The Guardian Chapter 4
May. 18th, 2007 09:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iceminkI think LA is trying to tell me something. My router just died, and because it's more than a year old, AT&T told me tough luck. But hey, I'm moving to Colorado in a little more than a week. Luckily it looks like someone in my building hasn't password protected their wireless station, so I have a very shaky single to get me through the next week.
But this is sort of working out for you because I wanted to make sure this chapter was posted for tomorrow because I recently joined![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
tamingthemuse, so I'm posting it tonight while I'm sure I have a connection. This does mean I'll probably be a little slow responding to comments for the next two weeks, because I'm not counting on being able to get free internet on the road between California and Colorado.
Title: The Guardian
Pairing: Spike/Angel and flashbacks to Angel/Darla
Rating: NC-17 (please read the warnings)
Summary: All human AU. It was eight years ago that Liam promised to protect Darla and be her angel. It's a promise he's done his best to keep, even if these days she can barely stand to be around him. Then one night he finds a young prostitute, William, getting beat up in an alley. But will helping William destroy the delicate balance of Angel's life, or will it be William who saves Angel from his own dark past?
Warning: This is a dark and angsty fic, mostly concerning Angel's past with Darla. There's mention of non-con, a lot of this story is about prostitution, and there's a flashback to Angel and Darla when they are 17 that's very sexual in nature. And then of course there is some violence. I think that about covers it, but I'll add specific warnings for various chapters.
Disclaimer: The characters belong to all sorts of other people like Joss, ME, and Fox. I just do strange things to them for free.
Previous chapters are here.
Chapter 4:
Spike's eyes trailed over the books that lined the shelves of the living room. Most of them belonged to one of those "Great Books of the World" collections and he was guessing that they were there for show.
That wasn't going to help him. He needed to figure Angel out, and he figured he had until angel got out of the shower to do it. There had to be some clue as to who Angel was, and what he intended to do with Spike.
Spike moved over to a small desk that sat in the corner by the windows. A large portfolio sat on the desk. He opened it up, but all that was inside were sheets of paper with what looked like large Chinese letters on it.
Shaking his head, he closed the folder, and started looking through the desk drawers, careful to listen to the sounds of the shower so that he could keep track of Angel. Inside the drawers were lots of pencils, brushes, and a sketchbook open to half finished drawing of Darla.
Spike pulled out the sketchbook and flipped through the pages. On every page was another sketch of Darla. Other than proof that Angel was an obsessive loon, there wasn't much there, although Spike was distracted by a few of the more erotic drawings.
Before he could continue his snooping, he heard the sound of the shower shutting off. He hurriedly put the book back, and made sure the desk looked undisturbed as he moved back into the main part of the living room to wait for Angel.
Spike sat on the couch for several minutes trying to look innocent. But then it occurred to him that by trying to look innocent he was only looking guilty. So he got up and began moving about the room, trying to find the most natural place for him to stand.
He moved nervously about the small apartment for several more minutes. First leaning against the kitchen island, then examining the weapons on the wall, finally he was debating whether he should turn on the TV, but he figured Angel would notice that it had just come on.
That's when it occurred to Spike that it had been a long time since he'd heard the shower go off. Curious, he slowly moved into the bedroom. Not seeing Angel he peered into the bathroom, whose door was hanging half open.
Angel was fully dressed, in a suit similar to the one he'd worn the night before, and was carefully gelling his hair. Angel was so rapped up in fixing his hair, he didn't seem to notice Spike watching.
"Hey, Narcissus, could you spend any more time on your hair?"
Angel glanced over his shoulder before returning to his primping.
"It's narcissist," he corrected Spike. "And some of us actually care about our appearances," he added annoyed.
Spike's first instinct was to explain to Angel that the word narcissist came from the greek myth about Narcissus. Just in time he bit his tongue. That was the sort of thing that always got William in trouble.
Instead he retorted, "Yeah, well, some of us have better things to spend our money on than nancy boy hair gel."
Angel looked pointedly at Spike's hair which had been slicked back. "Funny, looks like you helped yourself to my 'nancy boy hair gel'."
"Yeah, well," Spike crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "Not like I had much choice, what with the whole being held hostage thing."
"Yes, because I locked the door you had no choice but to cover your head in gel until it looks like you're wearing some sort of radioactive helmet," Angel shot back.
"At least I have better sense than to stick my hair up like that. Are you trying to show off that neanderthal brow of yours?"
"I'm trying to get dressed. Do you mind?"
"You are dressed. And you weren't so big on privacy last night," Spike pointed out.
"Is that what this is about?" Angel asked. "Because next time I can let you pass out from blood loss and drown in the tub."
"So should I be expecting massive blood loss in the near future?" Spike asked trying mask the concern in his voice. This seemed as good an opportunity as any to try and figure out what his immediate future was.
"Look, I know Darla was a little. . . she's not normally like that. No one's going to hurt you."
"So I'm what, free to go?"
Angel shrugged, "If you really want to."
"Yeah, cause this has been so pleasant. I just love being held at gun point and-"
"And having omelets made for you," Angel finished.
"I had to do the dishes," Spike objected.
"Yeah, and you'll have to do them again if you stay. At least until you can get your own place."
"My own place?" Spike asked confused. "What are you on about?"
Angel put down his comb, finally satisfied that every hair was in place. "Look, I'm. . . offering you a job."
"What no resume? No interview?" Spike snorted.
Despite the suit, Angel didn't really seem that professional. And from what he'd understood from the conversation with Darla, Angel was at best a pimp without all the flashy bling.
"Look, I don't normally do this. Darla takes care of. . . recruitment," Angel explained a bit embarrassed. "But she already thinks you have potential. And it's really for the best."
"Yeah? How's that?" Spike asked a bit incredulous. "Cause you know, I just don't see how me fucking people and you taking the money works out well for me."
For the first time since the conversation began Angel looked Spike in the eye.
"You think you can really make it on your own out there? Every good spot in LA belongs to someone. You may have slipped under everyone notice until last night, but you'll end up getting beat up a lot more, and getting pushed to areas where you'll be thankful for ten dollar tricks. Don't worry though, by that time you probably won't care too much. You'll start using something, if not a little of everything to dull the pain. And the money you make, it won't be going into you stomach but into your arm or up your nose. Of course all that's assuming you don't just disappear one day, cause anyone can tell by looking at you that there's no one waiting for you at home."
Spike wanted to protest as Angel painted a bleak future for him. But Angel just kept going.
"It doesn't have to be that way though. Darla and I can set you up real nice. Show us you have some sense, and you won't even have to worry about hustling in clubs. It'll all be by appointment only, and we'll have guys paying a couple hundred minimum for you. Of course we'll be taking seventy percent, but is that really so bad to be safe and clean? To stay out of the back alleys and public restrooms? To know someone will bail you out if the cops pick you up?"
Spike hated how appealing it sounded. His whole life had unraveled so quickly in just this one week, that it was easy to believe that it would only get worse and worse. And just the thought of being sure where he'd be spending the night was incredibly seductive.
But he didn't want this to be the rest of his life, and what Angel was offering sounded too good to be true.
"Even if I believed you," Spike started cautiously, "this isn't me. This isn't my life. Just hit a bit of a rough patch, and I don't fancy working for you for the rest of my life."
Angel laughed. "Yeah, cause we're going to be pimping you out when you're eighty and you're bent over your walker all the time." He became serious again. "Look, here's the thing, there's a practical limit to how many whores Darla and I can handle, which is why we try and go for quality. But many of our clients, they like a good deal of variety. So as long as you don't owe us anything, you're free to leave at any time. Just opens up a spot for us to provide a new piece of ass."
Spike was skeptical. Everything he knew about pimps, which admittedly was pretty much nothing, suggested that they ran their whores into the ground, and they never let them go.
Angel could obviously see the mistrust and indecision on Spike's face.
"Look, you don't have to make up your mind right now. Come with me tonight, and watch how we run things. You can talk to some of the others, okay?" Angel asked.
Tonight. Spike thought about it, and decided that at the very least that got him a couple more meals before he had to make a decision. And not having to worry about making it through the day might give him a chance to figure something out and find another way to get his life back on track.
"All right," he agreed, hoping that he wasn't getting himself in too deep.
But this is sort of working out for you because I wanted to make sure this chapter was posted for tomorrow because I recently joined
tamingthemuse, so I'm posting it tonight while I'm sure I have a connection. This does mean I'll probably be a little slow responding to comments for the next two weeks, because I'm not counting on being able to get free internet on the road between California and Colorado.Title: The Guardian
Pairing: Spike/Angel and flashbacks to Angel/Darla
Rating: NC-17 (please read the warnings)
Summary: All human AU. It was eight years ago that Liam promised to protect Darla and be her angel. It's a promise he's done his best to keep, even if these days she can barely stand to be around him. Then one night he finds a young prostitute, William, getting beat up in an alley. But will helping William destroy the delicate balance of Angel's life, or will it be William who saves Angel from his own dark past?
Warning: This is a dark and angsty fic, mostly concerning Angel's past with Darla. There's mention of non-con, a lot of this story is about prostitution, and there's a flashback to Angel and Darla when they are 17 that's very sexual in nature. And then of course there is some violence. I think that about covers it, but I'll add specific warnings for various chapters.
Disclaimer: The characters belong to all sorts of other people like Joss, ME, and Fox. I just do strange things to them for free.
Previous chapters are here.
Chapter 4:
Spike's eyes trailed over the books that lined the shelves of the living room. Most of them belonged to one of those "Great Books of the World" collections and he was guessing that they were there for show.
That wasn't going to help him. He needed to figure Angel out, and he figured he had until angel got out of the shower to do it. There had to be some clue as to who Angel was, and what he intended to do with Spike.
Spike moved over to a small desk that sat in the corner by the windows. A large portfolio sat on the desk. He opened it up, but all that was inside were sheets of paper with what looked like large Chinese letters on it.
Shaking his head, he closed the folder, and started looking through the desk drawers, careful to listen to the sounds of the shower so that he could keep track of Angel. Inside the drawers were lots of pencils, brushes, and a sketchbook open to half finished drawing of Darla.
Spike pulled out the sketchbook and flipped through the pages. On every page was another sketch of Darla. Other than proof that Angel was an obsessive loon, there wasn't much there, although Spike was distracted by a few of the more erotic drawings.
Before he could continue his snooping, he heard the sound of the shower shutting off. He hurriedly put the book back, and made sure the desk looked undisturbed as he moved back into the main part of the living room to wait for Angel.
Spike sat on the couch for several minutes trying to look innocent. But then it occurred to him that by trying to look innocent he was only looking guilty. So he got up and began moving about the room, trying to find the most natural place for him to stand.
He moved nervously about the small apartment for several more minutes. First leaning against the kitchen island, then examining the weapons on the wall, finally he was debating whether he should turn on the TV, but he figured Angel would notice that it had just come on.
That's when it occurred to Spike that it had been a long time since he'd heard the shower go off. Curious, he slowly moved into the bedroom. Not seeing Angel he peered into the bathroom, whose door was hanging half open.
Angel was fully dressed, in a suit similar to the one he'd worn the night before, and was carefully gelling his hair. Angel was so rapped up in fixing his hair, he didn't seem to notice Spike watching.
"Hey, Narcissus, could you spend any more time on your hair?"
Angel glanced over his shoulder before returning to his primping.
"It's narcissist," he corrected Spike. "And some of us actually care about our appearances," he added annoyed.
Spike's first instinct was to explain to Angel that the word narcissist came from the greek myth about Narcissus. Just in time he bit his tongue. That was the sort of thing that always got William in trouble.
Instead he retorted, "Yeah, well, some of us have better things to spend our money on than nancy boy hair gel."
Angel looked pointedly at Spike's hair which had been slicked back. "Funny, looks like you helped yourself to my 'nancy boy hair gel'."
"Yeah, well," Spike crossed his arms over his chest defensively. "Not like I had much choice, what with the whole being held hostage thing."
"Yes, because I locked the door you had no choice but to cover your head in gel until it looks like you're wearing some sort of radioactive helmet," Angel shot back.
"At least I have better sense than to stick my hair up like that. Are you trying to show off that neanderthal brow of yours?"
"I'm trying to get dressed. Do you mind?"
"You are dressed. And you weren't so big on privacy last night," Spike pointed out.
"Is that what this is about?" Angel asked. "Because next time I can let you pass out from blood loss and drown in the tub."
"So should I be expecting massive blood loss in the near future?" Spike asked trying mask the concern in his voice. This seemed as good an opportunity as any to try and figure out what his immediate future was.
"Look, I know Darla was a little. . . she's not normally like that. No one's going to hurt you."
"So I'm what, free to go?"
Angel shrugged, "If you really want to."
"Yeah, cause this has been so pleasant. I just love being held at gun point and-"
"And having omelets made for you," Angel finished.
"I had to do the dishes," Spike objected.
"Yeah, and you'll have to do them again if you stay. At least until you can get your own place."
"My own place?" Spike asked confused. "What are you on about?"
Angel put down his comb, finally satisfied that every hair was in place. "Look, I'm. . . offering you a job."
"What no resume? No interview?" Spike snorted.
Despite the suit, Angel didn't really seem that professional. And from what he'd understood from the conversation with Darla, Angel was at best a pimp without all the flashy bling.
"Look, I don't normally do this. Darla takes care of. . . recruitment," Angel explained a bit embarrassed. "But she already thinks you have potential. And it's really for the best."
"Yeah? How's that?" Spike asked a bit incredulous. "Cause you know, I just don't see how me fucking people and you taking the money works out well for me."
For the first time since the conversation began Angel looked Spike in the eye.
"You think you can really make it on your own out there? Every good spot in LA belongs to someone. You may have slipped under everyone notice until last night, but you'll end up getting beat up a lot more, and getting pushed to areas where you'll be thankful for ten dollar tricks. Don't worry though, by that time you probably won't care too much. You'll start using something, if not a little of everything to dull the pain. And the money you make, it won't be going into you stomach but into your arm or up your nose. Of course all that's assuming you don't just disappear one day, cause anyone can tell by looking at you that there's no one waiting for you at home."
Spike wanted to protest as Angel painted a bleak future for him. But Angel just kept going.
"It doesn't have to be that way though. Darla and I can set you up real nice. Show us you have some sense, and you won't even have to worry about hustling in clubs. It'll all be by appointment only, and we'll have guys paying a couple hundred minimum for you. Of course we'll be taking seventy percent, but is that really so bad to be safe and clean? To stay out of the back alleys and public restrooms? To know someone will bail you out if the cops pick you up?"
Spike hated how appealing it sounded. His whole life had unraveled so quickly in just this one week, that it was easy to believe that it would only get worse and worse. And just the thought of being sure where he'd be spending the night was incredibly seductive.
But he didn't want this to be the rest of his life, and what Angel was offering sounded too good to be true.
"Even if I believed you," Spike started cautiously, "this isn't me. This isn't my life. Just hit a bit of a rough patch, and I don't fancy working for you for the rest of my life."
Angel laughed. "Yeah, cause we're going to be pimping you out when you're eighty and you're bent over your walker all the time." He became serious again. "Look, here's the thing, there's a practical limit to how many whores Darla and I can handle, which is why we try and go for quality. But many of our clients, they like a good deal of variety. So as long as you don't owe us anything, you're free to leave at any time. Just opens up a spot for us to provide a new piece of ass."
Spike was skeptical. Everything he knew about pimps, which admittedly was pretty much nothing, suggested that they ran their whores into the ground, and they never let them go.
Angel could obviously see the mistrust and indecision on Spike's face.
"Look, you don't have to make up your mind right now. Come with me tonight, and watch how we run things. You can talk to some of the others, okay?" Angel asked.
Tonight. Spike thought about it, and decided that at the very least that got him a couple more meals before he had to make a decision. And not having to worry about making it through the day might give him a chance to figure something out and find another way to get his life back on track.
"All right," he agreed, hoping that he wasn't getting himself in too deep.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 04:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 05:30 am (UTC)Loving this. Looking forward to more.
Will miss you lots when you're on the road. Have a nice move! *hugs*
no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:15 pm (UTC)lol
And thanks, both for loving the fic, and for the well wishes for the move. I'm sure it will go great (once the movers arrive) *grumbles*
no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 05:35 am (UTC)Love this!
no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 04:42 pm (UTC)More, more, more please!!!!
no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:19 pm (UTC)You know that's kind of funny, because I understand exactly why you're thinking that, and yet Darla is the one being honest about what she wants from Spike, whereas Angel hasn't really figured it out yet and is just trying to say whatever will keep Spike from walking.
I'm glad you're so interested in what will happen and thanks.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:16 pm (UTC)I'm glad you're enjoying this, and thanks.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-19 10:22 pm (UTC)Appreciate that you skipped the brutal bits and concentrated on their emotions.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:25 pm (UTC)Appreciate that you skipped the brutal bits and concentrated on their emotions.
It's the emotional scars that were left on the characters that I'm interested in, which is why I didn't feel the need to go into details about exactly what happened to Angel and Darla. There are somemore brutal bits to their pasts, but again, they won't be explored in play-by-play detail, but in what it did to them emotionaly.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-20 12:39 am (UTC)Something tells me this deal is too good to be true. I can't see Darla just letting Spike walk away at the end of the summer. He's too pretty -- I bet he'll be really popular with the johns. And after what we saw of Darla's past I doubt she has much compassion left after everything she's been through. I hope I'm wrong though. Angel is obsessive... Lets just hope he becomes obsessed with Spike and refuses to share! ;)
Can't wait to see where this goes.
Good luck on your road trip!
no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:28 pm (UTC)Of course I'm not going to tell you what's going to happen, but remember, as much as Darla might want to pretend that she's all buisness, she does have some raw frayed crazy emotions where Angel is concerned, so might not look at Spike as nothing more than an economic asset.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 07:20 pm (UTC)Don't mind me and my wild speculations. Good stories make me think. ;)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-20 02:21 pm (UTC)Angel’s words to Spike, when he offered him a job were shocking because they were so real. What a world we live in…
At least Angel, in his way, is trying to help.
"All right," he agreed, hoping that he wasn't getting himself in too deep.
I really hope so too.
This is one of the mot intriguing AU stories!
no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-20 03:28 pm (UTC)Great chapter, looking forward to the next.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-20 11:14 pm (UTC)Can't wait for more!
no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:35 pm (UTC)lol you know, I can't help but feel like that shouldn't be sexy, but somehow it just is.
Thank you, and glad you're enjoying it.
no subject
Date: 2007-05-22 04:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-28 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 04:15 pm (UTC)There's a lot of back story on both sides, and I'm looking forward to these two opening up to one another. Somehow I missed several chapters, so I'm off to read 5 right now!
no subject
Date: 2007-06-17 10:05 pm (UTC)