Title: Counting Slayers, with Algebra
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Rating: R for violence
Feedback: darkhavens @ slashverse.com
Concrit: by email, please
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. No harm, no foul, no money made.
Warnings/Squicks: Talk of multiple deaths
Notes: A discussion of Slayers past and a maths problem, set in the baby!vamp!Xander 'verse. And all, for some unknown reason, entirely in dialogue.
First Slayer
"The first was that pretty China doll, remember, Dru? All skin and bone and raw determination. I'd never fought anyone quite that small before; was positive I'd easily snap her neck. I'd never seen someone that tiny swing a sword like that. Certainly never thought she'd cut my face!"
"Pretty face."
"Thank you, luv. Now, where was I? Right. In the middle of a rebellion we were all she could see. I bet she hadn't eaten for a week. She fought a damn sight better than the rebels ever could. If she'd been at the front they might have won."
Second Chance
"Nicky had something to live for, not that I knew that then. I found this crumpled picture in her coat once we were done. I never thought a Slayer'd have a kid, but he made her strong. She got me on the floor a time or two. But I've always been a determined bastard, me, and I wanted that coat. If she'd handed it over I might have let her live... Nah. It was her or me, and as much as she wanted to live, she was more afraid of dying, and that's a fear that'll always do you in."
Third Time Lucky
"The Slayer, the Slayer, the... Oh, I remember mine now! The one with the skin the colour of milky cocoa and the singsong voice. She smelled like cinnamon cookies in the kitchen - mustn't touch, too hot! But she was boring, didn't fight at all, she was too easy. A slip, a slide, just like a knife through butter - mustn't touch, too hot! I didn't get to drink, the books were shouting and they wouldn't stop. They told me all the stories I could... Oh! You were there, Kitten! The books kept you safe and out of sight but I could see you."
Four Become Three Become Two
"Go on, Xan, it's your turn. You've killed a Slayer too. Means nothing if you don't exercise your bragging rights occasionally."
"But... You were there Spike, you and Angelus. You were the ones who..."
"We just helped you tenderise the bint. You're the one who drank her dry and rung her scrawny neck. Tell us, luv. Tell us how it felt."
"I knew every move she went to make before she made it. You trained me well; she never stood a chance."
"What about the Slayer's blood? What about the taste?"
"It was just like pop rocks on my tongue."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Algebra
"I can remember things I never knew I knew! That demon at the gas station, the one with the big blue crest? As soon as I saw him, I knew he was a Walthus. I even knew the crest meant that it was mating season. How can I remember all this stuff?"
"All those research hours, luv, all those dusty books. Everything you've read and seen and heard is in your head somewhere. Your demon's had a poke about, re-organised your filing system. I bet you, if you thought about it, you could explain algebra."
"First of all you need..."
