Facing Fear 8-14

Spike climbed out of the car and carefully pulled Xander with him. Spike propped him against the car and used his body to keep the human upright.

All Xander could think about was that kiss, that epic, mind-blowing, leg shaking, tornado causing, sock rocking, flamingo shooting, fire breathing……..shit, he just had to feel those lips again.

“Look, let's just find the spider and get this over with. You can grope *all* the way home if you like. I'll even turn the radio up so you can make squishy, lip smacky, moany noises.”

“Oh for the love of Selena! If you two don't pack that in, *right now* I'll magic your bits and bobs together…….for all eternity……that would be very uncomfortable………..come on!”

Spike suddenly had a horrible thought. What if Xander forgot about what had just happened? What he forgot about their wonderful kisses? Suddenly, the thought of a three yard spider wasn't nearly as terrifying as the thought that Xander would forget about their kissage.

Xander leant back against a tree and tried to make sense of the situation. Not an easy task when you felt like shit, your nose was bunged up and you can't stop staring at a certain vampire's tight, firm ass.

Spike was creeping though the undergrowth, searching for any signs of the spider. Every so often he shrieked and jumped back as if he'd been hit with a massive electric shock. After realising that he'd only been startled by a bush or a pile of leaves he would straighten his duster, go back to searching and start the electric shock ritual all over again.

A cheeky grin formed over both faces and Xander closed the distance between them, placing a hand onto Spike's chest and trailing it down towards a suspicious bulge.

“Pack. It. In. Now I'm going over here to do a locator spell and you two are going to keep your eyes peeled, search the immediate area, and make sure the Brocclicai doesn't creep up on us”

Both men agreed, but when Willow turned her back, Spike grabbed Xander by his jacket and pulled him behind a tree, steeling a deep kiss while he was at it.

That night was to become known as the night that scared away all the birds. The ear-splitting shriek was heard for miles around. Children buried themselves deeper under their covers, the religious prayed and the old took solace in an extra hot chocolate before bed.

“Forget the branch. Anyone……well, only two men more intent on groping than observing, could have made that mistake. Now, we are going in this direction, the spider is coming towards us, so we should meet up with her real soon. Get your weapons ready….”

“…and please get your minds out of the gutter. Xander, you will walk this side of me. Spike, you will walk on that side. Their will be no touching, dirty talk or sniggering. If you don't behave then I will be forced to punish you…..in a bad way. Now let's go.”

“Mine's *really* heavy. You'd think they would make them lighter. It's so stupid to make them this heavy. How are people supposed to carry them? It would be fine if we were all built like the hulk…….I wonder what it would be like to be the hulk?......Kind of green I suppose…..and hulky. My feet ache.”

Willow flapped at the two men to quiet down and stay put while she crept forward to investigate a strange rustling noise. Xander and Spike gladly obeyed and stayed way back. They clung to each other like two naked Eskimos and watched as Willow peered around a particularly large tree.

Xander had a feeling that he knew what his friend had seen. He held the tops of her arms and stared deeply and sympathetically into her eyes.

Spike agreed and they had to jog to catch up with Willow. The witch suddenly stopped and Spike and Xander applied their emergency brakes before they ploughed straight into her.

A bush rustled in the distance and Spike quickly took up a fighting stance, swinging his axe in the air and vamping out. The bush rustled again and a family of oversized frogs hopped happily out from under it. Spike lowered his weapon and glanced over his shoulder at Willow. She hadn't noticed. That was good. Just let the hoppy little critters jump away and there will be no need for panic.

Xander stood on the other side of the small clearing. It was getting difficult to hold on to his axe, his hands were sweating and he was starting to feel weak again. He let the weapon slip down to his side and prayed that he wouldn't have to heave it back up in the next few minutes.

After further consideration, Xander decided it would be good to be the hulk right now. He could definitely sacrifice a foot rub for a little strength. He glanced over at Willow. She was still in the middle of her locator spell. He glanced instead at Spike and tried ignore the urge to fling himself on top of the vampire and find some delicious way to assault him.

In front of Spike, a clan of very large frogs hopped passed and one side of Xander's brain wondered if Willow even knew that you could get frogs that big and the other side of his brain just hoped that Willow wouldn't notice them. It surely couldn't be good for a witch to freak out right in the middle of a spell. Someone could get their private bits levitated off.

As Willow tried to comfort the emotional vampire, she failed to notice the great big, black, three yard demon spider as it crawled down the tree behind them.

“You won't lose him. *We* won't lose him. C'mon, Spike. Get that axe at the ready. Xander really needs you to be strong now. You have to be brave. You have to face your fear.”

Spike and Willow Slowly turned around. The spider had crawled all the way down the tree and was standing still as a statue on the ground. Its big beady eyes were fixed on them with an expression of evil and malevolence. Eight furry legs stood tall in an upturned v, the peaks of them towering a good yard above its giant bulbous black and red body. Razor sharp fangs hung from its jaws like two scimitars, gleaming under the moonlight and holding a promise of painful death. And the worst part? It was breathing. Harsh, deep pants of air gusting loudly from its deadly jaws.

Xander didn't quite manage to duck out the way as Spike's spilled his guts. He weakly shuffled back, only stopping when a tree blocked his way.

If the situation hadn't been quite so dire, Spike would have been tempted to sulk. Xander groaned from the ground and struggled to keep sitting up.

“Willow?.....I know you said three yards. In fact, you said it several times. But I don't think I fully understood quite how big three yards was.”

“Right then. It ain't moving, so I suggest that we go on the attack. Get the upper hand. Go for the kill. Charge it. Get right in there. Get In the thick of it. On the offensive.”

Spike heard Xander's distress and he realised that it was time to act. His newfound lover was getting weaker by the second. He had to do something now. He had to kill the spider and feed its blood to Xander before it was too late.

“Right then. You run round to the left and distract her. When she turns around I'm gonna jump on her back and hack her fucking brains out.”

This was it. This was his chance. Spike risked one brief look over his shoulder to make sure that Xander was still out of sight, then he charged. His lungs and chest filled up and expelled a scream of fear and fury that would make even the most confident demon quake in its boots. When he was close enough, Spike launched himself off the ground and landed squarely on the spider's back.

Willow, being a bright girl, ran away. She needed to keep the spider on its eight toes. It was best that the Brocclicai didn't know where she was, and therefore where the next attack was coming from. She headed around to the right side of the spider.

Spike, meanwhile, was getting well and truly stuck in. There was to be no playing. No toying. No smart remarks or puns. He was going to finish this and finish this fast. He raised the axe and smashed it down as hard as he could. He lifted the weapon again and did the same. The spider bucked and thrashed, but Spike managed to stay firmly on top. He hammered repeatedly at the bulbous body, each blow becoming more brutal and more furious with every strike. The creature's blood began to flow as the axe finally broke through the surface of the hairy, leathery skin.

The creature shrieked in pain, braced its legs and shook like a dog fresh out of water. Spike tried to keep his balance, but after only a couple of seconds, the spider shook him free.

Spike landed on the floor with a hefty thump and it took him a moment to register that he had just been thrown and was now lying on floor, vulnerable and exposed. He shook his head to clear the murky fog from his dazed brain and looked up to see a mammoth pair of fangs soaring down towards his chest. He possibly would have screamed, but he really didn't have time. He closed his eyes, waited for the searing pain that he knew was coming, and prayed that he would live long enough to help Xander.

Xander watched in horror as Spike flew from the top of the spider and crashed heavily to the ground. He saw the creature pivot around and he screamed Spike's name as the spider closed in on his vampire and raised its fangs ready for attack. Xander tried to move. He willed his arms and legs to lift him from the ground and save Spike from the agony that was coming. Or death? Was Spike going to survive this? Xander screamed out Spike's name again and his cry morphed into a defeated sob of frustration as his limbs refused to obey the desperate signals from his brain. Xander did the only thing he could. He closed his eyes and blocked the world out. He couldn't bear to watch his lover die so painfully.

Willow ran a full circle around the demon spider. Her panicking had reached an interesting level and her chicken impression had turned decidedly headless. She heard Xander scream Spike's name and her skin shivered with goose bumps at the blood curdling sound. She looked desperately around and spotted Spike lying on his back on the ground. The spider raised its fangs and plunged them towards the vampire's chest.

Time seamed to slow down and Willow felt herself build with anger and power. Her hair blackened, as did her eyes, her lips and her fingernails. She raised her axe and charged, screaming a cry of war and intended death. Time continued to tick past at an ultra slow pace and Willow's feet left the ground as her magic lifted her inside an orange swirl of ancient power. When she was close enough she swung the axe and sliced it through one of the spider's legs.

The air was filled with a deafening roar and Spike instinctively opened his eyes. The Brocclicai was screaming. It twisted in pain and its fangs missed Spike by a fraction of an inch. Spike shuffled back and tried to get to his feet, but the creature turned sharply back towards him. The Brocclicai's fangs descended again and Spike was unable to get away. As the fangs soared closer, the creature screamed and twisted again. Spike tried to duck backwards as the Brocclicai was distracted but the tip of one fang scraped painfully across his chest.

Spike was beginning to sense a pattern. He stayed still this time and watched with confusion as the spider roared, screamed and twisted yet again. And again. And again. This happened a total of eight times and by the eighth occurrence the creature was a limbless blob rocking and screeching on the ground.

Willow was smiling and was covered head to toe in thick black spiders blood. She looked like a little girl that had fallen into a vat of……erm….well, blood, obviously

Spike reasoned. Xander refused. Spike lifted. Xander squirmed. Spike tightened his grip. Xander whined. Spike insisted. Xander bit him. Spike cursed. Xander apologised. Spike accepted. Xander complained. Spike begged. Xander argued. Spike dragged him.

“Xander, please! You have to. It will only take a second. Just a couple of mouthfuls and it's done, then you and Spike can go make kissy noises.”

That was it. That was the last time that Spike was prepared to ask. If Xander refused again, Spike was prepared to take drastic action. He was going to pin Xander to the ground and force the damn blood down his throat. He was not going to waste more time. Not after they had been through so much and not now that they had found each other. Spike was very much looking forward getting to know Xander in a different way. He was looking forward to going out as a couple. He was looking forward to snuggling on the couch, and he was looking forward to touching, feeling and learning every inch of Xander's body.

Spike half dragged a nearly asleep Xander closer the spider and snatched the straw from Willow. With satisfaction he plunged the straw into the spiders bloody carcass.

Spike and Willow stood either side with icky faces, supporting Xander as he drank. They looked at each other and exchanged `rather him than me' looks.

“That's it Xander. That should be enough………Xander, you can stop now……..you can stop now……hello? Xanderrrr? Have you gone deaf or just a little crazy?”

Xander woke with a yawn and tried to wok out where he was. He opened his eyes and squinted around the room, his room, his apartment. His eyes finally settled on a pale body sitting under the covers with him.

Xander paused and thought about it. He did feel good. He felt better than good. He felt fantastic. His limbs weren't achy anymore. He didn't feel tired and most of all, he didn't feel like he was about to die.

“Well, there was that time at the toy store with the stuffed pig and that time with the rubber glove and that horse. Then there was the time when we were all at that fair and that bloke with the big nose said that…………”

Spike leaned forward and brushed his hand down Xander's cheek. Holding gently to his jaw, Spike slowly and gently pressed his lips to Xander's and kissed him.

Words just weren't going to do it. Spike had to *show* Xander exactly how he felt and he wanted to do it with one phenomenal kiss. His tongue entwined with Xander's and it communicated everything that he felt. Passion, love, relief and so many others emotions that it made him dizzy.

Spike tried to pull away. He didn't want to push Xander into anything that he wasn't ready for. Spike was well aware that they were both naked and he didn't want to ruin things by being his normal pushy self.

Xander kept a tight hold of his vampire, pulling him closer when he felt resistance. He muttered into Spike's mouth as he continued the kiss.

Xander slipped his hand beneath the sheets and found Spike's hardening length. He curled his fingers around the shaft and slowly stroked him to full hardness.

“Red was all worried about us both. You know, cos you did all that dying earlier and me with my horrific chest wound. So she insisted that we both go to bed. I undressed us, though. Thought we'd be more comfortable.”

“But I thought you said you were ok. You are ok? You didn't lie to make me feel better, did you? Oh gods, Spike, we really shouldn't have done what we just did if you weren't feeling up to it….Oh god! Did I force you?!”

“Don't be a twat! Course you didn't force me! Bloody wanted it! I told you, I'm fine. However, I may have told Red that I was hurt a *little* more than I actually was.”

“Wanted tea and sympathy. Red's a bloody good cook too. She's in the kitchen now, making us those boiled eggs you were going on about earlier.”

“Yeah, alright, you got me, I'm not sorry at all. It was bloody good. Nothing to be sorry about. Besides, Red's a woman of the world. I'm sure she's heard worse. Probably didn't bat an eyelid.”