This is just a short piece to get me back into the fanfiction groove. Gonna last five chapters or so. Slice of life sort of thing, with no real action, post Knockin' on Heaven's Door. Maybe light Spike-Faye-ness so I can practice. Nothing major.
Thoughts are in italics.
Cosmic Imbalance
1.0
Itches
It was a somnolent afternoon on Mars. It was summer. Martian summers are always so damn hot. Nothing compared to a summer on Venus, though.
The fan whirred around and around over the common room, doing almost nothing to alleviate the heat. Or the humidity. Martian summers are so damn humid.
The insidious heat snuck beneath his clothing, summoning sweat up from every pore. It was too hot to move, but too hot not to move. Spike's course of action was not to move. Less exertion.
The last time they had been on Mars was Halloween. Spike wondered why they couldn't have come earlier…or later. Like during winter. He opened his eyes to observe the ceiling.
Spike did not, however, wonder where Ed was, how much Faye was losing at the tracks or even what was for dinner.
He was wondering whether or not it was worth it to move and scratch the itch.
It was just to the left of his crotch on the inside of his thigh. He had stripped to his vertically striped boxers and thin undershirt a couple of hours ago. Sweat had infested his clothing, irritating the itch. He briefly considered why, when he needed things most did they have to break. Stupid AC.
Finger nails pressed into the flesh of his thigh moving back and forth. He sighed in relief and closed his eyes again. With his hand tucked back under his head the other arm moved slowly on his elbow in an arc to land on and grab the pack of cigarettes on the table. Maneuvering the pack between his fingers he shook the pack once to let one cigarette come sliding out. He placed the box back on the table and his arm moved over his chest and grabbed the lighter balanced on the back of the couch.
A soft chink and flare later and Spike was smoking slowly. He was waiting for a time when it would be appropriate to eat to come along and enjoying his smoking and not moving much when his foot twitched involuntarily.
This one was just above the knuckle on his right big toe.
Itches on your feet eventually go away. He thought. So he lay silently smoking and waited.
An interminable amount of time later he noticed that he hadn't noticed when his foot stopped itching so he moved on to the next cigarette, lighting it right off the first and thought no more of it.
A waft of cool air breathed out of a large vent over the couch about two more cigarettes later, bringing some dust motes and a warbling shout of surprise as Ed fell against the vent cover.
The left side of her face was pressed into the grille before it came off and she crashed to the floor next to the couch.
Spike pursed his lips around his cigarette and took a deep breath and let it out slowly before rolling his eyes floorwards and asking, "Ed are you ok?"
NFA: Well that was rather different for me to write considering that there was almost no dialogue. I like to write dialogue. Next up Ed's chapter. The day will go a bit farther every chapter. Then Faye after that. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my other story and the email! They motivated bunches. Check my info page for details about it. PLEASE REVIEW!