Rating: M
Pairing: Spike & Angel
Word Count: 788
Warnings: Minor angst, Missing scene fic 5x06, referenced sexual interaction, implied past Spangelus, Spike p.o.v., pining (if you squint), fallout from Life of the Party
Summary: Spike can’t make sense of the changes in Angel’s behavior around him.
It was growing tedious, haunting Angel. Downright boring, even. The elder vampire had now taken to ignoring him at nearly every turn and sending him away before really even bothering to put any effort into their typical banter. It wasn’t like him to be that standoffish with Spike, no matter how mad he had gotten. There’d always been bad blood between them, but they’d still had a back and forth of snark that allowed them to manage at least a working relationship; but now, no matter how low the blow, he was lucky if Angel even spared him an angered glare. He had tried pulling out the big guns by making a jab about him being squishier around the middle…nothing. Made a masturbation joke during the drive to investigate Wes’ latest dead body, not even so much as an eye roll.
Hell, he’d even been so disconcerted by Angel’s sudden turn that he was finding increasingly difficult to concentrate his focus whenever he tried to pick something up. His heart just wasn’t it so much anymore. He had been absolutely no help during the fight against Tetzcatcatl, his mind too muddied with confusion over the added distance between them to concentrate on throwing even a measly punch.
He just couldn’t figure out what was going on with his Grandsire that had made him suddenly turn him colder than he’d ever been towards him. The most time he was even allowed to remain in his company for longer than ten seconds was when the others were around, but that just made it easier for Angel to ignore his presence completely. It was lonely enough being hardly more than a mere mirage without losing one of the few things that made his non-existence less miserable.
Was it to do with that damned Halloween party? Sure, it had been weeks since the disaster of a pointless celebration, but that seemed to be the nearest Spike could pinpoint the sudden change in their relationship. Ever since he’d borne witness to Angel’s bespelled coupling with that harpy Eve, Angel had started becoming more distant. But why?
It was far from the first time either of them had watched the other in the throes of passion, not like they hadn’t done far more than watch as one of them had fucked into Dru, and even Darla a time or two when she’d been particularly overcome with lust and hard to satisfy. There was no logical reason, after all they’d been through, after everything they’d done with, and to, each other, for Angel to pull a complete 180 from where the companionship they had been heading back to since he’d arrived. Things had finally started getting back towards their twisted version of normal, and he had even managed not to let it show, how much he had been affected by Angel’s magic-fuelled tryst, kept his mouth shut on the matter, pulling his duster close around him to hide the unavoidable erection his Grandsire’s groans of pleasure had caused. Had he somehow smelled his arousal even through his insubstantiality?
There had to be a way for him to at least get them back on their - as of late - typical speaking terms. He’d been giving Angel as wide a berth as he could the past couple days as he worked the Tetzcatacatl case, not lingering around the office after the team had left with the latest updates, tried to keep his snide remarks to a minimum while Angel was within earshot, even let go of the primo teasing bait of Angel getting his ass handed to him by Number Five…and still not a single whiff of a change. How much time was it going to take? How long could he float through these halls with the only family he had left constantly giving him the brush off? Something had to tip the scales back in his favor before he went mad from it all. He didn’t know how much longer he could stand this ever-widening gap between them, how much longer he could ignore the ache in his soul before he finally cornered his Grandsire and spilled every cursed confession that had been weighing down his tongue for too many years.
Spike stared up at the ceiling of Angel’s office, contemplating on whether to even bother another attempt at poking the bear, just to see if he’d roar, but decided against it, not sure if he could take another icy rejection, and bunkered down on the couch to try and attempt to catch some rest. Really sucked that even as a ghost, he wasn’t safe from nightmares. Sucked worse that the best hope at keeping them at bay wouldn’t give him the time of day.