Tara’s opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Wondering how long she’d been asleep, she wriggled her body slightly so she could look at the clock on the nightstand. She raised an eyebrow. It was very late.
She felt Willow stir. Not wanting to wake her lover, she settled herself back into the pillows and tried to be still.
“Baby?”
Willow looked happily up at Tara through sleepy eyes.
“Sorry I woke you.”
“’s okay.”
Willow stretched herself, wiggling her fingers and toes at the same time. She sat up.
“I feel quite good actually,” said Willow, “in fact I feel like I am in love.”
She looked at Tara and then before the blonde could do anything, twisted around and pinned Tara, legs clamped firmly either side of her lover’s hips.
Tara feigned a struggle, but she didn’t want to get away.
Willow, hands on hips, grinned broadly.
“I feel quite energised actually. I am wondering if I should have my wicked way with you…”
“Meee?” said Tara in a squeaky innocent voice.
Willow sat up slowly and her expression re-formed into one of mischief. “I want to be fully awake... I think I feel like taking a quick shower first.”
She for the bedside light.
“Is there room for two?”
***
Tara squeezed gel into her palm, and used her other hand to rub the cold gel into a warmer lather. She began to work the gel in wide circles across Willow’s back and shoulders, inhaling appreciatively as she did so.
Willow found the power of coherent speech had deserted her. All she could manage was appreciative cooing noises as Tara cleansed and sensitised her skin. She hadn’t even been thinking anything really naughty when she’d pulled Tara into the shower cubicle. The idea of washing with her lover seemed romantic. And Tara began by washing her back and she was starting to feel…
Tara’s hands were moving down her back and sides now. She felt a rush of pleasure as Tara’s hands moved a little lower and began to trace soft circles over her behind.
A moment later, Tara leaned forwards and whispered in Willow’s ear, “You like?”
Willow nodded.
“Would you like me to wash the rest of you?”
Willow nodded in anticipation.
Tara squeezed more soap into one of her palms and rubbed both her hands together to create a nice lather. She moved in close behind Willow, moulding her front against Willow’s back, sighing with pleasure at the feeling of her breasts pressing into Willow’s warm soapy back.
She reached her arms up and began to rub soap into Willow’s neck. Willow closed her eyes and tilted her head back so Tara could run her hands all the way up and then down her neck.
Again Tara’s hands began working lower, rubbing soft foamy bubbles in little circles. Willow’s skin responded immediately to the heat of her lover’s touch.
Tara felt a rush of excitement, her heart began to beat faster as her hands traced their way towards Willow’s petite breasts. She removed her palms and just with her finger tips, she traced around Willow’s breasts, enjoying the softness, pressing gently as she drew her fingers around. The she removed her hands.
Willow looked around pouting.
Tara looked her straight in the eye as she poured more soap. She transferred some from her right palm to her left. She didn’t rub her hands together to warm the liquid.
Willow quivered in expectation.
Tara bought her hands back swiftly and before Willow had a chance to wriggle away, she pressed the flats of her palms across the redhead’s nipples.
Willow gasped.
Tara kept her hands perfectly still. Her breathing quickened as she felt Willow’s body respond instantly under her palms. Still she kept her palms still, just applying a gentle pressure to her lover’s hardening peaks. Then, slowly at first, she allowed her hands to move, to begin to spread the soap across Willow’s breasts. As soap became slippery foam, Tara gently squeezed the soft pink flesh. She felt Willow’s whole body jerk against her as she did so.
Tara let her hands trace lower and begin to rub Willow’s flat tummy.
Eyes closed, the redhead threw her head back against Tara’s shoulder and smiled, appreciative noises occasionally emanating from her lips.
“You like that Baby?”
“Mmm.”
Tara placed one hand on Willow’s hip, while her right palm described a spiral over Willow’s belly. She let her own body begin to move against Willow’s slippery back and felt her own nipples begin to harden.
Her breathing sped as she felt Willow’s whole body begin to move against her own. Willow’s hips began to move with Tara’s, slowly swaying and circling.
Tara’s right hand moved lower, tracing its way to towards auburn curls, enjoying their touch against her finger tips.
Willow sighed deeply at her lover’s touch and arched her back, pressing herself back towards Tara’s own centre, and feeling the blonde push back creating a hot well of pleasure between them.
Tara’s hand traced deeper, her fingers expertly found their way to Willow’s lips and traced their perimeter, beginning a slow teasing.
And the further her lover explored, the harder Willow pushed herself back, wanting Tara to respond, to explore her further.
Tara’s fingers felt Willow’s own wetness and with infinite delicacy, and feeling Willow’s every response to her tremulous touch, she allowed her finger to enter her love.
Willow’s body jerked again, and Tara smiled knowingly. She let her finger move upwards searching for the magic spot.
“Oh my Goddess!”
Willow couldn’t help herself now. She ceased pressing back and moved her whole self forward in and effort to press harder against Tara’s hand.
Tara smiled a naughty smile and allowed her finger to move a little harder, a little faster. Willow urged forward more and Tara matched her movement, pressing her self hard into the red head’s back and still keeping up her hand’s ministrations.
Willow was breathing hard now and Tara could feel her lover’s perspiration beneath the hot running water. The red head’s delicate frame began to shudder against her as the building wave of her climax reached its peak and began to break over her.
Tara held Willow tight and with delicate care, slowed her movements, drawing out the feeling for as long as possible, all the while holding Willow against her, allowing her lover’s body to collapse into hers.
Willow turned and looked into deep blue eyes. She put her arms around her lover’s waist and reached upwards a little, catching her lover’s lips into a loving kiss. Water washed over the entwined lovers.
Tara closed the bathroom door and switched off the light. She walked slowly down the hall and opened the bedroom door. She saw Willow standing before the mirror, drying herself thoughtfully.
Smiling, she walked up behind Willow and looked at her lover in the mirror. Willow smiled.
“Let me.”
“’k’”
Tara placed her hand over Willow’s and took the large fluffy towel from her hand.
“Can you stretch out your arm for me sweetie?”
Willow extended one of her slim arms. As she did do, she thrust her hip forward and drew up her foot, bending her knew slightly, striking a pose in the mirror.
Tara giggled and slowly ran the towel down Willow’s outstretched arm.
“What do you think?” enquired Willow.
“You look beautiful.”
Willow looked at herself thoughtfully. She wasn’t used to thinking of herself in quite those terms.
Tara motioned for Willow’s other arm.
Willow lowered her arm and then raised her opposite arm, kicking her hips in the opposite direction and grinning at herself in the mirror.
Tara ran the towel down and then back up Willow’s arm and then began to dry Willow’s back.
Willow crossed her arms across her breasts as she arched her back and shoulders for Tara to dry. She tried a sultry pout into the mirror.
She realised she could no longer feel Tara’s towel. She looked around. The blonde peeled her eyes away from the mirror and looked at Willow. “Sweetie. Just that look. Wow!”
Somehow, Willow felt it was okay to believe what she was hearing and she didn’t feel embarrassed.
Tara regained her composure a little.
“Legs.”
Willow grinned again. In a quick, elegant movement, Willow curtseyed and allowed the curtsey to lower her all the way to the warm rug beneath her, then she rolled back and extended both her legs into the air, wiggling her toes provocatively.
Tara stood back, surprised and impressed.
“Where did you learn that little manoeuvre?”
“Dance class at the gym. They run all these different classes. I only went to two. It always made me laugh that they were teaching people how to curtsey and then put this little roll on the end!”
“You know, you move very elegantly,” said Tara.
“Not really.”
“No really.”
Willow looked felt a little sheepish.
Tara knelt down and began to dry the redhead’s legs and thighs.
“Nearly done, just front now,” said Tara.
Willow looked conspiratorial for a minute. She looked up at Tara and then stood up slowly. “I liked it when you came up and pressed yourself against me…”
Tara snickered. “You did huh?”
Willow stood up straight before the mirror, one knee slightly bent. She watched her lover’s reflection in the mirror. The blonde looked thoughtful. She began to move towards her. Then she stopped, turned and went over to the nightstand. Extending a finger, she pressed play on the CD and set the volume. Then she walked sensuously back over to the redhead who was watching her in the mirror.
Willow raised an eyebrow and felt anticipation as Tara’s came up close behind her. Tiny hairs on her neck stood on end as Tara leaned forward and whispered in her ear.
“I liked it when you moved against me…”
The music started. A staccato, heavy dance rhythm emanated surprisingly loudly from the micro stereo.
Tara moved her body a little closer, feeling rising excitement at the touch of her lover’s skin. She pressed the towel to Willow’s chest and moved downwards, smoothing away the few remaining drops of water. She let the towel drop to the floor but let her hands continued their exploration of her lover’s body.
Instinctively, Tara found herself beginning to move with the music. Sharp movements of hips and hands as the music worked through the intro.
Willow’s skin felt hot to her touch. Tara allowed the music to take hold of her, driving sinuous movements from her feet through her whole body. She pressed herself to her lover and smiled when Willow began to follow her movements.
Tara stared into the mirror, almost mesmerised as she moved. Willow’s body synchronised her movements perfectly.
And then the redhead moved her arm up and outwards as she had before and Tara found herself harmonising around her lover’s movement. Now Willow lead. As Willow moved one way, Tara would follow or then move the opposite way in counterpoint.
The music pounded harder. Willow stared into the mirror, not thinking at all now. She turned to face Tara. Her eyes still focussed somewhere beyond, she slowly descended her lover’s body until she stood crouching before her. She turned and then again, allowed the music to draw her upwards, pressing her self against Tara as she raised herself slowly to her feet
Movement coming from her centre now, her hips moved and as she moved, she let her arms climb over her head, her hands twisting together, her body stretching high.
Tara let her own hands extend around her lover, clasping her breasts and then extending downwards around her lover, tracing together into the point of a v, meeting at her centre, all the while staring into the mirror.
The music’s simple melody cascaded over and over itself in variation.
Willow’s eyes were fully closed as her body tried to stretch higher, reaching for some unseen peak in the sky.
The music swelled again. Tara could see Willow’s lips moving, outlining the shapes of the words, in time with her own.
Tara let her hands explore as she watched herself and her lover in the mirror, all the while pressing herself into her Willow. She looked upwards at her lover’s entwined hands and gasped.
White tears of light seemed to descend from just above Willow’s hands. The droplets of light, trickled out an unknown eye, down Willow’s arms, flowed over her head and down her body.
Fascinated, and unable to tear her eyes away, Tara watched as the trickle became a flow and the flow became a cascade. She gasped again as she felt one of the drops touch her. There was no pain, just a tingling.
Tara realised that the room was very dark now, almost completely in shadow. Even the music seemed indistinct, just noise now. All she could see was a torrent of light showing above her. She instinctively moved closer to Willow, holding her lover tight in a protective embrace. As she moved closer, the light rained down over her until the world was turned white.
***
Willow opened her eyes.
Tara opened her eyes.
A beeping noise droned on.
Willow and Tara looked at each other curiously.
Tara reached out a hand and caressed her lover’s cheek tenderly.
After many long moments, Tara untangled herself and sat up. She reached over and brought a decisive finger onto the off button of her alarm clock.
She looked at Willow and smiled shyly.
At first, neither woman spoke
Then Tara voiced both their thoughts, “So…I guess you could say that worked.”
Willow still couldn’t find any words. She just nodded dumbly. Eventually she managed, “Uh huh.”
“Where did you say that spell came from?” asked Willow.
Tara didn’t say anything.
Willow looked at her lover, searchingly and then suddenly, realisation dawned, “Oh.”
“It’s exactly as I showed you,” said Tara.
“But how did it find its way into the, er, into what we just experienced,” asked Willow.
Tara looked thoughtful. “I guess you must have been wondering about it. And well, I should have told you about where it came from, I was going to wait until after, but…”
Willow reached up and ran a hand through Tara’s hair, and cupped her gentle face. “I know you were going to tell me.”
Tara felt the need to explain, “Ever since,” Tara paused, and her face looked pained as she remembered, “ever since what Jonathan did, I’d wondered about the way magick can change perception and I remembered the spell. I’d never really looked at it before that. I studied it, wanting to understand.”
“Jonathan changed everyone’s perception for a while,” said Willow slowly, “And anyway, that was just so immoral, using power to change everyone’s world like without their knowing anything about it and just to boost his tiny ego!”
“I remember you saying something to me about the use of power for the greater good though,” said Tara with a hint of a smile.
Willow pouted. “But what we did, that wasn’t the same thing. It’s the synchronicity, it’s always been about that when we practice. Only this time, instead of floating a rose, we conjured a reality, just for us! We’ve come so far. And what’s wrong with using that reality for something nice like us falling in love? All right, admittedly, this didn’t quite turn out the way I expected, but, it’s…”
“What?!”
Tara was leaning back on her hands and laughing.
“What, what did I say? I was just explaining…”
“I am sorry sweetie, it’s just, the Willowbabble, you’re just so cute when you do that,” managed Tara, “anyway, if my memory serves, that’s not exactly how we met!”
The blonde slowly managed to bring her laughter under control, but still her lips twitched as she thought about her lover’s babble fest.
“Hmmgh,” said Willow.
She thought for a second. “Okay, so just exactly how did the spell get so powerful? You said that if I concentrated on a thought, the spell could focus it and create a reality-wraith. But when the spell started, it’s like it chased down every little thought connected to the one I was concentrating on.”
“Mine too, it was both our thoughts. I guess that’s why it got so elaborate.”
Tara shook her head slowly. “I don’t know what made it so powerful, or seem to last for so long. Maybe stress. Like with what’s been going on recently, there’s been a lot of built up tension. Maybe it kind of released through the magick?”
“Maybe. All I know is, that was incredibly realistic, it was like being on the holo-deck or something. Everything was real.”
Tara giggled.
“What?” asked Willow.
“You.”
“What?”
“You and your little ‘thought’,” said Tara, “How long have you been carrying that around? Tara Maclay, lap dancer! Have you been watching Showgirls again?”
Willow blushed, “How did you know about that?” she asked guiltily.
“Remember when we played truth or dare, that night in my room, when Buffy had blown you off for her Initiative guys?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Perv!”
Willow pouted, “am not.”
Tara’s lips curled into a smile, “Exactly how long did it take you to get ‘stripper Tara’ into bed?”
“You seduced me!” said Willow hotly. “We’ll see who’s the perv. Next time you can guide the spell and we’ll see what your mind concocts!”
Tara smiled again. “Next time. I like the idea of a next time.”
She turned to look at the clock again and her brow creased a little. “It’s late.”
The last of the ritual items put away, Willow and Tara climbed into bed. Willow waited for Tara to get comfortable and then snuggled herself in. She rested her head on the pillow and searched her lover’s face thoughtfully. After a while, she asked, “do you remember the painting?”
“I remember.”
“Where do you think that came from?”
Tara hesitated, she felt embarrassed for some reason.
“It came from me.”
“You mean you paint?”
“Well no, well sort of. I used to,” said Tara awkwardly, “when I was at school. I liked art. Most of the other kids laughed at my paintings...”
Tara’s eyes looked pained.
Willow squeezed her Tara’s hand reassuringly.
“My art teacher encouraged me, but I don’t know, since school, I sort of lost the confidence to try any more.”
Willow smiled warmly. “If you can paint anything like, what you showed me…you should try, you should definitely try.”
Tara looked at her and grinned uncertainly. Then a thought occurred to her.
“Willow?”
“Yes.”
“Who was Rhianna?”
“Huh?
“Rhianna, you know from the spell,” clarified Tara.
Willow looked surprised. “She was your girlfriend.”
“Willow, I never had a girlfriend before you,” said Tara emphatically.
Willow looked surprised again. “What? You mean you never. Not anybody? Not ever?” she asked.
“No one.”
“But I always thought…”
“Oh sweetie, I know. It’s me being the big knowledge woman again isn’t it? You think I’ve got some secret lover in my past that I’ve never told you about and that you’ve always been comparing yourself to?”
Willow looked at Tara, trying to figure out how to answer. Tara wasn’t entirely wide of the mark. She settled for her best wounded pout face. “I don’t know, I guess I just always assumed there must have been someone, even if it was so long ago, you’d stopped thinking about them.”
Tara grinned again. “So you populate my past with torrid and I might add tragic love affairs. Sweetie, it’s like I told you the first six thousand times, you’re my one and only, my always.”
And there was just nothing more to say. Willow could tell Tara her most insane insecurity and the sweet blonde would still make it all be all right.
Changing the subject to something lighter, Tara smiled sheepishly. “The picture, of you…It might take me a few attempts and a few weeks to finish…”
Willow’s heart swelled with love and excitement. “Really?”
“If you’d like me to.”
Willow nodded enthusiastically. She moved closer, gathering Tara up in her arms.
“Tare?”
“Hmm?”
“Your mother’s Book of Shadows…”
“I’ll show you tomorrow,” whispered Tara.
Tara settled her head peacefully into the crook of Willow’s shoulder. She felt very tired. It was easy to let sleep crawl over her. She needed to be fresh for classes tomorrow. Her eyes fluttered and then closed.
Willow stroked an errant hair from her lover’s cheek and smiled contentedly as sleep overcame her.
End
"There's nothing very merry 'bout going round and round..."
at: 2/21/03 4:23:17 am
Holy cow I love this fic.
at: 2/21/03 9:41:17 pm
. Can't wait to see what happens next!
at: 2/22/03 1:41:54 am
–Viv-
That was just incredible. Thank you so, so much. 
I do hope you write some more, it's all been so good! 
Are you trying to say W/T were lovers in a past life, and this whole story is a flashback? 
It was my old roommate, I swear. He's still obsessed with it. For a gay man he likes lap grinding women a little too much. I prefer to get my Gina Gershon fix watching Bound.