Dear Kittens-Reading-This-Thread, Including-You-Lurker-Types: Thank you all for reading the weird things that pop into my head. I hope you all enjoy the latest. Sorry it took awhile. But it was much sooner than a year, so that's better, right?
Oh, and I added an index to the first page of this thread with links to individual vignettes. Enough people have said these are on their re-read list that I thought it might be handy and helpful.
**vampyregurl73: Thank you - I'm really glad you liked it. It was, in fact, a rainy day when I wrote this and I was, in fact, feeling rather pensive. I think of Tara as being a "Still Waters Run Deep" type of person, and that's what I was trying to convey with this. That ... ineffable feeling ... that rain brings, when you take the time to appreciate it, is actually the same feeling I think Willow gets when she takes the time to stop and pause and appreciate Tara.
And no worries about re-quoting that particular line. It really is the one-sentence summation of the theme of that particular vignette, so it bears repeating. Of all the vignettes I've ever written, this is the one that can be described as: Sassette Explains Why Willow and Tara >Just Work<.
Because they really do. Fabulous couple.
**Matrim: Aww, shucks. Not only the warm fuzzy feeling of causing a de-lurking, but you're tossing around the word 'masterpiece'? Double-shucks. And some shy foot-scuffing.
But thank you - I'm really glad you've gotten so much enjoyment out of the Vignette Series. I've certainly enjoyed writing them, but I know I wouldn't have if I didn't have Pens to post them on and Kittens to share them with, so ... that works out. And, no - getting your dose of W/T does not sound wrong here. That's what Pens is >for<. You have seriously come to the right place.
Y'know, the joy of writing fanfic is getting to ignore canon. Not that I generally ignore canon - most of my stuff fits, even if its silly - but I get the emphasize the pieces of characterization that speak to me, and downplay the others. Scoobies ultimately love each other and are totally loyal and supportive? Yes, yes, and yes some more. Going through rough patches with each other? Eh - these things happen in friendships, but I exercise my right to ... not go there. I like writing about characters that I like, and I don't like them much when they're neglecting each other or getting all selfishly caught up in their own drama to the detriment of their seriously-important world-saving group. So ... plotless ficlets ... no need for interpersonal drama when the purpose is silliness, cuteness, and general happy-tinglies.
Heh - I'm glad you mentioned 'Gratuitous Truant Us' ... partly because I totally and shamelessly dig that title. I'm going to go re-read it after I post this.
As for all of those quotes - thank you. It's seriously flattering when someone takes the time to pull quotes out of individual vignettes - especially so far back. Thank you for de-lurking, and again, I'm really glad you've enjoyed this series.
Series: Vignettes - #56
Title: Panic
Author: Sassette
Feedback: Can be sent to
pink_overalls@yahoo.com , or posted here.
Spoiler Warning: No specific spoilers for Buffy, unless you didn’t know W/T are an item. This does, however, spoil the ending for 'Old Yeller' and 'Where the Red Fern Grows'. S4 Pre-NMR.
Summary: There are some situations that Willow, for all her preparedness, just doesn't know how to handle.
Disclaimer: I didn't create these characters. I’m just borrowing them, because it’s lots and lots of fun.
Rating: PG-13
Author’s Note: I find the weirdest stuff on my computer. Apparently, I started a Bonus Vignette in which Xander and Dawn are discussing who would win in a fight - Batman or Superman. And I'm sure I was planning on ending up in a schmoopy W/T place from there, but I have no idea how. So this is something entirely different, and yet definitely as ridiculous.
Panic
By Sassette
Willow lifted a hand to knock, and then let it drop. This was a little obsessive, even for her, right? So what if Tara hadn't answered her phone? She could be in the library, or ... somebody else's dorm in a study group or something. Maybe she stopped off to grab some food with classmates after her last class?
But her last class ended hours ago, and Willow had Tara's study group sessions memorized.
And Tara should have been home, but hadn't answered her phone - ergo, Willow was worried.
It was a perfectly reasonable reaction.
"Just knock, make sure she's okay, then go," Willow muttered to herself.
Quickly, before she could change her mind, she lifted her hand and knocked, then jerked her hand away from the door to hide it behind her back, as if it were afraid of the consequences of its impetuous action.
Then she waited. And fidgeted.
And fidgeted some more.
Willow pasted a sheepish smile on her face when the door finally swung open, feeling a mixture of relief and chagrin regarding her, apparently, unnecessary check that Tara hadn't, well ... fallen into a ditch or been eaten by a vampire lurking in some shaded corner or something.
"W-willow?" Tara said, sniffling noisily, tears welling up in her eyes.
Willow's face fell, all relief and chagrin washing away, because Tara was >crying<.
Her hands fluttered up, then back down again, as Willow started to panic.
Tara was >crying<.
And Willow didn't know what to say, or what to do, or even what to think.
So she just reacted.
"Oh my God," Willow said, rushing into the room and closing the door behind her. "Oh my God. What happened? Are you okay? What happened?" she asked, running her hands over Tara's arms and up to her shoulders.
No broken arm bones, and she was standing, so legs and spine were okay.
Tara was hunched over slightly, tears spilling over, and Willow reached up, her fingers gliding along Tara's forehead and hairline. No bumps on the head, either.
With her thumbs, she brushed the tears away, feeling like a total idiot when she felt tears stinging her own eyes. She didn't even know why they were crying.
"What's the matter?" Willow asked softly. "Did something happen?"
Tara just shook her head wordlessly, taking a shaky breath before she started crying again.
Willow moved to hug her, but Tara moved away, flopping onto her bed, leaving Willow standing awkwardly with upraised arms.
Leave? Stay?
Leave?
Stay?
During her bout of indecision, her inner-being warring between letting Tara have her privacy and wanting to stay and help, Tara started sobbing.
Willow winced.
"Please don't cry," she said, sitting on the bed next to Tara's prone form, rubbing her back comfortingly. "What's wrong?" she asked, feeling a little frustrated, a little stupid and awkward, but mostly just helpless.
"It's ... stupid," Tara sobbed.
"It's not stupid," Willow protested. "Not if it's making you cry." If it was making Tara cry, it was definitely not stupid. Probably evil, though. She hoped for evil. Because then she could get Buffy to slay it.
Wordlessly, Tara reached out, grabbing a book that Willow hadn't noticed, its black cover granting it a certain camouflage against Tara's dark comforter. Tara handed the book back, and Willow took it, looking at it with a confused expression on her face.
'Where the Red Fern Grows' she read the title.
Still rubbing Tara's back, Willow flipped the book over, reading the synopsis on the back.
Willow's eyes widened with realization. "Is this a dog book? Is this a >dead< dog book?" she asked, her voice raising on the last words.
She didn't wait for an answer, flinging the offending reading material away from her and then wiping her hands off on her jeans, as if she were afraid that the wrenching sadness would infect her by osmosis.
"Old Dan ... died saving Billy from the ... the mountain lion," Tara sobbed, her voice catching as she got the words out. "And then Little Ann died of a broken heart!" she wailed, curling up into a ball and crying like her own heart was breaking.
Willow hadn't read it, but in that moment, she hated that book with a burning passion and fierceness she had never known.
A little shaken and unsure, Willow got on the bed and reached out, tugging on Tara until Tara was curled into her, sobbing into her shoulder, the two of them propped up against the headboard.
Willow hugged her and rocked her and stroked her hair, all the while glaring at the offending paperback in the corner of the room.
She didn't say that they were just fictional dogs. She didn't say that they were in a better place, or that they lived a good life, or any of the things Xander had said to her that time they'd inadvertently watched Old Yeller because, hey - it was on the Disney channel, so it had to be good, right?
She just held Tara, and let her cry, murmuring wordlessly into her hair, alternating it with small, comforting kisses to her forehead.
It's okay, sweetheart. I've got you. I'm here, baby.
Willow didn't think about what she was saying - she just spoke from a heart that was aching to see Tara so sad.
Eventually, Tara quieted, the sobs settling down into tears, and then they, too, stopped, leaving a kind of calm peace in their wake. The two of them, together, drifted in that calm, time passing them by as they semi-dozed together.
Half-asleep, Willow felt Tara stir against her shoulder, and Willow lifted her head from where it had fallen back against the headboard, looking down at Tara who was blinking open tired, sleepy eyes.
The evidence of her recent crying jag was apparent, and Tara looked rather rumpled, in a very endearing way that just made Willow internally go 'awwwww'. She couldn't help but smile a little as Tara looked up at her.
"Feeling better?" she asked softly.
Tara nodded, and looked down, a blush rising up on her face as she tried to pull away, but Willow tightened her arms and pulled her back.
"Good," Willow said, giving Tara a heartfelt squeeze of her arms, turning their intimate position into a hug. Dropping her head a little, Willow gave Tara another kiss on the forehead, letting her lips linger there a moment before she pulled back and looked into Tara's eyes.
She smiled a little, and hesitantly, Tara smiled back, and Willow cupped her cheek, stroking her thumb along the side of Tara's face.
Usually, Willow's brain was a mass of thoughts, swirling and swooping and moving. It was a frenetic place, always moving, but in that moment, it was still, and the only thought in her head was 'kiss her'.
So she did.
Ducking her head again, Willow brought their lips together, her heart leaping and letting out a little 'woohoo!' when Tara lifted her head and met her halfway.
A little voice in her head announced: Willow, you are - at least - bisexual. Straight women do not have a "kiss her" reflex.
That little voice in her head had been bugging her for weeks, whispering and insinuating things Willow hadn't really been ready to examine too closely. But this felt right. Good. Great, even.
So it was time to throw in the towel, as it were, and 'fess up to her inner voice.
Yes, yes - I'm totally into Tara, Willow admitted to the voice. Now will you shut up and leave me alone? I've got kissing to do.
And Tara, as it turned out, was a really good kisser. Her lips were soft and warm, and they gently coaxed her own lips apart, not demanding, but encouraging with shy, sweet promises.
Willow thrilled when those promises were realized, and their kiss deepened, Tara's tongue finding hers, brushing together in a tantalizing, teasing way that pulled a gasp from her lungs.
"W-wow," Tara said finally as they slowly pulled apart, by unspoken mutual agreement winding things down.
"Mmm," Willow hummed against Tara's lips. "I ... really like you," Willow murmured, pulling back a little so she could look at Tara. "And ... I'm ... really happy right now."
"Me too," Tara confessed, a slow smile spreading across her face.
"So ... we're good with this?" Willow asked hesitantly, just - wanting to make sure.
"Very good," Tara said, her smile spreading further and her voice taking on a slightly sultry quality that Willow had never heard from her before, but immediately decided she wanted to hear again and again.
"Good," Willow had time to say before Tara was kissing her again.
Willow grinned against Tara's lips, opening her eyes briefly to glance askance at the paperback book in the corner. No, being the catalyst for getting her to finally kiss Tara was not going to save it - she was going to burn the damn thing.
But later. She had a girl to kiss.
So she closed her eyes and got back to it.