Rating: M15 Adult themes
The lovers lay comfortably entwined on the bed, soothing each other with soft kisses, murmured endearments and gentle caresses. The redhead was totally naked, Tara nearly so, her sole remaining garment her skirt creased and bunched about her waist, a dark counterpart to the tousled blonde hair that crowned her head. After a few minutes, Willow’s heart beat and breathing began to return to normal.
“Tara, I love you,” she breathed.
“I love you, Willow,” Tara replied, smiling that familiar lopsided smile.
“I feel…different,” Willow mused. “Do you feel different? I’m not sure if this is real or some bizarre dream. I keep thinking I’ll wake up back at the Magic Box or - or in your dorm room. This is awful, I’m talking to you and I’m suggesting you’re not really here. Am I crazy?”
In answer, Tara kissed her. “Was that real?” she asked. Willow nodded. “And before?” The blonde witch wiggled her hips suggestively and winked. Willow smiled despite herself. “Do you think that was a fantasy or a dream?” Tara deepened her voice and, eyebrows arched, continued, “Are your dreams always this…intense?” To emphasise the point, she applied several teasing kisses to the most sensitive part of Willow’s throat.
Willow trembled, cast her eyes down and blushed. Biting her lips, she said, “Ahhh...A while back, I had this incredibly realistic nightmare...”
Tara frowned. “Was I around? Because I don’t remember…”
Willow took a deep breath, lowered her eyes again. “Well it was…when you – when you left me…”
“You can say ‘died’. Really, I’m okay about it.”
“No, I mean when you left me…because of the magic…”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I dreamed that I was alone in the house and that – that Faith broke out of prison and kidnapped me and tied me up.”
“Faith? Why on earth would you have a dream about Faith of all people? I thought you didn’t like her.”
“That’s true; she’s not on my Top Ten most favoured to hang with. I thought about it afterwards and I decided it was ‘cos I was feeling lonely and vulnerable and afraid, and, although when she actually – in real life, I mean - threatened me with a knife and everything, I stood up to her and tried not to show it, I’m still kind of terrified - of her.”
“So what happened?”
“Not a whole lot, thankfully. It wasn’t a long dream and I woke up part way through. But it felt so real! I could feel every fibre in the rope she tied me up with, her breath when she got in my face and shouted at me. But you know the really weird thing?” Tara shook her head. “Faith wasn’t even after me at all. She came to the house looking for Buffy, but when I was the only one there, she – um – she…settled. Oh!” Willow exclaimed as realisation hit her.
“What is it?”
“I know now what reminded me of the dream. The last time I had a vampire on my bed…”
“The last time? Hussy!” Tara exclaimed in mock outrage, playfully slapping the redhead on her shapely bottom.
“Hey! It’s not something a girl can generally make a habit of. The last – and only – time I had a vampire on my bed, oh wait, did Angel sit on my bed once?”
“Good grief, this gets worse and worse!” Tara teased, mercilessly.
“It was Spike!” Willow shouted. “He got into my dorm room looking for Buffy, and tried to make a snack of me! He – settled, just like - Faith in my nightmare.”
“Oh,” Tara softened. “And I brought all that back. I frightened you, didn’t I?” Willow nodded. “Oh, baby, come here, no more talk of ‘settling’, okay?” and the vampire hugged Willow tenderly, and kissed her.
“Can I – ask one thing about you being a – a vampire?” Willow said hesitantly after the kiss ended.
“Sure.”
“I look at you, and you look like Tara, and you sound like Tara, you make - make love to me like Tara, but you’re supposed to be this demon that’s living in Tara’s body and has taken her memories. I – I guess I’m just trying to say that there’s this question I have…”
“Am I Tara or not?”
“Yes! I begged you not to make me a vampire if there was some part of Tara still in you. You haven’t.”
“And I begged my dearest love Willow to stake me. She didn’t. Should I be asking you if you’re my Willow or not?” The vampire stared intensely at Willow. The redhead was the first to drop her gaze.
“That’s not fair,” Willow said. “You offered to make me a vampire; that was the demon talking, right?”
“Yes.” It was the vampire’s turn to feel uncomfortable.
“Now we’ve kissed and made up; is that Tara or the vampire?”
“Oh, Willow,” the vampire soothed, stroking the redhead’s hair. “I don’t know the answer. I have these memories, and emotions. I know how being here with you makes me feel. I know…stuff…I know magic. I remember my mother. I believe that if one day I somehow became mortal again, that I would still have the memory of being here and saying these things to you. But I honestly don’t know if this is Tara or a demon saying these things. I guess I’m trying to say I don’t really know who or what I am…”
“Demon? It’s so easy to forget, when I look at you…”
“I know,” Tara agreed. “Where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know. You said that…”
“I promised that I will do nothing to hurt you. I’ll keep that promise.”
“I know I’m not in a good position to say this, but I’m not comfortable with the idea of you…killing people. Any people. Apart from the fact that I live with a vampire Slayer, who is also likely to, um, go medieval on you if you do that sort of thing.”
“Okay, Will, if the idea of my killing people is hurtful to you, I won’t do it. Of course, being evil, I could always do it and not tell…”
“Lying is hurtful, my love.”
“Um. I’ll have to get blood from somewhere.”
“There’s Willy’s or the meatworks. I’ll bring some home at lunch time tomorrow. Maybe, just to be sure, we should get you your soul back…”
“The gypsy curse? Dear Willow, what would be the point? I would only have to hold your hand and look in those eyes,” Tara smiled at her red haired lover, “and I would lose my soul again. You’d be cursing me on the hour, which I imagine would become tedious after a while.”
From downstairs came the sound of the front door opening, followed by two voices, Dawn’s excitable chatter and Buffy’s more measured tones. Willow and Tara exchanged a brief, alarmed glance.
(To be continued)
Edited by: Bagheera at: 7/12/02 1:04:59 am