Hello Kitties*stretches and yawns* yeah so... I felt bad.. about how I NEVER update.. and so... I went ahead and worked on this fic... and finished it.
Now I will say.. that it SO didn't turn out.. how I had hoped.. but.. I just couldn't think of how else for it to come about. I kept having HSD and OMT.. my other fics.. run around in my head.. well those and my non W/T 'There's Always Something'... so i'm going to have to get to work on them.. *blushes*
But anyway, I hope this ending doesn't disappoint...too much..
*hugs* Thanks for reading tho.. I do appreciate it
I love you, Angel. This one's for you...
*MUAH*
~N~
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“Come on Tara, I’m sure you look absolutely gorgeous!” Buffy yelled through the locked bathroom door.
Tara had been in there for a good 40 minutes and Buffy was beginning to get flustered with her Wiccan friend.
“Seriously Tara, come out!” She banged on the door once again.
Suddenly the door flew open and Tara charged past Buffy and over to her closet. “Buffy you just don’t understand. I want to look good tonight. I want to look…” She stopped and let her hands fall to her sides, and took a look in the mirror by her nightstand. “I just..”
“You want to make an impression on her?” Buffy asked, smiling softly.
“Tare… you know Will is in love with you. All she wants in this world is for you two to be together again, and forever, like it always should have been. Things happen, choices are made, sometimes really bad choices…but the important thing is, that we learn from them. We grow, we wake up and realize what it is we want and need in our lives, and we go for it, and we don’t stop for anyone or anything, until we achieve it.”
She placed her hand on Tara’s shoulder and gently squeezed, looking at her in the mirror. “You two were meant to be, Tara. Nothing in this world can keep you two apart. Now finish up, and meet me downstairs, we need to get going birthday girl.” She smiled and walked to the door, preparing to wait downstairs, when Tara called out to her.
“Hey Buff”…Tara turned to her, and bit her lip as Buffy turned back around and raised an eyebrow. “Thank you.” Buffy just smiled and walked out, closing the door.
Tara turned back to the mirror and ran her hands down her top, and let her fingers glide through her hair and sighed.
“Okay Maclay, it’s show time.” She walked over and grabbed her small bag, checking to make sure the contents were in place. “Let’s do this.”
*~*~*~
They could hear the music from the Bronze a block away. Sounded like a new band, but they were pretty good. Tara was trying to hear the lyrics, and from what she could hear, she loved.
This is something Willow will definitely like. Oh Goddess I can’t wait to see my Willow. Why aren’t we walking faster?
With that, she grabbed Buffy’s hand and pulled her forward. Buffy giggling and hurrying after her.
They reached the door to the Bronze and the bouncer let them in, of course after fully checking them out, and watching them walk in the building. Buffy rolled her eyes, as Tara tried to smile politely, despite feeling uncomfortable under his gaze.
“Some men will never learn…” Buffy muttered as they went to the couch, that just so happened to be free for Tara’s birthday.
“So, we sit, and wait for the others?” Tara asked as she took a seat on the couch, as a young waitress came over to get their drink orders.
“Yup, that’s the plan. I heard the band tonight should be really good. I mean these guys” She pointed to the stage “are just the warm-up band.. And they’re good, so hopefully once Will and Faith get here, Dawn will be here with Xander and Anya, and then we’ll see the main attraction.” She smiled.
“Buffy, what’s going on…I mean, the Bronze never gets a big band or anything…did you guys… oh Goddess, Willow didn’t spend a bunch of money to get someone to come play for me did she?” Tara asked with a shocked expression.
“I assure you, I have no idea, but I just know that the singer is supposed to be awesome.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Okay Red, are you about finished? We’ve only got a few minutes to go make sure our singing duo is backstage and ready to go out there. We don’t want them bailing on us and messin' up the rest of the night!” Faith huffed as she laced her black boots.
“Yes, I’m ready… I just, how do I look? I mean, is it too much? Or.. not enough.. oh God I should change.. I don’t want to look like ‘oh lala you’re gonna see me and want me back just because I can dress like a hooker…” Willow panicked.
Faith laughed and shook her head. “First off, Blondie wouldn’t want you looking like a hooker, well, unless it was some sort of weird kinky role playing game…” She looked at Willow curiously. “No, wait. Don’t even comment on that…I don’t wanna know. But uhh you look hot Will. Seriously. So can we go now?”
“Yeah.. yea we can go. We should go. We need to get there…and check out everything.. and and.. oh god let’s go what are we waiting for?!” She grabbed her things and ran out the front door, leaving Faith standing there staring after her.
“WHY do I live with this firecracker Redhead again?”….
~~~~~~~~~~~
Back at the Bronze
The lights were dimmed. No one could see anything if it were more than a foot away from them. Candles were burning all around, providing a soft glow.
Tara sat with bats in her stomach. Willow hadn’t made it to her party. She tried not to let anyone see how badly it hurt, but she couldn’t. Dawn, Xander and Anya had made it, shared some drinks and idle chat, and given her wonderful gifts, but, she was devastated to say the least. But she sent me roses… LOTS of roses…and the card…
But then, she looked over at Buffy and noticed she was looking around worriedly as well.
Faith isn’t here either. And Buffy’s worried. Maybe they got held up... or jumped by some horrible big bad…oh god…why are we sitting here???
Suddenly a faint spotlight lit up the stage…just as Tara was about to bolt.
She sensed a familiar presence, a very calming presence and sat very still, her breath caught in her throat at the sight before her.
The faint glow, was just enough to see the outline, of an amazing woman, her heart soared. Oh my Goddess…
She could tell, there were other people in the background, playing the soft slow, sweet sound of the music, and another person…just to Willow’s left, which appeared to be back up…She looked at Buffy, who sat looking as shocked and surprised as she did. It’s Faith…
The light came around…centering on Willow, who had her head bowed, microphone in hand. She had on loose flared black slacks, black-heeled boots, and a skintight blue top, that showed her midriff, and her long hair cascading over her shoulders. She was truly a site, which left the rest of the Bronze customers, opened mouthed and in awe.
Slowly, Willow lifted her head, and looked directly at Tara.
I figured it out
I was high and low and everything in between
I was wicked and wild, baby, you know what I mean
Till there was you, yeah, you
Something went wrong
I made a deal with the devil for an empty I.O.U.
Been to hell and back, but an Angel was looking through
It was you, yeah, you
It's all because of
Faith steps up next to Willow, joining in the chorus
You are the reason
You are the reason I wake up every day
And sleep through the night
You are the reason, the reason
In the middle of the night
I'm going down 'cause I adore you
I want to floor
Willow takes a slight step back, allowing Faith to have the stage, who looked adoringly at Buffy.
I'm giving it up
No more running around spinning my wheel
You came out of my dream and made it real
I know what I feel
It's you
It's all because of
Both women step up, singing together, staring at their loves.
You are the reason
You are the reason I wake up every day
And sleep through the night
You are the reason, the reason
In the middle of the night
I'm going down 'cause I want you
I want to touch you
I want to floor you
You are the reason, baby
You are the reason
You are the reason I wake up every day
And sleep through the night
You are the reason, the REASON…
Their song ended and the crowd went wild. Most of the town knew Faith and Willow, and this is something they had not expected. The girls received a standing ovation and Willow looked Tara’s direction, and noticed tears streaming down her face. She squeezed Faiths hand and jumped off the stage.
Buffy had already run to Faith and jumped into her arms as Willow approached Tara, who was still seated, looking still very much in shock. Willow dropped to her knees and reached out for Tara’s hand, rubbing softly, bringing it to her lips and kissing her knuckles lightly.
“Hey you.” She whispered. “Are you okay?” Willow furrowed her brow and asked softly.
Tara started to open her mouth to say something, but the words she just couldn’t find. Instead she pushed Willow back slightly and dropped down in front of her, wrapping her hand in her hair and pulling her lips tightly against her own.
Willow was shocked, but pleasantly so. She wrapped her arm around Tara’s waist, the other, gently caressing her cheek. She pulled back slowly, looking into Tara’s eyes and smiled.
“Wow.” Willow bit her lip shyly.
“Oh yea, wow does it.” Tara blushed and lowered her head, then pulled herself upright, pulling Willow to stand with her.
They both heard the music start up again, as another couple had taken the stage, and were preparing their first song… as Tara listened intently, she pulled her gaze away from Willow to see the voice she had heard in the park. “Oh my god…”
Willow giggled and squeezed Tara’s hand, as she was looking at bit crazed. “That’s…that’s Amy Lee…”
Willow smiled. “Yes, it is. And that” she pointed slightly to the left. “Is our one and only William the Bloody.” She watched Tara’s face as she tried to focus and take all of this in.
“I don’t get it, Will…” She said confused.
“Uhm… well, Spike met Amy, or well, “Lee” as she’s called now and um, well she wanted to be with him. So he revealed to her, that he’s a vampire and well, she didn’t care, but she had one request.”
Tara turned to Willow with a “no way” look on her face. “She wanted him to turn her?”
Willow nodded and swayed lightly to the music. “Puts a whole new meaning to the song ‘My Immortal’, eh?” She hugged Tara tightly to her, and they danced for what seemed like hours.
Finally the crowd began to thin as it was getting late. Willow grabbed their jackets, and walked slowly outside with Tara. They walked home together, lost in thought, yet knowing they were on the mending path. They stopped off at the park, and stood on the bridge, looking out into the night sky. So much was needed to be said, and now was the time to do so.
Willow pulled Tara close, holding her hands between her own.
“I never knew a world like this, with the cruelties, the hate, the crime... could hold such an amount of beauty that no man could ever take away.”
She smiled a slow soft smile and reached up with her right hand to caress Tara’s cheek softly and looked into her eyes as if they were the only thing holding her there.
Taking a shaky breath, she continued, “ You are the beauty that lights my path. Lights it up so I may find my way again... and no man will ever take you away. All I ever wanted...was a chance...” her voice cracked, a few tears streaking down her face, but she stared unblinking into Tara’s eyes.
“I love you.”
Those three words… despite how many times… how very many times they were exchanged between the two, they had never meant more than at that very moment. Tara took a shaky breath.
“Goddess Willow...” her voice cracked, as she too, had tears stream down her cheeks. “Don’t you know, that I’ve always been yours?”
She shook her head, almost as if she couldn’t believe Willow could think anything differently.
“You have always been the one I’ve turned to. The one I talked to about everything. You brought me out of me, and taught me things about myself I didn’t know. You helped me like me . No one has ever been able to do that before.” She finished softly.
Tara pulled Willow close, wrapping her arms around her love tightly, holding dearly as if Willow would fade out of her life again, like she had once before.
“I know what’s in our past. I know there’s pain, and I know there’s loss. And I know we’ve both been very confused.” She took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts. “You are my light, Willow Rosenberg. My source. When I reach down inside myself and do things I didn’t think I was capable of, it’s because of you . Don’t you know that by now?”
Willow sniffled and smiled. She didn’t know what to say. She was in total awe, and afraid her voice would crack if she tried to speak.
She felt Tara loosen her grip and pull back slightly. She looked at her questioningly, but only to see Tara reach inside her bag, and pull out a small box. She opened it slowly, and inside rested two small silver rings. The bands were engraved, and had small diamonds lining the sides. In the middle, each had a curved head, a piece of a heart. When the two rings were put together, the heart was completed.
Tara sighed, and took one of the rings out of the box, and slipped it on Willows ring finger.
“I bought these…as a token, of our undying love. I've blessed them, so that no matter what may happen, or come what may, you will know that I love you, and we’re meant to be.”
She placed the second ring on her finger, and laced her fingers with Willows, pulling her close.
Willow opened her mouth to try, but stopped and blushed and started to look down but a gentle hand stopped her and brought her eyes back up to meet the deepest blue she’d ever seen.
“Hey, none of that. That’s my move.” She flashed her famous lopsided grin.
Willow smiled and licked her lips. “Tara, I-” Tara brought her fingers to Willows lips to silence her.
“No. No more talking.”
She leaned in and took captive the lips she’d been dreaming of for months. The lips she yearned for every second of every day. The lips that held promise, and the lips that sealed the promise… of forever.
The End.
~~~~
~N~
Je T'aime, EJ.
"Life is eternal; it has no beginning and no end. The loving friends we meet on our journey return to us time after time. We never die, because we were never really born."
Edited by: SilverWingedNemesis at: 11/21/04 9:13 pm