Sequel AU NC-17: Happily Ever After

[Ice]

Wow! I've been away a long, long time and having had a look back through what I have and haven't posted I firstly apologise for leaving some fics up in the air and either unfinished or those that are finished, un-updated.

As a gesture of apology, I will post the sequel to Computers, Conferences and Kisses in one hit. I know from having a look back thorugh that that you seemed to enjoyit so hopefully you'll enjoy its second part.

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Happily Ever After.
Rating: NC-17 as always
Feedback: Yes please.
Other stuff: Being the follow up to CCK, it helps if you read that first otherwise there will be characters in there who you wont know but you could read this without having to have read that first, it'll just about make sense. There's the usual bad language and smutty sex you've all come to expect from me and a few little twists also.

Enjoy.


Chapter One: Return To Sunnydale

The blonde paced the living room nervously, wringing her hands then balling them into fists before dropping them to her side and repeating the process all over again. She had received a phone call two days before with some hugely unexpected news. It had been almost 15 years since she had last seen Willow Rosenberg and so much had happened in that time, she imaged that they had both changed considerably in that time.
Her mind wandered back to a time when they had laughed and joked at Sunnydale High – on one of the rare occasions that they weren’t being attacked by some creature of the darkness or fighting one of ‘themselves’ in some incarnation or the other.
The sun had been shining and they were sitting in the courtyard of the school campus drinking sodas and discussing their futures. Willow had always known that she was destined for higher things and life in Sunnydale was far too risky for her, what with the vampires and demons that leapt out in the night. She had briefly paddled in the pool of witchcraft but had found it almost impossible to progress without guidance and had given it up to follow her dream and be successful.

As the blonde completed her 7th circuit of the downstairs of her home, the front door crashed open to reveal a young man, his ever present grin forcing her to momentarily forget her nerves and smile. “Buffy?” he called, “Is she here yet??” The young man bounced on the balls of his feet, his delight in being reunited with his oldest and dearest friend was clearly written over his face. Buffy shook her head and began wringing her hands again. “Oh Xander, what if it’s weird and she doesn’t remember us or we’ve changed so much we can’t all get on again….” Xander Harris raised his hand in a submissive gesture, putting a halt to the barrage of words that assaulted his ears. “It’s Willow, Buff!” he stated simply, “She’ll always be Willow and we’ll always get on!!” His tone left no argument in the blondes mind and she grinned. “Shame Dawn’s not here to meet her!” she said finally.
Xander looked confused, “And how exactly were you planning on explaining her to Willow?” he asked. “Hey Willow, nice to see you again. This is Dawn, she’s my sister but she used to be a big ball of world destroying energy, how’ve ya been?” he played the entire seen out in front of the Slayer, before slapping himself in the end to punctuate the final words. Buffy laughed despite herself, “Yeah, I guess you’re right, she has been out of the loop for a while!” she giggled as Xander headed into the kitchen, apparently his excitement hadn’t killed his appetite and he returned a few minutes later with a sandwich large enough to feed a small country and a large blob of peanut butter on his cheek.
“So,” he began through the mouthful of sandwich, “When’s she arriving?” His question forced Buffy's nerves back to the foreground and she began pacing again. “She said she’d be here about five, depending on how things went with her parents.” Buffy replied, casting a glance at the clock that told her that Willow was due in about fifteen minutes. Xander’s gaze also settled on the timepiece and he grinned, dropping bits of his sandwich from his lips onto his shoe as he began bouncing around again.


“Wow!” Tara breathed as she wrapped her arm around Willow’s waist, “That was intense!” she smiled sweetly at her fiancée as they walked slowly down the path to Willows convertible that was parked in the street. Willow hung her head, the meeting with her parents had gone more or less as she’d expected. Her father demanding that she have a full and proper Jewish ceremony while her mother sat and cried into her brandy. She remained silent as the got into the car; Tara reached over and caught her hands between her own. “Baby? Are you ok?” she asked, her voice soft and velvety and caressing the senses and soul of the redhead. Willow looked up at her slowly, “Yeah, I guess.” she replied, “it’s just, well, my folks have a tendency to take over and I don’t want them to make this all about them and why did we even have to tell them? I knew it would be a bad idea and……” Tara cut her off, while she found Willow babbling one of the cutest things in the world, this bout was heading for tears. “You’d only have regretted not telling them. They are your parents after all!” Tara told her softly before leaning in and placing a small kiss on the soft lips of her partner.
The contact immediately calmed Willow and as they parted she felt as though everything in her life had resumed its correct place. “You’re right!” she said, flashing Tara her best smile, as she started the car and pulled away “You always are!”

After a brief tour of where Willow had grown up, the car came to a stop outside a large house with a carefully kept front yard and a large tree that provided a welcome shade from the sunshine. Willow took a few deep breaths and stared up at the house.
She hadn’t been here in 15 years and when she left she had promised to keep in touch, as happens after high school, but she had gotten so involved in her work and her new life that she had neglected to maintain her friendships with both Buffy and Xander. She fought to remember the last time she had been here before the memory filled her mind; it had been 12 years ago for Joyce Summers’ funeral. The day’s events still brought a tear to her eye and she wiped at it softly. Since that day she had sworn to herself that she would keep in contact and call her old friends at least once a week, which she had for almost a whole year, then the calls became fewer and farther between before they had dried up altogether. When was the last time she had spoken to Buffy before she called to tell her about her trip to Sunnydale? Willow couldn’t remember.

“Are you sure you want to do this today?” Tara asked as she read the expression on Willow’s face. Her voice broke into Willows thoughts and she smiled weakly, “We’re here now,” she said, trying to sound upbeat and cheerful, “We should strike while the iron’s hot!” With that she swung open the door and stepped from the car, meeting Tara on the pavement.
As they were halfway up the path, the front door crashed open and the familiar figure of Xander Harris stood briefly in the doorway before he came charging down the path and swept Willow off her feet, swinging her around and laughing. As he allowed her feet to touch terra firma once again, his goofy grin made Tara giggle. “Hey Willow!” he grinned, “Don’t mean to sound grandma, but you don’t call, you don’t write, where’s the love??” She grinned back at him, despite having not seen the man for over a decade, he hadn’t change in the slightest. “I missed you too, Xander.” she told him as she reached up on tip toes to give him a kiss. They walked up to the house in a flurry of giggles and gentle pokes in the ribs, leaving Tara bemused and laughing to follow on behind.

As the women arrived in the house, Buffy emerged from the kitchen with a jug of lemonade and some glasses on a tray. After setting it down she wrapped Willow in a bear hug and grinned at her friend. “Oh Willow, how are you?” she said eventually, although it was clear from the redheads appearance that she was doing just great. Tara stood in the doorway, feeling suddenly nervous and uninvited. Hanging on the threshold, she cleared her throat noisily, drawing the attention of the group who were sinking back into a pattern that had been formed by true and everlasting friendship.
Willow had never really spoken about her life before L.A and Tara had been unsure of what to expect from her old friends and Willow’s family.
Willow rushed to her and entwined her fingers around the blondes, pulling her into the house in the process. “Guys,” she said as she followed them into the living room, “This is Tara, Tara, this is Buffy and Xander!” she gestured to each one in turn. Tara shook hands with both Buffy and Xander and smiled sweetly. “We’re getting married!” Willow blurted out once everyone had been introduced and taken a seat. Xander spat out the mouthful of lemonade in a fine mist in front of him. “Married?” he asked, his face bearing the surprise and astonishment that both he and Buffy were feeling, “To each other?” he finished, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

Tara giggled, even though his reaction was pretty intense, it was clear that he wasn’t against the idea. Buffy’s reaction was harder to gage, she sat in silence, staring at the women before her. “Wow, Will, that’s… Wow!” she said finally as she rose to her feet and crossed the small expanse between them to stand before Willow. A huge grin spread warmly over her face and Willow got to her feet, “Congratulations!” Buffy beamed, wrapping Willow in yet another bear hug before dragging Tara to her feet and hugging her too. “Yeah, well obviously, congratulations!” Xander said following Buffy's lead and hugging the women affectionately.

Both sighing a relieved sigh, Willow and Tara sat back down and began retelling the story of how they met and the plans they had for the wedding.

[Ice]

Giggles in the Night

“And now, here we are.” Willow concluded. It had taken most of the night for the group to catch up on their goings on over the past 12 years and now, they finally thought they were caught up. “I can’t believe you’re getting married…… and to a woman!” Xander said again, all night he had been staring at Willow and Tara and no doubt imagining what it was they got up to behind closed doors.
Both Willow and Tara rolled their eyes at him… again. “So,” Buffy said, eager to break into Xander’s thought before her started drooling once more. “Where are you staying?” Willow and Tara looked at each other, Willow had figured that they’d get a B+B or something but, for once, she had neglected to book it before their arrival. “Erm,” Tara looked up at the clock. “Wow, it’s late.” she looked to Willow who looked just as alarmed about the rapidly diminishing hours. “Oh god, it’s so late. I… We….. I” she began. Buffy took to her feet, “Well that’s settled then, you’ll stay here!” she told them as she collected up the pizza boxes and rubbish from the table. “Really, are you sure?” Willow asked as she reached for the glasses that punctuated the screwed up napkins. “W-we don’t want to intrude.” Tara added. Buffy grinned at them warmly, “It’s no intrusion, I’d like you to stay.” she said as she headed for the kitchen, “Besides, where else are you going to find that’s free, clean, with friends and open at this hour of the night?” The group laughed as they carried their crockery into the kitchen.

On return to the lounge, Xander yawned and stretched. “Well ladies, I better be making moves.” he said as he heaved himself off the floor and stretched again. “I gotta go to work in the morning.” Hugging each woman on his way to the door, he pulled it open and turned back to grin once more at Willow and Tara. “Congratulations!” he said again before heading out into the night.
Willow tried to stifle her own yawn, the journey had been longer than she’d planned for and the heat on the freeway had tired her out, that and the emotional reunions of the day had proved to be more than enough. “You two can take my old room.” Buffy said when she saw the tiredness creeping over Willow’s features. “I’ll get our bags.” Tara said, rising slowly to her feet, “Keys please sweetie?” Willow looked up at her with heavy lidded eyes and dug around in her jeans pocket for the car keys. “Put the roof up please baby?” she asked as Tara headed for the car. Turning back, she smiled at the sleepy redhead and disappeared into the night.

“Are you happy?” Buffy asked suddenly, taking Willow by surprise and forcing her eyes open. “Happy?” she echoed, “All my life, I’ve never been happier. Not a day goes by when I’m not thankful for finding Tara.” she told the Slayer. Buffy grinned at her, it was obvious from the emotion that poured from her friend that she had found true and everlasting love. Without another word, Buffy pulled the woman into her arms and hugged her. “That's what matters.” she whispered.
Tara pushed the door open and saw the old friends in a hug, as they pulled back she could see Willows eyes were full and she wondered what could possibly have happened to make Willow tearful. “I’m back.” she said simply, causing Willow to jump slightly. Buffy leapt from the coffee table, where she had been previously sitting and wrapped Tara in a hug similar to the one she had witnessed on her re-arrival. “Thank you.” Buffy whispered into her ear as they hugged. “What for?” Tara replied, careful to keep her voice low, the confusion wrinkling her forehead. “Making Willow so very happy. I might not see or hear from her as often as I’d like, but I really worry about her!” Buffy told her, her words turning Tara’s confusion into pure joy. As they pulled away from each other, they shared a knowing grin before Tara crossed the room to Willow. Taking her hand, she pulled the redhead into her arms and the pair followed Buffy upstairs where she guided them to their room, leaving their bags just inside the doorway. “Sweet dreams.” Buffy said as she closed the door softly behind her.

Willow sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off her boots before fetching her bag and searching for her toothbrush. Tara had slipped out of her clothes and was padding around the room in her underwear when a soft knock broke the silence. “Can I come in; I forgot to leave you towels?” Buffy called. “Erm, hang on a sec.” Tara replied, grabbing her nightshirt and throwing it over her head. “Ok.”
Buffy slipped into the room and crossed to the desk, placing the towels down she smiled once more. “I left the bathroom door open so you don’t have to search for it.” she told Tara before leaving. Both women smiled their thanks as Buffy left. Willow had found her toothbrush and was heading for the door when Tara slipped back out of her nightshirt and then, slowly, her underwear. “Don’t be long!” she purred to Willow as she slid the soft black panties down her legs suggestively. “Yes ma’am!” Willow replied with a wicked grin.

Tara crawled under the covers, the room was airy and reasonably cool but she still felt too warm so kicked all but a sheet to the foot of the bed. Willow reappeared minutes later and grinned at the sight before her. The sheet arranged to cover Tara but leave plenty of her body to see. She licked her lips as she dumped her wash things on the side before stepping out of her clothes and stretching. “It’s disgusting how much I love you!” she giggled and crossed the room to slide into bed beside her fiancée. Tara smiled sweetly, her hand sliding up Willows naked back and caressing the soft skin at the nape of her neck. Willow moaned softly into the kiss that followed as her own hands mirrored Tara’s perfectly. As they parted, Tara’s smoky blue eyes swam with mischief and she leant in to kiss Willows neck, eliciting more giggles and moans from her. “We shouldn’t, what about Buffy?” Willow said as Tara’s lips continued kissing and occasionally nipping the sensitive flesh. “I could ask her to join us?” Tara said, pulling back to look Willow firmly in the eyes, her playful tone and mischievous grin lighting up her beautiful face. Willow erupted into fits of giggles which she tried desperately to hush with a pillow.

In her room, Buffy heard one of the ladies return to the room after using the bathroom and was trying hard to block out the sounds of giggling that were now emerging. Part of her wanted to be happy, the sounds of love and happiness that filled the house, warmed her heart and gave her hope, the other part was a little grossed out. Willow had been her best friend throughout high school and now, here she was in her house making out with another woman. Something about that thought made Buffy feel a little nauseous, it wasn’t that Willow was in love with a woman that much she was sure of, it was that Willow was making out, period! “Some things I just don’t need to know!” she whispered into the night before burying her head under the pillow and singing some random song in her head.

Wrapped up in Tara’s arms, Willow felt safe, she knew the history of Sunnydale and that the things that went bump in the night were generally bad, but in Tara’s arms she could forget all of it. The memories of her old life, of the geeky, unpopular girl she had been when she left, the struggles she’d had with her parents, and her sexuality, and the memories of Oz all faded away when she was in Tara’s embrace. From behind her she could feel Tara’s breath tickling her neck and she pressed back into the woman she loved, “Are you ok?” Tara whispered, Willow had given her reasons for not wanting to return to Sunnydale, but Tara couldn’t help but think she had left some details out. “I’m always ok when I'm with you.” Willow whispered, her eyelids drooping heavily as Tara kissed her neck softly. “I love you, Willow.” she said between kisses, drawing another soft moan from her before sleep rapidly engulfed Willow.

Tara lay awake for a long while, watching her partner sleep was one of her guilty pleasures, a secret that she had never shared with anyone, even Willow. Absently she gently stroked the taut stomach of her lover as she watched her eyelids flicker, a clear indication that she was dreaming. Willow mumbled something into the darkness and Tara strained her ears to try and make out the words. Willow fidgeted, her head shaking from side to side as she continued dream talking. “No!” Willow mumbled, her arms pushing Tara’s hand away as her fidgeting grew into something more like thrashing, “No, I can’t!” she told the room, “I'm leaving, I have to be away.”
Tara pulled back, suddenly cautious and unsure of what to do next. She knew that waking someone from a nightmare could often do more harm than good so she watched, hoping that Willow could either rouse herself or that she would escape from her dream torment. “The mayors a snake!” she said, her voice growing in volume and terror. Tara ducked under the flailing arms and wrapped herself around Willow, kissing her softly and whispering into the soft ear before her. “Willow, its ok baby, come back to me.”
Willow thrashed under the touch. “No Oz!” she yelled before pushing Tara away and sitting bolt upright. Tara looked even more confused, Willow was coated in a fine layer of sweat, her breath shallow and rapid. “Willow?” she whispered making the redhead turn to look at her, tears forming in the corners of Willows eyes. “Are you ok?” Willow slumped back in the bed and snuggled close to Tara. “I’m sorry baby,” she said, kissing the crinkled forehead of her stunned partner. “Bad dreams is all.” she added a weak smile before kissing Tara once more and closing her eyes, vowing to tell Tara the entire story in the morning.

Buffy woke up sharply, “No Oz!” she realised immediately why it was that Willow didn’t come back to Sunnydale on a regular basis.
After the incident at graduation when the mayor, Richard Wilkins III had transformed himself into a huge snake-like demon, Willow had made her announcement that she was leaving Sunnydale for good. Oz had taken the news badly and, for someone who was usually so placid and laid back, he went mad, yelling and shouting before he lost control and wolfed out. In his wolf state, he had attacked Willow. Luckily, Buffy had been close enough to intervene before he killed her, but she had been left with a large gash in her side that would defiantly have left an ugly scar. Being back in Sunnydale must have brought all the memories flooding back to Willow and Buffy wanted nothing more than to go in and comfort her friend but she resisted, knowing that Willow was safe in the arms of her lover.
Buffy suddenly wondered how much Willow had told Tara about her time in Sunnydale. Would she know her true identity? Did she know about Oz? Buffy just wasn’t sure but she promised herself she’d ask in the morning. She listened for a few more minutes and when she was sure that Willow had returned to sleep, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to be washed away in her own, more pleasant dreams.

[Ice]

A True Story

Tara awoke to the sound of two fat blackbirds squabbling noisily in the tree; she rolled over and found the bed next to her to be empty. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, turning to regard the noisy birds as she slid her legs over the edge of the bed and reluctantly got up. Grabbing her wash things, she headed for the bathroom humming softly.
As she emerged into the bright hallway after her morning ablutions, Tara smelt breakfast, pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausages were definitely on the menu. Dressing quickly, she descended the stairs and arrived in the kitchen almost unnoticed, Willow was sat at the breakfast bar, a glass of orange juice in her hand and an empty plate before her. Buffy was cheerfully flipping pancakes and laughing at something Willow had said.

“Morning.” Tara said cheerfully as she slipped an arm around Willows waist and kissed the red head softly before smiling at Buffy.
“Tara! You’re up!” Buffy said, immediately realising how stupidly obvious her statement was. “Did you sleep well?” she added, trying to cover the crimson hue that filled her cheeks. Tara stole a brief glance at Willow before answering, “Yes, thank you.” Buffy smiled sweetly at the blonde and offered her a large plate of pancakes, bacon and sausages.

“So, what are you ladies up to today then?” Buffy asked, filling the silence that hung uncomfortably in the air. Willow smiled and shrugged at her before turning to Tara. “What do you fancy doing?” she asked her quietly. Tara contemplated the question as she tucked in to her breakfast. She hadn’t realised quite how hungry she was until she began eating, as she washed down the first pancake with a few swigs of orange juice she turned back to Willow, “Maybe a picnic or some sightseeing?” Willow offered her a half smile and Buffy had to fight to suppress the laughter bubbling inside her.
It wasn’t Tara’s fault that she didn’t know there were no real sights to see in Sunnydale and the whole idea was a little absurd. Buffy imagined a tour guide like the ones she’d seen on the television in London, her mind played out the tour they would give. ”If you’d all like to look to the left, you will see the only nightspot in town, ‘The Bronze’, founded in 1992 the Bronze has been the site of many important battles between our local ‘vampire slayer’ and many creatures of the night. In 1997, our hero managed to stop an apocalypse right here by destroying the ‘Anointed One’, a follower of a powerful vampire.” In Buffy's mind, the tour continued. ”To both your left and right you will see two of the 42 churches to be found here in Sunnydale and coming up on your right hand side is the burnt out remains of the high school which was blown up in order to defeat the mayor, who tried killing the entire student body when he transformed into a snake-like demon on the graduation day of the class of 1999.” Buffy laughed out loud at the final thought and the faces of all the stunned tourists filled her minds eye. Both Tara and Willow jumped at her sudden laughter and stared at the Slayer with confusion.
“Sorry.” Buffy said between giggles as she excused herself and disappeared towards the living room.
“A picnic will be good.” Willow said after Buffy had left, “I have something I need to talk to you about anyway.”

Buffy left the house half an hour after Tara had gotten up and walked slowly towards the office block in which she worked, her mind buzzing with all the things she wished she’d had taken the time to ask Willow before Tara had awoken.
Back at the Summers’ house, Tara and Willow were preparing both a shopping list and a picnic simultaneously with Tara writing down the things they had used so that they could replace them on the way back home. Willow had been unusually quiet since she had got up and Tara was confused and concerned as to what could have happened to make her usually chatty fiancée so quiet. Rather than push Willow to tell her, she hung back, assuming that whatever it was would be revealed on their picnic.
Willow disappeared upstairs as Tara finished filling a basket with fruits and some baguettes they had found, she returned with a blanket and their sunglasses. “Ready?” Willow asked quietly. Tara nodded and picked up the basket in one hand, her other entwining with the redheads. They walked in comfortable silence to a small park that had a beautiful clear stream running through it and found a peaceful spot away from the groups of young adolescents that were playing football, throwing a Frisbee or generally enjoying the summer. Picking a spot under a large oak tree, Willow spread the blanket and she and Tara sat down and began unpacking their lunch. “Tara.” Willow said suddenly, “I have to tell you about my past, more specifically, my time in Sunnydale and the reasons I left.” Tara's face filled with concern when she realised that her lover was physically shaking, whatever had happened her obviously hadn’t been good and she felt a sudden pang of guilt for making Willow return.

“You know you can tell me anything.” Tara told her softly, pulling Willow closer to her and wrapping her arms around her as she nuzzled into her neck. Beneath her touch she could feel Willow shudder, her shoulders giving away the first signs of distress and tears. “You might not believe some of the things that I have to tell you,” Willow began after a few deep breaths, “But you know that I have never lied to you before and I don’t intend to start, not now, not ever.” Tara opened her mouth to speak but realised the incredible strength and courage Willow must have summoned to tell her whatever it was she was about to tell her and so closed it again, not wanting to give Willow a chance to back out of the big revelation. “Vampires, demons, werewolves. They’re all real, everything that you were scared of as a kid, the things that went bump in the night and that you told yourself were just figments of your imagination. Well, it’s all true and it all vacations right here in Sunnydale!” Willow blurted out.
Tara pushed her forward and Willow turned to gage the reaction of the woman she loved. “Real? But Willow, its all fairy tales.” Tara said incredulously after a long and stunned silence. Willow offered a small, bashful smile, “They’re real too!” she said quietly. “Please, just let me tell you everything. You need to know if you’re going to be safe here.” The no nonsense tone and genuine fear in Willows eyes made Tara rethink her opinion. ’Monsters are real? her mind questioned her as Willow opened a juice box and drank deeply.

Finally Willow continued; “I was dating a guy in high school, he was bitten by his cousin and became a werewolf.” she told Tara who managed to look even more amazed than before. “We carried on dating until graduation when I told him I had to leave Sunnydale, that I couldn’t cope with living on a Hellmouth and wanted to pursue a career.” Willow paused to give Tara a moment to absorb the information she had given her. “I knew that he’d be upset, but he was enraged and totally freaked out. He lost his temper and subsequently control of himself, transforming into the wolf before us.” Willow shuddered at the memory and tears filled her emerald eyes, spilling onto her cheeks as she cleared her throat. “He attacked me, pinning me to the floor and was about to kill me when Buffy leapt on him and pulled him off. That is how I got this….” she said, lifting her shirt to reveal a 9 inch scar on her rib cage. Tara sat in total amazement, her own eyes swimming with tears that threatened to spill from her eyes at any given moment. “I left town that night and vowed never to return.” Willow finished between sobs. She knew that the revelation could quite easily be the end of their relationship, she knew she sounded crazy and that Tara had no real reason to believe this insane story. Had she been the one on the receiving end of this tale, she thought that she would probably have its teller thrown into a nice padded room at the nearest asylum, never to see the light of day again.
Tara sat back heavily against the ancient oak tree and inhaled deeply. Her mind swam with questions and doubts, most of which questioned the sanity of her partner but looking into the pools of green before her, she somehow knew that what Willow was telling her was the truth, no matter how far fetched it seemed.
After several minutes of silence, Tara looked up at Willow locking eyes with her as she crawled across the blanket and wrapped her in a hug, “I’m so sorry, I should never have made you some back.” Tara whispered into her ear before pulling back and kissing the surprised redhead lovingly on the lips.

With her story finally off her chest, Willow relaxed into the kiss and on pulling back she knew that nothing could come between them. Never in all her life had she met someone so pure, genuine and open minded and she thanked whatever power it was that had brought them together. “Tara Maclay.” she grinned into the pools of ocean before her, “I love you so very much!”
They passed the afternoon with no further discussion of Oz, or anything else that might be lurking in the alleys of Sunnydale after dark, eating, giggling and kissing they enjoyed the warm summer sunshine.
Once they had had their fill, Willow began packing up the plates and cutlery back into the basket. “Let’s go!” she said as she put their rubbish in a bag for disposal later on.

Walking hand in hand through the park, Willow didn’t notice the man sat on a bench a few feet away, she didn’t see how his eyes shone as she kissed her lover and she didn’t hear his low and menacing growl as she took Tara's hand and lead her back to the Summers’ residence.
“So, you came back after all.” the man said once she was out of earshot. “And your new ‘friend’ seems to know all about us!”

[Ice]

Bronzing It Again

After a brief stop of at the market to buy replacements for all the things they had used for their picnic, Willow and Tara arrived back at Buffy's house a little before sunset. Buffy had left a key for Willow which she used to open the door, holding it open to allow Tara to pass through before her. “After you m’lady!” Willow said with a giggle as Tara's hair brushed her cheek on passing. “Thank you kind sir!” Tara responded and grabbed Willow for a kiss, pushing the door closed behind them and pressing Willow back up against it as her lips eagerly kissed the soft lips of her partner before gently allowing her tongue to flick softly over them. Almost automatically, Willows leg drew up to wrap around Tara's full hips and pull the blonde ever closer as she moaned softly, opening her mouth slightly to allow Tara inside.
As their tongues slowly explored the familiar territory of one another’s mouths, they became lost in the kiss. Even after 5 years together they could still lose themselves totally in something as simple yet magical as a kiss, time stopped and the rest of the world went away leaving nothing but them and their love.

Around their feet were the contents of the brown shopping bags, an impatient orange rolling slowly across the floor before coming to a halt at the foot of the stairs. Outside a car pulled up behind Willow’s and Xander stepped out into the rapidly setting sun, slamming the door behind himself, he made his way up the path, whistling cheerfully as he tried the handle. He hadn’t noticed the shock of red hair through the glass in the door and pushed the door, surprised to find it unlocked but resisting his efforts to actually open it.
Behind the door, Willow was lurched forward into Tara, inadvertently biting the other woman's tongue as the door hit her in the back of the head. Both women pulled apart from the embrace with a disgruntled “OW!” and stared at the door which opened suddenly, spilling Xander into the hallway. As he fell, his knee met a tin and his efforts to break his fall with his hands resulted in contact with the not so impatient oranges, making pulpy orange goo on the carpet.
Willow and Tara stifled a giggle as Xanders head came to rest on a packet of fresh croissants and he uttered a surprised “Ouch!” as he finished his slow motion free fall, the contents of the shopping had been mainly soft items so they knew that he wasn’t really hurt, although the tin would leave an interesting bruise on his right knee. Helping him up, Willow giggled slightly, “You ok?” Xander nodded as he brushed himself down and surveyed the spilled groceries.

After collecting themselves, and the shopping, Willow, Tara and Xander gathered up the remaining food stuffs and took them out to the kitchen, the oranges that had survived Xanders fall were placed in the fruit basket and the other items stored in their relevant places. “So, you girls up for some Bronzing it once Buffy gets in from slay….” he cut himself off, unsure as to whether or not Tara had been told of Buffy's true identity.
Having Willow back made him feel 17 all over again, they had slipped into their usual banter so effortlessly that he had almost entirely forgotten that she had been away for over a decade. “Erm, I mean….. When Buffy gets home.” Willow giggled, even after so long, Xander still could put his foot in it big time and still hadn’t gotten any better at rescuing himself. “Tara knows.” She told him, “Well, kinda!” Tara grinned at him to confirm this and Xander sighed a huge sigh of relief. “So, the Bronze is still the only place to hang out around here then?” she asked, half of her surprised that, as they’d matured the remaining Scoobies hadn’t found somewhere else to hang out of an evening, the other half knowing why the Bronze held such allure for them. Xander nodded sadly, confirming that it was the only place to have a beer and a laugh, unless you fancied Willies Bar, which was still haunted by the usual or unusual mix of vampires and demons.

Looking up at the clock that hung over the door, Willow gasped, it was almost 7 o’clock. Where had the time gone? “I better shower then!” she said, indicating the timepiece, “Buffy will be home soon?” her questioning glance fell on Xander who nodded a confirmation. “Be back soon.” She said, flashing him a smile and kissing Tara sweetly. As soon as her lips met the blondes, she felt the familiar rush of electricity and promise, despite herself and her present surroundings the familiar dampness that Tara provoked between her legs made her shift, suddenly wanting more from her lover. As she pulled back, Tara squirmed in her seat, obviously feeling a similar rush. Without another word, Willow winked at Tara and left the warm kitchen. ’A shower! Then the Bronze, then we can go home in the morning!’ she thought as she climbed the stairs, trying to force the consuming passion that was burning in her stomach away.
Tara had instantly recognised the look and request that Willow had silently offered and she tried to work out a way to excuse herself without being too obvious. In the early days, she hadn’t cared so much, Vince had pretty much worked everything out just by looking at here, but then, she was in her domain, her place of work and he had been her friend. Now she was in totally new surroundings with people she hardly knew and was a guest in the home of a relative stranger. Yes, discretion was definitely called for here.

“So, Willow told you all about us then?!” Xander’s voice cut into her thoughts and she realised from the mans stance that he was up for some conversation and that getting away to the arms of her lover was going to be harder than she’d imagined. “Yeah.” She replied, trying to make it sound like she’d understood the insanity that Willow had painted for her, “Pretty intense, uh?!” Xander nodded vigorously. “So,” Tara continued, “Buffy’s a Slayer?” the confusion in her voice matched that written across her beautiful face. Willow had mentioned this but had offered no explanation as to what a ‘Slayer’ actually was. “Yep. I know it’s all a little hard to take in, but Buffy fights the demons and vampires and stuff that goes bump in the night.” Xander had the ‘matter of fact’ tone that came with years of experience; Tara could only assume that he had been as confused and perplexed as she was in the beginning. Rubbing her temples gently, Tara tried hard to fight the question that was propelled to the foreground of her mind. “What about Oz?” she suddenly blurted out, her internal fight lost against her urge to know what had happened to the man who had loved but ultimately tried to destroy Willow.
Xander’s eyes glazed slightly, his gaze lowering to the breakfast bar as he tried to decide what he should reveal. “He, well, he…. Erm.” The silence proved to be too much but his mouth refused to make any sensible sentences. “He went bad for a while, then he left town to try and find a cure.” Xander decided telling her the truth was probably the best option and since she knew Oz’s name, he presumed that Willow had explained his ‘condition’ and what had passed between them previously. “He came back a few years ago, and then disappeared again. We haven’t seen him in about 7 years.” He finished, the look that had spread over Tara's face was not that of fear, as he’d expected but of pure and blatant concern for her fiancée.
Tara couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least if Oz wasn’t in Sunnydale, there was no danger of a repeat performance, although she had never met the man, she felt that since he’d wolfed out over Willow’s leaving town, finding out she was back, and about to marry another woman might not register high on his ‘let’s have a happy’ scale, on the other hand, he could be thrilled about it as Xander seemed to be, but Tara found this to be the least likely option.

Buffy burst through the back door and caused everyone to jump visibly, “Hi!” she said cheerfully, unaware of the momentary fear she had just filled her friends with. “Gees Buff!” Xander exclaimed, “You trying to kill us?” The Slayer grinned at him, he’d lived in a town where you could be attacked by all manner of scary things at any given time and yet he still jumped and squealed at something as simple as a door being banged. “We Bronzing it?” she asked, punching him gently in the arm as she passed him to fetch a glass. Both Tara and Xander nodded as she returned her gaze to them. “Great!” Buffy said before taking a huge gulp of orange juice. Turning to Tara, the Slayer regarded her and all that she had possibly learnt in that day, “How was your picnic?” she asked quietly as Xander buried his head in the fridge, searching for something chocolaty no doubt.
Tara nodded thoughtfully, “Very enlightening.” She replied eventually, a small and knowing smile spreading her lips and dancing in her eyes.

Willow stepped from the shower and wrapped a huge fluffy green towel around herself as she rubbed her hair. She had hoped that Tara would come up and join her and the lack of Tara in the steam filled room caused her to pout slightly at her reflection.
As she dried herself down and stepped into the hallway, she walked, quite literally, into Tara and Buffy who were giggling like old friends. “You nearly ready?” Buffy asked her as she handed the towel back that Willow had been using to dry her hair. The redhead nodded and smiled, “All done in there!” she said, gesturing back to the bathroom. “Ready for the next one!” Both Tara and Buffy giggled as Willow headed into her room to get dressed. “You wanna go next?” Buffy asked as Tara watched Willow disappear into the room, a hint of regret playing in her eyes as she imagined what could have happened. “O-oh, yes. If you don’t mind.” She said, surprised that her stutter had re-emerged. She couldn’t recall have stuttered once since the night she had proposed to Willow and having a simple question like the use of a bathroom bring it back out confused her. Buffy had, apparently, not noticed. “Cool, we’ll have to leave soon if we want a table.” She told her before vanishing into her own bedroom and pushing the door closed behind her.


By 8 o’clock, the new and reformed Scooby Gang were ready to head out, all except Xander who had tired of waiting around for the ladies to get ready and immersed himself in an old war film on the television. Buffy pried him from his seat and dragged him towards the door, ignoring his moans of protest she practically carried him into the street, much to the delight of Willow and Tara who laughed raucously at the event.
As they walked towards the Bronze, not one of them noticed the tall, dark haired man who stepped out of the shadows of the tree in the front yard, not even Buffy noticed the mans face contorting to its true, demonic self as he followed behind them being careful to match his footsteps with their own so as not to be heard. Even the vampire, usually the hunter was unaware that tonight, he was also the hunted.
Half a block from the house, an unearthly howl pierced the night and sent shivers through Willow, her grip on Tara's hand tightening to a skin piercing grip and freezing her in place on the sidewalk.
With much prying and convincing, they managed to eventually get Willow moving again although their words of comfort did nothing to stop the shaking or sweat that had covered her in a fine layer.
A second howl, this one much closer than the first caused the terrified redhead to drop to her knees, turn her head and vomit painfully into the gutter, her hands were grazed from the sudden and rough contact with the pavement and her knees bled and seeped beneath her jeans.

The tales of vampires and demons had, unsurprisingly scared Tara slightly, but this was a much more terrifying sight. Nothing scared Willow, not ever! She had faced many things in the time they had been together and each one had been met head on with confidence. That Willow was a far shot from the one who was sobbing, shaking and vomiting on the pavement before her. This Willow was small, almost childlike in her fear.
As she wiped her mouth, Willow looked up at Tara, her emerald eyes shining with tears. “I want to go home.” She said, her voice weak and small. “Now!”
Buffy helped her to her feet, “Maybe we should go back to the house.” Willow had always been nervous, but in the few times Buffy had seen her since she had first left Sunnydale, she had grown into a powerful, strong and confident woman. What Buffy was bearing witness too now actually scared her. “I want to go home.” Willow repeated again. “Home to L.A.” Tara nodded, wrapping her arms around Willows waist to steady her. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning.” She said solidly, leaving no trace of doubt in the minds of the others that they were going.

They walked slowly, and silently back to the Summers’ home, their unknown vampire stalker had seen a short but well built man emerge from an alley to follow the group and had decided to make him a snack. Big mistake. As soon as he placed his hand on the younger mans shoulder he had spun round, his face half transformed into that of the werewolf. In the blink of an eye, the were-man had bitten the head off the unsuspecting creature and howled in delight as he burst into ashes before him.
Turning his attention back to the group he had been stalking, Oz grinned as Willow froze, he could smell the fear radiating from her and she smelt good! Ducking back behind a hedge as the Scoobies helped her stand and eventually carry on moving, Oz peered through the foliage, his face still half transformed. As soon as she appeared to have regained control of herself, Oz vanished through the back gardens of the houses to his left, emerging 5 houses in front of the group he had once considered to be friends. Seeing Willows hand loop tightly through that of the blonde he felt an ugly stab of jealousy, the rage and darkness that had overtaken him since Willows original departure forced another bloodcurdling howl from the pit of his stomach.
As Willow crashed to her knees, he felt an odd sense of pleasure at her total, all consuming terror and he turned, allowing his face to return to its natural human form before slipping off, unnoticed into the night.

[Ice]

Call of the Past

No sooner had the gang crashed into Buffy's home, then Willow had passed out, her already limp body ignoring all orders from her brain and falling from the supportive grasps of Buffy and Tara.
Both women were out of breath, the slight woman's body was almost dead weight as they’d half carried her back to the house. Panic and abject terror was written in bold print over Tara's face, highlighted further by Willow’s collapse. Stepping into the fray, Xander scooped the delicate redhead into his arms and carried her upstairs, unzipping her boots after laying her, carefully on her bed. “I’m sorry, Willow.” He told her in a hushed whisper.

Downstairs, Buffy had fixed Tara a glass of water and was trying to calm the shaking woman. “She’ll be ok, Tara.” She said softly, “She’s strong, she’ll bounce right back.” Buffy tried to sound confident of her words but she was no more certain of what she was saying than Tara was.
“I think we should leave in the morning.” Tara told her, her eyes darting around the room almost as if she were searching for an escape route. “I appreciate your hospitality and all, but it’s obvious that Willow is far from alright!” her voice emerged a little more clipped than she had intended but she was growing rapidly more frustrated and angry, mainly at herself for making Willow take this trip.
“Tara.” Xander emerged in the doorway, “Willow’ll be fine, she just needs sleep and things will look better to her in the morning.” He said, his good gestured words and lop sided smile showed that he genuinely believed what he was saying but Tara remained unconvinced. “Willow wants to leave.” She stated simply, “If she feels the same way in the morning, then we will be leaving.” As soon as the words had left her mouth, she instantly wanted to take them back, the ungratefulness that held them suspended in midair turned her stomach and made her want to rip them from the silent abyss and ram them back down her throat. “I’m s-sorry.” Tara whispered, “But you guys can come up and stay with us in L.A!” she offered.
Buffy smiled and leant forward, taking Tara's hand within her own. “I understand if you have to go.” She told her, “Besides, we can come up and crash the wedding!” Everyone smiled, even Tara managed a weak smile as she realised that her words had not been taking in a negative way.

Upstairs, Willow slept, her dreams filled with ducks, and the occasional savage dog hanging on the periphery of the summer scene in her mind.
Tara stuck her head around the door, careful not to allow too much of the light from the hallway to fill the room and wake the seemingly peaceful slumber Willow had fallen into. On seeing that she was sound asleep, Tara crossed the room on tip toe, kissing the cool forehead and taking a few minutes to sit back and ensure that Willow was, indeed sleeping nightmare free, although how she would do, Tara had no clue. The sounds she had heard that evening had frozen her to the bone, her blood seemed to have formed ice crystals in it and she felt the shiver running the length of her spine despite the warm evening. Once she was sure that Willow’s dreams, if she were actually having any, were peaceful, she slipped silently into the hall and back downstairs.

“She ok?” Buffy asked as Tara returned to the living room and sat heavily on the couch. Tara nodded, “She seems to be sleeping for now.” She replied, the relief tingeing her voice the only clue as to how truly worried she really was.
“It was probably just a dog.” Xander said suddenly. Buffy stared at him, the howling they had heard that night was clearly from a supernatural source but she understood why he’d said what he had. “We’ve only ever had 2 werewolves before.” He added, his tone softening further. Buffy nodded, “That’s true.” She told Tara, who looked at each of them in turn before shaking her head. “Dogs howl in LA all the time.” She told them, “Willow never freaks out like that about it.” Xander hung his head, he knew as well as the others that what they had heard was a werewolf and was surprised at how hard it was to convince Tara.
Joyce Summers’ had been easier to convince, with all of the strange and peculiar things she had seen with her own eyes, she had refused to believe, preferring instead to either repress or make up a more valid excuse. Even when she herself had been on the receiving end of a vampire bite, she had willingly believed that she had simply fainted and impaled herself on a barbeque fork, despite not even owning such a thing.

“Is it? I mean, could it be Oz?” Tara asked, her voice shaking as she formed the mans name. Buffy and Xander looked at each other questioningly, neither one knowing the best answer. Not wanting to lie, or tell her the complete truth about what had happened to Oz since Willow had left town, Buffy just shrugged, “I don’t know.” She said simply, “I just don’t know.”
For the longest time, no one spoke, each person sat in the depth of their own thoughts and fears. When the silence was eventually broken, it was by Tara “I think I should go to bed.” She told the others, even though she didn’t feel the least bit tired, well, not physically anyway. The nights events had tested her emotional abilities almost to their limits and all she wanted to do was curl up next to Willow and try and forget what had happened.
Neither Buffy nor Xander offered any argument, instead smiling sadly as they said their goodnights. She climbed the stairs silently and, after a quick visit to the bathroom, gently pushed open the bedroom door, being careful not to rouse Willow who still seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Peeling out of her clothes, she welcomed the warn breeze on her skin as she passed the open window to crawl into bed. Willow murmured in her sleep as Tara snuggled in close behind her, before rolling over entirely to meet the smoky blue eyes of her lover. “Hey.” Willow said, her cheeks were flushed and she dropped her gaze, clearly embarrassed by her reaction to the night’s events. “Hey back.” Tara said, her fingers guiding Willows face back up to her own, “How ya feeling?”
Willow took a moment to consider the question, tossing it about like a fresh summer salad before serving. “Embarrassed, tired, and, well…” The words just flowed from the startled redhead before her tongue had had a moment to process the thoughts in her mind. Tara looked at her with concern, her fingers tenderly caressing her soft cheek and giving Willow the confidence to continue. “Terrified.”
Tara smiled weakly, her fingers still tracing across the soft cheekbone of her world. No words would form in her mind, she knew that nothing she would say could make it any better for Willow, instead she opted for the thing she knew best. Reaching forward she kissed the slightly pale lips before her, pouring everything she had emotionally into the embrace and kiss.

As they pulled back, Willow was slightly breathless, in the arms of her lover she had momentarily forgotten her fear and felt safe and warm, returned once again to the place she belonged.
“I’ll keep you safe.” Tara whispered softly, her breath tickling Willows ears and sending a shiver of arousal through her. As she tucked a stray lock of honey blonde hair back behind Tara's ear, Willow knew she had been blessed with the greatest love known to mankind. Her fingers traced the beautiful features of her lovers face, her thumbs following the contours of her cheek bones, over her eyebrows and around her jaw line. Willows eyes swam with tears, not from her fear, which had been all but forgotten in the face of such beauty but with a love that was threatening to burst from her every pore at any given moment. Tara mirrored the actions of the woman she loved, taking a minor detour to wipe away the tears that had spilt from the sparkling emerald eyes.

Without warning, Willow leant in and kissed Tara with an urgency and passion that had fizzled out slightly after their first couple of years. Surprised, but not entirely unpleased with the movement, Tara moaned deep in her throat, her lips vibrating against Willow’s as she did so and drawing a moan from her as a result. Something overtook Willow, maybe it was a way of her over compensating for her embarrassment and the shame she felt in the way she’d reacted. Willow pushed Tara back, balancing herself on top of the woman she loved but never breaking the contact. Her hands traced softly down the soft flank of the blonde, her fingers taking an extra moment to caress her full and wonderful breast before pinched and stroking her nipple into a hard and sensitive peak.
Tara's own hands explored the velvety smooth expanse of Willow’s back, one hand coming to rest over her taut right cheek of her ass, the other lightly brushing the nape of Willows neck and arousing the redhead no end.
In a perfectly synchronised yet unspoken movement, Willows hand slide further down, coming to rest just behind Tara's knee in time to guide and pull the limb up into an arch next to her. Willow’s own leg slide between Tara's, pushing her well formed thigh hard into the warm and wet haven she knew so well. Pulling back from the kiss, Tara gasped as Willow contracted and released the muscle in her thigh, pressing into her clit as she did so. Willow smiled devilishly, her hand squeezing the firm ass cheek of her lover as she nipped the bottom lip that quivered before her. “Willow?” Tara panted, the burning between her legs made her head spin for more contact and she had a fleeting second when she tried to work out how it was that Willow could always turn her on so effortlessly, the thought lasted no more than 3 seconds as Willows finger gently brushed her outer lips and drew a deep moan from the blonde. “Yeah?” Willow had purred before enveloping the moan in another soft kiss. Tara's brain refused to work, she couldn’t remember having said anything but it was clear from Willow’s expression that she must’ve started a trail of thought.

Willow seemed oblivious to Tara's mental breakdown and continued her delightful torture. Her hands had returned to the full breast that was heaving under her touch, fingers seeming to be everywhere at once, working the nipple into an almost painfully aroused state.
Her thigh pressed into the neatly trimmed curls and Tara grabbed fiercely at Willows hair, pulling her head back and biting the delicate flesh at her pulse point causing Willow to moan and press her thigh harder into her rapidly soaking centre.
Guided by Tara's firm hand, Willow kissed across the jaw line of her lover, down her neck and pausing momentarily in the shallow hollow of her throat, her cue to continue coming when Tara pushed her roughly down. Without further hesitation, Willows hot mouth found the erect nub of the blonde and licked slowly around it, teasing Tara into a writhing mass under her. On her thigh Tara felt the smooth and perfect outer lips of her lover swell and moisten the soft skin and this only increased her own wetness further. Tara moaned and arched her back, hoping to gain more contact with the skilled tongue that was exploring her full breast, occasionally flicking over the erect nub, each pass causing her to moan deep in her throat.
Willows own heart rate increased fuelling her passion and she took the nipple before her into her mouth, rolling it under her tongue and nipping firmly. “Oh god, Willow!” Tara's voice was shallow and came to her in low gasps, causing Willow to bite harder, pulling back slightly and almost popping the gland back into her body. “You want me?” Willow questioned, her voice dominant and demanding. Tara could only moan, the power and control emitting from the redhead drove her wild with desire. Willow pulled back from her wonderful assault on Tara's nipple and fixed her with an emerald stare. “I said, “you want me?!” her voice more demanding and forceful than Tara had heard in a long while.
“I always want you.” She gasped in return, Willows fingers scratching up the inside of her thigh as she replied. “You need me?!” Willow growled, her eyes blazing brightly with desire. Tara nodded, her voice totally lost in the face of abject passion and love before her.
Willow adopted a predatory grin that Tara hadn’t seen in what seemed like forever, she shifted slightly under Willow and wrapped her hands through the rich red hair as Willows fingers slipped between her now soaked lips. “Oh god Willow.” She purred, the pressure building within her threatening to explode from her very soul at any given second.

As Willows fingers slide expertly into Tara, both women gasped at the powerful spark that passed between them. Tara tilted her hips back, allowing the full length of Willows slender fingers to work her into a fury as she lost herself in the bottomless pits of endless green before her.


In the quiet night, Oz wandered slowly back down Revello Drive, the darkness of the wolf within him forcing him to return to the torture of Willow. Less than two blocks from the Summers’ house, his heightened hearing picked up the soft moans of a woman in the heat of a passionate encounter, instinctively he flared his nostrils and caught the aroma of a woman, although the scent was familiar he couldn’t name the source.
Stalking around the back of the Summers’ home, he froze as moans and groans punctuated the warm summer night. His increased sense of smell had told him that Willow was aroused, no, practically orgasmic and buzzing with a passion he had never known with her.
Try as he might, he couldn’t suppress the growl of hatred emerging from his throat.
His more rational, human self tried desperately to control the wolf within but living on the Hellmouth and his transformation to a creature of the night had only increased his fury and pain.
Oz the man had no desire to hurt Willow, yeah, he had been mightily pissed off when she had told him she was leaving and he had been devastated and angry, it had been the werewolf within that had fed from that anger, dragging itself into the forefront and attacking Willow on that fateful day.
The wolf knew only savagery and the hunt, it knew nothing of compassion and forgiveness. The Hellmouth only served to increase the discontentment and pain he’d felt and over the years it had consumed both Oz the Man, and Oz the Beast, leaving nothing but darkness and despair in the place that Willow had once occupied in his life and his heart.

From his point on the bench in the back yard, he could hear everything more than clearly. The low murmurs and moans of love, the soft sound of bodies moving against fresh, crisp sheets and the gentle but moist sounds of kissing and well…. He tore his mind from the mental picture that was threatening to completely transform him there and then. It wouldn’t do to lose total control in the back yard of the Slayer, he had already received more than one beating at her hands and he didn’t fancy another one.
A change in the pitch of Willows lover made the hair on his arms and neck stand up and sent shivers racing through every fibre of his being.

As Tara stifled the scream that accompanied her climax by biting softly into Willows shoulder, Oz snarled viciously up at the window, his senses overpowered by the smells and sounds of their love making. Amongst all the scents that filled his nostrils, one very slight aroma drifted through and made Oz grin. In the mixture of sweat and sex, the faintest smell of blood. Willows blood.

[Ice]

Love and Revenge

Love and revenge. One born from the power of the other. Both pure in their existences. Without love to fuel it, revenge is a word. A concept, rarely actualised and given life – a childish payback, little more than a scratch on the veneer of a universal car.
With love, it flourishes, filling the void in its creator’s heart and soul, an animal, pure in its ferocity driven entirely by the eternal heartbeat of love.
Together, love and revenge are one, an all consuming force. In love you will perish and from the ashes, the phoenix of revenge will raise its head and scream.

Time – Said to be a healer of broken hearts. The clock remembers nothing, foretells even less, ticks away the lives of mortals and the ages of history, each second forcing the hand of man. In one, you find eternal happiness, the next, your world may be shattered, fragmenting your life and engulfing you in darkness. Time will guide your destiny and dictate the path of your love.
The phoenix of revenge waits in the ashes, its time to fly born only with the passing of hours, its resentment and hatred spawned after months and its first and final flight – the most vicious creature born through the power of love and time only comes with years.

The only death for the phoenix can be its creator, to strike at the wrong moment will only empower the monster, leaving the unworthy as food for its fire. To strike and destroy and, ultimately triumph is to know time, understand its power but, most importantly, one must know love, equal or greater that that of the phoenix’s creator.

To be a champion is to embrace the fire of love, knowing that you will, one day, perish.
To be the ultimate champion is to embrace the fire of love and stand against the phoenix of revenge, facing its fury with nothing more than the knowledge that the consuming fire of love will save you.

Willow awoke from another nightmare, her skin bathed in sweat. Sitting up slowly, she reached out, her hand finding Tara's and grounding her. Beside her, the blonde stirred but did not wake for which Willow was thankful. She scrubbed vigorously at her eyes, forcing them open sharply. After placing a feather light kiss on the forehead of her sleeping lover, she slipped out of bed and headed into the shower, hoping that Buffy hadn’t used all the hot water.

In the kitchen, Buffy was hanging up the phone, she had called into work claiming to be ill. She needed to speak with Willow and she couldn’t do that while she was working, besides, if one of her oldest friends was about to walk out of her life, possibly for the last time, she wanted to be there to say a proper goodbye.
As if she’d known that Buffy was thinking about her, Willow emerged in the doorway, her bright red hair still wet from her shower. “Morning.” Buffy offered gently, “How are you feeling today?” Willow had spent the entire time she was in the shower contemplating this question, and she didn’t know for sure. “Ok, I guess.” she said eventually, her tone non-committal and prone to change. Buffy smiled weakly, it was more than clear from Willow’s reaction last night that she hadn’t worked through her issues, instead she had left them all in Sunnydale and simply repressed them rather than standing up and fighting her demons. Buffy had to admire that, everyday of her life, a small part of her had wished she could just pack up and leave, much like Willow had done all those years ago but she knew that that just wasn’t an option open to her.
“Do you still want to leave today?” Buffy asked eventually, knowing that when Willow left Sunnydale this time, she would never return. She had expected an immediate answer and when Willow offered nothing more than a shrug, Buffy saw a tiny spark of hope.

“When did you last see him?” Willow asked in a barely audible whisper and despite its volume, Buffy could hear her voice shaking. “About seven years ago. So much went wrong after you left.” she told the redhead. “He wigged out big time, every time he heard your name or saw a picture of you, he’d wolf.” Buffy told her sadly. Willows eyes stung with tears, Oz had been her first real love and first and only male lover and a part of her still felt something for him, well, the him he had been before she told him she was leaving. “He went away for a long time,” Buffy continued, offering Willow a sheet of kitchen paper to wipe her eyes on. “He said he wanted a cure, wanted to be in control again.” Willow looked up at her hopefully. “It worked… for a while,” the Slayer continued, “Then we had some big boiling evil and he was trapped in his werewolf self for a long time. Since then, he seems to have had less and less control over the wolf.” Willow shuddered at her words and Buffy crossed the room to lay a supportive hand over the shoulders of her friend. “We fought for a while and he went away. No one has seen him since.” she concluded.

Willows mind took a while to process the information, Oz had no way to know she was in Sunnydale, no reason to suspect she’d come back. He mind told her that what they had heard the previous night must have been a dog, but if it was a werewolf, there was no need to think it would be Oz.
Somehow, she relaxed, content for the time being to believe her flimsy story. Before she could question or examine it too closely, Tara emerged, casually dressed in jeans and a fitted tee. “Morning!” she said brightly, flashing Buffy a perfect smile before kissing Willow deeply, her lips sending bolts of electricity through Willow and making the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.
Buffy turned away respectfully and fixed orange juice for everyone. With the full glasses, she turned back and found they had pulled apart. “So, I got the day off, what do you ladies fancy doing?” she asked brightly. Tara shook her head, after the events of the previous day, she was reluctant to suggest anything as it seemed clear that there was very little to actually do in Sunnydale. “I have to pick some things up from my parent’s house then I’m free.” Willow said, but offered no suggestions for an activity. “So, shopping then!” Buffy cheered, “It’s not gonna be like LA but it’s something!” Her excitement was contagious and by the time Willow had collected her things together, they were all excited about the days shopping.

Buffy and Tara had remained at home while Willow made the short journey to her parents’ home. Tara had tried to insist on going with her but Willow realised this was something she must do alone, primarily to convince herself that Oz had really gone and that she could walk 7 blocks in the daylight without the world ending.
Knocking on the large oak door, Willow found herself breathing a sigh of relief, she hadn’t realised that for most of the journey she had been holding her breath. Her mother answered the door and invited her in to collect the few pieces she had set out for her daughter, including a wedding dress that had been passed down through the generations of her family. “I’m afraid I must go, Willow. I have a business meeting that is being delayed so you can collect these things.” Her mothers tone was clipped and uncaring and Willow remembered exactly why she had decided that she would leave Sunnydale. Originally it had been to get away from her uncaring and mostly absent parents but after the revelation that all the monsters and demons she’d had nightmares about as a child were real, she swore that on her last day of high school, she would bid a welcome farewell to the town.
Willow only nodded as picked up the large box her mother had prepared and cursed herself silently for not bringing the car. She could phone Tara and ask her to collect her but that seemed, in her mind to be a defeat of the task she had set out to do. “Thanks for the stuff, we’ll speak nearer the wedding.” Willow said as her mother held open the door for her daughter. “I doubt that your father and myself will be able to make it, what with work and all.” Mrs. Rosenberg stated as she opened the door. “Goodbye Willow.” she said as Willow stepped onto the sun dappled porch and turned to face her mother with wide eyed shock. Fair enough her mother had previously ignored her almost her all of her life, but this was her wedding, an event that Willow was only ever going to do once and her mother was telling her that she wasn’t going because of work! She was surprised despite herself. “Fine!” she said sharply, turning her back on the woman who had given her life. “If that’s how it’s going to be.” Sheila Rosenberg began pushing the door closed slowly, “That’s the way it must be!” she said, a hint of sadness tinting her voice before she closed the door on her daughter forever.

More through anger than sadness, Willow felt tears stinging her eyes as she marched purposefully back towards Buffy's home, the large box making it difficult to see where she was walking.
Less than two blocks from the home of Sheila and Ira Rosenberg, Willow would no longer think of them as her parents, she crashed into an unseen body, dropping the box and her victim to the floor. “Oh god, I’m so sorry!” Willow said as she helped a young girl back to her feet. “Are you ok?” Crouching down to the level of the small child she had accidently crashed into, she saw that she had a small scrape on her knee , but no other injuries. To her credit, the girl was fighting the urge to cry and Willow gave her a small smile and wiped the tears that were swimming in her crystal blue eyes. “What the hell are you doing with my daughter?!” a woman came thundering out of the house to her right, making Willow visibly jump. Standing immediately, Willow started backing up, her hands in front of her defensively. “Hey, hey, calm down.” she offered a smile, hoping that the woman would find it hard to yell at a friendly face, “I bumped into her; I was carrying a box and didn’t see her, that’s all. I wasn’t doing anything wrong!”
The glaring woman studied Willow and she felt herself shrink under the furious gaze, before looking to her daughter. “You ok honey?” she barked, never taking her eyes from Willow. The child appeared at her mother’s side, slipping her tiny hand into the shovel sized hand of her over protective parent. “I’m ok mommy!” she said sweetly.
Without another word, the large woman scooped her daughter into her arms and disappeared back into her house leaving Willow to collect the box’s contents that had spilled onto the sidewalk.

As she resumed her trip back to Buffy's, she absently wondered what else could go wrong on the journey back. All thoughts of the previous night’s events had been pushed out of her mind. She turned the corner onto Revello drive and noticed a single car parked in the street, its back door open but no one around. Frowning slightly, Willow wondered who would leave their car doors open then decided that the owner had probably popped back inside to fetch something before returning. Making a mental note to be extra cautious as she approached the car, Willow failed to notice the short but muscular man step out in front of her and she barrelled headlong into him, this time it was she who hit the ground, coming to a painful halt next to the awaiting vehicle. “I’m so, so sor…..” she began, turning to see what unfortunate individual she had run into this time. Standing before her, legs shoulder width apart was the undeniable form of Daniel ‘Oz’ Osbourne. Over time he had grown more muscular and an ugly scar twisted down the left hand side of his face, making the once timid man look dangerous and unpredictable. Willows words froze in her throat, making breathing difficult but not impossible.
“Welcome back!” he said, grabbing her and bundling her into the waiting car before she had a chance to even try and scream.

[Ice]

Love and Revenge, Part 2

“One. Two. Three. Four, I declare a thumb war!” Buffy and Tara had resorted to thumb wrestling while waiting for Willow to return. Neither of them had noticed the time, had they, then they would have realised that Willow had been gone for over an hour.

Willow remained frozen in the back of the car, wherever she was going, she was headed there fast. To her credit, she hadn’t screamed, for which Oz was grateful. He had heard Willow screaming only once before and it had hurt his ears and made them ring, he dreaded how much worse that would sound with his enhanced werewolf hearing. Instead, she had sat in silence, staring at him with wide eyed fear. Her heart raced uncontrollably, the blood pounding deafeningly in her eyes and making dark spots swim in front of her eyes. She fought the urge to vomit and pass out, the rational part of her brain telling her to pay attention to where she was going, to look for some sign of where she was heading so that she could maybe plan her way back if an escape made itself available.
Oz had said nothing since they’d gotten into the car, his eyes remained locked on her, examining and studying her. Somehow he had managed to keep reasonably cool and calm, his features staying locked in their more human form.
As the car slowed, Willow thought she was going to have a heart attack, the blood pounding painfully quickly through her veins. She hadn’t realised that she had pressed herself up against the door, her body automatically going into a self preservation and trying to get away from her kidnapper. As the door was ripped open, she spilled into a dark room, from the smells that flooded her senses; she knew without doubt that she was in a garage. Oz walked slowly around to stand above her before grabbing her arm and dragging her into a room, a heavy metal door slamming loudly behind them, leaving her trapped. For the first time she open her mouth and screamed!

“Why isn’t she back yet?” Tara had seen the time and was pacing the kitchen frantically. Buffy could only shrug, she wanted desperately to provide some answers, to comfort the panicked woman but she had no answers, her brain not working quickly enough to supply a supportive word. “I’m sure she’s fine.” Buffy offered, immediately making Tara rush for the door, the slightest tremble in her voice had told Tara that Buffy was as far from sure as she was. “I’m going to find her.” Tara declared, storming towards the front door, leaving Buffy with no other option than to chase after the blonde.

As soon as Willow had started screaming, Oz had lost the control he’d fought so hard to maintain, his face twisted and contorted onto that of the wolf. More often than not, his primary appearance had been half wolf, half man, most comfortable in this form, he had the power and fear factor of the wolf and the clarity and control of a human.
“Shut up, bitch!” he snarled, his jaws gnashing at the woman who had so much control over him. It was because of her that he had lost control of himself and her unwillingness to compromise over her leaving all those years ago had twisted him into the man he was today. Willows mouth clamped shut but in her head the scream continued and made her dizzy.
“Why are you screaming? You made me like this, it’s because of you.” he snapped, “It’s always been because of you.” he added under his breath.
Willow found herself trapped in the corner; she had been totally unaware that she had been moving until her back hit the wall. “Why, Oz?” she whispered, bile burning the back of her throat as she spoke. “Why do you want to do this?” the young mans eyes flashed red with fury.
“Why?” he bellowed, the word ending in a growl that chilled her to her core. “You left, you tortured me by leaving, and now…..” he paused briefly, “It’s time for me to show you what that’s like!”

He pulled her viciously to her feet before pushing her back into a high backed chair that sat in the centre of the room. Willow began screaming once again, and Oz reached for a roll of industrial duct tape, her screaming pierced his ears and threatened to force him over the edge. As he taped her mouth closed, he sighed. “You said you loved me.” he told her, pacing back and forth in front of her. “You kissed Xander and I forgave you.” Unable to scream, Willows eyes darted around the room looking for an escape route, there were no windows, no doors other than the huge steel one they had entered through. No hope. “I gave you everything I had.” he continued, his face darkening with every word. “And you walked out, without a second thought to me or your friends.” Behind her gag, Willow whimpered in disbelief, so much time had passed and he was still dragging up the past and now, trying to punish her for it.
“And now,” his voice had taken on a much more menacing quality that sent shivers through Willow and chilled her very soul. “I find you are back. Not to look me up, say; ‘Hey Oz, I’m sorry for destroying your life.’ But you’re here, carrying on like nothing happened and fucking around with A WOMAN!!!” his last two words erupted from his chest and he had crouched down so that his face was only inches from her own. Willow could smell death and decay on his breath and guessed that he hadn’t long eaten, hopefully it was a something as opposed to a someone.
“I should make you feel the pain that I felt.” he said after many minutes of silence. “The pain that I feel. To rip your heart like you ripped mine.”

He wandered around the room, prowling like a caged animal over to a shelving unit that Willow had, until that moment, not seen. As Oz turned back to look at her, she saw the light glinting off something metallic, as he took a few steps nearer to her, she saw a long bladed knife in his hand, the blade sharp and serrated and reflecting the dim light.

Tara had burst into the sunshine and almost immediately seen a large box lying in the street, its contents spilled over the pavement for the world to see. Instinctively she knew that Willow had been carrying it back from her mothers and ran towards it, hoping to see some sign of what had happened to her one true love. As she reached the box, she discovered that the large ivory material that was strewn across the pavement was a wedding dress and her knees buckled, spilling her onto the floor. Buffy had caught up with her; apparently slayer speed was no match for the blind panic of lost lovers. “You still sure she’s fine?” Tara snarled up at her, the anger and hatred spilling from the woman before her actually startled Buffy and made her take a back step. “Tara, I….” Buffy stuttered, “We’ll find her!” Buffy stated, her voice had taken on a hard edge that come from knowing that, as the Slayer, she would triumph, she had to – failure just wasn’t an option!

The knife cut through the air and instinctively Willow pushed herself backwards, toppling from the chair and landing heavily on her side. Oz snarled, after the reaction Willow had had the night before, he wasn’t expecting her to be this much trouble. He had looked forward to changing Willow the way she had changed him, but now, she just wasn’t cooperating. To her credit, Willow had managed to get to her knees and was crawling for the door, but Oz knew that even if she reached it she wouldn’t be able to open it. The room had been designed especially to contain him during the full moon before he’d given in to his darkness.
Oz growled as he grabbed the delicate ankle of the redhead and dragged her backwards, scraping the skin on the palms of her hands as he did so. In one fluid movement, Willow found herself flipped onto her back and staring up into the enraged, half wolf face of her first lover.
His hand came down and the knife it contained sliced through her shirt effortlessly, leaving a thin trail of blood in its wake. Pinning her to the floor, Oz sat astride the terrified woman he had once loved and stared down at the fresh wound across her collarbone. Cocking his head like a curious puppy, he studied the rich smelling life fluid before leaning in and licking her wound clean.
Pulling back, Oz panted, actually panted, his features contorting into a hideous grin. Willows eyes widened further in terror and the knife came down for a second time, opening a larger wound across her chest from which he lapped the scarlet fluid greedily. ’Oh god, this is it, this is how I’m gonna die.’ Willows mind told her, ‘I’ll never get to see Tara again, to tell her what she means to me.’ As the image of the blonde woman filled her mind, Willow found a new strength and courage from deep inside her. ‘I will get through this.’ she screamed to herself, ’I will marry Tara!!’ Willow brought her knees up to her chest as best she could and kicked up into the soft belly on top of her sending Oz flying across the room and landing in a bone breaking heap in the corner. She struggled to her feet and ripped the tape from her mouth. Oz was shaking his head as he climbed to his feet. “You think you can come back here and rub your perfect life in my face?” he shouted, approaching her more cautiously. Willow went on the defensive, circling the man-beast before her hoping that she would get a total look at the room and maybe find a weapon or something that she could use to defend herself. “You know what, Oz?” she said, hoping she could find a way to talk herself out of the deadly mess she was in. “I did love you, I left because of the Hellmouth, not because of you and if you had spent one second to listen to my reasons instead of freaking out, then maybe things would be different.” Her eyes never left him as she completed her first circuit of the room, her eyes catching a glimpse of a large metal bar. In the brief moment when her attention wasn’t entirely on him, Oz took his chance and leapt at her, flying across the gap between them and knocking Willow to the ground, landing on top of her snarling and drooling.

Buffy had decided that if Oz was responsible, then there was only one place in the world he would have taken Willow. One place that was far enough away from people to do whatever it was he was planning, and one place where she would be completely trapped. Despite her best efforts to dissuade Tara from coming along, she was there, alongside Buffy in her travels. To her credit, she kept pace remarkably well and the fear that she was undoubtedly feeling was well hidden.
As they rounded a corner into the dockyard, Buffy pointed out the abandoned building in which Oz had a secure room. “That’s it.” Buffy said, pointing out the building that was their target. Tara hadn’t spoken since they had left and now she picked up the pace, sprinting towards the building with a speed that had Buffy jogging to keep up with her.

Under the snapping, snarling body of Oz, Willow mentally chastised herself. ’oh good going Will!’ her mind berated her, ’You couldn’t have kept your mouth shut?’ Images of Tara flashed into her conscious once again, giving her the will to carry on and fight, it was the only thing that stopped her eyes rolling back in her head and her passing out. Something smashed heavily into the door and made Oz jump off of her, his wolf instinct turning at the sound and trying to attack it, giving Willow the chance to take a swing at him, knocking him once again, off his feet. She ran across the room, snatching up the metal pole she had seen and wielding it like a baseball bat, turning on the ball of her foot to face Oz. By now, he had given in to his animal instinct and transformed completely, now a full werewolf, Willow had never seen anything so terrifying in her life. Outside the door, whatever it was that was trying to get in, was succeeding, the door opened half a crack and flooding the room with natural light. Oz howled, his confusion and rage pouring from the spine chilling howl.
“Willow!” Tara's scream broke through the spine chilling sound and kept Willow grounded, forced her to focus and suppress the bile and vomit that stung her taste buds. “Get away baby.” Willow yelled, the sound of her voice dragging Oz away from the door and snapping his attention back to her. He attacked without a second thought, she swung the bar with everything she had and rejoiced when it contacted the side of his head with an audible ‘crack!’ sending him sprawling across the floor, dazed and confused.

Buffy ripped the door open in time to see Oz flying across the room and a jubilant smile spreading momentarily over Willows face. Tara rushed into the room, grabbing Willow and kissing her fiercely, before anyone had a chance to react, Oz had shaken off the blow and was steeling himself for a second attack. Tara turned to see him shaking the final dizziness from his head and crouching slightly to launch himself for a second attack. He growled at her, his eyes flaring red as she took a step between him and Willow. Balling her fists she took a single step forward, as did Oz who growled once again. To the total astonishment of everyone present, Tara growled right back at him and punched the wolf in the muzzle, drawing blood from beast. Even in his wolf form, Oz paused regarding this strange blonde with a confused and astounded expression that neither Buffy nor Willow had ever seen on the face of an animal.
Tara was beyond furious, this pitiful creature was trying to exact revenge on a woman who no longer existed and for what? For wanting a better life without death and demons on your door? The selfishness of the man incensed her and she really hadn’t considered the ramifications of punching a werewolf.

Luckily, Buffy had regained her Slayer sensibilities before Oz. She took aim with the axe and swung, hitting the wolf firmly in the back of the neck, slicing his head cleanly from his body. His body hit the floor solidly.
Willow sank to the floor, her mouth still gaping at what she had just seen. Tara's knees also lost the ability to hold her up and she dropped to the floor next to Willow. “I can’t believe you did that.” Willow whispered as she wrapped Tara in a hug, “You punched a werewolf…. for me!” she met the smoky blue expense of Tara’s eyes and saw her own surprise mirrored there. “I did!” Tara replied, her voice shaking and stunned.
Willows hands reached for the soft face of her fiancée and cupped it softly, her thumbs caressing her cheekbones. Neither woman spoke, Willow leant in and kissed the full lips of her angel, her tongue gently pushing past them to start the seductive dance of passion that they had choreographed perfectly over the years. Tara's hand followed an automatic step, coming to rest on the nape of Willows neck, stroking gently and eliciting a soft moan.

As they pulled apart, they were almost surprised to find themselves in a dingy room, with a decapitated werewolf on one corner and Buffy stood, grinning in the doorway. “Let’s get out of here!” Buffy said as the women separated from their embrace. They didn’t need to be told twice and helped each other to their feet. With one final glance at the snoring wolf, the three friends stepped out of the solid steel door, slamming it forever behind them.

As the phoenix of revenge meets its maker, the ugly truth reveals itself. In the end, it has no place, no real purpose and provides no comfort.

Life is ultimately the death of us all, people find it in many different forms, addiction, phobia, hate, or obsession. Each soul battling through each second on a desperate hunt for its other half, for the one thing that will make it complete.

From love comes the clouded vision of eternity, the brutality of passion and the clarity of hate. We are all slaves to our emotions, chasing the impossible dream, only to have it destroy us.
In the end, all we have is the terminal longing for a love that will end us all.

[Ice]

Sunny Bye Bye

Buffy, Tara and Willow emerged into the almost silent dockyard, the only real sounds were of water slapping gently against the hulls of the few boats moored there and their rhythmic footsteps against the concrete. As they walked, they found themselves heading towards Main Street, from out of nowhere it seemed, people hustled and bustled around, going about their daily lives without the first clue as to what the trio of women had been through.
“Mochas?” Willow asked cheerfully, making both Buffy and Tara jump. Despite her ordeal, Willow felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, the encounter had allowed her to face the truth of the world that few people knew and acknowledged, and she had conquered the fear accompanied with it. “I’m a-buying!” her voice was almost childlike in its sing-song quality. Buffy frowned, she was having a hard time believing that what she was seeing from the vivacious redhead was the truth. She nodded slowly and followed Willow as she skipped into the Espresso Pump. As Willow waited patiently to be served, Buffy turned to regard Tara who, as yet, still hadn’t said a word since leaving the warehouse.
As she opened her mouth to speak, Tara fixed her with a solid gaze, and as if she knew what the Slayer was about to say, she responded; “She’s fine!” a huge grin, bigger than any Buffy had seen on the longest time, spread over her face, highlighting her already captivating eyes and brightening the very air around her. “I don’t know how, but she is. She really is!” Tara announced, a little too loudly, drawing impatient looks from the patrons sat around them.
Before Buffy had a chance to respond, Willow returned, armed with a tray filled with three tall mugs and various sticky pastries. She slumped down on the sofa next to Tara and handed out the beverages, offering each woman their choice of pastry before choosing the large, cream filled éclair topped with dark chocolate.

Finishing the first bite, Willow returned Buffy’s puzzled look with a grin, not dissimilar to the one Tara had flashed her only minutes before. “It’s ok, Buffy.” she said, her anticipation and the similarities of the exceptionally rapid response made Buffy feel a little uneasy, although she had no idea why. “I’m ok, really. I’ve dealt and moved on and I really don’t want to talk about it expect to say that….” she paused briefly to take a sip of her mocha before continuing. “I now don’t have a reason not to visit more often!” the mischievous glint that danced in her eyes made Buffy smile before the words she had spoken had fully reached her brain.
“Oh Will.” She beamed, leaping from her seat to hug Willow tightly, the joy written clearly over her face.
For the remainder of their drinks, and a good few afterwards, Buffy, Willow and Tara chatted. Not about demons, vampires, werewolves or the past but about things that the regular people chatted about. Movies, their jobs, their future plans.
As the sun began its descent behind the Sun cinema, the trio gathered themselves up and headed back to the Summers’ house for one last evening together before Willow and Tara returned to LA and back to their Hellmouth-free lives.
Willow, always the sensible one, had declined the offer of mass alcohol consumption in favour of pizza and a movie, her primary reason being that they had a long drive ahead of them the following morning and, after getting lost twice on the way there, she wanted to have a clear head for the return trip.
Xander had volunteered to fetch the snacks and evenings entertainment with minimal fuss, and it had resulted in much in the way of ribbing from the ladies. They had playfully made him their servant for the evening and delighted in making him run errands for them. To his credit he had played along, right up until the point when Buffy, who had cracked open one too many beers, had decided that they should dress him up to fit the part. At that point he officially cut her off.

Two films and more pizza and popcorn than the human body should be able to handle and both Willow and Tara said their goodnights, before heading upstairs, showering quickly and collapsing into bed, the efforts, both mental and physical, of defeating Oz had left them both drained and totally exhausted.
Willow recalled only one other moment in her life when she had felt this tired. It had been the night that Tara had proposed to her. They had been to Tara's first art show and she had been a phenomenal success, from there moving onto Willows favourite restaurant to celebrate her 30th birthday. Tara had organised everything as a surprise, a long white limousine had ferried them from the gallery to the restaurant where they had the V.I.P area completely to themselves. After a perfect dinner, Tara had arranged for one of Willows favourite singers to serenade her before Tara had stepped onto the stage herself.
Stealing a glance at the woman she considered to be the most perfect creation in the universe, Willow felt a pang of disappointment to see that Tara was already asleep. Willows mind wandered back to that magical night. In her mind it played like a movie, everything was in total surround sound and she could smell the chocolate of her cake and the faintest aroma of incense – vanilla and apple – Before her, Tara emerged onto the stage, her long black dress flowing from her as she had glided into the spotlight. Tears stung her eyes as she took in the beauty of the goddess standing before her, the dress sparkling in the soft light, Tara's deep blue eyes swimming in love, seeing nothing but her as she began to sing Willows favourite song; Elvis Costello’s ‘She’.
Tara had crossed the room on invisible wings as she sang, coming to a halt in front of her as the song had ended. Willow could never remember if she had spoken, couldn’t remember what she had worn, or anything. Her mind only saw Tara, her words etched for eternity in her mind.

“Willow,” Tara had said, her voice shaking clearly as tears seeped from her eyes. “I never thought I would find something so special in my life, never believed I was worthy of the love you show to me every day and in so many ways. Before I met you, I thought true love and soul mates were the things of fairy tales, but you have shown me that they are real. You make me feel safe and warm and loved, when I’m with you I’m home, only to no home I’ve ever known…. Until you!” Everyone had cried, that much Willow could remember, Tara had gracefully dropped to one knee before continuing.
“I love you, I have always loved you. And if you give me the chance I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you has happy as you make me. Willow Rosenberg, will you make me the happiest woman on earth. Will you marry me?”

Of course she had said ‘yes’. What else could she have said to the blonde haired angel before her? Their friends had made various excuses for not returning to the house with them, although it had been Vince who was the most honest about it, maybe the large amounts of alcohol had helped loosen his tongue more than usual but he had told them; “We don’t really wanna hear you two fucking all night!” as he’d been dragged into a cab by his girlfriend.
On returning home, that's exactly what Willow and Tara had done, although Willow preferred tried think of it as making love, she knew that the raw, animal passion that had ripped Tara's beautiful dress beyond repair and destroyed her couch was definitely not ‘making love. They had spent the remainder of the night and all of the following morning ‘celebrating’ their engagement, stopping only when they could physically no longer move or breathe, only to pick it up again on recovery.
As the night replayed itself in her mind, Willows arms reached for Tara, wrapping around her waist as she fell into the first peaceful sleep she’d had since reaching Sunnydale.


The sun rose early, forcing everyone up a little after dawn. Bleary eyed, they stumbled into the kitchen and sat around the island in its centre, trying to wipe the sleep from the eyes enough to focus to pour coffee or OJ. Willow had told Buffy that she had to return home that day, she had meetings and other engagements to attend and their ‘cat-sitter’ had to leave town that night for her own business reasons. Buffy had tried to convince her to stay, of course, but in her heart of hearts she knew that she must, once again say her farewells.
As Willow and Tara fixed breakfast, Buffy watched them in happy awe, they moved as one fluid unit, automatically knowing where the other was and gliding effortlessly around the other, never bumping so much as an elbow. In watching the two women, Buffy knew that this is why she got up every morning, this is what she wanted. Not a lesbian relationship but the kind of love that Willow and Tara had. Lost in her own longing, Buffy was snapped back to reality when a huge plate of food was placed in front of her. They ate in reasonable hush, each content to enjoy the comfort of one another’s company.

The morning passed by in a blur and before she knew it, Willow and Tara had packed up their car and were ready to leave. Tears choked Buffy's throat and she wanted more than anything to have Willow stay. As she hugged the redhead for many minutes, the tears flowed freely from her eyes and she made no effort to try and cover them. In the short time that they had been there, so much had transpired and joined them, forced them to bond and survive, or split off on their own and risk death. It was one of the best things about the Hellmouth, the friendships you formed on it were powerful and forever, once you made a friend, you had them for life – providing they didn’t get killed by a hell beastie or turned into a vampire!
“I love you Willow.” Buffy said as she eventually pulled back from the hug, a smile spreading her lips. Willow returned it with a grin. “So, we’ll see you in 6 months at the wedding!” she beamed.
“Not if I come up there first!” Buffy laughed as Willow walked slowly down the path to the car. Turning to Tara, Buffy felt at a sudden loss for words, her coming to Sunnydale had, undoubtedly changed her forever and Buffy felt oddly guilty.
Before she had time to dwell over her feelings, Tara wrapped her in a firm yet gentle hug. “Thank you, Buffy. For everything.” Tara had whispered, her breath tickling the Slayers ear and making her realise how easy it had been for Willow to fall in love with her. In all her life, Buffy had never felt safer than in those moments. Pulling back, Tara grinned and gave Buffy a playful wink, almost as if she had known what she was feeling. “You look after my girl!” Buffy yelled after Tara as she hopped into the passenger seat of the car. “I always do!” Tara yelled back as Willow revved the engine and, with a final wave, they disappeared into the distance.

A puncture, road works and a multitude of accidents on the freeway meant that it was almost 6 o’clock when they arrived back at home. “Blaze is going to be sooo mad!” Tara said as they pulled into the driveway. “She has a gig at 10, she’ll never make it in time.” they dragged their bags from the car and were met in the doorway, not by an enraged woman who was late for her job, but by the ever grinning Vince who swept them both into a hug before dragging their bags inside and ushering them into the living room.

Shortly after Willow and Tara had got engaged, Vince and Blaze had returned to the area but they still lived too far away, at least for Tara who resented having to drive over an hour to see him. “Lovers! ladies! How was your vacation?” he asked, sounding more like a ringmaster in the circus than a friend enquiring over a holiday. They beamed at each other for a moment, before turning back to him, their eyes shining with conspiracy. “You wouldn’t believe us if we told you!” they giggled in unison.
Vince, despite his urgency to find out all the gory details of their time away had left a little after an hour since their return. Willow looked exhausted and he knew that they would want time to re-bond with Miss Kitty and probably get an early night. Tara's constant yawning had confirmed this and he had excused himself in a flurry of thank you’s.

As she pushed the door closed, and locked it behind Vince, Tara turned to Willow, who appeared to also have been pretending to yawn. A naughty grin spread over her face as Willows eyes met hers. “Let’s go to bed!” she purred softly, grabbing Willows hand and dragging her into the bedroom.

[Willowtree252]

Oh my god Dibs

[Ice]

Miss Kitty Fantastico

Despite both women pretending to yawn, by the time they had showered and collapsed into bed, they were exhausted and fell asleep almost instantly.
The sun rose high the next morning, although Willow and Tara had no idea thanks to the heavy drapes at the windows. Willow was the first to wake, she blearily opened one eye and yawned, Tara was sleeping soundly next to her and a small snore escaped the woman, making Willow grin. She slipped silently from under the soft silk sheet and padded to the bathroom.
When she returned, Tara was still fast asleep. The clock next to the bed told her it was a little after 10am. “Wow. That’s a whole lotta sleep.” she whispered. Shrugging, she slipped back under the sheet and snuggled in close to Tara who moaned softly as her cold hands snaked around her waist. Nestling her face into the warm, silky neck of the woman she loved, Willow purred. “Morning beautiful.”

Tara stirred slowly, turning to face the emerald swells before her. “Mmm, morning.” she replied, her voice heavy with sleep. Willows fingers absently traced a gentle path across the collarbones of her lover, drawing another soft moan as she kissed the exposed neck before her.
Tara shifted once again, the sheet sliding softly over her firm breasts and caressing the increasingly firm nipples making her gasp softly. Willow grinned; she loved the way that, even after so long together, Tara was so responsive to her. “You ok baby?” she whispered seductively. Tara moaned as Willows fingers traced down the valley between her breasts and then back up before slowly exploring each one with the tips of her fingers, giving the nipple the barest touch before moving on. Despite Tara's best efforts to gain more contact, Willows graceful digits escaped her, her moans of pleasure did nothing but make the redhead tease her further.
“Did I thank you for saving my life?” Willow purred, her voice dripping with promise and passion. Although it was a question, Tara was glad it was a rhetorical one as she didn’t think she could form any words to answer it, instead, she shook her head. Willows fingers continued exploring her body, stroking over her smooth stomach and down to just above her pubic region, forcing an aroused gasp from Tara before heading back up the path they had just travelled.

As Willow gently nibbled her earlobe, Tara felt herself getting wet and squeezed her thighs together in a bid to relieve the building pressure. “Don’t you wish I would?” Willow continued after several torturous minutes of teasing.
Tara's eyes, which up until this point had rolled back, snapped open, connecting instantly with the green that she loved so much. “Oh y-yes!” she exclaimed. Her stutter had all but gone, except in times of incredible stress or excitement.
Kissing the pulse point at Tara's ear, Willow grinned as she shifted slightly so that she could prop herself up and look down at the blonde goddess. The desire smouldered in the blue eyes before her as her fingers, once again, stroked and teased the firm breasts of her lover but never actually allowing the contact that she so desperately wanted.
Without warning, Tara forced herself up, her hands grabbing for Willow and pulling her close as she kissed her, nipping her bottom lip gently before pushing her tongue into the startled woman's mouth.

With Tara caressing the nape of her neck, Willow couldn’t help but moan into the kiss, the sensation sending vibrations through her lips and tongue and making Tara shudder in her arms. Willow managed to regain some of her composure as Tara pulled back, breathless. The feral look in her eyes driving the redhead wild and increasing her own wetness.
Willow guided Tara back, drinking in the vision before her as she leant in to continue the kiss, her hands never stopped moving.
Willow pulled back and kissed along Tara's jaw line before moving down her neck, taking gentle nips and leaving a tiny, faint trace of her presence as she went. Under Willows attention, Tara felt herself go weak, her head spun and the increasing wetness between her legs seemed to beckon to Willow.
Kissing slowly down her lovers throat, Willows hand caressed the outside of Tara's thigh. She had to fight the urge to slip her fingers between Tara's legs and, so far, she was winning. At her touch, Tara's leg moved up, pulling Willow up on top of her and forcing the redhead to grip the taut muscle, her perfectly kept nails digging slightly into the smooth flesh and causing Tara to moan.
Willows breath shortened at the sound, her clit throbbing and begging to be consumed by the stunning blonde. Instinctively, Willow knew what Tara wanted, it seemed that she always had, from the minute they met, she had just known. As Willow took one erect nipple into her mouth, Tara bucked her hips; trying to force Willows hand and react to the fire she needed quenching.
Willow played the nub firmly under her tongue, her hand still softly stroking the outside of Tara's thigh as she nipped and pulled the nipple with her teeth. “Oh god, Willow.” Tara moaned beneath her, her voice sounding distant and heavy with lust.
Willow was rapidly approaching the end of her calm, the overwhelming urge to satisfy and taste her goddess was spurred on by the moans and throbbing in her own clit.

Looking up to find smouldering blue eyes, Willow licked her way down, finding Tara wet, warm and ready. Never letting go of the eye contact, Willows tongue flicked quickly over Tara's swollen clit, drawing a gasp from the blonde. Urging her on with her eyes, Willow flicked again, drawing a growl from the woman before her, breaking her resolve and releasing a wave of wetness between her legs.

Reaching up to caress Tara's firm nipples, Willow was surprised to find Tara's own hand there, pinching and massaging the full breasts, her tongue moved faster, teasing the swollen clit under it, mirroring Tara's movements over her nipple. Tara's breath came short and ragged as Willows tongue found its way down, teasing the soaked entrance, somehow she managed to keep her eyes open and through them beg with Willow for more.
“P-please….” Tara managed, that single word seemed to drain her entirely. Willow pushed the very tip of her tongue in, Tara tried to force her further but almost as soon as she’d thought to move her hips up for more, Willow pulled back, and continued teasing.
Willows eyes burned with carnal lust, her left hand slipping, unnoticed to the chest at the end of the bed, before returning with a special surprise. Trying her hardest to conceal the dildo, Willow kissed back up Tara's body before finding her mouth, open and panting. Pulling back from the rough kiss, Tara seemed confused despite the passion burning within her. “W-what are you doing up here?” she gasped while trying to push the redhead back down. A predatory grin spread over Willows face but she didn’t reply, only leant in to kiss the woman deeply, passionately. Tara bucked her hips, trying to gain any contact between herself and the woman who had driven her so wild and brought her so close to climax.

On her thigh, Tara could feel Willows own wetness and moaned deeper into the kiss. In response, Willows fingers traced up the inside of her thigh, teasing the wet outer lips before finding their way to her engorged clit, causing the blonde to tilt her head out of the kiss and fight for breath. “Willow….” she growled.
The very tone of her voice at that time was almost enough to send Willow over the edge, and she struggled not to ravage the woman she loved. “Mmmmm?” Words had left Willow and she found herself breathing hard.
“Need. More. Need. All…. of you.” Tara panted, fine beads of sweat dancing over her forehead.
Willow abruptly pulled her hand away, and reached further down the bed for the dildo she had carefully laid between Tara's legs. As she picked it up, the wetness from her hand helped to lubricate the head and returned her gaze to Tara. “Really baby?” she purred, her voice a soft velvet whisper that caressed Tara's senses and made her clit throb harder than she could have imagined possible.
Foregoing all words, mainly due to her total inability to form them at that time, Tara grabbed a handful of Willows hair and pulled her close. As she nibbled the milky expanse of the redhead’s neck, she felt a warm pressure between her legs and pushed towards it. Moving in perfect synchronicity, Willow equalled her motion and slid the dildo into her lover who bit down painfully on her neck as a tidal wave of pleasure engulfed her.
Sliding slowly at first, Willow moved with Tara, letting her guide and control the depth and pace until she was sure she was really ready.

Her cue came when Tara threw her hands over her head, grabbing onto the headboard and growling, an animalistic sound that shattered any control Willow had left. Thrusting the toy deeper and harder into the blonde, Willows mouth found and nibbled a nipple gently, a direct contradiction the motions of her hand.
Tara felt her body go into overload, every nerve, muscle and organ buzzing with arousal. Her head felt strangely unattached to the rest of her body and for the briefest second, she could swear she was flying. Suddenly coming crashing back to reality, she knew that she was close to climax. Her eyes locked on Willows and the hungry look she received pushed her to the very brink. As her hand found, and stroked the nape of Willows neck, her orgasm exploded through her like an express train as Willow flicked her clit gently with every inward thrust.
Normally, she had no problem being vocal at the point of climax, but this was a new one on her and all the air vanished from her lungs, “Willow!” she croaked, pulling the sweat coated redhead into her chest. “Oh god, Willow.” she whispered into her ear. Willow felt her own climax building as she rode out Tara's orgasm.

Tara knew that Willow was also close, her hand reaching between them to find the redheads throbbing clit which got the briefest of attentions before she slid two fingers deep into Willow and returned to nibbling and sucking her neck. “Oh fuck, Tara!” Willow growled deeply, as the first waves of climax hit her. Thrusting hard, Tara found the spot and brought Willow to a stunning orgasm.

As they lay, entwined in each other and coming down from their exertions, Tara heard a familiar, but faint jangle. She nudged Willow gently gesturing towards the doorway. “Miss Kitty.” she called out and the black and white feline emerged into the room, carrying something in her mouth. “What’s she got?” Willow asked cautiously, straining her eyes to try and see. Tara studied the cat but couldn’t work out what she was carrying. Miss Kitty leapt onto the bed, the delight at seeing her owners clear. As she crawled up between them she dropped a dead mouse on the sheet and sat down, meowing up at them happily. Both women jumped with a startled ‘Eugh’, more out of surprise than fear.
“I guess she’s glad we’re home!” Willow said after a long pause, a giggle in her voice.
Scratching the now purring cat’s head, Tara laughed. “Oh Miss Kitty Fantastico, sometimes you are terrible!” The giggles continued long after Willow had got up to dispose of the dead rodent

[Ice]

The Countdown Begins

17 days to go.......

Willow cleared away their breakfast things, well, lunch things while Tara showered. After loading the dishwasher, she pulled open the front door and was, momentarily blinded by the brilliant sunshine. Squinting into the light, she took a moment to allow her eyes to adjust before heading down the path to fetch the mail.

By the time she had fought to get all the letters and a parcel that had been crudely crushed into the box, Willow was sure that Tara would be out of the shower. Closing the door behind her, she was mildly surprised to find that Tara was still basking under the hot water.
Willow shrugged and headed back into the kitchen, sitting on one of the stools at the island, she began flipping through all the post they had received while they had been away. Her right hand went idly out for the radio and switched it on. The unmistakable voice of Steven Tyler from ‘Aerosmith’ filled the silent room and made Willow grin. The memory of a very drunken night at a local karaoke bar filled her mind. This song had been the one she had gotten up and tried singing for Tara, she hadn’t known then how foretelling the words would be.

You’re my angel,
come and save me tonight,
You’re my angel,
come and make it alright,
You’re my angel,
come and save me tonight.

And now, almost 2 years since she had gotten up and made that plea, Tara had done just that. Forgetting the mail for the moment, Willow grabbed a banana and began dancing around the kitchen, using the ripe fruit as a microphone. Unknown to her, Tara had finished her shower and was stood, fully clothed in the kitchen doorway watching the impromptu performance.
Adopting her best Tyler stance, Willow continued. The state of permanent excitement she had felt since Tara had proposed often took control of her, making her have ‘mad moments’ as Vince had called them.

You’re the reason I live,
You’re the reason I die,
You’re the reason I give, when I break down and cry,
Don’t need no reason why.
Baby, baby, baby.

Willows voice cracked a little and she coughed, trying to clear her throat so she could continue. Tara's giggles in the doorway made her jump, dropping the banana which Miss Kitty stared at for a moment before returning her confused gaze to her redheaded mistress.
“I…. erm, well, I.” Willow began, her cheeks flushed deep crimson at having been caught in her ‘concert’ Tara grinned as she entered the room and fetched herself another glass of orange juice before turning back to Willow who was staring in surprise at the banana that was resting under the stool. Placing her glass down and turning the vivacious redhead to face her, Tara whispered; “I know.” before kissing the hot lips of her lover. Within the very Tara-ness of her life, Willow knew that, in that moment, Tara did know, understood perfectly, not just the insanity of her singing but her past, her reasons and, well, her.

As they pulled back from the kiss, Tara noticed the huge pile of mail that was laid out on the counter. “Wow, post uh?” she said, flopping down on one of the stools. Willows excitement flooded her veins like electricity, “Yeah, it looks like loads of RSVP’s for the wedding. Woohoo, we’re getting married, in….” she paused briefly and Tara fixed her with a stern look, hoping that she hadn’t forgotten the date. “17 days, 23 hours and….” looking quickly at her watch, she continued, “18 minutes!!” Tara grinned, an expression that turned into laughter as Willow began dancing around the kitchen once more, sweeping Miss Kitty up and spinning her carefully before plopping her back on the floor and dropping into the stool next to Tara.
They had entrusted Vince with the posting of all the invitations over two months ago and he had popped them in his bag, promising to deliver them on his way home. On his way back, he had been involved in a minor accident and the invitations were forgotten in the chaos, it had been only two weeks since he had posted them, the realisation of his mistake only came when he had joined a gym and got the bag from the boot of the car, opening it to find it full of invitations that should have been posted 6 weeks previously.
Thankfully, both Willow and Tara had understood and had called everyone to check they had received the invites before he’d realised. A large proportion of the inviting had been done over the phone, and hadn’t set the wedding plans back at all. Caterers had been organised and numbers tallied, the written RSVP’s were just polite protocol from their friends.

The only one Willow was waiting on, one she herself had posted so that she could be as certain as possible that it would be on its way to its destination. One person from her past that she insisted on being there. It was her telling Tara that she wanted him there that had spurned Tara's insistence on going back to Sunnydale. So far he still hadn’t replied, no RSVP, no phone call, no page, no email, nothing. Willow had thought that maybe he had forgotten about her, it had been so long since they’d had any contact that that was a perfectly plausible option.
Willow tried to fight the disappointment, refocusing her mind on the day and the woman whom she loved more than anyone or anything in the entire world. She forced herself to open a gas bill, then the telephone bill, then her credit card bill before digging into the ivory coloured envelopes.
Tara had fetched the pad on which they had written down the confirmations they had received already, either by email or phone and was double checking against the names on the invites before her.
As the blonde crossed off another name, Willow found her attention on Tara, the sun shining through the kitchen window and framing her in a perfect halo of golden light. Propping her head on her hand, Willow drank in the goddess before her, her blue eyes twinkling like stars as the sun reflected from her hair. “Who’d you know in England?” Tara asked, turning to face Willow who was still staring lovingly at her.

It took a moment for Willow to realise that Tara had spoken, “Uh?” she asked, smiling. Tara rolled her eyes, “Concentrate sweetie,” she said with a giggle, “On the invitations…” she added as Willow seemed to be returning to her day dream. “Who do you know in England?” she asked again, slower this time as Willows eyes still held that far away stare. Her question snapped Willow back to reality, “England?” the excitement bubbling within her threatened to spill out and cause more dancing, singing and who knew what else. She grabbed at the envelope and stared at the postmark before ripping the envelope open and pulling its contents out. Tara stared at her, her beautiful face crinkled in confusion. “Erm, Will?” she asked, but it was obvious that Willow was too engrossed in the letter she had pulled from the envelope to hear her.

Dearest Willow and Tara,

Firstly, congratulations on your big day, I would be absolutely delighted to attend your ceremony.
I am so very sorry that we lost touch, I did mean to get back in contact with you, but as time passes these things become much more difficult, I am sure you know how it is, ‘real’ life gets in the way and then, before you know it, years have passed and it seems almost awkward to delve into your past.

You can imagine how thrilled I was to receive your letter and good news, I actually danced, if you can imagine that?
I will be in America the week before your big day, Buffy has invited me to stay with her and Dawn so I will be there if you need any assistance at all.

I am very much looking forward to meeting Tara, from what you said in your letter, she sounds wonderful. I wish you both all the happiness in the world, it fills my heart to know that you have done so well for yourself and have found your ‘true love’.

Until we meet again,
Your old friend,
Rupert Giles.

The silence that had filled the kitchen was shattered when Willow leapt from her chair, whooping and cheering. Tara visibly jumped and knocked her orange juice over with a loud clatter. Willow seemed oblivious to the mishap and clambered up onto the island, turning the radio up as she went. ”It’s gonna be perfect!” she sang, gyrating her hips and waving her hands, one still holding the letter. “It’s gonna be perfect!!”
Tara stared in open mouthed astonishment as her fiancée put on the second impromptu show of the day. “Erm, Willow? Sweetie?” she called up to the redhead, her hand gently coming to rest at the back of her knee. “Who’s the letter from?”
Willow jumped down from the counter and grinned widely, “It’s Giles!” she replied, her voice bubbling from excitement. “He’s coming!” Willow couldn’t repress the dancing any longer and leapt back to her feet, dancing like a thing possessed.
Tara frowned slightly, “In England?” she asked, trying unsuccessfully to get Willows attention.

In all the explaining Willow had done about Giles, she had neglected to mention that he was English. Tara had assumed that he was American and, not being told any different, assumed that he also lived in or near Sunnydale.
Willow managed to stop dancing for a moment. “Yeah!” she said, panting slightly, “He’s English, that’s a good place for the English… England!” she giggled before her uncoordinated dance continued into the living room.
Tara just shook her head, obviously she wasn’t going to get any sense or static from Willow until she had calmed down and so she returned to the invites, a broad smile playing across her lips as Willow picked up singing in the living room.

[Ice]

Who's Dawn?

Still 17 days to go……

Willow stopped dancing suddenly as confusion spread over her. She walked slowly back into the kitchen where Tara was putting the replies into a drawer, along with the list and all the other wedding related paraphernalia. She looked up as Willow entered, a frown taking place across her forehead. “Will, what’s wrong?” she asked softly, crossing to her fiancées side and placing a hand on her forearm.
Willow was staring at the letter from Giles, reading each word carefully to ensure that she wasn’t going crazy, well, any crazier. “Who is Dawn?” she asked, not expecting Tara to know any more than she did. Tara contemplated the question as her frown furrowed into a deeper, confusion loaded expression. Taking the letter from Willow she read aloud quickly.
“You can imagine how thrilled I was to receive your letter and good news, I actually danced, if you can imagine that?
I will be in America the week before your big day, Buffy has invited me to stay with her and Dawn so I will be there if you need any assistance at all.”
Willow was digging through a bag that they had taken to Sunnydale and pulled out her planner. “We just stayed there and there was no Dawn, well there was a dawn in fact, there were a few, but no one called Dawn and why didn’t Buffy say anything about someone else living there?” Willow babble was always so cute, and Tara couldn’t help but smile.

Before Tara had a chance to respond, Willow had lifted the phone and was punching in Buffy's number. She waited while it rang and tapped her fingers impatiently on the counter.
Buffy's voice suddenly burst into her ears and made her jump slightly, “Hello?” the slayer said, she was breathing hard and Willow knew she had interrupted a training session.
“Hey Buffy,” Willow began, “Who’s Dawn?” At the question, she heard the Slayer sigh and flop heavily into a chair.
“I meant tell you.” Buffy said, “It’s a bit of a long story.” her voice sounded heavy, almost regretful for not saying anything sooner. “She’s my sister.” Buffy blurted out. The confusion that Willow had felt was sidelined by laughter. “You don’t have a sister!” Willow stated, glancing over at Tara who was rubbing her temples, the confusion giving her a headache.
“You remember at my mom’s funeral?” Buffy said, her voice tinged with sadness, “The tall, dark haired girl who was with me?” Willows mind flashed the memory into her consciousness and she had to fight the urge to cry. “That’s Dawn, she was a world destroying key and almost got killed by a hell god, now she’s human, no world destroying and the highest scoring student at UC Sunnydale….. ever!!” Buffy continued, the pride shone in her voice and Willow smiled. “Oh, right.” Willow said, her mind trying hard to process the information she had just received.
“So, how come we didn’t meet her when we came down?” she asked slowly.
“Dawnie’s studying further, semester doesn’t end for another two weeks and we couldn’t tear her away from the book learning.” Buffy told her, “Besides, it’s a little weird to be explaining, especially as you said you were bringing someone with you.” Buffy managed to sound very matter-of-fact yet apologetic at the same time.
“Oh, right. Ok, thanks Buff.” Willow replied cheerily. Her recent time in Sunnydale, however short, had re-awoken the part of her brain that told her this was all possible, bizarre and really not normal, but possible all the same. She was just about to say her farewells when Buffy asked; “How do you know about Dawnie anyway?” To which Willow began dancing around the kitchen all over again, causing both Tara and Miss Kitty to run for safety into the living room where they cuddled up on the couch and waited for Willow to finish.

As Willow explained and sang to Buffy, Tara fetched her paint things and headed upstairs where a fresh canvas awaited her. She had been commissioned to paint a picture for one of Willows business associates and figured she could get a head start while Willow burnt off some excess excitement.
As she set up the easel and pulled her paint chest over, she heard Willow hanging up the phone and bouncing up the stairs. “Awwww, Miss Kitty footprints!” Willow cheered as she ascended each step making Tara laugh out loud.
By the time the redhead emerged into the large, open loft area, Tara had tears running down her cheeks. The sing song tone of Willows voice had tickled the blonde incredibly and the innocent look on Willows face as she emerged into the loft did nothing to quell Tara's laughter. “What??” Willow asked, pouting a little. “What’d I do?” she adopted her best ‘little girl’ voice and Tara sat heavily on the hard wood floor, gasping for breath.
“I didn’t do nothin’!” Willow continued, the sing song quality going up half an octave and almost killing Tara with laughter.
“Oh, Will.” she panted, tears pouring down her cheeks, “Stop.” By this point, Willow was skipping around the huge loft. “Need… to… breathe!”

Seeing the desperation in her lovers eyes, Willow stopped skipping and crossed back to Tara, sitting down heavily next to her with a huge grin over her face, the delight dancing in her perfect green eyes.
She wrapped her arms around the blonde, who was inhaling deeply, trying to stop her head spinning from lack of oxygen. With a cheeky grin, Willow nuzzled into Tara's neck and began kissing and nibbling the areas where she had left her mark earlier that morning. Tara moaned softly, leaning back into the firm grip and enjoying the sensation of her lovers lips on her skin.
As Tara regained control of her breathing, she closed her eyes. Never in her entire life had she felt this happy, every fibre of her being sang in celebration, every touch from Willows slender fingers sent lines of fire burning across her skin, every last syllable she spoke filled her with warmth and safety and she knew that they would be together forever.

“So, who is Dawn?” Tara asked after about a half hour. Time always passed so quickly when she was in Willows arms, and it seemed that today was no exception. “Buffy’s sister.” Willow told her, she had managed to adopt the same matter-of-fact tone that Buffy had displayed earlier. “Oh, obviously!” Tara replied, her confusion rising once again. Willow giggled, “It’s a long story.”

Before Willow had a chance to get into the unbelievable tale of Dawn’s beginning, a knock on the door made them both jump. Looking at each other with another confused expression, the unspoken question of who would be visiting flowed between them. As they reached the front door, they heard muffled giggles on the other side and automatically knew who they belonged to. Willow pulled the door open to reveal a shock of pink hair, its owner crouching on the ground, playing with Miss Kitty.
“Hey Blaze!” Tara giggled causing Blaze to stumble forward in surprise and send the startled cat running for cover. As Blaze got to her feet and brushed herself down, she fixed Willow and Tara with a mock glare before erupting into giggles of her own.
After embracing both women in a bear hug, Blaze pushed her way into the living room, leaving Willow and Tara to bring in the huge box she had, somehow, managed to conceal on the doorstep.

As the pair dragged the huge box into the hallway, they turned to regard their pink haired friend with curiosity. “Oooh, what’s in the box?” Willow asked, trying to work the tape loose and peer inside. Blazes hand came down firmly against the tape that Willow had managed to wiggle free. “Nothing for you Miss Rosenberg!” she told her firmly. “It’s for Tara!” Blaze fixed the blonde with a huge grin, her delight and excitement highlighting her face and dancing in her eyes.
Tara, seeing the jubilation on her friends face, begins dancing in the living room. “Ooooh, is it? Really?” she asks, receiving a nod from Blaze, she swept the pink haired DJ off her feet and swings her around and around in a mixture of excited rambling and giggles.
With the now dizzy DJ firmly back on solid ground, Tara turned to Willow and beamed as she danced circles around the ever increasingly confused redhead. “It’s my dress! It’s my dress!” she sang.
Willow grinned and returned to trying to peek inside the large box on the ground. “Lemme see?!” she demanded playfully. This time it is Tara who slaps at her fingers.
“No! Its bad luck!” Tara replied, her voice adopting as stern a tone as she can manage amidst her excitement.
Adopting her best pout and disgruntled look, Willow pretended to sulk, much to the amusement of both Blaze and Tara who carry the large box into the bedroom, leaving Willow to continue her mock upset alone.

Smiling to herself, Willow headed out into the kitchen to fix drinks for everyone, her mind wandered to Tara and her dress. They had briefly discussed whether or not one, or both of them would wear a dress and had finally decided that they would make their own minds up. Willow already knew she wanted something simple, flowing and elegant. She had assumed that Tara, who normally opted for trousers or jeans over a skirt, would want to wear a suit, now with this revelation that she was wearing a dress, Willow was torn. Part of her said she should go with the dress she had her heart set on. A long silk gown, sparsely decorated with a few ornate roses which pooled perfectly at her feet. The rational and in love part told her she was wearing a suit. Despite her own wish to wear the stunning gown, she wanted nothing more than to bathe in the radiant beauty of Tara, to know that every single pair of eyes would be admiring, and falling in love with the goddess they would be seeing before them on the day.

In her mind, Willow pictured the day right down to the last detail. The ceremony was being held in the grounds of an idyllic hotel, the altar would be near a stunning lake. The sun would shine down on the rows of guests who would be seated on wooden garden chairs, each end seat decorated with a simple arrangement of white, pink and yellow roses, a long red carpet leading her and Tara from the hotel and up the aisle. The vicar would be stood under a white terraced archway, also decorated in roses. Willow had volunteered to be the first to walk down the aisle, she would be waiting with baited breath for her angel. As the wedding march began anew, Willow and the rest of the congregation would turn and Tara would be stood at the end of the aisle, the sunlight framing her perfectly. She would be a vision to take your breath away and no one would be able to speak as she made her way towards Willow and the rest of her life.

“Willow!!!” Tara’s voice cut into her daydream and she jumped.
“Uh, what? Why are you yelling?” Tara had arrived in the kitchen and found Willow staring off into space, her eyes slightly glazed and a soppy look upon her face. In one hand she held a glass, in the other a bottle of orange juice that she had been pouring before fantasy took over. The juice had now formed a large puddle on the counter and was dripping into a steady puddle on the floor.
As Willow snapped back to reality, she realised what she had done and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, miles away.” she said, placing the bottle down and taking a large slurp from the glass before setting it on the counter. As she went about cleaning, Willow noticed Tara pacing nervously. “Baby?” she asked as she began the clean up, “Is everything ok?” Tara nodded although it was perfectly clear that everything was far from ok. Off Willows look, Tara sat down heavily on one of the stools. “Blaze just asked me if she could throw you a bachelorette party.” Tara said suddenly.
Willows brow furrowed and she regarded the blonde woman quizzically. “I know what she can be like!” Tara added quickly, not wanting Willow to think that trust was an issue in their relationship. “I don’t want to have to ship you back from Outer Mongolia or something!” Despite the obvious worry etched across the face of her lover, Willow giggled. “What did you tell her?” she gasped between giggles.
“Well, I don’t mind, if you’d like one then great, just so long as you don’t go getting shipped to foreign places that I can’t pronounce or anything horrible.” Tara told her, her voice demonstrating a firmer edge than she meant.

Blaze appeared in the kitchen doorway, her brow immediately furrowing as she took in the sight before her. Willow trying in vain to stifle giggles, while Tara stood with her hands on her hips much like an old English school matron. Just the sight of Willow giggling was enough to set Blaze off, but she managed to control herself long enough to ask; “So, can I get her drunk, strip her off and post her somewhere or not?” her tone betrayed her eavesdropping before both she and Willow collapsed into fits of laughter, with Tara following close behind them.

As the three friends laughed away any concerns they had about Blaze’s intentions, both Willow and Tara realised that they hadn’t even considered bachelorette parties and now Willow was feeling nervous.

Standing bolt upright, she inhaled deeply, her laughter lost to her. Fixing Blaze with a semi terrified look the redhead realised the gravity of her having a party. “Is Vince organising Tara's then?” she asked the DJ. A huge, cheeky grin spread slowly over Tara's face and she turned to regard Blaze with excitement. “Well, is he?” the blonde asked suddenly.
With two pairs of eyes almost burning her into the ground, Blaze backed up slightly, nodding as she went.

[Ice]

Strong Enough

16 days to go…..

As the sun rose high over LA, Willows alarm clock began its shrill and birdlike call into the dawn. She peered blearily over the covers and forced one emerald eye open. Its perpetually cheerful neon display informed her that it was 6am.
“Oh great!” she mumbled sarcastically, forcing a long, warm arm out to shut up the clock, whose tone had become increasingly more urgent. Beside her, Tara slept peacefully. Willow forced both her eyes open and a smile broke across her features before both had focused on her sleeping goddess. Willow was amazed at how Tara could sleep through absolutely anything, alarm clocks, the phone, storms and even an earthquake and yet a single kiss would wake her almost instantly. “It’s like a fairy tale!” Willow sighed happily as she swung her legs over the bed, her feet accidently coming to land firmly on the sleeping form of Miss Kitty, who yowled loudly and attacked Willows bare calf viciously. “AAAARRRGGGGHHHH!!” Willow screamed, instinctively pulling her legs away from the flurry of teeth and claws. In the action she flipped herself backwards, knocking heavily into Tara, who fell clear out the edge of the bed with a startled shriek.

As Tara recovered herself and rubbed her eyes, she turned to Willow who was nursing her calf protectively. “What the fuck?” she asked, her voice heavy with sleep and mild anger.
“I stood on Miss Kitty.” Willow replied apologetically, indicating the scratch and bite marks that were bleeding softly.
“You alright baby?” Tara began as she crawled back under the covers and settled herself back down.
Willow smiled as she leant in to kiss the forehead of her barely conscious fiancée. “I’m sorry.” she whispered, her arms wrapping around Tara's waist. Almost as soon as Willows fingers had found that perfect expanse of milky skin, she could tell that Tara was asleep, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

Tiptoeing into the bathroom, Willow pulled open the medicine cabinet and retrieved a small box of antiseptic wipes which she placed next to the sink before heading into the shower. Under the hot cascade, Willow sighed sadly. The past two weeks had been wonderful, and she almost dreaded having to go back to work, preferring instead, to curl back into bed and into Tara's arms.
As she rinsed the last of the conditioner from her hair, Willow had managed to suppress her longing to stay home and make love until lunch and stepped out onto the cool tile.
After drying and fixing her hair, Willow reached for the antiseptic wipes and dabbed the scratches on her leg gingerly. On return to the bedroom, Willow glanced at Tara who had clearly returned to whatever happy dream she had been having before her little indiscretion. Miss Kitty had smartly chosen to disappear. Dressing quickly in a plain black trouser suit and white shirt, Willow pulled on her favourite black boots, grabbed her car keys and headed out to the longest working day of her life.


Tara awoke a little after 10, rubbing her eyes and moving on autopilot to the bathroom to go about her morning ablutions. Squeezing a stripe of toothpaste across the bristles of her brush, she began the vigorous task of teeth cleaning. “I’m a pink toothbrush, you’re a blue toothbrush…..” she sang through the foam and bristles.
A loud hammering at the front door made her jump and yell out loud, sending speckles of foam across the mirror. Rinsing quickly, she grabbed her robe and was just tying the belt as she pulled open the door.
In the morning light she barely recognised the man standing before her. He hadn’t aged well at all, his once rich brown hair had diminished rapidly and was run through with white and grey. The hard brown eyes that had once terrified her so seemed lost and sad. The wrinkles and bags under his eyes took away nothing from the fear he could probably still inspire if he put his mind to it, but to Tara, he looked frail and in need of a good meal.
She regarded him, not in abject terror as she once would have, but through the eyes of a person who knew and yet could not place someone.

For the first time in his life, he stood in stunned silence. The woman before him was strong, confident and happy. Her golden tresses flowed over the large white robe she wore, her eyes shone with love and joy and even the trail of toothpaste down her chin couldn’t detract from the astonishing beauty she had become.

“Tara.” he said, something softer in his voice than he had ever used towards her.
“Mr. Maclay.” she replied, her voice strong, her stutter gone. “What do you want?”

Behind her, the phone began its assault on the world, its ring shattering the silence that hung between father and daughter. Tara didn’t move, made no effort to answer it and barely acknowledged its presence. The machine cut in and Willows voice caressed her ears.
“Hi, this is Willow and Tara, we’re too busy to answer the phone…..” She said, in the background Blaze could be heard giggling as Vince piped up, “They’re probably having sex!”
Tara smiled fondly, they had re-recorded the message before leaving for Sunnydale and in the rush to get going, had left the crudity of their friend on the recording. Willow had glared at him as Tara hit him with a couch cushion. Willows voice continued. “If you need us, you can call our cells or leave a message after the tone…. it takes a while and there’s three of them, so leave your message after the long, third one or we will only get half of your message or babble-age or whatever it is you called us to tell us, then we wont get.”
Willow usually scripted the message for the answering machine so she wouldn’t babble, but time was against them and she had to improvise this one. “Thanks for calling!” Tara's voice took over before the three long beeps sounded and whoever had called had hung up.

Donald Maclay Sr stared past Tara at the machine with a mixture of anger and horror stretched across his face. “So it’s true what Cousin Beth tells me then.” he stated, the familiar threatening tone reappearing in his voice. “You’re living with another woman.” At his side, his fists were balling and releasing, turning his knuckles white. Tara nodded, “Not only am I living with another woman, but I'm in love with her and I am going to marry her!” Tara stated, her father’s reign of terror had come to a halt the second she punched Oz the Wolf. She knew that if she could face him, if she ever saw her father again then he would be a walk in the park. “YOU WILL NOT MARRY ANOTHER WOMAN!!!!” he bellowed at her.
Summoning all her inner strength and courage, Tara regarded the man with what she hoped was a nonchalant gaze. “I will do as I please.” she told him simply. “Now get off my porch before I call the police.” she took a step back and began pushing the door closed.

Red flashed before Donald Maclay’s eyes and he pushed the door with all his might, knocking Tara off balance and landing her in a heap on the floor. He towered above her and she had to fight the instinct to crawl up into the foetal position and wait out the reign of fists and fury that would, no doubt be unleashed upon her. As the old man grabbed a fist full of her hair, he dragged her back into the living room, kicking the door closed behind him.
Tara managed to struggle from his grasp and get to her feet, her own rage now coursing through her veins. In what seemed like slow motion, Donald’s fist swung towards Tara's jaw but her arm was there to block the punch, her own hand, open palmed and already in motion, connected with a loud ‘SLAP’ across his right cheek.
The man before her dropped his arms, too stunned to make any sort of response he gawped at his daughter, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He remained static as she grabbed his collar and marched him back towards the door, throwing him into the morning sunlight. “You have no power over me!” she told him, slamming the heavy door closed and knowing that she would never see Donald Maclay ever again.

“You have no power over me!” she whispered into the now deserted living room, a grin spreading over her face. “You have no power over me!” she stated again, this time a little louder as she crossed to the stereo, carefully selecting a song before crossing to her large paint chest at the foot of the loft stairs.
“YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME!!!!!!” She yelled joyously, climbing atop the chest and throwing her arms in the air.

Running across to the stereo, Tara cranked up the volume and the music began almost immediately, sending Miss Kitty, who had been watching these events unfold from the back of the couch, running.

”I don’t need your sympathy
There’s nothing you can say or do for me
And I don’t want a miracle
You’ll never change for no one”

Tara sang for all she was worth, her lungs burning with pride and the effort of screaming so loudly followed so closely by singing. She remained unphased and continued;

”’cos I’m strong enough
To live without you
Strong enough and I quit crying
Long enough now I’m strong enough
To know you gotta go

There’s no more to say
So save your breath
And then walk away
No matter what I hear you say
I’m strong enough to know you gotta go”

For the first time in her life, Tara felt truly strong, knowing that, no matter what happened, she could face – and more importantly, slay – her own demons.

”So you feel misunderstood
Baby, have I got news for you
On being used, I could write a book
You don’t wanna hear about it

I’ve been losing sleep
You’ve been going cheap
She ain’t worth half of me it’s true
I’m telling you

Now I’m strong enough to live without you
Strong enough and I quit crying
Long enough now I’m strong enough
To know you gotta go”

Tara collapsed onto the couch, her lungs refusing to continue to allow her to breath and dance and sing all at the same time. With her chest heaving and the biggest grin in the world plastered over her face, Tara leant back and let the rest of the song wash away the years of abuse and suffering she had endured.

Come hell or waters high
You’ll never see me cry
This is our last goodbye, it’s true

I’m telling you
That I’m strong enough to live without you
Stron enough and I quit crying
Long enough now I’m strong enough
To know you gotta go

There’s no more to say
So save your breath
And you walk away
No matter what I hear you say
I’m strong enough to know you gotta go.

[Ice]

Free To Be Me

Still 16 days to go…..

With her dancing and singing finally out of her system, Tara fixed herself a plate of food and headed up into the loft area. Setting up her paints, brushes and fetching a larger canvas, she inhaled deeply, the huge grin still playing the edge of her lips and lighting up her eyes.
“At first I was afraid, I was petrified…..” she sang, working the brushes through the paints before caressing the canvas. “Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side….”
Miss Kitty skulked in through the cat flap and sat on one of the stairs, still totally bamboozled by the increasingly obscure behaviour shown by her owners since their return.
On the canvas in front of her, the abstract ruins of what Tara saw as a castle began to emerge. “I spent so many nights, thinking how you did me wrong. And I grew strong and I learnt how to get along!” The words dried up in her brain as the picture developed, the castle, its tattered ruins were overshadowed by a huge figure, its menacing eyes contorted in rage.
“Go on now go! Walk out the door! La la la la la.” from the opening in the castle, an angelic figure was being created, radiating power and strength in its movement.

“Did you think I’d crumble? Did you think I’d break down and cry? Oh no not I! I will survive, for as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive!” Miss Kitty crept down the stairs; the madness of her pretty blonde mistress obviously hadn’t been quelled so she opted for the safest place she knew, under the tree in the back yard.
Large orange and red swirls engulfed the figure in the canvas, a deep purple streak heated it’s based, the fuel for the fire.

As the picture before her rapidly grew, Tara's mind flew back to the last picture she had painted this quickly. It had been the first time that she and Willow had spent the night together, Willow left for work and she had rushed for her paints, a full and perfect portrait of the stunning redhead had emerged on the canvas almost without any effort at all.
Now, here she was again, another huge emotional event in her life, and another picture that was created without thought, plan or effort.


Willow stepped out of her office building and glanced at her watch. 7pm. “Great, great, great, great, great!” she mumbled sarcastically as she headed to her car. “Willow!” a mans voice grudgingly made her stop and turn back towards the building. Greg emerged from the stairwell, his trademark grin plastered all over his face. “What is it Greg?” she asked, her voice demonstrated the length of the day and her immense tiredness. Extending his hand, she glanced down and saw it contained her cell phone. “You forgot this.” he said as she took the flip top phone from his fingers. “Oh, cheers. See you tomorrow!” Willow said, her own smile tickling her features as she turned and headed back to her car.
Slumping into the driver’s seat, Willow dug around in her bag for her keys. Before jamming the key into the ignition, Willow found herself grinning madly at a key fob. It was a picture of her and Tara, taken at the funfair the previous year. Vince had begged them to go with him and Blaze and they’d had the greatest time. Riding the bumper cars, waltzer and eating cotton candy, they had been mentally transported back to their childhoods, no worries, no responsibilities, just fun and friendship. With the grin still on her face, she started the car and headed home.

Pulling up outside the house, Willow noticed Miss Kitty sitting on the front step and giggled at her. She had always had quite an expressional face but Willow could never remember seeing the cat look confused. As she stepped out onto the sidewalk, an older man came around the corner and glared at her. At his side, a tall well built man who Willow aged at about 35. They turned to each other and then began striding towards her purposefully. As she locked up the car, Willow paused to allow the men to cross in front of her before she made her way up her path and finally into the arms of her lover.
To her surprise, they stopped in front of her, hands on hips and a threatening glare pinning her to the spot. “Can I help you?” she asked slowly, returning the steely glare of the younger man. “Willow?” the older man said, despite it being an obvious question, Willow was suddenly unwilling to answer, instead pushing between the men and starting up the path. The younger man grabbed hold of her wrist and instinctively her elbow came up hard and fast, connecting with his wide set jaw and rattling his teeth. “Get your fucking hands off of me!” she growled at him as he wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. The older man began advancing towards her and she weighed up her options. Should she run into the safety of the house? Scream until Tara came out? Stand and fight her ground? Running seemed like the sensible option, but the outrage at being attacked on her own path had made her mad. Unseen, she slid her hand into her bag, her fingers wrapping around the cord attached to her panic alarm.

In a split second, both men lunged for her, although their attack seemed a little less coordinated than they might have hoped. Willow stepped back and ripped the pin from her alarm, throwing her now screaming bag towards the house, where it thudded against the front door.
Rising to their feet, the men looked full of anger at missing the redhead. “You corrupted my daughter!” the older man snarled, “She belongs with her family!” he continued as he balled a fist towards Willow, who was now backing nearer and nearer to the house. Suddenly the front door burst open to reveal Tara, her overalls covered in paint and a deep purple streak running across her cheek and into her hair. Both men halted in their tracks, suddenly unsure of where to go from here. The pure fury on Tara's face as she stepped onto the porch actually scared Willow and she found herself backing away from everyone.
Turning to Willow, but never allowing her eyes to leave the men in the yard, Tara said; “Willow. Go inside and call the cops.” her voice was low and calm, and strangely unnerving.
Willow reached for her bag, unwilling to leave Tara with these men and grabbed her cell phone. The scene before reminded her of a stand off in one of those westerns. Her voice told the controller all the details but she had no control over it, thanking the woman on the phone, she snapped the lid closed and returned to Tara's side.

“Get the hell of my path, out of my garden and out of my life. You are not welcome here!” Tara's words were slow, deliberate and filled with threat. The tone sending shivers up Willows spine and covering her in millions of goosebumps.
The younger man took a step towards her, his eyes blazing with fury. “You’re threatening me?!” he demanded, “You think you and your dyke whore can threaten ME?” To their credit, neither woman moved or flinched, until he finished his sentence.
Tara suddenly leapt from Willows side, her fists flying at the taller mans head. Completely unprepared for this, Donny Maclay was barrelled backwards, landing heavily on the grass.
Sirens blared from sown the street, but no one heard them. As a squad car pulled up to the front of the house, Donny backhanded Tara across the face and almost as soon as his hand made contact, he found himself in handcuffs.

As the policeman read him his rights, Mr. Maclay began his verbal torrent of abuse and soon found himself sat next to his son in the back of the car.
An officer escorted Willow and Tara into the house and took statements from both, asking them to pop into the station in the morning.
As she pushed the door closed and bolted it firmly, Willow turned to Tara. “What the hell was that about?” she asked, her voice shaking a little, not from the attack but the composed and collected fury that Tara had displayed.
Tara grinned at her, the situation dictated a more sombre tone, but she just couldn’t help herself. “That was my brother and father.” she told Willow. She had explained about her childhood many years ago and Willow had held her so tightly when she broke down, supported her and loved her despite her past.
“Whoa.” Willow breathed, “Nice folk.” Tara crossed slowly to her side, wrapping her arms around her waist, her fingers coming to rest on the small of the redheads back. Before Willow could speak, Tara leant in and placed a delicate kiss on the warm lips of her lover. Willows eyes closed as Tara's tongue flicked gently over her lips and found her own, joining together in an eager dance of sensual passion. For that moment, the world dropped away, nothing else but them. Their heartbeats increasing and melting together, limbs entangled in hair, lips, tongues, souls all coming together to complete them. They couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began, everything about them was together. Willow-Tara body, heart, mind and spirit.

As she pulled back, Tara grinned, her breath short and ragged. “They have no power over me anymore.” she whispered. “He was here earlier and I didn’t get scared, I fought back and stood up to him and I broke his control and he left, and then there was singing and dancing and… ooooohh…” Tara had contracted Willow babble-age in their time together and Willow could see how attractive it could be, on the right person. Tara grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the loft, her grin lighting up the house as she went. As they stepped into the airy loft space, Willows eyes were drawn to the huge canvas that was drying in its centre.
“Oh my god. Tara!” Willows grin lit up her face as she studied the image.

“I started it afterwards.” Tara said, the joy radiating from her and warming the air. “It’s for Mr. Torak.” she continued. Willow turned and stared at her, in one day Tara had conquered her past and painted this huge and beautiful picture. She looked lighter somehow, and Willow wondered if she had looked similar when she managed to put things with Oz behind her. “And it’s called….” Tara said, cueing Willow for a drum roll which she performed, badly on the paint chest. “Free To Be Me!”
Willow flew across the floor, wrapping Tara in a huge hug and sweeping her off her feet. “You are truly amazing!” she whispered into the giggling blonde’s ear. “I love you!”

[Ice]

Ta-Da!!

15 days to go…..

Tara was the first up, she and Willow had been up most of the night talking about her father’s arrival before snuggling up in the safety of their bed and allowing themselves to be consumed in their love.
This was the start of the rest of her life, this very morning. A morning where the sun was shining, the birds were singing, Miss Kitty had forgiven them for their insanities and had snuggled up on the end of the bed with them.

As she danced around the kitchen preparing breakfast, she suddenly realised there was no music, reaching out for the small radio on the side, she flipped the switch on and one of her favourite songs burst into the kitchen. Cranking the volume up, Tara spun back to the sausages and bacon that were sizzling nicely in the pan, singing loudly.

You're a song
Written by the hands of god
Don't get me wrong cause
This might sound to you a bit odd
But you own the place
Where all my thoughts go hiding
And right under your clothes
Is where I find them

In a perfect pirouette, Tara reached the cupboard and pulled out two plates, pushing down the toast as she closed the door and waltzed back to the stove, giving the mushrooms in the pan a little shake.

Underneath Your Clothes
There's an endless story
There's the girl I chose
There's my territory
And all the things I deserve
For being such a good girl honey

As she served up the full English breakfast, Tara grinned. Today she would be unveiling her painting to Mr. Torak but first, she had breakfast to deliver. With the toast popping back up from the toaster, Tara grabbed and buttered it quickly, sliding each slice into the toast rack before heading back to the bedroom, still singing.

Because of you
I forgot the smart ways to lie
Because of you
I'm running out of reasons to cry
When the friends are gone
When the party's over
We will still belong to each other

As she entered the bedroom, Willow was grinning at her. The smell of cooking breakfast and Tara's singing had woken her up. “Morning beautiful.” Willow whispered, her voice still a little husky with sleep.
“Breakfast?” Tara asked, placing the tray onto the bed.
Willows stomach rumbled noisily, eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms and toast with a large glass of orange juice to wash it all down with had her almost drooling. “You’re too good to me!” she beamed, stealing a quick kiss before tucking in to her hearty meal.


“Dishwasher’s loaded, painting’s in the car, you look stunning. Is there anything we’ve forgotten?” Willow said as she collected her briefcase and car keys. Still grinning and now full, Tara shook her head, “Don’t think so.” she replied cheerfully, grabbing Willows hands and pulling her towards the car.
As they pulled up in Willows designated spot, Tara leapt from the front seat and popped the boot open, taking her painting out carefully, she looked at Willow hopefully. “He’ll love it!” Willow said with a supportive smile, slamming the boot closed.

“Hey ladies, how ya doin?” Greg’s cheerfulness and enthusiasm was contagious and they returned an equally wide smile. As Willow stopped at her office door, she ushered Greg inside and pointed to the end of the hall. “Torak’s office is at the end. Knock him dead!” she smiled as Tara's gazed followed the direction Willow had indicated before returning to settle on the emerald pools of forever in front of her. Tara leant in and placed a soft gentle kiss on the watermelon flavoured lips of her lover. “Wish me luck.” she said weakly, suddenly nervous. As she began walking down the hall, Willow called after her, “You won’t need it!!”

The end of the hall opened up into a smaller office, a round, plump woman sat typing at a desk. As Tara entered, she didn’t bother looking up and so Tara cleared her throat. “Is Mr. Torak in?” she asked politely. Tara had met the young man only once, his pleasant demeanour and sparkling eyes had made her like him almost instantly and he had been thrilled at meeting the artist whose work he so admired.
His secretary on the other hand was an entirely different matter, she had hard eyes and seemed to instantly hate anyone who spoke to her, or at least that was Tara's initial thought.
She looked Tara up and down, her cold eyes regarding the well dressed woman with contempt. “What do you want?” she snapped, her voice husky from years of excessive smoking.
“I’d like to see Mr. Torak.” Tara told her, her own tone becoming short at the rudeness with which she had been greeted.

“I’d worked that out young lady. What is it about?” the secretary barked at her.

“It’s a personal matter. Would you please tell him Tara Maclay is here to see him.” Tara responded, she could hear her tone becoming more and more fraught with each word and the muscles in her shoulders flexed as she finished.

Once again the secretary looked her up and down before slamming closed the large file in front of her and folding her hands primly across it. “If it’s a personal matter, then you should consult him out of office hours.” she told her smugly, a condescending smile fixing on the blonde.

Tara stared at her incredulously, “He is expecting me here, now. So just tell him I am here and stop being so bloody awkward!” Tara snapped right back, causing the plump woman to startle noticeably.

“Ms. Rosenberg has given us all strict instructions that personal business will not be conducted during office hours so you have no choice.” The smugness hadn’t left the face of the secretary, although it had gained an edge of anger.

“Ms. Rosenberg personally escorted me here!” Tara told her smugly, she hated ever using Willow as her ‘get out of jail free’ card, but at this moment she was glad she was marrying the MD.
The secretary snorted disbelievingly. “I find that impossible to believe, Ms. Rosenberg doesn’t deal with the ‘lower delivery folk’!!”

Tara couldn’t believe her ears, all she wanted to do was to deliver her picture and go home and have a long hot bath before calling Vince and meeting him for lunch and here was this ridiculous woman giving her a hard time.
Tara rolled her eyes and headed for the ornate door to the right of the secretary. For such a large and obviously unfit woman, she had quite a turn of speed, coming to block Tara's path into Mr. Toraks office. “Get out of here now, or I'm calling security!” she snarled, her cigarette loaded breath stinging Tara's nose and eyes and making her stomach churn.

“Fuck this. I'm not going to stand her and argue with a petty fool like yourself.” Tara snarled, her anger now threatening to boil over. “If it’s not too much for you, tell him I came by and have him call me. You think you can manage that?!” She ordered bluntly before turning smartly and disappearing back down the corridor.


In her office, Willow was staring through the glass walls, waiting to catch a final glimpse of Tara as she left for home. Suddenly the blonde appeared, still carrying the painting, her strides in no way hindered by the huge canvas. “Hang on!” she told Greg, who was presenting her with a new idea he had had while she had been away.
Rushing to her feet, Willow pulled the door open. “Tara!” she called, making the blonde turn. “What’s wrong, why do you still have the painting?” her voice sounded like she was close to tears although her eyes were clear.
“His fucking secretary wouldn’t let me through.” Tara told her simply, “I’ll call him later, it’s no worry.” she added, not wanting to be the sort of person who ran to her girlfriend when she couldn’t get her own way.

Willows face contorted into a snarl. “I hate that fucking bitch!” she growled, “That’s it, she’s gone!” And with that, she grabbed Tara's free hand and pulled her back down the corridor.
As they emerged into the small office, the secretary almost leapt to her feet and saluted. “G-g-good morning Ms Rosenberg!” she said sweetly.
Willow glared at her and opened the door to Bob Torak’s office to let Tara through.
As it slammed behind her, Tara heard Willow reading the riot act to the uptight secretary and within seconds, loud sobbing could be heard.
“Hey Tara, how are you?” Bob asked, getting to his feet and extending a hand, which she shook politely.
“I’m of the good, thank you.” she replied, leaning the large canvas up against a leather couch. “I have your picture finished!” she told him with a smile.

“…..Pack up your things and get the hell out. Right now!” Willow finished. Despite her best efforts, the secretary, Maud, was getting her ass truly kicked. “I want you out of my building in five minutes otherwise I’ll throw you out personally.” she told her as she stormed back to her office. Maud had worked there for less then 3 months but in that time had accumulated more than 12 complaints from delivery persons and at least another 20 from other members of staff. Almost as soon as Willow slumped back into her soft leather chair, she saw Maud storming past the window, a large box in her arms.


Collecting her huge cheque, Tara beamed. Bob had been delighted with her work, even shedding a few tears as she’d unveiled it.
“Thanks again Tara, oh, and congratulations!” he said as he escorted her to the door. Flashing him a huge smile, Tara nodded her thanks and headed off down the corridor, stealing a quick loving glance at Willow as she passed.

As she pulled up outside the house, she saw Vince sitting on the porch, his arms resting on his knees and obviously bored of waiting. Glancing at her watch, she realised she’d been at Willow’s office for over 2 hours. They had gone in late anyway and now she was delaying her entire day. “Where ya been?” Vince asked as she started up the path. Shaking her head, Tara smiled at him, “Nowhere special, had to drop off a painting.” she told him as she unlocked the front door and indicated for Vince to make himself comfortable. “I’m just gonna change, then we’re gone!” she told him. As she turned the corner towards her bedroom, Vince called out after her; “Change into what?”

[Ice]

Misty Blue

Still 15 days to go....

Giggling, Tara pulled the car up in front of Vince’s apartment building. Lunch had gone really well and Tara couldn’t remember the last time she and Vince had spent some quality time together without Blaze or Willow. He had brought up the subject of her bachelorette party almost as soon as they had found a quiet spot under some trees in the park, their lunches laid out before them.
Despite her best efforts to convince him that, if he insisted on throwing one, then it had to be a small, quiet affair, he had ignored her. He was ranting about Amsterdam and a great strip club her knew there when she stuffed an apple in his mouth, forcibly silencing him.
For the rest of the afternoon, they had just talked, about everything and nothing all at once, and all too soon the day was drawing to a close and Tara had to get back to pick up Willow.

As he closed the car door, Vince stuck his head back through the open window, “So, is that 3 strippers or 4?” he asked cheekily. Fixing him with a stern look, she replied, “None! Now get outta here before Blaze thinks I’ve Vince-napped you!” With a hearty laugh, he waved goodbye and watched his friend drive steadily towards Willows office building.


Pulling up in Willows marked space, Tara sighed deeply. Her lungs ached from her afternoon of laughter and she was strangely tired. Riding up in the elevator, she couldn’t help but giggle at the awful music playing; it always reminded her of really bad porn. Before she had a change to dwell on it for too long, the doors slid open into the ‘big bod’ offices. She approached the receptionist at the desk with a smile, hoping she was nicer than the last secretary she had spoken to. “Hello.” The young blonde woman said with a smile as Tara reached the desk and crossed her arms over it. “If you’d like to give me your name and with whom you have the appointment and I will inform them that you are here.” she told Tara, her voice clear and friendly.
Tara grinned, “I’m here for Ms. Rosenberg. My name is Tara Maclay.” she told her, surprised that she didn’t already know who she was. Since the engagement, Willow had practically screamed it from the rooftops and Tara was surprised that there was anyone left in LA that didn’t know they were getting married. “If you’d like to take a seat, I’ll tell her you’re waiting.” the receptionist said politely as she reached for her phone.

Obligingly, Tara sat in one of the large chairs and idly flipped through a magazine on the table in front of her. From behind the desk, the receptionist, Amanda, had reached Willows extension. “Ms. Rosenberg, there is a Miss Maclay waiting to see you.” she said, her tone denoting her efficiency. Whatever Willow had said in response had slapped a confused and slightly bemused expression across the young woman's face. “Erm, a white shirt and jeans.” she said quietly and Tara suddenly knew what the question had been. Trying hard to look disinterested, she buried her face behind the magazine, her ears pricked to try and hear, although the giggles she was trying to conceal were making it difficult. “I’ll send her right through then.” Amanda said loudly, pausing momentarily as Willow obviously gave her another instruction. “Certainly Ms. Rosenberg.” Amanda replied and hung up the phone. Stepping out from behind her desk, Amanda grinned at Tara. “If you’d like to follow me please.” she said, waiting only until Tara had replaced the magazine on the table before starting off down the corridor. Arriving at the door to Willows office, Tara smiled. “Thank you.” she said, the warmth in her eyes cheering and comforting the still slightly confused receptionist.

Without knocking, Tara pushed open the door to Willows office and stepped inside. At some point during the day, Willow had obviously had a difficult meeting as she had changed her outfit. She was now in a short skirted, tailored pin stripe suit, not unlike the one she had been wearing when they had first met. “Why Ms. Rosenberg, you look good enough to eat!” Tara grinned mischievously at the redhead who was sat on the edge of the table, her long elegant legs crossed and swinging slightly.
Fixing her eyes on the deep pools of blue before her, Willow purred; “Is that a promise?” Tara waggled her eyebrows and crossed the huge room to stand before Willow. From the corner of her eye she could see the remote control for something in Willows right hand, leaning in to kiss her fiancée, Tara heard a strange whirring and pulled back slightly to glance over her shoulder in the direction the sound was coming from.
Behind her, the huge windows were being blocked off by large white blinds. “Vixen!” Tara whispered as Willows hands slid up the back of her shirt to gently stroke the silky smooth skin at the small of her back.

With one final push of the remote control, music filled the large office and Willows hands moved slowly to the front of Tara's shirt where they began expertly popping the buttons open.

Oh, Its, been such a long long time
Looks like I got you off of my mind
But I can't, just the thought of you
Turns my whole world misty blue

Looking deep into the sapphire blue eyes of her lover, Willow guided one finger gently between the valley of Tara's sumptuous breasts, sending a shiver through the blonde. Without breaking eye contact, Tara glided to her knees, slipping off one of Willows high heeled shoes and kissing the tribal dolphin tattoo on her ankle and nibbling the tender flesh of her calf.

Oh honey, just the mention of your name
Turns a flicker to a flame
Listen to me good baby
I think of the things we used to do
And my whole world turns misty blue

As Tara kissed slowly up Willows legs, her hands teased a path before her lips, sliding the short skirt higher up Willows toned and perfect thighs and drawing a gentle moan from the redhead.
As Tara's lips found their way to the top of Willows thigh, she found herself dizzy with the intoxicating scent of arousal, her heart rate increasing until she could hear nothing but her own blood rushing through her system. Her fingers teased their way to the soft, black lacy panties and, with a little help from Willow, she slid them carefully down her legs, tucking them into her back pocket on removal.

Oh, Its, been such a long long time
Looks like I got you off of my mind
But I can't, just the thought of you
Turns my whole world misty blue

Taking one quick pass with her tongue over the smooth, warm, damp outer lips of her lover, Tara grinned. She had no idea what had put Willow in such a mood, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to complain about it. Willows hips thrust up to meet her tongue and she almost jumped in surprise.
Wrapping her arms as best she could around Willows ass, Tara fixed Willow with a devilish grin as her tongue found its way, barely, between the pink lips before her, brushing Willows clit with a feather light touch before returning to tease and taste.

Oh, Its, been such a long long time
Looks like I got you off of my mind
But I can't, just the thought of you
Turns my whole world misty blue

Ohhhhhhh, no I can't no I can't
I can't forget you
My whole world turns misty blue

Somewhere deep in the throat of Willow emerged a semi groan, semi growl and Tara almost lost her composure. Her tongue dipping deep inside before she jerked back out, nipping the engorged clit before her with her teeth. “Oh fuck!” Willow moaned under her breath, her stunning green eyes clouding slightly as they burnt into the crystal clear blue below her.

As Tara re-explored this fascinating place that she knew and loved so well, Willow bucked and groaned almost uncontrollably. The sweet heady scent of her own arousal only served to make Willow more eager to have Tara fill and consume her. As Tara flicked and nibbled the sensitive flesh, her own wetness made her wiggle and writhe, at times the crease in her jeans making firm but fleeting contact with her own clit and sending bolts of electricity through her body.
Willows moans grew more urgent as her tongue stiffened and slid into the tight, welcoming hole, her nose unceremoniously bumping her clit as she delved deeper into Willow.

Ohhhh My love
My whole world turns misty blue

Baby I should forget you
My whole world turns misty blue

Locking eyes with Willow once more, somewhere in her mind she knew why this song had been chosen. She knew her eyes clouded slightly when she made Willow cum, or at least that's what Willow had told her.
Pushing Willow further, she suddenly lost eye contact as Willows head fell back. The tiny contractions running through the redhead’s body burnt Tara with delicious excitement as Willow tried desperately to stifle her screams.
Without pausing in her actions, Tara's hand slid from its firm grip on her lovers firm ass to find the remote she had been holding, the volume cranking up to allow Willow to scream her name as Tara engulfed Willows throbbing clit, flicking and nipping the delicate flesh in a random pattern that drove the redhead into the abyss.

Ohhhh My love
My whole world turns misty blue
Ohhhh My love
My whole world turns misty blue

Panting heavily, Willow finally managed to sit up, to find the clouded, misty blue eyes of her angel. She slid from the table into Tara's lap and kissed her deeply, tasting her own climax on the lips and tongue of the woman she loved. “Wanna go home?” she purred seductively into her ear, between nibbles and sucks of her earlobe.
Looking deep into the emerald eyes, Tara was lost in desire, her brain not really functioning to any degree of normal. “I’m already home!” she whispered, kissing Willow with a passion that she had no name for.

Pulling Tara to her feet, Willow grabbed her and dragged her out the door, into the car park and sped home where they could be free to ravage and make love until sunrise.

[Ice]

Cake, Cake, What About Cake??

14 days to go….

“BLAZE?” Vince yelled, his voice echoing around the silent house, indicating that his girlfriend was obviously not at home. Leaning back against the front door, he swore quietly under his breath. Plans had to be made for the bachelorette parties of their best friends and so far, Blaze seemed to have made little effort.
From behind the couch, Cosmic Creepers popped her head out and snarled at him, obviously pissed at being woken up by his yelling.

‘CRUNCH!’

Blaze tried barrelling in through the front door and found something large and heavy blocking her path. Trying again, she put all her effort into opening the large door and once again the old oak come into heavy contact with the back of Vince’s head. “Standing here!” he complained as he opened the door,”Standing right exactly here!!” rubbing his head gingerly, he fixed his girlfriend with a look of pain.
“What idiot stands right behind a door?” she asked him, her sympathy to the plights of stupid men was non-existent and as far as she was concerned, if you stood behind doors, you deserved to get hit. “I was looking for you!” Vince told her, ignoring her comment and still nursing the growing bump on his head.
Blaze just stared at him, “And exactly how long does it take to check behind a door?” She asked, scooping up the bag of groceries she had dropped in trying to enter and heading off into the kitchen, with Vince following like a lost puppy.

As salad stuff and beers were put away, Vince hopped up onto the counter, grabbing an orange as he sat and peeling it slowly. “So, what are we doing for the girls parties?” he asked as he popped a segment of the juicy fruit into his mouth and chewing noisily.
Blaze’s face lit up, her eyes dancing with mischief. “They’re gonna die!!” she laughed, beginning a makeshift striptease to indicate what she had in mind.


Tara emerged from the shower to discover that she had missed a call. Pressing the ‘play’ button on the machine, the electronic voice, who she and Willow had named Belinda filled the room. “You have one new message, received today at 1.27pm.” Belinda told her, a loud beep and then the start of the message.
“Good Afternoon. This is a message for either Ms Maclay or Ms Rosenberg. My name is Zoë, I work for Imperial Cakes and we seem to have a problem with your order. The head chef has just called me to say that he no longer produces the cake you have specified for your wedding. If you would like to call us or drop in a see me, then we can arrange another design. I apologise for the inconvenience. You can call me on 213 262 5473.” The disembodied voice of Zoë silenced and was replaced by another beep.

“Oh fuck.” Tara said, slumping into the chair. It had taken them more than 5 months to decide on a cake and now they had exactly two weeks before the big day and had to go through all that again. Willow was not going to be pleased.
Reluctantly Tara reached for the phone and dialled Willows office number. The cheerful voice of Amanda reached her ears and Tara grinned, “Hi Amanda,” Tara said once she had finished her welcoming speech. “Could you put me through to extension 529 please?”
“I’m sorry, but Ms Rosenberg is in a meeting at the moment, can I take a message?” Amanda was the poster child for efficiency and Tara understood why Willow had employed her. In that sense, they were incredibly alike. “Erm, best not no. Can you tell her that Tara called please, it’s important?” Tara heard her scribbling down the message and said she would pass it on, after thanking her, Tara hung up.

“Fuck it again!” she stated to Miss Kitty, who ignored her and continued washing her paws. Playing the message from the cake company once again, Tara jotted down the number and shook her head sadly. “I like that cake!” she complained to Zoë.
In her hand, the phone began ringing, making her jump and drop the handset. Giggling at herself, Tara retrieved the handset and pressed the button. “Hello?” she giggled.
“Tara, what’s up?” Willows voice sounded taut and strained, she was clearly having a bad day.
“Hey baby.” Tara said softly, knowing that Willow was going to go insane when she heard the news. “The cake company called….”
Willow cut her off mid-sentence, “They better not have screwed it up!” she snapped, immediately kicking herself for taking out her frustrations on the woman she loved.
“Not screwed up as such…..” Tara said meekly, “More like, don’t do anymore.” she ripped the ear piece from her ear and held it at arms length as Willow, bubbled, boiled and finally exploded. When the furious screaming had stopped, Tara moved the receiver closer to her ear. “Ok, deaf now!” she giggled, trying to lighten Willows mood.
“I’m coming home!” Willow stated simply, “See you in ten minutes.”


Rolling her eyes, Tara hurried into the bedroom to get dressed, knowing full well that when Willow returned home, it would only be to collect the paperwork for the cake and then they would be off to Imperial Cakes for a confrontation.
As she slipped into her favourite peasant top and a pair of comfortable black jeans, she brushed her hair quickly and jumped as Willow slammed the front door. Glancing quickly at her watch, Tara noticed it had been less than 5 minutes since she had hung up the phone and knew that Willow was furious. Her footsteps on the stairs to the loft sounded more like a giants than the slender frame of the woman she knew. Emerging from the bedroom, Tara saw Willow stomping down the stairs, a large file with all their wedding plans, contracts and orders in her hand. “Baby?” Tara ventured, crossing to intersect the storming redhead. Catching Willow mid-stride, Tara wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her in tight, her lips seeking Willows tentatively.
In spite of her fury, Willow could never resist Tara-kissage and found herself lost in the warm full lips of her angel, her anger subsiding a little as Tara's tongue gently teased her bottom lips and dared her to stay mad.

Pulling back, Willow found the warm, ocean eyes of Tara and smiled. “We should get this sorted, we don’t have 5 months to pick a new cake!” she told her sadly, her voice tinted with the merest hint of a giggle at the memory of the fiasco they had had trying to decide on the perfect cake.




Slamming the car door almost 4 hours later, Willow sank into the passenger seat of her beloved convertible. Tara joining her in equal exhaustion in the driver’s seat.
The meeting with Zoë had not gone well. Willow and Tara had ordered the cake almost a year ago and were told that under no circumstances would anything be changed, any problems would be brought to their attention as soon as they arose. On the fax that Willow had insisted on seeing, her eagle eyes noticed it was dated almost 2 weeks after they had initially placed the order.
After many heated words and rejected compromise, Willow had demanded their money back and told Zoë, quite clearly, what her business could do with their cakes.
Now they were less than two weeks from getting married and without a cake, or company to bake them one!
Tara started the car and drove off west, figuring the best place to get a wedding cake for a lesbian wedding would be the gay sector of town.
Slamming on the brakes suddenly, she turned to Willow who had turned to her in surprise. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice revealed her disappointment and tiredness.
“Thomas!” Tara blurted out, realising how wrong it had sounded but being unable to correct it.
Willow just stared at her, the flush in Tara's cheeks and embarrassment etched tightly over her face forced Willow to laugh, “You’re doing Thomas?” she asked incredulously. “Who’s Thomas?”
Slapping playfully at Willows arm, Tara grinned. “You are so gonna love me!” she said as she performed a perfect U-turn and headed towards home.

Half an hour later, they pulled up outside the Noxon hotel and Tara grinned. It was here that it had all begun, her new life in LA, meeting Willow, selling her first painting, meeting Vince. This building had witnessed almost every moment of her new life.
Stepping out into the cool night, Tara laughed loudly, the sounds of the Pink Party blared into the night. “Its cheese fest!” she announced to Willow, who looked all but confused. Pulling open Willows door, she dragged the redhead out of the car and up the steps.
The ‘Time Warp’ blared from the main bar and both women had the recollection of their dancing to it all those years ago. As Tara approached the front desk, Willow slipped off towards the door of the main bar and found herself staring at the past. The room was decorated almost exactly the same way she remembered and a familiar pink haired DJ was whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Tara arms wrapped around her waist as the blonde snuggled in behind the lithe redhead, her lips finding her soft neck and nipping gently. “We have a cake chef!” she yelled over the din.
Willow spun in her arms, her eyes wide with amazement. “You? What? Who? How?” Willow babbled. Over Tara's shoulder, she could see a man in chefs’ whites grinning manically at them.

Pulling Willow into the relevant quiet of the foyer, Tara introduced Thomas, the head chef and best cake maker in all of LA… well according to Tara he was. He had agreed to make their cake, not just any cake, but the cake they had wanted from Imperial Cakes, providing he had a picture he was sure he could do anything. Willow was astounded, her mouth opening and closing in a rapid babble but the words drying up before they had a chance to reach her lips.
“She says thank you!” Tara told him with a giggle. Willow nodded enthusiastically before sweeping the man into her arms and hugging him fiercely. “Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you so very much!”

After buying Thomas a large drink or two, the women left the hotel. It had been a busy day that had left them drained and shattered. As they settled into the car, Willow turned to Tara. “Tomorrow, we call everyone and check that nothing else is going wrong.” she said. Tara nodded in agreement, “But first, we go home and sleep!”

[Ice]

Phone Around

13 days to go….

Willow had already left for work, leaving Tara with the task of phoning around the caterer, hotel and car rental people to ensure that everything was still running smoothly.
Fixing herself a large mug of tea, Tara returned to Willows desk in the loft, the paperwork for each company lay in neat piles before her.

Thankfully, everything else was running smoothly and after emailing Thomas a few pictures of the cake they wanted, she returned to the phone. Dialling the number of the florists, she managed to get all the details of their order through and learnt that everything was perfect. With a grin on her face, Tara was hit by a sudden wave of inspiration. Poor Willow had been so stressed out with work and the nightmares of the cake fiasco that she needed cheering up. “Can I also order some roses to be delivered today?” she asked the cheerful assistant on the other end of the line. Down the phone she could hear the woman checking something in a large book before answering. “Yes, we do have one more delivery slot for today. What colour roses would you like?”
Flicking quickly through the file before her, Tara found the rose colour meanings that they had printed off when deciding on flowers for the wedding. Running a finger down the list, Tara found what she was looking for. “Erm, may I have a dozen red and a dozen pink please?” she asked smiling at the words accompanying her choice. Red for love, romance, beauty, courage and respect. The pink to represent gentleness, admiration, joy, friendship, kindness and happiness.
When pink and red roses are combined, the union stands for passion and romance.

As the woman added up her total and took delivery details, Tara found herself reading the last line over and over. The sales assistant’s voice burst into Tara's thoughts, making her jump slightly. “How will you be paying for that?” she asked sweetly, her tone telling Tara that this was going to be a pretty hefty bill. “That’s $120 including delivery.” she said.
“Wow, erm, well can you add a single white rose in the middle of the others please? And I’ll be paying by mastercard.” Tara told her, knowing that Willow would love the surprise.
With the transaction complete, and flowers winging their way across town, Tara slumped back in the chair, pleased with her mornings work.



Blaze put the down the phone, a huge grin spreading over her face as she turned towards Vince. “You get everything?” he asked her, his own grin forming before he’d heard the answer. Blaze nodded, her pink hair falling into her eyes as she did so.
“Holy shit yeah!!” he exclaimed, dancing in happy little circles around the compact kitchen. “Willow’s gonna shit when she sees Analise!” he squealed, picking Blaze up and swinging her around.



Willow was going through her mail and wondering how it was as the head of such a huge and successful company, she still had to deal with all the junk mail. Putting the important things to one side, she skimmed briefly through a full colour catalogue for a hardware company. Hammers, nails, work benches, drills, screws and more types of electrical wire than she thought anyone would ever need adorned the pages. “Why do I need this?” she asked as Greg opened the door to her office and invited himself in.
She tossed the catalogue in his direction and he grinned at the open page. “Well, wire helps the electric get from the mains to the computer terminal and then people can use all of your fabulous products!” he began, his grin dancing in his eyes as he turned the page. “And hammers… well they help the engineers to install all the wiring safely. Without them, wires would either be hanging around or all over the floors where someone could trip and sue you. Either that, or the guys would have to bang pins in with their hand or their heads. Either way, you’d be getting sued!” he explained slowly, the giggle in his voice relaxing Willow and forcing her to smile with him.
Rolling her eyes at him, she sat forward. “I know why the company needs them, but me personally? So not. Why not send this stuff to purchasing or maintenance?” she asked.

Before Greg could answer, there was a loud knock at the door. “Ms. Rosenberg?” Amanda appeared around the sleek mahogany door.
“What is it Amanda?” Willow asked.
“There’s a delivery for you at the front desk.” she told her, a huge grin indicating it was something a little more exciting than hammers and nails.
As Willow followed Amanda back out into the lobby, her mouth fell open. Adorning the desk was a huge vase, red and pink roses highlighted by the perfect amount of gypsophilia (baby’s breath, the rest of us.)
“Oh my god, they’re beautiful!” she breathed, “Who are they from?” Greg and Amanda just looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Plucking the card from the bouquet, Willows shaking fingers slipped the card from its envelope. Aside from a single ‘T’, the card was blank. Willows eyes swam in tears, the lack of any message had displayed exactly why Tara had sent her flowers.
Turning back to Amanda, Willow whispered, “If you could just put them in my office please, I need to step out for a moment.”



Back at home, Tara was clearing away her lunch things, the gentle tones of Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ filling the house.
Suddenly, the phone burst into life, startling her and causing her to drop the glass she had been about to load into the dishwasher. Looking back from the phone to the shattered glass, Tara opted for possible chat over chores and lifted the handset. “Hello?”

“Hey Tara.” the voice on the end of the phone had a smooth drawl that Tara placed instantly as that of where she had grown up, the Alabama accent was unforgettable.

“Cousin Heather?” Tara asked, slightly surprised to hear from her. Heather was the only blood relative Tara had invited to the wedding, everyone else either wouldn’t show up, tell her father who would arrive and cause trouble, or bring the trouble on their own.
‘Bit late for the whole father catastrophe.’ Tara thought.

“Tara, I need to tell you. Beth went through my things, she found the invite to your wedding, I think she may tell your father!” Poor Heather sounded distraught, her voice shaking with tears.
“I only just found out now, or I would have called you sooner.” she finished apologetically.

“Hey Heather, calm down.” Tara tried frantically to calm her frenzied cousin, “She did tell him, he came down with Donny.” On the other end of the line, Tara heard a sharp intake of breath followed rapidly by a half choked sob. “Don’t worry, we dealt with him, he’s out of my life forever!” Tara couldn’t help but grin, standing up to her father had been one of the best things she had ever done – terrifying in its own way – but fabulous all the same.

“Really?” Heather couldn’t help but sound amazed. She had been Tara's only support after her mother had died and had been the one to tend to Tara's cuts, bruises and occasional broken bones that she’d received at the hands of a man who was meant to be her protector and love her unconditionally.

“Really!” Tara echoed before she began relaying the entire story to her cousin who whooped with joy.


Sitting in her large board room, Willow suddenly realised why they were called ‘board rooms’. She was bored. Since receiving the stunning flowers at lunchtime, all she had wanted to do was call Tara and thank her. ‘Ok, maybe not call her, maybe go home and thank her personally.’ Willow thought, a sly smile spreading over her face. Suddenly, an idea struck her. The perfect way to thank Tara for everything, not just the flowers, but for being the cool, calm and collected one throughout the planning of the wedding. In her mind she pictured rose petals, soft music, candle light and a present. Scribbling ideas eagerly on the yellow legal pad in front of her, Willow relaxed enough to return her attention to round, balding man who was droning on and on about some fabulous chip he had designed.



Blaze pulled up outside the ‘Lions Den’ club. The owner owed her a few favours and she was about to cash them all in. Walking through the awful wood beaded curtain, she grinned at a woman who was sat being a tiny counter. “Hey Jay.” She said with a flash of her best smile, “Is Bobby about?” The woman known only as ‘Jay’ nodded towards the back of the club, “He’s around the back somewhere.” she replied and allowed Blaze to pass through a turnstile into the main body of the club.
Small, circular tables were scattered around the room, all centred haphazardly around a long, stretched out concourse with a metal pole at its end. To her right, a huge bar stretched the length of the wall, tall stools flipped upside down on its surface.

Bobby spotted Blaze almost as soon as she’d walked in. “Hey sexy, what can I do you for?” he called as he walked towards her. “Y’know, the girls don’t make half as much since you stopped coming here!” Bobby was a good natured man, if not slightly on the side of lecherous, Blaze liked him for his upfront manner and no bullshit attitude.
“I’m cashing in my chips!” she said, “Lets talk!” and with that, she grabbed his arm and led him towards his office in the back of the club.


Tara had finally reassured Heather that her fathers arrival was in no way her fault and had hung up the phone. With Willow not expected home for at least three hours, Tara decided to make a start on a new painting. After changing into her oversized dungarees and an old t-shirt, she climbed the stairs into the loft.
A medium sized canvas was rested against the far wall and she opted for that, placing it on the large easel before reaching into the paint chest for her favourite oils and a palette.
Miss Kitty appeared at the top of the stairs and watched Tara with fascination, probably just thankful that her ‘normal’ behaviour had returned. Picking up her brushes, Tara dipped one in the paint and began. She had no idea what she was going to paint and so closed her eyes as she made the first few strokes.
Within an hour, a beautiful sunset had appeared, its reflection sparkling in a lake. Miss Kitty had taken her place on the chair behind Tara and to her left where she was curled up sleeping, a tiny snore emerging from her occasionally.
As the painting was coming to its inevitable conclusion, Miss Kitty awoke, stretching her long body before jumping down to be by Tara's side. Tara herself stretched, placing the palette, still loaded with paint onto the chest beside her. “Gotta pee!” she said into the silent room, “You be good!” she warned the cat as she descended down to the bathroom.

Miss Kitty had a good look around, as if to check she was alone before jumping up onto the paint chest. Her gaze fixed on the palette and the multitude of colours it held. Sniffing each one in turn, she glanced up for the arrival of her blonde headed owner. Seeing that Tara was nowhere in sight, she settled down to a meal of deep sienna paint.

[Ice]

Can Someone Save Me?

12 days to go….

Willow emerged from the shower, her long red hair dripping water down her smooth back. Wrapping a large fluffy towel around her body, she dried quickly and dressed even quicker. As she returned to the bedroom, Tara rushed in. “Have you seen Miss Kitty?” she asked, slightly panicked. For a moment, Willow thought. She couldn’t remember having seen Miss Kitty since she arrived home from work, although to be honest, she had been so busy lavishing attention on Tara that the cat had been the furthest thing from her mind. “I saw her last night, but not today. Why are you so worried?” Willow asked, her confusion wrinkling her brow. It was still early and they had locked the cat flap so she would be in the house somewhere, probably enjoying a lay in.

“I laid out her breakfast, and she’s nowhere in sight. She always gets up for breakfast!” Tara ranted, her concern obvious. Willow had to admit that it was a little strange for Miss Kitty to have missed breakfast and so decided to have a quick look for her before she left for work. Between them, they had searched every inch of the ground floor and double checked to make sure that the cat flap was locked. “I’ll check the loft!” Willow said, her concern for the tubby feline growing. It just wasn’t like her to miss breakfast and ignore their calls. As she climbed the stairs, Willow saw the familiar shape of the beloved cat curled up on the chair. “She’s up here.” she called down to Tara, who sighed with relief.
“C’mon lazy bones!” Willow said, shaking the cat slightly. Miss Kitty made the slightest effort to lift her head, raising it all of an inch from the chair before slumping back down again. “Tara!” Willow yelled, realising that something was seriously wrong here. “Get her travel box, she’s sick!” Stroking the poorly feline softly, Willow noticed her breath was shallow and rather rapid, her gums were far too pale and, although she hated to admit it, Willow didn’t think she had very long left at all.

Tara burst into the open loft seconds later, the travel box swinging violently from her hand as she crossed to Willow. “Oh god!” she whispered as Willow picked up the limp body and laid her in the box. “I’ll take her now!” Tara said, giving Willow no chance to argue. “You get to that meeting, I’ll call you at work when we’re done with the vet.” With that, she spun around and almost disappeared into thin air.

Willow immediately picked up the phone, hitting the speed dial for Vince she waited for what seemed like an eternity before he answered, his voice heavy with sleep. “It’s too early, go away!” he said.
“Vince, Tara needs you! Go to the vets on Chestnut now.” she said clearly. Vince snapped awake instantly, if Tara needed him, then he’d be there.


Tara drove to the vets in a state of worry and fear. Miss Kitty had always been there with her and Willow, through the best of times and when they’d had some blazing arguments, it had been Miss Kitty who had sat with them, listened to their problems and eventually gotten them talking again. With her funny meows and inevitable way of tripping you at the worst possible time she provided comic relief when it was most needed. As she pulled up in front of the surgery, Tara yanked the front door open and pulled the travel box from the passenger seat, peering inside and hoping for some sign of life.
Miss Kitty was still, her breathing shallow but thankfully still there. Rushing into the office, Tara's entrance made the young receptionist jump. “My cat is sick, I think she might be dying.” Tara said, her voice wobbling with tears. As a young nurse appeared and peered into the box, the receptionist asked; “Are you registered here?”
“Of course she’s registered here!” Tara snapped, “Just make her better!” the nurse rushed the sick animal into a back room while the receptionist continued questioning Tara. “I need to take the animal’s name.” she said, turning her attention back to the computer in front of her.
“Miss Kitty Fantastico.” Tara said slowly, leaning over the counter to make sure that she was spelling it correctly.”2436 Whedon Drive?” she asked. Tara nodded, tears stinging her eyes. “Would you like to take a seat?” she continued as the bell on the door jangled.
Vince appeared behind Tara, wrapping his arms protectively around her waist. Turning slightly to see her best non-Willow friend, tears spilt from Tara's eyes. “No.” he told the receptionist, “Do you have a cell number on your files?” he asked, receiving a nod. “Well, if there are any developments, please call!” he told her firmly as he took Tara's hand and lead her out into the street.

“Where…. I want to stay.” Tara complained, tears streaking her cheeks.
“You’ll only get more and more upset sweetie.” he told her softly, his arm returning to her waist as he guided her towards a coffee house three blocks down. “They’ll call with any developments!” he said, “She’s going to be fine!” he finished; the confidence oozing from him put Tara a little more at ease. “Remember when Willow ran her over, she was fine after that!” Tara rolled her eyes. Only Vince could use something that awful as a positive point.
As they found an empty booth in the coffee house, Vince ordered for the pair of them and settled into comforting his friend.

Back at the house, Willow had called work and re-arranged her appointments, telling them that she would be out all day on personal matters.
She had so hoped that she could put her idea into practice today, but doubted very much that Tara would appreciate it with Miss Kitty so sick. Her own worry about their treasured feline was making her feel a little nauseous.
She decided to change her clothes and then set out after Tara and Vince.

As Vince finished the last of his Danish pastry, Tara's cell phone ran. “Oh god.” she moaned, seeing the caller display. Vince took the cell from her hand and answered it. “Hello?” he asked, trying to keep his own voice from sinking. “I’m calling from Chestnut Vets regarding Miss Kitty Fantastico.” the voice told him.
“Yes, how is she?” he asked.
“Mr Butler, the head vet believes she is suffering from poisoning. Can you think of what she may have eaten?”
Vince looked stunned. Poisoning? Who would poison harmless Miss Kitty? “Erm, hang on.” he said, “Tara, they think she’s poisoned, any ideas?” he asked hopefully.
Tara's face crumpled as the realisation hit her. “My paints, I left her alone with the palette. That's all it could be!” her tears falling freely and plopping into her luke warm coffee.
“Paint, oil paints I believe!” Vince told her. “Will she be ok?”
“It’s too soon to tell, but now we know what we’re dealing with, she has a better chance.”
After thanking her for her help, Vince hung up the phone and slid it across the table to Tara who was sobbing quietly behind her hair. “I poisoned her. I killed Miss Kitty, Willow will hate me!” Tara sobbed.
“Willow will never, ever hate you.” Vince told her, “And besides, you didn’t poison her, I'm pretty sure you didn’t force feed her the paint!” Suddenly, Vince remembered something he’d seen on one of those reality shows and leapt to his feet. “I swear, I’ll be right back!” he said and sprinted from the coffee house with Tara staring at his back.

Vince had noticed an arts store on his way to the coffee house. In the show he had seen, poisoning was always treated much more successfully if the doctors had a sample of the poison. He burst into the store and thanked the lord that Tara had dragged him on her last supply buying mission. Grabbing a tube of the same brand of paint that Tara always used, he threw the money at the cashier before bursting back out and running back to the vets.
The bell jingled loudly as he burst through the door. “Give this to Mr. Butler.” he told the receptionist. “It may be what Miss Kitty has eaten!” A young nurse appeared just in time to hear his statement. Grabbing the tube from his hand, she studied its ingredients carefully. “Excellent, if this is what she has ingested, then we can help her, hopefully we’re not too late.” she said and vanished back through a large white door.
Pumping his fist in the air, Vince felt true relief, knowing that he had had a part in helping to save the cat he had come to adore almost as much as Willow and Tara did.
With the flash of a smile and a ‘thank you’, he began the sprint back to the coffee house.

Collapsing into the booth where Tara was still nursing her coffee and uneaten Danish, Vince grinned. “Where did you go?” she asked weakly once he’d caught his breath. “To buy paint!” he told her. Tara fixed him with an incredulous look. Holding up his hands defensively, he continued, “I remembered this thing on the Discovery Channel about poisoning and how it’s easier to treat if they have a sample of the poison!” he finished proudly.
Tara smiled at her friend, “I think I love you.” she said, thankful that one of them had had the composure to think of that.
Grinning back, Vince waggled his eyebrows. “Well, you’re not married yet. Wanna show me some love??” his eyes dropped to her ample cleavage and Tara laughed, kicking him lightly in the shin.
“Have you got everything you need for the wedding?” he asked, once her giggles had subsided. Shaking her head, Tara took a large mouthful of coffee before speaking. “I want something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” she said, a lopsided smile lifting the corners of her mouth.
Vince just rolled his eyes, for as long as he’d known Tara she’d always loved the idea of tradition. It didn’t matter what the subject but if there was a traditional way to do something, she preferred it. He was still surprised she didn’t bake her bread by hand and churn butter in the back yard.

Tara’s cell suddenly burst into life again, and Tara reached for it, semi relieved to see it was Willows number.
“Hey you, any news?” Willow asked. Being on her own had done nothing but increase her worry for the feline and she was about to burst. She would’ve called the vet direct but decided that if she was going to hear bad news, she’s prefer to hear it from a loving voice.
“They think she may have eaten my paints.” Tara told her sadly, “They’re still treating her now, they’ll call with news.” she concluded, trying to sound hopeful.
“Oh. Are you ok baby?” Willow asked, her mind working overtime as to how Miss Kitty could have gotten to Tara's paints without her noticing.
“Yeah, I guess. A little guilty. Vince is with me… but I guess you already knew that.” Tara replied, a smile creeping once again over her face. She loved how Willow would always think of ways to comfort her, no matter what the situation.
“Oh, call waiting. I’ll call you back!” Tara said before Willow had a chance to reply.
“Ok.” the redhead said before the line cut out on her.

Taking a deep breath, Tara answered the call. “Hello?”
“I’m calling from Chestnut Vets.” the voice told her.
“Miss Kitty, is she ok?” Tara's voice wobbled slightly as she waited for a reply.
“She’s still very sick, but we have treated her with a reversal for the poisonous content of the paint brought to us and she is stable for the moment.” Tara breathed a huge sigh of relief. “If she makes it through the next 24 hours, her outlook is pretty good.”
“Really?” Tara asked, her grin spilling fresh tears down her cheeks. “She could really be ok?”
“With a little luck she will be. It’s a good job you got her to us in time. Any longer and the outcome may have been very different.” the woman told her. After thanking her for all her help, Tara hung up the phone and danced in the middle of the coffee house that was rapidly filling with students, desperate for their first coffee buzz of the morning. “She’s stable. She’s stable!” she sang, dialling Willows number to give her the good news.

Willow also danced on receiving the news about Miss Kitty. Her mind filled with the perfect way to cheer Tara up again. “Can I talk to Vince?” she asked after Tara had finished relaying the news. There was some noise and rustling as Tara handed over the phone. “What’s up babe?” he asked.
“I need you to keep Tara out of the house for the rest of the day. Take her shopping, organise her bachelorette party, do anything but don’t let her come back until 5.” Willow told him.
“Erm, ok.” he said. “We have plans anyway!”

Hanging up the phone, Willow headed straight for her files to put her plan in motion.

[Ice]

Always and Forever

Still 12 days to go….

Willow grabbed her car keys and headed out. She had called the florists and asked them to put some things to one side for her for collection a little later that afternoon.
Driving into town, Willow mentally went through her shopping list. As she parked in the malls parking lot, she grabbed her bag and whistled cheerfully. The mall was bustling with people, kids out shopping with their parents, gangs of teenagers who were skipping school and the usual melee of older folk.
‘Candle Heaven’ loomed large in front of Willow and she stepped inside, enjoying the various fragrances it had to offer. Picking up two baskets, she loaded them with white, yellow, pink and red candles and asked the sales assistant if she could leave those with her while she continued shopping. Although slightly confused as to why one person would want so many identical candles, the assistant agreed and Willow browsed the scented candles for something suitable. Finding a huge vanilla church candle, she tucked that under her arm and reached for some sky blue ones to accompany it.
Placing the vanilla candle on the floor, she tried her best to arrange the blue ones around the outside, each one a little shorter than the one before so they swirled around the larger centre pillar. Finally happy with her decision, Willow returned to the counter and added her new finds to the overflowing basket.
After bypassing pleasantries with the assistant and paying, Willow carried her unbelievably heavy bags out into the mall and headed down towards Furniture Village.

As she entered she found herself breathing a sign of relief that they supplied carts for their customers. Laying the bags carefully into the cart, she headed out in search of a small dinner table, something for two people and an intimate meal.
After browsing for nearly a full hour, Willow found what she was looking for and struggled to get it onto the cart, a curious child watching her intently.
Wobbling precariously, Willow made her way to the checkout. “You can take the cart up to your car, just make sure you return it to the bay in the lot.” the helpful cashier told her. After thanking her profusely, Willow mentally slapped herself. She still had one purchase left and it’s the one she should have done in the very beginning. “Screw it.” she mumbled as she pressed the elevator button.

After loading the car up, Willow returned to the hustle and bustle of the mall. At the furthest end was a jewellers. Pushing open the door, she headed straight for the counter.
A tall, suited man smiled politely. “How may I help you this afternoon?” he asked her. “I need something as perfect and special as my fiancée.” she told him.
The man smiled and offered her a seat at the end of the counter. “I don’t think that will be easy.” he grinned, obviously used to helping customers chose the perfect gift.


“Something old, new, borrowed and blue.” Vince said as he walked alongside Tara, browsing the store windows. He had finally managed to convince her to do some shopping with him and now, he was bored. Shopping was one of the few things he hated doing, even with Tara. “Tell you what,” he said, “I’ll lend you one of my blue movies and a pair of boxers and you’re done.” he said, bumping Tara's arm.
“Eugh Vince, that's disgusting!!” Tara said, wrinkling her nose, “I don’t want your crusty boxers!”
Vince laughed, he had managed to put the plight of Miss Kitty to the back of Tara's mind, at least for a while and she was obviously enjoying herself. “C’mon, let’s look in here.” she said, pulling him into yet another store.


With her purchase wrapped and paid for, Willow ran back to her car. More time had passed than she had expected and now she was cutting it close to get everything done before Tara returned home.
As she drove home, she made one brief stop at the florists before pulling up to the front of her house and unloading the over packed car.

With the car unpacked, Willow set up the small table she had purchased in the loft. Spreading a deep red table cloth over the small table, she set two places, before sprinkling a handful of yellow and pink rose petals over the table and setting a single pink rose on top and warm vanilla candles on either side.
Heading back downstairs, she cleared the table in the kitchen, arranging the large vanilla church candle in the centre and the blue ones around the outside. Setting two more places, she smiled as she sprinkled white rose petals over the table and a few around the chairs.
After a quick shower, Willow set about fixing dinner. Italian garlic bread with a salsa dip for starters, chicken salad and corn on the cob as a main course and a plethora of delicious treats for dessert. To Willows mind, it seemed a little odd as a combination, no pasta or baby potatoes to give it some substance, but she knew that Tara adored the menu she was preparing and therefore, so would she.

Glancing over at the clock, she found she had more time than expected before Vince said he would bring Tara back. With dinner all but ready, Willow went into the bedroom, clearing and dusting the chest of drawers at the foot of the bed and laying a simple white cloth over it, on which she set a large bowl of strawberries, a dish of chocolate sauce that was still a little too firm, grapes, kiwi and various other fruits.

On returning to the kitchen, Willow checked that everything was going to plan. “What did I forget?” she asked herself, her mind ticking over each element of her plan. “That’s it, nothing important… just the best bit! Stupid Willow!” she chastised herself as she returned to the bags she brought home with her, from one she pulled the long box she had purchased in the jewellers and rushed back up to the loft, placing the box in the place setting she had set out for Tara. Willow crossed to her office at the far end of the loft and found a sample card from a wedding invitation, roses and hearts around its edge. It was perfect.
Finding an italic pen, she carefully wrote the words ‘something new’ on the card. On a second card, she wrote; “Remember the Wizard of Oz? Follow the yellow brick road…. kinda.”
Returning to the small table, she set the first card on top of the box and headed back downstairs to place the second card on the front door.

Sure that everything was almost ready, Willow used the white rose petals to form a pathway from the door to the kitchen table, using the white candles as a border to her path.
From the second door of the kitchen, she spread a path of yellow petals under the loft and up the right hand side of the stairs to the table, placing a yellow candle along its border and one on each step.
From there, she took the pink petals and candles back down the stairs and through the living room to the bedroom door.
As Willow finished spreading red rose petals through the bedroom, she stood back and admired her handiwork.

With a grin on her face, Willow returned to the kitchen. Dinner was all but done, the salad ready, garlic bread just needed heating and chicken cooling. She crossed to the phone and called Vince’s cell phone. “Hello?” he said on the second ring. “Where are you?” Willow asked him.
“Erm, about 15 minutes.” he said, not knowing the surprise but guessing there was one. “Excellent. Can you start coming back, just don’t rush.” Willow said, her voice filling rapidly with excitement. “Yeah, that's cool. See ya then. I love you.” Willow giggled as she hung up the phone; obviously Vince had worked it out and was helping her, pretending to Tara that it was Blaze with whom he was speaking. Willow rushed to the bedroom, careful not to disturb the petals as she went.

Dressing in a simple, short black dress with a lower neckline than she usually went for, Willow carefully returned to the start of her trail, lighting the candles along the pathways as she went. Once every candle in the place was lit, she turned to the stereo and found a selection of romantic music which she set on a low volume. As she flicked off the overhead light the house was bathed in a warm glow. Smiling she returned to the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine, before serving the starter. Almost as soon as she had everything perfectly set, she heard Tara's car outside.
Sitting at her place at the table, Willow faced the door, her long, slender legs crossed and a sexy smile on her face.

Tara walked up the path and noticed a card on the front door. Plucking it from the wood, she read out loud; “Remember the Wizard of Oz? Follow the yellow brick road…. kinda.” Frowning slightly, Tara wondered what on earth Willow was up to and pushed open the door. The sight before her took her breath away. The house was swimming in the gentle flicker of candle light, soft music playing and path of white petals leading her towards the kitchen. “Oh Willow!” she breathed heavily, her heart fluttered in her chest as tears filled her eyes.
Following the path to the kitchen, Tara found herself speechless. Willow was sat, her perfect legs crossed and her long hair bundled atop her head. At the table, rose petals and a single white rose. Her place was set with what looked like Italian garlic bread and salsa.
As she entered, Willow stood and pulled out her chair. “M’lady.” she said as Tara took her seat. “Oh Willow, what did you do?” Tara asked, her voice barely a whisper. Willow just smiled and placed a delicate kiss on her lovers lips before pouring her a glass of wine.

Willow took her seat once again and raised her glass, “cheers.” she whispered as the glasses clinked together. “This is amazing!” Tara said after a few bites of her bread, “This is all too much.”
“Not for you.” Willow replied, her emerald eyes sparkling in the candlelight. “Nothing will ever be too much for you.”

As they enjoyed their starter, they talked about the wedding, not the near disaster with the cake, but the day itself. How much they loved each other and how they wanted to spend the rest of their lives.

With the starter done and Tara still slightly surprised, Willow rose to her feet. “If you’d like to follow the yellow petal road, you will arrive at the main course… or the main course will arrive with you shortly.” she said with a giggle. Obligingly, Tara followed the perfect trail of yellow petals, pausing only to steal a lingering kiss from Willow as she passed. “I love you, Willow Rosenberg!” she said with a grin, fresh tears filing her eyes once more. “I love you more.” Willow responded as Tara reached the doorway. “It’s just not possible.” Tara shot back as she made her way round the corner and up the stairs.
Willow fixed the salad as quickly as she could, although she wanted to give Tara time to settle upstairs, she wanted to be there to see her open the box.

At the top of the loft stairs, Tara stood in amazement, candles were spotted around the room, their flames dancing softly and bathing the room in a comforting glow. She crossed to a small table that Willow had set up and sat down at the place setting with a box in place of a plate. Willow followed up behind with two plates balanced on one arm and a small tray with fresh corn on the cob, dripping in butter, in the other hand. Placing the corn down quickly, Willow set down her plate and looked at Tara. “You gonna open it?” she asked, gesturing towards the box.
With shaking hands, Tara lifted the box and card to allow Willow to set down the plate. “Something new?” she asked as she read the card. Willow grinned and nodded, “I wanted you to have something as stunning as you to go with your dress.” she purred, a hint of nervousness in her voice.
“I already do.” Tara replied, “You!”
Blushing deeply, Willow grinned as Tara opened the box, her eyes bulging as she took in the sight before her. “Oh Willow, it’s stunning.” she said, pulling a simple diamond necklace from the box and holding up in the candlelight. “You like it?” the redhead asked. Tara moved over to kneel at Willows feet. Taking her hands within her own, Tara gazed loving into her eyes. “I love it. I love this. I love you” she said, her voice choked with tears of happiness. Willow beamed down at her, freeing her hands and holding the face of her angel. As she traced the perfect features of the blonde, Willow pulled her up to her gently, meeting her warm soft lips with her own in a passionate kiss.

As Tara returned to her seat, she found herself too stunned to speak and so they ate in comfortable silence.

With their fill eaten, Willow cleared the table and retrieved another bottle of wine from the kitchen. Tara had moved over the large couch on the back wall of the loft and was laid along it when Willow returned. As she settled into Tara's arms, she could almost feel the love radiating from her fiancée. “Did you enjoy your dinner?” she asked, sipping her wine carefully.
“Willow, I really don’t know what to say. This evening has been so perfect.” Tara replied, resting her arms over Willows shoulders and gently stroking her stomach. Willow smiled and leant her head back to rest on Tara's shoulder. “It’s not quite over yet.” Willow sighed, “There’s still dessert, if you’re ready.”
“Maybe in a little while, I just want to hold you.” Tara whispered into her ear, kissing the earlobe affectionately before resting back on the couch.

After about an hour, Tara announced she was ready for dessert. “Let me guess,” she said with a giggle, “Follow the yellow brick road?” Willow giggled with her and nodded.
As they stood from the couch, their hands instinctively reached for the others, fingers entwining as they descended the stairs and followed the path of pink petals to the bedroom. In the doorway, Tara stopped, a grin spreading over her face as she took in the sight. Willow had definitely saved the best for last. The entire floor was covered in soft red petals, the bedcovers sprinkled with them and a table set out with all of Tara's favourite fruits next to a bowl of chocolate. On the cabinet next to the bed, she noticed Willow had set out some massage oils.

Willow entered the room first, flipping on the small stereo she held out her hand as the opening chords of Heatwave’s ‘Always and Forever’ filled the room. “May I have this dance?” she asked. Tara crossed the petal coated floor and wrapped her arms around Willows neck, gazing lovingly into her eyes as they danced slowly.

Always and forever
Each moment with you is just like a dream to me
That somehow came true
And I know tomorrow will still be the same
Cos' we've got a life of love that won't ever change

And every day love me your own special way
Melt all my heart away with a smile
Take time to tell me you really care
And we'll share tomorrow together
I'll always love you, forever, forever

There'll always be sunshine when I look at you
Something I can't explain, just the things that you do
And if you get lonely, phone me
And take a second to give to me the magic you make

And every day love me your own special way
Melt all my heart away with a smile
Take time to tell me you really care
And we'll share tomorrow together
I'll always love you, forever, forever

As the song drew to a close, Tara pulled back, placing a lingering kiss on the lips of her redheaded goddess. “Always and forever?” she asked.
“Always and forever!” Willow confirmed. “Massage or dessert first?” Tara giggled as she slipped her top over her head “Massage, I think.” she replied, flopping onto the bed.
Once free from their clothing, Willow lifted a bottle of oil and dripped a small puddle in the palm of her hand. Taking her time to explore every last inch of Tara's firm body, she delighted in the heat and firmness under her fingers as she massaged and caressed her way down from Tara's neck to the tips of her toes, drawing gentle moans as she worked her way down.

Wiping her hands on a small towel, Willow collapsed on the bed next to Tara. ‘Who knew that a massage could be so tiring?’ she thought as she tried to hide a yawn. Glancing at the clock, she understood why. It had been a little after 7 when they had entered the room and it was now almost 10. Snuggling close next to Tara, Willow allowed her yawn to come through. Her ears filled with the sound of Tara's heartbeat as she rested her head gently on her chest, the rhythmic rise and fall of Tara's breathing indicated that sleep was near, if not already here for her lover. “Tara?” she whispered, turning her head up.
“Mm, um?” Tara mumbled, her eyelids heavy with sleep.
“I can’t wait to marry you.” Willow said, her own eyes refusing to stay open.
“Me too.” Tara replied, her eyes drooping closed.
Peacefully, they slept, safe in each others love.

[Ice]

Cleaner Than Clean

11 days to go….

When Tara awoke the next morning she was vaguely surprised to find herself on top of the covers. In her arms, Willow slept peacefully, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. Snuggling in close, she rolled Willow gently onto her side, careful not to wake her just yet.
Slipping from the warm silk sheet, Tara stretched and delighted in how supple and limber she felt. ‘Wow, now that was a good massage’ she thought as she padded into the bathroom. After going through some quick ablutions, Tara threw on a pair of jogging bottoms and a t-shirt before following the candle path back into the living room. At some point during the night, each of the candles had extinguished itself and, thankfully, nothing had caught fire. ‘Probably due the wondrous planning of my Will.’ Tara thought with a smile, as she picked up her car keys and headed down to the bakery. She had a craving that only Danish pastries would satisfy.

Willow stretched and yawned, rolling over she was surprised to find herself alone on the bed. “Tara?” she called out, hoping that she had maybe just gone to shower. When she received no response, Willow sat up and rubbed her eyes. On the dresser at the end of the bed, the fruit and chocolate still sat. Immediately Willow knew that wherever Tara had gone, she’d gone in a hurry as she would have at least taken the rapidly drying out fruit into the kitchen. “She must’ve got a call from the vets.” Willow said to the empty room, her voice belying the confusion she was feeling. “Well why didn’t she wake me?” Willow wondered aloud.

Shaking her head, she slipped her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, stretching as she did so. Picking up the tray she had so carefully prepared the previous evening, Willow made her way into the kitchen and threw the fruit in the trash before heading back to the bathroom.
As she turned on the shower and sorted the temperature, Willow couldn’t help but wonder where Tara had gotten to. It was unlike her to just get up and go out without leaving her a note or something.
After using the toilet and giving her teeth a brush, Willow stepped under the hot cascade of water, allowing its steady rhythm to wash away her sleep.

Tara opened the front door, a box of pastries balancing carefully on top of two hot mochas. Tiptoeing back into the bedroom, she couldn’t hide the disappointment that Willow was already up. Placing the cups and pastries on the cabinet next to the bed, Tara heard the familiar sound of the shower and Willows singing. A devilish grin tickled her lips as she made her way into the bathroom.
Already filled with steam, Tara's arrival went unnoticed. Sliding out of her clothes, she pulled back the sliding door and grinned. Willow was so engrossed in her singing that she failed to notice Tara in the doorway. The water flowing gently between her milky white shoulders, down her back and over her firm ass, made Tara lick her lips in anticipation. As Willow shampooed her hair, Tara carefully tiptoed up behind her, trying hard not to alert Willow to her presence. As the last suds raced from her hair and down her back, Tara wrapped Willow in a hug, kissing her hot neck softly. “Morning sexy!” she purred as she pressed her cool body against Willow.
Willow jumped slightly, Tara's cool body stiffening her nipples and making her shiver slightly. “Hey gorgeous.” Willow replied, her words almost lost in the sound of the water.
In her hands, Willow held her Morning Burst shower gel, its zingy tangerine scent filling the large cubicle. Now nibbling and kissing Willows delicate neck, Tara held out a hand, gesturing for Willow to dispense some of the gel into it.

Willing obliging, Willow squirted a small amount of the bright orange gel into the open palm of her lover before snapping the lid closed and dropping it onto the floor. Slowly, Tara began soaping the taut expanse of Willows stomach, her fingers teasing and caressing her way up to the pert breasts of her lover.
Under Tara's touch, Willow felt her nipples stiffen further, her head titling back to rest on Tara's shoulder as a small moan escaped her lips. With her throat now exposed, Willow shuddered as Tara's fingers traced carefully along her jaw line, before running back down her throat to continue their loving caress of her nipples, taking each one gently between her fingers and rolling it softly.
Pressing her hips back into Tara, Willow felt, rather than heard the gasp emerging from Tara as she ground her ass into the smooth groin of the blonde.

Tara slide her right hand down between the shallow valley between Willows breasts, her fingers taking their time to explore the taut stomach before sliding around to grasp Willows firm ass roughly. Another moan escaped Willows lips as Tara's short nails dug into the flesh of her cheek. Sliding her hand further down Willows toned thigh, Tara slide down her body, kissing between her shoulder blades as her fingers played lightly behind Willows knee.
As she began straightening back up, Tara slid her hand to the inside of Willows thigh, her nails scratching a gentle path back up her leg and pausing at the very top. In her arms, Willow could feel her head spin, the sensual touch of Tara's fingers leaving razor like trails of passionate fire in their wake. Her breath grew short and ragged as Tara's fingers teased the top of her thigh, her clit pulsing and screaming for attention.
Without warning, Tara spun the shaking redhead in her arms, pushing her backwards to lean against the cool tile. Kissing her deeply, Tara's tongue flicked and teased her lower lip before darting into her mouth, barely satisfying her hunger. As Willow reached to pull the vivacious blonde closer, she felt the fire in her groin burning white hot, the urgency and passion centred within her, as yet ignored clit and radiating through the rest of her body.

“Tara, baby?” she gasped, her hips pushing instinctively forward, trying to find the one piece of contact that could release her. Tara kissed and nipped Willows neck, leaving the tiniest marks as she went, her fingers returning to tease the baby smooth skin at the top of Willows thigh. “You want something baby?” she purred into Willows ear, sucking the lobe gently between each word.
Willows hips pressed forward once again, her words lost to her as her clit throbbed and begged for attention. Running her hand through the now soaked hair of her lover, Willow pulled Tara closer, her teeth grazing the blonde’s lower lip and she fought to reign in the passion that had her in a frenzy.

As the water rained down on the entwined lovers, Tara could feel the heat and desire between Willows legs. As the redhead drew her bottom lip into her mouth and began nipping and sucking gently, Tara's hand found its way to the smooth outer lips of the insatiable redhead, a single finger teasing them apart as she slowly explored the wet heaven she loved.
As her finger passed lightly over her engorged clit, Willow bit down on her lip, almost drawing blood. Unable to speak, Tara's fingers slid back down, finding the tight warm centre of her lover and sliding in slowly, causing Willow to throw her head back and groan, releasing Tara's lip as she did so.
“Oh god yeah,” Willow groaned as Tara's finger slid gently in and out, her thumb flicking and teasing over her clit with each inward thrust. Mirroring Tara's movements with her hips, Willows hands tangled in the blonde hair, pulling Tara roughly to her, kissing her deeply, her tongue demanding dominance over Tara's.

Feeling the tiniest contracts begin within Willow, Tara eased another finger alongside the first, deepening her thrusts and forcing Willow to pull back from the kiss to moan loudly before nuzzling her neck.

As Willows contractions grew stronger, Tara felt a strong leg rise to wrap around her, allowing her deeper access which she greedily took advantage of, her thumb colliding with the throbbing clit as she increased her speed and drove Willow over the edge.
As Willow felt her orgasm begin to tip her over the edge, her teeth sank into the muscular flesh of Tara's shoulder, leaving a deep purple bruise as she screamed into the bite.

Holding her up, Tara rode Willows orgasm with her, the shaking redhead going limp in her arms as her climax subsided. Carefully guiding them both to the floor, Tara leant in and softly kissed Willows trembling lips. Once her breathing had returned to normal, she gazed lovingly into the misty blue eyes of her fiancée, happy to just lose herself in her lovers embrace.



At Sunnydale airport, Giles emerged from arrivals, hot, sweaty and seriously pissed off. The flight, which had been delayed by 18 hours, hit more turbulence than he would have ever thought possible and the movie had been a thrilling two and a half hour baseball epic.
As he fought through the crowds of people to emerge from the building into the warm Californian sunshine, he shook his head at the huge line of people waiting for taxis. “Oh bloody good show Giles.” he mumbled under his breath as he trudged down the line to join the end. Imitating Buffy, he continued, “We’ll pick you up at the airport.” she’d said, to which he’d replied, “Oh no, don’t put yourself out, I’ll get a cab, it’s no bother.” Mentally slapping himself, he waited as patiently as the circumstances would allow. Next to him, a dark maroon coloured car pulled up, the driver honking the horn loudly. Peering in through the window, Giles saw Xanders face beaming back at him. “Hey there British man!” he said cheerfully, “Need a ride?” Popping the trunk, Xander laughed as Giles’ face brightened, the relief of his impromptu arrival evident. After slamming the boot closed and falling into the passenger seat, Giles thanked Xander who pulled away in the direction of Revello Drive.


Blaze and Vince were shopping, well Blaze was shopping while Vince dallied along behind her, complaining more and more with each step he took. Ignoring his protests, Blaze dragged him into ‘The Rainbow Emporium’ according to the adverts they supplied everything you could possibly need for any gay day.
Behind the counter was a tall, Amazonian woman with piercing blue eyes, long dark hair and a musculature to rival Xena. Blaze grinned at her, while Vince collapsed into a well placed chair, content to just sit and drool. “Got any bachelorette party invitations?” Blaze asked, leaning on the counter to allow the stunning assistant a good view of her cleavage.
In the beginning of their relationship, Blaze’s flirting with other women had driven Vince insane with jealousy, now he immersed himself in the fantasy of her and another woman.

After allowing her eyes to wander and mentally undress her most recent customer, the assistant introduced herself as Jaycee. “Bachelorette party, uh?” she purred, her voice massaging the ears of both Blaze and Vince. “So, are you getting married or just planning the fun?” Jaycee asked, her eyes piercing Blazes as she leant on the counter, her lips inches from those of the DJ.
From the corner of the room, Vince cleared his throat loudly, raising his eyebrows at his girlfriend. “I’m planning the fun, well me and my boyfriend.” She almost snarled the last words as she gestured towards Vince.
Jaycee looked over at Vince and smiled politely. “He’s cute.” she whispered, “And I can’t blame him for getting all jealous!” she finished as she stepped out from behind the counter and headed over to the corner of the store. From the wire carousel, she pulled four different designs of bachelorette invitations and laid them out on the counter for Blaze to inspect.

Vince heaved himself to his feet and crossed to the counter, placing his arm protectively around Blaze’s waist as they chose a design. “Why are we buying invitations anyway?” he asked suddenly. “Other than you, me, Willow and Tara, who the hell else is going?” Blaze frowned, unsure of the answer.
“Just because we should do it properly, now shut up and pay!” Blaze said, slapping him playfully on the arm.
Once they had paid for their chosen design, Vince grabbed the bags and pulled open the door for Blaze. “Jaycee.” she yelled over her shoulder, “You wanna come baby?” she asked, waggling her eyebrows.
With a grin on her face, Jaycee yelled back; “For you, most definitely!” and with that, Vince dragged her out of the store.

[Ice]

Introduction and Explaination

10 days to go….

Giles collapsed onto the couch, his exhaustion written all over his face. From the kitchen, Dawn appeared, a mug of steaming tea in one hand and a large sandwich in the other. “How have you been, Dawn?” he asked as she sat down next to him.
“Oh, y’know. Same old Sunnydale.” she said cheerfully. “I’m really excited about Willows wedding” she finished as Giles took a sip of his tea and smiled. “As am I.” he told her.
Buffy and Xander appeared in the doorway, “Hey Giles, still jetlagged?” she asked him with a grin. As usual, Buffy was pretty accurate. Giles had gone to bed almost as soon as he had arrived at the Summers’ home the previous day. He had spent this morning shopping for a new suit and cursing himself for not renewing his California state drivers license. “A little.” he told the Slayer honestly.

With the pleasant chit chat out of the way, Giles sat forward on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees. “So, Willow really came back to Sunnydale?” he asked slightly incredulously. Both Buffy and Xander nodded slowly, “It was intense.” Xander told him, “She got wigged and attacked, so I guess the wigging was justified.” he continued before Buffy cut in.
“But she faced Oz in his wolfy state. Giles, you’d have been so proud of her, she totally kept her cool.” she told him. “And Tara? Wow! She kinda just leapt into the mix and saved Willow, punched Oz and everything!” Buffy finished, her voice relaying the awe in which she held the fiancée of the woman she had once considered to be her very best friend.
Giles listened in open mouthed amazement. “Tara confronted Oz?” he asked eventually.
Buffy just nodded, and the ex-Watcher stared at her in disbelief. “She’s one hell of a woman, Giles. And I’ve never seen Willow so happy.” she finished with a proud grin.


Willow was shopping, trying to find the perfect suit for her wedding day. Since Tara had revealed that she would be wearing a dress, Willow had decided for a suit, something smart and sexy that would compliment Tara perfectly. Her main problem was that she had no idea what Tara's dress looked like, not even what colour it was.
Suddenly a flash of pink hair caught her eye and Blaze emerged through the crowd. “Hey sexy lady!” Blaze giggled, pinching Willows ass as she greeted her friend. “Let’s get you all suited and booted!” she said as she dragged Willow towards a tailor at the end of the shopping precinct.

Back at home, Tara was unpacking the groceries, her mind wandering to the wedding day and the possibility of a bachelorette party. As she pushed the fridge door closed, the phone began a shrill assault on her ears. “Hello?” she asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
“Oh yes hello. I’m calling from Chestnut Vets regarding Miss Kitty?” the voice on the end of the phone told her cheerfully.
“Oh god, Miss Kitty.” Tara exclaimed, in the excitement of the past few hours, she had forgotten entirely about the poor cats plight. “How is she?” she asked, drumming her fingers on the counter.
“She’s doing miraculously well considering her age.” the woman told her brightly. “She has eaten a meal today and kept it down. So if she continues recovering at this rate, then she should be allowed home in the next few days.”
Tara breathed a huge sigh of relief, her heart racing so fast it felt as though it could burst clean from her ribcage. “Oh thank you so much.” Tara replied, “You’ll call when we can collect her?” she asked slowly.
“Yes of course.” the woman told her, “We’ll call as soon as she’s ready. Goodbye.” Before waiting for Tara to say her farewells, the woman hung up, leaving Tara grinning.

“No, it’ll clash!” Blaze said as an assistant showed them a lilac coloured material. “Besides, she’s a redhead, it’ll look shit!” she continued unbelievably.
“What colour is the dress?” Willow asked nonchalantly, hoping to catch Blaze off her guard enough to tell her.
“C’mon babe, I’m not telling you that. You’ll just have to trust me.” Blaze replied, she had been on her guard all morning, just waiting for Willow to try and catch her out.
Rising to her feet, Blaze followed the assistant to the back of the store and engaged her in whispered conversation. Each woman occasionally glancing back at Willow before huddling back together. With a grin, Blaze returned to her friend’s side, lumping down in the chair next to her. “I think this will be more appropriate?” the assistant said as she returned with a deep, dark claret material. Willows brow furrowed and she turned to Blaze who was grinning manically. “Really?” Willow asked, taking a length of the material and holding it up against her in the mirror.
“It’s perfect!” Blaze announced, “It’ll go with Tara's perfectly!” Her last statement forced Willows hand, “Measure me up!” she told the assistant with a grin.

With measurements taken and a deadline given, Willow and Blaze left the tailors. “I can’t believe you left it so late.” Blaze told her as they headed towards a small café. “I didn’t, not really.” Willow told her sadly, “I picked out a dress about 5 months ago.” Blaze stopped dead in her tracks, staring after Willow who continued walking. After about five or six paces, Willow stopped and turned to regard her friend. “What?” she asked as Blaze remained static, her mouth hanging open in surprise.

“You changed your entire outfit, just for Tara?” she asked incredulously. Willow blushed and found something interesting to study on the floor. Crossing the expanse between them, Blaze rested her hand on Willows forearm. “She’s a fucking lucky lady.” Blaze said affectionately.
“Not half as lucky as I am.” Willow told her, her eyes stinging slightly with tears.
“C’mon,” Blaze said, understanding from Willows look that she didn’t want to talk about it. “I’ll buy you a doughnut!”
Sitting down in the bustling café, Willow watched as Blaze stood patiently in the queue waiting to be served.

As Blaze returned with a tray filled with coffee and pastries. “I have to go to the bathroom.” Willow said as Blaze settled herself into the chair opposite. “Look out for my bag and stuff?” she asked as she took to her feet.
Blaze nodded and watched as Willow disappeared into the crowd. ‘Just the chance I need’ Blaze thought as she grabbed Willows bag and slipped her planner from the pocket.


With the shopping and pastry day complete, Willow dropped Blaze back at her house before heading back home. “Honey, I’m home!” she called out with a giggled as she pushed the heavy door closed behind her. Tara appeared in the kitchen doorway, a dishcloth in one hand a huge grin on her face. “The vets called, Miss Kitty is going to be fine! I made dinner!” she announced cheerfully, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she spoke.
Willow ran across the space between them and wrapped Tara in a bear hug, kissing her softly.
As they pulled apart, Willow took a deep breath. Steak, mushrooms and something oniony filled her nose and she grinned. “Mmmm, my favourite!” she told Tara as they headed out into the kitchen for their evening meal.


“Vince, get your ass out here!” Blaze hollered as she entered their apartment. “I got it!!”
Vince appeared from the kitchen, a beer and sandwich filling his hands and a goofy grin spreading over his face.
As they sat themselves down on the overstuffed couch, the invites came out and Blaze dumped the planner in the middle of the table.
Picking up a pad and pen, she flipped open the huge black organiser and flipped to the addresses at its rear. Blaze knew that Willow would have marked people out for invites to the wedding and used this as a guide for invites to the bachelorette party. With a short list complete, they marked out people who were mutual friends of both Tara and Vince and surveyed the list carefully.
Pointing at one name, Vince scratched his head, dropping a blob of mustard from his sandwich in his soft brown hair as he did so. “This guy. Giles?” he said, “If he’s in England, he’ll never be here in time.” he said slowly.
Blaze shook her head and absently wiped the mustard from her boyfriends hair. “In her planner it says he’s staying with, erm…” she picked up the file and flicked through, “Here. He’s staying with Buffy.” she said, pointing to the note Willow had made in the margin.
Vince nodded and picked up a pen to begin writing the first of many invites to what he claimed would be the ‘best bachelorette party in the world, EVER!!’

[Ice]

Invitation


[hr]

Blaze and Vince invite you to celebrate in the last days of freedom before our greatest friends…

Willow Rosenberg
and
Tara Maclay

Finally tie the knot.

Unknown to them they are having a joint bachelorette party at the Lion’s Den Club, Fury Street, West L.A.
The nakedness starts at 9pm on July 25.


R.S.V.P to:
Vince and Blaze,
640 Brendon Square,
L.A
(213) 846 6278

Email: TooMuchMan@hotmail.com

[hr]


As Vince sealed the final envelope and wrote the name and address on the front, he frowned at Blaze. “Why are we leaving this ‘til the last minute?” he asked her.
“Fucks sake, Vince, why don’t you listen?” she retorted. He must have been told at least a hundred times and yet the information still hadn’t sunk in. “We couldn’t do invites until we knew when we’d be able to have the upstairs of the club, and we wouldn’t know that until I remembered I could get it!” she told him, as she collected the envelopes up. “I’ll go and drop these off, can you stick a stamp on that and post it or it’ll never get to Giles in time!” Without another word, Blaze headed out, slamming the front door behind her and leaving Vince staring after her.

“Tara, have you seen my planner?” Willow asked as she tipped her bag out for the third time that morning. She had already been into the office and pulled most of her desk apart looking for it, and had then returned home to pull her desk apart there with still no luck. “Sorry sweetie.” Tara replied, shaking her head.
“I need to call Buffy to find out when they will be coming up and if they want us to organise somewhere to stay.” she said, the urgency filling her voice. “And I can’t do that without my organiser!” she said as she fell back into the huge, overstuffed chair and sighed loudly.
“Don’t worry baby, it’ll turn up. You’re probably looking too hard.” Tara told her as she slipped gently into Willows lap and kissed her stressed fiancée lovingly, her fingers caressing the nape of Willows neck absentmindedly.

Willow closed her eyes, allowing the soft touch to wash away her stresses. “Have you written your vows yet?” Tara asked cautiously, her eyes darting around the room as she spoke. Willows cheeks flushed a deep red, “Well, yes and no.” she admitted, “I started, then I didn’t like them and so started again. I'm on the 27th version.” Willow giggled sheepishly.
Trying to hide a huge sigh of relief, Tara smiled as Willows hand came up to caress her cheek, turning her face towards her. “It’s harder than I thought trying to find words to tell you, and everyone else what you mean to me.” the redhead told her.

Tara grinned, “I’m having the same problems.” she replied honestly. “Why did we have to write our own vows?” she asked playfully. It had been her idea but now, she was starting to think that she would never find the words to convey what she wanted to say.
“Well….” Willow began playfully. “This stunning blonde decided that it would be really romantic to make up our own stuff instead of having the same as everyone else!”
Tara pretended to not know what she was talking about, her own giggles forming. Pulling back in mock accusation, she fixed Willow with a stare, “Who’s this ‘stunning blonde’?” she asked quickly, her giggles making a mockery of the accusing tone she was trying for.
Willow laughed, pulling Tara closer for a kiss. “She’s my world!” Willow told her softly as they pulled back.

Suddenly a knock at the door made them jump. “Who’s that?” Willow wondered out loud. “Only one way to find out!” Tara said, sliding from Willows lap to answer the door.
Vince stood in the doorway, grinning mischievously. “Hey lovers,” he announced, throwing his arms open. “What are you both doing on Friday?” he asked, inviting himself in. “Nothing? Good! You’re coming out with me and Blaze!” he told them before they’d had a chance to reply. “But, we were…..” Willow began before Vince cut her off.
“No arguments. You’re coming!” he said sternly. Right, I gotta drain the dragon, man!” he announced as he disappeared down the corridor towards the bathroom.
Shaking their heads, Willow and Tara couldn’t help but giggle at the bluntness of their friend and the way he always had to announce his bathroom needs, no matter where he was or the company he was in. “I bet if he met the Queen of England, he’d tell her he had to piss!” Tara thought out loud causing Willow to laugh even harder.

Vince snuck into the bedroom, pulling Willows organiser from under his shirt and laying it on the dresser, using a sweater to partially cover the newly returned item before ducking into the bathroom and relieving himself.

Returning to the living area, Vince grinned. “I can’t stop, I just came by to tell you to keep Friday open and that we’ll pick you up at about 9ish.” he told them before flashing a brilliant smile. “And now, I will leave you to go about your sweaty lesbian sex!” With one hand on the door handle, he stopped and returned his gaze to the women. Tara had slipped back onto Willows lap and was pulling back from a gentle kiss. “Unless I can stay and watch?” he asked cheekily.
“Get out!” they groaned in unison, Tara pulling a pillow from behind Willow to throw at her friend.


After hand delivering the rest of the invitations, Blaze returned home, a stupid grin plastered over her face. Against her better judgement, she had invited Jaycee to the party and delighted in the unrestrained flirting she had indulged in on delivery of the invitation. It had turned out that Jaycee was also bisexual and very much into the idea of a threesome.
As she turned the corner towards her apartment, she saw Vince wandering down the street and waved. As they arrived at the entrance of their building, Blaze grinned at him. “Hey sexy,” she grinned devilishly. “Wanna fuck me and the girl from the card shop?” she asked nonchalantly.
Swallowing heavily, Vince stared at her disbelievingly. “Really?” he asked. Blaze nodded, her hands tracing across his groin. “Hell yeah!!” he grinned.
“So, Friday night then. I invited her to the party.” Blaze told him as she pushed open the apartment door and dragged Vince inside.

[jay/wt4evr]

.

[Ice]

Insanity of Friendship

8 days to go….

Melissa, Chris and Chelsea booked into their hotel. They had travelled up hoping to spend sometime with Willow and Tara before the wedding and see the sights that L.A had to offer.
“I can’t believe they waited so long.” Missy said as she began unpacking their cases. Chris was laying Chelsea gently on the bed; she had fallen asleep in the cab on the way over. “I know, but they’ll love married life.” he replied in a whisper, indicating Chelsea’s still sleeping form.
“We’ll have to take them out, show them one final good night of freedom!” he said with a giggle, receiving a stern look from his wife in return.


Willow still couldn’t find her organiser and it was driving her crazy. She had always been organised, knew where everything was, hell she even scripted the answering machine message, she was efficient! So why couldn’t she find her planner? Tara was stood at the foot of the bed, a huge pile of ironing on the dresser that awaited her attention. “Have you checked the car properly?” she asked, her tone more than a little fraught. Willow slumped down on the bed, “Yes. The car, the office, my office, my bag and the entire house!” she replied, “All at least four times!”
Tara reached over and picked up a sweater, a large and heavy black thing fell from its folds. Bending to pick up the fallen object, Tara's hand went to her hip, and her foot tapping impatiently. “What’s this?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh baby, you found it!” Willow beamed, rushing towards her fiancée and wrapping her in a hug before finding her soft lips and kissing her lovingly. “Thank you!” Willow said, her voice dripping with love and melting the stern look that still hung in Tara's eyes.

As Tara returned to the ironing, Willows cell phone burst into life on the cabinet on her side of the bed. Leaping over the freshly made bed, she answered it brightly. “Willow Rosenberg.” A smile crept over her face at the words she was told, causing Tara to look on quizzically. “Really? That's excellent. I’ll pick it up, erm, hold on please.” she said, flipping eagerly through the diary section of her planner. “Oh, right, of course.” Willow continued. “Well, I can do that on Friday?” she asked, nodding as she received some more information. “Ok, well I will see you on Friday then, thank you.” she said cheerfully and hung up.
“Who was that sweetie?” Tara asked as she hung up one of Willows shirts.
“The people who are making my outfit for the wedding.” Willow said after careful consideration of her choice of words. Tara nodded, inside she was desperate to ask what Willow had opted to wear but knew that she would never tell her, and so chose to remain silent.

Willow lifted the handset for the landline and thumbed through her planner for Buffy's number. After three long rings, she was about to hang up when a warm, British voice answered the call. “Erm, hello? Summers’ residence?” he said. Willow grinned, after so many years; Giles’ voice still radiated warmth and knowledge and made her feel safe. “Hi Giles.” she said quietly, her stomach doing inexplicable flips.
“Willow?” he asked, mild surprise echoing in his voice. Willow giggled as she swore she could hear him polishing his glasses. “Yeah Giles, its me.” she told him, her voice thick with emotion. She suddenly wondered how she had survived all this time without having Giles in her life.
For a long while, neither party spoke, not knowing the words to use to convey how emotional something like a simple phone call could be.
It was Willow who finally broke the silence, her confidence and control making Giles grin. “So, when are you guys coming up to L.A?” she asked, kicking herself mentally for not asking after his well being.
Giles frowned; he honestly had no idea what plans Buffy had made. “I, well, I’m afraid I don’t know.” he told her and began polishing his glasses once again.
“One day Giles, you’ll polish the lenses right out!” Willow told him with a giggle. On the other end of the phone, she heard Giles stop and inhale quickly with surprise. “I, well, how…” he began, eventually giving in to a chortle.

In the background, Willow heard Buffy arrive and Giles momentarily excused himself. The scraping of the handset on the small table announced Giles’ return. “Well, it appears that we will be arriving tomorrow. According to Buffy, Dawn still needs to shop for an outfit.” the British man actually sounded horrified at the prospect of having to spend a week in L.A shopping with a couple of women. “She says she has made hotel arrangements.” he continued on hearing Willow inhale.
“Oh, right, that's great then. We’ll have to meet up, maybe have dinner before the wedding?” Willow offered.
“Definitely. We will call you when we are sorted and up there.” he told her before saying their farewells and hanging up.

“Right baby.” Willow said cheerfully after replacing the handset. “I better go to work!” Crossing from the bed, Willow snuggled up close behind Tara, kissing her neck softly as the blonde ironed. “I’ll see you later?” she finished.
Tara turned her head slightly, placing a delicate kiss on the watermelon flavoured lips of her true love. “I’m going down to the vets to check on Miss Kitty, but I should be here when you get home.” Tara told her, the merest hint of excitement in her voice. With one final kiss, Willow disappeared out the door, leaving Tara with her chores.


Tara returned home from the vets, a huge grin plastered over her face. She had been told that she could bring Miss Kitty home in two days and she was thrilled. As she danced up the path, a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks. “T!” Vince and Blaze jogged down the street towards her. “Wait up.” Blaze called, breathing heavily as they reached the blonde.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” Tara asked cheerfully.
“Nothing, just fancied a video and a pizza style thing.” Vince told her.
“Yeah, we figured you guys would need to de-stress, what with the wedding so close and all!” Blaze added, “We brought popcorn!” she giggled as they traipsed up the path.
No sooner had they closed the door, then they heard the unmistakeable sound of Willow giggle-age. The redhead opened the door and to everyone’s surprised, she wasn’t alone.
“Look what I found!” she cheered, standing aside to reveal Chris, Melissa and their daughter, Chelsea.
Vince, Blaze and Tara all leapt to their feet, rushing to greet the new arrivals.

As Willow, Vince and Melissa headed out to the video store; Tara ordered pizza and listened to Chelsea’s tales of school and her friends. The pizza arrived long before Willow and the others returned, so Blaze put one in the oven to keep warm and she, Tara, Chelsea and Chris tucked into the other.
On their return, Vince rescued the pizza from the oven and started a bag of popcorn off in the microwave as they all settled down for the first film. With the arrival of Melissa, Chris and Chelsea, they had had little choice but to start with something more suitable for a minor so had picked a comedy. After sitting through the first hour, Chelsea decided she was tired and helped herself to Willow and Tara's bed.
“Excellent!” Vince exclaimed, waving a new tape at the others. “I give you an old classic…” As one, the group inhaled, Tara created a drum roll on the coffee table as Chris uttered a suspenseful, “Dum dum dum!”
“Childs Play 3!” Vince announced, with some groans from Tara and Blaze.

After fetching popcorn and beers from the kitchen, the group settled down to the movie. Blaze and Vince snuggled up on one couch, Melissa and Chris on the other while Willow and Tara opted for snuggles under a huge blanket on the floor. By the end of the movie, Melissa, Chris and Blaze were all fast asleep, some snoring softly. Vince, trapped under the sleeping form of his girlfriend shifted uncomfortably and received a sympathetic smile from Tara.

Tara stood and stretched, taking the tape from the machine and placing it back in its case while Willow flicked through the channels for something else to watch. Vince had been right, an evening with friends had been just what they had needed to relax and forget the stresses of life.
Finally settling on ‘Poltergeist’ Willow smiled, as a film, she adored it, although the short psychic women did freak her out. With Tara settled back in her arms, Willow inhaled deeply, the warm aroma of Tara's shampoo and perfume caressing her senses. Under the blanket, her hands danced playfully over Tara's soft stomach, causing the blonde to smile and turn her back to nuzzle Willows neck.
Vince’s eyes had closed and his breath was even and deep, indicating he was asleep. “Wanna be bad?” Willow purred quietly, a sexy giggle tinting each word. Tara kissed the silky smooth expanse of Willows neck, “Always.” she replied, her voice husky with desire.

Willows fingers traced a delicate line over her stomach, rising under her top to trace the pattern on Tara's soft lacy bra. Teasing and drawing Tara's nipples to an erect point, Willow leant in, kissing from her earlobe down the milky expanse of her vulnerable neck to the top of her shoulder. Under Willows touch, Tara moaned softly, trying to remain as quiet as possible so as not to wake the others.
Willows hands expertly caressed and teased Tara's firm breasts, her nipples hard and screaming for attention. Sitting forward slightly allowed Willow to release Tara's breasts from their material prison. Glancing over towards their sleeping friends, Willow grinned. She knew that the risk of being caught was a catalyst to her arousal, to the growing wetness between her legs.
Sliding one hand gently between Tara's full bosom, Willows fingers left a trail of burning fire across Tara's skin as her fingers continued their southerly journey. Unbuttoning Tara's jeans slowly, Willow continued her loving caress of Tara's breasts, bringing her nipples to their full glory. With her other hand teasing the top of Tara's ever dampening thong, Willow nipped the muscular shoulder of her lover.

As Willows fingers slipped under the material, Tara closed her eyes. Willow always seemed to be everywhere at the same time, her lips and fingers seeking out her most sensitive areas and driving her wild with lust.
From behind them, Chris cleared his throat. “We should get moving!” he said, freezing Willows hands in its motions. They heard Melissa moan with sleep and suddenly she stood, stretching.
Trying to be as discreet as possible, Willow slid her hand from Tara's breast, bringing it to rest on Tara's hip.
“Oh, look at the time.” Melissa said, yawning loudly. “You should have woken us!” she said, looking down to Willow and Tara, a deep blush spreading over her face as she realised what they had interrupted.
“No, don’t get up.” she said, dragging Chris to his feet and indicating the bedroom where their daughter was still sleeping. Willow smiled a ‘thank you’ as Tara dropped her head, slightly embarrassed at being caught, but too turned on to care.

With their daughter in their arms and having said goodbye, Chris and Melissa disappeared out into the night, leaving Willow and Tara to finish their fun. “Now, where were we?” Tara asked as she settled back into her lovers arms. Willow grinned, “Right about here….” she replied, her fingers slipping back under the material of her panties and causing Tara to inhale sharply.
“Mmm, baby.” she purred as Willows fingers dove into the depths of her wetness, her fingers tracing circles over Tara's clit and making her squirm. Kissing the sensitive flesh of her neck, Willow moved slowly, not wanting to rush the moment.
Tara's breath became shallow as Willow teased and dipped into the wet depths. Moaning louder, Willows other hand came up to Tara's mouth, trying desperately to muffle the sounds.
As she slide two fingers gently into Tara, the blonde moaned, taking Willows other fingers into her mouth and biting down softly.

“Fuck yeah!” Vince whispered, he had blearily opened his eyes as Melissa and Chris had left. Willow and Tara had been too engrossed in each other to notice.
“Fucking hell, Vince!” Willow yelled, pulling her fingers roughly from Tara, much to her displeasure. “You’re sick!” she told him shortly.
“I ain’t the one fucking my girl in public!” he laughed, completely unashamed of watching two of his oldest friends getting it on.
“Public?” Tara asked, looking around. “I’m in my living room, that’s not so public!” she told him, her passion rapidly melting into anger. “Go home already?!” she said, not quite a request but still not an exact order.
Nudging Blaze, Vince collected the videos and made his way to the door, his pink haired girlfriend slightly confused and half asleep. “We’ll see you tomorrow!” Vince told them as he wrapped his arm around Blazes waist.
“Bye guys.” Tara said, slamming the door firmly. As she turned to Willow, her devilish grin settled on Willow. “Let’s go to bed!” she said, grabbing Willows hand and leading her into the bedroom.

[Ice]

Sneak Peek

6 days to go….

Rolling over gently, Tara drank in the image of her perfect lover. After their previous night’s exertions, all she wanted to do was stay in bed and snuggle up to her honey. Unfortunately, Willow had to collect her outfit for the wedding and she was thrilled to be able to collect Miss Kitty, who had made somewhat of a miraculous recovery.
Kissing the warm skin of Willows shoulder, Tara smiled as the redhead stirred. “Morning!” she whispered, as Willow turned to face her, brushing her unruly locks from her eyes. Willow grinned, placing a delicate kiss on the succulent lips of her fiancée.
“Morning you!” she said as she pulled back. “Is it really Friday already?” Willow asked incredulously. Tara nodded, a smile playing on her lips. “This time next week, we’ll be married!” the redhead grinned while trying to do a happy dance within the confines of her sheets. Tara giggled. It only seemed like yesterday when she’d gotten down on one knee in the V.I.P area of Jasmines and proposed, and now here she was, less than a week until the big day.
Lost in her own thoughts, Tara didn’t notice Willow getting up, her excitement about the wedding overtaking her and making her dance, totally naked around the bedroom and into the shower.

Under the hot cascade of water, Willows mind ran through the list of things she had to do that day. ‘Pick up Blaze and then suit, get hair trimmed, and make sure the guys know what’s to happen while I’m away. Erm, what else, I know I'm missing something!’ her mind struggled to remember what else was on her agenda that day and she was relieved to have her planner back.
Tara entered the steam filled bathroom, “What else do I have to do today?” Willow called out almost as soon as Tara had entered.
“Erm, what else? I don’t know. Take me to pick up Miss Kitty?” she ventured, pulling back the shower door so that she didn’t have to yell over the sound of the water. “Where’s your car?” Willow asked.
“You know it’s been making that strange noise again. I took it into the garage yesterday.” Tara told her, “I think there’s a hole in the exhaust or something.” she added.
“Oh, ok. What time?” Willow asked as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair.
“They close at 5.” Tara told her as they exchanged a quick kiss before swapping places.
“Ok, I’ll meet you here!” Willow grinned before disappearing off to get dressed.

“Jesus Blaze, wake up!” Willow mumbled under her breath as she hammered on her friend’s apartment door loudly. They had arranged to meet at midday and it was now almost 1. Suddenly the door burst open to reveal Blaze, in the way nature had intended, her pink hair dripping water over her shoulders. “About time!” Willow said as she was invited in.
“What, I'm only a little late!” Blaze retorted, her voice displaying her irritation.
“A little? We were meant to meet at noon.” Willow told her.
Blazes face fell and she buried her head in her hands. Obviously she had thought they were meant to be meeting at one and had fallen a little behind on that plan. “Fuck it.” she said, her version of an apology. Willow giggled, realising that her friend had made a genuine mistake rather than just being incredibly late.
“I’m rushing!” she told Willow as she jogged off into the bedroom.

Ten minutes later, Blaze reappeared fully clothed with her hair dried and hanging loosely around her shoulders. “Lets hit the road, Jack!” she smiled cheerfully.
As Willow pulled open the door, she continued; “And don’t you come back no more!” Together they giggled and headed out for the mall.

Making their way through the throngs of people, Willow suddenly became nervous. It dawned on her that she had no clue what her suit was going to look like. Blaze had given a drawing to the assistant in the store and ushered her out before she’d had a chance to see the image. What if she didn’t like it? It was far too late to change it or look for anything new. Silently she cursed herself for not being more organised and confirming earlier what she had Tara should wear.
As they pushed open the door, a tall brunette woman grinned at them warmly. “Hey, we’re here to try and collect a suit.” Blaze told her as Willow shifted nervously on the balls of her feet. “What name please?” the assistant asked, reaching for a large file behind the till. “Rosenberg.” Willow said suddenly, smiling uncomfortably at the unnecessary loudness of her voice.
After flicking quickly through the huge file, the woman grinned again. “If you’d like to follow me.” she offered, leading the women to a changing area at the back of the store before disappearing momentarily.
On her return, she carried a large hanger, its contents hidden by a dark plastic cover and handed it to Willow. Inhaling deeply, Willow took the garment and vanished behind one of the changing curtains.

Hanging the hanger on the hook provided, Willow inhaled deeply. Unzipping the plastic jacket, she closed her eyes and shrugged the cover off. Standing for a full minute before she dared to open them and regard her wedding attire. “On my god.” she whispered as she took in the sight before her, the smooth lines of the jacket alone were enough to make a girl stop and stare. Running her hand down the long coat, Willow fought to name the material and found, to her dismay that she couldn’t. Slipping quickly out of her clothes, she eased first into the trousers, enjoying the feeling of the material against her skin. Then the jacket, its luxurious material caressing her naked back in a similar way to Tara.
Turning slowly, Willow faced the mirror. “Wow.” she breathed, tracing her hands slowly down the perfectly fitting ensemble.

From outside the changing room, Blaze called; “Get that fine ass out here Will!” With a grin, Willow pulled back the curtain, revealing her new outfit.
“Wow!” Blaze gasped, suddenly lost for words. As Willow stepped from the cubicle, Blaze studied her friend. The three quarter length jacket was cut perfectly, and the boot cut of the trousers was just perfect. Despite her previous worry that Willows hair would clash badly with the colour, Blaze found herself surprised. The deep claret highlighted the redhead’s natural assets perfectly. “Will, you look….” Blaze started, unsure as to the word she was searching for. “Stunning!” she finally offered.
The assistant fussed around Willow, straightening the jacket and lapels. “Do you like it?” she asked Willow who was still staring at her reflection in amazement. Willow nodded slowly. “And will you be requiring a shirt to go with it?” she asked.
Clearly the suit had been designed to be worn either with or without a shirt to give its wearer a choice. Willow looked suddenly confused, “Erm, I’m not sure.” turning to Blaze before continuing. “What do you think?” Blaze just stared at her, in all their years as friends, she couldn’t recall Willow having ever looked so beautiful. “I dunno. Take one and we can decide later?” she offered.

“That’s a great idea!” the assistant announced and headed into the main body of the shop to find a shirt that would accompany the outfit.
“She’s one lucky lady!” Blaze said as she wandered up behind Willow, wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her head on her shoulder. “I hope she knows it!” In their reflection, Willow grinned. It was so rare for Blaze to show any real signs of affection that when she did, you really had to know what to look for, or you could easily miss them. “I love you too!” Willow replied as she kissed her friend softly on the cheek.

After changing back into her jeans and t-shirt, Willow paid the outstanding balance and she and Blaze left the shop. “So, what’s next?” Blaze asked after they had walked for almost 10 minutes in perfect silence. “I have to get my hair cut and take Tara to collect Miss Kitty.” Willow told her, the huge grin she had been wearing since trying on her suit was still plastered on her face and widened further at the thought of Miss Kitty’s return.
“You’re getting your hair cut?” Blaze asked in surprise. Willow nodded,
“Well, not so much cut as trimmed and feathered slightly.” she said, shrugging her shoulders slightly.
“Oh, good.” Blaze told her, causing the redhead to turn to her in surprise, “Coz Tara’d kill you if you had it short again!” she laughed as they stepped into the elevator and headed back to the car.


Vince was pacing around the sunken living room, waiting for Tara to show him her wedding dress. It had been at his apartment for almost three weeks before Blaze had finally gotten tired of his trying to steal a glimpse and taken it over to its rightful owner. “T, you coming out or what?” he called down the corridor to the bedroom, before slumping back on the couch, drumming his fingers impatiently on his thigh.
Tara's head appeared around the corner, “I am out sweetie!” she told him with a giggle before stepping out to reveal her gown.
The tight fitting corset style top held and accentuated Tara in all the right places, small, delicate claret roses spotted the perfect white silk at irregular intervals. The long flowing skirt flowed majestically out behind her as she walked before pooling at her feet effortlessly.
“Fucking hell Tara!!” he gulped furiously. “You look beautiful!” he announced causing the blonde to blush deeply.
“You really think so?” she asked shyly. In honesty, Tara felt like a princess, the gown hugging her and highlighting her already generous cleavage.
“Really, T.” Vince said, his eyes filling as he stood to cross the floor. “You look like an angel!” he told her, kissing her forehead fondly.
“But do you think Willow will like it?” the blonde questioned, her eyes meeting his solemnly.
“If she doesn’t, then she doesn’t deserve you!” he replied honestly.
Aside from all his crudeness and teasing, Vince really was a great friend and Tara knew, without question, that he was telling her the truth.


Stepping out from the hairdressers, Willow shook her head, her newly feathered hair falling immediately back into place. As she had sat in the chair, Willow had listened to Blaze remark on how gorgeous she was becoming and why she hadn’t made an effort like this before.
As they climbed back into the car, Willow slapped her friend playfully in the arm. “What do you mean, ‘how gorgeous I'm becoming?’” she asked accusingly, the smile playing on her lips the only sign that she was winding her friend up. “Well, you can look pretty rough!” Blaze laughed as Willow pulled away from the curb and headed home.


Tara had changed out of the dress and had thrown on a pair of jeans and a simple black shirt. She was just remerging from the bedroom when there was a knock on the door.
Frowning slightly, the blonde looked quizzically at Vince who just shrugged and looked on in curiosity. Pulling open the large door, Tara saw a tall man who she put at a similar age as her father with wire rimmed spectacles and salt and peppered hair. “Good afternoon.” he said, extending his hand. ‘British, I love that accent!’ Tara thought as she shook the extended hand before her. “My name is Rupert Giles. You must be Tara?” he asked hopefully. Tara nodded, still unsure why this British man was gracing her doorstep. ‘For a man, he’s not bad on the eyes’ Tara thought as she smiled awkwardly. “I’m sorry,” she said, “But do I know you?”
Giles smiled, “I’m an old friend of Willows, she invited me up for the wedding and since Buffy and her sister are shopping, I thought that I might take you both to dinner tonight?” he said, clearly not offended by her ignorance of his existence.

Vince leapt to his feet, rushing to the front door. “Hi, I’m Vince James.” he said, extending a hand warmly. “I’m a friend of the ladies’” he grinned, pushing Tara back to invite the guest into the house. “Tara, maybe you should fix our friend a drink?” he suggested forcefully. Tara was officially confused, she was sure she was in her own home, and yet here was Vince, pushing her about and inviting perfect strangers in.
Not wanting to make a scene, Tara forced a smile in Vince’s direction before offering an honest one to Giles. “What would you like to drink?” she asked him politely.
“Oh, that’s very gracious of you.” Giles replied, his warm accent soothing her annoyance. “May I have tea?” he asked hopefully. Tara nodded. She and Willow had visited England many times and she had developed a fondness for what the English called; ‘real tea’, something that, according to all the people they had spoken with, the Americans just didn’t know how to make.
“Real tea?” she asked with a giggle and Giles nodded, relieved that she understood what he had meant. “Coming right up.” she grinned and vanished into the kitchen.

As soon as Tara had gone, Vince offered Giles a seat and sat down next to him, being careful to keep an eye open for Tara. “Are you coming to the party tonight?” he asked in a hushed voice, his eyes darting to the doorway regularly. Giles looked at him confused. “Party?” he asked, also checking over his shoulder for Tara.
“Shit.” Vince whispered, “Ok, they’re having a surprise bachelorette party tonight. We sent you an invite but you must’ve left before it arrived.” Vince explained quickly. “You and whoever else you brought with you are more than welcome to come, as long as they’re over 21!” he grinned, putting plenty of innuendo into the sentence.

Giles nodded, “Erm, well yes, I think myself and Xander would like that.” The British man sounded unsure but agreed anyway, he couldn’t be letting down the good old English reputation of manners and politeness.
Before they had a chance to organise anything, Tara reappeared in the doorway carrying a tray with three steaming mugs and a plate full of various biscuits.
Indulging in general chit chat, Tara and Giles found very quickly that they had a lot in common.
Suddenly the front door burst open and Blaze and Willow appeared, giggling and poking each other playfully in the ribs. Giles stood as Willow entered; he beamed at the stunning woman she had become, his eyes brimming with happy tears. “Giles?!” she exclaimed, handing the suit carefully to Blaze before rushing the man and hugging him.
Blaze took her cue and vanished into the bedroom, emotional scenes were seriously not her thing and she was glad to get out of the way and hide.

After an hour of cheerful and teary chat, Giles decided that it was time for him to leave. “It has been so good to see you again.” he said as he hugged Willow once again. “You too Giles.” she grinned, tiptoeing to kiss his cheek. Extending a hand to Tara, the former watcher smiled fondly, “And so nice to meet you.” he said as she shook her hand. Tara grinned and leaned in to hug him. Even though she had spent all of an hour with the man, she felt as though she had known him for years.

Vince snuck out of the back door, hoping to catch Giles as he made his way out of sight of the house. From behind the large bush at the end of the lawn, he heard Willow, Tara and Giles saying their farewells before the heavy door slammed closed. “Giles?” he called as he emerged onto the street. “Oh, Vince, you startled me.” Giles exclaimed as he turned to the young man who was crouched in a bush. “Where are you staying?” Vince asked, “We’ll pick you up at about 8.30.” Vince told him.
Giles rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out a leaflet. “It’s the Noxon hotel.” he told him. “Do you know it?” Vince grinned at the watcher, the memories of all the good times he had had while working there filled his mind. “Yeah I know it. Willow and Tara met there!” Vince told him, a hint of pride in his voice at being there at the moment the women had found each other. “I’ll see you at 8.30. It was great to meet you!” Vince said, extending his hand.
“And you.” Giles replied before turning off in the direction of his hotel to tell Xander of their plans for the evening, sure that his friend would be thankful to get away from the girly goings on of Buffy and Dawn.

Sneaking back into the house, Vince grabbed Blaze and hurriedly made their excuses for leaving. “We’ll pick you up at 9.” Vince told Willow and Tara as he and Blaze opened the door. “Don’t be late!!” Blaze yelled over her shoulder as they disappeared into the twilight.

[Ice]

Partaaaay!!!

Still 6 days to go….

Blaze was adding the final touches to the private room she and Vince had acquired for the party. Two identical tables, each with a single rose and a huge pile of 5 dollar bills sat on either side of the huge podium. At the entrance to the dimly lit room, she had hung a banner announcing the bachelorette party and a collection of different coloured balloons.
Looking around the room, she searched her mind for anything she had missed and came up with a blank.

Happy with the front of the club, Blaze approached the bar and ordered a whiskey and tequila before disappearing behind the beaded curtain and into the changing room.
As she pushed open the door, Blaze grinned. Her eyes travelled the length of a very long, toned leg, its owners face obscured by long blonde hair. “Hey sexy!” Blaze beamed as she set the glasses down on the counter. The blonde looked up with a smile and Blaze noticed for the first time that she had two completely different coloured eyes, one green, and the other blue. “Hey Blaze.” she replied, nodding her thanks for the drink before continuing her moisturising routine.
Blaze took a seat across from the blonde and studied her carefully. Her long toned legs reached up to her firm round ass, ‘You could bounce a quarter off that ass!’ Blaze thought before her eyes continued their journey. Over the young woman's taut stomach to her sumptuous breasts, one nipple pierced with a silver ring and to her shoulders, strong yet feminine at the same time. Her long hair trailing over her shoulders and partially obscuring her stunning face.

Absently Blaze wondered how many unsuspecting men had fallen head over heels for her friend only to discover that she wasn’t interested in, how had she put it? ‘A fool with a tool’. Blaze grinned, Analise was easily one of her closest friends, and although unintentional, she was often the cause of much heartbreak as her personality and stunning good looks melted the hardest of hearts, and had people falling for her at a moments notice.
“So, where’s Beth?” Blaze asked when she realise that she had been caught staring. Analise shrugged and began stretching. “I called her but she said she was stuck in traffic.” she replied, resting one leg up on the counter to stretch out her hamstring.

As Analise took a sip of her whiskey, the back door banged open to reveal a tall brunette. “Hey!” she breathed as she walked into the room and dumped her bag next to a chair. “Sorry, I’m late.” she smiled.
“Hey Beth.” Both women greeted her warmly and Blaze indicated the drink on the counter.
As Analise slipped into a sheer bikini, Blaze swallowed hard watching as her long elegant fingers buttoned a crisp white shirt before sliding into a pair of slacks.
“So, I get the red head?” Analise asked as Beth started to get changed.
“Uh? Oh, erm, yeah!” Blaze replied, making no effort to hide her staring.
“Cool.” she giggled, as she tied a large tie around her neck and piled her hair up under a hat before slipping into an oversized men’s suit jacket.

Inhaling sharply, Blaze excused herself and left the ladies to get ready for their impending show. As she emerged into the main body of the club, she noticed Bobby sitting at the bar. “Right, the girls are sorting themselves and the guests should be here soon.” she told him, her eyes darting to the doorway when she saw a tall dark haired beauty enter. “Hey Jaycee!” she called, waving the other woman over.
“Hey sexy.” she whispered, leaning in to kiss the pink haired DJ softly on the cheek. “Am I the first one here?” she asked, her cheeks flushing slightly.
Blaze opened her mouth to respond but her comment was rendered void by the arrival of Chris. “Not anymore!” Blaze giggled, gesturing towards the man in the doorway. After brief introductions, Blaze guided the pair up to the V.I.P area and fetched them both a drink. As they indulged in uncomfortable small talk, Vince appeared, a huge grin spread over his face.

“Hey guys!” he beamed, bending to kiss his girlfriend and ogle the stunning cleavage of their new ‘friend’. “This is Giles and Xander.” he said gesturing to the men with him. As they sat, he took their orders and fetched them both drinks from the bar. On returning, Blaze nudged him, “Are you going to get the girls then?” she asked, pointing up to the clock.
“Oh fuck. It’s almost 9 o’clock!” he exclaimed, grabbing his coat and heading for the door. “Are you all ready for them?” he asked. Blaze nodded and he vanished out into the night.


“Tara?” Willow asked, brushing her hair thoughtfully. “Where are we going with Vince tonight?” she asked. In all the commotion of the past few days, she couldn’t remember being told of the evening’s plans. Tara's head appeared around the corner, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. “Erm, well.” She took a minute to consider the question before realising she actually didn’t know and shrugging. “He never said!” she said softly.
“Then how are we meant to know what to wear?” Willow asked, regarding herself in the mirror. Tara entered the bedroom, dressed in simple black underwear and a frown. “I don’t know!” she replied honestly, reaching for the phone to call Vince and find out. As she began dialling, there was a loud knock on the front door. “That’ll probably be Vince.” Tara said as she walked into the closet and rummaged around for something to wear.
Both Willow and Vince appeared moments later, “Vince?” Tara yelled from the closet, “What are you wearing?” The man looked himself up and down and stifled a giggle. “A shirt and pants.” he called back. “Just put on something comfortable and hurry up.”

Tying her hair back, Willow stepped into the huge closet and watched as Tara slipped into her favourite shirt and a long skirt. “Will I do?” she asked Willow, who nodded and kissed her softly. “You always look perfect!” the redhead told her in a whisper.
“You’re biased!” Tara giggled as they emerged into the luxurious bedroom.
“Here you go!” Vince said, handing them both a piece of black material. “When we get in the car, you are to put them on!” he told them, his tone leaving no room for argument.
With keys collected, doors locked and Miss Kitty safely home and sleeping in her favourite spot on the couch, Willow, Tara and Vince filed out of the house and into the nakedness of the evening.

Blaze was pacing back and forth outside the club, everything was running late and she was becoming more and more irritated by the second. She was about to reach into her coat for her phone to call Vince when their car turned the corner. As he pulled up in the large car park, Blaze pulled open the back door, thankful that both her friends had complied with their request and kept their blindfolds on. “Good evening ladies!” she said, helping first Willow and then Tara from the car.
As she and Vince guided them upstairs they fought to control the giggles that shook their shoulders.
“Ta-Da!!” they yelled together as they pulled the blindfolds off to reveal the banner and balloons they had hung earlier that day.
Willow and Tara giggled before turning to each other in surprise. Before they had a chance to speak, Vince pushed them into the waiting club. “Oh my god!” Willow giggled as she saw all their friends sitting around tables at the end of an elongated podium.

They were greeted warmly by their friends, each one hugging and kissing them on the cheek as they took their seats. Vince fetched another round of drinks from the bar and Blaze, well, they didn’t know where she had gotten to!

Suddenly the lights dimmed and music blared from the speakers situated all around the room. As the drum beat of the Eurythmics, ‘Sweet Dreams (are made of this) sounded, a spotlight burst on, revealing a figure in a mans suit and a hat, striking a very Michael Jackson-esque pose.
“Oh my god.” Willow repeated again, looking over to Tara's table with wide eyes. Tara had gone a delicate shade of beetroot, her cheeks radiating heat as her eyes darted around the room, unsure of where she should look.

As the music picked up, the figure looked up, her gaze fixing firmly on Willow as she strode down the podium.

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world
And the seven seas--
Everybody’s looking for something.

Willow felt her cheeks burning as the woman reached her, lifting her hat and shaking out her long blonde hair before dropping the hat on Willows head. The tall blonde spun delicately and the zipper on her trousers was loosened in seconds, the garment being flung from one foot and into the crowd. Willow stared up in open mouthed amazement. She couldn’t recall ever having seen legs that long on anyone, and such firm, tanned and perfectly sculpted legs too. Glancing over at Tara, she saw that she wore the same stunned expression.

Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused.

Circling her hips erotically, the stripper popped each one of her buttons in time with the music, her tie still flapping at her neck. Willow found herself holding her breath as the amazing eyes of the woman dancing before her held her in place. As the music picked up and assaulted their ear drums, the blondes shirt found its way to the floor, leaving the tanned beauty in her bikini top and black thong, her firm buttocks now being gyrated only inches from Willows face.
As the drum beat picked up, the blonde reached the pole spinning expertly around it and doing the splits at the same time before returning to Willow. Reaching forwards, Willow picked up a bill and was shocked as a long leg came to rest on the back of her chair, giving her access to the thong, in which she tucked the bill. Blaze also leapt at the opportunity to tuck some bills into the underwear of her friend and grinned as she did so.

Licking her lips suggestively, Analise strode back to the end of the podium, her hips moving in perfect time with the drum beat as the lights on her went out.

The group were just about to start their applause when the second verse of the song burst into life and more lights lit up the top end of the stage, revealing a tall brunette dressed in identical attire.

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
I travel the world
And the seven seas--
Everybody’s looking for something.

She strode deliberately down the platform, her routine similar to that of the blonde, but her attention was focused entirely on Tara who blushed a deeper red than anyone would have thought possible. She eased herself out of her clothing a lot faster and as she began suggestively gyrating in front of Tara; she found bills being tucked carefully into her own thong.

With a grin, both women turned to each other, using the other as their own personal dancing pole and removing their bikini tops in the process.

Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused.

Just as Willow and Tara thought they were relaxed, both dancers turned in their direction once again, grabbing their hands and leading them up onto the stage, much to the delight of their friends.

As they were sat on chairs that had been placed at the end of the stage, each woman received their own personal lap dance. Gulping with nervousness and embarrassment, Tara looked to Willow who was clearly enjoying herself.
When the brunette indicated she was to remove her thong, Tara shook her head suddenly and looked to Willow for help. Willow just nodded and grinned, happy for her fiancée to enjoy the attentions of the other woman.
With shaking fingers, Tara slid the thong from the woman and blushed deeply. In the many years she had spent with Willow, she had never once had the urge to be this close to any other woman, yet alone this close with a naked woman. “You can keep that as a souvenir!” the brunette purred suggestively, before placing a light kiss on her lips and continuing her lap dance.
The blonde performed a similar routine, although hers was a little longer and there seemed to be an awful lot more touching, at least to Tara who was feeling decidedly uncomfortable.

As the song finally came to its conclusion, Vince, Giles, Xander, Blaze, Jaycee, Chris and Melissa leapt to their feet, applauding and cheering. Willow and Tara received a huge hug and kiss from the dancers before all four left the stage.
“Fucking hell!” Willow exclaimed as she returned to her seat. “That was different!” she told Blaze who was grinning manically at her.
“It’s my round!” Willow announced suddenly, rising to her feet and fixing her gaze on Tara. As she took everyone’s request, Willow gestured for Tara to help her and the pair headed to the bar, leaving their friends to whoop and cheer as the dancers returned for one more song.

“You looked like you enjoyed that.” Tara whispered as they waited for their order to be fixed. Glancing at her fiancée, Willow frowned slightly before wrapping her arms protectively around her waist. “Not as much as if it had been you!” she purred, causing Tara to blush deeply.
“Really?” Tara asked, unable to hide her surprise. Both women looked back towards the stage, where the blonde was teasing poor Vince mercilessly. “You don’t think she’s attractive?” Tara asked, knowing that Willow would be lying if she said ‘no’.
“She’s gorgeous!” Willow admitted. “But she’s not you.” she finished, kissing Tara passionately.

With a grin, Tara paid for their drinks and lifted the tray. As she turned to return to their table, Willow pinched her backside and she almost dropped the drinks in surprise. “Just relax and enjoy it!” Willow whispered, “Its only fun!” As they found their seats once again, Tara found herself relaxing into the evening, tucking bills into the underwear of strange, but stunning women.

With their routine finally over, Beth and Analise emerged from the backroom and were gestured over by Blaze.
“Guys.” she announced as they walked over to the tables, “This is Analise and Beth.” she told them, gesturing to each woman as she said their name.
As they all shifted around to make room for their new guests, Willow slid into the chair at Tara's side, her fingers softly caressing her thigh as they spoke.
As time passed, Willows gentle caressing grew bolder and she found Tara catching on to the new game. As they teased and played, Tara noticed Blaze and Jaycee had disappeared. “Where’d they go?” she asked Willow in a hushed whisper. Next to her, Vince leaned in, “Probably to get a head start on later!” he told her, a devilish smile tickling his face. Tara's hand pulled back from Willows thigh and contacted the table with an audible thump, making the glasses on top of it rattle.
“Oh shit!” Willow giggled. As if they had heard the conversation, Blaze and Jaycee appeared from the back corner of the club and grabbed on to Vince. “We’re going!” Blaze announced as she dragged him from his seat, her breath short and ragged and her cheeks flushed.

Giles and Xander also made their excuses, and after thanking the group for a wonderful evening, made their way downstairs to hail a cab. Chris left soon after, leaving Willow and Tara alone.
“So baby,” Tara grinned as Willow returned from the bathroom. “Wanna get another lap dance?”
Grabbing her hand, Willow led Tara out into the cool night.

[Ice]

I know the lyrocs of the song in this chapter dont seem fitting but if you've heard the song, you'll know why its here!

Take Me Home

As the cab pulled up outside of their home, Willow and Tara grinned. Despite neither of them actually wanting a bachelorette party, they had both really enjoyed themselves.
Willow paid the driver and took Tara's hand as they walked slowly up the path.
As they opened the front door, they were surprised to find Miss Kitty waiting for them. The vet had told them that she would probably be tired and lethargic for a number of days but here she was, waiting for their return as she always did. On seeing her mistresses, she jogged across the remaining few feet, meowing and purring as she rubbed up against their legs. Wearing identical smiles, both women crouched down to stroke the lucky feline fondly.

With the cat fed and having returned to her recovery slumber, Tara pulled a high backed chair from the kitchen and set it in the centre of the living room. Willow returned from the bathroom and froze as she saw the chair. “You were serious?!” she exclaimed once she realised what was going on. Tara fixed her with a devilish grin and nodded. “You sit!” she told the redhead, “I’m going to get changed!” and with that, the blonde disappeared into the bedroom.

Obediently, Willow took a seat on the chair that had been left for her, her heart was racing and she stared quizzically at her palm which was sweating slightly. Realising that Tara had not set up the stereo; Willow got to her feet and selected one of her favourite songs. She had seen Tara dancing to it on many occasions, her hips always took on a life of their own and something about the song took control of Tara, made her powerful and animalistic.

“Stereos ready!!” Willow yelled down the corridor before returning to her seat to wait, almost patiently.
Suddenly, Tara reappeared, her long blonde hair tied loosely on top of her head. Willow gulped loudly as she took in the vision before her. Tara had opted for a plain white shirt that was a little too small, her voluptuous breasts straining against the material. As Willows eyes trailed over her body, she shifted in her seat. Tara had picked a tight leather skirt that left very little to the imagination. She had purchased it when they had gone to a ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ party and that had been the only time she had worn it, the fishnet hold-ups she had bought at the same time, clung to Tara's legs and disappeared into long, high heeled boots.

Tara grinned as Willow went silent, her mouth working furiously but no words leaving her lips. She strode carefully over to the stereo and pressed the play button, a grin spreading over her face as the song began.
Crossing quickly, Tara leant in close to Willow, kissing her cheek softly.

Its made up of lonely moments
there was always a moment there when I knew
you always gave instalments
always knew you concentrated and grew

Standing astride her lover, Tara found her hips swaying slightly to the song and she suddenly realised why Willow had picked this one. Bending backwards, she shivered as Willows fingers gently stroked the freshly exposed skin of her stomach.

and I believe in reinvention
do you believe that life is holding the clue?
take away all the lonely moments
give me full communication with you

As she straightened back up, Tara snapped her head forward, her long blonde hair breaking free from its loose restraints and falling over her face. Willow inhaled sharply, licking her lips as Tara stood above her, her cleavage tantalisingly close to her mouth and her hips grinding ever closer to her own.
As the song picked up pace, Tara popped each of the buttons on her shirt slowly, each one revealing more of her ample cleavage. Willow raised her hands, trying to assist her lover in her clothing removal only to find them slapped playfully away.

your smile shine a little light, alright
don’t hide, shine a little light
give up on your pride

As Tara flung her shirt across the room, she sat slowly onto Willows lap, her hips grinding circles into her thighs. As she ran her fingers through the silky red locks of her lover, she felt Willows hands coming to rest on the small of her back, stroking the skin at the top of her skirt gently. Grinning suggestively, Willow leant in and began laying delicate kisses over Tara's chest causing the blonde to inhale deeply.
Pulling away, Tara got to her feet, her hands working the zipper at the back of her skirt, her misty blue eyes locking on Willows as her cheeks flushed with arousal.

do you believe in reinvention
do you believe that life is holding the clue
any way to face the silence
any way to face the pain that kills you

Willow sat in stunned amazement, she always knew that Tara was unbelievably sexy, but this, well this was new. The blonde radiated power, passion and confidence. Slipping the short leather garment slowly down her toned legs, Tara strode purposefully towards Willow, folding the skirt lengthways as she went. “You want me baby?” she purred. Willow looked up into the oceanic blue eyes of her angel and grinned, nodding her head.
Flipping the leather over Willows head, Tara used it to pull her in close as she sat once again on her lap. “Really?” Tara asked, dropping the skirt and allowing her fingers to trace across Willows neck and down over her breasts. “Always really!” Willow gulped, her voice shaking slightly.
Grinning at the responsiveness of Willows body, Tara leant in and kissed her, her tongue forcing dominance over the redheads and controlling its movement.

your smile shine a little light, alright
don’t hide, shine a little light
give up on your pride

As Tara rose to her feet, Willow tried to follow but found herself being pushed back into the chair. Suddenly, Tara’s leg came up to rest on her shoulder, her groin deliciously close to her lips; Willow could smell the musty scent of Tara's arousal. “Boot.” Tara told her.
Obediently, Willow unzipped the long boot, her fingers running down the soft thigh before her as she did so.
After removing the other one, Willow was sure that she couldn’t take much more, the confidence and sexuality that was oozing from her lover was driving her wild and she was rapidly running out of control.

give up on your pride, the moment's gone
give up on your smile, life is long
so I seen a bad dream, that you were gone
I got bitten on the soul, my blood will run

As Tara reached around to release the hooks on her bra, Willow found herself panting. “Take me to bed!” she gasped.
Tara smiled, grabbing Willows hand and leading her into the bedroom.

give up on your pride, the moment's gone
give up on your smile, life is long
so I seen a bad dream, you were gone
you're bitter and cold, my blood will run

[Ice]

Moving Out

Only 1 day to go….

“I can’t believe how quickly this week has flown by!” Tara said as she help Willow pack up her wash things and fetched her a fresh towel.
“I know,” Willow agreed, the excitement evident in her voice. For the past three days, Willow had been bouncing around as though she had been plugged into the mains. “I can’t believe I get to marry you tomorrow!” she grinned, her eyes filling as she turned to regard her fiancée. Tara giggled, ‘Willow was just like a kid at Christmas’ she thought.
Kissing her softly, Willow couldn’t help but noticed how much Tara was shaking. Concern filled her, “Baby?” she asked, “You do still want to get married. Right?” she asked softly.
Tara giggled, “Of course I do, silly!” she told her, “I’m just really nervous and excited.” Willow smiled softly, bringing her hand to gently trace over Tara's cheek, as the pad of her thumb reached the blondes lips, Tara closed her eyes, the heat radiating from Willows delicate hand, warmed her heart and she kissed her thumb gently.
As the couple pulled away, Tara noticed the time. “Shit!” she exclaimed, “Vince will be here in a bit.” she told Willow sadly. Willow sighed, in all their time together, they had never been in the same city and not been together. In total Willow could only remember spending total of 9 days away from Tara.

“Why do I have to go away again?” she asked as she threw a towel into her case. Tara frowned, “You wanted to be all traditional and not see me before the wedding!” she told her with a giggle. “So we agreed to swap Vince for you and now you’re leaving.” Tara finished, her tone adopting a matter-of-fact quality that Willow wasn’t sure she liked.
Suddenly the doorbell broke into their conversation, “I guess it’s too late to change my mind!?” Willow replied as she went to answer the door.
“Hey, you nervous?” Vince asked as he barrelled past Willow and into the bedroom to collect her overnight things.
“Hi to you too Vince.” Willow muttered under her breath as he walked away, “Please, come on in.” she was just approaching the corridor to the bedroom when Vince reappeared, her small case in hand and a maniacal grin on his face.
“Go away now!” he laughed, dropping the case at her feet and indicating the door. Punching him playfully in the arm, Willow strode past him and into the bedroom. “No, you can’t go in there, you must leave!” Vince chased after her, his voice shaking with laughter. Willow had told him that if she wasn’t ready to leave when he arrived, then he was to throw her out, but now that time was here, he didn’t seem to be taking it too seriously.
“Will, Blaze is waiting for you!” he whined when he realised she wasn’t listening.
“Yes, I know.” Willow told him, “But I need my outfit for tomorrow, unless of course you’d prefer it if I got married naked?” Vince grinned once again, his eyebrows waggling furiously. Willow rolled her eyes and looked to Tara for support, only to find her wearing a similar expression. “You two are awful.” the redhead giggled as she disappeared into the closet to retrieve her suit.
As she emerged from the large dressing room, Tara was waiting alone for her. Noticing the redheads eyes scanning the room, Tara told her; “I sent him to put your stuff in the car. I wanted to say goodbye without him being childish!”
Vince suddenly appeared behind her, “Hey!! I'm not childish, I like the girl on girl stuff, it’s not my fault if I get vocally excited.” Both Willow and Tara rolled their eyes at him and he grinned, reaching out to take Willows, still as yet, unseen outfit. “I’m going away!” he announced, sounding suitably defeated.

Tara stepped in to wrap Willow in a hug, her forehead resting on that of the redhead, “I love you, Willow.” she whispered, looking into the emerald eyes of her lover. Willow smiled, her excited energy all but gone in her lovers arms. “I love you more.” Willow replied, leaning in to close the gap between them, her warm lips finding Tara's and kissing her softly. As they pulled back, both women smiled, holding hands until they were at full arms length away. As Willow reached the doorway Tara called out; “That’s just not possible!”


Sitting in the front seat of Blaze’s car, Willow inhaled deeply. “You ok?” Blaze asked, reaching out for her friends hand. Offering a weak smile, Willow nodded, “I guess I’m just nervous.” she told her as they pulled away from the front of the house.

“T?” Vince called out as he closed the front door. “You ok babe?” When he received no answer, he headed down the corridor to the bedroom, finding Tara sat on the bed. “T?” he asked again, his voice full of concern. Tara looked up at him slowly. “I'm so nervous.” she told him honestly. Sitting heavily beside her, Vince smiled as he wrapped his muscular arms around her.

******************************

Later that evening….

“Have you gotten your vows and shit sorted?” Blaze asked as she dropped the toilet seat and sat heavily. Willow had been in the bath for almost an hour and Blaze was bored. “I think so, but I don’t know.” Willow replied from the other side of the curtain. She suddenly felt like she was in confession, her on one side and an unseen person on the other, although she had never done a confession in the tub. She smiled at the thought. “How can you not know?” Blaze asked.
“Something’s not right.” Willow told her. “How am I meant to say everything I want to without going into a huge babble and forgetting everything that's important?” Willow asked, pulling the curtain back so she could judge her friends honest reaction. Blaze just smiled sweetly. “What’s important is that you love Tara.” Blaze told her, “It doesn’t matter what you say or how you say it, as long as she knows how lucky she is to have you love her for what she is.”
Stunned amazement spread over Willows face, her bottom jaw falling open at the unbridled honesty and love pouring from her friend. Off Willows look, Blaze flushed, “What? I can’t have layers?” she giggled, “Now put your tits away, I'm going for Chinese!”
Willow laughed heartily, “Blaze?” she called as the DJ’s hand pulled the door open. Turning slightly, Blaze questioned her friend with her eyes. “I kinda love you, you soppy cow!” Willow told her.
Blaze grinned again, “I kinda love you too!” Blaze replied, before disappearing out for take away.

Tara emerged from the shower and dressed quickly, she was surprised to smell something cooking as she emerged into the living room. “I made dinner!” Vince announced as she wandered into the kitchen.
“You cooked?” Tara asked incredulously. Vince nodded, his face crinkling slightly in sadness. “I can cook!” he told her indignantly.
Crossing to her side, Tara stroked his forearm softly. “Hey, I’m sorry.” she said, “I just, well, you cooked. It’s not a common event.” she continued.
“Yeah, well, just don’t tell Blaze she’ll kill me!” he laughed as he served her a large portion of lasagne. “Salad’s on the table!” he told her, slapping her ass playfully as she turned towards the large table to eat her meal.
They ate in relative silence, Tara's nervousness keeping her quiet. She was suddenly afraid that if she opened her mouth, all the word vomit would just pour from her uncontrollably.
“Tara?” Vince whispered. Tara frowned slightly, she couldn’t remember the last time he had called her Tara instead of T, looking up at him she found he was avoiding her eyes. “Vince?” she asked, placing her hand on his forearm. “You’re really lucky to have found someone like Willow.” he told her, “I’m really happy for you. I just wanted to say that, well, that and I love you!” he pushed his salad around his plate, still trying desperately to avoid eye contact. It just wasn’t in Vince’s nature to be serious and this outburst caught Tara totally off guard. Feeling her eyes swimming in tears, she caught his face and turned him to look at her. “I love you too, Vincey!” she told him, a single tear trickling down her cheek. Vince beamed, his own eyes were full and he leant in, kissing her softly before hugging her hard.


14 hours until ‘I do’

Willow had brushed her teeth and was rummaging through her case for the pyjamas she’d had to buy. As she pulled the simple garments from the case and threw them on the bed, she heard something in the crackle as they landed. Confusion wrinkled her brow as she unfolded the material, a simple white envelope landed on the covers, on its front Tara's handwriting. Stripping from her day clothes, Willow slipped into the PJ’s and climbed under the covers. Holding the envelope up in front of her, she turned it over, examining it carefully. Willow tore open the envelope and pulled out a sheet of white paper.
Reading the carefully written letter, Willow sighed, tears forming in her eyes as she read.

My darling Willow,

I miss you, I mean, I normally miss you when you go away but this time, it’s worse. I don’t know if my vows will be right, if I know the words to tell you how I feel, to convey how much it is that you mean to me.
I want to tell you that I love you, honestly, truly, madly and eternally love you and I want to tell you now in case I forget in all the excitement. From the day I met you, my life has never been the same, I’ve seen and done things that I wouldn’t really have dreamt of, making love on the ghost train at Disneyland springs to mind. We’ve had some tough times too, but all of it, the good and bad, only makes us stronger.

I don’t know quite how I got to be lucky enough to end up with you, but I did and everyday I'm thankful for that. You are something special Willow, I still get excited every time I’m about to see you, my stomach still does somersaults when you walk in the room. All sweaty palms and nervousness, with a goofy grin.

I hope that I can make you as happy as you make me, that I can show you exactly how much you mean to me. I promise you that I’ll try.

always yours,

Tara.

As a single tear ran down Willows cheek, she snuggled into her pillows. “I love you too baby.” she whispered as she closed her eyes and felt herself dropping into a Tara filled sleep.

At the same time at Willow and Tara’s.

“Sweet dreams, T!” Vince called. He’d declined Tara's offer to take the bed, claiming that she would need to be as rested as possible for her big day. Instead he had pulled out the sofa bed and was fidgeting uncomfortably, his huge feet hanging over the edge.
“Night Vince!” Tara yelled back. She had done her usual bathroom routine and was crawling under the covers. As she leant her head on the pillow, she heard a faint rustling in the pillowcase. Sitting up, she turned to stare at it quizzically, running a hand over the material, it rustled again. “Oh Willow, you softie.” she whispered as she slid her hand into the case and pulled out an envelope.

My wonderful Tara,

I’m so nervous about tomorrow, not about marrying you, but about the speaking bits. It took me so long to tell you I love you and now I have to stand up in front of everyone we know and tell you, and them, exactly what you mean to me. Talk about an impossible task, I mean, how do I tell you that the sun rises and sets in your eyes, that the world goes away when I'm in your arms, that I can’t breathe without you? How am I meant to tell you that the stars dim when you smile, that your laugh makes the sun shine brighter and that when I hold your hand, I can fly?

Tara, I miss you, now more than ever. I really want to be with now, to hold you in my arms and kiss you and be terrified about tomorrow with you.
I don’t know what our future holds and, to be honest, I don’t care. I know that if we’re together then there’s nothing we can’t do, no mountains we can’t climb. I love you, you’re my forever.
Thank you baby, for being the most perfect and beautiful person I have ever met. I’m proud to know you and even prouder to be lucky enough to marry you.

Forever yours,
Willow

Tara grinned, laying the letter down over her chest. “Great minds think alike.” she whispered into the darkness as her eyes closed she pictured the perfection of their wedding day.

[Ice]

Wedding Day Nerves

Put on your hats, its wedding day!!

Willow awoke to the sound of AC/DC and despite their harsh guitar chords at this early hour of the day, she grinned. Whether or not Blaze had planned it, the song was almost appropriate.

“She was a fast machine,
she kept her motor clean,
she was the best damn woman that I had ever seen”

Willow sang as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stretched. Heading out into the kitchen, Blaze was playing air guitar, her pink hair sticking up at crazy angles. Blaze turned as Willow entered, a huge grin plastered over her face as she continued to sing. Never in all their time as friends had Willow known Blaze to get embarrassed and today it seemed, was no exception.
Willow jogged over to her friend, standing back to back, they greeted the morning with the song.

“'Cause the walls start shaking
The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And we were makin it and you -

Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me all night long”

“Take it Red!” Blaze yelled over the music, gesturing to the small yet sturdy table in the corner of the room. Willow grinned and leapt up onto it, her excitement returning and being welcomed in such a frantic environment.

“Working double time
On the seduction line
She was one of a kind, she's just mine all mine
Wanted no applause
Just another course
Made a meal out of me and come back for more
Had to cool me down
To take another round
Now I'm back in the ring to take another swing”

The redhead pranced and sang, her voice becoming raspy and harsh as she really gave it her all.
Leaping down from the table, she returned to Blaze for the chorus, both women shrieking and singing in delight.

“'Cause the walls were shaking
The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And knocked me out and then you

Shook me all night long
You had me shakin' and you
Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me
Well you took me

You really took me and you
Shook me all night long
Ooooh you
Shook me all night long
Yeah, yeah, you
Shook me all night long

Your really took me and you
Yeah you shook me, yeah you shook me
All night long”

Collapsing in giggles on the floor, Willow finally noticed the time. 6.45am. She had been sure it had been later than that, purely because Blaze was up and singing. It was almost unheard of for Blaze to be up before 2pm, unless of course, she was just going to bed.
When she regained control of her breathing, Blaze turned to her friend, who was still grinning. “So, you ready to become an honest woman?” she giggled, playfully poking Willow in the ribs.
Slapping at her hand, Willow laughed, “I was an honest woman the day I got with Tara!” she said, her voice softening at the thought of her beloved. Blaze sat forward, making faux vomiting sounds as she rolled her eyes. “That’s gross and cheesy and when did you get so soft!” She teased Willow, her eyes giving away the happiness she was really feeling.
Raising one eyebrow in mock annoyance, Willow replied; “And that’s why you don’t get to do the traditional best man speech!!” she chastised.

Rising to her feet, Willow left Blaze sitting on the floor shooting her disgruntled glares and occasionally poking her tongue out.
Willow pulled open the fridge, her stomach demanding something to eat. Blaze pushed past her, grabbing a box of left over Chinese from the night before. “I get dibs on this!” she declared, snatching the box from the fridge and tucking in.
“That’s disgusting!” Willow told her, reaching in for a carton of orange juice and pouring herself a glass.


Back at Willow and Tara's, things were starting off a little more sedately. Tara had been awake since six, had already gotten up and showered and was sitting down to a bowl of fresh fruit. Vince was snoring loudly from the couch and occasionally complaining about a large pink elephant. Drumming her fingers on the counter, Tara looked around for something to occupy her mind and her hands. Deciding on the crossword, she got up and headed out to collect the paper and the mail, wandering down the path, she was thankful that the sun had decided to play fair and shine. After collecting the mail, she stopped to scoop up the newspaper. “Morning Tara!” a familiar voice stopped her in her tracks and she turned to the sound.
“Melissa?!” she squealed, running to hug her friend. “What are you doing here so early?” she asked.
Melissa grinned, “Well, I can go if you like?” she said, turning as if to leave. “Oh no, stay, sorry, it’s just so early, I didn’t think you’d be here until 9.” Tara said with a giggle as Melissa turned back to face her.
“Well, I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep and Chris kept complaining that I was too fidgety so I got up, and you’re the only other person that I knew would be awake at this hour so I figured I’d keep you company.”
Tara grinned and hugged the woman before her. “Come on, I was just having breakfast!” she told her as they walked up the path, the deafening snores of Vince hitting their ears before they had even reached the door.



At the hotel, the simple trellis alter was being constructed, before it rows of simple wooden chairs were lined upon either side of a red carpet. Each end chair bore a simple cluster of flowers with a white rose in its centre.
The caterer was inside, organising teams of cooks and waiters, each one being given simple yet clear instructions as to what their duties for the day were.
A huge marquee was being built at the rear of the hotels conservatory, large men yelling at swearing at each other, the only sounds that punctuated the morning light.
Thomas arrived in his refrigerated van, with him the man who had helped to create the masterpiece he brought with him. As they pulled into the car park, Thomas smiled. He was honoured to have been chosen as the man who saved the day and made Willow and Tara the perfect wedding cake. “Come on!” he told his companion, “Let’s get this inside.” he said, pushing open the door and stepping out into the morning light.


“Oh, I forgot!!” Willow suddenly announced. “I can’t believe I forgot!” The redhead sat heavily on one of the kitchen chairs. Blaze looked up from her half eaten box of take away. “Forgot what?” she asked, Willow never forgot anything, in all their years as friends she couldn’t think of a single thing that had escaped Willow. “My parents aren’t coming.” Willow said sadly. Sure, they hadn’t been the best parents in the world, but at the end of the day, they were still her only parents and the fact that they weren’t coming had hurt her more than she liked to admit. Blaze hung her head as Willow continued. “There’s no one to walk me down the aisle.” Willow whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
Before Blaze had a chance to respond, Willow leapt to her feet, the trademark grin of an idea spreading over her face. “Give me your phone!” Willow stated quickly, her eyes glistening with tears. Handing her the phone, Blaze fixed her with a quizzical expression as she dialled.

At the Noxon hotel, the telephone rang. “Good morning, Noxon hotel, how may I help you?” a cheerful receptionist answered the call.
“Please could you put me through to Rupert Giles’ room. It’s an emergency?” Willow replied.
“Yes certainly ma’am, please hold.” she was told. The telephone rang for what Willow thought was an eternity, before Xander picked up. “It’s too early.” He said on answering the phone.
“Xand, hey mate.” Willow said.
“Will? Is that you?” Xander sat up in bed, scrubbing at his eyes as they tried to adjust to the brightness of the room. “You ok?” he asked before she had a chance to respond to his first sleep filled questions.
“Yeah Xander, it’s me. I’m ok but I really need to speak to Giles. Is he there?” Willow was drumming her fingers on the counter. However much she loved Xander, his ability to think and focus first thing in the morning infuriated her, it always had.
“Giles? Yeah, he’s here. Hang on.” Almost as if Xander had heard her thoughts, his brain woke up and forced itself to work. Willow heard him put the receiver heavily on the side.

There was a long pause before Giles picked up the receiver. “Good morning Willow.” the familiar British tones of the man she had once considered as being a father figure to the entire group filled her ears.
“Morning Giles.” Willow said, her throat constricting slightly with nervousness and tears. “Giles, I need to ask you something.” she continued.
Worry filled the ex-Watcher as he imagined the various scenarios that had caused Willow to sound so emotionally fraught on what was meant to be the happiest day of her life. “Willow?” his soft accent warmed her and she knew that she had made the right decision.
“My parents aren’t coming today.” Willow began, her next words cutting of Giles’ condolences. “I know we haven’t really seen so much of each other or really kept in contact.” Willow continued, her voice shaking with emotion. “But back in Sunnydale, you were like a father to me.”
Giles smiled, removing her spectacles and polishing them thoughtfully on a handkerchief. “Giles, would you do me the greatest honour of walking me down the aisle today? I know its really short notice and you don’t have to if you don’t want but I’d like you to and I think that you are the best person to do it and, oh god, you can say ‘no’, don’t think that you have to just because I asked…..”
“Willow!” Giles burst into the Willow babble-age. His eyes filled with tears. Never had he been asked to do anything like this, and the gesture filled him with pride and humility. “Nothing would give me greater pleasure.” he told her, tears spilling from both his eyes and hers.
“Oh Giles, thank you, thank you so much.” she told him, her voice heavy with happy tears. “Blaze will come and get you.” she told him, looking over to her friend who was also crying but pretending not to be. She nodded and disappeared out of the kitchen, presumably to get dressed.


Tara had finally managed to wake Vince up, much to his annoyance. His mood brightened after he had showered and eaten. As he reappeared in the kitchen, Tara and Melissa were finishing the crossword in the paper. “You ready for your big day?” he asked, hugging Tara fondly.
“I dunno,” she replied, sharing a knowing smile with Melissa. “Are you ready to get rid of me?” she retorted as he fixed himself a second bowl of cereal.
Vince laughed, “I'm not getting rid of you, I'm gaining another friend for life!” he told her drawing a laugh from Melissa.
“That’s not what I meant.” Tara told him, getting to her feet to join him at the breakfast bar. “I mean, are you ready to give me away?” her eyes sparkled with emotion. They had talked about who would give Tara away and after Vince had given them a practice speech or two, she had jokingly told him that it wouldn’t be him.
“You mean?” he asked, suddenly taken aback. “Seriously?” he coughed. Tara nodded, “I mean I want you to be the one.” she told him.
Suddenly, Vince sat, his ass connecting heavily with the hard wood floor. “Bloody hell T!” he exclaimed, tears streaking his cheeks unashamedly. “I would love to!” he told her, looking up to meet her ocean blue eyes. Sitting with her best friend, Tara hugged him fiercely.

“So, we’re all set and ready to get married!” Both Willow and Tara uttered at the same time, their respective company grinning through their tears of happiness.