Changing Tomorrow 13
by Danielle
 

** emphasis
// thoughts

Spike leaned forward in time to miss his clothes. He was trying to gain control of the situation, which was hard to do while vomiting blood. Angel scrambled after him, eyes wide and shocked.

He kneeled next to where his childe hunched and steadied him with his hands. After a moment, the episode passed and Spike was blinking dazedly at the older vampire.

“Spike! What the hell?” Angel began.

“S’what I meant when I s-s-said I can’t tell you.” He cringed at the weak sound of his own voice. “J-j-jusst take this to the Watcher. If he can’t spell it out to you, nobody can...”

Vampires never throw up, since their digestive systems don’t work like humans’ do. Spike wasn’t used to how his stomach was rolling, and he groaned in misery. The brunette seemed to settle something in his head, and then he helped Spike sit up.

“Let me get some towels--have you eaten today? You look like death now, but you weren’t exactly in top form earlier either.”

Spike suddenly found the blood-soaked floor very interesting as he tried to change the subject, “I...I’m actually surprised they let me get that much out, mate...” The brooding vampire approached with a mug of blood, and Spike accepted it. //It’s Human!//

Although nowhere near as good as fresh, bagged blood wasn’t as disgusting as he’d expected it would be.

The younger vampire watched as Angel cleaned up the mess he’d made.

Licking his lips and getting up, he mumbled, “Not bad, Peaches...where do you get this from?”

He’d tried to make it sound casual, but Angel picked up on his tension right away. Spike made a quick trip to the bathroom so he could wash his face and hands in the sink. He was still unsteady, but the blood was already healing him.

When he returned, Angel said sarcastically, “*You’re* going to bag lunch--what’s going on?” Spike had felt different since the night he’d seen into the Vimurth, and he decided to test his theory on his sire.

He walked up to Angel slowly. As he approached, Spike bit into his own hand, just below the thumb. Before the older vampire could respond, Spike smeared the blood onto Angel’s lips. Brow furrowing, the brunette darted his tongue out to lick it off.

“What do you taste?” Spike’s voice was uneven and choked with emotion. He wasn’t sure if he wanted the answer to this.

“Something’s different...something--” Angel’s eyes widened and he grabbed Spike’s hand for another taste, just to be sure. Then he stepped back and looked at Spike with wonder.

“How did you...? You have a soul!” Spike definitely had his sire’s attention now, only he didn’t care now. The morals and feelings from the future that had leaked through the visions had brought the soul with it. But the trauma of seeing everything and Xander’s unstable state had overshadowed his soul’s presence.

“Well, at least I don’t go insane this time around...” he muttered to himself as he started pacing the room. He wasn’t crazy, just...conflicted. The vampire hadn’t wanted the soul, but now he was pissed that he hadn’t had the chance to seek it out.

He felt cheated because it wasn’t supposed to be dropped into his lap like this. It explained how easily he had done away with Dru, and his powerful feelings for the boy. He had regrets, no doubt about it. But the past couldn’t be changed. The future was another story…

Angel pursued him, turning Spike and grabbing him by the shoulders. “What did you do, Spike? Tell me what happened!”

Grinning ruefully, the blonde chuckled bitterly as he yelled at the ceiling, “I was going to want it, you know! Instead it just snuck right in and took over, didn’t it?” Finally knowing for sure was a blessing and a curse.

He stopped to laugh, clearing tears out of his eyes. When he’d pulled himself together, he continued, “So you gonna show me how to be a soulful Nancy like yourself or what?”

 

CHANGING TOMORROW 14

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