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Worlds Apart	By : rockstarpeach Category: AtS/BtVS Crossovers > Slash - Male/Male > Angel(us)/Spike(William) > Angel(us)/Spike(William) Views: 1633 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Chapter 2
Angel awoke several hours later, comfortable, confused and with a killer headache. He blinked several times to let his eyes adjust to the dim light, and confirmed that no, he was not at St Mary�s, and yes, he was practically naked.
His memories from the other night were fuzzy. He remembered getting into a fight with several other boys, then nothing. He definitely did not remember meeting anyone whose bed he would have wanted to end up in� Well, okay, that one guy in the alley had been kind of hot. At least he�d thought so before he had his clock cleaned. And besides, he didn�t think any of that gang lived someplace this nice.
He pulled the covers back, shivering at the chill of having his bare skin exposed to the air, and dressed quickly in his clothes from the previous day, which he found laying in a pile on the floor.
Very quietly he crept out of the bedroom and down the hall, hesitant to cross the living room to reach the front door of the apartment, not knowing who or what he would find waiting for him. He took a deep breath, readied himself and proceeded, even more quietly than before. This was no big deal he told himself. He�d been living on the streets, sleeping in shelters and on benches and sofas since he was 16, and waking up in a comfortable bed in a nice apartment was hardly the worst thing that he had ever faced.
When he took several steps into the room and his eyes landed on the drop dead gorgeous cop he had seen at the station the other day, sleeping peacefully on the sofa, hand thrown above his head over the couch arm, bare feet sticking out from under the comforter at the other end, he decided it was probably one of the better things he had faced.
He wondered again what had happened to him after he had been knocked out. If the cops had been called, or stumbled upon him, surely they would have brought him to the station, or to the hospital. Not to someone�s apartment. Not to his apartment. This man must have found him after the fight. But why would he have brought him here?
He wanted to stay, wanted to talk to the man, wanted answers to his questions, wanted to spend countless hours staring into those safe, gorgeous, protective eyes. But even more he wanted to go. He hadn�t done anything wrong. The police had let him go. And being here, in the home of one of the very officers to question him not 24 hours ago freaked him out a bit. So with one more quick glance behind him at the sleeping man, he slipped through the door and closed it snugly behind him.
***
Spike woke to a sound. He wasn�t sure what the sound was exactly. It had been very quiet. He got up from his make shift bed and quickly scanned the living room. Everything seemed okay. He popped his head around the corner into the kitchen. Check. Then he remembered why he had been sleeping on the sofa to begin with, and near sprinted down the hall, past the office to the bedroom to check on Liam.
One short peek at the empty bed, and the absent pile of clothing told Spike all he needed to know.
***
Angel sat in the coffee shop a few doors down from the shelter, waiting the 45 minutes until 7am, when the doors opened, and its denizens were free to come and go. He had a few dollars in his pocket and was happy to part with one of them to treat himself to a hot, sweet cup of caffeinated breakfast.
So he sat, drank, watched the early risers just starting their days, and the night owls, just heading home and thought, not for the first time, not for the last, about his future.
He had been at St Mary�s for five and half months now, and the limit was six. He would soon have to move on, find somewhere else to stay. But his thoughts were about more than that. He had been homeless for almost four years now. Four years of taking under-the-table jobs for slave wages, eating canned tuna, and sleeping any place he could. Things needed to change, but it was near impossible. You couldn�t get a job if you didn�t have an address and phone number, you couldn�t get a place to live if you didn�t have money, and you couldn�t get money if you didn�t have a job.
Sure, a few people who he had met over the years had made it. Able to make an honest living, pay for rent and food and such. Like his friend Lindsey. He had met Lindsey two years ago, and they had been practically inseparable for a while. Lindsey had shown him safe places to stay, how to get jobs loading stock, or cleaning floors, and most importantly had shown him friendship.
Lindsey had recently gotten a full time job as a bartender at a very popular club and had moved to a small one bedroom apartment in a decent neighbourhood. Angel was happy for him. Really he was. When Lindsey had left St Mary�s he had given Angel and open invitation to join him, rent free if necessary, until he got a job of his own. Angel had been too proud to accept the offer at the time, preferring to get things done on his own, but now, a month later, and nothing to show for it but a cup of coffee and a very inappropriate crush on a police officer, he started to rethink things.
Maybe he could stay with Lindsey for just a few weeks. He could use his friend�s new contacts, seriously try hard to get a job, and pay his friend back for rent and food once he had. He just couldn�t go on forever like he currently was.
7:05am and decision made, he left the coffee shop, and headed to the shelter to pack his bags.
***
It was barely 9:00 in the morning, and he felt more than a little bad about waking his friend up. And he knew that he would be waking the man up, as he always worked the late shift at the club and didn�t get home until after 4:00 am, but he was afraid that if he gave himself more time to think about it, he would change his mind.
So he rang the bell and waited.
And waited, and waited.
He rang the bell again. Finally he heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door, not so politely informing him that the occupant would be there shortly.
Angel smiled as the door opened to reveal his best friend, hair sticking up on end, wrapped tightly in a too-short bath robe, sleep clouded eyes regarding him curiously. �Angel?� he asked, recent sleep fogging his brain. �What are you doing here?�
Angel�s smile dropped a bit at the less than enthusiastic welcome. �I, uh� you said I could stay here with you. If I needed to. For a while,� he finished lamely.
Lindsey�s face softened into comprehension and reception. �Right, sure,� he said, smiling back. �It�s just early, you know, and I�m not quite... awake. Come on in buddy.�
His friend actually did sound glad to see him, so relieved, he followed Lindsey into the small dwelling. The kitchenette, bathroom, and futon in the front of the television where he�d be sleeping were pointed out to him before he heard footsteps, and a small blond girl, wearing only an oversized t-shirt, emerged from what he assumed to be the only bedroom.
His friend looked up with a smile and opened his arms to the girl, who smiled back, and despite their audience enfolded herself in his outstretched arms and planted a sloppy kiss directly on his mouth. After several seconds of being caught up in the moment, Lindsey broke free. He dabbed at the corner of his mouth with one hand and looked down, smiling shyly, then looked back up to make the introductions.
Smiling, he presented, �Darla, this is my best friend from way back, Angel. Angel, this is my girlfriend Darla.�
Darla smiled a genuine smile and not moving her arms from around Lindsey�s waist said, �It�s really nice to meet you Angel. You�re the first friend of Lindsey�s that I�ve seen.�
Angel was a bit thrown by the extra person, but it really seemed that his friend�s life was coming together so completely, and he couldn�t help but smile back at the girl. �I�m glad to meet you too. I�m sorry if I intruded-� he began, but was cut off by Lindsey.
�Don�t be stupid, man. It�s cool. But I think the two of us are still kind of tired,� he looked in Darla�s direction and was answered with a slight nod of her head, �so we�ll be heading back to bed. But feel free to make yourself at home. We�ll catch up later, when I�m feeling a little more human.�
�Of course. I�ll just�� Angel gestured at the couch and television in one movement and watched as his friend and his friend�s new girlfriend smiled and the two headed off to the bedroom. Angel plopped himself down on the sofa and picked up the remote, with a childlike grin. It had been a while since he was the only one there to choose what he was going to watch.
***
A couple of hours later, in the middle of another of Maury�s �Who�s my daddy?� episodes Lindsey and Darla emerged from the bedroom, fully clothed. Lindsey showed Darla to the door where they made out shamelessly for a while before Darla shouted a cheerful �Bye!� to Angel and left the two men alone.
They spent an incredible day together, extraordinary in its ordinariness. They watched lame talk shows and a badly dubbed Samurai movie, ordered pizza delivered for lunch, and caught each other up on everything that had happened in each others lives in the past month.
Angel talked about how he was staying out of trouble. Or trying to anyway but it was hard. Living where he did, around the people that he did, trouble was bound to find him even if he did his best to avoid it. He was bound to be brought down to the police station, questioned, followed, beat up, dragged unconscious to a police officers house� Okay, so maybe that was just his bad luck. At any rate, he wanted things to change, and that�s why he was here at Lindsey�s place.
Lindsey talked about how his job was going really well and if he kept up the good work he would likely be getting a raise soon. One of the dishwashers was leaving soon to go back to school, and when Lindsey told Angel he was going to put in a good word for him, Angel grinned broadly around his mouthful of cheese and pepperoni and hugged the other man hard.
Angel asked how Lindsey had met Darla and was told they met at Caritas, the club where he worked. Darla was a regular there, and the two had hit it off right away. He was smitten at first glance, and she was eager to accept his offer of a date, and they had been together almost every night since then.
Lindsey asked about Angel�s love life, and Angel had nothing to tell, which wasn�t exactly a surprise. It was hard to date with his lifestyle, unless you were into trashy sex in alleys and cheap motels. Lindsey had indulged on more than one occasion, but he knew that Angel never had. In fact in the whole time Lindsey had known him, Angel had been on a total of 3 dates, each ending at a respectable hour, with nothing more than a chaste goodnight kiss.
After an evening meal of microwave dinners Lindsey headed off to Caritas and Angel stayed in, completely content to have someplace to himself for a few hours.
***
Spike thought it was good that the kid was gone. Really he did. He had only wanted to make sure he was safe, and obviously, if he was up and moving about, it stood to reason he was alright. So he was gone, Spike wouldn�t have to worry about him. Wouldn�t have to think about him anymore. Wouldn�t have to think about his sweet, innocent eyes, or his toned muscular body, or his slightly goofy if not adorable hair.
Argh! Snap out of it! He told himself. Liam was just a kid. Well, not technically a kid, but he was 15 years younger than Spike was, so he might as well have still been in high school. Way too young anyway, for him to be obsessing over this much. Besides it wasn�t like he was hard up. He could pretty much have anybody he wanted with the wink of eye and the crook of a finger. Almost anyone.
***
After a morning of tedious paperwork Spike sat with Wes in the station cafeteria eating suspect looking turkey sandwiches and drinking terrible coffee.
�I tried to ring you last night, Will,� Wes mentioned. �Out on a date were you? Or just didn�t feel like answering your phone?�
Spike scowled at his partner�s obvious fishing for information, and replied, �Was out. And before you ask, no I didn�t score. It wasn�t a date.� Spike and Wes always talked about their conquests, always told each other all the juicy gossip, and Spike always embellished for the sake of a good story. So when Spike responded with �it wasn�t a date� instead of saying that he had been alone, or with friends, Wes knew something was up.
�Oh, it wasn�t a date hmm? Then what was it? Or, more importantly, who was it?� Wes asked with a raised eyebrow. Busted, he thought with glee as Spike started to fiddle with his napkin and cast his eyes to the table in front of him.
�Was nobody, Wes,� Spike answered, but as he looked back up at his friend he knew the lie was clear in his eyes. He sighed, resigned to tell the truth to the one person who knew him better than he knew himself. �I didn�t mean to� It�s not like I planned it alright?� He bit out defensively.
Wes was beginning to get a little worried by Spikes secretiveness, and prodded a little more. �Didn�t plan what, Spike? Who were you with?� Spike looked down at the table again, and realisation struck. �Oh, God, you didn�t. Spike, Will, please tell me you weren�t with that boy from the other night.�
Again Spike looked down, confirming Wesley�s suspicions, and muttered, �Like I said, I didn�t plan it. Was just out for a walk and ran into him is all.�
�Out for a walk where?� Wes asked. �The neighbourhood where you just happen to know he lives? Will, he�s a witness, and practically a child. Your reputation cannot afford this kind of thing right now.�
Spike knew that Wes was right about everything. He already had a reputation as a ladies man. And a man�s man. And a cheeky little sod, and a loose canon, and �not a team player�. He really couldn�t afford to add sexual deviancy, witness tampering, and corruption of an almost-minor to the list and still expect to have a job, much less get his promotion.
He knew he had to keep his nose clean, and really he had only wanted to see Liam, to watch him for a moment. He hadn�t intended to get involved like he had last night. He told Wes the story. Told him all about what had happened, the stalking, the fight, the going back to his flat, the waking up to find the young man gone.
Wesley visibly relaxed when he found out that nothing physical had happened between the two, but kept his face stern as he warned his partner, �You�re asking for trouble, Will, if you don�t let this go.�
Spike wholeheartedly agreed, but didn�t think knowing that was going to change anything.
***
He wasn�t surprised when he found himself outside St Mary�s after his shift, waiting to catch a glimpse of Liam. He thought that he would be there when Liam left, as he tended to keep to the same pattern every day, so when an hour passed and there was no sign of the boy Spike went inside.
Abusing his privilege yet again for the sake of lust he asked Anne, the shelter manager, if he could see the sign in list to check the guests for the evening. Anne, of course, thought nothing of it, as the police regularly checked up on the occupants of her shelter, so she handed the list over with a smile. Spike looked over the page not seeing Liams name, so he flipped back to the previous page, then the one after. Finally, after four pages he found it. At 8:30 in the morning Liam had checked out. Permanently. He didn�t see a forwarding address on the sheet before him so he asked Anne.
�You don�t happen to have a new address for this Liam Murphy bloke, do you luv?� He knew he was really supposed to have a warrant for that type of thing, but he was hoping his good relationship with the girl, and his winning smile would be enough in this case. �He�s a witness in a case I�m working, and I�d like to question him again,� he added, attempting to make his request legitimate.
Anne smiled back, incredibly pleased to have the police working on a case and hopefully making a dent in cleaning up the neighbourhood. �No problem. I think he left it here�� she trailed off as she flipped through a drawer in her file cabinet. She emerged with a victorious �Aha! Here it is,� and handed the piece of paper to Spike who quickly memorised the address and handed the sheet back.
�Ta luv. �Preciate it.� He gave the lady a wink, watched as she blushed and headed out the door.
***
Spike didn�t know what to do. Liam had left the shelter and was staying with a friend. He had the address, but it wasn�t in the neighbourhood, and he couldn�t exactly go wandering around half way across town to find Liam and claim that he �just happened to be passing by�.
Spike didn�t know what to do, so he did the same thing he always did. He called Wes. And Wes did the same thing he always did. Invited Spike over. And when Spike got there the two men did what they always did together, listened to 1970�s rock music, and drank beer.
Then Spike did what he inevitably did after a few drinks and propositioned Wesley. And Wes did what he always did when Spike was drunk and declined.
They drank another beer and the two of them, along with Burton Cummings, belted out a trio of �Share the Land�.
They drank another beer and called for Chinese food.
They drank another and Spike confessed to Wesley what he had done earlier, looking for Liam.
They drank another and Spike�s eyes and lips and hair and cheeks almost made Wes reconsider his earlier rejection.
And then the food arrived.
��Bout bloody time mate,� Spike groused when Wes brought the food from the door to the coffee table. ��M starving.�
Wesley smiled fondly at the blond and opened the bags, arranging the boxes of food across the table. They dug in vigorously, making short work of the bounty. Fried rice, chicken, beef and vegetables were passed back and forth, neither man caring that they were both eating straight from the carton.
They ate until their hunger was sated and Wes placed the unfinished food in the refrigerator for a meal the next day. They sat back on the plush sofa with full, happy bellies, and each opened another beer. As the music on the stereo changed from The Guess Who to Steppenwolf, the conversation became more serious.
�Wot am I gonna do Wes?� Spike asked, with slightly more drama than was normal for him due to the mass quantity of alcohol he had consumed. �I can�t get him out of my head. It�s stupid I know. Trust me, I know. All the reasons. I only saw him for a few seconds. But that�s all it took. Now I�m following the tosser around like a lovesick little puppy, and I�m old enough to be his father. Not to mention that when I did get him into my house he couldn�t get out there fast enough, couldn�t even stop to tell me he was going, to say anything. God I�m pathetic.�
Wesley agreed with his friend completely, but he wanted to be gentle about the way he phrased it. �You�re not pathetic, Spike, you just� tend to be lead around by your dick. And you like the chase. If he was eager to be with you, you�d probably have forgotten about him already, like you do with all the others. I�ll admit, I�ve never seen you exhibit this level of interest in anyone before, but you can�t go around abusing your authority to stalk him. Unless you happen to run into him at Burger King it�s over. Accept it.�
Spike placed his half empty beer bottle down on the table and got up. �Yeah, I know. I�m too tired, and too drunk to think about this anymore. Let�s go to bed.�
Wesley stared after Spike as the blond moved down the hall and into the bedroom. He mentally shrugged, cleaned up the bottles, brushed his teeth and joined Spike, already stripped down and under the covers, in his bed.
�You�d better at least have some shorts on under that blanket Spike,� Wes murmured with a grouchy sort of bite that he couldn�t really pull off, what with the corners of his mouth turning up, as he pulled back the blanket on his side of the bed and got in. �And don�t hog the covers again.�
Spike could hear the grin in his friend�s voice and smiled to himself as they settled in, unconsciously moving closer together in the big bed. Spike closed his eyes and began to drift off, comfortable and secure with Wes beside him. His last thoughts before he finally lost the battle with consciousness were of how Wesley was right and he really needed to get over this thing he had for Liam. Turning on his side to face his best friend, he grabbed hold of one of his hands, and tangled their fingers together on top of the covers between them, and resolved to do just that.

TBC
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Worlds Apart