Title: Dear Boy

Writer: Azure K Mello

Part: (8/?)

Rest can be found here:

Thanks for all the feedback!!

Challenge/plot bunny by Angela (who bears with me), who wanted chipped Spike interacting with human Darla and for Angel to swoop in playing our golden boy's brooding knight!

Not Beta-ed

Setting: After Angel's Untouched and set during Buffy's Crush which has been moved up in the time line as Dru went straight to Sunnydale and was never in LA.

Rated R

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Angel managed to walk out of the bar with a high head, haughty and cold. The minute the door shut behind him he broke into a run. In Sunnydale the roads were never empty and it was faster for him to run than to drive back to the crypt. After all he had his vampiric speed and he was even faster when agitated. The confrontation with Xander had confused him. The boy smelled of his childe. Xander was worried about Spike. He knew Spike's number by heart. It was all wrong. Angel wanted to rip Xander apart for touching his boy. But he knew it was simply jealousy and internalized disgust. He hated Xander because he knew he should have been the one to watch Spike, it was his job. And somehow he was able to displace his guilt and turn it into anger that he could aim at an easy target, he had never liked the idiot.

Three minutes later he was banging through Spike's door. He dropped down to Spike's bedroom. Spike seemed to be asleep. Silently he searched the small room for a mug and a microwave. He found both with little difficulty. As he opened the microwave door he flinched at the sight. There on the revolving dish sat two fangs a heart was drawn around them in blood. He hissed.

"Gelus, what's wrong?" asked Spike stirring into consciousness.

"I was just reminded for the thousandth time today that my sire is an evil bitch." Angel couldn't take his eyes off the teeth. Spike laughed and the noise kicked Angel into the real world and out of the place in his head that was *still* laughing and screaming. With a brush of his hand he swept the teeth away and placed the big mug of blood into the microwave. He didn't turn to his childe until the machine pinged. He replaced the mug in the microwave with another one and then carried the warm one to the bed. Standing above Spike he said softly, "Open your mouth." Spike raises a bloody eyebrow but did as he was told. Angel ran a finger over Spike's gums. The new teeth were breaking through. "Don't morph while drinking."

Laughing Spike said, "Ashamed? Don't want to see my real face as it reminds you of your own? I bet you love not having to see yourself in mirrors."

The slap was a surprise to the young vampire. It wasn't hard, just hard enough to make he pay attention. "The pain you feel has made it so that lesser hurts don't register. She ripped out your fucking teeth, you change and you'll rip your whole mouth apart. Don't play the game where you say something wrong just so I'll correct you. You know I was never ashamed of you."

"Since when?" asked Spike bitterly. He started to morph and then with a grimace of pain went back to his fully human look. "Ow, I thought you were bluffing."

Xander had bribed Willy with promises of keeping the man away from Buffy's rage if Willy let him go. As he walked into Spike's crypt he paused and listened to the angry and hurt voices below.

Watching Spike drink Angel just sighed at his boy's antics, "I've never been ashamed of you. You're my dear boy, you're my childe. And then I find out from Cordelia Fucking Chase that you're here? And that you told the girl child slayer that Dru sired you? What am I supposed to think? You just disclaim me? Why would you lie? Why didn't you tell her that I sired you?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer, William!" Shouted Angel. He regretted the action when Spike flinched.

The microwave pinged, "May I have another glass of blood?" asked Spike looking down at the bed.

"Of course. . . after you tell me the truth. Why didn't you come to me? Why, if you didn't want to be mine, did you go to her instead?"

"There is no one I want to belong to other than you. I wasn't trying to eradicate our past. I know you love her and I didn't want to add to the list of reasons why you feel ashamed when you see her. I mean you killed the watcher's girlfriend, you tortured him, you beat him up tonight, why add me to your list of sins?"

"One, why are you so sure I'm ashamed of you? You're the one good thing I've ever had a hand in. Two, I don't love Buffy, I obsessed over her, I felt great affection, but I never loved her. I've only ever loved one person."

"Darla," Spike confirmed.

"You! Why do you think Darla hates you? Because I've always loved you." He stood and retrieved the mug of blood from the machine, refilled the empty one and placed that one in the nuke. Opening the bottle, he drank half of the pig's blood cold, it was disgusting. Going over to Spike he handed his childe the warm mug and sat next to him. Spike crawled closer, instinctually needing to be close to his sire. He was practically on Angel's lap when the older vamp said, "I-"

A loud thud sounded and when Angel turned he saw Xander staring at his childe. Spike saw Xander and saw the horror in the human's face and buried his face in Angel's shoulder so as to not have to look at the man child. "you said you would take care of it."

"I thought I had."

"What the fuck is going on?" Xander was staring at the top of Spike's head. Why was the vampires face in ruins? What had that bastard done to his friend? "Start talking."

"Go away," Spike's words were muffled but Xander's reaction made it clear that he had understood.

Slowly Angel eased his childe off of his lap and back onto the bed. He blocked Xander's view with his back. Looking into Spike unblinkable eyes he said softly, "Drink your blood, ok? I'll be back in a minute." Spike nodded silently. Standing, he was at Xander's side with vampiric speed he pulled the boy upstairs with no concern for the boy's physical comfort.

Throwing Xander out side he slammed the door behind himself. "He told you not to come! You heard it from his own mouth. As his *friend* you should have stayed away."

"What did you do to him?" Xander's voice was small and scared but still angry.

"Don't be an idiot, boy, I don't have a fucking mark on me. What could have done that to him. Think, I know it's hard but just try to think."

"A human," said Xander softly.

"A human," confirmed Angel, "and now you, his favorite pet human has witnessed his humiliation. Leave, don't come back, stop the others from coming around, and forget everything you heard."

"You're his sire?"

"Technically I should pull you limb from limb. You have no right to eavesdrop on a sire and his childe. As it is, Spike likes you and so you get to go. But if you breath a word I'll kill you."

"You never loved her."

Angel sighed, "I fooled myself into believing I did." He looked the boy in the eye. "You may hate me. But if you tell her to will only cause her to hurt. I don't care one way or the other." Xander nodded and Angel took pity on the kid, "I'll have Spike call you in a few days, once I've gotten him settled in and well."

"You're taking him away?!?"

"I'm bringing him home." Angel turned and shut the crypt's door behind him.

The moon shone on the lone figure in the cemetery.