-1A/N: Alright, I AU'ed the shit outta this story in answer to a challenge from my buddy Nicholas di Vilance. So, my real concern is that she enjoys it, anyone else liking it is an added bonus… but please review either way

Hugs, Sithy

A searing pain shot up Scud's side as he tried to sit up from the table. "Fuck!"

His hiss of pain reverberated throughout the dark room, letting him know it was big, almost as big at the last warehouse he and Blade had been in. The bleary memory of what had caused his wound didn't seem willing to surface until he saw the glistening of sunglasses in the shadows. The outline of the form he'd come to know and love, hate and despise, loomed like the gnawing guilt in his stomach.

"Why didn't you just fuckin' kill me," Scud spat, remembering how he's just barely survived the unexpected explosion only to find Blade's sword at his throat. "If you knew from the start, why didn't you kill me then?"

"You were a lover, not a fighter," Blade responded, his voice a dark, cruel satin against Scud's skin. "A scared little animal with its tail tucked between its legs. Pissing yourself every few minutes."

"Fuck you," he grumbled, wincing as he pressed a hand to his side.

A split second later, Blade was there, pushing him roughly back down on the table, one hand holding him down by the neck. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Scud. I kept you around because I could smell the vampire on you, but you were just chicken-shit enough that I could scare you into doing all the mechanical work that needed to be done so that I could take care of your suckhead friends."

"Aw, come on, B," Scud laughed weakly, showing a sense of bravado they both knew he lacked. "You loved me more than that, didn'tcha?"

"You were a means to an end," Blade replied smoothly, baring his teeth a bit. "On both sides. The vampires used you to get to me, but once they had me, you would have been just another meal. You were just too stupid to see that."

Anger rose in Scud, mostly because he knew Blade was right, but also because even as he was lying in complete pain, Blade would be cold-hearted.

"You wanna know why I became a familiar" he asked hotly. "Why I helped them get to you?"

Blade leaned down a little before hissing "I don't care."

And that was exactly the reason why. All his life, Scud had just wanted someone he could depend on; deep down, he needed someone stronger than him who would always have his back no matter how stupid or mouthy he got. The vampires had given him that for a while, though they had started treating him more like an errand boy. But when they sent him to infiltrate Blade's operation, it opened his eyes. He had been willing, so willing to give up being a familiar if Blade would be his protector, his champion. Yet Blade's sole mission had been to get his precious Whistler back, and Scud had become… jealous.

"You fucked up when you sided with the vampires," Blade continued. "But I told you when I took you in that I wouldn't be the one to kill you. Because I liked you so much, I'll keep my word this time. I won't kill you."

"B," Scud asked, voice suddenly sounding worried.

Without warning, Blade pushed back the bandana from Scud's forehead and brushed his lips over the skin there. Immediately, Scud grabbed the lapels of Blade's coat and pressed their mouths together. But Blade's lips were unyielding, even as Scud's silently pleaded for more. It was put to an end when a gloved hand pressed hard into Scud's injured side, making him spasm and cry out in pain.

"Is that what you wanted, Scud," Blade asked grimly.

"Yeah," he nodded weakly, eyes closed. "Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted."

Blade's gloved fingers slid over Scud's lips, smearing blood from the wound. "Get used to the taste of blood, Josh."

Scud's eyes flew open at the sound of his real name. He looked at his reflection in Blade's sunglasses and wished he could see what was going on in those eyes. He was sure nothingness would be staring back at him, but still he wished to see, if only so that the seed of hope gnawing at his gut could be completely and thoroughly squashed.

"You said you wanted to be a pet," Blade hissed slightly. "You'll get your wish. You'll be a regular suck-puppy."

Eyes widening, Scud tried to keep his lower lip from quivering. "No, B. Please, no."

"There are two suck heads though that door. When I leave, they come in," Blade informed coldly. "If they don't bleed you dry, and you wake up a vampire, I suggest you stake yourself. "Cause the first time you taste human blood, your ass is mine."

He started to move away from the table, back into the shadows. Once hand on his side, Scud reached after him. "Blade! Please don't leave me!"

But he already knew Blade was gone, and he did his best to stop the tears that were filling his eyes. There was the sound of a door opening behind him. He turned over just in time to hear a lilting, ethereal female voice echo "Scud… We've been waiting for you."