Work Text
Angelus paused in running the brush through his shoulder-length, auburn hair with a satisfied sigh. He did regret that the looking glass was useless. There were those magic ones, of course, but they cost an arm and a leg. The small compact mirror that Darla had must have been a king's ransom. Instead of brooding over Darla's sire's lavish gifts to her, Angelus adjusted his cuff link and then turned his attention to the more pressing matter. The rather small matter, which was doing its best to pick the lock on his Japanese cabinet.He’d no sooner laid the brush down than the boy sprang up like a rather guilty jack in the box. Angelus had to use all his self-discipline to keep from breaking into a grin. The boy was speedy, but no match for a vampire nearly two centuries his elder, and Angelus easily overtook him when he tried to dodge around the bed, catching him by the back of the collar and pulling him to his side, a fistful of shirt in his grasp.He ignored the fledgling’s protests, thrusting his free hand into William’s trousers pocket and pulling out the lock pick, which he brandished under his nose. “William, what have you been told about getting into my things?”Angelus arched a brow. Truth be told, it was a minor bit of mischief, but one must have standards and he had learned quickly that a short leash was recommended with the boy.“I was practicing. Sir.”“Practicing. I see. Practicing picking locked cabinetry in my bedroom.” Angelus allowed his brow to arch a fraction of an inch, keeping his gaze locked on the boy’s.“Well, you see it’s got to be locked or I can’t unlock it–”The boy simply could not resist an opportunity for a cheeky remark, even literally held by the scruff of the neck. Angelus swiftly grabbed him by the lapels, enjoying the momentarily widened eyes and the stifled squeak, but then simply straightened his jacket, and then lightly flicked his ear with his index finger."You were told to have a wash. Have you?"He seized the boy’s collar again, pulling him close to inspect the back of his neck, letting the stream of excuses wash over him."Well, you see, sir, I was going to, but then you were rabbiting on about laying the fire and I had laid it, but I suppose it's beneath a master vampire to strike a match, and there was really no sense in having a wash before laying it, and--"He frowned slightly, licking his thumb, and rubbing it behind William’s ear. “Enough, boy. The condition of your ears speaks for itself. So, you have not followed instructions.”“Well, if you’d listen, I’m trying to explain. I mean, seems to me that some people around her think bein’ a vampire is just an excuse to be waited on hand and foot, but I’m a vampire too–”Angelus released the boy with a click of his fingers, touching one index finger to William’s pretty lower lip for silence. He reached round with the other hand to show him the smudged grime on the ball of his thumb. “Hands.”"The thing is, sir, there’s no point in washing them, if you’d just listen, because chances are you’d expect me to lug a bucket of coal up or scrub the larder or help with bottling and then you’d just be moaning on about me getting them dirty, cos–”"William, are you going to make me repeat myself?”Angelus punctuated the statement with a stern look that actually got the boy to close his mouth with an audible pop. He kept up the look for a couple of seconds, to ensure Will was actually finished. As if an afterthought, the boy thrust forth his hands, palms up and in need of a thorough scrub.Angelus caught one by the wrist and turned it back and forth, arching a brow as he regarded the grimy paw.“Are you impersonating a chimney sweep?”“I did explain about the fire, sir–” William yelped as his collar was caught again, and he was propelled toward the washstand with its cake of soap wiped neatly clean and free of suds alongside the china basin and pitcher.Angelus stood over him, close enough to impress upon him his looming presence, but far enough back to avoid being splashed with the suds. A pitcher of water in William’s grasp could be a recipe for a deluge. After a moment, he swiftly divested himself of his jacket and seized the boy by the wrist, commandeering the sudsy nail brush and working up a proper lather.Ignoring the usual protests, Angelus said, “Tonight we will be attending my club. The most powerful vampires in London will be present, my business associates and rivals."“Sir! I can do it myself! I’m not a baby!” William twisted and thrashed in his grasp, eel-like.“If you upturn that basin you’ll go straight across my knee,” Angelus warned.He managed to get the boy looking somewhat presentable– at least, getting the blacking from beneath his fingernails and the soot scrubbed from his knuckles. While he had him there, he decided he may as well do things properly and he took a soapy flannel to the back of the fledgeling’s neck and under his sharp jawline, not neglecting to scrub behind his ears. William was growling by the time he finished and released him, shooting out of reach to sulk against the dresser with his arms crossed.Angelus wrang the flannel and draped it off the washstand, remarking calmly as he dried his hands, “Now, I expect you to be presentable, and on your absolutely best behaviour. My associates are aware I have a new fledge and they want to see what to make of you. Your behaviour will reflect directly on me.”William give the earnest nod that indicated he had tuned his sire out. Angelus gave a sharp glance around to see what had caught the boy’s attention this time, and frowned. He was staring at the Japanese cabinet again! For a being with the attention span of a mayfly, William could be really infuriatingly single-minded when it suited him. He flicked the boy’s ear again and answered the annoyed yelp with a stern look.“What did I just say?” Angelus arched a brow. “And leave that cabinet alone. There’s nothing in it to concern you.”William rubbed his ear with a scowl, muttering.“What was that?”
"So, when we go to your club tonight, what's in it for me? And there is something in there to concern me.”Angelus arched a brow at the back talk. William’s seeming incapacity to do as he was told or receive a direction without backchat was really astonishing, he reflected for the umpteenth time on his own upbringing. He caught the boy by the shoulders, leaning down until their foreheads practically touched and he could gaze deeply into William’s bright blue eyes. The little spitfire held his gaze for a count of twenty before looking askance.“If you need help remembering who is the master vampire and who is the fledgeling, perhaps some time in the corner will suffice.”That elicited an outraged yelp of protest– William hated being cornered. The expectation to be silent, still, and facing a boring wall with no one taking notice of him was probably the worst punishment that he could have meted out.“Sir! I’m just standing here and you’ve been picking on me for ages.” William’s pout was adorable, really. Angelus couldn’t resist pulling him close for a kiss to the forehead. The boy squirmed fiercely for about half a second before snuggling up to his side, dropping his head against his chest with a little disconsolate huff."What do you mean, what's in it for you?""I mean," William began, in the very slow and patient voice he occasionally used when he felt he'd been asked an idiotic question. "We're goin out to your club, we're going to be seeing your cronies and rivals and whatnot, yeh? You showing me off, well, it's easy to see how that benefits you-- everybody says what a brilliant sire you are, look how presentable and clever I am, look at me sit up and do my tricks, woof-woof, yeh?"Angelus kept his face in his most impassive but intimidating gaze, casting a meaningful glance toward the hairbrush resting where it had been lain on the marble-topped dressing table. The boy followed his look and swallowed hard, taking a step back, but he pressed on with his point."Er-- so anyway, yeh, it's plain to see what you get out of this, but what's in it for me?""You'll have the opportunity to present yourself. To demonstrate your wit, and charm.""And what's the reward in that?" Will muttered sullenly, glaring daggers at the carpet. Trying to keep his gaze away from the hairbrush, as if looking at it directly might manifest it in Angelus’ hand.Would Darla ever have tolerated one instant of this– the sulking, the backtalk, the general insolence? Not to mention the naivete. Angelus tried to consider how to vocalise a concept that ought to be glaringly obvious.But the world had changed in the time since Darla had made him. Had gotten simultaneously bigger and smaller. And they had changed as well, somehow. He and Darla had been partners-in-crime, confidants, practically equals from the start. She mentored him to learn finesse, to kill with grace and artistry, to draw on all the great and terrible depths within him to reach new heights of creative monstrosity. He did his best to constantly live up to or exceed her expectations. To be her ideal companion.Time passed, even for vampires, and she’d directed his attention to Drusilla. With Dru, he’d found himself stretching even his own creative limits, and the result was truly a masterwork. But Drusilla was special. A bright, fallen star. And in making her, Angelus fundamentally altered the structure of things: they’d gone from a mated pair to a family.An empress, a king, and their starry-eyed princess.But three could be lonesome. Much as they’d enjoyed their decades of Happy Families, Dru needed a playmate. Someone suited to the whimsical games she delighted in, all boy. The Lost Boy companion for her adventures through the looking glass.Thus, William.Now, Darla and he, whether they had intended it or not, were a mummy and daddy. All in all, an arrangement he found rather enjoyable more often than not, but still, requiring some new ways of thinking. New ways of relating, particularly when it came to the most junior member of the family.After a moment, he smiled and patted the boy's cheek."I shall be very proud of you, of course! And I may just reward you with something special."William was of an incredibly mercenary bent (Angelus still hadn't managed to work out where he had picked up, but he wasn't above utilising it from time to time), and his eyes blazed with enthusiasm. His whole face seemed to light up at the prospect, glowing in the fireplace light, which combined with his curls to give the aspect of a particularly avaricious angel. Angelus seized the moment to sweeten the pot further, settling down on the edge of the bed and pulling William onto his knee."Let's go over the expectations. You will be on your best behaviour, which means you will follow my lead. Stay by my side, speak when spoken to, and you will have them eating from the palm of your hand. When you put your mind to it, boy, you can be quite a little charmer--""So what sort of something special? Chocolate? Whiskey– a good stuff, not the swill you keep for guests– Oh! A proper sword, like yours, sir?" As usual, William's focus was fourteen steps off to the side, nimbly skipping over tangents.Angelus reminded himself yet again that the boy was extremely young. The baby of the family, really.He cast his gaze around the room as if seeking patience, and noted the small box of bonbons he'd brought Darla recently, on her nightstand. Swiftly plucking one from the box, he popped it into Will's mouth, if only to distract him from the incessant chattering."Well we will see, my boy. It's for me to decide. Now then. You see, when you are a good boy, you receive treats, don't you? So, be on your best behaviour, and when we get home, you will have a reward, but if you act up. Then there will be consequences."Angelus paused to give William a stern look, to let that settle in. He was gratified to see Will nod earnestly, and step back slightly, putting his hands behind his back, while chewing and swallowing."I will be good. Sir," Will exclaimed, somewhat garbled by luxury-grade confectionary.Angelus smiled and patted his boy's shoulder warmly. "And I have utmost confidence you will. Now then. You needn't be nervous, Will. You are a bright, clever, inventive little vampire and if you just follow my lead, you will make an excellent impression--"“Some proper dosh, so I could take Dru out on the town. A real night out, but someplace fun, not those posh balls you and Darla are always going to, full of toffee-nosed prats. Or a sword, you know, the more I’m thinking on it, I really think a sword is the way to go. You’ve got loads and I’m never even allowed to lay a finger on ‘em aside from polishing and sharpening then, you wouldn’t miss one–” From the clarity in his voice, Will had swallowed.Angelus considered a second bonbon, but considered Darla's response. One missing could be chalked up to distracted eating while engrossed in a novel, but two would surely provoke questions."We will see, William. I said that the reward will be for me to decide. But let's not forget about the consequences."William was working himself into a tizzy. "But sir! I said I'll be good! You know, half the time, when people are getting their pants in a bundle, accusing me of things, it isn't even me that did it. Like that time when everyone accused me of taking your cigar-cutter, and then Madame had mislaid it. Or the time that you sent me out to fetch your brandy, and the shop had already closed. So, it's not fair to accuse me of being bad and take it out on me, if it's not even my fault. And anyway, what sort of consequences are you even threatening me with?""William." Angelus forced himself to take another long breath and exhaled for a four count. "Don't push it. Just be mindful of your behaviour and everything will be fine. You're a bright young spark and if you keep a civil tongue in your head and stay by my side, we shall have a lovely evening. At my club, you may have two fingers of whiskey with an equal amount of soda."William clenched his fists and tilted his head, with a pleading look. "Please, 'Gelus! I need to know what’s going to be in store for me if anything goes wrong. Otherwise it’ll be hanging over my head all night. I can handle it."Ye gods! The boy was as tenacious as Cerebus. "Very well! The consequences – well, they depend on you, don’t they. Let the punishment fit the crime, and so forth.”He cast around momentarily, trying to think of something enough to be deterring without making the boy plunge headlong into some sort of reckless 'I'm doomed so may as well grab an anvil on my way off the cliff' mindset. "---A slippering."“A slippering!” William’s face was stiff with outrage. He glared right at Angelus, jutting his chin. “I’d like to see you try.”He prided himself on being unflappable. After nearly two centuries, there wasn’t much he hadn’t done or imagined (although Darla, bless her, born chess mistress that she was, sometimes did manage to slide in two steps ahead of him and unseat him. It was one of the many things he admired about her and staved off any hint of tedium). Still, the audacity of this mere scrap of a fledgling never ceased to astonish him. He shot a hand out, catching William by the wrist.“Oh, you would, would you?”There was certainly something to be said for positive reinforcement, and Angelus had no intentions of having to clout a mere wet-behind-the-ears fledge into submission for every little infraction. But really, the boy had been trying his patience all night and a sound reminder of just whom was the sire and whom was the fledgeling was in order. Better to remind William of his place now before they left for a night out. Besides, the boy did seem to retain instructions better with a little incentive.“Leggo! Sir!” William tried to scramble away, but Angelus shifted his slight weight over his lap, quickly pinning his legs. He leaned down and scooped up one of his slippers: the article was dark brown leather, with a firm sole and he knew that William especially detested it.“I’m a bloody vampire! It’s ridiculous!” William protested.“On the contrary, a sound slippering is quite an appropriate deterrent for a misbehaving small fledgeling,” Angelus wrapped an arm round William’s waist and tilted his head as he calculated the perfect angle to impart the lesson. The boy squirmed and twisted, but couldn’t break free from his elder’s grasp. “Anyway, I expect you’ve got up to some mischief or other that I don’t know about, we’ll consider this an object lesson as well as payment for that.”He delivered the first swat with a practiced stroke and flick of his wrist, and William bucked up with a toss of his head like a wild pony. Angelus held him firmly, delivering another stroke to the tight seat of his trousers. William thrashed, swore, shouted in outrage, and after only a half-dozen spanks, lay over Angelus’ knee panting. His face was screwed up with lips tight and eyes clenched shut. Angelus laid on two more firm swats for good measure.It was a delicate calculation: just the necessary amount to give incentive without pushing the boy over into reckless defiance. Williiam could be especially bloody-minded when he felt he had been hard-done by. The boy had a fascination obsession with ‘fairness’ that Angelus found interesting when it wasn’t infuriating.He scooped his brat up into his lap, the slipper lain aside now, and nuzzled him. Kissing away a tear from the sulky face, Angelus nuzzled William, reassuring him. “There there, now. No more spanking. And so long as you behave yourself, you needn’t fear another dose of the slipper before bedtime. Come now, show me those pretty eyes, let’s have a smile.”William’s eyes blazed but he quickly got hold of himself, wiping his face roughly with his fist. He huffed, scowling petulantly, as he rubbed his bottom, but after a few moments, he allowed Angelus to nuzzle and comfort him, and when Angelus nipped his own index finger and held it to the boy’s mouth, his blue eyes lit up like a candle.Angelus had to chuckle at the boy, eagerly sucking the big index finger, wriggling with enthusiasm on his knee and thrumming with purrs.“There’s my cheeky boy. Come now, let’s be off.”He let Will take a last few pulls on his index finger before removing it from the boy’s mouth and licking it clean himself. Then, he patted Will’s shoulder, saying, “Let that be an incentive to you. Let’s hail a cab.”Will leaped up and sprinted for the door, as Angelus chuckled and strolled after him, tugging his jacket on and adjusting his watch chain. As he heard his boy thundering down the front stairs for the door, suddenly, William stopped short, looking up at him. "But wait-- what about the _reward_?"