Title: Trust
Author: OpheliacAngel
Pairings: Maggie/Tara, background Maggie/Glenn, future Maggie/Glenn/Tara
Genres: Romance/Family
Rating: Teen
Summary: Maggie and Tara go on a run together. It's quiet but she's not alone, and that's when Maggie likes it best.
A/N: Written for femslashficlets for prompt #031 heart.
Glenn's come down with the flu, so as much as he wanted to go with them on a supply run, Maggie simply wouldn't have it. Tara has her back, she explains, which she knows Glenn already knows. The three of them have been on supply runs before, so Maggie has become entirely comfortable with Tara. It doesn't slip past her that Tara always does what she's told, goes above and beyond, and that she didn't used to be this way. She must feel like she owes Glenn for something, which means she owes Maggie too.
Maggie figures taking advantage of that isn't so bad, not if she has a thing or two in mind.
She tells Tara to meet her outside in ten so they can be back before nightfall, hopefully with enough baby formula and batteries to last several months or - she'll pray - at least the former, because she knows that Tara will be there.
Maggie notices how Tara looks at her, eyes honing in on her neckline before slipping away. If Glenn has noticed this he hasn't said anything, and that's almost as good as giving Maggie the go ahead. She's never thought about being into girls before, she's never had much occasion for it. But she wants to know the Tara before all of this.
There's only one way to find out.
"Do me a favor," Maggie pants, struggling to push the door open while simultaneously pointing her gun toward the small opening.
Tara immediately jumps to action. "Oh god, Maggie. I'm sorry." Maggie turns her head toward her, doesn't miss how Tara's face blanches, the way her fingers scrabble at her gun and point it at the door. "Go ahead, I'm ready."
Maggie goes back to pushing, succeeding in getting the door it open. She pushes the dead body blocking the doorway out of her way with her boot. The two of them clear the downstairs rooms together while Tara heads upstairs before Maggie can stop her. A girl with a death wish. When she comes back down, Maggie's waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase.
"You feelin' okay?" Maggie presses the back of her hand against Tara's forehead, wincing at the heat seeming to steam off her skin. "Hold on a sec." With her other hand she grabs a bottle of water from her backpack and presses it against her forehead. "It's not that cold anymore, but hopefully it'll help. You must've caught whatever Glenn has. We won't stay out much longer."
"No, I…," Tara touches her arm, the one holding the bottle to her forehead. She abruptly pulls her hand back when Maggie looks at her, voice trailing off. "I can handle it. As long as we need."
"I know you can handle it," Maggie reassures, shooting her a small smile, succeeding in making Tara relax a bit. "But it doesn't mean I'm going to make you suffer through several hours of this."
Tara takes the bottle of water, moving it back and forth across her skin. Maggie can feel her eyes on her back as she moves through the kitchen, searching through the cabinets and filling up her backpack. She grins as her fingers make contact with unopened cans of beans, tomato soup, chickpeas and peaches. Tara hovers behind, as if keeping a lookout though still feeling the need to protest. "Maggie, really…."
Maggie crouches down to sift through a bottom cabinet, not turning. "What happened, huh? You imagine you're a burden, Tara, but you're not."
There's barely a moment of silence before Tara answers. "I attacked your camp."
Glenn never told me. Maggie immediately wants to use it against him. It's startling to find that Tara's admission no longer angers her, maybe because it seems like it happened so long ago. She's still angry, she just can't reach down inside herself to bring up that rage and panic. "With the Governor," Tara explains, as if Maggie can't remember quite literally the worst day of her life: when she lost her dad and almost lost Glenn too. "Glenn found me back at that prison, got me out. So before you say that I don't owe you or him a damn thing, Maggie, I sure as hell do."
Maggie's brow furrows. She still hasn't turned, but her hand is frozen in the cabinet. "But you've been making up for that for months, Tara," the realization comes to her as she voices it. "We know you now. You're not a bad person, you're family. Everyone makes mistakes."
Tara steps forward. She probably wants Maggie to whirl around and try to kill her, or at least beat her up a little. Maggie won't though, she holds true: Tara is not a bad person. "I tried to kill you and your family, Maggie."
Maggie goes back to sifting, even though she already knows the cabinet's empty. "Did you pick up a gun and start shooting at us?"
"What? No, I…."
Maggie sighs and stands up, knees cracking. "Then I forgive you, Tara. I'm sure Glenn does too, otherwise he wouldn't trust you with me."
"But," Tara huffs. "I'm never gonna go back to that person, Maggie. Helping you guys, whatever you need, that's my place now."
"But you can learn to live a little," Maggie offers, devious.
Tara stares at Maggie open-mouthed. "What are you….?"
Maggie drops her backpack and faces her. "Glenn won't be angry with me."
"Won't be angry at you for what?"
"For this." She wraps an arm around Tara and presses her lips against her neck, closing her eyes and mouth finding Tara's without even having to think about it. Tara tastes salty, sharp on Maggie's tongue, and when Tara kisses her she knows that she is absolutely not new to this. Quite honestly, she's a great kisser, steals Maggie's every thought and breath away with every thought finally to herself.
When Tara pulls back and looks at her, Maggie can feel her heart near to bursting. Loved.
FIN