The Kitten, the Witches and the Bad Wardrobe - Willow & Tara Forever

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 Post subject: Therapy
PostPosted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 6:48 pm 
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3. Flaming O

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:50 pm
Posts: 71
Topics: 2
Location: TX
Author: Darkwillow6 (Ashley Riegel)

Rating: NC-17 (overall)

Summary: Willow seeks the help of a therapist to understand her past and generate a clearer picture of her future.

Title: Therapy

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

"So, it's been what, eight years? Why am I still here? I haven't gone anywhere," Willow said, frustration dominating her tone.

"Maybe you don't have a clear idea of where you want to go. Don't you think you should start there?" Dr. Langdon asked.

The quiet, dimly lit room was conducive to the internal digging Willow found herself doing.

"Or maybe I don't want to go anywhere," Willow responded sitting back, defeated.

The room had various different types of seating options. There were high backed, padded chairs, there were cozy looking stuffed armchairs, there was the classic chaise lounge, and then there was the big leather couch where Willow always chose to sit. It was about 6 feet away from the armchair that Dr. Langdon occupied. She pulled the large throw pillow into her torso with both arms as she prepared for the response.

"That's interesting," she said, quickly scribbling some notes in her manila folder. She paused thoughtfully and pushed back her curly blondish-grey mane. "Does going somewhere scare you? Maybe because Tara won't be there?"

"I mean, that's a big part of it," Willow admitted.

"But she's not with you now, right? She's in another state. You haven't spoken to her in over four years. What are you expecting to happen?"

"There has to be a reason I can't forget about her, right? I mean, how long is it going to take?"

"Well, she was a very important part of your life. That's not just going to go away. And it shouldn't. But you can't stay living in that moment, either. You have to move past it somehow."

"That's why I'm here. I've tried. I've been trying," Willow said, looking up at the ceiling and letting out a long sigh.

"What do you think it is about her that's holding you back from moving on?"

"I don't know. Maybe this nagging feeling that there could still be a chance for us," Willow said.

Then, she paused to think about it some more until the silence in the room and Dr. Langdon's expectant gaze began to make her nervous.

"I mean, I know how that sounds. But we were so young then. And isn't this what life is all about? Understanding what makes you fulfilled and doing whatever you can to obtain it," Willow continued.

"So, you see her as something fulfilling? Something you need to obtain?" Dr. Langdon prodded.

"Well, I never felt unfulfilled with her. I was the one that screwed things up. I really hurt her. And all I want to do is say I'm sorry. And show her how much I mean it."

"But that doesn't mean she's going to take you back if you do," she replied pointedly.

"I know... But the possibility that she could has always been in the back of my mind."

"So it's been 8 years since you've been together, over four since you've talked... That seems like plenty of time to apologize."

"I don't know where she is," Willow replied simply. "And looking for her seems a bit on the stalker side."

"Where does that leave you, then? What's your plan?" Dr. Langdon asked.

"I don't really have one. I mean, if we're meant to be together, it will happen on its own, won't it? You know, fate?"

"It could. But it probably won't. Are you just going to wait and see for the rest of your life?"

"I guess I can't do that," Willow said, even less sure of what to do now than she had been at the start of her session.

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

Once her hour was up, Willow spent the 10 minute drive home processing her conversation with Dr. Langdon. What should she do? Maybe she was relying too heavily on fate. But, like she said, she couldn't just look Tara up out of the blue and expect to rehash everything from the past. Especially after how things ended between them.

She'd talked to Buffy about her situation vaguely and in the typical "a friend of mine" scenario, but there was so much that was just easier to unload on a stranger. And there was the little matter of her not having come out to Buffy as of yet. When she first started seeing Tara, the omission ate away at her, but when they went their separate ways, there had been no need to bring it up. She hadn't dated since Tara and, if she was honest with herself, didn't really have any plans to do so any time soon.

And now, so much time had passed that she wasn't even sure how she would bring it up to Buffy. She sighed heavily as she pulled into her driveway and sat in her car for a minute, head planted against the headrest, before getting out and heading inside. The inside of her house was a testament to her singlehood. The fridge was devoid of anything resembling food despite her enviable income. Her house was spotless thanks to the woman she hired to come in once a week.

There were large paintings hung on nearly every wall and sculptures placed here and there. Willow chose this moment to enjoy her sunken living room. She slowly descended the three steps to her large, plush couch and fell onto it with another loud sigh. She booted up her laptop that had been readily waiting on the nearby coffee table and idly surfed the web, trying to keep herself entertained.

As she was scrolling through Facebook, she tentatively moved her cursor to the search bar. She thought for a second, then started to type in Tara's name. She hesitated for a moment when she got to the last name. And that was when her analytic mind went into overdrive.

What if she's married and her last name is different? Or what if she's seeing someone and she gets a friend request from her ex? How would that look? Even if she's single, she might hate me. She has every reason to. I guess I could just... look at her page. Not send a friend request. Just, you know, see how she's doing.

When she typed in Maclay and hit enter, her heart pounded wildly in her chest. Her excitement heightened when the first profile populated and she immediately recognized the face of the woman she'd been in love with for nearly over a decade. Her last name was still the same and that gave Willow some small hope that there could be a chance someday. Never mind the fact that she still felt crazy for thinking it.

One of the first things Willow noticed was that she no longer lived in Washington, which was where she moved after their unpleasant break up. She was living in Soluna now. It was two hours from Sunnydale. They'd been there before on vacation and had even talked about moving there someday because it seemed nice, laid back, and less full of things that go bump in the night. It was a great place to raise children, Tara had pointed out once. But Willow couldn't think about that conversation now.

Tara's proximity was like dangling a carrot in front of a hungry horse. But, of course, Willow had to shift into research mode for a while to make sure that Tara was unattached before planning her next move. She clicked the photos link to take her into Tara's albums and noticed that there weren't many there. Willow recognized most of the people in the photos as Tara's friends and classmates. There were a few here and there that she did not recognize, though.

Of those, she was pretty sure none of the men were a romantic interest so she focused on the women she didn't know. Her profile said that she was single, but Willow figured that it was highly possible that maybe Tara was seeing someone and it just wasn't "Facebook official" yet. Willow sighed and closed her laptop. She rested her head on the back of the couch and stared up at the vaulted ceiling.

Not only was she trying to decide if her little investigation constituted stalking, but she also had to fight the urge to drive to Soluna and "run into" Tara at one of her few check-ins. That would definitely be stalking. Just as she began to throw herself a world class pity party, Buffy called.

"Hey, Buff," Willow said, practically monotone.

"What's wrong, Will? What's got you all bad moody?"

"Nothing... I'm just... Did you want to hang out or something?"

"Yeah. If you're in the mood, that is," Buffy said, trying to read her best friend.

"You want me to come pick you up? I can be there in 10 minutes," Willow replied.

"See you then," Buffy replied, hanging up the phone.

The truth was, Willow wasn't really in the mood for much of anything, but she couldn't just sit around all day moping like she'd done on multiple occasions. Tara was just a fantasy at this point as Dr. Langdon didn't hesitate to point out. And Willow wasn't under the impression her therapist would have thought it was the best course of action to look Tara up. But it was just something she'd wanted to do so badly. Just to see her photo. To trace the curve of Tara's face with her gaze. To make her more real than she'd been in her mind all these years.

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

When she got to Buffy's she texted her that she was outside. A moment later, the blonde appeared and entered the passenger side.

"So, where to?" Buffy asked as she got in.

"Espresso Pump?" Willow suggested.

"Oh. Something new. I like it," Buffy replied.

"No need to be sarcastic," Willow replied, accelerating. "If you want to go somewhere else..."

"I'm just messing with you, Will. Espresso Pump is fine," Buffy replied before giving Willow a sideways glance. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Willow replied simply.

Buffy was not convinced, but it was clear that Willow didn't want to talk about it. So, she figured she'd do what any best friend would do. She'd keep nagging her until she found out what was going on.

Once they arrived, they ordered their usual drinks and sat at their usual table by the window. Willow sipped slowly and stayed quiet. Buffy kept glancing at the redhead for any hint about what was going on in that busy brain. When she couldn't take it anymore, Buffy set down her mug with a hard tap on the table. She was careful that the hot liquid didn't slosh out and make a mess. The broken silence snapped Willow out of her daze and she focused her attention on the Slayer.

"I'm being a bad friend, aren't I?" Willow asked, her brows furrowing and a frown forming on her lips.

"Never," Buffy said, pausing before continuing. "But, if there's something you want to talk about, you know you can, right? Anything."

"Yeah. I just... I don't think I'm ready, Buff," Willow replied.

"Okay. I'm here when you are, though," Buffy assured her noticeably depressed friend.

"Thanks," Willow said, somewhat regretting going out.

She knew that Buffy could read her emotions efficiently and she was in no mood to get into details with Buffy now. Especially not here. The Espresso Pump held mainly good memories for her and she wanted to keep it that way. She loved Buffy and Buffy loved her, but she had no idea how she'd react to it all. Willow knew it was a lot. There wasn't just the coming out. She'd have to tell her how she and Tara were together for three years.

They had always talked about their relationships freely, but when Willow felt herself falling in love with Tara she had no idea what to do and felt that she couldn't tell Buffy about it. Then, when they officially became a couple, she knew she should definitely say something. But the timing was just never right and she knew she was still afraid to lose her best friend.

They often kept to themselves anyway, locked away in Tara's room just talking. Then, kissing when things became more serious. Then, well, more than that when they felt they were ready. And practically nonstop after that. Nothing she and Tara did together ever felt wrong so she didn't understand her own fear of confiding in her best friend.

"Earth to Willow," Buffy said, interrupting Willow's analysis.

"Sorry."

"I'm worried about you, Willow," Buffy said, sincerely.

"Don't be. I'm just in a funk. Spending time with you helps. Really."

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

"So, it's been about a month since we talked. How do you feel? Any different?" Dr. Langdon asked.

"Different? Yes."

"Better?" she pressed.

"No. Not better. Worse, actually," Willow added.

"Why worse?" she asked, leaning forward a bit.

"I did something stupid." When the doctor cocked an eyebrow, Willow continued. "I looked her up on Facebook. I just wanted to... I don't even know. And then I found out that she's not in Washington anymore. She's closer. A lot closer."

"How much closer?"

"Soluna."

"So, she's gone from a fantasy to a temptation?" the doctor asked, almost rhetorically.

"I guess that is what happened, yes," Willow said, looking down at her hands that were fidgeting in her lap.

"Well, I see you took the opposite approach then. You were going to find a way to forget about her and move forward with your life, weren't you? Don't you think you've just made that exponentially harder to do?"

"I couldn't help it," Willow replied.

"Why do you feel that you couldn't help it?"

"It's just this feeling I have. This strong feeling that we could still have something. It's impossible to ignore. That's why I started coming to you in the first place. She's just constantly in there," she explained, pointing to her head.

"And what are you going to do now? I mean, you haven't made contact with her, right?"

"No. I haven't."

"That's good. Then you still have the option of getting back on track. That is, if that's what you want. Is that what you want?"

"No. That's never been what I wanted. Forgetting about her was just what I thought I had to do. But that little 'maybe' in my head would never allow that to happen," Willow responded.

"Then you need to make a choice. You're putting yourself in limbo again. That won't make you happy either," Dr. Langdon explained.

"But, I don't want her to think I'm a weirdo for sending her a friend request."

"Well, if she does, then she won't accept the request, right? Then, you'll know that she's completely moved on and then you can plan your next steps from there."

"But then it's really over."

"It seems like that might be what you're afraid of more than anything else, wouldn't you say? I mean, you looked her up after our last session, and you've yet to make any real contact with her. Eventually, you're going to have to find out if she feels the same or not."

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

Dr. Langdon was right. What scared Willow the most was that Tara wanted nothing to do with her. Tara hadn't made any attempt to contact her, after all. And Willow didn't think she'd ever be able to face that. But she had to. So, just like the last time, she plopped herself down on the couch and powered on her laptop.

Her breathing became a little more shallow as she entered the name again. She was afraid of what Tara's lack of response would do to her. Long seconds passed as her mouse hovered over the "Send Friend Request" button. A sick feeling suddenly took hold of her and she forcibly pushed the laptop aside.

"Damn it!" she said, sitting up.

She rested her elbows on her knees and put her head in her hands. Without warning, tears started forming in her eyes and for the first time in a long time she just let them out. Part of her felt stupid for crying. It wasn't like the break up was fresh. But she realized it was mostly frustration. The type of frustration that could only come from longing for something that is always out of reach. And what she was trying to do was minimize that distance so that maybe Tara wouldn't be out of reach anymore.

She knew very well, though, that it was probably an unlikely outcome. That made the tears continue to flow. Like she had done hundreds of times before, she thought about the past. When she knew Tara. Because she had to face the fact that she may not even be the same person with such a significant passage of time.

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

10 YEARS AGO...

"You introduced me as your friend," Tara said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I know," Willow said, looking at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Willow, I know you're not out. And that's okay. But, that really hurt. It's been a year. Are you ever going to tell them?" Tara asked, trying not to let her impending tears get the better of her.

She swallowed back the lump in her throat as she waited for Willow to say something. Willow just sighed deeply and furrowed her brows as if thinking very carefully about what to say next. Tara was right. It felt like a betrayal even as the introductions were happening. But it was too late and she could tell by the obvious shift in Tara's demeanor that things were not okay.

"Tara, I do want to tell them. I want them to know who you are to me. I just... need some time, okay? I'm afraid to lose them."

Tara dropped her arms to her sides. She felt for Willow, but she was also hurt.

"If they're really your friends, everything is going to be fine, Willow. I don't want to pressure you... but I don't want to be your 'friend' for the rest of my life, either."

Willow understood. And was even excited by the indication that Tara was really in this for the long haul. One of her fears had been assuaged, at least, but the other remained. It was always hovering there in the background.

"I mean, don't you think it's a little strange that they're meeting me for the first time after a whole year?" Tara continued.

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

Willow sighed and closed her eyes tightly so she could try to stop thinking about that fight. It was the first of many to follow. Always about the same thing. And the worst part was, things weren't any different now. And Willow felt even more stupid. Those fights happened for a reason. Everything Tara said was true. And Willow, in an effort to keep her friends, had lost her love. She saw it happening and yet she let her fear take it away from her.

That was when it became obvious that she didn't deserve Tara. But she wanted to deserve her. That meant doing something very difficult. But it was the least she could do. Even if she couldn't get Tara back, she needed to do this for herself and to validate the importance of what she had with Tara. Thinking about what she had to do now, her stomach tightened again. This time, she rushed to the bathroom. Her face was already pasty as she turned on the cold water with her right hand and clutched the rim of the sink with her left.

Leaning over it, she began to dry heave. After all of this time keeping her secret, she was barely able to handle the thought of everything being laid out in the open. She cupped some water in her hand and splashed it onto her face, wetting some of her hair and the collar of her shirt in the process. She needed to make a plan now. That was the only way her brain knew how to work through this.

She looked up into the mirror and saw her pale face. Now that she could see what this was doing to her physically, she knew it was finally going to be over. Because it had to be. She peeled her damp shirt off and set it on the edge of the sink along with the rest of her clothing and got in the shower. Letting the warm water soothe her tired muscles, she closed her eyes and tried to think about what she would say to Buffy. Would she be pissed? And if so, would it be because she kept it secret or because of the secret itself?

"I have to tell you something, Buffy," she started.

The muffled echo made the words sound even scarier. And she hadn't even gotten to the meat of it, yet. She swallowed hard and shook her head. This wasn't going to work. Preparing. It was her instinct, but her instinct hadn't gotten her very far in life. So, maybe it was best to do things differently this time. To be brave. For herself as much as for Tara.

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

A few days passed before she was able to work up the courage to meet with Buffy. The Slayer had anxiously been awaiting this moment. She didn't know what was coming, but she could see her friend was in pain. Every subtle movement and every word uttered were analyzed as Buffy tried her best to read the redhead.

They were at Buffy's apartment. Somewhere Willow felt comfortable, but could leave if she needed to. Or if she wanted to. And somewhere neither of them would cause a scene. Buffy sat on the couch and Willow paced. Buffy just followed her with her eyes from one corner of the living room to the other, waiting. She was trying to be patient, but the suspense was overwhelming.

"Willow," Buffy said softly. "Whatever it is, it will be okay. Okay?"

Willow stopped pacing and turned to face Buffy. She took a deep breath. Buffy could easily see the rise and fall of her chest. She then saw Willow open her mouth slightly, but she bit her lip instead and continued pacing.

"Okay," Willow said while still pacing.

Buffy sat up at attention, ready to receive every word.

"Do you, uh... Do you remember Tara?"

"Yeah. Your friend that moved to Washington?" Buffy asked, distracted by Willow's continued pacing. "Wait, Will. Before you continue, why don't you sit down? You're making me dizzy."

Willow took a seat on the recliner that was perpendicular to the couch that Buffy was perched on. She began tapping her foot, but waited for Buffy's cue to continue. Buffy just extended her hand, palm up, in response.

"Okay. Yeah. So, Tara. She, uh... She wasn't my friend."

"Okay," Buffy said, confusion written clearly on her face.

"It was a... a much different thing than what you and I have," she elaborated.

"Uh-huh," Buffy responded, still not clear on what Willow was trying to say.

"I'm going to have to spell it out, aren't I?" Willow asked, sighing. "Tara was my girlfriend, Buffy. And she left because of me. Because I wouldn't tell anyone about us."

Just as she'd finished speaking she was hit by the pregnant silence of the room. Buffy's face contorted into an unrecognizable expression and she stood up. Anger, Willow suddenly noticed. She hadn't seen it directed at her from the Slayer before and her heart started beating harder even as she thought that wasn't possible.

"Are you kidding me right now?!" Buffy said.

Willow didn't speak. She wasn't sure which part the Slayer was upset about so she decided to let her do the talking, or yelling, for now.

"How long, Willow?!"

"How... How long what?" Willow asked hesitantly.

"How long were you with Tara? Because you never said anything, Willow. I tell you everything. Because I thought that that was the kind of friendship we had. Am I wrong about that? Because...."

"Buffy. You're not wrong, okay?" Willow said, standing so she could make eye contact with her best friend. "It was hard for me. Really hard. There were so many times I wanted to tell you."

"And you didn't, because?" Buffy asked, still visibly upset.

Just then, Willow also got upset. She was so anxious for Buffy's reaction, she hadn't had time to be pissed off herself.

"You know what, Buffy?! I didn't tell you because I was afraid. I didn't know how you were going to react. You and Xander are my only friends. Don't you think I thought about this? Like, you really think I take this lightly?"

Buffy calmed down a little as she thought about it, but doubled down in her effort to find out the whole story.

"Does Xander know?" Buffy asked, preparing to get angrier.

"No."

"Okay, Will. But you still haven't answered my question. How long did this go on?" Buffy asked, placing her right hand on her hip and fully facing the redhead.

Willow cleared her throat and kicked the carpet with the tip of her left foot, not making eye contact.

"A while," she responded, quietly.

Buffy took a step toward Willow and didn't say anything until Willow lifted her gaze.

"How long is a while, Willow?"

There was a long pause just then. Willow hoped that Buffy would say something else, but she knew that she'd have to answer.

"Three years," she said finally.

In response, Buffy just scoffed and turned away from Willow, throwing her hands in the air. She sat down on the couch and leaned back. And there the Slayer stayed, staring at the wall in front of her and doing no more than pursing her lips.

"Aren't you going to say anything, Buffy?" Willow asked, afraid yet determined to get through it.

"I don't have anything to say to you right now, Willow. I mean, where would I start? With the fact that you thought I'd shun you for being gay? Or how about the fact that there are things that I really don't want to tell you sometimes because I know that you'll judge me. Even if you don't say it out loud. But I tell you anyway. Because I trust you to be there for me no matter what. I guess I'm not that for you. So, no. There really isn't anything else for me to say to you."

Buffy got up from the couch again and started walking to her bedroom. Without turning around she shut the door behind her, leaving her best friend standing awkwardly in the living room. Willow was stunned. She had expected that this outcome was a possibility, but she'd still hoped for the best. With the crushing silence surrounding her, she finally let the tears fall that had been gathering since she'd first started speaking.

When she was able to react again, she simply turned and left. Buffy was right in much, if not all of what she'd said and nothing Willow could say right now would change that.

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My parents said that I could be anything that I wanted to be... so I became a lesbian.


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 7:29 pm 
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11. Fish in the Bowl

Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2010 2:35 pm
Posts: 1487
Topics: 2
Location: California
Wow . . . this story really hits hard. I feel Tara's hurt, even within Willow's memory. I had that moment with my first girlfriend, where my father said she could come visit if we didn't hold hands or show how we felt. It took all my courage to tell him that he either saw us as us or I had to not visit.

This isn't literary critique but I'm bummed that Willow's therapist has closed her mind on Willow's options. As a shrink, she stinks. I'm also disappointed in Buffy. Willow finally gets up the courage to share something vulnerable and difficult and Buffy shuts her out for not doing it sooner. I get it but I don't like it.

Again, this isn't literary critique; you're a good writer. This is me feeling the characters and being moved by your story. If any writing insights come up, I'll PM you.

In the meantime, I hope you see this through and remember the KB rule about happy endings for our girls.


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Wed Jan 03, 2018 10:55 am 
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3. Flaming O

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:50 pm
Posts: 71
Topics: 2
Location: TX
Thank you so much for your feedback Ariel. I'm glad that you're liking the story. I am working on the update and will post within the next few days. And of course our girls will end up where they belong so no worries there. :)

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My parents said that I could be anything that I wanted to be... so I became a lesbian.


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:35 pm 
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20. Not one Much for the Timber
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Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:32 pm
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Topics: 15
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Hey Darkwillow,

I really love this and what a great start! I totally get where Tara was coming from with Willow's lack of candidness with her friends. I mean, she had to draw the line somewhere. I can also understand Buffy's irritation and anger with Willow. Her best friend, her confidant...lied to her for years. It's going to take her some time to work through those hurt feelings. Buffy would have told Willow and trusted her, the fact that Willow didn't trust Buffy enough to tell her...big wedge in the friendship.

Anyway, I hope you continue and I look forward to reading future chapters!

Happy New Year!

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Shelby - Racing The Rain (IN PROGRESS) / Baby Makes Three (IN PROGRESS) / The Santa Line / Everything She Does...Is Beautiful / Calfornia Grass

"Transform your pain. Release your past. And ... uh ... get over it."
~Willow, Where The Wild Things Are


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 1:22 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light

Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:01 am
Posts: 557
Oh my, Willow's situation seems pretty hopeless at the beginning of this fic! That she tangled herself in a web of lies for 11 years (!) is painfull. I'm impressed that she finally had the courage to come out to Buffy, even though she was scared it could lead to the end of this friendship and has no reason to hope that Tara would take her back after all this years even if she comes out now. I'm sad about Buffy's reaction, even though it's understandable. I don't think she has the right to condemn Willow, considerimg that she didn't tell Willow about her "relationship" with Spike (although of course I don't know if that happened in this Buffy-verse...). It's easy to say "if I were gay and in a relationship with a girl I would have told you!" if you aren't. Hopefully Buffy will realise soon that Willow needs her as a friend now more than ever and that she especially needs her forgiveness.

I'm wondering if Willow will have the courage to come out to Xander too or if Buffy's reaction scared her of...I really hope for the first alternative.

As you see I'm definitely hooked and eager for more!


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:46 am 
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3. Flaming O

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:50 pm
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Location: TX
Finey_McFine and Will's redemption:
I truly appreciate your feedback and am really enjoying writing this story despite the angst. There will be resolutions all around, so no worries. We're getting there, slowly but surely. The continuation is in the works and should be posted today, but I wanted to take the time to say how much your input means and how valuable that is for me.

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My parents said that I could be anything that I wanted to be... so I became a lesbian.


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Mon Jan 08, 2018 1:38 pm 
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3. Flaming O

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:50 pm
Posts: 71
Topics: 2
Location: TX
Author: Darkwillow6 (Ashley Riegel)

Rating: NC-17 (overall)

Summary: Willow seeks the help of a therapist to understand her past and generate a clearer picture of her future.

Title: Therapy

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

When Willow got home, all she could do was crawl into bed and wrap herself in fluffy blankets, but not before changing into an old pair of UC Sunnydale sweatpants and a plain grey t-shirt. While some tears still escaped, she really didn't have much of them left. Missing Tara. Buffy's reaction. It had all caught up with her and she prepared to stay locked in her room, under these covers, indefinitely.

She should have been happy. At least it was out now and she didn't have to live in hiding. Even though she was technically hiding from the world now. And she knew it would be hard. She tried to focus on what she'd done it for, but did not find solace there. Because, yes, this was something that she needed to do. But her biggest regret or fear, or whatever it was she was feeling now, was that it was all for nothing. She'd taken the first step to getting Tara back, but the harsh reality was, as Dr. Langdon pointed out, Tara may not take her back.

Willow groaned and burrowed deeper into her blanket cocoon. Her phone on the side table sat silent all day. A small part of her expected Buffy to call. Or text. Or something. She thought with a little time to cool down and think about things, she'd come around. She would see how hard it was for Willow to keep the secret and how much harder it had been to tell her after all this time. She thought about it for so long that she drifted off at some point during her wallowing.

Her heavy breathing almost echoed in the mostly empty room. Every now and then, the air conditioner would kick on and provide a bit of rhythmic, ambient sound. There were large windows on two out of the four walls and it wasn't until every last ray of sunshine dissipated that she finally awoke, groggy and disoriented. She was no longer tired, but had no motivation to do anything besides lie there and stare up at where the ceiling would be if she could see it.

When she turned to look at her alarm clock, she saw that she'd slept about four hours. Her stomach growled just then despite the nauseated feeling she'd been experiencing since before going to Buffy's house. She picked up her phone from the side table. Still nothing. She sighed, put the phone back down, and turned over onto her left side facing away from it. Should she be the one to call or text?

She wanted to give Buffy her space, but she wasn't used to this. Not having her best friend to talk to about hard things. And this was the hardest thing ever. But the worst part, by far, was that Willow knew this could have been prevented. All of this was her own fault. If she'd been honest from the beginning, Buffy wouldn't have felt so betrayed. Of course, Willow didn't know that Buffy wouldn't hate her for being gay, but deep down she should have known Buffy well enough to know she'd understand.

And even if Buffy didn't understand, at least she'd have Tara who would have truly known how Willow felt about her which was way more than she had now. How could she help throwing herself a pity party? She felt like she could no longer trust herself to make decisions. This was the worst outcome she could have imagined. No Buffy, no Tara, no reason to get out of bed. She reached across for her body pillow and wrapped a leg and an arm tightly around it, trying not to think about anything else.

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

"What's going on?" Xander asked, bursting into Buffy's apartment.

He was confused and alert. All he had to go on was a phone call from Buffy that was vague and nearly unintelligible due to her sobbing. His fight or flight reaction kicked in and he found himself face to face with the Slayer minutes after she hung up on him. He saw the redness in her eyes and the crumpled tissues strewn about the living room.

"What happened?" he asked again, becoming desperate for her to say something.

"Willow," Buffy replied, sniffling.

"Willow? Is she okay?" he said fidgeting.

When Buffy noticed Xander starting to freak out, she took a deep breath and calmed herself for his benefit as much as her own. After what had happened, she'd briefly forgotten that they lived on the hellmouth, full of danger and the constant threat of injury or death.

"Willow's fine, Xander," Buffy said, softly as she took a seat on the middle of the couch.

She noticed his shoulders relax and he took a seat in front of her on the coffee table.

"Okay. So what was with the crying and lack of human speech when you called?" Xander asked.

Buffy sighed and looked around the room. Xander thinking someone was in danger kind of made the whole thing with Willow seem like less of a big deal and so she hesitated to tell him.

"Buffy, spit it out," he said.

"Okay. Okay," she said, readying herself. "Xander, Willow came over a few days ago. And, you know, I could tell something has been bothering her for a while now, but she didn't want to talk about it. But, I had no idea what to expect."

"Okay," he said in a 'go on' kind of tone.

"Willow's gay," Buffy blurted.

"Alright.," Xander said, raising both eyebrows. "So, why the big freak out? I mean, does it bother you?" Xander asked, not missing a beat.

"No! Xander, of course not. That wasn't... everything. And also, I want to go back to why you're not as shocked about this as I was... She had a girlfriend. For three years Xander. She didn't say anything to me."

This bit of information did prove to surprise Xander. And he started to feel a little of what he assumed Buffy was feeling. It was confirmed when he saw tears cascading quickly down her cheeks.

"Who?" he asked, trying to remember a constantly present female in Willow's life besides Buffy.

"Tara. Her friend that moved away. I don't know any more than that. I kind of didn't let her say much else. Why wouldn't she tell me, Xander?," she asked, her voice shaky. "Does she not trust me? Am I not a good friend? Does she really think I'm the kind of person that..."

She trailed off there. Xander put his hand on her shoulder as she wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

"She doesn't think that, Buffy," he replied, sounding certain.

"How do you know?" she asked, needing a good answer.

"She didn't tell me either, Buff. I mean, I don't know her reasons. I don't think she thought we would hate her. But I mean, she told you and it seems like something happened," Xander said.

"I got mad at her. I'm still mad at her. I don't know. Maybe mad is not the right word. I'm hurt. And I don't know how to talk to her now. Or if I can."

"Of course you can. Is this the first fight you've ever had with Willow?" he asked.

"No."

"Then go make up. Tell her you're sorry. You are sorry, aren't you?"

"Sort of. But, I don't think I can talk to her yet. I wouldn't even know what to say, Xander. I need time," Buffy replied.

"Time to what, Buffy? Let her go crazy wondering if you're ever going to talk to her again? I mean, how was she when she left here? Was she... okay? Do you think she'll... do anything?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I'm going to go check on her then," he said, standing.

When he was about halfway to the door, he turned around and saw that Buffy was looking at the ground, not sure what to do with herself.

"Look," he said. "I get that you're hurt. But you're not the only one. I've known Will a lot longer than you and she still told you first. And, yeah, it hurts. But this isn't about either one of us. I hope you get that," he said softly, before continuing the rest of the way out of the apartment.

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

Xander's knock on Willow's door remained unanswered. He put his ear to the door and didn't hear anything so he wasn't even sure she was there. He knocked again and when he still was not greeted by the redhead, he used his spare key to cautiously let himself in.

"Will?" he said, tentatively stepping inside. "It's Xander."

He didn't have a plan. He came to talk to her and he wasn't going to leave until he'd done that. But he hoped she'd do more of the talking. It was the only way he could help her. He prepared himself, not knowing which version of Willow he'd be seeing. She was usually a bright beacon of happiness and positivity, but he couldn't see any reason she'd be that way right now. After looking into the kitchen and living room and seeing no sign of Willow, he walked toward the bedroom, again announcing his presence.

"Are you here, Will? I just want to talk to you."

When he put his ear up to the bedroom door he heard a sniffle and breathed a sigh of relief. At least she was here and safe. He knocked on the door.

"I don't want to talk, Xand," came the weak reply.

"I'm coming in," he said, slowly turning the knob. "I hope you're decent."

"I'm far from decent," he heard her say as he slowly approached.

"Like, you're naked or are you talking about in a broader sense? Because I'm not looking."

He couldn't tell if she was smiling or not because she had yet to emerge from her blanket fortress, but he was willing to bet he hadn't made a dent in her sorrow. Slowly, so as not to startle her, he sat down on the foot of the bed on the same side that she was occupying.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked.

If it hadn't been so quiet, he would have had difficulty understanding her muffled question.

"Why would I be mad at you? Just because you told Buffy a life-altering secret before me with possibly no intention of ever telling me? Pfft."

At this, Willow started to pull the comforter off of her face slowly.

"I'm sorry," Willow said, not making eye contact.

Instead, she nervously picked at a thread on her blanket and readied herself for Xander's response. He put his hand gently on hers, stopping her movement. He didn't speak until she was looking at him. She knew what he was waiting for and very slowly lifted her gaze.

"I get it, Will. But, you know we don't care about you being gay, right? That's not why Buffy is upset."

"Are you upset?"

"I'm trying not to be," he replied honestly.

"So what should I do?" she pleaded.

"I'm not here for that, Will. I'm here to let you know that I love you and that I support you, but what happens now is up to you. I mean, why now? Are you seeing someone else? Because, if so, I'm happy for you."

"I'm not. I just... Keeping this secret, this is what caused everything to end with Tara and I. And I miss her. And I don't want to live like this anymore. But I realized nothing had changed. I still hadn't told anyone," she paused, unsure if she should tell Xander the rest, but decided that not saying anything had been a horrible course of action thus far. "I want to try to get her back Xander. I know it sounds crazy, or stupid, or both, but I haven't been able to even look at anyone else in all this time."

Xander shook his head. He couldn't believe that someone could have this kind of an effect on his best friend and she still kept it a secret, even at the cost of losing that.

"I think you should," he answered.

"So you talked to Buffy, then," Willow said, changing the subject. "Is she okay?"

"She's okay. Are you okay? Why didn't you call me when all this happened? I don't hear from either one of you when this big thing is going down and I gotta say, it doesn't feel great. But I'm not trying to make this about me," he clarified.

"I don't know, Xand. After how it went with Buffy, I wasn't ecstatic to go for round two."

Xander just nodded his head in understanding. When the room fell silent, Xander took in the surroundings. There were take out cartons strewn about and even more crumpled tissues than he had seen at Buffy's place.

"Uh, Will, have you left the room at all in the last few days?"

"Well, I had to go to the door to get the food," she replied sheepishly.

Xander stood up and held his hand out to the disheveled redhead.

"Come on," he said.

"What? Where are we going?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"You, my dear, are going to take a shower. Because, no offense, but you reek."

"And I'm not supposed to take offense to that how?" Willow said, even as she felt herself being dragged toward her en suite bathroom.

"Then," he began, ignoring her question. "I am going to take you out for a nice lunch and we're going to talk some more and you're going to have some food that wasn't fried in grease. Now, go on," he said.

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

_________________
My parents said that I could be anything that I wanted to be... so I became a lesbian.


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 4:36 am 
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7. Teeny Tinkerbell Light

Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:01 am
Posts: 557
DIBS! :whip

I really want to hug your Xander for beeing the friend Willow so desperately needs right now! Hopefully Buffy will heed his advice and stretch her hand out to Willow soon.
Now I'm really curious how Willow will try to contact Tara. Just putting out a friendship-request on Facebook is not the way (in my opinion) - it seems so impersonal, almost empty. On the other hand finding out her adress and visiting her at home seems inappropriate too... Maybe a personal letter (if Tara's adress is findable without hacking)? Well, I just have to wait and see what you come up with.


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 6:02 am 
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3. Flaming O

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:50 pm
Posts: 71
Topics: 2
Location: TX
Will’s redemption:
I’ve been working on the next portion for a few days now and was also feeling that Facebook was not the way to go. I think I’ve found a way that seems pretty organic and it seems like it will work nicely. Thank you for reading. The next part has a lot going on.

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My parents said that I could be anything that I wanted to be... so I became a lesbian.


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 8:27 am 
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3. Flaming O

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:50 pm
Posts: 71
Topics: 2
Location: TX
Author: Darkwillow6 (Ashley Riegel)

Rating: NC-17 (overall)

Summary: Willow seeks the help of a therapist to understand her past and generate a clearer picture of her future.

Title: Therapy

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

"How you doin', champ?" Xander asked as Willow poked at a piece of chicken on her plate with her fork.

"I don't know... Depressed. Did I do the wrong thing telling Buffy now? Should I have just kept quiet?"

"You had to, Willow. I mean, what's the alternative?"

"Nunhood?" Willow offered, allowing a weak smile to surface.

"It will be okay. You're just going to have to go with the flow on this one, Will," he reasoned.

"I don't do that. I don't know how to do that."

"I know. But you have to."

Willow sighed heavily and put down her fork. This wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she was sure there would be a lot of that in the coming days. Her life was completely changing and she was finding she didn't know how to deal with that.

"Can you just take me back home?" she asked.

"So you can crawl into bed for another week? Why would I do that?"

"Because it's what I want," Willow stated simply.

Xander shook his head, but got up from the table and headed for the hostess stand to pay the bill. Willow got up and readied herself to leave. Rather than returning to the table, Xander left the restaurant and headed to his car. Willow followed quickly.

"Hey, wait up," Willow said sharply.

Xander opened the driver side door and got in, not saying anything. Willow got in and turned her head fully to look at him.

"What? What did I say?"

"I'm trying to help you, Willow. You can't just hide in your room until this goes away."

"You think I don't know that?" she asked, eyes reddening in preparation for the tears that were sure to follow. "This is a lot, Xander. I can't just get over it. I feel like that's what you're expecting of me so I'm telling you right now that's not going to happen."

"That's not... Willow, I know it's a lot. That's why I'm here for you. I will always be here for you. Just tell me what you need."

"I did. It just wasn't what you wanted to hear," she replied. "Look, I know you're trying to help. And you are very good at it. But I need to figure out what I should do now and you said that you couldn't help me decide that. So, I need to do that. I'm not going to go get in bed, but I'm not okay to go out and pretend to feel like myself again either."

"I get it. It was too soon. I shouldn't have..."

"It's fine, Xander. I needed you to get me out of bed. I couldn't have done it on my own," she said sniffling as a few tears fell.

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

"You know, there's a question I've been asked a lot lately since this whole thing. And I've asked myself this question as well," Willow said.

"And what's that?" Dr. Langdon asked.

"Why now? I've been dealing with these feelings for years. I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't love her. And now I've let all of this time pass. And shouldn't I have done this much sooner? I mean, really... why now?" she asked.

"Has anything changed in your life? Has she been on your mind more than usual? It's seems like this is something that you've gradually become more distressed about."

"I tried to think about that. I mean, I don't know. I've been alone for a really long time. I haven't felt close to anyone like I did to Tara once."

"So then you think you're craving that romantic attention at this point in your life?" Dr. Langdon asked.

Willow scrunched her face up in thought. Truth be told, she hadn't even given anyone else a chance to get close to her. It was an admission she had hesitated to tell Dr. Langdon when she first started coming to therapy, but the more time that passed, she knew it would become apparent that she wasn't making attempts to date other people. She feared it would be seen by Dr. Langdon as an unwillingness to move past Tara. Although, that is exactly what it was.

"I just feel like, what do I have to lose at this point? We're not kids anymore. It could work now. But even if it doesn't, I can't spend my whole life wondering if we could have it. I've done that for too long already."

"Why do you think you were unable to do this when you were with Tara? You were losing her. And you knew you were losing her. Why wasn't it enough, at that time, to say something?"

"I was just so terrified of losing my friends. And, looking back, it makes no sense. That's what's different. I know now that all that fear was for nothing. Yes, Buffy's upset at me. She still hasn't called. But if I had done this years ago, that wouldn't even be the case. I wouldn't have lost my friends. I'd still have Tara. But it's done. And that's why I can't let go. It was the wrong decision and it's my biggest regret in my life," Willow explained.

"Well, last time we discussed the need for you to find out if she feels the same way. Have you taken any steps toward doing that?"

"I haven't. I'm still... I don't even know where to start. I mean, is a Facebook friend request the best way? Should I write her a letter? I wouldn't know where to send it. Like I said, I don't want to come off like a creep or something. That's kind of hard."

"Do you have any way of contacting her otherwise?" Dr. Langdon asked.

"I know a friend of hers who lives here in town. I guess I could try to talk to her. And maybe that will give me a feel for how she's doing and, you know, if she's involved or not."

"Great. Then, why don't you set a timeline for contacting this friend? Because if you don't set that goal you may find yourself putting it off until you feel more comfortable. But you're not ever going to feel comfortable enough. Either way, it is going to change everything."

"Okay. I'll give it a month. Next time I see you, I should have already spoken to her," Willow said, tentatively.

"You will have spoken to her. We use words like "can't" and "maybe" and "should" a lot. Being more certain with your words generates a greater feeling of intention. You know that you have to do this. You know that it's not going to leave you alone until you do. So, the sooner the better, right?"

Willow rubbed the back of her neck with her hand and sighed. She knew Dr. Langdon was right. She was still conflicted because she had no idea what her chances even were.

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

11 YEARS AGO:

"Wow. I didn't realize how late it was. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstay my welcome," Willow said.

"You're always welcome here, Willow. You know that," Tara replied sincerely.

This made Willow smile contentedly. She loved being in Tara's apartment. It was small. She'd just barely saved up enough money to move off campus. There were thick curtains on every window and the smell of incense was ever-present. They spent a majority of their time in Tara's bedroom. Willow couldn't describe the intimacy of it and she attributed her growing feelings toward blonde witch to the calming warmth she constantly exuded.

"I know you have class in the morning. I should let you get to bed," Willow replied, standing from the bed where they'd both sitting and sharing stories.

"You can stay if you want. It's dangerous out there, you know," Tara offered.

Willow's heart pounded in her chest. This wasn't the first time Tara had offered, but she was still very unfamiliar with these feelings of attraction and often had to forcefully steer her gaze from the various areas of Tara's body she found most appealing. Especially in the light blue tank top she now wore.

"I uh... I'll be okay heading home," Willow said, trying to fight against the shallowness of her breath to sound normal.

She picked up her bag from the floor and Tara got up off of the bed and placed her hand on Willow's shoulder, beckoning her to turn around to face her.

"Is everything okay, Willow?"

Willow's head started to cloud with the contact.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

Tara crossed her arms over her chest and spoke softly.

"It's just, it seems like you like hanging out with me but..."

"Tara, I love spending time with you."

"Then why don't you ever want to sleep over? I mean, is it me?" Tara asked, looking at the ground.

Willow felt her eyes water slightly at the question. She hadn't realized how she'd been making Tara feel. She didn't think Tara noticed or cared that she always declined the invitation.

"No. Tara, no. It's me. This is a me thing. I promise," Willow replied.

"Okay," Tara responded, not seeming entirely convinced.

A flood of expletives collided in Willow's head because she knew that this was it. Since she'd started having feelings for Tara, she knew there'd come a time where she'd have to tell her. Keeping it from Tara felt too much like a lie. Although, she didn't think it would have to happen so soon and the possibility, however slight, that Tara might stop speaking to her right then and there didn't exactly make the task any easier. She dropped her bag back down onto the floor.

"Look, Tara... I'm going to tell you something. Because I don't want you to think... I just, I want you to know that your friendship means so much to me. I don't want to lose that."

"Hey. It's okay. You can tell me, okay?" Tara said, visibly worried.

Willow returned to her seat at the foot of the bed and Tara sat near the middle, facing the fidgeting redhead. But once they were both seated, and Willow looked into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen in her life, she began to lose her nerve. A tightness invaded her chest and stomach and her vision blurred behind a wall of unshed tears. And when she looked down, they began to fall. It startled her a bit when she felt Tara's hand on her knee. She looked up and saw Tara's concerned expression.

"This is really hard, Tara," she said with a shaky voice.

"You don't have to," she assured her.

"I need to," Willow replied, taking a deep breath. "This wasn't... I don't know how this happened, Tara. It's been like, since I met you. Just... getting stronger every day. And I don't know what do to," Willow said, barely coherent.

"Getting stronger? What? Magic?" Tara asked, confused.

"These... feelings. Damn it! I can't!" Willow said, standing and grabbing her bag again.

Tara stood quickly and followed as Willow rushed toward the exit.

"Willow, wait!" Tara called.

Willow stopped just before reaching the door and turned around. She could see Tara's pained expression and it broke her heart.

"I'm sorry, Tara. I can't," Willow said, crying more freely now.

"That's okay, Willow. It's okay. Just, I don't think you should go. We can talk about something else, or we can just go to sleep. I don't want you to get hurt. Whatever it is, it's not worth risking it," Tara said, softly. "I just want you to know that you-"

"Tara, I'm falling in love with you," she blurted out suddenly. "And I'm sorry if that freaks you out or upsets you, but it's getting harder to be around you and I hate that. Because you're such a source of happiness in my life and I don't want to lose that. I've really tried not having these feelings, Tara. You have to believe me. I don't want to ruin anything. It would kill me if you hated me. I just, it felt like lying, keeping this from you and I-"

"Okay, Will. It's alright," Tara said, sniffling as her own tears surfaced.

She stretched out her arms and Willow rushed into them, clinging tightly to the blonde. Tara just stroked her hair and held her as her whole body shook with heavy sobs.

"Please don't hate me," Willow said, barely intelligible.

At this, Tara backed up out of the embrace to look Willow in the eyes and noted that the redhead seemed surprised to see the plentiful tears shimmering on Tara's cheeks.

"Hate you? Why? Why would I hate you?" Tara said, shaking her head.

"I don't know. Because..." Willow began, struggling to find a reason.

"Maybe..." Tara hesitated. "Maybe there's a reason why you haven't been able to make that feeling go away," she finished, suddenly shy.

She looked down at the ground and Willow took a small step toward her.

"What do you mean?" Willow asked, trying to hush the sound of her heart pounding in her head at least long enough to hear Tara's reply.

She wasn't sure if Tara was saying what she thought she was saying and desperately needed clarification. Rather than voicing what she meant, Tara tentatively looked up and met Willow's eyes. She found the confidence to lean in closer. Knowing how Willow felt about her erased all the doubt she'd always felt.

When Willow realized what was about to happen, she couldn't believe it. She took a sharp breath in and hesitated just long enough to commit every single detail to memory. Then, she met Tara's awaiting lips with her own and practically passed out at the purely pleasurable sensations she felt everywhere.

She didn't think it was possible for skin to be this soft. Or for a kiss to be so perfect. Like her lips were made only to kiss Tara's. She backed away only to prevent herself from going far beyond what she thought Tara would want in that moment. When they separated, the sound of their combined heavy breathing was in sharp contrast to the silence of the rest of the room.

"Please be real," Willow whispered as she stroked Tara's cheek with her thumb while the rest of her palm perfectly held the side of Tara's reddened face.

To emphasize the reality of the moment, Tara leaned in and this time, didn't wait for Willow to close the minimal space between them. When their lips came together again, the rest of Willow's body began to react more noticeably to the contact. Her skin flushed, the tiny hairs on her arms raised, and her breathing lost its natural rhythm, instead taking in small gasps when she could.

"I told you you had nothing to worry about," Tara said quietly, her mouth still only inches from Willow's.

"But you didn't know what I was going to tell you," Willow responded.

"I hoped. I really hoped, Willow," Tara said closing her eyes.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Probably for the same reasons you didn't. I didn't think that you'd feel the same and I'd rather keep my friendship with you than nothing at all," Tara revealed.

"So, we could have had this sooner?" Willow asked.

Tara shook her head.

"It happened when it was supposed to happen. Everything in its time, Willow," Tara said, taking Willow's hand in hers. "Ready for bed?"

Willow cleared her throat.

"Uh, just to be clear..."

"To sleep," Tara responded with a soft giggle.

When they made it to Tara's bedroom again, Tara's bed suddenly seemed different. It felt a bit like foreign territory. It had always been where they spent time together, but now that they were going to be spending their time a little differently, it caused her to hesitate.

"Is this not okay?" Tara asked, when she saw Willow standing at the foot of the bed.

"No, no. It's definitely okay. Just... Should we maybe set some ground rules or something? Like, like what's okay and what's not okay, you know? Can we cuddle or is that-"

"How about..." Tara started, walking closer to the redhead and placing a hand on either shoulder. "We just don't think so much about it, okay?"

"But... I think a lot. About everything," Willow said.

"I know," Tara replied smiling. "Now go get changed," she added.

Tara walked to her dresser and got out some pajamas for Willow to wear. She went into the bathroom and quickly changed, not wanting to waste precious seconds away from the barely covered blonde in the next room. When she emerged, Tara was already in bed. She had the flat sheet up to her waist and was lying on her right side facing the emptiness of the left side of the bed.

Willow had realized she hadn't taken in a breath since she saw this and inhaled deeply. She never thought she'd find herself in a moment like this where looking at Tara this way didn't make her feel guilty. Tara knew how she was looking at her now and this excited Willow more than she thought it would. And she'd thought about it more than she'd ever admit out loud.

Before crawling into bed next to Tara, she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart, with no success. She felt the softness of Tara's sheets on her palms as she crawled forward. And she was certain that Tara heard her swallow hard.

"Come here," Tara said so softly Willow barely heard.

Willow relaxed fully onto her left side, facing Tara. Tara gently placed her hand on Willow's cheek and hinted for her to come closer. Willow easily perceived the hint and leaned in close. This time, her arousal was even more overpowering and she was sure it had to do with being in Tara's bed. Just the idea of being here, like she'd imagined so many times, was a lot to take in. And, at the same time, it was nothing like she imagined because the experience of touching Tara's bare skin was something she wasn't able to wrap her head around before, even now.

Willow only pulled away when oxygen started to seriously become necessary. She wasn't sure she'd actually be able to get any sleep tonight, but at least she'd get to enjoy every second. Tara pulled Willow closer to her and put a leg over Willow's hip. The sensation of the warm skin of Tara's inner thigh, even through the fabric of Willow's borrowed pajama bottoms, was enough to force all coherent thought from her mind. Tara pushed Willow's hair back and just looked into her eyes.

"I'm so happy you stayed," she said to Willow.

"Me too," Willow replied.

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

Those were the moments and memories that created such conflict in Willow. She was certain no one else in the world could make her feel what Tara did. It was like something sparked within her and created a fire that she never wanted to extinguish. And it wasn't completely out just yet. In fact, she felt it growing just a tiny bit every day. And that was what cemented Tara's presence in her life.

The pull to see Tara again was finally beginning to outweigh the fear. And was even transforming into a feeling of excitement at the possibility of seeing her again despite the fact that a negative outcome was likely. It had been a few days since her visit with Dr. Langdon and she thought it was time to talk to Tara's friend and gauge her next move from there.

She readied herself and then got into her car. Sandra met Tara in their freshman year of college and had remained close despite the distance. Although, now there was less distance between them. She had always been friendly to Willow, but she hadn't seen her since the break up and was sure she may have some ill-will toward her now. But none of that mattered at this point. Willow had decided that she had to do this.

Sandra worked at a nearby daycare, at least a decade ago she did. Willow wasn't even certain she'd recognize the woman depending how much she'd changed. But she headed to the daycare anyway, hopeful.

When she arrived, she became much more anxious and took a few minutes in her car, trying to calm down. Then, she finally made her way toward the entrance and walked inside.

"Good morning. How can we help you?" asked the woman just inside they entrance.

"Uh, hi. I'm looking for someone who works here... or used to work here maybe. Her name-"

"Willow?" a surprised voice said as she approached.

"Hey Sandra," Willow said, trying to decipher whether the woman was pleased or upset at her presence.

"How are you?" she asked, seemingly excited.

"Pretty good. I, uh, I came to see you, actually. I wasn't even sure you still worked here. Do you mind if I take you to lunch or something? Catch up?"

"Sure," Sandra replied, thrown off by Willow's request. "Rosie, do you mind if I take my lunch now?"

"Go for it. Janie will be here soon anyway," Rosie replied.

"Awesome. Be back in a while," Sandra said.

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

"I've never been here before," Willow said as they took a seat at a table in the restaurant Sandra suggested.

"I probably never would have thought to come here either if it wasn't so close to the daycare. It's easy to miss, but they have great food," Sandra replied.

A waiter quickly appeared to take their drink orders. When he left, Willow picked up the menu and started browsing.

"So, is this a social visit or do you have some kids that you want to enroll and want to skip the wait list?" Sandra asked.

"I... I uh, don't have any kids. I'm still single, actually," Willow replied, a little thrown by the question.

The waiter returned with their drinks and Willow ordered a chicken Panini with some fries per Sandra's suggestion on the drive over. Though, the way the conversation was headed, and so quickly, she wasn't sure she'd be able to touch it.

"Still?" Sandra asked in shock. "Surely you mean again."

"Uh, no. I haven't, I haven't seen anyone else since. And it's kind of why I'm here. I mean, I was hoping to ease into it, but it looks like it's too late for that. Do you still keep in touch with her?"

"Yeah. I do," Sandra said, unsure how much information to volunteer.

"Look, I know how this must seem, Sandra. But you don't have to tell me anything. I know you don't owe me anything and neither does she," Willow said.

She then reached into her bag and pulled out a sealed envelope that was somewhat thick.

"I wrote her a letter," Willow said. "Do you think you could just give it to her next time you see her? But only... only if she's not with someone. If she's happy, I don't want to ruin that for her, you know."

"Wow," Sandra said, taking the letter.

"What?"

"Nothing, just... You really haven't dated anyone since her?" Sandra asked.

"No," Willow replied, looking at the table cloth. "How could I? She was everything to me, Sandra. And I'm sorry to put you in the middle of this. It's just that I don't have any other way to reach her besides Facebook and that just didn't seem like a great idea."

"Willow, I'll give this to her, but I need to ask... I know it was a long time ago, but she was pretty devastated after things ended. I don't want that to happen to her again. How do I know things will be different this time?"

"I've started to come out. I told Buffy. And Buffy told Xander. And I don't care anymore if people know. In fact, I want people to know. Because it's been hard seeing how much keeping this secret has ruined my life. I would do anything just for her to know that I am well aware that I made the wrong choice. Even if she doesn't want anything to do with me after that," Willow said, sitting back in her chair.

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 4:10 pm 
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Great last couple of chapters! I'm glad that Xander was there for Willow when Buffy was not. She needed someone to get her up and out of the house. It's been a long, hard process, but she appears to be coming out on the plus side of things. She's made some huge strides and I believe that will go a long way with Tara when she finally gets the letter.

I can't wait to see what happens and get a little perspective from Tara's point of view.

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 2:26 pm 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:50 pm
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Location: TX
Author: Darkwillow6 (Ashley Riegel)

Rating: NC-17 (overall)

Summary: Willow seeks the help of a therapist to understand her past and generate a clearer picture of her future.

Title: Therapy

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

"Have you heard from her?" Xander asked.

"Which her?" Willow asked, defeated.

They were sitting on Willow's couch, watching movies. Xander had been coming over pretty frequently to keep an eye on the redhead.

"I was talking about Tara," Xander said, turning fully in his seat to face her. "Buffy still hasn't called? I'm going over there," he said, standing.

"Xander, don't. If she doesn't want to talk to me-"

"No. Willow, it's been what, like a week?"

"And what are you going to do, Xander? Go bang on her door and demand that she forgive me? I sure would love to hang out with someone who was forced to talk to me," Willow responded.

Xander sat back down on the couch and grabbed the bowl of popcorn from the coffee table.

"So, nothing from Tara?" he asked.

"It's only been a couple of days, Xander. Besides, I'm trying not to get my hopes up," she replied, getting a handful of the popcorn. "Or think about it too much."

"She'll call," Xander said. "They'll both call."

"I wish I had your optimism."

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

Less than a week after her movie night with Xander, she got a text message from Buffy.

*Hey Will. Do you think I could come over so we could talk?*

Willow was so happy to finally have some contact from her that she had to read and reread the text message to make sure it didn't say, "I can never forgive you and I'll never speak to you again". Then, she took a deep breath and texted back.

*Yeah. Whenever you want. I'll be here.*

She knew the response may have come off somewhat desperate, but she didn't care. She was desperate. She really missed having Buffy around and going on their semi-daily outings for coffee or other such gallivanting. In fact, she nearly cried with relief that Buffy had finally reached out to her, but she still didn't know what would happen during their conversation. So, she braced herself.

About twenty minutes later, the Slayer was knocking on the door. Willow's heart was racing. This was her best friend since high school and she didn't know what to expect. It was terrifying. She hoped the short blonde was here to patch things up, but the fact that she didn't know for sure caused her muscles to tense up as she opened the door.

She was taken completely by surprise when she was instantly wrapped in an embrace that may or may not have caused internal bleeding. Willow gave into the embrace and was unable to use her hands to wipe away the tears that were already falling. Just then, she felt a cool wetness on the shoulder portion of her shirt.

"I love you, Willow," Buffy said.

Her voice was muffled and barely audible as her face was still pressed to Willow's shoulder. As they pulled apart, Willow looked the Slayer in the eyes.

"I love you too, Buffy. And I'm sorry. I know I should have told you sooner. I just-"

"I know. It's okay, Will. We both did stupid things. Mine was stupider. I don't want to be mad at you anymore and I don't want you to be mad at me either," Buffy said, sniffling.

"I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at myself," Willow said, retreating from the embrace and turning away. "I ruined everything, Buffy."

"No. No, you didn't," Buffy said.

She put a hand on Willow's shoulder, urging her to turn around. When she did, she could see the regret in the redhead's eyes and wanted desperately to remove that expression.

"I lost Tara. I almost lost you. And for what?"

"Oh, Will. You didn't lose me. You'll never lose me. And as for Tara, just remember the advice I gave you way back in high school. You have to seize the moment. Because tomorrow you might be dead," Buffy said with a smile.

"Uh, yeah. Although I'm not particularly fond of being reminded that my life is constantly in peril. But I get what you mean and appreciate the sentiment," Willow replied. "And I'm working on it. I sent her a letter. I don't know if she's gotten it yet or read it, but I'm trying."

"Good," Buffy said, smiling. "Want to go eat? I'm starving."

"When aren't you?" Willow asked with a giggle.

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

"Okay, so you talked to the friend?" Dr. Langdon asked.

"Yes."

"But you haven't heard back yet?"

"No. I don't even know if she's seen her yet. I don't know how often they see each other," Willow replied.

"How long has it been since you met with her?"

"About 16 days and five hours," Willow responded.

"But who is keeping track, right?" the doctor asked, amused. "So, you told me that you talked her about four years ago. What was that like? You mentioned it, but you didn't really go into detail. And that's the last time you talked to her. Was there anything significant about that conversation?"

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

4 YEARS AGO:

Willow was in line with Buffy at the Espresso Pump ordering their usual fix. Shortly after taking a seat at their table, Willow excused herself to use the restroom. On her way there, she felt a chill run from the back of her neck down the entirety of her spine and goose bumps formed everywhere. She pulled her jacket more tightly against herself and took another step, only to freeze in place a moment later when a familiar scent practically slapped her in the face.

It cut through the intoxicating aroma of fresh coffee and embedded itself in Willow, forcing her mind to return to a flood of memories she constantly tried to keep from drowning in. She could have sworn that the lights were dimming around her, but it was her own vision betraying her. Then, she began looking around frantically, searching for the owner of the singular scent.

"Tara?" she said aloud when she saw blue eyes searching for hers.

Tara was seated at a nearby table, alone. Willow was at a loss for what to do. But she'd already gotten her attention when she'd said her name in astonishment. The blonde's expression was unreadable. Willow approached cautiously.

"Hi," Willow said when she'd reached an appropriate distance.

"Hi, Willow," Tara responded, embodying every telltale sign of discomfort.

"Are you... Did you move back to Sunnydale?"

"No. I just... I'm m-meeting Sandra here. I came for a visit."

"Oh. Um, well, I don't want to keep you. I, uh, I just really hope that you're doing well and it was really good to see you, Tara," Willow said, shifting her feet.

"You too. Goodbye, Willow," Tara replied.

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

"I hate the word goodbye," Willow said to Dr. Langdon. "I didn't want to walk away then."

"So why did you?"

"Lots of reasons. I didn't know if she wanted to talk to me or if she was just wishing I'd go away. I was there with Buffy and I still wasn't out so I couldn't have had any kind of serious talk with her then anyway. Plus, she was waiting for a friend. It would have been weird having her show up with the kind of tension that was there. Or at least what I felt was there."

"Why didn't you give her your number or your email or something? Make a plan to meet up and talk another time?"

"All of the above reasons, I guess. I was still scared. And every day since she left me, I just kick myself for how stupid I've been. Just letting this happen to me."

"But you didn't let it happen," Dr. Langdon pointed out. "You made all of that happen. But the good thing about it is, you can change it. You don't like it? You can make something else happen. Maybe it's too late and maybe it's not. But you've decided that you don't want to go on letting this mistake dictate your life and that's a huge step. You should recognize that."

"I do, I guess. But now I just have to wait. And who knows for how long? A week, a month, forever? It's arguably more frustrating than never having contacted her at all," Willow explained.

"You can't control what she does. So, try not to think about it so much," Dr. Langdon said.

Willow opened her mouth to object, but Dr. Langdon put up a halting hand.

"I know, Willow. But all of this, every last bit of it, is way outside of your comfort zone. Not one part of this is going to be easy, but you know that it's necessary or you wouldn't be putting yourself through this. So just try to let things happen as they will now. You've done what you can do to make your intentions known and you'll have to be satisfied with that for now."

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

It was a random Wednesday evening and Willow had it all to herself. It was a rarity these days with Xander and Buffy constantly checking in. And she loved that they cared so much about her, but she was happy to be where she was now. Soaking in the bathtub with suds and candles everywhere. There was some music playing in the background and it echoed softly off of the tile. The tension of the last two weeks had knotted her muscles and she could feel the hot water loosening them.

She sank a little more into the tub and submerged her head. The music was still audible, if a little muffled, as she stayed under for a few seconds before emerging. The cool air instantly hit her face and she drew in a deep, calming breath. She hadn't felt this relaxed in as long as she could remember. And as thoughts started to clear from her mind, she knew this was something she needed. There was little that was able to halt her constantly running inner monologue and she was happy for the peace and quiet.

When she got out, she made herself a hot cup of tea in an effort to maintain the peaceful state of mind. She sat down in the living room where the music was still playing thanks to her Bluetooth speaker setup. She noted that a lot of her ability to be relaxed now was likely due to the dust settling from all the chaos of the last month. And she tried to look forward to how much more relaxed she would be after hearing from Tara, if she did.

Now, more than before, Tara was all she thought about. It appeared her time of clear headedness had passed just as quickly as it had settled in and she started getting lost in thoughts. With her eyes closed, she tried to imagine Tara reading her letter and reacting. She pictured the subtle changes in facial expression depending on what part of the letter she'd gotten to. She pictured Tara getting to the end and reading it from the start again, trying to truly absorb the sincerity of her words.

At least that's what she hoped. But in her mind, it was just as likely that Tara would crumple up the small stack of pages and toss them in the trash without having read a word. She shook her head free of that last thought. That wasn't Tara. She could have been angry at their situation, but more than that, she was hurt. Devastated that Willow couldn't overcome her fears to show Tara what she meant to her.

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

"She asked me to give you this," Sandra said, handing Tara the envelope.

Now that Tara lived much closer, it was easy for them to have their weekly lunch dates. They would mostly alternate between meeting in Soluna and Sunnydale, but Sandra preferred to get out of town whenever possible and Tara certainly didn't mind staying away from Sunnydale.

"She?" Tara asked, furrowing her brow and taking the envelope.

When she saw the handwriting on the front, her jaw clenched subconsciously.

"You saw her?" Tara asked, with additional questions implied.

"Yeah. She seemed good," Sandra replied, trying to gauge her friend's reaction. "You know, she said not to give it to you if you were with someone. If you were happy."

"She did?" Tara said, looking up from the letter. "I don't... This is... What should I do?" Tara asked.

"What do you want to do? You're not obligated to open it, Tara. Or to respond. You could read it and she'd never even know if you did or not," Sandra replied.

Tara ate another french fry and chewed slowly while exhaling deeply through her nose. She sat back in her seat.

"So she didn't ask if I was seeing anyone?" Tara asked.

"No."

"Is that weird? Do you think that it's weird she didn't ask?"

"Not really. She seemed... I don't think she wanted to know in case you were, you know?" Sandra said, carefully. "If she comes by again, do you want me to tell her anything? Like, should I tell her that you're not seeing anyone or is there anything that you want me to say to her?"

"Maybe after I read the letter," Tara replied.

"So you're going to read it, then?" Sandra asked.

"How can I not? Even if I hated her, I'd still want to read it," she said, sighing heavily.

"You don't hate her even a little?"

Tara shook her head and leaned forward a bit.

"You know I don't. It was forever ago. We were kids. And she didn't do anything to me. She was afraid. How can I hate her for that? And I really loved her, but I couldn't be with her without being a part of her life fully. It was just the wrong time, Sandra."

"So, what if you read that letter and she says exactly the right things? It's easy to think about things just going back to normal if she doesn't say the right things."

Tara practically scoffed at this.

"It would not be easy. You know how hard it was for me to leave her. I thought, 'man, it sure is taking a long time to forget about her' but then I realized that that isn't going to happen. I just have to keep pushing her out of my mind, almost on a daily basis."

"I don't get this at all, Tara. I mean, you both think about each other all the time, yet neither one of you has tried to contact the other? That is what I find weird about this whole situation. And that time you came to visit me in Sunnydale? You told me she stopped by the table to talk to you and that was that."

"How do you know she thinks about me?"

In lieu of a verbal responds, Sandra simply gestured to the thick envelope between them and donned an incredulous expression.

"She could have just thought to do it out of the blue," Tara retorted.

"Please, I think there might be a novel highlighting her undying love for you in there. People don't just write a letter to their ex girlfriend from ten plus years ago out of the blue, Tara. I mean, really. You don't even need to read it. Just show up at her place and say, 'Willow, I've missed you so and I've never stopped loving you. Let's ride off into the sunset together,'" Sandra said, amused.

"Yeah. I'm not going to do that, Sandra," Tara said, shaking her head.

"Fine. Take the scenic route. It's not like you guys have wasted enough time on this," Sandra said, sipping her drink.

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

Later, after Sandra headed back to Sunnydale, Tara stood in her kitchen, envelope in hand. She got herself the glass of white wine she knew she'd probably need to get through it. The first one, she drank down before even opening the letter and then brought a second full glass to the coffee table in the living room.

When she set the glass down safely, she returned to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle just to be sure. She sat down on the couch and took a large sip from her glass and sighed heavily afterward. Slowly, she picked up the thick envelope and turned it over in her hands so that she was looking at her own name on the front. The single handwritten word was elegant and carefully done.

Tara turned the envelope over again and tentatively pulled at the corner of the flap. She carefully peeled it open and removed the pages. The stack was tri-folded. There were about eight pages, but they were all single sided and handwritten. Tara's heart started beating a little more quickly as she took in each word, trying to prepare herself for anything.

Tara,

I know it's been a really long time and the first thing I want you to know is that I'm not expecting anything from you. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. And I know that's long overdue. I shouldn't have let all of that happen in the first place. But I need you to know that I really did love you, Tara. That was something that I have always been certain about. My fears didn't come from that. And I was stupid for not telling my friends. I ruined everything for, really, no reason at all.

So, besides knowing how sorry I am, the main thing I want you to take away from this is that the time I had with you meant everything. You meant everything to me, Tara. I've never felt anything close to what I felt when you were in my life and I miss that more than I could possibly describe to you. You've probably moved on by now and have an amazing life without me in it. All I hope for is your happiness. I hope you know that.


Tara started to have trouble reading through the wetness surfacing in her eyes. She read through every word carefully, periodically dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She punctuated each paragraph with another sip of wine. The letter may have been eight pages, but Tara was hungry for Willow's words, more so than she could have realized. And before she knew it, she'd reached the last page.

So, anyway, I hope I didn't disrupt your life or say anything to upset you with this letter. That wasn't what I was trying to do. I just needed you to know, Tara. And that might be selfish of me. But if there is even a small chance that you might want to maybe have coffee with me or something sometime, I would love the chance to talk to you in person. But like I said, I'm not expecting anything from you. I know what I've done to you and I will regret that every day of my life.

After a decade, I've finally come out to my friends. They've been amazing about it, like I should have known they would be. Which makes it even harder to live with what I did. To have you in my life again would be the best thing that could ever happen to me. If I had access to every word in the English language, I couldn't explain the way that you made me feel and I'd have to be a lot more of an idiot than I am to live the rest of my life wondering if we can try again.

I still care about you so much and I know that we haven't spoken, and if you have no interest in speaking to me, of course I understand. But if you had any fraction of a doubt about how I felt about you, hopefully you don't anymore. And I really do hope that you're happy even if that means I won't hear from you.

Be well, Tara.

Very sincerely,

Willow


Tara was full on crying now and was thankful that she lived alone in this moment. She really hadn't expected Willow's words to impact her so much. And now she needed to plan some course of action. Did she want to give Willow a second chance? Absolutely. But she also needed to be sure that she wouldn't get hurt again. If she were to do this, she would be all in. They'd both have to be.

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

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 10:33 am 
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More, please.

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 11:11 am 
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vampyregurl73: More is in the works. I'm really enjoying writing this story. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. :)

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 1:37 pm 
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Long time lurker, first time poster popping my posting cherry! I'm loving this story and it was this story that finally made me register so that I could encourage you to write more, and soon please.

I'm not big on patience and don't usually read ongoing / unfinished fics, however the premise of this story really spoke to me. I love AU's in particular, and especially ones where they first get together, or are separated and may be reunited. It's the combination of angst, anticipation and redemption that appeals. I'm just a romantic I guess and I'm looking forward to seeing where and how you take the story forward. Definitely want more.......pretty please?


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 11:27 am 
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Hi, NorthernLass!
I really appreciate your feedback. I have honestly been feeling a little discouraged because I would see a high number of readers, but not many responses so I was worried it wasn't very good. I definitely plan to post an update very soon. Thank you for the boost! :) And, of course, I appreciate all of you that have been leaving me comments from the beginning!

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 2:40 pm 
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3. Flaming O

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:50 pm
Posts: 71
Topics: 2
Location: TX
Author: Ashley Riegel (Darkwillow6)

Rating: NC-17 (overall)

Summary: Willow seeks the help of a therapist to understand her past and generate a clearer picture of her future.

Title: Therapy

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

"So you read it, huh?" Sandra asked as she entered Tara's apartment two days after she'd given Tara the letter.

She found her on the couch with a bottle of wine, no glasses in sight. Tara's eyes were red and there were tissues laying all around.

"I've been calling. And texting," Sandra added when she did not receive a response.

She plopped down on the couch next to Tara and pulled the blonde into her arms. Tara fought the urge to cry again.

"Is it bad, Tara?"

Tara shook her head.

"Then why are you crying?"

Tara sat up fully and wiped the tears from her cheeks with both hands. She took a deep breath in and let out a long, hard sigh before answering.

"Because I don't know what to do now."

"Well, I hate to say I told you so."

"No you don't," Tara replied, laughing and sniffling. "I just... I know what I said. It was a long time ago. But I really really loved her and I don't know what would happen to me if it didn't work out again."

"Okay, Tara. Two things. You're going to drive yourself insane thinking about everything that might happen. But more importantly, even if things don't work the way you want, you will be fine. You were fine before and you'll be fine again. I know, it wasn't ideal. But you can't let her dictate your happiness," Sandra said.

"I'm still not clear on what you're telling me to do, though," Tara replied, visibly calmer.

"I'm not telling you to do anything. This is a huge decision. And it's yours to make. It's like I told you with the letter. What do you want to do. Do you want to give her another chance?"

"I still love her."

"That's not what I asked," Sandra replied.

Tara sighed and rested her head on the back of the couch. She stared up at the ceiling for a moment.

"That's the only thing I want to do, Sandra. But that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do."

"Who cares?" Sandra said quickly.

Tara was thrown off by her friend's response and it was written all over her face.

"Well..." Tara began.

"It's what you want to do. You love her. Are you going to regret it your whole life if you don't?"

"Yes," Tara replied simply.

"Then it looks like you already know what you're going to do."

"But how? Should I write her a letter back? Call her?" Tara asked.

Sandra just looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I know. It's my decision. I'm just asking for a little advice."

"Maybe I'd be a little more inclined to offer it if you'd asked for it earlier. Say, before I drove all the way over here to make sure you weren't dead," Sandra replied playfully, standing from the couch. "Dinner?" she asked.

"I'm not hungry," Tara responded.

"Drinks? Maybe some in a glass?" Sandra said, eyeing the bottle of wine on the coffee table again.

"Okay. Drinks," Tara said, getting up. "Just let me go change."

When Tara was fully standing, she turned to Sandra.

"I'm sorry, by the way. I just, I was wallowing. I should have at least texted."

"It's okay. This time," Sandra replied.

They hugged for a long moment before Tara rushed off to change into something less slept in.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Tara wasn't much of a drinker, but with this decision weighing on her, she took advantage of the dulling effects of the drink before her. Sandra was buying and neither were keeping track.

"I don't think we've ever drank like this. Even in college," Sandra pointed out, sipping the last bit of vodka tonic through her straw.

"I think you're right about that," Tara said, a little more slowly than usual.

Her chin was resting in her palm and she stabbed at the ice with her straw while looking down into her glass.

"Another," Sandra asked.

Tara just nodded in response and Sandra gestured for their waitress to bring another round.

"What if I just show up and be like 'I'm here. Now what?'" Tara slurred.

"I mean, it's a little tactless, but it will get the job done," Sandra replied, bursting into laughter.

"I hate not knowing what to do," Tara said, when the jovial feeling subsided.

"I know you do. You'll figure it out," Sandra said as their glasses arrived. "But, Tara, don't forget, this is a happy time. There's a lot of hurt and fear, too. I know that. But you're about to get what you've been wanting for a very long time now. You should be celebrating," Sandra said, clinking her glass against Tara's, nearly causing her to drop it.

As some of the full drink sloshed onto Tara's shirt, they both started laughing again. Much harder this time.

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

It had been about week since Willow gave the letter to Sandra. She thought about Tara and the letter every day, but tried to keep from dwelling on it. And she'd even felt better just knowing that Tara had it and would at least know what she felt.

"Your shot, Will," Xander said, handing Willow her pool cue.

"I'm solid, right?" Willow asked.

"Well that remains to be seen," Xander replied, chuckling.

Willow glared at him and took her shot. The cue ball meandered around the table, bouncing off nearly all of the edges yet missing every other ball on the table.

"I forgot how not good at this you are," Xander said, taking his shot and nearly sinking a ball.

"Speaking of not being good at things, how is everything with Anya," Willow asked, smirking.

"Low blow, Will. Low blow," he replied, jabbing his pointer finger into the air in her direction. "We're doing just fine."

"Oh yeah? Then why are you spending your Saturday evening in a rundown bar with a lesbian? Isn't it sex night?" she asked, taking another unsuccessful shot.

"Usually, yes. But she's having girl's night with Halfrek and some other demon chicks."

"Oh! So, you're hanging out with me because you're bored? You sure know how to boost a girl's ego," Willow replied.

"Come one, Will. You know that's not why. You're my bestie. We always hang out," Xander said.

Willow walked to the other side of the table and tried to focus a little more on her shot this time. She might not have been good at pool, but she still hated losing to Xander every time. She got down low and held the cue as straight as she could. She could see people entering the bar in the background and tried not to be distracted by it. Her elbow pointed toward the ceiling as she readied herself to take her shot.

Halfway through her forward motion, her whole body tensed as she saw a woman entering the bar. The tip of the cue dove toward the green felt causing the cue ball to hop forward a few inches and land with a hard thud.

"Nice one, Will," Xander laughed.

When she didn't react, he followed her line of sight. She'd been staring off, unblinking, and possibly catatonic. Finally, she stood up slowly from her bent position, never looking away.

"Tara?" she said so quietly it was more like a breath than a word.

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 4:51 pm 
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More please, I hate cliffhangers.

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 10:25 am 
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Returning home from work after a tiring day and a sleety drive home I did my usual check for updates on your story and was thrilled to see one. Wrapped up in a blanket I read on and you didn't disappoint.

Great update and I'm so happy that my feedback gave you a mini boost. I can understand that limited feedback can be frustrating but almost 3.5k people have read your story..........how cool is that? ("Ice cool", as Outkast would say!)

I admire all of you guys who post, coming up with their own little spin on the Tara and Willow love story. Keep writing, and soon, because you've left us dangling!


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 11:58 am 
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Rest assured, an update is coming soon. I know what I've done. Haha.

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 3:02 pm 
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Hey Darkwillow6-

Thanks so much for the update:) I love 'how they met' and 'getting back together' stories...especially when they are well written. I can't wait to see where you are taking this and if Willow will have the courage to confront Tara in the bar. If she does, it will be interesting, considering how much Tara has had to drink.

I agree with NorthernLass...try not to get discouraged! People are reading.

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2018 9:25 pm 
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Absolutely keep writing. At least in a forum like this, you get the feedback from thread hits even if you don't get actual words. And the ratio of actual readers to commenters is always pretty fkn dire. I know from both sides of the equation.


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 10:01 pm 
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That pool table is lucky Willow didn't scratch a streak right into the felt

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Thu Apr 26, 2018 1:43 pm 
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Hey Darkwillow

I've just re-read in anticipation of the next update. What struck me this time is all the self loathing and analysing that this Willow has gone through over the years. Her heart is stuck, suspended in time and she's been emotionally paralysed, unable to take action to move past or at least get closure on their relationship, and the effect of having no-one to talk to, except her therapist, for all these years has compounded this. We don't know yet too much of what Tara's been going through during the years apart, but I'm sure you're going to tell us!

I love the fact that although Xander is incredibly hurt by Willow not telling him about her relationship with Tara he's really sucking it up and being the supportive friend. Despite Buffy's reaction to the news she too has processed her own feelings and come to the realisation that Willow needs her. You have portrayed authentic reactions of hurt, anger and bewilderment rather than skating over these awkward moments.

This story is very good and deserves more feedback than it's had but the number of views is feedback in itself. Since I last posted there have been another 500 views. A lot of people including me are invested in this story and eagerly await the next installment.


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 9:35 pm 
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Sorry for the delay on this post. I had some issues with the draft saving and then it just took me some time to get this section going again. I hope you enjoy it!
******************************************************************************
Author: Darkwillow6 (Ashley Riegel)

Rating: NC-17 (overall)

Summary: Willow seeks the help of a therapist to understand her past and generate a clearer picture of her future.

Title: Therapy

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

Tara spotted the redhead quickly, especially after her noisy and ungainly shot. When she and Sandra were drinking in Soluna, it had seemed like a great idea to take a costly two-hour to Sunnydale to catch Willow off-guard. The sight of her now, though, instantly sobered her and it was far too late to change her mind. Sandra, suddenly glad to have nothing to do with the situation besides hyping Tara up to do it in the first place, headed to the far end of the emptying bar.

Tara barely registered that Sandra had gone and she was unsure how much time she'd spent just staring. She'd practiced what she'd say thousands of times, accounting for every likely reaction and response. But here she was, immobilized by a mixture of fear and excitement. Tara had never been the one to make the first move. Let alone in a situation like this. Xander took the extended and tense silence as an opportunity to excuse himself.

"I'm gonna head out, Will. Let me know if you need anything," he said quietly, briefly placing his hand on the redhead's shoulder.

Her nod was almost imperceptible and Xander made a quick exit, walking past Tara as he went. Now that they were alone, or as alone as they could be in the crowded bar, Willow knew that she had to do something. If Tara was in the process of changing her mind, Willow had to act quickly to get her to stay.

She took a step to the side so that the pool table no longer created a physical barrier between them. Now there was nothing but space and stumbling bar patrons. She was certain Tara could see her chest rise and fall quickly as the pace of her breathing increased with each incremental step forward. Her gaze never left the blonde in case she was some sort of mirage.

There was only about a ten foot distance between them, but it might as well have been a mile. The blaring music sounded muffled to Willow as the sound of her heartbeat resonated through her skull. She tried to calm herself as she took more steps forward so that she wouldn't miss anything Tara said to her. She was about to hear her voice for the first time in several years which made it all the more difficult for her to calm down. When she was an appropriate distance away, she stopped tentatively and managed to speak.

"Hi," she said simply.

"I got your letter," Tara replied with an unreadable tone.

She kept looking around. The cacophony was distracting her from her purpose. She wanted to do this, but this wasn't the way she wanted to do it.

"Then, then you know I'm not expecting-" Willow began.

"Is there somewhere we can go? Somewhere quiet where we can talk?" Tara interrupted.

"There's a park around the corner. Or we could go to my apartment. Only if you want to. Or a coffee shop," Willow suggested.

She didn't expect the location to be such a hindrance, but her plan was laid out by an incredibly drunk version of herself and she couldn't have been less surprised that it wasn't going flawlessly. She tried her best not to show how unprepared she was for this moment. After all, for her, right now, this was about being in control of her own destiny.

"Could we go to your place?" Tara asked, worried about how it sounded.

"Yeah. Sure," Willow replied.

Willow walked toward the exit and Tara followed close behind, relieved. When Willow was outside the door, she held it open for Tara to pass. Once they were both in the small parking lot, Willow unlocked her car. Then, she realized how close Tara was standing. She felt the heat radiating off of Tara's skin and every hair on the back of her neck stood rigid.

"So, uh, it's not far," Willow said, trying her best to keep her voice even and breath steady.

"Okay. Soon, then," Tara said, heading to her vehicle, which was next to Willow's.

Willow drove slowly so that she wouldn't lose Tara. And so that she could mentally and emotionally prepare for having Tara alone in her apartment. The idea was absurd that she could prepare for something like this. She frequently glanced in her rearview mirror to make sure that this was really happening.

When they arrived they both exited their vehicles without saying a word. The sound of Willow fumbling to put her key into the door drowned out the typical night time sounds of crickets and sprinklers. When they were finally inside, Willow turned on the light and Tara took in her surroundings.

"Do you want something to drink?" Willow said quietly so as not to startle the already on edge woman standing before her.

"No, thank you," Tara replied.

There was a pause after that. At this point, Willow was overwhelmed to the point where she could not look her in the eye.

"I don't know what to say, Tara. This feels like a dream," she said finally, barely audible.

"Did you mean it? All of it?" Tara asked.

"Everything, Tara," Willow replied without hesitation. "I'm just... I'm really surprised you came."

"So am I," Tara replied, her resolve weakening with every sincere word Willow said.

"So what, uh, what did you think about it?" Willow asked, trying to make sure her trembling wasn't obvious in her voice.

"I want to talk about that. But not right now. After," Tara said.

“After what?” Willow asked, visibly confused.

Tara hadn't planned for what was about to happen. Not that she'd planned much about this evening. But she was unable to ignore the intense pull she felt toward Willow, especially after the length of time they'd been apart. She was frustrated and she couldn't focus on anything with her body betraying her mind every step of the way. But she thoroughly enjoyed the feelings of power and excitement that stemmed from being completely in control of things in the current moment.

She could feel the flush coming to her cheeks as she took intentional steps in Willow's direction. As she'd been since Tara entered the bar earlier, Willow was skeptical that this was really happening. It wasn't until she felt Tara's body pressed against hers, that she could acknowledge that she was in the present. Her breathing picked up its pace again and she was worried that she might pass out.

As Willow struggled to remain upright, Tara placed her right hand softly on Willow's cheek and hovered impossibly close to her lips for part of a second. Tara wanted so badly to give in to what she was feeling now, she was just entirely unsure if she should. Was this a good idea?But before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed onto Willow’s waist with her free hand and initiated a kiss that made Willow forget how to breath for a long moment.

Every part of Willow's body warmed and softened under the gentle sensations. She was a bit startled when she felt the air glide over the tears on her cheeks. She didn't even know when they'd started and Tara pulled back when the wetness reached the hand she still held against the redhead’s face.

Tara’s brain and body were floating through a vast haze of desire, but Willow’s tears added something significantly more powerful to the stifling arousal.

“Did I do something?” Willow asked, worried that the loss of lip contact may have been a result of some unintentional action.

“Will,” Tara breathed. “You’re crying. Why are you crying?”

“I missed you. So much. And for so long. Just these few moments of not having to miss you is just an unreal sense of relief.”

Trusting her body more than her words in this moment, Tara made as much contact with Willow’s body as was scientifically possible. Their lips met again and Tara wiped the tears from Willow’s face while walking her backwards into what she hoped was Willow’s bedroom. Willow fumbled with the doorknob without removing her lips from Tara’s. When it finally opened, Tara turned her gaze only enough to locate the bed.

Letting Tara take the lead was a necessity for Willow in this moment. She did not want to jeopordize the continuation of everything she was experiencing now. Besides that, Tara was a damn good leader. When she finally sat down on the bed, she briefly noticed the relief she felt at not having to work so hard just to stay standing.

Tara’s arousal had reached a height it hadn’t in years, possibly ever. And they had barely gotten started. Just the right sensation here or there could push her more quickly to that intense moment she was so looking forward to. Seeing Willow’s quickened breath in the heaving of her flushed chest fueled Tara’s instinct to remove the constricting shirt.

Willow moved her arms behind herself so she could lean back and make Tara’s task easier. When she saw the way Tara reacted to her exposed breasts, she could no longer remain a bystander.

“Can I touch you,” Willow asked, forcing the words out between gasps.

In answer, Tara grabbed one of Willow’s hands, causing the redhead to lose balance slightly. She placed that hand on her left cheek, inside the pants, but outside the underwear for her own good. Willow’s hips involuntarily raised up off of the bed upon the delicious contact. When Willow finally relaxed back onto the bed, Tara straddled her.

She remained on her knees, embarrassed by the amount of wetness saturating her pants. When she leaned forward for a kiss, she could feel Willow’s hands clutching the bottom of her shirt. It was as though she was struggling to hold herself back from ripping it off. Tara placed her hands over Willow’s and pulled her shirt upward. When it was completely off, Willow threw it aside instantly placed each hand on a bra-covered breast.

While Willow enjoyed having Tara in control, her eagerness to bring Tara even more pleasure finally outweighed her abilty to hold back. With a swift and smooth motion that caused Tara to gasp with surprise, Willow had the blonde on her back. Tara’s cheeks burned hot, especially when she arched her back for Willow to remove her bra.

In that moment, Tara swore she could feel every light rush of air across her skin. Every millimeter of skin was experiencing a pleasurable sensation. It didn’t matter that a decade had passed. Willow seemed to have memorized every possible thing there was to know about Tara’s body. That, coupled with the desperate need propelling their lovemaking, caused Tara’s brain to feel like tingling mush.

She only snapped back to reality when she felt Willow’s hands expertly undoing the button on her jeans. The sound of the zipper caused Tara’s breath the catch in her throat. The anticipation made her feel as though her entire body was on fire and she couldn’t recall every needing something so badly in all her life. Willow stood at the foot of the bed only as long as it took to remove Tara’s jeans.

She then took off her own jeans so quickly, Tara could barely recall it happening. When Willow returned to her position, hovering over Tara’s body, she could feel the distinct improvement that came from skin to skin contact. Her hardened nipples grazed Tara’s chest as she leaned down to kiss her more slowly than should have been possible.

Then, stopping about every inch to place a wet kiss, Willow began her descent. In some spots, the kisses turned to licks that pleasantly surprised the writhing blonde. When she reached the blonde’s underwear, she ran her tongue across the waistband, causing Tara to slowly force her hips upward. Willow began pulling the small piece of fabric downward reavealing centimeters of flesh at a time.

When the waistband finally reached Tara’s upper thighs, she relaxed back onto the bed. She wanted this so badly, but held her knees somewhat firmly together for fear of being that vulnerable to Willow again. But when she saw Willow kneeling on the foot of the bed, underwear already discarded, she relaxed.

Willow’s comfort with being defenseless to Tara caused her to immediately take down the last brick from the wall she’d built a decade ago. With Willow’s hands running down the length of her outer thighs, Tara felt her legs slowly parting. Willow tried to take her time by kissing her way down Tara’s thighs, but the fact that she could practically taste Tara already was derailing her attempt at foreplay.

When Tara looked down the length of her own body and saw the top of Willow’s head, she struggled to breath effectively. The subtle movements from Tara’s perspective correlated to amazing strokes of the tongue, being sure to brush by just the right areas. While continuing her slow exploration between Tara’s legs, she placed Tara’s thighs on her shoulders and hooked her forearms, firmly holding the blonde in place.

Tara feared for a second that her heart was beating much too fast, but she was certain it was worth it. When Willow’s tongue entered the source of her wetness and then proceeded upward, she knew it wouldn’t be much longer before the inevitable happened. Feeling every movement from Tara caused Willow to become all the more invested in bringing the goddess before her to climax.

With only a slight increase in speed, Willow saw Tara’s whole body tighten. She noticed how white Tara’s knuckles were from clutching the sheets just as she felt the warm rush of wetness that signaled Tara’s release. It wasn’t until Tara completely relaxed her body that Willow crawled up the bed to lie next to her exhaused lover, propped up on one elbow so she could take in her features.

“I’m so happy right now,” Willow said, stroking Tara’s sweat dampened hair. “I wish it could just stay like this.”

Tara had favored physical responses to verbal ones this evening and it seemed to have worked out well for her so far. So, she leaned forward toward Willow, forcing her onto her back. When Tara kissed her again, she tried to freeze time and live inside this moment because she was well aware of the fact that this did not necessarily mean that they were back together. In case this was a one time thing, she wanted to be sure that she remembered every detail she could.

They still needed to talk and Willow had no idea what Tara would have to say when they did. But that thought didn’t stick around when she felt Tara climb on top of her. From this angle, Willow had an incredible view of Tara’s body and couldn’t wait to feel more contact. Then, Tara moved from her straddling position to place both knees between Willow’s legs, causing her to spread them.

When Tara had stabilized their positions, she cupped Willow’s cheek briefly before running her hand down the length of Willow’s body to the source of radiating heat. This time, when she bent down to kiss Willow again, she slid a finger up and down the length of the primed opening. Willow was entirely consumed by her arousal. It was overwhelming to feel Tara’s lips on hers, Tara’s breasts pressed to hers, Tara’s fingers teasing her.

Unintentionally, Willow let out a deep moan that prompted Tara to enter her. At that, Willow’s body reacted more quickly that she was prepared for and she placed both hands in Tara’s hair so that she could bring her focus more fully to their kiss. If she even thought about what Tara’s hand was doing now, it would be all over for her.

Her plan backfired, though. Getting lost in the sensuality of Tara’s lips generated even more wetness which enabled Tara’s fingers to slide more easily and effectively. Within a few seconds, Willow could feel that her orgasm was imminent. Thrusting deeper one last time, Tara brought Willow’s writhing to a halt. She felt her fingers being grasped by the inner muscles followed by the tell-tale rush of heat.

A long, deep exhale escaped Willow as an unmatched satisfaction overtook her. Almost immediately after her body had been spent, her mind began working and trying to anticipate what would happen next. Tara was still in control and Willow looked deeply into the blue eyes before her, hoping that the fear she felt was not too obvious.

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Last edited by darkwillow6 on Thu Jun 14, 2018 6:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 9:41 am 
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Ooh dibs, my first one. Well you sneaked that one in! I almost don't want to read this because then I'll know more about the story and then I'll want more. So I'm gonna anticipate a little longer, read it later then post some proper feedback. Thanks for being responsive to a nudge!


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 11:08 am 
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Wow I wasn't quite expecting that! You've surprised me because I thought you'd do the whole angsty, talky thing first, lots of Willowbabble, but instead you have them dive straight (ahem....no pun intended) into steaming hot sex.

I love that Willow allows Tara to be in charge and set the pace, I love your description of the emotion, the longing and most of all I love this story. Looking forward to the conversation and the healing of two damaged hearts.

Great update, thank you.


Last edited by NorthernLass on Wed Jun 13, 2018 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 12:50 pm 
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Ok, so that was NOT what I was expecting!

Great job leading us there and then taking us down a completely different path. At first I was thinking, no way Tara would have done something like that. Then I realized, yes she would...because she did, when she came to Willow’s and wanted to “just skip it.”

I’m actually glad they went there right away, because they definitely needed to reconnect before all the emotional processing. I also LOVED what Willow said about having, “Just these few moments of not having to miss you is just an unreal sense of relief.” Because that’s mainly what the pain has been all about; an extreme sense of loss.

Anyway, great job! I love it and hope you update soon!!!!!


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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 3:21 pm 
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I am enjoying where this is going, willow finally gets the courage to unlock the door and Tara comes bursting through

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 Post subject: Re: Therapy
PostPosted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 12:48 pm 
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3. Flaming O

Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 4:50 pm
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Author: Darkwillow6 (Ashley Riegel)

Rating: NC-17 (overall)

Summary: Willow seeks the help of a therapist to understand her past and generate a clearer picture of her future.

Title: Therapy

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

"I'm not going to disappear, Willow," Tara said quietly when she saw how the redhead was looking at her.

Feeling the relief of having her silent question answered, a few tears escaped but Tara was quick to wipe them away. She reinforced that statement with a kiss and she felt none of the regret she worried she'd feel. It was getting so late now that it was almost early. Both were worn out, but unable to sleep.

Willow spent the next few minutes completely absorbed in thought even as her eyes scanned every detail of the woman in front of her. She never thought she'd be in a situation where she would resent blinking. No matter how much proof there was that this was all real, Willow struggled to believe it and always kept a part of her body touching a part of Tara's.

When the sunlight finally reached her bedroom window and wrapped Tara in a golden glow, Willow was stunned. She was more attracted to Tara now than she'd ever been. Getting to know her again, and hopefully becoming a part of her life, was the only thing she cared about right now.

"Can I make you breakfast?" Willow asked, standing.

She didn't seem to care that she was naked, even as Tara took the opportunity to slowly draw her eyes down Willow's body. Willow's skin flushed when she noticed the way Tara was examining her. She inhaled sharply when she realized she'd been holding her breath. Then, Tara stood from the bed and stepped toward Willow who clenched her jaw in an attempt to steady her breathing.

Before their bodies even touched, both could feel their combined heat in the minimal space between them. Willow became lightheaded when she felt Tara pull her closer and kiss her lips just lightly enough to be felt. When Willow leaned in for more contact, Tara was happy to oblige. After a few perfect seconds, Tara pulled back so they would not end up in bed again. Not just yet, anyway.

"So, breakfast," Tara said, smiling. "Do you have some pajamas or something that I could borrow?"

"No," Willow said, smirking after.

Then, she went to her top dresser drawer and got something for each of them to wear. For Tara, she chose whatever would cover the least amount of skin. When Tara shook her head and laughed, she knew the blonde was onto her. She accepted the offered clothing anyway and quickly put it on then watched as Willow put on a pair of blue boxer shorts and her favorite grey tee shirt.

"I can put your clothes in the wash before I start," Willow said.

"Okay," Tara replied, bending strategically toward Willow to draw her eager eyes to the low neckline of the tank top she now wore.

Willow held out her hands to take the small pile of clothing and headed out the door with Tara not far behind. When they reached the kitchen on the way, Willow set the clothes down on one of the bar height stools at her blue-grey island and pulled one out for Tara to take a seat.

"I'll be right back. Do you want something to drink? I haven't really gone shopping, but I have water or orange juice."

"Some orange juice would be great," Tara replied.

Willow poured her a glass and set it down in front of her.

"Be right back," she said, kissing Tara on the cheek and rushing off with the clothes.

It wasn't until she reached the laundry room and was alone for the first time since she'd seen Tara, that her mind started flying through its usual analysis of unexpected situations. And, since she was alone, she took the opportunity to do a bit of a happy dance which helped to decrease some of her overexcited energy.

She couldn't think of any way that their encounter could have gone better and her impatience grew as more seconds passed without looking into Tara's deep, blue eyes. However, this was the first moment that she'd been able to even slightly relax. Being in Tara's presence had overwhelmed her to the point that she was unsure if she could endure it. But she would. For Tara.

After quickly adding detergent to the machine and tossing the clothing in, she rushed back to the kitchen, slowing down just before entering the room so she didn't seem so desperate to get back.

"Eggs and toast sound okay?" Willow asked when Tara had seen her.

"Perfect," Tara replied, taking another sip of her orange juice.

Willow grabbed a frying pan from one of the hooks above the island and set it on the stove. Tara heard the clicking just before the gas ignited and then the light sizzle of the butter Willow had used to grease the pan. Seconds later, two slices of toast were warming in the toaster and Willow went to the fridge for the eggs. Tara enjoyed watching Willow engrossed in this simple activity.

"Still like them sunny side up?" Willow asked.

"Yeah," Tara replied, unable to concentrate on breakfast plans.

She could no longer remain in place as the lack of Willow's hands on her body was starting to bother her. She'd been trying to control herself because she didn't want to give Willow the impression that all of their problems were now solved and they could just run off into the sunset. But a huge part of her wanted to do just that and she was tired of fighting with herself.

Once Willow had cracked the final egg into the pan, she jumped a bit as she felt Tara's hand brush her hair away from her neck and place her lips on the now available skin. Completely distracted by the light touch, Willow turned to face Tara being careful not to get too close to the flame that was now behind her. It was obvious that a large part of Willow was content, but she also knew that if last night could happen, then anything could happen.

Her tenuous hold on this version of reality was maddening. But she reminded herself, as she'd had to do so many times since last night, to live in the moment. Maybe Tara would decide that last night was a mistake like she feared. It was something that weighed on Willow's mind quite heavily when she allowed herself to think too much. Right now, though, Tara wanted her and looked at her the way she did a decade ago. So, she forced herself back into the current moment.

"I'm so happy that you're here, Tara. For however long," Willow said.

"That's something we should talk about," Tara said. "After breakfast?"

Willow nodded and turned to check on the eggs. Tara leaned back on the island a few feet away, supporting herself on her elbows, and watched as Willow got some plates down from a nearby cabinet. She put Tara's toast on the plate and then put in two slices for herself. Within a few minutes, they were both sitting at the dining table that was surrounded by windows, letting in the perfect amount of natural light. The sound of their forks grazing the plates was all there was for a while. Neither wanted to rush any part of the day. And the conversation following breakfast would be hard regardless of how they still felt about each other.

Tara closed her eyes as she took a bite of her toast, not realizing how hungry she'd been. Willow tried not to stare, but Tara's enjoyment of the food was a very pleasant thing to watch. When Tara opened her eyes, Willow looked away. Now, she focused on catching up as Tara was nearly done with her meal while Willow did little besides look at Tara.

"I can make us some coffee and we could sit out on the porch and talk. Does that sound okay?" Willow asked, once she'd cleared the plates.

"Yeah. That sounds nice," Tara replied.

Willow got the coffee started and prepared a tray for the mugs, spoons, cream, and sugar. She moved a bit more slowly than she had while making breakfast, mentally cursing herself for getting so caught up in her vast sea of fears. Now, she couldn't get back the time she'd wasted that should have been spent committing more of the last half a day to memory. It wasn't long before the coffee was done so she filled the mugs and tried not to worry about the things that might be said just moments from now.

"The patio is through the bedroom," Willow said, picking up the tray and waiting for Tara to follow.

Tara furrowed her eyebrows because she hadn't recalled seeing a patio off of Willow's bedroom, however she hadn't paid too much attention to where things were located, besides the bed. When they entered the bedroom, Willow set the tray down on the bed and walked toward some dark curtains parallel to the side of the bed she normally slept on. She pulled the cord, releasing a burst of sunlight into the room as the curtains parted. She then opened the door and picked up the tray.

"After you," Willow said, waiting for Tara to pass before following.

She set the tray on the small metal table as Tara took a seat. The first thing Tara couldn't help but notice was the amazing view. They were surrounded by trees and hills and the thick clouds were hanging low in the sky. Willow handed Tara a full mug, grabbed one of her own, and sat across from her. Tara took a sip once she'd added her cream and sugar. Willow did the same, waiting for Tara to say something. She could tell by the look on Tara's face that she was trying to either think of what to say, or the best words to use to say it, or maybe just putting it off.

"That letter... It really meant a lot to me, Willow," Tara began.

Willow clenched her jaw and swallowed hard hoping that the statement would not be followed by "but".

"What meant even more to me was that you told Sandra not to give it to me if I was happy," she continued.

"She told you that?" Willow asked, feeling a bit embarrassed and caught off guard. "I, I didn't intend for that part to-"

"I'm glad she told me. It might even be why I'm here. It meant a lot to me, Will." she said.

Willow's heart skipped a beat at Tara's affectionate use of her nickname. While that was a good sign, the conversation could still go in any direction.

"Tara, I know that I don't have any right to disrupt your life. I mean, I know I said it in the letter, but I want to emphasize that now. You deserve so much more than what I could offer you then," Willow responded sincerely.

"So, what do we do, then?" Tara asked, rubbing her temple.

"I thought you were going to tell me that. I'll do what it takes. Whatever you need from me. This is the version of events that I really hoped would happen, but knew better than to think it would. Now that you're here, I can't even think straight, Tara."

"I didn't know what was going to happen when I read that letter. I tried to think about things objectively, but it never felt right. What happened between us. It was hard. It still is. But Willow, I can't go through what I went through back then," Tara said, stopping when she felt a quiver reach her throat.

"You shouldn't have had to then. And I promise that you won't again. I don't know if my promises mean anything to you now, but I've realized my mistake, believe me. Even as I was making it. I was scared and I'm not anymore. And it was stupid of me to be so afraid to lose my friends only to lose you instead," Willow said.

"I believe you, Willow. I wouldn't be here if I thought you'd hurt me again. I just can't ever be sure, you know?" Tara said looking down into her coffee cup.

Willow slid forward onto her knees beside Tara.

"I've learned so much from living without you. Mainly that I don't want to do it anymore. If I need to move to Soluna, then I'll get a moving truck, change jobs. All I want is another chance to treat you how I should have to begin with. I'm going to make sure that you know how I feel about you every day, Tara."

"Willow, I am giving you another chance. This is it. Right here and now. And last night. And I really hope that you don't waste it," Tara replied. "We really don't know each other anymore. That's a part of this. A big part. Like you said in your letter, it's been a long time."

Willow exhaled heavily and got back onto her chair, but sat at the edge of it to remain close to Tara. Her elbows were now on her knees, hands clasped, and her head was down, eyes cast to the ground.

"Do you..." Willow stopped and cleared her throat. "Do you regret what happened last night, Tara?"

"No. I don't," Tara replied quickly but softly, causing Willow to look up at her. "And please, please don't make me, Willow."

The fear in Tara's eyes, made Willow's heart sink.

"I won't. I promise I won't," Willow said reaching up to wipe tears away from Tara's face.

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

"Sounds like you've had quite the eventful month," Dr. Langdon said when Willow finished her story.

Willow had flown through the plentiful details at impressive speed and Dr. Langdon found it challenging to process the information. She also wondered about Willow's seemingly superhuman lung capacity.

"It still doesn't feel real. And, I mean, is everything just supposed to go back to normal or is it like starting over?" Willow wondered aloud.

"Have you asked Tara that?"

"No," Willow replied simply.

"Well, I think you should."

"I want to. I just... How do I stop feeling so terrified?" Willow asked, helplessly.

"Terrified? All of this is what you wanted, isn't it?" Dr. Langdon asked.

"Yes. That's exactly why I'm terrified. What if I fuck it up again?" Willow said, the insecurity evident in her voice.

"Well, I can't tell you that you're not going to. But you know what went wrong before. You've fixed that. You can't exactly go back into the closet. Are there other things you're concerned about that might push her away?" she asked.

At that, Dr. Langdon scrutinized the body language cues that Willow was displaying subconsciously.

"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. But whatever it is, you'll have to face it eventually," Dr. Langdon added after further silence.

_________________
My parents said that I could be anything that I wanted to be... so I became a lesbian.


Last edited by darkwillow6 on Sun Jun 24, 2018 7:12 am, edited 2 times in total.

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