Title: Drawbacks
Author: Wicked R
Disclaimers: all characters belong to Mutant Enemy.
Genre: Angst, sub-genre: Hurt/Comfort aka sickfic.
Rating: same as good aul' Buff.
Set: late season 6 BtVS, late season 3 AtS. Spoilers accordingly, if any.
Summary: This is a version of one of my other fics, Crossings, rewritten with quite a lot of added angst and with Angel contemplating going into hibernation!) It starts the same, Drusilla lays a trap to both Angel and Spike, but this time in hope she can starve them enough to make them feed from the humans.
Pairings: B/S sorta, B/A sorta, X/Anya.
Warning: not beta read. English is not my first language, so don't expect the impossible from me.
Note: yes, I AM evil. And obsessed with stomachs. But you already knew that.
The older vampire was looking a bit dirty with numerous cuts and tears on his clothes as well as many smears of mud. His dark hair stood up in strange places. Peeking behind him, they could see a similar room to the one they arrived into. No doors or windows. Only that one corner of the room was filled with big stashes of tins.
"Would anybody be so kind and explain this to me? Is this a trap?" urged Giles."Sure," offered Angel, "I've been bound here for several now. It was Dru who put me here. She just had too many vampires working for her and I didn't have my friends with me. She didn't leave me any blood, just hundreds of tins of mixed fruit, carrots and ham. At least I know who she intended them for…""Right. What about that door we came in?" asked hurriedly Giles, realising that he stood in front of a hungry vampire."Locked. You can try it, but…there is some electronic mechanism to it, I wasn't able to figure it out. All I know is that it will automatically open in one-month time. It has a timer on. So, basically we don't have to worry too much…""Dru? But why?" asked Buffy."Why pet?" Spike was ready with the Drumetrics, "that would seem bloody obvious to me. The Fiend was working for Dru. Because she liked the idea of Angel and me munching on you too. A month is a long time without any blood. You'll have to be careful with us towards the end. I should've told you…Drusilla visited me a few weeks back, and when I told her I am yours now and you accepted me, she was quite pissed. It must be her way of revenge, not to mention the possibility of getting daddy to do evil things."Angel looked at Buffy, holding her eyes for a while. Spike was hers?"So, peaches, are you gonna fight me?" Spike gestured towards the sword he still kept in his hand after the battle with the Fiend.Angel ignored him for the time being, "Giles, would you like to take a look at that door? Just in case you could do something," he pressed. His demon was just below the surface, not sure if it wanted to stuff Spike, or jump on the food that moved in front of him. Angel moved backwards as far as he could, when Giles passed him.------
Having researched everything, they had to conclude the only thing that was possible to conclude, that there was nothing they could do until the door opened. Then, they could be ready for the big fight with Dru, or the Fiend, or whoever came. Spike didn't think the time they had to spend in there would be that hard to survive without food.Giles found a productive way to pass the time, he asked everyone to tell about the demons they met, so everybody can later use the knowledge. He also told them quite a lot he could remember from books. Anya was especially useful in demon describing matters.
They sat down in a circle, lying around talking. Angel was a bit to the side, apparently sharpening weapons, but more like lost in his own world. So far, he hadn't shared an intimate moment with Buffy, even though they had been there for over a day now, and she took it as a sign of jealousy towards Spike. With the two, she knew there would be some hostility to be expected in their own camp as well.
"…ugly, monkey-like creatures," Anya clarified Giles' question about the Kappas, "…are about the size of a ten year old child. At first glance they may appear ridiculous rather than demonic. They have saucer-shaped heads, yellowish-green skin, long noses, crazily staring round eyes, and a strange mixture of animal limbs…"
"How do you defeat them?" Giles asked his normal round up question they seemed to have played for the last few hours again.
"Dunno…but I saw Spike once with them!"
"Spike?" Giles turned towards the vampire inquisitively, but without any surprise in his voice.
The blond didn't respond, he didn't actually seem to have heard the enquiry. Instead, he stared in Angel's direction with scrunched eyebrows, as if he was involved in a different quiz. Buffy followed his gaze and saw Angel getting on with his activity, not even looking up. Nothing unusual in other words.
"Spike?" Giles was much louder now, "the Kappa? How do you kill the Kappa? Anya said you were familiar with them."
That, and Buffy's touch of his shoulder drew Spike out of his reverie, "huh? Kappa? What do you want with the Kappa? They live in Japanese villages and don't usually travel too far, unless water is involved."
"So where did you see Fangless with them?" Xander asked Anya.
"Japan of course."
"You saw Spike in Japan? You've been to Japan?"
"Uh, yeah, would be early twentieth century …is this relevant? We haven't even been introduced, or talking or anything, just I remember seeing him with some…no need for all that jealousy all the time…" Anya pouted her lips and leaned over for Xander's hand, which he ultimately gave her.
"Spike?" Giles took them back to the point.
Unfortunately by this time the addressee was back to being lost in reverie the exact same way. Buffy followed his gaze again, then patted him hard on his leg. Funny how Anya was talking about jealousy.
"Ouch! Yeah, right Kappa. Kappas have one weakness. Beating them is in fact a walk in the park if you know what to do. Their concave, saucer-shaped heads are filled with water. It is this water which gives them their strength. If one is able to jostle a Kappa so as to make him spill the water, the demon loses his power and can easily be subdued…"
"I didn't mean about that, come with me," Buffy pulled Spike back to the wall. Giles scribbled down the information, Xander and Anya were involved with each other. "What is it with this staring?" she whispered to Spike, "I want peace! Can I have peace? The last thing I'd wish for is the two of you on each other's throats because of me or for any other stupid reason. Well, I didn't mean I was stupid, but…""You should talk to him."
"I will. Later. But first I'm talking to you. Maybe if I ask the both of you to stop this nonsense? Just forget it, right it's pointless asking either of you…"
"No. I mean ask him why he is so reserved."
"Reserved? That's what he is like usually. Standoffish. And given that you are playing body guard to me most of the time, I wouldn't be surprised if he…"
"No, Buffy. It has nothing to do with jealousy. I know my Sire. He is in pain. A lot of physical pain if I might add."
"You…you sure?" Buffy looked in his ex's direction. Angel was glancing at them, pointing a finger furiously at Spike, then sheepishly looked away, their eyes only meeting for a millisecond. He stood up and irately walked to the far away corner.
"Why?" Buffy enquired further, "how can you know? You smell blood on him? Was he injured?"
Spike shrugged, "that little while he spent here before we arrived? I think it's more like several weeks. Hunger pains would kick in…" he suddenly lifted his chin, indicative of his Sire.
"He heard us?" Buffy asked Spike. Although she knew a lot about vampire super hearing, she never actually experienced it first hand, so she wasn't sure.
"The rough idea, I think," Spike clarified.
Buffy moved to the place Angel was standing with his back towards her, still holding his sword, "Angel…are you all right?""I'm fine," Angel took a few steps away from her.
"Spike tells me you are in pain," Buffy said as she started to follow him.
"I'm in pain?! In pain?? Damn well I am. How could I have been so thick? How had I misjudge you so badly? Spike? How could you? Do I know you at all? I worshipped you! You were my temple of adoration!" Right enough, a big chasm of dark filled pain revealed itself in his eyes as he turned to look at her that Buffy had an urge to make it right there and then and put out a hand to reach him. Angel turned away from her again, "I cherished you, idolised you, treasured you, longed for you Buffy. What were you thinking?" He started to raise his voice now, everybody hearing their conversation now, "Spike…vampires are merciless killers, extortioners that exploit and ruin everything!"
Giles looked up at him, funnily scrunching his eyebrows, obviously amused.
"How is it I never thought that," uttered Xander.
Buffy was slightly amused and annoyed at the same time as well, "are you giving me a lesson about vamps? God, you're worse than Giles. Or gonna give me into trouble for having fun with a vamp? Of course, you wouldn't know about the fun part."
"Just the Spike part," Angel was shouting in her face, "he doesn't have a soul, Buffy. Only a restraint that was squeezed into his skull. You suppose he'd be in spite of everything all cuddles if that processing unit clogged up? Would you nonetheless count on him after that? Did you forget how he plotted against us?"
"Don't push my buttons Angel. I didn't forget anything. I never forgot how he saved me and the world from Angelu…you!"
"He did it for Dru, not you."
"Yes, he did it for love. Love above all. For a vamp, an ordinary vampire, that would be a very desirable characteristic now wouldn't it? I had enough of this! I have to defend myself in front of everyone because of this! You don't know how it was. I don't have to defend myself. You are the one in question here…"
"I…" Angel squeezed his shuddering palms in uncontrolled jealousy and he broke his sword in two, sound ringing across the room. Everybody's eyes turned to him again as he was dropping the broken pieces down onto the floor. He brought his hands up to cross them in front of his chest, but as he bent over a little, his arms were pressing against his belly instead as if the argument would've upset his stomach even more, "it hurts very much," he admitted, shivering, face pleading and contorted in suffering as he spoke, "satisfied? Now leave me alone!"
"You…you should lie down."
"Leave me alone. I don't need your help.""Angel, please…"
"As you wish," Angel whispered quietly in a strange puffing voice and settled down in the corner, half lying, half sitting, with his knees bent, not looking at her and quite obviously not wanting anything to do with her.Buffy had no choice but to go back to the rest of the group.
"What's going on?" Xander confronted her immediately.
"He hasn't had any blood in a few weeks."
"You mean he could go homicidal maniac on us any time now? Not that would be a distant possibility in normal circumstances as well…"
"I'm sure that won't happen. He is in control."
"In control? That's what you call control? He is already on the verge of insanity."
"He doesn't act like it to me. His face never changed, now did it?"
"Come on, we all know it," Xander tried to convince his friend.
"We just need to leave him alone," Buffy tried to assure everybody. It didn't help her either that Spike was still staring at his Sire.
Neither did the blond vampire's mumblings, "fighting it all, trying to reclaim a hold on the mind, calm the screaming of the devil inside…"
"We'll stay in control," Giles cut him off, "we'll keep watch, only sleep in turns."