TITLE: "Story Time"

AUTHOR: Anon

E-MAIL: anonmiranda@hotmail.com

FEEDBACK: Please

DISTRIBUTION: Sure, if you want it just let me know where.

SPOILERS: Season 4. Takes place somewhere between The I in Team and Where the Wild Things Are.

CONTENT: W/T

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: Willow and Tara belong to Joss, Fox, Mutant Enemy.

SUMMARY: Tara tells Willow a her first "Tara" story.



NOTE: The idea came to me after I read the "Camel" discussion on the other board. I don't feel like the story told is quite quirky enough but I tried.





"I hate waiting!" Willow muttered to herself as she paced back and forth across Tara's room. Everytime she went by the lap top, she would check to see if it was finished. "I wish I had a cable modem, it would make downloading go so much faster. I can not do anything until I get this stupid program... Tara, don't you ever get impatient? I never see you impatient. Why not?"



Rather than admit how she treasured every minute that she was with her new friend, Tara just shrugged and said, "I just make the best out of the time. I mean there is still a lot that we can do."



At that, Tara began to silently list all the things she loved to do when she was in the same room as Willow: 'I could stare at you. I could imagine kissing you. I could... okay, whoa there Tara, don't go there. You are probably already turning red. Think of something else, something that will not scare Willow away.'



"Well, ummmm, when I was little, I was always with my mother. I would go to all her appointments with her, all her meetings with her, and everything. And there was a lot of time when I would just have to sit still and be quiet. I would watch and listen It was by being so quiet that I could be places that usually kids are not allowed to be. Anyway, when we were waiting together, one of the ways we would pass the time would be to tell stories. Silly made up stories. " Tara did not want to explain that her father did not allow fairy tales to be told in the house so this covert story time happened in the waiting rooms of doctors offices and other places outside of the house. She also did not want to think about all the many doctors offices she had seen with her mother. Fortunately, Willow distracted her from that line of thought.



"Okay, tell me a story," Willow said.



"Ummm uhhhh" Tara sighed. "IIIII dddddon't know. Iiiii cccan noot think of a story with you pacing and I have-have-haven't done this since I was little."



"Please... I will sit still. I want to hear a story." Willow whined in a cute little way.



There was no way that Tara could say no to that look and there was no way she wanted to disappoint Willow so she patted the spot next to her on the bed and Willow sat down. What Willow did next shocked and thrilled Tara. She spun around put her head in Tara's lap and looked up at with expectant eyes.



"Okay, tell me a story." Willow said.



‘You expect me to concentrate on a story with you so close. Well there some stories but I am not sure we should be going to the NC-17 stories yet. Okay, breath and think of an innocent story.' Tara thought as she tried hard not to think about how close Willow was to her.



"Okay... but you have probably noticed that my jokes are a little eccentric, well basically I am eccentric and the stories are to. So you have to use your imagination. But you also have to help me okay." Willow just nodded and continued to gaze up at Tara. "Well, once upon a time ago, there was a girl named... uhmmmm.... Willow."



"No" Willow said in such a firm voice that she scared Tara a little. "I want a Tara story. I know my stories. Tell me a Tara story."



"Okay, there was a girl name Tara... you know, this is going to be so boring, you have spent the last four years killing vampires, having friends turned into rats, fighting a giant snake-like monster/mayor at your hight school graduation, and being hunted by gentlemen and there straight-jacketed goons. I am not sure I can compete with your real life." Tara replied, being careful not to mention the whole dating a werewolf thing.



Willow just looked up at Tara with expectant eyes and gently said, "I am not asking you to compete. I am asking you to tell me a Tara story. A story about my friend who interests me more than anything else right now. Okay?"



Tara was surprised by Willow's sincerity and her mind began to swim. 'Don't over analyze that comment, Tara, she is just interested because there is nothing else to do. Just start the damn story and quite getting your hopes up. She just thinks of you as a friend. Her friend the witch. That's it. So calm down and tell the story.'



"Okay, here goes... oooonce upon a time, there was a girl named Tara and she lived in a land filled with... I need some suggestions for this. Remember, in a story, anything can exist."



"Okay, computers that ran with out electricity and instant downloading. That would be cool!"



"Uh, yeah, okay Willow... llllets think a little more abstractly... like fish that swim in the air and didn't need water or ..."



"Dolphins that they rode like horses!" suggested Willow excitedly. "And streams that are filled with mocha instead of water. And no vampires or big bads around."



"Yeah, now your thinking. How about trees that grew chocolate bars instead of leaves."



Shaking her head, Willow said, "No, I had a bad experience with band candy bars."



"Okay, no chocolate bars." Tara said, adjusting her story and as she looked down again at Willow, she realized that at some point in the story telling process, she had started to run her fingers through Willows hair, combing through her curls. It was so soft. Tara tried not to panic because Willow had such a peaceful look on her face, she looked like she was actully enjoying the caress. Her eyes were closed and she looked so peaceful. Tara had to fight to catch her breath, hoping that her heart was not beating so loud that it would disturb Willow ‘Be calm. This is not a big deal. She is okay. If you suddenly stop, she will wonder why. So just breath and go on with the story. Damn, I can not think of a story. I am running my fingers through her beautiful hair. It is so soft and fine.'



"Hello, still waiting for the Tara story. Out with it." Willow reached over and took Tara's other hand that had been unconsciously drumming out of rhythm on the mattress next to Willow's shoulder. She rested both the hands across her stomach and lightly began to massage the top of Tara's hand with her other free hand.



‘Wow, she is holding my hand. Wow... think of a story... try not to think about how soft her hair is or how the way she is gently massaging my hand and it is driving me crazy. Try not to think about how close she is. Stop looking at her lips. You have a story to tell. This is no big deal, this is just your friend Willow. I bet this is how she and Buffy act.... Oh I hope not!' Tara was suddenly so filled with energy that she wanted to get up and pace but she had to concentrate on the story. It was the story that got them into this lovely position and if the story ended, maybe this unexpected close time would also end. ‘I wonder how long I can make this story?'



"Okay, well Tara lived on a farm with her family. Did I mention that she was a wwwwwitch? Yes but she was a very bad witch..." Willow's face frowned at this. "Nnooo , she was not evil. She just could not cast spells very well. She would try to cast spells and things would always come out half finished. For example, she would cast a spell to turn water into chocolate and she would end up with very watery chocolate. Or she would cast to a glamour spell to color her hair and it would only turn half blond. Or she would cast a spell get a bicycle and she would only conjure up the tires. She would conjure a horse and would only end up with the back of a horse. She conjured a dog once and messed up the spell and ended up with a half dog, half cat. She was a very bad witch and everyone knew it. And they would laugh at her. They called her Tara th-th-theee terrible."



"This is a depressing story. What happened to the poor animals."



"Well that is just part of the drama but it will get better," promised the storyteller. " She loved everything that she created and took very good care of them. She had plenty of room on the farm and they were very happy. But she realized that she should not practice witch craft anymore."



"Why, she should just keep practicing. She will get it right."



"Willow, we are coming to that part of the story. Something was missing, she did not know what it was but she new that something was missing. Until she could figure it out, she was not going to practice anymore magic. She would just care for all the animals on the farm. Then one day, a stranger came to the farm. This stranger had been wandering around for years. She was also a witch and she was looking for help with her magic. She was very powerful but she did not realize how much power she had."



"OOOOh, I like this. Was her name Willow." In her excited state, Willow sat up and slid closer to Tara, still holding to her hand tightly.



"Yeah, how did you guess? Have you heard this story before?"



"I bet most of her spells came out like soup, right? Oh, I love this. And they met and teamed up and were able to do magic the right way. Right? And they were able to turn the horses into whole horses and they were able to fix everything that Tara had done and performed a lot of magic. Right?" Tara's other hand slip down and rested on the small of Willow's back. Time seemed to stop for both of them. Suddenly truly aware of how close they were, Willow bit her lower lip nervously.



"Yeah, they were able to perform all kinds of magic." Responded Tara, almost whispering, not sure where she was finding the courage to continue looking into Willow's eyes. With her free hand, Willow reached up and caressed Tara's cheek.



"I hope that they remembered to take things slow. You know, with magic, if it is real, it does not need to be rushed." Willow went on to say, "It can be a scary thing but it can also be really wonderful if it is done in the right time."



"Especially if they are new to magic. Then they should be very careful because there could be misunderstandings and that would be terrible." Replied Tara as she began to rub Willows back and fought to breath normally.



"But if they understand this and care about each other, I mean the magic, then there can be something very beautiful. Don't you agree?" Asked Willow as she leaned closer towards Tara.



"Oh yes, it can be so beautiful." Tara answered as she leaned in towards Willow. As their lips touched, they both closed their eyes. At first, they just lightly touched lips, each with the intention to let the other set the pace but their set of lips took control and began to move closer, like magnets, unable to resist the pull. Willow's hand reach around Tara's neck and pulled her closer as the kiss deepened. At the same time, Tara's other hand reached around Willow's waist and pulled her body closer. The kiss deepened further, as lips spread and mouths opened. After what felt like only seconds but could have been hours, they pulled apart, looked at each other tentatively, unable to keep the happy grins off there faces.



They sat like that, blues eyes staring into green eyes, smiles relaying surprise and joy and time seemed to have stop. Then, from across the room, a mechanical voice said, "Downloading is complete."



Tara broke the stare, coughed in an effort to recover her voice. "The computer is ready. Don't you want to finish the program?"



With a soft laugh and a gentle caress of Tara's cheek, Willow shook her head and said. "No way, I like story time much better. Now it is my turn to tell you a story."



The end.