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UPDATE - Very quick update, God bless shirrey for her quick beta powers.
WARNING - So, Tara's dad has some kind of long COVID (Yes, the pandemic happened in this fic) it's going to be a difficult one to explain but I've based it on my own fathers current experience, so while it may seem a little bizarre it's actually 95% based on a real persons experience. If you know someone who has suffered badly because of COVID or struggle with a sick parent this may be difficult for you to read, so I just want ya'll to be aware ahead of time.
Chapter 2 Well, This Is Awkward
“FAITH! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!”
When no response came, Willow threw the blanket off of her legs and jumped out of the bed.
Quickly realising she had slept nude, she threw on the nearest shirt she could find and a pair of PJ bottoms that she had left on the floor, then stormed out of her room and pounded on the door to the room left of hers.
She waited for an audible sign from her roommate but was met with silence. She pounded harder.
“FAITH! EITHER ANSWER ME, OR I’M COMING IN!” She gave Faith the kindness of five seconds before barging the door open, discovering an unconscious tangle of limbs on her roommate's bed.
Faith’s head was flat on the surface of the bed, too far down it to reach the pillow, with a small pool of drool collecting on the sheet.
Another head was resting on Faith’s naked stomach, the unknown woman’s arm was draped across the top of Faith’s thighs, thankfully covering most of her intimate area.
Their legs were spread akimbo across the rest of the bed, Willow presumed they had passed out not long after some drunken lewd activity.
Willow let out a huff of frustration at the sight, and picked up Faith’s T-shirt from the floor and then launched it towards her sleeping roommate's face.
Upon impact, Faith let out a throaty “aaarrrgghh” while scrunching her face up, but refusing to open her eyes.
“Whaaaaaaaat” she eventually uttered.
“I apparently have a DATE tonight with some woman I know nothing about?!” Willow seethed accusingly, while the unconscious woman also slowly started to wake on Faith’s stomach.
“Oh yeah” Faith confirmed nonchalantly, rubbing her head slightly to try and focus herself.
The woman on Faith’s stomach let out a tiny “eep” sound upon gaining enough consciousness to see someone else in the room with their nude forms and tried to hide herself behind Faith a little.
Willow noticed the move and kept her eyes on Faith but addressed the woman, while raising her hand up to cover the woman's modesty.
“I’m sorry, whoever you are, I’m not looking, my name’s Willow by the way, sorry we’re having to meet like this but your recent sexual partner is a menace to society and also, a total asshole”
Faith slightly protested with a defensive “hey!” before throwing on the T-shirt that previously acted as a weapon. She stood up and took her time going to her chest of drawers to find underwear and trousers while the mystery woman flung the blanket over herself and hid her head under it.
“So?” Willow impatiently asked, waiting for Faith to change and being completely unphased by her nudity.
“I don’t know dude, you thought she was pretty and I just wanted you to actually try and get out there for once, she seemed really nice. Did you read the messages?”
“Yeah, there weren’t many of them to get through. All there is on there to know about her is she’s my age and she’s moved back to Sunnydale.”
“Did you check her profile, Will? She’s a teacher. You loved school, it’s a perfect match!” Faith shrugged out her sentence while finishing dressing. She then picked up some random clothes from the floor, threw them on the bed and said “I’ll put the coffee on, babe” and gestured with her head to Willow for them to head out the door.
They both walked down the hallway and into the small open plan space of the apartment. The front door was opposite the hallway, with the small kitchen situated to the left and the living room to the right.
Faith started making 3 cups of coffee while Willow sat at the kitchen island staring daggers into her back.
“Okay, so she’s a teacher - she’s still a total stranger, what am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to take her? What the hell are we going to talk about? What if I don’t like her? Or more than likely, what if she doesn’t like me?!” Willow's sentences burst from her in seemingly one breath, each word gaining speed as her anxiety caught up with her.
“Dude!” Faith interrupted, smacking her hand on the counter top. She turned and sighed at her friend.
“You’ve got to stop this. You’re attractive, you’re young, you’re super smart, you have a steady job during the day and you kick fucking ass on the drums at night - What self respecting, sappho loving woman wouldn’t wanna tap that?” Faiths smiled surprisingly gently at the end of her sentence, handing Willow her cup of coffee as she did so.
Willow smiled slightly and blushed at the compliment.
“Thanks. Who’s the girl by the way?” Willow enquired.
“Fuck if I know” Faith shrugged.
—----------------------------
Tara scrolled through the photos on Willow’s profile for what felt like the 100th time that morning. Her long red hair seemed so similar to the girl she kissed once five years ago, but could never really forget. She probably wasn’t the same woman but Tara found herself captivated all the same.
She sighed and put the phone down, telling herself that getting attached to just the concept of a person was ridiculous and that there were many hours until the evening with Willow, and she needed to focus.
Her father’s illness had struck the family with its ambiguous nature and unpredictable outcomes. During the pandemic, her parents had both had COVID and her mother had recovered fine, but her father had ongoing symptoms and long term difficulties that doctors were completely confused by.
The term “long covid” was thrown around a lot, some doctors didn’t believe in it, others did but were quick to point out that the condition was in such an infancy that there was no reasonable method of treating it and too many differentiating symptoms for true medical progress to be made. All they could do was assess her father’s symptoms as and when they appeared and address them accordingly.
His main issues were with his mobility, fatigue, chest pain, brain fog and difficulty swallowing. He was being treated for some of these issues with strong medication that unfortunately made his fatigue even worse, resulting in him only being conscious for a handful of hours a day.
Tara had moved back home to help her mother with him - the older woman not being strong enough to physically lift him when need be, and helping with some of his more intimate care had taken a large toll.
While her mother was out shopping, Tara stepped into the living room - which now had her fathers hospital bed in it - to check in on him.
Her fathers tired but happy smile greeted her as she walked in, and she beamed back.
“Daddy, you’re awake!” She grinned, taking a seat next to his bed.
“I am and I’m so happy to see you, pumpkin!” He gestured his arms for her to lean over and give him a hug.
“How are you feeling?” She asked him seriously.
“Eh, I’m okay. Did a 25k jog this morning, lifted some weights, you know the usual - just thought I’d take a load off for a moment” he joked.
Tara good naturedly rolled her eyes.
“I see despite all of your problems, your humour is unfortunately intact” she retorted.
“Well, you’ve got to laugh, haven’t you?” he responded, more seriously.
She nodded, trying not to add to the sombre tone.
“So then, are you all unpacked? Starting the new job soon? Phoned up any old friends? Tell your old man!” he prodded, trying to distract them both from the darker turn of conversation.
“Yes to the unpacked. I’m starting at the high school on Monday so not long now and no old friends to really contact, although…`` She started to speak but then caught herself a little too late, hoping her father wouldn’t push.
“Although? … “ he added, waiting for her to finish her sentence.
“I have a date this evening” she replied back evenly.
“Oh that’s good, with who?” He asked with a small smile.
“Her name is Willow” She didn’t meet his eye when she said it.
“Ah. her. So… that’s still happening, is it?” He asked awkwardly.
“Dad..” she said in a warning tone.
“I’m just surprised, I figured it was a college phase… you young ones are apparently all gay now…” he started to roll his eyes.
“Dad” she said, firmer this time.
He stopped and sighed.
“I’m sorry, pumpkin. I don’t mean to be difficult. Just hard to take in, things keep changing and I’m old and literally falling apart at this point” his voice cracking as his frustration grew.
“Daddy, I love you. You love me too, right?” Tara spoke, gently.
“Of course I do, you know I do” he implored, reaching his hand out for hers.
“Then you want me to be happy and be myself, right?” she pushed slightly, with a small smile on her face.
He looked into her eyes, feeling his dampen a little.
“I do. I know. I’m trying, pumpkin. I’m trying.” he gripped her hand tighter.
“I know,” she said quietly.
“Now, how about I make you some breakfast?” she asked.
“Finally!” he bellowed with a chuckle.
—-----------------------
Willow had messaged Tara the address of a lounge bar for their date that evening. Tara, not knowing much about Sunnydale’s current nightlife, didn’t know what to expect so she had worn a plain navy dress, matching heels and some small and simple jewellery. Not one for dating often, she tried to dress more confidently than she felt, so she chose a dress that showed a hint of cleavage.
As she walked through the door, she saw that the room was warmly decorated with deep brown wooden tables, chairs, and the main bar while all the upholstery was a textured dark red, creating an inviting and almost seductive atmosphere. There was a pianist in the corner, performing incredibly mundane light jazz that’s only purpose was to fill the silence, something Tara silently appreciated.
According to the signs around, Tara was happy to note that while it seemed more of a drinking establishment that they actually served food in the form of small sharing plates and some tapas.
She scanned the bar for any sign of the long haired red head she was hoping to meet when a beautiful woman with very short red hair approached her.
“Hi, Tara, did you find the place okay?” Willow asked, feeling incredibly nervous and desperately trying to stop herself from looking Tara up and down.
She had spent the whole day panicking about the evening that she didn’t consider actually being blown away by how gorgeous this woman would be in real life.
“Whoa. Your hair… in your pictures your hair is quite long” Tara commented, taking a moment to register that Willow was the same woman with a vastly different look. Her hair was shaved short around the back and sides but raised slightly on top, housing a strategically spikey look that curled forward on the right side, creating a small styled quiff.
As surprised as she was, Tara found the look incredibly sexy. She quickly scanned the rest of the redhead and appreciated the simple white blouse she wore with black slacks. The almost formal attire juxtaposed wonderfully with the informal hairdo and Tara found it intriguing.
“Oh. right. The pictures… I haven’t updated that profile in quite some time” Willow blushed, hoping Tara didn’t ask too many questions about the app as she didn’t even set it up and didn’t actually know what pictures of her, or what information for that matter, was available on it.
“That’s fair enough” Tara muttered awkwardly, feeling bad for bringing attention to the woman's difference in looks. She had to resist the urge to touch the short hair.
“Um, shall we grab a table?” Willow offered, pointing to the booths towards the back of the room.
Tara nodded shyly and they walked side by side before taking their seats.
“So…” Willow started, realising quickly she had absolutely no idea what to say.
“... Hi?” Tara responded, smiling but completely lost about blind date etiquette.
They both giggled uncomfortably, and then continued to sit in silence for a few agonising seconds.
“I have no idea what to say,” Willow admitted.
“Oh thank God, me neither” Tara laughed, thanking whatever deities exist that Willow joined in with her laughter.
“I don’t do this, the online dating thing, to be honest with you” Tara offered.
“Me neither, I’ve never done much of any dating to tell you the truth” as soon as the sentence left her mouth Willow internally swore, wishing she hadn’t shown how much of an inexperienced virgin she was out of the gate.
“Well, we’re both newbies. Hopefully we can work this out together?” The hopeful smile Tara gave Willow made her melt a little in her seat.
“I hope so.” Willow smiled back.
And then the uncomfortable silence returned.
Desperate to break it, Willow suddenly jumped into a short babble.
“Shall we look at ordering some food? They do some sharing plates, so we could order a few different things. If you want to share, that is. I mean it depends on how hungry you are really, we could go somewhere else if you wanted a big meal but I’d heard this place had a variety of options so I thought it could be good if it turned out you were vegan or gluten intolerant or some other condition I’m not privy to - ” Willow felt silly explaining the concept of the restaurant, as it wasn’t exactly rocket science, but managed to stop mid babble as she saw Tara start to stifle a giggle at her speech.
“This restaurant is fine, sharing plates sound good” Tara offered before the girl continued, and they discussed a few options to order, discovering that a lot of their tastes overlapped.
Willow went to the bar and ordered their food, returning with a tray of drinks for each of them.
“It occurred to me I didn’t ask what you wanted to drink before going up to order and I didn’t want to get the wrong thing so I’ve got water, a beer, a mojito and a lemonade. I uh, didn’t know if you drank alcohol. Have whichever you like!” Willow beamed at Tara while she set the tray down.
Tara did a little dance in her head, her internal monologue repeatedly screaming she’s so cute! Before choosing a drink.
“I’ll take the Mojito, thank you for the options thats… that’s very thoughtful” she gave the redhead a half smile.
“Well, I think a lot,” Willow shrugged and smirked, hoping their sense of humour would gel. She was delighted when Tara responded with a chuckle.
“So your profile says you’re a teacher?” Willow enquired, wanting to get to know the blonde better.
“Yes, I’m actually due to start at Sunnydale High on Monday.”
“Oh wow, my old high school - if you see “Faith Rules, Willow Drools” scrawled into a table just know that’s my friend's handiwork and not mine.” The blonde snorted into her drink a little bit, finding the little quirks of Willow’s personality absolutely charming.
“It’s actually my old high school, too.” Tara admitted.
“Whaaat there’s no way a hottie like you was in our high school and I didn’t notice!” Willow responded without thinking and yet again internally cursed herself for speaking, ever.
“Well, I kept to myself. I don’t think I spoke two words the entire time I was there and I left pretty much immediately after graduation” Tara explained, thankfully ignoring Willow’s ‘hottie’ comment.
“I mean, that was 5 years ago. What brought you back home?” Willow enquired, still surprised she had no memory of the blonde in school with her.
“My dad… he uh, he got really sick with COVID and it has messed him up, kind of a lot. I moved home to help my mother take care of him” she didn’t want to sour their conversation but didn’t know how else to answer the question.
“Oh. Wow. I’m so sorry.” Willow reached across the table to cover Tara’s hand with her own in a comforting gesture, and swore she could feel a spark between them as soon as their skin connected.
Tara appreciated the move and smiled up at the adorable redhead.
“So what do you do? Your profile focused on the band stuff but do you have a day job?” Tara asked, wanting equally to know more about the woman in front of her.
“Oh yeah haha, I run my own computer company - well, it’s just me - essentially I go to people's homes and fix their computers. I get to organise my own hours this way and it saves people money, shops tend to charge more than I think is necessarily fair. I majored in computer science and I just love technology in general, so it’s easy enjoyable work that pays the bills”.
Tara noticed how Willow seemed more comfortable when she was talking about her work and liked seeing the slightly calmer side to the girl.
“That’s actually great to know, my mothers home computer has been performing really slowly - we’re not a tech savvy household” Tara blushed slightly at the admittance hoping her tech-ineptitude wouldn’t put Willow off her.
Willow grinned in response “Oh I’d happily come over and take a look! If uh, if you’d like to see me again, I mean” Willow blushed at the eagerness in her own voice.
“I would love that” Tara smiled, and Willow was thankful that the date had started to go well.
That feeling was swiftly ruined by the arrival of their waitress with their various plates of food.
“I have the loaded fries with… oh, Willow. Didn’t realise you were here” the brunette smiled and pushed her chest out slightly after noticing Willow in the booth.
Tara raised an eyebrow at the exchange, immediately uncomfortable.
“Uh, Amy. hi.” Willow’s face drained of any colour, wondering when Amy started working here and when the world decided she needed a good shitting on.
“Are you guys playing tonight?” Amy completely ignored Tara and leaned on the side of the booth next to Willow, towering over the woman slightly.
“No, our next show is out of town” Willow responded politely, wanting the exchange to be over.
“Well” Amy smiled at her, putting the plates on the table.
“Let me know when your next show is, maybe I’ll stop by. Especially as you’re apparently available now” her eyes pointedly moved towards Tara as she mentioned being “available” and then she turned and left the table without a word.
There was a silent beat between the pair as the food sat between them.
“That was uh…” Willow started attempting to explain.
“Amy”
“Uh yeah, she’s a bit forward” that was quite the understatement, Tara felt.
“Is she an ex of yours?” The blonde asked directly.
“No! God no. She’s terrifying.” Willow admitted. She paused, knowing she’d need to continue as she saw the patient but slightly confused look on Tara’s face.
“She has been to my band's shows a few times, always very flirty with me but I’ve always said no, I kinda told her I was straight? And I guess she put two and two together and came up with lesbian”.
“She seems reasonably attractive, why did you never consider her?” Tara asked, despite herself.
“She’s not what I’m looking for, I’m looking for something real… you know?” Willow met her gaze as she said this, knowing it was way too soon to have a serious conversation about their nonexistent relationship.
“Yeah, I know,” Tara smiled. “So what made you contact me last night?”
Willow stalled, and muttered a fuck in her head.
“Uh… well… I kind of didn’t?” Willow’s voice raised strangely at the confession.
“What do you mean?”
“Uh… okay, please don’t take this poorly. I was drinking with my guitarist after we played last night. She’s the one who put the app on my phone, did my profile, everything. Anyway she was nagging me about dating and opened the app and she showed me your picture and I said how pretty you were and then I went to the bathroom and I woke up this morning and I had a date with you and I yelled at her because I had no idea but I really did think you were pretty and felt like we should have the date anyway because who knows this could kind of be fate you know and I just didn’t know how things would go and then I showed up and you were absolutely breathtaking and it feels like my foot has taken permanent residence in my mouth since we’ve been here but I, I think you’re really nice and I’d love to get to know you better if I could just stop embarrassing myself for one damn second!” Willow stopped, due to lack of oxygen and breathed slowly for a second.
Tara took a few seconds to process the outburst, and to take account of her feelings.
Immediately she felt embarrassed that Willow wasn’t the one who sought her out, which knocked her confidence a little, however Willow clearly found her attractive and her babbling, while self deprecating, was adorable and passionate and she couldn’t help but find the redhead intriguing.
“It’s okay” Tara said gently, letting the combination of feelings relax in her chest.
“I’m really sorry” Willow tacked on, feeling like that wasn’t enough.
“I guess... It doesn’t matter how we got here, as long as we have a good time?” Tara offered, not wanting to ruin the evening.
Willow smiled up at her in gratitude, and then picked up one of the plates, presenting it forward.
“Fries?”
—----------------------
After their meal and some light getting-to-know-you talking, the women headed out of the bar towards the parking lot.
“Uh, before you go I actually… kind of made you something” Willow admitted.
“Really?” Tara asked, pleasantly surprised.
Willow started speaking while reaching into her car and pulling out a round tin.
“Well sort of. I bake when I’m stressed, and I made a batch of cookies today and I thought you might like one? You obviously don’t have to have one, you might not even like cookies! I mean, I don’t know how anyone couldn’t like cookies but we still don’t know each other very well and well people can be interesting but if you do like cookies…” Willow’s babble was interrupted again by Tara pressing a finger against her lip.
“Your babble is adorable” Tara stated, enjoying the brief closeness of the exchange.
Willow’s eyes went wide and struggling for anything to do or say, she awkwardly pushed the tin up between them.
“Cookie?”
Tara giggled and opened the tin, accepting a cookie.
She chewed thoughtfully, consuming half the cookie, wanting Willow to know she was appreciating the gesture.
“Mmm” she moaned happily around the cookie, which caused an involuntary spark to run down Willow’s spine.
“Good?” She asked, eager to please the beautiful blonde.
“Great actually - I love the chocolate, and the texture is just right!” Tara happily swallowed the last of her cookie.
“Thank you that’s good to know” Willow grinned at the accomplishment “When would you like me to check out your mom’s computer?” Willow asked, desperate for an opportunity to see her again.
“Oh, it depends on when you’re free…” Tara started to say.
“I’m free tomorrow” Willow supplied.
“Tomorrow works” Tara smiled, but her smile turned into a concerned look when she felt her chest tighten and her mouth started to feel strange.
She pressed her fingers to her lips and noticed the inflammation.
“Willow… was there peanut butter in that cookie?”
—-------------------------
A few hours later, the pair stood outside the hospital. Willow rushed Tara there after realising she was having an anaphylactic shock and didn’t bring her epi pen. Tara felt mostly okay after being treated, just exhausted at the surprising turn of events.
“So…” Willow started, having no idea what to say now.
“As first dates go… this is probably your worst, right?” Willow offered, heart broken at how everything panned out.
Tara, despite herself, burst out laughing.
END OF CHAPTER 2
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- I am a poster girl with no poster, I am 32 flavours and then some -
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Willow is pretty forward with her kiss. Bummer that this cute meeting wasn't the start to more - but thanks to Faith this is about to change in the present.
Go Faith! Helping Willow find her soulmate isn't dumb at all.
You will surely feel the need to profusely thank her soon! I can't wait for their first date, hopefully Willow will remember Tara then.
