**Autumn: Hey you. Autumn. *G* Well, hypothetically, say - if you were rereading a story that was at one time possibly referred to as 'Answering Darkness', that had a quote such as that in it ... the subsequent happy frolickings would, maybe, appear in the theoretical sequel 'Lingering Darkness', were such a thing to be written by someone who might be me at some unspecified point in the future.
**pikescoob: Heh ... I love how Willow and Tara have the opposite reaction to being nervous. Willow just babbles on and on and on, and Tara trips over her words. Each is adorable in its own special way. Thanks *G*
**tkheaven: LOL ... if a picture is worth a thousand words, that's probably the longest bit of feedback I've ever gotten *G* I'm really glad you liked them.
**Puff: Heh ... yes, she did *G* And as that quote is from Answering Darkness, I should darn well hope it ties in No worries, though ... that actually confused me the first time I looked at it - I was wondering if I'd mentioned the truckers in one of these vignettes. My mind is like a sieve.
**Autumn: You really >did< have me confused for a moment ... I wondered for a moment if I was reading the AD thread, or if I'd put something about lesbian-friendly truckers in here. I'm probably going to eventually ... but the actual trip will be in a sequel. If I ever get around to writing it.
**TX: For Autumn? You really know which buttons to push, don't you? *G* First, Autumn says she considers AD to be her S6 ender, giving me an incredibly warm and fuzzy feeling, then you say I have to do it for Autumn? You shameless hussy. Of course, that's what I like about you best.
**Bookcat: Don't feel bad - I thought I had missed one, too *G* And I'm reasonably sure I'm too young to be senile. But a 'thank you' to you, a 'thank you' to your school, and a 'thank you' to your school's thesaurus *G* And yes, I'm sure your teachers are very sorry that their pesky homework is cutting into your fanfic time.
**Autumn: I'm just not sure what to say to that
Series: Vignettes
Number: 11
Title: Holding Hands
Author: Sassette
Feedback: Can be sent to
pink_overalls@yahoo.comSummary: Willow and Tara stay out too late … if you've read all of 'Answering Darkness', you'll recognize this story.
Spoiler Warning: Season 4 Hush. Set vaguely in Season 4 sometime after Hush
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
NOTES: The general overall story here will be recognizable to anyone who has read AD. Actually, the response I got from posting this bit is partly why I figured it would be possible to write the Vignette Series and have people actually like it *G* There are, however, a few changes - mostly an expansion kind of thing.
Holding Hands
Part 11 of the Vignettes Series
by Sassette
"Oh, my God!" Willow breathed out in a panic, her sleepy eyes widening as she looked around at the shadowy park. It had been daylight - very VERY daylight - just a few moments ago. Hadn't it? As if completely disbelieving the evidence of her eyes, Willow checked her watch, squinting in the dark.
No, it was definitely after sunset. Mentally kicking herself, Willow turned to see Tara, curled up peacefully on the blanket, looking for all the world like an angel. A little flutter in the vicinity of her heart as she looked at Tara didn't surprise Willow. In a way, she had gotten used to it fairly quickly. It was a repeatable and observable phenomenon, and as such, she had to take it as scientific fact. Tara made her heart skip a beat.
What that actually >meant< was anybody's guess, and Willow was fairly sure she had a guess, but her mind shied away from the thought. Even as she determinedly didn't think about what having warm fuzzy feelings for another girl really meant, the subject tumbled around just at the edges of her consciousness. In a way, it was as if her brain were a party and while she certainly wasn't talking about it, everyone else at the party was, and she occasionally caught whispers of it as she walked around looking for the cheese puffs.
"I don't even >like< cheese puffs," Willow grumbled, reaching out and shaking Tara gently. She was feeling a little … perturbed at her rebellious thoughts, but that was certainly nothing she wanted to take out on her peacefully sleeping friend.
"Huh? Wha-?" Tara muttered, her eyes drifting open. Disoriented, she looked around, regaining her equilibrium when she saw Willow. If Willow was there, everything had to be all right.
Then reality hit her. They were outside. After sunset. In a park.
"We must've fallen asleep," Willow said apologetically, as Tara's eyes widened.
With a start, Tara got to her feet, looking around and wishing she could just smack herself for being so irresponsible. She knew what lurked in the dark in Sunnydale, but did Willow? Willow was relatively new to the whole Wicca thing, and though she knew about magick, that didn't mean she knew about vampires. She hadn't seemed surprised by the Gentlemen, but that could mean anything. For all Tara knew, Willow had rationalized it away, thinking some lunatics had escaped or something.
Determinedly, her motions fast and sharp, Tara started packing up. "We should hurry," she said quickly.
"You're right," Willow said with a nod, relief washing over her as she helped throw their things into the basket. Obviously, Tara didn't need to be pushed and prodded into hurrying, and she wondered vaguely if Tara had some idea about the darker side of Sunnydale. It wasn't something she could really just bring up … she could just see herself, doing a spell then casually mentioning vampires and seeing if she got a reaction.
Of course, with her luck, she probably would. Tara would turn tail and run out of her life as fast as she was able.
"I-I'll, uhh … carry the, umm, basket," Tara said as quickly as she could, hefting the basket into her arms as Willow grabbed the blanket in a jumbled mass.
"Ready?" Willow asked shortly, hoping Tara wouldn't notice how panicked she was. Here she was, a Scooby who had been fighting demons for years, and she had fallen asleep on a picnic? Stayed out after dark? She didn't even have any stakes or holy water handy. If Tara got hurt, it would be all her fault. And, Willow admitted to herself, her fault or not, seeing Tara hurt would be … just about the worst thing she could imagine.
They started walking quickly, each one grateful that the other was moving so fast. Carefully, but as hurriedly as they could manage, they made their way through the park and back onto the campus, following the paths that lead to the dorms.
Still, Willow's mind turned again and again to Tara, and the new feelings the girl inspired. Or, more to the point, the 'not new' feelings. These were familiar feelings, only more intense, but … they were boy feelings. Well, feelings she had only had about boys before. And her eighth grade english teacher, but that was normal, wasn't it? Just a case of advanced hero worship?
Besides, she didn't even know if Tara was … like that. And even if she was, why would the sweet young woman want Willow? She was silly and she babbled, and too smart and not pretty enough. She didn't even know if Tara was okay with alternative lifestyles at all, let alone living one. Or willing to live one.
"This, uhh … is my umm … stop," Tara said with a little nod. "Y-you should really, umm … w-walk fast," she said, wincing a little at how lame that sounded. "Buffy is, umm … probably w-worried," she added, mentally congratulating herself on her save.
"Yeah, and, umm… actually, why don't I walk you to your door?" Willow said, peering around, trying to see into the darkness. She certainly didn't >think< there were any vampires around, but it's not like she had any kind of special slayer sense or something.
"Oh, n-no," Tara said, shaking her head emphatically. "Y-you've got to, umm … you've got to get back."
"No, I really should walk you to your door. In fact, I insist. This is me, being absolutely insistent," Willow said, pointing to herself, her lips forming a thin line and her brows coming together in a look of pure determination.
"But y-you shouldn't be o-out that, umm … that long," Tara said, her eyes growing wide as she frantically cast around in her mind for something - anything - she could say to Willow that would get her to get back to her dorm - back to safety - right now, and not later.
"I know you haven't seen this before," Willow said seriously. "But this is my 'resolve face'. Absolutely nothing can change my mind once the resolve face is in place. Learn it. Know it. Do not argue with it."
"H-how about, umm … y-you just, umm … spend the night? I-it's late, and y-you could, umm … c-call Buffy. I-I'd worry if you, umm … w-walked all the w-way back to your, um, dorm. By y-yourself," Tara said.
A warm glow started up in Willow's heart, spreading through her chest as a slow sweet smile crept over her face. "Really? You'd worry?" she asked hopefully, then quickly composed her expression and shook her head. "No, not that worrying you is good. No, no, firmly of the bad. And we can't have a worried Tara, so we'll just, umm… go inside. Yeah," she said, the last word almost said to herself as she nodded again.
"O-okay," Tara said, letting out a relieved breath. She detected movement out of the corner of her eye, and she turned her head to look over Willow's shoulders, her eyes widening as a tall lanky man with very pale skin - and, she suspected, no pulse - walked into the light from the shadows. "Run! Mugger!" Tara called, grabbing Willow's arm and pulling her forward, adjusting the basket under her arm.
Years of Scooby training meant that Willow didn't need to be told once, and she started moving, pushing Tara ahead of her to keep herself between whatever was there and Tara. She glanced over her shoulder, her suspicions confirmed. That, she knew, was definitely a vampire. The game face kind of gave it away.
They sprinted across the lawn, not bothering to use the path and making right for the door. They burst through with no trouble, neither one stopping as they raced up the stairs to Tara's dorm room.
Tara had no idea how they had managed to cross all that distance safely - especially with the basket and blanket still in hand - but they had, practically falling into Tara's room after she managed to get it open. The fairy lights twinkled merrily at them, and they both felt a sense of safety wash over them.
As they looked at each other, each out of breath from running away from the "mugger", they burst out laughing for no apparent reason, except the adrenaline coursing through them, and the sheer relief that they were both okay.
"W-what, uhh, are y-you, umm … thinking a-about?" Tara asked, her eyes drinking in the sight of the beautiful face - cheeks flushed, eyes bright, hair tousled - that she spent so much time studying in her dreams.
"Do you think Bert and Ernie were living an alternative lifestyle?" Willow blurted out, then immediately looked like she was so embarrassed she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Tara's brow furrowed in confusion, and she tilted her head as she studied Willow silently.
They had been chased by a vampire and >this< was what Willow was thinking about?
"I guess, umm … they, uhh, could?" Tara ventured uncertainly, eyeing the redhead like she'd never seen her before as Willow blushed. "I-it w-would be, umm, kind of, uhh, cute, if they were?"
"Oh, yeah," Willow agreed. "Not that I think puppets necessarily have a sexual orientation, but if they did … I mean, two guys … one has this thing for his rubber ducky … living together and alone all those years, sharing a bedroom …" Willow prodded, gesturing weakly with one hand and looking a little sheepish.
"Loving y-your, ummm, rubber ducky means y-you're, uhh, gay?" Tara asked, a smile starting in her heart and spreading through her as she watched Willow wring her hands and shift her weight from foot to foot, a frustrated expression on her face.
"I didn't mean that," Willow said slowly. "I mean, lots of people like rubber duckies. Rubber duckies are all … yellowy and happy … and they make bathtime fun."
"Y-yes. Very fun," Tara agreed, nodding. "I, uhh … like the w-w-way they, umm … squeak," Tara confessed, looking down shyly, but not minding that she was stuttering around the other girl. Willow had a way of just waiting patiently as Tara struggled with the words that warmed her, and she could detect no mockery or censure from her.
"Yes!" Willow agreed enthusiastically. "Their squeakage is all … squeaky," she finished lamely, still feeling a little foolish, but a bit better now that it seemed Tara was following her random line of thought.
"W-w-when I w-was, uhhh, little," Tara began to relate, her eyes laughing as she spoke. "My b-, uhhh, the, umm, there w-were some, uhh… little rubber … um, boats? And the duck w-w-as the same, uhh, size, so it w-w-was like, W-whoa! Giant duck!"
"Exactly," Willow said with a nod, giggling softly. In a weird way, she felt like Tara really understood her. It wasn't anything she ever said or did relating to Willow directly, but the way she followed Willow's conversations, going along with the topic no matter how strange and out-of-left-field it seemed. "'Cuz if there were little people on the boat, the duck would be all giant and scary, and they'd think it was like one of those sea monsters they used to believe in when they thought their boats would sail over the edge of the world. I used to leave the boat in the water when I pulled the plug, and watch it get sucked in by the whirlpool."
"I-isn't that, uhh … kind of, umm … mean? To the, errr, tiny sailors?" Tara asked uncertainly, somehow hoping there was more to the story, despite the sailors in question being a figment of Willow's childhood imagination.
"Oh, well," Willow said, scuffing her foot self-consciously and looking down at her sneakers. "I kind of used to have the rubber ducky swim over and rescue them, so the sailors wouldn't be afraid anymore, and they'd all be friends."
Tara laughed, delighted at the story, impulsively taking Willow's hand in hers and giving it a little squeeze, a warm tingle shooting up her arm at the contact of skin on skin. Eyes wide, Tara couldn't look away, the feeling buzzing through her skin taking her by surprise. It was the first time they had held hands since they had moved the soda machine, and Tara had always thought it was the magick they had both gathered.
But it wasn't the magick.
It was just them.
A wave of joy rose up inside Tara, and her laughter continued for completely different reasons. There was a connection there, between the two of them. Something more than magick. She didn't know exactly what it was or where it would take them, but it was there, and it made her happy to know it.
Willow looked up from her sneakers, her eyes meeting Tara's as she smiled shyly, joining in the laughter.
by BoredNow99 » Wed May 29, 2002 2:51 pm 
) 
Of course, I'm schmoopy, too. I really liked writing this one.
(Willow=tk/Tara=tk's gf)
