hehe, ruth, ok here ya go... hope you like it.
no need to demand or beg, leave that to CK and her stalking email nudges for updates. come to think of it she's been very quiet lately. hmmm, i wonder if they finally arrested her for sexy dancing and naked frolicking with stick figures. i'm kidding CK ya know i have much love for ya.
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“Hey.” Tara shyly voiced as she entered the cabin full of teen-aged girls hurriedly getting dressed for dinner.
All had noticed the newcomer and yelled out their hello’s but hastily returned to their task at hand. Having finally arrived back to camp with only twenty five minutes left before the meal instead of their usual forty five, most of the campers had complained to not having enough time to get ready for dinner. That was a certainly must: to look pretty for dinner. They weren’t worried that they had gotten lost during their nature trail or that Buffy had to run to the infirmary to deal with her rash that now covered both her arms. No, all were too busy applying make up or doing their hair, one or two were still figuring out what to wear.
Willow grinned widely at the surprise visit from her girlfriend. “Hi!” Dressed only in a towel she wanted to reach out and hug her, to kiss Tara’s ruby red lips, to let her towel fall around her feet and let her lovers hands and mouth roam all over her body. “I, uh-“ she took a moment to calm herself down, playful thoughts were making her warm all over. “Hi.”
After beaming a shy smile, Tara’s eyes clandestinely scanned her favorite freckled skin. Skin she new the taste, the touch, the scent of so well. “Am I interrupting?”
Willow shook her towel wrapped head. “Never.” She quickly motioned to her bed “Sit.”
Tara happily obliged. She realized this was the first time she’d actually been inside Willow’s cabin. From what she noticed the cabin looked clean. Sure, there were various pieces of clothing scattered about the place, make up kits on the floor, noisy hairdryers at full speed and a radio blasting pop tunes but it wasn’t the mess ‘mess’ Willow usually used as an excuse. It seemed like an ordinary cabin, just like the cabin she had last year for that one week she’d been at camp before getting sick.
Tara sat down on the creaky bed and giggled at the noise. “Kinda, um… noisy. Your bed.” She clarified.
Willow was occupied towel drying her hair, “Yeah but it’s the only non bunk bed we have so I have to deal.”
“You don’t like bunk beds?”
“I like four post beds.” She winked at Tara. Again, the blonde shyly smiled. Willow loved that. Tara’s shy smile was both desirous and just plain old cute. “Could you hand me my brush, please? It’s by the wall behind you.” She mentioned as she held out her hand to Tara.
She wanted nothing more than to cusp Willow’s gentle and loving hand with her own. Caress it, kiss it, play with it. Instead, Tara turned to the wall behind her and grabbed the blue Cookie Monster brush she saw in one of the cubicles there. “Cute.” She said as she handed it to the redhead.
After placing the damp towel on the bed, red hair all disheveled, Willow grabbed the brush making sure her fingers caressed over Tara’s hand in the process. Just a sweet touch to hold her for now. Eyes connected, she voiced, “Thanks.”
“DAMMIT!” Jenn’s sudden shout clamored over all the noise. “This doesn’t match. Does this match?” She asked running over to Willow holding out a shirt over her own outfit.
“Uh-“
“Where’s Buffy?” she asked as soon as she realized which one of her counselors she was addressing. The bad wardrobe counselor. “She’s better at this sort of stuff.” Jenn explained.
Willow chuckled dejectedly, “She’s in the infirmary. Poison ivy?”
“Oh,” Jenn nodded, “Right. I forgot.” Her gaze quickly turned to their visitor, “Tara?”
Willow couldn’t believe Jenn was asking Tara over her!
The blonde flushed at the attention, she had been busy propping up Willow’s wet towel on a hook by the bed, “Uh, the outfit you have on matches quite well. Beige capris match with any color. Pretty much. Especially with that halter. And your shoes.”
After a loud ‘thank you!’ Jenn ran away satisfied and Willow turned over to her girl, “I was going to say all that.” Willow pouted.
Tara smiled at Willow’s reply, “Buffy got poison ivy?” she then asked.
“Yeah. She can be such a dummy sometimes.” Willow grabbed the edge of her towel wrapped around her thin body and sighed, “We don’t have much time until dinner so I’m going to go change really quickly. I have some clothes to mismatch.” She finished with a silly grin.
Tara laughed, “You sure you don’t want to pretty yourself up for the boys? I’ve seen how they look at you.”
“What are they looking at?” Willow’s voice was a bit childlike.
“The hotness of you, doofus.” Tara smiled, Willow sure looked nummy in that towel.
“Boys really think I’m hot?” Willow spoke in a whisper, “Oh my god. I'm cured! I want the boys!” Her eyes sparkeled in jest.
Tara giggled though trying to keep a stern face, “Do I have to fight to keep you? 'Cause I'm not large with the butch.”
Willow giggled at Tara’s remark. “I’ll be right back.” she grinned.
******************
The camp always bustled with activity just before dinnertime. Restless boys played a impromptu games of basket ball, girls zoomed in and out of each others cabins looking for clothes or cosmetics, counselors either chilled in the open field or gathered around in the assembly hall to discuss that evenings activities. Not knowing where they could go to be alone, she and Tara ended up walking around the campgrounds for the last five minutes.
“So you felt it, felt it?” Willow asked again.
“Yes, all of it. Even the relief when you all reached the camp.”
Tara certainly had felt that. At first she though it was because she had finally gotten the situation with William and Veruca under control. All right, so she really didn’t do much other than just sit still with her horse, roll her eyes every few seconds and wait. It was easier to just let the wild bunch get it out of their system and recognize that their horses would soon take over and pull them back in line.
But then she realized that it was a much deeper sense of relief, one that let her know everything would be all right with Willow. She felt her ease up, felt her smile. She hated the fact she couldn’t have helped her before. She knew and understood how scared Willow felt, how lost. One thing Tara hated was feeling helpless. She hated it with a passion because she felt it a lot.
“Has this happened before? Besides that other time I mean.” The redhead asked.
Willow’s words pulled her out of her thoughts. “Sometimes…” Tara couldn’t help but blush, “When I think of you.”
Willow made a long face at that declaration, “You only think of me sometimes?”
Tara laughed at Willow’s silliness, she knew the redhead was playing with her. “I think of you too much.”
Willow passionately shook her head, “Not as much as I think of you.”
“Impossible.”
“Trust me. I’m not kidding. You are constantly running through my mind.”
“No wonder I’m always tired.” The blonde replied as she reached out and tenderly gripped Willow’s hand.
A soft squeeze from the redhead sent shivers all over her body. “You are so cute.” Willow smiled.
Now it was Tara’s turn to pout, “Just cute?”
Willow chuckled. Tara was never just cute. Even when she woke up in the morning with bedhair and pillow crinkles on her cheek she was absolutely stunning. The redhead gently cupped Tara’s sweet face within her hands, “You take my breath away. Since the first moment I laid eyes on you.” She added as she lightly kissed the blonde’s lips.
Tara blushed again, her eyes timidly turned from the green ones she wanted to lose herself in, “Nah.”
Willow’s thumbs began their gently caress over Tara’s soft cheekbones. How could she explain all this to Tara? How she felt, how she’d loved her since the first moment she saw her? “Honest. I even remember what you were wearing the first time I saw you.”
“Really?”
“Uh huh. You had on a pair of blue jeans, a black tank top and that crochet like long brown cardigan. Your hair was parted in those big zig zags you sometimes do. You were eating an apple and reading a book… and you were breathtaking.”
Tara couldn’t help but laugh, “Wow. I don’t even remember what I wore yesterday.”
“You didn’t wear much yesterday.” Willow smiled cleverly as her arms wrapped around Tara’s waist and pulled her close.
“Vixen.” Tara couldn’t help it, there was no other word to describe Willow when she got kittenish like this. Had it been just yesterday though? How come yesterday felt so long ago? Like she and Willow had been together forever, like they had loved each other forever. Time warped with Willow. Or Willow warped her.
She had never expected to look up from her book that day and see such a cherubic face shyly smile at her. She never expected to fall in love so quickly and so deeply with the quirky redhead. Is this how two souls felt when reconnected after being apart for too long? Being with, learning, loving Willow was something she had never dreamed would happen. Never ever dreamed it would happen to her.
“I remember you talking about wanting to spit in Cordelia’s food. I found that very naughty.” Tara admitted.
“I can do naughty.” Willow declared.
“Riiight.”
“No, really I can. I never told you the story about the evil and skanky vampire me.”
“Vampire you?” Tara asked in disbelief.
Willow got heated as she always did when wanting to relay a story. “I didn’t want to tell you about her cause it’s kinda like weird and gross and she was very evil and skanky and kinda gay.” Uh, she didn’t want to tell Tara about her anymore. She didn’t want to tell her about her spell going awry and how a version of herself from an alternate universe ended up in Sunnydale. How she was a vampire, how she was a wicked vampire, a power hungry vampire, an apparent omnisexual vampire.
No matter how much it had been pressed that she was nothing like her vampire self, Willow still felt guilty about her. About what she did, how she acted. If she herself wasn’t evil or skanky but now realizing that she was kinda gay after all then maybe there was more to her than met the eye. Could there be a part of Willow inside her that wanted to dress in leather and hurt people? No, Willow would never hurt anyone. She didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Long story.” She ended lamely.
Tara noticed the change in Willow’s demeanor but didn’t press, she never pressed. If she wanted to talk to her about something she would eventually. “I-”
A bell suddenly rang out, it signaled throughout the camp that it was time for dinner.
Willow groaned in displeasure, “Oh phooey.”
“I should head home.” Tara nervously announced. She didn’t want to be late. Her father should have arrived to the house a few hours ago and he was quite strict about Tara being home when she was supposed to be.
Willow hated the fact Tara no longer ate dinner at the camp, she hadn’t since the last day of orientation. She wished Tara didn’t have to sit with the staffers during lunch or that she didn’t have to help out with the end of the session play during her free block. It sadly shortened their time together even more. “Will I see you tonight at the fireworks?”
“Fireworks?”
“We’re having our Fourth of July fireworks.”
Tara questioningly looked at Willow, “Uh, wasn’t the Fourth of July was last week?”
Willow nodded and smiled. “Yes, but we got rained out. Remember?”
“Right.” Tara’s smirk faded as soon as she began to explain, “I-I don’t know if I’ll be able to come. My father is back from his conference and…” She softly shrugged her shoulders.
Willow understood. From the little Tara had spoken about her father Willow gathered he was quite strict with his daughter. “Well, if you can sneak out...”
“I’ll try.” Tara’s eyes gazed at the ground again, she hated this part. Why did it always hurt so much to say goodbye?
Willow noticed tears brimming in Tara’s blue eyes and she quickly hugged her lover close. “What’s wrong?”
“Why can’t we go back to yesterday?” she asked through sniffles.
Willow didn’t have an answer for that, she only had a kiss. A kiss to try and make her feel better. A kiss to let her know everything would be all right. That they would have a day like yesterday again. Soon. Hopefully soon.
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TBC...
adding some comments:
Ruth- wow the great ruthificus thinks this is fresh like a bowl of strawberries. Gosh… thanks. This is quite a different fic isn’t it? sometimes when I think back on it I cant even believe I wrote it or that I am writing it. I’m sure there are far more talented writers that can do a much better job with this but yeah, I’m kinda happy with it.
Pacou- Jamie is a sweetie. I wanted a Dawnlike character in the fic since Dawn doesn’t really exist in this AU timeline. But I ended up writing Jamie willowlike for some reason and it just stuck. Yeah, clueless buffy is cute. I like her much better that way. Hehe…
Kerry- yup, blame the horse master. Kerry’s horsey insight has been nothing more than a blessing. Thank you my darling!
Toni- no need to nag about it. I’ll post either way, hehe. Ask CK.
Nath- hehe, how are the girls going to cope at the end of the summer? I dunno. Just kidding. Guess you’ll just have to wait and read. Doesn’t that just suck. no spoilers. Lol…
Edited by: Rane018 at: 6/28/02 7:30:58 pm
Anyway, that's the great importance of redrafting. And I know I sound like an English teacher now, so I will shut up.
and I'm gonna be hoping for some Willow/Tara interaction
Me nag??! *POUT* I don't nag....I respectfully request