A/N: This chapter is longer than the previous 2 and it's more detailed. It's centered around the episode 'The I in team' and my own imagination trying to play out what really happened after Willow went to visit Tara. Also I tried really hard to keep them both in character so if you didn't think it was good enough let me know please lol im still learning.
Chapter 3 :
Tara had climbed out of bed more excited than ever that day. She had finally found the crystal she was looking for and couldn't wait to show it to Willow. It was a family heirloom and she had brought it with her when she had left home. She remembered her mother always working with it whenever she wanted to try a new spell but Tara had never used it before. She felt that she didn't have enough power to try anything with it so she had just keep it as something that reminded her to her mom. But now she knew she could put the crystal to good use, and what better person to give it to than to the second most powerful witch she have had the chance to meet. She knew it would represent a nice gift for Willow and the mere thought of making her smile with it , was something that Tara was looking forward to.
So they had finally meet and as she expected Willow was incredible excited when she saw the crystal. This made Tara glad and as she planned early that morning, she offered the crystal to her red headed friend, but was slightly dissapointed when she didn't accept it, claiming that the crystal was just too valuable to be given away to a stranger just like that. Tara tried to hide the dissapointment from her face as she still smiled and this time when Willow offered to use the crystal for some spells, the happiness was back into her. At least her idea wouldn't be a total waste and would gain her more time alone with the precious girl, so out of pure excitement she proposed for them to meet that night and try on some spells , but of course Willow was busy with her other friends and she wasn't going to be the person to keep her away from her fun. She thought it would be better for the witch to hang out on a fun club surrounded by people who didn't spend their entire time studying from magic books and inventing lame excuses to just spend some more time with her.
And that was it. Tara just went back to her usual classes and let the day pass by trying to avoid any thought that reminded her of Willow. After her last class she went straight to her room and stayed there doing homework and then reading some spell books, anything that would make the night less boring for her. She wasn't tired so the thought of going to bed wasn't an option, she changed into comfy clothes and sitting at the corner of her bed she let her hair fall down brushing her cheek, as she buried her head in one of her books. This one was new, in the way that she hasn't read it yet since she checked it out from the library. She remembered the librarian giving her a funny face when she went looking for it, I mean is not everyday that some college girl walk into the library asking for some history of magic, and spell books, is it?
As she went through the pages she found herself drowning more and more into it. There were so many interesting spells that she wanted to try but she knew she wouldn't be able to do so by herself. As she kept on reading she didn't notice the time as it went by, a knock on her door made her jump in her bed and snap out of the world the book have created for her. She rubbed her eyes a bit and looking at the hour she noticed it was after midnight. 'This is weird' she thought. Who could possibly be coming to see her at this hour. She didn't wait too long though as she walked towards the door and as she pulled it open she found herself smiling inside at the person who was in front of her.
Willow didn't even need to explain herself twice for Tara to send a smile her way and open the door for her to walk inside. She couldn't believe that her night was finally turning out to be a bit better than what she expected . As Willow made her way inside the room Tara shut the door slowly behind her and quickly moved to pick up some of the books and papers that were all tossed around her bed.
-"So, did you try any spells with the crystal yet"
Willow's voice made her turn around as she smiled softly placing the items in her hands on her night table.
-" ummm no …n-no yet. I was kind of waiting for you so we could try to-together"
Tara replied and mentally kicked herself for being this nervous. It was just a regular night and it wasn't the first time that Willow visited her room, but still she was finding it really hard to concentrate in something else than the fact of the two of them being alone in her room so late in the night. Luckily for her Willow didn't seem to notice it as she just smiled and walked towards the bed, sitting at the corner of it she grabbed the spell books Tara have been reading that night, it was the only one she hadn't move from her bed.
-"Is this new?"
Tara nodded as she sat next to her taking the book slowly from Willow's hand as she went through the pages trying to find the spell she was looking at before she knocked at her door.
-"I picked it up yesterday…and there are a couple of spells we c-could try? With the crystal maybe"
-"Oh that sounds great, maybe now we could try some. I mean I don't have anything else to do and I'm not that tired. But if you're tired you can tell me and I can go back to my room and be sorry that I woke you up just because I didn't tell you I was coming and I just began rambling again didn't I?"
She said as she looked down a bit embarrassed and Tara could swear there was a slight blush on her cheeks which made her smile. She loved everytime Willow ended up rambling during their conversations it made her look all the more adorable, not that she thought it was possible for a person to be even more adorable than they already were. But Willow always seemed to prove her wrong. She decided it was her moment to make her friend feel better as she moved the book towards her direction pointing at the page she left it in.
-"It's ok, I'm not t-tired either. And I want to try this spell"
Willow looked at the book right away and then back at Tara feeling more comfortable this time.
-"ok, so what's the spell about?"
-"Well I think this one is really interesting. It's supossed to channel all the emotins around the room and bottle them inside this type of white bubble? And depends on what color it turns would also show us what are we feeling at the moment…or you know…the s-stronger emotion in the room at the moment the spell was c-casted"
And there it was again, that sparkle on Willow's eye that meant she was excited about the idea.
-"oh that sounds so nice! And I bet it would be easier with the crystal, you know since crystals are better for channeling spells. Do we need too many ingredients?"
-"No no just the crystal would be fine..but I have to warn you, I read it might cause some s-side effects, like it can make you cry or get really h-hyper once the emotions are shown. It doesn't last for long though it says it's only aslong as the color remains and that would probably take like 15 seconds before it fades away."
Willow didn't seem to be worried about these facts though as she quickly shrugged her shoulders standing up from the bed.
-"Well it bet it won't be that bad, I mean we are not experiencing such strong emotions at the moment, right? So we probably won't even feel side effects, just the colored bubble and a nice spell to practice with. Should we start then?"
And it was then that Tara followed Willow to the middle of the room and sitting down facing one another they placed the crystal in the middle as they both held hands and began to chant the words from the book.
It didn't occur to Tara that it was going to take them longer to make the bubble appear in front of them than what she expected. She thought it would be quick with the help of the crystal but it actually took them an hour of chanting and holding hands until she began to feel something. The room became cooler all of the sudden and she could feel chills running down her spine. She concentrated as they kept chanting the words over and over and the room changed from its cool temperature to a warmer one making Tara feel so much better as she took a deep breath and kept on chanting. After a couple of seconds they began to see the tiny bubble appear in front of them. It was real small at first but then it began to grow slowly in front of them until it was the size of a regular volleyball ball. It was pure white and so bright it was almost blinding. It was sucking most of its light from the crystal, Tara could see it and she knew now this was also the source of the warm temperature that was now all around the room.
-" It worked!"
Willow said as she smiled at Tara through the white light the bubble was spreading all around the place. Suddenly this white light began to fade slowly making the bubble look smaller, but it was actually changing of color. It was not longer pure white, but now was turning into different shades of pink. It almost looked like a strawberry milkshake as the colors began to spin inside slowly getting darker and darker until the pink color was not longer that, but instead was replaced by a wine red color that bathed the whole room with its light, making it darker than it was before. Tara could see Willow's face through the bubble better now for some reason as she smiled softly not knowing what the color actually meant. Red was always a tricky color could be anger, or passion or love. She wasn't sure but so far she wasn't feeling neither of those emotions.
-"Ar-are you feeling anything?"
She asked Willow who was just staring at the bubble and didn't seem to hear what she said.
-"Willow?"
She asked again and finally the redheaded witch turned to look at her and just smiled softly
-"umm no really…you?"
Tara just shook her head as the red color kept dancing inside the bubble.
-"Must be that we weren't really feeling much of anything and that's why it got this dark color to begin with…you said it will fade away by itself or do we need to do something to stop it?"
Willow asked as she frowned a bit confused staring back at the bubble. Tara didn't know why but she could notice something weird in the way Willow's eyes seemed to get lost inside the big colored bubble and for some reason she was feeling a bit scared at it, she didn't want something bad happening to the witch just because it was her idea to try that spell.
-"Yeah the book said it won't last for long so we should just wait"
And as she said that the bubble exploded silently but pulling them appart and tossing them to each side of the room, leaving a strange scent in the air, the color red fading slowly away. Tara opened her eyes slowly and finding her partner laying near the door, her eyes closed, she ran towards her worried that she might have hit her head or something.
-"Willow? Are you ok?"
She looked at the wall checking for blood perhaps but luckily enough there was nothing, which made her let out a breath she didn't even know was holding as Willow opened her eyes slowly sitting up on the floor , brushing some hair out of her face.
-"Wow! That was some crazy spell"
She smiled widely making Tara feel warm inside one more time.
-"It was! And I'm sorry for making us work in it, I didn't know it was going to be l-like this"
-"oh..no no is ok I mean I kind of liked it, it was definitely something new, and even when we didn't feel any emotion it was still fun, don't you think?"
Tara shook her head smiling widely as she stood up from the floor offering her hand to Willow , and when the witch touched her a spark filled with electricity ran up her arm and towards her chest making her jump backwards as her heart began to beat madly against her chest.
It was Willow's turn to look confused and seeing how Tara pulled away from her touch so quick made her stand up and walk towards her.
-"Tara? What's wrong?"
-" I.. I don't know, it was like an electric shock that ran all over my body when I touched your hand"
-"You think it's because of the spell? Maybe the room is still a bit charged with all the emotions the crystal left inside that bubble"
-"Yeah..Yeah maybe I-I think you're right"
She said as she walked slowly towards her bed. She needed to sit down or she was going to fall right there on the floor. Her heart was beating faster than before and she could feel the heat rising up to her cheeks making her blush. Willow seemed to notice this as she walked towards Tara and sitting next to her on the bed she placed her cold hand against Tara's forehead.
-"Oh my god, Tara! You're burning, do you want me to take you downstairs and find some help, you don't look ok"
She said worried but Tara didn't feel sick. She just felt hot! Like really, burning inside, hot and Willow's cold hand against her skin made her feel so much better. All of the sudden she wanted to feel more. She wanted to feel not just her hand, but she wanted to touch her body too, feel her soft skin beneath her touch, brush some of her beautiful red hair out of her face and let it slide through her fingers, and most of all she wanted to feel Willow's lips against her own. Was in that moment that she realized the spell really left the side effects it warned them about , and she couldn't risk to tell Willow about them or do something that she might regret later so she just moved quickly across the room and stood there facing her
-"N-No Willow, is ok! I'm f-fine…really it must be just a s-side effect of the spell, you know? I will probably f-feel better in a couple of minutes or so"
She said quick and she could feel her voice slightly cracking as she was trying to catch some breath.
-"Are you sure? I mean you don't look ok, your cheeks are all flushed and you look like you're about to pass out"
She walked towards Tara getting a bit more closer than what the blonde girl needed at the moment.
-"Yeah…Will..d-don't worry I'm -really. Ma-maybe you should leave?"
The moment she let those words out she regreted them though as she noticed Willow's hurt expression. Of course she was hurt I mean she was practically kicking her out of her room not giving her a good enough reason why.
-"I'm so-sorry didn't mean it that way"
She said it right after but Willow was already turning around making her way towards the door.
-"oh..no no is fine! I mean it's really late, almost morning I should really let you to rest. I hope you get better and thanks again for allowing me to do the spell with you, it was really nice with the explosive colors and all..and I should stop talking now and leave"
-"Willow..no wait"
And before she knew it Tara was walking towards the door holding Willow's arm stopping her from leaving.
-"I…I don't want you to go. Please..s-stay"
As she let the words out she saw Willow turning around slowly, the hurt expression not longer in her eyes, as she smiled softly looking into Tara's blue eyes.
-"ok then, but if I begin to bother you for some reason let me know and I'll be out of this room faster than the road runner"
-"You never bother me"
Tara replied with a wide smile across her face as she looked down making her hair fall in front of her face, not feeling so hot anymore. But all of the sudden she felt a warm touch of fingers slide beneath her chin making her look up . It was Willow's hand resting now in her chin and then moved slowly across her cheek brushing some hair out of her face. This left Tara in shock as she tried to say something but couldn't find the words inside her head. What was happening? Maybe Willow was feeling some of the side effects as well and got a mix of Tara's own emotions with her own. She didn't know if she liked this because whatever Willow was feeling at the moment, she was sure it wasn't real but just magic. Tara backed away slowly trying to keep some space between then but didn't last for long as Willow took another step forward.
-"Will-Willow, this..isn't you"
-"What do you mean?"
She asked frowning a bit. She clearly looked confused.
-"I mean..what-whatever you're feeling r-right now it's n-not real, it's the s-spell"
Willow stood frozen in place for a second not saying anything which made Tara take a slow deep breath, thinking that maybe the effect of the spell was finally ending, since she wasn't really feeling that hot anymore and maybe it was ending for Willow as well.
-"You're wrong"
Willow finally said making Tara a bit confused
-"What?"
-"I mean you're wrong, the spell didn't do anything to me, I mean I don't think. Maybe just a bit. But this…"
She said taking a pause for a long second before speaking again.
-"This just feels right…I'm sorry if I scared you though I didn't mean to. I guess I'm just a bit tired and not thinking right"
In that moment Tara felt her heart skip a beat and she almost forgets how to breath. Was Willow saying what she thought she was saying? Was she admitting to have some kind of feelings for her? Maybe it was just as she said, she was tired, yeah that was probably it, she was tired and the spell was making them both confused. She shouldn't hope for anything else.
-" It's alright, y-you didn't s-scared me"
Willow didn't say anything right away it was like she was debating with herself whether this, whatever was happening between them at the moment, was right or wrong. She finally smiled shortly and pretending to yawn she brushed her eyes slowly and slowly turned around.
-"I should go now, I mean Buffy will probably be worried if she doesn't find me on our room and you don't want her to get worried I mean she gets like real crazy when she does. I'll see you…later ok?You should get some rest too"
Tara just nodded and walked with her towards the door. This was it, she thought, this was the end of their night. She wasn't sure if it was going to be awkward between them later on or if Willow would want to come to her room again for another spell. But she wasn't going to blame her if she didn't. She was just afraid of losing her , so she decided if Willow wanted some space after that she would give it to her and wait for aslong as the girl asked for. When she finally pulled the door open she stood there as Willow walked outside and turned to face her.
-"I really enjoyed our spell tonight and I'm looking forward to try some new ones with the crystal maybe next time we can explode something less colorful"
She grinned allowing her tongue to poke playfuly between her teeth which made Tara also smile, and just when she thought that Willow was going to turn around and walk away, the girl leaned forward instead , cupping Tara's face in her hands and pressing her soft lips against hers. Tara was surprised at first but it didn't took her long to relax herself ,and return the kiss. It was soft and gently, and Tara's heart was beating so fast she could almost hear it. The moment Willow pulled away,it left Tara a bit cold inside, her lips aching for more, but she wasn't going to push it, after all it was Willow who made the first move and she still wasn't sure what that meant.
She waited for her to speak, say something or run away. Was Tara's main thoughts, but Willow did neither. She just stood there smiling, her cheeks slightly flushed, matching the color of her hair.
-"That wasn't the spell, that was real."
As she said this she stood there perhaps waiting for some type of reponse coming from Tara but the girl was too in shock still, to form some kind of coherent though in her head.
-"Well…I—I'll see you later, get some sleep"
She said and turning around she began to walk away when Tara walked outside her room calling after her making her stop.
-"Willow…t-thanks…for coming t-tonight. I mean"
It was the only thing she managed to say and it seemed to be enough for the reheaded witch who just smiled and nodded.
"You're welcome."