Angel was sittting by the window in the mansions Master bedroom. He leaned
back on the velvet pillows with one arm
behind his head, the muscles of his naked chest tight, skin gleaming
in the pale light of the half moon. He was looking
out over the water, and the shadows of the night swallowed the half
of him which faced the darkness.
Spike froze in the doorway for a moment, crushed under the weight of the
illusory falling away of two centuries. He
could have so easily been Angelus reclining there, with the shoulder
length chestnut hair, and the remote gaze. But no
aura of malevolence surrounded the large form. And when the dark
vampire turned to look at his Childe, there was only
affection in the wide, cinnamon colored eyes.
No. Also distress.
::Its kind of creepy being here again, isnt it Will?:: Voice so low Spike couldnt tell if it was whispered or *sent*.
::Yea,:: the smaller vampire agreed. His Sire hadnt called him by his
twentieth century name once since this mansion
had manifested. For some reason, that unnerved him... more than he
cared to admit.
He crossed the large room and sat across Angel on the bay seat, watching
the waves dance under the waning moon,
listening to the real voice now. ::I dont much like it. Its
too....I dunno. I feel damned.:: The dark vampire hadnt taken
his
eyes off the sea.
Spike watched the shadows play across his face, creating monsters out of
the sharp angles, demons out of the wide
planes.
Slight of hand.
::Hes not here, Sire.:: Spike said quietly; typical, unadorned truth from the auburn haired vampire.
::Maybe not. But *she* is. What are you doing here with me, Childe?::
Spike took a breath, and Angel turned to look at him finally, so rare was it that he exercised that practice.
::You know why Im here.:: A bit of annoyance in the tone. He had come here
resolute, and Angel had forced his
hand. Bloody archetypal.
::You want acceptance? A blessing? What? You dont need this from me. Not
anymore::. The older vampire didnt sound
particularly saddened by the admission. Resigned, maybe. Spike bristled.
::So youre telling me if the Slayer walked through the front door you wouldnt
do the same?!:: Spikes voice grew louder,
the pitch deeper.
::Is that what you think this is about? Jealousy? Christ, Will.:: Angel
shook his head. ::It has nothing to do with jealousy.
Or anger...or ....Its about *me*. Its about the fact that when I
look at you and Dru and I see what could have been, what
SHOULD have been, what I completely and utterly destroyed..... I
killed you. Both of you. And I damned you to this. And
youre still so lost in it, that youre actually *waiting* for
my permission to do what should come as naturally to you as....::
he stopped, and a bitter laugh escaped his lips. ::I was going to
say breathing.::
::Oh for pitys sake, Angelus. Weve gone through this one already a dozen
times. You think had you never come along,
some bint and I would have had fat happy babies together? You have
a very fucking selective memory, Ol' man. Like
the fact that Id have been dead from syphillis before my twenty fifth
birthday::.
Angels shoulders fell. ::Fine. You think youre better off this way, fine.
Can
you say the same about what I did to Dru? You love her, William. She told
you why your love was possible. Can you
look at me and tell me I did a good thing by her too?::
Spike leaned forward, his face inches away from that of his Sires. His
tone was clipped, and calm. ::Yea, yea I can tell
you that. I dont know what the hell would have happened to her if
we hadnt come along. You know what else? I dont
give a damn. Because no matter how much I fucking hated you for what
you did to us both after you turned us, I can
never, never hate you for bringing her to me in the first place::.
Angel closed his eyes, and rested his head back against the window. ::Then
dont be a fool about it.:: Again, so softly
Spike wasnt sure hed actually heard the words spoken.
::About what?:: he whispered back, all ire gone. He never ceased to be
amazed at that bizarre ebb and flow. One
moment he wanted to stab the poof with a fiery stick, the next....
::You got something here that mortals and demons alike would kill for. Dont let it go.::
((Oh bloody hell, waxin poetic...hes gonna say *love* now and Im gonna --))
::No. The chance to say goodbye.::
The small sob was torn from the younger mans throat before he could swallow
it. Hed almost let himself forget. Dru
wasnt really back. She was ....dead. This time together was stolen.
And finite.
He grabbed for Angels hand, and felt the long fingers encase his fist.
Silence. He wanted to say it...wanted to...but he
couldnt force the words past his tongue....
((You could come with me... to her......))
Angel half smiled, without opening his eyes.
**No, Will. No. I cant.**
Spike leaned in closer to the dark haired man, and pressed his forehead
against the broad chest. He dropped a kiss
there. Then he stood, and turned to go.
Angel released the smaller hand from his own, and watched as Spike left
the room, closing the door softly behind him.
::.CHICKEN!:: Xander howled, looking up from the book his nose was buried
in. Actually buried in, seeing as hed fallen
asleep on it. And hed been having a damned fine dream too, involving
semi naked women and a soup ladle. Then
hed heard the clucking. ::CHICKEN!:: he repeated. ::Does anyone else
see the chicken!?::
Giles looked up from his own research, where soup ladles were conspicuously
absent, and rubbed the bridge of his
nose. ::Ah...my. Well..thats --...::
Giles, along with everyone else save Anya, who was still fast asleep and
snoring, watched as twelve chickens
breached the salt circle. They began to strut around the group, cackling
loudly and pecking at the floor. Xander
was struck by the notion that since they made it into the circle
without exploding, at least he was assured these werent
evil chickens. Followed by the notion that he really needed more
sleep. And quite possibly, a new hobby.
Cordelia cut Giles off. ::We know, we know, its *fascinating*. But what does it mean?::
Willow yawned. ::I think its just more manifestation of the Essence Demon.
Somebody obviously had a thing for
chickens.:: At the groups look of unified horror, she amended,
::You know, like a fear or something! Sheesh, your
minds are all in the gutter!::
Xander swatted st the rooster by his feet and mused, ::So, one of the
vampires is afraid of chickens. Well, I feel like a
fool. I mean, to think if wed only known that before..how much trouble
we could have prevented! Thrown a poultry or two
at Spike..bye bye bleached boy..Or hey! Sent Angelus a telegram from
Colonel Sanders ..couldve totally avoided that
whole sucked into Hell thing.::
Wesley stretched his long arms over his head, and mumbled something incoherent.
::What?:: Corelia was annoyed. Which went pretty well without saying.
::I was merely speculating ...We can assume it was the vampires human selves
that had a fear of.....the
chickens...correct?::
::I dont know, Wesley. What is your point?:: Giles snapped a bit. He was
tired and uncomfortable and ....now suddenly
hungry.
::Well, if their human fears are manifesting....What if their demon fears do so next?::
::Why? Whats a vampire afraid of?:: Anya asked, lifting her head from the
crook of her arm for the first time, and
looking puzzled.
::Precisely.:: Wesley stated. ::Do we really want to know what Angelus
deepest darkest fear is? Or more to the
point...do we really want to be -::
::Visited by it.:: Giles finished the statement for the younger watcher, and felt his stomach growl.
Xander grinned at the rumbling sound, echoing his own pangs of starvation.
He would kill for a pizza. Then he
shrugged. ::Well, worse comes to worse, and were stuck here in this
circle for another couple days....at least we
have lunch.::
Another chicken breached the circle and pecked at his sneaker.
End part 15