Author: EndoraVolk
Feedback: If you will.
Spoilers: None.
Setting: Season six. No nasty deaths, of course (you know what I mean), no magic addiction, Amy is in the cage she belongs, no Evil Trio. Just Willow & Tara love, an adventure, and lots of character portraits.
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Mutant Enemy, I'm just using them in a very blameless, un-guilty way.
Notes: Hope you like it.
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Preface
“T-this can’t be happening” the girl muttered, dragging the bedroom curtains open and plastering her face against the window.
It was dark as hell, the sky didn’t have an inch of space to breathe, it was completely blocked from view by masses of black clouds. Clouds that looked heavy, pregnant with water, which they were already releasing. Thick, impenetrable, clustered drops of rain were falling sideways over the whole town. The girl couldn’t even see the street, the curtain of rain was so tightly knit together.
In the other side of the room, someone stirred, moved a hand over the bed and then sat up. It was a man a little over twenty years old, with soft black hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. He kicked away the sheets that covered him and rubbed his eyes.
“Anya” he said, softly.
The girl turned to look at him and then promptly went back to staring out the window. He rose his dark eyebrows, stood up, and walked towards his girlfriend. He was clad only in his underwear, while she was wearing the shirt of his pajamas.
“Anya” he repeated, slowly placing his hands on the girl’s shoulders “What’s the matter?”
“Xander” she said, not daring to turn around completely “Look outside.”
“It’s raining. A lot” he frowned, trying to figure out what was bothering her “Is there something out there?”
“No, only the rain…”
“Honey, there’s nothing to worry about. It’s just rain. Come back to bed, will you?”
“It’s not just rain. You should phone Giles and Buffy… No, don’t, what’s the use? There’s nothing we can do, not even run away.”
“Anya, come on, what are you talking about? Now you’re scaring me. It’s three AM, I can’t just phone Giles and tell him it’s raining. He’d disembowel me.”
The girl’s face lit up for a second when she heard the word “disembowel”. The memories of being a demon were just too sweet, but she had swapped it all for being a human. For Xander. She looked at him, at the warmth in his eyes, at his wavy bangs stuck to his forehead. This person, this apparently insignificant human (one of six-thousand million), had changed her life. She would give up anything for him… she already had. She had renounced to her promising life as a vengeance demon, and she was happy now, living a human life, trying to understand all the aspects of being a young woman. She thought that Xander was her future, but now, looking out the window at the sheets of rain… she was sure that everything would end.
“Anya, come to bed.”
Reluctantly, she did. She let herself be guided back into the bed they shared and let herself be hugged and pampered with caresses. Finally, she closed her eyes. What difference did it make? They were all going to die all the same, she might as well enjoy this night with her Xander.
Chapter 1
“Oh, great, it’s still raining.”
Buffy sulked and closed the curtains, walked back into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast for everyone. Rainy days made her want to stay home and watch movies, or dig out the board games from the depths of the closet, like her mother used to do. Rain made her feel cozy, and made her want to spend time with her friends. Yes, she would prepare a gigantic breakfast and call Giles, Xander and Anya over.
Slaying was so out of today’s to-do list. Profuse rain would surely imply a muddy cemetery, which would imply a soaked Slayer with icky clothes. No slaying, that would be good, for a change. Besides, that way she would probably avoid seeing Spike. The vampire was following her around wherever she went, delivering endless speeches about the love he felt towards her. It was tiring. More than tiring; it drained all her energy. The moment she turned and saw his shadow, lurking around a corner, peeking from behind a tombstone or from behind a bush… she felt a rush of anger tearing her from inside. No one angered her that much. No one other than Spike made her stick her hand inside her jacket and circle her fingers around a stake, like holding on to something, a security blanket.
Anyway, the least she wanted now was to think about Spike and ruin her good humor. She pulled out a frying pan and began with the eggs, wishing that Willow and Tara were up by now. Specially Tara, who was the master-pancake-maker. Sleepyheads, she thought, shaking her head, referring to Willow and Tara, but also to her younger sister, Dawn.
Dawn blinked and rubbed her eyes with her closed fists. Was it morning? She turned and glanced at the alarm clock. 8:30 AM. Time for getting up alright, even if it was Saturday. Lately, she was trying to behave herself real well. Tara had delivered her a lecture (all of the pancakes in the world couldn’t hide that it was a lecture) about how she should help Buffy around the house and in everything she needed. And Tara was right, she always was.
Suddenly, she wondered why her room seemed draped in darkness. It didn’t fit with the time. Rubbing her eyes again, she got up and peered out the window. Rain. So thick that she couldn’t see the neighborhood. Great, she thought with irony, no point in washing my hair today, it’s gonna be drenched anyway. Sighing, the fifteen-year-old opened her closet, selected fresh clothes and paced the corridor towards the bathroom.
Sigh.
Dawn froze, hugging the bundle of clothes close to her breast. What was that? It was like an unearthly sound, a sigh, or something like that. It seemed to come from the depths of who-knew-where.
Another sigh.
Okay. Again. She felt tempted to run down the stairs and call for Buffy, and she would have done it, but another sound pinned her feet to the floor.
Groan.
Oh, God. She hugged her clothes harder and opened her eyes in shock or, at least, surprised. Willow and Tara. The sounds didn’t come from the depths of the earth; they probably came from under the depths of… sheets. Slowly, she turned and faced the closed door of their room. It used to be her mother’s bedroom, and sometimes she still thought about it that way, with the reverence that only a dead person’s bedroom can inspire. She knew, of course, she had always known. Willow and Tara were a couple. They slept there, but also… were a couple. Still, hearing Xander and Anya wouldn’t have surprised her so much. That’s what Anya’s constant sex-related talk did to you; you couldn’t help imagining, since the ex-demon gave you so many graphic details whether you wanted them or not. In fact, no one wanted them, but she gave them anyway. Willow and Tara were different in that sense; they gave few explicit signs of their love. In public, sometimes they kissed, they always held hands… but they gave no details. The only clues were encrypted in the looks they shared. If you looked at them looking at each other, then you knew. Dawn had little experience; she couldn’t –and didn’t want to- guess what went on when they were alone, but their feeling were clear.
Now, standing in the corridor, listening to the moans, she had almost crossed the line. She was knowing more than what she wanted to know.
Moan.
Oh, God, that sounds like Willow. That means that Tara is… oh, God. I don’t need to know this. I shouldn’t be… here, hearing them. Dawn fretted her hands around her clothes and walked silently to the bathroom. I’ll never tell this to anyone. Or to myself. That’s it, I won’t even remember. I’ll shower and I’ll forget. 8:30 in the morning and they’re… No, no! Forget. Forget!
Tara looked up at Willow and snaked her way upwards until she was beside her. Willow’s red hair was matted and was covering one of her eyes. Tara didn’t want that; she adored Willow’s eyes and the way she expressed emotions through them; she wanted to look at both her eyes, so she raised a hand and wiped those rebellious bangs from Willow’s forehead. Now. Now she could see both eyes, two green orbs that were like two worlds for her. She could live there, bathing in those two green worlds; she could spend all her lifetime just laying there, looking at Willow and knowing that Willow was looking at her. It was all she could do to stop herself from crying. Willow’s eyes were warm with love, with love towards her. Nothing could make her tired of this. She felt important, she felt the only person in the whole world when Willow was looking at her.
“Hey” Willow whispered, her voice breaking.
“Hey” Tara echoed “How are you?”
“Let’s see…” Willow turned her lips into a playful grin “Let’s leave it at ‘I’ve never felt better in all my life and it’s because of you lying here beside me’. How about that?”
Tara felt silent and didn’t even move for half a minute. Willow had done it again; she always did it. She would always say something that beat all the other sweet things that she had ever said. And it would always transfix her. Always. She remembered that she used to think: “if Willow’s feelings are real, life will be so beautiful that I don’t think I can take it”. Two years had passed since knowing that the feelings that seemed to exist behind Willow’s green eyes were real, and still she couldn’t believe it or hide her joy. The happiness she felt with Willow would never subside. That, she knew for sure.
“Time?” Willow asked “Excuse me, I’m still unable to move a muscle. You’ve given me quite a trip, Miss Maclay.”
Smiling widely, Tara lifted her head and read the time displayed in the alarm clock. 8:35 AM. It was late. Even for a Saturday. She was sure that Buffy would be up already, making some breakfast for everyone (or at least trying to), and she didn’t want her to do it all alone.
“We should get up, Will.”
Of course, Willow grumbled against Tara’s “brilliant idea”, and whimpered, and enveloped her in a possessive hug, imprisoning her under her slight weight.
“You’re not leaving me here” Willow mumbled, her lips against Tara’s neck.
“Of course not” Tara said, fighting against the sensations Willow was causing her to feel “You’re coming with me. We should help Buffy with breakfast.”
“Breakfast?” Willow rose her head and smiled devilishly “I can’t believe you’re still hungry.”
Tara laughed, caressing Willow’s tumbled-up hair. Well, maybe they could spare a few minutes.
Dawn ran down the staircase, not wanting to hear more “accidental” disturbing sounds. She found Buffy in the kitchen, literally fighting against a frying pan with one hand and a toaster with the other. At the same time, several strands of her hair were freeing themselves from her pony tail and she was trying to keep them off of all the mess.
“Damn the fucking…” she was muttering.
“Good morning” Dawn announced out loud, cutting out immediately her sister’s swearing “Rainy day, huh?”
“Very rainy” Buffy said, her teeth bared “Could you help me with this?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll handle the frying pan, you can cover me with the toaster.”
The fifteen-year-old smiled at her sister’s use of words and sped towards the toaster, placing the scorched pieces of bread on a big plate. She knew better than commenting on Buffy’s cooking skills, specially if she hadn’t surrender and was still trying to cook.
“It’s dark, isn’t it?” Willow said, coming out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, completely dressed.
“It’s raining hard. Today I wouldn’t call it Sunnydale” Tara jerked her head towards the window while fastening the buttons on her shirt “Ready?”
“Yeah” Willow answered, approaching Tara and caressing her golden hair “Don’t you know I’m always ready?”
The blonde blushed profusely and yet again was paralyzed by Willow’s words. Paralyzed and aroused. Trying to snap out of it, she grabbed Willow’s hand and together they went down the stairs. They found Buffy and Dawn in a smoke-covered kitchen.
“Oh, God” Tara breathed out “What happened here?”
“Buffy tried to cook breakfast without you” Dawn said, warily, unable to suppress her thoughts.
“Okay, Dawn, since you appreciate my efforts so much, why don’t you go call Giles and Xander?”
The fifteen-year-old sulked and sped out of the kitchen, as if she had been terribly offended. Buffy sighed tiredly and pushed the frying pan in frustration. This was supposed to be a good day, a rainy day spent with friends, not a day of disastrous cooking and fights with Dawn. Willow was instantly at her best friend’s side, helping her with the eggs.
“Buffy, it’s okay” she said.
Tara frowned, and muttered that she would be right back. She traced Dawn’s steps, and found her chatting with Giles over the phone, telling him to drag his ass towards their house. The blonde could hear Giles’ edgy replies, telling her that it was “pouring”, that he couldn’t “possibly drive in such a foul weather”. Tara had heard enough; she took the phone from Dawn’s hand.
“Mr. Giles?” she asked “It’s Tara. I know it's raining a lot… Yes, yes, I know, it’s pouring horribly, but I still think that you should come over. Buffy, she… she seems excited to have all of you here, all of us together. She has her hopes up.”
She really didn’t know how to express it better. The occasions in which Buffy expressed wishes or feelings were very rare now, and this was one of those times. If Buffy wished them to be there, everyone should comply without a “but”.
“We’ll wait for you Mr. Giles. I hope you’re hungry” she said, and hung up.
Then, she looked at Dawn.
“What? What have I done now?”
“You think you’ve done something?” Tara asked, her face serious.
“Well, yeah, you’re looking at me all-“
“Dawn, what did you tell Buffy?”
“You mean that about the breakfast? Hell, it was just a joke.”
“What did I tell you the other day? Buffy’s working so hard… Don’t forget that she’s working for the world too.”
“For the world?” Dawn frowned and made a face.
“Yes. Have you forgotten the part in which your sister’s the Slayer and she saves the world?”
“Oh. Yeah. I mean, no, I haven’t forgotten that part.”
“And she’s working very hard for you, so that they don’t take you away. You want to stay here, don’t you?”
“You know that I do” Dawn blushed.
“Then, you should make yourself a little helpful. Or, at least, make it easier for her. Appreciate her efforts, she’s given up a lot of things. She’s become a grownup all of a sudden, and not by choice, but for you.”
Dawn simply nodded, there was little she could say. Looking somewhat satisfied, Tara placed a slight caress on the back of her head and went back to the kitchen, leaving her alone in the living room. She still had to phone Xander and Anya.
“Hello?” asked Xander’s voice, over the phone.
“Hey, Xander.”
“Dawnie, hey! Rainy day, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s why Buffy wants you guys to come over.”
“Is there an apocalypse coming?”
“No, no apocalypse. Just for rainy day activities. Giles is coming over too. Breakfast, board games, God knows what my sister is preparing.”
“Sounds like fun, Dawn. We’ll be there in a while. You see, Anya is kind of sulky and touchy today, I don’t know what’s gotten into her. She... uh, she didn't sleep well.”
“Okay, Xand, we’ll wait for you. Bye.”
Back in Xander’s flat, Anya frowned. She had listened to Xander’s conversation with Dawn. No, the apocalypse wasn’t coming. Something else was. She could feel it in the rain, she had felt it last night. Nothing could be done, but going to the Slayer’s house wouldn’t harm them. If there could ever be a solution, the Scoobies would come up with it.
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He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
(Friedrich Nietzsche)
. Love sam xx 
but what can you expect from her. I like the whole theory you have developed about noah and his ark. 
and 
or something?
And I loved Tara trying to push Willow behind her - Keep on going! This is great. 
anyway loved it and really cracked up with the whole scene with spike and the rain coat 
...GO YOU ! You just cranked up the walking the edge meter 
.
ee
