Fic: Rough Magic (1/?)

[inell@xxxxxxx]

Title: Rough Magic
Author: Inell
Email: Inell@xxxxxxx
Disclaimer: Joss owns them all
Distribution: My site, Kiss or Kill, 
http://members.fortunecity.com/kissorkill Anyone that has permission, take. 
Otherwise, just ask.
Rating: R
Pairing: Willow/Buffy
Happy two year writing anniversary to me!
To anyone that is enjoying this one so far. Talk about a difficult part to 
write :/


ROUGH MAGIC (1/?)


Buffy sat in the large chair, her knees under her chin, her arms wrapped 
around her legs, her hazel eyes on the quiet redhead. It had been over two 
hours since the spell had gone bad. Two hours since Willow had spoken. They 
had sat on the blanket for what had to have been half an hour, Willow just 
sitting there looking at Tara's lifeless body. Buffy hadn't known what to do, 
not wanting to hurt Willow more by forcing her away from her dead lover, but 
also knowing they couldn't remain there forever. She'd simply stayed silent, 
holding Willow as the redhead tried to understand that Tara wouldn't be 
waking up. It was Willow that had finally looked at her, not saying a word, 
just smiling a sad smile that she had rarely seen on the redhead's face. 
There had been no tears, no words, nothing. 


Buffy was more scared by what Willow wasn't doing. She seemed to be in shock 
of some sort. Buffy had decided that they should go to the magic store to 
wait for news about Anya. The store tended to be their base of operations of 
late, having taken over from the library as their general meeting place. She 
knew that Giles or Xander would check for them there first. Buffy had gotten 
all of their supplies together, one eye on Willow who, by that time, was 
standing by a tree, simply staring into space. The slayer had left the 
blanket under Tara, not wanting the girl to be on the dirty ground. When she 
had gathered everything, she'd taken Willow's hand. The redhead had followed 
her, her grip very tight on her hand. Along the way to the store, she'd had 
to stop at a pay phone and make the phone call. An anonymous tip to the 
police telling them of a girl laying dead in the park. They acted as if they 
got calls like that all the time, thanking her and hanging up. She'd never 
been entirely fond of Tara, but she'd never have wished such an end on 
anyone. And Willow. Buffy hated what her friend must be dealing with at the 
moment.


"Are you cold?" Buffy asked softly, seeing Willow holding her arms around her 
chest. It was rather cold in the empty store at night.


Willow looked at Buffy, taking a moment to focus before she shook her head. 
She leaned back against the sofa, her green eyes moving away from the slayer 
again.


Buffy was at a loss. She had no idea what she should be doing. When Miss. 
Calendar had died, there had been tears and grief and guilt. She'd known Tara 
better than Miss. C, but tears wouldn't come. She knew it was horrible of her 
as a person not to feel sad that Tara was gone, had died in such a manner, 
but she could only bring forth sadness for what Willow was experiencing. She 
was sorry that Tara was dead. But, how was she supposed to help Willow when 
the redhead was in shock? And she was worried about Anya. They'd not had any 
calls from the hospital. When they had first arrived at the store, she'd 
tried calling, but they had no record of the girl. She assumed they were in 
ER still and probably hadn't registered yet. She hoped that it was a type of 
shock, making her so worried about Anya and Willow and accepting Tara's death 
so easily. She'd always thought of herself as a nice person, albeit a bit 
selfish at times. Why couldn't she cry?


In a way, she knew. She had to be strong, for everyone. Anya was obviously 
hurt. Xander would be a mess. Giles had seemed to be in some sort of stupor 
afterwards, not seeming to be much help. And Willow was in shock. If she fell 
apart, who would help them? She was sad for what Willow had lost and she was 
scared for Xander, praying that Anya would be safe, but she couldn't break 
down. Someone had to keep them together. And she was the slayer, after all. 
It was her duty to be brave and strong. Even when all she really wanted to do 
was hug Willow and cry. 


"She's dead," Willow whispered softly, speaking for the first time in hours.


Buffy looked at the girl and nodded, "I'm so sorry."


Willow looked at Buffy, studying the slayer, "They'll find her body?"


"I called the police," Buffy said, "they probably already found her."


"Another random gang attack," Willow said softly, making a face. "She 
deserved better."


"I love you, Willow. I'm here if you need me," Buffy said quietly, needing 
Willow to know she had someone.


"She looked peaceful," Willow remarked, "do you think it hurt?"


"No," Buffy said, moving from her chair to sit beside Willow. "She went 
quickly."


Willow nodded, becoming lost in thought again. It seemed unreal, like some 
bad dream. She kept waiting, hoping that any moment she'd wake up. Only, it 
didn't seem like it was going to ever end. She felt Buffy's hand on hers. She 
couldn't feel that if it were a dream, could she? If it wasn't a dream, it 
meant that it was real. Tara was dead. No, it was a dream. Just a very bad 
dream. If she was good, if she stayed quiet, she'd wake up soon. Then this 
nightmare would be over. Everything would be the same as it had been the day 
before. She looked at Buffy, seeing the sadness and love in her friend's eyes 
before looking away again. Just a dream, she told herself as she squeezed 
Buffy's hand tightly. Just a very very bad dream.