Title: Hand of Glory Author: Penemuel Posted: 8/10/01 Archive: Sure, just let me know where if other than list archive Part: 7/? (Work in Progress) [sorry about the confusing numbering -- the part number here is the actual number of posted parts; the part number below is the number of the story part after the "prologue"] Pairing: Angel/Lindsey Rating: R (this segment only) Warnings: language; references to m/m sex but no sex itself (just a little snuggling) Notes: I try to be consistent -- I might slip up, though. *words* are emphasised, _words_ are thoughts. Summary: Angel/Buffy crossover alternate universe. The first part was written in February, but I figure I'd better start posting *before* they aired Dead End, before someone says I stole ideas... Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I'm just playing with them for a while and will give them back when done. They might be a little sticky, though. Hand of Glory by Penemuel Part 6 When Wesley padded downstairs to the lobby the next morning, he expected to find himself the first one awake. The aroma of coffee brewing and the sound of a file cabinet drawer closing told him he was mistaken, and for an instant he expected to see Cordelia when he turned the corner. The last person he expected to see was Lindsey, dressed in a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and slacks from an obviously expensive suit, placing a stack of files down on the counter next to a cup of coffee. Their files... Lindsey looked up just then, and smiled slightly. "Mornin', Wesley. Have some coffee..." The look Wesley gave him made him trail off uncomfortably. "Those are ours," Wesley said coldly, stalking forward and reaching out to pull the files away from Lindsey. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "Not what you think I'm doin', that's for sure. You honestly think I need to look at *your* files to learn about your cases?" Lindsey scoffed. He shook his head and met Wesley's angry gaze, then said, "I got a little nosy and checked out your filing system -- Cordelia's not exactly what I'd call good clerical material, although she does try hard. I figured the least I could do in return for what y'all've done for me -- especially after the way I've treated you in the past -- was fix up the files." "Oh," Wesley said quietly. "I --er-- I'm sorry..." _Kinda tough having your prejudices shoved back in your face, isn't it?_ Lindsey thought as he smiled up at Wesley. "If you'd like, I could go through them and put together a database of the various demons and--" "We've got one of those, too," Wesley said hesitantly. "Well, I could add any of my knowledge to what you've already got." "Oh." Wesley glanced over at the computer, saw that it had been booted up and showed their log-on screen. "Were you going to do all of this to surprise him?" he asked quietly, suddenly feeling very guilty. "Look, I don't have to do this -- I've got plenty of other ways to thank him. If you don't want to let me into your files or your computer, I really *do* understand..." He picked up the coffee mug and sipped at it, then continued, "But go ahead and get some coffee, either way. I'd hate to see it go to waste, and the rest of 'em might be out for a while yet." "Thank you -- it smells wonderful," Wesley said, walking over to the coffee machine and pouring himself a cup. "So, what happened last night, anyway? I'm sorry I wasn't there to assist, but I was so tired I would have been a danger..." Wesley looked back at Lindsey, saw the colour rise in his cheeks as he bent closer to the file he was skimming. _Ah. Not well, then, I see..._ he thought, concerned now for the other parties involved. "Is Giles all right?" Lindsey turned to meet Wesley's stare, and quietly explained, "It tried to drain him. It tried to suck his energy right out of him and into my dick. Only reason it hasn't killed Angel is because he's already dead and it can't get a hold of his energy..." He shook his head, glowering at the prosthetic, then continued, "I checked with Ethan about half an hour ago -- he said they separated us fast enough that Giles is gonna be okay, but prolonged contact with it could actually *kill* someone..." "Well, then that certainly is not good," Wesley said, walking around to the other side of the counter and sitting down, far enough away from Lindsey to be out of reach of the prosthetic. "Yeah. Thrills me to little pieces -- makes me think about how many people I'm puttin' at risk every day just walkin' down the street... Not to mention the potential embarrassment I'd be in for." "Well, yes, we can't forget that," Wesley muttered, not realizing until too late that he'd said it aloud. "Hey! Look, you don't like me -- I can handle that. I'm not askin' you to *like* me. Just stop treating me like I *asked* them to put this fuckin' thing on me! Angel *cut my hand off* -- do you have any idea what that's like?!" He leaned both hands on the counter in front of him and continued, "In case you didn't get it before, Wesley, I didn't have a choice. You all say I did, and yeah, I guess I coulda made the choice to get killed -- except then I'd *never* have been free from them. I came to him for *help* and he made it more than obvious that he wasn't gonna help me. The only way I could survive was to go back to them and be a good boy and do what they told me to. Yeah, I hated you guys, and I took much more pleasure than I should have in hurting all of you -- but it was all in return for how much he hurt me..." "Lindsey, stop being a victim," Wesley said, surprised at how even his tone was. "You didn't see how disappointed he was when he found out you took the promotion..." "Disappointed?" Lindsey asked, "Oh, he was *disappointed*, was he? And did he *ever* make any kind of effort to follow me and ask me *why* I took it? Did he ever make any kind of effort to hide me out from them and shelter me? No -- when we knew the only way for us to get the files on those kids was for me to risk my life by going back in there, he basically told me if I got *killed* it would convince him I'd changed. It's kind of hard to take that from the guy you came crawling to for help, you know?" "Well, I-- er..." "Doesn't it ever bug you that he went out of his way to help Faith, even after everything she did? Am I the only one who sees a *little* bit of hypocrisy in this?" He looked up at Wesley, seeing his words hit home, then added, "Well, no, actually, I'm not -- because he admits it, too." "Ah." "Yeah, 'ah'." He frowned and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off a tension headache. "Well, I've..." "What, you've forgiven her? You another one who can forgive *her* but not me?" He laughed harshly and quietly said, "Nobody ever really forgives someone for doing that kind of thing to them, Wesley, no matter how much you want to make yourself believe you have." "It's not healthy to hold onto that much anger, Lindsey," a third voice joined the discussion, startling Wesley badly enough to make him jump. "Ethan!" the ex-Watcher gasped, turning to look back at him accusingly. Ethan looked down at him and smiled humourlessly, then said, "Even if you are right." "Yeah, I know," Lindsey said uncomfortably, although he was enjoying the way Wesley was squirming under Ethan's scrutiny. "Hell, I'd just be happy if they'd either forgive me the way they supposedly forgave her, or be *honest* with themselves and admit they haven't forgiven her any more than they have me!" He glowered defiantly up at Wesley for a long moment, then shrugged and turned his attention back to the files, opening the first one and flipping through it, putting the pieces of paper in chronological order. As the silence stretched on, Ethan walked to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup, giving the one mug left a fishy look and mouthing, 'Best Actress?' "That one's Cordelia's," Wesley explained, grinning slightly. "You have any idea what time she'd be ready to go out?" Lindsey asked, looking up from the file he was organizing. "I'm really not certain," Wesley answered. "I'd think she should be awake by now -- do you need her number?" "No, thanks -- looked it up in the rolodex earlier," Lindsey explained, taking out his cell phone. He was just about to switch it on when he muttered a curse under his breath, and glowered at it. "I bet that account's gone, too." "I wouldn't be surprised," Ethan murmured, strolling over to one of the couches and sprawling on it. "No doubt they broke your contract in such a way that you'll end up paying every fee and penalty they can get out of you..." _You're not helping,_ Wesley thought while Lindsey walked over to the office phone and dialed Cordelia's number. Then, while Lindsey was distracted, he moved to the computer and logged in under his own ID, and opened up their demon database. "Morning, Cordelia," Lindsey said into the phone, "Are you ready to go shopping yet?" After a long pause, he smiled and said, "That's okay, I understand. I'm ready whenever you get here. Thanks." "Lindsey, you can go ahead and use the database," Wesley said when Lindsey walked back over to the counter. "Thanks -- I'll add in anything I can on the various entries already there, and check with Angel later to see if he wants me to add any other entries," Lindsey said, realizing that this was about as close as he would get to a true apology from the ex-Watcher. He settled himself in front of the computer and began reading, pausing occasionally to pick up his coffee and take a drink. Occasionally, he would type additional information in, using his left hand to hunt-and-peck at a fairly good speed. Wesley sighed quietly and glanced over at Ethan. He wasn't about to go back to his apartment and leave Lindsey and Ethan the only ones awake, and it didn't sound too likely that Giles was going to be awake much before the two vampires rose. It was time to hit the books... "So, Ethan, did you learn anything about the curse last night -- beyond the fact that it drains those who touch it for any length of time?" Wesley asked, pulling a keyring from his pocket and walking to a cabinet in the office. As he unlocked the cabinet and selected an assorted armful of books, Ethan sat up and answered, "I'm not certain what its purpose is, yet, but I am certain the energy it takes is not all going to Lindsey..." "You suspect it's storing the energy for some purpose?" Wesley asked, setting the stack of books down on the counter and looking back at Ethan. "We'd better find out what it is before it reaches its threshhold..." As he picked up the first book and began to page through it, Ethan stood up and walked back over to the counter to join him in the research. For a while, the only sounds were the quiet tapping of the keyboard, pages turning, and occasional muttered comments from the two researchers. Approximately an hour later, that peace was shattered by Cordelia's arrival. The door burst open and she bounced in, announcing sweetly, "It's time to go *shopping*!" Wesley smirked as he caught the split second of terror that flashed across Lindsey's face before he smiled and said, "Sounds good to me." He saved the changes he had made to the database, and then just to reassure Wesley that he was on the level, he logged out of the computer entirely. "All ready, Cordelia -- we'll be back as soon as we can, Wesley," he said, walking over to her. As they walked out, Wesley heard him asking her which car they would take, and heard Cordelia answer that of course they'd take his, because they could fit more boxes and bags into it. As the sun sank low in the sky, Spike began to stir, drawing closer to the source of warmth in the bed. A low groan filtered through his fogged senses, and he realized he was snuggled up against Giles' side, his head pillowed on Giles' shoulder and an arm wrapped tightly around his waist. He sniffed the air, caught only a lingering tang of Ethan's scent in the bedclothes, and smiled as he realized he and Giles were alone. "Wakey wakey," he murmured in Giles' ear, punctuating it with a gentle nip at the lobe. "C'mon, Luv, we're by ourselves..." Giles' eyes flickered open and he turned to find himself nose-to-nose with Spike, who, it seemed, had woken up feeling friendly. "What happened?" he asked, tugging the blankets up to cover them. "Bloody hell, Spike, you're an icicle..." "Got a nice solution to that, Luv," Spike murmured, ducking his head to lick along Giles' throat. "Wait," Giles said, just as Spike's features began to shift. The pout Spike turned on him would have shattered his resolve, if not for the wave of weakness that washed over him. "What happened to me? Where's Ethan?" "What happened is the bloody hand tried to drain you," Spike answered, his features softening again as he realized Giles was not at his best. "And Ethan's downstairs reading books, trying to find out exactly what it is." "Then that's where we should be, too," Giles said, sitting up in bed, swaying slightly when he did so. "You sure about that?" Spike asked, watching uncomfortably as the colour drained from Giles' face. "Maybe we should just stay here for a bit -- I don't need to bite you, y'know..." He sat up next to Giles and snuggled up against him, murmured, "Plenty of other things I can do with my mouth." "Oohgod..." Giles groaned as Spike began to nibble. "I can't right now, Spike -- if it were any other time... But we need to find out what this thing is; we need to find out why it's stealing energy *before* it goes off. I'm sure it hasn't drained Angel because he's already dead, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been sipping off him this whole time. He and Lindsey may have been together enough to give it a good head start..." "Well, they were certainly together last night -- ruttin' like animals," Spike muttered with disgust. Then he heaved a sigh and nodded, "Okay, I'll help you dress, then we'll go downstairs and do the book thing. Maybe later tonight you'll be up for a good shagging..." Giles tried to repress a shiver -- the way Spike looked at him out of the corner of his eye sent a thrill through him... When Angel woke, he was disappointed to find himself alone. His body still reverberated with the lingering echo of the night before: Lindsey face down on the bed beneath him, his sweet ass raised and ready for him, hot muscles clenching around his hardness as he fucked like a wild thing; Lindsey's blood sweet on his tongue as he sank his fangs into that beautifully arched neck; Lindsey's body moving so sweetly against him as he begged for more... _God!_ Angel thought, sitting up and lurching out of bed and to his bathroom before he allowed the memories to distract him further. Hurriedly, he readied for the night ahead, realizing he had slept all day and had no idea what had happened to Giles after he and Lindsey had fled the room the night before. Dressed in all black except for a deep burgundy sweater, he strode from his room and hurried down the stairs, just in time to see Cordelia and Lindsey return from their shopping trip. He stopped short and stared as they entered the lobby -- he tried not to, knowing it was rude, but all the same... He could understand Lindsey being loaded down with bags and boxes -- after all, he had *nothing* other than two suits, one pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, and a couple of rather sexy pairs of charcoal grey boxer-briefs. But Cordelia had clothes -- Cordelia had *lots* of clothes -- and it looked as though she had more boxes and bags than Lindsey did! _Well, Lindsey had to buy lots of little things, like socks and more underwear -- maybe it's just that her stuff takes up more space..._ "Wow, that was *fun*!" Cordelia said, beaming at Lindsey, "This guy knows how to *shop*!" "Cordy, Lindsey," Angel said quietly in greeting, "Did you get everything you needed?" "Well, no not everything -- there was this scarf that went with one of my skirts, but I-- Oh! You mean Lindsey..." Cordelia trailed off with an embarrassed smile. "I still think you should have gotten the black shirt, too..." Lindsey blushed slightly and looked at Angel, trying to avoid the looks he knew Wesley and Ethan were giving him. "Yeah, I got all of the basics, and enough clothes to last at least a week -- and a good pair of Reeboks so I don't have to wear the damned dress shoes everywhere..." "He still needs to accessorize more, and there were a couple of shirts he didn't get right now, and there was that cute little office product store -- we really should get more supplies for the office, Angel," Cordelia said, taking him by the elbow and walking further into the lobby. Lindsey sighed quietly and said, "I'm going to dump this stuff in the room and get into something more comfortable." He grimaced as Cordelia launched into a dissertation about their trip to the Calvin Klein store and his excellent taste, then had to restrain a laugh as Wesley blushed crimson, realizing she was talking about underwear. _Hey, if you got it, flaunt it,_ he thought as Wesley looked up at him. Angel had obviously decided that suffering through Cordelia's lecture was a lesser evil than trying to shut her up, and was listening in a painfully indulgent way; making quiet comments at all the right intervals and even sounding impressed at the right designer names. He was obviously learning to do so out of self defense... Lindsey headed up the stairs to Angel's room and tossed most of the boxes and bags into a corner. He rummaged around in the drug store bag until he found the manicure kit, tossed that onto the bed, then dug out a pair of Levi's, a dark blue t-shirt, and the Reeboks. Settling on the bed, he took out the manicure scissors and cut all of the tags off the clothes, then changed out of his current clothes into the jeans and shirt. Cursing the awkwardness of having only one working hand, he finally got the Reeboks laced and tied comfortably. _Wish those boots hadn't been so expensive -- I'd've bought them if I wasn't on a tight budget,_ he thought, walking into the bathroom to check his reflection in the only mirror present in Angel's rooms. _Now *that's* more like it!_ he thought, feeling much more relaxed. By the time he rejoined everyone in the lobby, Spike and Giles had made their way downstairs, and Spike and Ethan were fighting over who got to take care of him. Lindsey missed most of the argument, but did see Giles level a withering stare at the pair and quietly threaten, "I am capable of taking care of myself, and if you two children can't behave, we will tie *both* of you up in the basement!" Lindsey nodded a greeting to Giles, then said, "I'm sorry about last night -- I had no idea it was draining people..." "That's quite all right, Lindsey," Giles answered calmly. "You had no way of knowing. I'm much better now, so as long as we don't have that problem again, it will be fine. Unfortunately, Ethan and Wesley weren't able to turn up much after a day of research, so it does seem we've still got some work ahead of us. I remember some impressions, so I'll take a look at the books tomorrow and see what I can find." "Yeah, you said you wanted to go somewhere," Spike said, fixing Lindsey with an appreciative stare. _Boy fills out those jeans nicely,_ he thought, stepping firmly on the urge to lick his lips. "Yes -- I need to go to Caritas and see what Lorne can tell me. He may be able to see something you guys haven't found yet..." Lindsey answered, aware of the heat in both Spike's and Angel's gazes. _Damn -- what the hell was I doin' wrong with Darla then, that I've got both vampires slobbering at me?!_ He looked around at everyone, then asked, "Is everyone going? We're missing Mr. Gunn, aren't we?" "He called while you were getting dressed," Wesley said. "He's working on some things with his own people today -- they patrol some of the less affluent areas, but then again, you probably know that, too, since you don't need to look at our files to learn about our cases." _Damn -- I thought we were over this..._ Lindsey thought, then he realized that Wesley had also seen the way Angel was looking at his ass. _Boy, you've got it bad, don't you..._ "Uh..." Cordelia hedged, looking at Lindsey, then Angel, "Is anyone else going to have to sing?" "I don't know," Lindsey said truthfully. "I guess it depends on what we need to know, and what Lorne can get off me, first. Giles might have to, too -- maybe Angel." When Cordelia winced, he quickly added, "But we'll have to see. Might be that reading me gives us more information than we need..." "I hope so..." Cordelia whispered, then smiled up at Angel apologetically as she realized he had heard. "Okay, everyone, let's go," Angel said, looking at the seven of them. "Four in my car, three in Lindsey's?" Giles looked over at Spike and Ethan, sighed, and said, "In the interests of world peace, I think we'll go with you, Angel." "Probably best. We'll meet you there, Linds," Angel said, finally managing to tear his attention away from Lindsey's denim-clad crotch. _Easy there, m'lad,_ Angel thought, getting a firm control on his body's reactions. Everyone piled outside and Angel locked up, then they split up and climbed into the appropriate car. "So, you know the Host well?" Cordelia asked as she climbed into the passenger seat in Lindsey's SUV, ignoring Wesley's muttering as he settled in the back seat. They pulled out into traffic and headed on their way as Lindsey smiled and started, "When I first got a promotion out of grunt work at Wolfram & Hart, they sent me to Caritas -- they like to have all new people in certain divisions get a reading. Anyway, Lorne and I hit it off --" He ignored the mutter from the back as Wesley said, "I'll bet you did..." "Everyone liked my singing, and I went back pretty regularly -- until... well, you know." "The hand. Yeah... So why didn't he ever tell you not to be evil?" Cordelia asked, never one to mince words. "Who says he didn't?" Lindsey asked sadly. "But then -- there are some people who just don't learn until they do something themselves and find out it really was as big a mistake as everyone was warning them..." "Hindsight *is* 20/20," Wesley said, sounding surprisingly understanding. It was then that Lindsey remembered an important piece of information he had read about the ex-Watcher. Faith used to be *his* Slayer... "Yes, it is..." To be continued...