'It's Elementary', four for slashthedrabble challenge #20 - Elements

[darkhavens]

Author: darkhavens
Title: It's Elementary
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Rating: R
Feedback: darkhavens @ slashverse.com
Concrit: by email, please
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. No harm, no foul, no money made.
Notes: Yes, more baby!vamp!Xander. :D



Earth

Xander was the one solid thing in Spike's unlife that kept him grounded, kept him focussed on reality. Eyes the colour of rich loam soil, hair like shag tobacco, earthy in a way that Spike was not. Even several months of being a vampire hadn't totally bleached his skin. Spike could still find traces of the tan his boy had earned, working every day from dawn to dusk. The scents of earth and fresh cut wood, and the concrete dust he hated, were long gone but Spike occasionally still checked, just in case. Sometimes he missed the silliest little things.




Air

It took Xander quite a while to get used to the 'breathing optional' thing, for weeks he'd break off kisses to gasp for air. Spike just rolled his eyes and called him 'git' and 'daft' and 'wanker' then tugged him back and stole his breath again.

What amazed him was the way that, now he didn't need to breathe it, the air was suddenly so much more. Each breeze caressed his flesh and teased his nerves while scents aroused him. He felt it, smelt it, tasted every molecule on his tongue.

No, he didn't need it, but he loved it.




Fire

Like a fire in their veins, the hunger never truly stopped its burning, always there, just beneath the surface. One hour apart was easy. Two or three, well, they were bearable. Much longer and the sparks would flare anew.

They'd imagined, once the novelty wore off, that it would lessen - this need to come together, flesh to flesh. Instead the craving built, the lust grew stronger, and the love - love that demons aren't supposed to feel - that grew as well.

Each time they merged the bond grew even stronger and the flames inside burned ever that much brighter than before.




Water

Sometimes Xander likened Spike to a wicked water sprite, his Sire spent so long stripped to the skin and soaking wet. Showers, baths and saunas curled his hair and gave his skin a burnished sheen. The suggestion of a hot tub in the spare room almost made him cream.

Lotions, potions, gels, oils and unguents galore, if they made it for the bath Spike tried it out. Not that Xander minded having a Sire with a water fetish, when a wet Spike was a happy Spike, and happy Spike was always, always horny.

Maybe he should suggest installing a pool...



NEXT

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_sharvie_/]

Wow! I adore these! I think, aside from my favs the colors (for personal reasons) these are your very best. I know, I know, it's like picking favs among your kids, but these are just so amazingly detailed and deliciously nuanced (my new word for the day). Just so beautiful.

The scents of earth and fresh cut wood, and the concrete dust he hated, were long gone but Spike occasionally still checked, just in case. Not only engaging our senses but also our memories. I think it is called 'scent memory'. You played it to the hilt for this one.

Each breeze caressed his flesh and teased his nerves while scents aroused him. He felt it, smelt it, tasted every molecule on his tongue. I love this! You forget that something so invisible and innocuous is so alive.

And Fire and Water were just hot! Hot*curlyhairedshoweredSpike*hot!

Awesome work!

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you so much! :D

I love scent memory. There's a woman who comes into the shop every couple of weeks who wears a perfume that makes me feel like I'm 7 again because it's the same scent my teacher used to wear every day. My reaction never dulls.

Hot*curlyhairedshoweredSpike*hot!

Hee! *smooch*

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is nice. The silly side of this story is fun too, but I like the tone here, the different perspectives from which they view their relationship.

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Sometimes the boys just want to play, and sometimes they get really intense and emotional. ;)

[virtualpersonal.livejournal.com]

Very creative, using the elements as a theme, and very successfully so. I still don't understand how you make each one of these so rich with so few words. Believe me, I tried to write a drable tonight... gave up and let it be over a page long. *Hats off to you*

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

I still don't understand how you make each one of these so rich with so few words. Believe me, I tried to write a drabble tonight... gave up and let it be over a page long.

Thank you, sweetie.

You really have to be brutally vicious sometimes when writing a drabble. Pick a moment in time or a feeling and focus on it. Don't let the clock tick over to another minute or drag you forward an hour. Don't let the feeling mutate into something else. Just grab that one stark image/moment/emotion and take a snapshot, cos really, that's what drabbles are.

Trim out any extra words - we don't care what colour the curtains are or what they had for dinner a week last Tuesday. Don't be afraid of contractions - they save you at least a word. (I'm/I am, he'd/he would) and explore alternatives. Play with the format and see how it goes. Maybe the one you wrote last night was supposed to be a page long. Don't let it stop you trying again. /lecture ;)

[vampirefever.livejournal.com]

These were great, but I loved the 'air' one, really evocative.

And of course, Spike the waterbabyvamp - so cute.

*hugs*

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Thankee!

I've never quite got over the bit in Domestic Piranhas where Xander is talking about getting Spike sopping wet and giving him a lollypop. Even just writing makes my stomach do backflips. Such a pretty pretty mental image. So, wet!Spike was the perfect choice for water. *g*

*hugs^rh* ;)

[persephone-20.livejournal.com]

Okay. I'll give. Another perfect addition to your writing. *smiles* Glad I happened along to read it for sure!

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D I love this 'verse.

[nashmaveric.livejournal.com]

Awww, schmoopy happy vamps. Just as good as the evil vicious ones ::happy little sigh::

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Yes they are. :D

Sometimes they want to play, and then sometimes they get all romantic, or porny, or deep and meaningful, and I'm just along for the ride.

Thanks!

[amejisuto.livejournal.com]

Whoot! These are all so damn good but I really like the Fire one. Whoa that's hot. Great job luv!

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Thankee! They're such an intense, needy, loving pair and I can't see that fading at all. And they're such pretty boys when they're being hot. *g*

[tabaqui]

Oh, those were fun.
:)
I like the first one a lot, Xander's description, and...
Well, i liked them all.
Heh.

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Xander really is an earthy character - dirty hands, dirty mind, dirty boy... ;)

Thankee!

[velvet-virago.livejournal.com]

A quartet of miniature jewels!

Loved 'em all. Mmmm-hmmm.

'Specially grin-worthy was the image of Spike as a wicked water sprint. :-)

[velvet-virago.livejournal.com]

...um... I meant "sprite", but somehow the typo hath its own charms....

*resolves to look into that whole "preview" button concept*

[altyronsmaker.livejournal.com]

Oh, these were really cool. My favorite: Air and Water. Air because I love how Xander describes it. I've felt that way myself sometimes. Water because I *love* the water. I totally relate to Spike's need for it. If I didn't live near water, I think I'd die slowly, like a vital piece of me had been removed.

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

I'm a waterbaby myself, and would happily spend every waking hour in a pool, or the bath, if they would only make the internet waterproof.

Thanks! :D

[werewindle.livejournal.com]

Very elemental. ~_^ I loved these esp the water one. Mmmmmm Very pretty images. More!

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

yes, The thought of wet!Spike does tend to paint pretty mental pictures. *g*

Thanks!

[sp23.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loved all of these. Beautifully crafted vignettes. If I had to choose a favorite, I don't think I could choose between "Earth" and "Water". But really, I loved them all.

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Those two complement each other, both mini character studies from the other's POV.

Thank you. :D

[moimoietmoi.livejournal.com]

Wow! These drabbles were quite beautiful! And they felt different from your other drabbles; I don't know why, but I like it!

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :D

These drabbles were written while I was tired, so my mental filters were partially offline and I tend to get slightly poetic and flowery when tired/drunk. I'd forgotten I'd volunteered to do an extra shift and so instead of spending hours at my computer before the deadline I would be faced with 30 minutes to write, code and post - impossible. So, instead of going to bed when I should, I stayed up and drabbled, and this is the result. I may have to try it more often. ;)

[kitty-poker1.livejournal.com]

Lovely as always, sweetheart.

'Fire' particuarly touched me. But 'Air'? *shiver* Xander's desire and need for air perfectly matches his desire and need for Spike. Neither is essential to his continued existence, but both are essential for his happiness.

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Thank you! You hit the nail on the head. Xander could survive without them both, but he probably wouldn't want to. *smooch*

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

I love the fire, the whole idea that the more they're together, the more the fire burns and they can't get away from their need to be together. Each of them has been left so much that this makes me happy-happy.

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

That's it exactly. They both have such an intense need to be loved and wanted. Once they'd come together, they'd never part. It makes me happy-happy to put them together forever. :D

Thanks!

[literati.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous set, babe!

::imagines a wet and horny Spike running around::

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's always fun to imagine that! *g*

Thanks, babe. *smooch*

[kat8cha.livejournal.com]

Done it again darlin! Lovely! Ooo, Fire was so great! The passion and the whole 'love that vampires aren't supposed to have' was awesome! And Water! Wet!Spike! Whoo hoo!

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Hee! Thanks. They're such a passionate pair. ;)

[tgray.livejournal.com]

Hee! I loved all of these! And yes, I vote for a pool! Have to have a happy, horny Spike! :-)

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Thanks! A pool would be an awesome idea. Spike would never get dressed again... *g*

[fanbot.livejournal.com]

Love it.
Love it.
Love it.
Love it.

Hee! I love your work. They're like those tiny carved eggs that have so much detail on such a small thing.

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful compliment. Thank you! :D

[authoressnebula.livejournal.com]

Whoa. Love the emotions and the words and the descriptions and...okay, yeah, I loved them all. ^_^ Absolutely wonderful job sweetie.

~Nebula

[darkhavens.livejournal.com]

Thankee darlin'. :D