A/N: One of several instances that I have planned for AtS s5, that (hopefully) could be inserted without disrupting canon whatsoever.

Spike stood there, waiting for Angel to say something else. He glanced at him from the corner of his eye, and saw that he was still as stone, lost in his thoughts. Probably regretting things he couldn't change, like turning sailor boy in the first place, even though that had been the only way to save the others and themselves.

Spike never really enjoyed silence. And, he thought with a roll of his eyes, Angel's had enough doom and gloom moments as it is. Wanting to smash the silence into itty bitty, unrecognizable pieces, Spike struck up a harmless conversation with the Big Brooder.

"It's nice, isn't it, being in the sun like this?" Spike asked, attempting to lighten Angel's sullen mood.

"Yeah. One of the perks of running Evil Incorporated," Angel responded glumly.

"I was actually in the sun, several years ago," Spike said lightly, ignoring Angel's comment.

"The Gem?"

"Oh, right," Spike said, giving Angel an irritated glance. "It was pleasant—the warmth—feeling it on my skin. Kind of stung, though. Would've been nice to have had it a bit longer."

"Yeah. I tried it on at the beach," he paused, looking at Spike. "The Gem. After getting it back from that…Marcus."

"Say, what did you do with it? Lost it?"

"No. I destroyed it."

Spike scoffed at that. "Of course you did. Bloody martyr."

"Just didn't seem right…Oh, and there was this other time—but that was in a hell dimension."

"You were in another one?"

"Lorne's home town. It was a rescue mission—Cordelia got stranded there. But it wasn't an extreme hell—definitely more pleasant than the one Acathla sucked me into."

"I'll bet."

"You know, the sun feels less intense when you're human. Cause your body's already warm," Angel said contemplatively.

Spike arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh? You remember that from way back when?"

"Yeah—well, no. Not in the way you think. There was this Mohra demon a few years back. Its blood rejuvenates the body. I got some of it in a wound, and the next thing you know, I was human again."

"Hold on—you were a real boy?"

"For a whole day," Angel replied with a slight slump of his shoulders as he folded his arms, briefly glancing at Spike.

"What the hell happened?"

"I went to the Powers, and asked them to take it back."

"You what? This from the guy who nearly pissed himself when I gave him a run for his money with the Cup of Destiny that wasn't." Spike said, incredulous.

"It wasn't my time, Spike. If my time will ever come," he said with a hint of bitterness. "But…I wouldn't have been a champion anymore. Being human would've made me…useless."

Spike frowned.

"Wes and Gunn are human, and they're okay."

"Yeah, but Wes is all…bookish, and Gunn's got the law—"

"Didn't always though, did ol' Charlie Boy?" Spike pointed out.

"No. But he didn't think it was enough, hence the knowledge stuffing treatment he got after coming here."

"But come on, Angel. You've got a lot of years on you. You know…" Spike paused, searching for a word. "Stuff."

"Well, what about you? If we found a Mohra demon right now, would you do it? You'd get the sun in full effect, sure, but you'd also be powerless."

Spike shrugged, smirking. "I'd still have my looks."

Angel scoffed, gazing out the window at the rising sun.

"But honestly…" Spike started after a moment. "When I really think about it, it's kind of scary. Being tethered to the mortal coil again, not being able to use my fists and fangs the way I want. Not even having bloody fangs…The demon is apart of who I am now, you know? Been a demon for a helluva lot longer than I was human, or soul having."

"Yeah. Took me a long time to reconcile that… Gotta say, having you around makes it easier."

"Yeah," Spike chuckled. "Always knew you secretly liked having me around."

Angel rolled his eyes. But quietly, he thought to himself, that he in fact did. Sitting in the sunlight like that was all that more enjoyable with a companion.

Even if that happened to be Spike.