Feral 6/7
 
Author: Lilithangel
 
Email: abchainey@xtra.co.nz
 
Website: www.livejournal.com/users/lilithbint
 
Fandom: AtS
 
Characters: Angel/Spike
 
Genre: slash
 
Warnings: contains angsty stuff.
 
Summary: Post NFA, Angel continues the fight thinking he is alone but he finds a badly hurt feral Spike hiding out in the Hyperion. How does he react and can he help Spike heal? This is for DR who always gives me feedback on LJ and the Yahoo groups. You said you liked feral Spike honey, hope you like my version.
 
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Angel laid Spike gently on his side to check out where his head had struck the wall.  The spot which had still been swollen and bruised was now split open and there was a sharp point exposed.
 
Carefully Angel took hold of it and pulled.  A small rush of puss and blood followed.  Looking at the object Angel realised that it must be a piece of dragon claw that had been lodged in there since the alley.
 
Angel cleaned the wound out properly and tended to his own shoulder.  Then he climbed into the bed with Spike and waited for the smaller vampire to wake up.
 
Pain, noise, confusion.  Darkness and fear, family.
 
Angel watched Spike's eyes open still fogged with confusion, "Spike?" he said.  In response he got a whimper of pain, and disappointment swamped over him.  He had hoped that with the dragon claw removed and the swelling going down Spike would have returned to normal.
 
Spike pulled away from Angel in fear obviously very much aware of who had dished out the pain last.  The submissive posture was so unlike Spike that it was all Angel could do to refrain from shaking some defiance back into the hunched figure.
 
Angel had come to secretly like the way Spike always stood up to him and fought back.  When the blond beat him to the cup Angel had begun to view Spike as one of his own again.  Angel had refused to consider his relief when Spike had chosen to stay rationalising that Spike was a good fighter and loose cannon that the Senior Partners could not control.
 
In reality from that moment on Spike had been the one at his side when it mattered, Spike who backed him when he needed it even if it was with a sword through the chest.
 
This damaged Spike had been frustrating, amusing and downright arousing at times, but it wasn't the Spike Angel wanted.  He had overreacted when Spike bit him it had been so unexpected.  Even though Spike had been acting dominant Angel had not been prepared for penetration of any sort.  Though the tongue thing had been amazing and Angel was kind of keen to experiment more with that.
 
The Spike cowering on the bed would not be keen to try again or even to stick a sword through his chest.
 
Angel slid carefully off the bed and knelt beside it trying to be as non-threatening as he could be.  "Spike I'm sorry," Angel said, "I won't hurt you again I promise."
 
A tentative hand reached out and brushed across Angel's hair.  Angel shuffled closer to the bed and let Spike stroke his head.  He kept his eyes lowered and head bowed as he felt Spike move closer.
 
A gentle nudge on the side of his head made him lift his face up, "Angel?" a raspy voice asked.
 
"Yes, Angel," he said eagerly looking into Spike's eyes.
 
"Angel," Spike said again, and tugged the larger vampire up onto the bed.  Spike curled up against Angel's chest with a sigh, "Angel," he said once more and promptly fell asleep.
 
Angel let the contact sooth his worries and he quickly joined Spike in slumber.  Something of Spike was coming back.  Angel could only hope it was the start of better things.
 
Warmth, comfort, home.  So tired.
 
Angel waited in vain the next day for Spike to speak again, but it was as if the previous day had never happened.  Spike was happy to shower with Angel and rub against him until they both found release.  But he did not improve further.  His voice grew stronger but he only ever said Angel's name.  Sometimes demanding, sometimes petulant and sometimes with a rough purr that went straight to Angel's cock.
 
Going out and patrolling was harder when all he wanted to do was return to the Hyperion and curl up with Spike.  It was lonely on the streets and he had no further urges to take up the offers from the women or men he rescued.
 
Angel had given Spike free access to the hotel a week earlier after locking up the basement and making sure to lock the front door when he left.
 
Spike had shown no interest in leaving the hotel and was obviously getting restive locked in the bedroom.  It appeared that Spike spent the first night marking the hotel with his own scent again before returning to the television.
 
Sometimes when Angel returned from patrol he would find Spike still in front of the television and sometimes the feral vampire would be waiting impatiently for him in the lobby.  Occasionally Spike would want to wrestle with Angel and show signs of the possessiveness from before.  Angel didn't believe he could get so aroused by that, but he did.
 
One night Angel couldn't find Spike when he returned from patrol.  Concerned for the smaller vampire Angel began searching the hotel.  He picked up Spike's scent and managed to sort out the most recent one to follow.  In the scent there was excitement and confusion which quickly became only confusion.
 
Finally Angel found Spike crouched on the floor of Angel's old office.  "Spike?" Angel crouched down next to him.
 
"Angel," Spike's voice was rough with confusion, "what's going on?"
 
"Spike is that you?" Angel could barely believe what he was hearing.
 
"Course it's bloody me," Spike replied.
 
Angel laughed with delight and hugged Spike hard.  Spike struggled for a moment and then seemed to relax into it.
 
"What do you remember?" Angel asked him without letting go.
 
"Bloody dragon fell on me then bits and pieces, pain and confusion mainly and you," Spike said finally pulling away, "why am I naked?"
 
"I couldn't get you to wear anything," Angel said with a smile, "I was afraid you were never coming back," he said soberly.
 
"What happened?" Spike asked.
 
"A piece of dragon claw was lodged in your skull and you seemed to revert to a feral state.  I got it out but it didn't seem to change anything until now."  Angel checked Spike over until the smaller vampire shifted uncomfortably.
 
"I think I was looking for a place to hide and jump out at you," Spike said in puzzlement, "and then I didn't know why I was doing that."
 
"Do you want some clothes now?" Angel tried not to sound disappointed.
 
"Yeah," Spike stood up and stretched, "have I been crouched over all the time and how much time are we talking about anyway?"
 
"Couple of months since the alleyway," Angel said.
 
Spike cursed and went to run his fingers through his hair only to encounter the layer of stubble where his hair should be, "what the hell?" he glared at Angel.
 
"It was all matted and disgusting," Angel defended himself, "it had to be done."
 
Spike eyes him suspiciously but didn't say anymore.  When they got to the bedroom Spike stopped and sniffed, "mind telling me why this room smells of sex?" he said with deceptive calm.
 
"You kept wanting to mark your territory," Angel said, "nothing really happened," he said quickly, "no sex type sex."
 
"Just me marking my territory?" Spike raised an eyebrow and seemed about to say something else, "so where's these clothes then?" he demanded instead.
 
Spike dressed quickly in Angel's too big clothes preferring to wear them than nothing. 
 
"What happened in the alley, who got out?" Spike asked to break the silence as Angel stood in the corner and tried not to watch him dress.
 
"Just me," Angel said, "the sun was coming up, and I couldn't find anyone.  Gunn had gone down, Illyria blew up and you were nowhere.  I hid here until nightfall.  When I went back to the alley everything was gone.  I thought I should have felt you go, but there was nothing."
 
"No shanshu for you then?"
 
"I signed it away.  I thought maybe you had won it, but when Andrew came looking you hadn't gone there so I thought..." Angel trailed off, "everyone was gone," he finished.
 
"And then what, we ended up here and I started humping your leg or something?" Spike said without looking at Angel.
 
"No, nothing like that.  You were injured and in some sort of feral state," Angel tried to explain.
 
"You said that already," Spike's voice rose, "what does that mean?"
 
"You were more animal than human, you didn't talk..." Angel stopped in the face of Spike's obvious anger.
 
"So you got yourself a Spike puppy and thought you'd have some fun?"
 
"No," Angel replied getting angry, "you were hurt and I wanted to help."
 
"Well I'm not hurt now.  I have to get out of here," Spike said heading for the door.
 
"Fine go," Angel growled, "typical of you to show no gratitude."
 
"Thanks for not collaring me," Spike sneered one hand going up to his head and he winced involuntarily.
 
"Spike wait," Angel said feeling guilty again, "where will you go, what are you going to do?"
 
"Don't know, just need to get out," Spike kept walking.
 
"Spike, your old apartment is still there, it's going to be light soon," Angel said.
 
And he was gone.  Angel stood in the middle of the room at a loss of what to do.  He was alone again and he didn't like it anymore.
 
TBC...