Sunday Morning
In Darkness She Is All I See
Come And Rest Your Bones With Me
Driving Slow On Sunday Morning
Well, I Never Want To Leave
Willow’s eyes eased open and all she could see was a soft fawn color illuminated with light.
It took a moment to realize she was beneath the sheet on Tara’s bed but it was a very peaceful moment of blinking and settling into consciousness. Tara’s body was beside her, warm and relaxed under sleep. The mattress was soft and her head was still comfortably resting on the pillow; both of their heads were in fact, sharing the one intimate space.
She remembered her and Tara getting in little cocoons like this when they were youngsters.
They weren’t usually naked but it had been like this then too.
Peacefully hidden away from the world.
Willow was so glad she wasn’t afraid to leave their bubble anymore.
But it was Sunday morning.
Who was rushing her?
She rolled over into Tara and sighed softly as warmth enveloped her in return. A strong music-strumming arm pulled her in at the waist and held her there, safe and secure.
She could feel the soft calluses on Tara’s fingers brush against her pubic hair and the slowest, most delectable shiver went up through her spine.
Tara’s nose was below Willow’s ear and Willow heard her take the first soft inhalation of her waking. Tara’s nose then followed the curve of Willow’s ear up until she could whisper breathily in Willow’s ear.
“Good morning.”
Willow loved that first morning gruff in Tara’s voice and especially that she was the only person to ever hear it. Tara was a quick and often early riser in everyday circumstances and so she only really spent a minute or so in that dopey post-sleep state. As such, Willow was the only one who knew of that husk and the only one who benefited from the hairs on the back of her neck standing on edge by hearing it.
“Good morning,” Willow returned and reached back to run her hand along the edge of Tara’s back and over the curve of her rear.
She pinched Tara’s butt, who giggled in a low tone.
Willow smiled and slowly turned to face her girlfriend. Sensing the movement, Tara’s eyes fluttered open. She leaned in but Willow reeled back.
“Did you definitely wash all of Anya out of your mouth last night?”
Tara looked sleepy and unamused.
Tara stood at the sink in the bathroom, rinsing her mouth with the half-empty bottle of mouthwash sitting near the rim.
She spat it out and turned to open her mouth for Willow, who was sitting on the edge of the tub.
“See? All clean.”
Willow lifted her chin as if she was examining the inside of Tara’s mouth.
“I dunno. Better give it one more.”
Tara’s eyes flashed angrily.
“Willow.”
“Sorry I don’t want to taste somebody else when I kiss my girlfriend,” Willow defended and crossed her arms over her chest.
Tara made Willow stand and brought her hand to Willow’s arms to make her drop them by her sides.
“Do you want to come and take my clothes off or do you want to continue to practice dentistry without a license?”
Willow looked over sheepishly for a second.
“Clothes please.”
Tara walked forward out of the bathroom and reached back to take Willow’s hand.
“Good answer.”
“After seven swigs of that mouthwash, I was practically drunk, so yes,” Tara replied with an arched eyebrow.
Willow hesitated a moment, then closed the gap and pressed her lips to Tara’s.
“Good morning,” she mumbled again.
“Good morning,” Tara repeated softly.
Willow snuggled her head into the crook of Tara’s neck. She still hadn’t seen even a glimpse outside of them and the sheets they were tangled in and she didn’t think she ever needed to.
“Can we stay like this forever?”
“Yes,” Tara answered as she stroked Willow’s hair, “We’ll just have to take little breaks. Daily, probably.”
Willow smiled and turned her head to kiss Tara’s wrist as it slid past her face.
“And what will you be doing on your ‘break’ today?”
Tara’s palm lay flat on Willow’s cheek and she slowly dragged it down to Willow’s collarbone.
“I have to work.”
“Gotta bring home the bacon,” Willow sighed.
“What about you, buttercup?” Tara asked and Willow shyly beamed at the pet name.
“Wandering through my privileged life waiting for you to come home,” she quipped and gave a little smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Tara leaned in and caught Willow’s lips in a long kiss that ended with a little nip.
“Self-deprecation is only sexy when you’re telling me you’re a bad girl.”
“So that’s a yes to that vampire role play?” Willow asked, unable to even finish the sentence before she started giggling.
Tara smiled too and they came together again in a kiss while holding each other’s faces. Tara’s hands slipped down to cup Willow’s rear while Willow splayed her fingers out on Tara’s cheek and deepened the kiss, resulting in a quiet little moan passing from Tara’s lips.
After a while, Willow felt a languid pull on her hips and happily shifted her body weight so she was on top of Tara.
Her knees spread at Tara’s hips so she was straddling her but the top half of her body was flush with Tara’s; their stomachs and breasts pressed together while their mouths moved with similar rhythm to below.
Tara could start to feel Willow’s arousal leaving a little trail under her belly button and felt her own pool forming in response.
Sitting up, taking Willow with her in the process, she encouraged Willow’s legs to wrap around her. Feeling the hot, wet mess Willow was imprinting on her skin was like a drug to Tara.
Slowly they fell backward so that their heads were at the end of the bed and that Tara was on top. The kissing slowed for a bit but then their limbs found each other and their moans grew more heated.
When Willow felt Tara’s hand brush past her thigh, she opened her legs and clutched Tara’s back as she waited for the welcome intrusion. She squeezed Tara’s fingers as they filled her so fully and reached up to cup Tara’s cheek, needing the stabilizing force.
Their hip bones gyrated against each other with such erotic rhythm that Willow could feel Tara’s heat radiating against her thigh. Feeling drawn like a magnet, her hand shot down there and they quickly rolled onto their sides. She felt Tara’s mouth quiver as she entered her and her body released a clench in return.
It was a slippery slide to ecstasy after that, swallowing each other’s moans so as not to let their cocoon break further than the sheets coiled around them.
They stayed upside-down in body but right-side-up in smiles as they cuddled together after with a sated sheen on their cheeks.
Willow tapped her fingers up Tara’s arm and down over her collarbone. She leaned in and pressed a kiss to the hollow of Tara’s throat and inhaled from her softly.
Her gaze fell to Tara’s smiling eyes and she smiled back shyly.
“Hey, you know what I was thinking about?”
Tara’s brow furrowed.
“Don’t say 'Xander'.”
Willow laughed but it was a little too loud because she was never quite sure if Tara was joking or not.
“Gross,” she answered definitively but still smiled, “No, I was thinking…you know, we’re so intimate but um…I don’t really know what you think, you know?”
Tara offered a small smile.
“Catch me up.”
Willow’s cheeks blushed but it was hidden in the flush already there.
“I was just wondering, you know, what you think, when we’re, um…” she paused and this time the increased blush was noticed, “You know, like…words and such? In…thought-form?”
Tara’s lips slowly sloped on one side.
“Are you asking me to dirty talk?”
Willow positioned her chin against her chest.
“Just…naturally curious.”
Tara let her hand slide up Willow’s arm, then fell away and hooked her finger in a forward motion.
Willow leaned in. Her eyes slowly widened as Tara whispered in her ear.
“R-Really?” she gulped, pulling away to meet Tara’s glassy gaze with her own, “…we’re gonna need the headboard for that.”
When Kimberly heard the third thump in a row from where she was sitting in the kitchen, she decided she wasn’t going to wait to find out just how thin the walls, and apparently ceiling, were in her house.
“Jeff, let’s go out for brunch.”
Jeff looked up from his newspaper and smiled.
“That sounds lovely. Where?”
Kimberly quickly grabbed his hand.
“Anywhere,” she said as she pulled him toward the front door, “Absolutely anywhere.”
Willow rang the doorbell at the Summers house and waited patiently for the door to be opened, hearing screeching from the two younger members of the family on the other side about who would open it.
Eventually, it opened to Joyce, who looked weary.
“Hello Willow.”
“Hi, Mrs. Summers,” Willow greeted a bit awkwardly, complete with a wave, “You look…great!”
“You’re not the best liar, Willow,” Joyce replied cordially, “But it’s appreciated nonetheless.”
She stepped aside and Willow came inside. Buffy was coming down the stairs but Dawn zipped past her at the last second.
“Hey!”
“Is Tara with you?” Dawn skidded up to Willow.
“Oh, no, Dawnie,” Willow shook her head, “She had to work. But she’s picking me up later, you can say hello.”’
Buffy pushed past Dawn this time and Willow saw Joyce roll her eyes before wandering into the kitchen alone. Buffy put her arm around Willow’s shoulders and quickly guided her back upstairs.
“She’s such a child,” Buffy groaned when they were behind closed doors.
“Well, yeah, Buff,” Willow replied sympathetically, “She is a child.”
Buffy rolled her eyes and Willow frowned.
“How’re you doing?” she asked tentatively, “Something tells me not-so-good.”
She sat next to Buffy on the bed.
“Is there bad news…?”
Buffy shook her head.
“Not worse, anyway. They say she’ll be okay. They got the tumor out but she has to go through treatment to make sure it doesn’t come back and…it’s a lot. She’s not going to be able to handle Dawn or herself even…I think I need to move home for good. Not just the summer.”
“Drop out of college?” Willow asked in disbelief, “Buffy, you can’t do that! She wouldn’t want you to!”
Buffy sighed and fell back onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling.
“Maybe I can still do some classes…I don’t know. I just…I need her to be okay, Will. She’s my Mom.”
She suddenly burst into tears and Willow was quick to lie down and cuddle her.
Buffy wiped at her eyes and buried her head in the pillow. When she looked back, red-eyed and sad, Willow offered the best approximation of a hug in this position.
“She’ll be okay, Buffy.”
Buffy just nodded, then sniffed.
“Tell me what’s going on in your life. I need the distraction.”
“Well, not much right now,” Willow admitted, “Kinda just hanging around until college. Tara’s so busy with work and getting ready for L.A. Are you sure you want to talk about this? It seems so…trivial.”
Buffy nodded.
“I’m sure,” she inhaled deeply and tried a smile, “Tell me about Tara.”
“About…Tara?” Willow asked unsurely.
Buffy nodded again, more keen this time.
“Tell me about, you know…”
Willow chuckled nervously.
“Last time this came up, you weren’t so keen. Remember, on the beach…”
“That was before my military man up and left on me,” Buffy replied with a sigh.
Willow blushed and grinned.
“Okay. Well…has your brain ever exploded in ten different places in your body in one sitting?”
Buffy arched an eyebrow sharply.
“Like a…minefield of orgasms?”
Willow covered her face with her hands and buried it in Buffy’s shoulder, groaning.
“I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”
Buffy nudged Willow’s shoulder.
“Well, get with it — I need my vicarious smoochies.”
Several hours later, Willow looked up from chatting and blinked in surprise at the night sky outside. She frowned.
“It’s dark. Tara should be here by now.”
She took her phone out and sent off a quick text, then looked back to Buffy.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Buffy answered with a small smile, “As much as I can.”
“I know,” Willow sympathized softly, “Everything will be okay.”
Buffy nodded evenly.
“Yeah, I think it might. Thanks for today, Will. I needed to remember what it was like to be a normal nineteen-year-old again.”
“I’ve been called a lot of things, ‘normal’ isn’t one of them,” Willow grinned, then frowned again as her phone vibrated with a new message, “…she says she’s downstairs.”
She and Buffy exchanged a confused look, then rolled off the bed in opposite directions. As soon as they opened the bedroom door, they heard the squeals and sounds of laughter. Halfway down the stairs, they could see into the living room where Tara, Joyce, and Dawn were playing ‘Uno’. Even Joyce was joining in on the laughter.
Buffy looked to Willow with raised eyebrows. Willow got the impression that Joyce hadn’t laughed in a while.
They made their way downstairs and Joyce gestured them in.
“Girls, come join the fun.”
Tara looked up and Willow felt that rush of love that permeated her being any time she saw that face. She waggled her fingers in a greeting.
“Hi, baby.”
“Hi, baby,” Tara returned sweetly, “Do you want to be on my team?”
“No way!” Dawn protested, “I’m on your team.”
“Now, Dawn,” Joyce corrected gently.
“It’s okay, Dawn,” Willow waved her hand, “But, um, actually, we had dinner plans.”
Joyce stood up slowly.
“Oh, dinner. Yes, that is a thing, isn’t it?”
“I got it, Mom,” Buffy covered quickly, then smiled sheepishly, “Well, Uncle Wong has got it. Or will do in a very short space of time.”
“We’ll play again,” Tara promised Dawn as she stood up, “Winner buys milkshakes.”
“Don’t you mean loser?” Dawn asked, practically standing on her tiptoes to get close to Tara.
“It’s important to be a gracious winner,” Tara winked and rubbed Dawn’s back as she approached Willow and linked their fingers together, “Thanks so much for letting me play, Mrs. Summers.”
“It was a delight,” Joyce smiled, “I should have known Kimberly’s daughter would be every bit as much as she is.”
Tara blushed and smiled.
“Great to see you, Mrs. Summers,” Willow said, nodding a bit too quickly, “If you need anything…”
“Thank you, Willow,” Joyce said graciously, “If you all don’t mind, I might close my eyes for a few minutes before dinner arrives…”
“Of course,” Buffy nodded and leaned in to hug Willow, “Thank you for today.”
“Anytime,” Willow promised.
Buffy hugged Tara too.
“And thank you…it means a lot. I’ll have to buy you a new headboard for Christmas.”
She laughed.
So did Willow, nervously.
Tara didn’t.
It was a silent walk to the car.
As soon as the doors closed, Tara’s eyes bore into Willow.
“Willow Danielle Rosenberg, I know you did not just tell her what we did this morning.”
Willow’s face was pained and defensive.
“She wanted vicarious smoochies!”
Tara gestured wildly with one arm.
“So you gave her vicarious dirty talk and…other stuff?!”
Willow slumped in the seat.
“Her Mom is facing a lot of treatment and they don’t even know if it’s going to…” she paused and looked at Tara, “I was just trying to make her giggle.”
Tara took Willow’s hand in hers.
“My mom says her prognosis is really good.”
Willow nodded.
“Yes. Which is great. But it’s still a lot. Buffy is talking about not going back to school at all this year.”
“She could defer like we did,” Tara suggested softly.
“Yeah. I guess,” Willow shrugged one shoulder, “She’s just facing a lot.”
“We’ll be there for her as much as we can,” Tara promised sincerely.
“We will?” Willow asked, appearing relieved as a smile spread on her face, “We will.”
Tara nodded.
“And Xander and Anya will still be around. And my mom will be there for Mrs. Summers and so will Mr. Cox and Mr. Giles and his British dame and I’m sure Jeff will be around, he and my Mom seem pretty solid.”
“Are you still jealous?” Willow questioned.
“I was never jealous of my Mom,” Tara retaliated a little too harshly, then her tone softened, “But no, I’m not. He’s a nice guy. I’m happy for her.”
She paused, glancing over at Willow.
“I’m still annoyed at you. That was personal between us. Intimate.”
“I didn’t tell her
everything,” Willow replied with an exaggerated look.
When Tara just arched an eyebrow, Willow waved her hands in front of her.
“And I won’t ever again!”
Tara shook her head and rolled her eyes, then lifted Willow’s hand to her mouth to kiss and Willow knew she was forgiven.
“Okay then…pizza and movie night. What should we watch?”
“Wonder Woman?” Tara suggested.
“Suffering Sappho!” Willow exclaimed with a grin, “I’m in.”
They met in the middle for a kiss and parted with a smile. Tara pulled off the curb and drove them the short distance home.
On their street, Willow frowned.
“Umm…”
“What?” Tara asked with concern.
Willow pointed to her house, where the lights were on and the cars were in the driveway.
“My parents are home.”
Tara frowned.
“Were you not expecting them?”
Willow shrugged.
“I stopped checking the schedule.”
“Go be with them,” Tara encouraged.
Willow shook her head.
“No way, it’s date night.”
“Is that what we call it now?” Tara grinned, “It’s always just been ‘Friday Night’. Which is probably the worst night possible to make a date night with a Jewish Girl.”
Willow looked pained. Tara squeezed her hand.
“Go have Shabbat and come sleep later.”
“What about Suffering Sappho?” Willow asked with a pout.
“This Sappho is suffering enough,” Tara grinned and pecked Willow’s cheek, “Here.”
She took her house key off the chain and handed it over.
“Even if it’s late.”
Willow closed her hand around it.
“I’ll be there. I’m gonna build up my best snuggle vibes. You won’t know what hit you.”
They kissed again and got out on separate sides of the car to go to houses on separate sides of the street; parting with a wave.
Tara let herself into the house and was immediately her nose picked up on an earthy scent she hadn’t smelled in a while.
She closed the door as quietly as she could and snuck up the hall, expecting to find Donny hiding somewhere. Instead, sitting on the couch in plain sight were Kimberly and Jeff, laughing.
Jeff spotted Tara first and suddenly closed his hand into a fist.
“Tara.”
Kimberly looked up in alarm.
Tara took a step in, smiling curiously.
“Are you smoking weed?”
Jeff and Kimberly exchanged furtive glances.
“No,” Kimberly replied eventually as a puff of smoke released from her mouth.
“Very convincing,” Tara replied with raised eyebrows.
Kimberly swallowed repeatedly.
“I thought you were staying at Willow’s tonight.”
“Her parents came home,” Tara replied off-hand and took a step forward to peek between them, “Can I have some?”
“Absolutely not,” Kimberly huffed out.
Tara folded her arms over her chest.
“Be cool. You don’t really have a leg to stand on.”
Kimberly frowned and glanced at Jeff. He glanced back, then slowly unfurled his hand to reveal his stash box.
Tara plucked up a pre-rolled joint.
“Thanks.”
Kimberly chewed the side of her mouth.
“Do you know—”
“Yep,” Tara cut her off and tucked the joint in behind her ear, ‘’Night. Willow is coming over later. Don’t think she’s a giant strawberry and try to eat her.”
Jeff chuckled.
“She gets her sense of humor from you.”
Kimberly sighed deeply.
“At least she’s never going to come home pregnant without meaning to be.”
She looked at Jeff, which was apparently hysterical, and set him off too. He took another puff and then leaned down to kiss Kimberly; plumes of smoke escaping both of their mouths.
Upstairs, Tara left the joint on her nightstand and kicked off her shoes. She laid on her bed and twirled the joint around a few times, then left it back in its place.
A few hours later, Tara was busy answering ads looking for a roommate in LA when she saw the handle on her bedroom door turn. She closed out the browser and sat up in time to see Willow walk in.
“Hey good lookin’,” Willow whispered, then adopted a more normal tone once the door was closed, “I thought you might be asleep. The whole house is quiet.”
Tara held out her hands, which Willow took and sat next to her.
“I was just house-hunting. I’m going to have to go down to L.A. to interview sometime soon. How was dinner?”
“Cooking wise, eh,” Willow replied with a scrunched nose, “Family wise, pretty good. My Mom sang along with my Dad and me tonight and we played card games afterward.”
“That sounds lovely,” Tara smiled, but it quickly turned into a crooked smirk, “I have a surprise for you…”
Willow perked up eagerly.
“You do? What is it? Is it food? I could sure get the taste of my Mom’s green bean and burnt onion casserole out of my mouth.”
“No,” Tara replied, looking at Willow conspiringly, “But it is something you put in your mouth.”
“Ohh,” Willow replied knowingly and began to climb over Tara, “Well in that case…”
Tara allowed Willow to get on top of her and smiled. Willow kissed her once, long and hard that turned longer and softer until they parted.
Tara reached over to her nightstand and took the joint between two fingers, twirling it between them.
“Look what I just confiscated from my Mom and Jeff.”
Willow looked down in confusion.
“A cigarette?”
Tara chuckled and ran the joint under Willow’s nose.
“Does it smell like a cigarette?”
“I don’t really know what a cigarette smells like up close,” Willow admitted and frowned unsurely, “A strong cigar—Oh!”
Her eyes widened.
“Is that…?”
Tara nodded and Willow’s mouth dropped open.
“Your Mom smokes pot?”
“I’m guessing it’s a new hobby since Jeff came along,” Tara shrugged easily and arched an eyebrow, “Did you seriously not smell it coming up the stairs?”
Willow shrugged.
“I figured Donny was home and stinkin’ the place up again,” she said and blinked slowly several times, “Wow, Ms. M and Mr. B. I never would have guessed it.”
Suddenly her brow creased.
“Wait. They let you have it?”
“They were high,” Tara reasoned.
Willow nodded slowly.
“Wait,” she said again, gauging the look on Tara’s face, “Do you want…?”
“You said you might like to try sometime,” Tara said with a soft, reassuring smile, “No pressure.”
Willow rolled off onto the bed beside Tara. Her thumbs rolled around each other at her waist.
“You have before, right?”
Tara nodded.
“With Nate.”
Willow raised an eyebrow.
“Since you’ve been home?”
Tara shook her head.
“He’s not home. He stayed in New York. He’s gigging a lot.”
“On the back of one of your songs,” Willow said haughtily.
“Barely,” Tara replied and gently rubbed her knuckles on Willow’s thigh, “We can just go to sleep if you want. I’m glad you came to snuggle.”
Willow turned her head on the pillow and smiled softly.
“Well I didn’t want to go to college a virgin and you fixed that…it’s only right that we go through this rite of passage together too,” she said with a slight nervous lilt in her voice, “But if we end up naked in someone else’s house again or I get another tattoo…”
Tara smirked.
“Let’s just hope it’s not your parents’ house.”
Willow giggled.
“Not a Shabbat surprise that would go down very well.”
“Not like you,” Tara placed her finger under Willow’s chin and tickled lightly, “Who goes down
oh so very well.”
Willow blushed. Tara tapped the bump of Willow’s chin.
“And don’t tell Buffy — or anyone else — that I said that.”
“Promise,” Willow nodded sagely.
They met for a kiss and Willow pulled away with a smile. She let the joint transfer from between Tara’s fingers to between hers. She twirled and expected it curiously.
“So, I know I’m a newbie, but I’m pretty sure we have to light this first.”
Tara opened her nightstand drawer and took out a pack of matches and one of her scented candles to dissipate any smell. She lit that first and then held the match up to Willow, who dangled the joint a bit cluelessly.
Conscious that there was only so much match to burn before it reached her fingers, Tara leaned in and took the joint in her mouth while Willow held it. She held the flame to the tip and slowly dragged until it burned and the first puff of smoke rose up.
She shook the match until it extinguished, then released the smoke from her mouth.
Willow watched all of this happen with a look of intrigue and increasing arousal.
“Okay. I…was not expecting this to be so sexy.”
Tara blew out the last bit of smoke and retrieved her laptop from the floor.
“We need music for this,” she said and moments later Pink Floyd was playing.
She turned back to Willow, who was still peering at the joint. Tara encouraged her to put it against her lip.
“Inhale for a few seconds, then hold it.”
Willow complied, holding her breath to the point of red cheeks.
“And exhale,” Tara said softly, which Willow did amongst a lot of coughing.
“Blech!” she spluttered, letting her tongue fall out of her mouth.
She coughed some more while Tara rubbed her back and trying and failing to withhold a grin. Willow looked at her incredulously.
“Don’t laugh at me.”
“You’re so cute,” Tara replied affectionately, “Now you’ve officially smoked weed. How do you feel?”
Willow took another cautious puff and coughed less this time.
“Hey, I’m getting better!”
She eagerly took more and Tara took the joint off of her mid-puff.
“Slow down there, cowgirl.”
“You don’t like when I slow down during cowgirl,” Willow giggled and Tara honestly couldn’t tell if it was a normal-Willow giggle or a high-Willow giggle.
Tara pulled on the last of the joint and looked at it in concern that it had gone so quickly.
Willow had laid down so Tara did too and they started up at the ceiling together.
“I don’t think it’s even working,” Willow said after a few minutes, “I—”
Suddenly Willow’s mouth clamped shut.
And then she started to laugh.
A lot.
Tara cocked an eyebrow, amused.
“What’s so funny?”
“I have no idea,” Willow admitted as her eyes danced everywhere at once, “The light is bouncing everywhere. The shadows are dancing. Welcome to the blue house!”
“This house is white,” Tara replied, propping herself up on one elbow, “Are you seeing blue? That’s an interesting side-effect. What do my eyes look like?”
Willow turned her head and stared deeply into Tara’s eyes.
“Heaven.”
“Aww,” Tara smiled and began to feel that nice mellow feeling she’d enjoyed in the past when she didn’t over-indulge, “You’re such a sweetie.”
She kissed Willow softly, whose eyes filled with utter pining.
She suddenly grabbed Tara by the shirt and looked at her with sincere desperation.
“Do you have cookies? I HAVE to have some Oreos.”
Tara placed her palm on Willow’s chest and pushed her back down gently.
“I will get them,” she said and lifted her finger with a stern voice, “You stay right there, okay?”
Willow nodded seriously and her eyes returned to the ceiling.
After what felt like at least seven hours but was really fifty-seven seconds, Willow decided something had happened to Tara and being ever the gentlewoman, went to investigate. She opened the door and peered out, eyes narrowed, ready to fight whatever assailant had taken her love.
As she stepped out into the hallway, she heard a creak and spun around with her fists up.
Sneaking out of
her bedroom, Kimberly looked at Willow with wide (red) eyes.
“Ms. M,” Willow said, dropping her stance, “Did you come to fight for Tara too?”
Kimberly frowned.
“I…can’t quite remember why I’m here,” she admitted, then began staring past Willow, “But isn’t that just the most fascinating outlet you’ve ever seen?”
She got on her hands and knees to crawl over to said outlet. Willow dropped down to join her and cocked her head.
“It looks like a face.”
Kimberly gasped dramatically.
“It looks like a face!”
They looked at each other in shock, then fell onto the floor laughing.
About a minute later, Tara appeared back up the stairs and narrowed her eyes at the scene.
“What is going on here?”
Kimberly’s head popped up first.
“Oreos!”
She grabbed the bag and tore it open. She and Willow quickly got to work shoving them into their mouths.
Tara stood at the top of the stairs and sighed.
“My mom and my girlfriend are high together. This is totally normal.”
Kimberly’s bedroom door opened and Jeff’s sleepy head popped out.
“Kimmy?”
Tara looked at him and shook her head. She went to Willow and pulled her up from under the arms.
“How about you take care of your girlfriend and I’ll take care of mine. Sound good?”
Jeff blushed lightly and smiled.
“I think that’s wise.”
Tara nodded respectfully and brought Willow to her bedroom as she made a last grasp for the Oreos. Tara decided not to recommend an additional tooth-brushing. The next morning would be its own punishment when Willow's mouth was clamped together with cookie dust and sugar.
Tara settled Willow into bed and luckily didn’t face much resistance as she tucked them both in.
“So sleepy,” Willow said with a heavy head and rolling eyes, “Meet you at the moon?”
“Yes, commander,” Tara agreed softly, “Goodnight Willow. I love you.”
With an exhale of cookie-flavored breath, Willow was gone and Tara closed her eyes to join her in their dreams.
I think Willow and Kimberly high together are adorable! 
Poor Tara! Nice nod to Michelle in "American Pie" with the "Say my name, bitch!"
Maybe that's the key for holding that truce through the years - instead of "blowing up" over provoking comments like this Willow can make a witty / slightly snarky comeback like that every now and then and pretty much ignore them the other times. 
Such a great description of their dancing as "foreplay".
)