who. tara and dawn what. two girls who can't sleep isn't a very uncommon thing on a hellmouth. when. late at night where. buffy's house progress. incomplete
Tragedy played a major role here; imposing on lives, interfering with the ability to compromise or move on. Even in recent events, no matter of Buffy being back and alive, it seemed other things were spiraling out of control, and it wasn't just the apocalypse. Ever minute she stared at Willow, she expected her to fully cave into magic, like a airborne disease that couldn't be cured. Tara hadn't been the most powerful of witches, but she studied it long enough to know the precautions that needed to be taken. In spite of her worries, inevitably, she could never break herself from Willow. It'd hurt her too much to let go. It felt radiating, everlasting, to walk in the sunshine; Willow was her sun. And it wasn't about her needs, but Willow's too. She knew how much her lover needed her, at a moment where her best friend finally maintain the capacity to remain sane and was climbing back up on her wagon. She had to be there for her. It was the other excuse she used to avoid conversations that needed to be flesh out.
It was late; Buffy was probably patrolling, Xander was likely with Anya, Willow was sleeping, and who knew where the others were. Even in silence, it felt the room was still too loud; she suddenly understood the meaning of how silence could be deafening. Sometimes the quiet wasn't a good thing. She kissed Willow's forehead, and easily maneuvered her way out of bed, careful to remain stealthy as she scurried towards the door. She shut it silently behind her, and admittedly heard low sounds downstairs. It was dark, but there was flickers of florescent light. Dawn must of been watching t.v. It seemed to be the only way to occupy yourself these days if you weren't a witch, a slayer, a watcher, a vampire, and so on. She understood how completely isolated the teenage may have felt. When Buffy died, Tara had to take up the role of the responsible sister, since the others tended to be busy. But it still wasn't easy, because at times she was busy herself. It was hard fighting evil and narrowing it down to a couple of hours of patrol when you didn't have a slayer at hand. She squinted at the glare of light that reflected on the television screen.
"Cartoons? Isn't it a bit late for Bugs Bunny?"
She crawled on the couch beside Dawn, cuddling under the blanket beside her. "Couldn't sleep either?" The feeling was mutual for almost everyone. It was hard to sleep these days. If Tara hadn't lulled Willow silently, she was sure the redheaded witch wouldn't be able to catch a little shut-eye either.