Hi everyone....
First off, I want to say thank you guys so much for your kind words... they mean a lot. I needed to get my mind off somethings so I decided to write another update... Willow and Tara always make me feel better
taysla: I'm glad you liked the chapter... Tara's been through a lot, for sure... hopefully her future will be bright
. Sorry for the late-ness with the update..
rhr21: Sorry for the tears... I kinda had the same reaction when I read the chapter over.... Let's pray for some angst free
in the future!
Alex_Vixen: Don't know if you can die from being horny... I'll let you know, though!
Sanpfa: Tara's been through a lot.... there will be happiness and sunshine for our girls... eventually, I promise!
Codyteddyh: Glad you liked it! Willow's note will explained, but just not yet!
Bewitchedyke: Glad you're back! You're comments made me smile... and laugh! I've never particpated in drunken Twister myself, but it seemed to have all the right ingredients for where I wanted to go with that chapter.... I thought the fic needed a bit of smut, hence the dream, but I didn't want W/T rushing into anything and getting away from my storyline... glad you liked. It seems like I can't help with put all of the characters in morbidly embarrassing situations that finds them either a) blurting out inappropriate comments, b) falling or c) naked..... Sorry got lost there for a minute thinking about a naked Tara
abarda: Tara's strong like an amazon... she'll use these experiences to push her to something great... I promise! Naked Tara... well, you'll have to read the next chapter to see where that leads!
Zampsa1975: Willow will be there for Tara.... glad you liked the update!
JustSkipIt: Tara will find herself, I hope. Willow's declaration that she will wait forever for Tara is real for her right now... even with them both just meeting and all... Let;s hope that things come together before those 30 years elapse! Thanks again for reading...
Taralicious:
YOu did it again! I can think of a couple of things that I would like more than that..... hmmm, maybe not!
Willowtree252: Awww, thanks... mesmerizing???
Thanks again for all your kind words and support...
Hope you like this chapter!
Chapter 10: Really
******
Have you ever woken up and, before you've opened your eyes to greet the world, known that it was going to be a horrendous day? Have you ever wished that you could press rewind or have a 'do-over'? Have you ever wanted the ground to open up beneath you and swallow you whole?
Tara felt that way today. She lay on the floor of Buffy's bathroom tangled in a tastefully decorative shower curtain. She heard the distinct sounds of the petite blonde losing the contents of her stomach in the porcelain throne. The smell was enough for Tara--located a safe distance away--to gag along with Buffy.
Like a scene being played in slow motion, Tara heard Willow's worried query of her well-being as the door to the bathroom was pushed open from the outside. Unable to do anything but close her eyes in mortification, Tara lay silently on the floor and prayed that Willow would just leave her there.
"Tara? Buffy? What's going on in here? I heard a bang... And then a thump... And maybe a few choice swear words as well," the redhead babbled as she pushed the door fully open and entered.
The vision before her left the redhead speechless. Buffy was retching in the toilet unconcerned with her audience; and Tara-- oh goddess, Tara-- lay in all of her glory, wet and naked on the bathroom floor.
"Um... I-I, ah... Hmmm," Willow sputtered trying to collect herself. Seeing the blonde with her eyes closed and still unmoving, Willow rushed into panic mode.
"Oh my God, Tara!" Willow screamed running to the prone form.
"Tara! Tara! Oh no, oh no, no! Wake up!" Willow pleaded with tears streaming down her face. "You have to wake up," she continued unaware of the stirring of the blonde below her.
Trying to maintain some semblance of her dignity, Tara said softly, "Can you please...just go, Willow. I'm fine. Just go. Please, just leave me alone," Tara whispered trying to cover herself.
"I thought..." Willow trailed off as she realized Tara was fine, just embarrassed if the sight of a full-body blush covering all of her exposed skin was any indication.
Understanding the delicate situation after all they had shared that morning, Willow hastily picked herself up off the floor and ran from the room.
"Idiot! You are such an IDIOT, Rosenberg," Willow berated herself. "Sitting there all with the 'ooh, are you okay' while the poor girl is naked and mortified on the floor. Jeez, tactful much?"
“Idiot.”
*****
Willow's self-flagellation continued unheeded while the two blonde women remained in the bathroom.
Buffy finally finished her puking and was tastefully draped over the toilet trying to regain her breath. Tara managed to remove herself from her sunflower drape and had pushed herself into the corner of the room and had drawn her knees up to her chest. Her arms were clinging to her drawn knees and her head repeatedly banged against her arms.
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," her mantra coincided with the banging. She had not intended to be so harsh with Willow, but the events of the morning--and the previous days for that matter--bombarded the flustered blonde and she spoke without thinking.
"Um, Tare?" Buffy asked wiping drool off the side of her mouth with a forearm. "What just happened?"
Two blue eyes peered up from their downcast position before immediately lowering again. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." The banging continued in time with the chanting.
Shifting herself up from the toilet and gingerly regaining her balance, Buffy tottered over to where her friend was sitting and slid down the wall to join her.
“Tara? Honey? I know it’s gross, but I couldn’t stop it from coming. Once it’s on its way, there’s just no stopping it,” Buffy apologized.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Buffy stated changing her flow of reasoning. “Why are you naked? And what happened to my shower curtain?”
“YouscaredmeIfelltriedtostopitbutcouldn’tWillowcameinsawmenakedtoldhertoleaveImsuchabitch...” Tara mumbled into her arms.
“Huh? Want to try that again in English, Tare?”
“I was in the shower, just about ready to get out when you barged in here. You scared me silly so I slipped. When I tried to catch myself, I took the shower curtain down with me and ended up in a tangled heap on the floor. Willow came in to see what happened and I...” Here Tara stopped her tirade and raised her eyes to Buffy’s.
“I was such a bitch to her, Buffy,” Tara said with tears swimming in her eyes. She impatiently swiped at them to stop their descent.
“She was just trying to help and I-I-I was mean a-and told her to leave me alone.”
“Hey, I’m sure Will understands. You were embarrassed and all with the naked and well, who wants to be seen all drip-y and wet on the floor...” Buffy trailed off as she realized the ramificatieons of the situation.
“She didn’t try anything, did she?” Buffy asked with anger rising in her voice. “Because if she did, so help me God, I will tear a strip in that girl.”
“What was she thinking? I’m so sorry, Tara, I’ll go talk to her now. She’ll apologize, I promise. Even better, I’ll get her to leave. She’s due to leave soon anyway, so...” Buffy finally stopped at Tara placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
“No. Buffy wait. She didn’t...she didn’t do or try anything. She thought I fell and hurt myself and she was trying to help. It’s just that with everything that’s happened in the past few days, and after her comments this morning and our talk afterwards...Just let it go, okay? Nothing happened. Willow didn’t do anything. This is all my fault,” Tara lowered her head again, prepared to spend the rest of her life sitting in the corner of Buffy’s bathroom.
“You stay here and compose yourself. But don’t think I don’t know what’s going on in your head. You have fifteen minutes, missy, and that’s it. Fifteen minutes to get yourself together, get dressed and come out. If you don’t...” Buffy let the threat hang between them as she got up to leave, planning on giving Willow a piece of her mind despite the blonde’s insinuation that she didn’t do anything to upset her.
Tara nodded, remaining silent with her head still hung low.
“Fifteen minutes,” Buffy repeated as the door closed behind her.
********
Stopping off in the kitchen to grab two fresh cups of coffee, Buffy made her way to Willow’s room to confront the redhead on her behaviour—she couldn’t continue on her crusade until she had some caffeine, though.
“Wills?” Buffy called out knocking on the door. She learned her lesson about barging in on people without warning.
“Yeah?” came the muffled reply.
“I need to talk to you. Are you decent?”
Buffy entered the room on Willow’s affirmation. She saw the redhead had gotten back into bed and had pulled the covers over her head. The only thing visible was a small tuft of hair that had escaped.
Buffy placed the coffee mugs on the nightstand to her left and hauled the covers back to reveal a huddled Willow lying in the fetal position with tears streaking down the one side of her face that was visible.
“How can I yell at you when you’re crying?” an exasperated Buffy whined as she slid into the bed with her best friend.
Buffy gently took a sobbing Willow into her arms and started to rock her, crooning and making soothing sounds until the redhead had cried herself out.
“Are you ready to talk now?” Buffy asked gently, stroking her red tresses.
“There’s nothing to say, Buffy. I’m an asshole. An inconsiderate pervy peeping Tom-like imbecile who accosts vulnerable naked women. Why would anyone want to be near me? I’m such a spaz,” Willow mumbled burrowing further into Buffy’s embrace.
“Hey! You can’t call my best friend a spaz.. that’s my job!”
“Seriously, Will, what happened between you guys? I go to sleep in a wonderful wine-induced haze, wake up, puke, and then I have two upset friends and no explanations. Spill.”
“Well, I kind of had a dream last night... Umm, of Tara.” Willow’s faced turned crimson and heated with her remembrance of the realistic romp.
“I fell out of bed and Tara came to check on me. Her actions were exactly like those of my dream, so I thought I was still asleep. I kinda... well let’s just say Spazy McSpazerton put her foot in her mouth AGAIN.”
“I went to apologize to Tara and we talked.” Here Willow paused not knowing how much she should reveal.
“She told me a little about her past and about Lana. I swear if I ever see that slut I will—I will...”
“Get in line, Willow,” Buffy agreed. “So...and then what happened?”
“Well, let’s just say we talked some more and we both said some things to each other... ummm, can I plead the fifth?” Willow asked peeking up at Buffy’s face.
Seeing the determination there Willow continued. “I told her I have feelings for her and that I understand she has to go out in the world and fulfill her dreams. And then I told her I would wait for her; that when she’s ready, I’ll be there.”
“Willow...” Buffy hated to see her friend was hurting but felt that she should warn her against the potential harm that could come from such a statement.
“No, Buffy. You don’t understand! I-I...She makes my heart flutter when she looks into my eyes. Her smile sends shivers down my spine... and oh, goddess, those lips! I could spend an eternity nibbling on those luscious...” Willow trailed off when she saw Buffy’s look of reproach.
“Will, this is just a lust thing. Tara’s gorgeous; I have eyes too, you know. But it’s just really bad timing. Maybe if you guys met a year from now, you would have a chance, but this situation, these things thst are happening are going to hang over the both of you.”
“Buffy, I know what lust is. I’ve been in lust—well, sorta, I mean I’ve been in lust from afar. It’s not like that with Tara. Not that she is not worthy of lust,” Willow sputtered backpedalling at her statement.
“I think this is the real thing, Buffy. My one and only,” Willow admitted sniffing. “And I fucked it up. I royally and totally irreparably fucked it up.”
Buffy’s head jerked at Willow’s word choice. Not that the redhead was a prude who never swore, she just did not usually use such harsh words.
“Well, I’ve said my piece and I am going to leave it at that,” Buffy said and leaned in for a good hard hug. “You’re my best friend, Will and I’ll be there for you no matter what. But I am going to warn you once and only once, so listen carefully.”
“If you and Tara do start something and you hurt her or treat her anything like Lana did, I swear by all that is holy I will find you and you’ll regret it,” Buffy said fiercely.
“Come on, sleepy head, get out of bed,” Buffy said changing gears quickly and hopping out of bed. “I heard that someone was going to make breakfast and I’m STARVING!”
********
Tara stared at her reflection in the mirror. She was still in the bathroom and still filled with self-loathing, but she did not want to be on the receiving end of Buffy’s wrath so she prepared herself for a morning filled with more awkward moments.
She stepped out of the bathroom just as Buffy was emerging from Willow’s room. Seeing Tara drop her head and try to hide behind her hair—a difficult thing to do now that the blonde had cut it off to the chin—Buffy hooked her arm in Tara’s and led her towards the kitchen.
“Come on, let’s go get some coffee,” Buffy said cheerily. “Willow’s cooking breakfast—French toast and fresh fruit. She’ll be along in a moment to start it.”
Tara’s urge to turn and run did not go unnoticed by Buffy. She merely tightened her grip and steered the blonde towards the breakfast nook. Sitting Tara down at one of the settings, Buffy poured them both coffee before taking out the ingredients Willow would need.
“It’s going to be okay, Tara, don’t worry,” Buffy stated vaguely,not specifying what exactly was going to be fine.
Tara decided that at that moment she would start her process in changing her goals. When Willow walked into the kitchen she would not hang her head or stutter an apology. If the redhead mentioned anything she would explain what happened and why she reacted the way she did. She would eat breakfast graciously, thank Buffy for her hospitality, and be on her way. She still had to make an appearance at her family’s home before setting out on her journey. It was best to start as soon as possible.
With a resolve settling on her face, Tara looked directly at Buffy and with a confidence the smaller blonde had not seen from her friend before said, “I know, Buffy. I know.”
*****
Breakfast was a polite affair interspersed with sporadic attempts on Buffy’s part to ease the obvious tension between Willow and Tara.
Food was eaten and enjoyed by all parties and the dishes cleared away. Deciding that the two women needed to clear the air without her hovering, Buffy declared that she was going to work out in her basement gym and then take a shower leaving a perfect opportunity for Willow and Tara to talk in private.
Silence settled over the kitchen as Buffy’s exit left both women searching for an opening to use to discuss what had happened between them that morning.
“Tara—“
“Willow—“
Both women started talking at the same time, effectively causing another awkward moment between them when they both insisted the other should continued with what they were going to say.
Finally Willow spoke up.
“It seems like I always have something to apologize to you for, Tara. I’m sorry for the bathroom incident. I thought you were hurt and didn’t realize that you wanted to be alone. I just can’t seem to control my actions when I’m around you. I’m always sticking my foot in my mouth or accosting you or being overall socially inappropriate. I’m not going to lie and say things like this never happen to me—because I tend to find myself in a pickle quite often to tell you the truth. There was this one time when I was teaching Intro to Anthropology a couple of years ago and I had this male student who seemed to think that he could get an ‘A’ by getting me into bed—“
“Willow,” Tara said cutting off the redhead’s babble. “I get it. You don’t have anything to apologize for. I was embarrassed and I acted like a bitch and it was uncalled for. I’m sorry for saying those things.”
“You had every right to say those things, Tara. You were there naked and I was being all grope-y. But-but I was just worried about you, I swear I would never take advantage of you like that,” Willow finished.
“I know, sweetie,” Tara said finally meeting Willow’s green eyes.
“Let’s just put this behind us, okay?” Tara asked hopefully.
“Totally,” Willow agreed finally letting out the breath she did not realize she was holding.
“Can I ask you something, Tara?” Willow ventured after they had settled into a comfortable silence.
“Sure. Ask away.”
“Well, I know that you have these things you want to do, this journey you have to take in finding yourself. Um, I was just wondering if it would be okay if I, ah, if I could keep in touch with you somehow. Not in some stalker-ish ‘I want to know where you are and what you are doing at all times’ sort of thing. Just, just talk or write or something every now and then.” Willow’s hands were fiddling with the dish cloth still in her hands and her eyes could not meet Tara’s in fear of being rejected wholeheartedly.
“I’m not really sure where I’m going or what I’m going to do yet, Willow,” Tara began. Seeing the dejected slump of the redhead’s shoulders, Tara reached over and removed the dish cloth and took the redhead’s hands in her own.
“But I would like that very much. To talk with you sometimes. Or write.” Tara’s mouth lifted into a half-smile with her admission.
“Really?” Willow said in excitement, her eyes lighting up like a child on Christmas morning.
“Really,” Tara replied giving the redhead’s hand a squeeze.
*******
TBC.... I hope this is not moving too slowly for you guys... I'm trying to move it along, but I want this story to be a meaty one
Let me what you think....
by taralicious » Tue May 25, 2010 5:38 pm 
Well, not too long of course lol Great job and keep up the wonderful writing!
ITS 1 OF MY FAVS!!!!!
