• Title: TACIT 9/?
• Author: StrangeQuark
• Feedback: Please
• Spoilers: Season 4
• Rating: NC-17
• Pairing(s): W/T, X/A, B/R
• Disclaimer: I don't own them, and as a result, make no money from this endeavor.
• Summary: Season 4, off-screen moments, empty spaces filled in, a lot of angst, tribulation, and tenderness that could not see the light of day on network television.
Through the rain and mist, Willow spotted the pair, on the other side of the courtyard. Someone was harassing Tara. The redhead ran over to the scene, folding the umbrella as she ran, readying it for use as a weapon.
"Get away from her!" She shouted through the hiss of the falling rain. The umbrella was already in a back-swing, poised to strike Tara's tormentor.
Spike whirled around to face the angry person who was charging at him. He saw sparks as the side of his head was struck, causing him to stagger sideways. He held a hand to the new injury.
"Spike," Willow demanded, "What are you doing?" She readied the umbrella for another strike.
He looked up to see the little redhead, aiming for his skull a second time. "Damn it, Red. What are you doing? That really hurt."
Willow moved between the vampire and her companion. "Stay away from her." Willow said with steady, focused anger. She turned to Tara, who looked very upset. "It's okay, Baby. I'm sorry that I left you out here for so long. Please don't be mad at me?" Willow pleaded with the blonde witch.
Tara's head was hanging, her eyes holding back tears as they gazed at the ground. "Willow." Was all that Tara could manage as tears took over her eyes. She moved to Willow's side and leaned into her mate, her head resting on the cold, wet fabric of Willow's shoulder. "It's okay, Tara. I'm so sorry." Willow both reassured and apologized.
Spike looked at the two in wonder. He smiled as he rubbed the injury on the side of his head. "So this is the one that you're all 'misty' for?" He looked at Willow for a response.
Willow glared at Spike as she re-opened her new umbrella, holding it over Tara more than herself. "Shouldn't you be on fire right about now?" She said with quiet anger.
"Old Mr. Sunshine can't get to me through these clouds." He replied, grinning as his eyes contacted Willow's. He tried to think of a plan. Soon, his smile transformed into a more concerned expression. "Something's the matter with her?"
"What were you doing to Tara?" Willow demanded with her soaked arm wrapped tightly around her companion.
Spike's mind was in conflict. He felt strange, alien thoughts and feelings coursing through him. He was both touched and repulsed by the scene that was playing out in front of him. He felt selfish pangs of jealousy. He knew that he would never know the kind of attachment that these two witches seemed to share.
"I can't hurt her, remember? Besides, I wasn't going to. I just need to get some bloody book that she's supposed to have." He replied with his hands raised in the universal gesture of harmlessness.
"What book? What are you talking about?" Willow asked, feigning ignorance.
Spike rolled his eyes.
"The silly old book that's got no title. She's stolen it from someone, and they've asked me to get it back for them." Spike replied.
"I didn't st-steal anything." Tara said, her words wet with tears.
"Listen, lovebirds. If I get the book, then we can all merrily walk away from this." He looked again at the soaked couple that stood in front of him. He locked eyes with Willow, "And maybe I'll find out how you can cure your friend if you give it to me."
Willow's chest tightened. "Cure? What do you mean?" She asked, slight panic entering her voice.
"I think that she's been cursed. Probably something bad. She may have a few days left to live." Spike said with an even, serious tone.
"You're lying. She's fine." Willow said as she turned away from the vampire to look at Tara. "You're okay, right, Baby?"
Tara shook her head with her teary eyes squeezed shut. It was a display that frightened Willow into the realization that Spike may be telling the truth.
"Just give me the damned book, and I'll help you." Spike offered.
The cold rain ran down Willow's face, which was contorted with the look of restrained tears. "The book is already gone." She lied, sobbing, losing the resolve that she fought so hard to maintain. "It's already on its way to England."
Spike kicked a flowerpot from a nearby ledge, sending soil and plant onto the cement pavement of the courtyard. "Oh, damn it all!" He shouted as he looked back to the two girls.
Tara shivered as she leaned further into her soaked partner. She was frightened, cold, wet, and miserable. She wanted to hide somewhere far away from all of the problems that she had caused. She wanted to hide in Willow's arms. "I'm cold." Was the simple, quiet sentence that she spoke into Willow's neck.
The soft plea from her partner forced Willow to regain her composure. She started to formulate a strategy that would help Tara. "What kind of curse is it, and who did it to her?" She asked with determination in her voice.
Spike saw his plan in ruins. He knew that he could abandon any hope of being freed from the painful device that punished him. He resigned to the fact that Rayne was probably lying to him about the whole thing anyway. He looked at Willow holding her love, protecting her, sheltering her, selfless in her disregard for her own comfort.
He was touched more and more by things such as this since he was forced into goodness. He resisted the feelings of sympathy whenever they had arisen, but found them more difficult to dismiss in this case.
"Look, I lied about the whole 'days left to live' part. I was trying to scare you into handing over that stupid book." Spike admitted. "I don't know exactly what the curse is, but it's going to drive your little bird here mad if you don't stop it." He said with a genuine compassion that Willow had managed to detect. Her expression turned very sad.
"I can't help her. I'm not powerful enough." She said as she pondered bringing Tara over to Giles for help, but dismissed the thought. She might lead Spike to the book.
"Yes, that's right, your power is so limited. You would have had me and the Slayer on our damned honeymoon by now, you blinded the old man, and you almost had your lay-about friend become demon cuisine. You're right, I don't see any power there." Spike seasoned the statement with a dash of sarcasm.
"But that was an accident." Willow protested and apologized at the same time.
"Exactly." Spike smiled as he responded. "You're a sodding genius for God's sake. You can figure this out and reverse it. You can do it with one hand tied behind your back."
Willow smiled back to Spike. She felt herself blushing. He believed in her. Unlike her friends, he believed that she could handle the powerful forces.
"Thanks." She said to the soaking wet vampire.
"For what?" He asked with his eyebrows raised.
"Believing." She replied. "C'mon Tara, lets get back to the dorm. Maybe we'll try a general reversal spell first." She said as she started to walk away with arm around her partner.
"Willow?" Tara started, "Could w-we get changed first?"
"Sure, Baby." Willow replied as she adjusted her hold on the umbrella, so that it would cover more of her companion.
Spike watched the two walk away into the distance, their forms grayed and blurred by the sheets of falling rain. "She thanked me." He said to himself. He was given genuine gratitude for the first time in literal ages. He smiled as he saw the two witches turn the corner and leave his sight. "God, they're sort of cute together, like that." He mused. Just then, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. His vision faded to blackness as his body went limp and collapsed onto to the wet ground.
Willow had helped Tara up the stairs that led to their sanctuary. They were both cold, tired, and wet, but Tara seemed to be much more fatigued from the whole experience. Once inside Tara's room, they both started to peel off uncomfortable layers of the soaked clothing that clung to their bodies. Willow opened the closet, found a neatly folded stack of towels. She took one for herself and handed one to Tara.
With her teeth chattering, Tara rubbed the towel through her dripping wet hair, drying her face, ears, and neck in the process. She winced as she felt the wet, heavy fabric of her pants sticking to her legs. Trying to quickly halt the uncomfortable sensation, she unbuttoned the pants, slid herself out of them, and cast them onto the growing pile of wet clothing on the floor between her and Willow.
Willow was bent over, trying to untie the soaked laces of one of her sneakers. A pool of water sat on the floor around the girl, and she saw something reflect on its surface. She was a bit startled as her eyes caught sight of naked legs, just in front of her. Situations involving nudity had never been comfortable for Willow, but she made a point to steal a glance at Tara's legs. She stopped the upward travel of her vision when she discovered just how transparent Tara's white cotton underwear had become in their wetness.
"I could get changed i-in the bathroom, if you want." Tara offered through her chattering teeth after she had noticed Willow's stare and the puzzling expression that had crossed her face.
"I-I'm good. I'm good." Willow squeaked an uneasy, nervous reassurance.
The redhead soon lost her modesty as well, choosing the embarrassment of exposure over the discomfort of her cold, wet clothing. When the two had finished undressing, they stood, facing each other. Their teeth were still chattering, their wrinkled hands and arms reflexively concealing their chests and private parts from view.
Willow headed for the inviting, dry warmth of Tara's bed. She quickly climbed in, using the covers to both conceal her nakedness and warm her cold skin. She looked to Tara who remained standing, shivering, her head down, looking at the floor.
"C'mere, Baby." Willow said. "We need to warm up. We're hypothermic." She added.
Still looking down, hiding as much as she could with her hands, Tara made her way to the bed. A feeling of insecurity had come over her. Tara had never been comfortable with her body; she did not feel that she was as thin or physically fit as she should be. She had felt even less attractive after her first brief view of Willow's much more sleek body. She decided that getting under the covers was a very attractive prospect, since it would hide her embarrassing body.
As Tara climbed into the bed, Willow pulled the blankets over them both, leaning the length of her skin against Tara's for the first time. Tara had turned away from Willow, lying on her side, shivering. Willow molded the front of her body against the profile of her cold partner. She pulled the blonde in close to her as they lay together, their bodies shaking, jaws vibrating out of control, breathing through their teeth.
Where their skin touched, warmth was returning. Their goose pimples were subsiding, their shaking jaws were calming, and their breathing was becoming more casual.
Willow was beginning to feel more comfortable, and opened herself to the new sensations that she was experiencing. Lying nude in bed, her body felt exposed and covered at once. Being nude in bed, pressing Tara's naked body against her own, she felt wonder and excitement.
Willow ran a gentle hand down Tara's side. She started at her shoulders and worked her way down the girl's arm. Her hand slid over the cool skin, her mind mapping each curve and bend as it went. She was smoothing the skin on the side of Tara's belly, tracing the soft arc of her waist, and slowly gliding over her hip. The redhead realized that she'd never noticed Tara's soft, feminine shape before. The beautiful form and the cold skin conjured the image of a fine sculpture passing beneath her hand. It was the type of womanly beauty that was able to transcend millennia captured in stone.
Willow's hand glided back up Tara's side, and moved some of the blonde's damp hair behind her head, exposing the side of her face.
"Beautiful." Willow whispered, her lips almost touching her partner's ear. She felt the response to her comment as Tara inhaled deeply, her back pressing harder into Willow's warming, nude body.
"I'm not." Tara whispered back, hoping to make Willow say it again. She was indulging her selfishness in the joy of being coveted by her partner.
"Beautiful." Willow repeated, her voice rising above a whisper.
Tara felt warm lips touch her neck; the slight open space between them was almost hot. She reached behind her, resting a gentle hand on the cool skin of the hips that cradled her bottom. The blonde was holding onto her partner, trying to hold onto the selfless love that Willow was giving to her. She felt an arm lay across her own and a small, warm hand resting between her breasts, just below them.
Willow's touch was firm and motionless. She allowed her fingertips to press into the soft curves that defined the underside of Tara's breasts. She could feel the soft purr of Tara's approval vibrating against her hand and through the back that she pressed herself against. She felt the cold, soft soles of Tara's feet sliding up and down the length of her shins at a slow, sensual pace.
Tara was luxuriating in the feel of the warm, smooth skin that slid beneath her feet. She felt the small bristly stubbles, the soft flesh, and the hard bones just beneath. She felt the gentle fingers pressing into her bosom, the small palm warming her chest. She heard the word again.
"Beautiful." Willow said in a tone of voice that Tara thought could define the word 'sultry.'
Willow's hand moved to one of Tara's breasts. She gently held it within her hand, running her fingers over the surface. She felt the soft, smooth, heavy shape for the first time. She traced its outline, cupped its profile, and felt the erect nipple brushing her moving palm. Willow was excited, her heartbeat was accelerating. Over and over again, she ran her fingers from the base of Tara's neck, down between her breasts, across her belly, and to just above the small patch of hair between the blonde's thighs.
Tara turned her head back toward the redhead, with her eyes half open. She puckered her full lips, offering them to Willow. She removed her hand from her partner's hip, bending it upward. She reached behind Willow's head and took a handful of damp, red hair. She guided her partner's mouth to hers, pressing the girl's face firmly against her.
Willow felt the sudden pleasure her mouth being forced to Tara's lips. The relished the feeling of being desired by one so beautiful. She slid her mouth against Tara's with tender abandon. She parted her lips, and the blonde accepted the invitation, her tongue slid inside, just past Willow's teeth.
Without breaking the kiss, Tara managed to turn over, now facing Willow. She explored her partner's mouth for the first time, taking her time to feel each nuance, as she tasted her lover. Shifting further, she was now on top of Willow and excited by the barrage of new sensations. She was excited at her own nakedness, she was thrilled by the feeling of the nude body below her, she was entranced by the taste and feel of Willow's welcoming mouth.
Willow was awash in the warm, overwhelming currents of Tara's affection. Her throat rumbled with a deep moan as she experienced the weight of the curvy, naked body that pressed her into the bed. She tasted Tara's tongue as it surveyed her mouth, sweeping against her teeth and sliding between her lips. Through the sensitive skin of her breasts, she could feel Tara's hard nipples pressing into her. The soft arches of her feet glided against Tara's warm calves in a slow, savoring rhythm. Her hands traced lazy designs on the creamy skin of Tara's bare back. Her fingers drifted further down her lover's back, sliding over the curve of Tara's buttocks.
Tara pulled her mouth away from Willow's, gasping at the surprising sensation. As she felt the small hands fondling her rear, Tara took the skin of Willow's neck into her teeth, taking a small, soft bite of the tender skin. She continued to nosh as the hands explored the very private area, pressing and kneading, fleeting impressions of fingertips grazing the tender skin between her soft cheeks. Tara started sucking Willow's neck into her mouth, her tongue lapping the smooth wet skin. A gentle finger ran down between her buttocks to the base of her spine, teasing in its proximity to the more sensitive skin that lay just below. A deep moan issued from Tara's throat, through her nostrils. Willow's other hand was holding onto Tara's hair, exerting a gentle force against the back of her head, keeping her mouth attached to the redhead's neck.
Willow's nose rubbed against the velvety skin of Tara's shoulder, she smelled the familiar, delicious aroma of her lover's skin. She rubbed her mouth against it, some of the moisture from her lips mixing with the Tara-scent; the combination of the two caused an automatic excitement for Willow. She placed her fingertips against the now hot skin of Tara's back, digging her short nails into its skin, driven by a strong need to possess and hold.
Tara released a patch of darkened skin from her mouth as she pulled her face away from Willow's neck. She placed a gentle kiss on the mark that she had left. Willow released her small claws from Tara's back and turned her head to kiss her mate. They held their lips close for lasting seconds, then pulled away from each other. Their eyes were fixed on one another, speaking volumes in silence. Willow gathered her thoughts on the experience that they had just shared, and suddenly broke the stillness.
"Now that we're all warmed-up, we have to try that reversal spell." She said with a mix of humor and concern.
Tara nodded with a gentle, crooked smile pulling at the corners of her lips, accepting that Willow was correct. She coaxed herself into leaving the bed, a little more comfortable with her nudity due to the fading light of early evening that filled the room, and a lot more comfortable with the certainty that she was 'beautiful.' Tara pulled some clothes for them to wear from her dresser. She slid into some warm sweatpants and a long sleeved T-shirt before handing Willow some boxer shorts and a sweatshirt that she thought would look 'cute' on her.
They cleaned up the pile of wet clothes, cleared the floor, and pulled back the heavy wool throw rug. Tara sat cross-legged on the floor as Willow sprinkled a circle of ashen powder around her. Chanting in a soft unison, they gathered and focused their energies.
Love sammi xx 
ethan rayne! 
That helps to visually aid in the flow as well.
interesting...
love sammi xx 
.
That was some serious fondling.
at: 9/3/03 8:21 pm
, so cute. So it looks like those feelings of evil Tara felt are coming from this curse and not from her being a demon!