Title: A Bad Idea
Author: meagan <nutmeg@serv.net>
Summary: Basically, Xander and Angel have that second date. The not-that-smutty sequel to "After Hours."
Distribution: Please ask.
Spoiler: Aside from "After Hours" and one vague reference to "G2," nope.
Rating: Very hard R to NC-17.
Disclaimer: Of *course* they belong to someone else. If they were mine, things would be different. Specifically, they belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, WB, and anyone else I forgot.
Feedback: I save it and read it whenever I need a happy.
Note: This was *not* how I expected this thing to turn out. At all. Anyway, ever have one of those *really* uncomfortable dates during which you wish you could just cut to the chase and say what you want? I swear that's the *only* kind I've ever had (except the one with my gay friend Jon who was the inspiration for Mike in my Marked series, but that's another story). Unfortunately, none of them ever end up as nice as this.
Dedicated to Chellebelle and Adalisa because they wanted a sequel and (especially) Cinder for the location suggestion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was a bad idea.

He had said it as a joke. "I could be convinced to put out on the second date." But instead of laughing as expected, Angel just gazed at him for a very long moment before naming a night and time. And to make matters worse, he had agreed.

And then as if he hadn't made enough bad decisions, he told Grace about it. He hadn't intended to. It just kind of slipped out when she asked him how things had gone with Angel after she left. Four little words, but they had a big effect. "We made a date." A *date*. Not "We're going to talk about his ex-girlfriend, a woman who happens to be one of my best friends." Not "We have some stuff to talk about."

And Grace beamed when he said that. "Well, it's about time."

"*What*?"

She shrugged. "You spend all of your time with us. Either here at work or helping us -- babysitting, moving, whatever. You should see other people."

"Do you realize that you sound like you're breaking up with me? 'We need to see other people.'" He grinned. "What do you think Greg would say about that?"

"We have an open relationship." It took a few seconds of seriously resisting laughter before they both collapsed in a fit of giggles. The mutual devotion between Grace and Greg was legendary in the club. Unfortunately for the two of them, his job kept him out of town most of the time, so she spent a lot of time alone with their daughter when she wasn't working. "But seriously, it will be good for you to get out and see other adults that don't take their clothes off for a living. And get that disapproval off your face."

Xander continued to frown. "You're not just a bunch of people who take their clothes off, Grace."

"I know." She sighed. "But I would be saying more or less the same thing no matter where we worked. A law office? You need to be around people who don't debate legalities all day. A record store? People who are immersed in music all day. The point is this: If nothing else, it will give you something to tell us about later." Now she frowned. "But can I pick out your clothes? I mean, I wouldn't want an unfashionable Xander loose on the streets of Los Angeles if I could help it."

~~~
He had agreed to her clothing request, but once he saw the results, he had second thoughts. He felt ridiculous. Utterly and completely ridiculous. A long-sleeved silk t-shirt so tight that Ricky Martin would have second thoughts, a velvet overshirt, and pleather -- *vinyl* -- pants. Perfect for a night of clubbing, completely inappropriate for anything he was comfortable doing. So everything came off to be replaced by his standard jeans and shirt. He had just pulled on his jeans and found a clean, non-wrinkled shirt when someone knocked at the door. The noise startled him, causing him to attempt to poke his head through an armhole instead of the neck, so he took the shirt off for a second attempt while he answered the door.

That someone was, of course, Angel. "Oh, good, you're undressing already."

"Uh, I --"

"I'm just kidding. I'll wait out here for you."

Xander watched as Angel leaned against the handrail outside his apartment door. He also noticed that there were many neighbors -- male and female alike -- whose eyes were caught by Angel. "That's okay. You can come in." He wasn't sure what would be worse: Having Angel standing outside his apartment while everyone was staring or allowing Angel to enter his apartment. While everyone was staring. While he himself was clad in only jeans. "I'll be right back. I need to finish..." He waved the shirt in his hand.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. I'm early. I was anxious."

Interesting choice of words. Xander wasn't quite sure if he wanted to think about why.

~~~
"I'm not sure this is such a good idea."

Angel shook his head. "Oh, I *know* this isn't a good idea." He stopped when he realized Xander was no longer walking next to him. "Xander?"

The teen was gazing in a store window, entranced by... lamps? "Angel, what are we doing? I mean, what are you doing? Is this be-kind-to-losers week?"

"Yeah. It is." When Xander's entire body sagged, Angel continued. "So you have to take pity on me and be nice to me."

"What?" Xander's attention finally dragged away from the window. "Take pity on *you*?"

Angel held out his right hand as if offering it for a handshake. "Truce? No hidden agenda here. I want to thank you. This has nothing to do with anyone other than you and me. More you than me, really."

They stood there, Angel's hand outstretched, Xander's eyes glued to it, for an unknown amount of time. As the seconds passed, Angel grew more uneasy.

Finally, he dropped his hand and his head. "You're right. This is a bad idea. I'm sorry."

Xander stood silent, considering what to do next. Finally, he spoke. "No. It's okay. Truce. As long as things stay with just the two of us." He sighed. "This is just weird. I mean, after everything that's happened --"

"I'm sorry." Angel cut him off before the last word was completely uttered. "About everything." Now he smiled sadly. "Well, almost everything. I'm not sorry about what happened the last time I saw you."

"The last time?" Xander's face reflected his confusion and hope. "You mean at graduation?"

"No."

Xander would always wonder what would have happened if Angel had said anything other than that single syllable -- if he had specifically mentioned their previous meeting rather than forcing Xander to come to his own conclusions. But the vampire was in cryptic mode, unwilling to draw pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what they were. "Oh." He turned back to the window of the lamp store.

Finally, Angel grew tired of the silence. "Are you hungry? I mean, we could get some dinner."

"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea."

~~~
Once they decided on a restaurant and ordered, each began to have second thoughts. As long as they had been debating menu options, the silence was necessary. But now the awkward silence was back. "So."

"So." Xander rearranged his flatware nervously. "Maybe I'll be able to carry on a conversation after I get some food in me. Low blood sugar and everything."

Angel nodded. The rest of the meal consisted of Angel watching Xander eat. They both tried to convince themselves that it wasn't because Angel was watching Xander's mouth. Or, if he was, it was just because of Xander's enthusiastic approach to eating.

~~~
After dinner, they just wandered about the neighborhood. "What are you looking at?"

The mouth's movement clued Angel in that it was speaking. "What?"

"You were staring at my face. Do I have sauce on my chin or something between my teeth?"

Angel shook his head. "I was just... remembering."

"Remembering what?" As soon as the words were uttered, Xander realized why Angel would be staring at and thinking about his mouth. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh." Angel watched Xander lick his lips nervously. "I wish you wouldn't do that."

Xander's face fell. "Sorry."

"No, I don't mean..." Frustrated at his inability to put thoughts into words, Angel laced his fingers through Xander's belt loops once again, pulling their bodies together while he gently licked Xander's lower lip.

"Get a room, you two." Before they could even attempt to pull away from each other, the voice continued. "You're giving him ideas, and I don't have the energy to keep up tonight." Now the pair turned to face the speaker and the "him" in question. They found themselves looking at two guys, walking down the street away from them -- ignoring them, in fact -- and tickling each other.

"Xander, I --"

"Shh." Xander turned and slowly walked away from Angel. When Angel didn't follow, the teen turned to the vampire once again. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Don't you think that guy had a good idea?"

Stunned, Angel could only stare for a long moment. "Xander --"

"Look, we're obviously not capable of having a conversation. All I can think about is throwing you over the hood of a car and fucking you until you've lost your voice because you've screamed my name for too long and too loudly, and I can't *believe* I just said that out loud."

Once again, Angel was silent for a long time after Xander stopped speaking. Then he shook his head, as if bringing himself back to reality. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"Angel, I --"

"I stopped listening after you mentioned the hood of a car." When Xander didn't respond, Angel stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Because in all honesty, I can't think of anything else I'd rather do right now. Except I don't think it's really fair to the people who own these cars, and since we don't have a car of our own nearby, I think we should come up with another idea."

"Are you serious?" Was that *his* voice? It was... choked. Smoky. Hopeful. A few other words he wasn't sure he wanted to think about. "Angel, the curse."

"True happiness. Somehow, I doubt that... this would be cause for that."

"But how do you *know*?"

Angel stared at the street, silent once more. Finally, he spoke. "I kind of tested it." His eyes remained on the ground. "At the time, I didn't realize what I was doing. Doyle and I went out one night, and before I knew it, I was..." He shrugged.

"In a carnal way?" Angel shrugged again. "Um... Wow? I'm not sure what to say. So you could have stayed with Bu--"

"No." Angel finally tore his eyes away from the spot on the ground that he had found so fascinating, turning his attention to Xander. "That's the point. No offense, Xander, but you're just not my one true love."

The teen frowned. "So is there a name for what I think we're going to be?"

"Yeah, there is. But can we talk about that later?"

"Well, I'm not really in the mood to not talk now." At that, Angel picked up Xander's hand and began gently stroking the palm with his thumb. "Okay, that's a step in the right direction."

With his other hand, Angel cradled the back of Xander's head. "Your move." When Xander remained still, Angel stepped back and pulled his hands away. "Look, I don't want to force you to do anything."

"You're not forcing me --"

"And if you don't participate, it feels a heck of a lot like you don't want this."

"Oh." Xander studied his fingernails. "Do you get the feeling that uncomfortable silence is getting to be our specialty?" Angel chuckled. "Hey, look, I got a laugh out of the king of brooding!" With that sentence, Xander lifted his hand to fake-punch Angel's shoulder, but his fist didn't quite form, and the punch didn't fall away. As Xander watched, his hand moved from Angel's shoulder to the back of the vampire's head. "Uh..."

"You don't have to say anything. Just don't just stand there, okay?"

Xander nodded. "But could we maybe go some place a bit less open?"

"Okay, but why?"

"I would just feel more comfortable not standing in the middle of the sidewalk."

For the first time, Angel looked at their surroundings, thinking Xander was exaggerating with the "middle" comment. No, he most definitely wasn't. Angel was surprised that they had been able to carry on their conversation uninterrupted. He pulled Xander's hand from the back of his head. But rather than release it, he allowed their hands to swing between them as they walked down the sidewalk.

~~~
They walked in silence once more, stopping at a small convenience store for things Xander decided he was going to pretend he wasn't aware that they were getting. If he pretended, maybe he could convince himself that he didn't really know what was going on. That way, he didn't have to feel guilty about anything.

But then Angel's words about participation came back to him. He had a feeling Angel would just walk away if things were one-sided. Unless Angel was the one not doing anything. Xander grinned at the thought of a naked and willing Angel, waiting for anything thrown his way.

"What are you smiling about?"

Angel's voice reminded Xander that there were two people there. "You."

"Me?"

"Mm-hmm." Xander released Angel's hand and walked away.

Angel stared at Xander's back. "No. You can't just walk away."

"Who said I'm walking away?" The words were casually tossed over his shoulder. Xander paused under a street light, and Angel could see that smirk -- the one that got them in this mess to begin with -- once again. "Well?"

Briefly, Angel considered pretending he didn't know what Xander was talking about. Then he noticed Xander's face twitching nervously. He decided to take pity on the teen and not force him to pull words together to express what he wanted. Angel also ignored the little voice in his head that informed him that he was really taking pity on himself. "Okay."

~~~
The thing they had neglected to consider was location. Neither would admit it out loud, but they *really* did not want to wait until they reached an apartment.

Suddenly, Angel stopped. "Where are we, anyway?"

"I'd say we're right about here." Grinning, Xander once more snaked his hand around the back of Angel's head, this time sucking and gently biting Angel's earlobe.

"That's not --" His words were cut off by Xander's other hand attempting to unbutton pants. He wasn't quite sure *whose* pants. "Let me help?"

"Mmph."

Angel smiled. That unintelligible sound was very definitely agreement. While Xander continued to suck, Angel reached down and unfastened the teen's pants. His smile widened when Xander reacted to the hand in his boxers by first thrusting into Angel's hand and then scraping his teeth down Angel's neck. "Do you like that?"

"Mmph." Finally, he pulled away from Angel's neck, gasping. "And no offense, but this is getting to be really uncomfortable. The standing up thing, I mean."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

Xander looked around them. He realized they were in a residential area. That's what they got for not paying attention to where they were going while walking with no particular destination in mind. He also realized that some of the houses were for sale -- including a clearly vacant house with tall hedges blocking the yard from the view of anyone on the street. "There."

Angel followed Xander's finger. "On the front lawn?"

"Yeah." Xander slowly, deliberately ran his tongue up Angel's neck. "Any objections?"

"What if I did object?"

The smirk was back. "I think I would call you a liar."

Angel attempted to arrange his mouth in a similar expression. "And you would be right." He turned away from Xander and strode purposefully to the lawn in question, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked. Shirt opened, he turned to face Xander and removed a small bag from his jacket pocket. "Here." Xander caught the bag, grinning at the contents. "I'll be waiting over there." Angel disappeared behind the hedge.

By the time Xander made it to the lawn, Angel was kneeling, naked. "Oh, wow." Angel's hunched form made Xander think of Greek statues, pale and hard in the moonlight.

"Xander? Want to get that condom on?"

"Oh, yeah." After stripping, he nervously fumbled with the packet. Condom on, lube applied, he appraised Angel once again. "Um, how do I do this?"

"Just, well, just do whatever you want."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Don't worry. I know how to handle this." He closed his eyes when Xander's finger traced down his cleft.

And jumped when the finger entered him. "I'm sorry. I --"

"No." At that moment, Angel wished he was on his back so he could quell the mortal's fears face-to-face. "It was just a surprise. It's good. It's *very* good." He frowned as the finger withdrew but smiled again when it returned with its neighbor. "Do you want me to tell you what to do?"

"Um..."

"Because right now, you could curl your fingers. Just a little." Angel moaned softly when his instructions were followed.

"I don't want to sound like a whiner here, but when can I, well, you know?"

Angel laughed softly. "Any time you want. In fact, you might want to hurry up."

Carefully, Xander guided his cock to Angel's opening. "Um, Angel, are you sure this is going to work? I mean, the hole is really small, and --"

Frustrated at Xander's incessant talking and lack of action, Angel quickly pushed backwards. Xander was pumping into Angel before he realized what he was doing. Leaning over Angel's back, Xander reached around Angel's hip and began stroking the vampire's erection in time to his thrusts. After an incredibly brief period of time, he felt the familiar tightening. He attempted to hold out longer by slowing down, but the moment he glanced down at himself, moving in and out of Angel, he sped back up and came despite all efforts to prolong the pleasure. Awkwardly, he pulled out of Angel and removed the condom with one hand while continuing to keep his other hand around Angel's cock.

"Oh, shit." Angel kept thrusting against Xander's hand, but his movements got jerkier and more frantic.

"Angel? Are you okay?"

"Yes." He didn't stop moving. "Just trying to --" Before he could finish his sentence, he came, sighing with relief.

"Oh." Angel could hear the smile in Xander's voice. Still on his knees, Angel leaned forward and rested his head on his forearms. "Um, are you still okay?"

"Yeah. Just give me a minute, okay? I need to get my bearings. You kind of wore me out."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No, don't be. It's in a good way." Finally, he sighed happily and began to stand.

And that's when they discovered that they had selected to have sex on a lawn with an automatic sprinkler system. "Oh, great." Xander gazed unhappily at their clothing, safely away from the water. They would have to dash several feet through the droplets in order to get dressed -- not something he particularly wanted to do in the middle of the night in a strange neighborhood. He had visions of himself slipping on the wet grass and giving himself a concussion. "I *knew* this was a bad idea."

"Well, on the up side, we won't need showers." Xander's hands reached for Angel once more, pulling him back down under the spraying water. "Well, at least for a while."

~~~ the end ~~~