The Way We Were
folder
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer › Slash - Male/Male › Angel(us)/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
6
Views:
6,642
Reviews:
12
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer › Slash - Male/Male › Angel(us)/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
6
Views:
6,642
Reviews:
12
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
The Way We Were
THE WAY WE WERE - CHAPTER 1
The ancient, crumbling warehouse on the outskirts of town looked exactly like all the other charred buildings that surrounded it. Broken windows looked down on the garbage strewn asphalt where abandoned, burned out cars were scattered like dead sentinels, rusting away into nothingness; the smell of the dying hulks still hung heavy in the air.
A wayward breeze would often find itself trapped between the dilapidated buildings and would ultimately fly screaming like a banshee through the alleyways, carrying the sounds of death and decay to any ear that would listen.
Angel listened.
Vampiric hearing picked up the sounds of rats scurrying away from the carnage before him, of insects rushing in to feast on the dying flesh of the Selminth parasites that lay at his feet, the exhausted, heavy breathing of Wesley, Gunn and Fred, who had fought valiantly at his side to destroy the hungry and ever-growing nest.
The big vampire’s dark eyes scanned the murky shadows until they found and rested on each form, watching the trio as they regrouped and stumbled into a shaft of moonlight in front of him.
“Is everyone all right?” Angel gave a cursory inspection of the three humans, nostrils flaring as he took in their scents, making sure the blood that he smelled didn’t belong to them. He had come through the battle unscathed himself and he could feel Spike in the shadows. Closing his eyes, Angel breathed a sigh of relief to find that they had only suffered scrapes and bruises and hadn't been impaled on a poisoned barb.
“Yeah, man. It’s cool,” Gunn grinned happily as he reached down to retrieve his homemade ax. He gingerly poked his weapon at several of the slimy and still shivering parasites nearby and gave a shudder.
“Shit! You sure these things are dead?” he squeaked in surprise when a tentacle throbbed its last against his boot.
“Quite,” Wesley chimed in as he eyed the carnage. “There will be more involuntary muscle spasms as rigor mortis sets in, but nothing to worry about.”
“What about you, Fred?” Angel took a long, hard look at the wisp of a girl from Texas who was covered from head to toe with gore from the fight.
"WhooHoo! That was awesome, Angel!” Fred could hardly contain her exhilaration as she looked at the dark vampire and smiled happily, her scientific mind making her mouth spew out a concise evaluation of their victory...
“And the chances of one succeeding in the total elimination of said species, linked to the number of actual offspring there are in their native habitat, which by the way, is not good old sunny California, it would be nearly impossible to determine what effect the destruction of the parasites here would be on the population since we have no way of knowing...”
Angel couldn’t help but smile at her exuberance, remembering the shy, frightened little girl who wouldn’t come out of her room at the Hyperion after he had rescued her from another dimension. Now, here she was, destroying demons by his side as if it were second nature to her.
Suddenly, Fred stilled and her doe-eyes widened in fear as she quickly scanned her surroundings. Slime and black blood oozed under her feet from the dead parasites and a few thick tentacles around the queen still twitched. She had seen Spike whipped by those same spiked feelers before he had struck the killing blow with his sword and she had watched him fall, bleeding from the wounds.
Spike’s blade was still buried to the hilt, deep in the queen parasite’s brain but he was nowhere to be found. The blond vampire had never left his beloved sword behind after completing a mission, even if it was damaged beyond repair.
“Where’s Spike, Angel? I don’t see Spike anywhere... Spike!? Where is he? Oh my god... we have to find him! Wesley? Charles?” Fred’s voice pitched higher and higher as her eyes darted wildly, looking for the small vampire.
“It’s alright Fred,” Angel cooed as he reached out and pulled her shaking form against his chest, wrapping her in his arms. Wesley and Gunn both circled Angel and put a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
“Yes, Angel. Where is Spike anyway?” Wesley looked at the big vampire with concern in his eyes.
“Last I saw him, he was duckin’ feelers and cursin’ up a storm. Somethin’ about gettin’ his coat all slimy before he killed the queen mum over there.” Gunn cocked his head in the direction of the downed beast.
“I think we should go look for him,” Fred said quietly. “He might be badly hurt... and maybe he needs us?”
“Spike can take care of himself,” Angel gently reassured the shivering girl in his arms even though he could hear Spike’s labored breathing as the small vampire fought to pull his bleeding body into the shadows, searching for cover away from the approaching dawn.
For a fleeting moment, Angel thought that Fred might be right, that his idiot childe might need him, but he quickly pushed it out of his mind. He had stopped caring about Spike a long time ago and now that the annoying blond was back in his unlife, he found himself caring even less.
Angel looked toward the gaping hole in the roof above him. The black of night was just giving way to the predawn shades of gray that always heralded the coming of a new day.
“Guys,” the big vampire said softly. “The sun... I can’t go after Spike until tonight.”
“Well... perhaps the three of us could look for him,” Wesley offered quietly. “We can’t just leave him here, especially if he’s been poisoned.”
“You’ll never find him. Trust me.”
“And why is that, Angel?” Fred asked softly with worry in her voice. “What happened to ‘no man left behind’?”
Angel sighed heavily. “Spike is not a man. He’s a vampire.” Angel could hardly believe that he was having this conversation with his colleagues over... Spike. The small seducer had managed to survive over one hundred years without any help from his sire and Angel had no reason to think that he wouldn’t survive for one more day by himself.
“Just like you, Angel," Gunn said, looking his boss right in the eye. “We wouldn’t leave you behind.”
“If Spike’s hurt, he’ll find some place to hide until nightfall. Then I can track him . . . ”
“I’m afraid Angel might be right, Charles,” Wesley said wearily. “There’s nothing more we can do for Spike at the moment, especially if he doesn't want to be found. Besides, the sun is already over the horizon and we haven’t much time. We should go.”
“I just hope you’re not too late, Angel...” Fred looked over her shoulder one last time before the big vampire put a comforting arm around her waist and started toward the street. He nodded silently to Wesley and Gunn, who picked up their remaining weapons with resignation and fell into step beside him.
~ * ~
Spike’s breath came in fits and starts as he crawled on his hands and knees over broken glass and debris toward a darkened corner on the factory floor. His pain-filled eyes searched frantically, looking for shelter from the rising sun that was beginning to filter in through the dirty windows and gaping ceiling, radiating beams of fire all around him.
The blood and gore from his fight earlier with the queen Selminth parasite still oozed off him like sticky syrup and the slashes on his skin from her blistering tentacles burned like molten lava. He had struck the killing blow to the creature, but not before she had done her worst, whipping him with her poisoned feelers while he had distracted her away from his beloved humans.
A searing stab of white-hot pain shot through his innards as his gut clenched again, making Spike crumple to the ground on his side, clutching his stomach. His face contorted into a twisted grimace and he moaned in agony as he drew his legs up to his chest and curled into a fetal position, trying to escape from the unrelenting hurt that was devouring his entire being.
Once the spasms had subsided somewhat, Spike tried to pull himself up to a standing position. He was growing weaker and weaker as he continued to bleed from his injuries; all he could manage to do was to wedge himself behind a pile of wooden pallets before he collapsed again. Sweat dripped off his face from the herculean effort but he was determined to find a safe haven before the sun flooded the factory and he dusted.
Spike knew that he couldn't depend on Angel to come for him with dawn fast approaching, so when he spotted a dirty mattress in the debris of a shadowy alcove, far enough away from the sun and any prying eyes, he breathed a sigh of relief. If he could just rest during the day, come nightfall, he might have enough strength to drag himself home to his apartment and the lifesaving blood that he had squirreled away there.
With the last of his strength, the small vampire rose and stumbled over to the foul-smelling bed and collapsed onto his knees beside it. Spike gingerly rolled his shoulders and let his leather duster fall to the floor, hissing in pain when the cool air hit the bloody gashes on his arms. He quietly surveyed the damage that the Selminth queen had inflicted on him with her poisoned tentacles, lightly tracing the wounds on his chest and forearms with shaking fingers.
“Bugger...” Spike whispered in awe.
It was worse than he could have imagined. Virulent neurotoxins were already in his system and would soon cause fever, hallucinations, paralysis, and finally, death.
~ tbc ~
The ancient, crumbling warehouse on the outskirts of town looked exactly like all the other charred buildings that surrounded it. Broken windows looked down on the garbage strewn asphalt where abandoned, burned out cars were scattered like dead sentinels, rusting away into nothingness; the smell of the dying hulks still hung heavy in the air.
A wayward breeze would often find itself trapped between the dilapidated buildings and would ultimately fly screaming like a banshee through the alleyways, carrying the sounds of death and decay to any ear that would listen.
Angel listened.
Vampiric hearing picked up the sounds of rats scurrying away from the carnage before him, of insects rushing in to feast on the dying flesh of the Selminth parasites that lay at his feet, the exhausted, heavy breathing of Wesley, Gunn and Fred, who had fought valiantly at his side to destroy the hungry and ever-growing nest.
The big vampire’s dark eyes scanned the murky shadows until they found and rested on each form, watching the trio as they regrouped and stumbled into a shaft of moonlight in front of him.
“Is everyone all right?” Angel gave a cursory inspection of the three humans, nostrils flaring as he took in their scents, making sure the blood that he smelled didn’t belong to them. He had come through the battle unscathed himself and he could feel Spike in the shadows. Closing his eyes, Angel breathed a sigh of relief to find that they had only suffered scrapes and bruises and hadn't been impaled on a poisoned barb.
“Yeah, man. It’s cool,” Gunn grinned happily as he reached down to retrieve his homemade ax. He gingerly poked his weapon at several of the slimy and still shivering parasites nearby and gave a shudder.
“Shit! You sure these things are dead?” he squeaked in surprise when a tentacle throbbed its last against his boot.
“Quite,” Wesley chimed in as he eyed the carnage. “There will be more involuntary muscle spasms as rigor mortis sets in, but nothing to worry about.”
“What about you, Fred?” Angel took a long, hard look at the wisp of a girl from Texas who was covered from head to toe with gore from the fight.
"WhooHoo! That was awesome, Angel!” Fred could hardly contain her exhilaration as she looked at the dark vampire and smiled happily, her scientific mind making her mouth spew out a concise evaluation of their victory...
“And the chances of one succeeding in the total elimination of said species, linked to the number of actual offspring there are in their native habitat, which by the way, is not good old sunny California, it would be nearly impossible to determine what effect the destruction of the parasites here would be on the population since we have no way of knowing...”
Angel couldn’t help but smile at her exuberance, remembering the shy, frightened little girl who wouldn’t come out of her room at the Hyperion after he had rescued her from another dimension. Now, here she was, destroying demons by his side as if it were second nature to her.
Suddenly, Fred stilled and her doe-eyes widened in fear as she quickly scanned her surroundings. Slime and black blood oozed under her feet from the dead parasites and a few thick tentacles around the queen still twitched. She had seen Spike whipped by those same spiked feelers before he had struck the killing blow with his sword and she had watched him fall, bleeding from the wounds.
Spike’s blade was still buried to the hilt, deep in the queen parasite’s brain but he was nowhere to be found. The blond vampire had never left his beloved sword behind after completing a mission, even if it was damaged beyond repair.
“Where’s Spike, Angel? I don’t see Spike anywhere... Spike!? Where is he? Oh my god... we have to find him! Wesley? Charles?” Fred’s voice pitched higher and higher as her eyes darted wildly, looking for the small vampire.
“It’s alright Fred,” Angel cooed as he reached out and pulled her shaking form against his chest, wrapping her in his arms. Wesley and Gunn both circled Angel and put a hand on her shoulder in comfort.
“Yes, Angel. Where is Spike anyway?” Wesley looked at the big vampire with concern in his eyes.
“Last I saw him, he was duckin’ feelers and cursin’ up a storm. Somethin’ about gettin’ his coat all slimy before he killed the queen mum over there.” Gunn cocked his head in the direction of the downed beast.
“I think we should go look for him,” Fred said quietly. “He might be badly hurt... and maybe he needs us?”
“Spike can take care of himself,” Angel gently reassured the shivering girl in his arms even though he could hear Spike’s labored breathing as the small vampire fought to pull his bleeding body into the shadows, searching for cover away from the approaching dawn.
For a fleeting moment, Angel thought that Fred might be right, that his idiot childe might need him, but he quickly pushed it out of his mind. He had stopped caring about Spike a long time ago and now that the annoying blond was back in his unlife, he found himself caring even less.
Angel looked toward the gaping hole in the roof above him. The black of night was just giving way to the predawn shades of gray that always heralded the coming of a new day.
“Guys,” the big vampire said softly. “The sun... I can’t go after Spike until tonight.”
“Well... perhaps the three of us could look for him,” Wesley offered quietly. “We can’t just leave him here, especially if he’s been poisoned.”
“You’ll never find him. Trust me.”
“And why is that, Angel?” Fred asked softly with worry in her voice. “What happened to ‘no man left behind’?”
Angel sighed heavily. “Spike is not a man. He’s a vampire.” Angel could hardly believe that he was having this conversation with his colleagues over... Spike. The small seducer had managed to survive over one hundred years without any help from his sire and Angel had no reason to think that he wouldn’t survive for one more day by himself.
“Just like you, Angel," Gunn said, looking his boss right in the eye. “We wouldn’t leave you behind.”
“If Spike’s hurt, he’ll find some place to hide until nightfall. Then I can track him . . . ”
“I’m afraid Angel might be right, Charles,” Wesley said wearily. “There’s nothing more we can do for Spike at the moment, especially if he doesn't want to be found. Besides, the sun is already over the horizon and we haven’t much time. We should go.”
“I just hope you’re not too late, Angel...” Fred looked over her shoulder one last time before the big vampire put a comforting arm around her waist and started toward the street. He nodded silently to Wesley and Gunn, who picked up their remaining weapons with resignation and fell into step beside him.
~ * ~
Spike’s breath came in fits and starts as he crawled on his hands and knees over broken glass and debris toward a darkened corner on the factory floor. His pain-filled eyes searched frantically, looking for shelter from the rising sun that was beginning to filter in through the dirty windows and gaping ceiling, radiating beams of fire all around him.
The blood and gore from his fight earlier with the queen Selminth parasite still oozed off him like sticky syrup and the slashes on his skin from her blistering tentacles burned like molten lava. He had struck the killing blow to the creature, but not before she had done her worst, whipping him with her poisoned feelers while he had distracted her away from his beloved humans.
A searing stab of white-hot pain shot through his innards as his gut clenched again, making Spike crumple to the ground on his side, clutching his stomach. His face contorted into a twisted grimace and he moaned in agony as he drew his legs up to his chest and curled into a fetal position, trying to escape from the unrelenting hurt that was devouring his entire being.
Once the spasms had subsided somewhat, Spike tried to pull himself up to a standing position. He was growing weaker and weaker as he continued to bleed from his injuries; all he could manage to do was to wedge himself behind a pile of wooden pallets before he collapsed again. Sweat dripped off his face from the herculean effort but he was determined to find a safe haven before the sun flooded the factory and he dusted.
Spike knew that he couldn't depend on Angel to come for him with dawn fast approaching, so when he spotted a dirty mattress in the debris of a shadowy alcove, far enough away from the sun and any prying eyes, he breathed a sigh of relief. If he could just rest during the day, come nightfall, he might have enough strength to drag himself home to his apartment and the lifesaving blood that he had squirreled away there.
With the last of his strength, the small vampire rose and stumbled over to the foul-smelling bed and collapsed onto his knees beside it. Spike gingerly rolled his shoulders and let his leather duster fall to the floor, hissing in pain when the cool air hit the bloody gashes on his arms. He quietly surveyed the damage that the Selminth queen had inflicted on him with her poisoned tentacles, lightly tracing the wounds on his chest and forearms with shaking fingers.
“Bugger...” Spike whispered in awe.
It was worse than he could have imagined. Virulent neurotoxins were already in his system and would soon cause fever, hallucinations, paralysis, and finally, death.
~ tbc ~