I only own Carma.
"No, no, the best time was Japan! When Darla fell flat on her face in that table."
"I suppose you might have a point there lad."
"Don't call me 'lad' Angelus, I'm older than you are."
Then for no reason the two vampires burst into laughter again, neither of them had laughed this much in decades, it was probably all the drinks they'd had. Angelus had wanted to try all of the new liquors available, and of course he'd talked Spike into it. It had been a very interesting night that would culminate in a blinding hangover the next morning, but at that moment they were enjoying themselves, Spike especially. He'd really missed Angelus, not the crazy, sadistic bastard that emerged after Angel shagged Buffy, but the vampire that took him out for nights on the town, the vampire that was continuously buying William and Spike presents, he knew he'd been thinking that pretty much constantly since they appeared but he couldn't help it, he'd missed his sire.
After a few wrong turns and the creation of various dented signposts and walls they finally made their way back to Revello Drive. It took them a while but eventually they identified the house that William and Carma had chosen, it would appear that draining a bar of anything that even remotely resembled alcohol impaired the sense of smell.
"Sun will be up soon."
"Yep."
Spike didn't look at Angelus as he spoke; he was more interested in the thorny vine that had hooked itself into his coat. He did look up at the next words that came out of the darker vampires mouth though.
"You're welcome to stay with us if you want?"
That drew Spike's head up to meet Angelus's eyes, and it nearly shocked him into sobriety. It was then that Spike realised something, Angel would never even consider it. Even though Angel refused to accept Spike as childe, he wouldn't accept him as a master vampire in his own right, capable if he wanted of creating his own family. But although Angelus was giving him the choice of having a sire he was also allowing him to be the master that he was, to live apart from his sire and to be independent, like a child who has left home but still has a strong relationship with his parents.
"I think I should probably stay with Buffy and the girls. If the Bringers come they'll need all the help they can get."
"Right."
It looked as though they were going to split ways then but instead Angelus spoke up.
"You love her as well don't you, the blond slayer."
There was no accusation in his voice, it was cold and emotionless, and that is that worried Spike the most. Although the blond opened his mouth to answer he wasn't given a chance.
"The way you've been talking about her tonight you couldn't not love her, but I also know that you love Carma, you said that tonight as well, even if you didn't know it."
Suddenly all traces of drunkenness were gone from Angelus's voice and manner.
"I'm just asking that you don't hurt my Carma, you said that you want to bring your Carma here to help, fine. What you do with her is your own business, I won't interfere. But seeing Angel and Bunny or whatever the hell her name as is going to be bad enough, I don't want her hurt anymore than necessary. All right."
With a silent nod Spike turned and headed into the house, it wouldn't have looked a lot more serious and dramatic if he hadn't smashed into the porch railings on his way. After the door closed on the cacophony inside, enveloping Spike in a world of teenage and adult screams and shouts Angelus turned and headed up his path.
"Must be the soul, decreases the alcohol resistance."
He threw the bags of blood he was carrying onto the stairs and was about to shout for the others to come and get some, and that he had some alcohol to chase it down with, when the music hit him.
Soft and sweet it lifted emotions to the forefront of his mind that no vampire should feel, love, passion, and devotion, the last one that should definitely not be felt by a sire towards his childer. Silently, without even disturbing the air around him Angelus followed the melody.
Opening the door that the music was coming he fell up short, they had obviously been shopping through the wardrobes in the house. Instead of the leather and skintight material they had worn earlier, the clothes they wore now were soft, beautiful instead of sexy.
Sitting by a grand piano, long fingers effortlessly manoeuvring over the keys Williams hair was left loose and flowing over his shoulders. Instead of skintight leather and cotton he wore silky grey trouser and an open necked white button down shirt.
But Carma who was playing away on a violin looked amazing, a floor length midnight blue dress with a plunging neckline that tied behind her neck, leaving her back bare. The soft, touchable ivory skin was on display, deeply contrasted with the blue, her dark hair ran rampant over one shoulder, her eyes were closed, her face lost, her body moving with the music, and she knew just how much she was killing him like this, he'd never been able to resist either of them when they played.
Deciding to play their game he headed towards his youngest childe, and watched as she stopped playing and put the violin on the piano.
"May I have this dance my Lady?"
"It would be my pleasure Lord."
And then they danced, swirling around the room, fast and slow, first he danced with Carma and then with Spike while she played.
It had been a long time since they had been able to do this, for the last three months they had been in London with Darla and Drusilla, and then when the First had them there had been no such thing as time for relaxation, he had been too busy trying to control them.
It was times like these when Angelus remembered exactly why he sired these to, both soft but hard, loving but deadly, perfect vampires, perfect companions for eternity, or at least that was what as going to happen this time round, he was going to change history and keep his childer with him, come souls, hell or high-water. They danced and played until the sun was high in the sky, then they retreated down to the basement. It had been converted into a spare room with a king-size bed; perfect for in Will's opinion, not only for the lack of sunlight, but that it was decorated in a very similar manner to the room they had been in when Carma first joined him and Angelus. The rest of the day was spent on that very same bed, with Angelus and William trying to erase the doubts that Angel had put in Carma's mind. Although she knew that William and Angelus loved her, it was still a shallow veneer of self-confidence, although Carma had been born into a high family they had always beaten it into her that she must be subservient. Although she had given those beatings back ten-fold after she had been turned, she still couldn't properly bring her mind away from the principles that had been hammered in ever since she was born, and so when she saw Angel and Buffy together it had made her feel as though William and Angelus would grow tired of her. A notion the two older vampires were doing their very best to dissuade her of.
Across the road Buffy was standing by the stairs, a cup of coffee in her hands as she watched Angel, he had been sitting as close to the window as he could all day, and in the morning it had been as though he was listening to something. But when she asked what, he just shrugged and went back to staring out of the window, it was left to Spike to answer, and all he said was "music of the past."
Earlier she had attempted to go over the road and speak with the three vamps, but instead Spike and Angel tackled her to the ground, the only time Angel had moved that day. When there had been many indignant questions asking what the hell they were doing, hers the shrillest of them all. But all Spike did was laugh and mumble something that no one heard, and Angel blushed, which she wouldn't have thought vampires could do but he managed.
"Sun's setting."
All she got in return was a shrug, moving over to the couch she shoved Xander along a bit and sat down. All the potentials were there, sitting on the floor, tables, chairs, any surface that wasn't already full. The scoobies were there as well, Willow and Kennedy whispering quietly to each other. Cordelia and Wesley were flipping through one of the books Wes had brought with him; Buffy hadn't believed it when she first saw it, Cordelia willingly doing research. A shy girl called Fred was sitting with the demon; Lorne was it, and Gunn. Faith was in the kitchen with that teenager, Connor, apparently the kid had grown up in a hell dimension and Faith was now introducing him to the wonders of junk food. They were the only two who weren't in the main room.
"Do you really think that those three will help?"
Again there was no answer from Angel, but from Spike who was standing in the doorway.
"They'll help slayer, for two reasons. They don't want the world to be taken over by the First; it would ruin everything, that's why we didn't help him the last time he asked. And they want to get home, or at least back to their own time."
"Huh."
The silence was interrupted by a scream from a potential who was looking at the door, it had just been flung open and Angelus was hauling a Bringer inside.
Whisper: here's the next chap
Anne: you wanted more and here it is, I just hope you like it
Please review everyone; I love to know what you all think :)
