Geek Love

[watty]

Title: Geek Love
Author: watty
email: hiddenwatson@gmail.com
Distribution: please email me first
Rating: PG-13 to R
Disclaimers: BtVS characters and concepts belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, The WB, UPN and others. Densha Otoko characters and concepts belong to Fuji Television, Toho Ltd and others.
Summary: Contemporary AU. Shy geek rescues and falls in love with perfect woman. No, does not compute.
Notes: this is based on the Japanese phenomenon, densha otoko ("train man"), which was supposed to be a true story and which begat a book, several manga series, a film, and a tv series. This is also my first attempt at fluff. Hee.
Notes 2: the IRC channel #geeklove actually exists on irc.blitzed.org, thanks to MistressWashi for setting it up for me.



Part 12

From: 'Tara Maclay'
To: Willow Rosenberg (Tech Support)
Sent: Mon 9/4/06 10.21am
Cc:
Subject: hello

Hi Willow,

I enjoyed our dinner yesterday, sorry about Anya, she likes to speak her mind. I can't wait for our beach outing. I'm looking forward to seeing you surf, Willow.

Kind regards,
Tara

*****

From: 'Willow Rosenberg'
To: Tara Maclay (CCM)
Sent: Mon 9/4/06 10.39am
Cc:
Subject: RE:Hello

Hi Tara,

I'm not sure you want to see me surf. I'm not very good ...

regards, Willow

*****

From: 'Tara Maclay'
To: Willow Rosenberg (Tech Support)
Sent: Mon 9/4/06 11.03am
Cc:
Subject: RE:hello

Hi Willow,

I have every confidence in you. Um, unless you're not recovered from your accident? I'm so sorry for bringing it up! I was so excited about the prospect of going to the beach with you and watching you 'make waves.'

Kind regards,
Tara

*****

From: 'Willow Rosenberg'
To: Tara Maclay (CCM)
Sent: Mon 9/4/06 11.28am
Cc:
Subject: RE:Hello

Hi Tara,

Please don't be apologetic! We can't seem to stop apologizing to each other. Anyway, I don't think I can refuse you, I'll bring my surfboard.

regards, Willow

*****

[blockquote]
[21.13] Connecting ...
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[21.13] -anchovies.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Checking Ident
[21.13] -anchovies.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Got Ident response
[21.13] *** -
[21.13] *** - This is a CGI:IRC server connected to the Blitzed IRC Network
[21.13] *** hiddenred [www-data@n20407818022] has joined #geeklove
[21.13] *** mode/#geeklove [+nt] by ChanServ
[21.13] *** Topic is: our time is coming
[21.13] *** Topic set by harley [Thurs Aug 24 02:28:46 2006]
[21.13] *** Channel created on Mon Sep 4 16:33:09 2006

you don't even like baseball that much

I just like to make you squirm, Cam

hey Willow

hello Willow

hi Will

hi Willow, sorry I have to run, brb

hi Car, Chris, Cam, Elvis. baseball talk?

I'm teasing Cam, that's all

so, nothing new

hey!



Chris, do you live near Bondi beach?

not really, I'm nearer the centre, Bondi is only a short drive away though. Why? are you visiting?

Bondi is famous for surfing isn't it?

yep, the beach is full of surfer dudes and hot babes in bikinis. And Christmas at Bondi is a uniquely Australian experience

I need to learn how to surf in 2 weeks

in 2 weeks?

yeah. We had a bit of miscommunication and she has the idea that I surf

'she' meaning the amazon goddess?

sigh yes

the one you went on 2 dates with?

sigh, yes, but not exactly dates

tell her the truth

she asked me to go to the beach with her, she wants to watch me surf. I gave the impression that I can surf. I can't say no to her!

you can fake a lot of hobbies but surfing ... it's a tall order

Willow, please don't mind me asking but can you swim?

swim yes, but if I tell her the truth now, she'd hate me forever

Will, what do *you* want to do?

I'm gonna try, I was looking at some websites and may be I can do a little bit

back. are you sure about this? surfing is dangerous

wb

wb Elvis

I'll get watty to look up some hints to make it easier for you to learn, if anyone can get info from the web it's her

I don't have to do it full throttle, just so I *look* like I know what I'm doing

is there someplace you can get lessons?

just don't drown

I tried a couple of times, it's quite hard to stand up, but you may be able to fake it if you keep lying down on the board

sigh, thanks gang. I'm gonna check out some sites. I'll give you an update tomorrow. Night!

k, night

night, I'll tell watty to email you

night Will

[22.06] *** Closing Link hiddenred [cgiirc@n20407818022] (Quit: CGI:IRC 0.5.3 (2003/10/29))
[22.06] *** Disconnected from IRC
[/blockquote]

*****

"Hey Chief! Where are you going--"

She buzzed past her eight year old friends before they could finish one sentence.

"Was that Chief on a skateboard?"

"Yeah, but she looked like she was gonna fall off."

"She's strange."

"Adults are strange."

They shrugged to each other and returned to their game.

*****

Her thighs ached, her spine felt like it was broken in three hundred places, she knew she looked like a dolt.

"What the fuck, Red?" Faith's loud snigger didn't help. "Trolls took your chair?"

From one side of the table where people could only see her from the waist up, Willow looked a figure of normalcy, if a little wobbly.

From the back, it was anything but normal. She was delicately balanced on her skateboard, while trying to hold onto her desk and work as normal. Occasionally she would glance around her and, if no one was watching closely, bounce up and down as if on a pogo stick.

Bless her group, they came up with suggestions on how to become a surfer in the shortest time.

[blockquote][font=courier]Keep your weight low. Master your ups and downs.[/font][/blockquote]

"Ups," Willow muttered as she straightened her knees.

"Downs." And relax.

She almost fell off several times and had to grab onto her desk for support.

"This is hard," she breathed as she almost tipped over.

[blockquote][font=courier]Don't look at your feet. You should be facing the direction of where you want to go.[/font][/blockquote]

She kept her eyes straight ahead.

At lunch, she took her skateboard to the seclusion of the roof.

[blockquote][font=courier]When you paddle, keep your back arched.[/font][/blockquote]

She was stomach down on the board, paddling with her arms and kicking the "water" with her feet.

The pigeons on the roof had flown away in fear as soon as she started.

She "took off" by pushing herself off the board and trying to stand up. The first time she tried, she ended up perfectly balanced and standing solidly ... on the ground, having missed the board completely.

[blockquote][font=courier]Use your hands to balance yourself.[/font][/blockquote]

The pigeons looked on from the next rooftop, no doubt puzzled at why the human was flailing her arms desperately while trying to keep still on a piece of plank on wheels.

Every day for the next few days she practiced and practiced. She did imaginary surfing at work, at home and on the train. She watched Point Break and Blue Crush relentlessly. She tried to incorporate surfer dude terms into her everyday vocabulary, but stopped when Faith pointedly told her to cut it out with the "swells" and "wipe-outs."

Saturday was the day that she was going to take everything that she learnt during her week of imaginary training and hit the waves for real. She packed her board, loud shorts, comic books, water, cereal bars and last will & testament into her large backpack.

*****
[blockquote]
[19.24] Connecting ...
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[19.24] *** Welcome to CGI:IRC 0.5.3 (2003/10/29)
[19.24] -pepperoni.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Looking up your hostname...
[19.24] -pepperoni.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Found your hostname, cached
[19.24] -pepperoni.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Checking Ident
[19.24] -pepperoni.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Got Ident response
[19.24] *** -
[19.24] *** - This is a CGI:IRC server connected to the Blitzed IRC Network
[19.24] *** hiddenred [www-data@n20407818022] has joined #geeklove
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[19.24] *** Topic is: The surf is IN!!!
[19.24] *** Topic set by historygeek [Sat Sep 9 11:28:46 2006]
[19.24] *** Channel created on Sat Sep 9 14:53:09 2006

Willow!

dude!

how was it?

I totally failed. Everywhere hurts! I don't want to do this anymore

*hiddenred slumps down in a sorry heap of failure

What happened to the bravado from this morning?

you giving up already? that's not right

keep practicing, you'll get there

I tried so many times, but I just couldn't. *sniff*

what should I do? we're going to the beach next Saturday

how about the truth?

play it down, try to make it a light-hearted joke

you can't help what you can't do

I hope she doesn't get

doesn't it depend on how you say it?

so I should tell her?

be honest. You're an honest person, surely she'll see that

tell her you were showing off and it got out of hand

Willow, aren't you forgetting something here? You lied to her

it was a harmless white lie at first, but it got bigger

sigh, I did deceive her, but I don't want to continue lying to her

you have two choices: come clean now and risk losing her; or show her you can surf in 7 days and impress the hell out of her

there's still enough time to practice

do you think you can do it?

you're right! how hard can it be? Thousands of people go surfing. I'm gonna practice my head off

willow, you can do it



*hiddenred feels the love

I'll turn the lie into truth

-snip-
[/blockquote]


*****

"Thanks for coming," Donnie handed champagne glasses to his sister and his girlfriend.

"I won't miss it for anything. You've done wonders to the décor, it's sure to be a success," Tara congratulated her brother. Donnie was a successful restaurateur; he wasn't a chef, but he knew good food and what drew customers.

"Yes, isn't he wonderful?" Anya hooked her arms around Donnie's and beamed.

"Do you have any more brothers?" Cordy asked the Maclay siblings, to general laughter.

Later, after he was done mingling with guests, Donnie sought Tara out. They escaped outside to avoid the throng of well-wishers, the crisp night air a welcome change to the stale warm atmosphere inside.

"Are you really staying this time?" Tara asked him.

"For the time being. There are only so many new restaurants I can open in L.A., New York and Chicago," he mused. "So tell me, Sis. Who is she?"

"Who?" Tara was caught out all of a sudden.

"You have this faraway look that you always have when you're thinking very hard about someone. Like when you first met ... am I allowed to say her name?" he said sheepishly.

Tara walked a little away from the restaurant, not answering Donnie immediately, as memories of a failed relationship flooded over her.

"You can say her name," she whispered.

"Still painful?" he asked gently.

She answered with a barely perceptible nod.

"We were together for two years. Started talking about our future; I was gathering information on how to move to Massachusetts. And then it turned out that she was married to some guy named Riley from Iowa. I felt so stupid." Tears were flowing freely, as she remembered how she felt when she discovered that Sam had lied to her.

They strolled along the almost empty street, he didn't want to disturb her; she was deep in thought.

"Look! An old fashioned phone booth. Remember?" He ran up to the old phone and picked up the handset. "Remember how we dealt with mean people? We phoned them up and told them exactly what we thought of them."

Tara allowed herself a small smile. "Yes we did."

"Want to try? It'll make you feel better. It always made you feel better to shout at Dad," Donnie handed the handset to Tara expectantly.

Tara hesitated for a minute before accepting it. She placed it against her ear, ignoring the dial tone, and took a deep breath. "I don't have feelings for you anymore. I'm over you, so take your Iowa farmboy and languish in South America all you like!"

She was shaking like a leaf, but Donnie's arms wrapped around her in a comforting hug.

"Nah, that won't do," he said as he took over the handset. His tirade was much more passionate. "You are a rotten bastard, do you think Tara will ever like you? You have a lot of nerve making my beautiful sister cry. One of these days I'm going to track you down in Peru or Chile or wherever you are and beat you on the head with a shovel! You and your stupid husband!"

Tara was breaking out in giggles at Donnie's outburst. When he handed the phone over to her, she was still shaking, but with relief and laughter. "I never want to see you again, you big liar!" she shouted. "I'll have someone to make me incredibly happy, I don't need you anymore."

Brother and sister hugged warmly after the steam letting-out session. Tara was so thankful for Donnie for coming to her rescue.

Seemed she was always in need of being rescued.

*****

Another week passed.

Saturday was the day.

Willow had redoubled her training efforts. Took a couple of personal days and spent every daylight minute at the beach. At night, she played surfing games while practicing more on her board.

She found herself nodding off constantly, she was tired to the bone, but conversations with Tara sustained her.

They met at the station and took the train to the beach. Willow thought Tara never looked more beautiful in a straw hat, sundress and thin cotton sweater. Tara even brought a picnic basket.

"I made lunch," she explained shyly.

An hour later they were at the beach. Willow had changed into her wetsuit and was regarding the ocean with trepidation. It was becoming overcast and the waves seemed larger and angrier than she had encountered the past two weeks.

Here goes nothing, she thought to herself. I hope she finds my will in my backpack.

"Good luck!" Tara was standing behind Willow, and for the first time, noticed the patchwork of band-aids on her feet and arms. She frowned, her brows crinkling as a thought occurred to her. "Don't overdo it, okay?" she reminded Willow.

"Yeah," Willow replied listlessly.

She must know what she's doing, Tara was trying to figure out why Willow displayed so little enthusiasm. She had been surfing for years, hadn't she? May be the band-aids were from an accident. She made a mental note to ask Willow later.

It started to rain.

The wind grew strong and black clouds gathered quickly over their heads. The rain grew from scattered to heavy in just a few seconds.

Willow was still standing out on the sand, facing the ocean, which had gone very black.

"Willow, I don't think you should go out there. It's too dangerous," Tara warned.

Willow sank to her feet, tears and rain mixed together on her face.

"I can't do it," she sobbed.

"You can't surf in this weather," Tara agreed.

Willow looked away for a moment. "No, it's not only that I can't surf in this weather. Tara, I can't surf at all. That time in the restaurant, I told you I did surfing, it meant surfing on the internet, not this. I can hardly swim," she broke down and was shivering, not from the rain but from the knowledge that she did something wrong.

Tara didn't move for several seconds as she watched a kaleidoscope of emotions cross Willow's features -- regret, shame, despair. Willow kept her head bowed, she wouldn't look at Tara.

"And because of that, you bought a surfboard and wetsuit? Those cuts ...?" she knelt down beside Willow and reached out to touch the cuts.

"I-i-i, I've been learning and practicing," Willow admitted.

"You wanted to impress me?" Tara smiled.

Willow finally looked up and caught Tara's eyes. There was no hate, no pity. "I did," she nodded. "But it's too hard to learn in two weeks."

"On sweetie, you didn't lie, it was my fault for not hearing what you said properly. But to go to all this length, Willow ... what would you have done if it hadn't rained?" Tara said sincerely.

"I don't know. Drowned?" Willow laughed bitterly.

"Don't say that. I don't know what I'd do if you did. Promise me you'll tell me the truth on something as important as this. I don't want misunderstandings between us," Tara said.

"You're not mad?" Willow asked.

"No, but I want a picture of you in this wetsuit and surfboard," Tara laughed.

"I'll have to think about it. You just want it to keep reminding me," Willow laughed too, and the laughter that they shared was genuine.

"Come on, let's get out of the rain," Tara held out her hand.

Willow didn't hesitate in taking the proffered hand and allowed herself to be pulled back onto her feet.

It felt good, to be holding hands, as they walked side by side back up the beach. It didn't matter that the rain was pelting down. Neither let go, even after they reached shelter.

*****

[br]

[beanie]

DIBS!!!

Poor Willow butt struggling to make the truth a lie.

For once I'd really like to focus on Donny and Tara's relationship. I always think it's great when writers use a different take on them, as in they are not hating on each other. The fact that Donny and Anya are also together helps form a little bubble of comfort for Tara which Willow has with the chat. P.S. the drawing was hilarious. But anyway, the phone booth thing was absolutely precious. It's exactly how I wish I were with my own brother, but alas, Donny he is not. It's curious about Tara's past relationship though, her old heartbreak. The way in which you reveal it to us kept me wanting a little more and more until finally: Iowa, boy. BOO.

Of course Tara'll have someone in her future. I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's . . . Cordelia! Right, right, am I right?

And again, Willow is so painfully nerdy it makes me so uncomfortable to read this story. All the more reason to go on with it. I wonder what wacky thing she'll do next. (Not really wonder since I already read the story, but wonder in a "remind-me-soon" sort of way.)

As always Watt-er, write on.

-beanie

[willohand]

Because the truth, though painful at times, shall set you free. Plus the idea of having someone as sweet and caring as tara thrown in helps with being honest in the end. Love the whole bonding with donnie.

[db]

Watty.

Whew.

I can breathe again.

I think that I have been holding my breath since they started down the whole surfing miscommunication thing.

I am *so* glad that Willow finally came clean.

Plus.

It looks like Tara has some very serious issues with lying and Sam - so I am glad that they are past this and are still holding hands.

**drifts off into willow/tara/wet suit/wet sundress/warm beverage (and more hand holding) thoughts**

I look forward to your next update!

db

[Candleshoe]

Yay for honesty! Always the best policy, even when it's the hard thing to do, in my opinion.

And there's hand-holding - one of life's oft-ignored pleasures. The seemingly-innocent casual rub of fingers and thumbs, the gentle stroking of flesh on flesh....oh yes, holding hands is definitely one of the better things to do on a rainy afternoon.

[viximon]

That chap was supersweet. And really funny with poor Willow practicing on the roof and all.
Happy to see Donny is a good brother there.
Happy Willow at last told the truth and Tara take it so well.
Yep. Hope for more of those no-dates that two share.
Great work really. Can't wait to read more.
See you around watty

[JustSkipIt]

Watty, watty, watty... You know the rest.

I find it so interesting that Tara has such a supportive and loving brother but two such unsupportive and self-absorbed friends. Maybe she just needs one person to be a touchstone and the others are just kind of there? It's an interesting pattern though. Anyway, I'm laughing at the thought of Tara and Sam and Riley back home. Gee, he didn't notice for 2 years that his wife was having an affair with a woman? Dope. I'm glad that Donnie & Tara could let off steam.

I really thought about the interaction about Sam and her lying that Willow's surfing thing would really blow up. I'm glad that it didn't. Nice to see that Tara was starting to be observant even before Willow decided that she couldn't surf in the weather. And I'm glad for her admission. The weather at least allowed her to come clean without being totally forced. I mean if she had tried and failed, telling the truth is out. And she could have waited another week but she was relatively truthful and at the same time impressed Tara that she was making such an outrageous effort. I mean what says, "I'm interested" like torturing yourself trying to learn to surf?

Very cute about the holding hands and Tara calling Willow sweetie.

When Willow was wanting to learn to surf, I kept thinking of that Friends epispode where Joey tells the casting people that he is uncircumcized because that's what "they" say to do: if they ask if you can ride a horse, say yes, if they ask if you can do a back flip, say yes, then learn to do the thing. Only uncircumcized? So Monica tries to make him some ... evidence to wear. Very very funny one.

Anyway...

Nice use of the semi-colon on the sentence about Donnie opening restaurants. Tee hee.

[diamondforever]

That was adorable! I was so afraid when Donnie and Tara were talking and Sam was brought up that Tara would be angry at Willow for "lying" to her. One step closer to consummation?

[Artemis]

Okay, lemme get this straight... Sam was dating Tara, seriously dating her, and she dumped her... for Riley? I mean, I'll admit a grudging fondness for the farmboy - at least, compared to some of the male specimens that infest the Buffyverse - but really, leaving Tara for Riley... The mind boggles

Anyway, snark aside, another great chapter. Two great chapters, as I let myself get distracted from my feedbacking duties for the last one. It occurs to me that Donnie's intervention was really well-timed, whether or not he intended it that way - with what happened with Sam, Tara might've reacted really badly to finding out that Willow had, with no intended malice, lied to her. I wonder if shouting into a phone just lightened the load on her heart a bit, so she was that little bit more inclined to see what Willow was going through, instead of echoes of Sam.

Plus which, Willow in a wetsuit with a board, all petrified of the pounding surf yet ready to sell her life dearly so as not to have to disappoint Tara... once you understand how she came to accidentally have Tara think she was a surfer (basically, spaz attack), there's something enormously endearing about it all.

[SithLordWiccan]

watty, I take back every negative thing I ever said in previous feedback. I knew that you would bring together our girls in the most loveable and cute fashion. And you certainly did just that.

Willow has been spazzy and cute and all huggable in this fic, but I think I've enjoyed her in these last few chapters the most, especially in this one. I think I said before about how much I just love Willow's attempt to impress Tara by being good at surfing, and how much Tara was willing to accept the fact that Willow had lied to her because of it. I really do love the fact that she was willing to put her own life on the line just to make Tara happy (I did something similar to this in my own fic, though there the accepting of the lie lead to smootchies, and something tells me that that's going to happen here...at least, not yet, right?)

And then to have them holding hands and being all together. Let me just say...AWW!

The geek and the Goddess are finally together. And I, for one, am happy. Let's hope it stays that way forever. It's the way life should be.

[Auriam]

It's a pretty chap, very very good !
Willow is so cute ! trying to do the impossible for her girl.
And we all know that impossible is nothing when Willow try to have Tara ! ! !
woow the geek power !
Thank keep doing ! ! !

[watty]

beanie

Yay for dibs!

I'd really like to focus on Donny and Tara's relationship. I always think it's great when writers use a different take on them

One standout about this fic is how middle-class Tara is. Not that I'm saying the middle-classes are immune from family problems but in my mind she really has a normal, if sheltered, life. This includes an understanding brother. They don't see each other often, which is how I explain why she didn't know he was seeing Anya. The phone booth scene came from the tv series, and after seeing it, I was so taken with how effective it is, it's akin to shouting out your frustrations from the top of a hill. "Phoning" the object of your frustrations seems like a good way, especially if you don't live near any hills.

Of course Tara'll have someone in her future. I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's . . . Cordelia! Right, right, am I right?

DRAT! You've been reading ahead, haven't you? My plans for springing that surprise on the readers have been foiled. Foiled! (that was sarcasm by the way, I think we all know who Tara's "someone" will be )

Willow is so painfully nerdy it makes me so uncomfortable to read this story.

You're right, she's almost embarrassing. But endearing. Don't worry, she'll be redeemed eventually.

~~~~~

willohand

Because the truth, though painful at times, shall set you free.

amen to that. How can Tara not be moved by Willow's cute confession? Thanks again.

~~~~~

db

I think that I have been holding my breath since they started down the whole surfing miscommunication thing.

quick! we need to bag db! or enter her into a deep sea diving / hold your breath longest competition, because she's got great lungs! Okay okay, joking aside, that was a little tension that needed to be put away. But then, it got them to the handholding stage didn't it?

It looks like Tara has some very serious issues with lying

I don't think I'm spoiling the story when I nod and agree with this. There will be more about her issues with lying later on.

Oh yes, more handholding. Talking about handholding, just last week there was an article in the New York Times about how this simple act is more significant in conveying a message of intimacy and deep connection. Two people whose hands are entwined in public gives one unified message of coupledom, it's simple and effective. The NYT article has become purchase only, but it's still available on newsobserver.

~~~~~

Ms Shoe

Honesty is definitely the best policy, especially in ambiguous situations like the one Willow found herself in.

hand-holding - one of life's oft-ignored pleasures. The seemingly-innocent casual rub of fingers and thumbs, the gentle stroking of flesh on flesh

See my reply to db, about the recent article on handholding. While it's almost passé to kiss anyone for any reason nowadays, the holding of hands actually has more meaning in a relationship.

~~~~~

viximon

Thought the Willow practising surfing part will be amusing, thank you. I wanted Tara's family background to be normal, with no big issues, so it fit that she and her brother had a good relationship.

Hope for more of those no-dates that two share.

when will they come out and say they're dating! Oh I'm being a frustrating writer.

~~~~~

Debra

I did want Tara to have a typical middle class background. Nothing overly dramatic but the people around her can be self-centered and perhaps a little insensitive. They intend well (except may be not Cordy she's only concerned about herself) though the end result may not be as great.

I'm laughing at the thought of Tara and Sam and Riley back home. Gee, he didn't notice for 2 years that his wife was having an affair with a woman? Dope.

I don't have a backstory for this backstory. Vaguely, I have at the back of my mind that Sam and Riley were separated. That Farmboy stayed in Iowa and Sam was in California. And after Tara, Sam went back to Riley and they moved to South America. at least that's how I explain it.

I really thought about the interaction about Sam and her lying that Willow's surfing thing would really blow up.

It may still. You have an uncanny knack of knowing what I will write next, so don't be surprised if the lying issue returns later.

Nice use of the semi-colon on the sentence about Donnie opening restaurants.

And unbeta'ed too. Something right must be rubbing off on me.

~~~~~

diamondforever

whoa! heehee. not cummumation yet, or in the NC-17 way that my gutterbrain has just gone. They've barely acknowledged they're dating, and are just holding hands. But in the right direction.

~~~~~

Chris

leaving Tara for Riley... The mind boggles

To which I say ... each to their own? My mind boggles at that thought too. I suppose Sam doesn't know a good thing.

Yes, Donnie's talk with Tara did come at the right time, because the issue of lying is indeed important to Tara and may resurface. I like the shouting into a phone idea to work off anger -- it allows her to let off steam without actually angering someone.

Willow in a wetsuit with a board,

oh my, the imagery. wow. I agree, that is an endearing image, with her in figure hugging wet suit and band-aids all over her legs. Very huggable. No wonder Tara held onto her hand.

~~~~~

Alex

Thanks!

Willow has been spazzy and cute and all huggable

yes, definitely all of the above. Her efforts to impress Tara haven't all hit the mark, but full marks (and then some) for trying. Glad you also liked the handholding, I think we should start a handholding movement.

~~~~~

Auriam

Thanks. Willow is very cute, and that's how we love her. I've taken away the 'confident witch' part of her canon character, but really ... she's so much like us geeks that it's hard not to love her.

~~~~~


[br]

[watty]

Title: Geek Love
Author: watty
email: hiddenwatson@gmail.com
Distribution: please email me first
Rating: PG-13 to R
Disclaimers: BtVS characters and concepts belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, The WB, UPN and others. Densha Otoko characters and concepts belong to Fuji Television, Toho Ltd and others.
Summary: Contemporary AU. Shy geek rescues and falls in love with perfect woman. No, does not compute.
Notes: this is based on the Japanese phenomenon, densha otoko ("train man"), which was supposed to be a true story and which begat a book, several manga series, a film, and a tv series. This is also my first attempt at fluff. Hee.
Notes 2: the IRC channel #geeklove actually exists on irc.blitzed.org, thanks to MistressWashi for setting it up for me.
Warning: there's a bit of angst in this chapter.


Part 13

"You need to wipe that smug look off your face, Red, it's unbecoming," Faith sat herself down at Willow's desk and leaned over to check out Willow's screen.

Willow hurriedly closed the email window, she was reading Tara's latest email.

"Get off my desk, Faith. Go harass someone your own size," she complained, trying to push Faith physically off her desk.

Faith wasn't that easily deterred. With one hand she pushed Willow's head away, while reaching for the mouse to bring the email window back up. Willow tried to stop her but she was too strong.

"Don't work too hard, okay?" Faith read Tara's message in an outrageous and high-pitched impersonation of a cute accent. "Oh Christ, she works there? Classy," she was looking at Tara's email address. "She doesn't know, does she?"

"What?"

Faith leaned close and whispered in Willow's ear. "That you are a geek, nerd and dork combined. That you have an unhealthy obsession with an anime character whose sole purpose is to titillate the hormones. That you work with computers and spend all your spare time playing with computers."

"No ..."

"I wonder how she'd react when she finds out. If I were her, I'd never see you again. You're delusional if you think you can get away with it," Faith laughed and went off to torture someone else.

Willow decided she really hated Faith.

*****

You're a pretty one, aren't you, no wonder. I see you coming out of your office flanked by your two tarts. You're too good for them.

Click, click.

You even eat demurely. Your slender fingers gracefully tear the bread apart and slip it into your mouth.

Click, click.

There is a large apple tree outside your house, it partially blocks the view into your window.

Click, click.

You have no freaking idea, do you.

Click, click.

*****

For the past two days, Tara couldn't help the feeling that she was being watched. It was bad enough that the news decided to focus on serial killers and Silence of the Lambs was on TV last night. As much as Tara admired Jodie Foster, she could only watch the film part of the way before her overactive imagination started making her paranoid.

She asked if Willow would join her for a quick dinner after work. Willow enthusiastically agreed.

Willow kept apologizing for what she called the "surfing incident" but Tara wouldn't hear of it. "This will eventually become a standing joke with us," she giggled.

Willow was too overcome by the mention of "us" to do more than nod and smile stupidly.

The dinner conversation was pleasant, though Tara was more subdued than Willow remembered. She didn't want to mention anything, they hadn't known each other long enough.

"I didn't realize how late it is," Willow mentioned on the train home. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Tara's first impulse was to blurt out "yes" but she hesitated. What about Willow going home afterwards? "I'll be fine. You need to get home yourself," she said regretfully.

"Are you sure? You seem distracted tonight. Something bothering you?" Willow's concern finally got better of her reticence.

"Um, no. Sorry if I wasn't very good company. It's my stop," Tara said quietly.

"Night, Tara. Take care, I'll email you tomorrow," Willow said.

Tara stood up as the train approached the station. She looked back at Willow and made an uncharacteristically impetuous decision. She took Willow's hand and gently pulled her off the train. Willow's expression turned from surprise to questioning. For a moment, Tara wondered if she did the right thing.

"Actually, do you mind walking me home?" She ducked her head and asked shyly.

[blockquote]
we didn't talk a lot, but I got her home safely. she told me that she's been having a feeling lately that someone is watching her, though it may be her imagination

she thanked me, I must have blushed like a lobster, and ... that's about it

that's about it? just like that? you had a chance!

you should have swooped her up in your arms and her hard, there and then. and then promise to take care of her forever, that'll scare away any stalker thoughts in her mind

I think it's way too early for Willow to confess her love

ty Emmy. not yet. I won't know what to say

heh, we can help you, can't we, gang?

come up with love confessions, sure we can. we're *such* experts in that area

lol

we're getting ahead of ourselves

we are, but that's because we wuv you

brb phone

k

hey, when did willow get here?

while you were ogling your new iPod, that's when

you got a new iPod? how many is that?

actually, Sally, only my second. I had a first generation 20GB that is ridiculously out of date. but I've been buying for friends and family, so it may seem that I have a lot of them

coughmacgeekcough

I've been thinking of getting either an iPod connection thingy or satellite radio for my car, any suggestions?

XM radio, baybee!

it depends on whether you want to listen to your own music collection or someone else's music collection

I'm leaning towards the radio, I think. any idea how I search for prices?

EMERGENCY! we have to help Tara!!!! She's being stalked, she found pictures of her in her mailbox

shit!

she should call the police

she called them. she doesn't want to go out tonight, her friend Anya is coming over to stay with her. I feel so powerless

*uberqueen sends bad thoughts toward the stalker

grrrr, what kind of sicko stalks people, makes me want to ... be uncharacteristically violent

get in line, Emmy

it's her safety that I'm worried about

then we come up with a plan of action for her -- look for self-defense stuff, and I'm sure there's a lot of resources for dealing with stalkers online

may be you can walk her home

and make it an excuse to hold her hand or put your arms around her shoulders ... for protection

lol

lol inappropriate behavior much?

but I will take the anti-stalker research idea

what about research for how to stalk the stalker too

lol stalk the stalker?

turn the tables

good idea

let's get the research started, gang

-snip-
[/blockquote]

*****

Willow struggled under the weight of two huge brown paper bags she was trying to juggle, and which were obscuring her line of sight.

She was glad that the office building had automatic sliding doors, so she didn't have to worry about knobs or handles. After stepping into the lobby she looked around, trying to spot ...

"Willow! Are you alright?" Tara emerged from the elevator and spied Willow tottering her way in. She tried to grab one of the paper bags, to relieve Willow's load, but the redhead wouldn't budge. Tara led them to a set of comfortable leather chairs in the lobby area.

Willow placed the bags on the table and announced, "I bought you some things you might be able to use."

She rummaged a bag and laid out the contents, item by item.

"Anti-crime buzzer, pepper spray, bug detector, cellphone jammer, 360-degree camera, whistle ... " Willow rattled off the description of each item as Tara watched, her expression growing more astonished by the second.

"... stun gun," Willow added the last of her treasures to a small pile on the table. But that was only the content of one paper bag. As Willow reached into the other bag, Tara dreaded that it would be more strange gadgets.

"Plus," Willow presented a thick scrapbook, "I've put together a list of things you can do to deal with stalkers."

Tara took the scrapbook in her hands, on the cover in large block capitals was written "Anti-Stalker Manual." Inside it contained glued-in pieces of paper, neat handwriting in different colors, diagrams, charts and lots of tiny post-it notes.

"I tried to compile as much information as I could. The most relevant parts are highlighted, the highlighting color scheme is there, on the last page," Willow explained.

"You did this in one day?" Tara asked, overwhelmed by how Willow meticulously and ... lovingly ... put together the manual. "Willow, this is so ... I'm very touched."

"I was worried," Willow said. "I hate the thought of someone hurting you."

"Sorry I sounded in such a panic last night. In the light of day I feel kind of silly," Tara said.

"Oh no! Don't stop being vigilant. It's when you start getting complacent, then they strike. Um, that's what the articles said," Willow said sheepishly, hoping that she hadn't alarmed Tara unnecessarily.

"Thank you," Tara whispered. "I really appreciate this. I don't know what I'd do if I hadn't called you."

"I'm glad you did. And, Tara, I think I should walk you home from now on, I know I'm small and not your ideal bodyguard, but I was thinking two people is more of a deterrent than one. I can't stand by and do nothing."

Tara looked up at Willow's earnest expression. "I can't ask that of you, it's too much trouble."

"It's no trouble at all. And it'll make me feel better. Let's try it for a few days, please?"

Tara thought for a moment; there was no reason why she should refuse. "Okay, for the rest of this week. Then we'll see."

Willow's smile was the brightest she had ever seen. "I'll meet you here after work then."

*****

The street was dark, but the two figures walking side by side didn't feel the darkness at all.

"Tara?"

"Mmm?"

"What should we talk about at a time like this?" Willow ventured.

"Well, let's see. What about movies? What kind of movies do you like?" Tara suggested.

"It's old now, but I love the Matrix," Willow said.

"Only the first one, I didn't like the other two," Tara agreed, to Willow's delight.

"The Matrix was heavily influenced by Japanese animation. There was a discussion between the Wachowski brothers and Japanese director Mamoru Oshii, where Oshii said that he would have preferred Gina Gershon over Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity," Willow was prattling on about a subject she was clearly enamored with. Tara stopped to observe the redhead enthusiastically gushing and gesticulating; she couldn't help let out a giggle.

Willow froze in panic at Tara's giggle. She turned around to see the twinkle in Tara's eyes. "Oh my god," she blurted. "What kind of bodyguard am I, to abandon you in the middle of the street!"

Tara giggled even harder, Willow had never looked cuter and more ... kissable. She was surprised that she didn't feel put off by that thought, but she knew she had to bury it for the time being.

The walk to Tara's building was over far too quickly. Their good-byes were interspaced by pauses and words not spoken. Finally Willow gave Tara a small smile and turned around to walk back to the train station.

*****

Willow realized that walking Tara home wasn't enough. When another batch of photos arrived at Tara's mailbox in the morning, she knew it was time to take matters into her own hand.

She studied the photos of Tara in many different poses, resisting the temptation to drool over them with the thought that she had a task, an assignment to keep Tara safe.

After saying goodnight to Tara after a walk home that had both of them inching toward each other for safety, she went home to pack her "Stalker the Stalker kit" -- binoculars, ultrasonic distance measurer, spirit level, whistle, a long piece of string, water and chocolate (the latter for energy, not for the stalker). Her primary aim was to find the spots where the photos were taken, and hence the stalker's secret hiding place. The task was made easy since the photos could be grouped by location. It was as if he (she wasn't sure if it was a he, stalkers were usually male, right?) limited his "ambush" of Tara at certain times and locations.

By the end of the night she was utterly exhausted with the running and scouting around. But she had in her notebook three possible hiding places -- underneath a large tree opposite Tara's office, behind the vending machines at the train station, and in the middle of some bushes at the side of Tara's apartment building. She set up hidden cameras to observe the hiding places, thankful that Andrew's brother worked at a gadget shop and conveniently "lost" a box of spy equipment, on condition that the items had to be miraculously "found" by the end of the week.

She watched the cameras all night, until she could no longer keep her eyes open, but there was no sign of the stalker.

In the morning she double-checked the that the recorder was on; she would have to look through eight hours of footage that night, but for Tara's safety, it was worth it.

All day she was distracted at work, itching to check the video. By a stroke of good (or bad, she no longer cared) luck, Faith was nowhere to be seen all day. She knew she should be concerned that Faith was AWOL from her duties, truth was she didn't have the energy to deal with the girl's brand of vulgarity right now.

Tara was meeting her brother for dinner, and only after she promised repeatedly that Donnie would walk her home that Willow relented and allowed him to take up the protector mantle for one night.

At first she watched the video carefully, her eyes darting between the three onscreen sections that were the respective camera positions. After an hour of nothing, she started bemoaning CSI for giving her the illusion that it was interesting. After another hour, she was fast-forwarding. Double speed became 4x, then 8x.

Soon her mind drifted and everything became a blur.

She almost missed it. She was trying to multi-task between day-dreaming, watching the video and chatting with her online friends. The talk about Chris' action figure collection and Sally's new job interspaced with descriptions of watty's travel adventures was mesmerizing in a weird way. Her eyes glazed over the seemingly neverending shots of the same empty spaces when she caught some movement at one of the corners of the screen. She quickly reversed the video and played it at normal speed, her expression rapidly changing from surprise to anger to outrage.

"I'll skin her alive!"

*****
[br]

[mole]

DIBS!!!

I haven't finished reading yet, but I had to post and say that this made my heart melt...

"Actually, do you mind walking me home?" She ducked her head and asked shyly.

More later,
Michelle

[Auriam]

WHO is it ? i want to know ! Faith ? must be Faith
Cause she is soo mean i want to hurt her so badly ! ! !
And Tara oh sweet she !
You right Willow is a so lovelable geek ! ! !
Updates soon ! please
Auriam

[SithLordWiccan]

Second DIBS!

Will also leave proper fb when I get the time.

ETA: OK, I'm back and ready to leave proper feedback.

ARGH, Watty! I knew it was too good to be true. I should have known that something bad was on the horizon, given how well things turned out in the last chapter. Of course, I know that things will eventually turn out for the best, but that doesn't mean that I like how things are turning out now. I mean, come on. Tara being stalked? How can anyone live comfortably knowing that?

And to know that it's Faith stalking Tara...OK, I've never liked Faith in this fic, and I know that I've tried very hard to restrain my rather blunt opinion on her in this fic, but frankly, I can't do it anymore after seeing this. She has to pay for this, and I really hope that Willow gives her the comeuppance she very much deserves.

And I would say that, considering she said this...

"I'll skin her alive!"

...that time is not long in coming? ( Please Primus, let it be true...)

Willow decided she really hated Faith.

So say we all, Will! So say we all!

That you have an unhealthy obsession with an anime character whose sole purpose is to titillate the hormones.

Hey, Faith. News flash. Willow isn't the only one to have an unhealthy obsession with an anime character. It just so happens that I've recently rediscovered my own obsessive love for a particular group of anime characters, specifically these girls, and how much I loved them back in the day, probably as much, if not more, than I do now. (OK, I was probably the only guy I know who loved the show, and I wasn't exactly in the target audience to begin with, but that doesn't mean anything, does it? I mean, if Willow can love an Anime character, why can't I? And speaking of which, I have to admit that, although I loved them all, I always had a soft spot, just like I do with Willow, for Lita/Makoto, probably because I've seen this scene one too many times.)

Anyways, getting back to the point after that pretty self defence-y sidetrack (and saying things about myself you most likely didn't want to know), let me just say that I'm very interested in seeing what happens next, especially if it involves Willow giving Faith her just deserts, and that I'm really looking forward to the conclusion. And, of course, the that will happen. This fic just wouldn't be complete without lots of .

[willohand]

OH HELL NO! Say it isnt...okay Im not going to start accusing characters with no proof but if its who I want it to be you had better seriousluy have willow open a can of whipthatassforbothermysoontobegirl on that person. Sorry I just got so caught up in this fic.

[db]

A Watty Update! Yay !!

Yay for walking home dates and Willow's willow-ness surfacing and for Tara thinking that Willow looked kissable --- at least we know the interest is definately mutual now. But I hame hereby issuing a big fat boo on the stalker. I am pretty sure I know who it is, and let me just say that I am pissed. I hope that Willow gets the stupid jerk and saves the day and Tara kisses her for being her hero *sigh*.

Sorry for the brief fb. Cold medicine makes my mind fuzzy.

db

[diamondforever]

Oh man, that stalker is going DOWN, haha. Furious-Willow has taken the stage!

Awesome update.

[Willowtree252]

I bet it is faith out to mess everthing up willow will put a stop to it and even it she did say something to Tara it would not matter

[Candleshoe]

I'm not going to speculate about the identity of the stalker, I'm afraid, because the public humiliation when I'm very wrong will be awful!

I am on the edge of my seat though, your timing is impeccable as always.

...and the mere mention of Jodie means that I'm your fan for life now...

[FineyMcFine]

watty, I have two chapters to give feedback on. First, the resolution to Willow's surfing lie - I think you let the lie go on for the perfect period of time, and then had her confess before it got silly. Tara was very understanding and forgiving, that was good. I noticed that Willow said, when she was saying how she couldn't confess, that if she did that "Tara would hate her forever." It's funny, I've seen that line in some other stories (WT ff, Xena/Gabby fanfic) and it always semi-confuses me. Someone tells a small lie and then they're convinced not only that the person won't understand, but that they'll hate them!

I also like in certain scenes how you show a whirlwind of activity. One such was when Willow was getting her makeover. Another was when Willow was attempting to learn to surf. It's very representative of a montage in a movie.

Very sweet moments with Willow walking Tara home and such. I wonder why Tara feels like she needs to clamp down on her feelings? (Sally said naively.) And the stalker - at first I thought it couldn't be Faith because that would be too obvious, but now I'm not so sure. Who else could it be that Willow knows by sight? Anya, Cordy, or Buffy - and none of them make any sense. So I suppose Faith is the only logical choice.

Oh, one other thing. I think it's funny how Tara signs her e-mails "Kind regards" and Willow signs hers "regards." Hee! Reflective of their personalities.

And one more thing - the whole geek squad discussing Sally's new job - I hope that uberqueen has told them that it's keeping her uber-busy and she's busier than she ever has been in her life. Ugh!

[JustSkipIt]

Hey watty,
I didn't even realize there was an update until I saw that Sally left fb and if she did, there must be a new update. Tee hee.

Wow. Ok, I have to say that this whole stalker thing really caught me off guard. Not at all what I was expecting of this story. I actually went through the same thing some years ago (not the stalking--the paranoia). It made me feel a little crazy for a while. Then I randomly read a really fantstic book called The Gift of Fear and well... The rest is history. Of course in Tara's case the stalking is real.

Personally I have no qualms about speculating about the identity of the stalker and I'll say Faith. Why Faith? There have really only been 2 women besides W/T mentioned in this story. When Willow sees the vid, she says "I'll kill her" or something to that effect so it's 1. a woman and 2. someone she knows, and 3. someone she would want to take on on her own. She wouldn't want to take on Anya: I think with Anya she'd tell Tara and leave it to her but with Faith: she sees that it's her thing to take on. So that's my guess.

I was also concerned that all Willow's obsessive "stalk the stalker" thing would actually turn into a mistaken identity thing and get her suspected by Tara of being the stalker. Glad that hasn't happened (yet).

Now I'm not sure about this

Tara giggled even harder, Willow had never looked cuter and more ... kissable. She was surprised that she didn't feel put off by that thought, but she knew she had to bury it for the time being.

Is there a particular reason that Tara thinks she has to bury it? Is she not sure that Willow's gay (duh) or not sure that she likes her (duh)? Not sure about that...

Great job. I'm really sucked into this story.

[Artemis]

Hmm The suspicious bugger in me is wary of this being a set-up - various clues seem to point to Faith as the stalker, so I'm wondering if I'm being misled. On the other hand, well, it does seem like she's the one, especially from Willow's reaction - I can't think of who else she'd react like that to. If so... well, Faith has been such a bitch so far that I'm not feeling sorry for her at all. For she has brought upon herself the wrath of the geek, and as shown earlier with the train incident, the geek may appear to knowlessmen in the aspect of a nervous and meek individual, but when roused, beware! For the geek shall visit fire and brimstone upon the unworthy, and righteously kick their arse. Amen.

Do I detect a hint of Faith having some more than bitchy interest in Tara, though? Something about when she was watching her eat (which, incidentally, is way creepy - though if you took Faith out of the picture and just had a scene describing Tara eating that'd be a different matter. That's the beauty of it being a story, after all ). If Faith is thinking Willow's not good enough for Tara, but she is, well, that's a notion she needs to be disabused of right quick.

It was a definite shift in tone, having the anxiety of Tara being stalked hanging over the chapter - quite different to the previous kinds of anxiety, emerging from Willow being a colossal spaz at inopportune moments. But you still found room for Willow's essential sweetness and single-minded thoughtfulness - crash-researching anti-stalker techniques with Team Willow, turning up with bags of security for Tara, everything short of battle armour and a poleaxe evidently... Well, I just hope it pays off for her. If anything happened to Tara, Willow's going to go nuts, not simply because it's Tara and that'd be terrible, but because she's taken it upon herself to fix this - she'd feel responsible, now.

So here's hoping all is well

[PancakesinBellies]

Spazzy Willow=Absolutely precious

I hope Willow gets to really lay into the stalker, cause they deserve it for scaring Tara. But the way that Willow mobilizes all her online friends and then goes to Tara's defense is too cute for words. I agree with Tara: it does make her more kissable.

This is a great update and I eagerly await the next one!

[Boschi]

Here weekend. Heeeeere weekend. C'mon... hurry up now.

Re: previous update: I like.

I think the whole anti-stalker stalker thing sounds incredibly neat, but I do start to put a little "dumb-ass" stamp on Willow and Taras heads.

The police, dummies. Bring in the police. I know she said she contacted them, and goodness knows many PDs don't have the time/staff/interest to deal with stalking cases when there is no really overt threat involved, but still. Damn, I don't like the idea of eager, earnest little Willow out there scurrying about. Hmmph.

Oh god, I'm turning in to my mother.

At anyrate, the story is keeping me quite entertained. Thanks!

[watty]

mole

Yay for dibs! And thanks for the little comment. Awww, heart melting ... it's warm in here ...

~~~~~

Auriam

I think that it's no big surprise as to who the culprit is, I just want to string it along for another week. I definitely agree, Willow is a lovable geek and Tara is sweet like the sweetest sweet.

~~~~~

Alex

Ah, the ebb and flow of creative writing. We must have our little angsts before we have our sweet ending, right? Heehee. Again, though I created a little cliffhanger at the end of last chapter, I don't think I'm fooling anyone. There may be redemption sometime on the horizon for our least favourite, swaggering brunette. May be.

~~~~~

willohand

willow open a can of whipthatassforbothermysoontobegirl on that person

I wonder if that can comes in l33t? You know, with Willow being a geek and all. Okay, that wasn't as funny as I thought.

~~~~~

db

Hey, I hope your cold is better.

Willow's willow-ness

what a perfect way to describe her personality, it's so distinctive and so ... Willow that we get it immediately. I think I shall adapt it for personal use, like "hey, what about that db? I saw her the other day and she was showing me her db-ness." Heehee, I crack myself up.

The identity of the stalker is pretty obvious, and they will get their come uppance soon.

~~~~~

diamondforever

Furious-Willow has taken the stage!

Yep, in all her glorious willow-ness. Thanks!

~~~~~

Dianneswillowtree

Good guess! The stalker identity will be revealed very soon. Thanks!

~~~~~

Ms Shoe

I'm not going to speculate about the identity of the stalker, I'm afraid, because the public humiliation when I'm very wrong will be awful!

Heehee! Everyone else has guessed, and I'll do the reveal soon anyway. Thanks for the encouraging words about timing.

the mere mention of Jodie means that I'm your fan for life now

You mean you weren't already? Kidding. I thought you might get the Jodie mention. As an aside since we're talking about Jodie, I actually didn't see the theatrical release of The Accused -- a girl with a clipboard approached me on the Strand and asked if I'd be interested in joining a test audience screening of this new film with Kelly McGillis and Jodie Foster. I wasn't as cynical then (I would have swerved and avoided her completely now) and she gave me two seat allocation. It was a screening of what in computing terms will be a release candidate version -- there was no music and some of the cuts looked a little rough. At the end of the screening we were given a fairly detailed questionnaire and asked what we thought of the film. It was an interesting experience. Anyway, back to the fic.

~~~~~

Sally

Hey Sallypants!

First, the resolution to Willow's surfing lie - I think you let the lie go on for the perfect period of time, and then had her confess before it got silly.

This fic is all about brevity, I think. And a movie montage like you said. The makeover scenes especially were meant to be "fast cuts." The style and setting don't lend themselves to deep analysis of the characters' actions. Then again, the surfing incident won't be the end of the angst, there's a little more in the way of obstacles to get over before we have the big ending.

Someone tells a small lie and then they're convinced not only that the person won't understand, but that they'll hate them!

That's very true, how people tend to over-react. I mean, if someone told me a lie I'd be angry or annoyed ... but hatred isn't the first reaction that comes to mind, it takes longer for that to build up. OTOH, if I told the lie, it's easy to assume the wronged party will hate me, so I can continue to avoid them and pile the guilt on myself.

Why does Tara need to clamp down on her feelings for Willow? It's difficult to pin down now, I'll try to explain it away by saying she's not sure of herself. That she finds Willow attractive is a given, but she really doesn't know how to proceed, not knowing that being herself is enough. We're waiting for the big lightbulb moment, I think.

I think it's funny how Tara signs her e-mails "Kind regards" and Willow signs hers "regards." Hee! Reflective of their personalities.

I also thought you may have spotted the different headings and topics for the chat -- those are more subtle though, and my commiserations to uberqueen who is wicked busy with her job. I do hope it's busy in a good (ie learning much, lots of responsibility) way. Thanks, dear.

~~~~~

Debra

The stalker incident did take the fic in a different, slightly darker, direction. But it wasn't meant to be a Big Deal. I'm not trying to belittle stalking, because even innocent light stalking is terrible on the victim's psyche. I tried not to dwell on it too much and this incident will be over soon. There will be further angst, because we simply can't have complete and utter bliss yet -- I'm being evil I know. The answer to your guess about the stalker's identity is "good guess!" -- who am I kidding, it's pretty obvious.

Is there a particular reason that Tara thinks she has to bury it? Is she not sure that Willow's gay (duh) or not sure that she likes her (duh)?

Definitely the "being gay" thing is not an issue in this universe. I've deliberately made it so that it's a non-issue. The social stigmas etc are out there, but they've been glossed over. Anyway, Tara needs to work through her uncertainties from previous relationships and also because she doesn't completely know how to behave with Willow. Willow's willow-ness (thanks, db) is so unique and fresh in Tara's world, it's taking Tara a bit of time to get used to it.

Thanks, as always, for the encouragement. I just watched ep 3 of Survivor (when the 4 tribes became 2) -- we're pretty far behind you -- but man, it's getting confusing remembering who is who. Good ep though.

~~~~~

Chris

The suspicious bugger in me is wary of this being a set-up - various clues seem to point to Faith as the stalker, so I'm wondering if I'm being misled. On the other hand, well, it does seem like she's the one, especially from Willow's reaction

Heehee. I'm keeping to superficial and simple in this fic, so ... the identity of the stalker will be revealed very soon and it's not gonna be a big surprise.

Keen observation about the change in tone. Unlike previous incidents, even the surfing one, there's the sense that it's harmless and will be sorted out eventually. I did try to keep the creepiness to a minimum, it's not that kind of malicious stalking, as will be revealed next chapter. Willow's willowness (see? I've hijacked db's term already) comes through in spades. Research and gadgets are so much a part of Willow's world that she can't not turn to them in any moment of need. In her way, she has taken it upon herself to be Tara's protector and fixer of problems. I did think about what she'd do if she was confronted with, say, some crazed or burly guy stalker -- she won't have the physical goods to fight them, but I'm 110% certain she will try.

~~~~~

highlandlass25

Oh yes, Willow will sort the stalker out good, see next chapter.

the way that Willow mobilizes all her online friends and then goes to Tara's defense is too cute for words

I'm liking that group of online friends. Is it realistic to have online friends who are this close? I think so, and cute is right!

~~~~~

Boschi

Here weekend. Heeeeere weekend. C'mon... hurry up now.

It's here! Here now! Thanks for waiting.

Very practical you, to mention the police. Oh yes, they are on the case, but they won't have actioned it so quickly. Not to complain or be ungrateful about what the police does, but I'm speculating that the most they'd do is to send a patrol unit round occasionally to check up on Tara's house. Willow was really jumping the gun in her efforts. I did think about how she'd react if it was a creepy or big burly guy type of stalker, but heehee, i've neatly retconned it so that it isn't.

Glad that I'm keeping you entertained.

~~~~~

[br]

[watty]

Title: Geek Love
Author: watty
email: hiddenwatson at gmaildotcom
Distribution: please email me first
Rating: PG-13 to R
Disclaimers: BtVS characters and concepts belong to Mutant Enemy, Fox, The WB, UPN and others. Densha Otoko characters and concepts belong to Fuji Television, Toho Ltd and others.
Summary: Contemporary AU. Shy geek rescues and falls in love with perfect woman. No, does not compute.
Notes: this is based on the Japanese phenomenon, densha otoko ("train man"), which was supposed to be a true story and which begat a book, several manga series, a film, and a tv series. This is also my first attempt at fluff. Hee.
Notes 2: the IRC channel #geeklove actually exists on irc.blitzed.org, thanks to MistressWashi for setting it up for me.


Part 14

She threw the envelope on the desk with so much force that the contents spilled out and some flew off onto the floor.

"What the fuck?"

"No, that's my line. What the fuck do you think you are doing?"

"What?"

"These pictures. I know you took them. I know you've been stalking Tara. You're a pervert. A sick, disgusting, dirty pervert!"

"Stalking? Chill, Red, I'm not stalking her, though she’s quite a looker, I won't be surprised if someone does."

"Do you know how scared she was? She hasn't been sleeping and is constantly looking over her shoulders because she thinks someone is going to attack her!"

Faith had the decency to look chagrined. "Look, Willow. You’re blowing things out of proportion. I mean, You were going dotty over this chick, I had to see for myself. And now I know why you're on hormonal overdrive. My question is, what does she see in you?"

"How, what, you followed us?" Willow spluttered.

Faith bent down to retrieve the fallen photos, laying them out on her desk. "Don't flatter yourself. If you insist on sending each other little love notes, don't leave the email open on your screen for people to read," Faith mocked.

"Nuh-uh. I never leave my personal email open. You are the one who forced your way to my screen, don't try to make me feel guilty. In fact you're making me very angry right now," Willow seethed. Even Faith seemed to be taken aback at how pissed off the normally meek Willow was.

"Look--"

"No, Faith, you look. Can you imagine how terrifying it is to know that someone is watching every move you make? How helpless? The horrors of opening up your mailbox and seeing pictures of yourself inside?" Willow's anger was about to boil over any second.

"I didn't mean it that way! I thought I'd just watch her when she comes out of her office, but I couldn't help myself, she's very attractive. Then I took these pictures and I didn't know what to do with them, so I put them in her mailbox to give them back. That's all," Faith tried to explain.

Willow blew out a huge sigh. "You didn't mean harm, but think about it from her point of view. What if you were one of those stalkers who are so obsessed with their victim that they think they're in love? What if she opens her door one day and finds that her home has been violated? Or all of these scenarios that we read about? How long will it take for her to get over this fear? And just because you prefer to get your entertainment at someone else's expense."

Faith expression grew more and more ashamed following Willow's outburst. "God, I'm so stupid. I had no idea," she muttered.

"You were thinking only of yourself. Like you ever do anything different," Willow snorted.

"I want to explain to her, to apologize. Will she let me, do you think?" Faith asked, almost timidly.

"I don't know, I'll ask her," Willow retorted.

She didn't want to speak with Faith anymore and left the conversation abruptly. It was the first time that she wasn't afraid or exasperated by Faith, but she had no time to revel in the feeling.

*****

"This is the second time you've saved me. What do they say about you owning my life from now on?" Tara said.

"Tara, don't joke. I can't possibly afford you," Willow teased back.

"Of course you can. Seriously, thank you for everything you've done," Tara emphasized.

"I was worried. I'm so glad it's over."

"I should send you something as thank you."

"There's no need, Tara. The cups are enough."

"Cups? Oh, the ones I sent before?"

"Yes, they're so lovely and special; I have them displayed in the most prominent place on my shelf."

"You shouldn't be putting them out on display. I bought them for you to use."

"But they're so fragile, I don't want to accidentally drop one. I'll be distraught."

"They're pretty sturdy actually."

"I won't have much chance to use them myself."

Tara hesitated for a moment. "Then we should have tea."

"Tea?"

"Um, why don't you come over tomorrow afternoon? Bring the cups, I'll make tea the English way."

"Come over?" Willow could only repeat everything Tara said.

"Is that alright? I'll even make a cake," to Willow's ears, Tara's voice had suddenly gone very soft and her bedroom suddenly became so hot that her cellphone was slipping from her grip.

Willow tried desperately not to say "cake" but could think of nothing better. "What sort of cake?" she winced at how lame she sounded.

"Something simple, what do you like?"

"Me? Anything. I can't cook to save my life, homemade food turns me into a dreamy puddle."

I can't believe a month ago I didn't know what 'eating' meant and now I'm talking about dreamy, melty puddles.

"Isn't it a bit too early in our relationship to be talking about puddles?"

"TARA!!!!"

Tara blushed, and knew that Willow would see her blush even over the phone. "I'm joking. After the adventures with Faith, I don't want to be too serious right now."

I hope you're not just joking.

"I get that. You're allowed to flirt as much as you like."

Only with you.

*****

"Make yourself at home, I'm going to get the tea ready," Tara led Willow into the living room of her small apartment and made sure Willow was well settled.

"Something smells good. I can't resist the smell of freshly baked goods," Willow said appreciatively.

"Especially bread, it's irresistible," Tara nodded and hurried into the kitchen.

Willow was almost dizzy at being in Tara's home. She knew the outside very well from the past week, but it was still the drab face of an apartment building. Inside was full of warmth and elegance, just like the Tara of her mind.

Tara brought out a large tray containing a fine bone china teapot, strainer, milk and sugar in dainty little jugs, and Willow's cups. On a large white plate was a small round cake, simply decorated with small rosettes of whipped cream.

"This looks so beautiful, the cups are wasted on me, I don't have such elegant teaware as you," Willow was stunned at what Tara was carefully arranging on the coffee table.

"Do you know what the English say when they serve tea?" Tara asked as she cut a slice of cake for Willow.

"Cuppa tea, cuppa tea?" Willow laughed.

Tara laughed. "That too. What I was thinking is that they say 'shall I be mother?' when they are pouring. I find that phrase very amusing. Is this okay?" Tara said as she handed the plate to Willow.

"Is that similar to where 'mother-hen' comes from? Taking care of others?" Willow placed the plate on her lap and waited for Tara to serve herself. "This looks really good, what type of cake is it?"

"Just an ordinary sponge cake, nothing special," Tara blushed.

"If you made it, then it's special," Willow smiled softly.

Tara blushed and busied herself with pouring the tea as a distraction. "The English put their milk in the cup before adding the tea, do you take milk?"

"Mmm, yes. Fresh," Willow replied automatically.

They lapsed into silence as they tried to think of topics that didn't automatically take their minds to fantasyland.

Willow was mesmerized at how Tara drank her tea. It was as if watching in slow-motion, how Tara brought the cup to her lips and how those lips closed on the edge of the pristine white surface. She knew she was staring but she couldn't tear her eyes away. Tara even drank tea sexily.

"Do you, um, like the cake?" Tara finally broke the silence.

Willow's mouth was still full when she answered. "More than like."

"I haven't baked for a while. I love making muffins, cookies, pound cakes. Wanted to try my hand at bread-making, but I never got around to it," Tara was surprised at how awkward and babbly she suddenly sounded.

Willow's mind automatically went to an image of Tara's hands kneading and shaping the bread dough. She blinked to clear her mind and to think of a chaste response. "May be next time? I'll try to help, though I'll end up more in your way I think," she finally said. "I mean, if there is a next time."

Their eyes locked and Willow was afraid that Tara could read her intent as clear as day.

"I'm sure next time I'll find tasks for you, we'll turn you into a pastry chef in no time," Tara said, making sure to indicate that yes, she'd love to have a next time with Willow.

"I'm not so sure, I have no cooking green fingers," Willow shrugged. "I can find any information on the web, but I even burn canned soup. You have your work cut out for you."

"We'll start slow. Oh, talking about the web, when are you taking me to the computer store?" Tara remembered their aborted beach'n'computer date when Willow tried to surf but was rescued by the rain. Mostly she remembered holding Willow's hand for the longest time after Willow's confession.

"Do you want a new computer, or should I take a look at what's wrong with your old one? What do you normally use it for? And most importantly, what's your budget," Willow was all business once the talk turned to technology.

"I'm not sure. I've had it for 4 years, I think it's time to, what do you call it? Upgrade," Tara smiled.

"Four years in computer terms is a lifetime. But let me see if I can make it functional again, if only till we get you a new one," Willow suggested.

Tara pointed at a beige PC on a computer desk at the corner of the living room. Willow's eye blinked at the sheer antiquity of it, the CPU was bulky and occupied more than half the desktop space. The monitor occupied the other half, leaving barely enough space for the keyboard.

"Could you? I'll clean up and make some more tea," Tara gathered up the used cups and plates and stood up. "Should I show you how to switch it on?"

"I'll be okay. Do you want help with those?" Willow asked, nodding at the used crockery.

"I'm fine. Go ahead. Um, I'm not normally this rude to my guests, but I want to make a phone call while you're on the computer, is that okay?" Tara asked.

"It'll take me a while to sort out figure out what's wrong, you don't have to feel obligated to hang out with me constantly. Of course it's okay," Willow stood up and stepped aside to let Tara pass, her breath hitched as Tara's body moved within a few centimeters of hers. How easy it would be, to reach out ...

*****

[blockquote]
[16.16] Connecting ...
[16.16] Logging in ...
[16.16] *** Welcome to CGI:IRC 0.5.3 (2003/10/29)
[16.16] -mushroom.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Looking up your hostname...
[16.16] -mushroom.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Found your hostname, cached
[16.16] -mushroom.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Checking Ident
[16.16] -mushroom.cgiirc.blitzed.org- *** Got Ident response
[16.16] *** -
[16.16] *** - This is a CGI:IRC server connected to the Blitzed IRC Network
[16.16] *** hiddenred [hiddenred@ACG8SA26.ipt.aol.com] has joined #geeklove
[16.16] *** mode/#geeklove [+nt] by ChanServ
[16.16] *** Topic is: fun times, good times
[16.16] *** Topic set by uberqueen [Fri Sep 22 23:57:09 2006]
[16.16] *** Channel created on Sat Sep 23 10:05:12 2006

what are you doing here, Willow?

shouldn't you be at your date with Tara?

drinking tea

I'm at her place

again I ask, what are you doing here?

I'm fixing her old computer

you're not reading this with her are you?

of course not, she was cleaning up the dishes and now she's on the phone

you shouldn't be chatting with us, what if she catches you?

I know, but I can't help it! she brushed so close to me on the way to the kitchen and I could feel my heart going pitter-patter

so have you told her?

told her what?

the thumping, the giddiness, the ... love

I can't tell her that! She sees me as a geek who helps her fix her PC ... btw she's *so* getting a mac

now why am I not surprised at that? good thing watty's not here, for just 5% of the population you macgeeks sure have a lot to say

I'm a poor substitute but if you need mac approval, you have mine

hiddenred, I have a friend who is crazy about macs too

hi, darkslayer. you're new here? I'm Willow

nice to meet you Willow, I'm Tru

Tru is our newest geek

thank you

so Will, you're sitting there secretly talking to us while the object of your lust is in another room. what are you gonna do about it?

nothing! what should I do? I don't know what I should say to her

tell her the truth? you'd be surprised how effective frankness is

listen to mary, look where her frankness got her

*hiddenred sighs

this denial isn't gonna cut it, Will. if you do nothing, you're gonna lose your girl

you have a girl?

kindasortanotreallymaybe

lol

I think she's off the phone, gtg

tell her!

[16.45] *** Closing Link hiddenred [cgiirc@ACG8SA26.ipt.aol.com] (Quit: CGI:IRC 0.5.3 (2003/10/29))
[16.45] *** Disconnected from IRC
[/blockquote]

*****

"Am I interrupting?" When Tara stepped back into the living room, Willow quickly closed the 'offending' window on the computer.

"Tara! No, I was just, er, fixing your computer. Yep. I updated your drivers and installed a few system maintenance apps; I'll also need to defragment the hard disk for you at some point. There's nothing much more I can do. You could buy some more memory, replace your hard disk, get a wireless card and do a massive upgrade, but my recommendation is that you get a new computer. It's more trouble than it's worth, to fix it piecemeal. Besides, I think you should switch to a mac," Willow explained.

"Aren't they expensive?" Tara asked, as she pulled a chair up and sat next to Willow, making a mental note of Willow's barely audible whimper at her proximity.

"Not any more, and considering the stability and functionality, it's good value for money. I'll take you to the Apple store, you should take a look first, try them out for yourself," Willow, a certified macgeek, nevertheless wanted to tone down her usual over-the-top enthusiasm. She didn't want to force Tara into making a decision she'd regret.

"Is that what you use?" Tara asked.

"At home, yes. Work is still PC, most companies are," Willow replied.

"Can I still use the stuff on my computer?" Tara continued.

"Looking at what you have on here, you're a typical light home user. Email, browsing the internet, word processing, right?" Willow asked and was pleased at Tara's nod. "You're not a designer or gamer who needs souped-up machines. We'll get you a new machine where you can do all that; plus organize your photos, watch videos and even make your own movie. Besides, you have me to set everything up for you and troubleshoot. Heh, that's my day job. Here, I've set the anti-virus software to run daily; if it isn't on, it'll run next time you switch it on."

"I think relying on you to help me is becoming a habit," Tara grinned shyly as she watched Willow bring up an anti-spyware program started the scan with two quick clicks.

"So I'm your personal helpdesk?" Willow quipped.

"Just make sure it's personal," Tara winked.

"Sweet-talker," Willow couldn't believe it, were they flirting? She turned to the woman sitting within touching distance from her and for the second time in one afternoon their eyes locked and the air seemed to grew heavier.

It was Tara who broke eye contact; she swallowed and the moment was broken as quickly as it hit them. "So, does this run automatically too?" she indicated the anti-spyware program that was currently running on the machine.

"Oh, I can change the setting. You want it scheduled?" Willow was jolted back to reality; she realized she was about to engage in inappropriate daydreaming. Tara's gaze was firmly at the screen, so Willow went ahead and made the appropriate preference settings.

A few minutes later, she shut down the computer. They hadn't said a word between them during that time, Willow was racking her brain trying to think of an ice-breaker, but she was never any good at conversations and words completely failed her. How could she articulate how much she wanted to put her arms around Tara and pull her close?

She couldn't think of a reason to stay either. "So, I should head home, I've intruded on your entire afternoon already," she started, reluctance obvious in her voice.

Tara bit her lips and sniffed discreetly. "Willow, d-d-do you, um, like musicals?" she whispered.

Willow wasn't sure if she heard correctly, so softly had Tara spoken. "I saw Rent but it was the film version. I don't know a lot about musicals," she said sheepishly.

"I may be able to get tickets for Wicked next Saturday. Come with me?" Tara said.

Willow sat very still. Is she? "Of course I will," she seemed to have lost her voice too.

Tara seemed to finally relax, Willow hadn't noticed when she had become tense. "Keep Saturday free?"

"All yours," Willow promised.

*****

[br]

[SithLordWiccan]

DIBS!

Can't read right now. Gotta head out. Will be back in about two hours to read and leave feedback.

ETA: OK, I'm back.

First off, I've just got to give three cheers for Willow for finally giving Faith exactly what she deserved. I don't think I need to tell you that this is the moment I've been waiting for since Faith made her presence known in this fic, and I think that it was good for Willow to finally stand up to her and take her down a couple hundred pegs. And naturally, being the type of guy who just doesn't trust anybody, I don't buy her excuse that she was just checking Tara out (OK, maybe I would buy it if Faith hadn't spent the majority of the fic being a bitch, because...hey, it's Tara. Who would want to keep their eyes off her?)

Despite that, however, I have to really wonder why Willow feels the need to cover her geek credentials. I would think that by this point, it's rather obvious that Tara would like her no matter what, so I don't really see the point of Willow trying to cover up the fact that she is, at heart, a geek. It's not like that's anything bad, or anything. We all know that geeks will inherit the Earth, and the jocks and the snobs will end up cleaning our pools and making our meals. (Cordy, Faith, I hope you come to realize that.)

Anyways, I hope that their date (yes, I'm going to call it that, even if they don't) next week goes smoothly. I get the feeling that there will be no more badness. And even if there is, it'll only exist in Willow's mind, and thus not really be bad at all.

I mean, it's Willow. The bad things that bother her usually only exist in her overactive, spazzy imagination. But despite that, there's no way that you can't not like her. It's a statistical improbability.

[simplyblue]

Wow, I'm behind again, and I've got a yucky fall cold. So I'll try for pithy here.

1. I can so picture Willow belly-down on a skateboard practicing surfing!

2. Yay Tara for not freaking about the lie and comforting humiliated Willow.

3. Stalkers are super scary; poor Tara. Hurray for Willow riding to the rescue, but annotated scrapbook and bags of bat-gear? Maybe just the teensiest bit OTT.

4. I still hate Faith. Nice to see Willow with some steel in her spine in confronting her. And for all her dissing Willow, it's clear that she's the one who truly has no life of her own. BTW, are we about to be graced with her online alterego? I'd Tru-ly like to know. (Groan--that was bad, even for me.)

5. Macs rule. Tara could get cute little iMac which wouldn't take up much space. Or she could go for the newer iBook G4 dualcore laptop in case she needed to do Windows-based work at home. Or she could even pick up a mini-Mac and plug it into a screen and keyboard... Oh. Um. Heh. Nevermind.

6. Tea for two. So adorable. I feel like Sebastian in the Little Mermaid (apropos of musicals): You gotta kiss the girl!

Brain tired now.

--Blue