Short Fics by SallyMcFine

[FineyMcFine]

Title - Give Me Some Sugar

Author - Sally McFine

Part - complete (short fic)

Feedback - sure, please. This is my first fic, so be gentle with me!

Spoilers - none

Setting - Regular Sunnydale, The Bronze, circa Season 6, but without any of the darker S6 elements in play. La la la.

Rating - PG

Disclaimer - I don't own these characters; I'm not making any money from this story; no copyright infringement is intended. No demons were harmed during the writing of this story.

Notes - I've always had a penchant for the puns, an inclination toward the inane, and a hankering for the humor. This is a silly bit of fun that occurred to me one day and wouldn't let go of my brain till I actually wrote it down.

Thanks - to my very sweet beta, Mrs. McFine, for her helpful suggestions and comments and kisses and gay love. (I should clarify that Mrs. McFine is my wife, not my mother.)

Check out this URL once you're done reading - it helped me with content ideas and is fun: http://www.sci.mus.mn.us/sln/tf/c/crosssection/namethatbar.html

[hr]
Give Me Some Sugar

It was a dark and stormy night.

Willow and Tara entered the Bronze, leaving the rain and wind outside. Willow scanned the crowd. "There they are!" she said, and holding Tara's hand, weaved her way through the crowd to join their friends.

"Hey hey hey, a big welcome back to the big-city traveling girls!" said Xander expansively. "How was your trip to the Big Apple?"

"Tons of fun," Willow replied with sparkling green eyes as she pulled up a chair for Tara and sat in another chair herself. "One of the best weekends of my life. I really needed the vacation and the relaxation."

Buffy gave each witch a quick hug and then caught the attention of a passing waitress. "I want to hear all about it right after I order my two favorite witches a drink to welcome you back. What'll it be, ladies?"

"I recommend the chocolate martinis," said Xander.

"Ooh, that sounds good," said Willow. "Sign me up."

"Make it two," said Tara.

"Chocolate martinis all around!" said Buffy to the waitress. "Well, bring this one a virgin chocolate martini," she amended, indicating Dawn.

"You are what you eat - a virgin for the virgin!" chortled Anya. Dawn shot her a dirty look, while Buffy rolled her eyes.

"C'mon you two, give us the gory details about your trip to New York City. We small-town folk need to get our vicarious kicks and it's not getting any earlier," Xander said once they all had their drinks in hand and were slurping away.

"Well, I would think that any gory details are probably confined to events in Sunnydale," said Willow with a grin, sipping her martini. "New York is definitely a less demon-y town - odd, but less gory. We did pretty standard touristy stuff - we went out to quite a few clubs," she continued. "On Friday night we went to a 5th Avenue bar, and on Saturday we went dancing at the Kit Kat Klub."

Tara added "And we went to a lot of restaurants too - I think we ate our way through New York!" After the words left her mouth, she blushed slightly, realizing the unintended double entendre, which she quickly tried to cover up with a generous gulp of her martini.

Still smarting from Anya's virgin comment, Dawn wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to display her worldliness. "So you ate out a lot?" she asked innocently.

"DAWN!" shouted Buffy.

"What?" Dawn asked with wide eyes.

"Don't hassle the kid," Anya remonstrated. "She may be a virgin, but she probably still knows..."

Willow interrupted Anya, and trying to smooth over the awkward moment, she quickly continued the tale of their exploits in New York. "Actually, we ate out at so many restaurants - uh - ate in at so many restaurants - uh - that is, we had so many meals at restaurants that I'm feeling a little chunky."

Tara shot Willow a smoky glance and leaned over to whisper in Willow's ear. Dawn was listening intently but couldn't make out what Tara whispered other than the word "mounds."

Meanwhile, Anya snorted her disdain at Willow's self-criticism. "Well, you may be feeling like a chunky Wiccan but you're still as slender as a Skor bar - you can never be too rich or too thin, one of my own personal philosophies."

Xander gave Anya a puzzled look. "I didn't know that was one of your personal philosophies, An," he commented.

"It's not," Anya replied, a little puzzled herself. "I mean, being rich is definitely part of my personal philosophy - who wouldn't like to have 100 grand? But I do believe it's possible to be too thin. Anorexia can lead to illness and the shutdown of the body's vital functions, which means no orgasms."

Buffy shrugged, bored by the exchange - and distracted by her empty martini glass. "Xander, this martini was four kinds of yummy. I didn't know that the Bronze served martinis."

"Yeah, I know, aren't they sweet?" Xander replied. "I don't think they're normally on the menu, but I saw them listed on the chalkboard behind the bar and I figured it was our obligation to show these glamorous traveling witches that they don't need to leave Sunnydale to get some upscale...upscaleness."

"Well, I think I could use another one," said Buffy, motioning over the waitress.

"I think we could all use another one," said Xander, with a glance at everyone's empty glasses. "Another round for the table on me," he said to the waitress.

"Oh, Henry!" exclaimed Anya. "I mean, Xander. There's no need to spend our hard-earned money on drinks for people who aren't you or me. Let them spend their own money."

Xander put a soothing hand on Anya's arm. "Hey, An, c'mon - it's tradition. Buffy bought the first round, I'll buy the second round, Willow can buy the third round, and Dawn can drive us all home! Besides it's payday and I kind of like the idea of being everyone's sugar daddy."

"Okay, Xander," said Anya. "But we'll see if you get any blow pops tonight."

Sugar daddy? Blow pops? Tara mouthed to Willow, who shrugged. "Maybe it's a new secret kind of sex code for them," Willow whispered to her girlfriend.

"C'mon, what else did you guys do?" Dawn urged the two witches to continue with tales of their New York escapades as she sipped her virgin drink.

"Well, we saw a baseball game at Yankee Stadium," offered Tara. "It was neat to see where Baby Ruth played."

"BABE Ruth," corrected Xander.

"I know that, Xander, I'm not an airhead even though I'm not a sports freak," Tara retorted. She wore a puzzled expression. "But I did say BABY Ruth. Weird."

Willow gave Tara a considering glance. "Okay, well, on Saturday night after we got back from the bar, we went to the roof of our hotel and tried to look at constellations. We really wanted to see the Milky Way, but the lights of the city are too bright to see any stars at all."

Tara turned to look at Willow. "Sweettart, we weren't looking for the Milky Way at all."

"Who are you calling a tart?" asked Willow. "Anyway, I intended to say the Big Pineapple and the Little Pile O' Crackers. But it came out Milky Way."

"Hey, the Milky Way came out!" snickered Xander. "Guess it's catching."

Tara shot him an exasperated look. "Quit being such a goober. I think we need to figure out what's going on here," she said. "It's like we're not back from vacation five minutes and there's already Sunnydale weirdness going on."

Buffy nodded. "You're right - this is really strange. It's like we all have candy on the brain. Ever since you two have been telling us about your trip, it's been 5th Avenue Bar this, Kit Kat that, Baby Ruth and Milky Ways. If I didn't know better I'd guess you had been to Hershey, Pennsylvania instead of New York City."

Dawn hummed a few bars of "Sex and Candy" but quickly stopped when Buffy eyed her.

"Well, let's try to figure out what might have happened, and how we can stop it," suggested Willow. "I'm sure that between me, you, and Tara, we three musketeers can get to the bottom of it." She stopped with a stricken look. "Gosh, I can't even control it."

"Doesn't seem dangerous," offered Xander. "Seems just like harmless twix to me." He struggled to correct himself. "Whatchamacallit. TRICKS," he finally spat out.

Dawn burst out into peals of laughter. "Silly Xander, Trix are for kids. Besides, it could be dangerous. I mean, you might inadvertently start talking about someone's mounds or giving someone blow pops, or something."

"DAWN!" shouted Buffy, Willow, and Tara in unison.

"Okay, I think it's clear that we're under a spell, and unless we break the spell, I'm going to lose valuable paying customers at the Magic Box by making inappropriate comments about how it's an Almond Joy to serve them and would they like a kiss with their purchase. So I suggest, unless you all want to damn me to a life of destitution, for which I will have to take vengeance on you, then we get serious about trying to break this spell," huffed Anya.

"My baby's a smart cookie," said Xander. "Sorry," he amended, when Anya glared at him.

Willow suddenly sat up. "Ooh!" she shouted. Everyone turned to look at her. "What's different about the Bronze tonight?" she asked. No one answered. "It's the MARTINIS! The Bronze has never served martinis. And they're CHOCOLATE martinis!"

"Yes!" Tara said. "And whatever is in them, it has us on some kind of sugary candy-talking spree."

"But who put the martinis on the menu?" asked Anya. "Especially since The Bronze doesn't usually serve them. Buffy, I think you should check with the clark bar. I mean, the bar clerk."

Ever a woman of action, Buffy stood up. "Alright." She strode over to the bar and called "Hey, Mr. Goodbar!" to the bartender. "Have you seen anyone suspicious around here?"

The bartender considered this question. "Just you." He turned away to continue mixing drinks.

Buffy rolled her eyes, then scanned the area behind the bar. "Aha!" she said triumphantly, leaning over the bar and yanking a wriggling dark brown demon from underneath. She held it up for her friends to see.

He was about six inches high with a body made of what looked like solid chocolate. His glittering red eyes appeared to be made of cinnamon candies, and a beige mustache resembled nougat. In his left hand he held a candy cane.

The demon twisted and struggled, almost wrenching himself free of Buffy's grasp at one point, but she quickly pinned him down to the bar with both hands. "No butterfingers here, sweet cheeks," she told him. "Now spill it. Why did you curse us to talk about candy bars all night long?"

The demon stopped struggling, apparently coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to wrest free from Buffy's superhuman grip. "Curse you? I didn't curse you. I was invited to share the blessings of sugary goodness with you and your friends. I made enchanted chocolate martinis for you all at your request!"

"At whose request?" snorted Buffy. "As far as I know, nobody invited you. Now start telling me the truth or I'll rolo you off this bar."

Xander cleared his throat. "Uh, Buff? The little chocolate dude might be, um, not so much with the lying." Buffy leveled a disbelieving look at Xander, as did everyone else in the group. He continued, "I kind of thought, um, with the girls coming back from their trip, it might be...fun to...you know..." he trailed off as the girls' expressions made it clear that they didn't agree with his definition of fun. "I don't have to be your queen, do I?" he asked the chocolate demon.

"Xander Harris!" said Anya, exasperated. "Demons are nothing to mess around with."

Dawn observed, "But he messes around with you."

"Control the kid, willya?" Anya shot at Buffy. "Now listen. I know this type of demon and it's mostly harmless. We just have to merge its energy with something opposite of its essence, which will send it back to the dimension it came from. What's the opposite of chocolate?" she asked.

Dawn piped up "I know! Something organic!"

"DAWN!" shouted Buffy.

"She said organic, Buffy," said Tara. "And I think she's right - some good 'n plenty produce would probably do the trick."

Willow cast a glance around The Bronze. "I don't think we're likely to find anything like that in here, honey," she commented as her gaze traveled over the beer, pretzels, peanuts, and popcorn that littered the bar. "Let's conjure, shall we?"

Tara nodded, turned to face Willow, and joined their hands. "Organus, soyus, verdus, healthus, vituminus," they intoned together. An electric current seemed to start humming between them, causing some of their attributes to stand at attention.

"This is pretty good eye candy," Xander said as he observed the two women. Anya slapped his arm.

The two witches' breathing began to speed up. "Carrotus, lettus, grassus, sproutus, tomatus," they continued. Willow's head titled back slightly and her lips parted, as small beads of perspiration began to appear on Tara's upper lip.

"Maybe you shouldn't be watching this, Dawn," Buffy said.

"Tofus, broccolus, turnipus, cabbugus, asparagus!"

A flash of light emanated from the two witches' joined hands. A six-inch man appeared on the bar next to the chocolate demon, still contained in Buffy's grasp. His body was made of tofu, and he had a carrot nose and broccoli hair. In his right hand he held a stalk of asparagus. He grinned at the group, waved, and then turned to embrace his sugary doppelganger.

"Aieeeeeeeeee!" the chocolate demon squealed as his essence was banished to another dimension. "I'm melting! I'm melting! I'm melll...." His voice died out as his corporeal being dissolved, along with his more healthy counterpart's body.

Buffy was left with a handful of chocolate goo mixed with flecks of tofu and broccoli. "Gross."

"Kind of disproves the whole melts in your mouth, not in your hand thing, right?" offered Xander.

Willow and Tara both collapsed back into their chairs. Tara's chest heaved as she struggled to regain her breath, and Willow turned to bury her head into the crook of Tara's neck, murmuring into her ear. Tara's left arm held Willow close, while she used her free right hand to stroke Willow's cheek, and kissed her forehead. The two witches seemed oblivious to the rest of the gang.

"Looks like that was a totally organic experience," commented Dawn.

Buffy shook her head. "Dawn, I'm going to have to wash your mouth out with shampoo."

She turned to Xander, but not with any real anger. After all, no harm was done, his intentions had been good, if not well thought out, and the demon had been easy to dispatch. "What were you thinking, anyway?" she asked.

"Well," he said, tearing his eyes away from the witches, "I figured that with all the stress of daily life in Sunnydale, and with us missing our favorite witches this week due to their vacation and all, that a little humor would do us all some good. So I looked up "humor" in the books at the magic shop and conjured this demon. It was supposed to make people laugh with the funny candy bar puns. And I apologize," he continued...

"Because I see now that no pun in ten did."

Anything else Xander might have had to say was drowned out by the chorus of loud groans and the SPLAT as the gang threw the rest of their martinis in his face.

THE END[hr]

[kisstheviolets]

oh jesus. thanks for the laugh! i'm sure my co-workers will thank you for the many loud guffaws that spilled out of my office! that was just too funny. and a demon made of tofu and veggies conjured by the hippy lesbo witches? priceless. glad you gave dawn all the pervy lines, the interactions between her and buffy were hysterical:

"Looks like that was a totally organic experience," commented Dawn.

Buffy shook her head. "Dawn, I'm going to have to wash your mouth out with shampoo."

congratulations on your first fic. can't wait to read more of your work.

brandy

[meretricious]

sally, sweet story! (now you've got me doing it)
so you're obviously a charles delint fan, but by this story i'd say you read spider robinson, too?
too many lol and groan inducing puns to mention them all, but "she said organic buffy" had me laughing so hard i startled the dog.
very nice first fic, hope to see more from you~ mary

[cperrins78]

Oh my that was so funny. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. I think you did an excellent job with your first story. Your characters were all right on target, especially Anya. I hope you continue to write and I will be looking forward to reading whatever you offer us.


Christina

[HalfCamel]

This was great! I've had such a stressful month that I've kinda been on the down and outs. This was just what I needed to fixed all that. You know, at the risk at sounding extremely slow on the pick up, I didn't get this until the "Sugar daddy? Blow pops?" mention (after I went to go look at the title again), that's when the light blub went off.

This had me cracking up:

"Oh, Henry!" exclaimed Anya. "I mean, Xander.

(but before I started cracking up I said "Who's Henry?" I know! I know! I'm dumb. Leave me alone.... )

Well, everything had me laughing but I loved that line the best.

You wrote this extremely well! I hope we get some more of you puns very soon. I know I'll be waiting for them.

Until next time....

[singgirl]

That was totally goofy, but a nice little reprieve. Thanks!

[FineyMcFine]

kisstheviolets – thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Dawn surprised me with her sassy comments. On the show I felt bad for her sometimes that in trying to protect her, the gang leaves her out so I think this must have been her way of striking back. Thanks for making my first feedback ever a nice one! I enjoyed writing this and it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

meretricious – thanks for the sweet feedback! Yep, I love Charles de Lint and have been reading his books since sixth grade. Jilly Coppercorn is one of my favorite characters of all time. I have never read Spider Robinson (or heard of Spider Robinson) so I will have to check (him?) out. Give the dog an apologetic pat from me for being startled! Thank you.

cperrins78 – thank you very much! I really enjoyed writing Anya – I’ve always liked her character and I think she added a lot to the show. Thank you so much for the nice things you said. I was nervous about posting anything at all but the kittens are very nice folks.

HalfCamel – I’m glad this little story helped to cheer you up a bit. I don’t think you were slow on the pickup – I had thought about titling the story “Candy Bar Demon” but my beta recommended calling it something else so as to not give away the premise too quickly and to let people figure it out. I thought about putting exactly ten puns in there but I think it was more – I couldn’t resist.

singgirl - heh! Thank you. Goofy was my goal.

[FineyMcFine]

Title – Eat or Be Eaten

Author - Sally McFine

Feedback – certainly, if you are so motivated.

Setting – a Pac-Man video game. I cannot really explain why or how this story occurred to me, other than last night I was playing Pac-Man on the PlayStation2 and I was sick of playing it, and yet I couldn’t stop playing. It all seemed so pointless. And then this admittedly strange idea occurred to me, and I had to write it down, and it cracked me up. I know, I know – I am perhaps a little demented.

Rating - PG

Disclaimer – I guess I should disclaim both Willow and Tara and Namco.

URL in case you’ve never played Pac-Man (heresy!) here’s a Flash game: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/pacman.html

[hr]

Pac-Tara rounded the corner with the red monster hot on her tail. She ate some dots as she chomped along the corridor. Eating the dots slowed her down, but she turned another couple of corners, which kept her ahead of the red monster. The monsters couldn’t navigate the corners as quickly as she could. She thought it was because she was round and they were not. And the robes they wore slowed them down a bit too.

The red monster was always chasing her. That was no different than always, actually – the red monster’s nickname wasn’t Shadow Willow for nothing. All the monsters chased her – that’s what they were there for. Speedy Buffy, Bashful Dawn, Pokey Xander, and Shadow Willow chased her all day long in the maze. She tried to keep ahead of them and eat all the dots before they caught her.

Sometimes Pac-Tara turned the tables on them when she ate an energizer. Then the monsters all turned into blue ghosts and Pac-Tara could eat them. When she ate them, their bodies disappeared and their eyes winged their way home to the monsters’ home den in the middle of the board, where they were reincarnated like new. Pac-Tara liked it when she could eat the monsters – for once she was the hunter and not the hunted.

She especially liked it when she caught and ate Shadow Willow. That had happened more frequently during the last three boards. As a blue ghost, the red monster seemed to run away more slowly than usual – although she still retained her speed when she was the chaser. Pac-Tara almost regretted eating Shadow Willow when she caught her – Shadow Willow’s eyes seemed extra green lately.

Pac-Tara knew all the monsters’ quirks: Speedy Buffy was pink, and was very fast – she could outrun Pac-Tara on the straightaways. Bashful Dawn was blue and sometimes would turn tail and run when Pac-Tara reversed directions toward her suddenly. Bumbling, orange Pokey Xander always seemed to be messing up – turning the wrong direction when the other monsters were trying to box Pac-Tara in, so she could make a getaway. And Shadow Willow, the red monster, chased her relentlessly.

Lately Shadow Willow never seemed to give Pac-Tara a moment’s rest. The monsters would periodically seem to give up the chase and would return to their individual home quadrants in the maze, as if they were receiving some secret signal only they could hear. Pac-Tara could make a getaway when this happened and clean up stray dots she had missed in the constant pursuit, or sneak over to eat an energizer.

About three boards ago, Shadow Willow had stopped going to her quadrant when the other monsters received the secret signal – she just kept chasing Pac-Tara no matter where she went. This was one of those times – Pac-Tara had been being chased by Speedy Buffy and Shadow Willow, and was hemmed in on both sides at the bottom of the board when Speedy Buffy suddenly reversed course and made for her home quadrant. Shadow Willow, however, ignored the call and continued to chase Pac-Tara.

As Pac-Tara rounded the T at the bottom of the maze she considered her options. She could head up the right-hand side of the board and make a break for the tunnel, or she could hook left and try to escape up the middle past the monster’s home den, eating the fruit along the way. She chose the left route and buttonhooked around the top right arm of the T.

She focused on the next turn she’d have to make to head up the S-channel toward the monsters’ den. As she turned the corner, she heard Shadow Willow whisper something to her.

“Pssssssst. Pac-Tara.”

Pac-Tara was so surprised to hear Shadow Willow speak to her that she paused in the S-channel and came to a halt in the corner. She cringed, sure that she had been fooled and that the red monster was about to eat her.

Pac-Tara didn’t like being eaten by the monsters. It was a disturbing experience – when one of the monsters overtook her, they would latch onto Pac-Tara’s round yellow body. There would be a pause. And slowly, Pac-Tara’s body would fold up in on itself, winking out of existence. Then she would be reincarnated in the middle of the maze, all the monsters would return to their den, and the pursuit would begin anew.

Pac-Tara braced herself in the corner of the S-channel. But when no attack came, she opened her eyes.

Shadow Willow had come to a halt in front of her, and was looking at her with wide green eyes.

“Hi, Pac-Tara!” Shadow Willow said.

”Um – h-hi?” Pac-Tara replied hesitantly. She wasn’t used to being this close to a monster unless they were about to eat her – or vice versa.

Shadow Willow smiled at her. Then she cocked her monster head. “Oops. Company’s coming. Quick, get behind me.”

“What?”

“Quick, no time!” Shadow Willow urged. Pac-Tara was baffled, but complied with Shadow Willow’s instructions and hid behind the monster, crouching down out of sight.

She heard Speedy Buffy’s voice as she huffed by. “Have you seen Pac-Tara?”

Shadow Willow answered. “She went through the tunnel, to the right!”

“Got it!” answered Speedy Buffy as she zoomed away toward the tunnel.

“It’s safe to come out,” Shadow Willow whispered to Pac-Tara.

Pac-Tara emerged from behind Shadow Willow. She looked at the red monster with gratitude, and a little confusion.

“Thanks,” Pac-Tara said. “But, um, don’t you want to eat me?”

Shadow Willow smiled. “I’ve been trying to catch up to you for the last three boards – I just want to talk to you.”

Pac-Tara bit her lip. “I don’t see how we can talk now. The others will be by any moment.”

Shadow Willow grinned. “Don’t worry. Follow me!” She zoomed off up the left S-channel.

Pac-Tara followed out of curiosity. Truth be told, she didn’t mind quite as much when Shadow Willow was the monster who caught her and ate her. Shadow Willow always seemed to grab her a little more gently than the others, and appeared to regret it when Pac-Tara’s body would fold up and wink out of existence. In contrast, Speedy Buffy was an all-around roughneck both in the chase and the catch, Bashful Dawn seemed unaware of her own strength and overcompensated, and Pokey Xander was always so surprised to have actually caught Pac-Tara that he ate her with a lot of excess gusto.

Shadow Willow rounded a corner and ended up in front of the monsters’ den. “Come on in!”

Pac-Tara hesitated. “I don’t think I can come in. I’ve tried before, when I wanted to find a place to hide, but I could never get through the door.”

Shadow Willow held out a corner of her robe. “You can’t come in unless you’re a monster – or you’re with a monster. Grab on!”

Pac-Tara took the proffered corner of Shadow Willow’s robe, and together they glided through the entrance.

The inside of the monster’s den was empty, square, and glowing with the same gentle neon light that illuminated the rest of the maze. Shadow Willow turned to Pac-Tara and beamed.

“See? Privacy!”

“But won’t the other monsters come in when they can’t find me out there?”

“Nah,” Shadow Willow dismissed her concerns. “They never come in here unless you eat them when they’re blue ghosts. Just between you and me,” she said conspiratorially, “they’re not that smart.”

Pac-Tara laughed. “So what did you want to talk about, anyway? How come you don’t want to eat me anymore?”

“Um, well. That is…well,” Shadow Willow seemed suddenly bashful. Not Bashful like Bashful Dawn, but a little shy. Her robe seemed to turn a slightly deeper shade of red, and she averted her green eyes from Pac-Tara’s gaze.

Pac-Tara smiled. She already thought that Shadow Willow was a cute monster, and her shyness just served to cement that. And she was beginning to have an idea, anyway, of what might be on Shadow Willow’s mind.

“Pac-Tara, I’ve been chasing you in this maze for as long as I remember. Sometimes I catch you and eat you. Sometimes you eat an energizer and then you chase me and eat me. Sometimes I never catch up to you and just follow you around a million corners. And well, it just seems sorta pointless sometimes. All we ever do is chase each other, but when we catch each other, the whole cycle just starts again.”

Pac-Tara nodded. She had thought this herself sometimes, when she had a moment to rest and reflect. What was the point? No matter how many dots she ate, there were always more dots and more boards. No matter how many different kinds of fruit she ate, there was always more fruit. And no matter how many times the monsters ate her, or she ate the monsters, they always came back.

“So anyway, like I said, I probably follow you the closest of all of us. And um…” Shadow Willow’s voice trailed off a bit. She cleared her throat and continued. “That means I have the best view. Lately I can’t help noticing your round yellow curves, the way you turn the corners, and wondering what it would be like to kiss your yellow wedge of a mouth.” She seemed embarrassed, but looked into Pac-Tara’s eyes.

Pac-Tara was gratified by Shadow Willow’s admission. She had been feeling the same attraction to the red monster – but didn’t usually have much time for introspection in the neverending chase. A thought struck her.

“But how can this ever work? I’m a Pac-Tara, and you’re a monster. We’re diametrically opposed.”

Shadow Willow shook her head. “I’ve been thinking about that. I don’t think we’re enemies, Pac-Tara. I think we’re two sides of a coin. Even if we eat each other, we always come back. We’re never gone permanently. And if you didn’t exist, we monsters would have nothing to do. And if we didn’t exist, it would all be too easy for you, eating dots and energizers all day long.”

Pac-Tara considered this. It made sense. “So you’re saying it’s not where we end up, but the journey that matters?”

Shadow Willow nodded. “Especially since we don’t get anywhere anyway.”

Pac-Tara grinned a vixeny grin. “Well, as you said – let’s change that. I think we definitely have a chance of getting somewhere today. I want to see what’s under that robe.”

Shadow Willow’s breathing caught as Pac-Tara came closer. “Oh, my my my.”

Outside the monsters’ den, oblivious to what was going on inside, Speedy Buffy, Bashful Dawn, and Pokey Xander raced around endlessly in search of Pac-Tara.

THE END

[wiccanbotanist]

Just found this so I have two fics to feedback!

Eat or Be Eaten: Yes you are demented. Very much so. But I love it, this is great!

How come you don’t want to eat me anymore?” “Um, well. That is…well,”

I'm not going to say it because it doesn't need to be said.... I mean the title pretty much covers it eh?

Give me some Sugar: What another fabulous idea. And you pulled it off quite well I must say.

"You are what you eat - a virgin for the virgin!"

I very much enjoyed that line. Poor Dawn, but funny none-the-less.

5th Avenue and Kit Kat. First of all I come from a place that has a Kit Kat, and it is the local strip club on Blackcat Road. Secondly, it took me quite a ways down before I figured out what was going on. And randomly, Skor is my 'official candy bar' of doing well on an exam.

You are a genius and a great writer , can't wait for more fics!

-wiccanbotanist

[cosmic dancer]

I loved these fics!

My favourite of the two was 'eat or be eaten'. It was utterly sureal, and a radically different set-up to any other fic I've read! I was impressed at how, even in such a unique setting, you'd still somehow managed to keep the 5 of them in character, for example with the descriptions of how the 'monsters' chased Pac-Tara or ate her. Very clever writing well done.

Are you writing any more of these short fics? I hope so and look forward to reading any more that you post.

P.S. Have just followed both the links. Found the pac man game as irritatingly addictive as ever. The cross-section site helped me understand many more of the references in 'give me some sugar'. Lots of the bars there are ones we don't have in the U.K., (at least not under those names) which would explain why a number of them made no sense to me when I first read the fic.

[meretricious]

sally, that was all kinds of odd , but very enjoyable. couldn't help but picture your pac tara as a ms.pac tara, with a little red bow on her little yellow head. love the image of the remaining scooby ghosts running around clueless, chasing nothing and not realizing it. and somehow you managed to boil this down to "it's not the destination, it's the journey", feels like you've discovered the tao of pac. for some reason this really cracked me up "pssssst. pac-tara.", i think i'd been waiting to see how you'd make them talk, and as openers go, hard to fear a monster that says "psssst". ~mary

[Artemis]

That? Was awesome. Who would have believed anyone could write a fic about Tara as Ms Pacman and Willow as one of the ghosts? Yet here it is, and it rocks. I love the nature of Pac-life, chasing, running away, chasing again, then the discussion between Pac-Tara and Shadow Willow. Like Mary just said, it really captures the tao of Pac.

[sadie]

The Pac-fic made me laugh so hard! Awesome!!

[watty]

Oh, Sally, I like you. You have a sense of humor and crazy imagination that I can totally relate to. I mean ... Give me sugar was chuckleworthy funny in a wtf kinda way, I only recognize 5 / 12 of the chocolate bars, which is probably the reason for the wtf-ness of my initial reaction.

Now, Eat or be Eaten, on the other hand. How can anyone not know Pac-man? The brilliance is to incorporate this in a fanfic! You're a genius, a crazy one, but a genius alright.

Keep 'em coming girl, we don't ever want you to stop.

[FineyMcFine]

wiccanbotanist

Eat or Be Eaten: Yes you are demented. Very much so. But I love it, this is great!

Hee, thanks Janna!

Kit Kat, and it is the local strip club on Blackcat Road.

Really, is it a lesbian strip club? Probably not, unfortunately. (That leads me to the next obvious question, would a lesbian bar that serves candy be referred to as a lesbian candy bar?)

[hr]

cosmic dancer – thanks for your comments about writing the monsters in character; it was fairly easy since the Pac-Man monsters do have individual personalities, as I learned when I was a kid and read the instant classic Mastering Pac-Man which I read religiously.

Are you writing any more of these short fics?

Probably, I have found them useful for allowing my mind to roam when trying to figure out plot or dialogue for my longer ongoing project. Thanks so much!

[hr]

meretricious - the tao of pac – sounds like a book in the making, or perhaps it’s been done. I had thought about setting this in the Ms. Pac-Man word, but I decided to go with old school.

hard to fear a monster that says "psssst".

Too true. I think Shadow Willow would certainly be intimidating, but not scary. Especially if it’s Pac-Tara she’s after. (Now, Pac-Warren would be a different kettle of fish.) Thanks for the fb!

[hr]

Artemis – heh, thanks! I’m not sure what I would have thought had I come across a similar fic – either “I wish I had thought of that” or “What kind of twisted mind came up with this?” Glad you thought it worked, thanks!

[hr]

sadie – thank you; I’m glad it made you laugh! Laughter is the goal.

[hr]

watson – thanks watty, I like you too! You know, your and cosmic dancer’s comments make me realize how there’s a cultural gap here in terms of American candy bars. If I had thought of it I would have tried to sprinkle in someone calling Xander a flake, or some reference to dairy milk. Or maybe Turkish Delight. But I didn’t think of it, alas. I’m like the Ugly American in the book by the same name. (I hope not exactly, since I haven’t read the book.)

Keep 'em coming girl, we don't ever want you to stop.

If I had a nickel…

[Emms]

The game of pac-man will never be the same! I loved this Sally, it was so funny. And this line had me laughing so hard, I nearly spilled juice right down the front of myself.

what it would be like to kiss your yellow wedge of a mouth

What a funny story, and very very origional. Cool.



xoxo
Emms

[FineyMcFine]

Emms, thank you so much for your feedback, and apologies for my belated-ness in saying thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Hey, in the Either/Or game here's one for you: Kissing Pac-Tara's yellow wedge of a mouth, or kissing real Tara? or ? (Not that kissing is what's happening in the second emoticon, but it looks sort of like a Pac-Person.)

[FineyMcFine]

Title – The Power of Positive Thinking

Author - Sally McFine

Feedback – Feedback is fundamental.

Rating - G

Disclaimer – I didn’t create Willow or Tara, and neither I am the creator of the universe.

URLs for your edification:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hb ... roton.html
http://aether.lbl.gov/www/tour/elements ... trong.html

[hr]

The Power of Positive Thinking

Proton Willow was adrift, floating in the ether with no anchor, no fellow protons, and especially no neutrons. Time had no meaning here – there were no electrons whizzing around her in orbit, the revolutions of which Proton Willow usually used to gauge the passage of time. There were no other protons or neutrons around to decay into quarks or other elementary particles. Just one lonely Proton Willow, alone with her thoughts.

Although not that much time could have passed. First of all, I’ve only been bemoaning my separation from the other particles for a short while. First there was denial, then anger, and now, gradually, acceptance. And I’ve only felt each of those things once so far. Unless I’ve gone crazy and I only think I’ve thought each of those things once, and this is the ninety-eighth time I’m having this thought process. Hm. Well, if I’m crazy, I’m crazy. Better to postulate that I am not crazy, and not much time has passed, and go from there.

The safe, snug nucleus had been torn apart before – fundamental particles were always in motion, it seemed. Proton Willow had once been one of 92 other protons that made up the nucleus of a uranium-235 atom. With 143 neutrons also making up the center of the atom, the nucleus was a crowded place to be. All of the other protons, like Willow, were positively charged – meaning their natural inclination, electromagnetically, was one of repulsion. The neutrons, being neutrally charged, didn’t repel anyone, but they also didn’t attract anyone. Only the strong force kept their happy home intact.

The strong nuclear force was, as its name implied, the strongest force in the known particle-verse. Its job was solely to glue together the protons and the neutrons in the central cores of every atom. It only worked at close range, however – meaning the protons and the neutrons were packed together tightly, with almost no room to move around.

The U-235 nucleus was where Proton Willow had met Neutron Tara. It was Willow’s first assignment as a subatomic particle, one for which she had eagerly signed on after graduating from the Proton Academy. Her parents had urged her to join the nucleus of a more stable element, like carbon (“Just think of all the particles you’ll meet from the carbon dating!”) but instead, Willow had signed up for the unpredictable world of radioactive metals.

[blockquote]“I need to go where the action is,” she had explained to her parents. “And the reaction.”[/blockquote]

The Proton Academy had prepared Willow well with statistics, reaction rates, and probabilities of decay, but all her book learning fled her mind when she met her first actual neutron, Neutron Tara.

Neutron Tara was a graceful particle who always seemed to be in balance. She had been around the subatomic block a few times, serving at various times in the nucleus of other elements before returning to the plasma for reassignment after a supernova, or a planet collapsing into its sun, or any of the dozen other phenomena she had encountered. But none of her adventures seemed to throw her off her equilibrium.

[blockquote]“What was it like being iron?” Willow had asked.

“Pretty heavy.”

“Mercury?”

“Fun, but it was a fluid situation – you never knew where you would end up.”

“Neon?”

“Are you kidding? It was a gas!”[/blockquote]

The two particles had struck up a fast friendship, as closely as they were situated in the nucleus. Willow admired Tara’s inner strength and peace, while Tara appreciated Willow’s energy. With 91 other protons in the nucleus, a large number of neutrons were necessary in order to keep the protons a little farther apart, so the electromagnetic repulsion of the protons was mitigated by the neutrons and the strong force could work better.

[blockquote]“It’s not that I dislike the other protons,” Willow confided to Tara one evening. “It’s just that they’re not as interesting as you are.”

Tara had returned the sentiment. “You know, Willow, part of what helps make the strong force work is all the protons and neutrons exchanging mesons with each other.”

“Yep, I learned that at the Academy.”

“The more we exchange, the stronger the force is.”

“Yep.”

“Well, I like exchanging mesons with you better than anyone else.”

“Me too.”

“Let’s promise that we’ll exchange mesons with each other the most, okay? Then we can be sure that we’ll stick together here in the nucleus.”[/blockquote]

Willow had enthusiastically agreed, and from then on, Proton Willow and Neutron Tara were inseparable.

The U-235 nucleus had continued on its way for quite some time, relatively speaking, until an alarm had sounded one day.

[blockquote]“Tara, what’s happening?” Willow had asked, her voice quavering.

“Critical mass,” Tara replied grimly. “We’re around too many other U-235 nuclei, and things are getting unstable. Any minute now one of these neutrons is going to fly off and then there will be a chain reaction.”[/blockquote]

Willow had learned about fission at the Academy, but learning about an abstract concept was very different than experiencing it. Not all U-235 nuclei were as stable as her and Tara’s home. Some neutrons, by virtue of being flighty, broke off from their nucleus and flew away at high speeds. Normally this wasn’t a problem, and the nucleus just went on to a peaceful existence as U-234, but the problem occurred when too many nuclei were packed into one space.

When critical mass was achieved, the neighborhood was just too crowded. Runaway neutrons which previously had careened off harmlessly into space instead crashed directly into the nuclei of other U-235 atoms. The speed was sometimes enough to cause the whole nucleus to fall apart.

[blockquote]“Willow! There’s a neutron headed right for us! I want you to concentrate on giving me mesons – and I’ll give them back. We have to stick together!”

Willow had given and taken mesons to and from Tara with all her might. The impact of the out-of-control neutron shook the nucleus. Willow couldn’t tell if she was trembling because of her fear or from the explosion, but she hunkered down and gave everything, every meson she had, to Tara.

When the nucleus calmed down, and the kinetic energy, gamma rays, and fission neutrons had all departed, Willow took stock of her new environment.

“Tara!”

“Willow!”

“I’m so glad we’re still together!”

“Me too.”

“But what are we?”

Tara looked around the nucleus, counting. The other protons and neutrons were shellshocked, but seemed to be recovering well, and stuck together.

“Willow – I think we’re cesium! Yep, 55 protons and 82 neutrons. A textbook fission product.”

“Really? Cesium’s pretty cool!” Willow enthused. “We just need to make sure we’re not taken up by a living being, or else we could wreak some havoc. But a half-life of 30 years, not too shabby.”

“You can always see the bright side of anything.”

“Well, I’m just naturally positive, I guess.”[/blockquote]

Life as a cesium atom had been idyllic, almost, after the stressful environment of the U-235 nucleus. Willow felt like much less of the weight of the words was riding on her protonic shoulders. She and Tara had more time to converse, and exchange mesons, and just generally enjoy each other’s company. And to tease each other.

[blockquote]“You think I’m insane.”

“I said quarky!”[/blockquote]

Until the most recent catastrophe, however, that had shattered Willow’s world and torn her apart from Tara. Willow still wasn’t sure what had happened – some of the passing electrons had predicted the apocalypse, but she had dismissed their concerns as the typical negativity one would expect from an electron. Whatever it was, it had made the chaos of the fission reaction seem tame. This time, there was no sticking together after the shuddering and the rumbling of the nucleus had reached its fever pitch. Willow was simply torn away from Tara, from the other neutrons, and all the other protons.

And here she floated, alone, adrift, and unsure of how much time had passed.

Well, moaning and groaning until I decay into my component particles won’t do me any good. I’m going to sit here and think, and focus on Tara. How she always was so together. How she could be teasing me and at the same time make me feel like I was the only proton in the universe. How she laughed at my bad jokes about being top quark, and how we laughed together at all the other bosons and leptons and their silly intermediary stages. The look on the surface of her corporeal neutron being when I’d tell her that I always wanted to be with her. How I could never accurately tell her exact position and momentum simultaneously. Oh, Tara, where are you?

“Ow!” Something had bumped into Willow.

“TARA!”

“Willow?”

Willow flung her proton self at Tara, determined to reinstate the strong force. “Quick, take some of these mesons!”

Tara caught the mesons, and gave Willow back some of her own. Just like that, they were back together again.

Tara’s usual equanimity wasn’t in evidence, however. “Willow, I got so lost.”

”But I found you. I’ll always find you.”

Tara clung to Willow. “It was so horrible. I didn’t know where you were, or where I was. Where any of us were.”

Willow clung to Tara with the same fervor. “But we’re together again now.”

“I know, I just feel so unstable.”

Willow glanced at Tara. “Well, no wonder. One of your down quarks has come loose.” She patted the elementary particle back into place. “There, all better now.”

Tara smiled, feeling instantly more steady, though she still was determined not to let Willow get even .000000000001 microns away from her.

“So what’s next, Will? Do you want to go join up with some more particles? We could try being something new, like xenon, or silicon. I hear it’s the wave of the future. Or we could even go back to uranium, if you wanted.”

“What about you and me just sticking together, Tara? I’m tired of the hectic environment of heavy metal. Together, we make a pretty great hydrogen ion, don’t you think? After all, we’ve been through a lot, and it sounds kind of nice to be a light element for a while.”

Tara smiled. This was exactly what she had been hoping Willow would say. “Baby, yes. I’d love to stay together, just you and me. Are you sure it’s what you want?”

“I’m positive.”

THE END

[watty]

Heh, the talk about protons, neutrons and the elements totally brought out the chemist in me. Being just them is ultimately the best, though smartass watty just said, "wouldn't a proton and a neutron make deuterium, not hydrogen?"

Love the description of their "travels"

“What was it like being iron?” Willow had asked.

“Pretty heavy.”

“Mercury?”

“Fun, but it was a fluid situation – you never knew where you would end up.”

“Neon?”

“Are you kidding? It was a gas!”

Plus the whole exchanging of mesons, it's just like exchanging kisses or having sex, right? Give me some of your mesons and I'll give you some of mine and we end up all sticky. Hee.
[br]

[cosmic dancer]

That was a really clever, but utterly bazaar story! The jokes more made me cringe and grin than laugh, but as a scientist I knew it to be almost entirely accurately described.

All except at the end. Watson is partially correct, a hydrogen ion is how proton Willow was when she was all alone. With neutron Tara and 1 electron she would become deuterium. However since this is fan fic and not a science paper, I don't think one slight error really matters!

One of my favourite lines:

Her parents had urged her to join the nucleus of a more stable element, like carbon (“Just think of all the particles you’ll meet from the carbon dating!”)

It's a good thing she didn't go 'carbon dating' or she'd never have met neutron Tara!

I have just one question, how on Earth did you come up with that story?!

Edited to say this is my 100th post!

[FineyMcFine]

watson

Once again your extensive knowledge and powers of observation come into play. Of course Willow and Tara are now deuterium, not hydrogen, and I'm chagrined, but in a good way. C'est la vie, alas!

[blockquote]watson: what sort of particle is Proton Willow, Sally?

SallyMcFine: elementary, my dear watson.[/blockquote]

(I know I made that joke already but hey, why make a joke just once when you can make it a thousand times, that's my motto.)

Give me some of your mesons and I'll give you some of mine and we end up all sticky.

watty dear, are you propositioning me? Oh, wait, that's the GENERIC you. Yep, the mesons are supposed to be about kissing and sex, oui oui.

You know, one thing I never understood - are the descriptions of elementary particles' behavior supposed to be what is actually happening, or are they just, you know, placeholders because who knows what is really going on. Do mesons have mass, are they particlettes, or are they just descriptors for exchanged energy?

Thanks for reading with a close eye as always!



cosmic dancer

If I had a nickel for every time someone told me that my jokes make them cringe, or for every time I actually make a joke in person and someone cringes, then I could fund the Superconducting Supercollider.

Hm, is there any such thing as a deuterium ion, or does all deuterium have electrons? I'll look it up. Okay, it seems like deuterium ions do exist. That's good - I see Willow and Tara as living in a charged environment. *groan*

I know, no carbon dating for Proton Willow. She might have ended up with Neutron Oz or Electron Xander, ay caramba!

Congrats on your 100th post, you Flaming O!

As for how I came up with this story, here's how it happened. In UberCon '05 Blayne aka taralicious said in a feedback that Willow and Tara's union is larger than any cosmic force in the universe. Which got me thinking, what's the strongest known force in the universe? And where is the innate Willow-and-Tara-ness in that scenario?

These short fics are a way for me to sort of flex my brain, I think, to take a break from the longer story I'm writing and to have a bit of fun. So that's the long answer how! Also I've always loved reading about quantum physics. Thanks for reading!

[Artemis]

You're insane, you know that? In the best possible way

That was BRILLIANT I spent a moment giggling just from reading the first sentence and realising what you were doing this time. Willow and Tara as elementary particles And you make it work so well! I'll never again look at meson exchange without sniggering. And the little angst theme of poor Proton Willow being all alone, lost without her Neutron Tara... that's the first time I've ever felt heartache for particles. Bravo.

So what next? You've shown Willow and Tara as electronic constructs, now the constituent particles of a single atom... what's left? Quarks? (BTW, I loved the 'quarky' line, that was a brilliantly funny bad joke.) Or go to the other extreme, and have the whole multi-billion-year expansion and contraction of the universe be a single heartbeat in a mega-macroscopic Willow catching sight of Tara and having her heart go all a-flutter? Whatever it may be, I'm looking forward to it.

[spells42]

Hi Sally
These short fics of yours are sooo clever. I hope you won't be offended when I say I love bad jokes, 'cos I mean it in a good way. You've put a smile on my face that is threatening to make my face sore, and I LOL at some of the dialogue and images. I especially liked:

the picture of Willow and Tara in post 'organic' bliss plus Dawn's comment after they conjured up the health food demon;
'no pun in ten did' .. oh puh-leeeze!...;
'to kiss your yellow wedge of a mouth' and the whole Pacman story concept;
the conversation re Tara's previous adventures...eg.
'Neon? Are you kidding? It was a gas!';
and the repeated line for Willow,
'I'm positive.'

Looking forward to seeing what your 'quarky' brain comes up with next!

[FineyMcFine]

Artemis

You're insane, you know that?

Heh, thanks! And here you have it, folks - proof positive (heehee) that Chris Cook is not Tara Maclay. Otherwise he would have said "quirky." But no, he has pointed out to me that I'm insane.

I'll never again look at meson exchange without sniggering.

Which begs the question, do you spend a lot of time looking at meson exchange? If so, what kind of microscope do you use? Surely not an electron microscope.

Thank you so much for your kind words, Chris - I really appreciate your consistent reading, feedback, and appreciation for these strange offerings that emerge from the nether realms of my brain.

Hey, your idea about the multi-billion-year expansion and contraction of the universe gives me an idea for some smut! After all, they didn't call it the Big Bang for nothing...



spells42

I hope you won't be offended when I say I love bad jokes, 'cos I mean it in a good way.

I would never be offended! I loooooooooooooooooove bad jokes - hearing them, telling them, thinking of them. The cornier the better.

Thank you so much! I'm glad that my stories could bring some sort of amusement to your day. I really appreciate the feedback, and thank you for reading!

[FineyMcFine]

Title - A Dream Come True
Author - Sally McFine
Feedback - feedback would be a dream come true
Setting - contemporary, non-canon, at college
Rating - PG-13
Disclaimer - only in my dreams do I own these characters

[hr]
A Dream Come True

I had seen her around several times before, and had always admired her from afar. She was in my psychology class and usually sat near the front. I sat a few rows back and spent most of the lecture looking at her hair, which was blonde, but I think she dyed it. Every few weeks some dark roots would start to show, and then a few days later they'd be gone.

I also saw her a few times studying in the student union. She was usually camped out on the same couch every time, surrounded by textbooks and notebooks. She often had a pen behind her ear and another one keeping the bun in her hair together. I usually preferred to study in the library where it's quieter, but once I noticed that she studied in the union, I started going there too. I rationalized that they let you have coffee in the union, but not in the library, so it improved my concentration.

I watched her a lot.

I had never spoken to her, though, so it was sort of a mystery to me how we ended up kissing each other. I wasn't about to complain, though. I hadn't ever really considered kissing another girl before, but now that I was doing it, I wondered why it had never occurred to me.

I was in her arms, and we were kissing. It was soft, it was passionate, it was amazing. I wasn't worried about how it had happened - what was taking up all of my available attention right now was my lips on hers, her tongue in my mouth, my arms around her waist. She was soft - so soft. She smelled so good. I felt almost like I was intoxicated.

It felt different than kissing anyone else had felt before, even my ex-boyfriend. With him, I was always thinking, thinking what comes next? How far are we going to go? Should I follow his lead, or try to take the lead myself? How long will this last? At the time I thought that it was just me - I'm always in my head, analyzing everything. I thought this was just how I was, that I wasn't capable of being any other way.

Boy, was I wrong. All I needed to be able to let go was to be kissing someone else. A girl. This girl. I forgot my name, her name (actually, come to think of it, I didn't even know her name), forgot to think. My whole world was her lips, her tongue, her hands, the way she smelled and tasted. I had never done anything else in my life but kiss her, and be kissed by her.

It was so easy, so effortless. I kissed her lips, her neck, her collarbone. I seemed to know what she wanted instinctively; we didn't need any words. She sighed in pleasure as I kissed the soft place at the base of her neck and caressed the swell of her hip through the clingy material of her shirt.

I wanted more. I kissed her collarbone through her shirt, trailed my lips and nose down her chest, inhaling her scent as I descended to her midriff. She raised her arms slightly as my mouth reached her waist, and her shirt rode up, exposing a portion of her stomach. I kissed a circle around her belly button and rubbed my cheek against the softness.

I could tell by the way she was breathing that she was very aroused, and wanted what would come next as much as I did. She wore brown corduroys that fastened just below her waist, and I reached to undo the button and the zipper.

I kept rubbing my cheek against her stomach as I worked at the button, but it was stubborn and wouldn't come undone. Something strange seemed to happen as I fiddled with it - it seemed to be disintegrating, or fading away. I looked up at her to see if she was concerned by what was happening to her pants. But I couldn't see her face - it was too light. I blinked my eyes, trying to clear my vision, and saw...

...my clock radio.

I was lying on my side, resting my cheek on my pillow. My pillow was incredibly soft, and I had just put some 300 thread count sheets on my bed earlier that week. The sun was shining into my dorm room through the window shades.

Damn.

You've got to be kidding me - this was a dream? It seemed so real. That's totally unfair. First of all, because it didn't really happen, and second, because I want to go back to sleep and get back into that dream.

Damn.

I haven't been able to get that dream out of my mind the entire day. You know how you dream something and the feeling stays with you? That's what this has been like. The whole day, at breakfast, my morning classes, psychology class, where I'm sitting now, that feeling has stayed with me. I feel like I should still be kissing her. I kind of thought that seeing her in psychology might snap me out of it - that she would look different in person than she did in my dream, but she didn't look different. She looked the same, like she should be in my arms and I should be in hers.

I'm sitting here in class not listening to a word the professor says, just staring at the back of her head, her hair, which she is wearing down today, and the bell just rang. I'm gathering up my books and my blank notebook and putting them in my bag. I'm getting up, moving toward the door. I'm walking by her seat, and she's finishing up writing something on the notebook page.

I don't know why I do it - I guess inspiration strikes. It's not something that I normally would do - people are always borrowing notes from me, not the other way around. I'm the one who always pays attention, takes good notes, Old Reliable. But other than the very practical problem of my not having any notes from this lecture, it's a good excuse to talk to her.

"Um, hello," I say to her.

She looks up at me, standing there in front of her chair. I wonder if she's going to think I'm an idiot.

She smiles. She has a beautiful smile.

"Hi," she says back. Her voice is low, musical.

"I was wondering, uh, if it would be okay if, or possible for me to, um, borrow your notes from this lecture?" It seems like a stupid question, and I cringe inwardly when I hear myself asking it. Why would I need to borrow her notes if I was in the same lecture she was?

"Sure," she says easily. I guess none of the questions that I would have if someone had asked me that question occurred to her - that I'm insane, or narcoleptic, or just a really bad student.

"Oh, thank you!" I say, relieved. As I always do when I'm nervous, I talk too much. "I've been having a little concentration problem lately. I just can't seem to focus in this class, I don't know why. My name is Willow, by the way."

She cocks her head at me and smiles again as she picks up her backpack. "I'm Tara. Are you missing notes from other days, too, Willow?"

I'm embarrassed to admit it. "Yes, actually." I cough.

"Well, I have pretty good notes from the earlier lectures, if you'd like to borrow those," she says.

"That would be great!" I enthuse. "I'd have them back to you on Wednesday, in class? I have a lot of catching up to do before the exam."

She hands me her notebook. "That's fine."

We're walking out the door, and I start to panic a little bit - will this be all? I don't want this to be it - I want to keep talking to her. Another idea occurs to me. "Actually, if you would be interested, um, would you like to study together before the exam? I think it might help me since I'm a little behind."

She gives me another one of those wonderful smiles. "That would be lovely."

"Great!" I say. "Fantastic." I wonder if I sound too enthusiastic, but she doesn't seem put off.

She gives me a sidelong glance, as if she's trying to figure something out. "Do you have any other classes now?" she asks.

"Nope," I say. "Psych is the last subject of the day for me."

She takes a breath, and says "Would you like to go get some c-coffee?"

"Yes!" I say instantly. Is this a date? Is she even gay? Am I gay? I have no idea. But even if I did have another class, even if I had a midterm, there is no way I would pass up having coffee with Tara. I would skip the class. I would miss the midterm, and say I was sick so I could retake it. I can't believe it.

We're going for coffee - we're walking across the campus, talking like new friends, asking each other questions, laughing at each others' jokes, stealing glances at each other. I say each other because I'm stealing glances at her, and I've caught her looking at me a couple of times in the same way. My heart is pounding, and I'm nervous, but I'm also so comfortable with her. Does that make sense? Wow.

It's cheesy - oh, it's sooooooo cheesy - but this is a dream come true.

THE END

[mole]

Do you suppose I could get incredibly lucky and have a "Tara" in my statistics class this quarter? Sure would make heading back to class next week a bit easier

Thanks for the bit of New Year's sweetness, Sally.

Michelle

[GayNow]

Oh, Sally, Sally, Sally. As a member of the New Year's Eve Chatty Kittens, I would just like to thank you for this little gem. It's so very very sweet. Yay for Willow growing a pair and talking to Tara. WOOT! When are we gonna get to read the sequel?

Car

[watty]

All I want to say is, if only my dreams were like that.

Very sweet, very well done. And so quickly written! You're amazing.

ETA: Car, do you realize how long it's been since we had consecutive fb posts?
[br]

[taralicious]

Sally,
I've had dreams like that but alas mine have not manifested themselves in reality like Willow's has in this instance.
What a way to ring in the new year than with the visual imagery of Willow/Tara lovin'.

[tarebear]

wow! a dream come true is just an amazing short fic! what a way to open the year but to read an amazing fic from an amazing writer! it's so amazing that i'm totally amazed by it!

i love the rest of your short fics as well. they're all amazingly written!

i'm too amazed for words!

keep up the amazing job!