• Title – Lovestoned (AU)
• Author - Mrs. Pineapple aka Helena
• Rating – PG-13
• Disclaimer - I don’t owe anything, all rights to Joss Whedon and ME (damn...)
• Feedback - Yes please!!
• Spoilers - None
• Summary – Simple lust turns to love, the complicated, messy kind
• Notes – The morning after
CHAPTER 6
Tara woke up the next morning with a wide smile on her face. In her arms she held the thing she had come to cherish more than anything. Spooning the redhead from behind, she breathed in her heavenly scent. Strawberries and sunshine.
After their kiss last night, Willow had shyly asked Tara if she would come in. Which then had resulted in a babble, explaining that she didn’t want to have sex, she just wanted to wake up next to the blonde. Tara had found it so sweet, she had immediately said yes. Willow had found an old shirt for the blonde, as Tara marvelled at the cuteness of Willow in PJ’s. She was adorable.
Tara let out a contented mumble as she snuggled closer to the redhead. She was surprised as she heard Willow mumble incoherently, and once again discovered a new aspect of the redhead, the wonders of a waking Willow.
Deciding she’d speed up the process, she laid a sweet kiss on the redhead’s shoulder. And another. And another. Determined to kiss every inch of Willow’s freckled skin, she felt the redhead squirm slightly in her arms. Looking up, she was confronted with emerald eyes, her gaze still lidded as she woke up slowly.
Finally, Willow smiled. “Hey,” she said with a small voice.
Tara thought she sounded absolutely adorable. “Morning,” she answered, her thumb lightly caressing the redhead’s tummy. “Sleep well?” She asked sweetly, placing another kiss on Willow’s shoulder.
The redhead smiled widely. “The best.”
Her smile turned mischievous. “And what do you think you’re doing, turning me on first thing in the morning?”
In response, Tara opened her mouth wide, peppering her shoulder with wet, open mouthed kisses. Looking up at the redhead who looked half amused, half turned on, she stage-whispered: “I want to eat all your freckles.”
Willow giggled before turning around in the embrace, facing the blonde. “Well, every time you do that, they just seem to keep multiplying,” she answered in a teasing voice.
Tara cocked her eyebrow. “Well then I’ll just have to keep eating,” she answered, her voice laced with mirth.
Giggling at their teasing banter, the two lovers leaned forward, kissing each other sweetly.
“Mmm,” Willow sighed contentedly, giving in to the urge to kiss Tara once more.
After a long and sensuous waking-up kiss, they just gazed into each other’s eyes, knowing that this is where they wanted to be. The moment was broken when Willow spoke.
“Tara?”
“Yes, love?” Willow looked troubled for a moment. Lifting her eyes to meet Tara’s again, she continued. “Are you sure that you’re okay with this? I mean, I know I can make this work, and I’m sure I can cut some hours, to make more time for us, but...” She sighed in frustration, unable to phrase this the way she wanted. “Are you sure that you want that too? I mean I know that you at least work as hard as me, and I just don’t want...” She trailed off, the words sticking in her throat.
She looked up to see Tara’s sympathetic expression. “You don’t want to be in the way?” She finished Willow’s sentence. The redhead nodded and Tara felt her heart melt. Willow looked so small, so fragile at that moment. She rushed to reassure her.
“Oh sweetie, you won’t be in the way.” She laid her hand on the redhead’s cheek, lightly caressing the soft flesh before continuing. “I want to make this work. I really do. And what I’ve learned after all these years of building a career, is that you can make anything work, if you just want it hard enough. Willow, I can cut some hours. I think we just have to learn to say ‘no’ once in a while when we’re asked to do something.” She moved her other hand to Willow’s left cheek, cupping her face. “And I know I won’t regret this, because I know that when something goes wrong, it’s of my own doing. And what I do wrong I can fix.”
Willow nodded timidly. “I know,” she admitted. “But I just. I’ve never done this before, and I don’t have a guarantee that I won’t screw up, which is pretty much a given at work.”
Tara pursed her lips as she took the redhead in her arms once more. Lifting the redhead’s chin with one finger, she answered. “I don’t want any guarantee, Will. This is exactly why I want to do this. All my life I’ve been doing things that were safe, that gave me certainty. Now I want to throw caution to the wind for once.” She looked deep into Willow’s eyes. “And I want to do it with you.”
Willow felt her eyes tearing up at the blonde’s admission. She had never felt so cherished, so adored. Sniffling, she laid her hand on Tara’s cheek, wiping away a strand of hair.
“I love you so much.”
Tara just held her.
******
! 
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) Like I told LonelyTara, maybe I’ll get back to it. But really, right now I’m really at a loss of what I could do with it. I’ll think about it. Thanks for sticking with me.
