Ripper Returns
Nicole Clevenger ©2000
Disclaimer: Not mine. Blah blah blah. Don't sue. Blah blah blah.
Note: This is a slash story. No sex, but definite m/m action. You've been warned.
You know, I've seen a lot of bizarre things in my day. But I have to say that this takes the whole bloody cake.
He came to see me in the middle of the afternoon, waking me up from a dream of my girl. Well, my *ex*girl, I suppose. But only because I don't know where she is. You watch -- The second we run into each other again things are going to be just like they used to be. The two of us. A team. *The* team.
The A Team?
Jesus, this lack of warm blood is making me positively batty. And, no, I've never even seen the A Team. Stupid things like that just keep popping into my head and refusing to budge. I for one am tired of it. I'm totally convinced that this is yet another side effect of whatever those commando bastards did to me.
I can't wait until I'm all better again. Then they'll learn that this vamp is not to be messed with.
Where was I? Can't concentrate at all anymore either. Right, right… She was there, in my arms. I could *taste* her, feel the silky smoothness of her skin against mine… And a godawful racket at my front door pulled her away like she had never been there. Okay, so she *hadn't* been there. But you get the idea. Don't try to tell me no one's ever woken you up from a dream like that.
Pounding, pounding, pounding… Whoever it was was knocking like they were trying to wake the dead. Which they had. Me. I got up and moved to the door, grumbling loudly.
I pulled the heavy crypt door open, standing almost behind it so as not to get in the way of any evil rays of light trying to sneak over my doorstep. "What?" I growled from the shadows, all menacing-like. I may not be able to bite them, but that doesn't mean they have to know that.
He just walked right in, calm as could be, and started looking around like he owned the place. Pissed me off. I may be… *deficient* in some areas these days, but I know I'm still scary. Hell, even those meddling kids still flinch every once in a while… Dammit!
I shut the door as hard as I could, getting a small but satisfying slam out of it. That made him turn around. He was wearing jeans, which seemed a little odd to me. Not that I'm saying the man shouldn't be able to relax a little, but I just didn't think I had ever seen his Midday Casual look. I wondered to what I owed the honor.
There was something else though. Something different about him, other than just the clothes. He just *stood* there, looking me over. Like he hadn't just seen me a few days ago… In fact, the whole way he'd been looking around the place was like someone who was seeing something for the first time. My mind flashed back to that whole demon incident a bit back. I fought down a groan. Was this going to be another babysitting job? I didn't even end up getting paid for the last one…
He wasn't wearing his glasses. Didn't he always wear those glasses? They were some kind of requirement for the whole Librarian Look, right? I tried to remember any time when I might have seen him without, but nothing was coming to me. White T-shirt, jeans, no glasses… Probably some kind of evil double thing, I decided. Well, okay, no problem... Push him out the door, go back to bed, let the Scooby Gang deal with it. They liked that sort of thing.
He was still looking at me, not moving. "What?" I repeated.
A slow smile spread across his face. A very *un*librarian type smile. He gestured to the room. "I've heard about this place. 'Bout you."
Evil double was looking more and more on the spot here. "Yeah? And?" Two could play at this.
He moved closer to me, stalking right on up like a cat. That crazy smile was still there. He was close enough to touch. "And they didn't do either justice."
He moved away, back to his surveillance of my place. I blinked hard, letting out a slow, controlled breath. What the bloody hell was *that*? I could still smell his aftershave. Cor… Okay, I was ready to know exactly what was going on here. And if I found out that this was some kind of joke…
I leaned against a stone pillar, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. "Why don't you tell me just what this is, eh mate?"
He turned from where he was, near my bed. I half expected him to approach again, but instead he just smiled that smile and sat down. Make yourself comfortable, eh?
"That's right, we haven't met yet. Ripper's the name."
Ripper? This had to be a joke. Because I just couldn't imagine any self-respecting evil double coming up with a name like that. "Uh-huh. And where exactly is the Bookmaster?"
His brow furrowed. It was the first time since he walked in that I had seen him not totally in control. "Who?"
I sighed. If this was a game, it was running a little long. "The librarian. The one whose body you're wearing?"
He shrugged it off. "Don't know him. But he sounds good looking."
Cor, I think that was actually some kind of *leer* on his face. I wasn't sure whether I was nauseated or intrigued. I mean, this was the Bookworm here. But it was kind of attractive. Much better than that helpless lost thing he's usually doing…
And he was on his feet, coming toward me again. I stayed where I was, watching him warily. I wasn't sure that this was some kind of gag on me. Because, if it was, than this man was a much better actor than I ever would have given him credit for. And I really doubted that.
"Look," I said finally. "What is this? Because I'm getting more than a little tir--"
"Shut up," he commanded. And then he kissed me.
Had me right up against that bloody post, pinned like a helpless baby. His lips were on mine, all hot and demanding and delicious. Salty. I could feel myself changing, shifting into vamp-mode. My fangs pushed down, cutting into him, but he just kissed back all the harder. And then the exquisite, indescribable taste of human blood, trickling warm and inescapable over my tongue. I thought I was going to collapse from the sheer pleasure of it...
Blinding pain, searing through my temples and blocking out all else. I was on the floor before I realized what was going on, cradling my head and breathing hard. I licked my lips, still tasting his blood. What happened? I must have pushed too far, tried to take too much, and that damned implant kicked in. I smacked the floor in frustration, willing my eyes to refocus.
When they did, they refocused on this Ripper person, squatting in front of me. "What happened to you? Jesus," he said, shaking his head. "I've never done that to someone before."
He pulled me to my feet, dragging a hand across his bleeding mouth. "You okay?" he asked.
I was still holding my head, afraid that if I let go too soon, it would fall off. "Bloody great," I mumbled. We looked like two chaps who'd just gotten into a drunken fist fight or something. My head throbbed in time to a nonexistent heartbeat. I knew from experience that this wasn't going to go away for a while.
I also knew that this was not my local librarian. Evil double, maybe. But there's no way he'd carry a joke this far. Something else was going on. So I asked him again.
"What, you've never been kissed by a guy before?" was his response. Bloody human, daring me to take offense.
"Didn't say that. It's just that the *particular* guy you're masquerading as would as soon kill me as look at me. I know you're not him. So what's this about, mate?" I was getting a little tired of repeating myself today.
He shrugged again. I resisted the urge just to say fuck it and tear his head off, but only because I knew it would hurt me and not him. So I settled for just glaring hard in his direction.
"Don't know," he said. "I woke up in some house with a bloody big bump on my head. Don't remember how I got there, right? So I'm thinking about what I should do, and I remember hearing about you and this place… Seemed like it would be more interesting than sitting around that house, waiting for the owners to come home and find me. Hell, maybe I even live there. But I'm here now…" he finished, eyeing me.
"You don't remember anything?" I rubbed my eyes, trying to will the headache away.
"Nope. Like I said, nothing."
"But you knew about me."
"Said that too." He moved in close again. "Too much talking," he murmured.
Whoa… I knew what was coming next. I took a step back. "Look, doesn't that seem a little… oh, I don't know… *odd* to you? Who'd you hear about me from?"
"No idea."
He took another step forward, his breath warm on my neck. It was becoming increasingly hard to concentrate, what with the dull pounding in my skull and the vision in front of me. His smooth, pale neck was just inches from my nose. I could smell his blood, see the dark blue vein just under the surface. I was starting to change again, but I fought to hold back. This wasn't going to work.
And it was so bloody unfair.
This human, this stupid human, *offering* himself up to me, and me totally unable to do anything about it. My hands curled into fists, my nails digging into my palms. My breath was coming in short gasps now. I was struggling badly. The bloodlust was taking over, swarming across my vision like a red cloud. I wanted him. I wanted him so badly…
The world exploded, and I was on the floor again. I wanted to cry I was so damned frustrated. Me, William the Bloody, torturer of hundreds, reduced to a quivering useless heap on the floor of his own tomb. That made me want to cry even more.
Okay, suck it up. Despite the pain in my head, I managed to get myself into a sitting position. Better. Except he was looking down at me, that familiar confusion all over his face as usual. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing," I growled.
I had to think, sort all this out. If he was an evil double, shouldn't he be more… evil? But not the book man. No way. Though I doubted I'd ever be able to look at the librarian in the same way again, after all this. He said he'd hit his head… Some kind of alternate personality here? Then this really was the Bookworm.
I liked him much better this way.
He moved down onto the floor, sitting next to me. "Maybe we should just stay down here, hmmm?"
What? Understand, I'm as up for a shag as the next guy -- hell, usually even more than the next guy. But this was the *librarian* here. Mr. Fight for the Side of Good and all. Leader of that little pack of Save the Worlders. And he might not know who he was or what he was doing right now, but I did. And I was fully aware that any perceived "wrong-doing" on my part put me up for a solid beating from the Slayer. Any other time I would have said sure, let's have a go and I'll get a good fight out of it after. But -- as much as I loathe to admit it -- I can't fight her now. Not until I get better.
And I was pretty much tired of getting my ass kicked.
He moved closer, and I put a hand on his chest, pushing him away. "Can't." I said.
A small evil smile played at the corners of his mouth. "Sure you can. Why not?"
"Slayer."
"What's a Slayer?"
"Oh, sure. Of course. You remember me, but not the Slayer? Look, mate, I'm flattered, really, but this isn't gonna happen. You'll see that I'm right later, when you get your head back."
He shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about. And the only plans I have for later is for you and I to go out and make a mess or two of this town. After we get to know each other better…"
He reached out and touched the side of my face. I could smell him again, could feel my body fighting to shift…
We got to know each other, alright. But you don't get all the details this time. Let's just say that when it was over, I knew things about that librarian that I had never even guessed at. I ached all over, and my head felt like it was going to hurt until the day I finally got staked. Not that I'm complaining, understand….
I wondered as he left what exactly he was going to tell that little crew of his. I just wish I could be there to see it.
End