Sorry for the double-post. I needed to use ezCodes for the comments and HTML for the update.
Title – Paths Diverged/Divulged Part 14 –
Vested Author – JustSkipit - Debra
Spoilers –Season 6
Rating – Part 14 – PG
Disclaimer – Guess what, I don’t own W&T, Buffy or the rest of the BtVS crew. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental and fortunate. Also Rachel thinks I should point out that I don’t make any money from this…
Thoughts in italicsFlash backs indentedMemories and dreams indented AND italic Willow checked the clock on her computer against the one on her wrist one more time. Still 10:55.
Should be later shouldn’t it? I checked a long time ago and it was 10:54 so you’d think it would be later than 10:55. Maybe the clock on my computer is wrong? She quickly discarded that theory since she had synchronized it with the Naval Observatory clock just last night. Also the clock on the wall matched the one on her computer so it seemed unlikely that both were wrong as well as the Naval Observatory clock.
She had just finished another note to Buffy, checking the time constantly to ensure that she was done with it before Tara arrived. Actually, she realized, it might be more accurate to simply think of the letters as a type of journal. When she wrote the first one she had started it without really thinking of the repercussions. Mostly she was just thinking about missing Buffy and started a letter before she could really admit that there was no way to deliver the letter. By the time she had read and reread the letter she had admitted a few other things to herself too.
First, it wasn’t just that she wouldn’t be delivering this letter to Buffy. It was likely that she would never see Buffy again. Yes, her letter sounded all confident and positive that she would bring Tara home to meet the Scoobies and take her place in the group and in their mission. But was that really feasible? Could Willow really expect this woman to leave her family and Michelle and Eliza? Would Tara even want to go with Willow?
As the redhead wrote her second letter/journal entry she realized that her entire plan had been spurious and not well-thought-out to begin with. What would make her think that this Tara would want to be a substitute for her Tara? Why would this woman want to leave her life? What would Willow need to do to make being with Tara a reality in whatever world they ended up? Her thoughts and pondering had eventually turned into a “to do” list that had taken pages on her letter. And as she finished she looked around for the blonde once again.
She’s late. Maybe she’s not coming? the redhead panicked.
Ok, not late. It’s not like a normal person is late because she’s not five minutes early Willow. Just because you couldn’t sleep and got here two hours ago doesn’t mean that she was supposed to be early too. The two girls at the next table looked at her suspiciously as she started to giggle to herself. Her active Willow babble was going 120 miles an hour and the four cups of coffee she had already had certainly weren’t helping.
Speaking of four cups of coffee, I really need to pee she thought.
But what if Tara shows up while I’m in there and she thinks I stood her up and she leaves but I don’t even know that she’s been here and then I sit here all day thinking that she stood me up… Ok Willow. Now you’re going bonkers. As if it would help she took another drink of coffee.
That should calm me down. Right. If calm is a state of being caffeined up and needing to pee it will! Years ago the witch had learned that she could either try not to think so much or just let it go and be amused. This was an amused day.
11:02. Ok, now she is late. I hope she’s coming. She sounded like she definitely wanted to see me when she called. Of course a big study together date. That’s a hot one Willow. Looking up at the clock again her hopes fell as she wondered if the blonde was coming at all. It seemed unlikely that Tara would stand her up. After all she was the one who had initiated that incredible kiss on Saturday.
But this is a week later and she’s been too busy to see you all week and now she’s late so maybe you only thought that kiss was incredible and it really wasn’t. Maybe I drooled or had bad breath. Maybe… maybe… maybe… Oh Fuck! This is stupid. Where is she? She glanced around again and noticed the guy coming over from the counter with the coffee pot.
Yep, that’s what I need: more coffee. He poured her more coffee and asked, “are you, like, Willow?”
“Huh?” she responded completely caught off guard.
“Willow. Are you Willow? Is your name, like, Willow?” he repeated as if talking to a complete moron.
Willow looked at him suspiciously as she wondered how he knew her name and why he was asking who she was. “Yeah…” she answered.
“Cool dude,” he smiled. “Dude. Tara like just called. And she said that she’s like running late and she said she’s like sorry.”
Willow listened to his words and then like translated them into English. Then she translated back into his dialect: “did she say like how late dude?” She giggled to herself as she spoke but he didn’t seem to think she was making fun of him.
“Dude, like excellent question. I asked that too and she said she’ll like be here in like 15 minutes,” he answered. Willow breathed a sigh of relief that not only would Tara be there but that she had been considerate enough to call and let the redhead know that she was running late. On the other hand, what if she was late because something had happened? Willow found herself worrying.
As the coffee guy walked off she glanced at her watch again.
Oh fuck it! she thought to herself as she set the alarm on her computer and went to the bathroom. She had designed the alarm program herself. It wouldn’t keep anyone from stealing the machine but would make it pretty bothersome. The next person who touched the machine without turning off the alarm with the password would hear an alarm about as loud as a car alarm and wouldn’t be able to stop it. The thief would never be able to use the computer without the alarm going off although a message would pop up instructing them how to return the machine to her for a reward. The drawback to the alarm was that if Tara arrived while she was in the bathroom or if someone casually bumped the table the alarm would activate. Luckily no one had set off the sirens by the time she returned to the table feeling much more comfortable.
She was working on some programming code when Tara walked in the door a few minutes later. As the blonde approached Willow took the opportunity to look her up and down. It was the first time she had seen this woman dressed as the other Tara used to: jeans, boots, and denim shirt. In obvious deference to the heat the shirt was short sleeved.
Ok, don’t drool. Don’t drool. Don’t drool, Willow chanted in her head as a mantra. Tara looked absolutely amazing. The jeans completely hugged her body and the boots gave her an extra sexy look. Unsure how to greet the blonde she stood and began fidgeting with her hands.
“I’m s-s-sorry I’m l-late,” Tara told Willow as she approached the table.
The redhead noticed the stuttering and attempted to assure Tara that it was fine: “that’s fine. I’m fine really. I mean I don’t mind and thanks for calling. I appreciate it. But it’s fine really. I’ve been here a long time because I couldn’t sleep so a little lateness doesn’t bother me but thanks for calling anyway.” She finally ran out of breath and stopped speaking.
Tara smiled as she leaned closer to the redhead touching her chin with two slender fingers. “It’s hard to k-kiss you when you’re babbling,” she teased. She waited a minute for Willow’s response but when the redhead didn’t say anything she moved their lips together and again savored the heavenly softness of Willow’s lips pressed to hers.
Their lovely greeting was interrupted by a familiar voice: “hey Tara. Do you want some like coffee?”
As they took their seats Tara nodded and answered, “yeah Joe. Whatever the special is today sounds great and a muffin.” A minute later when Joe returned with the muffin she told him, “and thanks for giving Willow my m-message.”
Joe smirked a little telling her, “well it was like easy to find her. Only one like beautiful redhead working on a laptop.” He waved off her money telling her, “Willow like paid already for yours.”
Blushing from Joe’s statement that he should look for a beautiful redhead Tara turned to Willow and thanked her: “thanks Willow.”
Willow beamed as she told her, “you’re welcome. Actually we’re celebrating.” Reaching into her bag she pulled out her wallet and laid a driver’s license, social security card, and check that she had obviously just received for some of her contracting work on the table.
“Hey,” Tara commented picking up the driver’s license, “you exist!”
Willow smiled as she repacked the cards telling the blonde, “yeah. Strangely enough there was some kind of a paperwork snafu. They thought that I died in 1996 but obviously I didn’t so presto, I exist again.”
“I’m really glad,” Tara told her sincerely as she pulled a few books and a legal pad out of her bag. “I’m s-sorry but I really have to write this paper,” she told the redhead indicating her study materials.
Willow leaned forward taking the blonde’s hands in her own. “I’m just glad to get to see you at all Tara,” she told her before leaning in to lightly kiss her lips again. This time the kiss lasted a little longer with Willow slowly darting her tongue out to trace Tara’s soft mouth.
“It may be d-dangerous,” Tara puffed as she pulled back.
Willow smiled as she told the blonde, “I live for danger but I’ll be good.” Each girl settled into her work. Since Willow didn’t have any urgent projects to work on, she took the opportunity to watch Tara study. The blonde was completely engrossed in her work. It appeared to Willow that she was working on a research paper as she kept paging through different books or copying notes from note cards onto the legal pad. As she worked she took drinks of her coffee or a pinch from her muffin. At one point Willow realized that she was just sitting and watching the blonde’s fingertips as they traveled from muffin to mouth to napkin to pencil and back again.
Finally Willow asked, “do you write your reports out long hand?” Tara nodded. “Why?” Willow inquired. She knew that her Tara had found that using a computer made her writing much easier since she could recognize words in which she had transposed the letters more easily and she could make revisions more readily.
“I n-never learned to use a computer,” Tara admitted. She was somewhat embarrassed over the fact that she knew nothing about computers since Willow was obviously a whiz with them.
Willow frowned in confusion. “What? How could you never learn? I mean not that there’s anything wrong with it but wasn’t it a graduation requirement at Brenhams?”
“Well yes,” Tara agreed, “it was. But Ms. B-Benson, our computer lab teacher, had a hard pregnancy and she couldn’t teach my l-last semester.”
“Oh,” Willow responded hoping that they could just drop it now.
“They l-looked for a substitute but no one wanted to travel out for a few classes a day,” Tara explained. She noticed the redhead looking everywhere but at her. For some reason the girl was uncomfortable but Tara couldn’t imagine why.
“Oh,” Willow again responded.
“Willow?” Tara probed. “Didn’t that happen at your school? Did something else happen to Ms. Benson?”
“What? Oh no she had a healthy baby. But they did find a substitute at our school,” Willow explained.
Tara frowned in confusion. “Really? Who w-w-would want to…” She trailed off as the realization hit her. “You,” she asked. Willow nodded and shrugged her shoulders. “So my girlfriend was a teacher?” Tara mumbled under her breath. Realizing what she had said she started to correct herself, “I m-m-mean her girlfriend. I mean in the other world…”
Taking a cue from Tara’s babbling solution Willow leaned forward to kiss the blonde.
Tara felt completely off balance. Her realization that Willow had taught the course didn’t disturb her as much as just drive home again how different the two worlds had been. But her verbal slip-up was embarrassing. And then before she could recover from that embarrassment she had the impression of Willow’s lips on hers taking all rational thought from her.
Tara’s body was, to put it mildly, confused. Although the girls had done nothing but kiss at this point, in her mind they had done so much more. For years she had dreamt of this woman. While some of the dreams involved walking in a park or looking at stars, some were much more erotic and graphic. She had had dreams of them making love under the stars, in different beds (including hers both at Brenhams and at the Maclay family farm), couches, and what appeared to be a bathroom at a nightclub. Once she had even dreamed of the two of them making fast love in a janitor’s closet. And the dreams had been so realistic. She had frequently literally experienced fulfillment from them. And the dreams were always of Willow. Never of that runner Michelle had introduced her to or Eliza’s cousin or even Angelina Jolie or Gina Gershon: always Willow.
Now every contact with the redhead’s lips brought back the amalgamation of every dream and fantasy she had ever experienced.
Goddess Tara! she admonished herself
Try to focus on what she’s saying. Do you really think she wants you thinking such explicit thoughts? Willow could detect the rise in Tara’s heartbeat and, well other characteristics that had always indicated the other Tara wouldn’t be processing information that clearly. She knew that Tara was excited and found herself incredibly turned on by that. She was not surprised as Tara leaned forward, pressing their lips together. The blonde wanted more: so much more. As soon as their lips touched she wrapped her fingers in that beautiful copper hair and parted her lips slightly. She was surprised to feel Willow’s tongue immediately at the entrance to her mouth and sucked the tip lightly to invite the intrusion. She heard the redhead moan just as she felt her tongue gently enter her own warm mouth and nearly thought she would collapse as Willow used her tongue to trace each of her teeth. After enjoying that sensation for a few seconds the blonde pressed her own tongue and felt Willow immediately take it into her mouth, lightly sucking on the tip. She was aware of the effect of their closeness throughout her body as the kiss went on with each girl trading tongues.
“Hey, y’all want to get a room?” they suddenly heard coming from a voice right by the table.
“See, d-d-dangerous,” Tara whispered as she pulled back and turned to see Eliza standing by the table. She was blushing bright red as she looked up at the younger girl. “What are you doing?” she asked.
Eliza pulled up a chair as she teased, “I just stopped for some coffee on the way home from a class. Joe said y’all have been like this all morning.”
“We have n-not,” Tara pouted playfully. She held up her legal pad and pointed to the pages of writing. “See, I’ve been working on my paper.”
“Jesus God Tara,” Eliza moaned, “when are you going to start using a computer? It’s the freaking 21st century.”
“Right now,” Willow interrupted. She suddenly turned and greeted the brunette: “hi Eliza. She’s going to start learning right now.” She swiveled her computer around and opened up the word processing program for the blonde. Within a few minutes she had given Tara enough of an explanation for the girl to be typing her paper. Eliza stayed a few minutes before telling the girls, “I’m going to do some studying myself. If y’all want to meet up with us for dinner or anything, you know the number.”
Willow watched Tara for a few minutes, pleased to see how quickly the blonde was adapting to using the computer before pulling a newspaper from her bag. She started looking at the classified ads for a few minutes before becoming frustrated. “What’s wrong Willow?” Tara asked concerned.
Willow indicated the newspaper and began explaining: “these classified ads make no sense to me. I want to get a place so I don’t have to live in the hotel any longer but I have no idea where any of these neighborhoods are.”
Tara found herself very amused at the redhead’s frustration. “Too bad you don’t know anyone who l-lives here who you could ask,” she teased.
Willow giggled at Tara’s teasing. “Well you’re working on your paper,” she answered. Deciding to tease the blonde right back she continued, “of course Eliza seemed to be trying to waste time and she probably knows the city pretty well.”
Tara laughed again as she leaned in for a quick kiss. “Yes but,” she told Willow, “I h-have a vested interest in where you live.”
“Oh do you?” Willow continued teasing.
“Well it should be close, clean, safe, and I guess have some of those computer line things,” Tara teased back. “Although from what I’ve seen I’m not sure you need a kitchen -- maybe j-just a place to store the coffee and mugs.”
“Hey,” Willow argued. “It’s not like you have been feeding me all kinds of homemade meals or anything.”
“Point taken,” Tara conceded. “Do you want to come over for a h-homemade meal this week?”
Willow leaned in for another quick kiss before answering, “any time, any place, baby.”
“mmm, Addictive,” Tara whispered as Willow was pulling back from her quick kiss. She watched as the redhead looked back to the classified ads again and offered, “how about if I work on this a l-little more and then help you decipher those.”
“Vested interest?” Willow questioned teasingly.
Tara smiled and nodded, “very vested.”
The girls continued their work for a few hours before Tara helped Willow look a the classifieds. “There’s something I’d like to show you if you have a little while,” Tara told Willow as the two girls placed Willow’s laptop bag in her trunk when they were finished.
---
"Seek the company of those who are still seeking the truth and run away from those who think they have found it.--J.T. O'Hara
at: 7/28/03 8:35 pm
JustSkipIt,
I love the letter idea. I'm worried though that 
may find 
's letter and think that she is forcing her to leave her home (and demenson 
). 
Of course that could make good anganst. 
Can't wait to see what you have happen next. Updatesoon, please? 
I certainly didn't mean to.
... okay, maybe like that eventually 
more. Update soon, please 
god her mouth, those eyes, her body....etc...ups sorry geez those daydreams are not good 
.