Title: Phoenix, Chapter Three
Author: Inca
Feedback: Cause I like to hear the nice words -
slasherphiles@y...
Rating NC17
AU Liam/William
Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, I just like to play with them
Spoilers: AU
Summary: Risen from the ashes, as an Angel
Authors notes: As always a special thankyou to everyone who's
holding on while I get through the setting up of the story.



~~~~






The beach was empty, but colourful umbrellas and towels still lay
there, abandoned, sand flicking onto them with the harsh wind. The
white strip went on forever, small stretch of beach in front of a
rocky cliff face.

Angel was there too. He squinted his eyes against the wind. The
clouds were angry and grey. The sea was black and Angel was scared.
He looked around but saw nothing. He was naked, grains slicing his
skin as they were picked up with the wind, the sand like broken
glass under his feet. His stomach rolled.

"Hello?" He screamed.

Nothing. No one. The wind howled. He looked around and miles away,
saw little specks. His heart was in his throat. They looked like
people.

He knew better.

He wanted to run into the ocean but way out in the murky liquid he
saw a large black leathery tentacle wide as house curl up out of the
water and lazily slap back down. The splash reached him and
spattered on his body. The water was red and smelled like copper.
Sticky.

He turned back to the specks and saw that they had more than halved
the distance between them. He could see their faces now. He felt
himself crying, but when the tears ran into his mouth they too were
sticky and filled with copper. There was only ever blood now.

The specks were running towards him. They'd catch him. It was only a
matter of time. He turned and tried to run down the beach but he was
so slow, his thighs moved like he was already trapped under the coal-
coloured ocean, his feet sucking into the glass sand. He looked back
over his shoulder.

They held their knives high, grinning, their lips slit at the sides,
their smiles dripping red down their chins.

"Angel?"

Everything stopped. The sky cleared, the grinning not-people had
vanished. All at his name. Who said it? he knew the voice. It came
from the sky.
People wandered onto the beach from somewhere, children splashed
into the aqua water and he searched for a sign of the monster before
but he knew that it had left too.
No one would challenge the voice.
Children cackled and the sand was warm and soft and squeaking as he
moved. He was surrounded.

"Angel?" William's voice echoed across them all.

Because William looked after him.


**


Liam opened his eyes sleepily. William knew it was never wise to
wake someone but he couldn't help it, Liam had been sweating and
screaming and looking like he was trying to run away under the
covers and he had to help.

Liam blinked slowly, his eyes de-fogging, and a huge smile slowly
covered his face as he looked up. He reached forward and caught Will
in a hug. Will tensed but then slowly slid into the arms, feeling
them tack and stick to his shirt with the drying sweat.

"You were having a nightmare." He said.

"No it was wonderful. It has a good ending."

Will smiled. Liam was sleeping in his bed lately. Not underneath.
He'd been told he hadn't done that in five years.

"You know how horror movies have good endings? Like that."

"Your dreams often have good endings?"

"No." he rubbed his eye, clearing the sleep from it. He stared
blankly at Will before pouting and looking coyly from underneath his
lashes. He loved to be watched.

"Have they recently?" he pushed, trying to remain on the dreams.

"Yes."

He was completely woken up now and started friskily running his
fingers up Will's sides. William playfully slapped them away. Liam
tried again, caught up in the game, until Will grabbed his fingers,
chuckling.

"Stop it, Ducks. Ticklish."

He grinned mischievously and settled for a second, calm and unmoving
before he began the attack again. Will laughed big full chuckles and
wriggled his fingers into Liam's armpit.



**~~**

"That … almost looks like something." He giggled.

Angel was crouching on his bed, drawing squiggles on a piece of
paper. He was seeing if he could draw a picture without any actual
guidelines. It was entertaining. He swore he could see a pig. The
pig in `Charlottes Web'. Was that a pig? No a spider. No, there was
a pig.

It was cold, Angel realised. He reached over to the lone chair in
the room and pulled his standard issue not-that-warm jumper on. He
settled back in, a pillow under his forearm to be comfortable, and
drew a strand of wavy hair right over the middle of the picture.

He suddenly felt a hot heavy hand run up his spine under his jumper.
He turned expecting to see chestnut hair and smart dry witted eyes
looking out through thin frames, but instead saw Mikael, black eyes
and tanned brown skin. He jumped away at the realisation, sitting up
on the head of his bed to put some distance between them, his knees
pulled up.

He flexed his huge muscles as he cracked his neck. "Looking good,
beautiful."

Good.

Beautiful.

Yes.

"Look at you, all alone in here." Angel glanced around the quiet
room. That's true, he was alone. Mikael seemed to fill the small
space entirely.

"You're too pretty to be alone."

Was he?

Yes.

He smiled coyly and looked at the man out of the side of his eyes.
That usually got nice words.

"That's my Angel, you want to play don't you? Good boys play."

Angel frowned. Good boys played.

Yes.

The frown slipped off replaced by a beatific smile. Mikael smiled
and reached out to rub his huge paw down between Angel's thighs.
Angel's stomach turned to ice. Mikael was a liar, wasn't he?

He didn't want Mikael to touch him.

"I want Will to." He said quietly.

"Mikael. Baby, you remember, Mikael. You like it when I come see
you. Want me to play? You love it when we play together."

Did he love it? He couldn't remember.

Mikael was a liar, wasn't he?

He cleared his throat; eyes focused on the hand squeezing his inner
thigh. "Where's Will?"

"Will?" Mikael's black eyes widened in sympathy. "No, Will left you!
Didn't you hear?"

Angel's eyes widened in shock. Will left him? He was all alone. How
could Will leave? How could he leave without even a word? Didn't it
matter Will could make him laugh? Will was supposed to protect him,
not leave.
It wasn't true.

"No, that's a lie." He said firmly. That felt better.

"I saw him leave."

Angel stared at him wide eyed. "He said –"

"He said, you pissed him off and he couldn't stand to look at you
because you cant do anything right."

Mikael smiled sadly as his black leathery tentacles curled down
between Angel's thighs, sticking to the blue harshness of his
uniform.

"No. No. No. No." Angel whispered. He started banging the back of
his head against the wall.

"Yes, Angel. That's what he said. And he's right." Mikael leaned in
and kissed the side of his face, running soft little sucks along his
cheek, "But, I think you're beautiful, If you're good, I'll stay
with you. You won't be alone then. Cause you know what will happen
if you're alone?"

Vampires.

Angel's lips were trembling. He looked down to see his jumper and
uniform were off and he was sitting in only his cotton boxers. When
did that happen? He started to ask Mikael, but when he looked up he
saw the man's hard penis lifted out from his undone jumpsuit.

"But I can protect you, little Angel. Those things are gonna come
after you, but they can't get past me. I'll protect you." He pulled
the foreskin over the head and then back to reveal it, breathing
heavily. "But you have to be nice."

Nice.

"Will you be nice and do what you're told?"

Mikael would protect him.

Yes.

Will!

Will's gone. Alone. How would he live alone?

His stomach was churning, but he leant forward and licked up the
skin feeling it move under his tongue. He looked up at Mikael to
judge his reaction and saw a vampire's face leering down at him with
a huge fanged grin.

He howled and leapt away, falling back on the bed.

"No! NO!" he whispered, trying to slide towards the door, the covers
dragging off the bed under him.

Mikael, his face back to normal - but he couldn't trick Angel,
grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him back into the wall. His
head ricocheted off it with a dizzying jerk and the room span. He
sat on the bed trying not to let the black flies take over his
vision.
He wanted to leave, maybe go to the art room and then Will would
come see him cause he's always in the art room.

"Eat it you fucking whore!"

Angel sniffled. "Vampire…"

"I'll be worse to you than any fucking imaginary monster in your
closet could ever be if you don't come here and put your slut mouth
on my cock! NOW!"

Angel hesitated, eyes pleading to let him leave. He couldn't see his
pencils anywhere. He wanted to go.

"Do it you goddamned whore!" Mikael said as he gripped his shoulder
and slapped him across the face. He leant forward and pointed his
finger at Angel's face. Angel felt like he was going to wet himself.

"I'm giving you to the count of three," Mikael whispered. "And if
you're not down here, I will fuck your shit up and tie you up
outside at night so those fucking vampires can come get you and rip
you apart."

"No! No, please don't, Mikael, please," He babbled, "I'll be good,
I'll be good, I'll draw for you."

Mikael hit him across his cheek. "I don't want a fucking picture, on
your knees."

Angel slipped down from the bed, his head hurting and his cheek
stinging. He knee walked closer, whimpering. Mikael was scowling and
evil, his face red. He was pumping his cock.

His head hurt. Mikael didn't look like he'd protect him.

He sniffed.

Will wouldn't do this to him.

He crumpled on the floor and started crying. He felt a hard kick to
his stomach and he was rolled over onto his face and knees. Mikael
tore the boxers off.

"Fucking useless whore." Mikael muttered.

Where were the nice words?

Where was the music?

He was sobbing into the harsh matting on the floor as Mikael lifted
his hips up so he was the right height and lined himself up. Angel
moaned at the sick prodding feeling. "Stop stop stop, Will! Will!"

Mikael pushed his face into the floor, hurting the already rising
bruises.

"Shut the fuck up!"

Suddenly the pressure was gone. Mikael was gone.

He looked around to see Mikael flat on his back, his erection
pointing up from his body untethered as Will stood over him glaring
down with blue hellfire, his hair falling over his forehead.

Will! Will! Angel started hyperventilating.

Mikael didn't get up, he just looked up at Will, his gaze frozen,
his hand crushed under Will's boot.

Mikael was scared.

"Aren't you meant to be in group Mikael?" His voice was low.
Dangerously quiet.

He nodded, sulking.

"Then go. You'll be talked to about this. Don't get yourself in more
trouble." The words were harsh and cold.

Mikael stood and ran off, not looking at either of them.

"What the bloody hell are the guards doing in this place?" Will
muttered watching Mikael's retreat.

William looked in at Angel and his eyes widened as he snuffed a lot
of air through his nose. His eyes trailed over Angel's posed for sex
body, lingering, before looking away pointedly, fixing his gaze on
the window.

He was disgusting. Will didn't even want to look at him. He pulled
his arms close to his chest and started sobbing again, unable to
hold it back.

"Vampires." He choked out, hoping Will would understand.

Will seemed to debate with himself for a second before he walked
into the room and pulled Angel up off his knees, sitting down next
to him on the floor, feet flat and knees up. Angel crawled over and
kneeled between the legs, wrapping his arms around the white neck
and leaning into the body. He buried his head into the soft cotton
of Will's shirt. He started shaking as he felt Will's body
unresponsive beneath him. He held on a little longer begging with
his body for Will to hold him and then started to back away
despondent. Will grabbed him at the last second squeezing him
tightly, and Angel's heart thumped.

"Will, Will, William, Will."

"Shhh, pet. I don't ever want you to do that again with Mikael,
alright?"

"He told me you left me."

"No, luv, I wouldn't leave you." Angel relaxed completely and
started licking Will's neck. Lick, kiss, kiss, lick. Kiss. In time
to the music. Lick, lick. Suck on the bobbing muscle in the centre
as he laughed. Kiss, kiss.

Will pushed him away and held him at arm's length. "Listen to me
Angel, Mikael is a liar. He takes advantage of you. Understand?
People will love you even if you don't do those things."

"Do you?"

Will breathed in slowly.

"I can't answer, you know that."

"Do you like me?"

"Yes, of course."

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

Will smiled in a patiently browbeaten way. Playfully. "Yes."

"Do you think I'm gorgeous?"

"Yes." Will answered much quicker, breathing deep through his nose.

"I think you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen." Angel
whispered truthfully before licking across the pink lips with his
tongue, humming as they parted immediately. His body fell slack when
he felt Will's fingers run up his chest and pinch at his nipples. He
groaned, his eyes rolling back under his fluttering eyelashes.

"You're pretty when you do that." Will breathed, his eyes spaced out
and hazy.

"Make me do it again." Angel pleaded, pouting.

Will's fingers deftly weathered the nubs on Angel's chest until he
felt like he was going to explode. Pink lips curved into a smile as
Angel groaned and bounced at the sensation. The singing in his head
was reaching a fever pitch; he couldn't hear anything else, only
gold and sparks.

He felt warm and buzzing, his body thrumming happily, could feel the
heat extending into Will. He had to tell him.

"I'm filled with sunlight…," he said panting. "I'm so warm inside."

Will reached up for him and caught him in a kiss, before kissing
down his neck and chest to swirl his wet tongue around the already
hardened nubs. Angel pushed himself towards Will's pleasure-giving
mouth and let out a shaky moan. He could feel Will's cock prodding
his thigh and rubbed up and down against the covered flesh. The
music was roaring, Angel was grinning and humming to it but he
couldn't keep up. It had never been this good.

"Will, the music…" he whispered.

Angel held his breath as a hand snaked a finger down his stomach and
tickled over his erection. He threw his head back in pleasure.

"Do you want to play with me?" He asked, breathily.

"Pet," Will growled, tinged with desperation. "Yes."

Growled, like a lion. Like a griffin. Sleek and powerful. Angel's
lip trembled in lust; he gripped his hands around Will's upper arms
to steady himself. "Play with me?"

A door slammed down the hall and Will pulled back, guilt smothering
his face. Angel tightened his hold on Will's arms. The music had
stopped. "No, no not now, don't go. I'm good. I'm good, I'll play
with you."

"This is so wrong." William murmured, his face almost scared, his
eyes darkening, darting back and forth.

"No it's good and right and good. Please?" He leant forward to kiss
away the troubled look on Will's face but the man jerked away.

"You don't understand, I should be looking after you."

"You are!" he said desperately.

"No. I'm hurting you." His blue eyes were smoked with sadness. "And
I don't want to."

What was wrong? Will hadn't hurt him, not Will, never. He wanted to
go back to kissing, feeling Will lick around his mouth, playing with
tongues and fingers until he got tired. He didn't understand why
Will thought loving would hurt.

"Never." Angel said, sucking the wetness from Will's mouth off his
lips, "Until we're tired then we can sleep."

"I'm going now."

Angel let out a low animalistic whine. "I'll sleep in the bed, I'll
draw you a picture." He bargained desperately.

"Its nothing you did. Please." He was rubbing the back of his hand
across his forehead.

No. No. No. Will please don't. Angel felt sick again. He wanted to
throw up.

"Stay."

"I will see you later." Will said firmly.

Angel stopped, slumping, and nodded meekly. He slipped under the
covers of his bed as Will walked towards the door.

"It hurts me when you leave." Angel said quietly, wanting Will to
know how what had actually wounded him. Almost angry but not quite.
Not with Will. He just didn't understand why he wouldn't stay. He
felt that Will enjoyed it, saw the look on his face.

"It hurts me too." Will bit his lip after the statement and averted
his eyes, walking quickly from the room.

Angel was sad. He lay down deep in the covers, drawing them
unhappily up over his shoulders. A rectangle of paper on the floor.
He saw the picture he was drawing before Mikael was a vampire.

He cocked his head.

It definitely looked like a pig.

**~~**



William sat in his office with a cup of tea that shivered in his
trembling fingers. His mind stubbornly circled the past few minutes.
When had it turned so horribly wrong? He could feel his fingers
playing with the sensitive flesh of Liam's nipples, could hear him
moaning and see his chest rising and shuddering with the sensations.
Could feel his fingers running over the black smeared `whore'
written on his chest, trying to ease the word away. He could see
Liam's large pale cock rising from the attention, pulsing and wet
under his flat sculpted abdomen. Flesh twitching under his teasing
fingers, silky smooth. Liam's skin salty from the sweat. He could
see his own crotch rubbing against Liam's ropy-muscled thigh.

("I'm filled with sunlight…")

He clenched his eyes shut at the words and swallowed the bile in his
throat. He was cold with sweat.

What had he done?

He was twisted. He'd actually gotten a hard on from molesting a very
sick man. A very sick man who had just been abused by another man.
And then he had abused him, and then ...

("I'm all warm inside.")

He clenched his hand over his mouth in case he actually did throw
up, and went into his bathroom. His face was sweaty, and he flicked
water from the faucet to cool himself.

(It hurts when you leave … it hurts me too.)

He looked into the mirror, his face was red and shiny, his hair in
messy sweat spikes. "What the fuck are you doing!" He hissed
venomously. "You will never do that again, you hear me? Do you
fucking hear me? Because that is NOT alright."

He nodded, his nostrils flaring from the huge gulps of air he was
taking.

"Good. I'm glad we had this discussion. Don't touch him again, you
fucking sicko pervert!"

He nodded again.

("Play with me?")

Will looked down as he felt his cock swell. He grunted out a cough.
This was new. He'd never had an erection at the same time as wanting
to vomit up the entire contents of his stomach before.


*


Will didn't throw up. He was lying in the bed in his office trying
to smooth the frown out of his forehead. Every now and then a tear
pricked his eyelids but he wouldn't let it fall. He took a
shuddering breath.

He didn't feel like a pervert.

Tears pricked at his eyelids again.

He'd walked into Liam's room and Mikael was all over him. He'd
wanted to hurt him, could hear Liam's begging underneath the big
body, never wanted to hurt someone so much as he'd wanted to hurt
Mikael then. Visions of bones breaking, snapping the hand that was
under his foot. And then Mikael was gone and Liam was left, his
pretty body curled up on the ground, milky coffee coloured and
smooth, the dark tattoo on his back, he hadn't seen what it was,
naked – his legs up under his chest, his body bent over them so his
face was pressed against the ground, thighs parted, ready for …

Maybe that whole thing happened because he found Liam attractive.
Liam was attractive, all flushed lips and straight lines and big
puppy dog eyes that just –
Yes he found Liam attractive.

But he was not attracted TO Liam.

It was that simple.

He could not BE attracted to Liam because that was very, very sick.
And wrong. He did not find Liam's pathetic rambling's cute. He did
not want to become the person Liam looked to, to make his decisions
for him because he was too mentally ill to make them himself. Liam
humming off key to the music only he could hear wasn't smile worthy.
It was sad. It was very sad that Liam is how he is. NOT the subject
of some sick affection.

He would help Liam.

He would guide him.

He would never touch him again.

("Do you want to play with me?" big brown eyes pleading, lips in a
pout, cock hard and waiting for a touch, a flick, a glance, body
shaking in lust.
"Do you want to play with me?")

YES! YES! OH GOD YES!

Will let out a quiet sob.

It didn't feel wrong.


**


The next day, William had substituted sleep for three cups of coffee
and an energy drink. He had stayed at the ward the entire night,
staring up at the ceiling from his bed, occasionally hissing at a
memory or at the feelings bubbling up inside him.

He wandered down to the inmate quarters at seven, spotting the
morning guard in the small glass windowed office and walked over to
him.

"Hey Dr Telleck, you're here a little early arentcha?"

"Heh, yeah, but I wanted to have an early session with Liam?" It
came out as a question. Did that sound weird? An early session? No,
that was fine.

The guard looked down at his notes. "Oh okay… uh, do you want him to
take his meds first? Cause I haven't been round yet." He said,
indicating the trays of rainbow-coloured pills in miniature paper
cups.

"I'll make sure he gets them." Will said, holding his hand out over
the rows.

He made his way down to Liam's room, steeling himself with a huge
intake of breath once he got there. He pushed the door open.

Liam was in bed, still sleeping, one arm hooked around the pillow
above his head and one sweatpanted leg resting on top of the covers.
His face was pushed into the pillow, breathing heavily through his
mouth.

When William closed the door, he sat up snorting, his eyes stuck
almost closed and his hair flat on one side and in wild disarray on
the other. "Wha…?"

He was adorable.

Will smiled, trying to hide it. "What did you dream about?"

Liam opened his eyes and yawned, smiling a little. "Sugar and
stars." He said rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his graphite
discoloured index finger.

He was gorgeous.

Will coughed uncomfortably and handed Liam the cup, watching
dutifully as he took it drowsily and downed the contents, then
opened his mouth for inspection. He crumpled the paper and tossed it
cleanly into the bin, moving his arms back and forward to wake up
and stretch the muscles.

"You're here again." He observed, reaching over for a cup of water
on his desk and rinsing his mouth before swallowing. "I hate morning
breath, but they don't let us out until everyone has had their
meds."

"Yeah, I'm here," Will said, ignoring the random insight into Liam's
life.

"I just wanted to …uh, smooth things over."

Liam looked at him and grinned, slattern-like. "Smooth what?
Exactly…"

Will shook his head and crouched down resting back on his heels. "Is
there anything you need to know?"

"Why do you wear jeans when everyone else wears suits?"

Will looked down at his attire. Black jeans and a black shirt under
an open red button shirt. Not exactly professional apparel. "I'm
different to other people. I don't believe in putting on a show." He
answered truthfully, bluntly; not wanting to engage Liam with his
learned verbal psychiatry back and forth acrobatics; he didn't
deserve that after how he'd been treating him recently.

"You're putting on a show now." Liam said, his face emotionless.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you like chicken noodles?"

"Yes." He answered patiently, "What did you mean about me putting on
a show?"

"The stars showed me."

William frowned. "Showed you what?"

"They showed me your show." Liam said slowly.

"They showed you my… Angel. Please."

Liam stood, his six foot frame towering over Will crouching on the
floor, as he stretched his arms up towards the grey ceiling, his
wifebeater slipping up over his stomach, his body taut and
streamlined. He looked down with sleepy chestnut eyes, soft reserved
animal eyes. Will felt himself getting hard, and cursed himself for
it.

"They sang, and my body took up the music, and now I know how you
feel."

He was singing nonsense. Endearingly sweet nonsense but it wouldn't
help him. "Who was singing to you?"

"The stars."

"The stars, as in the stars in the sky?"

"Yes. They know how you feel." He said earnestly, sitting back down
on the bed, leaning forward his forearms on his knees.

"Alright. Do they sing often?"

"They're always singing. In here." He pointed to his temple. "If not
the stars then the wind or the birds. Unborn children, trees.
Everything sings. They sing to me, to show me I'm not alone.
Sometimes when its dark I cant hear the stars."

Will couldn't help but pick apart the logic. "Sometimes the stars
don't sing at night… Night's the only time they're out, Pet."

Liam shook his head indulgently, his hair still mussed. "They're
always out, just cause you can't see them doesn't mean they're not
there. I'll draw the sound for you with my pens … do you know where
they are?"

Will pondered that while Liam was technically right, stars don't
sing and therefore … it didn't matter, he was here to talk about
last night.

"About last night…" he started.

"Last night! Last night the sun hid in my body and burnt me into
honey from the inside. Make it do it again." He exclaimed, his eyes
wide, innocent and adventurous.

William decided to stop looking at his eyes.

Guilty?...

He ignored the voice.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't feeling bad."

"I was. Now I'm not."

Will didn't know whether to be happy that Liam had gotten over him
so quickly or to be upset for the very same reason.

"Are you going to play with me now?"

Will sighed, realising Liam hadn't listened to a thing he had been
saying. "No Angel, that can't happen." Should've realised, really,
his eyes seemed a little distant.

"He always says that." He answered playfully, looking at a point
over Will's left shoulder.

Will looked around in alarm at who Liam was talking to before
realising it was probably the stars or the wind or whatever the boy
had blowing about in his pretty head. "I mean it. I'm sorry this has
happened. It must be very confusing."

"No."

"It isn't?"

"No. The only thing I don't understand is why you don't stay when
you want to."

//Well when you put it that way…//

No.

He was not taking Liam's advice.

Liam couldn't understand. Will had a sickening thought that maybe
Liam didn't even realise why he had a therapist. He might not even
realise he was classified as…. Will swallowed the trembles in his
body.

Liam was watching him. He stretched his long arms up over his head
again, working them back and forth, his hair was falling into his
eyes but he made no move to brush it out.

"I have `Stone Monkey' if you want to re-read it. I was looking
through my books and realised. I don't know if you're a guy who does
that, … re-reads."

William stared. Liam had suddenly turned from insane inmate to
coherent friend out at lunch.

"Normally I only read a book once."

Liam smiled and shook his head. "Nah, you always miss something the
first time. But then, you're really busy aren't you?"

Will nodded. Liam was picking at something on his sweatpants with a
blunt nail.

He smiled. "Well I have it. I didn't remember before." He
frowned. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"Never mind, we can talk about it later." He stood to go.

"William?" Liam said child-like, as the man turned away. Will looked
back over his shoulder.

"What is it Pet?"

"I like you."

He hesitated before answering. "I like you too."

**


Will was happy with the way that went.

Well, not happy.

Satisfied. He nodded as he walked away from the room. He was very
satisfied with the way that went. He got back to his office, with a
coffee. Liam understands. It can't happen again. He didn't even know
what he was doing, he's probably forgotten.

Will nodded with a little frown on his face.

He made a phone call to Liam's old place of business. Yes, they had
kept the gallery open - the perky girl informed him over the phone.
I don't know - she answered to the question of whether or not they
had any of Liam's work left - you'd have to ask Mr Novonus.
He made an appointment with Liam's old partner for when he got back
from a business trip, and leaned back in his chair, sipping at the
coffee.

He was content; content with the way things went with Liam.

He got up and went into the bathroom, gazing at himself in the
mirror.

"Fresh start, Will. Start all over again with him, that's the way.
Fresh new you, aswell." He said to his somewhat agitated reflection.
He brushed the too long strands out of his eyes.

He'd get a hair cut tomorrow. Maybe the day after. He needed a
cigarette.



**~~**

Angel was sitting in the art room thinking of something to draw.
Will? No, he'd already done two today. Doyle? He hadn't seen Doyle
today, he wondered if he should seek him out.

He wanted some chocolate.

What was he thinking about?

Oh yeah. No wait. Don't remember.

Will. Draw a picture of Will. He slipped into a little memory of
Will's blue eyes opening with amazement when he saw the picture he
drew of him the very first time.

He kept getting distracted today.

"Sometimes that just happens." He said to … he forgot no one was
there.

"Sorry." He said.

He heard something click in the corner. He turned around.
Scared. "Hello?" Was he dreaming? He hoped not. Bad things happened
in dreams. His face was tense and he peered into the colourful
corners of the room. There was no one there.

"Angel." A voice like whisky cut through his anxiety.

He flicked back to the door and smiled.

Will was standing at the doorway, in jeans, boots and a black tee-
shirt. He'd had his hair cut. It was shorter than before, not wavy
but edgier looking in messy spikes on his head. It definitely suited
him more. When was the last time he saw Will? He couldn't remember.
There was no time anymore. Just now, and ... not now.

"You've had a hair cut."

"Not just one, Pet." He smiled. He smelled like cigarettes and
chocolate and he sat down beside him.

Angel kept stealing glances at him.

"Nothing to draw?" Will asked, indicating the paper.

Angel shook his head. He didn't like choosing things to draw. There
were too many things. He liked it better when people requested.

"Draw my cigarette in my hand?" Will asked in his low, rough accent.

Angel smiled and started sketching as Will held the cigarette out
for him in his white fingers. Will was beautiful, all pale like
porcelain, but so strong. Everything listened when he spoke.
Everything.
He felt very proud that Will spent so much time with him

He wondered briefly if Will spent time kissing his other patients.
Pressing his pouted light pink lips against other lips than his own.
He frowned.

"I would be upset."

"Sorry luv?"

He forgot to answer and drew the line of Will's finger that the
little white tube was resting against. He heard the stars humming
and decided to join in. He stole a glance at Will's face and saw his
bright blue eyes fixed on the paper. He really thought Angel was
talented.

Angel was happy. The sunlight was streaming in and Will was posing
for him and it was nice. He scritched his pencil across the paper.

"How you feelin' today, Angel?"

"Happy."

"That's good. I'm happy too."

"Because of me?" Angel asked, looking up at him, hoping he'd say yes.

Will smiled basely. "Yes. I'm happy because of you. You make me
happy."

Angel smiled and held the picture up.

"Am I talented?" he asked.

"Very, I can never get over it. Can I keep this one?"

Angel nodded. He could keep anything, as long as he stayed.

Will was saying something. He listened. "…your favourite candy? I'll
buy you some."

Treat. Angel was glad he listened.

"PEZ."

"PEZ it is. Do you want one of those clicky" He made some sort of
unrecognisable movement with his hand, "dispenser thingys?"

"Yes. Thankyou."

His mouth started watering. He decided to distract himself by posing
for Will. He cocked his head and fluttered his eyelashes, smiling
softly.

"You're wicked." Came the rough voice with a small laugh.

Wicked. That's bad. No – it's good. Wicked is good. He laughed at
the idea. Will was looking at him with light blue crystal. Blue,
like the ocean. Not like the ocean. He didn't like the ocean, too
many black things. Dark. Could vampires live underwater? He
shuddered. No, that was okay. They could stay there and eat fish.
Unless a wave washed them on shore.

Then they'd need their knives.

"Are you afraid of tsunamis?" he asked quickly.

Will shook his head. Angel wasn't afraid of them either. Now.

"Neither."

"That's good. Can't really control them. What else do you think
would scare people?"

"Vampires." He said promptly.

He saw Will's face fall a bit but it quickly turned back to its
normal happiness.

"What else?"

"The dark. Cause that's when the vampires come."

Will smiled. "What if there were no vampires. No more. What if they
were all wiped out?"

Liam pondered this. He wondered where his pencils were.

"Sea monsters."

"Sea monsters?" he repeated.

"With tentacles."

Will frowned. Angel wondered if he'd said something wrong. Maybe
Will didn't like sea monsters either. The thought frightened him.
What if Will was scared of them too?

"Will you draw one for me?"

Angel breathed in, scared. But nodded, although shakily. Normally he
would say no.

But Will had asked.

He quickly drew one, not painted like the first one he'd seen, but
with glowing eyes and huge black tentacles rolling under the water,
thin sharp teeth like needles protruding from is massive jaws, fins
with serrated edges, so they could swim after you.

Will was holding onto him, rocking him. When did that happen?

"It's alrigh', luv, calm down, hush for me."

Someone was screaming, he looked around for them and then realised
it was himself. He closed his mouth.

"Good, Pet."

He was panting for breath, he must have been screaming for a while.
Will was patting his hair. He relaxed into it.

"That's a pretty scary-lookin' creature." Will said turning the page
face down on the table. "Is that what you dream about?"

"Yes. And vampires. They live in the sea."

Was that true? Did they live in the sea? He was confused. He wanted
to sleep. His mind sometimes got tired. This was a time.

The wind was whispering about going to sleep. Sleep in the daytime.

"That's a good idea." He agreed.

"What is, Luv?"

What is what? Confusing. And tired.

"Where are my pencils?" He murmured.

"Here." William put the metal tin into his hand, and then stroked
over his fingers. It was relaxing, he had his head on Will's
shoulder and his muscles unwound slowly. Will was rubbing his other
hand up and down his back. It felt so good he wanted to cry.
Instead he started humming the dispirited tune the stars were
wailing in his head.

Back to Fanfic Index           Next Chapter