FIC: Right In Front of You Ch 28(PG-13 for Part)

["CDS" <callistosdarkside@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Back from lazyville.

Just over 1300 words in length. Orginally, this chapter was going to be
much longer, but I felt the next scene deserved a chapter all its own.

Enjoy.

-CDS

• Title: Right In Front of You
• Author: Callisto's Dark Side
• Email: callistosdarkside@xxxxxxxxxx
• Feedback: The more I get, the faster I write.
• Distribution: Can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/callistosdarkside/RightInFrontOfYou.htm (My Site),
http://www.geocities.com/last_days_of_pern, and
http://www.peccath.com/extraflamey/mainframe.htm
• Spoilers: All of Season 5, but events take place before some events in
Tough Love.
• Rating: R
• Pairing: W/T & B/W
• Disclaimer: All characters from Angel & Buffy the Vampire Slayer are
copyright Joss Whedon & 20th Century Fox.
• Summary: Willow/Tara fic in which the two love birds must manage to deal
with the consequences of a spell that threatens to tear them apart forever.

Tara stared silently at her reflection in the water, grasping the locket
around her neck, before lifting her head to meet Dawn's eyes.

"Dawn, I think we should go tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yes, I think we should leave as soon as possible."

"Okay, but…" Dawn started, but stopped when she heard some rustling in the
bushes. "Tara, over there!" Dawn pointed to the movement in the bushes on
the other side of the stream.

Tara's eyes flashed wide open as she cast a spell, binding in place whatever
was hiding in the bushes.


Chapter 28


"Let me go!" Anna screamed, struggling against the invisible binds cast by
Tara.

"Anna?" Tara said, surprised to see the young girl.

"Let me go!"

"Of course," Tara replied, immediately undoing her binding spell. "Why were
you spying on us?"

Anna rubbed her sore wrists, "I was playing hide-and-seek with Auntie
Glory."

"Oh," Tara and Dawn said in unison.

"Can I go now?" Anna asked.

"Of course, sweetie, find some other place to hide," Tara replied, shaking
her head.

Dawn waited till Anna was well away before turning to Tara, "That was
close."

"Tell me about it. If that was Glory…" Tara trailed off, "I don't know what
I would've done."

"Luckily it wasn't."

"I should've been more careful," Tara shook her head, "I could've
jeopardized us both."

"Well, it's not like Glory could do much, I mean, she's powerless here."

"True, but if she knew we were trying to leave, she'd try her best to hitch
a ride. That's why we have to be more careful. That's why we have to go as
soon as possible."

"You mean tonight, right?"

"Yes, tonight. We'll leave when everyone's asleep."

"But aren't we gonna tell Leanna?"

"We can't," Tara answered.

"But… that's so cruel. She might think…"

"I know…" Tara trailed off. "How about we leave her a note?"

"What if Glory reads it?"

"She won't. I'll magically imbue it so that only Leanna can read it."

******

Dawn waved goodbye to the silent homestead in the middle of the night. The
occupants, Leanna, Anna and Glory, fast asleep.

Tara whispered goodbye, as she ordered their horse to begin moving again.

"Shouldn't we get a new horse?" Dawn asked, "This one's probably tired."

"Here," Tara, offered her hand to Dawn.

Dawn accepted Tara's hand, "A spell?"

"Uh, huh. We'll give our horse a pick-me-up. Just repeat after me."

Dawn nodded.

Tara began reciting the words, and Dawn repeated them.

Tara had one hand on the horse's mane with her other hand holding Dawn's.
Soon their combined energy flowed into the tired beast.

Immediately, the horse picked up its head and began trotting forward with
renewed life.

Tara smiled at the horse's liveliness, as she directed the beast to their
destination.

******

Buffy stiffened when Willow laid her head on the Slayer's shoulder, as the
two sat in the movie theatre, thirty minutes before the start of the movie.

"What's wrong?" Willow inquired, sensing the Slayer's muscles tense up.

"Well, it's just, I've never…"

"Been with a woman in public before?" Willow finished.

"Yeah," Buffy replied sheepishly.

"It's okay, Buffy," Willow reassured. "Sure, people stare, and whisper, and
all that other stuff, but usually, no one bothers you, unless you start
making out."

"Really?" Buffy asked, before shaking her head, "Sorry, I'm being stupid."

"No, you're not," Willow lowered her head to force eye contact. "I felt the
same way my first time."

"Really?"

"Really."

Buffy smiled, "Thanks for being so understanding."

"If it helps, you're nowhere near as nervous, as my first time out with
Tara," Willow replied, still pained, but somehow managing to remember more
with fondness than with pain.

"I don't think you would say that, if you could see my boots," Buffy
drawled.

"You're not wearing any, silly."

"I know, I just wanted you to look."

Willow smiled. "If you want, we can start slow?"

"What exactly constitutes slow?"

"Well, handholding for one, which we already do."

"Handholding is good. What else?"

"There's the naughty whispering in each other's ears."

Buffy blushed. "Won't people hear us?"

"That's why they call it whispering."

"I see your point. What else?"

"I thought you said you wanted to take it slow?"

"Well, if that's all there is to slow, I think I can handle medium," Buffy
drawled.

"Very well, Ms. Summers. If you feel up to graduating to the next level,
when the lights go down for the movie, we can…" Willow placed her hand and
mouth to the Slayer's ear and began whispering.

"You sure it'll be dark enough?" Buffy flushed.

"Positive," Willow grinned.

"M'okay," Buffy smiled.

Just as Willow reached out to hold Buffy's hand, they were rudely
interrupted by an ex-demon.

"So, did you have sex yet?" Anya questioned, popcorn and pop occupying her
hands.

"It's the movie theatre!" Buffy stated, while Willow giggled.

"So," Anya shrugged, sitting down next to Buffy and handing the Slayer a
large tub of popcorn, "Xander and I have had sex in here before."

"What?" Buffy asked in shock.

"Yeah, in the back corner. I think it was during Jurassic Park, can't
remember what number though, only the sex."

Buffy shook her head, "Please don't tell me the details."

"Fine," Anya huffed, "but it was good, however, brief it was. The best
part…"

"Ah," Buffy held up her hand, stopping Anya from proceeding.

"I was going to say," Anya moved her head around Buffy's hand to talk to
Willow, "that the best part was that we could've been caught."

Willow giggled some more, but stopped, once Buffy glared at her.

"You see," Anya exhaled, "I'm not the only one that thinks it's a good
idea."

Buffy rolled her eyes and turned to Willow, "Does she really have to be
here?" The Slayer pleaded.

"We promised Xander, remember?" Willow replied.

"I know," Buffy grumbled. "I just don't think we were thinking when we
promised."

"How could we be, we were in the middle of kissing," Willow grinned.

"I know," Buffy blushed, wanting to taste those lips once again.

"Julia Roberts!" Anya shouted gleefully.

"What?" Buffy snapped, turning on the ex-demon.

Anya slouched down in her chair, "Julia Roberts…" Anya squeaked, pointing to
the movie screen.

Buffy turned her head and saw the question on the screen, "Oh."

"It's okay, Buffy," Willow soothed, looping her arm around the Slayer's.
"Anya will be quiet, once the movie starts, right?" Willow glared at the
ex-demon.

Anya nodded her head, not wanting to face the wrath of both a witch and the
Slayer, although, she still felt she could take Willow, one-on-one.

******

"I forgot our journal!" Tara shouted as she brought the horse to a stop,
with Dawn clinging on to the Wicca for dear life.

"It's okay, I got it," Dawn managed to get out, as her face was buried in
Tara's back.

Tara sighed with relief.

"Would you really have gone back for it?" Dawn questioned, lifting her face
from the Wicca's back.

"I don't know," Tara said, starting the horse up again. "It's just that, I
wrote so much in it. There's so much I want Willow to read."

"I know," Dawn smiled. "I read it."

"You weren't supposed to," Tara said in mock anger.

"Like you never read my stuff," Dawn rebuffed, mockingly.

"True, but my stuff had explicit details in there, not suitable for
Dawn-aged girls."

"Where? I never read any of that?" Dawn questioned.

"I know," Tara giggled, "I used the same spell that I did on that note to
Leanna."

"So you wrote naughty notes in our book?"

"Yup, only readable to Willow and I alone."

"That's not fair. You got to read all my stuff," Dawn pouted.

"I thought you said you didn't want to know the details."

"I don't, it's just, the principle of the matter," Dawn stated, trying to
cross her arms, but since they were tightly wrapped around Tara's waist, it
didn't exactly work.

"What principle would that be? The LE kind, or the PAL, kind?"

"Lame," Dawn yawned.

"I thought you liked my jokes?"

"That was before I knew you were hiding things from me."

"Fine, do you really want to know what I wrote in there?"

Dawn thought it over, "Maybe…"

"Is that a yes, or a no?"

"Mmmm…okay, yes."

"Very well…" Tara grinned. "I wrote that…"

Dawn listened in eager anticipation, expecting the most lurid and intimate
details of Tara and Willow's relationship, but was pleasantly surprised,
when all she heard were Tara's romantic dreams and memories about her
redheaded lover.

Confiding in someone else, lifted Tara's spirits. Somehow, just saying her
dreams and memories out loud, made the Wicca feel better, and lifted her
hopes of returning home and returning to Willow.


To be continued.