Title: "At the End of Their Tomorrows"
Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: G
Summary: She always thought they'd have tomorrow, but she was wrong.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.
She always thought they'd have tomorrow. She knew death was always a possibility, as long as she was friends with the Slayer, but she never really thought it would happen to them or, at least, not to her sweet, beautiful Tara. Willow was the one who brought danger to their relationship. She was the one who should've died, not Tara, and yet here she is, at the end of their tomorrows, the one still living.
She shuts her eyes tightly every time she goes to their bed, trying to stop the tears, but they always rain. She can fight them off most of the time around her friends, focus on revenge instead of what's really eating up her heart. But here, alone, laying underneath sheets that have so often been made wet with their love making, she can't stop the thoughts or tears.
It isn't right. It isn't fair. And yet, there's nothing she can do to make it right or turn back the clock. There's no way for her to give her lover back the tomorrows she should have had, to have the happy ending she always believed they would, or to give Tara back her life.
She knows what Tara would say. It isn't her fault, but it is. She should go on with her life, but she can't. Her life died with Tara, and all Willow wants to do is wail as she does every night in the privacy of the room that once held their paradise.
The End