*****
Prologue

Angel awoke slowly, stretching his body lazily. He felt better than he had for a long time. Then the reason for that came to his mind and he sat up quickly, looking around. Spike wasn�t there... (What did I expect?) He asked himself almost sadly. (I should have kept him chained to the bed.) He thought in sudden anger. It seemed Spike had done a good job with awakening his inner demon... and Angelus was very possessive towards his favourite Childe... With a silent growl Angel got up, right when the bathroom door opened.

Spike froze as he heard his Sire�s annoyed growl. He�d just finished his shower to wash the last traces of blood away. (But you didn�t ask permission...) His mind supplied helpfully and he winced involuntarily.

Angel spun around as he heard the younger one enter. His gaze caught on the nude form. Pale skin glistening with a few remaining drops of water giving a nice contrast to the moist, dark hair, brushing Spike�s shoulders. Without even thinking he grabbed his Childe, shoving him forcefully onto the bed.

Not able to suppress a startled yelp Spike fell onto the mattress face first. Before he had a chance to move Angel�s body was on top of him, pinning him down. Not knowing what was wrong now Spike was a little afraid. Why was his Sire so mad at him? All thoughts vanished and he gasped in surprise as the other entered him with a strong thrust, pushing hi m even more into the mattress.

Still growling the older vampire pumped into his Childe furiously then, his hands holding Spike down mercilessly.

"Please..." Spike begged, not wanting Angel to stop though. In fact he was turned on by the situation and his Sire�s violent thrust drove him towards the edge. Oh no... he didn�t beg his Sire to stop... he asked permission to cum.

Ignoring the soft plea Angel slammed even harder into Spike, eventually spilling his seed into the tight channel surrounding him.

Spike laid underneath his Sire, trembling with need and despair. Grinding his teeth at the painful throbbing in his groin he wondered what he�d done to deserve punishment. (Wow... didn�t think you�d be submissive again that quickly.) The voice in his head mocked, annoying him.

The red haze lifted and Angel realized what he had done. He drew back, his hands revealing ugly bruises marring the ivory skin where the fingers had dug into the flesh. Shock hit him and he got up, not able to speak at the moment. What should he say anyway? He didn�t even know what had him so upset to do that to Spike. Not able to stand the sight of his bruised and trembling Childe any longer he walked into the bathroom then, shutting the door forcefully behind him.

Flinching at the sound Spike eventually moved. He didn�t know what was wrong now, though his mind spun, trying to figure it out. (Is that the way you want to be treated by him?) The voice asked again. (No.) With that Spike made a decision. Getting up from the bed he looked around the room, searching for his boots. Spotting them he walked over to the closet then, grabbing some of Angel�s clothes, since his own clothing only existed as pieces after his Sire had cut it off him. The shirt and pants were too big, but they�d do until he could get a hold on something. He dressed quickly. After looking almost sadly towards the bathroom for some moments Spike left silently then, using the stairs and not the elevator to guarantee a soundless exit.

*****
Part 1

Angel sat at his desk... brooding. He stared at the paperwork in front of him, not really seeing it though. (Seems you�ve messed up big time.) He told himself. Still he wasn�t able to tell why he�d treated Spike like that. (And now he�s gone... and it�s my fault.) The thought settled down heavily on his conscience.

"Hi... someone at home?"

Startled Angel looked up, meeting Cordelia�s gaze. "Oh... um... hi." He finally offered with a weak smile.

"He didn�t come then?" She asked, sighing silently. There was no need to explain who 'he' was.

"He did..." Angel started but trailed off, not knowing how to explain the current situation.

"Good." Cordelia said. "It is a good thing he�s here, isn�t it?" She asked, frowning slightly. Not that she�d be too thrilled to see Spike again, but after all he�d helped Angel... or at least should have helped him...

"Was." He corrected silently.

"Oh." Cordelia thought for a moment. She had to admit she liked the idea of Spike having left already better than the image of actually meeting him again. "You don�t seem too happy about that." She observed eventually, wondering what was going on now. "He did help you though, didn�t he?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah, he did."

"Well, and now he�s gone again and everything is back to normal... so where�s the problem?" Cordelia asked then.

The dark haired vampire just shrugged.

Cordelia was instantly concerned. "Don�t give me that 'it doesn�t matter' attitude... I know you too well for that to work." She told him. "Now tell me... what�s wrong?" She asked, her voice softening.

Sighing heavily Angel looked at his folded hands for a moment. There was no use to even try to lie to Cordelia when she was like this. "I messed up." He eventually admitted.

"Sorry, but a little more detailed report would be nice." She said, looking at him expectantly.

"Well... as I went down into my apartment he was there and we did..." He didn�t know how to explain it. "Stuff." Angel finished awkwardly.

"Ok, ok... no need to go into details there." Cordelia decided, waving it off. "So, why did he leave?"

"I think I was too rough to him." Angel mentioned silently. There was no other way of putting it, because thinking about it he had to say it hadn�t really been a rape.

"I thought that is what that all was about." She mentioned, giving him a 'well, duh' look.

"I think I went too far." He admitted.

"How do you know... I mean he could have intended to leave anyway." Cordelia pointed out.

Angel shrugged again, admitting it was a possibility, but not quite believing it.

She sighed and rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. "If you want him, why don�t you go... get him?"

The demon within fully shared that opinion and Angel nodded slowly. He couldn�t just let Spike walk away like that. They needed to straighten things out. The only thing was, he had to find his Childe first...

***

Spike strolled through the streets. He�d left Angel�s apartment about a week ago, intending to return to Mexico. Instead he was still in L.A. though he really didn�t know why. Well, that wasn�t completely true... some part of him kept telling him he should return to his Sire. (You are his.) It whispered to him. He tried to ignore it, but simultaneously knew it was the truth... he�d accepted the claim Angel had laid on him.

He�d thought about that the entire week. Once he�d even found himself in front of 'Angel Investigations' after an seemingly aimless stroll. It was plainly annoying. Originally he�d just planned to have his revenge for their not too happy meeting some years ago. (And what did I get?) He asked himself. (Even worse treatment... and the feeling to belong to him.) Grinding his teeth Spike continued his way.

A while later a heartbeat caught his attention, distracting him from his brooding. (Great. Now you already start to behave like the poof.) Making a face he followed his prey, stalking the human for some time before he finally dragged him into a dark alley. The man put up a useless struggle as he felt Spike�s canines slide into his neck, but soon the increasing bloodloss let him go limp in the vampire�s arms.

The blood was sweet on his tongue and he drank deeply. Lost in the taste and his thoughts he didn�t observe the mortal�s heart starting to skip beats. Only as it finally stopped and with it the sweet flow of crimson liquid did he realize what he�d done. Fuck! He hadn�t stopped drinking in time... and for the first time since he�d given it to Angel he�d broken his promise...

Angel walked around the next corner. He�d been searching for his Childe for some days now, but found nothing. Nevertheless he was sure Spike was still in L.A. Sensing another presence he froze, his eyes scanning the dark street. A silent thump caught his attention. Moving quickly he reached the source of the sound, suddenly finding himself face to face with his Childe... a dead body between them.

(Bloody hell!) Spike swore in his mind. (He had to come here right now, huh? That was so bloody not necessary.) It had to be his Sire�s usual bad timing. He hadn�t intended on telling Angel about this little *accident*, but that obviously wasn�t an option anymore.

"I knew it." Angel called out as a sudden rage boiled up. He�d trusted his Childe to keep his promis... even defended Spike against Cordelia... and now this.

"Listen..." Spike started to explain but was cut off by a hard punch against his jaw.

"Shut up!" Angel growled, not wanting to hear more lies.

The younger vampire thought about making another attemt to explain the situation, but decided against it. There wasn�t really a point. Angel had already judged him. (Some things will never change...) He thought a touch sadly then.

"We have a history... therefore I won�t kill you right now." Angel pointed out, his voice carrying a dangerous sound. "But if you�ll ever show up again... I�ll gladly make up for that. Got it?"

This had to be expected, but nevertheless Spike flinched at the hostility in his Sire�s voice. "Sire..." He tried again, for some reason not wanting it to end this way.

"I told you to shut up." Angel snarled, backhanding the other. In his rage he didn�t even start to wonder about the fact Spike made no attemt to fight back. "And don�t call me that... you�re not my Childe anymore and now leave before I change my mind and stake you right here." He burst out then.

Spike just looked at the taller man in shock. This couldn�t be true... Desperately he searched the other�s face for a hint that Angel didn�t mean what he�d just said. There was none... The cold brown eyes meeting his gaze rather telling him Angel was deadly serious about it. Not uttering a single word he turned and left.

Angel kept staring after the younger one until he was out of sight. Then he slowly made his way home, mind and body feeling numb.

end