The Mission – no, the plan… no the...

Title: The Mission – no, the plan… no the...

Author: A.M. Glass

Ratings: (US) T (UK) 12/12a (AUS) PG

Spoilers: None

Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Couple: Willow/Tara overtones. Willow/Buffy mention – very slightly, kind of one-sided.

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Fox Studios, Mutant Enemy, et al, have something to do with “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. No copyright infringement is intended or inferred.

Author’s Disclaimer: Let’s face it, I don’t own Buffy or any of the characters, back story, etc. I’m not making a cent from it - if I did, I’d buy a new computer and some other things. The story; along with any original characters are mine.

Author’s Notes: Well, it’s been a VERY long time since I’ve written anything for BtVS. To tell you the truth, I’m not quite sure if this story actually “works.” I’d consider it AU because “Hush,” never happened, yet Willow has still met Tara. I would like to think of this simply being Willow-ramblings – late night ramblings, maybe confusing ramblings. If you can’t tell yet, this hasn’t been beta’d. I did use spell check though.

Willow couldn’t sleep.

Her mind was going a mile a minute and she knew it was useless trying to rectify that matter when she couldn’t stop thinking.

Her mind was preoccupied with: Tara.

She wondered what she was doing – probably sleeping, unlike her. She also wondered if Tara might be seeing someone – I hope she isn’t seeing anyone.

Now – why did she think that? She wondered.

She had to admit, she found the blonde attractive in a classically understated beauty kind of way.

Not that she was really keeping tabs on that kind of thing.

Willow cringed as she thought about the program she’d developed for just that sort of thing.

So what if Tara had knocked both Jodie Foster and Angelina Jolie down a peg... or two, maybe even three?

Not that it mattered.

Nope – not one bit.

Willow sighed.

This was becoming a habit, all of this not sleeping.

Most, if not all of the time it was because of the newest “Big Bad” that Buffy had to face. Which usually meant all night research parties – well, not so much parties, but gatherings. Something she didn’t mind, “Every day is a learning experience,” she’d say, while the others would look at her with ill-disguised looks of disgust or perhaps annoyance.

Everyone, except Giles.

It was “Quite right,” here or “Well said,” there.

And the looks would come her way again.

But more and more she found herself thinking about – you guessed it, Tara.

She couldn’t understand why – or maybe if she really thought about it, it could be a slight case of crushitis?

She had many first hand experiences with that situation.

The signs were there: The constant wondering about her. Focusing on Tara’s lips when she spoke.

She couldn’t help it, Tara’s lips look soo soft and supple and totally kissable.

Sigh.

Major crushage.

Willow didn’t even bat an eye – okay, perhaps that wouldn’t be entirely true, she may have batted a few times – but after that – no sir, no batting allowed – when it came to Tara being a girl.

Again with the sighage.

There had to be something – something she could do to help her with her seemingly growing obsession with the blonde.

Hmm, perhaps obsession was a tad strong?

Umm – curiosity?

That sounds good: her growing curiosity about the blonde.

Oh yes, much better if she did say so.

Granted the word was much better, yet it didn’t get her any closer to her objective which was?

Ooh, good question.

What was her mission and was it a mission? If it was, she’d have to make a plan.

Ooh yes, she could come up with a plan.

She could do a graph.

Maybe a spread sheet.

A nice equation or two?

A piece of cake.

Willow frowned as she bit her lip. “Every great plan needs a name,” she muttered quietly to herself.

Hmm – a name.

“Operation... no, that sounds too much like surgery, although the plan should go off with surgical-like precision.”

Project?

No.

Objective?

Nope.

Plan?

Not feeling it.

Mission?

No.

Undertaking?

No.

This might be more complicated that she thought. Okay, forget the name for a moment. She still had to look at the big picture, with a capital “B”.

What did she want?

“Well, that’s easy, Tara,” she stated firmly. “Whoa.”

She wanted Tara.

“Wow.”

Now what?

Willow had never thought about girls – okay, but come on, who wouldn’t think of Buffy like that and it was only for a little while anyway. It wasn’t like she harbored a secret crush on her best friend – anymore.

Willow shook her head. Her thoughts were running rampant and she was getting tired.

So, she likes – wants – likes – get a grip. First there’s liking – then wanting.

So – liking Tara.

Check.

Did Tara like her?

A better question.

What if she doesn’t?

No.

Tara has to like her.

“Oh please like me,” Willow uttered as she clasped her hands together in a rather unfamiliar position somehow resembling the gesture of praying. “I’ll... do something, I don’t know what...”

“Willow!”

“Umm, yeah Buff?” she looked over at her best friend and roommates bed and saw Buffy staring at her with a look reminiscent of an all-night research party/ gathering.

“Just ask her out already and let me get some sleep,” Buffy groused having heard Willow’s not so silent musings. She didn’t have time to question the newfound revelation she’d inadvertently heard. If this Tara made Willow happy – and she’d better – well, there you go.

Life was too short in Buffy’s book.

“Oh – okay.”

“Call it the Tara Project – your mission is to ask her out – your objective is kissage and mine is to get some sleep.”

Willow thought about what Buffy said, she could still do a...

“And no pie charts.”

“Damn.”

The End.