Title: She Will Be Loved / Stay With Me
Notes: The first title comes from the song, the second from a key line in the fic. Therefore, I use both names.
Author: Naeryn-chan! ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own the song, despite having downloaded it onto my computer. I also don't own Willow and Tara, which is just depressing, so I won't go on about that.
Notes II: Amusingly enough, this was inspired by a karaoke performance at Pride Prom. Or, more specifically, the look shared between a friend of mine and her girlfriend during said karaoke performance. Which was delightful and as good as, if not better than, the original song.
Feedback: I would welcome it. I tried to write this in a bit of a different style than I've done before, I'm trying to get a bit more... prosaic. I think the ending is a touch sketchy. Constructive criticism is adored.
She Will Be Loved / Stay With Me
A downcast face turned up at the window, dim candles lighting the occasional flash of red hair. Tara turned away, letting the rain that fell in gray sheets wash away the tears that dripped silently from her dulled blue eyes. Her blonde hair darkened with water and fell in her eyes, plastered to her cheeks. She pushed it back slowly, arm weighted with subtle grief.
What was it like, not to be filled with sadness all the time? She hated seeing Willow go with someone else. Heedless of the wet, she sat down on the edge of the sidewalk and watched the cars go by, panes of glass and metal keeping those within out of the rain. She could list the succession in her mind: Xander, Jesse, Oz, Xander again, Hayden, Jackson, back to Oz…
Beauty queen of only eighteen
She had some trouble with herself
He was always there to help her
She always belonged to someone else
Tara understood, though. She’d been tempted to do the same. She and Willow were sometimes too alike; they reacted the same way to their respective problems. Willow’s parents were almost neglectful, and Tara’s father was… well, perhaps too attentive. Was it that unreasonable to think that Willow might turn to her? She looked up at the window again. The candles had been blown out.
I drove for miles and miles
And wound up at your door
I've had you so many times but somehow
I want more
Head dropped into her hands, Tara began to shiver. The rain was cold, but she didn’t care. How could she leave? Maybe Willow would come out again, after Oz left. If he left. Sometimes they stayed all night… and so did Tara. She stood and wrapped her arms around her. The light blue sweater she’d put on was dark and heavy. The wool soaked up every drop that fell.
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved
She turned away. It was time to go. Her feet dragged, caught and snared on the pavement, Tara hating every subtle movement that took her further from Willow. But how could she stay? How could she keep killing herself like this? Waiting for someone who would never want her. Never want to be held by her, never want to be loved by her.
Willow loved her. She just didn’t want to love her. Tara sighed. She tried so hard to pretend. Maybe that’s what the endless parade of guys was about. “I wish I could help you, Willow. I love you.” Her voice was soft, hardly a shade above a whisper, as she faced the redhead’s window for one last time. Willow.
Tap on my window knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful
I know I tend to get so insecure
It doesn't matter anymore
“I love you, Tara.”
It's not always rainbows and butterflies
It's compromise that moves us along
My heart is full and my door's always open
You can come anytime you want
Whirling around, Tara’s eyes widened. Willow stood there, just outside her door. “W-W-Willow?” What was happening? She didn’t understand. Was she dreaming? No, she never had dreams so good.
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
Willow, hair already next to black with slick rain, stepped forwards. Wrapping her arms about herself, she looked up at the sky. She wore a thin piece of lingerie, hardly more than a teddy, and a pair of running shoes with untied laces. A faint smile cracked her lips. “It’s raining. Pouring so thick you can’t see three feet in front of you. But always… there’s always one star that shines bright enough to be seen anyway.”
She turned and looked over at Tara, green eyes bright and intense. “Stay with me?”
I know where you hide
Alone in your car
Know all of the things that make you who you are
I know that goodbye means nothing at all
Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls
“I th-thought you said g-g-goodbye.”
Tap on my window knock on my door
I want to make you feel beautiful
“I was wrong.”
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
And she will be loved
Eyes closed, Willow turned her face upwards again. “You’ve spent so many nights out here. Out here in the rain, with nothing more than a skirt and that sweater.” She looked back at Tara. “Must get cold.”
Please don't try so hard to say goodbye
Please don't try so hard to say goodbye
“I don’t mind.”
Yeah
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
A moment passed. Another. Tara took a hesitant step forwards. “Willow.” She mouthed the word. “W-Willow.” A whisper. “W-Willow.” Two long strides, and she had her arms around the slight frame of the girl she’d longed for. Lips pressed together, hot in the chill water cascading around them.
Please don't try so hard to say goodbye
As she followed Willow inside, three words ran through her mind in faint echoes: “Stay with me…”
You know, there's gotta be something wrong with me. This certainly isn't the first time that a song has made me think about 
. And maybe its cause of watching HIMYM, but this fic was really sad.
AWW-NESS. This made me cry, alot. Cause my ex-g/f...she had the red hair like Willow...and we split up, it was bad. Then in July we went to a carnival as friends, and we walked to the park, as friends. When we got there she stepped up to me, put her hand on my shoulder, leaned up and kissed me. At that point we had been apart for 3 months after being together for 8. We eventually got back together, and the total time together (not including breaks) was 11 1/2 months.....but anyway....it made me cry cause i was happy, not sad.