a.connor  a.doyle  a.lindsey  a.oz  a.spike  a.wesley  a.xander  a.other  three.somes  het.fic  character.study           
Title: Caustic 
Author: Pet
Pairing: S/A
Rating: NC-17
Setting: S2/S5 on AtS and BtVS, respectively.
A/N: Sequel to 'Cryptic'.



"Come home with me," he'd said, like it was that damn simple. God,
after all these years he could still surprise himself with his own
stupidity, sometimes. Spike was still a vampire. Unsouled,
essentially evil, and, despite numerous setbacks, humiliations and
defeats over the years, frighteningly used to getting his own way.
Angel was tempted to blame himself for this, but he knew for a FACT
that there hadn't been a thing Angelus hadn't tried towards the
ultimate goal of beating the willfulness *ha!* right out of his
childe.

And a hundred years or so of complete autonomy hadn't helped a bit.
Spike was driving him slowly insane. And they'd only been in the car
for an hour. The black ribbon was winding away under the tires and
headlights, and Angel found himself pressing harder and harder on the
accelerator, as if getting home faster would help. *You invited him
to LIVE with you. NO sex is worth this...*

"I am the anti-CHRIST! I am an anarCHIST!" There was headbanging
happening. In Angel's convertible. The fact that the radio wasn't
on didn't seem to have deterred the younger vampire a bit. He was
reclining happily, dusty boots on the dash, cigarette hand dangling
over the side of the door, blond head bobbing to music only he could
hear. That he was busy translating for his sire's abused ears.

Angel didn't know whether to laugh in relief that his Loki-childe was
back, as annoying as ever and apparently not permanently scarred, or
to reach over and smack him hard enough to make him SHUT. UP. He'd
told him, no feet on the dash. He'd told him, no smoking in the
car. And he'd DEFINITELY told him no singing. Spike had stared at
him as if he'd gone insane. So much for proper deference. He
contented himself with a hard glare.

"Oh, wot? Not another ride in a car with some wanker what can't
appreciate proper music..." Spike was grinning at him, but there was
a dark memory there, Angel could hear it in his voice.

"Another?" He asked mildly. Just wanting to know.

"Slayer doesn't fancy the Ramones, much..." Spike trailed off into
silence, and stared out into the night, quiet. Finally.

"Well, I can't say as I blame her, really."

"NATurally. Not your golden girl, oh heavens, horrors no." Angel
almost winced at the bitterness. *Jesus, Spike, what HAPPENED to you?
*

"Spike...not THAT. The Ramones give me a headache, that's all."

"Really?" Spike perked up again, swinging his gaze from whatever was
so fascinating in the black emptiness at the side of the highway back
to Angel. Who clenched his jaw and set his teeth, knowing what was
coming, staring straight ahead. Had to concentrate on the road,
after all...

"TWENNYTWENNYTWENNY FOUR HOURS TO-GO-O-O, I WANNA BE
SEDATED...NOTHING TO DO-"

He actually had a nice voice. Angel decided to concentrate on that.

*****************

His sire'd never been a great one for light conversation, but this
was getting beyond boring. Angel was pretending very hard that he
was makin' this road trip all alone, in his traditional broody
silence. Spike was HAPPY. He wanted to play, and the poof wasn't
cooperating a bit. Of course, he wasn't pushing TOO hard...he didn't
want to end up chucked out on the side of the road, two hours to dawn
an' noplace to go. Noplace else to go anyway, really, unless he
wanted to head back to good ol' Sunnyhell and his bottle an' the
Slayer an'...no. Not going back there, ever. He broke off the song,
lyrics touching just a mite too close to home. Sighed, and dropped
his feet to the floor.

Angel actually looked at him, startled. No glare, this time.

"Fine, you great sod. Since hells know you're too uptight to enjoy
music, an' you keep sayin' no to THIS-" he reached over and cupped
Angel's crotch with one hand, had that hand, predictably, swatted
away, "-so talk. What's this nonsense about lawyers?"

"It's...complicated." Spike could see those big white hands
tightening on the steering wheel. *Oooh, complicated ain't the
word...*

"We've got nothing but time here, 'less you've figured out a way to
make this crate go any FASTER with your foot on the floor." Angel
flushed a bit, eased up on the gas, and relaxed. Just a little.

"There's this law firm...Wolfram and Hart. They're demon owned and
operated, and they've been around, well, forever, as far as I can
tell. Basically, they brought Darla back as human, hunted up Dru,
she TURNED Darla, they tormented me till I went a little insane, and
I fired Cordelia and Wesley and Gunn, and then I set Dru and Darla on
fire, then I fucked Darla, realized I'd almost lost everything, and
now I'm trying to make it better." It was a good thing he didn't
have to breathe, Spike thought. That was the most words together
he'd ever heard out of Angel's gob.

"Sweet fuck. So, what happened? Did you take 'em down? Fire an'
lightning an' the wrath of Angel?" Maybe L.A. WOULD be fun.

"No. I've given it up."

"They screwed about with your head, an' all that, an' that's IT?"

"Yeah. I've got to get back to basics." Angel sounded determined,
and even a little wistful.

"I'll give you basics...they oughtta die, slow an' painful."

"A lot of them already did." Heavy guilt. Spike snorted, and leaned
back again. WHAT a fuckin' nancyboy. *Oh, an' like you're any
better? So damn pleased to see your Sire again, to have him want you
around, that you practically wagged your tail when you saw 'im?* He
looked over, saw that big graceful body, strong hands, perfect
face...*No pride, me, but I'm still not complainin'. So. Don't make
him toss you out before you even get home, Will...*

"Right then. Best thing for 'em, I say. What about your pets?"

"What pets?"

"The HUMANS, you sod."

"I, er...fired them, like I said."

"And..."

"And I was, well, unpleasant to them for a while."

"So..."

"They decided to take me back. Provisionally."

"WHAT? THEY're takin' YOU back?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of...working for them, now." Angel was hunched up
even more than usual, ducking his head down between his shoulders.
That kicked-puppy look on his face that Spike had only ever seen
around the Slayer, before.

*OK...no makin' fun, now. Might be nice to not be the only
bollocksed-up one of a pair, for a change. Seems the ponce has been
havin' troubles of his own, an' who are you to-" Nope. Didn't work.

*********************

Angel looked irritatedly over at his convulsed childe. Spike was
literally gasping for unneeded air, hooting, trying to make words.
It wasn't THAT funny.

"You're working' (gasp) for Cor- (gasp) Cor- (gasp) CORDEEELIA?
BAHhahahahahah!" He lost it again.

"She's matured a lot, you know. And there's Wesley, too-" *OK,
obvious mistake.* Spike just howled louder.

"Spike, knock it off. SPIKE." The younger vampire finally wiped
tears from his face, giggled, and straightened up. Sniggered. Was
silent. Laughed, once and hard. Silence.

"Er, Peaches?"

"What?"

"Can't fault your stones for tryin', but do you really think that's
gonna work out, an' all?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well...have you ever HAD a boss? Someone orderin' you around,
tellin' you what's what? Never mind who, that dozy mare an' Wussly are just
icin'."

"There was Darla..."

Spike scoffed. "Who was so busy ridin' you into the ground, she
never had a chance to tell you what to do. No, like a REAL boss."

"I guess not."

"Hate to tell you this, luv, but you're not the sort to take
direction well."

Angel pondered that for a moment, still staring out into the night.
He could see the lights of Los Angeles on the horizon, reflected off
the bottom of the ever-present smog. Rather like Hell, he thought.
Spike was right, this wasn't going to be easy. More like torture, in
fact. He sighed.

"Well, I'll just have to learn." Which sent Spike off again.

"Spike, it's not FUNNY!"

Spike unexpectedly sobered. "No, it ain't. Rather pathetic, but
there you go. Dunno if you'll be able to swing it, but it
should be interestin' to watch." He lit another cigarette. Angel
hoped he wouldn't ash on the floor.

"Um, about that, Spike..." He steeled himself. This would NOT be
pleasant, but had to be said.

"Yeah?"

"I think it might be better if you...didn't. Watch."

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, things are a little...delicate right now, with Cordy and the
rest. And if I show up for," shudder, "WORK, with you in tow...the
last time you were in town you tried to kill us, after all. It would just
make things difficult." *And there's no way I'm going to tell them I'm
SLEEPING with you...*

"You're gonna lock me in the cellar, then, an' drag me out when you
got an itch to scratch, I take it?" Spike's voice was low, and he
couldn't read it at all.

"I was thinking a nice apartment...?" That little forgive-me smile had
worked on Wesley, maybe it would on Spike...

"Stop the car."

"Spike, we're on the high-"

"I said STOP the BLOODY FUCKIN' CAR."

"Can we just DISCU-"

Spike lunged for the door, hauling himself up over and bracing his
feet on the seat *He WOULDN'T oh SHIT!* and was almost thrown out
when tires screeched and burned as the convertible fishtailed to a
halt at the side of the highway. He hopped over the side, and
started walking. Towards L.A, true, but Angel wasn't counting on
that meaning anything. Oh, he had really fucked this up.

"Spike, get back here." He could hear the feet retreating, could
still see the glimmer of blond hair in the lights of the occasional
passing 18-wheeler. "Spike, I'm sorry, please?"

*GodDAMNit.* "Spike..." He got out of the car and ran, catching up
easily. Fell into step, shortening his strides. *Time was, I would
have made him stretch...*

"If something happens to my car, I'm never going to forgive you."
Anything, just to say something. He got no reaction.

He'd forgotten. Spike's priorities had always been simple,
straightforward, and all-encompassing. Love, feed, fight, and
entertain himself (by means other than the first three), in that
order. And he'd never been able to accept, or understand, when those
around him didn't quite live according to those rules.

"Spike, you know I don't want to hide you away. I'm not ashamed of
you." *Well, maybe a little when you sing in public.* "I've just
got...responsibilites. Besides you."

"That what I am?"

"You KNOW you're more than that." At least he was talking, no matter
how short and clipped. *I have NEVER been good at this. I am SO BAD
at this. Oh, help.* "I need you around. I need you to help me. I
mean, who better than you to show me how to be the worst employee the
world's ever seen?"

Spike flashed him a grin, but kept walking. OK, more grovelling?
Much more of this and he was going to lose his spine entirely. This
sucked. He HAD been dealing with humans for too long. He let his
gameface flicker on, felt the rumble in his chest.

"And, most importantly, I. AM. YOUR. SIRE. Boy. Get back to the car
before I remind you of EXACTLY what that means."

Spike stopped, stared at him for a long moment. Angel tensed for the
strike. Spike just stared. Smiled again, and nodded.

"Right, ducks. Just makin' sure you ain't a COMPLETE pansy, these
days."

And he turned around and strolled back towards the car. Whistling.
Leaving Angel gaping after him.

*Boredom. What was so terrible about boredom, again?*

******************

"I don't care WHAT your soddin' boss thinks, I am NOT gonna be put up
in some flat like a high-priced whore! That was Darla's gig!" The
rest of the trip had been fairly peaceful, what with his sire holdin'
his hand the whole way, but the minute they stepped in the door and
Spike admired the size of the place...

"Cordelia is NOT my boss, Spike, and I...am not going to have this
conversation with you." He stomped up the stairs, out of the lobby,
and Spike looked after him. Right. Time to go shag some bollocks
back into the bugger, before all this soul-boy crap made him heave.
He chased Angel up the stairs, and burst through a closed door.
Angel smirked at him from the bed. The giant bed with the wine-dark
sheets and the black satin comforter...Spike swallowed hard.

"Took you long enough."

"Oh, you're a flamin' comedian tonight, you are." Spike paced
nervously, found the bottle he knew Angel always kept around,
unscrewed the top and took a long swallow. Single malt. Always the
best.

"William, come here." And there was that Sire-tone, drawing him over
to the bed like he was on a string. Angel pulled him between his
knees from where he sat, and rubbed long strokes up and down the
backs of his legs, hips to knees, and back up. An' how long had it
been, since a lover had known where to touch? Too bloody long. He
sighed, capped the bottle, and set it on the floor, and pushed Angel
back till he was laying flat.

"Spike, I do want you here."

"I want you here too, luv." Leer, because it was always easier to
just get to the sex.

"No, more than that. I'll tell Cordelia and Wes and Gunn you're
here, if you want me to. And you can stay here if you want, though
you WILL obey house rules. I want you to stay."

"You always such a pushover these days, Peaches?"

"I guess so." And Spike was drowning in smiling brown eyes, *bet he
doesn't smile enough, lately,* and so damn happy he was afraid he was
gonna GET a soul. Some backwards-magic shit that he couldn't quite
think about clearly enough to work through. *Oh yeah, the Big Bad,
me. Haven't felt this good in a hundred years, though Dru an' I
tried. He's safety, he's home, an' he's not chuckin' me out...* He
sighed a little, and leaned down, and pressed the softest kiss onto
his Sire's lips. Lips that kept smiling, and parted, and let his
tongue in to play. Hands came up and pulled lightly at his ears,
moving back into his hair to clutch and bring his mouth closer. That
sweet dance between his lips, as Angel sucked at the lower one, then
ran his tongue around inside, and oh the taste. It had only been a
few hours, but the TASTE...

Spike heard himself making little kitten sounds, and couldn't bring
himself to care. He was settled neatly between Angel's thighs, and
those huge hands were holding his head still, and all he could do was
rock and moan, rock and moan, against him and into his mouth. They
were still fully clothed when Angel rolled him over and came down on
top of him, still just pushing at each other with their hips, and
this time there WASN'T a rush, and Spike felt himself relaxing
completely, for the first time in a very long while. Almost boneless
when Angel stripped him gently, kissing down his body with little
nips that made him shudder and gasp and breathe. And pliant when
Angel rubbed hands over his abdomen, hard enough not to tickle, how he'd
always loved it. He felt sharp teeth just resting on his hipbone,
cool breathless mouth against his skin, and just savored it, lying
still for an instant.

Then he was up and moving, rolling and dragging a startled Angel
fully onto the bed, and the peace disappeared as he just threw
himself at his sire. He spared a brief moment to wonder if it would
always be like this, desperate and a little insane, and then he was
lost.

****************

Even when he'd been just-turned, Angel didn't remember Willian
NEEDING him like this. His small hands were everywhere as he pulled
Angel down into him, running down his back in quick strokes, fingers
digging into his buttocks and leaving marks, then curving around to
hold his waist, grab at his arms. Legs twining with his hard enough
to hurt, a sharp heel digging into his calf as Spike tried to bring him
closer still. Spike's eyes were a little wild, blue almost filled with
black, now, and his hair was standing on end in white-blond
curls...he looked about fifteen years old.

"Will...easy now..." He gentled his childe with his voice, like he'd
always been able to, and reached down between them to where their
cocks were rubbing together, burning him. Held them both
together. "I wilna leave you again, Childe, I swear it." And he
knew he wasn't Angelus, knew he wasn't the sire Spike remembered, but
maybe this would do, maybe it would be enough...

It seemed to be what Spike needed, because he unwound again, just a
little, and let himself be kissed. Angel ran a tongue down his long
throat, feeling the absence of pulse under his lips and how that felt
just RIGHT, letting his weight bear down and press the smaller
vampire into the mattress. He stroked the throbbing lengths in his
hands, hard and sure, and caught the up-BUCK of Spike's hips in the
cradle of his own.

"Aye, boy, that's it now. Let me in." He was talking the Irish
again, and couldn't help himself, not with his cock in his hand and
his boy underneath him, and he needed this as much as Spike, he knew
suddenly. Needed to be needed, needed to be understood and accepted,
and *FUUUCK oh FUUU-* needed to be let in, just. like. this.

Years of practice, and he knew that body better than he knew his own,
and apparently it went both ways, since Spike had managed to lift his
hips and guide Angel into his body in one long move. The cool, tight
slickness around him, not burning him like a human but perfect,
taking his whole length in a push down that had Angel's hands fisting
in the coverlet, his weight on his forearms, as Spike pulled and
clutched with both hands at his hips. He reared up, eyes burning
gold, and grabbed those clever little hands, pinning them to the bed
above their heads. Spike wanted to be fucked? Far be it from Angel
to deny him that.

He slammed himself home and Spike yelped, fangs dropping as he
twisted, helpless underneath Angel. *Sometimes it is SO good to be
the bigger one...* He hauled Spike's legs up over his shoulders,
opening him completely, angling him right...and started the rhythm.
Decades of fucking Spike, and this never got old. In and out, and
the tight muscles pulling at him, holding him like he belonged
there...out and IN and IN and oh jesus Will was making that noise
again, the high, animal one he always denied, after, but which made
Angel hard, harder, was that even POSSIBLE?

"Sire...Angel...ohgodohFUCKANGEL! Angelussss..." Hissed through
sharp teeth, and Spike was stroking himself because Angel couldn't
remember how to move his arms, just his hips in this in and out and
sweetness...strong pale body under him, so beautiful, muscles
rippling and bunching as Spike tried to sit UP under the force of his
strokes, and pulled hard at his own jerking, dripping cock--looked
hard enough to cut glass--and Spike was staring into his eyes and
clamping down inside and spurting and howling and Angel was drowning
in gold snapping teeth shut in that white throat and
commmmiiiinnggggg....

*********************

Christ in a racecar, he thought he'd lost his mind. Last one was
good, this one much better, an' if they kept on improving like this,
Spike was gonna end up fucked literally to death. He just knew it.
He purred a little, complete satisfaction rolling through him as his
Sire hauled the covers up around their bodies, still touching, and
curled himself around his childe. His. Spike knew it, had always
known it no matter how he kicked and screamed and battled against
it. Soul or not, blood was blood, and he was fully owned by the
demon currently petting him like a cat and lapping at the holes in
his throat. He knew it, the demon knew it, and for the first time in
a hundred years, all was right in Spike's world.

"Angelus?"

"Hmmm?" Still licking at his throat, and he could feel a deeper purr
starting behind him. Oh yeah, the ponce was lovin' this too.

"I still say you're gonna be a piss-poor workin' man." And this
little exercise in domination was Exhibit A...

"I'll have to get promoted fast then, won't I?" And Spike grinned,
and laughed a little, and curled into strong arms, to sleep the day
away.
 

-End

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