Honorable
Sons: 12
by Josie_h
Notes
The following afternoon was the first time the two vampires had awoken alone for over a month. Spike took the time to stretch and appreciate the quiet.
After some minutes, he rolled toward his Sire, only to be confronted by a pair of unseeing amber eyes and a full game face. Spike realized too late that his sire was still in the throws of a violent dream, and that the vampire was at near full strength, at least in upper body, making him more than a match for his slimmer partner.
Angel moving with his preternatural speed of old, pinned Spike’s arms and pulled him into a death hold. He sank his fangs viciously into his Childe’s neck, taking draft after draft of rich fluid from the dead veins. Spike was caught between the blessed feel of his Sire drinking from him, and the knowledge that, if his elder did not stop soon, he would be drained beyond survival. Just before darkness took him, Spike jerked his knee up to connect with Angel’s groin in a last ditch effort to break the suction, then succumbed to unconsciousness.
At the sharp pain from his groin, Angel roused from his dream state and reeled away from the body beneath him, only to recognize it as his drained Childe, with a grey white pallor and sporting an open and vicious bite to the neck.
Initially confused, he interpreted the scene as one of an outside attack on their tiny family scanning the room for the assailant, then realized the taste in his mouth. An anguished cry was followed by him tearing open his wrist, placing the dripping limb over his Childe’s mouth and stroking his neck to encourage a swallowing motion. Salty, blood stained tears began to flow, joining the wet offering dripping into the blonde’s slack mouth.
“C’mon Spike, Will… Oh G…. Please, please… I didn’t know… I didn’t mean… Oh Will… *Please* drink… Please!” Angel continued to massage the neck and stroke the face of his lover in a desperate effort to revive the younger vampire.
Close to half an hour later, Spike’s eyelids fluttered open to the relieved and teary gaze of his Sire. There was still no recognition in the blonde’s dazed stare. “Oh God…. Will… Will… I thought … Oh…” Angel at first began to bury his face in his Childe’s chest, but realized the need, lifted his head and stretched the elegant neck inviting Spike to drink properly. The younger vampire was drained to the point where only instinct remained. He bit without hesitation.
Spike returned to coherence slowly with a strong hand massaging the back of his neck, and the teary face of his Sire looking down at him.
“F@#%! What happened?” Spike still felt ‘fuzzy’ and he had a tingly, leaden feeling permeating all his limbs, but just could not understand why. Spike gradually realized he could taste Angel’s blood on his tongue and felt the pain of a bite on his neck. “You..? Why?”
“I don’t know! I was dreaming and then I wasn’t and… Oh Spike I nearly…”
“But you didn’t…” Spike stared at his elder’s distressed features then lifted his apparently overly heavy hand, petted his Sire’s jaw line gently, then let the limb drop exhausted back onto the bed. “Do you remember what the dream was, luv?”
“Blood… it was all blood and… it was Hell… and they made me… Oh Spike!! Why now? Why am I having these dreams now… just when I’m becoming stronger…”
“Maybe it’s a kick back from all the mojo we did on you to get you well? Or perhaps you just had a bad night. Or maybe someone is messin’ with you… who knows”
“No! It can’t be an outsider… why would anyone bother?”
“C’mon pet, consider the history! You… Champion for the whatsits. Disappear for however long, now turn up in the City of the Golden Gate… Money in hand… Not tryin’ to be paranoid luv – just throwin’ up possibilities. Reckon that dark bint o’ Willows might help with some answers in the mornin’.”
“What if it happens again? What if it’s something more than that? What if…”
“Shhh pet, I don’t know – but how’s about we ask that dark witch when she visits next… figure she’ll have a clue or two.”
Angel collapsed onto his back, Spike snuggled into his side and immediately fell into an exhausted sleep.
The following hours were fraught with tension. Angel deliberately remained conscious. Though he knew that sleeplessness would hinder his healing, he was unwilling to risk Spike again. Spike seemed to sleep only lightly as though watchful of his partner’s dreamscapes. Violent nightmares had been constant companions in the months after the addition of their souls for both vampires, but neither had sleeping companions at the time. Angel brooded, there was more than adequate history that would evoke killing dreams, but he was still puzzled by the sudden vicious manifestations. Particularly that he had attacked his Childe.
Spike’s eyes fluttered open again. He saw Angel’s worried countenance, “Penny for your thoughts pet.”
“Wha…? Oh…. Just worried… I mean, I am hardly even mobile…. F@#$ Spike! I have only just gone for the ‘I can make it to the kitchen and back shuffling’ celebration and *now* this??” Angel’s face fell…. “You’ll have to leave… it’s not safe! If someone has tracked us, or I’m just out of control, OH Guhhhh… please Spike! You’ll have to … Go to Willow or anywhere…. I can’t …”
Spike was done with running for months, and with the last month of terrified worrying over Angel’s recovery, so let go and turned to his true nature. He fell into game face and pounced on his unprepared Sire. In less than a heartbeat, the younger vampire sank his fangs into the waiting jugular of his maker and took three long and meaningful drafts. Spike pulled up in full face, licked the remaining blood from the elongated canines and managed to grind out, “Not goin’ anywhere! C’mon Peaches… I’m in for the long haul simple as that”
Angel answered quietly, “Not if I drain you one night you won’t be.”
“If it makes you feel better I can sleep on the couch. Or we just add a couple ‘o manacles to the nightly sleepin’ arrangements – never bothered you in the past.” Spike wiggled an eyebrow provocatively but his eyes belied the possible seriousness of his Sire draining him again.
Angel sat up slowly placed his feet on the floor and leaned forward to grasp the hand holds on the nearby wheelchair in an effort to stand. Spike moved to stand and help his Sire but was overcome by a wave of dizziness courtesy of recent blood-loss and was forced to find the bed before the floor caught his face.
Angel’s pained look as he viewed his Childe’s struggle said it all. The long term invalid of the pair made his way slowly around the bed and out to the kitchen, walking all the way using the chair for support but collapsing into it as he retrieved and heated a feast of blood for both vampires.
Spike was snoozing by the time the dark vampire rolled back to his Childe’s bedside. Angel smiled, reached over the tray of heated bags and twin mugs, and brushed away a blonde lock of hair. Spike blinked slowly, azure blue eyes meeting brown with such a look of adoration coupled with a similar charge of love through the blood link, that the older vampire took an unnecessary breath in an attempt to quell the urgent need to ravish his Childe. “Hey… thought you might need dinner…”
The sleep filled reply came… “Jus’ need you luv, jus’ need you.”
Wishing there was more they could do together at that moment, Angel shrugged the thoughts off. He needed to feed, as did Spike. He split the bags one after another, methodically consuming the contents at such speed that he hardly had time to notice the quality human blood so lacking since their days at Wolfram and Hart. Still licking his lips of the last of the precious fluid, he locked the wheels of his chair and despite his legs’ continued unwillingness to provide easy propulsion, pushed himself to standing. He was so focused on the task that he gave a small yelp when a pale hand grasped his wrist and levered him over the top of the other body to land on the opposite side of the bed with a bemused ‘hummffph’.
Even though his strength was returning, Spike was still a sickly pallor, and had been looking on with demon rising as his Sire consumed the blood. Angel lay back, drew a sharp nail over the nipple closest to his Childe and gently reached for his companion. Spike rolled to his Sire in full game face, licked the seeping liquid, then bit deep and suckled. Angel initially petted and caressed his Childe, but as the intimate act progressed, his simply lay back and enjoyed the sensation of Spike’s tongue gently working the wound while sharp fangs held fast and suction continued. Eventually the suction ceased and Angel felt Spike shiver and the game face disappear. He wasn’t sure how long the gentle licking continued for but as it too stopped, he realized his Childe had fallen asleep on his chest.
Angel pulled the covers over them both, but remained wakeful fearing of another dream.
As midday approached Spike rolled away and Angel took the opportunity to phone first F’Iaid then Willow explaining the worrying dream development.