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Spike ([info]bloodislove) wrote in [info]dunwichgame,
@ 2025-05-06 23:28:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:buffyverse: spike, star trek: khan noonien singh

SPIKE
KHAN
WHO Spike and Khan
WHERE Pickman
WHEN Mid-evening
WHAT Spike checks in on Khan
Status Ongoing
WARNINGS Very tired Khan.


It had been a few days since Spike had heard from his new acquaintance, and although it was curiosity about the super-man that had reminded him of it, it was also a noticeable absense. Just before his shift ended he'd texted the relative stranger, inviting him to meet after he was relieved of duty.

At the end of his shift, however, there was no reply. Shrugging it off and paying his tab he started to walk home. At least it was early enough in the evening he'd get to spend some quality time with Darcey.

Still, as he turned to walk home he hesitated. Something felt... off.

Pausing on the cool street and lighting a cigarette he took his phone out again and opened it, dialing Khan instead of texting this time. He tilted his head and took a long drag before he picked up.

"Hey. It's your favorite undead Englishman," he smirked into the reciever, then exhaled. "Was just curious if you were up for that follow-up drink tonight."


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[info]best_of_tyrants
2025-05-07 03:38 am UTC (link)
Khan hadn't gotten more than 90 minutes of sleep at a stretch in the last going on six days. He was beginning to think that Jim had been right about the vet clinic, and considering that the clinic was too quiet and smelled like rotting corpses on an open battlefield, he was also beginning to question his sanity. But true to his promise to whichever god watched over tiny kittens, he was keeping Karuna warm and fed and clean and lavishing her with affection almost every waking moment. Whenever his phone alarm started singing in that familiar cat-food-commercial jingle, he snapped into full awareness so he could tend to the little one.

But his phone started making a far more unfamiliar sound -- the sound of the default ringtone that he belatedly realized meant a call was coming in -- he was slow to pick it up and answer. Favorite undead Englishman? Oh. Spike. "Can it be here?" he asked, and his voice sounded rough to his own ears so it must've sounded ghastly to Spike. "I'm tied to the house at the moment." Not literally. But it could've been literally for all the confidence he felt in leaving the place. In the background Karuna was meowing her high-pitched and ever-less-squeaky hunger meow.

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[info]bloodislove
2025-05-07 03:49 am UTC (link)
At the sound of Khan's voice, Spike realized he'd probably just woken the guy up. Not off to a great start, then.

But then the voice continued. It was definitely off.

"Yeah, sure," he hesitated. "I'll bring over some food, too." He shook his head in small wonder. Bloody hell he sounded awful.

He turned directions, heading back into the Tavern to get whatever they could spare and still have time to remake, and buy a case of bottled beer from the back at full price to make up for the headache.

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[info]best_of_tyrants
2025-05-07 03:57 am UTC (link)
By the time Spike arrived, Khan had succeeded in feeding Karuna, getting her bathroom routine done, changing out her bedding in the high-sided plastic dishpan, and -- perhaps most importantly -- unlocking the door. He typically left it cracked open so he could better hear who was coming and going, but the last couple of days, he'd left it closed so he wouldn't be distracted. So when the door opened, he was sitting cross-legged on the sectional that must've been made out of a shade of orange upholstery so ghastly it could probably hold its own with a hunter's safety vest, wearing black button-fly jeans and a rumpled Red Hot Chili Peppers tee, and gently petting the tiny black kitten who rested on his chest.

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[info]bloodislove
2025-05-07 04:13 am UTC (link)
Spike noted the open door as he arrived, one arm with a few paper bags and a couple pizza boxes, the other with an unopened case of beer under it.

His steps slowed to being completely silent as he crept forward. The smell coming from the room was... intense. It hadn't been aired out in a while, and laden with the scent of exhaustion. And it wasn't completely human. At the edge of the doorway Spike frowned deeply and listened, but soon picked up the soft rhythmic breathing from inside, and something that sounded like tiny rattling mechanical device.

Still out of sight Spike used a foot to knock against the doorway quietly. Then he moved forward, on high alert. "Hey, Khan? Anybody h-"

The words stopped as the door opened and he caught the strange sight through the darkness, both at the way Khan looked and then snapping to the tiny body on top of him.

"Bloody hell," he couldn't help the utterance, then examined the dark pile of fur. That was the non-human smell then, and he recognized it as 'kitten' despite of definable form it currently lay in. That explained little else, but suddenly he was wary. Not all kittens were simply kittens, after all, and he'd met plenty of demons who looked cute and cuddly.

"And I suppose you're why he's stuck in the house?" he tilted his head, voice careful and soft. Better to start unknown situations with non-aggressive humor, in his experience.

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[info]best_of_tyrants
2025-05-07 04:22 am UTC (link)
Khan had halfway drifted off again, but at Spike's voice he startled awake, which jostled Karuna, who gave a surprised mew of her own.

"Yes," Khan said as he rolled his neck to relieve some of the tension there. "She is. Her name is Karuna and she's approximately 7 days old. I found her on the way home from the produce stand last week. She was the only one left alive."

He sat up a bit straighter, petting the kitten to soothe her. She settled easily and began purring once more.

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[info]bloodislove
2025-05-07 04:35 am UTC (link)
Realizing he'd woken the exhausted man for a second time Spike inwardly winced, but he'd been welcomed in. Moving into the room more fully he quietly closed the door behind him, then set the parcels down on the counter. Only as he straightened the bags and such did he glance up and notice even in the dim lighting the sketches and portraits that damn-near papered the walls. He blinked, looking them over, then glanced at the new-cat-dad and then smirked.

"'Compassion', very nice." And either a reflection of Khan's feelings looking at her, or a very ironic demon's alias. It was hard to tell and easy enough to believe either.

"I've got to say though, you look terrible. How long's it been since you slept properly? Eaten something?" It would be terribly rude to ask 'showered', being an invited guest, so he didn't.

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[info]best_of_tyrants
2025-05-07 04:46 am UTC (link)
Khan had to stop and think about that. And that was perturbing, since he was accustomed to lightning-fast cognition. "Sleep? Five days. Food? Sometime yesterday." He was living off of masala chai and his market haul from last week, and what he wouldn't give for a damn cigarette. It didn't even have to be a kretek. He'd take pure tobacco.

The sketches ranged from familiar landscapes around Pickman to grand visions of Indian landmarks -- the Taj Mahal, the Golden Temple, the skyline of Kolkata -- and portraits of faces familiar and not. Jim Kirk. Christine Chapel. A pair of young twins. A glamorous woman who could've held her own against Hedy Lamarr and Dita von Teese. A youngish man in military fatigues. So many faces and places, and even a finely detailed sketch of Karuna.

"Thank you for accomodating me," Khan offered. "I know it'd be more fun if we were out somewhere, but it's a weeknight and I doubt I could hide Karuna as well as I did on Friday."

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[info]bloodislove
2025-05-07 05:07 am UTC (link)
"You weren't lying about being genetically enhanced. At 4 days I start arguing with statues," he said. Not to mention how violent he'd get if he was starving, too.

"Speaking of, nice art. You draw them all in the past few days?" Another hint of possession, especially if the cat's picture had been the first.

Still, he stayed relaxed in his movements as he decidedly unpacked a container with ribs and one of the pizzas, unwrapping the plastic utensils and grabbing a few napkins. He walked over closely and put them within reaching distance of the other, utensils left in the ribs dish.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what all I've got here, but it's all fresh from the kitchen..." he said, mostly to himself as he doubled back for the rest of the items and to grab a couple beers. If Khan was in this bad shape, he'd need to eat before he slept.

The vampire shook his head and snorted. "You mean out of my workplace for the last eight hours? It's refreshing. And you clearly need a meal. Let's see what we've got here... pizzas... there's a meatpizza and a veg. I know one of these is a box of wings... this one-" He opened one of the white containers and immediately snapped it closed at the monstrosity of vegetarianism inside. "Salad," he grunted, placing that one off to the side. He smirked. "That's definitely all yours if you want it."

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[info]best_of_tyrants
2025-05-07 10:17 am UTC (link)
Khan shook his head. "Last couple of weeks, since I got here," he answered about the drawings. "It helps me relax and clear my thoughts. Having an eidetic memory is a right bastard at times." Hence the portraits on the bottoms of pizza boxes -- he'd needed an outlet and the cardboard had been convenient.

As the food was unpacked, Khan sat up straighter and gently set Karuna on the covered heating pad in the dishpan next to him on the couch, tucking her in with a folded dishtowel so she'd stay warm and cozy. Her purring continued as she drifted of into tiny kitten dreams. "You are a godsend," Khan said in thanks as he reached for a slice of the pizza. Now that there was food available, he realized just how famished he was. "My own children weren't as needy as Karuna is, and there were two of them." And, of course, he'd had Marguerite and a bevy of servants to care for them while he was busy ruling Southern Asia. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.

It was totally worth it, though.

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[info]bloodislove
2025-05-07 11:25 am UTC (link)
The choice of phrasing had Spike smirk slightly, but it pleased him to know he'd done well. And the news that the drawings weren't inspired by the cat was a relief. So this was just a genetically designed perfect human who found a bunch of dead kittens and now dedicated himself to protecting the survivor. Apparently whatever made humans complete fools for cats had also been enhanced.

He watched at how careful the big guy was handling the creature that fit in the palm of his hand, relaxing more. "Yeah, just your friendly neighborhood blood-sucker, me. But it makes sense why nobody's seen you about lately."

So, he was a father. He shrugged slightly. "In my world most fledgelings are simply left to fend for themselves, though they're also generally adults. If the fledgling interesting enough to the sire might stick about to show them the ropes of survival, but they have a sway over them too. So it's easier to keep them safe." Easier, still never certain. Some were born with self-destructive blood lust, some became completely lethargic and indifferent. It was one of the reasons more older vampires didn't bother. Spike certainly hadn't, though he had a bad habit of turning people who were extremely clingy and stuck to him like a bad rash. Harmony had been a perfect example.

"How often does she need attention?" he asked, more out of curiosity. It sounded like often, and he wondered a bit how the guy had escaped for a few hours to go to the questions night.

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[info]best_of_tyrants
2025-05-07 01:45 pm UTC (link)
"Yes," Khan confirmed. "Aside from going to the tavern on Friday, I've pretty much been locked in to kitten care. And even when I went out, Karuna was in my pocket. There were a lot of people on Friday night, so it was easier to go unnoticed." He'd fed her while he'd been talking to Abigail because he was certain she'd not slap him on the wrist for bringing a non-service-animal into the building.

"The resources Jim found for me say every two hours," he replied. "But for Karuna, it's more like every 90 minutes. But she's putting on weight and she's as alert and squirmy as kittens are supposed to be at this age." He didn't mind too much. Karuna was young enough that her ears were still folded and her eyes were still closed, and she was the runt of the litter who had been thrown out of the nest. He imagined that her needing more attention was a direct result of the very thing that saved her from whatever animal had killed the rest of her family.

"God, I miss having servants," he admitted with a yawn, then he decided more fuel was needed and took another bite of the pizza. "I might have to get Christine or someone to relieve me for a while." But not right now. Maybe after food and drink and conversation.

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[info]bloodislove
2025-05-07 02:41 pm UTC (link)
Spike winced at that, and the deep bags under Khan's eyes made perfect sense. "I was just about to suggest a babysitter for a round or two. If you keep this up you won't be able to see straight, soon."

He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "How about this. Send Christine a text and see if she'd be willing to come over next time Karuna needs a feeding. You can show her how to do it and get some damn sleep. I'll keep you up eating and sod off when she gets here, and in the morning drop off some more meals ready to heat and eat. Then you won't have to spend energy on making or getting any." It was as much support as he could offer. He sure wasn't going to take on the tiny life form. Worst case scenario he'd call Darcey in as backup.

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[info]best_of_tyrants
2025-05-07 06:47 pm UTC (link)
Khan nodded at the plan. It was a good plan. He liked this plan. Anything to get just a bit of continuous sleep. "Thank you," he replied gratefully, and he reached for his phone and texted Christine. It didn't take long to get a reply with appropriate emoji -- Of course, cher! I'll be there around 8pm. 😘 🐈‍⬛ 💖 -- and Khan breathed a sigh of relief that actual real rest was on the way.

But first, food. He partook of a second slice of pizza and some of the beer, gradually feeling some of the life returning to him. Fuck, he'd forgotten how it felt to not eat every six hours like he was built to. Not that he couldn't go long periods of time without food. He could and he had. But it made him downright feral. And that, he knew, was probably why the scientists trained them all to starve well. So they'd fight more savagely.

"So, I believe we were at the get-to-know-you stage of conversation," he said to Spike when he'd finished the second slice of pizza. He'd eat plenty more because his metabolism was insane, but he at least wanted to get some conversation in as well. "Only without strange truth compulsions."

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[info]bloodislove
2025-05-07 08:30 pm UTC (link)
Spike was glad that the other agreed. His next point would have been that 'kittens are way more attractive than foriegn accents, but with the matter settled he let it rest.

He nodded at the attention turned on the plates, only taking a few items for himself. Mostly for tasting some of the dishes he hadn't gotten around to trying. Human food meant little to him, after all, though he still enjoyed it. He kept the beer supply coming, though considering they both seemed to have heightened tolerances so it was more for the casual ambiance and flavor than getting any sort of buzz.

"Yeah, we did. And now that we're not under a compulsion I don't mind. Not that I tend to lie... but that's a long way from forced to truth-tell," he said, finally relaxing a bit. He grinned at the little furball contently nestled in her heating pad like a precious little egg. "So. I know you're a 'cat' man, and a father. Had servants. The genetics thing was a bit assumed when I first saw you, I'll admit. What year are you from? In Earth-time, if you don't mind. When people start talking parsecs and light-years my brain starts operating in static."

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[info]best_of_tyrants
2025-05-07 08:41 pm UTC (link)
Khan chuckled at that. "I was born in 1970," he replied. "And after a series of unfortunate events which we'll get to later, I took to space in 1996. Because we didn't have faster-than-light travel at that time, cryogenic suspension was the standard method for surviving long space journeys without dying of old age well before you reached your destination. I was in cryosleep for 263 years before we were found adrift in space and revived. That was in 2258, and interstellar space travel was far more advanced by then. Then after another series of unfortunate events which we'll get to later, I was put back in cryosleep because a functional utopia doesn't have above-board means of punishment for mass murder because they have no concept for it. I don't know how long I was there, but I woke up in the state park here still in my cryotube -- which, by the way, is just about the size and shape of a coffin -- and when I managed to get out I started walking toward civilization and ended up crossing paths with Jim Kirk, and the rest, as they say, is history. So in clock-time I'm 289, but experientially I'm 27."

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[info]bloodislove
2025-05-07 09:09 pm UTC (link)
"Cryo, really? You and I are definitely from different worlds, mate. That's just a far-off science fiction trope in my world. At least, as far as I know."

The timing was interesting too. "1970. So if you had been in my world, you would've been while I was about to recall it... huh." Still, the most 'advanced' he'd ever seen what that abomination, Adam. So he still doubted it very much.

"Snug," he said, though he didn't smile about wake up. Coffins were stereotypical for his kind, and too constricting for his physical preferences. Of course, he'd mostly only woken up in them against his will, which he supposed made him a bit biased.

"Well, you're out. And you know Christine, and Jim. Not so bad, eh? Say, do you know the pointy-eared guy with no sense of humor and annoying inability to learn casual speech patterns? Shiny hair."

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[info]best_of_tyrants
2025-05-07 09:27 pm UTC (link)
"It was science fiction in our reality too until I was five or six," Khan replied. "I'm not entirely convinced that it wasn't a product of prototype Augments solving previously unsolvable problems. And it might become science fact in Dunwich too, just so long as I never have to be in a cryotube ever again."

"In any case, Christine and Jim are from the same reality," Khan clarified. "But Spock -- the pointy-eared one -- and I are both, as best I can tell, from a spinoff of their reality that I'm still not entirely clear on the specifics of, except that time-travel was involved." It was one his to-do list to figure out where the timelines diverged, but that was really more of a hobby project than anything that would help them here and now.

"But I'm on great terms with Christine, pretty good terms with Jim -- though some of those unfortunate events muddled things up quite a bit -- and I keep as wide a berth as I can from Spock because I have no doubt that he'll at least attempt to kill me again if I become a threat. He's Vulcan, and Vulcan culture is steeped in logic and formality rather than emotion. Not that Vulcans don't experience emotion, mind you. They're just extremely rigid with controlling them."

He could feel the ache in his collarbone from where Spock had broken it during their epic struggle in San Francisco, and he couldn't resist rolling his shoulder to ease the pain. "Usually," he amended. "But you could benefit from a good bit of backstory, so which series of unfortunate events do you want to hear first: teenage dictator or vengeful mass-murderer?"

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[info]bloodislove
2025-05-07 10:01 pm UTC (link)
"Hm. Different realities, time jumping. Science and magic..." he snorted slightly. "Knew every time I brushed against rot like that I should about face and leave. Regretted everytime I have, Dunwich included. Though... it has it's perks." His scorn and voice had softened and a small, nearly dreamy glint and his eye and he stared into space for a moment. Then he snapped his attention back and nodded. It was good that two of the three seemed to get along with him, Spike had experienced worse odd than that. "Ah. That explains that term," he finally shrugged. "I've never interacted with him much myself. Didn't feel we'd get along, I'm not exactly the 'formal' or 'rigid' type."

The offer made him paused, so he shrugged. "Where'd you build your home? You said you were traveling a distance longer than human lifespan, so I'm guessing you were some sort of pilgrims. How many went? How far did you get?"

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