Angel hastily donned his trousers. ::Dru....:: he whispered again...eyeing
her warily. He could feel his hackles rising. It
was more than just the affirmation of his suspicions, that it was
her workings indeed which had sent him here.
No....there was something else...Something wasnt.....he couldnt put
his fnger on it.
There was nothing overtly disturbing in her appearance. She was dressed
in simple, timeless clothes. It was
impossible to determine the century of origin for the floorlength,
ivory colored shift. She wore no makeup, and her scent
was barely discernable.
Angel was disturbed.
Spike however, was apparantly oblivious to any deeper meanings or
incongruencies. He jumped like a puppy in a
cage at the sight of her, and, still nude, grabbed her, spinning
her round and round in the air. ::Dru!!:: he shouted,
hearing his own voice skip back toward them over and over.
He dropped her to her feet, suddenly, disgraced and disgusted at his own
display. Angel clearly heard his thoughts,
directed at his Sire <<too much fucking time with the poof,
got me soft...Was a time Id be beating her ass to a bloody
pulp for leaving me....>>
Druscilla may not have heard the words, but the intent was clear in his
eyes, which had already shifted from cobalt to
yellow. She wisely backed away a few inches.
::Angel?:: she whispered. ::Not happy to see me?::
Angel winced at the look of fury further emenating from Spike. This was
a centuries old game, and he was bone weary
of it. ::Not as happy as Spike, Im certain.::
Spike growled at the effort to maintain peace. ::I dont need your soddin
help, Angelus::, he spat, and donned his own
clothes.
Angel sent Druscilla a pleading look. Catching it, she walked over to the
younger vampire. ::I missed you, my Spike.::
she purred, stroking his hair. The dark vampire watched his Childer,
and again, was struck by the fact that *something*
was amiss.
She pulled the younger mans head back with a fistful of auburn hair, and
slipped her tongue into his mouth, open to
protest the invasion. Angel watched as Spikes tension and resolve
began to melt under her delibrate attentions. After
mere moments of her soft, pink tongue skittering over his canines
and palate, Spike at last surrendered. He held
Druscilla in a bone crushing embrace, and returned her kiss with
a passion born of a hundred years of foreplay.
Angel turned his head and finished dressing.
Still, he could not shake the gnawing feeling.
**Why werent we able to communicate when we remembered the time with her,
Spike? I was talking to you when we
went back to our time alone together.** Angel left his mind open,
made his thoughts available to his male
Childe. Though he had no idea if Spike was paying enough attention
now to hear them. Or care. Or, for that matter,
if Druscilla could hear him too....**And how did she get here...even
if she is the Caster, why show up here*...if
shes... really here...and Ok, where the hell IS here!?**
Spike resentfully tore his mouth away from that of his dark wench. His
reply was also soundless, but Angel heard
it...clearly. <<For chrisskake, Angelus, you could ruin a wet
dream, you know that?! How the hell should I know? I told
you we are in YOUR poofy head! You figure it out! But wait til Im good
and done before you play twenty questions with
Dru!>> There were further mental grumblings at the end of the silent
tirade, but Angel ignored them, standing
uncomfortably, near the once more distracted lovers.
Hearing a squeal and a moan, he turned around. ::Ok, look, *later* you
two. Im not gonna stand here while....:: Angel
stopped when he saw the look on Spikes face. It was painfully familiar,
and it tore a hole in his chest the size of a
mans fist. His erstwhile lover had spun to face him now, and was
staring at him with something akin to loathing in his
sapphire eyes. And he was trembling, fists clenched at his sides
in a futile effort to control his fury.
::Oh you dont want to wait around while Druscilla and I get *re-united*
do you? Is that bleedin right? Goddamn self
centered ass. Let me count the times I stood --::
Angel knew where this was leading, and as much as he knew Spike was completely
accurate and justified in his
analysis, and his rage, he still couldnt shake the sense that something
was....** Oh, **shit** **
He looked at Druscilla. She had cut her hair into a bob, and the curls
framed her ivory face, giving her the appearance
of innocence on wings. Her face was flushed with Spikes kisses, her
lips full, and parted. She was panting a bit. He
looked into the green eyes he had seen every day for a lifetime, but never
let himself get lost inside of. They
were...clearer somehow. And suddenly, he knew.
She gasped, and the back of her hand covered her small mouth. She shook
her head wildy from side to side. Her
thoughts slammed into his brain, unbidden. Another fist to his chest.
##Dont tell him, Angel. Dont tell him##
Angel let out a small breath, and shot back **Then you do it, Druscilla. Quickly.**
In the fraction of the second this silent exchange took, the ex-blond vampire
had grown silent, watching the two with
eyes now tinted gold. ::FUCK THIS!:: He shouted, and began to stomp
away; murderous gleam in those eyes, noone
to take the hatred out on....
::Spike.:: Her soft voice, small hand on his hunched shoulder. He brushed
it away. ::Leave me alone, Dru. Go fuck
him.::
::Will...:: Angel started, only to be met once more by that lethal glare.
It knocked the wind out of him more effectively
than a two by four.
::Spike, my Spike,:: she cooed again, ::look at me, love. Please...turn
around and look at me.:: As always, his face
retained the last vestiges of its human guise when he turned to look
at her. It was never anything but. He could never
do anything but...love her. Even if she could never return the favor.
She cupped his chin in her hands. ::I need to tell you something.:: she
began. And suddenly it dawned on him that she
was pretty damned coherent. That she was using full sentences and
they were all actually topic related. That she
hadnt once mentioned the moon or Miss Edith or any of the other nonsensical
things she....:::Oh god, Dru...Oh no...::,
he dropped to his knees before her and buried his face in her skirts.
::Its ok, my love. Im all right now. Its all going to be all right. Its
not so bad, really. Its not what I thought at all....not what
any of us thought, now is it?:: She smoothed back his long locks
and petted him lovingly. ::Hush now::.
Angels voice, strained with emotion under heavy guard broke the trance, ::So its true then, Dru?::
She nodded sadly, and Spike looked up at her. Angel was grateful, selfishly
grateful, that he couldnt see Williams face
when she at last confessed it.
::Yes, its true.::, she whispered, finally, ::Im dead.::
End Part 12