Title: The Morning After
Author: EmeraldArcher
Email address: sixtiesgirl8@yahoo.com, or leave a message here on the board
Feedback: If you feel so inclined.
Distribution: Please ask.
Spoilers: No spoilers.
Rating: PG? PG-13?
Pairing: Willow. Tara.
Disclaimer: I didn’t create these characters. I make no profit from them. No beta either – all flubs are mine.
Summary: Two points of view of the same thing.
Note: None really. Just something I wrote while I was supposed to be writing something else.
Thanks: To Xita, for having the site, and keeping the site.
The Morning After: Willow
Zzzz-zzzz. . . . zzzz-zzzz. . . .Willow’s eyes fluttered and opened. She felt the immediate burning sensation associated with too much Scooby-age and too little sleep.
Zzzz-zzzz. . . . zzzz-zzzz. . . .That buzzing noise had definitely been the thing that had awakened her. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it was certainly very annoying. She rubbed at her burning eyes. At first hazy, and then fuzzy, she blinked several times and opened her eyes wide, trying to focus. She blinked a few more times. She opened her eyes again, and found herself staring at a strange red, brown and green blobby pattern.
Zzzz-zzzz. . . . zzzz-zzzz. . . .There it was again, that irritating noise. Willow tried to move, and groaned as her body protested its aches and stiffness in painful abundance. She took a deep breath and tried again; her fingers pressed against a long, stringy, sticky shag carpet. “Oh, eww. . . .” She shifted, found her back pressed against something hard. A wall. Willow jammed her arm more firmly beneath her body and pushed herself up off the ground. She found herself in the small space between a wall and a bed. “Lovely. . . .”
Zzzz-zzzz. . . . zzzz-zzzz. . . . Willow solved the ‘mystery of the red, brown and green blobby pattern’ about the same time as she did ‘the annoying, irritating buzz-saw’.
Xander was sprawled out on a cheap, stained, hideously colored bedspread, snoring loudly. He was dressed in dirty work boots and jeans; some demon-ey blood-colored resin stained his shirt and jacket. Willow had to smile when she saw that he still clutched a bloody battle-axe tightly in his hand.
Zzzz-zzzz. . . . zzzz-zzzz. . . .Why that noise didn’t wake anyone else, Willow didn’t understand. She guessed she was just lucky that way.
Willow leveraged herself to her knees. From there, she found all the other ‘Sleeping Scoobies.’ Buffy lay on the bed next to Xander, in full fetal position; Mr. Pointy was held close to her chest. Anya slept at the foot of the bed; the ex-vengeance demon’s dress was covered in black ash. Past the bed, Dawn’s feet stuck out from a small closet.
Willow rose to her feet, a bit unsteady. She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. She looked around. The entire room was no more than ten-by-ten and it was definitely a ‘flea-bag dump.’ Willow rubbed her hands over her eyes. She tried to remember why they were even there.
Reltrak Demons. Fighting. Exploding blood sacks. Fire. Some magic. More fighting. Goopy, gory goo. More demons. Running. Even more fighting. Even more running. Even more magic. Then, some hiding. And, finally, some collapsing.
Willow dropped her hands to her sides. She leaned her head back against the wall. A feeling of relief washed over her. Everyone was safe and accounted for. Everyone was— Willow’s head came forward, whiplash fast. “Tara.” She said the name out loud, her eyes darting around the room. Buffy, check. Dawn, check. Xander, check. Anya, check. Tara, no check. Where was she? Where was Tara?
Now was not the time to panic.
Looking around the room once again, and still finding no sign of Tara anywhere, she felt her heart beat increase.
Okay, now.
Now was the perfect time to panic.
Willow slid along the wall as quickly as she could. She turned too soon and rammed her big toe into the metal leg post of the bed frame. “Ah!” she started to yell, then quickly clamped her hands over her mouth and clenched her eyes shut; she rocked back and forth as pain spiraled through her toe and up her leg. The redhead’s whole body shook as she tried to prevent herself from screaming out loud.
GODDAMN-MOTHER-FUCKIN’-SON-OF-A-BITCHIN’-JESUS-CHRIST!!! When the worst of the pain had passed and she could open her eyes again, Willow leaned over and put her hands on her knees. “
OW!” she whispered fiercely, simply because she had to say
something out loud. She stood up and cleared out from beside the bed. She limped as she walked, balanced on the heel of her injured foot; she slid her arm along the wall to help support her weight.
Willow’s eye caught a very dim light from under the door beside her. Bathroom. . . . “Tara.” Willow grasped the doorknob and turned it, opening the door without any noise. Immediately her eyes found the mirror; in its reflection she noticed two candles on some old, dirty, rusty heater.
Willow pushed the door open, far enough to lean inside. The redhead closed her eyes and released a held breath. She slid inside the small space, closing the door behind her. She leaned against the wall, her arms hanging limply at her sides; a smile touched her lips. Tara was in the bathtub, fast asleep like all the other Scoobies; she lay on her side, her legs bent, her head resting on a folded towel against the slope of the porcelain.
Willow pushed herself away from the wall and moved quietly over the linoleum floor until she reached Tara’s side; she knelt beside the tub, resting her hands on her knees as she watched Tara sleep. She listened to the blonde’s deep steady breathing for long seconds. Willow’s mind raced, trying to comprehend the myriad emotions she was feeling. Fear? Relief? Joy? Willow sighed again, moving to rest her arms on the side of the tub; she dropped her chin on them, closing her eyes. Willow was unsure, maybe for the first time in her life, how to define, how to quantify, what she was feeling.
Feeling for Tara.
About Tara.
Tara was her friend. Willow frowned at that thought. She shook her head softly. Tara was more than just her friend. Tara ‘felt’ like more than her friend. What did that mean, ‘more than a friend?’ They were closer than just friends. Willow considered that and knew it was true. She opened her eyes and looked at Tara again. Willow certainly felt closer to Tara, closer than just friends. But again, what did that mean exactly, ‘more than just friends’?
Willow only knew that she was happy. Happy to know Tara, happy to be around her. Just happy. And she hadn’t been really happy for a really long time. And she liked the way being happy felt. The way Tara made her feel. Willow smiled. Tara made her happy. And Tara was more than her friend. Willow wasn’t sure why, and she wasn’t sure what it meant. But she wasn’t going anywhere, and Tara wasn’t going anywhere. Willow had time to figure it out. She yawned, and smiled again. Her eyes drifted closed, as that came around again: Tara wasn’t going anywhere and she would figure it all out.
Willow took a deep breath. Sleep was fading fast. She rubbed a hand over her eyes before opening them. She lifted her head from her hands and looked at Tara.
Tara was looking at her.
Willow’s stomach flipped unexpectedly and she smiled. “Hey.” Her voice sounded hoarse.
Tara smiled. “Hey.”
“Sorry.” Willow sat up and rolled her shoulders. “Fell asleep.”
Tara uncoiled and sat up. She faced Willow. “You don’t need to apologize.”
Willow rested her arms on the tub side again. “I guess not.” She jerked a thumb absently. “Everyone’s asleep.”
Tara nodded. “It was a long night.”
Willow nodded. “Yeah.”
They stared at each other.
“Everyone’s glad you came with us,” Willow said. Tara tried not to smile. Willow amended, “I’m glad you came.” At that, Tara smiled. Willow swallowed. “I’m really glad.”
“I’m glad, too, Willow.”
They stared at each other.
“I’m glad you’re okay.” Willow rubbed her hands together. “It was really. . . last night was pretty nasty.” Willow laced her fingers. “I just. . . you know, I woke up and, um. . . .” Willow swallowed. “It was just that. . . I woke up and I didn’t see you.” Willow took a deep breath. “I was scared, and, um. . . .” Willow swallowed and looked Tara in the eyes. “I’m really glad you’re okay, Tara.”
They stared at each other.
Willow’s stomach flipped again. She felt sick. What had she just said? Something crazy? Unintelligible? Inappropriate? What had she said? That she was scared, check. That she was glad Tara was okay, check. That she was really glad Tara was okay, check. She wanted to say more. She needed to say more. But what exactly?
“Willow?”
Willow blinked. She shook her head softly. “Sorry.”
“Willow.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m going to do something right now.”
Willow nodded. “Okay.”
“I don’t want to frighten you.”
Willow nodded. “Okay.”
Tara shifted forward. She raised a hand to Willow’s cheek. Then, she leaned forward and kissed Willow.
Willow closed her eyes. Tara’s kiss was light and soft. Willow focused on that kiss, on Tara’s lips touching hers. Light and soft. And she wasn’t afraid, not of the kiss, not of Tara. She leaned into the tub, pressing her lips more firmly to Tara’s.
And then it was over.
Tara dropped her hand from Willow’s face. She rested it beside Willow’s on the side of the tub.
They stared at each other.
Willow’s heart pounded, and what her stomach was doing now? Flip didn’t quite define it.
Tara took a breath. “I just wanted you to know.”
Willow couldn’t take her eyes off of Tara. Her mind raced. Her heart raced. Her blood raced. Tara had said so little. But it meant so much. It meant everything. Willow tried to focus. Tara kissed her. She had kissed Tara back. And it had been wonderful. Unexpected and wonderful. Willow tried to focus. Tara made her happy. She felt so close to Tara. And Tara was more than her friend. But what exactly did all of that mean? All of her questions? All of her feelings? What did they all mean?
Willow’s heart pounded.
All of her questions. All of her feelings. What did all of that mean?
She thought of their kiss.
Had Tara just answered her? Or had she answered herself?
Willow sighed softly. A feeling of warmth and certainty washed over her. And then she took Tara’s hand in hers. “I know.” Tara squeezed her hand. Willow smiled. “I know.”
TBC
EA
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