Back again for round two of my fanfic writing attempts. Okay so this story
starts where my last story, "A Night Without Armor", left off. If you
haven't read that I think you should still be able to keep up with
everything going on here. Let the credits roll...
*note: If you appreciate the 'polished' look of this fic in comparison to my last you can thank Leatherqueen: Amanda L. for beta reading this for me. Thanx Amanda!
Title: A Little Fall of Rain
Author: Tempest
Feedback: yes please! personally @ Extra1380@aol.com or do it right here on
the board
Distribution: if it please you to archive it, then by all means make it so,
just give me a heads up about it
Spoilers: everything up to the most recent episode
Pairing: W/T
Rating: R (gets a little steamy in the end)
Disclaimer: don't own em, just borrowin’ em, Joss Whedon has that pleasure.
Summary: After an emotional night with her lover Tara talks to Giles about
his fight with Willow the following morning. Then she surprises Willow with
breakfast in bed.
A Little Fall of Rain
by Tempest
Tara reluctantly opened her eyes to the sight of a new day, but was greeted
with a pleasant surprise. Actually two pleasant surprises, although one
could argue that waking up with Willow in her arms should hardly be
surprising considering they had been together for over a year and a half.
But Tara would reply that there was no possibility for debate over the
matter; no one could really understand unless they experienced it for
themselves, and she wasn't about to offer anyone a trial run to get her
point across. No way, this spot was a 'reserved for Willow and Tara
snuggles only' area and trespassers would be prosecuted.
Tara looked down at her lover. Willow’s arms were around her waist, face
nuzzled in her neck, and one leg was entwined with her own. 'How could
anyone possibly get used to this?' The feeling of skin against skin, the
rhythmic sounds of her lover's breathing, the way Willow's hand caressed her
body even in sleep. Tara suspected that these things, despite their routine
appearances, would always take her breath away, and she wouldn't have it any
other way.
There was a second surprise that day. The sounds of rain drops falling on
the windows of their room could be heard that morning. Once again some may
argue that waking up to dreary, wet weather was not something to be
pleasantly surprised by. But as Tara looked out the window she couldn't
help but smile and think, 'What a lovely day.'
When it was raining, everyone could take a break for once. For some reason
when the sun is shining, and the birds are singing, and there's a clear blue
sky above your head you feel the need to experience the outside world for
all it's worth. Whether it's going to school, heading to work, planting
flowers in the garden, or going for a walk in a park, we all answer this
call of nature to emerge from our caves and share the light of a brand new
day.
As Tara looked at Willow she thought of how her lover knew this call of
nature all too well. After Buffy's death Willow got voted the new leader of
the group and Tara noticed how she was hardly left with a moment to exhale.
Their daily routine was exhausting. Breakfast had to be made and a lunch
prepared and packaged before Dawnie went off to school, then they had their
own classes to worry about. After that Willow would come home to prepare
the Buffybot for that night's patrol. Tara would help out by taking care of
dinner. After dinner the scooby gang would meet for patrol that became
quite the task without the slayer. The magics that Willow used,
particularly her telepathic abilities, would leave her pretty drained. But
still she would come home and fix the glitches in the Buffybot that it
received during patrol. Then she would try to get work done for her classes
and look at the paperwork for the house - all the bills, junk mail and
stuff.
Tara felt tears forming in her eyes just thinking about the sacrifices that
her lover made for the rest of the group. But on days like this, a weekend
day with rain and clouds covering the earth, these days her lover allowed
herself a much deserved break. The outside world wasn't calling, even the
birds were giving their vocal cords a rest. And so Tara was pleased because
today her lover would allow herself to take a day off. She decided she was
going to surprise her lover with breakfast in bed to mark the occasion, but
untangling herself without alerting her lover was going to be a problem. As
she tried to break free she heard Willow protest through mumbles, "Ummph...
no wanna move."
Tara giggled and knew she was busted. But she didn't want to give her
motive away, so she responded cleverly, "But sweetie, nature's calling,
actually it's screaming from the rooftops so I kinda gotta get up." Tara
figured that would work but her lover wasn't waving a white flag yet.
"Just tell it to call back later, we're busy."
Tara smiled. When Willow was comfortable there was no compromise to be
reached. Despite her lover's protest she did free herself from the tangled
mess they were in to get out of the bed. She heard Willow mumble something
that sounded like 'snuggle withdrawal', but her voice tapered off as her
lover fell back to sleep before she could decipher the message. She grabbed
her nightgown that was at the edge of the bed and put it on. Then she
slipped on her bunny slippers that Willow had gotten her spontaneously one
day. She hadn't been able to wear them around the house as often as she
would have liked since Anya nearly had cardiac arrest when she saw them on
Tara one day. With her robe on she headed down the stairs thinking about
what she should make to surprise her girlfriend. As she stepped through the
doors of the kitchen she was halted by the sight of Giles drinking tea at
the counter. Giles looked up from his cup and made eye contact with Tara.
He looked really tired, his eyes were heavy and red and his posture was less
proper and assured than usual. After an awkward moment of silence words
were spoken.
"Morning Mr. Giles, you're up pretty early. I thought the jet lag would
have left you pretty exhausted." Tara gave a half smile, not wanting to
drill the Watcher so early in the morning, but she didn't want to not say
anything either.
"Yes, well, I guess I am feeling a bit out of sorts", he returned with a
similar half smile and Tara wondered if there was more to that statement
than just what the surface suggested.
"I was gonna surprise Willow with some breakfast, I'm sure I could make you
something... maybe some eggs or something more British, although eggs really
don't have a nationality do they... they’re not like scones or... other
English stuff... the muffin, an English muffin. I could make one of those,
they’re chock full of nooks and crannies."
Giles was smiling fully now and found the nervousness of the young girl very
endearing. It reminded him of another young girl that used to share that
same quality but as evidenced last night had grown into something more
assured, for better or worse. "I see that Willow's verbal skills haven't
been lost on you."
Tara blushed and looked down at the floor in embarrassment, "Yeah, I guess.
I go from stuttering to babbling, a clear sign of how much I've matured."
Giles stood up and walked over to Tara. He placed his hand on her shoulder
and waited till she looked up into his eyes. "You've matured into a lovely,
compassionate, assured woman and I suspect your nervousness had more to do
with the confrontation between Willow and myself last night than it had to
do with anything related to yourself."
Tara averted her eyes again, partly because she was flattered by the
compliments bestowed upon her and partly because a subject was brought up
that was a little too tender for 8 o'clock in the morning. She had hoped to
avoid any situation that may draw her into the middle of this issue that was
clearly a private one between Willow and Mr. Giles.
Giles felt the apprehension Tara was exuding. He realized the position he
was putting her in and immediately pulled back. "Do forgive me Tara. I
shouldn't be putting you into the middle like this... it is completely bad
form on my part,... I just..." His voice trailed off and it broke Tara's
heart to see him so helpless. He was obviously conflicted over what
happened last night. And although better judgment told her to avoid this
topic of conversation she didn't have the heart to turn her back on him.
"I know this can't be easy for you, it's a lot to take in and not much time
to adjust." Giles looked at her. Not wanting to play on this girl’s
extremely giving nature, he knew he shouldn't be looking for support from
the lover of the person that left him shaken. But he needed to settle this
unbalanced feeling inside himself and something was telling him that Tara
could help. He also knew that Tara would never betray the trust of Willow,
so her words would be objective and honest.
"Seeing Buffy... when Willow called and told me I never really believed her.
I just remember being in daze, even on the plane. It wasn't until I saw her
with my own eyes that I was convinced it wasn't a dream. I wasn't
prepared... I'm not sure it's something you can prepare for."
Tara understood. It was a point she tried to a make to Willow last night
when attempting to calm her hysterical lover. She replied, "It's changed all
of us. For so long we tried to find our new places in this world, the world
without the slayer. We had to change. Sometimes we have to be things we
never thought anyone would ever expect of us... it isn't easy. Now that
she's back... it's like when you're a child someone telling you it's okay to
go back outside after a night of lightning and thunder. You just spent this
whole night being afraid of what was outside, and now it's over and the sun
is shining, but it's different. That fear changes you, you can't be as
naive or innocent as were before..." Tara trailed off but Giles finished the
statement for her.
"Because now you know that the world isn't a safe place. You're right, I
don't think any of you knew that safety net we had when Buffy was alive. It
didn't just protect our bodies, it protected our souls, what we believed in.
There was room for a bit of innocence when you knew you have a protective
blanket to keep you safe." Giles thought about the anger he felt at Willow
for doing something that could have such dire consequences. But really the
anger came from a fear, a fear that Willow crossed a line and even if she
came back over it she would never be the same. He knew that night that
Buffy died he crossed a line that left him changed. He took a life of a
mortal, and even though that mortal body housed a power of unmatchable evil,
it was still a human life. But he was older, and better equipped to
maturely deal with the ramifications of his actions. He wasn't so sure that
Willow had the same ability.
"Tara, forgive me if I step over the line, but when Dawn tried to resurrect
her mother she came to you for help, but you denied her. You knew it was
wrong then, why didn't see that with Buffy?"
Tara saw this question coming. "I knew it was wrong, I still know it's
wrong. Yes, we didn't know where Buffy's soul went... but.." Tara felt her
voice begin to waiver and fought hard against her stutter threatening to
make an appearance.
Giles could see that Tara was about to voice something that was very
troubling for her. "Tara, you can always tell me anything. I look to you
all as my family and hope you feel the same for me."
Tara started to cry. She had been holding something back, a feeling of
guilt that she didn't even voice to Willow for fear that her lover would
take it the wrong way. But Giles was offering her a chance to get those
feelings off her chest. "I always felt we could have done something to find
out for sure where Buffy's soul went. That way we would really know. We
wouldn't need to use dark magic, I didn't want to use dark magic. I knew
the risks. But how could I..." She was really choking up but she wanted to
get this admission out so badly. "How could I tell Willow that it wasn't
right for her to use dark magic to save her best friend, how could I tell
her that it was against all the laws of wicca and nature, when everyday I
live a life made possible by that dark magic?"
Giles was speechless. He never considered the guilt this girl would be
carrying around. The reason Willow had called upon the dark forces in the
first place was to take revenge against Glory after she attacked Tara,
leaving the poor girl insane. It was after that moment that Willow realized
the true extent of her power. It was what made it possible for her to take
back what Glory took from Tara. But the idea that Tara would see this as
result of her actions never entered his mind. He regretted now that he
might have doubted her integrity with the part she played in Buffy's
resurrection.
"Tara, my poor girl, I'm so sorry. I never considered... you can't believe
that any of these... issues I have with Willow are your fault."
"Can't I? Dark magic, it's like a drug, the effect becomes stronger every
time it's invoked, until you have no control over it at all. If I hadn't
been hurt, if I hadn't gone out by myself that day... It was stu-stupid, I
knew Glory was close, none of us were su-supposed to be alone. But I did it
anyway, and now someone I'm in love with is paying the price." Tara had
pushed herself off the counter and now had her back turned to Giles. Her
hands were crossed over her waist and her eyes focused on the window that
was blurred by the rain cascading down it like a waterfall. Giles
approached her slowly and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"When you were hurt, I can't begin to tell you the guilt all of us felt. We
would play out the scenario over and over, where we caught you before she
found you. But this is not your fault Tara. This is just life at its
hardest and it's easy to look back and say what we would have done
different. Willow is going to be alright because she is good, and she is
surrounded by people that love her. I know I said some things to her last
night that might suggest I thought otherwise but I'm going to rectify that."
"Anger has no place in a family Mr. Giles. I know that much."
"Yes, you're quite right, and I'm sorry your past experience taught you that
only too well."
Tara smiled, sometimes the love she received from her new 'family'
overwhelmed her. It felt good to know that they could argue, they could be
honest and open, and still feel the love afterward. She never knew that
until she meet the scoobies, until she was welcomed into their family. When
Willow told her the words exchanged between her and Mr. Giles she was very
nervous. It was a scene that was all too familiar from her past. But there
was a major difference. While anger was a natural human emotion, in her
family it was a tool used to instill fear, to keep the meek in line. That
anger had no place in a family, it had no place anywhere.
"I used to have such regrets over the cards I got dealt in life. I used to
dream of a life where I had the perfect family in the perfect home, in the
perfect world. But I don't think that way anymore. I realized that
everything happened just as it should've, because it got me here, to Willow,
to all of you. You don't have to feel sorry for me Mr. Giles, I feel very
blessed to be where I am."
"Alright then. And you needn't call me mister, Tara, I look on you as I
look on all the others, as family." She turned around then and looked him in
the eyes. He opened his arms to offer a warm embrace after such an
emotional moment. She returned the embrace, and they both felt as if
something truly good came of this conversation. After a few moments she
pulled back and looked at him.
"If you don't mind I kinda like calling you mister. My father used to make
us call him sir. We didn't do it out of respect... more out of fear. It's
nice to have an older figure that I look up to. That I respect and listen
to because I want to, not because I’m scared to do otherwise. Saying mister
reminds me of that."
Giles smiled and replied, "Then I shall be honored every time I hear it."
They shared an understanding. They both knew the day was going to be better
because of what they said. "Thank you Tara, for your honesty and your
concern. You truly are a special part of this group, and not just for what
you give Willow, but for what you give all of us. And speaking of Willow you
better carry on with that breakfast or she'll be coming down here herself
and you will lose your element of surprise." Giles started to move towards
the stairway.
"Sleep tight, Mr. Giles." Tara smiled taking comfort in the fact that the
Watcher may be able to sleep a little easier now.”
"I think I shall, Tara."
And with that he disappeared, and she was left in the kitchen alone. Tara
thought, 'Wow, how much more intense can this day get. I guess I needed to
get things out more than I knew. Well, a situation like this calls for one
thing only: waffles.'
Tara started to get the ingredients necessary to make her lover's surprise
breakfast. She got the coffee machine ready to make her love's favorite
mocha concoctions. The smell of batter browning let her know the waffles
were just about ready. She sliced up some pineapple they had in the fridge.
Ever since Tara shared her personal interpretations of the constellations,
Willow would pick up pineapples whenever she did the grocery shopping. Tara
smiled, it was those little things that really made her heart melt. It
showed how even in the most mundane and routine activities Willow still had
her on her mind.
She got the tray out and started to place the breakfast in it's setting. The
coffee, waffle, syrup, utensils, napkin, pineapple were all in place, but it
was still missing something. She went into the living room and removed one
of the fake yellow roses that were a part of the centerpiece of the dining
table. "Vivicus eiusdem farinae,"(life from the same flower) As the words
were spoken the flower came to life.
'Perfect', she thought. She returned to the kitchen to retrieve the
breakfast and head up to the bedroom. Carefully she climbed each step, not
wanting to risk tripping and ruining the whole surprise. She eased into the
room and was stunned by the sight before her. Her lover was reaching out
for Tara in her sleep. Even though Willow knew she wasn't there she still
placed her arms as if Tara was in them. She didn't even take up the whole
bed. It was as if Willow had the figure of her lover's body memorized in her
mind, she knew exactly where her body began and ended, and she was patiently
waiting for the return of her lover.
Tara placed the breakfast on the nightstand next to the bed. She removed
her robe, and slipped into the place left open by her lover. She took the
yellow rose into her hand and ran it along the bare skin of her love's
chest. Her lips followed behind the strokes of the flower, planting
butterfly kisses along her chest. The trail of kisses moved up Willow's
throat, and ended on the sensitive spot where the ear meets the neck. Tara
alternated between nuzzling and kissing that spot while the flower was
stroking against Willow's chest, and then she heard the sounds of her love
waking. She saw the ends of her lips start to form a smile. Then she heard
Willow speak.
"Ummm, tell me what I did to deserve this so I can do it again, and again
and..." Willow turned her lips in the direction of Tara and met her lips in
a steamy, sensual kiss. The passion started to build and it got so intense
Tara started to forget about the surprise. She was taking liberties with
her lover's nude form, running her hands down across the skin of her chest,
pausing to graze her breast, cupping the smooth flesh. Willow tried to
follow suit and then she realized her girlfriend was still clothed.
"Mmmm, no fair, nighties not allowed!" She started to strip her lover of the
item that was separating her from the skin she needed. Tara lifted her arms
to aid in her lover's motion. She was beyond stopping now. Their passion
was too intense to be denied. Lips met lips, skin met skin, desire met
desire. Willow started to move her trail of kisses south, over the hills of
her lover's breasts, the peaks of her nipples, the valley of her stomach,
and finally reaching the center of her desire. She focused all her
attention, all the love she had, the desire she had, and need she had for
her lover on that center until she felt the waves of pleasure take over her
lover. Tara called out in ecstasy, her body arched toward the ceiling and
her hands formed fists with the sheets of their bed. When she returned to
earth she looked her soulmate's eyes.
"I woke you up for breakfast." Her words were light and winded from
exhaustion.
Willow had the grin of the cat that ate the canary and replied, "Mmmm and it
was very delicious, thank you."
Tara started to laugh and then she slapped Willow playfully on the arm.
Suddenly a thought dawned on her. "Oh my God, I was calling out your name. I
called out your name really loud. They could have heard us... oh Willow what
if they heard us." Tara immediately pulled the blankets over her head in
embarrassment. Willow tried pulling her out but Tara refused. "I'm never
coming out." Willow laughed at her lover's actions.
"Don't laugh at me Willow, aren't you a little bit concerned?"
"No actually I'm not."
"Do you care to elaborate on that or are you gonna revel in my humiliation
for a little more?"
"Ummmm... let me think.... hmmm... OUCH!" Tara pinched Willow's behind
really hard and her lover jumped up from the bed.
"Okay, no more with the butchy pinches. I'm not concerned because I did a
spell before you got in here. Not a single peep from our lips is getting
through these walls. It only lasts for a couple of hours though. So you
can stop burrowing your way to China, not even super slayer hearing could
have picked up on your 'Oh God... Oh baby'."
Tara's head reemerged from the sheets. "You are such a meanie, playing with
my emotions like that. I don't think you deserve your surprise anymore."
Willow broke out with her puppy dog eyes, "Oh please, I'll be really good...
really really good." Tara laughed and went to go retrieve the breakfast
plate from the nightstand. Willow's eyes popped out of her head as she
watched Tara remove the cover to reveal what looked like waffles, pineapple,
and mocha goodiness. "Oh, baby you made me breakfast in bed. Oh how can I
repay you?"
Tara gave Willow a mischievous grin, "This morning was a great start."
Willow was digging into the breakfast, as she picked up a piece of pineapple
and placed it on her lover's lips. Tara opened and accepted the offering.
They went back and forth feeding each other, giggling like school girls
during recess.
"I talked to Giles this morning." Tara wanted to be honest with her lover.
She felt Willow start to stiffen and she immediately responded. "Hey,
remember last night, you don't have to put up those defenses with me. I
just want to be honest with you."
Willow felt bad, she didn't mean to get defensive, but she was glad that her
lover knew her well enough that she could handle the situation. "What did
you guys talk about?"
Tara answered, "He was just really upset over last night. He never meant to
hurt you. Everything just took him by surprise. You should talk to him
again. I did tell him that you weren't thrilled over your own actions. I
hope I didn't overstep my bounds. Was that okay honey?"
Willow was touched that her lover was so concerned about her feelings.
"That's fine Tara, I wish you didn't have to get caught in the middle. I
know how annoying that can be."
"It's only frustrating when people start pulling you in either direction
like a rag doll. But I did this on my own, and it wasn't like that at all.
I didn't talk to him as your lover, like your advocate or something. I just
talked to him as Tara Maclay, ya know."
Willow understood and was grateful that she didn't have to do something that
made her uncomfortable. "Maybe I'll try to talk to him sometime today. I
don't want things to be weird with us."
"Just do what feels right for you baby. I know it’ll be okay, Will."
Willow looked over at her lover and gave her a smile. She never ceased to
be amazed at how Tara always managed to let her love come through in every
thing she did. It was moments like these that Willow wished she could be a
painter, or a poet, or composer, so somehow she could capture the beauty of
these moments and make them immortal. But all she had to offer was herself,
and that's she did. She leaned over to kiss her lover and whispered, "We
still got some time left on these sound proof walls... it'd be a shame to
let it go to waste."
Tara could feel the fire start to build. "We wouldn't want to be wasteful or
shameful."
Just as those lips were about to meet they heard a pounding on their door
and the high pitch of Dawn's voice could heard. "Tara, Willow, you gotta get
up and come downstairs. The pipes are busted in the basement and we need
you to do some 'bibity bobity boo' action before the house starts to flood!"
Willow dropped her head onto her lover's chest as if a cold bucket of water
had been dumped on it. "A witch's job is never done."
Tara grunted in agreement. "You just remember that when I get you back in
this room tonight!"
Willow grinned at her lover. "Count on it love." Then she gave her a quick
peck on the lips to seal the promise.
The lovers reluctantly clothed themselves to go investigate the problem in
the basement. As Tara walked out the door she thought to herself, "Just
another day... with a little fall of rain."