17/37
Author: BmblBee
Rating: NC17
Paring: S/X
Warnings: Strong sexual language and M/M sexual situations.
Disclaimer: The Bee freely admits she owns none of the characters in this story
and makes no profit. I simply borrow them, then hose them down before returning
them to the shelf for others to use.
Summary: AU. This story is a follow-up to Carnivale Mystique.
At the ending of Carnivale, Willow vowed to spend her life looking for her lost
friend and that is just what she has done. Now, after nearly 40 years, she and
the carnival cross paths again. Can she finally get the answers she needs and
protect her granddaughter from falling victim to the special allure of the carnival?
During the telling of this story will be flashback chapters that tell how Spike
and Xander adjusted to their roles of master and pet.
Note: If you haven't read Carnivale Mystique or have forgotten the story,
there is a prologue that contains a brief summary of the story. Use the tags
at the top of the page to find your way there.
Thanks and credit to silk_labyrinth for betaing the spelling, punctuation and
finding wandering boo boos.
As always, thanks to the wonderful Petxnd for her friendship and her banners that
put the perfect visual to my words.
The rest of the night at the carnival had gone uneventfully save the expected
problems of drunken sods, rambunctious teenage boys, and squeamish girls
who had a tendency to faint or throw up when Clem did his kitten routine.
It was a sure-fire moneymaker.
Spike had finally emerged, smug and super-confident, from his trailer around midnight.
His connection physically through the sex and blood of his Pet had gone a long way
towards allaying his fears and assuring him that the security of his small universe
had not been breached. He would still be relieved when they moved on, but he was
relatively sure that the bitch had succumbed to his threats and would not return.
It was pointless to reopen his game booth at this late hour. By 1 AM, the exhibition
tents would all be closed and the twinkling lights extinguished. The human carnys
would head into town for a bit of drinking, stealing and general hell-raising while
the demons and vampires would be searching for an easy meal, Spike included.
Tonight, however, he was feeling very magnanimous. He wouldn't kill unless
absolutely necessary. Like most towns in the Midwest, there was a 24-hour
Walmart nearby where he could hang out in the parking lot and do a little of his
own shopping. It was always a piece of cake to lure some poncy boy with a wink
and a swish of the hips. They would be drawn to him like peanut butter to jelly
and beg him to climb into their car in a far, dark corner of the lot.
Once in the cupcake's backseat, Spike would trade a hand job for a nip on the
jugular. Kinky for one and satisfying for both, the men could then go their separate
ways. No harm, no foul. Ramming him in the arse with a stiff cock would be a
capper, but damn if Xander wasn't sure to find out and the repercussions just
weren't worth it.
Odd human, Xander. He didn't mind Spike killing someone who deserved it but
he drew the line at his fucking them before or after. No matter. Gay men were
everywhere and they all seemed to have a propensity for being bitten.
At 2 AM, Xander did his final sweep. He would start at the far end of the virtually
deserted grounds and make sure that there were no young boys hiding out and trying
to catch a peek at the freaks or dancing girls. He made sure that all the food servers
had generally cleaned their areas and the threat of food poisoning was diminished, and
he checked the locks and bolts that protected their property.
He also made certain that none of the fucking idiot fledges that they used for grunt
work brought a meal back onto the grounds to eat. It was a clearly understood
rule that no dead humans were to be scattered carelessly about where the authorities
could find them. It was messy business that interfered with the run of the show.
Tonight, as Xander did his walk-through, he had a smile on his face and a problem
keeping his focus on the job. He was already forming a plan in his mind and although
it had no certain resolution, it was a project with a general direction.
He wanted to know about Willow. He would be pleasant to the young redheaded
girl and although he was well aware of carnys' reputations, he would reassure her
by being gentle and nonthreatening. Which, really he was. He would be anything
he needed to be to encourage the girl to talk. Then, if he could get an address
where Willow lived, he may just drop her a card and tell her.....what?
Xander stopped and frowned in front of the fresh-roasted peanut stand. What could
he say? "Hi. I belong to a vampire and am doing well"? No. That wouldn't do.
It would open a whole can of worms that would cause Willow heartache and get
him a spanking like he hadn't had in years.
But that wasn't the real reason. What really prevented this contact with his past from
being an option was that it would hurt Spike. It would be a betrayal that Xander would
not even consider. Spike may be a bloodthirsty demon, but he was also the love of
Xander's life and nothing could convince him to do anything that would bring his
Master pain.
Xander again began walking, this time toward the Old MacDonald's Farm pens to
make certain that none of the baby animals had been converted into a quick midnight
snack. Slowly, he strolled down the line, peeps-check, rabbits-check, goats-check,
puppies-all accounted for, kitt......damn.
He would have to send someone into town for cat replacements. Again.
Even as he made the mental notation, his mind returned to Willow. His Willow.
When he thought of her, his recollections of the final night had faded and his memories
were in the context of yellow crayons, copied homework papers and cuddly all-night
sleepovers.
They had been tight buds since kindergarten and she was his best friend. He wondered
how different their lives would have been if Buffy had not moved to town. He would
never have met Spike and he would not be with the carnival. That was a future and
a life that was too depressing to even consider. No, he belonged here. No doubts
and no regrets. Still, now when he thought of her, he was amazed at the depth of the
emptiness his heart felt for his lost friend.
In the first years, he had been thralled to forget. His life and his attention all had to
be devoted to his Pet training and learning the ins and outs of pleasing his Master. It
had been a struggle for both of them and at times he wondered why Spike didn't just
eat him and forget it, but he didn't.
Unlike his teachers and his parents, Spike never gave up on him. True enough, the
shackles and cuffs were applied liberally along with the paddle and the cock ring, but
Xander always knew it was in his best interest. As time rolled on and they adjusted
to each other, the punishments were more pleasurable and the spankings more often
than not included a smoked joint before and a long train ride up the Hershey highway
after.
Spike was his world. He loved Willow like a sister, but Spike was his everything.
It was decided. She had no place in his life nor he in hers but there was no harm in
simply hearing about her. He would satisfy his curiosity innocently and no one would
be the wiser. Xander relaxed and grinned. He finished his stroll through the lot
before returning to his trailer. Once Spike got back from town, they would fuck
frantically, repeatedly and, if he was lucky, slightly painfully.
On a good night, Spike could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch.
Xander felt lighthearted and giddy as he made the trek back through the lot. He
waved as he passed Clem standing outside his tent taking a piss on the ground, and
he thanked God that Clem kept that bizarre-looking peter tucked into one of those
flippy flaps of skin and out of sight. Geesh!
"Night, Xan. Don't forget."
Xander's hand paused in midwave and his brow wrinkled. Forget? Forget? Was
there something he was supposed to remember? Finally he decided that whatever
it was couldn't have been that important and it would probably come to him tomorrow,
so he grinned and nodded.
"No problem, buddy. See ya tomorrow night."
He then raced across the grounds and in the front door of their trailer. He peeled
off his clothes, kicked his shoes out of the way so Spike wouldn't trip on them and he
whistled as he laid out clean towels, bottles of flavored anal lube, various vibrating
instruments and a speculum.
When he was certain it was all prepared, he flopped down on his back on their small
bed to wait.