Sweet William

AUTHOR: Little Mouse (elf_night@hotmail.com)

WARNINGS: For violence and language and explicit, vampiric, m/m yummy bits.

ARCHIVE: Please ask first.

SUMMARY: Drusilla, in an effort to return Spike to being her 'dark prince', tries to change him back to the way he was when he was called William the Bloody. It doesn't work out quite the way she expected. This story is slightly AU as per vampire lore, and Angel is Spike's Sire.

CHAPTER  SEVEN

"Who are they?" Riley asked, staring at the two vampires. "Wait - that's the hostile who was at the Bronze that night! Buffy?! What's going on?"

"It's a long story," she grumbled, still not lowering the stake.

"Do you need help?"

"No," Angelus interrupted, "because she's not going to do anything."

"That's what you think," she muttered.

"Yes," Angelus said coldly, "that's what I think. Wesley, is everything in order in the house?"

"Yes," the Englishman nodded. "I had a cleaning crew over earlier; and Gunn and I personally checked the window coverings and the doors. The extras that you wanted are here, too. Everything's ready for you."

"Good," Angel smiled at him, "the rooms for yourselves and the ladies are sufficient?"

"More than sufficient. You've quite an elegant home here, Angel."

"It's a lot less creepy than it used to be," Cordelia put in.

"Let's go inside and look around, then, shall we?" Angelus said smoothly. "I'd like to see the changes."

Buffy stared from her former lover to Wesley's cheerful face, to Cordelia's calm expression, and then to William, who was a whisper away from game face, still growling softly at Riley.

"Why do you all sound like neighbors at a welcome party?!" she finally shrieked. "Am I the only one who's worried about what's going on here?"

"Nothing's going on here," Angelus said, pulling William even closer as he strolled up the walkway to the front entrance. "No one is causing trouble except for you."

"I'm not causing trouble!" Buffy screeched, running after him, "I'm just trying to stop trouble before it starts!"

Angelus ignored her, leading his Childe into the house. The formerly dark, gloomy place had been cleaned and was brightly lit, giving it a warmth it had never had before. "Very nice," he commented, looking around at the polished dark wood, then he turned his attention back to Wesley.

"I need to speak to you for a moment. William," he let go of his Childe reluctantly, "why don't you go into the den? There's something in there for you, I think?" he gave Wesley a questioning look, and the human nodded.

"All right," William replied, walking away quietly. Angelus frowned when Buffy, Riley, Xander and the others all followed him, leaving him alone with Wesley and Gunn. He hoped Fred and Cordelia could keep any mayhem to a minimum. He'd have to make this fast.

"I need you to retrieve William's things," he said quickly, taking out a small notebook and scribbling down the address. "They're at an abandoned house; in the basement. Two good-sized trunks. I think it would be better if you went during the day - no one would be likely to follow you, and I'm sure William wouldn't want... others..." he looked toward the room the Scoobies had all vanished into, "...to know where his hideaway was, just in case he was to ever need it again."

"We understand," Wesley said, folding the paper and tucking it into his pocket. "We'll take care of it."

Gunn nodded.

"Thank you," Angelus said sincerely. "For everything you've done."

Wesley smiled and started to reply, only to be interrupted by a whoop of joy from the den. All three of them hurried inside.

They found Xander and William already sitting in front of the wide-screen television, with the brand-new games consol Angelus had asked Wesley to buy set up and ready to go. They were arguing over games - everyone else was staring at them.

"Man, I don't believe this!" Xander was apparently the one who had 'whoop!'ed. "This thing costs more than I make in a month! Let's play this one!" He waved a game at William, who grabbed it.

"All right, all right, just put it in!" the small vampire said, sounding a bit more like Spike than he had earlier. Then he saw his Sire, and Angelus blinked at the brilliant smile he was given.

"You're such a baby, Xander," Buffy said petulantly, "aren't you ever going to grow up? And you - if you're really Spike, you're like, a hundred years old. Why are you acting like a ten year old?"

"You do look much younger," Giles said in a rather patronizing tone. "Have you regressed any? To a younger state of mind?"

William stared at him, trying to decide if he was being asked a serious question or if that was an insult.

"You look like you're about ten years old - and wearing your daddy's coat," Buffy continued, sneering at him, "that thing is way too big for you."

"It's made to be loose," William said, trying not to lose his temper.

"How's the shoulder?" She asked, smirking a little, "all healed up?"

William frowned slightly, and nodded at her, then turned his attention back to the game that was starting on the screen.

"Lay off, Buffy," Xander said, not really paying attention to her, "we're trying to play a game. Go snark at someone else."

"I'm not snarking! I just want to know!"

She took a step closer, and Xander found himself shifting slightly to block her from the vampire sitting next to him. He blinked in surprise - Spike didn't need protecting, at least not by him - and there wasn't a whole lot he could do to stop an angry Slayer. Maybe keep her busy for the two seconds it would take to knock him out - and since when had he wanted to protect Spike from Buffy, anyway? Buffy was his friend!

A quick glance at the vampire made him blink harder.

William was grinning at him, like he knew a secret that Xander didn't.

Angelus was grinning, too, as he watched them. He moved into the room, stalking past most of the Scoobies like they didn't exist, and lifted William to his feet. "You can't be comfortable in that," he said softly, just loud enough for the humans to hear. He was possessed of a sudden wicked desire to show his Childe off; Buffy had scraped harder against his nerves with the comment about the wound she had given him. It was a very un-subtle attempt to make his William look weak and inferior.

The younger vampire gave him a questioning look, then smiled sweetly, blue eyes lighting up with mischief. His slim fingers flicked rapidly over the buttons, then he shrugged halfway out of the open coat. "Where shall I hang it?"

Angelus kept his features bland with the fiercest bit of self-control he'd employed in a long time. It wasn't easy - he'd never seen so many people doing impressions of fish at once. Every mouth in the room, besides William's and his own, was hanging open. Not that he blamed them - it wasn't easy to hang on to his own composure. In the bright lights of the mansion, his Childe looked twice as edible as he had in the dim basement.

It made him want to jump him that much more.

And from the sudden strong scent of arousal in the air, he wasn't the only one.

"We'll just lay it on the couch for now," he purred, taking the collar of the coat and using it to slip the black suede completely off his Childe's strong, slender arms. William shrugged slightly, settling the leather vest back into place, then sat back down beside Xander - who had to forcibly stop himself from gaping at him.

Angelus had to tear his own eyes away from the rather delectable bulge in the front of his William's pants, cupped so nicely by the clinging black material. He turned his attention from Xander and William to glare hotly at Riley Finn, whose gaze was riveted to the same area.

"You're the Army boy, aren't you?" he asked, his voice deliberately patronizing.

The other man didn't move. He didn't even blink.

"This is Riley, Angel - I told you about him." Buffy gave him a reproachful look. "He's been a lot of help with patrol and things."

"Is that so?" Angelus looked Farm Boy up and down, then cooly turned his back. "Wesley - I've decided to go back to LA tomorrow night. Can we have everything ready by then?"

"Of course!" Wesley actually sounded relieved. He knew a volatile situation when he saw one; Buffy Summers wasn't dealing well with Angel's obvious fascination with William. There was no way she was going to react favorably when she realized Riley's stare was more carnal than curious.

"Are you leaving so soon?" Giles was not happy. "After the mess your 'Childe' has made? You could at least help us clear out all these Masters. You said yourself that they might have a fight over the Hellmouth."

"I also said that I would make sure they knew I was here," Angelus said, walking over to stand behind William, his fingers playing with golden-brown curls.

"And that is going to ensure the safety of Sunnydale?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, it's not fair that I'm gonna have to do cleanup!" Buffy threw her two-cents worth in. "You really ought to stay and help me!"

"What, the almighty Slayer admits she needs help?" William couldn't resist the remark, turning and leaning his cheek against Angelus' strong thigh while he gave her an innocent look from beneath thick eyelashes.

"Don't push me, Spike," Buffy snarled, spitting out the name of his old self like it was a curse. "I'm not in the mood to put up with you, if it is you - no matter how much Angel thinks you're all different and special! I'm not going to deal with all these vampires by myself! I have too much to do! There's school and regular patrol and..."

"We'll stay a few days," Angelus interrupted her, sighing reluctantly. His fingers didn't leave William's soft hair, but he shifted his attention to the boy sitting beside his Childe, playing the game. "It will give Xander longer to get ready, anyway."

It took Xander a moment to realize what the vampire had said, then he paused the game and looked at Angelus, puzzled. "Say what? What do I have to get ready for?"

"For coming to Los Angeles," was the calm reply.

"Huh?" He stared. "What would I go to LA for? I mean - I'm not going to LA!"

"Of course you're not," Buffy said, blinking rapidly. "Why would you want Xander in LA?"

"Because he'll be staying with us from now on," Angelus replied, smiling down at William, who was watching the boy sputter with wickedly gleeful eyes.

"Staying with you?! I'm not staying with you, Deadboy!" Xander's own brown eyes were huge, and he started scrambling away from the two vampires.

"You don't really have much choice," Angelus laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"It means that you're William's Guardian, so of course you'll stay with us."

"His what?!" Giles, Buffy, Willow and Xander shouted the words at the same time.

"His Guardian - chosen by Fate or the Powers or whatever you'd like to call it," Angelus said smoothly, a bit of wickedness creeping into his own smile at the boy's blatant dismay. "And you've no choice - because you've already accepted."

"No, I haven't!" Xander shrieked.

"Haven't you? Who told Georges to leave my William alone? Who assured him that his Sire did want him? Who pulled him away from the fight and stood between him and the minions? Who has kept himself between William and the Slayer ever since we came inside, even if he hasn't realized it?"

Xander was blinking rapidly. "But... that's choosing?! I didn't know!"

Angelus shrugged. "Not knowing doesn't change things. If you think about it, you'll realize that you want to take care of him; the need to protect is already there. It's rare for a human to be a fledgling's Guardian - usually it's an older Childe of their Sire - Spike must have really trusted you."

Xander paused, looking slightly less panicked, maybe even a little pleased. "Yeah?"

"Yes. It wouldn't have happened if both of you didn't subconsciously accept it."

"But..." Xander bit his lip, blushing a little, "...but, I can't really protect him from anything... I mean, I'm just..."

"He's just Xander," Buffy said, laughing. "He's the one we protect!"

Xander turned even redder.

"She didn't mean it that way, Xander," Willow soothed, "but she has a point. I mean, Spike - William - he's a vampire, and you're just human."

Xander nodded, looking down at the floor.

"Yes, it's best to forget this, if it's even true," Giles said. "Xander wouldn't be able to guard William. I've never heard of Guardians before, anyway."

William reached the limit of his patience. He jumped to his feet and glared at the Watcher. "What you have heard of would fit on a matchbook," he spat, "and stop making him feel bad! He's a perfect Guardian! He can learn to fight - you lot just never bothered to teach him anything!"

"We'll change that," Angelus said softly, "He's chosen, and he's Family."

"I don't think..." Giles started again.

"Obviously," William snorted, folding his arms and staring pointedly in another direction.

"Okay, I've had enough of you!" Buffy snarled, jerking her stake out again as her Watcher was insulted.

Before she could move, a hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

"Don't," Xander said softly, his voice laced with a determination she'd never heard in it before.

Everyone human in the room stared at him.

William just grinned. He'd known his boy would come through.