The Crypt: A Different Path by Salustra and Cathelin

A Different Path 4/?

William looks over at Angel as they drive. It's a lovely classic car, and convertible, so the warm night air flows over them as they drive. Angel's gelled hair doesn't move, but it makes William's soft curls flow back from his face. He's rather flush from his feeding, and feeling good.

Angel's hands are clenched hard on the steering wheel. Not only can he smell the underlying scent of this childe of Drusilla's, he can smell the blood and arousal of the humans that he's fed on, not to mention the rather intoxicating scent of the boy's own arousal. It's absolute torture after so long denying his urges.

"Are you all right?" William asks, seeing Angel's knuckles whiten.

"Fine. Just a little tense from waiting for the info on the demon." Angel takes a deep breath, forcing himself to release his death grip.

"So what exactly are we going after?"

"A Prio Muto. We think it might have stowed away on a tanker into California," Angel explains. "Though I'm not sure that the result of such a stowaway wouldn't have been splashed all over the news."

William raises an eyebrow. "I've heard of them. Very fearsome creatures."

"Hmm. I've had a run in with one before. Though things... didn't exactly go as planned." Angel shifts a little in his seat at the memory of that major cock up in his redemption.

"How so?" William's face is intense with interest as he sees Angel's uncomfortable reaction.

"I um...well..." Angel stutters, not wanting to say for fear of embarrassing himself in front of the younger vampire. And how come he can now hear Cordy in his mind laughing?

"Did you have trouble defeating it?"

"Um...no..."

William's confused by Angel's reaction. Unsure of whether to press or not, he settles back into his seat and looks around at the city as they drive.

Sighing in relief, Angel parks the car in an almost empty car park near the docks.

William gets out of the car, closing the door. "Not exactly the best part of town," he quips with a quirk of his lips. "I'm overdressed."

Angel finds his attention drawn to William's clothes. His reaction echoes the one he had when William reentered the hotel earlier. Swallowing hard, he finds he's stopped breathing only when he goes to speak and ends up coughing.

William looks over with a concerned expression. He can also scent the older vampire's reaction to him. "I'm sorry. I've distressed you again. Unfortunately my aura is strong enough it has some effect even when I keep it reined in."

Clearing his throat, Angel shakes his head. "No...I...it's not your fault." Forcing his eyes away, he looks around. "Shall we start looking?"

"Yes, let's to it then."

"Right." Angel nods as he walks around to open the trunk of the car, popping it open and lifting out a heavy axe, which he hands to William.

William takes it, hefting it to get the feel of it, making a few sweeps. "Nice weapon."

"Yeah." Pulling out a large broadsword, Angel slams the trunk shut. "Shall we?"

"Yes, let's."

Angel leads the way towards the nearest warehouse. William relaxes, getting into hunt mode. Unsurprisingly, Angel moves the same for the hunt as Penn did. It feels almost natural, padding quietly along next to him, senses extended, looking for the prey. Moving just as quietly Angel, nevertheless, moves a little more stiffly. It's obvious he's reigning in much of his natural instincts and body language.

William chances a quick look at Angel. The older vampire seems...uncomfortable with himself. He spares a thought that Angel must be very unhappy most of the time, before a sound catches his ear and he looks in the direction it came from.

A second later, Angel's attention is also caught and he stops suddenly, wheeling to face the direction from which the sound issued. William's nostrils flare, picking up the scent and looking to Angel for confirmation. Angel nods and gestures William to head on, bearing to the left. Lifting his sword, Angel moves off to the right.

William moves off, quietly, stretching his senses to the utmost. He's feeling the knife edge of adrenaline now, as the excitement of the hunt settles in. Moving from shadow to shadow, Angel stretches his own senses, primed to track the creature that made the noise from a few moments ago.

William picks up the scent again. The creature isn't far ahead. He hears a soft rumble and he can sense it just around the corner. He holds, unsure of Angel's location.

Rounding the other side of the building, Angel pauses just before the corner. He peeks around the corner to confirm that it is the Prio Muto - it is. Cursing silently he realizes that he doesn't know exactly where the other vampire is - he's just not used to hunting with him. That coupled with the restrictions he's forcing onto his demon side makes this more than a little...awkward. Taking a deep breath, Angel just decides to go for it and hope for the best.

William finally catches scent of Angel and he moves in as well. The Prio Motu wheels, looking at the two charging vampires. He makes a decision and moves to attack William, figuring to take out the smaller vampire and clear a path.

With a growl, Angel puts on a burst of speed. Coming up behind the demon quickly, slamming into its side and sending its charge off course and into the brick wall of the warehouse.

William is amazed at Angel's ferocity, but he doesn't hesitate, he moves in closer and swings the axe. The creature manages to dodge it, just barely, and claws at Angel's side.

"FUCK!" Angel half snarls at the pain.

William howls in fury and swings the axe again, this time catching the Prio Motu in the shoulder with a meaty thump. The demon howls in pain, spinning back to face him and Angel takes the opportunity to swing his sword at its head. William jerks at the axe, trying to free it for another swing, but it's stuck firmly in the creature's shoulder.

As William pulls on the axe, it pulls the demon forward, causing Angel's swing to lose some effectiveness - instead of decapitating it, his sword only slices half way through its neck.

The Prio Motu claws wildly, this time getting William in his grasp, pulling him in close and holding him as a shield, his claws digging into William's chest.

The sudden overwhelming scent of William's blood sends Angel into game face and he snarls loudly. Swinging the opposite way, Angel drops down low, swiping at the demon's legs.

Angel's sword slices into one leg, causing the Prio Motu to collapse, pulling William down on top of him. Stabbing wildly at the demon's side and shoulder, Angel tries to force it to remove its claws from William's body.

The Prio Motu screams, tightening its hold and digging claws in deeper. William howls in pain and shifts into game face himself, struggling hard and clawing at the arm that holds him. He manages to loosen the grip and rolls off the demon.

Moving quickly as soon as William rolls away, Angel takes another swing at the demon's head. This time his swing finishes the job. The Prio Motu's head comes off in a gout of ichor.

Turning from the demon's corpse, Angel darts over to William's side. "You ok?" His voice is low and thick as he speaks around his fangs.

William pants and looks up at Angel, forcing himself to nod. "Yes. Ruined this outfit though." He manages a small smile. He's lost a lot of blood and is losing more, but he's sure he'll pull through. Angel nods grimly and slips one arm beneath his shoulders to help him into a sitting position. William grunts a bit as Angel moves him. "Thank you. Sorry I got in the way of your swing."

"Not your fault. Damn demon." Lowering his arm, Angel wraps it around his waist and pulls him to his feet, supporting most of his weight. William clings onto Angel. He presses his hand against the worst of the punctures, trying to stem the blood flow until his healing can kick in to close it.

Angel helps him slowly back to where the parked the car, keeping his arm around his slim waist. William settles in the seat, closing his eyes, trying to concentrate on healing. The earlier flush from feeding is gone, and he's pale and chilled.

The elder vampire quickly heads back to fetch their weapons, dumping them in the truck before getting in and starting the car. "I'm afraid I've still only got pig's blood at the hotel."

"It's all right. I'll just rest. I fed well enough earlier, I should heal. I just don't normally fight demons."

"Oh, well, if you're sure?"

William nods. "Don't want to be any trouble."

Angel curses as some guy in a truck swerves in front of him - he frowns darkly at the thought that it might be Lindsey. "I'll help you up to your room then when we get in and let you rest."

"Thank you." William reaches down, trying to tap into his reserves. He doesn't want to worry the older vampire. Driving them quickly back to the Hyperion, Angel helps William out of the car.

Wesley and Cordelia look up as Angel comes in with the wounded William. Cordelia gasps and moves forward. "Angel! What were you thinking, dragging him along?"

"I didn't!" Angel replies, immediately on the defensive.

William forces a smile. "I volunteered, Cordelia. No need to blame Angel."

Cordelia snorts. "Well you get him right in here so I can bandage him up."

Frowning, Angel guides him towards the stairs instead. "I should take him up to his room straight off. I can help him get cleaned up there if he needs it."

William manages a ghost of a smile. Cordelia just wants to get him undressed. True to his intuition, Cordelia stamps her foot. "Stubborn vampires."

"Stubborn cheerleader," Angel mumbles in reply, though beneath his breath. William chuckles softly, but he doesn't stop Angel from taking him up the stairs. As they get to the door, though, his reserves give out on him and his legs wobble and then give way.

"Shit," Angel swears quietly, taking his weight. After a moment's hesitation, he puts his other arm under his knees and sweeps the younger vampire into his arms.

"Sorry," William mumbles, his eyes half-closing.

"That's ok." Using his elbow to open the door, Angel carries him through his room and sets him down lightly on his bed.

William pants just a little. "Didn't mean to be such trouble."

"You're not." Angel shakes his head slightly. "I wouldn't have managed the demon anywhere near as well on my own. It would have been able to get away easily without someone on its other side."

"Thank you. But if I weren't there, he couldn't have used me for a shield."

Humming noncommittally, Angel heads into the bathroom for a bowl on hot water and cloth. William lays back on the pillow, just listening to Angel as he moves around. He can almost see him, with that tentative bond of blood between them.

Coming back into the room, Angel sets the bowl on the bedside table before taking a careful seat on the mattress beside the wounded blond. William opens his eyes again to look at him. He can't help it, his eyes don't want to leave his Grandsire. "Sorry to be making such a mess."

"Stop apologizing," Angel tells him as he quickly soaks and rinses the cloth before starting to clean up the blood on William's chest. "It's not a problem, and it's not your fault anyway." William nods, holding still while Angel cleans away the blood from the wound. "How bad does it feel?"

"Pretty bad. I may have to take you up on the earlier offer of, " he grimaces, "pig's blood. It's not closing."

Looking at William's grimace, Angel pauses in his movements. "Well, I could um..." Hesitating, he bites his lip a little anxiously.

"Could what?" William's eyes fix on him.

"I could...I mean I guess I could let you..."

"Let me...?" William's all but certain at this point what Angel means, but it would be rude to presume.

Stuttering a little more, Angel closes his eyes and swallows nervously, "I could let you drink from me...a little...?"

"Would you? It would certainly heal me much more quickly." William carefully schools his reaction not to reveal how much he would like that. Feeding, no matter how matter-of-factly approached, was always a sensual experience.

"Umm yeah. As you say, it'll help you heal quicker, and since you got injured helping me." Angel continues to cleanse William's wounds, hoping the younger vamp won't take too much notice of his shaking hands. It's been so very long since he shared blood with another member of his family, the memories seem almost hazy - wonderful, but hazy.

"Then I accept, with thanks." William makes himself stay still as Angel cleans him, ruthlessly suppressing his reaction to the idea. He's sure any arousal-reaction will send his grandsire running from the room again.

Nodding, Angel cleans the last of the blood, picking up the bowl to take it back into the bathroom. Once in the small stark room, he presses his forehead up against the wall as he tries to calm himself. Not quite sure what he was thinking by offering to let his grandchilde feed from him, he nevertheless shivers a little with anticipation mingled with fear. God, what if he loses it?

William presses the makeshift bandage against the wound, trying to stem the slow welling of blood. He allows himself a tingle of excitement at what is about to come.

Gathering his nerve, Angel leaves the bathroom. Giving the other vampire a small smile, he sits beside him again. Swallowing hard, he hesitates again, unsure.

William looks at him with steady blue eyes. "How would you like to do this?"

"I...er..." Angel looks a bit like the proverbial deer as he looks back at him.

"You want to cut, or would you like me to bite? And where would you like me to feed from?" William softly provides the questions.

"Um...bite?" Angel suggests quietly.

William nods. "And where should I bite?"

Angel has to bite back the desperate sounding reply of 'Anywhere you like' in response to that. Shaking himself a little, he decides to go for the safe option of his wrist. Unbuttoning his cuff, he holds his arm out silently.

William nods and lets his gameface show, licking over Angel's wrist before he sinks his fangs delicately in the skin. There's the initial explosion as the stronger blood of his grandsire hits his tongue. He's never shared blood with another vampire except Penn. Then there's the pure sensual goodness of the connection the bloodsharing creates. Fortunately one-way at the moment, it doesn't allow for more that the soft brushing contact between their demons. Even that is frighteningly electric as William pulls slowly on his Grandsire's blood.

Eyes fluttering closed, Angel takes a shaky breath at the sensation of burning pleasure in his wrist as the other vampire feeds from him. His closed eyelids seem to enhance the feeling as his body reacts helplessly; his cock twitches and starts to fill in his pants. Quickly opening his eyes, Angel fixes his gaze on William in the hopes that he sight of him drinking will disgust his soul. Instead he finds himself transfixed by the almost delicate bone structure of his demon features.

William's golden eyes look back up at Angel with a steady gaze. He can't suppress his own aroused reaction now, not with fangs buried in Angel's wrist and the scent of his Grandsire's arousal in the air. He keeps the pull slow and steady, prolonging the feeding as long as he can.

Giving an involuntary moan, Angel flexes the fingers of his hand, encouraging the flow of blood into William's mouth. How he could have possible forgotten anything about this he has no idea. Angel can feel his mouth grow dry at the look of obvious enjoyment in William's eyes, and has to fight the desire to sink his own fangs into the other's wrist, chest, or neck in return.

William can feel the warm glow as his chest wound closes. That's all but secondary to the need to connect, to touch. He literally can't stop himself from raising a hand to cup Angel's cheek as he continues to feed.

Leaning into his hand, Angel shivers at the touch. His cock is now fully hard and he's valiantly trying to ignore the fact as he coughs to clear his throat. "Um...is that...helping?" He gestures with his free hand at William's chest.

William nods slowly, reluctantly. He doesn't want this to stop.

"G...good then."

William keeps slowly stroking his cheek. He can picture in his mind now, vividly, how it would be, the two of them. He's sure some train of his thoughts would probably transmit back to Angel, but he doesn't stop it. The two of them, naked, entwined, bodies sweating, straining.

Angel's vision whites out for a split second as the image of William and himself flashes into his mind and he groans. "Fuck!" His voice is husky and little more than a whisper as he curses.

William shudders at the curse, but he forces himself to remove his fangs, to carefully lick the wound closed. Much longer and he knows he wouldn't stop short of making that vision happen.

The sound of a strangled half-growl sounds from Angel's throat as he removes his fangs, followed by a second as he licks the wound closed. Panting, he stands and steps away from the bed. "Healed?" he asks in a tight voice.

William nods. "Yes." He sighs. "I'm sorry. I've disturbed you again." His voice is genuinely regretful, though this time his regret is not for disturbing Angel.

"Um, no no, it's not your fault. It's the feeding, I know how it is." Angel rubs both hands over his face as he shifts awkwardly further away.

"Yes. Thank you for that. I'm much better now." William looks up with his soft blue eyes at Angel.

"Good, good." Angel nods. "I should, er, let you rest. Get your strength back."

"I suppose you should." Though William's voice politely communicates he thinks exactly the opposite.

"Right." Nodding again, Angel starts to back towards the door. "You're sure you'll be ok?"

"I'll be fine, thank you."

"Good, um, yeah." Angel bumps into the wall as he reaches for the doorknob. "You're sure?"

William sighs. "I don't like sleeping alone." He looks almost pleadingly at Angel. "Could you stay in the bed with me? Fully clothed, I know you don't want to... " He lets his voice trail off. "Never mind."

"I...I um...sure.. I mean I could...since you're hurt..." Angel stutters as he mentally berates his cock for its traitorous reaction to the idea of sleeping next to the other vampire.

William blinks up at him, with a hopeful expression. He was, of course, taking shameless advantage of his injury. But it was true he hated sleeping alone, and but for his Grandsire's interference, he could have that pretty Watcher here right now.

"Ok then." Angel coughs again as he opens the door. "I'll um just go down and say goodnight to the others."

"Of course." William lays his head back down on the pillow.

Leaving the room, Angel closes it behind him. Instead of heading straight downstairs however, he detours into his own room. Throwing himself face down on his bed, he groans loudly, "Oh God!"

William composes himself as he lays on the bed, trying to bring his own hardening cock back under control. He doesn't know how long the other vampire will be gone...or indeed, if he'll back out and not come back at all.

"What am I doing?" Angel asks himself. "Offering to sleep next to someone like him? Goddamn the fucking curse - goddamn gypsies, and goddamn Darla too!"

Meantime, Cordelia, having heard the door close, comes up and knocks softly. William calls out, "Come in," not bothering to extend his senses, and is a little surprised when the woman opens the door. "Thought I'd come check on you," she says brightly.

Finally managing to force his erection into submission with thoughts of the Master naked, Angel drags himself to his feet, rubbing his hands over his face again.

William smiles back at her. "Ah. Very kind of you."

Cordelia grins. "Not at all. Can I take a look at the bandages? Angel's not good with them."

"That's not nec..." William starts, but is cut off by Cordelia's hasty movements to the bed.

In control of himself - or as much as he can be in the circumstances, Angel heads downstairs. As he reaches the top of the staircase, he spots Wesley through the open door of the office, struggling to lift a huge pile of books off the floor. He watches as in seeming slow motion, they topple out of his arms to land scattered over the floor.

Cordelia starts essentially feeling William up as she checks on the bandaging. William suppresses a grin as he lays back and lets her, but offers no encouragement.

"You ok Wes?"

Wesley jumps and turns to find Angel lounging in the doorway giving him a fond but greatly amused look. "Ah, y...yes of course. I just..." He gestures at the books lying at his feet with a self-deprecating smile.

"Yeah." Angel nods. Stepping into the room to help Wes gather the books together.

"Oh, thank you." Wesley smiles, as he hunches down beside Angel.

Cordelia tuts. "These are all wrong. I'll have to change them." She starts cutting them away, managing all sorts of incidental touches and caresses as she does.

William lies still, not encouraging her, but not stopping her either. The cheerleader is very... determined... in her advances.

Cordelia replaces the bandages, and in truth William has to concede she has done a very good job of bandaging. Even though the wound is all but closed by now. She settles on the bed next to him. "Anything else I can do? Massage maybe?"

William quirks his lips. "I think Angel might have some objections to that."

Cordelia waves her hand at that. "Oh, poo. He has objections to anything fun."

William smiles back at her. "Is that so?"

She nods. "Yeah. If you listen to him, you're never going to have *any* fun while you're here. *I* know fun."

"So, has Cordelia left already?" Angel asks as he lifts some of the books back onto the shelf.

"No, I don't think so." Wesley replies idly, as he caresses the spine of one book that landed face down. "I think she said something about checking on William..."

"She what?"

Wesley jumps, dropping his book at Angel's growl. Turning swiftly he finds himself staring across the empty office. "Well..." Shaking his head, he goes back to his books.

William chuckles. "You do, do you? What types of fun were you contemplating?" He has kept his hands down, and body flat on the bed. Cordelia grins. "Well, let me show you," and she leans forward over him....

Angel comes through the door with a bang. "Cordelia!"

Cordelia looks up. "What?!" She says, exasperated.

"What are you doing?" Angel glares at her.

"I'm *trying* to have a little fun."

"And William is *trying* to rest after being seriously injured." Angel snaps back.

Cordelia gets up, putting a fist on her hip. "So? Who's to say the two can't work together? I wasn't asking him to do anything, I was going to do all the work." William cannot completely suppress the snort of laughter that rises in response to that statement.

Turning his glare on him, Angel's brow lowers into a glower. "He's supposed to be going to *sleep*. It's the only thing, other than blood, that a vampire needs to heal."

Cordelia heaves a spectacular sigh. "All right, all right. I'll leave him alone. For now." She leaves the room, pushing past Angel.

Covering his face, Angel whimpers quietly. "She's going to kill me," He mumbles into his palms. "Or drive me insane. Whichever comes first."

William nods. "I can see that. I promise, I did nothing to encourage her. She had just finished changing my bandages shortly before you entered. But she seems rather...focused."

Snorting, Angel lowers his hands. "That's one way of putting it." Sighing, he rolls his neck. "I still haven't said goodnight to them. I'll be back in a minute."

William nods. "I'll still be here." He smiles at Angel as he turns to leave.

Suddenly reminded of his earlier discomfort, Angel swallows roughly. "Right." He heads quickly down the corridor to the top of the stairs where he leans over the banister to see what his humans *cough* friends are up to.

Cordelia is pouting, arms crossed over her chest, while Wes keeps quietly putting his books away, pointedly not asking what her pouting is about.

Clearing his throat, Angel attempts to catch their attention without coming downstairs. "Hey guys. I'm heading to bed. You two should head off home."

Looking up at him, Wesley nods. "Ah yes of course, it's been a long day for you. You must be tired. I just want to finish this bit of research before I go...."

Cordelia glares daggers at Wesley. "Oh no, mister. I go, *you* go."

"But..." Wesley tries to protest, "I'm so close to..."

"She's right Wes, you know I don't like her making her way home on her own," Angel tells him. "And you said you'd drop her home so that Gunn could spend the night with his friends."

Cordelia stares at Wes. "Yes you did. Now come on, Wes." She hands him his jacket as she pulls on her own, and all but drags him out the door. "Goodnight Angel."

"Oh all right," Wesley grumbles as he attempts to put his coat on as she drags him along. "Goodnight Angel."

"Night!" Angel calls after them, grinning. He waits at the top of the stairs until her hears Wesley's car drive away before heading walking to his room to get changed.

William can hear just the faintest echoes of the exchange and he has to smile. How Cordelia had figured out, at whatever level, about Wesley was fairly impressive, if highly amusing. He settles back, reaching down to undo his jeans, not wanting to wear them to sleep. He is left only in a pair of blue silk boxers, more than enough for modesty, he tells himself, and he pulls up the covers, waiting for Angel.

Slipping on a white T-shirt on top of his black silk boxers, Angel looks up at the ceiling as if trying to gain strength from the off-white peeling paint. 'Oh god, what am I doing?' He asks himself, his thoughts an echo of earlier.

William shifts in the bed, wondering how long it will take for Angel to come in here...or if he will come at all.

Taking a deep breath, Angel turns and takes a few steps towards the door before freezing. "Fuck!" Cursing he strides back across his room to retrieve a bottle of whiskey from the cupboard. Opening it he takes a long gulp of the burning liquor.

William tosses a bit. He can sense Angel, especially with only the two of them in the hotel. He can feel him, a room away, so close.

"Get on with it you great cioch," Angel berates himself in a whisper. "It's just sharing a bed. It doesn't mean anything." Taking another swig of the whiskey, he recaps the bottle and determinedly leaves the room.

William is on his side, tousled curls half-hanging onto his face as he lies there.

Knocking once on William's door, Angel pushes it open and steps inside. "Um...hi," He says rather stupidly as he looks up. His cock twitches at the sight of William lying there, looking so innocent.

"Hello," William responds, looking up. "So, your employees gone for the night?"

"Yeah." Angel nods as he takes a hesitant step towards the bed.

William sighs. "You don't have to if you really don't want to."

"Huh?"

"You look like a reluctant virgin being led to the sacrifice."

"Er sorry. I guess the whole curse thing just makes me a bit...um...nervous?" Angel explains shyly, dropping his eyes.

"Yes, I can understand that." William rolls onto his belly. Perhaps it was a mistake to stay here.

Nodding Angel finally makes his way properly across the room, taking a seat on the other side of the bed. "So um, how's the chest?"

"Better. Much better. Almost completely closed."

"Good." Angel smiles across at him.

"So. You stay here like this, alone, most nights?"

"Yeah." Angel nods again, this time with a sigh. "It's best. Wes and Cordy need some independence from the job." He reaches out to pull back the covers on his side. "And with this being a lair, it doesn't really give them much protection anyway."

"That makes sense."

Angel hums in response as he climbs beneath the sheet and quilt. "So, um, where did you say you were when you saw Drusilla?"

"New Orleans. Having dinner in a sidewalk cafe." William can feel him slide under the covers, and has to resist the urge to just press against him.

"Have you spent a lot of time there over the years?" Though it sounds like he's fishing for topics of conversation, Angel is genuinely curious about the younger vampires life, this grandchilde he never knew he had.

"Now and again. It's a very open society, and a lot of late night activity. And the food is very good."

"Right."

"What about you? Where have you spent your time?"

"Well, I came over to US soon after I left Darla the second time. I've never been back to Europe since." Angel shrugs. "I've spent most of my time in the larger cities, New York, LA. It was easier for me to lose myself in those kind of places."

"This is my first time in L.A. I spent time in New York in the 60s and 70s with Penn, before I left him. I've never been back since. Too many memories. I've circulated around, Europe, Asia, the U.S. Never stay long anyplace, never let myself become identifiable. Especially to the local vamp population, given the existence of my soul."

Angel nods, seeing the wisdom of that. He knew full well how having a soul can make you a target for other demons, even when you had a reputation like his had been. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, why did you leave him?"

"He started killing innocents again. The final straw was when he killed a Slayer in New York. She had a young son. I knew I had to leave him."

"Oh." Angel looks a bit shocked at that, he hadn't known Penn had killed a slayer.

"He came in boasting. Wearing her coat. Intimating the son was next to die. I ran out the door and never saw him again."

"Shit. I'm sorry." Reaching up, Angel lays one hand on the other vampires shoulder comfortingly.

William reaches his hand to cover Angel's. "Thank you. I didn't want to leave him. It tore me apart to do it. But if I hadn't.... soul or not, I would have become evil."

Giving him a small smile and squeezing the shoulder beneath his hand, Angel nods. "I understand."

William turns his head to look at Angel. "You do. You're probably the only one who really does."

'And isn't that wonderful?' Angel asks himself. 'Someone who understands about being an evil creature but having a soul. Wonderful...but scary. '

William rolls over, so that he is fully facing Angel now. "It's too bad we didn't meet earlier...after you first got your soul. We could have shared so much."

"Yeah." Angel smiles wistfully at him.

This close, looking at him, William can feel the pull again, the deep attraction that's been there with every glimpse of Angel/us over the years. He wants to rub against him, kiss him, writhe naked and sweating in the sheets til they both collapse of exhaustion.

Angel can feel his hand tingling where it's touching William's bare shoulder and he swallows as he feels the rest of his body respond. "So...I...um..."

"Yes?" William asks, blue eyes intense as they look into Angel's whiskey-brown ones.

"...um..." Angel finds himself caught in William's gaze, unable to think of, well, anything. William's hand strokes up and down Angel's arm as Angel's hand rests on his shoulder. The contact is superficial, but electric.

Gasping in reaction, Angel has to fight the desire to roll on top of William and summarily fuck him through the mattress. His cock is standing to attention in his boxers, rather pleased at the idea.

William can feel and smell his reaction, without even looking down to see, and it makes him harden inexorably as well. He doesn't stop the gentle stroking, up and down Angel's arm. At this point it would have to be Angel that pulled away because William wasn't capable of it. Not after tasting his blood, brushing against his demon.

Angel moans, little more than a whisper of sound, as his hand spasms around William's shoulder. "W..what...are...I mean...are you using your aura?" Angel stutters to question, not sure why he's reacting quite so strongly towards him.

William looks a little hurt at the question. "No. I'm not. If I were...you wouldn't be just laying there now, looking at me."

"I...I...sorry..." Looking a little abashed at his rather insensitive question, Angel drops his eyes and forces his hand to move down onto the mattress. "It's just..."

"Yes." William swallows hard, a lump in his throat, turning away from Angel. "I know." At this moment William wishes he were a little less principled. That he could just turn on his aura and pull the older vampire to him the way he so desperately wanted to.

Angel winces, feeling like a bastard as he becomes aware of the slightest tang of salt in the air. "I'm sorry. I...I...don't know why I'm reacting like this...and I know I'm acting... I don't know... I...I...just wish..."

"You wish....what?" William manages, making his throat relax to form the words.

"I just wish this damn happiness clause was just...nonexistent." Angel growls a little in frustration, turning and pressing his face into the pillow.

"Have you...have you tried to figure out how to nullify it, or at least mitigate the effect?" William tries not to let his own desperation show in the question. He wants Angel now so very intensely, but he won't endanger his soul to do it. Indeed if they can't figure a way through this he may have to leave. And he *doesn't* want to leave.

"As far as I can gather it's an integral part of the curse. And no-one seems to speak the particular dialect used by the Calendari for their spellwork." The words are spoken into the pillow, but William makes them out easily.

"I know quite a few languages," William says. "Perhaps I can help." It's a straw he's clutching at now, but it's the only one he has.

"If you want. Wes has a copy of the text. Don't know how accurate it is though." Back in control of his libido, Angel rolls back onto his side.

"I do." William chews a bit at his lower lip. "I'll look at it tomorrow." He didn't add that if he couldn't figure something out, that tomorrow night he would likely sleep elsewhere.

"Right. Ok." Angel sighs deeply, scrubbing his hand over his eyes. "We should get some sleep."

"Yeah. Sleep." William sighs as well. As if he could manage to sleep now. But he made himself still, mimicking sleep. All the while intensely aware of the presence behind him

Following his example, Angel closes his eyes and pretends to fall asleep - and, it only takes a couple of hours for his sleep to become unfeigned - trying to ignore the tingle across his skin from William's proximity.

At some point, eventually, William also manages to sleep. Sometime during the hours of sleep, their bodies move and wriggle and readjust of their own accord. William wakes to the feel of a hard cock pressed against his asscheeks, and a large muscular arm holding him close against an equally muscular body. He stays still, not moving, not making a sound. He doesn't want to end this sensation.

Angel grunts as he starts to wake up, nuzzling into William's neck. He mumbles nonsense into the soft skin there as his arm tightens around his waist. William can't help it. He purrs softly as Angel nuzzles him. It feels so good, being held like this. He hasn't felt this good since he left Penn.

Sighing deeply, the elder vampire's mouth curves into a smile at the sound and feel of the other's purr. His slumbering mind hasn't yet registered where, and when, he is.

William just stays still for a while longer. Then he lifts a hand to gently stroke fingers over Angel's arm that holds him, marveling at the strength of it, and particularly the large hand whose fingers curl under his body.

"Hmm, Gabriel, go back ta sleep me lad. 'Tis too early ta be awake," Angel murmurs before snuffling against the short hair at the back of Spike's head.

Penn. Angel thinks he's Penn. That causes a catch in his throat. If Drusilla had taken him back, would he have shared Angelus' bed? Been held so close like this every day? He can't help but wiggle his backside a little against the hard cock there.

In response, Angel growls quietly, rocking his hips against him. "Sleep." He grunts. "We can get ta that later, after we hunt." In Angel's dreams, he's back a century, nearer two. Back to when his eldest was just a fledge, and he little more than one himself.

The younger vanpire smiles and sighs happily. He lays still now. A least he can enjoy the sensation for a while. Angel quickly sinks back into sleep, a soft smile on his face.

William is more determined than ever. He's going to find a way to fix that curse. Because he wants this, wants to be curled against this strong body every day.

Angel growls again quietly still asleep, his hips still rocking his erection gently against William's ass. William whimpers slightly at that, rocking back slightly. His own cock responds, hardening fully from the half-hard state it had been in all morning. The smell of their joint arousal is heavy in the air.

Sliding downwards from its position on William's waist, the fingers of Angel's hand trace lightly over the skin of William's abdomen, slowly working further down. William moans and slides a hand back onto Angel's hip, pulling himself back closer.

A stuttering, almost-purr, sounds from Angel's chest at his touch. His hand wraps firmly around William's erect cock, squeezing ever so slightly. William groans, twitching his hips, sliding up and down in that firm hand on his shaft. His own hand tightens on Angel's hip.

A cool, wet tongue trails teasingly along the skin of his neck and onto his shoulder, to be followed by a dark chuckle. "I thought I told ye ta sleep me laddie, hmm? It's not like ye to disobey now is it?" Angel is still deeply asleep, but now firmly caught up in his dream of the past. "Naughty Boy."

William shivers. "I am, Sire. Very naughty." His voice a little hoarse with desire.

"And what shall I do wit me naughty little boy?"

"Mmm. So many possibilities. You have me at your mercy."

"That I do." Another dark chuckle as the hand on William's cock tightens, stroking hard up and down. William groans as he rocks more into the grip on his cock. Surely Angel doing this won't trigger his curse.

Angel's tongue trails wetly over his shoulder as he hums. His free hand pushes underneath William's body to curl over his chest. William groans, his hand moving from Angel's hip to slide fingers over his muscular asscheek. His purr is a steady thrum.

His hand comes to rest over William's collarbone, his fingers curling around his neck as Angel's other hand strips his cock once more. His own cock is starting to throb as he nips at his shoulder with blunt teeth.

"Ohhhh god yes," William moans, exposing his neck to the assault of teeth. His hips are pushing hard, his climax is so close.

Suddenly a sound from outside intrudes onto the silence of the room - the sound of gunshots and squealing tires. Angel wakes up suddenly, jerking against William's back, "Wha'?"

William whimpers just a little in frustration as the lovely spell is broken. "Morning," he says with a rueful little chuckle.

"Huh? What?" Angel blinks stupidly, his lashes fluttering against William's shoulder. William takes his hand and covers the one Angel still has on his cock.

"Shit!" Angel jerks against him again, his cock rubbing over William's asscrack as he does, before he pulls hurriedly away. "Oh God, I'm sorry!"

"No need to be sorry," William says. Except for waking up so quick, he thinks to himself.

"But I am, I can't believe I did that to you" Angel's voice is thick with self-loathing as he curls up on the other side of the bed.

William turns to him. "My fault. I let you carry on because I wanted it. You were dreaming. You thought I was Penn." William sighs heavily.

Angel stops his self-flagellating for a moment in shock, "Huh? I thought you were Penn?"

"Yeah. You called me Gabriel."

"Oh god I'm so sorry!" Angel feels even more of a bastard at that, knowing it must have hurt William terribly.

"Don't be sorry! I should be the one who's sorry. Taking advantage of you like that." William gets up from the bed, moving off towards the bathroom. "I could have stopped it any time. Woke you up or something." But I didn't, he tells himself. I didn't because I'm a selfish hedonistic little beast.

Finally realizing what William had been saying, Angel pushes himself up of the bed. "No, it's ok. I'm sorry. I understand, my sire was a Seducer too. I know that sometimes you can't help yourselves, that the need controls you." Angel says, tying to reassure him but at the same time showing that he really doesn't understand Seducers all that much.

William stops and turns back to face Angel. His cock is still hard in his little thin silk boxers. The head of it presses above the waistband, which Angel's hand has eased down. "Angel...fuck. I should leave right now. I should pack up and walk out the door. Because I want you so much just looking at you that it hurts. I haven't felt as good as I felt this morning in years. It has nothing to *do* with being a Seducer. I just want you. And I don't have the right."

"Huh?" Angel murmurs stupidly looking surprised and embarrassed both by William's arousal and by his blatant desire.

"I want you. I want to wake up every bloody morning with your arm around me, holding me close." William shakes his head, half-turning away again. "I thought it was just arousal. Until I felt you holding me close this morning. This isn't something I can just go shag and get out of my system. I know now why Drusilla didn't being me home. She saw this. Saw how I'd feel about you." He chuckles darkly. "And that's why she didn't care if I came here now. She knew either I'd get you to lose your soul, or I wouldn't have you at all."

"Sounds like Dru." Angel replies flatly, trying to ignore the way his heart fluttered at William's words. "She may be insane but she can be a devious little bitch."

William shrugs at that. "I wouldn't know. At any rate...I'm going to go take a shower now. Before I lose my nerve and turn around and come back to that bed." He grips his fists tightly, nails cutting into his palms, as he turns again and steps into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Angel blinks at the closed door for a few moments before turning and throwing himself down on the bed, groaning into the pillow. "Fucking curse!"

William skims off the boxers, turning on the shower in the old-fashioned claw-foot tub, and stepping in, pulling the curtain around. He can only hope the creaky old plumbing noise will cover the sounds he's about to make. Because despite his words, he knows that walking back out there with his current hard-on is going to make it almost impossible to do the right thing. He reaches down to grasp his cock, sense memory providing the feel of Angel's hand instead. He starts thrusting into his fist, groaning softly.

"Oh Jesus." Angel whispers as the sound of William's groan comes to him through the door of the bathroom.

William just keeps thrusting, not listening to anything happening in the other room. Concentrating on replaying the feel of being pressed against Angel. "Ohhhh god, Angel," he moans breathily. As softly as he can manage in his aroused state.

Whimpering pathetically, Angel pushes himself up off the bed once more. Calling out, he says, "I'm er just going downstairs for some blood. I uh won't be long." Without waiting for an answer he dashes out of the room.

Vaguely William registers the words. More than that, he can feel Angel moving away. Leaving. He swallows hard over a catch in his throat, even as he reaches a completion there in the shower. God must have a really twisted sense of humor, he tells himself. Brings him here to find the only other souled vampire in the world, someone he could really care for and be with, and they can't manage to be in the same room together.

Practically skidding into the kitchen, Angel yanks open the door to the fridge, grabbing the first bag of blood and tearing into it desperately. He ignores the coldness and disgusting flavor in the hope that the blood will help him control the raging need in his body for the other vampire.

Cordy feels, more than sees, the blurred form of Angel as he runs for the kitchen. She sighs. Might as well go see what's wrong with him. She walks into the kitchen. "Ok, Angel, what's up..." She stops, seeing him slurping blood from the bag, dressed only in silk boxers, monster hard-on *terribly* obvious. "Oh. That's what's up."

Angel turns to her, amber eyes wide looking like a nightmare version of the deer-in-headlights.

Cordelia shudders. "I'll....I'll be up front, if you need anything. Well, not *anything*, but...oh, you know!" She moved out of the kitchen, heading back to the front desk, picking up the phone and dialing Wes.

Upstairs, William was soaping up to take his actual shower. Might as well give Angel time to do whatever it was he needed to do before coming out.

Throwing the bag in the bin, Angel follows after her. "Cordy!"

"What?!" Cordelia shouts back, praying Wes picks up the phone soon.

"I...uh...I...I..." Angel mumbles, utterly embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Please don't...don't worry, I'm not..." He trails off and backs towards the stairs before repeating, "I'm sorry." and dashing back upstairs.

William finishes his shower, hearing Angel's running tread in the hallway. He stands, naked, wondering where he is going to end up.

Stopping outside the door to William's room, Angel presses his face to the wood, whimpering again. He can't believe how quickly he's loosing it. He had to fight not to throw Cordy over the counter - not like he hadn't thought that before, but he'd always easily ignored the desire. Dammit, William's presence is really breaking down his walls of control, but he desperately wants to keep him close.

William can feel him there. Almost throbbing, the connection, with him that close. He pulls on his boxers again, and a robe. Not that a robe is all that much defense against how the two of them are feeling. He moves to the door. Pressing his hands against it, feeling him there on the other side. He opens the door.

"Um...hi," Angel mumbles, looking at him beneath his lashes.

"We need to talk, I think." William smiles. "Though maybe not in here. Place already smells too much of arousal, and we're pretty ragged as is. Can I come to your room?"

"Er...sure. Just give me ten minutes or so to get...um, sorted." Angel smiles awkwardly as he backs across the hallway to the door to his room.

William suppresses a chuckle. "Ten minutes, then." He smiles back at him, closing the door slowly.

Sighing deeply, Angel pushes through his door, heading straight for his shower and the quickest hand job in history.