Chapter One – Rainy Realization

It was raining down in L.A. Everyone felt subdued by the gloomy weather, with the occasional flashes of lightning adding to the oppression. The rain suited Angel just fine. It added to his broody mood, making him look even more dangerous and remote.

He still couldn't believe what he had done a couple of months ago. He had met Darla, resurrected by Wolfram and Hart as a mortal woman then. He had gotten to know her again, as a human this time around, and then he couldn't help but fall for the woman again. He even made the gravest mistake of bedding his former sire.

It had been glorious, getting to know his sire in a way many of his kind didn't have a chance to – when their sire was human. Most either were long dead or still one of the undead. Though technically that meant that you were still dead.

When he had found out about her involvement with Wolfram and Hart, Angel had been devastated. He had hoped that this time around Darla was redeemable. He of course didn't know that his sire had steadily been falling for him in her human guise. Then they had found out about Darla's terminal condition from Lindsey and Holland, a by-product of her resurrection.

Darla had come to the decision to be with Angel, come what may. However, an irresistible offer by the law firm had caught her attention. She wouldn't need to die and she would have Angel forever. After carefully planning her one night with Angel as a mortal and nearly succeeding in her plans to have him turn her (all the idea of Wolfram and Heart), Angel left, leaving his heart with her, something the law firm had been trying to achieve all along.

Angel didn't know what to do. On one hand he had the woman he had once loved and might still be in love with. On the other he had his friends to think about after their very real break-up all those weeks ago over her. In the end he had chosen to stand by his friends.

So lost in his internal musings, Angel didn't hear the knocking on his door. A crash of lightning masked the sound of his door opening, revealing a young woman in a black tank top and jeans. She walked into the room silently, intent on surprising the vampire within. She needn't have done so; he wouldn't have noticed even if a Fyarl demon came waltzing in wearing a two-piece bikini set.

"Hey Angel, I heard that you've been getting the broody look down pat again. I know that you have an image to keep up, being the Big Bad and all, but really, enough is enough. What's bugging you?"

Angel turned to look at the woman in surprise. Her long dark hair framed her heart shaped face in a dark halo, her dark eyes seeming like molten chocolate. With her small build and understated allure, she seemed like some dark angel, knocking at his door to deal out retribution for all his sins of past. She had nearly done so, once, but it had ended well.

"Faith," he said, warmth creeping unnoticed into his voice. He didn't realise how his spirits lifted a bit whenever she was there, especially after not seeing her for a few weeks.

"Yup. it's lil' old me, here in the flesh. Again." She said, referring to the time when she had run to L.A. to seek his guidance and was mislead into killing him. Or trying to. "How have you been, Angel?" she asked, trying to lighten his mood. Apparently, it wasn't the right thing to say.

Angel's face that had lit up when she came into his room immediately clouded up again. He had returned to his broody mood again. Faith sighed, her facial features softening in the light. There was definitely a lot on his mind, so much so that he didn't even give her the customary one-armed hug reserved for her alone.

"What's going on, Angel? I couldn't get anything out of Cordy when I saw her just now. She was quite tight-lipped, only said that you had gone broody again and locked yourself in your room." Faith asked, a frown appearing between her brows. That wasn't all that the former Queen bee of Sunnydale had said, but that was conversation not meant for Angel's ears. She didn't want to cause the team to break up again over something as trivial as her.

Angel just sighed, prompting Faith to lead him to the bed and take a seat. She patted the space beside her, indicating that she wanted him to sit. Angel reluctantly complied, nothing else he could do then.

"Tell me what's wrong." Faith coaxed. Angel had done this for her several times before; it was time she returned the favour. Even if she couldn't do anything, at least he would get it off his chest. A burden shared was a burden halved, right?

"It's nothing really, just have some things on my mind," the vampire said, purposely not saying a thing about his internal struggles and turmoil. He didn't need anyone else to know what was going on in his life right now; besides they wouldn't understand. He had tried to unload it all on Cordy before, that hadn't turned out too well. She had ended up shouting at him for forsaking his friends and tuning his back on his job.

Angel snorted. Job. Yeah, his job, or the more correct term to it was his atonement to human kind for all the pain and suffering he had caused during his earlier years as he ran around Europe with the Master, Darla, Drusilla his childe and William his grandchilde of sorts. At that time they had been part of the Order of Aurelius, an order that was said to have been descended from Dracula himself. Angelus, the darker side of him, had great fun causing all the terror and pain to the general populace of Europe, in fact he reveled in the destruction caused in his wake.

Of course, all of that had been put to an end by the gypsies curse. He had gained a conscience, and the entire troop had dropped him like a sack of hot potatoes. Darla had been especially cruel, calling him weak like William. Angelus had not liked that, he resented his pansy grandchilde even more after that. Now he heard that William, no Spike, was in Sunnydale, chumming up with Buffy.

Well, he couldn't do a thing about that issue. Buffy was a big girl, she knew how to handle herself. Besides, who was he to dictate how Buffy led her life? Hadn't he himself hurt her and nearly kill her when he took her innocence away? He was a monster, one who didn't deserve to live after all the things that he had done to mankind. If he didn't have to atone for his sins and if he was one of weak resolve and without purpose in life, he would have greeted the dawn a long time ago.

"Why are you here?" Angel asked, suddenly realizing who exactly was in the room with him. "How did you get out of prison? When did you get out? If you escaped from the law then we are all in trouble." Angel said, blasting off immediately in his concern for Faith's safety.

"Calm down, Angel." My big bad vampire, she added silently. "I didn't escape from prison, I was released just two days ago. It took me two days to get to L.A on foot, I got lost once and ended up halfway out of the state before I asked for directions and got it right". She didn't say though that she had been nearly mauled by the person who gave her directions, turns out he was a vampire in disguise. Her Slayer senses hadn't been used for so long that she had gotten rusty, so rusty that she couldn't even distinguish man from vampire. She'd have to rectify that soon, or else she was one dead Slayer.

She had gotten to L.A without any further mishap, after she had dusted the misleading vamp first. It had been a cloudy day to begin with and then it had started to rain around mid-morning, effectively sending people diving for cover, which in turn made her journey to the Hyperion much easier and there was a lesser chance of people recognizing her. Although what she did back in Sunnydale wouldn't garner that much attention here in such a big city, she still had this irrational fear of people knowing what she had done. She was rightly ashamed of her actions, and she wished to repent.

"So, you're perfecting the ' I'm-a-bad-ass-vampire-who-doesn't-give-a-damn-what-you-think-so-leave-me-the-hell-alone " look? Sorry to have to break your bubble, but it doesn't exactly work that well, especially for someone like you. I've tried it, and I can safely vouch for the fact that it just don't work. Coming from a person who has been through the slammer, you've gotta believe me on this." she added.

"Faith, I didn't mean to remind you about ..." Angel started to say but he was cut off by a wave from Faith's hand.

"It's okay, I don't mind, so why should you get so heated up about it?" she said airily, secretly pleased that the effect that she had been going for had worked, and he had been slowly coming out of his funk. However, he could just as easily slip back in, so she needed to do something to distract him from his moody thoughts. Suddenly, inspiration hit.

"Get up." she ordered, standing from his bed rapidly, ignoring the urge to sit back down and sniff the pillows. Angel looked at her quizzically, not understanding her sudden change in mood. She had been teasing at first, but now she was very serious, as if there was something important that she wanted him to do.

Reluctantly, Angel stood up. Faith immediately started dragging him in the direction of the stairs, intent on going somewhere.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked, puzzled as to what was going on in that pretty little head of hers.

"Is there any place with a big open space in this building?" Faith asked him instead, ignoring his question for the time being. She turned to look at him, not once faltering in her stride, head cocked to a side, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, there's the old ballroom up on the fourth floor..." Angel said, before he dragged upwards to the ballroom.

It took them about five minutes to reach the cavernous ballroom. Although it was old and had cobwebs hanging from parts of the ceiling, it was still in relatively good shape.

Faith surveyed the room with an air of satisfaction. This room was perfect for what she had in mind. Wide open spaces, not too much clutter on the floor, drapes over the windows to block out any sunlight that might accidentally spill into the room; simply put, absolute perfection.

She turned to look at Angel and slowly backed away several steps. He made to follow her, an unasked question on his lips, but Faith stopped him with a raised hand. He paused, unsure what she had in mind as she backed up some more. After she was satisfied with the distance between them, she opened her mouth to utter the most unthinkable words Angel had ever heard.

"Hit me." she said.

His face must have registered the shock he was feeling at that moment, because she repeated her previous statement.

"Hit me." she intoned again. "Or are you too afraid of loosing to me, a Slayer?" she said in a jeering tone.

"Faith, what are you doing? I absolutely won't fight you." he said, not even riled up a bit by her calling him a coward.

"Come on, I know that you want to fight me. I'm ready, so hit me. Or do you think that you will come up short?" she added even more insults to the mix, hoping against hope that his demon would take the bait.

"No." came his clipped reply. "I don't know what you're aiming at but this has got to stop." Angel said turning to leave before his demon got out of hand. Her words had struck a nerve that he didn't know was there, and his demon was raring for a fight.

Faith huffed in frustration. This man could be so infuriating at times. Well, if you had to get something done, best to do it yourself. Just as he turned to walk away, she took a running leap and crashed into his back, sending him flying to the opposite wall. She quickly jumped off as he turned and sent a fist swinging her way. It connected with a nearby chair, which immediately shattered upon impact.

"Is that all that you have?" Faith taunted as Angel stood back up. "Come on, gimme all that you got." she said, quirking a finger in his direction.

Angel snarled, leaping at her. Partly it was from the anger of his demon; another part was him trying desperately to tamp his demon down. It wasn't working so far as he sent a roundhouse punch to Faith's left ribcage before sweeping his legs under her feet and jabbing her in the back.

Faith leaped away, narrowly avoiding the sweep to her legs or the jab to her back. However, she didn't see the punch that came from her right. It came out of nowhere, crashing into her right side, sending her flying several feet into the air before falling back down to the ground.

"Is that all that you've got, Slayer? I expected more from you, the supposed dark Slayer." the demon in Angel taunted, as he had completely vamped out during the few seconds it took for Faith to be knocked off her feet. "You did come and try to kill me before." he added derisively. "Where did that creature go?"

"It's right here." Faith replied snarkily as she launched herself across the room, knocking her whole body into Angel's.

Angel retaliated by punching Faith in the gut. He wanted to hold back, but his demon demanded that he teach the little upstart Slayer her place. He practically lost control of him. There was no stopping him now. He might have been able to before, when his demon wasn't so angry, but now it wanted, no, demanded satisfaction. It would not rest until it was satisfied that the Slayer had learned her lesson, and learned it well. She should never go against her Lord and Master again.

Wait, where did that thought come from? Angel was distracted momentarily, before he banished the odd thoughts from his head and focused on the battle before him. He observed the fight as if he was outside his body, watching as the two combatants circled each other, looking for each others weaknesses. They traded blows occasionally, his connecting more often than not. His demon smiled in approval as the Slayer barely flinched whenever a blow connected with her body. It was as if she was made of stone, where she couldn't feel the sting of the wounds inflicted by him.

Faith watched Angel's face as she circled him. She had been gunning for this reaction all along; this came as no surprise to her. She had wanted to make him forget whatever it was that had made him broody; she had succeeded in that respect. She had wanted to see the old Angel, the one that had fought her ferociously on the day they first met, not the Angel that had been tamed by Buffy. That was not the real him; this was Angel. Strong, ferocious, deadly, beautiful in all his demonic glory. Not that she condoned him becoming Angelus, that was an abomination in and of itself. No, this Angel, the one that was free to fight her without reservations, the one that gave in to his demon side without losing touch with his humanity; that was the real Angel.

This was how she envisioned him to be; the dominant Master vampire whose feet she would willingly lay down at. Momentarily sidetracked by this thought, it was all the incentive that Angel needed. This was the opportunity that he had been waiting for. He pounced on her, and succeeded in pinning her to the ground as they crashed against the wall/floor several feet away. For the fist time that night, Faith whimpered as something deep inside her stirred at the masterful way that Angel was handling her.

The sound only seemed to encourage Angel more. He slid into his human visage effortlessly while still exuding the aura of a Master vamp. He placed a hand around Faith's neck and bent her head slightly backward, revealing the creamy flesh of her skin to him He bent nearer, his cool breath just inches away from her cheeks.

"Yield to me." he commanded, eliciting another whimper form Faith, but no other sound came out of her mouth. He growled, not happy with her lack of vocalization of her defeat.

"Yield to me." he said in a softer voice, yet beneath it was an undercurrent of his demands. He emphasized the point by putting a bit more pressure on Faith's neck. She seemed to crumple beneath his commands, opening her mouth to utter four life altering words.

"I yield to you." she whispered.

Angel smiled, a deep sense of satisfaction bubbling from within him. But something else seemed to be missing, something crucial to his dominion over her.

"Say that you belong to me." he demanded again, tilting her neck to the side a bit and breathing into her ear. " Say that you are mine. Say it!"

"I'm yours." she intoned softly. The demon in Angel roared his approval, and swooped in to seal the deal. Extending his long incisors, Angel pierced into the soft flesh of Faith's neck and took a deep drink.

It was like heaven exploded into his mouth. The blood that flowed over his tongue was unlike anything he had ever tasted before in all his undead life. There was a hint of honey and cinnamon, but the most predominant taste was that of spice. Some unknown spice that reminded him distinctly of Faith. Sweet and tangy with a hint of spicy, just like the owner of the blood. He pulled her closer, smirking as she gave another whimper of surrender. It was heady, almost like how a drug addict would feel should he be high on drugs, and he couldn't seem to get enough of it.

Faith could only lie limp in Angel's arms as he fed on her life's essence. She could feel the slivers of power that were slipping through their connection as he commanded that her entire will surrender to him. He didn't know that her whole heart and soul was his for the taking, his to with whatever he wished. She was his, in almost all sense of the word except through the flesh. That was something she dared not ask for, lest he brush her away and send her heart shattering to the floor. That, and perhaps his heart in return, unattainable goals that seemed miles away from where she was.

Suddenly, the texture of the blood changed. It started to taste thin and lifeless, bringing a whiff of death with it. Angel stopped drinking, eliciting a moan from the woman in his arms. He had to act fast; he was slowly but surely loosing her. His demon roared in anger and defiance; none would take away what was rightfully theirs, not even Death himself. Acting on instinct, Angel unlatched himself from Faith's neck and bit into his own wrist. He let the crimson fluid drip steadily into Faith's mouth, making her colour return slightly, but it was still not enough. She was fading fast.

He tore his shirt open and slashed a cut over his unbeating dead heart. He then placed her mouth over the cut, urging the beautiful brunette to feed. She latched on listlessly, most of the blood spilling down his torso, but enough went into her system to keep her alive. Her colour returned fully, a fact which made his demon crow in triumph and pride. His mate was fighter, a worthy opponent and equal for them.

"Mate?" Angel said quietly, mulling things over in his mind. He realized with a bit of horror and also a huge sense of satisfaction what exactly he had done.

"Shit. I claimed her." he said under his breath. However, he did not regret doing so. Only then did he realize the truth, he had been steadily falling in love with Faith since they had met all those years ago. He smiled then, truly accepting the inevitable reality. He was in love with Faith, and that had been his main cause of agonizing over his tryst with Darla. He had known unconsciously that he was cheating on his mate. However, right now he needed to...

"Oh my God! What is going on here?!" a shrill voice shrieked form the ballroom doorway. Angel turned, grimacing.

Oh shit.

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Author's Note: Okay you guys, I'm leaving you with the first chapter of "Faith's Champion". Hope you guys like it and please review!!! Also thanks to BrownPaperBag51 for the review. Keep reviewing and adding me on your alerts and I will update as soon as I can.

Tata and see you soon!!!