Title: The Green Fairy
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Spencer Reid
Fandom: Doctor Who/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Table: VRD challenge - Green, 5_prompts
Prompt: Absinthe (picture)
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Spencer Reid, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

"I've always wondered what it was about absinthe that made so many people back in the day get addicted to it," Spencer murmured as he swirled the green liquid in his glass. "I'm not sure I want to drink it. From what I've read, it doesn't even taste that good."

"Chasing the green fairy has been a pastime of the rich and famous for centuries -- and even for those who aren't so rich and famous," the Doctor mused, leaning back in his chair and studying the green liquid in his glass. "But I've never done much of it."

Spencer glanced over at the Doctor, brows raised in question. "Does it affect you at all? You've told me that you can hold off the effects of alcohol, so I'd think that absinthe wouldn't faze you, even though it's supposed to be a lot more potent than most liquor."

"It is," the Doctor told him with a wink. "And for that reason, I'm glad that you're not much of a drinker. I don't want to see you develop an addiction to liquor -- I've seen too many other good people in the past do that, and you deserve better."

The young man shook his head, setting the glass down carefully on the table in front of him. "No, I don't," he said, his voice hoarse and strained. "I made the choice to stay addicted to Dilaudid. I could have walked away from it and gotten help. I didn't."

"At the time, you weren't thinking clearly," the Doctor told him, his voice soft as he studied his young lover. "Spencer, you can't hold it against yourself that when you were rescued from Hankel, you thought you needed that painkiller."

"I did need it!" Spencer shot back, then shook his head and buried his face in his hands. "No, I didn't," he whispered, on the verge of tears. "It had such a hold on me that I'd convinced myself I couldn't get by without it. And I hid that from everybody around me."

"You should have gotten help, I agree," the Doctor told him, getting up and moving to stand by Spencer's chair, resting a hand on the young man's shoulder. "But you didn't know how bad things were going to get. And I understand why you hid your addiction."

"I hid it because I was ashamed of it," Spencer said in a low voice. "I couldn't let anyone I worked with know that I was so weak. And I was afraid that if they knew, I'd lose my job. I was being paranoid; I know they would have kept me with the BAU. But I was scared."

"That was your own personal dance with the devil, wasn't it?" the Doctor asked, his hand tightening on Spencer's shoulder. "I'm glad you're past that, love. And I'm relieved that you're not the kind of person to replace one addiction with another."

"You don't have to be worried that I'll start drinking to get past the addiction to painkillers," Spencer told him, shaking his head. "I've never been big on drinking. I've had a drink here and there, but it doesn't really appeal to me. Even something as exotic as absinthe."

"That's good to hear," the Doctor said with a smile. "Too many people get caught up in a dance with the green fairy. It's not something that I want someone close to me to get drawn into. It can be a dangerous addiction, you know. Absinthe can be deadly."

Spencer nodded, a frown creasing his brow. "I guess that's why I've never understood the appeal of it. Why would anybody want to drink something that could kill them so easily, unless they had a death wish? It's not something I can wrap my head around."

"Well, I suppose that the absinthe made in your time period is nothing more than a very strong spirit," the Doctor mused, looking thoughtful. "But there was a time when it could be dangerous in large quantities, due to what it was made from."

"I'm almost afraid to drink it now!" Spencer laughed, looking at the glass of green liquid sitting in front of him. "It's not more than a few swallows, but this is the real stuff, isn't it? I mean, this isn't something you picked up in the twenty-first century."

The Doctor smiled, going back to his own chair and reaching for his glass. "No, it isn't. This is indeed the 'real stuff.' I got it from an old friend .... in Venice." His eyes misted a bit at the memory; it was obvious that he was remembering a happy time in his life.

Spencer wondered about that look; it was obvious to him that the Doctor had gotten the absinthe from someone he was close to, but he didn't want to ask about the person. That might lead to more than he wanted to hear at the moment.

Instead, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and picking up his glass. "Well, I suppose I should give it a try," he mused, swirling the green liquid again before raising the glass to his lips. He swallowed once, then twice, grimacing as he set the glass down.

"Judging from your expression, I don't think the green fairy agrees with you," the Doctor laughed, watching Spencer as he downed the absinthe. "You don't seem to be very impressed with her. Though I have to admit, absinthe is an acquired taste."

"It's a taste I'd rather not acquire," Spencer told him, making a face. "It's okay, I guess, as far as drinks go. But it's not something I'd want to drink more of than I have to. I don't think we need to stock this in the kitchen cabinets as an everyday thing."

"I keep some there -- but it's not something I want to drink often, either," the Doctor told him with a laugh. "The green fairy doesn't really hold much allure for me. And I'm glad to hear that you're not falling under her spell, either."

"There's only one person who casts a spell on me," Spencer said softly, getting up and holding out his hand to the Doctor. The Time Lord rose and took his lover's hand, smiling as the younger man led him out of the kitchen and down the hall towards their bedroom.

***