True love in this mortal realm: An AU fic

[missspangles]

Well, I decided to have a bit of a play around with the Buffyverse, fixing it to my liking.



Note: This is set in an alternative universe. Basically, Buffy's still the slayer and this is happening around the time of season four. But there is one important difference. Willow's a ghost (But don't worry, she won't be for very long as the point of this fiction is to show how absolutely nothing at all - even death - could ever keep Willow and Tara apart.) So Buffy and Tara are friends at the University of California, Sunnydale, Xander's working in construction and dating the ex-demon Anya. And Willow and Tara will get together and of course they'll be madly in love and Willow's going to become mortal again. (so fear not! And this is a happy fiction! Honest!)

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True love in this mortal realm - Chapter One



Buffy frowned and tried to concentrate on what a hyper-excited Tara was saying as they walked out of the UC Sunnydale lecture theatre together towards their dorm...

"So basically Buffy it means that Greek mythology can be tied in to so many things that impact on us every day...because..." and then Buffy zoned out again and decided to just nod in the right places. "Uh huh..that's great Tar..."



Tara smiled. "Oh, you're thinking about that dreamy TA again huh? Mr. Super-athlete, smart guy?"



Buffy grinned. "Or Riley as he likes to be called. I do seem to spend an awful lot of time thinking about him though, don't I? I'm thinking that maybe, if he doesn't get his act together soon, I'm just going to have to get all 1950s man myself and ask him out for hamburgers and a trip to the movies."



Tara tried to look encouraging. Buffy hadn't had the easiest time with the whole dating men thing. She was pleased her friend had found a nice, normal guy.

"You should Buff. I know he's interested...everytime you walk into the room, he practically has to pick his tongue off the floor."



Buffy lightly punched Tara's arm. "Thanks Tara. You're a sweetie."



"So are you" grinned Tara. "But remember, Slayer strength and all that." She lightly rubbed her arm to illustrate her point. "Ouch!"



Buffy grimaced. "Oh god, I'm sorry I.." she trailed off as she met Tara's eyes and saw her laughing. "Yeah, okay...I get the point."



"So anyway" said Buffy, pleased that Tara wasn't grilling her about greek mythology anymore, "How about you? Any hotties around that you wouldn't mind getting to know a little better...."



Tara blushed. Although she'd had the big coming out speech to Buffy and Xander, she was still a little awkward discussing her girl crushes with Buffy. Or more than anything, her lack of girl crushes. While Tara was certain that she was well, more than kinda gay, she had yet to find that girl who made her weak at the knees, giddy, dizzy and flustered all at once. Or hang on, thought Tara, maybe they're all the same thing?



"Nah" she said eventually. "I don't know Buff...It just doesn't feel like I'm ever going to meet someone..." she trailed off a little forlornly.



"Well" smiled Buffy. "It's not like girls don't like you! God, face it! You're not exactly unpopular with girls around here."



Tara blushed furiously. She could never really understand why girls at university were keen on her. Maybe it was a hang-over from her over-bearing father and brother and her time at Sunnydale High when her only real friends had been Buffy and Xander, but Tara still found it hard and a little unbelievable when people were interested in her.



"I-I don't know Buffy....I'm kind of happy just being by myself at the moment.."



Buffy smiled sympathetically. Tara had started to stammer which meant that she wasn't entirely comfortable with the topic. "That's cool..." she began, changing the topic.."So feel like coming to the bronze tonight?"



Tara smiled. Buffy was a sweet girl. "Oh no, I can't tonight..I have my wicca group.."



Tara visibly lit up at the thought of it. Her mother had been a powerful witch but she'd died when Tara was in her early teens. And since then, she hadn't known any other witches.She was excited at the though of getting to know other witches like herself.



"Oh that's right" said Buffy. "Oh well, I'll get on to Xander and Anya, I haven't seen them for a couple of days anyway.."



Tara and Buffy entered the dorm room they shared.



"I'll call Xander now" announced Buffy.

_______________________________

Several hours later, Tara took a deep breath outside the room of the wicca group meeting. She was wracked with nerves. This is so scary, she thought, breathing deeply. But I have to do it! She pushed open the door and saw about seven or eight girls sitting in chairs arranged in a semi-circle.



"Uh...H-Hi..." she said, looking at the girl sitting at the head of the semi-circle. "I'm Tara"



"Hi Tara" said the girl, who introduced herself as Kristin and then reeled off a list of other names before Tara could take any of them. "Have a seat...we're just discussing the idea of getting a newsletter out to the sisters...we have to spread our message..."



Tara felt a bit confused but sat down anyway. She couldn't sense any other magical energy in the room and she was able to read people's aura's and there just didn't seem to be any actual witches or people with magical abilities in the room.



Five minutes later, Tara knew that her first impression had been totally accurate. Bunch of blessed-want-to-bes, she thought to herself. It was sort of trendy to be interested in witch-craft and clearly these girls viewed being a member of a coven as an adjunct to various fashion choices and moccachinos..the hot beverage of the week. She gazed at the floor, depressed and bored already.



After nearly two hours of listening to Kristin and her friends talk about what the stylish wicca was wearing this season, Tara was filled with enormous regret for coming. Why couldn't she have the courage to leave? But then, everyone would probably stare at her. Better to wait it out...Were they even going to discuss spells and magic? Probably not, given that no-one else seemed to have any magical awareness at all..



But then, something happened that deeply surprised Tara. One of the blonde girls sitting next to Kristin, who looked like a total cheerleader, pulled out an old musty book. Tara knew instantly that it was a genuine magic book. How an earth did someone with apparently no knowledge of magic or respect for it, come by a tome like that..



"Hey Kristin" said the girl, (Tara thought her name was Sonya or Samantha, or something like that). "Look what I uh....borrowed from that magic shop downtown.."



Tara frowned. Was the girl admitting that she'd stolen a powerful book from a shop owned by her friend and Buffy's watcher, Rupert Giles?



"Uh excuse me...did you uh...steal..that book?" said Tara..feeling very, very uncomfortable about confronting the girl and having everyone's attention on her.."Because you know...I..the guy who owns that shop is a friend of mine.."



"Chill out!" said the girl quite aggressively (who's name was actually Sandra). "If it's worrying you that much, I'll drop off on the way home after this. But I want to use it first..Look at what I found."



Sandra flipped open the book to a spell near the middle. "A spell to reveal your true love and soul mate. I just know if I use this, Steve will ask me out right away! It says it makes everything clear and he'll know that I'm the one for him.." she trailed off, excited.



Somewhat alarmingly, the other girls in the room, with the obvious exception of Tara, all looked equally excited. "Oh wow Sandra. Do you think it'll get Mike to ask me out?" asked Kristin eagerly.."Cause I know that he wants me bad.."



Within seconds every girl in the room except Tara was standing over the book babbling excitedly.



"Uh everyone.." said Tara.."M-M Maybe we should start with something a bit smaller..like floating pens maybe.."



"God Tara" snapped Kristin..."Don't be such a baby. This probably won't work anyway, but hell, if it does, I get me a date for Saturday night. So we're doing it."



Tara looked horrified and stood up. The text and incantation certainly looked powerful. But her mom had always taught her to respect magic. What was going to happen when a bunch of people with no respect for the power of magic and no visible abilities tried to use it for their own gain. "Oh goddess" said Tara quietely under her breath. She'd tried, but it was clear that they weren't going to listen to her.



I suppose i should stay, she thought. Maybe I can help if they unleash some sort of dark force accidentally. She sat glummly down again.



Within seconds, Sandra was reciting the spell. Tara knew that she Sandra was mispronouncing Latin words and hoped that that would cripple the spell somewhat. But basically, Tara understood that the spell was a revealing spell which called on the universal forces to make clear what was already there (I guess that means that Mike won't be asking out Kristin then, Tara allowed herself to think. He doesn't sound keen as it is! And this isn't a mind-altering spell) And then, two minutes later, it was all over.



Sandra, Kristin and the other girls looked expectantly around the room. But absolutely nothing happened. "What a waste!!!" yelled Sandra. "Magic hey!! I knew we should have gone shopping instead.."



And that seemed to draw the meeting to a close. Within a minute, every girl except Tara had cleared out the room, disgruntled that their dates hadn't materialized instantly. Tara noticed that Sandra had left Giles' book behind and she picked it up to take back to her room with her.



She was happy that the meeting was over and that she could head back to the dorm. Buffy would be as appalled as she was. She turned off the light as she pushed open the door. Well, that was interesting she thought..

_______________________________________________

Within ten minutes, Tara was fiddling with the lock on the room she shared with Buffy. "Stupid thing..won't quite.." she muttered ..and then it clicked into place and the door swung open, revealing darkness. So Buffy's still out then? thought Tara..as the door shut behind her..



And then, within seconds, Tara knew that something was different...there was something...no...someone in the room with her......she reached for the light switch frantically...

[willowsgirl]

ooh, MORE MORE!

This sounds like a really interesting concept, i definitely want 2 read more of this.

willowsgirl xx

[missspangles]

Hey thanks for that! Encouragement and interest is great! Well, i seem to be on something of a roll, so I will add the next part..hope that you like it..feedback always welcome (especially if you want more fast)



True love in this mortal realm - Chapter Two

Tara flicked on the light frantically and breathed a shaky sigh as light flooded the room. But there was nothing visible there..yet she was certain that there was something there, that she wasn't alone..



"Buffy...are you there?" she managed, feeling stupid as she said it. It was clear that Buffy was still out.



Okay, thought Tara, breathing deeply. I can do this. She shut her eyes and concentrated. She let the energy in the room fill her up. Well, it's not a bad person at least..she thought as she connected with whatever was in the room with her and felt warmth and ...goodness. What are you? she thought. And more importantly, where are you and what do you want?



Being raised by a witch meant that Tara was more comfortable than most with the supernatural. And plus, her best friend and roomie was the slayer..



She moved shakily over to her bed and sat down and tried to feel where the energy was emitting from. She tried to think of a spell that might allow her to connec with whatever was in the room.



"You must be here for a reason and I know you're not bad. I can feel it" she said quietly. "But I can't help you until I know what you want..." she trailed off.



"Okay then" said Tara..."You're shy are you? I can understand that...Hmmm."



Tara sat on her bed for another couple of minutes, breathing steadily while she tried to think of what to do next. It's funny, she thought. I'm alone in my room with some sort of supernatural presence..and I'm not even scared. In fact, thought Tara, you're really good aren't you..whatever you are...



But before Tara could clarify the thoughts in her head any more, there was a fumbling outside the door...and then, two seconds later, Buffy burst into the room..she looked a bit messy too..



"Hey Tar.." slurred Buffy.."Watcha doing...I've been at the Bronze..had me a couple of drinks...tried to outdrink Anya, wow, let me tell you..never get into a drinking competition with an 1100 year-old ex-demon, even if you are the slayer! You'll always lose!"



And with that, Buffy flung herself onto the bed.



Tara visibly flinched. She could feel the sudden breakdown of energy. So that's where you were? she grinned to herself..And then there was nothing..



"Uh Buffy..we had a visitor."



Buffy frowned. "A visitor? What kind of visitor?"



Tara looked thoughtful. "I don't know..A supernatural invisible one but whatever it was didn't reveal itself to me..it was good, i wasn't worried though.."



Buffy looked a little uncomfortable. It was much easier to slay things when you could see them (and when you're sober too she thought!). But she trusted Tara's instincts. If Tara thought it was good, then it was good.



"Is it still here?" Buffy asked.



Tara shut her eyes and tried to focus. "No.." she said, feeling a little sad. Whoever their visitor was, they'd left.

"No, they've gone now..."



"Well" said Buffy cheerfully. "I don't know about you, but I always sleep much better when I'm not being watched by a supernatural ghostly-type creature."



And with that, Buffy leaned back against her pillow. "Might just shut my eyes for a few minutes.."

And with that, she was out...



Tara smiled. It was good to see Buffy had had a bit of fun. Being the slayer was an awesome responsibility and sometimes it wore Buffy down. It was nice to see her acting like a typical college girl.



I'll get to the bottom of this in the morning thought Tara. I know I'm not in any danger..and with that, she too, leaned back for a few minutes sleep and was also out like a light in seconds.

_____________________________________________

The next morning, Tara was woken by the sounds of a hung-over Buffy stumbling around the room.



"Stupid extra-fast slayer healing powers don't seem to be working..shouldn't my hang-over be over in two seconds or something" muttered Buffy to herself, clutching her head. "Damn Anya! I bet she's fine!"



Tara rolled off. "Morning Buffy..feeling a little worse for wear this morning are we?"



Buffy grimaced. "Yeah and I've got class in..." she looked at the alarm clock..."had class an hour ago!! oh no!"



Buffy grabbed a pile of stuff from the floor. "Must get ready...fast..."



And with that, Buffy was out the door and off to freshen up. Tara sat up and yawned. And felt it right away. "Oh, you're back again are you?" she smiled.



Like last night, the presence in the room was giving out good vibes. "Come on" said Tara sweetly, "are you going to show yourself?"



And then, just like that, Tara could make out the faint outline of a person by the door. She looked intently at the shape and slowly, it began to take on a form..it was a girl, a young girl..red hair..jeans....a hot girl!



Tara jolted! It's a ghost and you think it's hot! Oh my goddess!



The girl looked curiously at Tara. And then she spoke..

"Who are you? And what am I doing here?"

______________________________

[SuperMandy13]

This looks like it's going to be a really fun fic. I definitely look forward to seeing more.



-Mandy

[missspangles]

Thanks for letting me know that you're reading and that you like it, it means a lot. And just to show my appreciation, here's some more! Any comments and feedback would be very valued and would result in more chapters. But not for a while, give me 24 hours or so before the next part. Thanks everyone for reading and for encouragement.



True love in this mortal realm - Chapter Three

Tara swallowed. This is probably stranger for her than it is for me, she thought to herself.



"Uh..I'm Tara" she said softly. "Who are you?"



"Willow" said the apparition. "I'm Willow."



"That's a pretty name" said Tara without thinking.



"Thanks" said Willow, smiling.



And then Tara shook her head. This was all very strange. "You were here last night.." she said.."But then you went away.."



"Yes" agreed Willow. "I didn't know what was happening but I felt safe with you..you're good...i can feel it...but then the other girl came into the room and...I had to go away again..."



"I won't hurt you" said Tara gently. "I promise. And neither would Buffy...But I want to know why you've come to me..."



Reassured by Tara's words, Willow walked over to the other girl. "I don't know..I thought you might..."



Tara frowned and looked at the figure standing in front of her. It was strange to be looking at what she was fairly certain was a ghost. She could make out her features clearly but could still see through her if she wanted to. The girl seemed to be roughly the same age

as Tara, young and fairly frail. She looked vulnerable.



"Well" said Tara. "We'll work it out together then.." she held out her hand to the other girl..What was the protocol in holding hands with ghosts? Could they touch mortals? Time to find out, she thought to herself.



And then, Willow reached out to Tara and placed her hand directly above the other girl's. Tara felt warmth flood her and then a sort of electricity and then...nothing as Willow took her hand away.



"Sorry" said the red-haired girl softly. "I guess that's not going to work."



"No" frowned Tara. "But I felt something...did you?"



Willow smiled shyly. "I did..it was nice..intense"



Tara met her eyes. "Let's try and figure this all though. What can you tell me about yourself?"



Willow sat down next to Tara, who looked encouragingly at her. "Well, I used to go here..before....before this happened to me...I was a ..." she smiled.. "a computer geek, I was doing some computer stuff here..I don't know how long ago..time...time is different here I think.." she trailed off.



Tara glanced at the clothing Willow was wearing.."well, I'm not really all that up on fashion..my best friend Buffy..she's the fashion...Sorry.." Tara cleared her throat. "What I was trying to say was that I don't know a lot about clothes, but the clothes you have on look pretty modern..you know...1990s..21st century."



Willow smiled.."I think I was studying here in the late 1990s...and I was 21 years old..."



Tara smiled. "I'm 21 years old.."



Willow continued.."And I was doing some magic, learning about wicca..."



Tara felt shocked..."You're a witch"



And as soon as she had said it, she knew it was true. She looked up at Willow and tried to make out her aura. Obviously, it was faded, Willow herself was an apparition but Tara could still see a very faint aura surrounding her. It was filled with colour and...power...



"You're a witch" said Tara with certainty. "A powerful one as well."



"I was" said Willow gently. "Not anymore..Anyway, I don't really know what happened to me..one day I was here and the next, you know.." she gestured at herself. "ghost I guess.."



"I guess" agreed Tara. "Do you know that I..." she trailed off without finishing.



"That you're a witch? Yes, I felt it right away..And you're good Tara, I can feel it too..."



Willow gazed at Tara, who met her eyes. There's certainly a connection here, thought Tara. But what is it? What's going on?



"Well" said Tara, clearing her throat. "I'll do some research today.I'll find out what's happening...I'll have to go to the library..and uh, the Magic Shop...but I'll come back and we'll work it out together."



"Don't you have classes?" asked Willow..then she smiled.

"Sorry, it's the geek part of me, I guess it's still here..Always hated missing those classes."



Tara smiled. "No, I don't have anything today. And besides, having a ghost come and visit you, well, I think that'd entitle you to a study-free day anyway."



They both chuckled.



And then, perhaps with less fan-fare than the night before, Buffy banged on the door and stormed into the room.



Tara jumped, startled and watched as Willow faded away and that slightly empty feeling took hold of her again.



"Can't believe I've missed my class.." Buffy grumbled as she flung the towel on her bed and grabbed a hair brush.."So very late.."



She turned and looked at Tara who had a funny look on her face. "What? What'd I miss?"

__________________________________

[willntlover]

Well, this is a realy interestng story. I like How it is coming together. LOL so funny how the wiccas wanted to do a spell, but wouldn't listen to Tara. More soon??



-Will

"I think finding her soulmate would have made Tara a more confident and secure person" -Amber Benson

[WillowPowered]

ohhhh I love it.



Great idea and very well written.



So, when's the next bit coming?



Jill

~~~~~~~~

My Home Page



I may not be fighting the good fight, but I'm cheering from the sidelines.



Willow - Say, you all didn't happen to do a bunch of drugs did ya?

[Lucy Moore]

You've started so well (your characterisation of Tara,and now poor Willow is so good,not forgetting the sight of Buffy with a hangover!),and I can't wait to read more (hint!)...Lovin' it.



All the best,

Lucy.

Visit Lucy and Emily's FanFic Archive.



fiat justitia,ruat caelum

[Taras Shadow]

Ouuuuuuu



Me Like! This a very interesting storyline. Willow a ghost. Tara...well, not a ghost.



More soon I hope. Keep up the awesome work!!



~Holly~



Young Girl Don’t Cry, I’ll Be Right Here When Your World Starts To Fall - Young Girl It’s Alright, Your Tears Will Dry, You’ll Soon Be Free To Fly – A Voice Within, Xtina

[Incitatua 8]

Just read your story...what a fascinating approach...I'm hooked! I love a happy AU and fresh ideas...you get high points for both. Combine this with Tara and Willow meeting and falling in love in such a novel way...BRAVO ! What could have happened to Willow? Tara's on the case! Can't wait for the mystery to unfold.

[bluewillowwitch]

Just ran into this sto ry. It is really good. Ihope that you haven't given up on it. e to see an update soon.







bluewilowwitch

---------------------------------------------

"Fate keeps on happening."--Anita Loos

[Stroke of Luck]

OHHHHHHHHH nice Story!!!



Its really interesting to see how Tara wants to bring her Soulmate back Hehe they didnt talk much but i already feel those tiny sparks, that flys around them



And Buffy!!! Well old Buffy is at work....she has the worst time thingy But anyway she is still a nice girl



Cu

SoL/Natti

This is a duet, Amber! You need to sing!"- Tony

[bindingwiccan]

this fic has me already. i will be checking back every hour to see if there is a wonderful update just begging to be read.

love it



much love kittens

-BindingWiccan

[nothingman]

Very Cool Looking forward to more...and finding out why Willow is a ghost.

-------------------------------


Willow: You two are the two who are the two. I'm the other one. (The Yoko Factor)

[BigMac]

I like what I have read so far,what happen to make Willow a ghost?

Tara: Assume Crash

Positions

[Grimlock72]

Just found this story.. fun to read that plenty of other girls were interested in Tara. To bad Tara herself couldn't really believe that, definitly to shy. How DID Willow become a ghost, she would know if she had messed up a spell I suppose...



I hope this story is still alive, seeing as the updates suddenly stopped about a month ago ??



Grimmy

--
"You hurt Tara," Willow said too calmly. "The last one who tried that was a god. I made her regret it." -- Unexpected Consequences by Lisa of Nine

[TareBearRS]

Liking this fic.. i really wonder how Willow became a ghost and why she doesn't remember how she died.



Update soon!?!



Renate

[Arwen276]

hello!!

I like your fic! it's quite intriguing and I can't wait for an update! I hope you're gonna post soon!





~Arwen

Hear That Baby? You're My Always... Willow

[xita]

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Edited by: xita  at: 8/30/04 1:16 am