when: 2008-02-18 18:37 what: Fic: A Dozen Red Roses filter: Public tag: fic, spike

Ficlet written for drabble_much (cancelled) prompt 'a dozen red roses'. A little late for St Valentine's Day but never mind!

Title: A Dozen Red Roses
Characters: Spike
Rating: K+
Word count: 300

One for his mother. William loved innocently and was loved in return. Would he regret abandoning her, or simply killing her, more than he regrets what he did? If she had a grave he would leave the rose there.
One for Cecily. He was foolish to believe his love would be returned. He throws the rose in the Thames.
One for Drusilla. For passion and devotion. (For eternity). He learned to share her and it nearly broke him, having her to himself nearly did the same. He presses the rose in a book.
One for Darla. Hardly a romance, more an education and in a way he loved her for it. The thorns prick his fingertips.
One for several. Taken to his bed on a whim, they deserve a single flower between them. A petal each, he casts them to the wind.
One for Joyce. She treated him like a person. Another innocent love, another rose without a grave.
One for Dawn. She smells just like her sister but he'll never tell her. He keeps his love innocent because it's right thing to do. He drinks the scent deep.
One for Tara. A soul so pure it could blind you. He will never see that soul again. He sends the rose to Willow.
One for Anya, and for countless girls whose names blur in his memory. Companions in death. He didn't mean to desert them. He drops the rose in the dust.
One for Fred. There's a hole in his world. A hard blue hand clutches the stem, hard blue eyes question him.
One for Buffy. He knows he will only ever cause her pain. He crushes the bloom in his fist.
One for Angelus. Father, mentor, brother, (lover). The only one he's known. Spike gives the rose to Angel.