•••

"Where are you going?" Wil asked as Angel bundled up a few blankets and shoved them into a half-filled duffle bag.

"Out," Angel replied as he continued to load up the bag.

"Descriptive," Wil remarked, rolling his eyes. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Cordelia getting onto you about never doing anything fun, would it?"

Angel snorted. "Not likely." In fact, it did have a lot to do with the seer's colorful description of his social life, or lack thereof. He had never been much of a party animal, but ever since Wil, and then Xander and Oz, had shown up, Angel was rarely seen anywhere outside the hotel other than Caritas. Now that the club was in the hotel, he only left for work and supplies. The dark vampire had no real problems with staying in all the time. After all, Wil was there. What else did he need? But then again, perhaps the blonde agreed with Cordelia that they stayed in too much.

"Right," Wil said, clearly not believing him. "Well then, have a nice time." He turned on his heel and began to walk out of the room. He'd planned on spending the evening with Angel, curled up in bed while watching a documentary on cathedral architecture, but he guessed that he'd be eating popcorn alone.

"Where do you think you're going?" Angel snapped as Wil reached for the door.

"Kitchen. I want popcorn for the documentary," Wil replied as he turned the door knob.

"Tape the damned thing. You're going with me," Angel growled, reaching for his childe.

Wil sighed. "Angel, you do realize that things aren't fun if you're forced to do them."

Angel flinched. "Please come with me?" He hadn't ever intended to go alone, and should have remembered that Wil wanted to watch that damned documentary.

Wil thought about it for a long minute. It wasn't like he got out any more than Angel did. "Fine. I'll set the VCR."

•••

"So if this isn't about what Cordelia said, what *is* it about?" Will inquired as they drove up the coast. It looked to him like Angel was planning a beach trip—blankets and the like. It certainly wasn't what Cordelia had intended for the vampire, but she wasn't there with them, was she?

"Fine, it's about what Cordelia said," Angel snarled. "And the fact that I just needed to get away from everyone for a little while."

Wil cringed. "I'm sorry. You should've left me at the hotel."

"Damn it," Angel swore softly. "You're not everyone, Wil. If I hadn't wanted you here, you wouldn't be here! I meant to take you all along, so stop acting like a whipped puppy." He didn’t like snapping at the blonde, but he was irritated and short-tempered. The events of the last few weeks were really getting to him. Ever since Cordelia had figured out just how Wolfram & Hart was distributing its philanthropic expenditures, the entire office had been focused on deciding what to do. There hadn't been near enough visions to suit the vampire, so he was practically jumping out of his skin. That wasn't the only thing bothering Angel, though. He and Wil needed to talk, away from the listening ears and empathic brains of their coworkers.

"Where are we going?" Wil asked, trying to change the subject.

"The beach."

"Ah. Swimming?" Wil questioned.

"If you want to," Angel replied. He turned off the main road and onto a smaller local street. They wound their way around for several minutes until Angel found a secluded place to park his car. Wil followed Angel as he retrieved the duffle bag and struck out through the dunes toward the sea.

Once they had cleared the last dune, Angel opened the duffle bag and spread a couple of blankets on the sand, near the dunes and as far from the water as possible. He handed Wil the duffle bag and sat down, laying out flat on the blanket to stare up at the moon. "You can go swimming. The water should be nice enough.

Wil looked down at Angel, who looked about as welcoming as a hungry bear. If there had been a typhoon blowing over the water, it would have been more appealing than his Sire was at the moment. Shrugging absently, Wil rummaged through the bag. After a minute he found a large towel, so he took that and stripped down. Angel hadn't thought to bring swim trunks, but then why would he? There wasn't anyone out here to offend.

The water was, in fact, wonderful; a bit colder than what most people liked but was just to Wil's tastes. He liked the bracing crash of waves over his head and the sting of salt in his eyes. It made him feel alive.

•••

"Are you ready to talk yet?"

Angel looked up to see Wil towering over him, a towel blanketing his head. The blonde had just gotten out of the ocean and was still glistening with salt water, a pale, glowing marble statue in the moonlight. "Talk about what?"

Wil snorted. "Whatever's eating at you, Angel."

"Eating at me?" Angel echoed. Eating at him, indeed. What was filling his head was standing right in front of him. How did he explain to Wil that he was the most important thing in Angel's existence? That despite all the attacks on their friends, Angel wasn't very traumatized? How did you tell the only other ensouled vampire in existence that you didn't care one whit if all your friends lived or died—because Wil was still there? The depth of his feelings for Wil didn't surprise or shock Angel; he'd come to terms with what he privately referred to as his obsession with his childe. What Angel was scared of was Wil finding out how he felt—that it wasn't the other six members of their little team that were the weak links, but Angel himself. If something were to happen to Wil, there would be no Angel left to fight. He'd alluded to it more than once, but he doubted that Wil understood the depth of those feelings.

Wil got tired of looking down at Angel, so he flopped down next to him and laid back for a short nap. He had enjoyed the night swim and had nothing else to do, and Angel wasn't showing himself to be a very entertaining host. He had almost drifted off when a familiar hand ghosted across his face. He opened his eyes to find Angel staring at him thoughtfully. Wil remained perfectly still as Angel traced his features, lingering on soft lips and angular cheekbones.

Angel watched Wil's face as he moved his hands lower, testing the muscles of the blonde's arms and chest. Wil tried to stay still, but couldn't hold back a tremor as Angel rubbed open palms over his nipples on his way toward Wil's stomach. Angel continued his perusal, stroking and touching all the way down to Wil's toes, gently brushing off the last remaining grains of sand from the soles of his feet.

Wil squirmed a little when Angel tickled the heels of his feet, kicking to dislodge the bothersome fingers. Angel simply replaced his hands with his mouth, repeating his investigation of Wil's body. This time Wil didn't bother trying to hold himself down, so Angel took over that job as well, using his stronger hands and arms to position Wil wherever he liked. The dark vampire didn't skip any spot, nor did he linger on any particular area. The weeping head of Wil's cock got the same single stroke of Angel's tongue that his kneecap did, although the former caress elicited a more pronounced response than the latter.

By the time he reached Wil's face, the blonde was gnawing on his lip, leaving tiny rivulets of blood on his face. Angel had taken far too long to work his way up Wil's body, both front and back. The dark vampire considered being merciful, but decided not do shorten the night. Wil may have experienced a bit of…tension, but he was also clearly enjoying the activities, if his murmured pleadings were to be believed. Pausing briefly to kiss the blonde, Angel began again, this time shifting into gameface. He pricked his fangs all along Wil's skin, barely scratching the surface. The wounds didn't even leave marks, other than the tiniest dot of blood. Angel rubbed his lips along the spots, collecting the precious fluid as he continued on. Each touch of his fangs made Wil moan and whine. Once or twice the blonde tried to make Angel bite harder, but firm hands put a stop to that at once.

When he finally got to Wil's toes for the second time that night, he paused to collect his thoughts. Touching Wil like this wasn't just maddening to the blonde; Angel was intoxicated by the taste of Wil's skin, accented by salt from the ocean as well as by his own blood. He reveled in the broken cries that emanated from Wil, whose glazed eyes and needless panting indicated just how far gone he was. Angel began again, this time combining his tongue, fangs, lips and hands, determined to drive Wil absolutely insane.

It worked beautifully. Between the sharp prick of his fangs and the exquisite pain of nails raking down his skin—paired with the soft caress of tongue and lips, Wil was sobbing and writhing on the blanket, begging shamelessly. Angel paused for several minutes to suck on Wil's ivory cock, careful to hold the blonde back from orgasm. The begging at that point would have singed most anyone's ears, it was so harsh, but Angel ignored it in favor of continued torture.

When he finally reached the end of his journey, Angel looked into Wil's eyes. They were glassy and bright, but still held traces of control—Wil wasn't completely gone. That just wouldn't do, so Angel bent back down to continue his work, ignoring the angry howl that Wil gave when he wasn't finished. Wrapping his hands securely around Wil's cock and balls, Angel drew Wil's erection deep into his mouth and began to suck. Hard.

The scream he got for that was gratifying, so he repeated the action several more times. Wil bucked uncontrollably, pushing himself deeper into Angel's mouth, trying to come. Angel wouldn't let him though, keeping a firm grip on the blonde to prevent his orgasm. He knew that Wil would soon grow desperate, but he didn't care. He needed this—needed to push, to pour everything he felt into Wil, needed to let out some of the high, ringing tension that threatened to overwhelm him. He needed for Wil to feel in his body what Angel always felt in his mind when Wil was near—a completely mind-altering desire that wiped out everything.

To that end, every time Angel felt Wil grow close, he backed off, keeping the blonde right on the edge. It was like a game; lick, suck, stroke and tug to keep him from coming. In the back of his mind, he knew that he'd pay for this sometime, but that didn't matter at the moment. He had to show, to explain the only way he could.

It was a long time before he looked up again to check on how Wil was doing. Tears had been shed and dried out and the younger vampire's throat was hoarse from crying and shouting. Angel released his flesh and kissed him gently. Wil's eyes flew open, but Angel saw nothing in them but desire—exactly what he wanted to see. He reached into the duffle bag and retrieved the lube he'd placed there. By the time he had it uncapped, Wil had turned over and spread his legs, speeding up his preparation. Angel wasted no time, quickly stretching and loosening him.

They both growled harshly when Angel slid inside. Wil jerked back, seating Angel fully within him. Then the blonde began to move. Angel picked up the rhythm. It was a fast one, designed to bring Wil to climax and end his torture. Angel reached around and fisted his cock, also leaning forward to sink his fangs into Wil's shoulder. As he'd hoped, Wil shuddered and came, a broken, scratchy cry pouring out of his mouth. His hole spasmed around Angel again and again as all that pent-up tension was released at once. Still he kept coming, tightening around Angel almost cruelly. The dark vampire continued to move within him, also close to release, but hoping to draw out Wil's pleasure. Eventually the pull of the body under his became too much and he came with a roar, thrusting once more inside the blonde before falling to once side.

When Angel lifted his head, he found that Wil was still unconscious and quivering on the blanket. They only had a couple of hours to get home, so Angel forced himself to rise and get them both cleaned and dressed. He'd only opened his trousers, so he had little to do for himself, but Wil needed to be washed and redressed. It only took a few minutes, though, before they were on the road headed toward L.A..

Wil didn't rouse until they reached the hotel. Angel watched with trepidation as the blonde heaved himself out of the car and toward the stairwell. After a moment, Angel followed, guessing that the big explosion would occur in one of their apartments.

It didn't come, though. Wil simply led them to his place and headed for the bathroom, where he washed off the lingering salt residue from his swim. Soon afterwards he crawled into bed, looking expectantly at Angel. "Not sleeping today?" He asked after a moment.

Angel managed to undress and join Wil in bed. "I didn't think you'd…"

Wil smiled softly. "Did it help?"

Angel nodded silently.

"Will you need to do that very often?"

Angel shook his head.

"Ok then."

"You didn't mind?" Angel asked disbelievingly.

"I didn't say that," Wil responded. "I didn't like not being able to touch you, though."

"Ah."

"Go to sleep, Angel."

"Yes, sir."

"Wanker."