FIC: The Edge of Silence

[tiredsoul]

It's the Jo fan club! I didn't see any offers for a secretary so I'm putting in the request. I know what they say about the boss and the secretary so I'm thinking that's my best shot



I love how you've managed to incorporate Jo into our hearts. Makes reading about her as fun as W/T. And she got a kiss! Woo hoo!



I just love that scene in the dorm room with W/T in "Superstar." Always have and I'm glad you included it here.



--celia

---------------------------------

"That was just rude. Now I forget what I was saying."

[Insanity]

Jo is really cute...all nervous and insecure.. really sweet..



But how cruel to end the chapter like this....



Insanity

"Nobody messes with my girl!" Tara, Bargaining

[pikescoob]

Mel! sorry I haven't replied much but this fic rocks! Awww...Jo is sooo cute, all excited about her first date with a girl And naked snuggles always a good thing Lookin' forward to more



--Michelle

[HOPE REIGNS]

Wow, that was a great chapter full of butterflies in the stomach!! But, ummmm, am I the only one worried about Jo walking home, ALONE!!?? I certainly hope she makes it to the big date. Awwww, Won't Tara be soooo proud.

Even though they are no longer here in body, their souls continue on in our hearts.

[Vampivy]

I cant say enough how much I’m loving your “Superstar” I’m so happy for Jo. It’s about time she gets some smoochies of her own. Very cruel ending though, but I’m proud to have a very good imagination, and boy did I put it to use.



I’m with “HOPE REIGNS” about Jo walking home alone. I’m a little worried here.



I feel like the more time passes the more W/T moments I forget, cause I haven’t watched any episodes with them, well since May, and it’s nice to read about them here in the Pens. An always comforting reminder of what once was, and will always be, at least here.

I couldn’t help but smile when I remembered that look on Tara’s face when Anya had explained about how she got a hold of the last “Urn Of Osiris” and a limited edition Backstreet Boys lunch box for *Cough Xander Cough*.

I miss them both terribly, Willow and Tara, and that is why I will continue to read “The Edge of Silence”, because YOU will never let ME forget the beauty that is Willow And Tara. Thank you Triscuit so much for your incredibly brilliant story. You have great talent and I hope YOU never forget that.



Patty

[Triscuit7]

Hi Kittens



I'll be back in a little while with thank-yous, but I wanted to give you all an update tonight. It's a little shorter than usual, but I should have a substantial one ready for Tuesday night around 8-9 EST.



Rating: NC-17 for the first part; PG-13/R for the second part.



Angst rating: Roughly a 5.



*****



Breasts.



She loved them. Her tongue circled, gently teasing. Eyes wide in the glow of fairy lights and candles, she watched the nipple respond. Hardening visibly, it stood up out of the rosy center of Tara’s right breast.



She smiled happily and shifted to the left nipple. She flicked it with her tongue, just hard enough that she jiggled the breast beneath it. She heard Tara’s slight intake of breath and caught the nipple between her lips, squeezing and making her lover squirm beneath her.



“Willow.”



Just her name. Nothing else. No elaboration on what was wanted. No courtesies to disguise the longing that filled the soft voice.



Just her name – spoken as she’d never heard anyone else say it before. As if she was life and breath.



Spoken as if she were really and truly needed.



She gazed into the blue eyes and spoke one word.



“Yes?”



Tara caressed her lover’s face with her fingertips. Looked at her, and wanted nothing except to erase the pain. Saw the emptiness, and wanted nothing except to fill it – but knew that was in vain. Willow wasn’t ready; she couldn’t give herself yet.



That didn’t stop Tara’s loving, though, and certainly wouldn’t stop her gifting Willow with her love. Besides, some things Willow had no difficulty with. Trust. Her body. Those things she could give completely.



She stroked Willow’s cheek with the back of one hand. Reaching back, she wound her fingers in the short red hair, and pulled her towards her lips. The other hand found her lover’s right hand, closed around it, and guided it. She slipped it between her legs, pressing the slender fingers into her wetness.



Lips almost touching, she murmured, “Take me.”



Willow shivered – a slow frisson passing from her head to her toes. Slowly, gently, she kissed her. Her lips parted and pressed against Tara’s full ones. Her tongue slipped between them while she stroked her lover slowly and gently with her fingers. Rocking against her, Willow felt her lover’s every response. She lay against her, pressing her forehead into the juncture of her neck and shoulder. She felt Tara’s breathing deepen, and felt her own breathing follow suit. Her fingers slipped and played in the growing wetness as her own juices slicked Tara’s thigh.



She turned her face towards Willow’s and gazed into the green pools. “Take me.”



Willow swallowed hard with a mouth gone suddenly dry. She nodded and thrust two fingers deep within her lover. She heard Tara moan, deep and throaty, as her fingers entered her, and echoed it. She felt Tara grip her fingers and hold them within her.



She felt Willow within her. Felt her filling her, touching her, loving her. She kissed her lips and whispered, “I’m yours. Take me.”



Willow whimpered and thrust her fingers deeper within Tara as she rocked. Again and again, she filled her lover. She listened to Tara’s breathing quicken and heard how hers joined with it – so naturally – as if they were one person.



She felt her need grow until it burst.



“Tara!”



And heard her lover whisper her name.



“Willow!” She held her lover tightly to her as their orgasms swept through them. She felt Willow tremble as pleasure filled her. She thrust up onto her lover’s hand one last time, hissing, “Yessss.”



Willow slowly relaxed onto Tara’s body, felt their mutual tension turn to lassitude. She pulled her fingers out slowly and felt Tara’s reluctance to let them go. She caressed Tara’s flushed cheeks with them and saw that they left a residue of wetness.



She closed her eyes and sighed. Finally, giving what she could, she spoke. “I am too, you know.”



“I know.”



*****



She was tired but excited. Far too excited to stay still, which was why she’d turned her bed into a disheveled mess. Wired. Jazzed. Whatever.



Jo climbed out of bed for the umpteenth time and padded around in the darkness of her room. She flipped on the light at her desk and sank into her chair, staring at the wall separating her room from Tara’s.



Listened but heard nothing.



Which might mean Willow wasn’t there. Which would mean it was safe to knock on Tara’s door and talk and find out what happens next.



Or … it might mean that Willow was there and they hadn’t forgotten about the spell this time. Which would mean knocking on the door would be, well, intrusive – not to say possibly outright dangerous if Tara’s girlfriend got angry. Which Willow could and did do regularly.



That would piss off Tara – and she really didn’t want to do that.



It was just that she had so many questions now. And … and she felt she could ask Tara. Her neighbor wouldn’t laugh.



Her fingers stole up to her lips again and she shivered. Soft. Everything was soft. Lips, hair, skin. Everything was the same and yet different, and it just fit so well. She shivered again, remembering how Dani’s body had molded itself to hers. It had felt so … nice.



And she liked Dani. She liked all the women who had danced with her: Tori with her sense of humor, Mei-Ling who had shown her how not to spin her partner, Liz with her careful concern, and all the others. But she especially liked Dani.



She liked the long wavy hair that smelled of whatever Tara had burned at the altar. She liked the brown eyes which reflected the woman’s moods so well. One moment hurt and angry, the next surprised, and then amused. She liked that smile too. She liked that a lot.



And she really liked that kiss.



She wanted more now. Another kiss, for starters. One that was longer. One in which she had time to decide what Dani tasted like, one long enough for Dani to find out what she tasted like.



She took her hand away from her lips and looked at it. It was a woman’s hand with tapered fingers. She frowned at it thoughtfully. She’d always looked at guys’ hands, mostly out of idle curiosity about that supposed correlation between thumb size and penis size. Did lesbians look at hands? She supposed they did, ’cause, well, no penis probably meant hands had to be more important. Right?



She’d been hyperaware of hands all evening. Warm hands, strong hands. That one girl with her cold hands and burning eyes. Dani’s hands. Dropped in among lesbians, checking out hands – had she been shopping on an instinctual level? She turned her hand over. Was this a good hand?



More importantly, would Dani think it was a good hand? She hoped so. She wanted Dani to think it was a very good hand.



She heard the faint click of a door nearby. Next door, maybe? She stood and fidgeted from foot to foot. Should she check or not? Tugging her t-shirt down over her shorts she walked to the door. If she checked and it was Willow, well, after the bathroom scene earlier today, or rather yesterday – that would be very bad.



But it might be Tara. Or Allen, Steve, or any of the other five people down at this end of the hall. She hesitated one more moment, opened the door a crack and then completely.



Tara.



She waited impatiently in the doorway for the blonde to come back from the bathroom. Fluffy robe, bed hair, Tara still paused and smiled when she saw her.



“Hey, Jo.”



“Hey.” She hesitated, suddenly uncertain and watched the blonde eyebrows climb into question marks. “Uh, are you alone, ’cause if you are, can we talk?”



“Willow’s here.”



“Oh.”



“Jo.” Tara laid a hand, a very pretty hand, on her arm. “Can we talk in the morning?”



“Uh, sure.”



“You had fun, though?” Tara removed her hand. “At the dance?”



“Dani kissed me.” She blurted it out, unable to contain it any longer.



Tara’s smile grew. “Well, that’s good, right?”



Jo nodded exuberantly.



“In the m-morning, OK, sweetie? I’ll be all ears then.”



“What time?” She bounced a little, totally unable to contain her excitement.



“Not too early. It is Saturday, after all.”



“And you have Willow, right.” Jo forced herself into stillness.



“Get some rest, Jo.” Tara’s hand closed on her doorknob; turning it, she pushed the door open. “Sweet dreams.” She slipped inside and the door closed.



Jo re-entered her own room, pulling closed and locking her door. She flipped off her light and climbed back into bed. Sweet dreams, right.



Dreams of soft lips covering hers with kisses.

[ChaoticBliss]

yay! the update i've been waiting sooooooo patiently for. tehehe. jo's all giddy about the kiss... tres cute. brings back memories of my own.



i want jo to SCORE! she needs a good lay.



goodness that was trashy of me, but i couldn't help it.

-------------

"People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use." - Kierkegaard

Edited by: ChaoticBliss at: 11/17/02 1:53:16 pm

[MadeinNZ]

OK - any chapter that starts like that is a winner in my book.



I really enjoyed the W/T scene. There's something so amazing about the 'yours' concept. Its not about ownership or controlling someone else - for me, its about giving yourself to someone completely. Knowing that they'll keep you safe and love you. Its a wonderful thing. And very sexy.



Jo cracks me up. The fixation on hands is so true. I always look at hands. Don't ask me why . And Tara handled Jo's excitment and need to talk in such a loving way. Love your Tara.



Love this story.

Edited by: MadeinNZ at: 11/16/02 6:22:49 pm

[barnabasvamp]

I'm with MadeinNZ...Any chapter that starts out that way, Mmmm! Again you express them, and the love, so well.



Jo..What can I say, brings back plesant memories..

I'm joining the "WE gotta get Jo some" club!

BV

"In front of total strangers won't you kiss me, Flowers for no reason but you miss me - OOH, I wanna be in love"

Melissa Etheridge-Skin

[kbk3022]

Hi Triscuit



I thought I would leave some feedback considering I've never left you any and I've been reading your story since it started. I'm sorry about that, it's just, I'm shy...and I like books. No that's not it. I think it's just because I'm not good at writing, English isn't my first language, you know. Okay, that's not true. Hmm...I think it's because my feedback usually consists of "wow, that was a good update." And, I didn't really feel that this would be appropriate for this thread, because everyone writes you like a paragraph explaining why they liked it. But, I don't really have a way with words, so I never posted anything. Anyway, with all of that said, I'm going to attempt to give feedback. Here goes. I really like your story, I love the Season 4 picture you're creating. And, I have to say, I thought Jo was evil when she first appeared, but now I'm like everyone else and rooting(sorry Nicky) for her to get lucky. Anyway, I love your Willow and Tara, as well as, all of your original characters. You're an awesome writer, and I look forward to every time you update. And on that note. Wow, that was a good update. Thanks.



Kasey

[pikescoob]

Loved the update Mel! Looks like W/T are having themselves a wonderful evening Jo is sooo adorable, I think it's safe to say that she's smitten with Dani...hope things work out there.



--Michelle

[Murasaki S]

Very, very nice update. Loved the W/T goodness, you write it so well.

Seeing Jo so out of sorts brings many memories. The more I start to like Jo the more I wonder whether she's found the right girl. I'm not sure about that Dani chick yet. Hopefully it'll turn out alright.

[Puff]

Great update, I love how you write what Tara is thinking although I am not sure I can think much after that update. Wonderful to see Jo so happy as well

---

You know, it's a real deal relationship and that's why people can relate
Amber Benson

[darkmagicwillow]

I loved seeing Willow taking one more step towards admitting her love of Tara. I love hearing those words every time. A very sweet scene. I enjoyed Jo's musings on hands and now you've got me looking at my own hands.

--

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit. -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[LeatherQueen]

Ah, Mel... this was a short, but very sweet chapter. The first part was beautiful... so very sensual.



And the second part... Yay Jo! I love Jo. I love that it's all so new and exciting for her. She's so exhuberant. I love it.

"We've got the only librarian who can rip off your arm with his leg. People respect that." - Terry Pratchett

[Insanity]

oohhh very sweet update.. both parts are really great and i'm kinda curious what'll happen next..

soo: more.. soon!!!!



Insanity

"Nobody messes with my girl!" Tara, Bargaining

[Cindipitude]

Mel...

I swear you are gonna kill me!

Both a Willow whimper and a yesssssss.

Oh my.

Awesome update. Willow and Tara are just so sensual together. Tara giving everything and Willow giving everything she can. And Jo....poor Jo

I'm so happy and excited for her.....replaying her night with Dani over and over. But she better get some rest.. or she is totally gonna miss her coffee date!

Great job.. and more on Tuesday?

Yay!

[mollyig]

The scene with our girls was just beautiful, the absolute devotion is so very lovely. Thank you.



Jo, bless her, all with the giddy wonder, was adorable.

Adding up the total of a love that's true, multiply life by the power of two
Indigo Girls

[SilverWingedNemesis]

Hey! Just finally caught up with the updates on this fic!! Gotta say, I love it! I hope to read your update soon, and I can't wait for Willow to say "I love you"



Thanks for this fic..keep the updates coming!! Grins*



~NICKOLE~

[singgirl]

YAY!! Loved it all!

[infinitelight]

Hey Triscuit,

Like Kasey, it's really about time I posted some feedback for this, because I've been reading and squee-ing over it from the start.



Jo (I'll give her first billing in my feedback-lineup, because I feel guilty about thinking she was a stalker) : I liked her at the start. Then I got all suspicious-like and decided she was creeping me out when she was always hanging around. The last few updates, though, I think I've come full circle and I can actually understand where she's coming from and why she's so curious. I loved the fact that she looked at people's hands at the dance--aside from the obvious I think you can tell a lot about people from their hands.



Tara: I love the way you've written her side of all this. This is something I always wondered about while watching the show: how Tara felt/reacted at the beginning of the relationship. 'Your' Tara's thoughts seem so realistic to me (I note that you seemed worried that it might have been out of character for Tara to 'push' Willow a little bit when they were having dinner with Buffy, but I thought it was perfectly done and very Tara-like (as, also, was Tara's guilt afterward)). I particularly liked the scene where Tara restrung her mother's necklace--really summed up for me all her feelings and conflicts: her love for Willow, her fear for her future, her continuing quiet grief both for her mother and herself (thinking she's a demon), her loneliness with no-one to truly confide in contrasted with the new fullness of her life with Willow.



Willow: again, I'm going with 'realistic'. My favorite scene in the story so far has been the one where Willow says "I love..." and then can't finish, Tara tries to tell her it's okay and Willow says: "No, it's not. How can you say that?" I can picture this scene so clearly in my mind's eye--Willow's expression and her frustration with herself.



This is a wonderful story. Thank you so much.



Edited to add: dammit, I let my attention wander in chat for a few seconds and I had to have my kiss relayed to me! *shuffles feet and blushes*. Thanks!

Edited by: infinitelight at: 11/17/02 2:26:41 pm

[Ten10239]

Hey! I love the fic, I love the way you write Willow and Tara. It's very sweet. And I love the whole Jo story line very nice!

"I wish that I could hold you. I wish that I could hate you. I wish that I could hold you one more time." - I wish... - Drain Sth

[WillowPowered]

I absolutely love this fic. Well written with a very good plot.



I'm sitting on the update couch waiting for more!!



Jill

~~~~~~~~

Willow - Say, you all didn't happen to do a bunch of drugs did ya?

Willow - I'm a blood sucking fiend, look at my outfit . . . .

[frau rosenclay]

Hello,



I love the dramatic quality of the first two lines of your last posted segment of story. About the breasts, and her love for them. Well constructed, powerful lines of Willow Tara prose. They got to me, maybe it was the simplicity, a solitary word or phrase can sometimes give such a powerful and visual effect. The first two lines in yr last post were a wonderful example of this.



Sorry for the many compound sentances, its been a long day and night.



This is quite a read, I have been lovin' it, from the first part with a different title, to what it has become now. Thank you.

[xita]

Hmm short but sweet. The angst is there... oh god I can't wait till you write NMR, cause if Willow isn't giving herself yet... my god. And at least she said she was Tara's. It's progress. My poor sweet Willow just can't let it all go yet.

-------------------------------

Buffy?

Let's change it, the Discovery channel has koala bears.

[LostSoul]

Triscuit,







More, more please

LostSoul

---

Thinking of giving Amber a birthday preasent this year? Check out www.geocities.com/ambers_bday_charity/index.html

[Tulipp]

Lovely, Melissa. I like the way Willow's ability to speak the important words is coming so slowly; this way, you let every tiny admission, every small word, just matter so much, and it works.



I like the introduction of Dani and Jo's increasing exploration, but hmmm. The fact that she thought Tara's hand was "pretty," the fact that she waited around for Tara outside her room, her disappointment that Willow was around, her...I don't know what else to call it...jealousy over Willow.

I think that there is something building here, and I am just atwitter with the suspense.

"And I'm eating this banana. Lunchtime be damned!" -- Willow in "Doppelgangland

[tommo]

I really liked this. The contrast of Willow and Tara's sexual exploration and closeness, contrasted with Jo's beginnings on that very road. And hey, Dani...heh. What a gal.



I'm really interested in Jo's motivation here. She liked the kiss; she likes Dani, but I can't help feeling that she's so obsessed with Tara, she can't really think straight. Uh, no pun intended. Heh. But the kisses that Jo is dreaming of; I loved the ambiguity in this last part of the chapter and it really made me wonder whom she was thinking of kissing and how it would feel. How great to see that whole notion of attractiveness starting here. Thanks so much, mel.

Darlin' there's no way out, nothing can help me now, love's got a hold on my heart...

[hondosfirst]

Minion 1-"These updates are falling far behind schedule.Somebody is surley in for some inpaitient feedback"



Minion 2-"Why does the story remain in cpt 6j when we know that Willows admittion of love and Jo getting layed lies so close at hand?"



Min 1-"Well The Glorious one,having aquired many writting skills,dosent exactly "post lightly".



Triscutt 7 BETA-"Hey,I can read this , Beta like vision dosent miss much remember"



Minion 2-"Twas she who blasphemed your magnificence"pointing at minion 2(aka hondos)



Minion 1-"Um yes ,I was informed by the smutfastic one that perhaps by oh I dont know kind words or bribes of some sort that it may move the story along quicker perhaps,then pain inflicky threats?If so,then please except my humble offer of whatever it is that she(pointing to minion 2)may do for you!"She will lay down her life or give you her free time to help you proff read"



Minion 1-"Wha..huh?" Looks curiously at minion 2



Minion 2-Shrugs shoulders at min 1 at looks adoringly smiling at the wonder BETA.



Various Triscutt 7 fic groupies chanting in spacy brain fried tones-"PLEASE UPDATE,ALL DARK,LOVE CONFESSION,BIG CONFESSION,BIG BIG LAY FOR JO,WE HAVE TO BE THERE.

[Taras Shadow]

Hey Triscuit,



Ok, where to start! First of all, I have to say...this fic is just... worthy times a hundred and more...

I've cried, I've laughed, I've panted, I've almost fainted, fanned myself, had cold showers, hid this story from my gf's little girl because she's starting to read...lol But I am absolutely in love with this fic. Jo reminds me of Leah my girlfriend.

Keep this up ok? Because you have me addicted now...and I need my Triscuit goodness.



Can't wait until next update!



~Holly~



Show me where to touch youTara-It Ain't Fickle