Boris Yeltsin – Yay!

Dirty Tube Socks – SVU watching was in Hacker universe! ;) The first time I said was to one of my friends in a dollar store…then I promptly ran off to a different aisle :P People do believe the packet thing! I made a joke once about the 'gay mafia' to one of my friends and for like a year until it was brought up again, she thought it was serious! As for the only people they've had feelings for – yeah, I just figure, you know what, this is fanfic and I can do what I want and that makes me feel warm and fuzzy so I'm gonna go with it! Plus, like the little-angst, it's sort of become a theme in my fics so I'll continue it! Tara has not been on a date in this universe. She kind of brushes past it 'I've never, um…' etc etc. They kind of both have this hopelessly romantic attitude towards it all *coughtotallymeprojectingcough* that they were just waiting to meet each other (I know it comes up as unrealistic disneyfication portrayals of love sometimes, but hey, all's fair in love and fanfiction, right? Especially love in fanfiction!) Haha, well I hope you had a good 4th of July anyway :)

AstronSoul – Becky does know Willow well! Their relationship was always my favourite from the secondary characters so I'm happy I get to give her a little more screen time! Yeah, I wish coming out was that easy too! It kind of became easier for me when I realised it never stops. There will always be someone new to come out to, so that kind of took the power away, that you were just waiting on one person's reaction. Really glad you're enjoying it and hope you continue to do so :)

Errik's angel – Not enough for long! Definitely not, I don't plan on stretching it out too much, and there'll be date-ish moments before real date moments! I'm glad the characters seem real! I know my world couldn't be farther from the show world most people fell in love with so it means so much people read the universe I put them in.

obscure999 – Yeah, I don't want to rush them too much (but we all want them together so I won't drag it out either!) Yes, definitely fluffy. The angsty overtones with the parents won't be too big a deal either – there'll be a bit more delving into it when they talk about it with each other, but after that, well, it's already known that neither of them will confront those relationships for quite a few years!

canwizard – I'm glad to have you along for the ride on this one! Super happy you've enjoyed the verse so far – I think they deserve some happiness. Hope you like this one too!

Willowtarafan4life – Tara doesn't have a brother or cousin in this verse – it didn't fit in with how I wanted the confrontation to go with her father in Hacker. Haha, I'm sorry for the torture! I promise I'm not intentionally dragging it out, I want them together too!

Willtara 4ever – I'm glad the chapter could cheer me up! And I like those adjectives!


"Again, Willow? Is there one day this week you haven't spent with Tara?"

Willow sprayed herself with some body spray to freshen up, then sat on her bed to contemplate the question.

"No," she answered finally, a smile coming to her face at the fact, "No I haven't."

It had been ten days since their afternoon spent talking by the oak tree, and they had kept up steady contact since, making plans to see each other every day, even if it was just for an hour. Willow always brought them coffees despite Tara protesting each time that she didn't owe her any more. They stuck around campus, and the tree, if the weather was nice or found a warm place inside to sit and talk if it wasn't.

Both generally steered away from further talk of their parents, not wanting to taint the good time they were having together, but Tara did speak about the some of the happier memories she had of her mother and Willow opened up about her 'geek-infested roots' and how it had caused her some hassle in high school.

As well as that, they talked about their respective classes, some professors they'd both encountered, books they were reading and other interests they enjoyed. Once, on a nicer day, Willow had pointed out a funny shape she'd spotted in the clouds and they'd lost hours quietly identifying more, spending a long while in complete silence, just content with each other.

Willow was particularly excited for their meeting this particular evening, because it was the first time they'd arranged to meet 'after dark'. Their daytime schedules had clashed with an extra credit assignment Willow had due, and so only had the evening free. She'd been delighted when Tara had agreed to the evening with her - even if the plan was just to sit by 'their' tree and talk, like they normally would, doing so at night was just one step closer to a real date.

A date which neither had broached yet; or, as Willow felt, hadn't quite plucked up the courage to ask for.

She wanted to ask. There had even been occasions when she almost had, times when she was almost sure she felt a reciprocation of her feelings from Tara, but something blocked her each time. She didn't think she could cope if she was rejected.

"-dea?"

Willow blinked a few times as she realised Becky was standing over and talking to her, having been lost in her own internal musings.

"Huh?"

Becky sighed; she knew exactly where Willow's thoughts were.

"I said do you really think that's a good idea?"

Willow's lips dropped in a frown.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

Becky sat at the chair by her desk and started to slip her shoes on. While initially being delighted that her best friend had found a potential romantic interest, as the days had dragged on, it had turned to concern.

"Because..." she replied, sighing again, "I know you. And you're falling for her. Hard. And if she's not feeling the same way and just wants friendship...you're going to be crushed."

Willow's frown turned into a pout and turned away, pretending to search for something atop her nightstand.

"Yeah well I don't want to think about that."

Becky shook her head.

"Willow..."

"Becky, I said I don't wanna think about it!" Willow replied loudly, throwing her hands up exasperatedly, "I'm still...scoping her out, feeling around. Like you told me to. So...that's what I'm doing."

Becky knew the annoyance wasn't really directed towards her, but at the situation. If her roommate wanted to stay oblivious for a while, then she'd let her. She had yet to meet the now famous Tara, so she couldn't draw her own conclusions from their interactions, but it didn't stop her knowing she'd need to be there for Willow.

Whether that was to squeal excitedly if the relationship ever blossomed or be there with chocolate and tissues and if it all fell apart.

"'Kay, Will. Whatever you think is best."

Willow felt bad for snapping, but didn't want to be put in a dour mood so close to meeting Tara. She spun back around to Becky and sighed.

"If friends is all she wants to be then I will be her greatest friend in the world. I need her in my life. That's not even a question. And I'm gonna fall for her. I can't stop it. It's already happening, happened. If that causes some huge, massive problem...I will deal with it. Whenever that is. Until then...until then, I'm clinging to the possibility that she could ever want me back. Okay? Can't I have that?"

Becky just nodded.

"Sure, Will. You can have that."

Willow gave a resolute nod to stave off the feeling of dejection.

"So you're going somewhere tonight?" she asked after another moment, gesturing towards her roommate, "That's a nice dress."

Becky checked her appearance in the mirror and tucked the hem of her dress up a little.

"Yeah, well if you don't make an effort on Valentine's Day, then when do you?"

Willow's eyes widened in surprise.

"It's Valentine's Day?"

"Uh, yeah," Becky replied with a 'duh' expression on her face, "Have you not seen the cut-out hearts all over campus?"

"I thought they were the party advertisements that are always around," Willow responded, jumping up from her bed and bouncing up and down on her feet, "Tara agreed to meet me on Valentine's Day. That...that could be a good sign, right?"

Becky offered a positive smile.

"Yeah, it could."

Willow clapped her hands together once, hope restored.

"Cool. Great. So, um, who've you got a date with? Anyone I know?"

Becky shrugged.

"Just a guy from my poetry class, Andrew. We're getting some Italian food and going dancing."

Willow grinned playfully.

"Should I expect you home tonight?"

Becky gave a sly wink.

"Depends on how good a dancer he is."

Willow giggled and was about to wish her best friend a good evening, when a thought occurred to her.

"Hey, do you think I should bring some food? I was gonna bring a blanket anyway 'cause the grass was kinda dew-y when I was walking past it earlier...I could get something delivered and bring it with me? I mean, it's late, kinda...she might not have eaten in a while."

Becky exhaled slowly - she had no idea if she should be encouraging Willow or not.

"That would be…date-like."

"It could be an experiment!" Willow exclaimed suddenly, the scientific part of her brain going into overdrive, "I can set everything up like a date and see what her reactions would be to that! To being on a date! With me! So it's like a...pseudo-date. Which, if nothing else, is another step towards a real date."

She nodded happily as she spoke, delighted to have figured out some way to at least try and further her relationship with Tara.

"Yeah, I'm gonna order Chinese food. She said she liked Chinese food the other day when we were cloud spotting and I said one looked like a fortune cookie! Where's my phone?"

Becky stood up and grabbed her purse from the bed.

"Good luck with your pseudo-date," she said as she made her way over to the door, "I gotta go."

Willow covered the mouthpiece of her phone which was pressed against her ear and smiled at her friend.

"Have a good night. Thanks for all the advice," she said warmly before speaking back into the phone when someone greeted her on the other end, "Hi, can I get a delivery please? BC campus. Yeah, can I get..."

She placed an order of the things she liked and threw in a couple of extra dishes in case Tara had different tastes. When she'd finished ordering, she looked down and decided the outfit she had on wasn't good enough for a date, pseudo or otherwise.

She walked over to her closet and opened it, looking through for a few moments before pulling out a forest-green halterneck top, one which would have been something she'd normally pass over for its lack of fuzziness, but had been a birthday present from Becky the year before. She held it against herself and decided it went well with the black pants she was already wearing.

She pulled the shirt she had on over her head and dropped it on her bed before fitting the halterneck snugly over her frame. She turned around a few times in front of her mirror, straightening the fabric out before grabbing getting some green eyeshadow and applying a light amount on her lids, hoping the overall effect was appealing.

She spent another minute checking herself out before finding the spare blanket she had under her bed. She left it on her desk and sat down, biting the skin around her thumb as she contemplated how she'd go about this 'pseudo-date'.

Stop overthinking. Ha! Who do you think you're speaking to? Right, yourself. Talking to yourself because you're completely insane. Get all the crazy out now, brain, 'cause you're not allowed be crazy tonight! I specifically ban it!

She nodded to herself, resolve face fully in force, before the shrill ringing of her cell disturbed her. She quickly answered and confirmed her dorm building, then got ready to go downstairs. A quick glance at the alarm clock on her nightstand told her it was about time to set off to see Tara anyway, so she threw the waist-length black jacket that was hanging over the chair at her desk and slipped it over her shoulders, then checked her pockets for wallet and keys.

She slipped the blanket under one arm and flicked the lightswitch off, then left her dorm and went downstairs to wait for the food delivery guy. She only had to wait a couple of minutes before he arrived and she paid him while taking the paper bag in her other hand.

"Keep the change," she said warmly when he tried to hand her back some coins, before taking a deep inhale of the brisk air and set off for the tree.

She grew cheerier as she approached, excited about her 'experiment', and would have skipped if her hands hadn't been so crowded and weighing her down. The sun had completely set, but the sky was still a dark blue in twilight, the stars just beginning to peek out. She arrived at the tree in a few minutes and set everything down on the ground, spreading the blanket out and unpacking the cartons of food.

"Are we having a picnic?"

Willow's head shot up at the sound of Tara's voice and she jumped up with a smile.

"Hi! I, um, I got us some food. I was kinda hungry so I thought you might be too. And I remembered you said you liked Chinese food...You do, right?"

Tara heard some sound float into her ears, but she couldn't quite register what was said as she took in what Willow was wearing. She'd loved seeing the different styles of brightly coloured and textured shirts and pants Willow had worn each day, but she would have been lying if she said she didn't appreciate the figure-hugging halterneck or the way the deep green made her eyes pop.

She looks so beautiful. And she went to all this effort...it's almost like a date. Is she trying to tell me something? Does she want a date? That's probably just wishful thinking, Tara. She's not that shy. If she wanted to date, she'd ask. She's just trying to make an effort for a friend so stop overanalysing and answer her.

"I...I could eat," she managed eventually, wondering if it would be okay to compliment the outfit.

Friends can tell each other they look good, right?

Willow bounced in delight and didn't notice the lingering eyes on her as she gestured down to the blanket.

"Great! I wasn't sure what you liked exactly so I just got a few different things. I can order more if you don't like anything."

Tara nodded shyly and sat on the corner of the blanket.

"You're outfit is really pretty," she said quickly as Willow got comfortable opposite her, "I really like your top."

Willow looked down and smiled; pleased she'd opted to change.

"Thanks," she replied, feeling herself burst with happiness at the compliment before a dash of reality hit her.

It might not mean a thing. Friends tell each other they look good all the time. I just told Becky earlier.

"Is that Moo shu pork?" Tara's voice interrupted Willow's train of thought as she pointed at a container, "I love Moo shu pork."

Willow blinked for a moment, then pushed the container in question over towards her.

"Yeah, me too. Don't tell the Jew police though."

Tara laughed and Willow felt herself smiling from ear-to-ear that she was able to make her do so, then a quick look in the now empty bag made her smile falter.

"Uh oh. They forgot to include those little plastic spoon/fork thingies."

Tara pointed at a couple of pairs of chopsticks that were already out.

"We have those."

Willow eyed the utensils warily.

"I, um...I haven't the slightest idea how to use those."

Tara picked them up and handed one pair to Willow.

"I can teach you. It's easy. A guy in my study group taught me. We get take-out if we're staying up late sometimes."

"Are you sure?" Willow replied with a nervous chuckle, "I wouldn't wanna...accidentally poke you in the eye or something..."

"Don't be silly," Tara laughed, holding up her chopsticks in demonstration, "You hold one of them between your thumb and middle finger...it should be touching against the bottom of both."

Willow copied the blonde's hand motions.

"Like this?"

"Exactly," Tara smiled, before adjusting the second chopstick, "Now with this one, you put it between your thumb and your forefinger on top. Against the tip of your thumb and the pad of your forefinger."

Willow intellectually understood what Tara was saying to her and could see how the action was performed but when her brain send the signals down to her fingers, they somehow interpreted it as 'toss the chopsticks in the air and make one hit your pretty friend in the forehead'.

"Shit," she exclaimed, scrambling over to the other side of the blanket so she was beside Tara, rubbing her thumb over the place when the utensil had hit, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, don't worry about," Tara replied with a soft sigh as Willow touched her, before composing herself and picking up the accidentally-thrown chopsticks, "Just plastic."

Willow sat back on her heels, a guilty look on her face.

"A couple of plastics sticks to you and the rest of the world maybe, but in the hands of this spaz? Deadly weapons."

"I'm sure you can do it," Tara replied, offering Willow the chopsticks back, "Sit back down, we'll try again with the sesame chicken, that should be easy to pick up."

Willow was reluctant to make an ass out of herself again, but couldn't resist a request from Tara. She sat back down and smiled when Tara shuffled right up close to her, then her eyes widened as she watched her friend pick up a piece of chicken and offer it to her. She silently closed her mouth over the offering, thankful she was able to do a task like that without messing up.

"See? It's easy," Tara somehow managed to speak despite being completely distracted by Willow's lips, "I-I'll help."

She let her gaze flutter upwards, then held out the chopsticks for Willow to take. Willow did, but held them very carefully until Tara reached out to cover her hand, gently moulding her fingers until they took the right shape over the utensils. Tara used her hand's position to guide Willow's hand down to the container again and helped her grab some of the contents before removing her hand completely.

Willow kept her grasp tight on the chopsticks and carefully picked up the piece of meat. She looked up to meet Tara's eye and slowly, cautiously, brought it up to her mouth. She felt her heard start to pound as Tara took it between her lips and let her hand drop back down by her side. She looked between Tara's lips and eyes, not caring right then if she was being obvious

"You did it," Tara whispered when she finished, so low that the redhead wouldn't have heard had they not been sitting so close together.

Willow felt her breath start to come in shallow, heady gasps. She didn't know whether her mind was playing cruel tricks on her, but it seemed as if their faces were inching closer and closer together. She was sure she recognised the look in Tara's eyes - it was the exact same one shining in hers.

Want.

Was her plan working? Had setting things up like a date prompted Tara to be a bit more apparent with possible feelings? She wasn't sure. She couldn't tell. But she did know that Tara's lips were definitely closer to hers than they had been three seconds ago. Much closer. And they were getting even closer still. She licked her own lips in response and felt her eyes flutter closed. It was coming. Tara's lips were coming towards hers. They would be on hers any second...

Until loud shouts from a few feet away from them made both girls spring apart in shock and surprise.

"Wooo...hooooooo! Glug, glug, glug!"

Willow gaped at the group of boys stumbling down the sidewalk nearby, some with beer bottles in their hands, the rest gulping the liquid down their throats. She felt like marching over there and smashing the bottles over all of their heads as her mind reeled from what had, or in fact, hadn't happened.

She took a calming breath that did little to assuage her, before glancing over at Tara, who had picked up one of the containers of food and was picking at some of the food, examining the content intently, hiding flushing cheeks that Willow couldn't see.

She's acting like nothing happened. Did I...Did I imagine it?

"Frat boys, huh?" she managed to speak after a moment, "The only people who don't want a date on Valentine's days. At least not just one."

Tara's mind was running to ninety after their almost-kiss. She had been just a millimetre away from sealing the deal when the interruption had happened and now couldn't help but think it was fate's way of stopping her from doing it. From ruining the one pure friendship she'd ever had. Sure, Willow hadn't pulled away when she'd started to push closer but that was probably because she wouldn't have even thought of the possibility of kissing her and so wouldn't think to pull away.

She decided in that moment that she'd been stopped from making what could have been a terrible mistake if it meant losing Willow as a friend. She knew she couldn't let Willow see her flustered or anguished without arising suspicion so forced a smile instead.

"Huh. I forgot it was Valentine's day. Explains why I saw quite so many couples on my way here."

Willow's face instantly fell.

She didn't know it was Valentine's Day either. Which means she didn't agree to spend time with me on Valentine's Day. She agreed to spend time with me on any old day. Like every other day. Nothing special. No step forward. And my mind clearly must've imagined whatever the hell just happened. Or didn't happen. She's just eating those noodles like she didn't just almost make all my dreams come true.

She blinked away an errant tear that came to her eye, ashamed at letting herself have such a reaction and quickly composed herself as she picked up another of the containers and tried to eat. She didn't really care that she still couldn't use the chopsticks that well since her appetite had been rapidly suppressed by her own thoughts.

"This is good Chinese," Tara broke the silence after a few minutes of them eating quietly.

"They deliver to campus," Willow responded, feeling like it was a bit of a stupid answer but not knowing what else to say, "I can give you their number."

Tara gave a quiet nod.

"Thanks."

They lapsed into silence and finished eating most of the food displayed in front of them. Willow packed all of the empty containers back into the bag and started tapping her fingers against her pants. Both of them noticed the shift in the mood of their evening and Tara, thinking was her fault, decided to start a new topic of conversation to try and get back to their normal friendliness.

"Do you like the stars?"

Willow looked up at the surprise question and offered a small smile.

"Yeah. I really do, actually. They're supposed to make you feel all insignificant, but they made me feel like ... like I was in space or something... part of the stars. Part of something so much bigger than just me," she replied before pointing upwards, "See, there's Canis Minor. Oh and Cassiopeia. That's 'Little Dog' and 'The Queen' to you and me."

Tara looked impressed.

"I never knew the Latin names. I never knew any of the names actually. I always made up my own."

Willow looked at her friend with an inquisitive grin, not feeling quite so down on herself as she had been just a few minutes before.

"You did? Will you...will you teach me? Unless they're private or something."

"They're not private," Tara shook her head, moving over slightly so they were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder again and pointing upwards, "See right up there? That's The Big Pineapple."

Willow giggled.

"The Big Pineapple?"

"Yes," Tara nodded definitively, tracing a line of stars with her finger, "That right there is the base. Then it curves upwards."

Willow followed the curve with her eye and nodded, impressed.

"It's big."

"Hence the name," Tara replied with a wry grin, before moving her fingers over to a different patch of stars, "And that... is Short Man Looking Uncomfortable. See that cluster of stars there in the middle? That's the grimace."

Willow threw her head back in laughter.

"Tell me more, tell me more."

Tara beamed that she had seemed to be able to get past the awkwardness she was sure she had caused before and moved her hand again.

"Moose Getting A Sponge Bath."

"Oh I can see the antlers," Willow replied in mock-seriousness, "It must be a male."

"Of course," Tara replied in a similar mirth-filled tone, "It's the female who has to give him the bath."

Willow giggled again.

"Got any more?"

Tara looked upwards and bit her lip in contemplation.

"Little Pile O' Crackers?" she suggested after a moment before shaking her head, "No, I don't think that one works."

"No, I can see it!" Willow insisted, moving her hand beside Tara's and tracing the same path her finger had, "Look, there's the crackers...piling up...and there on the top, see the little swirl? That's clearly the Cheese Wiz!"

Tara gave a small laugh and dropped her hand.

"You're good at this," she said before an errant yawn escaped her, making her cover her mouth, "Sorry."

"You sleepy?" Willow asked with a smile, glancing down at her watch, "Yeah, it's getting pretty late. Can I walk you back to your dorm?"

"Oh," Tara replied, wishing she'd been able to suppress the yawn so they wouldn't have to part, "Yeah, sure. That'd be nice."

They both stood up and Willow gathered her blanket and folded it under her arm before taking the bag of empty containers and threw it in a nearby trashcan. She walked back over to Tara and once again found herself almost about to instinctively take her hand. She shoved her hand into her pocket to stop herself as she started walking alongside Tara, letting her lead the way since she realised she didn't actually know which student house her friend resided in, they'd never discussed it.

"I had a really fun night," Tara said as they strolled along the grass, "No one's ever understood my star constellations before."

"Well they're just stupid poop-heads," Willow replied in all seriousness, "They're so much better than the other ones."

Tara smiled as she stopped outside a building.

"Well this is me."

Willow nodded, only paying attention to Tara's smile again, before she realised where they were and did a double-take.

"This is what?"

"This is me," Tara repeated, tugging the end of her shirt uncomfortably when Willow continued to just stare at her, wondering if there was an issue because she'd lucked out in getting a dorm in what happened to be the newest building on campus, "Is that a bad thing?"

Willow looked between the building door and Tara in disbelief.

"Tara, this is...I live here!"

"You do?" Tara asked, surprised.

"Yes!" Willow replied, almost shouting at this stage, "How have I never seen you in the lounge or getting food...or...or something!"

Tara gave a small, shy shrug.

"I don't leave my room much. You know, except for class. Or I didn't before I met you. I only went into the lounge when no one else was there."

Willow was completely flabbergasted but didn't know what else to say, so just opened the double glass doors.

"Well I said I'd walk you to your dorm."

Tara slipped through the door and started walking down the hallway.

"I'm on the ground floor, I have a single."

Willow nodded almost curtly, irrationally annoyed at herself for not discovering Tara sooner.

"Lucky. I love Becky but it'd be nice to have some private space sometime too."

"You can come hang out in my room if you need some peace," Tara offered before ducking her head shyly, "I could leave and you could just...chill."

"Thanks," Willow replied with a small smile, "But I'd prefer if you were there too."

Tara smiled and gave a quiet nod before stopping outside her dorm. Willow looked up at the number on the door and had a whole new reason to be upset.

"Tara, please tell me this isn't your room," she said and saw Tara just give her a nod, "No, this can't be your room. This is 109."

Tara looked at her door number in confusion.

"Do you...not like prime numbers?"

Normally Willow would have laughed at that but instead just leaned against the doorframe and put a hand flat against the door.

"This can't be your room...109 can't be your room...because my room is 209. And that means...that means that for the past 18 months there has been...what, a foot of flooring between us? A foot. And we never met. And that's not fair."

Tara looked towards the door in a mix of surprise and anguish – the anguish from the upset look on her friend's face.

"We've met now," she said, putting a comforting hand on Willow's shoulder but just saw her sigh so without thinking of anything other than offering her some comfort, pulled her into a hug, "We're friends now."

Willow inhaled sharply as she felt Tara's arms wrap around her. It was the first time they'd ever hugged and she just melted. For a whole second, she wasn't worried, or upset. She was just hugging Tara. She couldn't believe wonderfully perfect it felt, how wonderful Tara felt holding her and squeezed back as tightly as she could. That second was quickly dissolved though, as she took in Tara's last words.

"Right. Friends. We're the best of friends," she said with a forced smile, trying not to bark a laugh out, "So, um, I know where you live now, so I'll, um...I'll come down and visit, okay?"

Tara gave a small nod, sad she hadn't been able to cheer Willow up.

"Or, um," Willow continued, trying to lighten the tension in herself by making a joke, "You could just bang on the ceiling with a broom or something. We could have a system. One bang for 'come on down', two for 'check back later'"

Tara offered a laugh, though her heart wasn't really in it and Willow exhaled before pointing behind her with her thumb.

"So, I'll um...I'll see you soon?"

"I'll see you soon," Tara confirmed with a wave and watched Willow turn and walk towards the staircase to her floor.

She fished her keys from her pocket and opened her door, dropping her keys on her desk as she massaged her temples and started slipping her clothes off so she was left in just her underwear.

The woman of dreams has been a foot away from me for the entire time I've lived in Boston. Just an arm's reach away. Except it's not my arms she wants to be in. She pulled back from that hug I gave her after a second. I clearly made her uncomfortable.

She gave a loud sigh and climbed between the sheets on her bed, settling her head against the pillows and gazed up at her ceiling, imagining what Willow was doing directly above her.

It's worse now. At least before I didn't have to be reminded of how that perfect angel will never want to be with me every time I look upwards.

Tears sprang to her eyes and she didn't even try to stop them, too worn out by the emotional back-and-forth her feelings had been playing throughout the evening. She turned on her side and felt her tears flow across her nose and onto the pillow, not caring that she'd probably make quite a predominant wet patch on the fabric, her thoughts only focused on how she could learn to live with the ache in her heart every time she would see Willow.

She cried herself to sleep after a few minutes and let her dreams take over.

They were her secret haven - the only place, she thought, where she and Willow could actually be together.