E-mail: taptap@mn.rr.com
Title: Most Favored
Pairing: Angel/Spike
Rating: Adult
Summary: The Aurelius Clan chooses a new Master
DISTRIBUTION: Various S/A friendly lists.
Spoilers: Post NFA. Angel slays the dragon, and the battle is won with Illyria's manipulation of time, which also results in Wesley's return. Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, and Fred/Illyria are now back in the 'Angel Investigation' business. All live in the Hyperion.
Disclaimer: I don't own Angel or Spike or anything else from ME.
Feedback: Always welcome.
Part 56:
Finally, after seven years rudderless, the Order of Aurelius had a new Master; Angelus. Scourge of Europe, who also just happened to be Angel, Champion for the Powers of Good.
Suddenly, the five points of the pentacle burst into flame, streams of fire shooting up and arcing overhead to meet at a point ten feet above Angel's head. The flame burned hotter and hotter, shifting from red to gold to pale yellow and finally a clean blue white. Then sparks exploded from the point where all five streams met, showering down to fill the space below. It surrounded and illuminated Angel as though he stood in a sunny field on a picture-perfect, clear summer day. After a few minutes, the glow faded, the sparks sputtered out, and the color of the flames reversed, going from white to amber to gold to orange, and then finally disappearing altogether.
"It is done," Jardin said, his words shaking the crowd out of their stupor. "Angelus is the sanctioned Master of Aurelius, supreme head of our Order."
Everyone in the hall, both on the main floor and in the Lieutenant's cage, slowly sank to one knee, heads bowed, to do obeisance to their new Master. They stayed there while Jardin and Angel conferred quietly. When his master spoke his name, James stood up and met him off to one side of the stage. Finally the Steward stepped to the front of the stage to address the crowd below.
"Stand, brothers and sisters of Aurelius, it is a new day.
When the vampires below stood up, they saw Angelus' clan being escorted to the stage by Thomas, and James unlocking the Lieutenant's cage. Only Spike however was released. He moved to stand behind Angel, to his right, while Drusilla and her childe took the other side and the pets stood behind them.
"You were promised revels, and you shall have it," Jardin continued. Cheers rose up from the floor. "But not tonight," he added. The cheers died down abruptly. "It is minutes to dawn now, and we will adjourn until tomorrow. At dusk we will reconvene, and the revels will begin. At midnight the Oath ritual will take place. Until then, the new masters will remain hostage. He turned to the full cage to his left. "Think about the oath required of you and be prepared to make it in all good faith tomorrow. The fate of each of you," he emphasized, scanning the group, "and that of your clans, depends upon it."
With that, Jardin stepped aside and Angel strode from the stage, his clan behind him, with Thomas and several other minions taking the rear. The crowd below parted for them, all bowing low as Angel passed.
As they headed down the now-familiar labyrinth of tunnels, Spike asked quietly; "You okay?"
Angel didn't answer, but simply nodded, his lips pressed together tight in the deathly pallor of his face.
Spike nodded, and just then they reached their door. Outside it two minions stood guard and three more were waiting beside them, each holding two five-gallon pails of steaming water. Thomas opened the door for Angel and he entered, followed by his clan and the waiting minions. Angel went directly to his room, followed by Drusilla and Miss Edith, but Spike stayed, directing the others.
"Charlie-boy, you get the bath going." Gunn led the minions into the other room, and Spike turned to Illyria.
"Heat up blood, Blue – we're gonna need a lot, at least ten pints, probably more."
Just then the three minions returned to the outer room and left.
"Is there anything else you'll need tonight, Master William?" Thomas asked, standing by the open door.
"Not right now," he said, with a shake of his head.
"The minions will be outside your door throughout the day. Just let them know if you need anything."
Spike nodded and waved him away and once the door was closed, gestured to Wesley. "Come on," he said curtly, heading toward the larger back room.
Gunn was busy filling the tub, but he looked anxiously over at the vampires grouped near the chaise. Drusilla stood next to it, stroking her childe's hair, as they both gazed down at Angel, who sprawled across the upholstered surface, eyes closed.
"Look how pretty daddy is, Spike," Drusilla whispered, tilting her head as she inspected her sire. "Such pretty colors."
And Angel was indeed colorful, between the dark bruises mottling his pale flesh, and the flow of red that covered almost all of it. His black clothing added another layer of color, and since that was shredded and rent in numerous places it only enhanced the pallor of the skin showing through. His left eye was a terrible combination of red and black. It was swollen shut and so puffy the flesh about it was grotesque. There was no way to tell if there was actually a working eyeball left beneath the lid.
Angel was definitely unconscious now, and Spike wasn't surprised. He had been surprised that his sire had made it to their chambers under his own steam. And though he'd still been in the outer room at the time, Spike was pretty sure that terribly injured vampire hadn't allowed himself to sit down, knowing what would follow, until the minions had deposited the water and left.
"Daddy's hungry, Spike. So hungry. Shan't we feed him?" Drusilla asked, interrupting his musings.
"That's what we're gonna do, princess," Spike said. He gently pulled Angel forward from the back of the chaise and slid in behind him, then eased the older vampire back to rest against his chest. Angel didn't move or indicate he was aware at all. "Sit here, Dru, next to me," Spike said, pointing to the floor beside him.
"Spike, you need to feed, too," Wesley gently reminded him. Spike was as pale as his sire. His cheekbones were even sharper than usual, and he had dark circles under his eyes.
Spike nodded tiredly. "See if you can get his kit off, will you," he said, glancing down at Angel.
Wesley nodded and began to unbuckle the heavy leather boots. While he was occupied with those, Illyria returned with a small Styrofoam container.
Five are complete. The rest will be ready shortly.
"Good," Spike nodded.
Miss Edith dutifully sat beside her sire, and now Spike pointed to her. "You'll start, kitten," he said. "And you'll feed from her, Dru," he added. "Wait until I say, pet."
Illyria handed one bag to the fledgling, who bit into it with delicate precision and began to feed. A few minutes after she'd started, Spike nodded to Dru, and she picked up her childe's arm and bit into the small wrist, beginning the transfer.
It was clear to everyone now what Spike planned. He'd set up a process to filter the blood through multiple Aurelius veins, so that it was as potent as possible once it reached his sire. Once Miss Edith had finished with the first bag and begun on the second, Spike reached down to capture Drusilla's free hand and lifted it to his mouth. He shifted and sank his fangs in, and with a groan of satisfaction began pulling deep droughts of blood into his seriously depleted body.
Illyria continued to hand off warm bags of blood to Miss Edith, and the feeding chain went on, but it wasn't until the fledgling had consumed four pints – all of which had been filtered through her and her sire – that Spike began to pass it on to Angel.
Spike's appearance had undergone a dramatic change in the ten minutes that had elapsed since they'd started the circuit. He had no physical injuries, so now he looked almost completely normal, though still perhaps a bit paler than even his normally pale flesh was. Now it was time to pass the super-charged blood on to Angel. Spike withdrew his fangs from Drusilla's wrist and tore his own open, then held it over his sire's mouth. The blood dripped down on the deathly pale lips, but there was no response.
"Come on, Angel," Spike urged. With his free hand, he slipped a thumb between the still lips to open them a bit, and then began to stroke his sire's throat.
They all waited, silent. Drusilla and her childe continued to feed, but both of them watched the unconscious vampire with round eyes.
The minutes ticked by and blood dripped from the open wound onto Angel's lips, trickling in the small opening, but he wasn't swallowing, and some dripped useless from the corners of his lips to trace red tracks like tears down his chin and throat.
"Come on, sire. How'm I supposed to get this back from you if you won't wake up and take it first?" Spike demanded, a slight quaver in his voice. "You promised. Gotta keep your promises now, what with your being the Champion for good and all, right?"
Another minute passed with no motion from the ghostly pale figure. Finally, after what felt like forever, Angel's lips twitched and everyone froze. A second later they all wondered if they'd only imagined it, but then it happened again, and this time a sound emerged. It was a reed thin sound, barely more than a whisper of breath, but a second later it repeated itself, this time a bit louder, like a kitten mewling for its mother's milk. Angel's pursed his lips and his brow furrowed, as though caught in a dream, and then he swallowed.
That first taste of blood caused a dramatic response in the vampire. He drew in a huge, gasping breath, as though he'd been drowning and had just found his way to some air-laden surface. Then Angel moved, completely dispelling the aura of stillness that had enveloped him a moment before. Though his eyes remained closed, his demon face emerged. His hands flew up to grasp the bleeding one above him, pulling it to his hungry mouth and his fangs tore into it. This was nothing like the delicate suckling motions Drusilla and her childe used. This was a voracious feeding, a frenzy of sound, like a savage beast in the wild tearing through a fresh kill.
The humans stared in stunned fascination. If there had been anyplace safer to go, they would have gone. They'd killed many vampires, and knew them for what they were, but they'd never been in the presence of one feeding as this familiar one did now. It was rare when Spike and Angel fed before them, and when they did it was in a controlled way – easy to do when blood was readily available from a bag and the vampire in question wasn't starving. This was completely different. But they couldn't look away, so visceral and primal was Angel's response.
And in truth, they wouldn't wish it any other way, not right now. Right now they needed Angel back, not just because of what he was to them, but because of what he now represented to the Order of Aurelius. They were in the belly of the beast, and only Angel could keep them safe here now.
After Angel's feeding frenzy began, Spike sighed with relief, then said; "Keep 'em coming, Blue; looks like we'll need a bit more." Then he pulled Drusilla's wrist back to his mouth, leaned back, closed his eyes, and continued his own feeding.
Wesley shook himself, then continued his assigned task. After he'd removed Angel's boots, he went for the shirt. It was so torn and ragged that the easiest way – only way actually – to remove it was to pull it off in strips. Within a few minutes Angel lay bare-chested before him, his torso covered in blood, both his own and his opponent's.
"Should I get a wash-cloth?" Wesley asked tentatively.
Spike didn't stop feeding, but he shook his head and instead pointed to Angel's trousers. Luckily the leather had survived relatively intact, and no doubt that had provided some protection for him throughout the fierce battle. Wesley undid the belt buckle and began on the metal buttons. When they were all undone, he tugged the waistband of the trousers down, stripping the leather off his hips and legs until he was completely naked. Angel didn't seem to notice at all. He still hadn't opened his eyes, but the voracious feeding had not yet slowed.
Wesley stepped back, and though he felt his face flushing. He couldn't turn his gaze away from the vampire lying before him. Even in the dire state he was in, Angel's body was amazingly beautiful; his chest broad and deep, his powerful muscles long, sleek and well- defined. And although Angel and Spike had now seen the rest of them naked, and the pets had seen Spike that way as well when he'd set the example for them during their first day of training, and then just four days ago, of course, during the claim renewal ritual, Wesley had never seen Angel naked before.
Well, there was that one time when he'd woken Angel from a sound sleep only to find what appeared to be Angelus sitting on his chest with a hand about his throat a second later, but he'd been so stunned and frightened by that quick and deadly response that he'd hardly had time to take more than a peep, er, as it were.
Now he had time, and no one was stopping him. At that thought, he raised his eyes to find Spike's gaze pinned knowingly upon him, his lips turned up in their trademark smirk, even as he continued to feed from Drusilla's wrist. Wesley's flush deepened when the blonde vampire's gaze slid slowly down his own naked and decorated body, then back up to his face. He turned away abruptly, picking up the leather boots and trousers and searching for a place to put them.
Illyria had handed off twelve pints before Spike finally waved her off. Taking his fangs from Drusilla's wrist and licking it seemed to be the cue for the two female vampires to do the same. Gently Spike disengaged his wrist from Angel's mouth, which was now suckling slowly and sporadically, like a babe asleep at his mother's teat. Angel still looked terrible, but at least he was now full of blood again, and the gaping cuts, slashes and puncture wounds could begin to heal properly.
"Mayn't we help clean daddy up, Spike?" Drusilla asked, now standing beside the chaise with her childe.
"Yes, kitten, I think daddy would like that."
Drusilla clapped and giggled, her somber mien from a moment before suddenly gone. "Come childe, you're in for such a treat. My daddy has the sweetest blood. It's like poppies and sugar plums and juicy little worms, all wriggly and fat," she said, leading the fledgling to the foot of the lounge, then tugging her down until they knelt side-by-side "Like this," she instructed, licking in short, cat-like strokes along one of Angel's feet, leaving a track of pale flesh through the red streaks of blood that covered him even where he'd been protected by thick layers of leather. Miss Edith nodded and began to do the same on the other.
Meanwhile, though Spike could have slipped from beneath Angel's body and left him to the other two vampire's tender ministrations, he continued to hold him, watching the three of them from beneath the heavy fringe of his honey-blond lashes with an obvious sense of pleasure and satisfaction.
Since the three pets had not been dismissed back to their own small room, they puttered about the larger one, extremely happy to have everyone together again in one place. They were still naked, and they were still decorated and bound, but since none of the vampires had commanded otherwise, they stayed silent and continued their tasks, straightening the room, putting clothes away and topping off the tub.
While they worked, Wesley and Gunn stole surreptitious peeks in the vampire's direction whenever they felt they could get away with it, while Illyria made no attempt to hide her perusal. Spike didn't chastise them for it, and so it continued on throughout Angel's very unorthodox tongue bath. Drusilla and her childe both reached the top of Angel's thighs at the same time, but when the fledgling began to nuzzle the quiescent genitals resting at the apex of those thighs, her sire stopped her.
"No, Miss Edith, you must leave the best part for mummy, mustn't she, Spike?" Drusilla asked, turning to her sibling for support.
"Yes, of course, Dru. Sweets for the sweet, eh luv?"
Drusilla nodded with a smile, then turned to nuzzle the spot obediently deserted by her childe. All three pets now watched openly, fascinated by the sight of the vampire's small pink tongue working across the large, pale shaft and pendulous balls. Angel was hung like a bull, and both male pets suddenly had the image of Angel penetrating Spike during the claiming ritual. Angel hadn't undressed, and as he'd been behind Spike pretty much the whole time, they hadn't actually seen this bit of detail, but now they could picture it all too clearly. Both flushed deeply, wincing as their cock-rings constricted this latest flow of blood. Spike glanced up and smiled, the scent of their arousal heavy in the air.
"Our pets want a sweet, too, don't they, Spike?" Drusilla said, taking a short break from her task to look back at the two men behind her.
"Seems they do, luv," the blonde vampire agreed with a smirk. "Seems they do."
Their blushes deepened as both men moved away to busy themselves with any thing they could find.
While the two females took care of Angel's lower torso, Spike took care of the only part he could reach; the swollen eye. He tilted his sire's head at an angle and began to lick the puffy creases, cleaning the blood that still oozed slowly from beneath the lid. He did it over and over again, until the bleeding had appeared to stop, and then he did it a bit more, just to make sure. Finally he sat back with a sigh and turned his attention to the other two vampires, inspecting their work.
"I think you've got it all, Dru," Spike said, tapping her on the shoulder. She pulled away from Angel's now immaculately cleaned penis with some reluctance. "You need to clean these wounds to help da heal," he said once he had her attention, stroking lightly over the re-opened wounds on Angel's chest.
Drusilla quickly moved up and began to lick the surrounding area, moving inward in concentric circles until every inch had been gone over carefully. When she was through she did it again, and while she did, Spike stroked her dark hair with fond affection. Just below her Miss Edith lapped along the lower part of his chest and torso. Finally they had gotten pretty much everything they could reach.
"That'll do, Dru. Go get Miss Edith ready for bed. Have a minion warm it up before you get in, all right? Then it'll be all set for da when he's through with his bath."
Drusilla purred, leaned over and kissed Spike lightly on the lips, then tugged her childe to her feet and went to the outer room to deliver the instructions. A moment later she returned and drew the fledgling over to the wardrobe where she began to strip off her clothes.
Spike held Angel for a minute more, then slid out from behind him with a sigh and began to strip off his own clothes, leaving them for Wesley to pick up.
"Give them to one of the minions in the hall, along with Angel's leather, and they'll have them cleaned and ready for us by evening," he instructed.
While Wesley gathered up the stray clothes strewn around the chamber, Spike tested the bathwater and instructed Gunn to add a bit more from a steaming pail. Then he returned to the chaise and pulled Angel into his arms.
It was an incongruous sight to Wesley and Gunn to see the small blonde vampire carrying the larger one so easily, but it was also a strangely reassuring one. Spike's body was as beautiful as his sire's, though smaller and more compact. He was so lean, not an ounce of fat on him, but his muscles were rangy and strong. Paler than his sire, he was a backdrop of light as he carried the darker vampire.
And though they'd seen him naked before, neither Wesley nor Gunn could help glancing down at the long, pale length of Spike's cock. A bit thinner than Angel's, but almost as long, Spike was as impressive as his sire in that department. Both humans felt somehow inadequate and wondered if it was the turning that made human bodies so other- worldly in their perfection, or if it was simply that vampires had the luxury of time to pick and choose only the best, brightest and most beautiful for their eternal companions.
Spike stepped into the tub, then sank down, arranging his sleeping sire against his chest, just as they'd been on the chaise for the last hour. Cupping water in his hand, he poured it over Angel's blood-soaked hair, rinsing the encrusted strands until the water ran clean. A bottle of shampoo and bath gel sat on the table next to the tub, and he squeezed a bit out and began to lather the dark hair, gently massaging his sire's scalp. Once he'd rinsed that, he poured a good amount of bath gel on the curve of Angel's shoulder. He didn't use a washcloth, but instead dabbed his fingers in the gel and used his hands to wash the body resting against his own.
Gunn knelt beside the tub and periodically poured a warm mix of water where Spike directed it, first rinsing Angel's hair, then his exposed chest, along with Spike's as well. Spike's touches appeared geared more towards comforting the sleeping vampire rather than a serious attempt at bathing. Gunn knew that Angel felt that soothing touch even in the depths of his healing slumber when a low rumbling purr filled the chamber.
"What is that?" Wesley asked from the other side of the room, his head tilted in an attempt to identify the familiar yet unfamiliar sound.
"It's Angel," Gunn whispered reverently.
Wesley joined him next to the tub and stared at the sleeping vampire with awe.
"I never knew..."
"Lots you don't know, Watcher," Spike replied quietly. "But who knows, now that you're officially part of the Order – or at least you will be tomorrow after the Oath ritual – maybe you'll learn some things you and your friends have never imagined in the ivory towers of the Council."
Wesley nodded, an intense look of curiosity on his face, and Spike knew it wouldn't be long before their new pet began a whole new level of study upon he and his kind. Glancing down along the lean, muscled and very edible human body, Spike smiled to himself and promised that he would do everything in his power to indoctrinate all their new pets to the secrets of their Order as soon as possible, with da's permission, of course.
A knock on the outer door drew his attention, and he nodded toward Illyria. She stepped into the outer room, and a minute later led in a minion carrying an old-fashioned bed warmer. While Drusilla stood in her shift brushing her naked childe's hair, and Angel and Spike rested in the tub, the minion swept the copper plate filled with hot embers beneath the covers of the huge bed. When he'd made several passes, Spike dismissed him with a wave and he backed out of the room, bowing all the while.
"You and your girl better hop in while it's still warm, kitten," he told Drusilla as he rose from the tub with his sire in his arms. He held his sire against him as he stood on a plush rug beside the tub and let Gunn dry them both off with thick, fleecy cotton towels. Then he carried Angel to the bed where Drusilla and Miss Edith already lay off to one side. He laid Angel down near the center, leaving a space open on the remaining edge, then bundled the covers around him to seal in the warmth.
Instead of getting in himself, he pulled the chair away from the desk and sat down, completely unconcerned with his naked state. The three pets were busy emptying and cleaning the tub.
"Come here, Blue."
Illyria left the other two and stopped before him, waiting patiently. After inspecting her silently for a moment, Spike reached out and unclipped her ruby nipple clamps, laying them down on the surface of the desk.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, as he began to massage the distended tips and surrounding flesh of her breasts gently.
"This body is... tender, but otherwise fine," she said after considering his question.
"Good."
Next Spike checked her collar to make sure it wasn't too tight. When he was through he took his hands from her and leaned back in his chair, tilting his head to he stared at her throat. "I believe we'll leave this on for now," he said, as though to himself. "Looks right nice there, Blue," he added, clearly addressing the last words to her directly, with a teasing but appreciative lilt to his voice.
He indicated she step to the side, then waved Gunn over. He left the dark pet's collar on too, and immediately went to work undoing the fastenings of the cock and ball harness, his hands cupping both firmly as he removed the leather bands. Gunn was so painfully erect after almost ten hours in it that he had almost no energy left to be embarrassed by the vampire's up close and personal attention now. Spike easily read his thoughts.
"Lucky for you you weren't a pet in Darla's household, luv," he said, undoing the last snap. "She'd have kept you in one of these things more often than not. Today was a walk in the park compared to what you would have become accustomed to with her." Spike motioned him to wait beside Illyria and Wesley stepped forward without prompting.
With Wesley, as with the other two, the collar remained untouched, except to check for a comfortable fit. Next Spike removed the emerald nipple clamps, then massaged the sore tips until Wesley couldn't withhold a soft moan.
"Tender, eh pet?" Spike asked solicitously.
Wesley nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
"It'll go away in about half an hour, once the blood gets flowing back in 'em."
Then he began on the cock-ring. Since it was a relatively simple one, he had it off fairly quickly, though not before he'd copped a bit of a feel. Me casa es su casa where Angel's pets were concerned, he thought. No time for more now, he reminded himself. 'Sides, it was Angel's place to begin that phase of training, once he was up to it. That thought put a smile on his face, and finally he released Wesley with an affectionate pat on his oh so pretty cock.
Between the fresh infusion of blood, the relief over Angel's well- being and the heady sight of the three naked pets, Spike was hard now himself. But he was also completely unconcerned with that state as he stood up and faced the three waiting pets.
"You did the House of Angelus proud this week – all of you," he said. "Go get some sleep. The worst of it is over now, and by this time tomorrow we'll be home again."
The three nodded and headed for the door. Before they left, Spike called out again.
"Oh, Illyria, you might want to help the boys with their little problems so they can get some sleep."
Wesley and Gunn flushed bright red, but Illyria simply nodded, and turned for the door once more.
Once the pets were gone, Spike joined the other three vampires beneath the covers. Angel, of course, had never really woken up, and Drusilla and Miss Edith had already joined him, cuddled together and deep in their own sleep. Spike pressed his naked, weary body to his sire's, the warmth of the bath, bed and lair sinking into his own flesh. He sighed with pleasure and ignoring his erection, closed his eyes and joined his family in a deep, dreamless slumber.