Copyright: May 9th, 2000

Slight Revision: January 11th, 2005.

Rating:"R"

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Fox Studios, Mutant Enemy, et al, have something to do with "Buffy The Vampire Slayer". No copyright infringement is intended or inferred. The story along with any/all original characters are the sole property of the author and can not be used without expressed permission first.

Author's Note: I'm not certain if this story came out very well, wrote the ending to it LATE/EARLY this morning. OH... it's as graphic as it's going to get. It's weird, I can write about two totally unknown characters... you know, and not have the slightest problem, but, try to get me to write about characters that I care about and I get bashful on myself. And I lifted one line from Marti's script, "New Moon Rising."

Willow rushed to the front door when she heard the doorbell ring. She wasn't expecting anyone, at least not until later that night. Checking through the peephole first, she smiled then opened the door.

"Umm... hi," Tara said over the grocery bags she had in her arms.

"Need help?" Willow asked, still smiling.

"If you wouldn't mind?"

Willow reached out and took two of the bags and stepped aside to let Tara in. "So, where's Miss Kitty Fantastico?" Tara asked as she walked down the hall towards the kitchen.

"In there... she's eating," Willow replied, closing the door behind her.

"Cool... so, how are things coming?" Tara asked as she placed her two bags on the kitchen table and began to take out various items out of them, looking over and smiling indulgently at the kitten.

"Good, everyone said they'd be here by eight," Willow answered putting things away.

"That means we have a few hours before they show up. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"As... a matter of fact... there is," Willow said, walking behind the other Wiccan and wrapping her arms around Tara's waist.

"And... and w... what would that be?"

"Turn around... and I'll show you," Willow whispered.

Moving around slowly, Tara looked into the face of the person she cared for more than life itself. She reached out and touched Willow's face, endlessly amazed that she had found someone so caring.

"You... you were saying?"

"I'll show you instead..." Willow said before leaning towards Tara and kissing her. She felt Tara's arms wrap themselves around her holding her tighter, and there was nowhere else she wanted to be at that moment. "That... was... nice," Willow told the other girl after parting.

"Yeah."

"Tara?"

"Yes Willow," she answered, holding on to the other girl for a while longer.

"Do you remember the conversation we had... about... you know?"

Tara's eyes moved from one side to the other as she thought about what Willow asked when it hit her. "You mean about..."

"Yeah I think that maybe..."

"But what about what you said about "Taking it slow?"?

"I had no idea what I was thinking about," she said smiling into Tara's shoulder.

"Wha... what about the party?" Tara asked trying to distract Willow from something she wasn't sure the other girl was absolutely ready for.

Willow looked at the clock on the wall, then back to her love. "We have plenty of time Tara... unless... unless you don't want to?" she asked, suddenly realizing perhaps she didn't want to.

"Oh... no... I want to... very much so," Tara replied quickly, seeing Willow smile at her.

"Then... what are you waiting for?"

Tara looked around the kitchen and saw that everything was put away, there was nothing keeping her from fulfilling one of her dreams. Tara took hold of Willow's hand, stepped back and brought it up to her lips, kissing it gently, she turned it over and placed another kiss on her palm. She never took her eyes off Willow, she had to be sure that there wasn't the slightest hint of hesitation on her part.

"That's nice," Willow told her.

"I love you Willow," Tara said. She wanted to tell Willow all the time, but was afraid that it would lose its meaning if she said it too often. And she needed to let her know, now, before anything else happened, it was important to her.

"Oh... Tara, I love you too," Willow replied, kissing her briefly. Willow turned around, still holding on to Tara and led her out of the kitchen.

The ground-floor apartment they had found was perfect, it had two bedrooms and plenty of space for all their nic-nacks. They had decided to sleep in different rooms, only because she had wanted to take this slow.

She led them past Tara's room and went into hers. It wasn't much to look at yet, her computer was set-up and ready to go, posters and paintings adorned the walls and a bookcase took up most of it. Their Wiccan supplies were kept in Tara's room, as they practiced more in Tara's room than they did in hers, and she didn't mind. It was a great excuse for her to go in and pick something up, of course the fact that Tara was in there had nothing to do with it at all.

Tara had told her that she could come in whenever she wanted, even if she was sleeping, And Willow did just that, sometimes she would find herself just watching Tara sleep, wondering what she was dreaming if a smile ever graced her face. It was during those stolen moments that she realized just how much she cared for the other girl.

Stopping short of her bed, Willow reached out and rested her hand on Tara's chest, feeling the strong heartbeat under her fingers. She heard and felt Tara's breath hitch as she let her hand drift down slowly.

"Is this okay?" she asked softly. "Yes." They had fooled around many times, always stopping short of actually consummating their love for each other, and Willow concluded that she had never felt as nervous as she did right now. She thought to herself as Tara's eyes closed briefly, when she told Buffy, "It's different from what me and Oz have." it was the truest thing she had ever said. The feelings she had for Oz paled in comparison, and That's the way it should be.

Willow trailed her hand around Tara's breast, her own breathing increasing with each move she made. She cupped her breast gently... feeling the weight of it in her hand, and wanting to do so much more than just feel it. Tara reached out and placed her hand on Willow's shoulder, to keep from falling from the sensations Willow's hand was generating in her.

"Do you like it?" she asked Tara.

"Oh... ye... yes," she replied, opening her eyes and looking into the other half of her soul.

Willow smiled and brought her mouth to cover Tara's, she felt Tara's hand in her hair, keeping her in place. She moaned when they broke the kiss, only for Tara to begin to kiss her way down Willow's throat. Throwing her head back, allowing Tara better access, Willow closed her eyes, only for them to fly open when she felt Tara's mouth on her chest.

"OH!" she cried out when Tara's mouth briefly kissed her breast, before moving to her other breast.

"Lift your arms," Tara said as she began to tug at Willow's shirt, finally freeing her from its confines. Tara took a breath as more of Willow's body became exposed to her. She wanted nothing else than to feel Willow's body against her own. Slowly, she stepped forward and hugged Willow, letting her hands touch the silky skin, before unclasping the peach-colored bra Willow wore. Her hands reached out and slid the straps off Willow's shoulders and then letting it drop to the floor. "You're so beautiful Willow... so beautiful," she whispered as let her hands explore slowly, mapping each curve, each contour, memorizing them, so that she could find them in the dark if need be.

"Tara... please," Willow urged, her knees weak as she fell back to the bed.

Tara quickly got out of her clothes and reached up and helped Willow take her skirt off, leaving them both exposed to each other. There was always time to turn back, they both knew this, and when Willow brought Tara down to her, they both acknowledged that the next step was being taken.

Willow gazed into Tara's eyes and saw the love she had for her, she also saw a burning desire and was strangely pleased that she was the object of Tara's desire. Tara leaned down and placed butterfly kisses along Willow's jaw, until she reached the hacker's pulse point and sucked on it, knowing that she would probably have a mark there later on.

She felt Willow urging her down, she smiled, as she resumed what she had begun earlier and kissed around Willow's breast.

"Don't tease Tara," Willow said smiling, as her breath caught as Tara's mouth found it's destination. "Oh... I... I like... wh... whe... shutting up now." Willow felt the warmth on Tara's mouth on her and squirmed in delight, her senses became utterly attuned to every move Tara made. She could feel Tara's hand move slowly down, stroking her skin, making her shiver with desire. "Ohh..." she uttered as her hips decided to raise themselves up against Tara's hand.

Tara knew she wanted to be the only one who could cause the lovely sounds Willow was making. Kissing her way down, she replaced her hand, as savored the essence that was purely Willow.

Willow was riding the wave of passion that took her by surprise and couldn't remember when Tara had moved away from where she was and was now wrapping her arms around her.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked wondering if Willow had felt the power surging through them.

"Good... really good," Willow replied smiling, licking her parched lips before kissing Tara.

"Was... did... did I do okay?" Tara asked as a fleeting feeling of insecurity passed through her, wondering if... no, she wouldn't think it.

"OH... so much better than okay Tara," she replied smiling, moving to caress Tara's face.

"I'm glad... really," Tara answered.

"Tara?"

"Yes Willow?"

"I hope you're not planning on going anywhere for awhile," Willow said.

"No... not unle... unless you want me to leave?" Tara asked her heart fluttering as she waited for Willow's answer.

"Oh... no... I have plans for you," Willow smirked, making Tara swallow nervously.

And Willow spent the next hour explaining each plan, sometimes going over them more than twice, always eager to get Tara's input on them.

"Hey Will... hi Tara," Buffy said as she entered the apartment for the first time. "Nice place."

"Thanks... where's everyone else?" Willow asked looking behind Buffy.

"They'll be here, Giles needed to make a stop," Buffy explained as they went to the living room. "So how are things coming with you two?" she asked.

Tara looked to Willow, blushing.

"Oh... fine," Willow squeaked, before turning to Tara with a barely restrained hunger in her eyes. "Oh, things are coming along very well."

"Wou... would you like something to drink?" Tara asked, feeling Willow's eyes all over her and not minding one bit, only wishing that the evening was already winding down.

"No, I'm fine. So, where's your bedroom Will?" Buffy asked, as she started walking down the hall.

"Second door on the left," Willow called out, going over to Tara quickly and kissing her. "That's just a little taste of what's going to happen later," she whispered to Tara as she turned and walked down the hall.

"Oh... my," Tara uttered, then smiled, the party couldn't end quickly enough for her, as far as she was concerned. "I'll get it," she called out as the doorbell rang. "Hi... come on in, Buffy's already here," Tara said to Xander, Giles and Anya as she showed them inside.

"Hi guys," Willow called out as she and Buffy joined the others.

"Hey Will."

"Good evening Willow, Tara."

"So how long do we have to stay here?"

"Honey..."

Giles sighed.

Willow walked over to Tara and grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "I love you," she whispered in Tara's ear.

"I love you too," Tara replied.

"Hey... no secrets here... so what's for dinner. I'm starved."

"And this is news?" Buffy asked.

"He's had a very hard day," Anya said sticking up for Xander "We've had sex three times already, he needs to build up his strength," she explained quite happily.

"Dear lord."

"An..."

"Oh... not liking the mental picture here, thanks guys."

The get together was a success and after wishing their friends good bye, they sat down on the couch.

"That was fun," Tara said.

"Yeah... it was. We should do it again," Willow suggested. "Tired?"

"A little."

"I guess you'll want to get some sleep?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Tara replied, fighting off the exhaustion she felt.

"Tara... would you sleep in my room?"

"Really?" She hadn't expected Willow to offer, she was pleasantly surprised.

"Yes, please."

"You don't need to ask me twice," she said getting up from the couch, pulling Willow up with her.

They walked hand and hand into Willow's room once more and undressed each other. As they slid underneath the sheets, Willow laid her head on Tara's shoulder and closed her eyes, smiling when she felt Tara's lips on her forehead.

"'Nite Wllow."

"Good night Tara."

As Willow drifted off to sleep, she knew that this was what she wanted.

Who she wanted.

Tara watched as Willow fell asleep. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt Willow snuggle closer. She didn't think it was possible to be this happy. And she knew no matter what else happened, nothing could touch this day.

The End.

To read the French Translation click here.