**NewRuthRising: Heh ... well, of course they do - they have eyes, don't they? Thanks - glad you enjoyed the 'flipside' of this particular vignette *G*
**SlayerTazz: LOL ... well, that was certainly a, ummm ... animated reaction. Sorry about the pun. I really couldn't help myself.
**Jennpurr: *snicker* Well, here's to perpetually prancing visions.
Series: Vignettes
Number: 25
Title: Reunion
Author: Sassette
Feedback: Can be sent to
pink_overalls@yahoo.comSpoiler Warning: None
Summary: Willow's been away.
Disclaimer: I didn't create these characters. I do, however, love them, and as they reside in my heart, they belong to me. I'm not making any money off of them, though.
Rating: PG-13
Reunion
Part 25 of the Vignettes Series
by Sassette
Tara paced the length of the row of seats, Dawn and Buffy watching her silently, their heads turning slowly in unison as Tara progressed.
"Delayed," Tara said, expelling a puff of breath in clear agitation as she paused in her pacing to glare at the monitor, willing the offense word to chance to 'Arrived'.
"Tara, it's been three weeks. You can wait another half hour," Buffy said, her leg bouncing as she sat. Really, she wanted to be pacing, too, but someone had to be the calm and mature one, and with Tara tearing her hair out, that left Buffy. Being the adult, she decided, sucked.
"No, I can't," Tara said, pausing in her pacing to rub her hands vigorously over her face. "It's been three weeks - a lot can happen in three weeks," she went on, picking up the pacing where she had left off. "Stupid computer conference," she muttered, kicking her feet into the carpeting as she walked. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," she said, the litany reminding her that she had been the one who had urged Willow to accept the honor of being a keynote speaker at an international computer conference, despite the fact that she, herself, would be unable to go with her to England.
"Like what?" Dawn asked, a confused look on her face. "You know she got on the plane - she phoned you from the gate."
"Well, what if she stayed on the phone so long she missed the plane?" Tara asked, glaring at Dawn.
"Whoa!" Dawn said, holding up her hands and backing up as far as the seat she was in would let her. "I think she would have called, y'know, if she missed the plane?" she asked uncertainly, looking over to Buffy to back her up.
"Oh, definitely," Buffy said, nodding vigorously, hoping to appease the TaraMonster before she decided that Slayers and Keys made a nummy lunch. "Much with the callage, if she hadn't made the plane."
"I just … I … I miss her," Tara said, seeming to deflate as her shoulders slumped and her glare turned into the forlorn expression Dawn and Buffy had dealt with for three weeks.
Dawn and Buffy exchanged a look, each one hoping Tara wouldn't start crying again. With a little sigh, Tara flopped into a chair, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth.
"What if … what if she - I dunno, met someone? Some beautiful hacker she has tons of things in common with?" Tara said so quietly, Buffy and Dawn wondered if they were meant to hear it at all.
"That's ridiculous," Dawn said emphatically. "When did she have time to meet anyone at all? She spent every spare moment talking to you on the phone."
"And even if she did meet someone she had tons of things in common with, Willow would never love or want anyone but you, so if she met someone, which she didn't, they're just friends," Buffy piped in.
"Yeah?" Tara asked, lifting her gaze to look at the sisters - the women who were like her own sisters - with a heart-breaking mixture of self-doubt and hope in her eyes.
"She's absolutely crazy about you, and you know it," Dawn said, swatting Tara playfully on the arm, earning a small half-hearted smile from Tara.
"And she's probably pacing the aisles of the plane right now, demanding to know exactly when they're going to land, then counting down the seconds until she gets to see you again," Buffy added.
"Exactly," Dawn said, nodding. "I bet she's making a big ruckus right now."
"Thank you," Tara said gratefully, shaking her head self-deprecatingly and standing up again, rubbing her hands on her thighs. "I know I'm being silly - it's just …" she said, trailing off.
"She loves you. You know it. We know it. Heck, after last Valentine's Day, everyone in Sunnydale knows it," Buffy said, a wry look crossing her face as she remembered THAT little escapade.
"I know," Tara said, nodding, her head falling forward. "I just … sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve that, and it all seems so unreal, y'know?"
"It's real," Dawn said quietly, a small smile on her face. "It's the realest thing I know."
"Thank you, Dawnie," Tara said fondly, running a hand down the younger woman's hair in an affectionate gesture before taking a deep breath and resuming her pacing in silence.
Buffy and Dawn both let out sighs of relief, then settled into wait, and to watch Tara pace. The minutes ticked by, slower than they could possibly imagine minutes ticking by, until, finally, Tara gave a little squeak and hopping in place, pointing at the monitor.
"It's here! She's here!" she said excitedly, unable to contain herself. "Oh, God - do I look all right?" she asked, smoothing her hair down with one nervous hand. "And - oh, oh! Should I have made a sign? A cheery little greeting? Something silly? What if Willow expects a cheery little silly sign? I didn't bring one - I didn't even think of it," Tara said in a rush, her panic evident.
"Calm down," Buffy instructed, standing up and laying a soothing hand on Tara's shoulder. "The only thing Willow is expecting is you, waiting right here."
Tara nodded, biting her lip and trying to settle her nerves. It was stupid to be in a tizzy over Willow returning - Willow returning was definitely a good thing, and here she was freaking out. With a little shake of her head to clear the panic away, Tara took several calming breaths, then turned to face the stream of passengers that started emerging from the plane.
"Dawn, can you see her?" Tara asked, trying to peek past the crowd and catch sight of that familiar and much-loved red hair.
"No, I don't see her," Dawn said from her higher vantage point. "Oh, wait …" Dawn said, standing on her tip-toes. "There she is!" she said, pointing at the passengers.
"Where?" Buffy asked, standing on her tip-toes, but still unable to see anything but the passengers right in front of her.
"She's coming up," Dawn said. "She'll be here really soon."
"Stupid height," Buffy mumbled, impatiently jumping up on the chairs. "I'm older - why couldn't I have been the tall one?" she asked no one in particular, peering up the jetway. "Oh! There she is! There's our Will!" Buffy said excitedly. "She looks tired," Buffy remarked.
"Well, it's a long flight," Dawn pointed out with a shrug.
Tara stayed where she was, torn between jumping up on the chairs with Buffy to catch a glimpse of Willow, and wanting to be within easy reach the very second Willow emerged from the throng. Finally, her patience paid off, and she caught a quick glimpse of red hair before it was swallowed up again by the crowd, a broad grin stretching her lips and tears stinging her eyes at just that brief look.
And then, so suddenly she thought for a split-second she was imagining it, Willow was just >there< - standing right in front of her. She did look tired, Tara noted, before losing herself in those green eyes she had missed so dearly.
"Tara? Baby?" Willow said softly, the clear fatigue in her face melting away under the brightness of the smile that grew there.
"Oh, Willow, sweetie - I missed you so much," Tara managed to say, before Willow unceremoniously dropped her laptop and her carry-on, her freed up arms finding their way around Tara's waist to pull her close. "Welcome home, baby," Tara murmured into her hair, snuggling into Willow, wrapping her own arms around slim shoulders, laughing with sheer joy as her eyes once again brimmed with tears.
"It's so good to be home," Willow said, squeezing her love for all she was worth and joining in the laughter, her own tears spilling over as the sweetness of the reunion warmed her heart.
the Willow to Willow-boob convo was funny! 
yes, it's the boobies...in leather... 
Jenn, I can't thank you enough for it.. 
DUDE! Willow in leather, is almost as drollworthy as Tara in leather. Wait... I think they are even.
Tara won a bet
The love of Willow & Tara
Roomie dragged me into the cold shower clothes and all.
My response to her asking exactly what made me go thud...I'll just let her read it for herself.
at: 8/21/02 1:48:47 am
the Taramonster was cute..hehe