SERIES: Nobility
AUTHOR: Tisienne Blue
E-MAIL: tisatko@msn.com
DISCLAIMER: Joss owns everyone you know from TV, and I am NOT Joss... Gabriella
is mine, as are some peripheral characters,
and other characters belong to themselves, seeing as they are real people.
RATING: NC-17, eventually.
PAIRINGS: Dawn/Spike; W/A (mentioned); Anya/Ben (mentioned).
DISTRIBUTION: ask, take, have...
FEEDBACK: gets you a dedi...
DEDICATIONS: for Mystra, for letting me run all of this by her first...
also for Di and Nat, for making me think about this whole
pairing... the CO, just cuz we rock!!! And to:Angel, Whitewolf Alpha, and
anyone else who's sent feedback... It is much
appreciated!!!
NOTES: Takes place 6 yrs from now, in New Orleans. The Hellmouth has been
closed for a while, and pretty much everyone has
left Sunnyhell. * *= emphasis.
&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*
The black-haired vampire sat angrily on the bed in the girl's small room,
wearing only a white towel wrapped snugly about his
hips. He'd *heard* the girl say that she was going to burn his clothes,
but he hadn't for an instant believed that she'd *meant*
it! Or, he hadn't until he'd gotten out of the shower to find his things...
gone! Ar first, he'd figured she'd taken them to wash,
but... he could smell them, even from here; the stench that he'd worn for
so very long was now wafting away on the slight
breeze that came through the barely cracked window. He wasn't sure of just
what she expected him to wear, but he'd be
damned if he was going to parade around all day in just a small square
of terry-cloth... especially since he'd heard the little chit
talking to another woman out in the hall a few minutes earlier!
And that was another thing! He had no idea of exactly where he was. Oh,
sure, he knew that he was in New Orleans, he
remembered *that* much, but... had she *really* been pointing a *gun* at
him? Had she *shot* him? He didn't think so, mostly
because he didn't feel any recently-healed tender spots when he moved,
but still... And why had she even had a gun in the first
place? She was just a *child*; she had no business being out after dark,
much less carrying *weapons*! He ignored the voice in
the back of his head that was telling him that the body he'd woken up next
to had been anything but child-like, and he growled
as the bedroom door opened and the girl he'd just been thinking about walked
in. His growl died away quickly, however, as he
just... stared at her in despair.
Dawn smiled at the vampire's growling, and stepped into her bedroom with
a small pile of Giles' things for Spike to wear. It was
fortunate, she thought, that the two were near enough in size for them
to fit passably well. Her smile faded, though, as she saw
the look of sad horror on his face, and she sighed to herself. "Hey," she
said, as if she'd just run into him in the street after
leaving him only moments earlier, "I brought you some clothes to wear until
we can get you some of your own..." She rolled her
eyes when he didn't respond, and placed the jeans and blue button-down
shirt in his lap. "What are you thinking, Spike?" she
asked, curious as to whether he'd tell her.
He stared at the girl, almost unable to look away. She was taller, of course,
and less blonde... a bit more solidly built, too, but...
he could see the resemblance, and it was throwing him. He wondered why
he hadn't seen it before, and as he forced himself to
look down at the clothes she'd brought him, he realized... he had to get
out of there! He wouldn't be able to take it, being near
someone who reminded him so much of... No. "Uh, nothing, pet," he stammered
slightly, realizing she was waiting for an answer,
"Just, uh... wondering why you actually burned my clothes, is all..." He
was still looking at the blue shirt in his lap, so he missed
the disappointed expression on her face.
"Oh," she said, in a small voice, "They were... *gross*. I don't think
they'd have come clean if I'd soaked them in bleach for a
*week*!" She sighed then, and stood, knowing that he *still* wasn't looking
at her. "I... I'll let you get dressed, then..." she
murmured as she left the room, closing the door behind her.
She walked slowly down the hall, still thinking about how lost he'd looked,
and turned in to the kitchen when she heard her
stepmother humming softly.
"He doesn't trust me," she said softly to Gabriella's back. "I need him
to trust me, and he *doesn't*! I mean, how am I supposed
to bring him back; fix what's *broken*, if he doesn't *trust* me?"
"You knew it wasn't going to be easy, child," the dark-haired woman reminded
her, "It's going to take some time to break
through those walls he's built around himself..."
Dawn sighed deeply, and moved to stand beside the woman at the stove. "I
know..." she said quietly, "But... he's not acting like
*Spike*! I burned his clothes, and he didn't even act like he was *mad*,
but I know he was... I could *feel* it." She shook her
head slowly, her brow crinkling in consternation. "It's just like it was
in Sunnydale. Whenever I was near him, I could tell how he
was feeling, and I still can. He's angry, and he's hurt, and OK, not really
about the clothes, but..." She was speaking more to
herself than to the older woman, so she completely missed Gabriella's swiftly
in-drawn breath. "But he won't talk about it. And I
don't know how to make him better, Gab..."
Gabriella was resisting the urge to scream at the Gods. It had been one
thing for them to ask the girl to bind herself to a friend,
but it was something else entirely for them to attach her to a vampire
she'd already had a connection with... and if Dawn had
been able to sense his emotions all those years earlier, then that was
exactly what the Gods had done! They had taken an
already existing bond and forced it even tighter, and she suddenly wished
that she'd listened to Rupert when he'd expressed his
initial concerns over the situation. "I... I can't help ya, child," she
finally said, keeping her voice steady through sheer force of
will. "If he's meant to trust ya, he will, and until then... Until then,
ya can only do as ya already are. Be there for him; let him
know ya care. If anything's gonna work, that should..." She sighed in relief
as the girl turned away.
"Thanks, Gab," Dawn said, crossing to the kitchen's back door. She stepped
out onto the back porch and sighed into the slight
breeze as she sat down on the top step. Gabriella was keeping something
from her. She knew it. Any time the woman said 'ya'
instead of 'you'... when her 'going to'-s became 'gonna'-s... she was hiding
something. She didn't have any idea of what that
something might be, but... she was going to find out; it just might take
a while, and in the meantime...
In the meantime, she had a border-line suicidal vampire to deal with. She
sighed again and stood before going down the porch
steps and walking around the house to her slightly open window.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
He stared down at the clothes in his lap, barely hearing what the girl
said, and by the time it occurred to him to thank her for at
least bring him *something* to wear, she was already long gone. Ah, well,
he figured, she'd owed him the clothes anyway,
seeing as she'd gone and set fire to the ones he'd arrived in. He was glad,
suddenly, that he'd traded his duster for a few fifths
of bourbon a good six months earlier, because if she'd burned *that*, he
might have actually said something, and... He didn't
want to make her angry.
He snorted at himself then. What did it matter if he made her mad at him?
It wasn't as if she cared about him, after all. In fact,
she must hate him more than anything else in the world. And why shouldn't
she, he asked himself; after all, he'd let her sister
die! It couldn't matter to her, any more than it did to him, that he'd
*tried* to save the Slayer... tried so hard, he'd thought his
head would explode! No, she must have taken him in out of some desire to
*see*. To see if he cared, felt any remorse. Well, he
*did*.
It was almost funny, he thought, that his true anguish hadn't struck until
after that bitch Kim had come to him in Chicago. He
didn't know what he'd been thinking. Maybe it was because she was a Slayer
as well... maybe that was why he'd gotten
involved with her. She'd known about the chip, and she'd *said* that she
was impressed with the work he was doing for the
Powers, and... she'd seduced him.
Not that he'd made it terribly hard for her, but... he'd been so alone,
and so *lonely*! And she'd *seemed* like a reasonably
good sort. He growled at himself, his long fingers plucking at the collar
of the shirt he was holding. That should have tipped him
off, he supposed... that she'd appeared to be worthwhile. He hadn't understood,
at first, that it wasn't really *him* she'd
wanted, or at least... not 'Spike, Warrior for the Powers'. No, she'd wanted
a different Spike. She'd wanted the Spike who'd
fallen hard for Buffy Summers, the longest-lived, most-successful Slayer
ever, and she'd wanted *all* of him!
She'd taken it badly when she'd realized that he would never be entirely
hers, and she'd left, cursing him loudly. And that was
when it had all started to fall apart.
Every time he'd closed his eyes, he saw it again... Buffy, being attacked
by humans; himself, helpless and twitching madly on
the ground, clutching his head and moaning while he watched them... no,
he wouldn't think about it just then.
But it was all he'd been able to see, and... only the liquor helped. At
first, a few shots was enough to let him sleep, but a few
quickly became many, and many became a bottle; then two; then... well.
And he still couldn't function.
He could feel it, the loneliness, and anger, and guilt, and despair...
it lived within him; was a *part* of him, now... and he
couldn't face it.
He stood slowly, his face blank, and dropped the towel from around his
waist as he began pulling on the clothes Dawn had
brought him. His eyes darted quickly to the clock, and he almost sighed
as he calculated how many hours there were until
sunset. It would be hard, he knew, but somehow he'd manage to live with
his thoughts, until he could go out and get himself a
bottle. He had just sat back down when he heard the soft voice coming from
the other side of the window.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
She hadn't intended to watch him dress. She'd had no thought in her mind
of standing, slack-jawed, and staring in amazement
at his lithely muscled body as he pulled the towel away and pulled the
jeans over his nakedness, but... she'd done it, and while
a part of her was mortified, the rest of her was *glad*. She'd always known
that he was beautiful in a purely masculine way,
but... she'd never allowed herself to wonder at what he'd always kept hidden
beneath his signature black and red, and she
realized that it was just as well... After all, the reality would doubtless
have put the fantasy to shame.
She closed her eyes tightly as he buttoned the shirt she'd given him, and
forced her mind back to rational thought. Just because
she was able to appreciate the view she'd gotten, that didn't mean that
anything had changed. He was still pining after her
dead sister, and... She wasn't interested. He was still a vampire, and
whatever slight attraction she might be feeling not
withstanding, she wasn't ready to leap into yet another meaningless fling.
And that's all it would be, she told herself, and shook
off the thoughts that were suddenly plaguing her. Besides, she hadn't been
lying, not even to herself, when she'd told Giles that
she wasn't in love with the formerly blond vamp.
Finally, she opened her eyes again, relieved to see him sitting once more
on the bed, fully clothed this time, and she cleared her
throat slightly. "Spike--" she said softly, through the small opening at
the bottom of the window, "I'm going out, OK?" She
grinned slightly when he jumped in surprise; apparently the sounds in the
neighborhood had masked her presence from him, and
she was glad... after all, it wouldn't do for him to know she'd been watching
him.
His eyes flew to the girl he could just barely make out through the break
at the bottom of the window shades, and for a moment
he wondered how long she'd been standing there, but he put the question
from his mind after less than a second's
consideration. She was just a kid; there was no reason to think that she'd
been there for more than a moment. "What?" he
demanded, telling himself that it *wasn't* panic he was feeling at the
thought of her leaving him. "Where are you going?"
Dawn sighed to herself and pressed her face closer to the screen, meeting
his eyes through the window. "I'm going to get you
some clothes, Spike," she explained, her eyes raking quickly over his sitting
body, "Unless you want to keep wearing Giles'
things?" She chuckled slightly at his exaggerated look of horror, and smiled.
"Besides, we don't actually keep blood in the house,
so unless you're planning to go on a diet, I've got to get you some...
groceries..." She waited for his nod of acceptance, and
when it came, she relaxed a bit. She wouldn't have been able to go if she'd
known it would distress him, but... she didn't think
Giles would be any happier about Spike wearing his clothes than the vampire
was. "Cool." she finally said, "So could you hand me
my wallet?"
Spike glanced quickly towards the bureau she was gesturing at, and rose
from the bed, crossing to it. He found the slim black
leather billfold on top of a pile of papers, and carried it to the window,
unfastening the screen as he passed it to her. "So..." he
said, as she took it from him, "You gonna be long, pet?" He would never
admit it, but he was already feeling antsy at the
thought of her going out, even if it *was* daylight.
The girl smiled, her eyes sparkling slightly at his concern. "Just long
enough to clothe and feed you, Spike," she announced
clearly, "Call it a couple hours. But Gabriella's home, so at least you'll
have someone to talk to..." She turned away then, slipping
her wallet into her back pocket, and climbed the steps to the kitchen door.
"Going out, Gab," she called through the screen,
"Don't let Spike hide in my room all day, OK?" She waited until the woman
answered in the affirmative, and jumped down from
the porch, swiftly rounding the house and heading off down the street.
She was reasonably sure that she'd be able to find the
perfect clothes for the vampire at Gargoyle, and she giggled then, wondering
if the proprietors knew that they had the perfect
one-stop shop for clothing the undead. Of course, she reminded herself,
New Orleans being what it was, they probably *did*.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rupert Giles sighed unhappily as he reorganized the top shelf in the small
voodoo shop he owned in partnership with a few of
Gabriella's other followers. His wife had been right; he *hadn't* been
fair to Dawn. He wasn't sure of why he hadn't realized it
himself, but he supposed that denial was somewhat blinding. He'd known,
deep inside, that Buffy was gone, and perhaps a part
of him had missed the unique Watcher/ Slayer relationship they'd had. Maybe
that was why he'd been so supportive of his
'daughter's' decision to fight the creatures of darkness. Of course, Dawn
limited herself to vampires, and could count a few of
the more benevolent New Orleans demons among her closest friends, but.
He supposed that it could have been worse. She had a support system, of
sorts, in him and Gabriella, and while *most* of her
friends, the human ones at least, had no idea of what she did late at night,
some of them did, and even tried to help her from
time to time. And it was time that he started doing the same. Not patrolling
with her, of course, but... Making sure that she had
every advantage in whatever endeavor she was engaged in. And at the moment,
that meant putting Spike back together.
He sighed then, and reached for the phone. He didn't really *want* to do
this, but if it would help Dawn... He dialed the number
he very rarely used, and smiled slightly at the voice he heard when the
other end of the line was picked up. "Hello, yourself,
Anya, and No, I don't need any pickled rhinoceros penis today, even if
it *is* on special!" He yanked the phone away from his
ear when her delighted squeal threatened to burst his eardrum. "So... how's
Ben?" he asked, when the woman had finally calmed
down a bit, "And the kids?" He'd been a bit surprised, at first, when the
former vengeance demon had broken with Xander shortly
after Buffy's demise, but he couldn't really blame her. The Hellmouth was
closed, permanently, but for some reason the boy had
wanted to stay in Sunnydale, regardless of the fact that everyone else
was moving on. And somehow it hadn't surprised him
even slightly when the girl had taken up with the God who had masqueraded
as a Doctor for a while. He'd been a touch
concerned about the fact that Ben shared a body with his psychotic sister,
but both Anya and the young man had assured him
that Glory wouldn't be reappearing anytime soon, or even ever, so... he
was happy for them, and had become only happier when
their twins had arrived just over a year earlier.
"Yes, well," he finally broke into her rambling monologue about little
Lizzie's latest fever, and Ben Junior's latest tooth, "I'm glad
you're all well, but is Willow about?" He rolled his eyes as the ex-demon
kept talking. "Please, Anya. It's important! No, I promise
you, I'll call to talk with you later... yes, and Dawn will, too, all right?"
He grinned in amusement as he waited for the redheaded
witch to come to the phone.
"Willow," he said when he heard her voice, "Tell him we've *found* him...
Or at least, *Dawn* has... No... No, I wouldn't say
he's all right, not at all... Well, it's a bit of a story, and... Yes.
I think that would be best... All right, I'll be at home by then,
so... No, it'll be fine. Yes, I'm sure... OK... Yes." He smiled slightly
then, his flagging spirits lifted by her words. "I... I miss you all,
too. Maybe we'll get out to LA sometime this year. Yes, that *would* be
nice. All right, I'm leaving now, so... Tell him I'll be
waiting for his call... Yes, of course..." His smile grew enormously, and
he laughed out loud for a moment. "Gods, I would have
*paid* to see that! Really, I would have!... Yes, all right; goodbye, Willow..."
He would have liked to talk to the girl longer, but
apparently there was a big demand for pickled rhino penis in LA, because
the shop the two girls owned had sounded swamped.
Oh, well, at least the little redhead had lightened his mood, even if it
*wouldn't* last.
He poked his head into the stock-room at the back of the shop, and smiled.
"I'm going home, Diego," he announced quietly, not
wanting to break the man's concentration, "Tomas will be back in a few
minutes, so I'll see you all next week." He turned and
strolled through the shop, the smile still firmly fixed on his face as
he stepped into the bright afternoon sunlight and started for
home. He wasn't sure how soon Willow would be able to pass his message
on to her mate, but he wanted to be home by the
time he called... He hurried to the next intersection and flagged down
a cab. Usually he would have walked, but... Angel could
be calling any time.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Gabriella sighed softly when her knock at Dawn's door went unanswered yet
again. "You know," she finally said, loudly, "Dawny's
going to kick your ass if you don't come out of there soon..." She sighed
again when she still got no response. "Well, I could
make you some coffee... or tea?"
Spike groaned slightly, wondering if the woman was ever going to just leave
him alone. He didn't want to be social; didn't want
to chat with some chit the Watcher'd somehow managed to talk into shagging.
He just wanted to be by himself... maybe try to
sleep, for what little good it might do him, at least until Dawn got back
from wherever it was she'd gone. Oh, sure, she'd said
she wanted to get him some new clothes, but he didn't believe the girl
would be rushing back any time soon. Why should she?
He sat up suddenly, growling when he heard the woman's muttering as she
finally walked away from his door. "Hey!" he almost
yelled, "I'm not *afraid* to come out... I just don't *want* to!"
The dark-haired woman smiled slyly to herself, glad that she'd guessed
right. "Oh, I think you *are* afraid, Spike... If you
weren't, you'd have been out of that room over an hour ago!" She stepped
into the kitchen, ignoring his protests, and set the
tea kettle on the stove, lighting the gas flame with a match. She smiled
again when she heard him behind her, and turned.
"So..." she began, only to stop, all colour draining from her face, as
she got her first look at him.
"You got any cocoa?" the vampire asked curiously, not noticing her shock
as he glanced around the kitchen, "And maybe some
of those little marshmallows?" He pulled a chair out from the table and
looked at the woman who was staring at him. "Problem,
pet? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Gabriella shook her head slightly, trying desperately to gather her thoughts.
"Yes..." she began, before backing up mentally, "Or
no... No, I don't have a problem, and yes, I have cocoa... and marshmallows..."
She frowned slightly and began rummaging
through the cabinets, finding both after a few minutes of searching. "Sorry,"
she said, staring at him once again, "I thought ya'd
be... different, I guess." She pulled her eyes away from him and began
fluttering about, preparing the cocoa. "I'd best make a
bit extra," she said, mostly to herself, "Dawny's gonna want some when
she gets home..." She hoped the girl got back soon...
she had to tell her what Spike's problem *really* was. She was afraid of
what the girl might do, but if Dawn was going to fulfill
her promise to the God, she needed to know about what the voudoun sight
revealed to her when she looked at the vampire.
Spike watched, brow furrowed, as the woman moved about nervously. He could
feel the anxiety and fear rolling off of her in
waves, but strangely enough, it wasn't directed towards him. No, whatever
was bothering her, it wasn't the fact that he was a
vampire. It was odd, granted, but he decided that it didn't much matter,
and he sat back in his chair, trying to make
conversation... anything to make the time go more quickly. He just hoped,
as he watched the woman pouring milk into a
saucepan, that Dawn would be back sooner, rather than later. How long did
it take to buy some clothes, anyway?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dawn stepped wearily from the store on Royal street, laden down with more
bags than she remembered buying things to fill. But
she was satisfied with her purchases, so she really couldn't complain too
much, although she was glad she'd taken care of the
feeding part before the clothing. She was also glad of the styrofoam cooler
she'd managed to finagle out of the blood-broker...
after all, she wouldn't want Spike's food to spoil before she could get
it home to him, and the clothes shopping had taken a bit
longer than she'd expected.
She'd almost gone the safe route, and bought things like what she remembered
him wearing when she'd been younger, but the
wide assortment of truly stunning items had made her re-think that notion,
and she'd ended up buying him things that she
thought would look just... great on him. OK, she wasn't entirely sure of
how he'd react, but she was for damned sure going to
make him try everything on, and if he didn't like what she'd gotten him?
Well, tough! If she was going to be seen with him, he
was at least going to look like someone she *would* be seen with! Besides,
the items she'd selected were still sort of similar to
his old style; just a bit more... lush. And he'd look fantastic in the
silks and velvets, she just *knew* it... not to mention the
leather! Her only real concern was that the boots might not fit, but there
was no way she was going to let him wear the ratty
old pair of Nikes he'd had on when she'd found him... not with his new
wardrobe, anyway.
Well, she decided, as she began lugging the bags down the street, if the
boots didn't fit, they'd just exchange them. She turned
towards the street angrily when she heard the male voice offering to 'ride
her home', and a smile replaced her glower as she
caught sight of the one who'd been calling. "Eddie!" she greeted him, "How's
it?"
The cab driver smiled at the blonde girl, and he laughed. "Same old, same
old... need a ride, little miss?" He grinned even wider,
gesturing at her bags. "Didn't think you were much for shopping, Dawn..."
he said, as he got out of his cab, ignoring the honking
horns of the cars lined up behind him. He ignored her protests as he took
the shopping bags and cooler from her and placed
them in the back seat. "Come on, girl," he said, amused, "Let's get you
home."
Dawn giggled softly, and climbed into the passenger seat. "Thanks, Eddie,"
she said gratefully, "I didn't intend to buy so
*much*, but..." she shrugged and relaxed against the seat.
Eddie laughed slightly. "Well, if anyone deserves a little spree every
once in a while, it's *you*, Dawn... Mirabel still remembers
you in her prayers, you know."
The girl blushed bright red, uncomfortable with the reminder. "I was just..."
"Doing your job; I know. You *still* saved my life, though, so if my wife
wants to say a little prayer for you every now and
again, well..." He paused then, and changed the subject, seeing how antsy
she was getting. "So what all did you buy? Some
frilly little dresses?" He grinned, knowing from the logo on the bags that
if she *had* bought any dresses, they were most likely
very, *very* little, and not at *all* frilly.
Dawn grinned, glad he wasn't still trying to thank her... after all, free
cab rides were thanks enough-- and then some-- to *her*
way of thinking. "No, actually," she said happily, glancing into the back
seat, "I was shopping for a friend..."
"And did you find one?" Eddie teased.
Dawn laughed, playing along. "Yes, and very reasonably priced, too... No,
really," she continued, still chuckling slightly, "I ran
into an old friend who's fallen on some hard times, so... shopping."
The cab driver deliberately didn't say anything about how good of a friend
it must be for her to have dropped the kind of cash
he knew she must have. "So, what's his name?" he asked softly, hoping the
girl wasn't being taken in by some bastard's
hard-luck story.
The blonde rolled her eyes, amused by his thinly veiled protective impulse.
"His name is... William," she said slowly, "But don't
worry, Eddie. He really *is* an old friend, and... he's been missing for
a while." She sighed then, staring down at her hands in
her lap. "He... he loved my sister, and he just sort of... fell apart after
she died..."
Eddie sighed himself, and reached out, patting her gently on the shoulder.
She'd told him a bit about her older sister, and she
sounded like she'd been a remarkable girl. And he doubted that the man
who had loved her would show up planning to take
advantage *this* Summers girl, so... "Sorry, Dawn, I just needed to ask."
He pulled up in front of her house and helped her with
her bags, smiling when her normal sunny personality reasserted itself.
"Well, you take care, now," he called to her, as he walked
down the steps.
"You, too, Eddie..." she replied, waving as he drove away, "You, too."