Per Aspera ad Astra

Notes: At the request of Jennalyn and LadyCastiel, and for all the reviews people have been kindly leaving for my sudden rush of Constantine fics, I bring you a Balthazar rapefic. Who doesn't love that image?

Music: It's not the end of the world (but I can see it from here) – LostProphets; Passive – A Perfect Circle (what fan doesn't love this song?); Enjoy the Silence – Lacuna Coil; The Wrong Side – Abney Park.

Author: KC Bailey


Per Aspera ad Astra - Through the thorns to the stars.


It had been odd, Balthazar had thought, that Lucifer should have let him off so lightly. Letting him just hop back up to the human world without much more than a stern word? Why? He'd expected pain, at the very least. A lot of pain. But there was nothing, he'd been here for more than a month now and things were almost back to normal. He still did what he loved – encouraged a little wickedness here and there, annoyed Constantine just to see the look on his face and the barely restrained lust... The only thing that had really changed much was the kid who followed Constantine around, who now had wings and really wasn't around so much any more. It was a shame, Balthazar had almost liked him. Now he was an angel, but the demon decided he could deal with that, it wasn't like any of that dogma crap really mattered in practise. He knew angels and demons who were sleeping together, although how they got around the burning angelic hands thing, he had no idea.

It was dark tonight, he noted. Darker than it usually got in the city with all the lights, anyway. It hadn't rained for a while and the air was hot, almost stifling, and had prompted him to leave his suit jacket at home. He'd even taken the tie off, popped the top couple of buttons of his shirt and let it hang loose, since he'd been off tormenting his favourite exorcist again. It was nice to look good for him, the way his eyes had lingered on the demon's exposed collarbone had been eternally satisfying. Their fights always were badly disguised flirting, morphing lately into something along the lines of demonic foreplay. Balthazar wondered when Constantine would just give up the pretence and kiss him. He'd imagined it enough times, that was for certain.

The fight that evening had progressed as it usually did, until Balthazar was flat on his back across whatever available surface had been around at the time. He hadn't had a chance to check what it was, he'd been a little distracted. They'd been punching and clawing at each other, snarling the usual insults while the air was thick with lust. It had been intoxicating, and he'd almost come right there when Constantine had slid a hand up beneath his shirt to press a crucifix to the tanned skin of his stomach. He'd definitely screamed, anyway, and arched up into the pain. It occurred to him that he probably had a masochistic streak, which was always good when dealing with the hot-tempered John Constantine.

His scream had ended their fight, anyway. Constantine always walked away when he was on the verge of jumping Balthazar, and the demon knew it. He wondered why the exorcist bothered. He'd slept with a halfbreed before, and he'd slept with a man before, so it wasn't much of a stretch. Still, they'd parted ways for the night and Balthazar had laid there panting until the sting of the crucifix melted away, though it would take a few days to heal. He didn't care, looking at the marks Constantine put on him always made him feel as though he belonged to the human, and even though it was slightly degrading for a demon, he liked it. Constantine could own him all he wanted.

Still thinking about Constantine, Balthazar took a moment to notice when the heat got a little more intense, the darkness gathering thicker around him. When it became so thick he could barely see the street lights he stopped walking, the scent of sulphur hanging sharply in the air.

“You're looking... delicious, Balthazar...” A voice hissed, to which Balthazar jumped and spun around, knowing exactly who was speaking to him. The air had grown so thick because time had slowed to what was almost a standstill, the tail lights of a car that had passed only dimming ever so slowly as it drove further away.

“Lucifer.” Balthazar greeted in a wary voice, turning again, more slowly this time, to see that the devil was standing before him in his white suit, smoking a cigarette. The cigarette was an odd touch, Balthazar noticed. He'd been smoking them a lot since he'd ripped the cancer out of Constantine's lungs, perhaps he'd developed a taste for them. They'd been the thing that had gotten the closest to killing Constantine, after all. Besides Constantine himself, that was.

“You're out late. You shouldn't walk around in the dark, Balthazar. There are bad people about.” Lucifer purred, stubbing his cigarette out with one tar-covered bare foot and closing in. Balthazar tried to take a step back but found himself unable to move, knowing with a sick sense of dread that his punishment hadn't been forgotten, only postponed.

“I know, I am one.” Balthazar said in his usual slick tones, forcing a smirk onto his lips. Lucifer circled behind him, leaning in to whisper in his ear and running a tattooed hand over Balthazar's hip to tuck under his shirt, slithering up to his chest. The halfbreed shivered in disgust, biting his forked tongue.

“You've disappointed me, Balthazar.” Lucifer breathed hotly into his ear, pinching his nipples viciously and earning a growl from the demon in his arms. “You should know better.”

“Just doing my job,” Balthazar said in a growled voice, whimpering slightly when Lucifer raked sharp nails across his chest. The cuts burned and he closed his eyes tightly, cursing.

“My wretched little son isn't getting this world, it's mine. So is John Constantine. Did you think I'd let you off?” Lucifer hissed, dragging his fingers down over the cuts and enjoying the trembling he could feel in the smaller demon's body.

“You'll never get Constantine, he always has some trick up his sleeve.” Balthazar smirked, knowing he was going to regret saying such a thing to the devil himself but not caring. Lucifer was going to punish him anyway, if he was angry enough he might even finish it quickly. Either way, Balthazar knew he wasn't going to be leaving Lucifer's presence alive. Resurrection probably wouldn't be an option after this, either.

Lucifer was about to reply when he snarled in pain, his questing fingertips coming into contact with the crucifix mark Constantine had left on Balthazar earlier. Before the halfbreed knew what was happening he was shoved roughly against the nearest wall, Lucifer moving viper-quick to press up against him and catch his throat. The devil tore away Balthazar's shirt and glared down at the mark that had burned him, dragging wicked eyes back up to Balthazar's, which were glowing and wide with fear.

“You have the scent of John Constantine all over you, I'm surprised he hasn't killed you again yet.” Lucifer's voice was rough and dark, promising pain as he tightened his grip on Balthazar's throat. The halfbreed choked, bringing both hands up to try and struggle. Lucifer's grip was like steel, though, and all he could do was gasp for breath, writhing as Lucifer used one claw to draw a large X into his skin over the crucifix.

Once he was pleased with his handiwork, Lucifer released Balthazar's throat and surged up to kiss him, snake-like tongue forcing past his lips as he struggled. Disgust flooding him, Balthazar could only push uselessly at Lucifer's chest, knowing he had no chance of escape but still fighting regardless. His defiance earned him a sharp slap once Lucifer drew back, the blow leaving Balthazar's ears ringing and giving Lucifer the opportunity to spin him around and slam him against the wall again.

When Balthazar came to his senses, Lucifer had none-too-gently torn off the rest of his clothes, even ripping his shoes off. The halfbreed tried to push back away from the wall but Lucifer crushed him forward and ran a wicked hand down the curve of his back, chuckling darkly in his ear and swirling a fingertip around the base of his tail.

“Perhaps Constantine has a soft spot for you.” The devil purred, biting at the delicate shell of Balthazar's ear. “This should really annoy him.”

That said, Balthazar heard the ominous sound of a zip being lowered and used every ounce of strength in his body to try and escape. His power flared and died, nowhere near a match for the creature behind him, who lined himself up agonizingly slowly and forced his way into Balthazar's tanned body. The halfbreed shrieked in pain, having expected the initial entrance to hurt but not the fire that tore at his insides.

“Feel free to make as much noise as you like. I could get used to those sounds you make.” Lucifer rasped evilly, grasping Balthazar's hips and making sure to dig his fingers harshly into the golden skin there. The halfbreed collapsed against the wall and clung to the crumbling brickwork, his breath leaving his lips as gasped whimpers. He'd never felt anything so painful, the agony ripped through every inch of him. He curled his toes and squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, his whole body shuddering uncontrollably. When Lucifer had tired of simply watching him suffer he began to move, setting a brutal pace and laughing as Balthazar clawed at the wall, crying out. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and his throat felt raw from the ragged cries Lucifer was wringing from him, claws tearing mercilessly at his back. He could feel the hot, sticky sensation of blood beginning to dribble down his back and thighs, his knees finally giving way. Lucifer refused to let him fall, simply pressing his chest to the wall and holding him up that way. The rough brickwork scraped at the formerly perfect skin of his chest but he barely noticed, the pain beginning to overwhelm him. His cries weakened to gasped sobs, everything spinning darkly even with his eyes squeezed firmly closed.

“Are you going to pass out? Don't you think it'd be a shame to miss your own death?” Lucifer growled, thrusting brutally into Balthazar and sliding one hand up to rest on the halfbreed's shoulder. With a smirk and barely an effort he broke it, the sickening crunch of bone mingling in the silent air with Balthazar's agonized scream. The screaming continued as Lucifer tapped almost gently on one of the halfbreed's ribs, snapping it like a twig. Another quickly joined it, Lucifer enjoying the way Balthazar's body tightened around him in pain and moving his hand down to the sobbing demon's hip, about to crush it beneath his hand.

“This might sting.” Lucifer chuckled, but never actually managed to follow through with his intended course of action. A familiar yet unwelcome voice sounded from directly behind him, absolutely ice cold with rage.

“So might this.” The voice said, and then Lucifer was snarling with pain and pulling out of Balthazar, a splash of holy water burning through his white suit and into his tattooed skin as he tucked himself away and turned around.

Balthazar barely registered the new voice before Lucifer had pulled out of him, leaving him to slide down the wall and collapse on the cool stone pavement, propped up slightly with his unbroken shoulder against the rough bricks. Everything swam in a sickly haze when he tried to force his eyes open so he kept them closed, breathing heavily and waiting for Lucifer to either kill him or continue.

“Constantine. How have you been? Did you have business with me?” Lucifer smirked, hissing his words like a snake. John Constantine stood glaring at the devil, his eyes more murderous than Lucifer had ever seen them. He felt a shiver of pleasure at having caused such rage in the one soul he wanted more than any other.

“Knock off the bullshit. You were leaving.” Constantine said icily, walking around Lucifer. Before the devil had figured out what he was up to, Constantine had placed a tiny silver symbol on the floor next to the halfbreed, who whimpered in pain and curled his tail around himself protectively, on the verge of passing out. Constantine hated to hurt him further with something like a ward against demons, but it was the only way he was going to keep Lucifer away. It's influence spread out over himself and Balthazar, who shuddered. Being only a halfbreed, Balthazar remained inside the circle of protection, prompting a hiss of annoyance from Lucifer, who was unable to step any closer to them.

“He's mine, Constantine. He needs to be punished.” Lucifer snarled, black tar framing his footprints as he paced outside the ward.

“I think he's been punished enough.” Constantine growled, turning away from Lucifer and towards Balthazar, who was breathing heavily in pain and kneeling slumped against the wall, his shoulder and ribs already beginning to bruise. “Balthazar.” Constantine said quietly, taking the suffering demon's chin in his hand and watching as a pair of dark eyes fluttered open dazedly, glowing softly in pain.

“J-Johnny...” Balthazar breathed, praying to anything he could think of that Constantine had come to show a little mercy and give him a quick death. He was burning and bleeding and there wasn't a single spot on his body that didn't seem to be in utter agony, everywhere except the soothing touch of Constantine's fingers on his jaw.

“You're ok. You'll be ok.” John insisted, running his eyes over the lacerations the devil had left all over Balthazar's golden skin. The edges were already beginning to close up, the bleeding slowing, but the broken shoulder and ribs were going to take longer. Balthazar's eyes slid closed and he gave a soft breath, passing out against the wall. It was probably for the best, Constantine mused.

“How sweet...” Lucifer hissed, looking down on them in disgust. “You do seem to love making the same mistakes twice.”

“Yeah, yeah. I'm a fucking genius. So, are you gonna stand around all night waiting for me to remove this,” Constantine nudged at the little silver charm with the toe of his boot. “Or do you have better things to do?”

Lucifer sneered, turning his back on the exorcist.

“Never even got to finish. Well, maybe next time.” He said, before vanishing down into the pit of foul, black tar that opened up beneath his feet. Constantine didn't like the insinuation that there might be a next time and stood up, waiting for Lucifer to sink out of sight before spitting into the closing hole. The tar hissed and vanished, leaving nothing but the gum-covered pavement in its wake as time lazily started up again. Bending down to pick up the unconscious demon and the charm, Constantine hefted Balthazar up bridal-style and thanked whoever was watching over him that it was the middle of the night because carrying a naked, bloody man with a tail through the streets of LA was probably frowned upon. Said tail snaked up of its own accord and wrapped around John's arm, almost clinging to him as he walked.

It was only two blocks back to his apartment and Constantine took down the wards momentarily to allow Balthazar inside, kicking the door closed behind him. He made his way to the bedroom and looked down at Balthazar, whose head had fallen back to expose his bruised throat. Even this beaten up, he still looked beautiful, and John did one of the things he'd wanted to do for a long time – he laid Balthazar down on his bed. After a moment spent deactivating the charm, unneeded now that they were safely warded inside his apartment, John headed for the bathroom to fetch a bowl of water, a cloth and one of his many rolls of gauze.

XxXxX

TBC

I realise that wards and crucifixes probably wouldn't be very effective against Lucifer. Canon? Must have missed it. Anyway, this will be continued, reviews will spur me on.