Preface

True Thomas
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/7066126.

Rating:
General Audiences
Archive Warning:
No Archive Warnings Apply
Category:
F/M
Fandom:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Relationships:
Spike/Buffy Summers, Drusilla/Spike
Characters:
Spike (BtVS), Buffy Summers
Additional Tags:
Prompt Fill, Season/Series 07, Light Angst, Hopeful Ending, Short
Language:
English
Series:
Part 15 of SB Fag Ends Drabbles and Short Fics: BtVS season 7
Stats:
Published: 2016-06-02 Words: 249 Chapters: 1/1

True Thomas

Summary

Things always seem darkest just before the dawn

Notes

First posted to the SB Fag Ends Livejournal comm April 29 2016

Theme: Fairyland
Prompt: Thomas the Rhymer

In legend, Thomas the Rhymer was given the gift of prophecy by the fairy queen, and was also unable to lie. It sort of fits, if you squint.

True Thomas

Never been his strong point, lying.

Despite that, he'd lied to Dru all the time.

"Let's go this way, pet. There'll be fairies and stars, and whatnot."

He's pretty sure she never believed him (hard to tell with Dru), but nine times out of ten she'd play along, and nine times out of ten there'd be enough fun and frolics (of the bloodier kind) to satisfy.

But there's no escaping the truth now. He sees it in the Slayer's eyes as she gazes back at him through darkness.

And if they don't have honesty between them, what do they have?

(Well, hatred, death, and pain mostly, but let that go).

So, when she says, "Some of us will die tomorrow, Spike. Maybe all of us," he fingers the amulet, sitting on his chest like a stone, and says, "Yeah, Slayer, I know."

She sighs, rolls onto her back, stares at the ceiling, not seeing it.

"Damn," she mutters, and he knows she's thinking about Dawn.

Well, Dawn could die tomorrow too. No point him denying it.

But not all truths are so uncomfortable.

He touches her arm - the most he'll presume these days.

"Doesn't matter if we die, love. We're gonna win. We're gonna send that First bastard back to hell with its tail between its legs."

Her gaze snaps back to him. "You can't know that."

"Yeah," he insists. "I can."

She frowns. "Okay, how exactly?"

He smiles. So bloody obvious. "We have you, don't we?"

No lie.

Afterword

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