TITLE: Racing The Rain
AUTHOR: Finey_McFine
RATING: PG13
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other BtVS characters, as well as some random dialog, belong to Mutant Enemy.
SUMMARY: Totally AU, Willow and Tara Meet with not so surprising results! Set in LA with lots of W/T fluff and a little teeny tiny bit of angst, but no Hellmouthyness. Just good old regular day-to-day drama.
FEEDBACK: OK
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hello Kittens! I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday! I actually got a break from all the kids in my house and decided to take the opportunity to post an update:) Enjoy!
Chapter 11: Rounding The Bases
After dropping Tara off, Willow stopped by the grocery store on the way home. Picking up some essentials for the week ahead and a few things for her Monday night dinner date. Tara was constantly on her mind and she was missing her already.
For Willow, the past couple days had been a watershed of sorts. In her scant few years of dating experience, she had never let anyone get this emotionally close. There was just something about Tara that Willow could not resist. The way she walked, the heavenly sound of her voice, her laugh…there was nothing that Willow didn’t like. Usually, after a date or two, Willow could name a whole host of reasons not to ever see that person again, but she could find no faults with the blonde. She thought about how Tara touched her and gazed deep into her eyes. The feeling of her soft plump lips grazing hers, the mere thought, sending shivers up her spine. She trusted Tara explicitly.
She was snapped from her reverie by a scratchy voice billowing over the stores PA system, announcing that they were closing in 15 minutes. Willow looked up and realized that she had been standing idle, for God knows how long, in the produce section with a head of lettuce in her hand and a cucumber in the other.
She got in line for the only cash register that was open and glanced around at the various magazines on the rack, her eyes stopping on the latest issue of Flair. A faint smile crossed her lips and she walked over and picked it up. There on the cover was her beautiful girl, the headline reading, ‘Catch up with America’s Sweetheart, Tara Maclay.’
“A Tara Maclay fan huh?” Said a young man that was in line behind her, tightly clutching a case of beer. She glanced at him over her shoulder.
“Huh? Yeah.” She answered, thrown a bit by his intrusion into her personal space. She turned her back to him, trying to ignore him and hoping that he got the hint.
“She’s fucking hot, but not as hot as you.” He said loudly, resting his eyes on Willow’s ass. “I’d definitely like to tap that!” He said, giving his pals a high five. Willow turned towards the boy, who was now grinning like an idiot.
“What?!” That’s it? That’s the best you’ve got? Dude, you seriously need to get a life and a few new pick up lines.” She turned pushing her cart forward and began to place her items on the conveyor belt.
“Ok then, how’d you like to share that bottle of wine with me? I might even let you round the bases.” He said to Willow, licking his lips and winking.
Willow spun on her heels with the bottle of wine, turning around and facing the boy again. “Oh, you mean this bottle of wine?” Willow said seductively, gently stroking the long neck of the bottle with her slender fingers.
“Yeah, now that’s what I’m talking about!” The boy exclaimed, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“So, let me get this straight, if I agree to share this, I may get lucky enough to play ball with you and your friends?”
“Well, only if you let me bat first!” He countered.
“Well, I hate to burst you super intelligent analogy bubble, but I bat for the other team. Sorry Dude, but you just struck out.” She said smugly, as the cashier snorted, trying to hold back her laughter.
The young man was left with his mouth hanging open, effectively rendered speechless by the feisty redhead. His friends were whooping and punching his shoulder.
“What’s the matter? Lesbian got your tongue?” Willow said, smirking at the young man.
As she approached the cashier to pay, the young girl held up her hand and Willow high fived her, causing several other people in line to laugh out loud. She loaded her cart and made a quick exit. Willow knew all too well about guys like the one she’d just encountered, especially ones that traveled in packs.
Twenty minutes later she was sitting on her couch, eating a grilled cheese sandwich and reading Flair magazine. Her mind began to wander with random thoughts before she could even finish the article.
The last week with Tara had been surreal. Willow was fairly resigned and had become accustom to sticking to a routine, but everything changed that day in the park. Not only had she not imagined meeting someone, but that someone had turned out to be a real someone. Which to this point had not fully sunk in. Willow seldom thought of Tara as an uber-celebrity, but after seeing her on the cover of the magazine, billed as ‘America’s Sweetheart’ no less, reality started to sink in and the blonde was right.
Willow’s active mind began to churn out question after question. Would she be able to do something as innocent as grocery shop anonymously ever again? Would she be able to protect herself or Tara from guys like the one in line without it ending up in the tabloids? “Tara Maclay’s Gal Pal Attacks Helpless Innocent Straight Guy” Would they be chased by Paparazzi 24/7? Would she be portrayed as the evil lesbian that corrupted ‘America’s Sweetheart’ and turned her into ‘America’s Flaming Dyke?’ “Is it worth it?” She said out loud.
The logical side of Willow was taking over. Everything had moved at warp speed the last week and she hadn’t really taken the time to just sit and think. Now, finally alone in the quiet of the night, Willow’s mind remained in overdrive. She sat for a while and contemplated the consequences of a relationship with Tara, weighing the pros and cons. She even made a list using a system of different colored pens. After a significant amount of time spent over analyzing and running a thousand scenarios through her head, she gave up.
She sighed deeply, closing the magazine and tossing it onto the table next to her, then tore up the list and threw it in the trash. She decided it was time to face the preverbal music. She reached into her pocket, pulled out her cell and dialed Morgan’s number.
“Hey Morg-y! Sorry I’m calling so late, but I promised I would and a promise is a promise. So, what’s up?” She greeted her friend cheerfully.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” Morgan inquired.
Willow let out a sigh, she could tell that her friend was in a mood by the tone in her voice and was already wishing she hadn’t called. “Okaaay…so, what would you like to know?”
“Please don’t take this the wrong way but well, your ‘Willow.’ You don’t date…ever. Then you meet this woman and not just any woman, but this super hot TV actress movie star type woman.” Morgan spat out, sounding bitter. “You bring her to a game, you take her on a date, she spends the night and the entire next day with you. Tara Maclay, hanging with Willow Rosenberg: College student and resident geek whose entire apartment could probably fit in her garage. It just doesn’t add up.”
“Morgan, where is this coming from? What are you saying, that I’m not good enough for her? That I’m some kind of science project? You don’t even know her.” Willow was trying to stay clam, but could feel the anger rising.
“Neither do you Willow, that’s my point, and you’re already jumping into the sack. I mean you’ve waited forever and now you boink the first chick that comes along” Morgan’s voice taking on a high-pitched squeaky quality.
“Who said anything about me sleeping with her? And what if I did?” Willow was getting more and more ticked off by the second.
“Will, She’s Tara friggin’ Maclay for Gods sake! She could have ANYONE and probably already has. You’re probably just another notch in her-”
“STOP! ENOUGH.” she shouted forcefully, cutting Morgan off mid sentence. Willow was furious, to put it mildly and Morgan was about to find out just how far over the line she’d crossed.
“DO NOT say another word. First of all, what I do in the privacy of my own home is none of your God Damn business Morgan. You’re sticking your nose in places it doesn’t belong, only one of a hundred reasons why we don’t live together anymore. Second, don’t you EVER make those assumptions about Tara again. You don’t know ANYTHING about her. Granted, I haven’t known her very long, but I know her a hell of a lot better than you.” Willow was livid and was now pacing in front of her couch. She waited for a reply, but was met with silence. Then it hit her.
“Huh…I just got it, you’re jealous. You can’t stand the fact that I met someone, someone that I genuinely like. I thought we were past all this shit. You’re supposed to be my friend. You’re supposed to listen to me, to be there and not judge me. Oh and just for the record, you don’t know me as well as you think you do.” Willow paused, her chest was tight and her breathing labored. She struggled to keep herself under some modicum of control; angry tears were streaming down a very red face. She took a deep breath; the last thing she wanted was to let Morgan hear her crying.
“Willow,” Morgan said, with an eerily calm voice, “Don’t you see it? This girl is just looking for a little plaything to occupy her time until she moves on to something bigger and better. Do you think she’s gonna take you places? Risk her precious rep by getting photographed with you? Will, I’m just looking out for you, I care about you and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“No Morgan…you’re scared. This conversation is over, good night.” Willow hung up and the sobs set in.
*************************************************
Tara awoke with a heavy groan to the annoying buzz of her alarm clock. Morning had come much too fast for her liking. She slapped the offending clock to quell the noise and rolled over, stretching her arm across the empty space in her bed. “No Willow,” she sighed.
She laid there for a few more minutes before heading to the bathroom to take a quick wake up shower. She dressed, gathered some things together, along with Ralphie and made her way through the kitchen to the garage. She opened the garage door, depositing her bag in the car and followed her limping dog out to the grass. The sun was just beginning to rise, the dew was glistening on the grass and the scent of honeysuckle was thick in the air. After a few minutes she glanced at her watch and called to Ralphie. Tara got them settled in the car and began to back out of the garage when she heard the familiar jingle on her cell, indicating that she had a text message. She stopped the car once it was out of the garage and rooted for her phone in her purse.
“Willow…” Tara breathed.
‘Good morning beautiful’
‘Good morning sweetheart. What are you doing up so early?’
‘Couldn’t sleep…miss u’
‘I miss u too, but u need to sleep. U have a long day ahead of u.’
‘I’m fine. I need to catch up on my homework b4 class anyway. Was kinda distracted the last few days, lol’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘No, no, no!! Absolutely NO sorries. It was totally worth it!’
‘Yes, it was’
‘I don’t want to keep you…have a good day at work & I’ll see u tonight’
‘Ok Will…see u tonight?’
Tara tucked the phone back into her purse and sighed.
*****************************************************
Willow lay in her bed, clutching her phone and cuddled with the pillow Tara had slept on the night before.
She’d been lying there for at least 20 minutes after texting with Tara, re-playing her conversation with Morgan over and over in her head. She wondered if she’d overreacted or had done the right thing in shutting her down and hanging up the phone. One thing was for sure; practice was going to be long and tedious.
The redhead got up and headed to the bathroom to take a shower, “Ugh,” she grunted when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Willow’s head ached and her eyes were swollen and puffy. She was pulled from her mirror image by a soft knock at her front door.
Willow quickly opened the door to find the blonde holding two cups of coffee, a small bag and Ralphie on a leash.
“Tara! What are you doing here? Is everything ok?” Willow said as she relieved the blonde of the coffee cups.
“Hi, I wanted to surprise you. I had a little time so…here I am. I-I hope it’s ok, I didn’t mean to intrude.” She said giving Willow the sweet lopsided smile that was only for her.
“C’mere,” Willow pulled Tara towards her and kissed her soundly, leaving Tara breathless. “It really is a good morning.” The redhead quipped as she knelt down to greet the little dog.
Tara stepped inside and was finally able to get a good look at Willow. She noticed the puffiness surrounding her eyes immediately.
“Willow, Baby what’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying,” a look of concern crossing Tara’s face.
“What? No, no it must be allergies. I’m fine, finey-mcfine-fine.” Willow said nervously, as she averted Tara’s intense stare.
“Will, l-look at me. Please? Y-You can tell me anything.”
“Tare, it’s nothing really. I called Morgan after I got home and we just had a little disagreement that’s all.” Willow said hoping that would suffice.
“Minor disagreements don’t make someone cry so much that their eyes are still swollen and puffy the next morning. What did she say to you?” Tara said, a little more forceful than she meant to and with zero hint of a stutter. The idea of someone making Willow cry sent the blonde into ultra mega protective mode and even she was surprised by her reaction. “I’m s-sorry, I don’t know where th-that came from. It’s really n-none of my b-business. I shouldn’t have barged in, I’ll just go.” She said, attemping to turn away from Willow.
“Baby, come here and sit with me.” Willow said pulling Tara with her to the couch. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, I do. It’s just that my head is kinda throb-y right now and we don’t have very much time together. I’d rather snuggle a little and feed you some of these delicious donuts you brought.” She said sweetly smiling up at Tara and popping a bite of the sugary snack into Tara’s mouth. “Do you get it, at all?”
“I do.”
“I promise we’ll talk tonight, ok?”
Tara simply nodded her head and Willow fed her another piece of the donut. “Hey, no sad faces. Especially not when there’s sugar-y goodness and mocha’s involved.” Willow leaned forward and pressed a long sweet kiss to Tara’s lips.
“Mmhmm, much sweeter and tastier than that donut.” Tara said as she took Willow’s hand and licked the redhead’s fingers clean, one at a time, never losing eye contact.
“Tara Maclay, you are such an incredible tease.” Willow breathed.
“Who said anything about teasing?”
Willow reached out and tangled her other hand in Tara’s golden tresses. She pulled Tara forward and crushed their lips together in a steamy kiss. They stayed that way for longer than either had planned, completely loosing track time.
“Willow…” Tara whispered.
“I know, you have to go.” Willow replied and continued to plant short kisses on Tara’s luscious lips.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t plan on…”
“It’s ok, I guess we just can’t be trusted to be alone in the same room together.” Willow smiled.
“So, I’ll see you tonight then?” Tara asked, as she stood and straightened her blouse, pulling Willow up with her.
“Uh huh, right after practice.” Willow gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She grabbed the bag with the last donut and handed it to Tara.
“Oh Will, you go ahead and eat it.” Trying to hand it back to Willow.
“How about we split it?”
“Deal.”
Willow opened the bag and pulled the last donut apart and fed Tara her half, causing a slight giggle from both girls. As Tara gathered Ralphie and prepared to leave, Willow pulled her in for another sugar-y kiss, before sending the blonde on her way.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! See you all on the flipside!!!!
the next update has a bit less drama and a bit more 
and gay love.. I will be w8ting with nervous anticipation!!!
...
hope it won't take long !
.AWESOME update..I was just captivated and saw the whole thing play out in my head..and it was in HD too..lol..
Thank you, Ms. McFine!
