way too complicated for opening night. "Fred, honey, why don't you and Wes do that Patsy Cline number I showed you?" He urged the pair to the stage, wanting to talk to Angel and Wil alone. When he returned to the table, Wil was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's blondie?" Lorne asked the stoic vampire.

Angel looked up. "Getting a drink, I think." He winced at the rhyme. "So."

Lorne grimaced. Seeing Angel tense up, he quickly reassured the vampire. "Oh, he's fine-The Powers didn't send down any warnings of gloom and doom. His heart's a mess, though."

Angel snarled despite trying to hold his emotions in check. He was being irrational; hearing that his childe was still consumed by the Slayer made him angry. The song had been heart-rending for him. "Buffy."

Lorne shook his head. "Not even close. Hells, not in the picture, broodboy. Oh, he still loves her, but he's come to terms with that." He watched Angel carefully. What he'd really like is to get the dark-haired vampire up on stage. A flash of light hair caught his eye, and Lorne stood to catch Wil.

"Wil! You bad boy. You are never getting out of here, not with that voice. I'm considering chaining you to the stage," Lorne said, trapping the vampire at the bar.

"Right. So, the verdict?" Wil asked, not really wanting to know.

Lorn smiled. "You really should go after him." He grinned at the look of astonishment on the blonde's face. He walked away, focusing on the odd couple on the stage. Fred had a nice voice, but absolutely no clue how to sing. Wesley understood the basics of singing, but wouldn't win any awards in the voice department. They were charming, not to mention perfect together. Of course, that couple would just fall together with no help from him. At the rate Angel and Wil were moving, humans would be colonizing Pluto before they hooked up. At least they weren't getting any older. Of course, they might just figure it out on their own soon enough. Stranger things have happened.

Angel watched Wil settle back cautiously. The blonde was avoiding his gaze, focusing totally on his friends as they butchered Patsy. Wesley? Fred? Cordelia? Wil didn't really know anyone outside of their group, and Lorne.

Wil glanced at his Sire. Angel looked frustrated and unhappy. He wondered why. Maybe Lorne told him something he didn't want to hear. Wil knew that Lorne would tell Angel what he saw in Wil, since the younger vampire was pretty much Angel's responsibility. Christ. He didn't tell him. No wonder Angel was so upset.

Angel saw Wil look at him, but was careful to ignore the stare. The look of utter despair shocked him. He began replaying memories.

The remainder of the evening sped by, with everyone but Angel making a requisite trip to the stage. The older vampire avoided the ordeal by promising to sing next time, and he and Wil dropped Wesley, Cordelia and Fred off at their apartments. Cordelia had taken to keeping Fred with her several nights a week, forcing her to live away from Angel. After a couple of months, the young woman began to look forward to her 'sleepovers.'

*****