Knitting Needles :: an AU S2 Spike ficlet.
Title: Knitting Needles
Author: fenderlove
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: During an AU School Hard, Anne waits for her son to return from Sunnydale High's Parent-Teacher Night.
Notes: This is a sorta sequel to Apron Strings. I plan on writing more of these stand-alone ficlets when I get the time, but I'm not totally sure if it will turn into a series or not.
Knitting Needles
Pacing back and forth across the main floor of the factory, Anne kept her eyes focused on the windows set high into the corrugated metal walls. The sky was slowly turning pink and gold. Though it was a mother's prerogative to worry, Anne had particular reason to fear for her son's safety.
Her William was capable and strong as a vampire, but he had a tendency to be a tad impetuous. She had indulged his little "hobby" of hunting Slayers, but this was going to be the last one. Having to put her foot down with him was always hard. It was her own fault, of course. Even when William was a small child, Anne made sure he received anything he desired. The unfortunate consequence of this was that, as William matured, it became clear that he no ability to take care of himself, no earning capacity beyond a clerk or librarian's salary. If he hadn't become a vampire and in turn made her into one as well, Anne shuddered to think of what would have become of him after she succumbed to illness. She imagined him sitting in an empty house, all the possessions sold off, the servants let go, until he eventually starved to death waiting for a publication notice. Anne knew this was all quite over-dramatic and Dickensian, but it still made her unbeating heart ache to think about it.
I suppose I should be thankful William met the trollop, Anne glanced over at Drusilla who was pestering the young boy the other vampires called the "Anointed One."
Getting information about their kind had been difficult and had taken a lot of diligence on Anne's part. While the children played, she had to research what little fragments of information she could glean from Drusilla's insane ramblings. They traveled, and Anne was fascinated with the pageantry and the history of vampires, specifically the Aurelian Order to which they belonged. William shared her passion for learning but was too easily distracted by the harlot to become too engrossed. Anne had really believed that after the first decade her son's infatuation with Drusilla would wane, but over a century later she was still dealing with a literal daughter-in-law from hell.
In fact, it had been William's obsession and devotion that had led them back to America. After Drusilla was set upon by an angry mob in Prague, that Anne had absolutely nothing to do with, the brunette vampiress was weakened, driven further into delusions and unable to fend for herself for any period of time. William feverishly researched for a cure to put his broken princess back together again, and Anne reluctantly participated, finally coming across the Ritual of Restoration as part of the Du Lac manuscript. It took even further acts of bribery and violence in the depths of society's underbelly to learn the location of Drusilla's much-shrouded-in-mystery sire.
All the days and nights half-buried under moldering tomes made Anne long for companionship of her own. It wasn't that she didn't love spending time with her son, but there were just certain things that William could not provide. Well, she supposed he could, but he didn't resemble his father enough in appearance or personality to tempt her interest. Though she'd found her share of lovers over time with every romantic interlude ending in dessert for her and leaving no one behind to tell any "morning after" tales, Anne rarely found moments to be by herself. It seemed that when she actually wanted to be alone, William was constantly underfoot, but when she needed him, he was in the arms of the Whore of Babble-on.
To make matters worse, Drusilla was quite flighty with her flirtations, and she'd take off in an affair with some creature or another. William would proceed to fall into a pit of despair, begging his mother to help him bring the girl home, which Anne always did, and then he would pretend as though none of the unpleasantness ever occurred. That was, of course, until it predictably happened again. Anne wished with everything she had that she possessed the strength to break Drusilla's hold over William's affections. Or to at least break every bone in the girl's skinny body.
As the first rays of sunlight began to show in the sky, the Anointed One's foot-soldiers began closing all the reenforced steel shutters over the windows save one to leave the minimum visibility that was needed. Anne felt like her heart was up in her throat. William was never out this late.
If he was unable to kill the Slayer at her little school social, Anne's thoughts raced, perhaps, he had to find a place to hide for the day.
"Tiny feet, tiny knees, tiny hands going pitter-pat pitter-pat up in the ceiling," Drusilla sing-songed as she tried to get the Anointed One to show an interest in her favourite doll.
Anne drew her leather coat, a reminder of William's last victory over a Slayer, tighter around her body. The other vampires were giving her strange looks. She was much older in human years than most of them. There were many fantasies she had of being younger and tramping about Europe with her husband, creating all sorts of vampiric mayhem. Phineas would have loved to have seen all the literary transitions through the years. Of course, being undead at a younger age wouldn't have left room for William. Then came the idea of how convenient it would have been to travel with a small child on all the voyages. William might not have enjoyed being perpetually four years old for all eternity, but it would have saved Anne years of listening to his coupling with Drusilla. And he had been absolutely precious at that age.
"Mummy," Drusilla smiled as she slinked around Anne, "don't be cross because there are bats in your belfry and William comes to sweep the cobwebs out of mine."
Trying to remain civil and dignified, Anne replied cooly, "My dear, those are not cobwebs; those are pubic lice."
Drusilla made a small growling noise in the back of her throat, but before she could act the sound of William's car pulling up to the factory broke the tension. A few moments later, William rushed inside with only a few of the minions remaining. He seemed completely disappointed, and Anne knew immediately his hunting had not gone well.
"Oh, Will, did she hurt you?" Drusilla asked as William rubbed at a trickle of blood that was oozing down his neck.
There was a bit of a simmer of pleasure in her question that Anne took offense to on William's behalf.
William sighed, sounding very put out as he went to lean his head on Drusilla's shoulder, "It was close, but-"
Anne quickly moved in-between the couple to access the deep cut to William's scalp. He had a slightly chagrinned expression as his mother fussed over him. Drusilla's whinging at the loss of contact was mostly ignored, however.
Anne cupped the sides of William's face as she examined the wound, "What happened? Was the Slayer well-armed?"
Shaking his head, William held Anne's small hands in his own, stilling her, "I'm fine, Mother. I didn't expect that the Slayer would have family and friends to aid her. That definitely wasn't in the brochure."
Anne kissed his cheek gently, "You'll kill her, darling. It may just take a little more time than you wanted."
William managed a smile and nodded, "It'll be like New York. I had to stalk that one for quite a while, and it was all the more fun afterwards."
"We had a big celebration," Drusilla snaked her arms around William's waist possessively as she moved to press her body against his back, nipping saucily at his jaw as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "And we'll have an even bigger one once you put the shiny new Slayer in the ground."
"Of course, ducks," William sighed, feeling like the rope in a game of tug-of-war.
The other vampires were milling uncomfortably around the Anointed One. They made conspiratorial whispers as they glared daggers at the family. News of William's failure to rid Sunnydale of its Slayer problem had reached the ears of management, it seemed.
"Suppose I better go make nice," William said glumly.
Anne petted his cheek and replied softly, "I do find all the genuflecting a bit tedious, don't you?"
Off the look his mother gave him and the tone of her voice, William tried to hide a small grin, "It would be very nice to not have to worry about formalities anymore."
"Go play," she raised an eyebrow as she pushed him towards the Anointed and his entourage.
As she watched her son take care of the only impediment stopping them from ruling over the other vampires in the sunny little burg, Anne was suddenly struck with a craving for Mongolian barbecue.
I wonder if anyone delivers, she thought to herself as she side-stepped some of the Anointed One's falling ashes.
Author: fenderlove
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: During an AU School Hard, Anne waits for her son to return from Sunnydale High's Parent-Teacher Night.
Notes: This is a sorta sequel to Apron Strings. I plan on writing more of these stand-alone ficlets when I get the time, but I'm not totally sure if it will turn into a series or not.
Knitting Needles
Pacing back and forth across the main floor of the factory, Anne kept her eyes focused on the windows set high into the corrugated metal walls. The sky was slowly turning pink and gold. Though it was a mother's prerogative to worry, Anne had particular reason to fear for her son's safety.
Her William was capable and strong as a vampire, but he had a tendency to be a tad impetuous. She had indulged his little "hobby" of hunting Slayers, but this was going to be the last one. Having to put her foot down with him was always hard. It was her own fault, of course. Even when William was a small child, Anne made sure he received anything he desired. The unfortunate consequence of this was that, as William matured, it became clear that he no ability to take care of himself, no earning capacity beyond a clerk or librarian's salary. If he hadn't become a vampire and in turn made her into one as well, Anne shuddered to think of what would have become of him after she succumbed to illness. She imagined him sitting in an empty house, all the possessions sold off, the servants let go, until he eventually starved to death waiting for a publication notice. Anne knew this was all quite over-dramatic and Dickensian, but it still made her unbeating heart ache to think about it.
I suppose I should be thankful William met the trollop, Anne glanced over at Drusilla who was pestering the young boy the other vampires called the "Anointed One."
Getting information about their kind had been difficult and had taken a lot of diligence on Anne's part. While the children played, she had to research what little fragments of information she could glean from Drusilla's insane ramblings. They traveled, and Anne was fascinated with the pageantry and the history of vampires, specifically the Aurelian Order to which they belonged. William shared her passion for learning but was too easily distracted by the harlot to become too engrossed. Anne had really believed that after the first decade her son's infatuation with Drusilla would wane, but over a century later she was still dealing with a literal daughter-in-law from hell.
In fact, it had been William's obsession and devotion that had led them back to America. After Drusilla was set upon by an angry mob in Prague, that Anne had absolutely nothing to do with, the brunette vampiress was weakened, driven further into delusions and unable to fend for herself for any period of time. William feverishly researched for a cure to put his broken princess back together again, and Anne reluctantly participated, finally coming across the Ritual of Restoration as part of the Du Lac manuscript. It took even further acts of bribery and violence in the depths of society's underbelly to learn the location of Drusilla's much-shrouded-in-mystery sire.
All the days and nights half-buried under moldering tomes made Anne long for companionship of her own. It wasn't that she didn't love spending time with her son, but there were just certain things that William could not provide. Well, she supposed he could, but he didn't resemble his father enough in appearance or personality to tempt her interest. Though she'd found her share of lovers over time with every romantic interlude ending in dessert for her and leaving no one behind to tell any "morning after" tales, Anne rarely found moments to be by herself. It seemed that when she actually wanted to be alone, William was constantly underfoot, but when she needed him, he was in the arms of the Whore of Babble-on.
To make matters worse, Drusilla was quite flighty with her flirtations, and she'd take off in an affair with some creature or another. William would proceed to fall into a pit of despair, begging his mother to help him bring the girl home, which Anne always did, and then he would pretend as though none of the unpleasantness ever occurred. That was, of course, until it predictably happened again. Anne wished with everything she had that she possessed the strength to break Drusilla's hold over William's affections. Or to at least break every bone in the girl's skinny body.
As the first rays of sunlight began to show in the sky, the Anointed One's foot-soldiers began closing all the reenforced steel shutters over the windows save one to leave the minimum visibility that was needed. Anne felt like her heart was up in her throat. William was never out this late.
If he was unable to kill the Slayer at her little school social, Anne's thoughts raced, perhaps, he had to find a place to hide for the day.
"Tiny feet, tiny knees, tiny hands going pitter-pat pitter-pat up in the ceiling," Drusilla sing-songed as she tried to get the Anointed One to show an interest in her favourite doll.
Anne drew her leather coat, a reminder of William's last victory over a Slayer, tighter around her body. The other vampires were giving her strange looks. She was much older in human years than most of them. There were many fantasies she had of being younger and tramping about Europe with her husband, creating all sorts of vampiric mayhem. Phineas would have loved to have seen all the literary transitions through the years. Of course, being undead at a younger age wouldn't have left room for William. Then came the idea of how convenient it would have been to travel with a small child on all the voyages. William might not have enjoyed being perpetually four years old for all eternity, but it would have saved Anne years of listening to his coupling with Drusilla. And he had been absolutely precious at that age.
"Mummy," Drusilla smiled as she slinked around Anne, "don't be cross because there are bats in your belfry and William comes to sweep the cobwebs out of mine."
Trying to remain civil and dignified, Anne replied cooly, "My dear, those are not cobwebs; those are pubic lice."
Drusilla made a small growling noise in the back of her throat, but before she could act the sound of William's car pulling up to the factory broke the tension. A few moments later, William rushed inside with only a few of the minions remaining. He seemed completely disappointed, and Anne knew immediately his hunting had not gone well.
"Oh, Will, did she hurt you?" Drusilla asked as William rubbed at a trickle of blood that was oozing down his neck.
There was a bit of a simmer of pleasure in her question that Anne took offense to on William's behalf.
William sighed, sounding very put out as he went to lean his head on Drusilla's shoulder, "It was close, but-"
Anne quickly moved in-between the couple to access the deep cut to William's scalp. He had a slightly chagrinned expression as his mother fussed over him. Drusilla's whinging at the loss of contact was mostly ignored, however.
Anne cupped the sides of William's face as she examined the wound, "What happened? Was the Slayer well-armed?"
Shaking his head, William held Anne's small hands in his own, stilling her, "I'm fine, Mother. I didn't expect that the Slayer would have family and friends to aid her. That definitely wasn't in the brochure."
Anne kissed his cheek gently, "You'll kill her, darling. It may just take a little more time than you wanted."
William managed a smile and nodded, "It'll be like New York. I had to stalk that one for quite a while, and it was all the more fun afterwards."
"We had a big celebration," Drusilla snaked her arms around William's waist possessively as she moved to press her body against his back, nipping saucily at his jaw as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "And we'll have an even bigger one once you put the shiny new Slayer in the ground."
"Of course, ducks," William sighed, feeling like the rope in a game of tug-of-war.
The other vampires were milling uncomfortably around the Anointed One. They made conspiratorial whispers as they glared daggers at the family. News of William's failure to rid Sunnydale of its Slayer problem had reached the ears of management, it seemed.
"Suppose I better go make nice," William said glumly.
Anne petted his cheek and replied softly, "I do find all the genuflecting a bit tedious, don't you?"
Off the look his mother gave him and the tone of her voice, William tried to hide a small grin, "It would be very nice to not have to worry about formalities anymore."
"Go play," she raised an eyebrow as she pushed him towards the Anointed and his entourage.
As she watched her son take care of the only impediment stopping them from ruling over the other vampires in the sunny little burg, Anne was suddenly struck with a craving for Mongolian barbecue.
I wonder if anyone delivers, she thought to herself as she side-stepped some of the Anointed One's falling ashes.