6.8 on the Richter Scale

It had been a long thirty-six hours, and the dark-haired vampire had yet to sleep. He had just finished a tough case that had been ongoing for two weeks before he'd gotten the break he'd needed in order to put a stop to a stalker. It had turned out the stalker was a ice crystal dragon disguised as a human, and the end battle had been hard. He'd almost lost Cordelia again, and had it not been for Wesley's presence, she would have been forever frozen by the dragon's icy breath.

All he had wanted to do was go downstairs and sleep for the next week straight after checking the answering machine. But when he had entered the office, he found his Childe sitting at his desk, booted feet up on the surface, sharpening every single one of his pencils down to one-inch nubs. And the response to Angel's question as to what the annoying blond was doing there was "sex."

Angel opened his eyes and peered over his fingers at his Childe. "And you just expect me to bend over for you?" Spike grinned lasciviously. "Spike, I hate you."

"I spent over a century getting fucked up the ass," Angel told him bluntly. "I'm not going to voluntarily allow it to happen again. Now, get lost."

Spike frowned at him. "What do you mean over a centur- oh." Understanding dawned on the blond vampire. "Right, then. But I'm still horny."

"Can't," Spike said. "It's been so long since I got laid, it's gonna be rough." He tapped his temple. "And whatever those soddin' soldier-boys did to me won't let me be rough to humans."

"I still don't see why you would even think that I'd have sex with you," Angel said. "Why don't you just grab another vampire off the street-"

"They'll want me to kill something, and I can't, you stupid ponce," Spike snapped. "I'm sick of tossing off in Giles's bathroom, the only person I'm remotely attracted to is Willow-"

"Keep your dick away from her, or I'll tear it off and make you eat it," Angel stated in a cold, hard voice.

Spike continued with a roll of his eyes. "-And I figured you haven't gotten any in so long you'd be happy to get a leg up on someone."

"Not that it's any of your damn business, but I 'got a leg up on someone,' as you so beautifully put it, four months ago," Angel said. "And secondly, remember that little problem I have with a certain curse on me? That still hasn't miraculously vanished, and if it had, you would be less than the last person on the planet that I'd want to have sex with."

"You just contradicted yourself, you oxy-like-moron," Spike said. "How could you have shagged someone four months back and be complainin' about the bloody curse?"

"Right. But do you really think that helping me get my rocks off is going to make you lose your soul?" Spike said. "If so, it kinda cheapens that whole 'true happiness' thing you're so damn insistent on-"

"Spike, shut up," Angel said, exasperated, as he rose to his feet. "Just go and find yourself a sheep or something. I'm going to bed -- alone."

"Would it helped if I got on my hands and knees and begged?" Spike asked, a devilish grin plastered across his face.

Spike stood and moved around the desk until he had Angel pretty much trapped between him and the desk chair. "Oh, come on, Angel," Spike said in a low, semi-growling tone. He put both his hands on the lapels of his Sire's leather jacket and caressed the soft material with his thumbs, looking up at the older vampire under his lashes. "I know you'd love to get me in a submissive position again..."

Angel grabbed both of Spike's wrists and squeezed tightly. "What is up with you?" Angel ignored his Childe's arched brow in response to the double meaning of his question. "Are you high on something? I despise you, Spike. The only reason you're not dust is because you've been helping Buffy, and that's only because you have to."

"I'm hurt." Spike effected a pout. "You used to bugger me nightly, and I thought it was good between us, baby-"

"That's it," Angel growled, shoving Spike's arms down. "Either you're a hallucination because I need sleep, or I'm back in hell again and no one bothered to tell me."

"Or maybe I'm just so bloody horny for a real partner that I'd do almost anything to get laid," Spike said seriously. "And you're the only one I can think of who I can have rough sex with and not worry about my head exploding. Come on, Angel. I'll still hate you in the morning."

The earth shook violently, cutting Angel's sentence off as he and Spike fell to the floor, the dark-haired vampire banging his head on his desk as he went down. The rumbling was deafening, along with the crashing of the window panes, the thumps and thuds of furnishing tipping over. An enormous crack reverberated in the office, sounding as if the world itself was breaking in two, and then the building began to collapse down upon the two vampires.

Angel and Spike could do nothing but lay tangled together where they fell as the earthquake split the floor beneath them. They tumbled down to the apartment below, Spike hitting the splintered, hardwood ground first with a cry of pain, then Angel landing half on top of his Childe, half beside the blond, his own shout of own pain buried under the sounds of the collapsing building. Neither of them were able to move in order to protect themselves as the earth continued to shake.

Then, as abruptly as it began, the earthquake ended, leaving the two vampires trapped under a mountain of rubble that was once the offices of Angel Investigations and Angel's home.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked Spike, who's ear was near his mouth, when he could get his voice to work again after the shock wore off.

Spike grunted and tried to move under him. "Can you move your soddin' knee? I'd like my cock to be unbruised when we shag."

Angel held back the groan as he shifted his weight off of his Childe, glad to find that there was enough room for him to do so. It was pitch black and he could practically feel the weight of the building pressing down around them, but luckily not crushing them beneath the heavy mortar and brick.

He heard the clink and distinctive hiss of a lighter, then found himself able to see by the flame created. He immediately checked over Spike with his eyes, unconsciously making certain his Childe was alright, and by the scowl on the younger man's face as the blond glared up at the rubble above them, Angel could tell that Spike was fine.

Angel then turned his eyes to survey the space they were in. Two feet separated their bodies from the slab of broken cement, brick and wood that had once made up the ceiling of his apartment. More rubble was completely piled up on the other side of Spike, and included some twisted pipes and what looked to be a crushed picture of some sort. Pushing himself up slightly, he turned his head to find a hole big enough for him to crawl through further into the collapsed building.

Angel turned his head back to glare at the blond, then accepted the Zippo lighter while ignoring Spike's muttered obscenities. Using the flame to see by, the older vampire carefully moved forward, listening carefully and ready to back-up quickly if the earth should move again. Less than four feet beyond where the two vampires had laid, the fallen bricks and cement opened up into a bigger space due to a portion of the steel I-beam that had run along the center of his ceiling before the quake.

The dark-haired vampire was able to climb to his feet, and he carefully examined the broken walls of the space about as wide as a king-sized bed, looking for a way out. He could not smell any fresh air coming from any direction, and the section of the strangely non-broken floor was not by the tunnel grate in his apartment. Spike entered through the hole, growling and grumbling to himself, and rose to his feet.

"Somehow I'm going to figure a way to blame this on you," Spike told Angel as he shrugged out of his duster.

"I can't wait," Angel said dryly. He saw Spike wince before the blond tried to look over his own shoulder at his back. The older vampire crossed the three steps separating them and said, "Turn around."

Angel frowned at the two splinters he saw. Reaching up, he pulled one from the back of Spike's hairline and a second out of the nape of his Childe's neck. "Better?"

"Yeah," Spike said, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. He glanced around the space, his brow slightly furrowed. "Are we stuck?"

"Looks that way," Angel said. "I don't smell any fresh air coming through, so all I can tell you is that way," he pointed towards the I-beam, "is up to the street."

He shoved the lighter at Spike, crossed quickly to the rubble-wall opposite the hole he entered from and began to search for a way to get out with his hands and eyes. He needed to get out. He needed to find Cordelia and see if she was okay. She may be trapped like they were, with no oxygen, with no one to help. He started pulling bits of broken cement and brick in front of him, tossing them to the floor.

"I have to get out of here," Angel said through clenched teeth. He yanked hard on a pipe sticking out of the rubble, and stumbled backwards when it came free. He dropped it to the hardwood flooring with a thud and immediately went back to digging.

"No," Angel growled, the backs of his hands getting scraped by the broken ruins. "She may need me. I have to help her."

Spike grabbed his arm and roughly spun him around. "Will you quit! You're gonna make the whole bloody thing collapse on us!"

"I can't lose her too!" Angel yelled at Spike, yanking his arm back. He turned back to the rubble and made to go back to work, but Spike grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around again. Angel immediately took a swing at the blond, punching Spike across the jaw.

The younger vampire looked at Angel in shock, then slammed his free fist forward into his Sire's stomach. Both of Angel's hands came up and he boxed his Childe's ears. The dark-haired man shoved Spike away hard, causing the blond to drop the lighter. The flame flickered once and went out, plunging them into an inky darkness.

"Now look what you did, you wanker!" Spike snapped. "I don't know what the soddin' hell your problem is-"

"She's my only friend," Angel confessed in a hard, emotion-filled voice. "And I'm not going to let her die because of me, too."

The lighter hissed again and the small flame cast light back into the space. Spike was frowning as he looked up at his Sire, sitting on his knees on the floor. "What do you mean, because of you? You didn't cause the bleedin' earthquake."

Angel ran a jerky hand through his spiked hair, unable to pull on his control, the words spilling out roughly. "Doyle died because of me. I was the one who should have pulled the connection. I should have been the one to die. It was my job, my duty, my reason for being sent back from hell where I belonged. It was my fault that he died! It should have been me, not him! Me!"

The older vampire spun and punched at a slab of what was once the tiled floor of the office above his apartment. His fist cracked loudly against the partially-broken tile, shattering the rest of it. He snarled, bringing his arm back to hit again when Spike's next question stopped him.

"And what would have happened to the little girl who loves you if you'd have been the one who died?" Spike asked.

Angel turned around and looked down at his Childe still sitting on his heels on the floor. The dark-haired man's face was lined with intense emotion -- anger, fear, sadness, grief, guilt. "What?" he said.

"Yes, she would have," Spike interrupted. "If you would have died, she would have, too. You're the reason she keeps going fight after fight, even though she can never really win. Knowing that you will still be around after she finally loses to remember her, that's what allows her to know all her pain is not for nothing."

The blond set the lighter upright on the floor beside him. "I've seen the scar you left her. She gave you her blood to save your worthless hide because you are the most important person in the world to her. Even her mum or Giles. And even though you can't be together." Spike gave Angel a wry smile. "And will you listen to me? I should be re-christened Preacher Spike."

Angel blinked rapidly at the unexpected tears that filled his eyes. Spike cocked his head to one side and gave him a quick pat on the leg. "It'll be okay, mate, The rescue people will be out rescuin', and if Cordelia is in need of some help, they'll get her. Us, too."

"Why is it that you are the most irritating vampire on the planet, yet you seem to be the wisest?" Angel said.

"It's because I listen, you poof," Spike said. "And I observe." He waggled his brows. "Also, getting shagged regularly is a help, too."

He heard the smile that crossed Spike's lips, and when he reopened his eyes, he mentally groaned. "You want to have sex." It was a statement, not a question.

This time, Angel groaned out loud. He reached out and cuffed Spike upside the head. But before he could drop his arm back to his side, the blond vampire captured Angel's wrist, turned his head and nuzzled the older man's palm.

Spike's tongue flicked out over the soft, inner flesh in the center of Angel's hand. Angel tried to ignore the tightening of his muscles the small action caused. However, he could not ignore the piercing bolt of arousal that ran straight to his groin when Spike ran his tongue from Angel's palm up the dark-haired vampire's middle finger, then sucked the digit into his mouth.

Spike released Angel's fingers and slowly lowered the older man's arm. "Okay," he said. "How about if I do this instead?"

Before Angel could protest, Spike leaned forward on his knees, wrapped his hand behind Angel's head, and pressed his mouth to his Sire's.

He'd forgotten how good it felt to kiss someone, especially one whom he'd been intimate with once. Spike nipped at Angel's lower lip, then laved the small bite with his tongue. His firm lips brushed repeatedly over Angel's until he opened his mouth.

Angel allowed his Childe to lead the kiss, and unexpectedly shivered when Spike's tongue swept into his mouth to play. His hand came up to cup the back of the blond's head, angling his own, as the kiss slowly grew deeper.

Spike had said he'd wanted it rough, but the long, gentle strokes of his tongue against Angel's spoke otherwise, and the dark-haired vampire wasn't about to shake things up. He lightly sucked on Spike's tongue, then followed with his own tongue into the younger man's mouth to sweep along Spike's palate. He heard a soft sigh come from his Childe and felt the light brush of fingertips curling and uncurling over the back of his hair.

Angel knew all about loneliness and how hard it was at times, especially when the differences between himself and others were so great. Spike was in a similar situation, a vampire surrounded by mortals, and with no one present who really understood what it was like to have an animalistic demon inside, yet it couldn't be let free. By guilt or by impairment, it did not change the fact that they were more alike now than they had been over a century ago.

Spike slid his hand down from the back of Angel's neck to his leather jacket, the younger man's other hand coming up to help push the material off the dark-haired vampire's shoulders. Angel let the jacket fall to the hardwood floor behind him, then undid the cuffs on his shirt as his Childe's fingers worked down the front of it. Their mouths were still fused together, their tongues twined in a slow and sensual dance.

Angel's shirt joined his jacket on the floor, and the older man inhaled sharply through his nose when Spike's blunt fingernails scraped a path along his chest. His fingers tightened around the collar at the back of Spike's neck, the hand that had been resting on his own thigh transferred to Spike's upper leg.

Angel caressed Spike's thigh through the material of the black jeans, rubbing his hand up and down, his thumb riding just along the underside of the inner seam. Spike made a low sound of encouragement, barely audible to Angel's ears, and scooted closer, inserting one of his knees between the dark-haired man's so he was partially straddling Angel's thigh.

The older vampire slid his hand up to the hip crease Spike's jeans made, his thumb sliding inward to brush over the hard bulge beneath the black denim. Spike inhaled sharply, and his fingers scratched down over Angel's pecs to his flat nipples. The blond tugged on the taut peaks that had formed, sending shocks straight to Angel's groin.

The kiss changed then, becoming more intense. Angel rose up on his knees, removing his hand from Spike's thigh to cup his Childe's cheek, the other tangling up into his blond hair. Angel's tongue delved into Spike's mouth with purpose to titillate, sliding roughly against the other man's. Spike's fingers pinched his nipples again, and Angel whimpered deep in his throat.

Angel dragged himself away from Spike's mouth for the first time since his Childe initiated the kiss. His eyes were ringed in gold as he met the blond's fiery blue ones. He wanted Spike. He wanted Spike badly, and nothing was going to stop him from taking what he wanted.

"Demanding bastard," Spike said in a arousal-roughened voice. He flashed his Sire a cheeky grin before he pulled his tee-shirt up over his head.

Angel grabbed the lighter and moved it to a safer spot. The flame flickered wildly, casting jumping shadows on Spike's pale skin, as his Childe stood and stripped out of his jeans. The dark-haired vampire wasted no time in standing and removing the remainder of his own clothes.

Naked, they stood opposite each other, their prominent erections jutting proudly from their bodies. Angel's eyes raked over Spike, and he felt penis jump and his sac lift and tighten as his muscles clenched in anticipation. He saw Spike's cock twitch upwards as well, and he growled deep in his chest. In one step, he yanked Spike up against him and violently smashed his lips down upon his Childe's.

Spike's fingernails clawed down his back, drawing welts and possibly blood, as the blond kissed him back with equal fervor. Angel reached down, grabbed the muscular globe of Spike's ass, and ground his pelvis up against the younger vampire's. His hard shaft rubbed against the rough hair that surrounded Spike's member, and he felt Spike's equally hard cock rub against him in the same manner.

Angel dragged Spike down to the floor with him. He pressed the blond hard to the ground, his body covering the leaner man's, as he plundered Spike's mouth. Spike let out a long purr of pleasure as the blond's hands reached down to cup Angel's buttocks and he ground himself upwards into his Sire.

The dark-haired man broke away from Spike's mouth and grazed his blunt teeth down the side of his Childe's neck. He laved his tongue over Spike's jugular, smelling the blood beneath the surface of the blond's pale skin. He growled lightly as his face shifted, and he made a quick slice with his fangs over the area before sliding back into his human mask. Spike hissed when he lapped up the blood from the cuts, the younger man grinding himself repetitively up against Angel's pelvis.

Angel tisked in Spike's ear, his tongue darting out to run along the rim. "Don't cum yet," he said in a low rumble, then pushed up on his forearms before he started kissing and nipping his way down Spike's body.

Spike groaned loudly when Angel nipped at the blond's inner thigh. The older vampire pushed Spike's legs up and apart, his face dipping between Spike's spread thighs to run his tongue along the supersensitive perineum. He rolled the younger man's hips further up to rim Spike's tight, pink hole, his actions with his tongue causing Spike to scrape his fingernails on the hardwood floor with a slight screech on either side of his body.

Angel moved further up Spike to slide his tongue over the blond's steel cock. He lapped up the pre-cum at the tip, then raised his head briefly to moisten his first two fingers with his saliva. He bent his head back over Spike's jutting shaft at the same time he pushed his moistened finger inside the younger vampire's puckered opening.

Spike groaned again loudly, his hips arching up as Angel sucked down upon his cock. Angel's tongue swept back and forth along the underside of Spike's shaft as he drew his head up and down over the hard member. The dark-haired vampire's finger slid in and out of Spike, the second one joining the first, as he prepared the younger man.

Angel felt Spike start to move erratically, the blond's hips jerking up in an irregular manner, signaling that he was going to orgasm. The older man pulled away from Spike at that moment, eliciting a plaintive whimper from his Childe, as Angel pushed himself up to his knees to one side of Spike.

The younger vampire's eyes flashed with confusion, need, and a hint of anger. "Wha-" he started to ask, but Angel grabbed him harshly and flipped him over onto his stomach.

"Just wait," Angel said roughly. Positioning himself behind Spike, Angel pulled his Childe's hips up until the blond was kneeling. He brought his hand to his mouth and spit in it, then grabbed his aching cock to cover it with his saliva. He then ran his turgid shaft down the crack between the pale globes of Spike's buttocks until he found the tight opening.

Spike growled as Angel pushed into him. The dark-haired man wrapped a firm arm around his waist, holding him tightly as Angel slowly slid further and further into Spike. The top of the younger vampire's erection brushed against the top of Angel's forearm, reminding the older man of the not-so-little problem he'd left.

Angel pressed his bare chest to Spike's back, placing one of his palms flat on the floor beside his Childe's bent arm. "Don't cum yet," he instructed gruffly as close to Spike's ear as he could get. He lightly bit down on the back of Spike's shoulder with his blunt teeth and pulled his hips back before thrusting back into Spike's tight body.

After a few thrusts, Angel encircled Spike's erection with his large hand. He began to stroke the blond's cock in time with his movements, the velvety-soft skin sliding easily over the steel hardness underneath. With each downsweep of his hand, he tightened his grip at the base of Spike's penis, helping to hold back his Childe's orgasm.

Angel felt his climax approaching and began thrusting harder, his pelvis smacking up against Spike's ass. He squeezed the base of the blond's cock tightly and snarled, "Don't cum yet," then released the younger man's shaft completely.

The older man raised his upper body, grabbed Spike's hips, and slammed into him wildly. With a loud growl that echoed against the rubble, Angel climaxed. He buried himself fully into Spike, his shaft pulsating as his semen shot from his penis. Unbelievable pleasure washed over him, causing him to actually feel lightheaded, as his entire body shuddered.

Angel pulled out of Spike and sat back on his heels to catch a needed breath, despite the lack of requiring the oxygen. He could see that his Childe's entire body was quivering with the strain of his muscles as Spike tried to wait. Taking a final, purposeful breath, Angel smacked Spike on the ass, then laid down on his back on the hardwood floor, his head near the blond's knees.

With very little prompting, Spike was straddling Angel's shoulders, his hands grasping the back of the older man's dark hair as he thrust his cock into his Sire's willing mouth. Angel watched Spike's face as it twisted in pleasure, lashing with his tongue against the underside of the younger vampire's shaft as it slid in and out from between his lips. His hands were resting on Spike's lower back, prompting his Childe to move faster as he relaxed his throat muscles.

Spike roared as he climaxed after being denied his release for so long. He came in great bursts, flooding Angel's mouth too quickly for the older vampire to swallow. The salty semen dribbled down Angel's chin from the corners of his mouth as the rest poured down his throat. Angel saw Spike's eyelids flutter as the blond's eyes rolled back in the grip of his intense orgasm.

The younger man moved off of Angel and sat down on the floor beside him, panting heavily. Angel wiped his mouth with his hand and rolled onto his side, laying his dark head on his biceps, his arm stretched out straight above him. "Feel better?" he asked, watching as Spike tried to pull himself back together in the aftermath of his orgasm.

"I haven't slept in over three days," Angel told him. The dark-haired vampire could feel the pull of sleep that had been added to with the release of the post-orgasm hormones, but he knew he should stay awake until they were rescued.

He started to move to get his clothing, but was stopped by the hand on his shoulder. Angel looked up at Spike with question. "You look comfortable," Spike said. "Sleep. I'll wake you up when I hear them coming."

Angel was about to protest, then thought better of it. He relaxed back onto the floor, using his arm as a pillow. "Make sure you stay awake," he said to Spike. "If they find us both asleep, they'll think they have a couple of corpses on their hands."

They both fell silent, the flame from the Zippo casting interesting shadows that lulled Angel's senses. After a moment, Angel admitted quietly, "I missed this."

Comfortable silence permeated the air again, and Angel was just about asleep when he heard Spike's quiet voice.

"I was just wondering if there was a Richter scale measurement for sex," Spike answered. He frowned briefly. "Which also makes me wonder what the scale read for this bloody earthquake."

One corner of Angel's mouth tilted up. "You decide," he said, then allowed himself to fall be pulled into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.