Lost in the Dark, Cleansed in the Flame

Chapter 12 - First Challenge (NC-17) *Warning - implied child
physical and sexual abuse.
ike ike had been grumbling the entire time. Xander just ignored it,
knowing that at least Spike did have something to complain about.
The trip had not been easy for him, having to be boxed up in a coffin
to avoid the sunlight until the plane had landed.

But now they'd finally arrived, a bit jet lagged but intact. They'd spent
last night in a decent hotel and gotten some much needed rest, and
now stood just outside the mouth of the cave. This was it. Giles
hadn't been able to give them too many specifics, just that they were
to go through three separate challenges. And in order to get to the
room that housed the Flame, they would need to master each one.
But he had no knowledge of what the challenges might consist of.

Spike had a bit more information. It seemed that the reason that
none of the challenges had been recorded was because they were
never the same. The cave was magically enhanced to issue
challenges based on each individual's, or team's in this case,
strengths and weaknesses. The challenges were never designed to
be completely unsolvable, just extremely difficult. There was more
than just the Flame residing in that cave; there were several other
treasures. And the Mountain King was happy to part with any of
them, as long as they went to worthy warriors.

Xander stared at the open mouth of the cave. It didn't look like
anything special; certainly not a place in which he could lose his life.
But apparently that was a forfeit. If the tasks could not be completed
successfully, one or both of them would become a permanent
resident. 'Or not so resident', Xander thought.

He turned toward Spike and tentatively broached entering the cave.
"Ready?" The vampire growled in return, not wanting to begin an
adventure in which he would again be putting his lover in harm's way.
"Do I have a bleedin' choice?"

Xander walked over to Spike, taking both of his cool hands in his own
warm and callused ones. He rubbed his thumbs over Spike's
knuckles, bending slightly forward to place a chaste kiss on Spike's
lips. "Don't." Another kiss. "Nothing's going to happen in there." A
kiss and a lick of the tongue. "We're going to go iet tet the flame
thrower thingie, and get out." Xander placed his forehead against
Spike's, forcing their gazes to meet.

"'S not a flame thrower. It's a sword, you git," Spike admonished with
a bittersweet smile, and a soft chuckle.

"Whatever." Xander rubbed his forehead gently against his lover's.

After a moment they broke apart, but Spike refused to let go
completely. Keeping Xander's left hand clasped in one of his own.
"Okay, let's go."

They entered the first chamber side by side. Directly in front of them
stood a small wooden sign with the word "Instructions" etched at the
top. "Well nice of 'im to give us directions," Spike mused
sarcastically, before reading on. The instructions were fairly
straightforward; no details, just the warning that two of the challenges
would be psychological, while the third would be physical. And that
any attempts to move forward once a competitor had tried and failed
any of the challenges would result in the forfeit of his life.

The two men looked at each other for a moment. Without another
word they moved forward to the next chamber, hands still clasped
together. Spike's thumb rubbing absently over the back of Xander's
hand, trying to relieve some of the boy's tension.

The second they walked through the archway, Xander's whole body
froze. His eyes dilated, and his heart rate kicked up. Before Spike
could question him, they were wrenched apart. And only then was
Spike able to discern the contents of the room. His unneeded breath
caught in his throat when he recognized the living room of his mate's
former home. What the fuck?

At the loss of Spike's hand, Xander's mind was thrown back into
another time, another reality. His breathing became erratic as his
eyes swept the room. He remembered. Every detail. The sunlight
filtering through the raggedy curtains over the west window. The dust
motes flying through the air as he threw open the screen door and
pushed through the front entrance. The shout as he stumbled on his
own clumsy eleven year old feet. The sound of shattering glass as
the lamp by the door fell in slow motion to the ground.

Xander whimpered, fallto hto his knees and raising his hands above
his head. He shut his eyes tight and bit down hard on his bottom lip.
Drawing the blood out and sucking it down his throat, he focused on
the coppery taste, rather than the pain from the strike he knew was
coming.

Spike was cursing and beating against an invisible wall. He could
see Xander cowering by the door, a man walking toward him with
rage on his face. He shouted to his lover, but Xander was beyond
hearing him at the moment. Spike cursed and spit, trying to get past
the invisible barrier, but had no luck. He knew this scene. Knew the
man to be Xander's father. Knew what was coming next. And he
was powerless to stop it.

Xander could feel his father's presence looming closer. And he
waited.

At the first blow, Xander went careening to the left. His cheek landing
on a piece of broken glass. Shards of broken bulb cutting into his
hands as he pushed himself back off the ground. He could feel the
small stings of pain and the drip, drip of his own blood. He knew the
coppery taste in his mouth was from more than the small nibble he'd
had at his lip earlier.

"I'm sorry sir," he whispered raggedly. Wiping the blood from the
corner of his mouth as he spoke. Staring at the ground, refusing to
meet his father's gaze. "I didn't mean to -"

Xander's face whipped to the side with the second slap. "You never
mean to, you worthless piece of shit!" He knew the words by heart,
but they made him cringe nonetheless. Unbidden tears came to his
eyes, and he felt them leak onto well worn tracks on his face.

"Crying now? You pansy ass!" His father grabbed him by the collar
and threw him roughly onto the old sofa. A spring poke him in the
stomach. "You're such a goddamn faggot!"

"No!" Spike cried out. "Xan!!" Why wasn't he fighting back? Why
was he just taking this shit? Spike could see the wet tears on
Xander's face and knew that his boy had given up. That he would let
this monster do whatever he wanted and that Xander would just lie
there and take it. And Spike's unbeating heart broke into tiny pieces
at the thought. Xander would just lie there and take it, because that's
what Xander had *always* done. "No!"

Xander felt numb. He acknowledged the spring in his stomach, but
the rest of his body felt like a ragged puppet doll. He couldn't move
himself. Even though his mind screamed for him to run. To get
away. To stop his father from doing what he knew was about to
happen. He could hear his father slipping the belt from his pants as
he walked toward the couch. The words he muttered were dark and
familiar. Xander's body quivered in fear, but made no other move.

When his father's hand landed on his backside, Xander yelped. Not
from pain, or fear, but despair. It would happen again. And there
was nothing he could do about it. He was just a boy. He couldn't
defy his father. He felt the cool air hit his skin as his father slipped his
jeans down, along with his Spiderman underwear. The tears came
faster, and were accompanied by shallow gulps of air that made
Xander nauseous. The foul smell of alcohol that permeated the
room, and most especially his father's clothing, filling his lungs.

Spike had exhausted himself trying to break down the walls of his
prison, but so far nothing. He couldn't reach Xander physically and it
made Spike ill. He wracked his brain, trying to figure a way out. A
way to help Xander. He began to shout as loud as he could, hoping
to reach his lover. But Xander made no move to acknowledge he'd
heard a word. Then suddenly Spike was howling at his own stupidity.
He dropped to the ground, folding himself into a comfortable lotus
position. He steadied himself and forced a mental countdown, until
he'd regained control. And then he reached through the bond.

{Xander, luv!}

{Wha?}

{Luv!}

{S-spike?} Xander's mind was in chaos. How could Spike be here?
Spike hadn't known him then. Spike hadn't been there to see his
father -

{No, luv! You're not there. It's the challenge, remember? The bloody
fucking challenge!}

{Challenge?}

{Fight back Xan, please.} Spike urged him, trying to keep a thin veil
of control over his own rage. {You're not a boy anymore! You're a
man. More than that, you're my mate.}

{Your mate?} Xander felt comfort in the word. In the thought that he
was someone's. That someone thought him worth enough to brand
him as such.

{Yes, luv. Remember?} Spike was nearly in tears himself. {You're
mine. I'm yours. Don't let that fucking bastard touch you!} Spike
screamed at him.

And then the tears did come. Tears of relief as Spike watched his
mate launch himself off that fucking ratty couch. He watched in glee
as Xander threw the first punch, sending his father's clumsy form
reeling toward the door. Then Xander was on top of the man
shouting, sobbing, and punching.

Then Spike was at his side, the barrier having disappeared once
Xander's father had lost consciousness. And the moment his hand
landed on Xander's shoulder the room shimmered and changed.
Now they sat on the floor of an empty cave, Xander's liv living room
gone along with the bastard that had been about to rape him. Xander
was still dressed in the same jeans and t-shirt he'd walked in with.
Spike took Xan into his arms and rocked him until the sobs tapered
off.

"God, Spike! I never wanted you to see...to know - " Xander's
sentence went unfinished, his head resting still in the crook of Spike's
neck.

"Shhh, Xan. No worries, yeah?" Spike rubbed a soothing hand up
and down Xander's arm. "Doesn't matter now. The bastard's gone."
And when he got back to Sunnydale he'd make sure that Xan never
had to worry about that bastard of a father ever again.

"No, Spike." Xander's hand came up to caress Spike's cheek. "I
don't worry about him anymore. I know you'd never let anything like
that happen to me again." Spike cringed at his own lack of finesse.
He should have known Xander could easily pick up on his thoughts
with the bond still open and their emotions so high. It warmed him to
know that Xan trusted him to protect him. But his own bruised pride
wouldn't allow him to discount how easily he'd allowed Xander to be
taken only days earlier.

"Stop it!" Xander admonished. "You didn't let anything happen to
me. You got me out then. And you got me out just now." Xander sturstured across the now empty room. "I couldn't have gotten through
that without you."

Xander pushed himself off Spike, just enough to turn around. Enough
to raise his head and his lips, to Spike's own. They kissed softly,
reassuringly, until Xander's relief caught up with him. The near miss
of another horrific childhood episode had Xander's adrenaline still
pumping, and the kiss turned from comforting and sweet to hot and
hungry.

Spike moaned at the change in his boy, his cock hardening instantly.
Xander moved, spreading Spikehighhighs and positioning himself so
the whe was lying across his lover's lanky form. Their cocks rubbed
against each other through the rough denim, causing them both to
thrust and moan.

Xander wanted nothing more than to press their groins together and
grind their cocks hard until they both came. But he resisted the urge.
They had two more challenges to go through, and even he wasn't far
gone enough to want to go through them with sticky jeans.

Instead hacheached down and unzipped first Spike, and then himself.
Standing again he pulled off his own jeans, giving Spike a hand up to
do the same. They were standing now, both in nothing but the shirts
they'd thrown on that morning. Before Spike could make another
move, Xander was back down on his knees, his hot mouth taking in
Spike's cool length.

"Oh fuck!" Spike's knees threatened to buckle, but he regained
control just in time. His hands shot forward to thread through Xan's
thick hair, and his hips began to thrust forward, fucking Xan's mouth
with zeal. "So hot, luv!" He could never get enough of the furnace
that was Xan's body. No matter how they touched, Xan was always
hot and the contrast to his own cool skin was amazingly sensual.

"Hmmmm." Xander hummed appreciatively, knowing what the
vibrations did to his lover. He was rewarded when Spike cried out
and spurted salty cum down his throat. Pulling his mouth off the
softening member, Xander licked then smacked his lips outrageously.
"Mmmmm. Salty goodness." He rubbed his stomach in an
exaggerated manner.

"Get up here, you cheeky git!" Spike hauled him to his feet, clamping
his lips down on Xander's. Their tongues dueled for a moment, until
Xander lost himself to the feel of Spike's claim on him. And when
Spike's hand wrapped around the engorged head of his cock and
squeezed, Xander nearly shot right then. Instee gre groaned and
allowed his eyes to roll back into his head, his hips bucking of their
own accord.

He kept his eyes shut tight as Spike made his way down Xander's
body, lifting his t-shirt to allow access to his already peaked nipples.
His lips ghosted over Xan's skin, stopping to lave and nibble at
Xander's sensitive nubs. All the while stroking and squeezing
Xander's leaking cock. Finally he reached Xander's crotch; still
squeezing with a free hand he brought lipslips forward and then
snaked his tongue out to lick just the tip. "Ungh." Xander grunted.

Then he took pity on his lover, and engulfed the rest of his cock until
his nose was buried in Xander's curls. He swallowed once, twice.
And then sucked hard while he bobbed his head up and down the
shaft. "Spike!" Xander cried out, almost crushing his skull with his
callused carpenter's hands. And then Xander was coming, the rush
of fluid making Spike swallow involuntarily, which only prolonged
Xander's orgasm.

Finally, both men sated, they lay together on the ground, wrapped in
each other's arms. "Thanks. I needed that," Xander whispered
softly. "I know, luv." Spike's hand came up to card through Xan's
hair. "Rest for a mo'. We'll be heading out soon for the next
challenge."

"'Kay," Xander answered before drifting off for a few precious
moments of sleep. Spike stopped to kiss him just on the crown of his
head before continuing the soothing scalp massage.